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China invests heavily in scientific R&D
by Subbiah Arunachalam 07 Dec '06

07 Dec '06

>From Businessweek China: A Rising R&D Power By the end of 2006, China will be the second-highest investor in research and development, according to OECD figures by Candace Lombardi By the end of 2006, China will be the second-highest investor in research and development, according to figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The burgeoning economic powerhouse has rapidly increased the money and manpower being invested in R &D, and spending by government and businesses will reach more than US$136 billion in 2006, the OECD said Monday. For comparison, Japan, formerly the nation with the second-highest investment in research and development, will dole out US$130 billion this year, and the EU nations (including France, Germany and the U.K.) together will allocate US$230 billion. "The rapid rise of China in both money spent and researchers employed is stunning. To keep up, OECD countries need to make their research and innovation systems more efficient and find new ways to stimulate innovation in today's increasingly competitive global economy," Dirk Pilat, the head of the OECD's Science and Technology Policy division, said in a statement. The U.S. maintains a strong lead as the No. 1 spender on innovation at US$330 billion, but not as large a lead when it comes to personnel. China saw an increase in the number of researchers of 77 percent between 1995 and 2004. The country now has 926,000 researchers, compared with 1.3 million in the U.S., according to the OECD report, "Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2006." As China has grown in leaps and bounds economically, it has also been gaining in outsourcing, patent portfolio evaluation, chip manufacturing, and even Internet usage, the report noted. The calculations on R&D were based on spending trends observed between 2000 and 2005, the OECD said. What is most notable, according to the report's authors, is the rate at which China's numbers are growing. Its R&D went from 0.6 percent of its GDP (gross domestic product) in 1995 to more than 1.2 percent in 2004. That doubling growth rate is faster than the rate of growth for China's entire economy. The OECD includes members from 30 democratic nations, including the U.S. Provided by ZDNet AsiaWhere Technology Means Business ___________________________________________________________ To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new Yahoo! Security Centre. http://uk.security.yahoo.com

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Learning Commons launches 'Copyright, copyleft and everything in between'
by vimal kumar 07 Dec '06

07 Dec '06

Dear Friends, Learning Commons launches 'Copyright, copyleft and everything in between'. This excellent project is a multimedia curriculum for youth on copyright alternatives in South Africa. It covers the social and economic impact of technology from an African perspective, focusing specifically on the origins of copyright and the impact of open source software and open content on African development. The materials have been released under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike South Africa licence which enables you to freely copy and share the files, make derivatives (including translations) - even for commercial use. http://www.learningcommons.co.za/index.htm Vimal Kumar Asian School of Business Technopark Trivandrum-695 581 vimal0212(a)yahoo.com www.asb.edu.in --------------------------------- Have a burning question? Go to Yahoo! Answers and get answers from real people who know. Learning Commons launches 'Copyright, copyleft and everything in between'. This excellent project is a multimedia curriculum for youth on copyright alternatives in South Africa. It covers the social and economic impact of technology from an African perspective, focusing specifically on the origins of copyright and the impact of open source software and open content on African development. The materials have been released under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike South Africa licence which enables you to freely copy and share the files, make derivatives (including translations) - even for commercial use. http://www.learningcommons.co.za/index.htm Vimal Kumar Asian School of Business Technopark Trivandrum-695 581 vimal0212(a)yahoo.com www.asb.edu.in Have a burning question? Go to http://answers.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTFvbGNhMGE3BF9TAzM5NjU0NTEwOARfcwMzOTY1… Yahoo! Answers and get answers from real people who know.

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KALA Lectures
by M Krishnamurthy 07 Dec '06

07 Dec '06

Dear Professional Colleague, I remind you that KALA has organised the following two lectures in collaboration with NCSI, IISc 1. Speaker 1: Mr Arthur Smith, Director, OCLC Topic: OCLC and WORLD CAT 2.Speaker 2: Mr Scott Wasinger, CEO, Net Library Topic: E-books and Net Library Date: 7th Dec 2006 at 4.00 PM Venue: Conference Hall, NCSI, IISc, Bangalore YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED. PLEASE INFORM YOUR COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS TOO. Goudar Prof. N.V. Joshi President, KALA Chairman, NCSI, IISc EC Members & Office Bearers, KALA M.Krishnamurthy *************************************** Dr.M.Krishnamurthy,M.A.,M.L.I.Sc.,Ph.D Fulbright Scholar (University of Illinois, USA) Librarian Indian Statistical Institute 8th Mile Mysore Road Bangalore 560059 www.isibang.ac.in/library Ph:91-80-8483002/3 Fax :91-80-28484265

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Digit Supplement on Google
by Farooque Shaheen 06 Dec '06

06 Dec '06

Dear Professional, This month Digit magazine has come up with a supplement on Google. It'll help you to use google services more effectively. You may also find some books on the same topic in the market. Thanks & Regards, Farooque Shaheen, Caritor India (P) Ltd. Tel. 080-26678388 Ext. 4105 VOIP- 40366 Dear Professional, � � � � � � � � � � � � � �This month Digit magazine has come up with a supplement on Google. It'll help you to use google services more effectively. You may also find some books on the same topic in the market. � � � � � � � � Thanks & Regards, Farooque Shaheen, Caritor India (P) Ltd. Tel. 080-26678388 Ext. 4105 VOIP- 40366

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Higher education in India
by Subbiah Arunachalam 06 Dec '06

06 Dec '06

Friends: Here is an article from the International Herald Tribune on collegiate and university education in India. It says quoting a NASSCOM report, that only 10% of college graduates (and 25% of engineering graduates) are employable. I fully agree with that statement. Even century-old universities are in doldrums. Urgent refoerms are needed in the higher education sector. Let us hope the nowledge Commission comes up with some good and implementable ideas. Best wishes. Arun [Subbiah Arunachalam] ----------------------- For many Indians, higher education does more harm than good By Anand Giridharadas / International Herald Tribune Published: November 26, 2006 MUMBAI - It would seem a good time to be Kinjal Bhuptani. She is a college student studying business in the financial capital of one of hottest economies on earth. But she has no illusions of sharing in India's newfound prosperity when she graduates from Hinduja College this spring. While others land $100,000-a- year jobs at Goldman Sachs and Microsoft, she is more likely to make $4 a day selling credit cards door to door. Bhuptani's mistake, if you can call it that, was not getting into one of India's most elite universities, like the Indian Institutes of Management or Indian Institutes of Technology. Those who are admitted go on to enjoy big paychecks on Wall Street and to manage some of the world's largest companies. In the shadow of those elite institutions, most of the 11 million students in the 18,000 Indian colleges and universities receive starkly inferior training, heavy on obeisance and light on marketable skills, students, educators and business leaders say. All but a tiny handful of graduates are considered unemployable by top global and local companies. "We might as well not have studied," Bhuptani said. The Indian educational system is locking millions of students in the bottom berth of a two-tier economy, critics argue, depriving the country of the fullest expression of their talents and denying students a chance to share in the fruits of reform. The problem, experts say, is in a classroom environment that infantilizes students well into their mid-20s, emphasizing silent note-taking and discipline at the expense of analysis, debate and persuasion. Students at second- and third-tier colleges suffer not because of a dearth of technical ability or intelligence, critics note. Most simply lack the "soft skills" sought by a new generation of employers but still not taught by change-resistant colleges: the ability to speak crisp English with a placeless accent, to design and give PowerPoint presentations, to write in logically ordered paragraphs, to work collegially in teams, to grasp the nuances of leadership. "It's almost literally a matter of life and death for them," said Kiran Karnik, president of the National Association of Software and Services Companies, an influential trade body that represents many of India's leading employers. A study that the group published last year concluded that just 10 percent of Indian graduates with generalist degrees were considered employable by major companies, compared with 25 percent of engineers. "The university has become a placeholder," said Pratap Bhanu Mehta, a former Harvard professor who recently resigned in frustration from the National Knowledge Commission, a panel advising the Indian government on overhauling its education system. India is one of those rare countries where you become less able to find a job the more educated you get. College graduates suffer from higher jobless rates - 17 percent in the 2001 census - than high school graduates. But even as graduates complain of the paucity of jobs, companies across India lament a lack of skilled talent. The paradox is explained, experts say, by the poor quality of the undergraduate experience. India's thousands of colleges are swallowing millions of new students every year, only to spit out degree holders that no one wants to hire. The differences between elite colleges and those attended by the majority can be striking. St. Stephens College in New Delhi, one of the country's best-known colleges, counts among its alumni a well-known novelist (Amitav Ghosh), a top United Nations official (Shashi Tharoor), and a former president of Pakistan (General Muhammad Zia-ul- Haq), and offers an illustration, through contrast, of what lesser institutions lack. P. Jacob Cherian, the acting principal, said the essential difference was a focus on leadership and communication skills, neglected at most other institutions. As on leading Western campuses, the students have frequent chances to meet and attend speeches by prominent leaders. "It's when you practice the skills that you actually learn them," Cherian said. But outside elite enclaves like St. Stephens, tertiary education is an exercise in drudgery. Take, for example, Hinduja College in Mumbai. It is in one of India's richest enclaves, but it is a second-tier, no-name school, exemplifying a middling college experience. Between lectures, dozens of students swarmed around a reporter to complain about their education. "What the market wants and what the school provides are totally different," said Sohail Kutchi, a commerce student. The students said they were not learning to communicate effectively, even as mainstay activities in the Indian economy evolve from pushing papers to answering phones and making presentations. There were few chances to work in groups or hold discussions. And in this purportedly English-language college, the professors used bad grammar and spoke in thick accents. Education experts argue that students are also graduating without the ability to assess problems and find creative solutions, in large part because their professors encourage them to be meek and obsequious. "Out! Out! Close the door! Close the door!" a management professor barked at a student who entered his classroom at Hinduja two minutes late. A second student, caught whispering, was asked to stand up for the duration of class. At Hinduja, the mode of instruction is often more evocative of a communist re- education camp than a modern campus. That is bad news for Indian companies, which are on a hiring binge. Infosys, a leading outsourcing company, will take on 25,000 new people this year, from a pool of 1.5 million applicants. The rejected are likely to include many smart graduates who merely lack skills like communication, poise and global exposure, said Mohandas Pai, director of human resources at Infosys. "You might be very bright," he said, "but since you are studying in the vernacular you cannot speak good English. You are not taught presentation skills in your college, so you lose out." Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

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collection of the papers of Harold Varmus, Nobel Laureate
by Mailing List Manager 06 Dec '06

06 Dec '06

Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 18:00:26 +0000 (GMT) From: Subbiah Arunachalam <subbiah_a(a)yahoo.com> Friends: Here is a news item I read and in a way it made me a bit sad. --- Papers of Harold Varmus The National Library of Medicine has released an OA collection of the papers of Harold Varmus, Nobel laureate, former director of the NIH, president and director of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and co-founder of the Public Library of Science. Sloan-Kettering has its own collection. (Thanks to Klaus Graf.) --- Why am I sad? It is very good that whoever wants to read the papers of Prof. Varmus can read all of them in full text. That makes me happy. But what about the papers of the great scientists of India? For example, when are we going to digitize and make available through open access repositories the collected works of Srinivasa Ramanujan, C V Raman, Meghnad Saha, Satyen Bose, J C Bose, G N Ramachandran, C R Rao, C N R Rao and several others? Years ago, CSIR brought out the collected papers of Meghnad Saha in print. Indeed, INSA and IASc should join hands and digitize the collected works of all their Fellows - both current and past - and make them available through an interoperable repository. Also, Best wishes. Arun [Subbiah Arunachalam] ___________________________________________________________ To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new Yahoo! Security Centre. http://uk.security.yahoo.com

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Re: [LIS-Forum] Announcement of 5th International Convention CALIBER-2007
by K Prakash 06 Dec '06

06 Dec '06

Hello, Ok, thanks. Here is the required information. Theme: Information and Knowledge Management in Networked World Dates: 8-10th February, 2007 Venue: Panjab University, Chandigarh With best regards. Bye. ________________________________________________ K Prakash ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mankad, Manish" <Manish.Mankad(a)unilever.com> To: "K Prakash" <prakash(a)inflibnet.ac.in>; <lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in> Sent: Wednesday, December 06, 2006 9:11 AM Subject: RE: [LIS-Forum] Announcement of 5th International ConventionCALIBER-2007 > I have a suggestion. > > Please provide, the Location and dates of such events in the first line > itself. > The detailed email below does not indicate this obvious information. > > Regards. > > -MANISH MANKAD > Information services > > Tel: 080 39830958 > > Hindustan Lever Research Centre > 64, Main Road, > Whitefield > Bangalore, 560066 > INDIA

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Softpedia
by sandeep bhavsar 05 Dec '06

05 Dec '06

Respected All Please have a look at this site ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FREE SOFTWARE DOWNLOADS http://www.softpedia.com/ Waiting for your feedback Best Regards Sandeep Bhavsar Librarian Dr. V.N.Bedekar Institute of Management Studies Thane(W). 400601 @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ email : sandeep.bhavsar(a)gmail.com Mob : 09870484626 elibrary : http://www.vpmthane.org/im/elib/main.htm @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com Please have a look at this site ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FREE SOFTWARE DOWNLOADS http://www.softpedia.com/ Waiting for your feedback Best Regards Sandeep Bhavsar Librarian Dr. V.N.Bedekar Institute of Management Studies Thane(W). 400601 @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ email : sandeep.bhavsar(a)gmail.com Mob : 09870484626 elibrary : http://www.vpmthane.org/im/elib/main.htm @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

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Lecture invitation
by srels＠vsnl.com 05 Dec '06

05 Dec '06

Dear Moderator : Please announce the following invitation to a lecture organized by the SRELS, Bangalore. Thanking you, Sincerely, K.N. Prasad Executive Officer Sarada Ranganathan Endowment for Library Science 702, 42nd Cross, 3rd Block, Rajajinagar, Bangalore 560 010 Ph: (080) 23305109 Email: srels(a)vsnl.com ** *** ** Sarada Ranganathan Endowment for Library Science (SRELS), Bangalore Cordially invites you to a Special Lecture on VIRTUAL REFERENCE SERVICES by Prof. Achim Osswald Professor, Institute of Information Science, University of Applied Sciences, Cologne, Germany on Wednesday, 6th December 2006 at 6.00 p.m. at SRELS, 702, 42nd Cross, 3rd Block, Rajajinagar, Bangalore 560 010 Prof. I.K. Ravichandra Rao Head, Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore presides RSVP: K.N. Prasad - Ph: (080) 23305109 Email: srels(a)vsnl.com Dear Moderator : Please announce the following invitation to a lecture organized by the SRELS, Bangalore. Thanking you, Sincerely, K.N. Prasad Executive Officer Sarada Ranganathan Endowment for Library Science 702, 42nd Cross, 3rd Block, Rajajinagar, Bangalore 560 010 Ph: (080) 23305109 Email: mailto:srels@vsnl.com srels(a)vsnl.com ** *** ** Sarada Ranganathan Endowment for Library Science (SRELS), Bangalore Cordially invites you to a Special Lecture on VIRTUAL REFERENCE SERVICES by Prof. Achim Osswald Professor, Institute of Information Science, University of Applied Sciences, Cologne, Germany on Wednesday, 6th December 2006 at 6.00 p.m. at SRELS, 702, 42nd Cross, 3rd Block, Rajajinagar, Bangalore 560 010 Prof. I.K. Ravichandra Rao Head, Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore presides RSVP: K.N. Prasad - Ph: (080) 23305109 Email: mailto:srels@vsnl.com srels(a)vsnl.com

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DRTC Colloquium (1) 2006-08
by Ehtesham 05 Dec '06

05 Dec '06

INDIAN STATISTICAL INSTITUTE DOCUMENTATION RESEARCH AND TRAINING CENTRE 8th Mile Mysore Road, Bangalore-560059 DRTC Colloquium - 1 (2006-08) KNOWLEDGE ORGANISATION IN THE DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT ABSTRACT Library professionals have developed many knowledge organisation tools, which can be grouped under term lists, classification and categories; and relationship lists. Since the concept of modern library was introduced, these tools have been used to enhance retrieval. But the scenario has changed a lot in the context of digital information resources. Problems in organising digital content differ from those in the traditional environment. While the issues like unidimensional arrangement of books on the shelves are not there in the digital environment, new issues (e.g. the volume of resources, problems of directionless hypertext navigation, etc) have emerged. How far the traditional tools can help us to handle these new problems? What are the new and innovative tools being developed to handle these problems? In this colloquium, we propose to discuss some of these. TOPICS SPEAKERS 1. Introduction Mithun Raj M. 2. Knowledge Organisation Systems : An Overview Mita Sarkar 3. Evolution of Knowledge Organisation Systems Ayesha Khatoon 4. Emerging Digital Environment and Knowledge Organisation Syed Raiyan Ghani 5. Traditional Knowledge Organisation Tools in the Digital Environment Radha Rani Rit 6. Newer Knowledge Organisation Technologies Sanjeev Kumar Sunny 7. Conclusion Anila S. Venue :DRTC Classroom Date : 7th of December Time : 2:00 pm All are cordially invited Dr.K.S. Raghavan (Colloquium Coordinator) MD EHTESHAM H-11,ISI HOSTELS ADIS 1st year (DRTC) INDIAN STATISTICAL INSTITUTE 8TH MILE, MYSORE ROAD, BANGALORE - 560059 MOB - 09886687105 INDIAN STATISTICAL INSTITUTE DOCUMENTATION RESEARCH AND TRAINING CENTRE 8th Mile Mysore Road, Bangalore-560059 DRTC Colloquium - 1 (2006-08) KNOWLEDGE ORGANISATION IN THE DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT ABSTRACT Library professionals have developed many knowledge organisation tools, which can be grouped under term lists, classification and categories; and relationship lists. Since the concept of modern library was introduced, these tools have been used to enhance retrieval. But the scenario has changed a lot in the context of digital information resources. Problems in organising digital content differ from those in the traditional environment. While the issues like unidimensional arrangement of books on the shelves are not there in the digital environment, new issues (e.g. the volume of resources, problems of directionless hypertext navigation, etc) have emerged. How far the traditional tools can help us to handle these new problems? What are the new and innovative tools being developed to handle these problems? In this colloquium, we propose to discuss some of these. TOPICS SPEAKERS 1. Introduction Mithun Raj M. 2. Knowledge Organisation Systems : An Overview Mita Sarkar 3. Evolution of Knowledge Organisation Systems Ayesha Khatoon 4. Emerging Digital Environment and Knowledge Organisation Syed Raiyan Ghani 5. Traditional Knowledge Organisation Tools in the Digital Environment Radha Rani Rit 6. Newer Knowledge Organisation Technologies Sanjeev Kumar Sunny 7. Conclusion Anila S. Venue :DRTC Classroom Date : 7th of December Time : 2:00 pm All are cordially invited Dr.K.S. Raghavan (Colloquium Coordinator) MD EHTESHAM H-11,ISI HOSTELS ADIS 1st year (DRTC) INDIAN STATISTICAL INSTITUTE 8TH MILE, MYSORE ROAD, BANGALORE - 560059 MOB - 09886687105 http://adworks.rediff.com/cgi-bin/AdWorks/sigclick.cgi/www.rediff.com/signa… http://adworks.rediff.com/cgi-bin/AdWorks/sigimpress.cgi/www.rediff.com/sig…

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