1,720,961 research outputs found
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe 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
Handout: Analysis of the EU Seed Marketing Reform from a Seed Diversity Perspective
No full textThe ongoing reform of EU seed marketing legislation (PRM reform) profoundly affects agricultural biodiversity. Advocacy groups like Arche Noah, as part of the Raise Our Fork campaign, seek to strengthen the role of locally-adapted crop varieties and the rights of farmers and small producers. The European Commission’s original proposal was largely restrictive, treating non-commercial seed sharing (e.g., by gene banks or hobby gardeners) similarly to for-profit marketing, imposing severe burdens and limiting the rights to use, exchange, and sell seeds. The European Parliament took significant steps towards supporting seed diversity by allowing freer sharing, reducing restrictive reporting obligations, and ensuring small producers can register rare varieties more easily. However, some limits remain, like setting maximum amounts for non-commercial seed exchanges. The Council of Ministers is expected to take a more restrictive stance, mainly supporting state-controlled distribution, which could threaten the diversity network’s many non-governmental players. On transparency, the Parliament introduced new requirements for information about breeding methods and intellectual property, but both Parliament and Commission fail to provide clear ways for third parties to appeal variety registrations. Overall, the final impact for seed diversity will depend on continued negotiations and advocacy as the Council shapes the legislation’s last details
Handout: Opportunities for Advocacy in Support of Diversity-Friendly Seed Legislation
No full textThe handout outlines strategies for advocating a diversity-friendly EU seed law during the critical final phase of the PRM marketing reform process. It emphasizes the importance of coordinated advocacy to protect seed diversity, farmers’ rights, and small-scale seed producers. Key suggested actions include reaching out to agriculture ministries, supporting and promoting the “Raise Our Forks” petition, organizing joint letters to policymakers, arranging petition handover events, and collecting testimonials from small seed producers to highlight real-world impacts. The guide stresses focused efforts on the EU Council - where major legislative decisions are made - to amplify public support and influence final policy outcomes. Overall, the handout empowers individuals and organizations with practical steps and resources to help safeguard agricultural diversity within the evolving European seed legislation
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“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
Get PDFWe 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
Module 22 - Regulatory issues related to organic seed and breeding
No full textThis module provides a structured training approach to strengthen the capacity of civil society actors, seed networks, and farmer organisations to follow regulatory processes, critically assess proposed reforms, and identify strategic opportunities for advocacy and policy engagement. It focuses on developing participants’ ability to understand the implications of legal frameworks for seed systems, connect technical and political dimensions, and collaborate effectively to influence change
Handout: Capacity Building on European Seed Policy and Legislation
Get PDFThe handout provides a comprehensive overview of how EU legislation is developed, with a focus on seed policy. It first explains the roles of the main EU institutions: the European Parliament, which represents EU citizens; the Council of the EU, representing member states; and the European Commission, which proposes new laws. These bodies work together through the Ordinary Legislative Procedure (OLP), a collaborative process that ensures laws are democratically debated, amended, and adopted.
It details the stages of the OLP, from proposal development by the Commission, to review and amendment by parliamentary committees and Council working parties, followed by readings, negotiations (trilogues), and, if necessary, compromise via a Conciliation Committee before final approval and implementation.
The guide outlines the different types of EU legal instruments - regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations, and opinions - and explains how each functions. Regulations set binding rules across the EU, while directives allow states flexibility in implementation; decisions are directed at specific entities, and recommendations are non-binding advice.
Finally, the handout covers the regulatory framework for plant reproductive material (PRM) in Europe. It highlights rules for seed quality, variety registration, plant health, genetic diversity, and sustainability to illustrate how EU legislation aims to set uniform standards, protect biodiversity, and ensure safe, high-quality seeds circulate across member states
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe 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
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