scholarly journals Evolutionary Overview and Prediction of Themes in the Field of Land Degradation

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 241
Author(s):  
Xinhai Lu ◽  
Yanwei Zhang ◽  
Chaoran Lin ◽  
Feng Wu

Land degradation has become one of the major global environmental problems threatening human well-being. Whether degraded land can be restored has a profound effect on the achievement of the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Therefore, the ways by which to identify the current research status and potential research topics in the massive scientific literature data in the field of land degradation is a crucial issue for scientific research institutions in various countries. In view of the shortcomings in the current research on the thematic evolution and thematic and thematic prediction, such as the ignorance of random features during scientific innovation, the defects of manual classification, and the difficulty of identifying technical terms, this research proposes a new combined method. First, the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) algorithm in machine learning is used to capture the potential clustering of themes in the literature sample set of land degradation research. The distribution characteristics and evolution of themes in each period are then analyzed. The method is combined with the Hidden Markov Model (HMM), which contains double stochastic process to quantitatively predict the trend of future thematic evolution. Finally, the above-mentioned combined method is used to analyze the evolution characteristics and future development trends of the themes in the field of land degradation. Comparative experiments show that the method in this study is effective and practical. The research results show that rangeland degradation, surface temperature, island, soil degradation, water quality, crop productivity and restoration are important research topics in the field of land degradation in the future. In addition, based on the advantages of this model, this model can be widely used in the thematic evolution and prediction analysis of different research fields in land use science.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Alfons Karl ◽  
Ronald Fischer

Objectives We present a bibliometric review of research on trait mindfulness published from 2005 till 2021 to determine the current state of the field and identify research trajectories. Methods A search conducted on Jan 30, 2021 using the search terms “trait mindfulness” OR “dispositional mindfulness” in the Web of Science Core Collection identified 1,229 documents. Results Using keyword-based network analyses, the various clusters suggested two major approaches in the field, one focusing on cognitive attentional processes, and a second approach that encompasses a wider field of well-being and clinical research topics. We also increasing consolidation of research fields over time, with research on wider individual differences such as personality being subsumed into clinically and wellbeing-oriented research topics. More recently, a distinct theme focused on the validity of measurement of mindfulness emerged. In addition to general patterns in the field, we examined the global distribution of trait mindfulness research. Research output was substantially skewed towards North American-based researchers with less international collaborations. Chinese researchers nevertheless also produced research at significant rates. Comparing the difference in research topics between China and the US-based researchers we found substantial differences with US research emphasizing meditation and substance abuse issues, whereas researchers from China focused on methodological questions. Conclusions Overall, our review indicates that research on trait mindfulness might profit from conceptual and cultural realignment, with greater focus on individual differences research in other areas of psychology to complement the strong clinical and cognitive focus we well as also stronger cross-cultural and comparative studies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsen Sharafatmandrad ◽  
Azam Khosravi Mashizi

Land degradation usually leads to the loss of ecosystem services, which may threaten social well-being. There is no approach to identify and manage all ecosystem services based on their importance in degradation processes and social systems. This study aimed to link ecosystem services to social well-being in order to assess rangeland degradation. Eleven ecosystem services (forage production, water yield, edible plants, fuel, medicinal plants, pollination, gas regulation, soil resistivity to erosion, soil fertility, scenic beauty, and recreation) were assessed in a semiarid rangeland near Bardsir city, Kerman Province, southeast Iran. There were significant differences between the rangeland types in providing ecosystem services (p < 0.05). Four criteria and 17 indices of social well-being were weighed according to their importance for local stakeholders. Rangeland degradation was estimated using the weight of the indices for social well-being and ecosystem services. Discriminant analysis indicated that supporting services (soil fertility) and provisioning services (water yield and forage production) had the greatest impact on rangeland degradation, which is related to food security in social well-being. Ecosystem services and social well-being declined in medium and severe degradation due to plant composition change and overgrazing based on principal component analysis (PCA). More than 70% of the watershed has been highly and severely degraded. There was a trade-off relationship between ecosystem services and social well-being in very severe degraded areas because of social well-being promotion due to agriculture expansion. Based on our approach, the loss rate of the ecosystem services and social well-being indices in each degradation category is a good guide for management programs and decision-makers to meet both the needs of the people and the preservation of ecosystems.


2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thanuja, P.

This study was carried out to estimate the economic losses caused by land degradation in different agro-climatic zones of Rajasthan. The economic losses were calculated by using an estimation model based on the amount of degraded land in each zone multiplied by the total value of output per hectare. Economic losses due to land degradation in the state as a whole ` 55.24 billion per year at 2017-18 prices. The highest losses were reported in the flood-prone eastern plain (` 10.67 billion) and the lowest in the Luni basin transitional plain (` 1.37 billion). The magnitude of economic losses in Rajasthan varied according to the severity of degradation, climatic factors, farming activities (including the number of crops cultivated and crop productivity) across agro-climatic zones


Author(s):  
Shigehiro Oishi ◽  
Samantha J. Heintzleman

This chapter highlights the contributions that have been made by personality and social psychology, respectively and together, to the science of well-being. Since its humble beginning in the 1930s, the science of well-being has grown to become one of the most vibrant research topics in psychological science today. The personality tradition of well-being research has shown that it is possible to measure well-being reliably, that self-reported well-being predicts important life outcomes, and that well-being has nontrivial genetic origins. The social psychology tradition has illuminated that there are various cultural meanings of well-being, that responses to well-being questions involve multiple cognitive processes, that happiness is experienced often in relationship contexts, and that it is possible to improve one’s well-being. Finally, there are recent methodological integrations of the personality and social psychology perspectives that delineate person–situation interactions.


Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 488
Author(s):  
Mercedes Jiménez-García ◽  
José Ruiz-Chico ◽  
Antonio Rafael Peña-Sánchez

Tourism and landscape are broad and complex scientific research fields, as is the synergy between them has given rise to a volume of articles diverse in nature, subject matter and methodology. These difficulties mean that, at present, there is no complete theoretical framework to support this tourism and landscape research, nor complete knowledge of its structure and organization. This motivates the present work, which constitutes the first attempt at mapping this research topic by applying bibliometric techniques using VOSviewer and Science Mapping Analysis Software Tool (SciMAT) software. A total of 3340 articles from journals indexed in Web of Science were analyzed. The results obtained confirm that interest in the study of these concepts has been growing, especially in the last decade. The main contribution of this work lies in the identification of work themes that were basic to the construction of the field but that are currently in decline, such as “cultural heritage” and other themes important to the field that should continue to be dealt with, such as “national parks” or “geotourism”. The transversal nature of sustainability that appears in the network of keywords related to currently emerging themes, such as “planning” and “environment”, is also highlighted and reinforced.


10.2196/15511 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. e15511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bach Xuan Tran ◽  
Son Nghiem ◽  
Oz Sahin ◽  
Tuan Manh Vu ◽  
Giang Hai Ha ◽  
...  

Background Artificial intelligence (AI)–based technologies develop rapidly and have myriad applications in medicine and health care. However, there is a lack of comprehensive reporting on the productivity, workflow, topics, and research landscape of AI in this field. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the global development of scientific publications and constructed interdisciplinary research topics on the theory and practice of AI in medicine from 1977 to 2018. Methods We obtained bibliographic data and abstract contents of publications published between 1977 and 2018 from the Web of Science database. A total of 27,451 eligible articles were analyzed. Research topics were classified by latent Dirichlet allocation, and principal component analysis was used to identify the construct of the research landscape. Results The applications of AI have mainly impacted clinical settings (enhanced prognosis and diagnosis, robot-assisted surgery, and rehabilitation), data science and precision medicine (collecting individual data for precision medicine), and policy making (raising ethical and legal issues, especially regarding privacy and confidentiality of data). However, AI applications have not been commonly used in resource-poor settings due to the limit in infrastructure and human resources. Conclusions The application of AI in medicine has grown rapidly and focuses on three leading platforms: clinical practices, clinical material, and policies. AI might be one of the methods to narrow down the inequality in health care and medicine between developing and developed countries. Technology transfer and support from developed countries are essential measures for the advancement of AI application in health care in developing countries.


Author(s):  
Jian Liang ◽  

Ritual is one of the most classic research topics in the field of Anthropology, and rituals have close connection with medial practice. However, the research on this topic from the experience of Traditional Chinese Medicine is limited. This paper presents the whole story that a patient suffering from infertility got cured got cured by a doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) and finally became a mother. With the detailed description of each medical practice, including pulse-taking, traditional Chinese herb therapy, and postpartum confinement, this paper analyzes the ritualized elements in the whole process, interprets how ritual play a role in the practice of TCM, and points out ritual’s essential significance in contributing to human’s well being and adjusting the relationships between individual and the world.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felicia Akinyemi ◽  
Chinwe Ifejika Speranza

<p>Land system change is implicated in many sustainability challenges as its alteration impacts ecosystems and exacerbate the vulnerability of communities, particularly where livelihoods are largely dependent on natural resources. The production of a land use-cover map for year 2020 extended the time-series for assessing land use-cover dynamics over a period of 45 years (1975-2020). The case of Nigeria is examined as the land area encompass several agro-ecological zones. The classification scheme countries utilise for estimating Land Degradation Neutrality baseline and monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goal 15.3.1 indicator (proportion of degraded land over total land area) was used, based on seven land use-cover classes (tree-covered area, grassland, cropland, wetland, artificial surface area, otherland, and waterbody). Severity of land degradation, computed as changes in vegetation productivity using the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), as well as changes in ecosystem service values were examined across the different land use-cover types, in areas of change and persistence. Land degradation is most severe in settlement areas and wetlands with declining trends in 34% of settlement areas and 29% in wetlands respectively. About 19% of tree-covered areas experienced increasing trends. In some areas of land use-cover persistence, vegetation productivity declined despite no land change occurring. For example, vegetation productivity declined in about 35% and 9% of persistent wetlands and otherland respectively between 2000 and 2020, whereas there was improvement in 22% of persistent grasslands, 18% of persistent otherlands and 12% of persistent croplands. In land change areas, about 12% and 8% of wetlands and tree-covered areas had declining vegetation trends respectively, whereas it improved the most in croplands (20%), and grasslands (16%). With some wetland, cropland and otherland areas degrading the most, protecting these critical ecosystems is required to sustain their functions and services. The finding that vegetation productivity may decline in areas of persistence underscores the importance of intersecting land use-cover (in terms of persistence and change) with vegetation productivity to identify pathways for enhancing ecological sustainability.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anietie Andy

BACKGROUND Loneliness is a threat to the well-being of individuals and in older adults is associated with increased risk of early mortality. Studies have shown that some individuals seek support around loneliness on online forums/social media platforms. A common challenge in online forums is that some posts do not receive comments. In some non-health related forums, posts not receiving comments may not be a serious concern, however, in an online health forum such as those focused on discussions around loneliness, posts not receiving comments could translate to individuals seeking support around loneliness not receiving adequate support. OBJECTIVE The aim of this work is to analyze posts published on an active online forum focused on discussions around loneliness (loneliness forum) to determine the language features associated with posts that elicit comments from members of the forum. METHODS For the analysis in this work, 15,012 posts published on an online loneliness forum by 9,956 users were analyzed. Of these posts, 6,450 received five or more comments, 13,221 received one or more comments, and 1,791 received no comments. Using the natural language processing method, latent dirichlet allocation (LDA) and a psycholinguistic dictionary, Linguistics Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC), the language features expressed in posts that elicit comments from members of the forum were determined. RESULTS The findings from this work show that posts related to topics themes on relationships (Cohen’s D = 0.319) and the use of negation words (Cohen’s D = 0.149) tend to receive one or more comments. Also, posts associated with LIWC categories on first person singular pronouns (Cohen’s D = 0.264) tend to elicit one or more comments. Posts on topic themes related to spending time around holidays/birthdays/year/time of day or week (Cohen’s D = 0.79) and affection relative to relationships (Cohen’s D = 0.102) tend to receive five or more comments. CONCLUSIONS This work identifies language features expressed in loneliness forum posts that elicit comments. The findings from this work can provide members of online loneliness forums tips on how to write posts that potentially elicit comments from members of the forum.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 1702-1719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fu-Sung Hsu ◽  
Yuan-an Liu ◽  
Sheng-Hshiung Tsaur

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate the moderating effects of organizational justice and workplace friendship on the relationship between workplace bullying and hotel employees’ well-being.Design/methodology/approachThe research sample included 310 entry-level employees of international tourism hotels in Taiwan. This study adopted hierarchical regression for data analysis.FindingsThe study found that workplace bullying negatively impacted on hotel employees’ well-being. Organizational justice and workplace friendship had significantly positive effects on hotel employees’ well-being. Compared with workplace friendship, organizational justice had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between workplace bullying and hotel employees’ well-being.Originality/valueIn the research fields of hospitality, past studies failed to use organizational justice and workplace friendship to moderate the relationship between workplace bullying and hotel employees’ well-being. This study confirmed that organizational justice could effectively buffer the negative effect of workplace bullying on hotel employees’ well-being.


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