The Scout Report - July 27, 2001

Farewell
This report will be my last as Editor of the Scout Report. My three years as Editor and four years with the Scout Project have been both enlightening and just plain fun. I would like to thank Rachael Bower and all of my colleagues at the project, both present and past, for their assistance, insight, and friendship. Tremendous thanks are also due to our readers for their suggestions and enthusiasm. It was my great pleasure to take these weekly treks across the Web with you. I'll be leaving the Wisconsin winter behind as I head south to the Lone Star State to take a visiting position with the Department of History at Texas Christian University. Beginning next week, the Scout Report will be in the infinitely capable hands of our Managing Editor, Travis Koplow. Michael de Nie [MD]

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The Performing Arts in a New Era [.pdf]
Full Text
http://www.pewtrusts.org/pdf/cul_rand.pdf
Research Brief
http://www.pewtrusts.org/pdf/cul_rand_brief.pdf
This new 137-page report explores trends in the performing arts over the past 30 years. Commissioned by the Pew Charitable Trusts and conducted by RAND, the study claims to be the first comprehensive overview of the performing arts in the last few decades. For the report, RAND researchers examined data on live and recorded theater, opera, dance, and music, in both the commercial and volunteer or amateur sectors. Among other things, it finds that, while the commercial performing arts have been steadily growing concentrated, live performances have been proliferating at the local level. Users may read the full text of the report or a six-page summary at the Pew site. [MD]
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America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2001 [.pdf]
http://childstats.gov/ac2001/ac01.asp
The 2001 edition (last edition reviewed in the July 21, 2000 Scout Report) of this annual compendium of statistical indicators on US children, produced by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, has been placed online. This issue, which contains twenty-four indicators in four topics, shows overall improvement in children's well-being but also reports continuing and significant disparities, principally along economic lines. Information is presented in non-technical terms with heavy use of charts and tables. The full text of the report, including the appendices, is available for download in HTML or .pdf format. Users may also browse the report highlights, the official press release, and two special features on asthma prevalence and youth employment. [MD]
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Worldbiomes.com
http://www.worldbiomes.com/
Aquatic, desert, forest, grasslands, and tundra -- the latest colors in a trendy clothing catalog? Nope! These are five of Earth's major biomes, which are regions distinguished by their climate, fauna, and flora, presented at Worldbiomes.com. From the site's main page, users follow links to individual pages on each of the biomes. Each biome page briefly describes the biome, presents color photographs, gives a handful of links to topical sites, and suggests related readings (note: clicking on a book title bounces you to a shopping site). Other features of this site include a section for environment and weather news, a discussion board, and more biome-related links. [HCS]
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Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 2000 [.pdf]
http://clerk.house.gov/elections/2000election.pdf
Recently released by the Office of the Clerk of the US House of Representatives, this report was compiled from several sources and contains the official vote counts for the most recent federal elections. These are listed by state with additional tables that compare vote totals for presidential electors, senators, and representatives. The report may be downloaded in .pdf format from the Clerk's site. [MD]
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UNESCO - Studying Abroad [.pdf]
http://www.unesco.org/education/studying_abroad/index.shtml
Recently unveiled by UNESCO, this site is designed to serve as a resource for students considering studying abroad at institutions of higher education, university community members, Secretariats of Regional Committees, and other interested parties. At present, much of the site is under construction, but it does offer an electronic version of Study Abroad, UNESCO's massive guide to higher-education study opportunities and scholarships. The guide totals 629 pages and includes 2,659 entries on courses and scholarships in different higher-education academic and professional disciplines in 129 countries. Anyone interested in studying abroad will want to take a look at this guide and monitor the site for future developments. [MD]
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The Glossarist
http://www.glossarist.com/
This comprehensive directory offers one-stop glossary shopping, with over 4,500 glossaries, 679 of which have been cataloged into 130 categories. Visitors may search the directory by keyword or browse for a glossary by topic (and then category). For example, the Arts and Culture section includes general glossaries as well as those for animation, cartoons, architecture, dance, film, fine arts, and five other categories. Some, but not all of the entries include a brief description. Sample keyword searches came out fairly well, with four returns for "mythology," four for "baking," and eight for "Islam." [MD]
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Directory of Corporate Archives in the United States and Canada
http://www.hunterinformation.com/corporat.htm
The fifth edition of Directory of Corporate Archives in the United States and Canada, sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, Business Archives Section, was placed online in early July. An excellent reference resource for business historians and researchers, the directory may be browsed alphabetically by name of the corporation. There also (non-hyperlinked) geographical and archivists indexes. Archive entries include contact information, conditions of access, holdings, and a description. [MD]
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Doctor Who - The Official Site [RealPlayer, Flash]
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/index.shtml
Presented by the BBC, this site is a superb resource for fans of the television series. There are almost too many goodies here to list, but highlights include a history of Who, information on each of the eight Doctors, a comprehensive episode guide, audio and video clips, features, photo novels, an alien fact file, Doctor Who news, and even a virtual TARDIS! Also recommended for those who have the time is a new enhanced Doctor Who radio play, Death Comes to Time.[MD]
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AskOxford.com
http://www.askoxford.com/
Launched on July 12 in conjunction with the revised edition of the Concise Oxford Dictionary, this site offers an array of resources to help visitors make the best use of the English langauge. Features include a word of the day, quote of the week, language and writing tips, question and answer, word games, a jargon buster, and education resources. Users may also email queries to the Oxford Word and Language Service. A fun and educational site that should appeal to anyone interested in language or writing. [MD]
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Egg: the Arts Show -- PBS
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/egg/flash/
"Egg is a new TV show about people making art across America" from PBS. This accompanying Website presents excerpts from sixteen episodes of the series, with three more "hatching soon," such as Close to Home, profiling three photographers: Jeanine Pohlhaus, whose pictures document her father's struggle with mental illness; Gregory Crewdson's photos of Lee, Massachusetts; and Joseph Rodriguez's photos of Hispanics in New York City. Excerpts include video clips, gallery listings where the artists' work can be seen, and short interviews with artists. Some episodes also offer "peeps," glimpses of material not shown on TV, such as the Space episode's peep, Shooting Stars, that provides directions for astrophotography, taking photographs of star trails. Other sections of the site are airdates, for local listings; see and do usa, where vacationers can search for art events at their destinations; and egg on the arts, a discussion forum. [DS]
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Images of Japanese Labor and Social Movement in the Post-1945 Japan
http://oohara.mt.tama.hosei.ac.jp/posengl/
Provided by the Ohara Institute for Social Research, this site showcases 200 of the Institute's collection of about 1,400 posters of labor and social movements in post-1945 Japan. Labor unions were first legalized in Japan only in 1945 and in their early years engaged in prolonged struggles with employers over wages and working conditions. At the site, visitors can view posters from this period produced by both labor unions and industry federations. These are organized by union and offered in slideshow format with partial translations. This is a nice exhibition that should appeal to anyone interested in Japanese social history or the art of the political poster. [MD]
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bobdylan.com: Performances [RealPlayer]
http://bobdylan.com/performances/
bobdylan.com [RealPlayer]
http://bobdylan.com/
Recently added to bobdylan.com, a terrific site for fans (reviewed in the January 23, 1998 Scout Report), this section offers over 50 full-length, unreleased, live recordings in RealPlayer format. The bulk of the recordings are from the late 1990s, though there are a few from an unreleased 1964 album. All songs are linked to their respective entries in the lyrics and albums sections of the main site. Some also include additional notes. [MD]
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Gentleman's Page: A Practical Guide for the 19th Century American Man
http://www.lahacal.org/gentleman/index.html
Unsure if one might don a colorful shirt or black pants with their black frock coat? (One should most certainly not.) Unclear on the finer points of calling card usage? Look no further than this fun and informative site. Designed and written by Walter Nelson and maintained by the Lively Arts History Association, the Gentleman's Page offers a glimpse into the ideals of dress and behavior for middle- and upper-class American men in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Constructed primarily from photos and quotes from period sources, the site explores the differences in men's wear, ballroom etiquette, table manners, greetings, behavior in the presence of ladies, and other topics. [MD]
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Web-agri
http://www.web-agri.com/
This site bills itself as the first "real" agricultural search engine (not just a searchable directory), indexing over 500,000 agriculture Webpages. At present, there is only one search option -- keyword -- though it supports boolean and other search aids. Results are ordered by relevance with a one-paragraph summary taken from the site. Returns in sample searches varied quite a bit in relevance and usefulness. A French-language version is also available. [MD]
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Netscape Communicator 4.78
http://home.netscape.com/download/index.html?cp=djuc1
The latest version of Netscape's browser includes improved support for Sun Java plug-in, improved mousewheel support (Windows), several bug fixes, and updated components: AIM 4.3 (Mac) and Flash 5 (Windows). Users may download the software for free at the Netscape site. [MD]
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Senate Backs Mexican Truck Rules
"Senate Backs Strict Safety Tests for Mexican Trucks in U.S." -- New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/27/politics/27SPEN.html
"Senate Moves to Mandate Checks on Mexican Trucks" -- Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-000061197jul27.story?coll=la%2Dnews%2Da%5Fsection
"Bush Loses again on Mexican Truck Rules" -- Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56323-2001Jul26.html
"Mexican truck bill gains speed" -- Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/national/428950_trucks_27bus.A.html
"Senators slam brakes on filibuster" -- Houston Chronicle
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/front/981143
"Senate strict on Mexican trucks" -- Arizona Daily Star
http://www.azstarnet.com/star/today/10727NMEXICO-U-S--TRUCKS-6.html
"Honk if you smell cheap politics" -- Chicago Tribune
http://chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0107270166jul27.story?coll=chi%2Dnewsopinion%2Dhed
North American Free Trade Agreement
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/nafta-alena/agree-e.asp
In another embarrassment to President Bush, the Senate voted 70-30 yesterday to end a Republican filibuster and support efforts to impose stricter safety standards on Mexican trucks driving across the United States. Granting Mexican trucking companies access to American roads has been a contentious issue since the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement. President Bush has stated that he wants to allow Mexican trucks in the US beginning January 1. At first the administration proposed allowing the trucks to enter and then auditing the Mexican companies over the next eighteen months. After this plan was criticized, the White House agreed to hold periodic inspections on the border. The issue pits highway safety advocates and labor unions, especially the Teamsters, on one side, and businesses and trucking companies on the other. While the House version of the transportation spending bill included a complete ban on Mexican trucks outside of a 20-mile commercial zone along the border, the Senate version includes regular inspections of Mexican trucks and drivers, on-site audits of Mexican trucking companies, and more inspectors and scales at border stations. Supporters of these standards claim that lenient safety rules in Mexico will result in large numbers of unsafe trucks on American highways. Opponents characterize the measure as "anti-Mexican" (the same rules will not apply to Canadian trucks) and warn that it will violate NAFTA. President Bush has threatened to stop the new plan, even if it means vetoing the entire Senate transportation bill.

Coverage on these developments may be found in the New York Times,Los Angeles Times,Washington Post,Dallas Morning News,Houston Chronicle, and Arizona Daily Star. The Chicago Tribune editorial page offers commentary, and users can read the full text of the NAFTA agreement for themselves at the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs site. [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.

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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 Manoj Ananthapadmanabhan David Sleasman Barry Wiegan Pat Coulthard Andy Yaco-Mink

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