Applied technology in Boston

This story has been sent from our special correspondent, committee member John Stevens. It tells how Boston is using mobile technology (GPS and cameras in cell phones) to report problems to city government.

T2 – A Guide to Current and Emerging Technology

The discussion at our midyear meeting inspired new member, John Stevens, to think about how we can use new media for technology transfer. Be sure to read his thoughts and reflections about each technology.

Blogs

A blog (a contraction of the term "weblog") is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketches (sketchblog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), and audio (podcasting). Micro-blogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts. [such as Twitter]

Personal Opinion
Blogs are great for spreading ideas about a specific subject and beginning a discussion. Ideas can be put forward and the ability to leave comments allows other people to find flaws in arguments or connect other ideas. Blogs are often public forums, though they can be restricted to a specific set of individuals.

Blogs can be useful to organizations internally to let staff know of changes in direction, the status of projects or to bestow recognition for a job well done.
Blogs can also be great for letting the public know about what things are happening within an organization and allow for public comment.

Wikis

A wiki is a website that uses wiki software, allowing the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked Web pages, using a simplified markup language or aWYSIWYG text editor, within the browser. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites. The collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia is one of the best-known wikis. Wikis are used in business to provide intranet and knowledge management systems

Personal Opinion
As stated above Wikis are great for collaborative projects, where multiple people can access documents and make changes or add comments.

RSS

RSS (most commonly translated as "Really Simple Syndication") is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format. An RSS document (which is called a "feed", "web feed", or "channel") includes full or summarized text, plus metadata such as publishing dates and authorship. Web feeds benefit publishers by letting them syndicate content automatically. They benefit readers who want to subscribe to timely updates from favored websites or to aggregate feeds from many sites into one place. RSS feeds can be read using software called an "RSS reader", "feed reader", or "aggregator", which can be web-based, desktop-based, or mobile-device-based. [Look to the right of this posting to sign up for an RSS feed from this blog.]

Personal Opinion
RSS feeds are wonderful for people who want to keep up with a lot of continuously changing websites, like newspapers or blogs. Usually only a headline is displayed and if the headline looks interesting then clicking on the headline will open the full article.

The other great thing about RSS programs is that usually they will know when you have already looked at an article and it will not appear next time you open the program, even if you are using a different machine.

Podcasts

A podcast is a series of digital computer files, usually either digital audio or video, that is released periodically and made available for download. by means of web syndication.
The syndication aspect of the delivery is what differentiates podcasts from other ways of accessing files, such as simple download or streaming: it means that special client software applications known as podcatchers (such as Apple Inc.'s iTunes or Nullsoft's Winamp) can automatically identify and retrieve new files in a given series when they are made available, by accessing a centrally-maintained web feed that lists all files currently associated with that particular series. New files can thus be downloaded automatically by the podcatcher and stored locally on the user's computer or other device for offline use, making it simpler for the user to download content that is released episodically.

Like the term broadcast, podcast can refer either to the content itself or to the method by which the content is syndicated; the latter is also called podcasting. A podcaster is the person who creates the content.

The term is a portmanteau of the words "iPod" and "broadcast", the Apple iPod being the brand of portable media player for which early podcasting scripts were developed (see history of podcasting), allowing podcasts to be automatically transferred from a personal computer to a mobile device after download. Despite the source of the name, it has never been necessary to use an iPod, or any other form of portable media player, to use podcasts; the content can be accessed using any computer capable of playing media files. As more mobile devices other than iPods became able to synchronize with podcast feeds, a backronym developed where podcast stood for "Personal On Demand broadCAST."

Personal Opinion
Podcasts are very much like blogs, in that they contain content that is continually being updated. As stated above most podcasts are audio or video files and can be carried on portable devices like iPods, or other MP3 players.

My favorite place to get podcasts is iTunesU which has recordings of university lectures and other similar programs from around the world available for free.

Social Networks

A social network service focuses on building online communities of people who share interests and/or activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. Most social network services are web based and provide a variety of ways for users to interact, such as e-mail and instant messaging services.

Social networking has encouraged new ways to communicate and share information. Social networking websites are being used regularly by millions of people.

While it could be said that email and websites have most of the essential elements of social network services, the idea of proprietary encapsulated services has gained popular uptake recently.

The main types of social networking services are those which contain category divisions (such as former school-year or classmates), means to connect with friends (usually with self-description pages) and a recommendation system linked to trust. Popular methods now combine many of these, with Facebook widely used worldwide; MySpace, Twitter and LinkedIn being the most widely used in North America.

• Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read each others' updates, known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters, displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to other users - known as followers - who have subscribed to them. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow open access. Users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, Short Message Service (SMS) or external applications. The service is free over the Internet, but using SMS may incur phone service provider fees.

• Facebook is a free-access social networking website that is operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. Users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with other people. People can also add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves. The website currently has more than 200 million active users worldwide. It has also been banned at many places of work to discourage employees from wasting time using the service. Users over the age of 40 are the fastest growing demographic joining Facebook.

• LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003 mainly used for professional networking. As of May 2009, it had more than 40 million registered users, spanning 170 industries.

Personal Opinion
The different social network sites are good for different things; I once read an article the compared LinkIn to talking after a business meeting, Facebook to a cocktail party and MySpace to an all night rave. So depending on the reason for using social networking sites should, in part, determine how you present yourself.

The T2 committee has a page on both LinkedIn and Facebook.

Twitter has been getting a lot of press lately. I have tried to figure out how best to utilize it for something worthwhile. Twitters primary use is that responses are returned in real time. Because of that fact I think that the best use of Twitter would be to ask a direct question to a large group of professionals with expertise in that area. This could be used as a more targeted form of “crowd sourcing” or using technology to quickly receive the wisdom of the crowd to any given problem.

Instant Messaging

Instant messaging (IM) is a collection of technologies that create the possibility of real-time text-based communication between two or more participants over the internet or some form of internal network/intranet. It is important to understand that what separates chat and instant messaging from technologies such as e-mail is the perceived synchronicity of the communication by the user - Chat happens in real-time. Some systems allow the sending of messages to people not currently logged on (offline messages), thus removing much of the difference between Instant Messaging and e-mail.

IM allows effective and efficient communication, featuring immediate receipt of acknowledgment or reply. In certain cases Instant Messaging involves additional features, which make it even more popular, i.e. to see the other party, e.g. by using web-cams, or to talk directly for free over the Internet.

It is possible to save a conversation for later reference. Instant messages are typically logged in a local message history which closes the gap to the persistent nature of e-mails and facilitates quick exchange of information like URLs or document snippets (which can be unwieldy when communicated via telephone).

Google Wave

Google Wave is "a personal communication and collaboration tool" announced by Google at the Google I/O conference, on 27 May 2009. It is a web based service and computing platform designed to merge e-mail, instant messaging, wiki, and social networking. It has a strong collaborative and real-time focus supported by robust spelling/grammar checking, automated translation between 40 languages, and numerous other extensions. It is expected to be released later in 2009.

YouTube

YouTube is a video sharing website on which users can upload and share videos

Flickr

Flickr is an image and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community platform. In addition to being a popular Web site for users to share personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers as a photo repository.[2] As of June 2009, it claims to host more than 3.6 billion images[3], up from 3 billion in November of 2008

Geotagging

Geotagging is the process of adding geographical identification metadata to various media such as photographs, video, websites, orRSS feeds and is a form of geospatial metadata. These data usually consist of latitude and longitude coordinates, though they can also include altitude, bearing, accuracy data, and place names.

Most, if not all of these services are becoming prevalent on mobile devices like iPods and cell phones. What this means is that the opportunity to share information can happen anywhere and anytime. This ability could help or hinder anything from public involvement to data collection. By knowing about these services we should be able to promote better organizational policy to show people what we do, why we do it and if appropriate invite them to participate.

Meet new member - John Stevens

John Stevens is a transportation planner at Wilbur Smith Associates. John recently graduated from the University of Utah with a Masters of City and Metropolitan Planning, with an emphasis in demographics and transportation planning. Prior to entering the planning field John worked a few years as a field archaeologist in the Great Basin with a small consulting company. John holds a BS in Anthropology and History.
John’s professional goal is to become involved with implementing effective policy dealing with the integration of transportation economics and land use in developing nations that fits with the cultural context of the area.

As to technology transfer and the committee, I want to more effectively utilize existing and emerging delivery systems to disseminate knowledge of and about transportation, transportation systems, and their effect on populations.

Meet new member - Sue Lodahl

Sue Lodahl is the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Assistant Maintenance Engineer. She has just recently returned to the Office of Maintenance and assumed this position in February, 2009. Prior to that she was the Director of Research Services for a four years. She has been with Mn/DOT for 25 years and has held other positions within Mn/DOT including State Lighting Engineer and Maintenance Operations and Training Engineer. Lodahl is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and is a registered professional engineer in the State of Minnesota.

Educational opportunities

June 25, 2009, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. EDT: Leveraging the Power of the Internet: Research Scanning Using RSS FHWA Research Web Conference

The workshop will provide a basic understanding and competency in the features and functionality of two free Really Simple Syndication (RSS) Readers.
Link to join web conference: http://fhwa.na3.acrobat.com/powerofinternet/ and teleconference, number to access audio portion: 800-988-0375, 14202
For more information, please contact EAR Librarian Lance Warren at Lance.Warren@fhwa.dot.gov or 202-493-3123 or EAR Program Manager David Kuehn at david.kuehn@dot.gov or 202-493-3414

July 13, 2009, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. EDT: How to Write an Effective Research Statement

Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/798836768 Whether you’re a DOT practitioner, consultant or university researcher, it’s always a challenge to find funding for needed research. The TRB Conduct of Research Committee has put together some resources for you to consider, beginning with a critical first step in obtaining funds: Writing an effective research statement.

In this Webinar you will hear practical guidance from a TRB senior program officer who has reviewed many a project statement – the good, the bad, and the ugly. You will also hear the perspectives of two successful proposers whose project statements were compelling enough to receive funding. Speakers will discuss topics that include: Coming up with a good title, convincing reviewers the research is critical, succinctly stating the objective, clearly and honestly identifying the benefits, and explaining how the results will be put to use. Discussion will be encouraged among presenters, and Webinar participants will have the opportunity to ask questions. Presenters for this session include:

• Patrick Casey, CTC & Associates, Moderator. “Resources from the TRB Conduct of Research Committee”
• Christopher Hedges, TRB Senior Program Officer. “How to Write an Effective Research Statement”
• Randall Wade, Wisconsin Department of Transportation. “Relating Your Research Need to a Pressing National Issue”
• William R. “Randy” Cox, American Segmental Bridge Institute. “Working Through AASHTO to Meet DOT Needs”
• Gail D’Avino, Georgia Department of Transportation. “Persistence Does Make a Difference.”

Registration: There is no fee for TRB Sponsors, listed here: http://www.trb.org/directory/sponsors.asp. Others must pay $99 per site. Space is limited, so please register in advance.

For questions about using this software, including webinar audio or visual complications, please contact Reggie Gillum at rgillum@nas.edu or 202-334-2382.

Introducing committee member Dick Hanneman

Dick Hanneman is President of the Salt Institute, the Alexandria, Virginia-based international trade association representing companies producing salt throughout North America and the world. The Institute advocates salt industry policy on such issues as highway traffic safety, human health and nutrition, and worker safety.

He has served as President of the Salt Institute since 1987. Previously, Dick directed government and public affairs and membership development for an international environmental industry association, served two Congressmen on Capitol Hill and as a staff assistant to the Governor of his home state of Wisconsin. Part of his time in graduate school was at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

In the transportation area, Dick represents the salt industry on the Board of Directors of the American Highway Users Alliance and on the Advisory Council of the Roadway Safety Foundation. He is a member of the Transportation Research Board’s Winter Maintenance Committee, Technology Transfer Committee and Corrosion Committee and served on the National Academy of Sciences’ Strategic Highway Research Program Highway Operations Advisory Committee. He also serves on the Transportation Association of Canada’s Maintenance and Construction Committee, its Environment Council and on the TAC committee that produced a Salt Management Guide and its Syntheses of Best Management Practices. His leadership helped forge a partnership between the Salt Institute and the National LTAP Association to promote improved winter maintenance training. He is a “friend” of the APWA Winter Maintenance Sub-committee.

Dick speaks frequently and has published articles in such diverse journals as Public Works magazine, Water Conditioning & Purification magazine, and the British Medical Journal.

Dick responded to where he thinks the committee should be going with, "I believe the TRB T2 Committee can render valuable service by helping other TRB Committees understand the principles of technology transfer and training that will enable them to 'market' their findings, conclusions, syntheses of practice, etc. and help users of this information understand both how it can be used for their operations and how to quantify the benefits of their offerings. Part of this task is to help providers of such technology transfer and training initiatives (e.g. LTAP centers) to understand their role in identifying customer needs and marketing to them."

Meet new member - Jon Makler

Jon Makler, AICP is the Education and Technology Transfer Program Manager for the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium (OTREC), a National University Transportation Center. He has approximately 10 years of professional experience with public, private and academic organizations. His areas of subject matter expertise include transportation planning, air quality, transportation operations and ITS, environmental justice, homeland security and metropolitan planning organizations. He holds a Master of Science in Transportation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Arts from Swarthmore College. A native of Philadelphia, Jon spent about 7 years in the Boston area before moving to his current home in Portland, Oregon.

When asked about his views on technology transfer, Jon responded, "In the first few months in this position, I've learned that technology transfer has many different meanings. The focus on commercialization and intellectual property seems to be the traditional meaning and is foremost to some, though it is hardly mentioned in my office. Our focus at OTREC is on pushing knowledge from our researchers to practitioners, especially around the state. I usually say that I'm "in the import/export business" and it's only half a joke.

I'm acutely aware that while I'm busy pushing and pulling information for other people, I'm under-investing in my own methods and techniques. I'm counting on this committee to be my primary conduit to how others are succeeding or struggling with my plight."

Introducing Committee member Steven Jones

Steven Jones is an Associate Director and the Manager of the International Business Unit in the Dublin, Ireland office of the Waterman Group plc. Steven is responsible for project management, business development and client relations for all civil engineering projects in Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Steven has worked on transportation engineering projects in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Poland, Romania, Russia and Ukraine.

Steven holds a Ph.D. in Transportation Engineering from the University of Virginia as well as Masters and Bachelors degrees in Civil Engineering from Auburn University. Prior to joining the Waterman Group, Steven was an Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Alabama. During this time, Steven served as the Technology Transfer Director for the University Transportation Center for Alabama (UTCA) which is a Regional University Transportation Center (UTC) administered by the United States Department of Transportation through its Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA). In this role, Steven conducted T2 outreach via a research newsletters, specialty conferences and an annual research symposium all highlighting UTCA associated research.

Steven is interested in continuing efforts to deliver transportation research results into practice. He is particularly interested in the dissemination of academic and institutional research intended to improve analytical methodologies currently used by practitioners. He is also very interested in continuing to develop and improve channels for the international communication and sharing of technology transfer and lessons learned.

Twittering in all sorts of places

A recent article in Time, "Twittering in Church, with the Pastor's O.K," discussed several congregations' use of Twitter during services. Pastors trained congregants to use Twitter, upped the bandwidth at their churches, and encouraged those attending services to react in 140 characters or less to what was going on in the service. At one church the Twitter feed was displayed behind the preacher. Tweets ranged from the silly to the sublime. Often pastors would follow up with church goers after services when they asked questions or wanted help.

Adults usually learn better when they reflect on what they have learned or they are able to use the knowledge being taught immediately in their job, or their lives. Tweeting their reactions to a sermon can serve that purpose. Instructors, or pastors, can also get immediate feedback on what participants are learning or not learning. They can also follow up with individuals or in future instructional sessions.
Got thought? Comment below or tweet me at @ lhpogue.

TRB's Education and Training Committee news

The Transportation Education and Training Committee plans to issue a call for papers on the following topics:

• Evaluating Recruitment and Retention Programs in the Transportation Profession
• Visualization: Seeing Challenges More Clearly - Discovering Bold Opportunities

They also plan to organize a panel session and a workshop on:

• Workforce Development Experience from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) – Lessons Learned for Reauthorizations
• Building the 21st Century Workforce: Focus on MPOs and Local Jurisdictions

The future of conferences?

This is a great "podcast" of a radio program, Future Tense, from Australia. In it three conferencing professionals explore conferences past and future and the way the industry is adapting to meet changing consumer expectations. Are conferences still synonymous with bad food, hard chairs and boring speakers. Is "sage on the stage" still the model for providing education? Do we really get the most from networking opportunities at conferences? And, what does the current economic climate mean for the way we plan and execute conferences?

The speakers compare the current climate for conferences to recent changes in the music business, which has dealt with changes in technology, financing and sharing of products. The speakers discuss:

• bar camps, world cafes, open space and unconferences as models
• the use of technology, such as Twitter, to create interaction and education
• the importance of building a sense of community before, during and after a conference.

Lots to think about. Have a listen.

Go to university for free

Have you ever wanted to attend Oxford, MIT or Yale for free and without applying for admission? You can catch lectures from some of the most respected and noted professors at these and lots more institutions of higher learning online. Check out iTunes U or YouTube Edu for lectures on all sorts of topics. I looked up “transportation” on both of these sites and found some interesting and informative lectures from UC Berkeley, Northwestern, George Mason University and international universities. Another source of university lectures is iTunes, which I originally used for orientation to online learning and class lectures at Drexel University. A recent article in Time magazine piqued my interest in the visual side of audio-visual. By making lectures available online, universities can use this as a recruiting tool, professors can distribute their lectures to students, and most importantly, students can catch up on their class work instead of getting notes from someone who actually attended the class.
How could we use this new technology in technology transfer? Several scenarios come to mind:

• Raise awareness of transportation, and transportation research results
• Certificate programs using educational videos online
• The ability to comment on videos could spark conversations about transportation
• And, of course, using this technology to teach students.

Anyway, check these out and I hope they spark some ideas in you.

Welcome to new committee member - Jennifer Sheldon

Jennifer Sheldon is program manager for Transportation Northwest at the University of Washington, which is a Regional University Transportation Center (UTC) administered by the United States Department of Transportation through its Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA). Jennifer joined TransNow in July 2006 and is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the center. She assists the Director and Associate Directors in maintaining the center’s research, education, and technology transfer programs. She oversees the center's fiscal operations and serves as center representative to internal and external university academic departments, research centers, and government agencies.

Jennifer holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Washington and is a member of the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA). Prior to joining TransNow she worked as a Content Acquisition Supervisor for a subscription-based content provider of opportunities, spending, tracking and budgeting data for commercial, residential and government projects.

Jennifer is interested in the T2 Committee in order to network with others and keep up with current T2 practices and needs of the transportation research community, explore new ideas and best practices, and learn useful tools to help maintain a successful T2 plan within her organization.

Committee strategic plan for YOUR comments

A sub-committee headed by Larry Orcutt has been taking a look at what the committee's purpose and goals. Now we need your comments and suggestions, especially on how to implement the new plan. See the comments link below? Click on it and start commenting!

TRB COMMITTEE ON TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER – ABG30
STRATEGIC PLAN
Draft
Mission Statement
Locate, develop and promote innovative means of deploying technologies and processes, quickly moving them from state-of-the-art to state-of-the-practice.
Vision
Accelerate innovation implementation using technology transfer strategies

Goals & Strategies
The following goals and strategies establish a basic framework that will support the mission and vision of the Technology Transfer committee. We will continually build upon this structure by updating these goals in response to the changing needs of those we serve. Each team responsible for leading the development and implementation of the goals is charged with detailing the specific strategies and corresponding performance measures appropriate for accomplishing those goals.

GOAL: STRENGTHEN THE INNOVATION PROCESS BY ASSISTING OTHERS WITH LINKING KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND KNOWLEDGE IMPLEMENTATION
Objective - Make other committees/groups aware of technology transfer processes and assist them in applying them

• Strategy - Educate the TRB community by sponsoring annual meeting sessions, Webinars and other opportunities
• Strategy - Support and promote the NHI training course, “Leap not Creep: Accelerating Innovation Implementation”
• Strategy - Investigate the effects, application, and future potentials for intellectual property rights in the U.S. and abroad

Objective - Strengthen liaisons to other TRB committees, affiliated groups (TIG, LTAP, Highways for Life)

• Strategy - Develop list of potential committees/groups involved in technology transfer
• Strategy - Network with other committees/groups by inviting them to speak at our meetings/sessions
• Strategy - Network with other committees/groups by speaking at their meetings/sessions
• Strategy - Support international scan implementation

Objective - Develop plans/projects to address committees’ needs
Objective - Serve as a resource for TRB on technology transfer

• Strategy - Provide expertise on technology transfer to TRB
• Strategy - Provide input on technology transfer to TRB research

GOAL: COMMUNICATE THE VALUE OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
Objective - Develop a definition of technology transfer
Objective - Utilize communication strategies that deliver appropriate information to TRB and other members of the research community on the value of technology transfer

• Strategy - Develop a list of target audiences and communication strategies

GOAL: PROVIDE LEADERSHIP IN RESEARCHING, EVALUATING AND IMPLEMENTING METHODS FOR TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
Objective - Advance research into best practices for technology transfer methods appropriate for target audience(s)

• Strategy-Document innovation case studies that have overcome barriers and utilized boosters to accelerate innovation implementation

Objective - Serve as a test bed to use and evaluate new T2 methods and effectively share results with TRB community

• Strategy - Establish and maintain a committee Wiki, blog and social networking.
• Strategy - Sponsor annual meeting sessions/Webinars on new T2 technologies
• Strategy - Explore new methods such as podcasts, RSS feeds, and Web 2.0 technologies

GOAL: ENSURE A QUALIFIED, DIVERSE AND ACTIVE COMMITTEE
Objective - Maintain the health of the committee by identifying a diverse membership stream and by providing training and mentoring opportunities designed to enhance the committee’s efficiency and effectiveness.

• Strategy - Fill vacant member slots based on objective of balance
• Strategy - Develop briefing guide for new members
• Strategy - Develop mentor program for new members

Call for TRB papers - get yout social networking on

Several TRB committees (including Conduct of Research, Technology Transfer, and LIST) are collaborating on a call for TRB papers related to social networking technologies. Here’s an overview:

How Social Networking Advances Research, Technology Transfer and Information Exchange – There has been a rapid change in technology used by individuals and groups to communicate electronically. Social networks may be defined as participants drawn together based on a common element or interest. Differences from past networks and other forms of electronic content include the speed, scale, structure and extent of communication within the network. Many of these technologies can provide new methods to coalesce and engage communities on research questions, technology application and sharing information across traditional organizational and disciplinary boundaries. It could include the use of social networking from the building of virtual research centers to improving communication of research results. What are examples of using social networks in transportation research from the identification of research needs through the transfer and sharing of knowledge? What are benefits and barriers to the use of social networks?

August 1 is the deadline for paper submissions, so get researching and writing.

Paper submission site
Instructions

While you're thinking about social networking search for the T2 Committee on Facebook and LinkedIn.

News from TRB

TRB to emphasize communications
Effective communications have always been an important part of the success of TRB standing committees. With travel budgets being cut, robust communications portfolios are more important than ever. During 2009 each committee has been asked to review its communications portfolio during 2009. The T2 Committee will take a look at how we communicate, what works and what doesn’t, and what new communications we should include in our committee’s portfolio. Any volunteers?

TRB will be giving each committee chairs the opportunity to appoint a communications coordinator to work with TRB staff and other committees to enhance the communications portfolios. Committees with exceptional use of new technologies/communications will be identified and asked to document their "tools" and to share best practices with other committees. If you are interested in serving as communications coordinator or on the committee let the co-chairs know.

2010 TRB Annual Meeting planning underway

The spotlight theme for the 2010 Annual Meeting is “Investing in Our Transportation Future - BOLD Ideas to Meet BIG Challenges.”

Addressing critical and cross-cutting issues

The TRB Technical Activities Council (TAC) requests that TRB committees give increased emphasis to the TAC "Critical and Cross Cutting Issues," by spending at least one hour each year discussing the Critical and Cross Cutting Issues and/or your own list of critical issues.

By spending some time on these high level issues, we hope to heighten our awareness of high level issues and ensure that awareness is infused in the work of the TAC, committees, sections, and groups. (FYI – The T2 Committee is within the Policy and Organization Group and the Research and Education Section.)

See our request for critical and cross-cutting issues in a previous blog. Also, check out teh discussion in LinkedIn. Are you interested in critical issues? Volunteer to lead our effort to get more of our issues into the system.

The science of change

Time magazine recently ran an article, "How Obama is using the science of change,"on how the Obama administration is using many of the principles of behavioral science to effect change. Many of the guidelines would also apply to technology transfer, which is, of course, also about change. Interesting read!

Mark your calendars for the T2 Committee's summer meeting

The T2 and Conduct of Research Committees will once again get together this summer at the TRB Keck Center in Washington, DC June 16-17th. One joint focus will be intellectual property and technology transfer. There will also be time to discuss our new strategic plan and plot what we'll be doing for the next year as well as time to connect with our colleagues from Conduct of Research.

Just for Fun????

Usually I would share this for a Friday when we all need a little help to get to the weekend but it was just too good to wait.

How many times have you heard all the excuses for not trying anything new? Listen and view this presentation about a Web tech guy and an angry staff person in "An Exaggerated Tale" by Michael Edson, Director of Web and New Media Strategy for the Smithsonian Institution. Then use the comments to tell us how many similar reasons you've heard in your experience.

Emerging Technologies in Social Networking

This was the title of a fascinating session at this year's TRB annual meeting. Go to to the link above to view the presentations on using Web 2.0, Flickr and Second Life to exchange information.

Critical issues

Also, be sure to add your 2 cents to the discussion of critical issues in transportation in the previous post.

US House hears about transportation R&D and priorities for reauthorization

On February 12 the House of Representatives’ Committee on Science and Technology’s Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation held a hearing to review the research, development, and deployment activities of the Department of Transportation (DOT). The hearing also focused on research priorities to incorporate in SAFETEA-LU reauthorization. Subcommittee Members heard testimony regarding the funding, planning, and execution of current research initiatives and how these efforts will fulfill the strategic goals of both federal and state departments of transportation, metropolitan transportation organizations, and industry.

Economic news

The White House went live with www.recovery.gov, which lets the public track how the $787 billion economic stimulus package is being spent. FHWA has established a website to provide information concerning the economy recovery legislation that you may find of interest at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/economicrecovery/index.htm.

Which brings us to critical issues

What are the critical issues facing transportation and technology transfer in these days of recession and credit crunch? How will the economic stimulus’ emphasis on transportation change how we do business? What does all this mean for the ways we transfer technologies in transportation? And, how does this affect transportation worldwide? Comments are appreciated (click comments) or even better click the little letter below to forward this to a colleague.