Research and Education
Founded in 2003, the H-Peace electronic network seeks "to broaden understanding about historical and contemporary peace, justice, and disarmament concerns." As part of the larger H-Net network, H-Peace, also affiliated with the Peace History Society, is a most welcome addition. As with other lists and networks within H-Net, visitors can view reviews of books within the field, peruse past discussion logs, investigate high-quality bibliographies, and even browse syllabi submitted by H-Peace members. Visitors wishing to get a basic idea of the discussions offered online can look through the "Recent Messages" area on the homepage. Finally, the site also contains direct links to related lists, such as H-1960s, H-Democracy, H-Genocide, and H-War. [KMG]
http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/rp2007/rp07-064.pdf
The future of Europe is a subject that has intrigued scholars, policymakers, and politicians since long before the Treaty of Westphalia, and this working paper is an interesting reflection on that subject. Released in July 2007, the paper was authored by Vaughne Miller on behalf of the British Parliament's House of Commons. Miller's work takes a critical look at the failure of the European Union (EU) to effectively ratify the 2004 "Treaty Establishing a Constitution For Europe". The report begins with a brief summary, and then goes on to discuss the viewpoints offered by different EU institutions, member states, and the general public. It's definitely worth a look, as it offers both incisive analysis and commentary on the political economy of the EU. [KMG]
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/press/grasscatcher.htm
In some circles, the mere mention of the activities of state legislative bodies may cause people to leave the room. However, even those persons may be converted by the uniformly high quality of this site, which is provided and frequently updated by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Working with a number of partners, the GrassCatcher site brings together news articles and relevant documents on timely topics that include criminal justice, education, energy, the environment, and social policy. Visitors can scroll through some of the recently posted news stories and links, or click on an interactive map of the United States to find out what is going on in various state legislatures. Users can also make their way through the GrassCatcher archive, which features stories that made their way onto the site earlier in the week. Of course, those who are drawn in by these features will want to sign up for their RSS feed and maybe even take in the NCSL podcast. [KMG]
http://www.urban.org/publications/411530.html
A number of institutes and organizations continue to investigate the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and just as many groups are offering follow-up analyses of the situation on the ground in and around New Orleans. One such organization is the Urban Institute, and three of their researchers recently released this compelling 15-page review of the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the criminal justice system of New Orleans. Authored by Caterina Gouvis Roman, Seri Irazola, and Jenny Osborne, the report draws on interviews with criminal justice stakeholders living and working in greater New Orleans. The authors examine the functioning of the criminal justice system before and after the hurricane and the report concludes with a number of policy considerations and how other jurisdictions might learn from the experiences of those persons in New Orleans. [KMG]
The process of designing a bicycle helmet can quite taxing, but this helpful and fun instructional activity offered by the TeachEngineering website makes it all a bit more accessible for both instructors and students. The site begins by offering up a summary of the project's goals and its connections to the field and practice of engineering. After that, it dives right into the learning objective and the list of materials that will be required to complete this project. Additionally, the site includes a set of bicycle helmet design slides, along with several worksheets. [KMG]
http://mathdl.maa.org/mathDL/4/?pa=content&sa=viewDocument&nodeId=1574
Crafting new instructional aids for math courses can be difficult, but this helpful new article from Markus Hohenwarter and Judith Preiner will bring much joy to the hearts of mathematics teachers everywhere. This particular article presents information on creating new interactive materials (or "mathlets") with the use of various open source tools. The article includes sections on creating mathlets for discussing tangents to a circle, slope functions, and even offers up some suggestions for creating dynamic worksheets. The piece also describes how to crate interactive exercises with JavaScript and it concludes with a set of additional reference materials and resources. [KMG]
http://interactive2.usgs.gov/learningweb/teachers/geoage.htm
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has created a number of instructional materials for teachers as part of its Learning Web site, and this particular lesson plan is one that can be used in a number of different settings. The activity and lesson are designed for use by grades 7-12, but these materials could also be used with ease in introductory geology courses at the college level. This set of resources includes a background essay on the use of radioactive decay to determine geologic age, and continues on to provide detailed information on a classroom activity that is both engaging and informative. The materials are rounded out by a set of questions that can be used to guide future discussions. [KMG]
http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/education/education.shtml
Exploring the world of the human genome project can be quite an undertaking for students new to the subject. Fortunately, the U.S Human Genome Project website contains a veritable cornucopia of accessible and age-appropriate educational materials for use in the classroom. First-time visitors may wish to start on the left-hand side of the page, which includes a FAQ area, a glossary, and a basic overview of genetics, appropriately titled "Genetics 101". After that, visitors may wish to look through the primary resources, which are organized into sections that include "Posters", "Presentations", "Online Educational Modules", and "Downloadable Teaching Aids". There are over several hundred resources contained within the site, and visitors can also make use of the search engine embedded on the homepage to look for specific resources. [KMG]
