The free, monthly, non-subscription newsletter for academics, students, engineers, scientists and social scientists.
ISSN: 1361-9381
 Other Issues
Pinakes
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Heriot-Watt University Library
Issue 79 - April 2001
Edited by:
Roddy MacLeod (R.A.MacLeod@hw.ac.uk),
Catherine Ferguson and Catherine Ure.
Table of Contents:
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Random Quotes |
A-Z New Web & Notable SitesInformation and reviews of new and recent Web sites |
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ISI Web of Science Version 4.3 Launch of the Archives Hub |
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Network News
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Review of: The business and economy Internet resource handbook, edited by Phil Bradley
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Constructech The Industry Standard |
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Health and safety information from HSEdirect, and Applied Science and Technology full text - now available to members of Heriot-Watt University
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COMMENT
Internet Resources Newsletter by email
More than 450 people have now subscribed to the email version of this Newsletter. If you want to receive it by email, free, go to http://www.hw.ac.uk/libwww/irn/irn.html and enter your email address and name in the boxes on the right hand side of the screen. Once again, many thanks to Free Pint (http://www.freepint.co.uk/) for providing this service.
Random Quotes
"If businesses have not implemented an e-procurement system within the next four years they won't be able to survive" Bob Davis, executive director of the Association of Manufacturing Excellence, reported in The Sunday Times, March 4, 2001.
"Despite the attempts by librarians to promote the WWW as an information resource and to provide a gateway to information sources via library Web pages, most students clearly conceived a distinction between the WWW and the library as separate information-seeking resources." Andrew Dalgleish and Robert Hall "Uses and perceptions of the World Wide Web in an information-seeking environment" Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Vol 32 (3), September 2000, p 110.
"Of the six million or so people in the UK who bank online, only 10 per cent use a stand-alone internet bank" Clare Francis and Isabella Buckland, The Independent on Sunday, 11 March 2001, p. 11.
"Over 50% of all people using the Internet [in the UK] from home in January visited a retail site, such as Amazon.co.uk, Tesco.com, Argos.co.uk, Jungle.com and Shopsmart.com, or an Entertainment site such as Virgin.net, Windowsmedia.com, Iwin.com, Shockwave.com and Channel4.com." MMXI Europe
"Even with the collapse of the 'dot-com' boom, advertising on the Internet continues to grow steadily" Searcher: The Magazine for Database Professionals, March 2001.
"By 2005, estimates project that the number of [email] messages may rise to 9.2 trillion [per year]" Searcher: The Magazine for Database Professionals, March 2001.
A-Z NEW WEB SITES
http://www.4students.co.uk/
"With your own personal account you can store information which will be private to you such as books for sale, flats for rent, timetable events, your budget and UCAS form details."
http://home1.pacific.net.sg/~cipremie/rb01_ann.htm
11-13 September 2001, The Nottingham Trent University Campus Nottingham, United Kingdom.
http://www.academicresources.net/
"Research and reference information on the Web for students and professionals. Links to journals, reference sites, libraries, research institutes, universities, government sites, databases and other sources. Access to only the highest quality sites to eliminate unwanted hits."
Includes the GEIGER COM RESEARCH Engine which searches a collection of science and engineering technical reports on the Internet.
http://www.accessart.org.uk/
The site is managed by The Arts Education Exchange (non-profit making) and is part funded by the DfEE through the Museum and Galleries Education Programme and supported by the East England Arts Regional Arts Lottery Programme.
The main aim of the site is to present new ways of learning about art through a series of online workshops. The online workshops are based upon educational activity in the visual arts as practised in particular museums and galleries. Rather than being text based, the workshops are presented in a highly visual, engaging and intereactive manner - making full use of the nature of the Internet. AccessArt is aimed directly at students, as well as teachers, life-long learners, gallery and museum educators, artists and home users.
Achieving Competitiveness Through Innovation and Value Enhancement: ACTIVE
http://www.active-website.com/
"ACTIVE is an acronym for Achieving Competitiveness Through Innovation and Value Enhancement. ACTIVE was launched in June 1996 following on from discussions between Tim Eggar, the then Minister of State at the Department of Industry, and Sir Alan Cockshaw then Managing Director of AMEC plc, with the assistance of the European Construction Institute.
Set up to answer the criticisms of UK construction for the process and energy industries, ACTIVE has risen to the challenge and endeavours to prove that by adopting its principles of best practice, up to 30% savings can be made on project costs."
Action research by Teachers for Teachers
http://194.83.41.143/TforT/
"The pace of change of new technology is frenetic, but in our classrooms many teachers are using computers in exciting ways to take their learners forward. Schools have a long track record of innovation in ICT (and formerly in IT), probably because of a willingness to embrace new technologies but also because there are so many creative imaginative teachers with a passion for learning. This collection is designed to help all teachers to progress that proud track record."
http://www.aerosite.co.uk/
"Search the latest jobs in the Aerospace, Defence and Avionic Industry."
http://www.aic.info.ro/
Romanian architecture, engineering and construction resource directory.
http://www.bratach.co.uk/
A new address for the monthly News Magazine for the North West.
http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk/
Launched on 13th March, this is a major national gateway to archive collections held in UK universities and colleges, forming part of the National Archives Network.
The Archives Hub provides a single point of access to descriptions of archives held in UK universities and colleges. At present these are primarily at collection-level, although where possible they are linked to complete catalogue descriptions.
http://www.argus-inc.com/
"We are deeply sorry to announce that Argus Associates is ceasing operations and is no longer accepting new business."
Gulp. I hope that this does not mean that the Argus Clearinghouse will disappear.
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue27/
Ariadne is published every three months by UKOLN. UKOLN is funded by Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives & Libraries (the organisation succeeding the Library and Information Commission), the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the Higher Education Funding Councils, as well as by project funding from the JISC and the European Union.
http://www.askyourpharmacist.co.uk/
"When you want advice about medicines or help to treat minor ailments, simply ask your pharmacist - you'll be taking good advice!"
Association for Manufacturing Excellence: AME
http://www.ame.org/
AME is:
- A not-for-profit organization founded in 1985.
- An association of 6000 executives, senior and middle managers wishing
to improve their personal performance.
- An organization whose members want to improve the competitiveness of
their organizations.
http://www.authorsden.com/
Where authors and readers come together.
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/bath/bp-current.htm
An International Z39.50 Specification for Library Applications and Resource Discovery
http://www.pcworld.com/features/article/0,aid,38756,00.asp
An article from PC World.com
http://www.beyonddiscovery.org/
Beyond Discovery: The Path from Research to Human Benefit is a series of articles that trace the origins of important recent technological and medical advances.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/
BioMed Central offers fast, efficient online publishing of research articles in all areas of biomedical research with full peer review and no barriers to access of any kind.
http://www.bookcareers.com/
An online career clinic for those interested in working with books.
http://builder.bham.ac.uk/finalreport/html/contents.asp
The final report for the BUILDER Hybrid Library Project is now available.
http://www.business.com/
A search engine for the business Internet.
http://www.careervenue.com/
CareerVenue.com offers free job search and postings
Chemdex, the online source for scientific products
http://www.chemdex.com/
Not to be confused with Chemdex the directory of chemistry on the Web, Chemdex, the online source for scientific products, has shut down its marketplace.
Chemical Institute of Canada: CIC
http://www.chem-inst-can.org/
Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC) is an umbrella organization for three Constituent Societies.
http://www.classicreader.com/
Full-length classic stories, poetry, Shakespearean works, and reference works are made available.
http://www.concretebookshop.com/
The Concrete Bookshop is a one-stop service for the construction industry, stocking more than 360 publications, videos and other media.
http://www.covisint.com/
"Covisint will be one of the world's leading business-to-business Internet exchanges. It will be an independent company with joint ownership by Ford, DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, Renault/Nissan, Commerce One and Oracle."
http://www.uk.cultivate-eu.org/
CULTIVATE is establishing a European Cultural Heritage Network linking the National Nodes across Europe. It is providing a single point of information to opportunities and results of interest to libraries, museums and archives across Europe within the framework of the European Commission's Information Society Technologies (IST) Programme.
http://www.current-patents.com/
"Current Patents Ltd was established in 1998 to provide patents-based competitive intelligence to the pharmaceutical and related sectors. Current Patents is a member of Current Science Group, working closely within Current Drugs Ltd, an established leader in the provision of competitive intelligence to the pharmaceutical industry worldwide."
http://www.delphion.com/
This service has taken the place of the site previously known as IBM Intellectual Property Network.
"Delphion Launches Derwent Data on the Web, Opening World of Patent Data to Business Professionals"
" CHICAGO - February 26, 2001 - Delphion Inc., a new company that provides intellectual asset management software and services, today announced the release of the Derwent World Patents Index, the world's largest database of value-added patent abstracts, on the Delphion Intellectual Property Network. Now, the clear and concise patent abstracts within the Derwent WPI are directly linked to their corresponding original patents, which are in the Delphion IPN. As a result, the critical business information contained in patents is now more easily and quickly available to professionals at all levels of research expertise."
" In 2000, the company was spun out of IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) and funded by Internet Capital Group (Nasdaq: ICGE). Delphion's solutions include the Delphion Intellectual Property Network (IPN), an online database of more than 40 million patent documents from throughout the world."
http://gwis2.circ.gwu.edu/~gprice/direct.htm
"direct search is a growing compilation of links to the search interfaces of resources that contain data not easily or entirely searchable/accessible from general search tools like Alta Vista, Google, or Hotbot. Although these "general" tools are essential for the retrieval of Internet based data, searchers often fail to realize that a massive amount of information is not easily or entirely searchable/accessible via these search tools. Material "hidden" from the general search tools is said to reside on the Invisible Web."
Disease information : Foot and mouth disease
http://www.maff.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/fmd/
This site is from the UK Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food.
e.Teaching of Engineering Curricula: e.TEC, 1st Joint International Symposium
http://www.domme.ntu.ac.uk/research/etec/
e.TEC is an international gathering of educationalists, academics and industrialists interested in promoting good teaching habits, keeping abreast of advances in teaching methodologies and exchange of teaching ideas and use of advanced techniques in engineering education. The meeting will be held in The Nottingham Trent University, UK, from 1st - 3rd October 2001.
This meeting resulted from the belief that significant advances in teaching techniques and methodologies can be made by the use of computers and the Internet in the delivery of engineering curricula. It is with this in mind that this joint International symposium is being organised. The purpose is to bring together educationalists from the academic and industrial communities to present their latest endeavours and discuss new advances over a broad range of topics dealing with the effective teaching of engineering students.
http://www.e-consultant.org.uk/
Electronic consultation on Education for Citizenship.
Edinburgh International Science Festival 2001
http://www.sciencefestival.co.uk/
6 - 17 April, Edinburgh.
http://www.education-jobs.co.uk/
Job hunting in schools and colleges.
http://www.electronicsyorkshire.com/
"Electronics Yorkshire is a public/private partnership formed to serve the needs of electronics and associated industries across Yorkshire and The Humber. In particular, we are here to assist small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) within the sector. The partnership is a result of the Regional Innovation Strategy for Electronics now known as the Yorkshire Forward Electronics Sector Group."
"The Electronics Yorkshire Association can assist companies wishing to tap into the knowledge and R&D base of partner universities through the Electrolink service."
http://www.elemica.com/
"Elemica is one of the premier, neutral e-marketplaces for the chemical industry globally. It was developed by some of the industry's leading players for the industry itself."
http://www.elliotmarsh.co.uk/
We offer a full range of search and selection solutions and our services are supplemented by other added value services such as psychometric instruments used to assess personality, motivation and job compatibility and industry reports.
http://www.ltsneng.ac.uk/consult/
"Influence the future of engineering education...
The UK higher education funding bodies have recently established a national
Centre to provide support for the attainment of the highest standards
in engineering education."
LTSN Engineering wishes to consult as many different stakeholders as possible to determine activities the Centre should take and values your response.
http://engineers-international.com/
This site does not work well with my version of Netscape, but seems to be OK using Explorer. It is a gateway to engineering information on the Internet.
http://www.engineersonnet.com/
Civil Engineering Jobs.
http://www.engnetglobal.com/
"EngNet(r) is a powerful Directory/Search Engine/Buyers Guide Service aimed specifically at the Engineering Industry to enable Engineers, Technicians, Tradesmen, etc. to find information and communicate effectively with suppliers in the Engineering Industry."
http://www.ec.gc.ca/EnviroZine/english/home_e.cfm
From Environment Canada.
http://www.eteach.com
Education jobs, daily news and extensive teaching resources.
http://www.freeengineeringmags.com/
For those in the US, this page allows you to subscribe to a number of free trade journals.
http://www.globalfarmers.com/
An online trading exchange.
http://globalspec.com/
"Built for engineers, GlobalSpec.com provides instant access to over 400,000 electrical, mechanical and optical components."
GLOW: Graduate Learning On the Web
http://www.glow.ac.uk/
GLOW (Graduate Learning On the Web) will develop tools and procedures to enable specialist postgraduate teaching materials to be delivered via the web. It focuses on four demonstrators from measurement science courses currently running at UMIST, Plymouth, Manchester and Salford. It will cater to a range of students from those on full-time Masters programmes through to advanced research training and distance learning. Central to the project is the provision of effective self-assessment tools for the student and these are being developed at Luton CAA.
http://www.gojobsite.co.uk/
"Search leading jobs in UK and Europe. Register for Jobs by Email and award-winning careers, employment and recruitment services from GoJobsite. With 211273 jobs advertised from 35 industries in the last month alone, you could find your ideal job in seconds."
http://www.google.co.uk/
When I visited, there was no explanation at this site as to how this differs from the google.com site.
GTRI Journal of Technology (e-journal)
http://www.gtri.gatech.edu/pubs/jot/
This web-based journal highlights scholarly papers on cutting-edge GTRI research two times each year
Health and Social Services Glossary of Acronyms
http://www.weasel.cwc.net/glossary.htm
These are mostly terms which are discussed by managers (usually because they cost money) or which you may find included in medical notes.
Heating Plumbing Air Conditioning Magazine (e-journal)
http://www.hpacmagazine.com/
"Heating Plumbing Air Conditioning (HPAC) Magazine is Canada's leading publication for the owners/managers of businesses active in the mechanical trades."
Heavy Construction News (e-journal)
http://www.econstruction.ca/
Canada's construction magazine.
http://www.helpengine.org
Student Guide to Engineering Resource Centres.
This guide has been designed to help Engineering Students find the right information quickly. It is not an exhaustive list of engineering related sites, but a selective choice which identifies some of the most informative and useful sources of information.
HERO - Higher Education & Research Opportunities in the UK
http://www.hero.ac.uk/
"HERO is the national website for higher education in the United Kingdom.
HERO aims to provide an up-to-date, accurate, and informative database of links to all the key HE websites on the Internet. With information on HE opportunities, institutions and organisations across the UK, HERO will be a gateway for students, researchers, HE staff and businesspeople."
High Energy Physics Libraries Webzine
http://library.cern.ch/HEPLW/3/index.html
The latest issue is available.
hyperelectronics.com (e-journal)
http://www.hyperelectronics.com/
hyperelectronics.com provides its users with product and industry news, from around the world. Its European focus and three core communities; electronics, electronics manufacturing and telecoms; helps managers, engineers, buyers and specifiers source information easily.
http://www.info4education.com/
Standards and manufacturers information for universities and colleges - from Technical Indexes. A subscription-based service.
"info4education.com is a complete reference source for students, graduates, teachers, lecturers, professors and other academic professionals needing rapid, reliable and up to date online access to British Standards, legislation and other guidance information related to construction, health and safety, and pharmaceuticals, in addition to product catalogues covering the construction, engineering, process and electronics industries."
http://www.interforum.org/
InterForum is an advisory organisation that educates and supports UK SMEs and PLCs on the business value of the networked world.
International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications: INASP
http://www.inasp.org.uk/
New address for this site which was the Nice Web Site in August 1998
INASP is a co-operative network of partners aiming to improve world-wide access to information.
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/
Articles in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy are currently from three sources (1) adaptations from public domain sources, (2) adaptations of material written by the editor for classroom purposes, and (3) original contributions by professional philosophers around the internet.
http://www.cs.ukc.ac.uk/events/iticse2001/index.html
Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, June 25-27 2001, Canterbury, UK.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/pub01/n9_01.pdf
The latest issue of JISC News, from the Joint Information Systems Committee, is available.
http://edina.ed.ac.uk/projects/joinup/
The JOIN-UP Programme is funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (the JISC) of the higher and further education funding councils.
The JOIN-UP Programme addresses the linkage between references found in discovery databases (such as Abstracting and Indexing (A & I) databases and Table of Contents databases) and the services that provide the full-text material (typically journal articles), in printed or electronic form.
Journal of Law, Social Justice and Global Development: LGD (e-journal)
http://elj.warwick.ac.uk/global/issue/2000-1/
This is an innovative new electronic law journal covering a range of topics relating to legal issues surrounding the impact of globalisation on social development and justice around the world.
http://www.levelseas.com/
"LevelSeas' vision is to use technology and shipping industry know-how to help the bulk ocean transportation market do business more effectively. LevelSeas recognises the issues the shipping industry faces and has developed the technology platform to help shipping companies take full advantage of the benefits of ecommerce, with minimal disruption."
Mary Minow's Map to Library Law
http://www.librarylaw.com/
Many links to sites of interest.
http://meta-e.uibk.ac.at/newsletter/news.htm
METAe-news is a regular web-based newsletter intended to:
Focus on issues, articles and news about the Metadata Engine Project.
Provide information and pointers to relevant progress, papers and partners
with the objective of improving awareness of evolving practices in the
METAe project.
To inform about events and papers given by METAe partners.
http://www.exlibris.co.il/metalib/index.html
"Ex Libris is pleased to announce the release of MetaLib--standardized user interface and portal for users of today's and tomorrow's hybrid information systems. MetaLib is powered by two new exclusive Ex Libris technologies--the Universal Gateway and SFX. The Universal Gateway ensures accurate and target-sensitive searching and employs an intelligent analyzer to convert user requests into target specifications, and target data into user formats. SFX provides a host of contextual links to related information after performing an intensive, automated analysis of a document, including both the institutional and user environments."
http://www.metalsite.com/
A site for buying and selling metals.
Mineralölwirtschaftsverband e.V. : MWV
http://www.mwv.de/
Association of the German Petroleum Industry.
Molecules, A Journal of Synthetic Chemistry and Natural Product Chemistry (e-journal)
http://www.mdpi.org/molecules/
Molecules is the first peer-refereed chemistry journal supporting the deposit and exchange of samples. Published rapidly with free access.
http://itri.loyola.edu/nanobase/
"This site is designed to present up-to-date sources of information on nanotechnology in the following areas: major research centers, funding agencies, major reports and books. Each component has been carefully reviewed and selected. This site is expected to grow with the continued support and updates from those organizations and individuals working in the field. The summaries which appear were taken directly from each of their respective site"
http://www.nature.com/physics/
(c) Nature Publishing Group 2001 The nature physics portal is a one-stop resource for physicists, providing highlights of the latest research in Nature and elsewhere.
Network Group for Composites in ConstructionL NGCC
http://www.ngcc.org.uk/
All about the application of fibre composites in construction.
http://highiqsociety.com/
The third largest high IQ society in the world.
http://www.newbreedlibrarian.org/
NewBreed Librarian is a bimonthly publication intended to foster a sense of community for those new to librarianship, whether in school or just out. Every two months, you'll find a feature article and an interview with someone - not necessarily a librarian - contributing to the work that we do.
http://www.news365.com/
Over 10,000 news media, 300 topics.
http://www.ngflscotland.gov.uk/
Not new, but not mentioned before, the National Grid for Learning (NGfL) is part of a major Government initiative to connect all schools, colleges, universities and libraries to the Internet by 2002.
In these pages you will find background information about the national and the Scottish NGfL initiatives, as well as the list of NGfL targets specific to the Scottish context.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/dner/news/OJECProcure.html
News from the DNER (Distributed National Electronic Resource).
http://www.petrocosm.com/
A global eMarketplace for the energy industry.
http://www.pw.org/mag/
"Poets & Writers (P&W) believes in literature's fundamental contribution to contemporary culture. For the past 30 years, P&W has focused on the source of literature, providing support and exposure to writers at all stages in their development. P&W assists authors in their search for career-related information, outlets for their work, opportunities for professional advancement and community with other writers."
http://www.scienceyear.co.uk/
Fast forward to the future. As advertised on TV.
http://scirus.com/
The search engine for scientists covers scientific, technical and medical information sources.
Scottish Group for the Study of the Book
http://www.nls.uk/professional/sgsb/
The Scottish Group for the Study of the Book was set up in 2000 in order to promote in Scotland the following:
History of the book in all its forms, studied through lectures, projects,
seminars, exhibitions, fellowships, finding lists, academic courses, publications,
archive and collection creation (hard-copy, oral and digital);
Study of current publishing activities and print culture in general;
The encouragement of reading.
Scottish University for Industry: SUfI
http://www.scottishufi.co.uk/index.shtm
"SUfI has been established to lead a learning revolution which will offer both individuals and businesses the type of learning they need - delivered how, where and when it suits them best."
http://www.smallbiz.uk.com/
Practical help and services aimed at small companies.
Strange and unusual dictionaries
http://blueray.com/dictionary/
Three dictionaries.
http://www.superbrands.org/
Find out the secrets of the marketeers.
http://www.surfs-up.org.uk/
Surfs Up has been developed by the Scottish Enterprise Network.
It is an ebusiness handbook online.
http://www.surveysonline.co.uk/
For those interested in buying houses in Scotland, this site sells homebuyers surveys via the net.
http://www.tendersdirect.co.uk/
"This website provides access to over 30,000 current government and utility company contracts in the UK and Europe. Our database is updated with 400 new tender notices every day to ensure that the information we provide for you is fresh and accurate."
Carries information on public sector and utility company contracts, as well as current affairs and developments in pertinent legislation.
The Power of the Internet for Learning: Final Report of Web-Based Education Commission
http://www.ed.gov/offices/AC/WBEC/FinalReport/
"The final report of the Web-Based Education Commission (WBEC) was published on 19 December 2000. Senator Bob Kerrey (D. Neb.), Chairman, and Representative Johnny Isakson (R. Ga.), Vice-Chairman of the Web-Based Education Commission urge the new Administration and 107th Congress to make E-learning a centerpiece of the nation's education policy."
There is Such a Thing as a Free Lunch: Freely Accessible Databases for the Public
http://www.library.ucsb.edu/istl/01-winter/internet.html
From a recent issue of Science and Technology Sources on the Internet
http://www.canisius.edu/~emeryg/time.html
Browse the Past and some Futures... a collection of Timelines on the Web
http://www.times-specials.co.uk/studentawards/
"The awards are open to undergraduates aged 18 to 30 and will be judged by panels drawn from The Times and sponsoring companies. Award winners will be announced in the summer of 2001 at a ceremony packed with excitement and highlighting the kind of innovative talent that thrives on British campuses."
http://at.yorku.ca/topology/
A publisher of information related to topology.
http://www.travelbritain.com/
A UK search portal.
http://www.ukmail.com/
"At UKmail you can have a Free 100% anonymous email account. You can check and send email anytime using any browser connected to the Internet."
http://www.web-com.co.uk/webcom/
The UK's leading e-business exhibition and conference, 24-26 April, London.
NICE WEB SITE
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 normally 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.
This month, special mentions go to several sites:
The GEIGER
COM RESEARCH Engine http://www.academicresources.net/p/frame/researchengine.htm
This provides a search facility for a collection of science and engineering
technical reports on the Internet. It is part of the Academic
Resources.net http://www.academicresources.net/ site.
direct search
http://gwis2.circ.gwu.edu/~gprice/direct.htm
This is "a growing compilation of links to the search interfaces
of resources that contain data not easily or entirely searchable/accessible
from general search tools like Alta Vista, Google, or Hotbot. Although
these "general" tools are essential for the retrieval of Internet based
data, searchers often fail to realize that a massive amount of information
is not easily or entirely searchable/accessible via these search tools.
Material "hidden" from the general search tools is said to reside on the
Invisible Web."
HelpEngine.org
http://www.helpengine.org/
This Web site is connected to a very useful printed Student Guide to Engineering
Information Resource Centres.
and
Scirus
http://scirus.com/
This is a full text search engine which covers scientific, technical and
medical information sources.
but this month's Nice Web Site is:
http://www.hero.ac.uk/
HERO stands for Higher Education & Research Opportunities. It has
been created to be:
the primary internet portal for higher education and academic research
in the UK;
the natural entry point for enquiries about UK higher education for the
widest possible range of customers;
a showcase for the diversity and quality of UK higher education and research
HERO is organised into six zones: Studying, Research, Business, Inside HE, Culture & Sport, and Universities and Colleges.
Roddy MacLeod
PRESS RELEASES
****ISI Web of Science version 4.3****
We are pleased to inform you that the database build has commenced ready for the new release of ISI Web of Science version 4.3 on the 20th April 2001.
The MIMAS Intranet hosted service was given the highest priority amongst ISI's many international customers and scheduled to immediately follow the ISI's Internet release which is now complete.
There are many enhancements in version 4.3 which are as a direct result of the user feedback we have received and forwarded to the WoSEC (Web of Science Enhancement Committee). For information on the enhancements please see: http://wos.mimas.ac.uk/wos4_3_statement.html
Further documentation regarding the new version, highlighting the enhancements can be found on our main documentation page at: http://wos.mimas.ac.uk/documentation.html
This documentation page will also be updated with amendments to any user guides and training materials necessary.
Our colleagues from John Rylands University Library have prepared revised training materials and will be previewing to representatives from the JIBS Committee, amongst others, on the 30th March. They will then be running training sessions for support staff to inform them of the enhancements to the ISI WoS Service for UK Education. The sessions are currently being scheduled for the period of 30th April - 18th May in the following locations: London, Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh & Manchester.
Once arrangements are confirmed places will be available for booking online from the MIMAS web courses page at: http://www.mimas.ac.uk/courses/
Should you require any further information please contact the WoS helpdesk at: wos@mimas.ac.uk
****Launch of the Archives Hub****
MIMAS is pleased to announce the launch, on the 13th March, of the Archives Hub.
This new service provides free access to information about the archives available in the UK’s universities and colleges. It is available via a web interface at http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk and uses international standards for the description of archives (ISAD(G)); their format (EAD) and their retrieval (Z39.50). With other similar initiatives the Archives Hub will form part of the newly-emerging National Archive Network.
The Archives Hub will initially hold data at collection level but is technically capable of dealing with multi-level descriptions which allow researchers to explore collections down to the level of individual items. By 2003 the Hub should provide access to over 25,000 collection level records.
The service, which has been developed by a team at the University of Liverpool, is funded by JISC. It is delivered and managed by MIMAS at the University of Manchester on behalf of the Consortium of Research Libraries (CURL).
Further information can be found on the Archives Hub website or via the contact details below.
Michelle Bell
Archives Hub User Support Officer
MIMAS, Manchester Computing,
The University Of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL.
Tel: 0161 2756789
E-mail: michelle.bell@man.ac.uk
Web: http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk
NETWORK NEWS
- BIDS News Bulletins
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http://www.bids.ac.uk/info/fs_whatsnew.htm
BIDS is a UK provider of networked information services for higher education and research.
http://www.bids.ac.uk/info/fs_whatsnew.htm
- NISS News
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A week-by-week listing of new information resources on the NISS (National Information Services and Systems) Information Gateway selected by experts in the subject area is available at:
http://www.niss.ac.uk/welcome/whatsnew.html
- BUBL News
-
BUBL has retained a strong library element, but now provides a subject-based service to the academic and research community more generally, this via the BUBL LINK Subject Tree. The latest news from BUBL is available at:
http://bubl.ac.uk/news/
The latest updates to the BUBL LINK / 5:15 Catalogue of Internet Resources are available at:
http://bubl.ac.uk/link/updates/current.html
- EEVL News
-
The latest Additions to EEVL, The Hub for Engineering, Mathematics and Computing, are available at:
- http://www.eevl.ac.uk:4321/whatsnew/
There is still time to win your share of £5,000 worth of new engineering books, absolutely free!
- SOSIG News
-
The latest additions to SOSIG (Social Science Information Gateway) are available at:
http://sosig.esrc.bris.ac.uk/roads/whats-new.html
- EDINA Newsline
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The latest issue of Edina (Edinburgh Data & INformation Access) Newsline can be found at:
- http://edina.ed.ac.uk/newsline/
- CHEST News
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CHEST aims to obtain quality commercial software, datasets, training materials and other IT products for the Education and Research Community at low prices and attractive licence terms. The latest news from CHEST is available at:
http://www.chest.ac.uk/news.html
- MIMAS News
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MIMAS is a JISC-supported national data centre run by Manchester Computing, at the University of Manchester, to provide the following range of services to the academic community:
Flexible on-line access to strategic research and teaching datasets.
Access to key bibliographic information.
Access to specialist support and training.
Access to software packages and large-scale computing resources.The latest news from MIMAS can be found at:
http://www.mimas.ac.uk/news.html
- New on RUDI
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RUDI (Resource for Urban Design Information) is a multimedia information resource for research and teaching in the field of urban design in the Western cultural context. The latest news from RUDI can be found at:
http://www.rudi.net/
- BIOME News
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BIOME is a collection of gateways which provide access to evaluated, quality Internet resources in the health and life sciences, aimed at students, researchers, academics and practitioners. The latest news from BIOME can be found at:
http://biome.ac.uk/whatsnew/
- Netskills: News
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Netskills aims to help the UK HE community make effective use of the Internet for teaching, research and administration. The latest news from Netskills can be found at:
http://www.netskills.ac.uk/news/
- What's new on Eldis
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Electronic Development and Environment Information System. A gateway to information sources on development or the environment. What's new on Eldis can be found at:
http://nt1.ids.ac.uk/eldis/wnew.htm
- What's New on Biz/ed
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Biz/ed is a dedicated business and economics information gateway for students, teachers and lecturers.
http://www.bized.ac.uk/homeinfo/whatsnew.htm
- AHDS Newsletter
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The latest issue of the AHDS (Arts and Humanities Data Service) Newsletter can be found at:
http://ahds.ac.uk/newsletter.html
JSICmail provides electronic discussion lists for the UK higher education community.
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/news.htm
- UK Data Archive news
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The UK Data Archive at the University of Essex houses the largest collection of accessible computer-readable data in the social sciences and humanities in the United Kingdom. It is a national resource centre, disseminating data throughout the United Kingdom and, by arrangement with other national archives, internationally.
http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/home/archiveNews.asp
- What's new on the TASI web site
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TASI is a service funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) set up to advise and support the academic community on the digital creation, storage and delivery of image-related information.
http://www.tasi.ac.uk/new.html
Chemical Data Service (CDS)
CDS provides on-line access to a variety of quality databases in the field of Chemistry, plus support, training and advice. This is available (free of charge) to academics at UK Universities.
http://cds.dl.ac.uk/cds/
Academic Info
Your gateway to quality educational resources. Academic Info is an annotated subject directory tailored toward a college and university audience and is used by students, librarians, and researchers.
http://www.academicinfo.net/new.html
- DNER News
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The Distributed National Electronic Resource (DNER) is a managed environment for accessing quality assured information resources on the Internet which are available from many sources.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/dner/news/
RECENT INTERNET BOOKS IN THE LIBRARY
Review:
The business and economy Internet resource handbook
edited by Phil Bradley
Library Association Publishing
October, 2000
£60.00
The aims of the book are several, one of which is that it should appeal to a wide range of people from novices to experts and from researchers to information professionals. It has not set out to try to cover every aspect of business and the economy, and indeed there are some areas of omission, such as economics and human resources. It also aims to be a "constantly useful resource" both for in-depth information and as a quick reference. Each chapter can be read on its own, or as part of the whole.
This book is made up of fourteen chapters, each by a different author who has practical experience in his/her particular field of expertise. The list of contributors gives a brief description of each author's professional background and interests. Phil Bradley, who edits the book, also contributes one of the chapters. The format of each chapter is similar. There is an introduction, then the main body of the chapter, which may divide its subject into different areas, giving URLs and descriptions of relevant useful web sites. Most then contain a conclusion and a list of references, and all end with a list of the web sites with their URLs that appear in the chapter.
The first three chapters are there to set the scene and are very useful. Chapter one, 'Overview', is by Karen Blakeman, and chapter two, 'Using search engines to find business and economics information' by Sheila Webber (which has a very useful table at its end listing some key search engines - divided into 'General' and 'UK' - with pertinent comments about them). Then comes Phil Bradley's chapter entitled 'Keeping up to date'.
Then I have to admit I was confused by the choice of some of the remaining chapters. From the title I assumed the book to be concerned with information about the subjects of business and the economy, so I wondered why, for example, there was a chapter called 'Engineering on the world wide web' by Julia Dagg. However, on further reflection, I see that the title can be interpreted as concerning information for different types of business and industry. Therefore, the abovementioned chapter fits in more happily, as does 'The Internet for small and medium sized enterprises' by Diana Grimwood-Jones (chapter six), 'Information technology and telecommunications' by Ian Tilsed (chapter 12) and 'The food industry' by Dr Iain Swadling (chapter 13). Some explanation in the introduction would have been helpful though.
Other chapters cover 'Company sources on the web' by John Coll, 'UK government websites for business' by Keith Rose, 'Market research resources' by Jill Bradley, 'Insurance resources' by Jane Heath, 'Accountancy resources' by Ben Heald, and 'Patent information' by Stephen Adams.
The one chapter not mentioned so far is chapter eight, 'E-commerce - an overview' by Martin White. The introduction to the book explains that this chapter is written slightly differently from the others because e-commerce on the Internet is an important new area, expanding at a great rate. The chapter goes into the subject itself in more detail and points out some of the trends and issues in the development of e-commerce. At the end of this overview, a number of web sites are listed.
Generally, I found this book does meet its aims, and I learned useful things from it. However, there are a few small caveats I would make. I would have found it helpful to have a little more explanation of how the index has been compiled; for example, whether it aimed to include all the web sites mentioned in the text or not. Certainly I found some in the text which did not appear in the index e.g. the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) appears on pages 268 and 288, but I could not find it in the index. When an index entry refers to a web site the entry appears in italics, and takes you to the page(s) where the URL is to be found. At the risk of suggesting one too many lists of URLs, considering that each chapter ends with one, I would have liked a separate alphabetical listing containing all the web sites and their URLs mentioned in the book. This would have meant one less stage of page turnings to get to the URL itself (i.e. not having to go to the index first to find the page number where the URL appears). One would not necessarily remember in which chapter the reference to a particular site had been seen.
Inevitably with a printed book about the Internet, a few of the URLs will have changed by the time the book has been published. Two that I came across were Mailbase (now JISCmail) and the Deja archive of newsgroups, now owned by Google. But that is just a feature of this incredibly fast changing environment which makes up the Internet. At least when those sites were reached using the URLs in the book, there was redirection information in Mailbase's case, and automatic redirection for Deja.
Also inevitable with a number of authors, is that the writing styles will vary, and that is not really a problem. Some of the chapters used the names of web sites and their URLs as headings, then wrote about them underneath, others wrote in paragraphs. On the whole I found the former method more satisfactory especially when using the book as a quick reference, or for skimming to get a feel for what was being said.
Overall, a useful addition to anyone's reference collection, especially those starting out in the business field, but at a cost of £60.00, maybe not something that will be purchased by many individuals.
Reviewed by: Shirleen Craig, Faculty Librarian - School of Management, Heriot-Watt University
Recent Arrivals
001.6442 ADA
The Internet: effective online commuinication
by Tyrone Adams and Norman Clark
Harcourt College Publishers, 2001
371.33 JOL
The online learning handbook: developing and using Web-based learning
by Alan Jolliffe, Jonathan Ritter and David Stevens
Kogan Page, 2001
A complete list of new books added to Heriot-Watt University Library is available from the Library News page.
http://www.hw.ac.uk/library/news.html
NEW LISTS
BookBrowse: Excerpts & Reviews (BookBrowse)
Purpose: The weekly ezine of BookBrowse.com. BookBrowse.com features excerpts, summaries, reviews and author bios of the best current books, including virtually all the fiction and non-fiction bestsellers. With an excerpt of each and every book you can browse at your leisure.
http://www.bookbrowse.com
This is the list if you run eprints.org software, plan to, or take an interest in the code and implementation, or future features.
To subscribe to eprints-technical:
Send an email to: majordomo@ecs.soton.ac.uk
containing the line in the body of the message:
subscribe eprints-tech
You will be asked to confirm. The email for the list is eprints-tech@ecs.soton.ac.uk
It will be archived in public view at: http://threader.ecs.soton.ac.uk/lists/eprints-tech/
INTERNET IN PRINT
Constructech
Publisher: Speciality Publishing Co., 135 E. St. Charles Road., Carol
Stream,
IL 60188
Frequency: Eight times pa at present, soon to be monthly
Subscription $39.95 USA; £49.95 Canada; $69.95 elsewhere
Web: http://www.constructech.com/
This is an American magazine which claims to be the "number one source for information technology in the construction market". It is full of adverts for project management and accountancy software packages tailored to the American system, plus feature articles. Quite a few of the latter, however, are promotional articles written by the software developers themselves.
The journal could be useful as a starting point to Americam companies seeking to modernise their operations; it's web site, however, is fairly basic. A search will produce a recommendation to visit a company's web site, but provides neither a direct link nor even the web address. The number of companies listed also seems fairly limited given the size of the American market.
Reviewed by:
Margaret Inglis
Librarian, Building Engineering & Surveying Department, Heriot-Watt
University
The Industry Standard
Europe Standard Media International
Harling House, 3rd Floor North, 47-51 Great Suffolk Street,
London, SE1 0BS
Subscription: Weekly, £1.95
Web: http://www.thestandard.com/
The magazine advertises itself as, "the newsmagazine of the Internet economy". It deals predominantly in the business side of e-commerce, and the Internet, delivering articles which are generally short, to the point and interesting. It provides a mature analysis of the what is happening in the Internet markets - news, companies and the personalities behind them. It often examines case studies which demonstrate the opportunities and pitfalls of using the net in business, by showing why ideas worked well or failed miserably.
As a weekly publication, it carries news which is fresh, or breaking, and can make detailed studies of stories which have only been fleetingly mentioned in the mainstream press. There is also an excellent web site for TheStandard Europe at http://www.thestandardeurope.com/ .
The standard of writing is very high, with many well respected regulars contributing. Definitely well worth a read if you haven't already seen it.
Reviewed by:
Catherine Ferguson
Heriot-Watt University Library
GET A LIFE! - LEISURE TIME
- Welcome to the 90s
-
http://www.inthe90s.com/90s nostalgia already!
- CricketSearchEngine
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http://www.cricketsearchengine.com/ - Discover the No.1 US or UK single on any day you desire
-
http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/cont/choose.html - YehHaiCricket.com
-
http://www.thisiscricket.com/
Cricket, statistics, live scores, latest news and more - Rooster
-
http://www.rootster.com/
Culture search
STOP PRESS!
Health and safety information from HSEdirect available to members of Heriot-Watt University
This database provides comprehensive access to United Kingdom health and safety law, and guidance from the Health and Safety Executive.
Access is available to all staff and students of the University. A username and password are required to access the database. More information is available at: http://www.hw.ac.uk/library/hse.html
Applied Science and Technology full text available to members of Heriot-Watt University
The service indexes over 500 trade and scholarly journals in the field of engineering and technology, and includes the full text of over 100 of them.
Access is available to staff and students of the University. More information is available at http://www.hw.ac.uk/library/asti.html
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© 2001 Heriot-Watt University
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