Yes / The prevalence of big data is starting to spread across the public and private sectors however, an impediment to its widespread adoption orientates around a lack of appropriate big data analytics (BDA) and resulting skills to exploit the full potential of big data availability. In this paper, we propose a novel BDA to contribute towards this void, using a fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) approach that will enhance decision-making thus prioritising IT service procurement in the public sector. This is achieved through the development of decision models that capture the strengths of both data analytics and the established intuitive qualitative approach. By taking advantages of both data analytics and FCM, the proposed approach captures the strength of data-driven decision-making and intuitive model-driven decision modelling. This approach is then validated through a decision-making case regarding IT service procurement in public sector, which is the fundamental step of IT infrastructure supply for publics in a regional government in the Russia federation. The analysis result for the given decision-making problem is then evaluated by decision makers and e-government expertise to confirm the applicability of the proposed BDA. In doing so, demonstrating the value of this approach in contributing towards robust public decision-making regarding IT service procurement. / EU FP7 project Policy Compass (Project No. 612133)

Yes / This paper provides a management perspective of organisational factors that contributes to the reduction of food waste through the application of design science principles to explore causal relationships between food distribution (organisational) and consumption (societal) factors. Qualitative data were collected with an organisational perspective from commercial food consumers along with large-scale food importers, distributors, and retailers. Cause-effect models are built and “what-if” simulations are conducted through the development and application of a Fuzzy Cognitive Map (FCM) approaches to elucidate dynamic interrelationships. The simulation models developed provide a practical insight into existing and emergent food losses scenarios, suggesting the need for big data sets to allow for generalizable findings to be extrapolated from a more detailed quantitative exercise. This research offers itself as evidence to support policy makers in the development of policies that facilitate interventions to reduce food losses. It also contributes to the literature through sustaining, impacting and potentially improving levels of food security, underpinned by empirically constructed policy models that identify potential behavioural changes. It is the extension of these simulation models set against a backdrop of a proposed big data framework for food security, where this study sets avenues for future research for others to design and construct big data research in food supply chains. This research has therefore sought to provide policymakers with a means to evaluate new and existing policies, whilst also offering a practical basis through which food chains can be made more resilient through the consideration of management practices and policy decisions.

Geography education is undergoing change in K-12 education due in part to the introduction of geospatial technologies, including geographic information systems (GIS). Although active engagement in GIS mapping would seem to enhance students’ spatial thinking, little is known about the mapping strategies that students employ or about changes in their geographic knowledge that would result. This study, set in a high school Advanced Placement human geography class, sought to contribute to these areas of inquiry. Participants performed a web-based GIS task focused on global population and migration. Attention in the study was on (a) the strategies students employed when investigating geographic phenomena using GIS, (b) changes in their cognitive maps, as assessed through sketch maps, resulting from the activity, (c) the relationship between GIS maps and sketch maps, and (d) the ways in which a subset of students serving as case studies explained the nature of their mapping. The study employed screen-captures, video-recordings, observations, pre- and post-study sketch maps, and interviews. Analyses of the GIS process revealed that, in creating their maps, the students used a number of strategies, which included searching, layering, removing layers of data, adjusting transparency, editing, and noting. Although searching and layering were employed by all students, there was variability across students in use of the other strategies. With respect to changes in their spatial thinking, analyses of the sketch maps showed increases in elaboration and accuracy in terms of migration patterns. When GIS maps were compared to sketch maps, analyses showed relations for many students. The six students who served as case studies revealed major connections between personal interests and the reasoning employed in mapping. They also described their entry points into the process. The study shows how real-time data collection, including screen captures, as well as more static measures, specifically sketch maps, can provide insights into the spatial thinking of students while using GIS. It provides some support to educational approaches to geography in which students become creators of maps, not simply users of maps, and suggests that, through their own mapping process, students expand their cognitive maps and enhance their spatial thinking.

5 Abstract The work deals with the development of cognitive skills by the method of the Feuerstein Instrumental enrichment for seniors in a residential care. It should clarify whether the Instrumental Enrichment Program is practicable when working with seniors and how it will affect the development of cognitive abilities of these people. The theoretical part deals with the period of the old age, the cognitive specific of seniors, the contemporary views on the brain functioning, and especially with the Instrumental Enrichment Program.The practical part includes the results of the qualitative research. The main method of data collection was a " dynamic assessment " of the cognitive test and the case studies. The qualitative results evaluation of the Addenbrooke cognitive test showed the improvement in the solution methods almost in all levels ( input , elaboration and output) . The results of the study showed that the Instrumental Enrichment Program is very suitable for the seniors. Its use is meaningful not only for clients with mild cognitive insult but it is also very effective for the people with more severe degrees of dementia.

Submitted by Caroline Falcao (caroline.rfalcao@ufpe.br) on 2017-06-01T17:32:43Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Simone de Almeida TESE.pdf: 2230420 bytes, checksum: cff8e5133d8b8f52c2f804a82d87bf4c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-01T17:32:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Simone de Almeida TESE.pdf: 2230420 bytes, checksum: cff8e5133d8b8f52c2f804a82d87bf4c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-08-03 / A determinação do preço de venda de medicamentos manipulados tem envolvido cada vez mais fatores que contribuem com a satisfação do consumidor, transformando-se em um dos principais esforços na busca de maior competitividade neste ramo de negócio. Neste contexto, este trabalho propõe duas novas abordagens de agregação de preferências de stakeholders acerca da definição metodológica de precificação de produtos farmacêuticos, se concentrando no caso particular das farmácias magistrais da região Sul do Brasil. Ambas as abordagens utilizam-se do método Value-Focused Thinking (VFT), a fim de propiciar um melhor entendimento do problema pelos membros envolvidos. Além disso, apoiam a identificação de um objetivo fundamental a partir de várias percepções do problema, estabelecendo uma visão unificada do objetivo a ser alcançado, devido à participação de todos os atores. Para isso, são identificados os valores individuais, permite-se a criação de alternativas, onde cada participante contribui com suas percepções e valores individuais, sendo definidas as medidas naturais, diretas e/ou indiretas de acordo com a experiência e conhecimento de cada stakeholder e determina-se as constantes de escala, refletindo suas preferências. A primeira abordagem utiliza-se do consenso entre os membros do grupo para se obter a preferência global, sendo que todas as etapas de desenvolvimento do modelo são realizadas com a participação de todos os atores. A segunda abordagem propõe uma maneira individualizada de participação dos stakeholders, incluindo a utilização de mapas cognitivos a fim de organizar e registrar os valores identificados pelos stakeholders acerca de suas preferências, assim, ao final do processo de estruturação da situação problema, os mapas individuais são agregados por meio da união das diferentes percepções, obtendo um modelo unificado. Percebe-se então, um ambiente com reduzido conflito, visto que praticamente todo o processo é realizado isoladamente e garantindo-se maior agilidade, podendo haver negociação somente no final do processo. O modelo final gerado, por ambas as abordagens, reflete a preferência global de todos os stakeholders. / Establishing the selling price of compounded drugs has been involved more and more factors that contribute to customer satisfaction, becoming a major effort to achieve greater competitiveness in this business. In this context, this work proposes two new approaches for aggregating of stakeholders’ preferences about the methodological definition of pricing of pharmaceutical products, focusing on the particular case of compounding pharmacy in southern Brazil. Both approaches are used the method Value-Focused Thinking (VFT), in order to provide a better understanding of the problem by the members concerned. Furthermore, this work supports the identification of a fundamental objective from various perceptions of the problem, establishing a unified vision of the goal to be achieved, due to participation of all stakeholders. For this, the individual values are identified, allow the creation of alternatives, where each participant contributes their individual perceptions and values, and defined natural, direct and / or indirect measures according to the experience and knowledge of each stakeholder, and determine the scale constant, reflecting their preferences. The first approach utilizes the consensus among the group members to obtain the global preference, and all stages of model development are carried out with the participation of all stakeholders. The second approach proposes and individualized manner of participation of stakeholders, including the use of cognitive maps, in order to organize and record the values identified by stakeholders about their preferences, so the end of the process of structuring the problem situation, the individual maps are aggregates through the union of the different perceptions obtaining a unified model. It can be seen then, an environment with reduced conflict, since practically the entire process is carried out separately, and ensuring greater flexibility and may negotiated only at the end of the process. The final model generated by both approaches, reflect the overall preference of the stakeholders.

The field of social network analysis has expanded from the field of social science to the fields of human factors and ergonomics. There is a theory that suggest that one can use the social network methods and create an information network which describes the network from an information sharing perspective and and there are also theories which describes how social network analysis can be used study cognitive maps (mental models). This thesis touches both of these subjects in an attempt to investigate how social network analysis can be used together with real-time information as a data source to investigate the cognitive maps of individuals and comparing these maps with an organisations expected structure based on protocols. The study conducted showed that it was indeed possible to change the social network analysis method into an information based network which explains the origin of a mental model and to study information be- haviour, in a network, but there are still variables which needs to be studied further (e.g. failed information sharing and temporal aspects of information sharing).

Bien que l’usage des méthodes d’évaluation financière des brevets semble aujourd’hui stabilisé, les procédures d’évaluation extra-financière, précédent essentiel à l’évaluation financière, restent à ce jour floues. Pour que ces méthodes soient opérationnellement fiables et permettent, a minima, une comparabilité entre les différents actifs, il est indispensable de stabiliser un cadre d’évaluation de référence explorant en profondeur les indicateurs clefs de performance des brevets. A travers l’analyse des cartes cognitives d’experts de l’évaluation, nos travaux examinent les conventions de qualité des brevets afin de fournir un cadre détaillé pour l’évaluation extra-financière des brevets. Notre principal apport repose sur un meilleur décryptage des relations entre les indicateurs clefs de performance des brevets. Il permet une simplification de l’analyse des brevets, de leur évaluation et de leur management stratégique. / Although the use of methods of financial evaluation of patents now appears stable, the procedures for assessing extra-financial key to the previous valuation remain to date unclear. For these methods are operationally reliable and enable, at least, comparability between different assets, it is necessary to stabilize a framework for baseline assessment exploring in depth the key performance indicators of patents. Through the analysis of cognitive maps of experts of the evaluation, our work examines the conventions of patent quality to provide a detailed framework for extra-financial assessment of patents. Our main contribution is based on a better understanding of the relationships between key performance indicators of patents. It allows a simplification of patents analysis, evaluation and strategic management.

It has been proposed that as animals explore their environment they build and maintain a cognitive map, an internal representation of their surroundings (Tolman, 1948). We tested this hypothesis using a task designed to assess the ability of rats to make a spatial inference (take a novel shortcut)(Roberts et al., 2007). Our findings suggest that rats are unable to make a spontaneous spatial inference. Furthermore, they bear similarities to experiments which have been similarly unable to replicate or support Tolman’s (1948) findings. An inability to take novel shortcuts suggests that rats do not possess a cognitive map (Bennett, 1996). However, we found evidence of alternative learning strategies, such as latent learning (Tolman & Honzik, 1930b) , which suggest that rats may still be building such a representation, although it does not appear they are able to utilise this information to make complex spatial computations. Neurons found in the hippocampus show remarkable spatial modulation of their firing rate and have been suggested as a possible neural substrate for a cognitive map (O'Keefe & Nadel, 1978). However, the firing of these place cells often appears to be modulated by features of an animal’s behaviour (Ainge, Tamosiunaite, et al., 2007; Wood, Dudchenko, Robitsek, & Eichenbaum, 2000). For instance, previous experiments have demonstrated that the firing rate of place fields in the start box of some mazes are predictive of the animal’s final destination (Ainge, Tamosiunaite, et al., 2007; Ferbinteanu & Shapiro, 2003). We sought to understand whether this prospective firing is in fact related to the goal the rat is planning to navigate to or the route the rat is planning to take. Our results provide strong evidence for the latter, suggesting that rats may not be aware of the location of specific goals and may not be aware of their environment in the form of a contiguous map. However, we also found behavioural evidence that rats are aware of specific goal locations, suggesting that place cells in the hippocampus may not be responsible for this representation and that it may reside elsewhere (Hok, Chah, Save, & Poucet, 2013). Unlike their typical activity in an open field, place cells often have multiple place fields in geometrically similar areas of a multicompartment environment (Derdikman et al., 2009; Spiers et al., 2013). For example, Spiers et al. (2013) found that in an environment composed of four parallel compartments, place cells often fired similarly in multiple compartments, despite the active movement of the rat between them. We were able to replicate this phenomenon, furthermore, we were also able to show that if the compartments are arranged in a radial configuration this repetitive firing does not occur as frequently. We suggest that this place field repetition is driven by inputs from Boundary Vector Cells (BVCs) in neighbouring brain regions which are in turn greatly modulated by inputs from the head direction system. This is supported by a novel BVC model of place cell firing which predicts our observed results accurately. If place cells form the neural basis of a cognitive map one would predict spatial learning to be difficult in an environment where repetitive firing is observed frequently (Spiers et al., 2013). We tested this hypothesis by training animals on an odour discrimination task in the maze environments described above. We found that rats trained in the parallel version of the task were significantly impaired when compared to the radial version. These results support the hypothesis that place cells form the neural basis of a cognitive map; in environments where it is difficult to discriminate compartments based on the firing of place cells, rats find it similarly difficult to discriminate these compartments as shown by their behaviour. The experiments reported here are discussed in terms of a cognitive map, the likelihood that such a construct exists and the possibility that place cells form the neural basis of such a representation. Although the results of our experiments could be interpreted as evidence that animals do not possess a cognitive map, ultimately they suggest that animals do have a cognitive map and that place cells form a more than adequate substrate for this representation.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-04T18:36:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carlos Alberto Correa.pdf: 285166 bytes, checksum: 6c95b863e33ae80f833a7adf88600182 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2003-06-26 / Research the potential utilization of tools for problem structuring like a mean to help the information needs definition associated to an intentional action. The purpose is use them in seeking and retrieval actions. Firstly are seen the theoretical basis of information seeking and retrieval. In pursuing are examined the basis relationed to the study, perception, identification and structuring problems. Later is analised, under a theoretical-conceptual point of view, the use of one problem structuring tool like an assistant to information needs definition. / Pesquisa o potencial de utiliza??o de ferramentas para estrutura??o de problemas como um meio de auxiliar a defini??o das necessidades de informa??o associadas a uma a??o intencional. O objetivo ? us?-las nas a??es de busca e recupera??o de informa??o. Primeiramente s?o vistos os fundamentos te?ricos da busca e recupera??o de informa??o. Em seguida s?o discutidos os fundamentos relacionados ao estudo, percep??o, identifica??o e estrutura??o de problemas. Posteriormente ? analisado, sob um ponto de vista te?ricoconceitual, o uso de uma ferramenta para estrutura??o de problemas como um auxiliar para defini??o das necessidades de informa??o.

空間認知(Spatial Cognition)指出人所理解的空間複雜度，也就是人與環境互動的過程中，經由記憶與感官經驗，透過內化與重建產生物體在空間的關係認知。認知圖(Cognitive Map)是最常被使用在評估空間認知。分析學生所畫的認知圖有助於老師們瞭解學生的空間認知能力，進而擬定適當的地理教學設計。我們視空間認知發展的學習歷程檔案是由這些認知圖所構成。隨著數位學習科技的進步，我們可以透過探勘認知圖的方式，探討空間認知發展的學習歷程檔案。因此，我們藉由透過圖像的空間資料探勘，分析學生空間認知發展的學習歷程。 空間資料探勘(Spatial Data Mining)主要是從空間資料庫或圖像資料庫中找出有趣且有意義的樣式。在論文中，我們介紹一種空間樣式(Spatial Co-orientation Pattern)探勘以提供空間認知發展學習歷程的分析。Spatial Co-orientation Pattern是指圖像資料庫中，具有共同相對方向關係的物體(Object)常一起出現。例如，我們可以從圖像資料庫中發現物體P常出現在物體Q的左邊，我們利用二維字串(2D String)來表示物體分佈在圖像中的空間方向關係。我們透過Pattern-growth的方法探勘此種空間樣式，藉由實驗結果呈現Pattern-growth的方法與過去Apriori-based的方法[14]之優缺點。 我們延伸Spatial Co-orientation Pattern的概念至時空資料庫(Spatio-temporal Database)，提出從時空資料庫中，探勘Temporal Co-orientation Pattern。Temporal Co-orientation Pattern是指Spatial Co-orientation Pattern隨著時間的變化。論文中，我們提出兩種此類樣式，即是Coarse Temporal Co-orientation Pattern與Fine Temporal Co-orientation Pattern。針對此兩種樣式，我們提出三階段(three-stage)演算法，透過實驗分析演算法的效率。 / Spatial cognition means how human interpret spatial complexity. Cognitive maps are mostly used to test the spatial cognition. Analyzing cognitive maps drawn by students is helpful for teachers to understand students’ spatial cognitive ability and to draft geography teaching plans. Cognitive maps constitute the portfolios of spatial cognitive development. With the advance of e-learning technology, we can analyze portfolios of spatial cognitive development by spatial data mining of cognitive images. Therefore, we can analyze portfolios of spatial cognitive development by spatial data mining of images. Spatial data mining is an important task to discover interesting and meaningful patterns from spatial or image databases. In this thesis, we investigate the spatial co-orientation patterns for analyzing portfolios of spatial cognitive development. Spatial co-orientation patterns refer to objects that frequently occur with the same spatial orientation, e.g. left, right, below, etc., among images. For example, an object P is frequently left to an object Q among images. We utilize the data structure, 2D string, to represent the spatial orientation of objects. We propose the pattern-growth approach for mining co-orientation patterns. An experimental evaluation with synthetic datasets shows the advantages and disadvantages between pattern-growth approach and Apriori-based approach proposed by Huang [14]. Moreover, we extend the concept of spatial co-orientation pattern to that of temporal patterns. Temporal co-orientation patterns refer to the change of spatial co-orientation patterns over time. Two temporal patterns, the coarse temporal co-orientation patterns and fine temporal co-orientation patterns are introduced to be extracted from spatio-temporal databases. We propose the three-stage algorithms, CTPMiner and FTPMiner, for mining coarse and fine temporal co-orientation patterns, respectively. An experimental evaluation with synthetic datasets shows the performance of these algorithms.