The Scout Report

Volume 4, Number 22
September 26, 1997

A Publication of the Internet Scout Project
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.

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Send comments and contributions to: scout@internic.net

In This Issue:

New From Internet Scout

Research and Education

General Interest

Network Tools

Where Are They Now

New From Internet Scout

Scout Reports for Social Sciences and Business and Economics
Social Sciences
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/socsci/current/index.html
Business and Economics
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/bus-econ/current/index.html
The first Scout Reports for Social Sciences and Business and Economics are available. The first volumes feature over 20 subject specific annotations in each of the two reports. Both reports contain research resources, learning tools, general resources, and current awareness, as well as an In the News section highlighting a recent news story and pointing to relevent Internet resources. In addition, each report links to a current awareness meta-page for its topic, a page that contains pointers to sources of new journals, working papers, data, book listings, etc. [JS]
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Research and Education

Yale University School of Medicine Heart Book [.pdf, 432p.]
http://www.med.yale.edu/library/heartbk/
In 1992, this book, edited by three Yale University professors of Medicine, and designed "in clear, simple language, [to] cover the entire spectrum of cardiovascular disease," was published by Hearst Books. Now the Yale University Medical Library has made it available via the web (in Adobe Acrobat [.pdf] format only). Its 29 chapters are arranged in six major sections: The Heart and How it Works; How to Lower Your Risk of Heart Disease; Steps in Making Diagnosis; Major Cardiovascular Disorders; Special Situations; and Methods of Treatment. Also included is a concise "encyclopedia" of 39 heart disorders, symptoms, diagnoses, and treatments, from Angina Pectoris to Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome. This book provides a wealth of information on heart disease to its intended general audience. The chapters are split into separate .pdf files for greater ease of downloading. [JS]
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Hippias: Limited Area Search of Philosophy on the Internet--Evansville University
http://hippias.evansville.edu/
Provided by Evansville University as a companion LASE (Limited Area Search Engine) to its Argos search engine (discuss ed in the November 1, 1996 Scout Report), Hippias is "a peer-reviewed search engine that provides access to philosophy-related resources on the [web]." Edited by Peter Suber of Earlham College (maintainer of one of the best known philosophy meta-pages on the Internet), Hippias searches seven major philosophy meta-sites, including Andrew Carpenter's Course Materials in Philosophy, David Chalmers' Philosophy Resources, and James Fieser's Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The power of a LASE is that it allows concentrated searching of known quality resources, rather than general searching of all resources in a given field. [JS]
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Two From the US Census Bureau
State Government Finance Data, by State
http://www.census.gov/ftp/pub/govs/www/state.html
State Tax Collections by State
http://www.census.gov/ftp/pub/govs/www/statetax.html
The Census Bureau has released two new datasets. State Government Finance Data contains information on "revenues, expenditures, indebtedness and cash/securities of the 50 state governments." State Tax Collection data contains "information on tax revenues of the 50 States and District of Columbia" for the period 1992 to 1996. Both datasets can be downloaded in either ASCII or spreadsheet (.wk1) format. Technical information about the datasets is also available online. Note that data coverage may vary by format. [THN]
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The Collection of Computer Science Bibliographies
http://liinwww.ira.uka.de/bibliography/index.html
The most amazing things about Alf-Christian Achilles' Collection of Computer Science Bibliographies are, of course, the numbers. Numbers like 1,000 (number of bibliographies), 740,000 (references to "journal articles, conference papers, and technical reports"), 9,000 (cross references), 30,000 (references with URLs to an online paper), and 2,000 (links to other bibliographic sites). Bibliographies are arranged in fourteen subject categories (artifical intelligence to typesetting), and searchable (four variables plus full text). For an admittedly "on the side project" of a Ph.D. student, this is a staggering resource. Note that users should read the detailed FAQ section before beginning and that the site is conveniently mirrored at nine sites around the world. [JS]
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Two from the Department of Education
Including Your Child
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Including/
A Back to School Special Report on the Baby Boom Echo: Here Come the Teenagers
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/bbecho/
These two publications, recently released by the US Department of Education, deal with special needs children and their parents, and continuing school enrollment increases. Including Your Child is a booklet for parents that deals with the first eight years of life for children with special needs. Its eight brief sections discuss the importance of the family, help and support systems, expectations, how to plan to meet expectations, inclusion, and outreach. It also contains a developmental progress chart and several sections of resource information. Here Come the Teenagers documents the continuing growth of public and private school enrollment, projecting a public school enrollment of over 52 million this year and a ten year increase (1997-2007) of 13 percent and less than one percent in public high school and elementary school enrollments respectively. The bulk of the report is a series of tables and charts that document the projected increases. [JS]
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International Institute of Social History
http://www.iisg.nl/index.html
The International Institute of Social History (IISH) is one of the world's largest documentary and research institutions for social history in general and for the history of the labor movement in particular. Its homepage contains a formidable online catalog of the IISH's 2,000 archival collections which hold over one million printed volumes and about as many audio-visual items. Also included are a listing of current books put out by the Institute's publishing house, a digital social history archive of "relevant parts of the Internet," and the online newsletter of the Institute for the International Association of Labour History Institutions. Two other items of interest are a collection of useful social and labor history links, and digital editions of recent exhibitions at the IISH. (One of the latter, "The Chairman Smiles," was discus sed in the June 13, 1997 Scout Report.) [MD]
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LBRAIN-LIST--Language, Linguistics, and the Brain Mailing List
The LBRAIN-LIST list was formed to serve as a vehicle for: scientific and philosophical discussion of topics related to language, linguistics, and the brain; and collection of any information related to these topics and related areas such as psychology, neurophysiology, and cognitive science. [JS]

To subscribe send email to:
listserv@listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu
In the body of the message type:
SUB LBRAIN-LIST your name
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General Interest

United Nations General Assembly
http://www.un.org/ga/
The UN Department of Public Information has recently created a site which features comprehensive information on its General Assembly. The core of the site is a collection of facts and documents relating to the current (52nd) meeting of the General Assembly. Users find the Agenda and Programme of Work, recent press releases, links to documents, and information on committees, elections, and appointments. Information and documents from previous regular and special sessions are also available. An added feature is a general description of the Assembly itself: its background, functions, sessions, and main committees. [MD]
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Anxiety Disorders Education Program--NIMH
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/anxiety/
The National Institute of Mental Health provides this resource in order to improve public and professional awareness of anxiety disorders. Disorders covered include Panic Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Phobias, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. At the heart of the site is the Library section, featuring five full text brochures at this time. In addition, the Educational Resources section of the Library contains listings and contact information for pamphlets and brochurs, as well as listings of books and videos on the subject. The For Professionals section contains one full text brochure on Panic Disorder, as well as lists of publications and videos, and a list of conferences. [JS]
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Uncle Sam--Forms From the Feds [.pdf]
http://www.lib.memphis.edu/gpo/forms.htm
The Government Publications Department of the Regional Depository Library at the University of Memphis has assembled this useful collection of downloadable government electronic forms. From this site, users can access the most requested government forms. Among the agencies listed are the Office of Copyright, Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Immigration, Internal Revenue Service, National Science Foundation, and Veterans Administration. Links to Passport and Savings Bond forms are also provided. The format of documents varies by site, and many are in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. [MD]
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Technology's Very Richest 100--Forbes ASAP
http://www.forbes.com/asap/tech100/
From Bill Gates ($38.6 billion) to Mark Horowitz ($48.7 million) this Forbes ASAP site lists the 100 richest technology entrepeneurs in America. The list can be sorted by name, company, or rank (simply click on the variable.) There is a brief biography of each individual, along with a listing of others from the individual's company that are on the list (incidentally, there are twelve from Microsoft, including the top three). There is also a short introductory article that gives a brief explanation of the methodology used in creating the list. Note: click on "100" to access the list. [JS]
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Andes Expedition: Searching For Inca Secrets--National Geographic [Javascript, Frames]
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/andes/
National Geographic 1997 Features
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/contents/97features.html
As the latest of its web features, National Geographic has added a virtual Andes Expedition that features at this time a virtual autopsy (annotated images of computed tomography scans) of a 500 year old Inca Woman. Scans include DNA, posture, muscle and bones, head, and stomach. In October, this site is scheduled to cover the Andes Expedition of anthropologist Johan Reinhard. This is one of several National Geographic subject based web features for 1997, including cats, asteroids, Ghengis Khan, and underground New York. Note that these sites are browser intensive and demand various plug-ins or helper applications. [JS]
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MetaHollywood--Los Angeles Times [ShockWave]
http://www.latimes.com/metahollywood/
Where better to learn about Hollywood's technical and business side than the Los Angeles Times' MetaHollywod site? The site is divided into four sections. Center Stage is an in-depth report on a single feature (a report on the creation of the special effects for the upcoming movie "The Peacemaker," at this time). Digital News discusses the latest developments in media technology news. Tools and Toys covers relevant software, hardware, animation, sound, and other product news. Industry Buzz covers relevant events and conferences. Coverage is from Millimeter Magazine, Animation, and Electronic Media, as well as the Times. [JS]
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Network Tools

Congressional Hearing on Domain Names--Democracy.Net [REALPLAYER]
September 30, 1997 Hearing
http://www.democracy.net/events/09301997/
September 25, 1997 Hearing
http://www.democracy.net/archive/09251997/
Democracy.Net
http://www.democracy.net/
Democracy.Net, a joint project of the Center for Democracy and Technology and the Voters Telecommunications Watch, is providing coverage of two hearings before the US House Science Committee on Basic Research dealing with the Domain Name System, its current status, and future direction. The first hearing took place September 25, 1997 and the second takes place September 30. Witnesses are: Dr. Joseph Bordogna, National Science Foundation; Larry Irving, Assistant Secretary for Communication and Information, US Department of Commerce; Dr. Jonathan Postel, Director, Computer Networks Division; and Gabriel Battista, Network Solutions, Inc. The site is highlighted by RealPlayer coverage of the Hearings, selected written statements of the participants, photos, and background information. Democracy.Net also has coverage of other Internet issues such as cryptography, privacy, and access to government information in its archives. [JS]
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Snap! Online--c|net
http://www.snap.com/
Snap! Online is c|net's (discussed in the July 28, 1995 Scout Report) newest online offering, using the TV "channel" model to present both its and other web based content. At present, content is available in thirteen channels, including business, computing, health, money, travel, entertainment, news and sports. Most material is introdued with a synopsis from c|net followed by featured stories, information, and links to other stories and sites. There are also related site directories, and stock market and sports summaries, among other features. [JS]
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TextureMill 1.1--Graphics Tool for Creating Seamless Backgrounds
http://members.aol.com/deepdevice/index.html
TextureMill is a $20 Shareware for Macintosh which allows for the creation of seamless backgrounds. Created by Rob Gonsalves and provided by Deep Devices, the interface for TextureMill is very easy to install and use. Endusers can select from 20 different patterns to create a unique background. The first step to creating a background is to choose a pattern, then change the surface, color, and lighting properties. Finally, there is a preview option which allows users to see the background as it would appear in a browser. Preview mode also offers the option to define the text color. A background can be saved as either a GIF or PICT file. [TB]
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Where Are They Now

Volume 1, Number 22: The Scout Report for September 23, 1994
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/archive/9-23-94.html
AgriGator
http://gnv.ifas.ufl.edu/WWW/AGATOR_HOME.HTM
NASA Public Affairs Home Pages
http://www.nasa.gov/hqpao/nasa_centers_publicaffairs.html
Today@NASA
http://www.nasa.gov/today/index.html
AgriGator, provided by the Institute of Food and Agricultural Science (IFAS) at the University of Florida, is one of the oldest web based agricultural meta-pages. Now in its fourth year, the AgriGator Swamp is beginning to show its age in certain respects (resources are still marked by colored bullets based on Internet access protocol, and there are quite a few broken links, especially gopher links). However, it is still one of the largest agricultural meta-pages on the web, with hundreds of links to international, national, and state resources, as well as publications, conferences, environmental, biotechnology, and weather resources. The Swamp needs a good cleaning (of broken links), but the links that work are still very useful. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration runs hundreds of sites, and the Public Affairs Home Page was as good a place to start as any. Today, that original page still exists, but many of its sections are dormant. Users are probably better served by the public affairs home pages of twelve NASA agencies, including the Ames Research Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Kennedy Space Center. This meta-page also points to Today@NASA, the agency's extremely popular news resource, which not only contains press releases about the latest NASA programs, but connections to relevant sites. [JS]
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Copyright Susan Calcari, 1994-1997. 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 (ISSN 1092-3861) is published weekly by Internet Scout

Susan Calcari -- Managing Editor
Jack Solock -- Editor
Jeannine Ramsey -- Production Editor
Teri Boomsma -- Contributor
Michael de Nie -- Contributor
David Flaspohler -- Contributor
Aimee D. Glassel -- Contributor
Kathryn Harris -- Contributor
Matthew Livesey -- Contributor
Thiam Hee Ng -- Contributor
Amy Tracy Wells -- Contributor

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