scholarly journals A Semantic Web Framework for Automated Smart Assistants: A Case Study for Public Health

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Yusuf Sermet ◽  
Ibrahim Demir

The COVID-19 pandemic elucidated that knowledge systems will be instrumental in cases where accurate information needs to be communicated to a substantial group of people with different backgrounds and technological resources. However, several challenges and obstacles hold back the wide adoption of virtual assistants by public health departments and organizations. This paper presents the Instant Expert, an open-source semantic web framework to build and integrate voice-enabled smart assistants (i.e., chatbots) for any web platform regardless of the underlying domain and technology. The component allows non-technical domain experts to effortlessly incorporate an operational assistant with voice recognition capability into their websites. Instant Expert is capable of automatically parsing, processing, and modeling Frequently Asked Questions pages as an information resource as well as communicating with an external knowledge engine for ontology-powered inference and dynamic data use. The presented framework uses advanced web technologies to ensure reusability and reliability, and an inference engine for natural-language understanding powered by deep learning and heuristic algorithms. A use case for creating an informatory assistant for COVID-19 based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data is presented to demonstrate the framework’s usage and benefits.

Author(s):  
Joshua M. Sharfstein

An effective communications approach starts with a basic dictum set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “Be first, be right, be credible.” Agencies must establish themselves as vital sources of accurate information to maintain the public’s trust. At the same time, public health officials must recognize that communications play out in the context of ideological debates, electoral rivalries, and other political considerations. During a public health crisis, this means that health officials often need to constructively engage political leaders in communications and management. Navigating these waters in the middle of a crisis can be treacherous. Figuring out the best way to engage elected leaders is a core aspect of political judgment.


Author(s):  
Patrick Maué ◽  
Sven Schade

Geospatial decision makers have to be aware of the varying interests of all stakeholders. One crucial task in the process is to identify relevant information available from the Web. In this chapter the authors introduce an application in the quarrying domain which integrates Semantic Web technologies to provide new ways to discover and reason about relevant information. The authors discuss the daily struggle of the domain experts to create decision-support maps helping to find suitable locations for opening up new quarries. After explaining how semantics can help these experts, they introduce the various components and the architecture of the software which has been developed in the European funded SWING project. In the last section, the different use cases illustrate how the implemented tools have been applied to real world scenarios.


2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 826-841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shakeel Ahmad Khan ◽  
Rubina Bhatti

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore useful Semantic Web technologies and ontology-based applications for digital libraries. It also investigates the perceptions of university librarians and academicians in Pakistan about Semantic Web technologies and their use in digital libraries. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory research design based on Delphi research strategy was conducted to answer the research questions. Interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 50 key informants including university librarians and academicians to explore their perceptions about Semantic Web technologies and their use in digital libraries. Thematic analysis of interview data was conducted to obtain results. Findings The results of this paper showed that DuraCloud, Semantic information mashup, OntoEdit and resource description framework (RDF) are the various Semantic Web applications which are useful for digital libraries to develop semantic relationships among digital contents and increase their accessibility in the web environment. Findings revealed that Semantic Web provides precise results and meets user information needs in an effective way. Results also showed that next-generation digital libraries use context-awareness technology, intelligent agent software and detecting sensors to analyze user information needs and provide dynamic information services. This paper recommended that librarians should embrace the use of emerging web technologies in libraries and offer library services through the medium of the web. Practical implications This paper envisaged the future of digital library services and Semantic Web applications that can be used to re-structure metadata of digital library. This paper has practical implications for librarians to consider the useful applications of Semantic Web for digital library and enhance the interoperability of metadata among heterogeneous information systems. Practically, results obtained from this paper are highly useful for library schools and LIS teachers to up-date their curriculum by incorporating new contents related to web languages and Semantic Web applications for digital libraries. Originality/value This paper identifies various Semantic Web applications which are useful for developing Semantic Digital Libraries.


2009 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 100-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Maué ◽  
Sven Schade

Geospatial decision makers have to be aware of the varying interests of all stakeholders. One crucial task in the process is to identify relevant information available from the Web. In this chapter the authors introduce an application in the quarrying domain which integrates Semantic Web technologies to provide new ways to discover and reason about relevant information. The authors discuss the daily struggle of the domain experts to create decision-support maps helping to find suitable locations for opening up new quarries. After explaining how semantics can help these experts, they introduce the various components and the architecture of the software which has been developed in the European funded SWING project. In the last section, the different use cases illustrate how the implemented tools have been applied to real world scenarios.


Informatica ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Dagienė ◽  
Daina Gudonienė ◽  
Renata Burbaitė

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark J. Yaffe

Abstract Background Knowledge translation (KT) is challenging to carry out and assess. The content of a program developed to foster KT activities pertaining to the Elder Abuse Suspicion Index (EASI)©, a tool to help identify elder abuse, is described, along with reporting and analysis of some of its outcomes. Methods Enquiries about the use of the EASI were encouraged through completion of a structured questionnaire available on an EASI website. These were submitted by email and guided individualized responses. Descriptive data collated anonymously from the questionnaires described in aggregate corresponders’ occupations, countries of work, information needs about the tool, and intent of use. The processes that generated this data were evaluated as to whether they conformed to established elements of KT. Results One hundred thirty-eight queries were received over 6 years coming from enquirers with 12 different professional backgrounds, working in 25 countries. The information sought aimed to facilitate EASI use in clinical, quality improvement, public health, research, teaching, KT, and commercial ventures. Conclusions This activity, incorporating recognized elements of a KT undertaking, documents specific global interests in elder abuse detection. It suggests a model for researchers to gauge interest in their findings and to promote exchange around them.


2021 ◽  
pp. 109019812110144
Author(s):  
Soon Guan Tan ◽  
Aravind Sesagiri Raamkumar ◽  
Hwee Lin Wee

This study aims to describe Facebook users’ beliefs toward physical distancing measures implemented during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic using the key constructs of the health belief model. A combination of rule-based filtering and manual classification methods was used to classify user comments on COVID-19 Facebook posts of three public health authorities: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States, Public Health England, and Ministry of Health, Singapore. A total of 104,304 comments were analyzed for posts published between 1 January, 2020, and 31 March, 2020, along with COVID-19 cases and deaths count data from the three countries. Findings indicate that the perceived benefits of physical distancing measures ( n = 3,463; 3.3%) was three times higher than perceived barriers ( n = 1,062; 1.0%). Perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 ( n = 2,934; 2.8%) was higher compared with perceived severity ( n = 2,081; 2.0%). Although susceptibility aspects of physical distancing were discussed more often at the start of the year, mentions on the benefits of intervention emerged stronger toward the end of the analysis period, highlighting the shift in beliefs. The health belief model is useful for understanding Facebook users’ beliefs at a basic level, and it provides a scope for further improvement.


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