Resource Centre
ICT-WEB Alert

January 2008

  1. Telematics

    The design of wireless communication systems for the collection and dissemination of data is known as telematics and has been applied in mobile telephony, vehicle tracking, online navigation and emergency assistance. This article from SkyCross provides a nice overview of the technology and its applications. A little history of developments in telematics is described in this website from Global Telematics Most references to telematics are made in relation to automotive applications; however, this article from Whatis.com highlights some other applications such as the study and development of monitoring water and air pollution, medical informatics and health care and distance learning. An overview of just how pervasive telematics is in the automotive industry is provided in this article from Tekrati. This next website from Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and Caltrans provides an overview of the applications of telematics as it relates to transportation and raises some implementation issues as well as costs and benefits of these systems. In Europe, telematics is used more widely for sharing information on road conditions, as is described in this article about Stelematics research in Sweden. Finally, Telematics Update summarizes recent news coverage related to telematics and posts summaries of research reports that are available to purchase.


  2. Manybooks.net

    There are a number of places to get books online, but this recent addition to that cadre of websites is definitely worth a look. The staff members at Manybooks.net have adapted the e-texts created by the Project Gutenberg DVD and placed them online in a host of formats, including pdf, eReader, and as Palm document files. Visitors can begin by browsing by author, title, category, or language. Some of the languages covered in the database include Dutch, Esperanto, Swedish, Tagalog, and Welsh. Satisfied visitors can also submit a list of five of their favorite books so that other users may take advantage of their favorite reads. Some of the recently recommended titles include Jude the Obscure, Silas Marner, Ecce Homo, and New Grub Street. Persons attracted to this site should also take a look at the ebook cover page, where they can peruse the covers of some of the many books contained within the archive. Some of the more compelling covers include those for As a Man Thinketh authored by James Allen and a rather lovely cover for Under the Lilacs by Louisa May Alcott


  3. Design & People

    Design & People identify how design can intervene to make a contribution to the on-going efforts to improve the lives of people disadvantaged by war, disability, and political and environmental conditions. We unite and encourage graphic, industrial and architectural designers in India to use their experience and skills towards social and humanitarian projects. Design & People is a non-profit organisation uniting graphic, industrial and architectural designers in India.


  4. High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network

    The High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network (HPWREN) is creating, demonstrating, and evaluating a non-commercial, prototype, high-performance, wide-area, wireless network in three counties in California. The project, funded by the National Science Foundation, has installed backbone nodes at the UC San Diego and San Diego State University campuses, and a number of "hard to reach" areas in remote environments. The HPWREN is used for network analysis research and offers high-speed wireless Internet collaboration for field researchers from various disciplines (such as geophysics, astronomy, and ecology), as well as for educational opportunities related to rural Native American learning centers. The work also addresses networking requirements for first responders in remote areas. On this website are Public Information Materials, which include photos, facts, figures, and links to related research as well as ongoing updates about progress.


  5. Concepts in Digital Imaging Technology

    The Optical Microscopy Division of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL) is part of a collaborative initiative among Florida State University, the University of Florida, and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. This section of their Molecular Expressions Photomicrography Primer provides an overview of several concepts in digital imaging technology. Java tutorials provide additional information on some critical concepts and demonstrate various digital imaging techniques.


  6. Mathworld: The Mathematics of Tsunamis

    Mathworld, hosted and sponsored by Wolfram Research, Inc., offers a large collection of online mathematics resources intended for students, educators, math enthusiasts, and researchers. (See also November 30, 1999 Scout Report for Science & Engineering ) In light of the impact of the recent tsunami in Asia, the January 2008 News section discusses the mathematics of tsunamis. Noting that the full-scale physics and modeling of tsunamis would require the use of supercomputers and complicated custom software, the authors of this article use Wolfram Research's Mathematica software to demonstrate how “a number of approximations can be made that render the problem of tsunami propagation tractable for a computer of modest power.” The authors present and explain the system of coupled partial differential equations used to approximate the behavior of real ocean waves and explain how they simplified the solution process to create the tsunami visualization pictured on the website.


  7. Mobile Information and Communcation Systems

    Mobile Information and Communication Systems (MICS) is part of the Swiss National Science Foundation's National Centres of Competence in Research. The goal of MICS is "to study fundamental and applied questions raised by new generation mobile communication and information services, based on self-organization." Its work addresses unanswered questions and issues surrounding aspects of self-organizing, distributed communication and information services. The group's investigations advance research on a range of issues in mathematics (statistical physics based analysis, information and communication theory), networking, signal processing, security, distributed systems, software architecture and economics. More information on MICS 11 "interacting projects" can be found in the Research Projects section of the website or by searching for publications in the Publications section. Also available are presentations made at various workshops and conferences, simulations and demonstrations of select algorithms, schemes and models, and information on programs available for undergraduate students.


  8. Encyclopedia of Educational Technology

    The Encyclopedia of Educational Technology (EET), published by San Diego State University Department of Educational Technology, offers a collection of short multimedia articles from various authors discussing topics related to the fields of instructional design, and education and training. The materials are meant for "students and novices to intermediate practitioners in these fields, who need a brief overview as a starting point to further research on specific topics." The Table of Contents is divided into the following main topics: Cognition and Learning, Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. For each subtopic the site provides a short explanation and related video demonstrations, images, or examples to help explain the topic, and links to related topics. Visitors will find overviews of topics such as Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), eLearning, Web accessibility, and authentic assessment. The Bibliography lists numerous references (some with links to online articles) used in writing the entries in this encyclopedia.


  9. Einstein's Origami Snowflake Game

    Rick Nordal has created this fun website about the art of origami. The website is essentially an online paper-folding game. Graphic images are used to lead the visitor through the step-by-step process of folding paper into various geometric shapes in order to make a snowflake. The games involve folding a paper into a series of geometric shapes as quickly as possible, testing "a player's folding speed as well as his or her strategic thinking skills." Other games provide more fun with origami and a story tells how Nordal got started with origami.


  10. What is ThinkQuest?

    ThinkQuest is an international website-building competition, sponsored by the Oracle Education Foundation. Teams of students and teachers are challenged to build websites on educational topics. These websites are published in the popular ThinkQuest Library and top-scoring teams win valuable prizes. Competitions begin every 6 months and are open to students and teachers from anywhere in the world. Teams must have 3 to 6 students who are between the ages of 9 and 19, and one adult Coach who is a school employee. To get started, Coaches must enroll their team(s).

    Teams have 6 months to build a creative and educational website on any topic within one of the official competition categories. The Evaluation Criteria encourage collaboration among team members in more than one school, community, or country.Entries are evaluated in a two-step process that includes peer review and judging by an international panel of professional educators. Completed websites are published in the ThinkQuest Library for the world to see! In addition, winning teams will travel to ThinkQuest Live, a prestigious awards event.

    Join the 25,000+ students worldwide who have competed in ThinkQuest since 1996.


  11. Indian Computer Emergency Response Team

    CERT-In is an acronym for 'Indian Computer Emergency Response Team'. CERT-In is the National Incident Response Centre for major computer security incidents in its constituency i.e. Indian cyber community. CERT-In's primary role is to raise security awareness among Indian cyber community and to provide technical assistance and advice them to help them recover form computer security incidents. CERT-In provides technical advice to System Administrators and users to respond to computer security incidents. It also identifies trends in intruder activity, works with other similar institutions & organisations to resolve major security issues, and disseminates information to the Indian cyber community. CERT-In also enlightens its constituents about the security awareness and best practices for various systems & networks by publishing advisories, guidelines and other technical documents. CERT-in has been established by, and runs under the aegis of Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, Government of India.


  12. Mathematics Survey Project

    The Mathematics Survey Project, initiated by Professor Jim Pitman of the Departments of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of California, Berkeley, aims to construct new ways to organize, communicate and archive mathematical knowledge online. The project is "a bold proposal which attempts to solve the problems of fragmentation and compartmentalization, and indirectly to reduce the cost of commercial journals, by promoting the value of openly accessible content." The proposal, which is described on this website, includes the formation of a large collection of open access journals in mathematics to be indexed by subject. Starting with a survey of the field of probability and stochastic processes, project supporters hope to develop a model for a system of surveys to cover every major branch of mathematics. Anyone who supports this project in principle is invited to add their name to the List of Supporters posted online. Also available from this website are links to Some Free Electronic Mathematics Journals, The Electronic Library of Mathematics, as well as Free and Gated Electronic Mathematics Journals. Links to related materials in support of the proposal are also available. Note that the links to the Committee on Electronic Information Communication (CEIC) were not working at the time of this report, but the link to its article on Best Practices from 2002 was working.


  13. University of California: California Agriculture

    Based on our nation's heavy reliance on food grown in California, this University of California publication regarding the agricultural affairs of the 31st state will be appreciated by researchers and agriculturalists from around the country. First published in 1946, "California Agriculture is a peer-reviewed journal reporting research, reviews and news from the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources of the University of California." Site visitors may view abstracts or full text documents of research articles from current and previous issues. In addition, free domestic subscriptions may be ordered online (the journal currently serves around 14,000 domestic subscribers). The site also provides downloadable guidelines for writers.


  14. .IN Registry: India's Official .IN Domain Name Registry

    IN is the official Internet domain of India. Once available to only a small group, .IN domain names will soon be available to everyone who wants one. Companies, individuals, and organizations in India and abroad will be eligible. Show your pride by using a .IN domain name -- the symbol of India's future!


  15. IBM: Programming and Poetry

    This article reviews a Poetry vs. Programming panel sponsored by IBM to continue a 2004 discussion from the Innovation Days speaker series. Panel participants, which included poets Thomas Lux and Vijay Seshadri, and IBM researchers John Richards, Josh Scribner and John Vlissides, discussed whether or not "writing code is like writing poetry." The panel was also broadcast to IBM's U.S. labs. The author provides quotes from the participants and describes the conversation as “lively and dynamic.” Links to related websites provide additional information on the speakers and their work.


  16. Martindale Calculators

    Martindale Calculators is a Web-based tool collection that contains over 19,000 online calculators created by over "3,450" very "creative" individuals, businesses and “tax supported entities world wide.” The collection is organized by the following topics: mathematics; statistics; science A-Z; chemistry; physics, astrophysics and astronomy; engineering A-Z; and electrical engineering, computer engineering, & computer science. Each section includes a wealth of websites to explore, all related to mathematical calculations, mostly course materials and articles. Another section lists online calculators relevant for various industries, such as aviation, cosmetics, insurance, and library science. The list is organized alphabetically and creatively stretches the meaning of “calculator” to include such things as name translators and databases on animal breeds.


  17. Lemelson-MIT Program: 2008 Invention Index

    The Lemelson-MIT Program, which focuses on making invention and innovation more accessible to young people, has posted its 2008 Invention Index. The study “gauges Americans’ attitudes toward invention and innovation” and found that “nearly 20 percent of American adults say they think most creatively in their cars.” One press release gives an overview of the findings while another describes the project's collaboration with CNN. The “CNN 25 Top 25 Innovations” program is an hour-long CNN special that premiered Jan. 16. The list, which the Lemelson-MIT Program helped to compile, consists of “the Top 25 non-medical innovations that have become widely used since 1980, are readily recognizable by most Americans, have had a direct and perceptible impact on everyday life and could dramatically affect the future.” A link to CNN’s website provides the final ranking and an opportunity for viewers to rank the innovations themselves or “provide their thoughts and memories on how these innovations changed their lives.”


  18. Intrigue Technologies, The Vision Sensor Company

    Intrigue Technologies, led by Vladimir Brajovic, has developed software that can “intelligently correct for common illumination problems in photography.” The technology the firm is developing makes it possible to balance exposure across images, creating cleaner images and improving contrast. A news release posted on the website describes the product more generally. Also available from this site is an online demonstration of the company's software plug-in, the Shadow Illuminator, which includes a presentation of the images that have been adjusted using the software, a manual explaining how the software works, and a sample version of the product to download and try free of charge. The company's goal is to create an optical device that “will work more like a retina than a standard imaging sensor.” Researchers anticipate that future developments will improve robots’ visual-sensing, allow for piloting vehicles in extreme weather, and improve the reliability of machine-vision systems, such as those for biometric identification, X-ray diagnostics and space exploration imagers.


  19. System and Circuit Technology Working Group

    The Heinz Nixdorf Institute is an interdisciplinary research center for Computer Science and Technology within the University of Paderborn in Germany. This website features research from the System and Circuit Technology Working Group. The research goal of this group is the design and implementation of innovative microelectronic systems. Its work focuses on the system and circuit level, both in digital and analog circuit technology, and paying particular attention to “evaluating resource efficiency of massively parallel implementations.” The authors define resource efficiency as “careful treatment of the basic physical variables: space, time and energy.” Some applications for this work include microelectronic systems used as real-time data servers, massively parallel neurocomputers, decentralized automation systems and autonomous mobile robots. They provide brief overviews of their work in Cognitronics, Mediatronics, and Microelectronics. Some sections include articles and videos providing additional information on their research program. Abstracts of research articles are posted in the Publications section.


  20. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory: Nanoscience

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s nanotechnology programs focus on issues relevant to national security. Lab researchers “drive the future of homeland security through innovations in biosensing and radiation detector materials, chemical absorbants, and biofunctional materials” and other materials research. The website divides their work into three main areas: Bionanoscience, Nanofabrication, and Theory, Simulation, and Modeling. The website includes a brief description of each research area and links to related articles. The section on Bionanoscience includes links to journal publications, most of which require a paid subscription. Links to various laboratories housed within LLNL highlight additional contributions and research programs from those labs as well as information on their educational programs.


  21. Book

    The Web continues to facilitate the exchange and dissemination of creative and innovative artistic collaborations, and the BOOK project is definitely one of those projects worth a look. During 36 weeks, a sketchbook was sent in random order among four artists. Two of these artists were in Brooklyn, and two of them were in Belfast. The process started in June 2003, and by the time the project was completed in February 2004, the book had logged over 60,000 miles. On the site, visitors can view hundreds of images from the finished product, and listen to the artist's commentaries as well. The artists profiles are quite nice as well, and visitors also have the opportunity to take a look at related products created to celebrate the work's completion.


  22. TWAS: The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World

    The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World's (TWAS) "aim is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable development in the South." The website features awards in basic and applied sciences, research grants, fellowships, and many other opportunities. Users can find out about research units in Least Developed Countries. The website presents the latest science news related to the developing world. Visitors can learn how to become a member of TWAS and can find links to supporting organizations.


  23. TELEX: Thunderstorm Electrification and Lightning Experiment

    This website presents the research of the National Severe Storms Laboratory to determine how storm structure, updrafts, and precipitation affect lightning and other electrical storm properties. Users can discover how TELEX is employing the KOUN radar and the Oklahoma Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) with the addition of balloon soundings to measure the electric field profiles of storms. The website furnishes photos of the work and interesting video footage of a few of the launches. Overall, this website offers an inspiring example of the significant efforts to improving forecasts and severe weather warnings.


  24. Reifenberger Nanophysics Lab

    The Reifenberger Nanophysics Lab "uses innovative experimental techniques to examine the physical properties of objects in the nanoscale size range." This website describes the problems the lab is currently investigating including molecular conduction, environmental noise characterization, and new techniques using scanning probe microscopes (SPMs). Users can view an assorted collection of scanning probe images and schematic diagrams of the lab's equipment. Students and researchers can find a video discussing the research applications, lists of the lab's publications since 1992, and numerous links to online journals.


  25. Top of the page

    | Home | About Us | Resources | Online Resources |
    | Online Catalogues | RC Services | Current Awareness Services |