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Attention LMS students! You can now download the slides for Info jungle explorer here. If you need further help on explorations to more destinations, feel free to contact your subject librarian at omwong@ntu.edu.sg.

Dear Library Users,

All NTU Libraries will be closed on 9 Aug 2008 (National Day) and 11 Aug 2008 (University Holiday).

Thank you.

Shakespeare country [videorecording]
Kent, UK : Delta Music., 2002.
Call no.: E570470

Charming Stratford upon Avon, with its picturesque black and white Tudor houses, is where Shakespeare had once lived. Tour Shakespeare country for yourself in this 55 minute audiovisual journey, where you can live and breathe Shakespeare just by looking at the thatched cottages in the Warwickshire countryside. A falconry centre with flight displays by resident falcons are also part of the countryside museum experience for Shakespeare pilgrims. In modern times, dramatic twists and turns of his plays are acted out in the Globe Theatre, the architecture of which you can view in this DVD.

Old England [videorecording]
New Wave Pictures Production ; produced by Robin Bextor.
UK: Green umbrella, 2004.
Call no.: K570500

Old Sarum, Stonehenge and the elegant Salisbury Cathedral are the key highlights in this DVD. See re-enactments of battle scenes by men in chain mail shirts, take a glimpse into the lives of royalty and enjoy the many aerial views of Stonehenge, Winchester and Salisbury. This is an excellent introduction to Old England especially for those who have yet to visit the place.

Vague language explored
edited by Joan Cutting.
Basingstoke [England] ; New York : Palgrave Macmillian, 2007
P299.A46V126

New perspectives on language and sexual identity
Liz Morrish and Helen Sauntson.
Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
P120.S48M875

Identity trouble : critical discourse and contested identities
edited by Carmen Rosa Caldas-Coulthard, Rick Iedema.
Basingstoke [England] ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
P302.I19

The grammar detective : solving the mysteries of basic grammar
Gillian Mary Hanson.
London : Continuum, 2008
PE1112.M393

English as a lingua franca : a corpus-based analysis
Luke Prodromou.
London ; New York : Continuum, c2008.
PE1073.P964

ICT and language learning : from print to the mobile phone
Marie-Madeleine Kenning.
Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
P53.28.K36A

Linguistic policies and the survival of regional languages in France and Britain
Anne Judge.
Basingstoke [England] ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
P119.32.F7J92

Language interrupted : signs of non-native acquisition in standard language grammars
John McWhorter.
Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2007.
P204.M177

Hits and misses: the google generation
Times Higher Education
5 June 2008
By Matthew Reisz
Does the Google generation, which has grown up with a deluge of data just clicks away, lack the independence of thought and critical rigour needed for higher study?

This article is about the effect of Google and Web 2.0 on scholarly learning in universities. How can British universities capture the attention of the Google generation who believe in instant gratification and turning in term papers with plenty of references from Google result lists?

According to the article, academic librarians would have to make information literacy workshops one of their key mission statements. Additionally, academic libraries would have to reinvent themselves by carving out “learning suites” and “think tanks” –aka learning spaces — so that self-directed and group learning styles can be supported.

The writer also thinks that Web 2.0 tools like blogging might result in anti-establishment attitudes that may pose a threat to British university traditions and rituals. Especially when “the Google generation” is so focused on the here and now. In my opinion, to say that students create anarchy and chaos on campus via their blogs is a sweeping statement that supports the fallacy of hasty generalization! I’m sure not all students are bent on creating trouble for their universities;they just need an outlet to voice their problems and opinions.

The article ends off saying that librarians have to help students undo what the latter have learnt though Google and social-networking sites. The bit about teaching students about information integrity in Google result lists is quite clear but some elaboration is needed for the sematics behind the meaning of “undoing what [has been] learnt in social-networking sites.”

An article by the International Herald Tribune has reported on the intricate relationship between the people and the monks. The monastery is often especially important in rural areas, as it can be the only institution which offers the rural villagers an education or spiritual comfort.

This bond between the monks and the laity is reported to be strengthening due to Cyclone Nargis, which has devastated the Irrawaddy delta. The monks are reported to be at the forefront of providing aid to survivors of the cyclone.

In separate news, Singapore volunteers have spoken of their first hand experiences in the delta. They reported that their trip was smoother than expected, possibly due to the presence of a respected monk with them, namely Venerable K Gunaratana. The volunteers reported that they experienced no problems with roadblocks or with taking pictures.

This article thus suggests that the position of the monks continues to be highly respected in Myanmar, despite the recent military crackdown. The respect given to the monks appears to be strengthening instead.

Read the full IHT article here. The ChannelnewsAsia report is accessible at this link.

Dr. Chee Soon Juan and his sister Ms. Chee Siok Chin have both been given jail sentences for contempt of court, at 12 and 10 days respectively. The defamation damages have not been decided (if they are granted).

It is interesting to note the (generally) negative public reaction to Dr. Chee in the Asiaone forums. One forum poster even criticised Dr. Chee for wasting the time of the Prime Minister.

It is even more interesting to compare the generally negative local reaction to Dr. Chee, with the articles written by the New York Times, which seems to view Dr. Chee in a more positive light.

This can be viewed from the title of the New York Times article, which is “Power and Tenacity Collide in a Singapore Courtroom”. The word “tenacity” usually carries a positive overtone.

Read the Asiaone report here, and the forum commentaries here. The New York Times article is available here.

It is unusual to find articles on Singapore in the New York Times, or in the BBC news.

The New York Times has a strong bias towards reporting on American news, and on Middle Eastern news. However there have been a pair of articles commenting on the state of Singapore politics, such as J.B Jeyaretnam’s proposed establishment of a new political party.

More recently, there has been an article written on Dr. Chee Soon Juan’s debate in court with M.M. Lee and PM Lee. The foreign interest paid to politics in Singapore is slightly surprising to this blogger, although the different viewpoints are interesting. For example the quotes taken by the New York Times from the courtroom debate between Dr. Chee and MM Lee are quite different from that of the Straits Times, in its own commentary.

However, one suspects that the writer of the New York Times articles, Seth Mydans, is not entirely neutral with regard to his views on Singapore politics.

Read the articles here and here

Merriam-Webster now has a PODCAST for solo words in its Word of the Day feature. I’m floored! After all, online dictionaries are just for you to check the spelling, meanings of words and pronunciation, right? Well, it seems that Merriam-Webster thinks that these are not enough. So get ready for souped-up versions of dictionary entries with a jazzy twist!

The only thing not quite right about the site is that it doesn’t provide the “proper”phonetic transcription. The above is your Friday Word of the Day . TGIF!