Research and Education
Developed by John Weidner, the Study Stack concept basically assists individuals to memorize information about various subjects, including geography, history, math, languages, and science. Users of the site can select one of the existing stacks, which consists of virtual study cards allowing individuals to learn at their own pace until they are satisfied with their progress. What is also particularly novel about this learning tool is that data entered for customized study stacks can be automatically displayed as a matching game, a word search puzzle, or a hangman game. So far, the site contains dozens of study stacks for each subject, with the areas dedicated to math and science containing quite a number of rather helpful stacks. With its wide range of applications, this site will be very helpful to students at different age levels and teachers who may be seeking to develop a new study tool for any number of topics or themes within a subject area. [KMG]
http://www.ceip.org/files/pdf/CarnegiePaper42.pdf
The Carnegie Foundation for International Peace recently sponsored a series of papers that frame key issues relating to democracy promotion policies and programs in the Middle East. The fourth one in this thought-provoking series was authored by Marina Ottaway and offers a critical appraisal of the relationship between women's rights and democracy in the Arab world, and about what an outside intervenor (such as the United States) can rightly hope to accomplish in this arena. Within the report's 12 pages, Ottaway offers a brief overview of the various rights of women in the Arab world, discusses the policy impacts of including women within the democratic process, and concludes with a brief section on the prospects offered by the intervention of the United States government in this process. As Ottaway notes in her conclusion, "There is great need for the United States government not only to rethink the nexus of democracy and the promotion of women, but also to become more sensitive to the great gap that separates what U.S. officials say and what different Arab constituencies hear." [KMG]
For anyone looking for very detailed up-to-date statistics on just about any facet of the U.S. labor market and economy, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics webpage should be the first place to look. The site contains information on inflation and consumer spending, productivity, occupations, industries, business costs, and demographics. Of course, within each broad topical division, there are numerous other more specific subtopics, such as those offering data on employment costs, the consumer price index, and foreign labor. Some of the highlights of this site include the 2004-05 edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook and a number of the Bureau's in-house publications, such as the Occupational Outlook Quarterly. For quick information, visitors will want to take a look at the At a Glance Tables area, which allows visitors easy access to economic and labor data (such as unemployment) at the state and metropolitan area levels. Finally, visitors may also send in their own queries, or take a look at answers to queries that have recently been asked by other users of the site. [KMG]
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~floods/
The Dartmouth Flood Observatory website "is a research tool for detection, mapping, measurement, and analysis of extreme flood events world-wide using satellite remote sensing." Users can find data on flood damages, magnitudes, recurrence intervals, and more. The website discusses the Observatory's Wide Area Hydrologic Monitoring and Quickscat Wetlands Monitoring. In the World Atlas of Large Flood Events, students and educators can learn the causes, locations, and durations of floods. While the Observatory has attempted to collect data from 1985 to the present, the website does indicate that in recent years the reliability of the data has increased. [RME] This site is also reviewed in the April 16, 2004 NSDL Physical Sciences Report.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
Librarians, archivists, and other information specialists may already know about the electronic version of Library Journal (the oldest independent national library publication), but those not in the know will want to take a look at this site. With each issue containing dozens of articles on numerous facets on the operation of libraries (and future trends), the site is really an indispensable resource for those in the field. Various sections of the online edition deal with extensive product reviews for books and other items, prepublication alerts, and timely pieces on collection development. The site also contains archives of the Library Journal dating back to February 1997, and a search engine for looking for articles and items on specific topics. One particular section of the site that is worth taking a look at is the section of the Journal devoted to discussing current trends and issues regarding the world of digital libraries and related initiatives. [KMG]
Based in New York City, the Council for Aid to Education (CAE) is a national nonprofit organization that was initially created in 1952. Operating as a part of the RAND corporation since 1996, CAE's primary goals are to advance corporate support of education and on improving higher education and quality. Additionally, CAE recognizes the best corporate gifts to education through its annual Leaders for Change awards program. As might be expected, the publications and resources area of the site contains a number of helpful documents that will be of interest to persons researching the field of higher education administration and policy. Some of the full-length works available here include Intelligent Giving: Insights and Strategies for Higher Education Donors, Breaking the Social Contract: The Fiscal Crisis in Higher Education, and Measuring the Difference College Makes. [KMG]
http://international.loc.gov/intldl/brhtml/brhome.html
This extremely compelling website, dedicated to examining the interactions between Brazil and the United States from the 18th century to the present, grew out of discussions between Dr. James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, and the former President of Brazil, Fernando Hernrique Cardoso. Developed under the auspices of the Global Gateway program at the Library of Congress, the site contains an impressive amount of primary source materials, including maps, rare books, prints, photographs, and manuscripts. When completed, the project will contain materials organized around four primary themes, but currently only the theme of Historical Foundations is complete. As might be expected, the site is presented in both Portuguese and English, and a powerful multifaceted search engine will help guide users to particular documents of interest. Browsing through the Historical Foundations section of the site, visitors will find a timeline (complete with accompanying visual materials), and five separate sections dedicated to exploration, the colonial period, and so on. [KMG]
http://www.popplanet.org/popplanet/
Representing a partnership between the National Council for Science and the Environment and the Population Reference Bureau, "PopPlanet is a resource of up-to-date country specific information on key population, environment, and health issues." Designed as an information tool for researchers, policy makers, and others, this site includes information on biological resources, health services, and more. The site links to the PopLine Bibliography database from John Hopkins School of Hygiene as well as Public Health and Country profiles for many nations. This site also links to the Population and Environment Linkages Service, (last reported on in the Scout Report for Science and Engineering April 26, 2000) which includes over 14,000 links to reports, articles, and many other resources. Additionally, site visitors can link to PopEnvironment News which provides population news analysis from the Communications Consortium Media Center. This site is available in Spanish, French, and English. [NL] This site is also reviewed in the April 16, 2004 NSDL Life Sciences Report.
