The Scout Report -- Volume 27, Number 48

The Hubble Space Telescope is responsible for capturing some of the most captivating images of deep space produced in the last three decades. Working from the simple premise of showcasing "one captivating image from each of Hubble's 30 years in orbit," the Nasa Hubble Space Telescope Flickr account published this album in 2019. Educators, amateur astronomers, or anyone in need of a new desktop background will enjoy browsing this album. Images are arranged chronologically, with newer images presented first. Scrolling through the album, visitors can see the varied subject matter the telescope has captured during its many years in service, ranging from more obscure and lower-fidelity images such as the Hub of Galaxy NGC 4261 taken in 1992, to iconic shots such as the Eagle Nebula Pillars from 1995. Interested viewers can browse more albums of Hubble photography by clicking "NASA Hubble Space Telescope" (or the Hubble profile picture) at the start of the album. The NASA Hubble Space Telescope Flickr account is managed and operated by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. [IM]

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The natural world can be a strange place. Strange by Nature, a science podcast launched in 2021, aims to be listeners' "guide to the strange, weird and unbelievable side of nature." Each week, hosts Kirk Mona, Rachel Giemza, and Victoria Thompson - three Minnesota-based naturalists and environmental educators - present a trio of stories of the strange, grounded in science and bolstered by a sense of humor. For instance, Episode 31 ("Your Flamingo Seems to be on Fire") explores the challenges of determining when a species has gone extinct, whether mosquitos favor humans of certain blood types, and if the myth of the Phoenix is rooted in historical events. Episode 39 ("The Supervolcano that (Probably) Won't Kill Us") tackles a man who married a crane, the Yellowstone supervolcano, and research into birds navigating by smell. Readers interested in science, nature, and the environment who wish to learn more about the wild and weird diversity of our world will not want to miss this podcast. Listeners can subscribe on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and Google Podcasts, and follow along on Twitter (@strange_nat_pod) for updates. [MJZ]

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The world of musical entertainment offers a variety of diverse voices, but often individuals are overlooked and not awarded for their contribution. Individuals and organizations involved in music production, or simply any musicophiles, will appreciate this report, Inclusion in the Recording Studio? Gender and Race/Ethnicity of Artists, Songwriters & Producers across 900 Popular Songs from 2012-2020, from the University of Southern California Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and Spotify. The report, from March 2021, highlights numerous disparities faced by artists, producers, and songwriters from underrepresented groups. The report features multiple infographics calling attention to issues of diversity and inclusion, followed by textual summaries of key empirical findings that showcase how these inequalities have progressed over time. For instance, one startling finding is that "The ratio of men to women producers across 600 popular songs was 38 to 1," over the period under study, demonstrating how few women are represented in positions of power in the industry. This report was written by Stacy L. Smith, Katerine Pieper, Marc Choueiti, Karla Hernandez, and Kevin Yao. [AMR]

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Open Arizona is a collection of open-access titles from the University of Arizona Press, part of the Humanities Open Book program, jointly sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The collection consists of 32 critical works from the press (including some that had gone out of print), but which are now available digitally. The topical focus woven through the volumes touches on the importance of the Southwest U.S. to understanding modern American life, including subjects such as government policy, Indigenous communities, and the experiences of Mexican-Americans. A prime example is the book Missionaries, Miners, and Indians: Spanish Contact with the Yaqui Nation of Northwestern New Spain, 1533-1820, by Evelyn Hu-DeHart, which explores the Yaqui Indian resistance and documents their complex relationship with Jesuit missionaries during the Spanish colonization of Mexico. Visitors can read any of the titles in the collection in an online reader (click "Read Text" on any title page) or download for offline use (click "Download Text"). Open Arizona also includes a set of 10 "Essays" (which are linked in the menu at the top of the page) written by contemporary scholars, which provide readers with insights and reflections about the books in the collection. Readers can also click "The University of Arizona Press" in that menu to learn more about the press, its work, and other publications. [REB]

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To teach students about nature and inspire them with wonder for the natural world, there's really nothing better than a field trip. Yet if the learning challenges of the past two years have revealed anything, it's that education must be flexible to meet students where they are. These virtual field trips are a perfect example, offering educators in ecology, biology, life sciences, and other topics the opportunity to "take" their students to see Wisconsin's wildlife. Each of these 15 virtual field trips lasts approximately 5-20 minutes and features stunning visuals and explanations from expert naturalists, conservationists, and tour guides. For example, teachers can take students on a tour of Hoo's Woods Raptor Center to see how injured owls and hawks are rehabilitated. Or, as the cold winter months set in, educators can introduce a little sunshine with a springtime search for frogs and turtles with conservation biologist Andrew Badje. There are also field trips that any visitor would enjoy, such as a walk through blooming wildflowers in Schmidt Maple Woods. The field trips are embedded in the page linked above, and include links to resources for further information and to support conservation efforts. The Nature Resources Foundation of Wisconsin is a non-profit organization whose mission is to "connect generations to the wonders of Wisconsin's lands, waters, and wildlife through conservation, education, engagement, and giving." [MJZ]

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Facing History & Ourselves (previously featured in the 06-18-2021 Scout Report) provides resources, workshops, and seminars to help schools and educators promote student engagement with historical injustices and reflection on history as it relates to their own lives and roles as citizens. This educational approach encourages critical thinking, community action, and exploration of human behavior and individual choice. History teachers may find use in this recent feature based on the book Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential Schools. The program explores the devastating legacy of residential schools and their long-lasting effects on Canada's Indigenous peoples, with lessons rooted in primary source material to inspire rich classroom conversations and invite connections between past and present. On the page linked above, visitors can find links to a table of contents outlining the book's themes and content ("Use the Table of Contents"), information on obtaining French or English digital versions of the book or print classroom sets ("Get the Book"), video testimonials from students and teachers, news about the program and book, and opportunities for professional development. As of this writing, the two-week unit of lesson plans is undergoing revision, but a link is provided for teachers who wish to find out more about building lessons around these materials. Facing History & Ourselves is a non-profit that "uses lessons of history to challenge teachers and students to stand up to bigotry and hate." [RMP]

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Reading the canon of philosophy can give the appearance that great advances in human knowledge have come about solely through the efforts of men such as Plato, Aristotle, and Wittgenstein. The Encyclopedia of Concise Concepts by Women Philosophers is an effort to counter that misconception with a comprehensive overview of important concepts and ideas developed by women philosophers. On the page linked above, visitors can explore entries organized by "Concepts" originated or advanced by a woman philosopher (e.g., justice, religious freedom); philosophical "Keywords" (e.g., good life, positivism); "Philosophers" who have typically been omitted from the canon of philosophy (e.g., Anne Bradstreet, Ban Zhao); and "Contributors" whose scholarship and expertise has kept the works of these women philosophers alive. Each entry is only 100-300 words, offering a concise introduction, with links to important primary and secondary sources. The encyclopedia is an initiative of the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, whose mission is to use the tools of the digital humanities to "show that women have influenced the development of scientific and philosophical thought in various ways throughout history." The center is directed by Ruth Hagengruber of Paderborn University in Germany and advised by Mary Ellen Waithe of Cleveland State University, with funding from Paderborn University and the Ministry for Culture and Science in North Rhine-Westphalia. Readers are encouraged to engage further with the project and its resources, including opportunities for scholarly study, workshops and events, and ongoing projects, all of which can be found in the menu at the top of the page. [MJZ]

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While numerous Jewish people live in the modern Middle East and North Africa, the historical record pertaining to Jewish life in these areas is quickly dissipating. For this reason, collecting, preserving, and documenting the region's Jewish history is crucial. Diarna is a digital museum dedicated to this task through the "synthesis of digital mapping technology, traditional scholarship, and field research, as well as a trove of multimedia documentation." Diarna ensures that this history is not only preserved but accessible. Historians of Jewish culture and individuals with Jewish heritage will want to explore the extensive offerings of this "geo-museum," which can be done in one of three ways. On the page linked above, visitors can click "Discover" for curated exhibits covering topics such as the Jewish history of Azerbaijan and synagogues in Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt. Visitors can also click "Hear" for oral history interviews. Finally, visitors can click "Explore" for an extensive interactive map of key archaeological sites, which include descriptions, historical details, and galleries of related photos. Diarna is an initiative of the non-profit organization Digital Heritage Mapping. [JMW]

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From the Special Collections Department of the College of Charleston (previously featured in the 10-11-2019 Scout Report), this digital exhibit explores the lives of free people of color in urban areas such as Charleston, who were often skilled carpenters, masons, or laborers: a small segment of antebellum society who "nevertheless indelibly stamped the city, creating a culture that can be traced in various locations." This collection of resources includes a select group of materials that focus primarily on buildings and locations in Charleston that were built, owned, or occupied by free people of color. The exhibit can be easily navigated using links in the Exhibit Menu on the left side of the page. Each photo, sketch, or other material includes descriptive text along with links to the other appropriate information and sources. Select examples include: a lovely sketch of the law office of James Louis Petigru, a staunch unionist and defender of the rights of free persons of color; a photo of the home of Mrs. Elizabeth Johnson, where she and her descendants lived from 1844 until 1971, when it was sold to the College of Charleston; and the Mother Emmanuel A.M.E Church, which was reconstructed in 1891 to replace an earlier building that had been founded by free people of color around 1791. For those who would like to explore the topic further, the "Sources" link in the menu brings users to a full list of print and digital sources for the exhibit. The project is the work of Harlan Greene, Lindsay Barnett, and Annika Liger. [REB]

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Listening to the stories of those whose experiences have shaped our understanding of history can be extremely impactful. The Oral History Association (OHA) was founded in 1966 in the effort to preserve living connections with the past and to enhance understanding of historical experience. This international organization "engages with policy makers, educators, and others to help foster best practices and encourage support for oral history and oral historians." This all leads to better preservation and access, something readers can take advantage of on the page linked above. Whether users are historians or just interested in oral history, OHA provides useful resources for both professional and non-professional audiences. Professionals can connect with committees, prepare for annual meetings, find publications, and apply for grants, jobs, and internships by navigating the menu at the top of the page. General readers may want to explore the association's blog or become part of the professional oral history conversation by accessing the wealth of documentation in the "Resources" tab, which includes content such as best practices for archiving oral history, resources for remote interviewing, educational materials, and more. Interested readers may also want to follow OHA on Twitter (@OHAnetwork) or Facebook (@oralhistoryassociation#). [JMW]

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Scikit is a platform for machine learning and scientific computing using Python. It combines the NumPy, SciPy, and matplotlib libraries to provide "simple and efficient tools for predictive data analysis." The page linked above provides a number of example applications, including classification, regression analysis, clustering, dimensionality reduction on multivariate data, model selection, and feature extraction for machine learning systems. Links to code demonstrating each application are provided alongside links to detailed reference manuals. The "User Guide" provides laboratory-style exercises that demonstrate the different kinds of analyses that the software can perform. The "Install" section provides instructions for Windows, macOS, and Linux systems, for use in both a system's Python distribution and inside the Anaconda Python environment. [CRH]

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Auto Tab Discard (ATD) is a browser extension that does what it says on the tin - automatically discards tabs after a user-specified period of inactivity. Users can exempt tabs from being discarded in two ways. First, they may provide a white list of sites whose tabs should never be discarded. Second, users can construct conditional rules based on information about the tab (e.g., Is it pinned? Playing media?) or the system (e.g., Is it plugged in to power?). Rather than building its own custom method of suspending or discarding tabs - as some other similar extensions have done - ATD relies on the native methods provided by browsers to discard tabs. ATD's author argues that using the native discard method is both more reliable and more resource-efficient than a custom method. On the top right of the page linked above, users can locate links to download the extension for Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Microsoft Edge. [CRH]

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Last featured in the 10-18-2019 Scout Report, the Disability History Association continues to provide important resources and materials for the study of the history of disabilities and related social movements and policies. Since being featured, the association has added a blog, All of Us, to its menu of offerings.

With a focus on promoting the study of disabilities throughout history, the Disability History Association (DHA) helps users learn more about perspectives on disability, related social and civil rights movements, policy and practice history, and a host of other associated topics. As an international concern, DHA membership is open to individual scholars as well as institutions and organizations from all over the globe, meaning the wealth of resources and materials collected and shared on the site come from a rich variety of places and people. Of particular interest to users will be the site's disability history podcast (accessed by clicking "Podcast" in the menu at the top of the page), which covers recent work from within and beyond academia. For example, an August 2019 episode focuses on disability, spirituality and alternative medicine. The episode features Dr. Michael Davis of Hampton University discussing his research on the Wright Brothers and Edgar Cayce. Users can access a regularly updated bibliography of books, articles, and dissertations on disability history by clicking "Scholarship," or explore further "Digital Resources" in the Resources drop-down menu. [REB] [MJZ]

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