125,392 research outputs found
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe 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
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe 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
Relevance of European alignment for micronutrients' recommendation regarding pregnant and lactating women, infants, children and adolescents : an insight into preliminary steps of EURRECA
No full textPragmatic Case Studies as a Source of Unity in Applied Psychology
No full textTo unify or not to unify applied psychology: that is the question. In this article we review pendulum swings in the historical efforts to answer this question—from a comprehensive, positivist, “top-down,” deductive yes between the 1930s and the early 60s, to a postmodern no since then. A rationale and proposal for a limited, “bottom-up,” inductive yes in applied psychology is then presented, employing a case-based paradigm that integrates both positivist and postmodern themes and components. This paradigm is labeled “pragmatic psychology” and, its specific use of case studies, the “Pragmatic Case Study Method” (“PCS Method”). We call for the creation of peer-reviewed journal-databases of pragmatic case studies as a foundational source of unifying applied knowledge in our discipline. As one example, the potential of the PCS Method for unifying different angles of theoretical regard is illustrated in an area of applied psychology, psychotherapy, via the case of Mrs. B. The article then turns to the broader historical and epistemological arguments for the unifying nature of the PCS Method in both applied and basic psychology.Peer reviewe
Dr. Edwin Wright Collection: Author Unknown
No full textNotes - The author relates several short stories about his neighbours including Alex McDonell, homesteading and life around Meanook and Athabasca (1 page
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
No full textWe 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
The effect of irrigated urban agriculture on malaria, schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis in different settings of Côte d'Ivoire
No full textMalaria is responsible for more than one million deaths every year, mainly children under the age of five years living in sub-Saharan Africa. At least one billion people harbor one or several of the three main soil-transmitted helminths, namely Ascaris lumbricoides, hookworms and Trichuris trichiura, and about 207 million people are infected with schistosomes. An estimated 70,000 people die each year from amoebiasis, caused by Entamoeba histolytica. Giardiasis, caused by Giardia duodenalis, is responsible for 2.8 million annual infections. Poor rural and urban communities in developing countries bear the highest burden of the above-mentioned diseases. Their causes are multifactorial including lack of access to clean water, improved sanitation and health services, as well as inadequate treatment, protection and prevention. The highest rates of urbanization currently occur in the less developed regions of Africa and Asia, and it is predicted that the majority of the population will be living in small and medium urban centers in the near future. The maintenance of traditional livelihoods, including agriculture, is a typical feature in urban settings across Africa, especially in small towns where population densities and land pressure are lower than in big cities. Urban agriculture contributes to food security and livelihood opportunities for poor urban dwellers. However, the adaptation of disease vectors and intermediate hosts to urban ecosystems has been observed, which might further enhance the negative effects associated with persistent rural lifestyles. For example, the creation of malaria vector breeding sites and contact with contaminated water and soil in areas of irrigated agriculture may increase the transmission of vector-borne, water-related and soil-transmitted parasitic diseases. This PhD focused on the interface of agriculture and human health in two different urban settings of Côte d’Ivoire. The overarching goal was to contribute to a better understanding of the effects of irrigated urban agriculture on the transmission of malaria, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis and intestinal protozoan infections. The research entailed a considerable amount of fieldwork, carried out between April 2004 and July 2005. In a first step, six zones of irrigated agricultural land use were identified both in Abidjan, the economic capital of Côte d’Ivoire (3.3 million inhabitants), and in the mediumsized town of Man (115,000 inhabitants) in the western part of the country. Next, two standardized mosquito breeding site assessments were conducted in these agricultural zones in the rainy season (September 2004) and in the dry season (February 2005). In each urban setting, a minimum of 120 farming households and additionally 30 non-farming households were randomly selected. Geographic coordinates of houses and the main agricultural plots were recorded. Name, age and sex of all household members were registered. In October
2004, interviews on agricultural land use, farming practices and water storage were
conducted with the heads of the farming households. In a cross-sectional survey done in
May/June 2005, questionnaires were administered to all households to assess the socioeconomic
status, sanitary facilities and common water contact patterns. From each study
participant, a finger prick blood sample and a stool sample were collected. Thick and thin
blood films were stained with Giemsa and examined for Plasmodium spp. under a light
microscopy. The stool samples were prepared based on the Kato-Katz technique and eggs of
Schistosoma mansoni, A. lumbricoides, hookworm and T. trichiura were recorded separately.
Cysts or trophozoites of intestinal protozoa, including Entamoeba histolytica/E. dispar and G.
duodenalis were identified using an ether-formalin concentration method. Risk factors were
identified by fitting multivariate non-random and random effects Bayesian regression models
integrating spatial correlation of infection.
Agricultural land use in Abidjan was characterized by market gardens on lagoon shores
and high-yield vegetable production. The vegetable production areas in Abidjan developed as
a consequence of land access difficulties in unexploited public and private areas near poor
settlements, mainly at lagoon shores. In Man, farming was family- and subsistence-based.
Predominant agricultural activities were traditional irrigated rice farming and vegetable
production in lowlands and along the Kô River.
The typical demographic and socio-economic profile of a vegetable producer in
Abidjan is that he is an immigrant from Burkina Faso, illiterate and lacking a professional
agricultural training. Malaria and intestinal parasitic infections were most prevalent among
the final study cohort of 370 farmers and family members from 121 farming households. We
found overall prevalences of T. trichiura, P. falciparum and hookworm of 42.6%, 24.3% and
17.3%, respectively. The parasites were heterogeneously distributed between the six market
garden zones. Prior health issues were suppressed by the farmers with the daily livelihood
struggle and reported symptoms due to intestinal parasitic infections were of less importance
when compared to malaria. In-depth focus group discussions revealed that the working
environment was discerned as unhealthy, and waste dumps and human defecation grounds
were perceived as main health risks. Farmer communities and their network are indicative for
the degree of social coherence and stability in a vegetable production area because these
zones are characterized by highly dynamic land use patterns.
In the town of Man, Anopheles larvae were present in 50.7% and 42.4% of 369 and 589
examined potential mosquito breeding sites in the rainy and in the dry season, respectively.
The most productive habitats were man-made, i.e. agricultural trenches, irrigation wells, and
flooded and recently transplanted rice plots. The overall prevalence of P. falciparum
infections in the final study cohort of 574 individuals from 112 farming households was
32.1%. Risk factors for P. falciparum in children <15 years of age included living in specific
agricultural zones (i.e. traditional irrigated rice plots, mixed crops and a large rice perimeter),
proximity to permanent man-made ponds and fish ponds, periodic stays overnight in farm
huts and low socio-economic status.
The final study cohort for S. mansoni and soil-transmitted helminthiasis comprised 586
individuals from 113 farming households. The overall prevalences of S. mansoni, hookworm,
E. histolytica/E. dispar and G. duodenalis were 51.4%, 24.7%, 20.2% and 6.3%, respectively.
Members from farming households harbored significantly more often an infection with
E. histolytica/E. dispar and G. duodenalis when compared to non-farming households.
Predictors for an S. mansoni infection included close proximity to the Kô River, contact with
irrigation wells and ponds on the agricultural plots and low educational attainment. Risk
factors for hookworm infection comprised living in agricultural zones of traditional
smallholder irrigated rice plots and a large rice perimeter, using water from domestic wells
and low socio-economic status. Infection prevalences of P. falciparum, S. mansoni and
hookworm were spatially highly heterogeneous between the agricultural zones and highest
infections occurred in a zone of a large rice perimeter. P. falciparum infection intensity and
hookworm infection prevalence were best explained by spatial random effect models. Spatial
correlation between farmers’ houses was not significant.
The findings of the present work illustrated a clear picture of the interconnections
between specific irrigated agricultural land use and agricultural activities, and malaria and
intestinal parasitic infections in different urban settings of Côte d’Ivoire. The outcomes lead
to an enhanced understanding of their epidemiology in local agro-ecological urban settings
and related contextual determinants (i.e. agricultural, behavioural, demographic, socioeconomic
and environmental factors) and allows the design of readily adapted prevention and
control interventions (e.g. tangible vector control strategies and prevention measures for
helminth infections) which actively involve farming communities in the subsequent
implementation and control management
Measurement of the ratio of branching fractions B(B0→K∗0γ )/B(B0s→φγ ) and the directCP asymmetry inB 0→K∗0γ
No full textThe ratio of branching fractions of the radiative B decays B0→K⁎0γ and B0s→ϕγ has been measured using an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1 of pp collision data collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=7TeV. The value obtained is
B(B0→K⁎0γ)B(B0s→ϕγ)=1.23±0.06(stat.)±0.04(syst.)±0.10(fs/fd),
where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is the experimental systematic uncertainty and the third is associated with the ratio of fragmentation fractions fs/fd. Using the world average value for B(B0→K⁎0γ), the branching fraction B(B0s→ϕγ) is measured to be (3.5±0.4)×10−5.
The direct CP asymmetry in B0→K⁎0γ decays has also been measured with the same data and found to be
ACP(B0→K⁎0γ)=(0.8±1.7(stat.)±0.9(syst.))%.
Both measurements are the most precise to date and are in agreement with the previous experimental results and theoretical expectations
The construction of Karen Karnak: The multi-author-function
No full textThis thesis is situated within the comparatively recent developments of Web 2.0 and the emergence of interactive WikiMedia, and explores the mode of authorship within a Read/Write culture compared to that of a Read/Only tradition. The hypothesis of this study is that the role of the audience has become merged with the author, and as such, represents new functions and attributes, distinct from a more conventional concept of authorship, in which the roles of audience and author are more separate. Read/Write and participatory culture, as defined by this study, is focused on collaboration, and includes the influences of D.I.Y. culture, Open-Source practices and the production of text by multiple authors. Multi-authorship presents a re-thinking of several concepts which support the notion of the individual author, since the focus of multi-authorship is not on attribution and ownership of a finished text, but on the continued malleability of a text. Modes of multi-authorship, demonstrated in the use of the pseudonyms Alan Smithee and Karen Eliot, represent declarative authors whose names signify multiple origins, whilst concurrently indicating a distinct body of work. The function of these names form an important context to this study, since primary research involves the construction of an experimental mode of multi-authorship utilising WikiMedia technology and the interaction of thirty nine participants, who are invited to create a body of work under the collective pseudonym Karen Karnak. The data generated by this experiment is analysed using aspects of Michel Foucault's author-function to identify and determine power structures inherent in the WikiMedia context. The interplay of power structures, including concepts such as identity, ownership and the body of work, affect the resulting mode of authorship and contribute to the construction of Karen Karnak, suggesting further areas of research into the emerging multi-author
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