Research and Education
http://www.mpi-fg-koeln.mpg.de/index_en.html
The Max Planck Institutes are some of the most well-respected academic research institutes in the world, and their Institute for the Study of Societies "builds a bridge between theory and policy by conducting basic research on the self-organization and governance of modern societies". Coordinating their research efforts with several other well-known institutes (such as the Center for European Studies at Harvard University), theprimary objective of the Institutes is to develop an empirically based theory of the governance of advanced industrial societies as they are immersed in the processes of economic globalization and internationalization. Full details of their work are available on the site, but academics and other interested parties will want to take a look at both their discussion papers and working papers, which are made available here as well. [KMG]
http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/index-e.htm
As concerns grow about assisting countries in the developing world in a way that is both meaningful and sustainable, it should not surprise Scout Report readers that the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is Canada's federal agency that is charged with coordinating Canada's efforts to reduce poverty and "to contribute to a more secure, equitable and prosperous world." First-time visitors would do well to take a look at the FAQ section and read the description under the heading under "What is international development?" for some brief background material. After that, the "Features" area on the homepage provides a host of topical information on the subject, along with a rather nice interactive map titled "Developing World". Visitors can also learn about the CIDA's primary objectives in their Sustainable Development Strategy 2004-2006 document. [KMG]
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2005/2005338.pdf
The National Center for Education Statistics generates important research documents and papers on a regular basis, and this latest report will be of great interest to educators, policy-makers, and the general public. In this 292-page report, released in March 2005, findings are presented from the base year of the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, which is a new longitudinal study of high school students. Throughout its pages, the report "provides descriptive information about the experiences and characteristics of a nationally representative sample of tenth-graders who were studied in the spring term of the 2001-2002 school year." As might be expected from such a thorough document, the report contains dozens of statistical summary tables which elucidate both the research findings and the general methodology of the investigation. [KMG]
http://www.chess.cornell.edu/pubs/xrybrchr/index.htm
The Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) created this online brochure to educate users about the history and science of X-rays. The website covers topics in radiography, novel materials, crystallography, CHESS and CESR, microscience, high pressure, and the future in X-ray techniques. Users can read through the materials step by step through the use of arrow links or can skip to a particular topic through the Contents link. With the help of illustrations, students can learn a great deal about X-ray technology including how the technology is used to examine atoms, the growth of semiconductor materials, and unusual phases of matter. This site is also reviewed in the April 1, 2005_NSDL Physical Sciences Report_. [RME]
The collections held by the National Institutes of Health on the History of Medicine trace their roots back to the year 1818, when one Dr. Joseph Lovell (the first Surgeon General of the Army) took it upon himself to create a small collection of books, journals, and pamphlets to serve as an onsite reference collection for the Army surgeons under his direction. Currently under the direction of Dr. Elizabeth Fee, the National Library of Medicine: History of Medicine website contains information about utilizing its vast array of documents, and more than a few online features of note. Visitors will find a number of finding aids here for their use, along with links to digital collections, such as "Islamic Manuscripts" and "Medicine in the Americas". Scholars and students alike will appreciate the inclusion of an online syllabus archive, where they may peruse various college-level syllabi by professor, title, institution, or specific subject, such as historiography, environment, and public health. [KMG]
http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/cervantes/V2/CPI/index.html
International scholarly collaborations frequently happen online these days, but this is a rather noteworthy collaboration that will be of great interest to persons with a penchant for the work of Miguel de Cervantes. The partners involved in this ambitious project include the department of Hispanic Studies at Texas A&M University, the Center for the study of Digital Libraries at Texas A&M, and the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. The project has several primary components, including the Cervantes International Bibliography Online, the Cervantes Digital Library, and the Cervantes Digital Archive of Images. Access to all of these fine resources is available here, along with a scrolling news banner that gives visitors current information about Cervantes-related events. As might be expected, much of the information on the site is available in Spanish as well as English. [KMG]
http://content.lib.washington.edu/buildingsweb/index.html
The University of Washington Libraries Digital Collection online projects and archives are well-regarded, and this database proves to be no exception to that highly positive trend. Started in 1995, the Cities and Buildings Database contains over 10,000 digitized images of buildings and cities culled from all historical periods and from all over the world. Visitors may wish to start with a simple keyword search or if they are interested in merely browsing by country, they may do so as well from the homepage. Of course, one should not be surprised to also learn that visitors may also perform detailed searches for buildings by city, style, title, architect, and date of construction. Just to give prospective visitors some sense of the depth and breadth of the collection, the database contains everything from conceptual sketches of Frank Gehry's Experience Music Project to photographs of the monastery of St. Keghard in Armenia. [KMG]
http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/index.htm
This extensive website of southeastern U.S. plant images was developed by Dr. Steve Baskauf of the Department of Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University. The site is part of a larger Bioimages website designed to "provide educational information to the public on biologically related topics, as well as a source of biological images for personal and non-commercial use." Site visitors can browse for excellent images of many trees and woody plants by common name, scientific name, or family. Notably, these species pages include close-ups of different tree and plant parts (e.g. flower, bark, leaf, fruit). The site also offers helpful comparison sections for oaks, hickories, maples, and hickory nuts. Other site offerings include a list of Common and Endemic Herbaceous Plants of Cedar Glades by Family, a list of non-seed plants (hyperlinked to images), and a section on Identifying Invasive Plants. This site is also reviewed in the April 1, 2005_NSDL Life Sciences Report_. [NL]
