The Scout Report

March 20, 1998

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.

An Acrobat .pdf version of this report is available for printing and distributing locally. For information on Adobe Acrobat Reader, visit the Adobe site.

Scout Report for Science & Engineering
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/sci-engr/
Vol. 1, Number 13 of the Scout Report for Science & Engineering is available. It annotates over twenty new and newly discovered Internet resources in the physical & life sciences and engineering. The In the News section annotates nine resources related to Pfiesteria piscicida.[JS]
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A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: US Congressional Documents and Debates 1774-1873--LOC
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html
The US Library of Congress' American Memory Collections, beginning a gigantic effort to make the history of the lawmaking bodies of the US easily accessible to the public, has released full text of documents and debates from the First and Second Congresses (1789-1793). At present, about 4,400 pages of documents are available. Sources include: Journal of the House of Representatives,Journal of the Senate,Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate,Annals of Congress, and the Journal of William Maclay, United States Senator from Pennsylvania, 1789-1791. Information can be browsed or searched. Content is available as either directly viewable images (Annals), TIFF images, or text. [JS]
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Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children--NRC (399p.) [frames]
http://www.nap.edu/books/030906418X/html/
The National Academy Press has released a prepublication copy of this National Research Council report, which calls for "ensur[ing] that all children are equipped with the skills and instruction they need to learn to read." According to one of the report's authors, "We need the will to ensure that every child has access to excellent preschool environments and well-prepared teachers. Because reading is such a complex and multifaceted activity, no single method is the answer. It is time for educators, parents, and everyone else concerned with children's education to make sure that children have all the experiences that research has shown to support reading development." The press release accompanying the report lays out its basic findings, which can also be found in the executive summary of the report. The press release also connects to a full text version of the report, available as individual page images (print quality varies) at this time. Purchasing information is also available. [JS]
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ECLAS: The European Commission Library Catalogue
http://europa.eu.int/eclas/
This Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC), provided by the European Commission, currently contains over 172,000 cataloged records from the European Commission Library. Query is available on three fields in basic search and fourteen in advanced search. Users can also search by language or document type. Records include journal articles, books, conference proceedings, and Internet resources (mostly documents), among others. The catalog employs powerful hyperlinks; each bibliographic record contains multiple hypertext connections to other related records in such fields as author, series, and descriptor; and a fully functional hyperlinked classified thesaurus allows users an electronic form of shelf browsing. The catalog is freely available after required registration; searches can be conducted in English and French at this time. [JS]
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The Science and Engineering of Composting--CUCE
http://www.cfe.cornell.edu/compost/science.html
The Cornell University Center for the Environment provides this site as a one-stop source of composting information. The science and engineering necessary to truly understand successful composting, including simple and well-explained equations, resides at this site. The content is divided into four categories. Background Information covers four key areas of composting: invertebrates, microbes, chemistry, and physics. Getting the Right Mix introduces composters to the concepts necessary for creating a successful compost pile, including moisture content, bio-availability, and carbon content. Composting Experiments offers ideas for projects to investigate factors influencing the composting process, such as temperature, pH, and invertebrates. Composting Engineering Fundamentals focuses on three engineering principles used in composting: process analysis, odor management, and water quality protection. [KH]
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Biographies of Women Mathematicians
http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/women.htm
This site, created under the direction of mathematics professor Larry Riddle, is part of "an on-going project by students in mathematics classes at Agnes Scott College ... to illustrate the numerous achievements of women in the field of mathematics." There are currently over 130 biographical essays available, from Maria Gaetana Agnesi to Lai-Sang Young, many of which contain photos and references for both print and electronic sources. The essays are accessible by browsing either the alphabetical or chronological index. Two other sections of interest list the first Ph.D.'s in mathematics obtained by women before 1930 and a list of prizes, awards, and honors granted to women mathematicians. [AG]
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Energy Files--OSTI DOE
http://www.osti.gov/EnergyFiles/
No frames:
http://www.osti.gov/EnergyFiles/welcome.html
This site, provided by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information of the US Department of Energy, is designed to be a gateway to scientific and technical energy-related information. At its heart is the energy resources section, featuring briefly annotated pointers to over 100 topically related sites in three major areas: Featured Collections, Electronic Journals and Preprints, and Applied and Engineering Standards. Additional general resources provide links to sites, databases, preprint and technical report archives, software, and standards, among other resources. Note that pointers can be to bibliographic or full text information. [JS]
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Computer Science Journals--University of Dortmund BI
http://bib.informatik.uni-dortmund.de/journals/
The Bereichsbibliothek Informatik of the University of Dortmund (Germany) provides this no-nonsense guide to tables of contents for over 200 computer science related journals. Users can browse the latest available tables of contents (note that currency varies widely from journal to journal) or search each journal individually. Users can take advantage of the powerful ability to search across all journals. Search options include by title, author, and keywords; searches can be limited by publication year, journal title, and volume number. Information on the year range covered for any of the journals is not provided. [JS]
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Connect-ED--Higher Education Information Exchange
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/connect-ed.html
St. John's University offers this distribution-only information service for and about institutions of higher education. Connect-ED was established to disseminate information about the programs, schools, faculties and courses of study of post-secondary institutions, schools of higher learning, or tertiary educational institutes, in order to assist subscribers in decisions regarding recruitment and selection. The list will be of particular interest to education administrators; faculty; information, public relations or recruitment officers; students; and potential employers. The material posted on this list might include: notices of new, established, or unique programs; special events, publications, and media coverage; conferences, meetings, faculty or institutional awards; changes in educational standards, admission criteria, or curricula; fees; scholarship availability; accreditation reports; calls for papers; application deadlines; degree requirements; credit balancing; and course delivery (traditional, on-line, Internet, teleconference or other methods). [JS]

To subscribe send email to:
listserv@maelstrom.stjohns.edu
In the body of the message type:
Subscribe Connect-ED YourFirstName YourLastName
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Budget 98: HM Treasury Budget Information [.pdf]
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/pub/html/budget.html
Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown presented the 1998 UK budget to Parliament on March 17. This UK Treasury Budget site contains full text of the Chancellor's speech, the Stationery Office's more detailed Financial Statement and Budget Report 1998 (also known as the Budget Red Book--New Ambitions for Britain), and several (Adobe Acrobat [.pdf] format only) related documents. Budget documents from previous years back to 1994 are also available. More coverage on the UK budget can be obtained via the Financial Times Budget site (discussed in the March 12, 1998 Scout Report for Business and Economics). The FT site now includes RealPlayer coverage of the Chancellor's speech. [JS]
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1997 US County Population Estimates--US Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/countypop.html
Press Release
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb98-41.html
The US Census Bureau has recently released updated county population figures (July 1997) for all counties in the US. The CPE site contains six county tables that are arranged by state. Librarians, journalists, and the general public may be especially interested in the two ranking tables (percent change and numerical change 1990-97), and two maps that track the change in population and rate of domestic migration from 1996-1997. There are also tables for demographic components, and annual time series estimates. Selected other demographic breakouts are also available. [JS]
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Two Occupational Resources From BLS
Occupational Employment Statistics
http://stats.bls.gov/oeshome.htm
1998-9 Occupational Outlook Handbook
http://stats.bls.gov/ocohome.htm
US occupations are featured in these two information-rich resources from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The first is highlighted by the 1996 Occupational Employment Statistics Survey, which differs from previous surveys in that it includes wage data by occupation for the first time. The site contains a description of the survey and complete national and state data for 760 occupations in seven major areas. Included are occupation title, number of employees, hourly mean and median wage, and an OES code number that provides information about the occupation and its employment distribution by wage range where surveyed (distribution is for the national survey only). An occupational search engine is forthcoming. The site also contains information about previous OES surveys back to 1988. The 1998-9 Occupational Outlook Handbook provides the latest edition of a guide to 250 occupations from able seaman to zoologist. Users can browse an alphabetical index or any of eleven occupational clusters, or search the resource by keyword. Each occupation contains a thumbnail sketch of important features as well as information about the nature of the work, working conditions, employment, training, the job outlook, earnings, and related occupations. This is an excellent source of relevant, condensed occupational information. [JS]
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Boris Nemtsov's Information Server
http://www.nemtsov.ru/
In a development that would have been unimaginable even ten years ago, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, Boris Nemtsov, has opened a web site. He claims to be the first incumbent Russian state official with a frequently updated site. The site content, available only in Russian at present (English translation of selected site content is forthcoming), includes news from Nemtsov's press service, his political positions, and selected statements and activities. There is also a link to what appears to be a site with more personal information. [JS]
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3-D Insects [VRML, QuickTime]
http://www.ento.vt.edu/~sharov/3d/3dinsect.html
Alexei A. Sharov, Research Scientist in the Department of Entomology at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), provides this fascinating look at insects. The site is highlighted by fourteen VRML insects (QuickTime movies are also provided), including beetle, ant, mantis, flea, and wasp. In addition to the animation, each section contains several pointers to other relevant information about the insect. Note that the QuickTime movies are set to play and repeat, but can be manually halted at any time. [LXP]
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Evenbetter.com
http://www.evenbetter.com/
Acses, provided by the German Software company Muenchhoff Janz GmbH, adds a new and fascinating wrinkle to buying books on the Internet. The concept is simple. Users can search for the book of interest to them by title, author, keyword or International Standard Book Number (ISBN). Once the book is located, click on it. Fill in a form with your geographic location and how you would like prices displayed (seven currencies are available at present). Then an Acses robot checks retail online bookstores (27 at present--under "retailers") and returns a list of prices from lowest to highest taking into account shipping rates, discounts, and how long it will take the book to arrive. An advanced search (ISBN only) allows comparisons of up to ten books at once. [JS]
[Note: Site title has changed since the original Scout Report review. Site formerly referred to in the Scout Report as "Welcome to Acses: Compare Book Offers on the Internet!"]
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Y2Klaw Mailing List
http://pli.pli.edu/listserv/archives/pli-y2klaw.html
The Y2Klaw mailing list is dedicated to the discussion of the legal implications of the Year 2000 problem. Charles L. Kerr, a partner with the law firm of Morrison & Foerster in New York City will be the list's moderator. The list will discuss such issues as insurance coverage, tort liability, contracting and disclosure, among other topics. [JS]

To subscribe send email to:
listserv@pli.edu
In the body of the message type:
Subscribe PLI-Y2Klaw Your Name
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Comments of the Internet Society In Regards to Improvement of Technical Management of Internet Names and Addresses
http://www.isoc.org/internet/news/isocgreen.shtml
The Internet Society has posted its response to the recently published US Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration's "Green Paper" on the future of the Domain Name System (discussed in the January 30, 1998 Scout Report). ISOC's main concerns over the Green Paper include the issues of central authority, registries, registrars, dispute resolution, and governance. Full text of the response is available at the site along with a link to the Green Paper, which was published in the Federal Register on February 20, 1998. [JS]
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PC Webopaedia--Mecklermedia
http://www.pcwebopaedia.com/
PC Webopaedia is an online dictionary of computer-related terms provided by Mecklermedia Corporation. Searches will return an entire page of information on a term, a list of the top fifteen requested terms, a "Term of the Day," and a list of newly-added terms. The list can be browsed by category; the entire list can be browsed by sixteen major categories by searching on all categories and leaving the keyword field blank. Each term page in the PC Webopaedia contains a brief but descriptive definition, a list of related terms, and a group of links to other resources where more information can be found. Other features of the site include a place to request a term that is not found in PC Webopaedia, and a free download of PC Webopaedia in Microsoft help file format. Overall, PC Webopaedia is a very helpful and easy-to-use resource. [JS]
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HTMLGoodies
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/
This site, provided by Joe Burns, contains a veritable gold mine of HTML-related tutorials for both beginning and advanced web developers. The site is highlighted by HTML tutorials, which include basics, Java, Javascript, CGI, tables, forms, frames, and image maps, among many others. For the beginner, there is a seven step HTML tutorial. The site also contains over 450 submitted Javascripts, and a library of free images. Language used to teach concepts is breezy and lighthearted; still, the content is informative and well thought out. [JS]
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The Scout Report was not published from March 10 to April 28, 1995. This feature will resume with the May 1, 1998 issue. [JS]
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Copyright Susan Calcari, 1994-1998. 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
David Flaspohler
Aimee D. Glassel
Kathryn Harris
Laura X. Payne
Matthew Livesey
Christopher Lukas
Thiam Hee Ng
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The Scout Report - March 20, 1998

The Scout Report

March 20, 1998

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