1,720,955 research outputs found
Digital Storytelling Through the European Commission’s Africa Knowledge Platform to Bridge the Science-Policy Interface for Raw Materials
No full textThe international science-policy interface increasingly needs knowledge brokers to convey technical evidence to non-specialists in an engaging way. The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) has a long track-record of scientific knowledge on Africa’s developmental context, but this knowledge is often fragmented and difficult to access, limiting its uptake by policymakers and other stakeholders. To overcome this, the JRC developed the Africa Knowledge Platform (https://africa-knowledge-platform.ec.europa.eu/), a web-based entry-point to knowledge that evolves constantly to best support the European Union’s objective of deepening its partnership with Africa. This highly visual and easy-to-use platform brings together datasets, narratives, interactive tools, and partnerships across more than 60 disciplines and policy priorities. Here, we introduce the Africa Knowledge Platform, focusing specifically on using digital storytelling to communicate policy-relevant research on Africa’s raw materials. We present two geographically explicit narratives on (1) critical raw materials for low carbon and digital technologies and (2) monitoring gold mining in remote parts of central Africa using satellite technology. Each narrative uses interactive data and accessible language to communicate relevant research from the JRC and other sources within the context of policies including the EU-Africa Strategy, the European Green Deal and its Circular Economy Action Plan, the African Union’s Mining Vision and international development agendas such as the Sustainable Development Goals. Ultimately, we reflect on how the Africa Knowledge Platform can bridge the gap between scientists and policymakers, emphasising the opportunities and caveats for knowledge brokerage across complex science-policy contexts
Random population fluctuations bias the Living Planet Index
Full text linkThe Living Planet Index (LPI) is a standardized indicator for tracking population trends through time. Due to its ability to aggregate many time series in a single metric, the LPI has been proposed as an indicator for the Convention on Biological Diversity’s post-2020 Global Biodiversity Strategy. However, here we show that random population fluctuations introduce biases when calculating the LPI. By combining simulated and empirical data, we show how random fluctuations lead to a declining LPI even when overall population trends are stable and imprecise estimates of the LPI when populations increase or decrease nonlinearly. We applied randomization null models that demonstrate how random fluctuations exaggerate declines in the global LPI by 9.6%. Our results confirm substantial declines in the LPI but highlight sources of uncertainty in quantitative estimates. Randomization null models are useful for presenting uncertainty around indicators of progress towards international biodiversity targets
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Geographic distribution and habitat selection in the berg adder, Bitis atropos (serpentes, viperidae) on the Mpumalanga escarpment, and the consequences for conservation
No full textUnderstanding how species use geographic space is foundational to ecology, biogeography and conservation biology. However, such essential geographic information remains unavailable for many species. This is especially true for reptiles, which, despite being the largest group of terrestrial vertebrates, remain poorly studied relative to other groups. Moreover, the number of reptile species keeps growing, as new species are discovered and described from existing species complexes. Therefore, in this dissertation, I set out to narrow this knowledge-gap by exploring geographic patterns in the Mpumalanga population of the berg adder (Bitis atropos). This population represents a distinct evolutionary lineage within a larger species complex and justifies reconsideration as a distinct species. I began by using species distribution modelling to estimate the total geographic range size of this snake lineage and showed how it has a restricted distribution that has experienced persistent habitat loss in recent decades. Combined, these results suggest that this lineage would be classified as "Vulnerable" according to IUCN criteria should it be recognised as a new species. I then carried out repeated field surveys to study Mpumalanga berg adder habitat-use within the Buffelskloof Private Nature Reserve. These field records were combined with topographic information to quantify habitat occupancy and account for imperfect detection. Analyses showed that the snakes were more likely to occur on north-west facing slopes with higher heat load index values and, therefore, higher ambient energy. This is important for behavioural thermoregulation in ectothermic species. By understanding distribution patterns and habitat use, this thesis is an important piece in a larger puzzle of reptile spatial ecology. Ultimately, the results presented here provide a deeper evidence base on the ecology and biogeography of a poorly-studied reptile to inform future conservation and management.National Research Foundation (NRF
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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