The Scout Report - February 4, 2000

February 4, 2000

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

The Scout Report is a weekly publication offering a selection of new and newly discovered Internet resources of interest to researchers and educators. However, everyone is welcome to subscribe to one of the mailing lists (plain text or HTML). Subscription instructions are included at the end of each report.


In This Issue:

Subject Specific Reports

Research and Education

General Interest

Network Tools

In The News


Subject Specific Reports

Scout Report for Science & Engineering
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/sci-eng/2000/se-000202.html
Volume 3, Number 10 of the Scout Report for Science & Engineering is available. The In the News section annotates eight resources on invasive, non-native insects and the problems they create in North America. [MD]
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Research and Education

PrePRINT Network -- DOE [.pdf, .zip, .gz, TeX Viewer, .ps]
http://www.osti.gov/preprint/
This new site from the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Scientific and Technical Information is intended as a complementary service to their scientific and technical journal abstract database, PubSCIENCE (reviewed in the October 29, 1999 Scout Report). PrePRINT Network serves as a searchable gateway to preprint servers that deal with scientific and technical disciplines such as physics, materials, and chemistry, "as well as portions of biology, environmental sciences and nuclear medicine." Users can search across the gateway by author, title, full record, date, and collection, or browse the databases alphabetically or by subject pathway. Search returns include title, author, source, number of pages, and a link to an abstract which then links to the full text. The format of the full-text papers can vary considerably. [MD]
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Health and Health Behaviour among Young People - WHO [.pdf, 1514K]
http://www.ruhbc.ed.ac.uk/hbsc/download/hbsc.pdf
This new report issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) is based on a 1997-98 survey of over 120,000 students, part of an ongoing cross-national study, the Health Behaviors in School-Aged Children (HBSC). The study "looked at 11, 13, and 15-year old children's attitudes and experiences concerning a wide range of health related behaviors and lifestyle issues in 26 European countries and regions, Canada, and the United States." Released every four years, this report marks the first year of full US participation, and it reveals that, compared to other industrialized nations, America's children are less likely to smoke or watch television. However, they are also less likely to exercise frequently or have a good diet. Users can download the full text of the report in .pdf format at the site. [MD]
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National Resources Inventory [.pdf, 703K]
http://www.nhq.nrcs.usda.gov/NRI/1997/
From the National Resources Conservation Service and the US Department of Agriculture, the recently released 1997 National Resources Inventory provides a statistically-based account of "conditions and trends of soil, water, and related resources" on US non-federal lands, including data on wetlands, conservation practices, farmland, land use, and more. The makers claim, "it is the most comprehensive database of its kind ever attempted anywhere in the world." The site provides the complete report (.pdf format), as well as links offering discussion in the form of an introduction, background, data gathering, statistical design, statistical estimation, a glossary, and results and analysis. Individual sections contain additional documentation. This is an unusual and comprehensive resource for those in need of national resources statistics. [KR]
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HIV/AIDS Treatment Information Service (ATIS) [.pdf]
http://www.hivatis.org/
Sponsored by the US Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the HIV/AIDS Treatment Information Service (ATIS) offers authoritative information on HIV and AIDS treatment for both healthcare practitioners and general users. The key part of the site is the Treatment Guidelines Library, which contains current and archived federally-approved treatment guidelines, most in both HTML and .pdf formats. Current guideline categories include Pediatric, Perinatal, Health-Care Worker Exposure, Nonoccupational Exposure, Opportunistic Infections, and Tuberculosis. Many of the guidelines are living documents that reflect the present state of knowledge in their category and will be updated in the future. While this section is aimed at professionals, all interested users will find the General Treatment Information section useful. In addition to general overviews of HIV/AIDS treatment, it also covers drug treatments, women and HIV, and special topics. Other resources at the site include a glossary, related publications, a collection of links, a what's new section, and a free email update service. [MD]
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Hospital Records Database
http://hospitalrecords.pro.gov.uk/
This new joint project from the Wellcome Trust and the UK Public Record Office helps researchers locate records of hospitals all over the UK. The database currently contains over 2,800 entries and may be searched by hospital or town name. Information contained in the database includes administrative details of the hospitals, location and covering dates of administrative and clinical records, and the existence of lists, catalogs or other finding aids. A sample search for "royal" under hospital name returned 210 records, and one for "Manchester" under town name produced 124 returns. While the target audience of this database -- researchers in British medical history -- is rather specialized, this new resource will prove extremely useful for these scholars and their students. [MD]
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Chinese Military Power [.pdf]
http://www.comw.org/cmp/
This new resource from the Commonwealth Institute's Project on Defense Alternatives (PDA) (reviewed in the January 12, 1999 Scout Report for Social Sciences) offers a gateway to "online analysis and research tools essential to understanding China's military policy, capabilities, and potential." The full-text offerings are accessed through links to a variety of English-language sources, and are grouped by topic, such as Commentary, Military Analyses, Political and Economic Conditions, Regional Context, and US Policy Toward China, among others. In addition, online resources on several special topics (China and the RMA, Arms Trade and Proliferation, Taiwan Confrontation, Cox Report and Aftermath, and China Arsenal) are also provided. Other resources include a bibliography, links to selected research sites, and contact information for a number of specialists in the field. If the site remains regularly updated as promised, it should become a useful current awareness tool for researchers and students studying Chinese military policy and US-China military relations. [MD]
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OSCE Mission Survey [.pdf, 569K]
http://www.osce.org/publications/survey/index.htm
Released on January 17 by the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE), this survey provides an overview of the mandates and other key information related to current OSCE field activities. Intended for practitioners involved in support of OSCE field activities as well as the interested public, the survey is designed to "facilitate reference to official OSCE documents and decisions on the subject." Users can read the survey by chapter in HTML format or in its entirety in .pdf format. [MD]
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US-Russian Relations at the Turn of the Century
http://www.ceip.org/programs/ruseuras/usrus/contents.htm
Hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, this site offers two interesting reports on US-Russian relations, one from the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Working Group on US-Russian Relations, the other from the Moscow-based Council on Foreign and Defense Policy Working Group on US-Russian Relations. The parallel working groups that produced these reports were formed in the spring of 1999, when US-Russian relations had hit a low point. The objective was to "produce reports that would provide expert American and Russian assessments of the state of the US-Russian relationship and its prospects as well as guidelines for its improved management." Despite the differences and recent rough spots between the two countries, the two reports offer "a large area of analytical common ground," which is outlined in the joint introduction from the Co-Chairs. Users can read both reports in HTML format and view a list of the working group members at the site. [MD]
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H-Psychohistory
http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~psychhst/
This new moderated H-NET discussion list "is intended to serve as a forum for discussion of research, theory, teaching, and scholarship in the field of psychohistory, the study of historical motivations." Users from all related fields and perspectives are invited to submit items of interest to a scholarly audience. More information, discussion logs, and subscription information are available at the site. [MD]
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General Interest

Nixon Watergate Tapes -- HPOL [RealPlayer]
http://www.hpol.org/
History and Politics Out Loud (HPOL), an NEH-supported, searchable archive of "politically significant audio materials for scholars, teachers, and students," has begun to post the first release of the Nixon Watergate tapes. When complete, this collection will include the 12.5 hours of audio (and transcripts) requested in the Watergate trial of Nixon aides. At present, users can listen to the audio and read the transcripts of three key discussions recorded in the Nixon White House, including the "smoking gun" and "cancer on the presidency" tapes. The easiest way to locate these tapes is to browse the database by speaker and select Richard M. Nixon. In addition to the Nixon tapes, HPOL offers close to 70 other titles, including recordings and transcripts of Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and the Warren Commission. Users may browse the database by title, date, or speaker, or search by title, speaker, date, subject, or keyword. [MD]
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Arts Journal: The Daily Digest of Arts & Cultural Journalism
http://www.artsjournal.com/
Edited by Douglas McLennan, formerly an arts columnist and arts reporter with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Seattle Weekly, Arts Journal is a daily digest of some of the best online arts and cultural journalism. Each weekday beginning at 5AM PST, McLennan examines and posts stories from over 180 English-language newspapers, magazines, and publications featuring writing about arts and culture. These are grouped under eight categories: Top Stories, Dance, Art Issues, Media, Music, Arts People, Publishing, Theater, and Visual Arts. Each Monday, the site also posts a weekly Arts Beat column, an annotated summary of the week's best stories. Users can subscribe to receive Arts Beat for free by email. This amazing resource for current news of the arts will appeal to a broad range of users and quickly find a prominent spot in their collection of daily news bookmarks. [MD]
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Homecoming... Sometimes I am Haunted by Memories of Red Dirt and Clay -- PBS [.pdf, QuickTime, RealPlayer]
http://www.pbs.org/homecoming/
This new companion site to an upcoming PBS television program explores the history and hardships of African-American farmers. As the program reveals, in 1920, blacks owned fourteen percent of the nation's farms; today, there are only 18,000 black farmers, representing less than one percent of all farms. In the Black Farming History and Timeline sections, users can read about the key events and experiences of black farmers from Reconstruction to the present day. More personal reflections and testimonials on land and loss from the film and communities where it has been aired are featured in the Wisdom and Experience and Stories & Remembrances sections. In addition, users are invited to submit their own stories, some of which will be featured on the site. Additional resources at the site include related links, a bibliography, and materials for educators. [MD]
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City Grade Report 2000
http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/gpp/citygrade.htm
Released on January 31 by the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and Governing magazine, this report represents "the most comprehensive analysis of city government management ever completed." To produce the City Grade Report, the management practices of 35 major cities were examined across five topical areas: Financial Management, Human Resources Management, Information Technology, Capital Management, and Managing for Results. At the site, users can view the grade report (only two cities, Austin, TX and Phoenix, AZ, averaged As) and statistics for each city, read the full text of the report as it appeared in Governing magazine, learn about the methodology, and read related news releases. [MD]
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Passages: A Treasure Trove of North American Exploration
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/dl/1999/passages/
Based on the Rare Book Collection of the National Library of Canada, this Web exhibition presents accounts of European voyages and explorations to North America, from Columbus's Atlantic crossing in 1492 to the famous trip through the Northwest Passage by Roald Amundsen in 1905. Proceeding through the exhibition using Chronological Navigation allows users to browse summaries that include links to related material, selected illustrations, and pages from books on successive North American explorations. The Alphabetical Navigation option permits browsing by explorers's names. It would be helpful if the site listed all of the rare books scanned for the exhibition, but since only a page or two from each work is present, accompanied by full bibliographic information, this omission is not serious. [DS]
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Election 2000
http://www.usia.gov/topical/rights/elect2000/
This new site from the Office of International Information Programs (IIP), formerly the USIA, (last reviewed in the December 15, 1998 Scout Report) is designed as a resource to help overseas readers follow and understand the upcoming US elections. It features background information, a weekly election newsletter (Campaign Spotlight), brief reports on breaking developments (Election Briefs), a campaign calendar, a bibliography, and a number of related links. Users can also sign up for a free announce-only mailing list that contains recent news, texts, and reports on the US Presidential Campaign. [MD]
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Bridgeport Working: Voices from the 20th Century [RealPlayer]
http://www.bridgeporthistory.org/
This fine online exhibit from the Bridgeport, Connecticut Public Library documents a century of labor in the city, drawing on photos, oral histories, and an interactive timeline. Visitors can begin exploring work and labor organizing in Bridgeport in the Labor Timeline Exhibit, which is browseable by decade with numerous hypertext links for more information on local and national events and people. In addition, audio clips from over 30 interviewees provide oral histories, and a gallery offers period photos sorted by decade. Other features include information on each of the companies mentioned in the exhibit, a glossary, and a bibliography. This well-crafted and interesting site is a good example of how the Web offers an ideal space to share local histories with universal human interest. [MD]
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Network Tools

Building A School Web Site
http://www.wigglebits.com/
Produced by The Jade Writers Group, this site offers a basic and easy-to-follow guide for teachers and students who want to construct a Website for their school or personal use. Users can choose to read the guide in order or by section, and it covers topics such as a basic introduction to HTML, using a Web editor, standards, bandwidth, search engine placement, and animation. Although the screenshot illustrations are from a Mac, the lessons apply to any platform. While certainly not as deep or detailed as other guides, the friendly and informal tone of this site will appeal to beginners and young users. [MD]
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JChecker 2.1 [Mac OS 8.x]
http://www02.matsumoto.co.jp/product/jchecker/index_E.html
JChecker is a compact shareware utility that offers HTML validation and link checking capabilities as well as some other nice touches for Macintosh OS 8.x. (There is no 68K version.) In addition to checking HTML syntax and links, JChecker also has a Beautify HTML function which organizes HTML pages hierarchically, numbers code lines, and color-codes different HTML components. The Minimize HTML function cleans up excess and "dirty" code left behind by WYSIWYG editors and multiple revisions. [AF]
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Windows 2000 Special Report -- ZDNet
http://www.zdnet.com/filters/special2000/
The latest incarnation of the Operating System (OS) used on over 90 percent of the world's personal computers is due for release on February 17. Despite its name, Windows 2000 is more the successor to NT 4.0 than Windows 98, and this special report from ZDNet helps users decipher what's new and improved and what's not, as well as covering the pros and cons of upgrading. In addition, the report includes several reviews of Windows 2000 features, discusses compatibility issues, offers some upgrade accessories, and speculates on the impact the new OS will have on Microsoft's future. [MD]
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In The News

To Europe's Chagrin, Austrian Freedom Party Enters Government
Austria and the Haider factor: Special Report -- BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_628000/628521.stm
"Haider's Party Sworn Into New Austrian Government" -- New York Times [RealPlayer]
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/late/04austria.html
Austria vs. Europe -- PBS Online NewsHour
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/europe/jan-june00/austria_2-3.html
"A conundrum for Austria-and for Europe" -- The Economist
http://www.economist.com/editorial/freeforall/5-2-00/index_eu0484.html
Austrian Freedom Party
http://194.96.203.5/englisch/welcome.html
Austrian People's Party
http://www.oevp.or.at/
Republic of Austria
http://www.austria.gv.at/e/
Radio Austria International [RealPlayer]
http://www.orf.at/roi/english/welcome.html
Austria -- NPR's All Things Considered [RealPlayer]
http://www.npr.org/ramfiles/atc/20000203.atc.09.ram
After several weeks of political wrangling and in the teeth of widespread international opposition, Austrian President Thomas Klestil has approved a new government that includes the conservative People's Party and the rightist Freedom Party. The inclusion of the Freedom Party horrifies a large number of observers in Austria and abroad, partly because of positive comments regarding Nazi employment policies and members of the Waffen SS made in the past by the Freedom Party's leader, Joerg Haider. Haider has consistently distanced himself from these remarks over the past few years, and before approving the coalition government, President Klestil had Haider and the leader of the People's Party, Wolfgang Schuessel, sign a statement renouncing Austria's Nazi past and promising to respect European values in their new government. However, and probably even more to the point as far as the European Community is concerned, the Freedom Party is a strong opponent of EU expansion into the east and rose to power on a staunch anti-immigrant platform. While Haider himself will not hold a Cabinet post, his party will take the ministries of finance, social affairs, defense, infrastructure, and justice, as well as the Deputy Chancellor post. Almost immediately after Austria's swearing in of the new government, the European Union has moved to impose unprecedented harsh sanctions. Finland, France, Germany, Britain, and Portugal, which currently holds the EU presidency, have already confirmed that they will suspend political (but not economic) ties with Austria. Israel has also withdrawn its ambassador, as it did between 1986 and 1992, when Kurt Waldheim served as President despite his Nazi past. While the worst-case scenario would be the suspension of Austria from the EU (it joined in 1995), the day-to-day operations of the EU will most probably not be affected.

Users can begin with the always-reliable BBC, which offers breaking news, analysis, archived articles, and related links. The New York Times (free registration required) also provides a host of articles on the subject, as well as related documents, video, a map, and a discussion forum. Last night's NewsHour on PBS featured a background report on the new government and an excellent discussion between the Austrian and Portuguese Ambassadors to the US. Users can listen to the program in RealPlayer format or read the transcripts at the site. The Economist has weighed in with an exploration of the implications of the Freedom Party's rise to power for both Austria and Europe. Users interested in commentary on these developments direct from the parties involved should consult the Websites of the Freedom and People's parties (the latter is only available in German) and the official site for the Republic of Austria. Finally, audio reports on the new government are available from Radio Austria International and National Public Radio's All Things Considered.[MD]
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