Integrating Medical Ontology and Pseudo Relevance Feedback For Medical Document Retrieval

The purpose of this thesis is to undertake and improve the accuracy of locating the relevant documents from a large amount of Electronic Medical Data (EMD). The unique goal of this research is to propose a new idea for using medical ontology to find an easy and more reliable approach for patients to have a better understanding of their diseases and also help doctors to find and further improve the possible methods of diagnosis and treatments. The empirical studies were based on the dataset provided by CLEF focused on health care data. In this research, I have used Information Retrieval to find and obtain relevant information within the large amount of data sets provided by CLEF. I then used ranking functionality on the Terrier platform to calculate and evaluate the matching documents in the collection of data sets. BM25 was used as the base normalization method to retrieve the results and Pseudo Relevance Feedback weighting model to retrieve the information regarding patients health history and medical records in order to find more accurate results. I then used Unified Medical Language System to develop indexing of the queries while searching on the Internet and looking for health related documents. UMLS software was actually used to link the computer system with the health and biomedical terms and vocabularies into classify tools; it works as a dictionary for the patients by translating the medical terms. Later I would like to work on using medical ontology to create a relationship between the documents regarding the medical data and my retrieved results

Using ethnography and assemblage theory in political geography

While the focus on the ‘everyday’ in qualitative human geography has greatly increased the need for, and relevance of, ethnographic methods, Megoran argued that this is particularly true for political geography as it has the potential to challenge its focus on elite discourse, allowing researchers to bring forward multiple voices to investigate the becoming of political events. More recently, assemblage theory has gained traction in political geography, not only because of its capability to include the role of the material and the affective, but also revealing the links between micro‐ and macro‐politics by showing how agency emerges out of complex relations. In the first part of this paper, we present an overview of the recent uses of ethnography in political geography that have not embraced assemblage. Second, we explore the theoretical conceptualisations of, and opportunities provided by, an assemblage approach. Third, we go through the use of assemblage ethnographies in political geography, with a particular focus on Pooya's experience of research with Iranians in London. In this, he embraced a variety of ethnographic approaches, including ‘auto‐ethnography’, ‘netnographies’, ‘participant sensation’, in combination with observations, participatory workshops and activism. Showing the role of ethnography as a qualitative tool for political geographers to interrogate discursive social constructions, we argue that it holds even more promise for analysing and intervening in the emergent politics of socio‐material‐affective assemblages

Using ethnography and assemblage theory in political geography

While the focus on the ‘everyday’ in qualitative human geography has greatly increased the need for, and relevance of, ethnographic methods, Megoran argued that this is particularly true for political geography as it has the potential to challenge its focus on elite discourse, allowing researchers to bring forward multiple voices to investigate the becoming of political events. More recently, assemblage theory has gained traction in political geography, not only because of its capability to include the role of the material and the affective, but also revealing the links between micro- and macro-politics by showing how agency emerges out of complex relations. In the first part of this paper, we present an overview of the recent uses of ethnography in political geography that have not embraced assemblage. Second, we explore the theoretical conceptualisations of, and opportunities provided by, an assemblage approach. Third, we go through the use of assemblage ethnographies in political geography, with a particular focus on Pooya's experience of research with Iranians in London. In this, he embraced a variety of ethnographic approaches, including ‘auto-ethnography’, ‘netnographies’, ‘participant sensation’, in combination with observations, participatory workshops and activism. Showing the role of ethnography as a qualitative tool for political geographers to interrogate discursive social constructions, we argue that it holds even more promise for analysing and intervening in the emergent politics of socio-material-affective assemblages

An Outcome-Oriented, Social-Ecological Framework for Assessing Protected Area Effectiveness

Both the number and the extent of protected areas have grown considerably in recent years, but evaluations of their effectiveness remain partial and are hard to compare across cases. To overcome this situation, first, we suggest reserving the term effectiveness solely for assessing protected area outcomes, to clearly distinguish this from management assessments (e.g., sound planning). Second, we propose a multidimensional conceptual framework, rooted in social–ecological theory, to assess effectiveness along three complementary dimensions: ecological outcomes (e.g., biodiversity), social outcomes (e.g., well-being), and social–ecological interactions (e.g., reduced human pressures). Effectiveness indicators can subsequently be evaluated against contextual and management elements (e.g., design and planning) to shed light on management performance (e.g., cost-effectiveness). We summarize steps to operationalize our framework to foster more holistic effectiveness assessments while improving comparability across protected areas. All of this can ensure that protected areas make real contributions toward conservation and sustainability goals.Peer Reviewe

Role of tourism in local communities’ attitudes toward biodiversity conservation: case study of Golestan National Park, Iran

Dissertação de Mestrado, Economia do Turismo e Desenvolvimento Regional, Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Algarve, 2016Biodiversity conservation has a significant role in preserving protected areas (PAs) in Iran. However, biodiversity conservation cannot be efficient without local participation and a positive attitude toward conservation from the local communities. One of the most important tools, which can build the relationship between local communities live at the boundaries of PAs and biodiversity conservation, is tourism. By having benefits from the tourism industry, locals’ negative attitudes against PAs can be minimized. This dissertation addresses the role of tourism in biodiversity conservation in the Golestan National Park (GNP). This is the oldest national park in Iran and is characterized by a large biodiversity. Moreover, from January 2012 to November 2015 during regular visits to GNP and also interviews with accommodation providers and people who have income from tourism, we observed that the benefit from tourism do not distribute well among all locals and do not function as a tool to reduce conflicts between locals and biodiversity conservation. In this study, we looked at the local community’s perspectives over benefits and losses from tourism and their attitudes toward expansion of tourism in the future. The different employment sectors stated contrasting views about losses and benefits from living near the national park. Farmers revealed the highest losses from GNP due to conflict with wildlife. The study results show that tourism is a source of income for most individuals and communities in the three study villages. Moreover, we tested the differences between agriculture and other sectors regarding the benefits from tourism to compensate the GNP losses. Results shows that locals who makes benefits from tourism have less losses as consequence of living near the national park and the locals who do not have benefits from tourism have the most losses as consequence of living near GNP. The perceptions of locals toward tourists in their community were generally positive and they showed willingness to welcome more tourists in their villages. The majority of respondents claim that tourists do not have negative cultural and environmental effects on their community. This dissertation emphasize on the important role of local participation in tourism, in order to improve biodiversity conservation in protected areas. In this research we conclude that the GNP management system should design policies to involve locals in ecotourism in order to decrease conflicts between locals and the GNP.A conservação da biodiversidade tem um papel significativo na preservação das áreas protegidas (APs) no Irão. No entanto, a conservação da biodiversidade não pode ser eficiente sem a participação das comunidades locais e a sua atitude positiva para com a conservação. O turismo constitui uma das ferramentas mais importantes para estabelecer um elo entre as comunidades locais que vivem junto às PAs e a conservação da biodiversidade. Ao auferirem benefícios do turismo, os habitantes locais dissipam as suas atitudes negativas para com as PAs. Esta dissertação aborda o papel do turismo na conservação da biodiversidade no Parque Nacional de Golestan (PNG). Este é o mais antigo parque nacional do Irão e é caracterizado por uma grande biodiversidade. Entre janeiro de 2012 e novembro 2015, durante visitas regulares ao PNG e entrevistas com fornecedores de alojamento e pessoas que auferem rendimentos proveniente do turismo, observou-se que os benefícios do turismo não se encontram bem distribuídos na comunidade local e que não funcionam como uma ferramenta para reduzir conflitos entre os moradores e a conservação da biodiversidade. Neste estudo, analisamos as perspetivas da comunidade local sobre os benefícios e as perdas de turismo, e as suas atitudes em relação à expansão do turismo no futuro. Os diferentes setores de emprego apresentam visões contrastantes sobre perdas e benefícios decorrentes de se viver perto do parque nacional. Os agricultores revelaram as maiores perdas decorrentes do PNG devido ao conflito com a vida selvagem. Os resultados do estudo mostram que o turismo é uma fonte de rendimento para a maioria dos indivíduos e das comunidades nas três aldeias em estudo. Além disso, foram testadas as diferenças entre a agricultura e outros setores relativamente os benefícios do turismo para compensar as perdas do PNG. Os resultados mostram que os moradores que têm mais benefícios do turismo têm menos perdas como consequência de viver perto do parque nacional, enquanto os moradores que não têm benefícios do turismo têm as maiores perdas como consequência de viver perto do PNG. As perceções dos moradores em relação ao turismo nas suas comunidades foram geralmente positivas, tendo sido manifestada a vontade para acolher mais turistas nas suas aldeias. A maioria dos inquiridos afirma que os turistas não têm efeitos culturais e ambientais negativos sobre a sua comunidade. Esta dissertação enfatiza o importante papel da participação local no turismo, tendo em vista melhorar a conservação da biodiversidade em áreas protegidas. Nesta investigação, concluímos que o sistema de gestão do PNG deve conceber políticas que envolvam os moradores locais em projetos de ecoturismo, a fim de diminuir os conflitos entre os habitantes locais e o PNG

Mapping site-based construction workers’ motivation: Expectancy theory approach

The aim of this study is to apply a recently proposed model of motivation based on expectancy theory to site-based workers in the construction context and confirm the validity of this model for the construction industry. The study drew upon data from 194 site-based construction workers in Iran to test the proposed model of motivation. To this end, the structural equation modelling (SEM) approach based on the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) technique was deployed. The study reveals that the proposed model of expectancy theory incorporating five indicators (i.e. intrinsic instrumentality, extrinsic instrumentality, intrinsic valence, extrinsic valence and expectancy) is able to map the process of construction workers’ motivation. Nonetheless, the findings posit that intrinsic indicators could be more effective than extrinsic ones. This proffers the necessity of construction managers placing further focus on intrinsic motivators to motivate workers.

Effect of mix proportion on robustness of self-compacting concrete

U ovom radu prikazan je eksperimentalni program ocjenjivanja robusnosti za četiri različita samozbijajuća betona (eng. Self Compacting Concrete - SCC). Projektirana je kontrolna mješavina te tri serije mješavina s razlikama u osnovnim svojstvima u svježem stanju. Za ocjenu robusnosti u odabranim mješavinama se mijenjala količina vode. Ispitane mješavine su zatim rangirane primjenom metode višeatributnog odlučivanja. Rezultati pokazuju da smanjenje otpornosti na segregaciju i smanjenje sposobnosti zaobilaženja prepreka uzrokuje značajno smanjenje robusnosti samozbijajućih betona.An experimental program aimed at evaluating robustness of four distinct types of self-compacted concrete (SCC) is presented in this paper. A control mix was designed and three series of mixes were made, with variation of principal fresh mix properties. In order to evaluate robustness, the selected mixes were subjected to variations in water content. The tested mixes were then ranked using the multi-attribute decision making method. The results indicate that the reduction in segregation resistance, and the decrease in the obstacle passing ability, lead to a considerable decrease in robustness of self-compacting concrete

Changing patterns of conflict between humans, carnivores and crop-raiding prey as large carnivores recolonize human-dominated landscapes

Large carnivores are making remarkable comebacks in Europe, but how this affects human-wildlife conflict remains unclear. Rebounding carnivore populations lead to increasing livestock depredation, which in turn leads to greater economic losses for farmers. However, returning carnivores could also influence the behavior of wild ungulates, which are themselves responsible for major crop damage and associated economic losses. Here, we exploit the natural experiment of a rebounding wolf population in the Italian Apennines to study how this affected both types of human-wildlife conflic. We used large datasets of wolf occurrences (n = 351), livestock depredation events (n = 165), and crop damage events by wild boar (n = 3442) to independently model the determinants of livestock depredation and crop damage distribution in relation to wolf habitat suitability over a ten-year period of increasing wolf numbers. These analyses yielded two major insights. First, livestock depredations were mainly related to insufficient prevention measures (e.g. lacking fencing) rather than landscape context, providing a clear pathway to conflict mitigation. Second, crop damage decreased in areas of higher wolf habitat suitability and became more likely in areas of lower wolf habitat suitability, closer to settlements. This suggests increasing predation pressure forces wild boars to avoid the most suitable wolf habitat, leading to a redistribution of crop damage in the landscape. More generally, our study highlights complex human-wildlife interactions as large carnivores recover in human-dominated landscapes, suggesting that multiple, co-occurring conflicts need to be assessed jointly and adaptively in order to foster coexistence between humans and wildlife

Changing patterns of conflict between humans, carnivores and crop-raiding prey as large carnivores recolonize human-dominated landscapes

Large carnivores are making remarkable comebacks in Europe, but how this affects human-wildlife conflict remains unclear. Rebounding carnivore populations lead to increasing livestock depredation, which in turn leads to greater economic losses for farmers. However, returning carnivores could also influence the behavior of wild ungulates, which are themselves responsible for major crop damage and associated economic losses. Here, we exploit the natural experiment of a rebounding wolf population in the Italian Apennines to study how this affected both types of human-wildlife conflic. We used large datasets of wolf occurrences (n = 351), livestock depredation events (n = 165), and crop damage events by wild boar (n = 3442) to independently model the determinants of livestock depredation and crop damage distribution in relation to wolf habitat suitability over a ten-year period of increasing wolf numbers. These analyses yielded two major insights. First, livestock depredations were mainly related to insufficient prevention measures (e.g. lacking fencing) rather than landscape context, providing a clear pathway to conflict mitigation. Second, crop damage decreased in areas of higher wolf habitat suitability and became more likely in areas of lower wolf habitat suitability, closer to settlements. This suggests increasing predation pressure forces wild boars to avoid the most suitable wolf habitat, leading to a redistribution of crop damage in the landscape. More generally, our study highlights complex human-wildlife interactions as large carnivores recover in human-dominated landscapes, suggesting that multiple, cooccurring conflicts need to be assessed jointly and adaptively in order to foster coexistence between humans and wildlife