scholarly journals Tapping into non-English-language science for the conservation of global biodiversity

PLoS Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. e3001296
Author(s):  
Tatsuya Amano ◽  
Violeta Berdejo-Espinola ◽  
Alec P. Christie ◽  
Kate Willott ◽  
Munemitsu Akasaka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
English Language ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Scientific Communities ◽  
Language Studies ◽  
Global Biodiversity ◽  
Study Designs ◽  
Conservation Interventions

The widely held assumption that any important scientific information would be available in English underlies the underuse of non-English-language science across disciplines. However, non-English-language science is expected to bring unique and valuable scientific information, especially in disciplines where the evidence is patchy, and for emergent issues where synthesising available evidence is an urgent challenge. Yet such contribution of non-English-language science to scientific communities and the application of science is rarely quantified. Here, we show that non-English-language studies provide crucial evidence for informing global biodiversity conservation. By screening 419,679 peer-reviewed papers in 16 languages, we identified 1,234 non-English-language studies providing evidence on the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation interventions, compared to 4,412 English-language studies identified with the same criteria. Relevant non-English-language studies are being published at an increasing rate in 6 out of the 12 languages where there were a sufficient number of relevant studies. Incorporating non-English-language studies can expand the geographical coverage (i.e., the number of 2° × 2° grid cells with relevant studies) of English-language evidence by 12% to 25%, especially in biodiverse regions, and taxonomic coverage (i.e., the number of species covered by the relevant studies) by 5% to 32%, although they do tend to be based on less robust study designs. Our results show that synthesising non-English-language studies is key to overcoming the widespread lack of local, context-dependent evidence and facilitating evidence-based conservation globally. We urge wider disciplines to rigorously reassess the untapped potential of non-English-language science in informing decisions to address other global challenges. Please see the Supporting information files for Alternative Language Abstracts.

scholarly journals Tapping into non-English-language science for the conservation of global biodiversity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatsuya Amano ◽  
Violeta Berdejo Espinola ◽  
Alec P. Christie ◽  
Kate Willott ◽  
Munemitsu Akasaka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
English Language ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Scientific Communities ◽  
Language Studies ◽  
Global Biodiversity ◽  
Study Designs ◽  
Conservation Interventions

The widely held assumption that any important scientific information would be available in English underlies the underuse of non-English-language science across disciplines. However, non-English-language science is expected to bring unique and valuable scientific information, especially in disciplines where the evidence is patchy, and for emergent issues where synthesising available evidence is an urgent challenge. Yet such contribution of non-English-language science to scientific communities and the application of science is rarely quantified. Here we show that non-English-language studies provide crucial evidence for informing global biodiversity conservation. By screening 419,680 peer-reviewed papers in 16 languages, we identified 1,234 non-English-language studies providing evidence on the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation interventions, compared to 4,412 English-language studies identified with the same criteria. Relevant non-English-language studies are being published at an increasing rate, and can expand the geographical (by 12-25%) and taxonomic (by 5-32%) coverage of English-language evidence, especially in biodiverse regions, albeit often based on less robust study designs. Our results show that synthesising non-English-language studies is key to overcoming the widespread lack of local, context-dependent evidence and facilitating evidence-based conservation globally. We urge wider disciplines to rigorously reassess the untapped potential of non-English-language science in informing decisions to address other global challenges.

scholarly journals Poor availability of context-specific evidence hampers decision-making in conservation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alec P. Christie ◽  
Tatsuya Amano ◽  
Philip A. Martin ◽  
Silviu O. Petrovan ◽  
Gorm E. Shackelford ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Step Change ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Bird Conservation ◽  
Robust Designs ◽  
Relevant Evidence ◽  
Local Contexts ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Study Designs ◽  
Conservation Interventions

AbstractEvidence-based conservation relies on robust and relevant evidence. Practitioners often prefer locally relevant studies whose results are more likely to be transferable to the context of planned conservation interventions. To quantify the availability of relevant evidence for amphibian and bird conservation we reviewed Conservation Evidence, a database of quantitative tests of conservation interventions. Studies were geographically clustered and found at extremely low densities - fewer than one study was present within a 2,000 km radius of a given location. The availability of relevant evidence was extremely low when we restricted studies to those studying biomes or taxonomic orders containing high percentages of threatened species, compared to the most frequently studied biomes and taxonomic orders. Further constraining the evidence by study design showed that only 17-20% of amphibian and bird studies used robust designs. Our results highlight the paucity of evidence on the effectiveness of conservation interventions, and the disparity in evidence for local contexts that are frequently studied and those where conservation needs are greatest. Addressing the serious global shortfall in context-specific evidence requires a step change in the frequency of testing conservation interventions, greater use of robust study designs and standardized metrics, and methodological advances to analyze patchy evidence bases.

scholarly journals Global Biodiversity Knowledge Commons and Civil Society of the Global South

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Balasubramanian Dhandapani ◽  
Prabhakar Rajagopal ◽  
Vijay Barve ◽  
Pankaj Koparde ◽  
Antonio Saraiva
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Global South ◽  
Limiting Factors ◽  
Biodiversity Informatics ◽  
Global Knowledge ◽  
Biodiversity Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Commons ◽  
Global Biodiversity

In our times of challenged relationships between nature and culture, it is essential that biodiversity conservation in biodiversity-rich areas of the world is ceded priority with recognised urgency. The Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) Aichi Target 19 states that "By 2020, knowledge, the science base and technologies relating to biodiversity, its values, functioning, status and trends, and the consequences of its loss, are improved, widely shared and transferred, and applied." One of the significant impediments mentioned in achieving the goals of CBD is lack of scientific information, which is substantiated by studies that highlight various gaps such as taxonomic, thematic, spatial and temporal biases in the global knowledge on biodiversity. Behind such global approaches to knowledge and its production, there is a need to establish a biodiversity knowledge commons at the global, regional and national scales. Biodiversity informatics is tightly integrated with both fundamental biological sciences and the most recent advances in information technology, which gives it a unique blended quality of an academic discipline and technological practice. This has generated much enthusiasm, where rapid technological progress in biodiversity informatics is witnessed along with large scale threats to biodiversity. Such enthusiastic efforts for biodiversity informatics data and tools, as Peterson et al. (2010) argues, need to be integrated with other overall conceptual frameworks, particularly within ecology and evolutionary biology. In the context of the Global South, it is important to place the practice and knowledge of biodiversity informatics within the framework of sustainable development, biodiversity conservation, traditional knowledge and development aspirations. The emphasis on growth, in the current global economic paradigm, has meant undue stress on natural resources. State institutions in the Global South, responsible for natural resource and biodiversity conservation, are often found to be silent if not supportive of the dominant development policies. Civil society groups and grass-roots level organisations have taken the lead in documenting biodiversity at relevant scales, to argue for conservation. It is imperative that citizen science has a growing role to play in environmental assessments (Chandler et al. 2016), mediated through biodiversity informatics. By participating in knowledge production and overcoming the barriers of scientific legitimacy by collaborating with experts in scientific institutions, civil society science groups play a role in changing the power relations by developing the means to generate independent knowledge (Jalbert 2016), contributing towards a global knowledge commons. Limiting factors such as a data sharing culture, coping with quickly evolving technologies and capabilities, inhibit communities in the Global South from participating in building a global biodiversity knowledge commons. The historically skewed accumulation of knowledge on biodiversity of the Global South in northern institutions facilitates their influence of contemporary global policies and allocation of resources. Apart from a few exceptions, such as Biodiversity Information for Development, JRS Foundation’s African efforts and Critical Ecosytem Partnership Fund’s investments in biodiversity hotspots, one does not see any encouraging shifts in this cyclic trend, which will not be effective in addressing the biases in global biodiversity knowledge. As much as the development of the discipline and practice of biodiversity informatics at different scales is important, it is equally necessary to address such structural aspects that affect the constitution of the global biodiversity knowledge commons and its relevance to the communities in the Global South.

The Speech-Language Assessment of English Language Learning Students: A Non-Standardized Approach

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 95-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Kraemer ◽  
Allison Coltisor ◽  
Meesha Kalra ◽  
Megan Martinez ◽  
Bailey Savage ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
The United States ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
English Speaking

English language learning (ELL) children suspected of having specific-language impairment (SLI) should be assessed using the same methods as monolingual English-speaking children born and raised in the United States. In an effort to reduce over- and under-identification of ELL children as SLI, speech-language pathologists (SLP) must employ nonbiased assessment practices. This article presents several evidence-based, nonstandarized assessment practices SLPs can implement in place of standardized tools. As the number of ELL children SLPs come in contact with increases, the need for well-trained and knowledgeable SLPs grows. The goal of the authors is to present several well-establish, evidence-based assessment methods for assessing ELL children suspected of SLI.

scholarly journals Evidence-Based Design in Architectural Education: Designing the First Maggie’s Centre in Israel

2021 ◽  
pp. 193758672110079
Author(s):  
Nirit Putievsky Pilosof ◽  
Yasha Jacob Grobman
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Architectural Education ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Architecture Education ◽  
The Impact

Objective The study examines the integration of the Evidence-based Design (EBD) approach in healthcare architecture education in the context of an academic design studio. Background Previous research addressed the gap between scientific research and architectural practice and the lack of research on the use of the EBD approach in architectural education. Methods The research examines an undergraduate architectural studio to design a Maggie’s Centre for cancer care in Israel and evaluates the impact of the EBD approach on the design process and design outcomes. The research investigates the impact of the integration of three predesign tasks: (1) literature review of healing architecture research, (2) analysis and comparison of existing Maggie’s Centres, and (3) analysis of the context of the design project. Results The literature review of scientific research supported the conceptual design and development of the projects. The analysis of existing Maggie’s centers, which demonstrated the interpretation of the evidence by different architects, developed the students’ ability to evaluate EBD in practice critically, and the study of the projects’ local context led the students to define the relevance of the evidence to support their vision for the project. Conclusions The research demonstrates the advantages of practicing EBD at an early stage in healthcare architectural education to enhance awareness of the impact of architectural design on the users’ health and well-being and the potential to support creativity and innovative design. More studies in design studios are needed to assess the full impact of integrating EBD in architectural education.

scholarly journals Animal sales from Wuhan wet markets immediately prior to the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Xiao ◽  
Chris Newman ◽  
Christina D. Buesching ◽  
David W. Macdonald ◽  
Zhao-Min Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Wildlife Trade ◽  
Wild Animals ◽  
Protected Species ◽  
Zoonotic Infections ◽  
Global Biodiversity ◽  
Poor Welfare

AbstractHere we document 47,381 individuals from 38 species, including 31 protected species sold between May 2017 and November 2019 in Wuhan’s markets. We note that no pangolins (or bats) were traded, supporting reformed opinion that pangolins were not likely the spillover host at the source of the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. While we caution against the misattribution of COVID-19’s origins, the wild animals on sale in Wuhan suffered poor welfare and hygiene conditions and we detail a range of other zoonotic infections they can potentially vector. Nevertheless, in a precautionary response to COVID-19, China’s Ministries temporarily banned all wildlife trade on 26th Jan 2020 until the COVID-19 pandemic concludes, and permanently banned eating and trading terrestrial wild (non-livestock) animals for food on 24th Feb 2020. These interventions, intended to protect human health, redress previous trading and enforcement inconsistencies, and will have collateral benefits for global biodiversity conservation and animal welfare.

scholarly journals Intelligibility in English as a lingua franca – The interpreters’ perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-193
Author(s):  
Karin Reithofer
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Background Knowledge ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Training Methods ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Specialist Knowledge ◽  
Written Questions ◽  
Subordinate Role

AbstractThis article aims at examining the topic of ELF intelligibility from the interpreters’ perspective. Therefore, the focus is put on listener factors affecting intelligibility in settings typical for interpreting i.e. monologic settings. Data from various intelligibility studies are compared with results from a study that tested an ELF user’s intelligibility in a conference-like ELF setting and examined the influence of listener variables such as background knowledge, familiarity with ELF use or proficiency in English. In this study, an Italian speaker gave an impromptu speech in English to participants who subsequently were asked to answer written questions on the topic. The results showed that listeners with more experience in ELF settings reached the highest score in the test, while participants with specialist knowledge were unable to profit from it. The participants’ English language skills played a rather subordinate role. The findings of this study may prove useful for considerations in interpreter training and can contribute to the development of concrete, evidence-based training methods for interpreters in the interpreting sub-skill of comprehension.

scholarly journals “What is the actual goal of the pathway?”: examining emergency department physician and nurse perspectives on the implementation of a pediatric concussion pathway using the theoretical domains framework

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anh Ly ◽  
Roger Zemek ◽  
Bruce Wright ◽  
Jennifer Zwicker ◽  
Kathryn Schneider ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Clinical Pathways ◽  
Theoretical Domains Framework ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Emergency Department Physician ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Pediatric Concussion

Abstract Background Multiple evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) exist to guide the management of concussion in children, but few have been translated into clinical pathways (CP), which operationalize guidelines into accessible and actionable algorithms that can be more readily implemented by health care providers. This study aimed to identify the clinical behaviours, attitudinal factors, and environmental contexts that potentially influence the implementation of a clinical pathway for pediatric concussion. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted from October 2017 to January 2018 with 42 emergency department clinicians (17 physicians, 25 nurses) at five urban emergency departments in Alberta, Canada. A Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF)-informed interview guide contained open-ended questions intended to gather feedback on the proposed pathway developed for the study, as well as factors that could potentially influence its implementation. Results The original 14 domains of the TDF were collapsed into 6 clusters based on significant overlap between domains in the issues discussed by clinicians: 1) knowledge, skills, and practice; 2) professional roles and identity; 3) attitudes, beliefs, and motivations; 4) goals and priorities; 5) local context and resources; and 6) engagement and collaboration. The 6 clusters identified in the interviews each reflect 2–4 predominant topics that can be condensed into six overarching themes regarding clinicians’ views on the implementation of a concussion CP: 1) standardization in the midst of evolving research; 2) clarifying and communicating goals; 3) knowledge dissemination and alignment of information; 4) a team-oriented approach; 5) site engagement; and 6) streamlining clinical processes. Conclusion Application of a comprehensive, evidence-based, and theory-driven framework in conjunction with an inductive thematic analysis approach enabled six themes to emerge as to how to successfullly implement a concussion CP.

scholarly journals Assessment of Urban Agriculture for Evidence-Based Food Planning: A Case Study in Chengdu, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3234
Author(s):  
Nan Wang ◽  
Li Zhu ◽  
Yuanhao Bing ◽  
Liwei Chen ◽  
Shulang Fei
Keyword(s):  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Food System ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Local Food System ◽  
Food Planning ◽  
Indicator Framework

Along the rapid pace of urbanization, urban agriculture is increasingly recognized as an important tool of sustainable food and nutrition supply, while contributing to the resilience and sustainability of cities from various dimensions. From a governance point of view, it is fundamental to systemically assess the urban agriculture based on local context for evidence-based food planning. In China, values of urban agriculture are being noticed in recent years, with attempts emerging to involve urban agriculture in urban planning and agriculture strategies. However, clear definition to identify the scope and holistic approaches to assess and monitor local urban agriculture are still lacking. The paper took Chengdu as the study area, to conduct a thorough assessment of the foundation, capacity, practices, functions, opportunities, and challenges of the urban agriculture locally. Building on these results, the study further developed an indicator framework tailored to Chengdu’s conditions and city objectives, for in-depth evaluation and monitoring of local urban agriculture by themes, following which a pilot in-depth assessment was conducted in Chengdu using the indicator framework. The outcome of this research for the first time provided an overall characterization of the urban agriculture in Chengdu and assessment tools tailored to urban agriculture in Chinese cities, establishing a good basis for strategic local food system planning and contributing to the formation of the Chinese paradigm in urban agriculture research.

Evidence Based Medical Prevention: International Experience

2016 ◽  
pp. 34-37
Author(s):  
Olha Puzanovа
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Preventive Medicine ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
International Experience ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Task Forces ◽  
Cochrane Reviews ◽  
The Us ◽  
Based Medicine

The objective: was to study the international experience of evidence based preventive medicine development as well as to estimate its perspectives in Ukraine. Patients and methods. Main principles and methods of scientific knowledge and research have been used including universal ones, methods of systemic approach, quantitative and qualitative information analysis, classification and systematization of theoretical and empirical data, hystorical and logical methods, health statistics as well). In total 529 scientific information sources have been studied, particularly a number of evidence based medicine (EBM) computer databases, special task forces recommendations and Cochrane reviews on prevention, Register of medical and technological documents for health care standards in Ukraine et al. Results. The contribution of foreign scientific schools in the development of EBM has been determined, as well as the crucial role of scientific works carried out in the US and Great Britain in 1930–80s as to the development of evidence based preventive medicine. The international experience of the development and functioning of evidence based practice centers’ and special task forces on prevention has been summarized, as the experience of the development and implementation of recommendations on prevention in primary health care (PHC) in high income countries acceptable for Ukraine. The concept of evidence based prevention has been first proposed. It is revealed, that EBM implementation in Europe has been prioritized in both the field of infectious diseases prevention and PHC, while there are both the development of differentiated evidence based prevention and early evidence based diagnosis in PHC in the US. Conclusion. The results proved importance of taking into consideration of international experience while evidence based PHC is being developed as a priority in Ukraine.

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