http://www.nii.ac.jp/index.shtml.en

Informatics is a field that is gaining importance around the globe, and the National Institute of Informatics (NII) in Japan seeks "to advance integrated research and development activities in information-related fields, including networking, software, and content." First-time visitors should note that most of the materials in the site can be located in sections such as "Research", "Services", and "Education". Before delving into these areas, visitors may wish to take a look at the most recent issue of "NII Today" via the homepage. Afterwards, visitors should look over the "Research" area. Here they will find summaries of research projects, working papers, and information about their international partnerships. The "Services" area is well worth a look as it contains links to additional informatics databases that will be of use to scholars and students within the field. [KMG]

http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2008/en/

In November 2008, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) put out its State of World Population book, along with a Youth Supplement, and both are available in their entirety on the UNFPA website. The book is entitled "Reaching Common Ground: Culture, Gender and Human Rights" and the Youth Supplement is entitled "Generation of Change: Young People and Culture". This website offers so much worthwhile information to the visitor, in part because the entire 108 pages can be downloaded as a pdf by clicking on "Download PDF" under Resources on the left side of the page. The information in each of the nine chapters is eminently readable, extremely heart wrenching, and definitely eye-opening. However, the book does offer hope, as it includes the considerable successes by the UNFPA, which were achieved by being culturally sensitive to the traditions and beliefs of the groups with which they were working. To read the stories from the Youth Supplement, scroll down slightly and choose, from on the left, one of the young people's stories, such as "Grita", "Tsehay", or "Seif". Child marriage, females playing in male sports, becoming a Vietnamese hip-hop sensation, youth in politics, are all examples of topics found among these youth's stories. Visitors should not miss checking out the Photo Gallery, which can be accessed by scrolling down to the middle of the page, and clicking "View," located on the left side of the page. The line "there is laughter every day in the terrible streets of Calcutta," from a Jack Gilbert poem comes to mind upon seeing these photographs. [KMG]

http://digitalhistory.unl.edu/

The Digital History website is a project of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, designed to educate scholars and the public about the new and fast-growing academic discipline that is digital history. The home page features a semi-globe with links to the different sections atop the globe. The goal of the site is to provide access to presentations of scholars, interviews with scholars, relevant current events and news items, as well as a bibliography of digital history resources. In the "Tool Reviews" link, a visitor can read a thorough review of two tools, a timeline, and an exhibit tool from MIT's SIMILE project on open source tools. In the "Public Lectures" link, accessible from the homepage, the visitor can view portions of ten different presentations by digital history scholars, with subject matter ranging from Malcolm X to the Civil War to the Humanities and the Digital Age. Clicking on the presenter's name will lead the visitor to the portions of the presentation available for viewing, as well as a biography of the presenter, and a "live-blogged entry" about the presentation. The "Project Reviews" link, accessible on the homepage, contains reviews written by graduate students about digital history projects. Academics with projects they'd like to see reviewed, are given a contact e-mail at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. [KMG]

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/

Peering into the world of any nation's government can be quite revealing, and this look into the British government is quite a generous one. Created by the National Archives in Britain, this site affords interested parties comprehensive access to Cabinet papers from 1915-1977. Visitors can browse through these papers by themes that include "Diplomacy and foreign relations", "Finance and the economy", and "Total war". Those visitors who might be unfamiliar with the operations of the British government may wish to first stop by the "Cabinet and Government" area. Here they can browse over a "Who's who" section, learn the nuts and bolts of the Cabinet government, and read a selection of previously classified documents that deal with both World Wars. One resource here that shouldn't be missed is the "Maps in Time" area. Here visitors can take a look at relevant resources organized geographically on a series of maps that extend throughout the 20th century. It's a great way to visualize the activities of the British government both spatially and temporally. [KMG]

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/indicators/

Both scholars and those with a penchant for statistics will want to bookmark this fine website created and maintained by the federal government. The site provides monthly compilations of economic indicators covering prices, wages, production, business activity, purchasing power, credit, money, and Federal finance. Visitors can use the search engine to type in their desired terms, or they can browse every month from January 1998 forward via a series of drop down tabs. For those who might be looking for more specific data, the "Search Tips" feature is quite useful. The site also contains links to the Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research (FRASER), which contains economic indicators back to 1948. Overall, the site will be a real boon to those looking for high quality, accurate information regarding current and past economic trends and patterns in the United States. [KMG]

http://www.who.int/topics/health_economics/en/

The World Health Organization (WHO) has created this site to provide the general public with high-quality information about their various research initiatives and reports related to the field of health economics. Given the nature of the WHO's mission, the work focuses on key challenges facing global health financing, with particular attention paid to healthcare systems in the developing world. The materials here include a nice fact sheet that provides a global overview of current spending on health care, along with links to related sites that deal with health financing policy and national healthcare systems. In the "Related Links" area, visitors can browse on over to a specialized site dedicated to the health economics of the European Union. [KMG]

http://www.rsc.org/Education/HElecturers/Resources/ITUs.asp

As more and more organizations go "green", it makes sense that a number of educational institutions are participating as well. One such institution is the University of Glasgow which has developed this series of "green" chemistry teaching exercises known as Interactive Teaching units (ITUs). Currently, the site contains four ITU's, including "The Age of Refrigeration", "Titanium and the Titanium Dioxide Industry", and "The Atom Economy". The modules all draw on the concept of problem based learning to introduce key concepts of green chemistry and sustainability in an industrial context. All of these materials can be used in the college classroom in order to develop both teamwork and communication skills. [KMG]

http://www.solutionsforourfuture.org

America benefits mightily from its many universities and colleges, and this recent initiative from the American Council on Education (ACE) aims to raise awareness about the mission and work of the country's higher education institutions. The ACE is working with a number of partners on this project, including the Educational Testing Service, the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), and Campus Compact. New visitors can start their journey through the site by clicking on the "What is Solutions for Our Future?" section, which can be found at the top right hand corner of the homepage. After reading this brief overview, they should click on the "Solutions" area. Here they can learn about innovative and beneficial programs like North Carolina Community College's work on training biotechnology workers and Tarleton State University's equine assisted therapy program. Further down the site's homepage, visitors can click on a drop down menu to learn more about higher education in their own state, and even sign up to receive email updates. [KMG]