TAPPED IN Services
http://www.tappedin.sri.com/
TAPPED IN is an online work place for an international community of education professionals, ranging from educators, librarians, and students in K-12 and higher education to researchers who are engaged in professional development programs and informal collaborative activities. TAPPED IN is a trademark of SRI International and is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation. It is an online service that helps "professional development projects, education agencies, philanthropic organizations, and for-profit organizations use the Internet to connect with and support teachers via the Web." With technological support grounded in a "web-based multi-user virtual environment," the site uses an integrated set of communication mechanisms designed to support large numbers of education professionals in a single virtual place. It offers free membership and comprehensive explanations of their services. If interested in holding discussions, offering training, or collaborating with students and colleagues, it is definitely a site to explore. [MG]
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A Dictionary of Slang
http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/news.htm
'A Dictionary of Slang' is an amusing reference guide of the rich and colorful language known as slang. The "monster online dictionary" was created by Ted Duckworth and is written from a British perspective. However, the dictionary includes many words and phrases that originate from outside the United Kingdom, and in such cases, if known, indicates the country of origin. This site provides interesting and informative data (for those who know little about slang expressions) and organizes the language into categories ranging from rap slang to crime and prison slang. It also provides related links for each category and offers a form to submit slang expressions. It is important to note that all submissions are verified for meaning and use before listed in the dictionary. [MG]
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Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
http://bcri.bham.al.us/
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute takes its visitors on a journey moving from the nation's segregation era to the birth of the Civil Rights Movement. The Institute's historic galleries capture the spirit and courage of countless individuals who dared to confront the "bigotry and racial discrimination of American society." This site provides a range of exhibitions (both permanent and traveling) that will peak the interest of anyone interested in learning more about American history and historical art form during the 1950s and 1960s. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is more than an online museum; it is a place that promotes research and provides education and discussion regarding civil and human rights issues in America and around the world. [MG]
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US Export Sales Reports
http://www.fas.usda.gov/export-sales/esrd1.html
Providing graphic and statistical representation of weekly, monthly, and yearly sales, the US Export Sales Reports track primary American commodities marketed abroad, including wheat, cotton, feed grains, oilseeds, rice, beef, and hides and skins. Especially from a lay person's perspective, the level of detail of each report is astonishingly minute and analytical. For instance, for wheat and rice alone, each commodity is broken down and tracked by no fewer than six or seven specific varieties respectively. Beyond their reporting services, the FAS also tracks five year trends and makes future sales projections of listed commodities. Not only interesting from the agricultural and economic perspectives, the Export Sales Reports also serve as significant indicators of foreign trade and political relations between the United States and its major trading partners, illustrated by the reports' listing of the primary purchasers of commodities by nation. In addition to its various weekly features, the Export Sales Report site also links to a variety of other USDA sites, including detailed historical explanations of the reports' evolution and the agencies that generate them. Among the most interesting histories is the site's description of the massive Soviet purchase of US grain in 1972, the event behind the creation of the Export Sales Report. [WH]
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Humbul Humanities Hub
http://www.humbul.ac.uk/about/
Funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee and hosted by the University of Oxford, the Humbul Humanities Hub is a service of the Resource Discovery Network. The site is geared towards meeting the needs of the humanities community and includes information in areas ranging from language and literature, to American studies, to archaeology, to philosophy. Furthermore, this site contains a searchable archive with links to various museums and libraries. During its nascent stage, this site was covered in the Scout Report's July 22, 1994 edition. However, since then, the site has added geography, education, sport, and tourism/leisure in order to ensure that interdisciplinary subjects are adequately covered. These additions give its visitors greater flexibility and diversity in deciding what to search for and how to conduct a search. [MG]
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Delivering on the Promise: Preliminary Report of Federal Agencies' Actions to Eliminate Barriers and Promote Community Integration
http://www.hhs.gov/newfreedom/prelim/
As one of his first acts in office, President George W. Bush unveiled the New Freedom Initiative to carry out his plan to tear down remaining barriers to equality for the "54 million Americans with disabilities." The President then acted on this plan with Executive Order 13217: Community-Based Alternatives for Individuals with Disabilities, asking federal agencies to work together to identify and address barriers to community integration. As a result, this status report was submitted to the President by Tommy G. Thompson, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in an effort to meet the charge of "delivering on the promise." According to Thompson, this report "establishes a blueprint for action that will make a measurable impact on the lives of people with disabilities as they work to secure appropriate health care, housing, transportation, employment, education and other opportunities in their communities." This lengthy, yet informative, report can be read in html, .doc, or .pdf format. [MG]
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Public Health Image Library
http://phil.cdc.gov/Phil/default.asp
The Public Health Image Library (PHIL) offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is an extensive collection of images and multimedia files related to public health. If you've ever wanted to see the life cycle of a hookworm or pictures of anthrax lesions, you can see them here. The site can be searched by category, keyword, or image id number, and although the Java-based search engine is a bit cumbersome, spending several hours here will be easy. Often graphic, many of the images are of diseased organs and microscopic slides. Educators, researchers, and professionals should find this site interesting. [JAB]
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