Social Science sites of the week

Here is the latest round up of new and interesting sites for social scientists


Are a million species threatened with extinction?
This week media reported that vast numbers of species were threatened with extinction
the data is taken from a report of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services . The full report will be issued later this year. But the summary shows that "average of around 25 per cent of species in assessed animal and plant groups are threatened"
This echoes the WWF 2018 Living Planet report which also tracks the state of global biodiversity "The latest index shows an overall decline of 60% in population sizes between 1970 and 2014"

ICUN Red list The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red list records over 27,000 species threatened with extinction worldwide. Get fact files on the individual species of animals, plants and fungi listed.
Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO) provides a summary of the status of biological diversity and an analysis of the steps being taken by the global community It has the relevant convention and national implementation plans

How is the UK doing?
See the annual biodiversity targets
the Joint Nature Conservation Committee website has the UK biodiversity framework


National Biodiversity Network is a UK based charity which seeks to educate the public. it supports the Biodiversity Atlas which enables you to explore species in your area.


Oceanreports Data now available for the USA
A new ocean mapping tool for US designed by the by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Draw maps or look at customised reports combining data on infrastructure, regulation, minerals, geology and environment in one place.
For a more global reach see the "International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange" (IODE) of the "Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission" (IOC) of UNESCO. It has a world Ocean database


South Africa elections - get some facts

This week elections have taken place in South Africa.
The electoral Commission has an official website with information on the electoral system, candidates and regulations . Results will be posted here.
For recent polls try ipsos
Alternatively see what people were searching for Google Trends as the most popular recent searches in South Africa
Newspaper coverage
These include news stories, polls and analysis
UK Guardian
The Times South Africa
The South African
Analysis from academic staff (mainly UK based ) the Conversation
All Africa. com
Fighting misinformation
Find out if it is an issue in the elections by reading these useful resources.
An account of what Google is doing
AfricaCheck activities including analysis of specific manifesto promises
Reports from election observers.
Including assessment of the conduct of the elections
EISA South Africa
SADC
African Union
Corruption Watch has reports on the state of democracy and transparency in government
For historic information on observations of past elections see the Ace Project website

We need to find out about University staff well-being.
Interesting new report from HEPI which argues that universities need to collect and make data available on the wellbeing of the staff. It argues that this should not confuse mental health with mental wellbeing as they should be measured separately. Try our scoop.it page for further links to new reports covering higher education teaching and learning

Arabian Gulf digital library
Fabulous collection from the National Archives of the United Arab Emirates and National Archives uk which has text and images on the political, social and cultural history of the region.It includes some online exhibitions one is on the discovery of oil i
While many materials are offered in Arabic; it does have UK government materials on foreign relations and policy . For instance browse the section on disputes. It is possible to search or browse by subject, place, date.
Also recently made available is the Quatar digital library which also has collections on international relations and oil

South-South Galaxy (UNOSSC)A new website launched the UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC). The project intends to give support to countries of the South, so they can share best practice and knowledge . The site is new but aims to have a South-South Global Thinkers section- a place where - the global coalition of think tank networks for South-South cooperation.can publish news research and find partners. Topics relate to the BAPA+40 Roadmap focusing on technical cooperation

Modern Slavery Data Stories (UNU-CPR)
Created by the UN University Centre for Policy Research, using datasets from the ILO, IOM, Walk Free Foundation, SmartLab, UK Government, Delta 8.7 and the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research, this site has stunning visual maps which show the prevalence of modern slavery worldwide and efforts to eliminate it. There are also individual data dashboards. Questions that can be answered by it includes who gives the most aid, where does it go

Global brand database now uses AI search technology
WIPO’s Global Brand Database, has fully integrated an AI intelligence image search into the database search engine. The announcement is here. Use the concept strategy to perform it. you can paste in an image of a brand from a website and see if it recognises it.

Finally
History of Women in 100 objects – the Home Canning machine. Great historic film from West Midlands History.
Based on Professor Maggie Andrews 'A history of women in 100 objects' book. it is one of a series of 5 from the website which discuss the history and how historic images of usage.