We know it is mosquito-borne, presents mild symptoms, rarely kills, has no known counter-measures but does result in gross abnormalities in newborns. The CDC has stated that “Until more is known, and out of an abundance of caution, CDC recommends special precautions for pregnant women and women trying to become pregnant….” There is more information on the CDC page devoted to Zika; the World Health Organization has also issued its own data pages on this disease. According to this article – Molecular evolution of Zika virus, an neglected emerging disease in Africa and Asia – this virus was first isolated in 1947 in the Zika forest of Uganda but few human cases were reported until a Zika fever epidemic broke out in Micronesia in 2007; this 2009 article – Zika Virus Outside Africa – traces its appearances from 1947 until 2007. Another 30+ medical articles on Zika are available online.
Archive for January, 2016
Online Primary Sources: The Tokyo War Crimes Trials
Lasting from May 3, 1946 until November 4, 1948 and set up under the direction of General MacArthur, the Tokyo War Crimes Trials prosecuted twenty-eight individuals. Formally known as the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, this lesser-known trial of war criminals (more people know about Nuremberg), convicted twenty-five defendants (two of the original twenty-eight died during the trial and another was declared mentally unfit). The Tokyo War Crime Trial exhibit from the University of Virginia Law School offers thousands of documents as well as other features. This State Department site compares and contrasts the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials.
School Closings/Delays, Tuesday, January 26
School districts are still impacted by this weekend’s blizzard. Here are the schools closed or with delayed openings in New Jersey.
School Closings/Delays in New Jersey, Janaury 25, 2016
A county-by-county listing is here.
Dozens of Photos of New Jersey Blizzard
Almost 100 photos from around the state are found here, courtesy of nj.com.
Travel Guides for African-Americans
Travel for African-Americans in this country during the Jim Crow era was certainly curtailed what with “whites only” establishments and “sundown towns” where after dark they could be arrested, beaten, or worse. The Green Books were published between 1936 and 1963 and listed hotels, bars, inns and restaurants where African-Americans would be treated fairly. It was arranged by state, then by city, listing all sorts of establishments. Additional information on this series is available at: NPR, Here & Now, The Atlantic, and The New York Times.
ETC Press – A Publisher of Books Dealing with Entertainment Technologies
“Entertainment technologies”? Well, how about books exploring Minecraft in the classroom or design and curricula considerations for incorporating games into the educational experience or research on online and blended learning? These topics and many more are available at this site. These works are written with academic rigor and provide solid foundations for future work.
Read Reports Stating That 2015 Was The Hottest Year on Record
Both NOAA and NASA state that 2015 was the hottest year on record. And both are fairly certain that manmade pollution is the major contributor to this situation. No matter what Senator Cruz may posit.
Interviews With African-American Artists
The Archives of American Art has a special collection on African-American Artists; it contains dozens of available oral interviews (with transcripts and audio excerpts) as well as digitized collections of major artists; for example, Romare Bearden (2000+ pages) and Palmer C Hayden (4000+ pages).
Online Reference Guide to African American History
This site, guided by an academic board of advisers, presents a plethora of high-quality entries. From a biographical encyclopedia (the articles contain links) to primary sources to major speeches, this online guide is a valuable resource spanning centuries of history. The interface is easy to use, the data is up-to-date (including 2015 speeches by President Obama), and information is presented on both the famous as well as not-so-famous figures in African American history. There are so many additional features accompanying this site that all we can say is dive in and lose yourself!
Online Primary Sources for American History: The Dred Scott Case
In 1846, Dred Scott and his wife filed for their freedom. Thus began an eleven-year legal odyssey that wound up at the Supreme Court. All the documents, from the First Circuit Court to the Supreme Court, are now available online. Links to a chronology, additional resources, and a symposium on the 150th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision add to the utility and importance of this site.
Online Primary Sources for American History: Emancipation Documents, 1861-1867
These are selected documents from the multi-volume series – Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation, 1861-1867. More than 100 documents are listed here chronologically from a wide variety of sources. These texts are accompanied by a timeline of emancipation, itself replete with relevant links; in addition, scholarly articles and magazine writings are available for perusal.
Documents on Flint, Michigan Drinking Water
The EPA has a site listing its relevant documents pertaining to the tainted drinking water problems. Also, consult the Flint Water Study.org site as well as the State of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
Women in the Labor Force: 2015 Databook
This report is replete with statistical and graphical information on the current status of women in the workplace. From educational attainment to job status, this valuable, updated tool provides a plethora of data. Here are World Bank figures on labor force participation by women throughout the world.
Four Billion People Still Without Regular Internet Access
While we bemoan slow buffering or the occasional downtime encountered with Twitter, please be aware that BILLIONS of people have no access to what we take for granted. Both of these reports – World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends (World Bank) and The State of Broadband 2015 (UNESCO) – estimate that four billion people do without. And if you think the United States does not have a digital divide, please look at this FCC report and this White House infographic.
Book Translations List
The Index Translationum from UNESCO contains two million records of books translated from over one hundred countries and spanning the years 1979 to 2009.(More recent years are in the process of being integrated into the system.) The information in this system is contributed by the national libraries of the cooperating countries.If you want to track a book’s history in other languages, this is a great place to start. For example, searching for Patrick O’Brian’s Treason’s Harbour from this page shows that this work has been translated into Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, and Japanese. In addition, you can find numerous statistics, among them Top Fifty Authors (the fiftieth author being the mysterious “et al”, Top Original Language, etc. “Last updates” indicates the timeframe for materials that are being processed for inclusion. And partners provides a valuable list of national libraries’ and international organizations’ websites.
EdTech Reports – December 2015
Top Ten 2016 IT Issues From “EDUCAUSE”
EDUCAUSE has issued its top ten issues for this year; the number two item is “optimizing educational technology” followed by “student success technologies”. Each item is explained at length and its importance is examined. Supporting data and materials are supplied and previous top ten lists are accessible. Of special value are the linked reading lists given for each issue.
National Security Reports – December 2015
FINAL REPORT of the TASK FORCE ON COMBATING TERRORIST AND FOREIGN FIGHTER TRAVEL (House Committee on Homeland Security); Global Terrorism Index 2015 (Institute for Economics & Peace); ISIS in America: From Retweets to Raqqa (George Washington University. Project on Extremism); Cybersecurity: A Special Report (The Washington Post); ISIS/Daesh: the military response in Iraq and Syria; Syria: a reading list; Iraq and Syria – developments in 2015 (UK Parliament Library); Dismantling Syria’s chemical weapons programme: an early look at the prospects and obstacles ; Syria [What Think Tanks Are Thinking](This last report is a listing of dozens of analyses of the Syrian situation from an impressive number of institutes. European Parliament Research Service); Armed Conflict in Syria: Overview and U.S.Response (CRS); CFR Backgrounders: The Islamic State (Council on Foreign Relations); Drone Sightings and Close Encounters: An Analysis (Bard College.Center for the Study of the Drone); and Cybersecurity: Legislation, Hearings, and Executive Branch Documents (CRS).
Congressman Frank J. Guarini Library Blog 