4.462 Building Technologies II: Building Structural Systems I (MIT)
This course serves as an introduction to the history, theory, and construction of basic structural systems with an introduction to energy issues in buildings. Emphasis is placed on developing an understanding of basic systematic and elemental behavior; principles of structural behavior and analysis of individual structural elements and strategies for load carrying. The subject introduces fundamental energy topics including thermodynamics, psychrometrics, and comfort, as they relate to building d
An introduction to biological systematics
This unit is concerned with macroevolution – the patterns and processes of evolution above the species level. A crucial consideration in macroevolutionary studies is that of the evolutionary relationships (phylogeny) of the organisms in question. The unit begins with an introduction to the scope of macroevolutionary studies and illustrates methods of reconstructing phylogeny, from both morphological and molecular data.
Neuroeconomics
A pioneer in a “dangerously hot research area,” Drazen Prelec peers into the human brain while it makes decisions. In his corner of the new field of neuroeconomics, Prelec uses a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine to scan minds pondering the pros and cons of purchasing and selling products like
How to Read 1,000,000 Manga Pages: Visualizing Patterns in Games, Comics, Art, Cinema, Animation, TV
In his introduction, moderator Ian Condry advocates utilizing the expertise and innovation of all disciplines in order to best explore new directions in the humanities. He suggests that the challenge of discovery may ultimately be useful as theoretical exploration, which incorporates the transformative power of art as well.
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The Future of Government-Citizen Engagement
As the U.S. moves toward universal broadband access, look for increased government openness, new opportunities for civic engagement, and some dangers along the way, say these panelists.
While Chris Csikszentmihalyi acknowledges the civic potential of broadband, he does not believe it will be a simple matter for geog
Student Remarks
Nicholas Pearce is a proud advocate of programs that help young people from urban areas transition into higher education. He has not only benefited from such programs, but has given back through his
participation as a volunteer, mentor, and speaker. As a high schooljunior, he attended MIT's six-week summer program, Minority Introduction t
The State of Drupal
Dries Buytaert relates a synopsis of his life with Drupal. From its inception during Buytaert's "typical geek" undergraduate days in Antwerp in 1999, to the upcoming release of Drupal 7, Buytaert places a particular emphasis on the community that has been created by the nature of an open source product. Drupal is "softwar
Brazilmax
This website presents thoroughly researched information about Brazil in all the aspects of its life. One particular section describes the different area of Brazil, carefully mixing geographical information with tourist attractions, providing access to maps and also promising a places index at the time of cataloguing. Another section offers a long list of literary guides to the character of the country and its inhabitants. The section 'features' offers detailed information on: art and culture; b
Islam in British stone
Developed by Asian Youth Alliance (AYA), the Islam in British Stone website promotes Britain's most significant Muslim heritage sites and Islamic-influenced buildings, and provides information about the earliest mosques, prayer halls and historically significant Muslim and Islamic heritage sites in Britain. The 'Heritage Sites' section contains a timeline of these buildings, with further information and links for each building, and a note to say whether it was the first in the area and/or whethe
Teresa de Castro's website
The website of the Spanish historian Dr. Teresa de Castro offers electronic versions of some of her scholarly work on the history of food. Users may choose between navigating the site in English or Spanish, while her work may be in Spanish, English, or Italian. De Castro has published books and articles on the history of food in Spain (including Al-Andalus and Sefarad) and Australia. She has made available electronic versions of some of her books online: "Food mentality in Spain at the Renaissan
88 Bar
The English-language blog, 88 Bar, covers observations of popular culture posted by its experienced contributors. The website is little more than a series of posts, gateways and video and image files, but provides a helpful overview of cultural currents for those living outside China. 88 Bar was created by Chinese-born graphic designer, Jason Li, and Lyn Jeffery, a research director at Institute for the Future, who has spent more than 25 years covering mainland Chinese affairs. Posts on 88 Bar c
China gateway
China Gateway is a collection of annotated gateways of relevance to undergraduate students and their teachers. Although primarily meant as a study aid for the students of Boston College, China Gateway aims to offer a concise introduction to the manner in which developments in the digital world have aided the study of Chinese culture and society. From the Culture and History section of the main page, users will find links to gateways (themed in sections), covering: geography and maps; language an
Village Works
From 1992 to 1993, women in villages of rural north west China were given cameras to record a year of their daily life, as pat of a women's reproductive health programme supported by the Ford Foundation. The resulting pictures not only formed an exhibition, but were used as prompts to discussions with officials on improving conditions in the areas involved. From the main page of the website, users can view a textual introduction to the project, and link to selected photographs, covering: work; f
Tank Man
The accompanying online resource to the PBS Frontline programme, The Tank Man, follows the image of a young man standing in front of a tank used to quash the Tiananmen protests in 1989 to interrogate the progress of political and ideological freedoms in modern China. Users will find a brief introduction to the programme, and sections on the Tiananmen Square protests and their aftermath, which include: eyewitness accounts and press reactions to the 1989 protests; a timeline of key events in the s
Wyndham Lewis's art criticism in 'The Listener', 1946-1951 : postwar British art in its context of i
This website, entitled Wyndham Lewis's Art Criticism in 'The Listener', 1946-1951, is the outcome of an AHRC research project, 2008-2009, at the University of Plymouth, England and the Universidad de La Rioja in Spain. Wyndham Lewis (1882-1957) was not only a major English artist of the twentieth century, who co-founded the Vorticist movement, he was also an important art critic, a novelist and short-story writer, a cultural commentator, a political theorist, and a philosopher. This research pro
Muslim devotional posters
This is the website of the 'Muslim devotional posters' project at Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion (AHKR), University of Bergen in Norway. It documents... "mass produced religious popular pictures in a Muslim context. The material consists of posters and smaller prints with religious motifs such as prophets, Shia Imams, saints, sacred places, historico-mythical narratives, pious people in devout worship, pictures and Quran or Hadith texts in combination, calligr
Jews and the graphic novel
'Jews and the Graphic Novel' is a 22-page documentary comic book created and written by David Gantz. This comic is free to read online, and offers a condensed history of the immense contribution made by American Jewish men to the art and craft of the comic book in the 20th century. The author has the advantage of having worked in the industry since the 1940s, and there is particular focus on the impact of the Second World War on the industry. In 22 pages, this free online comic can only scratch
Existential graphs
Existential Graphs is a Web resource offering an introduction to the existential graphs system of logic, originally developed about a century ago by American philosopher Charles S. Pierce. The system offers a way of formalising and analysing logical arguments, including methods for testing proofs, but unlike more conventional formalisation systems, it adopts a graphical approach. Although the method will be unfamiliar to many students of logic, Pierce claimed that it was easier to use than tradi
Reproductive Cloning
The Biocentre has produced 'Topics under debate' give a brief introduction to a number of bioethical issues. This page on Reproductive Cloning covers the basic scientific concepts behind reproductive cloning, a chronology of the cloning of animals, and the claims to have cloned humans. The Policy section looks at the development of UK legislation to deal with the issue of reproductive cloning. The Ethics section cover arguments both for and against human cloning, including both principled objec
SIN004 : The red fox in rural areas
SIN004 - The red fox in rural areas, is a seven page leaflet made available as a PDF file by Natural England. The leaflet briefly describes the biology, behaviour, social organisation, population statistics, parisites and disease of the fox, before dealing with possible problems and methods of control. References to other literature are given, as well as contacts to discuss control methods.
