The Scout Report - March 7, 1997

March 7, 1997

A Publication of Internet Scout
Computer Science Department, University of Wisconsin

A Project of 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). Subscription instructions are included at the end of each report.

Nature Web Special: Cloned Sheep
http://www.nature.com/
Click on Web Special: Cloned Sheep
Nature, the "international weekly journal of science," has created a web page to accompany the ground-breaking letter it published in the February 27, 1997 issue: "Viable offspring derived from fetal and adult mammalian cells," by I. Wilmut, et al. The letter is available, as well as a Nature Opinion piece, and short articles of commentary by Axel Kahn of the INSERM Laboratory of Research on Genetics and Molecular Pathology at the Cochin Institute of Molecular Genetics, Paris, and Colin Stewart of the NCI-Frederick Cancer Research and Development Center, Frederick, Maryland. Note that the site is free, but registration is required. [JS]
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a.k.a--Getty Information Institute searchable databases
http://www.getty.edu/
Provided by the Getty Information Institute, a.k.a. has developed an "experimental searching tool" to interface terms from the Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) and the Union List of Artist Names (ULAN) to several arts databases: the Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals, the International Repertory of the Literature of Art (RILA), and the Provenance Sale Catalogue and Sale Contents Databases. a.k.a. allows the searching of multiple databases simultaneously for the display of reference citations, thesauri terms or artists names. The Avery Index contains journal articles on the design and practice of architecture and urban planning; RILA covers Western art in all media; and the Provenance Index databases cover sales of art works tracked by three significant galleries. Extensive help screens are provided. [ATW]
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Bank for International Settlements [Frames, .pdf]
http://www.bis.org/
Adobe Acrobat Reader
http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), a creation of the Hague Conference of 1930, is "a[n international] central banking institution" whose aim is "to promote the co-operation of central banks and to provide additional facilities for international financial operations." Its web site provides a detailed profile of BIS, along with its basic texts and charters. However, the power of the site is its publication section, a small but growing list of full text publications (Adobe Acrobat [.pdf] format only), highlighted by the quarterly International Banking and Financial Market Developments, a "commentary on recent developments in international banking, securities and global derivatives markets based on partial information available for the [most recent quarter] and on more detailed banking data for [the previous quarter]." The site also contains BIS Review, "a collection of important articles and speeches by senior central bankers." [JS]
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Access Excellence: A Place in Cyberspace for Biology Teaching & Learning
http://www.accessexcellence.org/
This site, sponsored by Genentech, Inc. is a national educational program that aids in connecting high school biology teachers with scientists, other colleagues, and sources of scientific information. Realizing that educators are often pressed for time, this excellent, well organized, searchable site has listings of classroom activities, articles on current science news, and active discussions on many topics. It also contains a Resource Center that lists other relevant web sites by subject. [TB]
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Civil Engineering DataBase--Publications of the ASCE
http://www.pubs.asce.org/chrhome2.html
List of ASCE Journals:
http://www.ascepub.infor.com:8601/journals/jlist.html
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) offers this searchable database of over 80,000 "bibliographic and abstracted records" from its publications, including twenty-five journals, "conference proceedings, books, standards, manuals, magazines, and newsletters," going back to 1975. The database allows keyword, author, title, and date searching, as well as Boolean and/or/not and truncation searching. An inverted list of keywords is available, and each record is cross-indexed to selected key words. Document retrieval information is available at the site. [JS]
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US Farming-Macro and micro
1997 US Agricultural Outlook Forum [.wk1]
http://www.usda.gov/oce/waob/agforum.htm
Family Farm Project--Kenyon College [.wav]
http://www.kenyon.edu/projects/famfarm/
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has sponsored annual Agricultural Outlook conferences for 73 years, and those interested in the agricultural pulse of the nation can now download 23 presentations from the conference on all aspects of the agricultural economy. The site contains presentations on the outlook for various commodities, as well as other topics such as risk management, food security and food needs, the food Consumer Price Index, and "a farmer's experience with precision farming." The site also contains USDA data from its latest Agricultural Baseline Projections to 2005 dataset, 48 spreadsheets (in .wk1 format) covering agricultural commodities, trade, and aggregate income and price indicators. Kenyon College's Family Farm Project, "a three-year study exploring family farming and community life in Knox County, Ohio," presents an intimate multimedia view of the daily life of the family farm, which some consider a vanishing institution in America. [JS]
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NA-TEACH--Teaching of numerical analysis discussion list
NA-TEACH is an Internet mailing list devoted to the discussion of the teaching of numerical analysis. Though its focus is on teaching in an undergraduate setting, it is not restricted to this. Regular topics on NA-TEACH could include: a discussion of new numerical analysis textbooks, broadcasts of URLs where documents on numerical analysis can be found, personal reports on teaching numerical courses at your institution, impact of technology on the teaching of numerical analysis, curriculum debates, reform of numerical analysis courses, etc. [JS]

To subscribe send a message to:
MAJORDOMO@abacus.oxy.edu In the body of the message type:
SUBSCRIBE NA-TEACH
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FAA Aviation Safety Data
http://nasdac.faa.gov/internet/
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has recently made available three searchable aviation databases: NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) Accident/Incident Database, FAA Incident Data System, and NTSB Recommendations to the FAA. The databases are updated monthly and are available back to 1983, 1978, and 1963 respectively. The first two can be searched via a form that allows a combination of user entries and choices from drop-down menus. Interested users are strongly encouraged to read the "Learn About the Databases" section, as well as the information about each variable before using the databases. The site also contains a brief aviation glossary and FAA regulations from the US Code of Federal Regulations. Note that the site "supports Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer only."[JS]
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New York Times Books on the Web
http://www.nytimes.com/books/
New York Times Book Review:
http://www.nytimes.com/books/home/contents.html
The highlight of this section of the New York Times website (discussed in the January 26, 1996 Scout Report) is the searchable archive of over 50,000 book reviews, author interviews, and book news articles from the newspaper and the New York Times Book Review since 1980. It also contains the full text of the weekly Book Review (available on the web since January 5, 1997) as well as a feature called "Life and Times: Major authors, in their own words and ours," and selected first chapters from New York Times Book Review or New York Times bestseller list books. Note that these sites, while free (in the U.S. only), require registration. [JS]
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INDIE--Integrated Network of Disability Information and Education
http://www.indie.ca/
Indie CyberAide Inc. provides this meta-site, which contains briefly annotated pointers to disability resources in fourteen major categories, including adaptive technology, disability type, employment, recreation, and transportation. Each category is divided into subcategories and there are pointers to hundreds of resources. INDIE supports keyword searching and is available in both English and French with graphic and text-only page options available from the main page, which is itself text-only. [JS]
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Shape Up America! [QuickTime, .pdf]
http://www.shapeup.org/
This site, maintained by Shape Up America! and Infosector Corporation, offers visitors a great way to keep up on the latest developments in weight management and physical fitness. Surveys, public service announcements, press releases and more are available. First-time visitors can determine their Body Mass Index (BMI), a ratio between weight and height that correlates with body fat. Shape Up America! also has beneficial information for the heath professional. Shape Up America! is a non-profit corporation established by C. Everett Koop, M.D., the former US Surgeon General. [TB]
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Conde Nast Traveler Magazine
http://www.concierge.com/sections/cnt.html
Concierge.com
http://www.concierge.com/
Highlights from the latest issue of Conde Nast Traveler are just one part of the popular magazine's website. The current forecast, Nexrad radar, and satellite images are available for the continental US, in addition to five-day forecasts for 800 domestic and international cities. Inside the Consumer Help section is Conde Nast Traveler's Ombudsman, a consumer advocate for people seeking free advice and feedback on travel-related consumer disputes. Photography is a big part of the print edition, and it has transferred well to the Web. The Photo Gallery and Room With a View under the Editor's Picks section both contain large selections of images of stunning scenery from around the world. The Conde Nast Traveler is part of the Epicurious Travel site, which is "devoted to helping you find the best places to go, the smartest ways to go there, and the best things to do when you get there." The planning section includes a complete Traveler Checklist and information on getting downtown from over 100 airports worldwide. [AG]
[Note: Site title has changed since the original Scout Report review. Site formerly referred to in the Scout Report as "Epicurious Travel."]
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RightNow--Conservative and libertarian redistribution mailing list
http://www.MailList.Net/rightnow.html
The RightNow mailing list is intended to be an "exploder" list for selected other conservative and libertarian e-mail lists. It is not a discussion list. The idea here is that you can subscribe to the RightNow mailing list and receive a selected group of conservative and libertarian e-mail newsletters without having to subscribe to each one individually. The list plans to be selective about which lists it carries, so that you get only high-quality and informative mailings. [JS]

To subscribe send email to:
RightNow-Request@MailList.Net
In the subject line of the message type:
subscribe
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Microsoft Internet Explorer 3 Security Fix
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/security/download.asp
Proving that Internet controversies really do move at the speed of light, the latest security panic involving Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) began on February 27, 1997 and ended less than a week later. Paul Greene, a student in Electrical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, discovered that a bug in IE version 3 for the Windows 95 and NT operating systems (users running previous versions of IE, or those for other platforms, are not affected) allows nefarious webmasters to sneak Shortcuts into web pages disguised as standard hyperlinks. Greene put his findings on a website, along with example hacks that manipulated users' file systems even with security set to maximum. Microsoft leapt into action, designing a fix that it has made freely available on its website. It also maintains that it has heard from no users whose computers were actually affected by the defect. [ML]
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The Alertbox: Current Issues in Web Usability
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/
The Alertbox is a monthly column that began in June 1995 and is written by Jakob Nielsen, a SunSoft Distinguished Engineer. The content is not platform-specific; rather the primary emphasis is on the optimal design of electronic information. Articles include The Need for Speed, Trends for the Web in 1997, and International Usability (of websites), among others. Planned future columns are also indicated. The advice on such topics as Java applets, long hypertext documents, and the usability of frames is eminently practical. [ATW]
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KNOWBASE--Help desk knowledge base discussion list
http://csb.dcrt.nih.gov/kbwhite/index.html
KNOWBASE is an open, loosely moderated discussion list for help desk knowledge base users, administrators, and anyone generally interested in the subject. Topics can include implementation strategies, data structuring, user issues, search capabilities, or anything else related. Folks interested in knowledge databases in non-help desk environments are welcome to join as well, though they may find the subject matter a little less germane. The list is not for advertisements of products, though open discussions of the pros and cons of different KB packages is highly encouraged. [JS]

To subscribe send email to:
LISTSERV@list.nih.gov
In the body of the message type:
SUBSCRIBE KNOWBASE your name
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Copyright Susan Calcari, 1994-1997. Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of the Scout Report provided the copyright notice and this paragraph is preserved on all copies. The InterNIC provides information about the Internet to the US research and education community under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation: 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 University of Wisconsin - Madison, the National Science Foundation, AT&T, or Network Solutions, Inc.

The Scout Report is published weekly by Internet Scout

Susan Calcari
Jack Solock
Matthew Livesey
Teri Boomsma
Aimee D. Glassel
Amy Tracy Wells
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The Scout Report - March 7, 1997

March 7, 1997

Research and Education

General Interest

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