A Graph Mining Study for GCC International Airports

In the last few years, Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC) allocated billions of dollars for expanding and upgrading its airports, therefore many studies and researches were held in order to analyze the crucial impact airports have on the economical development of these countries. This study aims to analyze airports network in GCC countries and reveal the facts hidden beneath it. The author prepared a genuine dataset about GCC airports network and represented it as a graph dataset. Using an open source software called Gephi [1], the author applied data mining techniques on the airports graph with the aid of several graphical metrics like degree centrality, betweenness and closeness centrality, and other types of metrics. The author was able to reveal some interesting facts about the airports in GCC countries. These facts showed that airports like Dubai International airport is considered an important continental hub for aviation, while other airports like Kuwait airport has a limited influence and importance in GCC airports network

The Amazing Race Repeated Update Q-Learning VS. Q-Learning

In this paper, we will conduct an experiment that aims to compare the performance of two reinforcement learning algorithms, the Repeated Update Q-learning algorithm (RUQL) [1] and the Q-learning algorithm(QL) [5]. A simulated version of a robot crawler developed by [6] will be used in this experiment, it is shown in figure (1). An investigation study about the difference in performance between RUQL and Q-learning algorithm (QL) [5] is discussed in this paper. Several trials and tests were conducted to estimate the difference in the crawler’s movement using both algorithms. Additionally, a detailed description of the Markovian decision processes (MDPs) elements [2] is introduced, MDP model includes states, actions and rewards for the task in hand. The parameters that were used and tuned in this experiment will be mentioned and the reasons for choosing their values will be explained.  Finally, the source code for the crawler robot was modified in order to implement RUQL and Q-Learning (QL) algorithms, Eclipse [3] and Java SE Development Kit 8 (JDK) [4] are used for this purpose. After running the crawler robot simulation, the results drawn from the experiment showed that RUQL significantly outperforms the traditional QL.  &nbsp

Shortage of General Physicians' Impact on Medical Malpractice Deaths, The Case of Quebec

In 2012, A study was released showing that more than 40,000 lives were claimed because of medical malpractice in Canada; it is estimated that more than 9,000 of these deaths happened in Quebec in the same year (Charney, 2012). In 2019, The Canadian Patient Safety Institute reported that medical malpractice incidents “are the third leading cause of death in Canada, following cancer and heart disease” (Strengthening Commitment for Improvement Together: A Policy Framework for Patient Safety, 2019). Without proper intervention, this number of deaths will most likely increase. It is assumed that the main reason behind these deaths is the shortage of GPs (General Physicians) in Quebec, as it is about 2.52 GP per 1,000 persons (Wittevrongel & Shaw, 2020), while the threshold of “The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development” (OECD) is 3.6 GPs per 1,000 persons (OECD, 2021). This shortage puts GPs under stress and pressure, which will increase the probability of them making medical errors, leading to increased deaths. Therefore, this thesis aims to study the impact of covering the shortage of GPs in Quebec on the number of deaths caused by medical errors, assuming that excessive workload on GPs puts them under heavy stress leading them to make medical errors, causing more deaths. A computational model was developed using the System Dynamics approach (SD) representing the GPs supply and demand system in Quebec; in addition to a stress and workload system, both systems are simulated to explain the cause and effect relations between their different parts, in addition to their interactions which impact the number of medical errors deaths over time. The findings of the study showed that the main hypothesis partially solves the problem at hand; the modified hypothesis states that by covering the shortage of GPs in Quebec and including practicing pharmacists (PP) in the general practice tasks, the stress and workload on GPs will decrease; thus, a decrease in the number of medical error deaths can be expected. By doing so, this study serves as proof of the impact of shortage in GPs and the impact of stressed and exhausted GPs, on the deaths caused by medical errors. Based on the leverage points found in the system, this thesis can be used for designing policies that can formulate a road map to provide a sustainable GPs Supply system that mainly focuses on the effect of burnout levels of the working GPs on the Medical Malpractice Deaths.Master's Thesis in System DynamicsGEO-SD351INTL-HFINTL-MNINTL-JUSINTL-MEDINTL-KMDINTL-SVINTL-PSYKMASV-SYSD