User Models for Information Systems: Prospects and Problems

Expert systems attempt to model multiple aspects of human-computer interaction, including the reasoning of the human expert, the knowledge base, and characteristics and goals of the user. This paper focuses on models of the human user that are held by the system and utilized in interaction, with particular attention to information retrieval applications. User models may be classified along several dimensions, including static vs. dynamic, stated vs. inferred, and short-term vs. longterm models. The choice of the type of model will depend on a number of factors, including frequency of use, the relationship between the user and the system, the scope of the system, and the diversity of the user population. User models are most effective for well-defined tasks, domains, and user characteristics and goals. These user-system aspects tend not to be well defined in most information retrieval applications.published or submitted for publicatio

Knowledge-directed intelligent information retrieval for research funding.

Thesis (M.Sc.)- University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.Researchers have always found difficulty in attaining funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF) for new research interests. The field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) holds the promise of improving the matching of research proposals to funding sources in the area of Intelligent Information Retrieval (IIR). IIR is a fairly new AI technique that has evolved from the traditional IR systems to solve real-world problems. Typically, an IIR system contains three main components, namely, a knowledge base, an inference engine and a user-interface. Due to its inferential capabilities. IIR has been found to be applicable to domains for which traditional techniques, such as the use of databases, have not been well suited. This applicability has led it to become a viable AI technique from both, a research and an application perspective. This dissertation concentrates on researching and implementing an IIR system in LPA Prolog, that we call FUND, to assist in the matching of research proposals of prospective researchers to funding sources within the National Research Foundation (NRF). FUND'S reasoning strategy for its inference engine is backward chaining that carries out a depth-first search over its knowledge representation structure, namely, a semantic network. The distance constraint of the Constrained Spreading Activation (CSA) technique is incorporated within the search strategy to help prune non-relevant returns by FUND. The evolution of IIR from IR was covered in detail. Various reasoning strategies and knowledge representation schemes were reviewed to find the combination that best suited the problem domain and programming language chosen. FUND accommodated a depth 4, depth 5 and an exhaustive search algorithm. FUND'S effectiveness was tested, in relation to the different searches with respect to their precision and recall ability and in comparison to other similar systems. FUND'S performance in providing researchers with better funding advice in the South African situation proved to be favourably comparable to other similar systems elsewhere

Empowering teamwork : a gender perspective

Treballs Finals del Màster en Oficial en Empresa Internacional / International Business, Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, Universitat de Barcelona. Curs: 2022-2023. Tutor: Patricia ElgoibarThis paper comprehensively examines the current state of research on gender diversity and teamwork based on a systematic literature review. Taking a broader approach, it follows the premise of several researchers to explore the complex dynamics underlying this relationship. Thereby, the findings are outlined using a pillar model that encompasses decisive dimensions of teamwork, including psychological safety, satisfaction, collaboration, behavior, interaction, performance, leadership, and management. Drawing upon these findings, recommendations are derived for team composition and the creation of favorable conditions for gender-responsive teamwork in organizations. In team formation, it is key for companies to create a blend of gender specific qualities that complement each other to foster optimal team dynamics. Additionally, proactive action is needed to create an environment where both male and female employees can flourish. Thus, this paper contributes to deepening the understanding of the significance of gender diverse teams and offers a practical guide to organizations