Research and Education
The Teachers College at Columbia University has been involved with cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields related to education for decades, and the research conducted at The Institute for Urban and Minority Education is part of these important efforts. The Institute was founded in 1973 and "has been committed to better understanding the educational, psychological, and social development of urban and minority group students". Visitors looking for background information on the Institute would do well to first peruse the "About" section of the website, which contains basic information on the history of the Institute and its staff members. The "Programs" section contains information on its most recent scholarly and pragmatic outreach efforts. The site is rounded out by a selection of scholarly reports and briefs produced by researchers at the Institute. [KMG]
Established in 1996 with the financial support of a number of leading gaming companies across the United States, the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) is dedicated to funding independent, peer-reviewed scientific research on pathological and youth gambling. The NCRG website is divided into a number of useful sections, including those dedicated to its publications, an events calendar, and a number of germane resources, such as information for those who may have an addiction to gambling. The publications area is a good place to look for such publications as the NCRG's very own Responsible Gaming Quarterly, which premiered in 2001 and The WAGER, which is a weekly online research bulletin that provides the latest information on pathological gambling. "The Experts Say" area is a place where visitors can watch video clips of various experts in the field talking about pathological gambling and the warning signs of problem gambling. [KMG]
Around the world, various individuals and organizations continue to tackle the complex issue of famine from an increasingly holistic approach. The Alan Shawn Feinstein International Famine Center is one such organization, and it continues to work "to improve humanitarian, relief and refugee efforts in times of famine, war and complex emergencies." Through its work during the past nine years, the Center continues to build a number of partnerships with international, national and indigenous private, governmental, and non-governmental organizations. Visitors to the site can learn about the organization's latest work by looking through the "New Developments" listed on the left-hand side of the homepage, or by browsing the "Featured Updates" on the other side of the homepage. Here they will find a number of recent publications, such as "Coping with War, Coping with Peace: Livelihood Adaptation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1989-2004". Overall, the site will be of great interest to those working in the fields of public health and a number of allied fields. [KMG]
http://webphysics.ph.msstate.edu/javamirror/
The Physics Department at Mississippi State University provides links to physics-related Java and Macromedia Shockwave Player simulations that have been created around the world. The modules are sorted into nine categories: measurements, math, mechanics, waves, electricity and magnetism, thermodynamics, light and optics, modern physics, and astronomy. The simulations are then further divided into subtopics so that users can easily locate helpful items. This website offers a great way for students to quickly obtain materials to assist in their physics studies.
This site is also reviewed in the June 24, 2005 NSDL Physical Sciences Report.
[RME]
While some may think that world's fairs may no longer be important events for cities around the world, the ExpoMuseum website may prove those persons completely wrong. The site pays tribute to the past, present, and future of these immensely popular expositions, and also includes a number of fun features, such as a discussion area and a special section dedicated to the architecture of these places. From the homepage, visitors can also learn about the upcoming world's fairs, such as Shanghai's Expo 2010. The historical material here is the real highlight, as visitors can peruse a timeline of these fairs, and move to various other sites that provide substantive explorations of each fair through primary documents and first-hand recollections. Also, the Architecture section of the site provides images of such well-known buildings as the Space Needle (built for the 1962 World's Fair) and the Hungarian Pavilion at the 2000 World's Fair in Hanover. [KMG]
http://www.powerofculture.nl/uk/index.html
The link between culture and various forms of development remains a somewhat mysterious one, but this website provided by the Netherlands' Ministry of Foreign Affairs begins to explore this rather compelling connection. The website states that "Culture is not a peripheral matter", then proceeds to offer a number of themes that visitors will want to take a closer look at. The themes that are covered on the site include policy, cultural diversity, cultural heritage, and global ethics, along with several others. Within each theme, visitors can view latest news releases on each topic, along with a selection of links to related sites, such as those provided by UNESCO. The "Specials" section is well-developed, and features in-depth discussion of such emergent cultural trends as the relatively undiscovered worlds of African cinema and Chinese media art. Finally, visitors can also choose to enter their own comments in the online visitor's book. [KMG]
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
Known to several generations of students as a potentially valuable source of basic information about the various nations of the world, the CIA's World Factbook has been published every year since 1962. Since 1971, the Factbook has been available to the general public, and in recent years, the CIA has made new editions of the work accessible via the Internet. From the homepage, visitors can select various countries of the world and learn some basic facts about each country's history, their geography, their demographics, and their government. As might be expected, the site also contains a gallery of the flags of the world's nations, a number of helpful reference maps, and a history of the World Factbook itself. Finally, visitors can also elect to download the entire World Factbook, if they so desire. [KMG]
http://www.priweb.org/index.html
The mission of the Ithaca, N.Y.-based Paleontological Research Institution (first mentioned in the January 10, 2003 NSDL Scout Report for Physical Sciences) is "to increase and disseminate knowledge about the history and evolution of the Earth and its life." The Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) website offers brief information about the work of several different researchers including mastodon-related research, and studies looking at turritelline gastropods, and hard-to-identify fossils. Site visitors who are just learning about paleontology will find that the information is presented in an accessible manner. The site also provides information about the rich PRI collections, and descriptions of a variety of related publications for amateurs and professionals. In addition, the site contains detailed Instructions for Authors wishing to submit manuscripts to Bulletins of American Paleontology or Palaeontographica Americana. This site is also reviewed in the June 24, 2005 NSDL Life Sciences Report. [NL]
