Literature survey

About: Literature survey is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 15372 publications have been published within this topic receiving 459196 citations.

Nanoadsorbents for Remediation of Aquatic Environment: Local and Practical Solutions for Global Water Pollution Problems

Abstract: The authors present an overview with critical analysis of technical applicability of various nanoadsorbents such as carbon nanotubes, nano-zerovalent iron, and metal oxides–based and polymeric nanoparticles in treating contaminated water. To highlight their performance, selected information such as synthesis method, pH, dose required, pollutant's concentrations, reaction time, and treatment efficiency is presented based on the literature survey of 276 articles (1989–2010). Their advantages and drawbacks in applications are evaluated. Nanoadsorbents that stand out for outstanding performance are compared to bulk activated carbon. The implications of nanoadsorbents to public health and their way forward for facilitating environmental sustainability are also discussed.

Interacting with Recommenders—Overview and Research Directions

Abstract: Automated recommendations have become a ubiquitous part of today’s online user experience. These systems point us to additional items to purchase in online shops, they make suggestions to us on movies to watch, or recommend us people to connect with on social websites. In many of today’s applications, however, the only way for users to interact with the system is to inspect the recommended items. Often, no mechanisms are implemented for users to give the system feedback on the recommendations or to explicitly specify preferences, which can limit the potential overall value of the system for its users. Academic research in recommender systems is largely focused on algorithmic approaches for item selection and ranking. Nonetheless, over the years a variety of proposals were made on how to design more interactive recommenders. This work provides a comprehensive overview on the existing literature on user interaction aspects in recommender systems. We cover existing approaches for preference elicitation and result presentation, as well as proposals that consider recommendation as an interactive process. Throughout the work, we furthermore discuss examples of real-world systems and outline possible directions for future works.

Resilience thinking: a renewed system approach for sustainability science

Abstract: This paper examines the contribution of resilience thinking for social-ecological systems (SESs) in understanding sustainability and the need to preserve natural resources in the face of external perturbations. Through qualitative and quantitative analysis, the literature survey shows the increased importance of resilience and its integration into the interdisciplinary area of sustainability studies. By exploring the links between resilience and sustainability, the analysis finds that these two concepts share some similarities and also highlight the differences. The discussion of resilience indicators, measuring criteria, models and management issues reveals how resilience contributes to sustainability science and in what ways the concept can be used to measure resilience in terms of sustainability. Most existing studies emphasise the ecological aspects of resilience, but only by including human activities in the modelling can resilience thinking inform sustainability in a meaningful way. The paper concludes defining issues requiring further investigation, such as identifying and managing the drivers and key elements of resilience in SESs, exploring the dynamics between critical variables of SESs and the system feedbacks to external perturbations, as well as evaluating policies and engaging stakeholders for building resilience.