Recommended social science sites of the week

Social media and the Japan crisis
Horrifying news from Japan for links to news stories and social media sources see this page from New York Public Radio which has a comprehensive collection of links. They include news sites, twitter and the Google Person Finder site which relatives have been using to locate loved ones. Discussion on the use of social media in the emergency can be found on the PBS media blog

HEDBIB (International Bibliographic Database on Higher Education)Site maintained by International Association of Universities with contributions from UNESCO. Offers free access to abstracts of articles and reports covering all aspects of higher education management policy, and planning. Registration required.
If you are interested in higher education this site is a good supplement to
Higher Education Empirical Research (HEER) databaseDeveloped by the Centre for Higher Education research and Information (CHERI) of the Open University. It provides free access to article abstracts and links to some full text materials covering evidence based research into education. Titles indexed include academic journals, statistics and government reports. Broad range of topics covered include widening access, research assessments, the graduate labour market, curriculum content and the student experience. Most materials published since 1996. Free registration required.

Lord Woolf’s Inquiry into the LSE and Libya
On March 3rd, 2011, the Council of the London School of Economics and Political Science asked Lord Woolf to conduct an independent external inquiry into the School’s relationship with Libya and with Saif Gaddafi and into related matters. Including allegations of plagiarism relating to a phd Thesis
The official website has the terms of reference. plus press releases and statements relating to the review process.

Eurochild
Is a network of organisations seeking to improve the quality of life of children in Europe. It received funding from the European Commission. Members include individual researchers, government bodies and charities. The website is a useful starting point for tracing news and examples of research from leading European bodies. It offers free access to newsletters, briefings and reports from members. Topics covered are broad ranging including early years education, parenting, children’s rights and child poverty.

British library launch Treasures APP
‘Treasures’ was created by the British Library in partnership with Toura. Users on the move can now look at over 100 digitized treasures from the manuscripts and rare books holdings of the British Library. They include an a 1664 plan of New York and illuminated manuscripts. Items are arranged in categories including maps, history literature and science.

Only one of latest of a number of uses of mobile phone Apps by public bodies. This week the Swiss parliament also launched an app this offers access to : Complete biographies of Council members; Composition of committees and delegation; Seating plan in the chambers, Quick search in the Curia Vista database of parliamentary business; Order of business of National Council and Council of States; Glossary of parliamentary terms, Virtual tour of the Parliament Building

Social Policy Digest
Produced by the Social Policy Association as a companion to its scholarly journals the Journal of Social Policy and Social Policy and Society. A valuable resource for students and researchers which provides brief news and research summaries covering all areas of social policy. Access to some full text journal articles requires a subscription.Azchives of summaries available from 2002 onwards.
Associated with this from an American perspective is the useful site

Information for Practice
Site edited by Dr. Gary Holden Professor, New York University: Silver School of Social Work which aims to keep social service professionals up to date with news and research. Includes some tables of contents from key journal titles, books reviews, news (mainly from USA) and conference listings.

Inter-American Development Bank launch new blogs
Quality education is possible – Learn how countries of Latin America and the Caribbean can take advantage of information and communication technologies to improve education
Let’s Talk Climate Change Focuses on issues relating to Latin America
ICT in Development discusses the effect of information and communication technology (ICT) on economic and social development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
On the Ground in Haiti discussion of IDB development aid. Also covers the work of the international community and aid agencies in rebuilding the region.

Fourth International Conference on Online Deliberation (OD2010) – organized by Stephen Coleman and Giles Moss – which took place in Leeds (UK) on 30 June-2 July. A number of papers can now be accessed online including
Simon Smith, Mobilising Civic Resources Through eParticipation in the European Public Sphere: Problem-Solving, Relegitimisation or Decoupling ? Nicolas Desquinabo and Nils Ferrand, Online Deliberation and Impact on Decision : A Local Planning Case
Raphael Kies and Stephanie Wojcik, European Web-Deliberation : Lessons from the European Citizens Consultation; Scott Wright, Political as Usual ? Revolution, Normalisation and a New Agenda for Online Deliberation; Laurence Monnoyer-Smith and Julien Talpin, Participatory Frames in Deliberative Devices: The Ideal-EU Case Study
The proceedings (267 pages can be downloaded in pdf) from the foot of the page

Harvard University Library digital Map collection
Access to over 1,000 digitized maps and atlases from the Harvard Map Collection. Many are georeferenced for use in a GIS. Highlights include Fire Insurance and Real Property Atlases, revolutionary war and historic maps of london
If you are looking for more maps a good starting point is this recent article from Online classes
83 Awesome Links for Cartography Geeks Which is subdivided into government bodies (includes USA/UK) interesting online collections, map making resources and blogs and twitter feeds. Each has a one line description of content. Plenty to explore!