Archive for the ‘New Websites and Resources’ Category
Saturday, September 12th, 2009
USDA and HHS Unveil New Food Safety Consumer Web Site
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the co-chairs of the Obama Administration’s Food Safety Working Group, unveiled a new consumer Web site today at www.foodsafety.gov/. The site is designed to help consumers and families get all the latest information on food safety and food recalls in one convenient place.
The new site features information from all the agencies across the federal government that deal with critical food and food safety information, including preventive tips about how to handle food safely, alerts on life-saving food recalls, and the latest news from the key agencies.
www.foodsafety.gov provides consumers with one easy place to sign up to receive email and RSS alerts on recalled or potentially unsafe food, as well as get information from the top scientific experts across the government on food safety. Later phases of the site to be launched will include recall feeds for texting and mobile phones. The site will also feature a foodsafety.gov widget that the public and the media are encouraged to download and promote on their Web sites and social networking sites. The widget will instantly update viewers with the latest food safety recalls and will be a valuable public health and safety tool.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Posted in Government Documents and Political Information, New Websites and Resources, Source File | No Comments »
Saturday, September 5th, 2009
NCSL launches online resource with latest updates on emergency plans
Most state health officials are planning for when—not if—a swine flu outbreak occurs.
As the federal government develops a national strategy to address the H1N1 virus for the fall and winter flu seasons, the National Conference of State Legislatures has developed a comprehensive webpage with resources for states. Since states are first responders to public health emergencies, state legislators and legislative staff now have a wealth of valuable information in one location.
“These online resources will help state legislators and legislative staff stay abreast of the federal and state responses to this public health alert,” said William T. Pound, executive director of the National Conference of State Legislatures. “Because there are many unknowns, scientists are working diligently to understand this emerging virus and its potential effect on the public’s health. As more detailed information becomes available, NCSL will provide relevant updates.”
Source: National Conference of State Legislatures
Posted in Government Documents and Political Information, New Websites and Resources, Source File | No Comments »
Sunday, August 30th, 2009
Cutting-edge web tool compiles latest climate data to let users see impacts at local and global levels
A new tool that for the first time allows people to easily see how climate change will directly impact their states shows America’s heartland will suffer the greatest jump in temperatures over the next century – with some states potentially heating up more than 10 degrees F, according to an analysis by The Nature Conservancy.
The state-by-state, country-by-country temperature projections are part of a new tool called Climate Wizard that allows people to use an interactive map to explore past and projected climate change data on their computers. With Climate Wizard, users can zoom in on any location to quickly see how temperatures and precipitation may change by month, season or year under different emission scenarios.
Source: Nature Conservancy
Posted in New Websites and Resources, Science, Source File | No Comments »
Thursday, August 27th, 2009
USDA Announces New Global Agricultural Trade System Database
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) recently launched an enhanced U.S. foreign agricultural trade searchable database called the Global Agricultural Trade System (GATS).
…
The GATS database, which replaces the current U.S. trade data system, will provide users with U.S. agricultural data not previously available from FAS, including U.S. Customs District trade data, monthly and annual trade data going back to 1967, and U.S. state export data. Users will also be able to use GATS to produce charts and graphs.
GATS will help exporters and government officials keep up with fluctuations in U.S. agricultural trade. This information can help formulate marketing and negotiating objectives and strategies. Policy makers, program administrators, farmers, exporters, food aid organizations and others will be able to use this information to plan activities and make decisions.
+ Direct to database
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Posted in Business and Economics, New Websites and Resources, Source File | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009
Carnegie Mellon researchers develop tool to rank death rates
Have you ever wondered what the chances are that you may die in the next year? Would it be from illness or an accident? Is it something you can control? Or is it completely out of your hands?
A new Web site, www.DeathRiskRankings.com, developed by researchers and students at Carnegie Mellon University, allows users to query publicly available data from the United States and Europe, and compare mortality risks by gender, age, cause of death and geographic region. The Web site not only gives the risk of dying within the next year, but it also ranks the probable causes and allows for quick side-by-side comparison between groups.
Suppose you wanted to know who is more likely to die next year from breast cancer, a 54-year-old Pennsylvania woman or her counterpart in the United Kingdom.
“This is the only place to look,” said Paul Fischbeck, site developer and professor of social and decision sciences and engineering and public policy (EPP) at Carnegie Mellon. “It turns out that the British woman has a 33 percent higher risk of breast cancer death. But for lung/throat cancer, the results are almost reversed, and the Pennsylvania woman has a 29 percent higher risk.”
“Most Americans don’t have a particularly good understanding of their own mortality risks, let alone ranking of their relevant risks,” said David Gerard, a former EPP professor at Carnegie Mellon who is now an associate professor of economics at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis.
The researchers found that beyond infancy, the risk of dying increases annually at an exponential rate. A 20-year-old U.S. woman has a 1 in 2,000 (or 0.05 percent) chance of dying in the next year. By age 40, the risk is three times greater; by age 60, it is 16 times greater; and by age 80, it is 100 times greater (around 1 in 20 or 5 percent). “The risks are higher, but still not that bad,” Gerard said. “At 80, the average U.S. woman still has a 95 percent chance of making it to her 81st birthday.”
Source: Carnegie Mellon University (via EurekAlert)
Hat tip: PW
Posted in New Websites and Resources, Science, Software and Web-Based Applications, Source File, Statistics | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009
The Office of National AIDS Policy’s new site
I wanted to take a minute today to introduce you to the new White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) webpage. We hope you will visit here often for updates on our progress in developing a National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) and in helping the President to advance his HIV-related policy agenda. You can also use this page to provide feedback regarding the NHAS and other HIV/AIDS issues.
From this page, you can use the tabs to navigate to other pages to learn more about the ONAP team, our plans for developing the NHAS, how to submit comments and public input for the NHAS, and how to contact us.
Source: White House Blog
Posted in Government Documents and Political Information, New Websites and Resources, Source File | No Comments »
Monday, August 24th, 2009
AAAS Debuts New Voting Research Database to Aid Study and Improvement of Elections
Paper trails and exit polls, vote suppression and hanging chads—problems in the U.S. system of choosing political leaders have become high-profile concerns in recent years, casting election results in doubt and eroding public confidence. Now AAAS is launching an extensive database of voting-related research to aid researchers, election administrators, journalists, and others interested in the workings of voting process.
The ambitious project—the first of its kind in the United States—will permit fast, free access to research focused on a broad range of issues, from absentee voting to polling places and voting technology. The database currently has about 500 entries, most of them published since 2000, and the collection will grow considerably as more research is added.
+ Research Database on the U.S. Voting System and Voting Technology
Source: American Association for the Advancement of Science
Posted in Databases, Directories, and Guides, Government Documents and Political Information, New Websites and Resources, Source File | No Comments »
Monday, August 24th, 2009
The new blog is titled: Pushing the Envelope.
From the Web Site:
It provides a forum to discuss different aspects of the Postal Service and how it can be improved.
See Also: Other U.S. Government Blogs
Source: USA.gov
Posted in Business and Economics, Government Documents and Political Information, New Websites and Resources, Resources | No Comments »
Monday, August 24th, 2009
From the Announcement:
In the late 1990’s, professor Jan Jennings struggled to talk with her interior design students about design practices that had been used throughout history and across cultures, such as a dramatic staircase in the lobby of a luxury hotel, two similar chairs situated side-by-side in a large space, or columns in a restaurant ornamented by decorative means. For decades—even centuries, in some cases—these reiterative examples have gone unnamed and undocumented.
Today, Jennings, a professor in Design and Environmental Analysis, leads a multidisciplinary research team of faculty from the Colleges of Human Ecology, Arts and Sciences, and Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University in building a new knowledge base for the creative dimension of design. The project is the first of its kind to assemble contemporary design theory in a searchable, online database that includes imagery from real buildings.
Access the Intypes Database
Source: Cornell University
Posted in Databases, Directories, and Guides, New Websites and Resources, Resources | No Comments »
Thursday, August 20th, 2009
Free Press Exposes Astroturf Groups
Today, Free Press launched an online interactive tool to expose phony grassroots groups hired by big phone and cable companies to advance their political agenda. These “astroturf” organizations — many of which also work for the health insurance, energy and tobacco industries — are mobilizing to spread misinformation about Network Neutrality and Internet policies.
Free Press’ new tool — available at www.freepress.net/astroturf and easily posted on any blog or Web site — tracks the huge amounts of money that phone and cable companies spend on lobbyists and campaign contributions; it reveals the contradictory and dishonest claims about Net Neutrality and other issues from top industry executives; and it puts a spotlight on the deceptive activities of groups like FreedomWorks, Americans for Prosperity, NetCompetition and the Heartland Institute.
“The fake grassroots groups are spending major resources to deceive the public and promote agendas of the corporations that sign their paychecks,” said Timothy Karr, campaign director of Free Press. “We need transparency, accountability and honest debate. The crucial policy decisions being made right now about the future of the Internet must be based on independent research, reliable data and facts. The phone and cable companies must stop distorting the issues and hiding behind their astroturf groups, sock puppets and hired shills.”
Source: Free Press
Posted in Fast Facts, Government Documents and Political Information, New Websites and Resources, Source File | No Comments »
Thursday, August 20th, 2009
What the College Rankings Won’t Tell You
How much will it cost? How is it ranked? And how hard is it to get in? Many college guides and rankings answer these questions. But there is one question that none of them even ask: What will students learn?
A new, free website for parents and students, WhatWillTheyLearn.com, does just that.
Launched today by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, WhatWillTheyLearn.com will be featured in a full-page ad in U.S. News & World Report’s 2010 college rankings, which are released tomorrow. The website evaluates colleges and universities based on their general education curricula: the core courses aimed at providing a strong foundation of knowledge.
WhatWillTheyLearn.com assigns each institution a grade from “A” to “F” based on how many of the following seven core subjects it requires: Composition, Mathematics, Science, Economics, Foreign Language, Literature, and American Government or History. Only a handful get A’s.
Note: Includes just 100 colleges and universities.
Source: American Council of Trustees and Alumni
Posted in Databases, Directories, and Guides, Education, Fast Facts, New Websites and Resources, Source File | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
DoD Launches New Web Portal
The Department of Defense today launched a new home page, http://www.Defense.gov , designed to invite participation from the public and make military news and information more accessible. The new Web site will provide quick access to those sites that are most sought by Web site visitors, including DoD social media sites, the Pentagon Channel and DoD news stories.
Prominent on the new home page is a new “We Want to Hear From You” feature that will give users the opportunity to ask questions of Defense Department leaders, vote on policy issues they want explained, and explore frequently asked questions and answers. The new site, http://www.Defense.gov, replaces http://www.DefenseLink.mil as the department’s main Internet entry portal. DefenseLink will remain a news Web site and may be accessed from Defense.gov. Visit us online: http://www.defense.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Defense.
Posted in Government Documents and Political Information, New Websites and Resources, Portals, Source File | No Comments »
Saturday, August 15th, 2009
Consumer Reports “AdWatch” Takes Hard Look at Health Reform TV Ads
Consumer Reports magazine is launching a new blog dedicated to separating the fact from fiction in TV ads about health care reform that are flooding the airwaves during Congress’ August recess.
The Consumer Reports Health blog “Health Reform AdWatch” — now online at http://blogs.consumerreports.org/health — finds that an ad sponsored by health insurers doesn’t tell the full story about patients’ pre-existing conditions. Another TV spot by a strange-bedfellow coalition of industry and patient advocates is found to be “vague” and “simplistic.”
The goal of “AdWatch” is to help people weed through the claims made by these ads, and it directs people to comprehensive, well-researched information about health care issues.
Source: Consumers Union
Posted in Media, New Websites and Resources, Source File | No Comments »
Friday, July 31st, 2009
From the RTKNet.org Web Site:
A new searchable database shows what pesticides are found on different foods, in what amount, and the health effects associated with exposure to each of the chemicals.
Access the Database
See Also: Where Does the Data Come From (Methodology)?
Source: Pesticide Action Network (via RTKNet.org)
Posted in Databases, Directories, and Guides, New Websites and Resources, Resources, Science | No Comments »
Thursday, July 30th, 2009
From the Announcement:
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is introducing a new Web site that will provide a centralized resource for information on near-Earth objects – those asteroids and comets that can approach Earth. The “Asteroid Watch” site also contains links for the interested public to sign up for NASA’s new asteroid widget and Twitter account.
“Most people have a fascination with near-Earth objects,” said Don Yeomans, manager of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program Office at JPL. “And I have to agree with them. I have studied them for over three decades and I find them to be scientifically fascinating, and a few are potentially hazardous to Earth. The goal of our Web site is to provide the public with the most up-to-date and accurate information on these intriguing objects.”
+ Access the NASA/JPL Asteroid Watch Web Site
+ Follow Asteroid Watch on Twitter
An RSS feed and E-Mail Alert (select asteroids) are also available.
+ Download the Asteroid Watch Widget
Source: AScribe
Posted in New Websites and Resources, Resources, Science | No Comments »
Thursday, July 30th, 2009
From the Blog Post:
A complete list of all the species on the planet is, for many biologists and conservationists, the natural history equivalent of the Holy Grail. So the recently-launched EoL (it stands for ‘Encyclopedia of Life’), which aims to create not just a list, but an individual web-page, for every single one of the world’s plant and animal species, is bound to cause a buzz.
[Snip]
Accuracy will be ensured (hopefully, at least) by an expert team of curators, who will weed out any inaccuracies and clarify any confusions. Like Wikipedia, there will be no charge for anyone wishing to access the information, so writers must be willing to share their knowledge with anyone else under a ‘creative commons licence’. Original sources will also be credited where possible.
Source: Environment Blog (The Guardian)
Posted in New Websites and Resources, Reference Tools, Resources, Science, Social Media | No Comments »
Monday, July 27th, 2009
From the Article:
Now, more than 1,500 historic TV commercials from the Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History in the Duke University Special Collections Library are available on iTunes U in a collection called “AdViews,” viewable at library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/adviews.
The first 1,500 digitized television commercials, mostly from the 1950s and 1960s, are part of the Hartman Center’s D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles (DMB&B) advertising agency archive. It includes 12,000 commercials total, some produced as recently as the late 1980s. Duke Libraries plans to make the remaining commercials available by the end of 2009.
Access the AdViews Web Site
You can watch the content online (via iTunes) and/or download to an iPod.
Have Fun!
Sources: MyNC.com, Duke University Libraries
Hat Tip: AMIA Newsbriefs
Posted in Business and Economics, New Websites and Resources, Resources | No Comments »
Monday, July 27th, 2009
From the Article:
Labor Department officials added social media tools to a new version of the DisabilityInfo.gov Web site, which it relaunched today under the new name Disability.gov, according to agency officials.
[Snip]
The social media features added to the Web site are designed to encourage interaction and feedback from visitors to the Web site, according to the Labor Department. Personalized news and online discussions are also available on the Web site. They include Twitter, a blog, social networking related to job searches and Really Simply Syndication feeds.
Access: Disability.gov
Source: FCW
Posted in Government Documents and Political Information, New Websites and Resources, Social Media | No Comments »
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009
From the Database Web Site:
This interactive database allows users to explore public opinion trends in 55 countries on topics ranging from attitudes toward the U.S. to people’s assessments of their own lives to views about globalization, democratization, extremism and other important issues. Data can be searched by question, by topic or by country – and results can be displayed in map, table or chart formats. The findings are from eight surveys conducted by the Pew Global Attitudes Project from 2002-2009 among a total of more than 200,000 respondents.
Access the Complete Database (Free)
Source: Pew Global Attitudes Project
Posted in Databases, Directories, and Guides, New Websites and Resources, Statistics | No Comments »
