Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Academia.edu for Reserchers

This is a message from Dr. Richard Price:
With a team of people from Stanford and Cambridge, I've just launched a website Academia.edu, which does two things:
- It shows academics around the world structured in a 'tree' format, displayed according to their departmental and institutional affiliations.
- It enables academics to see news on the latest research in their area - the latest people, papers and talks.
We are hoping that Academia.edu will eventually list every academic in the world:
- Faculty Members, Post-Docs, Graduate Students, and Independent Researchers.
Academics can add their departments, and themselves, to the tree by clicking on the boxes.
Academics are joining the tree rapidly. More than 15,000 academics have added themselves in the last two months.
Some professors on the site include:
We're trying to spread the word about Academia.edu as much as possible. It would be terrific if you could visit the site, and add yourself to your department on the tree.
If your university is not there, you can add it by clicking on the arrows coming out of the university boxes.
Independent researchers - if you are a researcher that is not associated with university, I encourage you to add yourself to the "Independent Researchers"portion of the tree at http://independent.academia.edu/.
And do spread the word to your friends and colleagues if you can.
This information was distributed through list-serve by: Ingrid Thomson, UCT Library

ScienceDirect Top 25 Hottest Articles: July - September 2008

All UJ users can access the latest Top 25 Hottest Articles July-September 2008 on Science Direct. Select your subject of interest and read the articles' full-text.

View this LINK if you are non UJ user.

Research Tools

These are some useful links to explore in your free time during the holiday:

"100 Useful Tips and Tools to Research the Deep Web" (thanks to Kelly Sonora, for letting me know. I’m using at least 1/3 of these 100 tools)
- Meta-Search Engines
- Semantic Search Tools and Databases
- General Search Engines and Databases
- Academic Search Engines and Databases
- Scientific Search Engines and Databases
- Custom Search Engines
- Collaborative Information and Databases
- Tips and Strategies
- Helpful Articles and Resources for Deep Searching


Some old blog posts as a reminder:
Chemspider: Chemical Search engine
Lumifi: Research Search Engine
Golonka: E-Math, E-Physics, E-Chemistry for Africa

Faculty Acknowledge: Blogs contribute to Scholarly Communication

Faculty Acknowledge Blogs Contribute to Scholarly Communication
By noreply@blogger.com (Eric Schnell) on communications

One of my more recent hot topics is the need for librarians to expand how we define our own scholarly communications to keep up with changes in the practice of librarianship. A new report by the Ithaka Group being distributed by ARL explores how (non-librarian) faculty / scholars are making use of digital scholarly resources in the course of research. In the report entitled Current Models of Digital Scholarly Communication, authors Nancy Maron and Kirby Smith detail the various digital resources that expands the definition of what is a scholarly resource. Such resources include electronic-only data, e-journals, and blogs.

The report states that blogs are “being put to interesting use by scholars” and contribute to scholarship by providing a forum for discussion. Faculty acknowledge that blog postings allow scholars to share research findings and open up a dialog that can help to further shape and refine their ideas. Blogs can add a layer of commentary to published literature and can give frequent updates of researchers’ opinions rather than just facts and can also attract well established, well known writers in specific disciplines.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Scientific Research: Useful links

Science Research
A free, publicly available web portal allowing access to numerous scientific journals and public science databases. It allows students, teachers, professors, researchers, and the general public to access pertinent science information quickly and easily.
Nature Precedings is a free online service from Nature Publishing Group that enables researchers in the life sciences, biology, medicine (except clinical trials), chemistry and the earth sciences, to openly share preliminary findings, solicit community feedback, and claim priority over discoveries by posting preprint manuscripts, white papers, technical reports, posters, and presentations.
Provides information on EU-supported R&D activities including programmes, projects, results, publications and partners.
Gordon Research Conferences
Provide an international forum for the presentation and discussion of frontier research in the biological, chemical, and physical sciences, and their related technologies.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Science Watch: Trends & Performance in Basic Research

ScienceWatch.com

WHAT'S HOT IN... PHYSICS , Sep/Oct 2008
- With Applications Looming, Is Graphene the New Silicon?
- Physics Top Ten Papers
INSTITUTIONS RANKED IN....
KEEP INFORMED ABOUT RESEARCH BY READING THE LATEST ON:

Monday, October 20, 2008

Physics Resources in support to Research and Innovation

This post focus is on Physics resources:


1. Physics: Spotlighting Exceptional Research (APS) NEW!!!!

Physicists are drowning in a flood of research papers in their own fields and coping with an even larger deluge in other areas of physics. The Physical Review journals alone published over 18,000 papers last year. How can an active researcher stay informed about the most important developments in physics?
Physics highlights exceptional papers from the Physical Review journals. To accomplish this, Physics features expert commentaries written by active researchers who are asked to explain the results to physicists in other subfields. These commissioned articles are edited for clarity and readability across fields and are accompanied by explanatory illustrations.
Physics features three kinds of articles:
* Viewpoints are essays of approximately 1000–1500 words that focus on a single Physical Review paper or PRL letter and put this work into broader context.
* Trends are concise review articles (3000–4000 words in length) that survey a particular area and look for interesting developments in that field.
* Synopses (200 words) are staff-written distillations of interesting and important papers each week.
In addition, APS intend to publish selected Letters to the Editor to allow readers a chance to comment on the commentaries and summaries.
Physics provides a much-needed guide to the best in physics, and we welcome your comments (physics@aps.org).

2. Focus Physical Review (APS): Selections from “Physical Review” and “Physical Review Letters” explained to students and researchers in all fields of Physics

3.
Physics Central (APS): We invite you to visit our site every week to find out how physics is part of your world. We'll answer your questions on how things work and keep you informed with daily updates on physics in the news.

4. Virtual Journals in Science & Technology
* Virtual Journal of Applications of Superconductivity
The Virtual Journal of Applications of Superconductivity (VJAS) is a semi-monthly virtual journal presenting articles that have appeared in one of the participating broad-based source journals not specializing in superconductivity. Those interested in following applications of superconductivity should regularly go to the tables of contents of specialized superconductivity journals, which contain most of the published papers on applications of superconductivity.
*
Virtual Journal of Biological Physics Research
This semi-monthly virtual journal contains articles that have appeared in one of the participating source journals and that fall within a number of contemporary topical areas in biological physics research. Links to other useful Web resources on biological physics are also provided.
*
Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science & Technology
This weekly virtual journal contains articles that have appeared in one of the participating source journals and that fall within a number of contemporary topical areas in the science and technology of nanometer-scale structures. Links to other useful Web resources on nanoscale systems are also provided.
*
Virtual Journal of Quantum Information
This monthly virtual journal contains articles that have appeared in one of the
participating source journals and that fall within a number of contemporary topical areas in quantum information, including quantum computing, cryptography, error correction, and theoretical and experimental investigations of entanglement.
*
Virtual Journal of Ultrafast Science
This monthly virtual journal contains articles that have appeared in one of the participating source journals and that fall within a number of contemporary topical areas as they pertain to ultrafast phenomena. Links to other useful Web resources on ultrafast phenomena are also provided.

5. An Open Access Encyclopedia for Photonics and Laser Technology (access is available through UJ Library Catalogue)
This comprehensive open-access encyclopedia, explains the physical principles and common techniques in laser technology, while also covering major areas of fiber-optic technology and nonlinear optics, and addressing supplementary topics like ultrashort pulses, optical communications, general optics, optoelectronics, and quantum optics. Many references to selected scientific articles and textbooks aid further studies.

Friday, October 10, 2008

OPEN ACCESS DAY - 14 OCTOBER 2008

Celebrate Open Access Day on 14 October 2008.
Visit
Open Access Day blog
What Is Open Access?
Open Access is a growing international movement that uses the Internet to throw open the locked doors that once hid knowledge. Encouraging the unrestricted sharing of research results with everyone, the Open Access movement is gaining ever more momentum around the world as research funders and policy makers put their weight behind it.
Why Does Open Access Matter?
"Open Access helps scientists make the discoveries we need to improve health, provides the opportunity for their work to be more easily read and cited, enables integration of research with other resources, helps funding bodies evaluate the research they have funded, and ensures that the digital record of medicine can be preserved." Mark Walport, Director of the Welcome Trust London, UK
"Universities, who support and produce research, can’t keep up with inflating journal prices and are forced to cut subscriptions. With Open Access, instead of cutting off access to information to professors and students, we are able to provide that knowledge without increasing the college’s costs." Diane J. Graves, University Librarian Trinity University (Texas)
"The critical aspect of Open Access for me is that increased discoverability and browseability will lead to greater efficiency of conducting research. Any savings in efficiency translate quite directly into savings for taxpayers and time savings for researchers. That ultimately means more discoveries, sooner, for less money." André Brown, Ph.D. Student University of Pennsylvania
- Creative Commons: Creative Commons provides free tools that let authors, scientists, artists, and educators easily mark their creative work with the freedoms they want it to carry. You can use CC to change your copyright terms from "All Rights Reserved" to "Some Rights Reserved."
- UJDigiSpace: University of Johannesburg Open Access Repository
- Directory of Open Access Repositories: OpenDOAR is an authoritative directory of academic open access repositories. Each OpenDOAR repository has been visited by project staff to check the information that is recorded here. This in-depth approach does not rely on automated analysis and gives a quality-controlled list of repositories.
-
Directory of Open Access Journals: Welcome to the Directory of Open Access Journals. This service covers free, full text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals. We aim to cover all subjects and languages. There are now 3651 journals in the directory.
-
OA Librarian Blog
-
Open Access News
-
Open Students (very good)
-
Open Science Directory
- Open J-Gate Journals
- PLoS Biology
- BioMedCentral
- Access my post (18/09/08) with useful articles on Open Access issues.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS 2008

The Nobel Prize season began on Monday, 6th of October 2008. These are the winners in Chemistry, Physics and Medicine:

Chemistry
Three U.S.-based scientists share Nobel chemistry prize
Roger Y. Tsien of UC San Diego, Martin Chalfie of Columbia University and researcher Osamu Shimomura developed a fluorescent protein from jellyfish that allows researchers to trace cell molecules.

Physics
Three Physicists Share Nobel Prize
An American and two Japanese physicists on Tuesday won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work exploring the hidden symmetries among elementary particles that are the deepest constituents of nature.

Medicine
Discoverers of AIDS and Cancer Viruses Win Nobel
The Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded Monday to three European scientists who had discovered viruses behind two devastating illnesses, AIDS and Cervical cancer

Monday, October 6, 2008

Online Lectures vs Traditional Classes: Study results

What do today’s undergraduate students expect from their educational experience? Online lectures are moving to the top of the list, according to a new study released by the University of Wisconsin E-Business Institute and Sonic Foundry, Inc. Set against the backdrop of a national trend for webcasting college lectures, the study was designed to understand student attitudes regarding the addition of lecture capture to existing courses. One key finding shows an overwhelming 82 percent of the undergraduates in the sample would prefer a course that records and streams lecture content online vs. courses that only feature in-room instruction. One respondent said, "I would love to have online lectures in addition to normal lectures - focusing on listening and comprehension during class is very important to me and extremely difficult if I am also simultaneously scribbling notes" (Webwire.com )


This study suggests not only a willingness but a “clear preference” among undergraduates for “lecture capture,” the technology that records, streams and stores what happens in the classroom for concurrent or later viewing. Both Campus Technology and Inside Higher Ed discuss this new study. (iLibrarian blog)

Free Books - 50 places to find Free Books Online

Free books can be found everywhere-if you know where to look. This list shows you 50 places to find free books online. Offerings include free fiction and nonfiction books, free audio books, free reference books and free textbooks.
Free Education Books and Textbooks
Free Tech Books - This site offers a wide range of free computer science and programming textbooks, lecture notes and ebooks.
Freeload Press - A wonderful selection of free textbooks and educational materials are available for free download at Freeload Press.
Open Book Project - This site is a great place to find free textbooks and other educational materials.
Textbook Revolt - Students fight back against the high cost of textbooks on this site by offering up their used books for free.
Textbook Revolution - Textbook Revolution is one of the best sites on the web to find free textbooks and other educational materials.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

University of Johannesburg Research articles on ScienceDirect

Find below links to articles, which are available full-text on ScienceDirect.
I searched for 2008 publications only, by researchers from UJ Physics (APK), Botany & Plant Biotechnology, Geography, Geology and Zoology Departments.
Zoology Department
The ultrastructure of the digestive cells of Argulus japonicus, Thiele 1900 (Crustacea: Branchiura), Arthropod Structure & Development, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 11 September 2008, Q. Tam, A. Avenant-Oldewage
First maxillae suction discs in Branchiura (Crustacea): Development and evolution in light of the first molecular phylogeny of Branchiura, Pentastomida, and other “Maxillopoda”Arthropod Structure & Development, Volume 37, Issue 4, July 2008, Pages 333-346O.S. Møller, J. Olesen, A. Avenant-Oldewage, P.F. Thomsen, H. Glenner
Metal exposure and biological responses in resident and transplanted blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) from the Scheldt estuaryMarine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 57, Issues 6-12, 2008, Pages 624-631, V. Wepener, L. Bervoets, V. Mubiana, R. Blust
Botany & Plant Biotechnology Department
A DNA barcode for the flora of the Kruger National Park (South Africa)South African Journal of Botany, Volume 74, Issue 2, April 2008, Pages 370-371R. Lahaye, M. Van der Bank, O. Maurin, S. Duthoit, V. Savolainen
Molecular phylogenetics of the genera Pimelea and Thecanthes (Thymelaeaceae)South African Journal of Botany, Volume 74, Issue 2, April 2008, Page 373M.C. Motsi, B. Rye, M. Van der Bank
A review of the taxonomy, ethnobotany, chemistry and pharmacology of Sutherlandia frutescens (Fabaceae)Journal of Ethnopharmacology, In Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available online 9 August 2008, B.-E. van Wyk, C. Albrecht
A taxonomic revision of the genus Nanobubon (Apiaceae: Apioideae)South African Journal of Botany, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 6 August 2008A.R. Magee, B.-E. Van Wyk, P.M. Tilney
A historical, scientific and commercial perspective on the medicinal use of Pelargonium sidoides (Geraniaceae)Journal of Ethnopharmacology, In Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available online 3 August 2008T. Brendler, B.-E. van Wyk
A new species of Lichtensteinia (Apiaceae)South African Journal of Botany, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 3 August 2008 B.-E. Van Wyk, P.M. Tilney
A taxonomic revision of the genus Cynorhiza (Apiaceae: Apioideae)South African Journal of Botany, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 31 July 2008A.R. Magee, B-E. Van Wyk, P.M. Tilney
A new species of Lotononis section Oxydium (Fabaceae, Crotalarieae)South African Journal of Botany, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 29 July 2008, B.-E. Van Wyk, H. Kolberg
A review of Khoi-San and Cape Dutch medical ethnobotanyJournal of Ethnopharmacology, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 25 July 2008, B.-E. Van Wyk
A revision of Lebeckia sect. Lebeckia: The L. plukenetiana group (Fabaceae, Crotalarieae)South African Journal of Botany, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 19 June 2008 M.M. Le Roux, B.-E. Van Wyk
An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants in the southeastern Karoo, South AfricaSouth African Journal of Botany, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 16 June 2008, B.-E. Van Wyk, H. de Wet, F.R. Van Heerden
A new species of Alepidea (Apiaceae, subfam. Saniculoideae)South African Journal of Botany, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 9 June 2008 B.-E. Van Wyk, A. de Castro, P.M. Tilney, P.J.D. Winter, A.R. Magee
A broad review of commercially important southern African medicinal plantsJournal of Ethnopharmacology, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 3 June 2008 B.-E. van Wyk
Systematic studies in the genus Lebeckia and related genera (Crotalarieae, Fabaceae): A new generic classification for LebeckiaSouth African Journal of Botany, Volume 74, Issue 2, April 2008, Page 362 J.S. Boatwright, M.M. Le Roux, M. Wink, P.M. Tilney, B-E. Van Wyk
Vegetation cover changes of the Sand Forest in the KwaNibela Peninsula, St Lucia from 1937–2002South African Journal of Botany, Volume 74, Issue 2, April 2008, Page 364B.M. Corrigan, B-E. Van Wyk, C.J. Geldenhuys, J.F. Durand
The demise of Peucedanum (Apiaceae) in AfricaSouth African Journal of Botany, Volume 74, Issue 2, April 2008, Page 383 P.J.D. Winter, B-E. Van Wyk, A.R. Magee, S.R. Downie, P.M. Tilney
An ethnobotanical survey of southern African MenispermaceaeSouth African Journal of Botany, Volume 74, Issue 1, January 2008, Pages 2-9 H. De Wet, B.-E. Van Wyk
A synopsis of the Middle-eastern and Asian species of Argyrolobium (Genisteae–Fabaceae)South African Journal of Botany, Volume 74, Issue 1, January 2008, Pages 10-24, A. Moteetee, B.-E. Van Wyk
Resistance genes in the Triticeae and the dynamics of divergence before duplicationSouth African Journal of Botany, Volume 74, Issue 1, January 2008, Pages 51-64F.B. Du Preez, A.A. Myburg, E. Venter, A.-M. Botha
Physics Department
Physical properties of CVD boron-doped multiwalled carbon nanotubesMaterials Chemistry and Physics, Volume 111, Issues 2-3, 15 October 2008, Pages 386-390Kartick C. Mondal, Andre M. Strydom, Rudolph M. Erasmus, Jonathan M. Keartland, Neil J. Coville
Magnetic properties of Cr–Fe–Mn alloysJournal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 31 July 2008B. Li, H.L. Alberts, A.M. Strydom, B.M. Wu, A.R.E. Prinsloo, Zh.J. Chen
Electronic and magnetic properties of the rare earth intermetallic compounds RRu4Sn6 (R=Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy and Ho)Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, Volume 320, Issue 14, July 2008, Pages e128-e131, N.E. Koch, A.M. Strydom
Field-dependent tuning of the ferromagnetic ordering in CeAgSb2Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, Volume 320, Issue 14, July 2008, Pages e453-e456, A.M. Strydom, B.M. Mhlungu, A. Thamizhavel
R3Ir4Ge13 (R=Yb, Lu): Thermal and magnetic propertiesPhysica B: Condensed Matter, Volume 403, Issues 5-9, 1 April 2008, Pages 746-748, A.M. Strydom, N. Oeschler, F. Steglich
Thermal properties and magnetic field effects in ferromagnetic CeAuGePhysica B: Condensed Matter, Volume 403, Issues 5-9, 1 April 2008, Pages 862-863B.M. Mhlungu, A.M. Strydom
Crystal field excitations in the cubic compound Ce3Rh4Sn13Physica B: Condensed Matter, Volume 403, Issues 5-9, 1 April 2008, Pages 898-899D.T. Adroja, A.M. Strydom, A.P. Murani, W.A. Kockelmann, A. Fraile
First neutron measurements on Ce3Pd20Si6Physica B: Condensed Matter, Volume 403, Issues 5-9, 1 April 2008, Pages 1306-1308S. Paschen, S. Laumann, A. Prokofiev, A.M. Strydom, P.P. Deen, J.R. Stewart, K. Neumaier, A. Goukassov, J.-M. Mignot
First order phase transitions in Ce3Rh4Sn13Physica B: Condensed Matter, Volume 403, Issues 5-9, 1 April 2008, Pages 1312-1314J. Custers, M. Kriegisch, M. Müller, A. Thamizhavel, A.M. Strydom, S. Paschen
Electrical and magnetic properties of the Kondo system Physica B: Condensed Matter, Volume 403, Issues 5-9, 1 April 2008, Pages 1350-1352M.B. Tchoula Tchokonté, P.de.V. du Plessis, D. Kaczorowski, A.M. Strydom
Ultrasonic Wave Velocities in Solids: Elastic Properties, Temperature, and Pressure DependenceEncyclopedia of Materials: Science and Technology, 2008, Pages 1-5,H. L. Alberts (not full-text, we don't subscribe to this encyclopedia)
Physics & Geography Departments
Evidence for large-scale transport of biomass burning aerosols from sunphotometry at a remote South African siteAtmospheric Environment, Volume 42, Issue 22, July 2008, Pages 5569-5578, H. Winkler, P. Formenti, D.J. Esterhuyse, R.J. Swap, G. Helas, H.J. Annegarn, M.O. Andreae
Geology
Fractionation between inorganic and organic carbon during the Lomagundi (2.22–2.1 Ga) carbon isotope excursionEarth and Planetary Science Letters, Volume 271, Issues 1-4, 15 July 2008, Pages 278-291A. Bekker, C. Holmden, N.J. Beukes, F. Kenig, B. Eglinton, W.P. Patterson
P–T record of two high-grade metamorphic events in the Central Zone of the Limpopo Complex, South AfricaLithos, Volume 103, Issues 1-2, June 2008, Pages 70-105L.L. Perchuk, D.D. van Reenen, D.A. Varlamov, S.M. van Kal, Tabatabaeimanesh, R. Boshoff
Geochronological problems related to polymetamorphism in the Limpopo Complex, South AfricaGondwana Research, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 21 February 2008, D.D. Van Reenen, R. Boshoff, C.A. Smit, L.L. Perchuk, J.D. Kramers, S. McCourt, R.A. Armstrong
University of Johannesburg (UJ) web page: http://www.uj.ac.za

ScienceDirect Top 25 Hottest Articles: April-June 2008

Access the latest Top 25 Hottest Articles April-June 2008 on ScienceDirect Database on:

Select your subject of interest and read the articles' full-text.
If you like you can also Browse the Top 25 Archive.

Elsevier Library Connect Newsletter: 6:3 August 2008

This Elsevier "Library Connect" issue theme is "e-Learning".
"If anyone knows eLearning, it’s Generation Y, right? We thought it only fitting to launch Library Connect’s new Next Gen section in this issue, since next-gen’ers can practically eLearn with their eyes closed."
* Spotlight
Hear from Next Gen librarians as they discuss their experiences with eLearning.
- eLearning: Libraries increasingly help steer the ship, By Erika Bennett, Reference Librarian, Harold Abel School of Psychology, Capella University, USA
eLearning has traveled a long distance in a very short time. One can’t deny that, so far this Millennium, its impact has been enormous. In 2007, the Sloan Consortium reported that 3.5 million American college students (20%) were enrolled in an online course. The rise in online enrollments from 2005 to 2006 alone was 10%.
- eLearning 2.0, By Guofu Qian, Systems Librarian, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies Library, China.
What is eLearning 2.0? This term refers to ways of thinking about eLearning which have been inspired by the emergence of Web 2.0. In my opinion, eLearning 2.0 is an eLearning environment based on Web 2.0 technologies. The most important characteristic of eLearning 2.0 is collective intelligence, which is also a core characteristic of Web 2.0.
In the world of eLearning 2.0, eLearners can share their knowledge and experience by creating blog, wiki, photo, video and audio content freely and easily. This function gives eLearners an opportunity to become eTeachers, and vice versa. The bottom line? Web 2.0 technology makes all sorts of eLearning platforms easy-to-use
.
* Librarians speak out
* Also in this issue
- Tsinghua University Library case study: Developing a virtual learning environment By Lin Jia and Wang Yuan, Tsinghua University Library, China
" eLearning can help students become active learners, and libraries should play a greater role in this process of transformation."
-
Dr. Bakary Diallo explains how the African Virtual University is furthering higher education through hybrid offerings, Interview by Risa Blumlein, Library Marketing Intern, Elsevier, USA
"Coupled with frequent power outages, digital illiteracy, poor connectivity in some areas, lack of computer and telephone access, high operational costs of telephones and unfavorable ICT policies, the AVU (African Virtual University) had to refocus its strategy as one that would take cognizance of the different levels of technological and educational development throughout the African continent."
Access Elsevier Library Connect issues on:

Useful Links to Articles: Open Access, Scholarly Publishing, Institutional Repositories

Selected links to various materials received by e-mail (Aug-17 Sep 2008) from D. Nicholson, WITS, Copyright Services Librarian ( see below her e-mail, if you would like to subscribe to her e-mail alert):
Library/Faculty
Ithaka’s 2008 report on its 2006 faculty and librarian surveys
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2008/08/ithaka-2008-report-on-its-2006-faculty.html
http://www.ithaka.org/research/faculty-and-librarian-surveys

Open Access: Institutional Repositories
Publishers allowing the depositing of their published version/PDF in Institutional Repositories

http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/PDFandIR.html
3 Articles on IR's in Developing Countries
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2008/09/3-articles-on-irs-in-developing.html
Open Access Repositories begin to reap benefits for South African Science as CSIR research goes global:

http://blogs.uct.ac.za/blog/gray-area/2008/07/29/csir-research-goes-global
Seven Academic Open-Access Repositories Compared
http://www.icommons.org/articles/oa-academia-in-repose
LabMeeting: a scientist’s answer to an institutional repository?
http://lib.calpoly.edu/blog/crossingthechasm/2008/07/30/labmeeting-a-scientists-answer-to-an-institutional-repository/
Many publishers do allow authors to deposit their works in institutional repositories. See: Sherpa/Romeo
http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/index.html
Director of Open Access Repositories
http://www.opendoar.org/

Open Access: Science/ Education/ Research
Open Access – What is it?

http://www.library.uiuc.edu/scholcomm/openaccess.html
Open Access in South Africa
http://www.sivulile.org/
Open Educational Resources
http://deoracle.org/online-pedagogy/emerging-technologies/open-educational-resources.html
Open Access and Science
http://lib.calpoly.edu/blog/crossingthechasm/2008/09/11/open-access-and-science/
Are Online and Free Online Access Broadening or Narrowing Research?
http://openaccess.eprints.org/index.php?/archives/443-Are-Online-and-Free-Online-Access-Broadening-or-Narrowing-Research.html
Research funders’ open access policies
http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/juliet/index.php
Open Access: Good for Business!
http://poeticeconomics.blogspot.com/2005/09/open-access-good-for-business.html
Structural Genomics Knowledgebase (free resource)
http://kb.psi-structuralgenomics.org/about/this_site.html
Science Dissemination using Open Access (free to download)
http://sdu.ictp.it/openaccess/SciDissOpenAccess.pdf
Max Planck Society - Scientists Publish at PloS - Free of charge for their institutes
http://lilyheart.wordpress.com/2008/08/21/max-planck-society-scientists-publish-at-plos-free-of-charge-for-their-institutes
Out in the Open: Some MIT Scientists Sharing Results, Posting Unpublished Data
http://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N31/openscience.html
Science Dissemination Using Open Access (free downloadable book)
http://scholarship20.blogspot.com/2008/08/science-dissemination-using-open-access.html
How open access is your research area? (revisited)
http://blogs.openaccesscentral.com/blogs/bmcblog/entry/how_open_access_is_your1
Microsoft Research Unveils Free Software Tools to Help Scholars and Reseachers Share Knowledge
http://www.reviewspc.com/microsoft-research-unveils-free-software-tools-to-help-scholars-and-researchers-share-knowledge.html

Open Access: Scholarly Publishing/Peer Reviewing/Commons
Data Sharing and the Digital Science Commons

http://blog.mttlr.org/2008/09/data-sharing-and-digital-science.html
Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography
http://www.digital-scholarship.org/sepb/toc.htm
Who Profits when you Publish?
http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/pubsres/academe/2008/JA/Feat/wall.htm
The Impact of Digitizing Special Collections on Teaching and Scholarship
http://www.oclc.org/programs/publications/reports/2008-04.pdf
Best Practices for Access to Images: Recommendations for Scholarly Use and Publishing
http://www.arhv.lhivic.org/index.php/2008/08/22/790-best-practices-for-access-to-images-recommendations-for-scholarly-use-and-publishing
CreateChange – Digital Scholarship
http://www.createchange.org/
Bringing down the barriers (digital scholarship)
http://www.createchange.org/modes/bringing.shtml
Peer reviewing: privilege and responsibility
http://www.textjournal.com.au/april08/johnston_krauth.htm
Researchers benefit from Sharing
http://www.createchange.org/modes/researchers.shtml
Open Source approach to textbook publishing
http://www.springwise.com/education/open_source_approach_to_textbo/
ThoughtMesh: an Innovative Scholarly Publishing and Discovery Model
http://scholarship20.blogspot.com/2008/05/thoughtmesh-innovative-scholarly.html
Funding for Open Access Publishing (one way of addressing OA publishing)
http://ucalgaryhslnews.blogspot.com/2008/08/funding-for-open-access-publishing.html

Open Access: Authorship/Copyright
Authorship: why not just toss a coin?
http://ajpcell.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/295/3/C567
Open Access anxiety in the publish or perish world
http://www.plos.org/cms/node/397
Authors’ rights
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authors'_rights
http://www.arl.org/sparc/author/addendum.shtml
Canadian Association of University Teachers advises Authors to retain Copyright
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2008/08/caut-advises-authors-to-retain.html

Search Engines/ Directories/ References/ Databases
World Wide Web Reference
http://www.wwwreference.info/
Student Research Resources
http://www.studentresearch.info/
Quick Reference Research
http://www.refdesk.com/instant.html
Alltheweb.com
www.alltheweb.com
CompletePlanet (Deep Web Directory)
http://aip.completeplanet.com/index.jsp
The Web: How we use it.
http://scienceblogs.com/clock/2008/07/the_web_how_we_use_it.php?utm_source=sbhomepage&utm_medium=link&utm_content=channellink
National Center for Biotechnology Information – Public Databases
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
Life Sciences Search Engine
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/gquery
Biodiversity Heritage Library
www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Science Portal (Open Access - 90% of items not accessible on Google)
www.WorldWideScience.org
Biodiversity Heritage Library (Open Access)
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/About.aspx
The Digital Doorway (South Africa)
http://www.digitaldoorway.org.za/index_main.php

Open Access: Journals
Directory of Open Access Journal growth rate nearly doubles in the past year
http://poeticeconomics.blogspot.com/2008/08/doaj-growth-rate-nearly-doubles-in-past.html
Make China journals open access, says top scientist
http://www.scidev.net/en/news/make-china-journals-open-access-says-top-scientist.html
Support for Open Access Journals
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2008/08/support-for-oa-journals.html

Searching Patents
WIPO Patentscope
http://www.wipo.int/patentscope/en/
European Patent Office
http://ep.espacenet.com/advancedSearch?locale=en_ep
Google Patents
www.google.com/patents
Patent Information in Brief
http://www.wipo.int/patentscope/en/data/patent_information.html

If you know of any persons who may benefit from this information, please ask them to email Denise.Nicholson@wits.ac.za with their name, name of institution/organization and contact details.