title: A combined phrase and thesaurus browser for large document collections

authors: Paynter, Gordon W.

subjects: computer science

abstract: A browsing interface to a document collection can be constructed automatically by identifying the phrases that recur in the full text of the documents and structuring them into a hierarchy based on lexical inclusion. This provides a good way of allowing readers to browse comfortably through the phrases (all phrases) in a large document collection. 
A subject-oriented thesaurus provides a different kind of hierarchical structure, based on deep knowledge of the subject area. If all documents, or parts of documents, are tagged with thesaurus terms, this provides a very convenient way of browsing through a collection. Unfortunately, manual classification is expensive and infeasible for many practical document collections. 
This paper describes a browsing scheme that gives the best of both worlds by providing a phrase-oriented browser and a thesaurus browser within the same interface. Users can switch smoothly between the phrases in the collection, which give access to the actual documents, and the thesaurus entries, which suggest new relationships and new terms to seek.

text: A combined phrase and thesaurus browser for large document collections A browsing interface to a document collection can be constructed automatically by identifying the phrases that recur in the full text of the documents and structuring them into a hierarchy based on lexical inclusion. This provides a good way of allowing readers to browse comfortably through the phrases (all phrases) in a large document collection. 
A subject-oriented thesaurus provides a different kind of hierarchical structure, based on deep knowledge of the subject area. If all documents, or parts of documents, are tagged with thesaurus terms, this provides a very convenient way of browsing through a collection. Unfortunately, manual classification is expensive and infeasible for many practical document collections. 
This paper describes a browsing scheme that gives the best of both worlds by providing a phrase-oriented browser and a thesaurus browser within the same interface. Users can switch smoothly between the phrases in the collection, which give access to the actual documents, and the thesaurus entries, which suggest new relationships and new terms to seek.

year: 2001

title: A psychosocial study of male-to-female transgendered and male hustler sex workers in Sao Paulo, Brazil

authors: Prado Cortez, Fernanda Cestaro

subjects: sex workers

abstract: This study examined sociodemographic variables, personality characteristics, and alcohol and drug misuse among male sex workers in the city of Santo Andre´, Sao Paulo, Brazil. A total of 45 male-to-female transgender sex workers and 41 male hustlers were evaluated in face-to-face interviews at their place of work from 2008 to 2010. A “snowball” sampling procedure was used to access this hard-to-reach population. Male-to- female transgender sex workers reported fewer conventional job opportunities, fewer school problems, and higher harm avoidance and depression levels than male hustlers. Also, transgender sex workers reported earning more money through sex work and more frequently living in hostels with peers than their counterparts. As biological male sex workers are a heterogeneous population, attempts to classify them into distinctive groups should be further carried out as a way to better understand and identify their behavior, design effective health interventions, and consequently minimize the likelihood of unintended adverse outcomes. Our study showed that gender performance can be an important variable to be considered by researchers and policy makers when working with sex workers and developing HIV/AIDS prevention and public health programs, given that transgender and male sex workers not only display distinctive behavior and physical appearance but also reveal differences on specific psychological measures, such as personality traits and depression levels. We recommend that counsellors working with this population strike a balance between facilitating self-disclosure and establishing more evidence-based directive interventions.

text: A psychosocial study of male-to-female transgendered and male hustler sex workers in Sao Paulo, Brazil This study examined sociodemographic variables, personality characteristics, and alcohol and drug misuse among male sex workers in the city of Santo Andre´, Sao Paulo, Brazil. A total of 45 male-to-female transgender sex workers and 41 male hustlers were evaluated in face-to-face interviews at their place of work from 2008 to 2010. A “snowball” sampling procedure was used to access this hard-to-reach population. Male-to- female transgender sex workers reported fewer conventional job opportunities, fewer school problems, and higher harm avoidance and depression levels than male hustlers. Also, transgender sex workers reported earning more money through sex work and more frequently living in hostels with peers than their counterparts. As biological male sex workers are a heterogeneous population, attempts to classify them into distinctive groups should be further carried out as a way to better understand and identify their behavior, design effective health interventions, and consequently minimize the likelihood of unintended adverse outcomes. Our study showed that gender performance can be an important variable to be considered by researchers and policy makers when working with sex workers and developing HIV/AIDS prevention and public health programs, given that transgender and male sex workers not only display distinctive behavior and physical appearance but also reveal differences on specific psychological measures, such as personality traits and depression levels. We recommend that counsellors working with this population strike a balance between facilitating self-disclosure and establishing more evidence-based directive interventions.

year: 2011

title: Equity of travel required to access first definitive surgery for liver or stomach cancer in New Zealand

authors: Gurney, Jason

subjects: Humans

abstract: In New Zealand, there are known disparities between the Indigenous Māori and the majority non-Indigenous European populations in access to cancer treatment, with resulting disparities in cancer survival. There is international evidence of ethnic disparities in the distance travelled to access cancer treatment; and as such, the aim of this paper was to examine the distance and time travelled to access surgical care between Māori and European liver and stomach cancer patients. We used national-level data and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis to describe the distance travelled by patients to receive their first primary surgery for liver or stomach cancer, as well as the estimated time to travel this distance by road, and the surgical volume of hospitals performing these procedures. All cases of liver (ICD-10-AM 3rd edition code: C22) and stomach (C16) cancer that occurred in New Zealand (2007-2019) were drawn from the New Zealand Cancer Registry (liver cancer: 866 Māori, 2,460 European; stomach cancer: 953 Māori, 3,192 European), and linked to national inpatient hospitalisation records to examine access to surgery. We found that Māori on average travel 120km for liver cancer surgery, compared to around 60km for Europeans, while a substantial minority of both Māori and European liver cancer patients must travel more than 200km for their first primary liver surgery, and this situation appears worse for Māori (36% vs 29%; adj. OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.09-2.01). No such disparities were observed for stomach cancer. This contrast between cancers is likely driven by the centralisation of liver cancer surgery relative to stomach cancer. In order to support Māori to access liver cancer care, we recommend that additional support is provided to Māori patients (including prospective financial support), and that efforts are made to remotely provide those clinical services that can be decentralised.

text: Equity of travel required to access first definitive surgery for liver or stomach cancer in New Zealand In New Zealand, there are known disparities between the Indigenous Māori and the majority non-Indigenous European populations in access to cancer treatment, with resulting disparities in cancer survival. There is international evidence of ethnic disparities in the distance travelled to access cancer treatment; and as such, the aim of this paper was to examine the distance and time travelled to access surgical care between Māori and European liver and stomach cancer patients. We used national-level data and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis to describe the distance travelled by patients to receive their first primary surgery for liver or stomach cancer, as well as the estimated time to travel this distance by road, and the surgical volume of hospitals performing these procedures. All cases of liver (ICD-10-AM 3rd edition code: C22) and stomach (C16) cancer that occurred in New Zealand (2007-2019) were drawn from the New Zealand Cancer Registry (liver cancer: 866 Māori, 2,460 European; stomach cancer: 953 Māori, 3,192 European), and linked to national inpatient hospitalisation records to examine access to surgery. We found that Māori on average travel 120km for liver cancer surgery, compared to around 60km for Europeans, while a substantial minority of both Māori and European liver cancer patients must travel more than 200km for their first primary liver surgery, and this situation appears worse for Māori (36% vs 29%; adj. OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.09-2.01). No such disparities were observed for stomach cancer. This contrast between cancers is likely driven by the centralisation of liver cancer surgery relative to stomach cancer. In order to support Māori to access liver cancer care, we recommend that additional support is provided to Māori patients (including prospective financial support), and that efforts are made to remotely provide those clinical services that can be decentralised.

year: 2022