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ICSU calls for open access
by Subbiah Arunachalam 31 Oct '05

31 Oct '05

Friends: Here is a news report from SciDevNet. http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2435&langua… Arun ---- Global forum for free sharing of research data planned Wu Chong 24 October 2005 Source: SciDev.Net [SUZHOU] A forum to promote the free exchange of information in the global scientific community was proposed last week at the annual meeting of the International Council for Science (ICSU). The International Scientific Data and Information Forum or SciDIF would help ensure that scientists in poor countries can access information as easily as those in the North, said Roberta Balstad, chair of the ICSU Priority Area Assessment on Data and Information. Balsted stressed, however, that the forum is "only an idea so far". To take things further, ICSU will set up a committee that during the next three years will define how the forum should work. An ICSU report published on 20 October raises some of the issues. It recommends that all scientific data, whether produced commercially or through public-private partnership, should be provided free or at low cost for research and education purposes in both developed and developing countries. One way to make this possible, says Shuichi Iwata of the ICSU Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA), would be through an open-access database. According to the report, the poor access scientists in low-income countries have to scientific publications makes it difficult for them to learn about research in other parts of the world, and to find an outlet for their own research results. Also, not all researchers in Africa and other poor regions have access to computers, says Balstad. Even those who have computers at research institutes face "exorbitant" costs in accessing information through the Internet and must put up with an unstable electric supply, said David Mbah, executive secretary of the Cameroon Academy of Sciences. Balstad also said it was also important for researchers in developed countries to be able to access information produced in developing countries. "Scientists in poorer countries can seldom build a strong digital database to facilitate the flow of information," she said. "So we place great emphasis on extending new technology, training and capability building in developing countries." Related SciDev.Net articles: Global disaster research programme launched International Council for Science opens Africa office UN meeting urged to back open access science Open access archiving: an idea whose time has come?

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Bangalore University Library Website
by Dr.P.V.Konnur 30 Oct '05

30 Oct '05

Dear Friends, Best wishes for Happy Diwali on behalf of Librarian and Staff of Bangalore University Library. I am happy to inform you all that, we have launched our Website on the Internet (for trial) today. You may access the same through the fallowing URL: http://202.141.128.125/index.htm Many of the links are yet to be connected. I desire to take your advise before I finalise my website. You can access the UGC-Infonet online journals and also search the Library online catalogue through the website. Your suggestions are most valuable to us. Please do not hesitate to criticise also, which will correct us effectively. Thanks, Konnur. Dr.P.V.Konnur, University Librarian, Bangalore University Library, Jnana Bharathi, Bangalore-560 056 Phone: o8o-22961131, 080-23215510 __________________________________ Yahoo! FareChase: Search multiple travel sites in one click. http://farechase.yahoo.com

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China wants be the cleverest
by Subbiah Arunachalam 29 Oct '05

29 Oct '05

Friends: Here is something very interesting. Sundar Sarukkai and Anitha may forward this to all participants of the NIAS conference on India's competitiveness and preparedness. This step is probably the result of the discussions the political leaders have been having with academics like Prof. Xue Lan, the public policy professor at Tshinghua University, which I mentioned in my talk. Thanks. Arun China's next great leap is to be the cleverest country By Howard French in Shanghai October 29, 2005 China wants to transform its top universities into the world's best within a decade, and is spending billions of dollars to woo big-name scholars and build first-class research laboratories in the latest bid to raise the country's profile as a great power. Having already pulled off one of the most remarkable expansions of education in modern times, increasing the number of undergraduates and people who hold doctoral degrees fivefold in 10 years, this latest model is simple. Recruit top foreign-trained Chinese and Chinese-American specialists, set them up in well-equipped labs, surround them with the brightest students and give them tremendous leeway. China is focusing on science and technology, areas that reflect the country's development needs but also reflect the preferences of an authoritarian system that restricts speech. The liberal arts often involve critical thinking about politics, economics and history, and China's government, which strictly limits public debate, has placed relatively little emphasis on achieving international status in those subjects. In fact, Chinese say - most often euphemistically and indirectly - that those very restrictions on academic debate could hamper efforts to create world-class universities. Nonetheless, the new confidence about entering the world's educational elite is heard among politicians and university administrators, students and professors. "Maybe in 20 years MIT will be studying Qinghua's example," said Rao Zihe, director of the Institute of Biophysics at Qinghua University, an institution that is renowned for its sciences and is regarded by many as China's finest university. "How long it will take to catch up can't be predicted, but in some respects we are already better than the Harvards today." When Andrew Chi-chih Yao, a Princeton professor who is recognised as one of the top computer scientists in the US, was approached by Qinghua University in Beijing last year to lead an advanced computer studies program, he did not hesitate. It did not matter that he would be leaving one of America's top universities for one that is little known outside China, or that after his birth in Shanghai, he was raised in Taiwan and spent his entire academic career in the US. He felt he could contribute to his fast-rising homeland. "Patriotism does have something to do with it, because I just cannot imagine going anywhere else, even if the conditions were equal," said Yao, who is 58. In only a generation, China has sharply increased the proportion of its college-age population in higher education, to roughly 20per cent now from 1.4per cent in 1978. But only Beijing University and a few other top Chinese institutions have been internationally recognised as superior. The biggest weakness, many Chinese academics indicated, is the lack of academic freedom. "The greatest thing we've done in the last 20 years is lift 200 million people out of poverty," said Xu Tian, a leading geneticist who teaches at Yale. "What China has not realised yet, though, if it truly wants to go to the next level, is to understand that numbers are not enough. "We need a new revolution to get us away from a culture that prizes becoming government officials. We must learn to reward real innovation, independent thought and genuine scholarly work." The New York Times Friends: Here is something very interesting. Sundar Sarukkai and Anitha may forward this to all participants of the NIAS conference on India's competitiveness and preparedness. This step is probably the result of the discussions the political leaders have been having with academics like Prof. Xue Lan, the public policy professor at Tshinghua University, which I mentioned in my talk. Thanks. Arun China's next great leap is to be the cleverest country By Howard French in Shanghai October 29, 2005 China wants to transform its top universities into the world's best within a decade, and is spending billions of dollars to woo big-name scholars and build first-class research laboratories in the latest bid to raise the country's profile as a great power. Having already pulled off one of the most remarkable expansions of education in modern times, increasing the number of undergraduates and people who hold doctoral degrees fivefold in 10 years, this latest model is simple. Recruit top foreign-trained Chinese and Chinese-American specialists, set them up in well-equipped labs, surround them with the brightest students and give them tremendous leeway. China is focusing on science and technology, areas that reflect the country's development needs but also reflect the preferences of an authoritarian system that restricts speech. The liberal arts often involve critical thinking about politics, economics and history, and China's government, which strictly limits public debate, has placed relatively little emphasis on achieving international status in those subjects. In fact, Chinese say - most often euphemistically and indirectly - that those very restrictions on academic debate could hamper efforts to create world-class universities. Nonetheless, the new confidence about entering the world's educational elite is heard among politicians and university administrators, students and professors. "Maybe in 20 years MIT will be studying Qinghua's example," said Rao Zihe, director of the Institute of Biophysics at Qinghua University, an institution that is renowned for its sciences and is regarded by many as China's finest university. "How long it will take to catch up can't be predicted, but in some respects we are already better than the Harvards today." When Andrew Chi-chih Yao, a Princeton professor who is recognised as one of the top computer scientists in the US, was approached by Qinghua University in Beijing last year to lead an advanced computer studies program, he did not hesitate. It did not matter that he would be leaving one of America's top universities for one that is little known outside China, or that after his birth in Shanghai, he was raised in Taiwan and spent his entire academic career in the US. He felt he could contribute to his fast-rising homeland. "Patriotism does have something to do with it, because I just cannot imagine going anywhere else, even if the conditions were equal," said Yao, who is 58. In only a generation, China has sharply increased the proportion of its college-age population in higher education, to roughly 20per cent now from 1.4per cent in 1978. But only Beijing University and a few other top Chinese institutions have been internationally recognised as superior. The biggest weakness, many Chinese academics indicated, is the lack of academic freedom. "The greatest thing we've done in the last 20 years is lift 200 million people out of poverty," said Xu Tian, a leading geneticist who teaches at Yale. "What China has not realised yet, though, if it truly wants to go to the next level, is to understand that numbers are not enough. "We need a new revolution to get us away from a culture that prizes becoming government officials. We must learn to reward real innovation, independent thought and genuine scholarly work." The New York Times http://www.smh.com.au/weekend http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/chinas-next-great-leap-is-to-be-the-clever…

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Corporate Card
by Monali Panchbhai 28 Oct '05

28 Oct '05

Dear Friends, I would like to know if any of our professionals are using corporate card for online purchasing. If then can Please guide me if there are any rules for the same, if anyone wants to have that for library on whose name it should be who should have control over it who is responsible of that generally who all are the authorised for same how it can be misused how to restrict any misuse what all cares should be taken while using the same also update me on any other information which you think will be helpful for me. Thanks to all of you, HAPPY DIWALI & PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR Regards, Monali Panchbhai Sr. Executive - Library & Documentation Odyssey Capital Pvt Ltd Mumbai

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UGC NET - LIS
by Saji S. Nair 28 Oct '05

28 Oct '05

Dear All, Dear All, These days, there is a sharp decline in the number of students clearing UGC NET for JRF/Lectureship in Library and Information Science. In many Universities, not even a single candidate is qualified in many occasions. Is this because of the lack of quality of LIS education in India OR UGC�s hard-line attitude towards this profession? It is a fact that job prospects our field, especially in the teaching arena is not at all encouraging. In such a situation, Why UGC is enforcing strict rules to restrict the qualified candidates? Regards Saji Trivandrum Kerala Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web!

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Scientific data circulation in an open environment
by Subbiah Arunachalam 28 Oct '05

28 Oct '05

Friends: we have open source software and open access to full texts of research papers. Now we have free data circulation in an open environment! "Free scientific data circulation within an open environment" - an interview with L. Romary, head of the newly created Scientific Information Directorate of the French National Center for Scientific Research. http://www.inist.fr/openaccess/article.php3?id_article=118 A brief interview available on INIST/CNRS website dedicated to the Open Access to scientific data issues. Arun

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Co-operation projects between India and Germany
by Seth, Renu 28 Oct '05

28 Oct '05

Dear Colleagues, I need to know, if you are aware of any partnership projects between India and Germany. E.g. between Indian and German libraries, Library Science Departments, Exchange programmes, or any other kind of continued co-operation between Indian and German Library and Information Science field. I am not refering to one time co-operation but a programme which is continuing for some time or will continue in future. I need this information urgently. In case you are aware of any such programmes, please get back to me as soon as possible. Any help in this regard is highly appreciated. With best regards Renu Seth Librarian In-Charge Max Mueller Bhavan Regional Information Centre & Library 3, Kasturba Gandhi Marg New Delhi 110001 Telephone +91-11-23329506 librarian.mmb(a)delhi.goethe.org www.goethe.de/newdelhi

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Dr. TBR Memorial Seminar on "Information Management in the Digital Era"
by Babu Rajendra 28 Oct '05

28 Oct '05

Dear All, This is a gentle reminder about the forthcoming seminar, "Information Management in the Digital Era", being organized under the aegis of Dr. TBR Memorial by NCSI-Net. This Seminar is being conducted for the benefit of student community of LIS profession. The response to the seminar by the student community has been very encouraging. We have already received the required number of confirmed registrations. Owing to the logistics problems, we have closed further registrations. We also have received overwhelming enquiries from the non-student community, too, for the possibility of their participation in the seminar. We appreciate the interest shown by the non-student community. As we have already received the required number of confirmed registrations from the student community, we regret to inform the non-student community that we will not be able to accommodate any non-student registrations. However, we are planning to organise a similar seminar in the near future for the benefit of the non-student community. The details will be announced later on this forum. For more information about the seminar, please visit: http://144.16.72.147/workshop Warm Regards, NCSI-NET coordinators ************************************************************************ The information in this email is confidential and is intended solely for the addressee(s). Access to this email by anyone else is unauthorized. If you are not an intended recipient, please notify the sender of this email immediately. You should not copy, use or disseminate the information contained in the email. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender, except where the sender specifically states them to be the views of Capco. http://www.capco.com/ ************************************************************************ Dr. TBR Memorial Seminar on "Information Management in the Digital Era" Dear All, This is a gentle reminder about the forthcoming seminar, "Information Management in the Digital Era", being organized under the aegis of Dr. TBR Memorial by NCSI-Net. This Seminar is being conducted for the benefit of student community of LIS profession. The response to the seminar by the student community has been very encouraging. We have already received the required number of confirmed registrations. Owing to the logistics problems, we have closed further registrations. We also have received overwhelming enquiries from the non-student community, too, for the possibility of their participation in the seminar. We appreciate the interest shown by the non-student community. As we have already received the required number of confirmed registrations from the student community, we regret to inform the non-student community that we will not be able to accommodate any non-student registrations. However, we are planning to organise a similar seminar in the near future for the benefit of the non-student community. The details will be announced later on this forum. For more information about the seminar, please visit: http://144.16.72.147/workshop http://144.16.72.147/workshop Warm Regards, NCSI-NET coordinators ************************************************************************ The information in this email is confidential and is intended solely for the addressee(s). Access to this email by anyone else is unauthorized. If you are not an intended recipient, please notify the sender of this email immediately. You should not copy, use or disseminate the information contained in the email. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender, except where the sender specifically states them to be the views of Capco. http://www.capco.com/ ************************************************************************

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Indiana Library
by Vyasamoorthy 28 Oct '05

28 Oct '05

Please read the trivia given below: The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building. Incidentally, is there a method to check out the truth of any trivia? Many seem to have arisen out of fertile imaginary minds. Vyasamoorthy ============== ============

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Stockholm Challenge Award 2006
by Mailing List Manager 27 Oct '05

27 Oct '05

Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2005 10:36:14 +0800 From: Yong Liu <liuyongaijiujiu(a)gmail.com> *Please circulate widely and apologies for cross-posting* I hope this will be of interest to you.If you have questions or comments, please contact Earl Mardle at earl.mardle(a)stockholmchallenge.se or Ulla Skid�n at ulla.skiden(a)stockholmchallenge.se. Best, Yong Liu ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Stockholm Challenge Award 2006 is open for entries <http://www.stockholmchallenge.se/news_right.asp?IdNr=150>THE STOCKHOLM CHALLENGE AWARD 2006 invites excellent ICT projects from all over the world to compete for the prestigious Challenge trophies. The Challenge is searching for the best initiatives that accelerate the use of information technology for the social and economic benefit of citizens and communities. The objective is to help local entrepreneurs, who work to close the digital divide, by bringing in research communities, development organisations and strong corporate initiatives. THE AWARDS WILL BE HANDED OUT IN SIX CATEGORIES <http://www.stockholmchallenge.se/show_facts.asp?IdNr=9>in the City Hall - on May 11, 2006. Special focus will be on projects in countries and regions with the greatest needs. There will also be an international Challenge conference in Stockholm on issues related to the role of ICTs in global development work. *THE AWARD IS OPEN FOR ENTRIES until December 31st 2005*. The application form <http://www.stockholmchallenge.se/omtavling_index.html>is easily accessible on the home page. The Stockholm Challenge is headquartered at the IT University <http://www.it-univ.se/?lang=en>- a joint initiative by KTH<http://www.kth.se/eng/>(The Royal Institute of Technology) and Stockholm University <http://www.su.se/english> . It is managed by a consortium that also includes the City of Stockholm, Ericsson and Sida, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. For more information, please contact: Project Manager Ulla Skid�n ulla.skiden(a)stockholmchallenge.se Telephone: + 46 8 7904469 Cell: +46 70 678 72 82 www.stockholmchallenge.se <http://www.stockholmchallenge.se/> *Rules for participation in the Stockholm Challenge Award 2006<http://www.stockholmchallenge.se/show_facts.asp?IdNr=3> * These are the basic rules for the participation in the Stockholm Challenge Award. All competing projects must: 1. Include ICT Illustrate how ICT is used to create new or better traditional services and/or products, which are beneficial for human and social development. 2. Be implemented All competing projects must be up and running. They should be implemented/piloted since no less than three months. The Stockholm Challenge Award does not accept drafted concepts and ideas only. The jury will only evaluate and compare projects that can show measurable outcomes and impact. 3. Be linked to and/or supported by an established private or public organisation. 4. Be verifiable, i.e. able to present credible references. 5. Be free from religious, political or other personal beliefs. *To be noted:* *Projects that have won one of the Challenge categories in previous years cannot enter the competition again.* *All applications must be in English* *Evaluation criteria<http://www.stockholmchallenge.se/show_facts.asp?IdNr=4> * Innovation, creativity and the convergence of ICT with many different disciplines are some of the qualities that are looked for in the competing projects. The jury, a group of international senior experts, base their evaluation on the following criteria, most of which all Challenge projects should meet: *Innovation* Competing projects should illustrate new and innovative ways of using ICT to improve the living and economical conditions especially of those with great needs. *Convergence* The addition of ICT as a tool to traditional development work can improve and widen the scope of the project impact. Projects should show successful convergences of different disciplines and sectors. *Inclusion* It is favourable for the competing projects to show that they bring individuals, groups and local organisations into larger communities � national and global - such as medical, government, educational and cultural networks, as well business environments. *Equal Opportunity* It is important that the initiatives counteract inequality related to the likes of gender, origin, age, physical and/or mental disabilities. *Sustainability* An important factor is sustainability. Not only economic sustainability, i.e. how long the project will last and bring benefits to its users. Sustainability also includes the contribution of the project to a sustainable society and environment at large. *Opportunities <http://www.stockholmchallenge.se/show_facts.asp?IdNr=2>* To enter a project in the Stockholm Challenge Award is not only to participate in a prestigious international ICT competition - it is also a way to join networks of some of the best ICT entrepreneurs and pioneers in the world. Testimonials from many of the projects, which have competed in their respective categories over the years, say that it is the inspiration, the new ideas, contacts and partners that are the greatest rewards for a Challenger. The Stockholm Challenge represents excellent marketing through the exposure to media, and to private and public organizations that are involved in ICT work and implementations. It gives promotional opportunities for entrepreneurs, universities, cities, cities and regions. The Stockholm Challenge Final Events include a Best Practice Exhibition and a Conference. It is a meeting place for some the world's most successful IT entrepreneurs. Winners and finalists of the Stockholm Challenge are global role models for cities, companies, organisations, schools and others who are involved in adapting and spreading the use of ICT.

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