The Scout Report -- Volume 22, Number 30

The Global Open Data Index, an initiative of Open Knowledge International, is at once an index of government open data and an assessment of these indexes. As the site notes, "Each year, governments are making more data available in an open format." The Global Open Data Index tracks whether these data are released in a way that is open and accessible to citizens, the media, and the generally curious. The Index ranks countries based on the availability and accessibility of data across 13 categories (including Election Results, Government Spending, and Legislation), displaying the results in an easily navigated infographic and map. Visitors to the site may also view open datasets, when available, by following links on these graphs or by conducting a text search. This makes the Global Open Data Index an excellent one stop shop for national data. Country rankings are updated annually. [MMB]

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F1000Research is an online journal that publishes articles, opinion pieces, posters, and slides relating to life science and medicine. Topics addressed in this journal include health, nutrition, disease, and ecology. As part of the open science movement, which seeks to make new scientific research quickly accessible to all, F1000Research publishes new articles within seven days of submission and allows visitors to read through the open peer review process themselves. This format allows science students and researchers to quickly engage in new publications and also, at times, explore conversation and critiques of recent studies. Visitors can browse recently published articles or conduct a text search for papers of interest. The Channels feature is another great way to explore published research. These thematic collections have been curated by institutions and context experts and include articles, posters, and slides - often from conference presentations. [MMB]

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Leo Strauss was a prominent twentieth century political philosopher who was especially concerned with the history of philosophy. Today, the University of Chicago - where Strauss taught for numerous years - is home to the Leo Strauss Center, which houses a collection of the philosopher's unpublished written and audio records. Notably, these holdings include audiotapes of Strauss's classroom lectures, including this sixteen week seminar course on Georg Hegel's posthumously published The Philosophy of History - a work especially relevant to Strauss's own research interests. In his opening lecture, Strauss notes that Hegel was, in many respects, the first political philosopher to view the study of history as central to political philosophy. Strauss also highlights that events in Hegel's life, such as the French Revolution, likely contributed to his thesis/antithesis/synthesis construction of the philosophy of history. Originally offered during the winter quarter of 1965, readers may download and listen to all 16 lectures, each about 80 minutes in length. [MMB]

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In 2004, English scholars Heather Ostman and Avis Hewitt founded the Kate Chopin International Society to promote the study of this American author "best known for her stories about sensitive daring women." KateChopin.org, which is sponsored by the Kate Chopin International Society, acts as an informational and educational site for Chopin afficionados. Visitors will find an extensive Biography of Chopin, full text of Chopin's Short Stories, and a link to the full text of The Awakening. Texts are accompanied by references to relevant critical essays, a list of themes and characters from each work, and frequently asked questions. The site's easy navigation may help students put Chopin into context and locate resources for writing assignments. Check out the News section to find out about recent Kate Chopin developments, including new translations, adaptations, and scholarship. [MMB]

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The Pew Research Center recently released a study indicating that as a whole, Americans are more "worried" than "enthusiastic" about three emerging biomedical technologies. For the study, researchers surveyed over 4,000 U.S. citizens about three potential human enhancements: gene editing in babies to reduce the risk of serious disease; the implementations of brian chips to improve cognitive functions like concentration; and synthetic blood transfusions to improve physical ability. The majority of those surveyed expressed that they were either "very" or "somewhat" worried about these potential technologies - although almost half of those surveyed also expressed enthusiasm for gene editing in babies. In this 132-page report, the authors closely examine these survey results, examining, among other issues, how religious beliefs impact views about biomedical technologies and highlighting widespread concerns about how science may aide inequality. [MMB]

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Founded in 1982 and currently published out of the Center on Rural Education and Communities at Penn State University, the Journal of Research in Rural Education features scholarly articles and book reviews about rural education. As the journal states, "We welcome single-study investigations, historical and philosophical analyses, research syntheses, theoretical pieces, and policy analyses from multiple disciplinary and methodological perspectives." Global in scope, recently published articles include an assessment of professional development opportunities for rural teachers, an examination of student performance at rural community colleges, and rural school closures in Finland. The Journal of Research in Rural Education is available entirely online with an extensive collection of Archived Volumes. Interested visitors can also subscribe to receive email notifications when a new article is published. [MMB]

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Chicana por Mi Raza is an ongoing digital humanities project that collects and archives materials about Chicana feminist activists during the late 20th century. Headed by Maria Cotera, Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of Michigan, and filmmaker and doctoral student Linda Garcia Merchant, the project includes contributions by numerous graduate and undergraduate students as well. At the heart of Chicana por Mi Raza is a series of powerful interviews with Chicana women from across the United States who were involved in the Chicana Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. In these interviews, women describe their experiences growing up and the events, people, and experiences that shaped their activism. Clips from these powerful oral histories can be found in the Timelines section and are tagged by subject. The site also includes archival material donated by the interviewees - including photographs, pamphlets, and student poetry. [MMB]

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The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) produces BLOSSOMS (Blended Learning Open Source Science or Math Studies), a series of instructional videos designed to enhance high school math and science instruction. In this video, Natalie Kuldell, a professor in MIT's Bioengineering department, leads a classroom activity designed to help students understand the concept and processes of protein purification. The majority of this fifteen-minute video is designed to be shown to students during a single class period. Dr. Kuldell describes the potential uses for protein purification in fields of medicine and engineering. Next, she provides clear instructions for group activities designed to help students draw on their background knowledge about cell types and brainstorm potential methods for protein purification. (The video pauses to provide students with a chance to work on assignments, simulating the experience of a guest teacher). At the end of this video, Dr. Kuldell provides suggestions to instructors about where to situate this single lesson in a science curriculum and possible lesson adaptations. [MMB]

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Gustav Klimt fans will love this gorgeously designed, informative website created by the New York Art Resources Consortium, a collaboration between the Frick Collection, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). This online exhibit is dedicated to the Vienna Secession, an Austrian artistic movement that Klimt led between 1897-1904. During this time, the group put on 25 exhibitions at the Secession House in Vienna, two of which are highlighted here. The Beethoven Exhibit, which was inspired by Richard Wagner's rendition of Beethoven's 9th symphony, featured Klimt's Beethoven Frieze: The Kiss to the Whole World. Meanwhile, the Klimt Exhibit solely featured Klimt's work, including The Pear Tree and Pallas Athene. On this website, visitors can view these paintings in detail, examine the digitized catalogs of all Vienna Secession exhibits, and browse promotional postcards and posters. In addition, readers will find a detailed timeline of the Vienna Secession movement and information about the Secession House. [MMB]

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Funded by the Science Media Centre, a science and technology journalism organization in New Zealand, Sciblogs is a collection of multiple science blogs addressing all aspects of science, including health, technology, and the environment. Visitors to this website can browse for blog entries of interest across all affiliate blogs via general topics. Alternatively, users can explore individual blogs at their leisure, such as Mind Matters, a blog focused on brain science; Nano Girl, a blog dedicated to nanotechnology; and Physics Stops, about all things physics. Each blog is authored by a different scholar, journalist, or research scientist, resulting in a multitude of voices and perspectives. Sciblogs publishes new entries from all of its affiliate blogs on its homepage, facilitating browsing and allowing visitors to quickly stay up-to-date on their favorite topics. [MMB]

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Between 1988 and 1998, Michigan State University's College of Arts and Letters established the Celebrity Lecture Series, a series in which famous writers (and the occasional artist) were invited by Dean John W. Eadie to speak at the university. In commemoration of this popular series, the staff at MSU's MATRIX created this online archive where students, faculty, and community members may browse and listen to over 30 lectures. These lectures, which range from one to two hours in length, feature Susan Sontag speaking on illness as metaphor; Arthur Miller reading a wide variety of selections of his own work; and Maya Angelou discussing the art of poetry. Visitors may also listen to talks by Amy Tan, Kurt Vonnegut, E.L. Doctorow, and presidential biographer David McCullough. Each lecture is accompanied by a photograph of the speaker, taken by Douglas Elbinger. Site visitors may also conduct a keyword search or sort through Lecture Topics to find a specific lecture of interest. [MMB]

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Europeana 1914-1918, a project based at the University of Oxford, hosts a remarkable collection of primary documents relating to World War I, collected by individuals, libraries, and film archives across Europe. On this website, visitors may browse through hundreds of Letters, Diaries, Photographs, World War I Films, Official Documents, and Postcards. Each resource type is further sorted by Subject (Propaganda, Women, Aerial Warfare, etc.) or Front (Italian Front, Home Front, Eastern Front, and Western Front), letting visitors explore the experiences and perspectives of European, American, Australian, and New Zealand soldiers. Each item is annotated and includes a brief description that provides relevant context. The letters and diaries comprise an especially powerful component of this project, allowing modern day readers a glimpse into the daily lives of soldiers. (Note that these sources are digitized - with the exception of a few that need to be ordered - but not translated. However, most non-English sources do include a brief English description). Europeana 1914-1918 welcomes ongoing contributions from individuals to add to their rich collection. [MMB]

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If you ever wondered about the best fonts available in the year 1915 or are interested in what messages different kinds of fonts connote to different people, then Alphabettes is for you. Alphabettes is a blog authored by "a loose network" of 157 women who work in lettering, typography, and type design and "is here to support and promote the work of all women in our fields." Readers can browse typography News & Notes for updates about the field; read Commentary on typography and issues of gender in the field of typography; or check out the Showcase, which features unique typography from around the world (often in the form of currency). While News & Notes is aimed more at professionals, these other sections are engaging to any member of the general public with a curiosity about fonts. And while the Research section of the site veers a bit more toward the academic, visitors may find other bits of interest here as well - including Herbert Bayer's 1926 proposal for a universal alphabet. [MMB]

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Rambles, Travels, and Maps, a digitial collection from Villanova University, is introduced as follows: "Here reside narratives of wanderings real or imaginary, travel guides, charts, and maps." On the "imaginary" side, visitors can read Jean Jacques Barthelemy's Travels of Anacharsis the younger in Greece, a late eighteenth century novel that portrays a fictional travelogue of ancient Greece. Most of this collection, however features real travel guides and narratives, such as John Ogilby's 1712 The Traveller's Guide, or a most exact description of the roads of England. This collection also includes a varieity of maps and atlases dating from 1594 through 1939. As a whole, Rambles, Travels, and Maps provides a glimpse into how people have explored, imagined, and made sense of place throughout centuries. [MMB]

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Sawbones is a podcast hosted by spouses Dr. Sydnee and Justin McElroy (hence, the title) that explores a variety of misconceptions throughout the history of medicine. On this website, readers can listen to regularly updated episodes (147 so far) that address issues like the ailments of former U.S. presidents; the history of earache cures; and fasting throughout world history. While this podcast focuses on medical history for the most part, it also contains a regular feature called Goofy Medical Questions, which addresses common queries that many folks have wondered, but are perhaps too sheepish to ask their doctor (e.g. "Is it really so bad to pop a pimple?"). Each episode is approximately one hour in length. Interested listeners can also subscribe on iTunes. [MMB]

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Venngage is an online tool that facilitates visual story-telling via eye-catching charts, maps, icons, and visuals that can be used on infographics, reports, or posters. There are dozens of templates for users to explore, all sorted into categories such as statistics, timelines, geography, and comparison. After signing up for a free account, users can create templates for reporting budget projections (in the Reports tab) or informational posters to describe procedures (in the Posters tab). The Posters section may be of special interest to anyone looking to sleekly incorporate graphs and charts into a poster presentation for the classroom or at a conference. While some of the templates require a monthly subscription, others are free and available for anyone to use. [MMB]

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This free calendar application for Apple and Android mobile devices may appeal most to users who live by the motto, "one day at a time." Daily schedules are presented on a 12-hour clock face accompanied by a smaller weekly calendar at the bottom of the screen. When users add daily agenda items, a timer indicates the amount of time until the next agenda item begins. Users can quickly add agenda items for any point in the future. Dials syncs with Google Calendars, so users can easily update appointments and reminders from their Google accounts. For the aesthetically inclined user looking for an alternative to the more traditional calendar applications, Dials' unique interface may be the solution. Available for Apple devices running iOS 9.0 and up and on Android devices 4.2+. [MMB]

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