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.
http://www.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report
"The Impact of Electronic Journals on Scholarly
Communication: A Citation Analysis"
http://info.lib.uh.edu/pr/v7/n5/hart7n5.html
ASCII text version:
http://info.lib.uh.edu/pr/v7/n5/harter.7n5
"The Impact of Electronic Journals on Scholarly Communication: A Citation
Analysis," a refereed article by Stephen P. Harter of the University of
Indiana, appeared in the Public-Access Computer Systems Review,
(Vol. 7,
No. 5), and is available in HTML and ASCII text. It "reports hard
empirical data on the impact of the first wave of e-journals on the
scholarly communities they serve. It assesses the extent to which scholars
and researchers are aware of, are influenced by, and build their own work
upon research published in e-journals. It does this by examining the
artifacts of scholarly communication--the journal article and the
references it makes." The study, based on citation data collected in
February 1996, concludes that "the great majority of scholarly,
peer-reviewed e-journals have had essentially no impact on scholarly
communication in their respective fields. Only eight of the 39 e-journals
studied have been cited ten or more times over their lifetimes. Given that
eleven of the e-journals have print counterparts, these findings are
especially telling."
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Chemicool Periodic Table
http://the-tech.mit.edu/Chemicool/
Less graphical:
http://the-tech.mit.edu/Chemicool/chemicool_sm.html
The Chemicool Periodic Table, provided by a student at MIT, is a simple
yet elegant site that allows users to click on their element of choice, or
type in its name or symbol. Element names are color coded (solid, liquid,
gas, as well as synthetic or naturally occurring) and information is
provided in ten categories including general (atomic number and weight),
states, energies, appearance, reactions, and abundance, to name a few.
Also available is a unit conversion calculator (only from the more
graphical site).
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Exploring Ancient World Cultures--Evansville
University
http://eawc.evansville.edu/index.htm
Exploring Ancient World Cultures, provided by Evansville University, "is
an introductory, on-line, college-level 'textbook' of ancient world
cultures, constructed around a series of cultural pages consisting of: The
Ancient Near East, Ancient India, Ancient Egypt, Ancient China, Ancient
Greece, Ancient Rome, Early Islam, and Medieval Europe." Each home page
may contain essays by subject specialists, an anthology of readings from
the period, a chronology, bibliographic resources, hypertext links to
related sites, and computer graded quizzes. Interested users can also
navigate the site by topic across cultures. A highlight of the site is the
ability it gives the user to view the entire chronology, or to click on a
year and culture and then another culture, in order to compare
cross-cultural developments at the same time period. The site is a work in
progress that promises maps and images in the near future.
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MathMol Hypermedia Textbook--Mathematics and Molecules
for K-12 Students
http://www.nyu.edu/pages/mathmol/textbook/
Less graphical entrance:
http://www.nyu.edu/pages/mathmol/textbook/text_contents.html
The New York University Scientific Visualization Laboratory has created a
cyber textbook for elementary (grade 3-5), middle, and secondary students.
It is designed to connect molecules and mathematics, and contains
elementary sections on matter, energy, and water, and secondary sections
on mass, volume, density, 2- and 3-dimensional geometry, and mathematical
equations. The whole "textbook" is quite graphical, but the secondary
section is particularly so, making use of frames, VRML, and interactive
questions and answers (accompanied by an online calculator). Simple
content is conveyed graphically and imaginatively at this site. Users with
slower connections should be patient, however.
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Perspectives: A Mental Health Magazine
from Mental Health Net
http://www.cmhc.com/perspectives/
Mental Health Net:
http://www.cmhc.com/
Perspectives, provided by Mental Health Net, is a quarterly online
magazine devoted to mental health. It features short (usually less than
2,000 word) articles about all aspects of its topic. The present issue
(Vol. 1, No. 4) contains articles on Prozac, loneliness, and managed care,
among others. It also includes a regular column on "Being Human." Archives
are available at the site, as are submission guidelines. Mental Health Net
is a well known "comprehensive guide to mental health online," with
pointers to over 4,000 resources in the field, arranged by topic and
resource type.
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U of Michigan Library Economic Bulletin Board Data
Gopher to Suspend Updates
gopher://una.hh.lib.umich.edu:70/11/ebb/
STAT-USA:
http://www.stat-usa.gov/
The University of Michigan Library, which has downloaded a subset of the
Department of Commerce's Economic Bulletin Board data and made it freely
available on its EBB gopher since 1992, will suspend its updating of these
files on October 9, 1996. The gopher, which contains hundreds of files on
the economy, energy, foreign trade, business, and industry, has long been
a staple source for economic and social science researchers. Data from the
Economic Bulletin Board is available via fee-based subscription from the
Commerce Department's STAT-USA web site, which contains a user-friendly
interface and software that provides for site licenses for large clusters
of IP addresses. STAT-USA is also free to participating Federal Depository
Libraries. The University of Michigan Library, which began the service
before most federal agencies had access to the Internet, is presently
considering the merits of archiving the existing gopher.
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US State Department Dispatch Magazine
and Country Background Notes Available by Email
gopher://gopher.state.gov:70/11ftp%3ADOSFan%3AGopher%3A03%20Publications%20-%20Major%20Reports%3A
The Department of State and University of Illinois at Chicago Libraries
now distribute via email full texts of two US Department of State
publications that provide key official information on US foreign policy.
The United States Department of State Dispatch, supplied via the DOSDISP
list, is the weekly magazine of official US policy and is prepared by the
Office of Public Communication. It includes key speeches by the President
and Secretary of State and other senior officials as well as regular
listings of US treaty actions.
Country Background Notes, distributed on the DOSBACK list, are updated
periodically and include information on US bilateral relations with
foreign countries and on their governments, political conditions, and
foreign relations. You can expect the DOSBACK list to generate about 3-4
email messages per month. Via DOSBACK you will receive the full-text
version of newly released Background Notes. Archives of these two lists
are also available at the Department of State Foreign Affairs Network
(DOSFAN) gopher at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
To subscribe send email to:
LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UIC.EDU
For Dispatch Magazine:
In the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE DOSDISP YOURNAME
For State Department Background Notes:
In the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE DOSBACK
YOURNAME
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Transcripts of Past Presidential
Debates
http://www.netcapitol.com/history.htm
Commission on Presidential Debates:
http://www.debates96.org/
The highlight of the Commission on Presidential Debates web site is the
full-text transcripts of presidential debates from 1960, and 1976 to the
present. Vice presidential debates from 1984 through 1992 are also
included. The site is interesting in that the transcripts stand as
testimony to what was really said in these debates, not allowing users to
see how the candidates looked or what "impression" they gave. The site is
searchable. Also at the CPD web site is information about participating
organizations, the upcoming 1996 debates, and DebateWatch, a CPD
initiative to "get American voters talking about the candidates and
issues."
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UN High Commissioner for Refugees
http://www.unhcr.ch/
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has recently debuted its
web page, which is highlighted by country-specific information about the
refugee situation, back issues of Refugees Magazine,, and selected
documents from UNHCR's Refworld Database, including full-text background
studies on selected countries and refugee statistics. Also at the site are
news briefings, a section on information for teachers, and a poignant
photo essay depicting refugee life.
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Biography.com--A&E Television
Network
http://www.biography.com/
At the heart of A&E Television Network's Biography web site is a
searchable and browsable online collection of 15,000 cross-referenced
biographies (provided by the Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia).
The site also provides the full text of selected opening chapters
and reviews from best selling biographies, a quiz and anagram game,
chatboards, and schedules of upcoming episodes of the Biography
television program.
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Atlantic Monthly Poetry Pages
http://www.theatlantic.com/atlantic/atlweb/poetry/poetpage.htm
The Atlantic Monthly Poetry Pages are "a multimedia feature devoted
to
poets and poetry, both classic and contemporary." The highlight of the
site is Atlantic Monthly Poetry Online, a collection of poetry from the
online edition of the magazine. At present, over 70 poems by more than 50
contemporary poets are available. In addition, there is an article by Dana
Gioia entitled "Can Poetry Matter?," three Robert Frost poems from the
August 1915 edition, excerpts from Dante's _Inferno_, and information on
Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, as well as poems by Emerson, Longfellow,
Lowell, and Whittier that appeared in the first issue of the magazine in
November 1857. Many of the classic poems are available in RealAudio and
.wav format, as well as text.
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NFL.COM--"Are You Ready for Some
Football?"
http://www.nfl.com/
NFL.COM will satisfy even the most voracious football fan's appetite for
information. A highlight of the site is the complete statistical breakout
of each game played, including a play-by-play account that details the
play, the tackler, the gain or loss of yardage, and penalties when they
happen. These play-by-plays, along with starting lineups for every game
and extensive statistics about that game, can be found by clicking on your
favorite team's name, the score of the game you're interested in, and then
"Gamebook." In addition, the site contains feature articles, previews,
injury reports, and extensive team and individual statistics. It is one of
the most comprehensive professional football sites on the Internet.
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Travel-Ease--Leisure Travel List
Travel-Ease is a new discussion list focusing on leisure travel for
individuals and families. Participation by leisure travelers of all ages
is encouraged. Travel-Ease is not intended to be a forum for business
travelers. However, membership by business travelers is encouraged as they
likely have many valuable suggestions that they have learned and carried
over to their leisure trips.
To subscribe send email to:
MAJORDOMO@POBOX.COM
In the body of the message type:
SUBSCRIBE TRAVEL-EASE
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TechKnow Times Newsletter
TechKnow Times(tm) specializes in selecting and synthesizing information
about Internet resources. Its goal is to make information access as simple
and as quick as possible. It covers news related to Internet and online
marketing, World Wide Web sites and design, and online technology and
culture, all drawn from a wide range of print and electronic sources.
TechKnow Times(tm) is giving online entrepreneurs the information they
need to accomplish their goals.
To subscribe send email to:
techknow-request@techknowtimes.com
In the body of the message type:
subscribe
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Cool Central--The "cool site" site
to end all "cool site" sites
http://www.coolcentral.com/
Cool Central, provided by Athenia Associates, has raised the "cool site"
site to an art form. Here, with a Javascript interface pop-up menu, users
can find a "cool site" of the moment, hour, day, and week. This should
satisfy the "cool site" fix of almost everyone who has one. Quality
varies, but does tend to increase as the time range specified by the user
increases.
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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.
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