The Scout Report -- Volume 15, Number 21

http://micklestreet.rutgers.edu/index.htm

Walt Whitman always reads well, but on this site he also sounds and looks quite well. The Mickle Street Review brings together audio clips, video recordings, and written scholarship on and about Whitman and the broader world of American Studies. The Review was first published in 1979 and it is based at Rutgers University in Camden. Visitors to the site can browse all of the back issues of the Review, and they can also view the current issue as well. On the homepage, visitors will find the works divided into categories such as "Documents", "Features", and "Essays". One of the more fantastic additions to their site is the digital version of Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, which contains a close reading of the text along with a downloadable Brooklyn walking tour by Jesse Merandy. Moving on, the "Listening Room" contains recordings of Leaves of Grass read by Ralph Bellamy and a version of Song of Myself read by Orson Welles. Finally, the "Viewing Room" contains various adaptations and creative visions of Whitman's works and explorations of his life. [KMG]

http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/

Scholars, journalists and members of the general public will have a field day with the National Science Foundation's Science and Engineering Statistics website. Visitors will note that the data contained within the site includes publications, working papers, data spreadsheets, and analyses divided into broad areas that include "Education", "Federal Government", "Industry", "International", and "Social Dimensions". Users can delve deeper into these broad areas and come up with related publications, policy briefs, and so on. Near the bottom of the page, visitors can look over the "New Releases" area for new reports on federal science and engineering support to universities, research expenditures, and the ethnicity and gender makeup of federal scientists and engineers. Finally, visitors can also sign up to receive their RSS feed. [KMG]

To find this resource and more high-quality online resources in math and science visit Scout's sister site - AMSER, the Applied Math and Science Educational Repository at http://amser.org.

http://www.demos.co.uk/files/LiberalRepublic_web2bb.pdf?1242120969

The Demos organization publishes thoughtful pieces of commentary and research on a variety of topics, including civics, governance, public space, and other related matters. Richard Reeves and Philip Collins authored this 71-page paper, and in it they consider the nature of power and control, and more specifically, the relationship between the people and government. The work was published in May 2009, and is divided into three chapters: "Independence", "Capability", and "Power". The report concludes with a series of notes and references. Perhaps Reeves and Collins say it best when they note, "The 'good society' is not a perfect shape to be carved by the elite out of the crooked timber of humanity. It is created by independent, capable people charting their own course through life." [KMG]

http://collections.stanford.edu/mjf/page.action?forward=home

Summer brings thoughts of outdoor jazz festivals, and fans of the genre flock to places like Newport and Monterey each year to take in a variety of performances. Since 1958, the pleasant seaside town of Monterey has hosted the Monterey Jazz Festival and their vast archives of performances, ephemera, and other materials are housed at Stanford University's Archive of Recorded Sound. With substantial funding from the Grammy Foundation, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, and Save America's Treasures, the Archive of Recorded Sound continues to add to this digital collection. First-time visitors will want to click on the "About the Collection" to learn a bit more about the Festival's history and how to best use the online collection. Next up is the "Collection Highlights", where visitors can view some excellent clips from such masters as Thelonious Monk, Bobby McFerrin, Charles Mingus, and Dianne Reeves. Scholars of the genre will want to use the search feature to look for more details on the over 9,000 performances contained within the archive. Additionally, visitors can create their own user account to bookmark performances of note and save them for future reference. [KMG]

http://fletcher.lib.udel.edu/collections/hmc/index.htm

Over the past several years, the dedicated staff members at the Special Collections Department of the University of Delaware Library have been carefully selecting maps of note to include in this digital collection. The site contains over 330 maps that cover the geographical region from Delaware to West Virginia, including four complete atlases of the Blue Hen state. The homepage presents several different browsing options, including "Browse by Subject", "Browse by Creator", "Browse by Map Type", and "Browse by Date". Visitors will want to note that there are maps of lighthouses, city plans, telephone exchanges, and maps of the University of Delaware campus. The site is rounded out by a finding aid and a bit of material on how the collection was created. [KMG]

http://digital.library.unlv.edu/ntsohp/

Based at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the Nevada Test Site Oral History Project is "a comprehensive program dedicated to documenting, preserving and disseminating the remembered past of persons affiliated with and affected by the Nevada Test Site during the era of Cold War nuclear testing." From 2003 to 2008, oral history narrators participated in this project, and they included national laboratory scientists, military personnel, Native American leaders, and peace activists. On the homepage, visitors should look through the three thematic sections, including "Contested Landscapes" and "Community of Voices". Through these oral histories and testimonies, visitors can learn about the complex set of processes and experiences surrounding the test site. Along the left hand of the site, visitors can search the collection, make a list of their favorite interviews, and also get assistance with using the site. [KMG]

http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu/calcultures/

The University of California Libraries has digitized a collection of images of four ethnic groups in California that have been historically underrepresented by digitized primary source materials. In order to learn about diversity in California in a historical context, visitors should start by checking out the Historical Essays highlighted at the top of the site's homepage. These essays provide brief historical overviews and related images and begin with the period "Before 1768: Pre-Columbian California" and end with the period "1921-Present: Modern California". Once visitors have familiarized themselves with the history they should move on to the main event. The images of the four groups, "African Americans", "Asian Americans", "Hispanic Americans", and "Native Americans" can be found under their own tabs at the top of the page, and are further divided into subcategories. On the far right side of the page are several free Lesson Plans for grades 4-12 that emphasize these underrepresented California cultures, and utilize this database of images and documents. Some of the lessons include "Stealing Home: How Race Relations, Politics and Baseball Transformed Chavez Ravine" and "Los Californios: California's Spanish, Native American and African Heritage". [KMG]

http://www.tvworldwide.com/events/webwise/090226/

Three hundred museum and library professionals from across the United States gathered together in February 2009 to discuss the development of digital resources and how this development affects librarians and information specialists at cultural institutions. This straightforward website includes webcasts of the sessions and is the next best thing to attending the conference as visitors to their site can listen to digital recordings of every session from the 2009 WebWise Conference. Some of the sessions held, in addition to the opening remarks and the wrap-up, include the complicated topics of "Rights and Responsibilities"--that of museum and library collections and users; "Identity and Collaboration"--when collaboration between institutions is impeded and when collaboration threatens to adversely change the "brand" of an institution; and "Chasing the Edge and Maintaining the Core"--the balance between acquiring cutting edge technology while still keeping the core services well maintained. [KMG]

http://www.awm.gov.au/exhibitions/animals/

This Australian War Memorial website looks at war from the unique perspective of the animals that were involved, whether by design or as an unfortunate (or fortunate) circumstance. Animals have had important missions during war, served as mascots or morale boosters, while some have caused immense problems for soldiers in the field. Simply clicking on the "Video" or "Audio" tabs, near the top of the page, will take visitors to over two dozen silent and sound videos, and one dozen downloadable audio podcasts. Included here are videos from 1916-1918, of Light Horse, the Australian Cavalry unit, as well as the Camel Corps. There are also audio files, which are presented in the form of "A is for Animals", "G is for Gallipoli Donkey", and "N is for Navy Cats". These files explain the role of various animals during wartime, with a youthful flair and a witty sensibility. Teachers interested in using this website as a teaching tool are encouraged to look at the Teacher Resource Kit PDF, accessible at the top right hand side of the homepage. The lessons offer ideas for grade school through secondary school, as well as for families and communities. [KMG]

http://www.storysouth.com/

For six years, storySouth's mission has been "to showcase the best fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry that writers from the new south have to offer." Its aim is to inform the world that, like the new South, the writing of the "21st century south is a mix of traditional and new, regional and international." The website design is simple and clean, something on which they pride themselves. Visitors can just sit back with a cup of coffee and enjoy a good read by perusing the new offerings in the "Poetry", "Fiction", and "Nonfiction" sections found on the homepage. The "News" section of the site, which is on the right hand side of the page, includes book reviews and mp3 recordings of fiction and poetry readings. Visitors interested in submitting work can click on "guidelines" on the right side of the page to get information on submission periods, author's rights, the site's rights, and technical details. The Million Writer's Award, established by the founder of the site, is given each year to the best short story published online. Details about the award can be found in the lower right hand corner of the homepage. [KMG]

http://www.world-tourism-news.eu/

This site from the European Union "aims...to bring news, interesting articles, and case studies in Travel Marketing, Hotel Marketing, Travel Industry, Internet Marketing and Airline Industry," and provides information "to travel agents and hotels marketers, hoteliers, destination marketers and students of tourism." With those goals in mind, the site is wisely categorized at the top of the page, by the type of industry related to tourism. "Travel Marketing", "Internet Marketing" "Hotel Marketing" and "Airline Industry" are several of the categories for which news articles are provided. Examples of the content from the "Internet Marketing" category include "Expedia Sells Consumer Data to Advertisers" and "Technology Can Drive Tourism Innovation". At the bottom left hand side of any page visitors can take a look at all the tourism-related conferences throughout the world by watching the scrolling country flags that have, sometime, cryptic titles next to them indicating the name of the conference and their dates. A Google translator at the bottom of the page is also available for those who prefer to read the site in a different language. [KMG]

http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/gedney/

From the mid 1950s through the early 1980s, William Gedney photographed throughout the United States, in India, and in Europe and this collection of images and writings, at Duke University, spans more than 30 years and includes over 50,000 items. Created with the assistance of Duke students, the online collection contains almost 5,000 scanned photographic images, as well as over 1,000 scanned images of his writings and notebooks. Visitors who want to start at the beginning of Gedney's life should definitely check out the "Timeline", under the "Collection Info" heading located in the lower left side of any page. Rolling over any of the images in the timeline will give a date and location of the photo. A link to a separate chronology of his "Exhibitions and Publications" can be found at the end of the timeline, or in the "Page Content" menu to the right of the timeline. Visitors wishing to browse the collection can also find the "Browse" link under the "Collection Info" heading. The categories of photos and writings include "Composers, 1962-1968", "The Farm, 1950s" and "Kentucky, 1964 and 1971". The photos from Kentucky are not to be missed, with the arresting and mesmerizing images they present of rural families. [KMG]

http://www.c-span.org/Series/Communicators.aspx

C-SPAN has given viewers programs like the celebrated "BookTV" and "Booknotes" and now they have come out with "The Communicators". This program features a half-hour interview with "the people who shape our digital future." Interviews include the acting chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Fred Humphries of Microsoft Corporation's Federal Affairs division, and legislators concerned with such matters. At the top of the site's homepage, visitors will find the latest interview in the series, complete with additional relevant web resources. Further down the homepage, visitors will find a link to their podcasts, along with a complete listing of "Recent Programs". Here, visitors can also sign up to receive their RSS feed. The site is rounded out by a detailed set of "Web Resources" related to the federal government, which can be found on the right-hand side of the page. [KMG]

To find this resource and more high-quality online resources in math and science visit Scout's sister site - AMSER, the Applied Math and Science Educational Repository at http://amser.org.

http://pod.gscept.com/intro2gd2009.xml

There aren't many free online resources for learning about the world of video game design, so it was nice to come across this insightful podcast series on that very subject. Designed by a team based in Finland, the site contains over twenty podcasts and vodcasts that visitors can view directly from the site, or they can download them for use at another time. The two creators of this site are Janne Paavilainen and Annakaisa Kultima, and visitors would do well to start with their brief introduction, which can be found near the bottom of the page. Some of the topics covered include trends in game design, analyzing rules and narrative structure, design methods, and expert evaluation. [KMG]

To find this resource and more high-quality online resources in math and science visit Scout's sister site - AMSER, the Applied Math and Science Educational Repository at http://amser.org.

http://mulibraries.missouri.edu/specialcollections/exhibits/alleyoop75th.htm

Created in 1932 by cartoonist V.T. Hamlin, the comic strip Alley Oop chronicled the adventures of a prehistoric man as he made his way through daily life in the kingdom of Moo. Oop's various trials and tribulations also offered trenchant commentaries on suburban life in the United States, and Hamlin drew the strip himself for forty years. This online exhibition, created by the University of Missouri Libraries Special Collections, draws interested parties into the world of Alley Oop through a series of thoughtful essays and examples of Hamlin's work. The sections of the exhibit include "V.T. Hamlin", "Alley Oop and Popular Culture", and "After Alley Oop". Visitors should definitely check out the "Alley Oop and Popular Culture" area as it contains shots of the Alley Oop figurine, information on the short-lived Alley Oop musical, and the Alley Oop commemorative stamp. [KMG]

http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/online/artfulabe/

As part of the ongoing celebration of Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday (our 16th President was born February 12th, 1809), the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) invites you to play Artful Abe, an online game that connects outdoor sculptures with works at the Museum. Players begin by selecting a sculpture from a map, and then follow clues to find works at the Museum. For example, selecting the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. sends you on a scavenger hunt to find a portrait of Marian Anderson, who sang on the steps of Memorial before an audience of seventy-five thousand people, after she was barred by the Daughters of the American Revolution from performing in Washington's Constitution Hall. A limitation of the game is that visitors can only choose works that have been pre-selected by curators at SAAM - no selecting your own favorite Lincoln in your own state. As a partial remedy for this, the Museum has created the Artful Abe Flickr Pool ( http://www.flickr.com/groups/artfulabe/ ), where game players can upload additional Lincoln artworks that they have discovered, closer to their homes. [DS]

http://www.zonealarm.com/

ZoneAlarm is a piece of firewall software designed to protect computers from hackers. It features four interlocking security services, including an application control, an Internet lock, and a firewall. The program also includes an easy-to-use wizard device which will help less-experienced users with setting up the program. This version is compatible with computers running Windows XP and newer. [KMG]

http://www.floola.com/modules/wiwimod/

If you are looking for a way to organize all of your Bach and Basie tunes, you would do well to give the Floola application a glance. The program works much like iTunes, and it includes music, video, note taking, and photo support. It can also grab videos from the web and convert them to audio-only files. Finally, Floola also supports podcast catching and playlist conversion. This version is compatible with computers running Windows 98 and newer, Mac OS X 10.3.9 and newer, and Linux. [KMG]

Cycling jailbirds get their own Tour de France
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/feedarticle/8524818

Nearly 200 prisoners to bicycle across France
http://www.collegenews.com/index.php?/article/close_to_200_prisoners_bicycle_across_france_05272009304/

The Prison Workout: A Total Body Exercise Routine
http://health-fitness-solutions.blogspot.com/2007/05/prison-workout-total-body-exercise.html

Teampedia
http://www.teampedia.net/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

Prison Reform
http://books.google.com/books?id=m8MXAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA182&dq=prison+exercise&lr=&as_brr=1#PPP1,M1

Tour de France
http://www.letour.fr/indexus.html

Team building and other such group activities might remind some parties of days at summer camp or management trainee programs, but it would seem that French prison authorities have similar activities planned for some of their charges. This week, a number of media outlets, including the Guardian, reported that the first penal version of the Tour de France will be held this June. The idea behind this exercise is to foster shared values such as teamwork and group effort, and there will be plenty of guards on hand to monitor the proceedings. The finish line for this iteration of the Tour De France will also be in Paris, and the 196 prisoners taking part in the race will all cycle in a pack. Speaking on behalf of prison authorities, spokeswoman Sylvie Marion commented, "We want to show them that with some training, you can achieve your goals and start a new life." [KMG]

The first link will take users to an article from this Monday's Guardian about the forthcoming penal version of the Tour de France. The second link leads to a story from this Wednesday's College News, which offers some additional details on the race. Moving on, the third link leads to one of the websites maintained by Michael Paladin, a physical fitness consultant. In this particular post, he discusses a total body exercise routine that might be helpful for some. The fourth link leads to the homepage of Teampedia, which is a "collaborative encyclopedia of free team building activities." The fifth link leads to a 1917 work titled "Prison Reform", edited by Corinne Bacon. It's a rather fascinating read, and it contains chapters like "Impressions of the Convict Camps of Florida" and "Reformation of the Criminal". The last link leads to the official homepage of the Tour de France and visitors can learn more about the race, its participants, and the course route. [KMG]