Terms Of Phrases Research Articles

An evaluation of the usefulness of two terminology models for integrating nursing diagnosis concepts into SNOMED Clinical Terms ®

Objectives: We evaluated the usefulness of two models for integrating nursing diagnosis concepts into SNOMED Clinical Terms (CT). Methods: First, we dissected nursing diagnosis term phrases from two source terminologies (North American Nursing Diagnosis Association Taxonomy 1 (NANDA) and Omaha System) into the semantic categories of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) categorical structure and ISO reference terminology model (RTM). Second, we critically analyzed the similarities between the semantic links in the CEN and ISO models and the semantic links used to formally define diagnostic concepts in SNOMED CT. Results: Our findings demonstrated that focus, bearer/subject of information, and judgment were present in 100% of the NANDA and Omaha term phrases. The Omaha term phrases contained no additional descriptors beyond those considered mandatory in the CEN and ISO models. The comparison among the semantic links showed that SNOMED CT currently contains all but one of the semantic links needed to model the two source terminologies for integration. In conclusion, our findings support the potential utility of the CEN and ISO models for integrating nursing diagnostic concepts into SNOMED CT.

Categorial feature magnetism: The endocentricity and distribution of projections

The question addressed here is whether there is a systematic relationship between the internal structure of syntactic phrases and their distribution in the clause. To account for the internal coherence of syntactic phrases, their endocentricity, I develop the notion of 'extended projections' in two ways. First, evidence from two constructions of German and Dutch argues that in addition to lexical heads and functional heads, also semi-lexical heads must be intro- duced. The notion of categorial identity, which states that the syntactic nodes connecting the lexical and functional heads within an extended projection with the phrasal node must all be of the same category type, is shown to hold for semi-lexical heads as well. Second, the notion of 'extended projection' will be modified to accommodate the fact that prepositional elements can often be inserted within an extended projection. This exceptional status of prepositional elements is reminiscent of the fact that prepositional phrases are arguably the most flexible phrases in terms of their distribution. In earlier work, I had suggested that this fact could be expressed in terms of a constraint, the Unlike Feature Constraint, which was formulated in terms of repulsion between the positive values of the categorial features: a (+N/V) head does not tolerate a (+N/V) phrase in its immediate domain. Categorial identity is now interpreted as the mutual attraction of the positive categorial feature values: we have attraction within, but repulsion across phrasal categories. And in both cases, prepositions are the neutral element. This idea leads to a unified principle, the Law of Categorial Feature Magnetism.

On the application of syntactic methodologies in automatic text analysis

This study summarizes various linguistic approaches proposed for document analysis in information retrieval environments. Included are standard syntactic methods to generate complex content identifiers, and the use of semantic know-how obtained from machine-readable dictionaries, and from specially constructed knowledge bases. Certain syntactic term phrase generation systems are examined in detail and their usefulness for text analysis purposes is evaluated.

Boolean queries and term dependencies in probabilistic retrieval models

A method of integrating Boolean queries with probabilistic retrieval models is proposed. Boolean queries are interpreted as specifying term dependencies that can be used to correct the document scores obtained with a basic probabilistic model. Alternative methods of obtaining dependency information, such as user-specified phrases, can also be used in this approach. The experimental results indicate that significant performance benefits can be obtained, particularly when dependencies are derived from term phrases identified in natural language queries. © 1986 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

THE MENTAL REPRESENTATION OF DISCOURSE IN A FOCUSSED MEMORY SYSTEM: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE INTERPRETATION OF ANAPHORIC NOUN PHRASES

To a cognitive psychologist discourse comprehension poses a number of interesting problems both in terms of mental representation and mental operations. In this paper we suggest that certain of these problems can be brought into clear focus by employing a procedural approach to discourse description. In line with this approach a general framework for the mental representation of discourse is discussed in which distinctions between different types of memory partitions are proposed. It is argued that one needs to distinguish both between focussed representations available in immediate working memory and nonfocussed representations available in long-term memory and also between representations arising from the asserted information in the discourse and those arising from what is presupposed by it. In the second half of the paper a particular problem of anaphoric reference is discussed within the context of this framework. A general memory search procedure is outlined which contains three parameters for determining the search operation. We then attempt to describe certain anaphoric expressions such as personal pronouns and full definite noun phrases in terms of the execution of this search procedure, where distinctions arise from the parameter specification derived from the expressions.The cognitive psychology of discourse is concerned with the nature of the mental processes entailed in understanding what is written or spoken, and the problem of how these processes might be realised in the mind of the understander given the psychological constraints of limited attention and memory which we know to obtain. One very attractive line of attack is to view the many and various aspects of a discourse as having an instructional component, in the sense that the reader or listener is being instructed to assemble representations of the elements of discourse in a particular way. An example of this is to be found in a treatment of topic marking within the topic/comment distinction (Halliday, 1976): topic identification may be hought of as an instruction to implement a procedure in which the topic content is construed as an address in memory to which new (comment) information is to be affixed (e.g. Broadbent, 1973; Haviland & Clark, 1974).While any attempt at producing a process-model for comprehensioninevitably makes use of such a procedural view, it is also sensible to consider a text as having a content, which is more directly interpret-able as a set of statements. In the present paper, we shall first consider the question of text content. This immediately raises the problem of how to treat anaphoric reference, which is one of the key contributors to text cohesion. Finally, we shall attempt to illustrate how the instructional or procedural aspect of discourse interacts with the content aspect by reference to a specific problem of anaphoric reference.

Interpreting metaphors and idioms: Some effects of context on comprehension

Two experiments are described in which reaction times for understanding target sentences or phrases in terms of a preceding context were measured. In Experiment 1, the target sentences followed either short or long contexts which induced either literal interpretations or metaphorical ones. Results indicated that only in the short context condition did subjects take significantly longer to understand metaphorical than literal targets. This interaction is explained in terms of the availability of appropriate schemata for interpreting the target. In Experiment 2, targets were phrases that could be given either an idiomatic or a literal interpretation. It was found that the comprehension of phrases receiving an idiomatic interpretation took no longer than the comprehension of those same phrases when given a literal interpretation, and there was some evidence that idiomatic interpretations were consistently faster. It is argued that both experiments can be accounted for in terms of contextually generated expectations. The processes required for the comprehension of figurative and literal uses of language seem to be essentially similar.

On the role of words and phrases in automatic text analysis

One of the most crucial operations in automatic information retrieval is the assignment to written texts and documents of appropriate identifiers, capable of representing information content for search and retrieval purposes. This operation known as automatic indexing normally consists in assigning to the documents either single terms, or more specific entities such as phrases, or more general entities such as term classes. A model, known as discrimination value analysis is introduced which assigns an appropriate role in the indexing operation to the terms, term phrases, and thesaurus classes. The model is used to determine effectiveness criteria for the content identifiers and to generate useful indexing policies. Experimental evidence is given to validate the theory.

A Study of the Hevner Adjective List

tive list.' 2 While originally intended for work in music it has been borrowed for research in other sensory areas.3 Its 67 words, which are arranged in eight clusters, describe a variety of moods. The moodal quale expressed by the adjectives within any one cluster has been assumed to be almost identical. Hence, it has become customary to describe musical phrases, objects of art, or other items of aesthetic interest in terms of the list's eight clusters rather than its 67 adjectives. Since these adjective clusters have received so much attention it seemed to the writer important to put them through certain tests, primarily to learn whether or not the members of any given cluster were describing the roughly similar moods Hevner had intended. A check was also planned on the idea that the clusters formed a sort of clock dial or circle with the mood described by the adjectives of cluster 2 most similar to moods characterized by clusters 1 and 3, that described by 5 most like those represented by 4 and 6, etc. The plan of the research was to present to two hundred subjects some 56 musical phrases, each of which kept reasonably well to a single mood. The Hevner adjectives would be given to the subjects along with each musical phrase. The directive would be to check as many adjectives as seemed appropriate or to add others not in the list if additions seemed needed.4 The plan called for the counting of the adjectives checked for each musical phrase and for an assessment of the phrase in terms of the 67 (actually only 66) adjectives. Thus, the phrase receiving most checks for sentimental would obtain the rank of 1 for that adjective, or, conversely, sentimental would receive a 1 for that phrase. Every adjective, then, would possess a series of ranks from 1 through 56, made from the checks it received while the 56 musical phrases were being played. These rank orders could then be correlated to show the tally resemblances, the degrees to which the adjectives had similar moodal meanings. During the autumn of 1951 and the winter of 1952 two hundred students were drawn from Stanford University's courses in elementary psychology to serve as subjects. Required to take part in five researches, they had chosen this * This paper was presented in part before the 1953 meetings of the Esthetics Division of the American Psychological Association. The study was partially financed by Stanford's Committee on Supplementary Research Grants. 'Hevner, K., Experimental studies of the elements of expression in music, Amer. J. Psychol., 48 (1936), 246-268. 2 Hevner, K., Expression in music: a discussion of experimental studies and theories, Psychol. Rev., 47 (1935), 186-204. 3 Ross, R. T., Studies in the psychology of the theatre, Psychol. Rec., 2 (1938), 127-190. 4 Since the subjects added very few new adjectives, only those of the standard list are considered in this paper.