Research and Education
http://www.eclac.org/default.asp?idioma=IN
Established in 1948, the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA) is part of the United Nations’ broader initiative to foster coordinated economic development schemes and relationships among Latin American nations. Their web presence is quite formidable, and for persons interested in these types of policy endeavors, this site warrants several visits. First-time visitors can get an accurate sense of ECLA’s overall mission by reading the headlines on the homepage, which draw attention to their economic analyses and monitoring of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. Visitors looking for reports and publications can take a look at some of their more recent works, such as the economic survey of Latin America and the Caribbean as well as papers on foreign investment in the region. The site is rounded out by a very helpful interactive database which provides information on trade for 33 of the region’s countries, along with 15 members of the European Union. [KMG]
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hcpds/
Founded in 1964, the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies maintains a strong link to the Harvard School of Public Health along with other policy institutes at the university. On their homepage, visitors can read their latest press releases, learn about the activities of their associates, and various fellowship opportunities. Along with these general areas, the web-browsing public may be more interested in taking a look at the “Publications” area of the site. Here they will find the latest edition of their in-house newsletter, the Bow Street Bulletin, along with several online books (such as “Public-Private Partnerships for Public Health”) and their working papers series, which includes works dating back to 1991. The site is rounded out by a selection of links that will lead visitors to related online resources such as separate websites on road traffic injuries and reproductive health rights. [KMG]
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB165/index.htm
The National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book series has intrigued and informed policymakers, students, and the general public for the past few years. This latest release should be no different as it provides FAA documents that deal with the attacks on the United States that occurred on the morning of September 11, 2001. These particular documents were referenced extensively in the first chapter of The 9/11 Commission Report and help corroborate the observation that the FAA was under prepared as it attempted to deal with these coordinated attacks. This particular collection includes eight documents, including radar reports and extensive chronologies that track the broader response of the US government in the wake of the attacks until late October 2001. Some of the more compelling materials include the FAA report titled “Summary of Air Traffic Hijack Events: September 11, 2001” which provides the most comprehensive chronology of the events of that day. [KMG]
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/americas/americashome.html
The History of Medicine division of The National Library of Medicine has been responsible for a number of fine online digital collections, and this latest one is no exception. The Medicine in the Americas website provides access to a number of key primary historical documents that deal with a number of areas, such as women’s health, public health, and clinical works of enduring historical value. Currently, there are a total of eight works in the archive, and they include Clara Barton’s “The Red Cross of the Geneva Convention” from 1878 and L. Emmett Holt’s 1894 work “The Care and Feeding of Children: A Catechism for the Use of Mothers and Children’s Nurses”. For many of the generally curious and those with a penchant for the world of medical and scientific history, this website will be quite a find. [KMG]
Established in 1995 with funding from the Energy Foundation and the Department of Energy, the Renewable Energy Policy Project (REPP) has spent the past decade educating the general public about renewable energies. This is accomplished by providing competent and rigorous policy analysis about the myriad of issues surrounding the viability and sustainability of such energy sources. Visitors to the site’s homepage will find clickable icons (such as those depicting wind, solar, and hydrogen), and they can discover the variety of resources associated with each type of renewable energy source. These resources generally include a brief description of the REPP’s work in each field, along with links to some of their more recent working papers and policy briefs. For persons who hope to join the discussion about some of these timely topics, the site also maintains a number of relevant listservs, such as those dealing with bioconversion and strawbale conversion. [KMG]
