Automatic case acquisition from texts for process-oriented case-based reasoning

This paper introduces a method for the automatic acquisition of a rich case representation from free text for process-oriented case-based reasoning. Case engineering is among the most complicated and costly tasks in implementing a case-based reasoning system. This is especially so for process-oriented case-based reasoning, where more expressive case representations are generally used and, in our opinion, actually required for satisfactory case adaptation. In this context, the ability to acquire cases automatically from procedural texts is a major step forward in order to reason on processes. We therefore detail a methodology that makes case acquisition from processes described as free text possible, with special attention given to assembly instruction texts. This methodology extends the techniques we used to extract actions from cooking recipes. We argue that techniques taken from natural language processing are required for this task, and that they give satisfactory results. An evaluation based on our implemented prototype extracting workflows from recipe texts is provided.Comment: Sous presse, publication pr\'evue en 201

Barriers Impacting LPNs Academic Progression

Abstract Barriers Impacting LPNs’ Academic Progression M. Dianne Nauer Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Sharon Fought, Ph.D., RN Nursing and Healthcare Leadership Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) desiring to academically progress in the profession of nursing face specific barriers as reported in the literature. LPNs are licensed nurses, but when trying to advance to registered nurse (RN) or earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), find that their experiences as nurses is not credited academically. The barriers reported by Washington State LPNs included the need to continue working, making traditional full-time class schedules a significant or extreme barrier. Cost and lack of local programs for LPN academic progression were the rated as the most significant barriers. In addition, competing with individuals with no healthcare experience for limited spaces available for academic progression by using grades from pre-requisite courses was viewed as an unfair barrier. Frustration at having to retake courses related to expiration dates, the entry requirement of expensive standardized tests, and different requirements across nursing programs were identified by LPNs as possible reasons to leave the field of nursing for other unrelated fields. The healthcare workforce is facing a potential shortage of RNs between 13.6 and 23.7 percent by 2031 (Skillman et al., 2011). This estimated shortfall makes it imperative that workforce and nursing education programs collaborate to address the barriers LPNs report as preventing their academic progression

Semi-automatic annotation process for procedural texts: An application on cooking recipes

Taaable is a case-based reasoning system that adapts cooking recipes to user constraints. Within it, the preparation part of recipes is formalised as a graph. This graph is a semantic representation of the sequence of instructions composing the cooking process and is used to compute the procedure adaptation, conjointly with the textual adaptation. It is composed of cooking actions and ingredients, among others, represented as vertices, and semantic relations between those, shown as arcs, and is built automatically thanks to natural language processing. The results of the automatic annotation process is often a disconnected graph, representing an incomplete annotation, or may contain errors. Therefore, a validating and correcting step is required. In this paper, we present an existing graphic tool named \kcatos, conceived for representing and editing decision trees, and show how it has been adapted and integrated in WikiTaaable, the semantic wiki in which the knowledge used by Taaable is stored. This interface provides the wiki users with a way to correct the case representation of the cooking process, improving at the same time the quality of the knowledge about cooking procedures stored in WikiTaaable

History of on-orbit satellite fragmentations

Since the first serious satellite fragmentation occurred in Jun. 1961, and instantaneously increased the total Earth satellite population by more than 400 percent, the issue of space operations within the finite region of space around the Earth has been the subject of increasing interest and concern. The prolific satellite fragmentations of the 1970's and the marked increase in the number of fragmentations in the 1980's served to widen international research into the characteristics and consequences of such events. Plans for large, manned space stations in the next decade and beyond demand a better understanding of the hazards of the dynamic Earth satellite population. The contribution of satellite fragmentations to the growth of the Earth satellite population is complex and varied. The majority of detectable fragmentation debris have already fallen out of orbit, and the effects of 40 percent of all fragmentations have completely disappeared. In this volume, satellite fragmentations are categorized by their assessed nature and to a lesser degree by their effect on the near-Earth space environment. A satellite breakup is the usually destructive disassociation of an orbital payload, rocket body, or structure, often with a wide range of ejecta velocities. A satellite breakup may be accidental or the result of intentional actions, e.g., due to a propulsion system malfunction or a space weapons test, respectively. An anomalous event is the unplanned separation, usually at low velocity, of one or more detectable objects from a satellite which remains essentially intact. Anomalous events can be caused by material deterioration of items such as thermal blankets, protective shields, or solar panels. As a general rule, a satellite breakup will produce considerably more debris, both trackable and non-trackable, than an anomalous event. From one perspective, satellite breakups may be viewed as a measure of the effects of man's activity on the environment, while anomalous events may be a measure of the environment on man-made objects

The State of Knowledge of CCA Diversity in the Caribbean Coral Reefs

Crustose coralline algae (CCA) are a diverse and ecologically important species found in most of the world’s oceans. The current lack of taxonomic knowledge and relative abundance compromises our ability to predict species diversity numbers and, thus, their ecological roles and impacts on coral reefs. To gather a better understanding of the state of knowledge of crustose coralline algae taxonomy in the Caribbean, 107 different research papers, and other primary and secondary literature were studied; any source with taxonomical information, species identification, or genetic markers for identification was recorded. All Genebank codes were collected and sorted by supposed species marker and then ran through the National Center of Biotechnology Information. The location these genetic markers were gathered from was compared to the natural habitat range of the species, based on the Algaebank habitat description. Of the supposed 83 described species of crustose algae in the Caribbean, based on morphological characteristics, only 24 total were confirmed by DNA markers. This leaves at least 59 species of CCA to be confirmed in the Caribbean Sea with molecular markers. This indicates the importance of DNA barcode survey studies to assess the accurate diversity of this group in the region. With this limited knowledge apparent, it should be seen that a CCAs phylogenetic and taxonomical review must be done. An in-depth assessment should be conducted on CCA collections to identify the Caribbean species correctly and thus know their biodiversity in local habitats

De l'importance de la normalisation en bibliométrie

Colloque avec actes et comité de lectureSi la consultation de multiples sources d'information garantit une meilleure couverture du sujet, elle nécessite -en parallèle- de prendre en compte l'hétérogénéité des données. En effet, comme chaque producteur d'information possède son propre modèle de document, on obtient des représentations différentes d'une même information. Cette hétérogénéité occasionne deux problèmes majeurs pour la bibliométrie qui faussent statistiques et analyses. Ces difficultés concernent : • la présence de variations pour représenter une même information (auteurs, descripteurs, affiliation, etc.) ; • la présence de doublons (c'est-à-dire plusieurs représentations de la même référence bibliographique). Dans cet article, nous proposons une approche visant à pallier ces problèmes. Nous discutons tout d'abord les choix retenus en terme de normalisation et de dédoublonnage

IntoWeb : une plate forme hypertexte d'extraction de connaissances et de recherche d'information

National audienceDans cet article, nous présentons un système hypertexte, nommé IntoWeb, qui fournit aux chercheurs ou spécialistes de l'information scientifique les moyens d'exploiter les données structurées sur leur domaine et des données - textuelles - du web pour des besoins de recherche d'information, d'analyse de leur domaine ou de veille. IntoWeb est un système générique d'exploitation de données qui implémente un processus complet et itératif d'extraction de connaissances à partir de données. Le système permet de manipuler différents types d'objets (documents structurés, documents textuels, vecteurs, classifications, etc.). Des opérateurs (génération d'un vecteur à partir d'un document textuel, classification de documents structurés, etc.) permettent d'exploiter chacun des différents types d'objets à des fins d'analyses ou de recherche d'information. L'application d'un opérateur sur un ensemble d'objets produit de nouveaux objets, à leur tour exploitable dans le système. La résolution complète d'un problème d'extraction de connaissances ou de recherche d'information prend la forme d'une succession d'opérations appliquées à des objets. Le choix des objets à exploiter et des opérations à appliquer à ces objets est à la charge de l'utilisateur et dépend du problème à résoudre ; l'enchaînement des opérations est grandement facilité par IntoWeb grâce à la mise en place d'une interface web simple à utiliser

Les problèmes de variations terminologiques dans l'indexation de références bibliographiques

Colloque avec actes et comité de lectureUne activité de la terminologie est de spécifier le vocabulaire d'un domaine, en associant aux notions du domaine, les unités terminologiques les plus adéquates. On pourrait croire que le vocabulaire associé à un domaine est un ensemble limité de termes. Or, ce n'est pas le cas, car chaque acteur du domaine utilise son propre vocabulaire. C'est notamment le cas des fournisseurs d'informations -les producteurs de bases de données bibliographiques notamment- qui mettent chacun en place un système d'indexation des références propre. Les variations concernent tant par l'étendue sémantique couverte par les concepts pris en compte, que le vocabulaire associé. Nous montrons à partir d'exemples concrets que les variations terminologiques des concepts d'un domaine sont courantes dans une même langue, et qui plus est à travers différentes indexations