Research and Education
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/
The very title of this website would perhaps draw only hushed whispers from those commentators in the world of education policy, and that’s probably not a bad reaction. The site makes good on the promise of its title, as it offers the casual and seasoned visitor a wide variety of indicators in the forms of tables and charts, including total enrollments in grades K-12, trends in half-day kindergarten, and past and projected undergraduate enrollment figures. Culled from annual reports created by the National Center for Education Statistics, these helpful pieces of information and data are complemented nicely by a series of special analyses, including “Mobility in the Teacher Workforce” and “Private Schools: A Brief Portrait”. If visitors encounter any problems finding the information they desire, they should consult the “User’s Guide”, which contains directions on how to best navigate the site. Finally, the site is rounded out by a brief summary that highlights some of the findings of the 2005 Condition of Education report. [KMG]
Sitting down to spend a few minutes browsing The Victoria and Albert Museum’s website is a bit like spending a few minutes at a lavishly-prepared banquet that contains masterful examples from the world’s diverse culinary traditions: It cannot be done. Fortunately, the website can be visited many times, and given the impressive amount of fine content here, one probably shouldn’t just make one visit. First-time visitors might want to take a look through the Collections area, which allows them the opportunity to view material from their architecture, ceramics, fashion, and design holdings. Those interested in the behind the scene operations of the museum will want to slide on over to the Research & Conservation area. Here they can learn how heavy sculptures are moved throughout the museum and how the slightest and most delicate objects are conserved. The homepage also contains basic, yet essential, information on visiting any one of the three museums, along with offering specialized websites that profile current and upcoming exhibitions of note. Finally, if users are feeling a bit overwhelmed, there is always the welcoming blankness presented by a simple search feature in the upper-right hand corner of each and every page within the site. [KMG]
http://www.brook.edu/metro/pubs/20060313_Clusters.pdf
As more and more scholars and policy experts struggle to determine what makes a successful region (urban or otherwise), there is a growing interest in the notion of cluster strategies and how they may be best deployed. Basically, this economic development strategy states that a group of related firms or companies in close proximity can create a number of productive and competitive advantages for the region. Recently, Joseph Cortright of The Brookings Institution researched the academic literature on industry clusters, and subsequently released this compelling 66-page paper in March 2006. The paper begins with a review of the existing literature on the subject, then proceeds to discuss why they are relevant, and also includes a section on future research questions that might be asked by those interested in the field. As Cortright concludes, “…cluster research should evolve to become a creative and informative mixture of art and science.” [KMG]
http://topics.developmentgateway.org/special/onlineeducation
The supposed promise of digital learning initiatives across the globe continues to draw commentary from both passionate believers to unrepentant skeptics. Recently, the staff at the Development Gateway website, created a special report on the topic of online education, and more specifically “…at lessons learned, innovations that work, and the future of ICT in education for developing countries”. The homepage contains a number of “Issue Roundtables”, where a variety of experts in the field weigh in on topics such as “Can it solve the education crisis in poor countries?” and “Is high internet cost the only obstacle?” After perusing a few of these archived roundtable discussions, visitors will want to look at some of the other sections, which include explorations of best practices in online education and some of the potential roadblocks to creating and sustaining e-learning initiatives. [KMG]
Since its founding in 1971, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) has committed itself to “working for more sustainable and equitable global development”. Through a number of partnerships, the IIED continues to work in a cooperative fashion with national governments, regional non-governmental organizations, and other agencies. In terms of their thematic focuses, their work lies primarily in five areas, including climate change, human settlements, natural resources, and governance. New visitors to the site will want to explore these five areas through a series of clickable tabs featured prominently on the homepage. Within each area, visitors will find news updates on each topic, along with working papers and conference reports. For those looking for specific publications, a search engine offered here allows users to search by keyword, author, title, series, or region. [KMG]
http://web.library.uiuc.edu/ahx/ead/ala/digital/ala-digital.html
While some may harbor antiquated and erroneous impressions of librarians, those in the know can attest that these invaluable professionals like to get out and about just like their kinfolk in other learned professions. There is ample historical proof of this fact offered by this website, which contains a selection of digitized documents from the American Library Association (ALA) Archives, housed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Currently, the digitized collections include the F.W. Saxon Photographs Collection and the Library Building Photographs Collection. The Saxon Collection includes over 170 group pictures of librarians attending the ALA conferences in the US and Canada from the period 1894 to 1932. The Library Building Collection is quite intriguing, as it contains 78 postcards of libraries from locales such as Gadsden, Alabama. [KMG]
