High-quality Journals Research Articles

The relationship between audit committees, external auditors, and internal control systems: a literature review and a research agenda

Purpose This paper aims to focus on the relationship between audit committees, external auditors and internal control systems (ICS) and strives to point out mutual influences between the instances to provide an integrated perspective for firms’ multilateral monitoring mechanisms. Furthermore, this study emphasizes the incorporation of sustainability and fraud considerations into the traditional roles of audit committees and auditors. Design/methodology/approach This structured literature review is based on 71 empirical-quantitative studies published in high-quality journals between 2005 and 2022. Considering the classification of ICS into ICS quality and internal audit function, the studies are analyzed with regard to audit committees’ and external auditors’ characteristics, divided into incentives and competencies, as well as their mutual relationships. Findings This study highlights a dynamic trilateral network of relationships between monitoring authorities and primarily shows that audit committees equipped with adequate competencies generate a substitutive effect for external auditors by reducing their efforts, whereas ICS quality serves as a possible mediator in this network of relationships. The establishment of an integrative three-party coalition of competent and adequately incentivized monitoring parties is essential to guarantee sufficient and appropriate ICS and overall corporate governance quality. Practical implications The findings should prompt legislators and firms to ensure a deeper collaboration between audit committees, internal auditors and external auditors to generate synergy effects and economies of scale within the integrative monitoring process. Legislators should develop stricter requirements for competencies of audit committees and auditors. These should include a holistic triad of sustainability, fraud and digital expertise as well as mandatory forensic procedures performed by all monitoring bodies. Originality/value The authors contribute to prior research by highlighting the importance of an integrative three-party coalition of monitoring authorities to ensure corporate governance quality and to generate synergy effects within a dynamic multilateral monitoring process. Furthermore, the authors offer cutting-edge implications by stressing the need for consideration of sustainability and fraud aspects in the traditional work and profiles of audit committees and auditors.

Exosomes: A Fluid Biopsy Source for Clinical Interventions of Noncommunicable Diseases Treatment: A Review

Introduction: The beginning of exosome biosynthesis is marked by the emergence of the initial endosomes through the inward splitting of the plasma cell membrane. This process is facilitated through the endosomal categorization complex essential for transport, which is also involved in the production of different extracellular vesicles. Exosomes are naturally occurring nanosized vesicles found in all bodily fluids and can be successfully extracted from preserved biological materials, while maintaining their structural integrity. Methods: The articles published recently in high-quality journals (Science Direct, Springer, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and Taylor & Francis) indexed in various indexing sources such as Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, and so on were collected using keywords such as fluid biopsy (FB) exosomes, endosomes, and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) treatment, new biomarkers, and treatment. Discussion: In recent years, exosomes have emerged as an exciting option for “FB” that has demonstrated significant potential in the areas of noninvasive medical testing, predictions, as well as tracking responses to therapy for noncommunicable diseases. Nevertheless, specific constraints need to be addressed to expand the application of exosome-based FB as a widely accepted and reliable testing method in typical medical facilities. Conclusion: This review provides a comprehensive overview of our present understanding of exosomes to be an FB method for diagnosing, predicting outcomes, and tracking treatment responses in NCDs. It also discusses the main constraints, innovations in technology, as well as future possibilities of using this application in medical treatment.

A holistic approach to supporting death in the home: Implementation of a home hospice program in a northern community–A study protocol

Introduction To enhance support for individuals at end of life to die at home, a new community-driven home-based hospice program was developed–Home Hospice. This wholistic hospice care program, co-designed by hospice care staff, community end-of-life care providers, researchers, and health systems decision-makers, will provide around the clock care to clients and their families. Methods and analysis This mixed methods study, guided by a process evaluation framework, will use secondary client and caregiver data collected as part of regular Home Hospice program processes, as well as primary interview data collected from caregivers at least three months post-death of the client and from hospice staff and volunteers involved in the Home Hospice program. Analysis will include descriptive statistical analysis of quantitative data and thematic analysis employing an inductive and a deductive qualitative analysis approach. Ethics Ethics approval has been received from the University of Northern British Columbia (File No: 6009117). All individuals and caregivers who enroll in the Home Hospice program will be invited to participate in this study. At three months post-death of the client, hospice staff will contact caregivers to ask if they would like to participate in a one-on-one interview with a research team member. Staff and volunteers will also be eligible to participate in one-on-one interviews with research team members. De-identified participant data will be provided by hospice staff to the research team. All participants will provide informed consent prior to participation in the study. Dissemination This study will use an integrated Knowledge Translation/Knowledge Mobilization (iKTKM) lens wherein the research team will work closely and meaningfully with knowledge users and community partners at all stages. Evidence-based and targeted iKTKM products will be created, including community event presentations and social media posts to share findings with participant and community audiences. Further, findings will be disseminated at conferences, workshops, and policy rounds with academic and decision-making audiences. Preliminary and full project findings will be published in high-quality open access journals. Strengths and limitations of this study Co-design of Home Hospice program and evaluation metrics involves researchers, hospice staff, health systems decision-makers, and community members. Evaluation metrics involve prospective collection of service utilization from client, family, hospice, and health systems perspectives. Integrated knowledge translation approach which frames the knowledge dissemination plan for the study findings focuses on a range of audiences, including local citizens, hospice and community end-of-life care providers, health systems decision-makers, and academic professionals. As a one-year pilot study, the number of clients who may be able to participate in this program will be approximately 50 persons.

Interdependence of halal entrepreneurship and Islamic finance for creating a strong halal ecosystem

Purpose Ethical entrepreneurship and financing models based on Islamic principles are insufficiently researched and discussed in the emerging plural economic landscape. So far, Islamic theorists have made commendable efforts in this direction. To fill the knowledge gaps, this study aims to explore more rigorously the interdependence of halal entrepreneurship and Islamic finance in creating a strong halal ecosystem. Design/methodology/approach Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology, a systematic literature review (SLR) of 33 articles from 2001 to 2024 was conducted to answer three research questions. Publications were obtained using purposive sampling from the Scopus database. They were selected based on the ranking of high-quality journals, global coverage relevance to research and base years of publications. Findings Three key findings emerged from the SLR using the PRISMA protocol. First, halal entrepreneurship and Islamic finance complement each other by providing Shari’ah-compliant financial instruments, fostering ethical practices, enhancing market reach and ensuring business operations adhere to Islamic principles, thereby creating a cohesive halal ecosystem. Second, the strategic integration of halal entrepreneurship and Islamic finance – through innovation, sustainability practices, Shari’ah-compliant products, effective marketing and regulatory support – promotes economic growth, social welfare and sustainable development within the halal ecosystem. Third, Maqasid-ul Shari’ah principles guide halal entrepreneurship and Islamic finance by ensuring ethical standards, promoting social justice, emphasizing sustainability and ensuring that business and financial practices benefit society and adhere to Islamic ethical standards. These findings aid in developing a theoretically grounded conceptual framework for future empirical investigation. Practical implications Practically, policymakers, Islamic financial institutions and halal entrepreneurs can leverage this integrated approach to drive economic growth, social welfare and sustainable development, aligning operations with Maqasid-ul Shari’ah to ensure ethical standards and societal benefits. In addition, the findings aid in developing a theoretically grounded conceptual framework for future empirical investigation, both theoretically and methodologically. Originality/value Given the paucity of studies in this multidisciplinary area, this paper offers new insights into the interdependence of halal entrepreneurship and Islamic finance, grounded in the finance–growth nexus theory and Maqasid-ul Shari’ah principles. Unlike other exploratory studies, this research presents a theoretically grounded conceptual framework, paving the way for future empirical investigations.

The Fair Value Accounting Controversy in the 2008 Financial Crisis: A Structured Literature Review

This research aims to explore the controversy surrounding fair value accounting (FVA) during the 2008 financial crisis. Using a structured literature review approach, this research collected 20 relevant articles on Scopus that were most cited and published in high-quality journals after 2008, and developed a suitable framework for analysis. The results of this research show that the controversy in current research is first manifested in whether FVA exacerbated the 2008 financial crisis. Secondly, this research also analyzed the controversy within different views. In addition, this research found that the controversy over FVA is most intense in the North America, while Australia and Europe show highly consistent results. Finally, this research points out that the controversy over FVA is most intense in studies using empirical research methods, while other research methods show strong consistency.

Why We Share: A Systematic Review of Knowledge-Sharing Intentions on Social Media.

Social media's potential for knowledge dissemination is under-utilized due to limited user participation. This study systematically reviews factors affecting knowledge-sharing intentions on social platforms using the ROSES protocol. We searched Scopus and Web of Science for quality, relevance, and rigor, finding that 65% of the articles shared were published in high-quality journals (Q1 or Q2), with the Journal of Knowledge Management accounting for 15%. Since 2015, 62.5% of research has been published, highlighting increased activity. Quantitative methods dominated (95%), with Zhihu being the most studied platform. We identified four key themes-psychological, technological, environmental, and social-covering 47 determinants centered on trust and attitude, primarily based on individual and social behavior theories. This is the first systematic exploration of elements influencing knowledge-sharing intentions on social media, providing insights to enhance user interaction and guide social media strategies in knowledge-centric organizations.

Lack of Funds for Publications form a Threat to Young Medical Authors

Background: Young medical authors face several problems. One of them is their common limited access to funds that may be used to pay the Article Processing Charges (APC) of medical journals. Objectives: It is investigated whether the APCs are high, indeed, and – if so – how this problem for young authors can be tackled. Significance: It is important that good research is published in reliable and well-read journals. Measures should therefore be taken to avoid that young researchers publish in journals that are not or hardly read, only because they offer low APCs. Methodology: Analysis of the APCs of medical journals is carried out by searching for the APC on the website of the hundreds of journals that approached the present authors during one year with a request to submit a manuscript. Results: It is found that most journals have APCs that are too high for junior authors to pay personally. Almost all journals with an affordable APC have a quality below internationally acceptable standards and are not or hardly read (or cited). Young authors commonly see the advantages of publishing in low-APC journals on the short term, but they can difficultly overview the disadvantages on the longer term. This makes the ‘battle’ against low-quality journals difficult. Conclusions: Young authors should be warned that choosing a journal on the basis of a low APC may affect their scientific reputation. All medical institutes and organizations were research is carried out should develop a procedure that enables young authors to avoid publishing in low-quality journals, by supplying grants to cover the APC asked by appropriate high-quality journals.

Endoscopic Management Options for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a prevalent condition that affects a significant portion of the Western population. Despite its benign pathophysiology, it has the potential to cause serious complications over time, ranging from conditions that are benign, premalignant, and/or malignant. Traditional treatment options include lifestyle measures, anti-secretory medications (e.g., proton pump inhibitor (PPI)), and surgical options (e.g., Nissen and Toupet fundoplication). However, recent studies have revealed long-term side effects of anti-secretory medications. Moreover, surgical options, though effective, are considered invasive and associated with potential complications. In the current age of ongoing research in minimally invasive options, endoscopic treatment of GERD has become popular. As a result, procedures such as radiofrequency treatment and transoralincisionlessfundoplication (TIF) have gained FDA approval and are currently being covered by most insurance. In this review article, we will discuss pre-procedural workup, appropriate patient selection, advantages, disadvantages, procedure techniques, and follow-up of patients who undergo various endoscopic treatments for GERD.In addition, we will review the short and long-term success of these techniques in improving quality of life, use of PPI, and improvement in symptoms considering published data in high-quality peer-reviewed journals.

Linear, Nonlinear, and Distributed-Parameter Observers Used for (Renewable) Energy Processes and Systems—An Overview

Full- and reduced-order observers have been used in many engineering applications, particularly for energy systems. Applications of observers to energy systems are twofold: (1) the use of observed variables of dynamic systems for the purpose of feedback control and (2) the use of observers in their own right to observe (estimate) state variables of particular energy processes and systems. In addition to the classical Luenberger-type observers, we will review some papers on functional, fractional, and disturbance observers, as well as sliding-mode observers used for energy systems. Observers have been applied to energy systems in both continuous and discrete time domains and in both deterministic and stochastic problem formulations to observe (estimate) state variables over either finite or infinite time (steady-state) intervals. This overview paper will provide a detailed overview of observers used for linear and linearized mathematical models of energy systems and review the most important and most recent papers on the use of observers for nonlinear lumped (concentrated)-parameter systems. The emphasis will be on applications of observers to renewable energy systems, such as fuel cells, batteries, solar cells, and wind turbines. In addition, we will present recent research results on the use of observers for distributed-parameter systems and comment on their actual and potential applications in energy processes and systems. Due to the large number of papers that have been published on this topic, we will concentrate our attention mostly on papers published in high-quality journals in recent years, mostly in the past decade.

Gender disparities in high-quality dermatology research over the past 15 years.

In the last 15 years, an increase in U.S. female dermatologists from 41 to 52.2% and a surge in female authorship (FAP) have been noted. Authorship is a pivotal objective measurement of academic productivity and, contribution as first or senior author, plays a major role in the promotion process of active physicians and faculty members. To validate, analyze, and clarify trends in FAP in high-quality dermatology research in the last 15 years. The Thomson Reuters Web of Science Journal Citation Reports 2021 was used to retrieve the 100 most-cited original articles from the top 5 dermatology journals (determined by 2021 impact factors) in 5 consecutive 3-year intervals between 2009 and 2023. Gender application programming interface, a gender algorithm, was used to identify FAP according to country of origin and first name. Monotonic trend test significance level was set at 5%. In total, 14,187 articles were retrieved and subdivided into the 100 most-cited in 3-year intervals. A total of 418 first and 447 senior authors' gender were identified. FAP was found in 43%, 31%, and 37% of the first, last, and total authors. Trend analysis revealed a decrease in the last 15 years (S = -4610, P = .068) in senior FAP. Similarly, the trend persists in the United States (S = -1606, P = .052). Due to the usage of a binary gender identification algorithm, Nonbinary gender could not be identified in this analysis. The last 15 years show an inverse relationship, with an increase in female dermatologists and a decrease in senior FAP in high-quality journals in the general dermatology community.

A Brief communication on Virtual Reality (VR) in Hospitality Industry & Global Travel and Tourism

Virtual reality is now being utilised to improve the travel experience by offering extra marketing tools to destinations, attractions, and companies, altering customer experiences, and creating a new tourism paradigm. Our work was inspired by a rapidly changing world in which virtual reality is gradually becoming the norm in which we live, work, and play. These technologies are always improving, posing new problems to tourist and hospitality management. As the VR literature grows, there is an urgent need to synthesise existing information in the area. To address this difficulty, we conducted a systematic evaluation of 54 publications on virtual reality published in high-quality journals. The findings synthesise existing knowledge for research and managerial decisions. Our evaluation also identifies prospective research streams and important management consequences on a nine-step customer experience in anticipation of the increasing use of virtual reality in the field.

Editorial

Dear Readers,  It gives me great pleasure to announce the fourth regular issue of 2024. I would like to thank all the authors for their sound research papers and the editorial board and our guest reviewers for their extremely valuable reviews and suggestions for improvement. These contributions and the generous support of the consortium members enable us to run our journal and maintain its quality. I would also like to thank our broader community for reading and incorporating sound J.UCS papers into their research. I am also very proud to announce that our journal has been included in the Free Journal Network as one of the listed high-quality journals in this field. Still, I would like to expand our editorial board: If you are a tenured associate professor or above with a good publication record, please apply to join our editorial board. We are also interested in receiving high-quality proposals for special issues on new topics and emerging trends. In this regular issue, I am very pleased to introduce six papers by 22 authors from nine countries: Brazil, Czech Republic, Germany, Iran, Jordan, Portugal, Thailand, Turkey, and the USA. In a collaboration between researchers from the Czech Republic and Germany, Sivaramasamy Elayaraja, Sunil Yeruva Vlastimil Stejskal, and Satish Nandipati look into multi-class microscopic image analysis of protozoan parasites using convolutional neural network and perform a study on 4740 microscopic images. André Diegues Fernandes, João Cruz, Miguel Mira da Silva, and Rúben Pereira from Portugal cover a systematic literature review for mapping and integrating security and risk standards. In a collaborative research between Jordan and the USA, Sahar Idwan, Junaid Zubairi, Syed Ali Haider, and Wael Etaiwi introduce their reactive traffic congestion control method based on a hierarchical graph approach. Shahrzad Riahi, Ramtin Khosravi, and Fatemeh Ghassemi from Iran conduct a study on knowledge-related policy analysis in an inference-enabled actor model. Josival Silva, Nelson Rosa, and Fernando Aires from Brazil research and present UP-Home, a self-adaptive solution that manages the security of smart homes by industry standards, and identifies and mitigates smart home security vulnerabilities. Last but not least, Sait Can Yucebas, Sukran Yalpir, Levent Genc, and Melike Dogan from Turkey discuss their research on price prediction and determination of the factors influencing real estate prices using X-Means clustering and CART decision trees. Enjoy Reading! Cordially, Christian Gütl, Managing Editor Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria

Incorporation of Corporate Startup: A Definition, Challenge, and Future Research Agenda

Objective: A corporate startup is a business development initiative led by a company's employees, using the company's resources and with the support of top managers. It aims to address business problems that arise within the company. This study seeks to define a corporate startup, highlight its challenges, and identify areas for future research. Design/Methods/Approach: The method employed is a literature review based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) paradigm, with systematic searches from a database of high-quality scientific journals indexed by Scopus (Q1 and Q2). Selected publications relevant to the theme will be reviewed, and data will be summarized. Findings: This study finds three challenges that occur for corporate startups, namely collaboration development with internal and external corporate startups, finding competent mentors for corporate startups, and resource management competency. Further research can be continued by discussing three things, namely identifying companies that practice corporate entrepreneurship and capturing qualitative and quantitative organizational designs to enable corporate entrepreneurship, more research on developing countries, and the creation of standard standards regarding the evaluation of startup corporate models in various companies across industries and countries. Originality/Value: This research is the first study to describe the definition of corporate startups obtained from various high-quality journals (Scopus Q1 and Q2), which discusses various applications of corporate startups worldwide, the majority in the form of case study studies. With various views on the applications in the industry through Case Studies, this research also explained a review of the challenges and agenda of research in the future Corporate Startup, originating from various practices over the past 20 years on four different continents. Practical/Policy implication: Companies can implement corporate startups by utilizing a model derived from this paper. This involves embracing specific definitions, addressing challenges proactively, and outlining future research directions based on the findings of this study. Academics can also apply future research agendas to subsequent research to develop research related to Corporate Startup.

Emotional Design of Packaging: A Bibliometric Analysis

This study aims to explain the present research status and trends in the field of Emotional Design of Packaging (EDOP). A total of 129 scholarly articles were selected from high-quality journals in the Web of Science (WoS) database, and a systematic review of the EDOP field was undertaken, utilising a combination of CiteSpace and VOSviewer for bibliometric analysis. The findings reveal substantial advancements over the past two decades, with prospects for continued expansion. There exists a pressing requirement for enhanced collaboration across countries, institutions, and authors within this field. The core research themes in this area are Emotional Communication of Brand Packaging, Emotional Triggers for Packaging Design, Emotional Experience and User Satisfaction, and Emotional Design and Consumer Behaviour. It is worth mentioning that these four research themes correspond to the evolutionary trend of EDOP research history, with crossovers between periods arranged in an overlapping relationship. Additionally, Sensory Characteristics of Food Packaging and Emotional Measurement of Users, Modelling the Relationship between Packaging Design, Branding and Consumer Behaviour, and the Role of Cigarette Packaging Design in Tobacco Marketing collectively form the fundamental knowledge base in this area. This study not only addresses the current research gap in this field but also provides valuable references and guidance for future researchers.

Hotspot Analysis and Frontier Exploration of Stem Cell Research in Intervertebral Disc Regeneration and Repair: A Bibliometric and Visualization Study

BackgroundStem cells have shown tremendous potential and vast prospects in the research of intervertebral disc (IVD) regeneration and repair, attracting considerable attention in recent years. In this study, a bibliometric analysis and visualization techniques were employed to probe and analyze the hotspots and frontiers of stem cell research in IVD regeneration and repair, aiming to provide valuable references and insights for further investigations. MethodsThis study utilized the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-Expanded) from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database to retrieve and extract relevant literature records as research samples. Visual analysis tools such as VOSviewer 1.6.19, CiteSpace 6.2.R4, and bibliometric online analysis platforms were employed to construct scientific knowledge maps, providing a comprehensive and systematic exposition from various perspectives including collaboration networks, co-citation networks, and co-occurrence networks. ResultsA total of 1,075 relevant studies have been published in 303 journals by 4,181 authors from 1,198 institutions across 54 countries/regions. Over the past 20 years, the field of research has witnessed a significant growth in annual publications and citations. China and the United States have emerged as the primary participants and contributors, with the AO Research Institute Davos, Zhejiang University, and Tokai University being the top three leading research institutions. The most productive and highly cited author is Sakai D, who is regarded as a key leader in this research field. The journals with the highest number of publications and citations are Spine and Biomaterials, which are considered to be high-quality and authoritative core journals in this field. The current research focuses primarily on the sources and selection of stem cells, optimization of transplantation strategies, mechanisms of IVD regeneration, and the combined application of stem cells and biomaterials. However, there are still some challenges that need to be addressed, including post-transplantation stability, assessment of regenerative effects, and translation into clinical applications. Future research will concentrate on the diversity of stem cell sources, the application of novel biomaterials, personalized treatments, and the development of gene editing technologies, among other cutting-edge directions. ConclusionThis study utilized bibliometric analysis and visualization techniques to unveil the hotspots and frontiers in the research on stem cells for IVD regeneration and repair. These research findings provide essential guidance and references for further experimental design and clinical applications. However, additional experiments and clinical studies are still needed to address the challenges and difficulties faced in the field of IVD regeneration and repair, thus offering novel strategies and approaches for the treatment of IVD diseases.

Effect of superplasticizer in geopolymer and alkali-activated cement mortar/concrete: A review

Abstract The cement and construction industry creates around 10% of the global carbon footprint. Geopolymer and alkali-activated concrete provide a sustainable solution to conventional concrete. Due to its disadvantages, the practical usage of geopolymer and alkali-activated concrete is limited. Workability is one of the issues faced in developing geopolymer and alkali-activated concretes. Plenty of research was conducted to provide a solution to enhance the ability to use different superplasticizers (SPs). The present article extensively reviews the effects of SPs on geopolymer and alkali-activated concretes. The research articles published in the last 5 years in high-quality journals are considered for the chemical composition of the different SPs and analyses of their exact impact on geopolymer and alkali-activated cement mortar and concrete. Later, the impact of SPs on the normal consistency and setting times of cement mortar, workability, compressive strength, flexural strength, split tensile strength, microstructure, and water absorption of geopolymer and alkali-activated concrete was determined. SPs improve the geopolymer and alkali-activated concretes upon their use in desired dosages; more dosage leads to negative effects. Therefore, selecting the optimal superplasticizer is essential since it impacts the performance of the geopolymer and alkali-activated concrete.

Top 100 most-cited articles on tau protein: a bibliometric analysis and evidence mapping.

Tau, a microtubule-associated protein extensively distributed within the central nervous system (CNS), exhibits close associations with various neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we aimed to conduct a qualitative and quantitative bibliometric study of the top 100 most-cited publications on tau protein and reveal the current research hotspots and future perspectives. The relevant literature was retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. CiteSpace (v6.2.R4) and VOSviewer (1.6.19) were adopted for bibliometric analysis with statistical and visual analysis. Citations per article ranged from 615 to 3,123, with a median number of 765.5 times. "Neuroscience" emerged as the most extensively researched subject in this field. The USA has emerged as the leading country, with a publication record (n = 65), total citations (n = 66,543), strong centrality (0.29), and extensive international collaborations. Harvard University (n = 11) and the University of California, San Francisco (n = 11) were the top two institutions in terms of publications. Neuron dominated with 13 articles in the 37 high-quality journals. M. Goedert from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology was the most productive (n = 9) and top co-cited (n = 179) author. The most frequently studied keywords were Alzheimer's disease (n = 38). Future research is anticipated to intensify its focus on the pathogenesis of various tau-related diseases, emphasizing the phosphorylation and structural alterations of tau protein, particularly in Alzheimer's disease. The pathogenesis of various tau-related diseases, including the phosphorylation and structural alterations of the tau protein, will be the primary focus of future research, with particular emphasis on Alzheimer's disease as a central area of investigation.

Relationships among cost, citation, and access in journal publishing by an ecology and evolutionary biology department at a U.S. university.

Optimizing access to high-quality scientific journals has become an important priority for academic departments, including the ability to read the scientific literature and the ability to afford to publish papers in those journals. In this contribution, we assess the question of whether institutional investment in scientific journals aligns with the journals where researchers send their papers for publication, and where they serve as unpaid reviewers and editors. We assembled a unique suite of information about the publishing habits of our Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, including summaries of 3,540 journal publications by 35 faculty members. These data include economic costs of journals to institutions and to authors, benefits to authors in terms of journal prestige and citation rates, and considerations of ease of reading access for individuals both inside and outside the university. This dataset included data on institutional costs, including subscription pricing (rarely visible to scholars), and "investment" by scholars in supporting journals, such as time spent as editors and reviewers. Our results highlighted the complex set of relationships between these factors, and showed that institutional costs often do not match well with payoffs in terms of benefits to researchers (e.g., citation rate, prestige of journal, ease of access). Overall, we advocate for greater cost-benefit transparency to help compare different journals and different journal business models; such transparency would help both researchers and their institutions in investing wisely the limited resources available to academics.

Adoption of smart technologies in the cruise tourism services: a systematic review and future research agenda

研究目的本文的主要目标是系统地分析与邮轮旅游服务中智能技术采用（RAISA）相关的现有研究, 特别是关于机器人、人工智能、服务自动化和虚拟现实等方面。具体而言, 我们意图突出此主题的当前研究现状, 将研究结果呈现在一个概念框架中, 并提出一个研究议程。研究方法我们使用了两个主要的电子数据库 WoS 和 Scopus 提取相关文献。我们从高质量期刊中找到了 31 篇文章, 并采用系统综述和 VOSviewer 软件对它们进行了分析。研究发现自 2014 年以来, 与邮轮旅游服务中智能技术相关的研究数量不断增加。最初, 研究人员着重关注皇家加勒比邮轮公司的机器人调酒师臂, 而其他技术, 如数字标识、自助选项、面部识别和虚拟烹饪体验等, 得到的关注较少。然而, 自 2019 年以来, 探索这些智能技术的兴趣显著增长。提出了 ASCT 框架, 识别了五个主要领域：邮轮机器人技术; 技术创新; 邮轮旅客参与行为; 邮轮旅客技术准备度; 以及隐私感知和专业知识。这些领域为该领域的未来研究提供了有价值的指导。研究创新这是第一篇系统分析邮轮旅游服务中新技术采用文献的研究, 特别聚焦于邮轮上的主要技术。

Effect of Bariatric Surgery on Gut Microbiota: A Scientometric Analysis.

To perform a bibliometric analysis of the scientific production related to intestinal microbiota and bariatric surgery between January 2016 and December 2022. A bibliographic search was performed in the Scopus database to identify published papers. Free and controlled terms (MeSH and Emtree) were used. The information collected was analyzed with SciVal. A total of 518 published papers were included in the analysis. Carel Le Roux was the author with the highest scientific production; however, Edi Prifti had the highest impact. French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale) was the institution with the highest number of published articles. Six of the 10 institutions with the highest production were in France, yet the United States had the highest volume of scientific production in this research topic. Most papers were published in first quartile journals. Articles with international collaboration had the highest impact. There is a sustained increase in the number of publications since 2019. The study found that the vast majority of research on gut microbiota changes following bariatric surgery are conducted in the United States and European countries. In addition, the sustained increase in production coupled with the articles being published in high-quality journals and having good citation impact are indictors of the current interest in this research field.