1,721,009 research outputs found
Gender Equality and Public Policies
No full textGender inequalities in the employment likelihood and employment positions are still persistent as evidenced by gender equality index and they have been exacerbated by the impact of pandemics. At the basis of the different problems-underrepresentation of women, difficulty of balancing work and family obligations, lack of protection of women in workplace-there is a structural discrimination of women both within labour market and family life, ossified on the one hand in traditional patterns of work organization built on male breadwinner model, and on the other in a stereotyped conception of gender roles. The two aspects are inextricably connected. The real point is the sexual division of work, paid work for men and paid and unpaid work for women. This chapter reconstructs the existing employment inequalities by gender and refers to the different policies enacted to address the access to the labour market and the inequalities that characterize women’s employment in the access to apical positions and in terms of wage gap. To what extent have the policies been effective and what alliances should be created to let the objective of improved gender equality be reached?
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
Use of seeds from local loquat ecotypes for rootstock production
No full textIn Italy loquat (Eriobotrya japonica, Lindl) seedlings are commonly produced in nurseries as rootstocks for commercial loquat orchards. Seedling production is characterized by low germination percentage and a slow plant growth.The aim of this study was to evaluate local ecotypes seeds of loquat for seedlings production. Some ecotypes (Bianco dolce, BRT20, Claudia, Fiore, La Mantia and Marcenò) and international cultivars (Algerie, Golden Nugget, Magdal, Peluche and Tanaka) were compared. Loquat seeds of 11 different genotypes were collected from mature fruits in commercial orchards. Seeds were extracted and washed after separating from flesh. A pretreatment of 24 hr of seed soaking in a solution of 1% Hydrochloric acid (HCl) was compared to untreated raw seeds. At 15 and 30 days from sowing, germination data were collected. After 90 days from sowing, plants were transplanted in 2 l pots. The highest germination value was registered on Bianco dolce cv, for both treatments (80%), and on Peluche cv treated with HCL, while the lowest value was registered on untreated seed of Algerie (25%) and Marcenò (10%)cv. HCl pretreatment increased germination, in some cv, from 10% to 50% (Marcenò) and from 45% to 75% (Fiore), while in some cases Hcl treatment no shows a significative differences as on Bianco Dolce, La Mantia, Claudia and BRT20
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi altered the hypericin, pseudohypericin, and hyperforin content in flowers of Hypericum perforatum grown under contrasting P availability in a highly organic substrate
No full textSt. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) is a perennial herb able to produce water-soluble active ingredients (a.i.), mostly in flowers, with a wide range of medicinal and biotechnological uses. However, information about the ability of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) to affect its biomass accumulation, flower production, and concentration of a.i. under contrasting nutrient availability is still scarce. In the present experiment, we evaluated the role of AMF on growth, flower production, and concentration of bioactive secondary metabolites (hypericin, pseudohypericin, and hyperforin) of H. perforatum under contrasting P availability. AMF stimulated the production of aboveground biomass under low P conditions and increased the production of root biomass. AMF almost halved the number of flowers per plant by means of a reduction of the number of flower-bearing stems per plant under high P availability and through a lower number of flowers per stem in the low-P treatment. Flower hyperforin concentration was 17.5% lower in mycorrhizal than in non-mycorrhizal plants. On the contrary, pseudohypericin and hypericin concentrations increased by 166.8 and 279.2%, respectively, with AMF under low P availability, whereas no effect of AMF was found under high P availability. These results have implications for modulating the secondary metabolite production of H. perforatum. However, further studies are needed to evaluate the competition for photosynthates between AMF and flowers at different nutrient availabilities for both plant and AM fungus
Seedling growth of a native (Ampelodesmos mauritanicus) and an exotic (Pennisetum setaceum) grass
Full text linkScarce information is available on the biological reasons why a small subset of introduced species can
effectively establish within novel ecosystems. A comparison of early growth traits can help to explain the
better performance of alien invasive species versus native co-occurring species. In one year-long
experiment, we compared the early life stages of Ampelodesmos mauritanicus (Poir.) Dur. & Schinz
(Amp), a native perennial Mediterranean grass, and Pennisetum setaceum (Forssk.) Chiov (Penn), an
emerging invader grass in sub-arid and Mediterranean-climate areas. The Penn seedlings grew significantly
faster and were approximately 2.5 times taller than the Amp seedlings, reaching a final average
height of 90 cm. The shoot and root dry masses of the Penn seedlings were, respectively, more than 14
times and 4 times higher than those of the Amp seedlings. As a consequence, the shoot:root ratio was
significantly higher in Penn, which resulted in a greater allocation of resources to the photosynthetic
organs. Penn showed a more rapid life cycle compared with Amp. Penn produced seeds 9 months after
sowing while no spikelet was produced by Amp until the end of the experiment. As a consequence, Penn
may gain a reproductive advantage due to rapid seed dissemination. Ultimately, a suite of peculiar early
growth traits makes Penn an aggressive competitor against Amp, which is an important floristic element
of native Mediterranean grasslands. Penn seems better suited than Amp in colonizing frequently
disturbed sites with fluctuating resource availability or irregular rainfall distribution and Penn is gradually
replacing Amp
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi altered the hypericin, pseudohypericin, and hyperforin content in flowers of Hypericum perforatum grown under contrasting P availability in a highly organic substrate
Full text linkSt. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) is a perennial herb able to produce water-soluble active ingredients (a.i.), mostly in flowers, with a wide range of medicinal and biotechnological uses. However, information about the ability of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) to affect its biomass accumulation, flower production, and concentration of a.i. under contrasting nutrient availability is still scarce. In the present experiment, we evaluated the role of AMF on growth, flower production, and concentration of bioactive secondary metabolites (hypericin, pseudohypericin, and hyperforin) of H. perforatum under contrasting P availability. AMF stimulated the production of aboveground biomass under low P conditions and increased the production of root biomass. AMF almost halved the number of flowers per plant by means of a reduction of the number of flower-bearing stems per plant under high P availability and through a lower number of flowers per stem in the low-P treatment. Flower hyperforin concentration was 17.5% lower in mycorrhizal than in non-mycorrhizal plants. On the contrary, pseudohypericin and hypericin concentrations increased by 166.8 and 279.2%, respectively, with AMF under low P availability, whereas no effect of AMF was found under high P availability. These results have implications for modulating the secondary metabolite production of H. perforatum. However, further studies are needed to evaluate the competition for photosynthates between AMF and flowers at different nutrient availabilities for both plant and AM fungus
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