Access to information in digital libraries : users and digital divide

Recognising the importance of information and knowledge in all spheres of human life, the recently held World Summit on Information Society came up with a plan of action for building a global information society. The goal of the world information society initiatives is the same as that of digital library research and development - to make information and knowledge accessibleto everyone in the world. Digital libraries have progressed very rapidly over the past ten or soyears. This paper addresses the two most important aspects of the information society - information users and digital divide. Findings of some large-scale studies on human information behaviour on the web and digital libraries have been discussed. The major findings of a study on access to electronic resources by university students are the presented. Proposed that a one-stop window approach with a task-based information organisation and access system may be the way forward

Препоръки на UNESCO за дигитализиране и съхранение на културното наследство

The UNESCO organization, as between two phases of the world summit on the information society, is challenged to effectively involve and influence the process of transition. The paper gives guidelines on how UNESCO intends to interact on consulting and promoting level as well as monitoring body in the process of developing information and knowledge awareness among nations. The main recommendations, concerning digitizing, archiving and accessing electronic information as a mile stone to building and information society are discussed, accentuating on national importance to drive the processes on

Callimachus DL: using semantics to enhance search and etrieval in a digital library.

Proceedings of: First World Summit on the Knowledge Society, (WSKS 2008), Athens, Greece, September 24-26, 2008Among the challenges of classifying, locating and accessing knowledge in Digital Libraries tackling with the huge amount of resources the Web provides, improving Digital Libraries by means of different strategies, particularly, using semantics remains a promising and interesting approach. In this paper, we present CallimachusDL, a semantics-based Digital Library which provides faceted search, enhanced access possibilities and a proof-of-concept implementation.Publicad

From Digital Divide to Global Digital Solidarity

  The first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (Geneva, 10-12 December, 2003) proved to be a diplomatic success and a genuine "venue of opportunity”. This was the most important political event dedicated to the Information Society since the European Commission coined the title phrase in the mid-Nineties. A total of 11047 participants representing 1486 entities were registered for the Summit, including a unique meeting of leaders, policy-makers, ICT business people, voluntary and non-governmental organizations of every possible kind, and top-level thinkers and speakers. The three-days of Plenary meetings and high-level roundtables were supplemented by nearly 300 side-events meant to bringing the dream of an inclusive information society one-step closer to reality. Negotiators from 192 countries had resolved during several preparatory meetings most of their disagreements over draft documents presented to Heads of State and Government. Following eleventh hour discussions, sticking points such as references to human rights, media freedom, intellectual property rights and Internet governance were overcome. The globe’s political and ICT leaders discussed the digital divide between the worlds’s rich and poor. One focus of the conference was to find ways to boost Internet and mobile phone penetration in developing nations. The Summit declared itself fully aware that the benefits of the information technology revolution are today unevenly distributed between the developed and developing countries and within national societies. It formulated the commitment to turning this digital divide into a digital opportunity for all, particularly for those who risk being left behind and further marginalized. The final conclusion of Declaration of Principles adopted by consensus and entitled Building the Information Society: a global challenge in the new Millennium was that we were collectively entering a new era of enormous potential, that of the Information Society and expanded human communication. In this emerging society, information and knowledge can be produced, exchanged, shared and communicated through all the networks of the world. All individuals can soon together build a new Information Society based on shared knowledge and founded on global solidarity and a better mutual understanding between peoples and nations. These measures will open the way to the future development of a true knowledge society. For achieving that objective it is necessary to seek and effectively implement concrete international approaches and mechanisms, including financial and technical assistance. Therefore, while appreciating ongoing ICT cooperation through various mechanisms, the Summit invited all stakeholders to commit to the “Digital Solidarity Agenda” set forth in the Plan of Action. The worldwide agreed target is to contribute to bridge the digital divide, promote access to ICTs, create digital opportunities, and benefit from the potential offered by ICTs for development. Consequently, the Summit recognized the will expressed by some States to create an international voluntary “Digital Solidarity Fund”, and by others to undertake studies concerning existing mechanisms and the efficiency and feasibility of such a Fund. In fact, the minimal consensus was in favour of global digital solidarity, but there was no agreement on the actual creation of a special fund or on other modalities of action. Therefore, a cogent and topical appeal was addressed to all political leaders of the world to enter into forging a ‘unity of purpose’ in aiming to achieve universal access to ICT. If that appeal does not become operational, the remaining digital gap will widen. The second phase of the Summit is scheduled in Tunis, on November 16 -18, 2005

Generic competences for the IT knowledge workers: a study from the field.

Proceedings of: Third World Summit on the Knowledge Society (WSKS 2010), Corfu, Greece, September 22-24, 2010This paper aims to identify generic competency levels relevant to a particular kind of knowledge workers: software engineers. Based on previous works, and in particular in the description of a professional career, authors review of the literature related to the characterization of the labor force in the Software Engineering (SE) domain. Subsequently, using a quantitative analysis based on investigative surveys administered to a number of representative professionals, authors provide with a generic competency ladder adapted to the given career description.Publicad

Software engineering 2.0: a social global repository based on semantic annotation and social web for knowledge management

Proceedings of: First World Summit on the Knowledge Society, (WSKS 2008), September 24-26, 2008, Athens (Greece)The effective management of the software development process has become an essential for business survival in an ever more competitive industry. In order to gain business strengths from the development process, organizations need to carry out software development in the most efficient manner possible, avoiding redundancy and time losses. This paper presents an architecture which combines the strengths of two technologies, Web 2.0 and the Semantic Web, as a solution to reuse and extrapolate knowledge and software products across projects and organizations.Publicad

Multilateral Diplomacy and the Information Society

Diplomacy is the art of advancing national interests through permanent negotiations and a sustained exchange of information among nations and peoples. In the present world of instantaneous information, multilateral diplomacy has every chance to sustain even more its relevance.One of the most important components of multilateral diplomacy activities over the 2002-2005 period is dedicated to meetings at sub-regional, regional and global levels dealing with the future architecture of the Information Society. In 2001, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) decided to hold a World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in two phases: the first from 10 to 12 December 2003, in Geneva, Switzerland and the second in 2005 in Tunis, Tunisia.The global Information Society is evolving with extraordinary rapidity. The convergence between telecommunications, broadcasting multimedia and information and communication technologies (ICTs) is driving not only new products and services, but also new ways of conducting business and trade. Trade, social and professional opportunities are expanding alongside with new markets open to competition, foreign investment and participation. This unprecedented dynamic brought by globalization requires global discussions and negotiations. The WSIS will provide a unique opportunity for all concerned people to meet at a high-level gathering and to develop a better understanding of this revolution and its impact on the world community. It will bring together Heads of State, Executive Heads of United Nations agencies, industry leaders, non-governmental organizations, media representatives and civil society in a single political and diplomatic event.The anticipated outcome of the Summit is to endorse a concrete plan of action for achieving the goals of the Information Society, taking into account the different interests of various groups of States.A High-Level Summit Organizing Committee has been established under the patronage of Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General, who has frequently argued that the principal challenge we face today is to ensure that globalization becomes a positive force for all peoples, instead of leaving millions behind in poverty and squalor.Many questions are waiting for adequate answers. The twin phase World Summit on the Information Society in 2003-2005 provides an excellent opportunity to make tangible progress in this area. It is vital to elaborate a set of basic principles of the Information Society which is expected to be universal and empowering. It should promote global digital solidarity and prevent new divisions.The humanistic concept of Opus Solidaritatis Pax, developed by the Holy See, is fully applicable in our globalizing world. The WSIS is expected to serve as a catalyst for “inclusive globalization” and afford a diplomatic and professional opportunity to deal with a large range of issues raised by the emergence of an information-intensive society. It should contribute to consolidating dialogue among civilisations. Socrates’ teaching is always topical: “There is only one good, knowledge; and only one evil, ignorance.” The WSIS is expected to give further tangibility to this truth. Diplomacy will not be condemned to irrelevancy in this process

A study of emotions in requirements engineering.

Proceedings of: 3rd World Summit on the Knowledge Society (WKKS 2010), September 22-24, 2010, Corfu (Greece)Requirements engineering (RE) is a crucial activity in software development projects. This phase in the software development cycle is knowledge intensive, and thus, human capital intensive. From the human point of view, emotions play an important role in behavior and can even act as behavioral motivators. Thus, if we consider that RE represents a set of knowledge-intensive tasks, which include acceptance and negotiation activities, then the emotional factor represents a key element in these issues. However, the emotional factor in RE has not received the attention it deserves. This paper aims to integrate the stakeholder’s emotions into the requirement process, proposing to catalogue them like any other factor in the process such as clarity or stability. Results show that high arousal and low pleasure levels are predictors of high versioning requirements.Publicad

Препоръки на UNESCO за дигитализиране и съхранение на културното наследство

The UNESCO organization, as between two phases of the world summit on the information society, is challenged to effectively involve and influence the process of transition. The paper gives guidelines on how UNESCO intends to interact on consulting and promoting level as well as monitoring body in the process of developing information and knowledge awareness among nations. The main recommendations, concerning digitizing, archiving and accessing electronic information as a mile stone to building and information society are discussed, accentuating on national importance to drive the processes on

Towards A knowledge-Based Economy - Europe and Central Asia - Internet Development and Governance

The diversity and socio-economic differentiation of the real world prevents the full-scale cultivation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to the benefit of all. Furthermore, the lack of determination and political will in some countries and slowness of responses to new technological opportunities in some others are responsible for the creation of another social divide – a digital one. The above problems were fully acknowledged by the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). The Summit called for a joint international effort to overcome the digital divide between and within the United Nations Member States under the Digital Solidarity umbrella. This report was prepared as a follow-up to the Summit and represents a brief review of the status and trends in the area of ICT and Internet development in the UNECE region and provides background information on the state of the art in some relevant ICT subsectors in the Member States. The report focuses on the state of the Internet critical resources and, consequently, on the ICT and Internet penetration across countries and social groups. It also looks into existing Internet governance arrangements and makes some recommendations. The report contains three parts and conclusions. The first part, “Towards a Knowledge-based Economy: Progress Assessment”, highlights the situation in the region with regards to the digital divide, both between and within countries, and national strategies and actions aiming at overcoming barriers to accessing the Internet. The second part, “Internet Development: Current State of Critical Internet Resources in the UNECE Region”, concentrates on reviewing the physical Internet backbone, interconnection and connectivity within the Internet in the UNECE Member States. The third part, “Governing the Evolving Internet in the UNECE Region”, focuses on the issues of Internet Governance in the countries of the region, challenges faced by the countries and participation of key stakeholders in ICT and Internet policy formulation and implementation. The final part contains conclusions and recommendations.Internet, governance, knowledge-based economy, Europe, Central Asia, transition economies