The Scout Report - September 6, 1996

September 6, 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

JayDoc HistoWeb--Histology on the Net
http://www.kumc.edu/instruction/medicine/anatomy/histoweb/
JayDoc HistoWeb, provided by two medical students at the University of Kansas, is a frames-based site that provides hundreds of microscopic anatomical images, topically arranged in 19 categories ranging from blood & bone marrow to vascular system. Each image is accompanied by a short annotation and scale bar. Interested users have the option of clicking a button for a much larger view. Note that though this site is extremely graphical and may be a challenge to those with slow connections, it is a treasure house of anatomical information.
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The 1996 National Survey of Public Libraries and the Internet: Progress and Issues: Final Report
http://istweb.syr.edu/~mcclure/nspl96/NSPL96_T.html
This report, by John Carlo Bertot (University of Maryland Baltimore County), Charles R. McClure (Syracuse University), and Douglas L. Zweizig (University of Wisconsin), is now available on the web. Major findings include: "Between 1994 and 1996 public library Internet connectivity increased 113% from 20.9% to 44.6%"; "Public libraries in communities under 5,000 are significantly (58.6%) less likely to use the Internet than those serving populations of 100,000+"; and "There are significant disparities in connectivity, service provision, and budget for Internet activities by region and population served." The study is divided into two major sections: "Study Results," and "Progress and Issues." Issues discussed include "Factors Affecting Public Library Involvement with the Internet," "The Current State of Public Library Internet Connectivity," "Identified Public Library Benefits to Connecting to the Internet," and "Connectivity Versus Services," among many others. In addition, there is much information on the survey instrument and methodology.
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ChemCenter
http://www.ChemCenter.org/
The new online home of the American Chemical Society, ChemCenter intends to be the starting point for those seeking chemistry resources on the Internet. The full text of current-year issues of several ACS journals is available: Biochemistry, The Journal of Physical Chemistry, and Environmental Science & Technology. Articles may be read in HTML format or downloaded as Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) files. The journal pages make intensive, though effective, use of browser frames. The site currently offers links to the home pages of the ACS's other journals, as well as Chemical Patents Plus and Analytical Chemistry's LabGuide; slated for availability in the next two months are a Graduate School Finder and a Chemcyclopedia. Links to the ACS's many professional services (career, membership, and grants) are arranged on a single page for easy reference. The "Conferences and Communications" page provides links to meetings, conferences, newsletters, policy groups, and outreach programs, as well as other Internet resources for chemists. The "Education Center" provides access to the ACS's extensive range of instructional offerings. Free registration, though not currently required, will be necessary to access special services in the future.
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Far Eastern Economic Review
http://www.feer.com/
A weekly publication from Review Publishing Company, the Far Eastern Economic Review "is a world authority on Asian current affairs, business, economies and investment," now available in an interactive edition on the web. This frames-based, free (after registration) site contains the contents of each week's issue, as well as a searchable archive of articles previously published on the site. In addition, articles from recent issues can be browsed by country and topic (under "Business News") The site also provides up-to-the-minute Asian business news, and pointers to Asian web sites. Note that the registration process is lengthy, but the content behind it is well worth the wait.
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Two sites for US Historical Maps
Rare Map Collection at the Hargrett Library--University of Georgiahttp://www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/maps.html
Exploring the West from Monticello: A Perspective in Maps from Columbus to Lewis and Clarkhttp://www.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/lewis_clark/home.html
Two of the more impressive historical map sites on the Internet are: the Rare Map Collection at the Hargrett Library, University of Georgia; and "Exploring the West from Monticello: A Perspective in Maps from Columbus to Lewis and Clark," a collection of maps and navigational instruments taken from an exhibition at the University of Virginia's Alderman Library. Hargrett's collection contains hundreds of images, and, as might be expected, specializes in Georgia historical maps. However, it also contains many national and international maps from the early new world, colonial, US Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary eras. The actual size of each map is indicated and author is given when available. "Exploring the West" contains 33 items, topically arranged, from "Novus Orbis: Images of the New World, 1507-1669," to "To the Western Ocean: Planning the Lewis and Clark Expedition." The power of this site is not so much in the maps themselves, but in the lavish annotations that accompany them. A bibliography and pointers to related sites are included.
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Incredible Art Department
http://www.artswire.org/kenroar/
Text only:
http://www.artswire.org/kenroar/textindex.html
At the heart of the Incredible Art Department, provided by an Indiana elementary and middle school art teacher, is the lesson plan section; it contains over 20 lesson plans, submitted by elementary, middle school, high school, and college art teachers. The site also offers links to the best school art on the Net, and a selected monthly school art room, featuring a gallery of that school's work. Users will also find links to elementary, secondary, and higher education art rooms and departments ("Art Stuff"), and a pointer to an art "site of the week." Note that while the main address is heavily graphical, much of the information at this site is also available in text-only format.
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Montessori Education Discussion List
http://home.earthlink.net/~buhlman/montessori-l.html
The montessori-l mailing list is a forum for the discussion of the Montessori teaching method. The list is currently moderated and welcomes Montessori teachers, parents with children attending Montessori schools, parents homeschooling their children via the Montessori method and everyone who is interested in the Montessori education of children at any age. It is a place to share information, lesson plans or ideas, to ask questions, to discuss problems and successes on a more personal level than on a message board.
To subscribe send email to:
listserv@listserv.aol.com
In the body of the message type:
SUBSCRIBE MONTESSORI-L your real name
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Canadian Information by Subject
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/caninfo/ecaninfo.htm
The National Library of Canada (whose main site was reviewed in the July 5, 1996 issue of the Scout Report) has expanded on previous Web sites devoted to information about Canada by building a subject tree and populating the tree with links to Canadian-specific information on each subject. The subject tree is based on the Dewey Decimal Classification and makes the site easy and interesting to browse--and you don't have to be a librarian. You can also browse the subject tree in alphabetical order, and keyword searching will be available soon.
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Nobel Prize Internet Archive
http://www.almaz.com/nobel/
Nobel Prizes will be awarded in October 1996, and interested Internauts can find much useful information on past prize winners at the Nobel Prize Internet Archive, provided by Ona Wu and Boris Pevzner. At the heart of this frames-based site is a collection of annotated links to all past winners in the fields of physics, chemistry, literature, peace, economics, and physiology & medicine. Entries contain a short explanation of what the prize was received for, along with brief biographical information and hypertext links to other information about the recipient when available. The maintainers of the site encourage submissions of links. Prize winner information is available both by year and alphabetically. There is a complete section on the 1995 prizes, and that section should be updated next month. This site is a very useful reference for those interested in information on Nobel laureates. Note that the Nobel Prize Internet Archive is in no way affiliated with the Nobel Foundation.
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MediLife Diabetes Center
http://www.medilife.com/medilife/diabetes/index.htm
Sponsored by Medilife, Inc., makers of diabetes management software, this web site offers resources for those with diabetes and those interested in finding out more about the condition. From the main page users can select: a library of information about the various forms of diabetes and innovations in treatment; a set of pages on exercise programs; two interactive tests that help users determine their possible risk for diabetes; a nutrition section that covers meal planning and special diets, and offers gourmet recipes; a medical supplies area that details the offerings of many medicine and equipment vendors; and an "ask the educator page," on which a diabetes nurse educator answers questions from visitors to the site. Also available on the site is a diabetes trivia quiz, a Java-based memory game, and "Health University," an evolving series of educational modules designed to increase diabetes awareness.
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Satellite Observations of Forest Fires
http://fermi.jhuapl.edu/avhrr/gallery/fire/fire.html
The Ocean Remote Sensing Group of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory has made available a series of maps of some of the fifteen major wildfires that were burning Wednesday across 264,794 acres in six Western states--Oregon, California, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. The images are not intended as a working fire detection resource, but are offered as interesting observations. Background information is provided, and the subject matter of each image is briefly described. The files are in GIF format and range in size from 200 to 500K. The publicly available data used is from the NOAA polar orbiter AVHRR sensor, which scans the earth beneath six times per second. Links are provided to the Wildland Fire Assessment System of the USDA and Go West forest fire reports, which offers a list of links for each state with major fires.
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NETLiNkS The Written Word--African American and Canadian Literature
http://www.netlinks.net/netlinks/afro/words.html
[Note: Resource(s)/URL(s) mentioned above is no longer available.]
NETLiNkS Afrocentric Guide to the WWW
http://www.netlinks.net/Netlinks/AFRO.HTML
NETLiNkS Afrocentric Guide to the WWW has recently added the Written Word to its compilation of African American and Canadian resources. This annotated pointers page includes an eclectic collection of information and full-text sites. Included are individual works, collections of works, historic speeches, and connections to such sites as H-AFRARTS, the Quarterly Black Review of Books, and other meta-collections of African American literature, among others. Also included in the Afrocentric Guide are Afro Web Directory, Events Calendar, Black History Archive, and Flavour of the Week (discussed in the May 24, 1996 Scout Report). It is one of the better Afrocentric meta-indexes on the web.
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PlanetOut
http://www.planetout.com/
Yahoo PlanetOut Headlines
http://headlines.yahoo.com/planetout
Available since mid-1995 on the Microsoft Network, PlanetOut this week moves to the Web (as well as onto America Online, a major sponsor of the site). Calling itself a "worldwide community of gay, lesbian, bi, and trans people," the site offers a new home for the longstanding Queer Resources Directory (QRD), which since 1991 has been the Internet starting point for researchers and others interested in issues of marginal sexualities. In addition, there is netQueery, a guide to "everything queer on the Net," as well as arts and entertainment features, political and community pages, and chat and message areas. The news section is updated daily, and is also available in the PlanetOut section of the Yahoo Headlines service. Though the site is new to the Web, it shows considerable polish that is the result of a year's presence on MSN. Registration is free and optional.
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College Sports Online
http://www.collegesports-online.com/
Follow your favorite major college football (Division 1-A) and basketball teams from this one-stop shopping site to all conferences and all schools in the division. Coverage from the local newspapers for each team is provided, as well as links to those newspapers with Web sites. National interest information is also provided, including links to organizations or places important to the overall collegiate and recruiting scene, and to national publications. You can hear audio clips of Fight Songs from the schools, and coming soon is a section devoted to those interesting and odd traditions practiced on many campuses during the season.
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Electronic Democracy and Elections--EDEM-ELECT Discussion List
http://www.mtn.org/edem-elect/archive/maillist.html
EDEM-ELECT has been established to promote citizen exchange efforts during the election season. EDEM-ELECT intends to bring together those working to facilitate online public discussion and participation in elections held in 1996 or 1997. Depending upon the usefulness of this forum its charter may be expanded or reduced. For now EDEM-ELECT is focused on the exchange of ideas, plans, and experiences among individuals and groups working across the world to develop local, regional, or national efforts. In particular it wishes to encourage discussions on how to build and maintain geographically focused online citizen participation forums. Noting the strong concentration of activity by national media and commercial organizations, the US Presidential race will not be a primary focus. Instead EDEM-ELECT will concentrate on the "how to's" of organizing local, non-partisan efforts; such as how to recruit volunteers, how to attract and use in-kind information infrastructure donations (WWW site, e-mail lists, etc.), how to build an audience, how to work with campaigns, the media and political organizations, and how to coordinate the technical and social/political aspects of online open forums. It must be noted, however, this list is not for abstract discourse on the virtues and/or vices of representative and/or direct democracy.
To subscribe send email to:
listproc@mtn.org
In the body of the message type:
subscribe edem-elect Your Name Here
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News.Com
http://www.news.com/
This week c|net: the Computer Network launched News.Com, an online service entirely devoted to technology news. It promises to be a useful site for a wide range of computer and Internet users who can visit once (or more) a day for updates on who's doing what in the world of the Internet, computing, Intranets, and business. Each section offers a dozen or more varied stories produced by c|net or accessed through links to other Internet publishers. Also offered in each section are short takes that provide a single paragraph summary of a piece of technology news. On the page with each current news story are links to related stories from the c|net archives that are useful for background information (the stories from the archives may be several months old, however, so be sure to check the dates to know if you are reading news or background). Opinion pieces can be found under Perspectives, and Newsmakers offers multimedia interviews with movers and shakers.
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Adobe Acrobat Developer's Zone
http://www.projectcool.com/developer/acrobat/
The Acrobat Developer's Zone, provided by Project Cool, Inc. is a frames-based .pdf tutorial for creating Adobe Acrobat content on the web. Sections include "PDF basics, "Creating PDF," "PDF & the web," "Byte-serving," "Embedded PDF," and "Framed PDF." Although not comprehensive, these lessons provide the user with a basic understanding of .pdf as well as graphically illustrating what pages can look like if they are served in .pdf and HTML. This second point is what really makes the site stands out. Future tutorials are set to include multimedia .pdf, forms processing within web-based .pdf, and templates for web publishing. Note: in order to utilize this site to its fullest, users will need Netscape 2.0 or better, along with Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.0 beta.
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Addition to the Scout Toolkit
NBNews Editor's Choice Awards
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/toolkit/publications/internetweb.html
http://www.nbnews.com
The Scout Toolkit
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/toolkit/
An online newsletter, NBNews Editor's Choice Awards, an annotated listing of new Internet sites that is issued every ten days, has been added to the Internet Publications--Internet Webzines section of the Scout Toolkit. In addition, about one third of all the annotations in the Toolkit have been revised and updated in the last two weeks.
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The Scout Report's Web page:

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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 - September 6, 1996

September 6, 1996

Research and Education

General Interest

Network Tools

Scout Report and Scout Report HTML Subscription Instructions

The Scout Report's Web page:

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