Research and Education
Established in 1986, the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS) is a research center within the University of California-San Francisco, and has adopted an interdisciplinary approach to methods of preventing HIV infection and its consequences. With a team of researchers and faculty members from various academic disciplines, CAPS performs a variety of important tasks, including helping train new scientists to conduct AIDS prevention research, and also in disseminating knowledge, skills and effective research and prevention models to the general public and various health agencies. Visitors with an academic interest in this area may want to start by perusing the Research section of the site, as it contains information about their current and completed research projects, along with information about community collaborative research projects. One rather useful part of the site for the general public is the publications area. Here visitors may download fact sheets (offered here in Spanish or English) and read some of CAPS latest reports, such as the urban health study that addresses the issue of performing community-based research with injection drug users. [KMG]
Located within the Florida Institute of Technology, the International Society for Reef Studies (ISRS) was founded in 1980, and is designed to disseminate its findings on both living and fossil coral reefs to fellow scholars around the globe and the general public. Before delving into the main site, visitors will want to look through the ISRS in-house publication "Reef Encounters" to get a sense of the various projects the organization is currently working on, and of course, to read brief summaries of its research findings. Of course, for those who already are passionate about coral reefs, there is also a link to sign up for the NOAA "Coral List" forum. The resources section of the site is another good place to look for outside Web resources on other coral reef societies, marine laboratories, and government sites that contain materials on coral reefs and marine biology. [KMG]
http://www.rand.org/publications/randreview/
The RAND Corporation has provided insightful and enlightened research into a host of topics for more than 50 years. Some of its core research areas include civil justice, education, energy policy, substance abuse, and international affairs. With such a broad agenda, it is not surprising that the organization has its own in-house publication dedicated to promulgating its research results. The RAND Review is published tri-annually, and each issue contains the text and graphics of each cover story, a message from the editor, several short news briefs, commentary pieces, and other features. Some of the more recent features have dealt with the provisioning of community health care initiatives, Selective Service, and the future of American civil justice. Visitors can search the RAND Review by date, topic, or keyword, and may also elect to receive a free online subscription. [KMG]
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/libraryarchives/aviation/
Though the mere mention of the state of Wisconsin may not lead some to think immediately of aviation history, there is actually quite a bit of such material in the state, and the archivists at the Wisconsin Historical Society have placed some of its archival holdings online. This Web exhibit draws on the picture collections of the Wisconsin Historical Society Archives, the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison libraries. Visitors can search the entire collection, or elect to view one of the eight thematic galleries presented here. One particular highlight is the John G. Kaminski scrapbook, which presents photographs taken by this pioneer aviator from Milwaukee. Airport enthusiasts will want to look at the airport gallery, which includes early photographs of airports in Rhinelander, Sheboygan, and Madison. [KMG]
Founded in 1985, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization which happens to be the United States' only think tank devoted "exclusively to research and policy analysis of the economic, social, demographic, fiscal, and other impacts of immigration on the United States." From the homepage, visitors can peruse a number of common topics in immigration, such as immigration history, statistics on immigrants, and citizenship. The site's homepage also contains links to current news articles addressing various aspects of immigration, and also contains a feature titled "This Day in Immigration", which highlights various important dates in immigration history and policy. Perhaps the most helpful section of the site is the "What's New" area of the site, which highlights various new policy briefs and papers released by the CIS. [KMG]
http://americanhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/
There are numerous online exhibits that attempt to holistically address the experience of Americans at war, but few succeed as thoroughly as this recently released gem presented by the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. With an admirable eye for integrating visual documentary evidence and short historical essays and descriptions, this website offers insights into the various armed conflicts that have engulfed the country from the Revolutionary War to the current conflict in Iraq. Entering the main area of the site, visitors encounter a visual timeline of the conflicts, and may elect to explore each one by clicking on its representative icon. Continuing on, each conflict contains a brief video clip exploring the main challenges and issues of each encounter, and also offers some general statistics, such as the number of casualties and troops deployed. Each conflict is primarily explored by allowing visitors to browse through a section of artifacts, such as an Apache shield from 1872 and the stuffed dog "Stubby", which later served as the inspiration for the Georgetown Hoyas mascot. As one might expect, visitors can search the entire collection of artifacts collected within this online archive and download various educational materials, such as a guide for teachers and an interactive "history mystery" feature titled "Who am I?" [KMG]
It has been four years since the Scout Report took a close look at the Yad Vashem website, and during that time, this fine site has added a number of helpful resources that are worth noting. The parent organization responsible for the site (the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority) was established in 1953, and since then has been "entrusted with documenting the history of the Jewish people during the Holocaust period". To be sure one of the most important recent additions to the site is the central database of Shoah Victim's Names, where visitors may search a computerized database which contains the names of approximately half of the victims of the Holocaust. In order to give context to some of these individuals, visitors will want to go within "The Stories Behind the Names" section to learn more. Needless to say, the "Explore and Discover" area warrants several visits itself, as it contains helpful educational materials (such as "This Month in Holocaust History") and a number of classroom activities. [KMG]
http://math.cofc.edu/faculty/kasman/MATHFICT/default.html
Alex Kasman, Associate Professor in the College of Charleston Department of Mathematics, has compiled this list of Mathematical Fiction. The books and stories listed here may be of interest to teachers or anyone wanting to read about mathematics from a literary perspective. The collection is organized so that visitors can browse by medium (which includes 22 entries that are categorized as "Available Free Online"), genre, motif, or topic. Some motifs include Evil Mathematicians, Female Mathematicians, Insanity, Math as Beautiful/Exciting/Useful, and Math as Cold/Dry/Useless. Some examples of topics listed include Algebra/Arithmetic/Number Theory, Mathematical Physics, and Probability/Statistics. The category with by far the most entries is Science Fiction with Not Science-Fiction, Fantasy or Horror coming in at a close second. Visitors can also search the entire database, view entries by Title or Author or Year, or check out the 30 most recently added or modified entries. Each entry is followed by a sentence or two describing the article or book and some include a website link to the article or to Amazon.com for ordering information. Proceeds from sales made through the website go to the College of Charleston Department of Mathematics. [VF] This site is also reviewed in the December 3, 2004_NSDL MET Report_. [VF]
