The 21 st century has seen the beginnings of a great restoration effort towards the world’s forests, accompanied by the emergence of an increasing literature on reforestation, regeneration and regrowth of forest cover. Yet to date, there is no volume which synthesises current knowledge on the extent, trends, patterns and drivers of reforestation.
The 21st century has seen the beginnings of a great restoration effort towards the world's forests, accompanied by the emergence of an increasing literature on reforestation, regeneration and regrowth of forest cover. Yet to date, there is no volume which synthesises current knowledge on the extent, trends, patterns and.
This edited volume draws together research from leading researchers to explore reforestation and forest regrowth across the world, from multiple dimensions – including ecosystem services, protected areas, social institutions, economic transitions, remediation of environmental problems, conservation and land abandonment – and at different scales. Detailing the methods and analyses used from across a wide range of disciplines, and incorporating research from North, South and Central America, Africa, Asia and Europe, this groundbreaking book provides a global overview of current trends, explores their underlying causes and proposes future forest trajectories. The first of its kind, the book will provide an invaluable reference for researchers and students involved in interdisciplinary research and working on issues relevant to the biophysical, geographic, socioeconomic and institutional processes associated with reforestation. Book Title Reforesting Landscapes Book Subtitle Linking Pattern and Process Editors. Harini Nagendra.
Jane Southworth Series Title Series Volume 10 Copyright 2010 Publisher Springer Netherlands Copyright Holder Springer Science+Business Media B.V. EBook ISBN 978-1-4020-9656-3 DOI 10.1007/978-1-4020-9656-3 Hardcover ISBN 978-1-4020-9655-6 Softcover ISBN 978-94-007-3085-4 Series ISSN 1572-7742 Edition Number 1 Number of Pages VIII, 396 Number of Illustrations and Tables 15 illustrations in colour Topics.
Abstract Objectives: This work attempts to establish the use and attitudes that users of the Library of the Institute of Physical-Chemistry “Rocasolano” (Biqfr) of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) have with regard to scientific and technical ebooks. Thereby a better understanding will be obtained of the behavioural patterns towards this electronic resource which is in its early stages of implementation within the research environment. Methods: An online survey was carried out of the users mentioned through the library blog, obtaining a sample of seventy users of which 63% use Biqfr ebooks. Results: In the main, ebooks are used for the purpose of work and research, and the PC is the device most used to read them.
Despite this, the attitude of the users towards ebooks is considered conservative, though at the same time optimistic, as they consider them as a useful tool when searching for information. Response distribution according to academic status and age As could be expected, in the student group (predoctoral and university students) young users predominate, that is, up to 35 years of age; in contrast, in the researcher group (postdoctoral and research staff), although there are users belonging to the three age groups, there is a greater presence of those in the age range between 36 and 55 years. In relation to the research area of the respondents, more than a half of the users (64.3%) work in the area of chemistry. They are followed by those specialized in physics (24.3%) and other disciplines (11.4%), among which structural biology stands out. By comparing the age variable with that of status, the existence of a significant relation can be detected (c2=16.957 and P-valor=0.000). This relationship is due to the fact that the type of answers for each of the areas studied is different depending on the professional categories that have been analyzed.
Purpose Pattern And Process Ebook Reader Pdf
A greater participation of researchers in the field of chemistry can be observed, with 75.4% of the total answers within this area, while only 15.8% of the respondents belong to the area of physics; however, 61.5% of the answers of the later come from predoctoral and university students (see table 1). Academic status Area of work or study Physics Chemistry Other areas Total Predoctoral and university students n 8 2 3 13% 61,5 15,4 23,1 100,0 Researchers n 9 43 5 57% 15,8 75,4 8,8 100,0 Total n 17 45 8 70% 24,3 64,3 11,4 100,0 c2 = 16,957 i P – valor = 0,000 Table 1: Area of work or study vs academic status 4.1 Use of Biqfr ebooks The results obtained allow us to affirm that the level of usage of scientific-technical ebooks in the research library is high, as 63% of users surveyed indicated that they have used this type of electronic resource at some time. A significant relation between the age of the respondents and the utilization of ebooks was detected (c2=10.349 and P-valor=0.006), as the age groups up to 35 years (55.6%) and between 36 and 55 years (80.0%) were those who most utilized this electronic resource, compared to the 56 years and more group who have not used it (64.7%). Use of ebooks by age Researchers as well as students have used this electronic resource equally, that is to say that neither of the two groups stand out as making greater use of the ebook given that there is no relationship between the variables. Therefore, age constitutes a more conditioning factor than status, as was expected. On the other hand, it is interesting to observe the motives given by users for not using ebooks: (see table 2): 46.2% have not used them because they find the information they need in other sources such as electronic journals and databases. 38.5% indicated that reading on the screen was uncomfortable, while 34.6% stated simply a lack of knowledge for not using ebooks.
A much smaller percentage of respondents, 3.8%, indicated that the cause of the lack of use was the poor offer of books in this format in their interest areas, or the difficulty of finding them in the Biqfr catalogue. These data demonstrates that lack of use is due not only to the absence of ebooks on pertinent subjects in the libraries, but rather to acquired habits, which leads users to consult firstly other kinds of resources and/or makes them reluctant to take on a new information resource, a phenomenon which has occurred constantly throughout history when an innovative technology or format is faced with. Motives Responses% Information in other sources 12 46,2 Uncomfortable reading on the screen 10 38,5 Lack of awareness 9 34,6 Difficulty to find ebooks in the catalogue 1 3,8 Limited offer in users’ interest areas 1 3,8 Other reasons 3 11,5 Table 2. Motives for not using scientific-technical ebooks In open answer questions, in which users could express their opinions, a strong attachment to the printed book, was not detected compared to the ebook. Probably this attitude would be different in a social sciences and humanities library, where the printed book is highly valued both for its content as well as an object.
With regard to the difference by age (see table 3), 50% of the group of those up to 35 years mentioned the lack of awareness that they have of this electronic resource as the main reason for the lack of use of ebooks. The response rate is similar to the 36 to 55 year age group, but increases to 57.1%. In the case of users of 56 years or more, 63.6% indicated that the main motive for not using ebooks is that they find the information they need from other sources.
The second reason for not using ebooks, both in the age groups up to 35 and 56 years and more is that it is uncomfortable to read them on the screen. In contrast, for the 36 to 55 years age group, the second reason is that they find the information that they need from other sources. Motives Age Up to 35 36-55 56+ Total. Total n 8 7 11 26 Table 3.
Motives for not using ebooks by age groups The three groups coincide in answering that the reasons with least influence for not using ebooks are the difficulty in finding them in the library catalogue and the limited availability of ebooks in their areas of interest. From these results it can be concluded that the reasons which restrain the use of ebooks are related to acquired habits (reading on paper more than on the screen, consultation of the habitual sources with respect to new ones) or, in other words, the work of librarians and publishers is valued and they are not seen as barriers to the use of the ebook. Regarding answers by status (see table 4), 66.7% of students (predoctoral and university students) do not use ebooks due to the lack of awareness that they have with respect to this electronic resource, which shows either a need for training in the use of information resources or a lack of regular contact with their libraries.
On the other hand, the researchers group (staff and postdoctoral), which represents 55.0%, mentioned that they find the information that they need in other sources of information, and therefore, they do not need new ones. As a second motive both groups agree indicating that reading ebooks on the screen is uncomfortable, which leads to their lack of interest in this resource. In contrast, the reasons which least give problems, when ebooks are used, are the difficulty in finding them in the catalogue and the limited availability in their areas of interest, a conclusion that coincides with the responses obtained with the groups by age. Motives Status Predoc. Students Researchers Total Lack of awareness n 4 5 9.
Total n 6 20 26 Table 4. Motives for not using ebooks by status 4.2 Behaviour of users towards the scientific-technical ebook With regard to how ebooks are used, 79.5% of the respondents use them for research, 77.3% employ them for general consultations and 43.2% for study. To a lesser extent, 25.0% of users utilize them as a means for scientific and academic dissemination and 18.2% for class preparation. In addition, usage changes according to the age group (see table 5). Thus, users up to 35 years answered that they use ebooks mainly to make general consultations, while the group between 36 and 55 years mentioned research as the main use of the ebook.
The group of older users, referred to a dual usage of ebooks: for research and for general consultation. Purposes Up to 35 36-55 56+ Total General consultation n 10 20 4 34. % 20,00 25,00 33,30 Total n 10 28 6 44 Table 5. Purpose of the use of ebooks by age group All the groups studied coincide in noting that the purposes for which they least use ebooks are class preparation and as a means for scientific and academic dissemination.
The latter presents another necessary transition: from using the ebook for research and obtaining information to choosing the ebook for publishing. Although this is not really the researchers', but the publishers' decision, the former has to have the willingness to try a new format, having to overcome reluctances that may exist. Those surveyed in this study indicated that the medium or reading device which they most used for ebooks is the PC. That is the case of 95.5% of respondents, not discerning differences due to age. The second most frequent option is reading on paper, after printing the book, used by 36.4% of respondents. These are followed by reading on e-readers (15.9%), and further behind mobile phones and PDAs (2.3%). Regarding the age variable, the results show that even if the three groups read mainly on the PC, the group of older users are those who choose reading on paper as a more frequent second option, after printing the ebook.
Analysing this question from the perspective of status the only noteworthy point is that predoctoral and university students use paper significantly more than researchers (71.4% and 30% respectively), which is particularly surprising keeping in mind that young people are better trained and are more intuitive with regard to electronic devices. Perhaps the use of technology is, in their case, more related to leisure activities; in this case, the lack of 'electronic literacy' in the scientific/professional sphere is a notable finding. Focusing on the reasons or driving motives of respondents for utilising ebooks, 90.7% used them on their own initiative, 16.3% were motivated by suggestions made by librarians, 11.6% were encouraged by colleagues and/or friends and 2.3% were motivated by suggestions made by teaching staff.
The availability of ebooks in the BiqFr library was indicated in 'other reasons'. In relation to age or status, no differentiating patterns of use were observed. As for the reasons for using ebooks, 66.7% of respondents said that it was because of the permanent access (24 hours, 7 days a week) of the resource.
59.5% stated that ebooks allow them to make searches or go to specific parts of the text. On the other hand, 52.4% use ebooks because of their large storage capacity, 47.6% because they can read them anywhere and 33% because they are easy to use. While permanent access is a reason given by the majority of users, irrespective of their age, there are differences in the second reasons given for using ebooks. The group aged up to 35 years indicated that it uses ebooks for their large storage capacity, while the other age groups noted the possibility of browsing and being able go to specific parts of the text, that is, they give more importance to browsing and information recovery, so that they value more the use of applications of the electronic resource, something expected with advanced users of scientific information. The answers concerning reasons for using ebooks also differ according to the status of users (closely related to age).
In parallel with the previous results, predoctoral and university students mentioned all the options offered as advantages of ebooks, although they also highlighted their storage capacity and the possibility of reading them anywhere. On the other hand, established researchers (therefore a higher age range) value especially the permanent access of the resource and the possibility of browsing and going to specific parts of a text (see table 6).
Use of ebooks Status.