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Environmental risks of pesticides versus genetic engineering for agricultural pest control
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Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe 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
Genetic Engineering and Agriculture: limits and options for maintaining biodiversity and sustainability
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Variations on the Author
Get PDF“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
Get PDFWe 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
Is there a need for a more sustainable agriculture?
No full textIn this paper the environmental impact of current agriculture
practices is reviewed. Soil loss (along with soil fertility), increasing water demand from agricultural practices and environmental
pollution caused by the intensive use of agrochemicals, are among
the most pressing issues concerning agriculture sustainability. Biodiversity loss due to land use change and emission of greenhouse
gasses from agricultural activities are also causes for concern. A number of alternative agricultural practices are also presented
that can help to make agriculture less environmentally damaging
by reducing the use of natural resources, limiting inputs and preserving soil fertility and biodiversity. We think that there is room
for a different and more ecological agriculture and that research
should be implemented in order to better assess the potential and
constraints of the different options. However, notwithstanding the
great achievements of the “Green Revolution,” the world will need
70 to 100% more food by 2050. So a new challenge lies ahead: how
to feed nine billion with less land, water and energy, while at the
same time preserving natural resources and soil fertility? Technical advances are important in order to meet the future needs, but
addressing key socioeconomic issues, such as the inequality in the
access to resources, population growth, and access to education
are also a priority if we want to properly deal with sustainability.
It may require our society to change some of its paradigms and
“values” if we wish to preserve our support system, the soil and its
health, for the future generations
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