-------- MANTEX NEWSLETTER -------- Number 91 - April 2004 - ISSN 1470-1863 Design - Writing - Blogging 0----- 'Emotional Design' - new book This is the latest from Donald Norman - design usability guru for everyday products such as teapots, chairs, doorknobs, and bicycles. His last book became a best-seller, arguing that function precedes appearance. This time he promotes the argument that our choices are dominated by aesthetics and our emotional response to objects. He now sees this as more important than before. His new book takes you through lots of practical examples of design - from wrist watches to web sites and tea strainers to industrial vacuum cleaners. He ends up with some futuristic predictions about robots programmed with emotions. Full review and details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/norman-2.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #1 What are venules? 0----- 'Writing Bids and Funding Applications' - new book Prolific author Jane Dorner has come up with a new guide for people trying to raise funding or make bids to official bodies for sponsorship. And it's very thorough. She takes you through the whole procedure from locating sources of funding, through writing the bid, to the best way to package your submission. The parts I found most useful are her lists of resources, and the advice she gives on tricky issues such as deciding how much money to ask for, and how to cost in your own time. Very useful for fundraisers, or those people who have to locate resources to keep their own jobs and projects afloat. It's chock full of templates, examples, resources, and names and addresses. If you're after sponsorship, start here. Full review and details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/dorner-5.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #2 How many degrees Kelvin is absolute zero? 0----- 'Information Strategy in practice' - new book Elizabeth Orna is an information architect and theorist. Her books are beautifully written, designed, and produced. This one deals with practical examples of information policies in large organisations. She discusses how information should be organised efficiently and how it should be made to flow smoothly from one level to another. This is one for information scientists, professional designers, and senior managers - plus anyone interested in classification, taxonomy, and metadata. Full review and details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/orna-3.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #3 Of which country is Abuja the capital? 0----- Internet Resources Newsletter - f-r-e-e Internet Resources Newsletter is a free monthly electronic newsletter, edited by Heriot-Watt University Library staff. The newsletter aims to raise awareness of new sources of information on the Internet, particularly those which are relevant to research interests, including engineering, science, and social science. The newsletter is available via the Internet and as a f-r-e-e email newsletter to subscribers. An RSS feed is also available. http://www.hw.ac.uk/libWWW/irn/irn.html 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #4 Who wrote 'Man is by nature a political animal'? 0----- 'CVs and Job Applications' - new book If you're going to apply for a job, you probably need all the help you can get. Including the production of a decent CV. The days of submitting a list of your previous employments are over. You need something closer to a personal press release. Judith Leigh's simple guide does just that. Her entire emphasis is that your CV should be used to present yourself in the best possible light. That means making the document itself attractive - and she shows you how to do it. Full review and details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/leigh-2.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #5 What surgical instrument is used to aid childbirth? 0----- 'eBay Hacks' - new book Did you know that some people make a full-time living buying and selling goods on eBay. It's the world's biggest online auction. Items are bought and sold at the astonishing rate of $680 every *second* of the day. David Karp's new book tells you how buy cheap and sell at a profit. He explains all the tips and tricks of someone who knows the system inside out. He also shows you how to improve your chances by inserting clever scripts into your pages - and these are on offer f-r-e-e - both in the book and on his web site. If you want to sell off your old record collection, collect even more, or become a serious trader, everything you need to know to improve your chances is covered in his very readable new guide. http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/karp-3.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #6 What is malt vinegar made from? 0----- The Novella - new guidance notes We've started a new section in our literary study guides on the novella. That's the literary genre which is longer than a story but shorter than a novel. Tricky to define, but amazing in impact. Examples include Thomas Mann's 'Death in Venice', Herman Melville's 'Billy Budd', and Saul Bellow's 'Seize the Day'. If you are interested in the differences between the story and the novel, or what makes something half way between them so remarkable, have a look at http://www.mantex.co.uk/ou/resource/novella.htm 0----- Pub Quiz Question #7 What was Thailand called before 1939? 0----- 'Law in Everyday Life' - new book It's said that the law affects every stage of our lives - from birth to the grave. Just think about it: when do most people come into contact with the law? A birth must be legally registered. So must a marriage. If you buy a house, you'll soon find youself dealing with solicitors. And when somebody dies, the subject of proper wills is suddenly a hot topic for the family. John Seely's guidance manual covers all you need to cope with these events - plus the popular additions of car accidents and setting up a business. He explains all aspects of the law in a jargon-f-r-e-e language. Very useful - especially for people running societies and community groups. Full review and details at http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/seely-3.htm 0----- Pub Quiz Question #8 Geographically, which is the largest US state? 0----- Collins Talking Dictionary - French-English Talking dictionaries are now all the rage. This one combines French-English and English-French into one pane which sits in the corner of your screen. You start typing the word you want and - hey presto! up it comes. You can click to hear what it sounds like, and even check your own pronunciation against a professional native speaker. There are crossword puzzles and a shooting gallery game to check your progress in learning new vocabulary. The data-base of words is built on Collins successful paper dictionary, and the whole thing costs little more. Full review and details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/col-fren.htm 0----- Pub Quiz Question #9 When was the Berlin Wall erected? 0----- New - Blogspot! Would you like advance notice of new books and resources? This newsletter you are reading now appears once a month, but you can have quicker updates if you wish. And it won't be pushed in your face. It's a Blog page which you can visit whenever you wish to see the latest news. Go to this link and add it to your Web favourites. We'll announce new publications, new guidance notes, f-r-e-e resources, and interesting web sites on a regular basis. You can also Comment on the postings, and read what other people have said too. Check it out! http://mantex.blogspot.com 0----- Pub Quiz Question #10 Who wrote 'Confessions of Zeno'? 0----- Erratum Kenneth Silvera, a Viet Nam era Medical Laboratory Specialist, writes to tell us that "grape sugar is not glucose it is LEVULOSE". Thanks Ken. So those of you who scored ten out of ten in the last quiz should deduct one point :-) But if you want to let yourself off, it *is* also known as 'fruit sugar'. 0----- PUB QUIZ - ANSWERS What are venules? ANSWER: The smallest veins How many degrees Kelvin is absolute zero? ANSWER: Zero Of which country is Abuja the capital? ANSWER: Nigeria Who wrote 'Man is by nature a political animal'? ANSWER: Aristotle What surgical instrument is used to aid childbirth? ANSWER: Forceps What is malt vinegar made from? ANSWER: Beer What was Thailand called before 1939? ANSWER: Siam Geographically, which is the largest US state? ANSWER: Alaska When was the Berlin Wall errected? ANSWER: 1961 Who wrote 'Confessions of Zeno'? ANSWER: Italo Svevo 0----- COMING SOON 'Design Through Digital Interaction' 'Creative Content for the Web' 'Designing Web Graphics' (c) Copyright 2004, MANTEX All Rights Reserved PO Box 100 Tel +44 0161 432 5811 Manchester Fax +44 0161 443 2766 M20 6GZ UK www.mantex.co.uk If you like this newsletter, PLEASE FORWARD IT to friends and colleagues. New subscribers should register at the following address -- http://www.mantex.co.uk/newslet.htm FREE BACK ISSUES featuring news items, reviews, and product details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/news/archive.htm Please retain the copyright and list-joining information. It may be posted, in its entirety or partially, to newsgroups or mailing lists, so long as the copyright and list-joining information remains. If you have any requests, observations, or items you would like to be included in our next issues, just mail us at -- news@mantex.co.uk You receive the MANTEX newsletter because you subscribed to it. If you wish to leave the list, go to -- http://www.mantex.co.uk/newslet.htm News-91-April-2004 ISSN 1470-1863 The British Library