Annual Report 2005-2006 - Osgoode Hall Law School - York ...

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
access to best of breed remote office connectivity. Presentation server 4 allows secure virtualized
application delivery and increased user density. We are switching to a virtual application delivery model
from the full desktop delivered today. The new model provides a simpler interface for the end user with
applications that look and feel as if they are running locally. The published application will appear as a
standard local application including automatic saving of the window position. In this way, end users can
intuitively access remote applications without requiring additional training.
Remote access to network drives is now possible via the Novell client. Advanced users of the research
portal can access their documents from the integrated document management system.
In-house Development
ITS will continue development of the Research Portal, which is essentially a customized research desktop,
accessible via the Web from any location. Document management and collaborative research will benefit
significantly from this development, and it will set up a framework for improved course management.
The LawSelect application, which is a course selection program developed for Student Services in the
mid-90s, will be rewritten this year. This will allow for greater flexibility when setting the parameters for
course selection, and will increase end-result reliability.
The Osgoode Web site is currently being redeveloped, and the new interface will be rolled out in the near
future. This is actually a collection of sites that make up the external Web presence. Special emphasis is
being placed on OPD, the Law Library as well as faculty profiles.
The Clinical Programs Web sites, by means of which Osgoode clinical programs will provide information on
the Web as a service to the public, are in development and will be launched shortly.
CFI — CLPE and Global Cities
We are investing significant resources in support of two Canada Foundation for Innovation projects.
The Comparative Research in Law and Political Economy (CLPE) project will have the following features
(among others):
• posting of research papers, and an alert mechanism to Web site members
• an archive/database of the research papers
• written feedback and commentary on papers
• hyperlinks to profiles of papers’ authors and of those in the network of collaborators providing feedback
(such profiles having at minimum affiliation and e-mail contact details but also providing for Web site
members to upload descriptions of their own research projects, published papers, course syllabi, and
bibliographies)
• a constantly updated ‘virtual’ library/database of publications dealing with the Network’s theoretical
focus on comparative law and comparative political economy, both created at York from periodic
bibliographic searches and researched in outside bibliographies and reading lists as have been uploaded
by site members to their sub-site within the overall site
• hyperlinks to online versions of items in the virtual library, or to full-text versions where permission has
been granted for a given item
• search engines both for within the site (e.g. of the text of research papers, of all bibliographies uploaded
by members to their sub-sites, etc.) and linked to relevant external databases (e.g. specific library
collections), with efficient and useful presentation of results and saving of desired items on the list
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