"Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today."
- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

Posted by digitalk team at 05:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today, our online tutorial will show how to do a basic search for information using ProQuest 5000 International.

Proquest is a database that has a wide offering of datasets. Its prominent datasets include ABI Inform and Wilson’s Social Sciences Index, and its subject coverage includes Business, Accounting and Tax, Applied Science and Technology, Banking, Health, General Science, Computing, Education, Pharmaceuticals, Medicine, Religion and Social Science.

The various ProQuest datasets are:

> ProQuest ABI/INFORM Complete
> ProQuest Accounting & Tax
> ProQuest Asian Business
> ProQuest Banking Information Source
> ProQuest Computing
> ProQuest Education Complete
> ProQuest EIU ViewsWire
> ProQuest European Business
> ProQuest Hoover Company Records
> ProQuest Medical Complete
> ProQuest Newspapers Complete
> ProQuest Religion
> ProQuest Research Library
> ProQuest Science Journals
> ProQuest Social Science Journals
> ProQuest Telecommunications

View our tutorial For more information, visit ProQuest's help.

To use ProQuest, visit NLB's eResources on its homepage.

Posted by digitalk team at 04:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pluto: Demoted!

Pluto has been a mystery for many years. Tiny and far-off, Pluto was the most unknown planet in our Solar System since its discovery in 1930. Tiny indeed, as even the moons in the solar system are bigger than this ex-planet. Pluto’s status as a planet has been an ongoing debate amongst astronomers for the past few months due to its puny size, its solid icy surface and its peculiar elongated orbit. International Astronomical Union (IAUcame to a decision finally, and it has been officially declared worldwide that Pluto is no longer considered to be a planet. It is time to forget one thing we learnt in school - we no longer have 9 planets, instead there are only 8 left.

Pluto is now part of a newly established category classified by IAU called “dwarf planets.” Along with dwarf planet Pluto, two other dwarf planets have been introduced namely Ceres and 2003 UB313 (a temporary name for this dwarf planet).

Pluto is considered to be an exceptionally large Kuiper object, part of a field of debris in the outer solar system called the Kuiper Belt. Early this year, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched the unmanned "New Horizons" probe. This spacecraft will take eight years to reach the Pluto-Charon system. The probe will study the dwarf planet up-close while it also would investigate other Kuiper Belt objects.

Our solar system is a world of wonders indeed. Read about it and its counterparts. Immerse yourself in all the glorious facts about our solar system.

Check out the extensive collection of eBooks on our solar system at NLB's eResources.
Here are some interesting eBooks:

The Solar System
Planet Library
by Kerrod, Robin.

Schaum's Outline of Theory and Problems of Astronomy
Schaum's Outline Series
by Palen, Stacy E.

Astronomy Demystified
McGraw-Hill "Demystified" Series
by Gibilisco, Stan.

Direct Links:
1. Pluto. (2006). The New Book of Popular Science. Retrieved September 27, 2006, from Grolier Online http://nbps.grolier.com/cgi-bin/article?assettype=t&assetid=a4002
400-h
2. Villard, R. (2006). The Solar System. The New Book of Popular Science. Retrieved September 27, 2006, from Grolier Online http://nbps.grol/cgi-bin/article?assettype=t&assetid=a4001300-h

Posted by digitalk team at 05:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Stay Positive by Pauline Rowson Publisher: Rowmark Subject(s): Business Careers Self-improvement Having a positive attitude has many benefits not least of which is better health. This book will help you examine what creates negativity and provides tips and techniques to convert that negative energy into positive energy. It looks at using the power of the brain and inner dialogue to change the way you think and therefore react. To access this title! Click on OVERDRIVE

Posted by digitalk team at 04:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

"Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes."

- Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere's Fan, 1892, Act III
Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 - 1900)

Posted by digitalk team at 09:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For this week, we will be showing how to search for useful information using EBSCOhost Academic Search Premier.

EBSCOhost provides full text for over 4,500 publications, including full text for more than 3,600 peer-reviewed journals in subject areas such as biology, chemistry, engineering, physics, religion, arts and sociology.

Titles include American Journal of Political Science, American Libraries, British Journal of Sociology, Contemporary Literature, International Journal of Psychology, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Journal of Aesthetics & Art Criticism, Journal of Counseling & Development, Journal of Education, Library Journal.

To know how to do a basic search, view our tutorial
For more search help, visit EBSCOhost Academic help.

You can access this database from NLB's eResources.

Posted by digitalk team at 05:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

by
Trudy Ring
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Subject(s): Business

Has the IMF given you its itch to try finance as a career? Ideal for college-bound students or anyone thinking about making a career change, this series offers information needed to explore and choose a profession and then narrow it down to a job that suits them. Each book details the responsibilities, education and training required, and employment outlooks for dozens of satisfying careers in the field.

To access this title! Click on OVERDRIVE

Posted by digi.talk team at 05:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well it's officially started (1) and despite the "right to demonstrate" dispute (2) rumbling on, the 23,700 delegates have settled in very well, praising the "warmth and efficiency(3)" of Singapore's welcome. In an attempt to humanise the massive event, a series of profiles of the delegates has kicked off as well as interviews with some of the activiists(5)

Off the main meeting track:
the Raffles Forum offers challenging intellectual fare focusing on good governance featuring such luminaries as Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, Paul Volcker Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of the People's Bank of China, and Singapore's own Lee Kuan Yew.
IDA Genie asks you to "imagine in year 2010, public officers will be working in an environment with their identity authenticated with biometric system via palm vein or facial recognition. They will enjoy a rich integrated user interface that is self-learning, adaptive and intelligently predicts the type of content required. All in-coming communications, such as emails, phone calls, faxes and instant messages, can be forwarded to any electronic device that the officer is carrying. Should there be a virus attack on the computer, it can be discovered, diagnosed and recovered remotely even if the computer is turned off." Sound heavenly.
Meanwhile talking about dreams and the wonder of podcasting AsiaOne offers us an insight into the lives of the IMF trained chauffeurs

DIRECT LINKS
(1) Straits Times, The (Singapore) - September 14, 2006
"IMF-WB meetings pull in record 23,700 delegates"
[from Newsbank]

(2) Business Times, The (Singapore) - September 15, 2006
Staying focused on the main event

(3) Straits Times, The (Singapore) - September 14, 2006
"Warmth and efficiency impress delegates"

(4) Straits Times, The (Singapore) - September 14, 2006
"A face in the crowd: Federico Molina, Argentina"
Straits Times, The (Singapore) - September 15, 2006 length: 374 words
"A face in the crowd: Zakir Mahmood, CEO of Habib Bank

(5) Straits Times, The (Singapore) - September 14, 2006
"Activists to lobby on wide range of social, economic issues"

(6) GENIE- http://digital.asiaone.com.sg/news/20060911_002.html

Posted by digi.talk team at 02:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning."
Bill Gates, Business @ The Speed of Thought
US computer software designer & industrialist (1955 - )

Posted by digitalk team at 01:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Let's go to the dictionary (1)on this one
"The spirit of the time; the general intellectual and moral state or temper characteristic of any period of time.
"
Which sounds simple until you try to grasp individual instances of it - since once grasped perhaps it then is no longer a "spirit of the times" - becoming a mere fashion or a trend. So we have set ourselves a bit of a task here when we set out as part of the Lifestyle area to try to pinpoint key "geists" before their time slips through the glass.

[German : Zeit, time (from Middle High German zīt, from Old High German) + Geist, spirit]

(1) Oxford English Dictionary Online

Posted by digi.talk team at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Till now, I could vividly recall my one and only storytelling experience. After that nerve-wrecking experience, my view of storytellers changed drastically.

Storytelling could be considered to be an art. So you might wonder, what makes storytelling artistic?

Storytelling involves the story, teller and listener. “Storytelling is relating a tale to one or more listeners through voice and gesture,” the National Council of Teachers of English stated, in support of storytelling in the academic classroom.

A storyteller re-creates a story with voice and gesture. Storytelling is not similar to reading a story aloud, reciting a piece from memory or acting a drama despite having similar characteristics with these arts. Storytellers bring the audience into an imaginary world. Both listener and teller compose a tale together.

Life itself is a story; yes all of us are storytellers in our own ways. We tell stories daily in fact in a subtler manner than compared to those professional storytellers though. We tell stories by sharing our experiences with others. We learn from stories. Great myths and legends were passed down over generations with this belief.

Storytelling is also one effective way to put ideas into the world today.

NLB offers a huge variety of storytelling sessions especially for your children. Bring them over to be entertained our storytellers and their fun stories. Cultivate the interest for stories and reading in your children today!

These are some of the upcoming storytelling sessions in the next few days:

Programme: Storytelling
Date/Time: 15 September 2006, 7.30 pm - 8.00 pm
Venus: Central Lending Library - Basement 1 - Central Lending Library
Subject: Fiction (English)
Presenter: FOL/Staff
Admission: Free admission
Description: 1st & 3rd Fridays only. Open to children aged 7 - 10 yrs old.

Programme: Storytelling
Date/Time: 15 September 2006, 3.00pm - 3.30pm
Venus: Toa Payoh Community Library - Activity Room Subject: Fiction (English)
Subject: Education & Learning (Mandarin)
Admission: Free admission
Description: Come and let us bring you to the wonderful world of story land with fascinating tales and stories. It is for 5 to 8 year-olds. Limited to 30 children per session.

Programme: Storytelling
Date/Time: 15 September 2006, 3.30 pm to 4.00 pm
Venus: Tampines Regional Library - Playhouse
Subject: Education & Learning (Malay)
Admission: Free admission
Description: Let the storyteller bring you to the wonderful world of story land with their fascinating children's tales and stories.

Programme: Storytelling
Date/Time: 15 September 2006, 7.45 pm to 8.15 pm
Venus: Tampines Regional Library - Playhouse
Subject: Education & Learning (Tamil)
Admission: Free admission
Description: Let the storyteller bring you to the wonderful world of story land with their fascinating children's tales and stories.

For the complete list of storytelling sessions held in NLB, visit here.

Also, check out our extensive collection of e-books from TumbleBooks. These e-books add one more dimension to storytelling by presenting it in the form of animations. Get your children hooked to reading today!

An online collection of animated, talking picture books that teach children the joy of reading in a user-friendly format. TumbleBooks are electronic picture books created by adding animation, sound, music and narration to existing picture books.

A collection of large print electronic books that you can read online. The collection includes classics, contemporary fiction, non-fiction, children's chapter books and young adult novels.

A collection of audio books that you can listen to from any computer with an Internet connection. It includes unabridged versions of American and world literature classics, fiction, non-fiction, as well as books for children and young adults.

Retrieve useful e-books related to this article at NLB Overdrive Collection:

'Dear BBC'
Children, Television Storytelling and the Public Sphere
Edition: 1
by Maire Messenger Davies
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

For more information of our e-books, visit here.

Direct Links:

1. http://www.creativekeys.net/StorytellingPower/article1001.html
2. http://www.creativekeys.net/StorytellingPower/article1029.html
3. http://www.storyteller.net/articles/160

Posted by digitalk team at 02:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Much of the preamble to the meeting was about "the right to demonstrate" and many column inches were taken up exploring the who(1), the why(2) and wherefore. The remainder was about the hoped-for extra sales bonanza which it seems has yet to reach the shops in in or near(3) the Suntec Convention Centre although luxury car rental(4), wining and dining(5) do not seem to be suffering. Not to be left out the health care sector(6) are seeking to capitalise on the need for delegates to have a quick health check - before or after the meetings? - one wonders.

As with any such huge event the escort industry(7) are urgently seeking "young, outgoing girls in their 20s, tall, athletic and confident" and, of course, the industry ads see it as a plus if they are "uniquely Singaporean." Meanwhile the hotels have been having a good day/bad day situation(8), the anticipatied high demand and full occupancy of their premiumly priced rooms has not materialised leading to special offers for corporate clients in order to restore the occupancy balance.

DIRECT LINKS
(1) Straits Times, The (Singapore) - September 12, 2006
""Record number of activists headed here""
[from Newsbank]

(2) Straits Times, The (Singapore) - September 12, 2006
""Barred activists still hoping to come here""
[from Newsbank]

(3) Straits Times, The (Singapore) - September 13, 2006
""Shoppers steering clear of malls around Suntec""
Straits Times, The (Singapore) - September 13, 2006
"Few customers in sight"
[from Newsbank]

(4) Business Times, The (Singapore) - September 13, 2006
"Bankers eye mostly Merc, BMW rentals""

(5) Business Times, The (Singapore) - September 8, 2006
"Business with leisure - Some of the classiest lunches and dinners, cocktail receptions and parties will mark the IMF/WB meeting here"

(6) Straits Times, The (Singapore) - September 8, 2006
"Fast-track medical screening offered"
[from Newsbank]

(7) Straits Times, The (Singapore) - September 12, 2006 length:
""Escort agencies beefing up ranks for mega-meet""
[from Newsbank]

(8) Business Times, The (Singapore) - September 13, 2006
"Hotels court regular clients to plug delegate shortfall "
[from Newsbank]

(9) Straits Times, The (Singapore) - September 13, 2006
"Asia deserves a bigger role in IMF"
[from Newsbank]

(10) Business Times, The (Singapore) - September 12, 2006 length: 327 words
"Asia a model of economic strength": PM Lee
[from Newsbank]

Posted by digi.talk team at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the forthcoming weeks, Digi.talk would be providing a series of online tutorials, showing how to do basic searches, using the databases offered in NLB's eResources.

It is the season for the arts with the opening of the Singapore Biennale.
To join in this festive mood, digi.talk would be highlighting one of the many databases offered in the National Library Board’s website that provides information about the arts for this week's online tutorial.

We will be showing how to search for information using xreferplus Art, which provides digitized versions of arts-related reference work. Through xreferplus Art, you would be able to access digitised versions of arts-related reference works, including the Cambridge Guide to Theatre, Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Graphic Design and Designers and The Bridgeman Art Library Archive (over 17,000 images available).

View our online tutorial
to learn how to do a basic search using xreferplus Art.
For more search help, visit here.

To visit our databases, visit NLB's eDatabases.

Look forward to many more useful tutorials on how to use our various databases in the upcoming weeks!

Posted by digitalk team at 05:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The World of Art in Singapore

“Art evokes the mystery without which the world would not exist.” – Magritte, Rene.

It’s all about the arts the next few months here as Singapore Biennale 2006 opens its doors to the public from the 4th of September till the 12th of November 2006. This major event is the anchor cultural event for Singapore 2006: Global City. World of Opportunities, organized by the National Arts Council and the National Heritage Board of Singapore.

The Singapore Biennale 2006 provides opportunities for local artists, curators and arts businesses. It also provides the platform for the presentation of global arts in Asia.

The rationale behind the concept of the Singapore Biennale 2006 stems from the strong belief to intervene art into public spaces. This allows art to be an integral part of everyday life in Singapore. This event is a significant opportunity for the Singaporean public to be exposed to the local and global arts scene. This is one of the many art events held here in Singapore to promote the arts to the public. One other popular arts event would be The Singapore Arts Festival, which is held annually.

Direct Links:
1. Singapore Biennale: http://www.singaporebiennale.org/programme.html
2. Singapore 2006: http://www.singapore2006.org/

Posted by digitalk team at 09:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Calling upon the Leaders of Tomorrow! National Library is proud to be the venue host of the World Bank Youth Open Space Dialogue at The Plaza, on September 9th and 10th.

Open Space is a form of dialogue where, under the guidance of a trained facilitator, participants set the agenda by identifying topics of concern to them that fall under the overarching theme, and then lead discussions on these topics.

The World Bank are focusing on youth issues as one of their key priorities during this Singapore IMF meeting
and would like this Open Space Dialogue to serve as a platform for young people to play their part on a global scale giving voice to their opinions.

So, during the World Bank Youth Open Space Dialogue, members of the Generation Y will thrash out issues and opportunities based on "HOW CAN WE CREATE A BETTER FUTURE."

As part of the Open Space Dialogue so that we keep the momentum going after the event, we
would like to offer you digi.talk as a digital "stage" for you to continue your discussions. To get your thought processes moving we have linked to several e-discussions held in September and October last year focusing on the five transitions to adulthood as identified by the World Bank :
Progressing through school,
Entering the labor market,
Staying healthy,
Forming families
Becoming citizens.

You may want to check out other eResources which might be beneficial and informative as follows:

eBooks Available in OverDrive Collection

Tittle: Rich Dad Poor Dad for Teens,The Secrets About Money-That You Don't Learn in School!
Author: Robert T. Kiyosaki, Sharon L. Lechter

Tittle: Families Count, Edition: 1
Author: Alison Clarke-Stewart, Judy Dunn

Tittle: The O'Reilly Factor for Kids, Edition: Unabridged
Author: Bill O'Reilly, Rick Adamson

Tittle: Job Search 101: Networking, Interviewing, and Getting the Offer
Publisher: WetFeet, Inc.

Tittle: The Ultimate Job Search, Intelligent Strategies to Get The Right Job Fast
Author: Richard H. Beatty

Tittle: Basic Economics, A Citizen's Guide to the Economy
Author: Thomas Sowell, Brian Emerson

Tittle: Citizens Abroad, Edition: 1
Aurthor: Laurie A. Brand

eDatabases Available

EBSCOHost Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia
For students and adults alike, the Funk & Wagnall's New Encyclopedia is a multidisciplinary encyclopedia that indexes over 25,000 records covering a variety of subject areas

Pop Culture eCollection (Thomson Gale)
This collection provides useful fodder for social science, history, art and liberal arts researchers

World Bank e-Library
Consists of over 1,400 World Bank publications and over 2,000 Policy Research Working Papers.

World Bank Global Development Finance Online
Data includes external debt stocks and flows, major economic aggregates, and key debt ratios as well as average terms of new commitments, currency composition of long-term debt, debt restructurings, and scheduled debt service projections.

World Bank World Development Indicator Online
Provides direct access to more than 600 development indicators, with time series for 208 countries and 18 country groups from 1960 to 2004, where data are available.

So come on and ask "WHY?" and please feel free to post your comments. [which will be subject to the usual time delay for moderation]

Posted by digitalk team at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Is it really five years since that tragic and devastating chain of events? Those planes scything into the Twin Towers, as was said at the time, "like something out of a Hollywood disaster movie" which transformed into a horrific real life catastrophy happening on a bright blue morning in early autumn. And as with such milestones there is a pause for reflection and a rush to comment or condemn on the blogosphere.

There has been some rumination on the name and why 9/11(or should that be 9-11) had such resonance with people: some felt it flippant; others iconic but no matter it seems now firmly embedded in our everyday language. The why and the wherefore of the event has been debated from every standpoint, the sceptics, the idealists, the delusional and the pragmatists have all had there say.
Among the commemorations Brooklyn Museum has a major exhibition made up of works from the permanent collection that include paintings, photographs, prints, and drawings of the Lower Manhattan area before, as well as after, the attack- this will also include a discussion podcast on September 10. In a simpler way libraries all over the States are pausing to reflect in the form of exhibitions, displays of library materials connected to the event or connecting to the September Project's "coming together and learning from your world." On a national level, Library of Congress with its Witness and Response features the collections that the Library has amassed and is still receiving connected to the tragic events. On a more immediate level the human cost is brought home here and the remnants of a store(1) offer further poignant remembrance.

Over the years the event has gradually moved into the realm of popular culture although many still say that it is too early for such treatments. The recent United 93 , Oliver Stone's attempt at portraying the day itself through the eyes of people caught up in the 9/11 disaster however were well received.

As usual you can't keep the conspiracy theorists away from such occurrences or get people to agree what happened and why meanwhile the 9/11 Commission keeps getting it in the neck from those who were there

Ground Zero itself has had its share of controversy as the decision on what to put there as a suitable memorial goes on. But now it seems that there is a plan for the area(2) which all can agree on.

photo containing images of the "missing" courtesy http://doblevych.com/english/about/writing/groundzero.html
DIRECT LINKS:
(1) "A 9/11 Shrine, With the Tragic, Toxic Dust" New York Times, The (NY) August 25, 2006 [from Newsbank]
(2)"At Ground zero a plan for three more towers" The Commercial Appeal, Sept. 8 2006.
[from Factiva]
Our databases Factiva and Newsbank have special supplements dedicated to 9/11

Posted by digi.talk team at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Today, we gather to be reassured that God hears the lamenting and bitter weeping of Mother America because so many of her children are no more. Let us now seek that assurance in prayer for the healing of
our grief stricken hearts, for the souls and sacred memory of those who have been lost. Let us also pray for divine wisdom as our leaders consider the necessary actions for national security, wisdom of the grace of God that as we act, we not become the evil we deplore."

The Very Rev.. Nathan Baxter, Dean, Washington National Cathedral
from the multi-faith day of remembrance on September 14 2001

Posted by digitalk team at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Blog Marketing by Jeremy Wright Publisher: McGraw-Hill Subject(s): Business With an exclusive look inside Google, Disney, Yahoo, IBM, and others, this book shows how your company can use blogs to raise its visibility and transform internal communications. To access this title! Click on OVERDRIVE

Posted by digi.talk team at 09:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Colours are used to symbolize the many things we use daily. The native Americans used colour symbology along with the other different types of symbology existing. The colours blue, white, red and black were used to represent the four directions; north, south, east and west respectively. Apart from representing the directions, these colours used also held specific meanings. For example, blue which represented north, also meant cold, defeat and trouble. While on the other hand, white which represented south, also represented warmth, peace and happiness.

In Singapore, colour symbology has also been used often. One common example would be the colours used to represent the various train lines at our MRT stations. Red is used to represent the north-south train line which green is used to represent the east-west train line.

To help you find your way around our blog, we too at digi.talk have used colour symbology. Colours are used to represent the various types of links found in our blog posts. Red is used for indicating links from internal webpages (at www.nlb.gov.sg). Blue is used for external links.

So, go on and explore without the fear of getting lost.

Direct Links:

1. Source: The Power of Place, 1993, p. 50
2. John Gage: 'Colour language [from OCWA]', Grove Art Online (Accessed 08 September 2006),
3. Image taken from: http://knsaber.com/upload/

Posted by digitalk team at 03:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

“Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?”
William Blake – “The Tyger”

Scholars believe that poetry originated as a ritual practice in early agricultural societies. The first poems were in the form of magical spells recited to ensure a good harvest. Indeed, poetry might be as old as history or older, but it has since entered the digital age.

Take for instance William Blake’s masterpiece, Songs of Experience and Innocence, a series of lyrical and epic poems. One of the most strikingly original works in the Western culture, when first published it featured stunning hand-illustrations by the poet, William Blake himself. Today, few copies of the double collection, Songs of Experience and Innocence remains, and these are kept under lock and key as part of rare book collections in archives around the world.

However, thanks to the efforts of a group of scholars and institutions, anyone can view pages from the book’s original print online at the Blake Archive.

And if that has whetted your appetite for more verses and sonnets, NLB’s digital resources has enough content to keep anyone’s poetic tastebuds happy.

Many key poets of our time and generations before are anthologized in Granger’s World of Poetry Online, one of the databases available at all libraries. A name synonymous with poetry since its first publication in 1904, The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry is now in its 12th edition. In 1999, Granger’s went online as The Columbia Granger’s World of Poetry.

The Columbia Granger’s World of Poetry features 13,000 poems in full text, and 250,000 poetry citations. The database is searchable by keyword and by author category. Other highlights include commentaries, biographies and bibliographies of poets.

If you prefer poems with a Singaporean flavour, NORA (NLB Online Repository of Artistic Works) has an extensive collection of local poetry. From Edwin Thumboo to Cyril Wong, readers can enjoy selected local works in full.

DIRECT LINKS

Portrait of William Blake courtesy of Hulton Archive/Getty Images via EBSCOHost MAS Ultra Public Library edition

“poetry” Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, http://search.eb.com/eb/article-50836, last accessed 21 August 2006

“William Blake” Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, http://search.eb.com/eb/article-734, last accessed 21 August 2006

Blake, William. Songs of Innocence and of Experience, copy C, The William Blake Archive. Ed. Morris Eaves, Robert N. Essick, and Joseph Viscomi. http://www.blakearchive.org/ last accessed 19 August 2006.

Granger’s World of Poetry Online http://www.columbiagrangers.org/grangers/, last accessed 21 August 2006

NORA (NLB Online Repository of Artistic Works) http://www.nlb.gov.sg/CPMS.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=CPMS_page_eResources_default , last accessed 24 August 2006

Posted by digi.talk team at 01:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"... the whole world smiles with you" as the song goes . At least that is Singapore's hope with the upcoming IMF/World Bank meetings. With smiling in mind we thought it would be interesting to look at a snapshot of the history, anatomy and psychology of smiling! No other animals have evolved as complex a set of facial muscles as have humans. We have 80 muscles that control what happens on our face it is said that you need 53 of these to smile. Those muscles communicate at least 40 different groups of expressions-the six primary emotions and their blends.

Using the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), scientists have observed and analyzed nearly 10,000 facial expressions by determining which muscular actions produce each expression. By studying the mechanics of smiles, frowns, and the thousands of other "faces" we make, scientists are beginning to understand how people use facial expressions(1). But conversely, on a non-muscular plane smiles could be triggered by an momentary chemical reaction in the brain similar to that when we experience love - and no one is sure where that reaction might originate. When and how does human smiling become an act of communication? How does smiling foster our attachments to one another? These and many other questions remain obscure.
But we still insist that a smile is universally understood. However, in various cultures there are different reasons for smiling. To take just a sample: it is said of the British that they insincere. They smile even when they are not happy or not pleased to see you; The Japanese may smile when they are confused, angry or as part of a ritual politeness; the Indonesian smile has been misinterpreted as unconditonally welcoming; in other parts of Asia, people may smile when they are embarrassed; in the United States different parts of the face are used to smile which leads to the assumption that such smiles are "non-natural" and false; and in Russia it is considered bad to smile without a significant reason!

In fact, it may be that happy expressions are used often to hide other emotions, to deceive or indeed, manipulate others. Think of the invariably smiling political and social personalities who grace our television screens! But even if we have a reputation for being cheerful like the USA we can slide down the Happiness Index (by the way according to this Index Singapore is at 6.8 - on a par with Spain, Chile, Venzuela, Argentina - so that probably ccount for the increase in salsa dancing classes! But Singapore does not fare so well in the Happy Planet Indexcoming bottom of all the Asian countries

If we look back in history it doesn't help us to define a smile either ... whether it is the bland mask-like expression in early Greek sculpture or the Mona Lisa's enigmatic grimace, the toothy subjects of the 17th-century Dutch and Flemish masters. Unabashed tooth display in formal portraiture was frowned upon right up to the 20th century, Victorians regarded open-mouthed smiling as "obscene" In contrast Buddha's transcendent beam represents intelligence, compassion and the promise of Nirvana

And how discouraging for our working world and the service culture -with its customary smiling acceptance of everything from a compliment to outright abuse - to realise that according to this study(2), ".....contrary to expectations, the extent of employee smiling does not influence customer emotions"

image at head of post courtesy of http://www.face-and-emotion.com

DIRECT LINKS
(1) "We can tell when you're lying"
USA Today. New York: Aug 2006. Vol. 135, Iss. 2735; p. 6 (1 page)
[from Proquest ]
(2.)"Are All Smiles Created Equal? How Emotional Contagion and Emotional Labor Affect Service Relationships."
Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten; Groth, Markus; Paul, Michael; Journal of Marketing, Vol 70(3), Jul 2006. pp. 58-73.
[from EBSCOHost PsychInfo]

Posted by digitalk team at 02:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Grid computing is the new thing for all the geeks out there and inevitably it is going to mean a great difference to our daily lives whether we know it or not. So what is it?
"Grid is a type of parallel and distributed system that enables the sharing, selection, and aggregation of geographically distributed "autonomous" resources dynamically at runtime depending on their availability, capability, performance, cost, and users' quality-of-service requirements(1)"

Mmm so what does this mean to you and me. Remember the SETI project that used the power of your own home computer via the screen saver to scan the galaxy for intelligible life? Well, grid computing is a bit like that, solving problems too big for any single supercomputer, but it also has the flexibility to work on multiple smaller problems. Its also enables better exploitation of available computing power.

Business(2) is keen on the commercialisation of the Grid framework. The 'big science' sector is also actively utilising its power. There are also "Grid-enabled" versions of High Performance Computing tools. CERN (the world's largest particle physics laboratory) is one of the largest users of Grid technology.

So it seems to be the cutting edge of the computer world right now and courses are being offered at a number of institutions including University of Melbourne, University of Minnesota, University of Southern California, Vrije Universiteit, and University of Leiden.

So what's the potential for the technology? North America's National Digital Mammography Archive(NDMA)(3), which runs on the University of Pennsylvania Grid that connects 4 hospitals in Pennsylvania, Chicago, North Carolina and Toronto enables the capture of healthcare files from any location on the Grid -- including patient medical images, records and clinical history.

NDMA has enabled access to current and past patient records in seconds, meaning faster diagnosis and reduced overhead costs associated with transferring paper or film records between hospitals and offices.

The Grid also enables the hospitals to take advantage of shared processing power to run sophisticated algorithms that enable them to identify disease patterns, as well as analytical tools to aid the diagnosis of diseases. The Grid also supports educational tools for radiologist training and computer-aided diagnosis.

But just in case you think that it is all in then "high end" world there are plans afoot to build platforms for online video gaming. Think 2020 (4) and the world is being run by these mega-servers. Shades of the Matrix and Terminator - scary huh?

Catch our Seminar series on Sept 1 "Grid is Good"

(1) IBM Solutions Grid for Business Partners: Helping IBM Business Partners to Grid-enable applications for the next phase of e-business on demand.
(2) Lock on to the grid. By: Davis, Brian. Professional Engineering, 7/12/2006, Vol. 19 Issue 13, p38-39,
[from EBSCOHost Academic Search Premier]
(3) http://www.infoworld.com/article/02/10/18/021104fegrid_1.html
(4) See 2020 Computing: in Nature 440
[from Nature.com]

Posted by digi.talk team at 05:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)