The Scout Report

May 9, 1997

A Publication of the Internet Scout Project
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.

Today's Internist--ASIM [.pdf]
http://www.asim.org/journals/todint/
The American Society of Internal Medicine provides this new bimonthly magazine (available in Adobe Acrobat [.pdf] format only), which replaces The Internist: Health Policy in Practice. It "provides in-depth information on what is happening in the internal medicine practice environment and what internists can do to survive and thrive in it." It is highlighted by "regular and occasional departments" including "Brave New IM World--advice for internists in managed care settings," "CyberDoc--computer technology in medical practice," "Starting Out Right--practical advice for residents," and "Practical Finds--Internists' personal discoveries in practice," among others. TI is available in its entirety or as embedded links from the .pdf table of contents for selective downloading. [JS]
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READY*SET*READ Early Childhood Learning Kit
http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/RSRkit.html
America Reads Challenge
http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/
The READY*SET*READ Early Childhood Learning Kit, announced by President Clinton at the April 17, 1997 White House Conference on Early Childhood Development and Learning, is available at the Department of Education web site. The kit contains activity guides for families and caregivers, which are arranged in four age groups from birth to age five; they are designed to "help your young children learn about language." Each activity section explains "What [the age group does]," and "How [the age group learns]," before detailing many pertinent learning activities. The guides also contain lists of reading and writing play materials, a short ALA (American Library Association) suggested young readers book list, and pointers to other resources, including activities for older children (Basic Kit). The kit supports the President's America Reads Challenge, which seeks to achieve literacy for every American child by third grade. Note that the families guide and the caregivers guide are very similar in content. [JS]
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State of the World's Forests 1997--FAO [.pdf, 200p.]
http://www.fao.org/forestry/FO/SOFO/sofo-e.stm
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization provides this book (Adobe Acrobat [.pdf] format only), which "presents information on the current status of the world's forests, major developments over the reporting period (1995-1997), and recent trends and future directions in the forestry sector." SOFO provides information on global forest cover, including estimates for 1995, change from 1990, and revised estimates for forest cover change from 1980 to 1990, concluding that "the annual loss of natural forests was lower during the 1990-1995 than the 1980-1990 period." Users may download the entire SOFO or any of its parts, including a special section on developing "criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management." [JS]
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HEPIC--High Energy Physics Information Center
http://www.hep.net/
HEPIC is provided by the High Energy Physics Network Resource Center. Within the HEPIC site, there are three sections of special interest: HEP Reports, HEP Experiments, and HEP Newsletters and Periodicals. These are excellent resources for keeping updated on various worldwide high energy physics collaborations and news. Note that some HEP Newsletters and Periodicals require subscription fees, but many do not. The site also contains conference and employment information, as well as a directory section with "links to phonebooks and directories of High Energy Physics sites or experiments around the world." [TB]
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Literature in Line: Lianhuanhua Picture Stories from China
http://kaladarshan.arts.ohio-state.edu/exhib/ccomic/comdscp.html
Huntington Archive of Buddhist and Related Art
http://kaladarshan.arts.ohio-state.edu/
Currently on view at the Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library (April 25-June 13, 1997) is an exhibition of "lianhuanhua," or "linked pictures" curated by Julia F. Andrews and Kuiyi Shen. To complement the exhibition, the Huntington Photographic Archive has created an electronic version of the exhibition that includes thirteen of the works on display. The small illustrated stories became known as "lianhuanhua" in the 1920s, and in the subsequent decades they "frequently took their stories from popular dramas, traditional fiction, or contemporary film." The lianhuanhua in the exhibit were produced in Shanghai between 1950 and 1985. Clicking on the image or arrow on the front page will take visitors to the frames-based Lianhunahua Index where thumbnail images display all of the illustrated pages of a work along with a brief description of the story. Each of these secondary images is hyperlinked to enlarged images and further explanations of the captions. [AG]
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Kimball's Biology Pages
http://www.ultranet.com/~jkimball/BiologyPages/
This site, part of which is an adaptation of the sixth edition of Professor Emeritus John W. Kimball's Biology, is a hypertext dictionary specializing in cell and molecular biology, from absorption spectrum to zygote. Each entry may contain a definition, cross links to other definitions, or mini-essays about the topic. The mini-essays are the most effective part of the site, dealing with their topics in some detail. Unfortunately, there is no search engine. [JS]
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EDU-ONLINE--Online education and training mailing list
http://www.learnskills.com/edu-online/
EDU-ONLINE is an open, moderated discussion list for professionals actively involved in delivering training and education via the Internet. Topics discussed include emerging technologies, online training methodologies, online curriculum development, and other aspects of exploiting the online medium to deliver quality professional development. [JS]

To subscribe send email to:
join-edu-online@sparklist.com (List version) OR
join-edu-online-digest@sparklist.com (Digest version)
In the subject line type:
SUBSCRIBE
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Correction: The Scout Report for May 2, 1997
Voices from the Gaps: Women Writers of Color
http://voices.cla.umn.edu/
Last week's report contained an incorrect URL for the Voices from the Gaps site. The correct URL is given above. We apologize for the error. [JS]
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Report & Order in the Matter of Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service--FCC [.wp, .zip]
http://www.fcc.gov/ccb/universal_service/fcc97157/
FCC News Release
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/News_Releases/1997/nrcc7032.html
American Library Association (ALA) Interpretation
http://www.ala.org/oitp/univserv.html
The Federal Communications Commission has made available the full text of FCC 97-157, which focuses on universal service. The report "sets in motion universal service policies that will ensure all Americans, including low-income consumers and those who live in rural, insular, high cost areas, shall have affordable service and will help to connect eligible schools, libraries, and rural health care providers to the global telecommunications network." The universal service provisions "implement the mandate for Universal Service set forth in the Telecommunications Act of 1996." At present, the report is available in WordPerfect 5.1 format (plain or .zip compressed). Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) and HTML versions will be available soon. An FCC News Release details principles of the universal service provisions, and includes statements by FCC Chairman Reed L. Hunt and three other FCC commissioners. The ALA has provided information on the effects of the provisions' telecommunications discounts on libraries and schools. [JS]
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Terra: Brazil's Landless Movement--New York Times [RealPlayer]
http://www.nytimes.com/specials/salgado/home/
The New York Times has recently opened this web special by Brazilian photojournalist Sebastiao Salgado, documenting the plight of Brazil's landless in both words and pictures. The site takes the form of sixteen author-narrated (RealPlayer format) photo essays, including Homeless in Sao Paulo, Death as a Way of Life, and Occupying the Giacometi Plantation; essays are navigated by way of the Contact Sheet. The site also offers a nine-minute interview with Salgado, and several NYT articles on the subject (under Context). Note that it is sometimes necessary to click on more than one image in an essay to find the accompanying narration, and that the About this Site section offers navigation help. The Times site is freely available (after registration) to users in the United States. [JS]
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Hong Kong 1997--Two sites cover the transition
1997: Countdown to History--South China Morning Post
http://www.hongkong97.com.hk/
Hong Kong 1997: Lives in Transition--PBS
http://www.pbs.org/pov/hongkong/
On July 1, 1997, the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong becomes the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. These two websites have been prepared to keep Internet users informed about the progress of the transition and the effect it is likely to have on residents of the city, the government of China, and the rest of the world. 1997: Countdown to History is provided by the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong's leading English-language daily newspaper since 1903. Drawing on the archives and daily reporting of the newspaper, this site offers users an in-depth look at the changes likely to be wrought on the residents of the city as the transition approaches. Lives in Transition takes a different tack, focusing on the impact of political change on individual lives through "Hong Kong Diaries" written by a range of residents of the city. An annotated transition timeline is also available. A production of the long-running P.O.V. series, this site offers a view of life in Hong Kong that other sites often overlook. Note that the PBS site will not be publicly available until May 12. [ML]
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Legal Bytes
http://www.gdf.com/lbytes.htm
Legal Bytes, provided by the firm of George, Donaldson & Ford, L.L.P, of Austin, Texas, is a "periodic publication" of "summaries and brief discussions of emerging legal issues in the field of computer law." Recent issues have included articles on the Communications Decency Act, ownership of "real-time" sports information, legal risks of on-line advertising, and copyright law, among others. Note that Legal Bytes is not intended to "be relied upon as legal advice." [JS]

To subscribe send email to:
legal-bytes-Request@io.com
In the body of the message type:
subscribe legal-bytes
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The Red Hot Jazz Archive [Frames, RealAudio]
http://www.redhotjazz.com/
In the past, the Scout Report has devoted annotations to jazz history, including Dan Morgenstern's History of Jazz (discussed in the November 1, 1996 Scout Report) and Klub Kaycee (discussed in the August 30, 1996 Scout Report). These sites are text-based, with some multimedia. The Red Hot Jazz Archive, provided by Scott Alexander, contains not only hyperlinked biographies, discographies and photos of over sixty early jazz artists and ninety bands, but also selections of their music in RealAudio format. And it is the music that adds an extra dimension to this site. The more than one hundred recordings, though unevenly distributed at this time, are often over two minutes in length. This library of complete pieces allows the user to study early jazz in the best way possible--by listening to it. [JS]
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SED--Self-Employment Digest
http://aimc.com/aimc/self-employment-digest.html
Self-Employment Digest is a service of American Individual Magazine and Coffeehouse, intended for those working for themselves or planning to do so. Entrepreneurs, home business workers, and self-employed individuals are welcome. The Digest is moderated and posts are accepted only from subscribers. [JS]

To subscribe send email to:
sed@ultranet.com
In the subject line of the message type:
SUBSCRIBE DIGEST
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Finding Information on the Internet: A Tutorial
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html
The Teaching Library of the University of California, Berkeley makes the content of its Internet Workshops freely available to the public via this site. The Tutorial includes an introduction to the Internet, a glossary of terms, things to know before searching the World Wide Web, how to create search strategies, and how to refine your topic and identify the search tools to fit your needs. There are also well designed pages on how to construct and refine searches for Infoseek, Hotbot, and AltaVista. The section on AltaVista includes an Interactive Thesaurus for LiveTopics (discussed in the February 14, 1997 issue of the Scout Report). Beyond General World Wide Web Searching provides explanations and links to alternatives to search engines and subject directories, such as "webliographies," searchable databases, online journals and books, and email discussion groups. [AG]
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CAST Bobby--Web page accessibility utility
http://www.cast.org/bobby/
Bobby is an online HTML analysis service provided by the Center for Applied Special Technology. What makes this service unique? It has the function of helping to make HTML documents accessible to those with disabilities. For example, blind users with screen-reading software depend on ALT tags for images, and users unable to manipulate a pointing device may have difficulty using forms. When a URL is entered and analyzed, an annotated version of the HTML document is given. Simply click on the error messages for explanations. To get a better understanding of what the error messages mean, look at the Understanding Bobby section. Bobby also has advanced options that allow users to check compatibility with more than one browser at the time, as well as to upload local files. [TB]
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GIF Wizard
http://www.gifwizard.com/
Direct link to GIF Wizard (United States)
http://useast.gifwizard.com/cgi-bin/nph-gifwiz?task=frontpage&lang=en&curr=us
GIF Wizard, provided by Raspberry Hill Publishing, is an online multi-platform utility that reduces the size of GIF files in order to decrease download time. Users simply enter the URL of the page that contains the GIF(s), and image sizes will be reduced up to 90%. Also, GIFs can be optimized with best-fit colors, solid Netscape safe colors, and dithered Netscape safe colors--your choice. All GIFs are deleted from the server within a few hours, and so should be downloaded upon optimization. GIF Wizard will soon be made available to run locally on selected Web servers. [TB]
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Volume 1, Number 2: The Scout Report for May 6, 1994
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/archive/5-6-94.html
REESWeb (Russian and East European Studies)
http://www.pitt.edu/~cjp/rees.html
Information Technology and Disabilities Electronic Journal
http://www.rit.edu/~easi/itd.html
Gopher access:
gopher://SJUVM.stjohns.edu:70/11/disabled/easi/easijrnl
gopher to: SJUVM.stjohns.edu
select: Disability and Rehabilitation Resources/EASI/Information Technology and Disabilities
EASI (Equal Access to Software and Information)
http://www.rit.edu/~easi/
The May 6, 1994 Scout Report annotated the Russia - Newly Independent States (NIS) Home Page, maintained at the University of Pittsburgh. At the time, the site contained pointers over a dozen independent Eastern European web pages, as well as a dozen web servers in Russia. Today, NIS has metamorphosed into the well known REESWeb (Russian and East European Studies) World-Wide Web Virtual Library. It is highlighted by pointers to over 75 Eastern European pages as well as to more than 60 Russian and 30 Ukranian pages. The May 5 issue also annotated Information Technology and Disabilities, a refereed journal about "practical and theoretical issues surrounding the development and effective use of new and emerging technologies by computer users with disabilities." The gopher path has changed slightly since the annotation, but the journal still resides there, and is also available on the EASI (Equal Access to Software and Information) website, maintained at Rochester Institute of Technology. This site, established in April 1995, also contains information about EASI and its activities. [JS]
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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 (ISSN 1092-3861) is published weekly by Internet Scout

Susan Calcari
Jack Solock
Matthew Livesey
Teri Boomsma
Aimee D. Glassel
Amy Tracy Wells
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Managing Editor
Editor
Production Editor
Contributor
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The Scout Report - May 9, 1997

The Scout Report

May 9, 1997

Research and Education

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