The Scout Report - May 11, 2001

Scout Report for Science & Engineering_
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/sci-eng/2001/se-010509.html
Volume 4, Number 18 of the Scout Report for Science & Engineering is available. The In the News section annotates eight resources on the recent report that scientists have found the first evidence of a worldwide decline in OH, a key molecule critical to the cleansing of the atmosphere.
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Foreign Relations 1964-1968, Volume XX, Arab-Israeli Dispute, 1967-1968
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/johnsonlb/xx/
Released on May 8, the latest addition to the State Department's official Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series (reviewed in the January 21, 2000 Scout Report) contains 376 official documents that chart US diplomacy efforts in the wake of the Six Day War in 1967. The volume begins with the developments that followed the November 22, 1967 adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 242, which "sought to establish a framework for settlement of the Arab-Israeli dispute," and it closes with the inconclusive efforts to secure a peace agreement and prevent an arms race in the waning months of the Johnson administration. The documents are presented in HTML format and accompanied by a summary and preface. [MD]
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Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools and Classrooms: 1994-2000 -- NCES [.pdf]
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2001071
Released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) on May 9, this brief report presents data on Internet access in U.S. public schools from 1994 to 2000 by school characteristics. Topics covered include the progress of public schools in connecting to the Internet, the ratio of students to instructional computers, the ways public schools are connected to the Internet, and, for the 2000 data, the methods employed to prevent access to inappropriate material. The full text of the report is available in .pdf format at the site. [MD]
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New Intelligence Reports -- CIA
Global Growing Migration and Its Implications for the US
http://www.odci.gov/nic/graphics/migration.pdf
The Global Technology Revolution: Bio/Nano/Materials Trends and Their Synergies with Information Technology by 2015
http://www.odci.gov/nic/nic_publications/2015_files/rand.htm
.pdf version [87 pages]
http://www.odci.gov/nic/graphics/rand.pdf
The CIA recently posted on its Website two new reports presenting an intelligence perspective on two globalization issues. The first, Global Growing Migration and Its Implications for the US, is a follow-up study to the publication, Global Trends 2015: A Dialogue About the Future With Non-government Experts, (see the December 22, 2000 Scout Report). This latest study examines "the growing global movement of people and its implications for the United States." The study examines the political, economic, social, and security issues raised by increased migration, including "the extent to which some countries may try to use migration as leverage in bilateral relations." The second report, written by RAND for the National Intelligence Council, examines the implications of the revolutions in biotechnology and information technology and the challenges and questions likely to be raised in these fields between now and 2015. Both reports are offered in .pdf format; the RAND report is also available in an .html version. [DC]
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The Official Mad Cow Disease Home Page
http://www.mad-cow.org/
A project of the Sperling Biomedical Foundation, the Mad Cow Disease homepage contains more than 7,600 articles on "mad cow and new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, prions, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, scrapie, BSE, CJD, CWD, TME, and TSE." Articles range from highlighting scientific results to heated debates surrounding the politically complex infectious disease challenge. For those wanting to keep a finger on the pulse of regional to global epidemics (such as mad cow disease) or others wanting to learn more about the many aspects of mad cow disease challenges, this is a fine place to get immersed (albeit in a freeform, rather than structured, way). A series of links points users to additional information. [LXP]
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European Integration History Index -- WWW VL
http://www.iue.it/LIB/SISSCO/VL/hist-eur-integration/Index.html
Maintained by Tobias Witschke, this portion of the World Wide Web Virtual Library (WWW VL) links to a collection of online resources related to European integration. European integration is understood here "as the process of political, economic and cultural integration and co-operation between various European countries in the 20th century - mainly in the period after 1945". While the total number of sites indexed by this metasite is on the small side, most of them are annotated and all are official or authoritative resources. The site may be browsed by category or searched by keyword. Links are also provided to related WWW VLs. This is an excellent starting point for students and instructors searching for information on contemporary Europe. [MD]
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Great Lakes Shipping Database
http://webpac.wayne.edu/webpac-bin/wgbroker?new+-access+top.udmship
Provided by the University of Detroit Mercy Libraries/Media Services, this site is a great resource for anyone interested in the history of shipping on the Great Lakes. The database indexes information on a large number of ships that have worked these waters, offering information such as registry number, year built, final disposition, company, physical measurements, name of shipbuilders, and additional remarks, among other categories. Both company name and shipbuilder are cross-referenced to additional ships owned or built. Most of the entries also include some excellent historical photos, though these did not load correctly in Netscape (they worked fine with IE).The entry for the Edmund Fitzgerald, for instance, contained ten photos. The database may be searched by keyword with multiple modifiers. [MD]
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Golden Age Spanish Sonnets
http://sonnets.spanish.sbc.edu/
Created and maintained by Alix Ingber, Professor of Spanish at Sweet Briar College, this site hosts 107 Golden Age (Sixteenth Century) Spanish sonnets and English translations. The poems may be browsed by poet or by their first line. Each poet page includes links to related resources, most of which are in Spanish only. Also included are bibliographies and some other related links. [MD]
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2001 Urban Mobility Report [.pdf]
http://mobility.tamu.edu/
Released on Monday, this new report from the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University in College Station reveals that the last time "rush hour" only lasted an hour, Richard Nixon was the President. Based on 1999 data from 68 urban areas, the study finds that the average American spends 36 hours per year stuck in traffic, up from 11 hours in 1982. Among other things, the report rates congestion in cities by several measures, and Los Angeles ranks last in every one. At the site, visitors will find one and two page summaries, report sections, mobility data from selected cities accessed via an interactive map, a discussion on mobility measures, and other information. [MD]
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AskArt.com: "The Artists Bluebook"
http://www.askart.com/
AskArt.com is a research service providing biographical and pricing information on American art and artists. Claiming to list 25,000 artists, AskArt.com offers general biographical information, descriptions of works (many with images) both sold and unsold, and an abbreviated bibliography. The database exclusively covers American painting, sculpture, and illustrations, and includes auction sale prices and statistics like average price per work, highest price paid, and average price per square inch. This site is a useful place to start one's research, but it has both content flaws (noticeable gaps and loose definitions) and objectivity issues (dealers with financial stake as content providers). [DS]
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The Belfast Group
http://chaucer.library.emory.edu/irishpoet/index.html
This site from Emory University documents weekly writers' workshops convened between 1963 and 1972 at Queens' University in Belfast. Philip Hobsbaum was the first organizer of the workshops; Seamus Heaney took over in 1966. Writers submitted new work to the organizer, who had it duplicated so that it could be read and critiqued by group members. The "Group sheets" produced this way were the basis for the Website, which includes a workshop list, actually a list by author of all the sheets each produced (not all are available at the Website); biographies of the six poet participants: Marie and Seamus Heaney, Bernard McLaverty, Frank Ormsby, James Simmons, and Arthur Terry; and a searchable database of poems. Users can enter a word, and the Open Text search engine will look for all of its occurrences in the Irish Poets database. Emory University is seeking permission to digitize works by additional members of the Belfast Group. [DS]
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PlantCare.com
http://www.plantcare.com/
Does your philodendron look droopy? Your ficus getting funky? Have no fear and head over to this site, which hosts a database of plant care information for over 1,300 species of house and greenhouse plants. Each entry contains up to eighteen categories of care information, including lighting, soil, watering, fertilizer, pests, temperature, and care tips, as well as a color photo. Visitors may browse the database by plant type, room conditions, or by plant name. The site also includes information on the six most common pests, an active message board, and related links. [MD]
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Leaves of Gold [Shockwave]
http://www.leavesofgold.org/
Provided by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, this Scout's favorite art museum, this online exhibit contains some lovely illuminated manuscripts from Philadelphia collections. The manuscripts are divided into five categories (bibles, books of hours, literary manuscripts, liturgical manuscripts, psalters) and are presented as medium-sized images with text descriptions. Unfortunately, full-size images are not available. Other content at the site includes a glossary and an interactive "make a manuscript" Shockwave feature. [MD]
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Lighthouse Explorer Database
http://www.lighthouseclothing.com/database/searchdatabase.cfm
Spotted by ResearchBuzz, this site from the Lighthouse Depot, a "virtual community" (and store) for lighthouse enthusiasts, contains a database with information on over 1,300 lighthouses around the world. Visitors may browse the listings alphabetically, by category, by state or country, or search by keyword. Entries include name, location, supervising organization, contact information, email and Website when available, and in some cases a photo. Other useful information is also provided when available, such as the dates the lighthouse was built and operational, whether or not it is open to the public, and driving directions. [MD]
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iLor Search
http://www.ilor.com/
Dubbing itself a "Research Engine," this Google-mod offers up several useful added features. Both basic keyword and advanced searches are available, and placing your mouse pointer over a search result calls up an option window that allows you to place the link in a temporary list (in a small browser window), go to the site but anchor the page you are currently on, open the link in the taskbar (Windows users), or open the link in a new window. IE users can email the links in the temporary list or bookmark them, but this feature did not work in Netscape 4.75 for the Mac. Worth a look. [MD]
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Direct Connect
http://www.neo-modus.com
Direct Connect is an online file-sharing community. The important feature in Direct Connect is that there is no main data center or master server. The users themselves provide the network architecture. Direct Connect software has two modules - the client and the hub. You can use the Direct Connect client to download files from other users in the Direct Connect network. The hub allows you to share multiple directories from your local and mapped directories with other users. Direct Connect has a user-friendly interface which provides integrated searching, graphical navigation of files, and public and private chatting. It can also be set to shut down automatically after all transfers have been completed. Direct Connect client and hub are available for download from the site. Please note that this program is advertiser supported and some non-personally identifiable information is collected. Concerned users should consult the site's privacy policy. [MA]
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The Country Music Search Engine
http://country-music-club.com/
Garth Brooks fans, hold on to your hats! The Country Music Search Engine offers a full spectrum of country music news and information. Featured on the site is the enormous Country Music Directory, a database of all things related to country music including Websites for individual singers or groups, news links and online publications, associations, and sheet music and lyrics. The directory seems to be geared more towards mainstream country music: a search for Shania Twain rendered 242 hits while "Robbie Fulks" pulled up just one Web resource. The Website also contains a listing of the top 40 Websites as ranked by visitors to the site, and links to country events, MP3s, and album reviews. [EM]
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XFL Calls it Quits
XFL Official Site
http://www.xfl.com/
XFL - Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/sports/leaguesandsports/xfl/
Yahoo! Sports: XFL
http://sports.yahoo.com/xfl
"McMahon, NBC announce disbandment of XFL" - ESPN
http://espn.go.com/otherfb/news/2001/0510/1194622.html
"No More Springtimes for the XFL" - New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/11/sports/11XFLL.html
"XFL folds after disappointing first season" - CNN
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/news/2001/05/10/xfl_folds_ap/
In what is probably the biggest flop in the history of professional sports, the Extreme Football League (XFL) has folded shop after just one season. Founded by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and co-owned by NBC, the XFL promised to offer a combination of hard-hitting football and spectacle in an effort to capture the coveted young male audience. A number of rules were changed, such a dispensing with the fair-catch, to make the game move faster and potentially more dangerous. Also, in the early games at least, the broadcasts included gratuitous shots of scantily-clad cheerleaders. While the season opener was a great success, viewership steadily declined thereafter, until NBC's XFL games were producing the lowest ratings in prime-time history. This was due to a number of factors, including constant production tinkering, amateurish camera work, and blustering announcers. Most of all, however, it was the generally poor quality of play that doomed the league. In the end, the XFL tried to embody both professional sport and garish spectacle, but failed at both.

The official XFL site contains background information on the league and its teams, as well as the official press release announcing its demise. The Washington Post's XFL section includes commentary, archived articles, and background information, as well as a report on yesterday's announcement. The Yahoo! XFL page links to numerous recent and archived articles on the league. Additional reports are available from ESPN, the New York Times (free registration required), and CNN. [MD]
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From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2001. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/

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Copyright Susan Calcari and the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, 1994-2001. 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, are 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.

Michael de Nie Susan Calcari Rachael Bower Travis Koplow David Charbonneau Emily Missner Laura X. Payne Debra Shapiro Scott Watkins Ed Almasy Hilary C. Sanders Andy Yaco-Mink Manoj Ananthapadmanabhan Pat Coulthard Andy Yaco-Mink

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