Programs and Credentials
Humboldt State: HSU Continues Polytech Push with Plans for Several New Programs - "HSU will formally submit proposals for the following programs to the California State University for consideration: Applied Fire Science & Management, Cannabis Studies, Data Science, Energy Systems Engineering, Engineering & Community Practice, Geospatial Information Science & Technology, Marine Biology, Mechanical Engineering, and Software Engineering for Fall 2023."
K-12 Focus
Press Release: Louisiana Students Earn GIS Industry-Based Certification and Secure Internships and Employment - A recap of the latest news from Global Geospatial Institute (GGI) which teaches high school students GIS.
The Chronicle Express: Yates County 4-H starts geo-caching group - "Cornell Cooperative Extension of Yates County and the Yates County 4-H Program have announced the start of a 4-H Geo-Caching group. The first group meeting took place on May 2, with the next date set for June 26." What's old is new again!
On and Off Campus
UConn Today: Should We Stay or Should We Go? Shoreline Homes and Rising Sea Levels in Connecticut - Charles Towe, associate professor of agriculture and resource economics in the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources, presented his findings on the implications of shoreline retreat on tax revenue and property values. It included GIS!
University of Manitoba: Two Environment and Geography honours students publish thesis research - "This year, two students of Dr. Tim Papakyriakou published versions of their undergrad honours thesis projects in peer-reviewed journals. Rachel Mandryk, B.Env.Sc.(Hons.), and Yekaterina (Kate) Yezhova, B.Env.Sc.(Hons.), along with Dr. Papakyriakou, gave us an idea of what the work was like and why other undergraduates should consider it. Both students focused their research on greenhouse gas science in Lake Winnipeg."
Resources for Teaching and Learning
Star Exponent: New interactive map tells Fauquier Black history - "The Afro-American Historical Association of Fauquier County and the Piedmont Environmental Council recently completed an interactive story map documenting local African-American history, just in time for Juneteenth, now a national holiday."
Wisconsin Examiner: Maps show Milwaukee’s overdoses on the rise without new treatment options - "Wisconsin Examiner has mapped Milwaukee County’s overdose deaths for 2020, color-coordinated according to the drug(s) documented by the medical examiner’s office. Each point represents a human being who died of a drug overdose during an unprecedented year."
SC Magazine: Online map visualizes the widespread presence of automated ransomware - "Updated on a daily basis, the map, from Comparitech, visualizes attempted ransomware attacks around the world over the past three weeks, showing the geolocations of publicly accessible, compromised IPs running databases that have been served a ransomware file. The data isn’t particularly actionable, but it does send a strong message about the global scope of the ransomware problem and certain overall trends."
BBC: Giant Scotland map mown near Jedburgh ahead of England clash - A giant map of mainland Scotland covers about 1.5km (one mile) of a field near Jedburgh and was created to celebrate Scotland's participation at Euro 2020.
Visual Capitalist: Animated Map: U.S. Droughts Over the Last 20 Years - Reddit poster NothingAbnormalHere provides a historical look at droughts in the U.S. since 1999, using data and graphics from the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM).
The Sun: Geography teacher apologises after using N-word as he explained pronunciation of west African country Niger - "A GEOGRAPHY teacher has apologised for using the N-word to explain how to pronounce the west African country Niger during a lesson. David Collins told a class of teenagers that it should not be confused with the deeply offensive racial slur, which he said out loud."
AdWeek: Nextdoor Vaccine Map Rolls Out Across US - Nextdoor, a local social network, teamed up with grocery chain Albertsons and Covid-19 vaccine provider Moderna on the Nextdoor Vaccine Map. Do we need another mapping app to increase vaccine uptake? Or might this energy be better spent elsewhere?
Meanwhile in Education
Press Release: Ofsted publishes research review on geography - The "review looks at geography education. It draws on our education inspection framework (EIF) and other literature to identify what contributes to a high-quality geography curriculum, as well as high-quality assessment, pedagogy and systems in schools." TES offers a recap of the key findings.
Meanwhile in the U.S. Government
News on 6: Senator Inhofe Leads Effort To Protect Americans From Possible GPS Service Damages - "Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe is spearheading an effort to protect American consumers and businesses from possible damage to Global Positioning Satellite [sic] services and satellite communications. The harm, he and others believe, will result from interference by a new 5G network approved last year by the Federal Communications Commission." The bill, the RETAIN GPS Act, would hold Ligado Networks (previous known as LightSquared) responsible for costs incurred by the public sector, businesses and consumers as a result of the network the FCC has cleared the company to develop.
People
NY Times: Saul B. Cohen, Who Helped Raise CUNY Standards, Dies at 95 - Saul Cohen, who I never met, was a friend of my parents. He was the only person they'd ever heard of, before me, who was a geographer. I'm confident that helped them wrap their brains around my area of study and career choice.