Evaluating effectiveness of linguistic technologies of knowledge identification in text collections

The possibility of using integral coefficients of recall and precision to evaluate effectiveness of linguistic technologies of knowledge identification in texts is analyzed in the paper. An approach is based on the method of test collections, which is used for experimental validation of received effectiveness coefficients, and on methods of mathematical statistics. The problem of maximizing the reliability of sample results in their propagation on the general population of the tested text collection is studied. The method for determining the confidence interval for the attribute proportion, which is based on Wilson’s formula, and the method for determining the required size of the relevant sample under specified relative error and confidence probability, are considered

Evaluating effectiveness of linguistic technologies of knowledge identification in text collections

The possibility of using integral coefficients of recall and precision to evaluate effectiveness of linguistic technologies of knowledge identification in texts is analyzed in the paper. An approach is based on the method of test collections, which is used for experimental validation of received effectiveness coefficients, and on methods of mathematical statistics. The problem of maximizing the reliability of sample results in their propagation on the general population of the tested text collection is studied. The method for determining the confidence interval for the attribute proportion, which is based on Wilson’s formula, and the method for determining the required size of the relevant sample under specified relative error and confidence probability, are considered

Perceptions of Electoral Fairness and Voter Turnout

Previous research has established a link between turnout and the extent to which voters are faced with a “meaningful” partisan choice in elections; this study extends the logic of this argument to perceptions of the “meaningfulness” of electoral conduct. It hypothesizes that perceptions of electoral integrity are positively related to turnout. The empirical analysis to test this hypothesis is based on aggregate-level data from 31 countries, combined with survey results from Module 1 of the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems survey project, which includes new and established democracies. Multilevel modeling is employed to control for a variety of individual- and election-level variables that have been found in previous research to influence turnout. The results of the analysis show that perceptions of electoral integrity are indeed positively associated with propensity to vote. </jats:p

Primary Care Validation of a Single-Question Alcohol Screening Test

BACKGROUND Unhealthy alcohol use is prevalent but under-diagnosed in primary care settings. OBJECTIVE To validate, in primary care, a single-item screening test for unhealthy alcohol use recommended by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). DESIGN Cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS Adult English-speaking patients recruited from primary care waiting rooms. MEASUREMENTS Participants were asked the single screening question, "How many times in the past year have you had X or more drinks in a day?", where X is 5 for men and 4 for women, and a response of >1 is considered positive. Unhealthy alcohol use was defined as the presence of an alcohol use disorder, as determined by a standardized diagnostic interview, or risky consumption, as determined using a validated 30-day calendar method. MAIN RESULTS Of 394 eligible primary care patients, 286 (73%) completed the interview. The single-question screen was 81.8% sensitive (95% confidence interval (CI) 72.5% to 88.5%) and 79.3% specific (95% CI 73.1% to 84.4%) for the detection of unhealthy alcohol use. It was slightly more sensitive (87.9%, 95% CI 72.7% to 95.2%) but was less specific (66.8%, 95% CI 60.8% to 72.3%) for the detection of a current alcohol use disorder. Test characteristics were similar to that of a commonly used three-item screen, and were affected very little by subject demographic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS. The single screening question recommended by the NIAAA accurately identified unhealthy alcohol use in this sample of primary care patients. These findings support the use of this brief screen in primary care.National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (R01-AA010870

Integrity static analysis of COTS/SOUP

This paper describes the integrity static analysis approach developed to support the justification of commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) used in a safety-related system. The static analysis was part of an overall software qualification programme, which also included the work reported in our paper presented at Safecomp 2002. Integrity static analysis focuses on unsafe language constructs and “covert” flows, where one thread can affect the data or control flow of another thread. The analysis addressed two main aspects: the internal integrity of the code (especially for the more critical functions), and the intra-component integrity, checking for covert channels. The analysis process was supported by an aggregation of tools, combined and engineered to support the checks done and to scale as necessary. Integrity static analysis is feasible for industrial scale software, did not require unreasonable resources and we provide data that illustrates its contribution to the software qualification programme

Evaluation of the Speech and Language Therapy Service of Tallaght West Childhood Development Initiative

A retrospective evaluation of the Childhood Development Initiative (CDI) Speech and Language Therapy Service was undertaken. The design consisted of two strands. The first was quantitative and examined the referral, uptake and outcomes of the service. The second was qualitative and looked at the implementation. The main research questions were organised according to implementation of the programme; uptake and accessibility; and outcomes.  The results of this evaluation suggest that the service succeeded in receiving referrals, assessing and intervening with 192 children in Tallaght West at an age when they were extremely unlikely to have been seen by any other local service and without waiting for a long period of time. Parents echoed these findings by reporting that their children were more ready for school as a result of the intervention. Parents and staff were in agreement that the model was a positive and welcome alternative to traditional clinic-based therapy delivery, in terms of its on-pre-school site location, which meant the SLTs were literally and figuratively accessible to children, parents, practitioners and teachers