Complex and chronic health conditions with multiple diagnoses and lacking in clinical practice guidelines often require a multidisciplinary care management scheme. Research has shown that the domain knowledge for these conditions is multidisciplinary, inconsistent, nonstandardized and poorly categorized making them heterogeneous and consequently challenging for collaborative work. The application of the boundary objects approach has come to the forefront as a way of closing communication gaps in collaborative work. There are limited research efforts in the application of boundary objects in the health care field and almost none in the area of complex chronic conditions. Research investigation of the application of boundary objects in heterogeneous domains is also limited. The primary objective(s) of this thesis is (are) to develop, test and evaluate a model and a methodology for creating boundary objects in the heterogeneous domain of complex chronic conditions. The methodology in this research applies a two-staged approach for enabling interoperability in the domain. The first stage is the development of a controlled vocabulary as a boundary object and the second stage of the two-staged approach is the development of an ontology as a boundary object to generate syntactic, semantic and pragmatic levels of interoperability in the dynamic domain. Towards these objectives, the boundary objects developed in the study satisfy certain unique requirements, namely to, have pragmatic boundaries, be dynamic in nature and be in standardized forms. To the best of our knowledge, this research is the first to investigate the development of boundary objects in the heterogeneous domain of complex chronic conditions. The outcome of this research is the development of a model for the generation of boundary objects to enhance communication among multidisciplinary clinicians. The model is developed in the heterogeneous domain of two complex chronic health conditions, namely, multiple chemical sensitivity and chronic pain. A testing and an evaluation process conducted in this research demonstrates that a high percentage of clinicians (>80%) agree on the overall usefulness of the boundary objects developed in this research. The results from the research are promising in terms of the potential applications of boundary objects in closing communication gaps in the multidisciplinary management of complex conditions.

BACKGROUND: The need to create controlled vocabularies such as ontologies for knowledge organization and access has been widely recognized in various domains. Despite the indispensable need of thorough domain knowledge in ontology construction, most software tools for ontology construction are designed for knowledge engineers and not for domain experts to use. The differences in the opinions of different domain experts and in the terminology usages in source literature are rarely addressed by existing software. METHODS: OTO software was developed based on the Agile principles. Through iterations of software release and user feedback, new features are added and existing features modified to make the tool more intuitive and efficient to use for small and large data sets. The software is open source and built in Java. RESULTS: Ontology Term Organizer (OTO; http://biosemantics.arizona.edu/OTO/) is a user-friendly, web-based, consensus-promoting, open source application for organizing domain terms by dragging and dropping terms to appropriate locations. The application is designed for users with specific domain knowledge such as biology but not in-depth ontology construction skills. Specifically OTO can be used to establish is_a, part_of, synonym, and order relationships among terms in any domain that reflects the terminology usage in source literature and based on multiple experts' opinions. The organized terms may be fed into formal ontologies to boost their coverage. All datasets organized on OTO are publicly available. CONCLUSION: OTO has been used to organize the terms extracted from thirty volumes of Flora of North America and Flora of China combined, in addition to some smaller datasets of different taxon groups. User feedback indicates that the tool is efficient and user friendly. Being open source software, the application can be modified to fit varied term organization needs for different domains.

Keyword searching and controlled vocabularies such as Library of Congress subject headings (LCSH) proved to work well together in automated technologies and the two systems have been considered complimentary. When the Internet burst onto the information landscape, users embraced the simplicity of keyword searching of this resource while researchers and scholars seemed unable to agree on how best to make use of controlled vocabularies in this huge database. This research looked at a controlled vocabulary, LCSH, in the context of keyword searching of a full text database. The Internet and probably its most used search engine, Google, seemed to have set a standard that users have embraced: a keyword-searchable single search box on an uncluttered web page. Libraries have even introduced federated single search boxes to their web pages, another testimony to the influence of Google. UNT's Thesis and Dissertation digital database was used to compile quantitative data with the results input into an EXCEL spreadsheet. Both Library of Congress subject headings (LCSH) and author-assigned keywords were analyzed within selected dissertations and both systems were compared. When the LCSH terms from the dissertations were quantified, the results showed that from a total of 788 words contained in the 207 LCSH terms assigned to 70 dissertations, 246 of 31% did not appear in the title or abstract while only 8, or about 1% from the total of 788, did not appear in the full text. When the author-assigned keywords were quantified, the results showed that from a total of 552 words from304 author-assigned keywords in 86 dissertations, 50 or 9% did not appear in the title or abstract while only one word from the total of 552 or .18% did not appear in the full text. Qualitatively, the LCSH terms showed a hierarchical construction that was clearly designed for a print card catalog, seemingly unnecessary in a random access digital environment. While author-assigned keywords were important words and phrases, these words and phrases often appeared in the title, metadata, and full text of the dissertation, making them seemingly unnecessary in a keyword search environment as they added no additional access points. Authors cited in this research have tended to agree that controlled vocabularies such as LCSH are complicated to develop and implement and expensive to maintain. Most researchers have also tended to agree that LCSH needs to be simplified for large, full text databases such as the Internet. Some of the researchers have also called for some form of automation that seamlessly links LCSH to subject terms in a keyword search. This research tends to confirm that LCSH could benefit from simplification as well as automation and offers some suggestions for improvements in both areas.

A 'Subject Indexing Language' (SIL) is an artificial language used for formulating names of subjects. Although classificationists have sought for universals in many fields of study such as, philosophy, biology, general systems theory, etc., the search for a deep structure of SILs formally began with Ranganathan's idea of 'absolute syntax' and was brought to the present by G. Bhattacharyya and D. Austin. Whereas Bhattacharyya's deep structure of SIL is primarily based on classificatory principles (parallel to 'absolute syntax'), the deep structure proposed by Austin has a linguistic connotation. The present study describes and compares two such deep structurebased SILs, viz., PRECIS (PREserved Context Index System) and DSIS (Deep Structure Indexing System), a recent computerized version of POPSI (POstulate-based Permuted Subject Indexing), developed by F. J. Devadason at Documentation Research and Training Centre, Bangalore, India. Both also belong to the category of SILs typified as 'string indexing' languages. The study involves: i) writing of a suitable DSIS index entry generation program, ii) using both PRECIS (in-house) and DSIS programs to index a collection of representative sample documents from the soft sciences, iii) analyzing and comparing their respective syntactic and semantic aspects in terms of both linguistic and classificatory principles, and iv) applying some measures of efficiency and effectiveness. It was realized that certain modifications in the existing DSIS string manipulation algorithms are necessary to make the program fully operational. Although, no attempts have been made to quantify the measures of effectiveness and efficiency as such, suggestions have been provided as to what these probably would be. Some indications of their searching difficulties for a prospective searcher have been put forward as well.

Submitted by LUCIANA DAVANZO null (luciana.davanzo@gmail.com) on 2016-06-03T01:22:56Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Luciana Davanzo (dissertação).pdf: 658708 bytes, checksum: 3307fd5e580d4e64664944ff214b7215 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Paula Grisoto (grisotoana@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-06-06T17:40:34Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 davanzo_l_me_mar.pdf: 658708 bytes, checksum: 3307fd5e580d4e64664944ff214b7215 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-06T17:40:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 davanzo_l_me_mar.pdf: 658708 bytes, checksum: 3307fd5e580d4e64664944ff214b7215 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-05-06 / A diversidade na produção de informações oriundas de instituições públicas e privadas proporciona desafios diários para a arquivística, os quais se referem a maneira pela qual a área irá possibilitar o acesso, a recuperação e a reutilização das informações. Neste contexto dinâmico, fazer uso de instrumentos que colaborem com o processo de gestão da informação torna-se primordial. Além dos instrumentos tradicionalmente utilizados pela arquivística, tais como a descrição e a classificação arquivística, faz-se necessário a adoção de instrumentos que possam complementá-los, agregando precisão ao conjunto de descritores utilizados nos processos de representação da informação. Nesse sentido, esta pesquisa, estabelece discussões que visam a aproximar os instrumentos tradicionais da arquivística dos vocabulários controlados. Entende-se que esses instrumentos atuam como mediadores entre a representação e a recuperação da informação. Objetivou-se, portanto, analisar a norma de descrição arquivística ISAAR (CPF) que trata da descrição de registro de autoridade arquivística para entidades coletivas, pessoas e famílias, em conjunto com a norma ISO 25964-2011 que trata da elaboração de vocabulários controlados. Dessa forma, propôs-se verificar a interface entre os vocabulários controlados e a norma de descrição ISAAR (CPF), considerando-se que suas confluências podem melhorar o processo de representação e recuperação da informação. Para tanto, utilizaram-se os seguintes procedimentos metodológicos, revisão de literatura sobre a temática proposta nas bases de dados brasileiras (BRAPCI, Scielo) e bases de dados internacionais (Scopus, LISTA), bibliotecas de teses e dissertações digitais (BDTD) e anais de congresso (ENANCIB). Foram utilizadas também as normas ANSI/NIZO Z39.19-2005 (R2010) e a ISO 25964-2011 para o desenvolvimento dos componentes normativos dos vocabulários controlados. Em relação aos componentes teóricos da arquivística, a pesquisa desenvolveu-se tendo como parâmetro a norma de descrição ISAAR (CPF). Após a construção do referencial teórico da pesquisa, analisou-se conjuntamente a norma ISO 25964-2011 e a norma de descrição ISAAR (CPF) para que fosse possível fazer uma proposta visando uma proposta para vocabulários controlados específicos para arquivos. Os resultados obtidos com o desenvolvimento dessa pesquisa apontam a necessidade de aproximação entre a arquivística e os vocabulários controlados, instrumentos ainda pouco utilizados pela área, mas que por meio de seus elementos podem ajudar em relação a melhoria da representação da informação arquivística. / The diversity in the production of information from public and private institutions provide daily challenges for archiving, which refer to how the area will provide access, recovery and reuse of information. In this dynamic context, make use of instruments to collaborate with the information management process becomes paramount. In addition to the instruments traditionally used for archiving, such as the description and the archival classification, it is necessary to adopt tools that can complement them, adding precision to the set of descriptors used in the representation of information processes. In this sense, this research establishes discussions aimed at bringing the traditional instruments of archival of controlled vocabularies. It is understood that these instruments act as mediators between the representation and retrieval of information. In this sense, this research establishes discussions aimed at bringing the traditional instruments of archival of controlled vocabularies. It is understood that these instruments act as mediators between the representation and retrieval of information. The objective is therefore to this research, collaborate with the studies on the development of specific vocabularies for files because it was observed that there is still a shortfall in relation to the theme proposed under archival. In addition, it also aimed to analyze the standard of archival description ISAAR (CPF) which deals with the archival authority record description for corporate bodies, persons and families, together with the ISO 25964-2011 standard that deals with the development of controlled vocabularies. Therefore, the following methodological procedures are used, literature review on the proposed theme in Brazilian databases (BRAPCI, Scielo) and international databases (Scopus, LIST), theses and digital dissertations libraries (BDTD) and anal congress (ENANCIB). They were also used ANSI / NIZO Z39.19-2005 standards (R2010) and ISO 25964-2011 for the development of the theoretical components of controlled vocabularies. Regarding the theoretical components of archival, research developed having as parameter the standard ISAAR description (CPF). After the construction of the theoretical framework of the research, analyzed jointly ISO 25964-2011 standard and the standard of ISAAR description (CPF) to make it possible to make a proposal for the development of specific controlled vocabularies for files. The results obtained with the development of this research indicate the need for closer ties between the archival and controlled vocabularies, instruments still little used by the area, but through its standard-setting elements can help towards improving the representation of archival information.

Les objectifs de cette thèse s’inscrivent dans la large problématique de recherche d’information dans les données issues du Dossier Patient Informatisé (DPI). Les aspects abordés dans cette problématique sont multiples : d’une part la mise en oeuvre d’une recherche d’information clinomique au sein du DPI et d’autre part la recherche d’information au sein de données non structurées issues du DPI. Dans un premier temps, l’un des objectifs de cette thèse est d’intégrer au sein du DPI des informations dépassant le cadre de la médecine pour intégrer des données, informations et connaissances provenant de la biologie moléculaire ; les données omiques, issues de la génomique, protéomique ou encore métabolomique. L’intégration de ce type de données permet d’améliorer les systèmes d’information en santé, leur interopérabilité ainsi que le traitement et l’exploitation des données à des fins cliniques. Un enjeu important est d’assurer l’intégration de données hétérogènes, grâce à des recherches sur les modèles conceptuels de données, sur les ontologies et serveurs terminologiques et sur les entrepôts sémantiques. L’intégration de ces données et leur interprétation selon un même modèle de données conceptuel sont un verrou important. Enfin, il est important d’intégrer recherche clinique et recherche fondamentale afin d’assurer une continuité des connaissances entre recherche et pratique clinique et afin d’appréhender la problématique de personnalisation des soins. Cette thèse aboutit ainsi à la conception et au développement d’un modèle générique des données omiques exploité dans une application prototype de recherche et visualisation dans les données omiques et cliniques d’un échantillon de 2 000 patients. Le second objectif de ma thèse est l’indexation multi terminologique de documents médicaux à travers le développement de l’outil Extracteur de Concepts Multi-Terminologique (ECMT). Il exploite les terminologies intégrées au portail terminologique Health Terminology/Ontology Portal (HeTOP) pour identifier des concepts dans des documents non structurés. Ainsi, à partir d’un document rédigé par un humain, et donc porteur potentiellement d’erreurs de frappe, d’orthographe ou de grammaire,l’enjeu est d’identifier des concepts et ainsi structurer l’information contenue dans le document. Pour la recherche d’information médicale, l’indexation présente un intérêt incontournable pour la recherche dans les documents non structurés, comme lescomptes-rendus de séjour ou d’examens. Cette thèse propose plusieurs méthodes et leur évaluation suivant deux axes : l’indexation de textes médicaux à l’aide de plusieurs terminologies et le traitement du langage naturel dans les textes médicaux narratifs. / The aim of this thesis is part of the broad issue of information retrieval in Electronic Health Records (EHRs). The aspects tackled in this topic are numerous : on the one hand clinomics information retrieval within EHRs and secondly information retrieval within unstructured data from EHRs. As a first step, one of the objectives is to integrate in EHRs information beyond the scope of medicine to integrate data, information and knowledge from molecular biology ; omic data from genomics, proteomics or metabolomics. The integration of this type of data improves health information systems, their interoperability and the processing and exploitation of data for clinical purposes. An important challenge is to ensure the integration of heterogeneous data, through research on conceptual models of data, ontology and terminology servers, and semantic data warehouses. The integration of this data and their interpretation into a conceptual data model is an important challenge. Finally, it is important to integrate clinical research and fundamental research in order to ensure continuity of knowledge between research and clinical practice and to understand personalized medicine challenges. This thesis thus leads to the design and development of a generic model of omics data exploited in a prototype application for information retrieval and visualization in omic and clinical data within a sample of 2,000 patients. The second objective of this thesis is the multi-terminological indexing of medical documents through the development of the Extracting Concepts with Multiple Terminologies tool (ECMT). It uses terminologies embedded in the Health Terminology/Ontology Portal (HeTOP) to identify concepts in unstructured documents. From a document written by a human, and therefore potentially showing typing errors, spelling or grammar mistakes, the challenge is to identify concepts and thus structure the information contained in the text. In health information retrieval, indexing is of great interest for information retrieval in unstructured documents, such as reports and medical notes. This thesis proposes several methods and their evaluation along two axes : the indexing of medical texts using several terminologies and the processing of natural language in narrative medical notes.

No description available.

Denna uppsats undersöker hur svenska kontrollerade vokabulärer hanterar inkluderande perspektiv. Svenska ämnesord är en nationellt kontrollerad vokabulär med ämnesord som skapats och administreras av Kungliga biblioteket och som används av svenska bibliotek för indexering. Biblioteken strävar efter stabila söksystem, samtidigt förändras ordens betydelse snabbt. Det är en utmaning för biblioteken att säkerställa hög sökbarhet men undvika att använda ett diskriminerande språk. Syftet med denna uppsats är att studera hur inkluderande perspektiv används i svenska kontrollerade vokabulär. Fyra frågor har formulerats, den första handlar om hur ämnesord om etnicitet och nationalitet är representerade i Svenska ämnesord. De övriga tre frågorna handlar om hur Kungliga biblioteket och andra svenska institutioner arbetar med sina kontrollerade vokabulärs administration samt språklig instabilitet. Med Derridas teorier om dekonstruktion undersöks hur den Andre representeras i Svenska ämnesord, som ingår men skiljer sig från västerländska etniciteter och nationaliteter. Ämnesord som berör den Andre är konstruerade annorlunda, de innehåller mer förklarande kvalificeringar och varianter. Andra utmaningar som administratörer av de kontrollerade vokabulärerna har är att undvika partisk indexering och att upprätthålla ett stabilt system och samtidigt kontextualisera uttryck i ämnesord som kan anses vara diskriminerande. Uppsatsen diskuterar även hur olika kontrollerade vokabulärer är beroende av varandra. / This essay examines how Swedish controlled vocabularies handle inclusive perspectives. Svenska ämnesord is a national controlled vocabulary containing subject headings that is created and administered by The Royal Library and used by Swedish libraries for indexing. Libraries strive for stable search systems, at the same time the meaning of words changes rapidly. It is a challenge for libraries to ensure high searchability but avoid using discriminatory language. The purpose of this essay is to study how inclusive perspectives are used in Swedish controlled vocabularies. Four questions have been formulated, the first one concerns how subject headings about ethnicity and nationality are represented in Svenska ämnesord. The other three questions address how the Swedish Royal Library and other Swedish institutions work with their controlled vocabularies’ administration and linguistic instability. With Derrida's theories of deconstruction the essay examines how the Other is represented in Svenska ämnesord, which is included but differs from western ethnicities and nationalities. Subject headings that concern the Other are constructed differently, they contain more explanatory qualifiers and variants . Other challenges administrators of the controlled vocabularies pointed out are to avoid biased indexing and maintain a stable system and at the same time contextualize expressions in subject headings that could be considered as discriminatory. The essay also discusses how different controlled vocabularies are interdependent.

This study delves into the intricacies of the language used in wine reviews, focusing on the adoption of standardised wine vocabularies, specifically the original Wine Aroma Wheel (Noble A. C. et al., 1984) and the Wine Lexicon of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET Level 4 Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine®, 2023). It investigates the extent to which professional wine reviewers adhere to these standard lexicons or opt for individualistic expression. An essential component of the research identifies and analyses emerging terms in wine reviews, shedding light on the evolving nature of wine discourse. The study's findings indicate that while standardised vocabularies are influential and foundational, there remains room for individualised expression in conveying the nuanced sensory experience of wine tasting. Additionally, the research highlights the importance of these emergent terms and their potential to enrich existing wine vocabularies. Given the global nature of the wine industry, the study underscores the need for a more inclusive and adaptive linguistic approach. To this end, the research suggests the potential benefits of a controlled vocabulary system tailored for the wine sector. Despite its inherent challenges, such a system could streamline wine descriptions, promoting a more consistent understanding across diverse audiences along with better communication among professionals. / Questo studio approfondisce la complessità del linguaggio utilizzato nelle recensioni di vino, focalizzando sull'adozione di linguaggi standardizzati e in particolare su "The Wine Aroma Wheel" (Noble A. C. et al., 1984) e su "The Wine Lexicon of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust" (WSET Level 4 Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine®, 2023). La ricerca intende concentrarsi nella misura in cui i recensori professionisti di vino aderiscono a questi linguaggi controllati, o preferiscono optare per un'espressione individuale. Una parte sostanziale della ricerca che identifica ed analizza i termini emergenti nelle recensioni di vino, rivela l'evoluzione del discorso sul vino. I risultati dello studio indicano che, sebbene i linguaggi standardizzati siano influenti e fondamentali, lasciano ancora spazio all'espressione personale a descrivere l'esperienza sensoriale della degustazione del vino. Inoltre, i risultati sottolineano l'importanza dei termini emergenti e la loro potenzialità di arricchire i linguaggi inerenti al discorso di vino. Considerando la visione olistica dell'industria vinicola, questo studio mette in rilievo la necessità di un approccio linguistico più inclusivo e flessibile. In tal senso, si propongono i benefici impliciti di un sistema di linguaggio controllato su misura per il settore vinicolo. Nonostante le complessità che possano insorgere, un sistema di questo tipo potrebbe semplificare la descrizione del vino, promuovendo sia l'intesa reciproca tra gruppi di persone diversi, che una migliore comunicazione tra i professionisti nel mondo del vino.