SciTech Forum, News and Information

2011-08-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

The End of an Era

On July 8 2011, was the last launch of the NASA space shuttle program. The shuttle Atlantis carried four veteran astronauts to the International Space Station: Commander Christopher Ferguson; Pilot Douglas Hurley; Mission Specialist 1 Sandra Magnus; and Mission Specialist 2 Rex Walheim. STS-135 was Atlantis' 33rd final mission. This historic flight was the 135th and final mission of NASA's space shuttle program.

2009-06-24T14:46:00.000-07:00

World Wide Web 20th Anniversary.

This is the year of important anniversaries. In March of 1989 famous now Tim Berners-Lee provided to his supervisor at the CERN office in Geneva a proposal for a multimedia distribution of documents simply entitled "Information Management: a proposal". This was the beginning of a new era. A transformation of human information gathering and distribution that has drastically influenced the way we communicate, learn, work and entertain. A copy of the original document can be found at: http://www.w3.org/History/1989/proposal.html

2009-06-23T15:38:00.001-07:00

125th Anniversary of IEEE

A special web page dedicated to the 125th anniversary of IEEE has been set up at http://www.ieee125.org/ .

IEEE history goes back to 1884 when the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) was founded. AIEE merged in 1963 with the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) forming the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Today IEEE has over 365,000 members in 160 countries and produces 30 percent of the world's literature in the electrical and electronics engineering and computer science fields. It publishes more than 120 peer-reviewed journals, hundreds of conference proceedings, professional standards, and educational materials [1].

[1]. (2009) IEEE Today, http://www.ieee.org/web/aboutus/today/index.html

2009-06-04T14:20:00.000-07:00

125th Anniversary of the Engineering Index (Ei)

Ei was founded in 1884 by Dr. John Butler Johnson, a professor of Civil Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1918, it was acquired by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In 1998, Ei was purchase by Elsevier. Known for several years as COMPENDEX, Ei is one of the most comprehensive databases for engineering information. Today, Compendex has over 11 million records. Source: "Ei History", Engineering Information. http://www.ei.org/evhistory

2006-05-14T14:59:00.000-07:00

Is Time Infinite?

Paul J. Steinhardt of Joseph Henry Laboratories, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ and
Neil Turok from the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics of Cambridge University in England have published a couple of papers that propose a different cosmological model. In their first paper (Sienhardt and Turok, 2002) they said: “the universe undergoes an endless sequence of cosmic epochs that begin with a "bang" and end in a "crunch." Their most recent paper (Sienhardt and Turok, 2006) gave an explanation of the reason the Cosmological constant is so small and positive and is based on their preliminary idea of endless continuous cycles of Big Bangs; under these conditions space and time could continue forever. This theory is not widely accepted yet.

Steinhardt, Paul J.; Turok, Neil (2006).
Why the Cosmological Constant Is Small and Positive. Science Express, published online May 4, 2006. Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1126231.

Steinhardt, Paul J.; Turok, Neil (2002).
A Cyclic Model of the Universe, Science 24 May 2002: Vol. 296. no. 5572, pp. 1436 – 1439. Originally published in Science Express on 25 April 2002.

2006-04-28T08:57:00.000-07:00

Quantum Knots

A feature article in the section on Information Technology of Scientific America, April 19, 2006 provides a clear and basic description of how machines using quantum mechanics models can perform at exceedingly high levels not possible with today's ordinary computers. Although, quantum computing it is in its initial developing stage the applications for using such machines are very promising.

Computing with Quantum Knots, by Collins, Graham P., Scientific American, April 2006, Vol. 294, Issue 4.

Other readings on the subject:

Topological Quantum Computation. John Preskill. Lecture notes available at www.theory.caltech.edu/-preskill/ph219/topological.pdf

Mathematics of quantum computation, edited by Goong Chen, Ranee K. Brylinski.
Boca Raton: Chapman & Hall/CRC, 2002.

Principles of quantum computation and information, byGiuliano Benenti and Giulio Casati, Giuliano Strini. River Edge, NJ : World Scientific Pub., 2004.

NSF Award for Young Scientists

A professor of applied mathematics at the California Institute of Technology has received the Alan T. Watermann Award. Dr. Emmanuel J. Candes a native of France with a doctoral degree from Stanford University (1988) won this prestigious award granted by the National Science Foundation (USA) for developing new techniques in the study of the representation of wave signals which can have significant applications in areas like aircraft safety, DNA analysis, and medical technology. For more details look at:

http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=106889

Information about the Alan T. Waterman Award: http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/awards/waterman/waterman.htm#information

Engineering Deans moving into the Provost’ Office

Prism a magazine of the American Society for Engineering Education in its April 2006 issues reported about how in American Universities engineering deans are increasingly moving into the position of provost. The article “All the right moves” by Alvin P. Sanoff, p 25-29, asserts that the training and experience as engineers are valuable skills for this type of positions. . This article is available full-text thru major library databases.
http://www.prism-magazine.org/

2006-03-26T20:41:00.000-08:00

2006 Abel Prize for Mathematics.

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has announced this week the winner of the 2006 Abel Prize: Lennart Carleson of the Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. The announcement made by the president of the Norwegian Academy, Ole Didrik Lærum, indicates the selection was made based on Carleston outstanding contributions to the field of harmonic analysis. http://www.abelprisen.no/en/

The Niels Henrik Abel Memorial Fund was established in 2002 to recognize
outstanding scientific work in the field of mathematics. The prize is US$ 920,000.

Carleson’s publications include, the article:
Carleson, Lennart, “On Convergence and Growth of Partial Sums of Fourier Series.”
Acta Mathematica. V. 116, 1966 p.135-157.
And the book: Carleson, Lennart, Selected Problems on Exceptional Sets. Princeton, N.J: Van Nostrand. 1967.

2006-02-22T17:37:00.000-08:00

Carbon Nanotubes to Enhance Ultracapacitors.

Riccardo Signorelli, Joel Schindall, and John Kassakain from the MIT's Laboratory for Electromagnetic and Electronic Systems (LEES) have reported at a recent meeting of the 15th International Seminar on Double Layer Capacitors and Hybrid Energy Storage Devices in Deerfield Beach, Fla., in December 2005 about the uses of nanotube structures to improve the effeciency of storing energy. This can be one of the most significant and economically viable improvements made in battery design since its invention nearly the 200 years ago.

http://lees.mit.edu/lees/posters/RU13_signorelli.pdf

2006-01-30T16:13:00.000-08:00

Images in Scientific Research and the Digital World.

Manipulation of images in scientific research publications is one of the temptations in presenting information in a digital format. Recently, several of these manipulations have been reported and some publishers are considering creating guidelines for “testing” the originality of images included in research articles. Nicholas Wade shows through very simple examples how the retouching of images can be detected.

It May Look Authentic; Here's How to Tell It Isn't.
By Nicholas Wade, The New York Times, Science, January 24, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/24/science/24frau.html?_r=1

NSF 2005 Year in Review.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) an agency of the U.S.A. government responsible for promoting progress in the scientific community and also a major source of funding for scientific research has released their 2005: Year in Review. Dated January 11 2006, this publication highlights the most significant accomplishments for the year.
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=105693

2006-01-09T06:02:00.000-08:00

Citation Analysis and the Scientific World.

2005 was the 50^th year anniversary of the creation of the Science Citation Index. Citation analysis since then has had a significant impact in the scientific and technical world. To celebrate this event Current Science Online in its November 10, 2005, 89(9) issue published a Special Section. The articles included in this section are listed below.

http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/nov102005/contents.htm

SPECIAL SECTION: 50 YEARS OF CITATION INDEXING

Early impressions of citation indexing, Joshua Lederberg, p. 1502.
‘Citation Indexes for Science’ – A 50 year citation history, Olle Persson, p. 1503.
A hundred million acts of whimsy? Blaise Cronin, 1505.
Evaluation of research and evolution of science indicators, Loet Leydesdorff, p. 1510.
Citation and hyperlink networks, Andrea Scharnhorst and Mike Thelwall, p. 1518.
Beyond SCI citations – New ways to evaluate research, Grant Lewison, 1524.
The emergence of competitors to the Science Citation Index and the Web of Science, Dana L. Roth, 1531.
As we may search – Comparison of major features of the Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar citation-based and citation-enhanced databases, Peter Jacso, 1537.
Counting the gatekeepers of international science journals a worthwhile science indicator, Tibor Braun and Ildikó Dióspatonyi, 1548.
Mapping the global structure of Antarctic research vis-à-vis Antarctic Treaty System, Prabir G. Dastidar and Olle Persson, 1552.

Also an article in The Scientist 19(20): 24, October 24, 2005 “The Future of Citation Analysis” by Jeffrey M. Perkel is a tribute to Eugene Garfield the proponent and creator of SCI.

http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/15797/

2006-01-02T08:56:00.000-08:00

On the Shelves

This section features new books of interest to scitech professionals.
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Citation analysis in research evaluation, by Henk F. Moed.
Series: Information science and knowledge management ; v. 9
Dordrecht; Springer, 2005.
Subjects: Bibliographical citations. Citation of archival materials.
Research, Evaluation. ISBN: 1402037139, 1402037147 (e-book).

On risk and disaster: lessons from Hurricane Katrina, edited by Ronald J. Daniels, Donald F. Kettl, and Howard Kunreuther; foreword by Amy Gutmann.
Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006.
Subjects: Emergency management, Crisis management in government, Disaster relief, Risk perception, Risk assessment, Hurricane Katrina, 2005. ISBN: 0812219597.

Emergency response planning for corporate and municipal managers, by Paul A. Erickson.
Series: Butterworth-Heinemann homeland security series. 2nd ed. Amsterdam; Boston: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann: Academic Press, 2006. ISBN: 0123705037.
Subjects: Emergency management. Contents: Scope of emergency response. Essentials of holistic planning and management. The emergency response plan. Physical and chemical hazards. Biohazards. Medical surveillance. Personal protective clothing and equipment. Hazard and risk reduction strategies. Decontamination. Data and information management. Monitoring strategies and devices. Terrorism. Personnel training.

Nanotechnology: basic calculations for engineers and scientists, by Louis Theodore.
Published: Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons, 2006. ISBN: 0471739510. Subjects: Nanotechnology. Content: Preface. Introduction. Solved Problems. PART 1: CHEMISTRY FUNDAMENTALS AND PRINCIPLES. 1. Units, Conversion Constants and Dimensional Analysis. 2. Atoms, Elements, and the Periodic Table. 3. Molecular/Rearrangements. 4. Concentration Terms. 5. Particle Size, Suface Area, and Volume. 6. Materials Sceince Principles. References. PART 2: PARTICLE TECHNOLOGY. 7. Nature of Particles. 8. Particle Size Distribution. 9. Particle Sizing and Measurement Methods. 10. Fluid Particle Dynamics. 11. Particle Collection Mechanisms. 12. Particle Collection Efficiencies. References. PART 3: APPLICATIONS. 13. Patents. 14. Size Reduction. 15. Prime Materials. 16. Production/Manufacturing Routes. 17. Ventilation. 18. Dispersion. 19. Ethics. References. PART 4: ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS. 20. Environmental Regulations. 21. Toxicology. 22. Non-carcinogens. 23. Carcinogens. 24. Health Risk Assessment. 25. Hazard Risk Assessment. 26. Epidemiology. References.

Handbook of international disaster psychology, edited by Gilbert Reyes and Gerard A. Jacobs; preface by Charles D. Spielberger; foreword by Benedetto Saraceno. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers, 4 vols., 2006. ISBN: 0275983153.
Subjects: Disaster victims, Mental health. Disaster victims, Mental health services.
Disasters, Psychological aspects. Disaster relief, Psychological aspects. Humanitarian assistance, Psychological aspects. Community psychology.

Mathematics of quantum computation, edited by Goong Chen, and Ranee K. Brylinski.
Boca Raton: Chapman & Hall/CRC, 2002, ISBN: 1584882824.
Table of Contents:
PART I: QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT, 1. ALGEBRAIC MEASURES OF ENTANGLEMENT, Jean-Luc Brylinski, 3. Introduction. Rank of a Tensor . Tensors in (C 2)Ä2. Tensors in (C 2)Ä3. Tensors in (C 2)Ä4.
KINEMATICS OF QUBIT PAIRS, Berthold-Geor Englert and Nasser Metwally, 25.
Introduction. Basic Classification of States. Projectors and Subspaces. Positivity and Separability. Lewenstein-Sanpera Decompositions. Examples.
INVARIANTS FOR MULTIPLE QUBITS: The Case of 3 Qubits, David A. Meyer and Noland Wallach, 77. Introduction. Invariants for Compact Lie Groups. The Simplest Cases. The Case of Three Qubits. A Basic Set of Invariants for Three Qubits. Some Implications for Other Representations.
PART II: UNIVERSALITY OF QUANTUM GATES. UNIVERSAL QUANTUM GATES, Jean-Luc Brylinski and Ranee Brylinski, 101. Statements of Main Results
Examples and Relations to Works of Other Authors. From Universality to Exact Universality. Analyzing the Lie Algebra g. Normalizer of H.
PART III: QUANTUM SEARCH ALGORITHMS. FROM COUPLED PENDULUMS TO QUANTUM SEARCH Lov K. Grover and Anirvan M. Sengupta, 119. Introduction. Classical Analogy. N Coupled Pendulums. The Algorithm. Towards Quantum Searching
The Quantum Search Algorithm. Why Does it Take O(vN) cycles?. Applications and Extensions.
GENERALIZATION OF GROVER'S ALGORITHM TO MULTIOBJECT SEARCH IN QUANTUM COMPUTING, Part I: Continuous Time and Discrete Time, Goon Chen, Stephen A,. Fulling, and Jeesen Chen, 135. Introduction. Analog Multiobject Quantum Search Algorithm. Discrete Time or "Digital" Case.
GENERALIZATION OF GROVER'S ALGORITHM TO MULTIOBJECT SEARCH IN QUANTUM COMPUTING, Part II: General Unitary Transformations, Goon Chen and Shunhua Sun, 162. Introduction. Multiobject Search Algorithm
PART III: QUANTUM COMPUTATIONAL COMPLEXITY. COUNTING COMPLEXITY AND QUANTUM COMPUTATION, Stephen A. Fenner, 171. Introduction. Equivalence of FQP and GapP. Strengths of the Quantum Model
Limitations of the Quantum Model.
PART IV: QUANTUM ERROR-CORRECTING CODES
ALGORITHMIC ASPECTS OF QUANTUM ERROR-CORRECTING CODES, Markus Grassl, 223. Introduction. General Quantum Error-Correcting Codes. Binary Quantum Codes. Additive Quantum Codes. Conclusions.
CLIFFORD CODES, Andreas Klappenecker and Martin Rotteler, 253. Introduction. Motivation. Quantum Error Control Codes. Nice Error Bases. Stabilizer Codes. Clifford Codes. Clifford Codes that are Stabilizer Codes. A Remarkable Error Group. A Weird Error Group. Conclusions.
PART V: QUANTUM COMPUTING ALGEBRAIC AND GEOMETRIC STRUCTURES. INVARIANT POLYNOMIAL FUNCTIONS ON K QUDITS, Jean-Luc Brylinski and Ranee Brylinski, 277. Introduction. Polynomial Invariants of Tensor States
The Generalized Determinant Function. Asymptotics as k ®8. Quartic Invariants of k Qubits.
Zs-SYSTOLIC FREEDOM AND QUANTUM CODES, Michael H. Freedman, David A. Meyer, and Feng Luo, 287. Preliminaries and Statement of Results. Mapping Torus Constructions. Verification of Freedom and Curvature Estimates. Quantum Codes from Riemannian Manifolds.
PART VI: QUANTUM TELEPORTATION, Kishore T. Kapale and M. Suhail Zubairy
Introduction, 323. Teleportation of a 2-State System. Discrete N-State Quantum Systems
Quantum Teleportation of Entangled State. Continuous Quantum Variable States. Concluding Remarks.
PART VII: QUANTUM SECURE COMMUNICATION AND QUANTUM CRYPTOGRAPHY. COMMUNICATING WITH QUBIT PAIRS, Almut Beige, Berthold-Georg Engler, Christian Kurtsiefer, and Harald Weinfurter, 360.
Introduction. The Mean King's Problem. Cryptography with Single Qubits
Cryptography with Qubit Pairs. Idealized Single-Photon Schemes. Direct Communication with Qubit Pairs.
PART VIII: COMMENTARY ON QUANTUM COMPUTING
TRANSGRESSING THE BOUNDARIES OF QUANTUM COMPUTATION: A CONTRIBUTION TO THE HERMENEUTICS OF THE NMR PARADIGM, Stephen A. Fulling, 406. Review of NMR Quantum Computing. Review of Modular Arithmetic.
A Proposed "Quantum" Implementation. Aftermath. Index, 421.

Link Analysis: An Information Science Approach, by Michael Arijan Thelwall. Amsterdam; Boston: Elsevier Academic Press, 2004. ISBN: 0120885530. Table of Contents: Part 1: Theory. Introduction, 1. Web crawlers and search engines, 9. The theoritical perspective for link counting, 23. Interpreting link counts: Random samples and correlations, 35. Part 2: Web structures. Link structures in the web graph, 47. The content structure of the web, 59. Part 3: Academic links. Universities: Link types, 69. Link models, 81. International links, 93. Department and subjects, 101. Journals and Articles, 109. Part 4: Applications. Search engines and web design, 119. A health clock for Spanish universities, 137. Personal web pages linking to universities, 145. Academic networks, 163. Business web sites, 173. Part 5: Tools and techniques. Using commercial search engines and the Internet Archive, 181. Personal crawlers, 189. Data cleasing, 199. Online university link databases, 203. Embedded link analysis methodologies, 209. Social network analysis, 213. Network visualizations, 219. Academic link indicators, 227. Part 6: Summary. Summary, 237. Glossary, 241. A SocSciBot tutorial, 245.

Communication Patterns of Engineers. Carol Tenopir, Donald W. King. Piscataway, NJ: IEEE Press; Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Interscience, 2004. ISBN: 047148492X.
Table of Contents:
1. Introduction:
Focus of the Book,1. Structure of the Book, 6.
2. Communication Models.
Introduction, 11. Models of Communication Systems, 12. Models of Scholarly Journals, 14. Models of Information Seeking, 22.
3. A Communications Framework for Engineers.
Introduction, 27. Time Engineers Spend Communicating, 29. Engineers' Communication Channels, 31. Factors Affecting Engineers' Communication Choices, 35.
4. The Engineering Profession and Communication.
The Engineering Profession, 37. How Industry and Government Engineers Spend Their Time, 38. The Importance of Information Resources to Engineers' Work, 38. The Value of Reading, 41.The Impact of Information on Innovation, 44. Organizing Information for Better Use in the Workplace, 46. Engineers' Adaptation to Information Innovations, 52.
5. Engineers' Information Seeking and Use.
Introduction, 57. Engineers' Channels for Information Seeking and Use, 58. Resources Used by Engineers for Information Seeking, 63.
6. Factors Affecting Information Seeking and Use.
Introduction, 71. Effects of Geographic and Cultural Differences on Information Seeking and Use, 72. Effects of the Nature of Work on Information Seeking and Use, 74. Effects of Organization Policies on Information Seeking and Use, 83. Effects of Personal Characteristics on Information Seeking and Use, 85.
7. Information Output by Engineers.
Introduction, 89. Channels Engineers Use to Communicate Information Output, 91. Resources and Tools Engineers Use for Communicating Information Output, 94. Communicating the Written Word, 95.
8. Engineering Education and Communication Skills.
Introduction, 99. Improving Engineers' Communication Skills, 100. Improving the Use of Communication Channels and Sources, 108.
9. The Engineering Scholarly Journal Channel.
Introduction, 113. Engineering and Science Journal Characteristics: 1977, 1995, and 2001, 114. Engineers' and Scientists' Authorship and Reading of Scholarly Journals, 117. Changes in Information-Seeking and Reading Patterns Following Electronic Journals, 126.
10. Engineers' Journal Information-Seeking and Reading Patterns in an Emerging Electronic Era.
Introduction, 133. Use, Usefulness, and Value of Articles to Engineers, 135. Where Engineers Get the Articles They Read, 139. Format of Articles Read, 140. How Engineers Learn About the Articles They Read, 141. Age of Articles Read, 143. Factors That Affect Use, 144.
11. Engineering Communication Patterns Compared with Science and Medicine.
Introduction, 149. Professions of Engineering, Science, and Medicine, 151. Communication Channels Used by Engineers, Scientists, and Medical Professionals, 155. Resources and Tools Used by Engineers Scientists, and Medical Professionals, 158.
12. The NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project.
Introduction, 163. Focus on Commercial Aircraft Manufacturing in the United States, 164. Communication by U.S. Aerospace Engineers and Scientists, 166. Other Related Work, 175.
Summary, 181. Bibliography, 187. Index, 253. About the Authors, 265.

Testing Statistical Hypotheses, 3rd ed. E.L. Lehmann, Joseph P. Romano, New York: Springer, 2005. ISBN: 0387988645.
Table of Contents:
Small-Sample Theory.
1. The General Decision Problem.
Statistical Inference and Statistical Decisions,3. Specification of a Decision Problem 4. Randomization; Choice of Experiment,8. Optimum Procedures, 9. Invariance and Unbiased ness, 11. Bayes and Minimax Procedures,14. Maximum Likelihood,16. Complete Classes,17. Sufficient Statistics,18. Problems, 21. Notes, 27.
2. The Probability Background.
Probability and Measure, 28. Integration, 31. Statistics and Subfields, 34. Conditional Expectation and Probability, 36. Conditional Probability Distributions, 41. Characterization of Sufficiency, 44. Exponential Families, 46. Problems, 50. Notes, 55.
3. Uniformly Most Powerful Tests.
Stating The Problem, 56.The Neyman-Pearson Fundamental Lemma,59.p-values, 63. Distributions with Monotone Likelihood Ratio, 65. Confidence Bounds, 72. A Generalization of the Fundamental Lemma, 77. Two-Sided Hypotheses, 81. Least Favorable Distributions, 83. Applications to Normal Dtributions, 86. nivariate Normal Models, 86. Multivariate Normal Models, 89. Problems, 92. Notes, 107.
4. Unbiasedness: Theory and First Applications.
Unbiasedness For Hypothesis Testing, 110. One-Parameter Exponential Families, 111. Similarity and Completeness, 115. UMP Unbiased Tests for Multiparameter Exponential Families, 119. Comparing Two Poisson or Binomial Populations, 124. Testing for Independence in a 2 ? 2 Table, 127. Alternative Models for 2x 2 Tables, 130. Some Three-Factor Contingency Tables, 132. The Sign Test, 135. Problems, 139. Notes, 149.
5. Unbiasedness: Applications to Normal Distributions.
Statistics Independent of a Sufficient Statistic, 150. Testing the Parameters of a Normal Distribution, 153. Comparing the Means and Variances of Two Normal Distributions, 157. Confidence Intervals and Families of Tests, 161. Unbiased Confidence Sets, 164. Regression, 168. Bayesian Confidence Sets, 171.Permutation Tests, 176. Most Powerful Permutation Tests, 177. Randomization As A Basis For Inference, 181. Permutation Tests and Randomization, 184. Randomization Model and Confidence Intervals, 187. Testing for Independence in a Bivariate Normal Distribution, 190. Problems, 192. Notes, 210. Contents xi.
6. Invariance.
Symmetry and Invariance, 212. Maximal Invariants, 214. Most Powerful Invariant Tests, 218. Sample Inspection by Variables, 223. Almost Invariance, 225. Unbiasedness and Invariance, 229. Admissibility, 232. Rank Tests, 239. The Two-Sample Problem, 242. The Hypothesis of Symmetry, 246. Equivariant Confidence Sets, 248. Average Smallest Equivariant Confidence Sets, 251. Confidence Bands for a Distribution Function, 255. Problems, 257. Notes, 276.
7. Linear Hypotheses.
A Canonical Form, 277. Linear Hypotheses and Least Squares, 281.Tests of Homogeneity, 285. Two-Way Layout: One Observation per Cell, 287. Two-Way Layout: m Observations Per Cell, 290. Regression, 293. Random-Effects Model: One-way Classification, 297. Nested Classifications, 300. Multivariate Extensions, 304. Problems, 306. Notes, 317.
8. The Minimax Principle.
Tests with Guaranteed Power, 319. Examples, 322. Comparing Two Approximate Hypotheses, 326. Maximin Tests and Invariance, 329. The Hunt?Stein Theorem, 331. Most Stringent Tests, 337. Problems, 338. Notes, 347.
9. Multiple Testing and Simultaneous Inference.
Introduction and the FWER, 348. Maximin Procedures, 354. The Hypothesis of Homogeneity, 363. Scheff'e's S-Method: A Special Case, 375.Scheff'e's S-Method for General Linear Models, 380. Problems, 385. Notes, 391.
10. Conditional Inference.
Mixtures of Experiments, 392. Ancillary Statistics, 395. Optimal Conditional Tests, 400. Relevant Subsets, 404. Problems, 409. Notes, 414. Large-Sample Theory.
11. Basic Large Sample Theory.
Introduction,419. Basic Convergence Concepts, 424. Weak Convergence and Central Limit Theorems, 424. Convergence in Probability and Applications, 431. Almost Sure Convergence, 440. Robustness of Some Classical Tests, 444. Effect of Distribution, 444. Effect of Dependence, 448. Robustness in Linear Models, 451. Nonparametric Mean, 459. Edgeworth Expansions, 459. The t-test, 462. A Result of Bahadur and Savage, 466. Alternative Tests, 468. Problems, 469. Notes, 480.
12. Quadratic Mean Differentiable Families.
Introduction, 482. Quadratic Mean Differentiability (q.m.d.), 482. Contiguity, 492. Likelihood Methods in Parametric Models, 503. Efficient Likelihood Estimation, 504. Wald Tests and Confidence Regions, 508. Rao Score Tests, 511. Likelihood Ratio Tests, 513. Problems, 517. Notes, 525.
13. Large Sample Optimality.
Testing Sequences, Metrics, and Inequalities, 527. Asymptotic Relative Efficiency, 534. AUMP Tests in Univariate Models, 540. Asymptotically Normal Experiments, 549. Applications to Parametric Models, 553. One-sided Hypotheses, 553. Equivalence Hypotheses, 559. Multi-sided Hypotheses, 564. Applications to Nonparametric Models, 567. Nonparametric Mean, 567. Nonparametric Testing of Functionals, 570.Problems, 574. Notes, 582.
14. Testing Goodness of Fit.
Introduction, 583. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test, 584. Simple Null Hypothesis, 584. Extensions of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test, 589. Pearson's Chi-squared Statistic, 590. Simple Null Hypothesis, 590. Chi-squared Test of Uniformity, 594. Composite Null Hypothesis, 597. Neyman's Smooth Tests, 599. Fixed k Asymptotics, 601. Neyman's Smooth Tests With Large k, 603. Weighted Quadratic Test Statistics, 607. Global Behavior of Power Functions, 616. Problems, 622. Notes, 629.
15. General Large Sample Methods.
Introduction, 631.Permutation and Randomization Tests, 632. The Basic Construction, 632. Asymptotic Results, 636. Basic Large Sample Approximations, 643. Pivotal Method, 644. Asymptotic Pivotal Method, 646. Asymptotic Approximation, 647. Bootstrap Sampling Distributions, 648. Introduction and Consistency, 648. The Nonparametric Mean, 653. Further Examples, 655. Stepdown Multiple Testing, 658. Higher Order Asymptotic Comparisons, 661. Hypothesis Testing, 668. Subsampling, 673. The Basic Theorem in the I.I.D. Case, 674. Comparison with the Bootstrap, 677. Hypothesis Testing, 680. Problems, 682. Notes, 690.
A. Auxiliary Results.
Equivalence Relations; Groups, 692. Convergence of Functions; Metric Spaces, 693. Banach and Hilbert Spaces, 696. Dominated Families of Distributions, 698. The Weak Compactness Theorem, 700. References, 702. Author Index, 757. Subject Index, 767.

Web Dynamics: Adapting to Change in Content, Size, Topology and Use. Edited by Mark Levene, and Alexandra Poulovassilis. Berlin; New York: Springer, 2004. ISBN: 354040676X. Table of Contents: Web Dynamics - Setting the Scene; Mark Levene, Alexandra Poulovassilis, 1. Part I Evolution of Web Structure and Content; Introduction, 19. How Large Is the WorldWide Web? Adrian Dobra, Stephen E. Fienberg, 23. Methods for MiningWeb Communities: Bibliometric, Spectral, and Flow; Gary William Flake, Kostas Tsioutsiouliklis, Leonid Zhukov, 45. Theory of Random Networks and Their Role in Communications Networks; Jos´e Fernando Mendes, 69. Web Dynamics, Structure, and Page Quality; Ricardo Baeza-Yates, Carlos Castillo, Felipe Saint-Jean, 93. Part II Searching and Navigating the Web; Introduction, 113. Navigating the WorldWide Web; Mark Levene, Richard Wheeldon, 117. Crawling the Web; Gautam Pant, Padmini Srinivasan, Filippo Menczer, 153. X Contents: Combining Link and Content Information in Web Search; Matthew Richardson, Pedro Domingos, 179. Search Engine Ability to Cope With the Changing Web; Judit Bar-Ilan, 195. Part III Events and Change on the Web: Introduction, 219. An Event-Condition-Action Language for XML; James Bailey, George Papamarkos, Alexandra Poulovassilis, Peter T. Wood, 223. Active XQuery; Angela Bonifati, Stefano Paraboschi, 249. Active XML: A Data-Centric Perspective on Web Services; Serge Abiteboul, Omar Benjelloun, Ioana Manolescu, Tova Milo, Roger Weber, 275. WebVigiL: An Approach to Just-In-Time Information Propagation in Large Network-Centric Environments; Jyoti Jacob, Anoop Sanka, Naveen Pandrangi, Sharma Chakravarthy, 301. DREAM: Distributed Reliable Event-Based Application Management; Alejandro Buchmann, Christof Bornh¨ovd, Mariano Cilia, Ludger Fiege, Felix G¨artner, Christoph Liebig, Matthias Meixner, Gero Muhl, 319. Part IV Personalized Access to the Web: Introduction, 353. A Survey of Architectures for Adaptive Hypermedia: Mario Cannataro, Andrea Pugliese, 357. Adaptive Web-Based Educational Hypermedia; Paul De Bra, Lora Aroyo, Alexandra Cristea, 387. MP3 - Mobile Portals, Profiles and Personalization; Barry Smyth, Paul Cotter, 411. Learning Web Request Patterns; Brian D. Davison, 435. Index, 461.

Structures and Relations in Knowledge Organization: Proceedings of the Fifth International ISKO Conference, 25-29 August 1998, Lille, France. Organized by the UFR IDIST, University Charles De Gaulle Lille III and the ISKO General Secretariat. Edited by Widad Mustafa el Hadi, Jacques Maniez and Steven A. Pollitt. Series: Advances in knowledge organization, vol. 6. Wu¨rzberg: Ergon Verlag, 1998. ISBN: 3932004787.
Table of Contents:
1. Epistemology and Information Ecology.
Albrechtsen, H.; Jacob, E. K. The Role of Classificatory Structures as Boundary Objects in Information Ecologies, P.1-3. Deremetz, A. Metaphor, Organization and Building of Knowledge in Textual Sciences. P.4-12. Rouault, J. About Abductive Reasoning. P.13-17.
2. Cognitive Approaches to Knowledge Organization (A): Conceptual Entities and Modeling of Ontologies.
Fischer, D. From Thesauri towards Ontologies? P.18-30. Lee, M.; Mizoguchi, R. Ontology Models for Supporting Exploratory Information Needs. P.31-38. Jouis, C. System of Types + Inter-Concept Relations Properties: towards Validation of Constructed Terminologies? P.39-46.
3. Computational Models.
Gruselle, J.-P. A Cognitive Science System for Symbol Grounding. P.47-55. White, H. D.; Lin, X.; McCain, K. W. Two Modes of Automated Domain Analysis: Multidimensional Scaling vs. Kohonen Feature Mapping of Information Science. P.56-62. Polanco, X.; Francois, C.; Ould, A. An Artificial Neural Network Perspective on Knowledge Representation from Databases: the Use of a Multilayer Perceptron for Data Clusters Cartography. P.63-70. 4. Development and Analysis in Classification Systems. Sukiasyan, E. R. Classification Systems in their Historical Development: Problems of Typology and Terminology. P.71-78. Dahlberg, I. Classification Structure Principles: Investigations, Experiences and Conclusions. P.79-87. Beghtol, C. General Classification Systems: Structural Principles for Multidisciplinary Specification. P.88-95. McIlwaine, I. C. Knowledge Classifications, Bibliographic Classifications and the Internet. P.96-104.
5. Interdisciplinary Approaches to Knowledge Organization.
Larouk, O. Modeling Users Needs: Schema of Interrogation and Filtering the Answers from the Web in Cooperation Mode. P.105-114. Williamson, N. J. An Interdisciplinary World and Discipline Based Classification. P.115-123. Mylopoulos, J.; Jurisica, I.; Yu, E. Computational Mechanisms for Knowledge Organization. P.124-131.
5. Design of Information Systems (A) Thesaurus Design.
Bean, C. A. The Nature of Explicit Parent-Child Relationships in Mesh Tree Structures.
P.132-137. Hudon, M. A preliminary Investigation of the Usefulness of Semantic Relations and of Standardized Definitions for the Purpose of Specifying Meaning in a Thesaurus. P.138-144. Schmitz-Esser, W. Defining the Conceptual Space for a World Exhibition: First Experiences. P.145-151. Lykke Nielsen, M. Future Thesauri: What Kind of Structure and Relations do Searchers Need? P.152-159.
6. Design of Information Systems (B): Knowledge Structures at the Internet.
Ihadjadene, M.; Bouche, R. Using Syntagmatic Relationships as a Browsing Relevance Feedback Strategy in an WWW_OPACs Based on RAMEAU List: an Empirical Study.
P.160-166. Hetzler, E. G.; Harris, W. M. Visualizing the Full Spectrum of Document Relationships. P.167-174. Pollitt, S. The Application of the Dewey Decimal Classification in a View-Based Searching OPAC. P.175-182. Priss, U. A Graphical Interface for Conceptual Navigation in Faceted Thesauri or other Nested Hierarchies.
P.183-189. Vizine-Goetz, D. Dewey as an Internet Subject Guide. P. 190-196.
7. Linguistic Aspects (A).
Rahmstorf, G. Concept Structures for Large Vocabularies. P.197-201. Mustafa el Hadi, W. Automatic Term Recognition & Extraction Tools: Examining the New Interfaces and their Effective Communication Role in LSP Discourse. P.204-211. Bowker, L. Peering through the Linguistic Keyhole: What Can Term Choice Tell Us about. Knowledge Organization? P.212-227. Riesthuis, G. J. A. Breaking of UDC Subject Headings into Sets of Key Words. P.202-203.
8. The Comparative Approach.
Meo-Evoli, L.; Negrini, G.; Farnesi, T. ICC and ICS: comparison and relations between two systems based on different principles. P.228-236. Olson, H. A.; Ward, D. B. Charting a Journey across Knowledge domains: Feminism in the Dewey Decimal Classification. P.237-243.
9. Cognitive Approaches to Knowledge Organization (B): Applications: Image Retrieval.
Beebe, C.; Jacob, E. K. Graphic Language Documents: Structures and Functions.
P.244-254. Goodrum, A. A. A Cognitive Approach to Representing Moving Image Documents. P.255-262. Garia-Marco, F. J.; Agustin, C. Cognitive models in pictorial image retrieval. P.263-268.
10. Linguistic Aspects (B).
Beguin, A. Thesaurus Usage and Mental Development. P.269-275. Suominen, V. The Linguistic/Semiotic Conditions of Information Retrieval/Documentation in the Light of a Saussurean Conception of Language. P.276-283. Froissart, C.; Lallich-Boidin, G. Towards Structuring of Indexing Vocabulary for Large Technical Documents. P.284-292.
11. Design of Information Systems C: Design of Special-Purpose Systems of Knowledge.
Solomon, P. On the Use of Categorizations Employed in Research Reports as the Basis for Organizing Knowledge in Specific Domains: Exploring the Tension between Stability and Change in Systems of Categories. P.293-301. Metzger, J.-P.; Palermiti, R.; Moriset, C. Information Processes within a Professional Activity. P.302-311. Mounier, E.; Paganelli, C. Texts Structures and Information Retrieval in Large Textual Documents. P.312-318. Vidalenc, I.; Dupont, O. Knowledge Transfer in the Field of Telematics, in a Didactic Communicational Context Realized with Hypermedia Support. P.319-327.
12. Conceptual Modeling.
Green, R. Attribution and Relationality. P.328-335. Lacroix, S.; Marty, J.-C.; Roche, C. A Model of Ontologics by Differentiation. P.336-342. Nakamura, Y. Subdivisions vs. Conjunctions: a Discussion on Conceptual Theory. P.343-350. Phelan, A. Database and Knowledge Representation: the Greek Legacy. P.351-359.
12. User Profile modeling.
Howarth, L. C. Metadata Structures and User Preferences: Designing User-Focussed Knowledge Access System. P.360-366. Sallet Ferreira Novellino, M. Information Transfer Considering the Production and Use Contexts: Information Transfer Languages. P.367-371. Kolmayer, E.; Lavandier, J.; Roger, D. Conceptual Maps: Paradigmatic and Syntagmatic Links for Users. P.372-378.
13. Structures and Relations in the On-line Environment.
Van Der Walt, M. S. The Structure of Classification Schemes Used in Internet Search Engines. P.379-387. Kent, R. E. Organizing Conceptual Knowledge Online. P.388-395. Bartolo, L. M.; Zumer, M.; Cass, R.; Holmberg, L. The ALCOM/NIST Heterogeneous Structures Database: Knowledge Structure for Basic and Applied Research in an Interdisciplinary Scientific Collaboration. P.396-401. Lucas, H. Individual Differences and the Use of Medical World Wide Web Resources: The Use of Graphical Representations of Navigational Patterns to Support Traditional Analysis of Qualitative Data. P.402-408. Akaich, J.; Losfeld, G. Domain Knowledge Organization for Encyclopedia Design: an Object Oriented Approach. P.409-412.
14. Poster.
Conrad, J. G.; Dabney, D. P. The Structure of Judicial Opinions: Identifying Internal Components and their Relationships. P.413. Despres-Lonnet, M.; Briatte, K. External Dialog and Internal Structure of an Iconographic Database. P.414. Ghenima, M. A system of "computer-aided diacritisation" using a lexical database of arabic language. P.415. Ibekwe-Sanjuan, F. Towards an Elaborate Information System: Automatic Classification of Terms Using Variations Relations. P.416. Ladouceur, J.; Tajarobi, A. Computer-Assisted Plurilingual Reading System. P.417. Ma, Y.; Diodato, V. A Semiotic Analysis of Icons on the World Wide Web Library Homepages: an Analysis of Indexing and Use. P.418. Ouici, H.; Metzger, J. P. Internal Representation of Knowledge in an Interactive, Multimedia and Encyclopedia Oriented System. P.419. Oueslati, S. A User Model Based on the Evolution of Information need during a Document Search New Approaches. P.420. Paganelli, C.; Rouault, J. The Indexing of Technical Documents: the Use of a Knowledge Representation Model. P.421. Ros, C.; Matta, N. Understanding Information Retrieval: Analysis of Users' Activity. P.422. Sidhom, S. Automatic Indexing of Multimedia Documents Based on the Extraction of Nominal Phrases. P.423. Simard, A. J. Development of a Knowledge Infrastructure for the Canadian Forest Services. P.424-424.
List of Contributors. P. 425. Name and Subject Index. P. 433.

The Grammar of Graphics, 2nd ed. By Leland Wilkinson. New York: Springer Science, 2005. ISBN: 0387245448. Table of Contents: Introduction, 1. How to Make a Pie, 23. Data, 41. Variables, 55. Algebra, 63. Scales, 85. Statistics, 111. Geometry, 155. Coordinates, 179. Aesthetics, 255. Facets, 319. Guides, 347. Space, 359. Time, 407. Uncertainty, 451. Analysis, 489. Control, 535. Automation, 579. Reader, 611. Coda, 623. References, 635. Author Index, 673. Subject Index, 681.

Information Visualization, Beyond the Horizon, 2nd. ed. Chaomei Chen, London; New York : Springer, 2004. ISBN: 1852337893. Table of Contents: Foreword, vii. Preface for the 2nd Edition, xi. 1. Introduction, 1. 2. Extracting Salient Structures, 27. 3. Graph Drawing Algorithms, 65. 4. Systems and Applications, 89. 5. Knowledge Domain Visualization, 143. 6. Empirical Studies of Information Visualization, 173. 7. Virtual Environments, 211. 8. Detecting Abrupt Changes and Emerging Trends, 255. Bibliography, 297. Index, 313.

Intelligent technologies for Information Analysis. Eidted by Ning Zhong and Jiming Liu. Berlin; New York: Springer, 2004. ISBN: 3540406778. Table of Contents: 1. The Alchemy of Intelligent IT (iIT): A Blueprint for Future Information Technology, Ning Zhong and Jiming Liu,1. Part I. Emerging Data Mining Technology. 2. Grid-Based Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery, Mario Cannataro, Antonio Congiusta, Carlo Mastroianni, Andrea Pugliese, Domenico Talia, and Paolo Trunfio, 19. 3. The MiningMart Approach to Knowledge Discovery in Databases, Katharina Morik and Martin Scholz, 47. 4. Ensemble Methods and Rule Generation Yongdai Kim, Jinseog Kim, and Jongwoo Jeon, 67. 5. Evaluation Scheme for Exception Rule/Group Discovery, Einoshin Suzuki, 89. 6. Data Mining for Targeted Marketing, Ning Zhong, Yiyu Yao, Chunnian Liu, Jiajin Huang, and Chuangxin Ou, 109. Part II. Data Mining for Web Intelligence. 7. Mining for Information Discovery on the Web: Overview and Illustrative Research, Hwanjo Yu, AnHai Doan, and Jiawei Han, 135. 8. Mining Web Logs for Actionable Knowledge, Qiang Yang, Charles X. Ling, and Jianfeng Gao, 169. 9. Discovery of Web Robot Sessions Based on Their Navigational Patterns, Pang-Ning Tan and Vipin Kumar, 193. 10. Web Ontology Learning and Engineering: An Integrated Approach, Roberto Navigli, Paola Velardi, and Michele Missiko, 223. 11. Browsing Semi-Structured Texts on the Web Using Formal Concept Analysis, Richard Cole, Florence Amardeilh, and Peter Eklund, 243. 12. Graph Discovery and Visualization from Textual Data, Vincent Dubois and Mohamed Quafafou, 265. Part III. Emerging Agent Technology. 14. Finding the Best Agents for Cooperation, Francesco Buccafurri, Luigi Palopoli, Domenico Rosaci, and Giuseppe
M.L. Sarnµe, 311. 15. Constructing Hybrid Intelligent Systems for Data Mining from Agent Perspectives, Zili Zhang and Chengqi Zhang, 333. 16. Making Agents Acceptable to People,
Jefrey M. Bradshaw, Patrick Beautement, Maggie R. Breedy, Larry Bunch, Sergey V. Drakunov, Paul J. Feltovich, Robert R. Holman, Renia Jefers, Matthew Johnson, Shriniwas Kulkarni, James Lott, Anil K. Raj, Niranjan Suri, and Andrzej Uszok, 361. Part IV. Emerging Soft Computing Technology. 17. Constraint-Based Neural Network Learning for Time Series Predictions, Benjamin W. Wah and Minglun Qian, 409. 18. Approximate Reasoning in Distributed Environments, Andrzej Skowron, 433. 19. Soft Computing Pattern Recognition, Data Mining and Web Intelligence, Sankar K. Pal, Sushmita Mitra, and Pabitra Mitra, 475. 20. Dominance-Based Rough Set Approach to Knowledge Discovery (I): General Perspective, Salvatore Greco, Benedetto Matarazzo, and Roman Slowinski, 513. 21. Dominance-Based Rough Set Approach to Knowledge Discovery (II): Extensions and Applications, Salvatore Greco, Benedetto Matarazzo, and Roman Slowinski , 553. Part V. Statistical Learning Theory. 22. Bayesian Ying Yang Learning (I): A United Perspective for Statistical Modeling, Lei Xu, 615. 23. Bayesian Ying Yang Learning (II): A New Mechanism for Model Selection and Regularization, Lei Xu, 661. References, 700. Author Index, 707. Subject Index, 709.

Intelligent Agents for Data Mining and Information Retrieval. Edited by Masoud Mohammadian, London: Idea Group. ISBN: 1-59140-194-1. Table of Contents: 1. Potential Cases, Database Types, and Selection Methodologies for Searching Distributed Text Databases, H. Yang, M. Zhang. 2. Computational Intelligence Techniques Driven Intelligent Agents for Web Data Mining and Information Retrieval, M. Mohammadian, R. Jentzsch. 3. A Multi-agent Approach to Collaborative Knowledge Production, J. M. Dodero, P. Díaz, I. Aedo. 4. Customized Recommendation Mechanism Based on Web Data Mining and Case-Based Reasoning, J-S. Kim. 5. Rule-Based Parsing for Web Data Extraction, D. Camacho, R. Aler, J. Cuadrado. 6. Multilingual Web Content Mining: A User-Oriented Approach, R. Chau, C-H Yeh. 7. A Textual Warehouse Approach: a Web Data Repository, K. Khrouf, C. Soulé-Dupuy. 8. Text Processing by Binary Neural Networks, T. Beran, T. Macek. 9. Extracting Knowledge from Databases and Artificial Neural Networks with Genetic Programming: Iris Flower Classification Problem, D. Rivero, J. R. Rabuñal, J. Dorado, A. Pazos, N. Pedreira. 10. Social Coordination with Architecture for Ubiquitous Agents CONSORTS, K. Kurumatani. 11. Agent-mediated knowledge acquisition for user profiling, A. Andreevskaia, R. Abi-Aad, T. Radhakrishnan. 12. Development of Agent-Based Electronic Catalog Retrieval System, S. Nagano, Y. Tahara, T. Hasegawa, A. Ohsuga. 13. Using Dynamically Acquired Background Knowledge For Information Extraction And Intelligent Search, S. R. El-Beltagy, A. Rafea, Y. Abdelhamid. 14. A Study on Web Searching: Overlap and Distance of the Search Engine Results, S. Zhu, X. Deng, Q. Fang, W. Zheng. 15. Taxonomy Based Fuzzy Filtering of Search Results, S. Vrettos, A. Stafylopatis. 16. Generating and Adjusting Web Sub-Graph Displays for Web Navigation, W. Lai, M. Huan, K. Zhang. 17. An Algorithm of Pattern Match being Fit for Mining Association Rules, H. Shi, J-F Zhang. 18. Networking E-learning Hosts Using Mobile Agent, J. T. S. Quah, Y. M. Chen, W. C. H. Leow.

MEMS: A Practical Guide to Design, Analysis, and Applications. Edited by Jan G. Korvink and Oliver Paul, Springer. Norwich, NY: Springer, 2006. ISBN: 0815514972. Table of Contents: 1. Introduction Jan Korvink, Oliver Paul. 2. Microtransducer Operation, Jan Korvink, Oliver Paul. 3. Material Properties: Measurement and Data, Osamu Tabata, Toshiyuki Tsuchiya. 4. MEMS and MEMS Simulation, Jan Korvink, Evgenii B. Rudnyi, Andreas Greiner, and Zhenyu Liu. 5. System-Level Simulation of Microsystems, Gary Fedder. 6. Thermal-based Sensors, Friedemann Voelklein. 7. Photon Detectors, Arokia Nathan and Karim S. Karim 8. Free-Space Microsystems, Ming Wu and Pamela R. Patterson. 9. Integrated Micro-Optics, Hans Zappe. 10. Magnetic Microsensors, Chavdar Roumenin. 11. Mechanical Microsensors, Franz Laermer. 12. Semiconductor-Based Chemical Microsensors, Henry Baltes, Andreas Hierlemann. 13. Fluidic Microsystems, Roland Zengerle, Jens Ducree. 14. Biomedical Microsystems, Michael Reed, Whye-Kei Lye. 15. Microactuators, Jack Judy. 16. Micromachining Technology, Patrick French, Pasqualina Sarro. 17. Interface Circuitry and Microsystems, Piero Malcovati, Franco Maloberti.

2005-12-29T09:13:00.000-08:00

New Largest Prime Number Discovered.

The end of the year 2005 is approaching and with it another Largest Prime Number has been announced. Sharon Gaudin of Datamation on December 28 announced the discovery. "The number, which is expressed as 2 to the 30,402,457th power minus 1, is a 9.1 million-digit figure. It was discovered by a team of researchers at Central Missouri State University." This is also the largest Mersenne prime number ever found. A Mersenne prime number is characterized for having as the exponent of 2 a prime number (in this case 30,402,457).

2005-12-29T07:56:00.000-08:00

Academic Libraries and their place in Higher Education.

The Chronicle of Higher Education (CHE) a major source of news and information about American colleges and universities has dedicated several articles during the last months of 2005 to matters related to libraries and information technology. This is an indication of the interest created on campuses by current issues related to information systems and institutions (like scitech libraries) and it is in accord with the last two previews topics presented in this forum.

The December 16 edition of CHE has a special report on Information Technology by Andrea L. Foster: "Wikipedia, the Free Online Encyclopedia, Ponders a New Entity: Wikiversity?"

In the December 12 edition the topic is Google with and article by Siva Vaidhyanathan
"A Risky Gamble With Google".

The Information Technology supplement of December 9 features the topic The Library of the Future with two main articles. The first one by James G. Neal, "Anxious Times," and the second by Deanna Marcus, "Different Bytes for different Likes".

Early in the Fall (September 30) Open Source was another hot topic in information technology that was presented. The following articles appeared in this issue:
"5 Challenges for Open Source" by Jeffrey R. Young; "Is Open-Source Software a Solution to Spam?" by Vincent Kiernan; "Sakai Project Offers an Alternative to Commercial Course-Management Programs" by Jeffrey R. Young; and
"Technology Used to Trade Pirated Music Could Help Faculty Members Share Teaching Tools" by Dan Carnevale.

CHE is available by paid subscription, but some articles are freely available. Also, the articles mentioned in this report can be found in full-text databases such as the EBSCO’s Academic Search Premier.

2005-12-26T09:58:00.000-08:00

DASER 2 Summit.
http://www.daser.org/

The DASER 2 Summit: Challenge and Opportunities: Digital Libraries, Institutional Repositories, and Open Access took place 2-4 December 2005 at College Park, MD.
DASER which stands for Digital Archives for Science & Engineering Resources was a conference organized with the support of the American Society for Information Science & Technology (ASIST), Scientific and Technical Information Systems Special Interest Group (SIG STI), and the Potomac Valley Chapter (PVC), in cooperation with the Special Libraries Association, Sci-Tech Division. This conference brought an important group of information professionals to discuss issues concerning the changes that science and technical libraries are undergoing. Among them: the “Impact of OA on the future of STM libraries; Institutional repository models: what works and what doesn't; Publisher-library collaboration strategies, now and in the near future; Institutional repository object issues--theses, datasets, learning objects, etc.; User needs and patterns related to digital libraries.”

The program schedule with abstracts including PowerPoint presentations from most of the contributors are available at: http://www.daser.org/program.html

2005-12-21T20:54:00.000-08:00

OCLC Report. Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources (2005).
http://www.oclc.org/reports/2005perceptions.htm

Libraries have had an significant role in the dissemination, archiving and organization of scientific and technical information. It is important for both the library and the scientific community to pay attention to how the perceptions of the scientific library is changing. The report produced this month by OCLC (Online Computer Library Center, Dublin, Ohio, USA) - a major player in the information industry - brings some interesting revelations about how people see libraries in today's technological environment. This lengthy report covers the results taken from many types of library users and it has international coverage.

2005-12-21T18:53:00.000-08:00

SciTech Forum has two major purposes: 1. to identify and comment about significant scientific and technological advances and discoveries in the physical sciences, mathematics, engineering and technology fields. 2. to recognize the important role scientific and technical information has in the creation of new knowledge and new technologies for that reason SciTech Forum also comments on scitech information systems and institutions.

2005-09-02T11:40:00.000-07:00