Scout Report for Social Sciences and Business & Economics
Scout Report for Social Sciences
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/socsci/2000/ss-000725.html
Scout Report for Business & Economics
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/bus-econ/2000/be-000727.html
The twenty-second issues of the third volumes of the Scout Reports for Social Sciences and Business & Economics are available. The In the News section of the Social Sciences Report annotates eight resources on the recent breakdown in the Mideast peace talks. The Business & Economics Report's In the News section offers nine resources on the diamond trade and conflicts in Africa. [MD]
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Two from the NCHS
Health, United States, 2000 With Adolescent Health Chartbook [.pdf, Excel, Lotus]
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hus/hus.htm
Deaths: Final Data for 1998 -- NCHS [.pdf]
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/releases/00news/00news/finaldeath98.htm
This week, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) released two major reports on health in the United States. The first is an electronic edition of the annual report which details a variety of health statistics, such as "birth and death rates, infant mortality, life expectancy, morbidity and health status, risk factors, use of ambulatory care and inpatient care, health personnel and facilities, financing of health care, health insurance and managed care, and other health topics." Users can download the full text of the 450-page report by topical section or in its entirety. Additionally, the report also includes a chartbook and trend tables that may be downloaded in Excel or Lotus formats. Updated tables, the official news releases, and previous editions of the report are also available at the site. The second report presents the final data on 1998 US deaths and death rates. Despite its macabre title, the report does offer some positive statistics. Foremost among these is a ten percent drop in firearms deaths for teens and children compared to 1997. Other good news: "life expectancy at birth rose to a record high of 76.7 years," and mortality rates for eight of the leading fifteen causes of death decreased. However, ten children were still killed each day by firearms in 1998 and significant racial disparities in life expectancy and mortality levels remain. Users can download the full text of the 106-page report in .pdf format at the NCHS site. [MD]
[Back to Contents]Developing Countries: Debt Relief Initiative for Poor Countries Facing Challenges -- United States General Accounting Office [.pdf]
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/ns00161.pdf
Released in June 2000, this 184-page report from the General Accounting Office reviews the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative. Originally undertaken by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in 1996 as a way of providing financial relief to the most indebted countries in the world, the initiative was enhanced in September 1999 as a response to the continuing vulnerability of these countries. According to this report, the initiative "will provide significant debt relief . . . with the debt for six of the seven countries the GAO analyzed projected to be reduced be one-third or more. However, given the continued fragility of these countries, the initiative is not likely to provide recipients with a lasting exit from their debt problems, unless they achieve strong, sustained economic growth." For more information on the Debt Initiative for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries, see the August 27, 1999 Scout Report. [EM]
[Back to Contents]RDN Virtual Training Suite
http://www.vts.rdn.ac.uk/
Resource Discovery Network (RDN)
http://www.rdn.ac.uk/
Recently announced, this new site from the Resource Discovery Network (RDN), a UK-based network of subject gateways, offers a collection of free interactive tutorials to help students, researchers, and instructors discover some of what the Internet has to offer in their subject areas. Written by subject specialists and librarians, each of the ten guides features a tour of select key sites in its field, tools and techniques for Internet searching, criteria for judging online resources, and a review of the key points and tips covered. While browsing the tutorial, users can click selected links and have them placed in a Links Basket for printing or future reference (but they must be saved before leaving the tutorial). Experienced Internauts probably won't find much here that's news to them, but it is a good resource for Web rookies or as an adjunct to any course that utilizes online content. Twenty-seven more tutorials are planned for release in May 2001. [MD]
[Back to Contents]AVEL - Australasian Virtual Engineering Library
http://avel.edu.au/
Launched on July 8 by a consortium of universities and professional groups, this metasite serves as a gateway for engineers and information technology professionals, with over 2,000 categorized and annotated links to Australasian resources. The database is searchable by keyword or browseable by seven major categories and numerous sub-categories. The site also features a search engine for full-text papers that displays abstracts as well as a link to the full text. Additional resources include job and conference notices, and a latest resources added section. [MD]
[Back to Contents]Guide to Good Practice: Creating Digital Performance Resources
http://www.pads.ahds.ac.uk/padsGGPPerformance
The latest in the UK's Arts and Humanities Data Service (AHDS) publication series, Guides to Good Practice in the Creation and Use of Digital Resources (last discussed in the March 3, 2000 Scout Report), this guide from the Performing Arts Data Service addresses a number of issues involved in creating digital resources for performing arts studies. Articles include "Creating a multipurpose research tool for the study of King Lear," "Approaches to building digital archives," and "Internet-based Live Performance Work," among others. A glossary is also provided. [MD]
[Back to Contents]Edge: Third Culture
http://www.edge.org/
This stimulating online journal is the main publication of Edge Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mandate is "to promote inquiry into and discussion of intellectual, philosophical, artistic, and literary issues, as well as to work for the intellectual and social achievement of society." To that end, the journal brings together speculative articles on contemporary issues by leading scholars and practitioners in the sciences and humanities as well as interviews with these same luminaries. The latest issue, published last week, includes, among other items, an open letter by Richard Dawkins to Prince Charles criticizing his recent call for science to be tempered with a sense of the spiritual, Freeman Dyson's thoughts on spirituality and physics entitled "Progress in Religion," and a medical doctor's argument that the large number of stock market players on psychoactive drugs like Prozac may be in part responsible for the current long-term economic boom. But the most interesting article is probably V.S. Ramachandran's "Mirror Neurons And Imitation Learning As The Driving Force Behind 'The Great Leap Forward' In Human Evolution," which argues that recent discoveries concerning the frontal lobes of monkeys are likely to lead to an unprecedented unified theory for human psychology. A searchable archive of past issues is available, reaching back to the first biweekly issue in December of 1996. An annual feature of Edge is its "What is the most important unreported story?" giving scientists and thinkers the chance to suggest where they believe the next revolution in knowledge will be coming from. [DC]
[Back to Contents]Agrimine [.pdf]
http://www.agrimine.com/
Created with the European agribusiness industry in mind, this site will also prove useful to researchers and other users studying agriculture and business. Presented in both English and French, the front page offers numerous links to breaking agriculture stories around the world, a what's new listing, and links to the site's five Agrifiles. The Agrifiles provide links to both full-text reports (some in .pdf format) and related sites in the fields of Biotechnology, Marketing, Food Safety, Precision Farming, and Agricultural Policy. Other resources at the site include links to prices, analyses, and statistics from international commodity markets; a European weather overview; an event notebook; and links to selected databases. [MD]
[Back to Contents]New Greek Coin Collection at Perseus
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/PR/dewing.ann.html
Perseus Coin Collections
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/browser?object=Coin&field=Collection
Perseus Lookup Tool
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/sor
The latest addition to the excellent collection of ancient coin digital images at the Perseus Project (see the April 28, 2000 Scout Report) comes from the Dewing Numismatic Foundation. 452 Greek coins from this collection are currently on loan to the Harvard Art Museum and are now offered digitally at the Perseus Project. A straight list of the new additions may be accessed through the link provided at the press release page (the first URL above) or by selecting the Arthur S. Dewing link at the second URL. Users can also perform keyword searches using the Perseus Lookup Tool, and returns will include the coins along with coins from other collections, images, and encyclopedia entries. Images of the coins are offered in three resolutions. Catalog entries for the coins include material, denomination, mint, region, issuing authority (when known), actual weight, diameter, and a description of the type and legend on either side of the coin. [MD]
[Back to Contents]"Survival Guide for New Teachers" [.pdf, 2000K]
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/survivalguide/
Announced on July 25, this new 28-page guide from the US Department of Education is aimed at new teachers, "with a particular emphasis on the relationships they formed with their colleagues, university professors, and their students' parents." The guide is divided into sections that examine these relationships (Working With Parents, Working With Veteran Teachers, Working With Principals, and Working With College and University Education Professors) and also includes reflections from award-winning first-year teachers. Several select links of use to first-year teachers are also provided. [MD]
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Monuments of the Future: Designs by El Lissitzky [Flash, .pdf]
http://www.getty.edu/gri/digital/lissitzky/
The Getty Research Institute presents this Website on the work of El Lissitzky, 1890-1941, using materials from their extensive archival collections. The site includes over 175 images, a chronology of El Lissitzky's life, and links to related resources at the Getty and other institutions. For those with fast connections, there is an animated introduction. The Website preserves thematic sections from the exhibition of the same name displayed at the Getty, November 1998-February 1999, which connect El Lissitzky's theories to his artistic work. These sections display on the right side of the screen, while exhibition content shows on the left, resulting in awkward scrolling to see everything. The section Printing Trades and Pressa Exhibitions includes an accordion-folded photomontage, designed for the Soviet Pavilion at a printing trades show in 1928, fortunately cleverly programmed to scroll automatically, making viewing much easier. Another nice feature of the site is the availability of .pdf format text, chronology, and checklist for printing. [DS]
[Back to Contents]The Top American Research Universities (2000) [.pdf, Excel]
http://thecenter.ufl.edu/
Created by the Lombardi Program on Measuring University Performance, part of TheCenter, a privately funded research enterprise focused on the humanities and social sciences, this site offers an alternative to the better-known published university rankings. Claiming that most of these rankings "rely on relatively unreliable data" and "focus attention on relatively insignificant differences among similar institutions," the site offers an analysis and data set that rank private and public research universities in accord with nine institutional characteristics: total research expenditures, federal research expenditures, endowment assets, annual giving, faculty members in the National Academies, faculty awards, doctoral degrees, postdoctoral appointees, and entering freshmen SAT scores. The survey then places them in tiers based on how many top-25 mentions they get. A description of the methodology and the rankings and data tables (in .pdf and Excel format) are easily accessed from the main page. [MD]
[Back to Contents]BEACH Watch -- EPA [.pdf]
http://www.epa.gov/ost/beaches/
The Environmental Protection Agency has released data from the third annual National Health Protection Survey of Beaches for the 1999 swimming season. Based on voluntarily returned surveys, the site offers information on water quality at 1,891 beaches in the US. Using an interactive map, users can find out if the water at a selected beach is being monitored, who is responsible for monitoring, and if any advisories or closures have been issued. Initial entries for each beach include basic monitoring information, contact information, and a map. Users can also read the submitted survey form in full. Additional resources at the BEACH Watch site include summary results from the survey, a fact sheet, technical reports and reference, brochures amd pamphlets, a FAQ, and related links. [MD]
[Back to Contents]Online Conversion
http://www.onlineconversion.com/
Need to convert joules to kilocalories? A rood to a square mile? 100 weight to stones? How about your age in dog years? You can do all of these conversions and over 8,000 more at Online Conversion. Conversions are organized by type (temperature, length, cooking, etc.), and each conversion page includes numerous options. Quick links to other conversions are also provided on each page so users don't have to return to the main page. Simply put, a very handy and easy-to-use site that belongs in the reference section of any user's bookmarks. [MD]
[Back to Contents]Zooba.com
http://www.zooba.com/
As content providers compete ever more fiercely for the public's easily divertable attention, many resort to giving away free Web-based content in the hope of selling additional formats, and Zooba.com is an interesting addition to this category. Users who sign on to the Zooba service receive weekly emails on their choice of 46 topics, such as Biography, subdivided into Entertainers, Great Minds, Leaders, or Literature, which is broken into Authors, Playwrights & Poets, Bestsellers, Classics. A sample email at the site on art history consists of a 300-word essay on Caravaggio, by Walter P. Bruckner, and links to enable users to purchase two recent books or a video tape on the artist. One flaw of the service is that there is no information available on the authors of the emails, who may be employees of Zooba.com's content partners, publishers and online merchants such as Simon & Schuster, several university presses, Amazon.com, and Barnes & Noble.com. [DS]
[Back to Contents]Julia Child: Lessons With Master Chefs -- PBS [RealPlayer, Windows Media Player]
http://www.pbs.org/juliachild/
This companion site to the PBS series Cooking With Master Chefs is not as deep as some PBS sites, but it does offer a searchable video database (Prime Video Cuts) with clips of the sixteen chefs in action. The videos are searchable by chef, ingredient, cuisine, or keyword and launch in a separate browser window. Conveniently, users can browse through the video segment using a pull-down menu transcript if they are looking for a specific tip or ingredient. Other features at the site include brief biographies of the master chefs, a few choice tips and recipes, and some select annotated links. Bon appetit. [MD]
[Back to Contents]Baseball Heckle Depot
http://www.heckledepot.com/
Need some snappy one-liners to torment the opponents's right fielder? Did the umps forget their glasses again? The Baseball Heckle Depot will serve all your heckling needs, with over 660 wisecracks and putdowns. Organized by heckle recipient (umpires, pitchers, fielders, and batters), the site is easy to navigate, also offering chants, posters, and some ballplayer comebacks. Other content includes a ranked list of ballpark fans and a heckling hall of fame. Users can also print out the visiting team's roster (and follow a link to their salaries) and vote for the heckle of the month. [MD]
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Free Email Providers Guide (FEPG.net)
http://www.fepg.net/
While they have their good and bad points, free email services seem to pop up all the time. This useful site should be regarded as the definitive source on free email services, with a searchable database containing information on over 1,300 free email providers in more than 85 countries, free email news and commentary, and links to various other free eCommunications services, including ISPs, fax, long-distance calls, voicemail, online storage, etc. Visitors can browse the free email provider listings by category (USA, International, Special Interests, etc.), by region and country, or even better, search for the service that best suits them by selecting from a list of options (attachments, storage space, POP accessible, etc.). For dedicated free email enthusiasts, the site also produces a weekly newsletter (delivered by email of course). [MD]
[Back to Contents]New Features for Google, AltaVista
Google Advanced Search
http://www.google.com/advanced_search.html
New AltaVista Preview
http://live.altavista.com/scripts/editorial.dll?ei=2005160&ern=y
Google has unveiled an advanced search page, which features pull-down menus that allow users to specify included and excluded keywords and domains, specify languages, and find pages that link to or are similar to specified pages. The page also links to Google's topic-specific search pages (US Government, Mac, Linux, etc.). AltaVista, meanwhile, offers a preview of its forthcoming redesign. The new AltaVista will include, among other things, a directory, channels, information centers, more search options, and grouped results. Users can learn about all the new features with a ten-part tour at the URL above. [MD]
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RIP Napster?
Court Cuts the Music on Napster -- CNET [RealPlayer, Windows Media Player]
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-201-2354521-0.html
ZDNet Special Report: Napster Slapped
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/special/napster.html
"Stop the Music" -- PBS NewsHour [RealPlayer]
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/cyberspace/july-dec00/napster_7-27.html
RIAA Press Release
http://www.riaa.com/PR_Story.cfm?id=302
Napster
http://www.napster.com/
Napster Webcast
http://webevents.broadcast.com/napster/press0700/
"For Many Online Music Fans, Court Ruling Is Call to Arms" -- New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/28napster.html
"Napster appeals against closure" -- BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/entertainment/newsid_855000/855622.stm
"Napster Ruling's Impact Wide" -- Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56246-2000Jul27.html
Music on the Web -- Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/business/reports/musicweb/lat_napster000727.htm
From BetaMax to Napster: the evolution of the "right to copy" -- MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/DigitalMusic/
Editorial Cartoons on Napster
http://cagle.slate.msn.com/news/napster/main.asp
Yesterday US District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel issued a temporary restraining order, directing Napster not to facilitate or permit infringement of copyrighted material. Because the immensely popular person-to-person music trading service does not have the capability to separate copyrighted materials from non-copyrighted, this ruling will effectively shut down Napster at midnight tonight, pending the company's request in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco for an emergency stay. The restraining order is seen as a major victory for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which sued Napster in December for copyright infringement. When the case began, Napster had a few hundred thousand users. It now has over 20 million and estimated that this number would grow to 75 million by year's end, when the full trial is scheduled. Judge Patel agreed with the RIAA's argument that allowing Napster to continue operating in the meantime would only increase the harm. The central issue in the case is the question of "fair use," especially as it was defined in a 1984 Supreme Court Case (Sony v. BetaMax) and the 1992 Audio Home Recording Act. Napster argues that the law does not specify the number of people with which someone may share purchased music. The RIAA counters that making purchased music available to millions of anonymous users does not constitute fair use and that it is simply unfair for Napster "to build a multi-billion dollar business on the backs of copyrighted works it doesn't own." Should the restraining order go into effect, it will certainly put a large dent in music trading online, as Napster is by far the easiest and most popular service. The MP3 genie, however, has left the bottle some time ago, and users in search of digital music have already begun to turn to different file-swapping technologies like Freenet and Gnutella, which do not rely on a central server and are thus almost impossible to police.
CNET and ZDNet have both created very helpful special reports on Napster and the legal wrangling, with breaking news, commentary, analysis, archived coverage, video content, and background information. Last night's NewsHour included a report on the ruling, with some background and an excellent discussion with the general counsel for the RIAA and a Napster lawyer. Views from either side of the case can also be found at the RIAA and Napster homepages and the latter's Webcast on Broadcast.com. Additional coverage is provided by the New York Times (free registration required), BBC, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. MSNBC's special feature traces the relevant events in the evolution of the right to copy and fair use from the BetaMax to June of this year. Finally, a look into the controversy as seen by the nation's editorial cartoonists can be found at Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index. [MD]
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