HRAF News Vol. 2022-8
HRAF launches new version of eHRAF World Cultures
On August 15, 2022, the latest version of the eHRAF World Cultures database launched for all users. There are many features and enhancements to explore, including speed improvements, new layout options, Search Insights, and customizable Notebook accounts for keeping track of ethnographic data. All of your favorite features, such as Culture Summaries, Advanced Search, paragraph-level subject indexing, permalinks, and citation tools, are still there. For tips on where to begin, download our Quick Start Guide. Please join us in congratulating Matthew Roth, HRAF's lead software engineer, as well as the rest of our engineering team, on the exciting launch of this new application.

This month, we are also celebrating the success of our second NSF-supported Summer Institute for Cross-Cultural Anthropological Research. Many thanks to the 12 participants and their instructors who made it a very memorable and intensive 3-week experience. Costa Rican researcher José Manuel Rodríguez Arce is our featured HRAF Global Scholar for August. Finally, we are happy to announce two recent promotions at HRAF. Congratulations to Dr. Francine Barone, Director of Academic Development and Operations, and Matthew Longcore, Director of Outreach and Membership.
Our second NSF-supported Summer Institute for Cross-Cultural Anthropological Research was held on the Yale University campus this summer. It was an intense and exciting three weeks for the instructors and the 12 participants that included a hefty mix of instruction, hands-on exercises, and designing a cross-cultural mini-project. Learn more about the participants, their institutions, and a brief summary of their projects in our recap.

This second of three planned Summer Institutes was supported by the National Science Foundation in a grant to the Human Relations Area Files (BCS #2020156). The HRAF Summer Institutes are designed to train faculty, researchers, and advanced graduate students in the theory and state-of-the art methods for conducting regional and worldwide comparative research using anthropological data. An additional aim is to prepare materials that can be incorporated into methods courses and online platforms to assist others wishing to learn about cross-cultural methods.

This month's featured HRAF Global Scholar, José Manuel Rodríguez Arce, is an independent researcher based in Costa Rica. José holds a BA in Biology and is currently pursuing a BSc in Anthropology at the University of Costa Rica (UCR), in San José. He was previously a research assistant in the Faculty of Pharmacy and at the Carlos H. Aguilar Piedra Archaeology Laboratory at the UCR.

José's current research focuses on universality and diversity in human psychoactive drug use. He is interested in exploring available ethnographic and behavioral data in order to gain a more accurate view of why humans have a predilection for consuming certain mind-altering substances and how this preference has evolved in our species. Is psychoactive drug use universal? What kinds of behaviors are associated with intoxication, and how do they vary among societies? Is hallucinogen use more prevalent among foragers than agriculturalists?

HRAF wishes José continued success with his research.
Dr. Francine Barone has been promoted to the position of Director of Academic Development and Operations.

Francine holds a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Kent, UK. She has conducted ethnographic fieldwork on digital and urban spaces in Catalonia, Spain. Her research interests include digital ethnography, urban space, place-making, technology as material culture, media archaeology, and the socio-cultural impacts of technological change.

Francine oversees day-to-day activities across departments, including operational oversight for academic and database development; user engagement; academic outreach; and the production and dissemination of scholarly resources for anthropological research. She writes anthropological articles, publishes and presents original research, manages HRAF's social media channels, and contributes to the technical development of the eHRAF databases. Francine curates Teaching eHRAF and designs educational materials including the eHRAF Workbooks. She is also part of the NSF-funded iKLEWS research team.

Matthew Longcore has been promoted to the position of Director of Outreach and Membership.

Matthew is a candidate for a PhD in Humanities at Salve Regina University. He holds master's degrees in Archaeological Studies from Yale University, in Nonprofit Management from Harvard University, and in Education from Fairfield University. He received his bachelor's degree in American Studies from Trinity College, during which time he studied abroad at Oxford University.

Matthew oversees outreach and membership at HRAF. He manages marketing and public relations initiatives for membership retention and expansion. Matthew produces educational materials including the eHRAF Workbooks and incorporates them into teaching. He corresponds with faculty, students, librarians, and researchers at current and prospective member institutions.

Additionally, Matthew represents HRAF at conferences including the American Anthropological Association (AAA), the Society for American Archaeology (SAA), and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL).
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