Research and Education
http://www.physclips.unsw.edu.au/
It's certainly not impossible to learn about Newton's laws, momentum and other key principles of physics without multimedia learning activities, but it's a bit more fun to have such resources on hand. With funding from The Australian Learning and Teaching Council, Professor Joe Wolfe of The University of New South Wales has created this rather remarkable set of physics teaching resources. Visitors can make their way through these "physclips" by clicking on sections that include "Centre of Mass", "Circular Motion", "Gravity", and eight others. Each section includes learning modules with video clips that demonstrate different principles, along with links to other relevant background materials. The organization of the entire site is quite impressive, and visitors can also download each video clip for use in their own classroom. [KMG]
There are not many events as important in the history of Western civilization as the invention and widespread adoption of printing techniques. This site from The University of Iowa Libraries will enchant even those who haven't thought about Gutenberg and his ilk since their Western Civ class in junior high. The Atlas of Early Printing is designed primarily to be used as a tool for teaching the early history of printing in Europe and visitors can use the interactive map to learn more about this process. The interactive map of Europe allows users to turn on and off different layers on the map that document the spread of printing, paper mills, fairs, and trade routes in order to get a better sense of how this technology gradually spread. Visitors can also click on each map element to learn a bit more, and in the case of each city, visitors can learn about the first recorded work printed there. Overall, this resource will be invaluable to educators, and even those with a passing interest in this area of human endeavor may find themselves making numerous return visits to the site. [KMG]
http://www.cfr.org/publication/by_type/daily_analysis.html
The Council on Foreign Relations produces an impressive array of background papers, online debates, op-ed pieces, and articles every year. International relations gurus, policy pundits, and members of the public benefit widely from these works, and those persons who haven't looked over the Council's "Daily Analysis" yet, may wish to do so now. Here visitors can read analytical briefs written by staff members on issues of the day, complete with links to "the news, analysis, commentary, and primary source materials that put the facts in context." The briefs are arranged chronologically, and recent pieces include "Is Brain Drain Good For Africa?", "China's Olympic Moment", and "Picking Presidents and Foreign Policy". These briefs are a great way to get acquainted with important news developments from around the world, and it's easy to see how educators might want to draw on the site as a resource for political science or international relations courses. [KMG]
http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/91.pdf
There is a growing health care crisis in the United States and some groups are particularly vulnerable. This August 2008 report from the Pew Hispanic Center looks into the challenges faced by Hispanics in terms of their access and information about health care, and their findings will be of great use to public health researchers, journalists, and others. The 81-page report was written by Gretchen Livingston, Susan Minushkin, and D'Vera Cohn, and their work was supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The report is divided into four chapters, an executive summary, and two appendices. Chapters in the report include "How Much Do Hispanics Know About Diabetes?" and "Sources of Information on Health and Health Care". A number of the findings are a bit troubling, including the fact that more than one-fourth of Hispanic adults in the United States lack a regular health care provider. [KMG]
http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG722/
When most people think of international peacekeeping work, they might immediately think of organizations like the United Nations or NATO. What they might not know is that in recent years the European Union (EU) has become a very active participant in operations in countries such as Sierra Leone and Côte d'Ivoire. These efforts haven't escaped the attention of policy analysts and scholars at the RAND organization, and this report released in July 2008 takes a close look at this phenomenon. The 344-page report is divided into ten chapters, which include case studies of EU activities in Macedonia, the Solomon Islands, and a chapter of conclusions and final remarks. Additionally, the report also contains a detailed chapter of comparative analysis that looks into thematic areas such as the civilian police force in each country, the return of refugees post-conflict, and international combat-related deaths. [KMG]
Created as part of an interdisciplinary international effort to take a critical look at the phenomenon of mass violence, the Online Encyclopedia of Mass Violence is supported by a number of organizations, including The Center for International Research and Studies and The Foundation for the Memory of the Shoah. The primary purpose of the Encyclopedia Project is "to create a regularly updated electronic database focusing on massacres and genocides of the 20th century." First-time visitors can use the interactive map of the world on the homepage to begin their exploration of the site. Within each region of the world (and by extension, each individual country), visitors can read chronological indexes, case studies, and take a look at scholarly reviews of works related to each region or country's genocides or massacres. Visitors should not miss the "Latest contributions" area, which includes the latest works from the Project. Recently featured items here have included an evaluation of The Boxer Uprising and the Burundi Killings of 1972. Overall, it's a very ambitious project, and one that scholars and members of the general public will want to check up on from time to time. [KMG]
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/mdiag/
Started in 1971, the Michigan Discussions in Anthropology journal brings together scholarly works from all four subfields within anthropology: archaeology, biological anthropology, ethnology, and linguistic anthropology. The journal was originally meant as a forum for students and faculty within the anthropology department at Michigan, and although their work now reaches many persons around the world, it continues to serve this initial purpose. On this site, interested parties can peruse the latest edition of the journal, look over all of the past issues, and also search the entire contents by keyword or phrase. In the latest issue, visitors can read "'Older Americans' and Alzheimer's Disease: Citizenship and Subjectivity in Contested Time" or "Bringing Body to Bear in the Andes: Ethnicity, Gender, and Health in Highland Ecuador" among others. [KMG]
