SHUSH!

A while back I posted on the limited shelflife of most blogs, this one included.  There was a brief upsurge in posts around the same time, although not connected to mine.  However, nothing much has gone on here for a while now so is this blog dead?  Is the possible decline of Shush! also symptomatic of the decline in popularity of blogs more generally?  It might also reflect a decline in language use.  A blog has the space for whole paragraphs and this has given way, in my opinion, to status posts on Facebook and Bebo, etc where this has a limited field to post to, and this has started to give way to Twitter tweets where the room given to expression is even smaller.  The next iteration of technology will only have enough space to put a couple of words on so we can all return to the language of the dawn of man and “Ug Ug hu” each other.

A possible problem with Web 2.0 things or Web3.0 (or Web 42.3, etc) is that they are very interesting and vibrant for a short period of time before they slump into the list of forgotten or failed ideas; so investing time and people power into them might not be best use of resources.  Incidentally why has the phraseology jumped straight from 2.0 to 3.0 hasn’t there been any minor changes along the way?  What happened to Web 2.1 or Web 2.2?

I understand fully the irony of saying something negative about Web2.0 via a Blog but even so I would once again ask is the Blog dead or dying or merely sleeping?

With Information Services’ Facebook page now boasting almost 200 fans a short while after its release, I thought it’d be interesting to investigate our presence in other social media - even if we’re not active in a particular area at this time, our users certainly will be.

To that end I’ve set up a shared folder on my Google Reader account that watches for mentions of the University in general (restricting it to Information Services would have been a little optimistic at this stage) on Google News, Google Blog Search and Twitter. Sadly I don’t think it’s possible to bring Facebook into the equation due to their privacy model, though anyone would certainly be able to share our new list on their Facebook account.

I tweaked the blog search to exclude those blogs we publish ourselves, as the idea here is to see who else is talking about us. There are probably a few off-site ‘official’ blogs that will need adding to the list - let me know in the comments area if you’re aware of any. Similarly, please chip in if you think there’s another resource that should be added to the three already in place on the list, or with any other ideas you might have.

Anyway, you can view the results as a common-or-garden web page: UoN References - and, as you’d expect, you can subscribe to that page as a meta-RSS feed to bring these search results into your own feed reader / browser / mobile and receive updates when new results appear - which is probably more often than you think.

It’s early days and basically a rush job, but if the University is mentioned in the news or on the web there’s a good chance this tool will pick it up. Useful? Promising? Incomprehensible? All feedback is welcome.

The exam is based on a case study that involves franchising. Your task is to research how franchises operate and how opportunities are marketed to potential franchisees. The case study also includes ice cream parlours, so having some understanding of the relevant industry could be beneficial.

Here are some suggestions on where to begin your research:
(more…)

When it comes to the fashion industry, there is a lot to consider. Apart from the general fashion trends and colours represented on the catwalk, there are environmental and ethical issues, distribution channels, labelling, importing and exporting, retail locations, employment, consumer purchasing behaviour, branding, sustainability, innovation, web opportunities, baby boomers, male shoppers, plus sizes, and let’s not forget the economy. You will find all of this and more (including the fashion trends and colours for 2009) in the WGSN UK Fashion Report 2009.

The report is available to all students and staff at the University. If you are interested in receiving a Pdf of the report, please contact your Academic Librarian. The hard copy will also be available to borrow from the library shortly.

-are two of the more attention-grabbing concepts from this Guardian piece by Richard Smith on the ‘beefing up’ of copyright law and its cultural consequences. Hold on, I can’t in good conscience have an ugly phrase like ‘beefing up’ segue into half-hearted alliteration like that.

Cultural agoraphobia and the library as mausoleum are two of the more attention-grabbing concepts from this Guardian piece by Richard Smith on the commercial consolidation of copyright and its calamitous consequences for our cultural commons.

If you find a record for an SLP on the library catalogue that says it is ‘in recataloguing’, click on ‘show details’ in the blue box.

If you see the letters ER in the notes field, this means that it is available electronically.

The best way to access an electronic journal article is by using the ‘Find my reference’ tool, under ‘search’ on the library home page. If you have never used this tool before, pick up a leaflet from the enquiry desk, or speak to your academic librarian.

If ‘ER’ does not appear in the notes field, ask a member of staff to help you locate the SLP you are looking for.

Your Information Services Academic Support team at Avenue campus supporting the School of the Arts and the School of Applied Sciences is now as follows:

Kate Chapman, Academic Support Manager (Schools of the Arts and Applied Sciences): Kathryn.chapman@northampton.ac.uk, 01604 893167 (Monday - Wednesday AM)

George Payne, Academic Support Manager (Schools of the Arts and Applied Sciences): George.payne@northampton.ac.uk, 01604 893176 (Wednesday - Friday AM)

Fiona MacLellan, Academic Librarian (Schools of the Arts and Applied Sciences): Fiona.maclellan@northampton.ac.uk, 01604 893012

Helena West, Academic Librarian (Schools of the Arts and Applied Sciences): Helena.west@northampton.ac.uk, 01604 893177

Della Smith, Information Services Assistant (Schools of the Arts and Applied Sciences) – please contact Della with your book, CD and DVD requests: Della.smith@northampton.ac.uk, 01604 893101

Your task is to prepare a report for the Senior Director of a NHS Trust which evaluates and justifies the need for services marketing. You will need to explore the different information resources available to you. This will enable you to provide a suitable response to the 3 areas relating services marketing planning and internal marketing of the healthcare provider. A guide to the information resources that will be of use to you follows:
(more…)

Thank you to all the students that completed the Social Networking Survey during Induction week.  The results were used to assess the most popular types of online tools:

The results indicated that the top three most popular forms of online communication are SMS Texting, Email and Facebook.

The least popular forms of online communication are Podcasts, Second Life and Online Games.

The majority of students read Wikis and Blogs but do not contribute to them. Students do use internet/online tools, but not enough to support the idea of an ‘online/Google’ generation.

If you don’t know your Athens details….

 Check your student email account for an email from Athens. All new students will have received an email that contains a link to activate your account.

If you know your username but can’t remember your password you can reset it by going to the ‘Forgotten Password’ link on the Athens Help Page and filling out the form with your username and student email address.

If you don’t know your username or password you can request one by going to the Athens Help Page and clicking on ‘Athens Account Form’.

 * Don’t forget that Metalib log in details are the same as your campus log in:-  student number and date of birth.

Be careful with any information you may wish to offer the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It looks like you have to agree to waive any rights you may have thought you had to your own personal information to travel to the Land of the Free. And I’m not talking about Belize (check out their National Anthem).

Check out their friendly pop-up box! https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/

Your task for this assignment is to research and present on a number of issues related to the events industry, including:

(more…)

Your task for this assignment is to research a key sector within the events industry (e.g. sporting events, concerts conferences etc). In particular, you need to look at the following aspects:

(more…)

An article on the BBC technology pages caught my eye a while back discussing the potential for a real life invisibility cloak.  A material has been developed that bends light around 3D objects, and therefore makes them seem invisible.  This is one of many exciting new material types that scientists have discovered or created, if you’re interested in exploring the world of materials in more detail why not try accessing Materia.  Which is a database providing free access to knowledge and information on different types of material and developments in materials technology and how they can be used for architectural or design purposes.   To use the database you will need to register for free. 

Google Chrome to the rescue!

Google launched its very own browser this month – Google Chrome. It’s still in its Beta stage so it’s not perfect but it does contain some interesting features and it’s definitely worth a look.

It has been created with the new generation of internet users in mind, who spend a large proportion of their surfing-time watching online videos, downloading music, chatting and shopping. Its clever use of memory means that these applications run quicker and more smoothly. Furthermore if you get a bug in one tab, only that tab crashes – not the whole browser. There are lots of other features that promote ease of use, such as the homepage that has screen shots linked to your 9 most visited websites and the URL bar is also a search bar.

Read more about it here or download it and enjoy some stress free surfing!