The Scout Report - July 14, 1995

July 14, 1995

A Service to the Internet Community Provided by the InterNIC


The Scout Report is a weekly publication offering a selection of new and newly discovered Internet resources of interest to researchers and educators, the InterNIC's primary audience. However everyone is welcome to subscribe to one of the mailing lists (plain text or HTML) or visit the Web version of the Scout Report on the InterNIC server:http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/sr/

Additional information and detailed access and subscription instructions are included at the end of each Scout Report.

Highlights In This Week's Report:

Reminder: There was no Scout Report distributed during the week ending July 7. The Scout was off the 'Net and on the water. Hope you all have a similar chance to beat the heat sometime this summer.

World Wide Web

  • The Democratic National Committee home page will allow Internet users access to DNC publications and press releases, audio and video clips, links to other Democratic Internet destinations and opportunities to interact with the National Democratic Party. In addition, the DNC page will utilize "real audio," a new technology that allows users to play audio files instantly while connected to the DNC Home Page, rather than downloading the files, which causes delays. Democratic National Committee Chairmen Christopher Dodd states that the Committee is absolutely committed to being a full participant in the increasing political discourse occurring via computer across the country. http://www.democrats.org/index.html
  • The Electronic Prehistoric Shark Museum is now open for visitors: just when you thought it was safe to go surfing on the Net come reports of shark bytes on the World Wide Web. The museum features fossil shark teeth (photos and descriptions) from the prehistoric Great White to the jaws of a modern-day shark. This virtual museum also has links to other paleontological sites and posts additional shark sightings on the Internet. Also provides links to Other Paleontological Links; Shark sightings on the Net; Where to learn more about Paleontology and hunting extinct shark teeth; and Where to obtain fossil shark teeth without hunting--Ferocious Fossils. Warning--no lifeguards! Surf at your own risk. http://turnpike.net/emporium/C/celestial/epsm.htm
    [Note: Resource(s)/URL(s) mentioned above is no longer available.]
  • Gateway to World History contains links to a set of documentary archives for World History; a collection of world-history online resources; searching for online resources by keyword or by subject; Internet discussion lists relevant to world history; resources to support the struggle for a better future; a list of history departments online; general reference works, tools and libraries; and the New England Regional World History Association Web page. http://www.hartford-hwp.com/gateway/
  • The Institute for the Environment is a joint public-private partnership between The George Washington University in Washington D.C. and the US Environmental Protection Agency. The Institute has implemented the National Environmental Information Resources Center (NEIRC) Web site providing information about the environment, including everything from ocean oil spills, to environmental college research world wide, to Access EPA (an on-line data base of environmental details), to the first model Green University along with its on-line Strategic Plan, to the U.S. Green Building Council's membership form. The site links to over two hundred other sites around the world and more are being added every day. The system is entirely free and has been cited by the President and Vice-President of the United States of America in a Environmental Technology report that was given in April of 1995. http://www.gwu.edu/~greenu/index2.html
  • The Leiden University Faculty of Law in the Netherlands has implemented a Web Page offering links to servers all over the world dealing with international law, the United Nations, the European Union, human rights, law libraries, law-related lists etc. http://ruljis.leidenuniv.nl/group/jfbi/www/index.htm
  • The National Security Agency (NSA) has recently put its own WWW site on-line to provide information about its mission and activities. NSA is the nation's cryptologic organization and employs this country's premier codemakers and codebreakers. Under its two national missions, NSA collects and processes foreign signals intelligence and it is also responsible for providing leadership, products and services to protect classified and unclassified national security systems against exploitation or intelligence threats. The NSA homepage contains information about NSA's mission, general facts and figures, and an on-line tour through NSA's National Cryptologic Museum--with a sample of exhibits which chronicle American cryptology. http://www.nsa.gov:8080
  • Poly-Links is a non-commercial service server that indexes plastics and polymer internet sites worldwide. It is intended to be informative and instructional, even linking to an entire book on polymer chemistry in html format. A searchable index is available and a searchable jobs database. A dozen specific links include access to polymer chemistry resources, plastics engineering resources, and polymer toxicity and safety resources. The mission of Poly-Links is to provide the internet community with the world's premier index of internet polymer and plastics resources. Mirror sites are available in China and the Netherlands. The Poly-Links web server is updated once a month and is growing dramatically. http://www.polymers.com/dotcom/polylink/
  • Purloined Tobacco Papers Online. A year-long legal battle between the University of California at San Francisco and tobacco giant Brown & Williamson ended last Thursday when the California Supreme Court ruled the university could post the papers documenting the tobacco industry's awareness of nicotine's addictive and carcinegous nature 30 years ago on the Internet. The records, originally swiped by a paralegal in 1989, were Fed Ex'd to a UCSF professor last year by someone identifying himself as "Mr. Butts." (St. Petersburg Times 7/3/95 A3) [From EDUPAGE 7/4] http://www.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/
  • Take a cruise on the S.S. Cherokee Belle, Cap'n Mark Wheeler's Virtual Riverboat. Visit river cities on the Ohio, Mississippi and elsewhere, learn some steam boat history, steal our riverboat bibliography, and be sure to visit the Pilot house where all the good stuff is. Join Cap'n Mark and Pilot Mark Twain on an electronic cruise of the World Wide Web and Steamboat and Paddlewheeler history. There's even a college career and transfer center onboard so you can learn while you cruise. http://www.acy.digex.net/~capnmark/home.html
    [Note: When last checked by the Internet Scout team, this site URL was no longer available.]

Gopher

  • The Alabama BlueCross and BlueShield Medical Information Server, located and developed by the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Computer and Information Sciences, through a grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama for the express purpose of providing Internet access to medical information for all physicians and other health care providers in the state of Alabama. It provides links to a broad range of medical information resources located throughout the Internet. Menus provide information on diseases and disorders, patient care and medical practice, medical specialties, journals and newsletters, health care reform, and other medical information.
    http://www.bcbsal.org/
    [Note: Originally reviewed as a gopher site; gopher site has been replaced by web site.]
  • American Mathematical Society "e-MATH GOPHER" is organized in a way that reflects the different classes of information that are available. Mathematical Publications must be peer-reviewed and archived. Other forms of publication are labeled as Mathematical Preprints. Bulletin Boards and Discussion Lists are mechanisms that facilitate informal sharing of research and professional information. World Wide Web access is now available from both the main e-MATH login menu and the e-MATH gopher via a Lynx VT100 client. Or use a Web browser to access the AMS Web page directly at either of the addresses listed below.
    gopher to: e-math.ams.org
    [Note: Orginally reviewed as a gopher site; gopher may no longer be current.]
    http://e-math.ams.org/
    http://www.ams.org/
  • The Brain and Tissue Bank at the University of Maryland at Baltimore is established to advance the research of developmental disorders and is in contract to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health. The objective of this human tissue repository is to systematically collect, store, and distribute brain and other tissue for research dedicated to the improved understanding, care and treatment of individuals with developmental disorders. A listing of disorders, tissues and request information is available, in addition to registry information for potential donors.
    http://www.som1.umaryland.edu/braintissuebank/
    [Note: Originally reviewed as a gopher site; gopher site has been replaced by web site.]
  • The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has a new gopher address, listed below. The gopher has been updated and will lead to information about and from the FDIC. The FDIC is the independent deposit insurance agency created by Congress to maintain stability and public confidence in the nation's banking system.
    gopher to: gopher.fdic.gov
    http://www.fdic.gov/
  • The Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC) gopher offers food and human nutrition information for professionals and consumers. The FNIC is part of the National Agricultural Library (NAL) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Beltsville, MD. The FNIC helps people looking for information or educational materials in the area of food and human nutrition. Services include: information or reference assistance; interlibrary document delivery and loan of books, audiovisuals and other materials; publications, such as bibliographies and reference lists, and food and nutrition software.
    gopher to: gopher.nalusda.gov
    select: NAL Information Centers/Food and Nutrition Information Center
    [Note: Orginally reviewed as a gopher site; gopher may no longer be current.]
    http://www.nalusda.gov/fnic/
    • The OSHA Salt Lake Technical Center site holds all of the OSHA Standards (29 CFR); the 1993-1995 Federal Register OSHA Notices, the DRAFT Proposed Ergonomics Protecting Standard; The New OSHA -Reinventing WORKERS SAFETY AND HEALTH document, and GOCAD - A program to analyze biological monitoring results as required by the Cadmium Standard.
      [Note: Originally reviewed as a gopher site; gopher site has been replaced by web site.]
      http://www.osha-slc.gov/
    • The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) gopher is intended to be a convenient information resource for people interested in learning generally about the nation's largest private philanthropy devoted to health care, its programs and its projects, as well as those who would like to access specific types of information about the health care system. In addition, the gopher contains the full-texts and excerpts of many of the foundation's publications, and information about Health Tracking, a new Foundation program examining and reporting on the nation's changing health care system. Funding information, including listings of current RWJF calls for proposals, open grants, and guidelines for grant applicants, are also available. Capsule summaries of current calls for proposals make it possible to preview CFPs before deciding to pull down the full-text. There is also information about other gophers of RWJF programs and projects and direct links to them. [ NOTE: The port number listed after the host address below is required for direct access to the RWJF gopher.]
      http://www.rwjf.org
      [Note: Originally reviewed as a gopher site; gopher site has been replaced by web site.]
    • The Southeastern Library Network (SOLINET) gopher presents information about the activities, products, and services of SOLINET, the Southeastern Library Network, as well as providing a collection of data and links to information of interest and use to members of the library and information professions.
      gopher to: sol1.solinet.net
      select: SOLINET Gopher

    Electronic Mailing Lists

    • DESCARTES-L is for the discussion of topics related to the philosophy of RENE DESCARTES and is an open, largely unmoderated discussion list which is primarily intended to be a forum for 1) scholarly and interdisciplinary discussions of the philosophy of Rene Descartes; and 2) for sharing information regarding conferences, lectures, recent publications, bibliographies, historical discoveries, scientific theories, and other information of potential interest to those interested in Descartes's philosophy. The list is open to anyone, from any discipline, with a serious interest in this area of study. We have a particular interest in encouraging close critical discussions and "slow readings" of the Cartesian texts and of secondary sources (commentaries, biographies, etc.) pertaining to these works. However, this List is also directed to promoting the active exchange of ideas, information, and scholarly inquiries regarding Cartesian philosophy in the broadest sense, including its influences and significance.
      send mail to: listserv@BUCKNELL.EDU
      in the body of the message type:
      SUB DESCARTES-L yourfirstname yourlastname
      • PHILCAMUS is for the discussion of the works of _Albert Camus_ and to encourage both the reading of Camus' works and the development of informed critical and even scholarly responses to Camus' writings and ideas. More specifically, although Camus' literary and dramatic works will be legitimate topics of discussion on this List, the primary emphasis of the List will be on the examination of Camus' _philosophical_ views, as embodied in all of his writings, and their relations to the views of other contemporary and classical philosophers. However, the acceptance of such an interpretive perspective on Camus' works is by no means a precondition for participation in the List discussion, and is not meant to exclude literary-critical analyses of Camus' writings, or for that matter, psychological, biographical, historical, rhetorical, or linguistic modes of interpretation and criticism of his works. A broad and pluralistic approach is advocated to the discussion of both literature and philosophy, and encourage participation and contributions from all points of the intellectual compass. The list is largely unmoderated, and open to anyone, from any discipline, with a serious interest in this area of study.
        send mail to: LISTSERV@BUCKNELL.EDU
        in the body of the message type:
        SUB PHILCAMUS Yourfirstname Yourlastname

      NetBytes

      • The Global Information Infrastructure (GII) Awards site announces the winning projects in categories that include arts and entertainment, commerce, community, education, government, health, and children. Visit the Web site to see the winning sites, the award finalists, and links to entries received in the annual awards program recognizing the "champions of cyberspace". Read advice offered from some of the finalists, note the sponsors of the awards, and see the names of dozens of judges who participated in each stage of the evaluations.
        [Note: Site formerly known as "National Information Infrastructure Awards."]
        http://www.gii-awards.com
      • CACI: Children Accessing Controversial Information through computer networks mailing list has now moved from media.mit.edu to cygnus.com. Here's the updated list description: A lot of kids are getting online these days--sharing data about acid rain, talking about social issues, meeting adults as well as kids, and learning about other cultures. Computer networks hold tremendous promise, but also raise difficult issues which need to be discussed openly. Unfortunately, much of the publicity related to these issues has only dealt with potential dangers--and it has not encouraged reflection on solutions. Can children be prevented from accessing materials which are controversial? Is preventing access even desirable? We believe censorship is not the answer. What alternatives do we have or could we provide? How do we talk with children about these issues? What can we say to concerned parents and school administrators? How and by whom are community standards set? The stakes are clear: if we don't find ways to manage these difficult issues, parents and school administrators may choose to deny children access to networking in an attempt to protect them. And prohibitions against undirected exploration through networking could prevent many of the benefits which the technology could support. We hope to form a community of people interested in discussing these issues and developing helpful materials.
        send email to: caci-request@cygnus.com
        in the body of the message type: subscribe
        to unsubscribe, type: unsubscribe If you have difficulty, write to caci-owner@cygnus.com This announcement as well as additional information may be found at http://www.zen.org/~brendan/caci.html

      About the Scout Report

      The Scout Report is a weekly publication offered by the InterNIC to the Internet community as a fast, convenient way to stay informed about network activities. Its purpose is to combine in one place selected new (and newly-discovered) Internet resources.

      A wide range of topics are included in the Report with an emphasis on resources thought to be of interest to the InterNIC's primary audience, the research and education community. Each resource has been verified for substantial content and accessibility within a day of the release of the Report.

      The Scout Report is provided in multiple formats -- mailing lists for both a plain text and HTML version; gopher; and World Wide Web. The gopher and World Wide Web versions of the Report include links to all listed resources. The report is released every weekend.

      In addition to the plain text version, the Scout Report is distributed in HTML format allowing sites to post the Scout Report on local WorldWideWeb servers each week. The result is faster access for local users. You are welcome and encouraged to re-post and re-distribute the report. Note that copyright statements appear on all versions of the Scout Report, and we ask that these be included when re-posting or re-distributing.

      If you haven't yet subscribed or told your friends and colleagues, now is the time. Spread the news by word-of-net. Join 20,000 of your colleagues already using the Scout Report as a painless tool for tracking what's new on the 'Net!

      Comments and contributions to the Scout Report are encouraged and can be sent to scout@cs.wisc.edu

      -- Susan Calcari
      InterNIC Info Scout

      Scout Report Access Methods

      • To receive the electronic mail version of the Scout Report each Friday, join the scout-report mailing list. You will receive one message a week -- the Scout Report every weekend.

        Send email to: majordomo@dstest.internic.net in the body of the message, type:

        subscribe scout-report
        to unsubscribe to the list, repeat this procedure substituting the word "unsubscribe" for subscribe.
        • To receive the Scout Report in HTML format for local posting, subscribe to the scout-report-html mailing list, used exclusively to distribute the Scout Report in HTML format once a week.

          Send mail to: majordomo@dstest.internic.net in the body of the message, type:

          subscribe scout-report-html

          Resource Addressing Conventions

          After each resource in the Scout Report one or more network addresses are listed. Every attempt is made to use the same convention in each listing for the network address of each resource. It is assumed that users recognize the type of address and know how to use it. However, for those users unfamiliar with the Internet we provide here the order in which addresses are listed (by network tool) and instructions for accessing additional information in the InterNIC InfoGuide about each network tool. A brief explanation of one tool, WWW is included below.

          The four network tools referenced most often in the Scout Report are World Wide Web, gopher, email, and FTP. Occasionally WAIS and Telnet addresses are also listed.

          After each resource at least one address is listed, and sometimes more. This is because some resources are available using multiple network tools. The network tool addresses are always listed in the same order after each resource:

          • World Wide Web (WWW)
          • Gopher
          • FTP
          • Email
          • Telnet
          • WAIS
          A WWW address is called a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) and always begins with a string of characters followed by a colon and two forward slashes. For example:

          http://www.internic.net/
          gopher://gibbs.oit.unc.edu:70/11/research.d/grants.d
          ftp://ftp.digex.net/pub/access/hecker/internet/slip-ppp.txt

          To access the resource through the WWW you can use a WWW browser installed on your desktop computer, or a "command-line" WWW client on your local Internet host computer. Web browsers are available for all major computer platforms, including Macintosh, PC, and UNIX. Check with your local support center or your Internet Service Provider for more information about Web browsers installed on the Internet host computer or for your desktop computer.

          Copyright Susan Calcari, 1995.

          Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of the Scout Report provided the copyright notice, this permission notice, and the two paragraphs below are preserved on all copies.

          The InterNIC provides information about the Internet and the resources on the Internet to the US research and education community under the National Science Foundation Cooperative Agreement No. NCR-9218742. The Government has certain rights in this material.

          Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation, AT&T, or Network Solutions, Inc.