The Scout Report

December 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.

Scout Report for Science and Engineering, October-November 1997 Scout Report Bimonthly Compilations
Scout Report for Science & Engineering
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/sci-engr/
Scout Report Bimonthly Compilations--October-November 1997
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/bimonth/
The seventh issue of the Scout Report for Science & Engineering is available. It annotates over twenty new and newly discovered Internet resources in the physical and life sciences and engineering. The In the News Section annotates ten resources concerning the recent US Food and Drug Administration approval of irradiation of red meat and the irradiation process in general. The Scout Report Bimonthly Compilation for October-November 1997 is also available. Individual compilations, arranged by subject, have been split into separate files for ease of use. Each complete compilation is also available. [JS]
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Catalog of Infrared Observations 4.0 Update--NASA GSFC
http://ircatalog.gsfc.nasa.gov/
The Fourth Edition of this National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center Publication (RP-1294) is available. The updated CIO "is a database of over 325,000 published infrared observations of more than 55,000 individual astronomical sources over the wavelength range from 1 to 1000 microns." The catalog is available in both compressed and uncompressed formats, and file formats are explained at the site. [JS]
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Stanford Technology Law Review [frames]
http://stlr.stanford.edu/STLR/Core_Page/index.htm
This site, sponsored by the Stanford University Law School, among others, "publishes articles, book reviews, and working papers within the intersection of law, policy, and science/technology." At present one article and three working papers are available. They cover topics such as the Reno v. ACLU decision, who the makers of law in cyberspace should be, how cyberlaw might be different from other law, and changes in evidentiary privileges as a result of the advances in telecommunications. Authors range from litigation counsels at MCI to Eugene Volokh and Lawrence Lessig, University of California-Los Angeles and Harvard University Law professors respectively. The site also contains a virtual symposium on "cloning sheep, cloning people." Note that papers and articles are available in multiple formats. [JS]
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Two on Amistad
The Amistad Case--NARA
http://www.nara.gov/education/teaching/amistad/home.html
Exploring Amistad: Race and the Boundaries of Freedom in Antebellum Maritime America
http://amistad.mysticseaport.org/main/welcome.html
These two sites investigate an old subject that has been infused with new interest by the release of a major Hollywood movie. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), in its Digital Classroom (discussed in the November 18, 1997 issue of the Scout Report for Social Sciences), offers a glimpse of its rich holdings at this site concerning the Amistad case, a Supreme Court case in 1839 that involved a group of illegally-captured Africans who had seized their captors' ship and killed the captain. Original hand-written documents from this case, defended by John Quincy Adams, have been digitized and can be viewed. Each section provides a well-written summary clarifying the historical context of the story. Related teaching activities, designed to correlate to national standards for history, civics and government are provided. Note that how long this site will be available is unknown. Exploring Amistad, provided by Mystic Seaport: The Musuem of America and the Sea in Mystic, Connecticut, through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, is very much a work in progress at this time, but shows much promise. The most complete pages at this time are the story pages in the discovery section, which contain a detailed narrative of the story, along with several primary documents. Many primary documents, as well as lesson plans and a timeline are forthcoming. [JS,JR]
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Inter-Parliamentary Union
http://www.ipu.org/
The Inter-Parliamentary Union, a "world organization of parliaments of sovereign States" since 1889, provides this informational site, which is highlighted by two searchable databases, PARLINE and PARLIT. PARLINE contains information about parliaments in over 190 countries, including structure, leader, percentage of women, term, and other useful data which may include distribution by political group and sex, candidacy eligiblilty requirements, and background to the last election. A comparative search function allows qualitative and quantitative search variables and returns country parliaments that meet specifications. PARLIT contains bibliographic references to a subset of IPU's 37,000 item database. Items from 1992-present are currently available. Searches can be performed on seven variables, including country, parliamentary organization, periodical, and language. The IPU site also contains links to parliamentary web sites and other information about the organization. [JS]
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Internet Directory for Botany
Subject Category List
http://www.helsinki.fi/kmus/botmenu.html
Home Page
http://www.botany.net/IDB/
A true international effort, this extensive directory of over 3,700 briefly annotated botany-related Internet resources is coordinated by individuals in the US, Canada, and Finland. The Subject Category list is maintained by Raino Lampinen of the Botanical Museum of the Finnish Museum of Natural History. Sites included in the directory have been categorized into at least one of 18 areas, including arboreta, botanical societies, taxonomic databases, images, ethnobotany, paleobotany, and more. The What's New section is updated every two or three weeks and includes both new and newly-discovered resources as well as notes on URL changes to previously listed sites. Users can register for a URL minder service for the Subject Category List to automatically receive email messages whenever updates are made. From the IBD home page users can browse lists of resources arranged alphabetically. Multiple mirror sites are available. [AG]
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FRED Enhancement--Federal Reserve Economic Data--FRBSTL [.zip, .exe]
http://www.stls.frb.org/fred/
FRED Data Electronic Mailing Lists
http://www.stls.frb.org/fred/maillist/
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis provides this clearinghouse of financial and economic data. Central to this site are the data files, a compendium of hundreds of daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly time series on financial, monetary, interest rate, producer and consumer price, employment, population, and exchange rate data, among others. Some files are in .zip or compressed format. The site also offers FRBSTL growth rate macros (Excel and Lotus formats) and a selection of the Bank's online publications. Recently, FRED began making selected databases available for delivery via email. At present, over 100 files are available in this manner. [JS]
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Two From HUD [.pdf]
http://www.huduser.org/periodicals/
Citiscape: A Journal of Policy Development and Research
http://www.huduser.org/periodicals/cityscpe/
U. S. Housing Market Conditions
http://www.huduser.org/periodicals/ushmc.html
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development offers the full text of two of its periodical publications. Cityscape: A Journal of Policy Development and Research, published three times per year, is an in depth publication that summarizes research on housing issues. Past issues are available in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format and early issues are single compressed (.exe) .pdfs. Recent issues have featured such topics as ethnographic studies of homeownership, and community and housing development policy within the context of environmental protection issues. US Housing Market Conditions is a quarterly publication that contains national and regional housing information, as well as historical data tables. Issues from the 1st two quarters of 1997 are available in HTML format, while previous issues are available in text and .pdf formats. Older tables are available in .pdf format only. [JS]
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Celebrating December Around the World--Education World
http://www.education-world.com/a_special/december.shtml
Education World
http://www.education-world.com
Still looking for a single site for your December holiday curriculum materials? A special theme issue of Education World offers educators and parents articles and activities for the classroom and at home for Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa. Suggestions for materials to read aloud and art projects to create are listed in the Hanukkah section. Resources about Christmas celebrations from around the world, including links to games and activities, are included in the Christmas section. African American culture can be explored through the celebration of Kwanzaa's seven days, seven principles, and seven symbols. This special issue takes a look at multiculturalism and summarizes the findings of a study on students' responses to multiculturalism in their schools. Education World contains a searchable database of education resources on the Internet; the home site provides links to lesson plans by subject, information on education and schools in the news and on the net, articles on curriculum development and reviews of the latest books in education. Education World is sponsored by American Fidelity Educational Services. [AG]
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TWA Flight 800 Public Hearing--NTSB [.pdf, Quicktime]
http://www.ntsb.gov/Events/twa800/
The US National Transportation Safety Board is holding a public hearing on the July 1996 crash of Trans World Airlines Flight 800 "to record evidence presented by persons involved in the accident and by parties to the investigation" December 8-13, 1997. This site profiles the key players in the investigation and provides information about the hearing itself. It is highighted by 40 exhibit items (all available in Adobe Acrobat [.pdf] format only) covering various aspects of the investigation, and an image gallery of seventeen items, including Quicktime animations of the break-up, center fuel tank, and a 1/4 scale fuel tank explosion. This site seeks to clearly present the NTSB's evidence and information on the crash. [JS]
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MUVA (Virtual Museum of Arts)--El Pais [Java, Javascript]
http://www.diarioelpais.com/muva2/
Henry the Navigator's emblem "navigating is more important than living" bears eloquent witness to this site. This "museum" is bold in both the art that it features and in the design of the site where it resides. Provided by the Uruguayan newspaper El Pais, it highlights the art of Pedro Figari (1861-1938), Luis Solari (1918-1993), and Javier Bassi (1964- ) at this time. Users can take a virtual tour through the museum, either via the stairs, an elevator, individual floor plans of its three floors, or by clicking on the artist's name. Users may also walk around rooms by use of directional controls, and view any of the artworks, along with information about them and about the artist. The first mouse click opens a separate browser window, and it is in this window that the entire exhibit is viewed. Perhaps the easiest way to navigate the exhibit is via the collection button, although clicking on the Museum logo will return the user to the ground floor at any time. Note that the site is browser intensive, that users should consult the help file before beginning to browse, and that the site is available in both English and Spanish. [JS]
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US Consumer Gateway
http://www.consumer.gov/
This site, provided by six US Government agencies ranging from the Federal Trade Commission to the Securities and Exchange Commission to the Food and Drug Administration, is aimed at providing one-stop shopping for consumer information. It points to relevant consumer-oriented government information in the fields of food, health, home, transportation, children, buying smart, product safety, money, and education. This information is mostly in the form of articles and publications at this time. Each section also contains articles of special interest, and the main page connects to the General Services Administration's Consumer's Resource Handbook. Although the site is still in development, it promises to be a powerful centralized locator for government consumer information. [JS]
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Two on Tigers
The Tiger Information Center [WAVE]
http://www.5tigers.org/
Eyes on the Tiger--National Geographic
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/education/geoguide/tigers/
In the past 70 years, Bali, Caspian, and Javan tigers have become extinct while the five remaining tiger subspecies face tremendous threats from habitat loss, hunting, and human population growth. These two sites contain relevant tiger conservation information. The Tiger Information Center, sponsored by the National Fish and Wildlife Service and the Exxon Corporation, is dedicated to providing information on tiger biology, population status, and conservation. Users will find maps of current tiger subspecies distribution, tiger natural history facts, population estimates, and a section debunking common misconceptions about tigers. The Tiger Handbook contains interactive quizzes and a role-playing exercise in which users become the tiger expert and have to deal with a tiger that has escaped from an airport in New Mexico. A multimedia gallery contains numerous images and recordings of tiger vocalizations. The level of information ranges from basic to sophisticated. The National Geographic site parallels an article in the Dec. 1997 issue, and contains information on tiger natural history, related resources, classroom activities, and an online forum to discuss tiger conservation issues. [DF]
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Cyber Exhibit: Enola Gay and the Atomic Bomb
http://www.nhk.or.jp/nuclear/e/text/sumiso.htm
This site is based on the script from the Smithsonian Institution exhibit, "The Last Act: The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II," which was scheduled to open in the Spring of 1995. The exhibition was ultimately canceled. After getting SI's permission, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) has provided excerpts from the script. Users can view the proposed layout of the exhibit hall and then tour the online versions of its six units. Each unit contains a narrative, several thumbnail photos, original quotes, and a timeline. Users can also register to participate in an international discussion forum on the pros and cons of dropping the atomic bomb. [MD]
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Parent Soup
http://www.parentsoup.com/
Parent Soup is an online community for parents. It dubs itself the "neighborhood's favorite kitchen table" where parents can exchange views in discussion groups or talk with one another in the chat room. The concept of a virtual community can be seen in the Parents' Pick area where parents share their opinions on books, baby products, toys, computers, web sites and movies. Parent Soup members can find other Parent Soupers who share their interests, hobbies and concerns through personal profiles posted on "cyberfridges." The site also features a parenting library with information in sixteen major topics and a Baby Name Finder with information on more than 5,000 names. [THN]
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College Football Bowl Games
Bowl Game Matchups--The Sporting News
http://www.sportingnews.com/cfootball/bowlgames/
Bowl Stats Matchups--CNNSI
http://www.cnnsi.com/football/college/stats/1997/matchups/
College Bowls--ESPN Sportszone
http://espn.go.com/ncf/bowls9798/index.html
In the old days of American college football, four bowl games took place on New Year's Day, climaxed by the grandaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl. There were other bowl games, to be sure, but they were small potatoes. Now things are much more complicated, with 20 major college bowl games. These three sites can help the avid college football fan get ready for the big days, which commence on December 20, 1997 with the Las Vegas Bowl and end with the Orange Bowl January 2, 1998. The Sporting News bowl site features team reports, background information, and selected box scores and recaps of this season's games. The CNNSI site contains statistical matchups in six categories, and also allows the user to compare any of the bowl teams to any other. ESPN's bowl coverage contains thumbnail analyses of each game along with brief background articles, individual statistics, rosters, and past scores of both the bowl games and any matchups between the teams. [JS]
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Virus Information Database--Symantec
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/vinfodb.html
Symantec Corporation's AntiVirus Research Center has recently released a virus information database that includes over 10,000 computer viruses. The searchable and browseable database can include information about aliases for each virus, infection length, area of infection, likelihood of infection, region reported, characteristics, target platform and target date, in addition to a brief description of how the virus works. The site also provides a basic tutorial on viruses. Symantec, under the Norton name, produces several anti-virus products. [JS]
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AltaVista Translation Service
http://www.altavista.com/
Press Release
http://www.altavista.com/av/content/pr120997.htm
Direct Translation Page
http://babelfish.altavista.digital.com/
The well-known AltaVista search service has teamed with SYSTRAN Software, Inc. (discussed in the January 24, 1997 Scout report) to offer this beta release web page translation service in the language pairs of English-Spanish, English-French, English-German, English-Portugese, and English-Italian. Users can search and then simply hit the translate button, at which time the language options are given. Users may also use the direct translation page; at present this method is more effective when page content is cut and pasted directly than when an URL is specified. Translations, as might be expected, tend to be fairly wooden; nevertheless, a new era in web searching is upon us. [JS]
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Macromedia Internet and Multimedia Newsletter
http://www.macromedia.com
Macromedia has recently released their first Macromedia Internet and Multimedia Newsletter (December, 1997). The newsletter is an informational resource for those interested in using Macromedia products such as Director, Dreamweaver, Flash, and Shockwave. Detailed information about these products can be found at the site. [TB]

To subscribe send email to:
newsflash@macromedia.com
In the body of the message type:
subscribe imat-newsflash
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Volume 1, Number 33: The Scout Report for December 9, 1994
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/archive/12-09-94.html
Internet Resources Newsletter
http://www.hw.ac.uk/libWWW/irn/irn.html
City.net
http://www.excite.com/travel/
The Internet Resources Newsletter, a product of the Heriot-Watt University (UK) Internet Resource Centre, was and is one of the premier Internet academic current awareness sources available. Each month it provides brief annotations for 70-80 relevant sites, as well as new mailing lists (usually based in the UK) and the Internet in Print, a section on new books about the Net. It is particularly strong with respect to science and highlights many sites from Europe and the UK. Internet Resources Newsletter is edited by Roderick A MacLeod, senior faculty librarian at Heriot-Watt. City.net, now a part of the Excite family of services, contains worldwide information and links useful to travelers. It recently added sections on travel interests ranging from business travel to sports and outdoors, as well as travel news in ten topics. [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
Christopher Lukas
Thiam Hee Ng
Mike Roszkowski
Amy Tracy Wells
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The Scout Report - December 12, 1997

The Scout Report

December 12, 1997

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