The Scout Report - August 20, 1999

Scout Report for Science & Engineering
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/sci-eng/1999/se-990818.html
Volume 2, Number 24 of the Scout Report for Science & Engineering is available. The In the News section annotates seven resources on the recent International Botanical Congress (IBC) in St. Louis, Missouri. [MD]
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UK National Digital Archive of Datasets (NDAD)
http://ndad.ulcc.ac.uk/
Accessing Data in the Archive
http://ndad.ulcc.ac.uk/lists/access.htm
Operated on behalf of the UK Public Record Office (PRO), this site offers access to a variety of datasets, primarily UK Government data and associated documents. After free registration, users may search the NDAD finding aids by free-text or thesaurus-aided keywords. These finding aids provide an overview of the "contents, context and structure of a dataset and any documentation received with a dataset, and assist in the identification and retrieval of information from datasets and documentation." Access is provided to both the data itself and any relevant documentation. First-time users should consult Help, Getting Started, and especially, the Accessing Data in the Archive section before they begin their search. Users must also remember their user name and password to access the datasets. Additional resources at the site include a newsletter and what's new listing. [MD]
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Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network
http://lternet.edu/index.html
The Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network is a consortium of more than 20 US ecological research centers dedicated to understanding "ecological processes operating at long time scales and over broad spatial scales." Established in 1980 by the National Science Foundation, the LTER Network "promotes synthesis and comparative research across sites and ecosystems and among other related national and international research programs." The LTER homepage offers background information on the LTER Network including research summaries and direct links to many of the LTER research centers. Additionally, users may access LTER data through the Network Information System (NIS); policies for data use are included at the LTER site. This straightforward homepage serves as a helpful gateway to one of the most important ecological initiatives of the millennium. [LXP]
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Two from USAID
1998 Annual Performance Report [.pdf, 267p.]
http://www.dec.org/partners/98_apr/
2000 Annual Performance Plan [.pdf, 122p.]
http://www.dec.org/pdf_docs/pdabq987.pdf
USAID, the US Agency for International Development, has recently released two key documents online. The first, the agency's annual report, can be downloaded as a single document or by chapter in .pdf format. The report evaluates the progress of USAID programs in over 100 countries worldwide. Chapters explore topics such as Economic Growth and Agricultural Development; Population, Health and Nutrition; Environment; and Humanitarian Assistance. Annexes include USAID Agency Evaluations and Country Development Trends. The second document is offered only in its entirety as a .pdf file. The 2000 Performance Plan "outlines activities and outcomes USAID hopes to achieve in the next year and describes benchmarks for measuring progress." Several appendixes and numerous tables are included. [MD]
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Projections of Education Statistics to 2009 -- NCES [.pdf, 198p.]
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=1999038
This latest offering from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) contains projections for key education statistics including enrollment, teachers, graduates, and expenditures for the past fourteen years and projected to the year 2009 for the nation as a whole; and projections of public elementary and secondary enrollment and public high school graduates in the District of Columbia and all fifty states to the year 2009. The report contains numerous charts and tables, a description of the projection methodology used, and appendixes containing supplementary tables, data sources, and a glossary. [MD]
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Australian Coastal Atlas
http://www.environment.gov.au/marine/coastal_atlas/index.html
Provided by the Australian Department of the Environment and Heritage, this site allows users to construct, view, and print multilayered custom maps of Australia's coastal zones. Users can select data layers from several pre-classified schemes and from a long list of more specific data to create custom maps. The display characteristics of these data layers on the map can also be modified. Searches for additional information about the region that users are viewing in the Australian Atlas window may be launched via the More Information tool bar. [MD]
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lecturesonline.org [.pdf, PowerPoint]
http://www.lecturesonline.org/
Created and maintained by Joshua Kim of West Virginia University, this new site aims to serve as a collection point for a variety of teaching materials for the academic community. Like the venerable World Lecture Hall (reviewed in the June 10, 1994 Scout Report), this site offers syllabi, lecture notes, and teaching materials from courses in a range of disciplines. Kim, however, also envisions the site growing to include articles, working papers, and conference papers, becoming a permanent online academic conference. Users can currently browse for materials in six categories or search by keyword. At present, lecturesonline's offerings are not as numerous as its more established peers, but they are promising for such a new site. Additional resources at the site include links to software needed to access some of the lectures, a list of contributors, and a discussion board for users of the site. [MD]
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Glossary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Online
http://db.portlandpress.com/db.htm
Provided by Portland Press, this online version of David Glick's glossary of over 3,000 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology terms offers concise (usually one sentence) definitions of both common and more obscure words. The glossary may be browsed alphabetically or searched by keyword. Definitions assume users have a basic familiarity with the biosciences, and the glossary is probably most useful to advanced students and professionals in related fields. Users are invited to submit useful terms they feel should be included. [MD]
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Sustainable Urban Landscape Information Series (SULIS)
http://www.sustland.umn.edu/
This outstanding site from the University of Minnesota Extension offers a detailed guide to designing, creating, and maintaining sustainable urban landscapes. Aimed at both the public and the horticulture/ landscape industry, the site is composed of four main sections. The first, Design, takes users on a detailed trip through the process of envisioning, planning, and designing landscapes that are cost effective, visually pleasing, and easy on the environment. The next section, Plant Selection, overviews the basics of selecting plants for landscapes and includes an excellent plant selection database. With detailed information and photos of over 1,200 plants, the database is worthy of an annotation in itself. The Implementation section covers preparation, planting, installation, and construction of urban landscapes, with several illustrated how-to projects. The final section, Maintenance, offers a comprehensive guide to lawn care, with additional features on tree, shrub, and plant care planned for the future. A collection of links to related land-grant University and Extension sites rounds out the site. [MD]
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Mark Harden's Artchive
http://www.artchive.com
Curated by Mark Harden, the Artchive presents a useful collection of art images, text, and articles for art historians from armchair to professional levels. The Artchive itself contains some 2,300 scans of works by more than 200 artists, all accompanied by at least identifying titles, dates, artists's names, and a physical description of the original work. Harden believes that art reproductions require accompanying contextual information, and often he includes analysis and criticism by leading art historical scholars. Read Robert Hughes's short entry on the late Basquiat for a sample, or move to the Theory and Criticism section for excerpts from the canon of art history, such as E.H. Gombrich's analysis of Botticelli's Birth of Venus, or Meyer Schapiro on Cezanne. Harden employs the Web extremely effectively for presentation of art information; for example, the Schapiro Cezanne essay is divided into eight sections, each accompanied by an image of the work discussed. Other highlights of the site include Galleries, featuring changing online exhibitions; Juxtapositions, verbal/ visual commentaries on art written by Harden; and contributed reviews of commercially available art CD-ROM products. [DS]
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Two From Human Rights Watch
Azerbaijan: Impunity for Torture
http://www.hrw.org/hrw/reports/1999/azerbaijan/
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: Abuses against Serbs and Roma in the New Kosovo
http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/kosov2/
The latest reports from Human Rights Watch (last reviewed in the July 13, 1999 Scout Report for Social Sciences) examine the conduct of Azerbaijani security forces and violence against Serbs and Roma in Kosovo, respectively. The first, a 57-page report, alleges rampant corruption and the systematic use of torture or physical abuse within the Azerbaijani criminal justice system. The second, an eighteen-page report, documents a wide variety of human rights abuses committed against the Serb minority and Roma population by ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. The report is accompanied by a brief photo essay. [MD]
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A Scattering of Seeds - The Creation of Canada
http://www.whitepinepictures.com/seeds/
This site serves as a companion to a recently completed 26-part documentary television series on the individuals and families that immigrated to Canada and helped build a nation. Each film was created by a different independent director, but the online features for each are presented in the same format. These features include a brief episode description, profiles of the director and the subject, several short essays on each subject's history in context, a sidebar, and related links. Whether or not users had the opportunity to view the series, these personal stories of individuals and families leaving their homes to carve out a place for themselves in Canada make compelling reading. [MD]
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H.I.P. Pocket Change -- US Mint
http://www2.usmint.gov/Kids/default.html
H.I.P. (History In your Pocket) is a new site from the US Mint that seeks to build an interest in coins as artifacts of history. Aimed at younger users and teachers, the site offers a section for each constituency. The Kids section provides information on starting a coin collection, a virtual tour of the mint (not yet available), a time machine adventure, and several learning games. The Teachers's area contains lesson plans, a library, and a teachers's guide. Additional resources include an internal search engine. [MD]
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Rockmine On-Line [RealPlayer, .pdf]
http://www.rockmine.music.co.uk/
Main Site
http://www.rockmine.music.co.uk/Main.html
Founded in 1985, Rockmine is Europe's largest independent rock music archive, providing information for researchers and the media. Rockmine first went online in 1995 but has continued to develop since. One of the more notable recent additions is the Archive, which currently contains a gallery of over 100 posters and handbills from the famed Fillmore Auditorium and Avalon Ballroom; all thirteen issues of the Mojo Navigator, one of the first rock music newspapers; and the Vault, a collection of police, coroner, and legal files presently featuring 94 pages of FBI files on the Doors and Jim Morrison. The Cyclopedia, which is still under construction, will contain "a full alphabetical listing of artists, giving band details, session details, brief biographies, photographs, [and] links." The Cyclopedia may be browsed alphabetically in frames or non-frames versions, and, at present, contains basic information on a large number of musicians and bands. Rockmine's main site offers a host of articles, original documents, and audio interviews with individuals and groups that inhabit rock's Mount Olympus. Featured artists include The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, the Sex Pistols, and Cream. Additional resources, such as a free email update service, timelines, quizzes, and a discussion board, round out the site. [MD]
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BBedit Lite 4.6
http://web.barebones.com/free/bbedit_lite.html
BBEdit Lite (first reviewed in the February 27, 1998 Scout Report) is the scaled down, freeware version of BBEdit, Bare Bones Software's popular HTML/text editor. Built from the same core code as the retail version, BBEdit Lite 4.6 includes the ability to assign key equivalents to menu commands, an enhanced Hard Wrap command, extended search-and-replace features, support for the BBEdit plug-in architecture, as well as performance enhancements and minor bug fixes. Registered users of BBEdit Lite (free) are eligible to upgrade to the full version of BBEdit for $80, a $40 savings. [PMS]
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ICQ 99b Beta v.3.17 Build #2565
http://www.icq.com/download/
The latest version (last reviewed in the February 26, 1999 Scout Report) of this immensely popular program to track and communicate with friends online offers a number of new features. Chief among these are unlimited message length, an ActiveList feature that lets users create or join ICQ communities based on topical interests, Web searching from within ICQ, and "E-ICQ," a feature that allows users to join interest groups and receive information about issues related to these groups directly to their Contact List. ICQ 99b Beta is free and runs on Windows 95/98/NT4. [MD]
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Devastating Earthquake in Turkey
Turkish Press Review [RealPlayer]
http://www.turkishpress.com/ddd.asp
Turkish Embassy - Turkish news
http://www.turkey.org/f_news.htm
BBC News -- Turkey Earthquake: Full Coverage
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_422000/422773.stm
CNN -- Earthquake coverage [RealPlayer]
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9908/20/turkey.quake.02/
USGS National Earthquake Information Center Earthquake Bulletin
http://wwwneic.cr.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/990817000138.HTML
USGS Golden, CO Geohazards Team Earthquake Report
http://geohazards.cr.usgs.gov/html_files/turkey.html
The death toll will pass 10,000 today from Tuesday's earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the Richter scale and shattered a 400-mile stretch from northwestern Turkey to areas near central Ankara. Relief officials have publicly stated that they fear the worst for the estimated 35,000 people who remain trapped beneath rubble, as most will now have been without water for more than 72 hours. In addition to locating and rescuing survivors, the Turkish Government and international aid workers are working feverishly to organize relief efforts, prevent the spread of disease, repair damaged infrastructure, and contain a massive fire at the country's largest oil refinery. The Turkish Press Review offers a selection of breaking stories, audio reports from the Voice of America radio, earthquake message boards, and information on how users can help. The Turkish Embassy has also posted a number of recent stories at its news site; click on News Summaries (English) or (Turkish). BBC News's special feature on the earthquake includes breaking stories, background information, photos, and a number of related links. CNN's earthquake site offers new and archived feature stories, photo galleries, video and audio selections, a message board, and related links. The two sites from the US Geological Survey (USGS) provide data, most of it in graphical form, on the earthquake. Additional resources on earthquakes can be found in Signpost, the Scout Report's database. These include Virtual Earthquake, Earthquake Engineering Abstracts, and This Dynamic Planet: World Map of Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Impact Craters, and Plate Tectonics. [MD]
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