Social Science sites of the week
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – Fukushima Nuclear Accident Update Log
The website provides daily updates on the situation from the International Atomic Energy Agency. It includes a link to the INES The international nuclear and radiological event scale which it uses to rank the severity of incidents. And the accident emergency centre which gives background detail on responses to emergencies.
OECD Nuclear Energy Agency also has its own news releases and links to technical resources.
On this theme the Guardian datalog has a list and ranking of all nuclear accidents since 1952 From a different angle Japanese artist Sao Hashimoto has posted on YouTube an art installation of Time-Lapse Map of Every Nuclear Explosion Since 1945 The Japan Atomic Energy Agency has technical details on reactors in Japan but no updates on the English page of the accident.
The World Nuclear Association has a database of facts about reactors worldwide. it includes facility names, locations and images. Extensive detailed information facts/figures and bibliographic references can be traced on the IAEA digital library see nuclear science references to search for references for articles about nuclear physics taken from over 80 specialist journals. A different set of references relating to nuclear energy, focussing more fully on bombs and warfare but also including materials relating to the dangers of radiation, nuclear after-effects. Is the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum database which has references to books, journals and reports. It is possible to search in English. The site also links to online exhibitions relating to Hiroshima.
Libya Backgrounder: The United Nations Regional Information Centre (UNRIC)
An excellent directory of Links to United Nations resources about Libya which has been compiled by UNRIC.It Includes links to documents: Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions, websites of UN bodies covering activities and the situation in Libya, such as Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNDP.
For Information on British military actions see the Operation ELLAMY website maintained by the Ministry of Defence which has news stories, press releases and briefings.
Census.ac.uk
The Home of the ESRC Census Programme, managed by the Economic and Social Research Council. A key starting point for academic researchers offering guidance on how to find and access census related datasets. This includes microdata, aggregate statistics and boundary data. The site links to handy online guides, training events, major census related projects and research groups. Datasets from 1971 onwards can be downloaded (subject to registration requirements) by members of the UK educational community.
Women at the Top Project
Site maintained by the Financial Times. It provides free access to a selection of articles, polls discussion forums relating to women in finance and business. It includes free access to the FT’s ranking of the Top 50 Women in World Business for 2010, plus video interviews and profiles of selected businesswomen. Topics covered include equality, women in the boardroom, the glass ceiling, wage and promotion gaps between men and women.
National Archives App Developed by RevelMob and historians. It costs 59p to download to an ipad/ iphone.
For free resources see How Much is That? An Economic History Association website service providing calculators for the purchasing power of the US dollar and the British pound sterling, US and British inflation rates, US commercial paper rates. It also gives information about exchange rates, earnings and prices in Britain and the US, and the price of gold back to 1257. The University of Exeter also has an excellent directory of links to online tools and papers for you to explore One recommended paper is House of Commons paper 99/20 – Inflation: the Value of the
Pound 1750-1998
Spinning the web
An excellent resource for economic historians looking for information on the cotton industry in North West England. Get free access to materials from libraries, museums and archives in the region. The site is arranged into topics threads: people, places, industries and products. Each section has text and associated digitised images. The section on clothing and products includes some really good images of advertising, fashion plates and images of 19th century women’s fashion. The marketing section has digitised primary resource materials (leaflets, manuscripts, images) relating to the history of the Manchester Royal Exchange.
OECD announces new transparency and anti-corruption initiative – clean.gov.biz
See the press release The OECD website covers corruption in public services. See country reports on the implementation of anti-bribery convention.
1861-2011-I luoghi della memoria, 150e anniversario dell’Unità d’Italia”
150th anniversary of unification of Italy.1861-2011
Official website of the Ministry of Culture Italy. Offers news on the celebrations taking place. Links to other special websites. Most information offered in Italian only.
One special project has been the
La Repubblica Romana del 1849 (digitisation of historic collections relating to Roman republic 1849 which are held by the Biblioteca di Storia Moderna e Contemporanea They include newspapers, manuscripts, fascinating grey literature and leaflets. Materials relate to election papacy of Pius IX. Garibaldi, Giuseppe and Italian 19th century politics.
Playtimes: a century of Children’s Games and Rhymes.
Fascinating new collection online at the British Library website. It forms part of a wider Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded project entitled ‘Children’s Games and Songs in the New Media Age’. The project has digitised existing sound recordings, from the ‘Opie Collection of Children’s Games and Songs’. It has also carried out a two-year study of playground culture today – focusing on two primary schools, Christopher Hatton School, in London, and Monteney School, in Sheffield. The site free access to sound recordings and some historical films of children’s playground games. They include skipping rhymes, ball games, conkers, see for instance the farmer in the den materials date from the 1940s onwards.
The researchers section sets the footage in context covering change and continuity in play, gender, and ethnicity and changing media culture. The site also includes a teacher resources section. Copyright and technical advice is displayed.
