scholarly journals Meta-Research: Citation needed? Wikipedia and the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omer Benjakob ◽  
Rona Aviram ◽  
Jonathan Sobel

With the COVID-19 pandemic’s outbreak at the beginning of 2020, millions across the world flocked to Wikipedia to read about the virus. Our study offers an in-depth analysis of the scientific backbone supporting Wikipedia’s COVID-19 articles. Using references as a readout, we asked which sources informed Wikipedia’s growing pool of COVID-19-related articles during the pandemic’s first wave (January-May 2020). We found that coronavirus-related articles referenced trusted media sources and cited high-quality academic research. Moreover, despite a surge in preprints, Wikipedia’s COVID-19 articles had a clear preference for open-access studies published in respected journals and made little use of non-peer-reviewed research up-loaded independently to academic servers. Building a timeline of COVID-19 articles on Wikipedia from 2001-2020 revealed a nuanced trade-off between quality and timeliness, with a growth in COVID-19 article creation and citations, from both academic research and popular media. It further revealed how preexisting articles on key topics related to the virus created a frame-work on Wikipedia for integrating new knowledge. This “scientific infrastructure” helped provide context, and regulated the influx of new information into Wikipedia. Lastly, we constructed a network of DOI-Wikipedia articles, which showed the landscape of pandemic-related knowledge on Wikipedia and revealed how citations create a web of scientific knowledge to support coverage of scientific topics like COVID-19 vaccine development. Understanding how scientific research interacts with the digital knowledge-sphere during the pandemic provides insight into how Wikipedia can facilitate access to science. It also sheds light on how Wikipedia successfully fended of disinformation on the COVID-19 and may provide insight into how its unique model may be deployed in other contexts.

GigaScience ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Omer Benjakob ◽  
Rona Aviram ◽  
Jonathan Aryeh Sobel

Abstract Background With the COVID-19 pandemic’s outbreak, millions flocked to Wikipedia for updated information. Amid growing concerns regarding an “infodemic,” ensuring the quality of information is a crucial vector of public health. Investigating whether and how Wikipedia remained up to date and in line with science is key to formulating strategies to counter misinformation. Using citation analyses, we asked which sources informed Wikipedia’s COVID-19–related articles before and during the pandemic’s first wave (January–May 2020). Results We found that coronavirus-related articles referenced trusted media outlets and high-quality academic sources. Regarding academic sources, Wikipedia was found to be highly selective in terms of what science was cited. Moreover, despite a surge in COVID-19 preprints, Wikipedia had a clear preference for open-access studies published in respected journals and made little use of preprints. Building a timeline of English-language COVID-19 articles from 2001–2020 revealed a nuanced trade-off between quality and timeliness. It further showed how pre-existing articles on key topics related to the virus created a framework for integrating new knowledge. Supported by a rigid sourcing policy, this “scientific infrastructure” facilitated contextualization and regulated the influx of new information. Last, we constructed a network of DOI-Wikipedia articles, which showed the landscape of pandemic-related knowledge on Wikipedia and how academic citations create a web of shared knowledge supporting topics like COVID-19 drug development. Conclusions Understanding how scientific research interacts with the digital knowledge-sphere during the pandemic provides insight into how Wikipedia can facilitate access to science. It also reveals how, aided by what we term its “citizen encyclopedists,” it successfully fended off COVID-19 disinformation and how this unique model may be deployed in other contexts.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Michael Victor Crawford

<p>Troy Roberts is a jazz saxophonist, originally from Perth, West Australia. At present, no academic research has been done on Roberts’ compositions or playing, making this research project a positive way of contributing new information to the academic body of knowledge.   His album, ‘The Xen-Den Suite’ was chosen as the material best suited to provide insight into Roberts’ musicianship (particularly focussing on his compositional and arranging techniques), as it is both intellectually complex and also musically innovative. The aim of the study was to identify and describe the use of various techniques and devices (including their relevance, purpose and function) present in Roberts’ music. Through this study, this researcher attempted to gain a basic overview of Roberts’ musical characteristics, with the objective to be able to utilise this information to further this researcher’s musical development (including compositions, arrangements and saxophone playing).  The findings were useful for direct application (i.e. the techniques could be used in the same manner as they appeared in the XenDen Suite, and could therefore be immediately applied to other areas such as composition, arrangement and improvisation), but the many different ways in which the techniques were used compositionally by Roberts provided a more insightful look into broader musical concepts, and their application.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Michael Victor Crawford

<p>Troy Roberts is a jazz saxophonist, originally from Perth, West Australia. At present, no academic research has been done on Roberts’ compositions or playing, making this research project a positive way of contributing new information to the academic body of knowledge.   His album, ‘The Xen-Den Suite’ was chosen as the material best suited to provide insight into Roberts’ musicianship (particularly focussing on his compositional and arranging techniques), as it is both intellectually complex and also musically innovative. The aim of the study was to identify and describe the use of various techniques and devices (including their relevance, purpose and function) present in Roberts’ music. Through this study, this researcher attempted to gain a basic overview of Roberts’ musical characteristics, with the objective to be able to utilise this information to further this researcher’s musical development (including compositions, arrangements and saxophone playing).  The findings were useful for direct application (i.e. the techniques could be used in the same manner as they appeared in the XenDen Suite, and could therefore be immediately applied to other areas such as composition, arrangement and improvisation), but the many different ways in which the techniques were used compositionally by Roberts provided a more insightful look into broader musical concepts, and their application.</p>


Mammalia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-François Mboumba ◽  
Maxime R. Hervé ◽  
Véronique Guyot ◽  
Frederic Ysnel

Abstract The study contributes to the knowledge of species composition and biogeographical affinities of savannas rodent in Gabon. Unlike small rodents in Gabonese forests, there is little data on the diversity of small rodents in Gabonese savannas. The diversity and distribution of rodent murid communities was studied in four different types of savanna in Gabon: Coastal Basin (South-West), Lopé/Okanda (in the Center), Batéké Plateaux (Southeastern) and Ngougnié/ N’yanga (in the South). A total of 428 individuals representing six species were captured over 11,920 trap nights. Trap success was highly variable (2.2–6.9 %). The most abundant species were Mus minutoides (69%) followed by Lemniscomys striatus (21.5%). Indices of species richness varied from 2 to 5 and diversity (Shannon and Weaver) was low in the four savannas with the highest value at Ngougnié/N’yanga (H′ = 1.2). Species distributions show that Gabonese savanna small rodents conform to four distribution types, with one species known from Zambesian savannas exhibiting austral affinities (Pelomys campanae: occurs in three southern savannas). This new information provides important insight into the biogeography of small rodents at a local and regional level. Moreover, the correspondence analysis highlighted an influence of local ecological factors on population abundance.


Author(s):  
Zuowei Chen ◽  
Liquan Wang ◽  
Jiaping Lin ◽  
Lei Du

High-temperature phthalonitrile resins have a wide range of applications, and understanding their curing mechanism is of great importance for academic research and engineering applications. However, the actual curing mechanism is...


1999 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Pierorazio ◽  
A. M. Birk

This paper presents the results of the first full test series of commercial pressure relief valves using the newly constructed Queen’s University/Transport Canada dynamic valve test facility (VTF) in Maitland, Ontario. This facility is unique among those reported in the literature in its ability to cycle the valves repeatedly and to measure the time-varying flow rates during operation. This dynamic testing provides much more insight into valve behavior than the single-pop or continuous flow tests commonly reported. The facility is additionally unique in its simulation of accident conditions as a means of measuring valve performance. Specimen valves for this series represent 20 each of three manufacturers’ design for a semi-internal 1-in. 312 psi LPG relief valve. The purpose of this paper is to present the procedure and results of these tests. No effort is made to perform in-depth analysis into the causes of the various behaviors, nor is any assessment made of the risk presented by any of the valves. [S0094-9930(00)01201-4]


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Zhou ◽  
Lei Qiu ◽  
Wenzheng Zhang ◽  
Jiao Xue

The aim of this paper was to develop a model that can characterize the actual micropore structures in coal and gain an in-depth insight into water’s seepage rules in coal pores under different pressure gradients from a microscopic perspective. To achieve this goal, long-flame coals were first scanned by an X-ray 3D microscope; then, through a representative elementary volume (REV) analysis, the optimal side length was determined to be 60 μm; subsequently, by using Avizo software, the coal’s micropore structures were acquired. Considering that the porosity varies in the same coal sample, this study selected four regions in the sample for an in-depth analysis. Moreover, numerical simulations on water’s seepage behaviors in coal under 30 different pressure gradients were performed. The results show that (1) the variation of the simulated seepage velocity and pressure gradient accorded with Forchheimer’s high-velocity nonlinear seepage rules; (2) the permeability did not necessarily increase with the increase of the effective porosity; (3) in the same model, under different pressure gradients, the average seepage pressure decreased gradually, while the average seepage velocity and average mass flow varied greatly with the increase of the seepage length; and (4) under the same pressure gradient, the increase of the average mass flow from the inlet to the outlet became more significant under a higher inlet pressure.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-155
Author(s):  
Mukhtar H. Ali

This article represents a preliminary inquiry into a little known and understudied commentarial tradition upon ʿAbd Allāh al-Anṣārī’s classic work on the stations of Sufism, the Manāzil al-sāʾirīn (Stations of the Wayfarers). After briefly taking stock of the considerably late commentarial tradition which this important text engendered, we will take as our case study one of the Manāzil ’s key topics, namely its sixty-first chapter on the station of love. This pivotal section on love gives profound insight into early Sufism and into the minds of two of its greatest exponents. Anṣārī discusses the station of love in detail, as he does with every chapter, in three aspects, each pertaining to the three types of wayfarers: the initiates, the elect, and the foremost of the elect. Then, we shall turn our attention to perhaps the most important Sufi commentary upon this work by an important follower of the school of Ibn al-ʿArabī, ʿAbd al-Razzāq Kāshānī, offering a guided reading of his commentary upon Anṣarī’s chapter on love in the Manāzil. A complete English translation of this chapter will be offered and appropriately contextualized.


Arts ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaqueline Berndt

The transcultural consumption of Japan-derived popular media has prompted a significant amount of academic research and teaching. Instead of addressing globalization or localization as such, this article investigates the interplay of anime research and the institution of Japanese studies outside of Japan, addressing recurrent methodological issues, in particular, related to representation and mediation, intellectual critique and affective engagement, subculture and national culture. The inclination towards objects and representation in socio-cultural as well as cinema-oriented Japanese-studies accounts of anime is first introduced and, after considering discursive implications of the name anime, contrasted with media-studies approaches that put an emphasis on relations, modalities, and forms. In order to illustrate the vital role of forms, including genre, similarities between TV anime and Nordic Noir TV drama series are sketched out. Eventually, the article argues that the study of anime is accommodated best by going beyond traditional polarizations between text and context, media specificity and media ecology, area and discipline.


Author(s):  
Farhan Javaid ◽  
Habib Pouriayevali ◽  
Karsten Durst

Abstract To comprehend the mechanical behavior of a polycrystalline material, an in-depth analysis of individual grain boundary (GB) and dislocation interactions is of prime importance. In the past decade, nanoindentation emerged as a powerful tool to study the local mechanical response in the vicinity of the GB. The improved instrumentation and test protocols allow to capture various GB–dislocation interactions during the nanoindentation in the form of strain bursts on the load–displacement curve. Moreover, the interaction of the plastic zone with the GB provides important insight into the dislocation transmission effects of distinct grain boundaries. Of great importance for the analysis and interpretation of the observed effects are microstructural investigations and computational approaches. This review paper focused on recent advances in the dislocation–GB interactions and underlying mechanisms studied via nanoindentation, which includes GB pop-in phenomenon, localized grain movement under ambient conditions, and an analysis of the slip transfer mechanism using theoretical treatments and simulations. Graphical abstract


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