Speculation on the effect of digitisation of the world's libraries:
"Are we getting closer to the day when most of the world's knowledge is a click away?"
NPR : Google's Plan Prompts a Question: What's on the Web?
Friday, December 31, 2004
Navhind Times on the Web: World
Here's another viewpoint - on the UN's setting a 12 month deadline for a tsunami warning system:Navhind Times on the Web: World
Asian disaster - getting knowledge: No. 2
Newspaper web sites, such as 'The Guardian'are very useful, and also I've found some good resources on the World Health Organisation[WHO] site.
Especially useful is the Emergency Health Action Programme for South East Asia (first 100 days) which gives a longer term perspective on future needs. Printable versions and PDF available.
The WHO's 'World Report on Knowledge for Better Health: Strengthening Health Systems', published in mid-December 2004, seems even more timely now. It can be downloaded from the WHO website, or hard copies bought. One of those 'wow' publications.
Researchbuzz has a snapshot of some of the weblogs and search engine resources about this issue, too.
Especially useful is the Emergency Health Action Programme for South East Asia (first 100 days) which gives a longer term perspective on future needs. Printable versions and PDF available.
The WHO's 'World Report on Knowledge for Better Health: Strengthening Health Systems', published in mid-December 2004, seems even more timely now. It can be downloaded from the WHO website, or hard copies bought. One of those 'wow' publications.
Researchbuzz has a snapshot of some of the weblogs and search engine resources about this issue, too.
Asian disaster - getting knowledge
Asian disaster - getting knowledge - there are many useful resources, among them the BBC News site:
Asian disaster: How to help
Global aid organisations have launched urgent appeals for donations to help survivors of Sunday's Indian Ocean earthquake disaster.
More than 100,000 people are confirmed killed by the waves and millions more are homeless.
Many governments and organisations - including the US, Canada, Australia, the EU and the UN - are sending aid.
The UN has warned that supplies are urgently needed to support the survivors and to try and prevent disease which, it says, could double the death toll.
The Disasters Emergency Committee - www.dec.org.uk - is an umbrella group of UK aid organisations - including Action Aid, British Red Cross and Oxfam - working to provide clean water, food and shelter to thousands. To call from the UK, dial 0870 60 60 900.
The United Nations World Food Programme - www.wfp.org - is seeking donations to feed victims of the earthquake.
Medecins Sans Frontieres - www.msf.org - is sending aid workers to the region, focusing on medical care for survivors and displaced people after the rescue operations.
The United Nations Children's Fund, Unicef - www.unicef.org.uk - is working to meet the "urgent needs of hundreds of thousands of people" affected by the tsunami disaster.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR - www.unhcr.ch - which has been helping victims of conflicts in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, is delivering relief supplies to tsunami survivors in both countries.
Save the Children - www.savethechildren.org.uk - has already flown a plane out to Sri Lanka carrying plastic sheeting for temporary shelter, tents to run children's services from and essentials such as clothing and cooking utensils.
Anti-poverty organisation Care International - www.care.org - has already provided food for thousands of affected people in Sri Lanka.
Cafod, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development - www.cafod.org.uk - is working with partners across Asia to provide shelter, food aid and medical assistance, and assessing what further relief is needed.
The Red Cross, with its sister charity the Red Crescent, is supplying blankets, cooking utensils and other crucial goods. It has had to set up a new site - www.ifrc.org - because of the unprecedented demand from people wanting to make donations.
The Hindu Forum Disaster Relief Task Force - www.hinduforum.org - comprises 50 organisations and is raising money, clothes and medicines. Donations can be made online or by calling the ISKCON Disaster Appeal on 01923 856848 or Sewa International on 0116 261 0303.
Christian Aid - www.christianaid.org.uk - has already allocated £250,000 from its emergency fund to help the victims of this disaster but says more money is needed.
Christian charity Tearfund - www.tearfund.org - and its partners in Sri Lanka and India are helping devastated fishing communities and coastal villages get back on their feet.
Islamic Relief - www.islamic-relief.com - has also launched an appeal to provide medical supplies, tents and sanitation facilities for those affected.
The Islamic Aid Emergency Relief Fund - www.islamicaid.org.uk - aims to provide immediate relief and long-term support to people in the affected areas.
Another Islamic charity, Muslim Hands - www.muslimhands.org - is collecting money and sending volunteers to help in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Medair - www.medair.org - is providing emergency support to agencies with a long-term presence in Sri Lanka and its medical experts are assessing the likelihood of malaria and diarrhoea.
World Vision - www.worldvision.org.uk - has also launched an appeal and has already delivered relief goods to thousands.
Concern - www.concern.net - is working with local partners to meet the needs of families in the devastated coastal villages of Tamil Nadu, the worst-affected state in India.
The International Rescue Committee - www.theirc.org - is providing emergency supplies and materials to "people most affected by the crisis".
The Salvation Army - www.salvationarmy.org.uk has local teams working in a number of affected areas and is sending a team from its international headquarters on Wednesday evening.
Muslim Aid - www.muslimaid.org - has already donated £100,000 towards the purchase of food, clothing and medicine in the region but wants to raise more.
Action Aid - www.actionaid.org - is the biggest charity working in south India. It is focusing its relief work on the coast of Tamil Nadu, where 7,000 people died. It is working on providing medical assistance and sanitation for the survivors.
Oxfam - www.oxfam.org - is active in Indonesia, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sri Lanka and India. Their relief operations include distributing food packs and hygiene kits and setting up water and sanitation facilities.
Asia Quake Relief Appeal UK, a UK-based Sri Lankan organisation, is also raising money and can be emailed at asia-quakerelief@europe.com
Hindu NGO Baps Care International - www.bapscare.org - is working in villages around Chennai in Southern India distributing food, drinking water, tarpaulins, utensils, stoves, clothes and blankets.
You can donate to all the campaigns via their websites.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4131881.stm
Published: 2004/12/30 21:17:07 GMT
© BBC MMIV
Asian disaster: How to help
Global aid organisations have launched urgent appeals for donations to help survivors of Sunday's Indian Ocean earthquake disaster.
More than 100,000 people are confirmed killed by the waves and millions more are homeless.
Many governments and organisations - including the US, Canada, Australia, the EU and the UN - are sending aid.
The UN has warned that supplies are urgently needed to support the survivors and to try and prevent disease which, it says, could double the death toll.
The Disasters Emergency Committee - www.dec.org.uk - is an umbrella group of UK aid organisations - including Action Aid, British Red Cross and Oxfam - working to provide clean water, food and shelter to thousands. To call from the UK, dial 0870 60 60 900.
The United Nations World Food Programme - www.wfp.org - is seeking donations to feed victims of the earthquake.
Medecins Sans Frontieres - www.msf.org - is sending aid workers to the region, focusing on medical care for survivors and displaced people after the rescue operations.
The United Nations Children's Fund, Unicef - www.unicef.org.uk - is working to meet the "urgent needs of hundreds of thousands of people" affected by the tsunami disaster.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR - www.unhcr.ch - which has been helping victims of conflicts in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, is delivering relief supplies to tsunami survivors in both countries.
Save the Children - www.savethechildren.org.uk - has already flown a plane out to Sri Lanka carrying plastic sheeting for temporary shelter, tents to run children's services from and essentials such as clothing and cooking utensils.
Anti-poverty organisation Care International - www.care.org - has already provided food for thousands of affected people in Sri Lanka.
Cafod, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development - www.cafod.org.uk - is working with partners across Asia to provide shelter, food aid and medical assistance, and assessing what further relief is needed.
The Red Cross, with its sister charity the Red Crescent, is supplying blankets, cooking utensils and other crucial goods. It has had to set up a new site - www.ifrc.org - because of the unprecedented demand from people wanting to make donations.
The Hindu Forum Disaster Relief Task Force - www.hinduforum.org - comprises 50 organisations and is raising money, clothes and medicines. Donations can be made online or by calling the ISKCON Disaster Appeal on 01923 856848 or Sewa International on 0116 261 0303.
Christian Aid - www.christianaid.org.uk - has already allocated £250,000 from its emergency fund to help the victims of this disaster but says more money is needed.
Christian charity Tearfund - www.tearfund.org - and its partners in Sri Lanka and India are helping devastated fishing communities and coastal villages get back on their feet.
Islamic Relief - www.islamic-relief.com - has also launched an appeal to provide medical supplies, tents and sanitation facilities for those affected.
The Islamic Aid Emergency Relief Fund - www.islamicaid.org.uk - aims to provide immediate relief and long-term support to people in the affected areas.
Another Islamic charity, Muslim Hands - www.muslimhands.org - is collecting money and sending volunteers to help in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Medair - www.medair.org - is providing emergency support to agencies with a long-term presence in Sri Lanka and its medical experts are assessing the likelihood of malaria and diarrhoea.
World Vision - www.worldvision.org.uk - has also launched an appeal and has already delivered relief goods to thousands.
Concern - www.concern.net - is working with local partners to meet the needs of families in the devastated coastal villages of Tamil Nadu, the worst-affected state in India.
The International Rescue Committee - www.theirc.org - is providing emergency supplies and materials to "people most affected by the crisis".
The Salvation Army - www.salvationarmy.org.uk has local teams working in a number of affected areas and is sending a team from its international headquarters on Wednesday evening.
Muslim Aid - www.muslimaid.org - has already donated £100,000 towards the purchase of food, clothing and medicine in the region but wants to raise more.
Action Aid - www.actionaid.org - is the biggest charity working in south India. It is focusing its relief work on the coast of Tamil Nadu, where 7,000 people died. It is working on providing medical assistance and sanitation for the survivors.
Oxfam - www.oxfam.org - is active in Indonesia, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sri Lanka and India. Their relief operations include distributing food packs and hygiene kits and setting up water and sanitation facilities.
Asia Quake Relief Appeal UK, a UK-based Sri Lankan organisation, is also raising money and can be emailed at asia-quakerelief@europe.com
Hindu NGO Baps Care International - www.bapscare.org - is working in villages around Chennai in Southern India distributing food, drinking water, tarpaulins, utensils, stoves, clothes and blankets.
You can donate to all the campaigns via their websites.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4131881.stm
Published: 2004/12/30 21:17:07 GMT
© BBC MMIV
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Tara Calishain: on the futility of trying to "Out-Google Google"
Here's an article by Tara Calishain that I enjoyed, though I still like watching and trying out other search engines:
Why Try to Out-Google Google? by Tara Calishain -- If Google has been successful, Tara Calishain says, initially at least, it had nothing to do with actual technology. Tara, coauthor of the best-selling Google Hacks, looks at what has made Google a success, as well as ways Google could out-Google itself. If search engines took a close look at the cultural factors that led to some of Google's success, and then considered how they could leapfrog what Google's doing now, the competition to be your search engine of choice might really heat up.
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
I do like Clusty the clustering engine, too...
I do like new-kid-on-the-block Clusty, too.
It gives you useful topic clusters, listed with results totals. It was launched in October, and I'm still playing around with it. "I'm a little clustering engine, Clusty is my name..."
[N.B. Read Search Engine Lowdown on it- the last item in this archive link.]
GoogleScholar - keep watching
I get the feeling that GoogleScholar is not the finished article yet, and we'll have to keep watching for refinements. I like the idea of cooperation with university or public libraries and giving people the option of gaining access via on-line library sites. I've begun to collect articles and links to critiques of GoogleScholar, and will place these in my blog sometime. I found an interesting link to an interview with its originator recently.
Advanced Searching from Google Scholar:
Search can now be limited by:
+ Title of Publication
+ Date Range
+ Words in Document Title
+ Author
+ See up to 100 results per search
I picked this up via Search Engine Watch
RCWoK.01 - Where are those cosy cafes for knowledge managers?
There are some www sites that feel like cosy cafes which you find by
chance, and revisit repeatedly, because they are such interesting
places. You feel immediately at home, like you can browse, or grab a
coffee (or tea, in my case) and a muffin (or some yummy cake?), and
take out a newspaper or a heap of books you've just bought, and spend
hours there, exploring what's there, meeting people, or doing some good
reading.
I thought I'd mention two or three that I like, so maybe others will
try them, too:
KnowledgeBoard - http://www.knowledgeboard.com - an EU funded site,
with many interesting and ever-changing, often raging discussions on
forums and communities of practice discussion boards, new and hot
articles, resources and links, news of forthcoming events - lots of
goodies, and a feeling that knowledge matters and yet is fun. I go
there every day, many times.
Gurteen Knowledge Cafe - http://www.gurteen.com - the www site of David
Gurteen, a UK based knowledge management consultant. It's a bit
quirky, but always looks invitingly packed with a cornucopia of great
stuff - articles, papers, forums, links, listings of workshops and
conferences.
Both of these can be visited casually, or registering for e-mail
newsletters . ResearchBuzz - http://www.researchbuzz.com - I've
mentioned in a previous entry, and for me it's one of these cosy cafes,
too, ever since I chanced on it. Thanks very much, again, Tara, for
this wonderful site, and for your acknowledgement of my entry into
blogging. I'm having lots of fun at the Web Search Garage, both with
things I know and things I don't know, and the books will be with me
and my tea and muffins for a long time. Oops, there's a butter smudge
on the cover now...
chance, and revisit repeatedly, because they are such interesting
places. You feel immediately at home, like you can browse, or grab a
coffee (or tea, in my case) and a muffin (or some yummy cake?), and
take out a newspaper or a heap of books you've just bought, and spend
hours there, exploring what's there, meeting people, or doing some good
reading.
I thought I'd mention two or three that I like, so maybe others will
try them, too:
KnowledgeBoard - http://www.knowledgeboard.com - an EU funded site,
with many interesting and ever-changing, often raging discussions on
forums and communities of practice discussion boards, new and hot
articles, resources and links, news of forthcoming events - lots of
goodies, and a feeling that knowledge matters and yet is fun. I go
there every day, many times.
Gurteen Knowledge Cafe - http://www.gurteen.com - the www site of David
Gurteen, a UK based knowledge management consultant. It's a bit
quirky, but always looks invitingly packed with a cornucopia of great
stuff - articles, papers, forums, links, listings of workshops and
conferences.
Both of these can be visited casually, or registering for e-mail
newsletters . ResearchBuzz - http://www.researchbuzz.com - I've
mentioned in a previous entry, and for me it's one of these cosy cafes,
too, ever since I chanced on it. Thanks very much, again, Tara, for
this wonderful site, and for your acknowledgement of my entry into
blogging. I'm having lots of fun at the Web Search Garage, both with
things I know and things I don't know, and the books will be with me
and my tea and muffins for a long time. Oops, there's a butter smudge
on the cover now...
Hey, Tara, thanks...
Hey,Tara, thanks for your acknowledgement on ResearchBuzz of this weblog, and your good wishes. I've valued your resources for some time now, and have spread the word about it. I'm enjoying 'Web Search Garage' a lot, too, both for new things and things I knew already. Pandia calls it "probably the best book on web searching available today".
Monday, December 27, 2004
Publishing my favourite articles, sites and links
I shall publish my favourite articles, web sites and links on this
blog, when I have something interesting to post. Currently, I collate
A4 Knowledge, a one A4 page email newsletter to my colleagues and other
interested friends, about once a fortnight.
Also,I maintain pages on Knowledge Brokerage for my workplace, the Centre for the Development of Healthcare Policy and Practice,which can be found under
'Knowledge Transfer'
at http://healthcare.leeds.ac.uk
blog, when I have something interesting to post. Currently, I collate
A4 Knowledge, a one A4 page email newsletter to my colleagues and other
interested friends, about once a fortnight.
Also,I maintain pages on Knowledge Brokerage for my workplace, the Centre for the Development of Healthcare Policy and Practice,which can be found under
'Knowledge Transfer'
at http://healthcare.leeds.ac.uk
Talking to myself...
It seems likely to me that most times I shall be talking to myself on this blog, which is a bit strange, so I hope somebody drops in and reads it, and responds.
Meanwhile, I am going to use the space to record the view from my window, the scene in our front garden, the books I'm reading, the work I'm doing, my hopes, fears and dreams.
It's a cold, grey morning here on the edge of the Yorkshire Moors, a few miles from the Ilkley Moor, from Haworth's Bronte Parsonage. Heather and I are off work until January 4th, so we can read lots, go for walks by the Leeds to Liverpool Canal, maybe shopping. Early on Christmas Day we gave each other little things in Christmas stockings, and after a treat cooked breakfast, Heather went to see her pony Dominic (he's a 28 year old Welsh-Arab cross foranyone who knows about ponies)to muck out, and around 12.30 we drove down to Lincoln to spend Christmas Day with her family - present giving, and at 3.00 p.m a traditional family dinner,roast turkey, potatoes, brussel sprouts, stuffing, cranberry sauce and all. After dinner, the older ones dozed in front of television, the younger ones (in their 20s and 30s, so not that young) played with some plastic disc gun, and some of us chatted in the kitchen, or wrapped up warm and sat talking outside. About 9.30 p.m Heather and I drove home, arriving about 11.30 p.m. Yesterday was a day for loafing about at home, reading, nibbling. Everything seems in a different perspective as the news bulletins talk of the tsunami and the rising death toll (over 17,000 as I write)- Sri Lanka, Thailand, Sumatra, these are places used by westerners as a holiday 'tropical paradise' destination. In reality, life there is fragile, and even if you've lived and worked in the Pacific Islands, and experienced small hurricanes, as I have, disaster on such a scale remains impossible to comprehend. That's my 'diary' entry for this morning, and maybe I'll just keep quiet for a few days now.
Meanwhile, I am going to use the space to record the view from my window, the scene in our front garden, the books I'm reading, the work I'm doing, my hopes, fears and dreams.
It's a cold, grey morning here on the edge of the Yorkshire Moors, a few miles from the Ilkley Moor, from Haworth's Bronte Parsonage. Heather and I are off work until January 4th, so we can read lots, go for walks by the Leeds to Liverpool Canal, maybe shopping. Early on Christmas Day we gave each other little things in Christmas stockings, and after a treat cooked breakfast, Heather went to see her pony Dominic (he's a 28 year old Welsh-Arab cross foranyone who knows about ponies)to muck out, and around 12.30 we drove down to Lincoln to spend Christmas Day with her family - present giving, and at 3.00 p.m a traditional family dinner,roast turkey, potatoes, brussel sprouts, stuffing, cranberry sauce and all. After dinner, the older ones dozed in front of television, the younger ones (in their 20s and 30s, so not that young) played with some plastic disc gun, and some of us chatted in the kitchen, or wrapped up warm and sat talking outside. About 9.30 p.m Heather and I drove home, arriving about 11.30 p.m. Yesterday was a day for loafing about at home, reading, nibbling. Everything seems in a different perspective as the news bulletins talk of the tsunami and the rising death toll (over 17,000 as I write)- Sri Lanka, Thailand, Sumatra, these are places used by westerners as a holiday 'tropical paradise' destination. In reality, life there is fragile, and even if you've lived and worked in the Pacific Islands, and experienced small hurricanes, as I have, disaster on such a scale remains impossible to comprehend. That's my 'diary' entry for this morning, and maybe I'll just keep quiet for a few days now.
Research Buzz.com has inspired me to blog.
Researchbuzz.com, hosted by Tara Calishain, has inspired me to blog. I found ResearchBuzz some time ago, rave about it all over, and was given Tara's book 'Web Search Garage' for Christmas, by my wife, and it's the book of an enthusiast. My work is all about keeping my colleagues up to date in health care policy and practice, research, politics, leadership, civic society. I do a lot of library research, networking, and web searching. I really enjoy discoving new ideas, web sites, articles, books, often just by playing around at random. Focussed search is great, but random searching can be very creative, too.
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Why my curious world?
I'm a knowledge manager, and this is my curious world because being curious about all sorts of things is what I'm about, personally and professionally. I live in a village in West Yorkshire, in the north of England, with my partner/wife Heather, a psychotherapist and lecturer.
Weblogs are a great way to say hi to people, arouse curiosity, and start new dialogues. I hope this happens through postings and comments here.
Weblogs are a great way to say hi to people, arouse curiosity, and start new dialogues. I hope this happens through postings and comments here.
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