The Scout Report -- Volume 25, Number 26

Modern digital technology has transformed many aspects of our lives. In addition to their benefits, these technological innovations have also introduced new societal challenges and complexities. Such challenges are the target of Data & Society, an independent, non-profit research institute based in New York City that "is focused on the social and cultural issues arising from data-centric and automated technologies." Under Research, interested readers can check out Data & Society's myriad current initiatives on cross-cutting topics, such as the disruptive effects of technology on the labor force, the intersection between libraries and digital privacy, and the relationship between governmental policy and the use of technology in education. Each initiative has its own webpage with links to research reports, articles, and other information. Under Engage, readers can find videos from the organization's speaker series Databites, many of which are also available as podcasts. Geared towards the general public, this series "presents timely conversations about the purpose and power of technology." Upcoming Databites talks are also listed, and those interested can choose to watch them in real time through their YouTube livestreams. Data & Society is led by its executive director, Janet Haven, and by its founder, danah boyd, who is now the president of its board of directors. [JDC]

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Teachers and parents may want to check out this activity guide by Scholastic about tornadoes, which helps students "get a comprehensive look at one of the scariest weather conditions." The activity, which is computer-based and is part of the Weather Watch: Severe Weather and Natural Disasters series, includes explanations for what tornadoes are and how they form, how they're measured, safety tips, experiments, witness accounts, and lessons from meteorologists, in addition to other materials. The Experts Say section includes a discussion by a lead meteorologist with the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma that covers "how he 'storm chases' and shares the biggest tornado he's ever seen, the closest he's ever been to one, how many he sees in a year, and why it seems like there's more tornadoes today than in past years." The Experiments section include a slide show and instructions for how students can create their own 'tornado' in a jar. The activity guide is geared toward students from grades three through eight. [JLB]

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Founded in 2014 by disability rights activist Alice Wong, a medical sociologist by training, the Disability Visibility Project is "a community partnership with StoryCorps and an online community dedicated to creating, sharing, and amplifying disability media and culture." Visitors to this project will find excerpts from dozens of oral history interviews discussing different aspects of the lives and everyday experiences of people with disabilities. These interviews are organized alphabetically by the interviewees' last name and each includes a text transcript. Most of the interviews were recorded between 2014 and 2016, though several have been added since then. This project also includes numerous blog posts and essays exploring issues such as stereotypes and representation in entertainment media, as well as written interviews with authors, artists, and activists who are active in the disability community. Additionally, the Disability Visibility Project has a podcast hosted by Alice Wong with more than 50 episodes available as of this write-up. [JDC]

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Looking for a podcast that doesn't demand hours of listening and is simultaneously weird, funny, creepy, and perplexing? Check out Welcome to Night Vale, which is a "twice-monthly podcast in the style of community updates for the small desert town of Night Vale, featuring local weather, news, announcements from the Sheriff's Secret Police, mysterious lights in the night sky, dark hooded figures with unknowable powers, and cultural events." Shows are narrated by Cecil Baldwin and are told in the style of a news broadcast, informing the residents of Night Vale of alternate universes, goings-on, temporary Glow Cloud invasions, and mandated volunteer opportunities in the town, in addition to many other tidbits. As an example, the residents of Night Vale were informed that a new dog park was built in town, but to not take their dogs to it, lest they and their pets are taken away "by the hooded figures." One recurring character is Old Woman Josie, who has a special relationship with angels; they bunk up at her house and give her protection, but all other residents of Night Vale should steer clear of them as "they are not to be trusted; do not ever approach an angel and especially never talk to them while shopping at the Ralphs's." Welcome to Night Vale, which also has its own book series, typically runs about 20 to 30 minutes in length per episode. Those interested can download episodes via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RadioPublic, or any other podcast platform. Listeners of the show are instructed to "turn on your radio and hide." [JLB]

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The aptly named Orange Grove is Florida's digital repository for open educational resources (OER). Here, readers can find collections of materials produced by educational institutions in Florida, as well as thousands of other OERs that were "harvested" from institutions around the world. Visitors can elect to search or browse all of the Orange Grove's resources at once, as well as browse resources targeted toward higher education or K-12 students, both of which are organized by academic subjects such as humanities, mathematics, science, and visual and performing arts. In addition to an assortment of OER textbooks, lesson plans, and course curricula, the Orange Grove also contains a collection of approximately 30 printable 3D objects that are either in the public domain or openly licensed. Examples include a model of the near-Earth asteroid 433 Eros, a parametric syringe pump, and even printable parts to build a 3D printer. [JDC]

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For readers with an interest in insects, the long-running entomology blog Bug Squad offers a wealth of information on the topic. This frequently updated resource is published by the University of California Cooperative Extension's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR). Here, readers will find articles exploring interesting facts about insects and other bugs, news of newly published entomology studies, stories about recent and upcoming educational events, and more, all written for a broad audience and accompanied by numerous photos. While pollinators like various species of bees and butterflies make regular appearances, Bug Squad also discusses less popular insects such as tsetse flies and midges, as well as non-insects such as spiders, ticks, and even hummingbirds. Launched in 2008, Bug Squad is authored by Kathy Keatley Garvey, who is also the communications specialist for the Department of Entomology and Nematology at UC Davis. [JDC]

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From Purdue University comes Youth and Entomology, an online resource "dedicated to assisting youth and others interested in discovering insects by providing the resources needed to get started and to achieve success." While this resource was created primarily with 4-H participants in mind, anyone interested in learning how to collect insect specimens can benefit from it. The main attractions of Youth and Entomology for budding entomologists are its two resource books: How to Make an Awesome Insect Collection and Who Let the Bugs Out?, both of which can be read for free online and are available to purchase in print. The first book "teaches all that a beginning student needs to know about how to find, collect, identify, preserve and display insects," while the second title (intended to be a companion to the first book) focuses on Integrated Pest Management and the importance of insects in general. Other parts of Youth and Entomology include guidance for those pursuing entomology as a 4-H project and a collection of helpful how-to videos covering various aspects of insect collection. [JDC]

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Headquartered in Peterborough, England, the nonprofit Buglife describes itself as "the only organisation in Europe devoted to the conservation of all invertebrates [...], everything from bees to beetles, worms to woodlice and jumping spiders to jellyfish." Readers curious to learn more about invertebrates should begin by exploring the About Bugs section, where they will find an approachable introduction to how scientists classify invertebrates and downloadable charts to aid in identifying invertebrates. This section also contains their engaging Bug of the Month series, as well as information specific to spiders and pollinators. Those interested in Buglife's numerous conservation activities should check out the What We Do section and for readers keen to foster a healthy invertebrate community the Wildlife Gardening section (found under Get Involved) offers ample helpful ideas. While Buglife's website primarily focuses on bugs found in Britain, it also includes some information on species in other parts of the world. Founded in 2000 as the Invertebrate Conservation Trust, the organization officially launched as Buglife in 2004 and has since expanded to include multiple offices throughout the United Kingdom and more than 30 member organizations. As of this write-up, Buglife's leadership includes its founder, conservationist Alan Stubbs, and the well-known biologist Edward O. Wilson, as well as many others. [JDC]

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Science educators in both classroom and informal settings may be interested in this resource from the National Informal STEM Education (NISE) Network (featured in the 6-24-2016 Scout Report). This particular resource is designed as a public forum that "encourages in-depth discussion about ways mosquitoes could be engineered to reduce malaria transmission." All the information needed for this forum discussion is included, such as how to plan and host a public forum and instructions for discussion groups, as well as promotional fliers and supplemental handouts. The forum's estimated duration is approximately 90 minutes, and its suggested audiences are people ages 15 and up, as well as scientists and informal science educators. Those interested can choose to download the materials for this forum as individual files, or all at once as a zip file, and a link to an 11-minute training video is also provided. This forum is part of a larger NISE Network project entitled Building with Biology, which was "developed to create conversations among publics and scientists about synthetic biology" with support by a grant from the National Science Foundation. [JDC]

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People may ordinarily think of insects as creatures that live on the ground or in the air. However, a number of insect species spend at least part of their life cycles living underwater, for example, in streams or lakes. The presence or absence of these insects (along with some other aquatic invertebrates) are often used as indicators to estimate water quality. For those interested in learning how to identify these aquatic macroinvertebrates, this free digital atlas offers an interactive taxonomic key containing "an online collection of 150 specimens representing 9 orders of benthic macroinvertebrates" that live at the bottom of water bodies in eastern North America. Rather than the line drawings commonly used in this type of key, this atlas uses photographs of specimens. Readers can explore the key by clicking first on any of the nine orders of macroinvertebrates, which lead to the families within each order, and from there users can select an individual species. At all three levels, an explanatory overview and diagnostic characteristics are provided in the right sidebar, with highly detailed, zoomable images available at the species level. It should be noted that this resource is not mobile-optimized and is best suited for use on a computer. This atlas is part of Learning to See, Seeing to Learn, a multi-institution interdisciplinary project led by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. [JDC]

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Last featured in the 2-03-2017 Scout Report, Entomology Today continues to be an excellent source for entomology news and information about this profession. Since we last visited this resource, it has also added a section on Science Policy and Outreach.

Insects make up the most numerous and diverse forms of life on Earth. While not the most cuddly of creatures, they are essential to nearly every terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem. For more than 125 years, the Entomological Society of America (ESA) has served the professional and scientific needs of those interested in insects and their impact on the world's population. Here readers will find the official blog of the ESA, Entomology Today. Insect-related discoveries, news, and events are shared across four categories: Research News, The Entomology Profession, Amazing Insects, and Science Policy and Outreach. Readers will also find a link to the official website of the ESA, as well as a listing of Entomology Job Opportunities. The material here will be of interest to anyone, from students to researchers to hobbyists.

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