The Scout Report

January 2, 1998

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.

An Acrobat .pdf version of this report is available for printing and distributing locally. For information on Adobe Acrobat Reader, visit the Adobe site.

Duke University School of Law Journals
http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/
Duke University's School of Law now provides the full text of six of its journals at this website: Duke Law Journal,Law & Contemporary Problems,Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum,Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law,Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy, and Alaska Law Review. At present, only the most recent issue of each journal is available. All journals are searchable, and retrieval can also be achieved via volume, page, and year. [JS]
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"Synthesis of the elements in stars: forty years of progress"RMP APS [.pdf, Postscript]
http://rmp.aps.org/cgi/content/abstract/69/4/995
For a limited time visitors can read the American Physical Society's well-known scholarly journal Reviews of Modern Physics at this site without cost. The October 1997 (69:4) issue's lead article is titled "Synthesis of the elements in stars: forty years of progress," by Wallerstein, Eben, Parker, et. al. This 89 page article (available in Adobe Acrobat [.pdf] and postscript format) traces the history of research into stellar evolution pioneered by Burbidge, Burbidge, Fowler, and Hoyle 40 years ago. It summarizes the progress in research in "all of the aspects of low energy nuclear experiments and theory, stellar modeling over a wide range of mass and composition, and abundance studies of many hundreds of stars." The article and journal will remain free of charge until July 1, 1998. [JS]
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Silva Rhetoricae: The Forest of Rhetoric
http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/silva.htm
Dr. Gideon Burton of Brigham Young University's English Department has created this guide to "the terms of classical and renaissance rhetoric." The terms are arranged into two indexes: the terms listed under "trees" provide an overview of the "forest of rhetoric"; the terms listed under "flowers" are specific terms of rhetoric or figures of speech, from acaloutha to zeugma. Entries may include a sample rhetorical analysis, related figures, "Topics of Invention," and related links. The entire site is searchable; search results are displayed with four links: view term in context, find "more like this," "show linkage" lists the pages within the site that link to the specific entry, and go to link of term used. [AG]
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Consultant: A Diagnostic Support System for Veterinary Medicine
http://www.vet.cornell.edu/consultant/consult.asp
Provided by Dr. Maurice E. White, Professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University, this searchable only database provides "approximately 500 signs/symptoms, about 4,000 diagnoses, and over 10,000 literature references" to diseases in eight small and large animal groups. Users can search by diagnosis or sign key word. In the sign search, a list of possible matches are returned which can then be added to the search to narrow it. Diagnosis retrieval includes a description, the species it applies to, a list of signs, references to pertinent literature, and links to related web sites when available. This site is designed as a tool to aid trained veterinarians and should not be used as a stand-alone technique to obtain a diagnosis. [JS]
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The William Blake Archive--UVA
http://www.iath.virginia.edu/blake/
The goal of the William Blake electronic archive, provided by the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities (IATH) at the University of Virginia (discussed in the December 16, 1994 Scout Report) is to digitize nineteen illuminated books, along with paintings, drawings, and engravings of William Blake, totalling about 3,000 images. To date the archive contains three copies of The Book of Thel and two copies of Visions of the Daughters of Albion. The text and images for each of these books are fully searchable through the use of underlying SGML tagging. The images are annotated using text, sound, images, and/or hypertext links which appear in separate windows. There is also a selected bibliography of "criticism, reference materials, and standard editions, with about 500 entries." The archive is the work of editors Morris Eaves, Robert Essick, and Joseph Viscomi, and is sponsored by the Library of Congress with support from the Getty Grant Program. [AG]
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US Naval History Bibliography Series--NHC
http://www.history.navy.mil/nhc5.htm
Department of the Navy Naval Historical Center
http://www.history.navy.mil/
The US Department of the Navy Naval Historical Center provides six bibliographies at this time covering both general and specific aspects of US Naval history. Included are two general bibliographies, and several specific bibliographies on the Navy's role in World War II, Desert Shield/Storm, and the Korean War. Central to this collection is the seventh edition (1993) of United States Naval History: A Bibliography, which covers the Navy chronologically, by special subject, and includes pictorial histories. The bibliographies complete the NHC site, an informative resource that profiles the Center, its mission, and its services. [JS]
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The Knowledge Base: An Online Research Methods Textbook
http://trochim.human.cornell.edu/kb/kbhome.htm
William M. K. Trochim, Professor of Policy Analysis and Management at Cornell University, provides this site. It consists of three main parts and their subsections: Introduction to Research; Sampling, Measurement & Design; and Data Analysis. Topics covered include variables, hypotheses, research problem formulation, levels of measurement, reliability and validity, survey research and questionnaires, research design, statistical power, and various types of statistics and statistical analysis. [JS]
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Neuroscience for Kids
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html
Eric H. Chudler, Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Washington, provides this online neurology site aimed at K-12 students and teachers. The Explore the Nervous System section highlights this site, a 60 part tutorial on the brain, spinal cord, nervous system, neurons, sensory systems, neurosystems, neuroscience methods, and the effects of drugs on the nervous system. Marked by clear, concise language and colorful illustrations, these tutorials offer a set of activities in thirteen categories, including nervous system modeling, brain games, sleep and dreaming, and biological rhythms. A series of annotated pointers to other related Internet resources and a bibliography of both online and print sources round out this information-rich site. [JS]
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1995 Assisted Reproductive Technology Success Rates: National Summary and Fertility Clinic Reports--CDC
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/drh/arts/index.htm
The first national guide to information on the success rate of 281 fertility clinics around the country resides at this site. Issued by the US Centers for Disease Control, the full text of the report offers a clinic-by-clinic guide to summary statistics on the success of numerous methods of assisted reproductive technology (ART) including a variety of in vitro techniques. Based on 59,142 treatments that resulted in 11,315 live births in 1995, the report contains information on percentages of multiple births, information about the diagnoses of patients and age-specific success rates. This report is a response to a 1992 Congressional measure requiring the CDC to publish fertility clinic statistics for consumers. [DF]
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Asian Updates--Asia Society
http://www.asiasociety.org/publications/asianupdates.html
The Asia Society, a nonpofit educational institution charged with improving "communication between Americans and the peoples of Asia and the Pacific," provides these background papers on Asia and US-Asia relations. The four currently-available updates discuss such topics as Philippine economic and political reform, the 1997 Sino-American summit, the 1997 Korean elections, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Authors include David Shambaugh, Chaibong Hahm, and Robert A. Scalapino. Forthcoming Updates will cover South and Central Asia. [JS]
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African Lives--Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/africanlives/
The Washington Post presents this site, based on a series of occasional articles in that newspaper concerning everyday life in Africa. The eight articles available address topics such as the Sudanese Dinka tribe, child brides in the Ivory Coast, and funeral rites in Ghana. Each article may be accompanied by a photo gallery and a set of annotated links to more information about the country discussed. [JS]
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A Web of Online Dictionaries
http://www.bucknell.edu/~rbeard/diction.html
Robert Beard, Director of the Russian and Linguistics Programs at Bucknell University, maintains this dictionary meta-site, a site that contains pointers to dictionaries in over 130 languages, many of them bilingual (English and the language of the dictionary). Included are "artificial" languages such as Esperanto and three different fictional languages from the Star Trek TV show. All levity aside, this extremely useful site offers multilingual and specialized dictionaries, thesauri, vocabulary aids, and a recently-added list of online language identifiers. Most language sites covered are interactive web sites, but some are downloadable databases in various formats. [JS]
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Kratts' Creatures--PBS
http://www.pbs.org/kratts/
Chris and Martin Kratt, creators of the Public Broadcasting System's Kratts' Creatures television program, provide this companion web site. The site features information about a variety of animals from around the world. Creature of the Week clues lead the user to this week's new animal profile. Visitors can view videos of animal adventures and explorations into the animal world on Kratt TV (requires VivoActive or VDOlive plug-ins), and participate in self-created interactive adventures. The interesting and educational animal facts provided at this site can captivate both children and adults. [KH]
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Ghost Sites
http://www.disobey.com/ghostsites/
There is much on the Net that is living and vibrant, but there is also much that is dead, stuffed, or embalmed, as Steve Baldwin, former Pathfinder (discussed in the November 14, 1997 ScoutReport) writer likes to say. At this site Baldwin tracks notable embalmed, dead, or dying web sites. Each issue of Ghost Sites reviews five to ten such sites. Sites discussed include the latest Pathfinder out-of-date update on the Unibomber, the stillborn MecklerWeb, and Electric Minds (discussed in the November 22, 1996 Scout Report), abandoned by Howard Rheingold. Sites are rated from Dying in I.C.U. to Site is Stuffed, Embalmed and Ready for Internet Museum. Ironically, several of the sites discussed have been resurrected or metamorphosed since they were discussed, proving, if nothing else, that anything is possible in cyberspace. Note that clicking on discussed sites opens a new browser window. [JS]
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Eligible-Skatefan-L--Discussion of Olympic Eligible Figure Skating Mailing List
Archives of discussion:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/eligible-skatefan-l.html
The Eligible Skatefan List is an open, unmoderated discussion list featuring olympic eligible figure skating and skaters. Likely discussion topics include competitions, shows, skater information, and skater's competition statistics. Archives of the discussion can be found at the above-listed URL. [JS]

To subscribe send email to:
LISTSERV@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM
In the body of the message type:
SUB Eligible-Skatefan-L yourfirstname
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ZDNet Virtual Labs
http://www.zdnet.com/vlabs/index.html
This Ziff-Davis site allows users to test various network and computer products and components either directly on-line, or after downloading software. There are presently sections for testing Internet people finders (phone number and email finding services), video playback, and individual monitors and printers. In addition, a fairly detailed section provides information on testing a browser's compliance with HTML 3.2 specifications, and on testing an individual's own Java Virtual Machine. [JS]
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Bibliography on Evaluating Internet Resources
http://www.lib.vt.edu/research/libinst/evalbiblio.html
Nicole Auer, the Library Instruction Coordinator at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, has compiled a list of both Internet and print based resources that address the topic of evaluating Internet information for quality. Although not comprehensive, this list is a good starting point for those interested in the topic. Authors include Jane Alexander, T. Matthew Ciolek, Esther Grassian, James Rettig, Alastair Smith, and Marsha Tate. Visitors can also consult the short list of pertinent mailing lists. [JS]
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iView--Multimedia Assessment and Management Tool
http://www.iview-multimedia.com/
iView is a Macintosh application that extracts and organizes multimedia files into an easily viewable format. Simply drag and drop a folder onto the iView icon, and it works its magic. Examples of multimedia files currently supported include: JPEG, GIF, TIFF, Single-layer Photoshop, Silicon Graphics, PICT files, QuickTime movies, QuickTimeVR, and Gif animation clips. Files are viewable by name, thumbnail, or image (i.e., one file at a time). Images can be cataloged, opened, printed, copied, dragged and dropped, and so on. Each list of files, also called a catalog, can hold up to 8,000 files. There is no limit to the number of catalogs. This shareware, provided by Script Software International, can be downloaded and/or purchased at the above URL. [TB]
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Scout Reports were not published from December 23, 1994 through January 7, 1995. Where Are They Now will resume with the January 16, 1998 Scout Report, covering the January 13, 1995 issue. [JS]

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Copyright Susan Calcari, 1994-1998. 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 - January 2, 1998

The Scout Report

January 2, 1998

Research and Education

General Interest

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