25 June 2010
Today was our last day at the CSIR and I`m not even sure if we are suppose to blog for today, anyway, here we are.
This morning started off a bit stressful, as we had to do our presetation today. We also had to upload our report. Luckily I could finsish off with that while my other group members worked on the presentation.
After I finished uploading the report I helped to quickly edit the presentation as their was not much time left befor it had to be uploaded. We afterwards rehearsed the presentation just so that everyone can get a feel for it. Me and 2 other members of my group did not present as we were quite a large group and we would have crowded the podium. I would have been part of the presentation if we had more time, as I would have been conferenced in on the presentation to explain a part of our project. ( we would have recorded a video and played it)
I think that my group members did a really good job of the presentation and would like to thank them for it. I want to go further and thank them for the entire project. I have learned a lot from them and I think we made a great team.
In terms of the other presentations, and the whole presentation ceremony I think it went well. All the groups seemed to know what they were doing and learned us some new things.
In conclusion I want to hank the CSIR for the time that they have spent on us. It couldn`t have been an easy to do their jobs and still accommodate us. We as UP students have learned a lot from them, and I think we formed a really good base from which we can approach future employment.
So, Thank you CSIR, I hope that our paths will cross again!!!
Friday, June 25, 2010
24 June 2010
Today was a really hectic day and a lot had to be done. We had to finsish off our project and start working on our presentation. Unfortunately we came across a few unexpected problems that took up a lot of time such as the storyboard that wasn`t completely finished or some parts of the report not being correct.
However after a few long hours we made some progress towards fencing off. We divide the work amongst us that had to be summarised and put into slide format so that we could start off on Friday by practising our presentation. I worked on finishing our report, so I wasn`t part of the compilation of our report.
Learning wise not much can be said in terms of new learning as most of the work was editing, editing and more editing. We can however learn from this that time management is essential and by doing this right, it will help to counter the stress involved in such a project.
I hope tomorrow`s presentation will be a success.
Today was a really hectic day and a lot had to be done. We had to finsish off our project and start working on our presentation. Unfortunately we came across a few unexpected problems that took up a lot of time such as the storyboard that wasn`t completely finished or some parts of the report not being correct.
However after a few long hours we made some progress towards fencing off. We divide the work amongst us that had to be summarised and put into slide format so that we could start off on Friday by practising our presentation. I worked on finishing our report, so I wasn`t part of the compilation of our report.
Learning wise not much can be said in terms of new learning as most of the work was editing, editing and more editing. We can however learn from this that time management is essential and by doing this right, it will help to counter the stress involved in such a project.
I hope tomorrow`s presentation will be a success.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Blog 23 June – Wednesday
We started off this morning by working on the changes that Xoliswa suggested.
As I have searched for a number of tools I had to add whether or not these tools can be regarded as open source tools/ technologies or not. This takes up quite some time as one needs to check the website of the tool, the frequently asked question of the site, the about or information page as well as the tool and open source coding in Google.
Another thing I worked on was the analysis of a virtual knowledge space named KP-Lab. This is what I found on KP-Lab
Background
The goal of KP–Lab system`s is to enable the creation and sharing of knowledge in an educational or workplace environment by designing and implementing extensive and flexible ICT systems. In order for these systems however to be successful, it needs to use the power of existing and emerging semantic web technologies. Many of these technologies support knowledge creation but because it is inflexible it need to be refined in order to address the need of learners, instructors as well as professionals, to ensure stability, performance and usability. (KP-Lab 2009)
KP-Lab Tools
Within KP-Lab system the following tools are available:
Knowledge Practices Environment (KPE)
By creating a shared knowledge space with tools that can be used for making comments, develop as well as manage knowledge artefacts support is given to collaborative knowledge creation. This tool aims to just that. (KP-Lab 2009)
Tool description
KPE is designed to support collaborative work by means of integration. A shared space is available with the necessary tools to develop and manage knowledge, people as well as processes. It also incorporates reflection on the different practises that take place from a variety of views such as the view from a content perspective, a process perspective and a community perspective. (KP-Lab 2009). According to KP-Lab (2009), The KPE consists of a number of tools that are used while working with knowledge objects. These tools include alerting services, a wiki, and note editing software, tagging software, commenting and chat mechanisms as well as a search function. What makes KPE such a good tool to have is the fact that it can be adapted to fit various practises and domains, which in effect mean that that the end-user can decide whether or not it is applicable to his/her project or not. (KP-Lab 2009). Relating to knowledge creation, because of its flexibility, this tool mediates collaborative work, supports creativity, and help to learn new strategies, which in the long run makes it easier and more acceptable to the user. (KP-Lab 2009)
Usage
According to KP-Lab (2009) organisations that work with knowledge creation and collaborative tasks such as these listed hereafter, is seen as the target group for this tool.”
1. “Higher education;
2. Student groups;
3. Internship courses;
4. Teacher training;
5. Teacher networks;
6. Disciplinary networks (across universities);
7. Schools;
8. Non-Profit organizations; and
9. Companies.”
The Visual Modelling (Language) Editor
In order to extend the functions of the standard KPE, The Visual Modelling (Language) Editor is used to enable users to work on visual models and visual modelling languages by means of creation, sharing, usage as well as the updating of these models. (KP-Lab 2009)
Tool description
According to KP-Lab (2009), the goal of the Visual Modelling (Language) Editor is to help in the process of collaborative modelling over a variety of disciplines by means of a semantically powerful tool that is simple and customisable. Examples of areas in which this tool can help are: collaborative analysis, problem modelling, designing of projects, analysis of models used in strategy development.
The Visual Modeling (Language) Editor further allows for both synchronous and asynchronous work, meaning that when changes are made, the effect can be seen in real time by other group members but the system also creates a log about this event in order for an off-line member to be able to see what changes have been made and how the final step has been reached. (KP-Lab 2009). In order to offer more support to the user, the tool also offer a chat and comment function. (KP-Lab 2009)
Usage
In communities where scientists, professionals and students need technical help in the development of conceptual tools, research support tools and knowledge creation tools, this tool will be of great value. (KP-Lab 2009)
CASS-Memo tool
The goal of this tool is to use multimedia and “note-taking” to capture the happening of essential actions and or events.
The software connected to this tool is created to be used on mobile phones. (KP-Lab 2009)
Tool description
The aim of this tool is to enable students as well as professionals to use it anywhere and be able to transmit data to the KPE from anywhere. It is designed to be interoperable with other tools of the KPE by providing the user with features such as audio/video recording, capturing of images and saving these entire file to the KPE with the metadata connected to it. (KP-Lab 2009)
The tool allows the option of selecting a directory to where a file should be stored, after which it is regarded as content in a shared knowledge space which is accessible to other users. From the usage side the users will be able to search for content on the shared space and download the items they need to their phones.(KP-Lab 2009)
Usage
According to KP-Lab (2009), Users that will definitely benefit from this tool is those working outside the office environment where computers and internet access is limited but whom is still required to participate in the creation, collection and management of knowledge as well as the depositing of knowledge into a storage space (Knowledge repository).
CASS-Query tool
In order to address the issue of collecting process and context sensitive data, the tools of the CASS system can be adapted to suit the needs of different users. CASS is a Java based application. (KP-Lab 2009)
Tool description
According to KP-Lab (2009) The Query tool is implemented on 3G compatible mobile devices such as the Nokia E70 with features such as a Symbian operating system, MP3 and video capabilities, GPS as well as wireless LAN.
The tool has 2 main functions: The first is that the query tool runs on the mobile phone which allows that the query get sent to the mobile application. The second is that it also includes a server databases which is responsible for the transmission and storage of data. This admin tool is operated via a admin website and is used for entering information and creating queries. (KP-Lab 2009)
Usage
This tool is most suitable for researchers as it helps to investigate the actions, ideas and experiences of different actors in the context of daily lives. (KP-Lab 2009)
Semantic Multimedia Annotation tool (SMAT)
According to KP-Lab (2009), The Semantic Multimedia Annotation Tool (SMAT) is: “a rich internet application. SMAT is a tool that offers the possibility of annotating any multimedia content item.”
Tool description
The main role of this tool according to KP-Lab (2009) is to manage knowledge, which in this instance is multimedia content, embedded in documents. In order to manage these documents semantics has to be anchored to the media within the document. Annotation can be described as a multipurpose activity as it can have many objectives such: “internalisation of mental models, internalisation of knowledge, awareness of social practices, partially articulating embedded knowledge and reflective transformation of practices”
This tool has the potential to annotate any item relating to multimedia and can also be adapted to the domain the user selected which leads to the description of a “rich internet application”.
Usage
The SMA - tool is primarily made for learning, but can also be used in areas of education, research and industry. (KP-Lab 2009). In terms of schools and learning this tool can be used as a collaborative review on a project to determine what went well and what did not, but it can also be used as a reflective activity based on an exercise recorded on video. (KP-Lab 2009).As mentioned above, the tool can be used in other areas as well, not only in the school environment. With little adaptation it can function as reflection on activities such as meetings in the industrial environment; it can be used in the sector of medicine and when imaging modalities such as scans need to be analyses and reflected on in order to form a diagnosis. (KP-Lab 2009)
In areas such as oceanography, environment and agriculture the use of video and audio has already begun, and with little help from SMAT, these areas will surely improve. KP-Lab (2009) continues by saying that: “video is an excellent means for gathering data”, when researching. This specific tool could be used for the coding of data, the analysis thereof and finally the visualisation.
Text Mining Services
Users need to be assisted in the process of creating and /or updating semantic descriptions of KP-Lab Knowledge artefacts, which includes the “object of activities”. This service addresses that need.
Tool description
The text mining tool provides a classification as well as a clustering service used to help users when they want to create or update “knowledge artefacts”. This service functions on analysed textual content as well as the semantic annotations of this content. After the Classification service has been trained it is able to categorise objects (knowledge artefacts) under a set of pre-determine categories which has the result of semantic descriptions already being made. The Clustering service on the other hand searches for clusters of artefacts that can be stored together and then acquire conceptual maps from them.
Operations associated with the Classification Service are the maintenance and organisations of models while operations associated with the Clustering Service are pre-processing of text and content map creation.
Usage
The Text mining service can be utilised by schools and universities, especially in the e-Learning environment where content needs to be organised and categorised all the time. It can also be used by research communities to act as the building blocks on which their applications are based.
RDF Suite
“RDF Suite is a set of high-level and scalable services enabling the realization of the full potential of the Semantic Web.” (KP-Lab 2009). The Resource Description Framework (RDF) enables users to create metadata and exchange this metadata with other users over the web. It is necessary that the meaning, usability, quality, relevance, authority and accessibility of resources are known in order to aid automated processing of sources.
Usage
Academicians and software developers will probably use this suite the most as it is used to validate data compatible with RDF/S for the Semantic web.
KMS-Persistence API
Definition: “Persistence API is a client library used for managing all Knowledge repository tasks.” (KP-Lab. 2009)
Tool description
Persistence API is used to fetch data from the repository and allows data to be centralised or decentralised into a repository. It functions on Java objects which can be indexed into a search feature, allowing the user to find resources him/herself. (KP-Lab. 2009)
Usage
The intended users of this tool are developers of front end and middleware software whom are required to work with resources inside the knowledge repository. Because it allows the usage of data in the form of Java objects it is useful for developers who want to create graphs from the data inside the knowledge repository. (KP-Lab. 2009) According to KP-Lab (2009) the tools and applications mentioned above, was developed in open source code, which means that it will be available under open source terms to external development and further research.
I had some help from KG and Phyllis in the analysis of this virtual space.
Our group then had a thinking session where we threw around a few ideas on what we should put on our storyboard and how it should look.
One of the ideas we had was using basic HTML to create a dummy website, but then we realized that none of us were experts on HTML programming and we had to come up with a new idea.
This was however a good starting point as the idea we came up with really looks good.
I think what can be learned from this experience is that an idea doesn`t necessarily have to be good the first time around. As long as that idea creates the base for follow up ideas by starting a creative energy, that idea has served its purpose.
I also realized that by using brainstorming as a method of creating something new, can lead to positive results if it is controlled, if not chaos will arise as people can easily lose track.
I spoke to Xoliswa about the storyboard, just to make sure we are on the right track. She suggested a few ideas as well as needs that we must consider for the storyboard and showed me a wish list on the Energy wiki, of tools/technologies that they would like on our storyboard.
In the beginning of our project our group leaders mentioned to us that we should feel some form of pressure and stress, and to be honest I`m starting to stress.
Everything has to come together now, which means that there is no time for mistakes. Hope all goes well…..
We started off this morning by working on the changes that Xoliswa suggested.
As I have searched for a number of tools I had to add whether or not these tools can be regarded as open source tools/ technologies or not. This takes up quite some time as one needs to check the website of the tool, the frequently asked question of the site, the about or information page as well as the tool and open source coding in Google.
Another thing I worked on was the analysis of a virtual knowledge space named KP-Lab. This is what I found on KP-Lab
Background
The goal of KP–Lab system`s is to enable the creation and sharing of knowledge in an educational or workplace environment by designing and implementing extensive and flexible ICT systems. In order for these systems however to be successful, it needs to use the power of existing and emerging semantic web technologies. Many of these technologies support knowledge creation but because it is inflexible it need to be refined in order to address the need of learners, instructors as well as professionals, to ensure stability, performance and usability. (KP-Lab 2009)
KP-Lab Tools
Within KP-Lab system the following tools are available:
Knowledge Practices Environment (KPE)
By creating a shared knowledge space with tools that can be used for making comments, develop as well as manage knowledge artefacts support is given to collaborative knowledge creation. This tool aims to just that. (KP-Lab 2009)
Tool description
KPE is designed to support collaborative work by means of integration. A shared space is available with the necessary tools to develop and manage knowledge, people as well as processes. It also incorporates reflection on the different practises that take place from a variety of views such as the view from a content perspective, a process perspective and a community perspective. (KP-Lab 2009). According to KP-Lab (2009), The KPE consists of a number of tools that are used while working with knowledge objects. These tools include alerting services, a wiki, and note editing software, tagging software, commenting and chat mechanisms as well as a search function. What makes KPE such a good tool to have is the fact that it can be adapted to fit various practises and domains, which in effect mean that that the end-user can decide whether or not it is applicable to his/her project or not. (KP-Lab 2009). Relating to knowledge creation, because of its flexibility, this tool mediates collaborative work, supports creativity, and help to learn new strategies, which in the long run makes it easier and more acceptable to the user. (KP-Lab 2009)
Usage
According to KP-Lab (2009) organisations that work with knowledge creation and collaborative tasks such as these listed hereafter, is seen as the target group for this tool.”
1. “Higher education;
2. Student groups;
3. Internship courses;
4. Teacher training;
5. Teacher networks;
6. Disciplinary networks (across universities);
7. Schools;
8. Non-Profit organizations; and
9. Companies.”
The Visual Modelling (Language) Editor
In order to extend the functions of the standard KPE, The Visual Modelling (Language) Editor is used to enable users to work on visual models and visual modelling languages by means of creation, sharing, usage as well as the updating of these models. (KP-Lab 2009)
Tool description
According to KP-Lab (2009), the goal of the Visual Modelling (Language) Editor is to help in the process of collaborative modelling over a variety of disciplines by means of a semantically powerful tool that is simple and customisable. Examples of areas in which this tool can help are: collaborative analysis, problem modelling, designing of projects, analysis of models used in strategy development.
The Visual Modeling (Language) Editor further allows for both synchronous and asynchronous work, meaning that when changes are made, the effect can be seen in real time by other group members but the system also creates a log about this event in order for an off-line member to be able to see what changes have been made and how the final step has been reached. (KP-Lab 2009). In order to offer more support to the user, the tool also offer a chat and comment function. (KP-Lab 2009)
Usage
In communities where scientists, professionals and students need technical help in the development of conceptual tools, research support tools and knowledge creation tools, this tool will be of great value. (KP-Lab 2009)
CASS-Memo tool
The goal of this tool is to use multimedia and “note-taking” to capture the happening of essential actions and or events.
The software connected to this tool is created to be used on mobile phones. (KP-Lab 2009)
Tool description
The aim of this tool is to enable students as well as professionals to use it anywhere and be able to transmit data to the KPE from anywhere. It is designed to be interoperable with other tools of the KPE by providing the user with features such as audio/video recording, capturing of images and saving these entire file to the KPE with the metadata connected to it. (KP-Lab 2009)
The tool allows the option of selecting a directory to where a file should be stored, after which it is regarded as content in a shared knowledge space which is accessible to other users. From the usage side the users will be able to search for content on the shared space and download the items they need to their phones.(KP-Lab 2009)
Usage
According to KP-Lab (2009), Users that will definitely benefit from this tool is those working outside the office environment where computers and internet access is limited but whom is still required to participate in the creation, collection and management of knowledge as well as the depositing of knowledge into a storage space (Knowledge repository).
CASS-Query tool
In order to address the issue of collecting process and context sensitive data, the tools of the CASS system can be adapted to suit the needs of different users. CASS is a Java based application. (KP-Lab 2009)
Tool description
According to KP-Lab (2009) The Query tool is implemented on 3G compatible mobile devices such as the Nokia E70 with features such as a Symbian operating system, MP3 and video capabilities, GPS as well as wireless LAN.
The tool has 2 main functions: The first is that the query tool runs on the mobile phone which allows that the query get sent to the mobile application. The second is that it also includes a server databases which is responsible for the transmission and storage of data. This admin tool is operated via a admin website and is used for entering information and creating queries. (KP-Lab 2009)
Usage
This tool is most suitable for researchers as it helps to investigate the actions, ideas and experiences of different actors in the context of daily lives. (KP-Lab 2009)
Semantic Multimedia Annotation tool (SMAT)
According to KP-Lab (2009), The Semantic Multimedia Annotation Tool (SMAT) is: “a rich internet application. SMAT is a tool that offers the possibility of annotating any multimedia content item.”
Tool description
The main role of this tool according to KP-Lab (2009) is to manage knowledge, which in this instance is multimedia content, embedded in documents. In order to manage these documents semantics has to be anchored to the media within the document. Annotation can be described as a multipurpose activity as it can have many objectives such: “internalisation of mental models, internalisation of knowledge, awareness of social practices, partially articulating embedded knowledge and reflective transformation of practices”
This tool has the potential to annotate any item relating to multimedia and can also be adapted to the domain the user selected which leads to the description of a “rich internet application”.
Usage
The SMA - tool is primarily made for learning, but can also be used in areas of education, research and industry. (KP-Lab 2009). In terms of schools and learning this tool can be used as a collaborative review on a project to determine what went well and what did not, but it can also be used as a reflective activity based on an exercise recorded on video. (KP-Lab 2009).As mentioned above, the tool can be used in other areas as well, not only in the school environment. With little adaptation it can function as reflection on activities such as meetings in the industrial environment; it can be used in the sector of medicine and when imaging modalities such as scans need to be analyses and reflected on in order to form a diagnosis. (KP-Lab 2009)
In areas such as oceanography, environment and agriculture the use of video and audio has already begun, and with little help from SMAT, these areas will surely improve. KP-Lab (2009) continues by saying that: “video is an excellent means for gathering data”, when researching. This specific tool could be used for the coding of data, the analysis thereof and finally the visualisation.
Text Mining Services
Users need to be assisted in the process of creating and /or updating semantic descriptions of KP-Lab Knowledge artefacts, which includes the “object of activities”. This service addresses that need.
Tool description
The text mining tool provides a classification as well as a clustering service used to help users when they want to create or update “knowledge artefacts”. This service functions on analysed textual content as well as the semantic annotations of this content. After the Classification service has been trained it is able to categorise objects (knowledge artefacts) under a set of pre-determine categories which has the result of semantic descriptions already being made. The Clustering service on the other hand searches for clusters of artefacts that can be stored together and then acquire conceptual maps from them.
Operations associated with the Classification Service are the maintenance and organisations of models while operations associated with the Clustering Service are pre-processing of text and content map creation.
Usage
The Text mining service can be utilised by schools and universities, especially in the e-Learning environment where content needs to be organised and categorised all the time. It can also be used by research communities to act as the building blocks on which their applications are based.
RDF Suite
“RDF Suite is a set of high-level and scalable services enabling the realization of the full potential of the Semantic Web.” (KP-Lab 2009). The Resource Description Framework (RDF) enables users to create metadata and exchange this metadata with other users over the web. It is necessary that the meaning, usability, quality, relevance, authority and accessibility of resources are known in order to aid automated processing of sources.
Usage
Academicians and software developers will probably use this suite the most as it is used to validate data compatible with RDF/S for the Semantic web.
KMS-Persistence API
Definition: “Persistence API is a client library used for managing all Knowledge repository tasks.” (KP-Lab. 2009)
Tool description
Persistence API is used to fetch data from the repository and allows data to be centralised or decentralised into a repository. It functions on Java objects which can be indexed into a search feature, allowing the user to find resources him/herself. (KP-Lab. 2009)
Usage
The intended users of this tool are developers of front end and middleware software whom are required to work with resources inside the knowledge repository. Because it allows the usage of data in the form of Java objects it is useful for developers who want to create graphs from the data inside the knowledge repository. (KP-Lab. 2009) According to KP-Lab (2009) the tools and applications mentioned above, was developed in open source code, which means that it will be available under open source terms to external development and further research.
I had some help from KG and Phyllis in the analysis of this virtual space.
Our group then had a thinking session where we threw around a few ideas on what we should put on our storyboard and how it should look.
One of the ideas we had was using basic HTML to create a dummy website, but then we realized that none of us were experts on HTML programming and we had to come up with a new idea.
This was however a good starting point as the idea we came up with really looks good.
I think what can be learned from this experience is that an idea doesn`t necessarily have to be good the first time around. As long as that idea creates the base for follow up ideas by starting a creative energy, that idea has served its purpose.
I also realized that by using brainstorming as a method of creating something new, can lead to positive results if it is controlled, if not chaos will arise as people can easily lose track.
I spoke to Xoliswa about the storyboard, just to make sure we are on the right track. She suggested a few ideas as well as needs that we must consider for the storyboard and showed me a wish list on the Energy wiki, of tools/technologies that they would like on our storyboard.
In the beginning of our project our group leaders mentioned to us that we should feel some form of pressure and stress, and to be honest I`m starting to stress.
Everything has to come together now, which means that there is no time for mistakes. Hope all goes well…..
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
We stared of our morning at the CSIR knowing that we had to attend a knowledge workshop today. There was however a bit of confusion of what time we needed to be there.
I really enjoyed the workshop, it was truely a new learning experience. The workshop started off with us writing down our favouraite animal as well as how this animal can be linked to what we did up to now at the CSIR. I chose a dog, as our group was "sick as a dog", but also because a dog supports its owner and I feel the people at CSIR supports each other.
A few ground rules were layed down such as:
positive energy,
active participation,
sharing,
cooperation,
attentiveness,
no side meetings allowed,
don`t judge
and english only.
We spoke about the 5 D`s namely discovery, dream, design, destiny and delivery.
After this we made a list of 3 actors, emotings/ feelings and things that contributed to a positive energy. We looked at the different values that can exists among new proffesionals and after a period of voting we agreed on the top 5 which was :
never give up,
believe in the impossible,
failure is not an option,
make the best of every moment
and don`t let others define you.
A question that had us thinking was where we would like to be in a year`s time: the title or position as well the experiences that we wanted to have experienced by then. This was followed by a list of needs and a list of what we had to offer to other`s, which we had to post next to our names for others to read.
We then sticked a number of qualities that was printed on papers to the names of people we think deserved them or what fit them in order to establish how other`s percieve you.
We ended of this event by naming 3 words about how we felt about the knowledge workshop. It was all good and well but what was bad about it is that it made us all relaxed, which made it very hard to start working again. I think that knowledge sharing workshops is a very good idea, and if managed correctly it can lead to a very productive session.
When we eventually got back from Knowledge Commons, I finalised the worked that I started yesterday which was the following:
E-Infrastructures
Definition:According to Belief (2010) “e-Infrastructure is a new way of doing research”.
Background.
In order to manage the complexity of new challenges in the scientific environment as well as dealing with global collaboration, e-Infrastructure has become a necessity according to Belief (2010). E-Infrastructures are used to connect scientists from all over the world, in order to encourage collaboration by giving access to scientific facilities such as tools and technologies, research data and information, communication and computing.
Composition of e-Infrastructure. According to Belief (2010), e-Infrastructures are made up of 6 “layers” or “perspectives” categorised under the following:
The first category is Connectivity at high speeds. By means of GEANT2 (a high bandwidth academic internet serving); researchers, educators and students can access resources and use tools and technologies with the best performance and connectivity available. In order to extend connectivity, projects such as SEEGRID2 and EELA-2 are rolled out which helps in the creation of virtual communities.
Grid Computing is a term used to describe the use of multiple computers in order to complete huge numbers of calculations at the same time. A tool used specifically in this area is EGEE-III that is used for the storage and elaboration of data from “collaborative scientific research projects”
The term Super Computing on the other hand refers to the process of using the power of supercomputers to run different calculations at the same time, which relates to Grid Computing. To name an example of how Super Computing can be of value is the DEISA project and the PRACE project.
Scientific Data can be seen as the 3d layer of the e-Infrastructure. This data is stored in a repository that is carefully managed and shared between project teams of different research areas. Europe has an initiative where policies are defined in this regarded in order to ensure that this information will be usable and relevant for a long period of time.
Global Virtual Research Communities enables countries to benefit from global collaboration as their researchers are able to participate in the sharing of software, data as well as best practises by means of virtual media.
Standards are in place which ensures that connectivity and interoperability can take place. Without these standards, there will be chaos and the e-Infrastructure will not function as it should.
I also continued on analysing another site which I will upload later...
I really enjoyed the workshop, it was truely a new learning experience. The workshop started off with us writing down our favouraite animal as well as how this animal can be linked to what we did up to now at the CSIR. I chose a dog, as our group was "sick as a dog", but also because a dog supports its owner and I feel the people at CSIR supports each other.
A few ground rules were layed down such as:
positive energy,
active participation,
sharing,
cooperation,
attentiveness,
no side meetings allowed,
don`t judge
and english only.
We spoke about the 5 D`s namely discovery, dream, design, destiny and delivery.
After this we made a list of 3 actors, emotings/ feelings and things that contributed to a positive energy. We looked at the different values that can exists among new proffesionals and after a period of voting we agreed on the top 5 which was :
never give up,
believe in the impossible,
failure is not an option,
make the best of every moment
and don`t let others define you.
A question that had us thinking was where we would like to be in a year`s time: the title or position as well the experiences that we wanted to have experienced by then. This was followed by a list of needs and a list of what we had to offer to other`s, which we had to post next to our names for others to read.
We then sticked a number of qualities that was printed on papers to the names of people we think deserved them or what fit them in order to establish how other`s percieve you.
We ended of this event by naming 3 words about how we felt about the knowledge workshop. It was all good and well but what was bad about it is that it made us all relaxed, which made it very hard to start working again. I think that knowledge sharing workshops is a very good idea, and if managed correctly it can lead to a very productive session.
When we eventually got back from Knowledge Commons, I finalised the worked that I started yesterday which was the following:
E-Infrastructures
Definition:According to Belief (2010) “e-Infrastructure is a new way of doing research”.
Background.
In order to manage the complexity of new challenges in the scientific environment as well as dealing with global collaboration, e-Infrastructure has become a necessity according to Belief (2010). E-Infrastructures are used to connect scientists from all over the world, in order to encourage collaboration by giving access to scientific facilities such as tools and technologies, research data and information, communication and computing.
Composition of e-Infrastructure. According to Belief (2010), e-Infrastructures are made up of 6 “layers” or “perspectives” categorised under the following:
The first category is Connectivity at high speeds. By means of GEANT2 (a high bandwidth academic internet serving); researchers, educators and students can access resources and use tools and technologies with the best performance and connectivity available. In order to extend connectivity, projects such as SEEGRID2 and EELA-2 are rolled out which helps in the creation of virtual communities.
Grid Computing is a term used to describe the use of multiple computers in order to complete huge numbers of calculations at the same time. A tool used specifically in this area is EGEE-III that is used for the storage and elaboration of data from “collaborative scientific research projects”
The term Super Computing on the other hand refers to the process of using the power of supercomputers to run different calculations at the same time, which relates to Grid Computing. To name an example of how Super Computing can be of value is the DEISA project and the PRACE project.
Scientific Data can be seen as the 3d layer of the e-Infrastructure. This data is stored in a repository that is carefully managed and shared between project teams of different research areas. Europe has an initiative where policies are defined in this regarded in order to ensure that this information will be usable and relevant for a long period of time.
Global Virtual Research Communities enables countries to benefit from global collaboration as their researchers are able to participate in the sharing of software, data as well as best practises by means of virtual media.
Standards are in place which ensures that connectivity and interoperability can take place. Without these standards, there will be chaos and the e-Infrastructure will not function as it should.
I also continued on analysing another site which I will upload later...
Monday, June 21, 2010
Monday 21 June
Today we started working back at the CSIR again, in our group we joked and said that we have returned from exile…Anyway, the workday started off pretty much the same than the other days, with one exception in my opinion and that is that it flew by. Maybe it has something to do with the shortest day and longest night of the year, or maybe it is just me.
When we got to the CSIR, and had our morning cup of coffee at round about 7:30, we upgraded offices from the tea room to the conference room, which was good because we actually had computers and internet access (no offence to the tea room - that is one of the most important rooms in an office building). However we were not alone in the conference room, as another group had also been kicked out of their office and wanted to use the computers allocated to us. I didn`t mind sharing but it is rather difficult to share 5 computers between 11 people, working on different parts of different projects. That said I just remembered how privileged we are to actually have access to the internet and computers, we moan about sharing but some doesn`t even have that opportunity.
So we tried to sort that out, making plans to move the other group to campus, as the labs were still booked for us. Luckily Xoliswa came to rescue as she spoke to their group leader whom had arranged another venue for them. This has obviously took up some time, maybe that`s why the day felt short.
I continued working on the work I started on Friday, which was the following:
Summary of the features of HUBzero
Definition
“At its core, a ‘hub’ is a web site built with many familiar open source packages—a Linux system running an Apache web server with LDAP for user logins, PHP web scripting, Joomla content management system, and a MySQL database for storing content and usage statistics.” (HUB zero, 2009)
The goal of the HUB zero software is to create a space where researchers or educators or students can share info and access tools. (HUB zero, 2009)
Tools and technologies used
Interactive Simulation Tools
The goal of this tool is to be used as a 3 dimensional simulation that allows interaction such as zooming in on graphs and rotating objects while visually seeing the results in real time without the need of wasting time on refreshing web pages.
(HUB zero, 2009)
The tool used by HUBzero is based on Virtual Network Computing and can be used for execution and delivery. It (the hub) supports other tools with graphical interfaces as well as legacy tools, and software is available to create visual results for jobs admitted. (HUB zero, 2009)
Online Presentations
To help users determine which tools suits their purpose best, and understand what tools can and cannot be used for, the hub features presentations containing visual and audio material. It is said that these presentations are like listening to a seminar with the difference that it can be forwarded, re-winded and searched by keywords as needed. It is also in a very compact form which allows it to be viewed over slow connections and podcasted to be viewed on-the-go via iPod`s. (HUB zero, 2009)
Mechanisms to upload new Resources
The idea of a hub is to be a place where resources can be shared, and it is essential that users are encouraged to participate in this sharing process. The tool used here is similar to an online purchasing process that prompts the user for input such as attaching files and crediting sources after which it is submitted and reviewed by the webmaster to ensure its integrity. Newly added tools are advertised via a “What`s new” page as well as RSS feeds. (HUB zero, 2009)
Tool development area
The goal of this area is to assist users in to process of creating new tools, as it is more complicated than merely uploading documents. This area make use of tools such as a wiki to document the project, a repository for source code as well as a ticketing system to track bugs. It supports development of new source code by having a companion site for code development based on open source software named Trac. (HUB zero, 2009)
Rating and Citations
This feature of the hub is used to evaluate resources by allowing registered members to judge the quality and then rate it up to 5 stars. Citations can be referenced to track the sources used up to the final resources. Combined with web statistics on a scale from one to ten, the overall quality is then determined and ranked from best to worst on a list used in the search function. (HUB zero, 2009)
Content tagging
Content tagging is used to ease the process of finding appropriate tools and technologies for a specific task. All resources are tagged, linked to a definition page as well as to other relevant tools/ technologies. Tags are assigned by the contributors, the webmaster as well as by users when providing feedback.
(HUB zero, 2009)
Wikis and Blogs
The hub allows the creation of so called “topic pages” with a list of authors allowed to make changes to the resource. Registered users can then make suggestions which are posted on the wiki and if found relevant by the authors it will be applied. Permissions may be given to allow access to the creation and adaption of the wiki, and these members will be named as co-authors. The Wiki also contains links to other relevant resources to help the search process. (HUB zero, 2009)
User groups for private collaboration
Groups can be formed on the hub based on an invitation and acceptance method, by any registered member. He/she then manages the group by setting permissions and statuses that control the access to this group and the resources of this group. Resources can be kept private from other group by restricting their access.
(HUB zero, 2009)
User support area
As problems can occur, a help function is available to the users of the hub. A system is in place that files a “ticket” when an error occurs or when a user seeks specific help. The Webmaster usually addresses these issues, but when he/she cannot, the whole team can make suggestions on a forum based on a question and answer method. The user with the problem then decides on the best possible solution. To take it one step further, these questions and answers forms part of a knowledge base for faster response in the future. (HUB zero, 2009)
Usage metrics
Usage metrics are measuring tools used to report the number of times a specific resource has been used or amount of web hits that occurred. All of these statistics are combined to give an overview of the overall usage of the hub. (HUB zero, 2009)
News and events
The area of news and events allows registered user to post events on a calendar, which helps in the process of making the hub the centre of the community as it creates an open culture. The webmaster can also post news events such as progress in research or meeting schedules in this area. (HUB zero, 2009)
Feedback mechanisms
Feedback mechanisms are in place where users can share their experiences, ask and answer questions as well as make comments and suggestions.
(HUB zero, 2009)
What I have learned from this is that there are organisations that have knowledge spaces available which uses a variety of tools. These tools are however not easy to find, and I spent the rest of the day searching and analysing more knowledge spaces, to see which tools they use and for what purposes.
After finding some of this information I edited our wiki, as Mariz, Our “wikimaster” was busy working on something else. That also take up a lot of time as the layout changes very much when trying to copy information from Word to the wiki itself. Integrating pictures also isn`t one of the easiest tasks, but I managed, and all is well.
Xoliswa assisted us a lot today. She made a printout of the entire task up to now and analysed it according to relevance, quality, quantity and so forth. She then gave us feedback on our task, which really helps a lot. The few days we spent at Tuks however was not lost as she said we made good progress overall and things look good. We must however explain some things more in detail, add more examples, and put the whole task in a more practical light based on scientific matters, rather than an academic light (which we are used to at the University).
Hopefully tomorrow after the knowledge workshop we will have time to look at these changes that has to be made so that we can work on our storyboard on Wednesday.
Friday, June 18, 2010
18 June 2010
Today the rest of our group started working on deliverable 3, as Hamzah already started working on it Thursday.
I started analysing some of the sources that we had, in order to determine what tools and technolgies are used by these organisations`s virtual knowledge spaces.
The following tools/technologies are used by The Jameson Cook University in Australia, The eResearch Centre.
They have an information service named Access Grid.
Overview
Access Grid is a way of communication between more than one site all over the world. It allows multiple communications to take place at the same time which is an advantage over the traditional point-to-point conferencing or Skype that support only 1 conversation. Various locations can be connected by using “virtual venues” that act as meeting rooms which transmits video and audio to all the other locations. (eResearch Centre, 2010)
Features
1. Connecting multiple sites
2. Virtual venue that connects many diffused locations
3. Access to grid nodes – Universities and other institutions
4. Booking of venues from a selected University
5. Supporting of audio and video
6. “Shared presentations”
7. “Shared desktop (web browser or other applications)”
8. “Document camera support” (eResearch Centre, 2010)
The Second service used by The Jameson Cook University is EVO.
Background
EVO or Enabling Virtual Organisations is a tool used for online collaborative conferencing. (eResearch Centre, 2010)
EVO is supported by ARCS (Australian Research Collaboration Service) and The Jameson Cook University through active involvement by staff members and it was developed by Caltech to address the needs of the international high-energy physics community. It can be used in any situation where audio and video is shared for collaboration purposes.
EVO supports both one-to-one communication and one-to-many communication even in several different locations, and all that is basically needed is headphones, a microphone and webcam that are connected to a Notebook or Desktop computer. For advanced usage it can be used when there are multiple video feeds, projected displays and echo cancelling systems involved.
One of the advantages EVO has is that it can easily interact with other locations even if they are not running the same software, such as a H.323 Teleconference system. (EVO, 2010)
Functionalities
1. IM with presence information functions
2. Chat during meetings – private and group
3. “Meetings-by-invitation, ad-hoc meetings, booked meetings, and permanent meetings”
4. Recording and playback functions
5. Digital whiteboards and high-resolution screen sharing
6. Support for videoconferencing protocols
7. “TimeZone adjustment and Multi-Language support (English, French, Slovak, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Finnish, and Chinese)”
8. Firewall-friendly and support for Network Address Translation (NAT)
9. End-to-End encryption of all the media
10. OpenGL application with embedded live video and other objects
11. Integrated telephone gateway allowing users to join EVO meetings through normal phone system
12. Compatibility with Linux, Mac and Windows based systems.
(EVO, 2010)
I started analysing some of the sources that we had, in order to determine what tools and technolgies are used by these organisations`s virtual knowledge spaces.
The following tools/technologies are used by The Jameson Cook University in Australia, The eResearch Centre.
They have an information service named Access Grid.
Overview
Access Grid is a way of communication between more than one site all over the world. It allows multiple communications to take place at the same time which is an advantage over the traditional point-to-point conferencing or Skype that support only 1 conversation. Various locations can be connected by using “virtual venues” that act as meeting rooms which transmits video and audio to all the other locations. (eResearch Centre, 2010)
Features
1. Connecting multiple sites
2. Virtual venue that connects many diffused locations
3. Access to grid nodes – Universities and other institutions
4. Booking of venues from a selected University
5. Supporting of audio and video
6. “Shared presentations”
7. “Shared desktop (web browser or other applications)”
8. “Document camera support” (eResearch Centre, 2010)
The Second service used by The Jameson Cook University is EVO.
Background
EVO or Enabling Virtual Organisations is a tool used for online collaborative conferencing. (eResearch Centre, 2010)
EVO is supported by ARCS (Australian Research Collaboration Service) and The Jameson Cook University through active involvement by staff members and it was developed by Caltech to address the needs of the international high-energy physics community. It can be used in any situation where audio and video is shared for collaboration purposes.
EVO supports both one-to-one communication and one-to-many communication even in several different locations, and all that is basically needed is headphones, a microphone and webcam that are connected to a Notebook or Desktop computer. For advanced usage it can be used when there are multiple video feeds, projected displays and echo cancelling systems involved.
One of the advantages EVO has is that it can easily interact with other locations even if they are not running the same software, such as a H.323 Teleconference system. (EVO, 2010)
Functionalities
1. IM with presence information functions
2. Chat during meetings – private and group
3. “Meetings-by-invitation, ad-hoc meetings, booked meetings, and permanent meetings”
4. Recording and playback functions
5. Digital whiteboards and high-resolution screen sharing
6. Support for videoconferencing protocols
7. “TimeZone adjustment and Multi-Language support (English, French, Slovak, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Finnish, and Chinese)”
8. Firewall-friendly and support for Network Address Translation (NAT)
9. End-to-End encryption of all the media
10. OpenGL application with embedded live video and other objects
11. Integrated telephone gateway allowing users to join EVO meetings through normal phone system
12. Compatibility with Linux, Mac and Windows based systems.
(EVO, 2010)
Thursday, June 17, 2010
17 June 2010
Today started of quite strange as 3 of my group members were sick and had to go to the docter...then I learned that one of my group members has a nasty virus on her flashdrive which deleted all the work she did on tuesday and she had to start over. And to put the sherry on top, when I got home and wanted to upload my work, only halve of it was there and I also had to start over. I still don`t know where my work went...
Anyway, we continued working on the work we started on tuesday, but unfortunately by 16:30 we didn`t finsh uploading all of the work as the Computer labs closed and we had to continue from home.
I spoke to Me. van Heerden early this morning to discuss how our group is doing and she mentioned to me that she likes the social part of our blogs, but that we had to add an academic side to it as well. This is what I worked on today, I really hope I didn`t miss the point, So here goes....
The following is a list of existing Web2.0 tools/technologies specifically designed to address the individual needs of organisations or groups. Although these tools might work for more than one organisation it is not guaranteed and it should not be expected from them.
2Collab is a tool developed by Elsevier and is used as a collaboration platform for science, research and medicine professionals. It allows the sharing of resources, bookmarking, and creation of groups as well as collaboration. (2 collab, 2010).
The AcaWiki website’s main function is to increase scholarly research with the help of Web 2.0. Users of the site can upload summaries, user profiles and discuss academic articles. (AcaWiki, 2010)
Delicious, is designed as a social bookmarking service and is used to organise, describe, save, as well as share Web pages. Using Delicious saves the user time and trouble as his/her bookmarks can be accessed from any computer connected to the internet. (Delicious, 2010)
According to Epernicus (2010), Epernicus is used by research scientists as a professional networking platform. It connects scientist with colleagues and experts in order to use the right method to complete the task at hand at the right time. It can be used to create a link to this expert’s public profile, for easy access.
Facebook is a social network that almost everyone is familiar with these days. They have a motto of: “Giving people the power to share and make the world more open and connected”. Users are enabled to join groups/networks, share videos, pictures, music, and chat with one another to name but a few of its features. (Facebook, 2010).
Labmeeting is a web service used for the sharing, organisation and collection of scientific literature. The researchers from educational institutions get free access but other researchers are invited for a trial period. Sharing of the papers can be restricted to personal or group level. (Labmeeting, 2010).
According to Laboratree (2008), Laboratree is both social networking and research management tools. The goal is to be a place where scientists can manage their blogs, share papers, manage projects and meetings, and communicate with colleagues.
Lalisio makes it possible for knowledge professionals, scholars and students to share their knowledge through networks that are globally visible and can be accessed from anywhere. It features a search engine for journals, books and other literature and allows users to create a profile and post information for groups. (Lalisio, 2010).
LinkedIn is used as a tool used to connect with peers and their peers and facilitate the sharing of files, problem solving, job searching and collaboration on various projects. Their mission is: “to connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful” (LinkedIn 2008 in O'Dell & Sue 2010, 243).
IBM developed a product named Many Eyes which is used to upload and download data and then discuss it among colleagues. The goal is to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to deliver input in the data visualisation process. (Many eyes, n.d.)
According to MyExperiment (2010), Myexperiment enables community building, allows the finding, sharing, usage of scientific workflows and other research objects. The goal is to minimise time and effort in the creation of new workflows. It can thus be said that it kept the needs of researchers in mind when it was deigned.
Nature Network is a website that was developed by Nature Publishing group to act as a professional networking site for scientists the world over. As with other networking sites it allows the creation of profiles, interests groups as well as discussions. Some upgrades to be made to the website are posting of events or available job positions, a search feature for posts and available jobs and it will also allows for blogging. (Nature Network, 2009).
Ning is a tool that can be used for the creation and maintenance of social networks. Scientists and researchers can use it to create a limited network between them and maintain it with ease. (Ning, 2010)
Researchgate is an online community for researchers and scientists. It enables the users to find new research partners, form new groups and schedule meetings. Research gate has a search feature connected to “PubMed//, Citeseer, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Research Papers in Economics and ArXiV”. It allows for ranking and commenting on these papers as well. (Researchgate, 2010)
Scientists Without Borders states that they as an organisation: “aims to mobilize and coordinate science-based activities that improve quality of life in the developing world” (Scientists without Borders, 2009). They have a database that scientists can be use to share resources and find one another as well as create records that can be used for solving specific problems. (Scientists without Borders, 2009)
SciSpace was developed by The National Institute for Environmental eScience with the aim of helping scientists and collaborators communicate by using wikis, blogs, bookmarking and shared file spaces. It is an open source software and user development is encouraged. (SciSpace, 2010)
In the virtual world named Second Life, users make use of virtual bodies or avatars as referred to, to interact in this virtual world. It has the advantage that it can be used for conference purposes but that also leads to the disadvantage that people need to be logged in to the system at the same time. (Second Life in O'Dell & Sue 2010, 244)
Twine is a type of software that has the purpose of combining, organising and then sharing content on the web. These content include articles, blogs, videos and web sites. The software also has a learning capability which train itself to make better recommendations the more it has been used. (Twine in O'Dell & Sue 2010, 244 )
Twitter, developed by Twitter Inc., is regarded as a “microblogging” service that supports short messages of only 140 characters. Multiple devices can be used to “tweet” progress, status updates, answers and questions that will be delivered to the followers of these instantly. (Twitter, 2010)
According to BioMedExperts (2009), BioMedExperts is a social network, based on scientific literature that enables researchers to work together online. The goal is to increase the amount of collaborative research that take place in the area of biomedicine. (BioMedExperts, 2010)
OpenWetWare is a space created for biology and biological engineering professionals where information, experience and wisdom can be shared. It allows users to participate in world-wide labs and groups; attend classes; share and read blogs from OWW. To read more go to: (OpenWetWare, 2010)
The Nature Publishing Group developed Scitable, a collaborative space for learning in the area of science, genetics to be specific. In this space a virtual classroom can be created to interact with students and colleagues. (Scitable. 2010)
SciFinder Scholar is a service that organisations need to subscribe to. After that they will have worldwide access to Chemical abstracts, which is used in chemical research. It has a feature named “my connections” that creates links to users within the same organisation and allows the sharing of comments and tags. (SciFinder, 2010)
The American Chemical Society created ACS Network to serve as a virtual meeting place. Users of this place can create their own networks and collaborate with ACS members who include researchers, librarians and global partners.
(ACS Network, 2010)
AIP UniPHY is a professional social networking site which is similar to BioMedExperts but the difference being networking between physical science researchers and scientist instead of biology and biomedicine researchers and scientists. The content that can be searched is named: Searchable Physics Information Notices or (SPIN). (AIP UniPhy, 2009)
This is what I have learned today and yesterday. I didn`t know half of these tools and technolgies that are available but after a long day of searching for this information, I realised that there is tools and technolgies available that can help organisations, in this case, the CSIR, to address the issue of embedded librarianship. This can be done by using some of these tools/technolgies individually, but it can also be used combined. That might even produce a very good system that can work for them.
Anyway, we continued working on the work we started on tuesday, but unfortunately by 16:30 we didn`t finsh uploading all of the work as the Computer labs closed and we had to continue from home.
I spoke to Me. van Heerden early this morning to discuss how our group is doing and she mentioned to me that she likes the social part of our blogs, but that we had to add an academic side to it as well. This is what I worked on today, I really hope I didn`t miss the point, So here goes....
The following is a list of existing Web2.0 tools/technologies specifically designed to address the individual needs of organisations or groups. Although these tools might work for more than one organisation it is not guaranteed and it should not be expected from them.
2Collab is a tool developed by Elsevier and is used as a collaboration platform for science, research and medicine professionals. It allows the sharing of resources, bookmarking, and creation of groups as well as collaboration. (2 collab, 2010).
The AcaWiki website’s main function is to increase scholarly research with the help of Web 2.0. Users of the site can upload summaries, user profiles and discuss academic articles. (AcaWiki, 2010)
Delicious, is designed as a social bookmarking service and is used to organise, describe, save, as well as share Web pages. Using Delicious saves the user time and trouble as his/her bookmarks can be accessed from any computer connected to the internet. (Delicious, 2010)
According to Epernicus (2010), Epernicus is used by research scientists as a professional networking platform. It connects scientist with colleagues and experts in order to use the right method to complete the task at hand at the right time. It can be used to create a link to this expert’s public profile, for easy access.
Facebook is a social network that almost everyone is familiar with these days. They have a motto of: “Giving people the power to share and make the world more open and connected”. Users are enabled to join groups/networks, share videos, pictures, music, and chat with one another to name but a few of its features. (Facebook, 2010).
Labmeeting is a web service used for the sharing, organisation and collection of scientific literature. The researchers from educational institutions get free access but other researchers are invited for a trial period. Sharing of the papers can be restricted to personal or group level. (Labmeeting, 2010).
According to Laboratree (2008), Laboratree is both social networking and research management tools. The goal is to be a place where scientists can manage their blogs, share papers, manage projects and meetings, and communicate with colleagues.
Lalisio makes it possible for knowledge professionals, scholars and students to share their knowledge through networks that are globally visible and can be accessed from anywhere. It features a search engine for journals, books and other literature and allows users to create a profile and post information for groups. (Lalisio, 2010).
LinkedIn is used as a tool used to connect with peers and their peers and facilitate the sharing of files, problem solving, job searching and collaboration on various projects. Their mission is: “to connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful” (LinkedIn 2008 in O'Dell & Sue 2010, 243).
IBM developed a product named Many Eyes which is used to upload and download data and then discuss it among colleagues. The goal is to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to deliver input in the data visualisation process. (Many eyes, n.d.)
According to MyExperiment (2010), Myexperiment enables community building, allows the finding, sharing, usage of scientific workflows and other research objects. The goal is to minimise time and effort in the creation of new workflows. It can thus be said that it kept the needs of researchers in mind when it was deigned.
Nature Network is a website that was developed by Nature Publishing group to act as a professional networking site for scientists the world over. As with other networking sites it allows the creation of profiles, interests groups as well as discussions. Some upgrades to be made to the website are posting of events or available job positions, a search feature for posts and available jobs and it will also allows for blogging. (Nature Network, 2009).
Ning is a tool that can be used for the creation and maintenance of social networks. Scientists and researchers can use it to create a limited network between them and maintain it with ease. (Ning, 2010)
Researchgate is an online community for researchers and scientists. It enables the users to find new research partners, form new groups and schedule meetings. Research gate has a search feature connected to “PubMed//, Citeseer, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Research Papers in Economics and ArXiV”. It allows for ranking and commenting on these papers as well. (Researchgate, 2010)
Scientists Without Borders states that they as an organisation: “aims to mobilize and coordinate science-based activities that improve quality of life in the developing world” (Scientists without Borders, 2009). They have a database that scientists can be use to share resources and find one another as well as create records that can be used for solving specific problems. (Scientists without Borders, 2009)
SciSpace was developed by The National Institute for Environmental eScience with the aim of helping scientists and collaborators communicate by using wikis, blogs, bookmarking and shared file spaces. It is an open source software and user development is encouraged. (SciSpace, 2010)
In the virtual world named Second Life, users make use of virtual bodies or avatars as referred to, to interact in this virtual world. It has the advantage that it can be used for conference purposes but that also leads to the disadvantage that people need to be logged in to the system at the same time. (Second Life in O'Dell & Sue 2010, 244)
Twine is a type of software that has the purpose of combining, organising and then sharing content on the web. These content include articles, blogs, videos and web sites. The software also has a learning capability which train itself to make better recommendations the more it has been used. (Twine in O'Dell & Sue 2010, 244 )
Twitter, developed by Twitter Inc., is regarded as a “microblogging” service that supports short messages of only 140 characters. Multiple devices can be used to “tweet” progress, status updates, answers and questions that will be delivered to the followers of these instantly. (Twitter, 2010)
According to BioMedExperts (2009), BioMedExperts is a social network, based on scientific literature that enables researchers to work together online. The goal is to increase the amount of collaborative research that take place in the area of biomedicine. (BioMedExperts, 2010)
OpenWetWare is a space created for biology and biological engineering professionals where information, experience and wisdom can be shared. It allows users to participate in world-wide labs and groups; attend classes; share and read blogs from OWW. To read more go to: (OpenWetWare, 2010)
The Nature Publishing Group developed Scitable, a collaborative space for learning in the area of science, genetics to be specific. In this space a virtual classroom can be created to interact with students and colleagues. (Scitable. 2010)
SciFinder Scholar is a service that organisations need to subscribe to. After that they will have worldwide access to Chemical abstracts, which is used in chemical research. It has a feature named “my connections” that creates links to users within the same organisation and allows the sharing of comments and tags. (SciFinder, 2010)
The American Chemical Society created ACS Network to serve as a virtual meeting place. Users of this place can create their own networks and collaborate with ACS members who include researchers, librarians and global partners.
(ACS Network, 2010)
AIP UniPHY is a professional social networking site which is similar to BioMedExperts but the difference being networking between physical science researchers and scientist instead of biology and biomedicine researchers and scientists. The content that can be searched is named: Searchable Physics Information Notices or (SPIN). (AIP UniPhy, 2009)
This is what I have learned today and yesterday. I didn`t know half of these tools and technolgies that are available but after a long day of searching for this information, I realised that there is tools and technolgies available that can help organisations, in this case, the CSIR, to address the issue of embedded librarianship. This can be done by using some of these tools/technolgies individually, but it can also be used combined. That might even produce a very good system that can work for them.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
15 June 2010
We continued working on our project today at the Blue labs on the main campus of Tuks. It took a while before we got started as the firewall wasn`t down and some of us couldn`t get access to the Internet immediately, luckily that problem was resolved quickly.
To start off I helped some of my group members find and link their blogs to the wiki as they struggled to do that. They have also completed their blogs and made sure it worked before we started on the actual project again.
After the blogs were completed I sent an email to Xoliswa to inform her of our progress but also to ask for some advice on the structuring and the content of the wiki. Not being able to talk in person make it more difficult to ask and explain what I want to know, but when she called me a bit later we manage to sort out all of the queries.
Because we couldn`t finish our first deliverable in time yesterday we started working on that first and after lunch we uploaded it onto the wiki. I feel that we were very productive today as we finished yesterday`s work and made good progress in the deliverable for Thursday as well.
Our group is also interacting well and I think that the unique skills that everyone brings to the table will ensure that we make a success of the project.
In terms of lessons learned I think that the same as yesterday I discovered that there is much more tools and techniques available than I have thought. To mention an example I can say that I found the more well known Web 2.0 tools such as Social networking, Podcasts, RSS feeds, Wikis and Blogs but also a few unfamiliar ones such as Virtual references, and software that falls under the above mentioned tools but which has different names such as: 2Collab, AcaWiki, Labmeeting, Laboratree, LinkedIn, Lalisio, Many Eyes, Myexperiment, Ning and SciSpace to mention a few. These tools and technologies are developed and used by organisations from a diverse industry.
On Thursday we will continue the work on Web 2.0 and i`m sure there is still much to learn from it. Such as what these tools are and what they are used for. Hopefully by the end of thursday I will be able to report back on these mentioned Tools/Technolgies and also add some more.
But first....a day of doing nothing....I`m starting to understand why grown-ups are tired and stressed when returning from work. A day at the office can get really long...
To start off I helped some of my group members find and link their blogs to the wiki as they struggled to do that. They have also completed their blogs and made sure it worked before we started on the actual project again.
After the blogs were completed I sent an email to Xoliswa to inform her of our progress but also to ask for some advice on the structuring and the content of the wiki. Not being able to talk in person make it more difficult to ask and explain what I want to know, but when she called me a bit later we manage to sort out all of the queries.
Because we couldn`t finish our first deliverable in time yesterday we started working on that first and after lunch we uploaded it onto the wiki. I feel that we were very productive today as we finished yesterday`s work and made good progress in the deliverable for Thursday as well.
Our group is also interacting well and I think that the unique skills that everyone brings to the table will ensure that we make a success of the project.
In terms of lessons learned I think that the same as yesterday I discovered that there is much more tools and techniques available than I have thought. To mention an example I can say that I found the more well known Web 2.0 tools such as Social networking, Podcasts, RSS feeds, Wikis and Blogs but also a few unfamiliar ones such as Virtual references, and software that falls under the above mentioned tools but which has different names such as: 2Collab, AcaWiki, Labmeeting, Laboratree, LinkedIn, Lalisio, Many Eyes, Myexperiment, Ning and SciSpace to mention a few. These tools and technologies are developed and used by organisations from a diverse industry.
On Thursday we will continue the work on Web 2.0 and i`m sure there is still much to learn from it. Such as what these tools are and what they are used for. Hopefully by the end of thursday I will be able to report back on these mentioned Tools/Technolgies and also add some more.
But first....a day of doing nothing....I`m starting to understand why grown-ups are tired and stressed when returning from work. A day at the office can get really long...
Monday, June 14, 2010
14 June 2010 Monday
Monday - 14 June 2010
The day started at 7:15 when I arrived at the CSIR and got a permit for my notebook from the visitor’s office. I entered our “office” it is, the tea room and a few of my group members were already there. We got called to the conference room to sign in and get our name-tags back and was sent back to work afterwards. I think we as a group understand and communicate a little better with each other than we did on Friday as we have a more clear idea of what the project is all about.
We started our work by discussing a part of the article that we had to prepare for today and categorized it according to tasks we have set out on Friday (11 June). We did not have an internet connection, so we couldn`t access our wiki or the internet for that matter to find more information. The groups in our group with specific information relating to the tasks summarized and compiled it into a document that we will use on our wiki.
One of my findings was a definition of embedded librarianship:
Embedded librarianship has been defined by Shumaker & Talley (2009, p4) as “a variety of service innovations in a variety of organizational settings. It is used to describe the work of an academic librarian who participates in an academic course on an ongoing basis, teaching information literacy skills. It encompasses the work of librarians in a research institute or corporation whose offices are moved from a central library to their customer groups, so that they can work more closely with the members of those groups.”
Another one was the type of services that exists such as:
- Resource development
- Evaluate, synthesize and summarize literature
- Content management
- Competitive intelligence researchers
- Information architecture
- Computer/ network system management
- Knowledge Management analysis
- Organizational knowledge – the KMA (Knowledge Management Analyst) is the one person who knows who is working on what matters, understands emerging issues an can network people across groups.
- Work product- captures attorney work product and other relevant documents from attorney e-mails that no one else is capturing and makes the accessible without attorney effort
- Knowledge feeds- pro-actively captures and makes accessible highly relevant new knowledge
- Cross-departmental support – create products to monitor tax-related issues
To avoid panic we were informed of an alarm testing that take place during the day and that we don`t need to stress about being in real danger. I think the CSIR is really a nice environment to work in as everybody seems happy and they are all friendly. At 10:15 we drank coffee and took a little break from all the reading and summarising of the sources, however a tea break is not long and we had to start again.
Lunch time started at 13:00, and while on break I got an idea on how to solve our "internetlessness" when I saw a empty LAN socket in the room next door. After trying for a while I managed to access the CSIR website, and the Intraweb of UP, but not Google or library websites needed. So we were stuck again...
At one point I actually thought that it was some kind of test to see how well we adapt to the internet problem, but that thought faded quickly, and the we heard we are moving back to UP campus from tomorrow. Hopefully we will have internet acess there so that we can finish our project successfully.
At 15:00 we attended a Webinar, which was a first for me as the the presenter is usually physically in the room and not on a computer screen and speakers. To summarise shortly the discussion is about e-books VS p-books, the studies relating to that which was conducted, conclusion and the answering of questions.
Lessons Learned
I think that we can learn from today`s experience that not having access to the internet means not having access to sufficient sources to complete your tasks. One should plan for problems like this as it can set you back very far leading to a missed dealine at the end.
I learned that there is quite a large number of embedded librarian services available which I have either not heard of or which I have heard of but didn`t connect with librarianship. I now also have a better idea of what embedded librarianship means
I learned that there are things available like webinars that can be used to faciltate conversation in real time whilst people are not physically present in one location.
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