1,721,059 research outputs found
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
Improving our schools: there is no magic bullet
No full textImproving school education in Australia has been a topic of public discussion for some time. In the period 1982-2012 there was roughly one state or national inquiry every year into the teaching profession in Australia.[1] These discussion continue today. In New South Wales requirements (to come into effect next year) require aspiring teachers to score a minimum of Band 5, or 80 per cent, in at least three of their High School Certificate (HSC) subjects, including English.[2] The theory is that restricting enrolment to those with higher ATARs will ensure that only the best and brightest will be able to become teachers. Therefore better teachers will be the end product.
Then we had the Gonski Report. It was meant to address the ‘rampant inequity and inequality’ that had come to characterise how we funded our school education.[3] It promised that each child, no matter their circumstances would receive the same base level of funding. From there, additional loadings would be awarded to schools according to the demographics of their student population. Additional financial resources would be provided to schools catering for low SES students, students with learning disabilities and those from non-English backgrounds. It was acknowledged that such students may need additional resources to ensure their success in the classroom.
In Queensland the change of government saw a change with how public schools utilise their resources. Starting in 2013, and set to grow each year after, certain public schools became Independent Public Schools (IPS). Unlike other public schools, IPS would have greater autonomy in decision making. Each IPS has its own governing council which decides upon the school strategy. Additionally the school is provided a one line budget from Education Queensland. This means it is up to the school to decide how it spends its money.[4]
Most recently the Federal Government that it has commissioned a review of the national curriculum. The reasons for which the national review was commissioned have been mixed. It has been said that the Minister for Education for one wanted the curriculum to have a greater focus upon western civilization. [5] The Australian Primary Principals Association, welcoming the review, sees it as an opportunity to ensure that a greater focus is placed upon basic literacy and numeracy.[6]
Each of these approaches to improving our schools has merit. Each approach most probably draws inspiration from those school systems that have recently been successful in the international benchmarking exercises (PISA, TIMMS and PIRLS). For example one only has to look at the latest report from Ben Jensen at the Grattan Institute to see that most of these approaches characterise what he sees as the best performing school systems in the world. [7] However the problem in Australia is that we have taken the ‘magic bullet’ approach. We adopt one approach, in isolation and promise and expect that it will be in and of itself the answer to all that ills our schools.
Our approach to improving our schools is not only problematic because it suffers from the ‘magic bullet’ syndrome. It is also problematic because it seeks to divorce institutional settings from the cultural space in which they were created. We cannot expect that simply adopting the approach that has proven successful in one place will ipso facto be successful when implemented here. It is also requires us to change the way we, as a community, approach education. This involves everyone, from parents to teachers to policy makers and bureaucrats.
In Australia we have failed to wholeheartedly recognise that home life is one of (but not the only) cultural factor that will have an impact upon school achievement. There is only so much teachers and schools can do to improve the academic achievement of students.
A recent report commissioned by UK based social mobility charity, Sutton Trust found that poor parenting in the first three years of life can hold back children at school. [8] It is obvious that no matter how much money is allocated are allocated, autonomy is given to the school, the curriculum is changed or the teacher trained that it is still going to be difficult to make up for this home life deficit in the classroom.
Unfortunately this is not an entirely new finding. There has long existed what is known as a ‘language deficit’. Students from low SES backgrounds perform comparatively lower on language tests compared to their middle and higher SES classmates.[9] The gap is explained as a ‘deficit’ or ‘gap’. It is thought that this gap is attributed to the lack of exposure children from low SES families have to activities that develop their language skills (such as storytelling or conversations with adults).
Another factor that cannot be controlled by teachers or schools (for the most) is family expectations. There has long existed a body of research that has shown that realistic, high parent expectations often correlate with academic achievement. [10]
It is important to make clear that simply having parents talk and read to their young children more often, or having them place higher expectations on their children is not the magic bullet that will improve school outcomes either. Instead we must draw on internationally recognised best practice and harnesses both cultural and institutional change in the way we go about school education. To do otherwise will leave us firing blank magic bullets.
Raffaele Piccolo is a graduate from the University of Adelaide in law and international studies. He has a keen interest in public policy and currently serves as a national board member for the Australian Fabians.
Image: sliver bullet sign, Andy Dean Photography / shutterstock
[1] http: //theconversation.edu.au/why-were-never-satisfied-with-teachers-8654
[2] http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/university-offers-atar-cutoffs-drop-for-teaching-degrees-20140116-30xty.html
[3] http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/gonski-school-funding-reforms-now-law-20130626-2own5.html
[4] http://education.qld.gov.au/schools/independent-public-schools/resources/ips-prospectus.pdf
[5] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-11/primary-school-principals-call-for-simplified-curriculum/5311628
[6] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-11/primary-school-principals-call-for-simplified-curriculum/5311628
[7] http ://grattan.edu.au/static/files/assets/6b005c72/808-making-time-for-great-teaching.pdf
[8] http://www.suttontrust.com/newsarchive/40-children-miss-parenting-needed-succeed-life-sutton-trust/
[9] http://www.curriculum.edu.au/leader/competencies_that_underpin_childrens_transition,29188.html?issueID=11951
[10] http://web.archive.org/web/20130930192411/http://www1.extension.umn.edu/family/partnering-for-school-success/resources-for-schools/expectations
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
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
Australia - it's where I belong
No full textAustralia Day has come and gone for another year. No doubt there have been many a barbeque had, game of backyard cricket played and the day off, undoubtedly enjoyed. Or perhaps I am being stereotypical? Are Australians simply people who enjoy barbeques and beaches? This is by no means a new question. Every year, every Australia Day we are asked what does it mean to be Australian. A myriad of answers have been given.
It seems to me that we have approached this discussion as if an answer is possible, or as if a definitive answer is necessary. As if a list of definitive characteristics should and can be identified for what makes an Australian. Instead I would like to propose that we have been approaching this question the wrong way. Australia and Australians cannot, and should not be reduced to a list of characteristics, although this may seem attractive, it is rather simplistic and it is not reflective of reality. Now this may seem counterintuitive to some. That is, if we are unable to define Australia, or Australian, then how are we able to define who where are, or where we are from. I do not propose that these questions cannot be answered; it’s just that we have been going around it the wrong way. Do we really want to be reduced to a list of characteristics, can we? Australia, and Australians, are complex concepts, this much should always be kept in mind.
So what makes us so complex? By way of example I want to share with you a quirk from my childhood, something I imagine that many Australians with parents born overseas can readily identify with, and others also understand. I grew up in a household in which Italy, or least the 1960s version of Italy was still very much alive. Pasta was the staple of our diets, we have tomato sauce day, pizza day, grow our own veggies and live within a stones throw from each other, all like it was back in the old country. We identified and were identified, at least in some part, in the community as being Italian. I have no problem with this, nor did any in my family, in fact they were rather proud of it. Now I do not know if this came about as a result of our Italian identity, either self adopted or imposed but whenever we talked about other families or friends, if they could not be identified according to some continental European, or Asian ethnic origin then they were (affectionately) referred to as the Australian, Australians, Australian family, or skips. Now when such a reference was made, there was an unspoken understanding that this referred to those with English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, or basically any non continental European or Asian familial ancestry, or any with which they identified or were identified with. I am sure many are familiar with this scenario, which ever side of the experience you are situated.
Now the ironic thing from all this is that my family, and I imagine many others, also consider ourselves, and identify as Australians. I know when I travelled to Italy as a child, despite what many here in Australia might consider, myself included, my Italian appearance, I was identified by my relatives as an Australian. That sits very comfortably with me. As much as I enjoyed travelling overseas to the ‘mother country’, I am Australian, and Australia is where I belong. But what makes me Australian then?
It is clear that when I am home I identify with my Italian heritage, and many similarly identify me with that heritage. There have been many occasions in my life when people have asked me where I am from. My response, without hesitation has been Italy, or I am Italian. For most this is the type of answer they are expecting when they pose the question. There is no question as to my Australian identity, there is no questioning of my allegiance et cetera. This scenario is similar for many other people. But then again there are those that self-identify as Australian, even when a similar question is posed. I have found that on these occasions the person any question can usually trace their heritage to the British Isles to some degree. Why is this? Why is it that when asked the same question, some provide their familial heritage and others do not? Is it that some more readily identify with Australia than others? Is it that some are more Australian than others? I think that the answer to both those questions is no.
Both are Australian, and neither is less or more Australian than the other. Instead I think that answer has more to do with the fact that we are human. We are complex beings. We like to see and imagine the world in black and white, but deep down we know that life really is not that simple. How we identify ourselves and are identified by others does not escape this complexity. Identity is not fixed, nor does it operate in the singular. It is responsive to our experiences and the people with which we interact. Amartya Sen recognised this and described human beings as having ‘competing affiliations’ or ‘competing identities.’ I do not imagine anybody is immune from this.
As a result our ‘identity’ is a product of many different experiences, learnt, imagined and genetic. To be Australian, is not comprised of a singular identity. It is a combination of characteristics or traits that some may have, and others may not. For example I like to watch the cricket, am identified by my Italian heritage and detest beer. But some of my friends love to have a beer but do not identify strongly with the familial origins nor enjoy the cricket. So who is the Australian? We all are. At any one time we have many identities that come through in our personalities. But then how do we identify, or how do we know we are Australian?
I think that it is in our sense of belonging. Deep down, you feel some sought of connection to Australia; its land and its people.
Unfortunately our current citizenship policies have failed to grasp the importance of belonging. In recent years we have seen the institutionalisation of citizenship tests and language requirements for all new, would-be citizens. These policies have been supported by both sides of politics, under the premise that for successful integration, people must have an adequate understanding of Australia’s history and the English language. There is no doubt that English language proficiency, and some basic knowledge of Australian history may contribute to a sense of belonging, however it is important to keep in mind that then again they may not. In all the debate and discussion about Australian identity and citizenship in recent years, the one thing we have forgotten is that Australian citizenship is not something that most people seek out without much contemplation. For most, the decision to seek citizenship comes about after much thought and deliberation. It is a conscious decision on their part to say “I belong”.
Belonging cannot be forced, but must be fostered and supported. If we want to preserve this critical aspect of citizenship, that sense of belonging, we must reconsider our approach. Testing regimes do not foster a sense of belonging. But the value of English language proficiency and basic knowledge of Australian history need not be dispensed with as well. These should still be provided for, but not forced upon would be new citizens. Some may wholeheartedly jump at the opportunity to improve their English and knowledge of Australia, even before their sense of belonging has taken hold. Others may be a little more hesitant, and may only take up the opportunity once they feel they truly belong. Whatever path they take, so long as belonging is fostered, then the value of Australian citizenship is preserved.
So whenever Australia Day comes around, this is the thing I most look forward to, that time of the day when new citizens are given the opportunity to stand up in front of family, friends and their community to take the oath and, to so subtly say “I belong”. It is a conscious decision that no test can assess, but without which Australian citizenship has no value.
Raffaele Piccolo, January 2013
Photo Credit: wo1vesrx via Compfight c
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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