The Scout Report -- Volume 27, Number 17

Founded in 1994, The Actuarial Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in Illinois, is dedicated to math education and financial literacy. In fulfillment of this mission, the organization creates and collects various free educational materials. At the link above, readers will find a wealth of lesson plans designed for grades 4-12. Math educators can use the tabs at the top of the page to narrow the lesson plans by topic (e.g., "Data and Statistics" or "Geometry"). Most lessons include multiple activities and an assessment template. Some are created in-house and available as a downloadable PDF, while others link out to similar educational sites (e.g., Scholastic.com). Clicking on a lesson plan also reveals "related resources," so educators looking to build a whole unit from individual lesson plans can easily do so. In addition to the lesson plans found within this Teacher and Student resources section, educators may want to explore the Building Your Future curriculum. Also available via the Free Resources tab, these materials are designed to educate high school students on financial decision making. The four-part series includes handouts for students and educators. [EMB]

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Calling all geospatial analysts: It is time to start those (Google Earth) Engines with this fantastic resource. For readers unfamiliar with Google Earth Engine, the platform provides satellite imagery and maintains a public data archive for academic, non-profit, business, and government users. Those new to the platform will benefit from the lessons at the link above. Led by Qiusheng Wu, an assistant professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, the tutorials provide in-depth instructions on managing and analyzing geospatial datasets. Over the course of more than 20 videos, viewers are provided with step-by-step examples of everything from familiarizing oneself with Google Earth Engine's features to customizing and styling vector data. Most videos are about 30 minutes long, so viewers will need to dedicate at least 10 hours to complete the entire course. However, videos are neatly labeled to allow users to skip around as necessary, too. Readers will also want to follow the link in the description box to get access to the Jupyter notebook examples. [EMB]

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Launched at Quinnipiac University's School of Communications (Hamden, Connecticut), Ability Media answers to a crucial gap in journalism and media: "the lack of representation of people with different abilities in the content and in jobs." Millions of individuals have a disability, yet "less than two percent of the film and TV workforce is disabled." Led by Emmy-winning sports journalist Dave Stevens, Ability Media is correcting this lack of representation and ensuring that people with different abilities are fully represented, both in the content and creation of media stories. The Home page highlights recent stories from Ability Media and links to the group's YouTube channel. Though the organization is relatively new, readers will still find plenty of archived offerings to enjoy. The Content tab categorizes materials by medium. Readers will find written articles, videos, a photo gallery, and two podcasts, Behind the Mind (focused on mental health) and Different Lights (dedicated to challenging misconceptions about people with disabilities). Additionally, the Resources tab lists a network of like-minded organizations providing "the latest disability related news." [EMB]

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Historians may enjoy this interactive project that tracks the Tudor government's communication network. Using materials from the United Kingdom's State Papers archive, the project provides unique insights on the period from Henry VIII's accession to Elizabeth I's death (covering 1509-1603). The thick black lines represent individuals, and the blue and red offshoots show letters sent and received. Essentially, these lines trace communications in a modernized version of a string-and-pin corkboard organizational tool. With more than 100,000 letters from more than 20,000 people inputted, the project provides a comprehensive overview of the breadth of communications that were exchanged. Before clicking through the different individuals and paths, readers will want to begin with the introduction video, linked in the top left corner. This three minute clip provides a brief history and describes how to navigate the platform. This project was a collaboration between Ruth and Sebastian Ahnert, who contributed the research, and Kim Albrecht, who created the visualization. This data visualization is one component of Tudor Networks of Power, which receives funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, Stanford Humanities Center, and Queen Mary University of London. [EMB]

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The Samoan Scientist Podcast is all about breaking down misconceptions about scientists, fostering personal growth, and supporting listeners' scientific journeys. The host, Amy, is a scientist born in New Zealand of Samoan heritage and uses the platform to uplift other Indigenous scientists. In the trove of episodes released since the show's launch in 2019 listeners will hear from guests with a range of expertise, from tech developers (see "Eteroa Lafele - Software Engineer") to environmentalists (see "Lolo Tukuafu - Environmental Scientist"). In addition to these conversations, Amy also shares solo episodes that discuss the joys and challenges of science careers (and life, generally). Episode lengths vary widely, so listeners have plenty of options to accommodate how much time they have. Want to ask Amy a question? The Message button on the Anchor platform linked above allows listeners to record and share questions. The podcast is available on most popular listening platforms, and readers will see these options linked under "Where to listen." Readers can also find Amy on Instagram (@samoan_scientist) and Twitter (@ScientistSamoan). [EMB]

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Presented by the Harvard Divinity School (HDS), Religion in Context reminds readers that "religious literacy" involves going beyond generalizations to understand the ways each religion is "internally diverse, historically dynamic, and embedded in culture." At the link above, readers will find information on five world Religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. Additionally, readers will find Case Studies exploring how religions respond to pressing social issues, including climate change and conflict. Other features include a section on Arts and Culture (sharing relevant blog posts and stories) and Country Profiles (highlighting the religious diversity across continents and within countries). Along with the Religion in Context section, readers may wish to explore other sections of the HDS site. For example, the News and Events section recaps recent news, highlights forthcoming events, and links to the Ministry of Ideas podcast, which explores the intersection of religion and society. HDS's religious literacy materials became publicly available in 2015, and the offerings have continuously expanded since. [EMB]

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Released in January 2021, this Pew Research Center report discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on religious beliefs. Relying on data from a summer 2020 survey of "14 economically developed countries," researchers found that "nearly 3-in-10 U.S. adults say the outbreak has boosted their faith," and "about 4-in-10 say it has tightened family bonds." Throughout the report, readers will find useful charts that show responses by country (representative of four continents), as well as other categories (such as income). In addition to statistical analysis, the report provides a historical and social backdrop, including discussion on the trends toward secularization and the influence of familial relationships. Unsurprisingly, the report draws attention to the number of adults that returned to their family homes amid the pandemic, and the report concludes by highlighting that "half of U.S. adults ages 18 to 29 say their family bonds have tightened, compared with 38 percent of those ages 50 and older." This age-based finding is similar in other countries, too. [EMB]

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Despite its name, Religion for Breakfast can be enjoyed at any time of day. Focusing on "religion as a human phenomenon," and studying religion through an academic, nonsectarian lens, the YouTube channel invites viewers to improve their religious literacy. Some videos provide primers on religions around the world, such as Sikhi (featuring scholar Dr. Simran Jeet Singh) and Islam (with Dr. Hussein Rashid). Though these videos highlight each religion's core beliefs, the host and guests remind viewers that there is a great deal of internal diversity within each religion. Other videos cover religious holidays (e.g., Intro to Hanukkah) and religious symbols (e.g., The Origins of the Jesus Fish). Religion for Breakfast is hosted by Dr. Andrew M. Henry, a religious studies scholar (tweeting @andrewmarkhenry). Readers should note that neither Henry nor the channel "endorse any particular religious tradition or non-religious perspective;" rather, the channel exists to increase understanding "through an anthropological, sociological, and archaeological lens." [EMB]

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Launched in 2017, Mapping the Scottish Reformation contains information on nearly one thousand Scottish clerical appointments between 1560 and 1689. As the first project of its kind to comprehensively study Scottish ministry networks, this archive builds on the manuscripts housed at National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh. Scholars familiar with the Scottish Reformation may value this resource's contributions to framing connections between religion, politics, history, and society. The database offers several search options; for example, users can filter by year, position, individual, or residence. For additional information and context, readers may wish to explore the Resources section. Readers can also stay up-to-date on the project by following along on Twitter, @MappingScotsRef, and YouTube (under the full project name). Mapping the Scottish Reformation is co-directed by Michelle D. Brock (Washington and Lee University) and Chris R. Langley (Newman University), with support from an advisory board based in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. [EMB]

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The COVID-19 pandemic called for innovation and adjustment in all facets of life, including spirituality and religion. Pandemic Religion is an archiving project dedicated to documenting "the many ways that American religious communities have been challenged and reshaped," in the past year. The archive collects various forms of media, including images, videos, audio files, texts, and "everything from sermons to screen shots." The project invites users to share experiences, browse existing submissions, or both. The site also highlights essays that incorporate archive items and provides some suggested ways to use the archive in classroom settings (under Teaching Resources). Pandemic Religion was created by two professors at George Mason University, John G. Turner and Lincoln Mullen, and is overseen by a multi-faith advisory board. It is a project of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University and the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis. Readers will also find the project on Twitter and Facebook, @PandemicRel. [EMB]

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Readers may remember this site from the 06-15-2018 Scout Report, and it continues to serve as a great resource for individuals interested in learning about and exploring religion from an academic perspective.

For instructors and scholars of religious studies, the University of Calgary created this extensive list of web-based resources that may be of interest. This guide was created by Cheryl Adams, Religion Specialist at the Library of Congress, and Saundra Lipton, Retired Religious Studies Librarian at the University of Calgary. Visitors can explore this portal in a few different ways. On the resource guide's homepage, visitors can select a link that allows one to browse by religion. The collection includes resources related to more than a dozen religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Taoism, and New Religious Movements. Alternatively, visitors may also browse the collection by thematic categories such as bibliographies/indexes, digital text collections, data/statistics, images, journals, and sacred texts. [MMB] [EMB]

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