Hermes: an Ontology-Based News Personalization Portal

Nowadays, news feeds provide Web users with access to an unlimited amount of news items, however only a subset of them is relevant. Therefore, users should be able to select the most relevant concepts, about which they want to retrieve news. Although keyword search engines provide users with the ability to filter news items, they lack the power of understanding the domain where the news items reside. The aim of this paper is to propose a solution that provides users with the ability to ask for news items related to specific concepts they are interested in. This is accomplished by creating an ontology, developing a classifying system that populates the ontology by making use of a knowledge base, and providing an innovative graph representation of the ontology to retrieve relevant news items. A characteristic feature of our approach is the consideration of both concepts and concept relationships for the retrieval of user-relevant items.semantic web; news classification; ontologies; OWL; SPARQL; decision support

Contextual factors influencing knowledge sharing and application in the care and support for people with intellectual disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, support workers and health professionals caring for and supporting people with intellectual disabilities (ID) required new knowledge on, for example, treatment and infection prevention. ID care organizations had to quickly share up-to-date knowledge and encourage its application. This study explored the contextual factors influencing knowledge sharing and application in the care and support for people with ID, contrasted their relevance prior to and during the pandemic, and compared the relevance of these factors according to support workers and health professionals. In 2021, 160 Dutch professionals working with people with ID completed an online survey, with 69 being support workers and 91 being health professionals. For most of the participants, the contextual factors known to be relevant for knowledge sharing and application prior to the pandemic (e.g., the leadership of professionals, user-friendliness of interventions) also helped them to process knowledge during the pandemic. These factors were rated equally or as being even more important (e.g., “Practice leadership of management” and “Office arrangements and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems”). Moreover, support workers and health professionals rated factors such as the available capacity of employees and office arrangements and ICT systems differently. The findings provide initial evidence that during a health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, both the role and importance of contextual factors influencing knowledge sharing and application in the care and support for people with ID partially differ from prior to the pandemic

Informal network members' perspectives and experiences on work for people with intellectual disabilities:A thematic synthesis

Purpose The level of participation of people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in various forms of work, including daytime activities, appears to be suboptimal. Informal networks of people with ID constitute crucial forms of support, as they can significantly influence occupational choices and opportunities. This review aims to synthesize existing research for the purpose of examining how informal network members perceive the meaning of employment or daytime activities for their relatives with ID.Methods Following the PRISMA guideline, a systematic search of scientific literature published between 1990 and July 2022 was conducted. The qualitative results from twenty-seven studies (qualitative and mixed-method) were analyzed using thematic synthesis.Results Four overarching themes and several subthemes were identified: (I) Ensuring customized work for my relative; (II) The ongoing need to collaborate and share care responsibilities with professionals; (III) The meaning of work for both my relative and myself; and (IV) Achieving full work participation for my relative is neither straightforward nor self-evident.ConclusionsInformal networks place great value upon customized and sustainable work opportunities for their relatives with ID, particularly community-based work. While network members play an important role in creating these opportunities, they encounter obstacles resulting from both collaboration difficulties with professionals and employers and public and structural forms of stigma. Researchers, professionals, policy makers, and employers are encouraged to collaborate with individuals with ID as well as their networks to increase the meaningful work opportunities available to them

Impact of infection outbreak on long-term care staff: a rapid review on psychological well-being

Context: Older people and people with an intellectual disability who receive long-term care are considered particularly vulnerable to infection outbreaks, such as the current Coronavirus Disease 2019. The combination of healthcare concerns and infection-related restrictions may result in specific challenges for long-term care staff serving these populations during infection outbreaks. Objectives: This review aimed to: (1) provide insight about the potential impact of infection outbreaks on the psychological state of healthcare staff and (2) explore suggestions to support and protect their psychological well-being. Method: Four databases were searched, resulting in 2,176 hits, which were systematically screened until six articles remained. Thematic analysis was used to structure and categorise the data. Findings: Studies about healthcare staff working in long-term care for people with intellectual disabilities were not identified. Psychological outcomes of healthcare staff serving older people covered three themes: emotional responses (i.e., fears and concerns, tension, stress, confusion, and no additional challenges), ethical dilemmas, and reflections on work attendance. Identified suggestions to support and protect care staff were related to education, provision of information, housing, materials, policy and guidelines. Limitations: Only six articles were included in the syntheses. Implications: Research into support for long-term care staff during an infection outbreak is scarce. Without conscious management, policy and research focus, the needs of this professional group may remain underexposed in current and future infection outbreaks. The content synthesis and reflection on it in this article provide starting points for new research and contribute to the preparation for future infection outbreaks

Using concept mapping to explore the perspectives of people with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities toward sexual health

People with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities face many barriers toward their sexual health. To promote sexual health and overcome these barriers, they need individualized forms of sexuality support and education. To align sexuality support and education insight is needed on their understanding of sexual health. The current paper aims to provide greater insight in what sexual health consists of according to people with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities. Nine people with a mild to borderline intellectual disability participated in a concept mapping procedure, consisting of brainstorming, sorting, and ranking the statements. The resulting clusters and concept map were interpreted by an expert group. Analysis resulted in five clusters which participants considered important for their sexual health. According to people with mild to borderline intellectual disability cluster pertaining to romantic relationships and sexual socialization were the most important. These were followed by clusters on sexual health and lastly sexual selfhood. These results have implications for the development of sexuality support and education, as well as further research

Motives and strategies of CEOs for stimulating sharing and application of knowledge in the care and support for people with intellectual disabilities

Purpose: Within intellectual disability care organizations (IDCOs), it is vital that professionals share and apply knowledge to improve the quality of care for their service users. Given that chief executive officers (CEOs) play a pivotal role in enabling these processes, this paper aims to investigate both the underlying motives and strategies behind CEOs' organizational knowledge leadership and their contribution to improving these knowledge processes. Design/methodology/approach: In this exploratory qualitative study, 11 CEOs from IDCOs in the Netherlands who are actively involved in knowledge management within their organizations were interviewed. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted. Findings: CEOs’ motives for stimulating knowledge processes among professionals in IDCOs arise from the internal (e.g. the CEOs themselves) and external (e.g. policy) contexts. This study also identified four strategies adopted by CEOs to stimulate sharing and application of knowledge: providing organizational conditions for effective knowledge processes; focused attention on talent development; acknowledgment and deployment of knowledge holders; and knowledge-driven participation in collaborative partnerships. These strategies are used in combination and have been shown to reinforce one another Practical implications: An overview of strategies for stimulating knowledge processes is now available. Originality/value: The results display the leadership of CEOs in knowledge strategies. Insights into their perceptions and values are provided while elaborating on their motives to take this role

Sexuality, education and support for people with intellectual disabilities:A systematic review of the attitudes of support staff and relatives

Support staff and relatives are uncertain about multiple aspects of the sexuality of people with intellectual disabilities. Given that their attitudes embody positive and negative views, they can respectively support and restrict free sexual expression among people with intellectual disabilities and their potential for (intimate) relationships. A qualitative systematic literature review was conducted on the attitudes of support staff and relatives toward the sexuality of people with intellectual disabilities. A systematic search strategy was deployed across seven databases. The identified articles were screened on predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria, and assessed on quality, which resulted in 31 included studies. A metasynthesis of these studies resulted in two major themes emerging, namely (a) attitudes toward the sexuality of people with intellectual disabilities, and (b) attitudes toward the sex education and support. Themes represented both positive and restrictive attitudes among support staff and relatives. The findings suggest that despite a general acceptance of the sexual rights of people with intellectual disabilities, certain forms of sexuality were approached more cautiously. Moreover, the sexual needs of some subgroups of people with intellectual disabilities received scarce attention. Those support staff and relatives holding rather restrictive attitudes appear to emphasize sexual risks. Finally, support staff and relatives stressed the importance of providing sex education and support for people with intellectual disabilities, while, simultaneously, expressing insecurity over the subject. The findings can help to improve the support provided to support staff and relatives to promote sexual health among people with intellectual disabilities

The experiences of psychologists working with people with intellectual disabilities during the COVID-19 crisis

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of psychologists working with people with intellectual disabilities during the initial stage of the COVID‐19 lockdown in the Netherlands. METHOD: Five psychologists, who were affiliated with three intellectual disability services, participated in this descriptive qualitative study. Overall, they recorded 22 audio messages during the period under examination, which were analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Three themes were identified: (a) Working from home; (b) Adapting to the new reality; and (c) Advising and coaching support staff. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides critical insights into the experiences of psychologists working with people with intellectual disabilities during the initial stage of the COVID‐19 lockdown. These insights can help policymakers and practitioners to prepare for either a potential second wave of COVID‐19 or a future pandemic