Date: March 16, 2001

To: Professor Montecino, Professor van Pelt

From: Saadia Ayoubi, sayoubi@gmu.edu
Mira Popova, mpopova@gmu.edu
Jason Gibson, jgibson@gmu.edu
Ricky Valencia, rvalenci@gmu.edu

Subject of Group Project: Egypt

Why we are developing a site on this topic and why it should be beneficial to us:

We have chosen to develop a web site on Egypt for a variety of reasons. We decided, as a group, that we would want to create an informative site on a country. However, we were not sure about which country to choose to be the subject of the project. As we brainstormed, we thought to have a site on a well-known, yet unique country, in terms of its culture and beauty. As we each thought about various countries to research, Egypt was proposed. As our group thought more about the country, we realized how beautiful Egypt is and about how many creative and interesting elements we could include in our website, reflecting Egypt's beauty and culture. We decided to take advantage of this project, and to dissect a country's various aspects. The reason we have chosen Egypt is because we want to become educated on the country and aware of the area's culture. We would like to present the information and the website to a large audience.


Intended audience:

Various audiences would be inclined to visit our website on Egypt. People who are traveling, or thinking of traveling, to Egypt may visit our website in order to obtain general information on Egypt's culture, including its sites, foods, education, government, customs/traditions, travel information, etc. Travelers include families, exchange students, businessmen, etc. Also, students who are doing essays on Egypt may use our site as a resource for finding general information on the country. Nowadays, students are using the Web as a resource just as much, if not more, than traditional library resources. We expect that students will want to visit our site in order to learn of general geographics on Egypt, especially those who are doing essays or projects on the country. Such people can acquire a general sense or idea of the country, culture, and some details on Egyptian people.


Elements in the Project:

We want our website on Egypt to be creative, aesthetically pleasing, and informative. We would like to include links that offer information on sites in Egypt, its major religion(s), customs/traditions, holidays, food, travel, education, its government structure, and other categories that may interest us. We want to offer credible information in our links that people who visit it can use. We plan to include Flash, possibly to open the page, so that some animation is used. Also, we would like to include an audio file that plays when one opens the page, playing Arabic music in the background. We would also like to include a QuickTime video clip of home video that we have of Egypt, primarily on sites and Egyptian people. On the background of the various pages of the website, we would like to include transparent images (free clipart or our own photos that some of us have of Egypt) reflecting the page that the user is on. For example, if the user is viewing the page on education, as a background, we may have an image of schoolchildren in a traditional Egyptian school. An images link will also be included, providing images of Egypt's region and its people. We would like to be as creative as possible when doing this project, and feel that there is ample room in order for us to exercise creativity.


A preliminary list of Web and other resources we might include in our Website & why they are credible:

1) http://www.fodors.com

This site is called fodors.com and it is created by the Fodor's Travel Publications, which is the official publisher of the well-known travel guidebooks from around the world with more than 300 titles in print. The site was launched in 1996 and offers credible accurate site. If a user finds some detail that is inaccurate, they are encouraged to write to the site and explain what they have found to be incorrect. All the listings on the site come from one of the hundreds of Fodor's guidebooks. The info in the books is collected by travel writers all over the world. The compnay has a great repututation for being an excellent source of information on regions around the world.

2) http://www.culturefocus.com/egypt.htm
Culture focused photos of Egypt

We chose this source mainly because of the images present. There were many, many pictures of the pyramids and other monuments in which the scenery is beautiful and it would portray Egypt exactly as it is on our web site (with permission of the author of course). This site contains a great variety of colorful images that would be great to reference to because it would give our audience a good idea of what Egypt looks like. This source is credible because the copyright symbol and organization in charge of this web site is present. The photography of this site is also copyrighted with the person's name on it. An email account and a discussion forum are also included. Also at the bottom of the page there is a Technical Details link. This link explains how the pictures were scanned (like JPG, TIFF, etc). It also explains how the web site was constructed, which was using FrontPage and HTML. One may only use the photos on this site if they are for personal use by students for school and college projects. However, this is limited to print use and are not to be posted on a web site. Therefore, we plan to link to this site but will not use the photos directly on our site because they are copyrighted and we will be using them on a web site, not in print work.

3) http://www.britannica.com/

This is the official website for the Encyclopedia Britannica, which is a well-respected and renowned source of credible information. The site has an "About Us" and a "Contact Us" page and is also copyrighted. The encyclopedia is updated to last year, which was the year 2000. It also has about 70 of the world's top magazines, and provides links to "news," "arts and entertainment," "history and humanities," "science and technology," and "world and travel," which we will be using most likely. Being the official site for such a well-known and respected encyclopedia in itself gives it credibility; it is a trusted source of information, and one that we may use.

4) http://semesteratsea.com/

We plan to link to this site, which is a very resourceful and interesting program for students who are considering studying or traveling abroad. Semester at Sea is a program that takes undergraduate college students and faculty across the world for a semester, during which they will take academic classes, as well as travel, to a variety of countries across the world. One of the countries visited is Egypt, and so this will be a nice site for us to link to from our site. One of our audience groups may be college students, researching on Egypt; if they are considering studying abroad, they may want to visit the Semester at Sea page. It may even open our minds about what people traveling to other countries may wish to know and how to provide an informative website. This is a credible page because it provides contact information, is copyrighted, and is a part of the Institute for Shipboard Education. It includes information on programs, voyages, and also alumni information. There are links to the staff/faculty, fees, and also an informative FAQ page.

5) Egypt by Stuart A. Kallen

This book offers a great deal of information on Egypt's geography and population, its history, daily life and culture, and politics. We will be using this book in order to gain a good understanding of Egypt's culture, background information, and information relating to the region. It is a credible source because it is copyrighted and is a part of a series. Other books in the series cover China, England, South Korea, Russia, and Italy. The book was published by Lucent Books, Inc., and appears to be a very reliable source.

6) Egypt: A Country Study by Helen Chapin Metz

This is an excellent book to use for general background information and understanding, covering a wide variety of topics related to Egypt. It provides great detail about the history of Egypt, its society and environment, economy, and government and politics. It will be of great use when researching the country and investigating details about its history and culture. It is a credible source because it is the fifth edition of the book, having first been published in 1991. Also, it is copyrighted and includes a forward by the chief of the Federal Research Division from the Library of Congress, which gives the book legitimacy.


7) http://www.cnn.com/TRAVEL

CNN is a well-known and respected source of news and information on current events, news, politics, etc., locally, nationally, and internationally. CNN.com is the official website for the news channel, providing up to the minute late breaking news and stories from around the world. The Travel section of the website provides current information and top news stories from around the world, especially those relating to travel. There is a link on the page that provides profiles on major international cities, such as Cairo. The site offers information on sightseeing, where to stay, dining, shopping, nightlife, recreation and also a calendar of major events and celebrations. This is an excellent resource to use for such accurate information. We plan to use this as a resource and also possibley as a link from our site.


8) http://www.gmu.edu/departments/cge/homepage.html

This is the official website for the Center for Global Education at George Mason University. This would be a good resource for information on study abroad programs and related information concerning Egypt. We would like to also link to this site, especially for George Mason University students who may be interested in studying abroad. This is a credible source because it is sponsored by GMU and its Center for Global Education. It was created in 1996 and has been used since its development.


9) http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

This is the site for the World Factbook 2000 created by the CIA. It has a listing of countries, including Egypt, and provides a good amount of information on each country. The site is credible because it has been created by the CIA, a government organization, and provides copyright information. The site provides general information such as geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues. We will use this site for general information regarding Egypt.


10) http://www.powerup.com.au/~swood/tourism.htm

This is a great site offering valuable information on car rental, cruises, hotels, restaurants, and travel agencies. One can choosen from different countries, such as, in this case, Egypt. The site provides addresses, contact information and descriptions of the the various car rental companies, cruises, hotels, etc. We would like to use the information provided here when discussing travel information, such as car rentals, restaurants, and hotels. The site is credible and noteworthy because it provides great contact information, has been accessed by over a million users, is copyrighted, and gives good detail about the resources provided.


Role & skills of each member of the group:

Saadia Ayoubi - group note taker, researcher, images, web designer; HTML, Photoshop, Dreamweaver
Mira Popova - researcher, web designer; HTML, Photoshop, Dreamweaver
Jason Gibson - researcher, graphics, web designer; Photoshop, Illustrator, HTML, Adobe Premier
Ricky Valencia - researcher, web development; Flash, Dreamweaver, HTML, Photoshop

We all have a bit of background in multimedia, and will apply our skills collaboratively in order to develop the website. The above listed roles and skills are each person's strengths and we will use them to work together during the creative process.


References:


(2000). Britannica.com [On-line]. URL http://www.britannica.com/

(2000). CIA.gov [On-line]. URL http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

(2001). Cnn.com [On-line]. URL http://www.cnn.com/TRAVEL

(2001). Culture Focus.com [On-line]. URL http://www.culturefocus.com/egypt.htm

(1990). Egypt: A Country Study. USA: Library of Congress.

(2001). Fodors.com [On-line]. URL http://www.fodors.com

(2000). GMU Global Studies [On-line]. URL http://www.gmu.edu/departments/cge/homepage.html

Kallen, Stuart A. (1999). Egypt: Modern Nations of the World. USA: Lucent Books, Inc.

(2001). Powerup.com [On-line]. URL http://www.powerup.com.au/~swood/tourism.htm

(2001). Semester at Sea [On-line]. URL http://semesteratsea.com
NCLC 350 Page