[sustran] Knoogle x/Paratransit 1.0

Eric Britton eric.britton at ecoplan.org
Fri Sep 19 23:19:22 JST 2008


We are in the process of developing a special combined search engine to
serve people interested in knowing more about x/Paratransit. And I would be
very grateful to have your views, not matter how quick and how negative.

 

The address is www.xmobility.net. It is still very much work in progress and
both incomplete and rough edged. That said it is not too early for you to
have a go at it. And in your remarks do not be kind if it's an effort, We
want to fix this thing and make it useful.

 

Thanks for giving this your time if you wish,

 

Eric Britton

 

 

Introduction:

 

Knoogle x/Paratransit 1.0 is a combined search engine the goal of which is
to provide rapid access to a select group of programs, sources and databases
that specifically address out topic. 

x/Paratransit refers a broad and varied class of transportation services
that have in common that they get people (and goods) in and around cities in
road vehicles, smaller than full sized buses, driven by real human beings,
dynamically shared with others, and in best cases aided by state of the art
communications technologies -- and all of that as no less than the vital
supplement needed to offer "car-quality" mobility in most of our ever-more
crowded, ever-more environmentally stressed 21st century cities without
killing the cities themselves.

We invite you to test our new 1.0 combined search engine to view the results
of a quick unified scan based on your initially chosen key words, combing
through close to two hundred carefully selected international programs and
sources that we view as leading the way in their work and competence in our
heavily challenged sector world-wide. (The name combines the two basic
components that make it work, KNOwledge and goOGLE, into a single memorable
(?) word (pronounced "kah-noogle").)

What makes Knoogle klick? 

There are four main building blocks of this tool set, the first of which is
Google's excellent search functionality which does the heavy lifting. Our
contribution is simply to point it in the right direction, as follows: 

The targeted sources: 
The next building block is the selection of programs and sources to which we
have directed the search engine. Thus far close to two hundred in number,
each has been carefully screened for inclusion here as a result of our
research identifying what we regard as the premier sources and programs
working in the areas that specifically concern us - sustainable transport,
new mobility, climate, environment, reform programs, etc. To get a feel for
these sources all you have to do is try a few sample searches and inspect
the programs that are called up in the search results. (If you click here,
you will see an in-process (partial) listing of these excellent sources.) 

Key words: 
In carrying out your search you can of course use the usual key word filters
in combination And if your Knoogle search comes up short, you have immediate
access to a full Google search. 

Search refinements: 
Then as a next narrowing device, you will see that each search results page
also shows in the four top rows a total of sixteen "Search refinements"
which we have developed on what we see as key topics of interest, ranging
from different transport modes. Refinements are labels that you apply to
websites. They appear as a list of links above search results, offering you
a way to narrow their search. 

Try it, use it and let us know how to improve it for all. Here is how to get
in touch:

The New Mobility Agenda - http://www.invent.newmobility.org 
Europe: 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France 
T:                +331 4326 1323         Skype : ericbritton

New Mobility Partnerships - http://www.partners.newmobility.org 
USA: 9440 Readcrest Dr. Los Angeles, CA 90210 
T:                +1 310 601-8468         Skype: newmobility 

searches 177 sites, including: www.earth-policy.org/,
www.transportforqualityoflife.com/,
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/ulis/index.shtml,
http://www.adb.org/Publications/default.asp, http://www.newscientist.com/ 

Last updated: Sep 19, 2008



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