The influence of the civil war in Yugoslavia on publishing in peer-reviewed journals

The aim of this study was to assess the influence of civil war during recent disintegration of the former Yugoslavia on scientific output, as measured by changes in numbers of articles published in peer-reviewed journals. The articles published in journals indexed in the Science Citation Index (SCI) were retrieved for the former Yugoslav republics. According to the census of 1991, the republics" populations were as follows: Serbia 9.7 million inhabitants, Croatia 4.7, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) 4.3, Macedonia 2.0, Slovenia 1.9, and Montenegro 0.6. The annual numbers of articles from each were determined from 1988 to 2000. This period includes three prewar years, 5 years of civil war from 1991 to 1995, and the NATO military interventions in B&H (1995) and F.R. Yugoslavia (1999), which includes Serbia and Montenegro. In the late 1980s, Serbia produced more than 900 scientific articles per year and was well ahead, with twice as many publications as Slovenia. The number of publications from Croatia fell between that of Serbia and Slovenia. In the prewar period, the remaining republics had a relatively small scientific presence. The outputs from B&H decreased, from 50 articles in 1991, sharply during the war and continued to decrease. During the postwar period only 18 to 27 papers per year were published. In 1995, the output from Serbia dropped 33% in comparison to 1991. Slovenia produced more publications that year while Croatia was stagnant, and 3 most productive states had a similar output. In 1998, Serbia produced 1543 publications, Slovenia 1116, Croatia 1103, Macedonia 100, B&H 25, and Montenegro 12. The number of articles from Serbia dropped in 1999 and 2000 for 10.2% and 27.9%, respectively, in comparison to 1998. For the same two years, the number of publications was increased in Croatia (37.3% and 12,5%), Slovenia (10.9% and 52.8%), Macedonia (5% and 6%) and Montenegro (75% and 66%). The concentration of scientific research in well-established universities caused an uneven distribution of scientific output among various republics. Thus, the annual output of scientific papers per 100,000 inhabitants in 1990 greatly varied in various republics. In Montenegro it was 1.79, B&H 1.95, Macedonia 2,36, Serbia 11.92, Croatia 18.40 and Slovenia 29.63. In 2000, the annual output per 100,000 inhabitants in these republics was 3.41, 0.61, 5.24, 11,34, 26.00 and 76.84, respectively. The scientific production in B&H and in Serbia was affected not only by the devastated economy, damaged communications, and hardship of everyday life during the war and postwar years, but because many scientists left the country, and the scientists in Serbia were isolated from the international scientific community. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

First-author gender differentials in business journal publishing: top journals versus the rest

Scientometrics - Prior literature suggests that the publication rates of female academics are less than the publication rates of male academics. This holds true in nearly every academic field and...     

Publication and cooperation patterns of the authors of neuroscience journals

Characteristics of publication activity and co-authorship in neurosciences are analysed. The present study aims at describing the common, as well as the distinguishing features of productivity and co-publication patterns of four types of authors. For this purpose, authors are classified according to their anterior and posterior records. The role of the author types in the process of documented scientific communication, the relation between co-authorship and publication activity, as well as collaboration between the four types is studied. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Publication rate as a function of laboratory size in three biomedical research institutions

In three biomedical research institutions, there is no indication of a single laboratory size at which the number of publications per scientist is maximal or minimal. In a scattergram of the number of publications of a laboratory against laboratory size, the horizontal coordinate measures the number of scientists in a laboratory, the vertical axis measures the number of publications from the laboratory (counting each publication once regardless of the number of authors), and each laboratory is represented by one point. Scattergrams for the Rockefeller University (RU), New York, the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), London, and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Bethesda, are each described well by a straight line through the origin. The slopes of the lines for the three institutions are not significantly different. In these laboratories, ranging in size from 1 to 46 scientists, one additional scientist increases the expected annual number of publications of a laboratory by approximately 1.1, regardless of the size of the laboratory. Although the three institutions have significantly different mean laboratory sizes, the frequency distribution of laboratory size in each institution is described well by a 0-truncated negative binomial distribution, as predicted by a simple model of laboratory population dynamics.     

Mathematical model of delay in the secondary literature publishing process

In this paper, the internal law of delay in the secondary literature publishing process is presented. The process is demonstrated to abide by the partial differential equation of periodical literature publishing process. A definite solution of the publishing delay process is derived. Accordingly, the expression of average publication delay indicator based on the particular solution is deduced. Then the problem is studied that some information of primary literatures is missed in information retrieval, and the relationship is established between the average delay indicator and the miss ratio of primary literatures in the index periodicals or databases. Also it is proposed that the primary literature should be used as a supplemental tool in information retrieval to guarantee the recall ratio. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Publication rate as a function of laboratory size in a biomedical research institution

At the Rockefeller University in 1977–78, the number of all publications of a research group in a year was approximately proportional to the number of individuals in that group during the year. The number of primary research publications of a group in a year was also approximately proportional to the number of individuals in that group during the year. The observed frequency distribution of laboratory size was statistically indistinguishable from a 0-truncated negative binomial distribution, which is the equilibrium frequency distribution of size predicted by stochastic models for the dynamics of freely-forming primate social groups.     

Publication and citation patterns of Latin American &; Caribbean journals in the SCI and SSCI from 1995 to 2004

Impact factors, publication-citation patterns and growth dynamics were analyzed for the Latin America and the Caribbean journals covered by the Science Citation Index (SCI) and Social Science Citation Index from 1995–2003. Two main journal groups were identified: those publishing mainly in English with substantial contributions from outside the region, and those publishing in local languages, principally by the local community and on subjects of local interest. We found little inter-citation among the local papers while the highest number of citations by extra-regional authors was to papers published in English. Quantitative indicators show that LA-C journals are better positioned in the mainstream literature than ever before.     

Researchers" and users" perceptions of the relative standing of biomedical papers in different journals

Journal citation impact factors, which are frequently used as a surrogate measure of research quality, do not correlate well with UK researchers" subjective views of the relative importance of journals as media for communicating important biomedical research results. The correlation varies with the sub-field: it is almost zero in nursing research but is moderate in more “scientific” sub-fields such as multiple sclerosis research, characterised by many authors per paper and appreciable foreign co-authorship. If research evaluation is to be based on journal-specific indicators, then these must cover different aspects of the process whereby research impacts on other researchers and on healthcare improvement. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Geometric correction factors for center cracked specimens subjected to nonlinear bridging stresses in the shear lag model

Fiber bridging plays an important role in the fracture mechanism of fiber-reinforced composites. The determination of the geometric correction factors for finite-width specimens subjected to complex bridging stresses is vital for the practical application of various bridging models. An approximate approach named the force balance method (FBM) was recently reported in the literature to evaluate such geometric factors. The main purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the FBM by using the well-established boundary element method. The case of a center cracked specimen subjected to a nonlinear fiber bridging stress in the shear lag model in fiber-reinforced composites is considered. The geometric correction factors computed by the boundary element method are compared with those deduced by the FBM.     

A multiple-link,mutually reinforced journal-ranking model to measure the prestige of journals

Scientometrics - This paper presents a novel model of science funding that exploits the wisdom of the scientific crowd. Each researcher receives an equal, unconditional part of all available...     

Stresses in a fuselage model due to concentrated radial loads

Experimental values of shear and direct stresses on cross–sections of a fuselage model, due to concentrated radial loads applied to a frame, are compared with values predicted by a matrix force analysis. The results include the effect of cut–outs in the surface of the shell. Comparisons are also made of the direct stress on the inner flange of the directly–loaded frame and of the frames bounding the cut–outs. Results indicate that the degree of accuracy of the theoretical stresses is adequate for the purpose of design.     

A theoretical model to predict interface slip due to bending

Casting a new concrete layer on the tensile or compressive side of a reinforced concrete element is a common technique that is used to increase the flexural capacity of weak reinforced concrete elements. Until now however, a model has not been presented in the literature to evaluate the slip between the two components. Usually, in common practical design, slip is ignored and the strengthened element is assumed monolithic. This may not be a conservative assumption, as any slip would affect the ultimate resistance of the strengthened element. In the present paper, an analytical procedure is presented that predicts the distribution of slip strain, slip and shear stress along a reinforced or unreinforced interface between an initial beam and a new concrete layer. By following this process, the capacity of a strengthened beam is determined by taken slip into account. In addition, a step-by-step design procedure is presented and then applied to an experimental result. Good agreement if found. Further verification of the analytical procedure is performed by comparison with finite element analysis and very good agreement is found.     

A new approach to model the fatigue anisotropy due to non-metallic inclusions in forged steels

The objective of this work is to propose an anisotropic fatigue criterion for the sizing of industrial forged components. The results from different experimental campaigns using three different rolled steels are first presented. The effect of inclusions and the microstructure on the fatigue behaviour are investigated. For the two ferrite–pearlitic steels tested, the presence of a microstructure consisting of elongated grains has no observable effects on the fatigue behaviour. For two of the three steels studied the presence of non-metallic inclusions, elongated in the rolling direction, form the origin of the anisotropic fatigue behaviour.The proposed probabilistic model is based on the competition between two possible fatigue crack initiation mechanisms. The anisotropic character of the fatigue resistance of forged components is taken into account by the definition of the geometry and the orientation of the non-metallic inclusion. This criterion results in the establishment of a probabilistic Kitagawa type diagram.     

从ISI选刊标准看我国高校学报的差距

介绍了美国科学信息研究所(ISI)的SCI确定收录刊源的4个评估标准:基本的出版标准,期刊的内容,SCI的国际代表性,引文分析;分析了SCI收录我国科技期刊中的大学学报的特征。在此基础上,分析总结了我国高校自然科学学报普遍存在的差距,如基本的出版标准不规范,刊物的内容太宽泛,引文情况不理想,论文作者及编委会成员的来源范围太窄等。     

Cohesive model approach to the nucleation and propagation of cracks due to a thermal shock

This paper studies the initiation of cohesive cracks in the thermal shock problem through a variational analysis. A two-dimensional semi-infinite slab with an imposed temperature drop on its free surface is considered. Assuming that cracks are periodically distributed and orthogonal to the surface, at short times we show that the optimum is a distribution of infinitely close cohesive cracks. This leads us to introduce a homogenized effective behavior which reveals to be stable for small times, thanks to the irreversibility. At a given loading cracks with a non-cohesive part nucleate. We characterize the periodic array of these macro-cracks between which the micro-cracks remain. Finally, for longer times, the cohesive behavior converges towards that from Griffith’s evolution law. Numerical investigations complete and quantify the analytical results.     

A model of cumulative fatigue strengthening effect due to coaxing

In this paper, a fatigue experiment of auto drive shaft smooth specimen is studied in details. Through the analysis of load amplitude and load cycles, which influenced on the residual fatigue strength of structure, we find a mathematical model of strengthening effect due to coaxing. Based on the auto drive shaft work load spectrum, a cumulative fatigue strengthening model is suggested. Then, a new method of lightweight design that can maximise cumulative strengthening effect is proposed. Our model and method can provide a theoretical basis for lightweight design on structural parts of automobiles.     

Computer based publishing in the Australian patent office

The Australian Patent Office has a legislative requirement to publish particulars of patent, trade mark and design activity within Australia. Drawings, text, images and other data for trade marks, patents and designs are printed weekly in the Official Journals (Gazettes).In 1985/86 the Office investigated the possibilities of computer based processing for its regular weekly publications. The investigation considered how best to hold and retrieve text data, how patent, trade mark and design images might be processed and what computer based publishing software and hardware could be used to lower overall Office publishing costs.Following the investigation the Australian Patent Office developed a publishing system using ADABAS to hold text data, OLIVETTI's FILENET optical disk system to hold images, the XEROX ‘XICS’ software system to produce typesetting masters and a XEROX 9700 laser printer to print high quality output.On 1 January 1987 the patent and trademarks weekly journals were issued for the first time using a computer database of text for both journals and of images for the trademark journal. The text and images are merged by the XICS typesetting package and printed on the XEROX 9700 laser printer. The new publications are easier to produce, are of a higher quality and have been well received by subscribers. As a result of the computerisation the Office's publication costs for the Journals have been reduced substantially.This article describes how this system was developed and implemented, the benefits achieved by the Office and identifies likely future directions.     

Application of integral equations to heat conduction problems in which the heat transfer coefficient varies

The problem of heat conduction with a variable heat transfer coefficient is reduced to the solution of a Volterra integral equation of the second kind with a kernel having a singularity.