Children's Rights: International and National Laws and Practices [pdf]
http://www.loc.gov/law/help/child-rights/index.php
In the 20th century, the children's rights movement came into full flower as both the League of Nations and later the United Nations declared that children need safeguards and protections separate from those of adults. This
authoritative collection created by The Law Library of Congress provides access to the various laws and policies that help protect children in sixteen nations, including Israel, Japan, Mexico, and Russia. For each nation, visitors can read the domestic laws and policies that affect child health and social welfare, education and special needs, child labor and exploitation, and juvenile justice. It's a good idea to start off by reading the introduction by Dr. Rubens Medina before diving into these materials. Dr. Medina offers a nice overview of the development of children's legal rights, and after reading this essay, visitors should click on the "Country Reports" area to learn about the specifics of children's rights and safeguards in different countries around the world.
Enhancing Education
http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/enhanced/
Educators who are interested in incorporating new technologies into their classroom experience often wonder where to start. They may want to start by visiting the Enhancing Education site, which is maintained by staff members at the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning at Columbia University. The site is organized a bit like a weblog, as there are different posts organized into subjects that include "Noted", "Solutions", and "Primers". The "Noted" postings highlight interesting technologies that may be of interest to educators, and the "Solutions" entries are composed of a quick "how-to" that addresses a broad range of technologies and approaches to classroom learning. Finally, the "Primers" posts cover the basic elements of a compelling new technology or idea, including incorporating a weblog into the class or peer editing. Visitors can also view the top ten tags on the site, or take a look at the most recent posts.
Neighborhood Effects on Crime and Youth Violence: The Role of Business Improvement Districts in Los Angeles [pdf]
http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/2009/RAND_TR622.pdf
Business improvement districts (BIDs) are a tool used by concerned members of the business community and politicians to enhance a commercial retail area's economic fortunes. As it turns out, they may also improve the social
environment of their neighborhoods as well. Published in 2009, this study commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was completed by the RAND Corporation. Throughout its 139-pages the study takes a critical
look at how these BIDs have the potential "to reduce a youth's risk to neighborhood violence" and generally improve the social environment. The study was based on research performed in Los Angeles and the report itself is divided into six chapters. The study notes that the activities of BIDs can help increase informal social control, reducing visible signs of disorder and blight, and provide enriched employment opportunities.
Mapping the African American Past
http://maap.columbia.edu/
The Mapping the African American Past (MAAP) project, produced by a team of researchers and specialists at Columbia University, offers a marriage of African American history and geography in New York City. The project was funded by JPMorganChase, and it allows users to navigate through sites of importance to the African American community throughout the city's past. New visitors may wish to start by watching the short film, "Introduction to MAAP", and then move on over to the "Place in Focus" feature. Here they can learn about places like Five Points, the Abyssinian Baptist Church, and the home of David Ruggles. They can also use an interactive map to toggle through places associated with certain time periods, such as the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Additionally, the site also contains lesson plans that address topics that include African American community and culture and "Building New York". The site is rounded out by a series of podcasts which cover all 52 locations featured on the MAAP website.
Copyright Internet Scout, 1994-2009. Internet Scout (http://scout.wisc.edu/), located in the Computer Sciences Department of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides information about the Internet to the U.S. research and education community under a grant from the National Science Foundation, number NCR-9712163. The government has certain rights in this material. Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of the entire Scout Report provided this paragraph, including the copyright notice, are preserved on all copies.
