Italian: ITL 231

Background research

Food Science Source This link opens in a new window
Food Science Source is an extensive full-text database designed to support the research needs of the food industry. It provides hundreds of full-text journals, monographs, magazines and trade publications, plus a wealth of food industry and market reports.
Subjects Include: agribusiness, food and beverage science, food packaging, food processing, food safety, food service, food shipping, food/culinary innovation, and food-related product development.
Food Studies Online This link opens in a new window
Full-text archival content, visual ephemera, monographs, and videos that explore the culture of food both contemporary and historical. Contents include: menus, cookbooks, marketing pamphlets, documentaries, vintage commercials, etc. Users may encounter content in this database the library has not purchased.
Sources include the National Archives (US) school lunch program files, WWII Food Campaign files, and Food Ephemera Collection (ephemeral materials from the turn of the century through the 1960s) and many published sources.
Environment Complete This link opens in a new window
Environment Complete is a leading full-text database for environmental studies. It provides hundreds of top environment journals and monographs covering agriculture, ecosystem ecology, energy, public policy, sustainability and other related subjects. It also includes millions of records and an environmental thesaurus.
Subjects include: agriculture, ecosystem ecology, energy, environmental law, and environmental technology. This is also a useful database for searching for "architecture sustainability" and "design sustainability".
AGRICOLA This link opens in a new window
Containing bibliographic records from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Library, AGRICOLA provides millions of citations relating to the field of agriculture. Citations are comprised of journal articles, book chapters, theses, patents, software, audiovisual materials and technical reports to support agricultural research.
Subjects include: animal and veterinary sciences, entomology, plant sciences, forestry, aquaculture and fisheries, farming and farming systems, agricultural economics, and extension and education.

Creative Commons & Public Domain Content

Openverse
Search Creative Commons licensed content
Flickr Creative Commons
Copyright Slider
A tool to help determine if a work is currently under copyright
USDA Image gallery
Public domain images from the USDA, including food
Font Matching Guide
The goal of font pairing is to select fonts that share an overarching theme yet have a pleasing contrast. Which fonts work together is largely a matter of intuition, but we approach this problem with a neural net. See Github for more technical details.

Data Visualization and Infographics

What is Data Visualization?

Data Visualization is an umbrella term that covers information and scientific visualization. This is a general way of discussing anything that converts data sources into a visual representation (like charts, graphs, maps, and sometimes even tables).

Data Visualization can tell stories, answer questions, and can be more readable than just numbers or words alone. Even as early as the mid-1800s, pioneers like Charles Minard and John Snow used infographics and maps to visualize data! Today Data Visualization is used for everything from COVID dashboards, business dashboards, and even pop culture trends.

What Makes a Great Data Visualization?

Know your audience
- What questions will/do they have?
Select the right chart or method for your visualization
- It is ok if the bar chart is the correct choice, don't overcomplicate just because you can!
Keep your patterns predictable.
- Don't let your viewers get lost; it will make it harder to tell your story.
Tell stories with clear color clues.
- Too many colors can cause issues; keep it simple, like blue for cold and red for hot.
Apply text with care
- Unorganized or too much text will just confuse your viewers!
Emphasis on the essential points
- Make size relative to value, either with color, icon, or marker.
Clean your data
- Clean data is happy data. The cleaner your data, the easier it will be for you to make visualizations and for others to understand them!
Be willing to get feedback!
- Have a friend or colleague look over what you have. A second set of eyes always helps!

For more information on what makes a great visualization, check out these resources:

Infographic Examples

Napoleon March Map - Charles Minard

Charles Minard - In 1869, Minard made this graph showing the losses the French army suffered during Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812-1813. The graphic shows how the French army went from a force of around 470,000 men to only 10,000 on their return. The width of the lines indicates the number of soldiers and goes along with a temperature line chart showing how as the temperature fell, so did the soldiers in the army.

Broad Street Cholera Outbreak Map - John Snow

In 1854 Dr. John Snow mapped a cholera outbreak in a London neighborhood. He was looking to find if there was a trend he could see to help a solution as the outbreak killed over 600. Thinking that the answer to what was happening was in the water sources people were using, he created a dot map to show how cholera cases were concentrated around a pump on Broad Street.

This map and his study showed that water provided by one vendor had a cholera mortality rate 14 times that of other vendors! He then removed the handle from the pump! Snow's work helped create the field of epidemiology and public health, but his theories were not accepted until long after his passing. Today the John Snow Society holds a remembrance and a lecture series to promote the life and work of the doctor.

Some Examples of Great Data Visualization

The Inside Scoop of Ben and Jerry's

A look at the 98 flavors of Ben and Jerry's ice cream!

The Evolution of the American Census

A look at the history and data from the US Census, 1790 to 2020

The Fry Universe

Fry shapes and why you might like some more than others!

From Gospel to Grunge -100 years of Rock

Trace the history of Rock and Roll and all of its descendants!

River Runner Project

Watch the path of a raindrop from anywhere in the United States.

What's Lurking in Your Stadium Food?

Local health departments' ratings of pro stadiums from ESPN.

Slave Voyages

The SlaveVoyages makes publicly accessible records of the largest slave trades in history.

Tips on Podcasting and Videos

Elements of a good Podcast
Creating podcasts is not a difficult task, but making it a good podcast can be a little daunting. A podcast platform consists of thousands of podcasts and millions of listeners. Thousands of people listen to a single podcast, while barely a few hundred people can listen to anyone. This difference indicates which podcast is good and which podcast is lacking.
Podcast Structure: The 3 Acts Of Every Great Podcast Episode
People love stories. Stories don’t just entertain us. They’re powerful ways of transmitting emotion and information between one another. In order to tell the best stories, you need the right podcast structure
4 Main Elements Of An Engaging Video
Great quality videos can take your business to a whole new level by creating awareness and interest. Videos done well, can bridge the gap between you and your target audience—fostering your relationship with them. However, just as great quality videos can help your business, poor quality videos can harm as well. Before you decide to utilize videos to promote your practice, know these four main elements to having great quality and engaging videos.
Four Elements Of A Great Video Narrative
The phrase “video narrative” can be intimidating. The idea of putting together the perfect script can be anxiety-inducing (where do you even begin?!) But when it comes to corporate video, creating the perfect narrative doesn’t mean producing a full-length mega-drama. In fact — the recipe for a successful video project is much, much simpler.