The daguerreotype to the left depicts a French student from the 1848 revolution. The image self-consciously mixes light and the words "Liberté", "Égalité", and "République" in a carefully contrived effort to communicate the emotional and moral content of a significant social movement. The image "mediates" the ideals of the revolution, in this way directly linking technological and social transformation and raising issues about the nature of human communication and transmission of knowledge. Although debate over these issues is at least as old as Plato's Phaedrus, new electronic media presents it in a new, postmodern and global manner and context. Most institutions now provide resources and various social science gateways that connect students, researchers and the public to Canadian and international research institutions, universities, governments, media and other organizations.

The site is an on-going project whose contours evolve over time. The set of directories below interpret significance rather than present comprehensive knowledge. These research gateways are supplemented by specific Web-based research that focuses on specific themes, such as the Insurgency Online Research Project and "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland. There is also a page of writing and research resources with useful materials on electronic citation, critical WWW use, writing tools, and common writing problems. Electronic media are now developing so rapidly that proper citation is as important as traditional print references. These resources aim to develop online literacy and awareness of the nature of Internet-based research.