social science sites of the week
Riots
This week the Guardian datablog produced some interesting mappings of where those arrested lived and where the riots happened. It is also keeping files on magistrate court lists and sentences.
For information on other social media tools used by journalists to cover the story see this useful article from Journalism.co.uk
LSE Polis also had posts on the use of social media during the riots and British Politics and policy blog has academic discussion on the causes of the unrest and how to prevent future protests. For a different perspective History and Policy have published the opinion piece Opinion piece: rioting in Georgian London and contemporary Britain by Katrina Navickas, of Hertfordshire University, highlights the parallels and differences between a notorious riot in Georgian England and the current violence and disorder.
Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU)
Founded and compiled by the Shanghai Jiaotong University. The rankings have been conducted since 2003 and are updated annually. The ranking compare about 1200 higher education institutions worldwide according to a formula that takes into account alumni/staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals, highly-cited researchers in 21 broad subject categories, articles published in the journals Nature and Science the Science Citation Index and Social Sciences Citation Index. The website has general world rankings and some rankings for subjects such as economics it includes details on methodology.
Other alternative well known rankings include QS World university ranking
Times University World University reputation rankings.
Annual student satisfaction survey
also released this week gives a different type of ranking items covered include satisfaction with teaching and with learning resources. And the 2011 student debt Survey from Push which ranks universities according to highest levels of debt. It is also possible to cross compare institutions in different regions.
Debtocracy
Free access to this documentary film about the ongoing financial crisis by Katerina Kitidi and Aris Hatzistefanou. It mainly focuses on the causes of the Greek debt crisis in 2010 and possible future solutions that could be given to the problem that are not currently being considered by the Greek government
This version is in Greek with English subtitles
Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP)
Website offers free facts and datasets on armed conflicts worldwide. It has an encyclopedia with graphs and maps which covers the period 1946 onwards and is updated several times per year.
On a related theme the Correlates of War project also has data on conflicts -intra and interstate some of which covers 1816 onwards.
Highbeam research launches new backstories blog
This aims to provide contextual background on research projects/ articles which have been in the news. It includes some comment fromma group of editors.
Expresiones Sonoras y Musicales de Pueblos Indígenas en Colombia
The “Sounds and music of Colombian indigenous people” initiative is a project of the Musical Documentation Center of the Colombian National Library. Indigenous peoples are being trained to upload materials to the website in order to help map and preserve the music and culture of their communities. It has maps, images and sounds. This poster gives some background in English about the aims.
Judaica Europeana
Supported by the European Commission. This is a specialist programme of the main Europeana initiative which is focusing specifically on digitising materials relating to Jewish history, culture heritage and experience in Europe. The project is led by European Association for Jewish Culture, London and is aiming to include over 10,500 photos, 1,500 postcards and 7,150 recordings. There are currently virtual exhibitions on topics such as networking in Europe :Jewish postcards from the Hungarian Jewish Archives
The prototype search can be tried on the website.
Herts Memories: history, memories and photos
Interesting community website maintained by Staff from Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies, Libraries and museums working with volunteers to develop community resources celebrating the local economic and social history of this English county. Subject based pages include individual villages, work and leisure. Alongside individual photos and oral histories there are also digitised primary sources including historic manuscripts, letters, diaries and photographs. For examples of ‘academic topics ‘see the abolition of slavery section which has a local perspective on anti slavery campaigns there is also a section on wartime experiences which illustrates the range of materials included. Copyright and technical information is displayed on the website.
ecampaigning forumIs an annual event where practitioners share advice and expertise on how to use social media in campaigning. The 2011 website includes information and some presentations. Topics covered include practical case studies on campaigning from charities. Examples include: Open Data for Campaigning. What can you do with it? How do you open your data? How do I tell my boss? What would you like to see?
