1,721,054 research outputs found
Geometrical characterization of sediment deposits at the confluence of mountain streams
Full text linkDebris flow injections from tributaries into a main mountain stream generate deposits of sediments which, in turn, result in obstruction and eventual damming of the river section. This contribution presents the results of a series of flume experiments on the dynamics of these deposits, with reference to three different types of blockage: no blockage, partial blockage, and full blockage. Results show that the shape of the deposit is mainly controlled by the ratio between the debris flow discharge and the main river discharge. The experimental dataset is used to develop a deposit resilience stability index based on the shape of the deposit contour retrieved from photos taken from above. The proposed index is based on the invariant elliptic Fourier coefficients and the dimensionless transverse obstruction parameter. The elliptic Fourier coefficients give information on the symmetry of the deposit contour. High symmetry indicates more stable and resilient deposits. The proposed index is calibrated on the basis of the flume experiments and tested with field data. The results are quite promising and suggest that the index can be appropriate for a fast hazard assessment of multiple debris flow deposits at a regional scale
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
Computational fluid dynamics for modeling gravity currents in the presence of oscillatory ambient flow
Full text linkGravity currents generated by lock release are studied in the case of initially quiescent ambient fluid and oscillating ambient fluid (regular surface waves). In particular, the dynamics of the density currents are investigated by means of CFD numerical simulations. The aim is to evaluate the influence of the ambient fluid velocity field on the observed mixing and turbulent processes. Results of two different turbulence closure models, namely the standard k # turbulence model and the LES model, are analyzed. Model predictions are validated through comparison with laboratory measurements. Results show that the k # model is able to catch the main current propagation parameters (e. g., front velocity at the different phases of the evolution of the current, gravity current depth, etc.), but that a LES model provides more realistic insights into the turbulent processes (e. g., formation of interfacial Kelvin-Helmholtz billows, vortex stretching and eventual break up into 3D turbulence). The ambient fluid velocity field strongly influences the dynamics of the gravity currents. In particular, the presence of an oscillatory motion induces a relative increase of mixing at the front (up to 25%) in proximity of the bottom layer, and further upstream, an increase of the mixing process (up to 60%) is observed due to the mass transport generated by waves. The observed mixing phenomena observed are also affected by the ratio between the gravity current velocity vf and the horizontal orbital velocity induced by waves uw, which has a stronger impact in the wave dominated regime (vf /uw < 1)
A small scale Pressure Retarded Osmosis power plant: dynamics of the brackish effluent discharge along the coast
No full textThe feasibility of a small scale Pressure Retarded Osmosis (PRO) plant located along the eastern coast of Sicily (Italy) is assessed by considering fresh water intake from a river and salt water intake from the sea. Firstly, PRO design methods are applied in order to estimate potential power production in terms of both the availability of water resources and of local salinity gradients. Secondly, the discharge dynamics of the brackish plant effluent in the coastal waters is investigated using an hydrodynamic model, taking into account wave - current interaction close to the river mouth. The results of the numerical simulations allow to identify the area affected by the brackish discharge, as a function of the nearshore wave climate conditions. Results show that the plume propagation is mainly controlled by the wave direction, whereas significant wave height and peak wave period have a minor influence. Plume hydrodynamics analysis is useful in optimizing the layout of the PRO plant in terms of the placement of the sea water intake and the effluent discharge, both of which should be properly located outside the surf-zone. Plume hydrodynamics analysis is also important for the evaluation of PRO plant impacts on the coastal saline concentration which may affect the local ecosystems
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