Small solutions solve discrete, well-bounded problems and can be pieces of larger solutions. They can move things forward by mixing and matching available components in new and previously unimagined ways. A number of innovations, which at first glance are completely unrelated, can come together and create important synergics. This article…

In the development of gateways to archives there are two different approaches, one focusing on the descriptions of the material and the other on the creators. Search and retrieval with precision and quality require controlled access points and name authority control. National registries of private archives have a long tradition in implementing the…

This article develops an environment for mobile e-learning that includes an interactive course, virtual online labs, an interactive online test, and lab-exercise training platform on the fourth generation mobile communication system. The Next Generation Learning Environment (NeGL) promotes the term "knowledge economy." Inter-networking…

This paper describes how a technology-based case using Microsoft Access can aid in the assessment process. A case was used in lieu of giving a final examination in an Accounting Information Systems course. Students worked in small groups to design a database-driven payroll system for a hypothetical company. Each group submitted its results along…

Making sure law enforcement officers are current with their professional training has always been a top priority of police departments whether they must protect a city or a college campus. However, as training has expanded with many new certification categories, tracking all of these for each officer has grown more complex. This has prompted many…

Forensic entomologists utilize insects (particularly flies) to establish the time interval between death and body discovery. This important piece of information may answer questions as to the circumstances of the individual's death and insects are now routinely utilized and recognized as being important forensic indicators. Of extreme importance…

Background: Disability research data often exist in the form of individual records located within discrete registers that may extend across sensitive political boundaries. Method: This paper discusses the opportunities and challenges associated with using linked health and administrative data for disability research, with examples from research…

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) underpins its extensive policy work with strong databases of comparable statistics and indicators with which it compares countries. In 2000, it extended its education database with its first collection of data on the performances of 15-year-olds in reading, mathematics and science…

The Federal Government is introducing a new funding model for research in Australian higher education institutions, the Research Quality Framework (RQF). This paper provides an overview of the RQF and looks at possible impacts of the RQF on academic libraries in Australia. These impacts are drawn from experience at one Australian university,…

Although the five classic evidence-based medicine steps to make the literature useful in caring for patients sound simple, most clinicians who try this approach do not find it easy. Although the first step--creating an answerable question--is manageable for busy clinicians, tracking down "the best evidence" and critically appraising it for…

There's no silver bullet to information security; universities must continue to keep their antivirus, anti-spyware, firewall, and patch management systems in good working order. These days, the largest target for hackers appears to be university databases. Now, universities are searching for new solutions to safeguard those systems. This article…

The architecture of a web-based course management tool that has been developed at IIT [Indian Institute of Technology], Kharagpur and which manages the submission of assignments is discussed. Both the distributed architecture used for data storage and the client-server architecture supporting the web interface are described. Further developments…

Describes the creation of an interactive retrieval system for electronic numeric files that was developed at Cornell University's (New York) Mann Library. Topics discussed include user characteristics; special data characteristics; quality control; software; hardware; data preparation; database design and construction; interface; subject indexing…

Describes three projects that illustrate the range of activities in which Cornell University's Mann Library technical services staff participate, including developing an organizational framework for numeric and full-text databases and bibliographic information for electronic resources. Sidebar articles describe the staff's computer workstations…

Reviews recent trends in databases and online systems. Topics discussed include new access points for established databases; acquisitions, consolidations, and competition between vendors; European coverage; international services; online reference materials, including telephone directories; political and legal materials and public records;…