An evaluation of forestry journals using bibliometric indices

The increasing number of scientific journals, especially over the last 20 years, created the need for methodologies based on simple metrics, to accurately capture the “quality” of those journals and their impact on the scientific community. Especially in the case of journals from the field of forestry, relatively little work has been conducted on providing valid journal classifications. In this paper we attempt to assess the impact of journals from this field in terms of bibliometric data. In addition to the already proposed metrics (complementary to the journal h-index), we also apply a new measure to rank journals, that provides a more balanced evaluation of the journal performance, by adjusting for various biases affecting the h-index. We examined the relationships between various bibliometric indicators proposed for assessing the journal impact and wo found high correlations between most indices, with only few exceptions. According to citation analysis, Canadian Journal of Forest Research, Journal of Vegetation Science, Forest Science, Tree Physiology, International Journal of Wildland Fire, Holzforschung, Trees-Structure and Function, Silva Fennica, Agricultural and Forest Meteorology and Wood and Fiber Science are the top forestry journals. These publish articles related to all the domains of forestry science. More specialized journals are also included, dealing with specific issues of scientific interest and also of major importance to the scientific community

El mercado de madera en rollo en Grecia: una aproximación empírica

The present study aims to determine the factors affecting the producer price of the industrial round wood. The factors examined as determinants of the producer price are the volume of domestic production, imports and exports of the industrial round wood in Greece. As a proxy for the producer price, the round wood of long length (> 2m) price is employed. For the achievement of the aforementioned objective, Johansen cointegration technique was implemented. The results confirmed the existence of a sole long-run relationship between the variables studied while the estimation of the vector error correction model indicated a statistically significant speed in the long-term equilibrium. The implementation of the Granger causality test has shown that the producer’s price is affected by the imported volume while the domestic production is determined by the volume of exports. Finally, the producer prices are determined by the exports and the imports of the Greek wood sector and vice versa. All the aforementioned results are consistent with the classic supply-demand economic theory.Este manuscrito tiene la intención de determinar los factores que afectan el precio de producción de la madera en rollo industrial. Como proxy para el precio de producción, se utiliza el precio de la madera en rollo de gran longitud (> 2 m). Los factores examinados como determinantes del precio de producción son el volumen del producción de las importaciones y el volumen de las exportaciones de la madera en rollo industrial en el sector griego. La aplicación de cointegración de Johansen ha indicado una relación de largo tiempo única entre las variables estudiadas. Además, la aplicación del VECM ha demostrado una velocidad importante en el equilibrio a largo plazo, mientras que la prueba de causalidad de Granger ha puesto de manifiesto que el precio del productor se encuentra fuertemente afectada por el volumen importado, mientras que la producción nacional se determina por el volumen de las exportaciones. Por último, se determinan los precios de producción, así como las exportaciones y las importaciones del sector griego de la madera. Todos estos resultados son compatibles con la teoría clásica de la oferta y la demanda

New Insights into the Mechanism of Visible Light Photocatalysis

ABSTRACT: In recent years, the area of developing visible-lightactive photocatalysts based on titanium dioxide has been enormously investigated due to its wide range of applications in energy and environment related fields. Various strategies have been designed to efficiently utilize the solar radiation and to enhance the efficiency of photocatalytic processes. Building on the fundamental strategies to improve the visible light activity of TiO2-based photocatalysts, this Perspective aims to give an insight into many contemporary developments in the field of visible-light-active photocatalysis. Various examples of advanced TiO2 composites have been discussed in relation to their visible light induced photoconversion efficiency, dynamics of electron− hole separation, and decomposition of organic and inorganic pollutants, which suggest the critical need for further development of these types of materials for energy conversion and environmental remediation purposes

The category of the ethico-aesthetics in the study of byzantine philosophy [La catégorie de l'éthico-esthétique dans l'étude de la philosophie byzantine]

The category of the Ethico-Aesthetics, introduced by Søren Kierkegaard, was applied to the study of Byzantine Philosophy by the Greek philosopher and theologian Nikolaos Matsoukas (1934-2006). Matsoukas vehemently rejected the identification of Byzantine philosophy with a strict Christian moralism. Rather, he viewed it as an ethos which did not lead the ascetics to display Manichean contempt for the body. It was thus a kind of 'mild asceticism'. This ethical acceptance of the body turns against Neoplatonic speculation and cultivates the habitus that leads to artistic creativity. Byzantine philosophy is thus situated at the midpoint between nominalism and realism, but standing against the realism of the archetypal ideas. The paper concludes with some considerations on the pragmatics of Byzantine philosophy in a Christian world. © 2020 Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu. All right reserved

Afforestation of agricultural land as a measure of management and development of rural areas

The key measures for the environmental protection of agricultural land in the EEC countries, constitute accompanying measures of reformed Common Agricultural Policy. These measures concern the Reg. 2078/92/EEC about "crop production methods, compatible with environmental protection and conservation of landscape", the Reg. 2079/92/EEC about "farmers' early retirement" and the Reg. 2080/92/EEC (article 31 of the Reg. 1257/99/EEC) about "forest measures in agriculture". With regard to the applications of the last Regulation in Greece, it led to the afforestation of 22,777 Ha of broadleaves species (Robinia pseudoacacia, Juglans regia, Populus sp.) The cost was approximately 22.2 billion drs (64.563.463 euro). The present study concerns the evaluation and application of Regulation 2080/92 in the region of Pella's Prefecture (Northern Greece), as a representative area. In the period 1993-1998, 2,600 Ha of agricultural land was planted with forest species (mainly Robinia pseudoacacia, Populus sp., Juglans regia). However, a great number of farmers' and non- farmers' applications in the framework of this Regulation, were rejected. In general, several thousand hectares of mixed agroforestry systems were set up in the rural areas of Greece. The study was based on the collection and analysis of data supplied by the Forest Service and questionnaires filled in by beneficiaries. The data were analysed with SPSS 10.0 and the cluster analysis method was used

Contribution of natural and socio-cultural resources in tourism development of Mainland Greek prefectures: A typology

Shortly after the Second World War, the considerable increase in tourist flows to Greece as well as to other countries, created the necessary conditions for tourism to become a major factor of economic and regional development. The volume of tourist flows to each region and consequently the region's prospects of development are influenced by certain factors, which create comparative advantages for the region and differentiate it from the rest of the areas in terms of tourist attractiveness. In this article, we attempt to group the mainland Greek prefectures into clusters in terms of their tourist resources (natural resources and socio-cultural resources). This is done so that we achieve an overall understanding of each prefecture's potential for tourism development given the fact that there is a large variety of tourist characteristics amongst the prefectures. By using hierarchical cluster analysis we examine two models of formation the mainland prefectures and we also try to interpret the differentiations in tourist attractiveness amongst the prefectures. Two distinctive clusters/territorial units result from the analysis, each one representing a different type of tourism development. The first cluster consists of the coastal prefectures whereas the second cluster comprises the hinterland, non-coastal prefectures

The contribution of energy crops to biomass production

The environmental, social, and economic consequences of the use of fossil fuels have led in search for new-alternative energy resources, such as energy crops. These crops are believed that they could contribute to the innovation of agricultural production with multiple benefits for the farmers, the economy, and the environment. In this review, current and future potential contribution of energy crops as alternative energy sources was investigated in several countries worldwide. Deploying a literature overview upon contribution of energy crops in biomass production and balancing out the strengths and the weaknesses of each energy crop in different countries and climate conditions, our scope was that this study would benefit farmers, decision-makers, and researchers who are engaged at any way on the exploration and development of alternative and renewable energy sources. © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Determinant factors of tourist attractiveness of Greek prefectures

Tourism constitutes one of the most dynamic and rapidly developing sectors of the Greek economy, making a decisive contribution to the growth of many Greek regions. The increase in tourist flows to all regions of the country is a vital pursuit of its regional policies, and a means for achieving regional economic development. The intense differentiation in tourist arrivals at each individual prefecture of the country constitutes an issue that is related to the more general characteristics and factors that shape the degree of tourist attractiveness of each area. The present article examines the tourism characteristics of Greek prefectures and the factors that affect related tourist flows and define the structure of the country's internal tourism. Furthermore, a proposal is made as to the typology of the prefectures according to their tourist resources. The determination and the analysis of factors are performed by using the multiple regression statistical model, which calculates the impact of each individual determinant on the tourist attractiveness of the prefectures. Moreover, by using hierarchical cluster analysis, two uniform territorial units of tourist attractiveness are formed, thus giving the opportunity to decision-makers to exercise a more effective tourism and regional policy. The basic conclusion that results from the article is that the presence of sandy beaches and the sea vitally contributes to the configuration of each prefecture's overall tourist attractiveness. Copyright © 2009 WIT Press