social science sites of the week

Bahrain Human Rights Reforms.
This week a commission reported into future human rights reforms in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The BBC report has a direct link to an English language version of the full text.
The Congressional reports service also recently published a report on Bahrain, security and US foreign policy which can be downloaded in October 2011. More official information on Bahrain can also be located on the official egovernment portal
remember this is maintained by the government itself!

High Pay Commission published its final report, Cheques with Balances: Why tackling high pay is in the national interest.
The High Pay Commission is an independent inquiry into top pay in the private sector. It was established in 2010 by Compass with the support of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. The website has the full text of the report plus some interesting discussion papers which include surveys of high earners. Some of these ask do you deserve what you earn? A key feature is the focus on the gap between high and low earners in the UK.

Other good starting points for news and statistics on this topic include:
A section in the Guardian Business pages. The TUC has a number of reports; surveys on workers pay. For a different perspective see the Institute of Directors website. The British Library Business and Management portal can be searched free of charge for references to recent books and articles. Some can be accessed in full text (register first).
Economists online has references to working papers, and other research outputs from Europe’s leading economists. See what they have to say on the issue. Again many materials are free in full text.

Independent Commission for Aid Impact published first reports.
This body is impartial it is headed by a commissioner who reports to parliament. It focuses on UK government departments. The first reports are: ICAI’s Approach to Value for Money and Aid Effectiveness; DFID’s Approach to Anti-Corruption; DFID’s Climate Change Programme in Bangladesh; and DFID’s Support for the Health Programme in Zimbabwe.
Other useful discussion is on the house of Parliament select committee. For International Development The British Library of Development Studies library catalogue can also be used to trace references to aid. These include books and references to journal articles as can the Eldis Gateway

The Princess Royal Trust for Carers (The Trust) has launched a new Facebook app, Who Cares?.
Interesting user of social media by a charity NGO The aim of this is to get the public thinking about who would care for them if they got serious chronic illnesses and the impact of caring/ ill health on social life. The story, played out via Facebook messages, shows how easy it is for carers to become isolated as they lose touch with friends.

Médecins Sans Frontières MSF (Doctors without Borders) has launched Urban Survivors
A multimedia project in collaboration with the NOOR photo agency and Darjeeling Productions.It is a web documentary which takes the visitor on a virtual journey through five slums where MSF is actively running projects:Dhaka, Bangladesh, Karachi, Pakistan, Johannesburg, South Africa, Port au Prince, Haiti, Nairobi, Kenya
It enables viewers to hear from the residents about their daily lives by watching video films and then learn about MSF aid efforts.

Politicker USA
Good directory of twitter feeds from politicians, parties and USA presidential candidates. Follow them all in one place.
Other good directories. Tweetminister find UK MPs Tweetcongress (USA).

Miss America Protests, 1968 and 1969 Duke University Digital Library collection provides free access to materials, relating to feminists protests again the Miss America beauty show in 1968/1969. See photographs, leaflets, private papers from organisers and eye witness accounts of this key event In US gender history. See pictures and YouTube accounts of the 1970 Miss World protests

Center for Marketing Research, at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Has just released its annual review of social media by Forbes 500 companies. The center is a leading institution in the conducting of surveys on use of web 2.0 by leading American companies. Some of its publications and research studies can be downloaded from the website
The latest study compares usage of blogs, twitter and Facebook from 2008-2011. It includes comparison by industry, sector. Details on methodology provided on the website.

2012 project
Project launched by the Center for American Women and Politics Rutgers University. Aims to increase female participation in increase the number of women in Congress and state legislatures in the 2012 elections. The website has details about the campaign. It also has useful facts and figures about women and political representation/ participation in the USA. This includes statistics on black and ethnic minority women. The site also has research papers from previous elections. Topics covered include women and political leadership, gender and voting behaviour and the impact of women on policy making.

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
Database on Arbitrary Detention
Created with the assistance of Freedom Now, a non-governmental human rights organization. Provides free access to document issued by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. The official mandate for this is Resolution 1991/42 of the former Commission on Human Rights (approved by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in decision 1991/243 of 31 May 1991) established, initially for three years, a working group of five independent experts. The experts are mandated to investigate cases of deprivation of liberty imposed arbitrarily or otherwise inconsistently with the international standards set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the relevant international legal instruments accepted by the States concerned. Documents include case notes, human rights instruments. Topics include detention of immigrants. Detention at Guantanamo Bay

Non-English language fiction. Combined regions database.
This union catalogue is useful for listing collections of foreign language literature in many UK libraries (mainly public libraries) it currently libraries across England and Scotland. The East of England, East Midlands, London, North West, Scotland, South West, Yorkshire and Humberside regions. Wales Ireland is excluded. It is maintained by The Combined Regions (TCR). A subscription organisation whose members are regional or national library organisations. It describes collections rather than individual titles. But can be used to identify large collections. Information also provided on interlibrary loan policies.