Dear all
Here is the latest round up of new and interesting sites for social scientists
The final results are now on the central election
committee website
or earlier posting has links to the main observers.
Official website of campaign of Volodymyr Zelensky gives some insight into his thought and campaign
Володимир Зеленський
Many reactions have discussed populism
commentary on the rise of this populist figure from European
Council on Foreign relations
Euromaidan has
discussion of the forms of populism in Ukraine.
the Conversation also
has discussion of his popularity and its possible implications.
Recently the Uk government revealed research on the most hacked passwords.
You can download the top 100,000 from the National
Cyber research centre.
For information on how common identity and
online fraud is see CIFAS research summaries. This also gives basic data on the
most frequently targeted groups.
How much do people know about cybersecurity?
The same centre also released the 2018 cyber security survey which found that 48% of those who
responded found it confusing to know what to do to protect themselves online.
This echoes 2017
US research from Pew which found low levels of knowledge among the American public. Take their online test to see how you compare!
If you explore the website you can find more
consumer research on attitudes and experiences of internet security
Is there a general lack of skills?
in July 2018 House of Lords House of Commons Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy Cyber Security Skills and
the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure raised concerns about a lack of IT specialists in industry to support the future national infrastructure. It had proposals for future education.
Also on this theme see recent surveys on cyberskills
in the Uk labour market and the summary of responses to the National
Cyberskills strategy on how to increase capability
Recently the Financial Conduct Authority has been conducting audits of skills within UK firms. Get access
to their findings form the website
Globally
a report by non-profit association (ISC) in 2018 revealed
a worldwide cyber security skills gap. "Based upon feedback from almost 1,500 ICT workers around the world, the
report on
Cybersecurity Workforce
stated that almost two-thirds of businesses believe they have a cyber security skills gap.
For general advice on passwords try the Get
safe online website.
Press freedom is declining
According to the latest
annual report from
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) which ranks 180 nations worldwide
only 24% are rated as having a good level of press freedom ,
a decline from 26% last year.
Criteria measured include:
pluralism, media independence, censorship,
the legal framework, and infrastructure. Download the full ranking, methodology and report from the website.
Which universities are best for gender equality?
Find out by consulting the latest
index from the Times Higher . According
to the THES it is Western Sydney University. The methodology focuses upon
universities’ research on the study of gender, their policies on gender equality and their commitment to recruiting and promoting women. For more free research in Higher
education, teaching and learning see our
free scoop.it page
Principled Aid Index
Launched in
March by the Overseas development index. This
index ranks bilateral Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donors by the extent to which they give aid to countries that need it
most, support global cooperation and adopt a public
spirited focus on development impact rather than short tern return for their domestic economy. The website has interesting explanations and infographics.
Another new initiative
The Business Multidimensional Poverty Index (bMPI), developed
in partnership with the business association
Horizonte Positivo in Costa Rica
is a new tool for company information systems,
to help measure poverty amongst employees in the supply chain.
First used by Chairman of BAC Credomatic Bank, Costa Rica it discovered 12% of staff living in poverty. It is part of a new social enterprise called Sophia https://sophiaoxford.org/f/helping-businesses-fight-poverty
which was launched this month. Find out more
about the method here and its aims.
Notre Dame
After the sad fire.
Discovered this gem from the Internet archive from
architect;
undertook a renovation at Notre Dame which lasted from 1845 until 1865. The 1853 book has many original plans and drawings.
Finally OU 50th Anniversary
Be
inspired by stories
and photos shared
on the official website
They also have an
online digital archive with some fabulous digitised materials
Amongst these I discovered some forward thinking
videos
on the possible role, of computer assisted learning from 1979 which also have some magnificent beards and moustaches on show!
See also this
1993 guide to computing
For free access to some new
online courses
go to Open Learn.
Best wishes
Heather Dawson