Research and Education
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/index.html
Online since 1995, the Animal Diversity Web is an online database of animal natural history, distribution, and classification sponsored by a very capable team of scholars at the University of Michigan. From the homepage, visitors can look through thousands of individual species accounts. Each account may include such features as extended descriptions, pictures of each species, and in some cases, recordings of sounds and short movies. One particularly nice feature of the site is that it effectively facilitates inquiry-driven learning through its innovative search tool. One very fun element of the site is the virtual museum which includes a number of representative photographs of various animal species, and several hundred virtual reality movies of skulls. This feature and the many other useful elements of the site provide a very thorough and well-thought out educational resource for students with a penchant for a host of disciplines ranging from biology to zoology. [KMG]
The good people at Bartleby.com have long prided themselves on providing a host of important works online for the benefit of those seeking online edification. One of the more recent volumes they have placed on their site is The Encyclopedia of World History, edited by Peter N. Stearns and 30 fellow historians. As the preface to this, the sixth edition, announces: "Simply put, this is a volume that has always intended to convey the key features of world history". This is no small order, and this edition represents a substantial revision from previous editions, as it also reflects the growing body of knowledge about the histories of regions outside of Western Europe and North America. The encyclopedia is complemented by a number of illustrative and informative maps, including ones that visualize India before the Muslim conquest and Italy in the 15th century. Users of the volume are welcome to use the search engine to find the information they so desire, or they may browse at their leisure. [KMG]
http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2004/RAND_MG142.pdf
After the events of September 11th, the United States government and its diverse set of agencies became very concerned about the amount of publicly available geospatial information. The primary concern was that terrorists and other militant groups could use such data to attack key parts of the country's infrastructure. Utilizing the resources of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, a team of researchers at the RAND Corporation wrote this report in order to develop a framework for assessing the implications of making such geospatial information available. The report itself consists of five chapters and an appendix that details which federal agencies were examined, which federal geospatial data sources where identified, and so on. Chapters contained within the work include one on key policy recommendations and another that outlines what the key information needs of potential attackers might be. [KMG]
http://earthasart.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.htm
The USGS and NASA have teamed up to bring the public stunning images of the Earth taken by the Landsat-7 satellite and the Terra Satellite's Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER). Visitors can browse the images by continent or alphabetically. The images can be used as supplementary materials during educational lectures about rock outcrops, deserts, deltas, clouds, glaciers, and many other earth science topics. The website allows users to download the images as posters and wallpaper. This site is also reviewed in the February 4, 2005_NSDL Physical Sciences Report_. [RME]
Understanding climate change can be examined through a number of lenses, including both rigorous scientific inquiry and through the perspective of persons living in various areas which happen to be undergoing significant climatic transitions. This website, sponsored by the Canadian Museum of Nature, examines climate change in the Arctic, and takes its inspiration from the Inuktitut word "sila", which means "climate and all things that surround us". Designed in particular for young people, the site includes interactive activities, first-hand narratives from those who live in the Arctic region, and an area where people can learn how to increase awareness of the rapidly changing situation in the region. Another key component of the site is the thorough glossary, which will prove to be quite useful as visitors may look up unfamiliar terms. Finally, after browsing through the site's offerings, visitors may want to take their online quiz. [KMG]
http://www.emilydickinson.org/
Under the able direction of a highly qualified board of editors, the Dickinson Electronic Archives is "devoted to the study of Emily Dickinson, her writing practices, writings directly influencing her work, and critical and creative writings generated by her work." The Archives has been online since 1997, and contains a nice selection of her correspondence with friends and colleagues and a number of critical articles by contributors to the project, including the pieces "Emily Dickinson Writing a Poem" and "The Letter-Poem, A Dickinson Genre". A real highlight of the site is the Responses area, as visitors can browse through a section titled "Titanic Operas". The title for the section comes from Dickinson's famous response to her contemporary, Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Here visitors can read the responses of various well-known poets and authors (such as Joyce Carol Oates and Gwendolyn Brooks) to her works. [KMG]
The city-state of Singapore is widely considered to be one of the most efficiently run places in the world, and it is not so surprising to learn that the government has had an online presence since 1995. This website serves as the jumping off point for learning about various government branches and agencies, along with providing important resources for its own citizens and for people seeking to do business there. For those looking to find out about "who's who" in the Singaporean government, they should point their browsers to the government section on the homepage. Here they can learn about the various leaders within the government, along with learning about the governmental hierarchy. Users will also want to take a look at the information and policies section of the site, as they can learn about the current governmental policies as regards the creative industries, defense, and economic development. Overall, this is a good site that provides a glimpse into the workings of Singapore's government. [KMG]
http://athome.harvard.edu/dh/rrh.html
From Harvard@Home, this website presents more than seven hours of video clips from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study's third-annual conference on women, gender, and society held in October of 2004. Titled Reproductive Health in the 21st Century, the "conference examines a broad array of issues surrounding reproductive health and features panels of distinguished physicians, scholars, and health policy advocates discussing the scientific, ethical, and social dimensions of medical and technological advances in the field and their global implications." Conference topics include The Politics and Ethics of Bodily Integrity; In Vitro Fertilization in the Muslim Middle East; Women Workers as Reproducers; and The Moral Issue of Sex Selection, to name a few. In addition to the video clips, the website contains topic summaries, short biographies of the numerous panelists, a feedback survey form, and links to related Harvard@Home programs. This site is also reviewed in the February 4, 2005_NSDL Life Sciences Report_. [NL]
