NSDL Scout Report for Math, Engineering, and Technology
The fourteenth issue of the first volume of the MET Report is available. Its Topic in Depth section offers Web sites and comments about energy efficiency and electric motors.
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Review of the Estimates for the Impact of the September 11, 2001, Terrorists Attacks on New York Tax Revenues [.pdf]
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-02-882R
This brief report by the General Accounting Office (GAO) is a follow-up to their May 2002 review of the economic impact of the September 11th attacks on New York (last mentioned in the June 14, 2002 Scout Report). Going a step beyond, this report reviews the tax revenue loss estimates of the New York City Office of Management and Budget and the New York State Division of Budget. According to the report, tax revenue loss estimates for the 2002 fiscal year are 1.6 billion for the city of New York, and 1.6 billion for the state. The 2003 fiscal year estimates are 1.4 billion for the city and 4.2 billion for the state. Available in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format, this 9-page report contains (among other things) a summary, background information on last year's national economy, and brief comments by both New York budget offices. [MG]
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Durability by Design: A Guide for Residential Builders and Designers
http://huduser.org/publications/destech/durdesign.html
Published by the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH), Durability by Design is a housing durability resource manual that offers recommendations regarding building materials and construction design. Addressing common housing durability problems, this eight-chapter manual not only addresses the significance of housing durability, but also covers matters such as moisture management, ultraviolet (UV) protection, insects, decay and corrosion, natural hazards, and miscellaneous issues such as finishes and air leakage protection. Available in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format, this best practice resource guide is for designers, builders, and homeowners interested in learning about practices and concepts relating to housing durability. Users should note that the manual size is 223 MB, and therefore, may take a while to download even with broadband connections. [MG]
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Making Democracy Work: A Brief History of Twentieth-Century Federal Executive Reogranization [.pdf]
http://www.americanpoliticaldevelopment.org/exec_reorganization.htm
The 126-page study available on this site is the most recent research paper produced by the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs. Released in July 2002 to inform the recent Homeland Security Debate, the study offers a comprehensive review of executive reorganization throughout the twentieth century. Written by Brian Balogh, Joanna Grisinger, and Philip Zelikow, the report suggests a few conclusions that may inform the current discourse regarding the establishment of the Homeland Security Office in light of the events that occurred this past September. The Web site also contains a timeline of milestones in executive reorganization and a chronological list of federal agencies and dates they were established or eliminated. Offering a timely and nuanced historical perspective on executive reorganization throughout the 20th century, the report will be useful for those looking for some historical analysis and for those seeking to learn more about the executive branch of the federal government. Persons wanting to read the study will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed. [KM]
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Global Environment Outlook-3 [.pdf]
http://grid2.cr.usgs.gov/geo/geo3/index.htm
Prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme, the 2002 edition of the Global Environment Outlook is a comprehensive look at the recent history of global environmental change, along with addressing some potential future environmental scenarios for the next thirty years. Divided into five sections, the Outlook contains sections on integrating development plans with a concern for the stability of the global environment, a retrospective thirty-year history addressing changes in land use patterns around the world, and a section that contains some potential policy options that might be pursued in the future by different decision-making bodies. Perhaps most compelling is the fourth section of the report, which is devoted to a detailed discussion of four different policy scenarios that may emerge over the next few decades. The report and the site will be of great interest to those concerned with global environmental change, policy-making, and the role of developing nations in this process. Persons wanting to read the full report will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed. [KM]
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One Year of Progress: Report on the Digital Preservation Planning Project [.pdf]
http://www.library.yale.edu/~okerson/yea/
This report provides results of the e-archiving planning effort between the Yale University Library and Elsevier Science. Funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Yale-Elsevier planning project undertook the task of examining the challenges and opportunities of digitally preserving a collection of commercially published scientific journals. The planning project has begun the process of designing a small prototype archive that (according to the report) has the potential to become "the cornerstone of an e-journal archive environment that provides full backup, preservation, refreshing, and migration functions." Available in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format, interested viewers can download the report in its entirety or by individual sections. [MG]
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2002 Census of Governments [.pdf]
http://www.census.gov/govs/www/cog2002.html
Taken every five years (as a requirement of federal law), the Census of Governments covers three major subject areas: government organization, public employment, and government finance. Currently available on the site is the entire preliminary report that offers official counts of the number of state and local governments, and tabulations of governments by state, type of government, size, and county location. Future reports will be posted on the Web site over the next two years, among them documents dealing with the employment figures of major local governments, public education finance, and the finances of county governments. When all of the eleven reports are finally released onto the site, they will constitute an extremely valuable resource for those interested in doing work on the nature of local government, finance, and employment. Persons wanting to read the reports will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed. [KM]
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Founding Fathers Info Guide
http://www.foundingfathers.info/
Created and maintained by Chris Whitten, this site is devoted to telling the story of the United States during its first few decades of existence, with a special emphasis on the lives of the American Presidents during this period. Different sections of the site contain photo galleries (primarily consisting of portraits), a history of the American flag, quotations from the founding fathers, and a few lists of suggested books for further exploration. Perhaps one of the strongest features of this site is an online version of the complete Federalist Papers, along with links to other important documents, such as the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. Overall, this site is a good introduction to some of the documents and persons associated with the early history of the republic, and a good learning tool for younger students. [KM]
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Images Canada
http://www.imagescanada.ca/
Borrowing a good idea from PictureAustralia (last mentioned in the December 1, 2000 Scout Report), Images Canada provides a central point to start a cross-collection search through more than 75,000 images held by participating Canadian museums, archives, and libraries. Like PictureAustralia, there are three ways to search: by keyword (simply enter terms in a box), advanced (limit terms to specific fields), and Trails, ("pre-selected searches on a particular topic or theme"). Currently, the main trails are The Great Canadian Outdoors -- the path to fishing, hunting, and wild life -- and From Sea to Sea to Sea -- exploring Canada's geography by plane, train, and automobile. There are also several photo essays written by archivists and curators, highlighting collection items on subjects such as J.B. Tyrrell (1858-1957), an explorer, geologist, mining consultant and historian; and "Celebrating Dominion Day 1867-1917" (now known as Canada Day). To find out more about the types of pictures available via Images Canada, select About and go to the Partners page for descriptions of the collections of the eight participating cultural institutions. [DS]
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What's Cooking? Julia Child's Kitchen at the Smithsonian
http://americanhistory.si.edu/kitchen/
In November 2001, after leaving her Massachusetts home of forty-two years and relocating to California, Julia Child -- the renowned cooking artist -- gave her kitchen to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Behring Center. Designed by her late husband in 1961, the kitchen has become somewhat of an icon after being viewed for seven years by millions of people on three public television series. An accompaniment to Bon Apptit! Julia Child's Kitchen at the Smithsonian (a new exhibition featuring the reconstruction of Child's kitchen, opening August 19, 2002), What's Cooking? documents the nearly year-long process of deconstructing and reconstructing the contents of Child's kitchen, which consisted of more than 1,200 individual items. The site also contains photographs of Child and her 1961 kitchen, diary entries from Smithsonian staff members who interviewed Child and helped with the construction of the exhibit, and resources by and about Julia Child. In addition, the site provides kitchen stories by Child and others, which can be heard using RealPlayer or read in HTML format. [MG]
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BetterU News
http://www.fitstep.com/index.html
BetterU News is a free online newsletter that offers quality information regarding health and fitness. Providing information for individuals ranging across the fitness spectrum -- from fitness professionals to sedentary people with fitness hopes -- this site provides valuable information that can be used to meet just about every fitness goal. Some of the site's highlights include (but not nearly limited to) information on nutrition; cardiovascular and resistance training; and a fitness library that offers information on exercise, nutrition myths, free weight exercises, and calisthenics. Also, for those interested in paying a small fee, the site provides access to an online certified personal trainer who will design a customized exercise program based upon the information you provide on the online questionnaire. As a certified personal trainer myself, I can attest to the accuracy of the information, and therefore, highly recommend visiting the site, even if you're not interested in signing up for the monthly newsletter. [MG]
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EETimes Network: The Worldwide Electronics Resource
http://www.eetnetwork.com/
EEdesign, last reviewed in the February 15, 2002 NSDL Report for Math, Engineering, and Technology, is one of many Web sites that are part of the EETimes Network. This new resource for electrical engineering (EE) and electronics professionals integrates the online versions of global technical newspapers. It also serves as a central access point to sites for specific industries that are part of the EETimes Network. For instance, there are features for communications, analog design, embedded systems, semiconductors, and microwave engineering. All of this provides an excellent way to keep up to date on breakthrough technologies, market developments, and business dealings. This site is also reviewed in the August 16, 2002 NSDL MET Report. [CL]
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The Coffee Science Information Centre
http://www.cosic.org/
Celebrating the drink that Bach referred to as "lovelier than a thousand kisses," the Web site of the Coffee Science Information Centre has a variety of sections relating different material on the work of the Centre and general information about this occasionally maligned beverage. The prime goal of the Coffee Science Information Centre is "to provide accurate, balanced and consistent information to all audiences across Europe who have an interest in coffee, caffeine and health." Specifically, different sections of the site deal with coffee and health, world coffee events, and a brief essay on coffee throughout history. The site also contains links to different scientific reports that refute certain commonly misconceptions about coffee, including the idea that prolonged coffee ingestion will lead to extreme dehydration. This site will be of great interest to those with a strong affinity for coffee and also for those interested in current scientific research on caffeine. [KM]
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Granger's World of Poetry Online
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/cgwop/index.html
The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry Web site is perhaps the largest compendium of online poetry in existence, containing over 30,000 complete poems, 300,000 poem citations, an extensive glossary of terms and definitions, and biographies of different poets. While complete access to the World of Poetry requires paying a fee, there is a free trial account that will allow potential customers temporary access to the database. There is also a valuable link to 180 poems (for no charge) that may be used for introducing students to contemporary poetry. Overall, the site serves as an introduction to the possibilities of purchasing access to one of the most prodigious online poetry databases available. [KM]
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OpenOffice.org 1.0.1
http://www.openoffice.org/
OpenOffice.org 1.0.1 is a "multi-platform office productivity suite" that includes a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager, and drawing program. Available for free downloading and accessible in 27 different languages, the software can run on Solaris, Linux (including PPC Linux), and Windows. Designers are currently working on additional ports to include Mac OS X. [MG]
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OneLook Dictionaries
http://www.onelook.com/
"A search engine for words," OneLook Dictionaries contains over 4 million words indexed in more than 700 online dictionaries. Whether you're looking for a definition or translation, OneLook will provide a list of Web dictionaries that can answer the questions you're seeking. Equally important, for those rare occasions when the spelling of a word is unknown, OneLook allows you to type in a pattern of letters with wildcard symbols such as "*" and "?," and it will retrieve a list of words matching that pattern. In short, everything you could ever want or need in a dictionary is available at this site. [MG]
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Judge Ruled in Favor of UNC Chapel Hill's Qur'n Assignment
Judge: Quran Text OK
http://www.newsobserver.com/front/story/1639205p-1665804c.html
Inquisition at Chapel Hill
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6727-2002Aug11.html
A Kinder, Gentler Koran
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101020819-335965,00.html
University Sued Over Islam Reading Assignment
http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/07/24/islam.unc.lawsuit/index.html
Sites for Legal Information from FindLaw
http://www.cnn.com/LAW/sites.html
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Official Web Site
http://www.unc.edu/
Home Page of the American Civil Liberties Union
http://www.aclu.org/
On Thursday, a federal judge refused to grant a temporary restraining order to prohibit a requirement that incoming freshmen and transfer students at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill read and discuss a book about the Koran. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit argued that the book --_Approaching the Qur'n: The Early Revelations_, by Michael Sells, a professor of religion at Haverford College -- violated the church-state separation required by the US Constitution. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has leapt to the university's defense, and they, along with university officials, assert that the assignment was purely about "intellectual engagement and critical thinking."
The University, which annually assigns a book for all incoming freshmen to read, assigned this book in May to all freshmen and transfer students to read over the summer in preparation for a two-hour discussion session scheduled for the beginning of the fall semester. Students were also asked to complete a one-page writing assignment based on their understanding and interpretation of the book. Students not wanting to read the book may opt out of the discussion by writing a one-page essay explaining their objections to the assignment. For more information regarding this story, users may access the first four news links above. The fifth site by FindLaw contains a list of links to legal information sites, and the last two links lead to official Web pages of the UNC Chapel Hill and ACLU, respectively.
[MG]
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