General Interest
http://sustainability.publicradio.org/
Sustainability has become a popular buzzword in the past few years, yet it can be a puzzling term to some who encounter it. In the words of this American Public Media site, "it’s about meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." They have decided to contribute to the ongoing public conversation about sustainability by using this site to showcase stories produced by their radio programs, which include Marketplace, Speaking of Faith, and Weekend America. Visitors can dive right in via the "Stories in the Radio" section, where they will find pieces on electric cars, climate treaty agreements, and fuel economy standards. Moving on, visitors can also read their weblog and take in special reports on "greening" Las Vegas and the nature of the consumer society. It’s a fascinating site, and one that can be used to spark new conversations among friends, colleagues, and students. [KMG]
http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/?pa=content&sa=viewDocument&nodeId=1618
In the introduction to this site we learn that, "A fundamental result of geometry, used often in secondary and collegiate mathematics, is the equality of ratios of corresponding sides in similar triangles." Accordingly, this concept is expected knowledge of students in physics, engineering, and the sciences, "since its simple statement is rather useful in finding unknown lengths of elementary figures in plane geometry." Recently, Professor Jerry Lodder of New Mexico State University decided to explore how similarity theorems might be best used in the math classroom. This article offered here contains a set of curricular materials that draws on the ancient Chinese principle of area known as the inclusion-exclusion principle. Educators can use these resources to craft a discussion that includes a cross-cultural comparison of these concepts, and then draw on the student exercises that are also included in this piece. [KMG]
Boston and Seattle have been working on new art museum buildings for several years, and the public and critical response to both structures has been quite positive. New York has a few well-regarded art museums of its own, and now it has one that is "new" in several senses of the word. Sitting cheek and jowl amidst the late-nineteenth century urban fabric of the Bowery, The New Museum of Contemporary Art's building was designed by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa. Visitors who might be unacquainted with this institution may wish to peruse the "About" section for its overview and for splendid details about their new home and its construction. Also, the "Learn" area of the site includes several audio features about the museum and their "Museum as Hub" site, which provides a way of learning about their "new model for curatorial practice and institutional collaboration." [KMG]
As a laboratory within the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the Surgical Planning Laboratory (SPL) does research and development in image processing algorithms, software systems, and medical applications. While visitors with an interest in these matters will appreciate the sections of this site that provide details on this work, visitors from the health sciences will also appreciate the educational materials offered in the "Resources" area even more. In the "Training and Tutorials" area, visitors can learn more about medical imaging through a self-paced tutorial. Moving on, the "Image Gallery" area contains over forty medical images that can be useful for those who are looking to learn about identifying various neurological conditions. Finally, the site also has a database of publications created by members of the research team at the SPL. [KMG]
http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/consumer/manual_keys.pdf
The World Health Organization has crafted many public health publications for use in countries all over the world, and this food safety manual complements their existing work quite nicely. The 30-page report focuses on five essential steps to keeping food safe, and it is meant to be used for training those who work or prepare food. The sections of the report will be quite familiar to anyone who has worked in a food service setting before, and they include hints on cooking foods thoroughly and keeping food preparation surfaces clean. Additionally, the report also contains a glossary of terms and some short quizzes. [KMG]
While people may have seen individuals with a jacket that reads "ATF Agent", they may have only a vague understanding of what the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) does. As a law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice, the ATF is "dedicated to preventing terrorism, reducing violent crime, and protecting our Nation." On the homepage, users can read about their latest work and activities through a variety of press releases divided into sections such as "Violent Crimes" and "Gangs". The site also has a "Field Divisions" area, where users can learn about the activities of the field offices from Maine to Los Angeles. Criminologists and others may want to visit the "Publications" area for some of their latest findings. Here, visitors can look over reports such as annual accountability reports and newsletters. [KMG]
http://www.sc.edu/library/digital/collections/tennent.html
The life of William Tennent III may not be well known to many outside of South Carolina, but it is a life that is quite well served by this recent digitization project created by the University of South Carolina Library. Tennent was first a Presbyterian minister in the colonies of New Jersey and Connecticut in the middle of the 18th century before he arrived in Charleston to minister to a new flock of adherents. The collection offered here documents his travel through the "Up Country" of South Carolina in 1775 utilizing Tennent's journal. The site also offers his album of papers from his time in the various colonies. Visitors can browse through the travel journal by locations or date, and they should also read an essay about the political situation in South Carolina at the time, written b y L.L. Owens. [KMG]
http://www.nationalgalleries.org/education
In recent years, the vast majority of museums have deemed public education an imperative. The Education portion of the National Galleries of Scotland's web site provides a nice mix of activities for web site visitors, as well as for those fortunate enough to be able to get to the museum itself, in Edinburgh. Among the interactive web site features is "Decoding Boticelli". This feature offers a chance for visitors to interpret the symbolism in Boticellis's Virgin Adoring the Sleeping Christ Child, recently restored by the National Galleries of Scotland. Next, visitors can compare the symbolism with two other Boticellis, located in other museums: Primavera, at the Uffizi in Florence, and Mystic Nativity at the National Gallery in London. Web site visitors can also listen to lectures using PodCurator, and download QuickTime versions of museum events from the downloads section. These events include Tom Sokolowski, Director of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, delivering an illustrated talk to open the exhibition "Andy Warhol: The Art of Camouflage". Sokolowski begins his speech comparing Pittsburgh to Edinburgh; pointing out that Pittsburgh can be regarded as a little Edinburgh due to influence of Andrew Carnegie, and both are sooty cities. [DS]
