·http://www.demos.co.uk/av

The Demos group in Britain conducts high-quality public policy research on a wide range of topics, including urban design, social assistance policies, and the housing market. Like many other think tanks, the group also produces a wide range of presentations on its work. This section of the site presents full-length programs like "Multi-Dimensional Poverty," "The Future of Open Data," and "How Labour Wins Again." One of the programs that should not be missed is the conversation on "It's Who You Know: The Power of Social Networks." It's a response by Richard Horton of The Lancet to another speech on social networks and it's quite insightful. All told, there are about three dozen programs in the Video section, while the Audio area contains podcasts and speeches dating back to 2006. Two recommended programs are "The Power Gap" (on power in contemporary societies) and a conversation with Evgeny Morozov on the relationship between politics and the Internet. [KMG]

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·http://www.bioedonline.org/lessons-and-more/resource-collections/micromatters-microbiology/

The BioEdOnline website provides those persons with a penchant for biology and medicine access to dozens of lesson plans, videos, and other activities. This particular set of materials is part of the thematic Resource Collections area, and it includes two curricular units from the MicroMatters project. The units are "The Science of Microbes" and "The Science of HIV/AIDS." The resources were funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and they offer complete teacher guides, digital slides, video presentations, and other content. Visitors can scroll down to access each individual lesson and other piece of content, or search through the materials for specific items. Additionally, the Nature News Stories area contains current biology and life science news from Nature News, such as "How Microbes Train Our Immune System," and "Friendly Bacteria Fight the Flu." [KMG]

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·http://ocw.nd.edu/political-science/international-development

The very title of this OpenCourseWare site asks a question that has bedeviled non-governmental organizations for decades: what works in development? Created by Professor Steve Relfenberg of the University of Notre Dame, this course explores diverse approaches to thinking about international development and processes that bring about individual and societal change. As with many OpenCourseWare offerings, visitor can ramble through the syllabus, readings, course schedule, lectures, discussions, and essay assignments. The Lectures area is worth a look, as it contains PowerPoint slides for discussions on Studying Haiti, Taking Ideas to Scale, and The Complex Worlds of Foreign Aid. The Discussion area contains video resources that complement each lecture. Finally, users can look over the Essay Assignments area and the very helpful Additional Resources section, which features links to the Poverty Action Lab at MIT and the United Nations Development Project. [KMG]

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·http://www.metlink.org/

MetLink is a public resource created by the Royal Meteorological Society to assist educators seeking to edify their students about meteorology and climatology. The well-designed website has six primary sections, including Observations and Data, Teachers, and Resource of the Week. This last area is a fine place to start, as it brings together a range of well-considered resources that might include anything from a cloud identification key to a set of interactive graphics demonstrating the formation of thunderstorms. In the Observations and Data area, visitors can learn about weather stations in Britain, meteorology fieldwork, and over a dozen different weather experiments. The Teachers area contains links to curricular materials, including guides for in-class demonstrations, quizzes, and fact sheets. Finally, visitors can also sign up to receive email updates about the work of the Royal Meteorological Society. [KMG]

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·http://www.smith.edu/libraries/libs/ssc/prh/prh-intro.html

Funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Population and Reproductive Health Oral History Project includes accounts of individuals throughout the world who have made valued contributions to the field. The materials here are part of the Women's History Archives at Smith College and the series includes the voices and perspectives of advocates, communication specialists, lawyers, managers, physicians, researchers, and social workers from the period 1965 to 2005. First-time visitors should read the Project History essay and then take a closer look at the several dozen interviews offered here. Those profiled here include the "mother of Asian demography," Mercedes Concepcion, and Lee Minto, the president of Planned Parenthood of Seattle-King County from 1967 to 1993. Other people interviewed here include Daniel E. Pellegrom, Nafis Sadik, and Sara Seims. It's a wonderful archive for persons interested in public health, women's studies, and a range of other crucial areas of academic study. [KMG]

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·http://www.uli.org/wp-content/uploads/ULI-Documents/CoastalRegions.pdf

What's next for large cities in coastal regions? It's a complicated question and one that has consumed the energies and passions of great minds over the past few years. The Urban Land Institute (ULI) has been intently interested in the subject and this report from May 2013 takes a close look at what might be next. The ULI began its work by convening a forum in January 2013, bringing together market stakeholders "to explore the implications of new environmental risks in coastal regions on real estate practices and markets." The report is 37 pages long and contains the sections "Informing Markets with Dynamic Information," "Aligning Stakeholders," and "The Rise of Modeling and Future Risk Scenarios." There are also a number of Forum Panel Summaries, which digest information from the panel into brief synopses. It's a timely work and one that should be shared with people interested in the future of coastal areas. [KMG]

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·http://library.columbia.edu/locations/science-library.html

Columbia University has an impressive library dedicated to science and engineering, and some of its key resources are available to the general public via this impressive website. First-time visitors should start by looking at the site's chatty and informative blog, which includes links profiling publicly available resources in fields that include geology, mathematics, and physics. After this, visitors should click over to the Resources by Discipline area. Here they can look through a detailed thematic list of online resources, websites, recently added electronic books, and other materials. The site is rounded out by a collection of links to information about workshops, specialized consultations, and submitting questions via email and other means. [KMG]

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·http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=PEOPLES_GARDEN

The People's Garden was started in 2009 in order to challenge USDA employees to create gardens at USDA facilities. It's a rather neat idea; as the website notes, "the simple act of planting a garden can help unite neighborhoods in a common effort and inspire locally-led solutions to challenges facing our country." On the site, visitors can learn about the various gardens at USDA sites, check out recipes, and find a myriad of gardening resources. The Latest Blogs area contains links to recent updates from member gardens on subjects that include cotton cultivation, key plant pollinators, and success stories from around the United States. Visitors can use the Find a garden in your area option to find their own local garden. Finally, users will want to read the story of the Abraham Lincoln tomato, which is the heirloom variety created by the W. H. Buckbee seed company of Rockford, Illinois. [KMG]

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·http://www.phillipscollection.org/multimedia/

The Phillips Collection, like many other museums, is now providing a page on its website where a wide variety of multimedia - sound, moving images, virtual visits - has been gathered for easy access. For example, visitors can view six short videos that accompany the current exhibition, Georges Braque and the Cubist Still Life. The Collection's Intersections series also provides multimedia, such as "One Day, After the Rain," by Sandra Cinto, the artist's introduction to a set of drawings on canvas inspired by Arthur Dove's landscapes in the Phillips permanent collection, installed on the walls of the museum café. Also in the multimedia area, find links to download the Phillips Collection app for smartphones, and recorded lectures in iTunesU. [DS]

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·http://www.historicnewengland.org/

In 1910, William Sumner Appleton founded the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. Today, the organization is known as Historic New England and it operates a range of historic properties throughout the region. The homepage offers nine primary sections, including Events and Programs, Publications, Preservation, and Collections, Archives, and Exhibitions. The first area is a great place to learn about the many lectures, architectural seminars, and preservation information sessions Historic New England sponsors. The Preservation area contains some fine white papers on different aspects of preservation, along with preservation plans for various holdings. It's worth noting that the white papers cover over a dozen topics, including site drainage, energy efficiency, and mechanical systems. The Publications area is well worth a look, as it contains access to eighty issues of "Old-Time New England Journal," which features articles on collections and historic properties in the region. Finally, the Collections, Archives, and Exhibitions area contains wonderful exhibits such as Wallpaper at Historic New England and 100 Years of Aviation at Plum Island. [KMG]

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·http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/image/image-idx?c=hmcc

The well-known firm of Herman Miller began manufacturing residential furniture in 1923. Based in Zeeland, Michigan, the company has created everything from the marshmallow sofa to the molded plywood chair. Also, it has played host to designers like Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson. This rather nice digital collection from The Henry Ford Museum brings together over 366 images of various works created over the past eight decades. The materials are drawn from the Herman Miller Consortium, which was established in 1988 to bring together significant items from the company's corporate archives. Visitors can use the Browse all media link to look around at their leisure. It's a great way to learn about many key innovators in American furniture design throughout much of the 20th century. The materials here will no doubt inspire future generations of like-minded individuals. [KMG]

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·http://artnc.org/

What is a concept map? On this wonderful website presented by the North Carolina Museum of Art, it's a way to connect pieces of art and broader ideas. The site was designed for educators, students, and anyone interested in looking at and learning from art. After a quick orientation via the About area, visitors can explore works of art that are teachable across disciplines and grade levels. The site contains dozens of lesson plans that can help teachers integrate art into the classroom curriculum. Users shouldn't miss the Big Picture Concepts section, which contains information about abstract concepts like communication, collaboration, and change. The Works of Art area contains the basic works which can be used to create a concept map, all of which are searchable by artist, region, medium, or concept. Finally, the Lessons area is the place to go for creative explorations such as Images of Immigration, Defining Images of African American Slavery, and Painting versus Photography. [KMG]

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·http://www.knightfoundation.org/

Created by John S. Knight, the Knight Foundation "supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities, and foster the arts." On the Foundation's homepage, visitors can learn about grant activities via the What We Fund area. A good place to start here is the Featured Funding Initiatives, which profile the Community Foundations Program, the Knight Arts Challenge, and other ongoing projects. The projects are quite exciting, as they are focused on a broad range of participatory media ventures, arts outreach initiatives, and like-minded activities. The What We're Learning area is perhaps the most compelling one for most visitors as it contains a range of publications that report on the ingredients of successful new media projects, best practices for addressing the digital divide, and the possible uses of mobile applications designed to increase civic engagement in marginalized communities. [KMG]

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·http://digarch.lib.mtu.edu/

Copper production has gone on around Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula for over 3,000 years. Native Americans first engaged in the practice these many millennia ago, and by the 1840s, there were mineral rushes going on in the area. Many thousands of people came in search of copper, and by 1985, over 14 billion pounds of copper were produced from the region. This remarkable digital collection crafted by Michigan Technological University brings together many historical photographs that document the district. All told, there are over 3,500 items here, and visitors can search the holdings by keyword or more detailed parameters. Visitors also have the option of creating their own personal web album with items of interest to them. The Subject Browse tab is a good way to delve into the collection, as visitors can look over anything from Accidents to Woody Plants. This collection illuminates the region and the ways in which the copper industry transformed this rural and bucolic environment. [KMG]

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·http://raai.library.yale.edu/

One can explore over 5,000 pictures of African art published before 1921 as part of the James J. Ross Archive of African Images (RAAI). This intoxicating tonic of wonderful items is the result of an eight year collaboration between Ross and Susan Vogel, the project's co-directors, as well as other research specialists. First-time visitors should read over the History section, which offers a narrative essay by Ross on his motivations and inspirations for creating such an archive. The archive aspires to include all the African art in books, periodicals, catalogues, newspapers, and other publications appearing in 1920 and earlier. This is an ambitious goal; visitors can check the Archive's progress via the Search link. One neat feature here is that visitors can use the Compare Images option to look at images side-by-side. Additionally, visitors can browse by author and also perform a complete publication search. [KMG]

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·http://usmayors.org/bestpractices/

On a regular basis, the U.S. Conference of Mayors works to release new best practice profiles which look at what different American cities are doing to improve various aspects of life. This corner of the Conference's site brings all of these documents together in one place for urban policy types and those people who care about the future of cities. Many of these profiles are written by city mayors, and some of the more recent entries include vignettes on single stream recycling, public school outreach efforts, and the benefits of long-term financial planning. The profiles are joined by dozens of other documents dating back to 1999, including "Community Development Block Grant Success Stories" and several timely reports on community policing. It's a solid resource all around and one that is worth keeping tabs on for future consideration. [KMG]

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·https://www.mystudylife.com/

Some young scholars may ask the question: "What time do I need to be at general chemistry?" or "When does my review group meet?" Keeping track of such matters is a snap with My Study Life, a free online planner. Visitors can color-code each activity for easy visual recognition and insert various tasks that might be due on any given day. Unlike more conventional calendars, this one integrates classes, tasks, and exams to give students and teachers a full picture of what remains to be done. This program is available for Chrome, Windows 8, Windows Phone, and Android, and will soon be available for iOS. [KMG]

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·http://im.simkl.com/

In an increasingly connected world, it's often necessary to conduct interviews, customer support, and more over Skype. Simkl is a good way to keep track of conversations users need to reference later. The conversations can be stored on any computer or to the cloud. Additionally, visitors can use the same application to record IM conversations. The program is available in over a dozen languages and it is compatible with all operating systems. [KMG]

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Senators urge scrutiny of American Airlines and US Airways merger
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-senators-inquiry-american-us-airways-merger-20130618,0,7109590.story

American and US Airways name merged airline leadership
http://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2013/06/10/american-airlines-us-airways-leadership-merger/2407605/

How A Merger Could Affect Congress' Favorite Airport
http://www.npr.org/2013/06/19/191106900/how-a-merger-could-affect-congress-favorite-airport

New American Arriving
http://newamericanarriving.com/

CNN Money: Airline mergers and bankruptcies
http://money.cnn.com/infographic/news/companies/airline-merger/

American Airlines: Company History
http://www.aa.com/i18n/amrcorp/newsroom/company-history.jsp

Airline mergers are nothing new: in the past decade, a number of airlines (such as Delta and Northwest) have combined to create larger entities serving even more destinations and customers. However, one planned merger is garnering a great deal of attention and some members of Congress are urging President Obama's administration to give close consideration to this deal. American Airlines and US Airways are currently hoping to complete their merger by September, effectively creating the United States' biggest airline in terms of total passengers served. The concern is that the proposed merger might price out consumers seeking more reasonable fares and additional airline choices. Interestingly enough, a number of senators are concerned about how this might change the available airline options at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. The thought is that this merger would reduce the options for both lawmakers and visitors to the nation's capital over the long-term. [KMG]

The first link will take visitors to an article from the Los Angeles Times about this planned merger. The second link will lead users to a piece from USA Today about how the company will be reorganized in terms of top-level leadership once the merger of the two airlines is complete. The third link will take interested parties to an NPR news story from this Wednesday about how this merger will affect the flight options at Reagan National Airport. The fourth link leads to the official homepage of the merger, complete with materials on how various cities will be affected, along with an FAQ area for employees, customers, and communities. The fifth link leads to a great infographic from CNN Money that shows the mergers throughout the airline industry over the past few years. The last and final link leads to the official corporate history of American Airlines.