The Scout Report

October 23, 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.

Scout Reports for Social Sciences and Business & Economics
Scout Report for Social Sciences
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/socsci/
Scout Report for Business & Economics
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/bus-econ/
The third issues of the second volumes of the Scout Reports for Social Sciences and Business & Economics are available. The In the News section of the Social Sciences Report annotates seven resources on the recent arrest in London of Chilean Senator and former dictator General Augusto Pinochet. The Business & Economics Report's In the News section annotates nine resources on the Federal reserve's recent decision to cut US interest rates. [MD]
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East Asia: The Road to Recovery--World Bank (6,317 KB) [.pdf]
http://www.worldbank.org/html/extpb/rdtorec2.htm
This new book by the World Bank Group examines factors contributing to East Asia's financial collapse and makes suggestions for economic recovery. Seven chapters spanning East Asian trade and competition and the sector at the heart of the crisis--the financial sector, may be downloaded individually. Figures displaying the evolution of interest rates in Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand (January 1996-July 1998) and a discussion of social effects are provided in the final chapter entitled "Priorities for a Sustainable Recovery." [MW]
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Virtual Autopsy [Frames]
http://www.le.ac.uk/pathology/teach/VA/
Designed with medical students in mind, Leicester (England) University's new Virtual Autopsy site takes the student on a virtual tour of seven autopsies. Several options allow for efficient navigation of the site: Cause of Death is a self-assessment quiz students may take after "performing" each autopsy; Return to History takes the user back to the beginning of each case; and Choose another Case lets the user move between the seven cases. Each case contains nearly a dozen detailed color images of certain key parts (including tissues) of the human anatomy--lung, body, heart, head--with hyperlinks to further information. By clicking on the dictionary icon, for instance, a student links to a pop-up page with detailed descriptions of that particular condition. Aspiring pathologists are sure to find this worthwhile, and the absence of gruesome images makes it a good learning site for many budding medical scientists as well. [LXP]
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ERPA: European Research Papers Archive
http://olymp.wu-wien.ac.at/erpa/
ERPA, the European Research Papers Archive, provides a common interface for searching a database of online working papers relevant to European integration. Contributors to the archive include the Robert Schuman Centre of the Academy of European Law at the European University Institute, the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, the Jean Monnet Working Papers Series at Harvard Law School, and the European Communities Studies Association-Austria. Users can select either a short form to search recent additions to the archive or a long form to either or to also access the many advanced search options, including full-text searches. [AO]
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The Ethics Connection [Java]
http://www.scu.edu/SCU/Centers/Ethics/homepage.shtml
Created and maintained by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, the Ethics Connection demonstrates the power of the Web as an interactive information and communication medium. This site combines excellent content, form, and function to provide teachers, researchers, community leaders, and the public "with strategies to heighten ethical awareness and improve ethical decision making." The rich information resources at the Ethics Connection include an interactive forum for the discussion of ethical issues; an extensive collection of the latest news and publications on ethics, featuring the Markkula Center's own quarterly, Issues in Ethics; a collection of several case studies on ethics, which include message boards for visitors' comments; a Practicing Ethics section, offering numerous resources for day-to-day ethical decision making; and a compilation of 900 ethical links, all of which are categorized, rated, and reviewed. [AO]
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A Field Guide to the Philosophy of the Mind
http://lgxserver.uniba.it/lei/mindguide/
Provided by SWIF (Sito Web Italiano per Filosofia) at the Universita' di Bari, this site offers "Guided Tours" (in-depth explorations) of selected topics related to the "philosophy of mind and the philosophical issues arising in the allied domain of cognitive sciences." These tours are composed of two parts: an overview report on the topic explaining the question at hand and detailing various approaches and theories, and an annotated bibliographic guide to the relevant literature. Users should note that the site is under development, and currently only three sections are available (which themselves are not yet in their final forms): Internalism/Externalism, Language of Thought, and Symbolic Grounding. Annotated items can also be individually searched by author or title in the Database section. [MD]
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The Body: An AIDS and HIV Information Resource [RealPlayer]
http://www.thebody.com/index.shtml
Body Health Resources Corporation (BHRC) is responsible for this site, a wide-ranging collection of resources related to AIDS and HIV. The Body acts as a clearinghouse for experts and organizations to exchange information with each other and make it available to the public. The sources of information are varied, from the Center for Disease Control to POZ magazine to individual people with AIDS, and the site is consequently comprehensive, even contradictory at times. Articles on treatment, quality of life, and governmental issues are complemented by action alerts, conference announcements, and electronic forums, to name just some of the resources available here. In short, The Body has something to offer anyone interested in or living with AIDS or HIV. [TK]
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The Parasitic Plant Connection
http://www.science.siu.edu/parasitic-plants/
Created by Dan Nickrent of the Department of Plant Biology at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, this site offers a wealth of information on parasitic plants. Plants are organized by family, with distribution maps, descriptions, photos, lists of genera, bibliographic references, and DNA sequence information. Nickrent also provides links for sequence information, ribosomal RNA secondary structure diagrams, and multiple sequence alignments to all parasitic flowering plants. Additional resources at the site include contact information for parasitic plant specialists, a list of terms associated with parasitic plants, and related links. While the site is, of course, aimed at Plant Biologists, interested non-specialists may enjoy the numerous photos of beautiful and sometimes extravagant flowers. [MD]
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Casebase [frames]
http://www.smithbernal.com/casebase_frame.htm
Smith Bernal, the official reporters to the British Courts of Appeal, offer this free database of all judgments rendered within the Courts of Appeal (Civil and Criminal Divisions) and Crown Office since April 1996. The database currently contains over 20,000 full-text judgments, and new records are added 30 days after approval, increasing the archive by over 600 cases each month. Two search options are available: a Specific Search using four key criteria (Case Name, Date, Case Number, and Division) or a Scrolling Search, which allows users to browse cases within a division by chronological order. [MD]
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Africans in America--PBS Online
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/
PBS offers this companion site to their new television series that "chronicles the history of racial slavery in the United States...and explores the central paradox that is at the heart of the American story: a democracy that declared all men equal but enslaved and oppressed one people to provide independence and prosperity to another." The four sections of the Website are based on time periods and correspond to the four television episodes of the series: The Terrible Transformation (1450-1750), Revolution (1750-1805), Brotherly Love (1791-1831), and Judgment Day (1831-1865). Each of the four programs contains a Narrative (historical essay) and a Resource Bank (over 400 items, including biographies and events, historical documents, and interviews). PBS has also developed a Teacher's Guide for each episode, containing questions and activities, suggestions on how to integrate materials from the Resource Bank into classroom learning, a list of related print and Web resources, and an outline of each episode. [AG]
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PORTFOLIO: Princeton University Library, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections
http://libserv3.Princeton.EDU/rbsc2/portfolio/portfolio.html
As anyone who has ever looked for images to illustrate a publication knows, many of the best pictures are in smaller collections at historical societies, museums, and university libraries. Often, despite the richness of their collections, these institutions have limited numbers of staff to provide reference and access. To address this dilemma, Princeton University's Special Collections Department presents the Portfolio Website, which offers digital versions of the 452 images most frequently requested for reproduction in recent years. The images are arranged in several series for ease of browsing. Users can view thumbnails with accompanying identification and then enlarge images. Also included are fax- or mail-back forms for ordering reproductions, fee schedules, and publication permission information. [DS]
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Chicago Historical Society's History Files
http://www.chicagohs.org/history/index.html
This new site explores some of the most notable events and characters in Chicago's history: infamous (Al Capone, The Black Sox scandal), tragic (the Chicago Fire), and enterprising (The World's Columbian Exposition, A Century of Progress). Each story is told through photos and narrative, with an additional photo gallery, bibliography, and artifacts collection also available. Future exhibits are planned on Parades, Protests and Politics; The Pullman Era; The Stockyards; and The Haymarket Affair. [MD]
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Kids' Castle
http://www.kidscastle.si.edu/
Smithsonian Magazine recently unveiled the Kids' Castle Website to capture the interest and imagination of eight to fourteen year-old kids. The site features a link of the day and topical entry into site sections in the major areas of History, Arts, Worldwide, Personalities, Sports, Air & Space, Science, and Animals. Each of these sections features articles and images from the Smithsonian archives as well as safe (first name and last initial only) response options that will be posted for all to read. Links to additional, related sites are included. Brief articles and singular graphics optimize the content at the site; other exemplary design features include a pull-down menu at the bottom of the screen that allows users to go to any general topic area from every point in the site. Kids can also join the Kids Club at the site to receive a monthly newsletter via email that contains poems and stories from ordinary kids, articles, and notification of upcoming contests and games. [JR]
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He who destroyes a good Booke, kills reason it selfe
http://www.ukans.edu/~spencer/exhibits/bannedbooks/bannedbooks.html
In 1955, the Kenneth Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas presented an exhibition compiled by librarian Robert Vosper on intellectual freedom and the banning of books. Demand for the exhibition catalog was so great that it was reprinted until over 20,000 copies had been distributed. This year, Alexandra Mason and Richard Clement issue this electronic edition of the catalog to "continue the travels of this exhibition and reaffirm our commitment to free enquiry." The electronic catalog is a descriptive bibliography of books banned in England, Germany, Russia, France, Spain, and the United States, and includes images. Given this range, the catalog provides good examples of printing and illustration of books from the early seventeenth century through the first half of the twentieth, along with thought-provoking commentary on book-banning. [DS]
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The Fabulous Ruins of Detroit
http://www.bhere.com/ruins/
Created by Lowell Boileau, this site documents what some feel is the "American Athens": postindustrial Detroit. In the first two decades of this century, Henry Ford and his contemporaries spurred a massive industrial expansion in the city. Now, at the end of the century, many of these huge factory and office buildings lie silent, abandoned, and slowly decaying. Boileau's site offers a number of thematic tours (Detroit's Gilded Age, Industrial Ruins, Downtown Ruins, Neighborhood Ruins) with many photos. Users can take the Express Tour through the highlights as well as select from a number of detailed Side Tours. Those motivated to see Detroit's ruins in person (not "virtually") will appreciate the clickable map pinpointing locations listed at the site. Additional features include an Interaction Zone, a What's New Section, and a gallery of urban paintings by the author. [MD]
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Koffee Korner
http://www.koffeekorner.com/
Worshippers of the bean will enjoy this site, which offers a number of articles on the social, historical, and culinary aspects of java--the beverage not the language. Users can trace the history of coffee, read up on health issues related to coffee drinking, learn how to speak coffee lingo like a real barista, and of course, find tips on brewing and savoring the perfect cuppa joe. Additional sections include coffee recipes, coffee origins, and trivia. [MD]
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Three Website Creation and Management Tools
GoLive CyberStudio 3.1 Software Homepage
http://www.adobe.com/products/golive/
GoLive CyberStudio 3.1 Demo Download Page [9.4 MB]
http://www.golive.com/three/gogetit/index.ehtml
NetObjects Fusion 3.0 for Macintosh Software Homepage
http://www.netobjects.com/products/html/nfmacinfo.html
Macromedia Dreamweaver 1.2 Software Homepage
http://www.macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver/
Macromedia Dreamweaver 1.2 Demo Download Page [6.8 MB]
http://www.macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver/trial/
A growing portion of the software aimed at Web developers allows not only for the creation of individual Webpages, but also for the overall management of a Website. The newest generation of these products support features such as JavaScript behavior libraries, Dynamic HTML (DHTML) features, and Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) support; as well as, traditional features such as WISIWYG page creation, frame manipulation, and centralized link checking and updating. While each software program takes a unique approach to Website design and management, all three tools have flexible page design editors and powerful yet flexible site-management tools. A 30-day demonstration version of each program is available for download from its respective Website. [PMS]
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ICAST Viewer and Guide
http://www.fvc.com/
The ICAST Viewer and Guide are two of a set of audio/video receiving and broadcasting tools offered by FVC.COM. The ICAST Viewer is an easy to install receiver of multicast Internet video commonly known as the "MBONE." The ICAST Guide is an integral counterpart to the viewer. The guide shows listings and descriptions of available multicasts along with information such as the length and time of the feature. Many Internet service providers do not support the new multicast technology, but FVC.COM provides a gateway service and product (I-Relay) through which MBONE broadcasts can be viewed over a standard Internet connection. The ICAST Viewer and Guide are both simple and useful for anyone interested in receiving the numerous lectures and other live and prerecorded video available via this technology. The Viewer and Guide Version 3.0 are available for Win95/NT and are free to download and use. [CL]
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Searchopolis--Filtered Search Engine
http://www.searchopolis.com/
N2H2, creators of the Bess Internet filtering service, have recently released Searchopolis, the first filtered search engine. Users who would like a kid-safe search engine or who simply wish to avoid unrelated search returns with explicit language can use this free site. Interestingly, however, no mention of filtering is made on the homepage. While Searchopolis is not absolutely foolproof, almost all test searches produced returns with no objectionable language or links to adult sites. In keeping with the current trend in search engine pages, N2H2 has designed a portal around Searchopolis, offering a number of reference and educational resources. The engine would be improved perhaps by informing users of total hits on search returns, but for the most part, it has considerable potential, especially for K-12 classrooms and school libraries. [MD]
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Volume 2, Number 25, October 20, 1995
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/archive/.html#YUCK
The Yuckiest Site on the Internet
http://www.yucky.com/
When the Scout Report first reviewed this site, we highlighted its central feature, Cockroach World (now Bug World). It has since expanded, adding several more yucky topics, such as Worm World and the Gross/Cool Body. What has not changed is the site's central mission: to provide a safe environment where kids aged eight to fifteen can laugh and learn at the same time. In addition to the yucky learning modules, the site offers weekly Web picks submitted and annotated by young users, online games, Club Yucky (currently focused on Halloween), and a section for parents and teachers (due to be updated November 1). [MD]
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The single phrase below is the copyright notice to be used when reproducing any portion of this report, in any format.

From the Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-1998.
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/

The paragraph below is the copyright notice to be used when reproducing the entire report, in any format.

Copyright Susan Calcari and the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, 1994-1998. The Internet Scout Project (http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/), located in the Computer Sciences Department of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides information about the Internet to the U.S. research and education community under a grant from the National Science Foundation, number NCR-9712163. The Government has certain rights in this material. Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of the entire Scout Report provided this paragraph, including the copyright notice, is preserved on all copies.

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, or the National Science Foundation.

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

Susan Calcari
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