The Scout Report - August 30, 1996

August 30, 1996

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.
The Scout Report Web page

Send comments and contributions to: scout@cs.wisc.edu

The 15 Minute Series--Internet Training Materials
http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/15min/
ftp://rs.internic.net/NIC-support/15min/
The InterNIC and the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA), a division of the American Library Association, announce the 15 Minute Series, available after August 30, 1996. A collection of free, modular, and extensible training materials for the research and education community, formatted in both Microsoft PowerPoint and HTML, the training modules offer mini slide presentations on specific Internet topics and use a question-and-answer approach to present the subject. Each module follows a consistent outline and style guide, which enables the modules to be used alone or in conjunction with other modules, depending on the training task at hand. Trainers are welcome to extend the modules to address specific local issues such as operating platforms, client software, and access methods; templates (in both HTML and PowerPoint) are provided for trainers who wish to do so. Twenty-one modules, prepared by the InterNIC staff, are currently available; they incorporate graphics, screen shots, and analogies. The collection is expected to grow in the coming months, and the InterNIC and LITA will invite members of the research and education community to contribute modules for inclusion in the 15 Minute Series. The 15 Minute Series website includes background and introductory information, technical tips and recommendations for use, and search and browse features. All modules are provided from the website in HTML and PowerPoint, and the PowerPoint modules are also available via anonymous ftp. Note that the ftp files are in .zip format.
FTP to:
rs.internic.net
Change directory to:
NIC-support/15min
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Paradigm Online Writing Assistant
http://www.idbsu.edu/english/cguilfor/paradigm/
The Paradigm Online Writing Assistant, a frames-based site provided by Professor Chuck Guilford of Boise State University, aids writers in a different way from well known Online Writing Labs (OWLs), such as Purdue University's (discussed in the March 8, 1996 Scout Report), in that it concentrates on helping students think about how to conceive a writing project instead of giving nuts and bolts aids on grammar and style. This site contains sections on discovering what to write, organizing, revising and editing your writing, various types of essays, including thesis/support, argumentative, exploratory, and informal, and documenting sources. Each section is accompanied by activities, which help the student to incorporate the concepts. Professor Guilford understands that good writing is well prepared and thought out before a word hits the page, and that is the power of this site.
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Biotech Biblionet
http://schmidel.com/biotech.htm
This site, provided by Dyann Schmidel, contains a bibliography of recently published biotech articles. Citations are added on the first of each month, and remain online for four months. Citations are hyperlinked to author contacts and/or abstract information, when available. Citations are arranged in subject headings under two major categories, "Nucleic Acid & Protein Techniques," and "Biotech Applications." At present 45 journals are searched. The entire site is searchable. While Biotech Biblionet is by no means an exhaustive bibliography, it is a good, free current awareness source.
[Note: Resource(s)/URL(s) mentioned above is no longer available.]
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BICO (US Export/Import Statistics for Bulk, Intermediate, and Consumer Oriented Foods and Beverages)
http://ffas.usda.gov/scriptsw/bico/bico_frm.idc
USDA-FAS (United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service) offers a searchable database of US food import and export data at its web site. The BICO database offers 46 different product groups, divided into "bulk commodities, and high-value intermediate and consumer-oriented foods and beverages, as well as forest products and edible fish and seafood products." The site can be searched via a forms-based interface by commodity or country (as well as 16 country groupings), and retrieved data includes US dollar value of imports or exports, with record export years noted with an asterisk. Data for both fiscal and calendar year is available, and coverage is annual, beginning in 1991. About the only limitations to this database are that, at present, data cannot be directly downloaded, and no volume data is available. Printing instructions are available at the site. BICO is an excellent and easily available source for a vast amount of US food data.
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Student Press Law Center
http://www.splc.org/
The relationship of student publications to the First Amendment has always been a contentious one, with the defense of students' liberties contesting with concern for preserving an atmosphere conducive to learning. This web site, produced by the Student Press Law Center, a non-profit group headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, addresses issues of student journalism in colleges, public high schools, and private schools. Online versions of several of the SPLC's print publications are available, and others may be ordered from the site. The Online Legal Clinic offers answers to frequently asked questions from high school and college journalists, as well as a guide to obtaining access to public records and meetings. The SPLC also offers free legal help to student journalists and their advisors by telephone, email, or conventional mail. A page of links to related information on the Internet is provided. Many other resources are under development; if the site fills out according to SPLC's apparent plan, it will become an even more valuable asset for those concerned with student journalism.
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America Goes Back to School--Get Involved!--US Dept. of Education
http://www.ed.gov/Family/agbts/
As school begins, involved parents and community leaders will find the US Dept. of Education's America Goes Back to School--Get Involved! page a useful one. It contains a Partners Activities Kit for 1996-7 (as well as for 1995), available in both HTML and .pdf format, and a new full-text publication, Reaching All Families: Creating Family-Friendly Schools. The Partners Activities Kit provides information and examples of how parents, community and religious leaders, employers, and cultural groups can become involved in improving education in their community. Reaching all Families is a "booklet intended to stimulate thinking and discussion about how schools can better involve all families, regardless of family circumstances or student performance, in their children's education." It includes sections on "Personal Contacts" (conferences and home visits), "Ongoing Communications" (newsletters, positive phone calls, homework and home learning), and "Special Practices and Programs" (parent resource centers, parent workshops, and informal school-family gatherings), among others.
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The Computer Law Observer
[Note: This site no longer exists]
Lifton's Labor Law Letter
[Note: When last checked by the Internet Scout team, this site URL was no longer available.]
http://www.schoolaw.com/newslett.html
The Computer Law Observer is distributed each month via e-mail by Challenge Communications, a legal content provider located in Baltimore, Maryland. It is currently written by William S. Galkin, a lawyer and adjunct professor of computer law at the University of Maryland School of Law. Each issue of the Observer contains an article discussing an important legal development relating to the Internet and computer technology in general. The articles are written for both lawyers and non-lawyers. Topics of past issues have included: domain names; e-mail confessions in court; electronic privacy rights; encryption; license restrictions; software ownership; negotiating purchase of a computer system; and negotiating royalty agreements in the information age.
Lifton's Labor Law Letter (LLLL-L) is an open, moderated newsletter which will be circulated twice monthly. The topic is Labor law and collective bargaining negotiation for the public sector, especially schools and colleges. The moderator, Fred Lifton, has conducted more than 700 collective bargaining negotiations in his career. While school administrators, school board members, and school-related unions will have particular interest in the newsletter, anyone is welcome to participate.
To subscribe to the Computer Law Observer send email to:
ChallComm@aol.com
and request to be put on the list.
To subscribe to LLLL-L -- Lifton's Labor Law Letter send email to:
listserv@maelstrom.stjohns.edu
In the body of the message type:
subscribe lawobserver
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FDA Regulations on Nicotine, Cigarettes, and Smokeless Tobacco
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fda/
http://fedbbs.access.gpo.gov/libs/fda_fr.htm
ftp://fedbbs.access.gpo.gov/gpo_bbs/fda_fr/
Recent US Food And Drug Administration nicotine regulation documents have been aggregated at one site within the Government Printing Office Web site. The documents are available in both text and .pdf format. They are: "Regulations Restricting the Sale and Distribution of Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco to Protect Children and Adolescents" (final rule, released August 28, 1996); and "Regulations Restricting the Sale and Distribution of Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco Products to Protect Children and Adolescents" (proposed rule, released August 11, 1996). In addition, a searchable "Analysis Regarding the Food and Drug Administration's Jurisdiction Over Nicotine-Containing Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco Products" (August 11, 1996), is available. Part 2 of the massive regulation published August 28, "Nicotine in Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco Is a Drug and These Products are Nicotine Delivery Devices Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act: Jurisdictional Determination," will be available in the future in a searchable form. Federal Register citations for all these publications are available at the site.
FTP to:
fedbbs.access.gpo.gov
Change directory to
gpo_bbs/fda_fr
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Democrats Online
http://www.democrats.com/
[Note: When last checked by the Internet Scout team, this site URL was no longer available.]
Townhall
http://www.townhall.com/
Now that the political convention season is over, you may be looking for sites that offer a little more interactivity and are a little less concerned with the party line. This week, we took a look at a new site on the progressive side of the political spectrum, and one that represents a conservative view. Debuting this week is Democrats Online: A Community of American Voices. The emphasis on this site is user involvement; users are offered the opportunity to participate in real-time chat using Ewgie, a Java applet, and to post a personal web page indicating which accomplishments of the Clinton/Gore administration are most important to them. A highlight of the site is the Shockwave-driven "Help Dole Name his Cabinet," which allows users to spin the slot machine and imagine Dole's possible picks for Chief of Staff, Secretary of State, and Secretary of Defense. The results are discomforting or inspiring, depending on your perspective. A "question of the week" poll will come online on Labor Day. On the other side of the political spectrum is Townhall, a site that since June 29, 1995 has invited users to "explore the new conservative world." Its main page is linked to a large number of web sites that advocate various aspects of the conservative political agenda, from the Heritage Foundation to a site that asks users to vote on whether they think Bill Clinton actually inhaled. The "Town Meetings" allow users to engage in real-time chat with like-minded individuals. The Townhall site is particularly useful for those Internauts who want easy access to a wide range of conservative sites on the Net.
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StreetEYE--Wall St. Search Engine
http://www.streeteye.com/
StreetEYE attempts to bring together every important investment and financial resource on the Internet into a neatly arranged structure, organized by topic and subtopic, and supplemented by a search engine. The frames-based main page provides a consistent, easily navigated front end for browsing resources. An alternate main page presents the same information in tabular form for those without frame capability. The news and quotes & graphs pages provide links to sites offering both up-to-the-minute and archival data. The exchanges page lists many of the world's financial markets, with links to details about brokers, banks, investment managers, and other market participants. Users will also find information about government and commercial information providers, nonprofit institutions, and other financial resources. Individual investors can browse a collection of personal finance topics, as well as selected non-financial resources. The entries in each listing are arranged by topic, but are not annotated with information about what the user will find at individual sites. Even if you're already using the Internet to gather investment information, this site will help you to keep up with current offerings.
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Club Kaycee: Kansas City Jazz in the 1920s and 30s
http://www.umkc.edu/orgs/kcjazz/
Club Kaycee, presented by the Miller Nichols Library, University of Missouri-Kansas City, in cooperation with kansascity.com and the Kansas City Star newspaper, is highlighted by a "Soundbyte" section, where, with the aid of RealAudio 2.0, users can listen to (approximately 30-second) jazz recordings provided from the holdings of the library. Included are over 35 recordings from 1916 to 1954, by artists including Count Basie, Euday Bowman, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, and Jay McShann's Kansas City Stompers, among others. The site also includes short biographical sketches of over 25 jazz artists important in the Kansas City jazz scene in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, ranging from Edward Emanuel Barefield to Lester Young, each of which contains a short bibliography. There is also a section on nightclubs, ballrooms, and outdoor pavilions where the music flowed, as well as an "Articles" section which contains a jazz bibliography and glossary. Interested Internauts will find Klub Kaycee a passport back to a time when Kansas City was known as the "Paris of the Plains," and jazz flourished there.
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The Minimum Wage--From the US Department of Labor
http://www.dol.gov/dol/esa/public/minwage/main.htm
The US Department of Labor has produced a set of web pages to help employers and employees understand the implementation of the new minimum wage law, signed by President Clinton on August 20. The main page has links to information for employers, a summary of employees' rights, coverage of minimum wage laws in each state, and 1996 amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act. Users may also follow a link to the DoL's Wage and Hour Division for more complete information about workplace regulations. A new minimum wage poster, for posting in the workplace, is available in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format.
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Chess--Karpov Defeats "The World"
http://www.tele.fi/karpov/gameworl.htm
Last February the best chess player in the world, Gary Kasparov, defeated Deep Blue, IBM's multiprocessing chess playing machine (see February 16, 1996 Scout Report). Last week, Anatoly Karpov, arguably the world's second best player, beat the "rest of the world," (an average of 250 players actively voting on the world's next move) in 32 moves and about 4 and a half hours. Highlight of this site, provided by Finland's Tele Chess, is a Shockwave-enabled replay of the game, chronicling its progress move by move. A non-Shockwave graphical and text-based game is also available, as well as commentary and information on both Karpov, and chess.
[Note: Resource(s)/URL(s) mentioned above is no longer available.]
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HS-Canada--Health and Safety Canada Discussion List
http://www.ccohs.ca/hscanada/hscanada.html
HS-Canada is a means of distributing messages to a group of individuals with interests in occupational health and safety in a Canadian context. Although the list is intended primarily for Canadians, anyone with an interest in Canadian occupational health and safety issues is welcome to subscribe. Messages may be sent in English or French. Messages sent to HS-Canada may relate to any occupational or environmental health and safety topic specific to Canada, specific to one or more provinces or territories, or of interest to people working in health and safety in Canada.
To subscribe send email to:
majordomo@ccohs.ca
In the body of the message type:
subscribe hs-canada
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eDirectory
http://www.edirectory.com/
If you are searching for information from a particular country and would like to access search indexes based there, then the eDirectory may be for you. This meta-site is a model of simplicity: the first page currently lists 39 countries for which search indexes have been identified, and clicking on the country's name takes the user to a page that lists the search engines specific to it. The user may submit a search request using the form on the page, or may go to the search index itself by clicking on its name. There are no annotations, no descriptions of the indexes' scope or coverage; but if what you need is access to a wider range of sites than the usual US-based search engines give, a visit to eDirectory may put you on the right path.
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PC Lube and Tune--PC and Internet Hardware and Software Tutorials
http://pclt.cis.yale.edu/pclt/
PC Lube and Tune, provided by Howard Gilbert, a Senior Research Programmer for Yale University's Computer and Information Systems, is a no-nonsense set of tutorials pertaining to PC computing. Internet tutorials of interest include "Distributed Applications and the Web," "Learning Java," "Introduction to TCP/IP," and "The Warp Internet Connection." There is also much useful information about the PC and networking world in general. There are tutorials on operating systems, considerations when changing operating systems, and PC hardware, among others. Many of the tutorials are illustrated. The power of this site is that even for those who don't get "under the hood" very often, it explains concepts in clear, concise language. And for those contemplating buying a PC, but for whom PC-features language might as well be Sumerian, the first tutorial, "An introduction to PC Hardware," is essential.
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Scout Report and Scout Report HTML Subscription Instructions

To receive the electronic mail version of the Scout Report each week, join the scout-report mailing list. This is the only mail you will receive from this list.
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For example, if your name is Frasier Crane, type:
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The Scout Report's Web page:

http://www.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report</ A>
http://rs.internic.net/scout/report</ A>

FTP:

ftp://rs.internic.net/scout/[Back to Contents]

Copyright Susan Calcari, 1996. 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 - August 30, 1996

August 30, 1996

Research and Education

General Interest

Network Tools

Scout Report and Scout Report HTML Subscription Instructions

The Scout Report's Web page:

FTP: