An analysis of machine translation errors on the effectiveness of an Arabic-English QA system

The aim of this paper is to investigate how much the effectiveness of a Question Answering (QA) system was affected by the performance of Machine Translation (MT) based question translation. Nearly 200 questions were selected from TREC QA tracks and ran through a question answering system. It was able to answer 42.6% of the questions correctly in a monolingual run. These questions were then translated manually from English into Arabic and back into English using an MT system, and then re-applied to the QA system. The system was able to answer 10.2% of the translated questions. An analysis of what sort of translation error affected which questions was conducted, concluding that factoid type questions are less prone to translation error than others

The effects of topic familiarity on user search behavior in question answering systems

This paper reports on experiments that attempt to characterize the relationship between users and their knowledge of the search topic in a Question Answering (QA) system. It also investigates user search behavior with respect to the length of answers presented by a QA system. Two lengths of answers were compared; snippets (one to two sentences of text) and exact answers. A user test was conducted, 92 factoid questions were judged by 44 participants, to explore the participants’ preferences, feelings and opinions about QA system tasks. The conclusions drawn from the results were that participants preferred and obtained higher accuracy in finding answers from the snippets set. However, accuracy varied according to users’ topic familiarity; users were only substantially helped by the wider context of a snippet if they were already familiar with the topic of the question, without such familiarity, users were about as accurate at locating answers from the snippets as they were in exact set

Relevance Judgments between TREC and Non-TREC Assessors

This paper investigates the agreement of relevance assessments between official TREC judgments and those generated from an interactive IR experiment. Results show that 63% of documents judged relevant by our users matched official TREC judgments. Several factors contributed to differences in the agreements: the number of retrieved relevant documents; the number of relevant documents judged; system effectiveness per topic and the ranking of relevant documents

The Relationship between IR Effectiveness Measures and User Satisfaction

This paper presents an experimental study of users assessing the quality of Google web search results. In particular we look at how users' satisfaction correlates with the effectiveness of Google as quantified by IR measures such as precision and the suite of Cumulative Gain measures (CG, DCG, NDCG). Results indicate strong correlation between users' satisfaction, CG and precision, moderate correlation with DCG, with perhaps surprisingly negligible correlation with NDCG. The reasons for the low correlation with NDCG are examined

Users' effectiveness and satisfaction for image retrieval

This paper presents results from an initial user study exploring the relationship between system effectiveness as quantified by traditional measures such as precision and recall, and users’ effectiveness and satisfaction of the results. The tasks involve finding images for recall-based tasks. It was concluded that no direct relationship between system effectiveness and users’ performance could be proven (as shown by previous research). People learn to adapt to a system regardless of its effectiveness. This study recommends that a combination of attributes (e.g. system effectiveness, user performance and satisfaction) is a more effective way to evaluate interactive retrieval systems. Results of this study also reveal that users are more concerned with accuracy than coverage of the search results

Arabic users' satisfaction with the online information as obtained from Google

This paper reports an experimental study that evaluates the retrieval effectiveness of Google in response to 104 Arabic queries. The study investigates Arabic users’ satisfaction with the accuracy and coverage of search results. Analysis of results indicates that Arabic users are not highly satisfied with the results of Google

Patients’ and Nurses’ Perceptions of Post-Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Learning Needs in Two Omani Hospitals

ABSTRACT: Objectives: Little is known about nurses’ and patients’ perceptions of learning needs following coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery in Oman. This study aimed to identify patients' and nurses' perceptions of post-CABG learning needs. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in two cardiac units in Oman between February and April 2018. Participants were from step-down units and perceptions of post-CABG learning needs were collected using a modified version of the Cardiac Patients Learning Need Inventory (MCPLNI) questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: A total of 90 patients and 90 nurses were included in this study (response rate: 100%). Nurses perceived information about chest and leg wound care, medications and complications as patients’ most important learning needs (4.89 ± 0.31, 4.84 ± 0.33 and 4.78 ± 0.45, respectively). Similarly, patients perceived a need for post-CABG learning related to chest and leg wound care, complications and medication, while learning related to physical activity received a moderate priority (4.92 ± 0.20, 4.80 ± 0.45, 4.85 ± 0.26 and 3.50 ± 1.34, respectively). Conclusion: Before discharging patients, they should be provided with specific information related to post-CABG care. It is essential to assess patients’ learning needs and incorporate those learning needs into discharge plans.Keywords: Learning; Perception; Coronary Artery Bypass; Education; Patients; Nurses; Oman

Aspergillus flavus-Induced Brain Abscess in an Immunocompetent Child : Case report

Intracranial aspergillosis is an extremely rare manifestation of invasive aspergillosis in immunocompetent children and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. We report a 12-year-old immunocompetent male child who was referred to the King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in May 2010 after a sudden-onset headache and loss of consciousness. Brain imaging revealed a large right space-occupying occipital lesion and the patient underwent a craniotomy and resection. Histopathology of the lesion revealed necrotising granulomatous fungal encephalitis with many hyphae engulfed by multinucleated giant histiocytes. Two days later, a computed tomography scan showed debulking of the fungal mass and the patient was discharged on oral voriconazole. However, imaging at a six-week follow-up showed progression of the abnormality. A residual or persistent fungal brain lesion was suspected. Further neurosurgical resection of the lesion was performed and cultures showed growth of Aspergillus flavus. The patient was treated successfully with antifungal therapy over the following two years

Quality of Work Life Among Nurses: A case study from Ad Dakhiliyah Governorate, Oman

Objectives: Quality of work life (QWL) is an important indicator of job-related satisfaction among nurses; however, there is little information regarding the QWL of nurses in Oman. Therefore, this study aimed to explore factors affecting QWL among nurses working in governmental health institutions in Ad Dakhiliyah Governorate, Oman. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between September and November 2018 at 29 governmental health institutions in Ad Dakhiliyah Governorate. A total of 374 nurses employed at these institutions were recruited via stratified random sampling. A demographic questionnaire incorporating Brooks’ Quality of Nursing Work scale was used to collect data. Results: A total of 345 nurses participated in the study (response rate: 92.2%). The mean age was 33.3 ± 5.1 years and the majority were female (90.7%), married (88.7%), of Omani nationality (70.1%) and had a diploma degree (70.7%). Overall, the nurses demonstrated moderate levels of QWL (mean total score: 179.99 ± 24.17). Both job designation and nationality were found to be significant predictors of QWL (P = 0.041 and <0.001, respectively). Conclusion: The findings of this study represent a baseline for further research on this important topic. As with all healthcare professionals, the QWL of nurses indirectly affects quality of patient care and associated health outcomes. As such, identifying areas of poor QWL among nurses can help in the development of initiatives to improve their professional satisfaction, thereby enhancing job performance and employee retention. Keywords: Nursing; Quality of Life; Work Satisfaction; Occupational Burnout; Workload; Motivation; Health Workforce; Oman

Attitudes Towards and Perceptions Regarding the Implementation of Evidence-Based Practice Among Omani Nurses

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the attitudes of Omani nurses towards evidence-based practice (EBP) and their perceptions of the barriers to and facilitators of EBP implementation in Oman. In addition, the attitudes and perceptions of nurse leaders and staff nurses were compared. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between August and October 2016 in three suburban governmental hospitals in Northern Oman. A demographic questionnaire and two EBP instruments were used to collect data from 282 registered Omani nurses, including the Evidence-Based Nursing Attitude Questionnaire and the Developing Evidence-Based Practice Questionnaire. Results: A total of 260 Omani nurses took part in the study (response rate: 92.2%). On the whole, the nurses had positive attitudes towards EBP, with no significant difference in mean attitude scores per item between staff nurses and nurse leaders (3.98 ± 0.46 versus 4.03 ± 0.50; P = 0.431). However, in comparison to staff nurses, nurse leaders had higher scores per item for the barriers to changing practice and finding and reviewing evidence subsections, with lower scores for the facilitators to changing practice section. Conclusion: In accordance with the international literature, Omani nurses had positive attitudes towards EBP as well as similar perceptions of barriers and facilitators to EBP implementation. These findings may help to inform recommendations for the integration of EBP in educational programmes and clinical settings in Oman, as well as to facilitate necessary changes in nursing practice. Keywords: Evidence-Based Practice; Nurses; Attitudes; Perceptions; Oman