CERN Document Server Posters [.pdf, PostScript]
http://weblib.cern.ch/Home/Multimedia/Posters/
Posters for various exhibitions and workshops at CERN, the Swiss-based European Laboratory for Particle Physics, are now available within the Multimedia collection of the CERN Document Server. At this site, over 220 posters can be searched (keyword, title, or date) or browsed by title. The posters cover CERN projects such as the L3 detector and the End-cap Muon system and exhibitions including "Crystals of China" and "Collaborating through the Cold War." They display labeled diagrams of equipment, specifications, and historical facts. Because the online CERN Document Server is set to provide thorough information about documents in its database, users can find the top ten keywords for each poster, get detailed file format information (.pdf, .gif, .ps), extract figures, and receive documents by email. The printable color posters provide an interesting look into the history of CERN research and outreach and make nice office decorations for science geeks such as this editor. [HCS]
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Parallel History Project on the Warsaw Pact [.pdf]
http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/
The Parallel History Project (PHP) began in 1999 in response to the increasing declassification of documents related to the Warsaw Pact. The project collects and analyzes these documents, and users will find a regularly updated collection (.pdf) on the site. The Project's latest findings include documents from Hungarian archives that detail command exercises (which resemble actual war plans) describing the destruction of European cities including Vienna, Munich, and Verona. Visitors can read the documents (which are available in an English translation) and commentary from PHP members and a wealth of other items related to NATO and the Warsaw Pact. PHP's Website is part the International Relations and Security Network (ISN), operated by the Swiss Center for Security Studies and Conflict Research, and affiliated with NATO's Partnership for Peace. [TK]
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MENALIB: Middle East Virtual Library
http://ssgdoc.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/vlib/html/index.html
A collaborative venture of more than a half dozen international libraries, MENALIB is coordinated by the University and State Library Saxony-Anhalt, Halle in an attempt to combine contributors' resources into a virtual library of materials on the Middle East and North Africa. The library's primary goals are to create a subject guide for electronic resources in the areas of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies, a current contents service for scholarly journals, a virtual catalog, and databases for dissertations and conferences. The site currently contains ALMISBAH, a searchable and browseable (by source type and subject) database of Internet resources, and the classification scheme of the special subject collection (in German and English). [TK]
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Netsurfer Robotics
http://www.netsurf.com/nsr/
This new monthly e-zine from Netsurfer, available on-site or via subscription, covers most anything related to robotics. Each issue highlights a wealth of online resources grouped by topic or story. The first issue has annotated links related to the use of robotics in post-September 11 missions (bomb detection, search and rescue, etc.), LEGO's reaction to hackers work on Mindstorm, new technologies, new toys, and more. [TK]
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After September 11: Perspectives from the Social Sciences
http://www.ssrc.org/sept11/
This new site from the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) contains essays by well-known social scientists on the events of and following September 11. The site aims to "provide the public and academic community with a deeper level of analysis than can be found on Op-Ed pages or talk shows." Among the more than 35 pieces currently posted are essays by Seyla Benhabib, Olivier Roy, and John Hall. Wide ranging in scope, essays are grouped into seven topic areas -- Globalization, Fundamentalism(s), Terrorism and Democratic Virtues, Competing Narratives, New War?, New World Order?, and Recovery. The site is regularly updated with more material as well. Future plans are to add a teaching guide by mid-January, to help instructors use the essays in lesson plans, and to use some material from the site in a book series that SSRC will launch in 2002. [TK]
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GeoCommunicator
http://www.geocommunicator.gov/
Brought to the Web by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the US Forest Service (USFS), GeoCommunicator acts as a portal to the Geography Network's resources related to land management and land records. Here users can publicize data and events; request information from other users; search for data, references, and events; and sign up to receive updates when new data are posted to a specified geographic area. Visitors can search for data in variety of ways. Clicking the Explorer button brings up a handy search interface, with tabs indicating search types (by township, latitude/ longitude, or a general search with pull-down menus featuring a variety of limits). The favorites tab brings up a page where users can subscribe to receive update notifications. The forum section allows users to communicate with others, and the Land Manager Viewer section features interactive maps that deliver contact information for agencies that manage federal lands. The Reference section showcases NILS (the National Integrated Land System), a database of parcel-based land and survey information. Clearly, a must-bookmark for anyone involved in land management. [TK]
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Advanced Encryption Standard
http://csrc.nist.gov/encryption/aes/
The Secretary of Commerce Don Evans this week announced a new encryption standard for the federal government, the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). AES is expected to be used by businesses and organizations outside of government as well. AES, which replaces the Data Encryption Standard (DES) that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) adopted in 1977, has been in production for four years. NIST began a contest in 1997 to determine the best encryption algorithm. The algorithm finally selected in 2000 incorporates the Rijndael encryption formula. From this page, users can read the press release, join an AES discussion forum, access test values and code, and learn more about AES and Rijndael. [TK]
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Re-envisioning the PhD
http://www.grad.washington.edu/envision/
This new site, sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts, is home to the Re-envisioning the PhD project, which is tasked with investigating change in doctoral education, in particular, helping to expand the career choices available to PhD students. In the Re-envisioning Project Resources section, visitors will find conference materials, recommendations from studies, summaries of interviews, a bibliography, career resources, and more. The Promising Practices section contains information on the different ways in which groups (universities, associations, organizations, and more) are responding to concerns about doctoral education. The other two main sections of the site, National/ International Resources and News and Updates contain links to even more resources, studies, current news, related projects, and more. [TK]
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