The Scout Report
December 20, 1996
A Publication of Internet Scout
Computer Science Department, University of Wisconsin
A Project of the InterNIC
The Scout Report is a weekly publication offering a selection of new and newly discovered Internet resources of interest to researchers and educators, the InterNIC's primary audience. 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.
An Acrobat .pdf version of this report
is available for printing and distributing locally. For information on Adobe Acrobat
Reader, visit the Adobe site.
Send comments and contributions to:
scout@internic.net
Note: The Scout will be on furlough next week. See you on January 3, 1997. Happy Holiday's to all!
In This Issue:
Research & Education
Experimental Web Catalog-Library of Congress
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/catalog/
Library of Congress Information System (LOCIS)
http://lcweb.loc.gov/homepage/online.html
telnet://locis.loc.gov
Though still under development, an experimental online public access catalog for
the Library of Congress is now available, providing access to over 4.8 million
records (out of 27 million) from the Library of Congress. Compared to LOCIS, LC's
command-driven catalog, this new format is easier to navigate, allowing users to
search by keyword, author, title, ISBN, and LC class searches, as well as limit
by format, date, publisher, and language. An exciting new feature is the ability
to sort results by date, title, or LC call number, either in ascending or
descending order. Individual records are displayed in hypertext format, making it
possible to jump to other works on the same subject, call number, or by same
author, as well as to link to online texts and images, and view the MARC (MAchine
Readable-Cataloging) formats of any record. Note that at this time help screens
are in development and not yet available.
[ADG]
[Back to Contents]
Brookings Institution Policy Briefs
http://www.brook.edu/ES/POLICY/POLICY.HTM
Brookings Institution
http://www.brook.edu/
The Brookings Institution, America's oldest policy think tank, has recently made
a new series of its publications, Policy Briefs, available at its web site. These
are short papers that focus on various aspects of US and international politics,
economics, and foreign policy. At present, ten papers are available, including
"China and the WTO," "Inside Outsourcing: More Bad News from Business
Regulation?," "An Analysis of Out-of-Wedlock Births in the United States," and
"America's Bosnia Policy: The Work Ahead." The Brookings site also contains
information about the institution and its work.
[JS]
[Back to Contents]
Tales From the Electronic Frontier
http://www.wested.org/tales/
Text only
http://www.wested.org/tales/textonly/index.html
This short book, produced by WestEd, a "non-profit research, development and
service agency dedicated to improving education and other opportunities for
children, youth and adults," is composed of a series of nine teachers' stories of
how they used the Internet to teach K-12 math and science. Included are stories
on how eighth graders studied air quality issues using an old computer with a
slow modem, primary and middle school students sharing ideas with college
students in solving math problems, and how a high school class studied earth
science via the Internet, among others. Also included are sidebars on teaching
issues, and Internet tools and resources. The book is interesting in that it
demonstrates the Internet as a teaching tool, as well as a teaching resource.
[JS]
[Back to Contents]
Great Lakes Information Management Resource (GLIMR)
http://www.cciw.ca/glimr/
This site is provided by the Great Lakes Information Management Resource (GLIMR),
which works in association with part of Environment Canada's national network
known as the Green Lane. It provides an index of Environment Canada's Great Lakes
resources, which include current events, publications, programs, and databases.
The site includes topics such as biodiversity, environmental assessment, water
quality, sustainable development, political issues, and many others. This
information is very well organized for easy access. [TB]
[Back to Contents]
The English Server--Carnegie Mellon University
http://english-www.hss.cmu.edu/Images/
Text version:
http://english-www.hss.cmu.edu/
gopher://eng.hss.cmu.edu/
ftp://eng.hss.cmu.edu/english.server/
ftp to: eng.hss.cmu.edu
change directory to: english.server
Since 1990, Carnegie Mellon University has managed the English Server as a
cooperative dedicated to electronic distribution of texts in many disciplines.
The collections center around topics related to the study of literature, in the
broadest sense. The main page offers no fewer than 36 subject areas for browsing,
from drama and poetry to feminism and rhetoric. The "new items" list is
constantly updated, showing new texts and resources that are added irregularly
(sometimes several in a day, sometimes one in a fortnight). A particular strength
of the site is its expanding collection of texts and links to texts (now more
than 10,000 in various disciplines). Texts prepared for the English Server, such
as Edward Bellamy's _Looking Backward_, made available 11/28/96, are offered both
in chapter-length HTML pages and as PostScript files. Several web-based journals,
such as Bad Subjects and Cultronix, have a home on the site, and a telnet
conference line is available for discussion of issues. From cultural theory to
eighteenth-century literature, those with an interest in the arts and humanities
will find much here to absorb. Note that non-web access methods may not be as
current as the web version. [ML]
[Back to Contents]
DERWeb--Dental Education Resources on the Web
http://panizzi.shef.ac.uk/derweb/derweb.html
Table of Contents:
http://panizzi.shef.ac.uk/derweb/contents.html
DERWeb, provided by the Departments of Information Studies and Restorative
Dentistry at the University of Sheffield (UK), is a dentistry meta-site that is
highlighted by an image library containing over 1,600 images on "Paedodontics,
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Medicine, Preventive Dentistry, Restorative
Dentistry, Periodontology, Orthodontics, Radiology and Cross Infection Control."
Unfortunately, the images are sorted only by accession number, and no searching
is available. However, the collection does offer 2 image sizes of each image,
along with a caption. The site also contains a number of teaching materials, the
British Dental Association web pages, and pointers to other dental resources.
There is also a directory of over 135 dentistry related companies (mostly in the
UK). [JS]
[Back to Contents]
LEGPHIL--Philosophy of Law Mailing List
LEGPHIL is a new academic mailing list on all topics related to philosophy of
law. It is for both discussion and bibliographical reference in the field of
legal philosophy, legal theory, methods of law, sociology of law, etc. [JS]
To subscribe send email to:
majordomo@lists.lrz-muenchen.de
In the body of the message type:
subscribe legphil
[Back to Contents]
General Interest
World Bank Annual Report 1996 [Frames, .pdf] 263p.
http://www.worldbank.org/html/extpb/annrep96/
This report details the activities of the International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA) for
the 1995-96 fiscal year. Included are sections on Bank operations, programs,
group activities, finances, and financial statements of the IBRD and IDA. The
report is highlighted by regional perspective sections (sketches of what the Bank
considers development progress and prospects) on Africa, East Asia and the
Pacific, South Asia, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean,
and the Middle East and North Africa. The entire report is available in Adobe
Acrobat (.pdf) format, and all except the financial statements and appendices are
available in HTML format as well. [JS]
[Back to Contents]
Two Interactive Children's Learning Sites
The Prince and I [Frames, Java]
http://www.nfb.ca/Kids/
Hop Pop Town [Shockwave, MIDI]
http://www.kids-space.org/HPT/
Two wonderful new, albeit browser-taxing, children's learning sites are the
National Film Board of Canada's The Prince and I and the NTT (Nippon Telegraph
and Telephone) Digital Museum's Hop Pop Town. Aimed at grades K-6, The Prince and
I is highlighted by Java-based word puzzles (Reading Coach), a story (What's He
Up To?), an interactive puzzle (The Mission), and an interactive story in which
the child selects from various plot line choices and receives the story in email.
The Prince and I promotes reading and problem solving, and is optimized for
Windows-based Java-enabled browsers. Hop Pop Town (aimed at three to ten year
olds) "encourag[es] children to improvise and to create musical sequences, the
vital factors for them to enjoy and learn music." It does this with the aid of
interactive Shockwave files that allow your child to create music (scales, sounds
of animals, and orchestra instrument sounds, among others). [JS]
[Back to Contents]
Eyeneer Music Archives [AIFF, .wav, QuickTime]
http://www.eyeneer.com/
Steve Bahcall has created a music archive "that seeks to make comprehensive
information about music publicly available." The site is divided into four main
music genres--international, modern jazz, contemporary classical, and traditional
American music. "In each section you will find an ever-growing array of
background info, biographies, discographies, new releases, photos, QuickTime
video, and sound samples." A highlight of the site is a selection of sound
samples that allows listeners to this site to hear an eclectic collection of
music, from a wooden trumpet of Banda people of the Central African Republic to a
78rpm recording of Mississippi Delta blues singer Charley Patton. [ADG]
[Back to Contents]
DeLorme's CyberRouter
http://www.delorme.com/cybermaps/cyberrouter.htm
DeLorme, the well known atlas and gazetteer publisher, now provides a web-based
road route finder for places in the United States. Via a web form, users enter
the starting and ending places for their trip, and the CyberRouter returns a trip
itinerary (concise or complete details, quickest or shortest route) and route
maps, either route-aligned or north-up oriented. For long trips, maps are split
into multiple parts. This is a useful as well as fun site. [JS]
[Back to Contents]
Kwanzaa Information Center
http://www.melanet.com/melanet/kwanzaa/
Provided by the MELANET Information and Communications Network, the Kwanzaa
Information Center is intended to be a year-round resource. The site offers
information about the background and purpose of Kwanzaa, its symbols and
principles, and a schedule for the celebration. The site also has links to other
MELANET pages, a Kwanzaa guest book and links page, an Internet Swahili
dictionary, and an article on Johnkankus, an African American holiday celebration
dating back more than 275 years. For those unfamiliar with the traditions of
Kwanzaa, or those who would like more information about its observance, this site
provides a solid reference. [ML]
[Back to Contents]
Espresso-Fiction--Caffeine-Induced Fiction Mailing List
Espresso-Fiction is not a list where writers share their prose about coffee. This
is where you write about how you have those imagination buzzes brought on by far
too much espresso...latte...cappuccino, or just plain life. And what comes from
that imagination... Anger, fear, lust, social consciousness, desire, joy.
Whatever it is that burns in your soul that just has to be put down on paper. In
the fashion that it was meant to be written. Your words. You don't critique here,
unless the author of a submission is just begging for it. [JS]
To subscribe, send email to:
LISTSERV@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM
In the body of the message type:
SUBSCRIBE ESPRESSO-FICTION yourfirstname yourlastname
[Back to Contents]
Net Tools
Yahoo! Debuts New Search Engine
http://search.main.yahoo.com/
Yahoo! has enhanced its search interface to help users more quickly reach the
Internet resources they need. Searches now return a summary page, which presents
hits in four categories: Yahoo Categories, Web Sites, Net Events (from the Yahoo
Net Events site) and News (from Reuters, PR Newswire, Business Wire, and UPI). If
a search comes up empty in these four categories, it will be referred to the Alta
Vista search engine for an Internet-wide search. In addition, search results are
now presented in order of relevance (as determined by the search engine, which
may have a fairly sketchy grasp on what the user really wants) rather than
alphabetically, though the user can choose an alphabetical list instead. An
advanced search page allows limited Boolean operation, searching of particular
Yahoo! resources, a time frame for listings, and how many matches to display per
page. [ML]
[Back to Contents]
FutureSplash Web Animation Tool
http://www.futurewave.com/
If you are interested in creating animations for your Web site, FutureWave's
FutureSplash Animator a great tool that is relatively inexpensive, and creates
very compact high quality 2D animations. The player plug-in is freely available
for both Mac and Windows and requires very little RAM, which is an advantage over
such tools as Shockwave. The files are small because the animations consist of
vector graphics, unlike the series of bitmapped images used by other methods such
as animated GIFs. Unfortunately FutureSplash does not allow designers to
incorporate sound into animations. One of its most interesting abilities is the
creation of buttons and screen areas that change as the mouse moves over them.
The Microsoft Network (http://www.msn.com/) has recently redesigned its site to
take advantage of the FutureSplash plug-in, and is a good demonstration of its
capabilities. This is a great tool for animating Web pages. [PJD]
[Back to Contents]
Developing & Delivering Government Services on the World Wide Web: Recommended Practices for New York State [.pdf] 98p.
http://www.ctg.albany.edu/projects/inettb/recintro.html
The Center for Technology in Government (CTG) at the State University of New York
at Albany has made available this handbook on bringing government services to the
web. Using New York State as an example, the handbook details how government
agencies can "decide how best to design, manage, and market Web services." The
site presents a thumbnail sketch of the handbook, as well as a link to the full
text. The handbook is divided into seven major sections and details the process
from "assembling the project team," to "evaluating the impact of your service."
This book is written assuming an agency team will be responsible for creating and
maintaining a government web service, and that team is the target audience. [JS]
[Back to Contents]
Copyright Susan Calcari, 1996. Permission is granted to make and
distribute verbatim copies of the Scout Report provided the copyright
notice and this paragraph is preserved on all copies. The InterNIC
provides information about the Internet to the US research and education community under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation: NCR-9218742. The Government has certain rights in this material.
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, the National Science Foundation, AT&T, or Network Solutions, Inc.
The Scout Report Team:
-
Susan Calcari -- Project Director and Managing Editor
-
Jack Solock -- Editor and Internet Librarian
-
Matt Livesey -- Production Editor
- Contributors:
-
Pete DeVries -- Internet Tools Specialist
-
Amy Tracy Wells -- Internet Librarian
-
Aimee Glassel -- Internet Librarian
-
Eric Hazen -- Tech-support/listserv/web/graphic guy
-
Teri Boomsma -- HTML and Listserve Specialist
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