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Detalhes

Detalhes

  • Nome

    Mariana Curado Malta
  • Cargo

    Investigador Sénior
  • Desde

    24 janeiro 2024
Publicações

2025

Contributions for the Development of Personae: Method for Creating Persona Templates (MCPT)

Autores
Couto, F; Curado Malta, M;

Publicação
Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)

Abstract
This paper contributes to developing a Method for Creating Persona Templates (MCPT), addressing a significant gap in user-centred design methodologies. Utilising qualitative data collection and analysis techniques, MCPT offers a systematic approach to developing robust and context-oriented persona templates. MCPT was created by applying the Design Science Research (DSR) methodology, and it incorporates multiple iterations for template refinement and validation among project stakeholders; all of the proposed steps of this method were based on theoretical contributions. Furthermore, MCPT was tested and refined within a real-life R&D project focusing on developing a digital platform e-marketplace for short agrifood supply chains in two iteration cycles. MCPT fills a critical void in persona research by providing detailed instructions for each step of template development. By involving the target audience, users, and project stakeholders, MCPT adds rigour to the persona creation process, enhancing the quality and relevance of personae casts. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by offering an initial proposal of a comprehensive method for creating persona templates within diverse projects and contexts. Further research should explore MCPT’s adaptability to different settings and projects, thus refining its effectiveness and extending its utility in user-centred design practices. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.

2024

IS-PEW: Identifying Influential Spreaders Using Potential Edge Weight in Complex Networks

Autores
Nandi, S; Malta, MC; Maji, G; Dutta, A;

Publicação
COMPLEX NETWORKS & THEIR APPLICATIONS XII, VOL 3, COMPLEX NETWORKS 2023

Abstract
Identifying the influential spreaders in complex networks has emerged as an important research challenge to control the spread of (mis)information or infectious diseases. Researchers have proposed many centrality measures to identify the influential nodes (spreaders) in the past few years. Still, most of them have not considered the importance of the edges in unweighted networks. To address this issue, we propose a novel centrality measure to identify the spreading ability of the Influential Spreaders using the Potential Edge Weight method (IS-PEW). Considering the connectivity structure, the ability of information exchange, and the importance of neighbouring nodes, we measure the potential edge weight. The ranking similarity of spreaders identified by IS-PEW and the baseline centrality methods are compared with the Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered (SIR) epidemic simulator using Kendall's rank correlation. The spreading ability of the top-ranking spreaders is also compared for five different percentages of top-ranking node sets using six different real networks.

2024

Promoting Interoperability on the Datasets of the Arrowheads Findings of the Chalcolithic and the Early/Middle Bronze Age

Autores
Curado-Malta, M; Diez-Platas, ML; Araujo, A; Muralha, J; Oliveira, M;

Publicação
LINKING THEORY AND PRACTICE OF DIGITAL LIBRARIES, PT I, TPDL 2024

Abstract
Archaeological discoveries can benefit enormously from linked open data (LOD) technologies since, as new objects are discovered, data about them can be placed in the LOD cloud and instantly accessible to third parties. This article presents a framework developed to publish LOD on arrowheads from the Chalcolithic and Early/Middle Bronze Age chronologies (2800/2900 BC to 1500 BC) found in the last 25 years of excavations on an archaeological site in Portugal. These arrowheads were kept in boxes, hidden from the possibility of being studied and viewed by interested parties. The framework encompasses a metadata application profile (MAP) and tools to be used with this MAP, such as a namespace, two metadata schemas and eight vocabulary coding schemes. The MAP domain model was developed with the support of the scientific literature about this type of arrowheads, and the team integrated two archaeologists. This framework was created with the design philosophy of maximising data interoperability, so terms from the CIDOC CRM conceptual models and other vocabularies widely used in the LOD cloud were used. The MAP was tested using a set of seven arrowheads, which proved, in the first instance, the viability of the developed MAP. The team plans to test the model in future work with arrowheads of other excavations.

2023

STC plus K: a Semi-global triangular and degree centrality method to identify influential spreaders in complex networks

Autores
Sadhu, S; Namtirtha, A; Malta, MC; Dutta, A;

Publicação
2023 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON WEB INTELLIGENCE AND INTELLIGENT AGENT TECHNOLOGY, WI-IAT

Abstract
Influential spreaders contribute substantially to managing and optimizing any spreading process in a network. Influential spreaders are nodes that hold importance within the network. Identifying them is a challenging task. Some encysting methods for such identification include local-structure-based, global-structure-based, semi-global-structure-based, and hybrid-structure-based methods. Semi-global structure-based methods show significant potential in identifying influential nodes in different network structures. However, existing semi-global structure-based methods often identify nodes from the network's periphery, where nodes are loosely connected, and their collective influence in spreading processes is minimal. This paper presents a novel method called Semi-global triangular and degree centrality (STC + K) to overcome this limitation by considering a node's degree, the number of triangles, and the third hop of neighbourhood connectivity information. The proposed novel method outperforms the existing noteworthy indexing methods regarding ranking performance. The experimental results show better performance, as indicated by two performance metrics: recognition rate and improvement percentage. By virtue of the fact that the empirically set free parameters are absent, our method eliminates the need for time-consuming preprocessing to select optimal parameter values for ranking nodes in large networks.

2023

Cooperatives and the Use of Artificial Intelligence: A Critical View

Autores
Ramos, ME; Azevedo, A; Meira, D; Malta, MC;

Publicação
SUSTAINABILITY

Abstract
Digital Transformation (DT) has become an important issue for organisations. It is proven that DT fuels Digital Innovation in organisations. It is well-known that technologies and practices such as distributed ledger technologies, open source, analytics, big data, and artificial intelligence (AI) enhance DT. Among those technologies, AI provides tools to support decision-making and automatically decide. Cooperatives are organisations with a mutualistic scope and are characterised by having participatory cooperative governance due to the principle of democratic control by the members. In a context where DT is here to stay, where the dematerialisation of processes can bring significant advantages to any organisation, this article presents a critical reflection on the dangers of using AI technologies in cooperatives. We base this reflection on the Portuguese cooperative code. We emphasise that this code is not very different from the ones of other countries worldwide as they are all based on the Statement of Cooperative Identity defined by the International Cooperative Alliance. We understand that we cannot stop the entry of AI technologies into the cooperatives. Therefore, we present a framework for using AI technologies in cooperatives to avoid damaging the principles and values of this type of organisations.