The Scout Report - February 18, 2000

February 18, 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-000216.html
Volume 3, Number 11 of the Scout Report for Science & Engineering is available. The In the News section annotates nine resources on the Space Shuttle Radar Topography Mission to produce the world's most accurate topographic maps. [MD]
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Research and Education

The Image Archive on the American Eugenics Movement [Flash]
http://vector.cshl.org/eugenics/
This new online exhibit and archive from the DNA Learning Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (reviewed in the February 19, 1999 Scout Report) documents the troubling history of the American Eugenics Movement. The movement, which began in 1904 and was most active in the first few decades of the century, sought to apply Mendel's laws to breed better human beings by encouraging people with "good" genetic stock to reproduce and discouraging people with "bad" stock. Data and writings produced by the movement were used to justify "social legislation to separate racial and ethnic groups, restrict immigration from southern and eastern Europe, and sterilize people considered 'genetically unfit,'" as well as serving as a model for Nazi racial ideology. The exhibit features over 1,200 materials, most of them from the Eugenics Record Office at Cold Spring Harbor, which served as the center of American Eugenics research from 1910 to 1940. The materials are presented in eleven Flash exhibits, with titles such as Marriage Laws, Eugenics Popularization, Sterilization Laws, Research Methods, and Research Flaws. Users can also browse by 35 topic areas or search by keyword. Throughout the site, the primary materials are accompanied by brief essays and captions to help visitors understand the related historical, social, political, and ethical issues. This fascinating and well-organized collection on eugenic engineering deserves a wide audience. [MD]
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Journals from Oxford University Press/ HighWire Press
Journal of Experimental Botany: Abstracts 1996-97; Full text 1998-present [.pdf]
http://jexbot.oupjournals.org/
Chemical Senses: Abstracts 1994-97; Full text 1998-present [.pdf]
http://chemse.oupjournals.org/
Behavioral Ecology: Abstracts 1996-present; Full text 1998-present [.pdf]
http://www3.oup.co.uk/beheco/
Biometrika: Abstracts 1996-present; Full text beginning 2000 [.pdf]
http://www3.oup.co.uk/biomet/
Forestry: 1996-present
http://www3.oup.co.uk/foresj/
Glycobiology: Abstracts 1996-present; Full text 1998-present [.pdf]
http://www3.oup.co.uk/glycob/
IMA Journal of Applied Mathematics: 1996-present [.pdf]
http://www3.oup.co.uk/imamat/
IMA Journal of Numerical Analysis: 1996-present [.pdf]
http://www3.oup.co.uk/imanum/
Journal of Petrology: 2000-present [.pdf]
http://petrology.oupjournals.org/
Journal of Plankton Research: 1999-present [.pdf]
http://plankt.oupjournals.org/
Oxford University Press (OUP) has made available (with restricted access) the full content of ten science journals. Online abstracts and tables of contents begin with 1996 issues; online full text generally begins 1998 (but see specific time lines noted above). Note that online access to these journals is free only to users with an IP address from an institution with a current OUP subscription (or individuals with subscriptions). While the Scout Project generally does not announce restricted access journals, we have made an exception in this case since so many universities have OUP subscriptions. To determine if your institution has a subscription to OUP, attempt to access the journal articles directly, and then contact your librarian or institutional liaison officer if you have difficulties. The Journal of Experimental Botany,Chemical Senses,Journal of Petrology, and Journal of Plankton Research were produced by OUP in conjunction with Stanford University's HighWire Press. [LXP]
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Women and Heart Disease: An Atlas of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Mortality - CDC [.pdf, 26.2MB]
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/cvd/womensatlas/
Developed by the Office for Social Environment and Health Research at West Virginia University and the Cardiovascular Health Branch at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this new atlas features over 200 national and state maps of heart disease mortality among women. Collectively, these maps "provide critical data on geographic, racial, and ethnic inequalities in women's heart disease death rates for the five major racial and ethnic groups." Users can download the 239-page atlas in .pdf format in its entirety or by sections. They can also view national maps, interactive state maps with county information, and methodological and technical notes. [MD]
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History of the Federal Judiciary [.pdf]
http://air.fjc.gov/history
Released on February 9 by the Federal Judicial Center (FJC), this site constitutes "a major, previously-unpublished reference source for the history of the federal courts." It is composed of five major sections. The first, Judges of the United States Courts, contains the Federal Judges Biographical Database, a browseable or keyword-searchable database of the service records and professional resumes of presidentially-appointed judges since 1789. Users can also construct their own queries about groups of federal judges, including the justices of the Supreme Court. The second section, Courts of the Federal Judiciary, offers legislative histories of courts and circuits within the federal judiciary, in addition to lists of chief judges and information on the location of the official records of each court. The Landmark Judicial Legislation section presents the full text of 21 statutes related to the organization and administration of the judiciary, presented in a timeline with notes on their historical significance. The final two sections explore selected topics in judicial history and exhibit annotated photos of historical federal courthouses, browsed via a pull-down menu. Additional resources include a collection of FJC publications and (annotated) related links. [MD]
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Oriental Institute Research Archives Catalogue
http://oilib.uchicago.edu/oilibcat.html
Oriental Institute Research Archives Homepage
http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/DEPT/RA/Research_Arch.html
Announced on February 10, the online catalog of the Research Archives of the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago allows users to search the Archive's 35,000 holdings, which focus on the history of the ancient Near East from prehistoric times through the Late Antique period. Six different search methods are offered: keyword, author, title, subject, LCCN or ISBN, and expert searching. Sample keyword searches for "Babylon" produced 231 hits, while one for "Ur" produced 440. Search returns consist of rather sparse bibliographic information, limited primarily to title, author, publisher and date, and number of pages. Please note that the Research Archives collection is non-circulating and that anyone desiring to use the Archives is expected to become a member of the Oriental Institute. This requirement, however, will not deter scholars of the ancient Near East who desire to use the Institute's unique and valuable collection. [MD]
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The Nationalism Project
http://www.wisc.edu/nationalism/
Created and maintained by Eric Zuelow, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, this site serves as a scholarly resource for the study of nationalism in all its forms. Edited in consultation with a panel of recognized authorities in the field, the site offers book reviews and abstracts, a concise introduction to nationalism, a listing of over 200 recent books, related links, and calls for papers. While the offerings in many of these sections are still rather modest, the site's Bibliography of Journal Articles is impressive, listing over 1,000 articles on nationalism published in 21 journals since 1980. Zuelow plans to add entries for over a dozen more journals in the future. Interested users are welcome to contribute to the site, and contact information is provided. [MD]
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PsycPORT.com -- APA
http://www.psycport.com/
Created a few months ago, but only recently completed, PsycPORT offers a substantial collection of psychology resources for professionals and interested users. Designed as a portal for psychology information, PsycPORT features breaking psychology news stories; information on forthcoming and current books; recent tables of contents, abstracts, and some full-text articles for related journals; PsycINFO Direct, a fee-based abstract database (free demo available); and access to PsychCrawler, the APA's psychology search engine (reviewed in the August 25, 1998 Scout Report for Social Sciences). [MD]
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The 1999 ASAP Annual Report [.pdf]
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/codeq/asap99/asapmain.htm
ASAP Home Page
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/codeq/codeq-1.htm
Established by Congress after the Apollo spacecraft fire in January 1967, the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) is an independent group of experts tasked with advising "the NASA Administrator and Congress on all safety-related issues -- design, development, manufacturing, flight preparation, and missions operations -- concerning NASA's human space flight programs." This recently released, 130-page report details the Panel's activities for the calendar year 1999. After a thorough introduction, it offers findings and recommendations for the Space Shuttle program, International Space Station (ISS) program, Extravehicular Activity (EVA), Computer Hardware/ Software, and Aero-Space Technology. It also includes information in support of these findings and several appendices. The ASAP homepage features the text of previous annual reports and general information about the Panel and its activities. [MD]
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An Orientation to the US Department of Education's Website [MS PowerPoint]
http://www.ed.gov/Welcome/tour/
Originally presented at the October 1999 Blue Ribbon Schools Conference, this orientation was recently placed online at the request of conference participants, "who wanted to use the slide show when making presentations to other educators and parents." The slide show consists of 37 segments, which may be viewed in order or individually from a table of contents. In an effort to ensure that the information is current, most of the slides offer a link to a live Webpage. The slide show is in the public domain, and users may modify it to suit their needs. Users can also download the original MS PowerPoint presentation at the site. [MD]
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General Interest

Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM)
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/
German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD)
http://www.dfd.dlr.de/srtm/index.html
STS-99 Mission Status Reports
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/spacenews/reports/index.html
It now appears that the Space Shuttle Endeavour will be able to conserve enough fuel to complete its mission and create the world's most accurate topographic maps. With these sites, users can track the remaining days of the mission and view some samples of the extraordinary images being produced. At the SRTM homepage, users will find news updates, background information, some quick facts, related links, an overview of the mission's equipment, and a list of acronyms used at the site. The German Remote Sensing Data Center site features some of the latest images in standard and high resolution as well as related information. Finally, the STS-99 Mission Status Reports site contains the latest news from Mission Control. For more on the earth mapping mission, see the In the News column for this week's Scout Report for Science & Engineering. [MD]
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World Health News
http://www.worldhealthnews.harvard.edu/
Published by the Center for Health Communication of the Harvard School of Public Health, this online weekly news digest covers stories on public health issues from around the world. Aimed at an international audience of policy makers, journalists, public health researchers, practitioners, and advocates, World Health News blends original reporting with links to stories and editorials from publications worldwide. Currently, the site features a spotlight story on women's rights, health, and equality, as well as synopses and links to stories on the death penalty, AIDS, mental health care for children, environmental hazards, teens and tobacco, and gene therapy, among others. Future plans for the site include video and audio offerings, such as expert interviews and coverage of breaking public health news from "leading news organizations." [MD]
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The Motley Fool's NOW 50 Index
http://www.fool.com/now50/now50.htm
Fool.com Quotes/Data
http://quote.fool.com/
Launched on January 3, the Motley Fool's NOW 50 Index is intended to serve as a more relevant and realistic market index for the 21st century. The 50 companies included were selected from 288 nominated to the trustees, and they stand, according to the Motley Fool, "in the vanguard of the trends that will define commerce in the next decades." Users can read about the creation of the NOW 50 Index, a description of the methodology used to construct the Index, and details on all 50 companies. The NOW 50 Index daily numbers are listed on the right hand side of the page, but users can access more detailed information at the Fool.com main Quotes/Data page in the Indices section. [MD]
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19th Century Schoolbooks
http://digital.library.pitt.edu/nietz/
This demonstration project by the University of Pittsburgh Digital Research Library proves that digital versions of rare books can be as enjoyable as the original print. Currently, digitized versions of 30 nineteenth-century textbooks selected from the Nietz Old Textbook Collection are available, covering reading, writing, and 'rithmatic, and beyond. The site allows users to page through the books as they would with hard copies. There is a table of contents for each book, including a bookmarkable URL and bibliographic citation, from which one can proceed to chapters and even skip to the pictures. Powerful Boolean and simple searching are provided, with ample help screens. In addition, a searchable citation bibliography contains entried for the complete Nietz Collection, some 16,000 volumes. [DS]
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Solar Max 2000 [RealPlayer]
http://www.exploratorium.edu/solarmax/index.html
This new exhibit from the Exploratorium (last discussed in the August 6, 1999 Scout Report) is a content-rich examination of the upcoming "solar maximum." The year 2000, it is believed, will see the highest degree of sunspot activity for the current solar cycle. The result may be geomagnetic storms that disrupt power grids, radio broadcasts, and satellites, as well as unusually vibrant displays of the Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis (the Northern and Southern Lights). To follow these events and learn about the science behind them, most users will need look no further than this site, which offers links to news stories and daily reports from NASA, links to a large number of images, a Solar Max FAQ in text and video, classroom activities, a glossary, and links to upcoming solar missions and numerous other related resources. A Japanese language version of the site is forthcoming. [MD]
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The Leaning Tower of Pisa [QuickTime, .pdf]
http://torre.duomo.pisa.it/index_eng.html
The official site of the Leaning Tower of Pisa offers users a comprehensive tour of this historic landmark with 6,400 images and two QTVR films. In addition to the exhaustive photographic tour, which illuminates almost every conceivable detail of the Tower's eight floors (help on navigating the photos is available), the site includes a nice history of the Tower from 1173 to the present, and a fourteen-part exhibit on the building's construction and efforts to conserve the Tower. Simply put, this is THE site for anyone interested in the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Naturally, the site is also available in Italian. [MD]
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WineToday.com
http://www.winetoday.com/
A subsidiary of the New York Times Co., and headquartered in Sonoma County, Winetoday.com is a comprehensive source of current wine news and information for both novice and experienced wine lovers. The heart of the site is its database of over 5,000 wine reviews, searchable by keyword or browseable by region, varietal, price, or rating. Search results can also be sorted by these four categories. At present, the database reflects the company's California roots, but efforts are underway to add more reviews of international wines. Users can also check the site each week for the wine of the week and that week's reviews, or better yet, set up a Personal Wine Sleuth to alert them by email whenever the site reviews a wine that matches their criteria. These and any other wines that users think they might like can be saved to their personal wine list, stored on the site after free registration. Other offerings at the site include a database with information on over 1,000 wineries, wine-related news and special reports, an opinion section, message boards, and notices of events and auctions. This terrific site is sure to become one of the top online resources for wine enthusiasts. [MD]
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Social Security e-news
Press Release
http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/e-news.html
Subscription Form
http://www.ssa.gov/enews/
Beginning this week, users can sign up for a new free electronic newsletter from the US Social Security Administration (SSA) that will premiere on March 1. The monthly newsletter will feature the latest Social Security news aimed at both workers and beneficiaries. Each story will be hyperlinked to a page at the SSA Website offering more information. In addition, users can elect to receive news updates on a number of specific topics, such as Disability, Law and Regulations, Retirement, Medicare, and others. [MD]
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Network Tools

Pandia Search Central
http://www.pandia.com/
Created and maintained by P&S Koch of Oslo, Norway, Pandia Search Central aims to serve as a major search portal, pooling a number of searching tools and guides. These include a metasearch engine that indexes AltaVista, HotBot, Yahoo, Looksmart, Go Infoseek, GoTo, and WebCrawler at once; a news service and search engine; the Pandia Goalgetter, a concise search tutorial; the Pandia Plus Directory, powered by the Open Directory Project; "Q-cards," which help users form advanced queries on a number of selected search engines and directories; and a Pandia Sherlock plug-in for Mac users. While experienced users will already have a number of the search engines and directories featured at Pandia bookmarked, some poking around should still produce a number of items of use. After spending some time at the site to get a feel for it, other users will benefit a great deal from having so many different resources accessible from a single starting point. [MD]
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SearchWin2000: The Windows NT/2000-Specific Portal
http://www.searchwin2000.com/
Users contemplating the plunge into Windows 2000 would do well to visit this portal for Windows NT/2000 information. Provided by TechTarget.com, the site offers the latest Windows NT/2000 news, technical tips, resources hand-picked by the editorial staff, a search engine (AltaVista) that indexes over 7,000 "pre-screened Win/NT & Win/2000-related sites," and, in the near future, a searchable directory of over 2,000 vendors. Registered users can save their search results for future reference. [MD]
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Matthew Zook's Page of Domain Name Data [.pdf]
http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~zook/domain_names/
Created by Matthew Zook, a PhD student in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley, this site offers a number of resources related to the growth and geography of the Internet. Using bi-annual surveys of the registration address of domain names, Zook has been tracking the development of the Internet and e-commerce since 1998. While domain registration has been dispersing, Zook finds that "the US remains the primary center and urban areas around the world contain most of the Internet domain names." At the site, users will find data on US and World CONE Domain Totals and .com domains by state for July 1998, January 1999, July 1999, and January 2000. Also offered is a collection of maps charting the geography of .com domains, the density of domains, and the global distribution of domain names. In addition, users can access the full text of Zook's articles and conference papers in .pdf format. [MD]
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In The News

Iran on the Cusp of Change?
BBC News Special Report -- Iran Elections [RealPlayer]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/in_depth/middle_east/2000/iran_elections/
"Turnout heavy in Iran's parliamentary elections" -- CNN [RealPlayer]
http://www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/meast/02/18/iran.elections.02/index.html
"Whither Iran? Parliamentary Elections 2000" -- AsiaSource [RealPlayer]
http://www.asiasource.org/news/at_mp_02.cfm?newsid=1251
Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)
http://www.irna.com/
Iran Press Service
http://www.iran-press-service.com/
Tehran Times
http://www.tehrantimes.com/
Iran Weekly Press Digest
http://www.neda.net/iran-wpd/
Iran Daily
http://www.iran-daily.com/
Royal Danish Embassy, Tehran
http://www.ambadane.teheran.suite.dk/news.htm
Mohammad Khatami, President of Iran (Unofficial) [RealPlayer]
http://www.persia.org/khatami/index.html
Parliamentary Elections in Iran -- Human Rights Watch Backgrounder
http://www.hrw.org/press/2000/02/iran0215.htm
Iran's reformists are predicting their first parliamentary majority after today's election in Iran. A very large turnout is expected in today's polling, largely seen as a referendum on President's reform drive. Close to 6,000 candidates, including a record 513 women, are vying for 290 seats in the Majlis. A key factor in the election will be Iran's young people: two-thirds of the population are under 30, and many of them contributed to President Khatami's landslide victory in 1997. Khatami's fellow reformers have mirrored his appeal to women and young voters, promising more openness in Iran's foreign and domestic policies. Even a major victory for Khatami's allies, however, will not guarantee swift reforms in Iran, as the conservatives will retain a large degree of oversight in the form of the conservative-dominated Council of Guardians, the body which must approve all legislation passed by the Majlis. In addition, some analysts believe that the reformists may not win an outright majority due to former President Hashemi Rafsanjani's surprise decision to run as a candidate. A central figure in Iran's revolutionary history and supported by both the right and the center, Rafsanjani may emerge as the power broker with whom Khatami must deal to pass his legislation.

In contrast to previous Iranian elections, this contest has been well covered by online new sources. The BBC's special report features breaking news, analysis, and commentary, and several interactive guides to help users understand the issues and personalities involved. CNN's coverage includes a number of stories, audio and video reports, analysis, and related links. Produced by the Asia Society, the AsiaSource special report contains basic election information, commentary, links to audio and video coverage, and related stories and links. The IRNA, located in Tehran, is the largest news agency in Iran. The site offers a number of stories on the election in the Headlines section. Additional coverage can be found at the Iran Press Service (an independent and private news service), the Tehran Times, and the Iran Weekly Press Digest. Users will also find election news at Iran Daily, an online English language newspaper, while even more links to Iranian news in English and Farsi are offered at the Website of the Danish Embassy in Tehran. An unofficial site dedicated to President Khatami includes a biography, the full text of some of his statements, and audio and video clips. Finally, the election backgrounder from Human Rights Watch offers a concise review of the human rights issues involved in today's election and its outcome. [MD]
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From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2000. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/

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Copyright Susan Calcari and the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, 1994-2000. The Internet Scout Project (http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/), located in the Computer Sciences Department of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides information about the Internet to the U.S. research and education community under a grant from the National Science Foundation, number NCR-9712163. The Government has certain rights in this material. Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of the entire Scout Report provided this paragraph, including the copyright notice, are preserved on all copies.

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