NSDL Scout Reports for the Life Sciences and Physical Sciences
The fourteenth issues of the first volumes of the Life Sciences Report and Physical Sciences Report are available. The Topic in Depth section of Life Sciences Report annotates sites about salmon. The Physical Sciences Report's Topic in Depth section offers Web sites and comments about diamonds.
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A New Era: Revitalizing Special Education for Children and their Families [MS Word, .pdf]
http://www.ed.gov/inits/commissionsboards/whspecialeducation/reports.html
Submitted to the White House on July 1, 2002, this report, produced by the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education, highlights issues relating to federal, state, and local special education programs. Since October of 2001, the Commission has held 13 open hearings and meetings across the country, and have heard thoughts, concerns, and suggestions of more than 100 witnesses including special education experts and researchers, disability students and their parents, teachers, and administrators. With this information, the commission has assembled this report outlining findings and recommendations for enhancing the educational performance of children with disabilities. Accessible in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format, this report is, according to the Commission, "ultimately a message of hope" and "an invitation to a new era in education." [MG]
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Colloquium Research Papers [.pdf]
http://www.slnsw.gov.au/2010/papers.htm
The State Library of New South Wales (SLNSW) hosted "Colloquium, Research Library Futures: Strategies for Action", a two-day conference that brought together "key Australian and international players from the research and academic communities." Held May 16-17, conference participants explored questions pertaining to the roles and challenges of research libraries. SLNSW is now offering Internet access to a few of the papers presented at the Colloquium. Some of these scholarly papers include Confessions of a Library User by Professor Geoffrey Bolton, Research Libraries: Hatch, Match or be Dispatched by Dr Robin J. Batterham, and The Maintenance of Institutional Values by the Honourable J.J. Spigelman. Currently, all papers are accessible in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. [MG]
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Faith and Philanthropy: The Connection Between Charitable Behavior and Giving to Religion
http://www.independentsector.org/programs/research/faithphilanthropy.html
Recently released by the Independent Sector (IS) and the National Council of Churches (NCC), this report examines the relationship between religious and charitable giving. According to the report, over 85 percent of religious giving households support secular organizations. In addition, households that give to both religious and secular causes give more money and volunteer more than households that give to only one type of organization. An excerpt, the press release, and the foreword (written by Robert W. Edgar, General Secretary of the NCC) is available on the IS's Web site. Those interested in examining this report in its entirety can order an online copy. [MG]
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The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings [.pdf]
http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-210.pdf
While one has undoubtedly heard or seen such statistics before, they aren't always at hand when you need them. Released by the Public Information Office of the US Census Bureau, The Big Payoff is a readily absorbed reference item for anyone looking to quantify and/or justify academic achievement. Drawing on statistics taken from the 2000 census, the brief clearly demonstrates the direct correlation between educational achievement and earning potential. High school dropouts and graduates rest at the low end of an earnings continuum, with Bachelors and Masters degree holders figuring next with nearly twice the average lifetime earning potential. Interestingly, pursuit of a doctorate seems to pay off less than one might think, at least given the years of labor they require. Well beyond any other category, holders of advanced professional degrees (e.g., JD, MD and MBA) make out the best, topping out the list of bread winners. [WH]
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Ocean Biogeographic Information System
http://www.iobis.org/
Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) is "a user-friendly, web-based provider of global geo-referenced information on accurately identified marine species" developed by the international research program Census of Marine Life. OBIS can be used to integrate information from a host of stand-alone databases including biological, physical, and chemical oceanographic data on a selected species and geographic range of interest. A couple of the sections are still under construction, but this does not affect the ability to use the database. This Web site may provide an important source of accurate information for scientists researching a particular species or location. This site is also reviewed in the July 26, 2002 NSDL Life Sciences Report. [AL]
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Stanford Digital Forma Urbis Romae Project
http://formaurbis.stanford.edu/index.html
The Forma Urbis Romae, also known as the Severan Marble Plan, is a giant marble map of ancient Rome measuring 60 feet wide by 45 feet high, dating to the reign of Septimius Severus (circa 200 AD). Unfortunately, the map has been broken into 1,186 fragmented pieces, and not all of the pieces still exist. Presently, engineers from the Department of Computer Science and archaeologists from the Department of Classics at Stanford University, along with the Sovraintendenza of the City of Rome, are working diligently to piece the map back together. This site currently features a sample of 28 fragments from the map, with each entry containing digital color photographs and 3D models, a search box, a description of the fragment, an analysis of its significance, and a review of the scholarly literature. The full release of the database of all 1,186 known fragments is planned for 2003. [MG]
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Library of Congress Authorities
http://authorities.loc.gov/
A handy tool for librarians, Library of Congress (LC) Authorities is a new feature that allows users the opportunity to better access LC authority data via the Internet. Downloadable in MARC format, users can browse authority headings by subject, name, title, or name/ title indexes. In order to ensure optimum system performance for public users and staff, LC has limited external simultaneous access to the database between the hours of 10 AM and 2 PM (ET), Monday through Friday. However, they are working to improve their system in order to increase the number of simultaneous users. Currently, this service is being offered on a trial basis in order to assess its usefulness. [MG]
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Dox Thrash: Revealed
http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/exhibits/thrash/flash.html
The Philadelphia Museum of Art has created an online version of their exhibition entitled Dox Thrash: An African American Master Printmaker Rediscovered. Dox Thrash (1893-1965), a notable artist who rose to national prominence during the late 1930s, is mostly known for his carborundum prints, a process of using gritty carborundum crystals on copper plates to carve etchings. Consisting of various samples of Thrash's prints, drawings, and watercolors from the 1930s to the 1950s, this online exhibit portrays the depth of the artist's imagery with illustrations ranging from depictions of the rural south to images of the industrial north, from drawings of war and destruction to paintings of hope and freedom. Users will find that this site not only features artistic images, but also provides a brief history of the artist's life and background information, along with poetic quotes from prominent authors such as Jean Toomer, Langston Hughes, and Alain Locke. Also available for artist enthusiasts is information on drawing techniques including carborundum mezzotint, carborundum relief etching, aquatint, drypoint, etching, linocut, lithograph, mezzotint, and woodcut. [MG]
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ZoneZero: From Analog to Digital Photography
http://zonezero.com/default.html
An online resource promoting photography and the digital arts, Zonezero aims to serve as a gathering place for image artists and aficionados of all kinds. While several elements of Zonezero are highly commercialized, directly linking to enterprises marketing to photographers and other consumers of high-end electronics, most of the site could be valuable to anyone interested in learning more about photography, or in enjoying the work of amateur artists. Presenting numerous critical and artistic venues, Zonezero affords amateurs the opportunity to submit and post their work, and view that of others from around the world. Bilingual in English and Spanish, Zonezero has a very international sensibility, featuring the work of artists from Latin America, Europe, Israel, Russia, and the United States. Zonezero also presents online tools to help visitors determine their viewing equipment with easily deployed calibration tools. Last but not least, visitors are encouraged to register for more personal service and attention, though registration is not required. [WH]
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Two on Maps of Scotland
Charting the Nation: Maps of Scotland and Associated Archives, 1550-1740
http://www.chartingthenation.lib.ed.ac.uk/index.html
Maps of Scotland: National Library of Scotland
http://www.nls.uk/collections/maps/index.html
Charting the Nation (CN) includes single maps, maps in atlases, and other bound books, as well as manuscript and printed texts relating to the geography and mapping of Scotland from 1550 to 1740 and beyond. Currently, there are 2,208 images, and more will be added later this year. CN employs the Luna Insight Image Browser, which provides a handy workspace for zooming in, rotating maps, and comparing maps, although it's a little difficult to read the image metadata. CN's initial plan was to begin at 1590, but has been able to incorporate some items that pre-date Timothy Pont and his sixteenth century field maps, the earliest a manuscript map of the English/ Scottish border from 1522. Similarly, the National Library of Scotland consists of three main collections: Maps of Scotland, 1560-1928; Pont's Map's of Scotland, ca. 1583 - 1596; and Military Maps of Scotland. Maps of Scotland contains 800 early maps -- including maps of the whole country, county maps, town plans, and sea charts -- while the Pont's Map's of Scotland contains 77 manuscript maps made by Timothy Pont. On the search screen, pull-down menus facilitate finding maps by geographic location, names of surveyors, map makers and engravers, or by keyword. Once found, viewers can zoom into a map, but decompressing the larger images can be a little slow. Lastly, the database contains close to 400 military maps primarily from the 18th century, with over half detailing four major fortifications: Edinburgh Castle, Fort Augustus, Fort George at Ardersier, and Fort William. [DS]
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Lakota na Dakota Wowapi Oti Kin
http://puffin.creighton.edu/lakota/index.html
The Lakota na Dakota Wowapi Oti Kin is a one-stop information portal containing Internet resources on people of Lakota and Dakota descent (also known as Sioux or Siouan peoples). Created and maintained by Professor Martin Brokenleg of Augustana College and Dr. Raymond Bucko, S.J. of Creighton University, this site offers Web links in various categories including art and artists / music and musicians, bibliographic resources, demography, education, history, language resources, legal issues, maps, museums, and a host of other Lakota-related sites. For those interested in locating information in the field of Native American studies, specifically on the Sioux peoples, this site is an excellent place to begin your search. [MG]
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SunStorms
http://tlc.discovery.com/tlcpages/sunstorms/sunstorms_main.html
The latest offering from Discovery.com explorers the world of sun storms. This superb addition to the Discovery online lineup contains narrative, video, photographs, and more of what sun storms are, what they look like, the science behind their existence, the history of their effects, and the answer to the question "Do we Really Need to Worry?" Although not for the "modemly" challenged, the site exemplifies the current capabilities of online technology and information communication. This site is also reviewed in the July 26, 2002 NSDL Physical Science Report. [JAB]
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Chinese Dinosaurs
http://www.austmus.gov.au/chinese_dinosaurs/index.htm
What's "Jurassic Park" in Mandarin? That isn't easy to say, but if you're interested in Chinese dinosaurs, then you will love the new online (and real) exhibit hosted by the Australian Museum in Sydney. A vast land containing many of the world's best-preserved dinosaur specimens, China offers remnants of many species not commonly available in Western exhibits. With lots to explore, the site features a readily accessible list of dinosaurs, each arranged under its Chinese-derived species name. Not like anything most of us have ever heard, many of the specimens look and seem familiar, at least as members of the dinosaur family. While generally well-executed, particularly worthy of note is the site's presentation of China's celebrated feathered dinosaurs, Caudipteryx zoui and Protarchaeopteryx, two curious figures believed to represent part of the great reptilian leap from land to air. [WH]
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Finale 2003
http://www.codamusic.com/coda/whats_new.asp
Finale Notepad (last mentioned in the May 10, 2002 Scout Report) has recently launched its 2003 version. Offered by Coda Music Technology, this newly enhanced music notation device contains over 1700 graphic improvements including new document, program, and spacing options; reinventing scanning; time saving templates; new rhythm section generator; and much, much more. Although the 2002 version was offered for free downloading, the 2003 version comes with a hefty price (even for those wanting to upgrade from the 2002 or 2001 versions). However, for music students and educators seeking an innovative way to write and compose music, the tool may be worth the cost. [MG]
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Web Services Toolkit: Version 3.2
http://www.alphaWorks.ibm.com/tech/webservicestoolkit
IBM has recently updated its Web Services Toolkit for Dynamic e-business with new security features and functions for those interested in creating a Web services environment. The toolkit provides "an architectural blueprint (Web Services Architecture)," "sample programs," "utility services," and other tools useful in "developing and deploying Web services." This toolkit has been tested on Windows and Linux, and can be used with any operating system that supports Java 1.3 or above. [MG]
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Nine Pennsylvania Coal Miners Trapped Underground
CBS News: Race To Save Trapped Miners
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/07/25/national/main516261.shtml
CNN.com: Rescuers Drill through the Night to Reach Trapped Miners
http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/07/25/mine.accident/index.html
Reuters: Workers Try to Resume Rescue of Penn. Miners
http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=topnews&StoryID=1257113
Pennsylvania Mining Fatalities
http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/07/25/mine.pa.fatalities/index.html
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/
Pennsylvania Bureau of Deep Mine Safety
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/minres/dms/dms.htm
Approximately 10:30 Wednesday night, nine Pennsylvania coal miners got caught in a cave-in at the Que Creek mine in Somerset County (60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh) after they accidentally drilled into an adjacent mine and released millions of gallons of water into their own shaft. An estimated 50 to 60 million gallons of water as cold as 50 degrees Fahrenheit rushed into the mine from the abandoned shaft, trapping the men in a chamber 300-feet underground. Rescue crews, who are currently trying to locate a path through the mine's flooded entrance 1.5 miles away from the trapped men, said that they have been able to slow the water's rise by pumping water out of the mine through smaller bore holes. Furthermore, rescuers have said that the miners have been communicating with them through taps on a pipe casing; however, they have not heard any distinct taps since 11:30 Thursday morning (13 hours after the cave-in). State officials suggests that later signals from the miners may have been obscured by increasing rescue activity at the site.
For more information surrounding this story, users may access the first three news links listed above. The fourth link provides a list of 15 mining incidents that have occurred in the state of Pennsylvania since 1995, provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Finally, the last two links are home pages of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Deep Mine Safety, respectively. [MG]
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