Bureau of Labor Statistics: The Editor’s Desk

The Editor’s Desk (familiarly shortened TED) at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, brings out daily “fresh information from all over the Bureau,” coupled with intriguing data and links of note. On the site’s homepage, visitors will find sections like Topics, Archive by Year, Archive by Program, and About TED. The Topics area includes a panoply of subjects, such as Benefits, Projections, and Technology. The Recent Articles area contains links to pieces on job openings, payroll employment, and large technology firms. Additionally, the site contains an On Interest area which features statistical overviews of major trends in employment, health care, and collective bargaining.

[Source: Scout Report, Volume 19, Number 20, May 17, 2013]

Top Five Reasons Why Africa Should Be a Priority for the United States

Released in March 2013, this report from the Brookings Institution’s African Growth Initiative provides compelling information on why the African continent should be a public policy priority for the United States. The report is divided into five short sections, including “China in Africa: Implications for U.S. Competition and Diplomacy,” “Transforming the U.S.-African Commercial Relationship,” and “Advancing Peace and Security in Africa.” It’s a timely work that sets out a cogent argument and will be of particular interest to public policy scholars, journalists, and others interested in global politics.

[Source: Scout Report, Volume 19, Number 15, April 12, 2013]

• Mapping for Results: The World Bank

The effective visual representation of key demographic data through the use of dynamic maps is a powerful tool for policymakers, journalists, and others. The World Bank developed such a program in 2010 as part of the Mapping for Results website. So far, their team has analyzed over 2,500 World Bank-financed projects and geo-coded more than 30,000 locations spanning 144 countries. Visitors can look over the featured articles on the homepage to get a flavor of the projects here, which include stories like “Mapping for Results Goes Local” and “Mapping the Financial Sector in Africa.” Visitors can use the interactive map to view projects by country or indicator, which include population density, malnutrition, and infant mortality. Visitors can also learn about the Methodology deployed throughout the maps, which will be useful to those persons looking to understand the inner workings of this complex underta king. Visitors can sign up to receive updates about the site via Twitter or RSS feed.

• Mershon Center for International Security Studies

Based at the Office for International Affairs at The Ohio State University, the Mershon Center for International Security Studies “fosters interdisciplinary faculty and student research on national security in a global context.” On the homepage, visitors can learn about their upcoming events, read their biennial report, and also check out their newsletter. In the Publications area, visitors can read thoughtful publications like “Terrorism Since 9/11: The American Cases,” back issues of the Center’s formal reports, and the “Mershon Memo.” The Areas of Expertise section includes information about their key areas of interest, which include the use of force and diplomacy and institutions that manage violent conflict. The site also includes the News area, which features updates about their research, media appearances, and forthcoming publications.

[Source: Scout Report, Volume 19, Number 14, April 5, 2013]

• Digital Scholarship Lab

Based at the University of Richmond, the Digital Scholarship Lab develops “innovative digital humanities projects that contribute to research and teaching at and beyond the University of Richmond.” On the website, visitors can learn about ongoing projects, publications, and the Lab’s team of dedicated professionals. The Projects section is quite remarkable, as it contains seven unique projects, including Visualizing Emancipation, Hidden Patterns of the Civil War, and Mining the Dispatch. This last project is fantastic, exploring “the dramatic and often traumatic changes in the social and political life of Civil War Richmond” through the articles of the Richmond Daily Dispatch. There are also several Mini-Projects, which include a meditati on on Pac-Man and the fascinating Americans in Paris. The Publications and Presentations area includes links to presentations given by staff members, along with commentaries and the like. The site is rounded out by the News area and an About area which provides details on the staff.

• NOAA: Images, Visualizing Data, Marine Geology & Geophysics Division

The National Geophysical Data Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a wide range of educational materials designed for oceanographers, private industry partners, and a range of other users. This particular corner of the site brings together dozens of resources that deal with seafloor topography, sediment thickness, natural hazards, and unique animated dives to ocean floor features. This last collection is quite remarkable, as it allows visitors to dive into the Mariana and Puerto Rico Trenches in a way that would be impossible without some rather expensive equipment. Moving along, t he Crustal Age of the Ocean Floor area is an absolute wonder, featuring high-quality images of the earth’s tectonic plates. Additionally, the Globes and Global Relief Images area includes short videos of rotating relief globes, along with a very cool global relief origami piece that can be printed out as a type of decoration or class project. The site is rounded out by a link to the Natural Hazards Image Database, which contains thousands of photographs documenting the effects of earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes.

[Source: Scout Report, Volume 19, Number 8, February 22, 2013]

The Association for Psychological Science (APS) is offering this terrific set of interviews and conversations with prominent psychologists to the general public. Currently, there are nine interviews available here, which visitors can read about to determine how to start. One particularly noteworthy conversation is between Nobel Laureate and APS Fellow Daniel Kahneman and Professor Richard Thaler of the University of Chicago. During the conversation, they talk about the relationship between psychology and economics, and offer thoughts on academic controversies and collaborations. The other individuals interviewed here include National Medal of Science winner Gordon Bower, Janet Taylor Spence, and Michael Gazzaniga.

[Source: Scout Report, Volume 19, Number 7, February 15, 2013]

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace created this initiative as a way to offer the public access to pieces written in China by Chinese scholars and experts. The hope is that these works will provide “the international community better insight into and understanding of the debates taking place in China on important foreign policy issues.” Visitors to the site can look four main sections, which include Commentary & Analysis, Policy Research, and Testimony & Speeches. Some of the recent trenchant pieces include “Can Chinese Culture Take the Moral High Ground?” and “China’s Traditional Values and Modern Foreign Policy.” Also, visitors will want to read the profiles of the scholars featured under the Experts area.

[Source: Scout Report, Volume 19, Number 3, January 18, 2013]

•  Internet Archive: TV News

The Internet Archive has created this very ambitious project to bring together over 371,000 news broadcasts of various origins since 2009. Students of communications, media, and related fields will find much to revel in here. Visitors can search all of the captions from each program on the homepage or look at the Recent Extracted Topics word cloud. Not surprisingly, some of the popular words here include “Technology,” “Energy,” “Defense,” and “Environment.” Visitors can fine-tune their search by looking for certain programs on select networks in order to get a better sense of different programming styles and nuances.

•   Women’s World in Qajar Iran

This site from Harvard University allows visitors to learn about the lives of women during the Qajar era in Iran from 1796 to 1926 via a “wide array of materials from private family holdings and participating institutions.” The site is most remarkable as it allows visitors to access the materials in both Arabic and English. It offers thousands of personal papers, manuscripts, photographs, publications, everyday objects, works of art and audio materials. Visitors to the site will find several thematic sections here, including clutches of documents from storied families in the region, like those from Nuzhat al-Muluk and Amir Ebrahimi. The Karen collection is particularly notable as it features a large collection of historic marriage contracts, settlements, rental contracts, divorce decrees, and other legal documents.

[Source: Scout Report, Volume 18, Number 43, October 26, 2012]

Living Proof Podcast Series

This podcast series is part of the SUNY University at Buffalo’s School of Social Work outreach efforts and is a rather fascinating and useful resource. The purpose of the series is “to engage practitioners and researchers in lifelong learning and to promote research to practice, practice to research.” The conversations here include interviews with top-notch researchers, professors, and others. On this site, visitors can browse through past podcasts, which include conversations about topics like online bullying, community organizing, and developing an effective relationship with patients. Also, visitors can sign up to receive each new podcast when it is released via iTunes. Finally, users are encouraged to leave feedback on the episodes they find compelling.

[Source: The Scout Report, Volume 19, Number 42, October 19, 2012]