"You won't be back!"

"At the heart of my politics has always been the value of community, the belief that we are not merely individuals struggling in isolation from each other, but members of a community who depend on each other, who benefit from each other's help, who owe obligations to each other. From that everything stems: solidarity, social justice, equality, freedom."

"So much of politics is about the daily grind of political business: the people to see, the myriad different facets of government, the remorseless agenda of this part of the media or that."

Tony Blair British Prime Minister 1997 - 2007

Check out all the coverage of his last days and the coming of Gordon Brown at Library Press Display in our News Section

Image from "the Herald" UK courtesy of Library Press Display

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Honor Your Anger
How Transforming Your Anger Style Can Change Your Life
by
Beverly Engel
Not your brain - your anger! Anger can be healthy and life-transforming (ask the Incredible Hulk) - so says
therapist Beverly Engel in this stimulating book which tries to show how to transform unhealthy anger into a force for good!. Combining prescriptive action steps with inspiring personal stories, she offers a positive, easy-to-follow program to manage one's anger - did you know that you have an anger style? So what ever your style - violent outbursts, fear of expressing anger, or passive-aggressive behavior you can poick up a few tips here on how to channel your moree violent passions

The Rant Zone
An All-Out Blitz Against Soul-Sucking Jobs, Twisted Child Stars, Holistic Loons, and People Who Eat Their Dogs!
Edition: Abridged
by
Dennis Miller

.....and if the therapy doesn't quite crack it - plug into this audio book. where bestselling author, Emmy Award-winning talk-show host, and wisecracking analyst Dennis Miller makes hamburger meat out of society's most sacred cows as only he can, so if you need to brush up on your invective or polish your ranting vocabulary - start here!. The targets on this occasion are: child stars s, women with bigger muscles than his own, herbs you don't smoke, God, and football.

So whether you want to use it constructively or lose it on your pet hates just gently or firmly click through to our e-books in Overdrive and get emotional!

Posted by digi.talk team at 04:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

How many times have we logged into discussions forums only to be left flabbergasted, with the vast amount of colourful (from what we found out, there’s a huge list) obscenities uttered everywhere? This is not only happening in discussion forums, but in blogs, chatrooms, just about everywhere that allow Internet users to leave behind their “thoughtful” comments.

The Internet has developed into something so important today, that one could even feel handicapped without it. Internet users come from various parts of the world, from many walks of life with different cultures, and belong to diverse age groups. Each group of users has their own expectations, characteristics and habits.

In the early days of the World Wide Web, an occasional sarcastic or confrontational remark was considered as part of its attraction, according to Professor Jenny Preece, from University of Maryland. (1) What started as part of the fun, has all changed tremendously over the years. As Internet users become more accustomed to the virtual world, the Internet, they become more proactive and vocal. Being such is often appreciated, as long as positive massages are transmitted, but what if it’s the other way round? What if users start to verbally abuse each other, online?

At present, several amongst us Internet users, have misused their rights online. Some become menaces to the Internet society, and this problem seems to be getting worse by the minute. Even some young Internet users have been badly influenced, causing them to become cyber-bullies who abuse others online.

Professor Preece aptly puts it, “Etiquette online is not just nice to have, it is necessary.”
Etiquette is important in every aspect of one’s life and the Internet is no exception. The lack of online etiquette is “weakening sociability and even destroying online communities,” Professor Preece had added. (1)

Fortunately, many organisations have started to take control by attempting to instill online etiquette and Internet manners in the young users of the Internet, even in Singapore.

The increasing trend of cyber-bullying in schools has alerted teachers and counsellors. Schools in Singapore have started to organise programmes and workshops to teach students online etiquette. (2)

For half an hour a week, students at Barker Road Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) go through online digital citizenship IT programme. “This programme takes them through like gaming, internet addiction, intellectual property and pornography, with a strong focus on responsible internet use and online etiquette,” reported Channel NewsAsia. (2)

Similar to ACS, Ang Mo Kio Secondary has also implemented a cyber-wellness programme for its students this year, with the curriculum designed by a team of four teachers. The school also has plans to share this programme with ten other schools. (2)

Neoh Tse Wei, a student at Ang Mo Kio Secondary, said: "I know of some people who use vulgarities and obscenities in online chatrooms as well as in blogs. With this cyber-wellness programme in place, I'm able to be fully aware of this situation and I know that we can't hide behind the screen and do things which are not proper." (2)

Whatever the approach, the message to students is made clear - cyber-bullying or abusing others online is not acceptable. Truth is, this message shouldn’t apply to students alone, but to every Internet user.

Direct Links:
(1) Preece, Jenny. “ETIQUETTE ONLINE: From NICE to NECESSARY.”
Communications of the ACM; Apr 2004, Vol. 47 Issue 4, p56-61, 6p.
Taken from: EBSCOHost Academic Search Premier

(2) “Schools implement programme to teach online etiquette.”
Channel NewsAsia. MediaCorp News. 25 June 2007.
Taken from: Factiva.com

(3) Images courtesy of Microsoft Clip Art

Posted by digitalk team at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We thought we would go all historical on you this week with a dig into ancient history. We have all become familiar with the striking shape and so-called ancient curses of the pyramids. These books go deeper - excavating facts, old and new; true and mythical. take a journey into the past with us.
Did you know that:
the shape symbolizes the primeval mound from which the Egyptians believed life, in the shape of sun god Ra, emerged
there are actually over 100 pyramids in Egypt?
Astronomers decided which way the pyramids should face to line up with
favourable stars?

So why not click through to our e-books in netLibrary and do some exploring?

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"Like all dreamers, I mistook disenchantment for truth."

JEAN-PAUL SARTRE
French existentialist philosopher and pioneer, dramatist and screenwriter, novelist and critic who was born today

Existentialism

An important 20th-century philosophical movement which carved out a domain for itself between rationalistic idealism and totally objective materialism. The emphasis is upon personal decision to be made in a world without reason and without purpose. Existentialism emphasizes subjectivity, free will and individuality and has acted as a philosophical counterbalance to theories that stress the role of society and social groups. It has also spawned a form of psychotherapy (existential therapy) that focuses on free will and the necessity for individual choice, action and judgement." from xreferplus Psychology and Philosophy
DIRECT LINKS
Image shows "French philosopher and author Jean-Paul Sartre (1905 - 1980) during an interview in which he denies 'founding' the new philosophy of Existentialism, describing it as the present day current of thought. Original Publication: Picture Post - 4411 - A New Philosophy Or Is It Only A New World? - pub. 1947 (Photo by Charles Hewitt/Getty Images)" -- Image Date: 8/2/1947 courtesy of EBSCOHost Academic Search Premier

Posted by digi.talk team at 01:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Take a "whistlestop tour" of the wide range of databases which NLB digital library members have access to (If you are not a member you can JOIN HERE

R is for Real Estate ...

.... & S is for Science, Sheet Music, Singapore and Sport

REALIS (URA Real Estate Information System)
Looking for an up-to-date statistical source on the private residential, commercial and industrial sectors in Singapore? Comprises Time Series, Project, Transaction and Stock databases.
Note Limited to four concurrent access
Available at Lee Kong Chian Reference Library only

Science Online
Giving you access to a broad range of scientific disciplines through extensive definitions, essays, diagrams, biographies and experiments. Suitable for students aged 12 to 18.
Available at all libraries and from home.

SheetMusicNow.com
One of the world's largest catalogues of classical and jazz sheet music and distributes over 15,000 classical and jazz music scores from publishers, artists and composers, including Sir James Galway, Chick Corea and Schott Musik International. You can also access SheetMusicNow.com through Naxos Music Library.

Note: Onsite printing is not available at all libraries.
Available at all libraries and from home

Singapore 1000
Look no further for a an overview of Singapore's business activity! Provides annual audited financial performance of Singapore's top 1000 corporations and top 500 small & medium enterprises. Information includes corporate rankings by turnover and profit, as well as 5-year sales trend by industry and sales and net profit in terms of industry.Please select Landscape setting when printing all reports.
# Click on the "To Print " button when printing Detailed Lists (i.e. 3-page wide lists)."
Available at all libraries

Singapore/Malaysia Collection
Online access to the National University of Singapore Library’s catalogue of monographs, conference proceedings and periodicals on subjects relating to Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and ASEAN (as an entity).
Available at all libraries and from home

Social SciSearch
The premier international index to the literature of the social, behavioural, and related sciences containing all of the Social Sciences Citation Index.
Available at Lee Kong Chian Reference Library only

SourceOECD
Covering its 30 member countries and 70 other countries the OECD has active relationships with. Best known for its publications and its statistics, its work covers economic and social issues from macroeconomics, to trade, education, development and science and innovation.
Available at Lee Kong Chian Reference Library only

SportDiscus
Provides information from more than 415 journals on sports and sports medicine. There are more than 700,000 full-text articles dating back to 1985.
Limited to 20 concurrent access only
Available at all libraries and from home

Posted by digi.talk team at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now that all evolved consumers are urged to ponder their carbon feet, it seems that they are increasingly asking to know more about what they are buying. How was the product made? By whom? How did it get from its point of origin to its point of sale? What effect does it have on the environment before and after purchasing?

These questions are now being answered to some degree by ‘life story labels' being included in product packaging, telling the careful consumer more and more about the where, what and how of the item they are buying, focusing on its "least harm" impact. Big names such as Timberland and Tesco were quick to get onto this latest eco-fad

It has also flowed down to smaller ventures such as Chippendale Eggs (and don't tell me you don't worry about those little chickens!) which aims to give "full traceability on their egg." Every egg has a unique farmer code that tells you which farm that egg came from. Similarly Nature and More connects you the consumer up with the growers and grower organisations worldwide
It has of course brought the hairsplitters out of the undergrowth asking "whether the methane produced by a cow's belch should count towards the carbon footprint of a joint of beef or not." (mmm I will leave you to ponder that one for a minute). But the trend does seem to be gaining ground where companies can see greater consumer profits in showing they have a heart of minimum carbon content instead of merely offering the most competitive product.

Another dimension of this informed choice movement is the concern that animals are treated humanely(prior to us eating them, of course!) . Humane Choice International Scheme is "in response to people asking them which meat was the best to buy in terms of animal welfare, and because of the lack of clarity around free-range labels and the lack of national free-range standards" The initiative was kick-started in Australia and it is hoped will be in supermarkets by mid 2007 — beef, chicken, eggs and some dairy products such as butter and yoghurt will be first, with lamb and pork later. Eventually it’s hoped the labelling scheme will be extended to other products, such as milk, wool and leather. Similarly in the UK an idea has sprouted to put "kindness" logos on European meat and dairy products as well as items from outside Europe.

It is likely that there will be a fusion of these ideas with either the hi-tech RFID or indeed, the rising star 2D-barcode. Code reading software on mobile phones - cameras to you - will be able to connect you to another cybermound of information(images or videos included) via the product embedded code. Yikes, the cost of being carbon conscious is even more information so that I can feel good about myself while overspending - evolved consumer indeed!

DIRECT LINKS

"Friend of Nature? Let's See Those Shoes".
By Amy Cortese
from New York Times March 7, 2007 from EBSCOHost

"Belching cattle trample over Tesco's carbon footprint scheme"
Sunday Telegraph 26 May 2007 from EBSCOHost

"New food labelling"
Hobart Mercury, 10 August 2006
from Factiva

"Food labelled for 'kindness"
The Times, 29 November 2006
from Factiva

"(Still) Made Here" from trendwatching

Images courtesy of Timberland and Chippendale Eggs

Posted by digi.talk team at 02:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Corporate taxes have been slashed worldwide. Today, there are at least a dozen economies with corporate tax rates below 20 per cent, including most Eastern European countries (15-19 per cent), Hong Kong (17.5 per cent) and Ireland (12.5 per cent). Raising the GST (goods and service tax) would give Singapore additional fiscal leeway to reduce its corporate tax rates. – (1)

Come 1st July, the GST will be raised by 2 percentage points, from 5% to 7%. However, there is a genuine concern that the GST hike will have a great impact on the lower income groups. In view of the GST hike, the government and some retailers are doing their part to offset the increase in prices. – (1)

Government
Some 800,000 households will receive $210 million worth of Service & Conservancy Charges (S&CC), rental and Utilities-Save (U-Save) rebates as part of the GST Offset Package announced in the Budget Statement 2007. The rebates are part of a $4 billion offset package for the 2 percentage point hike in GST. The package, which is tilted heavily in favour of lower-income Singaporeans, includes $1.8 billion in cash that will be handed out over four years. – (3)

Supermarket
Four supermarket chains, Cold Storage, Shop N Save, NTUC FairPrice and Sheng Siong have pledged not to raise prices when the Goods and ServicesTax (GST) increases next month. Cold Storage, Shop N Save and NTUC FairPrice will absorb the increases for six months from July 1. – (2)
This will apply to 500 basic essential items, ranging from cooking oil to bread, sold under the Cold Storage and Shop N Save housebrands - First Choice and No Frills. NTUC FairPrice announced in February that it would absorb the tax increase for 400 essential items for six months. As for Sheng Siong, it will not raise prices for all products for at least a month. – (2)

Schools

Singapore’s three local universities, National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU), will not raise tuition fees this year in view of the upcoming increase in goods and services tax. The news came as a surprise after the universities signalled that more fee hikes could be expected. – (4)

PAP Community Foundation (PCF) kindergartens and care centres will absorb the two percentage point hike in the goods and services tax (GST) for six months. Also, the centres' fees will not be increased from July to June next year.- (5)

The hike to 7 per cent means Singapore will no longer have the lowest indirect tax rate in the region. It will be higher than Japan's indirect tax rate of 5 per cent, and will be on par with Thailand's tax rate of 7 per cent. Hong Kong and Malaysia are still considering whether to introduce indirect taxes. –(1)

However, Singaporeans can take some comfort from the fact that the 7 per cent target level for the tax is below the global average GST rate of 16.4 per cent, and the Asia-Pacific average of 10.5 per cent. –(1)

Data taken from:
(1)- “Making sense of the GST hike- One effect will be to raise the general price level but GST need not be regressive if the government uses the money wisely”, The Business Times, January 24, 2007, Vikram Khanna
(2)- “Four supermarket chains to absorb GST hike temporarily- Prices of basic items to stay stable for up to six months from July 1, when the tax goes up”, The Straits Times, June 11, 2007, Sue-Ann Chia
(3)- “800,000 households to get rebates worth $210m”, The Business Times, May 25, 2007, Daniel Buenas
(4)- “Fee freeze at 3 universities in view of GST hike- Move a surprise as NUS, NTU and SMU had signalled likely rise earlier”, The Straits Times, January 26, 2007, Jane Ng
(5)- “PCF kindergartens to absorb GST hike for six months- Also, all its centres will not increase their fees for one year from July”, The Straits Times, May 21, 2007, Arlina Arshad

Images taken from:
Factiva

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“Women have the right to work wherever they want, as long as they have the dinner ready when you get home”

John Wayne (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979)

Before our women readers get too upset and leave this page, the quote is just to introduce this archetypal man's man who died 28 years ago this week. Born Marion Robert Morrison and later changed to Marion Michael Morrison, was known as the "Duke," was an iAcademy Award-winning, American film actor. He epitomized ruggedly individualistic masculinity, and has become an enduring American icon. He leant a distinctive voice to the Hollywood Western and if you feel like kicking back and wallowing in one of them you can find a Top Ten here

Image courtesy of
MPTV
Copyright: ©Motion Picture & Television Photo Archive
Caption: John Wayne, c. 1952.
via EBSCOHost

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You've GOT to Read This Book!
55 People Tell the Story of the Book That Changed Their Life
by
Jack Canfield
Gay Hendricks

There's nothing better than a book you can't put down or better yet, a book you'll never forget. This book puts the power of transformational reading into your hands. Jack Canfield, cocreator of the bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, and self-actualization pioneer Gay Hendricks have invited notable people to share personal stories of books that changed their lives. What book shaped their outlook and habits? Helped them navigate rough seas? Spurred them to satisfaction and success?

So why not click through to our e-books in OverDrive.

Posted by digi.talk team at 05:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chosen by members of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences "based on a number of creative and functional criteria" - the Webbys are OUT. If you want to see the full list you need to drop by here or you can view the wonderful world of Webby gallery. For what it's worth these are the ones that caught our eye from the winner's list

First up, out of Greenpeace International riding on Steve Jobs' announcement of a greener Apple and then rolling out their environment message comes Green my Apple. and in the "save the planet" vein - check out the current state of play with regard to your carbon footprint.

Once the world has been put to rights then maybe you want to find out more about careers that build on your passions why then - Dream It. Do It. ; whether it is in a web design with a company such as Freedom Interactive Design or working for IKEA.

But maybe, you just have a curious streak which can be ably satisfied by HowStuffWorks or like to keep up with our world via news side courtesy of NYTimes.com and The Guardian . But, then again, should you want to create your personal news, letting your friends know and see you and your goings-on (Inevitable and predictable we know) but what's not to like about Flickr

On the other hand you might just want to look at something beautiful .....just plain beautiful thenJonathan Yuen delivers the goods; or from a clean graphic angle, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners won for their site "Adobe CS2.3 - The Creative Mind" but we like this quirky effort from them.

If the Blogworld is your thing try out these innovative sites: the first introduces "new media art curator " an oblique view of art and place; the next aims raise your green consciousness; the third claims to "drill beneath the headlines" ; and the fourth satisfies the urge to shred some broadband; and lastly stimulates some activism with this startling and eerie take on homelessness from this Netherlands based organisation.

Educationally speaking the Webbys recognise that you can't go far wrong with the Smithsonian - awarding their main education site and their photography initiative . Among the nominees we really liked this one which deals with shadow puppetry with some great videos of popular stories. On the educational institution front Indiana University have a great take on promoting what they do and who they are

To strike a military note, the US Army website tries a personal approach to recruitment with all of the career options in the army highlighted through the lives of indivudal soldiers. Or you can try to question Sgt Star a chat bot who was able to answer questions about shooting but not on libraries!

And 'specially for all you folks out there who have a "have, want, need" kind of life (who hasn't!) then fabsugar will get you off on the right foot! and who doesn't need music? last fm, "the social music revolution" was a hit with the people and the judges or, indeed, some sort of connection with a social network, LinkedIn and facebook have scored big this year or still more likely these days you are one of the many gaming guys and gals Miniclip should keep away the insomnia or waste a few precious daylight hours while Gamasutra is for the really serious gaming enthusiast with all the inside dope you will ever need.

After all the social interaction, music feeds and gaming fixes if you are feeling under the weather you can always consult WebMD or perhaps you feel like taking a break the Wikitravel project is aiming to "create a free, complete, up-to-date, and reliable world-wide travel guide"

Finally we couldn't sign off without a little WOW! in the shape of Hubble and a touch of weird in the fluffy, plushy shape of Cute Overload

[PLEASE NOTE: a lot of these sites require a broadband connection and additional plug-ins to get the full experience .. but you knew that already...]

Posted by digi.talk team at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Indonesia
Article: Indonesian Rainforests Disappearing Fast - UN Blames Illegal Loggers and Warns That Orang Utans May Not Survive

INDONESIA'S tropical rainforests are disappearing 30 per cent faster than previously estimated as illegal loggers raid large national parks, threatening the long-term survival of orang utans, according to a United Nations report released on Monday... Read more, look into our News databases.

China
Article: Two in Three Cities Hit by Pollution
NEARLY two in three cities suffered from air pollution last year and had no centralised sewage treatment facilities, state media reported yesterday.

Only 37.6 per cent 585 cities surveyed had air quality "indicating a clean and healthy environment..." Read more, look into our News databases.

Malaysia
Article: KL Flash Flood 'Not One-Off'

SUNDAY'S massive flash floods in Kuala Lumpur, the city's worst since 2003, were not a one-off disaster, the New Straits Times (NST) reported yesterday... Read more, look into our News databases.

Singapore
Article: Charities get guidelines on good governance
Author: Su-Yin, Yap & Theresa, Tan

CHARITIES big and small now have a definitive guide on good governance, including best practices and ensuring public confidence in them.

The comprehensive draft code, issued by the Charity Council, was released yesterday... Read more, look into our News databases.

Australia
Article: Disease Fears in Australia

AUSTRALIANS mopping up flood-damaged homes north of Sydney yesterday faced disease from sewage-contaminated floodwaters, while around 1,000 people remained cut off by flooded rivers, said officials...
Read more, look into our News databases.

Thailand
Article: Thaksin May Return to Fight Assets Freeze

FORMER Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra may return from exile soon to challenge Monday's order freezing US$1.53 billion (S$2.36 billion) of his family assets in Thailand, his lawyer and spokesman said... Read more, look into our News databases.

Image courtesy of Factiva
A man walks on a tree he has illegally felled in WKalimantan Province, Indonesia
Eishi Miyasaka
Knight Ridder/Tribune Photo Service
English
(c) 2006

Posted by digitalk team at 04:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"It's amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper." - Seinfeld, Jerry, Comedian

Posted by digitalk team at 03:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks to Google's Zeitgeist we can now take the temperature of the hottest things worldwide that people have been looking into Google for during the month of April
So in time-honoured fashion let's take a selection alphabetically around the world and check out the current Top 5

Afghanistan

Australia

Brazil

China

1. 马天宇
(An actor)
2. 世上的女人都是毒蛇
(a popular song)
3. 韩东 傻瓜
(a popular song sung by Han Dong)
4. 土豆网
(a famous website)
5. 大智慧
(a stock software/platform)
So songs, songs and stocks - happy amid the boom perhaps!

Well that's it for now - tune in again soon

Images
1. circa 1960: "A solitary minaret in the desert in Herat, Afghanistan" (Photo by Vincent Brown/Three Lions/Getty Images)" -- Image Date: 1/1/1960
Afghanistan © Getty Images courtesy of EBSCOHost

2. "A diver plays with a shark in Great Barrier Reef Exhibit in Sydney Aquarium"
Reuters Pictures courtesy of Factiva

3. "Carnival reveller dance during afternoon parade along main avenue of Ipanema neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro"
Reuters Pictures, courtesy of Factiva

Posted by digi.talk team at 04:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Take a "whistlestop tour" of the wide range of databases which NLB digital library members have access to (If you are not a member you can JOIN HERE

O is for Oxford ...

Oxford English Dictionary Online (OED)
What can we say about this dependable friend? The dictionary of all dictionaries giving the meaning, history, and pronunciation of a huge number of words, contemporary and ancient. IIts context quotes come from from classic literature to film scripts and cookery books.
Available at all libraries and from home

....and P is for Pop, Project MUSE and Proquest