Research and Education
http://hcl.harvard.edu/collections/hpsss/index.html
This utterly fascinating digital project from Harvard University consists primarily of summary transcripts of 705 interviews conducted with refugees from the USSR during the early years of the Cold War. First-time visitors to the site should read over the introduction to the Harvard Project on the Soviet Social System (HPSSS) and then dive right into the documents. Those who wish to locate certain topical information quickly will want to click on the "Finding Aids" area right away, and it will also be helpful to click on the "Working with the HPSSS Online" area. In terms of orientation, most of the A-Schedule interviews consist of personal life histories and the B-Schedule interviews consist of special topic interviews on subjects such as family, government, stratification, nationalities, and partisan movements. [KMG]
http://www.theamericanscholar.org/
The American Scholar is published by the Phi Beta Kappa Society, and since 1932 they have published compelling and thoughtful essays, articles, poetry, and other pieces. The creation of this publication was actually inspired by Emerson's famous speech "The American Scholar", which was delivered to the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Harvard in 1837. They recently revamped their website, and now visitors have access to many of the original articles from past and current editions of the publication. Recent articles of note include Charles Johnson's "The End of the Black American Narrative" and William Deresiewicz's "The Disadvantages of an Elite Education". Visitors can also take in items from past issues that include Melvin Bukiet's well-timed criticism "Brooklyn Books of Wonder" and their award-winning feature, "Genome Tome". [KMG]
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPRR) is just the type of organization to stay abreast of all the latest policy happenings and transformations across the globe, and for those that enjoy this spirit of inquiry, their podcasts will be most appreciated. Currently, the site contains over two dozen podcasts, and visitors are welcome to download them or just listen to them via this site. Some of the topics covered here include managed migration, the role of business in British society, and the global economy. Visitors who are looking for a specific podcast to start their journey might do well to listen to Margaret Hodge speak on the question of "Should cultural institutions promote shared values and a common national identity?" [KMG]
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/
For some, the thought of geothermal energy might bring up the nation of Iceland, which has successfully harnessed this form of energy for many years. The United States Department of Energy's Geothermal Technologies Program is interested in such technologies as well, and their splendid site will be of great use to scientists, policy types, and others. The first thing new visitors will want to do is click on the Flash-enabled "Enhanced Geothermal Systems" animation, which describes their use and potential. After that, visitors can move on to the "Selected Topics" area, which includes a bit of information about U.S. geothermal history, photos of geothermal energy technology, and information on geothermal power plants and their operation. Visitors will also want to take a look at a few of the "Features" here, which include a report on the future of geothermal energy from MIT. [KMG]
http://www.citiesalliance.org/
Sponsored by the World Bank and other organizations, the Cities Alliance is "a global coalition of cities and their development partners committed to scaling up successful approaches to poverty reduction." The "News" area is front and center on their homepage and it provides a fine overview of their work, which ranges from concerted efforts to upgrade slums in the developing world, developing strategies to help cities with their financial situation, and also working on cohesive and comprehensive development strategies. Visitors can click on the right-hand side of the page to learn more about each of these thematic areas in the "Cities Alliance Activities" section. Moving on, the "Publications" area with its annual reports, fact sheets, and archived e-newsletters is a place worth visiting as well. The site is rounded out by the "City Development Strategies" area, which offers a rigorous explanation of the ways in which cities can assess their existing strengths and what the key aspects of a meaningful development strategy might be. [KMG]
http://www.biology.arizona.edu/biochemistry/problem_sets/aa/aa.html
The Biology Project at the University of Arizona doesn't shy away from the big (or little) questions of life and science, and this helpful educational resource will be another educational arrow in the quiver of science educators from Seattle to Tashkent. The site provides a basic introduction to amino acids, offering a brief description of their role as the "building blocks" of protein. After reading the introduction, students can learn about the structure of amino acids, and then take on a few exercises in the "Test yourself" section of the site. Of course, that's not all, as visitors can also learn about each amino acid separately, and there's even a handy legend that makes learning that much easier. [KMG]
Founded in 1970, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is considered one of the premier think tanks focusing primarily on a broad range of public policy issues of concern to African Americans and other communities of color. Since their founding, the Center has expanded their work to include a wide range of research projects, and visitors will be delighted to know that their website features their findings. Visitors can get started by looking at the "Recent Publications" area on the right-hand side of the homepage. Here they will find items like the Center's Annual Report and documents like "Environmental Justice Through the Eye of Hurricane Katrina" and "Blacks and the 2008 Democratic National Convention". Their weblog is quite lively and contains conversations and comments on black elected officials across the country and their own Health Policy Institute. Finally, visitors can also sign up to receive email updates from the Center. [KMG]
http://www-viz.tamu.edu/faculty/lurleen/main/attatunnel/
You may have had one of those old-time ant colonies growing up as a child, but did you ever think about becoming immersed in an actual ant-colony? That could be the stuff of a bad 1950s horror film, but it's actually part of the engrossing research going on at the Vizlab, which is based at Texas A &M University. Essentially Carol LaFayette and an interdisciplinary team of collaborators have created a 3D model that effectively acts as an immersive system, allowing interested parties a very unique view into the lives of atta texana, which happen to be a species of leafcutting ants. First-time visitors should go ahead and take a look at the "Slide show" section and then take a look at both the tunnel animation and the immersive system video. Additionally, the site includes an article on the project and a link to LaFayette's homepage. [KMG]
