Exploring the management information systems discipline: a scientometric study of ICIS, PACIS and ASAC

This paper examines the rapid growth of China in the field of nanotechnology and the rise of collaboration between China and the US in this emerging domain. Chinese scientific papers in nanotechnology are analyzed to indicate overall trends, leading fields and the most prolific institutions. Patterns of China–US nanotechnology paper co-authorship are examined over the period 1990–2009, with an analysis of how these patterns have changed over time. The paper combines bibliometric analysis and science mapping. We find rapid development in the number of China–US co-authored nanotechnology papers as well as structural changes in array of collaborative nanotechnology sub-fields. Implications for both China and the US of this evolving relationship are discussed.     

Research and partnership in studies of sugarcane using molecular markers: a scientometric approach

In this study, we applied scientometric methods and performed a science mapping analysis to investigate and describe the application of molecular markers in genetic studies for sugarcane. We analyzed 344 papers retrieved from Web of Science Thomson Reuters database, considering the time frame from 1974 to 2017, allowing the analysis of the produced scientific knowledge, temporal trends and research partnership in the subject. To our knowledge, a scientometric evaluation of the use of molecular markers for genetic studies in sugarcane has not yet been reported. Our main finding shows that dominant markers are more commonly used than co-dominant markers, and that when co-dominant markers are applied, most of the retrieved information is underexploited, due to lack of knowledge for the use of dosage information. Our results also show that despite the development of high-throughput sequencing technologies, for sugarcane only 13.33% of the studies reported the use of more than 1000 markers. We also found connectivity among researchers and institutions publishing worldwide, but only few authors represented a bridge between different research groups. Thus, the international research partnership is still low. Our findings show dominance in country publication. Six countries (India, Brazil, USA, Australia, China, and France) were responsible for 80% of the published papers and received most citations. We suggest special reinforcement in building international partnership, since collaborations occur mostly within countries. International collaboration can improve research performance and eventually lead to a better exploitation and more development of knowledge for sugarcane.

     

The rivalry between Bernini and Borromini from a scientometric perspective

Scientometrics - From a historical point of view, Rome and especially the University of La Sapienza, are closely linked to two geniuses of Baroque art: Bernini and Borromini. In this study, we...     

Exploring the association between speed and safety: A path analysis approach

Road safety is influenced by many factors; these factors include characteristics of the road, climate, traffic and, most importantly, vehicle speeds. Previous research shows that increases in speed are typically associated with an increased collision risk. Moreover, previous studies have also found relationships between road and traffic characteristics and collisions. In addition, these features have also been found to affect speeds. This paper aims to model all the aforementioned relationships simultaneously using a Structural Equation Modelling approach. More specifically, the paper attempts to model the relationship between average speed and collision frequency, while taking into account the effects of factors that confound the relationship. Moreover, the analysis attempts to assess the mediated effects that some variables have on collisions through their effects on speed. The data used in this study originated from 353 two-lane urban roads in the city of Edmonton, Canada. The average speeds were obtained from 35 million speed survey observations collected over a five-year period. The speed data are linked to the crash frequency at each location during the same time frame, along with the other factors (road, traffic and climate). The results show that, among others, average speed, volume, segment length, medians and horizontal curves all have statistically significant effects on collisions. On the other hand, shoulders, speed limits and vehicle-lengths are some variables that significantly influence speeds. The results also show that the effects of some variables on safety are indeed mediated through speeds (both partial and full mediation is observed). These findings provide valuable insight that may assist decision makers in choosing and developing alternative speed management strategies, which, in turn, could help improve safety.     

Scholarly collaboration between Europe and Israel: A scientometric examination of a changing landscape

In this paper we examine various aspects of the scientific collaboration between Europe and Israel, and show that the traditional collaboration patterns of Israel (preference towards collaboration with the US) is changing, and the collaboration with the EU countries is growing.     

Dentistry scientometric analysis: a comparative study between Brazil and other most productive countries in the area

This research aims at performing a comparative study between the Brazilian scientific production in Dentistry, from 2000 to 2009 and countries that contribute with at least 2 % of the world’s scientific production indexed in the Scopus database. More specifically, we intend to assess the annual Brazilian scientific production by comparing it to the other countries’, analyze the Brazilian and other countries’ publications in journals with higher impact factors, as well as to highlight the scientific production from these countries and its international visibility, measured by its total and by its average of citations and normalized citation index per year, by comparing the countries, and to compare the index h of such countries. As work procedure, the SCImago Journal and Country Rank was used as source, identifying the group of producing countries in the Dentistry area from 1996 to 2009. From a total of 136 countries, 13 were highlighted as the most productive, each one of them accounting for at least 2 % the worldwide scientific production in the area. The following indicators were raised for each country: number of produced documents, total of citations, self-citations, average of citations per document and index h. We verified that Brazil is the only country in Latin America that is pictured among the most productive ones in the Dentistry area. We observed that Brazil presents a growing visibility and impact in the international scenery, what suggests that its production is constantly consolidating, with Brazilian scientific recognition in the main vehicles of dissemination in the area.     

Mapping the knowledge domain and the theme evolution of appropriability research between 1986 and 2016: a scientometric review

The scholars in the research domains of innovation and strategic management concerned about the appropriability for about 30 years or more. They focused on appropriability research and constantly evolving. In this paper, we analyze 30 years (1986–2016) literature on appropriability studies from Web of Science Core Collection database. A cited reference clustering map of different periods and terms co-occurrence map have been generated using bibliometric analysis and content analysis. Based on this, we study the evolutionary trajectory, mechanisms and theoretical architecture of appropriability research and explore further research directions. The results indicate that the essence of the appropriability research evolution is the perception changes in opening and sharing, value creation and value growth, and future research is focusing on role of appropriability in the platform governance, generative appropriability and the evolution of the problem-solving mechanisms.     

A quantitative relationship between per capita GDP and scientometric criteria

There exists a quantitative relationship, which can be expressed as G=kF(lgP)N, where G is per capita GDP, F gross expenditure on R&D as % of GDP, P patent applications, N Internet users per 10,000 inhabitants, and k a constant ranging from 0.4 to 1.2 in most countries. The mechanism of the relationship is explained in the paper.     

The extreme case of terrorism: a scientometric analysis

How has the terrorism affected the research process and findings? The author tries to answer to this question through an exploratory analysis of the impact of these tragic events on the research outputs of scientists, institutions and countries. In particular, this report provides a wide range of scientometric data related to terrorism studies over the world during the two decades from 1991 to 2011. After the September 11, 2001 events (9/11) in the United States, the concerned academicians have responded in a way that they started producing an increasing number of research publications, as if they were under the influence of some kind of a driving force, stimulating the overall academic production linked to this tragic event. However, after this trend has reached its peak in 2002, that driving force has visibly weakened, and since the mid 2000’s, the number of research publication in the field of terrorism studies has steadily decreased. Nonetheless, the number of terrorist events per year, along with the property damage and fatality rate, has continuously increased over the observed lapse of time. Using these results as a backdrop, in this paper is argued that the field of terrorism research should be explored from a critical and multi-cultural perspective, and that all scientific researchers should remain objective, for scientific research is to be independent from political systems, its contingent events in any form, and the transitory historical circumstances.     

Oncology research in late twentieth century and turn of the century Portugal: a scientometric approach to its institutional and semantic dimensions

We investigate the question of how long top scientists retain their stardom. We observe the research performance of all Italian professors in the sciences over three consecutive four-year periods, between 2001 and 2012. The top scientists of the first period are identified on the basis of research productivity, and their performance is then tracked through time. The analyses demonstrate that more than a third of the nation’s top scientists maintain this status over the three consecutive periods, with higher shares occurring in the life sciences and lower ones in engineering. Compared to males, females are less likely to maintain top status. There are also regional differences, among which top status is less likely to survive in southern Italy than in the north. Finally we investigate the longevity of unproductive professors, and then check whether the career progress of the top and unproductive scientists is aligned with their respective performances. The results appear to have implications for national policies on academic recruitment and advancement.     

The relations between qualitative theory and scientometric methods in science and technology studies

This issue ofScientometrics originated from a Workshop of the European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST). In this introduction the relations between qualitative theory and the use of scientometric methods is placed in the historical perspective of the emergence of science and technology studies over the last decades. The differences among various theories in terms of dimensions, units of analysis and levels of aggregation are elaborated. Thereafter, the various contributions to the issue are discussed within this framework.     

Assessment of scientific profiles and capabilities of Ph.D. programs in Chile: A scientometric approach

It is well known that the quality of a doctorate program is related to the level of involvement of its faculty in research. Thus, we worked with the hypothesis that postulates that if the in-house scientific output of the core faculty involved in a Ph.D. program can be appraised in such a manner that the achievements render quantitative and qualitative indicators, it is possible to depict profiles amenable for comparisons. We describe the methodology, that uses performance scientometric indicators, and results obtained after studying five Ph.D. programs in the field of Cell and Molecular Biology/Biochemistry in three different Chilean universities and show that the approach serves to portray the in-house capacity of each programvis a vis national and international standards.     

Exploring a cobot risk assessment approach combining FMEA and PRAT

Collaborative robots are an emerging technology falling within the scope of Industry 4.0 and based on the concept of Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC). Unlike traditional industrial robots, collaborative robots are used in shared workspaces with no safety fences. Hence, prospective hazardous contacts need to be avoided or mitigated through a risk assessment. The normative standards such as ISO TS 15066 suggest a list of common hazards, but do not guide the robot system user through the risk assessment process. To address this shortcoming, this paper proposes a practical eight steps risk assessment approach, resulting in a risk priority list. In order to provide an accurate, practical, quantitative and supportive tool for HRC environments, the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and the Proportional Risk Assessment technique (PRAT) techniques are proposed for risk assessment. The two techniques mentioned above are combined in the suggested new methodology, highlighting both their benefits and disadvantages. The proposed methodology is applied with positive results to a collaborative brick-lifter case study.     

Exploring the possibility of a common structural model measuring associations between safety climate factors and safety behaviour in health care and the petroleum sectors

The aim of the present study was to explore the possibility of identifying general safety climate concepts in health care and petroleum sectors, as well as develop and test the possibility of a common cross-industrial structural model. Self-completion questionnaire surveys were administered in two organisations and sectors: (1) a large regional hospital in Norway that offers a wide range of hospital services, and (2) a large petroleum company that produces oil and gas worldwide. In total, 1919 and 1806 questionnaires were returned from the hospital and petroleum organisation, with response rates of 55 percent and 52 percent, respectively. Using a split sample procedure principal factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis revealed six identical cross-industrial measurement concepts in independent samples—five measures of safety climate and one of safety behaviour. The factors’ psychometric properties were explored with satisfactory internal consistency and concept validity. Thus, a common cross-industrial structural model was developed and tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). SEM revealed that a cross-industrial structural model could be identified among health care workers and offshore workers in the North Sea. The most significant contributing variables in the model testing stemmed from organisational management support for safety and supervisor/manager expectations and actions promoting safety. These variables indirectly enhanced safety behaviour (stop working in dangerous situations) through transitions and teamwork across units, and teamwork within units as well as learning, feedback, and improvement. Two new safety climate instruments were validated as part of the study: (1) Short Safety Climate Survey (SSCS) and (2) Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture-short (HSOPSC-short). Based on development of measurements and structural model assessment, this study supports the possibility of a common safety climate structural model across health care and the offshore petroleum industry.     

Predictors of societal and professional impact of orthodontic research. A multivariate,scientometric approach

Scientometrics - The aim of this study was to identify the factors that predict societal and professional impact of orthodontic research and determine the orthodontic research articles that...     

Evolving importance of anticancer research using herbal medicine: a scientometric analysis

Phytocompounds and herbal extracts have been utilized in Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani medicine since thousands of years for treatment of various ailments. Success behind herbal medicine strongly suggests the interaction between bio-active phytocompounds with crucial biochemical pathways in a human body without causing adverse effects. The increasing incidence of diseases like cancer instigated the scientific world to focus intently on their pathophysiology and prevention, leading to accelerated research activity in past three decades. This study aims at understanding the evolving global importance of herbal medicine and quality of research against various cancers through scientometric analyses by studying the output from research publications, followed by the contribution from various countries, research institutes, authors, scientific journals and areas of research. To visualize the research structure and dynamics, more than 5000 publications with Science Citation Index that appeared from 1984 to 2013 have been studied and compared for a trend in its growth of publication along with the contributions from various bibliometric parameters stated above. After using the ‘Web of Science’ database it became well evident that the concerned bibliometric parameters contributed substantially in projecting the overall scientific output in the field of herbal anticancer research as reflected from the citation analysis and h-index data. It has been observed that the number of publications increased with compound annual growth rate of 10.39% during the studied periods. Evolving trend of the research topics was visualised by drawing the keyword co-occurrence map in this field.     

Correlation between the structure of scientific research,scientometric indicators and GDP in EU and non-EU countries

Significant discrepancies were found in the ratio and relative impact of the journal papers of several scientific fields of some Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries compared to the European Community member states, the US and Japan (EUJ countries). A new indicator, characterizing the Mean Structural Difference of scientific fields between countries has been introduced and calculated for CEE countries. For EUJ countries correlation between the GDP and number of publications of a given year proved to be non-significant. Longitudinal studies showed, however, significant correlations between the yearly values of GDP and number of papers published. Studying data referring to consecutive time periods revealed that there is no direct relationship between the GDP and information production of countries. It may be assumed that grants for R&D do not actually depend on real needs, but the fact is that rich countries can afford to spend more whilst poor countries only less money on scientific research.