[Lib-helig-l] Why Would Undergraduates Need Those Clunky Databases Anyway?

Dear Colleagues
A brilliant blog post! "Terms are the hardest thing for undergraduates to harness".
(Pegasus Librarian is a really great blog to follow!)

Regards
Ingrid Thomson

 

 

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Why Would Undergraduates Need Those Clunky Databases Anyway?

via Pegasus Librarian by Iris on 12/15/10

Google Scholar has made great strides in the 6 years I've been a librarian. It's great. I use it all the time. And now interesting new research by Xiaotian Chen shows that Google Scholar contains nearly all of the articles held in several standard library databases, which is also great. Chen's article finishes with a flourish, declaring, "The conclusion cannot be clearer: libraries can seriously consider cancelling a large number of subscription-based abstracts and indexes since their unique contents and value are rapidly evaporating" (Chen 226).

This would probably be true if the unique content and value of subscription databases were housed solely in the citation, abstract, and potential for full text access, but in fact it misses the point for many researchers. And it misses the point particularly for undergraduates.

Search is all about term matching, and terms are often the hardest thing for undergraduates to harness. So one key value of a database or search engine is the way that it introduces students to helpful information such as terms that might be important to their topics, genres of publication that are relevant to the scholars in the field that study the topic, and ways of judging the source's relative weight by providing clues about other things the author has written or about how often the source is cited by other sources. These are not things that undergraduates are able to do just by looking at a citation and abstract.

Google Scholar is very forgiving of bad searching. It will nearly always give you something, even if you enter "impact of cell phones on globalization" into the search box. (Two of my big goals for this last term were to get students to stop searching for "impact on" and "globalization." I was only minimally successful.) Because it's so forgiving, it can be a great place to start. However, it's pretty bad at leading you to new search strategies once you've found the one article where the author uses your phrase in her abstract.

Disciplinary databases are not nearly as forgiving of bad searching, so they may be pretty intimidating places to start. Where they excel, however, is in foregrounding those elusive, mysterious, and powerful terms that students need so badly if they're going to revise their searches and gather more disciplinarily relevant material. The vocabulary, controlled and otherwise, is one of the two key advantages of disciplinary databases. These databases also help students make decisions about the relative worth of a source by (usually) giving links to other things by that author, other things published in that journal, citation counts, bibliographies, indications about peer review, and so on. And sure, these aren't things that students are used to looking at when they enter college. But in my experience, these are tools that students very quickly come to rely on.

For the totally at-sea undergraduate, the most powerful research process will probably look something like this: take a citation found using a messy search in Google Scholar, plunk that citation into a library database, mine the resulting record for terms and other useful information, read a couple of articles "instrumentally," and then repeat the process as needed with better and better terms each time.

So is Google Scholar a database killer? Like Steve, I think not. I think it's a great tool that complements our other tools. And hey! It's free!

Chen, Xiaotian. "Google Scholar's Dramatic Coverage Improvement Fiver Years after Debut." Serials Review 36, no. 4 (2010): 221-26. [Available via ScienceDirect]

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[Lib-helig-l] Core Competencies for 21st Century CARL Librarians

Dear Colleagues

 

A useful read.  

 

From the Association of Research Libraries Nov/December newsletter:

 

On October 29, CARL-ABRC released "Core Competencies for 21st Century CARL Librarians," which provides librarians and library leaders with a rich resource offering a model for considering librarian competencies within a national framework. The competencies described include: fundamental knowledge, interpersonal skills, leadership and management, collections development, information literacy, and information technology skills. A bibliography is also provided.

 

http://www.carl-abrc.ca/resources/reports_and_briefs/pdf/core_comp_profile-e.pdf

 

Regards

Ingrid Thomson

 

 

Ingrid Thomson

Librarian: Humanities Information Division

Chancellor Oppenheimer Library

University of Cape Town Libraries

Private Bag

7700 RONDEBOSCH

SOUTH AFRICA

 

Tel: +27 21 650 3703  Fax: +27 21 689 7569

Email: Ingrid.Thomson@uct.ac.za

 

 

 

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[Lib-helig-l] CONFERENCE: ICT In Higher Education for 2011, Protea Hotel, Pretoria (17-18 ...

Dear Colleagues
FYI -

I don't see librarians on the list of who should attend, but this would be a relevant conference for HE librarians to attend. Also very difficult to read the detail of the programme which is in yellow.

Regards
Ingrid

 

 

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CONFERENCE: ICT In Higher Education for 2011, Protea Hotel, Pretoria (17-18 March 2011)

via Unisa Library by Unisa Library on 12/6/10

Conference Overview
Changes in the economic and social fundamentals call for transformation in the skills, capabilities and attitudes of people. This requires a shift in the delivery and pedagogy used in the current education system. As Plompet al (2007) points out that " there is a world wide felt need for integrality ICT into education in order to improve the pedagogy to reflect society change."

This conference seeks to promote integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) in higher education in Africa; for imparting easily accessible affordable and quality education leading to the socio-economic upliftment of the continent. The event examines the roles that ICTs can play in strengthening the traditional strands that make up the mission of higher education institutions; research, service to the community and teaching.

Conference Highlights

• Using ICT to enhance delivery of quality higher education.
• ICT as a change agent for education
• Benefits of ICT in education to the main stakeholders
• Developing Research-based learning using ICT in higher education
• Strengthening enhancing in the education system.
• ICT in higher education : Cultivating Innovation and Expanding Access.
• The role of ICT in Building a knowledge Economy
• ICTs in community Engagement

Who Should Attend

• Deans, directors and researchers from universities and the higher education sector
• Corporate training and development executives
• School principals and administrators, teachers and trainers
• Senior staff from government departments and international development cooperation agencies
• Programme managers and education administrators
• Human Resources executives
• IT managers
• Leaders of professional associations, expertise centres, trade unions, chambers of commerce, local and regional authorities, NGOs and continuing education centres
• Technology and service providers
• Publishers, instructional designers and content providers
• eLearning specialists, multimedia and software designers, system integration specialists and end-user support managers
• Training consultants and company representatives
• Performance and competence management specialists

Day One

0800   Registration and Early Morning, Refreshments

0845   Chairperson's Welcome and Opening Remarks

0900   Keynote Address: Rationale for promoting ICT in higher Education.

• Perceived role that technology new plays in society
• Need for familiarizing students with technology
• Preparing student for jobs that require skills in technology
• Utility of technology to improve performance and effectiveness in teaching, management and many other social activities.
• Utilize technology in enhancing learning , flexibility and efficiency in curriculum delivery

1000   ICT in higher Education: Cultivating Innovation and Expanding Access: South Africa Case study

• S.A ICT Vision –link with International Community
• Infrastructure- National Broadband
• International connectivity
• The challenge for SA to develop a knowledge Economy.
• Using science, Technology and I C T as key enablers of this transformation.
• Global connectivity Goals
• Connect Africa : Commitments to create the right regulatory environment from Africa Leaders

1100   Mid-morning refreshments

1115   Developing Research-Based Learning using ICT in he.

• Educational Development in Research-led Universities
• Research as part of Development Activity
• Evaluating Existing practice of academic staff
• Promoting better quality Research
• Data processing
• Supporting Lecturers in developing New promote
• Linking Researchers globally
• Importance of national and institutional policies

1200   ICT as a change Agent for Education

• Impact of ICT on what is learned
• Competency and performance-based curriculum
• Information literacy
• Impact of ICT on how students learn
• Students-centered learning
• Impact of ICT on when and where students learn.
• Any time learning
• Expanding the pool of students and reducing cost & education

1300   LUNCH AND NETWORKING

1400   WORKSHOP: Benefits of ICT in Him to the main stakeholders.

Mobile Learning

• M learning – An emerging concept for educators
• Ability to wirelessly transmit learning modules and administrative data
• Enabling learners to communicate with lecturers and person the go
• Ability of educators to design and develop pedagogical sound M learning opportunities and environments that enhance learning
• Understanding contemporary learning theories
• Identifying those applications of mobile technologies that contribute to the optimization of teaching and learning
• Focusing on active learning by delivering interactive study packages to students' mobile phones
• Taking advantage of social networking
• Providing multi-faceted learning experiences through theory, exercises, tutoring, peer to peer support as well as competitions, tests and self assessment
• Combines formal and informal learning

Governments

• Increase the capacity the and cost effectiveness of education
• Reach target groups
• Access to conventional education and training
• Support and enhance the quality and relevance of existing educational structures
• Ensure the connection of educational institutions and curriculum to the ernerging networks and information resources
• Promote innovation and opprortunities for lifelong learnibg

1500   Afternoon refreshments

1515   WORKSHOP CONTINUES

1600   Chairperson's Closing Remarks

1615   END OF DAY ONE.


DAY TWO 

0800   Registration and Early Morning refreshments

0845   Chairperson's Welcome and Opening Remarks

0900   Workshop: Promoting and strengthening elearning in higher education. Elearning , has established itself as the largerst and most comprehensive capacity development for technology enhanced education and training in the continent. This workshop will examine the benefits of elearning focusing on the following aspects:

Advantages of elearning

• Eliminating time barriers in education for learners as well as teachers
• Iliminating geographical barriers as learners can log on from any place
• Asynchronous information is under possible lending to throughtful and creative interoution
• Enhanced group collaboration made possible via ICT
• New educational approaches can be used
• It can provide speedy dissemination of education to target disadvanged groups
• Offers the combiration of education while balancing family and work life
• Enhances the international dimention of educational servicers
• Allows higher participation and grealer interaction
• Allows delivery, dialogue and feedback over the internet
• Mass customization in terms of content and exams.
• Possible to leverage the online environment to facilitate teaching techniques like role-play across time and distance.
• Elearning in Africa Corporations
• Selting up and implementing a sustainable elearning project
• Open source,open content and elearning
• Research in elearning
• Elearning in health education and the fight against HIV/AIDS

1100   Mid-Morning Refreshments

1115   WORKSHOP CONTINUES

1300   LUNCH AND NETWORKING

1400   The Role of ICT in building a knowledge a knowledge Economy

• Using ICT to enhance delivery of quality education
• Meeting the expectationsnof young tech savvy students
• Serving the different operational needs of institutions of higher learning efficiently
• Knowledge and technology as the most important factors of sustainable socio-economic development
• Building smarter ICT infrastructure to transform learning environment and to create a knowledge economy

1500   AFTERNOON REFRESHMENTS

1515   ICTs in community Engagement

• The generative role of higher Education institutions and ICT
• Community empowerment in ICT use
• Litwaries as Access providers to digital resources
• Technology parks include
• Sun space in South Africa

1545   Chairperson's Closing Remarks

1600   End of conference and departure.

For more information contact Simon Mugala simonm@amitatex.co.za

 

 

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[Lib-helig-l] 2011 Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship

Dear Colleagues
You may want to pass this on to your respective students and academics ...

Follow the region-specific links from the Anita Borg website (links below from Google Reader) for more details, but in essence, the following applies:-

Candidates must:

* Be a female student enrolled in a Bachelor's, Master's or PhD programme (or equivalent) in 2011/2012.
* Be enrolled at a University in Europe, the Middle East, or Africa. Citizens, permanent residents, and international students are eligible to apply.
* Be studying Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Informatics, or a closely related technical field.
* Maintain an excellent academic record (e.g. a First Class Honours degree).

Deadline is 1 Feb 2011. Please check the website for further requirements.

regards
Ingrid

 

 

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2011 Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship

via The Official Google Blog by A Googler on 12/2/10

(Cross-posted on the Google Students Blog)

Dr. Anita Borg devoted her life to revolutionizing the way we think about technology and dismantling the barriers that keep women and minorities from entering the computing and technology fields. In honor of Anita's vision, we established the Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship in 2004, awarding scholarships to women who share her passion for technology. Once again, we're proud to announce the Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarships in the U.S. and Canada. The deadline to apply for the 2011 scholarship is Tuesday, February 1, 2011.

• The Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship is open to current female students who are entering their senior year of undergraduate study or enrolled in a graduate program in the 2011-2012 academic year at a university in the United States or Canada. Students should be enrolled in a computer science, computer engineering or a closely related technical program, and maintain a record of strong academic performance. Scholars and finalists will be announced in May 2011 and will be invited to attend the annual Google Scholars' Retreat—a three-day networking retreat at the Googleplex in Mountain View in the summer of 2011.
  
  
• The Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship for First Years is open to current female high school seniors who are intending to enroll as full-time students at a university in the U.S. for the 2011-2012 academic year. Applicants should have a record of strong academic performance and plan to pursue a degree in computer science, computer engineering, or a closely related technical program. The winning scholars will be invited to attend the Google FUSE networking retreat in 2012.

You can hear from some of this year's scholars on how receiving the Anita Borg scholarship has impacted them:



For those of you outside of North America, the Google Anita Borg Scholarship program is also available in Asia, Africa, Australia, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and New Zealand—visit www.google.com/anitaborg for more information.

Finally, the Anita Borg Scholarship is just one of many scholarships and networking opportunities we offer to students in order to encourage them to excel in technology and become active role models and leaders in the field. For more information about all of Google's scholarship programs, please visit www.google.com/jobs/scholarships.

Posted by Azusa Hanashima, Talent & Outreach Programs

 

 

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[Lib-helig-l] Timing of the Research Question

An interesting read for a late Friday afternoon.
Regards
Ingrid Thomson

 

 

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Timing of the Research Question

via Academic Librarian by Wayne Bivens-Tatum on 11/30/10

There's a good article in the latest portal that should be interesting to any librarians who provide research instruction for first-year writing students:

Nutefall, Jennifer E. and Phyllis Mentzell Ryder. "The Timing of the Research Question: First-Year Writing Faculty and Instruction Librarians' Differing Perspectives." portal: Libraries and the Academy 10 (4), October 2010: 437-449. [Librarians with access to Project Muse can click through.]

The literature review alone is an excellent quick overview of what some librarians and writing instructors have written about the research question. The study itself was of librarians and writing instructors at George Washington University. At GWU, the writing courses are topic-based and capped at 15 students (which is similar to the model at Princeton).  The authors compared the attitudes of librarians and writing instructors toward the research question. Librarians and faculty agreed that good research questions should be complex, worth answering, and interesting to the student. But they disagreed on the timing of the research question. Librarians tended to want students to have clearly formulated questions early in the process, while faculty tended to think that focused research questions come late in the process after a lot of exploratory reading has been done.

 

The authors speculate that this divide might be caused by the different research methods of librarians and writing faculty.

the research projects the librarians described are more focused on particular audience needs. For example, they investigate and share better pedagogical techniques for library instruction with other librarians. For the most part, librarians seemed to prefer a more structured research process in their own work and prefer to teach a more methodical approach to research to first-year students. For faculty in the UWP, the majority of their projects study how people and cultures exchange knowledge. When faculty describe their own research process it is similar to those documented in other studies as typical for "expert" researchers.Their methods rely on prior knowledge and celebrate serendipitous encounters. (445-46)

The implicit claim that librarians aren't "expert" researchers would certainly explain a large portion of the library literature. Based on the library literature I've read, librarians aren't typically expert researchers in the sense that they rely on prior knowledge and celebrate serendipitous encounters. There's a whole sub-genre of library literature that requires knowledge of nothing more than how to send out an online survey and how to report results. 

There's definitely a disciplinary distinction in play. Even the best of the library literature tends to work under social science models, where research questions are often formulated more specifically than in the humanities, especially compared to literary and cultural studies in which a disproportionate number of writing faculty are trained. However, I suspect that disciplinarity is only part of the disjunction. The differing functions of the librarians and faculty, or at least how many view those functions, could account for some of it. Having taught a few hundred writing students of my own, and provided library research assistance in some form or other for more students than I can remember, this is the distinction that makes the most sense for me. 

Librarians want early, clearly formulated research questions, preferably with good keywords, because it's at that point that librarians can be most useful, or at least when many librarians feel most useful. Often enough, librarians are helping students find information on topics the librarians know even less about than the students if the students have done any preliminary reading at all. And the help often provided will be with some sort of literature search in one of the library databases. Those librarians need focused topics so they'll know which databases to search, which keywords to use, and which results to examine in more detail when they find some. It's the level at which a well-trained reference librarian with an adequate collection of resources can help just about any researcher. The great thing about the methods librarians use is that they work, almost all the time. The difficulty comes when they don't work because researchers aren't clear and specific enough in their goals.

For writing instructors, on the hand, "research" in the sense of finding concrete sources about a given topic isn't the most important thing, because their function is quite different. Whereas librarians often enough get students with at least some focus, writing instructors usually begin with the chaos that is most student writing in the early stages of a first-year writing class. It's the function of the writing instructor to teach students to form this chaos, to shape it, discipline it, focus it, and just when the students have mastered one skill, it's time for the writing instructor to push them further into the unknown with the research essay assignment. A writing class is always in some stage of managed chaos, and the writing instructor is always helping students find their way. It's not that librarians are afraid of the chaos. It's just that there's not as much for them to do. Focus can also come through the writing process, so that students with only a vague idea of what they want to argue develop their best ideas only after they start writing. One of the librarians studied likes students to envision their entire project, what they want to do, the types of sources they'll need, etc. Librarian nirvana. The problem is, this isn't how beginning researchers work, and it's not really how a lot of experienced researchers in the humanities work. The actual library searching portion of most student research essays is a small part of what they're learning to do, and not the most important part.

The authors of the study suggest that librarians and writing faculty should work closely together and be clear about their expectations and when research is appropriate. I agree completely. But another possibility is for librarians who feel comfortable enough to step out of their usual function of helping students find information only after they know what they want. At my library, this is more typically done with advanced undergraduates. Often enough, research consultations fluctuate between what I typically think of as a library research consultation and what I typically think of as a writing consultation session. The line between those two is easy to cross, if it exists at all. When I was in library school, I worked both at the information desk in the main library and as a writing consultant in the writing clinic on campus, and it was interesting how frequently what I did for students was the same. That's because the writing and research process are inextricably intertwined, but the organization of universities means that the two functions are split between the library and some other department. 

I've met with many students where I helped them figure out what they were really trying to research. We might discuss possible topic options and limitations, or how books and articles can be used to develop and narrow ideas, or how some strategies will work better than others, or how they can use sources as models and not just support, or how they can link disparate strands of research to develop a question, or how various sources might function in their essays. These are all research issues and also the sort of thing covered in writing courses. I've had numerous students ask me what I thought about their topic, or whether they should change it. Through in-depth interviews held during lunch with at least three other librarians here, I confirmed that the practice isn't just confined to me. Librarians do this sort of thing all the time, even if they don't realize it. 

As Nutefall and Ryder imply, we should be aware of our disciplinary boundaries and blindnesses when working with writing students and instructors. But if we're not already, we should also be willing to to do more with students than just help them search for topics they've already narrowed down. The research process is far more than searching, which is easy for us to forget sometimes since we often see just that part when working with students. We should be comfortable working with the chaos of the vague topic and the inchoate research question, because we often have a lot to offer students throughout the research process.

 

 

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[Lib-helig-l] [Wolpe-cape] Invitation for a book launch

 

 

The Harold Wolpe Memorial Trust in partnership with the UCT Department of Sociology take pleasure inviting you to a book launch. Everyone is welcome and entrance is free. Please feel free to circulate this notice.

The Mandela Decade: Labour, Culture and Society in Post-Apartheid South Africa by Professor Ari Sitas

 

Speakers:

Prof. PITIKA NTULI
Ms. BABARA HOGAN

 

Wednesday, 1 December 2010
17h30 for 18h00

Venue: UCT, Leslie Social Sciences Building, LT 2B

 

RSVP: wolpeforums@mweb.co.za

Nosipho Masiza 021 674 0361

 

The Trust acknowledges the support of our donors, particularly the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation and the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund

__________________________________________

Harold Wolpe Memorial Trust
http://www.wolpetrust.org.za

Please DO NOT reply to this message.

Contact The Harold Wolpe Trust directly.

--
Regards
Fatima Darries

E-LIS SA Editor

http://eprints.rclis.org

www.highedlibrarian.blogspot.com
www.openaccesslibrary.pbwiki.com

[Lib-helig-l] [Wolpe-cape] Reminder: Annual Memorial Lecture

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Wolpetrust Cape Town <wolpe-cape@mail.unwembi.co.za>
Date: Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 2:52 PM
Subject: [Wolpe-cape] Reminder: Annual Memorial Lecture
To: wolpe-cape@mail.unwembi.co.za

 

 

The Harold Wolpe Memorial Trust takes pleasure in announcing its Annual Memorial Lecture. Everyone is welcome and entrance is free. Please feel free to circulate this notice.

SA TODAY: FROM FREEDOM TO
TRANSFORMATION.

WHERE DO WE STAND?

 

Speaker:

Mr. Jay Naidoo

 

Wednesday, 17 November 2010

18h00 for 18h30

Venue: Old Mutual Head Office, Pinelands

 

RSVP: wolpeforums@mweb.co.za

Nosipho Masiza 021 674 0361

 

 

SPONSORED BY

 

 

__________________________________________

Harold Wolpe Memorial Trust
http://www.wolpetrust.org.za

Please DO NOT reply to this message.

Contact The Harold Wolpe Trust directly.

--
Regards
Fatima Darries

E-LIS SA Editor

http://eprints.rclis.org

www.highedlibrarian.blogspot.com
www.openaccesslibrary.pbwiki.com

[Lib-helig-l] A Monday afternoon read from the Chronicle of Higher Education

Dear Colleagues

 

A Monday afternoon read:   

http://chronicle.com/article/article-content/125329/

 

The Shadow Scholar: the man who writes your students' papers tells his story.

 

Ed Dante is a pseudonym for a writer who lives on the East Coast. Through a literary agent, he approached The Chronicle wanting to tell the story of how he makes a living writing papers for a custom-essay company and to describe the extent of student cheating he has observed. In the course of editing his article, The Chronicle reviewed correspondence Dante had with clients and some of the papers he had been paid to write. In the article published here, some details of the assignment he describes have been altered to protect the identity of the student.

 

Amazingly Scary stuff indeed ...

 

(Hat-tip to Lara!)

 

Regards

Ingrid Thomson

 

 

Ingrid Thomson

Librarian: Humanities Information Division

Chancellor Oppenheimer Library

University of Cape Town Libraries

Private Bag

7700 RONDEBOSCH

SOUTH AFRICA

 

Tel: +27 21 650 3703  Fax: +27 21 689 7569

Email: Ingrid.Thomson@uct.ac.za

 

 

 

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UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN

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[Lib-helig-l] Fwd: SANORD Symposium: 3-4 December 2010, University of Johannesburg

FYI 

>>> "Steve Anderson" <sanderson@uwc.ac.za> 11/10/2010 1:29 PM >>>

1. SANORD Symposium: 3-4 December 2010

Dear Campus Community

SANORD Symposium at the University of Johannesburg, 3-4 December 2010

The University of Johannesburg, South Africa is hosting the 2010 SANORD symposium on Sustaining Higher Education through Southern African-Nordic Institutional Partnerships from 3-4 December 2010.

The symposium on Sustaining Higher Education through Southern African-Nordic Institutional Partnerships aims to draw on Nordic and southern African experience in establishing and further developing partnerships between SANORD member universities. Some key questions are:
- What aspects of a long term partnership can universities gain most from, and what do they need to do to achieve these things?
- What are the particular university partnership challenges in different settings and are there special opportunities or pitfalls in north-south collaboration?
- Are we ready to embrace the concept of long term partnerships? What is the role of researchers and leadership in facilitating long term partnerships?
- What are the main constraints that researchers, students, administrators and leaders face in the development of long term partnerships and, hence, the main things we can do to strengthen the capacity of the institution and the region?

The Southern African−Nordic Centre (SANORD) would like to invite members and other partners to this symposium on the nature and possibilities of long term university partnerships. Invited speakers include university leaders and academics from the southern African and Nordic regions. The symposium will run over one and a half days and will allow generous space for debate and creative interaction. SANORD invites your active participation and looks forward to two exciting days with you.

Registration is now open
The registration process is open. You can find more information at http://sanord.uwc.ac.za/.

Questions about the symposium may be directed to Dr. Zodwa Magwenzi at the University of Johannesburg (kmagwenzi@uj.ac.za) and Leolyn Jackson at the SANORD Central Office (ljackson@uwc.ac.za). 

Questions about the annual Board and Council meetings should be addressed to Maureen Davis at the SANORD Central Office (mdavis@uwc.ac.za ).

Any enquiries about the Symposium (registration, accommodation, etc.) should be directed to Juliet Joseph at University of Johannesburg  (jjoseph@uj.ac.za).

 

---------------------------

Steve Anderson

CSHE Library

University of the Western Cape

Private Bag X17, Bellville 7535, Republic of South Africa

021 959-3335

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UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN

This e-mail is subject to the UCT ICT policies and e-mail disclaimer published on our website at http://www.uct.ac.za/about/policies/emaildisclaimer/ or obtainable from +27 21 650 9111. This e-mail is intended only for the person(s) to whom it is addressed. If the e-mail has reached you in error, please notify the author. If you are not the intended recipient of the e-mail you may not use, disclose, copy, redirect or print the content. If this e-mail is not related to the business of UCT it is sent by the sender in the sender's individual capacity.

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[Lib-helig-l] Students lack Basic Research Skills (story in Chronicle of Higher Education)

Dear Colleagues

 

FYI

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/students-lack-basic-research-skills-study-finds/28112?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

Regards

Ingrid Thomson

 

 

Ingrid Thomson

Librarian: Humanities Information Division

Chancellor Oppenheimer Library

University of Cape Town Libraries

Private Bag

7700 RONDEBOSCH

SOUTH AFRICA

 

Tel: +27 21 650 3703  Fax: +27 21 689 7569

Email: Ingrid.Thomson@uct.ac.za

 

 

 

###

UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN

This e-mail is subject to the UCT ICT policies and e-mail disclaimer published on our website at http://www.uct.ac.za/about/policies/emaildisclaimer/ or obtainable from +27 21 650 9111. This e-mail is intended only for the person(s) to whom it is addressed. If the e-mail has reached you in error, please notify the author. If you are not the intended recipient of the e-mail you may not use, disclose, copy, redirect or print the content. If this e-mail is not related to the business of UCT it is sent by the sender in the sender's individual capacity.

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[Lib-helig-l] Wolpe-cape] Annual Memorial Lecture

For people who can be in Cape Town on the 17th of November 2010

 

 

The Harold Wolpe Memorial Trust takes pleasure in announcing its Annual Memorial Lecture. Everyone is welcome and entrance is free. Please feel free to circulate this notice.

SA TODAY: FROM FREEDOM TO
TRANSFORMATION.

WHERE DO WE STAND?

 

Speaker:

Mr. Jay Naidoo

 

Wednesday, 17 November 2010

18h00 for 18h30

Venue: Old Mutual Head Office, Pinelands

 

SPONSORED BY

 

 

__________________________________________

Harold Wolpe Memorial Trust
http://www.wolpetrust.org.za

Please DO NOT reply to this message.

Contact The Harold Wolpe Trust directly.

--
Regards
Fatima Darries

E-LIS SA Editor

http://eprints.rclis.org

www.highedlibrarian.blogspot.com
www.openaccesslibrary.pbwiki.com

[Lib-helig-l] Fwd: Conference of Rectors, Vice Chancellors and Presidents of African Universities (COREVIP)

(Hat tip to Steve!)

Please note that I have no further information about this conference, so please contact the conference organisers directly via the web sites below if you have any queries.

 

Thanking you

---

 

Conference of Rectors, Vice Chancellors and Presidents of African Universities (COREVIP) from May 30 to June 3, 2011 in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

 

http://events.aau.org/introduction.php?id=15&/lang=en&mid=1

 

http://www.aau.org/?q=content/conference-rectors-vice-chancellors-and-presidents-african-universities-corevip-may-30-june-0

 

The Association of African Universities is pleased to announce that in collaboration with Stellenbosch University, South Africa, it will hold its next Conference of Rectors, Vice Chancellors and Presidents of African Universities (COREVIP) from May 30 to June 3, 2011 in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

COREVIP

The Conference of Rectors, Vice-Chancellors and Presidents of African Universities (COREVIP) is an assembly of the chief executive officers of member institutions or their representatives.

The Conference is held every two years with the purpose of examining collectively themes identified as common concerns and priorities for the development of higher education in member institutions in particular and Africa in general; making recommendations primarily to members, as well as to the Governing Board, and to the Secretariat; and acting as a mid-term forum for taking stock of the implementation of the decisions of the General Conference and recommending corrective action.

THEME FOR COREVIP 2011

The theme for the Conference is: Strengthening the Space of Higher Education in Africa.

There will be invited papers and presentations by distinguished scholars and practitioners in plenary sessions as well as group sessions for more intensive work dealing with the main theme and the sub-themes below:

Creating an African Higher Education Space

With focus on the Arusha Convention; Establishment of AfriQAN; LMD Reform in Francophone Higher Education Institutions; Establishment of a Credit Transfer System.

The Role of ICT

With focus on the creation of Research and Education Networks nationally and regionally: Promoting the use of ICT in African higher education institutions.

Regional Centres of Excellence

With focus on the AUC's Pan African University; Pan African Institute of Governance in Higher Education; Examples of other Centres of Excellence (AIMS in South Africa; IIEE in Burkina Faso; ICIPE in Kenya)

Promoting Open and Distance Learning

With focus on Open Educational Resources; Creation of Open Universities; Use of ODL in traditional universities

The Conference will provide an excellent opportunity for leaders of African higher education institutions to exchange experiences and draw on the lessons from institutions on issues relating to the theme of the conference. There will also be an opportunity to hear from both regional and international organisations involved in higher education initiatives.

In addition to the executive heads and other senior members of African universities, participants will include Ministers of Higher Education, other policy makers, representatives of international and regional organizations and development partners.

REGISTRATION FEE

The registration fee is:
$500 for each participant from a Full or Associate member institution of the AAU

$600 for all other participants, including accompanying persons.

The registration fee will cover the following:
Conference Documents and Bag;

Lunch, Tea/Coffee services during conference days only; and

Copy of Conference Proceedings.

The deadline for registration is April 01, 2011.
Registration after the deadline attracts an additional US$100.

Registered participants should note that no refunds will be made for cancellations after May 10, 2011.

---------------------------

Steve Anderson

CSHE Library

University of the Western Cape

Private Bag X17, Bellville 7535, Republic of South Africa

021 959-3335

 

 

Ingrid Thomson

Librarian: Humanities Information Division

Chancellor Oppenheimer Library

University of Cape Town Libraries

Private Bag

7700 RONDEBOSCH

SOUTH AFRICA

 

Tel: +27 21 650 3703  Fax: +27 21 689 7569

Email: Ingrid.Thomson@uct.ac.za

 

 

 

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UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN

This e-mail is subject to the UCT ICT policies and e-mail disclaimer published on our website at http://www.uct.ac.za/about/policies/emaildisclaimer/ or obtainable from +27 21 650 9111. This e-mail is intended only for the person(s) to whom it is addressed. If the e-mail has reached you in error, please notify the author. If you are not the intended recipient of the e-mail you may not use, disclose, copy, redirect or print the content. If this e-mail is not related to the business of UCT it is sent by the sender in the sender's individual capacity.

###

[Lib-helig-l] Voice Search arrives in South Africa

 

 

Sent to you by IngridThomson via Google Reader:

 

 

Voice Search arrives in South Africa

via Official Google Africa Blog by Chris Kiagiri on 11/5/10

En Français
In Zulu
In Afrikaans

Here's a test for the Zulu speakers out there: which is faster... saying "isolezwe iphephandaba" or typing the same query character-by-character? And for Afrikaans speakers, how about "tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein"?

Speaking into the phone comes naturally to us, whilst typing is sometimes a challenge on a small screen. We developed Voice Search to make it easier for users to search the web simply by simply speaking their query. Voice Search was first launched to work in English, as it is spoken in the USA. Next, we added other variants of English and additional languages: Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Czech, Polish, Russian and Brazilian Portuguese. Today, we're pleased to announce that we're launching in South African English, Zulu and Afrikaans.

We are excited about the development of languages for Africa. The launch of Zulu is our first effort in building Voice Search for under-represented languages. These languages are spoken by millions, but have little presence in electronic and physical media. They have received little attention from the speech research community, and we had to 'start from scratch' in developing them.

One of the challenges that we faced was the paucity of content on the web in Zulu in comparison to other languages that we developed. As a result, our Voice Search in Zulu is "work in progress". Improvement will come from content creation efforts in Zulu and from the use of Voice Search by Zulu speakers.

Getting Started

How you get started with Google Voice Search depends on what kind of phone you have. If your phone runs Android 2.1 or later, and you have the Quick Search Box installed, all you have to do is tap the microphone icon to start a voice-powered search. If you don't have the Voice Search application, you can install it from Android Market on your phone - search for 'voice search'. Once you install the application be sure to go to settings and choose the language that you wish to use.

To get Google Mobile App for iPhone, search for 'Google Mobile App' in the App Store or follow this link. iPhone users who already have Google Mobile App installed can enable voice search by selecting the new languages from the settings panel within the app.

Learn more at http://mobile.google.com and select your country in the footer.

Posted by Amir Mané, Product Manager, Google Speech Technologies

====

La recherche vocale arrive en Afrique du Sud

Voici un test pour les zoulouphones : Qu'est-ce qui est le plus rapide... Prononcer "isolezwe
iphephandaba" ou saisir cette phrase lettre par lettre ? Et, pour les personnes parlant l'afrikaans, qu'en est-il de « tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein » ?

Parler au téléphone est une démarche naturelle pour nous, alors que saisir un texte sur un petit écran peut parfois se révéler ardu. Nous avons développé Voice Search pour faciliter les recherches sur Internet : il suffit simplement de prononcer la question. Voice Search a été d'abord lancé en anglais américain. Nous avons ensuite ajouté quelques variantes d'anglais et d'autres langues : chinois mandarin, japonais, coréen, français, allemand, italien, espagnol, néerlandais, tchèque, polonais, russe et portugais brésilien. Aujourd'hui, nous sommes heureux d'annoncer que nous le lançons en anglais sud-africain, zoulou et afrikaans.

C'est avec enthousiasme que nous travaillons au développement des langues pour l'Afrique. Le
lancement du zoulou est la première étape de la construction de Voice Search pour les langues sous-représentées. Ces langues, pourtant pratiquées par des millions de personnes, sont peu présentes dans les médias électroniques et physiques. Elles n'ont pas suscité beaucoup d'intérêt de la part des communautés de recherche vocale et nous avons dû partir de zéro pour les développer.

Un des défis que nous avons eu à relever était la pauvreté des contenus Internet en zoulou, par
rapport aux autres langues que nous avons développées. Conséquence : notre Voice Search en
zoulou est « en cours de réalisation ». Les améliorations seront le fruit des efforts de création de contenus en zoulou et de l'utilisation de Voice Search par des locuteurs en zoulou.

Comment lancer Voice Search

La manière de démarrer Google Voice Search dépend du type de téléphone dont vous disposez.
Si votre téléphone utilise Android 2.1 (ou une version ultérieure), et que Quick Search Box est
installé, il vous suffit de cliquer sur l'icône microphone pour lancer une recherche vocale. Si vous ne disposez pas de l'application Voice Search, vous pouvez l'installer à partir d'Android Market sur votre téléphone – recherche pour « recherche vocale ». Une fois l'application installée, veillez à afficher la configuration et à choisir la langue que vous souhaitez utiliser.

Pour obtenir Google Mobile App for iPhone, recherchez « Google Mobile App » dans la boutique
App Store ou cliquez sur ce lien. Les utilisateurs d'iPhone qui disposent déjà de Google Mobile
App peuvent activer la recherche vocale en sélectionnant les nouvelles langues sur le panneau de
configuration de l'application.

Pour en savoir plus, consultez le site http://mobile.google.com et sélectionnez votre pays dans le bas de la page.

Poste par Amir Mané, Product Manager, Google Speech Technologies

====

Ukucinga Ngezwi kufikile eNingizimu Afrika

Nakhu okokuhlola labo abakhuluma isiZulu: yikuphi okushesha kakhulu... phakathi kokusho ukuthi "isolezwe iphephandaba" noma ukukuthayipha uhlamvu ngalunye? Kulabo abakhuluma i-Afrikaans yikuphi okusheshayo ku-"tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein"?

Ukukhuluma efonini kuyazenzakalela kithina, ngoba ukuthayipha kuvamise ukuba lukhuni kusiphequluli esincanyane. Ukucinga Ngezwi sikusungulele ukwenza lula ukusesha iwebhu ngokuvele ukhulume lokho ofuna ukukusesha. Ukucinga Ngezwi kwethulwa nge-English kuqala, ngoba ikhulunywa e-USA. Kwalandela ngokuthi sengeze ngezinye izinhlobo ze-English nalezi ezinye izilimi: i-Mandarin Chinese, i-Japanese, i-Korean, i-French, i-German, i-Italian, i-Spanish, i-Dutch, i-Czech, i-Polish, i-Russian kanye ne-Brazilian Portuguese. Namuhla sinentokozo yokumemezela ukuthi sethula nge-English yaseNingizimu Afrika, IsiZulu kanye ne-Afrikaans.

Sinenjabulo enkulu ngokuthuthukisela i-Afrika izilimi zayo. Ukwethula Ukucinga Ngezwi ngesiZulu isinyathelo sokuqala ekwakheni lolu hlelo ngezilimi ezincishwe amathuba. Lezi zilimi zikhulunywa yizigidi zabantu, kodwa zinendima encane kwezokusakaza okuphathekayo kanye nokwe-elektronik. Zishaywa indiva ngumphakathi ocwaninga ngokwenkulumo, 'sikususe phansi' ukuthuthukisa lezi zilimi.

Enye yezinselelo esabhekana nazo kwaba ngukwentuleka kokuqukethwe ngesiZulu kuwebhu uma kuqhathaniswa nezinye izilimi esisungule lolu hlelo ngazo. Ngalokho ke, Ukucinga Ngezwi esiZulwini "ngumsebenzi oqhubekayo". Intuthuko izosukela emizamweni yokwakha okuqukethwe esiZulwini kanye nasekusetshenzisweni Kokucinga Ngezwi yilabo abakhuluma IsiZulu.

Ukuqalisa

Ukuqala Ngokucinga Ngezwi ku-Google kulele enhlobeni yefoni yakho. Uma ifoni yakho isebenzisa i-Android 2.1 noma entsha, futhi uma ufake Ibhokisi Lokusesha Ngokushesha lakwaGoogle, okudingeka ukwenze ukuthinta uphawu lwemakhrofoni ukuqala ukucinga ngezwi. Uma ungenalo uhlelo lokusebenza Ukucinga Ngezwi, ungalifaka eMakethe ye-Android efonini yakho - cinga 'ukucinga ngezwi'. Uma usulifakile uhlelo lokusebenza qinisekisa ukuthi uya kuzilungiselelo ukhethe ulimi ofisa ukulisebenzisa.

Ukuthola Uhlelo Lokusebenza Lwamaselula ku-Google ku-iPhone, cinga 'Uhlelo Lokusebenza Lwamaselula ku-Google' Esitolo Sezinhlelo Zokusebenza noma ulandele leli xhumo. Abasebenzisi be-iPhone asebelufakile Uhlelo Lokusebenza Lwamaselula ku-Google bangavumela ukucinga ngezwi ngokukhetha izilimi ezintsha kwiphaneli yezilungiselelo ngaphakathi kohlelo lokusebenza.

Funda kabanzi ku-http://mobile.google.com ukhethe izwe lakho ngezansi.

- Amir Mané, Product Manager, Google Speech Technologies

====

Stemsoek maak sy opwagting in Suid-Afrika

Hier's 'n toets vir Afrikaans- en Zoeloe-sprekendes daar buite: wat is vinniger... om [lugversorgingstelsel] te sê, of om dieselfde navraag letter-vir-letter te tik?

Stem was nog altyd die natuurlikste manier om met 'n foon om te gaan – om te praat, is tipies vinniger en makliker as om te tik. Ons het heel eerste Stemsoek vir Engels, Mandaryn en Japannees ontwikkel en later het ons Franse, Duitse, Italiaanse en Spaanse sprekers verwelkom. Nou is dit met genoeë dat ons dié funksie in Suid-Afrikaanse Engels, Zoeloe en Afrikaans bekend stel.

Ons doel is om Google Stemsoek na sprekers van alle tale te bring. Ons volg 'n gestrenge proses om elke nuwe taal of dialek by te voeg. Deur regstreeks met moedertaalsprekers in elke land te werk, bestee ons weke daaraan om gesproke uitdrukkings te versamel ten einde die spesifieke modelle te skep waardeur die diens aangedryf word. Ons helpers word gevra om populêre navrae in hul moedertaal in 'n verskeidenheid akoestiese toestande soos in restaurante, buite op besige strate en binne-in motors uit te lees. Ons konstrueer ook vir elke taal 'n woordeskat van meer as een miljoen herkenbare woorde. Dit is geen maklike takie nie, maar ons geniet dit geweldig.

Let daarop dat ons nuwe taalmodelle vir aksente vanuit Suid-Afrika ontwerp is. As jy een van dié tale met 'n ander aksent praat (byvoorbeeld, met 'n Britse of Amerikaanse aksent wanneer jy Engels gebruik), sal Stemsoek dalk nie so goed vir jou werk nie.

Beskikbaarheid

Hoe jy begin om Google Stemsoek te gebruik, hang af van watter tipe foon jy het. As jou foon Android 2.1 of 'n jonger weergawe gebruik, en as jy die "Quick Search"-blokkie geïnstalleer het, hoef jy bloot op die mikrofoon-ikoon te tik om 'n stemgedrewe soektog te begin. iPhone- en BlackBerry-gebruikers wat reeds Google Mobile App geïnstalleer het, kan stemsoek in werking stel deur die nuwe tale vanaf die instellingspaneel binne die app te kies.

As jy Android 2.1 of 2.2 het en jy het reeds die stemsoek-toepassing geïnstalleer, sal stemsoek vanaf later vandag begin om resultate vir Suid-Afrikaanse Engels, Zoeloe en Afrikaans op te lewer as jy op jou foon een van daardie tale uit die instellings vir taal en sleutelbord gekies het. As jy nie die stemsoek-toepassing het nie, kan jy dit vanaf Android Market op jou foon installeer – soek vir 'voice search'. Hierdie toepassing is slegs beskikbaar in die Android Markets vir [Suid-Afrika]

Om Google Mobile App vir iPhone te kry, soek vir 'Google Mobile App' in die App Store of volg hierdie skakel. BlackBerry- en Nokia S60-gebruikers moet m.google.com besoek deur hul fone se blaaiers te gebruik.

Vind meer uit by http://mobile.google.com en kies jou land uit die voetreël.

Opgelaai deur Amir Mané, Product Manager, Google Speech Technologies

 

 

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