Abstract. Currently computers are changing from single isolated devices into entry points into a worldwide network of information exchange and business transactions. Support in data, information, and knowledge exchange is becoming the key issue in current computer technology. Ontologies will play a major role in supporting information exchange processes in various areas. A prerequisite for such a role is the development of a joint standard for specifying and exchanging ontologies. The purpose of the paper is precisely concerned with this necessity. We will present OIL, which is a proposal for such a standard. It is based on existing proposals such as OKBC, XOL and RDF schema, enriching them with necessary features for expressing ontologies. The paper sketches the main ideas of OIL.

BackgroundStanford’s Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) stands out as having a large evidence-base and being broadly disseminated across various countries. To date, neither evidence nor practice exists of its systematic adaptation into a German-speaking context. The objective of this paper is to describe the systematic German adaptation and implementation process of the CDSMP (2010–2014), report the language-specific adaptation of Franco-Canadian CDSMP for the French-speaking part of Switzerland and report findings from the initial evaluation process.MethodsMultiple research methods were integrated to explore the perspective of workshop attendees, combining a longitudinal quantitative survey with self-report questionnaires, qualitative focus groups, and interviews. The evaluation process was conducted in for both the German and French adapted versions to gain insights into participants’ experiences in the program and to evaluate its impact. Perceived self-efficacy was measured using the German version of the Self-Efficacy for Managing Chronic Disease 6-Item Scale (SES6G).ResultsTwo hundred seventy eight people attending 35 workshops in Switzerland and Austria participated in the study. The study participants were receptive to the program content, peer-led approach and found principal methods useful, yet the structured approach did not address all their needs or expectations. Both short and long-term impact on self-efficacy were observed following the workshop participation (albeit with a minor decrease at 6-months). Participants reported positive impacts on aspects of coping and self-care, but limited effects on healthcare service utilization.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that the process for cross-border adaptation was effective, and that the CDSMP can successfully be implemented in diverse healthcare and community settings. The adapted CDSMP can be considered an asset for supporting self-management in both German-and French-speaking central European countries. It could have meaningful, wide-ranging implications for chronic illness care and primary prevention and potentially tertiary prevention of chronic disease. Further investigations are needed to tailor the program for better access to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups who might benefit the most, in terms of facilitating their health literacy in chronic illness.

No abstract

No abstract

Abstract. A reusable agent-based generic model is presented for a specific class of Ambient Intelligence applications: those cases addressing human wellbeing and functioning from a human-like understanding. The model incorporates ontologies, knowledge and dynamic models from human-directed sciences such as psychology, social science, neuroscience and biomedical sciences. The model has been formally specified, and it is shown how for specific applications it can be instantiated by application-specific elements, thus providing an executable specification that can be used for prototyping. Moreover, it is shown how dynamic properties can be formally specified and verified against generated traces.

No abstract

No abstract

A reusable agent-based generic model is presented for a specific class of Ambient Intelligence applications: those cases addressing human wellbeing and functioning from a human-like understanding. The model incorporates ontologies, knowledge and dynamic models from human-directed sciences such as psychology, social science, neuroscience and biomedical sciences. The model has been formally specified, and it is shown how for specific applications it can be instantiated by application-specific elements, thus providing an executable specification that can be used for prototyping. Moreover, it is shown how dynamic properties can be formally specified and verified against generated traces. IntroductionThe environment in which humans operate has an important influence on their wellbeing and performance. For example, a comfortable workspace or an attentive partner may contribute to good performance or prevention of health problems. Recent developments within Ambient Intelligence provide technological possibilities to contribute to such personal care; cf. [Aarts et al. (2003)], [Aarts et al. (2001)], [Riva et al. (2005)]. For example, our car may warn us when we are falling asleep while driving or when we are too drunk to drive. Such applications can be based on possibilities to acquire sensor information about humans and their functioning, but more substantial applications depend on the availability of adequate knowledge for analysis of information about human functioning. If knowledge about human functioning is represented in a formal and computational format in devices in the environment, these devices can show more human-like understanding, and (re)act accordingly by undertaking actions in a knowledgeable manner that improve the human's wellbeing and performance. As another example, the workspaces of naval officers may in-