The Scout Report -- Volume 26, Number 27

The Brave is a must-watch for readers looking for inspiration from "people all around us building a better, brighter world." The series divides its 15 videos into 3 themes: Voices, Community, and Planet. Each theme tells the story of five inspiring individuals or couples. The Voices collection celebrates those who "stand proud in their identities and amplify the voices of others." Here viewers will meet Cole Sydnor and Charisma Jamison (an interabled couple who started a vlog to inform and inspire others) and Khalida Rashid (a journalist at Afghanistan's "first all-female news network,"), as well as other inspiring individuals. The Community section highlights the work of incredible neighbors and community members, including Rick Baker (a highly successful cross country coach committed to sustaining the cultural traditions of the Hopi people) and Donahue Fields (founder of U.S. Adaptive Boxing). Finally, the Planet collection showcases environmental advocates, including Greta Thunberg (teenage climate activist and nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize) and Richardson Gustave (who works to fight poverty and environmental degradation in Haiti through micro-recycling organization Plastic Bank). Each video is less than 10 minutes long. Though they are short, they are incredibly powerful. The Brave was produced by the global media company Great Big Story, also responsible for the On the Brink series featured in the 05-15-2020 Scout Report. [EMB]

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On November 26, 2011, the Curiosity rover launched into space, where it traveled millions of miles (over a period of months) to land on Mars. Access Mars invites readers along for the journey, "let[ting] you explore a 3D replica of the Martian surface, exactly as it was recorded by the Curiosity rover." NASA scientists created this realistic browsing model using photographs collected by the rover. The model invites viewers to "learn," "move," and "travel." As visitors explore the site, they will encounter a series of pinpoints with background information and photographs. The map icon in the model allows users to jump to new landing sites and terrain. Visitors can navigate the site with their mouse and keyboard (using the arrow keys). Access Mars is a WebVR Experiment made in collaboration with Google and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Readers can learn more about the creation process on the About page. [EMB]

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Launched in 2015, Spark Science is a podcast highlighting scientists and their work. The goal of the show is "to make science more accessible and less intimidating." Dr. Regina Barber DeGraaff hosts the show, bringing a wealth of knowledge in astronomy, physics, and science communications. With 6 seasons and 100 episodes as of this write-up, the show also has a wealth of content. Episodes are cataloged by season on the Podcast page and are archived by month on the About page. The show's content varies widely, from the Mars Rover launch (see the May 23, 2020 episode "The Road to the Red Planet") to navigating Seasonal Affective Disorder (see the May 10, 2020 episode "Beyond the Blues with Dr. Sis"). However, a common theme is the show's ability to "humanize the 'scientist' [and] ... to share stories that include scientists' backgrounds, humor, and struggles as well as their work." The show is a project of Western Washington University and airs on KMRE Radio (based out of Washington). Readers can also stream episodes on popular podcast platforms and at the link above. On the Science Sparks site visitors will also find a Blog and Videos. [EMB]

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It is a question that has divided people for centuries: Are you a cat person or a dog person? Whether you prefer felines or canines, many questions surround both species. For example, Nadieh Bremer, a data visualization designer and long-time cat owner, wondered, "Why does my cat go crazy for my sweaty gym clothes?" Recognizing that many people turn to the internet for answers, Bremer created Why Do Cats and Dogs, a project using Google Trends data from 2014-2018 to examine the "most asked questions about cats and dogs that start with the word 'why' in Google Search." The project's landing page welcomes users to choose a track: dogs, cats, or "Surprise me!" (which randomly selects one or the other). After making this selection, readers can explore the popular inquiries people Googled for each animal. Questions are grouped topically (e.g. Likes and Dislikes and Licking, Biting & More) and visualized by the popularity of search terms. Users can toggle over search terms for additional backstory, or click on them to generate the Google search for themselves. Scrolling to the bottom of either dataset, readers will find a query bar to free-form search the data, as well as additional content comparing cat and dog searches on a global scale. Whether visitors learn something insightful (such as why dogs bark) or silly (such as why cats are scared of cucumbers), this data visualization project is definitely worth checking out. [EMB]

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Science and storytelling merge with Distillations, an extension of the Science History Institute that seeks to "us[e] stories from science's past to better understand our world." Building on the Science History Institute's exhibitions (featured in the 08-09-2019 and 11-02-2018 Scout Reports), Distillations employs a variety of storytelling mediums such as including articles, podcasts, and videos. Readers can browse these materials by theme (for example, Early Science & Alchemy and Policy & Politics). The left side of the site lists all included themes. Visitors can also skip to the Videos page, which covers a variety of topics, from major medical advances to creative science cartoons, as well as a series highlighting objects from the Science History Institute's collections. The site also hosts a Podcast that covers a range of subjects, including culture, health, and the environment. Recently, the show started a "Pandemic Perspectives" series, which offers insights "from the heart of the crisis." Each episode's audio is accompanied by a transcript and research notes. Readers can also find the podcast on most listening platforms (all of which are embedded under the How to Listen section of the Podcast page). Readers who have an idea for the podcast not yet covered by one of the more than 250 existing episodes can even make a pitch via the link on the Podcast or About pages. [EMB]

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Described as a "puzzle of urban mobility space," What the Street!? explores how major cities around the world allocate their mobile space. Using OpenStreetMap software, data scientists and designers Michael Szell and Stephan Bogner creatively graphed parts of major cities' infrastructure. Currently, more than 20 cities are available, including Beijing, Chicago, Rome, and Johannesburg. To select a city, click on the down arrow next to "Who owns" on the project's landing page. From there, visitors can scroll through the interactive data visualization project to see how much of the city is covered by parking lots, compared to rail lines or bike paths. Additionally, clicking on a color-coded data piece brings up its real-life location via Google maps. Szell and Bogner created the project during their residencies with moovel lab (now move lab), a think-space focused on "the future of mobility." Readers interested in the design process behind What the Street!? may want to read the creators' corresponding blog post (linked on the About page). Here, readers will learn more about how and why the project was launched. [EMB]

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"How do you move a city?" Kiruna Forever, an exhibition physically located at The Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design (ArkDes) and virtually available to viewers worldwide, explores this question. Kiruna is a city in Sweden undergoing "one of the biggest urban transformation projects in modern history ... [as it] is being relocated by three kilometres due to the expansion of the mine around which Kiruna was built." Many of its residents, especially the Indigenous residents, must relocate, and historic landmarks are being destroyed or moved. Led by curator Carlos Minguez Carrasco, Kiruna Forever investigates these major changes and their impacts. Viewers will see work from architects, urban planners, and artists, learn more about the history of Kiruna and its residents, and be challenged to think about limits on natural resources and the loss of residents' identity. The video also features other guests, and readers should note that some guests converse in Swedish. The full list of presenter, architect, and artist credits is available below the video. Scrolling to the bottom of the page, readers will find additional multimedia resources from ArtDes (in a mixture of English and Swedish). [EMB]

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Currently on its 10th volume, Buildings is a "peer-reviewed, open access journal on building science, building engineering and architecture." At the link above, readers can browse articles from all of these volumes. The Journal Browser tool on the left-hand side invites readers to filter by volume and issue, and the journal's home page lists articles in order of recency. Click on a piece to view an excerpt and download the full text. Those interested in searching for a particular topic or author can do so using the query bar at the top of the site. While the default search option limits results to articles from Buildings, readers should note they can adjust this setting to search other journals. Those interested in receiving the latest issue straight to their inbox can subscribe via the E-Mail Alert box in the top-right corner. Additionally, architects and engineers can submit publishing or reviewing requests via the box in the top-left corner. The journal is published by the Multidisciplinary Publishing Institute (MDPI) (publisher of Genes, featured in the 12-16-2016 Scout Report). MDPI is known for its commitment to "scholarly open access publishing." May Zheng serves as Managing Editor of Buildings, and Dr. Claudia Aunos is the Publishing Manager. [EMB]

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Created by Parsons School of Design student Joe Steele, Moving the Line: Shifting Borders and Disparities in American Cities is an interactive data visualization project exploring the relationship between "interpersonal prejudice" and "institutional causes" of discrimination. The resource begins by providing a brief history of redlining, a process defined as "the selective denial of credit and services to physically-defined spaces, on the basis of race." Then, using Philadelphia as an example, the project shows how these disparities continue to have effects in the present-day. Interactive maps allow users to investigate changes and parallels in housing disparities over nearly a century. For example, users can select "Scale Tracts by Income" or "Scale Tracts by Housing Value" and watch the data come to life, visually representing different "spatial disparities" based on race and socioeconomic status. In doing so, Moving the Line leaves a clear message: "place matters." This resource was created with Mapbox and OpenStreetMap technology. [EMB]

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Architecture aficionados will delight in the Pacific Coast Architecture Database (PCAD). Alan Michelson, head of the Built Environments Library at the University of Washington-Seattle, first launched the site in 2002 as "CAD" (California Architecture Database). In 2005, a career move to the University of Washington allowed him to expand the project to include Oregon and Washington. PCAD documents information on impressive architecture and architects, including history, geography, and "impact[s] on the built environment." The query bar at the top of the site welcomes users to "search for a person, firm, or building." There are also pages dedicated to each of these three categories. On the People page, users will find a list of more than 8,000 architects, designers, and similar figures. The Buildings page highlights more than 20,000 structures (listed by address). Clicking on an address reveals additional information such as maps, images, and historical details. Finally, the Firms page provides an alphabetized index of more than 6,000 architecture and design firms. Additionally, the More tab provides articles, exhibitions, pictures, and access to the PCAD Blog (last updated in 2015). [EMB]

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Jamulus is a low-latency streaming audio platform that "enables musicians to perform real-time jam sessions over the internet." Any connection with a bandwidth of over 200 Kbps and a ping time to the Jamulus servers of less than 40ms should suffice. If none of the public Jamulus servers have sufficiently low ping times, users may opt to run their own server as well. The Getting Started page on the Jamulus Wiki provides detailed instructions on how to install and configure the Jamulus client software on Windows, Linux, and Macintosh computers. The Hardware Setup section provides additional information on setting up audio hardware, including a list of hardware known to work well. Detailed documentation on all the options in the client software is presented on the Jamulus Help Manual page. Installers for Windows and macOS can be located on the Jamulus website. Linux and BSD users can locate packages in their system's package repositories. [CRH]

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Double Commander is a cross platform dual-pane file manager inspired by the Windows-only Total Commander. In addition to allowing users to move files between the two directories displayed in its two panes, Double Commander can also compare the contents of those directories. It can be set either to highlight files that differ or those that are identical. For files that differ, Double Commander provides a built-in file comparison tool to determine what specifically is different. Users can bookmark specific locations for quick access in the future and can open numerous locations simultaneously in tabs. Archive files (for example, .zip or .tar) can be browsed as if they were directories without needing to unpack them. For quick changes to text file formats, Double Commander includes a built-in text editor. Double Commander also provides a full-text search feature to query within selected directories. Installers are provided on the Double Commander website for Windows, macOS, Linux, and FreeBSD systems. [CRH]

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Since its feature in the 06-07-2019 Scout Report, Architectural Histories has released its eighth volume of work, which includes scholarship on the evolution of Swedish room design and "the 'spatialisation' of race in postwar Britain."

Readers with a scholarly interest in the history of architecture and the built environment may appreciate Architectural Histories, the journal of the European Architectural History Network. Launched in 2012, Architectural Histories is a peer-reviewed, open-access digital journal that "creates a space where historically grounded research into all aspects of architecture and the built environment can be made public, consulted, and discussed." As of this write-up there are eight volumes with well over one hundred articles in the journal's archives and new articles published on a rolling basis. In addition to Architectural Histories's annual issue, it also publishes special collections of articles exploring themes such as how the concept of "Europe" interacts with modern geopolitics in architecture and how travel has shaped architecture through time and space. The publication's editor-in-chief is Petra Brouwer, an assistant professor of architectural history at the University of Amsterdam, and the journal boasts an international team of editors at universities around the world. Architectural Histories is published by Ubiquity Press and indexed by EBSCOHost, Google Scholar, SCOPUS, CrossRef, and other services.

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