Invited Speakers

``Cyber Science Infrastructure and Scholarly Information for the Promotion of e-Science in Japan'', Jun Adachi (National Institute of Informatics, Japan)

abstract: Cyberinfrastructure is now considered crucial in many countries, not only for advancing scientific researches but also for promoting educational activities based on digital contents such as scholarly databases, e-journals and coursewares in higher education.

The Cyber Science Infrastructure (CSI) is a new initiative aiming at a comprehensive framework in which Japanese universities and research institutions are collaboratively constructing an IT-based environment for boosting scientific research and educational activities.

In CSI, sharing of electronic resources is promoted, and the dissemination of scholarly information originating from universities are strongly encouraged. CSI could be regarded as a new model of distributed and virtual digital library in the future academic environment.

Dr. Jun Adachi is a Professor of Digital Content and Media Sciences Research Division, National Institute of Informatics (NII), Japan. He is also the Director of Development and Operations Department of NII. His professional career was largely spent in research and development of NACSIS information systems, such as NACSIS-CAT and NACSIS-ELS. Dr. Adachi is also an adjunct professor of the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology (Department of Information and Communication Engineering), University of Tokyo. His research interests include information retrieval, text mining, digital library systems, and distributed information systems.

Dr. Adachi received a BE, ME and Doctor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from University of Tokyo in 1976, 1978 and 1981, respectively. He is a member of IPSJ, IEICE, IEEE, and ACM.

``Working Together in Developing Library and Information Science Education in the Asia Pacific'', Schubert Foo (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)

abstract: Library and information schools in Asia Pacific, like their counterparts around the world, have put in earnest efforts to meet the challenges of educating future information professionals in this dynamic and fast changing networked information society. Upcoming and ongoing initiatives that offer potential collaboration and co-operation among various stakeholders in Asia Pacific are identified and discussed in this presentation. The aim is to foster and promote further dialogue among LIS educators, researchers and practitioners, and to engender participation in these activities. By no means exhaustive, areas covered include (1) hosting and participating in workshops, symposiums and conferences; (2) implementing a portal for education; (3) developing a repository of learning objects and resources; (4) assuring quality through accreditation; and (5) promoting and sustaining research and scholarship. Collectively, these areas lay a foundation to create an informal network to improve information exchange and dissemination, knowledge sharing and creation, and research collaboration, thereby helping to further improve and ensure high standards of LIS education, practice and research in the region.

Schubert Foo is a Professor and Associate Chair of the School of Communication & Information at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. He received his B.Sc., M.B.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Strathclyde, UK. He is a Chartered Engineer, Chartered IT Professional, Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and Fellow of the British Computer Society. He is a Board Member of the National Archives of Singapore and the National Library Board. Dr. Foo has over 150 publications in the research areas of multimedia technology, Internet technology, multilingual information retrieval and digital libraries. He is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Information Science and Journal of Information and Knowledge Management, among others. He recently co-edited a book ``Design and usability of digital libraries: Case studies in the Asia Pacific'' with Theng in 2005, and co-authored a book ``Knowledge management: Tools and techniques'' with Sharma and Chua in 2006.

``One Billion Children and Digital Libraries: With your help, what the $100 laptop and its sunlight readable display might enable'', Mary Lou Jepson (One Laptop per Child, USA)

abstract: At the end of the day, children are the world's most valuable resource. In much of the developing world, such children are lucky to have a teacher with a 6th grade education. To improve the situation, we are trying to leverage the kids themselves through peer to peer learning enabled by our laptops and the mesh network they create. Study after study show that kids take to computers quickly and easily, not just in the in rich countries like Japan, but in the slums of the developing world. An average 5-year-old child in any country is a curious, engaging and energetic sponge for information and knowledge.

I will discuss the laptop architecture, the display, and what it could enable for digital libraries and the children of the world in my presentation - who read the textbooks through the laptop by looking at the display. These laptops are cheaper than textbooks for children (over 5 years of usage) and will be owned by the children themselves.

Dr. Mary Lou Jepsen is the founding chief technology officer of One Laptop Per Child whose large scale humanitarian mission is to deliver low-cost, mesh-networked laptops en-masse to the disadvantaged children of developing countries. Previously, she co-founded the first company whose sole effort was the development of microdisplays in 1995 and served as its chief technology officer through 2003. Until the end of the 2004, she was the chief technology officer of Intel's Display Division. Dr. Jepsen holds a PhD in Optics, BS in Electrical Engineering and BA req. in Studio Art all from Brown University. She also holds an MS from the MIT Media Lab. She will become a professor at the MIT Media Lab in September 2007 where she will found and lead a research effort in nomadic displays.