1,720,993 research outputs found
The health profile of populations living in contaminated sites: SENTIERI approach.
Full text linkSENTIERI project (Epidemiological Study of Residents in Italian Contaminated Sites) studied mortality in the sites of national interest for environmental remediation (National Priority Contaminated Sites - NPCSs). SENTIERI described mortality of residents in NPCSSs, and it specifically focused on causes of death for which environmental exposure is suspected or ascertained to play an etiologic role. The epidemiological evidence of the causal association was classified a priori into one of these three categories: Sufficient (S), Limited (L), and Inadequate (I). Mortality in the period 1995-2002 was studied for 63 single or grouped causes at the municipal level by computing: crude rate, standardized rate, standardized mortality ratios (SMR), and SMR adjusted for an ad hoc deprivation index. Regional populations were used as references for SMR calculations and 90% CI accompanied SMR values. The deprivation index was constructed using 2001 national census variables for the following socioeconomic domains: education, unemployment, dwelling ownership, and overcrowding. SENTIERI results will allow the priorities setting in remediation intervention so as to prevent adverse health effects from environmental exposure. This paper's objective is to present the rationale, methods, advantages, and limitations underlying SENTIERI project and to describe data and resources required to apply a similar approach in other countries. © 2013 Roberta Pirastu et al.SENTIERI project (Epidemiological Study of Residents in Italian Contaminated Sites) studied mortality in the sites of national
interest for environmental remediation (National Priority Contaminated Sites—NPCSs). SENTIERI described mortality of
residents in NPCSSs, and it specifically focused on causes of death for which environmental exposure is suspected or ascertained
to play an etiologic role. The epidemiological evidence of the causal association was classified a priori into one of these three
categories: Sufficient (S), Limited (L), and Inadequate (I). Mortality in the period 1995−2002 was studied for 63 single or grouped
causes at the municipal level by computing: crude rate, standardized rate, standardized mortality ratios (SMR), and SMR adjusted
for an ad hoc deprivation index. Regional populations were used as references for SMR calculations and 90% CI accompanied
SMR values. The deprivation index was constructed using 2001 national census variables for the following socioeconomic domains
Studying communities at high environmental risk: the case of Gela
No full textResearch activities that aim to redevelop areas that present a risk may be carried out in different ways, using various methods developed by the social sciences. Among the methods that take on a particular meaning when applied to these areas are focus groups, qualitative analysis and participant observations. Which work tools to choose, what to investigate, what to look at and for how long, and how to communicate the results of the research are among the issues that need to be addressed at the beginning of research. Research in areas that present risks implies a clear commitment to issues of development, to relationships with the environment, to the perception of well-being and the definition of risk. Through an example of research and observations carried out in Gela, the chapter provides some useful clues for social scientists working in these areas. The events analysed started in the early 1950s, when oil was discovered in Sicily and the populations enthusiastically welcomed the petrochemical plants. Then, many people thought of Sicily as Texas. Half a century later, the bright dream has turned to dark reality: congenital malformations, diseases related to industrialization, natural resources depleted, and organized crime. The chapter discusses redevelopment plans and describes the socioeconomic impact of the petrochemical industry, of which Gela is one of the Italian capitals
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
- …
