NEW RESOURCES

Columbia University: Sabin Center And Grantham Research Institute Launch Database Of Global Climate Change Legislation. “To mark the launch, the Grantham Research Institute and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are presenting a new analysis, based on the database, showing a rise in the number of countries that have introduced legislation to support their ‘nationally determined contributions’ (NDCs) to the Paris Climate Change Agreement. The analysis shows that 14 new laws and 33 new executive policies related to climate change have been introduced since the Paris climate change summit in December 2015. 18 of the new laws and policies mainly focus on climate change and 4 specifically relate to NDCs. The new laws add to the over 1,200 climate-related laws that have been enacted globally since 1997, now in 164 countries and including 93 of the top 100 emitters—up from 99 countries in 2015.”

Canadian Mining Journal: New inventory of orphaned and abandoned mines released. “The National Orphaned and Abandoned Mines Initiative (NOAMI) has release a new, updated database of such sites across Canada. NOAMI was launched in 2002 as a multi-partner – provinces, territories and several federal departments – collaboration.”

Scoop NZ: Bowerbank Ninow Artist Database Launched. “The artist database is an ongoing project that is updated after each auction with information about artists whose work has been included in the sale. At present, the database includes entries for eighty-five New Zealand artists from the nineteenth century to the present day, as well as 80 essays and interviews by leading curators, art writers and academics. In this way, the database will continue to grow over time as more art passes through our auction catalogues.”

The Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University has started a online video archive for its lectures. Sample lectures: “Globalising the Mediterranean’s Iron Age”, “Medicine and the Humanities from Ancient to Modern”, and “Fantastical Space and Heroic Journeys in Mesopotamian Literature”.

From the American Museum of Folk Art: A Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. “An HCRR Foundations grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities will be used for the formative stage of efforts to preserve, digitize, and ensure wider access to the Henry Darger Papers, which will lend a greater understanding to a complex and enigmatic artist whose writings and art display ingenious creativity at the heart of interdisciplinary study in the humanities.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

TechCrunch: Microsoft’s Presentation Translator translates presentations in real time. “A lot of what Microsoft is showing at its Build conference this week is squarely aimed at developers. But in the barrage of news about Azure, Visual Studio and .NET, the company also showed off a preview of a new add-in for PowerPoint that is aimed at everyday users. The Presentation Translator can automatically provide real-time translated subtitles or translate the text of their actual PowerPoint presentation while still preserving the original formatting.”

Jordan News Agency: Google.org provides grant to Queen Rania Foundation to create K-12 Arab online Arabic learning platform. “The Queen Rania Foundation and Google.org agreed to create an online learning platform for Arabic Open Educational Resources (OERs) targeting K-12 students and their educators across the Middle East and North Africa region. Announced in London, the initiative comes at a crucial time to help make sure millions of children across the region have access to quality education. Today, an estimated 13 million MENA children, equivalent to 40% of the school age population, are missing out on an education because of conflict and displacement. The refugee crisis has also strained existing education systems in host countries, like Jordan and Lebanon that have taken in large numbers of refugee students, compromising the quality of education offered to both local and refugee children.”

USEFUL STUFF

The Next Web: There’s finally a Chrome extension for book lovers to discover their next great read. “Every time you open a new tab, 100 Million Books surfaces a randomly selected book and displays its cover and a hand-selected snippet from it, to give you just a taste of what its pages contain. It’s a great way to find something to read without having to bother entering keywords or looking up authors similar to the ones you’re familiar with.”

Social Media Examiner: How to Research Your Competitors on Instagram. “Wondering what your competitors are up to on Instagram? Want to compare their marketing efforts to yours? Researching how your competitors market on Instagram can help you find new ways to reach your shared customer base. In this article, you’ll discover how to research your competitors on Instagram.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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