Research and Education
http://www.kff.org/medicaid/40years.cfm
The Medicare and Medicaid health programs are two of the most influential government policies. Signed into law forty years ago, they have continued to provide medical protection to a wide range of people in American society. To celebrate and document the achievements of this program, the Kaiser Family Foundation has created this site, which contains a number of helpful materials, including a retrospective video, a timeline of key developments in the history of Medicare and Medicaid, and some key statistics on the program. The site also provides access to a number of crucial articles from the journal Health Affairs. Some of these pieces include “Medicare, Medicaid, And Health Care Quality” by William L. Roper and “What Does It Take To Run Medicare and Medicaid?” by Nancy-Ann DeParle.
[KMG]
There are a number of thinktanks and policy groups dedicated to exploring the built environment, and the Center for the Built Environment (CBE) is perhaps one of the most intriguing of the entire group. Created in 1997 by a group of industry and government leaders, the CBE at the University of Berkeley is supported by a major grant from the National Science Foundation and several other institutional partners. Visitors to the site’s homepage can learn about the CBE’s overall mission and their newest findings. One of the key areas of the site is the research section, as it affords access to information on their current research areas, which includes work on radiant cooling systems and wireless lighting control. Visitors will also want to peruse and perhaps download some of their publications, which include such titles as “Measuring Indoor Environment Quality”. [KMG]
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/news/docs/macoubriereport.pdf
Public perception and understanding of science and technology can be a difficult and daunting subject. This latest report from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, authored by Dr. Jane Macoubrie, explores public attitudes toward the growing field of nanotechnology. In its 31-pages, the report reveals that the public is interested in the potential advances afforded by this technology, which exploits the unique behavior of materials and devices when engineered at a scale of roughly between one and one hundred nanometers. The report also shows that people are concerned about the general lack of consumer awareness of the field and the potential lack of government oversight of this rapidly emerging technology. As David Rejeski, the director of the Project on Emerging Technologies commented recently, “The kinds of safety measures and disclosure the public wants make sense in terms of both long-term corporate strategy and good public policy”. [KMG]
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/lasvegas/
As part of the PBS series American Experience, this well-designed site
explores the history and idiosyncrasies of Las Vegas. The film, and
accompanying book, which the web site is based on will both be available
this fall (the film airs in November on PBS), and the site certainly
whets viewers appetites for both. A nice range of information is
covered on the site which includes everything from information about
Nevada's nuclear testing in the fifties, to Rat Pack reminiscences and of
course, wedding photos. If you'd like to share your own Vegas wedding
tale there is an interactive portion of the site dedicated to the topic.
Packed with time lines, a teacher's guide, maps and much more this site
(and film and book by the same name) are worthy of attention.
[REB]
http://www.archaeology.org/interactive/sagalassos/index.html
At the beginning of the 18th century, Sagalassos, City in the Clouds, was discovered in Turkey. Upon first seeing the ruined city, Paul Lucas, on a mission for Louis XIV, described the ruined city as someplace once inhabited by fairies. Over a century later, the preserved ruins of Sagalassos were considered indispensable by students of antiquity, and in modern times, the site has been excavated extensively by a team of scholars from the Catholic University of Leuven. This site is designed by the good people at Archaeology Magazine for people interested in the site who cannot make it to Turkey themselves. On the site, visitors can read field reports from the different areas of the site (such as the Roman baths located there), look at the “Find Of Week” item, and learn about the daily life in and around the camp. Additionally, visitors would do well to consult the map of the excavation site in order to accurately gauge their bearings within the ancient city and Turkey. [KMG]
With a genuine and informed concern for the American populace, the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that is “dedicated to saving lives by protecting the health of every community and working to make disease prevention a national priority.” By assembling a team of topical experts and policy analysts, they have been able to offer broad appraisals of the various public health issues (and potential crises) that are affecting the country. Their website provides the web-browsing public ample access to the wide range of material they have generated through their work. The “Current Reports” area on the homepage contains such timely reports as “How Obesity Policies are Failing in America 2005” and “Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities:The Search for Causes and Cures”. Another very helpful feature is the “Your State’s Health” section. Here, visitors can click on any state they might be interested in and receive some brief statistics on such areas as the percentage of adults with asthma or the percentage of obese adults. Additionally, visitors can learn about each state’s cancer tracking mechanisms and bioterrorism preparedness. [KMG]
