NSDL Scout Reports for the Life Sciences and Physical Sciences
The twelfth issues of the first volumes of the Life Sciences Report and Physical Sciences Report are available. The Topic in Depth section of Life Sciences Report annotates sites about integrated pest management. The Physical Sciences Report's Topic in Depth section offers information on cloud seeding.
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Employment Outcomes for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/fostercare-agingout02/
Published by the University of Chicagos Chapin Hall Center for Children, this research report provides data on employment outcomes of children who "aged out" of foster care --- exit foster care near or at their eighteenth birthday --- in California, Illinois, and South Carolina during the mid 1990s. The report discloses information on when these children begin to earn income, how long over a 13-quarter period they maintained income, and the amount of earned income received over this time period. These results are then compared to income earnings from foster children who were reunified with their parents prior to their eighteenth birthday, and earnings of low-income youth. According to the study, youth aging out of foster care earn significantly less than youth in any of the comparison groups both prior to and after their eighteenth birthday. Going beyond statistical analysis and comparisons, this report also gives background information on the foster care system, information on the 1999 Foster Care Independence Act, and more. The actual report contains seven sections and each section can be viewed individually. [MG]
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The Price of Paying Taxes: How Tax Preparation and Refund Loan Fees Erode the Benefits of the EITC [.pdf]
http://www.brookings.edu/es/urban/publications/berubekimeitc.pdf
For the first time scholars and researchers have gotten together and prepared an analytical survey on the relationship between Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) recipients and the location of tax preparation services (such as H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt) that offer e-filing and tax returns. Available in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf), and co-authored by the Brookings Urban Center and the Progressive Policy Institute, this report "analyzes information on the commercial tax preparation industry and the spatial distribution of its firms." The report also contains information regarding the concentration of "fast cash" refund loan facilities within low-income communities throughout the nations 100 largest metropolitan areas, and provides an estimate of the total amount spent on tax preparation and loans by EITC recipients. According to the report, EITC recipients dished-out approximately $2 billion for tax preparation services and products in 1999, with more than half of all low-income families purchasing refund loans in some of the nation's largest cities and suburbs. To help decrease the amount of money spent on these types of services, the authors of the report outlined a policy agenda that would help EITC recipients maintain the full value of their return. Some of the agenda recommendations include simplifying tax credits for low-income families; broadening the availability of free and affordable tax preparation assistance and electronic filing of returns; and expanding access to low-cost bank accounts to promote direct deposit of EITC refunds. [MG]
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The Condition of Education, 2002
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2002025
The 2002 edition of the Condition of Education report has recently been released by the US Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Produced annually, the report highlights significant educational developments and progress made within the past year. This years report is available in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) and contains 44 indicators in six main areas: enrollment trends and student characteristics; student achievement and the longer term, enduring effects of education; student effort and rates of progress among different population groups; the quality of elementary and secondary education; the context of post-secondary education; and societal support for learning. Additionally, this report also provides analysis on the environment, climate, student outcomes at private schools, and the enrollment and persistence of nontraditional undergraduates. For anyone interested in education and its future, the report can be viewed in its entirety or by individual sections. [MG]
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Whither Music IR Evaluation Infrastructure: Lessons to be Learned from TREC [.pdf]
http://music-ir.org/evaluation/voorhess.pdf
Dr. Ellen Voorhees, of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, has submitted an online copy of her keynote paper for the Music Information Retrieval/Music Digital Library (MIR/MDL) evaluation workshop. This workshop presentation is a part of the Joint Conference on Digital Libraries (held in Portland, Oregon July 14-18), and discusses background information of the Text REtrieval Conference (TREC) and its possible use as a MIR/MDL evaluation model. More specifically, this seven-page paper "describes the processes used in the TREC evaluations to create information retrieval evaluation infrastructure, reviews assessments of how appropriate the evaluation methodology is for TREC tasks, and makes suggestions regarding the development of an MIR/MDL evaluation framework based on TREC experience." Available in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf), this paper is primarily for those with a concentrated interest in MIR/MDL evaluation issues and a general interest in IR/DL evaluations. [MG]
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The Role of Community Development Corporations in Promoting the Well-Being of Young Children
http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/nccp/roleCDC.html
Prepared by the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP), "The Role of Community Development Corporations in Promoting the Well-Being of Young Children" is an extremely well designed and documented record of the impact of poverty on the lives of young Americans. With more than 12 million children living below the poverty line, many young Americans are in need of all the help they can get, especially in an era of thinning public and private resources. With a close eye on those they are committed to helping, the NCCP offers the benefits of a broad based understanding of child poverty and its often life-altering effects. Neither negative nor critical, the NCCP report is there to help, particularly in the work of community development corporations (CDCs) interested in improving the well being of children and young adults. Serving as a resource base for CDCs, the NCCP wants to facilitate and extend their work by making relevant data more readily available. Thus the report is loaded with local, state and federal information regarding child poverty, facts that can be put to good use in furthering the work of socially responsible organizations and institutions. Not just a repository of valuable statistical content, however, the report and its site also serve as a vast network of links to others interested in improving the lives and futures of nearly one sixth of the
nation's children. [WH]
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The Broadband Difference: How online Americans' behavior changes with high-speed Internet connections at home
http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=63
Created by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, this report focuses on the nature of broadband --- high speed communication --- use in American homes. The report reveals that nearly 24 million Americans (21% of all Internet users) have high-speed connections at home; as a result, they are able to spend more time online and perform more activities within a shorter period of time than dial-up Internet users. Consequently, there has been a steady increase in broadband adoption among Internet users because it transforms and enhances their online experience. According to the report, since the Pew Internet Project first inquired about residential broadband use in June 2000, the number of high-speed home users has quadrupled from 6 million to 24 million Americans. Those interested in reading this document can download the entire 31-page report in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf), or view sections individually from the home page. [MG]
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Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center
http://nps.ars.usda.gov/locations/locations.htm?modecode=12-35-00-00
This Web page from the US Department of Agriculture's Agriculture Research Service features information about research being conducted at the Beltsville Human Nutrition Center. Twenty-one research projects are currently highlighted, each has a page that includes a description of the research project and links to annual reports, researcher information, and publications associated with the study. This site is also reviewed in the June 28, 2002 NSDL Scout Report for Life Sciences. [AL]
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2002 Kids Count Data Book
http://www.aecf.org/kidscount/kc2002/
Crafted by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Kids Count Data Book is a yearly publication that illuminates the status of Americas children by providing data on the "educational, social, economic, and physical well-being of children" all across the U.S. By updating the book annually, viewers can assess the changes that have or have not been made by individual states and the nation at large. The report is divided into sections including graphs and color coded maps; profiles, which provides data on individual states or the nation as a whole; rankings, which contains data on all 50 states ranked according to an indicator; raw data, which allows downloading of the entire data book as "delimited files"; and PDF files, which allows downloading and printing of the data book using Adobe Acrobat. Those wanting a hard copy of the book can order a free copy from the home page. [MG]
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Hearing on FBI Counterterrorism Efforts
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/transcripts/fbitestimony_060602.html
Available on the Washington Post Web site, the above listed link is the entire transcript of the Senates Judiciary Committee hearing on FBI counterterrorism efforts held on June 6, 2002. Users can view remarks from members of the committee, and hear testimonials from others such as the FBI director and Inspector General Glenn Fine. Although the transcript is rather long, it not only gives information regarding counterterrorism efforts, but also provides insight into the world of Congressional committees and how they operate. [MG]
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Secrets of Lost Empires: Pharaoh's Obelisk [Shockwave, QuickTime]
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/obelisk/
From PBS and WGBH Boston, this companion Website to the NOVA program "Pharaoh's Obelisk," (scheduled to rebroadcast on July 23, 2002) combines material from the show with fun features including two games (requiring Shockwave): How Big Were They, which uses an object to measure the weight of an obelisk in elephants; and Lever An Obelisk, which attempts to lift an obelisk using as few blocks as possible. The "Nova Raises an Obelisk" section of the site uses stills from the TV program and text to illustrate the NOVA crew's attempts to erect an obelisk using two Egyptian methods; one that works and one that does not. There is also a QuickTime virtual tour of Egypt; a link to a 1999 NOVA trip to Egypt; Resources, both Web and print; a map and a time line of the Pharaohs; and a teacher's guide to using the program in the classroom, with printable and online activities. [DS]
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Geoexplorer
http://www.geoexplorer.co.uk/
With the recent announcement that American students are falling further
and further behind in their knowledge of the world, the Geoexplorer site is truly a sight for sore eyes, especially to those attempting to impart geographical and geophysical knowledge to young minds. Alive with information of all sorts, Geoexplorer supports research and learning at all levels, with maps, images, instructional modules, statistical data and much, much more. Particularly strong in links and references, the site is literally networked to the rest of the world and any source that might prove helpful to those studying our planet. Especially fun, and sure to please, are the site's links to resources on rocks and rock collecting, with tours of every kind of rock and how they were created. However deeply you might want to delve, Geoexplorer can get you there. [WH]
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A free Spinal Cord Injury Resource Site
http://www.sci-info-pages.com/
Originating from one individuals personal interest in the spinal cord and everything associated with it, this Web site, created and regularly updated by M. Ginop, a quadriplegic, is a non-profit, non-commercial site designed for those who suffer directly or indirectly from spinal cord injuries or diseases of the spine. Well crafted and easily navigable, the site contains helpful information such as books, pamphlets, and publication resources; links to online disability communities; a listing, by state, of hospitals and rehabilitation facilities; a research section on treatments and cures; and information on wheelchair set up (manual and power). Additionally, the site has a health issues section that provides information on bladder and bowel management, skin management and much more. On the whole, this is definitely a quality "one stop site for all SCI information!" [MG]
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Did You Ever Wonder?
http://www.lbl.gov/wonder/
The Did You Ever Wonder Web site is offered by the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Each month a dozen questions are posed and answered by lab scientists on various topics. A few topics currently included are how a portable water purifier saves children's lives, about the best bugs for cleaning up toxic waste, how to carve with light, and a discussion of dark energy and how it accelerates the expansion of the universe. The links describe the work each scientist is involved in and by clicking the "more" link at the bottom of each page brings up additional facts, photos, etc. This site is also reviewed in the June 28, 2002 NSDL Scout Report for Physical Sciences. [JAB]
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OmniWeb (OS X) 4.1
http://downloads-zdnet.com.com/3000-2143-10123267.html?tag=sptlt
Designed for Mac OS X, OmniWeb 4.1 is an alternative Web browser newly released by ZDNet. Some of its many features include drag-and-drop functionality bookmarks that automatically check themselves for new content, keyboard shortcuts that allows easy navigation and other tasks, shrink-to-fit window zooming, and a fully Aqua user interface. This software tool is compatible with JavaScript, Flash, layers, QuickTime, SSL, CSS, and Java applets. [MG]
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Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 2000 Tutorial
http://tutorials.findtutorials.com/read/category/recent/id/397
A production of FindTutorials.com (last reviewed in the January 18, 2002 Scout Report), the Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 2000 tutorial provides basic background and set-up information on the Microsoft Windows operating system family. This brief tutorial consists of a chapter from the more intense training course Network+ Module 3 --- Major Network Operating Systems. For those interested in more detailed information, the page provides links to other tutorials that delve into networking fundamentals and operating systems more deeply. [MG]
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"Bumfights": Reality Television or Blatant Exploitation?
'Bumfights' video prompts call for investigation from congressman
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2002/Jun-24-Mon-2002/news/19030279.html
'Bumfights' makes gladiators of homeless: On shocking video, they fight and smoke crack
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/06/25/MN21877.DTL
'Bumfights' producer defends his video
http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/05/10/homeless.fighting.film/index.html
Home Page of the National Coalition for the Homeless
http://www.nationalhomeless.org/
San Franciscos Coalition on Homelessness
http://sf-homeless-coalition.org/
Congressman Earl Blumenauers Web site
http://www.house.gov/blumenauer/
"Bumfights" is an one hour video, co-created and co-produced by Las Vegas residents Ray Laticia and Ty Beeson, that showcases homeless men and women fighting one another and performing other crude acts and dangerous stunts. Inspired by a fight they observed on the streets of San Francisco, Laticia and Beeson decided to solicit and shot footage of the homeless and compile it into a video they amazingly deem "the most hilariously shocking video you've ever seen or your money back." According to the filmmakers, all of the participants signed consent forms and were paid between $20 to $100.
As to be expected, many advocates for the homeless are flabbergasted and outraged by this video. Donald Whitehead, the executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, says the video is "disgusting" and "outrageous" and thinks the video will encourage more violence against homeless people; "it puts homeless people in isolated positions in grave danger." Whitehead said he and his group supports the efforts of Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D- Ore., who recently asked for a federal investigation into the legality of the tape. For more information concerning "Bumfights", users may click on the first three links listed above. For information on the National Coalition for the Homeless, San Franciscos Coalition on Homelessness, and Rep. Earl Blumenauer, users may access links four, five, and six, respectively. [MG]
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