Influential Mathematicians: Birth, Education and Affiliation

Research output and impact is currently the focus of serious debate worldwide. Quantitative analyses based on a wide spectrum of indices indicate a clear advantage of US institutions as compared to institutions in Europe and the rest of the world. However the measures used to quantify research performance are mostly static: Even though research output is the result of a process that extends in time as well as in space, indices often only take into account the current affiliation when assigning influential research to institutions. In this paper, we focus on the field of mathematics and investigate whether the image that emerges from static indices persists when bringing in more dynamic information, through the study of the "trajectories" of highly cited mathematicians: birthplace, country of first degree, country of PhD and current affiliation. While the dominance of the US remains apparent, some interesting patterns -that perhaps explain this dominance- emerge

Assessing scientific research performance and impact with single indices

We provide a comprehensive and critical review of the h-index and its most important modifications proposed in the literature, as well as of other similar indicators measuring research output and impact. Extensions of some of these indices are presented and illustrated.Citation metrics, Research output, h-index, Hirsch index, h-type indices

A change-point analysis of food price shocks

As the impact of climate change increases it is more likely that we will see an increase of extreme weather events leading to significant food production losses. Therefore, understanding the complexities of how production losses impact on policy (through export or import restrictions) and prices (through markets) is important for the governance of the global food system in the future. In this paper our aim is to understand the variability of food prices utilizing a statistical methodology relating to the detection of extreme values and change points in the decomposed time series of food price indices (change-point analysis). These change points are identified using the FAO total food price index and also the indices for meat, oil, cereal, dairy and sugar. The results of the study highlight for the first time specific change points within these food categories when these changes occur and also the duration of these periods before the next change

Community perceptions of local enterprises in environmentally degraded areas

Local enterprises can play a key role in the economic development of communities in which they are situated but simultaneously, they are often a contributor to negative impacts on the natural environment. Several studies have highlighted the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities in order to strike a balance between socio-economic and environmental impacts in such communities. However, there is very limited literature exploring community perceptions of local businesses. We consider this to be a key topic as such information can be used in order to develop socio-economic and environmental policies based on the principles of sustainable development. In this paper, the results of an empirical study examining local community perceptions of business activities are presented and also perceptions regarding the contribution of firms, through CSR actions, to environmental quality restoration. The empirical study was conducted in communities located in the environmentally degraded area of the Asopos river in Greece

Using perceived impacts, governance and social indicators to explain support for protected areas

Protected areas (PAs) are the foremost policy tool for biodiversity conservation internationally. In order for PAs to deliver desired conservation outcomes effectively, equitably, and for the long-term, they require a high level of support from local communities. A mosaic of factors have been proposed aiming to explain the level of support for PAs focusing mainly on governance indicators, perceived social impacts and social attributes, such as personal norms and values. However, these factors are often explored in isolation and in studies of small scale within the scientific literature. To cover this research gap we run a structural equation model exploring how the interconnections between these factors can lead to higher levels of support for PAs using data from 3239 local residents in 10 PAs in Europe. Our analysis shows that the mediation effects of governance indicators, such as trust in institutions and level of public engagement, are important in explaining associations between an individual's social profile and their perceived social impacts with public support. Our findings also provide a useful and operational framework for PA practitioners and researchers illuminating pathways to increase the level of public support for a PA

A population-modulated bibliometric measure with an application in the field of statistics

We use confirmatory factor analysis to derive a unifying measure of comparison of scientists based on bibliometric measurements, by utilizing the h-index, some similar h-type indices as well as other common measures of scientific performance. We use a real data example from nine well-known departments of statistics to demonstrate our approach and argue that our combined measure results in a better overall evaluation of a researchers' scientific work

The influence of economic affluence and environmental conditions on an individual's concern for the environment : a Greek case study (2005–2007)

This paper tests the impact of economic affluence and objective environmental conditions on an individual's concern for the environment across Greek regions and over time. Our data originate from three nation-wide surveys conducted in Greece between 2005 and 2007 (N = 3592 individuals). By employing a multilevel hierarchical modelling technique, we are able to check for the influence of micro-level and macro-level predictor variables simultaneously. We find that an individual's environmental concern is largely influenced by micro-level variables and, in particular, positively influenced by family income. Macro-level variables, such as community affluence and objective environmental conditions, turned out to be statistically non-significant. Furthermore, we find that the effects of the various predictors on an individual's concern for the environment vary significantly over time and across regions

The influence of social capital on willingness to pay for the environment among European citizens

Social capital has been recognized as one of the most influential concepts in social and political sciences. It is assumed that it has significant influence on several issues such as health status, educational achievement and environmental attitudes. In the present article we attempt to investigate the influence of social capital on the tendency of European citizens to contribute money for the environment using data from EVS 1999/2000. Firstly, an estimation of individual social capital is calculated for European citizens with the use of Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Secondly, the relation between individual social capital and willingness to pay (WTP) is examined. Thirdly, further evidence is provided by introducing in the analysis the influence of other factors such as income, age, gender and educational level. In addition, the influence of contextual factors on WTP is explored. Through the results of the study it is observed that most European citizens are willing to pay for the environment and their decision is influenced significantly from elements of social capital. Furthermore, on a contextual level only some of the factors investigated explain the tendency to contribute money for the environment

MPRA Munich Personal RePEc Archive Assessing scientific research performance and impact with single indices

We provide a comprehensive and critical review of the h-index and its most important modifications proposed in the literature, as well as of other similar indicators measuring research output and impact. Extensions of some of these indices are presented and illustrated