The Scout Report -- Volume 21, Number 40

The Scout Report -- Volume 21, Number 40

The Scout Report

October 16, 2015 -- Volume 21, Number 40

A Publication of Internet Scout
Computer Sciences Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison




Research and Education

  100 Leaders
  Photogrammar
  The Molecularium Project
  Enhancing Humane Science: Improving Animal Research
  Sunlight Foundation
  Teach Engineering: Algebra
  The American Yawp
  Education Week: Bullying

General Interest

  Museum of Tolerance
  Economic Principles: How the Economic Machine Works
  Dan Ariely
  The Relationship Between SNAP and Work Among Low-Income Households
  Autochromes: Dawn of Colour
  The real roots of yoga
  Final Report of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing
  BBC: iPlayer Radio

Network Tools

  Privacy Badger
  ClickToFlash

In the News

  Celebrating the Centennial of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity



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Research and Education

100 Leaders

·http://100leaders.org/

100 leaders chronicles the life and work of 100 men and women who guided the course of history, in one way or another, in countries and cultures around the world. Interestingly, the site does not concentrate its attention only on "great" leaders, but instead examines the example of "significant" leaders, putting a critical eye to both the accomplishments and catastrophes that leaders have wrought over the years. Readers may scout the site by Type (Artistic, Economic, Intellectual, Military, Political, Religious, Scientific, and Social), by Sphere of Influence (Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, and North America), and Time Period. Examples of featured leaders include Desmond Tutu, Sitting Bull, Augustine of Hippo, Elizabeth I, and many others. Educators, especially, will appreciate the Classroom Resources, which include a short video, as well as Lessons, Printable Posters, and other inspirational tools. [CNH]


Photogrammar

·http://photogrammar.yale.edu

Between 1935 and 1945 the United States Farm Security Administration and Office of War Information (FSA-OWI) sponsored the creation of approximately 170,000 photographs, including those of such famed artists as Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange. This site, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and hosted by Yale University, allows readers to organize, search, and visualize the entire collection. Here readers may use the Interactive Map to plot the collection of approximately 90,000 photographs, or explore other Visualizations of the collection, such as Treemap, a three-tier classification system. For educators teaching the history of the great depression, photography, or aspects of America's rural and agrarian past, this site will provide tremendous primary resources. [CNH]


The Molecularium Project

·http://www.molecularium.com/

The Molecularium seeks to "excite audiences of all ages to explore and understand the molecular nature of the world around them." Based at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Nanotechnology Center, the project has designed several shows for domes and planetariums, including Molecules to the Max! for 3D screens. In addition, the project's website offers several tools that will be useful to educators. Nanospace, a web-based virtual theme park designed for students between first and eighth grade, utilizes games, activities, and short animations to provide an entertaining learning environment for children to explore the atomic world. In addition, under the Educators tab, teachers will find a Guide to NanoSpace that includes an overview of the games and attractions. Downloadable resources, such as a Teacher's Resource Guide to the Molecularium Project, are also available. [CNH]


Enhancing Humane Science: Improving Animal Research

·http://ocw.jhsph.edu/index.cfm/go/viewCourse/course/HumaneScience/coursePage/index/

This course from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health focuses its substantial intellectual prowess on the topic of improving animal research so that it can meet its empirical goals while maintaining high standards of humane treatment. The 12 audio lectures with accompanying slides are free, and readers may proceed at their own paces. Along the way, they will learn about experimental design, humane endpoints, environmental enrichment, post-surgical care, pain management, and the impact of stress on the quality of data. Readings, which include several books and dozens of journal articles, are available from the landing page, as well as Lecture Materials, including MP4 movies, MP3 audio, and PDF slide presentations to convey the information of the course. While readers who do not have access to a university library system will have trouble finding the recommended journal articles, a great deal of information can be gleaned from the rest of the in-depth course materials. [CNH]


Sunlight Foundation

·https://sunlightfoundation.com/

Readers new to the Sunlight Foundation may want to begin by watching the two-minute film on the landing page (entitled "What We Do"). This national, non-partisan, nonprofit organization uses "the tools of civic tech, open data, policy analysis, and journalism" in its attempts to make the government and politics of the United States more "accountable and transparent to all." Among the many resources on the site, readers may especially enjoy the frequently updated blog, which has covered such topics as the money trail of Stephen Colbert's Super PAC, as well as in-depth series like OpenGov Voices, Tech Tuesday, and Outside the Beltway. The site also features Tools and Projects, such as the Influence Explorer, which attempts to help readers "track influence by lawmaker, company, or prominent individual." Finally, readers can scout the site by Issues, such as Campaign Finance Disclosure, Citizens United v. FEC, and Food Policy and Washington. For teachers looking for ways to make civics education come alive, or for any reader with an interest in the multiple layers of the American political process, this site provides helpful tools and a bounty of useful information. [CNH]


Teach Engineering: Algebra

·https://www.teachengineering.org/view_subjectarea.php?url=collection/wpi_/subject_areas/wpi_algebra/algebra.xml

Funded by the National Science Foundation and collaboratively curated by the University of Colorado, Oregon State University, Duke University, Colorado School of Mines, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Teach Engineering is a "searchable, web-based digital library collection populated with standards-based engineering curricula for use by K-12 teachers and engineering faculty to make applied science and math come alive through engineering design in K-12 settings." The Algebra section is particularly well endowed. Here educators will find dozens of lessons and activities on topics as far ranging as Bone Density Math, Logarithm Introduction and Electromagnetic Radiation, and Air Pressure. Each of the lessons and activities informs educators how much the plan will cost, how long it will take, and offers a summary, educational standards, learning objectives, and other information. [CNH]


The American Yawp

·http://www.americanyawp.com/

Frustrated by the high cost of textbooks and the absence of an inexpensive and academically rigorous alternative, Joseph Locke and Ben Wright, with the help of contributions from over 300 college-level instructors, have created The American Yawp, a free, collaboratively built, online textbook. Operating under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International (CC-BY-SA) License, the textbook is an amazing resource for students engaged with American history and digital learning. The textbook is divided into 30 excellent chapters on topics as wide ranging as The Early Republic, The Civil War, The Progressive Era, and The Sixties. Additionally, the text is rounded out by vivid images as well as detailed lists of Contributors, Recommended Readings, and Notes. Providing a multi-layered discussion of the American past, this resource is for anyone fascinated by the complex themes and counter-narratives of American history. [CNH]


Education Week: Bullying

·http://www.edweek.org/topics/bullying/index.html?intc=main-topnav

For educators, parents, school counselors, and others who are worried about the threat that bullying poses to students, Education Week's special section on the topic will come as a welcome resource. A nod to National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, the site has been compiled with a tremendous range of articles, commentators, and special features related to bullying, its prevalence, and its effects. Recent articles have covered such topics as new efforts to track school climate for LGBT students, concerns about how cyberbullies so easily escape punishment, the debates about bullying definitions, and efforts to intervene, including programs that teach emotional intelligence or community-building. Readers will also find an on-demand webinar on the topic of cyberbullying, among other resources. [CNH]


General Interest

Museum of Tolerance

·http://www.museumoftolerance.com/

The Museum of Tolerance, which has received the Global Peace and Tolerance Award from the Friends of the United Nations, is "a human rights laboratory and educational center dedicated to challenging visitors to understand the Holocaust in both historic and contemporary contexts and confront all forms of prejudice and discrimination in our world today." While those in Los Angeles will want to experience the brick-and-mortar museum in all its richness, readers from around the world will also find much to explore on the website. For instance, selecting From Hate to Hope, an item listed under What's Happening at the MOT, takes readers to a page dedicated to the remarkable story of two men, one a perpetrator, the other his victim, who were brought together by chance. Here readers will find a six-minute video telling this story, as well as a short trailer for a new documentary based on this relationship. Other attractions include an early anti-Semitic document composed by Adolf Hitler and a wonderful Teacher Resources section, found under Education. [CNH]


Economic Principles: How the Economic Machine Works

·http://www.economicprinciples.org/

This site established by Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, attempts to educate readers about the nature of domestic and global economies. The flagship media piece on the site is a 30-minute explication of how Dalio understands the economy, using a simple machine metaphor to explain the basic driving forces of the economy, to analyze what leads to ups and downs in the economy, and to define such basic concepts as credit, interest rates, leveraging, and deleveraging. There is also a phalanx of other economics-related resources, including an interview with former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. For high school teachers looking to challenge and engage students - or for anyone looking for a quick look into the nature of the forces that shape our fiscal lives, this site has much to offer. [CNH]


Dan Ariely

·http://danariely.com/

Professor Dan Ariely holds PhDs in cognitive psychology and business administration from Duke University, but he views himself, first and foremost, as a behavioral economist. In other words, he studies how psychology affects the economic decisions of individuals and institutions. In addition to his empirical research on the topic, Ariely also writes about it in plain language on his web page. Here readers will find a blog, which often features answers to readers' questions ("Ask Ariely") and has also addressed such topics as irrationality, regulating risk, emotional actions, and fun foods, among other topics. There are also a number of videos featuring Ariely as he takes on the assumptions of traditional economics and explains, often humorously, his own view of how people make decisions. For readers who like more depth, the Research tab also features a selection of Ariely's published research, some of which can be read for free online, and some of which is stored behind a paywall. [CNH]


The Relationship Between SNAP and Work Among Low-Income Households

·http://www.cbpp.org/research/the-relationship-between-snap-and-work-among-low-income-households

The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) was designed to "increase the food purchasing power of eligible low-income households in order to improve their nutrition and alleviate hunger and malnutrition." This report, written by Dottie Rosenbaum, Senior Fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, makes the case that not only does SNAP increase low-income families' access to nutrition, it also supports the ability of recipients to find paying work. Readers may like to begin by reading through the short article, which summarizes data from a mid-2000s survey of participating households, using colorful and easily readable graphs and charts to illustrate important points. For those who would like more information, the full 36-page report is available as a downloadable PDF. [CNH]


Autochromes: Dawn of Colour

·http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/nmem/autochrome/

Great Britain's National Media Museum hosts a fascinating exhibit on the history of autochrome, "the first fully practical method of colour photography." Readers may scout the site using five categories. Photographers, for instance, features the lives and works of eight different notable autochrome photographers, while Colour Development traces the history of photographers' quest to develop a workable color photography. The Technical Details tab explains to readers how the autochrome process worked while the Rothschild category explicates the life, work, and philanthropy of Lionel de Rothschild, the amateur autochrome photographer who took early color pictures of his family, friends, houses, gardens, and travels. Finally, the Resources page presents excellent, in-depth work on the history of color photography in a four-part, downloadable PDF series. [CNH]


The real roots of yoga

·https://uddari.wordpress.com/2011/03/12/the-real-roots-of-yoga-by-wendy-doniger/

In this erudite examination of the origins of postural yoga, University of Chicago Indologist and Sanskrit scholar Wendy Doniger asks, what are the real roots of yoga? By examining five contradictory claims made by "activists of Hindu American identity politics" and contemporary scholars, Dr. Doniger exposes the complex and interconnected history of how yoga developed, both as an extension of Indian culture and, importantly, as a reaction to the British colonization of the subcontinent. In fact, Dr. Doniger makes the case that, far from being an ancient tradition of purely Indian origin, yoga, as we know it today, can reasonably be seen as a multicultural invention of the 19th and 20th centuries. [CNH]


Final Report of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing

·http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/taskforce/TaskForce_FinalReport.pdf

When President Obama created the Task Force on 21st Century Policing in December of 2014, he gave the law enforcement representatives, criminologists, community leaders, and others working on the report three months to "examine, among other issues, how to strengthen public trust and foster strong relationships between local law enforcement and the communities that they protect, while also promoting effective crime reduction." The report that the task force produced can be explored here in full. Readers will find the document broken up into Six Pillars: including Building Trust & Legitimacy, Policy & Oversight, Technology & Social Media, Community Policing & Crime Reduction, Training & Education, and Officer Wellness & Safety. While there were certainly critics of the completed report, the American Civil Liberties Union did state that, if the recommendations in the report were followed, it would "significantly improve the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve." [CNH]


BBC: iPlayer Radio

·http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio

Use this website to play current and archived programming from BBC Radio over the Internet, negating the usual constraints of space and time. Choose what to listen to by BBC station, such as BBC Radio 4 or BBC World Service; by category, such as drama, music, or comedy; by Featured; or by Most Popular. Within the Music Category, readers will find an hour long program looking back at the Beatles' last live performance. This show took place on the roof of Apple Corps headquarters in Savile Row in London in 1969 and was titled "I Hope We Passed the Audition", based on John Lennon's remarks when the group stopped playing. Additionally, in the Featured category there are a variety of re-broadcast TED talks on the Ted Radio Hour, and, in Most Popular, sports news from Sunday's football matches. It's also possible to find more programming by searching or simply browsing, such as a 3-minute broadcast of Dominic West (familiar to American TV viewers from cable shows The Wire or The Affair) reciting Lord Byron's 1813 poem, "She Walks in Beauty". [DS]


Network Tools

Privacy Badger

·https://www.eff.org/privacybadger

Privacy Badger, a browser add-on for Firefox and Chrome, works to block advertisers from tracking where you go and what you do on the web. As many people know, advertisers employ tracking companies to follow users on the web, gathering information about purchasing habits, interests, political views, health status, personal finances, and other information. When installed, Privacy Badger tracks the trackers. If an online entity seems to be following you across multiple websites without your permission, Privacy Badger then automatically blocks that advertiser from loading any more content in your browser. Unlike other similar extensions, Privacy Badger does not use a blacklist to determine what to block but instead detects tracking sites by how they behave. To install, simply select "Install Privacy Badger and Enable Do Not Track," then click "Add extension." Once the add-on is installed, it can be useful to go through the "helpful tips" to fully understand the service. [CNH]


ClickToFlash

·http://clicktoflash.com

For many web users, Flash content is the thorn in the side of their Internet use. Whether its flashing ads on the side of your favorite shopping site or unwanted and automatic music or video that loads the moment you arrive on a landing page, Flash can really get bothersome. ClickToFlash blocks all Flash content unless you choose to experience it by simply clicking a box so that Flash will then load. Using the contextual menu, readers can also exempt certain sites from ClickToFlash blocking, so that they can still watch videos on Vimeo or YouTube or listen to audio from their favorite news stations. To install the plug-in, simply select Download from the homepage, then double click the downloaded zip file. [CNH]


In the News

Celebrating the Centennial of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity

Explore 100 years of general relativity
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22830420-600-explore-100-years-of-general-relativity/

Standing the Test of Time (and Space)
http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2015/10/standing-the-test-of-time-and-space/408415/

BBC Universe: General Relativity
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/universe/questions_and_ideas/general_relativity

Relativity and the Cosmos
http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/phy03.sci.phys.fund.relandcosmos/relativity-and-the-cosmos/

Exploring Black Holes: General Relativity & Astrophysics
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/physics/8-224-exploring-black-holes-general-relativity-astrophysics-spring-2003/index.htm

Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity
http://hermes.ffn.ub.es/luisnavarro/nuevo_maletin/Einstein_GRelativity_1916.pdf

After publishing the special theory of relativity in 1905, Albert Einstein began a decade-long intellectual crusade to unlock the secrets of a general relativity model that would explicate the enigmas of gravity. He began with a thought experiment involving an observer in free fall and, finally, in the autumn of 1915, 100 years ago this November, presented his field equations to the Prussian Academy of Science. The response from fellow physicists and mathematicians was immediate. However, Einstein's fame only grew over the following decades, as more and more equations, observations, and experiments bore out his predictions. [CNH]

The first link, from the New Scientist, takes readers through the decades as Einstein's theory gained more and more traction with its radically accurate predictions of how the universe works. Next, physics professor Ray Jayawardhana explains how Einstein's theory of general relativity has stood the test of time (and space). Meanwhile, the third link takes readers to a special section of the BBC Universe page, dedicated entirely to articles, videos, and episodes related to General Relativity. The fourth and fifth links, from PBS Learning and MIT Open Courseware, respectively, offer online classes that explore the implications of Einstein's theory for our understanding of the cosmos. Finally, readers will find Einstein's own words on this most world-shattering of scientific insights in a segment from, "The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein."





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