Information Resources Research Articles

Improving the accuracy of the information retrieval evaluation process by considering unjudged document lists from the relevant judgment sets

Introduction. To improve user satisfaction and loyalty to the search engines, the performance of the retrieval systems has to be better in terms of the number of relevant documents retrieved. This can be evaluated through the information retrieval evaluation process. This study identifies two methodologies that help to recover and better rank relevant information resources based on a query, while at the same time suppressing the irrelevant one. Method. A combination of techniques was used. Documents that were relevant and not retrieved by the systems were found from the document corpus and assigned new scores based on the Manifold fusion techniques then moved into the relevant judgment sets. Documents based on judgment sets and good contributing systems have been considered in the proposed methodologies. Analysis. Kendall Tau Correlation Coefficient, Mean Average Precision (MAP), Normalized Discounted Cumulative Gain (NDCG), and Rank Biased Precision (Rbp) have been used to evaluate the performance of the methodologies. Results. The proposed methodologies outperformed the baseline works and enhanced the quality of the judgment sets, achieving a better result even with lesser pool depth. Conclusion. This research proposes two methodologies that increase the quality of the relevant documents in the judgment sets based on document similarity techniques and, thus, raise the evaluation process accuracy and reliability of the systems.

Sharing Consumer Health Information in Florida: Understanding Challenges to Navigating Health Care Library Organization Collaboration

ABSTRACT In 2019, the Florida Health Sciences Library Association (FHSLA) and the Tampa Bay Library Consortium, Inc. (TBLC) joined together to increase awareness of reliable vetted health information resources for Florida residents. FHSLA, composed of approximately 75 academic/health sciences/hospital librarians, contacted TBLC, composed of public librarians and various library personnel in Florida, to explore opportunities for their members to work together and network through monthly health-focused webinars. This article describes their collaborative initiative.

Adaptive multi-granularity trust management scheme for UAV visual sensor security under adversarial attacks

The big data provided by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) visual sensors offers essential information resources for activities across various industries. However, various adversarial threats are inevitable throughout the lifecycle of data generation, transmission, and utilization, leading to serious security risks. Trust assessment of visual sensors is a prerequisite for securing UAVs, but the multidimensionality of the trust elements and the uncertainty of the evidence limit its practical application. To advance this research, we innovatively propose a trust management scheme based on multi-granularity evidence fusion within the framework of belief functions (BFs) theory to adaptively respond to both known and unknown threats. We first propose a direct trust assessment model for known threats, which constructs multidimensional coarse-grained trust elements (MCTEs) and integrates multiple lightweight sub-models for basic belief assignment (BBA) to meet the need for fast response. Then, to address the unknown threats, we introduce pre-trained models to build multidimensional fine-grained trust elements (MFTEs) to construct trust recommendation models for indirect trust assessment for visual sensors. In addition, to accurately characterize the trustworthiness of visual sensors, we also introduce a BBA-weighted fusion method to achieve more reasonable trust aggregation by weakening highly conflicting evidence sources. Finally, to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, we conducted a comprehensive trust assessment and security experiment on UAV aerial images. The results indicate that the proposed method demonstrates excellent performance and is beneficial for enhancing UAV security in adversarial attack scenarios.

Free access to information resources for people with visual disabilities in university libraries

The current study aimed to reveal the reality of free access to information resources for people with visual disabilities in university libraries in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and to find out whether Jordanian libraries meet the information needs of the beneficiaries, students with visual disabilities. The study used a qualitative approach, on a sample that consisted of (10) library directors in the public and private universities of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, by conducting interviews with them that were determined in advance, and after obtaining information and analyzing it by using content analysis, the results revealed the importance of developing encouraging policies and providing financial resources to improve access to information resources, which indicates the urgent need to increase funding and provide training courses for staff in university libraries. The study also recommended the need to improve awareness of the needs of students with visual disabilities to reach the free access to information.

“I need to be strong”: Refugee women embody resilience within personal, host, and faith communities

This basic qualitative study sought to understand resilience from the perspective of women refugees. In June 2023, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 women refugees from Ukraine living in Teplice, Czech Republic. Findings demonstrated that participants embodied resilience within the context of their personal, host, and faith communities. First, family members were motivation to make the journey out of Ukraine and friends were helpful resources of information and meeting practical needs. Host communities included volunteers at international borders, churches on the journey, the Czech government, and various strangers as factors in their resilience. Finally, within faith communities, participants described their own personal Christian faith, “miracles,” and churches that were place to belong. This study is situated in the broad academic literature about resilience and refugees studies. Yet, the research findings add empirical data to corroborate conceptual and theoretical literature. Additionally, this research relies on data from refugee women themselves.

Efficient quantum secure multi-party greatest common divisor protocol and its applications in private set operations

Private set intersection (PSI) has important application value, however, current quantum PSI protocols are either unsuitable for multi-party scenarios or inefficient. Recently, Imran (arXiv:2303.17196v3, 2023) proposed two quantum secure multi-party greatest common divisor (GCD) protocols that can be used for PSI, but with the downside of information leakage and resource consumption. In this paper, we propose a novel quantum secure multi-party GCD protocol that has higher security and lower complexity. To hide privacy, each party randomly selects a coefficient within a range determined by his input integer, and with the assistance of a semi-honest third party TP, all parties secretly calculate the linear combination of their inputs under these coefficients. Once enough linear combinations are collected, TP calculates the GCD of these combinations, which is equal to the GCD of all input integers. To verify the honesty of participants, a quantum zero-knowledge proof sub-protocol is designed. Analysis shows that our GCD protocol is correct and has security against malicious attacks. Moreover, its complexity is polynomial level and lower than Imran’s. Furthermore, we demonstrate the scalability of our GCD protocol in private set operations, such as private set intersection, private set intersection cardinality, private multi-set intersection, etc.

Evaluating trait variation and covariation in perennial, herbaceous crop candidate species using herbarium specimens

AbstractContemporary agriculture in many parts of the world consists of annual plant species grown in monoculture, but recently interest has focused on developing perennial, herbaceous species for use in perennial polycultures that offer greater ecosystem services relative to annual monocultures. Because few perennial, herbaceous species were domesticated by early farmers, one of the initial steps in identifying wild, perennial, herbaceous species for potential crop development is understanding patterns of variation and covariation among reproductive traits that underpin yield and vegetative traits. Herbaria can serve as a valuable resource for taxonomically broad surveys of phenotypic variation and covariation for pre-breeding. In this study, we used herbarium specimens to investigate trait variation and covariation in five genera of the legume family (Fabaceae). We addressed two questions: (1) do vegetative and reproductive traits vary as a function of life span (annual vs. perennial species), and are these differences consistent across genera?; and (2) how do vegetative and reproductive traits correlate with one another across lifespan and/or within genera? Reproductive traits and vegetative traits were measured on 535 herbarium specimens representing annual and perennial species of Astragalus, Lupinus, Phaseolus, Strophostyles, and Vigna. While species exhibited intra- and interspecific variation, few morphological differences were observed among annual and perennial species. Correlations among vegetative traits and among reproductive traits were mostly positive when significant, and perennial species generally exhibited more positive correlations between vegetative and reproductive traits than annual species. These data have potential relevance for perennial crop development, and provide further support that herbaria represent a rich, relatively untapped resource of information about plant trait variation and covariation.

Caring for a Child with a Cleft Lip and/or Palate: A Narrative Review.

Raising a child with healthcare needs places additional demands on caregivers. In 2012, Nelson and colleagues authored a review of 57 papers pertaining to parents' experiences of caring for a child with cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P). Thanks in large part to this review, available literature on this topic has grown considerably. The aim of the present review was to update and critically appraise recent literature, with the wider goal of assessing progress in the field and setting recommendations for future work. All original, peer-reviewed articles pertaining to the psychological adjustment of parents of children with CL/P living in high-income countries (published May 2009 to May 2024) were examined. A total of 126 articles were included. Findings were narratively synthesised according to three salient themes: Emotional Impact; Social Experiences; and Care Delivery. Recent research has built on Nelson et al.'s recommendations, addressing some prior gaps in knowledge. Nonetheless, some areas remained largely unexplored and critical methodological limitations were still evident. Recommendations for clinical practice include: improved informational resources for parents and non-specialist health professionals, regular audit of services in collaboration with parents and families, routine psychological screening for known risk factors and integrated psychological support from diagnosis onward. Recommendations for future research include the design of multicentre, prospective, longitudinal studies with sufficient sample sizes and appropriate control/reference groups, inclusion of families from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, further examination of factors contributing to psychological growth, the development and evaluation of psychological interventions, and cross-condition learning.

A Research Project for Mapping the Digital Initiatives of Bulgarian Libraries

The paper aims to present a recently started research project with primary objective of conducting scientific research engaging in practical activities related to web socialization, as well as popularizing local history information resources and e-projects created by libraries in Bulgaria. As a results of the project implementation, a website and an e-catalogue showcasing Bulgarian library projects will be developed.

Online Patient Education in Obstructive Sleep Apnea: ChatGPT versus Google Search.

The widespread implementation of artificial intelligence technologies provides an appealing alternative to traditional search engines for online patient healthcare education. This study assessed ChatGPT-3.5's capabilities as a source of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) information, using Google Search as a comparison. Ten frequently searched questions related to OSA were entered into Google Search and ChatGPT-3.5. The responses were assessed by two independent researchers using the Global Quality Score (GQS), Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT), DISCERN instrument, CLEAR tool, and readability scores (Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level). ChatGPT-3.5 significantly outperformed Google Search in terms of GQS (5.00 vs. 2.50, p < 0.0001), DISCERN reliability (35.00 vs. 29.50, p = 0.001), and quality (11.50 vs. 7.00, p = 0.02). The CLEAR tool scores indicated that ChatGPT-3.5 provided excellent content (25.00 vs. 15.50, p < 0.001). PEMAT scores showed higher understandability (60-91% vs. 44-80%) and actionability for ChatGPT-3.5 (0-40% vs. 0%). Readability analysis revealed that Google Search responses were easier to read (FRE: 56.05 vs. 22.00; FKGL: 9.00 vs. 14.00, p < 0.0001). ChatGPT-3.5 delivers higher quality and more comprehensive OSA information compared to Google Search, although its responses are less readable. This suggests that while ChatGPT-3.5 can be a valuable tool for patient education, efforts to improve readability are necessary to ensure accessibility and utility for all patients. Healthcare providers should be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of various healthcare information resources and emphasize the importance of critically evaluating online health information, advising patients on its reliability and relevance.

How to establish a new medical school? A scoping review of the key considerations.

Establishing new medical schools in medically under-served regions is suggested as part of the solution to the problem of doctor shortages and maldistributions. Establishing a new medical school is, however, a complex undertaking with high financial and political stakes. Critically, the evidence-base for this significant activity has not previously been elucidated. This paper presents the first scoping review on this vitally important, yet under-researched aspect of medical education and health workforce planning. To better understand the process of new medical school establishment, this review posed two research questions: (1) What is the nature of the available literature on establishing a new medical school?; (2) What are the key factors to be considered when establishing a new medical school? Five databases and grey literature were searched in 2015 and 2021 for English-language articles, using search terms related to new medical schools and their establishment. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were based on relevance and suitability in answering the research questions. Seventy-eight articles were analysed both structurally and thematically to understand the nature of the literature and the key considerations involved. Structurally, most articles were descriptive pieces outlining personal and institutional experiences and did not make use of research methodologies nor theory. Thematically, thirteen key considerations were identified including reasons for establishment; location choices; leadership and governance; costs and funding; partnerships; staffing; student numbers; student recruitment; curriculum design and implementation; clinical training sites; buildings and facilities; information and technology resources; and accreditation. Significant gaps in the literature included how to obtain the initial permission from governing authorities and the personal costs and burnout experienced by founding leaders and staff. Although, the literature on new medical school establishment is empirically and theoretically under-developed, it is still useful and reveals a number of important considerations that could assist founding leaders and teams to maximise the outcomes and impact of their establishment efforts. Critically, the evidence-base underpinning this complex undertaking needs to be better informed by theory and research.

Mobile Technology for Farmers: An Overview of Agricultural Apps

A growing trend in agriculture is the use of mobile applications or apps on smartphones. Through the apps, farmers may obtain all information and answers with a single tap. Information about pests and diseases, scheme-related facts and the specifics of the package of practices are all kept in mobile devices for convenient access. Small-scale farmers make up the bulk of Indian farmers. They frequently lack access to the technological and informational resources that could help them raise the productivity of their crops and products and obtain higher prices. The ubiquitous mobile phone network provided a solution to this issue. The majority of apps are only useful for a certain amount of information, while some have multiple uses. This study examines the mobile applications for agriculture that are accessible in India and are intended for farmers. It is more likely that mobile apps in the agricultural and related industries will become more integrated and dependent. In the present study the Plantix application more effective as it is informative, simple and easy to use app.

Medication management information priorities of people living with dementia and their carers: a scoping review.

People living with dementia and their carers often experience difficulties in effectively managing medications and have indicated they lack necessary support, information and guidance. Recognising the medication management information needs of this population is an important first step in addressing these issues. To identify the priorities for information on medication management expressed by people living with dementia and their carers. A scoping review with systematic search was conducted from inception to 12 May 2023 for any original studies that reported the information needs of people living with dementia and their carers (informal, i.e. unpaid or within an existing relationship) regarding medication management. Two authors independently screened the abstracts, full-texts and extracted data. Study characteristics were described descriptively, and themes of information need were extracted using an iterative approach. Of the 11 367 records screened, 35 full-texts were included. All studies (n = 35) involved carers, with 17 also including people living with dementia. Most studies (n = 30) were conducted in the community and used qualitative methods (n = 32). Five major themes of information need were identified: critical medication information; medication effects; medication indication(s); disease progression and impact on medications; and safe and appropriate administration of medications. People living with dementia and their carers indicated they need more medication management information generally and want it simple, tailored and relevant. This review highlights the key medication information priorities for people living with dementia and their carers and will help guide the provision of medication management guidance and development of new information resources.

Working "With" Not "On" Disabled People: The Role of Hate Crime Research within the Community.

For many disabled people, violence can become an unwanted, yet ordinary part of everyday life. Often, these crimes are attributed to understandings of disabled people as vulnerable and largely, passive victims. Attending to the aims of this special issue, this paper aims to dismantle these stereotypes and attend to the unique ways that disabled people can resist and respond to hate crime through creative and collaborative research practices. Building upon this, I argue that there is a pressing need for hate studies researchers to work "with" and not "on" those who have experienced targeted violence. Working in this way builds upon long-standing efforts of disabled activists and disabilities studies researchers to challenge reductive research practices by working in more collective and inclusive ways. To demonstrate this, I reflect upon a project working in partnership with disabled people to create a disability hate crime toolkit. The toolkit, now published, shares accessible and informative resources that can be used to raise awareness about disability hate crime. While the focus of this paper is disability, I consider methods of collaboration, co-production and participation that can be drawn upon by researchers to respond to hate crime and interpersonal violence more broadly.

Empirical study of educational software for the subject of history

The use of Digital Information and Communication Technologies allows students to access a diversity of information and educational resources almost instantly. In this sense, working with gaming software/applications in education is important as it awakens students' curiosity and motivation. For the teacher to use them, a lot of research and analysis time is required to find a software/application that suits the desired school year, as well as the content to be studied. Therefore, the objective of this work is to contribute to the teacher, surveying the software and applications of the History curricular component, evaluating and classifying them based on the checklist produced by ProInfo. This is qualitative research, with an inductive method, focusing on the use of games in the teaching context, more precisely on the use of software and applications in History classes.

Cosmetic medical tourists’ use of online and offline experiential and procedural information resources in decision-making: Implications for digital health literacy and neoliberalism

Background: When deciding to undergo aesthetic health procedures overseas, cosmetic medical tourists access various information resources to make informed decisions about locations, facilities, health providers and procedure(s). Aim: Existing research has investigated the different resources cosmetic tourists access in their decision-making process, however, there has yet to be an in-depth analysis of the significance of each information resource in this process. Methods: Interviews with Australian cosmetic tourists regarding how and why they decided to use specific information resources. Results: We found that cosmetic medical tourists simultaneously and repeatedly used four main information resources in their decision making – websites, existing social networks, online support communities and surgeon consultations. Discussion: We characterise these resources as offering both experiential and procedural information, both generalised (non-specific and available to everyone) and personalised (originating in individual experience or tailored to the individual) information and being located both online (internet-based) and offline (in-person). Successful accomplishment of the cosmetic medical tourist journey relies on engagement with most of these resources, highlighting the role of digital health literacy and the complexity of this decision-making process. Conclusions: This process has implications for understanding the practice of digital health literacy and identifiably positions cosmetic medical tourists as neoliberal individuals.

Цифровий менеджмент як сучасний тренд розвитку підприємства

The article highlights digital management as a modern trend in enterprise development. The study’s authors noted that digital management is based on aspects of society’s modern technical and economic development and modern creative approaches to managing enterprise business processes. The main directions of the development of digital management are outlined. To study the possibility of improving the digital management system at the enterprise, it is recommended that an assessment be carried out using the point method. Attention is focused on the fact that the assessment of digital management should be carried out in the context of management functions: planning, organization, coordination, motivation, and control. The analysis showed that the functions of planning, organization, and coordination of the accounting system of the studied enterprise function better than motivation and control. It is established that digital management is formed based on a knowledge society, information use of components used in the so-called “smart society”. In turn, enterprises’ information and digital development is based on information resources. The importance of information and digital management lies in its emphasis on digitalization, which is determined by specialists’ competence, qualifications, and ability to solve complex computerization problems. It is determined that the main problem of digital management is that it needs to be sufficiently automated and developed to function independently without the participation of managers. In addition, any changes in digitalization algorithms require the involvement of many specialists, making the automation process even more complex than business processes without its participation. A sufficient level of qualification and enough specialists who can solve these problems promptly do not allow you to create perfect software shells for business management. The publication identifies the tasks that need to be solved to create a unified system for automating business processes and the parameters that allow compiling algorithms for the digitalization of business management. Keywords: digital management, digitalization, information resources, information systems, effect.

ESG principles for increasing the efficiency of the oil and gas complex

The research purpose is to determine the possibility of applying ESG principles in the process of forming development prospects for modern Russian oil and gas organisations from the perspective of an ecosystem approach. The subject of the study is tools for increasing efficiency. The methods of content analysis, synthesis and verbal modelling have been used. It is shown that the orientation of the country’s oil and gas complex to ensure the sustainability of social and corporate governance while preserving the ecology of the environment helps to increase the efficiency of the complex in the future. In this case, it will receive competitive advantages which can be appreciated by investors who organise the attraction of financial and information resources as well as human, material and energy resources. The novelty of the results obtained lies in the substantiation of the approach that is founded on a combination of such categories as ESG principles, sustainable development, ecosystem approach, and strategic management. The results of the study prove the feasibility of applying the ESG principles as tools which ensure the sustainable development of modern Russian oil and gas organisations based on the ecosystem approach in the process of searching solutions to increase the efficiency of the core activities. The approach contributes to the formation of a specific ecosystem where within the framework of its development strategy the efficiency of both a network of technologically related organisations and organisations that produce complementary goods and provide infrastructure services to the entire oil and gas complex is guaranteed.

Development of functionality principles for the automated data transmission system through wireless communication channels to ensure information protection

The development of data transmission systems based on wireless radio communication channels allowed the construction of fundamentally new networks – mesh networks, which are used not only in smart technologies, but are the basis for the construction of cyber-physical and socio-cyber-physical systems (objects of critical infrastructure). The object is the process of ensuring reliable and secure data transmission based on the use of wireless radio communication channels. A mathematical model of information resources protection system functioning is proposed to ensure the signs of immunity and security of the automated data transmission system. To identify threats, a unified classifier and flow state estimation technique are used, which take into account the hybridity and synergy of targeted (mixed) attacks on communication channels. The critical points of the infrastructure elements, as well as the information that circulates and/or is stored, are determined. The assessment of compliance with the regulators’ requirements, both international and state regulatory acts, and the presence and ability of the security system elements to ensure the required level of infrastructure elements protection is taken into account. The proposed approach allows to determine: coefficients of information and internal availability of a wireless radio communication channel, the vector potential of the lagging magnetic field as a result of data transmission work. When evaluating the coefficient of a wireless radio communication channel internal availability, it is proposed to take into account coherent reception of the signal. At the same time, the immunity factor of the wireless radio communication channel is much higher than 1, which provides sufficient protection of information. A technical solution is proposed that will allow the level of confidentiality, integrity, authenticity and reliability of a wireless radio communication channel to approach 100 %The development of data transmission systems based on wireless radio communication channels allowed the construction of fundamentally new networks – mesh networks, which are used not only in smart technologies, but are the basis for the construction of cyber-physical and socio-cyber-physical systems (objects of critical infrastructure). The object is the process of ensuring reliable and secure data transmission based on the use of wireless radio communication channels. A mathematical model of information resources protection system functioning is proposed to ensure the signs of immunity and security of the automated data transmission system. To identify threats, a unified classifier and flow state estimation technique are used, which take into account the hybridity and synergy of targeted (mixed) attacks on communication channels. The critical points of the infrastructure elements, as well as the information that circulates and/or is stored, are determined. The assessment of compliance with the regulators’ requirements, both international and state regulatory acts, and the presence and ability of the security system elements to ensure the required level of infrastructure elements protection is taken into account. The proposed approach allows to determine: coefficients of information and internal availability of a wireless radio communication channel, the vector potential of the lagging magnetic field as a result of data transmission work. When evaluating the coefficient of a wireless radio communication channel internal availability, it is proposed to take into account coherent reception of the signal. At the same time, the immunity factor of the wireless radio communication channel is much higher than 1, which provides sufficient protection of information. A technical solution is proposed that will allow the level of confidentiality, integrity, authenticity and reliability of a wireless radio communication channel to approach 100 %

Інтелектуальний капітал і його значення для забезпечення економічної стабільності та національної безпеки

In today’s context of globalization and rapid technological development, intellectual capital has become a crucial resource for ensuring economic stability and national security. Unlike traditional factors of production such as land and labor, modern economic models are based on knowledge, innovation, and technology, which drive countries’ competitiveness in the international arena. Intellectual capital encompasses all intangible assets that create added value, including knowledge, skills, patents, technologies, organizational culture, and more. Its importance to national security is underscored by the necessity to foster innovation, cybersecurity, and effective management of information resources in the face of modern threats. It has been demonstrated that the introduction of new technologies and product development significantly boosts economic activity, which in turn stimulates the creation of new jobs. Employment levels increase, and the overall well-being of the population improves. Intellectual capital provides the foundation for the development of new defense systems, cybersecurity, the protection of intellectual property, and strategic risk management. Economic stability is a critical indicator for any country, as it determines the population’s standard of living, the competitiveness of enterprises, and resilience to global crises. It has been established that the weighted distribution of each element’s contribution to national security is based on various factors: cybersecurity (25%), protection of information resources (20%), the role of science (20%), defense capability (15%), and strategic risk management (20%). Protecting intellectual property, including patents, copyrights, and trademarks, becomes a key factor in preserving scientific and technological achievements and preventing industrial espionage. Keywords: intellectual capital, economic stability, national security, innovation, human capital, information security, structural capital, enterprises.