Question answering systems (QA systems) stand as a new alternative for information retrieval systems. We conducted a study to evaluate the efficiency of QA systems as terminological sources for physicians, specialized translators and users in general. To this end we analysed the performance of two open-domain and two restricted-domain QA systems. The research entailed a collection of 150 definitional questions from WebMed. We studied the sources that QA systems used to retrieve the answers, and later applied a range of evaluation measures to mark the quality of answers. Through analysing the results obtained by asking the 150 questions in the QA systems MedQA, START, QuALiM and HONqa, it was possible to evaluate the systems' operation through applying specific metrics (MRR, FHS, TRR, Precision, Recall). Despite the limitations demonstrated by these systems, it has been confirmed that these four QA systems are valid and useful for obtaining definitional medical information in that they offer coherent and precise answers.
Background: Question-answering systems (or QA Systems) stand as a new alternative for Information Retrieval Systems. Most users frequently need to retrieve specific information about a factual question to obtain a whole document. Objectives: The study evaluates the efficiency of QA systems as terminological sources for physicians, specialised translators and users in general. It assesses the performance of one open-domain QA system, START, and one restricted-domain QA system, MedQA. Method: The study collected two hundred definitional questions (What is…?), either general or specialised, from the health website WebMD. Sources used by the open-domain QA system, START, and the restricted-domain QA system, MedQA, were studied to retrieve answers, and later a range of evaluation measures (precision, Mean Reciprocal Rank, Total Reciprocal Rank, First Hit Success) were applied to mark the quality of answers. Results: It was established that both systems are useful in the retrieval of valid definitional healthcare information, with an acceptable degree of coherent and precise responses from both. The answers supplied by MedQA were more reliable that those of START in the sense that they came from specialised clinical or academic sources, most of them showing links to further research articles. Conclusions: Results obtained show the potential of this type of tool in the more general realm of information access, and the retrieval of health information. They may be considered a good, reliable and reasonably precise alternative in alleviating the information overload. Both QA systems can help professionals and users can obtain healthcare information.
Constant changes in the economic environment, where globalisation and the development of the knowledge economy act as drivers, are systematically pushing companies towards the challenge of accessing external markets. Web localization constitutes a new field of study and professional intervention. From the translation perspective, localization equates to the website being adjusted to the typological, discursive and genre conventions of the target culture, adapting that website to a different language and culture. This entails much more than simply translating the content of the pages. The content of a webpage is made up of text, images and other multimedia elements, all of which have to be translated and subjected to cultural adaptation. The user must never notice that the site was originally created in another language. In addition, commercial and business translation have certain particularities which must be studied and borne in mind so as to achieve the desired communication goals.
Website localization constitutes a new field of study and professional intervention. Localization can be described as a global process in which globalization and internationalization come together in an effort to prepare a particular product for a particular locale. We could define locale as the collection of features of the user's environment that is dependent on language, country/region, and cultural conventions. Locales usually provide more information about cultural conventions than about languages. As a result, the term localization remains irremediably linked to the concept of culture. Correct localization cannot be achieved without knowing and bearing in mind the locale to which it is directed. It is also necessary to point out that localization is a modality of translation. Localization involves translation of textual content into language and textual conventions of the target locale and adaptation of non-textual content as well as input, output and delivery mechanisms to take into account the cultural, technical and regulatory requirements of that locale. In sum, localization is not so much about specific tasks as it is about the processes by which products are adapted. The translation process requires language professionals to perform various roles, completing each stage on time and undertaking multiple tasks in order to meet the conditions for delivery of the translation in accordance with a series of quality parameters [1-10]. For its part, localization involves a variety of agents in the localization process, though their number may vary from a single person responsible for the entire process to a multiplicity of agents in large organizations, including business managers, localization managers, localization engineers, terminologists, locators, quality control operators and freelance translators, among others. The process also varies considerably depending on the nature of the project, the technologies involved, the resources available and even the type of translation process employed. The particularities of this translation modality make the use of translation tools, also known by the acronym CAT (Computer Assisted Translation) tools, a necessity. Furthermore, we should not forget that these particularities complicate the translation process in terms of the time and effort required. In order to raise the students of the Bachelor's Degree in Translation and Interpretation to the level required by this hyper-competitive market, production times must be reduced, and this is where CAT tools come into their own. While professional website translators-localisers form part of a complex team, they often do not participate in the decisions taken in the primary stages of web localization. With this in mind we must forget the concept of the localiser as an isolated element and begin to see them as an integral part of a complex production chain. With the right training a web content translator may be qualified to carry out several of these functions. In any case they would always have a wide range of CAT tools a...
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