The Scout Report for Social Sciences

July 14, 1998

A Publication of the Internet Scout Project
Computer Sciences Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison

The target audience of the new Scout Report for Social Sciences is faculty, students, staff, and librarians in the social sciences. Each biweekly issue offers a selective collection of Internet resources covering topics in the field that have been chosen by librarians and content specialists in the given area of study.

The Scout Report for Social Sciences is also provided via email once every two weeks. Subscription information is included at the bottom of each issue.

Research New Data

Learning Resources and General Interest In the News

Current Awareness

Africa Research Central
http://africa-research.csusb.edu/
Historically, researchers in Europe and the US have had difficulty finding updated information on primary source African collections. African Research Central, hosted by California State University at San Bernardino, seeks to bridge this information gap by offering centralized and frequently updated information on primary source collections, as well as publicizing the needs of the repositories and suggesting a plan of action for concerned researchers. The site is divided into three sections: The Repositories, For Researchers, and For Repository Professionals. The first section serves as a gateway to the archives, libraries, and museums with important collections of African primary sources. The emphasis is on Africa, but European and North American institutions are also listed. Information for institutions includes contact information, access conditions, publications, references, and a preservation wish list. The second section includes a Researcher's Questionnaire and information on how academics can contribute to the preservation of African sources. The Repository Professionals section invites archivists to update information on repositories or add new ones and publicize their preservation needs and desires. Both of the latter sections also offer related links. Future plans for the site include a searchable database, an expanded repository list, and a section for educators. [MD]
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GIS Guide to Good Practice--ADS
http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/project/goodguides/gis/
Prepared under the direction of the Archaeology Data Service (ADS), this document is designed to guide individuals and organizations in creating, maintaining, and using Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based digital resources. The focus of the document is on archaeological data, but users will find information with wide disciplinary potential. Readers of the guide will find a very useful overview, with particular emphasis on long-term preservation, archiving, and effective data re-use, with special reference to resources maintained by the ADS. Additional resources include a glossary, bibliography, and appendices on data sources and archaeological standards. [MD]
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Domestic Goddesses, a.k.a. Scribbling Women
http://www.womenwriters.net/domesticgoddess/
Created by graduate student Kim Wells of Texas A & M University, this site is designed as a collection point for literary criticism of six Victorian women writers: Louisa May Alcott, Willa Cather, Kate Chopin, Sarah Orne Jewett, Harriet Beecher-Stowe, and Edith Wharton. Entries for each writer offer some biography and related links, but the focus is on user-submitted essays. Currently, the site contains papers ranging from an MA thesis to an informal three-page presentation. Additional submissions from graduate students and scholars are welcome and guidelines are available at the site. [MD]
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The Pre-Raphaelite Critic
http://www.engl.duq.edu/servus/PR_Critic/index.html
Thomas J. Tobin, a graduate student at Duquesne University, has assembled this comprehensive scholarly archive of critical articles from the nineteenth century regarding the Pre-Raphaelite circle of painters and poets. The archive contains citations of magazine and newspaper reviews of pre-Raphaelite works from 1849-1900. The archive is indexed in four HTML tables: Alphabetical by Author Last Name, Chronological by Article Publication Date, By Subject-Heading in William Fredeman's Pre-Raphaelitism, and Alphabetical by Periodical Title. The archive contains a few full text selections of reviews, and Tobin plans to add more as he scans them. Additional site features include a collection of plates of pre-Raphaelite works and audio recordings of poems from the 1965 Decca/Argo Records release of The Pre-Raphaelites.[MD]
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Medieval Hagiography
http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~tfhead/#central
Thomas Head, Professor of History at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of CUNY, has compiled this collection of resources for the study of hagiography and the cult of saints. Users will find research guides and bibliographies, an encyclopedia of medieval hagiography, and an anthology of translated excerpts illustrative of the cult of saints. Additional resources of interest to medievalists include syllabi from Head's lecture courses and seminars, an excellent selection of research bibliographies on Europe in the central middle ages, and a collection of related links. [MD]
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Normandy 1944-Encyclopedia Britannica [RealPlayer, Shockwave]
http://normandy.eb.com/
Fifty-four years ago this month the outcome of the Allied invasion of "Fortress Europe" was still very much in doubt. Although a secure beachhead had been established, the Allied armies found it very difficult to break out into France and a stalemate seemed quite possible. Britannica Online has created an outstanding site, which documents the amazing story of the Normandy invasion from the build-up to D-Day to the eventual breakout into Northern France. The site is organized in five sections, each anchored by an essay from leading military historian John Keegan. Each section offers supplementary articles, documentary and newsreel footage, personal histories, radio broadcasts, newspaper articles from famous war journalists such as Ernie Pyle, photos, and interactive maps. Additional features at this handsome and well-organized site include sections on key personalities, weapons and tactics, documents, maps, related links, and recommended reading. [MD]
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VRoma: A Virtual Community for Teaching and Learning Classics [MOO]
http://vroma.rhodes.edu/
The product of a recent NEH Teaching with Technology Grant, this two-tiered site promises to be an engaging and extensive resource for Classics courses. The first tier is an on-line "place," modeled upon the ancient city of Rome, where students and teachers can interact live via a traditional MOO session (information on registration requests and the MOO interface is provided). Within this interactive virtual Rome, participants will be able to hold courses and lectures, share study resources, and view and edit images attached to MOO rooms and other objects. VRoma will also serve as a gateway to internet resources, which will be customizable and accessible in a variety of ways to suit individual or class needs. A preview of these resources includes image and sculpture collections, several digitized classical works, some syllabi, and a collection of lexica and search engines useful to classicists. VRoma is still very much in the development phase and volunteers with an interest in Ancient Rome, especially those with knowledge of Roman topography or MOO programming, are welcome. [MD]
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Civnet
http://www.civnet.org/
Created by Civitas, an international organization dedicated to promoting civic education and civil society, Civnet offers numerous resources for teaching and learning about civil society and democracy. These resources include: bibliographies; on-line civics textbooks; lesson plans; syllabi; curricula; and articles on teaching methodology/pedagogy; a very large directory of non-governmental and governmental programs and agencies involved in civic education; a collection of historic documents and speeches on civil society and human rights; a calendar of events; and a regularly updated collection of links. The site also hosts Civnet Journal, a bimonthly e-publication with original articles, reviews, reports, and updates. [MD]
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Beazley Archive
Classical Dictionary
http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/CGPrograms/Dict/Script/DictTitle.html
Greek/Roman Sculpture
http://Lannes.ashmol.ox.ac.uk/BeazleyAdmin/script/ba_cgprog.html
Beazley Archive
http://Lannes.ashmol.ox.ac.uk/BeazleyAdmin/script/ba.html
The Beazley Archive at the University of Oxford has placed online two valuable resources for Classics and Art History instructors. The first item, the Dictionary, contains "illustrated descriptions of characters from Greek myth, art and architectural terms, also maps and place names." The dictionary currently contains over 240 hypertext entries. The second item offers information on the Archive's plaster cast collection, an overview of traditional and modern cast making, and a cast catalog. The catalog contains over 50 entries, thematically organized, each of which leads to multiple thumbnail images and links to related cast images and dictionary entries. The Archive also hosts a Greek Pottery text and image database with over 59,000 items. Note that, however, the database is password-protected and "use is restricted to universities, museums and other cultural institutions." Would-be users must first apply to the Database Director. [MD]
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African American Art: An Introduction [Frames]
http://satie.arts.usf.edu/~ooguibe/class.htm
In his introductory remarks at this site, Dr. Olu Oguibe of the University of South Florida argues that because traditional American art history has been "closed and segregated, African American art history exists to reflect the presence and place of American artists of African descent in art history, and to acknowledge their contributions to American art and culture." This site, constructed by the students of Oguibe's African American Art Seminar Class, offers a very useful introduction to these contributions. The site is organized chronologically, from the turn of the century and the Harlem Renaissance to the Social Realists to the 80s to the present. Essays on artistic periods and movements are joined by descriptions and examples of the works of individual artists: James VanDerZee, Roy DeCarava, David Hammons, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, among others. Each section also includes a bibliography for further reading. [MD]
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A Hundred Highlights from the Koninklijke Bibliotheek
http://www.konbib.nl/100hoogte/hh-en.html
This new site is a digital version of a 1994 book of the same title. Both the book and the site offer highlights from collections of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, the national library of the Netherlands, which is charged with preserving the Dutch written and printed cultural heritage. The introductory page of the site offers a brief history of the library and an overview of the Hundred Highlights. The contents of the Highlights can be viewed in three ways, consecutively (1 to 100), via a name index, or through nineteen different subject-based tours. These include Mediaeval manuscripts and illumination; Engravings; Drawings; Decorated paper and papermaking; Modern literature; Art (including Architecture); Music; Geography; and the (Natural) Sciences. Each entry consists of a large thumbnail image, several paragraphs of description, and a bibliographic citation (the last in Dutch). [MD]
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Symmetry and Pattern: The Art of Oriental Carpets
http://forum.swarthmore.edu/geometry/rugs/
A joint project of The Textile Museum, Washington, and The Math Forum, this site examines the ideas of pattern and symmetry in Oriental carpets. Users can also learn about the production of Oriental carpets and view a gallery of 28 carpets with descriptions. Additional features at the site include a glossary, bibliography, and a collection of related links. [MD]
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Photography Seminars: An Online Community for Photographers
http://www.photo-seminars.com/
Whether an amateur or working professional, this site offers something for all photographers. After free registration in Admissions, users can select from a number of free online Workshop Courses on photographic techniques and topics (personal instruction with faculty members is also available for a fee). In addition to the seminars, the site serves as a gateway to numerous photographic resources. These include free Classified Ads, a Darkroom featuring the work and words of guest lectures, a collection of Easy Photo Tips for beginners, a Photo Field Guide for more experienced amateurs, and Money Making Tips for professionals. Additional features include a Hall of Fame, a Student Gallery, and related links. [MD]
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Shielded from Justice: Police Brutality and Accountability in the United States of America--HRW
http://www.hrw.org/reports98/police/index.htm
This major new report from Human Rights Watch paints a disturbing portrait of the excessive use of force by police officers, and the overwhelming barriers to establishing accountability for officers who violate human and civil rights. The report examines common obstacles to police abuse accountability, featuring fourteen large cities -- representative of most regions of the nation. Brutality cases used for the report are laid out in detailed chapters, by city. Research for the report was conducted between late 1995 and early 1998. [MD]
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New Working Papers
Thomas Conzelmann, "'Europeanisation' of Regional Development Policies? Linking the Multi-Level Governance Approach with Theories of Policy Learning and Policy Change"--European Integration Online Papers (EIoP)
http://olymp.wu-wien.ac.at/eiop/texte/1998-004.htm
.pdf Version:
http://olymp.wu-wien.ac.at/eiop/pdf/1998-004.pdf
This recent article from EIoP explores the effects of non-regulatory EC policies on policy development at member state level. EC regional policy and a recent reform of German regional policy are used as examples. [MD]

Linda Gordon, "Share-Holders in Relief: The Political Culture of the Public Sector"--Russell Sage Foundation
http://www.russellsage.org/publications/working_papers.htm
Linda Gordon, a respected historian of US welfare policy, attempts to "refine the story we tell about welfare by contextualizing it in a way not yet done by historians--relating it to the New Deal relief and public works which were so visible at the time of welfare's birth." Gordon examines the promises and contradictions of New Deal relief programs to offer a valuable historical context for current debates on the public sector and the role of government. [MD]

Lia Os-rio Machado, "Financial Flows and Drug Trafficking in the Amazon Basin"
http://www.unesco.org/most/ds22eng.htm
UNESCO MOST Discussion paper 22 examines drug trafficking in the Amazon basin. "From the symbiotic relationship between the organizations running the illicit drug trade and the banking and financial system, the author develops a methodology based on the role of networks in today's political economy." [MD]
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European Dialogue
http://europa.eu.int/en/comm/dg10/infcom/eur_dial/frameset_current.html
The July-August issue of European Dialogue, the magazine of European Integration (discussed in the February 10, 1998 Scout Report for Social Sciences), is now online. Themes for this issue include Financial Control, Monetary Union, Countdown to Memmbership, and European Sport. [MD]
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New Offerings from Academic Publishers
Baker&Taylor Academia--Upcoming Books to Buy (July 1998)
http://www.baker-taylor.com/Academia/M07/UBBS.html
Cambridge University Press
http://www.cup.org/books/hot.html
Perseus Books By Category
http://www2.awl.com/gb/catalog/category.html
[MD]
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Conference Announcements
Knowledge: Creation, Organization and Use--ASIS 1999
http://www.asis.org/Conferences/am99call.html
November 1-4, 1999 Washington, D.C. The 1999 annual meeting of the American Society for Information Science (ASIS) will examine "current (and imminent) knowledge creation, acquisition, navigation, correlation, retrieval, management and dissemination practicalities and potentialities, their implementation and impact, and the theories behind developments." The conference will be divided into five separate tracks; papers providing real life results will be favored. [MD]

Gender Politics in Horror and Science Fiction Movies
http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Topic/WomensStudies/CallsforPapers/queering
August 14-17, 1999 Halifax, Nova Scotia. Proposals are invited for a special session on the gender politics at play in "horror/SF" movies at the International Gothic Association conference. The organizer would like participants to examine recent movies to determine the manner in which homosexuality is (re)inscribed in movies aimed at a mainstream heterosexual audience. [MD]

"Millenium" World Conference in Critical Psychology
http://www.mcs.net/~zupko/calls/call0214.htm
April 30-May 2, 1999 University of Western Sydney Nepean, Parramatta Campus Sydney, Australia. Although this conference is primarily academic, organizers welcome participants from whatever discipline or professional background with concern for developing "tools with which to approach subjectivity and politics in a critical way for the year 2000 and beyond." Four themes form the basis for symposia, papers, and workshops. These are New Politics, New Subjectivities; Embodiment and Spirituality; Psychology, Survival and Culture; and Rethinking Psychology: Disciplinary Power and Change. [MD]

Bordering Europe
http://crane.ukc.ac.uk/english/europe.html
September 20-24, 1999 University of Kent at Canterbury. Hosted by the Kent Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities, this conference will investigate European culture and its establishment of borders, material and conceptual, inside and outside itself. Issues to be discussed include: the constitution of a national culture; identity-politics; sovereignty in literature and other aesthetic matters; displaced writers and the question of exile; and cultures at the margin of geo-political Europe. [MD]

(For links to additional calls for papers and conference announcements, see the Conference section of the Current Awareness Metapage: http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/socsci/metapage/).
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Job Guides/Funding Opportunities
H-Net Job Guide
http://www.matrix.msu.edu/jobs/

Chronicle of Higher Education Job Openings
Humanities
http://thisweek.chronicle.com/.ads/.ads-by-group/.faculty/.humanities/.links.html
Social Science
http://thisweek.chronicle.com/.ads/.ads-by-group/.faculty/.sscience/.links.html

Crossroads Guide to Employment and Funding Opportunities in American Studies
http://impian.dokkyomed.ac.jp/ml-open/new-list/1997-b/0069.html

Social Work and Social Services Jobs Online
http://gwbweb.wustl.edu/jobs/index.html

Positions Open--American Anthropological Association (Summer 1998)
http://www.ameranthassn.org/position.htm
[MD]

(For links to additional Job Guides, see the Employment/Funding section of the Current Awareness Metapage: http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/socsci/metapage/).
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New Think Tank Policy Papers and Briefs
"Shortchanged: Billions Withheld from Medicare Beneficiaries"--Families USA Foundation
http://www.familiesusa.org/QMB.HTM
.pdf Version:
http://www.familiesusa.org/QMB.PDF

Stephen J. Carroll and Allan F. Abrahamse, "The Effects of a No-Pay/No-Play Plan on the Costs of Auto Insurance in Texas"--RAND Corporation
http://www.rand.org/publications/IP/IP174/index.html
.pdf Version:
http://www.rand.org/publications/IP/IP174/IP174.pdf

Rodolfo A. Bulatao, "The Value of Family Planning Programs in Developing Countries"--RAND Coroporation
http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR978/MR978.html/
.pdf Version:
http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR978/MR978.pdf/

Iris J. Lav, IRS Reform Bill Includes New Salvo of Tax Cuts for Wealthy"--Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
http://www.cbpp.org/626tax.htm

John Sweeney, "Clinton's Latin America Policy: A Legacy of Missed Opportunities"--Heritage Foundation
http://www.heritage.org/heritage/library/backgrounder/bg1201.html
.pdf Version:
http://www.heritage.org/heritage/library/backgrounder/pdf/bg_1201.pdf
[MD]

(For links to additional new Think Tank publications see the Think Tank Policy Papers section on the Current Awareness Metapage: http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/socsci/metapage/).
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New Tables of Contents/Abstracts for recent and forthcoming issues are available for the following Journals:
Jouvert: A Journal of Postcolonial Studies (full text)
http://152.1.96.5/jouvert/i1v2/conthre.htm
Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation (full text)
http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/JASSS/1/3/contents.html
Archaeology (abstracts)
http://www.he.net/~archaeol/9807/index.html
Journal of Contemporary African Studies
http://www.carfax.co.uk/jca-con.htm
Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television
http://www.carfax.co.uk/hjf-con.htm
Social Science Computer Review
http://hcl.chass.ncsu.edu/sscore/toc16n4.htm
Journal of Interdisciplinary History
http://mitpress.mit.edu/journal-issue-abstracts.tcl?issn=00221953&volume=29&issue=1
[MD]
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Two New Sources for Nuclear Weapons Data
Future Years Defense Program Historical Database
HTTP://WWW.BROOK.EDU/scripts/projects/nucwcost/nuke_req.pl
NUCEXP, National Geoscience Database
http://www.agso.gov.au/information/structure/isd/database/nucexp.html
The first database, the product of the US Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Project at the Brookings Institution, contains cost information on most (but not all) of the programs pertaining either wholly or partly to nuclear weapons between 1962-95. These data were declassified by the Department of Defense at the request of the study's authors. The database is searchable by keyword. The second database, provided by the Australian Geological Survey Organization (AGSO), contains entries on nuclear explosions around the world since 1945, with the location, time and size of explosions. To view the records, users must select site and country conducting the test and beginning/end dates. [MD]
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Presale Handgun Checks, 1997--USDOJ
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/phc97.htm
Provided by the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the US Department of Justice, this site offers a national estimate of handgun purchase applications, the number rejected, and the reasons for rejection. During the past year about 2,574,000 background checks prevented an estimated 69,000 handgun purchases. The report is available in both [.pdf] and ASCII format. [MD]
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Nigeria: An Opportunity for Civilian Rule?
BBC News Special Report: Nigeria in Crisis
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/special_report/1998/06/98/after_abacha/newsid_124000/124729.stm
Africa News Online: Nigeria
http://www.africanews.org/west/nigeria/
Nigeria Media Monitor
http://www.kilima.com/mediamonitor/
NigeriaWEB
http://odili.net/nigeria.html
The Federal Republic of Nigeria
http://idt.net/~n123/
The Post Express-Wired
http://www.postexpresswired.com/
Nigeria Human Rights
http://www.derechos.org/nigeria/central.html
Human Rights Watch: Nigeria Press Releases
http://www.hrw.org/hrw/press98/june/nige0609.htm
Amnesty International: Nigeria
http://www.hrw.org/hrw/press98/june/nige0609.htm
This week's In the News discusses the current political situation in Nigeria. These nine resources offer breaking news, commentary, and analysis. The next few weeks may prove crucial for Nigeria, which is beginning to see some signs of calm and civil order after a week of rioting and violence. The rioting erupted after opposition leader Moshood Abiola died of a heart attack on July 7 after four years in custody. In 1993 Abiola was poised to win a presidential election when the military annulled the poll and Infantry General Sani Abacha seized power. In June 1994 Abiola defiantly declared himself president and was quickly arrested and detained. After General Abacha's sudden death on June 8, his successor General Abdulsalam Abubakar immediately set out a course of modest reform, freeing a number of prominent political detainees. Abiola's release also appeared imminent when he suddenly died. Despite the unrest that followed, some analysts see the deaths of Abiola and Abacha as an opportunity for political progress in Africa's most populous country. Abubakar, some say, can now move forward and implement political reforms without fear of making the supporters or Abiola or Abacha lose face. In fact, the General is widely expected to announce a plan to ease the military out of power by October 1, independence day. This plan will likely center around the creation of a government of national unity, which will sit for four or five years and consist of four representatives from each of the nation's six main regions. Regardless if this or another plan is implemented, the transition from military to civilian rule will prove, as in almost every other nation making this tremendous leap, a painful and gradual process.
The BBC News Special Report on Nigeria is an excellent starting point for learning more about this topic. The site offers background articles, breaking stories, a timeline, profiles, and information on Nigeria's troublesome ethnic divisions. Africa News Online features current pieces on political developments in Nigeria as well as editorials and a special section on Nigeria after Abacha. Nigeria media Monitor is a weekly digest of "developments within the Nigerian news media scene, published by the Independent Journalism Centre in Lagos, Nigeria." It contains a number of articles on the continuing struggle for a free press in Nigeria. NigeriaWEB serves as a gateway for current news on Nigeria. The site contains articles, profiles, documents, and links to other news sources. Users will find information on the Nigerian economy, government, and official press releases at the Federal Republic site. The Post Express is an independent national newspaper in Nigeria "dedicated to promoting the prospects of democracy and justice in Nigeria and to reaching those who have not abandoned the faith that human affairs are best administered in the spirit of reason and in a climate of true democracy." Its Wired site offers numerous articles and editorials on Nigeria's present condition and its future. The last three sites offer analysis and pleas for an end to human rights violations in Nigeria, which have been numerous in a country ruled by military forces for 27 of its 38 years as an independent country. [MD]
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The Scout Report for Social Sciences
Brought to You by the Internet Scout Project

The Scout Report for Social Sciences is published every other Tuesday by the Internet Scout Project, located in the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Department of Computer Sciences.

Susan Calcari
Jack Solock
Michael de Nie
Laura X. Payne

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Managing Editor
Editor
Assistant Editor
Production Editor

Copyright Susan Calcari and the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, 1994-1998. Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of the Scout Report for Social Sciences provided the copyright notice and this paragraph is preserved on all copies. The Internet Scout Project provides information about the Internet to the US research and education community under a grant from the National Science Foundation, number NCR-9712163. The Government has certain rights in this material.

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