Scout Report for Science & Engineering_
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/sci-eng/2001/se-010314.html
Volume 4, Number 14 of the Scout Report for Science & Engineering is available. The In the News section annotates seven resources exploring genes and musical ability.
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Two from the CIA
CIA's Analysis Of The Soviet Union, 1947-1991 [.pdf]
http://www.cia.gov/csi/books/princeton/
CIA Electronic Document Release Center -- Princeton Collection
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/Princeton_Collection.html
Titles Page
http://www.foia.ucia.gov/net_princeton.htm
Search Page
http://www.foia.ucia.gov/search2.htm
Late last week the Central Intelligence Agency announced two important online releases of intelligence documents. The first is a compilation of declassified documents which collectively offer a retrospective on the CIA's analytical role during the Cold War. These are grouped in five chapters, each of which is prefaced by some brief comments. The second release is a sizable cross-section of the "Directorate of Intelligence's analyses of the Soviet Union's political, military, scientific, and economic structures during the period of the Cold War, 1947-1991." Unfortunately, these are accessible only via an unwieldy process involving two browser windows and a sometimes recalcitrant search engine. Instructions are provided at the first site listed. In test searches we had the most success entering either the document number or the title in the keyword search box. Users may also use a form to search by title, abstract, date created or released, and document number, but we had much less success with all of these options. The documents are presented as digitized page images. [MD]
[Back to Contents]Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
http://www.gbif.org/
Several international agreements, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, highlight the need for open, shared access to global biodiversity data. To that end, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) has been established to facilitate "the compilation, linking, standardization, digitization and global dissemination of the world's biodiversity data." The GBIF homepage provides background information on this initiative, including a history of its development, an invitation to participate in GBIF, and other contextual documents. A collection of related links points users to many of the important players in this collaborative venture. [LXP]
[Back to Contents]GDZ Document Server
http://www.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gdz/gdz-neu/test/search-entry.shtml
The Center for Retrospective Digitization in Goettingen (Gottinger DigitalisierungsZentrum GDZ)
http://www.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gdz/en/gdz_main_en.html
The Goettingen State and University Library Center for Retrospective Digitization, creator of the online Goettingen Gutenberg Bible (see the June 30, 2000 Scout Report), has recently announced that its document server is now back online after a long absence. The GDZ Document Server provides visitors with access to over 1,700 digitized volumes from the center's collections. These include travel books, North-Americana, mathematica, and a few works on the history of the humanities and sciences and autobiographical pieces. Please note that the majority of works currently offered fall in the first two categories. Each collection may be browsed by author, title, and year of publication, or users may conduct simple and advanced searches across the entire collection. The digitized works are presented in a standard format and navigated via buttons on the lefthand side of the screen. The main GDZ site offers further information on current and future projects at the center. [MD]
[Back to Contents]Medieval Women - An Interactive Exploration [Flash, RealPlayer]
http://mw.mcmaster.ca/intro.html
Hosted by McMaster University, this interesting site brings together primary sources, commentary by scholars, interactive features, and music to explore the world of medieval European women. The site is a companion to a recent series on Canadian television, but it easily stands alone. Most of the features are accessed via two sections: Nunnery and World. Each of these presents a neat graphical interface which depicts various activities and experiences of medieval women and links to additional screens exploring related topics. Each subscreen contains a number of links to short descriptions and primary documents, audio and video clips, calendars, and other features. Visitors may also access the primary materials and music directly (though it's much less fun) in the Scriptorium section, which also contains a bibliography and related links. A timeline and internal search engine round out this great site. [MD]
[Back to Contents]Search ERIC/ ACVE In-Process Abstracts
http://ericacve.org/abstracts.asp
ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education (ERIC/ ACVE)
http://ericacve.org/
Text Only Version
http://ericacve.org/textonly/index.asp
ERIC/ ACVE has recently added a new capability to read the abstracts (and access the full text) of new journal articles and documents slated for inclusion in the ERIC Database. Typically, these may take four months or more to process. Using this site, visitors may search or browse (by week) the materials that are "in-process." Browsing by week is done via a pull-down menu, and keyword searches may be limited to documents or journals. Initial returns include clearinghouse number, author, and title. Full entries feature date added, publication date, institution, publication type, a URL for the full text, an abstract, and a list of descriptors. The main ERIC/ ACVE site offers a selection of resources on adult, career, and vocational education, including publications, links to related journals and sites, and links to other full-text resources. [MD]
[Back to Contents]Teaching the JAH
http://www.indiana.edu/~jah/teaching/index.shtml
This new site from the Journal of American History will feature digital resources that help "bridge the gap between the latest scholarly research in U.S. history and the practice of classroom teaching." The authors of the featured articles will provide tips, documents, and other materials to demonstrate how their work might be taught in an undergraduate US history survey. The first article is "Evolution for John Doe: Pictures, the Public, and the Scopes Trial Debate," by Areson Clark. The site provides the full text of the article, comments on teaching the article, primary documents (in this case a collection of images), suggestions for further reading, and some related sites. Teaching the JAH is an excellent idea and a model that can be repeated in any discipline. Three more projects are planned for this site over the next two years. [MD]
[Back to Contents]The Information Warfare Site (IWS) [.pdf]
http://www.iwar.org.uk/
Based in the UK, IWS is "an online resource that aims to stimulate debate about a range of subjects from information security to information operations and e-commerce," with an emphasis on offensive and defensive information operations. To these ends, it offers a number of resources, including selected documents, articles, and online journals that relate to twelve topics, such as computer security, military affairs, crime & espionage, and legal issues, among others. In January, the site launched its INFOCON Threat Centre, a research project that will monitor and analyze cyberthreat trends across the world and in specific regions each month. From the homepage, visitors may also access the latest stories, a security news ticker, recently added documents, site news, an internal search engine, and the IWS discussion forum. This is a good current awareness resource for anyone interested in information and Internet security. [MD]
[Back to Contents]History of Education - Selected Moments of the 20th Century
http://fcis.oise.utoronto.ca/~daniel_schugurensky/assignment1/index.html
Created and maintained by Daniel Schugurensky of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, this site offers a nice collection of short pieces and/ or links to more information on a number of notable events in education during the 20th century (focusing on the US). The site is organized by decade, and most of the noted events link to a short description with links to the sources used and related resources. A modest but interesting site for anyone in the history of education. [MD]
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Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition -- Bartleby.com
http://www.bartleby.com/141/65/
Bartleby.com has relaunched its electronic version of the Columbia Encyclopedia with numerous updates, including improved search and navigation features. The sixth edition contains close to 51,000 entries, including 17,000 biographies, with over 80,000 hypertext cross-references, as well as links to other resources such as maps, speeches, and additional full-text collections held by Bartleby.com. Visitors may search the encyclopedia by keyword (either full-text or entry word), browse the entries alphabetically, or browse the biographical entries by 140 categories. Definitely one of the standard online general reference works. [MD]
[Back to Contents]Parliament Live [RealPlayer, Windows Media Player]
http://www.parliamentlive.tv/
A cooperative effort from three companies, Parliament Live allows users to view a live broadcast of the UK Parliament (when in session) and keyword search archived video footage. A link to the live broadcast is provided on the main page and may be viewed in RealPlayer or Windows Media Player format. The video search engine uses the Virage platform and may be searched by keyword and party, event, and speaker. The returns begin at the point where the search term appears, though viewers can begin at other points in the clip using a pull-down transcript. Users may also email the selected clips. [MD]
[Back to Contents]Global Warming: Early Warning Signs
http://www.climatehotmap.org/
Created by a host of organizations (Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists, US Public Interest Research Group, World Resources Institute, and World Wildlife Fund), this site seeks to provide evidence of the "fingerprints" and "harbingers" of global warming. A clickable map of the world enables users to take a closer look at geographic regions, at specific examples of "fingerprints" (e.g., heat waves, sea level rise, melting glaciers, and Arctic and Antarctic warming) and "harbingers" (spreading disease, earlier arrival of spring, range shifts and population declines in plants and animals, bleaching of coral reefs, extreme weather events, and fires). While it is unclear that any specific event may be explained by global warming, the combination of events highlighted at this page provides powerful fodder for further thought. [LXP]
[Back to Contents]"Buying Influence, Selling Death" [.pdf]
http://commoncause.org/publications/march01/tobacco/
Released on March 13, this new report from Common Cause, The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, The American Heart Association, and The American Lung Association reveals how the tobacco industry has exploited the campaign finance system to influence lawmakers and block action on major initiatives to regulate the industry. Since 1995, the report shows, tobacco companies have given over $32 million to federal and state candidates and political parties. The report is divided into ten sections, exploring topics such as "how they give," "what they want," and "what they get." This expose has been released in advance of the opening of debate next week on the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill, a measure that all the contributors to the report heartily endorse. [MD]
[Back to Contents]Defense Task Force on Domestic Violence - First Annual Report [.pdf]
http://www.dtic.mil/domesticviolence/Report.pdf
Defense Task Force on Domestic Violence
http://www.dtic.mil/domesticviolence/
On March 9, the US Department of Defense Task Force on Domestic Violence released its first report and strategic plan. The 24-member Task Force was established last year with a three-year mission to formulate a long-term, strategic plan to eliminate domestic violence within the military. Users may read the full-text of the 118-page report at the Task Force site, which also offers additional information and related links. [MD]
[Back to Contents]ExploreDC.org [Flash, pdf]
http://www.exploredc.org/index.php
Low Bandwidth Version
http://www.exploredc.org/index.php?ver=lo
Brought to the Web from WETA, DC's public broadcasting station, this site covers the "history, heritage and culture" of the nation's capital. The five main sections -- Local History, Federal City, African American Heritage, US Presidents, and Specialty Tours -- are supplemented by an interactive timeline and a list of lesson plans and additional resources (accessible via the Lesson Plans link on the front page). ExploreDC is rich in content and provides a good introduction to the city's well-known, and some lesser-known, highlights. While covering plenty of information in a well-laid-out fashion, the site does have something of the feel of a brochure, and users seeking critical commentary about the city's struggles with social issues or on-the-ground information about the variety of cultures that coexist here may not find what they're looking for. Be that as it may, ExploreDC.org is well worth a visit, and like the city it represents, you won't be able to see everything in one trip. [TK]
[Back to Contents]Aria Database [.zip]
http://www.aria-database.com/
Designed and maintained by Robert Glaubitz for both singers and fans, this site indexes information on over 1,200 arias from 170 operas, offering some 380 translations, 1,000 aria texts, and 223 MIDI files. Visitors can undertake a quick keyword search from the splash page or proceed to the main page for advanced searches and browsing by alphabetical entry or resource type (translations, MIDI file, operas, etc.). The entries are cross-referenced, and most include links or information on finding recordings and related materials. Also included on the main page are a what's new listing and a respectable collection of briefly annotated links. [MD]
[Back to Contents]FinalFour.Net [RealPlayer, Flash, QuickTime, .pdf]
http://www.finalfour.net/
The Big Dance began yesterday for the men's teams and today for the women's. Once again, the NCAA (with help from Quokka Sports) has put together an excellent, content-rich site for fans. In addition to what you would expect -- brackets, a broadcast schedule, breaking news, features -- the site also offers commentary, chat transcripts, and a fairly deep audio/video galley with a number of classic tournament moments. [MD]
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CubicEye [Windows 2000]
http://www.2ce.com/
While we were not able to test this new 3D browser (alas, no W2k machines at the Scout Project), we still felt it well worth a mention after viewing some sample screen shots. CubicEye allows users to navigate and move between five browser windows simultaneously: the windows form the sides and bottom of a cube. Based on the demo sequences, it appears that users can easily rotate the panels and drop and drag links between the panels, in addition to other options. Users whose machines meet the requirements may register to become a beta tester and will receive a password and download instructions. The rest of us can still take a peek and offer a few "oohs" and "ahhs." [MD]
[Back to Contents]Motherboard Homeworld [.pdf, .zip]
http://www.motherboards.org/index.html
Users planning to build a pc or looking for some information on their current motherboard need look no further than this site, one of the most comprehensive online resources for motherboards. At the site, visitors will find MOBOT, an impressive database that allows searches by 20 specifications, side-by-side comparisons (including prices for some), and detailed spec sheets and photos. Also proffered at the site are motherboard reviews, articles, links to BIOS updates, guides (including motherboard basics), manuals, discussion boards, and much more. An outstanding resource for advanced and intermediate users. [MD]
[Back to Contents]3D FTP v4.0 [Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000]
http://www.3dftp.com/
The latest version 3DFTP, an FTP client, has an improved multi-threaded engine. Multiple concurrent connections reduce the time to transfer large amounts of data. 3DFTP supports automatic resuming of uploads and downloads, and includes features like scheduling the transfer of files, a drag-and-drop interface, and firewall support. It also has a fully customizable interface, and free skins are available for download. 3DFTP includes a SDK and API which can be used to create plug-ins and to interface with VB, VC++, etc. Users may download version 4.0 for free at the site. [MA]
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Macedonia Fighting Threatens Balkan Peace
"Macedonia fighting intensifies" -- BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1224000/1224974.stm
"Refugees flee Macedonia clashes" -- CNN [RealPlayer, QuickTime, Window Media Player]
http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/03/16/macedonia.attacks/index.html
Crisis in The Balkans -- Guardian
http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Kosovo/
Macedonian Information Agency
http://www.mia.com.mk/webang.asp
Government of the Republic of Macedonia
http://www.gov.mk/English/index.htm
B92 [RealPlayer]
http://www.b92.net/
MAKFAX News Agency
http://www.makedonija.com/
BETA News Agency
http://www.beta.co.yu/indexeng.asp
Tiker News Agency
http://www.tiker.co.yu/index1.htm
United Nations Kosovo Page
http://www.un.org/peace/kosovo/pages/kosovo1.htm
KFOR Online
http://www.kforonline.com/
Macedonian troops fought ethnic Albanian rebels on the edges of the country's second-largest city, Tetovo, for the third day in a row today, while flare-ups were reported in several other locations. The rebels, known as the National Liberation Army (UCK), began their insurgency about a month ago, claiming that they were fighting only for increased civil rights for Macedonia's Albanian population, who account for about one-quarter of Macedonia's two million people. The government has denounced the UCK as terrorists and separatists and on Thursday lifted restrictions which prevented the army from operating in populated areas. As a result, today's fighting involved heavy artillery, machine guns, and mortars for the first time. Eager to be considered in future European Union expansion plans, the Macedonian government has consistently downplayed the activities of the small group of rebels. With fighting so close to the nation's second-largest city, however, the government has been spurred to consider more decisive, and more public, action. Measures under consideration by a closed session of the Macedonian parliament reportedly include restructuring the budget to provide more money for security forces, curfews, and a general mobilization. Many analysts fear that either a widespread crackdown or allowing the rebels to continue unhindered may destabilize the region. It had been hoped that the recent decision by NATO to allow Yugoslav troops in the buffer region between Serbia and Kosovo would choke off the supply root to Albanian rebels in Macedonia, but it seems this has only pushed the rebels out of the border area and into Macedonia, intensifying the unrest there.
The BBC's report on the fighting offers a host of related features, including key stories, background, analysis, several in-depth features, archived stories, and related links. CNN's piece includes archived stories, in-depth features, and audio and video clips. The Guardian's special report contains numerous stories, an interactive guide, and background pieces. Breaking news on events in Macedonia can be found at the Macedonian Information Agency, the official news agency of the Republic of Macedonia. Additional official information can be found at the government's homepage. More news from the region is provided by radio B92 and the MAKFAX, BETA, and Tiker news agencies. Information on the activities of the UN and KFOR in Kosovo and the border region is available at their respective homepages. [MD]
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