The Scout Report

May 1, 1998

A Publication of the Internet Scout Project
Computer Science Department, University of Wisconsin

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, K12 Newsletters
Scout Report for Science & Engineering
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/sci-engr/
Vol. 1, Number 16 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 eight resources about hazardous waste. The Internet Scout Project, through one of our lead "scouts," Gleason Sackman, is now offering a new service in the form of an additional specialized mailing list. The new mailing list, K12NewsLetters, is a comprehensive source for the best Internet publications related to K-12 education. These publications are distributed either individually or in digest format, according to each reader's preference. Newsletters currently covered include Blue Web'n Update, OnlineClass, ESN News Flash, Education World Newsletter, the KIDS Report, KidScience, Net-Mom News, and Surfing the Net with Kids. [JS]

To subscribe to K12NewsLetters send email to:
listserv@cs.wisc.edu
In the body of the message type:
subscribe k12newsletters Yourfirstname Yourlastname
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Virtual Reference Desk
http://www.vrd.org/
The Virtual Reference Desk, a project of the ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) Clearinghouse on Information and Technology and the US National Library of Education, was established to connect the K-12 community to digital reference experts in all fields. At the heart of the site is the AskA+ Locator, a metapage that links to interactive ready reference sites in 21 subjects including arts, health, language arts, sciences, social studies and math. Each site is similar in that it takes questions in its field of expertise and answers those questions. Each site annotation contains author, audience, and contact information, as well as a description of the service. Information for organizations interested in starting up AskA services is provided. In addition, VRD maintains a mailing list, Dig_Ref for those interested in digital reference service. [JS]

To subscribe to Dig-Ref send email to:
LISTSERV@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
In the body of the message type:
SUBSCRIBE DIG_REF Firstname Lastname
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The Internet Public Library Online Literary Criticism Collection
http://www.ipl.org/ref/litcrit/
The well-known Internet Public Library has added this new collection to its powerful information lineup. This literary metasite contains over 1,000 annotated metasites and articles devoted to literary criticism, biographical, and other information about 123 authors from Dante Alighieri to Arthur Miller to William Butler Yeats. The links to criticism information can be to sites or articles (some of which have access restrictions). Visitors can browse the site by author, title, or literary period (for British and American literature). In addition, both a literary criticism guide and a pathfinder are provided for those who wish to further explore web and print resources on the topic. [JS]
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Tobacco Use Among US Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups--USSG [.pdf, 332p.]
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/sgr-minorities.htm
US Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher has released this report (available in Adobe Acrobat [.pdf] format only), which details the dismaying news of a reversal in the trends of tobacco use by minorities, caused in the main by large increases in smoking by minority youth. This 24th Surgeon General report on tobacco use is the first that concentrates on minorities. The report details tobacco use among African-Americans, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics. The report is accompanied by 84 tables and 22 figures. In addition to the report (which can be downloaded in its entirety or in sections), the site contains a press release, several fact sheets, and ordering information. [JS]
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Seaweed
http://seaweed.ucg.ie/
This captivating site by Professor Michael D. Guiry of the National University of Ireland, Galway, contains a wealth of information and resources on seaweeds. The site includes Check-lists of the Seaweeds (Benthic Marine Algae) of Britain, Ireland and northern Europe; two bibliographic databases on seaweeds (including 17,500 scientific references from periodicals); an email discussion list (Algae-L); two fascinating sections on seaweed cultivation and the seaweed industry; a fully searchable taxonomic database of seaweeds; and links to related sites. Typical returns to the taxonomic database search query include Distribution, Type Locality, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Basionym, and Synonym. Although scant with visual images, this site is rich in every other dimension, and serves as an excellent resource to seaweed researchers and educators alike. [LXP]
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@ABA Network Lawyer Locator
http://www.abanet.org/martindale.html
Martindale-Hubbell Lawyer Locator
http://www.martindale.com/locator/home.html
This directory, provided by the American Bar Association and Martindale-Hubbell, is a no-nonsense interface to basic information about over 900,000 lawyers and law firms, mostly in the US. The database can be searched by individual, firm, location, corporation, or government agency. Retrieval contains contact information, and may also contain other information on indidual attorneys such as their position in the firm, practice areas, date admitted to the bar, and law school and college attended. Firm listings may contain a statement of practice and firm profile (with varying levels of details for the members), and representative clients. NLL allows for specific searches of ABA members. NLL Locator is a subset of the well-known Martindale-Hubbell Lawyer Locator, which also contains an international search database. [JS]
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WebElements
http://www.shef.ac.uk/chemistry/web-elements/
Dr. Mark J. Winter, Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield (UK) and maintainer of the well-known Chemdex meta-site (discussed in the Scout Toolkit Scout Select Bookmarks), also maintains this web-based periodic table. While there are no shortage of periodic tables on the web (Chemdex points to over 70), WebElements is one of the oldest and best. Key data such as atomic weight and number are just the beginning at this site. In addition to complete descriptions (which include spellings in five languages), WebElements includes chemical, isotope, spectroscopy, electronic, biological (including abundance in humans) and geological data. Graphical crystal structure is also provided in static, VRML, and Chime based views. Data is accompanied by graphs in many cases. WebElements is a veritable textbook of the building blocks of chemistry. [JS]
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Preservation Map of Europe--ECPA Library Preservation
http://www.knaw.nl/ecpa/ecpatex/map/index.htm
In an effort to stimulate international information exchange, cooperative projects, and research, the European Commission on Preservation and Access (ECPA) has created an online directory of European organizations working in the preservation field. This directory is based on a survey conducted over the past year. For each of the twenty-five countries currently listed there is a section on national policy as it relates to preservation in libraries and archives, followed by background information on individual organizations, projects, and training courses. Background information includes contacts, email or web access if available, and a brief description of activities. Users can search the preservation map database by organization name, project focus, training availability, or by keyword. [AG]
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United Nations Research Institute for Social Development
http://www.unrisd.org/index.htm
War Torn Societies Documents Database
http://www.unicc.org/unrisd/wsp/talk.htm
UNRISD is an organization with roots going back to 1963. Its mandate is to study the relationship between social and economic development. This takes the form of multi-country research (with an emphasis on developing countries), as well as "action research" in the areas of "integrating gender into development planning and rebuilding war-torn societies." One of the highlights of the site is its War-Torn Societies Project, which contains a documents database with a searchable and browsable annotated bibliography of WSP collected literature. The main site also offers information about the organization and its activities, and a selection of electronic publications, as well as a browsable and searchable catalog of its publications. Note that portions of the site are available in multiple languages. [JS]
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General Interest

The Northern Great Plains, 1880-1920: Photographs from the Fred Hultstrand and F.A. Pazandak Photograph Collections--LOC
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/ndfahtml/ngphome.html
The US Library of Congress American Memory project, in conjunction with the Institute for Regional Studies at North Dakota State University, provides this photo collection--over 900 images that evoke small town and rural life in the northern Great Plains, and particularly in North Dakota. The Hultstrand is the larger of the two parts of the collection; it contains some 550 images, of which about 300 are hand colored. This eclectic collection covers such diverse topics as bison, automobiles, sod houses, and rural women. The Pazandak collection, though smaller, concentrates on turn of the century agriculture. The overall collection can be searched or browsed. Photos are accompanied by date and medium information, as well as explanatory notes. Some stunning hand colored photos charaterize this remarkable collection. [JS]
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United Nations Documentation Research Guide--Special Topics: Human Rights
http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/spechr.htm
The Dag Hammarskjold Library of the United Nations has begun to add Special Topics Guides to its Research Guide Site. The first pertains to human rights and contains annotated pointers to UN resources from two charter-based bodies and six treaty-based bodies. These sections contain pointers to the bodies themselves, and to bibliographic information and selected full texts of the reports of those bodies. In addition, there is bibliographic information on relevant conference proceedings and declarations, as well as a bibliography of general UN human rights literature. [JS]
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The Industry Standard--IDG.net
http://www.thestandard.net/
IDG.net, provided by prolific publisher IDG (International Data Group), has recently launched a new magazine, and this site is the web complement to it. TIS aims to keep its fingers on the pulse of the Internet economy. Judging from the first online issue, that is no false promise. The site, at present, contains full text of the magazine's content, as well as breaking news which can also be accessed via three mailing lists: Media Grok, New Gig, and The Industry Standard Intelligencer, which provide news stories, job listings, and feature stories, respectively. TIS also offers information on Internet metrics and a budding "Who's Who" of the Internet Economy, with selected information on hundreds of Internet entrepreneurs. Within this section, the Internet architect of the week profiles a selected Internet baron in-depth. [JS]
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Millennium--National Geographic Online [frames]
http://tectonic.nationalgeographic.com/2000/
The National Geographic Society is celebrating the coming of the Millennium with an exhibit that will cover seven themes. Icon buttons of the three current exhibition sections allow for easy navigation of this site. The 1998 button links to the introduction, an essay by columnist Joel Swerdlow entitled "Making Sense of the Millennium," and a photo gallery with paired images. The adventure section covers six topics including mountain climbing, Jacques Cousteau and exploring the sea, and maps. Essays on fire walking and climate change can be found in the physical world section. Forums for viewer comments are available at all levels of the site. A section on population growth is planned for fall 1998; scheduled 1999 topics include biodiversity, human culture, science & technology, and turning the corner and looking ahead. [DS]
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The Chemical Scorecard--EDF
http://www.scorecard.org/
An information service provided by the Environmental Defense Fund, The Chemical Scorecard allows the general population easy access to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). The TRI is a compilation of all self-reported releases of toxic substances into the environment. Visitors can search for pollution reports via a map interface or by specifying the desired state. Reports are available for states, counties, cities, and companies. Each report includes maps of manufacturing facilities, chemical releases or waste generation for 1995, TRI pollution releases and data summaries. At the end of each report, visitors are provided with ways to voice their concern about toxic releases. In addition to the reports, the Scorecard contains rankings of toxic releases by state, county, zip code, and facility. The rankings are ordered based on a variety of criteria, including carcinogens, different toxicants, and cancer and non-cancer hazards. The Scorecard also provides information on over 5,000 chemicals included in the TRI, their health effects, and a glossary of commonly used terminology. [KH]
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The Rex Files--Dinosaur Information from the New Scientist
http://www.newscientist.com/nsplus/insight/rexfiles/rexfiles.html
The British weekly magazine, New Scientist (discussed in the March 22, 1996 Scout Report), provides this site, which contains a collection of over 60 New Scientist articles on various aspects of the giant reptiles that once dominated the planet. Articles target popular audiences. At present the site is divided into nine topical areas discussing Tyrannosaurus rex, dinosaurs that may have lived in cold weather, causes of extinction, and dinosaur DNA, among others. [JS]
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Two on Travel in the US
Recreation.gov: Recreational Opportunities on Federal Lands
http://www.recreation.gov/
National Register Travel Itineraries
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/tourism.html
Aboard the Underground Railroad
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/underground/ugrrhome.htm
If you are searching for an American summer vacation destination, these two sites are excellent starting points. Recreation.gov, provided by several US government agencies, is a searchable database that allows users to select the type of outdoor recreation they are interested in, any of six federal agencies, and geographic location; search results include Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Corps of Engineers, and National Park Service sites that support the activity or information entered. The database contains 1,956 recreational areas at this time. Contact information and a Weather Service forecast are provided; hyperlinks to the site are also provided, when available. National Register Travel Itineraries, provided by the National Park Service (discussed in the March 8, 1996 Scout Report), is a part of the National Register of Historic Places site. It features a collection of National Register travel itineraries, which detail local history and architecture. Itineraries for four cities are currently available, along with a guide to the Georgia and Florida Coast and a guide to the Underground Railroad. Each of the travel itineraries includes an interactive map with links to individual historic sites, further information and photographs of those sites, as well as information on how visitors can learn more about the historic places described. [AG,JS]
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IMS Project Specifications [Word, .pdf, 212p.]
http://www.imsproject.org/
Educom's Instructional Management Systems Project (discussed in the April 3, 1998 Scout Report) has released these specifications "for how learning materials will flow over the Internet, and for how organizations and individual learners will manage the learning process." The goal of the specifications is to create a "set of open standards for Internet-based education." The specifications (available in Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat [.pdf] formats) have been made available for a 90 day public comment period. After that, they will be submitted to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) to begin the process of establishment as a standard. Note that a prototype is available for testing, as well as downloading (download is a Windows NT application only). [JS]
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Multilingual Web at the ACF--NYU [frames]
http://www.nyu.edu/acf/multilingual/index.html
The Academic Computing Facility at New York University provides this gateway to multilingual computing information on the Internet. The site covers the seventeen languages taught at NYU, ranging from Arabic to Chinese to Swahili, as well as most major European languages. At the heart of the site are links to technical computing issues, software and hardware, and language learning resources for each of the languages. Software and hardware resources may include fonts, general and Internet software, keyboards, and text processing. Also featured are links to commercial Internet companies for each language, as well as links to academic, news, and general resources. [JS]
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GraphicConverter--Edit and/or Convert Graphic Files
http://www.lemkesoft.de/
GraphicConverter goes beyond the ability to convert a large number of graphic file formats. It provides tools for the creation and/or editing of graphics, animations, movies, and slide presentations; it also supports Adobe Photoshop compatible plug-ins. Currently, GraphicConverter can import 96 different graphic file formats and export 38. Conversion of several files (graphic or text) at a time is also possible through the "convert more..." feature. The tools offered for graphic editing are Photoshop-like. Detailed documentation is provided. This Macintosh shareware is provided by Lemke Software. [TB]
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Volume 2, Number 1, April 28, 1995
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/archive/.html
ESPN SportsZone
http://espn.go.com/
ESPN SportsZone Index
http://espn.go.com/sitetools/sitemap/index.html
The April 28, 1995 Scout Report annotated ESPN SportsZone, at the time one of the first commercial sports sites. It was unique because it showcased the concept of providing up-to-the-minute sports news, features and statistics. SportZone has fulfilled that mission ever since, providing an astounding array of sports information, some of it still free of charge. It contains sections on the major US professional sports, detailing scores and statistics of the games. It has recently opened sections on the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League playoffs, as well as horse racing's upcoming Triple Crown races. These sites can be easily accessed from the ESPN SportsZone index. [JS]
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Copyright Susan Calcari and the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, 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 Internet Scout Project provides information about the Internet to the US research and education community under a grant from the National Science Foundation, number NCR-9712163. 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 or the National Science Foundation.

The Scout Report (ISSN 1092-3861) is published weekly by Internet Scout

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The Scout Report - May 1, 1998

The Scout Report

May 1, 1998

New From Internet Scout

Research and Education

General Interest

Network Tools

Where Are They Now

General Interest

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