The Scout Report -- Volume 23, Number 24

Citizen science projects are a growing trend, thanks in large part to platforms like Zooniverse that facilitate group data collection and analysis. However, as the team behind Science Gossip notes, citizen science also flourished during the nineteenth century. For example, Charles Darwin relied on the correspondence and observations of over 2,000 individuals as he crafted the theory of evolution. Science Gossip, a collaboration between the UK based Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Missouri Botanical Garden, and the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL), is a citizen science project that seeks to understand "why, how often, and who made images depicting a whole range of natural sciences in the Victorian period." The project invites people to review and classify maps, illustrations, charts, and photographs that appeared in four nineteenth-century science periodicals. These journals played an important role in connecting and encouraging collaboration between scientists and science enthusiasts. Science Gossip will be of interest to scientists and historians alike, and may also make for an engaging classroom activity. [MMB]

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K-12 English and social studies instructors will find a variety of resources for teaching indigenous literature, culture, and history on this website. This online resource was created in 2015 as part of a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute for educators, headed by Native American Studies scholar Kathryn W. Shanley and Curriculum and Instruction scholar Phyllis Bo-yuen Ngai. During the Summer Institute, participating K-12 educators had the opportunity to hear from a number of experts in Native American studies before using their own expertise in K-12 instruction to craft a number of unit plans and other classroom resources. Visitors to this site will find these lesson plans via the Teacher Authors section on the right panel of the homepage. Each resource is accompanied by a short biography of the teacher who created it as well as their current classroom. In addition, educators can check out a list of all resources used into this institute via the Institute Materials section. [MMB]

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For civil engineering professionals, faculty, and students, the Civil Engineer offers a useful one-stop shop for news, scholarly publications, educational resources, and job information related to civil engineering. This resource was created by Dimitrios Zekkos, professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan, and is maintained by Zekkos's company, ARGO-E LLC. Two especially helpful sections of this website are the Publications and Education sections. In Publications visitors will find written materials from the Structural Engineering Library and the Online Geotechnical Engineering Library. Meanwhile, students and faculty will find resources for the classroom in the Education section. One highlight is the Historical Database Civil Infrastructure resource, which features a map of pioneering works of civil engineering (including the Sanchi Dam and Hadrian's Wall) accompanied by descriptions. Another great feature of the Education section are the Calculation Examples and Educational Websites. [MMB]

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The National Women's History Museum (NWHM) offers this collection of lesson plans designed for middle school and high school social studies teachers. Each lesson is dedicated to a different aspect of women's history and draws on materials from the museum's online collections. For example, a lesson plan about women in early film utilizes the NWHM's online exhibition on the topic, which incorporates historic photographs. Other lessons cover women's voting rights, women who have represented the United States in the Olympics, women journalists throughout history, and the impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act on Chinese-American women. Each lesson plan includes detailed instructions and aligns with the National Council for Social Studies (NCSS) standards as well as the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE) standards. [MMB]

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Hans Bethe, a refugee from Nazi Germany, joined Cornell University's Department of Physics in 1935. Only 28 years old at the time, Bethe was world-renowned for his work in nuclear physics and on the Manhattan Project. In 1967, he was awarded a Nobel Prize for his work in astrophysics, "especially his discoveries concerning the energy production in stars." In 1999, at the age of 93, Bethe gave three lectures at Kendal of Ithaca, a retirement community; these lectures make use of "limited mathematics while focusing on the personal and historical perspectives of one of the principal architects of quantum theory whose career in physics spans 75 years." Fortunately for us, these lectures were recorded and are available for viewing on this website, accompanied by related resources of interests. These lectures include an introduction from Dr. Silvan S. Schweber, a physicist and Bethe biographer, and an appreciation by Edward E. Salpeter, who worked with Bethe. In addition these lectures have been edited to incorporate archival materials. [MMB]

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The Homeric Iliad and Odyssey are often read today, but that wasn't always the case. For hundreds of years these epic poems were performed orally, resulting in textual variations over time. This on-going project, courtesy of Harvard University's Center for Hellenic Studies (with the collaboration of numerous universities and other institutions) "views the full historical reality of the Homeric textual tradition as it evolved for well over a thousand years, from the pre-Classical era well into the medieval." Here, visitors are invited to examine and edit various versions of the Iliad on the Manuscripts page. In particular, visitors are invited to add archival images, translations, and diplomatic editions. This project is especially designed to engage undergraduate students. Teams are invited to submit annotations and additions via a github repository (which can be found by going to the Archive tab, selecting the link to the HMT project github repository, and then selecting Code). Visitors can also learn about updates on the project over at the Homer Multitext Blog, available as a link on the News page. [MMB]

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In May 2017, the Pew Research Center released a study examining the technology habits of U.S. adults ages 65 and older. This report was based on the results of a telephone survey of 3,015 individuals. The major findings? In general, older adults are using technologies including the internet and smartphones at a much higher rate than in the past. For example, 67 percent of senior citizens surveyed reported that they use the internet, compared to just 12 percent in 2000. However, while technology use is generally on the rise among seniors, tech adoption is not evenly distributed. Younger seniors are significantly more likely to use newer technologies than older seniors: 59 percent of seniors between the ages of 65 and 69 own a smartphone, compared to just 17 percent of seniors over 80 years old. In addition, technology adoption is strongly correlated with income and education level: while 87 percent of seniors in households with incomes of $75,000 or higher have broadband internet service, the same is true of only 27 percent of seniors in households with incomes of $30,000 or less. Interested readers can download the full 27-page report for more information. [MMB]

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A team of legal scholars from a range of backgrounds author the Legal History Blog, a resource that will be of interest to historians, lawyers, law librarians, and anyone else interested in how U.S. law has been interpreted over the years. Updated almost daily, this blog offers scholars and general readers a way to stay abreast of the field of legal history. Entries include updates about new journal articles, books, and conferences of interest. One notable highlight of this blog is the Sunday Book Review Roundup, which provides an overview of new book reviews from The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, The LA Review of Books, and other periodicals. Visitors can browse previously published entries by subject labels, including Business History, Congressional Law, Originalism and the Founding Period, and Voting Rights, to name just a few. [MMB]

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"Most people would be really surprised if you told them there was two million pieces of space junk...surrounding the earth as close to 160 kilometers away," notes sound artist Nick Ryan. Ryan, along with film director Cath Le Couteur, are the masterminds behind Adrift, an unusual, multifaceted project about space debris. This project, which will appeal to art fans and space fans alike, is made up of three components: Watch, Adopt, and Listen. First, visitors may watch a short documentary film by Le Couteur that explores the history of space debris. In fact, the film is partially narrated from the imagined perspective of three actual pieces of space junk. In a similar spirit, the Adopt portion of the project provides an interactive experience where participants follow and exchange tweets with the three anthropomorphized pieces of space junk on Twitter. Finally, visitors can Listen and learn about Ryan's unique sound art project based on the prevalence of space debris. Ryan's project incorporates a phonograph and real-time data about space debris to create sound for a phenomenon that is silent. Although space junk travels at 17,500 mph, it makes no sound because it exists in the vacuum conditions of space. Each of these three components of Adrift are engaging and highly informative. [MMB]

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From the Newberry Library comes this online exhibition dedicated to ephemera and what these items can reveal about "different cultural values of the past: reading habits, consumer preferences, aesthetic sensibilities." Curated by Megan Kelly, Lindsey O'Brien, and Amanda Schriver, this exhibition is organized into nine categories, including Type Specimens, Ephemeral Chicago, and Ads, Ads, Ads. Within each category, visitors will find dozens of items of interest. Visitors may want to start by checking out the Technologies of the Trade section, which outlines the development of the printing technologies throughout the twentieth century. A few of the other highlights include a collection of letterheads created specifically for magicians and illusionists; a collection of trade cards designed to advertise McLaughlin's Coffee; and four colorful covers of The Chicagoan magazine, printed between 1927 and 1930. [MMB]

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The Review Review is an online magazine that provides information and critical reviews of literary magazines and journals. Writer Becky Tuch decided to create this magazine in 2008 when she realized that she, like many emerging writers, often lacked familiarity with the rapidly growing terrain of literary magazines. As Tuch explains "no one knew who published what, who edited which magazines, which ones were printed from universities and which were independent, or at the very least which magazines they liked and which they didn't." In The Review Review, a team of writers rank literary magazines - new or established, conventional or experimental, print or online - on a four star scale. Each ranking is accompanied by a thorough review and a quick overview of the magazine (including its format, frequency of publication, and payment policy). As of this write-up, The Review Review features reviews of hundreds of magazines as well as interviews with literary magazine editors about their work. While designed specifically for writers, this online magazine will also appeal to readers looking for new publications to browse. [MMB]

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Art21 is a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote the work of contemporary artists. While the organization is best known for their PBS documentary series Art in the Twenty First Century, Art21 has also produced a number of digital series. These include Extended Play, a series that features footage of artists at work, and Artist to Artist, a series that features multiple artists in conversation with each other. Visitors can check out these series in the Watch section of the website, where visitors will also find a number of Playlists of video clips that center on a specific theme. For example, the Take Action playlist features clips about artists who explore contemporary political and social issues through their work. Visitors will also find an Art21 Artist Index that provides biographical information about select contemporary artists, as well as a Magazine that reports on art projects from around the world. [MMB]

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In many regions of North America, summer means interacting with a great variety of insects, including mosquitos, fireflies, ants, and bees. This playlist from TED Talk features 11 videos that explore the science behind a number of insects. In one video MacArthur Fellow and entomologist Marla Spivak explores why bee colonies are rapidly dying out and what this change might mean for humans (for one, bees currently pollinate no fewer than one third of the crops we eat). In another TED Talk, entomologist Marcel Dicke asks Why not eat insects? and explores the ecological and nutritional benefits of consuming these creatures. Meanwhile, Bart Knols uses science to explore how we might get rid of malaria-causing mosquitoes. Collectively, these videos enlighten viewers about the diversity of insects in the world and the positive and negative roles that they play in our ecosystem. [MMB]

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Fans of fashion and fashion history will want to check out this new feature from Google Arts & Culture on the history of clothing, shoes, accessories, and other wearables from around the world. Created in collaboration with 180 cultural institutions from 40 countries, We Wear Culture features short documentaries, high resolution images, 360-degree videos, and more. In total, there are no fewer than 30,000 items and 450 exhibits. One of these exhibits, Is Fashion Art?, presents shoes designed by Salvatore Ferragamo alongside other designers who either collaborated with or were influenced by artists of other mediums. Meanwhile, the Making Of series of exhibits explores the backstories of various items of clothing, including the kimono and the sari. Another series, The Icons, explores individuals who have influenced fashion, including Coco Chanel and Oscar de la Renta. Thanks to the breadth of materials available here, We Wear Culture will broadly appeal to individuals interested in different aspects of the history of fashion, art, and culture. [MMB]

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Greg Young and Tom Meyers call themselves The Bowery Boys, a term used by "an infamous 19th century gang" in New York City. In their podcast series, the two explore both famous and obscure episodes from the history of the Big Apple. Launched in 2007, the Bowery Boys have explored topics including New York City's early black communities; the so-called "Ladies' Mile," Manhattan's main shopping district during the Gilded Age; and the Armory Show of 1913, which featured 1,600 pieces of modern art that shocked audience members and were described by dissenting critics as "insane." Visitors can browse and listen to more than 200 podcast episodes by selecting Our Podcasts. Visitors will also find short essays about a variety of NYC History topics on this website. These essays can be browsed by categories including Know Your Mayors, Writers and Artists, and the Immigrant Experience. Fans of this podcast may be interested in checking out The First, another podcast from Bowery Boys Media that highlights the story behind significant inventions and innovations. [MMB]

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Based at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and last mentioned in the April 5, 2013 issue of The Scout Report, the Media History Digital Library (MHDL) continues its work digitizing important publications for the study of film, broadcasting, and recorded sound history. MHDL researches the copyright of all materials it digitizes to insure that they are in the public domain and can be re-used freely. Since 2013, hundreds of books have been added to the magazines and newspapers already in the collection. There are also more search tools and the website has been updated to be more easily viewed on mobile devices. The primary search tool, Lantern, allows users to search through an index of nearly 2 million pages for occurrences of their search terms on a specific page, then efficiently directs the user to the original bound volume in which the page appears. The Internet Archive provides book scanning and file hosting and preservation services to the MHDL, so after following a search to the bound volume, users will find themselves reading the online book in the Internet Archive. Another new tool for data mining and visualization, Arclight, can turn Lantern search results into graphs that outline trends in media history. [DS]

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Web pages can be difficult to write for non-technical users. The myriad of content management systems (Drupal, Wordpress, Joomla) can help, but these systems need server-side support to work. In contrast, the BlueGriffon web content editor produces standards-compliant websites without server-side support. BlueGriffon provides an intuitive What You See Is What You Get interface. Behind the scenes, it uses the same HTML rendering engine as Firefox. BlueGriffon complies with W3C standards and can edit pages in HTML 4.01, HTML 5, XHTML 1.1 or XHTML 5 mode. Millions of users from institutions of all sizes use BlueGriffon. It is also the official recommended web authoring tool for the French government. Many commercial extensions for BlueGriffon are also available for purchase. These extensions add features like ePUB support, MathML editing, site templates, and more. BlueGriffon is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. [CRH]

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Calibre is a popular and full-featured ebook management system. Currently its website reports 2.9 million active installs in 237 countries. Calibre is able to create, edit, and read ebooks in many common formats, including EPUB and Kindle MOBI. It can synchronize books across devices and convert between formats (within DRM restrictions). Cailbre can download books from free providers like the Internet Archive and Project Guttenberg. Metadata for ebooks can be integrated from sources like ISBNdb.com, Goodreads, and LibraryThing. It can also download articles from any site that provides an RSS feed. Examples are included to incorporate articles from The Economist, BBC News, Scientific American, and many others. Calibre is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. [CRH]

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