Social Science sites of the week

Here is the latest update of new and interesting web sites for social scientists

Star wars for social scientists.
Thomson Reuters has produced a summary of recent research indexed in web of science which has a star wars theme.

These include E. Bui, et al., "Is Anakin Skywalker suffering from borderline personality disorder?" Psychiatry Research, 185 (1-2): 299, 2011.

For more links on recent articles and research covering the economic and cultural studies of star wars see our recent blog posting.

Spanish elections.
Our recent election posting links to the news stories and places where analysis of the results can be found.

Saudi Arabia elects its first women councillors.
We have links to the results and analysis on the election blog.

Year in Twitter 2015
Official website from Twitter where you can trace key trends, most influential stories and individuals
See also an annual review on open access the Creative Commons report 2015
See more reports on trends in Media and communication using our Media scoop.it page

Open the Door: social science research for development and a sustainable future
New publication from the European Commission. Download the full text in pdf from the website. Provides descriptions and examples of key EU research programmes in these fields. Each entry include details of partners, description and outcome.

How do the media cover international migration stories?
The report, Moving Stories, is published by the Ethical Journalism Network and reviews media coverage of migration in the European Union and in 14 countries across the globe. It finds that in general coverage is poor. It refers to a concentration on sensationalism, a failure to highlight the coming Syrian refugee crisis and a sudden focus on humanitarian crisis after the death of a child refugee.

On the 18th December the United Nations marked international Migrants day

European commission statement
IOM Statement
The International Organization for Migration launched a midnight vigil to mark the occasion. They also used twitter https://twitter.com/iamamigrant to collect positive stories of migrants and record the vigil. Further case studies and stories can also be viewed on their associated website
British Red Cross Positive images – educational tool kit for teachers.
International Committee Red Cross- Pushed to the limits photoessays shows the hardship that pushed people to become migrants.
IFRC petition to protect humanity by protecting migrants

For up to date statistics see the Global Migration Data Analysis Centre this produced infographics and links to major publications such as the IOM World Migration report

How far have we come? lessons from the 1965 Race relations Act
Free access to this collection of essays from the Runnymede Trust. The 26 page pamphlet covers the socio-legal context of the act, the implementation of the act in the 21st century and the relationship between the act and the Magna Carta.

Bedroom tax
The Final Report from the Evaluation of the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (often referred to as the 'bedroom tax'), carried out jointly by CCHPR and Ipsos Mori, has been published. The report explores the effects of the cuts to Housing Benefit for working age social housing tenants who are deemed to be under-occupying their home. It found hardship to the extent that some clients had cut back on food.

For background information on the policy see the House of Commons Briefing paper on under occupancy of social housing
Advice for consumers from Shelter.
Other research include:
University of Manchester qualitative study on children in Manchester which found a negative impact on schooling.
Briefings from the Chartered Institute of housing
National Federation of Housing

Christmas digital archives
Try browsing the New York Philharmonic digital archives
Which contains for examples of Christmas carol concerts . It contains the full archive of all printed programmes from 1842 onwards.plus numerous photographs and 1,767 scores marked by Leonard Bernstein, Andre Kostelanetz, and others
Historic images of Christmas cards from the V& A museum collections
Geffreye Museum Christmas Past gallery which has historic images of 400 years of social history of the Christmas decoration of homes.