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DIVA-GIS DIVA-GIS is a free computer program for mapping and geographic data analysis (a geographic information system (GIS). With DIVA-GIS you can make maps of the world, or of a very small area, using, for example, state boundaries, rivers, a satellite image, and the locations of sites where an animal species was observed. We also provide free spatial data for the whole world that you can use in DIVA-GIS or other programs. You can use the discussion forum to ask questions, report problems, or make suggestions. Or contact us, and read the blog entries for the latest news. But first download the program and read the documentation. DIVA-GIS is particularly useful for mapping and analyzing biodiversity data, such as the distribution of species, or other 'point-distributions'. It reads and write standard data formats such as ESRI shapefiles, so interoperability is not a problem. DIVA-GIS runs on Windows and (with minor effort) on Mac OSX (see instructions). You can use the program to analyze data, for example by making grid (raster) maps of the distribution of biological diversity, to find areas that have high, low, or complementary levels of diversity. And you can also map and query climate data. You can predict species distributions using the BIOCLIM or DOMAIN models.

Blog Learning to love…grep (let the computer search text for you) Posted by Michelle Minkoff on Aug 9, 2012 in Blog, Uncategorized | No Comments I’ve gotten into the habit of posting daily learnings on Twitter, but some things require a more in-depth reminder. I also haven’t done as much paying as forward as I’d like (but I’m having a TON of fun!  and dealing with health problems!  but mostly fun!) I’d like to try to start posting more helpful tips here, partially as a notebook for myself, and partially to help others with similar issues. Today’s problem: I needed to search for a few lines of text, which could be contained in any one of nine files with 100,000 lines each. Opening all of the files took a very long time on my computer, not to mention executing a search. Enter the “grep” command in Terminal, that allows you to quickly search files using the power of the computer.

ELAN description ELAN is a professional tool for the creation of complex annotations on video and audio resources. With ELAN a user can add an unlimited number of annotations to audio and/or video streams. An annotation can be a sentence, word or gloss, a comment, translation or a description of any feature observed in the media. Annotations can be created on multiple layers, called tiers. Tiers can be hierarchically interconnected. An annotation can either be time-aligned to the media or it can refer to other existing annotations. The textual content of annotations is always in Unicode and the transcription is stored in an XML format. ELAN provides several different views on the annotations, each view is connected and synchronized to the media playhead. Up to 4 video files can be associated with an annotation document. Each video can be integrated in the main document window or displayed in its own resizable window. ELAN delegates media playback to an existing media framework, like Windows Media Player, QuickTime or JMF (Java Media Framework). As a result a wide variety of audio and video formats is supported and high performance media playback can be achieved. ELAN is written in the Java programming language and the sources are available for non-commercial use. It runs on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

Shorenstein Center paper argues for collaboration in investigative reporting Thursday, June 2, 2011 Sandy Rowe, former editor of The Oregonian, and Knight Fellow at the Shorenstein Center fall 2010 and spring 2011. Photograph by Martha Stewart Shorenstein Center, Harvard Kennedy School Contact: Janell Simsjanell_sims@harvard.eduhttp://www.hks.harvard.edu/presspol/index.html Media organizations may be able to perform their watchdog roles more effectively working together than apart. That is one conclusion in a new paper, “Partners of Necessity: The Case for Collaboration in Local Investigative Reporting,” authored by Sandy Rowe, former editor of Portland’s The Oregonian. The paper is based on interviews and research that Rowe conducted while serving as a Knight Fellow at the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. Rowe’s research examines the theory underpinning collaborative work and shows emerging models of collaboration that can lead to more robust investigative and accountability reporting in local and regional markets. “Growing evidence suggests that collaborations and partnerships between new and established news organizations, universities and foundations may be the overlooked key for investigative journalism to thrive at the local and state levels,” Rowe writes. “These partnerships, variously and often loosely organized, can share responsibility for content creation, generate wider distribution of stories and spread the substantial cost of accountability journalism.” Rowe was editor of The Oregonian from 1993 until January 2010. Under her leadership, the newspaper won five Pulitzer Prizes including the Gold Medal for Public Service. Rowe chairs the Board of Visitors of The Knight Fellowships at Stanford University and is a board member of the Committee to Protect Journalists. From 1984 until April 1993, Rowe was executive editor and vice president of The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, Norfolk and Virginia Beach, Virginia. The Virginian-Pilot won the Pulitzer Prize for general news reporting under her leadership. Rowe’s year-long fellowship at the Shorenstein Center was funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Read the full paper on the Shorenstein Center’s website.