> Dear All
> Welcome to the latest edition of the newsletter which brings you a selection of new sites added to SOSIG the Social Science Information Gateway in the last week. Remember that you can consult a full list at http://www.sosig.ac.uk/
> 
> Help us by filling in the SOSIG User survey. There are some small prizes available! http://www.sosig.ac.uk/about_us/survey.html
> 
> In this weeks edition.
> *     Conflict in Iraq: Consequences and Concerns 
> *     Royal Society (The): GM Plants Debate 
> *     E-commerce Cases 
> *     Funding from the European Union 
> *     Waiting List Accuracy; Assessing the Accuracy of Waiting List Information in NHS Hospitals in England
> *     Erased in a Moment; Suicide Bombing Attacks Against Israeli Civilians 
> *     Learning Technology Support Service 
> *     Bibliography of Protests Against Gulf War 1 (1991) 
> *     Achieving a Better Quality of Life; Review of Progress Towards Sustainable Development, Government Annual Report 2002 
> *     IZA Discussion Papers  
> In the news this week: Iraq
> 
> Conflict in Iraq: Consequences and Concerns 
> Description: This site is maintained by BASIC (British American Security Information Council), Saferworld and ISIS (International Security Information Service. It provides access to a wealth of useful news stories and full text reports and working papers published by these organisations which relate to the security crisis surrounding Saddam Hussein and Iraq. They include coverage: of issues relating to military action, the 'war against terrorism' and Iraq; weapons inspections by United Nations inspectors; discussions of the possible nuclear, chemical and biological weapons held by Iraq; international diplomacy at the UN and the possible future governance of Iraq. The site includes links to the latest news headlines, public opinion polls and a useful directory of other web sites on the crisis. It is possible to sign up to receive weekly updates on the issues. 
> http://www.iraqconflict.org/ 
> also added this week:
> Socialist Worker Articles: Iraq
> Future of Iraq: Bush Speech February 2003
> Royal Society (The): GM Plants Debate 
> Description: The Royal Society is contributing to the UK governments> '> s 2003 debate on genetically modified plants, and this Web site explains how. It has also been carrying out research for the last few years on many aspects of GM plants. Implications cover business ethics, economic development, health, agricultural economics, environmental benefits, food production and regulation. The site has links to relevant events, studies, reports and debates. 
> http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/gmplants/ 
> E-commerce Cases 
> Description: Here are three free case studies of companies which have been outstandingly successful in e-commerce: Amazon.com, E- Bay and NTT DoCoMo's I-Mode Phone. Each case is complete and offers supplementary figures and references. They are in .PDF format and require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. Executive summaries are provided to give an easy starting point, and the authors of the cases have written e-tasks for students to attempt. The materials were produced by Sandeep Krishnamurthy at University of Washington, USA. (This is the companion Web site to the author's book). 
> http://www.swcollege.com/marketing/krishnamurthy/first_edition/student_resources.html
> Funding from the European Union 
> Description: An excellent site for finding out about the European Union funding structure and systems. It is clearly laid out and has good explanations. Covers the Structural Funds, Community Initiatives, business and financial support, network development, energy, transport, the environment, research, employment, training, social affairs, justice, health, consumer affairs, agriculture and fisheries. A good site for newcomers to European Union policy or for the confused. (This site is part of The European Commission Representation in the United Kingdom site, which is very well designed and easier to use than the Europa site, the official European Commission site.) > 
> 
> URL: http://www.cec.org.uk/info/pubs/funding/contents.htm 
> Waiting List Accuracy; Assessing the Accuracy of Waiting List Information in NHS Hospitals in England 
> Author: National Audit Office
> Description: This site provides access to the full text of a report by the Audit Commission which was published in March 2003. It provides information on a spot check of waiting list information and performance indicators provided by 41 NHS trusts in England. It is concluded that there is some deliberate misreporting of the length of waiting lists. Future implications for improving NHS data collection are discussed. Users should note that the full text is in pdf format and therefore requires access to an Adobe Acrobat Reader for use. 
> 
> URL: http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/reports/AC-REPORT.asp?CatID=PRESS-CENTRE&ProdID=2BBB4A89-2212-401A-B385-02CA01D10100&fromPRESS=AC-REPORT 
> Erased in a Moment; Suicide Bombing Attacks Against Israeli Civilians 
> Author: Human Rights Watch
> Description: This site provides access to the full text of a book published by Human Rights watch in 2002. The 170-page report is the first full-fledged examination of individual criminal responsibility for suicide bombings against civilians in Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. It also provides the most thorough study to date of the suicide bombing operations of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the al- Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the groups that have claimed responsibility for almost all recent suicide bombings. 
> 
> URL: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/isrl-pa/ 
> Learning Technology Support Service 
> Alternative Title: LTSS
> Description: This is the Web site of the Learning Technology Support Service (LTSS) of the University of Bristol. Its primary role is to encourage, support and develop the appropriate use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in learning and teaching throughout the University of Bristol but there is a large amount of information and resources on this site which will be of use to all those involved in teaching at Higher and Further Education levels. The site contains information about: law and good practice on web accessibility; detecting plagiarism; using images; using VLEs; computer assisted assessment and LTSS' system of evaluating your own learning technology knowledge - the Anorak System - which includes focussed feedback to enable skills and knowledge gaps to be filled. 
> 
> URL: http://www.ltss.bris.ac.uk/ 
> Bibliography of Protests Against Gulf War 1 (1991) 
> Description: This is a bibliography of academic articles and books concerning different aspects of mobilisation against the Gulf War of 1991. It is divided up into four sections: General Descriptions of the Gulf War Mobilisation; Studies of Participants; Media-Movement Interactions; Public Perceptions of Gulf War Protesters. 
> 
> URL: http://www.geocities.com/gulfprotestsbib/ 
> Achieving a Better Quality of Life; Review of Progress Towards Sustainable Development, Government Annual Report 2002 
> Description: This site provides access to the UK government's third annual report on achieving sustainable development, February 2003. The report outlines the progress made in 2002 and updates the 15 headline indicators that aim to provide a 'barometer' for the situation. Also included are a range of case studies that illustrate work that is being carried out across the UK to further sustainable development. The report was published by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and is available either in HTML format (divided by section) or in the PDF file format (as separate chapters or complete). Users wishing to view the document in the PDF file format will require Adobe Acrobat Reader software. 
> 
> URL: http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/ar2002/index.htm > 
> IZA Discussion Papers  
> Description: This site gives free access to the full text of discussion papers published by the IZA - a German based independent research institute which conducts research on the labour market and labour economics. Papers may be browsed by year of publication but there is a also a search facility by author, title, keyword or JEL classification. The research covers the following six themes: Mobility and Flexibility of Labour; Internationalization of Labour Markets; Welfare State and Labour Market; Labour Markets in Transition Countries; The Future of Labour; Evaluation of Labour Market Policies and Projects. The Web site is available in German or English but the papers are mostly in English. 
> 
> URL: http://www.iza.org/publications/dps/ 
> if you have any comments on this newsletter please contact
> Heather Dawson
> SOSIG Government and Politics editor.
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