The Scout Report -- Volume 15, Number 24

http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/IDEAS/

Housed at the London School of Economics and Political Science, the IDEAS center is dedicated to using the School's "unique resources for understanding international events in order to develop research and training programmes that can help us recognize how today's world came into being and how it may be changed." For persons interested in international affairs and policy, this site will be a delightful treat, and visitors can meander through their weblog, "Who's who" area, and calendar of events. The "IDEAS Reports" section is an area that should not be missed, and users can read and download top-notch reports such as "Prospects for Reform? The Iranian Elections" and "Afghanistan: Now You See Me?" The site is rounded out by the "Programmes" area which describes IDEAS' current research on the Cold War, Latin America, and the Balkans. [KMG]

http://www.cham.fcsh.unl.pt/eve/index.php?lang=en

Developed by the Centre for Overseas History located at the New University of Lisbon and the University of the Azores, this encyclopedia makes a wide range of materials related to the educational and cultural history of the discoveries of Portugal available to the web-browsing public. The project is meant for a broad audience, including academics, students, and persons with an interest in the age of exploration. The contents of the site are available in Portuguese and English, and visitors can click one of eight thematic areas (such as "Toponyms" and "Religion") to start their journey. After clicking on one of these themes, visitors will find a list of related terms on the left-hand side of the page. Clicking on one of these terms will return additional materials, and a list of related associated terms and words contained elsewhere within the virtual encyclopedia. It's a handy way to find other material that might be of interest, and it might even spark a new area to explore. Finally, visitors can also perform a "free search" across the entire work via a search engine in the top right-hand corner of the site. [KMG]

http://www.sph.umich.edu/mi-info/

As health care job opportunities continue to expand, a number of institutions have been developing online training materials to help support academic public health programs. One such program is the Michigan Informatics (MI-INFO) website, which contains a variety of tutorials that deal with health information and computer skills. All told, the site contains nine tutorials which include titles like "Evidence Based Public Health", "Finding Health Statistics Online", and "Searching the Public Health Literature". Each of the tutorials features key concept overviews, exercises, and case studies. Near the bottom of the site, visitors can find a user manual for the tutorials, and a place where they can offer their own feedback. The site is rounded out by the "Other Resources" area, which contains links to other relevant sites, such as the Michigan Public Health Training Center and the Greater Midwest Region of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. [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.darden.virginia.edu/BattenInstitute/BattenInstitute.aspx?menu_id=494

Located at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, the Batten Institute is "dedicated to the creation of knowledge about the transformative power of entrepreneurship and innovation and to the cultivation of principled, entrepreneurial leaders." They support this mission through sponsoring conferences and other events, along with crafting publications, briefs, and other such works. First-time visitors to the site can click on the "Initiatives" overview section to learn about their key thematic areas, which including health care, sustainability, and emerging markets. Moving on, the "Publications" area includes information about articles and books produced by Batten affiliates, and the "Batten Briefings" offer interesting insights from the world of business. In the "Experts" area, visitors can learn about affiliated Darden faculty and current Batten fellows. [KMG]

http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ICC/Home

The International Criminal Court (ICC) website can be viewed in French or English, and it should be noted that it is not part of the United Nations system. The "About the Court" link on the left hand side of the page is especially useful to provide the history of the founding of the court, as well as the purpose behind its founding. On the homepage are News and Highlights, as well as links to streaming video of the proceedings in two different courtrooms, in French or English and with a 30-minute delay. Several links underneath the video links provide the "Court Schedule", "Decisions", "Documents" and "Press Releases". On the left hand side of the page is a link to "Legal texts and tools", which includes the Official Journal of the ICC. The Journal contains the governing statute, which is the "Rome Statute", as well as "Rules of Procedure and Evidence" and the "Elements of Crimes". The Legal Tools comprise an impressive 25,000 documents and legal commentaries, 13 collections and databases, and four reference tools, all on international criminal law and justice. The "Recruitment" link on the left hand side of the page should interest any visitors looking for a unique job or internship opportunity in the area of international criminal law. [KMG]

http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/explore/dgexplore.cfm?topic=all&col_id=522

This New York Public Library collection of Italian dance materials covers the Renaissance to the early 20th century, assembled by none other than the son of the famed conductor Arturo Toscanini and his wife, a La Scala ballerina. Although the physical collection contains over 3,300 items, the number of digitized items is 373, which is still quite impressive. Visitors can click on "Collection Contents" to the right of the Niccolo Sanesi image on the homepage to see that the subject matter is broken down into "Ballets and theatrical dances", "Subjects, and "Portraits", and can be browsed via those broad categories. Alternatively, users can click on "See all images", on the homepage near the top of the page, and simply browse the collection of designs, lithographs, ephemera, and more. Visitors can click on "Add to Selections" below any image to purchase a print of the image or to start a request for editorial/creative use. The "My Selections" link at the very top of the page lets the visitor see what they have put in there, and remove it, if need be. [KMG]

http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/

The United States Department of Agriculture has the results of the 2007 Census of Agriculture now available on its website. Unlike the ten-year census of all people, the census of agriculture occurs every five years. But what exactly is counted in an agriculture census, you might ask? By looking at the USDA website under the Census Highlights section in the middle of the homepage, visitors can get a taste of what data is collected. "Farm Numbers", "Women Farmers", "Demographics", "Watersheds" and a number of farmers of different ethnic groups, such as "Asian Farmers", "Black Farmers" "Hispanic Farmers" and "American Indian Farmers" are all presented. Also, a few special surveys, which are linked at the bottom of the page address organic farming production and the use of irrigation in farming and ranching. Visitors interested in historical agricultural census data can find it on the left side of the page. The "Historical Years" link has data in ten year increments from 1840-1950, the later dates providing a wider range of data. Also on the left side of the page is a drop down box that allows users to search for census information for a particular state. [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.britishmuseum.org/explore/online_tours/britain/london_1753/london_1753.aspx

When the world was two and a half centuries younger, the British Museum was founded in London. That sprawling city on the Thames was fast becoming a major world capital, and visitors with a penchant for urban history will want to make their way through this online tour of the city as it appeared around the year 1753. Using historic prints and drawings from this time period, users can learn about five areas, including Covent Garden and Westminster. The first image sets a nice scene, as it depicts "The Imports of Great Britain from France". Moving on, visitors will also see a fine drawing of the City of London by Giovanni Antonio Canaletto and a print of a street crier by Paul Sandby. All told, it's a great way to learn a bit more about London during this period, and the exhibit succeeds on all fronts. [KMG]

http://www.dimitritiomkin.com/

Master of a melody and composer of many a rousing theme, composer Dimitri Tiomkin contributed greatly to the world of film music during his long career. Throughout his life, Tiomkin was a favorite of directors like Frank Capra, Alfred Hitchcock, and Howard Hawks. Some of the films he worked on include "Strangers on a Train", "High Noon", "The Old Man and the Sea", and "The Guns of Navarone". On this official website, visitors can listen to excerpts from his film scores, learn about his various awards, and also read a biographical essay. The "Photo Gallery" area is a real treat, and visitors can browse through photographs of Tiomkin, his wife, and some of the actors and directors he worked with over the years. The "Audio Clips" section contains clips from some of his most memorable scores, and visitors can also listen to them as they wander around the site. [KMG]

http://historicbuildings.unl.edu/

The University of Nebraska's campus in Lincoln has grown in interesting ways over the past 140 years, and this website offers curious parties an architectural tour of the City and East Campuses. Using architectural records and documents from the university's Facilities Management department and other publications, researchers at the University of Nebraska Libraries offer photographs and narrative essays on the histories of standing and demolished structures on both campuses. Visitors will want to start by reading the "Historical Overview" essay. After that, they can click on a tour of the City or East Campus as they wish. While the whole exhibit documents the transformation of the campuses and the mission of the university over the decades, a few buildings in particular are worth a closer look. Visitors should make sure to look at the Agricultural Experiment Station on the East Campus and the Temple on the City Campus. [KMG]

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

As talk about reinvesting in America's infrastructure continues to grow, some people are looking back to the public works projects of the New Deal as a model for thinking about how what a new "New Deal" might look like. American Radio Works has done a fine job of providing some perspective on this question in one of their recent documentaries, "Bridge to Somewhere". The program looks at the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, and the Public Works Administration. On the site, visitors can read transcripts of the segments dedicated to exploring each organization's legacy, complete with additional links to materials elsewhere on the web. Of course, visitors should listen to the complete program in its entirety, and they can also share the documentary with others via a number of social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter. Perhaps one of the most compelling features here is the section where reporter Catherine Winter talks about her own familial connection with the New Deal. [KMG]

http://archive.nlm.nih.gov/proj/ttp/intro.htm

Working together with the British Library, the National Library of Medicine created this delightful digitized collection of "rare and beautiful" historical books in the biomedical sciences. The website is designed to complement their physical kiosks at the Library, and they have done a remarkable job with this project. The site contains six important texts, including Hieronymus Brunschwigs Liber de Arte Distillandi, a crucial work from 1521 on chemical, alchemical, and distillation devices. Actually, this volume is a good place to start one's explorations, and visitors will find that "turning" the digital pages is quite easy. After getting their feet wet, users can move on to look over Robert Hooke's Micrographia and Vesalius' seminal work, De Humani Corporis Fabrica. [KMG]

http://www.rnh.com/

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II might be well known for such numbers as "People Will Say We're In Love" and "Happy Talk", but they were also rather astute businessmen. They started the Rogers & Hammerstein Organization in 1944, and today the organization represents works by those two tunesmiths, and others of their ilk such as Jerome Kern, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Sheldon Harnick. On the organization's homepage, visitors will find sections that include "Shows", "Songs", "Concerts", and "Gallery". In the "Shows" area, visitors can look up information about the shows the organization represents, along with information about obtaining performance rights. Moving on, the "Songs" section contains information about the songs represented by the organization, and they can be searched via a small search engine and an alphabetical listing. Finally, the "Gallery" area contains photographs and other ephemera from shows from "A Christmas Carol" to "Wings". [KMG]

http://www.femlink.org/

FemLink started out in 2006 in order to recognize a female video artist from each country who would produce a two-minute film around a central them. In 2006 the theme was fragility, and then the artists combined each of the videos into one in order to create a video collage. Visitors interested in viewing the first video can use the link entitled "The Video-Collage Fragility", which is accessible after clicking anywhere on the homepage. The video-collages from 2007-2009 are also available for viewing on the same page as "Fragility". A brief description of the theme is given, as well as biographies of the artists who contributed a video to the year's collage. The theme for 2007 was "Resistance", and in 2008 it was " Preoccupation". Interestingly, the theme for 2009 was Male, and for the first time, male artists were invited to contribute a short video on a woman artist from his country. The list of "Screenings and Exhibitions", accessible on the left side of the page, lists an impressive number of countries that have hosted the exhibition since 2006, including Lithuania, Uruguay, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Territories. [KMG]

http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/explore/index.cfm/category/jewellery

The National Maritime Museum in London has a collection of over 400 pieces of jewelry, including buckles, seals and lockets. Images of over 300 of those pieces are digitized and available online at the website of the National Maritime Museum. The jewelry here includes pieces that are connected to maritime figures, such as Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, but are also from successful passenger ship travel and shipwrecks, such as the Titanic. Visitors can view the collection by following the "Browse the entire collection" link under the "Search This Collection" heading in the top middle of the page. Viewing the collection as a list or by thumbnails are the two browsing options. Under the "View By" heading right below the "Search This Collection" heading, visitors can choose to view the collection by "Type", "Maker" or "Century". Once an image is chosen, each one can be purchased, e-mailed, enlarged, sent as an e-card or saved by clicking on the appropriate button below the image. [KMG]

http://blog.metmuseum.org/penandparchment/

The Metropolitan Museum is using a highly customized version of Word Press blogging software to present this exhibition web site that accompanies a show of medieval drawings. A little known area of art history, these Medieval drawings were created primarily in Western Europe, dating from the early 9th century to the late 1300s. The drawings can be viewed organized by themes, such as "Early Drawing and the Written Word," or "Drawing and the Learned Tradition," a section pointing out how a great many medieval drawings were made in monasteries, which were also centers for learning. It is also possible to jump to the end and see all exhibition images arranged on one long page. From this perspective, it is possible to see the variety: calligraphy (such as Initial T from Corbie, France in the early 9th century), battle scenes, pictures of saints and angels, a few diagrams, and one of the earliest known architectural renderings, Faade of Strasbourg Cathedral from the 1260s. [DS]

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

Mozilla Firefox continues to improve with each new release, and this version does not disappoint. Version 3.0.11 contains a drop-down menu with URLs from the browsing history and the bookmarks listings. The newest version of this browser also contains an add-on manager that allows visitors to save their previous trip to the Mozilla website. Additionally, visitors can also pause and resume downloads and merge forward and backward history lists. This version is compatible with computers running Windows 2000 and newer. [KMG]

http://jalbum.net/

Jalbum 8.3.5 offers an elegant and easy-to-use solution for users hoping to create online photo galleries. This version includes an updated photo editor, and all visitors need to do is to select the images they wish to add to their album, and the application does all of the work. Visitors can also take advantage of their templates, along with a selection of nifty-looking skins. This version is compatible with computers running Mac OS X 10.3.9 and newer. [KMG]

Juneteenth Worldwide Celebration
http://www.juneteenth.com/

Late to Freedom's Party, Texans Spread Word of Black Holiday
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/18/us/late-to-freedom-s-party-texans-spread-word-of-black-holiday.html?scp=4&sq=juneteenth%20-ellison&st=cse

Dishing Up Juneteenth
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/mighty-appetite/2007/06/making_room_for_juneteenth_at.html

Letter to President Obama
http://www.juneteenth.us/obama.html

Washington Juneteenth 2009 Calendar of Events
http://www.19thofjune.com/calendar/index.html

The Handbook of Texas Online: Juneteenth
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/JJ/lkj1.html

Today marks the 144th anniversary of the original Juneteenth on June 19th, 1865 when Union General Gordon Granger and federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to enforce the abolition of slavery. The move, however, was made nearly two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted, making Texas one of the last states to free its slaves. Until recently, Juneteenth was primarily celebrated in Texas, where it has been a state holiday since 1980. However, the last decade has seen an increase in the number of communities celebrating Juneteenth. In May, Kansas became the most recent state to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday, joining 30 others, and a movement to have the holiday recognized nationally has gained prominence. Juneteenth is traditionally celebrated as an outdoor potluck or barbeque with family, friends, and neighbors (don't forget the strawberry soda!) and larger communities will often sponsor citywide celebrations including public readings, speakers, and other events. Described in the above New York Times article from 2004 as "Martin Luther King's Birthday without the grieving," the celebrations commemorate African American freedom, and increasingly, that freedom is celebrated by Americans from all walks of life. And this year, the holiday has taken on an even more poignant aspect; if you look at local and regional newspapers across the country, you'll see that President Obama is a very sought-after attendee for each Juneteenth celebration. [ASC]

The first link will take visitors to some basic information about Juneteenth, its origins and celebrations, how others around the world celebrate, and how to get a Celebrate Juneteenth yard sign to bring the tradition to each neighborhood. The second article, by Julia Moskin of the New York Times, details the traditions of Juneteenth and how the popularity of the holiday is growing to include an increasingly diverse group of revelers. The third link is to A Mighty Appetite, Kim O'Donnel's Washington Post food blog, "your daily online bread." In this article, O'Donnel details a recipe for red rice that she believes merges American and African traditions to "tell the many stories of slavery." The fifth document is an open letter to President Obama from January of this year, requesting a presidential proclamation that Juneteenth be declared a national holiday. This request comes from Chairman of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation Rev. Ronald V. Myers Sr., and granting this request, in his words, would be "instrumental in bringing all Americans together in a spirit of unity and reconciliation." The sixth link takes visitors to the calendar page of the Washington D.C. Juneteenth 2009 celebration page, where they can find out about all the events of the weekend, including a 3K run, a prayer breakfast, and a memorial service. The last link, from the Handbook of Texas Online, ties the holiday to statewide traditions and how it has been celebrated in various Texas communities. [ASC]