Igic R "The influence of the civil war in Yugoslavia on publishing in peer-reviewed journals" Scientometrics 53(3):447-452 March-April 2002
Eugene Garfield
garfield at CODEX.CIS.UPENN.EDU
Thu Jun 20 15:24:15 EDT 2002
TITLE The influence of the civil war in Yugoslavia on publishing
in peer-reviewed journals
AUTHOR Igic R
JOURNAL SCIENTOMETRICS 53 (3): 447-452 MAR-APR 2002
Document type: Article Language: English
Cited References: 10 Times Cited: 0
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to assess the influence of civil war during
recent disintegration of the former Yugoslavia on scientific output, as
measured
by changes in numbers of articles published in peer-reviewed journals.
The articles
published in journals indexed in the Science Citation Index (SCI) were
retrieved for the former Yugoslav republics. According to the census of
1991, the republics' populations were as follows: Serbia 9.7 million
inhabitants, Croatia 4.7, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) 4.3, Macedonia 2.0,
Slovenia 1.9, and Montenegro 0.6. The annual numbers of articles from each
were determined from 1988 to 2000. This period includes three prewar
years, 5 years of civil war from 1991 to 1995, and the NATO military
interventions in B&H (1995) and F.R. Yugoslavia (1999), which includes
Serbia and Montenegro. In the late 1980s, Serbia produced more than 900
scientific articles per year and was well ahead, with twice as many
publications as Slovenia. The number of publications from Croatia fell
between that of Serbia and Slovenia. In the prewar period, the remaining
republics had a relatively small scientific presence. The outputs from B&H
decreased, from 50 articles in 1991, sharply during the war and continued
to decrease. During the postwar period only 18 to 27 papers per year were
published. In 1995, the output from Serbia dropped 33% in comparison to
1991. Slovenia produced more publications that year while Croatia was
stagnant, and 3 most productive states had a similar output. In 1998, Serbia
produced 1543 publications, Slovenia 1116, Croatia 1103, Macedonia 100, B&H
25, and Montenegro 12. The number of articles from Serbia dropped in 1999
and 2000 for 10.2% and 27.9%, respectively, in comparison to 1998. For the
same two years, the number of publications was increased in Croatia (37.3%
and 12.5%), Slovenia (10.9% and 52.8%), Macedonia (5% and 6%) and
Montenegro (75% and 66%). The concentration of scientific research in
well-established universities caused an uneven distribution of scientific
output among various republics. Thus, the annual output of scientific
papers per 100,000 inhabitants in 1990 greatly varied in various republics.
In Montenegro it was 1.79, B&H 1.95, Macedonia 2,36, Serbia 11.92,
Croatia 18.40 and Slovenia 29.63. In 2000, the annual output per 100,000
inhabitants in these republics was 3.41, 0.61, 5.24, 11,34, 26.00 and
76.84, respectively. The scientific production in B&H and in Serbia was
affected not only by the devastated economy, damaged communications, and
hardship of everyday life during the war and postwar years, but because
many scientists left the country, and the scientists in Serbia were
isolated from the international scientific community.
Addresses:
Igic R, Cook Cty Hosp, Dept Anesthesiol & Pain Management, Sect
Anesthesiol Res, Room 427DX,637 S Wood St, Chicago, IL 60612 USA
Cook Cty Hosp, Dept Anesthesiol & Pain Management, Sect Anesthesiol
Res, Chicago, IL 60612 USA
Publisher:
KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBL, DORDRECHT
IDS Number:
544QR
ISSN:
0138-9130
FULL TEXT :
The Influence of the Civil War in Yugoslavia on Publishing in Peer-
Reviewed Journals
Rajko Igic
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management, Cook County Hospital,
Chicago, IL 60612, USA
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Rajko Igic, Section of
Anesthesiology Research, Room 427DX, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain
management, Cook County Hospital, 637 S. Wood Street, Chicago, IL 60612,
USA. (E-mail: rigic at hektoen.org or r.igic at excite.com)
Summary
The aim of this study was to assess the influence of civil war during recent
disintegration of the former Yugoslavia on scientific output, as measured by
changes in numbers of articles published in peer-reviewed journals. The
articles published in journals indexed in the Science Citation Index (SCI)
were retrieved for the former Yugoslav republics. According to the census of
1991, the republics' populations were as follows: Serbia 9.7 million
inhabitants, Croatia 4.7, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) 4.3, Macedonia 2.0,
Slovenia 1.9, and Montenegro 0.6. The annual numbers of articles from each
were determined from 1988 to 2000. This period includes three prewar years,
5 years of civil war from 1991 to 1995, and the NATO military interventions
in B&H (1995) and F.R. Yugoslavia (1999), which includes Serbia and
Montenegro. In the late 1980s, Serbia produced more than 900 scientific
articles per year and was well ahead, with twice as many publications as
Slovenia. The number of publications from Croatia fell between that of
Serbia and Slovenia. In the prewar period, the remaining republics had a
relatively small scientific presence. The outputs from B&H decreased, from
50 articles in 1991, sharply during the war and continued to decrease.
During the postwar period only 18 to 27 papers per year were published. In
1995, the output from Serbia dropped 33% in comparison to 1991. Slovenia
produced more publications that year while Croatia was stagnant, and 3 most
productive states had a similar output. In 1998, Serbia produced 1543
publications, Slovenia 1116, Croatia 1103, Macedonia 100, B&H 25, and
Montenegro 12. The number of articles from Serbia dropped in 1999 and 2000
for 10.2% and 27.9%, respectively, in comparison to 1998. For the same two
years, the number of publications was increased in Croatia (37.3% and
12,5%), Slovenia (10.9% and 52.8%), Macedonia (5% and 6%) and Montenegro
(75% and 66%). The concentration of scientific research in well-established
universities caused an uneven distribution of scientific output among
various republics. Thus, the annual output of scientific papers per 100,000
inhabitants in 1990 greatly varied in various republics. In Montenegro it
was 1.79 , B&H 1.95, Macedonia 2,36, Serbia 11.92, Croatia 18.40 and
Slovenia 29.63. In 2000, the annual output per 100,000 inhabitants in these
republics was 3.41, 0.61, 5.24, 11,34, 26.00 and 76.84, respectively. The
scientific production in B&H and in Serbia was affected not only by the
devastated economy, damaged communications, and hardship of everyday life
during the war and postwar years, but because many scientists left the
country, and the scientists in Serbia were isolated from the international
scientific community.
Introduction
The disintegration of the former Yugoslavia started in 1991 with a divisive
civil war which disrupted many local economic, social, cultural, and
scientific activities among several newly formed states. This war worsened
cultural segregation that already existed in the region where a permanent
struggle for the tripartite Muslim-Catholic-Orthodox dominance for the
Mediterranean lasted for centuries. (1,2) In this civil war, more than
200,000 people were killed, and the war displaced more than two million
people.(3) It also resulted in the creation of five independent countries
(Figure 1), and two territories that are under NATO led foreign control.
The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of civil war
and NATO military interventions during disintegration of the former
Yugoslavia on scientific output as measured by changes in numbers of
articles published in peer-reviewed journals.
Methods
In this study, the articles published in journals indexed in the Science
Citation Index (SCI)
were retrieved for the former Yugoslav republics. According to the census of
1991, the republics' populations were as follows: Serbia 9.7 million
inhabitants, Croatia 4.7, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) 4.3, Macedonia 2.0,
Slovenia 1.9, and Montenegro 0.6. The annual numbers of articles from each
were determined from 1988 to 2000. This period includes three prewar years,
5 years of civil war from 1991 to 1995, and the NATO military interventions
in B&H (1995) and F.R. Yugoslavia (1999), which includes Serbia and
Montenegro.
Results
In the late 1980s, Serbia produced more than 900 scientific articles per
year and was well ahead, with twice as many publications as Slovenia (Figure
2). The number of publications from Croatia fell between that of Serbia and
Slovenia. In the prewar period, the remaining republics had a relatively
small scientific presence. The outputs from B&H decreased, from 50 articles
in 1991, sharply during the war and continued to decrease. During the
postwar period only 18 to 27 papers per year were published. In 1995, the
output from Serbia dropped 33% in comparison to 1991. Slovenia produced more
publications that year while Croatia was stagnant, and 3 most productive
states had a similar output. In 1988, Serbia produced 1543 publications,
Slovenia 1116, Croatia 1103, Macedonia 100, B&H 25, and Montenegro 12. The
number of articles from Serbia dropped in 1999 and 2000 10.2% and 27.9%,
respectively. For the same period, the number of publications was increased
in Croatia (37.3% and 12,5%), Slovenia (10.9% and 52.8%), Macedonia (5% and
6%) and Montenegro (75% and 66%) in comparison to 1998.
Concentration of scientific research in well-established
universities caused an uneven distribution of scientific output among
various republics. Thus, the annual output of scientific papers per 100,000
inhabitants greatly varied in various republics (Table 1).
Discussion
Scientific research in the former Yugoslavia was pursued vigorously before
the war, especially in well-established universities, such as Belgrade,
Zagreb, and Ljubljana.(5) Due to an uneven distribution of scientific output
among various republics, the former Yugoslavia opened many new universities,
and before the civil war the country had 18 universities. Their distribution
was according to the population in various parts of the country. Thus,
Serbia had five universities, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) four,
Slovenia and Macedonia two, and Montenegro, one. Although scientific output
from the majority of newly opened universities was modest, some of them,
such as the Universities of Novi Sad, Skopje, Rijeka, Maribor, and
Kragujevac significantly increased their yearly scientific production.
The war suppressed this vitality mainly in Serbia, and B&H. The
scientific productivity in B & H dropped sharply in 1993. This republic's
output from the war years until the year 2000 did not reach prewar level.
The Serbian scientists gradually improved scientific productivity after the
initial drop during 1992 to 1994 as a result of the strict United Nations
sanctions. However, Serbia did not have progress of scientific productivity
as Slovenia or Macedonia, the states that until 2000 were only peripherally
involved in the civil war. (However, in 2001, the Macedonian Albanians are
fighting with governmental forces and this state is now practically at war.)
The civil war also caused a short stagnation in publishing from Croatia. In
this republic, war damaged mainly rural areas where majority of Serbian
population lived.
The scientific production in B&H, and in Serbia was affected not
only by the devastated economy, damaged communications, and hardship of
everyday life during the war and postwar years, but because many top
scientists left the country and the level of outside support has been
disappointing.(6) In our previous report, (5) we calculated the amount of
international co-authorship using a "Salton Index" (7) between each pair of
Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia from 1986 to 1995. Also, between each of these
and five western countries (Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and
the United States). This indicator clearly shows that Serbia seems to be
scientifically relatively isolated, from 1992 when the UN sanctions to this
state were imposed. (These sanctions were officially lifted in September
2001.) The manuscripts of scientists from Serbia were, during the civil war,
frequently automatically rejected by many editors of the international
journals.
Bibliometric indicators (5,8) provide a sensitive mirror of the real
word, and reveal much of the local and international political situation,
including the devastating influences of war. Because war is one of the
world's most serious threats to health, it is also a medical problem.(9)
Therefore, healthcare workers and biomedical scientists have a special
opportunity and obligation to seek medical, social, and political solutions
that help prevent and eradicate or limit war.(10)
Conclusions
The civil war in Yugoslavia has significantly damaged scientific production
in B&H, and Serbia. It also diminished the scientific growth in Croatia and
Montenegro. Up to the year 2000, the scientific production and growth in
Slovenia and Macedonia were not affected by the civil war. These republics
practically did not have war during disintegration of Yugoslavia. The
scientific production in B&H and in Serbia was affected not only by the
devastated economy, damaged communications, and hardship of everyday life
during the war and postwar years, but because many scientists left the
country, and the scientists in Serbia were isolated from the international
scientific community. The disease of war not only affects scientific
productivity, but it afflicts humanity.
References
1. Andric, I., The bridge on the Drina. University of Chicago press, Chicago
IL, 1977.
2. Jelavich, B., The establishment of the Balkan national states,
1804-1920. University of Washington Press, Seattle WA, 1986.
3. Igic, R., Amid war, scientific publication survives in former Yugoslav
republics. Scientist 1997; 11: 11.
4. Anonymous, Popis 1991. (The 1991 census.) Savezni zavod za statistiku,
Beograd, Yugoslavia, 1997.
5. Lewison, G., Igic, R., Yugoslav politics, "ethnic cleansing" and
co-authorship in science. Scientometrics 1999; 44: 183-192.
6. Stone, R., Yugoslavia: Science goes begging in recovery package. Science
2001; 293: 413b.
7. Salton, G. Authomatic text processing. Addison Wesley Publishing, 1989.
8. De Bruin, R.E., Braam, R.R., Moed, H.F., Bibliometric lines in the sand.
Nature 1991; 349: 559-562, .
9. Yusuf, S., Anand, S., MacQueen, G., Can medicine prevent war? Imaginative
thinking shows that it might. Br Med J 1998; 317: 1669-1670.
10. Igic, R., Medicine can prevent war. Pak Armed Forces Med J 1999; 49:
80.
Table 1. Annual Output of Scientific Papers per 100,000 Inhabitants in the
Former Yugoslav
Republics
_______________________________________________________________
Former Yugoslav No. of papers per 100,000 inhabitants* published in
republics
1990 2000
_______________________________________________________________
Montenegro 1.79 3.41
Bosnia and Herzegovina 1.95 0.61
Macedonia 2.36 5.24
Serbia 11.92 11.34
Croatia 18.40 26.00
Slovenia 29.63 76.84
_______________________________________________________________
*The number of inhabitants in various republics was used from the census of
1991.(4) The numbers of papers were counted in the SCI. The majority of
papers were published in foreign/international journals. Before the civil
war and currently, more than 100 scientific journals are published in
Yugoslavia. However, in the majority of newly formed states many these
journals are not published regularly. As a consequence, the number of
indexed journals in the SCI from Yugoslavia decreased from five in 1988 to
only one after 1994. The Croatica Chemica Acta is the only journal from this
region that is now indexed in the SCI.
.
Figure 1. Map Showing the Former Yugoslav Republics, Capitols, and Number
of Inhabitants (according to the census of 1991).
Figure 2. Publications from the Former Yugoslav Republics Indexed in the
SCI.
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