Ciarán Quinn, Research Support Librarian & Librarian for the Research Institutes, Maynooth University. ciaran.quinn@mu.ie
Monday 17 December 2012
Monday 10 December 2012
Wednesday 21 November 2012
Metazoan opsin evolution reveals a simple route to animal vision
Metazoan opsin evolution reveals a simple route to animal vision
Feuda, R., Hamilton, S. C., McInerney, J. O., & Pisani, D. (2012). Metazoan opsin evolution reveals a simple route to animal vision. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(46), 18868-18872.
Department of Biology, National University of Ireland Maynooth, Kildare, Ireland; and School of Biological Sciences and School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol
Feuda, R., Hamilton, S. C., McInerney, J. O., & Pisani, D. (2012). Metazoan opsin evolution reveals a simple route to animal vision. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(46), 18868-18872.
Department of Biology, National University of Ireland Maynooth, Kildare, Ireland; and School of Biological Sciences and School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol
Tuesday 20 November 2012
Article level metrics now available from IOPscience
IOPscience
IOP Publishing (Institute of Physics) is making article level metrics available on 36 journals on IOPscience from October 2012. This represents the first step in an ongoing project to develop new discovery and filtering tools for the scientific community.
This new service offers users the opportunity to discover the wider impact of individual articles in a way that was not previously possible. The data available to users will be a mixture of article usage data from the IOPscience server logs and data collected from third parties.
Thursday 15 November 2012
Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media
The concept of Social Media is top of the agenda for many business executives today. Decision makers, as well as consultants, try to identify ways in which firms can make profitable use of applications such as Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook, Second Life, and Twitter. Yet despite this interest, there seems to be very limited understanding of what the term “Social Media” exactly means; this article intends to provide some clarification.
Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media
• Article
Business Horizons, Volume 53, Issue 1, 1 January 2010, Pages 59-68
Kaplan, A.M.; Haenlein, M. For the full article search the Science Direct database from the Library homepage.
Business Horizons, Volume 53, Issue 1, 1 January 2010, Pages 59-68
Kaplan, A.M.; Haenlein, M. For the full article search the Science Direct database from the Library homepage.
Wednesday 14 November 2012
Tuesday 13 November 2012
EndNote Web Training
Thomson Reuters | EndNote Web Training | Science
EndNote Web® is a Web-based reference organizer and writing solution. Web of Knowledge users have free access to EndNote Web, making exploring research literature and writing papers easier and more seamless.
Contact the Library for details if you'd like to set up your own account
EndNote Web® is a Web-based reference organizer and writing solution. Web of Knowledge users have free access to EndNote Web, making exploring research literature and writing papers easier and more seamless.
Contact the Library for details if you'd like to set up your own account
Monday 12 November 2012
Richard Bruton defends scientific adviser decision - RTÉ News
Richard Bruton defends scientific adviser decision - RTÉ News
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton has defended the Government decision to abolish the office of Chief Scientific Adviser.
Mr Bruton said the decision to merge the functions of the office with that of the Director General of Science Foundation Ireland would lead to an improvement in the quality of scientific advice available to Government.
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton has defended the Government decision to abolish the office of Chief Scientific Adviser.
Mr Bruton said the decision to merge the functions of the office with that of the Director General of Science Foundation Ireland would lead to an improvement in the quality of scientific advice available to Government.
Seaweed-threatened corals send chemical SOS to fish | Life | Science News
Seaweed-threatened corals send chemical SOS to fish | Life | Science News
When a killer seaweed touches a kind of spiky coral, the coral pushes a chemical panic button that brings small resident fish to the rescue.
Friday 9 November 2012
Thursday 8 November 2012
Students' self-presentation on Facebook: An examination of personality and self-construal factors
Abstract
The present research seeks to extend existing theory on self-disclosure to the online arena in higher educational institutions and contribute to the knowledge base and understanding about the use of a popular social networking site (SNS), Facebook, by college students. We conducted a non-experimental study to investigate how university students (N = 463) use Facebook, and examined the roles that personality and culture play in disclosure of information in online SNS-based environments. Results showed that individuals do disclose differently online vs. in-person, and that both culture and personality matter. Specifically, it was found that collectivistic individuals low on extraversion and interacting in an online environment disclosed the least honest and the most audience-relevant information, as compared to others. Exploratory analyses also indicate that students use sites such as Facebook primarily to maintain existing personal relationships and selectively used privacy settings to control their self-presentation on SNSs. The findings of this study offer insight into understanding college students' self-disclosure on SNS, add to the literature on personality and self-disclosure, and shape future directions for research and practice on online self-presentation. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Chen, B., & Marcus, J. (2012). Students' self-presentation on Facebook: An examination of personality and self-construal factors. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(6), 2091-2099.
Fulltext accessible from the Science Direct database.
'Earth-like' planet could support life
'Earth-like' planet could support life
An Anglo-German team of astronomers has discovered a new planet orbiting a nearby sun at just the right distance for an Earth-like climate that could support life.
An Anglo-German team of astronomers has discovered a new planet orbiting a nearby sun at just the right distance for an Earth-like climate that could support life.
Wednesday 7 November 2012
SciVerse - HUB - Learning Center
SciVerse - HUB - Learning Center
Searching with SciVerse Hub Tutorial. Sci Verse Hub searches across Elseviers Scopus, Science Direct and Embase databases. It also searches BioMed Central, PubMed, IOP Publishing, LexisNexis, Nature Publishing Group, Digital Archives, Patent Offices, and much more. A great resource well worth searching.
Searching with SciVerse Hub Tutorial. Sci Verse Hub searches across Elseviers Scopus, Science Direct and Embase databases. It also searches BioMed Central, PubMed, IOP Publishing, LexisNexis, Nature Publishing Group, Digital Archives, Patent Offices, and much more. A great resource well worth searching.
Astronomical Observations
Astronomical Observations
Science Building, 8.30 pm - 10 pm on Wednesday 14th November
Science Week: Ireland’s national science festival takes place 11-18 November across the country. The theme for 2012 is ‘Everyday Experimenting’ – celebrating the process of experimenting that we carry out in our daily lives, from trying out a new recipe, to how we choose the colours we wear, to how we interact with those around us – each of us are scientists in our own unique way!
Science Building, 8.30 pm - 10 pm on Wednesday 14th November
Science Week: Ireland’s national science festival takes place 11-18 November across the country. The theme for 2012 is ‘Everyday Experimenting’ – celebrating the process of experimenting that we carry out in our daily lives, from trying out a new recipe, to how we choose the colours we wear, to how we interact with those around us – each of us are scientists in our own unique way!
Prime movers and shakers
Prime movers and shakers
THAT’S MATHS: PRIME NUMBERS are of central importance in pure mathematics and also in a wide range of applications, most notably cryptography. The security of modern communication systems depends on their properties. Recall that a prime number is one that cannot be evenly divided by a smaller number. Thus 2, 3 and 5 are primes, but 4 and 6 are not, since 4 = 2 x 2 and 6 = 2 x 3. Primes are the atoms of the number system: every whole number is a product of primes.
THAT’S MATHS: PRIME NUMBERS are of central importance in pure mathematics and also in a wide range of applications, most notably cryptography. The security of modern communication systems depends on their properties. Recall that a prime number is one that cannot be evenly divided by a smaller number. Thus 2, 3 and 5 are primes, but 4 and 6 are not, since 4 = 2 x 2 and 6 = 2 x 3. Primes are the atoms of the number system: every whole number is a product of primes.
Plan your research with SciVal
Frequently Asked Questions | SciVal
Designed to support the many stages of the research planning cycle, the SciVal® suite of tools and services provides critical information about research performance, funding and expertise to enable informed decision-making and drive successful outcomes. Whether your institution is conducting research or funding it, SciVal provides the objective and analytical insight needed to maximize the performance of individuals, teams and organizations.
Now available through the Library.
Designed to support the many stages of the research planning cycle, the SciVal® suite of tools and services provides critical information about research performance, funding and expertise to enable informed decision-making and drive successful outcomes. Whether your institution is conducting research or funding it, SciVal provides the objective and analytical insight needed to maximize the performance of individuals, teams and organizations.
Now available through the Library.
Monday 5 November 2012
NUI MAYNOOTH RESEARCH TEAM PINPOINTS EVOLUTIONARY ORIGINS OF SIGHT
NUI MaynoothCommunications OfficePress ReleaseDavide Pisani Eye
Humans share chemical basis for vision with simplest organisms
Breakthrough study published in PNAS today
A team of NUI Maynooth biological scientists, led by Dr Davide Pisani has made a significant breakthrough in our understanding of the origins of sight in all animals, including humans. They have traced the common genetic links behind vision to a relatively short period of time around 700 million years ago – a much earlier and concentrated point in evolutionary history than previously understood and shown that man shares the same molecular building blocks enabling vision with the simplest organisms that can detect light.
SAO/NASA ADS: ADS Home Page
SAO/NASA ADS: ADS Home Page
The SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) is a Digital Library portal for researchers in Astronomy and Physics, operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) under a NASA grant. The ADS maintains three bibliographic databases containing more than 9.8 million records: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Physics, and arXiv e-prints.
The SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) is a Digital Library portal for researchers in Astronomy and Physics, operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) under a NASA grant. The ADS maintains three bibliographic databases containing more than 9.8 million records: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Physics, and arXiv e-prints.
Royal Irish Academy | Library | Exhibitions and Events
Royal Irish Academy | Library | Exhibitions and Events
Science at the Royal Irish Academy: ‘uniting whatever is pleasing with whatever is useful’: an exhibition: July 2012 - May 2013
Wednesday 31 October 2012
Thursday 25 October 2012
SciVerse Applications Gallery
SciVerse Applications Gallery
Sciverse (Elsevier) integrates ScienceDirect, Scopus, and targeted Web content, with community developed applications
Sciverse (Elsevier) integrates ScienceDirect, Scopus, and targeted Web content, with community developed applications
American Chemical Society Training Sessions in Trinity Wed 31st & Thur 1st November
Dublin, Ireland | ACS on Campus
Sessions include: SciFinder Training, Careers in Chemistry: What can I do with a PhD? What is this thing called Work/Life Balance?Basics of Scholarly Publishing: From the Editors Themselves
Sessions include: SciFinder Training, Careers in Chemistry: What can I do with a PhD? What is this thing called Work/Life Balance?Basics of Scholarly Publishing: From the Editors Themselves
Wednesday 24 October 2012
CellPress Online - cellpress impact
CellPress Online - cellpress impact
Cell Press continues to publish the highest impact research and reviews in the biomedical sciences, according to the latest Journal Citation Reports© published by Thomas Reuters.
Cell Press continues to publish the highest impact research and reviews in the biomedical sciences, according to the latest Journal Citation Reports© published by Thomas Reuters.
Tuesday 23 October 2012
Monday 22 October 2012
Friday 19 October 2012
Thursday 18 October 2012
Monday 15 October 2012
Thursday 11 October 2012
SciVal | Unlock the promise of your research
SciVal | Unlock the promise of your research
Now available at NUI Maynooth Library just click the link from the SCOPUS database
Now available at NUI Maynooth Library just click the link from the SCOPUS database
Wednesday 10 October 2012
Tuesday 9 October 2012
NUI Maynooth breakthrough offers hope for treatment of immune-mediated diseases
Wednesday 3 October 2012
Impacting our young
Impacting our young
Much has been written about impact factors, how they are calculated, and what they do and do not measure.......
Tuesday 2 October 2012
Monday 24 September 2012
Friday 21 September 2012
Wednesday 19 September 2012
Friday 14 September 2012
Thursday 13 September 2012
Wednesday 12 September 2012
Monday 10 September 2012
Thursday 6 September 2012
Tuesday 4 September 2012
Monday 3 September 2012
Friday 31 August 2012
Thursday 30 August 2012
Wednesday 22 August 2012
Tuesday 21 August 2012
Monday 20 August 2012
Maynooth Scientists Discover Ice Age survivor
Researchers at NUI Maynooth have discovered the first evidence that plants survived the great Ice Age in Ireland. Up to now most scientists agreed that Ireland's flora and fauna came here after the end of the Ice Age, some 15,000 years ago. This new discovery pushes back this date to a much earlier time, long before the Ice Age.
Wednesday 15 August 2012
A Push Grows Abroad for Open Access to Publicly Financed Research
Researchers, publishers, and librarians have spent a lot of this year firing up the longstanding debate over access to published research. You've probably heard the big questions: Who gets to see the results of work the public helps pay for, when should they get to see it, and who's going pay for it? This summer, the fervor has gone global, with policy makers in Britain, elsewhere in Europe, and in Australia signaling that they're ready to come up with some answers. Details vary from country to country and proposal to proposal, but the overall warming trend looks very clear.
http://chronicle.com/article/Push-for-Open-Access-to/133561/
Tuesday 14 August 2012
Thursday 19 July 2012
Wednesday 18 July 2012
Wednesday 11 July 2012
Wednesday 4 July 2012
Subatomic particle found points to the Higgs boson
Scientists at the Cern research centre have discovered a new subatomic particle that could be the elusive Higgs boson, which is believed to be crucial in the formation of the universe.
Subatomic particle found points to the Higgs boson
Thursday 28 June 2012
State of the Environment in Ireland 2012 - Meeting the Main Environmental Challenges
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is holding an international workshop today to look at the main environmental challenges facing Ireland. The most recent ‘state of the environment’, assessment has confirmed that while Ireland’s environment is of a generally high standard, significant environmental challenges face Ireland in the medium term.
Friday 22 June 2012
The best advice is to follow your gut instinct
THE HUMAN GUT hosts a vast colony of microorganisms, mostly bacteria. This colony outnumbers the cells in a human body by a factor of 10, and its metabolic activities are so important that gut bacteria are sometimes called a “forgotten organ”. They perform a host of useful functions, including helping digestion, training the immune system, preventing the growth of harmful bacteria, producing vitamins for the body and regulating appetite. Modern interference with the composition of this gut flora may play a significant role in the sharp increase in obesity and autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis.
The best advice is to follow your gut instinct
The best advice is to follow your gut instinct
Tuesday 19 June 2012
Friday 15 June 2012
Wednesday 13 June 2012
Tuesday 12 June 2012
Living Planet Report
The Living Planet Report is the world's leading,
science-based analysis on the health of our only planet and the impact
of human activity.
Its key finding? Humanity's demands exceed our planet's capacity to sustain us. That is, we ask for more than what we have. The latest edition of the Living Planet Report was released in May 2012.
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/living_planet_report/
Its key finding? Humanity's demands exceed our planet's capacity to sustain us. That is, we ask for more than what we have. The latest edition of the Living Planet Report was released in May 2012.
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/living_planet_report/
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Technology can help literacy
A series of new reports highlight the importance of children’s
motivation and self-confidence when it comes to the development of
literacy. Language Curriculum Research Reports
Key findings include:
* A culture of reading and writing in print and digital formats from a young age is important in developing positive attitudes to literacy;
*Children learn language for pragmatic and practical reasons – to communicate with other children, with adults, and to interact with print and digital texts;
*Teachers and early childhood practitioners need to balance enabling and directing in their work with children;
*Reading comprehension is a technical skill that needs to be explicitly taught and supported by oral language work
Technology can help literacy - Quinn
Key findings include:
* A culture of reading and writing in print and digital formats from a young age is important in developing positive attitudes to literacy;
*Children learn language for pragmatic and practical reasons – to communicate with other children, with adults, and to interact with print and digital texts;
*Teachers and early childhood practitioners need to balance enabling and directing in their work with children;
*Reading comprehension is a technical skill that needs to be explicitly taught and supported by oral language work
Technology can help literacy - Quinn
Monday 28 May 2012
The Postgraduate Researcher Symposium 2011
The UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE), the British Library, Vitae and the
National Union of Students (NUS) brought together doctoral researchers, supervisors
and academic staff, staff supporting researchers and librarians for a one-day Postgraduate
National Union of Students (NUS) brought together doctoral researchers, supervisors
and academic staff, staff supporting researchers and librarians for a one-day Postgraduate
Researcher Symposium to discuss the doctoral experience. It is rare indeed for the various
stakeholders to communicate with each other to generate shared ideas. This report documents
the proceedings of the event and the recommendations that emerged for how the doctoral experience
could be improved for all the stakeholders involved.
the proceedings of the event and the recommendations that emerged for how the doctoral experience
could be improved for all the stakeholders involved.
To download a copy of the Symposium Report and reports from previous symposiums click below:
http://www.ukcge.ac.uk/events/pastevents/1112area/pgsymposium
Wednesday 23 May 2012
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation New on ARTStor
ARTstor and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation have released more
than 750 images of major artworks from the permanent collection in the
Digital Library. The images document the Guggenheim Museum’s superb
holdings in modern and contemporary art by such significant artists as
Louise Bourgeois, Paul Cézanne, Marc Chagall, Willem de Kooning, Paul
Klee, Robert Mapplethorpe, Claes Oldenburg, Cindy Sherman, and Vincent
van Gogh, among many others.
This is the first release of a projected 7,000 images of art, exhibition installation views, and architecture from the Foundation. Future releases will include 5,000 installation views spanning from 1990s to the present from the Guggenheim Museum in New York, more than 1,000 installations views from the museums in Bilbao and Venice, and 200 historical and contemporary photographs documenting the architecture of these three museum buildings.
http://www.artstor.org/what-is-artstor/w-html/col-guggenheim.shtml
This is the first release of a projected 7,000 images of art, exhibition installation views, and architecture from the Foundation. Future releases will include 5,000 installation views spanning from 1990s to the present from the Guggenheim Museum in New York, more than 1,000 installations views from the museums in Bilbao and Venice, and 200 historical and contemporary photographs documenting the architecture of these three museum buildings.
http://www.artstor.org/what-is-artstor/w-html/col-guggenheim.shtml
Thursday 3 May 2012
Wednesday 2 May 2012
Friday 23 March 2012
World Water Day
There are 7 billion people to feed on the planet today and another 2 billion are expected to join by 2050. Statistics say that each of us drinks from 2 to 4 litres of water every day, however most of the water we ‘drink’ is embedded in the food we eat: producing 1 kilo of beef for example consumes 15,000 litres of water while 1 kilo of wheat ’drinks up’ 1,500 litres.
http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/
http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/
Friday 16 March 2012
Thursday 15 March 2012
Friday 9 March 2012
Thursday 1 March 2012
How to delete your Google Browsing History before new policy
"With just a week (article written on the 24th of Feb.)to go before Google changes to its new privacy policy that allows it to gather, store and use personal information, users have a last chance to delete their Google Browsing History, along with any damning information therein."
So writes John Thomas Didymus in the Digital Journal.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/320137#ixzz1nrPLNQmD
Tuesday 21 February 2012
Launch of Steering Group Report on a National Substance Misuse Strategy
Its strategic aim is to "To develop a national recovery-based treatment and rehabilitation service built on
quality standards which actively promotes and encourages early intervention to
accessible services within the 4-tiered model approach based on integrated care
pathways." Full Text of the report here: http://www.dohc.ie/publications/pdf/Steering_Group_Report_NSMS.pdf
quality standards which actively promotes and encourages early intervention to
accessible services within the 4-tiered model approach based on integrated care
pathways." Full Text of the report here: http://www.dohc.ie/publications/pdf/Steering_Group_Report_NSMS.pdf
Smallest Irish mammal 'may vanish'
Ireland’s smallest mammal, the protected pygmy shrew, has “completely vanished” in some areas due to the introduction of new species.
The serious threat and possible extinction which foreign species the black vole and the greater white toothed shrew cause to the native wood mouse and pygmy shrew, were the subject of a two year study by researchers at Queen’s University Belfast. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0220/breaking53.html
The original research article can be found by searching the Libraries Ejournals or the SpringerLink Collection for: Montgomery, W., Lundy, M., & Reid, N. ‘Invasional meltdown’: evidence for unexpected consequences and cumulative impacts of multispecies invasions. Biological Invasions, 1-15.
The serious threat and possible extinction which foreign species the black vole and the greater white toothed shrew cause to the native wood mouse and pygmy shrew, were the subject of a two year study by researchers at Queen’s University Belfast. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0220/breaking53.html
The original research article can be found by searching the Libraries Ejournals or the SpringerLink Collection for: Montgomery, W., Lundy, M., & Reid, N. ‘Invasional meltdown’: evidence for unexpected consequences and cumulative impacts of multispecies invasions. Biological Invasions, 1-15.
Thursday 2 February 2012
Best Databases 2011
Digital advances begun at the outset of the 21st century have significantly eased the burden on researchers, who no longer have to travel great distances to see topic-relevant source material. Dissertations, journals, documents, and photos that have been preserved digitally are available internationally. Moreover, with the right access codes, such images and data are available for viewing at any time. Certainly, electronic developments are valuable also to librarians, who now rely much less on interlibrary loan and can serve a much wider variety of patron requests immediately.
http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2011/12/reference/best-databases-2011-librarians-decide-which-databases-make-the-grade/
http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2011/12/reference/best-databases-2011-librarians-decide-which-databases-make-the-grade/
Friday 13 January 2012
Brain Waves 2: Neuroscience: implications for education and lifelong learning
This report highlights advances in neuroscience with potential implications for education and lifelong learning. The report authors, including neuroscientists, cognitive psychologists and education specialists, agree that if applied properly, the impacts of neuroscience could be highly beneficial in schools and beyond. The report argues that our growing understanding of how we learn should play a much greater role in education policy and should also feature in teacher training. The report also discusses the challenges and limitations of applying neuroscience in the classroom and in learning environments throughout life.
http://royalsociety.org/policy/projects/brain-waves/education-lifelong-learning/
http://royalsociety.org/policy/projects/brain-waves/education-lifelong-learning/
Thursday 12 January 2012
Irishwoman who discovered the 'lighthouses of the universe'
Heroes of Irish Science In the first of an occasional series on the life and work of outstanding individuals in the world of science, RONAN McGREEVY looks at Jocelyn Bell-Burnell, who discovered pulsar stars
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sciencetoday/2012/0112/1224310139591.html
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sciencetoday/2012/0112/1224310139591.html
Friday 6 January 2012
€2.5 MILLION AWARDED TO NUI MAYNOOTH TO FUND STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS
Ireland positioned as centre of excellence by EU Erasmus Mundus Masters Course
16 places available / Applications by end January 2012
Wednesday 4 January 2012
A science news preview of 2012 !
What scientific discoveries lie just around the corner in 2012?
The BBC News website science team signs the office crystal ball out of the equipment cupboard to tease out the stories likely to make headlines over the coming year.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16070460
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Research evaluation should be pragmatic, not a choice between peer review and metrics
Responding to the growing momentum of movements, such as DORA and CoARA, Giovanni Abramo argues for a more nuanced balance between the use o...
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GuardianWitness What one piece of science do you wish everyone knew? Make a short film about your favourite bit of scientific knowledge a...