The Scout Report -- Volume 27, Number 1

Perhaps readers hear the word "matchmaking" and think about a friend or family member scheming in one's romantic life. This collective envisions and enables the powers of matchmaking for a different purpose: research. The platform hopes to connect individuals with diverse skill sets and scholarly focuses so they can "seamlessly learn from each other." The group's Board of Matchmakers does the front-end work for users, sifting through researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to find experts who may mutually gain from collaborations. While these pairings often begin as informal partnerships and knowledge sharing opportunities, they have led to formalized associations, too. To explore how research4impact has influenced and improved various projects check out the Impact Stories page. On the Contact Us page readers can request matchmaking and sign up for a newsletter to stay in-the-loop on collaboration opportunities. For more information on the distinguished Board of Matchmakers, head over to the Who We Are page. research4impact is sponsored by the Rita Allen Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, SURFACE 51, and the Skoll Global Threats Fund. [EMB]

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During the mid-20th century, the Berkeley Folk Music Festival energized the University of California campus by bringing together West Coast folk aficionados. The Berkeley Folk Music Festival Project archives and further explores the rich history of the festival. The project takes on many mediums (including in-person programming, a digital archive and exhibit, and audio recordings). Readers may want to begin by reading the introductory paragraphs at the link above. As noted, the festival's impact is about more than musical melodies. It also encapsulates a moment in history representative of cultural shifts and historical struggles for liberation. With this background in mind, readers will find the various pieces of the project linked at the top of the page. The Berkeley Folk Music Festival Digital Repository, housed within Northwestern University's digital collection, provides more than 30,000 archive records (ranging from text and pictures to audio clips). Other sections include: a blog, social media accounts, and information about the Digitizing Folk Music History Research Seminar. Michael J. Kramer, an assistant professor of History at SUNY Brockport, is the principal investigator for the project. [EMB]

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As COVID-19 increases calls for #OpenEd, readers may be interested in this new report about Wikimedia (a hub for public domain educational content that is often used in classroom settings). Created by Wikimedia UK and the University of Edinburgh, the report analyzes the effectiveness of the platform through the lens of 14 case studies at UK universities. The report will be especially useful to educators in higher education, as the majority of the research focused on this sector. The summary above links out to Wikimedia Commons itself, where users can view and download the publication in multiple formats. Here, visitors will find each case study summarized with a course description, learning outcomes, and impact evaluation. Key findings highlight the value of student-led learning and content creation, the importance of global perspectives, and the utility of increased digital literacy. Whether or not readers choose to implement Wikimedia in their classrooms, these key findings serve as a universal grounding for curriculum planning. [EMB]

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Making the Mexican Ministry of Culture's valuable resources available online, Mexicana is a wonderful digital archive tool worth consulting during and beyond this period of increased online engagement. Readers with a particular interest may want to use the search bar in the top panel to explore by topic. For example, a search for "art" reveals nearly 2,000 entries on the site, with options on the left-hand panel to filter by medium or museum, and a more specific search for "painting" reveals a manageable 2 results. Alternatively, the Collection tab welcomes general browsing. Here, readers will find categories including Sound Memory, Visual Memory, and History. Within these broad categories, users will find various audio, video, and text records. Those looking to dive right into the best of the site can check out the Highlights section (under the Collection tab). However users choose to find records of interest, they will find each record is accompanied by a data sheet that highlights key details such as the home institution and collection. Mexicana is viewable in Spanish or English (switch between languages using the button in the top right corner). [EMB]

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Originally launched as a Twitter account (@OpenAcademics) and since expanded to a website, OpenAcademics has always created community online. But, as the platform notes, it "is more than just a community, it is a family." This family includes multidisciplinary academics who share the same pillars of "respect, diversity, inclusion, equity, and kindness." Academics and professionals who are formally or informally aligned with the group will find plenty of valuable tools on the Resources page. For example, the page houses professional development primers distilling tips on academic CVs, cover letters, elevator pitches, and personal statements. Those in research roles will benefit from the Conference Abstract and Research Paper Anatomy tips sheets, while those in development positions may enjoy the Grant Writing Process outline. All readers can benefit from the Useful Expressions infographic (essentially a pocket thesaurus) and the Writing a Formal Email cheat sheet. For even more useful resources, check out the Infographics page, which is home to important reminders about mental health and mentorship. [EMB]

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Learn from leading economists with "Women in Economics." Following the "Nobel Perspectives" model, under which UBS (a Swiss investment bank and finance company) has highlighted "the lives and work of Nobel Prize-winning economists," this video series uplifts the work of women in the field. Readers with limited economics knowledge should not fret, as the series focuses on making economic scholarship accessible to expert and non-expert audiences alike. Videos focus on economics scholarship generally, as well as highlighting gender inequities prevalent in the field and in economic outcomes. For example, in How will the pandemic impact emerging markets? IMF's Chief Economist Gita Gopinath expounds on COVID-19's influence over emerging market economies, noting the acute issues faced by those with less financial flexibility to stimulate the economy. Another video, What's the impact of the pandemic on gender equality? (posted the same day) features Michele Tertilt, a family economist who explains the unique barriers faced by women during COVID-19. Tertilt also provides a note of optimism on potential positive shifts moving forward. Viewers can tune into these videos and more at the link above, made available through the YouTube channel for VoxEU.org, a branch of the Centre for Economic Policy Research in London focused on "research-based policy analysis and commentary from leading economists." [EMB]

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Founded in 2013, Economies, an international, open-access, and peer-reviewed journal, has published more than 400 articles on economic theory, policy, and sustainability, among other topics. The Journal Browser tool in the left-hand panel allows users to jump between volumes and issues, and, with eight volumes and quarterly issues, there is plenty of research to peruse. Additionally, the latest articles are highlighted on the home page, and readers can sign up for email alerts to never miss a new release. Articles can be viewed online or downloaded as a PDF. Those interested in submitting to the journal will want to navigate to the Instructions for Authors page (found in the Journal Menu on the left-hand panel of the site). Here, readers will find detailed instructions and a submission checklist. Dr. Ralf Fendel (a professor at WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management, Germany) has served as the journal's Editor-in-Chief since its founding, and the journal is also managed by a global board of more than 80 members. [EMB]

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As a pivotal player in global economics, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may feel inaccessible to those less versed in fiscal and monetary policy. Alternatively, readers in the field may have niche interests and wish to further explore related scholarship. Wherever users fall on this spectrum, the IMF Podcasts hub has plenty of listening options to expand the listener's knowledge of economics and policy. Episodes run the gamut, bringing in experts to discuss natural environments and built environments; survey the economics and politics of a pandemic; and answer tough questions about demography and equity. Most of these episodes are less than 30 minutes long, distilling big ideas for easy listening (and making them a great fit for classroom settings). At the top of the page, listeners can filter the abundance of recordings by category (for example, "inequality" or "globalization") or search by a keyword. Listeners will also find episodes on iTunes, SoundCloud and Libsyn. [EMB]

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This September 2020 report, directed by Dana M. Peterson (then a Global Economist with Citi Research and currently Chief Economist at The Conference Board) with insight from Catherine L. Mann (Global Chief Economist at Citigroup), quantified the economic impact of racial inequality in the United States. Measuring a 20 year period, the research found a staggering 16 trillion dollar loss to the United States' economy as the result of racial disparities. This number was derived by tallying wage gaps, lost income as the result of education barriers, housing credit inequities, and prejudiced entrepreneurial lending. The report begins by acknowledging COVID-19's disparate impact on Black families and individuals, citing increased rates of job, food, and housing insecurity resulting from the pandemic and unequal relief distribution. Next, the report covers historical context, including a discussion of the legal barriers that proliferated economic inequality. Then, the report expounds on the four key areas mentioned above (the Racial Education Gap, the Racial Wealth Gap, the Racial Housing Gap, and the Racial Investment Gap). Finally, the last section of the report covers ways to close these gaps, including steps governments, companies, and individuals can take. [EMB]

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Birthday cake, croissants, and lemon meringue pie may not be the first objects that come to mind when one ponders micro- and macro-economics, but Bakeonomics350, a creative blog bringing economic principles to the kitchen, makes these fields tasty and tangible. The blog was started by Susan, an avid baker and professor of Economics, who combined both skills to show "the sweeter side of economics." Each post outlines a key econ concept, and then shares a recipe that ties it together. For example, readers can learn about how holiday treats influence demand chains and increase prices and then try their hand at baking Chocolate Covered Cherry Delights (a perfect treat to return to on Valentine's Day). The various tabs at the top of the site divide posts into categories based on economics principles, including Demand & Supply, Firm Decisions and Competition, and Trade. Additionally, the search bar at the top of the site is a handy browsing tool. Whether readers are guided by their thirst for knowledge or their taste buds, options abound. [EMB]

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Xonsh is a UNIX shell that uses Python syntax as much as possible. The Xonsh developers say that it "solves the problem that other shells do not fit your brain." It can be an excellent option for people who already know Python and want a command-line interface for their computer but who also find the syntax of older shells like bash, tcsh, or zsh to be inscrutable and awkward to use. The language provided by Xonsh "is a superset of Python 3.5+ with additional shell primitives that you are used to from Bash and IPython." The Xonsh Tutorial (available in the Documentation section of the site) provides a detailed overview of the language's features with links to complete technical references. The Installation section of the Documentation page describes how to set up Xonsh on Windows, macOS, and Linux computers. In addition to functioning as a command interpreter, Xonsh can also be used from within a Jupyter notebook. [CRH]

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Nebula is a "scalable overlay networking tool" that allows users to connect computers running anywhere in the world as if they were attached to the same network switch. It was created by the team at Slack to provide a way for hosts spread across a number of data centers and cloud providers to communicate securely. Within the software-defined network created by Nebula, users can place hosts into groups and create traffic routing rules that define how hosts and groups are allowed to talk to one another. In the Medium post linked from the project README, users can find a longer introduction to the project and its goals. The Technical Overview portion of the README provides links to detailed protocol specifications that describe how Nebula works. Nebula releases are provided for Windows, macOS, Linux, and FreeBSD. Clients for mobile devices are available in the iOS and Android stores. [CRH]

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Since it was last featured in the 2018-01-19 Scout Report, this resource has added a number of new multimedia offerings, including interactives discussing the impact of a $15 minimum wage, infographics on education, and a video covering the economic impacts of COVID-19.

The Economic Policy Institute's Multimedia page offers a wealth of resources that may especially appeal to economics instructors, students, journalists, and grant writers. These resources include video, audio, infographics, interactives, and presentations. In the video section, visitors will find conference presentations along with television appearances by EPI economists. Similarly, the audio section features clips from shows such as NPR's Planet Money. The infographics and interactives sections present a variety of data about economics and labor issues in the United States. Finally, the presentations section includes recorded content from EPI staff, accompanied by a short essay that outlines the presentation. [EMB] [MMB]

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