Internet Items
Spam Update. According to a report on the BBC, spam now accounts for almost 70 percent of e-mails worldwide. That figure is expected to reach 80 percent by the middle of the year. According to the same report, the nature of spam appears to be changing. Spammers seem to be abandoning porn for the more profitable area of financial spam. Junk mail offering stock price tips, cheap loans and mortgages accounts for nearly 38 percent of all spam, while pornography accounts for just 5 percent. Healthcare still leads the pack, with promises of Viagra, miracle diets and hair restorers still the spammer's favourite, making up 40 percent of all junk mail.
New GIF Website - www.gif.med.govt.nz - The Government's Growth and Innovation Framework (GIF) is designed to deliver the long-term sustainable growth necessary to improve the quality of life of all NZers. It is a strategy based on a vision of NZ as:
- a land where diversity is valued and reflected in our national identity;
- a great place to live, learn, work and do business;
- a birthplace of world-changing people and ideas;
- a place where people invest in the future; and
- an environment people cherish and are committed to protect for future generations.
This site explains the original GIF and its subsequent development and implementation. You'll learn about the key players who are implementing the strategy, and activities around NZ supporting growth and innovation.
On-line Astronomy Programme. Recently launched is an on-line astronomy programme, Carter Star Learning, developed by Wellington's Carter Observatory. The programme involves seven modules introduced throughout the year: an overview of the solar system; the Milky Way and other galaxies; studies of space flight; cosmology; Maori astronomy; traditional Pasifika navigation; and college mathematics. The Carter Observatory is now an accredited provider with the NZ Qualifications Authority and students can gain unit standards through the on-line learning programme to add to their National Certificate of Educational Achievement qualifications. More information about Carter Star Learning is available at www.carterobservatory.net
Primary Sources of History - http://chnm.gmu.edu/whm/whmdocuments.html - Online magazine "Netsurfer Digest" had this to say "Combining the best online technology with history resources, the Center for History and New Media (CHNM) at George Mason University is an outstanding starting point for scholars, students, and the general public. Among the CHMN's many features is its World History Sources section, `the best online primary source archives in world history' the Web has to offer. We agree with the self-assessment. These superior Web sites are organized by region or by period and you can run a full, detailed search as well. But wait, there's also an exhaustive section on using and evaluating various genres and media for use in historical research, eight multimedia case studies that demonstrate how scholars analyze and use historical documents, and a useful Teaching Sources section, with a series of practical guides on the classroom use of historical sources by veteran history teachers. Our history-loving reviewer spent hours here. This is a must-have bookmark if the past is your profession or passion."
Webby Award Winners. The Oscars of the web world: www.webbyawards.com/main/webby_awards/nominees.html
Classic Rock Bands and their Music - http://www.classicbands.com/index.htm - ClassicBands.com is an online archive of the bands and stars of the late 50s through the 70s. Featuring biographies of over 100 groups, the site also includes a list of rock stars' real names, a history of banned rock, the top 40 songs of the years 1956-80, and plenty more besides.
Musicians on Musicians - www.rollingstone.com/features/coverstory/featuregen.asp?pid=2900 - "Rolling Stone" has put together its list of the 50 greatest artists of all time, but with a twist. Instead of letting music critics compose the list and write the blurbs, Rolling Stone had this list written by other musicians, for example, Elvis Costello writes on the Beatles, Eddie Vedder writes on The Who, Bono writes about Elvis Presley, and Britney Spears writes about Madonna.
The History of Dances - http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/d5index.htm - The Dance History Archive, a massive resource on practically everything you might want to know about dance, from Ancient Greek Mime to Zapateadeo, a type of Flamenco.
Contact for Enquiries
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526, Wellington
Tel: 0800 00 83 33
Fax: +64 4 894 0720
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