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    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The 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

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    “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

    Potential strategies for harnessing indigenous rainmaking practices to combat the negative effects of climate change in Chimamimani District of Zimbabwe

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    PhDRDVInstitute for Rural DevelopmentCurrently, there is limited understanding, appreciation and dissemination of indigenous raining making practices. Yet indigenous rain making is part of the rich African heritage. The current study was premised on the view that indigenous rain making practices can help combat the negative effects of climate change if properly integrated with western science. A mixture of exploratory and survey designs was adopted in this study, which sought to examine the common indigenous rainmaking practices in Chimanimani District of Zimbabwe prior to developing strategies for reducing the negative impacts of climate change on the livelihoods of rural households. Various studies with the following specific objectives were carried out: to analyze the general community perceptions on the potential of indigenous rain making practices in combating the negative effects of climate change; to examine the components of indigenous rainmaking practices; analyse the means of disseminating knowledge on indigenous rainmaking; to identify the negative effects of climate change on the livelihoods of rural households; to assess the effectiveness of existing strategies used by households to cope with the negative effects of climate change; and to propose strategies for utilizing indigenous rainmaking practices to counter the negative effects of climate change on the livelihoods of rural households. Semi-structured interview guides and a questionnaire requiring responses on a Likert-type scale were used to collect data. Key informants and ordinary community members were selected using judgmental, convenient and snowballing sampling techniques. The Thematic Content Analysis technique was used to draw meaning out of the qualitative data. Chi-Square tests for Goodness of Fit were conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to establish if there were significant relationships among perceptions. It was indicated that the shift in seasons as exemplified by the Nyamavhuvhu wind which now swept Chimanimani in September or October instead of end of July to August was evidence of climate change. Responses with respect to the negative effects of climate change included food insecurity, and drying up of streams and rivers. Availability of water for domestic, agricultural and animal use was becoming increasingly unreliable. The respondents argued that they believed in the effectiveness of indigenous rain making if it is conducted following local customs and traditions. Significant differences in the following perceptions were observed for “Besides makoto and Christian prayers there are other common rainmaking practices practiced in Chimanimani District” (p < 0.05). Similar results were observed with regard to “I believe indigenous and western knowledge of rainmaking can complement each other” (P < 0.001), and “There is increase in pests and plant diseases than before” (P < 0.01). Components of indigenous rain making v identified in the current study included rain making ceremonies (makoto), which entailed use of beer, sacrificial bird (normally a cock) and natural resources conservation such as keeping places for local rain making rituals sacred (zvitenguro), not destroying very big trees for example fig tree (muonde: Ficus capensis), mukute (Syzygium cordatum) and others, and treating forests as sacred. With respect to the negative effects of climate change, a highly significant difference was observed for duration of stay in relation to, “There is now a high risk in planting winter wheat due to changes in climate” (P < 0.01); “Wetlands are disappearing in our area” (P < 0.01); “There is general reduction in yields due to climate change” (P < 0.001) and “We are experiencing scarcity of water for domestic animals and for household use” (P < 0.05). Lastly, highly significant relationships between “Rivers are drying up in our area” and education (P < 0.01) and duration of stay (P < 0.001). Methods used to disseminate indigenous knowledge of rain making were said to be ineffective. Information was being passed on through oral means. It was indicated that better use of modern technology and social media, in particular radio, television, Twitter, WhatsApp and Facebook might enhance people’s knowledge on indigenous rain making. By so doing, the perception that indigenous rain making was merely history and not knowledge that can be used in people’s daily lives would be eliminated. Furthermore, current strategies utilized to combat the negative effects of climate change were reported to be unsustainable. Among these were reliance on harvesting wild fruits for sale and hunting. Human activities such as veld fires, deforestation and over harvesting of wildlife were viewed in negative light with respect to combating negative effects of climate change. It was proposed that communities should revert to respecting traditional beliefs of conserving forests. This said to be key in normalizing climate, attracting back the birds and animals that used to be key in weather forecasting. Replanting and indiscriminate cutting of trees along rivers as effective prevention of stream bank cultivation were proposed. Re-introduction of heavy fines by traditional leadership was suggested as a tried and tested strategy that was no longer being applied when implementing conservation initiatives. The observation made in this study that western science and indigenous rain making practices were similar in many respects, suggested that these were opportunities that could be used to anchor strategies for integrating them. In addition to this, the need for establishing collective deliberation or interface platforms coupled with continuous communication and careful management of intellectual property was obvious

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We 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

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    We 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

    Author Index

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    koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist

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    We 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

    Author Under Sail The Imagination of Jack London, 1893-1902

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    In Author Under Sail, Jay Williams offers the first complete literary biography of Jack London as a professional writer engaged in the labor of writing. It examines the authorial imagination in London's work, the use of imagination in both his fiction and nonfiction, and the ways he defined imagination in the creative process in his business dealings with his publishers, editors, and agents. In this first volume of a two-volume biography, Williams traverses the years 1893 to 1902, from London's "Story of a Typhoon" to The People of the Abyss. The Jack London who emerges in the pages of Author Under Sail is a writer whose partnership with publishers, most notably his productive alliance with George Brett of Macmillan, was one of the most formative in American literary history. London pioneered many author models during the heyday of realism and naturalism, blurring the boundaries of these popular genres by focusing on absorption and theatricality and the representation of the seen and unseen. London created an impassioned, sincere, and extremely personal realism unlike that of other American writers of the time. Author Under Sail is a literary tour de force that reveals the full range of London as writer, creative citizen, and entrepreneur at the same time it sheds light on the maverick side of machine-age literature.Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Spirit Truth -- 2. From Absorption to Theatricality and Back Again -- 3. "I Will Build a New Present" -- 4. Sons as Authors -- 5. Fathers as Publishers -- 6. The Daughter as Author -- 7. Lovers as Authors -- 8. At Sea with the Family -- 9. Yellow News, Yellow Stories -- 10. The Return Home -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About Jay WilliamsIn Author Under Sail, Jay Williams offers the first complete literary biography of Jack London as a professional writer engaged in the labor of writing. It examines the authorial imagination in London's work, the use of imagination in both his fiction and nonfiction, and the ways he defined imagination in the creative process in his business dealings with his publishers, editors, and agents. In this first volume of a two-volume biography, Williams traverses the years 1893 to 1902, from London's "Story of a Typhoon" to The People of the Abyss. The Jack London who emerges in the pages of Author Under Sail is a writer whose partnership with publishers, most notably his productive alliance with George Brett of Macmillan, was one of the most formative in American literary history. London pioneered many author models during the heyday of realism and naturalism, blurring the boundaries of these popular genres by focusing on absorption and theatricality and the representation of the seen and unseen. London created an impassioned, sincere, and extremely personal realism unlike that of other American writers of the time. Author Under Sail is a literary tour de force that reveals the full range of London as writer, creative citizen, and entrepreneur at the same time it sheds light on the maverick side of machine-age literature.Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, YYYY. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries
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