Hasil untuk "Information resources (General)"

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CrossRef Open Access 2025
Characterization and Health Risks of Groundwater Hydrochemistry in the Upper Weihe River Basin

Jiutan Liu, Kexin Lou, Hong Tian et al.

Groundwater is a vital and invaluable resource on our planet, serving as a critical water supply for human life, industrial activities, and agricultural production. It plays a pivotal role in sustaining human existence and driving societal progress. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the hydrochemical characteristics and controlling factors of groundwater in the Upper Weihe River (UWR) using statistical analysis, Piper diagrams, Gibbs diagrams, correlation analysis, and ion ratio analysis. To evaluate the suitability of the regional groundwater for potable use, we employed the entropy weight water quality index (EWQI). Additionally, the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and percentage of soluble sodium (Na%) were utilized to evaluate the groundwater’s adaptability to irrigation. Furthermore, this study also assessed the health risks faced by adults and children in the UWR. The findings indicate that the main cations and anions in groundwater are Ca2+ and HCO3−, respectively. The hydrochemical types are predominantly HCO3-Ca, Cl-Ca, and mixed types. The composition of groundwater is primarily influenced by the dissolution of silicate and carbonate minerals, with cation exchange also playing a significant role in shaping its hydrochemical characteristics. The water quality assessment indicates that the majority of groundwater in UWR is classified as “excellent” or “good”, rendering it suitable for human consumption. However, 7.17% of the water samples were of poor quality and unsuitable for drinking; these were primarily located in a few areas in the northern and western parts of the study area. Regarding irrigation, 94.83% of the groundwater is deemed very suitable; however, a small fraction is not appropriate for such use. Additionally, non-carcinogenic risks are generally higher across most parts of the study area for both children and adults, with children exhibiting significantly higher risks than adults. These findings offer crucial insights regarding the sustainable management and environmental conservation of groundwater resources in the UWR.

DOAJ Open Access 2024
Resilience Based on Community-Oriented Capacities in Crisis Conditions

Mohammad Jalali, Mahdi Mahmoodzadeh Vashan, Nour Mohammad Yaghoubi et al.

AbstractIn recent years, the emphasis on community-oriented capacities as one of the important approaches to the resilience of societies in crisis conditions has attracted the attention of many experts and researchers. Therefore, the present research was conducted with the aim of identifying factors affecting resilience based on community-oriented capacities in crisis conditions and providing a model in this field using the meta-synthesis method.IntroductionToday, societies have been exposed to different types of crises, each of which has brought unfortunate consequences to societies, including threats to human health and security, destruction of resources and biological facilities, and people's activity centers (Sajadi, 2019). Therefore, nowadays, mainly the view that exists towards crisis management is to increase "resilience" in the face of various crises (Rafieiyan et al., 2011). On the other hand, experiences from crisis management in different societies show that governments alone are not able to increase the resilience of societies in crisis situations, and individual and group participation in these situations is mandatory and very effective in increasing their resilience. On the other hand, experiences from crisis management in different societies show that governments alone are not able to increase the resilience of societies in crisis situations, and individual and group participation in these situations is mandatory and very effective in increasing their resilience. (Motahari & Rafieiyan, 2016). Therefore, strategies to increase the resilience of societies are changing. In this change and evolution of the view towards resilience, the "state-oriented" and "centralist" view, which tries to formulate and implement strategies from the top down, has been replaced by a "community-oriented" view that relies on attracting participation. public and social data (Ghorbani et al., 2017). But in Iran, the evidence indicates that this change of approach and outlook has not yet happened in the country, and currently the government-oriented approach is trying to formulate and implement centralized and downward strategies to increase resilience in crisis situations. In addition, few studies have been conducted in the field of identifying and explaining factors affecting resilience based on community-oriented capacities in crisis conditions in our country; So far, a comprehensive model has not been presented as a road map for the country's crisis management managers. Therefore, the current research seeks to identify the factors affecting resilience based on community-oriented capacities in crisis situations using the meta-synthesis method and finally presenting a model in this field.Case studyThe statistical population of this research includes all articles published in domestic and foreign scientific databases between 2000 and 2023, and finally 56 studies that were closely related to the subject under study were selected as a sample.Materials and Methods The research is of an applied type with an exploratory nature, in order to collect data, a meta-synthesis method was used. The analysis of the texts was also done based on the content analysis and the dimensions and codes of the desired pattern were extracted.Discussion and ResultsBased on the analyzes carried out with the help of content analysis method on the 56 final selected researches, a total number of 3 categories, 18 concepts and 66 indicators as effective factors on resilience based on community-oriented capacities in crisis conditions were discovered in this research. and were tagged.ConclusionAccording to the studies conducted in this field and also according to the extraction of 66 indicators through the application of meta-synthesis method, it was determined that the effective factors to increase resilience in crisis situations, which are based on community-oriented capacities, are in three categories of organizational factors. , group factors and individual factors are placed, and the use of these factors in the country's crisis conditions can provide a suitable basis for reducing the incidence of negative consequences caused by it. Further, the findings of the research showed that 7 components of the institutional platform, institutional governance, institutional performance, financial and physical resource management, human resource management and information management in the form of organizational factors; 6 components of common valuation, social infrastructure, collective action and participation, social capital, acculturation and social cohesion in the form of group factors; And 5 components of knowledge, skill, awareness, attitude and capacity and ability in the form of individual factors formed the foundations of the model of factors affecting resilience based on community-oriented capacities in crisis conditions.

Political institutions and public administration (General)
DOAJ Open Access 2024
Digital twin technology training and research in health higher education: a review

Jyri Rajamäki

Healthcare strives to ensure overall physical, mental, and emotional well-being for individuals while managing limited resources efficiently. Digital technologies can offer cost reduction, improved user experience, and expanded capacity. In addition, modern automation technologies, which were implemented in industrial control systems or industrial automation control systems, are essential for ensuring the availability of societies’ critical cyber-physical systems (CPSs) and the services they provide, such as healthcare. This narrative literature review produces information that can be applied when planning and implementing an interdisciplinary biomedical and health informatics (BMHI) master’s education focused on the challenges of digitalization in the health sector. The review results that virtual human twins (VHTs) are revolutionizing healthcare by addressing people’s complex medical problems with real-time monitoring and precision care while digital twin (DT) technology can make the hospital’s operational processes resilient and efficient. Thus, future BMHI education must address these technologies with a multidisciplinary approach, including computer science, information science, engineering, basic sciences, health sciences, socio-behavioral sciences, and ethical, legal, and policy aspects. Collected and cumulative data is essential for cognitive DTs. A prerequisite for this data is information sharing between different CPSs. Better information sharing and the development of scalable cognitive DTs and VHTs, the provision of critical services, quality, and cost-effectiveness, as well as health, safety, and resilience, will improve. Similarities between peoples’ health information exchange and information needed for ensuring the resilience of CPSs exist. Since humans are in many ways more complex than CPSs, security engineers have a lot to learn from VHTs in maintaining the resilience of CPSs. Cross-sectoral research and cooperation with different disciplines are essential for the progress of both human health and the resilience of CPSs. Along with interdisciplinary research cooperation, educational cooperation should also be intensified.

Medicine, Information technology
DOAJ Open Access 2023
The Effectiveness of Healthcare System Resilience during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study

Monika Borzuchowska, Dorota Kilańska, Remigiusz Kozłowski et al.

<i>Introduction</i>: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was a period of uncertainty and stress for healthcare managers due to the lack of knowledge (about the transmission of the virus, etc.) and also due to the lack of uniform organisational and treatment procedures. It was a period where the ability to prepare for a crisis, to adapt to the existing conditions, and to draw conclusions from the situation were of critical importance to keep ICUs (intensive care units) operating. The aim of this project is to compare the pandemic response to COVID-19 in Poland during the first and second waves of the pandemic. This comparison will be used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the response, including challenges presented to health professionals and health systems and ICUs with COVID-19 patients according to the European Union Resilience Model (2014) and the WHO Resilience Model (2020). The WHO Resilience model was suitable to the COVID-19 situation because it was developed based on this experience. <i>Methods</i>: A matrix of 6 elements and 13 standards assigned to them was created using the EC and WHO resilience guidelines. <i>Results</i>: Good governance in resilient systems ensures access to all resources without constraints, free and transparent flow of information, and a sufficient number of well-motivated human resources. <i>Conclusions</i>: Appropriate preparation, adaptation to the existing situation, and effective management of crisis situations are important elements of ensuring the resilience of ICUs.

Medicine (General)
S2 Open Access 2021
A Framework of AI-Based Approaches to Improving eHealth Literacy and Combating Infodemic

Tianming Liu, X. Xiao

The global COVID-19 pandemic has put everyone in an urgent need of accessing and comprehending health information online. Meanwhile, there has been vast amount of information/misinformation/disinformation generated over the Internet, particularly social media platforms, resulting in an infodemic. This public health crisis of COVID-19 pandemic has put each individual and the entire society in a test: what is the level of eHealth literacy is needed to seek accurate health information from online resources and to combat infodemic during a pandemic? This article aims to summarize the significances and challenges of improving eHealth literacy in both communicable (e.g., COVID-19) and non-communicable diseases [e.g., cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs)]. Also, this article will make our recommendations of a general framework of AI-based approaches to improving eHealth literacy and combating infodemic, including AI-augmented lifelong learning, AI-assisted translation, simplification, and summarization, and AI-based content filtering. This general framework of AI-based approaches to improving eHealth literacy and combating infodemic has the general advantage of matching the right online health information to the right people.

46 sitasi en Medicine
DOAJ Open Access 2022
The use of salt licks by birds in Peninsular Malaysia

Nor Bazilah Razali, Mohammad Saiful Mansor, Nor Adibah Ismail et al.

Numerous wildlife species visit salt licks to consume soil (geophagy) or to drink water. Studies have mostly focused on salt lick use by mammals as they are easily identified owing to larger body size, predominance in using these resources, and predictable movement and behaviour, as well as several established hypotheses such as mineral supplementation. However, salt licks are also crucial to some birds. The interest in and documentation of avifaunal geophagy at salt licks have increased in recent years. However, few studies have investigated this phenomenon in Southeast Asia. We used camera traps to document bird species richness, diversity and encounter rates at 20 salt licks (nine natural and 11 artificial) within three reserves (the Royal Belum State Park, Perak and Krau Wildlife Reserve, Pahang, both primary forest, and secondary forest in Tembat Forest Reserve) in Peninsular Malaysia. We compared parameters between the two types of salt lick (natural and artificial) and two types of habitats (primary and secondary forest). We found that salt licks were used by 24 bird species, including pheasants, hornbills, rails, herons, doves, cuckoos, pittas, bulbuls, flycatchers, and estrildid finches. Raptors did not exhibit geophagous behaviour, except for the Brown Wood-Owl (Strix leptogrammica). Most salt lick users were resident carnivores and insectivores. The Asian Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica) and Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus) were the most frequent birds at salt licks. Avian species richness in primary forests was similar for both types of salt licks, but species diversity was higher at natural salt licks. Meanwhile, species diversity at artificial salt licks was similar by habitat type, but bird’s species richness was significantly higher at primary forest artificial salt licks than at secondary forest artificial licks. Encounter rates of birds at artificial salt licks were higher than natural salt licks in primary forests. Furthermore, bird encounter rates at secondary forest artificial salt licks were higher than at primary forest artificial licks. We suggest that artificial salt licks can be used to enrich degraded forests since they serve a role similar to that of natural salt licks and can attract birds and other animals. This information is crucial to conservation and biodiversity management planning for protected forests, particularly secondary and degraded forests.

DOAJ Open Access 2022
Theoretical model of artistic and project-based experience of future teachers of Musical Arts

He Jingyi, Rebrova Olena

The article presents the results related to theoretical modelling of the phenomenon “artistic and project-based experience” of future teachers of Musical Arts and the criteria for its evaluation. The formation of this type of experience on the basis of piano training aimed at future teachers of Musical Arts is actualized by the fact that projects become the most attractive innovative organisational form of teaching arts. Researchers explore various phenomena related to project-making (competence, skills, technology, activities, culture, etc.). However, artistic and project-based experience in the context of professional training aimed at future teachers of Musical Arts still needs theoretical understanding. The article clarifies the essence of this type of experience; the corresponding concept is interpreted as an integrated professional quality of future Musical Arts teachers; it is a process and a result of accumulation and memorisation of knowledge and practical skills enabling the embodiment of artistic and essence-related ideas into an organisational form perceived as an event where all participants are involved into independent preparing and performing of distributed creative tasks according to a certain scenario, focusing on achieving a common pedagogical goal. The structure of artistic and project-based experience is presented; it consists of four components: methodologically motivated component (aspiration to acquire methodical competence in piano performance; an interested attitude to mastering piano performance as a pedagogical resource of professional training); artistic and mental (the presence of the memory fund of artistic and project-related events and their reflection (artistic and project-based thinking)); activity-based and communicative (the presence of experience of artistic and communicative actions; activity in mastering the artistic and communicative resource of piano training); creative and self-organisational (experience of self-organisation in pedagogical project-making related to piano training; integrative and praxeological resources of the experience when dealing with artistic and figurative project-making and script-planning of events). The assessment criteria and indicators of the developed components are presented: motivational and intentional; information-based and operational; technological and innovative; productive and creative.

Education (General)
DOAJ Open Access 2022
The Relationship between the Level of Participation in Knowledge Management and the Critical Thinking Tendency of Librarians of Central Libraries of Public Universities in Tehran

Fatemeh Heidarnezhad, Fatima Fahimnia

Objective: The main purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between the level of participation in knowledge management and the critical thinking tendency among librarians of central libraries of public universities in Tehran. Methodology: This research is descriptive-correlational in terms of research method and is a survey branch. In addition, according to the purpose, it falls into the category of applied research. The statistical population of this study consisted of librarians of the central libraries of public universities in Tehran, whose number was 210 people. Using the Morgan table, a sample number of 136 people was obtained. Data were collected using two standard questionnaires: Employee Participation in Knowledge Management (Kulkarni et al. (2007)) and the California Critical Thinking Tendency Questionnaire (1992). The supervisor validated both questionnaires. The reliability of the questionnaires was obtained using Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the questionnaire on employee participation in knowledge management was 0.946 and for the questionnaire of critical thinking tendency was 0.933. The data analysis was done through descriptive statistics and inferential statistics using SPSS software. Results: The results of data analysis showed that there is a significant positive relationship between the variable of critical thinking tendency and participation in knowledge management. Conclusion: Researchers define and examine critical thinking in two dimensions: critical thinking skills and tendencies, in previous researches the relationship between knowledge management and the skills dimension was investigated, but in this research, the relationship between participation in knowledge management and the dimension of tendency to critical thinking was investigated.

Information theory, Bibliography. Library science. Information resources
S2 Open Access 2019
Resource theories of communication

Hlér Kristjánsson, G. Chiribella, S. Salek et al.

A series of recent works has shown that placing communication channels in a coherent superposition of alternative configurations can boost their ability to transmit information. Instances of this phenomenon are the advantages arising from the use of communication devices in a superposition of alternative causal orders, and those arising from the transmission of information along a superposition of alternative trajectories. The relation among these advantages has been the subject of recent debate, with some authors claiming that the advantages of the superposition of orders could be reproduced, and even surpassed, by other forms of superpositions. To shed light on this debate, we develop a general framework of resource theories of communication. In this framework, the resources are communication devices, and the allowed operations are (a) the placement of communication devices between the communicating parties, and (b) the connection of communication devices with local devices in the parties’ laboratories. The allowed operations are required to satisfy the minimal condition that they do not enable communication independently of the devices representing the initial resources. The resource-theoretic analysis reveals that the aforementioned criticisms on the superposition of causal orders were based on an uneven comparison between different types of quantum superpositions, exhibiting different operational features.

89 sitasi en Physics, Mathematics
DOAJ Open Access 2021
Using X-Road to Implement Open Data in Electrical Systems and Promote the Integration with Smart City and Open Governance Strategies

Santiago Gil, Germán D. Zapata-Madrigal, Rodolfo García-Sierra

The electrical industry is undergoing a deep digital transformation towards the consolidation of smart grids, which requires a high demand of data and information systems involved in the processes. Open data initiatives, which have been focused on open governance to a great extent, generate positive impacts on society and the economy in terms of easy access to public resources, agility, and transparency. These initiatives can also be adopted in the electrical industry (i.e., power, electrical, and energy systems) for customer engagement, collaboration with other industries, and reaching consensus. This study proposes the implementation of an open data solution for the electrical industry through the deployment of a data hub that offers digital services for smart city applications and the integration of the X-Road system to improve the security and interoperability of open data. This initiative aims to promote a wider adoption of open data in the electrical industry and prepare the latter for fully connected and collaborative digital ecosystems in smart cities, industries, and governments. This study also proposes an open data architecture for the interoperability of the electrical industry with other digital industries (through a Smart City Hub and the adoption of 5G technology), and it reports some relevant results and major findings in this regard. This paper highlights the benefits of promoting open data and technological strategies for digitized electrical systems while considering humans an essential factor. Finally, it discusses the pros and cons of the integration of X-Road with the electrical industry under the concept of smart grids for data exchange and potential applications.

Technology, Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
DOAJ Open Access 2021
The Status of Seagrass Health: Supporting Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in Misool Marine Protected Area, Raja Ampat, Indonesia

Selvi Tebaiy, Denny Clif Mampioper, Marjan Batto et al.

Seagrass plays an important role in aquatic resources, such as to support the sustainable management of small-scale fisheries, ensuring the availability of seagrass stocks for generations of local communities to cultivate in a sustainable manner. The purpose of this study is to provide information on the seagrass health status to support sustainable small-scale fisheries in the South Misool Regional Waters Conservation Areas which is located within the Raja Ampat Marine Protected Area of  West Papua. The research was conducted in January 2019 in the Yefgag, Yellu and Harapan Jaya island. A total of ten quadratic transects measuring 1x1 m were laid perpendicularly to the coastline adapted from the seagrass watch method to collect the seagrass data, i.e. the species and the frequency of seagrass found, the dominance and the percentage of seagrass cover. Additional data on fish species were collected by interviewing the local fishermen directly. The relationship between seagrass cover and the number of fish species was analyzed. Th results showed that there were eight species of seagrass found in three observation stations, i.e. Halophila ovalis, Halodule uninervis, Halodule pinifolia, Halophila minor, Syringodium isoetifolium, Cymodocea serrulata, Cymodocea rotundata and Enhalus acoroides. According to the standard criteria for the health status of seagrass beds, the three locations are classified as less rich/less healthy. It because the seagrass coverage was in the range of 30-59%. The relationship between the percentage of seagrass cover and the number of fish species resulted equation of  Y = 15,923x + 0,3174 with R2 = 0,763. It means that the percentage of seagrass cover affects the abundance of fish species by 76,3% with the remaining being influenced by other variables, such as water quality.

Oceanography, Biology (General)
DOAJ Open Access 2021
Gender differences in information behavior during the Covid-19 health crisis in Spain

Michela Montesi

The Covid-19 pandemic has produced numerous deaths throughout the planet, although in general it has been deadlier in older people, in people with previous conditions and in males. The biomedical literature explains the difference in terms of mortality between men and women pointing to genetics and social and cultural reasons. The aim of this work is to explore information behavior, among the other sociocultural variables possibly influencing health outcomes in men and women. For this, we analyze the results of a survey with 95 people administered in Madrid the last week of strict lockdown for Covid-19 (April 2020). Questions were asked about the reasons for using traditional mass media and social media, the use of official and institutional information, the characteristics of the information that was considered useful, and different dimensions of information behavior during lockdown. Results show that the differences between men and women affect certain dimensions of information behavior and especially the information characteristics that are considered useful. Slight differences were also perceived between the two sexes regarding social media, that men appeared to use more for entertainment than communication.

Bibliography. Library science. Information resources
DOAJ Open Access 2020
Studying human–nature relationships through a network lens: A systematic review

Lotta C. Kluger, Philipp Gorris, Sophia Kochalski et al.

Abstract Understanding the complex interlinkages between humans and nature is crucial for developing strategies to effectively manage natural resources and to enhance resilience of social–ecological systems (SES). Network analysis bears great potential to advance such comprehension of SESs because it allows for identifying and analysing direct and indirect relationships and processes. As a result, the number of network studies in social–ecological research has rapidly grown over the last decade. This work systematizes existing network approaches for analysing human–nature relationships based on the level of integration of both the social and ecological realms in the network conceptualization. A structured inductive review of existing empirical network studies exploring a wide range of phenomena at the human–nature interface was conducted, resulting in 138 studies falling into three proposed categories. We examine their network conceptualization and means of analysis, and discuss challenges and potentials of each of the three categories in empirical research. The study highlights the diversity and creativity with which distinct social and ecological entities are defined to enable the use of a variety of network analytical approaches in SES research. Demonstrating the increasing recognition of network analysis to describe human–nature relationships since the early 2000s and providing an overview of the many useful conceptual and methodological approaches, this article contributes to systematizing the existing studies and provides practical guidance for network research to help disentangling complex SES. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Human ecology. Anthropogeography, Ecology
DOAJ Open Access 2020
GP perspectives on hospital discharge letters: an interview and focus group study

Katharine Weetman, Jeremy Dale, Rachel Spencer et al.

Background: Written discharge communication following inpatient or outpatient clinic discharge is essential for communicating information to the GP, but GPs’ opinions on discharge communication are seldom sought. Patients are sometimes copied into this communication, but the reasons for this variation, and the resultant effects, remain unclear. Aim: To explore GP perspectives on how discharge letters can be improved in order to enhance patient outcomes. Design & setting: The study used narrative interviews with 26 GPs from 13 GP practices within the West Midlands, England. Method: Interviews were transcribed and data were analysed using corpus linguistics (CL) techniques. Results: Elements pivotal to a successful letter were: diagnosis, appropriate follow-up plan, medication changes and reasons, clinical summary, investigations and/or procedures and outcomes, and what information has been given to the patient. GPs supported patients receiving discharge letters and expounded a number of benefits of this practice; for example, increased patient autonomy. Nevertheless, GPs felt that if patients are to receive direct discharge letter copies, modifications such as use of lay language and avoidance of acronyms may be required to increase patient understanding. Conclusion: GPs reported that discharge letters frequently lacked content items they assessed to be important; GPs highlighted that this can have subsequent ramifications on resources and patient experiences. Templates should be devised that put discharge letter elements assessed to be important by GPs to the forefront. Future research needs to consider other perspectives on letter content, particularly those of patients.

Medicine (General)
DOAJ Open Access 2020
Chasing Smokestacks in the Dark: The Amazon HQ2 Quest Revives Debate Over Economic Development Secrecy

Sabrina Conza

The 2017 competition for Amazon’s second headquarters, which drew more than 200 applications, is a prime example of how states and localities are attempting to keep confidential information about tax benefits and other deals with private companies. While Amazon’s competition may be a more dramatic example, states and localities regularly craft deals with private companies. Hundreds of deals—with tax breaks, offers of public property, and other sweeteners—are proposed annually to attract companies that promise to bolster the local economy with new jobs and spin-off industries. This paper, utilizing legal analysis and interviews, explores the pattern of confidentiality in economic development deals nationwide, providing recommendations for balancing secrecy and transparency.

Information resources (General), Political institutions and public administration (General)
S2 Open Access 2016
Technical challenges in the application of adaptive management

B. Williams, Eleanor D. Brown

Abstract Adaptive management is an approach for simultaneously managing and learning about natural resources, by acknowledging uncertainty and seeking to reduce it through the process of management itself. Adaptive decision making can be applied to pressing issues in conservation biology such as species reintroduction, disease and invasive species control, and habitat restoration, as well as to management of natural resources in general. After briefly outlining a framework and process for adaptive management, we focus on an overview of the key technical issues related to problem framing and the ability of resource managers to learn from their experience. These technical issues include the treatment of uncertainty and its propagation over time; nonstationarity in long-term environmental trends; the applicability of adaptive management across scales; requirements for models and management alternatives that promote learning; the value of the information produced with adaptive management; the challenge to management of uncertainty and surprise; and institutional (social) learning. To accommodate these and other challenges that are now coming into focus, the learning-based approach of adaptive management will need to be adjusted and expanded in the future.

113 sitasi en Computer Science
S2 Open Access 2013
Harmonisation of the soil map of Africa at the continental scale

O. Dewitte, A. Jones, O. Spaargaren et al.

In the context of major global environmental challenges such as food security, climate change, fresh water scarcity and biodiversity loss, the protection and the sustainable management of soil resources in Africa are of paramount importance. To raise the awareness of the general public, stakeholders, policy makers and the science community to the importance of soil in Africa, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission has produced the Soil Atlas of Africa. To that end, a new harmonised soil map at the continental scale has been produced. The steps of the construction of the new area-class map are presented, the basic information being derived from the Harmonized World Soil Database (HWSD). We show how the original data were updated and modified according to the World Reference Base for Soil Resources classification system. The corrections concerned boundary issues, areas with no information, soil patterns, river and drainage networks, and dynamic features such as sand dunes, water bodies and coastlines. In comparison to the initial map derived from HWSD, the new map represents a correction of 13% of the soil data for the continent. The map is available for downloading.

201 sitasi en Geography
DOAJ Open Access 2019
Analyzing the Public Libraries\' Accessibility in the Municipality of District 20 of Tehran

habibollah Fasihi

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the status of district 20 of Tehran in terms of the availability of public libraries and access of its residents to library services. Method: In this research, an analytical–descriptive method was used to analyze the public libraries' accessibility in the municipality of district 20 of Tehran. Parts of the data have been obtained from the documents of the libraries and parts of it have been obtained through a survey done within the area of study. The quantitative analyses were conducted using the indexes “per capita library” and “land use coverage”, and the tools “Buffering” and “Euclidean Distance” in GIS were used in order to draw the coverage areas of any library and determine the accessibility of parcels and population. Findings: Within the area of study, public libraries covered only 4.31 m2 per hectare of the lands and per capita space of them are 0.027 m2 that is approximately 50 percent of the urban planning standard scores. 86.1% of the users assess the access to libraries as “good’ and “very good”, and 74.9% of them believed that the libraries have “good’ or “very good” capacity. Furthermore, 18% of the areas and 18.32% of the population do not have access to any public library whereas 55.14% of the lands and 51.1% of the residents are accessible by at least 2 library covered area. 20% of the population reside within a distance of more than 1000 meters from the nearest public library and have not had an appropriate level of accessibility. Originality/value: This research showed that there is a lot of disparity in the coverage of library services in the district 20 of Tehran and revealed that providing a balance in this regard requires developing quantitativey and qualitatively the libraries with the score 2 and more and establishing new libraries through complying precisely with the considerations of locating with the aid of GIS tools. Therefore, the importance of this research lies in that its findings and results can be used by urban planners as guidelines to create a balanced distribution of library services

Bibliography. Library science. Information resources, Information technology
DOAJ Open Access 2018
Substandard Journal Management: Wastage of Authors’ Motivation

Shahryar Sorooshian, Yasaman Parsia

Authors who offer papers for publication to professional journals are under the impression that their work is publication-worthy. The editors as well as reviewers adjudge whether the manuscripts should be taken up for publication. This paper presents certain cases of unreliable journals’ management processes with an aim to show how a journal reviewer or editor could squander authors’ time and negatively impact the motivation of scholars to publish.

Communication. Mass media, Information resources (General)

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