The Scout Report -- Volume 18, Number 19

May 11, 2012

A Publication of Internet Scout
Computer Sciences Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Sponsored by University of Wisconsin - Madison Libraries.




Research and Education

General Interest

Network Tools

In The News




Research and Education

Ethics Education Library

http://ethics.iit.edu/eelibrary/

Based at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), the Ethics Education Library seeks "to connect people interested in developing new and interesting ethics training methods and programs, to disseminate best practices and tools that have already been developed, and to ultimately foster the creation of new methods and programs for teaching students about ethical issues inherent in research and practice." Visitors to the site can take advantage of the Browse feature to look for online tutorials, syllabi, teaching modules, and case studies. The case studies section has over 5,500 items, some of which are available in full and all of which have an abstract for perusal. Additionally, visitors can use the Publications area to find books, journal articles and other published materials relating to all areas of ethics education. These materials are arranged topically into sections that include bioethics, business ethics, and media ethics. Finally, visitors can scroll through the Ethics News on the right-hand side of the page for more information about current appearances of ethics in the daily news. [KMG]



NOAA Education Resources: Carbon Cycle Collection

http://www.education.noaa.gov/Climate/Carbon_Cycle.html

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has recently updated its Education Resources website, and there are some fine changes worth noting. One in particular is the updated section on climate. First-time visitors will note that the materials here are divided into five sections, which include Real World Data and Background Information. Educators will find that the homepage contains a great introduction to the operations and processes of the carbon cycle, and it's a great stand-alone resource for students new to the field. Moving along, the Lessons and Activities area includes six different resources, including Cycling Carbon Lab and Finding Carbon Sinks. Finally, visitors shouldn't miss the Career Profiles area which may serve to inspire young people to join the ranks of persons working as fuel scientists and geologists. [KMG]

To find more high-quality online resources in math and science, visit Scout's sister site: AMSER, the Applied Math and Science Educational Repository at http://amser.org.



Salem's Polish Community

http://www.nps.gov/sama/historyculture/polish.htm

When people hear about Salem, Massachusetts, their thoughts will most likely turn to the witch trials of 1692. But the city has four centuries of fascinating history, and another wrinkle in the narrative is the story of Salem's Polish community. In 1998, the Salem Maritime National Historic Site acquired St. Joseph Hall, a building which is a key part of this story. From 2007 to 2009, the site investigated the history of Poles in Salem, and the report on this site is one of the primary products of this extended study. Visitors to the site can read the entire study, or they can just listen to a few pieces of oral history. The study is over 300 pages long, and it is full of maps, diagrams, preservation analyses, and other items. It's an amazing document that explores the history of this community from the 1870s to the present day. [KMG]



TES: Resources: Art and design resources

http://www.tes.co.uk/art-and-design-secondary-teaching-resources/

Based in Britain, the TES group provides a range of educational resources for teachers around the world. Some of their services require a fee, but the teaching materials on this site are available after a simple free registration. Visitors to the site will note that there is a featured Resource of the Week on the left-hand side of the homepage. Depending on the day, it might be an in-class exercise on dress design or a helpful handout on making an original ceramic creation. The age-grouping conventions here for different grade levels are matched to the secondary school system in Britain, but other visitors won't have a hard time navigating the three main areas. Each of the areas has about a dozen or so thematic categories, including fine art, history of art, and graphic communication. Also, the site has a listing for Latest Resources and Highly Rated Resources. [KMG]



Learning Radiology

http://www.learningradiology.com/

The Learning Radiology website was conceived and created by Professor William Herring of the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia. The site was started in June 2002, and now receives upwards of 12,000 visitors a day. Since the time the site was started, it has grown to include video podcasts, lectures from medical professionals, and interactive tutorials. The materials on the site are divided into seven topical areas, including Lectures, Notes, Images, Case of the Week Archive, and Quick Quizzes. In the Lectures area visitors can find talks on everything from bone tumors to the "ABCs of Heart Disease." Many of the talks are available in a variety of formats, including as pdf files and PowerPoint presentations. In the Notes area, visitors can read clear and concise summaries of over 45 topics, including Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm and Paget's Disease. Also, visitors can follow Learning Radiology via Twitter and take advantage of their interactive Museum of Modern Imaging, which includes fun and informative areas like the Hall of Hype and Roentgen's Room. [KMG]

To find more high-quality online resources in math and science, visit Scout's sister site: AMSER, the Applied Math and Science Educational Repository at http://amser.org.



Bowling Green State University: Resources from the Center for Teaching and Learning

http://www.bgsu.edu/ctl/page10679.html

The Center for Teaching and Learning at Bowling Green State University was created in 1996 as part of a community building exercise at this prominent institution in Ohio. Visitors to this site will learn that the Center provides a range of services for students and faculty, and that many of these resources can be used by people in institutions across the United States. The Center Resources area contains four sections, including Teaching & Learning Guides, Library Holdings, and Center Archives. Most visitors will want to make a beeline for the Teaching & Learning Guides area. Here they can download and review over twenty guides that deal with topics like concept maps, the ethics of teaching, and formative assessment. Also, this area includes a very helpful section titled Communication in the Classroom. Moving on, the Library Holdings area includes links to books physically held within the Center's collection. The lists here remain useful to educators who might not be physically located at Bowling Green, as they are vetted by staff at the Center. The site is rounded out by the Center Archives which includes past and current newsletters, along with a collection of "web picks". [KMG]



End of Life/Palliative Education Resource Center

http://www.eperc.mcw.edu/EPERC/EducationalMaterials

The End of Life/Palliative Education Resource Center (EPERC) is based at the Medical College of Wisconsin. The organization was started in 2003 via a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The EPERC website contains links to educational materials, fact sheets, and links to other web resources. Needless to say, the purpose of the EPERC is "to share educational resource material among the community of health professional educators involved in palliative care education." Visitors who will find these materials particularly helpful include nurses, physicians, and other health care professionals. Under the Browse heading on the homepage, visitors can look over nine sections, including Cases, Presentations, and Education Manuals. Along with looking through each of these sections, users can search all of the materials for items that are most germane to their fields. [KMG]

To find more high-quality online resources in math and science, visit Scout's sister site: AMSER, the Applied Math and Science Educational Repository at http://amser.org.



Bicentennial of the War of 1812

http://1812.gc.ca

The Canadian government has created this engaging site to document the War of 1812 and to commemorate its 200th anniversary. The site has six primary areas, including Historical Overview, Resource Centre, and Official Messages. In the Official Messages area, visitors can read a welcome from prime minister Stephen Harper and other elected officials. Moving on, the Historical Overview area provides a summary of the conflict, told via short passages on the war at sea, major land battles, and the resulting peace settlement. Moving on, the Media Centre contains photos from related media events, press releases, and speeches. Also, the Teachers' Corner is quite a find, as it includes a Canada Day Poster Challenge contest, along with lesson plans that give students the opportunity to create their own 3-D model battlefields. [KMG]



General Interest

UCLA Film & Television Archive

http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/

In 1965, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS) joined forces with the UCLA Theater Arts Department to create the ATAS/UCLA Television Library. 11 years later, the UCLA Film & Television Archive was formally established, and donations began arriving from Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and other major motion picture studios. On the ATAS website, visitors can learn about upcoming screenings and lectures, along with more about the prodigious collections. The Collections area is a great place to start investigating opportunities to borrow prints, donate materials, and license media. The online exhibitions are a pip, and visitors should not miss the UCLA Preserved Silent Animation area. Here they can watch eleven different remarkable (and very rare) films, including "The Enchanted Drawing" and "Bob's Electric Theatre." Finally, visitors can connect with the Archive via a range of social media, including Twitter and YouTube. [KMG]



The Seattle Open Housing Campaign

http://www.cityofseattle.net/CityArchives/Exhibits/Housing/

Many cities struggled with the issue of open housing in the 1950s and 1960s, and Seattle was a contested site in the struggle for civil rights. Until 1968, it was legal to discriminate against minorities in Seattle when renting apartments or selling real estate. This fine website created by the Seattle Municipal Archives explores the history of the open housing campaign through a range of primary documents, including photographs, legal documents, and so on. The Table of Contents provides a nice introduction to the subject, along with thematic areas such as Restrictive Covenants and Years of Ferment: 1964-1967. Visitors would do well to start with the Restrictive Covenants section, as it explains the role of these clauses in keeping minorities out of certain neighborhoods. [KMG]



Peabody Essex Museum: Videos

http://www.pem.org/collections/video

The Peabody Essex Museum was formed in 1992 as part of the merger between two fine institutions based in Salem, Massachusetts: the Peabody Museum of Salem and the Essex Institute. Since that time, the Peabody Essex Museum has seen a major addition (designed by Moshe Safdie) and experienced a resurgence of interest in its diverse collections, which encompass maritime items, works on paper, and scrimshaw, among other objects. This section of the museum's website gives visitors the ability to learn about exhibitions and programs via a clutch of rather fine lectures and talks. All told, there are over 55 videos here, and visitors can scan through them at their leisure. First-time visitors should start by watching Moshe Safdie talk about his work, and then move on check out some other great conversations with people such as Iris Apfel and artist Ron Labbe. [KMG]



National Water Trails System

http://www.nps.gov/watertrails/

Some might wonder: What exactly is the National Water Trails System (NWTS)? That's a good question; NWTS describes the system as "a distinctive national network of exemplary water trails that are cooperatively supported and sustained." This website provides information about the NWTS for policy makers, water enthusiasts, and other interested parties. Casual visitors will want to start with the Explore a National Water Trail area. Here they can use an interactive map to locate water trails, and go deeper into each riverine passage with the Stories and Images section. Moving on, policy makers and park administrators will want to peruse the Develop and Manage a National Water Trail area. This section contains some basic answers to queries such s "What Are The Benefits of National Water Trail Designation" and "How Do I Apply For National Water Trail Designation?" [KMG]



Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center

http://policy.rutgers.edu/vtc/

Based at the Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center (VTC)is "a national leader in the research and development of innovative transportation policy." The VTC brings together a range of scholars from a number of academic disciplines, including the National Transit Institute, which was created by Congress in 1992 to design and deliver "training and education programs for the U.S. transit industry." First-time visitors to the site should click on the Transit Oriented Development link to view the VTC's Transit-Friendly Development newsletter, which is a nationally recognized publication on this planning topic. Moving on, the Reports area has key documents on transit planning, such as "Impact of Demographic Changes on Transit Patterns in New Jersey" and "An Assessment of 'Last Mile' Shuttles in New Jersey." Finally, the Current Projects area contains links to the VTC's ongoing research studies, organized into areas such as transportation equity and transportation security and evacuation. [KMG]



Oregon Institute of Marine Biology Slides & Photographs

http://oregondigital.org/digcol/oimb/

Learning about the world of marine biology through a well-organized set of images can be quite revealing, and this digital collection from the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology is just right for the job. The collection includes over 7,000 images donated through the decades by faculty, students, visiting faculty, and those with "a passion for the local Coos Bay marine environment and the Oregon coast." The oldest items here date from the 1920s and visitors will find dramatic images of marine organisms, along with aerial shots of different marine environments, maps, and charts. The homepage has a section titled Browse, which allows users to look around via topic, subtopic, genus, and common names. The common names area is a great way to look around, as it offers over 200 different animal names, such as albacore tuna and Pacific oyster. Moving on, the natural views section boasts over 700 images, including dramatic shots of the Oregon coastline near Coos Head. [KMG]

To find more high-quality online resources in math and science, visit Scout's sister site: AMSER, the Applied Math and Science Educational Repository at http://amser.org.



The First Photograph

http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/permanent/wfp/

Working from his country estate near Chalon-sur-Saone, France, Joseph Nicephore Niepce began to experiment with photographic processes in 1816. He was inspired by the newly invented art of lithography, and he began to work on his own way of capturing images. He began by placing engravings, made transparent, onto engraving stones coated with a light-sensitive varnish of his own composition. As he continued to toil with these processes, he found that he had some facility with the camera obscura as well. In the summer of 1826 (after a day-long exposure) he looked at his pewter plate and found that he had captured an outdoor scene from a window in his home. It was the first true photograph. This online exhibit from the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin provides interested parties with access to a digitized version of the original photograph, along with information about this important item's preservation and conservation over the past 175 years. Visitors can also view a chronology of related events and view a list of additional resources. [KMG]



Gothic Grandeur: Manuscript Illumination, 1200-1350

http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/gothic_grandeur/

The J. Paul Getty Museum came up with a clever idea for exhibiting fragile, light-sensitive, illuminated manuscripts: a two-part exhibition. The show goes up, and pages of the manuscripts are turned on a specific date to revel new images. In this case, the show started in December 2011, and pages were turned on February 28, 2012. The advantage of the web version of the show is that visitors can see pages from both halves of the show, such as "Adam Naming the Animals," an English manuscript dated between 1250 and 1260, from the 2nd half, and, from the first half, the "Wenceslaus Psalter," a heavily gilded French manuscript from the same time period. Audio accompanies these pages; for example, a curator explains how to read the psalms collected in the Wenceslaus Psalter. There are also illustrated checklists of both exhibitions in pdf format, and a link to The Manuscript Files, a series of blog posts, written by curator Elizabeth Morrison, further explaining the manuscripts.
[DS]



Network Tools

Colorblind Assistant

http://www.achronism.com/indexadv.php#Software

The Colorblind Assistant program helps those persons with visual recognition problems navigate a range of websites, regardless of the font, color, and so on. This program instantly picks the color of the type from the mouse pointer, providing users with a written name of the color, along with other key data, such as RGB values and bar graphs, brightness and saturation. This particular version is compatible with Windows XP, Vista, or 7. [KMG]



Frrole

http://frrole.com/

Frrole is a social newspaper that is built on what people are talking about and mentioning on Twitter. Currently, this social media device covers over 50 cities and it uses over 10 million tweets to determine the key issues in each city that it covers. Visitors can customize the newspaper to focus on topics like sports, entertainment, travel and so on. Also, it is quite easy to use the customizable tabs on the left-hand side of the page to look for specific news items of interest. This version of Frrole is compatible with all operating systems. [KMG]



In The News

In a novel twist, Nevada issues a drivers license to a car without a human driver

Google's Self-Driving Car Licensed to Hit Nevada Streets
http://www.pcworld.com/article/255204/googles_selfdriving_car_licensed_to_hit_nevada_streets.html

Nevada allows Google to test driverless cars on public streets
http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2012/0508/Nevada-allows-Google-to-test-driverless-cars-on-public-streets

Google's self-driving car snags first-ever license in Nevada
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/05/08/nevada_license_google_car/

Nevada DMV Issues First Autonomous Vehicle Testing License
http://www.dmvnv.com/news/12005-autonomous-vehicle-licensed.htm

GM's future in China includes EN-V 2.0; new renderings show light evolution
http://autogreenmag.com/2012/04/24/gms-future-in-china-includes-en-v-20-new-renderings-show-light-evolution/

CA Department of Motor Vehicles: History of CA DMV
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/about/profile/history.htm

Human error is a tremendous problem when it comes to the operation of automobiles. Every year thousands of people die in the United States, and there is a great deal of hand-wringing about how this persistent problem might be best addressed. The folks at Google have come up with a novel solution to this conundrum: a self-driving car. This week, Nevada issued a driver's license to a modified Toyota Prius that may change the world of driving in a rather curious fashion. Modified by Google engineers, the car (along with seven others) was issued a red license plates with an infinity symbol. Each car will have two Google employees on-board, and they will have the ability to override the computer controls. Among other pieces of equipment, the car has laser radar mounted on the roof and in the radiator grill which helps detect pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles, effectively creating a virtual buffer zone around these obstacles to its movement. After its initial test runs through Carson City and the iconic Strip in Las Vegas, the cars will travel thousands of miles around the Silver State as a way of continuing to improve the vehicles' operation. [KMG]

The first link here will take visitors to a piece from this Tuesday's PC World about this new self-driving car, or "autonomous vehicle." The second link takes interested parties to an article from the Christian Science Monitor's Matthew Shaer about this recent announcement, complete with a nice image that shows what the car "sees" when it is on the road. The third link will whisk users away to an article from the Register that includes a nice bit of commentary from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles director Bruce Breslow on why he decided to use the infinity symbol on the license plates for these vehicles. Moving on, the fourth link leads to the official announcement regarding these vehicles and their licenses from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Finally, the fifth link leads to a fascinating piece from Auto Green magazine about General Motors's work on creating a two-person vehicle for the "mega cities of the future." The final link leads to a bit of historical exposition from the state of California on the history of drivers licenses in the Golden State.






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