The Scout Report - December 8, 2000

December 8, 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-001206.html
Volume 4, Number 8 of the Scout Report for Science & Engineering is available. The In the News section annotates twelve resources on this week's twelfth Meeting Of The Parties To "The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer" in Burkina Faso.
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Research and Education

"Global Economic Prospects and the Developing Countries 2001" -- World Bank [.pdf, RealPlayer, QuickTime]
http://www.worldbank.org/prospects/gep2001/
This year's annual report on the economic prospects for developing countries focuses on international trade and the policies needed to help these nations benefit from global integration. The news is good for many developing countries, whose economic growth is expected to register "5.3 percent this year, 5 percent next year, and ease to 4.8 percent by 2002." However, the world's poorest nations, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, have not kept pace. The full report is available online, but each chapter must be downloaded separately in .pdf format. The official press release and summary are available in several languages including Chinese, German, Russian, and English. The main page also provides a slide show of the primary points and issues of the report and a video interview with the Director of the Bank's Economy Policy and Prospects program, as well as regional economic prospects and related links. [MD]
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ECOLEX: a gateway to environmental law
http://djl04.djl.co.uk/
A joint project of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and IUCN -- The World Conservation Union, this site is intended to serve as a gateway to information on legal instruments and materials related to environmental management. The site draws on IUCN's Environmental Law Information System (ELIS) and links to full-text information available from UNEP's Computerised Environmental Law Information Base (CELIB) and other authoritative sources. The seven databases on the site can be browsed by subject, jurisdiction, jurisdictional field of application, judge, or date. Users may also perform keyword searches. Publication information is provided when texts are not available online. Most of the site is also available in French and Spanish. [MD]
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Student Activism in the 1930s
http://newdeal.feri.org/students/
Created under the direction of NYU School of Education Professor Robert Cohen, this new feature at the New Deal Network (first reviewed in the October 25, 1996 Scout Report) explores the history of the American Student Union (ASU). At its peak, between 1936 and 1939, the ASU mobilized some half-million college students on behalf of a far-reaching reform agenda, including an end to war, federal aid to education, government job programs for youth, abolition of the compulsory ROTC, academic freedom, racial equality, and collective bargaining rights. Included at the site are a fine collection of contemporary and historical essays, photographs and editorial cartoons, memoirs, and other documents. The site has obvious utility for scholars and students of American history and the history of education, and it may also appeal to present-day student activists. [MD]
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The Rossetti Hypermedia Archive
http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/rossetti/
This site is the first installment of the Dante Gabriel Rossetti Hypermedia Research Archive. It currently hosts over 10,000 files, focusing especially on the 1870 Poems, but offering a generous number of commentaries and other materials on all of Rossetti's works, including paintings and design. These are accessed via the Archive button on the first page, and include separate sections for Poems, Pictures, Prose, Translations, Manuscripts, and Periodicals, among others. Works by Rossetti may be browsed by alphabetical or chronological lists. The Archive section also includes a brief biography, chronology, and a bibliography. A short preface to this first release (of four) is offered at the main page, along with a collection of related resources including a number of interesting essays on humanities computing and bibliography. This first phase of the project is regarded as a "research installment" and lacks certain functionalities and materials that are promised for the near future. [MD]
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Resources for Scientists Teaching Science [.pdf]
http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/taresources/
Hosted by Cornell University, this site offers a number of resources and tips for scientists who teach. Collected from undergraduate courses in evolution, ecology, and animal behavior, but applicable to a range of science courses, the materials include writing assignment ideas, peer review guidelines, discussion tips, hints on using the Web, reading lists, exam questions, and sample syllabi, among others. The site also contains some annotated links for teaching, biology, writing, and TAs. A nice, straightforward collection of useful resources, many of which may be of use to teachers in any discipline. [MD]
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The 3Cities Project
http://www.3cities.org.uk/
City Sites Electronic Book
http://artsweb.bham.ac.uk/citysites/
Based at the Universities of Nottingham and Birmingham, the 3Cities Project is "an inter- and multi-disciplinary study of the iconography, spatial forms and literary and visual cultures of New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles in the period 1870s to 1930s." At present, the site hosts a collection of essays on the three cities, information on the project as a whole, and links and information for related conferences and seminars. The Project has also posted on a different site the City Sites electronic book, a collection of ten multimedia essays on New York and Chicago. Visitors can access these essays via interactive maps, a list, or by following theme-based "pathways." A lengthy bibliography rounds out the site. [MD]
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Climate Diagnostics Center (CDC)
http://www.cdc.noaa.gov/
A collaborative project of CIRES (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences) and NOAA (the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration), the Climate Diagnostics Center (CDC) strives "to identify the nature and causes of climate variations, on time scales ranging from a month to centuries" so as to predict future climate. The homepage offers a host of online information, from a broad overview of climate diagnostics, to research summaries on interseasonal/ interannual climate variability or Hydrologic Cycle Studies, to a What's New? section giving the latest research results and current job opportunities. For researchers and students alike this Webpage will be a useful information hub. [LXP]
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Strengthening Transatlantic Security: A US Strategy for the 21st century [.pdf]
http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/eurostrategy2000.pdf
Released on December 1 by the Defense Department, this 63-page report highlights the key elements of US strategy in Europe, exploring efforts to build security, especially in the regions adjacent to NATO. The report covers plans for the gradual expansion of NATO, cooperation with the Russian Federation and Ukraine, and relations between NATO and the European Union. Finally, the report also "highlights the critical and multifaceted role of the approximately 100,000 U.S. troops in Europe in achieving U.S. security objectives in Europe and neighboring regions." The report is available in .pdf format at the Department's site. [MD]
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General Interest

Human Rights Watch World Report 2001 [.rtf, .zip]
http://www.hrw.org/wr2k1/
Human Rights Watch issued their annual world report yesterday, summarizing the state of human rights in 70 countries around the globe. Written with the clarity and detail that have marked previous annual issues, this year's report offers both good and bad news. On the positive side, it notes the popular overthrow of the Milosevic regime in Yugoslavia, the conclusion of a treaty barring the use of children as soldiers, and the UN Commission on Human Rights's first formal criticism of a permanent member of the UN Security Council (Russia, for its abuses in Chechnya). On the negative, the report cites the continued failure of the UN Commission to condemn China and the failure of the US to require the Colombian army to sever ties with paramilitaries as a condition for the recent huge military aid package to that country. The report begins with an essay on the global economy and then covers human rights developments by region. Separate sections of the report address special topics such as academic freedom, censorship, access to education, children's rights, and women's human rights. The report is available in both HTML and .rtf (zipped or uncompressed) formats. [MD]
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Holocaust Denial on Trial
http://www.holocaustdenialontrial.org/
Sponsored by Emory University, this handsome site chronicles the recent Holocaust libel trial of David Irving vs. Deborah Lipstadt and Penguin UK (see the April 14, 2000 Scout Report--http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/sr/2000/.html#7}). Early this year, Irving sued Lipstadt and her publisher for her characterization of him as "one of the most dangerous spokespersons for Holocaust denial" in a 1994 book. The trial concluded in April with a scathing judgment against Irving in which Judge Gray described him as "a racist, an anti-Semite and an active Holocaust denier." This site is simply a treasure trove of information for scholars, students, or anyone interested in the trial and Holocaust denial. Included are the complete trial transcripts, the full text of the judgment, and a number of the book-length works submitted on Lipstadt's behalf by prominent historians of Germany and the Holocaust (including a 700+ page examination of Irving's entire body of works by Richard Evans). Also on-site are background information, a FAQ, timelines, and links to more information. [MD]
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New Exhibitions at California Museum of Photography, UC-Riverside Main page
http://www.cmp.ucr.edu/
Eadweard Muybridge
http://photo.ucr.edu/photographers/muybridge/
Stereographs: Three-Dimensional Images
http://www.cmp.ucr.edu/site/exhibitions/stereo/
California Missions
http://www.cmp.ucr.edu/exhibitions/missions/
Cathedrals of the Desert
http://www.cmp.ucr.edu/jean_ruiter/cathedrals/
The California Museum of Photography at the University of California-Riverside, (last mentioned in the May 30, 2000 Scout Report for Social Sciences) is a site worth visiting again and again; there is always something new to look at in a variety of areas: photography history, California lifestyle and culture, fine art photography, and photo journalism. For example, the current Eadweard Muybridge exhibition includes over 100 examples of his still pictures of fast motion, "played" to show the motion of horses running, camels walking, and humans jumping from stone to stone. The stereograph show, created in celebration of the museum's 25th anniversary, presents anaglyphs of 25 stereographs of historic and typical events such as Babe Ruth at bat in the 1932 World Series, or a family in their living room in 1929. Red/blue glasses are required to see the full three-dimensional qualities of the anaglyphs, and information on how to obtain these is given on-site. The California Missions show includes over 100 historic views of the 21 California Missions, some dated as early as 1895. These documentary images are complemented by Jean Ruiter's exhibition, Cathedrals of the Desert, a show based on "borrowing classic images to offer ironic commentary on the present." [DS]
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An American Time Capsule: Three Centuries of Broadsides and Other Printed Ephemera - Update
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/rbpehtml/
When we originally reviewed this American Memory site (in the July 27, 1999 _Scout Report for Social Sciences) it offered 50 samples of American printed ephemera. While the full release is slated for late 2001, the site now contains over 7,000 items printed in the US and in London. Items featured include "a variety of posters, notices, advertisements, proclamations, leaflets, propaganda, manifestos, and business cards," primarily from the nineteenth century. The collection may be keyword searched or browsed by author, title, genre, or location of printing. As with most American Memory collections, images are available in several resolutions. [MD]
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Promoting Better Health for Young People Through Physical Activity and Sports [.pdf]
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/presphysactrpt/
This new report to the President from the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Education "outlines ten strategies to promote health and reduce obesity through lifelong participation in enjoyable and safe physical activity and sports." The full report, along with a bibliography and several appendices, is available in HTML and .pdf formats at the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Website. [MD]
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Transatlantic Cable Comunications [QuickTime]
http://collections.ic.gc.ca/cable/
This new addition to Canada's digital collections chronicles the role played in worldwide communications by the Nova Scotian town of Canso and the nearby community of Hazel Hill as home to one end of the transatlantic cable linking Britain and North America. The site explores the history of telegraphy, the cable's social and economic impact on the community, and some famous messages sent and received. It also examines the science of telegraphy, the construction of the cable, and some key inventions. In addition, users will find here some photos, several videos, a glossary, and a FAQ. While by no means the most extensive online history exhibit, this site should appeal to anyone interested in the history of communications or history of science. [MD]
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Cool Robot of the Week
http://ranier.oact.hq.nasa.gov/telerobotics_page/coolrobots.html
File this one under "super neat." Anyone with even the slightest interest in robots and robotics should enjoy this page, produced by the NASA Space Telerobotics Program. Each week, Cool Robot adds a new link with a short description of the featured site or a news story concerning a breakthrough in robotic technology or an innovative solution to robotics problems. Archives dating back to May 1996 are included at the site. Bookmark this one, and pay a weekly visit; I know I will. [MD]
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Find Out Why [QuickTime]
http://www.findoutwhy.org/
Produced by the National Science Foundation in collaboration with Discover Magazine and with some help from Disney, this site is designed to help young users learn some things about the world around them. The site uses a kid-friendly design to answer questions and offers activities and humorous but informative animations related to queries such as "why do airplanes fly?" "why does the moon change shape" and "why does it lightning?" among others. On the whole, the site is rather modest, but it should interest inquisitive young users, and perhaps more topics will be added over time. [MD]
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epguides.com
http://www.epguides.com/
Diehard couch potatoes and rabid rerun tapers take note! This site contains Episodes Lists for an amazing 1,600 television shows, over 400 of them with plot summaries and guest star listings. Visitors can browse the lists of current shows by grid or alphabetically or browse the full menu alphabetically. New additions are also grouped by genre. Listings include season and show number, production number, original air date, and title. A search engine and tips on reading the guides are also provided, as are a FAQ and links to related sites. [MD]
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Network Tools

Scirus
http://www.scirus.com
Users can now get a sneak preview of this new scientific information search engine developed by Elsevier Science and powered by FAST Search and Transfer. At present, the interface offers both simple keyword and advanced searches. Users can also create customized default settings. A sample search for "nucloetide" produced 103,783 hits. Returns can be instantly and conveniently sorted by free and restricted access. The returns have short descriptions with the option to retrieve similar pages and email results. Users can save selected results, and the site offers a number of suggested terms at the bottom of the page to help refine your search. The site will officially launch in March 2001, but it already has considerable potential. [MD]
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alba36.com
http://www.alba36.com/
This new international vortal portal boasts over 50,000 entries. The site indexes vertical portals (vortals), subject-specific search sites, and other key search tools in five languages (English, German, Spanish, French, and Italian). The entries are organized under six headings: Current & Regional Events, Culture, Society, Entertainment, Trade & Economics, and Knowledge, with the 36 most-requested sub-topics given pride of place on the front page. Users can also search for a category by keyword. Links can be listed in order of popularity or alphabetically by site name and include short descriptions along with flags indicating languages used at the site. Users can also subscribe to receive a free weekly email featuring "the top 36 of the best web sites." An interesting tool that is especially notable for its coverage of non-English language sites. [MD]
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QuickTime 5 Public Preview 2 [Macintosh, Windows]
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/preview/
On Thursday, Apple released the second preview of its upcoming QuickTime 5 multimedia software. Preview 2 includes "a number of enhancements suggested by thousands of users" of the first preview release (originally reviewed in the October 20, 2000 Scout Report). New features include support for "skins" and enhanced AppleScript capabilities; the new features in the previous preview and version 4.x are still present as well. A version for Windows users is also now available. [PC]
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In The News

Remembering John Lennon
"Lennon fans pay tributes" -- BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/entertainment/newsid_1060000/1060424.stm
Lennon in New York -- ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/onair/lennon/
"Looking for the Real John Lennon" -- New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/07/arts/07NOTE.html
"A death that marked the seam of a generation" -- Baltimore Sun
http://www.sunspot.net/content/opinion/story?section=opinion&pagename=story&storyid=1150520207876
"Lennon's Greatest Hits" -- The Nation
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20001218&s=wiener
"John Lennon Remembered" -- dotmusic
http://www.dotmusic.com/news/December2000/news16825.asp
Fresh Air [RealPlayer]
http://freshair.npr.org/
Twenty years ago today, John Lennon was senselessly murdered by an obsessed fan outside his New York City apartment. An icon to millions to this day, Lennon is remembered for both his music and his activism for world peace. Vigils and memorial services have been planned worldwide, including ones at Strawberry Fields in New York's Central Park, Lennon's childhood home in Liverpool, and the John Lennon Museum outside Tokyo. Readers can find out more about these tributes and Lennon's legacy beginning with the BBC's site, which includes analysis, related articles and links, and some audio and video selections. ABC News offers a feature-rich interactive Webumentary on the life and music of John Lennon (and his FBI files), with photos, a discography, commentary, and audio clips. Additional coverage and commentary is available from the New York Times (free registration required), the Baltimore Sun,The Nation, and dotmusic. Finally, users may want to visit the Website of NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Her show today features three interviews remembering John Lennon, with Yoko Ono, historian John Wiener who uncovered the secret FBI files, and Cynthia Lennon, his first wife. [MD]
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The Scout Report (ISSN 1092-3861) is published weekly by Internet Scout
Susan Calcari
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