Abstract

Emergency and crisis management professionals work in complex conditions. Information management is a key factor in ensuring the efficiency of their work. In this area of activity we can find numerous requirements for managing real-time information to coordinate the efforts of the different teams involved in these complex scenarios. These requirements include the identification and diffusion of alerts in response to actual or potential crisis, management of and access to logistic and geographical information, etc. This brief overview of some relevant information systems dedicated to emergency and crisis management (ReliefWeb and AlertNet) also addresses the use of open source software tools to organise and manage this information.

Abstract

The formation and expansion of the Argentinian agronomic library network is analyzed. Its background, formation, international impact, organization, projections, difficulties and learned lessons are described. It is concluded that good library network performance requires an organizational structure, specialized technical support and, above all, the commitment of the network libraries leaders.

Abstract

Given the importance of innovation and technology development in a country’s economy, there has been an increasing need for selecting indicators to measure the degree of innovation of its companies. The indicators related to patents offer an excellent measure of this capability and can be used as an important source of information by innovative organizations, although the studies assessing this utility are scarce. This study, conducted throughout 2007, proposes a technology watch oriented analysis of the level of use of patent databases from more than 500 Spanish companies that have issued at least one patent in the period 1988-1998, followed by discussion of the study results. The analysis took into account global data, company size and sector of activity

Abstract

Reference services have developed at the same pace as technology. Different aspects of the information society related to reference services provided by libraries and information centres are presented, including a description of the ubiquity, immediacy and participation that define the digital society. Digital reference is part of the information society and reflects the evolution of reference services offered by information centres. The characteristics of digital reference are described: telematic services, hybrid collections and skilled professionals.

Abstract

The Esade Guíame! business and sector-specific information portal is presented. This portal aims to inform and educate the business community and academia on how to identify and obtain economic and sector-specific information, a vital part of decision-making. A description of the portal’s mission and objectives is provided, along with its target audience, value, origins, evolution and main contents. Also included are its main challenges for the future and an analysis of its value chain, based on a combination of personnel, processes and design.

Abstract

With the objective of achieving greater visibility for the research and scholarly contributions generated by members of the university community, the development of a content management system (cms) is proposed that would work with the Semantically-interlinked online communities (Sioc) initiative, managed within the academic library. This enables interoperability between the information systems of the library and the dissemination of information in social networks. Nexus is a tool that facilitates interaction between researchers and academics using microformats and Drupal as a cms. This paper explains the features of the service, its nodes and modules, and the services offered under the philosophy of linked data.

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to review the most recent and relevant business intelligence and market foresight analyses on electric vehicles in order to build a picture on the current market activities and offerings. The reference material was clustered in three main sources: 1) market foresight analyses 2) information services development activities, 3) probe of electric vehicle test sites. The future EV market is seen to have a promising growth potential, though the proper business models that could meet consumer aspirations are still called for. The growing potential of EV market has been stimulating the development of several types of services that support EV deployment, e.g. information services. The test sites are already emerging around the globe and the master driver seems to be the automotive industry.

Abstract

This paper examines information services in association with charging services, and in particular players that offer information services related to charging service offerings from many different operators. It identifies two main types of business models through studying and comparing 25 European charging information service providers. For one type of players the paper analyses the network character and how this is related to the business model. Future implications of European integration, standardization and entry on the two business models, operator information-consolidator and community-based business models, are also discussed.