Now available: Populations Past, a map and analysis of Victorian and Edwardian population. From the about page: “The second half of the nineteenth century was a period of major change in the dynamics of the British population. This was a time of transformation from a relatively ‘high pressure’ demographic regime characterised by medium to high birth and death rates to a ‘low pressure’ regime of low birth and death rates, a transformation known as the ‘demographic transition’. This transition was not uniform across England and Wales: certain places and social groups appear to have led the declines while others lagged behind. Exploring these geographical patterns can provide insights into the process of change and the influence of economic and geographical factors. This website allows users to create and view maps of different demographic measures and related socio-economic indicators every 10 years between 1851 and 1911. These include fertility, childhood mortality, marriage, migration status, household compositions, age-structure, occupational status and population density. Brief explanations of each measure are included, indicating how they are calculated and explaining how they relate to other measures.”
UK
Politics. co. uk: Humanists UK launches first ever funeral tribute archive
Politics. co. uk: Humanists UK launches first ever funeral tribute archive. “The life stories of ordinary people who have their death marked with a humanist funeral are to be immortalised for all time, thanks to a new initiative from Humanists UK. Working with the Bishopsgate Institute, they have created the first national online archive of funeral tributes from the thousands of funerals conducted by their celebrants each year. The Humanist Funeral Tribute Archive is being launched today and will be accessible through the Bishopsgate Institute’s online Catalogue.”
American Folklife Center: AFC’s James Madison Carpenter Collection Is Online
American Folklife Center: AFC’s James Madison Carpenter Collection Is Online. “The collection itself was the work of James Madison Carpenter, a Harvard-trained scholar who gathered more than 3,000 traditional songs and 300 folk plays, as well as fiddle tunes, folk customs, children’s games, and traditional tales. He collected most of them in Britain between 1928 and 1935, with a smaller number coming from the USA, between 1927 and 1943…. He spent time in local communities recording traditional ballads, ‘bothy songs,’ seasonal carols, sea shanties, and more. Unlike earlier collectors, he made sound recordings of some of his contributors on wax cylinders, including some performers whose songs and tunes had previously been notated only by hand.”
Times of Malta: Britain hints it may regulate young people’s use of social media
Times of Malta: Britain hints it may regulate young people’s use of social media. “Britain’s health minister Jeremy Hunt threatened to impose new regulations on social media firms unless they do more to protect young people using their services. Hunt said the groups were ‘turning a blind eye’ to the effect social media had on children’s well-being – an accusation that comes as Facebook and others face heightened scrutiny worldwide over their impact and influence.”
Historic Environment Scotland: Newly digitised images tell story of rural Scotland in 1970s
Historic Environment Scotland: Newly digitised images tell story of rural Scotland in 1970s. “Two extensive surveys of rural Scotland undertaken during the 1970s are now more accessible to the public after a project by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) to digitise their archives. The Scottish Countryside Commission and the C-listed buildings surveys give an insight into life in Scotland during the 1970s and early 1980s. The surveyors were originally sent out to record architecture, however, the backdrop to their work is life in rural Scotland.”
Northampton Borough Council: Museum creates digital memories of the First World War
Northampton Borough Council: Museum creates digital memories of the First World War. “A First World War digital archive including images of museum objects and family stories relating to Northampton has been created by Northampton Museums and Art Gallery. The archive can be found on Instagram and Flickr, where viewers can browse through a range of objects, photographs, documents and oral histories and share their stories and experiences with others.”
The Guardian: Brexiters seek campaign memorabilia for ‘museum of sovereignty’
The Guardian: Brexiters seek campaign memorabilia for ‘museum of sovereignty’. “It sounds like a remainer’s worst nightmare: a museum of Brexit with a grand atrium dominated by the ‘£350m for the NHS’ bus, leading to galleries displaying a selection of Nigel Farage’s louder tweed jackets. The reality is quite different, not least as the proposed Brexit museum, officially pitched as a ‘museum of sovereignty’, is thus far nothing more than an idea coupled with an appeal for exhibits.”
