text:
ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Sec. Research Assessment
Volume 2 - 2017 | https://doi.org/10.3389/frma.2017.00009
What Can Altmetric.com Tell Us About Policy Citations of Research? An Analysis of Altmetric.com Data for Research Articles from the University of Sheffield
- University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
Background: There is a growing interest in using and analyzing altmetric data for quantifying the impact of research, especially societal impact (Bornmann, 2014, Thelwall et al., 2016, Haunschild and Bornmann, 2017). This study therefore aimed to explore the usefulness of Altmetric.com data as a means of identifying and categorizing the policy impact of research articles from a single center (the University of Sheffield).
Method: This study has only included published research articles from authors at the University of Sheffield and indexed in the Altmetric.com database. Altmetric data on policy impact was sourced from Altmetric.com following a data request and included citations up until February 2017. Supplementary Altmetric.com data, including news media, blogs, Mendeley saves, and Wikipedia citations, were also gathered.
Results: Altmetric.com data did enable the identification of policy documents that cited relevant articles. In total, 1,463 pieces of published research from authors at the University of Sheffield were found to be cited by between 1 and 13 policy documents. 21 research articles (1%) were listed as being cited in five or more policy documents; 21 (1%) in four policy documents; 50 (3%) in three documents; 186 (13%) in two documents; and 1,185 (81%) in one document. Of those 1,463 outputs, 1,449 (99%) were journal articles, 13 were books, and 1 was a book chapter (less than 1%). The time lag from the publication of the research to its citation in policy documents ranged from 3 months to 31 years. Analysis of the 92 research articles cited in three or more policy documents indicated that the research topics with the greatest policy impact were medicine, dentistry, and health, followed by social science and pure science. The Altmetric.com data enabled an in-depth assessment of the 21 research articles cited in five or more policy documents. However, errors of attribution and designation were found in the Altmetric.com data. These findings might be generalizable to other institutions similar in organizational structure to The University of Sheffield.
Conclusion: Within the limitations of the current text-mining system, Altmetric.com can offer important and highly accessible data on the policy impact of an organization’s published research articles, but caution must be exercised when seeking to use this data, especially in terms of providing evidence of policy impact.
Altmetrics have only been in existence since 2010 and are already starting to highlight useful pieces of information on how a research output is communicated and shared on the web. Despite the use of the word “metrics” within altmetrics, which implies an exact number of something, it is not yet an exact science but does provide a useful indicator of research interest. Since 2010, there have been a few leaders in altmetric data analytics and support, with Altmetric.com, ImpactStory, Plum Analytics, and GrowKudos leading the way. For the purpose of this paper we will refer to the company Altmetric.com as capitalized, and altmetric as the process without a capital letter.
Citation analysis and peer review are still the principal approaches taken in measuring impact (Booth, 2016), but they fail to take into account that research is being communicated, shared, downloaded, and saved to reference management tools across the web. These traditional metrics have also focused on journals and authors, and not article-level outputs. Even before the first mention of the term altmetric, Neylon and Wu (2009) pointed out the need for “sophisticated metrics to ask sophisticated questions about different aspects of scientific impact and we need further research into both the most effective measurement techniques and the most effective uses of these in policy and decision making.” Altmetrics attempts to do this by tracking outputs beyond established metrics to explore social communication such as blogs and social media coverage, citations in Wikipedia and reference management saves in Mendeley (Fenner, 2013). Altmetrics can also assess whether a research output has had some form of broader impact that is “good for teaching” (Bornmann, 2015).
Altmetrics are constantly adapting to new and evolving data sources. Robinson-Garcia et al. (2015) found that, “there is an important demand for altmetrics to develop universal and scalable methodologies for assessing societal impact of research.” Much of the data Altmetric.com trawl through comes from social media, which is not exclusive to the research community. Yet, at present there is evidence to suggest that rather than build a bridge between the research community and society at large, social media has instead helped open new channels for informal discussions among researchers (Sugimoto et al., 2016).
Assessing the influence of research has become increasingly important for impact and assessment across all higher education and research-active centers. Work carried out by Thelwall and Kousha (2015a,b) and Kousha and Thelwall (2015) explored different types of web indicators for research evaluation. The UK has the Research Excellence Framework (REF) which will next take place in 2021 and will assess the impact of research beyond academic citations. A definition of that broader impact is summed by Wilsdon et al. (2015) as, “research that has a societal impact when auditable or recorded influence is achieved upon non-academic organization(s) or actor(s) in a sector outside the university sector itself.” In relation to metrics and how they are captured to show impact, Wilsdon et al. (2015) state that societal impacts need to be demonstrated rather than assumed. Evidence of external impacts can take the form of references to, citations of, or discussion of a person, their work, or research results. Altmetric.com offers a useful way of extracting impact evidence from a variety of sources that go beyond these traditional metrics. These extend to traditional and social media coverage, reference management saves, and citations from non-traditional sources such as Wikipedia and policy documents. We are most interested in the latter as a new area of impact research.
Altmetric.com Data and Policy Impact
Recently the question has been asked whether altmetrics can measure research impact on policy (Bornmann et al., 2016) (Haunschild and Bornmann, 2017). Waltman and Costas (2014) reflected: “altmetrics opens the door to a broader interpretation of the concept of impact and to more diverse forms of impact analysis.” Some of these forms of impact, such as public engagement and changes to practice in society, might benefit from the development of altmetrics (Khazragui and Hudson, 2015). With a growing pool of research in this area, attention is moving toward the evolution of altmetric data relating to policy documents, and what policy makers could or should do with those data (Didegah et al., 2014). Funders should have a natural interest in such impact: if research they have supported is referenced as part of the evidence supporting a national and/or international clinical guideline, for example, then it is an indication that this research is likely to be influencing policy (Kryl et al., 2012). Until recently it was almost impossible to discover whether a piece of research had been cited in a policy document without either manually sifting through potentially relevant documents, by finding out through direct communication between the policy makers, or by pure chance. However, in 2014, Altmetric.com announced that they had added the ability to track policy documents that cited a research output (Lui, 2014). Funders saw the importance of this development, with The Wellcome Trust taking an immediate keen interest in the development of altmetrics relating to the policy sphere (Haustein et al., 2016).
Altmetric.com now has a growing list of policy documents that it trawls for citations. This includes, but is not limited to, the UK National Institute for Care and Health Excellence (NICE), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the European Food Safety Authority. Altmetric.com is able to do this by processing each policy document and extracting text to search for possible citations. The Altmetric.com “scraper” evaluates the text in the policy document and determines if it is appropriate data to make a positive match with a research output. Any references that are detected are checked in the PubMed and CrossRef databases to determine whether or not they are actual scholarly citations tied to actual research articles. If a match is made between a policy document and a research paper in the form of a citation, then it is added to the Altmetric.com details badge, which contributes to the paper’s Altmetric.com Score. Altmetric.com scrapes data within policy documents going back to 1928 and as a result is able to provide a long tail of research influence in newly published policy. For example, a paper could be published in a journal in 2005 and then get cited in a 2017 policy document; using Altmetric.com data we can now see this policy impact. It is important to note that the results of this research are influenced by the coverage limitations of Altmetric.com. At present, only data on the policy documents and subsequent citations are presented in this database. The full extent of research cited in global policy documents is not yet known.
Given the massive scale of the available data, it was necessary to create a reasonably sized and coherent sample for the analysis. Previously, other authors have explored the usefulness and viability of Altmetric.com policy documents data by identifying the proportion of publications within a single database [Web of Science (WoS)] that were cited in policy-related documents (0.5%) (Haunschild and Bornmann, 2017). For this study, the authors chose to limit the sample to a single center, their own institution, the University of Sheffield. This provided a sizeable but manageable, cross-disciplinary sample, the findings from which could be considered to be generalizable to very many other, similar institutions. No previous work has been published on the altmetrics for policy impact of research publications from a single institution.
As with other UK higher education institutions, The University of Sheffield is increasingly interested in the impact of its research, especially given the power of the periodical REF assessment to reward institutions based on the quality and impact of their research outputs. Citations in policy documents are, therefore, of interest to universities as they are a potential indicator of societal impact (Haunschild and Bornmann, 2017). Altmetric.com provides the facility to explore data back to 1928 and does not only help identify research that has recently been published and is having an influence on policy, but also permits and exploration of this influence in the past. We, therefore, also wanted to look at research published by The University of Sheffield from previous years that was still having some influence in new policy documents which the Altmetric.com data was able to highlight. The authors also had access to The University of Sheffield’s Altmetric.com institutional account, which permitted an exploration of the degree to which this organization’s research was being cited in policy.
The interest in altmetrics and policy impact is, therefore, growing. This paper seeks to contribute to the research in this area by addressing the following questions:
• First, how useful are Altmetric.com data for identifying and categorizing policy documents that cite the research of a particular institution?
• Second, how useful are Altmetric.com data for determining issues such as:
• the time lag to “policy citation and possible impact”;
• the disciplinary and geographical spread of policy impact; and
• the scale of research papers’ “impact” in terms of the number of times they are cited within particular policy documents?
Materials and Methods
This study only included published research articles from authors currently at the University of Sheffield and indexed in the Altmetric.com database. These data were retrieved for The University of Sheffield using our Altmetric.com institutional account up until the February 21, 2017. Altmetric.com updates their database in real time as the platform carries out regular crawls for fresh data across the web. We made a data request to Altmetric.com asking for research that had a Sheffield-affiliated author, past or present. That returned 1,463 records of our publications that had at least one policy document citation.
These data were downloaded into Excel® spreadsheets to facilitate analysis. The Altmetric.com data set included the following data for each research article: title; journal; authors at The University of Sheffield; their department; unique identifier (including DOI); overall Altmetric.com score; numbers of policy documents; new stories; blog posts; tweets; Facebook posts; Wikipedia entries; Reddit posts; and Mendeley readers. Each entry also had an URL for the Altmetric.com page for the research article, which in turn provided links to the citing “policy documents.” This facilitated further analysis: a verification of the numbers of policy documents listed as citing the research article and an assessment of how many times the research article was cited within a document. This latter score provides greater depth and context to the citation metric (Carroll, 2016). The analysis of the available data principally consisted of the tabulation and discussion of descriptive statistics and frequencies, e.g., the reporting of numbers of relevant research articles cited in policy documents; the categorization of these articles by academic faculty or field; the numbers and sources of policy documents.
Identification and Categorizing of Relevant Policy Documents by Altmetrics.com
Details of the Total Sample
Altmetric.com did enable an assessment of whether a relevant research article had an impact on policy documents (i.e., had been cited within policy documents) and, if so, how many such documents. In total, 1,463 pieces of published research articles from authors currently at The University of Sheffield were found to be cited in between 1 and 14 policy documents. Twenty-one research articles were listed as being cited in five or more policy documents; 21 research articles in four policy documents; 50 in three documents; 186 in two documents; and 1,185 in one document.
At present Altmetric.com tracks 96,550 research outputs at the University of Sheffield with 1,463 of them being cited by at least one policy document. This means that 1.41% of Sheffield research, across all disciplines, is cited by at least one policy document. This compares relatively well with the overall impact of research on policy according to previous research based on data from papers indexed in WoS, which was just 0.5% from (n = 11,254,636) (Haunschild and Bornmann, 2017), and 1.2% of published climate change research from (n = 191,276) (Bornmann et al., 2016).
Policy Documents by Faculty
We looked at the Altmetric.com data to see which research disciplines received the most policy document citations. Medicine and health research have potentially wide sweeping impacts on a global scale and, therefore, it was no surprise that these disciplines received the most policy citations. Policy documents are core to health research being designed and implemented for future reform. Analysis of the 92 University of Sheffield research articles listed as being cited in three or more policy documents indicated that the research topics with the greatest policy impact are medicine, dentistry, and health, followed by social science and pure science. There were several entries from the 1,463 records that did not contain any faculty or departmental data. Rather than assume that these belong to a single faculty, we decided to not assign them to a group. For the 1,463 research articles cited once and the 92 cited at least three times in policy documents see Table 1.
The 0 values indicate that none of the publications cited in three or more policy documents assigned by Altmetric.com were produced from the faculties of Engineering or Arts, compared with 85 and 7, respectively, out of the total of 1,463 publications with a single policy document citation. Work from these faculties is clearly rarely cited in the policy documents.
An in-depth assessment was made of the 21 research articles that were listed by Altmetric.com as being cited in five or more policy documents and having one or more authors who are currently at the University of Sheffield. From this sample of 21, 4 were research articles without an author at Sheffield (at the time of publication or now); 2 were outright errors (the identified paper was not actually the paper being cited in the policy documents or was another paper entirely); and 1 research article actually only listed the Sheffield “author” in a mass of names belonging to a related “collaboration group,” but who had no specific involvement with the research article. For the “excluded” research articles, see Table 2.
Time Lags from Publication to Citation in a Policy Document
We wanted to see whether research conducted at The University of Sheffield was limited in its citation lifespan within policy documents. Access to the Altmetric.com data allowed us to look back to 1928 to see how far back a piece of research could exist but still be cited in policy. The earliest piece of research in our sample of 1,463 records was published in 1976. We wanted to explore the time lag between a piece of research being published and being cited in policy. We found that one paper was recorded in the data as being published in 1965, but that was incorrect on closer inspection of the Altmetric.com record. We also found this to be the case for several other papers that were recorded as being published pre-1979. All of these papers were actually published post-2000 after cross-checking the records. The earliest paper to be cited in policy was from 1979 and had a time lag of 25 years to its first citation in a policy document, and the shortest time between research publication and policy citation was about 3 months (see Table 3). Time lapses between research publication and policy vary and are complicated with one estimate being an average of 17 years (Morris et al., 2011). There have been calls to accelerate policy impact of relevant research (Hanney et al., 2015). As seen from our sample and other published research, the vast majority of published research will never feature in policy documents and despatches. It is important to remember that not all research is published in a policy context. Altmetric.com’s continual trawling for fresh policy sources and documents can aid the process for discovering the minority that are.
Table 3. Time lags from publication to citation in a policy document (papers not included in our sample of 14).
Details of the Most Frequently Cited Research Articles
Numbers of Policy Documents
The total number of relevant research articles with useable data from this sample of research papers cited five or more times in policy documents, therefore, was 14/21 (66% of the total). The data relating to these 14 research articles and their policy documents are presented in Table 4. In 4 of these 14 papers, the “Sheffield author” was not actually at Sheffield when they published the paper (McIntosh, 2002, Scott Weich, 2007, Wyn Morgan, 2010, Moreno-Serra, 2012). Altmetric.com was, therefore, useful at identifying and assigning papers to Sheffield even if an author was not at Sheffield at time of the publication.
Table 4. Research articles and the policy documents listed as citing them: country and year (language) information.
There is a clear distinction between policy sources and actual policy documents: a research article might be cited by the UK Government (UK Gov1), for example, as the “policy source,” but appear in multiple reports or documents related to that source. A typical example can be seen from the paper by Ara and Brazier (2008)—see Table 4. This research article was cited by two policy sources: the UK National Institute for Care and Health Excellence (NICE)—an independent organization that produces guidance for the National Health Service in England and Wales2—and the Australian Analysis and Policy Observatory (APO), a not-for-profit organization that makes available information to promote evidence-based policy and practice.3 The research article was cited in 12 “policy documents” sourced from NICE and one document sourced from the APO. It should be noted that two of these documents were duplicates (leaving 10 unique documents), and that some of the documents were actually separate sections of a single policy document or piece of guidance, e.g., appendices. Indeed, it can be seen from Table 4 that 9% (16/175) of the “identified” policy documents were duplicates, although it should be noted that only two of the 14 research articles in this sample had even a moderate proportion of duplicate policy documents (Coleman, 2013; Bell and Kinghorn, 2012): the vast majority had one or none.
Disciplinary and Geographical Spread
The research articles focused on a narrow field of disciplines: health economics (four articles); economics and public health (both three articles); medicine and environmental science (two articles each) (see Table 4). We were very interested to explore the global impact of University of Sheffield research in policy documents and it was relatively easy to assess the national and international policy impact of research articles using Altmetric.com. This sample of 14 research articles with authors from the University of Sheffield in the UK was associated with a total of 175 “policy documents.” Including duplicates, 107 (61%) of these documents were “national,” i.e., from the UK, and 68 (39%) were “international,” i.e., from countries other than the UK or from international bodies, such as the United Nations or the WHO. It should be noted, however, that these “Sheffield” authors shared authorship with non-UK authors in 5/14 research articles (Rushton, 2015; Coleman, 2013; Wyn Morgan, 2010; Lomas/Woodward, 2009; Storey, 2009) and that the proportion of international policy documents is much higher in these cases: 31/34 policy documents (91%) were international for these five research articles (excluding duplicates and journal articles erroneously designated as “policy documents”). This compares with a 46% (28/61) of international policy documents for the 9/14 research articles with only UK authorship. This is consistent with other findings on international co-authorship and impact (Narin et al., 1991). In the field of health economics, which is less generalizable to non-UK contexts, the four research articles all had UK only authorship, and 25/34 (74%) of non-duplicate citing “policy documents” were also from the UK (i.e., national). In the three more general economics research articles, by contrast, even with almost exclusive UK authorship (only the Wyn Morgan, 2010 paper had an “international author,” from Italy), only 3/24 (13%) were “national” policy documents, so 25/28 (87%) were “international.” The topic clearly influences the national or international nature of policy impact more than other factors. However, it is important to remember that this is only a small sample.
Weight of Impact: Citation Counts in the Policy Documents
From our sample we looked at the total policy document citation count per research paper. Twenty-three out of the 175 policy documents (13%) were not accessible via the Altmetric.com pages either because the link was broken, the document was currently unavailable or because the full document itself was behind a paywall. Where non-duplicate documents could be accessed, an assessment was made of the number of citations of the relevant research article within each policy document (see Table 5). This was possible for 75 out of 117 documents from this sample (64%). The majority of these research articles were cited only a single time or not at all (only appearing in a reference list) in the various “policy documents”: 53/75 (71%). In this sample, the research articles are cited twice in 8/75 (11%) and three or more times in 14/75 (17%). This suggests that impact generally is very limited, but is perhaps consistent with known figures for academic research impact (Carroll, 2016).
Table 5. Research articles and the policy documents listed as citing them: Number of times each was cited in each policy document.
Altmetric.com Supplementary Data
We also explored supplementary Altmetric.com data (See Table 6) to investigate whether there were any relationship between the attention that research receives across the web and citation in policy documents. We looked at individual Altmetric.com data counts rather than the total Altmetric.com Score. The best Altmetric.com performers were Mendeley saves and Tweets, while some of the research outputs received some media attention. It is important to note that not all Altmetric.com outputs receive the same weighting with news having the highest importance and Altmetric.com score, for example, news scores 8 points, blogs 5, Twitter 1, and policy documents 3 (per source).4 Mendeley had by far the most attention with the 14 most frequently cited papers saved 4,963 times in Mendeley users’ reference management databases, although just three papers (Lomas/Woodward, 2009; Peasgood, 2008; Webb, 2006) accounted for about 40% of those Mendeley saves. Twitter accounts for 458 Tweets but again the majority of these Tweets were as the result of just two papers (Rushton, 2015; Coleman, 2013). Coleman, 2013, Lomas/Woodward, 2009, Storey, 2009, and Webb, 2006 received coverage in 20 of the 24 news articles that were captured in the data, while Coleman, 2013, Lomas/Woodward, 2009, and Storey, 2009 also account for over two-thirds of the blog posts. Of the two most-cited pieces of research in policy, Peasgood, 2008 received a great deal of attention in Mendeley, but very little elsewhere. Brazier and Ara’s work was picked-up by Mendeley users but received no other coverage. Coleman, 2013 was the only research article to receive a score in each of the columns, while Brazier/Ara, 2008, Freckleton/Gaston, 2007, Weich, 2007, Brazier, 2005, and McIntosh, 2002 received no Altmetric.com attention other than policy document citations. Work by Cadwallader (2016) looked at selected Altmetric.com data from some departments at The University of Cambridge and found that “sustained news and blog attention could be a key indicator for identifying those papers likely to make it into policy.”
Table 6. Altmetric.com supplementary data.
Identification of Relevant Policy Documents by Altmetrics.com
The Altmetric.com data did permit the quick and easy identification of research publications from an institution and the identification of policy documents that cited those publications. However, the system and data are not without errors or limitations.
Altmetric.com had problems in the accurate identification of some papers: one-third (7/21) of the sample of publications that appeared to be cited five or more times in policy documents were not by current or previous Sheffield authors at all. It is not entirely clear how research articles were identified as having an author who was currently at The University of Sheffield, when none of the listed authors was actually employed at the institution; or how citations of one research article came to be attributed to another (another paper with the same or a very similar title, from the same year, but with different authorship: e.g., Geddes, 2011 and Prescott, 1988, see Table 2). We, therefore, looked at the published research and the authors and their affiliations at the time of publishing, with most being based in the United States. In the case of Prescott, where we have a notable academic of the same surname at Sheffield presently, we looked at the publication date and discipline and compared it to research by the Sheffield-based author. We found that there was not only a change in discipline but also a notable gap between the publications of about 20 years. Exploring the issue further we contacted our research department to find out why the data were incorrect. We found that data such as academics’ names, departments, and faculties are all held within institutional systems and fed to Altmetric.com as a way of connecting the Altmetric.com data with academics’ profiles. These data, which are hosted by Sympletic Elements, are updated by institutions and any changes within the institution are reflected by the Altmetric.com database. In the case of incorrect authors, we found that three of them had been linked to Sheffield academics after three researchers based at our institution had incorrectly claimed the publications as their own, before rejecting them later. One was rejected by a Sheffield author but remained in the system, while another had pulled in the wrong paper through in Altmetric.com from the PubMed ID provided by Sympletic Elements. Other incorrect attributions to Sheffield authors were more understandable: research articles identified as being authored by Holdsworth were actually authored by others, although the name of this academic does appear elsewhere in the article. However, this still represents an issue with the software as the Sheffield author did not actually appear in the author list of the paper.
The result was that one-third of the sample of 21 research articles subjected to in-depth analysis was incorrectly identified (false positives). This has implications for the utility of data from Altmetric.com, as it suggests that perhaps as much as one-third of such a data set might consist of erroneous attributions (e.g., 487 of this sample of 1,463 research articles with policy citations), which can only be verified by checking each individual research article and its Altmetric.com data. As noted above, the research publications, authors, departments, and institutions that Altmetric.com trawls for information have also been found to be inaccurate, for example, an author at an institution accepting publications that are not their own via in-house research databases, such as Sympletic Elements. The origin of these inaccuracies is not always easy to identify. We can only assume that such examples are genuine mistakes by authors, although we cannot rule-out gaming or foul play in some instances.
The policy document citation and supplementary data are only as good as what goes into the system at the institution and Altmetric.com databases. Policy documents are being added to the Altmetric.com database all of the time, so it should follow that policy citations will increase, while other Altmetric.com data such as news coverage and social media can only be accurate if there is some kind of unique identifier tied to the research output. If a paper is discussed across the media, but there is no linking to any of its unique identifiers within that communication, it does not get picked-up by Altmetric.com. The Altmetric.com score for our sample is quite likely to be higher than we have reported.
The two papers that received the highest number of policy document citations Peasgood, 2008, Brazier/Ara, 2008 received almost no media attention according to Altmetric.com. Peasgood, 2008 received notable attention via the 780 Mendeley users who had saved a copy of the paper to their database but very little other attention. Brazier/Ara, 2008 received less Mendeley attention with 61 saves and no other social or traditional media attention. This may suggest three things, first, that these are niche pieces of research that are not news or social media-friendly. Second, that it may be a function of date, that these were published at a time when social media was still quite embryonic and sharing this research would have happened more if it was published today. Third, that the research has been shared but without any corresponding unique IDs attached which would mean Altmetric.com would fail to pick it up. The latter is much less likely due to the number of Mendeley Saves that have been recorded in the system.
While acknowledging that this case study is based on a small sample, the in-depth analysis indicates that the number of policy documents identified by Altmetric.com is also likely to be an over-estimation of the true number of “policy documents” citing a research article. It is apparent from Table 4 that, based on this sample, up to 14% of research articles might have between 20 and 50% of duplicate “policy documents” in their assigned numbers. It is also noteworthy that not all documents identified from “policy sources” should be considered “policy documents,” under any conventional definition. Four citing “policy documents” in this sample were clearly standard peer-reviewed journal articles, but were categorized as policy documents citing the research articles by Moreno-Serra, 2012 (Hendriks et al., 2014) Lomas, Woodward, 2009 (MacDicken, 2015), and Brazier, 2005 (Armstrong et al., 2013; Holmes et al., 2014). The quality of ascribed policy sources might potentially be an issue of concern, very much like that of predatory journals where argument can ensue as to the authenticity and credibility of a journal (Cartwright, 2016). Altmetric.com will need to ensure that they maintain a quality system that only uses legitimate policy sources. Users of Altmetric.com can suggest policy sources, so it is essential that a peer review process of such sources is employed.
Time Lags from Publication to Citation
The earliest policy document in the sample of 14 research articles was from 2006, but only 3/175 policy documents identified by Altmetric.com in this sample were from before 2010 even though 5of the 14 research articles were published between 2002 and 2007 [McIntosh, 2002 (economics), Brazier, 2005, Weich, 2007 (both health economics), Webb, 2006 (public health), and Freckleton/Gaston, 2007 (environmental science)]. It is not clear if this reflects a natural time lag to policy impact for research of this type, or the current limitations of the Altmetric.com search. The “policy impact” of some research articles was incredibly rapid: the six papers by Wyn Morgan, 2010 and Moreno-Serra, 2012 (both economics); Storey, 2009 and Coleman, 2013 (both medicine); Lomas/Woodward, 2009 (environmental science), and Rushton, 2015 (public health) all appeared in policy documents the year after they were published. Interestingly, all of these “early” policy documents were international and five of the six papers were international collaborations (Narin et al., 1991). This suggests that, in some disciplines, international authorship might facilitate and speed-up international policy impact.
Disciplinary and Geographical Spread
It is perhaps not surprising that the majority of the research with greatest policy impact had been undertaken within the fields of economics and health (see Tables 1 and 4): alongside education, these are arguably the two major areas of policy development nationally and internationally (Haunschild and Bornmann, 2017), with the environment being another focus of policy work (Bornmann et al., 2016). It is, therefore, no surprise to see the relative numbers of research articles, categorized by Faculty, with medicine and health far outstripping any other discipline.
Altmetric.com data can be used for assessing policy impact, but there are clearly still problems with how the software identifies and attributes research papers (based on this data set, perhaps as much as 33% of any sample could be being erroneously attributed to an institution or an author). Further work is needed to investigate how Altmetric.com identifies and attributes authors and “policy documents” (and they might not be policy documents, e.g., journal articles). Once it can be ascertained that an author at your institution has authored a paper that has been cited in policy, it is essential to double-check any policy documents to ensure that it is correct. Therefore, while useful, caution must be exercised when seeking to use these data, especially in terms of providing evidence of policy impact.
AT came up with the research question and contacted Altmetric to obtain data and liaised with Altmetric over further correspondence. AT wrote the majority of introduction and analyzed the extended set of data and additional altmetric data. CC wrote the abstract, most of the methods, and carried out analysis for the 21 publications. AT and CC wrote the results and conclusion. AT managed the references and majority of citations.
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
The authors would like to thank Altmetric who assisted us and provided us with the data and supported us with any questions relating to the data.
The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at http://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frma.2017.00009/full#supplementary-material.
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Didegah, F., Bowman, T. D., and Holmberg, K. (2014). “Increasing our understanding of altmetrics: identifying factors that are driving both citation and altmetric counts research unit for the sociology of education, University of Turku, Finland 1 introduction,” in iConference (Philadelphia), 1–8.
Hanney, S. R., Castle-Clarke, S., Grant, J., Guthrie, S., Henshall, C., Mestre-Ferrandiz, J., et al. (2015). How long does biomedical research take? Studying the time taken between biomedical and health research and its translation into products, policy, and practice. Health Res. Policy Syst. 13, 1. doi:10.1186/1478-4505-13-1
Haunschild, R., and Bornmann, L. (2017). How many scientific papers are mentioned in policy-related documents? An empirical investigation using web of science and altmetric data. Scientometrics 110, 1209–1216. doi:10.1007/s11192-016-2237-2
Haustein, S., Bowman, T. D., and Costas, R. (2016). “Interpreting ‘altmetrics’: viewing acts on social media through the lens of citation and social theories,” in Theories of Informetrics and Scholarly Communication, ed. C. R. Sugimoto (de Gruyter), 372–406. Available at: http://arxiv.org/abs/1502.05701
Hendriks, M. E., Wit, F. W., Akande, T. M., Kramer, B., Osagbemi, G. K., Tanovic, Z., et al. (2014). Effect of health insurance and facility quality improvement on blood pressure in adults with hypertension in Nigeria: a population-based study. JAMA Intern. Med. 174, 555–563. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.14458
Holmes, M., Rathbone, J., Littlewood, C., Rawdin, A., Stevenson, M., Stevens, J., et al. (2014). Routine echocardiography in the management of stroke and transient ischaemic attack: a systematic review and economic evaluation. Health Technol. Assess. 18, 1–176. doi:10.3310/hta18160
Kryl, D., Allen, L., Dolby, K., Sherbon, B., and Viney, I. (2012). Tracking the impact of research on policy and practice: investigating the feasibility of using citations in clinical guidelines for research evaluation. BMJ Open 2, e000897. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2012-000897
Lui, J. (2014). New Source Alert: Policy Documents. Altmetric Blog. Available at: https://www.altmetric.com/blog/new-source-alert-policy-documents/
Morris, Z. S., Wooding, S., and Grant, J. (2011). The answer is 17 years, what is the question: understanding time lags in translational research. J. R. Soc. Med. 104, 510–520. doi:10.1258/jrsm.2011.110180
Robinson-Garcia, N., Van Leeuwen, T. N., and Rafols, I. (2015). Using Almetrics for Contextualised Mapping of Societal Impact: From Hits to Networks. SSRN Preprints, 1–18. Available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2932944.
Sugimoto, C. R., Work, S., Larivière, V., and Haustein, S. (2016). Scholarly Use of Social Media and Altmetrics: A Review of the Literature. Jasist, 1991. Available at: http://arxiv.org/abs/1608.08112
Thelwall, M., and Kousha, K. (2015a). Web indicators for research evaluation. Part 1: citations and links to academic articles from the web. El Profesional de La Información 24, 587–606. doi:10.3145/epi.2015.sep.08
Waltman, L., and Costas, R. (2014). F1000 recommendations as a potential new data source for research evaluation: a comparison with citations. J. Assoc. Inform. Sci. Technol. 65, 433–445. doi:10.1002/asi.23040
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Keywords: altmetrics, policy making, policy research, research impact, scholarly communication, metrics, research metrics
Citation: Tattersall A and Carroll C (2018) What Can Altmetric.com Tell Us About Policy Citations of Research? An Analysis of Altmetric.com Data for Research Articles from the University of Sheffield. Front. Res. Metr. Anal. 2:9. doi: 10.3389/frma.2017.00009
Received: 27 July 2017; Accepted: 28 November 2017;
Published: 08 January 2018
Edited by:Kim Holmberg, University of Turku, Finland
Reviewed by:Zohreh Zahedi, Leiden University, Netherlands
Han Woo Park, Yeungnam University, South Korea
Copyright: © 2018 Tattersall and Carroll. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Andy Tattersall, email@example.com


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Re: Effects of S.314 (Communications Decency Act)
# > > I beg to differ. Remember the "Seven Dirty Words Case"? (I think WBAI/Pacifica
# > > v. US, year?...). WBAI-FM in NY played George Carlin's "Seven words you can't
individual words can be "indecent", but not obscene.
obscene refers to the content of the work as a whole, and would
be very difficult to attain with a few dirty words.
# > > say on television" skit and was taken to court. The court ruled that there
# > > were some obscene things which could be censored, but other things were
All obscene things are censored on broadcast radio & TV.
Massive penalties for broadcasting obscene material.
# > > indecent so could at most be relegated to late night hours (and they've
# > > struck down laws banning indecency 24 hours... I think some stations are
# > > suing with the claim that such relegation constitutes censorship).
In the U. S., you have a first ammendment right to indencent speech.
The question of a late-night "safe harbor" for indecent speech on the
air is about when children are likely to be listening. First
ammendment rights apparently don't apply to children who are listening
to the radio.
Right now there is a "safe harbor" from around 10pm (or is it 9pm?)
thru 6am, but this changes regularly, usually as a result of "case law"
(someone being prosecuted under next month's rules, not this month's)

domain: law


text:
NEW YORK (AP) — On a quiet weekend in film theaters earlier than the upcoming launch of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Warner Bros.’ “Black Adam” topped the field workplace for the third straight weekend with $18.5 million in ticket gross sales, in response to studio estimates Sunday.
“Black Adam,” Dwayne Johnson’s bid to launch a new DC Films superpower, has surpassed $300 million globally in three weeks of launch, together with a home tally of $137.4 million. That places the $195 million-budgeted movie — the third movie this yr to guide the field workplace three consecutive weeks — on a trajectory to possible surpass the $366 million that “Shazam!” grossed in 2019, however much less sure to notch a revenue in its theatrical run.
When Walt Disney Co.’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Ceaselessly” lands in theaters Thursday, it is anticipated to attain one of many largest opening weekends of the yr. Ryan Coogler’s unique debuted with more than $200 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters in 2018, and forecasts counsel it may open with round $175 million.
With “Wakanda Ceaselessly” looming, just one new movie opened in huge launch: “One Piece Film: Red,” distributed by Sony Image’s anime division, Crunchyroll. The Japanese anime sequel, a part of the “One Piece” franchise, debuted in second place with $9.5 million. Whereas not as sturdy because the openings of Crunchyroll’s “Dragon Ball Tremendous: Tremendous Hero, which garnered, $21.1 million in August, or Funimation’s “Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Film,” which earned $18 million in March, “Crimson” once more confirmed that anime is proving an uncommonly reliable attract North American theaters. The fifteenth movie within the franchise however the first to be launched broadly within the U.S., “Crimson” attracted an particularly younger viewers, with about 75% of ticket consumers between ages 18-34.
Third place went to “Ticket to Paradise,” the George Clooney and Julia Roberts romantic comedy. The Common Footage launch collected $8.5 million in its third weekend, bringing the $60 million-budgeted rom-com’s cumulative complete to $46.7 million domestically and $137.2 million worldwide. For a style that is struggled in theaters lately, “Ticket to Paradise” is exhibiting endurance, particularly because the favored selection for older audiences.
Even with Halloween coming and going, Paramount Footage’ “Smile” additionally continued to carry properly in theaters. In its sixth week of launch, the horror flick added one other $4 million to convey it to $99.1 million general.
A few of the yr’s prime Oscar contenders have struggled to make a lot of an affect in huge launch. James Grey’s “Armageddon Time,” a coming-of-age story set in Nineteen Eighties New York, expanded to 1,006 theaters in its second week, grossing $810,000 for Focus Options. Focus’ “Tár,” starring Cate Blanchett as a famend conductor, took in $670,000 in 1,090 theaters for a five-week complete of $3.7 million. MGM’s “Till,” about Mamie Until-Mobley’s pursuit of justice for her 14-year-old son, Emmett Until, added $1.9 million in 2,316 theaters for a four-week gross of $6.6 million.
Better of the bunch to date has been Searchlight Footage’ “The Banshees of Inisherin,” starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as rowing Irish buddies. It took in $3 million in 895 areas in its third weekend of launch, brining its world complete to $10.2 million.
Estimated ticket gross sales for Friday by way of Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, in response to Comscore. Remaining home figures will probably be launched Monday.
1. “Black Adam,” $18.5 million.
2. “One Piece Movie: Crimson,” $9.5 million.
3. “Ticket to Paradise,” $8.5 million.
4. “Smile,” $4 million.
5. “Prey for the Satan,” $3.9 million.
6. “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile,” $3.4 million.
7. “The Banshees of Inisherin,” $2 million.
8. “Until,” $1.9 million.
9. “Halloween Finish,” $1.4 million.
10. “Terrifier 2,” $1.2 million.
Observe AP Movie Author Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
Copyright 2022 The Related Press. All rights reserved. This materials might not be printed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed with out permission.

domain: entertainment


Adam Pribyl, until now the NPSL side coach, is assuming the duties of Athletics Director. The coach led Minneapolis City to an undefeated regular season in the 2018 NPSL North conference before the Crows fell in the playoffs.
As the Athletics Director, he will be charged with developing the infrastructure for the rapidly expanding club.
“It was a really hard decision for me personally, because I love coaching this team,” Adam Pribyl said, according to the club’s press release. “However as an organization we knew this was the right step for us to continue to grow in terms of our footprint in the soccer community, and with a focus on player and team development.”
In an effort to complete a pathway for players to go from high school and youth club soccer, through college, and potentially to the professional game, the club has added a U-19 side that will start playing in 2020.
This will give a new opportunity for young players to transition to a club with a focus on the college and adult game from their youth sides. While most youth clubs in the area feature an U-19 or U-18 side, this will enable players to learn and train from more experienced players who have already made that next step in their soccer development, moving up from the U-19 side, to the U-23, and then the first team.
With Pribyl stepping up to the Athletics Directorship, vanBenschoten will take over for the first team.
For someone who started as a fan of the club, he is excited to be taking over the helm.
“It’s an honor to be selected as the next head coach for Minneapolis City,” vanBenschoten said in the team’s announcement. “This is an incredible organization that I fell in love with when I started taking my kids to games three years ago, so to be put in this position is something that I am truly grateful for.”
Jeremy Handler has had stints as an assistant coach for Augsburg’s Men’s team, as well as Hamline’s women’s side, the TwinStars and Minnesota United’s academy teams. His enthusiasm was what won the club over as they were looking to hire a new U-23 coach.
“As we underwent interviews for coaches, it became clear that Jeremy was passionate about what Minneapolis City is doing, and his style fits well with the coaching staff,” said Athletics Director Adam Pribyl, according to the team’s press release.
FiftyFive.One is now on Patreon. Do you like the independent coverage of soccer news from Minnesota and beyond that FiftyFive.One offers? Please consider becoming a patron.
Tags: Minneapolis City SC


text:
Naftalie Shigwedha Amukwelele better known as D-Naff is in Studio.
The Namibian award-winning and top selling rapper /singer is joining us for the first time on the Tribe.
And, join the musical feast as we host the Coco Master Dbanji with Beats Beyond Borders.
Yayday. Here we go!!!

domain: artistic


Fixing your car can cost you a lot of money. This requires purchasing car parts and paying an auto shop for repairs. But many minor repairs or maintenance chores can be done by you and save you money. Well now you can, thanks to the tips in the following article.
Before giving your car keys to the service department, make sure you know what the cost for the repair will be. If you aren't sure about anything, ask for clarification. Don't end up surprised by extra fees.
Ask the tech if they've done work on your model and make of car before. If the answer is yes, that's a very good thing.
Check online reviews for any mechanic you're considering. This will tell you everything you need to know about the shop. This information is useful as you search for the right shop for your needs.
Beware of mechanics who do unneeded repairs on the car. A good mechanic will never perform work without getting your full approval. A mechanic who has performed this practice should never be patronized again.
Look for warning signs that repair mechanics may give off. If they avoid your questions, you may want to look elsewhere. It is important to have full confidence in the competence of your mechanic. If you don't, then move on to a better choice.
Has your mechanic worked on your model of vehicle before? While all cars have the same basic components, there are big differences as to how they are attached and located under the hood. If you don't know, pay extra to get the dealer to repair it.
Every car is going to need some form of repair at one point or another. That doesn't mean that you have to rely on a mechanic to do the repairs for you. You can do the repairs yourself and save the money. Next time you are having car problems, refer to this article to help you out.
Velasco Auto & Truck Services in Downey, CA
11866 Old River School Road, Downey, CA 90241
Call Today: 562-927-5522 - Velasco Auto & Truck Services in Downey California


DINOs Rule, Obama droolz
Only on Fox News and the pages of the Wall Street Journal are PUMA-inciters Douglas Schoen and Patrick Caddell considered “Democrats”. Nevertheless, Fox and the WSJ trot them out from time to time to show the world that there is disharmony in the ranks of liberals and Democrats. The fact is, however, despite their resumes, these two are no more Democrats than my cat Spooky (who is pretty Libertarian, just sayin’…)
The latest effluvient from these two is an editorial in the WSJ today saying that there is no way that President Barack Obama can govern when he wins in 2012 so the president should just step aside right now and let the real leader of the Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton take center stage.
I’ll pause a moment to let you stop laughing.
When Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson accepted the reality that they could not effectively govern the nation if they sought re-election to the White House, both men took the moral high ground and decided against running for a new term as president. President Obama is facing a similar reality—and he must reach the same conclusion.
He should abandon his candidacy for re-election in favor of a clear alternative, one capable not only of saving the Democratic Party, but more important, of governing effectively and in a way that preserves the most important of the president’s accomplishments. He should step aside for the one candidate who would become, by acclamation, the nominee of the Democratic Party: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Need another moment, don’t you?


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Marys Peak, at 4,097 feet, is the highest point in Oregon’s Coast Range and the most prominent peak to the west of Corvallis. On a clear day, from Marys Peak Day Use at the top of the peak, you can see both the Pacific Ocean to the west and many of the Cascade peaks to the east across the Willamette Valley.
Hiking options include Meadowedge Trail, East Ridge Trail, North Ridge Trail, Summit Trail, and Tie Trail. When there's snow, cross country skiing, snowshoeing and other non-motorized winter recreation are available, although the road to the day use area is not maintained for winter travel and caution is advised. Download a trail guide here. Área Marys Peak folleto en español aquí.
Marys Peak has been designated a Scenic Botanical Area because of its rich, unique scenery and plants. The open meadows offer a range of wildflowers throughout the spring and summer. Wildflower displays in the meadow and rock gardens change throughout the late spring and summer months. The rich rolling meadows of Marys Peak are fringed by a unique Noble fir forest. Learn more about the vegetation and plant communities found on Marys Peak from the Oregon Native Plant Society here.
In 2015, the Siuslaw National Forest began a meadow restoration project on Marys Peak. Through carefully planned tree removal, native planting, and other management activities, we are working to restore scenic views and historic meadows. We are also coordinating with Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) as they develop a proposal to upgrade their communications equipment on Marys Peak. To learn more about the BPA project click here.
At a Glance
|Current Conditions:||No bikes allowed on trails October 15 through May 15.|
|Closest Towns:||Corvallis, OR|
|Water:||No water available at Marys Peak|
|Information Center:||Central Coast Ranger District Siuslaw National Forest Supervisor's Office|
Follow Highway 34 west from Philomath for 10 miles then turn north from Highway 34 onto Marys Peak Road. In 5.5 miles you will reach Conner’s Camp, the Lower East Ridge trailhead location.
Meadow Edge Trail is located 3.3 miles beyond Conner’s Camp at the Marys Peak campground.
The upper trailhead from East Ridge and North Ridge is located at the end of Marys Peak Road, 0.5 miles beyond the Marys Peak campground.
NOTE: The roads to Marys Peak from Highway 34 are not maintained for winter travel. Always watch out for potentially dangerous conditions from heavy rains, slides, falling trees and debris, high winds and heavy snowfall when traveling in the Coast Range. Snow may limit driving access to trailheads. North Ridge trail is accessed from Highway 20 which is at a lower elevation and less affected by winter weather. In all cases, even if you can reach a trailhead, trail access may be limited by snow. Conditions change quickly. Please check weather before heading out.
Map showing recreational areas. Map Information
Mountain BikingRecreation areas with activity Mountain Biking:
Campground CampingRecreation areas with activity Campground Camping:
Day HikingRecreation areas with activity Day Hiking:
- Conner's Camp Day Use
- Conner's Camp Trailhead
- East Ridge Trail #1324
- Marys Peak Campground
- Marys Peak Day Use
- Meadowedge Trail #1325
- North Ridge Trail #1350
- Summit Trail #1388
- Tie Trail #1313
- Woods Creek Trailhead
Viewing WildlifeRecreation areas with activity Viewing Wildlife:
Viewing PlantsRecreation areas with activity Viewing Plants:

domain: geography


The Washington Post is reporting that “The White House” is putting pressure on Republican governors to endorse the Senate’s monstrous health care bill. The “White House” in this case consists of Veep Mike Pence, HHS secretary Tom Price, and Seema Verma, also a Trump appointee, who is administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The alleged POTUS is not part of this effort.
Granted, Trump has been in Paris busily engaged in weird handshakes …
… and saying inappropriate things to Brigitte Macron. And this weekend he is busy attending the U.S. Women’s Open golf tournament in Bedminster, NJ. Priorities, people. But it should be noted that otherwise he hasn’t really been much engaged in anything lately, other than tweeting. Many have noted that his schedule often is weirdly empty. Many others have commented that he doesn’t do many things presidents normally do.
The presidentÂ did engage personally on health care earlier in the year, courtingÂ groups of lawmakers in the Oval OfficeÂ and making rounds of calls, eventually claiming partial credit when a version of the legislation passed the House. ButÂ those overtures to reticent lawmakers over Diet Cokes have largely faded as Senate Republicans have labored to pass their version of the bill, long the partyâ€™s signature pledge to its base.
Trump, who has ventured west of the Mississippi River only once as president, has barely mentionedÂ health care on his few stops outside Washington and his golf properties in Florida and New Jersey. He has done littleÂ beyond tweetingÂ to rally his base in support of theÂ planÂ and has notÂ stepped foot in the state of a Republican lawmaker who might be needed to pass the bill in the Senate.
At his most recent political rally â€” in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in late June â€” he made just a few scattered references to the issue.
â€œI think health careâ€™s going to happen,â€ Trump said. â€œYouâ€™re going to have a lot of exciting things over the next few months.â€
He was engaged with the House health care bill, but it seems once that passed the House he lost interest in what was going on in Congress. He’s leaving the work of pushing an agenda through Congress to Mike Pence and other underlings.
Even when he was engaged, he really wasn’t. For example, several weeks ago he claimed that his tax bill was moving through Congress, when it hadn’t been written yet. It still hasn’t, btw.
James Downie writes in WaPo that “in both making and executing laws, passiveness to the point of abdication is a growing hallmark of Trumpâ€™s presidency.”
With the Senate trying again, the president has shrunk back even further. In an interview withÂ The 700 Clubâ€™s Pat RobertsonÂ on Wednesday, Trump showed us how he views his role in the health-care debate. â€œI am sitting in the Oval Office with a pen in hand,â€ he said, â€œwaiting for our senators to give it to me.â€Â Twice more he cast himself as a passive actor: â€œNow we have a President thatâ€™s waiting to sign it. â€¦Â Iâ€™m sitting waiting for that bill to come to my desk.â€Â Even as he acknowledges that â€œit would be very badâ€ if Senate Republicans fail, he suggests there is no role for him inÂ getting a bill passed.
The president has been similarly uninvolved on foreign policy. Where past presidents â€” of both partiesÂ â€” haveÂ reserved final say-so over troop levels in war, Trump has delegated that tremendous responsibility, givingÂ Defense Secretary Jim Mattis authority over the size of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. This comes after six months with no new strategy for the Afghan war â€” a conflict the United States has been in for more than 15 years. Also missing isÂ a coherent policy for the Middle East, China or for pretty much any other part of the world.
Trumpâ€™s apathy is also shown in the slow pace of executive-branch appointments. Of the 564 positions that require Senate confirmation, 374 still have no nominee. Many secretaries and their departmentsÂ have been stuck waiting for key positions to be filled. The inertia is so total that it can only have come from the very top. And while doing less may ease the burden on Trumpâ€™s shoulders, the resulting sluggishness hurts the rest of us.
Meanwhile, the steady drip of unforced errors and self-made scandals has dominated political coverage, which actually isn’t helping Republicans get their agenda passed in spite of the it’s-all-a-diversion theory.
Trump himself is probably unaware that he’s not really doing his job, because he’s never had a job before. One suspects that whatever Â his initial engagement, now that the novelty has worn off he’s likely to become even more detached from the job, which probably isn’t nearly as gratifying as he thought it would be.
So when do Congressional Republicans decide the guy is more trouble than he’s worth? It hasn’t happened yet, and I don’t expect it to happen this year. But if the scandals become more incriminating and Trump becomes even less of an asset, they may very well become willing to cut him loose. Pence is the guy they really want to work with, after all.


text:
A buyer sporting face masks buys flour at a grocery store on Could 12, 2020 in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province of China.
Zhang Yun | China Information Service | Getty Pictures
The world’s second largest economic system, which has restricted arable land, is dealing with stress to shore up its meals provides as costs for meals began ticking greater final yr, previous to the virus outbreak.
Lockdowns and motion restrictions geared toward containing the coronavirus have triggered transportation and logistics bottlenecks.
These blockages have highlighted the vulnerability of worldwide provide chains, and fears of meals shortages have come to the forefront of nations, each in developed and rising economies.
Customers in China are anxious about additional repercussions from the pandemic because it continues to unfold globally.
“Individuals there (in China) are panicked that coronavirus will finally shut down the world’s ports, making it unimaginable for them to import,” mentioned Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist for INTL FCStone in a tweet on Monday. “As such, they’re hoarding provides now whereas they’re low-cost and out there.”
“Concern is a strong motivator. It is driving coverage in China at present. Suits effectively with these hardliners that need to rebuild meals reserves,” he added.
Meals costs surge
China is the world’s largest client of pork, a staple protein for the nation.
Within the first 4 months of the yr, meat imports in China rose 82% in comparison with a yr in the past….

domain: finance


text:
European Film Awards: submit your animated feature by 15 June
Do you have a European animated feature released between 1 July 2012 and 30 June 2013 (be it at a festival or at a regular theater)? You can submit it to compete for the European Film Awards.
All you need to do is return the submission form together with 10 DVDs, 1 press book and information about the cast and crew (nationality) by 15 June 2013.
The Awards Ceremony will take place on 7 December 2013 in Berlin where the three nominated directors will be fully invited.
Cartoon Digital: creating multiplatform entertainment brands and revenue streams
Speakers such as CBBC, Moonscoop, ZDF Ent., DR, Copenhagen Bombay, Imira Ent., Experimental Game, and others will review topics such as:
- Broadcasters' investment in the digital arena for kids' programmes
- Designing interactive content for kids
- Creating transmedia brands on the Internet and mobile markets
- Crossing the chasm: creating IP for the Web, mobile, TV and back
- Defining business models with IP digital exploitation
- Joining forces and talent with game developers
- The evolving market of video games
Which TV series will hit the screens tomorrow? Discover the projects selected for Cartoon Forum
Funny skeletons, aliens in underpants, an old lady explaining economics: European animation has no boundary in imagination. Come to the 24th Cartoon Forum in Toulouse (17-20 Sept) to see the 69 TV series projects that will be pitchedin order to find co-producers and financing.
A growing number of the TV projects are also conceived for the new platforms (43%). As for the target, 45% of the shows are aimed at children, 33% at pre-school, 12% at a family audience and 10% at the “new” target of young adults and adults.
Watch the videos about Cartoon Cine seminar: speakers and topics to be covered
Have a look at the videos of some of the topics to be covered at Cartoon Cine:
Malene Iversen (Copenhagen Bombay Sales, Denmark)
Jordi Gasull (El Toro Pictures, Spain)
Jasna Vavra (Universum Film, Germany)
Joëlle Caroline (Ubisoft, France)
Didier Brunner & Benjamin Renner (Les Armateurs, France) - video en français
A strong European delegation to meet Asian animation next week in Seoul
Over 160 participants from Europe and Asia will take part in the 4th Cartoon Connection ASIA in Seoul from 19 to 22 March. A mix of networking business meetings and conferences, the event is gaining momentum this year with the participation of Japanese, Malaysian and Thai studios, on top of strong Korean and European delegations.
Speakers will explain the European and Korean animation film market as well as tax schemes and public support from various countries.
Cartoon Movie 2013: European animation film at the top
Packed rooms, quality and emotion were the key words of this 15th Cartoon Movie where more than 700 animation professionals discovered 56 film projects.
Gathering from 250 to 350 persons in the rooms, the pitching sessions got a full house. “Louise in the Winter” leads the list of the 15 most-attended pitches, followed by “MUSIC!”; “Rise of the Zelphire”; “Beyond Beyond”; “The Island of Lost Children”; “CAFARD”; “My Mommy is in America and She Met Buffalo Bill”; “The Prince and the Demon-Kings”; “Capture the Flag”; “Loulou’s Secret”; “Pinocchio”; “Christmas in Pinchcliffe”; “Oggy and the Cockroaches”; “Little Princess”; and “ALPHA”.
The 22 projects in concept, pitched in grouped sessions, also aroused a strong interest amongst potential business partners and buyers.
As animated film continues to gain force all over the world, the 15th Cartoon Movie received a record 120 distributors from Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia, up 20% from last year. The fact is that recent European animation films have drawn a significant number of viewers into the theatres, despite the rough competition.
As animated film continues to gain force all over the world, the 15th Cartoon Movie received a record 120 distributors from Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia, up 20% from last year. The fact is that recent European animation films have drawn a significant number of viewers into the theatres, despite the rough competition: “Tad the Lost Explorer” made 2.7 million admissions in Spain, “Ernest & Celestine” and “Kirikou 3” are reaching 1 million each in France, Finland’s ”Niko 2” was seen by 2 million people internationally and Germany’s “Raven the Little Rascal” and “Knight Rusty” are both above 600 000. “Europe also can produce high-quality, commercial films and has nothing to envy to American productions”, feels Marc Vandeweyer, Director of CARTOON.
Peter Lord, TF1 International and Les Armateurs winners of the Cartoon Movie Tributes
Aardman Animation’s founding partner Peter Lord (UK) won the European Director of the year award at Cartoon Movie 2013 for his stop-motion adventure comedy “The Pirates! Band of Misfits” in stereoscopic 3D. The film was also nominated for the Oscar awards.
Cartoon Movie participants elected TF1 International (France) as European Distributor of the year. The company co-produced its first animation feature film in 2011, “The Rabbi’s Cat”, followed by “Santa’s Magic Crystal" and “Aya of Yop City”.
Finally, Didier Brunner’s Les Armateurs (France) is the European Producer of the Year, having released two major films the same year: “Kirikou and the Men and the Women” by Michel Ocelot, and “Ernest & Celestine”, which recently received the César award for Best Animated Feature.
Ms Farida Boudaoud from the Rhône-Alpes Region gave a trophy to the Rhône-Alpes’ Personality of the Year to highlight the local animation talent. The winner is Benjamin Renner, former student of La Poudrière, who co-directed the beautiful “Ernest & Célestine”.
Crowded rooms at Cartoon Movie 2013’s first day
M. Eric Garandeau, President of the CNC and partner of Cartoon Movie, gave a enthusiastic and inspired speech to the 700 participants during the traditional animated breakfast “Croissant Show”. The day started with the beautiful and moving project by Jean-François Laguionie about an old woman alone on the beach, "Louise en Hiver". Many people attended the pitching sessions in the two studios, discovering among others the film based on “Little Princess”’ character, the adaptation of “Rise of the Zelphire” by Arthur Qwak, the second feature film by Esben Toft Jacobsen “Beyond Beyond”, many creative and interesting projects in concept like “Hieronymus”, the story of the famous Dutch painter.
The afternoon was equally intense with the new project by Patrice Leconte "Music!", "Capture the Flag" by the happy Spanish team of "Tadeo Jones", an interesting Italian film for adults about “The Art of Happiness” and the crazy “Oggy and the Cockroaches”. During the day, participants could also enjoy completed films such as the premiere of “Aya of Yop City”.
3D, fun and adventure to open Cartoon Movie: screening of Spanish hit "Tad the Lost Explorer"
With 2.7 million admissions and 3 Goya awards, "Tad the Lost Explorer" is a true phenomena in Spain. The film is due for release in France on 17 April.
Nadine Gelas (Greater Lyon) and Farida Boudaoud (Rhone-Alpes Region) will officially open the 15th edition of Cartoon Movie. El Toro Pictures and Lightbox Entertainment, 2 of the film producers, will then introduce the screening of this adventure comedy in stereoscopic 3D. Enjoy!
Cartoon Games kicks off this 6th March with keynotes and 700 speed dating sessions
Animation meets video games! This is the aim of Cartoon Games, a full day dedicated to create synergies between animation producers and gaming companies.
Keynotes by Ubisoft, Rovio Ent. and Copenhagen Bombay will open the event. The lobby of Lyon’s congress centre will then be buzzing with 700 one-to-one meetings between the two sectors to enable them to enter into business relationships.
Getting ready for Cartoon Movie 2013! Detailed programme and list of participants online
Cartoon Movie is just around the corner!
To help you prepare the event, you will find:
- the detailed programme with the pitching sessions schedule (PDf)
- the list of the 56 projets / films to be pitched
See you next week!
Happy 25th birthday CARTOON!
On 17 February 1988 in Brussels, 43 European professionals gathered together to create the European Association of Animation Film, which was later called "CARTOON".
We are very proud to have boosted and dynamised European animation, with the help of all the institutions who believed in us and thanks to the strong support of the European MEDIA Programme! Thank you very much to all of you who have participated in our activities over the years and who have presented fantastic new projects.
Nice people, fun memories, hours in buses, incredible discoveries of local specialities (viking ships, rafting, celtic dancing, naturalist saunas, so many castles) and lots of tasty food and drink.
Long life to animation! Our passion.
Cartoon Cine seminar: creativity in the financing and distribution of your film. 16-18 April in Denmark
Thinking creatively will be the theme of this year's Cartoon Cine:
• creativity in the non-traditional sources of funding such as crowdfunding
• creativity as producers in the online distribution of films
• creativity in developing and marketing films for an international audience
The Cartoon Cine seminar will take place in Denmark (Viborg) from 16 to 18 April 2013.
A huge success to open Cartoon Movie: Spanish film Tadeo Jones made 2.7 million admissions in Spain!
The 15th edition of Cartoon Movie will open next Wednesday 6th March with the screening of Spanish film "Tad, the Lost Explorer", a true phenomenon that has already conquered Spain (2.7 million admissions) and is successful in Latin America, China and South Korea. It has recently won 3 Goyas, including Best animated film.
20% increase in distributors at next Cartoon Movie
Major decision-makers, investors and broadcasters, including a record number of 120 distributors (20% increase since last year), will attend the annual pitching event for animated features in Lyon from 6-8 March. Their goal? To spot their favourite feature projects and make them come to life!
In total, over 700 animation professionals from 40 countries will gather together, managing their time between the 56 pitching sessions, the informal yet efficient meetings, the animated Croissant Shows and the tasty dinners, enjoying Lyon's fine food.
Learn all aspects of animated feature films, from concept to distribution, at Cartoon Cine
Next Cartoon Cine will take place from 16-18 April 2013 in Viborg (Denmark). This top seminar will focus on distribution, financing, new platforms, marketing and case studies.
Have a look at the video reports from the 2012 edition.
Cartoon Connection Korea: 19-21 March 2013 in Seoul
Save the date for the upcoming Cartoon Connection Korea which will welcome this year more Asian countries like Japan, Singapore and Malaysia.
The concept will remain the same: conferences and one-to-one meetings to encourage collaboration between Europe and Asia.
No registration fee!
Cartoon Games: 700 one-to-ones between animation and video games companies
Following the success of the first edition in 2012, Cartoon Games will now take place during a whole day (instead of an afternoon only) on Wednesday 6th March, in collaboration with Imaginove.
Just before Cartoon Movie, take the opportunity to meet new partners from the animation or video games sector: mutual benefit is the key.
The day will start with keynotes of Arkane Studios, Rovio Ent. and Ubisoft.
More than 700 participants already registered, including 200 buyers
The 15th edition of Cartoon Movie is more than ever the unmissable rendez-vous for the animated feature market. Over 200 distributors, sales agents and investors from Europe and across borders (India, Canada, Latin America, Russia, South Korea, USA) will attend the event to discover the new projects in the pipeline.
Sylvain Chomet, Enzo d’Alo, Arthur Qwak, Patrice Leconte and Jean-François Laguionie present their new films at Cartoon Movie 2013
Cartoon Movie 2013 will showcase an impressive line-up of 56 animated features directed by well-known directors (Sylvain Chomet, Patrice Leconte, Enzo d’Alò, Arthur Qwak, Jean-François Laguionie), confirmed talents and bright newcomers from Europe.
France will be represented by 17 projects. The Nordic countries show their vitality with 10 projects, followed by Germany (5), Spain (4), United Kingdom (3), Poland (3) and the Netherlands (3). This year, 25% of the projects aim at stereoscopic 3D and 16% of the films target young adults and adults.
Next CARTOON FORUM highlights
Flash info >> Business news
- Cesars 2013 Congrats to Ernest & Celestine by Benjamin Renner, Vincent Patar & Stéphane Aubier, winning the Cesar for Best animated feature. (Feb '13)
- Emmy nominations The Octonauts (Brownbag Films), Ask Lara (Tomavistas) and The Jungle Bunch (TAT productions) are nominated for the first International Emmy Kids Awards. (Oct' 12)
- Annie nominations Four European animated features are nominated for the 39th Annie Awards: "A Cat in Paris", "Arthur Christmas", "Chico & Rita" and "Wrinkles". In addition, Cartoon d'Or finalist "Paths of Hate" is nominated in the best short film category. (Dec '11)
- Tribute to the father of "Inspecteur Gadget" Heartfelt tribute to Bruno Bianchi, father of French hit series "Inspecteur Gadget", who has just taken his last gadget out of his hat. His talent and kindness won't be forgotten. RIP dear Bruno! (Dec '11)
- TV award Vivement Lundi! was awarded the prize of the French TV producer 2011 in the animation category at the 18th awards organised by PROCIREP. (Dec '11)
- European success in South Korea Belgian animation film "Sammy's Adventures" (nWave) made over 600 000 admissions in South Korea, while US major companies made between 1 and 2 million admissions for their latest animated features. Well done! (May '11)
- Spain At the start of April, Catalan Films & TV welcomed its new director, Àlex Navarro, who previously headed the European Union's Media Programme in Catalonia. (Apr '11)
- César winners "The Illusionist" won the César for Best animated film, while "Logorama", also nominated in this category, won the Best short film award. (Feb '11)
- Goya "Chico & Rita", Cartoon Movie's opening film, won the Goya award for Best Animated Feature Film at Spain's national film awards. (Feb '11)
CARTOON is an international non-profit association based in Brussels.
CARTOON's remit is to support the European animation industry and for more than 20 years, it has received financial support from the MEDIA Programme of the European Union to run its activities, which concentrate on 4 areas: Cartoon Masters, Cartoon Forum, Cartoon Movie and Cartoon Connection.
European Training Network
ETNA is a European training network for animation academics and students.
Initiated by CARTOON with the support of the MEDIA programme, it comprises 26 of the most prestigious animation schools and universities in Europe. Have a look!


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Lindsay Lohan's mother finally admits daughter is an addict... as actress reunites with her father
After denial after denial Lindsay Lohan's mother, Dina has finally owned up to the inevitable and admitted what everyone has known for a very long time - that her daughter is an addict.
And in another ground breaking move, Lindsay has finally made up with her estranged father Michael.
Lindsay, 24, and Michael met up at the Californian rehabilitation centre where she's being treated.
Happy: Reunited with her father this weekend, Dina Lohan says Lindsay is doing well in rehab this time around
'It was an emotional reunion… there were hugs, kisses and even a few tears when Michael and Lindsay first saw each other,' a source told RadarOnline.com.
Lindsay has previously blamed problems with her father for her drug addiction problems, since he has struggled with similar issues in the past.
The pair met soon after 1pm on Sunday at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California.
'Lindsay met Michael at Betty Ford and the pair spent hours together... it was not a fleeting encounter, this appeared well-planned in advance,' the source said.
'They also went shopping at a local Palm Desert mall, where they were seen walking around together and at one point, were in a jewellery store.'
Lindsay low-down: Dina Lohan says Lindsay is 'happy' in rehab as she talks on NBC's The Today Show
Michael, 50, who brought gifts and supplies for Lindsay, has opted not to comment in detail about the reunion with his troubled daughter, saying: 'I have pledged not to comment about anything relating to my daughter.
'However, what I will say is that I am an incredibly proud father tonight. My daughter is progressing extraordinarily well.'
The source told RadarOnline that Lindsay herself had invited her father to the clinic, while her mom, Dina, was in New York about to go on NBC's The Today Show.
It was the first time lindsay had seen her dad since he brought the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to her apartment back in April.
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domain: news


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Meet Dr. Rachel Reedy
Growing up in a small town in Southern Idaho, Dr. Rachel Reedy dreamed of a life in animal medicine. After obtaining her Bachelors of Science degree from Washington State University, she received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Ross University of School of Veterinary Medicine. In 2012, Dr. Reedy moved to the Coachella Valley, where she has made an impact on animal welfare throughout the valley.
After obtaining her DVM, Dr. Reedy completed a rigorous Equine surgical and medicine internship at Sheridan Equine in Sheridan, Wyoming. Once her internship was completed, she went into mixed animal practice working on small animals and horses.
Dr. Reedy continues to work on horses, dogs, and cats, enjoying a practice where she can work with both large and small animals. Dr. Reedy offers a well-rounded background in most aspects of veterinary medicine and has a strong interest and advanced skillset in soft tissue surgery.
Rachel shares her small farm - full of horses, dogs and cats, with her husband, Keith, They are both Boston terries fanatics, and you will often find Dr. Reedy's beloved "Spud" at work with her. In her spare time, you'll find Dr. Reedy riding her horse and competing in reined Cow Horse competitions. When she's not on her horse (or treating one!), she'll be visiting her family and friends or enjoying the great outdoors.

domain: pet


text:
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text:
10% of Americans are now struggling to find food.
The median household income in the United States increased less than a percent from 2017 to 2018, while the median earnings of workers in the United States rose 3.4%.
The data, released by the Census Bureau Tuesday, also shows that the official poverty rate in the United States dropped to 11.8%, a 0.5 percentage point decrease from 2017.
The official poverty rate fell to 11.8% in 2018 from 12.3% in 2017. That’s the fourth consecutive year showing a decrease, with the Census Bureau also noting that “In 2018, for the first time in 11 years, the official poverty rate was significantly lower than 2007, the year before the most recent recession.”
The most significant drops in poverty rates came for families with children and an unmarried female head householder. Those families saw a poverty rate drop of 2.5 percentage points from 41.6% in 2017 to 39.1% in 2018. Families headed by unmarried women, regardless of children, have the highest poverty rate of household types at 26.8%.
The poverty rate for individual children fell 1.2 percentage points from 17.4% in 2017 to 16.2% in 2018. For those living in the principal cities in Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), the poverty rate also dropped 1.2 percentage points from 15.8% to 14.6%.
To learn more about poverty in the US, click here.
COVID-19Hospitalizations increased in October after a drop in September. Coronavirus-related hospitalizations rates hit a pandemic low
COVID-19There were almost as many reported cases in October as in July. The difference was that October’s cases often occurred in less
Wealth in AmericaThe median household income in the United States rose, from $62,626 in 2017 to $63,179 in 2018, to $68,703 in 2019 adjusted for


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Choosing the best food for your dog can sometimes be overwhelming. The variety of foods available today can make it difficult to know which foods are healthy and of good quality.
Within this mass of advertisers pushing one brand over another, you are also confronted with choosing between canned or dry food. Which is better for your dog — dry or canned food? Let’s take a closer look at the differences between dry or canned food and which is better for your dog.
The Advantages of Dry Food:
Dry food is a great choice of food because it helps keep your dog’s teeth healthy. Dry food breaks down and removes both plaque and tartar from their teeth. Storing dry food is so much easier than canned food because it does not have to be refrigerated upon opening. Also while traveling with your dog, dry food is the best choice because of the same reasons, no refrigeration is required.
Dry food is manufactured with well balanced nutrients that are needed for your dog’s overall well being and health. Many dry foods come in an assortment of choices that will suit your dog, such as age, weight issues and even health issues.
Dry food, as a general rule, is also less expensive than canned food. You are able to get the same high quality found in canned food at a much reduced cost. This is something to take into consideration if you have a large dog. Large dogs need more food and therefore canned food can become quite expensive.
The Advantages of Canned Food:
The biggest advantage for choosing canned food is the quality of the food. Canned food offers real meat, there are fewer additives and fillers found in dry food. In general, canned food does offer a very high quality of nutrients that is unsurpassed.
Canned food also is more appealing to your dog’s palate. As canned food has natural fats that makes this food more appealing in taste.
Another great case for canned food is the oral health of your dog. If he or she has problems chewing dry foods, then canned is the better alternative. Very young puppies usually need to start off on canned food because their teeth have developed enough to handle dry foods.
Some dogs are just very picky about their food and canned will probably seem more appealing to them.
I have incorporated both canned and dry food into my dogs’ diets. I add chunky canned food to their dry food thereby giving them the best of both worlds. They are getting rich taste of canned while having the dry ridding of plaque and tartar.
Talk to your veterinarian if you have questions on which is better for your dog, dry or canned food. If your dog is under a veterinarian’s care, (both general or health issues) he or she will advise on which foods you should be feeding your dog throughout his or her life.
Also, make sure you adhere to the correct amount of food your dog should take in on a daily basis. Your dog’s weight is extremely important to the overall health your four-legged friend.
You can view many varieties of Dry and Canned foods for your dogs at the links listed here:

domain: food


Subaru maker benefits from its failed expansion plan in China
[Posted on Feb 21,2013 at 15:3]
Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. President Yasuyuki Yoshinaga has become a market darling for something he failed to do: build a factory in China.
The maker of Subaru cars, the only major Japanese auto brand without a plant in the world's largest vehicle market, has jumped 83 percent in Tokyo trading this year for the biggest gain on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average.
Fuji Heavy's smaller presence in China has helped shield it from a consumer backlash triggered by a territorial dispute between Asia's two largest economies as its sales in the U.S. and Japan have surged.
"Selling cars in China is difficult now," Yoshinaga said at the unveiling of the new Forester SUV last week in Tokyo. "Luckily we can cover the loss there by producing more cars for Japan and the U.S., since we don't have a plant in China."
While its Japanese peers idled factories in China last month as deliveries slumped, Fuji Heavy was able to ship more cars to the U.S. and Japan, where waiting times have stretched to six months for its $25,495 BRZ sports car and two months for the $17,895 Impreza hatchback. The demand helped the carmaker boost its full-year profit forecast by 40 percent even as Honda and Nissan cut theirs by a fifth.
Last year, Fuji Heavy chief Yoshinaga said he felt his perseverance was being "tested" after failing to get approval for his company's proposed joint venture with Chery Automobile Co. Chinese authorities had balked because Toyota Motor Corp., which already has two joint ventures in China, is Fuji Heavy's largest shareholder, with a 16.5 percent stake.


A teenage TikToker got annihilated over the weekend after she told fans about her “new song”—that clearly wasn’t “new” at all. Social media influencer Danielle Cohn who has 18 million followers on TikTok thought she was being slick when told fans to make a video to “her new song”—which happened to be Ashanti’s 2002 hit “Foolish.”
The Internet then went INNNNN on the influencer who clearly tried to Christopher Columbus our beloved songstress. Did we mention that Danielle not only dubbed it a “new” track but is selling “Foolish” merchandise?
Danielle has since said that the song was a “cover” and she’s feeling bullied by all the backlash.
Sure thing, sis!
She further pushed that point in her InstaStory and said that the former First Lady of Murda Inc. is “one of her favorite artists.”
“I just wanna clear this up, I did not steal Ashanti’s song or take it from her,” said Cohn. “I just wanted to remake one of my favorite songs if people could just stop saying I took her song when I didn’t.”
So far Ashanti has yet to respond to the drama, but people are imploring the singer to sue the TikToker for copyright infringement.
A Change.Org petition has also surfaced from fans who want Danielle’s “cover” removed from TikTok because it’s “embarrassing to Ashanti.”
“It’s not her song and it sound horrible it needs to be taken down it’s embarrassing Ashanti it’s a classic song and she’s messing it up,” reads the petition.
What do YOU think about the Danielle Cohn foolishly trying to whitewash Ashanti???
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