Monthly Archives: April 2012
Geo-political map of Sahara and Sahel region
This geo-political map of Sahara and Sahel region is extremely information dense and well sourced. See Le Monde Diplomatique (English edition) maps for more. Many thanks to Peter Limb for the link!
The Virtues of Blogging as Scholarly Activity
April 29, 2012 The Virtues of Blogging as Scholarly Activity By Martin Weller “I have been an active blogger since 2006, and I often say that becoming one was the best decision I have ever made in my academic life.” [Links to The Chronicle of Higher Education, a subscription publication, though this opinion piece is […]
Why are Pygmies short?
A study published in PLoS Genetics this month links West African Pygmy people’s short stature to genetic adaptations that bolster immunity to disease. This genetic response indirectly affects stature by suppressing production of growth hormone in Pygmy populations globally and in Africa in particular according to a Scientific American blog. As Gary Stix reports, “Tishkoff […]
Judge delivers Charles Taylor Sierra Leone atrocities verdict
Judge delivers Charles Taylor Sierra Leone atrocities verdict “International judges have found former Liberian leader Charles Taylor guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes during the Sierra Leone civil war.” From the BBC. Many thanks to Margaret for prompting me to post this!
Ancient Nigerian Nok terracotta sculpture worth $300k destroyed.
A magazine photographer “dropped a collector’s 2,600-year-old terracotta statue while moving it for a shot, smashing the $300,000 piece of Nigerian Nok art for good, the collector says in court” according to the Courthouse News Service.
Derscheid Collection at UFDC recognized with CRL Primary Source Award
And the 2012 CRL Primary Source Award for Access goes to…Dan Reboussin for “developing access to the Jean-Marie Derscheid Collection, a rich set of manuscripts documenting pre-colonial and colonial events in Burundi, Eastern Congo, and Rwanda.” See: Center for Research Libraries. 2012. “CRL Primary Source Awards for 2012: Award for Access.” Focus on Global Resources […]
Harvard University Library Advisory Council to Faculty: “Major Periodical Subscriptions Cannot Be Sustained”
http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k77982&pageid=icb.page498032&pageContentId=icb.pagecontent1061869&state=maximize To: Faculty Members in all Schools, Faculties, and Units From: The Faculty Advisory Council Date: April 17, 2012 RE: Periodical Subscriptions We write to communicate an untenable situation facing the Harvard Library. Many large journal publishers have made the scholarly communication environment fiscally unsustainable and academically restrictive. This situation is exacerbated by efforts of […]
African Studies library 