The Scout Report -- Volume 14, Number 24

http://pewglobal.org/reports/pdf/260.pdf

The Pew Global Attitudes Project tracks a broad range of opinions across the globe, and this report from June 2008 takes a close look at how the United States is perceived abroad. The report notes that favorable views of the United States have increased modestly since 2007 in 10 of 21 countries where comparative data are available, although it seems that many people also feel that the recent economic slump is in no small part due to the United States. The survey also notes that United States foreign policy "will change for the better" after the inauguration of a new American president next year. Visitors can read the 150-page report here in its entirety and they will enjoy looking over chapters like "Which Governments Respect the Rights of Their People?" and "Views on Economic Issues". Finally, visitors can also learn about the survey methods used in the creation of this report. [KMG]

http://collections.stanford.edu/dttp/bin/page?forward=home

Stanford University has a number of worthy digital collections, and this particular archive will be of special interest to students of library and information science. The collection contains issues of the journal "DttP: Documents to the People" from 1972 to 2002. Drawn from the print holdings of the Stanford University Libraries, the journal documents both the organizational history of the Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association and the emergence of the government documents specialization within the field of librarianship. Various items document the transition from a print- to a digital-publishing environment, and still others focus on barriers to citizen access to public information in the United States. Visitors can perform a simple search across these volumes, or also browse the collection by year. [KMG]

http://www.demos.co.uk/files/UK%20confidential%20-%20web.pdf

The Demos think tank in the United Kingdom consistently finds new perspectives and outlooks on important topics, and this latest collection of essays published in May 2008 is no exception. Specifically, these fourteen essays "explore the underlying challenges and realities of privacy in an open society, and argue for a new settlement between the individual and society; the public and the states; the consumer and business." The volume was sponsored in part by the telecommunications company BT, and it includes such trenchant essays as "The culture of control", "A place of greater safety? Information sharing and confidentiality", and "The social value of privacy". It is worth noting that the underlying theme of the collection is that "we get the privacy culture we deserve", and this alone is well worth thinking (and reading) about. [KMG]

http://www.saja.org/

Founded in 1994 with 18 members, the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) now has chapters in many major U.S. cities and serves as "a networking and resource forum for journalists of South Asian origin and journalists in South Asia or the South Asian Diaspora." Their homepage contains a good deal of information for current or potential members, such as a list of chapters, a job bank, and official press releases. One particularly helpful section of the site is the "Profiles" area. Here visitors can learn about SAJA members who work as freelancers, magazine writers, television reporters, and so on. The site also includes information about scholarships, and a style guide for journalists who wish to better understand South Asia. The site is rounded out by a list of reporting tips and information about the US media outlets and coverage in South Asia. [KMG]

http://www.ansp.org/museum/jefferson/

Statesman, geologist, surveyor, diplomat, and mastodon-bone collector, Thomas Jefferson did it all. This very intriguing online exhibit, from The Academy of Natural Sciences, introduces the generally curious to Thomas Jefferson's extensive fossil collection. Jefferson was a central player in the beginnings of American paleontology, and his involvement in this field of endeavor occurred when others began to wrestle with the notion that fossils represented concrete proof that there was an Earth that predated that which was described in the Bible. The materials here include the sections "American Mastodon", "Great Claw", and "Other Fossils". The "American Mastodon" is a great place to start, and visitors can make their way through sections that cover Jefferson's captivation with this massive creature and the continued search for a full skeleton of one of these beasts in the 19th century. Also, the section includes an image gallery of mastodon bones. Moving on, "The Great Claw" presents information about the discovery of these fossils and additional information on the rather odd ground sloth. [KMG]

http://worldwidescience.org/

As its name implies, the WorldWideScience site is a global science gateway that is meant to help connect a worldwide audience to various national and international scientific databases. The site was developed and is maintained by the Office of Science and Technical Information (OSTI) with the U.S. Department of Energy. Visitors to the site's homepage can click on an interactive map of the world's countries to locate participants and their websites. After clicking on a country, a list of available resources will appear in a box immediately to the right of the world map. Dozens of countries are currently represented, and visitors will find Colombia's "Scientific Electronic Library Online", India's "Indian Academy of Science", and Cameroon's "African Journals Online". The site is rounded out by an advanced search option and contact information. [KMG]

http://www.keckfutures.org

Started in May 2003, the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative (NAKFI) is a 15-year project supported with a grant from the Keck Foundation. The basic goal of the Initiative is "to realize the untapped potential of interdisciplinary research." It is a noble and very exciting project, and visitors with a penchant for cross-boundary interdisciplinary research and related matters will want to look over the site and tell colleagues about it. First-time visitors can learn about their upcoming conferences, peruse past conference presentations, and learn about grants offered by the NAKFI. One area of note is the "Interdisciplinary Study Report", which takes an in-depth look at the steps that "researchers, teachers, students, institutions, funding organizations, and disciplinary societies can take to more effectively conduct, facilitate, and evaluate interdisciplinary research programs and projects." Additionally, some of the past conference presentations here include "The Future of Human Healthspan: Demography, Evolution, Medicine, Medicine and Bioengineering" and "Smart Prosthetics: Exploring Assistive Devices for the Body and Mind". [KMG]

http://journal.oraltradition.org/

Stretching back thousands of years, the oral traditions that have enriched and documented human existence remain a subject of much fascination. The Oral Tradition Journal was founded in 1986 in order to "serve as an international and interdisciplinary forum for discussion of worldwide oral traditions and related forms." The journal is based at the University of Missouri, and visitors to the site can search the entire run of the journal on this site by keyword or author. Clicking over to the "Browse the Journal" area, visitors can look over back issues that include special issues on the Serbo-Croatian oral tradition, performance literature, and the performance artistry of Bob Dylan. The site is a real treat for anyone interested in the subject, and visitors can also learn how to submit their own work for possible inclusion in a forthcoming volume. [KMG]

http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/gawu/index.html

Noted Ghanaian artist El Anatsui works with a variety of found objects, including wood, ceramics, and discarded pieces of metal. For the past 28 years, he has lived in Nigeria, where he as spent a substantial time creating metal "cloths" from the aluminum wrappings from the tops of bottles from local distilleries. This utterly engaging online exhibit from the National Museum of African Art is offered as a complement to an in situ exhibit at the museum's headquarters. On the site, visitors will have the opportunity to listen to El Anatsui talk about three of the objects in this show via a podcast. Before doing so, they may wish to read through the "About the Artist" to learn a bit more about his life and artistic philosophy. After this, visitors will want to get into the thick of things by clicking on the "Artworks" area. Here, visitors can get a sense of his bold projects, which include the "Peak Project", which was inspired by "huge piles of detritus from consumption." All of these works are thought-provoking, and they could even be used in an environmental studies course. [KMG]

http://unitproj.library.ucla.edu/dlib/lat/

From Raymond Chandler's hardboiled gumshoes to the decline and fall of the city's streetcar system, the City of Angels underwent a dramatic transformation from 1920 to 1990. This remarkable digital archive offered by the UCLA Charles E. Young Research Library Department of Special Collections brings together over 5700 photographs from that period. Culled from the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Daily News photographic archives of 3 million photographs, this collection covers topics that include religion, popular culture, urban development, law enforcement, and the entertainment industry. Visitors can browse through a list of subjects or search for specific items of interest by keyword. To get started, visitors may wish to search for "Bud Abbott", "Oil Wells", and "Urban renewal". [KMG]

http://www.villacicognamozzoni.it/sito/index.php

Italy has a surfeit of cultural treasures from the Renaissance, and they include tapestries, paintings, writings, and of course, various aspects of the built environment. One such piece of architecture happens to be the Villa Cicogna Mozzoni near Lake Lugano. This website conveys a bit of the sumptuousness and splendor of this 15th and 16th century hunting lodge built by the Mozzoni family. On this site, visitors can learn about the history of the grounds and buildings, read up on the gardens, and learn more about guided visits if they happen to be in Italy. The "History" section provides visitors with several fine visual images, including a woodcut of bear hunting in the region and a painting of Ascanio Mozzoni. Moving on, the "Villa" area provides a schematic drawing of the grounds, complete with a history of their evolution over the past five centuries. Finally, the "Gardens" area offers additional perspective on the evolution of this masterpiece of Italian Renaissance garden design. It is worth noting that the materials on the site are also available in Italian, French, and German. [KMG]

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/cleancities/

Keeping cities clean and "green" is at the top of many policy makers lists these days, and the "Clean Cities" initiative at the U.S. Department of Energy is a great place to learn more about everything from alternative fuel sources to hybrid vehicles. Visitors to the site can sign up for their free electronic newsletter, take a look through the alternative fuels and advanced vehicles data center, and read through "Clean Cities Now", which is their quarterly newsletter. Policy makers and others will definitely want to click over to the "Coalitions" area. Here they will find information on how to start a coalition of local stakeholders to work on these issues in their area. Additionally, visitors can look through the "Coordinator Toolbox" area for information on how to fund various projects and how to communicate with fellow stakeholders and participants. [KMG]

http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/king/

Martin Luther King Jr.'s last year of life was complex, and prior to his assassination he was involved in a number of ambitious projects. This compelling and thoughtful documentary produced by Kate Ellis and Stephen Smith of American RadioWorks (in cooperation with the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University) closely examines this period of King's life. The documentary is divided into five parts, which include "Beyond Vietnam", "King's Last March", "The FBI's War on King", and "From the Pulpit to the Heart". Interested parties can download the entire radio documentary, listen online, or read the transcript. Overall, it's a rather fine piece of documentary work, and visitors with an interest in this pivotal 20th century leader will want to pass this site along to friends. [KMG]

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fitness/SM99999

The Mayo Clinic offers a wide range of outreach services for the general public, including websites providing basic information about cancer, smoking cessation techniques, and others. Their online Fitness Center website will be a real boon to anyone who is looking to pick up some basic fitness awareness, learn about strength training, or read up on sports nutrition. First-time visitors can start by reading through the "Fitness Awareness" area, which answers questions like "Why exercise?" and also provides information on getting warmed up before exercising. Further down the site's homepage, visitors can also use the "Ask a Mayo Clinic Specialist" to learn more treatments for hyperextended knees and other related maladies. Those who know exactly what they are looking for can use the "Find it Fast" feature on the left-hand side of the homepage to look up materials on everything from back pain to tennis elbow. [KMG]

http://www.walrusmagazine.com/

With its marine mammal style title, The Walrus magazine has been gracing Canadian newsstands and the web since September 2003. Their mission is to publish works by writers from Canada and elsewhere who are "curious about the world." Their homepage is visually stimulating and easy to navigate, and first-time visitors may wish to look over their various thematic sections to get a sense of the magazine's general tone and perspective. Some recently published pieces include "Grounded", which imagines a world without air travel and "Tripping on the Trans-Can", which is a collection of quotes and photos from journalists, policymakers and participants involved in the "youthful invasion" of the early 1970s when some 50,000 Canadian youths "bummed" across the country. The "Web Extras" is also worth a look as it features photo essays on Vanuatu, growing up Canadian in the 1970s, and the world of Canadian sports. After that, visitors may wish to dip into their online archive. [KMG]

http://www.coveringphotography.com/covering_photography.html

The special project of Karl Baden, photography professor at Boston College, Covering Photography is essentially a web-accessible database of book covers that feature photographs or photographic art work, provided "for the study of the relationship between the history of photography and book cover design." The database can be searched by a number of factors, including photographer, author, publisher, date, or designer. In Baden's own words, the database is not "completist"; rather it is highly selective, and therefore searching may not yield the expected results. Fortunately, it is also possible to browse by the search keys, rather than trying to guess at an appropriate search term. For example, proceeding to the P - T photographers reveals covers by Alec Soth, Alfred Stieglitz, and Edward Steichen. Some entries have lengthy comments, such as the notes for The Great Pierpont Morgan, a biography of J.P. Morgan, with an Edward Steichen portrait on the cover. [DS]

http://omeka.org/

Developed by The Center for History and New Media and the Minnesota Historical Society, Omeka is a web platform for publishing exhibitions and collections online. The design of the program is intended to be best utilized by educators, cultural institutions, and those who are just plain enthusiastic about a particular subject. Visitors can download the program and get started after looking over the "How To" area. For those who are curious, "omeka" is a Swahili word meaning "to display or lay out goods or wares". This particular application is compatible with all operating systems. [KMG]

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

Firefox 3.0 was recently released, and those who were fans of the browser before will find a number of new features worth checking out. Now visitors will find that the location bar drop-down menu includes URLs from the browsing history and bookmarks. Additionally, there's an "Add-Ons" manager which includes a built-in plug-in search engine. Also, visitors can pause and resume downloads for their own convenience. This version is compatible with computers running Mac OS X 10.4 and newer or Windows 2000 and newer. [KMG]

AP Takes on Drudge Retort Over Copyright Use
http://www.pbs.org/idealab/2008/06/ap-seeks-to-define-fair-use-fo.html

Drudge Retort Highlights 'Fair Use' Uncertainties
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/06/if-ap-is-right.html

Here's Our New Policy in A.P. Stories: They're Banned
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/16/AR2008061600340.html

Drudge Retort
http://www.drudge.com/

Media Bloggers Association
http://www.mediabloggers.org/

The Fair Use Network [pdf]
http://fairusenetwork.org/

Like much of the Internet, the blogosphere is a bit like the Old West. The casual user might come across everything from weblogs dedicated to maudlin images of kittens to vigorous discussions of the gold standard. Of course, from time to time, bloggers will post material that may include copyrighted material. While this remains very murky legal territory, a number of major organizations have filed legal motions in order to protect their intellectual property. Recently, the Associated Press (AP) asked the Drudge Retort website to remove various items that contained quotations from their articles, and this motion set off an intense flurry of commentary from legal experts, media commentators, and others. The Drudge Retort is a left-leaning site, which was started as a parody of the very well known Drudge Report, run by conservative pundit, Matt Drudge. Interestingly enough, the AP announced early this week that they would be consulting with a number of professional organizations, including the Media Bloggers Association, in order to determine some basic guidelines for quoting their articles and other materials. Rogers Cadenhead, who owns the Drudge Retort, remarked, "There are millions of people sharing links to news articles on blogs, message boards and sites like Digg. If the A.P. has concerns that go all the way down to one or two sentences of quoting, they need to tell people what they think is legal and where the boundaries are." [KMG]

The first link will take users to a piece from David Ardia of PBS's Idea Lab about the recent imbroglio between the Associated Press and the Drudge Retort. The second link leads to another piece of commentary on the subject from Wired's David Kravets. Moving on, the third link leads to an impassioned piece form Michael Arrington of TechCrunch.com (writing in this Monday's Washington Post) about the recent actions taken by the Associated Press. The fourth link will take users directly to the homepage of the Drudge Retort. The fifth link leads to the Media Bloggers Association website, where visitors can learn about their advocacy efforts on behalf of bloggers and citizen journalists. Finally, the last link will take users to the very fine Fair Use Network website, which provides detailed primers on copyright law, the fair use of copyright works, and trademark law. [KMG]