The Scout Report -- Volume 27, Number 32

The annual World Happiness Report (previously featured in the 03-13-2020 Scout Report) looks at happiness and well-being around the world. Readers can check out how their home country ranks among others, learn the secrets of Earth's happiest countries, and consider how data can be employed to measure happiness. The 2021 report focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on happiness, including mental health (chapter 5), social connections (chapter 6), and the workplace (chapter 7), as well as evaluating the effectiveness of each country's pandemic response (chapters 2-4 and 8). The most buzzed-about section of the report, the world rankings, can be found in Table 2.1 and Figure 2.1 in Chapter 2. In the page header, readers can click "Read the Reports" to find the previous eight editions of the report from 2012 to 2020. The report is written by a volunteer, interdisciplinary team of experts and uses data from the Gallup World Poll and other sources. To learn more about the writers of the report, the sources of the data, and how the data were analyzed, readers should check out the Foreword of the report, the Appendices & Data section, and the "FAQ" section on the page linked above. The report is published by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Readers can find a list of the project's financial supporters by scrolling to the page footer or clicking "Partners" in the page header. [HCL]

Comment on or rate this resource

In this learning activity, high school and undergraduate students get to play roles such as activist, papaya farmer, biotech scientist, USDA regulator, or council member as they debate whether the Hawaii County Council should ban genetically-modified rainbow papaya. The goal of the case study is to engage students in discussion of issues about GMO use in agriculture through exploration of the perspectives on Hawaiian cultural preservation, economic development, food security, biotechnology, public health, environmental sustainability, and more. The lesson plan gives each participant background information about their character, their stance on the issues, talking points, and questions to ask and answer, as well as links to background reading specific to their role. The activity can be adapted for any class size (explained on page 3 of the downloadable PDF). Teachers looking to use this lesson can find a brief background of the rainbow papaya and the Hawaiian economy on pages 4-5. On the page linked above, readers will also find a free 30-minute documentary on the Hawaiian GMO debate. The case study was developed by Pulitzer Prize-winning science and technology journalist Amy Harmon, who has written extensively on public perception of GMO crops. The project is supported by the Alliance for Science, based in the Department of Global Development at Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. [HCL]

Comment on or rate this resource

This extensive report from Pew Research Center examines American adults' perceptions about the usage and security of their personal data. Among its findings, the report notes that more than 60 percent of American adults "say they do not think it is possible to go through daily life without having data collected about them by companies or the government." Large shares of Americans also say the potential risks of this data collection outweighs the benefits, with more holding this perception about data collected by companies rather than by government agencies. Despite these and other concerns, a large majority of adults say they do not read privacy policies before agreeing to them, and "pluralities of U.S. adults say it is acceptable for data to be used in some ways," such as to help struggling schools achieve better outcomes. The study was based on a nationally representative survey of 4,272 U.S. adults that was conducted by Pew Research Center's American Trends Panel in June 2019. Those interested in further details can view the full report online or download it as a 63-page PDF on the page linked above. The topline questionnaire results are available to download as well. The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan public opinion polling, demographic research, and content analysis organization funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts. [JDC]

Comment on or rate this resource

The venerable art journal Art in America, first published in 1913, provides "groundbreaking critical insights about contemporary art and culture." Its digital version provides a good bit of content for non-subscribers, albeit fairly well peppered with ads. On the page linked above, readers and art lovers will find content from the journal that includes Features such as "Six Must-See Exhibitions in Chelsea This Summer"; Reviews such as "Outsize Symbols: Sonya Clark at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum"; Interviews with working artists such as Kameelah Janan Rasheed and Em Kettner; and a digital counterpart to the A.i.A. Guide, a browseable listing of 3,000 art museums, galleries, and other art venues. Art in America's sister digital publication, ARTnews (which can be accessed by clicking "ARTNEWS" in menu above the banner), provides briefs about artists, current exhibitions, museum acquisitions, and recommendations for products such as oil-based paint markers and drawing boards for kids. Readers can click "Subscribe to the Magazine" for a print subscription or scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up for free email newsletters. Readers can also follow the journal on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter (@artinamerica on all three platforms). [DS]

Comment on or rate this resource

Storytelling is intrinsically linked to social change. In just over 30 minutes, this documentary tells the story of activists, including Indigenous climate interveners, water protectors, and land defenders, who fought to protect their land from fossil fuel expansion. Thomas X, a Red Lake Ojibwe rapper and poet, drives the narration of the film with lessons from "7 Teachings," a song that highlights the importance of respect, truth, honesty, wisdom, humility, love, and courage. The film also includes dialogue with Indigenous activists Winona Laduke and Tara Houska, among many others. While the film focuses on resistance to an oil pipeline, it also touches on broader themes of sustainability and biodiversity. The film has garnered significant praise, including selections to the Colorado Environmental Film Festival, the Garifuna International Indigenous Film Festival, and the Los Angeles International Film Festival's Indie Short Fest. LN3 was directed by Suez Taylor, executive produced by Winona LaDuke and Maggie Wachsberger, and sponsored by Nine Muses, Patagonia, Honor the Earth, Extinction Rebellion, and the 11th Hour Project. [EMB]

Comment on or rate this resource

Looking at a galaxy's shape can reveal a lot about it, such as its age and how it was formed. Galaxy Zoo harnesses the power of citizen science by asking volunteers to help classify hundreds of thousands of images of galaxies so that scientists can better study them. To join in, citizen scientists can click "Get Started" on the homepage or "Classify" in the banner menu. Users will be prompted with an image of a galaxy and a series of multiple-choice questions about its shape and characteristics. No previous galactic experience is required, but users can click "Tutorial" or "Need some help with this task?" for more instructions (and not to worry, each galaxy will be classified by multiple volunteers to ensure accuracy). In the Galaxy Zoo banner at the top of the page, readers can click "About" to learn more about the research team and the science behind the project. On that page, readers can click the "Results" tab and find the "Publications" link in the fifth paragraph to check out some of the scientific papers that have emerged from this research. The project was created through Zooniverse (featured in the 01-16-2015 Scout Report), a platform for virtual volunteers to assist professional researchers. In the page footer, readers can click "Projects" to find more volunteer-powered research projects from Zooniverse, such as counting penguins and transcribing handwritten historical documents. [HCL]

Comment on or rate this resource

What does the Milky Way sound like? The Chandra Data Sonification project transforms data from the NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Spitzer Space Telescope into sound so that stargazers can "listen" to the Galactic Center of the Milky Way, the supernova Cassiopeia A, and the "Pillars of Creation" star-forming region of the Messier 16 "Eagle Nebula." Each telescope detects a different wavelength and is represented in the sonification by a different instrument. "X-ray" (represented by xylophone) comes from heated gas from stellar explosions detected by Chandra. "Optical" (violin) is produced by energetic star-forming regions detected by Hubble. "Infrared" (piano) emanates from glowing clouds of dust detected by Spitzer. The "Composite" is a symphony of all three wavelengths. The position and intensity of light determines the pitch and volume of each instrument. Listeners can scroll the landing page to find a brief video on how data sonification works. The project was developed by the Chandra X-ray Center (previously featured in the 01-16-2009 Scout Report) as part of NASA's Universe of Learning program. [HCL]

Comment on or rate this resource

Every day, Astrobites posts a plain-language summary of a recent paper from a different subfield of astronomy, meant to be read in five minutes or less. A rotating team of graduate students from around the world writes the daily digest with the goal of making technical papers accessible to undergraduate students in the physical sciences. While spotlighting a piece of current research and explaining the techniques used, Astrobites also aims to give context to how the work fits into the bigger picture of research in that subfield, giving readers an accessible entry point into a new area of astronomy. In addition to the Daily Paper Summaries, the Classics series summarizes foundational papers in astronomy and the Undergrad Research series amplifies the work of undergraduate students (readers are welcome to submit their own work). Astrobites also posts academic and career advice and personal experiences. Some recent posts include "So You Want to be a Professor of Astronomy?" (July 16, 2021), "#BlackInAstro Experiences" (June 23-27, 2021), and "Quitting A PhD" (June 18, 2021). Readers can scroll the homepage to browse posts organized by category or use the drop-down menus at the top of the page (mobile users will see an expandable menu). Paper summaries are under "Latest Research" and other types of posts are under "Beyond astro-ph." Readers can also check out the "Guides" drop-down menu for standalone posts on subjects from graduate school to astrophysics software. At the bottom of the page, there are listings for Astrobites Sister Sites with content such as K-12 science education, environmental science, cancer research, and soft matter physics, as well as other digests in multiple languages. The project is supported by the American Astronomical Society. [HCL]

Comment on or rate this resource

Tactile Universe exists to make astronomy and current astrophysical research accessible to people with vision impairments. As a public engagement project, it creates 3D printed tactile images of galaxies for use at schools and public engagement events. Based in Portsmouth, England, the team is currently producing classroom resources for ages 7-14. Visitors can download lesson plans and galaxy models (digital files for 3D printers) from "The Models and Resources" page in the top menu bar. For more information on how the models are made and step-by-step instructions for creating models, readers can scroll that page to the Other Information section and click the link to "technical blog posts." Tactile Universe is a project of the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth, with additional support from The Ogden Trust, RNIB Bookshare, the Royal Astronomical Society, and the South East Physics Network (SEPnet). [HCL]

Comment on or rate this resource

Voyages provides educators with learning activities based on real data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) (featured in the 11-30-1999 Scout Report). The student-led activities are designed for learners to progress from simple conceptual activities to advanced discovery-based projects in astronomy. Advanced students will develop the skills and knowledge to delve into the SDSS database on their own. In the For Educators drop-down menu at the top of the page, the "Plan Your Voyage" page is a good place to start. The page details how the activities are categorized as Preflight, Launch, and Expedition based on length (from one class period to one week or more), knowledge level, and difficulty. On the same page, the Models for Using SDSS Voyages Activities section gives examples of how to structure lessons using Voyages materials. In the same drop-down menu, readers can click "Activity Descriptions" for a list of all the Voyages activities and teacher guides by level. In the Hands-On drop-down menu, educators can click "Accessibility Resources" to find tools for teaching astronomy to students with visual impairments. In the same menu, teachers can click "SDSS Plates for Education" to request a physical plug plate previously used for an SDSS spectrographic survey, along with resources for how to incorporate it into classroom learning (the plates are not necessary for Voyages activities but provide a fun bonus for students). Educational materials are available in English and Spanish (readers can click the flags at the top of the page to toggle languages). The New Mexico-based Sloan Digital Sky Survey is currently in its fourth phase, supported in part by funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. [HCL]

Comment on or rate this resource

The ability to view the night sky is a must for any astronomer, but a planetarium provides even more opportunities to see distant stars and observe astronomical phenomena. Since this free open-source planetarium was last featured in the 04-26-2013 issue of the Scout Report, it has added a browser version and mobile app as alternatives to downloading the program.

Stellarium is a free, open-source home planetarium for people who wonder, "What's out there?" The program includes over 600,000 stars and 80,000 deep-sky objects, with the option to download additional catalogues of over 177 million stars and over 1 million deep-sky objects. There are also constellations from more than 20 cultures, the full Messier catalogue of nebulae imagery, visualizations of shooting stars and comets, simulated eclipses and supernovae, and realistic sunrises and sunsets. The user interface is quite easy to grasp, as it gives users the ability to zoom in and out or use a fisheye projection as a way to experience a bit of that true planetarium feel. Also, the program offers the ability to add new solar system objects from online resources and users' own deep-sky objects. Stellarium is compatible with most operating systems and available in multiple languages. [KMG] [HCL]

Comment on or rate this resource