NSDL Scout Report for Math, Engineering, and Technology
The fifth issue of the first volume of the MET Report is available. Its Topic in Depth section offers Web sites and comments about quantum computers.
[Back to Contents]
Life Cycle Assessment Tools to Measure Environmental Impacts
http://www.huduser.org/publications/destech/lifecycle.html
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tools were created to allow homebuilders the opportunity to choose the most environmentally effective building materials and designs. Given the potential importance of these tools, HUD commissioned the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Research Center to bring together a forum of experts to discuss the usefulness of LCA tools. The report "Life Cycle Assessment Tools to Measure Environmental Impact: Assessing Their Applicability to the Home Building Industry" presents the results of the forum's examination and offers a critique of LCA tools, as well as suggestions on how they can be made more useful. This report is divided into three sections. Section I contains background information on LCA tools and the purpose of the LCA forum; section II explains how the forum was designed to elicit input from the meeting's participants and provides information on each of the tools highlighted during the event; and section III contains primary feedback obtained from participants during each of the facilitated discussions and recommendations on how to make the tools more applicable to the residential home building industry. Based upon the feedback, the report suggests that LCA tools are not ready, and may not be ready for sometime, for homebuilders to use as a practical resource. In any event, architects, designers, product manufacturers, builders, and engineers in the commercial building industry may find this report worthy of attention. [MG]
[Back to Contents]
A Call to Action: Changing the Culture of Drinking at US Colleges
http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/Reports/TaskForce/TaskForce_TOC.aspx
Recently released by the Task Force of the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, this report highlights and responds to the growing epidemic of college drinking. Unfortunately, in recent years, attention to college drinking has focused on the consequences of excessive drinking rather than the drinking itself. Conversely, this report brings attention to the problem of college drinking and also provides suggestions and recommended strategies to combat this problem. According to the report, "at least 1,400 college student deaths a year are linked to alcohol." Furthermore, students who drink excessively have "higher rates of injuries, assaults, academic problems, arrests, vandalism, and other health and social problems, compared with their non-drinking counterparts." As the report reveals, this is not just a student problem, and it requires more than a student-level solution. Solutions involve everyone within the campus and local communities, including campus administrators, professors, health educators, policy makers, and parents. [MG]
[Back to Contents]
American Academy of Arts and Sciences: Occasional Papers [.pdf]
http://www.amacad.org/publications/occasional.htm
A new series of occasional papers sponsored by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences are now available online in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. The two paper topics are "Evaluation and the Academy: Are We Doing the Right Thing? Grade Inflation and Letters of Recommendation" (also provided are links to other articles relating to this topic), and "Trends in American and German Higher Education." Authored by Henry Rosovsky, former dean of Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and Matthew Hartley, lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education, "Evaluation and the Academy" suggests that changing the current system will be difficult but asserts that the "academic world has the obligation to make education improvements when needed and when possible." Simply accepting the status quo "is not acceptable professional conduct." Furthermore, "Trends in American and German Higher Education," edited by Robert McC. Adams of the University of California, San Diego, examines the current conditions of the research university systems in the US and Germany. On the whole, both papers provide valuable information for educators, researchers, students, administrators, and those interested in the enterprise of higher education. Forthcoming is a paper entitled "Making the Humanities Count: The Importance of Data." [MG]
[Back to Contents]
Early Classics in Biogeography, Distribution, and Diversity Studies: To 1950
http://www.wku.edu/~smithch/biogeog/
Produced and maintained by Charles Smith, science librarian at the University of Western Kentucky, this bibliography points to a wide range of primary sources in an area of inquiry that predates the theory of evolution, but whose various disciplines all played a part in its formulation. To hear Dr. Smith describe it, biogeography refers to the study of "what lives where, and why." As you will see in his extensive list of references, the range of topics covered is as broad as it is deep, drawing on the work of many seminal thinkers. Easy to consult, Dr. Smith's bibliography is a simple, alphabetical listing of works, many of which are directly accessible online via clearly denoted hyperlinks. [WH]
[Back to Contents]
Multatuli Museum
http://www.multatuli-museum.nl/en/
Presented and maintained by the Multatuli Museum in Amsterdam, this site showcases the life and work of Eduard Douwes Dekker, aka Multatuli. A celebrated nineteenth century author, Multatuli started out as a functionary in the Dutch East Indies export and import business, only to be disgusted by the inhumane treatment of the natives. Reacting to conditions there, Multatuli produced a novel, entitled Max Havelaar, that became both an overnight success and a rallying point for European free-thinkers of his day, especially socialists and anarchists. Beyond a brief biography and a complete bibliography, the site also presents the activities of the Multatuli Society of Amsterdam, which promotes study of their namesake through the publication of a biannual review, as well as by sponsoring a biannual essay contest of current scholarship. [WH]
[Back to Contents]
Amadeo Modigliani (1884-1920)
http://www.expo-modigliani.com/index.cfm
Presented by Expo-shop.com, this Web site is a virtual museum that offers approximately 100 works by the Italian painter and sculptor, Amadeo Modigliani. Captivated by African masks and primitivism, Modigliani is best known for his ability to master "simplicity and grace in his shapes, using delicate colors and distortion of the body to highlight his models' personalities." The Modigliani database is searchable by keyword in English or French, or browseable by theme, year, or technique. Also included on the site is a brief biography and a list of permanent exhibition sites where Modigliani's works are housed. In addition, viewers have the opportunity to select one of their favorite paintings and send a personalized e-card to a friend or relative. The great part about the site is that it provides links to other Expo-shop.com museums including Degas (1834-1917), Cezanne (1839-1906), Monet (1840-1926), Renoir (1841-1919), Gauguin (1848-1903), Van Gogh (1853-1890), Klimt (1862-1918), and Magritte (1898-1967). Users should also note that Expo-shop.com is a commercial site that offers an online shopping experience for art lovers and enthusiasts. [MG]
[Back to Contents]
Natalie Curtis Burlin, ethnomusicology and folklore
http://www.nataliecurtis.org/index.html
"Natalie Curtis Burlin (1875-1921): A Pioneer in the Study of American Minority Cultures" was a paper that appeared in the Connecticut Review in the Spring of 1994. Written by Al Bredenberg, President and Senior Associate of Broad Mountain Associates, the paper has recently been made accessible to Internet users. A musician, author, researcher, and human rights advocate, Natalie Burlin has contributed to the fields of "women's studies, Native American studies, African-American history, music history, art history, ethnomusicology, and folklore." Equipped with pictures, end notes, and recommended readings, this paper offers enough information to provide a solid foundation for more scholarly work. [MG]
[Back to Contents]
Virtual Norfolk
http://www.uea.ac.uk/his/virtualnorfolk/
An experiment in teaching with historical texts still in the early stages of development, Virtual Norfolk (Norfolk County, UK) offers five content modules that include seminars, topics, and illustrative documents. For example, the Social History of Early Modern England module includes the Everyday Lives seminar, which has among its topics Crime and the Law, where one can read the digitized version of "prosecution of Benet Goodwyn for whoring" from Norwich City Records, City Quarter Sessions, Book of Examinations and Depositions, 1561-67. Some introductory sections and commentaries have yet to be written by project staff, scholars from the University of East Anglia, and the glossary "will appear here shortly." Although parts of the site are still under construction, all historical texts are searchable by keyword; so, it is quite easy for users to broaden a search after looking over a few documents and discovering terms of interest. [DS]
[Back to Contents]
Battle for the Holyland
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/holy/
With the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, Frontline's Battle for the Holy Land examines this perilous conflict from the eyes of those fighting on the ground. "Through unique access to combatants on both sides, Frontline's film teams take viewers inside the worlds of Palestinian militants and Israeli commando units, revealing the strategies, weaponry, and intelligence gathering tactics that have fueled the most recent cycle of violence." Available are exclusive interviews with the Israeli chief of staff and Palestinian militia leaders. Also available are a timeline that traces pivotal events in the escalating conflict since September 2000 (when the current crisis began), commentary and background readings on the current conflict, profiles of key Israeli figures, and a rundown on the political and militant groups behind the Palestinian uprising. Viewers may also access a selection of key analyses of the conflict, join a discussion forum, and much more. [MG]
[Back to Contents]
Bitterlemons.org: Palestinian-Israeli Crossfire
http://bitterlemons.org/
With its first edition launched in late 2001, Bitterlemons.org is a weekly online journal that presents Israeli and Palestinian viewpoints on prominent issues of concern. Each edition addresses a specific area of controversy that relates to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and peace process, as well as other regional concerns. This journal is produced, edited, and partially written by Ghassan Khatib, a Palestinian who teaches cultural studies at Birzeit University, and Yossi Alpher, an Israeli and Director of the Political Security Domain (PSD). The primary goal of the journal "is to contribute to mutual understanding through the open exchange of ideas." It also aspires to "impact the way Palestinians, Israelis and others worldwide think about regional issues." The journal features articles from other writers with interest in the region and contains interviews with prominent Israeli and Palestinians. Free subscription is available by entering your e-mail address on the home page. [MG]
[Back to Contents]
Before Taliban: Genealogies of the Afghan Jihad
http://escholarship.cdlib.org/ucpress/edwards2.xml
The University of California Press: Electronic Editions (last mentioned in the April 18, 2000 Scout Report for the Social Sciences) has recently provided online access to the newly released book Before Taliban: Genealogies of the Afghan Jihad by David B. Edwards. The text consists of seven chapters, along with an introduction, glossary, and bibliography. The chapters are divided into three sections that are accessible individually: the Saur Revolution, the Pech Uprising, and the Islamic Jihad. This text is available for free online browsing and study; however, it is not downloadable. Interested viewers may purchase the book online from the home page. [MG]
[Back to Contents]
Boggle's World: ESL Teacher Resources and Worksheets
http://bogglesworld.com/
Boggle's World is an enriching resource site for elementary and middle school English, English as a Second Language (ESL), and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers. Maintained by ESL teachers in Asia and North America, it aims to "bring free quality resources to parents and educators." Colorful and fun-filled, the site is equipped with various teacher resources including crossword puzzles, flash cards, work sheets, a spell book, and more. The site also contains a link to a teacher's resource database that contains hundreds of ranked Web listings. Furthermore, this site provides a link to the Adult ESL center, which is comprised of free worksheets and activities for teaching adults. In all, this is a wonderful resource site for anyone teaching or interested in ESL activities. [MG]
[Back to Contents]
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children
http://www.gosh.nhs.uk/150/index.html
From 10 beds in its modest beginnings in 1852, to 200 beds by the end of the 19th century, to 335 beds today, The Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH) was Britain's first hospital for sick children and is currently celebrating its 150th birthday. The site brings together medical profiles, notes, and photographs that expose the evolution of patient care. Links from the home page take users on a journey of caring through the ages, what nursing was like, what surgery was like, a 150-year photographic gallery, and 150 years of achievement. Currently, under the direction of medical historian Andrea Tanner, a database of patients and their treatments is brewing. Volunteers are presently compiling the database from microfilm copies and original records; the first 10, 000 have already been entered. Each entry consists of the name, age, address, admission, discharge, illness, and result of individual patients through the years. The site and database is likely to be of interest to researchers and students studying the history of medicine, as well as social historians. [MG]
[Back to Contents]
Directory of Organizations
http://ericdb.uoregon.edu/directory/
Until recently a print-only resource, the Educational Resources Information Center's (ERIC) "Directory of Organizations" is available in electronic form for the first time. Listing resources in K-12 "educational policy, management and leadership," the directory features hundreds of organizations and associations devoted to supporting and/or improving education in America. The resource allows for both quick and detailed browsing, the latter of which provides extensive descriptions of organizational scope, as well as addresses and other relevant contact information. Beyond the above, the directory also allows for internal searches and solicits user input for further organization suggestions. [WH]
[Back to Contents]
Voice Browser Activity
http://www.w3.org/Voice/
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) plays an important role in the development of the Web by creating standards and protocols for universal use and interoperability. The W3C Voice Browser working group is developing revolutionary markup languages similar to HTML that, instead of focusing on a visual interface, will cover "dialog, speech synthesis, speech recognition, call control and other aspects of interactive voice response applications." New specifications, such as VoiceXML and Call Control XML, are thoroughly covered on the group's site. Updates and news items about the work are posted often. With so much information, the site is somewhat cluttered, but is still relatively easy to navigate. This site is also reviewed in the April 12, 2002 NSDL Math, Engineering, and Technology Report. [CL]
[Back to Contents]
Nisus Writer 6.5
http://www.nisus.com/Products/NisusWriter/
Nisus Software, Inc. has recently released the latest version of its word processor, Nisus Writer 6.5. This particular version requires a Power PC and Mac OS 8.5 or later, and is also Classic compatible in OS X. Designed for those needing to write documents containing multiple languages, Nisus Writer 6.5 offers find and replace, customizable keyboard menu equivalents, graphics creation, a powerful macro language, and more. It works with IBM's ViaVoice Enhanced Edition, allowing the entrance of text using a USB microphone. Files are savable in a range of formats, including MS Word, WordPerfect, RTF, Quark Xpress, PageMaker, and EPS. Although the latest version must be purchased, users can download a 30-day demo. Alternatively, an earlier version of the software may be downloaded in its entirety free of charge. [MG]
[Back to Contents]
Colloquia Learning Management and Groupware
http://toomol.bangor.ac.uk/ll/index.html
Colloquia is a software system that promotes group interaction and learning. Formerly known as Learning Landscapes, this software is a management system that enables groups of people to communicate between and among one another. For instance, teachers can post lecture notes and support materials, students can make comments and have discussions with one other, and feedback and information on students' progress can be stored. Unlike other groupware systems, almost all work can be performed offline, making it ideally suited for those working at a distance and who have difficulty maintaining a permanent Internet connection. All that is required is an email account for each user, plus the free downloadable software. It is important to mention that this product is specifically for non-profit educational establishments. [MG]
[Back to Contents]
Rep. James Traficant Found Guilty on All Charges
ABC News: Future Uncertain for Ohio Congressman
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20020412_289.html
Congressman convicted on corruption charges
http://www.salon.com/politics/wire/2002/04/11/traficant/index.html
Washingtonpost.com: End of Traficant Trial Clears Air for Democrats
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36941-2002Apr12.html
FindLaw.com: Indictment of James Traficant, Jr. [.pdf]
http://news.findlaw.com/cnn/docs/traficant/traficant50401indt.pdf
US Representative James A. Traficant, Jr.
http://www.house.gov/traficant/
Voting Record for Rep. James Traficant
http://www.aclu.org/vote-guide/76.html
Rep. James A. Traficant Jr., the often blustery congressman who insisted on defending himself against what he called "a government vendetta," was convicted Thursday of federal corruption charges. An Ohio Democrat in his ninth term, Traficant was found guilty on all of the 10 charges he faced, including racketeering, bribery, fraud, filing false tax returns, receiving gifts and free labor from businessmen for his political help, taking cash kickbacks, and free labor from staff. Furthermore, he was ordered by the jury to forfeit $96,000 in ill-gotten gains. Traficant, who faces up to 63 years in prison, currently remains free on bail pending sentencing, which has been set for June 27.
Traficant refuses to resign from the House of Representatives, stating, "I still have some rights as an American. I've never been a quitter. I'm not going to quit now." He contends that the government came after him because he beat the FBI in a racketeering case 19 years ago, when, as the sheriff of Mahoning County, he was accused of taking mob money. Consequently, that following year, Traficant was elected to the House, where he quickly became known for his disorderly hair, crude style of dress, and tempestuous floor speeches that often ended with the infamous phrase "Beam me up!" According to reporters, the trial was "raucous, often comic and occasionally vulgar, with Traficant roaring at the judge, crudely questioning the prosecutor's manhood, and using barnyard epithets to describe what he thought of the government's case." For more information on this case and the history surrounding it, visit the first three sites listed above. To view a court copy of Traficant's indictment, viewers may visit the fourth, presented by FindLaw.com. In order to access this document, viewers must scroll down to the James Traficant subject title. The fifth site takes viewers to Traficant's home page, which offers biographical data, speeches, press releases, and more. Finally, the last site reveals Traficant's congressional voting history. [MG]
[Back to Contents]
Below are the copyright statements to be included when reproducing annotations from The Scout Report.
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 1994-2002. 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, 1994-2002. 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.
The Scout Report (ISSN 1092-3861) is published weekly by Internet Scout
For information on additional contributors, see the Internet Scout Project staff page:
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/about/team.html
