Resources of the Week
Two items.
1) Refugees--Searchable Database RefWorld
Source: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
RefWorld is the content-rich nucleus of the recently updated UNHCR website. Available here is a collection of databases "containing Country of Origin Information (COI) and Legal Information (which) have been compiled by UNHCR and consist of carefully selected reports and documents." Select a country from the convenient drop-down menu to access all documents pertaining to that country on a single page, along with a picture of the flag and a few basic facts related to population, geography, languages spoken, etc. Choosing Iraq, for example, produces a comprehensive collection of links to full-text country reports (e.g., from Amnesty International, the U.S. Department of State, UK Home Office, etc.), events timelines, think tank papers and research briefs, as well as legal documents such as UN Resolutions, statutes and an interim constitution. Essentially, this is the online version of UNHRC's Refworld 2004 CD-ROM collection, which "has been referred to as a 'refugee encyclopedia' as it contains documents ranging from background country reports to legal position papers and guidelines." See Also: UNHCR Library & Visitors' Centre
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2) Philosophy--Encyclopedias Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Source: Metaphysics Research Lab, Center for the Study of Language and Information, Stanford University
"The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is intended to serve as an authoritative reference work suitable for use by professionals and students in the field of philosophy, as well as by all others interested in authoritative discussions on philosophical topics." Founded in 1995, it currently offers "more than 500 entries in 35 subject areas, including philosophy of science, aesthetics, history of ideas, feminism, ethics (theoretical and applied), social and political philosophy, and logic," according to a press release from SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). This week SPARC stepped up to the plate to generate some financial support for this resource. Edward Zalta, its principal editor -- a research scholar at Stanford University's Center for the Study of Language and Information -- said in the press release that he expects the encyclopedia -- which is accessed roughly 300,000 times a week -- to grow to more than 700 entries by 2006.
According to the encyclopedia's Editorial Information page: "Contributions to the Encyclopedia are normally solicited by invitation from a member of the Board of Editors. However, qualified potential contributors may send a proposal to write on an Encyclopedia topic, along with a curriculum vitae, to an appropriate member of the Editorial Board."
A family of resources to help information workers be more effective, raise the value of information in their organisations and contribute to success. Read more »
Recently I have found myself cooing over visualisation maps (and heat maps) of health and well being resources. The content rich data is overlayed with mapping technologies, and some interesting themes and patterns are emerging.
A lot of the talk around social media in the last year has been around information overload. Social media has provided us with new and exciting ways to create content. But it has also meant learning new ways to manage and engage with social media tools. Are we teetering on the edge of an information overload precipice?
Information overload is a figment of your imagination. Or a failure of your filter. Or a symptom of your technological submissiveness. Depends on who you ask.
What if you had to sort through 3.5 million articles and social media posts a day and try to pull out the most relevant items for your organisation? What if you then had to cobble it all together into something readable for your top groups and executives in your organisation?
Alacra Compliance saves time by aggregating information from both free and fee-based sources and enabling users to conduct an accurate federated search across these sources (coined “simultaneous search” by Alacra).
FreePint Family
Quilting big data threads
The fallacy of information overload
Information overload: fact, fantasy or filter failure? 
