Research and Education
http://www.openarchitecturenetwork.org/
The Open Architecture Network site starts things off with a bold and passionate statement: “Le Corbusier had it all wrong”. It’s definitely a good way to get visitors’ attention upon entering the site. The Network is an online, open source community which seeks to improve living conditions through innovative and sustainable design. On the site, visitors can share their design ideas and plans, review and comment on posted designs, and also collaborate with each other. Visitors will no doubt get exited about the “Projects” section, which is both intellectually stimulating and well-designed. Visitors can search the projects by status, region, location, or theme, or they can also perform a keyword search as well. There are some wonderful finds here, including a childcare school in Sri Lanka, a day laborer shelter, and a “Doc-in-a-Box”, which is meant to serve as a mobile health care center. [KMG]
http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Columns.html
Professor Richard M. Felder has been involved in teaching engineering for over thirty years, and his column has appeared in the journal, Chemical Engineering, since 1988. Professor Felder retired several years ago, but he has made a point of continuing with his rather timely and useful updates about the world of teaching in the college classroom. Visitors to this site can scan through some of his pieces, which cover everything from the importance of active learning to creating effective formats for small-group in-class exercises. Visitors can scroll through the site at their leisure, and for first-time visitors, the columns “The Way to Bet” and “Death By PowerPoint” are a good entry points into this nice collection. [KMG]
http://coastalmanagement.noaa.gov/
In light of a number of recent events, there is increased concern about the management of America’s coastal and ocean resources. It is a pressing issue for economic reasons, along with the simple fact that over fifty percent of the U.S. population lives close to the coastlines of two oceans and the Great Lakes. Persons interested in these matters will appreciate the NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management site, which features newsletters, information about their strategic plans, and copious amounts of material on their initiatives, which include dock management and community development partnerships. A basic overview of the issues facing coastal regions can be found in the “Coastal Issues” section of the site which contains brief summaries on marine debris, coastal hazards, water quality, and aquaculture. The site is rounded out by a “My state” section. Here, visitors can utilize a clickable map of the U.S. to learn about coastal management activities underway in their state. [KMG]
The University of Kansas has a number of fine academic programs, and they also provide writing support for students who might be having trouble getting started with their own assignments or term papers. While visitors may not be able to make the trek on over to Lawrence, they can certainly hop online here to take advantage of some of their writing tutorials and guide sheets. Most visitors will probably want to start at the “Students” section, where they can then click on sections specifically designed for undergraduates or graduate students. Some of these materials have been created specifically by the professionals at KU’s Writing Center, including some very helpful guides to crafting an effective thesis statement and working on pre-writing strategies. Also, the “Writing Guides” section includes a sample writing gallery and an assignment planner. For a bit of fun, users can also check out their online photo gallery and also watch their short film, “A Week in the Life of the KU Writing Center”. [KMG]
http://path.upmc.edu/cases/case17.html
Pathology is a complex field, and persons who might be new to the field might appreciate a bit of assistance. Medical educators might also need a hand as they begin to teach others in the field, and this particular case study offered by the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Pathology will be most useful in that regard. In this case, users will be exposed to slides, explanations, and relevant illustrations of a patient who was diagnosed with hepatitis C. Additionally, visitors can read descriptions of each microscope slide and look over the final diagnosis report. [KMG]
Based in San Francisco, SustainLane Government was started in 2004. Their primary goal is to provide an online database of best practices in sustainability and environmental management. Currently, the database includes over 100 best practice documents which include coverage of land use activities, waste management practices, and green building and development. Visitors can browse through these documents at their leisure and they will also want to look at SustainLane’s “City Sustainable Rankings”, which are available on the homepage. Another nice feature of the site’s homepage is the “Recent Uploads” area, which includes recently uploaded documents that deal with local action plans for climate change, plastic bag reduction ordinance, and so on. Finally, visitors should also look over the “Articles” section, as it contains pieces such as “Top Ten Alternative Fueled City Fleets” and “Top US Cities for Cleantech Incubation Clusters”. [KMG]
http://mathdl.maa.org/mathDL/3/?pa=content&sa=viewDocument&nodeId=1555
Unions, intersections, and differences: This can all be quite confusing to students trying to enter the potentially tricky world of Venn Diagrams. Fortunately, Alfredo Jiminez of Pennsylvania State University, Hazleton has created this handy Flash-enabled teaching application designed to provide students with an engaging way to learn about this subject. The project is party of the Digital Classroom Resources at the MAA Mathematical Sciences Digital Library, and visitors will find this particular learning activity quite easy to use. The interactive tool contains seven sections, including those dealing with the principles of union and intersection, distributive properties, and De Morgan’s laws. Within each section, visitors can try their hand with a series of short questions and then take advantage of some review materials and, of course, a few basic tests. [KMG]
Based at the University of Tehran, the International Journal of Environmental Research (IJER) is “concerned with all aspects of environment.” On the journal’s homepage, visitors will also learn that some of the specific fields covered within the publication include natural disasters, environmental design, and risk assessment and management. The journal was started in early 2007, and the executive manager is Professor Karbassi. Currently, there are three complete issues of the journal available online, and visitors can also read about the journal’s editorial board. Interested parties may also wish to read up on how they can submit their own pieces of scholarly work for consideration. [KMG]
