The Scout Report - September 4, 1998

The Scout Report

September 4, 1998

A Publication of the Internet Scout Project
Computer Sciences Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Scout Report is a weekly publication offering a selection of new and newly discovered Internet resources of interest to researchers and educators. 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.

New From Internet Scout

• Scout Report for Science & Engineering

Research and Education

• Verdicts on the crime of genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda--UN [RealPlayer]
• CL--The Conformational Likeness Method: Finding 3-D Similarities in Protein Structures
• Alex Catalog of Electronic Texts [.pdf]
• State of the Environment, China 1997
• ArtLex: Dictionary of Visual Art
• Study Guides and strategies
• Scholarly Articles Research Alerting (SARA)
• International Dimensions of NSF Research and Education

General Interest

• Personality--Annenberg/CPB
• Banned Books Week--ALA
• AirNow
• MoMA Online Projects [RealAudio, RealVideo]
• Cancer Care, Inc. [Real Audio]
• College News Online

Network Tools

• Next Generation HTML: The Big Picture
• Winamp 1.92-SP1
• Technology Review

Where Are They Now

• Volume 2, Number 19, September 1, 1995

Scout Report for Science & Engineering
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/sci-engr/
Volume 1, Number 25 of the Scout Report for Science & Engineering is available. It annotates over twenty new and newly discovered Internet resources in the physical & life sciences and engineering. The In the News section annotates nine resources on the continuing search for life on Mars. [MD]
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Verdicts on the crime of genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda--UN [RealPlayer]
http://www.un.org/law/rwanda/
In an important moment in the history of international criminal law, on September 2, 1998, a United Nations tribunal handed down the first ever verdict by an international court on the crime of genocide. The Tribunal--the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), based in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania--was created by the UN Security Council in November 1994, "after one of the most intense periods of mass exterminations in human history." The Rwanda Tribunal has been the first judicial body to implement the Genocide Convention, adopted in the wake of the Holocaust and the Nuremberg trials. Users can view the summary of this historic judgement by following the link to the ICTR site or the mirror site. Other resources at the ICTR site include yearbooks, annual reports, and information on pending cases. The UN site also contains press releases, the text of the Genocide Convention, and RealPlayer audio selections from United Nations Radio. [MD]
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CL--The Conformational Likeness Method: Finding 3-D Similarities in Protein Structures
http://cl.sdsc.edu/
This remarkable new database, created by San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) researchers Ilya Shindyalov and Phil Bourne, allows scientists to compare the structure of over 7,900 publicly available protein structures to each other. It has only been recently that researchers in this field have identified enough protein structures to make comparisons and draw useful conclusions about the structure and organization of living systems. Creating a database that compared the approximately 8,000 proteins against 8,000 others was a daunting task, and one which would have taken an estimated 1.7 years to complete on a standard computer. SDSC researchers were able to accomplish their task in just a few weeks using a CRAY supercomputer, and the database has already begun to yield new discoveries. Researchers can use the database in two different ways: they can "search the complete structure database for structural similarities to a known polypeptide chain or polypeptide chain fragment," or "perform a detailed comparison of one structure fragment against another." A Tutorial and an online Help file are provided. [MD]
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Alex Catalog of Electronic Texts [.pdf]
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/alex/
This catalog, maintained by Eric Lease Morgan, a systems librarian at North Carolina State University, specializes in American literature, English literature, and philosophy. Alex is particularly helpful because the search interface allows researchers to both look for documents and search the content of those documents. Users first search standard fields such as author, title, or publication date; then they can search the content of documents they select from their returns list. Though returns in content searches would be more convenient were they hyperlinked to the complete record for the text, such a search nonetheless has obvious utility for someone writing on, for example, flower imagery in Shakespearian sonnets or Emerson's vision of democracy. Another nice feature of the catalog is the ability to convert documents to .pdf files on-the-fly (with the font and spacing customizable). Alternately, users can download the whole collection of American or English literature or philosophy texts and the tools to search the texts. [TK]
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State of the Environment, China 1997
http://svr1-pek.unep.net/soechina/index.htm
The United Nations Environmental Programme/Global Resources Information Database (UNEP/GRID) in Arendal, Norway and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) both contributed to this report on China's environment. The site begins with an explanation of the forces driving environmental reform. These include rapid economic development, a quickly growing population, an increased demand for energy, and the alleviation of poverty. The remaining sections detail the current state of various environments or concerns, including urban areas, water, biodiversity, acid rain, the ozone layer, land resources, forest resources, and environmental management. Each of these sections is subdivided into pressures facing the highlighted resource, the state of the resource, and what is being done to correct or prevent future degradation. Background information as well as additional online resources are included for each environmental resource. [KH]
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ArtLex: Dictionary of Visual Art
http://www.artlex.com/
Michael Delahunt, an elementary school art teacher, began ArtLex in 1996 "to contribute to the Web's enrichment with an art site both rich with meaning and dense with links." Currently, ArtLex is a browseable collection of terms and definitions, often accompanied by images, graphics and links to museum sites. For example, the definition of papyrus is accompanied by an image of a fragment of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Clicking on its caption takes you to the Michael Carlos Museum at Emory University, where you can view more ancient Egyptian art if you wish. Artists' names are not included within ArtLex's terms and definitions, but art styles and movements are, so you can find Monet and at least three example of water lilies under "Impressionism." Elementary and high school students and teachers will find ArtLex particularly helpful. [DS]
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Study Guides and strategies
http://www.iss.stthomas.edu/studyguides/
This simple and practical guide, created by Joe Landsberger of the University of St. Thomas's Learning Center, offers straightforward study strategies to students. Students can select specific hints and strategies from six general categories (in English or six other language options): Study Preparation, Studying, Writing Skills, In the Classroom, Reading Skills, and Testing Skills. Landsberger lists his references in each selection; these include David B. Ellis's On Becoming a Master Student, Walter Pauk's How to Study in College, and Steven Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, among others. A list of links to study tools and guides from other universities completes the site. [JR]
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Scholarly Articles Research Alerting (SARA)
http://www.carfax.co.uk/SARA.htm
Carfax, a UK publisher specializing in academic journals, offers this free service to help academics stay current in their fields. Although the service is limited solely to journals published by Carfax, users have hundreds to choose from. Subscribers can select individual titles or subjects and receive tables of contents by email before the print version is released. Registration information is provided at the site. [MD]
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International Dimensions of NSF Research and Education
http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/int/pubs/97overview/start.htm
The National Science Foundation spends approximately $350 million annually on projects with a significant international character. This site offers the full text of the FY 1997 report on these projects as well sections on the following topics: US participation in global-scale projects and research networks, support for international facilities overseas and in the United States, US access to the research programs and facilities of other countries, international experience for new US scientists and engineers, and monitoring research and education developments in other countries. [MD]
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Personality--Annenberg/CPB
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/personality/
The newest learning exhibit from the Annenberg/CPB Project explores how we create and define our internal identities and external personas. The way in which we see others and they see us is fundamental to all social interaction and relationships, and the personas we project and interpret are naturally complex. To explore personality, this site offers sections on Reputation, Behavior, Thoughts and Feelings, the Unconscious, Genes and Society, and Human Nature. There are a number of hand-on activities, including a personality test and a section that allows users to create a story about a picture and analyze their interpretations. The site also features numerous links to other sites on psychology and personality. [MD]
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Banned Books Week--ALA
http://www.ala.org/bbooks/
Challenged and Banned Books
http://www.ala.org/bbooks/challeng.html
The American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom is gearing up for the 17th annual Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read, September 26-October 3, 1998. The event is sponsored by numerous organizations and is endorsed by the Library of Congress's Center for the Book. This annual event "draws attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society and allows an opportunity to celebrate our First Amendment freedoms by acknowledging how fragile they are." To coincide with the event, ALA publishes a Resource Guide each year for librarians and teachers which contains posters, bookmarks, and suggestions for activities and events to be used during Banned Books week or throughout the year (cost $20). A list of the ten most frequently challenged books of 1997 can be found at the second site, Challenged and Banned Books. (Challenged books are those books that people have attempted to censor or ban.) Also included are quotes and links to the full texts of the First Amendment, the Library Bill of Rights, the ALA Code of Ethics, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. [AG]
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AirNow
http://www.epa.gov/airnow/
As part of the Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking (EMPACT) initiative, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has created this site to keep the public informed about air pollution and its effect on health. Recently, the EPA added a map of the full domain of their pilot-scale program, 21 Eastern and Midwestern states, so that visitors can view ozone levels from Missouri to Maine. The site provides daily, regional ozone maps, health facts, real-time data by state, and ozone forecasts. Past ozone maps are available in Map Archives. Citizens who are interested in reducing air pollution will benefit from the EPA's tips. [KH]
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MoMA Online Projects [RealAudio, RealVideo]
http://www.moma.org/onlineprojects/index.html
The Museum of Modern Art presents this listing of online projects. Two featured sites are Stir-Fry and InterNyet, by Associate Curator of Film and Video, Barbara London. Like the musicologists of the 1930s, who set off to discover and record blues and folk music in the rural American south, London travelled to China in 1997 and Russia in 1998, sending back these "dispatches" on the local arts scenes. She embarked on these journeys equipped with a laptop computer, Hi-8 video camera, digital still camera, and cassette tape recorder. Stir-Fry and Internyet are online scrapbooks, chronicling her experiences via written journal entries, still photographs of artists and their work, and audio and video clips. Also included are a time capsule made for the tenth anniversary of World AIDS Day, Peter Halley's Exploding Cell, and Technology in the 1990s, an ongoing series of symposia that explore the promise and impact of new technologies on contemporary culture. [DS]
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Cancer Care, Inc. [Real Audio]
http://www.cancercare.org/
This site, by Cancer Care, Inc., contains easy-to-understand medical information about cancer for patients, survivors, and their families. In addition, it offers advice and resources for coping with the diagnosis and the side-effects of treatment. A Special Programs Section includes information on the causes, treatment, and prevention of cancer; suggestions for coping with and relieving cancer pain; and tips on how to advocate for health policy reform and better medical care. Visitors can listen to RealAudio educational programs through teleconference and participate in online or telephone support groups. The site has information on insurance, directories of support organizations, and links to other Websites and news media resources. Professionals visiting the site can find information on how to better assist and support cancer patients and their families. [GW]
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College News Online
http://www.collegenews.com/
College News Online is an international campus newswire and centralized information resource for college-bound students, current students, graduates, and others interested in higher education. The newswire indexes about 400 student-run and campus newspapers and maintains a news archive for the current year. The Campus Union section of College News Online provides information and links for financial aid, internships, employment, computer assistance, and a textbook exchange. The geographic Campus Index links users to college and university Websites throughout the US as well as to higher education institutions in over 110 different countries worldwide. Sociable visitors may share their burgeoning knowledge in the College Chat and Message Board sections. [AO]
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Next Generation HTML: The Big Picture
http://wdvl.com/Authoring/Languages/XML/Overview/
This recent addition to the Web Developer's Virtual Library is designed to help developers understand how new specifications fit into the Big Picture--the efforts of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). These new specifications, which the site's author Ken Sall denotes as Next Generation HTML, include "Cascading Style Sheets, HTML 4.0, the Document Object Model, Dynamic HTML, the XML family of specifications, and the many specifications based on XML, such as RDF, SMIL, and MathML." To help users get started, the site offers a color-coded imagemap (the Big Picture) with links to pages containing details of W3C specification documents, as well as an acronym expansion chart to sort out all the buzzwords. Other sections include: The W3C Process, Markup Languages, Scripting Efforts, StyleSheets, and XML Applications (Vocabularies). [MD]
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Winamp 1.92-SP1
http://www.winamp.com/
Winamp 1.92-SP1, created by Nullsoft, Inc., is a fast, easy-to-use, hi-fidelity music player for Windows 95/98/NT. The player supports numerous audio file formats, most notably MPEG Audio Layer 3 (MP3), which allows near CD-quality sound while compressing a four-minute song into approximately four megabytes. The player has an intuitive interface which includes an equalizer, multi-song programming, and other useful controls. MP3 is becoming widely used as a quality audio compression standard and Winamp is an excellent audio player for use with MP3 and other formats. Winamp is shareware for the Windows 95/98/NT platforms and may be used free of charge for fourteen days, after which time a $10 registration fee is required. [CL]
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Technology Review
http://www.techreview.com/
Technology Review, MIT's Magazine of Innovation, has been published for nearly 100 years by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This site provides selected feature articles and columns from the print version of the magazine dating back to October 1994. The magazine focuses on technology, innovation, and the convergence of technologies. Articles topics range from Biotechnology to Information Technology to Nanotechnology. Most articles include links to relevant Websites. [MR]
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Volume 2, Number 19, September 1, 1995
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/archive/.html
The Mount St. Helens Web page [QTVR, MPEG]
http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/msh/msh.html
Originally a collection of fact-filled image tours and volcano lessons, this site has taken advantage of technological advances in the intervening years by adding Quicktime and MPEG movies as well as a fun VR climb of the volcano. Another addition to the site is a section on other volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest and in space. [MD]
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Susan Calcari Michael de Nie Travis Koplow Aimee D. Glassel Todd Hanson Sheilah Harrington Kathryn Harris Christopher Lukas Andy Osmond Laura X. Payne Jeannine Ramsey Mike Roszkowski Debra Shapiro Geraldine Wanserski Megan Waters Amy Tracy Wells

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