Everybody loves surfing

A few months ago I was standing outside my local public library waiting for it to open. Within a few minutes a handful of people had joined me. When the doors opened we all filed in. Everyone else headed straight for the computers leaving me alone to browse the shelves. At first I was surprised by this—I never use the computers at the library—but then it occurred to me, I am one of the lucky ones who has a computer and access to the internet at home. This hasn’t always been the case though, and when I had no internet access at home where did I go to get online? The library of course

‘Twitter ye not?’ 23 Things that helped Warwick University Library staff to develop their Web 2.0 skills

Warwick University Library recently ran a ‘23 Things’ programme for library staff to help them develop their skills and understanding around Web 2.0 technologies. This approach, first developed by Charlotte Mecklenburg Library2 and subsequently run in many libraries, breaks the sometimes daunting world of social networking applications into bite-sized chunks (or Things) that are easier to manage and absorb. Some of the Things are ‘doing’ Things – using tools we have all heard of and many have never dared touch – whilst other Things are ‘reflecting’ Things, using blogging to capture personal observations on new technologies tried and new skills developed. In the Warwick programme ‘Thing 23’ required staff from across the library, at different levels and with different experiences of Web 2.0, to reflect on their experience of the programme as a whole. This article captures together some of those reflections. One of us (Antony) was sponsor of the programme, a Digital Adventurer who has travelled a distance to embrace new Web 2.0 tools. The other (Emma) was the programme organiser, a Digital Native who regularly blogs, tweets and collaborates online. Both of us got a lot out of the 23 Things Warwick programme

CBERN-NNK Knowledge Needs Research Summary:Report to the CBERN/Naskapi Steering Committee and the Naskapi Community

This report has been prepared for the Naskapi Steering Committee and the Naskapi community by Peter Siebenmorgen Research Assistantand Dr. Wesley Cragg, Project Director. The Canadian Business Ethics Research Network (CBERN) has been working in collaboration with the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach (NNK) since early 2007. This relationship was initiated by former NNK Chief Phil Einish. The goal has been to ensure that the Naskapi people benefitted from mining on their traditional territories and avoided the negative impacts caused by previous mining activity by the Iron Ore Company of Canada. Working with Naskapi leadership, Dr. Cragg and Dr. Bradshaw developed a plan to identify community concerns and hopes for mining development on their traditional territory and provide access to the information and knowledge the community needed to address those concerns and hopes. The goal is to provide the community with the information it requires to benefit from development now taking place.The first step in the plan has now been completed. This report to the Naskapi community describes what the research team found.The second part of the plan is to improve access to information that will help the community address its concerns and realize its hopes for building a better and stronger future

Selection Rules for Two Channel Kondo Models of U and Ce ions in Metals

Symmetry based selection rules are developed providing minimal criteria for the existence of two-channel Kondo interactions between conduction electrons and the low energy degrees of freedom on U$^{4+}$ and Ce$^{3+}$ in a metal host, assuming that the underlying microscopics are regulated by the Anderson Hamiltonian. An additional dynamic selection rule is imposed on Ce$^{3+}$ ions. The selection rules restrict the two-channel quadrupolar Kondo effect to U$^{4+}$ ions in cubic, tetragonal, and hexagonal symmetry. For hexagonal and tetragonal symmetry, the Kondo effect for a U$^{4+}$ ion will always be quadrupolar. The selection rules for Ce$^{3+}$ ions restrict the two-channel magnetic Kondo effect to one of three possible doublet ionic ground states in hexagonal symmetry and the lone doublet ionic ground state in cubic symmetry. The dynamical selection rule apparently excludes two-channel Kondo behavior for Yb$^{3+}$ ions.Comment: (16 pages, 2 figures) [Figures in usable postscript shell now