1,720,982 research outputs found
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
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
ROAD-ACCIDENT FUND: SERIOUS INJURY CLAIMS AND JUDICIAL PRECEDENT: THE SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL HAS SPOKEN Road Accident Fund v Duma 202/2012 and Three related cases (Health Professions Council of South Africa as Amicus Curiae) [2012] ZASCA 169 (27 November
No full textThe appeal is based on four cases against the Road Accident Fund (the Fund) that were instituted in the South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, for damages suffered as a result of motor-vehicle accidents. It was not disputed that the Fund was liable to compensate the four appellants as third parties for injuries sustained in the accidents. The only matter on appeal was the plaintiff’s entitlement togeneral damages as contemplated by section 17(1) and 17(1A) of the Road Accident Fund Act 56 of 1996, read with the Regulationspromulgated under the Act. According to the Road Accident Amendment Act 19 of 2005 (which became effective on 1 August 2008) the Fund’s liability for general damages is limited to those victims who suffered “serious injury”. Unfortunately neither section 17(1) nor section 17(1A) provides any objectively determinable guidelines as to how to determine whether an injury is serious or not. Only the Regulations prescribe the procedure to be followed in order to determine whether the appellants indeed suffered “serious injuries” (Regulation 3). Regulation 3(1)(a) stipulates that a third party who wishes to claim general damages shall submit himself or herself to an assessment by a medical practitioner registered as a medical practitioner under the Health Professions Act 56 of 1974. Regulation 3(3)(a) determinesthat a third party who has been so assessed shall obtain from the medical practitioner concerned a serious-injury assessment report, defined in Regulation 1 as a duly completed RAF4 form. This form read with Regulation 3(1)(b) requires the medical practitioner to assess the seriousness of an injury in accordance with three sets of criteria. The Fund has to accept only claims for general damages if a claim issupported by a serious-injury report, duly filled in according to the method provided for in the Regulations. If the Fund is not satisfied, it must in terms of Regulation 3(3)(d) either reject the claim and give reasons for doing so, or direct that the third party submits himself or herself to a further assessment at the Fund’s expense by a medical practitioner designated by the Fund in accordance with Regulation 3(1)(b). If a claim does not comply with the prescribed procedures a claim for general damages is premature, as it is not for the court to decide whether an injury is “serious” or not. The judgment given in this appeal by Brand JA (Mhlantla, Leach JJA, Plasket and Saldulker AJJA concurring) overturned many previous cases judged by other courts including the four referred to. The clarification given by the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Road Accident Fund Amendment Regulations, 2013 that were published after the judgment, is significant andshould be taken cognisance of by any lawyer, medical practitioner involved in a RAF case or an individual approaching the Fund unaided by lawyers. 
“THIS IS MY KIDNEY, I CAN DO WHAT I WANT WITH IT” – PROPERTY RIGHTS AND OWNERSHIP OF HUMAN ORGANS
No full textIf I am not a slave, nobody else owns me and I therefore must own myself. This is but philosophical speculation and not the law. According to the legal view, not only does no one own me or my body parts, but neither do I. Legal conceptions of “property” donot extend to self-ownership. A vacuum in law concerning the ownership of body parts exists and the only responses to questions concerning this type of ownership remain philosophical and obiter dicta in reported cases. This article explores property rights in human bodies and body parts in order to establish the position in law of excised human organs removed for the use in transplantation. It is necessary to highlight the historical progression in determining property rights in human body parts, but it should be borne in mind that the majority of laws and court decisions took place in an era when organ transplants were still in an experimental phase. For the sake of brevity foreign legislation and court judgments in only two common law countries will be scrutinised and compared to the current position in South Africa. The reasons why ownership in human organs are important will also be indicated. 
SUPERFLUOUS LITIGATION, IN A WRONG FORUM ABOUT NOTHING: WHEN LAWYERS AND EXPERTS COLLUDE Motswai v RAF 2012 SA (GSJ) Case No: 2010/17220
No full textThe case of Motswai v RAF (2012 SA (GSJ) Case No: 2010/17220, not yet reported) is a clear indication of how lawyers and experts should not act in a case against the Road Accident Fund (RAF). From the facts of the case it is clear that there was no need to institute an action, yet the lawyers proceeded and experts even wrote lengthy opinions on a bruised ankle. The only inference the judge drew from this was that the lawyers (and experts) were only concerned about being paid even if it meant being paid from the funds intended to compensate road accident victims. Satchwell J therefore after analysing all the evidence made a cost order that neither the plaintiff’s nor the defendant’s attorneys should receive any fees at all in respect of this claim or litigation. The expenses incurred in respect of “experts” should not be a burden on the public purse and therefore the attorneys should meet these disbursements de bonis propriis. She further stated that counsel should be paid only on a scale of the Magistrate’s Court and it should not include trial fees
The Requirement of Being a "Fit and Proper" Person for the Legal Profession
No full textAn important requirement for admission as an attorney or advocate is to be a "fit and proper" person. Lawyers are also struck from the respective rolls of advocates or attorneys if they cease to be "fit and proper". This requirement of being a "fit and proper" person is not defined or described in legislation. It is left to the subjective interpretation of and application by seniors in the profession and ultimately the court. In the apartheid years this requirement was applied arbitrarily but today the question may be asked why some lawyers who have been found to be "fit and proper" do not act as such. The pre-admission character screening of lawyers seems not to be effective any more. Post- admission moral development is imperative.
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