Academic literature on the topic 'Inconsistency management'
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Journal articles on the topic "Inconsistency management"
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Easterbrook, Steve, and Bashar Nuseibeh. "Using ViewPoints for inconsistency management." Software Engineering Journal 11, no. 1 (1996): 31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1049/sej.1996.0004.
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Menon, Catherine, Michael Johnson, and Charles Lakos. "Inconsistency Management and View Updates." Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science 141, no. 3 (December 2005): 27–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.entcs.2005.02.052.
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Easterbrook, S., and B. Nuseibeh. "Erratum: Using ViewPoints for inconsistency management." Software Engineering Journal 11, no. 2 (1996): 132. http://dx.doi.org/10.1049/sej.1996.0018.
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Dubois, Didier, and Henri Prade. "Inconsistency Management from the Standpoint of Possibilistic Logic." International Journal of Uncertainty, Fuzziness and Knowledge-Based Systems 23, Suppl. 1 (December 2015): 15–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/s0218488515400024.
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Uncertainty and inconsistency pervade human knowledge. Possibilistic logic, where propositional logic formulas are associated with lower bounds of a necessity measure, handles uncertainty in the setting of possibility theory. Moreover, central in standard possibilistic logic is the notion of inconsistency level of a possibilistic logic base, closely related to the notion of consistency degree of two fuzzy sets introduced by L. A. Zadeh. Formulas whose weight is strictly above this inconsistency level constitute a sub-base free of any inconsistency. However, several extensions, allowing for a paraconsistent form of reasoning, or associating possibilistic logic formulas with information sources or subsets of agents, or extensions involving other possibility theory measures, provide other forms of inconsistency, while enlarging the representation capabilities of possibilistic logic. The paper offers a structured overview of the various forms of inconsistency that can be accommodated in possibilistic logic. This overview echoes the rich representation power of the possibility theory framework.
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Martinez, Maria Vanina, Francesco Parisi, Andrea Pugliese, Gerardo I. Simari, and V. S. Subrahmanian. "Policy-based inconsistency management in relational databases." International Journal of Approximate Reasoning 55, no. 2 (January 2014): 501–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijar.2013.12.004.
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Yoon, Haewon. "Impatience and Time Inconsistency in Discounting Models." Management Science 66, no. 12 (December 2020): 5850–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2019.3496.
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Extant theories of intertemporal choice entangle two aspects of time preference: impatience and time inconsistency. Impatient people focus on present consumption without worrying too much about the future; they may spend freely and avoid exercise. An outsider might question their choices, but impatient people do not experience conflict over those choices. By contrast, people who are time-inconsistent intend to save and exercise, but they fail to do so when temptation is proximate. Such individuals are conflicted; their preferences today differ from their preferences tomorrow. I characterize the interaction between impatience and time inconsistency in three leading models of temporal discounting that go beyond the exponential model, which does not predict time inconsistency at any level of impatience. The quasi-hyperbolic model predicts that time inconsistency increases with patience, whereas the hyperbolic model makes the opposite prediction. The constant-sensitivity model predicts that time inconsistency peaks at a moderate level of impatience. The results of an experiment using real monetary consequences with delays of up to one year align most closely with the prediction of the constant-sensitivity model. This paper was accepted by Yuval Rottenstreich, judgment and decision making.
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Kleine Büning, Hans, Ulrich Löwen, and Stefan Schmitgen. "Inconsistency of production systems." Data & Knowledge Engineering 3, no. 4 (February 1989): 245–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0169-023x(89)90012-8.
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Eiter, Thomas, and Antonius Weinzierl. "Preference-Based Inconsistency Management in Multi-Context Systems." Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research 60 (October 30, 2017): 347–424. http://dx.doi.org/10.1613/jair.5416.
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Multi-Context Systems (MCS) are a powerful framework for interlinking possibly heterogeneous, autonomous knowledge bases, where information can be exchanged among knowledge bases by designated bridge rules with negation as failure. An acknowledged issue with MCS is inconsistency that arises due to the information exchange. To remedy this problem, inconsistency removal has been proposed in terms of repairs, which modify bridge rules based on suitable notions for diagnosis of inconsistency. In general, multiple diagnoses and repairs do exist; this leaves the user, who arguably may oversee the inconsistency removal, with the task of selecting some repair among all possible ones. To aid in this regard, we extend the MCS framework with preference information for diagnoses, such that undesired diagnoses are filtered out and diagnoses that are most preferred according to a preference ordering are selected. We consider preference information at a generic level and develop meta-reasoning techniques on diagnoses in MCS that can be exploited to reduce preference-based selection of diagnoses to computing ordinary subset-minimal diagnoses in an extended MCS. We describe two meta-reasoning encodings for preference orders: the first is conceptually simple but may incur an exponential blowup. The second is increasing only linearly in size and based on duplicating the original MCS. The latter requires nondeterministic guessing if a subset-minimal among all most preferred diagnoses should be computed. However, a complexity analysis of diagnoses shows that this is worst-case optimal, and that in general, preferred diagnoses have the same complexity as subset-minimal ordinary diagnoses. Furthermore, (subset-minimal) filtered diagnoses and (subset-minimal) ordinary diagnoses also have the same complexity.
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Grundy, J., J. Hosking, and W. B. Mugridge. "Inconsistency management for multiple-view software development environments." IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering 24, no. 11 (1998): 960–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/32.730545.
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Castro, J. L., and E. Trillas. "The management of the inconsistency in expert systems." Fuzzy Sets and Systems 58, no. 1 (August 1993): 51–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0165-0114(93)90321-8.
Full textDissertations / Theses on the topic "Inconsistency management"
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Jahnke, Jens H. "Management of uncertainty and inconsistency in database reengineering processes." [S.l. : s.n.], 1999. http://deposit.ddb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?idn=961979909.
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Lin, Qiuming. "Viewpoints consistency management using belief merging operators." Access electronically, 2004. http://www.library.uow.edu.au/adt-NWU/public/adt-NWU20041222.125858/index.html.
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Dziewulski, Paweł. "Essays on time-inconsistency and revealed preference." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:e412f41a-07ef-4fdc-84cf-9862a53c7fbd.
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This thesis concerns three important issues related to the problem of time-inconsistency in decision-making and revealed preference analysis. The first chapter focuses on the welfare properties of equilibria in exchange economies with time-dependent preferences. We reintroduce the notion of time-consistent overall Pareto efficiency proposed by Herings and Rohde (2006) and show that, whenever the agents are sophisticated, any equilibrium allocation is efficient in this sense. Thereby, we present a version of the First Fundamental Welfare Theorem for this class of economies. Moreover, we present a social welfare function with maximisers that coincide with the efficient allocations and prove that every equilibrium can be represented by a solution to the social welfare optimisation problem. In the second chapter we concentrate on the observable implications of various models of time-preference. We consider a framework in which subjects are asked to choose between pairs consisting of a monetary payment and a time-delay at which the payment is delivered. Given a finite set of observations, we are interested under what conditions the choices of an individual agent can be rationalised by a discounted utility function. We develop an axiomatic characterisation of time-preference with various forms of discounting, including weakly present-biased, quasi-hyperbolic, and exponential, and determine the testable restrictions for each specification. Moreover, we discuss possible identification issues that may arise in this class of tests. Finally, in the third chapter, we discuss the testable restrictions for production technologies that exhibit complementarities. Suppose that we observe a finite number of choices of input factors made by a single firm, as well as the prices at which they were acquired. Under what conditions imposed on the set of observations is it possible to justify the decisions of the firm by profit-maximisation with production complementarities? In this chapter, we develop an axiomatic characterisation of such behaviour and provide an easy-to-apply test for the hypothesis which can be employed in an empirical analysis.
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Corea, Carl [Verfasser], Patrick [Gutachter] Delfmann, Matthias [Gutachter] Thimm, and Jan [Gutachter] Mendling. "Handling Inconsistency in Business Rule Bases / Carl Corea ; Gutachter: Patrick Delfmann, Matthias Thimm, Jan Mendling." Koblenz, 2021. http://d-nb.info/1225743869/34.
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Tahrat, Sabiha. "Data inconsistency detection and repair over temporal knowledge bases." Electronic Thesis or Diss., Université Paris Cité, 2021. http://www.theses.fr/2021UNIP5209.
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Cette thèse étudie la faisabilité du raisonnement automatique sur des bases de connaissances DL-Lite temporelles TDL-Lite. Dans la première partie, nous avons traduit les bases de connaissances exprimées en TDL-Lite en logique temporelle de première ordre et en logique temporelle linéaire LTL qui sont munies de raisonneurs temporels permettant de vérifier leur satisfiabilité. Nous avons réalisé diverses expériences pour analyser les performances et la robustesse des différents raisonneurs sur des scénarios jouets et sur des bases de connaissances TDL-Lite synthétiques de tailles variables. Par ailleurs, lors du traitement des bases de connaissances avec une composante Assertionnel ABox de grande taille, nous avons également proposé une approche d’abstraction des assertions temporelles afin d’améliorer la scalabilité du raisonnement. Nous avons mené plusieurs tests pour évaluer l’efficacité de l’abstraction en mesurant le gain en termes de nombre d’assertions et d’individus dans la ABox. En outre, nous avons mesuré le nouveau temps d’exécution de quelques raisonneurs sur de telles bases de connaissances résumées. Enfin, dans l’objectif de faire de l’utilisation des bases de connaissances en TDL-Lite une réalité, nous avons présenté un outil complet avec une interface graphique qui permet de les concevoir. Notre interface est basée sur des principes de modélisation conceptuelle et elle est intégrée à notre outil de traduction et aux différents raisonneurs temporels. En considérant la ABox comme source d’incohérence, nous avons, dans la deuxième partie de la thèse, traité le problème de gestion des données incohérentes dans les bases de connaissances en TDL-Lite. En effet, nous avons proposé une approche de réparation de la ABox. Il s’agit du premier travail sur la réparation appliquée aux bases de connaissances en logiques de description temporelles. Pour ce faire, nous avons d’abord détecté et localisé les assertions temporelles sources d’incohérence et nous avons ensuite proposé une réparationtemporelle de ces données. Pour la détection, nous avons proposé une traduction des bases de connaissances de TDL-Lite vers DL-Lite; ce qui a permis d’utiliser des raisonneurs de la logique de description hautement optimisés et capables d’apporter une explication précise de l’incohérence. A partir de l’explication obtenue, nous avons ensuite proposé une méthode pour calculer automatiquement la meilleure réparation temporelle en fonction: a) des prédicats rigides, invariants dans le temps, autorisés dans la définition de la base de connaissances et b) de l’ordre temporel des assertionsWe investigate the feasibility of automated reasoning over temporal DL-Lite (TDL-Lite) knowledge bases (KBs). We translate TDL-Lite KBs into a fragment of FO-logic and into LTL and apply off-the-shelf LTL and FO-based reasoners for checking the satisfiability. We conduct various experiments to analyse the runtime performance of different reasoners on toy scenarios and on randomly generated TDL-Lite KBs as well as the size of the LTL translation. To improve the reasoning performance when dealing with large ABoxes, our work also proposes an approach for abstracting temporal assertions in KBs. We run several experiments with this approach to assess the effectiveness of the technique by measuring the gain in terms of the size of the translation, the number of ABox assertions and individuals. We also measure the new runtime of some solvers on such abstracted KBs. Lastly, in an effort to make the usage of TDL-Lite KBs a reality, we present a fully-fledged tool with a graphical interface to design them. Our interface is based on conceptual modeling principles, and it is integrated with our translation tool and a temporal reasoner. In this thesis, we also address the problem of handling inconsistent data in Temporal Description Logic (TDL) knowledge bases. Considering the data part of the knowledge base as the source of inconsistency over time, we propose an ABox repair approach. This is the first work handling the repair in TDL Knowledge bases. To do so, our goal is two folds: 1) detect temporal inconsistencies and 2) propose a data temporal repair. For the inconsistency detection, we propose a reduction approach from TDL to DL which allows to provide a tight NP-complete upper bound for TDL concept satisfiability and to use highly optimized DL reasoners that can bring precise explanation (the set of inconsistent data assertions). Thereafter, from the obtained explanation, we propose a method for automatically computing the best repair in the temporal setting based on the allowed rigid predicates and the time order of assertions
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Herzig, Sebastian J. I. "A Bayesian learning approach to inconsistency identification in model-based systems engineering." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/53576.
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Designing and developing complex engineering systems is a collaborative effort. In Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), this collaboration is supported through the use of formal, computer-interpretable models, allowing stakeholders to address concerns using well-defined modeling languages. However, because concerns cannot be separated completely, implicit relationships and dependencies among the various models describing a system are unavoidable. Given that models are typically co-evolved and only weakly integrated, inconsistencies in the agglomeration of the information and knowledge encoded in the various models are frequently observed. The challenge is to identify such inconsistencies in an automated fashion. In this research, a probabilistic (Bayesian) approach to abductive reasoning about the existence of specific types of inconsistencies and, in the process, semantic overlaps (relationships and dependencies) in sets of heterogeneous models is presented. A prior belief about the manifestation of a particular type of inconsistency is updated with evidence, which is collected by extracting specific features from the models by means of pattern matching. Inference results are then utilized to improve future predictions by means of automated learning. The effectiveness and efficiency of the approach is evaluated through a theoretical complexity analysis of the underlying algorithms, and through application to a case study. Insights gained from the experiments conducted, as well as the results from a comparison to the state-of-the-art have demonstrated that the proposed method is a significant improvement over the status quo of inconsistency identification in MBSE.
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MEKURIA, DAGMAWI NEWAY. "Smart Home Reasoning Systems: From a Systematic Analysis Towards a Hybrid Implementation for the Management of Uncertainty and Inconsistency." Doctoral thesis, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/11566/274608.
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Si definisce “smart home” una residenza equipaggiata con tecnologie per favorire il monitoraggio dei residenti, promuovere la loro indipendenza e aumentare la qualità della loro vita. In generale, le smart home controllano le operazioni all’interno dell’ambiente domestico e si adattano automaticamente alle esigenze degli abitanti. I sistemi di reasoning per smart home (“Smart Home Reasoning Systems” – SHRS) hanno il compito di regolare il controllo automatico esercitato dalle smart home e di implementarne l’adattabilità agli abitanti. Per questo, gli SHRS sono stati oggetto di un’ampia ricerca. Tuttavia, c’è ancora un’evidente mancanza di uno studio sistematico sulle caratteristiche e le specifiche di tali sistemi. Per colmare il gap, la prima parte di questa tesi esplora il dominio degli SHRS. Abbiamo pertanto applicato il metodo della “Systematic Literature Review” (SLR) fornendo un’analisi approfondita di 135 articoli scientifici, selezionati tra i risultati di una ricerca sia automatica che manuale condotta su sei database online.
A partire dalla SLR, questa tesi mostra come il 43% delle smart home presentate in letteratura sono progettate per fornire servizi generici di domotica. La SLR presenta anche dodici requisiti principali e caratteristiche per gli SHRS. Inoltre, la SLR classifica il 55,5% dei contributi analizzati come teorici. Tra tutti i contributi, il 51,5% risulta basato su tecniche di intelligenza artificiale simbolica. In aggiunta, grazie alla SLR, questa tesi analizza come differenti tecniche di reasoning sono applicate nelle smart home, valutandone semplificazioni, punti di forza e limiti e identificandone le principali sfide in ambiente domestico. Infine, la SLR evidenzia l’importanza di sviluppare sistemi di reasoning ibridi e la necessità di gestire incertezza e inconsistenze all’interno degli SHRS. Incertezza e inconsistenze caratterizzano gli obiettivi e le attività dei vari abitanti, che possono essere in condizione di sovrapposizione, di contemporaneità e/o di conflitto.
Infatti, la SLR identifica il reasoning in condizioni di incertezza come una delle maggiori sfide per gli SHRS. L’incertezza è inevitabile nelle smart home: per esempio, i sensori a disposizione potrebbero fornire dati inaccurati o incompleti al fine di preservare la privacy degli occupanti. Inoltre, la natura dinamica di un ambiente domestico, così come comandi vaghi da parte degli abitanti, possono risultare in informazioni ambigue, incomplete e/o inconsistenti, portando la smart home in una condizione di incertezza.
A partire da queste considerazioni, la seconda parte della tesi affronta alcune delle sfide legate all’incertezza: in particolare, l’incertezza dovuta a comunicazioni e comandi vaghi da parte degli utenti e l’informazione incompleta nei contesti di “ambient intelligence”. A tale scopo, abbiamo proposto un’architettura basata su sistemi multi-agente e ragionamento probabilistico per la realizzazione di un sistema di reasoning in condizioni di incertezza all’interno delle smart home. L’architettura proposta si basa sulla definizione di sistema multi-agente e su tecniche di “probabilistic logic programming”. In questa parte della tesi mostriamo come le tecniche di ragionamento probabilistico permettono agli agenti del sistema di ragionare in condizioni di incertezza. Inoltre, analizziamo come gli agenti intelligenti potenziano i propri processi di “decision-making” scambiando tra loro informazioni su dati mancanti o variabili non osservabili grazie a protocolli di interazione standard. Al contempo, quando un agente non ha risorse computazionali sufficienti per completare il proprio processo di reasoning, può avvantaggiarsi dei protocolli di interazione per delegare il ragionamento agli altri agenti nel sistema. In generale, dimostriamo che la combinazione di tecnologie per i sistemi multi-agente e tecniche di probabilistic logic programming può contribuire a costruire un sistema di reasoning affidabile anche a fronte di comandi vaghi degli abitanti e di informazione incompleta in ambienti parzialmente osservabili.
Nell’ultima parte della tesi abbiamo affrontato i problemi di inconsistenza all’interno degli SHRS basati su regole, identificandone cinque sorgenti principali, Nello specifico, definiamo, formalizziamo e dimostriamo come regole in conflitto, duplicate, sovrapposte, in auto-loop e circolari possono essere rilevate usando le “Satisfiability Modulo Theories” (SMT). Il metodo proposto è stato validato sperimentalmente usando come modello regole raccolte in smart home esistenti. I risultati sperimentali forniscono prove promettenti a sostegno dell’affidabilità e dell’efficacia della soluzione proposta. Inoltre, il metodo proposto in questa parte della tesi può avere diverse applicazioni. Per prima cosa, può essere usato per costruire uno strumento di verifica statico (offline) per i sistemi di reasoning basati su regole. In aggiunta, può essere integrato come un componente di validazione delle regole per un sistema di reasoning. Infine, con alcuni accorgimenti, il metodo proposto può essere usato per la verifica delle proprietà di consistenza di un sistema di reasoning in domini diversi dalle smart home.A smart home is a residence equipped with technologies that facilitate monitoring of residents, promote independence and increase the quality of life. In general, smart homes control the operations of the home environment and automatically adapt it to its inhabitants’ needs. The smart home reasoning system (SHRS) is in charge of determining the automatic control and adaptation operations of the home system. Recently, there has been extensive research concerning different aspects of the SHRS. However, there is a clear lack of systematic investigation targeted at these systems. To close the gap, in the first part of this thesis we explore the SHRS domain. For this reason, we applied the systematic literature review (SLR) method by conducting automatic and manual searches on six electronic databases, and in-depth analysis of 135 articles from the literature. From the SLR, this thesis identifies that about 43% of smart homes are designed to provide general home automation services. It also presents twelve major requirements and features of the SHRS. In addition, the SLR finds out that 55.5% of the research contributions in SHRS domain are theoretical, and 51.5% of them are based on symbolic artificial intelligence techniques. Further, it characterizes the usage and application trends of different reasoning techniques in smart home domain, and evaluates the major assumptions, strengths, and limitations of the proposed systems in the literature. Additionally, it discusses the challenges of reasoning in smart home environments. Finally, it underlines the importance of utilizing hybrid reasoning approaches and the need to handle uncertainty and inconsistency issues of the SHRS, as well as overlapping, simultaneous and conflicting multiple inhabitants’ activities and goals in the smart home environment. The SLR identifies reasoning under uncertainty as one of the major challenges of SHRSs. Uncertainty is inevitable in smart home environments as sensors may read inaccurate data or due to the existence of unobserved variables for privacy reasons. Furthermore, the dynamic nature of the home environment and vague human communications may result in ambiguous, incomplete and inconsistent contextual information, which ultimately lead the smart home system into uncertainty. With this in mind, the second part of this thesis tackle some of the challenges of uncertainty, in particular, uncertainty due to vague human communication and missing information in ambient intelligence environments. For this, we proposed probabilistic multi-agent system architecture for reasoning under uncertainty in smart home environments. The proposed smart architecture is based on the notion of multi-agent systems (MAS) technologies and probabilistic logic programming techniques. Afterwards, we show how the probabilistic reasoning technique enables the agents to reason under uncertainty. Furthermore, we discuss how intelligent agents enhance their decision-making process by exchanging information about missing data or unobservable variables using agent interaction protocols. Besides, when an agent lacks the necessary computational resources to accomplish its reasoning tasks, we illustrate how it can take advantage of the interaction protocols and delegate the tasks for other agents in the system. In general, we demonstrate that the combination of MAS technologies and probabilistic logic programming can help in building a reasoning system, which is capable of performing well under vague inhabitant commands and missing information in a partially observable environment. In the final part of the thesis, we tackled inconsistency issues in SHRSs, by identifying five major sources of inconsistencies in rule-based SHRSs. Specifically, we define, formalize and demonstrate how conflicting, duplicate, overlapping, self-looping and circular rules in SHRSs can be detected using satisfiability modulo theories. The proposed method was validated empirically using rules collected from a real-world SHRS as a model. The experimental results provide compelling evidence for the reliability and effectiveness of the proposed solution. The method presented in this part of the thesis can have multiple applications. First, it can be used to build a static (off-line) rule-based reasoning system verification tool. Second, it can be integrated as a rule validation component of the reasoning system. Besides, with some adaptation, the method can be directly used to verify the consistency properties of reasoning systems in other domains.
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Dam, Khanh Hoa, and s3007289@student rmit edu au. "Supporting Software Evolution in Agent Systems." RMIT University. Computer Science and Information Technology, 2009. http://adt.lib.rmit.edu.au/adt/public/adt-VIT20090319.143847.
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Software maintenance and evolution is arguably a lengthy and expensive phase in the life cycle of a software system. A critical issue at this phase is change propagation: given a set of primary changes that have been made to software, what additional secondary changes are needed to maintain consistency between software artefacts? Although many approaches have been proposed, automated change propagation is still a significant technical challenge in software maintenance and evolution. Our objective is to provide tool support for assisting designers in propagating changes during the process of maintaining and evolving models. We propose a novel, agent-oriented, approach that works by repairing violations of desired consistency rules in a design model. Such consistency constraints are specified using the Object Constraint Language (OCL) and the Unified Modelling Language (UML) metamodel, which form the key inputs to our change propagation framework. The underlying change propagation mechanism of our framework is based on the well-known Belief-Desire-Intention (BDI) agent architecture. Our approach represents change options for repairing inconsistencies using event-triggered plans, as is done in BDI agent platforms. This naturally reflects the cascading nature of change propagation, where each change (primary or secondary) can require further changes to be made. We also propose a new method for generating repair plans from OCL consistency constraints. Furthermore, a given inconsistency will typically have a number of repair plans that could be used to restore consistency, and we propose a mechanism for semi-automatically selecting between alternative repair plans. This mechanism, which is based on a notion of cost, takes into account cascades (where fixing the violation of a constraint breaks another constraint), and synergies between constraints (where fixing the violation of a constraint also fixes another violated constraint). Finally, we report on an evaluation of the approach, covering both effectiveness and efficiency.
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Williams, Patrick Charles. "Political Leadership and Management of Civic Services in a Downturn Economy." ScholarWorks, 2015. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/1392.
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Municipal leaders in the United States face difficult decisions when prioritizing nonmandated civic projects for funding, especially when operating budgets are restricted. This phenomenological study investigated municipal leaders' decision-making processes in a state in the southern United States, using a conceptual framework based on rational choice theory, bounded rationality, and group decision-making theory. It specifically explored personal and organizational decision-making processes related to the prioritization and funding of nonmandated civic projects via in-depth interviews with a convenience sample of 15 municipal leaders. Thematic analysis identified expert opinions, the time and cost to complete a project, the perceived value relative to expense, and the availability of additional funding sources as themes important to understanding participants' decision-making processes. Organizational factors that were important in these decisions included the need for clearly defined responsibilities and consistency in funding decisions. No clearly defined organizational processes were in place in any of the participants' municipalities, and the participants noted that areas such as infrastructure improvements, traffic congestion, community involvement, and formal processes in their municipalities were in need of improvement. Positive social change can flow from greater governmental transparency through municipal decision makers' adoption of systematic decision-making systems and processes. Positive social change can also result from greater inclusiveness through increased public outreach efforts. Results add to the research base by contributing to a better theoretical understanding of organizational decision-making processes in the municipal context.
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Kang, Heechan. "Essays on methodologies in contingent valuation and the sustainable management of common pool resources." Columbus, Ohio : Ohio State University, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1141240444.
Full textBooks on the topic "Inconsistency management"
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Nguyẽ̂n, Ngọc Thanh. Advanced methods for inconsistent knowledge management. London: Springer, 2008.
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Martinez, Maria Vanina. A General Framework for Reasoning On Inconsistency. New York, NY: Springer New York, 2013.
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Nguyen, Ngoc Thanh. Advanced Methods for Inconsistent Knowledge Management. London: Springer London, 2008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84628-889-0.
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Brega, Galina. Modern relations between government and business: foreign and domestic experience. ru: INFRA-M Academic Publishing LLC., 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.12737/1841825.
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The monograph comprehensively examines the models and experience of interaction between government and business of the leading modern economic systems. Close attention is paid to the Russian specifics of relations between the state and the business community, starting with the characteristics of the institutional foundations and changing business conditions in Russia and ending with the problem of trust. Such aspects of the relationship as the leading role of the state in economic management, inconsistency of legislative regulation of entrepreneurial activity, excessive fiscal administration and tax burden, insufficient level of professionalism of personnel, social responsibility of business are disclosed. The empirical basis of the monograph is a study that was carried out within the framework of the RFBR grant "New models of interaction between the government and the industrial community in conditions of increasing risks of technological development under the influence of international sanctions".
It is addressed to researchers and university teachers, graduate students and students specializing in the field of business relations and public authorities, as well as related fields of scientific research.
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United States. General Accounting Office. National Security and International Affairs Division, ed. State Department: Provision of residential furniture inconsistent with best practices. Washington, D.C: The Office, 1997.
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United States. General Accounting Office. National Security and International Affairs Division., ed. State Department: Provision of residential furniture inconsistent with best practices. Washington, D.C: The Office, 1997.
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Audits, California Bureau of State. California State University: It is inconsistent in considering diversity when hiring professors, management personnel, presidents, and system executives. Sacramento, Calif: California State Auditor, Bureau of State Audits, 2007.
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United States. General Accounting Office., ed. Water quality: Inconsistent state approaches complicate nation's efforts to identify its most polluted waters : report to Congressional requesters. [Washington, D.C: United States General Accounting Office, 2002.
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Office, General Accounting. Information technology: Inconsistent software acquisition processes at the Defense Logistics Agency increase project risks : report to congressional committees. Washington, D.C. (P.O. Box 37050, Washington, D.C. 20013): U.S. General Accounting Office, 2002.
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United States. Congress. House. Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. Inconsistent regulation of wetlands and other waters: Hearing before the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eighth Congress, second session, March 30, 2004. Washington: U.S. G.P.O., 2005.
Find full textBook chapters on the topic "Inconsistency management"
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Encheva, Sylvia, and Sharil Tumin. "Inconsistency Management." In Communications in Computer and Information Science, 268–75. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-85930-7_36.
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Mu, Kedian. "The Modularity of Inconsistent Knowledge Bases with Application to Measuring Inconsistency." In Knowledge Science, Engineering and Management, 319–32. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82147-0_26.
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Ma, Yue, Guilin Qi, Guohui Xiao, Pascal Hitzler, and Zuoquan Lin. "An Anytime Algorithm for Computing Inconsistency Measurement." In Knowledge Science, Engineering and Management, 29–40. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2009. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-10488-6_7.
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Schenkhuizen, Jasper, Jan Martijn E. M. van der Werf, Slinger Jansen, and Lambert Caljouw. "Consistent Inconsistency Management: A Concern-Driven Approach." In Software Architecture, 201–9. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48992-6_15.
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Brewka, Gerhard, Stefan Ellmauthaler, Ricardo Gonçalves, Matthias Knorr, João Leite, and Jörg Pührer. "Inconsistency Management in Reactive Multi-context Systems." In Logics in Artificial Intelligence, 529–35. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48758-8_35.
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Imam, Fahim, and Wendy MacCaull. "Integrating Healthcare Ontologies: Inconsistency Tolerance and Case Study." In Business Process Management Workshops, 373–84. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2009. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-00328-8_37.
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Hadar, Irit, and Anna Zamansky. "When a Paradigm is Inconsistent with Intuition: The Case of Inconsistency Management." In Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, 107–13. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19243-7_11.
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Ramesh, Janjhyam Venkata Naga, Jayasri Kotti, Priyanka Chandani, Rupal Gupta, Ahateshaam Ansari, T. R. Mahesh, and Dharmesh Dhabliya. "Machine Learning-Based Inconsistency Detection in Medical Data." In Smart Technologies in Healthcare Management, 15–25. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2024. http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/9781003330523-2.
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Eiter, Thomas, Michael Fink, and Daria Stepanova. "Inconsistency Management for Description Logic Programs and Beyond." In Web Reasoning and Rule Systems, 1–3. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2013. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39666-3_1.
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Zhu, Xuefeng, and Zhi Jin. "Ontology-Based Inconsistency Management of Software Requirements Specifications." In SOFSEM 2005: Theory and Practice of Computer Science, 340–49. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2005. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-30577-4_37.
Full textConference papers on the topic "Inconsistency management"
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Hadar, Irit, and Anna Zamansky. "Cognitive factors in inconsistency management." In 2015 IEEE 23rd International Requirements Engineering Conference (RE). IEEE, 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/re.2015.7320427.
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Zhang, Du. "Harnessing locality for knowledge inconsistency management." In 2010 9th IEEE International Conference on Cognitive Informatics (ICCI). IEEE, 2010. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/coginf.2010.5599720.
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Decker, Hendrik. "Causes for inconsistency-tolerant schema update management." In 2011 IEEE International Conference on Data Engineering Workshops (ICDEW). IEEE, 2011. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/icdew.2011.5767628.
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Reder, Alexander. "Inconsistency management framework for model-based development." In Proceeding of the 33rd international conference. New York, New York, USA: ACM Press, 2011. http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1985793.1986005.
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Lu, Yang, Yang Che, and Xintian Zhuang. "Dynamic inconsistency and long-term contract." In International conference on Management Innovation and Information Technology. Southampton, UK: WIT Press, 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.2495/miit132572.
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Livshits, Ester, Rina Kochirgan, Segev Tsur, Ihab F. Ilyas, Benny Kimelfeld, and Sudeepa Roy. "Properties of Inconsistency Measures for Databases." In SIGMOD/PODS '21: International Conference on Management of Data. New York, NY, USA: ACM, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3448016.3457310.
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Huang, Chao, Jianling Sun, Xinyu Wang, and Yuanjie Si. "Inconsistency Management of Role Base Access Control Policy." In 2009 International Conference on E-Business and Information System Security (EBISS). IEEE, 2009. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ebiss.2009.5138002.
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Sutrisno, Ferdinandus Yohanes Nugraha, and Putu Anom Mahadwartha. "Ambiguity and inconsistency of investor buying behavior." In Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on Management (INSYMA 2019). Paris, France: Atlantis Press, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.2991/insyma-19.2019.11.
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Wu, Yunpeng, Yiting Lv, Yuping Sun, Qiang Hu, Mingfei Wu, Yu Guo, and Decai Wang. "A Method of Deduplication based on Inconsistency." In 2015 International conference on Engineering Management, Engineering Education and Information Technology. Paris, France: Atlantis Press, 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.2991/emeeit-15.2015.68.
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Nuseibeh, B., and S. Easterbrook. "The process of inconsistency management: a framework for understanding." In Proceedings. Tenth International Workshop on Database and Expert Systems Applications. DEXA 99. IEEE, 1999. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/dexa.1999.795194.
Full textReports on the topic "Inconsistency management"
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Andrian, Leandro Gaston, Oscar Valencia, Jorge Hirs, and Ivan Leonardo Urrea Rios. Fiscal Rules and Economic Cycles: Quality (Always) Matters. Inter-American Development Bank, January 2023. http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0004570.
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Governments can issue public debt for both good and bad reasons. The former include intertemporal tax smoothing, fiscal stimulus, and asset management. In contrast, the bad reasons, which generate higher indebtedness, are mainly associated with political cycles, rent capture, intergenerational transfers, and common pool problems. Fiscal rules aim to eliminate the problem of time inconsistency of public finances and minimize debt accumulation by setting debt limits. Despite the theoretical relevance of fiscal rules and institutions to the proper management of fiscal processes in different countries, the evidence indicates mixed results regarding the effectiveness of this type of mechanism for fiscal performance. To understand the effect that fiscal rules have on public debt, this paper studies the effect of different types of rules on debt behavior and their differential effects with respect to the economic cycle. Using a dynamic panel, which enables us to control for endogeneity problems, and the use of a fiscal rule quality index (Schaechter et. al., 2012), this paper finds that fiscal rules only have a significant effect on the reduction of public debt during the positive side of the economic cycle if adequate institutional arrangements accompany them. Furthermore, only some types of fiscal rules (expenditure rules) show a significant effect during the negative part of the cycle. These results have relevant policy implications, as they underscore the importance of (1) developing institutional arrangements that promote the proper functioning of fiscal rules and (2) considering economic cycle asymmetries in order to ensure the appropriate operation of fiscal rules and the fulfillment of policy objectives.
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McDowell Peek, Katie, Blair Tormey, Holli Thompson, Allan Ellsworth, and Cat Hawkins Hoffman. Climate change vulnerability assessments in the National Park Service: An integrated review for infrastructure, natural resources, and cultural resources. National Park Service, June 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.36967/nrr-2293650.
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Climate changes are affecting virtually all National Park Service units and resources, and an assessment of climate vulnerabilities is important for developing proactive management plans to respond appropriately to these changes and threats. Vulnerability assessments typically evaluate exposure and sensitivity of the assessment targets and evaluate adaptive capacity for living resources. Chapters in this report review and evaluate climate vulnerability assessments of National Park Service units and resources including infrastructure, natural resources, and cultural resources. Striking results were the diversity of approaches to conducting vulnerability assessments, the small number of vulnerability assessments for National Park Service cultural resources, and the large differences in the “state of the science” of conducting assessments among the three resource groups. Vulnerability assessment methodologies are well established for evaluating infrastructure and natural resources, albeit with very different techniques, but far less is known or available for designing and/or conducting cultural resources assessments. Challenges consistently identified in the vulnerability assessments, or the chapters were: Limited capacity of park staff to fully engage in the design and/or execution of the vulnerability assessments. Most park staff are fully engaged in on-going duties. Inconsistent use of terms, definitions, and protocols, sometimes resulting in confusion or inefficiencies. Discovering and acquiring National Park Service vulnerability assessments because results were inconsistently archived. Aligning results with park needs due to differences in level of detail, scope, and/or resolution, or format(s) for reporting results. Best practices and recommendations identified in multiple chapters were: Ensure that vulnerability assessments are designed to match parks’ needs, and that results are reported in ways that inform identified management decisions. Prioritize resources to be thoroughly assessed so effort is directed to the most important threats and resources. Evaluate all components of vulnerability (not just exposure). Explicitly and systematically address uncertainty, recognizing the range of climate projections and our understanding of potential responses. Identify and, where possible, focus on key vulnerabilities that most threaten conservation or management goals. Embrace partnerships and engage others with necessary expertise. Good vulnerability assessments usually require expertise in a broad range of subject areas.
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McKenna, Patrick, and Mark Evans. Emergency Relief and complex service delivery: Towards better outcomes. Queensland University of Technology, June 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.5204/rep.eprints.211133.
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Emergency Relief (ER) is a Department of Social Services (DSS) funded program, delivered by 197 community organisations (ER Providers) across Australia, to assist people facing a financial crisis with financial/material aid and referrals to other support programs. ER has been playing this important role in Australian communities since 1979. Without ER, more people living in Australia who experience a financial crisis might face further harm such as crippling debt or homelessness. The Emergency Relief National Coordination Group (NCG) was established in April 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to advise the Minister for Families and Social Services on the implementation of ER. To inform its advice to the Minister, the NCG partnered with the Institute for Governance at the University of Canberra to conduct research to understand the issues and challenges faced by ER Providers and Service Users in local contexts across Australia. The research involved a desktop review of the existing literature on ER service provision, a large survey which all Commonwealth ER Providers were invited to participate in (and 122 responses were received), interviews with a purposive sample of 18 ER Providers, and the development of a program logic and theory of change for the Commonwealth ER program to assess progress. The surveys and interviews focussed on ER Provider perceptions of the strengths, weaknesses, future challenges, and areas of improvement for current ER provision. The trend of increasing case complexity, the effectiveness of ER service delivery models in achieving outcomes for Service Users, and the significance of volunteering in the sector were investigated. Separately, an evaluation of the performance of the NCG was conducted and a summary of the evaluation is provided as an appendix to this report. Several themes emerged from the review of the existing literature such as service delivery shortcomings in dealing with case complexity, the effectiveness of case management, and repeat requests for service. Interviews with ER workers and Service Users found that an uplift in workforce capability was required to deal with increasing case complexity, leading to recommendations for more training and service standards. Several service evaluations found that ER delivered with case management led to high Service User satisfaction, played an integral role in transforming the lives of people with complex needs, and lowered repeat requests for service. A large longitudinal quantitative study revealed that more time spent with participants substantially decreased the number of repeat requests for service; and, given that repeat requests for service can be an indicator of entrenched poverty, not accessing further services is likely to suggest improvement. The interviews identified the main strengths of ER to be the rapid response and flexible use of funds to stabilise crisis situations and connect people to other supports through strong local networks. Service Users trusted the system because of these strengths, and ER was often an access point to holistic support. There were three main weaknesses identified. First, funding contracts were too short and did not cover the full costs of the program—in particular, case management for complex cases. Second, many Service Users were dependent on ER which was inconsistent with the definition and intent of the program. Third, there was inconsistency in the level of service received by Service Users in different geographic locations. These weaknesses can be improved upon with a joined-up approach featuring co-design and collaborative governance, leading to the successful commissioning of social services. The survey confirmed that volunteers were significant for ER, making up 92% of all workers and 51% of all hours worked in respondent ER programs. Of the 122 respondents, volunteers amounted to 554 full-time equivalents, a contribution valued at $39.4 million. In total there were 8,316 volunteers working in the 122 respondent ER programs. The sector can support and upskill these volunteers (and employees in addition) by developing scalable training solutions such as online training modules, updating ER service standards, and engaging in collaborative learning arrangements where large and small ER Providers share resources. More engagement with peak bodies such as Volunteering Australia might also assist the sector to improve the focus on volunteer engagement. Integrated services achieve better outcomes for complex ER cases—97% of survey respondents either agreed or strongly agreed this was the case. The research identified the dimensions of service integration most relevant to ER Providers to be case management, referrals, the breadth of services offered internally, co-location with interrelated service providers, an established network of support, workforce capability, and Service User engagement. Providers can individually focus on increasing the level of service integration for their ER program to improve their ability to deal with complex cases, which are clearly on the rise. At the system level, a more joined-up approach can also improve service integration across Australia. The key dimensions of this finding are discussed next in more detail. Case management is key for achieving Service User outcomes for complex cases—89% of survey respondents either agreed or strongly agreed this was the case. Interviewees most frequently said they would provide more case management if they could change their service model. Case management allows for more time spent with the Service User, follow up with referral partners, and a higher level of expertise in service delivery to support complex cases. Of course, it is a costly model and not currently funded for all Service Users through ER. Where case management is not available as part of ER, it might be available through a related service that is part of a network of support. Where possible, ER Providers should facilitate access to case management for Service Users who would benefit. At a system level, ER models with a greater component of case management could be implemented as test cases. Referral systems are also key for achieving Service User outcomes, which is reflected in the ER Program Logic presented on page 31. The survey and interview data show that referrals within an integrated service (internal) or in a service hub (co-located) are most effective. Where this is not possible, warm referrals within a trusted network of support are more effective than cold referrals leading to higher take-up and beneficial Service User outcomes. However, cold referrals are most common, pointing to a weakness in ER referral systems. This is because ER Providers do not operate or co-locate with interrelated services in many cases, nor do they have the case management capacity to provide warm referrals in many other cases. For mental illness support, which interviewees identified as one of the most difficult issues to deal with, ER Providers offer an integrated service only 23% of the time, warm referrals 34% of the time, and cold referrals 43% of the time. A focus on referral systems at the individual ER Provider level, and system level through a joined-up approach, might lead to better outcomes for Service Users. The program logic and theory of change for ER have been documented with input from the research findings and included in Section 4.3 on page 31. These show that ER helps people facing a financial crisis to meet their immediate needs, avoid further harm, and access a path to recovery. The research demonstrates that ER is fundamental to supporting vulnerable people in Australia and should therefore continue to be funded by government.
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Lucas, Brian. Urban Flood Risks, Impacts, and Management in Nigeria. Institute of Development Studies (IDS), January 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.19088/k4d.2021.018.
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This summary reviews evidence on the urban flooding impact, risk factors, and management and mitigation measures in Lagos and other cities in Nigeria. Flooding is a common problem every year in many cities across Nigeria, but the impacts of flooding are poorly documented. There is no consistent set of statistics at a national or sub-national level that can be used to compare the impacts of flooding across cities, and reports that focus on particular flood events are often incomplete. The literature notes the principal factors contributing to flood risk including uncontrolled urban growth, inadequate and poorly-maintained drainage systems, solid waste management practices, weakness in institutional capacity and coordination, and warning systems and public awareness. The evidence base for flood impacts, risks, and mitigation efforts at the city level in Nigeria is limited, and much of the information available is low quality, inconsistent, or outdated. Many rely on surveys of city residents rather than objective empirical data, and some of these surveys appear to be poorly designed. A significant number of the academic publications available have been published in non-mainstream journals without the usual level of academic peer review. Recent information is scarce, and a significant amount of the available evidence dates from 2011 and 2012, which coincides with an episode of nationwide flooding that was among the worst in Nigeria’s history.
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McDonagh, Marian, Andrea C. Skelly, Amy Hermesch, Ellen Tilden, Erika D. Brodt, Tracy Dana, Shaun Ramirez, et al. Cervical Ripening in the Outpatient Setting. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), March 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.23970/ahrqepccer238.
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Objectives. To assess the comparative effectiveness and potential harms of cervical ripening in the outpatient setting (vs. inpatient, vs. other outpatient intervention) and of fetal surveillance when a prostaglandin is used for cervical ripening. Data sources. Electronic databases (Ovid® MEDLINE®, Embase®, CINAHL®, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews) to July 2020; reference lists; and a Federal Register notice. Review methods. Using predefined criteria and dual review, we selected randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies of cervical ripening comparing prostaglandins and mechanical methods in outpatient versus inpatient settings; one outpatient method versus another (including placebo or expectant management); and different methods/protocols for fetal surveillance in cervical ripening using prostaglandins. When data from similar study designs, populations, and outcomes were available, random effects using profile likelihood meta-analyses were conducted. Inconsistency (using I2) and small sample size bias (publication bias, if ≥10 studies) were assessed. Strength of evidence (SOE) was assessed. All review methods followed Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Evidence-based Practice Center methods guidance. Results. We included 30 RCTs and 10 cohort studies (73% fair quality) involving 9,618 women. The evidence is most applicable to women aged 25 to 30 years with singleton, vertex presentation and low-risk pregnancies. No studies on fetal surveillance were found. The frequency of cesarean delivery (2 RCTs, 4 cohort studies) or suspected neonatal sepsis (2 RCTs) was not significantly different using outpatient versus inpatient dinoprostone for cervical ripening (SOE: low). In comparisons of outpatient versus inpatient single-balloon catheters (3 RCTs, 2 cohort studies), differences between groups on cesarean delivery, birth trauma (e.g., cephalohematoma), and uterine infection were small and not statistically significant (SOE: low), and while shoulder dystocia occurred less frequently in the outpatient group (1 RCT; 3% vs. 11%), the difference was not statistically significant (SOE: low). In comparing outpatient catheters and inpatient dinoprostone (1 double-balloon and 1 single-balloon RCT), the difference between groups for both cesarean delivery and postpartum hemorrhage was small and not statistically significant (SOE: low). Evidence on other outcomes in these comparisons and for misoprostol, double-balloon catheters, and hygroscopic dilators was insufficient to draw conclusions. In head to head comparisons in the outpatient setting, the frequency of cesarean delivery was not significantly different between 2.5 mg and 5 mg dinoprostone gel, or latex and silicone single-balloon catheters (1 RCT each, SOE: low). Differences between prostaglandins and placebo for cervical ripening were small and not significantly different for cesarean delivery (12 RCTs), shoulder dystocia (3 RCTs), or uterine infection (7 RCTs) (SOE: low). These findings did not change according to the specific prostaglandin, route of administration, study quality, or gestational age. Small, nonsignificant differences in the frequency of cesarean delivery (6 RCTs) and uterine infection (3 RCTs) were also found between dinoprostone and either membrane sweeping or expectant management (SOE: low). These findings did not change according to the specific prostaglandin or study quality. Evidence on other comparisons (e.g., single-balloon catheter vs. dinoprostone) or other outcomes was insufficient. For all comparisons, there was insufficient evidence on other important outcomes such as perinatal mortality and time from admission to vaginal birth. Limitations of the evidence include the quantity, quality, and sample sizes of trials for specific interventions, particularly rare harm outcomes. Conclusions. In women with low-risk pregnancies, the risk of cesarean delivery and fetal, neonatal, or maternal harms using either dinoprostone or single-balloon catheters was not significantly different for cervical ripening in the outpatient versus inpatient setting, and similar when compared with placebo, expectant management, or membrane sweeping in the outpatient setting. This evidence is low strength, and future studies are needed to confirm these findings.
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Treadwell, Jonathan R., Mingche Wu, and Amy Y. Tsou. Management of Infantile Epilepsies. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), October 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.23970/ahrqepccer252.
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Objectives. Uncontrolled seizures in children 1 to 36 months old have serious short-term health risks and may be associated with substantial developmental, behavioral, and psychological impairments. We evaluated the effectiveness, comparative effectiveness, and harms of pharmacologic, dietary, surgical, neuromodulation, and gene therapy treatments for infantile epilepsies. Data sources. We searched Embase®, MEDLINE®, PubMed®, the Cochrane Library, and gray literature for studies published from January 1, 1999, to August 19, 2021. Review methods. Using standard Evidence-based Practice Center methods, we refined the scope and applied a priori inclusion criteria to the >10,000 articles identified. We ordered full text of any pediatric epilepsy articles to determine if they reported any data on those age 1 month to <36 months. We extracted key information from each included study, rated risk of bias, and rated the strength of evidence. We summarized the studies and outcomes narratively. Results. Forty-one studies (44 articles) met inclusion criteria. For pharmacotherapy, levetiracetam may cause seizure freedom in some patients (strength of evidence [SOE]: low), but data on other medications (topiramate, lamotrigine, phenytoin, vigabatrin, rufinamide, stiripentol) were insufficient to permit conclusions. Both ketogenic diet and the modified Atkins diet may reduce seizure frequency (SOE: low for both). In addition, the ketogenic diet may cause seizure freedom in some infants (SOE: low) and may be more likely than the modified Atkins diet to reduce seizure frequency (SOE: low). Both hemispherectomy/hemispherotomy and non-hemispheric surgical procedures may cause seizure freedom in some infants (SOE: low for both), but the precise proportion is too variable to estimate. For three medications (levetiracetam, topiramate, and lamotrigine), adverse effects may rarely be severe enough to warrant discontinuation (SOE: low). For topiramate, non-severe adverse effects include loss of appetite and upper respiratory tract infection (SOE: moderate). Harms of diets were sparsely reported. For surgical interventions, surgical mortality is rare for functional hemispherectomy/hemispherotomy and non-hemispheric procedures (SOE: low), but evidence was insufficient to permit quantitative estimates of mortality or morbidity risk. Hydrocephalus requiring shunt placement after multilobar, lobar, or focal resection is uncommon (SOE: low). No studies assessed neuromodulation or gene therapy. Conclusions. Levetiracetam, ketogenic diet, modified Atkins diet, and surgery all appear to be effective for some infants. However, the strength of the evidence is low for all of these modalities due to lack of control groups, low patient enrollment, and inconsistent reporting. Future studies should compare different pharmacologic treatments and compare pharmacotherapy with dietary therapy. Critical outcomes underrepresented in the literature include quality of life, sleep outcomes, and long-term development.
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Tipton, Kelley, Brian F. Leas, Nikhil K. Mull, Shazia M. Siddique, S. Ryan Greysen, Meghan B. Lane-Fall, and Amy Y. Tsou. Interventions To Decrease Hospital Length of Stay. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), September 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.23970/ahrqepctb40.
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Background. Timely discharge of hospitalized patients can prevent patient harm, improve patient satisfaction and quality of life, and reduce costs. Numerous strategies have been tested to improve the efficiency and safety of patient recovery and discharge, but hospitals continue to face challenges. Purpose. This Technical Brief aimed to identify and synthesize current knowledge and emerging concepts regarding systematic strategies that hospitals and health systems can implement to reduce length of stay (LOS), with emphasis on medically complex or vulnerable patients at high risk for prolonged LOS due to clinical, social, or economic barriers to timely discharge. Methods. We conducted a structured search for published and unpublished studies and conducted interviews with Key Informants representing vulnerable patients, hospitals, health systems, and clinicians. The interviews provided guidance on our research protocol, search strategy, and analysis. Due to the large and diverse evidence base, we limited our evaluation to systematic reviews of interventions to decrease hospital LOS for patients at potentially higher risk for delayed discharge; primary research studies were not included, and searches were restricted to reviews published since 2010. We cataloged the characteristics of relevant interventions and assessed evidence of their effectiveness. Findings. Our searches yielded 4,364 potential studies. After screening, we included 19 systematic reviews reported in 20 articles. The reviews described eight strategies for reducing LOS: discharge planning; geriatric assessment or consultation; medication management; clinical pathways; inter- or multidisciplinary care; case management; hospitalist services; and telehealth. All reviews included adult patients, and two reviews also included children. Interventions were frequently designed for older (often frail) patients or patients with chronic illness. One review included pregnant women at high risk for premature delivery. No reviews focused on factors linking patient vulnerability with social determinants of health. The reviews reported few details about hospital setting, context, or resources associated with the interventions studied. Evidence for effectiveness of interventions was generally not robust and often inconsistent—for example, we identified six reviews of discharge planning; three found no effect on LOS, two found LOS decreased, and one reported an increase. Many reviews also reported patient readmission rates and mortality but with similarly inconsistent results. Conclusions. A broad range of strategies have been employed to reduce LOS, but rigorous systematic reviews have not consistently demonstrated effectiveness within medically complex, high-risk, and vulnerable populations. Health system leaders, researchers, and policymakers must collaborate to address these needs.
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Schultz, Timothy, Michael Zhou, Jodi Gray, Jackie Roseleur, Richard Clark, Dylan Mordaunt, and Peter Hibbert. Patient characteristics and interventions associated with complaints and medico-legal claims. The Sax Institute, November 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.57022/lioq6047.
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There is anecdotal evidence that the rate of complaints and claims against doctors is rising, yet little is known about (Q1) which types of patients are more likely to make a complaint or claim, nor about (Q2) what interventions are effective in reducing rates of complaints and claims and increasing patient satisfaction. This Evidence Check aimed to answer those two questions. The evidence base for both of the questions was of low quality, with only five studies having a comparison group. Twenty-five studies addressed Question 1. The only patient characteristic to have a consistent effect on rates of complaints and claims was having a mental, behavioural or developmental disorder. Other patient characteristics, including those related to their therapeutic context, had inconsistent or weak relationships with rates of complaints and claims. Twenty studies addressed Question 2 (including one which addressed both questions). There were consistently reduced rates of complaints and claims following implementation of risk management programs and also implementation of communication and resolution programs. Peer feedback programs consistently improved doctors’ response to complaints and subsequent performance. However, the results found here should be interpreted with caution, as the risk of bias inherent in the study designs makes them more likely to erroneously demonstrate an effect.
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Gwin, Catherine, Mayra Ruiz, Saleema Vellani, and Alejandro Guerrero. IDB-9: Access to Information. Inter-American Development Bank, March 2013. http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0010517.
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Following up on the IDB-9 commitments, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB, or Bank) established a new Access to Information Policy that took effect on January 1, 2011. The new policy was expected to match international best practices and to increase the overall transparency of the Bank, strengthening its governance and development effectiveness. This review assesses the extent to which the access to information reform has been fully and effectively implemented. The review finds that the new policy largely matches best practices in comparator institutions, with, however, one provision that is unique to the IDB policy and inconsistent with the core principle of transparency: a broadly written exception to disclosure of country-specific information to which a country objects. As evidence of country use of this exception already suggests, this exception could completely undermine the access to information reform endeavor. The policy cannot be implemented effectively unless the country-specific exception is narrowed. Overall, the Bank is in the process of fully implementing the Access to Information Policy. Implementation progress has been substantial in the key areas of designing a regulatory framework, training staff, upgrading the Bank's document management system, and establishing governance structures and processes; and issues are being addressed as they become evident. Still, key steps to full and effective implementation remain under way. As a consequence, the effectiveness of the new policy has been significant in relation to the disclosure of key documents (such as Board-related information) but remains limited overall. Important revisions to the Implementation Guidelines have taken much longer than planned, and remain a work in progress. Timely disclosure and improved online access remain challenges. The share of documents made public under the new policy has decreased marginally, and staff and external stakeholders report limited awareness of the new policy. These findings reflect a need to improve IT monitoring systems to ensure policy compliance, expand staff training, broaden the communications strategy, and improve the online accessibility of information. This review offers six suggestions for further actions to advance effective implementation of the Access to Information Policy: (i) revise the policy to clarify that redaction is the remedy for country objections to disclosure of country-specific information, and make explicit that the final decision on the handling of information lies with the Bank, after consultation in cases of country concern; (ii) to be consistent with IDB-9 commitments to disclose project results, include Expanded Project Supervision Reports (XPSRs) in the list of disclosed information for non-sovereign-guaranteed operations; (iii) to effectively monitor policy compliance, establish a mechanism to spot-check the accuracy of document classification; (iv) enhance and launch the planned tracking system for timely disclosure of public information; (v) improve the IDB's website and better integrate the different repository systems to ensure easy and adequate accessibility to the Bank's information; and (vi) identify and track indicators of transparency.
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Chou, Roger, Jesse Wagner, Azrah Y. Ahmed, Ian Blazina, Erika Brodt, David I. Buckley, Tamara P. Cheney, et al. Treatments for Acute Pain: A Systematic Review. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), December 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.23970/ahrqepccer240.
Full textAbstract:
Objectives. To evaluate the effectiveness and comparative effectiveness of opioid, nonopioid pharmacologic, and nonpharmacologic therapy in patients with specific types of acute pain, including effects on pain, function, quality of life, adverse events, and long-term use of opioids. Data sources. Electronic databases (Ovid® MEDLINE®, PsycINFO®, Embase®, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews) to August 2020, reference lists, and a Federal Register notice. Review methods. Using predefined criteria and dual review, we selected randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of outpatient therapies for eight acute pain conditions: low back pain, neck pain, other musculoskeletal pain, neuropathic pain, postoperative pain following discharge, dental pain (surgical or nonsurgical), pain due to kidney stones, and pain due to sickle cell disease. Meta-analyses were conducted on pharmacologic therapy for dental pain and kidney stone pain, and likelihood of repeat or rescue medication use and adverse events. The magnitude of effects was classified as small, moderate, or large using previously defined criteria, and strength of evidence was assessed. Results. One hundred eighty-three RCTs on the comparative effectiveness of therapies for acute pain were included. Opioid therapy was probably less effective than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for surgical dental pain and kidney stones, and might be similarly effective as NSAIDs for low back pain. Opioids and NSAIDs were more effective than acetaminophen for surgical dental pain, but opioids were less effective than acetaminophen for kidney stone pain. For postoperative pain, opioids were associated with increased likelihood of repeat or rescue analgesic use, but effects on pain intensity were inconsistent. Being prescribed an opioid for acute low back pain or postoperative pain was associated with increased likelihood of use of opioids at long-term followup versus not being prescribed, based on observational studies. Heat therapy was probably effective for acute low back pain, spinal manipulation might be effective for acute back pain with radiculopathy, acupressure might be effective for acute musculoskeletal pain, an opioid might be effective for acute neuropathic pain, massage might be effective for some types of postoperative pain, and a cervical collar or exercise might be effective for acute neck pain with radiculopathy. Most studies had methodological limitations. Effect sizes were primarily small to moderate for pain, the most commonly evaluated outcome. Opioids were associated with increased risk of short-term adverse events versus NSAIDs or acetaminophen, including any adverse event, nausea, dizziness, and somnolence. Serious adverse events were uncommon for all interventions, but studies were not designed to assess risk of overdose, opioid use disorder, or long-term harms. Evidence on how benefits or harms varied in subgroups was lacking. Conclusions. Opioid therapy was associated with decreased or similar effectiveness as an NSAID for some acute pain conditions, but with increased risk of short-term adverse events. Evidence on nonpharmacological therapies was limited, but heat therapy, spinal manipulation, massage, acupuncture, acupressure, a cervical collar, and exercise were effective for specific acute pain conditions. Research is needed to determine the comparative effectiveness of therapies for sickle cell pain, acute neuropathic pain, neck pain, and management of postoperative pain following discharge; effects of therapies for acute pain on non-pain outcomes; effects of therapies on long-term outcomes, including long-term opioid use; and how benefits and harms of therapies vary in subgroups.