scholarly journals Is invasion science moving towards agreed standards? The influence of selected frameworks

NeoBiota ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 62 ◽  
pp. 569-590
Author(s):  
John R. U. Wilson ◽  
Arunava Datta ◽  
Heidi Hirsch ◽  
Jan-Hendrik Keet ◽  
Tumeka Mbobo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Eu Legislation ◽  
Classification Framework ◽  
The World ◽  
Clear Cases ◽  
Number Of Citations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Citation Classics ◽  
Over Time

The need to understand and manage biological invasions has driven the development of frameworks to circumscribe, classify, and elucidate aspects of the phenomenon. But how influential have these frameworks really been? To test this, we evaluated the impact of a pathway classification framework, a framework focussing on the introduction-naturalisation-invasion continuum, and two papers that outline an impact classification framework. We analysed how these framework papers are cited and by whom, conducted a survey to determine why people have cited the frameworks, and explored the degree to which the frameworks are implemented. The four papers outlining these frameworks are amongst the most-cited in their respective journals, are highly regarded in the field, and are already seen as citation classics (although citations are overwhelmingly within the field of invasion science). The number of citations to the frameworks has increased over time, and, while a significant proportion of these are self-citations (20–40%), this rate is decreasing. The frameworks were cited by studies conducted and authored by researchers from across the world. However, relative to a previous citation analysis of invasion science as a whole, the frameworks are particularly used in Europe and South Africa and less so in North America. There is an increasing number of examples of uptake into invasion policy and management (e.g., the pathway classification framework has been adapted and adopted into EU legislation and CBD targets, and the impact classification framework has been adopted by the IUCN). However, we found that few of the citing papers (6–8%) specifically implemented or interrogated the frameworks; roughly half of all citations might be viewed as frivolous (“citation fluff”); there were several clear cases of erroneous citation; and some survey respondents felt that they have not been rigorously tested yet. Although our analyses suggest that invasion science is moving towards a more systematic and standardised approach to recording invasions and their impacts, it appears that the proposed standards are still not applied consistently. For this to be achieved, we argue that frameworks in invasion science need to be revised or adapted to particular contexts in response to the needs and experiences of users (e.g., so they are relevant to pathologists, plant ecologists, and practitioners), the standards should be easier to apply in practice (e.g., through the development of guidelines for management), and there should be incentives for their usage (e.g., recognition for completing an EICAT assessment).

An Econometric Analysis on the Relationship between Globalisation and Inequality in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-89
Author(s):  
Jacques de Jongh
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Causality Analysis ◽  
Global Integration ◽  
Development Indicators ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The World ◽  
Distribution Of Resources ◽  
Short Run ◽  
The Impact

Globalisation has had an unprecedented impact on the development and well-being of societies across the globe. Whilst the process has been lauded for bringing about greater trade specialisation and factor mobility many have also come to raise concerns on its impact in the distribution of resources. For South Africa in particular this has been somewhat of a contentious issue given the country's controversial past and idiosyncratic socio-economic structure. Since 1994 though, considerable progress towards its global integration has been made, however this has largely coincided with the establishment of, arguably, the highest levels of income inequality the world has ever seen. This all has raised several questions as to whether a more financially open and technologically integrated economy has induced greater within-country inequality (WCI). This study therefore has the objective to analyse the impact of the various dimensions of globalisation (economic, social and political) on inequality in South Africa. Secondary annual time series from 1990 to 2018 were used sourced from the World Bank Development indicators database, KOF Swiss Economic Institute and the World Inequality database. By using different measures of inequality (Palma ratios and distribution figures), the study employed two ARDL models to test the long-run relationships with the purpose to ensure the robustness of the results. Likewise, two error correction models (ECM) were used to analyse the short-run dynamics between the variables. As a means of identifying the casual effects between the variables, a Toda-Yamamoto granger causality analysis was utilised. Keywords: ARDL, Inequality, Economic Globalisation; Social Globalisation; South Africa

A Report on COVID-19 Variants, COVID-19 Vaccines and the Impact of the Variants on the Efficacy of the Vaccines

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Halim
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Immune Response ◽  
Clinical Characteristics ◽  
Systemic Review ◽  
Review Of Literature ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Mortality And Morbidity ◽  
The World ◽  
Different Strains ◽  
The Impact

The Coronavirus pandemic has caused negative effects across the globe; mortality and morbidity being the main impact. After WHO, termed the disease a pandemic in March 2020, they gave in health guidelines to follow to control the spread of the disease. The health industry, academia, and different governments are united to develop and test various vaccines at an unprecedented speed to combat the pandemic fully and bring the world back to its feet. Some of the vaccines developed include Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca. However, just like other viruses, the SAR-CoV-2 virus keeps changing through mutation, as various variants, different from the first one are emerging. Evidence shows that the three new variants; UK, Brazil, and South Africa are more severe in terms of transmissibility, disease severity, evading of the immune response, and reducing the ability to neutralized antibodies, compared to the original coronavirus. With such knowledge of the existence of different strains, the arises concerns on whether the already available vaccines are effective enough in preventing the new COVID-19 strains. Studies are still underdeveloped to learn more on the virologic, epidemiologic, and clinical characteristics of the ever-emerging variants. This research, through a systemic review of literature, seeks to find out whether the variants of SAR-CoV-2 have an impact on the efficacy of various vaccines developed in fighting the disease and the entire body’s immune response.

scholarly journals Children coping with COVID-19: Intersectional understandings of film and media access in a crisis

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Justine Atkinson ◽  
Firdoze Bulbulia
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Media Access ◽  
Specific Focus ◽  
Film Education ◽  
The World ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
The Impact

As a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns across the world, digital access has become paramount, as most aspects of education have moved online. Drawing together five case studies located in South Africa, Argentina, the Netherlands, India and Ethiopia, this article assesses the role of film education during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a specific focus on the impacts of digital access. We examine multimodal forms of film education, and how these were used to inform, entertain and educate children during the crisis by the varying work undertaken by the organizations. Applying theories of intersectionality, we address the need for context-specific approaches to film education, focusing upon the impact that the societal and individual contexts had on the dissemination of film education in each country.

The University of Groningen in the World

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaas Berkel ◽  
Guus Termeer
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of The University ◽  
International University ◽  
Religious Reasons ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

The University of Groningen has been an international university since its foundation in 1614. The first professors formed a rich international community, and many students came from outside the Netherlands, especially from areas now belonging to Germany. Internationalization, a popular slogan nowadays, is therefore nothing new, but its meaning has changed over time. How did the University of Groningen grow from a provincial institution established for religious reasons into a top-100 university with 36,000 students, of whom 25% come from abroad and almost half of the academic staff is of foreign descent? What is the identity of this four-century-old university that is still strongly anchored in the northern part of the Netherlands but that also has a mind that is open to the world? The history of the university, as told by Klaas van Berkel and Guus Termeer, ends with a short paragraph on the impact of the corona crisis.

The impact of national culture on the adoption of environmental management standards

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 546-566
Author(s):  
Raquel Orcos ◽  
Sergio Palomas
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
National Culture ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Iso 14001 ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Performance Orientation ◽  
Management Standards ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how national cultures contribute to explain the uneven diffusion of ISO 14001 across countries. The paper focuses on two of the cultural dimensions developed by the global leadership and organizational behavior effectiveness (GLOBE) project, namely, performance orientation and institutional collectivism. Design/methodology/approach A database containing information about the diffusion of ISO 14001 in 52 countries during the period 1999–2016 was built to carry out this research. The countries considered in this study represent about 90 percent of worldwide ISO 14001 certifications. The information was gathered from publicly available data sources: the ISO Survey, published every year by the International Organization for Standardization, the world development indicators of the World Bank, the cultural dimensions of the GLOBE project and the Index of Economic Freedom provided by The Heritage Foundation. Findings This research finds that both performance orientation and institutional collectivism influence the diffusion of ISO 14001. Whereas performance orientation slows down the diffusion of ISO 14001, institutional collectivism speeds it up. Additionally, this research shows that the slowing effect of performance orientation decreases in strength over time, while the accelerating effect of institutional collectivism becomes stronger. Originality/value The study adds to the understanding of the influence of national culture on the diffusion of environmental management standards, with an emphasis on ISO 14001. A key contribution of this research is that it explores how the influence of cultural dimensions change over time as a result of the development and maturation of ISO 14001.

scholarly journals Impact of agricultural supports on competitiveness of agricultural products

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (No. 6) ◽  
pp. 286-295
Author(s):  
Hasan Arisoy
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Vector Autoregression ◽  
Terms Of Trade ◽  
Agricultural Products ◽  
Var Model ◽  
Political Variable ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

The agricultural sector is being supported in Turkey, as well as in the world. The issue of competitiveness is observed in agriculture, despite supports. This study aims at investigating the impact of agricultural supports in Turkey on competitiveness of agricultural products. Vector autoregression (VAR) model has been adopted in the study. The internal terms of trade (TOT), percentage producer support estimate (PSE), and the producer nominal protection coefficient (NPC) variables have been included in the model. The internal terms of trade in Turkey have developed over time against the benefit of agricultural sector. PSE has had a significant impact on TOT. Therefore, the use of PSE as a political variable has been concluded as a significant. Means of support must be discussed in Turkey more than the amount of supports. In particular, supports that will provide farmers with competitive advantage and boost up product farmyard prices will be more efficient and beneficial for farmers.

scholarly journals Exploring the 175-year history of spirometry and the vital lessons it can teach us today

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (162) ◽  
pp. 210081
Author(s):  
Andrew Kouri ◽  
Ronald J. Dandurand ◽  
Omar S. Usmani ◽  
Chung-Wai Chow
Keyword(s):  
Lung Function ◽  
Vital Capacity ◽  
Disease Diagnosis ◽  
Flow Volume ◽  
Volume Curve ◽  
The World ◽  
Flow Volume Curve ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

175 years have elapsed since John Hutchinson introduced the world to his version of an apparatus that had been in development for nearly two centuries, the spirometer. Though he was not the first to build a device that sought to measure breathing and quantify the impact of disease and occupation on lung function, Hutchison coined the terms spirometer and vital capacity that are still in use today, securing his place in medical history. As Hutchinson envisioned, spirometry would become crucial to our growing knowledge of respiratory pathophysiology, from Tiffeneau and Pinelli's work on forced expiratory volumes, to Fry and Hyatt's description of the flow–volume curve. In the 20th century, standardization of spirometry further broadened its reach and prognostic potential. Today, spirometry is recognized as essential to respiratory disease diagnosis, management and research. However, controversy exists in some of its applications, uptake in primary care remains sub-optimal and there are concerns related to the way in which race is factored into interpretation. Moving forward, these failings must be addressed, and innovations like Internet-enabled portable spirometers may present novel opportunities. We must also consider the physiologic and practical limitations inherent to spirometry and further investigate complementary technologies such as respiratory oscillometry and other emerging technologies that assess lung function. Through an exploration of the storied history of spirometry, we can better contextualize its current landscape and appreciate the trends that have repeatedly arisen over time. This may help to improve our current use of spirometry and may allow us to anticipate the obstacles confronting emerging pulmonary function technologies.

scholarly journals Pelatihan “Typing Master” Pada Siswa Smk BNM Plus Pariaman

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-32
Author(s):  
Welsi Haslina ◽  
Dita Maretha Rissi ◽  
Ermatati Hatta ◽  
Ulfi Maryati ◽  
Rasyidah Mustika
Keyword(s):  
Formal Education ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
The World ◽  
Typing System ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Typing Skills ◽  
Industry Needs ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Modern Era ◽  
Over Time

The development of information and communication runs rapidly in the current modern era. So many technological discoveries in the field. Of course the impact is now making it easier for all the needs and desires of humans and will continue to grow every second. Formerly humans used typewriters to make letters, office administration, and other jobs related to typing. Over time and the development of technology, typewriters gradually replaced by the presence of a computer. The use of computers can help work in terms of making tasks both from the office and from school. So typing skills quickly and precisely are needed. Vocational school is a level of formal education that is ready to go into the world of work. The PKM activity was carried out at SMK Plus BNM Pariaman because this school only taught theories about typing 10 fingers without providing special training. So by giving theory alone, students are not accustomed to typing 10 fingers in accordance with adequate procedures. The goal of this activity is to increase the knowledge and skills of students to implement a 10-finger typing system and without looking at the keyboard. With this skill, the school will create graduates that are in line with industry needs.

scholarly journals Economic impact of the world summit on sustainable development

2004 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 492-503
Author(s):  
JH Martins ◽  
C Van Aardt
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
Input Data ◽  
World Summit ◽  
Input Output ◽  
Private Investments ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact

South Africa hosted the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002.  This event is regarded as the single biggest conference to be held anywhere in the world. The aim of this paper is to set out the estimated economic impact of the WSSD and its parallel events on South Africa.  This impact can be expressed in monetary terms as well as employment figures.  The impact is calculated by using an input-output model and employment spin-offs determined from the IO table by using partial multipliers.  The input data were derived from a survey amongst WSSD delegates as well as information on government and private investments made.  

The Impact of Academic Stress on Students' Performance

2018 ◽  
pp. 128-153
Author(s):  
Corina Iurea ◽  
Cristina Georgiana Safta
Keyword(s):  
Independent Living ◽  
Academic Stress ◽  
Academic Education ◽  
Personal Opinion ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Modern Era ◽  
Assessment Of Stress ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Over Time

Studies conducted in recent years throughout the world have shown that people are growingly more exposed to stress, its level increasing dramatically over time. Thus, stress has been identified as one of the major scourges of our modern era. It seems that not only adults but also children are affected; pupils and students are also experiencing stressful life situations that can be harmful to their overall condition and health. The transition from pre-academic to academic education, the need to adapt to independent living, to gain insight into new social networks, to comply with high academic requirements constitute potential stressors that may affect the performance of students. Considering all these issues a comprehensive assessment of stress is required, from the perspective of the authors in the field, from analyzing the views of students in the research group and from formulating a personal opinion which can support the effort to reduce stress using coping strategies so that the academic environment to become a pleasant place for students.

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