2002 Census of Governments [.pdf]
http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/gc021x1.pdf
Administered by the United Census Bureau at five-year intervals since 1957, the Census of Governments is one of the most important sources of information about the varied types of governmental units across the entire country. Released in December 2002, this 105-page document contains the official counts of the number of state and local governments, along with tabulations of governments by state, type of government, size, and county location. Persons hoping to utilize data contained within the report will want to read the introduction to the report first, as it offers information about the nature of the tables and where to look for specific details, such as where to find data on public school systems, special district governments, and general-purpose governments. Those persons looking to document the change in the number of governmental units over the past five decades will want to look at the tables detailing the change in local governments by state from 1952 to 2002. Overall, this is an important resource for those individuals in the field of public policy or government. [KMG]
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War with Iraq: Costs, Consequences, and Alternatives [.pdf]
http://www.amacad.org/publications/monographs/War_with_Iraq.pdf
Released as part of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Committee on International Security Studies Occasional Papers series, this 93-page report from December 2002 examines the political, military, and economic consequences of war with Iraq. The report is divided into three self-contained chapters, with each one exploring a different facet that illustrates the potential costs of war for the United States. In the first chapter, Carl Kaysen, John D. Steinbruner, and Martin B. Malin engage in an extended appraisal of the national security strategy behind the move toward a preventive war against Iraq. The second chapter finds Steven E. Miller considering a number of potentially detrimental military and strategic outcomes of war for the United States. The third chapter, John Nordhaus offers his economic cost estimations of war with Iraq by looking at scenarios that are both favorable and unfavorable to the United States. All in all, this paper is a thought-provoking and scholarly examination of a pressing topic that often receives only superficial consideration by the mainstream media. [KMG]
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Scottish Archive Network
http://www.scan.org.uk/
Supported by funds from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Genealogical Society of Utah, and the National Archives of Scotland, the Scottish Archive Network has three primary aims. The first is to convert fifty of the primary Scottish archive catalogues into electronic format, the second is to make the wills and testaments of Scots from 1500 to 1875 available online, and the third is to "provide a host of other valuable online resources for anyone interested in the written history of Scotland." While the fifty primary Scottish catalogues are not all online yet, the Network Web site offers a good sample of the diverse printed historical records of the Scottish people. Visitors will want to make sure and look at some representative examples of Scottish wills from the past four hundred years, and then take a look at the Research Tools area, which contains helpful hints for deciphering Scottish handwriting and a glossary of terms used in the wills. Visitors hoping to trace their Scottish heritage will want to take a look at the Family History area, which will help them utilized the excellent genealogical resources provided by the Network. [KMG]
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Spain, The United States, and The American Frontier: Historias Paralelas
http://international.loc.gov/intldl/eshtml/eshome.html
Partnering with The National Library of Spain, The Biblioteca Columbina y Capitular of Seville, the Library of Congress has developed this fine collection of primary and secondary historical documents that explore the complex and multifaceted history of Spanish expansion into North America from Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and across most of what is now the modern-day American Southwest all the way north to Alaska. The site contains digital versions of numerous texts, maps, manuscripts, and first-hand accounts composed by different individuals. Some of the highlights include "La Florida del Inca," which is an account of the Hernando de Soto expedition through Florida and the southeastern part of North America, along with the "Notes of a Military Reconnoissance from Fort Leavenworth to San Diego," published in 1848 as a special report to the United States Congress. Appropriately enough, many of the documents are available in both English and Spanish, and are searchable by page number. [KMG]
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ArabNet
http://www.arab.net/
Designed to serve as a clearinghouse of information about the Arab world, ArabNet is a valuable source of current news coverage, along with providing country profiles of almost every nation in the Middle East. The homepage features a Latest News section that provides hyperlinks to English-language articles offering coverage from many different media sources on topical stories within the Middle East. The country profiles will be helpful to persons seeking a brief overview of each nation, as they contain basic material on their history, geography, government, culture, government, and transportation. The site also contains brief essays on topic as diverse as The A-Z of Camels and The ABCs of Arabic Cuisine. The site also contains a search engine and the ability to sign up for email updates by entering one's email address. [KMG]
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Institute for the Study of Social Change [.pdf]
http://www.ucd.ie/~issc/
Founded in 1999 and located on the campus of the University College Dublin in Ireland, the Institute for the Study of Social Change conducts a wide range of research projects, along with housing the Irish Social Science Data Archive. Visitors seeking to learn more about the activities of the Institute will want to look at the sections that give detailed descriptions of their existing research projects (such as those on policy evaluation and political behavior). For those persons interested in learning more about their ongoing seminars, conferences, and policy briefings, a section titled Activities contains the particulars of these sessions, including registration information. The publications area of the site contains many working papers that deal with the topics of globalization, education, and economics. The site is effectively rounded out with information detailing funding and postdoctoral opportunities offered by the Institute that individuals and research teams may wish to examine closely. [KMG]
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Bug Bytes [.pdf, .wav]
http://cmave.usda.ufl.edu/~rmankin/soundlibrary.html
Containing a catalog of recorded insect noises, this Web site is presented by Richard Mankin of the Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, a division of the US Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service. Organized by species and subject, this unusual library contains approximately 40 audio clips of such subtle insect noises as the wing vibrations of a butterfly and the sound of a termite feeding. Some background noise is unavoidable with recordings such as these, but the Web site includes a sample file for training the ear to distinguish insect noises from extraneous sounds. Bug Bytes is engaging enough to warrant a visit from both researchers and general visitors alike. This site is also reviewed in the February 7, 2003 NSDL Life Sciences Report. [RS]
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Tales from the Underground
http://www.msichicago.org/labs/tales/index.html
Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry Web site offers a very interesting interactive activity called Tales from the Underground. Kids get to explore an interactive map of Chicago neighborhoods to view the results of soil samples that were taken to determine the amounts of various pollutants they contain. Students are then able to conduct their own experiments (with help from their teacher or parent) to learn about the health of soils where they live. The site contains a wealth of additional activities, downloads, and lessons that culminate in a unique learning experience that kids will enjoy. This site is also reviewed in the February 7, 2003 NSDL Physical Science Report. [JAB]
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