NSDL Scout Reports for the Life Sciences and Physical Sciences
The sixth issues of the second volumes of the Life Sciences Report and Physical Sciences Report are available. The Topic in Depth section of Life Sciences Report annotates sites on snake venom. The Physical Sciences Report's Topic in Depth section offers Web sites and comments about the science of spring.
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Arab Human Development Report 2002 [.pdf]
http://www.undp.org/rbas/ahdr/CompleteEnglish.pdf
Written and researched by a team of regional experts (working under the auspices of the United Nations Development Programme), this 180-page report outlines the current state of human development and its future potential throughout the Arab world. The report begins by noting that Arab countries have made significant strides in more than one area of human development, although it also mentions that three significant deficits (freedom, empowerment of women, and knowledge) constitute "weighty constraints on human capability that must be lifted." While the full report is quite lengthy, it is divided into more digestible sections dealing with the overall state of human development in the region, the potential for building human capability, and cooperation among Arab states. The report also contains several appendices that offer detailed statistical information gathered by the researchers and a list of background papers. For those looking for a quick overview of their findings, the report also has an 11-page summary. [KMG]
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Brooklyn Daily Eagle Online, 1841-1902
http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/
Sometimes referred to as "the borough of homes and churches," Brooklyn has long been an urban community that has captured the attention of the United States and the rest of the world. For over a century, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle chronicled the community's history while under the reins of a host of well-regarded editors, including Walt Whitman. This Web site, which is a collaboration between the Brooklyn Public Library and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, brings over seventy years of this paper online for viewing by the Web-browsing public. The Web site includes an introduction to the paper's history over its long tenure as Brooklyn's main daily paper, as well as a timeline of important changes to the paper's format, layout, and content organization. What is perhaps most remarkable about this online archive is that the entire run from 1841 to 1902 can be searched by keyword, date, and content type. It is important to note that this current archive is a beta release, and that, at certain times (until the main release in the summer of 2003), certain features may not be always available. Regardless of this fact, this is an excellent resource for urban historians and researchers. [KMG]
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Federal Township Plats of Illinois, 1804-1891 [Flash]
http://landplats.ilsos.net/Flash/FTP_Illinois.html
The passage of the Land Ordinance of 1785 created the rectangular survey system for the mapping and subsequent sale of the western public lands of the United States. In 1803, the first survey of the lands, which would later become the state of Illinois, began. After moving northwards from southern Illinois in 1806, the federal surveyors finished surveying the last townships in 1843, but for four decades afterwards, the General Land Office continue to conduct occasional surveys of areas in the state such as islands and lakes. The Illinois State Archives, working together with the Illinois Secretary of State and the Department of Information Technology, have brought all of these township plats online for public consideration and research purposes. The 3,457 hand drawn maps available are valuable repositories of information about the six miles square townships, often including information about existing natural features and, in some cases, man-made features as well. Along with the plat maps themselves, the site also contains essays about the surveyor's work, the equipment they used, and potential surveying problems they often encountered. [KMG]
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FDA: Antibiotic Resistance
http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/anti_resist.html
In the past few years, there have been more reports of bacteria that are increasingly resilient to antibiotics. Understandably, this antibiotic resistance is of great concern to the medical community in terms of public health, and is due largely to the increased use of antibiotics. With this in mind, the United States Food and Drug Administration has developed this Web site to inform the general public about this phenomenon, as well as to provide a number of documents generated by different government agencies about this problem and strategies for combating it. For those unacquainted with the situation, there are several helpful general fact sheets and overviews provided online from the Center for Disease Control and the University of Wisconsin. Additionally, the site contains several papers outlining some general recommendations about how the problem can be contained with the cooperation of doctors, hospitals, and increased awareness of the populace. [KMG]
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Gateway for Resources and Information on Preservation
http://www.knaw.nl/ecpa/grip/
Developed as a partnership between the National Archives of the Netherlands and the European Commission on Preservation and Access, the Gateway for Resources and Information on Preservation is a searchable database of information on the preservation of documentary materials. This database brings together an excellent array of helpful resources in the field, which can be searched by keyword, keyword combinations, and thematic headings. Some headings include preservation, deterioration, treatment, digital preservation, materials, and treatment. The Gateway also serves as the host for several related Web sites, including the Safeguarding European Photographic Images for Access site and the To Have and to Hold Web site, which contains a number of resources related to the preservation of photographic collections. The site also contains two publications available for download, including an annotated bibliography of works related to preserving and maintaining archives in tropical climates that was prepared for an international conference in Jakarta. [KMG]
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Museums and the Web 2003 Papers
http://www.archimuse.com/mw2003/speakers/index.html
Since the advent of the World Wide Web, many professionals and library science specialists have devoted a great deal of thought and time to how museums might best create provocative and well designed Web sites in order to best highlight their various holdings and unique collections. The Archives and Museum Informatics group has recently released a number of papers from the recent Museums and the Web 2003 conference held in North Carolina and placed them on their Web site for public consideration. Participants in the conference included representatives from a number of countries, including Germany, the United States, Norway, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Italy. The site contains over 100 papers, with topics ranging from "Documenting Stories: World War II and Civil Rights Histories" to "Online Museum Discussion Forums: What do we have? What do we need?" All in all, this is a valuable resource, and representative of some of the most inventive work being done in the field of museum Web development. [KMG]
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Two about Research on Genetic Response to Global Warming
Researchers Find Genetic Response to Global Warming: Changing Climate Prompts Genetic Change in Squirrels
http://www.ualberta.ca/~publicas/folio/40/12/front.html
Genetic and Plastic Responses of a Northern Mammal to Climate Change
http://www.pubs.royalsoc.ac.uk/proc_bio/abstracts/reale.html
University of Alberta biologist Stan Boutin and his research team have recently published findings that North American red squirrels exhibit genetic changes in response to a warming climate. The first Web site listed above contains a University of Alberta press release detailing this first-ever demonstration of genetic adaptation to global warming. The second Web site, from the Proceedings of the Royal Society, provides the abstract for this recently published research (full-text available only with paid subscription). With implications that extend far beyond the immediate research concerns of geneticists and environmental scientists, Boutin's work as presented in these Web sites should be interesting to wide audience. This site is also reviewed in the March 21, 2003 NSDL Life Sciences Report.
[RS]
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Geophysical Studies of the Las Vegas Urban Corridor
http://wrgis.wr.usgs.gov/docs/gump/zulanger/lasvegas/lasvegas.html
The Geophysical Studies of the Las Vegas Urban Corridor Area are part of an integrated effort to "geologically characterize the seismic hazards, water resources, and crustal structure of this rapidly growing urban corridor" by the USGS. The informational Web site contains a gravity map of the Las Vegas region, an aeromagnetic map, and a publications link with a list of over a dozen references. Seven of these publications are freely available for download with titles such as "Aeromagnetic Survey of the Amargosa Desert," "Nevada and California: A Tool for Understanding Near-Surface Geology," and Hydrology and Principal Facts for Gravity Stations in the Vicinity of Coyote Spring Valley, Nevada, with Initial Gravity Modeling Results." An interesting collection of unique resources, the site should be of interest to professionals in a wide variety of fields. This site is also reviewed in the March 21, 2003 NSDL Physical Science Report.
[JAB]
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Manet/ Velazquez: The French Taste for Spanish Painting [Flash]
http://manetvelazquez.accenture.com
The opening sequence of this exhibition Web site depicts the bidding process for an acclaimed Spanish painting, Murillio's "Immaculate Conception," which was purchased by the Musee de Louvre in 1852. Sponsored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Accenture, this beautiful site explores the great love of Spanish painting by the French throughout the latter half of the nineteenth century. Visitors will want to start by viewing the Artists' Journey through Spain section, which allows them to look at an interactive map of the travels within Spain that led artists such as Mary Cassatt, Edouard Manet, and others to produce such lasting and powerful works of art. The Comparative Gallery section is a fine feature that allows visitors to drag two different paintings from five different online galleries and read text that compares these nineteenth century French and American works with the Spanish paintings that inspired them. The Artists and Paintings section offers a brief overview in the exhibit, as well as a timeline that features crucial political, social, and cultural events from 1780 to 1890 that affected the artistic milieu of Spain and France. Perhaps the finest feature of the site is the ability to view the legendary Prado Museum in Madrid as Manet would have viewed it in the 1870s. Utilizing the photographs of the museum's grand Sala Central taken by Jean Laurent between 1879 and 1885, visitors can navigate around the interior, and zoom in and out as they prefer. [KMG]
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Drawing the Western Frontier: The James E. Taylor Album
http://www.nmnh.si.edu/naa/taylor/#
The National Museum of Natural History, in collaboration with the National Anthropological Archives, has recently placed the James E. Taylor Album online for ready access. James E. Taylor was a professional artist who worked throughout the last four decades of the nineteenth century, supplying numerous national newspapers with illustrations and drawings based on on-site descriptions and first-hand observations. Over his long career, Taylor collected photographs and newspaper clippings, which he compiled into scrapbooks, along with various letters and other printed ephemera. Taylor's eye for thematic organization is demonstrated by some of the highlighted scrapbook pages available for inspection on the Web site, including those dealing with gold mining, frontier life, and the Meeker tragedy. Visitors to the site can look at any of the 748 images contained here in detail, or browse through the different album pages. The site is rounded out by an extended biographical essay about Taylor and his work, which illuminates his role in creating the popular (and largely mythical) image of the West and its inhabitants. [KMG]
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The Prokofiev Page
http://www.prokofiev.org/
Maintained by Sugi Sorensen, this Web site is dedicated to the life and work of Sergi Prokofiev, one of the most accomplished composers and pianists of the 20th century. New visitors to the site will want to take a look at the detailed biography of Prokofiev provided here, along with a timeline that highlights some key moments in his life. The site also features a complete list of his works by genre, along with pertinent details (such as instrumentation, length of work, and so on) and recordings recommended by Sorensen and other contributors. The site also has a concert list that notes when upcoming performances of works by Prokofiev will be taking place, as well as sketches of "Prokofievians" such as Jascha Heifetz, Neeme Jarvi, and Andre Previn. Perhaps one of the best features on the site is the interviews, which include conversations with Sviatoslav Prokofiev (his oldest son) and Harlow Robinson, a professor who has written several biographical works about Prokofiev. [KMG]
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The Drawn Evidence: Scotland's Development Through its Architectural Archives
http://www.drawn-evidence.dundee.ac.uk/dundee_dr/index.jsp
Drawing on the excellent resources of numerous partners, including the Edinburgh University Library, the University of Dundee, the Glasgow University Archives, and the support of the Research Libraries Support Programme, this Web site is a virtual archive of over 20,000 items related to Scottish architecture and town planning over the past four centuries. Visitors to the site can search by simple keywords, a detailed index, or category. While most images are contained in the Architecture and Planning and Locations subjects, a much more refined search is available, as each of these subjects contain a number of subheadings. For example, within the subheading Architectural Features, visitors can examine plans and renderings organized into architectural elements, such as buttresses, gables, and arcades. Additionally, there are several thematic collections for browsing that are organized around prominent architects, such as William Playfair, or architectural period. Anyone with the remotest interest in the built environment of Scotland will find this site quite engaging and edifying. [KMG]
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Ancient Scripts
http://www.ancientscripts.com
Designed by Lawrence K. Lo, this Web site is meant to serve as "an introduction to writing systems, which hopefully will tantalize the reader into searching for more information." Lo offers visitors a brief overview of several topics related to linguistics (both modern and historical) in sections devoted to writing systems, sounds and phonetics, and historical linguistics. In the writing systems, Lo offers a brief overview of writing systems over the millennia and then concludes with several categories of languages around types, families, geographical regions, and an alphabetical listing. From these categories, users can obtain information about any number of languages, including Aztec, Sumerian, Cherokee, Old Persian, and literally dozens of others. The section of phonetics contains a summary of how different tones can be utilized to create a host of varied sounds and meanings. The site concludes with a brief discussion of why languages evolve over time and a bibliography of helpful linguistic resources used to create the site. [KMG]
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Business Schools.com
http://www.businessschools.com/
This site is designed to provide detailed information on many different aspects of pursuing an undergraduate or advanced degree in business, along with providing related information on available scholarships and potential career options. Developed as part of the All Schools online network, visitors to the site can search their database of over 1500 schools by state, country, specialty, and educational level. The search engine will return results based on visitors specifications that will contain links to the different schools' respective programs, along with a link to send email to the program directly. The site also has a helpful list of hundreds of financial aid options available to students studying business, along with a glossary and suggested reading for selecting an appropriate program. Finally, the site contains numerous guidance articles written by experts in the field of business education, such as a Yale business school professor and a former Ocean Spray marketing director. [KMG]
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The Deaf Resource Library
http://www.deaflibrary.org
Created and maintained by Karen Nakamura, an assistant professor at Macalester College, this site is a compendium of links and reference materials "intended to educate and inform people about Deaf cultures in Japan and the United States." While there are numerous links on the site of interest, first-time visitors may want to start by looking at the general deaf bibliography and the Japanese deaf bibliography, both of which offer information of sign-language dictionaries and scholarly works regarding deaf culture and sign languages. The rest of the page contains lists of relevant links, such as those to religious services for the deaf, colleges and universities that place a premium on serving the deaf (or that teach sign language), and resources for deaf children. [KMG]
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Web Mon 1.0.7
http://www.markwell.btinternet.co.uk/webmon/
Web Mon 1.0.7 is an application designed to allows users to keep track of new and updated information that appears on frequently visited Web pages. Features of this program include the ability to check an unlimited number of Web pages at set intervals, along with optional pop-up alerts and sounds when updates are detected. The application also has a built-in help system and can be removed at any time. Web Mon 1.0.7 is compatible with all systems running Windows 95 and higher. [KMG]
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Camino 0.7
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/camino/
Camino 0.7 is a beta version of a Web browser for the Mac OS X system that has some helpful features for users looking to examine a useful way to navigate the Internet. This particular version features a new download manager, with auto-download and a global history feature in the sidebar. Other additions include the ability to drag images and links to the desktop, and support for Shockwave directory content. The program homepage also contains a feedback section, version release notes, and a FAQ listing. [KMG]
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Anti-war Protests Continue Throughout the United States
Local Anti-war Protests Attract Thousands
http://www.suntimes.com/output/iraq/cst-nws-prot21.html
Protesters Roam in Small, Swift Groups to Stall City Traffic
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/03/21/MN277582.DTL
Few Arrests in DC Area Protests
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A638-2003Mar20.html
Day of Civil Protest Ends in Confrontations
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/104825160714540.xml
MIT Community Rallies to Protest Iraq War
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/nr/2003/protest.html
Thoreau's Civil Disobedience
http://eserver.org/thoreau/civil.html
Gandhi: An Autobiography
http://www.mahatma.org.in/books/showbook.jsp?book=bg0001&link=bg&id=1&lang=en&cat=books
With the initial attack on Iraq beginning Wednesday evening, anti-war protesters began to mobilize immediately in the United States. Throughout many cities and towns, protesters sought a variety of ways to voice their displeasure with the recent military action and, more generally, with certain aspects of United States overseas policies, particularly in the Middle East. In Chicago, a city not recently known for its activism, a crowd of close to 10,000 coalesced on Michigan Avenue and proceeded to block Lake Shore Drive, effectively bringing rush-hour traffic to a standstill. In San Francisco, protesters had a novel approach, often moving in small groups throughout the city to various key intersections, as opposed to moving along in a massive and more predictable mass of people. While many students were away enjoying spring break, students and other members of the MIT community initiated a rally with over 600 participants, many carrying signs declaring, "Nobody likes a bully"! and "MIT Nerds for Peace."
The first link leads to a detailed news article about the protests in Chicago from the Chicago Sun-Times. The second link will take visitors to a news article about the unusual and novel tactics used by protesters in San Francisco from the online edition of the San Francisco Chronicle. The third link leads to a news article from today's Washington Post about the protests in the nation's capitol. The fourth link leads to a recent news article from the Oregonian about the more dramatic protests that took place in Portland on Thursday. The fifth link leads to a press release from the MIT news office about the on-campus rally, including quotes from those present and a short video clip of the gathering. The final two links lead to important works that guided the civil disobedience deployed by many protesters, Henry David Thoreau's famous essay, "Civil Disobedience" (also available in Spanish) and the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi. [KMG]
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