General Interest
The fashion industry has many facets, and aspiring students who hope to break into the field may find themselves wondering about such aspects as marketing, industry trends, and the expansive world of fabrics and textiles. All of these subjects are covered on the Infomat website, which includes a “Guides” section, where visitors can learn about accessories, apparel marts, designer collections, and modeling agencies, among other areas of interest. Instructors will also appreciate the site’s versatility, as they may be intrigued by the “News” area, which contains news digests from the areas of textiles, retail, and apparel. The site is rounded out by a “Community” area, which features a searchable calendar of events and a “Who’s Who” section that provides brief biographies of industry leaders like Yves Saint Laurent and Issey Miyake. [KMG]
Founded in 1910 by the Danish-American industrialist Niels Poulsen, the American-Scandinavian Foundation facilitates and promotes a variety of educational and cultural exchanges between the United States and Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Visitors with a penchant for such exchanges and opportunities will find much to hold their attention here, as the site includes details on their grant and award programs, along with information on available fellowships and study abroad opportunities. The site also includes a number of instructional materials for educators who wish to teach their students about the Nordic region. The site is rounded out by an archive that contains recent issues of their in-house newsletter, Scan. [KMG]
Sometime in the middle of the thirteen century, the monk Matthew Paris created a diagram using ink and various pigments to illustrate his route from London to Apulia. In doing so, he created a document which forms part of the cartographic history of a city that would grow exponentially over the coming centuries. This document, along with thirty nine others, form part of the online exhibit, London: A Life in Maps. Created by staff members at the British Library, visitors can click on an interactive map (rather appropriately) to locate these various maps which go all the way up to the 21st century. Another fun feature on the site allows users to download a Google Earth layer that includes a selection of these maps, including one of Regents Park in 1841 and a plan of the London Docks from 1797. The site is rounded out by an area where visitors can send electronic cards to friends and colleagues that incorporate images from these maps. [KMG]
http://www.channel4.com/fourdocs/
User-generated content remains a rather popular topic of discussion by Internet commentators and just about everyone who comes in contact with the web these days. Some have suggested that it would be nice to have some type of structure to some of this content, and fortunately this lovely site created by Channel 4 in London fits the bill quite well. As its title suggests, the Four Docs website is designed to give users the opportunity to submit their own four minute documentary, provided that it conforms to certain technical and legal requirements. The “About” area is a good place to get some more background on the whole affair, and then visitors should dive right in by watching a few of the films. A good way to do this is by looking at the thematic list, which includes such headings as animal rights and globalization. Those persons looking for historical materials will want to click on over to the “Archive”, which includes an interactive timeline which traces the history of documentary film making in Britain. Along the way are films such as 1933’s “Industrial Britain” and 1953’s “Operation Hurricane”, which documents the creation and testing of Britain’s first atomic bomb. [KMG]
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/newswar/
It’s not an understatement to say that mainstream news in the United States has been in a bit of a tizzy in recent years, with a number of journalists serving time for refusing to reveal their sources and other such activities. The times seem right for an investigative report into the challenges facing the news media, and Frontline has stepped forward with a very fine four-part series on the subject. Visitors to the site can watch the program in its entirety here, but before doing so, they may wish to read the introductory essay which can be found from the homepage. As might be expected, the site contains a number of nice extras, including a place to submit feedback, a teacher’s guide, and reactions from the press regarding the series. For visitors pressed for time, there is also the option to look over selected interviews from the series in the “Interviews” area. There are over 50 journalists profiled here, and visitors can view an alphabetical list, or take a look at some topical responses organized into sections such as “The Future of the News” and “The Internet and New Media”. Broad in its scope and conforming to the rigorous standards of the Frontline series, this program and its accompanying website should be “required reading” for all journalists and journalism students. [KMG]
http://content.lib.washington.edu/alaskawcanadaweb/index.html
The University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections continues to break new and interesting ground with one of their latest offerings, which happens to focus in on Alaska and the Canadian provinces of Yukon Territory and British Columbia. With extensive archival holdings in both areas, they are certainly well poised to do so, and this particular collection includes visual materials related to the famed Gold Rush of 1898 to 1900, mining activities, and World War II installations. As with previous collections from this series, visitors can type keywords into the search engine, or they can search by category. The Gold Rush section is a real gem, as it includes 225 images in total. They include an illustration of a miner’s working outfit from 1897, a photograph of a mining town dance from 1900, and a harrowing photograph of a boat navigating the treacherous Miles Canyon along the Yukon River. [KMG]
http://mathdl.maa.org/mathDL/4/
Published by The Mathematical Association of America, the Journal of Online Mathematics and its Application was started in 1998. All of the materials in the Journal are peer-reviewed, and each issue contains original research articles on student learning via online materials, class-tested web-based learning materials, and substantive reviews of important online resources. First-time visitors may wish to utilize the online keyword search engine, or they can also view a drop-down subject list that covers such topics as number theory, basic algebra, and arithmetic. Of course, visitors can also look over the “Featured Items” on the homepage, if they wish. Some of the featured items in the past have included primers on how to use HTML to create math worksheets and how to effectively use video conferencing as a way to tutor students in math. Finally, ambitious visitors may also wish to look over the Journal’s requirements for submitting material to be considered for inclusion in future issues. [KMG]
http://www.nmai.si.edu/exhibitions/identity_by_design/
This web exhibition from the National Museum of the American Indian pairs historic dresses with commentary and memories from contemporary Native American women designers, who work in traditional styles. For example, a painted Sioux dress from 1890 that depicts warrior scenes is accompanied by comments from Juanita Growing Thunder. She describes a dress made for the daughter of her mother's adopted brother, beaded with eagle feathers to recall his service in Vietnam. The dress "meant that he had gone to war and had fought. It all ties in with the warrior societies of the past." [DS]
