The Scout Report -- Volume 22, Number 36

Operation War Diary, an ongoing collaborative project between the Imperial War Museum (IWM) and the British National Archives, provides researchers and the general public with richer information about the experiences of WWI soldiers by examining Unit War Diaries from British and Indian Troops. Unit War Diaries were the official journals composed by each unit for the purpose of recording accounts of the war and improving unit practice. The British National Archives has digitized these volumes - over 1.5 million pages, total - and now, in honor of the centenary of the war has collaborated with the IWM. Using the web platform Zooniverse, which is designed to engage the general public in data analysis, Operation War Diary invites "citizen historians" to help tag these diaries through a number of categories, including subject, date, location, weather, and casualties. At this time, the site includes 41 diary pages. Operation War Diary is compatible with PCs using Google Chrome, Firefox, or Internet Explorer 9 or higher and on Mac computers with the latest version of Safari. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Stem Cells Across the Curriculum (SCAC) offers college-level lesson plans and activities designed to help students explore the intersections of science and society and explore ethical debates within the scientific community. These lessons have been crafted by a team of scholars with support from the New York State Stem Cell Science program,NYSTEM. As the team notes, "The topic of stem cells provides an engaging framework for integrating biological concepts and principles with a diverse range of perspectives spanning social justice, religious studies, gender studies, disability studies, and economics." SCAC includes four modules to engage students with these issues: a module about stem cell ownership and property, highlighting the Henrietta Lacks case; a module about the use of human eggs in stem cell research and the question of financial compensation; a module about stem cell research and disability rights; and a module about religious and cultural beliefs and discussions of ethics and stem cell research. All of these modules include complete lesson plans as well as links to readings, videos, and other accompanying resources. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Philosophy, critical thinking, and logic instructors looking to integrate current events, humor, and multimedia resources into their classes will want to take a peek at Philosophers and Critical Thinkers in Senior Schools (PACTISS), a free database of resources for philosophy and critical thinking classrooms. Managed by Peter Ellington, a critical thinking instructor at the University of Queensland, this website highlights a variety of outside resources, including popular newspaper articles, scholarly articles, engaging videos, brainteasers cartoons, humor, and photographs. Each of these resources can be used to illustrate a variety of philosophical concepts and help students connect these concepts to their everyday lives. Ellington accompanies each resource with a brief explanation or short essay that situates it within the field of philosophy. Browsing by topic is an easy way to navigate the site, offering material in the areas of Philosophy of Science, Deductive Logic, Social and Political Philosophy, Ethics and Moral Philosophy, and more. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Researchers of all disciplines who use qualitative methods - or students interested in learning more about qualitative approaches to research questions - may want to check out The Qualitative Report, an open-access, peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary journal dedicated to sharing, examining, and discussing qualitative work. Edited by an international group of social science scholars, The Qualitative Report has been published since 1990 and has been available online since 1994. Visitors to this webpage can download the most recent reports or browse through the journal's most popular articles. Recent items include an examination of the impact of a dissertation writing program on doctoral completion in an educational policy program and an analysis of how consumers of "Green" brand items in India assess their personality. All previously published articles from The Qualitative Report are archived here and are available for download. Articles are tagged by a variety of subjects, including Psychology, Teacher Education, and Social Commons. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

The Amherst College Library is home to the Younghee Kim-Wait (Class of 1982) and Pablo Eisenberg Collection of Native American Literature, a collection of digitized manuscripts highlighting Native American literature throughout the past three centuries. The collection, compiled by Eisenberg and purchased by Amherst in 2013 with a donation from Kim-Wait, is one of the most extensive private collections of Native American literature that exists, numbering well over 1,000 works. Amherst Library strives to continue to build and add to this collection, aiming to "document as thoroughly as possible the full spectrum of Native American writing and intellectual life from the 18th century to the present." On this website, visitors can learn about the collection, which includes rare works by famous authors including Zitkala Sa and Leslie Marmon Silko and late 18th century speeches and sermons. Visitors may explore digitized copies of items published before 1923 - and, thus, part of public commons. These items include the 1869 constitution of the Choctaw Nation and Elias Boudinot's 1823 speech, "An Address to the Whites." Meanwhile, the collection's Flickr page highlights book covers and other images from this collection. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Anyone who has written a grant proposal knows how challenging it can be to craft a strong and persuasive proposal, especially for those new to the endeavor. The University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries has compiled this resource list to help anyone applying for a grant understand what funders look for in grant proposals and how to best meet these expectations. Here, visitors can find links to websites that provide tips for writing a mission statement, a glossary of key vocabulary terms that are frequently used in grant applications, examples of grant narrative and budgets, and online courses dedicated to grant writing. These resources are sorted into common types of grant applications: government funding, non-government funding, and research grants, so that visitors can quickly identify resources most relevant to them. In addition to these websites, the UW-Madison Library provides visitors with book suggestions and materials from the library's workshop on grant funding. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Many famous works of European art highlight symbolic figures and images that reference mythology, biblical figures, or works of literature. Gods, Saints, and Heroes is an interactive guide that allows visitors to learn about such artistic symbolism. Created by Hannah Schockmel, a graduate student in Archeology and Art History at the University of Maryland, this website contains a number of Interactive Galleries, which are sorted thematically (Saints, Mythological Figures, Classical Heroes, Etc.). Each gallery includes numerous annotated paintings and sculptures, including Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Proserpine, Gustav Klimt's Pallas Athene, and Giuseppe Mazzuoli's The Death of Adonis. Visitors can learn more about certain images or artistic choices by moving their cursor over marked sections of each work of art. In addition to exploring the Interactive Galleries, visitors can also Browse by Symbol/Attribute or check out an Index of all figures in these works. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Infosecurity Magazine "has over ten years of experience providing information and insight into the information security industry." Published quarterly, Infosecurity is edited by a team of writers and infosecurity professionals based in the United Kingdom. On this website, visitors can read articles, interviews, reviews, and editorials regarding infosecurity news and developments from around the world. Readers can browse previously published articles by topic, including Application Security, Risk Management, Data Protection, Cybercrime, and Privacy. In additions, this website includes webinars for professionals looking to learn more about information security. Webinar titles include "How to Understand, Manage, and Control the Challenge of Privileged Access" and "How to Bring Security Best Practices to Life in Your Organization." [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Othmeralia is an engrossing Tumblr blog that highlights archival materials from the Othmer Library of Chemical History, part of the Chemical Heritage Foundation in Philadelphia. Since 1988, the Othmer Library has collected a variety of materials related to the history of chemistry, and is now home to over 140,000 rare books, photographs, oral histories, manuscripts, and other archival material. Othmeralia showcases these hidden treasures for members of the general public to enjoym while also highlighting archives of interest from other libraries. Updated almost daily, recent posts of note include an 1866 diagram of a contraption designed for "The Chemical Testing of Wine and Spirits"; striking, vibrant photographs of Indonesia's Kawah Ijen volcano, which produces a blue lava; and a vintage advertisement for plastics from the Dow Chemical Company. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

The Brooklyn Quarterly (abbreviated TBQ is a new publication designed for those interested in literature, poetry, and the role of language in the world. Both a quarterly digital magazine and a regularly updated blog, TBQ presents literature as public ideas via original poetry, original fiction, narrative essays, critical essays, and interviews. Complete past issues of the magazine are available here as well as the latest blog updates. The magazine is especially interested in explorations of the role of writing and creative writing in culture, society, and politics. Each issue of TBQ centers on a theme; recent themes include Literary Languages and Documentary and Documentation. Interested readers may sign up to receive updates on articles, upcoming issues, and events from TBQ by subscribing to the biweekly newsletter. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Basketball enthusiasts will want to check out this online exhibit, courtesy of the University of Kansas Library, that celebrates the life and career of James Naismith. In addition to items from the University of Kansas, where Naismith spent most of his career, this exhibit includes items collected by McGill University, where Naismith earned a bachelor's degree in 1887, and from Springfield College (then known as the YMCA Training School), where Naismith completed a one year program to be a YMCA Physical Director. It was at Springfield College, where Naismith held his first faculty appointment, that basketball was born. As the site authors explain, Naismith was "[u]rged by Luther Halsey Gulick, the college's superintendent of the physical department, to create a new indoor game 'that would be interesting, easy to learn, and easy to play in the winter and by artificial light.'" On this website, visitors can browse archives by institution or by a timeline of Naismith's life. Featured items include a photograph of the gymnasium that hosted the world's first game of basketball, a photograph of Naismith's McGill football team, and news clippings from the 1936 Olympics, the first to feature basketball. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Art History Today is a blog by art historians Tina Rivers Ryan and Sarah C. Schaefer dedicated to "exploring how art and its history shapes the world today." At the center of this blog is Ryan and Schaefer's monthly hour-long podcast State of the Arts, in which the duo explore a variety of art history related topics through lively discussion and interviews. Recent topics include an exploration of forgery, authenticity, originality and copying; an interview with art historian Harriet Senie about public memorials; and a discussion of the history of felines in art. Interested listeners can subscribe to State of the Arts on iTunes. However, Art History Today provides podcast listeners with a number of accompanying resources that make a visit to this blog well worthwhile. Here, each podcast is accompanied by numerous images of and links to additional articles, interviews, and analyses of interest. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Founded in 2008 by the nonprofit organization Science Connected, GotScience.org is a free, digital magazine dedicated to making recent scientific research available - and accessible - to members of the general public. Edited and authored by a diverse group of journalists, freelance writers, and photographers, GotScience.org summarizes and analyzes recent research studies and news events so that individuals understand the significance and limitations of these new studies. Each article includes links to original peer-reviewed journal studies. Visitors can search for articles by subject tags, including Astronomy, Engineering, Environment, and Health. Recent articles highlight research on solar energy, the effects of sunlight on sleep, and the impact of global climate change on the Totten Glacier in Antarctica. In addition to research summaries, GotScience.org also features interviews and book reviews. Educators can sign up for a free GotScience.org Discussion Guide. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Two million people ride the London tube system everyday. Tube Heartbeat is an interactive website that allows visitors to visualize daily movement along the tube system. Although designed in part to allow Londoners a way to chart their daily routes, Tube Heartbeat will be a welcome find for anyone interested in urban geography or planning. After selecting Play, site visitors will see certain stations and route lines swell and shrink in size, representing the daily ebb and flow of tube traffic. At any moment while viewing this interactive, users can pause and click on any station to get a detailed graph of the number of tube entrances, exits, and interchanges during each hour of the day. Visitors can also zoom in on stations of interest or check out the See the Change feature to learn which tube stations have seen an increase or decrease in traffic over time. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Over the course of the twentieth century, the women's physical education program at the University of Iowa "became a pioneer in in the development of graduate study and professional training." With only one female member of the Department of Physical Culture and Athletics in 1900, the Department of Physical Education was established in 1924, becoming an important entity in the development of graduate study and professional training. On this website, visitors can explore over 900 digitized photographs that document this fascinating history. With images dating from approximately 1900 to 1980, the collection is perhaps best browsed by category, including such activities as "field hockey," "horseback riding," and "women's basketball." An extensive Object Description accompanies each photograph. From the landing page, readers will also find a link to the Iowa Women's Archives, the contributing institution behind the collection. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Form and Landscape is part of Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A., a collaboration between several Los Angeles-area museums. Pacific Standard Time (PST) began in 2002 as a Getty initiative, and eventually involved over 60 cultural heritage institutions who put on a series of exhibitions and events in 2011 - 2012. Both the Index tab and the Exhibitions tab lead to a set of images that represent the sections of the exhibition: Archive, Consumption, Fabrication, Domesticity, and so on. However, starting from Index leads to a page of thumbnails, so to see the full display begin at Exhibitions. Collisions is primarily car crashes, dating from 1915 to 1960. Foodscapes provides a look at institutional and domestic kitchens and of course lots of L.A. diners complete with neon signs, such as Pokey's Restaurant at Beverly & Santa Monica Blvd., 1955; a 1954 McDonald's; and Clifton's Cafeteria in 1965. Stay tuned for 2017 when PST returns, with Pacific Standard Time LA/LA, Latin American and Latino art in Los Angeles. [DS]

Comment on or rate this resource

Email spam is a scourge that few can escape, slowing productivity and making it more difficult to focus on important emails. POPFile is an online tool that allows email users to sort incoming messages into categories that they create themselves. This allows users to manually classify emails in their inbox as spam. The system then "learns" to classify these emails based on your input. Users can create other categories that may also aid in organization, e.g. "work" or "personal." Interested readers will find both Windows and Mac OS X versions of POPFile for download. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Anyone looking to keep in touch with friends and family far away may want to check out WhatsApp, a handy messaging and calling app. Popular outside of the United States, WhatsApp allows users to share text messages, photographs, and videos with one another using WiFi, thus eliminating SMS fees. Free to download, WhatsApp can be used on iPhone, Android, and Windows phones as well as on desktop computers. In addition, users can share documents of 100mb or less. [MMB]

Comment on or rate this resource