Demography and the Social Contract [.pdf]
http://opr.princeton.edu/papers/opr0204.pdf
In this 55-page working paper from the Office of Population Research at Princeton, Marta Tienda examines the relationship between demography and the social contract in the United States, with a particular emphasis placed on historical and contemporary debates about the nature of immigration. As Professor Tienda states in her work, "immigration strains commitment to the democratic principles of inclusion and equity by redrawing the boundaries of membership based on ascription and an ever more narrow definition of citizenship." Throughout the work, Professor Tienda draws on diverse disciplinary traditions and demographic data in examining this complex subject. Given the recent debates and policy changes over the past few years, including numerous local initiatives to restrict voting to American citizens in certain states, Professor Tienda's scholarship offers an important sociological perspective on the subject at hand. [KMG]
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The New Wealth Package: Generating Value in Distressed Urban Communities [.pdf]
http://www.newschool.edu/milano/cdrc/pubs/wp/wp.2002.03.pdf
From the Community Development Research Center within the New School University, this new working paper is authored by Edward Blakely, one of the foremost urban policy academics and practitioners in the United States. In the 35-page paper, Professor Blakely examines the use of arbitrage theory as "a means of valuing community assets in urban low-income communities." As Professor Blakely points out in his abstract, "This tool [arbitrage] is applied, in this paper, to valuing the wide range of assets that exist in low-income areas so that the potential of these assets can be realized as a new wealth package to sustain inner-city community institutions and increase the wealth of local residents." The paper includes a historical sketch of capital markets and continues with an extended discussion of how arbitrage theory might best be deployed in creating a meaningful valuation of the assets contained within low-income and distressed urban communities. Thought-provoking in its scope and perspective, this paper will be a valuable addition to writings on urban policy and social planning. [KMG]
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The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
http://www.pambytes.com/poe/poe.html
Edgar Allan Poe was only on this earth for an all-too brief forty years, but he crafted some fine poetry. Some have argued that with the "Murders in the Rue Morgue," he created the first detective story. On this site, visitors will see complete text versions of almost all of Mr. Poe's poems and short stories. Each piece begins by indicating the year of its first publication and the publication in which it appeared. Also, an extended biographical essay about Poe's life is available, as well as a helpful resource page that contains links to the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore and the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site. One highlight of the site is the complete text of Poe's only novel, The Narrative of A. Gordon Pym, a truly horrifying account of one man's voyage on board an ocean-going vessel that concludes with the line, "I have graven it within the hills, and my vengeance upon the dust within the rock." [KMG]
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The Hoover Institute
http://www-hoover.stanford.edu/
Perhaps one of the most well-known research centers in the world, the Hoover Institution was founded by Herbert Hoover to collect and archive documents related to the causes and consequences of World War I, and soon grew into one of the largest libraries devoted solely to political, economic, and social change in the 20th century. Appropriately, the library and its holdings are prominently featured on the site, with detailed information on using its collections and its prodigious holdings, including over 850 finding aids. For scholars and researchers, the most helpful aspect of the site may be the diverse set of freely-available research papers, newsletters, and complete books available on the site. Written by the Institution's fellows and scholars, the topics covered here include American public education, property rights, government accountability, and global cooperation. The site is rounded by a complete list of persons currently working at the Hoover Institution, either as a Hoover Fellow, Media Fellow, or as a full-time staff member. [KMG]
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Exploring Charging Models for Digital Cultural Heritage
http://heds.herts.ac.uk/mellon/charging_models.html
Sponsored in part by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, this report examines the move from storing analog photographic databases to digital databases over the past decade, along with considering how marketable, cost efficient, and income-stable these new services and resources are, particularly when compared to previous methods. Authored by Simon Tanner and Marilyn Deegan, the study draws on a host of perspectives, including survey results from 51 institutions such as universities and public libraries, long form structured interviews with service providers, and close investigation of these institutions' pricing structures. The extended discussion of pricing structures also has material on the thresholds that determine when organizations may charge for the sale of content and other rights to their digital holdings, and any implicit or explicit reasons behind such a shift in policy. This document will prove to be quite useful for those in the field of library science, particularly archivists and catalog specialists. [KMG]
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Wisconsin Vascular Plants
http://www.botany.wisc.edu/wisflora/
The staff of the Wisconsin State Herbarium have created this excellent online resource for exploring the world of vascular plants in Wisconsin, complete with several helpful finding aids to navigate the collection. Based on decades of research (including the ground breaking work of John Curtis), visitors can search for plants by name, habitat, status, and county. Also, visitors to the site can browse the thousands of selections by genera, common name, and family. A wealth of information is included about each plant, including (in most cases) a photograph of the plant in its habitat, a map indicating where the plant may be found in Wisconsin, and its common names. Other features of the site include a guide to "What's Blooming" around Wisconsin, a key to the conifers of Wisconsin, and information about other current projects of the Wisconsin State Herbarium. [KMG]
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National Environmental Data Index
http://www.nedi.gov/
The National Environmental Data Index is maintained by the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration Environmental Information Service. The service provides a full text search of information from twelve governmental agencies including the US Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, and NASA. Users can choose to search from all or individual agencies, type of information, and by several specific subjects. Results display the agency and initial hits found within each, you can then display all results including links to the specific information. The breadth of data is helpful for one-stop shoppers, but it does create long waiting times for results, so specific search criteria is recommended. This site is also reviewed in the November 15, 2002 NSDL Physical Science Report.
[JAB]
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The Mammal Species of the World
http://nmnhgoph.si.edu/msw/
The Department of Systematic Biology at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History offers this Web site for The Mammal Species of the World (MSW) -- a database of mammalian taxonomy containing the names over 4,000 currently recognized mammal species. This database is intended for use as a "convenient on-line reference for identifying or verifying recognized scientific names and for taxonomic research." The database may be searched using a number of different fields, including scientific and common names, original publication citation, type species or locality, distribution, etc. In addition to serving as an online reference, MSW can be "adapted as an authority file for collections management activities of mammal collections." This site is also reviewed in the November 15, 2002 NSDL Life Sciences Report. [RS]
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