The Scout Report - February 5, 1999

Scout Report for Science & Engineering
Scout Report for Science & Engineering
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/sci-engr/1999/se-990120.html
Volume 2, Number 10 of the Scout Report for Science & Engineering is available. The In the News section annotates eleven resources on "the dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico. [MD]
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Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports [.pdf]
http://www.senate.gov/~dpc/crs/index.html
In a move hailed by advocates of open government, Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD) recently placed almost 300 Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports online (about 1/10th of the current CRS Reports in the library). Employing over 700 people at a cost of $62 million per year, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) "works exclusively as a nonpartisan analytical, research, and reference arm for Congress." Users can browse the reports by name, number, or subject, or conduct a keyword search. Subject areas include: Environment/Natural Resources, Economic Policy, Education, Government and Law, Foreign and Defense Policy, Health, and Science and Technology. Reports may be viewed in plain text or .pdf format. [MD]
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American Journal of Botany [.pdf]
http://www.amjbot.org/
HighWire Press
http://highwire.stanford.edu/
The American Journal of Botany is "an internationally recognized journal accepting refereed research papers on all aspects of plant biology." Now available online from the Botanical Society of America, full-text content begins with the September 1998 issue and will expand with each month's new issues. Abstracts and .pdf files are online beginning January 1997. The free trial period for the online version of the American Journal of Botany runs through April 2000. The journal is produced electronically in conjunction with Stanford University's HighWire Press. [LXP]
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National Research Register (NRR)
http://www.doh.gov.uk/research/nrr.htm
Volume one of this major new resource for medical researchers was recently placed online by the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS). This premiere NRR volume contains information on over 28,000 NHS-funded research projects, "as well as entries from the Medical Research Council's Clinical Trials Register, and details on reviews in progress collected by the NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination." Users can browse the entries to locate unpublished research, identify researchers pursuing related subjects, and avoid duplication. Information available includes lead researcher, research question, methodology, sample group, project status, outcome measures and research project contacts. An online search engine with numerous search options is provided. [MD]
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Teacher Quality: A Report on Teacher Preparation and Qualifications of Public School Teachers [.pdf, 101p.] -- NCES
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=1999080
Recently released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)(last described in the October 16, 1998 Scout Report), this is the first in a new series of biennial reports "specifically focused on teachers' learning (both preservice and continued) and the environments in which they work." This report is based on a recent national survey which examined the issues of teacher preparation, qualifications, and work environments. "Key findings are provided in three major areas: (1) preservice learning and teaching assignment; (2) continued learning; and (3) supportive work environment." Users can read the full text online or download the report in .pdf format. [MD]
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Art and Life in Africa (ALA)
http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/
Designed as an introduction and guide to a related CD-ROM project based on the Stanley Collection at the University of Iowa Museum of Art, this site also proves to be an important resource on its own. Art and African studies instructors can select from the valuable assortment of teaching aids including an online searchable Catalogue of the Stanley Collection of Africa Art (with images and descriptions of over 500 items), information on 106 African peoples, profiles of 27 African countries, a complete online version of the entire ALA Teacher's Guide, and 47 lesson plans from K-12 teachers in Iowa. [MD]
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1998 Merchandise Trade with Developing Countries -- USAID
http://www.info.usaid.gov/economic_growth/trdweb/
Recently released by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), this report offers statistics on US trade with developing countries and regions for the years 1987-1997, supplemented by graphs, analysis, and additional texts. The report is composed of three sections. The first summarizes trade trends worldwide and "examines comparative levels of trade activity for each developing country region and for OECD member countries." The second offers an overview of US merchandise trade by region, while the third provides statistics and analysis for each of the five major regions (Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Near East, Eastern Europe and the New Independent States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the OECD Countries). Appendixes include Country List, Commodity Classification, Conventions and Definitions, and Methodology and Sources. [MD]
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CEC Lesson Plans
http://www.col-ed.org/cur/
Columbia Education Center
http://www.col-ed.org/
Founded in 1972, the Columbia Education Center (CEC) is a private educational service organization based in Portland, Oregon that designs and disseminates teacher training and curriculum development projects, many of them federally funded. The CEC Lesson Plans page offers a large number of teacher-submitted lesson plans organized by grade level in five categories: Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and Miscellaneous. Plans are clearly written, standardized, and they cover a wide range of topics. At the main CEC site users will find funding tips and resources as well as an overview of current CEC projects in the Northwest US. [MD]
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Colorado Digitization Project
http://coloradodigital.coalliance.org/
A collaborative project of archives, historical societies, libraries, and museums in Colorado, this new site is an emerging online digital library-museum for the state. From this gateway, users will be able to access a number of Colorado's digital collections. Collections may be browsed by media format (Music and "Born Digital" formats not yet available) or geographic location, or users can choose to view the entire list (fifteen collections are currently included, with seventeen more to be added over the next two years). Unfortunately, the project does not currently offer cross-searching capabilities, although many of the collection sites themselves do offer internal search engines. Despite this, the large number of resources, especially photographic images, accessible via this gateway make it an important resource. [MD]
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Budget of the United States Government Fiscal Year 2000 [.pdf]
http://www.gpo.gov/usbudget/index.html
Transmitted to Congress on February 1, 1999, the FY 2000 Budget covers the fiscal year beginning October 1, 1999. At the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) site, users can view the full text of the budget and related documents in .pdf format. The latter include A Citizen's Guide to the Federal Budget (also available in HTML), Analytical Perspectives, supplements, historical tables, and a selection of spreadsheets (in wk4 or xls formats). Users can also use an internal search engine to locate and download individual sections of documents. Additional resources at the site include budget documents for FY 1996-99. [MD]
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Judge Blocks Child Online Protection Act (COPA)
Judge Lowell A. Reed's decision
http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/opinions/99D0078P.HTM
ACLU v. Reno, Round 2
http://www.aclu.org/features/f101698a.html
Signed into law in October 1998, the Child Online Protection Act threatened fines and imprisonment for commercial Web site operators who allowed children under 17 years old to view sexually explicit material on their site. To avoid these penalties, sites would have to install age verification systems, such as a credit card check. The COPA was the government's second attempt to censor the Internet, after the Communications Decency Act, which was ruled unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in 1997 (discussed in the March 21, 1997 Scout Report). The COPA was immediately challenged by a coalition led by the ACLU and Judge Reed blocked the law under a temporary restraining order that was set to expire at midnight Monday. After six days of hearings, Judge Reed agreed with the coalition that the COPA "imposes a burden on speech that is protected for adults," and issued a preliminary injunction. Justice Department lawyers must now decide whether to appeal the preliminary injunction, ask for a trial, or agree to allow the decision to become permanent. The first site, provided by the US District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, offers the full text of Judge Reed's 49-page opinion. The ACLU site contains several press releases, a list of the plaintiffs in the case, and a collection of case documents. [MD]
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Subaru Telescope sees "First-Light" [.pdf]
http://www.subaru.naoj.org/outreach/press_releases/990128/
Subaru Telescope Homepage
http://www.subaru.naoj.org/
Built and operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, the Subaru Telescope sits atop Mauna Kea on Hawaii's Big Island. With a 24-ton mirror, the largest single-piece glass mirror ever used in a telescope, Subaru has produced infrared images as clear and striking as astronomers have been receiving from the Hubble Space Telescope. On January 28th the director and staff at Subaru Telescope presented "first-light" results for their new telescope. The first site offers a number of stunning images taken by the Subaru Telescope and captions. Full picture captions are available in English or Japanese in .pdf format along with high resolution JPEGs. The Subaru homepage (under construction) contains background information on the project, a description of the telescope and its construction, and overviews of the instrumentation and anticipated scientific activities involving the telescope. [MD]
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Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers -- LOC
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/bellhtml/bellhome.html
This latest addition to the Library of Congress American Memory Project (last described in the January 8, 1999 Scout Report--http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/1999/.html#11}) will ultimately comprise approximately 4,700 items (totaling about 38,000 images). The first release contains 1400 items, including "correspondence, scientific notebooks, journals, blueprints, articles, and photographs documenting Bell's invention of the telephone and his involvement in the first telephone company, his family life, his interest in the education of the deaf, and his aeronautical and other scientific research." These date from 1865 to 1939, with the bulk from 1865 to 1920. Users may browse the collection by series, subject, or name, or conduct a keyword search. Special presentations at the site include a timeline, family tree, and collection highlights, including Bell's experimental notebook containing the entry from March 10, 1876, describing the first successful experiment with the telephone. [MD]
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CIA World Factbook 1998
http://www.cia.gov/publications/factbook/index.html
The US Central Intelligence Agency has recently released the 1998 version of its well-known annual country information reference book (last described in the April 3, 1998 Scout Report). Data is available for over 250 countries. For each country, map and flag, geographic, population, government, economic, communication, transportation, military, and transnational issue information is provided for the latest year available. There are also sixteen individual reference maps and eight appendices. Linked to from hundreds of sites, the World Factbook is widely recognized as one of the finest online resources for quick country information. [MD]
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Trends in the Well-Being of America's Children and Youth [.pdf, 543p.] -- HHS
http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/hsp/98trends/trends98.htm
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently placed online its third annual report on trends in the well-being of America's children and youth. Drawn from over 90 indicators of well-being, the report is designed to provide policy makers, the media, and interested citizens an accessible overview of data on the condition of children in the US. The report is divided into two parts, the first representing the main body. The main body offers tables, graphics, and text highlighting the most important data in five broad areas: Population, family, and neighborhood; Economic security; Health conditions and health care; Social development, behavioral health, and teen fertility; and Education and achievement. The second part of the report examines the well-being of immigrant children and native-born children of immigrant parents. The report is presented as separate chapters in .pdf format. [MD]
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Information Please Kids' Almanac
http://kids.infoplease.com/
Well-known reference information provider Information Please LLC (described in the Scout Report for February 27, 1998) has launched a new companion site geared towards kids, parents, and teachers. Reference information is grouped into seven categories: people, fun facts, science, world, sports, life, and US. A particularly informative section called Facts behind the News offers well-organized short overviews and background pieces to help students understand current events and put them in perspective. An additional feature at the site is the Homework Center, which offers tips for frequently assigned topics and answers questions posted by registered users. [MD]
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Fast MP3 Search
http://mp3.lycos.com/
MP3, a file format that offers near-CD quality sound in very small file sizes, is one of the most popular computerized audio technologies ever. However, the widespread bootlegging of copyrighted music has also made it rather controversial, especially where the recording industry is concerned. After discovering that MP3 was one of the most requested terms on its search engines, Lycos decided to create a search engine just for MP3. Fast MP3 Search currently contains over 500,000 files, searchable by artist or song name. To assist users, an MP3 Server Reliability Guide ranks the more than 1000 FTP servers accessed on a five star system, five being the most reliable. Additional resources at the site include ranked links to MP3 players and encoders and a guide to getting started. Search returns do not distinguish between pirated and legally provided songs, but Lycos has agreed to work with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to combat copyright infringement. [MD]
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HTML with Style
http://www.webreference.com/html/
Part of WebReference.com (first described in the April 19, 1996 Scout Report), HTML with Style is dedicated to providing web designers with instruction on the "proper use of HTML and CSS." To this end, tutorials make up a large part of the site. So far, 10 lessons are available, ranging from the basics of HTML to the use of cascading style sheets (CCS described in the May 15, 1998 Scout Report) for true visual formatting of web pages. The information provided is useful to both neophyte and accomplished web designers. A manifesto describes the web design philosophy espoused by the site. [PMS]
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Linux 2.2.1
http://www.linuxhq.com/
When a new version of a free operating system that Microsoft portrays as a significant competitor is released, it is big news. The release of Linux 2.2.1 with multiple useful enhancements is definitely big news. While some of these enhancements are esoteric, many will be widely appreciated. Among the new features of Linux 2.2.1 are support for many new processors and system types, the ability to read Microsoft's NTFS and FAT32 file systems, a new, kernel-based method for accessing video, innumerable new hardware drivers, and many more fun and interesting features. The release should be used with the caveat that it not be installed in a production system until this version matures slightly; it can be difficult to restrain from installing exciting new technology immediately. Linux 2.2.1 runs on many hardware platforms and can be challenging to install. [CL]
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Kosovo Peace Talks
US Information Agency (USIA) - The Crisis in Kosovo
http://www.usia.gov/regional/eur/balkans/kosovo/homepage.htm
BBC News Special Report: Kosovo Conflict [frames]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/special_report/1998/kosovo/newsid_271000/271265.stm
ABC News: A Beginner's Guide to the Balkans
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/balkans/index.html
Kosovo: Focus on Human Rights - HRW
http://www.hrw.org/hrw/campaigns/kosovo98/index.htm
Serbia-Info: News
http://www.serbia-info.com/news/index.html
Republic of Kosova
http://www.kosova-state.org/
On January 30, the International Contact Group gave the Serbs and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo a three week deadline to reach a political settlement or face possible military strikes. Both sides have agreed to meet this Saturday in Rambouillet, near Paris, France. Unlike the Dayton Peace Accord which brought a close to the war in Bosnia after tremendous pressure from the US, these talks appear to be a much more collective effort, with Europe taking a prominent role. Accordingly, although NATO is drawing up plans to send up to 30,000 peacekeepers and the US has hinted strongly that it will participate in an international peace force, Britain is preparing to take the lead role, readying 8,000 troops for deployment within 72 hours. Despite these preparations and the fact that the parties will meet this weekend, a peaceful solution is far from guaranteed in Kosovo. Interested users will want to use these resources to monitor developments over the next several days. The USIA site offers an overview of US policy in the region, breaking news stories, a large amount of reference information, and numerous related links. BBC News provides archived stories, analysis, timelines, and interactive exhibits. ABC News has created a helpful introduction to the conflict and the region, with a basic overview, timeline, glossary, who's who, and analysis. At their site on Kosovo, Human Rights Watch (HRW) offers background, related reports, breaking stories, primers on international law and war crimes in Kosovo, and photos. The last two sites, produced by representatives from each side in the conflict, offer partisan analysis and news stories on the fighting and the possibilities of a peaceful settlement. For more information on Kosovo, Yugoslavia, and the Balkans users should visit Signpost, the Scout Report's database, Resources include a RAND Corporation report on US and Russian Policymaking with Respect to the Use of Force; the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY); and a report of the UN Secretary-General on an arms embargo on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including Kosovo. [MD]
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