The lack of prominent women scientists as role models has hampered both the public understanding of Science, Engineering and Technology and the participation of women at all levels of science. It is with this in mind that the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has created various types of recognition awards to women in science so as to further emphasise and celebrate their exceptional role in science. Through the South African Awards for women in Science, which will be handed to recipients on 3 August 2007, the DST aims to profile exceptional women who, under various historical contraints are able to act as role models in a society still in dire need of women scientists. Nominations are open until 15 June 2007 and should be e-mailed to WISAwards@dst.gov.za or posted to: Project Coordinator, SA Women in Science Awards, Department of Science and Technology, Private Bag X 894, PRETORIA, 0001. For further details, application and nomination forms, visit www.dst.gov.za or call (012) 843 6849.

Through these awards, the DST has managed to create various categories and criteria for nominations. These awards are a direct response to the vision encapsulated in the National Research and Development Strategy of ultimate improvement in the quality of life of all South Africans.

The 2007 awards are:
Distinguished Woman Scientist Award in the area of Natural Science or Engineering
Distinguished Scientist Award for contribution to the Improvement of the Quality of Life of Women
Best Emerging Young Woman Scientist Award in the area of Natural Science or Engineering
Two Loreal South Africa 2007 Fellowships for Women in Science
Three Women Scientist Fellowships

Applications for the 2008/2009 Fellowship are invited from South Africans who were educationally disadvantaged by law and resource allocation as a result of apartheid and its legacy.

The Fellowship offers an opportunity to study for one year at Harvard University and includes payment of tuition, a living stipend, and a return air ticket. Fellowship funds do not allow for family support.

The Fellowship is intended for individuals in various occupations who have shown leadership skills in their chosen fields and who are expected to benefit from advanced study. Because it is a mid-career fellowship, applicants should have considerable professional experience since they obtained their first degree. Candidates are expected to begin their studies at Harvard in September 2008.

Fellows can study at Harvard’s Business School (Executive Education Programmes), Divinity School, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Graduate School of Education, Kennedy School of Government (Mason Programme), Law School, Medical School (for biological and social scientists interested in advanced training or research), and School of Public Health. Please note that candidates for two year Master’s Degrees such as the MBA are not eligible for this Fellowship.

Lecturers at tertiary institutions studying for their PhDs in any field at South African universities, and whose studies would be enriched by a year at Harvard, are especially encouraged to apply. The Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences has a one year Special Student Programme which can be tailored to meet their needs.

Applications can be downloaded at www.fas.harvard.edu/~southafr

If you cannot download the application, it can be requested from: steve@mandelarhodes.org.za or by writing to
the Mandela Rhodes Foundation,
P.O. Box 15897,
VLAEBERG,
8018

Dear Colleague,

The African Journal of Biochemistry Research (AJBR) is currently accepting manuscripts for publication. AJBR publishes high-quality solicited and unsolicited articles, in English, in all areas of Biochemistry. All articles published in AJBR will be peer-reviewed.

Our objective is to inform authors of the decision on their manuscript within five weeks of submission. Following acceptance, a paper will normally be published in the next available issue.

One key request of researchers across the world is open access to research publications. The African Journal of Biochemistry Research is fully committed to providing free access to all articles as soon as they are published. We ask you to support this initiative by publishing your papers in this journal.

Instruction for authors and other details are available on our website www.academicjournals.org/AJBR. Prospective authors should send their manuscript(s) to ajbr@academicjournals.org

AJBR is also seeking for qualified reviewers as members of its editorial board. Please contact me if you are interested in serving as a reviewer.

Best regards,

Prof. Johnson Lin,

Editor
African Journal of Biochemistryl Research
E-mail: ajbr@academicjournals.org
http://www.academicjournals.org/AJBR

Here are some online tools which may be of interest to you for writing, research, teaching and document storage. This is a summary that was retrieved from Rachel Singer Gordon "Publish don't perish"
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/info/librarians/How_to_get_Publish...

http://docs.google.com and http://writer.zoho.com:
Online document storage and retrieval allows you to create, access, and edit documents from any location with internet access, and these tools include the ability to roll documents back to previous versions. This means you don't need to carry around your flash drive.

http://jotcloud.com
This online tool offers a range of options for organizing one's thoughts, notes, and research.
Jotcloud is searchable, giving you a place to jot down and easily retrieve article ideas, notes, citations, contacts, or any other information.

http://www.mynoteit.com
MynoteIT offers to-do lists, note-taking, a calendar, collaboration tools for groups, and ways to organize student-specific information like assignments, grades, and teachers' contact information.

http://del.icio.us/
To organize bookmarks or groups of Internet sites.
When researching an article or other work, use del.icio.us to collect online resources on your topic and assign the same tag, or keyword, to every site you want to refer to while writing. You can then use these tags to easily retrieve the entire group of references, and can share them with coauthors by making your del.icio.us bookmarks public or by creating a joint account for use on a particular project.

http://citeulike.org
Offers a similar service as del.icio.us but more heavy-duty service that is targeted toward academics and researchers, allowing them to "share, store, and organise the academic papers they are reading." CiteULike automatically extracts citation details from online papers in a given list of archives and databases (and allows users to type manual citations for any site), allowing users to export their "libraries" to BibTex or EndNote in order to build bibliographies.

http://connotea.com
Targeted to "scientists and clinicians," works in a similar fashion, automatically building citations when possible from sources like PubMed. It lets users share their references with everyone, keep them private, or share them with selected others, and its import/export feature allows users to easily move references between Connotea and desktop reference managers.

http://www.refworks.com
An "online research management, writing and collaboration tool" that enables researchers to store and organize information and generate citations and bibliographies.

http://bubbl.us
Mind mapping/outlining sites allow you to organize your thoughts visually and to see the relationships between various sections, characters, plot elements, or ideas. You can share your sheets, or mind maps, with "friends" in read-only or edit mode; if your friend lacks a bubbl.us account, an e-mail invitation will be sent.

The government of the Slovak Republic is offering scholarships and grants to foreign students, PhD students, university lecturers and researchers to study and conduct research in Slovakia at Slovak universities and research institutions. The following types of scholarships and grants are available:

* Scholarships for foreign university students to take part in Masters degree studies over a period of 1 to 2
semesters (from 5 to 10 months) at a Slovak university;
* Scholarships for foreign PhD students to take part in PhD studies over a period of 1 to 12 months at a
Slovak university or research institution;
* Grants for foreign university lecturers and researchers for a period of 1 to 12 months to carry out teaching
or research at a Slovak university, research institution or nongovernmental organisation (by invitation
only).

Applications for funding must be sent by mail to the Slovak Academic Information Agency (SAIA) and must reach the academy by no later than 15 May 2007 for the academic year 2007/2008, and 15 November for the summer semester 2007/2008.
Applications will only be accepted if the applicant’s enrolment in a study or research programme at a receiving Slovak institution has been confirmed.

For more information, including details of amounts accorded and required documentation, visit the following websites: www.saia.sk and www.scholarships.sk. Email enquiries may be sent to saia@saia.sk.