Slashdot Mirror

SINTEF is not a think tank, it is a major applied-research institution. It is similar (with due proportions) to the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany.

New report: The government must use the culture of sharing on the Internet

Web users wish to spread information from public sources through internet communities. However, there is a risk that the government is slowing down this process, according to the report eCitizen 2.0, received by Minister of Government administration and reform, Ms. Heidi Grande RÃys, recently.

- There are enormous possibilities for dialogue and distribution of information, if the government and the users of web communities are cooperating. This report will provide us with better knowledge of how the government can meet the citizens where they are, Ms Grande RÃys says.

The second title of the report, which has been commissioned by the Ministry from the research institution SINTEF, is âoeThe ordinary citizen as provider of public information?â SINTEF recommends that the public sector to a larger extent must regard the citizens as collaborating partners rather than as passive recipients of information.

- Todayâ(TM)s web users expect to be able to share and edit texts, pictures and videos they find on the internet. The challenge will be to create a culture of sharing, in which public information is distributed by the citizens themselves, without losing important content or trust in the process, Grande RÃys says.

The recommendations from the researchers imply that public information should be made freely available and reusable, and that public institutions to a larger extent must be willing to experiment and take risks. The report mentions examples of innovative services from other countries, like the US and Great Britain.

- There is a lot of useful government reform in an active ICT policy providing possibilities for inclusion, sharing, openness and dialogue. This is all about the ability of the government administration to be innovative in developing public services, and how we can improve our services by utilizing the usersâ(TM) competence, the minister says.

eCitizen2.0 - The ordinary citizen as a supplier of public-sector information (PDF) The report is made by Petter Bae Brandtzæg and Marika Lüders in SINTEF.

SINTEF:

The SINTEF Group is the largest independent research organisation in Scandinavia. Every year, SINTEF supports the development of 2000 or so Norwegian and overseas companies via our research and development activity.

Business concept
SINTEF's goal is to contribute to wealth creation and to the sound and sustainable development of society. We generate new knowledge and solutions for our customers, based on research and development in technology, the natural sciences, medicine and the social sciences. /quote

I don't know, but their website runs ASP

From SINTEF's website:

http://www.sintef.no/content/page1____2740.aspx

http://www.ntnu.no/gemini/2000-06e/09_1.htm

Here's the real link to the research. As usual, Roland the Plogger is posting a story from a blog, maximizing ad revenue, and the actual reference has been lost. One would think that Slashdot's "editors" would be wise to this by now, but they still don't get it.

It;s only a prototype; the water stream that comes out is more like a garden hose than a fire hose.

Actually there exists (has existed for some years even) alternatives to Google Earth that also can be used by Mac and Linux users. Try the Virtual Globe at: http://globe.sintef.no/ (Java required). As it doesn't have the money for the hi-detail data Google can buy, it only uses the data NASA aand USGS gives avay for free. And in many cases 15m horizontal resolution Landsat images and 100m SRTM elevations are sufficient.

It smells like what they are using is the effect you get when a lot of water rushes from the ocean through narrow straits to fill the gulf behind.

I don't know the exact location of these underwater turbines, but here's a page with an illustration of the turbines.
I guess these turbines could be used for normal currents as well as for the intended tidal currents.