Collaborative things you can do to participate in building a communal CA knowledge management system

The list below is far from exhaustive, and all contributions will require that you register to obtain a username and password that will enable you to write information into the system - information that will clearly identify you as the author and which will also include a logo of your choice and a direct e-mail address for readers to discuss your contributions directly with you. Once you have 'adopted' a record, only you will be able to modify it. You will 'own' the record and your ownership will be manifestly revealed at all times.

Here are the three most obvious and practical ways to share your information and knowledge:

• A comprehensive CA References Database can 'come into existence' through the simple expedience of all authors loading the details of their publications as they are maintained in personal curriculum vitae documents into the communal CA References Database.
  
  If you first add your reference data into CA.EcoPort, then you can export your own and other author's information as an ASCII file that can easily be imported into citation and bibliography management software such as EndNote and others.
  
  When you compile reference citation source data for a new publication, you could first see which of the references you need already exist in the communal pool and export these without having to type them 'in' yourself. In this way, you will benefit from the manual typing effort invested by others. For example, the 56 records for publications by Brian Sims can be viewed here and the same applies to several other key CA authors such as Theodor Friedrich, Rolf Derpsch and others. (You may find similar lists on other web sites, but then the data are usually presented as formatted HTML which is not as flexible as ASCII output from a database.)
• A comprehensive CA Publications Library can also be created in a convenient and practical manner by authors willing to upload their published papers in PDF format or as WORD files. Click here to view a list of the references for which .PDF files have already been loaded onto the system. Articles could also be authored directly as eArticles or existing PDF files cold be converted into eArticles format. The nature and benefits if our eArticle format can be assessed in this example by Dirk Lange and Ken Moriya.
• Together we can create an extensive Communal CA Pictures Database by adding more pictures to the 1125 CA pictures already in the system. But, as is the case with all of EcoPort's resources, its not just their direct substantive value that multiply the benefits of cooperation, but the various 'toolbox' procedures that are at your disposal to package information items into many kinds of assembled knowledge products. For example, pictures - your own and any of the others in the PDB - can be used in slide shows and to assemble illustrated, interactive tables.

Use the Contact Us option at the bottom of our web pages to inquire about other options for sharing your information.