The Scout Report - December 3, 1999

December 3, 1999

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 Social Sciences and Business & Economics
Scout Report for Social Sciences
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/socsci/1999/ss-991130.html
Scout Report for Business & Economics
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/bus-econ/1999/be-991202.html
The seventh issues of the third volumes of the Scout Reports for Social Sciences and Business & Economics are available. The In the News section of the Social Sciences Report annotates nine resources on the war in Chechnya. The Business & Economics Report's In the News section offers thirteen resources on the World Trade Organization (WTO) Third Ministerial Conference in Seattle, WA. [MD]
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Research and Education

Two new Reports on Stem Cell Research
"Draft National Institutes of Health (NIH) Guidelines for Research Involving Human Pluripotent Stem Cells" (December 1999)
http://www.nih.gov/news/stemcell/draftguidelines.htm
NIH News Release
http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/dec99/od-01.htm
NIH Stem Cell Information
http://www.nih.gov/news/stemcell/index.htm
"Stem Cell Research and Applications: Monitoring the Frontiers of Biomedical Research" -- AAAS/ ICS [.pdf, 201K]
http://www.aaas.org/spp/dspp/sfrl/projects/stem/report.pdf
Stem Cell Research and Applications: Scientific, Ethical, and Policy Issues -- AAAS
http://www.aaas.org/spp/dspp/sfrl/projects/stem/main.htm
Two reports regarding human stem cell research have been recently placed online. Released on December 2, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) draft guidelines for stem cell use "recommend procedures to help ensure that NIH-funded human pluripotent stem cell research is conducted in an ethical and legal manner." The full text of the guidelines is preceded by a statement from the NIH Director. Readers are welcome to comment on the guidelines by January 30, after which time a final version will be published, an oversight process will be put in place, and NIH funding of such projects is expected to commence. Users can also read the NIH press release and visit the Institute's Stem Cell Information page, which offers a number of related publications and statements. The second recently released report, from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Institute for Civil Society (ICS), explores the scientific and ethical issues involved in the use of embryonic stem (ES) cells and embryonic germ (EG) cells in medical research. While the report acknowledges the "varied social, political, ethical, and religious viewpoints to be considered in discussions about the scientific use of tissue from human embryos and fetuses," it concludes that human stem cell research holds enormous potential and advocates both private and public funding of such projects. Users can read the full text of the report, which includes specific suggestions and guidelines for the future of stem cell research, in .pdf format. The main AAAS stem cell site offers a summary of the findings and recommendations and several bioethics-related resources. [MD]
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Information Technology: Its Impact on Undergraduate Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology -- NSF
ASCII:
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/1998/nsf9882/nsf9882.txt
.pdf version (287K):
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/1998/nsf9882/nsf9882.pdf
This 1998 National Science Foundation (NSF) report is the fruit of a conference that was convened by NSF's Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) to discuss the use of Information Technology (IT) for undergraduates in the hard sciences. After considering the explosion in both communication and computer technologies that has made IT so much more prevalent in undergraduate education, the report offers recommendations for ways to improve the use and integration of IT into standard curriculum. The consensus of the conference participants includes "a renewed call to change an academic culture that views research on education and the use of education technology as incidental or secondary to more traditional avenues of research." [DC]
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The State of Food Insecurity in the World 1999 (SOFI) [.pdf, 1028K]
http://www.fao.org/NEWS/1999/img/SOFI99-E.PDF
This excellent report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations found that in 1999, 790 million people in the Third World were undernourished, and 34 million in First and Second World nations also did not have enough to eat. Although the number of undernourished people has dropped by 40 million since 1996, a decline of 8 million per year, the world will not be able to meet the 1996 World Food Summit goal of reducing the number of starving people to about 400 million in 2015. This 35-page report is filled with graphically rendered data sets, maps, glossaries of defined terms, and side bars highlighting specific countries and issues. SOFI's presentation conveys the urgency of the issues surrounding the world's food insecurity clearly and concisely. [EM]
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BLPES Pamphlet Collection [.pdf]
http://www.blpes.lse.ac.uk/services/guides/pamphlets/
In a welcome move to researchers and historians, the British Library of Political and Economic Science (BLPES) has created an online guide to its large pamphlet collection, containing some 90,000 pamphlets, many from the 19th and early 20th centuries. While covering a number of important public and political issues in British history, the collection also contains a fair amount of European and International materials, including a large number of German-language pamphlets, as well as materials on Latin American trade unions, the League of Nations, pacifism, the two World Wars, and conflict in the Middle East. Users can browse the guide by fifteen topics (e.g., Issues in British history, political parties, social policy, poor laws, transport, etc.) or search the online catalog by subject keyword, author, title, or issuing body. The guide lists pamphlet author, title, and classmark, while the online catalog also includes publisher, pages, location, and other notes. As an added bonus, the majority of pamphlets listed in the social policy and transport guides have been digitized and are available in .pdf format. [MD]
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"Acid Rain Progress Report" [.pdf, 2545K]
http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/general/acidrainprogress.html
Recently posted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this report describes progress made under the Acid Rain Program, established by Congress in 1990 under the Clean Air Act. The report, which details the reduction of the primary components of acid rain, "provides both basic information about the nature of acid deposition and detailed descriptions of how key indicators have changed." The image-heavy report includes a large number of graphs and charts and is readily approachable for students and general readers. [MD]
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TILT (Texas Information Literacy Tutorial) [Flash]
http://tilt.lib.utsystem.edu/
Developed by the Digital Information Literacy Office at the University of Texas at Austin, this site introduces undergraduate students to basic research sources and skills. TILT is essentially an interactive tutorial organized in three modules (selecting, searching, and evaluating) which may be completed in any order. Before beginning the tutorial, users select one of six "current Internet issues" (Free Speech, Global Communities, Laws & Regulations, etc.) and the ensuing tutorial will supply related examples. Each of the fairly deep and well-organized modules contains a list of key concepts and skills and a quiz. Some of the highlights include finding and using articles in scholarly journals, navigating databases and search engines, and perhaps most importantly, evaluating print and Web sources. While the some of the images and animations seem perhaps more appropriate for younger users, the tutorial as a whole offers a detailed and accessible introduction to important research techniques and skills for university students. [MD]
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Global System for Sustainable Development (GSSD)
http://gssd.mit.edu/Gssd/gssd.nsf
A project of the Global Accords Consortium for Sustainable Development (located at MIT), this site offers a collection of over 2,500 abstracted, indexed, and cross-referenced online resources on sustainable development. Users have four options for searching the index: text (keyword and advanced) and three graphical browsers, one indexing all holdings (organized by subject and problems and solutions), the others covering industry related topics and the Alliance for Global Sustainability (AGS), respectively. Initial search returns include title, "slice" (subject), and "ring" (problem area). Item titles link to further information, including an abstract and the resource itself. GSSD also features a modest selection of full-text reports on "scientific developments and/or policy deliberations." The Consortium plans to make the entire knowledge base available in at least nine additional languages in the future. [MD]
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LOOKSEE -- Discussion List on Image-Based Humanities Computing
http://lsv.uky.edu/archives/looksee.html
Organized by Matt Kirschenbaum of the Department of English at the University of Kentucky, this new list will explore issues related to image-based humanities computing. The list will host both informal discussions in which members are free to post any queries or comments, and structured examinations of particular topics introduced in turn by Kirschenbaum. The first of these will be medical imaging and informatics. Users can subscribe and view the list archive at the above URL or via email. The LOOKSEE homepage also offers a number of links to related resources. [MD]

To subscribe, send email to:
    LISTSERV@LSV.UKY.EDU
In the body of the message type:
    subscribe LOOKSEE yourfirstname yourlastname
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General Interest

People on War [QuickTime, .pdf]
http://www.onwar.org/
Launched by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in August 1999 to mark the 50th anniversary of the modern Geneva Conventions, the People on War Project has conducted interviews and surveys with over 20,000 people in seventeen countries on their perceptions of what is right and wrong in wartime. At present, users can read the full text of the resulting final comparative report and six country reports in HTML and .pdf formats. In addition, users can read a selection of "Best of People on War stories," view several excellent collections of annotated photographs, and (after free registration) enter CrossFire, an "interactive documentary" on the "dilemmas soldiers, civilians, and others face in war." Additional resources at the site include discussion forums, a questionnaire, and several reference sources, among them the full searchable text of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. [MD]
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Convention on the Rights of the Child - Tenth Anniversary -- UNICEF [Flash, RealPlayer, Windows MediaPlayer, QuickTime]
http://www.unicef.org/crc/
November 20 marked the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child as an international human rights treaty. To mark the anniversary, UNICEF offers a number of resources. The highlight of these is an updated Guide to the Convention that traces the treaty's creation, its implications for the world's children, the full text, and a FAQ. Other offerings at the site include several related publications, eight 30-second cartoons depicting selected Articles of the Convention in RealPlayer and Windows Media Player formats, a child labor quiz, and related links. [MD]
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Use of Force by the Police [.pdf] -- BJS
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/ufbponld.htm
Released this week by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), this report is the product of several national and local-level surveys on the use of force by police officers. Offered in six independent but interrelated chapters, the report explores what is and what is not known about the extent and nature of police use of force, the circumstances under which force is applied, and the difficulties in measuring the use of force, and suggests future paths for research in this area. The report is available in .pdf format in two parts or in text format. [MD]
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Images of American Political History
http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/amer_pol_hist/
This recent addition to the Teaching Politics site (reviewed in the September 8, 1998 Scout Report for Social Sciences) offers some 500 public domain images related to American political history from the colonial era to the present. Users can search the collection by keyword or browse by era or one of four special topics. Images are offered as large thumbnails with brief captions. As they are not copyrighted, teachers and other users are free to download the images for classroom or other use. [MD]
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Nuke Pop
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/nukepop/
Created by Washington State University Professor of English Paul Brians, this site offers a tour of popular culture reactions to the atomic age using materials from Brians's own collection. Examining novels, comics, films, album covers, and other materials, the site moves from initial reactions to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki up to recent depictions of nuclear holocaust. Along the way, it examines topics such as the monstrification of the A- and H-Bombs the in comic books, "Bomberotica" and "Radioactive Rambos"; atomic themes in toys and games; and nuclear war themes in Japanese comics and cartoons. Users may progress through the exhibit in a linear fashion or navigate by section from the table of contents page. Sections vary in length, but each offers a number of images accompanied by commentary from Brians. [MD]
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Googie Architecture On-Line
http://www.spaceagecity.com/googie/
Step into George Jetson's living room at this site created by Chris Jepsen as an homage to the 1950s space-age, commercial architecture sometimes called "Googie," after a Los Angeles coffee shop built in 1949. Although you may not be familiar with the term, you will recognize the style as you browse the site's Googie Gallery, which includes views of Disneyland, the 1964 World's Fair in New York, and superb Googie coffee shops and bowling alleys in Southern California, Googie's birthplace. Serious architectural historians may regard Googie as an eccentricity within American 20th-Century Architecture, but the site's Googie Links provide references to numerous books, articles, and Websites, and Googie News recounts historic preservation efforts aimed at saving the style. [DS]
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MTV Top 100 Videos Ever Made [RealPlayer, QuickTime]
http://www.mtv.com/mtv/tubescan/100videos/index_second.html
While we have been awash in top 100 lists as the year 2000 approaches, this one might grab the attention of users who spent a portion of their tender years watching the evolution of a new network called MTV. While the list, which is presented alphabetically and not by rank, includes a number of newer artists and videos, the 1980s, the heyday of MTV, are well represented. Users can browse the list (Paula Abdul to ZZ Top) and view 30-second clips of the selected videos (a few are available in their entirety). Clicking on the artist's name brings up more information, news, reviews, related links, and in some cases, clips or full-length videos in QuickTime format. Users are invited to submit their own comments on their favorite videos or videos they feel should have been included. The videos will be shown on MTV the week of December 6-11. [MD]
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Network Tools

Search Engine Strategies 99: Special Report
http://websearch.about.com/internet/websearch/library/blses99.htm
About.com Guide to Web Search
http://websearch.about.com/internet/websearch/mbody.htm
Written by Chris Sherman, author of the About.com Guide to Web Search, this special five-part report offers the highlights from the recent Search Engine Strategies 99 conference in San Francisco. Each of the five essays is devoted to a different topic explored at the conference. These include creating and optimizing "search engine friendly" Webpages, banner ads, techniques sites use to lure search engine spiders, human-created directories, and comments from representatives of the major search engines. Users who don't already know about it will also want to visit the main Guide to Web Search page, which contains a large number of useful resources. Included in these are classified and annotated links for specific searches (Health and Medicine, Politics, News, Entertainment, Images, etc.), bulletin boards, a free (and helpful) weekly newsletter, and a daily column on Internet-related news (Net News, Views, & Cool New Tools). [MD]
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Traffick: The Guide to Portals
http://www.traffick.com/default.asp
Designed to help users understand and make better use of portals, Traffick offers several helpful features. Probably the best of these are the articles and tutorials written by Traffick's columnists. These range from tips on customizing popular portals to comparisons of selected sites to reports on various ebusiness ventures. Newer users may also appreciate the Traffick Reports and comparisons of the major portals. Current Internet news, some "cool tools," a forum, and (annotated) related links round out the site. [MD]
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SurfSecret
http://www.surfsecret.com
SurfSecret allows you to surf the Internet without creating the typical electronic trail of cache, cookies, and history. It can be configured to remove these files from your hard drive at regular intervals of your choosing, so you'll know that the next user of the browser will not be able to find out where you've been by simply looking in the history folder. In the password-protected Stealth Mode (registered version only), SurfSecret runs under a different name so that nobody will know it is being used. Windows 95/98 or NT 4.0 is required. The 30-day trial version may be registered for $29.95. [JB]
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In The News

Mars Polar Lander Nears Touchdown
Mars Polar Lander Official Site [RealPlayer]
http://polarlander.jpl.nasa.gov/
Polar Lander Mirror Sites
http://www.sgi-mars.com/mirror/quickref.html
Special Report: Mars Polar Lander [AVI] -- Space.Com
http://www.space.com/space/mpl-sr.html
Life on Mars? -- Discovery Online
http://www.discovery.com/indep/newsfeatures/marspolar/marspolar.html
Exploring Mars -- CNN [Quicktime]
http://www.cnn.com/TECH/specials/mars/
Home stretch for the Mars lander -- MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.com/news/MARS_Front.asp
Mars Polar Lander preview -- Space Online
http://www.flatoday.com/space/explore/probes/polarlander/preview.htm
Mars Polar Lander -- NPR's All Things Considered
http://www.npr.org/ramfiles/atc/19991202.atc.07.ram
Around 3pm EST today, the Mars Polar Lander is expected to cut through Mars's atmosphere, deploy a parachute, and fire twelve thrusters, slowing from over 15,000 mph to just 5 mph, and land on the edge of the planet's southern polar cap . The $165 million, three-foot tall, 600-pound craft is equipped with a robotic arm, microphone, oven, and cameras to search for water or ice just below the frozen Martian tundra. The mission is expected to last about 90 days, but could be extended if the lander continues to operate well, as was the case with the Mars Pathfinder Mission in 1997. Expectations and hopes for this mission have been raised after the loss of the Polar Lander's sister craft ten weeks ago due to human error.

Users interested in the Polar Lander should begin with the official site (or one of its mirrors), which offers background to the mission, goals and technical details, quick facts, images, current status reports, and a links to several live Webcasts of the landing. The special report at Space.com includes a number of related stories and links to animations and the latest images. Discover Online has also created a special site on the Mars mission, with updates, live coverage, background, a photo gallery, and a Mars quiz. CNN's special on Mars contains several feature stories, videos and animations, images, 3D models, a Mars Guide, and discussion boards. MSNBC's Mars special includes numerous articles on various elements of the mission and Mars, and how to track the mission online. Space Online's preview of the mission offers a number of articles on both the mission and online coverage. Finally, yesterday's All Things Considered from National Public Radio (NPR) featured a report on the mission, which is available in RealPlayer format at the above URL. Users in search of more information on Mars should consult Signpost, the Scout Report's database. Related resources in Signpost include the Mars Global Surveyor, the Mars Surveyor 98, and NASA's "Life on Mars?". [MD]
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The single phrase below is the copyright notice to be used when reproducing any portion of this report, in any format:

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-1999. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/

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Copyright Susan Calcari and the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, 1994-1999. 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.

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, or the National Science Foundation.


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