The Scout Report - January 1, 1999

The Scout Report

January 1, 1999

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.

In This Issue:

New From Internet Scout

Subject Specific Reports

Research and Education

General Interest

Network Tools

In The News

New From Internet Scout

With the arrival of the New Year, the Scout Report introduces a new section. Readers of the subject specific reports will be familiar with its theme and title: In the News. However, while the Scout Report's In the News section will highlight several selected resources for a major news story each week, it will also point users to one or more topically related sites in the Report's archive, the Scout Report Signpost. In this way, we hope to offer easy access to quality resources for analyzing and understanding the week's news. [MD]
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Subject Specific Reports

No subject-specific reports were produced this week. Publication will resume on January 6, with the Scout Report for Science and Engineering. [MD]
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Research and Education

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project
http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/
Located at Stanford University, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project is producing what will almost certainly become the definitive collection of the great civil rights leader's writings. When completed, the fourteen-volume The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. will serve as an indispensable reference tool for historians of the civil rights movement. In the meantime, teachers and students can make use of the resources offered at this site. These include a number of full-text primary documents (including the "I Have a Dream" speech and the "I've Been To The Mountaintop" sermon), a general biography, a chronology of King's life, a recommended reading section, and scholarly articles produced by Project staff members (under construction). The Project plans to continually add new documents to the site as they are digitized. Free registration is required to view the papers, and registered users may choose to be informed about future site updates and related events. [MD]
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Platform Independent Perseus 2.0
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Dev/PerseusTkb2.html
Classics Technology Center [.pdf]
http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/
Perseus Project -- Tufts University
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/
The Perseus Project at Tufts University (discussed in the October 17, 1997 Scout Report) is an ongoing initiative to create a comprehensive, interactive, multimedia digital library for the study of Archaic and Classical Greece. Recently, the Perseus Project released a free beta version of Platform Independent Perseus 2.0. PIP2 is a graphical user interface for the Perseus 2.0 database, the latest version of the digital library. Once users install the interface locally, they may seamlessly access and navigate the numerous texts, maps, and images available on the Perseus server via an Internet connection. The benefit of PIP2 is that users are provided with a specialized interface for the online database and are able to avoid the annoying encumbrances encountered when using an unwieldy Web browser. Installation requirements and downloading instructions are posted at the site for both Mac and Windows operating systems. The Classics Technology Center, provided by Able Media, offers a collection of free materials to help educators and students make the most of Perseus. Provided in .pdf format, these include instructions for each Perseus component, tips and tricks, curriculum guides, teachers's companions, and a showcase of published works from students and educators around the world. [AO], [MD]
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Criminal Victimization 1997: Changes 1996-97 with Trends 1993-97 -- USDOJ [.pdf, 24p., .zip]
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cv97.htm
This new report from the US Department of Justice (USDOJ) Bureau of Justice Statistics reveals that violent and property crimes have fallen to their lowest levels since the Crime Victimization Survey was begun in 1973. Violent crime rates in 1997 were 21% lower than in 1993, while property crime fell 22% from the same year and over 50% from 1973. Some analysts have suggested that the large decrease in the 1990s, particularly in robbery rates, which fell 17% in 1997 alone, can be attributed in large measure to the collapse of the crack market and recent efforts to find and seize handguns. The news is not all good, however, as one might expect. In contrast to the decline in violent victimization rates for the general population, the rate of violent crimes against persons 50 and older was no lower than in 1993. At the site, users can download and view the entire report in .pdf or ASCII format, read the press release, and download the spreadsheets in .zip format. [MD]
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World Bank Teachers and Students Home Page
http://www.worldbank.org/html/schools/index.html
The World Bank Site (reviewed in the September 25, 1997 Scout Report for Business and Economics) now has a section specifically devoted to educational resources. Educational material found here relates to topics relevant to the World Bank's larger mission of reducing international poverty and raising the standard of living for people in developing nations. For instance, the Learning Materials area focuses on sustainable development, with learning modules on Population Growth Rate and Access to Safe Water, as well as graphs, charts, and questions for students and teachers to explore. Students have the opportunity to get their own work published in the Sustainable Development Post, an online newspaper with student contributors from around the world. Other areas of the site offer resources on specific issues, such as AIDS, climate change, and gender, or on particular regions and countries. Teachers and students can also use the site to learn more about the World Bank and its mission, read views on development from people around the world, and learn how to use data and other tools available at the World Bank site. Sections of the site are yet to be completed, but on the whole, there are plenty of resources to keep classrooms busy. [REB]
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Re-Charting the Course: The First Report of the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities [.pdf, 109p.]
http://www.dol.gov/dol/_sec/public/programs/ptfead/rechart/index.htm
With an unemployment rate of approximately 70%, "adults with severe disabilities are one of the largest minorities in the US without jobs." The Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities was formed in March 1998 "to examine programs and policies related to employment of adults with disabilities, to determine what changes, modifications and innovations may be necessary to remove barriers to work faced by adults with disabilities and to recommend options for such changes." Their first report, completed in November 1998, was recently placed online by the Department of Labor. At the site, users can read the various sections of the report in HTML format or download the full report in text or .pdf format. In addition to recommendations to the President, the report contains information on the foundation, membership, and agenda of the Task Force. Appendixes to the report include A Demographic Profile of People with Disabilities, Summary of Disability-Related Legislative Initiatives, Web Sites of Presidential Task Force Members, and Glossary of Acronyms Used in This Report. [MD]
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Mediterranean Prehistory Online
http://www.med.abaco-mac.it/
This new online journal, which focuses on the prehistory and protohistory of the Mediterranean Basin, is published as an integrated part of the European Commission's Early Prehistoric Migrations project. As with many other online academic journals, Mediterranean Prehistory Online will select papers not only for their academic content but also for their use "of the opportunities provided by electronic publication and the HTML files." Article topics will include the results of archaeological research, data analyses, discussions on the information technologies and archaeology, as well as book and software reviews. Currently, abstracts and full-text are available for six articles. Topics include exploitation of Obsidian for tool making in the Italian Peninsula, the Early Upper Paleolithic of Croatia, and the extinction of Iberian Neandertals. In addition to articles, the site features an Arch News section and a collection of related links. [MD]
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Safeguarding Your Technology -- NCES
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs98/safetech/index.html
This new publication from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) explains the necessity for developing a comprehensive and customized electronic security policy and offers guidance to educational administrators in devising and implementing one. The report is organized in ten chapters, addressing topics such as risk assessment; development and implementation of security policy; physical, software, information, and user access security; and staff training. As with previous NCES publications, each chapter offers an overview, FAQs, real-world anecdotes, recommendations, and a summary checklist of "things to do." [MD]
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General Interest

Medal of Honor Citations -- US Army Center of Military History
http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/moh1.htm
Since its creation in 1861, the Medal of Honor has been awarded to more than 3,400 members of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard for acts of bravery and heroism. This site contains the full text of all the Medal citations, from the Civil War to Somalia, as well as the Medals awarded in January 1997 to seven African-American veterans for their service in World War II. Whatever one's opinions on particular conflicts, the citations make stirring, if sometimes harrowing, reading. Many of the recipients, especially in this century, were awarded medals for their extraordinary efforts to protect and save the lives of their fellow soldiers rather than for their efficiency in taking those of the enemy. [MD]
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Mars Surveyor 98 [.pdf]
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/
Following the hugely successful Mars Pathfinder mission (described in the July 4, 1997 Scout Report), this latest journey to Mars is actually two separate missions, each focusing on the climate of the Red Planet. The first mission, the Mars Climate Orbiter, was launched on December 11. The second, launched on January 3, represents the first landing on the polar regions of Mars. The Mars Polar Lander will also host two microphones which will separate just prior to entering the atmosphere and hopefully penetrate the Martian soil up to two meters to monitor the weather and test for the presence of water ice. This site from Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory offers everything interested users will want to learn about the missions, their progress, and the technology involved. Site contents include a mission overview and timeline, updates and history, comprehensive information on the Orbiter and Lander, numerous images and photos, and even instructions on building a scale model Orbiter and Lander. [MD]
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Eyeing America: The Prints of Robert Cottingham -- NMAA [VivoActive Player, RealPlayer]
http://nmaa-ryder.si.edu/collections/exhibits/cottingham/index.html
The National Museum of American Art's (NMAA) new online exhibition showcases the work of Robert Cottingham, a self-proclaimed "American artist painting American scenes." Cottingham's favorite subject is urban iconography, and he uses the 2,000 slides he took on a 27-city trip to paint photorealistic images of signs, particularly aging and deteriorated ones, marquees, and rail cars. At the site, users can join Cottingham on a virtual road trip, stopping at cities which have provided the artist with inspirational subjects. Each city stop features an image of a work created from a photo taken in that locale as well as some RealAudio or Vivo video commentary from the artist. The site also offers a tour of the 70 Cottingham works held in the permanent collection of the NMAA as well as an interesting essay on the artist and his influences by Chief Curator Jacquelyn Days Serwer. [MD]
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Learn CPR [Quicktime]
http://www.learncpr.org/index.html
Provided as a public service by Mickey S. Eisenberg, M.D., a Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington, this site offers a basic guide to Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). The core of the site is the CPR Info section, which contains instructions for Quick and Standard CPR, and performing CPR on children and infants. From this section, users can print out a basic illustrated pocket guide to CPR. Other resources include guides to first aid for choking, CPR facts and history, a Quicktime video demonstration, a quiz, related links, and an Ask the Doctor section, which invites questions and prints answers to previous queries. While Doctor Eisenberg notes that "CPR started by a bystander doubles the likelihood of survival for victims of cardiac arrest," he also cautions that the site should serve as an introduction and basic guide, not a substitute for real CPR training. [MD]
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explorezone.com
http://explorezone.com/
Maintained by Robert Roy Britt, the explorezone.com is designed as "a reference source to go along with today's science news." The site offers a brief synopsis and links to the full text of stories in five fields: Astronomy, Biology/Medicine, Earth Sciences, Weather/Climate, and Other Sciences. Also included are special reports, some Skywatch news for amateur astronomers, science trivia, and a Site of the Week award. Users can learn more about fourteen selected topics, such as the sun, eclipses, meteors, tides and waves, and the weather. Each topic is illustrated (some also have animations) and offers a number of links to related sites. While scientists will probably find the site too general, students and the general user with an interest in science and science news will find plenty of interest. [MD]
[Note: Site title has changed since the original Scout Report review. Site formerly referred to in the Scout Report as "itty bitty blackboard."]
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Meet the Mayors -- US Conference of Mayors
http://www.mayors.org/uscm/meet_mayors/
US Conference of Mayors
http://www.usmayors.org/USCM/home.html
This resource from the US Conference of Mayors is actually composed of two parts. The first is the Mayors at a Glance database, which allows users to search for mayors by last name, city, state, or population. Returns for each mayor include photos, city population, phone and fax numbers, next election date, email address, and a link to the relevant city's Website. The database does not necessarily include mayors elected in November or December 1998, but a link is provided to the 1998 Mayoral Elections Database. The second part of the Meet the Mayors site, Cities Online, offers links to city Webpages, organized by state and alphabetically. [MD]
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Network Tools

ZDNet Software Library - Top 50 Free Utilities of 1998
http://www.zdnet.com/downloads/hotfiles/top50free.html
ZDNet (described in the October 25, 1996 Scout Report) offers its list of the 50 most popular free Windows and DOS utilities from the past year. Utilities are listed by number of downloads and rated according to a five-star system (almost all are four or five stars). Title links lead to a description of the utility and a further link to the download site. [MD]
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PDF-Basics Mailing List
PDFzONE
http://www.pdfzone.com/
Provided by PDFzone, a .pdf resource and news site, this new mailing list is designed as a "101 level" list, aimed to "address the needs of relative newcomers to Adobe Acrobat software and .pdf files." Discussion will be geared towards inexperienced users, and beginners may safely post more elementary questions than they might on other .pdf-centric lists. A digest version is available, and a searchable Web archive is planned for the future. [MD]

To subscribe, send an email message to:
    pdf-basics-request@lists.pdfzone.com
In the body of the message type:
    subscribe
To subscribe to the digest version, send the same message to the following:
    pdf-basics-digest-request@lists.pdfzone.com

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Where Are They Now

Birth of the Euro
The Euro and the New Europe -- New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/library/financial/euro-index.html
EuroTimes -- Irish Times
http://www.irish-times.com/eurotimes/
The Euro is here
http://europa.eu.int/eurobirth/index_en.html
"The Dollar's Day of Reckoning" -- The Nation
http://www.TheNation.com/issue/990111/0111THUR.HTM
After years of negotiations and planning and a frenetic weekend of last minute preparations, eleven Member States of the European Union (EU) now have a common currency. Euro notes and coins will not be available until January 2002, at which point they will replace the national currencies, but in the meantime, traders, consumers, and corporations can conduct "written money" transactions, such as checks, credit cards, and bank transfers, in the Euro. The long-term implications of the Euro are still unclear. Some believe, for instance, that it may seriously challenge or even supplant the US dollar in worldwide currency markets. At the first site, a special section provided by the New York Times (free registration required), users will find a collection of recent articles on the final preparations for the Euro's birth and its implications for Member States and the wider world. The Irish Times' Eurotimes contains Euro news and facts, commentary, and analysis from the perspective of a participating country. The third site, provided by the EU, is the official Euro birth announcement, offering an online Euro Converter for the currencies of the eleven Member States. The final site is an editorial by Lester Thurow examining the potential impact of the Euro on the US dollar and its position in worldwide currency markets. Additional resources for understanding the new common currency are available in the Scout Report's database, the Scout Report Signpost. These include the Euro Site, the official reference site for general and technical information on the Euro; the European Monetary Institute (EMI), the body overseeing the monetary union; and Europarl: The Single Currency and the European Parliament, which offers background and briefing reports on the Euro and the EU Member States. [MD]
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From the Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-1999.
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