The Scout Report

September 12, 1997

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

A Project of the InterNIC

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.

Twenty Online Journals--ACS
http://pubs.acs.org/
Press Release
http://www.chemcenter.org/b03.html
In conjunction with its annual meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, the American Chemical Society has revamped its publication pages and announced the free availability of 1996 and 1997 articles from twenty of its journals (until 1998). Journals available are listed in the press release. Articles are available in HTML or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) page images. Simply click on the Table of Contents of the selected journals to obtain the articles, or access them through an author index. [JS]
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Galileo Solid State Imaging Full Data Releases--JPL
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo/fulldata.html
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Jet Propulsion Laboratory provides "all images obtained by the Galileo Solid State Imaging (SSI) system during the spacecraft's first orbit (G1) of Jupiter... in calibrated and validated form" at this site. Those interested in beautiful astronomical pictures can view the over forty images of Jupiter and four of its moons. These images are accompanied by descriptive information and captions that are available in multiple sizes and formats through an interactive query. Calibrated and validated data ("via the Planetary Data System") are available for SSI REDR's and NIMS EDR's in tar.gz format. A simple search system will be available shortly. [JS]
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Learner Online Exhibits Collection--Annenberg/CPB Projects
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/
Learner Online [RealPlayer, VDOLive]
http://www.learner.org/
The relaunched Annenberg/CPB (Corporation for Public Broadcasting) Projects Learner Online site recently added a section of online exhibits, an extension of its educational multi-media collection. The first exhibit, The Middle Ages, portrays every day life in Medieval times and contains sections on religion, homes, clothing, health, arts, and town life. Each section provides a short essay and links to related sites, and may also offer an interactive quiz or activity. This is the first of what is to be a series of monthly exhibits aimed at K-12 students and other interested users. Learners of all ages can consult Learner Online for information on Annenberg/CPB projects and can also visit a video preview room (RealPlayer or VDOLive), and consult a guide to math and science reform, and SAMI (Science and Math Initiatives), a "clearinghouse of resources, funding, and curriculum for... math and science teachers." [JS]
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Nursing Education Online--Healthweb
http://www.lib.umich.edu/hw/nursing/education.html
Healthweb Nursing Pages
http://www.lib.umich.edu/hw/nursing.html
Healthweb's (discussed in the January 24, 1997 Scout Report) Nursing section, maintained at the Taubman Medical Library at the University of Michigan, has recently added Nursing Education Online. This page connects to Nursing School pages in 46 states and nine foreign countries. It also has pointers to International and National Doctoral programs in nursing. The Nursing pages cover a variety of topics related to the field including career information, professional organizations, and clinical nursing. [JS]
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Vascular Plant Image Gallery--Texas A&M University
http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/gallery.htm
Texas A&M University's Bioinformatics Working Group offers this no-nonsense botany teaching resource. Vascular plants are arranged alphabetically by family from Acanthaceae to Zygophyllaceae and users simply click for the images. Brief descriptions are provided (which may indicate the popular name of the plant). The site is searchable. Familiarity with vascular plant taxonomic nomenclature is assumed. [JS]
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Two Literary Analysis Guides for First Year College Students
Critical Reading: A Guide
http://www.brocku.ca/english/jlye/criticalreading.html
The Problem of Meaning in Literature
http://www.brocku.ca/english/jlye/meaning.html
John Lye, a professor in the Departments of English and Communication Studies at Brock University (Canada), offers these two resources designed for beginning literature students. Critical Guide contains sections on poetry, fiction, prose in fiction, and writing analytical essays. The Problem of Meaning discusses the meaning of literature from the point of view of the author, the text, and the reader. Though not exhaustive, these guides form a useful framework to help beginning students think critically about the literature they are reading. [JS]
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SYSLIB-L--Systems Librarianship Mailing List
The SYSLIB-L list serves as a vehicle for the discussion of topics related to systems librarianship and for the collection of information related to systems librarianship. Postings may include, but are not limited to, job postings, technical questions, philosophical discussions, and education. [JS]

To subscribe send email to:
listserv@listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu
In the body of the message type:
SUB SYSLIB-L your name
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Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa: 1910-1997--Los Angeles Times [.wav, .pdf]
http://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/NATION/TERESA/
Mother Teresa: A Mission Ends--India Today
http://www.india-today.com/itoday/15091997/cover.html
The life and death of Mother Teresa is honored at the Los Angeles Times site. It includes pertinent stories, audio and Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) files of selected quotations, images, and a timeline (.pdf format only). There are also connections to selected Mother Teresa web sites. The site is tastefully executed, and manages to be reverential while trying to remain secular. For a slightly different view, one from the vastly Hindu country where this Catholic nun conducted her life's work, the September 19, 1997 issue of India Today (discussed in the August 29, 1997 issue of the Scout Report) dedicates two cover stories to Mother Teresa, including a guest column entitled "Touch the Poor," by her official biographer, Navin Chawla. [JS]
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History from PBS and LOC
PBS History
http://www.pbs.org/neighborhoods/history/
Words and Deeds in American History--LOC
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/mcchtml/corhome.html
PBS has opened a new "neighborhood" for history, to go along with its six other subject and news based areas. PBS History is basically a re-organization of PBS web content related to broadcast series like Frontline, The American Experience, NOVA, and POV. There are also sections devoted to independent series such as The West, (discussed in the September 20, 1996 Scout Report), Thomas Jefferson, and The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century, among others. PBS History is divided into geographical, biographical, and teaching aids sections. It has recently added a section on the forthcoming Presidents series, and also plans sections on Ken Burns' forthcoming Lewis and Clark documentary and an American Revolution documentary. Words and Deeds "celebrat[es] the Library of Congress Manuscript Division's first 100 years" by providing 92 manuscript documents in ten subject areas at this time, from the 15th century to 1965. Included are Washington's First Inaugural Address, Morse's sketch of a telegraph, the Compromise of 1850 speeches of Calhoun and Webster, Bell's sketch of a telephone, and Frost's "Dedication," at the Kennedy Inaugural. Images are available in two sizes and excellent though brief background text is included with each manuscript. [JS]
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Mars Global Surveyor Update--Orbit Insertion Events [QuickTime]
http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/
MarsWeb
http://marsweb.jpl.nasa.gov/
The Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft (discussed in the November 8, 1996 Scout Report) reached Mars orbit on September 11, 1997 in preparation for mapping the planet that on March, 1998. This site is highlighted by real time updates, flight status reports, telemetry information, and an annotated QuickTime movie, as well as several images of Mars taken from MGS (the last four can be found under Hot News. After orbit insertion, a period of "aerobraking," "lower[ing] the orbit without using Surveyor's rocket engine," is scheduled to occur until mid-January, 1998, in preparation for mapping. NASA has reorganized its Surveyor and Pathfinder pages under one page called MarsWeb, where over fifty mirror sites around the world can be found. [JS]
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United States Government Manual, 1997/1998 GPO
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aaces002.html
Select Government Manual and Search Tips
NARA
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/nara001.html
Hints for Searching
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/desc016.html
The National Archives and Records Administration and the US Government Printing Office have announced the latest version of this comprehensive government information resource. The Manual contains information on the branches of government and on other government organizations. It is an excellent source for organization contact information. Retrieval is available in ASCII text or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. Summary information about organizations is returned separately with each query. Because there is no browse interface, users should consult the help page at the GPO site, or read the small help section at the NARA site (particularly the help that enables users to retrieve the table of contents of the book). [JS]
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1997 Emmy Awards
NetGuide EmmyGuide
http://www.netguide.com/special/emmy.html
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences [NetShow]
http://www.emmys.org/
On September 14, 1997, the American television industry will engage in its 49th annual primetime Emmy Awards celebration, and these two sites are excellent places to start (for those who won't be glued to the TV). NetGuide's EmmyGuide acts as a combination information and meta-page for the awards, and features full nominee lists, with connections to show and network sites, and with pointers to five other Emmy sites. One of these sites, the official Academy of Television Arts and Sciences site (discussed in the August 4, 1995 Scout Report) includes an exhaustive section on the rules of the awards, an archive of last year's winners, a live EmmyCast (Microsoft NetShow) and a photo archive. Unfortunately, a list of this year's nominees is lacking at this time. [JS]
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DIGICAM--Digital Cameras Mailing List
DIGICAM is a forum for general discussion concerning the purchase and use of digital cameras. The list caters to both professional and amateur photographers using any digital camera from the common QuickCam to more expensive, professional cameras. Appropriate topics include hardware, images, software, color, printing, and advocacy (the future of film). [JS]

To subscribe send email to:
majordomo@leben.com
In the body of the message type:
subscribe digicam
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Infoseek Distributed Search Patent
http://software.infoseek.com/patents/dist_search/index.htm
Infoseek received a patent (5,659,732--"Document Retrieval over networks wherein ranking and relevance scores are computed at the client for multiple database documents") on August 19, 1997. At the heart of the invention is a technology designed to increase the accuracy of relevance rankings of retrieved items. The site contains a press release, background information, the text of the patent, pointers to three articles about it, and a graphic that illustrates the difference between present searching methodologies and the Infoseek invention. [JS]
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Testing the Surf: Criteria for Evaluating Internet Information
Resources--PACS Review
http://info.lib.uh.edu/pr/v8/n3/cont8n3.html
Evaluation of Information Resources Virtual Library
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/~agsmith/evaln/evaln.htm
Public Access Computer Systems Review
http://info.lib.uh.edu/pacsrev.html
Featured in the current issue of the Public-Access Computing Systems Review, this refereed article, by Alistair G. Smith of the School of Communications and Information Management, Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand, reviews available Internet resource evaluation criteria in print and on the Internet. It also presents a "toolbox" of quality evaluation criteria. As Internet information proliferates, information quality evaluation becomes more important. This article, presented in both HTML and ASCII text, is an excellent portal to the subject. Smith is also maintainer of a virtual library on the topic. PACS Review is "an electronic journal about end-user computer systems in libraries." [JS]
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Serving Up Web-Friendly Animations: In a Flash - A tutorial from Webreference.com
http://www.webreference.com/dev/flash/
Interested in using Macromedia Flash, but need a little help in doing so? Check out Webreference.com's (discussed in the April 19, 1996 Scout Report) quick step-by-step tutorial by Amy Cowen for Flash beginners. This program (discussed in the April 11, 1997 Scout Report) allows for the creation of streaming, interactive, frame by frame animations with sound. The tutorial uses the example of a banner ad. Through this, users are taught how to add frames, layers, and text, and how to export and view their movies. For those who do not favor browser plug-ins, a Flash movie can be exported in various formats enabling the movie to be viewed in a browser with or without the Shockwave Plug-in. See the tutorial for these and other tips. [TB]
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Volume 1, Number 20: The Scout Report for September 9, 1994
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/archive/9-9-94.html
Buddhist Studies Virtual Library, and Others
http://www.ciolek.com/WWWVL-Buddhism.html
WWW.CIOLEK.COM
http://www.ciolek.com/
Coombsweb--Australian National University
http://coombs.anu.edu.au/
National Science Foundation
http://www.nsf.gov/
NSF Custom News Service
http://www.nsf.gov/home/cns/start.htm
The Buddhist Studies Virtual Library is one of the many creations of T. Matthew Ciolek of the Australian National University. It presently contains some 320 annotated resources in ten topical areas, including Buddhist texts, Buddhist studies databases, organizations, and Buddhist electronic newsletters and journals, among others. Ciolek, currently head of the Internet Publications Bureau of the Research School of Asian and Pacific Studies at the Australian National University, also oversees six other virtual libraries, including Asian studies, Tibetan studies, Australian Aboriginal studies, and information quality. Recently these virtual libraries have moved from the Coombsweb ANU Social Sciences Server to Ciolek's server. Coombsweb still, however, maintains four Asian related virtual libraries of its own. When the National Science Foundation's site was first annotated, it was mostly a grant information resource, with a link to a publications database. While that is still its main purpose, the site has seen tremendous growth, and now contains ten major subject based areas, as well as directory information and statistics. Its Custom News Service is one of the most exhaustive e-mail push current awareness services available, allowing not only complete customization of information received, but also creating a customized user web page for its participants. [JS]
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Copyright Susan Calcari, 1994-1997. 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 InterNIC provides information about the Internet to the US research and education community under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation: NCR-9218742. 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, the National Science Foundation, AT&T, or Network Solutions, Inc.

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

Susan Calcari
Jack Solock
Jeannine Ramsey
Teri Boomsma
Michael de Nie
David Flaspohler
Aimee D. Glassel
Kathryn Harris
Matthew Livesey
Thiam Hee Ng
Amy Tracy Wells
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The Scout Report - September 12, 1997

The Scout Report

September 12, 1997

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