INTERNET RESOURCES NEWSLETTER
The free, monthly, newsletter for academics, students, engineers, scientists and social scientists.
Latest issue: http://www.hw.ac.uk/libwww/irn/irn161/irn161.html
Edited by:
Roddy MacLeod (R.A.MacLeod@hw.ac.uk ),
Catherine Ure.and Marion Kennedy
Heriot-Watt University Library
ISSN: 1361-9381
Web: http://www.hw.ac.uk/libwww/irn/irn.html
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ISSUE 161- CONTENTS
1. COMMENT
Internet Resources Newsletter by email and RSS
2. A-Z NEW AND NOTABLE WEB SITES
Information and reviews of new and notable Web sites
3. NICE WEBSITE(S)
This month: ScienceWatch.com
4. BLOGORAMA
Selected interesting blogs, RSS feeds and news items
5. RSS FEEDS FOR PROFFESSIONAL SOCIETY NEWS IN ENGINEERING
A selection of feeds
6. RECENT INTERNET BOOKS IN THE LIBRARY
Recent arrivals
7. BOOK REVIEWS
Research methods in information, by Alison Jane Pickard
8. GET A LIFE! LEISURE TIME
After hours
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1. COMMENT
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A while back, I tried to access an information service which I hadn't visited for some time. It refused my login. When I phoned the contact, I was told that I must surely have registered under their old system, and would therefore have to register again, a process that would take 24 hours to verify.
I was so taken aback by this that I got annoyed. Pointless, really, for the people at the other end of phones in these circumstances are not the ones responsible for such decisions. My institution actually pays to get access to the service in question - I have registered once, and no-one should be inconvenienced by having to register again.
I look forward to the day when we don't need to waste time registering with so many different services, ending up with so many different logins and usernames, and most of all to the day when services realise that we have better things to do with our time than register more than once.
Internet Resources Newsletter by email and RSS
Over 40,000 people subscribe to the free email version of this Newsletter. Very many thanks go to FUMSI http://www.fumsi.com/ who sponsor this newsletter. FUMSI publishes articles, tools, and a monthly magazine, to give you practical help with information skills.
To subscribe to the Internet Resources Newsletter, at no cost, go to http://www.hw.ac.uk/libwww/irn/
The Internet Resources Newsletter has an RSS feed: http://www.hw.ac.uk/libwww/irn/irn.rss
To add this feed to any feedreader, go to: http://tinyurl.com/39sg5j
A pdf of a foldable A4 leaflet about this newsletter is available. This may be useful for libraries or others who want to spread the word about the newsletter. If you do - many thanks!
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News items of interest.
Financial settlement disappoints Scottish universities
http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,2266591,00.html
From: guardian.co.uk 20th March
Launch of REF to be delayed a year
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=401427&c=2
The implementation of the new funding system to replace the research assessment exercise is set to be delayed, Times Higher Education understands.
Stirling and Southampton Universities announce open access mandates
http://www.ringgold.com/UKSG/si_pd.cfm?AC=6632&Pid=10&Zid=3729&issueno=168
The Universities of Stirling and Southampton have become the first academic institutions in the UK to require staff to make all their published research available online.
From: UK Serials eNews
Inderscience published titles reach 200
http://www.inderscience.com/mapper.php?id=28#200_titles
The publication of the International Journal of Services Sciences brings another milestone in the publishing history of Inderscience, bringing to 200 the number of published titles. As a mark of this achievement a 60 day free trial is available for Ingenta users - details are at http://eyetoeye.ingenta.com/library/issue24/news-offers.htm
Talis Launches Library 2.0 Gang Podcast Series
http://www.talis.com/applications/news_and_events/index.shtml#no100
Talis, in association with Library Journal, are pleased to announce the launch of The Library 2.0 Gang. Hosted by Richard Wallis, Talis' Technology Evangelist, The Library 2.0 Gang brings together leading voices in the world of libraries.
Scottish super-university mooted
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=401177&c=2
From: Times Higher Education
Index to Theses announces new full-text linking facility
http://www.theses.com/obtain.html
Index to Theses launches a new feature that identifies and links to the full text of theses available online ETDs (Electronic Theses and Dissertations).
Jorum to move to open access
Jorum, the UK national repository for learning and teaching materials funded by JISC, is to offer open educational resources. This will make it easier for lecturers and teaching staff to share and re-use each other's teaching resources. JorumOpen - as it will be called - will also provide a showcase for UK universities and colleges on the international stage.
http://www.jorum.ac.uk/
For more news items in business information products we recommend VIP: http://www.vivavip.com/
For news from Heriot-Watt University Library, see the spineless? blog.
http://hwlibrary.wordpress.com/
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2. A-Z NEW & NOTABLE WEB SITES
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AllPsych Online
http://allpsych.com/
AllPsych Online is one of the largest and most comprehensive psychology websites on the Internet. Inside the site you'll find over over 920 individual, cross referenced, web pages and an estimated 3000 pages of printed material.
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An Overview of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishing and the Value it adds to Research Outputs
http://www.stm-assoc.org/home/stm-issues-paper-on-stm-industry-publishers-and-valued-added.html
STM has issues a paper on STM industry, publishers and valued added, which is available from this site.
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Apprenticeships online
https://www.apprenticeshipsonline.org/
This site helps you find and apply for Apprenticeships online.
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Awareness Watch Newsletter
http://zillman.blogspot.com/2008/03/awareness-watch-newsletter-v6n4-april.html
The April 2008 V6N4 issue is available. The Awareness Watch Featured Report this month features Online Social Networks - Resources and Sites.
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Berkshire Publishing shop
http://www.exacteditions.com/berkshire
“Berkshire Publishing Group is a young and innovative information company specializing in global issues and 21st-century trends. Known for its award-winning general and academic reference titles, Berkshire is also a niche provider of high-quality information on China and sustainability. Berkshire works with international networks of experts, providing specialized publications for students, teachers, scholars, and professionals in business and government.”
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Biographicon
http://www.biographicon.com/
The Biographicon is the place for everyone's biography.
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BioPortal
http://www.bioportal.gc.ca/
A window to biotechnology at the government of Canada.
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Bioscience Horizons
http://biohorizons.oxfordjournals.org/
A new journal from Oxford Journals in conjunction with Oxford University Press’ Higher Education department.
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BookSurge
http://www.booksurge.com/
BookSurge offers complete publishing, inventory-free fulfillment and online distribution services for independent publishing.
BookSurge was launched in 2000 by a small group of writers dedicated to creating opportunities for authors to not only publish their work, but to also retain their content rights and sales profits. Acquired by Amazon.com in April 2005, BookSurge is a brand of On-Demand Publishing LLC, a subsidiary of Amazon.com Inc.
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Brownbook
http://www.brownbook.net/
An open business directory.
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Burnt Sugar
http://www.unrefinedbookclub.co.uk/
“…join with us and the lovely Book Aid International in the virtual armchair as we read some great books and then wistfully waffle about what sets us on fire.”
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CarersConnect
http://www.carersconnect.com/
“We are a new carers website. We are focusing primarily on improving the social life of the carer and the professional engaged in the Care Sector as we know their domestic situation can often be socially isolating. We also deal with other aspects of being a carer and a professional within the care sector.”
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chemXplorer
http://chemxplorer.com/
A new website which features a chemical suppliers directory, a chemical database which can be searched by registry number, molecular formula, chemical name, physical and chemical properties, substructures, or any combination of these, and a job portal.
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Complete works of Charles Darwin online
http://darwin-online.org.uk/
Darwin's private papers online - the largest publication of Darwin's papers in history.
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Construction and Building Services Subject Guide
http://www.imeche.org/industries/cbs/infores/guides.htm
From the IMechE. The Information and Library Service compiles occasional subject guides for engineers and students. The aim is to highlight sources of information available in the library and the Institution itself, along with some useful websites to take you further afield.
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Continuum
http://www.continuumbooks.com/
Academic publishers.
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Digital Bibliography & Library Project: DBLP
http://dblp.uni-trier.de/
“The DBLP server provides bibliographic information on major computer science journals and proceedings. Initially the server was focused on DataBase systems and Logic Programming (DBLP), now it is gradually being expanded toward other fields of computer science. You may now read "DBLP" as "Digital Bibliography & Library Project".“
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Digital Document Quarterly
http://home.pacbell.net/hgladney/ddq_7_1.htm
The Digital Document Quarterly newsletter volume 7 number 1 is available.
Topics include Digital Preservation, Epistemology, News, Practical Matters, and Price Watch.
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Digital Libraries à la Carte 2008
http://www.tilburguniversity.nl/services/lis/ticer/08carte/
From 25 to 29 August, Ticer will organise an international, modular course at Tilburg University, the Netherlands, titled: "Digital Libraries à la Carte"
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Edina Newsline March 2008: Volume 13.1
http://edina.ac.uk/news/newsline13-1/index.html
Items on Marine Digimap, GeoCrossWalk, Go-Geo!, OS MasterMap, etc.
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eLearning Papers
http://www.elearningpapers.eu
eLearning Papers adds a new dimension to the exchange of information on e-learning in Europe and stimulates research. As such, the articles provide views regarding the current situation and e-learning trends in different communities: schools, universities, companies, civil society and institutions. eLearning Papers provides all those interested with an opportunity to have their texts published throughout Europe. Through these articles, the journal promotes the use of ICT for lifelong learning in Europe. All e-learning related themes are accepted as topics.
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ePractice.eu
http://www.epractice.eu/
ePractice.eu is a portal created by the European Commission which offers a new service for the professional community of eGovernment, eHealth and eInclusion practitioners.
The portal offers among others the following services and activities:- Real life good practice cases; People, the member community; Off-line Workshops; Latest news, events and publications; Weekly Newsletter
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ESDU Engineer
http://uk.ihs.com/email-campaigns/esdu/esdu-02-engineer.htm
ESDU’s engineering design and research quarterly newsletter.
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European Journal of ePractice
http://www.epracticejournal.eu/
The European Journal of ePractice is a peer-reviewed online publication on eTransformation, launched in November 2007. The Journal belongs to the ePractice.eu community, is sponsored by the European Commission as part of its good practice exchange activity and is run by an independent Editorial Board. The aim of European Journal of ePractice (EjeP) is to reinforce the visibility of articles as well as that of professionals in eTransformation building an author's community which will strengthen the overall ePractice.eu activity. The publication will promote the diffusion and exchange of good practice in eGovernment, eHealth and eInclusion and will be open access, free of charge to all readers. The articles are available in English.
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Eurospan Bookstore
http://www.eurospanbookstore.com/
Online bookstore.
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Eventseer
http://eventseer.net/
Eventseer has gone through a major upgrade. Eventseer provides a way to keep track of upcoming academic events.
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Evidence Based Library and Information Practice
http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/index
EBLIP is an open access, peer reviewed journal published quarterly by the University of Alberta Learning Services and supported by an international team of editorial advisors.
Vol 3, No 1 (2008) is now available.
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Exposing the secret state
http://web.fumsi.com/go/article/use/2772
An article in FUMSI, April 2008.
Media librarians face special challenges - working hand in hand with journalists to uncover hidden information in a fast-moving environment, all the while adding not just value but 'values'. Author Tim Buckley Owen discusses the upcoming Association of UK Media Librarians (AUKML) conference, where he is keynote speaker.
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Focus on Mimas
http://www.mimas.ac.uk/focus/08mar/
The March 2008 edition of 'Focus on Mimas' is now available.
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Formula Student
http://www.formulastudent.com/
Formula Student is about building future engineering talent by designing and producing a single-seater racing car, not just in design and manufacture, but in many of the management, marketing and people skills so vital in the modern world, across all sectors of employment.
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Forvo
http://www.forvo.com/
“All the words in the world, pronounced”
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Generation Science 2008
http://www.generationscience.co.uk/
The Edinburgh International Science Festival's schools touring programme.
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ICIS connect
http://www.icis.com/icisconnect/
A place to meet and discuss: the chemical industry and how it affects your lives; working in the industry; jobs in the industry; training; issues affecting the industry where you work; and almost anything else that takes your fancy.
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Identity Project
http://www.angel.ac.uk/identity-project/
Identity Management presents major challenges for the development of next generation Internet. Security deficiencies and lack of seamless, robust web-based systems integration technology are major obstacles in the development of public and private Internet based systems.
The Identity Project has been set up to face up to some of those challenges, helping to develop new solutions for the next generation Internet.
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Inderscience Highlights
http://www.inderscience.com/mapper.php?id=19
The spring 2008 issue is available, with items on new titles, a look at the life of Prof Emeritus Hiroshi Inaba, latest calls for papers, etc.
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International Journal of Nanoparticles
http://www.inderscience.com/ijnp
The first issue of International Journal of Nanoparticles has just been published.
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JobisJob
http://www.jobisjob.co.uk/
JobisJob is a search engine for job offers in the UK, which allows you to search the full range of jobs listed on the major online job boards, instead of going to each job site individually.
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Journal of Computing Science and Engineering: JCSE
http://jcse.kiise.org/
A new journal.
Journal of Computing Science and Engineering (JCSE) is a peer-reviewed quarterly journal that publishes high-quality papers on all aspects of computing science and engineering.
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JustFreeBooks
http://www.justfreebooks.info/
“JustFreeBooks search the content of more than 450 web sites, including gutenberg.org, wikibooks.org and archive.org. With JustFreeBooks you can find public domain texts, open books, free audio books, ad-supported books and more.”
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Learning and Skills Council - Apprenticeships
https://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/
An introduction to apprenticeships.
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Libraries of the Future
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/librariesofthefuture
In an information world in which Google apparently offers us everything, what place is there for the traditional, and even the digital, library? In a library environment which is increasingly moving to the delivery of online rather than print resources, what of the academic library’s traditional place at the heart of campus life?
What about the impact of repositories and open access on the delivery of library resources? And the need to digitise and make more widely accessible key scholarly resources? And what of the calls for libraries to play a central role in the promotion of ‘information literacy’? Libraries will continue to be essential to academic success and the future of education and research
Through ‘Libraries of the Future’, JISC is hoping to explore these and many other questions.
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LIBRIS
http://libris.kb.se/?language=en
This is the impressive Swedish university and research libraries search service.
LIBRIS is a national search service providing information on titles held by Swedish university and research libraries, as well as about thirty public libraries. Here you can find books, periodicals, articles, maps, posters, printed music, electronic resources, etc.
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Life Beyond Google: Some of the Best of the Rest
http://web.fumsi.com/go/article/find/2742
A recent article in FUMSI, written by Mary Ellen Bates.
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Make Beliefs Comix
http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/
Create comics strips.
This site can be used by educators to teach language, reading and writing skills, and also for students in English-as-a-Second-Language programs to facilitate self-expression and storytelling, as well as computer literacy.
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Methodology.co.uk
http://www.methodology.co.uk/
Methodology.co.uk provides a free resource to researchers, students and university teachers who are interested in learning more about anything to do with research methods.
Methodology.co.uk is run by SAGE and will be a vital resource for anyone conducting qualitative or quantitative research and statistics.
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Mp3gle
http://mp3gle.net/
An audio search engine
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National Farmers' Retail & Markets Association: FARMA
http://www.farma.org.uk/
FARMA is a co-operative of farmers, producers selling on a local scale, and farmers' markets organisers.
FARMA works throughout the UK and is the largest organisation of its type in the world, representing direct sales to customers through farm shops, Pick-Your-Own, farmers' markets, home delivery, on-farm catering, and farm entertainment.
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Now Publishers
http://www.nowpublishers.com/
Business and technology publisher.
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Oil Advisers
http://www.oiladvisers.com/
Services to maximize the worth of Oil & Gas properties, and assist in asset sales. Provides an introduction service for potential employers & upstream oil & gas professionals.
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Online Educa Berlin 2008
http://www.online-educa.com/
The Largest Global E-Learning Conference for the Corporate, Education and Public Service Sectors, Berlin, December 3 - 5, 2008.
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Open Educational Resources (OER) in higher education survey
http://FreeOnlineSurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=if9u3twr4jlg2zp406174
OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation is carrying out a study on Open Educational Resources (OER) in higher education. As one part of that study we are launching a web based survey for individual teachers, instructors and researchers using and producing OER.
We would like to invite anyone working in a higher educational institution that uses or produces open learning content, such as courses, courseware, content modules, learning objects, collections and journals, or open software tools to develop, use, re-use and deliver learning content, to take our survey. It will not take more than 10-15 minutes to complete.
A report with the findings will be published on the OECD website.
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Open Library
http://www.openlibrary.org/
“Open Library is a project of the non-profit Internet Archive, and is funded in part by a grant from the California State Library. We have a small team of fantastic programmers who have accomplished a lot, but we can't do it alone! This is an Open project - the software is open, the data is open, the documentation is open, and the site is open.”
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Parature
http://www.lestac.co.uk/parature
“Parature’s on-demand customer service software makes it possible for any organisation to use the Internet to provide outstanding customer service and online support. Parature provides the tools to build a Knowledgebase dynamically as you answer queries so that, within 3 months, you can have a powerful self-help database. The fully customisable, fully trackable ticketing, chat and forum modules combine with the knowledgebase to create an innovative, highly customisable way to serve, support, retain, engage with and maximise the value of your customers, staff or students. The software-as-a-service (SaaS) web delivery and integrated, intuitive design enables organisations to get up and running quickly, easily and efficiently.”
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PharmaLive
http://www.pharmalive.com/
Providing the busy pharmaceutical executive with insight into industry trends that will affect their business, as well as the industry in its entirety.
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Political Science Resources
http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/
Political Science Resources is your gateway to most significant resources relevant to the study of politics and government.
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Pronetos
http://pronetos.com/
“Pronetos is a home to communities and scholars of every academic discipline: a global think-tank of the leaders in your field.”
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Publish, not perish
http://www.publishnotperish.org/intro/index.htm
An online library research course from the University of Colorado.
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Read4Charity
http://www.read4charity.co.uk/
”When you buy books online at read4charity.co.uk, we donate 15% of the sale to the charity you choose when you check out.”
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RefAware
http://www.refaware.com/
A web based current awareness service designed to provide researchers and other members of the academic community with immediate access to new research and publications in their field - all within hours of being posted online.
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Researcher ID
http://www.researcherid.com/
ResearcherID is a website where invited researchers can register for a unique researcher ID number. At this site, users can: Update their profile information; Build their publication list using Web of Science search services or uploading a file; Select to make their profile public or private. Registered as well as non-registered users can search the Researcher Registry to view profiles and find potential collaborators.
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RocketNews
http://www.rocketnews.com/
Mentioned before, in issue 93 of this newsletter, RocketNews discovers the most popular stories from over 60,000 news sources from around the web.
RocketNews organizes all stories into categories like sports and entertainment and into subjects making it easy for users to find and connect to the issues and stories that interest them.
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ScienceWatch
http://sciencewatch.com/
A free service from Thomson Reuters which tracks trends and performance in basic research.
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Scottish Screen Archive
http://ssa.nls.uk/
The Scottish Screen Archive is Scotland's national moving images collection. It preserves over 100 years of Scottish history on film and video.
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SearchMedica
http://www.searchmedica.com/
“Our goal at SearchMedica is to improve the practice of medicine by allowing physicians and medical practioners to discover the most relevant, authoritative, and timely clinical information on the Internet—and to find it quickly and easily.”
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SIAM Journal on Imaging Sciences: SIIMS
http://epubs.siam.org/SIIMS/siims_toc.html
A new journal. The SIAM Journal on Imaging Sciences (SIIMS) covers all areas of imaging sciences, broadly interpreted. It includes image formation, image processing, image analysis, image interpretation and understanding, computer graphics and visualization, and inverse problems in imaging; leading to applications to diverse areas in science, medicine, engineering, and other fields.
Free electronic access to 2008 issues of the journal is currently available.
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Superfactory
http://www.superfactory.com/
Superfactory is dedicated to spreading manufacturing and enterprise excellence information with an aim to improve manufacturing efficiency and productivity worldwide.
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TopCited
http://info.scopus.com/topcited/
Offers the top 20 cited articles across 26 subject areas.
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UK Library Blogs / Bloggers
http://uklibraryblogs.pbwiki.com/
A useful wiki.
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UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology
http://www.ukrc4setwomen.org/
The UKRC provides a central point of information and advice for industry, academia, professional institutes, education and research councils and for women entering, returning and progressing in SET careers.
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Universal Digital Library
http://www.ulib.org/
“The mission is to create a Universal Library which will foster creativity and free access to all human knowledge. As a first step in realizing this mission, it is proposed to create the Universal Library with a free-to-read, searchable collection of one million books, available to everyone over the Internet. Within 10 years, it is our expectation that the collection will grow to 10 Million books. The result will be a unique resource accessible to anyone in the world 24x7, without regard to nationality or socioeconomic background.”
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Web's best free stuff
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/24/The-Web-best-free-stuff_1.html
Useful list, from InfoWorld.
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WhatDoTheyKnow
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/
What is WhatDoTheyKnow for?
To help you find out inside information about what the UK government is doing.
How does the site work?
You choose the public authority that you would like information from, then write a brief note describing what you want to know. We then send your request to the public authority. Any response they make is automatically published on the website for you and anyone else to find and read.
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WISE: Women into Science, Engineering and Construction
http://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/
The WISE campaign collaborates with industry and education to encourage UK girls of school age to value and pursue STEM or construction related courses in school or college, and move on into related careers.
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3. NICE WEB SITE
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In the course of finding sites of interest for this Newsletter, we sometimes come across Web sites which we feel deserve slightly more than a passing mention. Each month we will pick out one or more such sites, and give them a short review. The sites will often be UK based, may be small or large, and be of interest or potential interest to academics. After lengthy discussions we have decided, with incredible creativity
, to call these: Nice Web Sites. Details of previous Nice Web Sites are available in the Nice Web Site Archive.
ScienceWatch.com
http://sciencewatch.com/
This very useful new website from Thomson Reuters will help the scientific community to identify the latest developments and research in science.
RM
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4. BLOGORAMA
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Selected interesting blogs, RSS feeds and news items
You already know what blogs are, but for more information about RSS see the Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(protocol) or Webopedia http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/R/RSS.html
The Internet Resources Newsletter has an RSS feed (essentially the Table of Contents for each issue): http://www.hw.ac.uk/libwww/irn/irn.rss
To add this RSS feed to any feedreader, go to: http://tinyurl.com/39sg5j
Easy RSS Mixer
http://www.extralabs.net/easy-rss-mixer.htm
Combine several RSS feeds into one
10 Tools to Combine, Mix, Blend Multiple RSS Feeds
http://www.tothepc.com/archives/10-tools-to-combine-mix-blend-multiple-rss-feeds
Feedage
http://www.feedage.com/
Feedage is a free fully categorized and searchable RSS directory.
James Brown
http://www.jb-jb.co.uk/blog/
He works as a project manager for a design agency in Shoreditch, London.
Bigmouth Strikes Again
http://www.bigmouthstrikesagain.com/
Gary Marshall, on technology, the net, etc
play think learn
http://www.playthinklearn.net/
Thoughts on computer games for learning
Techno life
http://www.tothepc.com/
Latest - TechWorld - Tools - Tips - Downloads
Research Blogging
http://www.researchblogging.org/
Open Students
http://www.openstudents.org/
We’re changing the way that research is disseminated. We are Open Students.
WoW! Wouter on the Web
http://wowter.net/
The blog WoW!ter is written and maintained by Wouter Gerritsma, subject librarian at Wageningen UR Library.
Newspond.com - Technology, Gaming and Science News http://www.newspond.com/rss/main.xml
American Meteorological Society feeds
http://www.ametsoc.org/rss.html
Swiss Army Librarian
http://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/
or, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Fear and Loathing at a Public Library Reference Desk
Chipwrapper UK Newspaper Headlines
http://feeds.feedburner.com/chipwrapper
Latest Happenings in Library & Information Science
http://lislatest.blogspot.com/
News from India
AEG News
http://aegnews.blogspot.com/
Aslib Engineering Group
IMechE Events
http://www.imeche.org/imeche_dev/RSSFeed.aspx?cat=events
Caveat Lector
http://cavlec.yarinareth.net/
Jennie Law
http://jennielaw.blogspot.com/
My blog is here for me to post my random musings about librarianship, law stuff, and help me unleash my inner geek...
RSS Feeds: Managing the Mechanism
http://web.fumsi.com/go/article/manage/2744
A recent article in FUMSI
Book Aid International
http://www.bookaidinternational.blogspot.com/
Free Speculative Fiction Online: New Additions
http://www.freesfonline.de/rssfeed.xml
eBooks.com RSS Feeds
http://www.ebooks.com/rss.asp
Longwoods RSS feeds
http://www.longwoods.com/pages.php?pageid=57
Longwoods publishes academic and scientific research as well as commentary and information related to health sciences and health care.
ScienceWatch
http://sciencewatch.com/rss/all-sw.xml
Federated Search Blog
http://federatedsearchblog.com/
Intended to be vendor neutral
Libraries of the future blog
http://librariesofthefuture.jiscinvolve.org/
JISC is hoping to open up - with partner organisations and librarians themselves - a debate about the future of the academic and research library.
BBC Blog Network
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/
This is the home of BBC Blogs. From this page you can get to a range of Blogs that talk about all sorts of subjects from across the entire BBC output.
State Library of Western Australia Blog
http://slwa.wordpress.com/
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5. RSS FEEDS FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES
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Here are some RSS feeds for professional society news in the general area of engineering. I'm interested in any other similar feeds, produced by professional societies, within the same subject area of engineering. If you know of any, please send me details, to r.a.macleod@hw.ac.uk
IET News Feed - Communications Engineering http://www.iee.org/oncomms/sector/communications/rss.xml
IET News Feed - Control and Automation http://www.iee.org/oncomms/sector/computing/rss.xml
IET News Feed - Electronics
http://www.iee.org/oncomms/sector/electronics/rss.xml
IET News Feed - Management
http://www.iee.org/oncomms/sector/management/rss.xml
IET News Feed - Manufacturing
http://www.iee.org/oncomms/sector/manufacturing/rss.xml
IET News Feed - Power
http://www.iee.org/oncomms/sector/power/rss.xml
IET News Feed - Transport
http://www.iee.org/oncomms/sector/transport/rss.xml
RICS
http://www.rics.org/RICSWEB/rss.aspx?FRAMELESS=true&NRNODEGUID=%7b979C6C73-7663-4795-A633-9E53D7B09AF8%7d
The Royal Academy of Engineering News Releases http://www.raeng.org.uk/feeds/rssnews.aspx
The Royal Society Press Releases
http://royalsociety.org/rss/newsFeed.xml
RSC News
http://www.rsc.org/AboutUs/News/RSCnews/RSS.xml
SPIE Defense & Security
http://spie.org/x2412.xml?ss=rss
SPIE Electronic Imaging & Signal Processing
http://www.spie.org/x2410.xml?ss=rss
SPIE Illumination & Displays
http://www.spie.org/x2408.xml?ss=rss
SPIE Industrial Sensing & Measurement
http://www.spie.org/x2406.xml?ss=rss
SPIE Lasers & Sources
http://www.spie.org/x2404.xml?ss=rss
SPIE Micro/Nano Lithography & Fabrication
http://www.spie.org/x2402.xml?ss=rss
SPIE Nanotechnology
http://www.spie.org/x2400.xml?ss=rss
SPIE Optical Design & Engineering
http://www.spie.org/x2422.xml?ss=rss
SPIE Remote Sensing
http://www.spie.org/x2420.xml?ss=rss
SPIE Solar & Alternative Energy
http://www.spie.org/x2358.xml?ss=rss
SPIE Newsroom
http://www.spie.org/x1004.xml?ss=rss
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6. RECENT INTERNET BOOKS IN THE LIBRARY
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The Mantex Information Design web site has reviews of some of the books mentioned in previous issues of the Internet Resources Newsletter.
Recent Arrivals
004.578 BRU
The adaptive web: methods and strategies of web personalization, edited by Peter Brusilovsky, Alfred Kobsa and Wolfgang Nejdl.
Springer, 2007.
025.04 FOU
Metadata for digital resources
by Muriel Foulonneau and Jenn Riley
Chandos, 2008
A complete list of new books added to Heriot-Watt University Library is available at: http://hw.lib.ed.ac.uk/cgi-bin/newbooks.cgi
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7. NEW BOOK REVIEW
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Research methods in information
by Alison Jane Pickard
Facet Publishing, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-85604-545-2
Described by the author as a handbook, this text is practical in its approach. To this end it includes a selection of exercises for the reader to try out. Despite this emphasis on ‘doing', the first few pages of the first section offer a theoretical discussion of research paradigms peppered with terms such as ‘ontological', ‘epistemological' and ‘post-positivism'. However, the author explains clearly the need for this discussion while asking for the reader's patience
Practical in the remainder of its content, the book stresses its hands-on credentials by pointing out that research has on-the-ground applications to service planning and to provide evidence to support operational change. However, the book is aimed at both practitioners and students in the field of information management and related disciplines.
The text is written in an engaging style and is structured into four main parts covering ‘starting the research process'; ‘research methods'; ‘data collection techniques'; and ‘data analysis and research presentation'. This structure is based around a framework, or hierarchy, of research advocated by the author comprising research paradigm, research methodology, research method, research technique and research instrument.
The section on starting the research process, as mentioned, covers some theory on research paradigms. It then moves on to the basics of the research process including the differences between quantitative and qualitative research, and how to assess research quality and rigour in terms of validity and reliability. The literature review process is covered briefly with some useful pointers on not only information retrieval but also the evaluation, organisation and synthesis of the information found. Defining the research and constructing a hypothesis leads in to the writing of the research proposal, with the final two chapters of this section covering sampling and ethics the latter often untouched or underdeveloped in other sources on the research process.
The section on research methods covers a menu of eight commonly used approaches to research, including case studies, surveys, experimental research, ethnography, delphi study, action research, historical research and grounded theory with practical exercises to focus the reader on how each might be applied.
Data collection techniques concentrates on research involving people, and so includes interviews, questionnaires, observation, diaries, focus groups and usability testing. Again, the author presents these as choices not necessarily dependent on the research method used.
Finally, the section on data analysis and research presentation introduces quantitative and qualitative methods in more detail, giving a good overview with further references for those requiring more depth. This section also touches on software for analysing data, and covers presenting research focusing on the research dissertation rather than output for publication.
The author suggests that “Knowledge and experience of research is a fundamental part of what makes the ‘information professional'." This book will provide a very good grounding in the research process for students and practitioners alike. The knowledge it contains will be useful for professionals getting started in research, examining current practice, improving services based on evidence and to inform information skills teaching. For students, it will be an excellent companion to taught courses on research methods, and will help form a solid basis from which to tackle dissertation and other research projects.
Dr Alison Jane Pickard is based at the University of Northumbria where she teaches research methods and is course leader for BSc courses in information management/science and librarianship. She has also project managed a number of JISC and AHRB research projects.
MK
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8. GET A LIFE! - LEISURE TIME
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Geni
http://www.geni.com/
Geni lets you create a family tree.
Streets of Edinburgh - Edinburgh Street Photos
http://www.streetsofedinburgh.co.uk/
Touropia
http://www.touropia.com/
Travel highlights around the world using interactive maps
Indian Premier League cricket
http://www.indianpremierleague.com/
CyklingLinks
http://www.cyclinglinks.co.uk/
Bike manufacturers, etc.
Bikeability
http://www.bikeability.org.uk/
Bikeability is a brand new cycling award scheme
Cycle Route
http://www.cycle-route.com/
Cycle Route is a great site for finding cycle routes, mountain bike trails and single track that has been tried and tested.
Singletrack magazine
http://www.singletrackworld.com/
Fancyapint?
http://www.fancyapint.com/
Fancyapint? aims to give you an honest insight and impartial guide to having a drink in the UK and Ireland (coming soon).
Tiger Lily
http://www.tigerlilyshop.co.uk/
Tiger Lily specialise in unique designer and fashion jewellery, gifts, home furnishings and accessories including a beautiful selection of scarves and bags.
Newcastle Community Green Festival
http://www.newcastlegreenfestival.org.uk/
Windermere on Water
http://www.wow2008.co.uk/
End of issue
This page is: http://www.hw.ac.uk/libwww/irn/irn161/irn161.html
© 2008 Heriot-Watt University
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