Scopus Adds More Article Level Metrics

Scopus has added a new set of article level metrics. I think the most interesting one is "Field-Weighted Citation Impact" which tells you how cited your article is relative to other similar articles. I think this metric has a big potential in tenure and promotion cases. Here is Scopus' explanation:

Field-weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) 

Field-Weighted Citation Impact is sourced directly from SciVal.
As defined in Snowball Metrics, Recipe Book/Field-Weighted Citation Impact Field-Weighted Citation Impact is the ratio of the total citations actually received by the denominator’s output, and the total citations that would be expected based on the average of the subject field. A Field-Weighted Citation Impact of:

• *Exactly 1* means that the output performs just as expected for the global average.
• More *than 1* means that the output is more cited than expected according to the global average. For example, 1.48 means 48% more cited than expected.
• Less than 1 means that the output is cited less than expected according to the global average.

Field-Weighted Citation Impact takes into account the differences in research behaviour across disciplines. It is particularly useful for a denominator that combines a number of different fields, although it can be applied to any denominator.

• Researchers working in fields such as medicine and biochemistry typically produce more output with more co-authors and longer reference lists than researchers working in fields such as mathematics and education; this is a reflection of research culture, and not performance.
• In a denominator comprising multiple disciplines, the effects of outputs in medicine and biochemistry dominate the effects of those in mathematics and education.
• This means that using non-weighted metrics, an institution that is focused on medicine will appear to perform better than an institution that specialises in social sciences.
• The methodology of Field-Weighted Citation Impact accounts for these disciplinary differences.

Increasing Requirements for Publication

From "Accelerating Scientific Publication in Biology":

Somewhat tongue – in - cheek, let’s imagine a contemporary editorial decision on the 1953 Watson and Crick papers (assuming that they were submitted together):

“Dear Jim and Francis: Your two papers have now been seen by three referees. Based upon these reviews, I regret to say that we cannot offer publication at this time. While your model is very appealing, referee 3 finds that it is somewhat speculative and premature for publication. Indeed, your model proposing a semi-conservative replication of DNA raises many obvious questions. As two of the referees point out, it should be possible to determine experimentally if the two strands can separate and serve as templates. This would address referee 3’s concern that strand separation is not feasible thermodynamically. I regret to say that without such experimental evidence, we will not be able to publish your work in Nature and suggest publication in a more specialized journal. Should you be able to furnish more direct experimental evidence, we would be willing to reconsider such a revised paper. Naturally we would need to consult our referees once again. Furthermore, since space in our journal is at a premium, if you do decide to resubmit, then we recommend that you combine your two submitted papers into a single and more cohesive Article, potentially including the X-ray studies of your colleagues at Cambridge. Thank you again for submitting your papers to Nature. I am sure that this revision will delay your Nobel Prize and the discovery of the genetic code by only one or two years."

Papers from Google Scholar

One way that I keep up to date is to track the papers that cite me using Google Scholar alerts. This time I thought some of the papers were more interesting than usual, particularly the economic history papers. Well it's one way to produce a quick blogpost :)

[HTML] Tempo-spatial characteristics of sub-daily temperature trends in mainland China

Y Ren, D Parker, G Ren, R Dunn - Climate Dynamics, 2015

Abstract The spatial and temporal pattern of sub-daily temperature change in mainland

China was analysed for the period from 1973 to 2011 using a 3-hourly dataset based on 408

stations. The increase in surface air temperature was more significant by night between ...

[PDF] The rise in energy consumption in Czechoslovakia and the role of foreign trade in a long-run perspective (1920-2000): The “Machine shop” hypothesis

H Nielsen

Abstract This paper examines the role of foreign trade in the consumption of primary energy

in the Czech Republic and to what extent adjustment for energy embodied in trade effects

the country's energy intensity curve. As opposed to previous studies, this article takes a ...

[PDF] Take-Back Legislation

G Esenduran, E Kemahlıoglu-Ziya, JM Swaminathan

ABSTRACT In the last two decades, many countries have enacted product take-back

legislation that holds manufacturers responsible for the collection and environmentally

sound treatment of end-of-use products. In an industry regulated by such legislation, we ...

[PDF] Long term CO2 and SO2 Emissions in the Netherlands

R Hölsgens, B Gales, JP Smits, F Notten

In this paper we analyze recent estimates of annual CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions from

energy consumption in the Netherlands since 1800 alongside another emission to air

resulting from energy consumption: SO2 (sulfur dioxide). The new time series on CO2 can ...

[PDF] Enerji Açığının Belirleyicilerinin Teorik Perspektiften İncelenmesi

E Ömer, M BAYRAK - Anemon Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler …, 2015

Özet Enerji; kullanım şekli, miktarı, bileşimi, yapısı ve mahiyetiyle ekonomik ve sosyal

gelişmişliğin temel ölçütlerinden biridir. Bir ülkede mevcut enerji arzının enerji talebini

karşılayamadığı durum olarak tanımlanan enerji açığı; büyüme ve kalkınma sürecinde, ...

[PDF] Machines, Energy and Economic Growth

R Hölsgens, C Ducoing, M Rubio, B Gales

Abstract The relationship between energy and capital is one of the most important

relationships of modern economic growth. Machines need energy to produce all the goods

we enjoy; energy without machinery is useless. However, the great majority of the ...

[PDF] The ultimate energy input-output model

Z Guevaraa, JFD Rodriguesc, T Domingosb

Abstract Conventional energy input-output models were developed about 40 years ago and

have not been significantly improved since. These conventional models offer a limited

description of energy flows in the economy. This paper introduces a novel energy input- ...

Firewood consumption pattern, availability and coping strategies adopted to mitigate firewood scarcity: a case of rural households in Ghana

M Amoah, O Marfo, M Ohene - Forests, Trees and Livelihoods, 2015

Firewood is the dominant fuel type used by rural households in Ghana. However, the

scarcity of firewood species has raised concerns about the sustainable use of this fuel type.

This study investigated the firewood consumption pattern, firewood species used by rural ...

[PDF] EPP energy efficiency calculation and influencing factor analysis: cases in China

B Deng, Y Li

Abstract: Efficiency Power Plant (EPP) promotes the use of energy-efficiency power plant

technology and energy efficient equipment, coupled with its low-input, zero pollution, zero

emissions and other advantages, has an important role in the control of energy ...

[PDF] MODELLING AND FORECASTING THE EXCHANGE RATE OF THE PHILIPPINES: A TIME SERIES ANALYSIS

JD Urrutia, MLT Olfindo, R Tampis

Abstract: The researchers aim to formulate a mathematical model to forecast Exchange Rate of the Philippines from the 1st Quarter of 2015 up to the 4th Quarter of 2020 using

Autoregressive integrated Moving Average (ARIMA). The researchers used the data ...

Energy Leapfrogging (or Not)

Arthur van Benthem has a recent paper in the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists titled "Energy Leapfrogging". The main thesis of the paper is that despite presumed improvements in the energy efficiency of individual technologies such as cars and refrigerators, energy intensity in developing countries today is similar to what it was in today's developed countries when they were at a similar income level. There is no "energy leapfrogging". This is also an implication of our paper "Energy and Economic Growth: the Stylized Facts". If there has been an almost constant log-linear relationship between energy use and GDP per capita then there is no energy leapfrogging.

van Benthem suggests that a major contributor to this is that the consumption bundle in developing countries today is much richer in energy services like personal transport than was the consumption bundle at a similar level of development in today's developed countries. Consumers have substituted towards these now cheaper energy services (what are they consuming less of though?).

On the face of it, this suggests that there would be a very large rebound effect due to substitution towards energy services. This is on top of any indirect rebound effect due to increased energy productivity boosting income and thus energy demand as originally proposed by Harry Saunders.

On the other hand, there must be some shift away from energy services as income increases so that energy intensity is lower in richer countries. Anyway, this is pretty speculative but worth thinking about, I think.