A informação estatística na tomada de decisão das Bibliotecas do Ensino Superior em Portugal

Este estudo procurou, por um lado, caracterizar as bibliotecas das Universidades públicas portuguesas em termos de recolha de dados estatísticos, seu tratamento e posterior utilização na gestão e tomada de decisão nessas bibliotecas. Por outro lado, procurou auscultar a satisfação do staff e a satisfação dos utilizadores dessas mesmas bibliotecas. Além desta competente mais descritiva, este estudo incluiu também uma componente explicativa baseada num modelo teórico que sugere, primeiramente, a existência de uma relação entre a utilização de informação estatística (IE) na gestão e tomada de decisão e a satisfação do staff e a satisfação dos utilizadores. E, seguidamente, a presença de uma relação de interdependência entre o grau de satisfação do staff e o grau de satisfação dos utilizadores, tal como é sugerido pela teoria da cadeia de lucro na prestação de serviços (Heskett et al., 1994). Foi possível apurar a existência de uma cultura de recolha de dados estatísticos, tratamento e utilização dessa informação para a gestão e tomada de decisão entre as bibliotecas participantes. O estudo também revela que a recolha e utilização de IE tem um impacto positivo na satisfação dos utilizadores, mas afecta negativamente a satisfação do staff com o ambiente de trabalho. / ABSTRACT; This study characterizes the Portuguesa Higher Education Libraries with respect to the collection of data, its statistical analysis and subsequent use in the management and decision making of these Libraries. ln addition, the study also tried to obtain information on the level of satisfaction of staff and users in the same Libraries. Besides this descriptive component, this study includes an explicative component based on a theoretical model. This model first suggests the existence of a positive relationship between the use of statistical information in management and decision making in a Library and the level of satisfaction of users and staff. A second prediction of the model is the existence of an interdependence relationship between the level of satisfaction of the staff and the level of satisfaction of the users, as it is suggesting by the service-profit-chain theory (Heskett et al., 1994). The results reveal the existence of a culture of data collection, statistical analysis of the data and subsequent use in management and decision making among the participant libraries. The study also shows that the collection and use of statistical information has a positive impact on the level of satisfaction of the users but a negative impact on the level of satisfaction of staff regarding the job environment.

Improving Bangla ocr output through correction algorithms

Bangla OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is a long deserving software for Bengali community all over the world. Numerous e efforts suggest that due to the inherent complex nature of Bangla alphabet and its word formation process development of high fidelity OCR producing a reasonably acceptable output still remains a challenge. One possible way of improvement is by using post processing of OCR’s output; algorithms such as Edit Distance and the use of n-grams statistical information have been used to rectify misspelled words in language processing. This work presents the first known approach to use these algorithms to replace misrecognized words produced by Bangla OCR. The assessment is made on a set of fifty documents written in Bangla script and uses a dictionary of 541,167 words. The proposed correction model can correct several words lowering the recognition error rate by 2.87% and 3.18% for the character based n- gram and edit distance algorithms respectively. The developed system suggests a list of 5 (five) alternatives for a misspelled word. It is found that in 33.82% cases, the correct word is the topmost suggestion of 5 words list for n-gram algorithm while using Edit distance algorithm the first word in the suggestion properly matches 36.31% of the cases. This work will ignite rooms of thoughts for possible improvements in character recognition endeavour.

Computerized key to the genus Bursaphelenchus Fuchs, analysis of species clusters based on morphology, using information of insect vectors and associated plants, with a revision of the genus.

The genus Bursaphelenchus includes B. xylophilus (Steiner et Buhrer, 1934) Nickle, 1981, which is of world economic and quarantine importance. Distinction among several species of the pinewood nematodes species complex (PWNSC) is often difficult. Besides standard morphology, morphometrics and molecular biology, new tools are welcome to better understand this group. The computerized (or e-) key of this genus, presented in this communication, includes 74 species (complete list of valid species of the world fauna) and 35 characters, that were used by the taxonomic experts of this group, in the original descriptions. Morphology of sex organs (male spicules and female vulval region) was digitized and classified to distinguish alternative types. Several qualitative characters with overlapping character states (expressions) were transformed into the morphometric indices with the discontinuous ranges (characters of ratios of the spicule dimensions). Characters and their states (expressions) were illustrated in detail and supplied by brief user-friendly comments. E-key was created in the BIKEY identification system (Dianov & Lobanov, 1996-2004). The system has built-algorithm ranging characters depending on their diagnostic values at each step of identification. Matrix of species and the character states (structural part of the e-key database) may be easily transformed using statistical packages into the dendrograms of general phenetic similarities (UPGMA, standard distance: mean character difference). It may be useful in the detailed analysis of taxonomy and evolution of the genus and in its splitting to the species groups based on morphology. The verification of the dendrogram using the information on the species links with insect vectors and their associated plants, provided an opportunity to recognize the five clusters (xylophilus, hunti, eremus sensu stricto, tusciae and piniperdae sensu stricto), which seem to be the natural species groups. The hypothesis about the origin and the first stages of the genus evolution is proposed. A general review of the genus Bursaphelenchus is presented.