May 2, 2003 -- Volume 9, Number 17
Table of Contents | Printable version
Research and Education

Psychiatry On-Line
http://www.priory.com/psych.htm
The field of psychiatry is one that is vast and rather complex, and fortunately for academics and practitioners in the field, the Psychiatry On-Line Web site provides a well-conceived international forum for the discipline. Edited and maintained since 1994 by Dr. Ben Green (a licensed psychiatrist in the United Kingdom), the site features peer-reviewed articles, papers, and case reports from around the world. Part of the Priory group, Psychiatry On-Line contains links to other germane online journals, including the Italian and Brazilian counterparts to the English-language version of Psychiatry On-Line. Visitors will want to browse the archives of previously featured papers, which are thematically organized under topics ranging from affective disorders to substance abuse. The general public will find the section Psychiatry in the Cinema of note, as Dr. Green offers commentary on the depiction of persons with psychiatric conditions (such as schizophrenia) in films like "A Beautiful Mind" and "As Good as it Gets." [KMG]
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Diotima: Women and Gender in the Ancient World
http://www.stoa.org/diotima/
Edited by Ross Scaife of the University of Kentucky and Suzanne Bonefas of Southwestern University, Diotima "serves as an interdisciplinary resource for anyone interested in patterns of gender around the ancient Mediterranean and as a forum for collaboration among instructors who teach courses about women and gender in the ancient world." To that end, the two collaborators have placed a number of helpful syllabi from courses dealing with this subject here for the general public (and colleagues), along with an anthology of translated primary sources from this era, such as various writings of Sophocles, Hesiod, Euripedes, and others. Equally compelling are the links to outside Web resources, such as one dealing with the Book of Ruth and one dealing specifically with the women of ancient Rome. Finally, interested parties may sign up to be informed of updates to the Web site, and submit articles for the consideration of the editors. [KMG]
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Literacy.org [.pdf]
http://www.literacyonline.org/
Jointly sponsored by the International Literacy Institute and the National Center on Adult Literacy at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education, Literacy.org is a cornucopia of valuable resources related to adult literacy in the United States and throughout the entire world. Particularly impressive, the search engine allows users to browse their holdings by country or region, topics, or perspective (such as teacher, practitioner, and so on). Their publication section is quite authoritative in its scope and depth, containing numerous technical reports, policy briefs, and international papers. Equally compelling are the sections devoted to the organization's ongoing projects, such as Tech.21, which is a hands-on dissemination system for the implementation and enhancement of high quality IT applications in adult education. Additionally, the Web site is frequently updated, and new developments in the field of adult literacy are prominently posted on the site's homepage. For anyone working in the field of adult literacy, this site will most likely prove to be an indispensable resource. [KMG]
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Why does the American Constitution Lack Social and Economic Guarantees? [.pdf]
http://www.law.uchicago.edu/academics/publiclaw/resources/36.crs.constitution.pdf
Released in January 2003, this working paper from the University of Chicago's Public Law and Legal Theory Working Paper Series asks the vexing question: "Why does the American Constitution lack social and economic guarantees?" Authored by Professor Cass Sunstein, the 20-page paper explores four possible reasons why this may be the case. As noted by Sunstein, these reasons can be articulated as being either chronological, cultural, institutional, or realist. Divided into seven parts, Sunstein's paper engages each of these potential reasons, along with offering some brief concluding remarks. The realist explanation is perhaps the most provocative aspect of the work, suggesting that the four critical Supreme Court appointments made by President Nixon may have effectively undercut an emerging movement that may have led to the incorporation of such guarantees into the Constitution. [KMG]
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Risk and Protective Factors of Child Delinquency [.pdf]
http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/ojjdp/193409.pdf
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has begun to issue a series of bulletins on child delinquency to provide the public and policy-makers with the latest research dealing with the prevention and reduction of this growing problem. As this first bulletin suggests in its introduction, "Preventing delinquency early in a child's life can pay significant dividends by reducing crime rates and decreasing crime-related expenditures of tax dollars." This particular 16-page bulletin, released in April 2003, deals with the risk and protective factors that are involved in developing effective early intervention and protection programs for juvenile offenders under the age of 13. The report begins with a brief discussion of previous research in the area, and continues on to identify some of the key risk factors that may lead to a young person's involvement with illegal and violent activities. As the report concludes, the authors note that there is no single risk factor that may indicate that a juvenile will develop a tendency towards these behaviors, but that early intervention programs have demonstrated some measure of success. [KMG]
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Internet Sacred Text Archive
http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm
The world's philosophical and religious traditions have found a fine home at the Internet Sacred Text Archive, which, as the homepage notes, is "a quiet place in cyberspace devoted to religious tolerance and scholarship." Working together with a number of colleagues and volunteers, JB Hare has compiled this vast archive of sacred and philosophical texts from a number of public-domain sources and placed them on the site. What makes the site so intriguing is that Hare has placed detailed information about the sources and standards that have been deployed for each separate project, which will be of great interest to scholars. While the entire site can be searched, there is much to be learned by looking through the topics listed on the main page, which range from Atlantis to Zoroastrianism. Each separate topic contains a number of accurately transcribed (and some times, translated) primary and secondary documents, such as first-hand collections of oral traditions. For persons looking for their own copy of the material contained on the site, a CD-ROM is available for purchase as well. [KMG]
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ReefBase: A Global Information System on Coral Reefs
http://www.reefbase.org/
ReefBase, a comprehensive Web portal for information on coral reefs, is presented by the World Fish Center based in Malaysia. Intended for use by reef managers, scientists, and the general public, ReefBase aims to "facilitate better understanding of the interdependence between humans and coral reefs, in order to benefit management and conservation efforts of these important resources." ReefBase provides information on coastal and marine resources, coral reef threats, resource management practices, maps and photos, references, and more. Users can quickly search for information organized by country or territory using a convenient dropdown menu. ReefBase is frequently updated; one recent addition is a status report for coral reefs of the southwestern Indian Ocean. This site is also reviewed in the May 2, 2003 NSDL Life Sciences Report. [RS]
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Internet Geography
http://www.internetgeography.co.uk/
Created by teacher Anthony Bennett, the Internet Geography Web site seeks to be a center for shared geographical resources and knowledge. A wide range of information and teaching tools can be found here, including links to original works that describe general physical, environmental, human, and economic geography subjects. Special sections of the site are geared specifically for students and teachers; the site provides them with homework help and lessons for teaching geography. Additions are regularly made to the site, making repeated visits necessary and fruitful. This site is also reviewed in the May 2, 2003 NSDL Physical Science Report. [JAB]
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