Free Pint No.89 - Conference and Dyslexia Resources Free Pint "Helping 38,000 people use the Web for their work" http://www.freepint.com/ ISSN 1460-7239 7th June 2001 No.89 > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = IN THIS ISSUE EDITORIAL MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES from Ruth Sawyer FREE PINT BAR & STUDENT BAR In Association with Factiva a Dow Jones & Reuters Company Reviewed by Simon Collery JOBS Information and Publications Officer Information Development Officer Researcher TIPS ARTICLE "Conference Information and the Internet" By Alison McNab BOOKSHELF "Improving Data Warehouse and Business Information Quality: Methods for Reducing Costs and Increasing Profits" Reviewed by Ralph Adam FEATURE ARTICLE "Dyslexia Resources" By Lillian McMaster and Chris Norcombe EVENTS, GOLD AND FORTHCOMING ARTICLES CONTACT INFORMATION ONLINE VERSION WITH ACTIVATED HYPERLINKS > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > = = = = = = = = = = = = = ADVERTISEMENT = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >> Worldwide answers to your information needs << Online Information 2001 4-6 December 2001 Olympia Grand Hall, London, UK http://www.online-information.co.uk MAKE A DATE IN YOUR DIARY! > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [li891] > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> ABOUT FREE PINT <<< Free Pint is an online community of information researchers. Members receive this free newsletter every two weeks packed with tips on finding quality and reliable business information on the Internet. Joining is free at and provides access to the substantial archive of articles, book reviews, jobs, industry news & events, with answers to your research questions and networking at the "Free Pint Bar" and "Student Bar". This newsletter is best read when printed out and viewed in a Courier font. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = EDITORIAL Walking around London's Internet World exhibition yesterday got me thinking about the relevance and value of a show like that. Companies spend a lot of money to attend, but I wonder how much valuable new business they really encourage from their attendance. For me, either as a visitor or exhibitor, the value I suppose comes through "reassurance". The reassurance that a company is there and seen as a player in their industry. That the people behind an operation are real humans who you can communicate with face-to-face as well as electronically. There's an awful lot of uncertainty at the moment in the Internet world, and there were more than a few worried companies there yesterday. Here at Free Pint we have to constantly reassure suppliers, customers, employees and competitors that we're here to stay. We're not doing too badly since we're into our fourth year, with no external finance and becoming profitable. However, we're always working hard to negotiate on your behalf with new suppliers and contributors to bring you the best of business information on the Web. On the topic of contributions, we bring you your regular mix of great tips and articles today. We start with a super resource-packed article on finding conference information online, followed by an interesting look at dyslexia resources. There's the latest gossip and gripes from the Free Pint Bars, and a review of a popular book about information quality and data warehousing. This topic is also close to home as our Web servers continue to be stretched by the continued doubling of visitors to the Free Pint site every six months. We are of course always looking for new contributors to the newsletter and site. If you fancy writing for Free Pint then sign up for the monthly Author Update by modifying your account online. Another way to contribute is to send us your feedback on any aspect of what we do - we love to hear from Free Pinters - or spread the word to your colleagues by passing around this newsletter. Cheers William William Hann BSc MIInfSc, Founder and Managing Editor Email: Tel: +44 (0)1784 455435 (c) Free Pint Limited 1997-2001 > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = **** Pro@ctiv - the current awareness solution your end-users have been waiting for **** Esmerk's newly launched Pro@ctiv application enables information professionals to easily deliver to Intranet users content from around the globe, with sophisticated personal profiling and tailored database-searching capabilities. Contact us now for a free demo - http://www.esmerk.com > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [es892] > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> WOULDN'T YOU LIKE TO SEE YOUR COMPETITOR'S ACCOUNTS? <<< Sound sneaky? Yes. Difficult? No. Use our company gateway to research your competitors today. See their financials, directors & original images of accounts. Free to search with pay-per-view for detailed reports. Go on. Be sneaky. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES from Ruth Sawyer * The GIS Portal - This site is excellent for anyone interested in or working with maps or the GIS industry. It has links to loads of other GIS sites and resources and is a good place to start researching into suppliers, related sites, universities and government. * The Chartered Institute of marketing - This Web site is packed full of useful marketing information. If you work in marketing it is a very useful resource, with links to other relevant sites, a members only section, book ordering and links to branch sites. I am a member of the Royal Counties branch, which contains up to date information on branch events . * Barbara's Kitchen - This is an excellent web site for anyone suffering from food allergies or intolerances, as I do. The site is mainly about baking with wheat free and gluten free flour and includes recipes, tips and hints, comments from other customers and how to bake with a breadmaker. * MultiMap - MultiMap has detailed streetmaps, aerial photographs and maps of Europe. You can search for a place with one line of the address and get a detailed map of the location. A great site to print directions when you are visiting clients etc. You can also get postcode coordinates and check the x and y coordinates for exactly where buildings and places are. * Football news - This site has up to date news on all the football leagues, including a section on Women's football. There is not much coverage for women's football in the news so this site is great for those women who currently play football (I play for Tring Athletic Ladies) and wish to keep up to date with their team's position and performance. Ruth Sawyer is a Marketing Associate for GeoBusiness Solutions, a specialist GIS consultancy for retail, leisure, property and banking/financial companies interested in market and location analysis. . She is also an active volunteer member of the Royal Counties branch of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and organises business meetings. Tell us about your top five favourite Web sites. See the guidelines at or email . > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > = = = = = = = = = = = = = ADVERTISEMENT = = = = = = = = = = = = = = The end of a day. A good day. A fantastic day. Facts at your fingertips. The power to search. Your way. Pinpoint precision. Best content. Dow Jones and Reuters. Two global leaders. One incredible new service. Factiva.com The basis of a good decision Factiva will launch its new product Factiva.com on June 11th. visit http://www.factiva.com/factiva from June 11th to find out more. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [fa893] > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOUR SUPPLIERS STOPPED SUPPLYING? <<< Have you any idea how financially stable your key suppliers are? Did you know that their financial accounts are available to you? Check your supplier's stability from just 2 pounds per report. Can you afford not to? Try a free search today: > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT BAR In Association with Factiva a Dow Jones & Reuters Company Reviewed by Simon Collery Free Pint Bar ------------------------------------------- [Note: To read a posting enter the message number in place of XXXX in the address ] It's funny how some 'flavours' catch on in the Bar for a while and then disappear. Some of them don't disappear too quickly either. Latin is still very popular (9958, 9931, 9897, 9907, 9983, 10118, 10120, 10162, 10184, 10114, 10083, 10156, 10090). I should have said message 9958 and passim or et cetera but that might have given rise to yet more questions. And those not content with Latin are now looking for Russian (10126), Arabic (10027) and Tibetan (10152). It may be of interest to language enthusiasts that Google supports Pig Latin, Klingon, Borkborkbork and many others. Another flavour recently has been environmental issues, with questions about building schools on landfill sites (10143), disposing of audio/video tapes (9934), objections to new port developments in the UK (10034) and waste sites in general (9966). And SMS (short message services), known to many as text messages, keep popping up too (9884, 9895, 10047). As usual, there have been plenty of other technical questions, such as ones about credit control applications (10048), FAS 52 templates (9902), fax software (10183), image bank software (10119), personal finance software (10182), Web cams (10195), and portable email address books (10108). Further technical questions include converting Pagemaker files into Word (10186), implementing the Google site search (10171), Windows 3.11 (9961, 9943), Word macros (10099), fax to email and email to fax software (10036), Google's advanced features (10105), the ILOR search tool (10025), using MS Outlook for contacts management (10037) and referencing software (10101). But new subjects do arise too. Quantitative data has been requested on the backpacking market in the UK (10071), the electron beam emitter market (10043), UK disposable income by age and alcohol off sales figures (10086), the average age of GPs in the UK (10102), top companies' spending on IT (10142), UK vehicle and road tax statistics (10138), sources of Web statistics (10125) and the LAN and WAN market in India (10187). Business researchers have been looking for German media companies (9965), Norwegian biotechnology companies (10111), US company registration (10135), European and US company information (10053), Asian business codes (9956), charity business plans (9939), business administration resources (10000), and a cheap source of Glow Sticks (9945). And someone has recommended a site which pokes fun at jargon (10178). It's quite amusing if you have the time to check it out. Returning to the familiar for a moment, we've had another question about working in Switzerland (10031). Then back to queries about business mentors (10167), jobs in ecommerce systems design (10145), CV tips (10194), information and library job sites for the UK and Ireland (9940), working for a charity (9950), job sites for museum curators (9952) and advice on finding home work (9955). Those looking for learning have been asking about Lexis Nexis training (10035), how to write article summaries (9920) and education and training in Japan (10066). There were also miscellaneous requests for information on alerts for academic articles (10064), old copies of Tolley's Tax Planning (10137), music in TV adverts (10018, 10021), European criminal records (9949, 10013), entertainment calendars (9893), serial subscription suppliers (9901) and Thomas Paine (9922). We have heard about resources covering accommodation all around the world (10006), postal information for most countries (10175), an online Periodic Table of the Elements (10060), UK trade union information (10173) and places where you may be able to buy original space hoppers (10001). Research is being carried out into the leisure activities of professionals to see if there are any interesting trends (10170), library automation (10024), the history of library catalogues (9900), publications on manufacturing in general (9927), motor fleet insurance (10019), monitoring of Internet use by employers (9960), innovation resources (9887) and locating people in Germany (9998). Finally, there has been a rash of viruses in the past couple of weeks. I've had several sent to me, none of which were picked up by my virus software. One doing the rounds at the moment is a very successful hoax (10088). The only way to prevent such hoaxes from spreading virally is to delete them without sending them on to friends. And don't open attachments until you are sure they are legitimate. That way, the viruses shouldn't give you any bother. Free Pint Student Bar ------------------------------------------------------- [Note: To read a posting enter the message number in place of XXXX in the address ] College and university rankings have been dominating the Student Bar in the past couple of weeks (1447, 1452, 1458, 1459, 1464, 1471, 1474, 1475). There have also been enquiries about PhDs in business management (1462), courses in design (1454) and online LIS courses (1443, 1457). Students have been researching the reactions of employees to intranets (1444), urban poverty and waste (1461), stock auditing companies (1466), linguistics databases (1468) and marketing communications in the IT sector (1469). And we are still looking for a complete list of animals, including insects, birds, fish, etc (1463). Simon Collery, Content Developer If you have a tricky research question or can help other Free Pinters then do post a message at the Bar or the Student Bar . To have the latest Free Pint Bar postings sent to you every other day, send a blank email to . For the Student Bar Digest send an email to . > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > = = = = = = = = = = = = = ADVERTISEMENT = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Looking for a new domain or hosting provider? http://www.globalgold.co.uk If you've bought your domains or hosting from a 3rd party company but would now like them transferred to one of Europe's top 3 hosting providers for greater reliability, then transfer them TODAY to GlobalGold. Call 01992 303090 or, even simpler, just email us at: E: domain-hostingtransfers@globalgold.co.uk > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [gg894] > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT JOBS Free Pint Jobs has details of many information-related vacancies. The following are a selection of featured jobs: Information and Publications Officer The Humbul Humanities Hub seeks an Information and Publications Officer Information Development Officer Tax isn't always boring - and certainly not when it combines Knowledge Management with Enquiry work. Researcher Use your fluent German! In management consultancy or banking (perm/temp) London or Frankfurt. [The above jobs are paid listings] It is free to search Free Pint Jobs and you can set up a profile to be notified by email of relevant new vacancies. Listing jobs is also free, or you can pay to receive significant further publicity including coverage in this newsletter. Recruitment agencies can also automatically upload all their jobs. Find out more today at > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> OK, SO A NEW CUSTOMER IS REQUESTING CREDIT. DO YOU GIVE IT? <<< It's always risky granting new customers an invoice account. Minimise the risk by doing some research. Search for a UK company and see basic details free. Purchase detailed reports from 2 pounds. Go on ... shift the odds in your favour: > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = TIPS ARTICLE "Conference Information and the Internet" By Alison McNab The Internet can provide a wealth of information in relation to conferences. Whether you are planning a conference, looking for a future event in order to submit a paper, or need to retrieve information about the papers presented at a past conference. The resources below can assist in all of these activities. Identifying Forthcoming Conferences ----------------------------------- The Conferences, Workshops and Meetings section of the NISS Information Gateway is a good starting point for conferences and training events of interest to the UK academic community. Broad categories are included for all academic disciplines, and it also provides a link to the events diaries of organisations, special interest groups, and professional societies. The Community of Science produces a multidisciplinary Meetings and Conferences service . This covers all academic disciplines (not just science!) and is searchable by topic area, discipline, and society name. COS Meetings and Conferences is accessed via the COS Workbench - a customised Web site for access to all products and services. This is a free service which requires registration. Once you have logged in to your Workbench, you can access the COS Meetings and Conferences database from the "Research and Reference" module or through the "Meetings and Conferences" module directly. The Scholarly Societies Project provides links to Meeting/Conference Announcement Lists . These listings have been compiled by scholarly societies and normally include meetings and conferences sponsored by many agencies, not just those of the society that compiled the list. worldMEET is a meeting resource for scientists, featuring a comprehensive and searchable database of worldwide scientific conferences, symposia, workshops, and business and science events. For instant notification of events matching your profile, you can sign up to the PuPAlert section of the Personal user Profile form. Yahoo! can be a useful source of information about forthcoming conferences. Searching on "conferences" from the top screen on Yahoo! will result in too many hits. You need to narrow it down, so you should first select the category that you are interested in (e.g. Education or Science), then type "conferences" into the search box within that category. If funding restricts you to attending national conferences then using a Local/World Yahoo! will result in a more targetted results listing. Specialist Sources ------------------ In addition to the general listings noted above, there are many conference/events listings which focus on a particular subject area. Library and information science Free Pint hosts an events listing for the online information and Internet world. BUBLNews Events lists conferences and courses in library and information science. ICT and Knowledge Management events are listed by the KnowNet Initiative. PADI events lists events related to preserving access to digital information. Science, technology & medicine AgCal is an agricultural conferences, meetings, seminars calendar. ChemSoc provides conference and events information for chemistry. The CINAHL clearinghouse lists conferences related to nursing, allied health and health sciences librarianship. EEVL Events is a conference/meetings announcements service for engineering. The American Mathematical Society co-ordinates a mathematics calendar . Medicalconferences.com is a conference portal for medical and health-care professionals. PhysicsWeb provides a calendar service on behalf of the European Physical Society. The psci-com (Public COMmunication of SCIence) website provides a calendar of events . Techexpo lists technical and science conference calendar information, as well as calls for papers . Business, humanities and social sciences AccountingEducation.com lists academic and professional accounting conferences around the world. Education-line provides an education conference listings service . Financial-Conferences.com lists training courses and conferences for the financial sector. The Conference of University Teachers of German has a forthcoming events service . The Human Kinetics website lists conferences and other events in the physical activity field around the world. The HUMBUL conference diary lists humanities conferences. The Leisuretourism.com calendar of events lists leisure, recreation, sport & tourism events. Forthcoming conferences in music has calls for papers and information about conferences in musicology and related disciplines. Social Sciences conferences are listed in SOSIG. The Institute for Tourism and Leisure Studies lists tourism and leisure oriented conferences . Urban design events are listed on RUDI. The British Library provides a fee-based Conference Profiling service . Planning a Conference --------------------- Locating a conference venue is one aspect of conference planning where much preliminary work can be done via the Internet. The directory of conference facilities at UK higher education institutions is available online, which provides the opportunity to compare facilities. Other major conference facilities, such as the National Exhibition Centre frequently have their own website. The Association for Conferences and Events website can provide useful contact information on these. Your delegates can compare the different means of transport to your event at the A2bTravel.com website. For UK-based conferences you may wish to include a map of the location linked from . If your meeting relies on invited speakers, you may be able to track down their contact details from their company or institutional website. However, if a call for papers is to be issued, relevant discussion lists (see below) can be used to circulate this, as well as the Meeting/Conference Announcement Lists section of the Scholarly Societies Project website. Publicity --------- Finally, the Internet is used for publicising conferences and meetings. Electronic discussion lists are regularly used to distribute information about events; however, it is recommended that you "lurk" on a list for some time before posting to it to ensure that your message is appropriate. Relevant discussion lists can be identified through The Directory of Scholarly and Professional E-Conferences , Tile.Net or Topica . Many of the sites identified above offer the facility for individuals and groups to register their event in a searchable database or chronological list. General services: NISS's Events Service Community of Science WorldMEET Agriculture: AgCal Chemistry: ChemSoc Digital information: PADI Education: Education-line Information industry: Free Pint Leisure, recreation, sport & tourism: leisuretourism.com Mathematics: American Mathematical Society Medicine: Medicalconferences.com Physical education/exercise science: Human Kinetics Physics: PhysicsWeb Science: Psci-com Technology: TechExpo Tracing Conference Papers and Reports ------------------------------------- Papers presented at conferences can be very significant, sometimes reporting on new research for the first time. Reports and conference proceedings can normally be traced through subscription databases such as Web of Science Proceedings or the British Library's inside or ZETOC services. In addition to these commercial databases several specialised free resources are available: Regard is a searchable bibliographic database for publications and other research associated with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The CORDIS RTD- Publications Database can be searched for bibliographic references and abstracts to studies, reports and scientific papers resulting from EU research. The GrayLit Network gives access to the "grey literature" (reports, and other non-conventional sources) of the U.S.Federal Agencies. Proceedings are also published online by AgCal ; BioMedNet , which offers live daily coverage of top biomedical conferences (registration required); Education-line ; and WorldMeet . > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Alison McNab is Academic Services Manager at Loughborough University Library . Links to many of the resources discussed above are included on the Keeping your research up to date - current awareness services website she has maintained for the last five years. Alison will be joining the JISC as Collections Manager for the Distributed National Electronic Resource (DNER) in July 2001. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Related Free Pint links: * Read this article online, with activated hyperlinks * Post a message to the author now at the Free Pint Bar * Access the entire archive of Free Pint articles and issues > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> GOT THE MESSAGE YET? RESEARCHING A UK COMPANY IS EASY <<< It is highly likely that your competitors, suppliers and customers have probably checked you out at some time. Check them out and put yourself in the know. Start researching a UK company today for free: > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT BOOKSHELF "Improving Data Warehouse and Business Information Quality: Methods for Reducing Costs and Increasing Profits" Reviewed by Ralph Adam This morning, a man rang from a well-known information company asking if I wanted to remain on their mailing list. As I hadn't heard from them for some time, I asked which address he had for me. It's not surprising that I never receive anything: the record he read out contained a Harrow street name, Northampton as the post town and a Leicester post code. And this from a company specialising in data accuracy! They obviously economise by not employing someone to check their file-cleaning. Then, I read an article by the editor of an information security magazine. He had moved and notified the bank of the new address, yet some items continued to go to the old office. Nine months later, he has worked out that the bank has three separate customer databases - one of which its IT department appears to know nothing about (and, therefore, cannot amend)! Imagine how many orders, and how much potential income, are lost by such inaccurate record keeping (not to mention lost-letter management costs for the Post Office or breaches of data protection legislation). You can find similar examples of inaccurate and misleading information everywhere. Yet, few consider the costs that result from it (this is an under-researched area - students looking for dissertation/research topics, please note). It is, therefore, timely that Larry English has produced this book. One reviewer described it as the information quality Bible for the information age! English is passionate about data quality. He is a well-known lecturer, consultant and writer on the subject, with several awards to his credit. His heart is certainly in the right place! This book, which describes itself as a concept book, a textbook, a reference book and a practitioners' guide all rolled into one, is full of encouraging quotations ("It takes less time to do a thing right than it does to explain why you did it wrong" - Longfellow; "One accurate measurement is worth a thousand opinions" - Admiral Hopper). It starts from the premise that a high proportion of businesses skimp on information quality, through inaccurate and missing data. Not only do they lose out substantially as a result, but such inaccuracies corrupt data warehouses which consequently fail. The book's aim is to be a 'one stop' source for helping businesses to reduce costs and increase profits by showing them how to measure the quality of their information resources, as well as how to cleanse their data and keep it clean. It comes with a guarantee: the author promises to refund personally the cost of the book to any reader whose organisation does not get a substantial benefit from following its recommendations. You can't say better than that! I haven't tested the guarantee, but I have studied the book. It's a fairly hefty tome, of the sort you often find in the States: full of experts' tips, lots of 'how-tos' and lists of evaluation tools. The book is very well organised and logical, and it contains much excellent advice (I can think of a few railway companies that would benefit from reading the section on capturing, and acting on, customers' complaints!). Nevertheless, I found it a bit daunting, a little heavy-going and tended to forget what I had already covered. But, rather than depend on my describing the book in detail, you can see a summary of the nine-page list of contents and download the first chapter from the accompanying web site , where there are also reviews. There is much more on the site, too: case studies, newsletters, articles by other writers, lists of information quality techniques, products, conference dates and a forum. The book has a detailed index (it passed my test!) and two appendices: a substantial glossary (with such terms as: 'accuracy to a surrogate source', 'house of quality' and 'information preventive maintenance') and a twelve-page bibliography. Why not give it a try? After all, if it doesn't improve your 'bottom line', you'll get your money back! > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Related Free Pint links: * Find out more about this book online at the Free Pint Bookshelf * Read about other Internet strategy books on the Free Pint Bookshelf * "Improving Data Warehouse and Business Information Quality". Details: ISBN 0471253839 published by John Wiley & Sons and written by Larry P. English * Read customer comments and buy this book at Amazon.co.uk http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471253839/freepint0c or Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471253839/freepint00 * Search for and purchase any book from Amazon via the Free Pint Bookshelf at To propose an information-related book for review, send details to . > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> DO YOU SELL BUSINESS INFORMATION PRODUCTS? <<< You're reading this. So are 38,000+ other business information users. So, why aren't you advertising in Free Pint? Annual accounts get a million exposures for a low monthly fee. Find out more today or call us on +44 (0)1784 455435 > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FEATURE ARTICLE "Dyslexia Resources" By Lillian McMaster and Chris Norcombe Did you hear about the Dyslexic Witch? What is dyslexia? Ask non-dyslexics and they will probably tell you it is a problem with reading and spelling. Ask a group of dyslexics the same question and you will probably get a different, although related, answer from each one. This is because the condition manifests itself differently for each individual. Certainly for some dyslexics it is an inability to read or write at a level appropriate for their age and background. For others it manifests itself as an inability with regard to comprehension, that is, the person can read the words themselves but cannot understand what they actually mean. Yet another manifestation can occur during conversation. We have all experienced losing the thread of a conversation. Can you imagine how this feels when it happens on a regular basis? As always, statistics vary, but some sources state that as many as one in five of the population suffers from dyslexia or associated problems. So for the 7,000 or so Free Pinters who may be affected (especially if they don't know it for sure, or won't admit it) here are some information sites. There is plenty of information on the web although a lot of it is duplicated, and many sites link to each other. Therefore we have been fairly selective about the sites that are discussed here. It should also be born in mind that they were looked at in two ways, one being the provision of information and other being the ease of use or navigation by a dyslexic, i.e. the people they are trying to represent. Dyslexia Sites -------------- The Dyslexia Testing Service Good visual site (homepage). Buttons down side of page about testing. Downloadable assessment questionnaire. Also link to list of fees for assessment, which are quite reasonable, measured against DI fees. The list shows several different currencies so caters for more than one country. Michigan Dyslexia Institute Inc. Dyslexia Association Of America This is an informative site with short paragraphs, making it easy for dyslexics to read. There are links, clearly labelled, to further information. They also produce a newsletter (The Potential) and have two articles, which can be accessed through links. However it appears that the site has not been updated since 1998, which may render it out of date. Dyslexia Teacher - sharing information about helping pupils and teachers Addresses of 'Dyslexia Teacher' in several different countries, including UK. There are links to many more sites, covering a whole range of issues related to dyslexia. On the site you can: subscribe to a free mailing list to get up to date information; find a test for dyslexia; recommend a book for inclusion of the site, and many more things. A very, very good site, recommended to anyone with any sort of interest in dyslexia. Copying of material is allowed as long as their web address is mentioned in any material used. Reading From Scratch (RfS) Several links to other pages and sites, clearly labelled, which contain relevant information about dyslexia. Includes 'Helpful Hints for Teachers'. Easy to read and navigate through this site, it has very good graphics. It is mainly about remedial teaching for people with reading difficulties, as the title suggests. However it also has interesting information about dyslexia. Processing And Cognitive Enhancement (PACE) The home page is geared towards children with dyslexia, however there is a clear link to a page geared towards adults with dyslexia. This explains, on several pages, what dyslexia is and how to overcome personal problems associated with dyslexia. It is very easy to read and understand. I found this site informative and easy to navigate through. The bottom line is they are trying to sell the test kit and video but it is well worth considering as it is reasonably priced and there is a guarantee of a full refund of any returned unused material. Handihams Courage - Amateur Radio and Technology for People with Disabilities Seems to be a site for disabled people by disabled people. Informative, lots of links, not just for dyslexic people. Ability to 'search for something', also direct link to GOOGLE at foot of page. Dyslexic page has several links to other dyslexia sites. Easy to navigate. DYXI "A site for dyslexics written by dyslexics" Colour, text and graphics very easy to read and understand. Fairly easy to navigate, with icons. Use of graphic icons, with minimal text easy to understand. Plenty of resources for dyslexics, the site was set up by a dyslexic with the aim being to educate dyslexic people. There is a fee to pay to become a member of this site. They announce there will soon be a virtual classroom with visual and voice control. Parts of the site are still under construction. Worth keeping an eye on this site. British Dyslexics Another national organisation aimed at giving help to children and teenagers. Their introduction says they make no charges for their services, unlike the BDA and DI. Lots of information on several related topics. Set up and run by dyslexics. Site states they are building a database to connect students to Equal Opportunity Employers. This site has attitude. We have often commented that dyslexics could do more to help themselves, rather than just accepting what is given to them. Maybe this is the start of the fight back. Dyslexic.Com Home page has good graphics and text, it includes information for professionals teachers, librarians and lots of links to other sites. Very funny humour page. This is a business site, primarily selling computers, with software designed for dyslexic users. There is a lot of other information and links to relevant pages for dyslexics of all ages. British Dyslexia Association This is a potentially useful source of information although the site is not really aimed at dyslexics. As a dyslexic myself I found this site difficult to read. There is a keyword search option but this leads to BDA publications and the links to their information sources was not available at this time. There was no problem with links regarding donations or selling goods. We were excited to find that Real Player.WAV files were included as an alternative to the heavy text pages. Eagerly clicked on this for information. Very disappointed, after waiting for download (about 5 mins.) to hear someone reading exactly what was on the hyperlink. For example, clicking on NEWS category, voice saying 'Latest Dyslexia News'. The cliche 'sledgehammer to a nut' seems to apply here. Rather ironic for an association that claims it is 'The Voice of Dyslexic People'. Dyslexia Institute Eye catching homepage, with links to other relevant articles. Different colours and short paragraphs make it easier for dyslexics to follow. Unlike the BDA site, Fund Raising, Materials and Sales are segregated and clearly labelled. States that materials can be copied and made use of as long as reference is made to source. This site is very informative and easy to navigate between links. Although it is primarily written for dyslexics or teachers of dyslexics, there is lots of useful background information. There is no search facility but links have buttons which are clearly labelled. Most of the links do stand out from the page. Dyslexia-Net Independent on-line community catering for dyslexic teenagers, set up by a dyslexic student. This is a fairly new site which is certainly improving. It features on-line chats from people such as Professor Stein from Oxford University and Ben Way 1999/2000 Young Entrepreneur of the Year. The site has some way to go but could prove to be of enormous benefit to young dyslexics as they can chat to their contemporaries about their problems. Somewhat light on information but perhaps the greatest asset is its potential as a mutual support community. They are developing two new sites, dyslexicpeople.com, for adults to meet and talk to other adults, and dyslexicdiscount.com, an on-line shopping site for dyslexics. Fulcrum Dyslexia Awareness Ltd. This organisation states "Here to help organisations develop the full potential of their dyslexic employees." "Here to empower people with dyslexia realise their ambitions." There is a nice use of colour, text and fonts, which made it very easy to view. There are clearly labelled links to other information. Provides what appears to be useful training information for both employers and their employees. The Managing Director is connected with the BDA. It's a pity they didn't ask his advice when constructing their own web site. This is a site primarily selling a service as opposed to providing information. However, one highly significant factor is that it promotes dyslexics in an extremely positive way. Department for Education and Employment This is a government site covering education and employment. It has links to specific areas of education and contains a lot of information. There is a link, at the foot of the page under 'disability ' which links it to the Disability Rights Commission page. Disability Rights Commission (DRC) The Disability Rights Commission covers all disabilities including dyslexia. It is also accessible through the DfEE website. Recognition ----------- At this point, if not before, some people will have said to themselves that dyslexia does not exist. Therefore it is worth pointing out that dyslexia was officially recognised in the UK as a disability, under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and therefore UK employers have an obligation under the law. It is difficult for a dyslexic, filling in an application form or attending an interview, to decide when or whether to mention their condition. At the application stage, are they going to jeopardise their chances of being considered for interview? Should they say nothing until the interview? Or should they await the offer of a position? Prejudice does exist and many employers do think that a dyslexic will be less capable. Information for employers can be found on the DRC website. Employment ---------- So why then should you employ a dyslexic? 1) Because of writing difficulties, any reports you ask for will be concise and to the point. 2) Dyslexics are widely regarded as creative people, because their condition makes them see things differently. 3) Sure, dyslexics have difficulty concentrating on one topic or situation for a long time and therefore tend to spend shorter periods on several things, dealing with them by rote. This would seem to be as good a definition of multi-tasking as any. Having said all this, in practical terms employers may have to do very little to accommodate dyslexics, bearing in mind that dyslexics are individuals too. Almost certainly, explanations/instructions will have to be repeated (please note that repeating the same phrase over and over again does not count as an explanation, in the same way that spending nothing does not equal value for money). Another answer may be as simple as printing on coloured paper rather than white. Including more diagrams or tables may be helpful. Dyslexia is a highly complex subject and we have only just scratched the surface in an article of this length. Please feel free to post your query in the Free Pint Bar. We will respond to all queries. Oh, and the dyslexic witch? She sold her soul to Santa! > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Lillian McMaster has a degree in Information Management and works as a librarian in a Sixth Form College. She is dyslexic. Chris Norcombe also has a degree in Information Management and works in the library at an FE College. Together they have formed the Red Panda Partnership . > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Related Free Pint links: * "Healthcare and Medicine" resources in the Free Pint Portal * Respond to this article and chat to the author now at the Bar * Read this article online, with activated hyperlinks * Access the entire archive of Free Pint content > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> FREE PINT FACT <<< For the first couple of years of Free Pint's life, we were welcoming on average 500 new members every month. During the last year that has risen to 1000, but last month was a record breaker with 1459 new subscribers to Free Pint in May. The Web site usage was also a record breaker in May with twice as many page views and visitors than at the beginning of this year. The Bar also received a record number of postings (732). > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FORTHCOMING EVENTS Firstly, good luck to everyone who's attending the Special Libraries Association's conference next week. Special congratulations to Annabel Colley who will be receiving this year's award of European Special Librarian of the Year . Towards the end of June you can visit London to attend the "Fourth International Conference on Virtual Communities" from Infonortics or "Business Intelligence Solutions 2001" from Business Intelligence. Further north, the Society of Indexers are holding their conference in Sheffield whilst "UmbrelLA 6" from the Library Association is in Manchester. Unfortunately Free Pint won't be able to attend all of these meetings, but a number of Free Pinters have offered to place our handbills on their stand. This is much appreciated. Details of these and many other forthcoming conferences and exhibitions in the online-information and Internet industries can be found on the Free Pint Events page . If you're organising an event then submit details via this page. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT GOLD This time last year we ran an article about UK insurance industry resources. There was also a great introduction to the invisible Web which has subsequently become a hot search-related topic. * Free Pint No.64, 8th June 2000 "Understanding Insurance" and "The Invisible Web". Two years ago was had two articles from two popular authors. The first was on weather resources on the Web, whilst the second tried to work out how search engine companies could survive. Worth re-reading the author's predictions at the end of the article two years on. * Free Pint No.40, 10th June 1999. "Weather Sources on the Web" and "Searching for Mammon - Search engine business models". In Free Pint three years ago we talked about the golden rules to free Web site promotion, and I took a look at how to run an online survey. * Free Pint No.16, 11th June 1998 "Web Site Marketing - How do they do that?" and "How to run a survey on the Net". William Hann, Managing Editor > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT FORTHCOMING ARTICLES [Provisional] * Google * DIY Website Design * Railways * WAP * * Women in Business * Further Voluntary Sector Resources * * The 3 I's of Information * Effective Problem Solving * B2B * * Privacy in Medicine * Legal Sources * Tracing Missing Persons * * Plastics and Rubber * Latin America * Technology Transfer * * Obtaining Government Grants * Summoned by Bells * If you have a suggestion for an article topic or would like to write for Free Pint then please contact me or sign up for the monthly Author Update on the Web site at . Rex Cooke, Editor > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = GOODBYE Thanks for reading today's Free Pint and I hope you got a lot out of it. Don't forget to visit the Web site soon and login to your account online to add your subscriptions to the Bar Digests and updates for Authors or Advertisers. Please continue to spread the word about Free Pint to your colleagues and friends, and thank you in advance for your support. See you in two weeks! 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