Research and Education
http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/96.pdf
The Pew Hispanic Center offers timely commentary and research on a wide range of issues related to the Hispanic population within the United States. Over the past few years, they have put out working papers on immigration, economic forecasts, employment, and pending legislation. This report by their senior research associate Richard Fry was released in October 2008 and it offers a detailed demographic portrait of the growing Hispanic community in the United States. Throughout its 35-pages, visitors will find detailed statistical information on the transformation of the Hispanic population over the past decade, along with material on which counties are experiencing the greatest statistical increase in the number of Hispanics. Finally, the report is greatly enhanced by its use of tables, graphs, and county-level maps of the US. [KMG]
http://content.lib.ua.edu/cdm4/browse.php?CISOROOT=%2FFrRvlution
As of late, the University of Alabama Library system has been working on a thematically diverse set of digital collections. Currently, their collection includes papers from wealthy planters, University of Alabama history, and this fine mix of over 170 pamphlets from the French Revolution. The pamphlets were used to "spread the word of revolution", and they are taken from the W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library's Rare Books Collection. The pamphlets include writings by many of the well-known participants, including Desmoulins, Danton, and of course, Robespierre. Visitors can choose to browse through the collection at their leisure, or they may also wish to perform a more detailed search for specific items of interest. It is worth noting that the pamphlets are in French only. [KMG]
http://unosat.web.cern.ch/unosat/
Satellites are used for just about any purpose imaginable, and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNITAR) is one that is meant to help out in "the life of communities exposed to poverty, hazards and risk." On their site, visitors should first take a look at the "About" area to learn about their recent achievements and work. Moving on, they can view their latest satellite maps of places such as Vietnam and Cambodia. The maps are entirely free, and they cover such topics as flood hazards, environmental degradation, and active fire locations. After a quick look, visitors can move on to read up on their satellite image services, technical assistance, and ordering information (for those who desire physical copies). The site also contains a glossary of terms, and a sign-in area for those users who wish to compile and maintain a record of the maps they will need to use most frequently. [KMG]
http://lbxml.ust.hk/mp/main.html
Created by the Special Collections Department at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Library, this fine collection of digitized antique maps will pique the interest of geographers and historians alike. The collection contains over 230 maps, charts, pictures, books, and complete atlases produced by European cartographers from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The collection serves as an interesting record of the cross-cultural exchanges between China and the West, and visitors can sort the list of maps by title, mapmaker, or year. There are many highlights here, but visitors should take a look at the work of Edward Belcher, who is responsible for maps of both Canton and the Canton River. Also, there's a rather intriguing 1851 map by one J. Rapkin titled "China and Burmah". [KMG]
It's never too late to learn Old English poetry, and this site is just the place to delve into this fascinating subject. Created by Murray McGillivray at the University of Calgary, the site presents a wide range of Old English poems and poetic lines in a very simplified and easy to use fashion. The purpose of this project is "to make useable and reliable texts of Old English poems available in convenient form for students and scholars." Visitors can click on the "Old English Poetry" section to review a list of all the poems by title. Also, visitors can view a list of the poems by original manuscript, and they can also learn about the project's history as well. [KMG]
http://www.bioedonline.org/workshops/space-life-sciences.cfm#overview
BioEd Online continues with its fine tradition of crafting high quality science education materials with this clutch of materials related to life science in space. This series is sponsored in part by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) and the resources here include slide sets and streaming video presentations designed for classroom use. One of the key presentations deals with sleep and human performance and it looks into questions such as "How much sleep do people need?" and "Why do adolescents want to stay up late at night and sleep away half the day?" and that's not all, as the site also contains presentations on the effects of radiation and maintaining muscle mass in space. [KMG]
http://www.ashinstitute.harvard.edu/
The Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation has the worthy goal to foster "creative and effective government problem-solving." The Institute uses research, education, international programs, and government innovations awards to affect such problem solving. The homepage is divided up into four sections, "Innovations in American Government," "Global Network," "Knowledge Building," and "Teaching and Training." To read some of the publications the Institute puts out, click on "Institute-Wide Publications" at the bottom of the "Knowledge Building" section. Along with the "5 Year Report" and the "2008-2009 Course Guide", "The Ash Institute Resource Guide" and "Communique: Ash Newsletter" are in PDF format here. In the "Innovations in American Government" section on the homepage, clicking on "Innovations News" will lead you to a three-part documentary that shows the presentations of the finalists for the 2008 Innovations Awards in front of the National Selection Committee. Just click on the link to "Part 1, Part 2, Part 3" at the bottom of the 2008 Innovations Winners section. It's sure to have you on pins and needles! [KMG]
http://royalsociety.org/page.asp?id=7476
The Royal Society, based in the United Kingdom, is not only 350 years old, but is also not about the royal family. Rather, The Royal Society is all about science--influencing science policy and debating scientific issues, with other scientists and the public. Their website is loaded with resources, such as their "News" section which has articles on science, education, industry and the environment culled from the major daily newspapers. Click on the "Library and Archives" section to be catapulted into a virtual room of resources such as the "Science Policy Collection", "Digital Journal Archive", "Biographical Information on Fellows", and "Picture Library". The Library events podcasts are easy-to-listen-to and wide-ranging, though many are about the history of science, and include video and audio podcasts. Podcasts about scientific failure, apothecaries, and the taming of electricity are just some of the titles available from the past two years of library events. Visitors shouldn't miss using the unique search feature called "Select an Audience" at the bottom of any page of the site that allows them to choose what information is viewed based on who they are, i.e. teacher, student, policymaker, researcher, media, scientist, or fellow. Such a feature really helps to make a large website, such as this, much more accessible and easy to navigate. [KMG]
