The archives of this newsletter
See: http://www.informatique-agricole.org/category/gazette-efita/


Jokes, Quotes and Anecdotes... an Anatomy of Wit
Mick Harkin, ex Secretary of EFITA, who has kept us amused with his Friday Jokes over the years, has published a book on Amazon entitled "Jokes, Quotes and Anecdotes... an Anatomy of Wit".
See: http://www.jokesquotesandanecdotes.com
Contact: Mick HARKIN
E-mail: harkin(a)iol.ie


Foreign Policy magazine: Think Again: European Decline Sure, it may seem as if Europe is down and out. But things are far, far better than they look
See: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/04/29/think_again_european_decline
(You must register to read this very interesting paper)


About Open Archives (see next news): A point of view (GW)
There is a lot of interest about Open Archives in circles of research organisations. But no interest is seen in advisory organisations, at least in France, my country.
From my point of view, these advisory organisations would benefit from Open Archives even more than research organisations.
At the end of the day, searchers will allways find solutions to build ad hoc bibliographies in their areas of interest.
But, quite often, advisors and furthermore farmers still find difficult to browse the web to gather information spread out in different web sites. In my country, for example and as far as I know (I am retired!), local advisory organisations as well as national organisations dedicated to specific agricultural productions have only limited ways to offer on their own web site information available through others web sites.
I understand the efforts of e.g. FAO and EU to promote Open Archives, but it seems to me that the promotion of Open Archives between advisory organisations at national level would be even more profitable than this one between research organisations.
Contact: Guy WAKSMAN
E-mail: guy.waksman(a)laposte.net


Submit your paper to the "Metadata & Semantics for Open Repositories, Research Information Systems and Data Infrastructures"

> Special track on Metadata & Semantics for Open Repositories [2]

> Research Information Systems and Data Infrastructures [3]

MTSR 2013: 7th Metadata and Semantics Research Conference

November 19-22, 2013

>>> Aim and Scope

The sharing and re-use of research information is becoming an increasingly important aspect of scientific activity. Text publications are – and will be at least for the near future – the predominant way of publishing research output and challenges still exist for their optimal recording and dissemination. Meanwhile, scientific communities recognise the immense significance of storing, discovering, processing, preserving and re-using data sets as well as other types of research objects like workflows and software. Furthermore, Public Sector Information, potentially valuable for research purposes, is provided openly by governments although not always in forms that enable re-use.

Metadata is a critical factor in this area, actually providing the means to promote black-box digital files to discoverable and re-usable objects. A key requirement is capturing and disseminating rich descriptions of research output in standard, semantically clear forms, including contextual and provenance information, such as relationships of publications and data sets with people, organisations, funding information, facilities and equipment.
This metadata needs to be some extent independent of a particular research domain, to foster collaboration and re-use of data sets across disciplines and vertical communities, while still allowing the recording and utilisation of domain-specific information. A range of open issues have to be addressed towards these goals.

The aim of this Special Track is to serve as a forum for experts to present recent results and experiences, establish liaisons with other groups and reflect on the state-of-the-art of metadata and semantic aspects of open repositories, research information systems and data infrastructures.

>>> Topics

Topics include but are not limited to contributions dealing with the following issues:

* Metadata, knowledge representation and relevant standards in open access repositories, research information systems and research infrastructures
* Semantic interoperability and information integration in open access repositories, research information systems and research infrastructures
* Application of semantic web technologies in open access repositories, research information systems and research infrastructures
* Data infrastructures (e.g. scientific data, public sector information)
* Contextual and provenance metadata in open access repositories, research information systems and research infrastructures
* Metadata interoperability for data infrastructures across disciplines
* Metadata quality in open access repositories, research information systems and research infrastructures
* Mechanisms, tools and infrastructures for shared services in open access repositories, research information systems and research infrastructures
* Digital preservation workflows and mechanisms and impact on metadata
* Value-added services based on open access repositories, research information systems and research infrastructures

>>> Important Dates
* June 20th, 2013 - Paper submission [4] (PDF File formatted in Springer LNCS style [5])
* July 31st, 2013 - Acceptance (or rejection) notification
* August 20th, 2013 - Camera-ready, revised version of accepted papers
* Nov 19th - 22nd, 2013 - MTSR'13 at Thessaloniki


>>> Submission
Interested authors can submit either full papers (12 pages) or short papers (6 pages) reporting on either mature or ongoing research. Papers should be original and not previously submitted to other venues. Submission will be available through the EasyChair submission system. [6]

If you haven't an EasyChair account yet, you'll be asked to create it before you can access the MTSR'13 page.

>>> Publication
The submissions to the Special Track will be reviewed by at least two members of the Program Committee.

Accepted papers will be published in the book of MTSR'12 proceedings by Springer (CCIS Series) [7]. The proceedings will be abstracted/indexed in: Scopus, EI-Compendex, DBLP, Google Scholar, Mathematical Reviews, SCImago. CCIS volumes are also submitted for the inclusion in ISI Proceedings.

Revised and extended versions of best papers will be published in selected international journals, including the International Journal of Metadata, Semantics and Ontologies (Inderscience) [8], and Program: Electronic library and information systems [9] (Emerald) (list incomplete).

*Special Track Chairs*

* Imma Subirats [10], Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (Italy)
* Nikos Houssos [11], National Documentation Centre (Greece)

For your intention to submit a paper, or any other inquiry, contact the
track chairs via email [12].

--
[1] http://aims.fao.org/community/metadata/blogs/send-your-paper-metadata-semantics-open-repositories-research-information-s
[2] http://mtsr2013.teithe.gr/index.php/tracks/special-track2
[3] http://mtsr2013.teithe.gr/index.php/tracks/special-track2
[4] https://www.easychair.org/account/signin.cgi?conf=mtsr2012
[5] http://www.springer.com/computer/lncs?SGWID=0-164-6-793341-0
[6] https://www.easychair.org/account/signin.cgi?conf=mtsr2012
[7] http://www.springer.com/computer?SGWID=0-146-6-466612-0
[8] http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ind/ijmso
[9] http://www.emeraldinsight.com/products/journals/journals.htm?id=prog
[10] mailto:Imma.Subirats@fao.org
[11] mailto:nhoussos@ekt.gr
[12] mailto:Imma.Subirats@fao.org


Making progress towards Open Access for CGIAR
See: http://aims.fao.org/community/open-access/blogs/making-progress-towards-open-access-cgiar


Drones Could Change Face of No-Tilling
Crop scouting, 3-D mapping, spot spraying and pathogen detection all could be performed by unmanned aerial vehicles to cut labor and input costs and improve decision making.
See: http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/pages/Spre/SPRE-Drones-Could-Change-Face-of-No-Tilling-May-1,-2013.php


Dacom: Agri Yield Management
See: http://www.dacom.nl/index.php/nl/agri-yield-management-nl/dacom-hardware-nl


The Data Dilemma (By: Rhonda Brooks, Farm Journal Seeds & Production Editor)
See: http://www.agweb.com/article/the_data_dilemma/


Robots with judgment skills under development for crop harvesting
See: http://www.asme.org/kb/news---articles/articles/robotics/smart-robots-for-picking-fruit


USAID, Syngenta Collaborate to Improve Global Food Security
See: http://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/usaid-syngenta-collaborate-improve-global-food-security


Research Raises Agricultural Productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa
See: http://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2013-may/research-raises-agricultural-productivity-in-sub-saharan-africa.aspx


How to intelligently trade commodities using weather forecasts
See: http://energyblogs.com/weather


Closer Look At The Agronomic Benefits Of Strip-Till
See: http://www.striptillfarmer.com/pages/ExperienceIT/SPRE---News-Closer-Look-At-The-Agronomic-Benefits-Of-Strip-Till-May-10,-2013.php


Pesticide residues: Seven reasons your food is safe
See: http://pesticideinformation.eu/2013/05/07/pesticide-residues-seven-reasons-your-food-is-safe/


The Pesticide Action Network has accused the German chemicals company BASF of buying credibility for industry views within academia, after one of its employee was offered a professorship at Wageningen University in the Netherlands
See: http://www.euractiv.com/science-policymaking/chemicals-industry-ngo-clash-col-news-519525


The best story of the year doesn't give the proper praise and credit for this painful, but understandable story as told by a loving wife...

Tom's scrotum = The Best Story of the Year:

The pastor asked if anyone in the congregation would like to express praise for answered prayers.

Suzie Smith stood and walked to the podium. She said, "I have a praise. Two months ago, my husband, Tom, had a terrible motorcycle wreck and his scrotum was completely crushed. The pain was excruciating and the doctors didn't know if they could help him."

You could hear a muffled gasp from the men in the congregation as they imagine the pain that poor Tom must have experienced. "Tom was unable to hold me or the children," she went on, "and every move caused him terrible pain." We prayed as the doctors performed a delicate operation, and it turned out they were able to piece together the crushed remnants of Tom's scrotum, and wrap wire around it to hold it in place."

Again, the men in the congregation cringed and squirmed uncomfortably as they imagined the horrible surgery performed on Tom.

"Now," she announced in a quivering voice, "thank the Lord, Tom is out of the hospital and the doctors say that with time, his scrotum should recover completely."

All the men sighed with unified relief. The pastor rose and tentatively asked if anyone else had something to say.

A man stood up and walked slowly to the podium. He said, "I'm Tom Smith." The entire congregation held its breath.

"I just want to tell my wife the word is sternum."


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