JCU Library - Faculty of Law, Business and Creative Arts Blog

Feature Database - OECD iLibrary

2011-12-15T15:46:00.002+10:00

OECD Publishing is known as one of the most reliable sources of comparable global economic and social data, as it disseminates information on behalf of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development).

As one of the most comprehensive online resources on the world economy, it contains all books and papers published by the OECD since 1998. More than 80 countries are profiled with a vast collection of statistics dating back to the early 1960s is available.

Try OECD iLibrary if you need to profile countries by industry, governance, health, education, migration, transport infrastructure and much, much more.

Library Display - Top 10 most influential computer programming books of all time

2011-11-10T12:26:00.000+10:00

Have you ever wondered what books have been the most influential in the field of Computer Programming? "Stack Overflow" the computer programmers go-to web site posed the following question to find out what it's members thought: " If you could go back in time and tell yourself to read a specific book at the beginning of your career as a developer, which book would it be?"

The resulting list of the top10 most influential books is a fascinating snapshot of the history, development and progression of computer programming. The list is a compilation of votes by thousands of members of "Stack Overflow".

The books are currently the feature of a display in the Mabo Library, Townsville. Visit the Library to browse through these influential works or read all about them online. For the full list of books and their descriptions read here.

Sydney Travelling Film Festival appearing in Cairns and Townsville

2011-11-10T11:03:00.000+10:00

The Sydney Travelling Film Festival (TFF) is Australia's longestrunning travelling film festival bringing world cinema to regionalAustralia. The Sydney TFF showcases Australian and internationalfeatures, documentaries and short films screening in areas which havelimited theatrical screening opportunities.

Need a break from studying for your exams? Then have a look to see what is screening in Cairns and Townsville.

Learn more about managing copyright in the digital environment - Cairns Workshop

2011-11-10T09:58:00.000+10:00

Creative Commons is an international non-profit organisation thatprovides free licences and tools that copyright owners can use to allowothers to share, reuse and remix their material, legally.We invite you to learn more about this new way of managing copyright inthe digital environment.

Creative Commons and You
9.30am – 10.30am followed by morning tea
Wednesday 16th of November 2011
The Boathouse, JCU Cairns (building A22)
Free, for catering purposes please email Bradley Smith by Friday 11th of November.

Click here for more information.

CreateWorld 2011

2011-11-01T10:42:00.002+10:00

The AUC will be holding its 6th annual CreateWorld Conference at Griffith University's South Bank campus from 28 - 30 November, 2011. CreateWorld 2011 is aimed specifically at practitioners, academics, research teams, technical staff and students across the digital arts. Sessions include presentations of new media work, performances, techniques and approaches in practice-led research fields including photography, cyber-arts, music, e-learning, film, animation and design. For more information, see here.
Source: auc-news.

Townsville Library Display - Lights, Camera - Action!

2011-10-27T13:35:00.002+10:00

Did you know that JCU Library holds materials to support the Bachelor of Arts (Screen Studies)? This collection is currently featured in a display on the first floor of Townsville library. Come in and have a look. Interesting items include:

Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut
Loving and Hating Hollywood: Reframing Global and Local Cinema
Licence to Thrill : a Cultural History of the James Bond Films
Pixar: 20 Years of Animation
The Hitchcock Murders.

Creative Exchange Launch Event

2011-10-27T12:51:00.000+10:00

Labyrinthine Productions is a student initiative focused on reviving the live music scene in Townsville. The launch of the project is on November 18 at The Venue, and will feature the following acts: Heathen Dogs, Asylum, Amagon and more. Tickets can be purchased at the SoCA admin office. Read here for more.

Library opening hours for Exam time - Townsville and Cairns

2011-10-27T10:49:00.002+10:00

Are you planning your study schedule for the exam period? Library exam opening hours for both the Townsville and Cairns campus libraries have been published to help you organise your time.

Good luck!

Featured eBooks: Tourism

2011-10-27T10:46:00.001+10:00

Island Tourism: Sustainable Perspectives. Islands are the most vulnerable and fragile of tourism destinations and will experience even more pressure as the combined impacts of economic, social and environmental change accelerate in the future. In order to understand the process of island tourism development, response to change and challenges, and islands' journeys to sustainability, this book provides insights and instruction on topics including social, cultural, environmental and economic aspects of island tourism.

Adventure Tourism Management. Adventure tourism is the largest and fastest growing sector of the trillion-dollar global outdoor tourism industry. No tourism professional, current or future, can afford to ignore this economically significant sector. A very wide range of high-adrenalin recreational activities is now available as commercial adventure tourism products: rafting and kayaking, surfing and kiteboarding, helisking and snowboarding, diving and submarines, mountain biking and off-road driving, horseriding and rockclimbing, ballooning and parachuting, and many more.

Industrial Tourism: Opportunities for City and Enterprise. Industrial tourism presents opportunities, both in terms of income and as a tool of management, for individual firms who open their doors - and consequently their local regions - to the public. But how can these opportunities be organised in a way that enables both the city and the enterprise to take advantage? This book analyzes the conditions for successful industrial tourism development using case studies of Wolfsburg, Cologne, Pays de la Loire, Turin, Shanghai and Rotterdam, and makes astute recommendations for cities and companies with ambitions in this field.

Body of Work

2011-10-21T13:36:00.000+10:00

JCNN today features a story on New Media Arts student Jasmine Martin, who plans to produce a portfolio of erotic contemporary illustrations for her Honours degree next year. See here for the full story.

Open Access Week - 24 to 30 October

2011-10-20T12:12:00.001+10:00

Open Access week is a global event, now in its 5th year, promoting Open Access as a new norm in scholarship and research.

“Open Access” to information – the free, immediate, online access to the results of scholarly research, and the right to use and re-use those results as you need them – has the power to transform the way research and scientific inquiry are conducted. It has direct and widespread implications for academia, medicine, science, industry, and for society as a whole.

To celebrate Open Access Week, the Library has developed an Open Access Publishing LibGuide to explain more about Open Access within the JCU context.

For more information, contact Jackie Wolstenholme, the Research Services Librarian.

Create World 2011

2011-10-19T20:31:00.000+10:00

Are you studying digital media? Create World 2011 is aimed specifically at practitioners, academics, research teams, technical staff and students across the digital arts. Sessions include presentations of new media work, performance, techniques and approaches in practice-led research fields including photography, cyber-arts, music, e-learning, film, animation and design.It's held at Griffith University South Bank Campus from the 28th to the 30th of November.

Walk for Daniel

2011-10-17T09:40:00.000+10:00

The latest issue of JCNN features an interview with Denise and Bruce Morcombe, with details of the second Townsville Walk for Daniel to be held at Riverway on 28 October. This year the walk will also feature face painting, a jumping castle and sausage sizzle. Read here for more information.

Northern Lights Film Festival - entries open

2011-10-08T13:26:00.006+10:00

Entry is now open for the Northern Lights Film Festival. The festival is sponsored by the Townsville Cinema Group and JCU School of Creative Arts. Submit a short film for your chance to win $1000 in pooled prize money. The deadline for film entries is 21st October. See here for more information.

Breath Life Into the Undead

2011-10-07T09:00:00.001+10:00

The School of Creative Arts eMerge Media Space is hosting an exhibition by honours student Gareth Wild and other contemporary Australian illustrators as they explore the zombie archetype in popular culture. The exhibition opens at 6pm on Friday Oct 7th, and will be open for viewing until Oct 14th. Admission is free. See here for more.

SoCA Film Night - Abduction

2011-10-04T13:00:00.000+10:00

Help the 2011 graduating New Media Arts students fundraise for their graduate exhibition "Who Art We" by purchasing tickets to see the movie "Abduction." Buy a ticket from the SoCA admin office or at the door, for the 7pm screening on Wed 5th October. See here for more.

JCU Inter-college music competition

2011-09-15T09:45:00.000+10:00

Hundreds of performers will battle it out this weekend at James Cook University’s Inter-college Music Competition in Townsville.

The annual competition will be held this year on Sunday 18th September at 1pm in the George Kneipp Auditorium on the Douglas campus.

Coordinator Elizabeth Gilson said each of the six colleges would compete in five different categories; Musical Theatre, Dance, Choir, Band and Instrumental.

“The performances will showcase both popular songs and musicals and include original pieces,” Ms Gibson said.

“There are over 200 participants and 500 spectators. In the past, the competition has been an outstanding success, with performers and spectators both having a ball.

“It’s going to be a great afternoon and we encourage any members of the public to come along and enjoy some spectacular talent from our students on show.”

Details:
Date: Sunday 18 September 2011
Time: 1pm
Location: Sir George Kneipp Auditorium, James Cook University Drive, Douglas

Ms Gibson can be contacted on 0408 287 245
Source:@JCU

BoSS

2011-07-27T15:01:00.000+10:00

Come along to the SoCA Best of Student Show this Friday, 29 July, from 5-8pm in the SoCA Courtyard. Admission is free, and all are welcome to this evening of art, music and performance. See you there!

Break A Leg - photographic exhibition

2011-07-21T11:59:00.000+10:00

A photographic exhibition celebrating 20 years of performing arts photography in Townsville and north Queensland will open this Friday, 22 July, 6.30pm, at the Court Theatre, Townsville. The exhibition will showcase 90 works by Chrissy Maguire, and runs until 30 July. Click here for more details.

An evening with David

2011-03-14T11:37:00.002+10:00

David Stratton has been the face of film in Australia for over 25 years. His knowledge of film and the reviews he gives alongside Margaret Pomeranz on the ABC TV show ‘At the Movies’ are the one thing many people want to hear before deciding what they will see at the cinema. On Saturday March 26, David will present a night of film appreciation and discussion at JCU in the Sir George Kneipp Auditorium. At 6:30 PM he will start talking about his interests in film and introduce his Mystery Movie. After the movie, there will be a chance to discuss the movie and any related topic to David’s work. This dialogue will continue with drinks and a few nibbles in the courtyard of the School of Creative Arts. Tickets are $30 and are available via the website of the Townsville Cinema Group or e-mail info@cinemagroup.org.au
Source: @jcu

Google Art Project

2011-03-01T19:20:00.002+10:00

The recently launched Google Art Project is a selection of super high-resolution images of famous works of art as well as more than a thousand other images, by more than 400 artists—all in one place. Featuring 17 museums, visitors to the site can select a museum and take a virtual tour, or go directly to specific works of art. such as a painting, and you are able to zoom in, rotate and obtain facts and figures, Using features similar to their Street View technology, the Google Art Project allows the visitor to zoom in, rotate and obtain facts and figures about individual artworks.

The Art of Ancient Greek Theatre

2011-03-01T13:28:00.000+10:00

This exhibition explores the many ways Greek drama was interpreted by ancient Greek artists, whose works are frequently the only surviving evidence of the performing arts in antiquity. A wide variety of objects — including sculptures, painted vases, and a rare fragmentary papyrus — bring to life the rich history of ancient Greek theater. The site features an images section, an interactive map, and sound recordings in Ancient Greek. Click here to visit the exhibition, sponsored by the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Filmsite.org

2011-02-28T08:00:00.000+10:00

Filmsite.org is an award-winning website for classic film buffs, students, moviegoers and anyone else interested in the great movies of the last century. Detailed plot synopses, review commentary and film reference material are just some of the features available on the site. The site also contains film analysis, original content, information on the top films and most memorable movie scenes, "best of…" articles, and the most popular film quotes in all genres of film. Its many resources include a comprehensive overview of film history, a complete survey of the Academy Awards (Oscars), milestones and turning points in the industry, and background and descriptions for hundreds of classic Hollywood/American and other English-language movies from the last one hundred years.
(Source:Filmsite.org)

Law Tutorials in the Library

2011-02-22T11:48:00.002+10:00

We are running Law Tutorials for first-year students in the Mabo Library this week and next. The Law study area is likely to be quite crowded from time to time, especially on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (22nd and 23rd February and 1st and 2nd March).

We appreciate your patience during this busy time!

Ian Smith On and Off the Road

2011-02-18T12:02:00.002+10:00

Ian Smith is a senior Australian artist born in Cairns and now living in Brisbane. This new exhibition features large scale paintings and drawings made since 2001 that deal with his fascination with the imagery and experiences of being on the road, in particular the many trips that he has undertaken within Queensland driving between Cairns and Brisbane and beyond. Smithy, well loved in all parts of north Queensland, will be in Townsville for the opening, and will provide a talk about the paintings at 10.30am Saturday 19 February. Ian Smith On and Off the Road will remain on show at Perc Tucker Regional Gallery until Sunday 17 April.
Exhibition opening: 7pm, Friday 18 February
Exhibition floor talk: 10.30am, Saturday 19 February
For further information, visit www.townsville.qld.gov.au/facilities/galleries/perctucker
Source:@JCU

Cereal Box

2011-02-18T11:44:00.003+10:00

Townsville's newest alternative multi-arts space, part of the Renew Townsville initiative, to give 'life' to vacant shops in the city mall. ETC (Emerging Townsville Creatives) and eNQue Productions have worked hard to create a funky zone for emerging artists to exhibit, perform, work on artistic ideas and projects or just hang out. Cereal Box will be launched on Fri 25th February at 6.30pm, so head over and have a look! For further information visit http://renewtownsville.com/
Source:@JCU

Graffiti Art

2011-01-25T13:22:00.004+10:00

The third floor of the old bank court building in Flinders Mall has been transformed into an artists' hub. In a space that once housed Townsville's first bank, and later military communications for soldiers during World War II, there is now a door with graffiti writing announcing you are entering 'The Cot.' Inside lies a kaleidoscope of visual art that changes day by day in fantastic fashion and it's here you'll find The Run Collective. From February 5 till April 10 you’ll be able to see Run Collective’s work at the Pinnacles Gallery at Riverway. Their exhibition is called Urban DK and it’s a celebration of street art involving collective murals, collaged works, projections and even an ‘active space’ replicating The Cot. Click here to read more.
Source: www.jcu.edu.au/jcnn/

ARTISTS WANTED!!

2010-12-22T14:41:00.002+10:00

"Applications are now open for artists to become involved in an exciting public art project to be installed in the Cairns CBD. The use of any medium will be encouraged: sculpture, installation, multimedia etc. Applications close February 1st 2011. The exhibition will be opened at the Changing Lanes Festival, Bank Lane, Cairns May 7th 2011." Click here for more.

Bah Humbug! On The Spot, Christmas Special Cabaret!

2010-12-07T09:44:00.001+10:00

BAH HUMBUG! It’s Christmas time! Which is why Full Throttle is happy to tolerate Townsville’s Autonomous Artists (Artists Gratis) improvisation comedy team bringing you: Bah Humbug! On The Spot, Christmas Special Cabaret - an exquisite puree of live music, stand up comedy, magic performance, audience prizes and shiny bar service blended tenderly with the usual On The Spot shenanigans. Special guests include Brian Kneipp, The Underlads, Elle Graham, Rita Neale and more. Tickets are $20 at the door; sorry no bookings will be taken. The doors will open at 7pm for a 7.30 show, on Saturday 11th of December, and Friday 17th and Saturday 18th December at The Court Theatre, corner of Sturt and Stokes streets in the city. (Source: fullthrottletheatre.com)

Artefacts Unmasked

2010-11-25T13:50:00.000+10:00

JCU’s anthropology department and SoCA have joined forces in a Creative Xchange to produce an interactive DVD cataloguing an exciting collection of artefacts. Laying in the basement of the School of Arts and Social Sciences, secured in a humidity-controlled room, is a collection of Indigenous, Asian and Pacific material culture artefacts that any keen anthropology student would love to get their hands on. Until recently these artefacts lay relatively undisturbed but a collaborative project between the Anthropology Department and students from the School of Creative Arts aims to bring them to life. Doctor Anita Lundberg (pictured), lecturer in anthropology, facilitated the cross-faculty collaboration after hearing about the School of Creative Arts’ Creative Xchange program – a capstone project where exiting students work in collaboration with an industry partner.

Copies of the interactive DVD will be made available to JCU staff, students and other interested institutions. If you’re keen to obtain a copy, email anita.lundberg@jcu.edu.au
Source:jcnn

NQ Grass Roots Time

2010-11-22T10:36:00.002+10:00

Come celebrate the launch of Bandawalla Moon's debut album and enjoy a night of fantastic performances from Bandawalla Moon, Lonesome Trio, Pachooka and Andrea Kenny.
When: 27th November
Time: 7:00 pm
Where: The Court Theatre, Townsville
Price: $20/$15 concession
Source: The Court Theatre

Mayhem Mag Launch

2010-11-19T10:27:00.003+10:00

Mayhem Magazine is a locally produced bi-monthly magazine showcasing the talented artists of Townsville and its surrounding area. The magazine is primarily tailored to the cool, younger crowd, between 15 - 30 years of age. People who take pride in being artistically savvy and fashion forward individuals who have respect for quality fashion, art, music and design. So come along to their November Launch Party and support the magazine supporting local artists. When: 26th November, 7pm at the Court Theatre, Townsville.

introspect - 2010 New Media Arts Graduate Exhibition

2010-11-18T14:15:00.003+10:00

JCU’s School of Creative Arts invites you to the opening of the graduate exhibition for 2010 Bachelor of New Media Arts students. Introspect will showcase innovative print and digital works from Townsville’s up and coming new media artists.
The exhibition will be officially opened by Mitch Goodwin, Bachelor of New Media Arts Coordinator, on Friday 26th November, 7pm (Free admission)
For more information email: soca.events@jcu.edu.au or ph: 07 4781 3142
The exhibition will run from 26th Nov to 3rd Dec 2010, at Perc Tucker Regional Gallery

ProQuest Scheduled Outage

2010-10-28T16:55:00.000+10:00

ProQuest® will be performing infrastructure maintenance on Sunday 31st October. As a result, the ProQuest platform will be unavailable for a period of approx 12 hours, from 1.00pm on Sunday 31st October to 1.00am on Monday, 1 November.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

The New Seven Deadly Sins

2010-10-22T09:08:00.003+10:00

"Fresh local artists collaborate to bring you a one night only exhibition, exploring personal interpretations of the original seven as well as reflecting upon the Vatican's new seven social sins to create a synthesis of how sin is interpreted in contemporary society." The exhibition will be held at the Court House Theatre, Cnr Stokes & Stanley Sts, Townsville, Tuesday 16th of November, 6.30pm til late. Entry is $5
Source:http://www.fullthrottletheatre.com/index.html

East Coast Indigenous Art Exhibition

2010-10-19T09:24:00.002+10:00

"The East Coast Aboriginal Art Exhibition is an annual event organised by the Heart Foundation. It showcases the work of prominent and talented Indigenous Queenslanders with the purpose of raising awareness of Indigenous health issues and generating valuable funds for Indigenous heart health programs to help close the gap. This year's exhibiting artists are: Lloyd Hornsby, Debbie Taylor, Raquel Jackson, Glennys Briggs and Milton Budge." The exhibition runs from the 26th of October to the 7th of November 2010 at the Cultural Centre, Townsville. Source: http://www.cctownsville.com.au/index.html

SCREENGRAB - New Media Arts Award Announcement & Exhibition

2010-10-14T13:51:00.002+10:00

Screengrab brings to Townsville an exciting collection of screen based works from across the globe. An excellent example of learning what is new media art with displays of data visualisation, multi-channel video, audio sculpture, digital illustration, photography, generative media and 2D and 3D animation all on this year’s theme of “network”. The exhibition runs from 15 October to 18 November, with the launch THIS Friday at 6pm, Friday, 15 October @ eMerge Media Space
School of Creative Arts Complex DA300, James Cook University Townsville. Free admission and refreshments provided. Source:@JCU

Pimlico Symphony Orchestra

2010-09-27T13:31:00.000+10:00

Enjoy a great night of symphonic music and help a talented group of students support the YWAM Medical Ship. The Pimlico Symphony Orchestra is holding its annual benefit concert. Each year through this concert, the students in the Orchestra raise funds for specific charities. This year, all the funds from ticket sales will go to YWAM Medical Ship. Tickets $20 Standard, $30 Gold (includes wine & cheese at interval). Tickets are available at JCU through Bob Lawn, email:robert.lawn@jcu.edu.au or tel: 4781 5763. Or Alison Cottrell, email alison.cottrell@jcu.edu.au or tel: 4781 4653. Or through Pimlico State High School office, cnr Fulham Rd and Hugh St, Pimlico, tel: 4759 3444.

11th Xstrata Greek Fest

2010-09-23T11:00:00.000+10:00

The 2010 Townsville Greek Fest is on again this year at Riverway Park, 9th and 10th of October. Come along to this free cultural event, and experience Greek music, cultural dancing, and Greek food. There will be plenty of competitions, children’s entertainment (including appearances by Ben 10), exciting rides, and fireworks display. Go to the Greek Fest website to find out more.

Northern Lights Film Festival

2010-09-14T15:27:00.003+10:00

The Northern Lights Film Festival will be held at the SoCA complex on Thurs 11 Nov, 2010. Staff and students are invited to submit a SHORT film (between 60 secs – 6 mins). Deadline for entries id Fri 22 Oct, 2010. $1000 in prize money to be won! Read more..

100 Years of Tropical Medicine Art Exhibition

2010-09-13T11:46:00.002+10:00

This exhibition celebrates the centenary of tropical medicine in Australia. On 1 January 1910 Dr Anton Breinl arrived in Townsville to take up his post as the Inaugural Director of the Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine, the first medical research institute in Australia. Dr Breinl was the former Director of the Runcorn Research Laboratory at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

Exhibition dates are 9 - 26 Sept in the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library, with the official opening at 10.00am on Tuesday the 14th.

NIDA - National Institute of Dramatic Art

2010-09-08T13:30:00.003+10:00

NIDA offers courses for adults and young people on a regular basis in Brisbane and tours to other locations in Queensland during winter and spring. NIDA on Tour provides the opportunity to experience exciting short courses led by industry professional tutors in your home town. Choose from a range of 2 – 5 day courses. NIDA on Tour will be in Townsville from 28 September – 3 October. (Source: www.nida.edu.au) Read more.

Westlaw database problems

2010-09-06T09:36:00.003+10:00

The Westlaw database has been having technical difficulties at JCU. If you are on campus you can remove elibrary.jcu.edu.au from the URL in the address bar and access the database. Unfortunately there is nothing that off-campus users can do to fix the problem.

We will notify you as soon as the problem is resolved.

If you are off-campus and need help locating information in Westlaw urgently please get in touch with your law librarians, you can see our contact details on the left margin of this blog, or on the bottom right of this page.

Mapping the North West: A Chorographical Perspective

2010-09-06T09:33:00.000+10:00

This exhibition of chorographic prints and drawings by Jill O'Sullivan will be opened by Dr Anne Lord of SoCA on Friday 10 September, 6.00 p.m. at the eMerge Media Space, DA 300 School of Creative Arts. The exhibition runs from 6 - 17 September, so make some time to visit the eMerge Media Space to have a look!

Shakespeare Under the Stars - Richard III

2010-09-02T12:55:00.002+10:00

"The 15th birthday season of Shakespeare Under the Stars promises to be a very special event. From the team that brought you Henry V and Lov'es Labour's Lost, this production will entice you into a gothic carnivale of black comedy and haunting imagery. Terri Brabon, Brendan O'Connor and Phil Lambert proudly return to Townsville to join a home-grown ensemble of some of the city's finest talent including Bernie Lanigan, John Goodson, Sandra Neale, Beth Honeycombe and many more, in this epic tale of good versus evil." (Source: evieworld) Showing 14th - 25th September, Queens Gardens. For more information, click here.

Hello from your new faculty librarian

2010-08-18T16:51:00.009+10:00

I would like to say hello as the Faculty Librarian for Law, Business and Creative Arts at JCU while Alice Logan is away on parental leave. My name is Bronwyn Mathiesen and I have been working at JCU for the last twelve months in a different role, if I haven't met you yet, I look forward to doing so soon.

I am based at the Townsville Campus of JCU and will co-ordinate the provision of library services and resources to the faculty.

I am also liasion librarian for the School of Law and the School of Business on the Townsville campus.

Sallie Webster (former Law Librarian at JCU) will also be available several hours a week to assist with Law Liaision and the provision of services to Law staff and students at Townsville.
Other Liaison Librarians for the faculty include:

Anne Lahey - Liaison Librarian for SOCA (Townsville)
Kate Elder - Liaison Librarian for Law (Cairns)
Charles Cardinal - Liaison Librarian for Business (Cairns)(currently on leave)
Bronwen Forster - Liaison Librarian for SOCA (Cairns)

Among the responsibilities of Liaison Librarians are:

Providing specialised reference services for students and staff
Coordinating, promoting and carrying out School-specific library orientation and instruction programs
Participating in collection development
Acting as a focus for contact and enquiries from staff and students
Acting as an advocate for the library service and resources needs of the School

Contact me on extension 5588 - or by email:
bronwyn.mathiesen@jcu.edu.au

eBook Collection Trial - currently available at JCU Library

2010-08-10T11:41:00.001+10:00

JCU Library is pleased to announce an exciting eBook trial, with books from a variety of publishers spanning all academic subject areas. The trial is currently available and ends on 3 September 2010.

"Ebook Library (EBL)" is a web-based eBook lending platform which is capable of delivering a rapidly expanding catalogue of ebooks to academic and research libraries. EBL offers innovative functionality such as:

- Multiple concurrent access (multiple people reading at the same time)
- Online and offline access
- Read aloud for all titles
- Browsing before borrowing

The EBL eBook Library trial can be accessed here.

If you have any feedback either positive or negative please let us know here.

2010 Palmer Street Jazz Festival

2010-08-04T14:15:00.002+10:00

The Palmer Street Jazz Festival will be held over the 13, 14 and 15 of August, and will showcase regional musicians, with venues including Rhino Bar, Townsville Yacht Club, Table 51 and more. For the full program, visit www.palmerstreetjazz.com.au

BBC Launch of World Music Archive

2010-07-26T12:01:00.003+10:00

BBC Launch of World Music Archive
The BBC has launched a globally-accessible online archive that features indigenous music from some of the world’s most dangerous conflict zones, as well as its most inaccessible states. In all, there will be 100 hours of programming on the BBC’s World Music Archive, alongside dozens of photographs of recordings being made in the most remote locations. Essentially the resource – a mix of entertainment, journalism and curation – comprises the output of Radio 3’s world music programmes from the past decade. An index offers the music of 40 countries. Access the BBC site here.
Read the full Independent article here.

Source: The Independent

Tropic Sun Theatre Company

2010-07-23T09:33:00.005+10:00

JCNN has a story on the change of name of Townsville's Tropic Sun Theatre Company. The theatre company has a new name "Full Throttle" and a new image. Upcoming events at the theatre include "A Dark Park Cabaret" in August, "Other-Wise" in September and "Three Blokes and Their Barbies" in November-December. Visit www.fullthrottletheatre.com for more information. Check out the JCNN story here.
Source: Jessica Piette, JCNN

Townsville Campus - Mabo Library Redevelopment Project

2010-07-19T14:41:00.001+10:00

The Mabo Library at the Townsville campus is undergoing a transformation!

In a $7.8m library redevelopment project funded by the University and the Federal Government's Better Universities Renewal Funding Initiative, students and staff of the University will gain more vibrant and contemporary learning spaces starting with major changes to the ground floor in the Mabo Library that will include:

24 hour Information Commons (student study & computing lounge)
new Learning Commons area with café
new service desk for Library and Learning Advice services
a greater variety of technology enabled and collaborative study spaces
3 new ilecture spaces - centrally timetabled and bookable teaching spaces
new consultation rooms
new southern entry and exit

You can already see the fantastic geology rock garden near the library car park. The new southern entrance will give you easier access from that side of the building and access from the northern side via the current entrance will remain.

Major works began on the western side of the ground floor in July during semester break. During this stage, public access into the Library is from the current (northern) entrance. After works on the western side of the ground floor are complete, works will begin on the eastern side of the ground floor.

The Library will remain open during all of the work and services will continue to be available from InfoHelp and Document Services.

We expect that the project will be completed by March 2011.

We are trying to minimise any inconvenience to Library users during the project. Please let us know if you have any questions or comments via the Library Suggestion Box or by emailing infohelp@jcu.edu.au.

Read more about it here: http://www-public.jcu.edu.au/libcomp/library/JCUPRD1_059138

We thank you for your courtesy and patience while these upgrades are made to the Mabo Library.

More information about the project will be posted regularly on the Library and Computing webpage.

Heather Gordon
Director, Library & Information Services

Local theatre - Townsville

2010-07-19T10:13:00.004+10:00

Townsville Little Theatre will be performing "Competitive Tenderness" at the Pimlico Performing Arts Centre from Wednesday 18 August to Saturday 21 August. Tickets can be purchased at the door. "Competitive Tenderness" is a "contemporary Australian farce, focusing on the City of Greater Burke, which is in the frontline of local government reform." The play is directed by local Heatley Secondary College teacher Alan Cooke.
Source: Duo magazine Issue 50 July 2010

Who's Who Online

2010-07-09T14:41:00.001+10:00

"Who's Who" have recently announced they have upgraded their service to provide a faster and more reliable search experience. 'Who's Who' publications contain collections of biographies of notable Australians, detailing the lives and achievements of both the renowned and the unsung heroes of Australian society.

Go to "Who's who in Australia" to have a look at the following:

"Who's Who in Australia" - Containing more than 13,000 biographies, Who’s Who in Australia (est. 1906) gives a time-honoured insight into the lives of prominent people who shape Australian society.

"Who's Who in Business in Australia" - Who’s Who in Business in Australia is the authoritative reference to significant business people and their businesses.

(Source: Who's Who in Australia

"Who's Who of Australian Women" - Who’s Who of Australian Women documents the lives of 6,000 significant women from all walks of life and gives insight into the evolution of Australian society.

This database has biographical information on Australians in a variety of diverse industries, such as Julia Gillard and Kylie Minogue, and lists information such as career highlights, recreations, and education.

ebrary Academic Complete database trial

2010-07-06T09:00:00.003+10:00

ebrary Academic Complete is an e-book collection from a variety of publishers spanning academic subject areas including Law, Business and Economics, Fine Arts and more. Books on ebrary can be accessed here.

Note that during this trial the custom ebrary Reader is not supported and is not essential for viewing the content.This trial is available both on campus or off campus (with a JCU username and password)until the 23rd of July.

The trial links are also to be found on the library Trials web page

If you have any feedback either positive or negative please let us know here.

Emerald Database - Improvements to Web Platform

2010-07-05T08:54:00.000+10:00

The publishers of popular business and technology database "Emerald" recently announced a series of managed improvements to their web platform.

Initial development has focused on creating a more intuitive, user-friendly design with enhanced search and browse capabilities making the site easier and more efficient to use.

Recent improvements include:
* Clearer style and layout of all web pages
* Improved and more consistent navigation
* Clearer Search and Advanced Search screens
* Browse options are clearer and easier to use – options to browse Just Journals, Just Books or Both; Alphabetic and Subject options also available simultaneously
* Quick Browse on Home page to latest issue of a journal chosen from drop down list
* Clearer symbols to show which content is accessible to subscribers
* “Related items” functionality on document request pages

Access to Emerald for JCU staff and students is available here.

Boost for legal profession in regional Australia

2010-06-28T10:35:00.000+10:00

A recent announcement of $1.1 million in funding to address the issue of recruitment and retention of lawyers in rural, regional and remote (RRR) areas of Australia, has been welcomed by the Law Council of Australia.

Research conducted by the Law Council in 2009 found that if the shortage of lawyers in RRR areas was not addressed as a matter of priority, access to justice in these communities would be seriously impaired.

A proportion of the funding announced today will be used by the Law Council to develop a range of initiatives to enhance legal employment opportunities in rural, regional and remote Australia.

Click here to read more. (Source: Law Council of Australia)

Exhibition - Best of Student Show

2010-06-25T14:35:00.008+10:00

Exhibition - BoSS

Fri 4 June – Fri 30 July, 2010 (Mon – Fri 8:30am-4:30pm)

The BoSS – Best of Student Show highlights the very best of student’s creations from semester 1 this year. Come and see what the Bachelor of New Media Arts students do from all year levels across the degree; from digital sound to web design, visual arts to photo-imaging.
eMerge Media Space
School of Creative Arts Complex Building DA300
Douglas Campus, JCU Townsville

Free admission, all welcome.<>For information: contact gallery@jcu.edu.au or phone 4781 3142

Source: SoCA eNews

Informit Databases - Scheduled Maintenance - 27 June, 2010

2010-06-25T08:25:00.002+10:00

JCU Library has been advised that due to a core IT infrastructure upgrade to RMIT's main data centre, access to our suite of Informit Databases may be disrupted for periods from 7.00 am to 1.00 pm on Sunday 27th June 2010 (Australian Eastern Standard Time - GMT+10).

There may be no access to Informit during this time.

RMIT Publishing apologises for any inconvenience caused.

International Labour Organization - Key Indicators of the Labour Market

2010-06-13T15:29:00.003+10:00

The Key Indicators of the Labour Market (KILM) Database is a freely available multi-functional research tool of the ILO. The first KILM was released ten years ago. It has since become a flagship product of the International Labour Office (ILO) and is used on a daily basis by researchers and policy-makers throughout the world.
For more information, see:
* KILM Home Page
* Guide to undertanding the KILM

Firstpoint / Legal Online Training @ JCU

2010-06-02T09:43:00.001+10:00

Would you like to know how to use First Point or other modules of the Legal Online database more effectively? JCU Library is hosting two special training sessions by the Legal Online Publishers (Thomson) in early June.

Cairns - 3 June, 2010 (2-3pm) in room B1.124

Townsville - 4 June, 2010 (9.30-10.30am) in room DA18.229

All welcome.

"Connecting With Law" Short Film Competition

2010-06-01T08:17:00.004+10:00

Oxford University Press invites you to submit a short film (between 2 and 5 minutes) about law or the study of law. Be creative, instructive and original – entertain your fellow students whilst encouraging them to connect with the law.

*1st prize – $1500
*2nd prize – $500
*3rd prize – $250

The competition is open to any student currently enrolled in an Australian law school.

Entries close Friday 30th July 2010. For more information see the Competition website.

AustLII - Legal Research User Survey

2010-05-27T18:55:00.000+10:00

AustLII is seeking input on what you like about AustLII's services and
what can be improved.

The survey takes 5-10 minutes to fill out.

The survey can be found at:
http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/survey.cgi/survey_2010

Latest AustLII news for Legal Researchers

2010-05-25T18:52:00.003+10:00

AustLII's latest newsletter is now available at:
http://www.austlii.edu.au/austlii/news/20100521.pdf

The contents for this edition of AustLII News includes:

* Subject specific libraries
* Search tips
* International law library
* AustLII is 15! Come and celebrate with us
* Victorian improvements

Where should I publish? FAQ's for JCU Researchers

2010-05-17T14:39:00.003+10:00

Academic publishing, along with citation analysis, is one of the most widely used methods in evaluating the research performance of academics and institutions. To learn more about publishing in academic journals and journal impact factors, the following library guides can help you:

Is the journal in which I am publishing a quality journal?
How do I find out if a journal has an impact factor?
How do I find out the relative ranking of my journal within a particular field?
How do I find out who are the leading researchers in my field?

Read more about Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) Resources at JCU here.

Winkirr (Dreaming and Reflections of Country) Indigenous Art Exhibition

2010-05-17T14:33:00.001+10:00

Each year James Cook University hosts an exhibition by an Indigenous artist to celebrate the naming of the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library and the official launching of the University’s Reconciliation Statement on 21 May 2008. This year the Mabo Library is proud to present an exhibition of new work by Susan Peters Nampitjin.

Susan Peters Nampitjin is a contemporary artist of the Walmajarri people, located in the Tanami desert of South East Kimberleys, Western Australia. She currently lives in Townsville and works as an Aboriginal & Torres Strait Liaison Officer and Art teacher for people with disability. She is also an active member of the “Murris in Ink” group based at Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts. Murris in Ink are a collective of mid-career and emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander printmakers currently participating in a range of development workshops.

Through her art practice she experiments with a range of art media and traditions ranging from painting to printmaking. The vibrant, new artworks presented in this exhibition, “Winkirr” (dreaming and reflections of country) continue to tell a visual story of her experience of country and family connections as she incorporates traditional symbols with contemporary art techniques.

The exhibition: Winkirr (Dreaming and Reflections of Country) will be on show in the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library (Townsville) from Friday 21 May to Sunday 20 June, 2010 during library opening hours.

Get newspaper articles in full text

2010-05-10T15:45:00.002+10:00

Newsbank - an exciting new library database subscription for JCU. Find reports of important events throughout history
from Australian and international papers.

Available to JCU staff and students from on-campus and off-campus at: http://elibrary.jcu.edu.au/login?url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/ or via links in Tropicat (the library catalogue) or library databases list.

NewsBank is a web-based TEXT service providing national, international, regional, and local newspapers from across Australia and New Zealand as well as Asia, the UK, Europe and the United States. Includes The Cairns Post and Townsville Bulletin along with other North Queensland news papers.

For each newspaper, the full-text of all staff-written news stories is included, and complemented by additional sections, such as obituaries, literary criticism, people, editorial pieces, book/film/art reviews, and more. Notices, classifieds, pictures, and paid advertisements are excluded.

Tourism LibGuide: A new tool to assist you in your travel through the world of information

2010-04-30T10:09:00.004+10:00

Another LibGuide for the Business community at JCU has just been released, the Tourism LibGuide. It’s the third one related to the School of Business after Marketing and Information Technology. You could find them under “Find resources” on the library webpage.

LibGuides is a new way to organise and find library resources. Dynamic and versatile, easy to navigate, it offers multiples advantages for clients. It’s a one-stop resource for information and library resources in Tourism.

With tabs and drop-down menus, Business students and academic staff can quickly navigate through the LibGuide to find information on library services, specific databases in their discipline, Internet resources, statistics and company information, and much more. They will also find tips to complete their assignments, do a literature review, referencing and create an alert in database for their citations.

LibGuides allow visitors to rate the resources and send their comments/suggestions. That way, visitors could provide easily their feedbacks to the librarians who developed those LibGuides.

LibGuide could be the “information companion” for students on a specific subject or an assignment. In collaboration with lecturers, we could develop a page and customise it by recommending resources, databases, journals, guidelines to develop their search strategy for a specific topic. It could also be linked to the subject in LearnJCU.

Try it, use it, and comment on it. This tool is yours!

Send your feedback, comments and suggestions to Charles Cardinal, Liaison librarian in Cairns, (charles.cardinal@jcu.edu.au) or Alice Logan, Faculty librarian in Townsville, (alice.logan@jcu.edu.au).

How many times have your publications been cited

2010-04-26T10:38:00.000+10:00

Citation analysis, along with peer judgement and assessments of publication counts, is one of the most widely used methods in evaluating the research performance of academics and institutions. If you need to know how to calculate the number of times your published research has been cited by other researchers the following library guides can help you:

Who is citing me?
How many times have my publications been cited?
Finding Citation data for the Faculty of Law, Business & Creative Arts

Read more about Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA)Resources here.

Guide to using your iPhone at JCU

2010-04-24T14:56:00.002+10:00

A new self-help guide is available for using your iPhone at JCU.

Follow the easy steps for:
*setting up your iPhone for wireless access at JCU
*setting up an email account for JCU
*setting up Mirapoint calender synchronisation
*setting up VPN access to JCU
*using netAccess with your iPhone

For all this and more - see the iPhone Guide.

Free Access to the Bibliography of the History of Art Database

2010-04-14T14:13:00.000+10:00

As of April 1, 2010, the Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA) will be available free of charge on the Getty Web site at: http://library.getty.edu/bha.

The Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA) is the world's most comprehensive bibliography of scholarly writing about the history of western art and indexes over 1200 journals. The site offers both basic and advanced search modules, and can be searched easily by subject, artist, author, article or journal title, and other elements. To search BHA, please visit, http://library.getty.edu/bha. Coverage includes both BHA (covering 1990-2007) and the International Bibliography of Art (IBA), covering the years 2008 and part of 2009.

Source: Getty Research Institute

Open Access Journals and Australian Research Online

2010-04-12T14:07:00.002+10:00

Australian Research Online (ARO) is a free, web-based service that provides simultaneous searching across the contents of Australian university and government research repositories, in addition to other collections of Australian research. It provides a means for researchers and the general public to discover academic research outputs, such as journal articles, conference papers and theses.

Click here to read more.

Source: Gateways

One Search - New JCU Library Resource Discovery Service

2010-03-11T16:41:00.002+10:00

JCU Library is pleased to announce that we are now beta-testing our new web scale discovery tool One Search.

One Search provides a Google-like search experience for almost all JCU resources including full-text journals, the library catalogue and ResearchOnline@JCU. One Search is quick and easy to use and will save you time and effort discovering digital and print resources for your learning and research.

Features:

* Easily navigate and narrow search result sets
* Quickly cut and paste citations in your preferred style
* Easily export citations to EndNote
* Limit results to "scholarly" publications
* "Did you mean?" suggestions
* Turn a search into an RSS feed
* Mark records and send them as an email

One Search is a great tool for both new and more experienced researchers. Try it out now and let us know what you think.

Database Outage Sunday 14 March

2010-03-11T11:37:00.001+10:00

LexisNexis will be unavailable due to scheduled maintenance for approximately 7 hours during the period from 3:00pm - 10.00 p.m AEST on Sunday 14th March.

Creative Arts Libguide now available

2010-02-25T12:15:00.001+10:00

Finding creative arts resources at JCU is changing. Library staff are pleased to announce that the new Creative Arts Libguide is now available for the JCU community.
The new site can be found at http://libguides.jcu.edu.au/creative/.

Your feedback on this site is valuable and I would like to make this site more useful for staff and students at JCU. Library staff are investigating the use of images of student work to replace all the images currently in the guide. Feedback on the subject tabs, books and readings and journal articles tabs would be much appreciated. Additional links or journals that would be particularly useful for students or staff can easily be added. I am also happy to change images regularly or add video and other multimedia. Either make your comments on the page or boxes concerned or send your comments to Bronwen.Forster@jcu.edu.au

Information Technology Libguide now available

2010-02-18T13:19:00.001+10:00

Finding information technology resources at JCU is changing. Library staff are pleased to announce that the new IT Libguide is now available for the JCU community.

The Information Technology LibGuide is a new way to organise and find library resources at JCU and beyond. It is dynamic, easy to use, and offers multiple advantages for staff and students.

Please let us know your thoughts - as comments and feedback are most welcome.

Law Libguide now available

2010-02-17T11:34:00.000+10:00

Finding legal resources at JCU is changing. Library staff are pleased to announce that the new Law Libguide is now available for the JCU community.

The Law LibGuide is a new way to organise and find legal resources at JCU and beyond. It is dynamic, easy to use, and offers multiple advantages for staff and students.

The site is still very much "under construction" and will be continually enhanced throughout the semester. Please let us know your thoughts - as comments and feedback are most welcome.

Gateway to Government Data Around the World

2010-01-27T10:40:00.002+10:00

The ultimate gateway to world government data has recently been created. At World Government Data you can:

* Search government data sites from the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand in one place and download the data
* Collect similar datasets together from around the world
* Browse all datasets by each country

Link to world government data here.

Source: guardian.co.uk

NewsBank Newspapers - Australia and the World

2010-01-26T09:28:00.000+10:00

NewsBank Newspapers - a new online library database subscription for JCU.

Available to JCU staff and students from on-campus and off-campus at: http://elibrary.jcu.edu.au/login?url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/ or via links in Tropicat (the library catalogue) or library databases list.

NewsBank is a web-based TEXT service providing national, international, regional, and local newspapers from across Australia and New Zealand as well as Asia, the UK, Europe and the United States. Includes The Cairns Post and Townsville Bulletin along with other North Queensland news papers.

For each newspaper, the full-text of all staff-written news stories is included, and complemented by additional sections, such as obituaries, literary criticism, people, editorial pieces, book/film/art reviews, and more. Notices, classifieds, pictures, and paid advertisements are excluded.

ComLaw - Authorised Acts Online

2009-12-10T14:53:00.003+10:00

Authoritative Acts are coming!

As a result of recent changes to the Acts Publication Act 1905 (previously cited as the Amendments Incorporation Act 1905), ComLaw will soon be able to start publishing authoritative versions of Acts online.

ComLaw expect to start publishing all new Acts in authoritative form from early 2010. They'll also be working to bring all the other Acts in force up to an authoritative standard as other workload permits - this will take some time as there are more than 1000 Acts involved.

You'll be able to tell which Acts are authoritative because, as with Legislative Instruments, relevant website pages/lists will be tagged with an authoritative logo. Similarly, only documents in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format will be authoritative.

Click here for more information from ComLaw

CCH Australia Legal Database - New search platform

2009-12-10T12:22:00.002+10:00

CCH Australia are introducing a new "Intelliconnect search platform" for their library of databases.

JCU staff and students will notice changes from Wednesday 16th December, 2009.

To see a demo which shows the new interface: Click here

To view the range of CCH Australia training options: Click here

Merry Christmas from JCU Library Staff

2009-12-09T08:31:00.005+10:00

...If you are visiting either the Townsville or Cairns Libraries at JCU - check out this year's Christmas Displays. Townsville staff have created a wonderful "book tree" and Cairns staff have created a great "Santa and sleigh" using library journals.....

"Merry Christmas and Season's Greetings"

Scopus announced as citation provider for ERA

2009-11-30T11:44:00.001+10:00

The Australian Research Council (ARC) announced this week that Scopus will provide citation information for the full 'Excellence in Research for Australia' (ERA) initiative.

“Citation analysis is one of the most widely used bibliometric tools for assessing the impact of scholarly research, and as such, it was crucial that an outstanding and appropriate citation provider be chosen for the full ERA initiative. Scopus is recognised as the largest abstract and citation database of research literature."

All JCU research outputs must be deposited in ResearchOnline@JCU by 15 March 2010 to be included in the ERA submission.

More information - ERA Initiative
More about ERA at JCU is available from the Library and Research Services website

Source: ARC Media Release

Watch Moving Images Online - Australia's National Archives

2009-11-27T08:57:00.004+10:00

The National Film and Sound Archive’s australianscreen online is an interactive web-based resource that provides access to a wide variety of moving image material. It encompasses nearly 1400 Australian feature films, documentaries, advertisements and television programs from the last 110 years. The titles contained within australianscreen online are sourced from the National Film and Sound Archive and its collection partners – the National Archives, the ABC, SBS and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. A diverse selection of titles from the National Archives, dating from the late 1930s to the 1990s, can be viewed on australianscreen online.

Free online search for New Zealand legal citations

2009-11-26T09:07:00.003+10:00

Legal Citations of Aotearoa New Zealand (LCANZ) is a service developed by the Davis Law Library team at the University of Auckland Library and is freely available at http://www.lcanz.auckland.ac.nz

LCANZ is the first online index to New Zealand legal citations and is likely to be a valuable tool for law academics and students as well as the legal profession. LCANZ provides guidance on the citation of all major New Zealand legal journals and law reporting series. More than 120 law journals and law reporting series are searchable by either title or abbreviation.

Click here to read more.

Google Scholar - US Legal Opinions and Journals Search

2009-11-19T10:19:00.006+10:00

Google Scholar has announced this week that they are enabling a search to find full text legal opinions from U.S. federal and state district, appellate and supreme courts online. You can find these opinions by searching for cases (like Planned Parenthood v. Casey), or by topics (like desegregation).

For example, go to Google Scholar, click on the "Legal opinions and journals" button, and try the query separate but equal. Your search results will include links to well known cases in the U.S. such as Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education, which explore the acceptablity of "separate but equal" facilities for citizens at two different points in the history of the U.S. Results will also include opinions from less well known cases, but which have played an important role.

Read more about this at: The Official Google Blog

Trove: explore Australian collections and worldwide online sources

2009-11-09T10:36:00.002+10:00

Trove is a new discovery service focused on Australia, Australians, and items found in Australian collecting institutions. It will provide a single point of access to resources currently discoverable via the National Library of Australia's multiple discovery services, and to digitised material freely available online anywhere in the world.

The primary purpose of this first prototype version is to develop the technical framework to support this new discovery service, and as far as possible ensure that the technologies we are using will provide acceptable performance, especially for record updates. The design so far is based primarily on decisions made within the project team to allow rapid development of the prototype. What is there now will form the basis for feedback, ideas for improvement, and input into the design of new features from a wide range of people.

The system is a work in progress, and the National Library of Australia have made it available for you to follow their development. The prototype will be constantly updated as it evolves into a system planned for release into production in the third quarter of this year.

Try searching for Ethel Turner (author of 7 Little Australians) and see the range of material from newspapers, images, books, journal articles, sound, video, maps, diaries and much more.

What to find out more: http://www.nla.gov.au/pub/gateways/issues/101/story01.html

data.australia.gov.au - Australian Government Datasets

2009-10-27T18:36:00.000+10:00

data.australia.gov.au is the home of Australian government public information datasets. You can make government information even more useful by mashing-up the data to create something new and exciting! Make sure you pay attention to the licence attached to the datasets you are interested in using. Each licence should make clear what you can and can’t do with the data. If you’re unsure, please contact the contributing agency.

AustLII Newsletter - Legal Information Update

2009-10-21T11:50:00.005+10:00

AustLII (Australasian Legal Information Institute) currently produces a newsletter 3 times a year. The latest edition is now available and highlights include:

* Federal Discrimination Law Textbook on AustLII
* New structure - AustLII Foundation Limited
* Search tips
* Victoria - Toward the model jurisdiction for free access to the law online
* AustLII - #1 website in the legal industry

Click here to read the full newsletter.

Educating the Net Generation

2009-09-28T13:47:00.002+10:00

This handbook is the main output from a project funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council investigating the reality of the 'net generation's' experiences and preferences in the use of technology. It involved an investigation into students' and teachers' use of new technologies and the development of eight case studies in which emerging technologies were implemented in learning settings across the three participating universities (University of Melbourne, Charles Sturt University and University of Wollongong).

The case studies looked particularly interesting and include learning activities, objectives, assessment, curriculum design work, technologies reviewed and used, set up, staff and student support and evaluation findings:

Case 1: Blogging: Student reflective journals in teacher education
Case 2: Blogging: Student publishing in first-year journalism
Case 3: Teacher provocateur and collaborative writing through wikis in psychology
Case 4: Creating a shared image resource in first-year chemistry
Case 5: Creating a shared image resource in biology
Case 6: Creating an image collection in environmental education
Case 7: Student-generated podcasts in medical education
Case 8: Students sharing online resources through social bookmarking (1st year art students)

Educating the Net Generation website: http://www.netgen.unimelb.edu.au/
Link to full handbook: http://www.netgen.unimelb.edu.au/downloads/handbook/NetGenHandbookAll.pdf

Historical Statistics Online @ ABS

2009-09-25T14:01:00.003+10:00

In response to increasing demand to access historical statistics on the Web, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has recently digitised an important compendium of Australian and New Zealand colonial data, A Statistical account of the seven colonies of Australasia.

The historical account (and its later title, Statistical account of Australia and New Zealand) was compiled between 1890 and 1904 by the New South Wales Statistician, Timothy A. Coghlan. The eleven volumes bring together statistics for each of the colonies of Australia and New Zealand and are complemented by analysis and commentary. The publication also includes chapters on political divisions, areas and boundaries, climate, parliaments and defence much like in the current Year Book Australia.

Other historical data available from ABS includes the Demography Bulletin which includes detailed population and vital statistics data for the period 1900 - 1971 and Labour reports, covering the period 1911 - 1997. See the full list of titles already available, as well as those which will be available later in the year.

Source: ABS

New X Search Feature - Peer reviewed articles identified easily

2009-09-15T11:14:00.003+10:00

There is a new feature available via X Search. The 'Peer-reviewed' filter in X Search hides articles in your search results that are not from peer reviewed (or refereed) journals.

Quickly narrow your search results to articles which have gone through a peer-reviewing process before being published in a scholarly journal for a scholarly audience.

We've also made a filter available that limits the displayed items to those that indicate they have full text available. (Note that items that are available full text don't always indicate their availability.)

Tick the filter you want to apply and X Search updates your search results to only include items that correspond. Remove the tick to remove the filter and see the items that were hidden.

New United Nations Legal Research Tools

2009-09-10T11:40:00.000+10:00

The UN Office of Legal Affairs, Codification Division has launched several new online resources in 2009:

+ Official Records of Diplomatic Conferences;

+ A new portal for all legal publications;

+ UN Legal Publications Global Search;

Source: UN Pulse

New books in BUSINESS at JCU's libraries - 3 September 2009

2009-09-10T11:38:00.003+10:00

New books in Business at Townsville and/or Cairns JCU's library. Click on the title to access the complete record in Tropicat.

ACCOUNTING & FINANCE
Australian accounting standards
Ruth Picker ... [et al.]
John Wiley
2010
2^nd edition
657.021894 AUS

ECONOMICS
Trade barriers in Africa and the Middle East
Russell V. Blaine, editor
Nova Science Publishers
2007
382.73096 TRA
Microfinance : emerging trends and challenges
Edited by Suresh Sundaresan
Edward Elgar
2008
332.2 MIC
Entrepreneurship in emerging regions around the world : theory, evidence and implications
Edited by Phillip H. Phan, Sankaran Venkataraman and S. Ramakrishna Velamuri
Edward Elgar
2008
338.04 ENT
Entrepreneurship, industrial location and economic growth
Edited by Josep Maria Arauzo-Carod and Miguel C. Manjón-Antolín
Edward Elgar
2007
338.04094 ENT
MicroFranchising : creating wealth at the bottom of the pyramid
Edited by Jason S. Fairbourne, Stephen W. Gibson and W. Gibb Dyer, Jr.
Edward Elgar
2007
381.13 MIC

MANAGEMENT
How to write successful business and management essays
Patrick Tissington
SAGE
2009
808.06665 TIS
Creating futures : scenario planning as a strategic management tool
Michel Godet
Economica
2006
2^nd edition
658.4012 GOD

TOURISM
The direct impact of recreation on water quality in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park : report prepared for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
Daniel Gregg and Romy Greiner
River Consulting
363.739409943 GRE
Available online
The business of tourism
J. Christopher Holloway, with Claire Humphreys and Rob Davidson
Financial Times/Prentice Hall
2009
8^th edition
338.4791 HOL 2009
Sustainable tourism in Southern Africa : local communities and natural resources in transition
Edited by Jarkko J. Saarinen ... [et al.].
Channel View Publications
2009
338.479168 SUS

New Animations Help People Learn About Web 2.0

2009-09-05T15:35:00.000+10:00

Busy lecturers, researchers and administrators need look no further for straightforward advice on using Web 2.0 technologies, as JISC Netskills previews the first in a series of short, snappy Web2Practice animations.

The first five of eight animations, covering social media, podcasting, RSS feeds, collaborative writing and microblogging are now available online.

These animations adopt a fast and easy approach to understanding how new technologies can enhance everyday working practice.

To read the full article click here. Source: JISC.

JCU Library Client Survey: Summary and Response

2009-09-02T15:58:00.000+10:00

In May 2008, the JCU Library conducted its biennial client satisfaction survey. The survey was conducted online and the objectives of the survey are:

To identify, prioritise and manage the key issues affecting clients
To allow the James Cook University Library’s performance to be measured and monitored over time
To provide clients with the opportunity to communicate openly and honestly with the management team of the Library
To compare results with other university libraries in the database so that performance can be measured against external standards

The summary of the 2008 JCU Library Client Survey is now available.

It describes the major themes resulting from the survey analysis and how clients rate the performance of the Library in key areas, as well as identifying which are priority areas for clients.

The Library's actions in addressing the issues raised is included.

A comparison with the 2006 JCU Library Client Survey is included as is a link to the full report from InSync Surveys.

We thank all the participants who gave us an insight into how we can continue to improve our services.

Social media tools and competitve advantage in Business

2009-08-31T15:19:00.000+10:00

Social media tools – such as Facebook, Twitter, wikis and blogs – are increasingly powerful and valuable for communicating, collaborating, retaining and harvesting knowledge.

However, despite the widespread use and popularity of social media, and its ability to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration in workplace training, privacy issues and fears of misuse continue to deter many organisations from adopting these tools.

Nick Hortovanyi, CEO of Toast Technology, says that the benefits of allowing staff to access social media in the workplace far outweigh the risks – and that resisting the adoption of social media will result in organisations losing their competitive advantage.

Advantages to businesses include: retention of knowledge of older workers before they retire; attracting younger workers who are used to a social media environment; facilitating online mentoring programs for workers; and cost savings. He also discusses the solutions to obstacles such as privacy and misuse, and inexperience.

To read the full article click here. Source: Australian Flexible Learning Framework.

Abortion law change protects medicos - Criminal Code to be amended

2009-08-30T15:27:00.003+10:00

THE case of a Cairns couple alleged to have procured an illegal abortion has forced the Queensland Government to clarify the state's 100 year-old criminal code.

But leading Cairns medicos say the Government has not gone far enough and that decisions on abortion policy should be taken out of politician’s hands.

Premier Anna Bligh yesterday announced Cabinet would amend Section 282 of the criminal code to ensure any medical practitioner prescribing medication had the same protection they currently have in relation to performing surgery.

They have however stopped short of taking abortion out of the criminal code with the Premier ruling out a parliamentary conscience vote as she did not believe it would result in any changes.

Cairns obstetrician Dr Tom Wright welcomed the clarification to the code that will protect medicos prescribing abortion drugs such as RU486 – the drug for which the Mt Sheridan couple is facing jail for allegedly importing and using. The amendment would be introduced to parliament as soon as possible.

To read the full article click here. Source: The Cairns Post.

United Kingdom: New Supreme Court

2009-08-24T08:59:00.000+10:00

The last judgments of the Law Lords of the United Kingdom took place on July 30, 2009. This will be a significant date in Britain's constitutional history, as it will mark the end of the judicial function of the House of Lords. The House of Lords will from here on have only a legislative function. The Law Lords, also known as the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, will in future be known as the Justices, and will conduct their affairs in the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, which will be situated away from Parliament and the Palace of Westminster, across Parliament Square in the old Middlesex Guildhall.

Full article available here. Source: Library of Congress, Law Library

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards

2009-08-21T08:53:00.002+10:00

Recently, Mackay's Danie Mellor took out the major prize at the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, held in Darwin.

From Rite to Ritual, pictured right, uses wax crayon and glitter pen to depict a Freemason's lodge where Indigenous dancers gather alongside native animals and Masonic ceremonial motifs.

The work is meant to explore "the encounter and fragile co-existence between Indigenous and non-Indigenous, or settler cultures."

Judge Elizabeth Ann Macgregor says it was chosen for its style and its subject matter:

"What really attracted us was how highly innovative he is both in his technique and in his bringing together of, for example, the imagery of the temple - which is a very Western piece of iconography - with Aboriginal symbols and Aboriginal ways of life."

The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darwin shows Mellor's painting alongside other shortlisted works until October 25.

If you're interstate, a virtual exhibition is online (with Flash and HTML versions). The website also gives you the chance to vote for the online people's choice award.

Source: ABC Articulate

Art, law, and the Yolngu people of East Arnhem Land

2009-08-21T08:45:00.002+10:00

Last year the High Court handed down the Blue Mud Bay decision, which gave exclusive fishing rights in the inter-tidal zone to Northern Territory Indigenous people.

This was the latest in a long line of political and legal battles where the Yolngu have used their art, which spells out their law, to articulate their connection to the land and to the sea.

Full report and podcast available here. Source: The Law Report, ABC Radio National