The Scout Report

September 5, 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.

Addition to the Scout Toolkit
End User's Corner--September 1997
http://scout.wisc.edu/scout/toolkit/enduser/archive/1997/euc-9709
Scout Toolkit
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/toolkit/
New this week in the End User's Corner section of the Toolkit is an article entitled Site Management Solutions of the Internet Scout Project. It discusses the ins and outs of managing the Internet Scout website. Areas of site management covered include server, statistics, HTML editor/site management, hyperlink management, and graphical/design solutions. Individual tools are discussed and some tips are also given on topics such as choosing an HTML editor or site management tool, creating graphics with low file size, and creating easily navigable sites through simple design techniques. [TB]
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The Economic and Budget Outlook: An Update--CBO (75p.)
http://www.cbo.gov/reports.html
Under Economic and Budget Projections, click on: Economic and Budget Outlook and Updates
As part of its mandate under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the US Congressional Budget Office issues "a series of reports on the state of the economy and the budget." The latest report, released September 2, 1997 concludes that "the federal budget will come close to balance this year and will move into surplus by 2002... [and] is projected to be in virtual balance through 2007." The report is divided into two sections, one on the economy and one on the budget. It is accompanied by 27 tables, thirteen figures, and is available in four formats (HTML, Adobe Acrobat [.pdf], PostScript, and WordPerfect). One of the interesting features of the report is its first Appendix, which compares the accuracy of CBO forecasts with those of the executive Administration and the Blue Chip consensus survey. EBOs back to December 1995 are available at the Update site. [JS]
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Two Statistical Resources from NSF
WebCASPAR
http://caspar.nsf.gov/
Science and Technology Pocket Databook, 1996
http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/nsf96325/start.htm
National Science Foundation Publication Search
http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/pubsys/browser/odbrowse.pl
WebCASPAR and Science and Technology Pocket Databook, 1996, together form the long and short of science and engineering R&D data from the National Science Foundation. WebCASPAR (free after required registration) is a rich, searchable, statistical database of "science and engineering [resources] at US academic institutions." Data from twelve NSF and eighteen National Center for Education Statistics surveys are available. Users can choose from six pre-defined reports or create their own customized database through a series of queries to WebCASPAR. Coverage is annual and data is available from as early as 1966 to as late as 1995. Users have flexibility as to output layout and format. This is a powerful, but not necessarily simple interface, and serious users should spend time with the detailed tutorials before beginning. Science and Technology Pocket Databook, 1996, provided by the Science Resources Studies Division of NSF, is a reference source that is made up of 43 figures covering eight topics. Some time series data (mostly early 80's to early 90's) is available, but this is predominantly a snapshot view of its topic. Figures are referenced, and many of these references are available in full text from the main NSF site. [JS]
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Image Library of Biological Macromolecules--IMB [VRML]
http://www.imb-jena.de/IMAGE.html
The Institute for Molecular Biotechnology (Jena, Germany) provides this repository of molecular structures, featuring selected VRML (as well as two dimensional) images of "building blocks," and "macromolecular structures." Included among the images are RNA structures from the protein database at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, as well as over 250 DNA and protein structures. Sequence and descriptive information about the images is available. Non-VRML images are searchable. [JS]
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Campaign Finance Reform: A Sourcebook--Brookings Institution [.pdf, 392p.]
http://www.brook.edu/GS/NEWCFR/sourcebk.htm
This book, provided by the Brookings Institution, "combines reprints of key documents shaping the statutory and administrative framework for campaign finance regulation with original essays that guide readers over an exceedingly complex legal terrain." It discusses the history and current state of campaign finance law, constitutional restrictions, political action committees, soft money, issue advocacy, the Federal Election Commission, and recent developments, among other topics. In all, there are 72 total or partial documents accompanying the essays. While the entire book is available in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format only, the essays (along with document references) are available in HTML. [JS]
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Two Anthropology Sites
Anthropological Index Online
http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/AIO.html
List of Journals and Abbreviations
http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/anthind/Titles/journals.html
Anthromorphemics: Anthropology Glossary [frames]
http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/glossary/index.html
The Anthropological Index Online provides basic bibliographic references to over 700 periodicals in the Museum of Mankind Library (incorporating the former Royal Anthropological Institute Library). References are available for periodicals from the 1970s to present, with a limited amount of data provided for the late 1960s. Users can modify their search by year/decade, field, subject heading, author, title, or journal. A browsable list of journal titles and abbreviations is also available. Users can have the results of their search emailed to them and photocopies are available of most indexed articles. Anthromorphemics is a new addition to the excellent anthropology site at University of California, Santa Barbara (discussed in the April 12, 1996 Scout Report). Users can browse or search the entire glossary or list terms by one of three fields: Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology, or Physical Anthropology. [MD]
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ICONnect--ALA
http://www.ala.org/ICONN/index.html
School library media specialists, teachers and students can benefit from ICONnect, a site created by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American Library Association. This site provides instruction and guidance on incorporating the Internet into the school library with Online Courses and Curriculum Connections. The IBASICS courses are designed to provide an online means to gain Internet skills. Curriculum Connections supports learning to use the Internet for reference and classroom curriculum by providing information on collection tools and two listservs, and an annotated selection of subject-specific sites. ICONnect also includes Mini-grants, a section that outlines school projects awarded grants for innovative use of the Internet, and KidsConnect, a section that allows K-12 students to make direct email inquiries to media librarians. [JR]
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College_life--Life at Colleges and Universities Mailing List
The College_life mailing list was created to allow college students (or even professors, if they desire) to discuss life at colleges and universities. Discussions include topics such as classes and experiences in classes, dorm life, Greek life, sports (both varsity and lesser levels), extracurricular activities, the social scene (or lack of one), and any other topics that seem worthy of discussion relating to college life. [JS]

To subscribe send email to:
listserver@hal.stu.rpi.edu
In the body of the message type:
SUBSCRIBE College_life FirstName LastName
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Land Mines
ICRC Landmines Page
http://www.icrc.org/
Click on: Issues and Topics/Landmines
CARE Land Mine Information Center [RealAudio]
http://www.care.org/info_center/sr_landmine.html
UN Demining Database
http://www.un.org/Depts/Landmine/
These three sites provide interested Internauts with valuable information on the terrific problem of the millions of undetonated landmines world wide. The International Committee of the Red Cross offers many resources on the topic, including a recently released Information Paper: Anti-personnel mines: An overview (under The Problem). The Ottawa declaration and Global Plan of Action (1996) can be found under the International Humanitarian Law section. There is also a photo essay entitled Seven Days in a Minefield. The CARE site is highlighted by a 27 photo exhibit by CARE photographer J.F. Housel entitled Angola, The Lingering Effects of War, and includes CARE based news on the subject (including RealAudio interviews), with an emphasis on the problem in Africa. It also contains a map that provides information about landmine producers, countries with landmines in them, and countries calling for a total ban on landmines. The UN Demining Database contains a list of conferences, latest news, country reports, and Landmines, a quarterly newsletter devoted to the topic. [JS]
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New Collections from American Memory--LOC
Taking the Long View: Panoramic Photographs 1851-1991
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/pnhtml/pnhome.html
"Votes For Women" Suffrage Pictures, 1850-1920
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/vfwhtml/vfwhome.html
The US Library of Congress has recently added two new collections to its American Memory collection. Taking the Long View contains thousands of images that are at least twice as long as they are wide, creating the impression of a panoramic view. They depict many aspects of life in the US and selected foreign countries. The collection's emphasis is on cityscapes and group portraits. Images can be browsed by subject, author, or location, or searched, and are available as large thumbnails, very large jpegs, and gigantic high resolution tifs. "Votes for Women" is a much smaller pictorial companion to AM's Votes for Women text collection and contains, at present, 38 images. The collection consists mostly of portraits (Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Sojourner Truth, among others), but also includes other pertinent photographs, two political cartoons, and a hyperlinked suffrage timeline. [JS]
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Hoover's StockScreener
http://www.hoovers.com/search/forms/stockscreener/
Hoover's, a company information publisher, provides this no nonsense site that allows users to enter ranges for any of twenty variables in the areas of ratios, company size, margins, growth rates, rates of return, and volatility. Any of four US national exchanges and over fifty product categories can be selected. Retrieval can be sorted by variable, and there are connections to selected company information, including URLs when available. Over 7,500 companies are in the database. [JS]
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Statistics Canada
http://www.statcan.ca/
Statistics Canada, a national statistical agency, offers this excellent collection on the economic and social conditions in Canada. Statistical information is divided into four broad topics: The Land, The People, The Economy, and the State. Within each are a number of sub-topics which offer lists of statistical tables. Newly released data, research papers, downloadable publications (Adobe Acrobat [.pdf] format only), and notices of seminars and conferences are featured in addition to The Daily, a collection of the latest news releases and publications from the agency. This site can be viewed in English or French. Note that there is a combination of free and fee based material available. [MD]
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The Internet Writing Journal
http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/
Writers Write
http://www.writerswrite.com/
These two sites, provided by Writers Write, Inc., host a wealth of information for practicing or would-be writers, publishers, and editors. The current issue of the monthly Journal includes articles on how a Pulitzer Prize nominee creates characters, how to write mystery novels, and other advice for aspiring writers. The main Writers Write site contains numerous writing resources, including guidelines to paying and nonpaying online publications, writing and publishing news, message boards, and job listings. [MD]
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SURFNETKIDS--Surfing the Net with Kids Mailing List
Archives
http://www.surfnetkids.com/
SURFNETKIDS is a free email edition of nationally syndicated newspaper column. "Surfing the Net with Kids" selects and annotates online sources for kids, families, teachers, and the young-at-heart. Each weekly column rates and reviews five web sites on topics as diverse as Gargoyles, the Declaration of Independence or Mozart. The newspaper column is written by Barbara J. Feldman for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Archives are available at the above URL. [JS]

To subscribe send email to:
join-surfnetkids@s1.net
It is unnecessary to type anything in the body of the message.
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Netscape Netcenter
http://www.netscape.com/netcenter/index.html
Netscape has reorganized and relaunched its content pages at this site ("members-only"), making them conveniently available from one page. Included are browser update notices, Inbox Direct, Netcaster (Netscape's push technology software) Channel Finder, and the Yahoo Guide. A business section called Industry Watch is planned for future release. [JS]
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Cascading Style Sheets
ZDNet Developer
http://www.zdnet.com/devhead/filters/0,,2133211,00.html
The World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Cascading Style Sheets Page
http://www.w3.org/Style/css/
Cascading style sheets allow for greater control over how a web document is presented, and these two sites can help interested users learn about them. The Whole Web Catalog Garage, provided by ZDNet, offers a guide to Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). It presently features an article, written by Dave Dayneko, that focuses on defining text attributes, since this is the one element that most browsers tend to agree on in their support of CSS. The guide offers links to related ZDNet articles and other relevant resources. W3C's CSS page offers even more information regarding CSS, it's history, and what's new. It also provides a listing of other related guides and tools. [TB]
[Note: Site title has changed since the original Scout Report review. Site formerly referred to in the Scout Report as "Whole Web Catalog Garage Cascading Style Sheets."]
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Texture Creator--A Graphics Tool for Creating Customized Textures
http://www.threedgraphics.com/tc/
Texture Creator, formally Adobe TextureMaker (now discontinued by Adobe), is a product created by Three D Graphics that allows users to create great customized web page backgrounds. Available for Windows 95/NT and Macintosh, this program offers a unique way to create textures through an array of tools and with over 200 already created textures. Featured textures include wood, clouds, stone, ripples, bumpy, and tile surfaces. Textures and colors can be combined to produce unique results via a process called layering. The free demo version of this commercial product is somewhat limited in functionality. Tutorials are available. [TB]
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Volume 1, Number 19: The Scout Report for September 2, 1994
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/archive/9-2-94.html
Peabody Museum of Natural History
http://www.peabody.yale.edu/
When this Yale University gopher was originally announced, it contained two major searchable databases, collections and geographic names. They are still the highlight of the Peabody web site. The geographic names database still allows for searching over one million records (from US Geological Survey topographic maps), but the collections database has grown enormously. The museum contains over eleven million specimens in fourteen categories including botany, herpetology, and ornithology. Of these, the number of online items (individuals or lots) available at this time number nearly 600,000. It is an extraordinary resource for the history of science. In addition, the Peabody site contains an electronic sampler for the museum's exhibits, including an Age of Reptiles mural, an invertebrate paleontology image gallery, and an historical "Who was Who" at the Peabody Museum. [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
Jeannine Ramsey
Teri Boomsma
Michael de Nie
Aimee D. Glassel
Kathryn Harris
Matthew Livesey
Thiam Hee Ng
Amy Tracy Wells
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The Scout Report - September 5, 1997

The Scout Report

September 5, 1997

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