NSDL Scout Reports for the Life Sciences and Physical Sciences
The twenty-third 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 on the biology of Thanksgiving. The Physical Sciences Report's Topic in Depth section offers Web sites and comments about chlorine.
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US Banking in the Last Fifty Years: Growth and Adaptation [.pdf]
http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/econ/archive/wp2002-19.pdf
Released in August 2002, this working paper from the Social Systems Research Institute at the University of Wisconsin provides a broad overview of the dramatic changes within the commercial banking sector of the United States during the past fifty years. Authored by Professor Emeritus Donald D. Hester of the University's economics department, the paper proceeds chronologically from the conclusion of World War II and provides some comparative insights between the banking situation of the 1920s in the United States with those of the past ten years. Throughout the work, Professor Hester focuses his attention on banking practices, portfolio composition, and the changing role of banks as financial intermediaries. In the course of his work, Professor Hester concludes that banks have been increasingly discarding their traditional mode of financing loans and investments with deposits they collect, instead becoming brokers who originate loans and then use securitization to lodge them with other investors who are likely to be less informed and correspondingly more vulnerable to losses. [KMG]
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The Dynamics of Protest Diffusion: The 1960 Sit-In Movement in the American South [.pdf]
http://www.sociology.ox.ac.uk/swps/2002-07.pdf
Part of the Working Papers in Sociology series from Oxford University, this work addresses the dynamics of protest diffusion by taking an in-depth and rigorous look at the 1960 sit-in movement that took place in different locations around the South. Within the papers 31 pages, Professor Kenneth Andrews of Harvard and Professor Michael Biggs of the University of Oxford offer a brief exposition of previous research into the spontaneity and organization in the dynamics of social movements, along with presenting their own approach to this oft-contested area of scholarship. Using cross-sectional regressional models and event history analysis, the authors are able to show support for the significance of formal movement organization in the initial period of protest, and the diffusion effect, where the existence of previous protests would increase the likelihood of further protest. While the authors note that their results are not that surprising, their efforts here are some of the first to systematically utilize a quantitative approach to examining this powerful social movement. [KMG]
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The British Library: Turning the Pages [Shockwave]
http://www.bl.uk/collections/treasures/digitisation.html#
The online exhibits and digitization projects of the British Library are some of the finest in the world, and the Turning the Pages exhibit may be one of their best thus far. Utilizing the most contemporary advances in interactive display, visitors to the site can virtually turn the pages of the nine currently available original manuscripts located here. The nine manuscripts represent some of the most important printed pieces of material in the Library's collection, and in a few cases, some of the most important documents in world history. Currently, their number includes the Sherborne Missal, the greatest English illuminated manuscript of the late Middle Ages; the Diamond Sutra, the world's earliest dated printed book; and Sultan Baybar's Quran, one of the most exquisite copies of the Quran in the British Library. Equally exciting are the project notes available here, which mention that the next manuscript to be added will be the anatomical drawings of Vesalius. [KMG]
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Charles H. Templeton Sheet Music Collection
http://library.msstate.edu/ragtime/main.html
Charles H. Templeton, an alumnus of Mississippi State University and music lover, gave his entire collection of sheet music (some 22,000 titles) to the school's library several years ago, and they have recently begun putting some of the scanned sheet music online. So far, the online searchable archive is only partially available, but a good selection of the sheet music is scanned and can be viewed and downloaded for closer examination. The available sheet music is divided into several main categories, including blues, rags, movie tunes, show tunes, Irving Berlin, war songs, and minstrel songs. Additionally, the site provides information on the digitization process and technology utilized by the project and the collection in general. In Mr. Templeton's own words, "There are many things to be learned from this collection, whether you are a music major or a business major or studying marketing." [KMG]
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The Pilgrims in American Culture: Thanksgiving
http://www.plimoth.org/Library/Thanksgiving/thanksgi.htm
Located at the Plimoth Plantation Web site, this collection of material related to the First Thanksgiving will be of great interest to those seeking to learn more about the facts and myths surrounding this famous event in American history. While most of the factual information about this meal comes from first-hand accounts written by William Bradford and Edward Winslow, these accounts are best understood by also studying household traditions, cooking techniques, and religious practices. The site consists primarily of brief essays that elucidate these various nuances of this legendary meal, including pieces on who exactly was in attendance at the 1621 First Thanksgiving, first-hand accounts about the meal, the bill of fare at the meal, and a piece that dispels the popular myth that popcorn was served at this meal. Perhaps the best part of the site are the modern recipe equivalents for the dishes served at the First Thanksgiving, including roast fowl, seethed cod, and hominy pudding. [KMG]
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Ethnic Identity, Bounded Solidarity, and the Formation of Immigrant Networks of Care [.pdf]
http://workingfamilies.berkeley.edu/papers/55.pdf
Released as part of the Berkeley Center for Working Families Working Paper series, this 20-page paper by Johanna Shih addresses the ethnic solidarity and networks of care among the Asian immigrant community within Silicon Valley. In the work, Dr. Shih draws on a number of different research practices, including long-form interviews and participant observation in order to investigate network construction, identities, and normative informal care behaviors among Asian immigrants in the area. Additionally, Dr. Shih analyzes US Census data from 1990 and 2000 to document differences among white and Asian families, demonstrating that Asian families are more likely to have both parents working full-time in the labor force, thereby increasing the difficulty they may have finding adequate child care. In her concluding remarks, Dr. Shih comments that the experiences of immigration and the geographic concentrations of ethnic communities create a sense of we-ness and bounded solidarity that interprets ethnicity as a form of kinship and shared values. [KMG]
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Biological Soil Crusts [.pdf]
http://www.soilcrust.org/
Biological soil crust probably isn't the first thing that springs to mind when snapping that photo of the Delicate Arch at Arches National Park. However, without the algae, mosses, cyanobacteria, and other tiny organisms that inhabit the surface of desert soils, places like Arches and other arid environments would be quite different. The US Geological Survey provides an online guide to biological soil crusts in this easy-to-navigate Web site. Crust 101 contains a detailed introduction to soil crust ecology, and the Advanced feature offers an extensive technical reference. The Web site also includes a photo gallery, list of related references, and a short list of links. This site is also reviewed in the November 27, 2002 NSDL Life Science Report. [RS]
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Antarctic Meteorology Online
http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/met/metlog/
The Antarctic Meteorology Online Web site is provided by the British Antarctic Survey and the Natural Environment Research Council. Visitors will find weather reports provided by the dozens of stations located in the Antarctic. The Web master has made these data accessible by each specific station; by a clickable map; by a list of all land, ship, or buoy stations; or by an oracle database interface. The reports are at least 10 minutes old and are normally not more than six hours old. The information provided includes a graph of pressure and temperature, as well as links to previous reports, which make the site a good and easily accessible resource. This site is also reviewed in the November 27, 2002 NSDL Physical Science Report. [JAB]
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Through the Lens of Time: Images of African Americans from the Cook Collection of Photographs
http://www.library.vcu.edu/jbc/speccoll/cook/
Father and son George and Huestis Cook were photographers active in the US South, particularly Virginia, from the 1860s to the 1930s. These work resulted in the George and Huestis Cook Photograph Collection at the Valentine Richmond History Center, which contains over 10,000 negatives. In 1954, 156 of these photographs were published in a book entitled Shadows in Silver. Through the Lens of Time offers digital versions of almost 300 of the Cooks' photographs, selected from the Valentine Museum's collection, and digitized by Virginia Commonwealth University. Although these pictures have been on the Web since 2000, with significant additions in 2001, it is well worth a return or first time visit to see them. George Cook, one of the first commercial photographers in the US, trained other photographers in the business, and acquired the collections of photographers who were retiring, amassing an extensive collection of photographs documenting the city of Richmond, VA. Huestis Cook's photographs are unique in showing African-Americans realistically, instead of in popular stereotypical settings. Huestis also documented the tobacco business and Virginia plantations. The Web interface provides both keyword searching and browsing by 19 different subject headings, such as children, portraits, or tobacco. Once images have been retrieved in a search, the subject headings are presented as links, so that users can easily broaden a search to related topics. Explanations of the terminology used to describe the pictures and instructions for ordering copies are also available at the site. [DS]
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Two about Carnegie Libraries
Carnegie Libraries of California
http://www.carnegie-libraries.org/
Deconstructing the Philanthropic Library: The Sociological Reasons Behind Andrew Carnegies Millions to Libraries
http://www.lib.msu.edu/lorenze1/carnegie.htm
Late in his life, the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie began to donate millions of dollars to fund literally thousands of libraries around the United States and other parts of the English speaking world. Many of the libraries are still in use across the country, some still as libraries and others serving as cultural and neighborhood centers. This first site is the product of Lucy Kortum and Pat and Bernie Skehan, all of whom share a great fondness and interest in the Carnegie library buildings contained within California. On the site, visitors will find information about all of the extant and demolished Carnegie libraries, including historical photographs and a brief discussion about each building's history. This archive of libraries is also searchable by city, area, region, style of architecture, and by current use. An extended essay by Abigal A. Van Slyck located here discusses the innovative nature of the Carnegie library layout and general design. The second site is an essay by Michael Lorenzen, a librarian at Michigan State University, about the reasons behind Andrew Carnegie's sponsorship of libraries around the United States, which is a nice complement to the site on the Carnegie Libraries of California. [KMG]
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Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals: 1933-1945
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/hsx/
This new online exhibit from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum offers some valuable insights into the persecution of homosexuals by the National Socialist government under Adolf Hitler. The exhibit begins by recounting the story of Richard Grune, an artist who had trained at the Bauhaus school, who was identified by the Nazis in 1934 and later spent the entirety of World War II in the Flossenburg concentration camp. The primary sections of the site consist of 12 short essays that recount the Nazi ideology behind the persecution of homosexuals, their initial raids and surveillance of known homosexual gathering places, and other dominant themes during this somber period. The short essays also include important visual documentation of the period, including images of internal Nazi documents. Perhaps the most evocative and moving elements of the site are the haunting drawings created by Richard Grune, drawn after his release from the concentration camp. All in all, an effective and sensitive site designed to elucidate one of the less well-known aspects of social history under the Nazi regime. [KMG]
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The Charles Ives Society
http://www.charlesives.org/
Regrettably ignored during most of his long life by the musical establishment, Charles Ives is perhaps the United States' most important and ground-breaking composer. Begun in 1973, the Charles Ives Society is supported by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, largely from a grant by Mr. Ives' widow, Harmony Twichell Ives. Given their mission, it is not surprising that their site contains a wealth of helpful material for musicologists, performers, and those with a general interest in the life and work of Charles Ives. The site contains a complete descriptive catalogue of his music, listing all of his compositions, both published and unpublished. Visitors looking for an introduction to Mr. Ives will do well to read the short essay written by Jan Swafford. Finally, a small photo gallery provides images of Mr. Ives throughout his life, and a calendar of upcoming performances of his compositions rounds out the site. [KMG]
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City Stories
http://citystories.com/
The City Stories project is a network of city-based storytelling sites, tying real people in real cities all over the world together with a thread of personal stories. The first City Stories site was begun by Derek Powazek, and with offers from volunteers to maintain sites across the world, the City Stories network has expanded to several dozen cities, including Tumon (in Guam), Denver, San Diego, Chicago, and Seattle. The site also notes that City Stories will be expanding to over twenty new cities in the near future. Essentially, each City Stories site is a collection of short stories and thought pieces by local residents, sharing experiences and ideas through the site. Visitors to each site can also post their comments about each individual piece of writing and add their own stories. Finally, each site also contains links about their city for persons seeking to learn a bit more about the place. [KMG]
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The South Asian Literary Recordings Project [Real Audio]
http://www.loc.gov/acq/ovop/delhi/salrp/
Undertaken by the Library of Congress' New Delhi Office, this impressive project was designed to create an audio archive of South Asian authors reading their own work in the original language of its publication. The project began in earnest during April 2000, and by September 2002 (when this site was launched), eighty authors had been recorded. The site features readings in 22 different languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Sindhi, Gujarati, Nepali, and English. The authors reading in English include some of the most prolific and accomplished South Asian authors of the last century. Those featured readings on the site include Keki N. Daruwalla, Anne Ranasinghe, and Mulk Raj Anand, whose career has spanned over seventy-five years. Additionally, a brief profile of each author is included with their representative audio recordings. Persons interested in learning more about South Asia's vast and prodigious literary tradition in the 20th century will find this site a valuable resource. [KMG]
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Gateway to Government Food Safety Information
http://www.foodsafety.gov/
Given all the recent concern about different foodborne pathogens in the news and on television, this site (sponsored by the US federal government) will help answer a variety of questions that consumers and persons in the food industry may have about any number of related topics. For consumers with questions about preparing food and purchasing food from the supermarket, the site has a very helpful section titled Consumer Advice that deals with topics such as food handling, where to report complaints about food products, and seasonal advice tips. A specific section for young persons and educators provides additional materials, such as lesson plans and educational quizzes on food safety. Rounding out the site is a section featuring video broadcasts, which include food safety conference meetings, and an area devoted to current and timely news items related to food safety from different governmental agencies. [KMG]
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AbiWord 1.0.3
http://www.abisource.com/
A bit different than other word processors, AbiWord is a free word processor that is able to run on virtually any platform and supports a wide array of languages. Also of note is the fact that AbiWord is being developed as an Open Source project, which means that the lines of code comprising the application are freely available and redistributable. Perhaps the most important feature of AbiWord is that documents written in the program are readable by any text editor. The available support features for AbiWord are quite impressive, including a complete user's manual, tutorial, weekly news updates, and a FAQ section for user reference. Additionally, users of AbiWord are invited to make suggestions about how the application may be improved in future editions. AbiWord is fully compatible with all Windows operating systems and Mac OS X. [KMG]
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NetChimes
http://download.birnamlabs.com/index.php#netChimes
This little tool will be quite helpful for persons with Web sites who are looking for instant information about who is accessing any part of their site. NetChimes can connect to an unlimited number of servers (for persons with multiple sites) and comes with 20 sounds that can be associated for quick notification of Web activity. Additionally, an unlimited number of visitors can be notified of Web site changes and updates. NetChimes is compatible with the operating system Windows 95 and higher. [KMG]
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New Report from the United Nations Reveals Dramatic Shift in the Worldwide AIDS Epidemic
Women Make up Half of HIV Cases
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43638-2002Nov26.html
Aids Epidemic Bringing Social Collapse
http://www.guardian.co.uk/aids/story/0,7369,848436,00.html
AIDS Epidemic Update [.pdf]
http://www.unaids.org/worldaidsday/2002/press/update/epiupdate_en.pdf
Fact Sheet 2002: Meeting the Need [.doc]
http://www.unaids.org/worldaidsday/2002/press/factsheets/FSneed_en.doc
HIV Prevention in Humanitarian Settings [.pdf]
http://www.unfpa.org/aids/docs/progbrief07.pdf
National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/dhap.htm
In a report released by the United Nations and the World Health Organization this week, it was discovered that, for the first time in 20 years, about as many women as men are infected with HIV. The report also stated that 42 million people worldwide are now living with HIV, including 5 million new infections in 2002 alone. While prevention programs are working quite effectively in certain countries, such as South Africa, the infection rate for HIV has risen dramatically throughout the entire region of Eastern Europe. Certain practices continue to contribute to the spread of HIV, such as intergenerational sex; drug use; and in some areas, rape. In a rather ominous commentary on the situation, Alan Whiteside, the director of the HIV/ AIDS research division at the University of Natal in South Africa commented that, "In a situation where life expectancy has plummeted, it's very hard to keep them engaged in a future when they don't believe they have one."
The first two sites lead to recent news articles on the HIV situation around the world, with the first one originating from the Washington Post and the second from the Guardian in the United Kingdom. The third link leads to the most recent 40-page report from the United Nations and the World Health Organization, which addresses the gravity of the situation in the different regions of the world. The fourth site provides a brief synopsis of the progress that is needed to address the problem of funding for HIV/ AIDS prevention and mitigation, particularly in impoverished developing nations. The fifth link leads to a document produced by the United Nations Population Fund that details how agencies and governments may best address HIV prevention in humanitarian settings, and in particular, within countries and regions beset by natural disasters and warfare. Part of the United States Center for Disease Control, the final site contains a multitude of fact sheets, statistics, and trends about the HIV epidemic in the United States. [KMG]
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