ultimediAInformation & Technology M Vol 33 no 3 August 2007 issn 1499-90X http://mmit.willco.com

British Library Sound Archive Technology Reviews DVD&Video National Film & Television Archive Product Reviews News

Multimedia Information & Technology volume 33 no 3 August 2007

CONTENTSCONTENTS NEWSNEWS 6767 BRITISHBRITISH LIBRARLIBRARYY SOUNDSOUND ARCHIVEARCHIVE 9494 NANATIONALTIONAL FILMFILM && TELEVISIONTELEVISION ARCHIVEARCHIVE 7373 REVIEWSREVIEWS 8383 PRODUCTPRODUCT REVIEWREVIEW 8282 BESTBEST OFOF THETHE BLOGBLOG 7575 TECHNOLOGYTECHNOLOGY ROUNDUPROUNDUP 8080 FFACEFILACEFILTERTER SOFTWSOFTWAREARE 7979 DVDDVD && VIDEOVIDEO NEWSNEWS 9090 MULMULTIMEDIATIMEDIA CONFERENCINGCONFERENCING 8686 TTOCROSSOCROSS UPDAUPDATETE 8989

Credits for Multimedia Information & Technology vol 33 no 3 August 2007 Cover by Dreamstime; This page Microsoft Surface; p 72 Films hanging with pegs Sun Jay Tan; p 75 8mm film strip Alexey Khomushin, and World in the Net Jenny Horne; p 76 Fast communications (on white) Ronald Hudson; p 80 Hard Drive – Mehdi Pasha oskooie; p 81 Microsoft and Enfield Observatory; p 83 Girl With Books Diego Cerva; p 86 Vincent Giordano; p 87 Aniram; p 88 Radu Razvan; p 90-93 BFI; p 93 Screen Education; p 94 Sound Waves Jurgen Ziewe, Baby With Headphones Pavel Losovsky; p 95 Girl With Headphones Dmitry Boulatov; p 96 Andre Maritz; Agency: Dreamstime.com.

a building to meet the need of the story and the objects which illustrate it, as opposed to starting with some “concept” building design. The result is what is hoped will become an iconic museum building, incorporating the ideal exhibition space. It is, of course, the aircraft apparently floating in the air which make the most immediate impact on visitors. Displays of land vehicles, missiles and other cold war apparatus add to this impact. All this needs interpretation, which is provided by some imaginative exhibition islands located throughout the space, with unusual applications supporting exhibits designed by Neal News Potter. In addition to enhancing the experience of visitors, these are also crafted technology to meet national curriculum objectives. In keeping with the Cold War theme, the multimedia resources exhibition islands are presented as Hotspots. Each recall some aspect of the Cold War and, in particular, its impact on the everyday life of the populations which lived under its threat. Audio visual techniques are used discreetly and effectively. In the main each problem of storing part of the Royal Air Hotspot is of cylindrical construction, with Force Museum’s inventory of historic the outside of the cylinder carrying a series aircraft, some of which were deteriorating of graphic panels, and the inside forming a Cold War as outdoor exhibits. The realization that the small viewing space where visitors see a aircraft concerned were all of the Cold War mixed-media show based on a combination era led to the idea of an exhibition of multi-channel video and lighting effects. dedicated to the Cold War, and the The Hotspot subjects are: Multimedia installations include aircraft and artefacts from both NATO and Warsaw Pact GMAD – Mutually Assured Destruction countries. Electrosonic was the systems GSurveillance and the Cuban Missile Crisis integrator for the principal AV-based GBerlin and the Berlin Airlift at Cosford displays. GThe Far East and Global Conflict The National Cold War Exhibition is in GSpace the form of two triangular spaces divided GMissiles – including an exhibit on THE RECENTLY-OPENED National Cold War by a central walkway. From the outside the submarines Exhibition at the Royal Air Force Museum appearance is of two massive fins leaning Cosford is an outstanding example of against each other, and the structure can be Other AV elements include a rear projection presentations which make intelligent use of seen from more than 25 miles away. screen built into the belly of a Belfast audio-visual techniques to augment and The concept is the work of designer Neal Freighter, a 28 inch monitor built into the interpret the physical exhibits. The Potter. From his original working title of bomb bay of a Vulcan Bomber and a 40- £12.3million ($25million) project was Divided World – Connected World, inch LCD monitor associated with a initiated to solve the urgent practical architects Fielden Clegg Bradley designed Melting of the Cold War exhibit.

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Touch screen interactive kiosk displays are sited near all the main exhibits. Information from all the museum displays is available via all screens, which are easily spotted by their brightly-lit borders. The kiosk units themselves are of a standard design by Datasonic. The Datasonic interactive kiosk units were supplied and installed by Spiral Productions, who also produced the interactive software. The network linking the kiosks runs on network hardware and a central server supplied by Electrosonic. This allows all the kiosks to be monitored, and facilitates the loading of programme enhancements. All the other Audiovisual hardware was supplied and installed as a single system by Electrosonic, with all associated content being produced by Newangle. All video content is run from Electrosonic multi-channel video servers. Audio channels are also sourced from the show control is by an AMX NI-3000 a standard matrix switcher. video servers, with the exception of the Master Controller with a touch screen Lighting control within the exhibits is by MAD show which is based on sound and control panel. This controller is used for Helvar Ambience heavy duty multichannel lighting only, and uses a hard disc player as start-up and shut-down routines, system dimmers. These are connected to a Helvar source. Audio channels are processed by monitoring and for running the automated “Lighting Router” which allows them all to Allen & Heath DSP equipment and shows. It is also used to control the AV be controlled by the AMX controller via amplified by Electrosonic 4-channel facilities within an adjacent lecture theatre. Ethernet. For further information, go to: amplifiers. A stand-by 4-channel video server is http:www/electrosonic.com Some of the shows run continuously, but installed that can instantly replace any of or contact either Peter Gumm of those within the enclosed hotspots are the other servers in the event of failure. In Electrosonic on 01322 282236 or John triggered by PIR sensors, so that visitors order to facilitate the changeover, all audio Houston or Ben Crispin of W ildwood see the shows from the beginning. Overall and video server outputs are routed through Public Relations Ltd., on 01403 892721.

GInternational Business Information Resources New Realities GUsing Blogs Effectively within Your Organisation GRepositories and Digital Initiatives Roles and GCommunicating, Influencing and Negotiating for Results: The Human Resources Face of Collaboration THE INTERNET LIBRARIAN International Supported by case studies, workshops In parallel to the main conference, Internet conference, to be held on the 8th-9th and a parallel Sponsor Showcase Librarian International's Sponsor Showcase October at the Copthorne Tara Hotel in exhibition, sessions include coverage of: provides further opportunities for network London, will focus on the new realities of ing and reviewing global information electronic research, illustrating the current GLibrary 2.0 products, services and currently-available upheaval in the work of electronic GSocial Networking resources. The tabletop format for this information professionals. GInformation Management Showcase exhibition area offers The conference this year highlights the GWeb Site Usability opportunities for quick demonstrations and pervasiveness of online research and web GFederated Search informal conversations, and the Showcase search engines and the potential they have GInformation Discovery remains open throughout the 2-day main for disrupting the work of information GWeb Search Engines conference. professionals. To adapt effectively to the GInformation Literacy Internet Librarian International's new reality of the internet search Ge-Teaching & e-Learning complete conference programme is environment, information professionals GNext Generation Users available at: http://www.internet- must distinguish themselves from the GTransformative Technologies librarian.com. casual searcher, and prove to their GKnowledge Sharing CILIP, as the event’s industry association organisations that their search, management partner, has negotiated a special 20% and delivery skills remain of value. The conference also includes keynotes, on discount for its members. The conference sessions are designed to the challenges of the 2.0 phenomenon, by For further information, contact the deliver support, guidance and resources to Phil Bradley and Stephen Abram. organisers: Information Today Ltd at information professionals, with an A full day of interactive masterclasses [email protected], emphasis on the practical, rather than precedes the conference, with a range of or go to theoretical. half-day, practical seminars covering: http://www..internet-librarian.com 68

News London’s East End Goes Online With Idea Store access information 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Visit http://www.ideastore.co.uk and click on digital picture gallery to access the online gallery. For more information about the history resources available in the borough, or to obtain a copy of an image from the digital picture gallery, contact Tower Hamlets Local Studies and Archives on 020 7364 1290, e-mail [email protected] or contact Lara Cerroni at 020 7364 0519 or email [email protected]

Idea Stores are Tower Hamlets Council’s revolutionary means of delivering library services by providing a number of state-of- the-art facilities offering adult learning and library and information services in key locations across the borough. ACCESS TO THE RICHNESS of London’s East The Idea Store website is one of the most The Idea Stores have been extremely End history has been given another popular library websites in the capital, successful, with library usage rising by 75 dimension through the creation of an online attracting more than 22,000 visitors last per cent since their introduction in 2002. collection of a host of photographs from the month alone. Currently there are four Idea Stores in area’s past. It is important that we continue to develop the borough, at Whitechapel, Bow, Canary The digital picture gallery, held on the our online resources, as it enables people to Wharf and Crisp Street. Idea Store website, illustrates the changes which have taken place in the borough over the centuries. The gallery contains a selection of images from over 25,000 held in the council’s archives, with some images dating back to the 1800s. The images were selected from Tower Hamlets Local Studies and Archives. Digital copies can be e-mailed to enquirers free of charge, whilst hard copies can be obtained at a cost. Hard copies of the images, along with further local history documents, are housed at Bancroft Library, 277 Bancroft Road, E1 4DQ. Councillor Lutfur Rahman, Lead Member for Culture, Tower Hamlets Council said:

This is a fantastic addition to the Idea Store’s website. The site is already bursting with information about books, DVDs, music, courses and special events, and visitors can now investigate the area’s past online. So whether you’re interested in history or you just want to find out what your street used to look like, the Idea Store website is the perfect place to start.

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The Falkirk Wheel

THE FALKIRK WHEEL, the world’s only GEight 17" flatscreen monitors, designed the wheelhouse store, and supplied through rotating boat lift, has recently upgraded its for daylight viewing, are suspended in an on-line UPS which regulates the power boat tour to include audio and video custom-made support brackets in the whilst the generator is running. This can support. AVC-Electrosonic (Electrosonic’s passenger saloons of the Antonine and sustain the entire system for 20 minutes Edinburgh office) was responsible for the the Archimedes tour boats. should the generator stop supplying power. AV installation. The uniqueness of the GA Crestron touchscreen is operated by the The main challenges overcome during Falkirk Wheel represents a testament to the boat’s crew, who select the relevant video the installation were the lack of space in the heritage of Scottish engineering innovation programme module for each stage of the saloon and the restricted access to cable and excellence, and is the centrepiece of tour, from a range of six. A waterproof, routes and other services on a marine craft, The Millennium Link Project, which has hand-held remote control offers a second the need to obtain MCA approval for all restored to use the inland waterways of method for controlling the system. aspects of the work before commencement, Scotland. The Falkirk Wheel was completed GA hard-drive video player delivers the and the uniqueness of the project. All of in 2002 and links the Forth & Clyde and video clip and English language these were overcome, resulting in an Union Canals across central Scotland, interpretation, which is replayed through exciting and innovative application of replacing a series of 11 locks abandoned in loudspeakers in the saloon. multimedia content and delivery in an the 1930s. GA DVD player, also under Crestron unusual setting. The venture also supports Boat trips on The Falkirk Wheel have control, can be used to replay alternative educational programmes and provides been very popular with visitors, and in an material for special tours and corporate information on the history of inland upgrade to the existing tour, presented by events. waterways. For further information, go to the boat skippers, technical and historical http://www.thefalkirkwheel.co.uk. video modules are now shown to visitors Five other languages are stored in hand- via on-board monitors. Audio is broadcast held audio guides, which visitors can also in English, with five other languages being use on a site-wide tour. These are replayed delivered through audio tour handsets in synchronisation with the video MmIT is published by the Multimedia Information & synchronised to the video. (The audio tour programme. The Crestron system sends Technology Group of Cilip, and appears quarterly facility can also be used as part of a walking RS232 codes direct to a Sycomore in print and electronic formats in February, May, tour of the whole site.) synchronisation system, which in turn emits August and November each year. Copy deadlines Using a touchscreen panel, modules can infra-red signals to the audio guides. The are the first of the month preceding the issue. All be selected individually by the skippers, presence of the infra-red signal disables the enquiries should be addressed to the managing allowing them essential flexibility in keypad to prevent user interference, and editor, Lyndon Pugh, at 45 Gwenllian Morgan timing. It is important to note that the locks the stored audio information to the Court, Heol Gouesnou, Brecon, Powys LD3 7EE Falkirk Wheel is a working part of a busy video programmes. Synchronisation is email [email protected] waterway system, as well as a visitor frame-accurate, the crew are able to select or tel/fax 44 (0)1874 610412. attraction. programme modules in any order, and an The editorial board is : Anthony Hugh Thompson The AV installation for the tour upgrade interval clip automatically runs at the end (Chair) [email protected] was by AVC-Electrosonic of Edinburgh. of each showing. The interval clip will loop Lyndon Pugh (Managing Editor) Programme content was produced by continuously until another module is Alun Jenkins (Finance Manager) Sheena Irving AV, and project management selected. This allows for variations in the [email protected] was by Fraser Randall for British length of the tour, caused by other canal Olwen Terris [email protected] Waterways Scotland. traffic, weather conditions and similar Kevin Curran [email protected] For the technically-minded, the following unpredictable factors. additional information will be of interest: The AV hardware is rack-mounted within 70

News

New Mobiles at Dundee The Tony Kent Strix and Students from the College of Art, Science and Engineering’s Interactive Media Design and Innovative Product Jason Farradane Awards Design courses have banished noisy ringtones, annoying text message alerts UKEIG IS INVITING NOMINATIONS for the 6NH, UK. Tel: 01273 705226. e-mail: and ugly handsets, and created six new Tony Kent Strix and Jason Farradane [email protected]. mobiles. The new generation of phones awards for 2007. The winners will be The statuette of an owl will be presented aims to support intimacy and sensuality announced at the December Online to the winner during the annual Online instead of voice calls and texts. Information Meeting in London. Both Information Meeting in London in late They include: the Aware, contained in a awards are sponsored by the Journal of December. necklace which sends a tingle down the Information Science, published by SAGE, The Strix Award is presented in memory spine if a friend is in the vicinity; the and both honour achievement in the broad of Dr Tony Kent, a past Fellow of the M:ssage lets the user send another field of information management. The Institute of Information Scientists, who m:ssage owner a massage instead of a deadline for both awards is Friday 14th died in 1997. Tony Kent made a major text; the Hive uses tiny LED lights to September 2007. Details of the individual contribution to the development of let its owner know when there are other awards together with the addresses to information retrieval and information Hives in the room, and the Boom Tube which nominations should be sent are given services both in the UK and internationally, lets people make music over the below and can also be found online at particularly in the field of chemistry. The network. http://www.ukeig.org.uk/awards/index.html . name Strix was chosen both to reflect The phones have been developed by For both awards, submissions should Tony’s interest in ornithology, and is the second year Interactive Media Design take the form of a short description (no name of one of the last and most successful and Innovative Product Design more than three sides of A4) of the work in information retrieval packages which he students, and are available to view on question, together with full contact details created. the website at of both the nominee and the nominator. The Jason Farradane Award will be made http://www.idl.dundee.ac.uk/phonenotpho Supporting documentation such as for an outstanding professional ne. references or URLs should also be achievement which meets one or more of Graham Pullin, Co-Founder with Jon included, and, for both awards, should the following criteria: Rogers, of Phone Not Phone, said that reach the judges, who will seek evidence of the “principle is to offer our customers innovation, initiative, originality and GRaising the profile of the information expressive new interactions, rather practicality, by Friday September 14th profession within an organisation or field than be driven by technological 2007. of endeavour in a way which can or has innovation for its own sake or by The UKeiG Tony Kent Strix Award is become an exemplar to others maximising our revenue streams. Our presented for an outstanding contribution to GRaising the awareness of the value of Spring 2007 collection features six the narrower field of information retrieval, information in the workplace radical products developed by a new while the UKeiG Jason Farradane Award GDevelopment of a significant new wave of interaction designers.” recognises brilliant work in information information product or service Ian Shiels, a student from the science. For the former, nominations GDevelopment of a product or service that Innovative Product Design course, should be for achievement which meets one has made a significant impact on the referred to pointing to a new direction or more of the following criteria: availability and accessibility of for the mobile phone: “The designers information involved believe that since the GThe development of, or significant meteoric rise of the mobile telephone, improvement in, mechanisms for the Jason Farradane graduated in chemistry in most of us have been guilty of retrieval of information, either generally 1929 at what is now Imperial College and overlooking the part of mobile or in a specialised field started work in industry as a chemist and communication that is almost magical; GThe development of, or significant documentalist. He was instrumental in sending and receiving messages to and improvement in, accessibility to an establishing the Institute of Information from the people that we care about. information service Scientists (IIS) in 1958 and the first These new phone | not phones are a GA sustained contribution, over a period of academic courses in information science in celebration of the essence of years, to the field of information 1960 at the precursor of City University, communication, without drowning the retrieval. This could be, for example, by where he became Director of the Centre for user in rich media. This exhibition is a running an information service or by Information Science in 1966. On the revival in back to basics contributing at national or international research side his main contributions lay in telecommunications, in a new, never level to organisations active in the field relational analysis, which can now perhaps seen before form.” GA major and/or sustained contribution to be seen as providing a precursor to work in Sarah McMichael, one of the students the theoretical or experimental the area of A.I., and the concept of who designed The Aware, said: “We understanding of the information information. He saw information science as have designed a phone for everyone. retrieval process a step towards understanding and better Our aim was to get away from the GA major contribution to fostering the organising ourselves. The IIS first unsocial mobile phones that today’s education, training and/or general presented the award in 1979, to Jason world is being taken over by, to learn to awareness of the importance and the Farradane. Nominations for 2007 should be communicate and interact with each technicalities of information retrieval sent to Christine Baker, Piglet Cottage, other on a new level. The exhibition Redmire, Leyburn, DL8 4EH. contains 6 new innovative designs that Documentation should be sent to Alan Tel & Fax: 01969 663749. will interest everyone.” Gilchrist, 32 Friar Road, Brighton BN1 e-mail: [email protected] 71

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research collaboration and education. There are a variety of tools available; yet few currently offer such a range as InTouch Keep In Touch – in one single learner-centric space. Students can store files, blog, receive RSS feeds, record personal learning and reflection as well as communicate directly With Emerald with their peers. InTouch supports the bridge between formal and informal EMERALD GROUP Publishing Limited has business community – InTouch. Users can learning.” launched InTouch, a web space and hosting create online communities based around As Emerald seeks to enhance this service service which supports research journals or research interests, share ideas in line with the needs of its users over networking, learning and collaboration. and expertise with (and learn from) their coming months, an online focus group will Designed for Emerald’s author and editor peers. This service supports our be assembled to provide regular feedback. communities, InTouch places a range of commitment to building and facilitating To join this group, please contact Anna collaborative technologies and social communities around key management Torrance, InTouch Market Manager at networking tools in one simple, easy-to- research areas. Emerald contributors can [email protected]. use, secure space. It can also link directly use InTouch to find out about forthcoming to the Emerald Management Xtra database, articles; create a personal blog; share so that users can search for articles, research findings and collaborate on future abstracts and research alongside InTouch projects. About InTouch blog posts, multimedia files and researcher profiles. As well as providing networking and InTouch is built on the Elgg learning Amanda Briggs, Head of Research and collaboration services, InTouch also landscape and is hosted by Emerald Development at Emerald, said: contains tools to support students, Group Publishing Limited. Academic particularly in a distance learning setting. and corporate organisations can InTouch was developed with our research Glenn Hardaker is Professor of purchase a personalised, branded and contributor communities in mind. Innovation Management at The University version of InTouch for use within their Online technologies have had a dramatic of Huddersfield, and editor of Emerald’s own institution. For further information effect on the educational and learning Campus Wide Information Systems and please contact: Anna Torrance, environment and students regularly use Multicultural Education & Technology Marketing Manager informal social networking sites such as Journal. He has been working with Emerald [email protected] MySpace and Facebook to communicate to develop InTouch, and has introduced the or visit with their classmates. Now, Emerald service to support new students throughout http://intouch.emeraldinsight.com authors and editors can take advantage of the first term of the ICT in Practice degree to learn more. these technologies in a space that is course. Hardaker believes online services designed specifically for the academic and like InTouch “are changing the face of

Swiss Databank Now Open MUNICH-BASED FAST presents a new type of online storage, called fotobank, for photographs and other data. The highly secure fotobank archive guarantees safe-keeping of data for up to 30 years. The payment model is also designed to give long-term peace of mind, with customers paying at the point of data upload. FAST fotobank is due to go online this summer. Files can be uploaded and retrieved using a Windows file manager extension. The online storage is hosted by Swisscom across three different data centres in Switzerland. FAST’s patent pending hardware WORM technology secures the data against hackers, viruses, and any kind of data alteration or deletion. More information is available at http://www.fastfotobank.com and www.fast-lta.com. For a number of years, FAST has also provided users with systems for the convenient storage and time-shift of TV programmes. This inspired the FAST team to devise similar approaches to the storage of personal visual content which consumers would like to safeguard and access conveniently. Research into this subject indicated that personal consumers and businesses currently have no low cost options which will enable them to ensure truly secure storage of digital content for 30 years and more. To address this need, FAST created a new division, called FAST LONG TERM ARCHIVING, which is headed by the founder of FAST, Matthias Zahn. The FAST LTA team has now developed hardware and software, for which a patent is pending. This will form the key to secure long-term storage at low cost. The company intends to develop new applications and business models for the long-term storage of data. 72

News

NFTVA – Hung Out to Dry?

REVIOUS ISSUES OF MmIT, notably in http://www.filmarchiveaction.org/news.htm) May and August of 2005, focused on of leaked documents written by Amanda the implications of the changes being Nevill. Peffected by BFI management. Michael The interpretation put on these documents Archer and David Robinson, in particular, by the owners of the website is that they are both dealt with the issues of principle an admission that the strategy and the underlying the future of the National Film underlying policies on which the The following article is an update, at the and Television Archive. These were well- developments of the past four years were time of going to press, of developments based, have not been successful. They in the continuing saga of the British contrast comments made in 2004 Film Institute and the NFTVA. It is an edited version of material on the Major financial crisis [The] Executive Team balances successful, Custodes Lucis website, which is leading figures from the world of film and acknowledged with thanks by MmIT. Poor financial management moving image culture with senior private sector executives who bring considerable The Custodes Lucis (The Guardians Of Lower grade posts deleted managerial and commercial expertise . . . [a] Light) are campaigning against the dynamic force changes being made to the National Relatively weak consultations Film and Television Archive by its parent with the implications they draw from the body, the British Film Institute. Poor morale assessment of the current situation:

These changes are considered to mean Stephen Street to be sold GThere is a major financial crisis inside the that the NFTVA will no longer be the BFI. By 2010 the deficit could be as high national heritage moving image Library to be relocated as £3.9m, unless further change occurs. collection, but will be reduced to the This is close to 10% of overall income, status of a film library to be used by the Publishing outsourced and almost 20% of the Film Council grant. BFI for its own purposes. Acquisition and preservation policies will be designed to For Custodes Lucis, this is due to a suit the BFI's as yet undefined “cultural balanced contributions which acknowledged combination of over-estimated income and a plan”. The needs of researchers will be the positive aspect of the changes, as well as general weakness in financial control. They ignored: cataloguing the Archive's questioning rigorously the potentially also cite the cost of the now-notorious holdings in order to provide good negative implications. Recent developments rebranding exercise concomitant on the documentation has already been have deepened the concern for the future felt opening of BFI Southbank (see David reduced to virtually nothing. by some staff, users and well-wishers. Lister’s comments in The Independent, Custodes Lucis has now posted details, on February 3rd 2007). Reports indicate that the Film Archive Action website (go to this exercise cost approximately £6m, and 73

MmIT volume 33 no 3 August 2007 was perhaps exacerbated by poor project and now possibly to be posted in the GBecause of poor signs, it is difficult for management. Summer of 2007. visitors to find their way around the Parallel with this, the BFI Annual Review A Joint Information Systems Committee building, and in particular to find the for 2005-6 reveals a reduction of £200,000 (JISC)-funded digitisation project to run Mediatheque. The Delegate Centre, on the in the salary bill, even after the creation of over two years appears to be planned on the other hand, is very easy to find. two posts in the £90,000-100,000 bracket, basis that some of the staff will take on the GThe Gallery is described in the BFI and several more on increased salaries. The work in addition to their existing roles within Southbank Guide for June as being a implication is that about £400,000 was made the Archive. Does this mean that JISC will “purpose-built space”, though it resembles available by deleting lower grade posts. effectively subsidise the Institute’s salaries nothing so much as the interior of a large, budget? What will happen to these staff at white shoe-box. When the Custodes the end of the project? representative visited a few weeks after the opening, there was no indication at the South Bank Problems he implications of this situation are door that this was indeed the entrance to that, without serious surgery, the BFI the Gallery. Underutilised space could collapse. To avoid this means: GThe Studio cinema is not raked and the screen is low. It is impossible to read TG Little new architectural merit Selling the Stephen Street building. An subtitles. The air conditioning is both loud earlier proposal to sell Stephen Street was and fierce: visitors can be both deafened Poor signs hamper use blocked by HM Treasury. With planning and frozen. No-one is really sure of the permission due to run out in two years, it point of showing classic films (Brief Gallery inadequate is clear that the building is now more Encounter, for example) on DVD, when valuable than it will be in 2009. Can the they are readily available in good 35mm Guide inadequate Treasury’s arm be twisted to drop their prints for proper cinema screenings. original opposition? What are the Projecting rental-quality discs of these Audiences falling implications for the new Film Centre if the productions does no favours to the films or Treasury will not change its mind? to the NFT's reputation as a world-class Building over budget GRehousing the Library. Another source cinema facility. confirms that discussions on the closure of GThe Mediathèque is adequate in size, the reading room are already under way. though opinions vary as to the quality of The 2006-2007 Pay and Grading Review Management has already acknowledged the image and sound reproduction. referred to on the website put in place pay that the search for “long-term GThe Delegate Centre is clearly central to rises, pay standstills and pay cuts in almost partnerships” for the Library and Archive the BFI’s thinking. The main page of the equal proportions, with individuals facing is on, with the implication that both these June Guide places it exactly in the middle cuts of up to 15% of salary, two-year pay resources are financial burdens for the of its description of the new Southbank freezes imposed on downgraded posts, then BFI. The difficulty with this is that it is facilities, describing it as “a dedicated a permanent reduction to a lower grade. hard to envisage an academic institution private space for networking, partying and Members of the Executive appear not to being prepared to offer facilities to a special events”. Money-making private have been included in what was said to be an service which they will eventually have to hires (like the one by Sony which entailed objective review using strict criteria. return to the BFI, when the Film Centre While there is some acknowledgment of becomes operational. There may also be relatively weak consultation processes due complications because of the number of to time constraints, reinforced by the paying customers the Library has The Basis of the Criticism participants’perspective that the process was currently. Can the BFI’s information secretive in the extreme, the net result is the service operate without the Library, and not-unexpected one of an erosion of morale how will the Viewing Service for Inadequate strategy amongst lower grade staff. academic archival material be The implications for the National Film and maintained? Poor consultation processes Television Archive are equally perturbing. GThe publishing arm could be outsourced, in The policy document referred to earlier (see the teeth of a vociferous reaction from Poor management details in the Policies section on concerned academics, together with Film http://www.filmarchiveaction.org) confirms Sales. Damaging to the Archive an intention to increase the size of the collection. Yet, some of the actions The approach reflected in the Realignment Damaging to the Library trumpeted by management were already part Document logically leaves intact only the of the strategy, and key elements in the National Film Theatre and the Education Unfair to some staff preservation programme – the Mitchell & Department – in spite of the decision not to Kenyon collection and the Friese-Greene fill the vacant Head of Education post. Open Road films – had been preserved and If this were not enough, there is also an made available long ago. argument that the South Bank complex, late One film in the archival shorts initiative on completion and over budget, faces its BFI Southbank being closed for four days has been available from the NFTVA for own problems: at the beginning of May) are evidently many years, while another is apparently what the BFI is now most anxious to claimed to be a new restoration, but was GThe space seems to be underutilised, encourage. actually completed 10 years ago. although the extra room for ticket queues GThe metamorphosis of the old NFT The impact of the innovative Mediathèque is welcome. The acclaimed architectural Booklet into the new Guide has caused its has also been dissipated by the delay in virtues actually relate to aspects of the own problems. It is now an unwieldy size producing the full list titles, originally original structure of the Museum of the which, for collectors, does not fit neatly intended to be available in March, then June Moving Image. with the many years of earlier publications. 74

News

comparatively modest budget of £6m, and on time” and went on to quote some of Amanda Nevill’s ideas about the future Film Centre. Ms Nevill said that the BFI would have to raise £180m-£200m for this, a sum which has grown considerably from figures reported in The Independent of £35m (April 3rd 2002) and £50-£60m (April 3rd 2004). Projecting the model of the BFI Southbank development onto that of the Film Centre would mean adding at least another 50% to its costs, with the resulting £270-£300m approaching ten times the initial proposals. Potential funders should beware. GThe BFI filmographic database, quite apart from containing an understandably large number of inaccuracies – is not nearly as easy to use as the IMDB and other sources available on the internet. Gracenote, the BFI’s new commercial partner, makes most of the revenue it accrues “by licensing access to its database. . . to many online music services and hardware providers”. They might do well to GThe new layout often makes it difficult to attractions. These themselves are consider their new arrangement a little find information quickly, whether it be to somewhat under-used, leading to rumours more carefully. do with the films, the programmes, the that staff have been encouraged to spend programmers, or other useful items. time in the area to make it look busier. Amanda Nevill has been offered space in the GAudiences and revenues at the NFT are GAn article in the Guardian for April 18th, next issue of MmIT to respond to the issues falling, and it does not seem that they will 2007 claimed that the BFI Southbank raised in this article and has agreed that she be much boosted by the related free development “was finished within the will avail herself of this opportunity. More E-Books From Ovid and Springer Best of the Blog Ovid Technologies, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health and a global For the MmIT NewsBlog, leader in electronic medical, scientific, and academic information go to research sources, has entered into a partnership agreement with http://mmit.willco.com Springer Science+Business Media, one of the world’s leading publishers of science, technology, and medical literature. The and have your say partnership will offer more than 800 electronic medical and health sciences books from Springer on its industry-leading e- books platform, Books@Ovid. Ovid will offer the resource to medical organisations throughout the world, including hospitals and hospital consortia, medical schools, and medical departments This column contains a small selection of items posted or entities within a higher education institution, government on the MmIT Blog, which is at http://mmit.willco.com. It is organisation, or corporation. The books will be available via an available for use by MMIT group members, subscribers, annual renewable subscription or as a one-time purchase, professional colleagues and other professionals providing participating institutions with ownership of the books interested in the broad area of multimedia information. It in perpetuity. is not necessary to be a member of the group or a Key titles coming to Books@Ovid include AJCC Cancer subscriber to Multimedia Information & Technology to Staging Atlas, Medical Informatics, and Minimally Invasive make use of the blog. No registration is required, and no Spine Surgery – all widely considered to be core resources in their password is needed for access. respective disciplines. Content is expected to become available on the Books@Ovid platform from the third quarter of the year. Any contributions relevant to the interests of the group, Books@Ovid combines premium content with powerful search including reports of significant service developments and and discovery technology, to offer a comprehensive, feature-rich professional activities, will be welcomed. Post them to information search experience. Natural language searching makes the blog at http://mmit.willco.com queries quick and easy. Since Books@Ovid is fully integrated with an institution’s e-resources, users can link directly to any other content resource referenced in a book. An expandable table of contents, back-of-the-book indexing, and recent platform enhancements simplify navigation. 75

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The number of people able to receive LLU services increased from 0% in 2005 to Digital Divide Narrows 10% in 2006 in Northern Ireland. GAlmost three out of ten UK households THE DIGITAL DIVIDE BETWEEN the UK GThe report shows that ITV's digital-only (29%) took multiple services from a nations is diminishing – according to channels (ITV2, 3 and 4) have gained a single telecoms provider in 2006 (fixed Ofcom research. In its Communications larger viewing share (2.8%) than those of line phone and broadband for example). Market Report for the Nations and Regions the BBC (1.3% ), C4 (1.4%) and C5 Bundling is highest in Northern Ireland of the UK, Ofcom examines availability, (0.2%) between 2002 and 2006. (32%) and lowest in Wales at 22%. take-up and usage of internet, GLocal commercial radio attracts a Growth in bundling has been fuelled by telecommunications and broadcasting larger share of listening hours growing broadband take-up and services. It compares findings across in Scotland (43%) than in any increasing LLU Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and in other nation (UK average availability. the nine English Regions. Last year’s report 32%). GAverage reported showed significant differences across the GBBC local radio attracts at least monthly household UK, particularly in take-up levels of twice the share of listening hours spend on mobile broadband and digital television, not only in Northern Ireland (27%) telephone services between the nations but also between those than in the across the UK living in urban and rural areas. (£42.18 based on an In 2005, there was a 12% gap between average two mobile phones for the number of adults with broadband at each household) is greater than reported home in Northern Ireland (lowest at other spend on fixed-line and internet 24%), Wales (25%), Scotland (31%) and nations (UK combined (£31.18). England (highest at 36%). average This year’s report shows that by 2006 11%). The town – countryside divide was also the gap had reduced to 3%. Take-up in GBBC UK- considered, as Ofcom carried out research England stood at 45% and in Scotland, wide radio attracts more listeners in into the take-up and availability of Northern Ireland and Wales it reached 42%. England and Wales (45% and 46%) than communications services in rural and urban In 2005 the gap in terms of digital in Scotland (36%) and Northern Ireland areas in the UK. television take-up was even larger at 19% (27%). A similar proportion of people who live (Wales at 72%, England at 66%, Scotland in rural areas (80%) own a mobile phone at 60% and NI at 53%). The survey also covered the use of the compared to 81% in the urban areas. By 2006 this gap had reduced to 13 Internet and other telecommunications, and The research also showed that DAB percentage points (Wales at 82%, England points of interest included: digital radio ownership in rural households at 75%, Scotland at 76% and NI at 69%). (17%) is almost equal to that in urban Some of the other key findings for GThe proportion of UK households able to households (18%). broadcasting were: receive competitive broadband and More people in rural areas (94%) have a phone services through local loop fixed line phone than in urban areas (89%) GPeople in Northern Ireland watch less unbundling (LLU) increased by 27% whereas 41% of adults in rural areas have television than the rest of the UK (3.3 over the year from 40% at the end of broadband internet at home compared to hours per day). People in Scotland watch 2005 to 67% at the end of 2006. 45% of adults in urban areas. the most at 4.1 hours per day. Viewing of Ofcom has also published supplementary television has fallen further in Northern LLU enables providers other than BT to reports for Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland (by 12%) over the four years to fully control the equipment in the Ireland and the English Regions. The full 2006 than in any other nation (UK exchange, and to offer a range of text of all reports can be found at: average 2.3%). competitive phone and broadband services. http://www.ofcom.org.uk/research/cm/cm07/

TALIS HAS LAUNCHED A FLEXIBLE income chargeable services, payment methods and management programme, strengthening the amounts tendered. Income Manager Talis Library Management Suite for provides all of the facilities of a till to existing customers. Since the launch, deliver flexible payment handling, daily Income Manager has already been banking/accounting tools, and powerful Manage successfully implemented in eight libraries management information reporting. It across the UK. Described as a solution provides a network for all of the library’s which makes income management easy, payment points, to deliver site-wide access Talis are delighted to announce that to accurate income data. Your Swansea Institute is the latest to join the For further information, visit community. http://www.Talis.com/income. An online Today, libraries are managing more demonstration is also available to view. Income money, from a wider variety of sources than Talis Alto is the UK’s market leading ever before. Payments for penalties, LMS, and supports all aspects of a modern services and additional products account library service. From extensive EDI for a significant proportion of the budget services to powerful cataloguing modules with for both academic and public libraries. (with full MARC 21 and ISBN-13 Managing this growing income has bibliographic editing), Talis Alto is at the become increasingly challenging for heart of the software suite Talis provides to Talis libraries, with the increase in the range of public, academic and special libraries. 76

Best of the Blog Xrefer forms Partnership Diskless with Library School Students Networks XREFER HAS ANNOUNCED a new partnership reference service such as Xreferplus, and to with the Library and Information Science provide feedback on the resource, will give PLASMANET HAS ANNOUNCED the (LIS) School at San José State University in them valuable real-world experience. availability of its diskless PC network, a California, to provide access to the award- cost effective, easy-to-implement green winning Xreferplus online reference Getting input from reference classes at computing network. service. schools such as San José State University, Accessing applications from a single The institution’s LIS students will be able Simmons College and the University of server, the network can drive and support to use the resource in their reference Rhode Island, is an important part of our up to 400 PCs without hard drives, services studies. As part of the agreement, ongoing effort to learn more about resulting in reduced energy consumption the students’ feedback on Xreferplus will providing online reference in the most and related acquisition and maintenance be actively sought and reviewed. effective way possible. LIS students costs. provide valuable input as future librarians The PlasmaNet diskless PC network This new agreement provides added value and are also able to draw on their own reaps all the benefits of a traditional thin to our Library and Information Science experience as students,” added John Dove, client server, but ensures that each terminal degrees,” commented Charlotte Ford, an Xrefer CEO. “We also regularly seek input retains the processing power of a regular assistant professor at San José State from library school faculty – including PC with a hard drive. University. “A significant aspect of many those on our Advisory Board – Michèle Hard drive production and delivery costs, students’ future library jobs will involve Cloonan and Joseph Janes. We look disposal and recycling costs, along with working with online reference databases. forward to extending similar offers to other emissions and energy usage, are Having the opportunity to work, during library school programs in North America dramatically reduced. their graduate programs, with an innovative and around the world.” Diskless tower terminals are very low energy, running up to 12 times less the wattage of a traditional PC, using a constant 20 watts. PlasmaNet’s diskless network also enables organisations with existing Free Internet traditional PC networks to install the system by consolidating on a single, robust platform linking to the server. Temporary server failure does not affect Tutorials the performance of the system, with the terminals automatically running off cache memory, which in the case of hard drive failure would not be possible. Go to: From Intute http://www.plasmanet-uk.com A NUMBER OF NEW, FREE INTERNET tutorials for the Social Sciences are available in the Intute Virtual Training Suite. The tutorials are designed to help students develop Internet research skills for their university or college work, and can be used by lecturers or In November’s Issue librarians, to support courses in research methods, information literacy and study skills. The following tutorials have been completely updated and revised by subject experts from The November issue of Multimedia UK universities: Information & Technology will contain features on disability services for students, a GInternet Anthropologist http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/he/tutorial/anthropologist By Dr review of Idea Store, Olwen Terris’s update Hector Blackhurst, Intute Anthropology editor and Social Sciences, Librarian at The on the BUFVC Shakespeare Project (first John Rylands University Library, The University of Manchester. covered in the August 2006 issue, with the GInternet for Development http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/he/tutorial/development By Tracy enticing title of Shakespeare’s Clowns, Zussman, Project Officer, Eldis, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. Courtesans and Kings), and an article by GInternet Psychologist http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/he/tutorial/psychologist By Annie Catherine Dhanjal on self-service multi- Trapp, Higher Education Academy Psychology Network, University of York. function kiosks in public libraries. GInternet for Social Research Methods http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/he/tutorial/social- research-methods By Louise Corti, Associate Director, Economic and Social Data Amanda Nevill wil reply to Custodes Lucis’s Service (ESDS), UK Data Archive, University of Essex criticism of proposed changes at the BFI. GInternet Sociologist http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/he/tutorial/sociologist By Suzanne Barbalet, Intute Sociology Editor. Department of Sociology, University of Surrey. Reviews will include Christine Urquhart on GInternet for Travel and Tourism http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/he/tutorial/travel By Philip Peter Brophy’s book on measuring library Rowe Programme Co-ordinator, Travel and Tourism Department, City of Bristol performance, and Chris Leftley on Phil College. Bradley’s How to Use Web 2.0 GInternet for Women's Studies http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/he/tutorial/women By Dianne Shepherd, Information Librarian, The Women’s Library, London Metropolitan University. 77

MmIT volume 33 no 3 August 2007

considerable amount of time. CEO Jos 2D to 3D With Philips’ Blue Box Swillens said: There is a real and rapid step-change to 3D the capacity to carry out efficient (semi- all over the world. The introduction of automatic) and high quality offline BlueBox will unlock the customer’s new conversion of existing 2D video content to and existing video material for high quality the 2D-plus-Depth format, which is used in visualization in 3D using the 2D-plus- the Philips WOWvx 3D Displays. Philips Depth format. 3D Solutions will further enhance BlueBox’s capabilities by adding new 3D BlueBox is now available in the first content creation services over time. version, initially for selected lead partners, Content creators will now be able to such as Nissho Electronics in Japan. Nissho produce 3D content much more quickly, at exhibited the BlueBox in the 15th Industrial a lower cost and in unprecedentedly-high Virtual Reality Expo & Conference, held at 3D quality. the Big Sight in The tools, which Tokyo, from the are easy to use, will 27th-29th of allow designers to June 2007. It is profit from their expected that the creativity in content Commercial PHILIPS 3D SOLUTIONS has introduced the creation through Release of the BlueBox, a service suite of advanced 3D automating a large BlueBox will not content creation tools which converts 2D part of the work, take place until video content to 3D, at the Industrial and without any near the end of Virtual Reality Expo & Conference being compromising of 2007. held in Tokyo. quality standards. The first major 3D content creation Using the Philips 3D tools enables service on the BlueBox is the WOWvx designers to convert their own content More information is available at: Spacer. This provides content creators with within their own premises, saving a http://www.philips.com/3dsolutions

Ovid Adds Content to Primal Pictures 3D Anatomy Image Project OVID TECHNOLOGIES, a part of Wolters expands upon, the existing Interactive Head functions and biomechanics. Assessment Kluwer Health and a global leader in and Neck module. It delivers graphic and treatment videos, MRI images, electronic medical, scientific, and academic modelling of the head, neck, face, ear, nose, pathology slides and textual descriptions by information research support, has added throat, eye, cranial nerves, sinuses, teeth some of the leading specialists in their two new content modules to Primal and brain, and features more than 90 fields supplement the animations and Pictures on Ovid, its 3D Anatomy Imagery anatomical views, including the external models. Users can rotate the anatomical product: middle and inner ear, oral cavity, orbit and models 360 degrees and show different eyes and larynx. There are also six views of layers of each anatomical region. G3D Head & Neck with Basic the brain: meninges, cerebellum, brain Neuroanatomy and Anatomy for stem, dural folds, cortex, limbic system and Ovid Technologies is a global information Acupuncture are now available to blood vessels. provider offering clinicians, professionals, customers of Ovid’s English-language Anatomy for Acupuncture delivers 3D students, and researchers in the medical, Primal Pictures on Ovid product, which is models of the positions of 88 of the most scientific and academic fields customisable accessible via its Ovid Web Gateway commonly used acupuncture points, and solutions of content, tools and services precision search and discovery platform. highlights an additional 324 named needle which make research smarter, faster and points. All models include full more effective. Ovid is used by the world’s Andrew L. Popper, Vice President, Marketing musculoskeletal and vascular anatomy, to leading colleges and universities, medical and Product Management, said: show correct needle passage (incorrect schools, academic research libraries and needle insertion is also highlighted) and library consortia, hospitals and healthcare Since its release in May of 2006 Primal provide detailed cross-sectional views systems, pharmaceutical, engineering and Pictures on Ovid continues to be an showing needle relationships to anatomic biotechnology companies and HMOs and excellent teaching tool and clinical structures of different parts of the body. clinical practices. reference for healthcare professionals, Ovid now offers 23 modules as part of its Ovid is a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, instructors, and students in anatomy, Primal Pictures product. Other modules a division of Wolters Kluwer, a leading medicine, and allied health. By adding include Head and Neck, Shoulder/Sports global information services and publishing these two new modules, we’re providing Injuries, Hand/Physical Therapy, Knee- company with annual revenue (2006) of our customers with a more detailed analysis Surgery, Foot – Podiatric Medicine and €3.7 billion and approximately 19,900 of key anatomical regions and expanding Surgery, Interactive Functional Anatomy, employees worldwide. For more information, the product’s end-user base to those and more. All modules feature 3D models go to http://www.ovid.com involved in the study and practice of and animations created by anatomists and or http://www.wolterskluwer.com. acupuncture. graphic designers from medical scan and dissection data taken from real bodies. They The new resource complements, and also also indicate the structural relationships, 78

FaceFilter Studio 2 Ken Cheetham, of UWIC Student Support Services, tries out a sensible and workable way of touching up and From Reallusion modifying portraits

HE PROLIFERATION OF image editing from left to right, perform the functions enable reasonably careful adjustment of software is hardly surprising, given Select Image, Fit Facial Mask, Enhance what are some quite subtle differences. the growth in sales of digital cameras Skin, Select Expression, Print and Export. The other side of this is the Fun selector, Talong with the ubiquity of powerful, Image selection is limited to bmp, gif and and no help is needed to visualise exactly personal computers. The range is broad: jpg file types, so if a user wishes to how extreme morphing could make most digital cameras are packaged with manipulate an image stored as a tif, the colleagues look rather silly, if not some simple editing software which image must first be opened in its default downright ridiculous. This is also good enables the user to carry out the more basic software, and then saved in one of the therapy for the kids having a bad time with functions of altering brightness, colour, above formats. The default image shown, daddy. Whichever template set is actually contrast and image size, and even getting and the instructions contained within each in use, thumbnail comparison previews of rid of the scourge known as red eye. of these menu items, should indicate that the image being worked on can be viewed. Adobe Photoshop sits at the extreme the programme is limited to working on Retouching photographs of people whose other end of the spectrum, filling the full-face portraits facing directly to the images are used by the visual media is the essential needs of full time professional camera, and fairly close cropped. However, norm. Blemishes and wrinkles are added or photographers, retouchers and designers, in the manual selection mode, I was able to removed; indeed entire bodies may be amongst others. This latter programme is select a full-on face occupying only a small made to look taller or shorter, broader or multifaceted, and requires much time and area of a scanned image, when the slimmer. Should a subject desire longer practice to learn even the basics. It is also automatic mode had failed to find it. This legs, more muscle or “designer stubble” (is very expensive, though worth every penny suggests that the face detection system is no that what it means?) it is available through where it is most needed. better than that found in today’s digital those media, and unflattering effects may of Photoshop Elements is a very much cameras, so it may be necessary to select course also be applied when this seems manually if the appropriate in order to convey a particular portrait is at an angle, message. It is not true of course that or includes sunglasses modifying any photograph in this way is or face veils. necessarily a bad thing. Some portraits, The Fit Facial executed in bad, or badly-controlled, Mask mode shows lighting may very well be enhanced for the anchor points which purpose of clear identification. Adjusting a can be moved to portrait of a generally amenable member of indicate pupils, a service team, caught at a bad moment, eyebrows or corners may usefully restore a true record of his/ of the mouth for her normal disposition. This, I feel, is not example, in order to dishonest. correct for red eye It should be said that, in spite of the and eye colour and to mentioned limitations, the programme is prepare for morphing not a complete failure. The best approach is where any of the to take control of it by setting everything facial expressions manually: this way any of the ultimately may need changing. undesirable effects can be minimised, for Skin Enhancement example by selecting low levels of colour is crude, being based changes or blurring. This should keep reduced version of that programme, and is on a basic blur tool and application of a everything within the bounds of reasonable much cheaper, but it is still a programme colour brush with a skin tones palette. This acceptability. The Minimum system which offers a wide range of editing tools. is severely limited to the Caucasian range. requirements for FaceFilter Studio2 are: It is in this that Reallusion’s FaceFilter Doing away with skin imperfections is Studio2 differs, being restricted to the limited to blurring and reducing contrast. GPentium ll 500MHz presentation of a range of adjustment tools Facial morphing is also limited, as the G64 MB RAM for the human face. There are limitations twelve selection points mentioned are not GHDD space 300 MB too, within that constraint, of which more sufficient to successfully rearrange the GWindows 2000/XP/Vista later. The limitations are also reflected in scores of muscles making up the face and GImages of 6 mega pixels or more will the price, the RRP being £29.99 VAT inc., its expressions. require a Pentium 4 at 1.7GHz, 512 MB but shop around, as it has been offered for However, here the programme does offer RAM and 800 MB of HDD space. as little as £25.00. a useful function in allowing, via templates, The Figure above shows the opening the selection of a large range of alternative For this, and other Reallusion products, screen. Immediately above the default expressions, some of which work well contact Kathryn Lamb of K LAssociates, at portrait frame is a row of six buttons which, because a number of fine tuning controls [email protected] 79

MmIT volume 33 no 3 August 2007

Smartpox Barcodes Create New Technology Connections

SMARTPOX, which can be found at Roundup http://www.smartpox.com, is a service Kevin Curran which allows the creation of barcodes which can represent a website link, e- mail address or contact details.

The Technology works by allowing users to encode a 2d barcode with their WebOS – Moving the e-mail address, for example. Once this image is generated, it can then be Operating System to the Web printed on paper. THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASE in the number single machine, developers can rely on the The image can be captured using the of services which are available over the local operating system to provide these supplied java phone software, which Internet. In keeping with this trend, a new abstractions. WebOS provides the basic utilises the user’s camera phone. Once development has been a move towards operating systems services needed to build the image is recognised and verified, it web-based operating systems known as applications which are geographically can then be decoded on the phone by WebOS. distributed and highly available. A working contacting the smartpox website. The idea behind a Web Operating system environment which can be accessed from (sometimes referred to as Web 3.0) is a anywhere is always going to appeal to The technology will save time and virtual desktop or “webtop”, which can be certain users, hence the rising popularity of labour, as it replaces the need to type in accessed from anywhere, and read through the current software on offer. manually a url address or contact a browser with various applications similar The main argument at present against the detail. Details of any “pox” which is to the basic ones available on an ordinary WebOS approach is security. There is a captured by the camera software are OS, such as filing systems and interacting view that the privacy, control and reliability automatically saved into the user windows. WebOS includes mechanisms for issues prevent the WebOS from being an online profile to be checked later. resource discovery, a global namespace, alternative to the standard OS. However, remote process execution, resource web-based applications also open up the There may be a number of other uses management, authentication and security. possibility of a whole new range of security and advantages for organisations who There are various advantages to using issues, including that of uninvited access by have their url encoded as a smartpox 2d this kind of software, especially in an hackers, and the corruption or extraction of barcode. This would, for example, organisational setting. Being completely information. As with all these applications, make it easier for potential clients to web-based obviously means there is no security and data integrity are always top of capture data as they pass by. On need to download or install programes from the developer’s agenda. Information stored websites of downloadable songs, the the net, or numerous CDs. It is user- on a network device can be vulnerable to link for each song could be barcoded friendly and easy-to-use, with personal attack and so must be made secure. It is and printed on advertising material, login details allowing multiple users within worth keeping in mind that in this case, the permitting the songs to be downloaded the same organisation to gain access from web browser has access to all the machines to mobile phones. any internet-connected workstation, on the system, and can potentially easily The application is already attracting regardless of browser or platform. interact with locally stored information and interest in the USA, with restaurant and Web applications rely on open source programmes. hotel reviews and T shirts already using infrastructure and an array of technologies In addition, WebOS requires a fast and the smartpox codes. and formats, which are constantly reliable connection to work correctly, and changing. Google is one provider which has problems with the operation of Decoding the smartpox image would has produced a number of web-based peripheral devices. require the installation of smartpox products, including Gmail – the first A WebOS framework enables a new reader software on the mobile phone. desktop client-like email reader. Now, there concept for Internet services. Instead of The website lists the compatible are also Google calendar, spreadsheets and being fixed to a single location, services phones, but in fact most camera phones more. Google also introduced the first can push parts of their responsibilities out which are java-enabled should work. iteration on its desktop search. It was a onto Internet computing resources, and to small web server which could insert data the client. To install the software, the website can from a local machine into browsing pages. It may, indeed, be possible that the future be accessed via mobile phones and YouOS is another attempt to bring the holds a world based on the web, a free- downloaded directly, or downloaded web and operating systems together to form standing machine with a Wi-Fi connection onto a pc and then connected to a a shared virtual computer, and WebOS, and a browser installed on its hard drive. It mobile. Smartpox.com ID is also according to YouOS, means the liberation remains to be seen, but for the present, the required to use the software. of software from hardware. traditional desktop and operating system is WebOS provides operating system handling most of our domestic, business services to wide area applications. On a and professional needs. 80

Technology Roundup

Microsoft Surface represents a fundamental change in the way we Microsoft Surface – interact with digital content. With Surface, we can actually grab data with out hands, and move Tabletop Computing information between objects with natural gestures and touch.

families. It is in fact just as things are in the Surface features a unique 30-inch real world. tabletop display whose unique Surface is a 30-inch display, which is abilities allow for several people to suitable for small group use, and the work independently product is only 22 inches high, 21 inches or simultaneously. deep and 42 inches wide. Microsoft Surface is designed to put All without using a mouse people in control of their experiences with or keyboard. technology, making everyday tasks entertaining, enjoyable and efficient. It is designed, for example, to allow the ordering of drinks during a meal – with just PICTURE A SURFACE which can recognise the tap of a finger. Music can be quickly A Website for Kids physical objects from a paintbrush to a browsed, and favourites dragged onto a mobile phone, and allows hands-on, direct personal playlist by moving a finger across A website just for children has control of content such as photographs, the screen. been launched. The Enfield Youth music and maps. Microsoft has just Surface also has the ability to recognise Observatory (EYO) is an launched a new computing product known physical objects which have identification innovative website which holds as Microsoft Surface (above). information about Enfield, in an The idea owes its genesis to cooperation easy-to-read format for children between Microsoft Hardware and Microsoft and young people. Research, in a joint project to design an interactive table. The site works from the main The prototype was based on an Ikea table Enfield Observatory site, at with a hole cut in it. After running through www.enfield-observatory.org.uk a large number of other prototypes, which provides local statistical Microsoft is now ready to launch Surface, information, but it has its own and envisages applications in many areas young look. It has been developed including the world of education. with the Enfield Strategic Surface turns an ordinary tabletop into a Partnership (ESP). vibrant, dynamic area, which provides simpler interaction with all forms of digital Over 400 local children and young content through natural gestures, touch and tags similar to barcodes. This means that people were involved in creating physical objects. when customers simply sets a wine glass on the site, which has interesting From the end of 2007, consumers will be the surface of a table, a restaurant could information about the local able to use Surface in hotels, retail provide them with information about the borough, such as statistics on establishments, restaurants and public wine they are ordering, pictures of the population, deprivation, crime, entertainment venues. There are also vineyard it came from and suggested food health, safe routes to schools, fun applications for many other service combinations tailored to that evening’s games and much more. It also has organisations. menu. The experience could become much an interactive feature where The intuitive user interface works more expansive, offering access to youngsters visiting the site can without a traditional mouse or keyboard information on the wine-growing region, express their views on some of the (above right), allowing access to content and even lead to selecting hotels and issues important to them. and information for individuals, or planning trips without leaving the table collaboratively with their friends and (below left). Young people will continue to be Surface will be shipped to partners, with right at the heart of the project as a a portfolio of basic applications, including board, entirely of young people, photographs, music and virtual concierge has been set up. They will decide applications which can be customised. the future of the site. The Surface tabletop is acrylic, and its interior frame is powder-coated steel. Microsoft Surface Computing may usher in a new way of interacting with information – a way which engages the senses, improves collaboration and empowers consumers. More information can be found at http://www.surface.com. 81

MmIT volume 33 no 3 August 2007 First and Second Thoughts on CODE INPUT SETTING: You will need the list of codes to manually select and input the correct the Jumbo Remote Control codes to your specific device. Ken Cheetham UWIC Student Support Services 1 Turn on the device that you want to set. 2 Aim the remote control at the Y FIRST THOUGHT about this remote it has to be programmed for each individual device. control was that it had to be a good item, using four-digit numerical codes. 3 Press the device button for the item idea to be able to replace the four These are provided, and there are 50 pages of you wish to program and the LED Mcontrols which I currently use. Measuring them. The instructions for the programming light will blink once. 12.5cm x 28cm, each button is about operation are set out in a few, apparently 4 Press and hold the SET button until 1.85cm x 2.25cm, a useful size with clear straightforward lines, as indicated in the the LED lights up solid red. icons and lettering. box above right. Until this is attempted, 5 Using tie number keys enter the 4- This is a remote control which really users will not be aware that the Code digit code from the list. After you ought to be a useful tool for all, particularly Search Setting instructions should be have entered the 4th digit, the LED for those with visual impairments or reduced completed first, as this is automatic and will turn off, indicating that the code manual dexterity. Both of these there may otherwise be a large number of for the device was recognised. categories of disability can create codes to be manually input. My equipment, 6 If the device powers off, test the significant problems for those none of which is more than five years old, functions for the other buttons (except needing to use the is Panasonic for TV, DVD and VCR, OK button). If all the functions work, standard remote and I use a Thomson Digital Freeview press the OK button to store the code. control units which Receiver. Ten codes are listed for (Remark: During the setting, if the are supplied with most Panasonic TVs, two for their indicator light remains solid red after of our television sets, DVDs and six for their VCRs. blinking 3 times the code is DVD recorders and VCRs. Free to View receivers are not incompatible. You then need to restart The Press Release proposes listed in the instructions, back on Step 2). that “young children, the though there are 15 codes 7 Make a note of the correct 4-digit elderly, disabled and especially given for Thomson code for future use. those with poor vision can all satellite receivers. benefit greatly from its size.” I The bad news is that CODE SEARCH SETTING: had overlooked the young children the Code Search This is an alternative method to and it is appropriate to include them, Setting did not work programming your device without but I am not sure why the elderly are at all. Using manual set- using the code list. The remote control separately mentioned unless it is held up, none of the Thomson codes will scroll through the list of codes to that their age is in itself an impairment, an worked, nor could I operate my identify the correct code for your assumption that has no basis. VCR. One code gave me access to my device. TV: I could switch it in and out of stand-by and hese asides apart, it was necessary change channels, but could not access the 1 Turn on the device you want to set. for me to carry out objective tests as menu. One code allowed me to access my 2 Aim the remote control at it. an experienced, competent user, DVD recorder, but these devices are much 3 Press the select button for the item Twithout introducing the problems which more complex as they have several menus. you want to program. might accompany any user with one or There is a need to switch between the hard 4 Press and hold the SET button until more of the disabilities mentioned. The drive and a DVD disk, navigation menus and the LED lights up solid red. remote sat comfortably in my hands. programming menus and a variety of other 5 Press the MUTE/SEARCH button. Supporting it from each side on the four functions, so this is one area of operations that The LED will shut off first then light fingers of each hand, I was easily able to the device could not handle, even in the case up solid red. reach all of the buttons and operate them of an experienced, competent user without Remark: during the search, you can with either thumb. The buttons are soft- any problems of physical dexterity. press UP or DOWN to change the touch so require minimal effort to depress. search direction. The remote needs 2 x AA batteries, which eturning to the apparent target of are not supplied. potential users – “young children, It is claimed that the Jumbo is compatible the elderly, disabled and especially whole booklet, including the long list of with virtually any major brand or model of Rthose with poor vision” – I am inclined to codes, is printed in approximately 5 point AV equipment, but in order to make it work the opinion that many of them would be text, which is not advisable even for 20-20 seriously frustrated in trying to set up this vision. Overall, I have to say that I cannot I cannot recommend this device, remote control, even assuming that codes recommend this device, especially not to especially not to those with any of compatible with their equipment were those with any of the outlined difficulties. the outlined difficulties. For me, at available. An elderly user with a little For me, at what seems on the surface to be what seems on the surface to be a arthritis and a Panavision TV would have a bargain at £14.99, it would still be a waste bargain at £14.99, it would still be a as many as 63 codes to try, though only 42 of money. Should anyone give me such a waste of money. if the receiver was a Ferguson. device as a present, it would be the first Visit http://www.jumbo-remote.com Any user with the slightest visual remote I had ever lost down the back of the if you like impairment would have enormous difficulty sofa. Visit http://www.jumbo-remote.com following any part of the instructions, as the if you like. 82

Willinsky, J. The Access Principle: the wedded to conventional publishing Case for Open Access to Research and techniques on the one hand, while, on the Scholarship.The MIT Press, Cambridge, other, developing sophisticated electronic Mass., London. 2006. isbn 0262232421. delivery methods for major customers. The latter are represented by libraries, which are JOHN WILLINSKY’S OVERVIEW of an also shifting their focus from the print increasingly critical area in scholarship, format to electronic access. and information services, is a well-written The structure of the book is based on the and painstakingly-researched work. Using twin themes of the practicalities of many practical examples and case studies digitisation and the ideas – and perhaps to set out the history, significance and idealism – underlying open access, touched impact of open access, and the key “tipping upon in the first chapter, and returned to. points” in its development, it should be Somewhat unusually, the author provides a compulsory reading. historical review of open access as the last He establishes the open access movement chapter (minus the appendices) in the book. as part of the inheritance of the Alexandrian The reason for this is the desire to avoid the library, and traces its growth via the suggestion that emergence of the great American public library systems of the 19th Century. open access is simply another chapter in the However, he identifies its contemporary unfolding story of scientific communication. breakthrough from events as recent as Rather, I want to draw attention to a few 2003, when Nature, Science, The Scientist distinct parallels between the introduction of and the Wall Street Journal all embraced the scientific journal in the culture of print open access as the key idea in scientific and the critical decisions now faced in Open Access – scholarly publishing. Behind this lay the moving the journal online. Public Library of Science’s PloS Biology, thanks to the payment of US$1500 each by This, to me, is the best chapter in the book. the Right to the authors of the articles. This cogent use The point, as Willinsky says, is that while of examples is taken forward to provide evidence of the variety of forms of open Open access obviously represents a break Know, access, ranging from unlimited access with the past in a number of ways . . . it also activated for a fixed period after publication, speaks to the spirit of that past, to the long- to the increasing number of journals which term aspects of the access principle, which the Right to appear in electronic format only, and allow is the point of this chapter. immediate unlimited access. A scene-setting chapter, appropriately The spine of the writing here is be Known entitled Opening, spells out the significance Willinsky’s analysis of the development of of the combination of publishing industry Philosophical Transactions from its first initiatives, the activities of legislators appearance in 1665, although Eisenstein’s How knowledge circulates has (although not all of these have yet had an reference to the influence of scientific serial always been vital to the life of the impact on the statute books), internet publications from about 1500 is noted for mind, which we all share, just as it is technology and a genuine process of its early impact on the circulation of data vital, ultimately, to the well-being of enlightened self-interest, which is capable and in particular for increasing “the reach humanity of embracing forms of reward other than of ideas beyond those who were likely to monetary. As well as the incidental benefits get hold of scientific books.” Under Henry Open access . . . has already of enhanced reputations, increased exposure Oldenburg, the first editor, Philosophical begun to make a radical difference for and other opportunities, Willinsky sees the Transactions, licensed but not formally faculty and students in developing fundamental advantage to authors, and supported by the Royal Society, saw its role countries. It is building on parallel practically everyone else involved in the as communicating scientific information developments that are opening transaction, as the greater “circulation of and developments to a wider audience. At scientific databases and creating knowledge.” It is this amalgam of forces – the same time, through the publication of clinical trial registries. based, for scholars and writers, on private correspondence with the Royal “enlightened self-interest” – which delivers Society, embracing debate, discussion and This openness, is inspiring amateur the increased public good represented by the posing of questions concerning astronomers and historians to free access to this knowledge. Willinsky scientific issues of the day, he prosecuted contribute to the study of the heavens sets out the basic principle: his other objective of establishing and the past . . . entitlement to what he termed “the a commitment to the value and quality of knowledge of what this kingdom, or other It is feeding a growing public interest in research carries with it a responsibility to parts of the World, do, from time to time, health information that could well extend the circulation of this work as far as afford.” The question of “entitlement” and spread to other areas of people’s possible, and ideally to all who are interested its complex underlying idea of knowledge lives. It is leading to a new sense of in it and all who might profit by it as a common – to be enjoyed by all – is entitlement to knowledge. now receiving considerably more attention The pros and cons of this exposure to (see the following review of Hess and greater knowledge are touched upon with Ostrom, Understanding Knowledge as a reference to the medical profession, as are Commons: From Theory to Practice). For ##### the inherent contradictions and obstacles Philosophical Transactions, the results of presented by a publishing industry still Oldenburg’s policy were to be seen in the 83

MmIT volume 33 no 3 August 2007 development of local societies throughout the foundations of scholarly journal digital access. This involved a massive act England, a boost to serious book-buying, publications, and points to the paradox of of unauthorised downloading from JSTOR, the stimulation of coffee house debate on the apparent freedom and flexibility of the a non-profit organisation which attempts to scientific matters and, interestingly, the prospect of digitisation set alongside the balance protection for publishers with growth of activity by “amateur scientists” remorseless growth of commercial journal access and the resolution of various who could take part, not only in publishing. The heart of this is the idea of problems experienced by libraries. The key discussions, but also in scientific projects. knowledge as a commodity. Reassuringly point is that hacking into such a digital What we have here is a network, and some for our profession, the author contends that collection is not a crime without victims, in crude parallels with current developments “the global scale of knowledge’s circulation spite of the absence of immediate financial in digitisation and electronic information is critical to its very claim as knowledge.” loss. The pain will be felt in other ways. provision may be seen, not only in the use Achieving this has social, economic and, Willinsky’s solution to this is cooperative of the Transactions to spread knowledge, ultimately, political implications. digital publishing and archiving, as a means but also through its practice of publishing On copyright, it is clear that the ironies and of increasing access to back issues in letters sent to the Royal Society, leading to particular, and creating benefits for the the establishment of dialogue and immediacy. larger community as well as academia. This A key example quoted by Willinsky is the Already, with only a limited body of would be based on the developing technical result of Oldenburg’s publication of criticism literature freely available online, that infrastructures and capitalise on existing of Newton’s theory of light. As in the portion of the public with Internet expertise in information science. In other development of management theory, there access has shown a surprising words, there would be universal benefits to is not much, in principle, which is new capacity for delving into studies of be gained through the development of a about open access. relevance and interest to them. .. cooperative, collaborative approach. Open Out of all of this, Willinsky draws an source software collaboration is seen as a important principle for open access.This is Public interest in the life sciences has possible model, as are other forms of that reshaped the U.S. National Library consortia. of Medicine Web site, as well as The principle of cooperation is a major knowledge lives through the scope of its altering professional practice in one for Willinsky, and in chapter 7 he deals circulation, and thus through its very health care. In astronomy, public with international aspects, and in particular susceptibility to contention and alteration access is enabling amateur the need for a robust and comprehensive astronomers to contribute to the relationship between the developing world and that is based on things like the “spirit of professional literature. . . and western institutions. Here, he refers to copyright law” and the right to know. It also Presenting readers of research with the progress made by the World Health depends on a system for the exchange of related links can help more of them Organization (WHO), via their Health knowledge on a global scale. get more out of what they read . . . Inter-Network Access to Research Between the general opening chapters public interests already form part of Initiative, by 2004 embracing the WHO and the final historical perspective, the the case for open access. and almost 50 publishers in the biomedical logically-structured approach allows the and health care fields. Across 68 countries, author to deal in detail with the signposted all with a low capita GNP, over 2300 issues, in chapters bearing the titles of contradictions brought about by digitisation journals were accessible at this time. This is Copyright, Associations, Economics, are not lost on Willinsky, referring, as he now being extended into other fields. Cooperative, Development, Public, does, to the double-edged sword of easy The implications for researchers in these Politics, Rights, Reading and Indexing. The illegal downloading using the same countries are significant, particularly in the work throughout is characterised by a wide- technology which publishers use to “further light of the difficulties of conventional ranging approach to the literature, which is exploit and enforce their ownership of printing and publishing and the relatively copiously but judiciously used, and the scholarly literature”, and which researchers poor coverage of, for example, journals on pertinent use of examples. embrace to increase access to their work. the African continent, by indexing services Willinsky moves on to discuss access in He ranges across the dangers of corporate and supply agents. the contemporary context, and in some control over scholarly publishing, the Willinsky regards these difficulties as ways offers a less optimistic reading. He complexities of copyright law, the widespread, citing problems in Sri Lanka identifies a crisis of access brought about interrelationships between the interested and Latin America in support, and making by the vicious circle of economic shifts in parties and even using words such as the point that it is common to most “honor” and “trust”, and phrases such as disciplines, and not associated solely with “freedom of speech” and “public benefit”. the sciences. The key contribution of access the public library, in particular, has United States case law is also quoted here, is seen to depend on a sensitive long been a beacon of common as is the tension between the right of the acknowledgement of differences in readers. It is not only a cornerstone author to fair recompense (financial or academic cultures, and not embarking on of democracy, but a public site of otherwise), and the instinct of some quiet solace, intellectual inquiry, publishers to ramp up the cost of access. Stunningly insensitive peer reviews of and literary pleasures. Examples of the impact of delayed open articles . . . submitted to western journals, access are used, and interestingly these which included near-impossible demands To increase public access to include evidence of increased submissions made of them to be on top of the current what has emerged over the last to journals using this approach. There is literature decade on the Internet as a wired also early evidence that open access papers and virtual public library, providing are consulted more often than those subject with no acknowledgement of people with an opportunity to explore to charges, unsurprisingly, one might feel. a new world of ideas that they The chapter dealing with cooperative the very large teaching loads imposed by may have only suspected to arrangements (six) is notable for the author’s the university, as well as the paucity of have existed. use of an interesting case of intellectual incentives for conducting research and property theft to illustrate the economics of writing and resources for doing so. 84

Reviews

The implications for open access are clear. of the British Working Class, Ewan one-sided representations of interest groups, The solution is MacColl’s recollection of his iron founder political parties, and governments. Such, at and communist father, who least, are the potential implications of open to create a place for the distinct sensibilities access. of different academic cultures – “a plurality . . . belonged to the generation who believed of rhetorics” – while avoiding a headlong that books were tools that open a lock which The author’s own research supports the rush into a one-voice, one-style, one-world would free people. . . . For me to go at the contention that achieving digital democracy sequence of cultural globalization. age of fourteen, to drop into the library and is an extremely challenging task. His discover a book like Kant’s Critique of Pure involvement with the Public Knowledge The benefits of open access in the context of Reason or The Mistaken Subtlety of the Policy Forum Web site was an attempt to the developing world are seen as: the Four-Side Figure . . . the titles alone reduce the democratic divide which offers a motivational power of “being able to turn to produced a kind of happiness in me. . . . I can modest template on how this can be done, a body of work that speaks directly . . . to the remember the marvellous sensation of through the use of content from the US experience of peripheral scholars”; the sitting in the library and opening the volume, Ministry of Education, links to other general gains, for the developed world as and going into that world of Akaky sources, research and policy documents, and well, of global exchanges. Akakievich Bashmachkin in The Overcoat background documents from government Public access is the next issue, in chapter or The nose, or The Madman’s Diary and a public online bulletin board were key 8, with the benefits identified as: cost-free (quoted in Rose 2001, 316). to this experiment. (more or less); increasing the impact of The final three chapters in the book are research; better public understanding of, and While the author recognises that most concerned with rights, reading and indexing. support for, research and scholarship. journal articles will remain unintelligible to It is here that Willinsky himself admits to the At this stage, the ramifications of the all but their primary audience of experts, presentation of a possibly tenuous argument digital divide are considered, with due there are also many more which could concerning the human rights implications of reference to governmental and non- release again the feelings of MacColl a excessive increases in journal prices, which govermental attempts to ameliorate the hundredfold, thanks to the technology. There he obviously sees as a barrier to open access. consequences of what is obviously a larger are also examples of another kind of Given the significance he attaches to open economic and political issue. Willinsky collaboration, that between the amateur and access in terms of: freedom of information trenchantly asserts that the slow progress in the professional, which can be fostered by and expression; the right to know; the global overcoming this challenge is no reason for open access. The work of Columbia spread of knowledge; collaboration and academics to ignore what they can do by University’s Center for Backyard Physics is cooperation; social, economic and political improving open access to their work, and, in an imaginative and innovative example; but aspirations; third world development; and particular, by doing something to address the even this harks back to the philosophy of nurturing the imagination of people, it is inequalities of access to their own work. many extra mural studies departments in UK perhaps not too far-fetched. At this point, he Once more, it is the potential impact on universities, whose function, before being draws on writers’ treatment of science in the disadvantaged communities across the swamped by assessment, credits and the service of human rights and Derrida’s globe, ranging from Australian Aborigine need to fund themselves, was to make the parallel view of access to knowledge as a organisations, through American trade union results of scholarship intelligible to the key factor. Chapter 10 confirms the central organisers, to antipoverty campaigners in interested layman. role of open access in this debate, but opens major western cities. Of note, the parallel Add to this the way in which the another front concerning the need to which emerges here is that of the 19th collections of museums and galleries are improve the reading environment of Century public library services. It is a very now available online, and the case for open electronic literature. In our own profession, long time since this reviewer noted the access almost makes itself. we could profitably read this chapter on how appearance of a reference to the Society for Chapter 9, on the politics of access, returns electronic information should be structured the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, and this to the view of digital information as a two- and presented. The end comes with a review is a mark of Willinsky’s catholicity of edged sword. While the various efforts of of the indexing issue concerning electronic approach. Otherwise, Willinsky quotes the governments to put more and more official journals, where, interestingly, Willinsky, American public’s experience with health information on the web are lauded, there is a advocating author indexing while still and environmental issues, the specific downside, this being what is now termed the paying due regard to other approaches, puts experience of AIDS campaigners in the democratic deficit. This phenomenon emerges forward the argument that authors themselves 1980s and 90s, and the more diffuse because, while government web pages are a should be more aware of how their work is advantages accruing from public access to step towards transparency, because of the lack approached by readers, and that author the broad expanse of research and of “unmoderated chat”, genuine consultation involvement on this basis is a vital scholarship for its own sake: and the paucity of non-governmental consideration. He then develops some alternative views and dissent, they become a alternative financial models to support the While interest and access increase, the form of propaganda. For the average citizen, provision of indexing services for electronic public’s engagement with research will there is little against which to measure the information, neatly bringing the debate full remain a matter of personal interests, integrity or veracity of official information circle by identifying this area as a fruitful pressing public issues, and passing on the web. Willinsky’s response is one for cooperative endeavours. curiosities. consistent: There are six appendices bearing the titles Ten Flavors of Open Access, Scholarly Here, to me, lies part of the incalculable Greater public access to research and Association Budgets, Journal Management value of open access, and the general scholarship has the potential to raise the Economies, An Open Access Cooperative, purpose of the right to know: the element of level of discourse for this emerging Indexing of the Serial Literature and serendipity, which traditional information democratic form [digital democracy]. It Metadata for Journal Publishing. All of these services were always able to cater for, and could turn a citizen’s online forum from a are of value in a book which is coherent, which people worried would be lost in the sounding board into a far more informative closely-argued and balanced. It is a major digital world. Willinsky quotes, from review of government policies and practices. contribution to the debate, and should of Jonathan Rose’s work The Intellectual Life It could provide a check and a balance to the course be available as a download. Buy it. 85

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unnecessary car, train and air travel. For the individual employee too, this can have a most dramatic Communication impact on productivity, at the same time making their lives easier and improving work/life balance. Without Barriers Collaboration services can have more powerful impact, by getting rid of the historic departmental barriers and replacing Via Multimedia the old silo mentality with more, and also much improved, communication between teams. By embedding Conferencing such tools within the Jerona Noonan, Genysys UK Sales Director organisation in this way, both the decision- making and the HE ENVIRONMENT IN which global communication information itself can be organisations now operate has never mechanisms, for improved, leading to the been more complex or challenging. providing effective additional benefit of reduced AsT a result, for organisations typically organisation-wide processing costs. operating across multiple countries, time access to invaluable zones and cultures, effective knowledge resources, F COLLABORATION based on communications have become critical as has been recognised. multimedia systems can they seek new sources of competitive Today’s enterprise is reduce costs, increase staff advantage. comprised of people, Iproductivity, cut carbon Individuals at all levels within the knowledge, know-how, emissions and create organisation must enhance the ways of the technical experience opportunities for new services, working with each other, with their and best practices which the next step is to examine what suppliers and customers if the organisation are typically dispersed tools are best able to deliver as a whole is to realise its full potential. across the organisation, such benefits. For many years, audio conferencing has and often globally. One There are a number of continued to play an essential role in the of the keys to success in criteria which decision-makers pursuit of this goal, yet its ability to provide bringing these talents should address in selecting an effective alternative to physical together, and then the most appropriate online communication has proved increasingly exploiting them all communication tool, the restrictive. effectively, depends first of which is to ensure By contrast, in bringing together voice, on being able to that the benefits outweigh video and the web, the latest multimedia move beyond the the total cost of ownership collaboration technologies provide the rigid, and more throughout the life of the opportunity to communicate much more traditional forms of chosen equipment. powerfully and effectively, by providing geographical, In assessing the wide the facility to share documents and make cultural and also range of options available, most presentations, for example, in real time and technological barriers. calculations will include the upfront cost of with simple point-and-click commands. The challenge now for both end-users and hardware, software and application Yet in so doing, such solutions are not the technologies which support them is two- acquisition costs, as well as ongoing designed to fully replace face-to-face fold. Firstly, online communication tools licensing and maintenance charges. meetings but, rather, to complement these must be both easy to deploy and easy to At first glance, an on-premise system by enabling staff to work more efficiently use: equally importantly, they must offer offers the advantage of greater control, yet between physical meetings. As such, it has ubiquitous access if they are to deliver the a software as a service development has a become a critical part of the corporate full benefits of virtual meetings, both number of benefits which are likely to toolkit in maintaining truly effective internally and inter-company. prove decisive. In a world subject to rapid dialogue both internally and up and down Multimedia collaboration, through technological change, a partnership with a the value chain. conferencing technologies, can have a specialist collaboration services provider significant impact on the way a distributed offers some protection against systems NLOCKING THE KNOWLEDGE BASE is or virtual organisation operates. At one obsolescence. Put simply, the investment one of the keys. It is often said that level, techniques and practices which and the risks lie with the service provider. “knowledge is power”, yet this is of enable remote collaboration replace the Further, the service partner can more littleU value unless it can be shared. need for much of the travel undertaken to easily provide the specialist support skills, Historically, businesses, and increasingly attend meetings with colleagues, partners which would be expensive to hire and educational, not-for-profit and other types and clients. maintain in-house. With a single supplier of endeavour, have long understood the Corporately, not only does this cut costs and single user interface to meet the benefits of collaborative services in terms but, in today’s environmentally-conscious organisation’s complete multimedia of operational improvement: in short, time age, it also helps the organisation to reduce requirements, the result will be greater saved is money saved. More recently, its carbon footprint and enhance its green simplicity and consistency, leading to faster however, the broader value of such virtual credentials, by reducing the reliance on deployment and reduced training costs. 86

Multimedia Conferencing

If communication systems are outsourced, it is now possible to use a flexible pricing mechanism which offers a flat-rate, per minute, per participant cost. Genysys Meeting Center is an example of this simplicity in approach, through its pricing mechanism, which is known as the Multimedia Minute. For conferencing, this is applied regardless of the type or mix of audio, web and desk top video used in each conference. As a result, this software as a service option has no up-front costs or charges: the clients only pay for what they use. The single low rate for all collaboration needs is thus likely to prove especially attractive to large enterprises looking to expand adoption across their entire organisation.

ITHOUT EASE OF DEPLOYMENT and use, any new technology, no matter how financially attractive, Wwill ultimately fail to deliver the full benefits available. However, according to a recent report by industry analyst, Frost & Sullivan: “A major issue with a number of web conferencing services is the demand placed on both the host and all participants to still require the presence of a Java Virtual and valuable function set. download software in order to run and Machine (JVM) or download on the user’s Critically, such “click to join”, no-dial attend a conference. This…can delay the PC to allow participation in a conference functionality makes it equally easy for start of a meeting; there may be software call. Genysys Conferencing, by contrast, participants to use, both inside and beyond installation issues caused by ‘locked-down’ has invested heavily in standards-based the firewall, via any combination of PCs in secure office environments; and the Ajax and XHTML technologies, removing, Desktop VoIP, PSTN or audio streaming corporate firewall may itself prevent the at a stroke, one of the biggest hurdles and from any browser, with no additional download in the first place.” preventing adoption of collaborative software or plug-ins required. In selecting a suitable application, technologies. At a time when remote working is therefore, the decision-maker should The result is unrivalled ease of increasing, the inclusion in Genysys compare how simple it is for both the host deployment, and the ability to build further Meeting Center 4.0 of desk top VoIP is and participants to access a meeting. on the new platform, providing a valuable especially important, as it enables people Genysys Conferencing has developed its future-proofed system. With no plug-ins, working from home, or travelling, to take latest Genysys Meeting Center 4.0 with JVM – or downloads for participants – part in the audio portion of collaboration, these issues expressly in mind, in order to required, deployment of robust and without suffering high mobile phone or comprehensive multimedia communication hotel telephone bills. greatly reduces the workload for IT departments, as it can be deployed ERVICE DELIVERY QUALITY should be T oday’s enterprise is now comprised overnight across the entire enterprise. assured. Audio conferencing has of people, knowledge, know-how, Ease of use is catered for by the been fully integrated within our technical experience and best additional functionality in Genysys working habits for many years, and there is practices which are typically S Meeting Center 4.0, designed specifically no reason to think that full migration to dispersed across the organisation to encourage greater usage. By integrating multimedia collaboration will not become a and often globally. with enterprise applications, users have mainstream enterprise in time, for a range direct access via everyday desktop tools of organisations. One of the keys to success in such as Outlook and Lotus Notes Calendar, The battle to make people aware of the bringing these talents together, supporting the scheduling of meetings, operational and strategic benefits this and then exploiting them Exchange and Lotus Notes address books approach offers has arguably been won. As effectively, depends on being for selecting invites and Instant Messenger a result, the natural reluctance in the face of able to move beyond the rigid, for real-time invitations. the apparent complexities of the new traditional forms of geographical, One-click access enables the full technology will largely disappear with cultural and also multimedia experience. A customisable familiarity, as users and potential users find technological barriers. meeting interface allows users to toggle its benefits far outweigh those of the earlier between a simplified interface and one audio-only technology. which offers a more advanced feature set However, there are two hurdles to accelerate adoption across and beyond a ordering the configuration of the meeting address if the takeup of the technology is to large multi-location organisation and interface to their precise needs. Finally, the grow to the extent it deserves. Firstly, many achieve quicker understanding and take-up intuitive nature of the interface eliminates existing systems place constraints both on by users throughout the business. the need for training before fully installation and usage which, as in the case Many of today’s collaboration services capitalising on the benefits of this extensive of Genysys Meeting Center 4.0, must be 87

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meeting: further, participants entering the provided by their partner company Telewest audio and web portion of the meeting are Communications. This integrates three sent to a virtual waiting room, and wait elements audio, web and application What the best multimedia there until the moderator lets them into the sharing to enable a user to schedule and conferencing solutions can provide main meeting room. manage all aspects of virtual meetings, is a complementary support tool, The moderator can see the names and from their PC, with simple point-and-click which enables effective virtual telephone numbers of participants and also commands. meetings to take place when direct audio portions of the meeting. As a result, UK construction and support services contact is unnecessary they have the power to dismiss any giant, Carillion plc uses LetsAllMeet to or impractical. participant from the meeting if they do not provide a secure, entirely self-provisioning recognise that participant. service, managed via a portal on the As multimedia communication In addition, any information which has Carillion Intranet. Users can set up their gains increasing acceptance, been uploaded to the conference server can own conferencing account, billed to their organisations are more able to only be viewed by the people who have individual cost code, access user guides and “communicate without barriers” access to that account. Each account has its make use of live online training on how and so share information own directory on the server and, without best to use the new multimedia conferencing and intelligence across the proper rights, other participants cannot see features. Managers comment on the enterprise and beyond. the directory. advantages of faster decision-making and Underpinning all this, moderators can the general gains from being able to share a use SSL (Secure Socket Layer) for 128 bit desktop via conferencing to multiple encryption, the highest level of security people. offered to consumers and the same as that Pratt & Whitney (http://www.pratt- eliminated in order to persuade the users – used by banks and online shopping whitney.com), a United Technologies both host and participants –- to access companies. Corporation company is a world leader in online meetings and participate. the design, manufacture and service of Equally importantly, in building OOKING AHEAD IS A problematic aircraft engines, industrial gas turbines and awareness of any new technical activity. No conferencing technology space propulsion systems. Working with a development, there needs to be a particular can claim to fully replace face-to-face geographically and culturally diverse emphasis on service quality, both in Lcontact, for the social content – knowing customer base ranging from Paris to Dubai explaining the new technology and training the people with whom one is and Luxembourg to Cairo presents a major users to get the most from their investment. communicating – continues to form an challenge as face-to face-meetings are not It is necessary to provide both leading-edge essential element in building broader always feasible. Online presentations of technology and first-class consultancy relationships. What the best multimedia product information not only serve as a advice and support. For once, the conferencing solutions can provide is a marketing tool but also demonstrate the advertising truism of “global delivery, local complementary support tool, which enables benefits of using web conferencing in support” has both a resonance and effective virtual meetings to take place general, including support for internal relevance to achieving success in the when direct contact is unnecessary or meetings and team meetings. delivery of multimedia services. impractical. As multimedia communication gains Go to http://www.Genysys.com ECURITY BEYOND THE FIREWALL has increasing acceptance, organisations are to match internal security. On- more able to “communicate without premise systems may be favoured as barriers” and so share information Sonline meetings can be protected by the and intelligence across the organisation’s firewall, and policed by its enterprise and beyond. access policies. Yet, at a time of Trying to predict the unprecedented globalisation and co- future may be a high-risk operation, the problem of security regarding game, but one thing interactions with potentially unauthorised seems certain: to or unmonitored sources remains, in the face survive and thrive in an of the increasing imperative to collaborate ever more competitive beyond an organisation’s own secure zones. world, fast and ready In seeking to address this problem, access to knowledge – conferencing and collaboration service after its employees, providers work hard to deal with key clearly an organisation’s security issues in order to avoid most powerful resource – unnecessary risk. As a result, it is important will increasingly amount to check how each service provider to the difference between prevents unauthorised access to the service, success and failure. the design of the conference access process, Genysys provides a the physical security of the data centre and number of systems which the vetting of employees who support the are designed to help service. organisations capitalise on, The Genysys Meeting Center 4.0 service, and share, their knowledge for example, has multiple layers of security. base. LetsAllMeet is a The first level is password protection, and a custom version of Genysys “close the door” facility can also be used Conferencing’s multimedia for the conference. The moderator can set conferencing service up a password to secure entry to the Genysys Meeting Center, 88

information via basic RSS feeds. Most library systems have the ability to import catalogue records from external sources. The success of TOCRoSS was in the way it Automated demonstrated how valuable journal article data could be automatically added to the library catalogue through the development of a small amount of open source software Cataloguing and the merging of a couple of standards. Melanie Keady, the University of Derby development partner, said:

We’re really pleased that what began as an of Journal Articles idea raised during a chat across a desk here has proved viable. It will help academics, students, librarians, publishers and catalogue service providers delve deeper into all the digital learning resources on TOCRoSS offer.

It’s really useful for students and academics to be able to receive this information in as seamless a way as possible. It means that Update academics have up-to-date article information that they know can be accessed This improves the accuracy of records, by their students. saves time for library staff and delivers a The August 2006 issue of MmIT more integrated OPAC experience to users. The impact for the library is that TOCRoSS carried an interim report on the For students and academics, TOCRoSS has enabled the cataloguing of publisher JISC-funded TOCROSS project, makes it simple to discover valuable and data without incurring extra resources and which ran for 10 months, ending in expensive online e-journal resources which costs. Although the purpose of the project the summer of 2006. have previously remained undiscovered was to deal with the automatic feeding of and under-utilised. E-journal articles can journal article details into library The original feature was written by now be identified alongside key reference catalogues, it could lay the foundation for Gillian Crawford, Head of Corporate text, all with a single search. future e-reconciliation of journal holdings, Communications at Emerald Group The RSS 2.0 standard is a simple, yet subscription and journal availability. Publishing, which was a partner with powerful technology which has many the University of Derby and Talis in potential applications in machine-to- The TOCRoSS project team worked closely the project. machine communications. RSS has been with the NISO/EDItEUR working party used to deliver news feeds or alerts of blog responsible for ONIX serials messages. The dissemination phase of the postings to individuals’ desktops. This cooperation resulted in the proposed project has now been completed, TOCRoSS demonstrates how the TOCRoSS standard for delivering journal and this article is a review of what innovative application of simple technologies article information, using ONIX record was achieved. enables the delivery of services which structures, via RSS. previously would not have been viable. Talis, the technology partner for the Paul Evans, Head of Web Services at project, delivered the open source software Emerald and the TOCRoSS project leader, component which is used by an educational HROUGH AN INNOVATIVE JISC-funded said: establishment to manage TOCRoSS feeds project, Emerald Group Publishing from publishers, transforming the article Limited (Emerald), Talis, and the By the end of the project, Emerald had sent descriptions into a format suitable for UniversityT of Derby have transformed the the university information on all the titles it import in to their library catalogue and cataloguing of journal articles. had ever subscribed to – 40,000 records in other systems. Go to http://www.talis.com. The Table of Contents by Really Simple total. Over 3,000 of these were made Emerald has also made available the Syndication (TOCRoSS) project was available for search by the University open source software environment which established to address an important students and staff. This was done to test the can be used to produce TOCRoSS feeds. requirement. Within the UK’s academic ability of the university’s OPAC to handle These toolkits are available free to further institution libraries, cataloguing of journals high volumes of data. and higher education establishments, and journal articles has, until this day, been publishers and library management system unachievable. Richard Wallis from Talis commented: developers from sourceforge. Working in partnership, Emerald, Talis, (http://sourceforge.net/projects/tocross) and the University of Derby have TOCRoSS was all about taking what was TOCRoSS software is available with a successfully engaged with students and already there and orchestrating it to fix a suitable open source licence, such as GNU academics throughout the project. With previously insoluble problem; potentially General Public Licence. TOCRoSS in place, e-journal table of providing great library value, in return for This will make it possible for publishers content data can now be fed automatically little library effort. ONIX and RSS are and library management system suppliers into library catalogues without the need for already established standards. Many to use it freely with their products and cataloguing, classification or data entry. journal publishers already provide article services. 89

MmIT volume 33 no 3 August 2007

DVDDVD && VVideoideo NewsNews

BRITISH TRANSPORT FILMS make up one of DVD series of British Transport Films, the largest and most impressive collections looks, on this occasion, at the films which of documentary films in Britain, and form were not (with one exception) directly one of the jewels of about railways. the BFI National Film As with all BTF’s promotional films, the Archive. The films in indirect message was that transport could this release will serve as a means to an end. The end might entertain and inform, appealing to film historians, transport Disc One enthusiasts and anyone Ocean Terminal (1952) wishing to catch a rare Dodging the Column (1952) glimpse of a Britain Link Span (1956) rapidly vanishing from the present day. Every Valley (1957) Following the post-war thirst for visual Journey into Spring (1957) teaching and educational entertainment, Between the Tides (1958) and the nationalisation of transport in 1948, Giant Load (1958) the British Transport Commission set up its Seaspeed Express (1980) own in-house film production and distribution unit in 1949. Disc Two Over a period of 37 years, until its They Take the High Road (1960) closure in 1986, it made over 700 films Wild Highlands (1961) promoting travel on Britain’s railways or Wild Wings (1965) providing technical instruction. An Artist Looks at Churches (1959) Edgar Anstey OBE, one of the pioneers Railways For Ever! (1970) of British documentary films, led the BTF The Scene From Melbury House unit for 25 years, and it occupied a (1972) prestigious position alongside the Shell Age of Invention (1975) Film Unit and the National Coal Board Film Unit, winning over 200 film awards Release date: 25 June 2007 including an Oscar® in 1966. RRP £19.99 / cat. no. BFIVD744 / cert E UK / 1952-1980 / black and white, and OFF THE BEATEN TRACK, the fifth release in colour / 304 mins / Ratio 1.33:1 the BFI’s digitally re-mastered double-disc 90

DVD & Video News be a medieval city or town, a slice of Science is Fiction / The Sounds of like a natural fit for Painlevé's dramatic peaceful, picturesque countryside, Science – The films of Jean underwater studies. Yo La Tengo’s score the Highlands of Scotland or an Painlevé, with alternative has previously only been available on a endless coastline of soundtrack by Yo La Tengo. CD, entitled The Sounds of the Sounds of undisturbed beaches and rock Science. This is the first time the music and pools. Before the arrival of Painlevé's films have been made available If a change of scene was Jacques Cousteau, and, together on DVD. sometimes required, then slightly later David British Transport could Attenborough, there Painlevé also deal with this. was Jean Painlevé. Extras Some of the films Poetic pioneer of which are included on science films, in his Filmed introduction by academic this release earned the major work Painlevé Dr Michael Abecassis highest of all possible explored a twilight accolades, including an realm of seahorses, Two short films by Percy Smith: Oscar for Wild Wings octopi, liquid crystals The Birth of a Flower (1910) and (Best short live action and vampire bats. The Strength and Agility of Insects subject in 1966) and Collaborating with (1911) Oscar nominations for Geneviève Hamon – Journey into Spring his life-partner – A short film by Adrian Klein: (1957) and Between the Painlevé (below left) Colour on the Thames (1935) Tides (1958). Among the made more than 200 rare gems here are The science and nature films, Also included is a 32-page illustrated Scene from Melbury House and was an early booklet with essays and film notes and An Artist Looks At champion of the genre. This Release date: 11 June 2007 Churches. selection from 50 years of RRP £24.99 / cat. no. BFIVD719 All these films are now passionate scientific enquiry cert E preserved in the BFI National includes his most famous films - France / 1927-1978 / colour, and Archive. They have been digitally re- The Sea Horse, The Vampire, The black & white / French with English mastered for this collection, which will Love Life of the Octopus and Sea subtitles / 120 mins + 95 mins fascinate not only transport enthusiasts but Urchins –- with their often-amazing music, ratio 1.33:1 also fans of historical British documentary which ranged from Duke Ellington to the filmmaking. French pioneer of electronic music, Pierre A colour booklet containing an introduction Henry. THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE DVD collection and film notes by BTF historian Steven Possessing a remarkable eye for life’s of all 26 short films by the legendary Czech Foxon, programme writer for this series, eerie curiosities (see above), Painlevé’s art Surrealist filmmaker-animator Jan accompanies the discs. pivots on the premise that “science is Svankmajer was released by the BFI in late fiction”. He created a landscape of bug-eyed June. These films, while technically and wonderment – marked by a playful sense of conceptually astonishing, are also remarkable nature’s hidden poetry – and scandalised the for their philosophical consistency and their scientific world with a cinema designed to frequently mind-boggling imagery. entertain as well as edify. In the process he Drawing on a tradition of surrealism rooted won over the circle of Surrealists and avant- in the capital of magic and alchemy – gardists, and counted amongst his friends Prague – Svankmajer uses a range of Antonin Artaud, Sergei Eisenstein, Jean Vigo, techniques, combining live action, puppet and Luis Buñuel. Painlevé’s astonishing theatre, stop-motion and drawn animation, documentaries witness a genuinely 'magic claymation, cut-outs, re-edited archive realism', which continues to enchant footage and montage. With nearly eight audiences around the world. hours of material, packaged in a deluxe A two-disc set in a double-cover digipack with a lavish 54-page illustrated digipack, the DVD release also includes booklet, the DVD is an essential item for The Sounds of Science, an exclusive extra any Svankmajer fan. Its release follows the disc featuring an alternative soundtrack to a director’s visit to BFI Southbank on the selection of the films, by US art-rock band 29th May to discuss his work, after a Yo La Tengo. preview of his latest film Lunacy. Yo La Tengo’s place in rock history is Compiled by BFI Screenonline’s unique – few bands in memory dare to Michael Brooke, who also produced last experiment quite so widely with such year’s highly acclaimed release Quay casual audacity. From screeching art-rock Brothers: The Short Films 1979-2003, the and jangling pop songs to electronic DVD collection spans almost 30 years, soundscapes and hushed lullabies, their from The Last Trick (1964) to Food (1992). music explores the range of musical history All the classics are included: Punch and without ever sounding less than modern. In Judy, The Flat, Jabberwocky, Dimensions 2001 the band was selected by the San of Dialogue, Down to the Cellar and both Francisco International Film Festival versions of The Ossuary (with the original committee to compose new music for the banned tour-guide soundtrack and the films of Jean Painlevé. Their alternately replacement music track), alongside many sombre and joyously moody music seemed British video premieres. It even contains 91

MmIT volume 33 no 3 August 2007

commercial Czech features when he was banned from making his own films. The 54- Macpherson Extras page booklet includes an introduction to Svankmajer by Michael O’Pray; detailed Filmed interview with Courtney Pine film notes by Michael Brooke, Simon Kenwin (1996, 86mins) Documentary Field, Michael O’Pray, Julian Petley, A.L. by Véronique Goël, including home Rees and Philip Strick; notes on the extras movie footage, on the house that H.D., and much more. Bryher and Macpherson built at La Tour-de-Peilz Close Up – documentary on the film journal by Véronique Goël (13 mins) Borderline: A film by Kenneth Macpherson, Trailers for Dreams That Money Can with a new soundtrack composed and Buy (Hans Richter, 1948) co-produced performed by Courtney Pine by Kenneth Macpherson and Pink Narcissus (James Bidgood, 1971) A GROUNDBREAKING SILENT film (below) for 20-page illustrated booklet containing its explicit theme of racial prejudice and essays by Sukhdev Sandhu, Jamie with an implicit homoerotic subtext, Sexton and David Bailey Borderline (1930) is a seething exploration of love, passion and betrayal, directed by RRP £24.99 / cat. no. BFIVD735 / cert 12 Kenneth Macpherson, editor of the UK / 1930 / black and white / silent influential intellectual film journal Close Up with music / 71 mins / ratio 1.33:1 the music video made for former Stranglers (1927-33). This disc includes optional subtitles for front man Hugh Cornwell (Another Kind of Last May, a presentation of Borderline at the hearing-impaired on all items Love) and two Art Breaks created for MTV. Tate Modern, with a new score written and The third disc, of two-and-a-half hours of performed live by British composer and extra material, includes: a bonus short in saxophonist Courtney Pine, attracted 2,000 group). These included Hilda Doolittle, Johanes Doktor Faust (1958); the original people. Now released on DVD, Borderline’s later known as H.D., Robert Herring and 54-minute version of The Cabinet of Jan formal experimentation finds a perfect Winifred Bryher. Svankmajer (1984) with a brand new match in the contemporary rhythms of Influenced by the psychological realism introduction by the Quay Brothers; the Pine’s heady modern jazz score. Packaged of GW Pabst and Sergei Eisenstein’s French documentary Les Chimères des in a double disc set, this release also montage, the film is a lost classic of the Svankmajer (2001); interviews with Jan and contains two films by Véronique Goël. British avant-garde. Eva Svankmajer and examples of their work Prior to Borderline, Kenneth Macpherson Borderline tells the story of a tense, inter- in other media. had made three short films, but this was his racial love triangle and its deadly There is also a chance to see some first feature, and by far his most ambitious consequences. Macpherson embellishes the Svankmajer special effects, created for effort. Released a year after Dziga Vertov’s tale by portraying the extreme psychological pioneering Man With a Movie Camera states of the characters. The result is a (1929), Borderline features the iconic star unique and complex matrix of racial and Svankmajer Extras Paul Robeson and his wife Eslanda, and sexual tension moving between the other cast members from the Close Up boundaries of black and white, male and Johanes Doktor Faust (Emil Radok, collective (intellectuals from the editorial female and the conscious and the 1958) board who called themselves the Pool unconscious.

Nick Carter in Prague (Oldrich Lipsky´, 1977, excerpts)

The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer (Keith Griffiths, 1984)

Les Chimères des Svankmajer (Bertrand Schmitt/Michel Leclerc, 2001)

Czech TV Interview (2001)

Lunacy trailer (2005)

Release date: 25 June 2007 RRP £29.99 / cat. no. BFIVD632 / cert 15 Czech / 1964-1992 / colour and black & white / 7 hours 44 mins / ratio 4:3 and 2.35:1 (Cinemascope) / Czech, French and English dialogue, with optional English and Hard of Hearing subtitles (including extras)

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DVD & Video News

Archive. The DVD also contains the Frame – Ian Breakwell (2007, 32 mins), an extensive illustrated interview recorded Breakwell’s was an art of shortly before his death, together with an retrieval, absorption and contrariety. illustrated 20-page booklet with a fully His video pieces are subtle enactments annotated filmography and a bibliography. “of an individual praxis that compel our The sleeve notes feature a specially- attention, again and again, to the commissioned introductory essay by Will uneasy comity of lived life. Self. (Will Self) The British Artists’ Films DVD series is produced in partnership with arts The third release in the BFI’s” British documentary producers Illuminations and Artists’ Films DVD series features Ian Arts Council England. It features a wide Breakwell (1943-2005), an artist who selection of important film and video work worked in many different media, with the by British artists from the last 30 years. moving image a constant part of his art- Previous releases are William Raban and making. Chris Welsby. Over 30 years of Ian’s filmmaking are surveyed. Included are his earliest readings RRP £19.99 / cat. no. BFIVD730 / cert E to camera from his written Diaries, UK / 1973-2007 / colour / 127 mins / ratio Excerpts From The Diary, the film 1.33:1 Repertory, The News – his hilarious parody of broadcast television, and the episodes BFI DVDs are available from the Filmstore Growth and The Walking Man from at BFI Southbank, London SE1, all good Annalogue’s Channel Four Television retailers, by mail order from 0845 458 9910 series Ian Breakwell’s Continuous Diary. variety, spectacle and illusion. These are or online at http://www.bfi.org.uk/video Also included are two works which reflect Auditorium, and Variety, his response to a his love of alternative theatre and its residency at the National Film and Television

Film Education’s Online Citizenship Resource Looks Back to 1983 FILM EDUCATION’S ONLINE RESOURCE for This is England Highly engaging performances create a world where we share encourages A level students to look at questions of identity from a the characters’ desire to belong and to understand the situations range of subject perspectives including Citizenship, Politics, they encounter. Sociology and Film and Media. Attention to detail results in an instantly recognisable snapshot of This powerful and moving film raises issues that are as 1983, providing those who remember that time with an almost meaningful today as they were for Shaun in 1983 when the film is tangible world and those who are younger with a means of set. This is England provides a raw, funny and profoundly honest experiencing the recent past. account of Shaun’s coming of age as he finds a sense of belonging in a gang of skinheads. Go to http://www.filmeducation.org/thisisengland/index.html 93

MmIT volume 33 no 3 August 2007 A Sound Education

Peter Findlay, Project Manager – Archival Sound Recordings Project, British Library Sound Archive, reports on the development of the Archive and its main features

take recorded sound very seriously. For human or indeed natural activity. ITHIN THE LIBRARY WORLD the instance, classical musicians have, until printed word is king. Sound recently, considered the score as the only SR CONTENT is diverse, reflecting recordings, on the other hand, are true representation of a composer’s work the heterogeneity of the Sound Wmuch neglected and are not necessarily and have neglected recordings almost Archive’s holdings. Material ranges seen as documentary evidence. This notion entirely. Afrom unpublished ethnomusicology is being challenged by an innovative new recordings, such as those made by Klaus service initiated by The British Library HE ASR SERVICE operates on the Wachsmann in Uganda in the 1950s, to Sound Archive. The Archival Sound premise that sound is a valuable Beethoven String Quartet performances Recordings (ASR) service is an online resource for teaching, learning and recorded over an 80 year period. The resource funded by the Joint Information research,T and that it is just as essential as the earliest of these is from the acoustic period Systems Committee (JISC), under its visual. It provides another dimension to our way back in 1920. Digitisation Programme. The ASR service understanding of the world. In the collection there are 400 Popular was launched in September 2006, and will Recordings are dynamic documents music tracks, 1500 hours of Oral History provide some 4,300 hours of material which, it is hoped, will inspire new research interviews with Artists, Architects and drawn from approximately and an exploration of how sound can be Designers and a series of broadcasts made 500,000 hours of available embedded in teaching and learning for consumption on the African continent. sounds stored in the materials. The ability to digitise Another collection, yet to be added, archive. The JISC have archival material makes this documents the sounds of amphibian wild recently announced possible, and allows for the material life. further funding for the to be delivered remotely via the These location recordings of frogs, toads ASR project and web. and snakes may appear of little interest to another 4,800 The service is currently academia, yet there is considerable hours of sound comprised of eight excitement at the prospect of being able to will be added to collections, or content hear extinct and endangered species. The the service by packages, and one provision of geo-special information may, 2009. of these – for example, allow scientists to plot where It is thought that Soundscapes – a species was last located or where an firstly, we perceive encompasses endangered or rare species can still be the world through sounds which found. The Sound Archive’s wildlife sound. The human are recorded in section now holds more than 150,000 foetus appears to respond both the natural and the man- scientifically-organised and documented to sound at approximately 18 weeks. made environments. recordings of all classes of sound- Language is of course initially learned The actual word soundscape was coined producing animals from every through listening and mimicry, and sound by composer R. Murray Schafer to identify zoogeographical region, so the potential for has played a fundamental role in all human sounds that “describe a place, a sonic putting more online is enormous. development; yet we do not value sound in identity, a sonic memory, but always a The inclusion of the Beethoven String the same way as we do printed matter. sound that is pertinent to a place”. Quartets referred to above has been The ability to record sound is fairly new Soundscapes are essential aural maps, and queried. One view expressed during the in human development, and this, combined can be used in much the same ways as a project was: “Why put these old classical with the ephemeral nature of many graphical map – to indicate location, time, recordings up when you can get them in playback media, is probably why we do not space and to provide evidence of some HMV stores?”. This is the whole point; one 94

A Sound Education cannot get hold of many of the earlier taken on what is to be downloaded, the file recordings. Record companies, if they have containing the entire recording can be any interest at all in classical music, tend to accessed. If desired, it can be segmented promote the great performers and offline, using available audio editing tools. concentrate on their current offerings. A list of these online resources is provided Finding 80 years of diverse performances on the site, as are instructions on how to use in one place is unique and facilitates the site. contrast and comparison. The notion behind this is to allow academics to download the HE MATERIAL IS AVAILABLE in two recordings, and then use them in their digital formats. Windows Media files lectures or present them on institutional are used for streaming the audio, in systems for reuse by students. Torder to facilitate fast browsing. MP3s are The ASR website, in many instances, provided for download purposes. offers detailed information about the In some instances, files are 40 minutes recordings. This metadata makes it easy for long. These are accessible at a medium people – or machines – to discover what is resolution to facilitate (128Kbps) faster available. The metadata is exposed to the downloading; the exception being the World Wide Web, and can be harvested by Beethoven files, as quality has to be high search engines in conformance with Open (192Kbps) in order for these to be of Archives Initiative (OAI) standards. optimum use to the person accessing them. Other standards have been tested during Some oral history interviews are 20 hours the course of the project. The Metadata long, and these are provided in half hour Encoding and Transmission Standard parts. (METS), developed by the Library of Congress, has been implemented with HE PROCESS OF taking the material audio content for the first time. This XML- from the archive shelf and converting based standard allows for segmented it into digital formats is time- recordings with multiple parts to be Tconsuming. the project had to devise a strategy for referenced as a whole. METS also The project has been described as a dealing with multiple rights issues. documents the relationship between the digitisation project; in fact, digitisation is External clearance specialists were archival original and the derivative digital but one strand of the work. It has been an employed to clear material which required media, and shows the processes undertaken essential aspect, but digitisation is in effect negotiation or extensive research. to transfer from analogue to digital states. only a means to an end. The approach to clearing commercially Access is the core objective; having said published material was to negotiate with ORKING WITH USERS has been that, preservation has also been an integral the record industry directly, through trade essential to the success of the part of the process, and in some instances organisations. The British Library proposed project. They have been consulted was considered critical. Older formats can that the ASR service should allow downloads. throughoutW the life cycle of the project, and deteriorate, and it is also becoming This was met with understandable concern a User Panel made up of academic subject increasingly difficult to find play-back from the industry, as illegal downloading is specialists has contributed to the selection devices. In 15 years time it may be of growing concern to publishers now that of content and the development of the user impossible to play back material on file sharing is rife. The ASR service is interface. Laboratory-based testing of a traditional tape. Ironically, some newer unique in being licensed to provide prototype has led to changes being made to digital formats – such as DAT tape – will no downloads for popular music and other the website, and people with disabilities longer be playable in another 10 years time, material which is still in copyright. have also been engaged in testing, making as the manufacture of machines has ceased. Clearing rights in broadcast material is the site as user-friendly as is possible. Another example of material at risk is complex, with rights protecting not only Ensuring that the service will be acetate disc. This format has always been the recording but also the incidental music exploited well depends on engaging with fragile, as it was not conceived for general and perhaps a script in the case of dramas. potential users. Celia Duffy, chair of the playback purposes but acted as a master These underlying rights must either be ASR User Panel said: recording format in a studio environment. cleared or, at the very least, trade bodies Acetates can shed the outer coating from need to be consulted in order to ensure that The panel represents a range of disciplines the substrate, which is made of metal, and an attempt has been made to contact and educational areas. In addition to the life span of a disk is perhaps no more owners. This will avoid the danger of later subject-based academic input we also than 50 years. During the late 1940s, Klaus claims of ownership. benefit from an e-learning expert and an Wachsmann recorded live in the field Clearing rights for unpublished materials accessibility specialist. Our job is to directly onto acetates. His work is can also be a challenge. For example, one contribute to discussions on content, to completely unique and his recordings are, of the collections consists of recordings advise on usability and to act as in some instances, the only documentation made by the linguist David Rycroft in ambassadors for the project, promoting it of certain aspects of cultural activity. Some Africa during the 60s and 70s. Rycroft within our professional networks. of the languages he recorded are often recorded musicians and singers on the disappearing, so preservation of this roadside, so locating those people now is A number of simple facilities make for material had become increasingly pressing. not possible. ease of use. For example, a user may want Our approach was to contact the South to carry out research into a number of LEARING INTELLECTUAL property African Musicians’ Union, and to pay an recordings. Once a series has been rights in sound recordings is often agreed sum into a holding fund so that there identified, any number of clips of value for complex, and the legislation is not will be some money available for payment use later can be saved by setting up a My Cclear on where archives stand in terms of should a musician come forward and claim Project page. Once decisions have been digitising material in their care. Therefore, rights in the future. 95

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HE COLLECTION IS ENHANCED through recordings were broadcast throughout the availability of images of the Africa, but some where produced and original packaging of the Beethoven broadcast by the BBC World Service. Tand Chopin content. This includes disc G Art and design interviews: intimate labels. Many CD publications contain encounters with the life and work of booklets, often with an essay by leading British painters, sculptors, photographers critics, and these are presented as PDF files and architects. Interviewees include: with embedded OCR text included. sculptors Elisabeth Frink and Eduardo Some of the Oral History materials have Paolozzi; painters Terry Frost, Paula full transcriptions provided, or at least a Rego and Michael Rothenstein; comprehensive summary embedded in the photographers Grace Robertson, Mari metadata record. These summaries are Mahr and Helen Chadwick; and invited a well-known public figure to viewable on the web page at item level. architects Denys Lasdun, Ralph Erskine, debate an issue of the day. The debates The ASR service is available to ATHENS Edward Hollamby and Patrick Gwynne. became very popular amongst city authenticated users within licensed G David Rycroft Africa recordings: a South workers and guests included Enoch institutions in Higher and Further African-born linguist and musicologist, Powell speaking on race, Diana Rigg on education. The Athens Access Management Rycroft made many field trips to villages, single parentage, A J Ayer on moral system provides access to numerous web- townships and settlements around South responsibility, Edna O’Brien on fear, and based services throughout the UK and Africa between the 60s and 80s. Rycroft Germaine Greer on free will. overseas, by single sign-on. The terms of focussed on unaccompanied choral G 400 Popular Music Tracks: a collection use are governed by a licence which has to singing, songs composed for indigenous of popular music from the 1930s to the be signed by each institution, and includes musical instruments, and urban music. 1990s, intended to reflect developments the proscription that materials can only be The bulk of this material is previously in sound recording, technology and used within the context of teaching, unpublished. musical styles over that period. The learning and research in the UK. G Klaus Wachsmann’s Uganda recordings: material has been chosen to support the Once a licence has been signed by an said to be the “foremost pioneering growing academic study of popular institution, access is granted to users with a scholar in African music”, Wachsmann music in UK further and higher made roughly 1,500 education. recordings of G Beethoven String Quartets: this package indigenous music in contrasts performances of Beethoven’s Uganda, mostly un string quartets in recordings which span published before. approximately 100 years. An archive of GOral history of jazz more than 700 recordings, this is a in Britain: this is an comprehensive and unique resource for informal and also the student of music. It reflects changes anecdotal history of in performance styles, musicianship, and the music, venues and interpretation of some of the most people which defined masterful compositions in the history of jazz in the UK. Western classical music. Through interviews G Herpetology: 1620 unpublished amphibian with many musicians, recordings, representing 350-400 different promoters and label species. Herpetology (the study of owners, this part of amphibians and reptiles) forms a the collection focuses significant area of worldwide research in on some of the less the field of Biological Sciences. well known aspects of Research as a whole is broad, with British jazz music – scientists looking at behaviour, taxonomy including the impact and conservation, as well as direct in Britain of overseas research into acoustic communication musicians, British systems. developments in free G Chopin’s early piano performances: improvisation in the Chopin is considered to be the pre- 1960s, jazz outside eminent Romantic composer of 19th username and password. Information about London, and the contribution of women century classical music. He offered the recordings is available online to all, but to the music. entirely new approaches to existing in order to listen and download, G Records and record players: this teaching forms such as the piano sonata, waltz, authentication is required. To request a package reflects, in sound, image and nocturne, étude, prelude, polonaise and licence a higher or further education text, the cultural and economic impact of mazurka. This collection includes 1000 institution can contact [email protected]. The site developments in recording technology recordings of selected works (pre-1957) URL is http://www.bl.uk/sounds. Material over the 20th century. It also features oral recorded by performers such as Vladimir is still being added, and the service will history interviews with significant Horowitz, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Artur contain 13 content packages by the end of figures in the worlds of music, radio, and Rubinstein. March 2007. The content includes: the recording industry. G Scientists’ Lives: 35 Oral history G St Mary-le-Bow public debates: at one interviews with eminent scientists, G African Writers’ Club: over 250 hours of o’clock every Tuesday lunchtime, for including, amongst others, Nobel prize radio programmes about African literary, fifteen years (1964-1979), Joseph winners Aaron Klug and Joseph Rotblat social and cultural affairs. Made at the McCulloch, the Rector of the St Mary-le- as well as some members of the Common Transcription Centre in London, the Bow Church in the City of London, Cold Unit.

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