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.
An Acrobat .pdf version of this report is available for printing and distributing locally. For information on Adobe Acrobat Reader, visit the Adobe site.
Visit the Scout Report web page at: http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/
Send comments and contributions to: scout@cs.wisc.edu
Internet Detective [frames]
http://sosig.ac.uk/desire/internet-detective.html
A
central concern of the Internet Scout Project and anyone who uses the Web as an
information-gathering tool is quality. The ability to critically analyze
Websites and evaluate their quality and usefulness is essential to successful
and efficient surfing. The Internet Detective, an online tutorial developed by
staff at The Institute for Learning and Research Technology (ILRT) at the
University of Bristol (home of SOSIG), is an excellent resource for developing
these skills. With clearly written overviews, interactive quizzes, and worked
examples, the tutorial teaches users the key elements of quality Internet
information and offers practical tips for evaluating a variety of online
resources. Free registration is required to allow users to return to the site as
necessary and work through the tutorial at their own pace. [MD]
[Back to Contents]
Dublin Core Metadata for Resource Discovery (RFC
2413)
ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc2413.txt
Dublin
Core Metadata homepage
http://purl.oclc.org/metadata/dublin_core/
This Request for Comments (RFC) is the first in a series of Informational
RFC's to be produced by the Dublin Core (DC) Metadata Workshop Series. This
first RFC provides an introduction to the Dublin Core, "a fifteen-element
metadata element set intended to facilitate discovery of electronic
resources." The RFC also presents the consensus reached by librarians,
digital library researchers, content experts, and text-markup experts from
around the world on the semantics of each of the fifteen elements (descriptors).
The DC elements are title, author, subject, description, publisher, other
contributor, date, resource type, format, resource identifier, source, language,
relation, coverage, and rights management. Dublin Core metadata has been
implemented in several ways, including as HTML metatags and as database
elements, as it is used in the Scout Report Signpost (discussed in the June
20, 1997 issue of t! he Scout Report). Additional information about the
Dublin Core Workshop Series, DC semantics and syntax, working papers, and
projects that have implemented Dublin Core metadata can be found at the Dublin
Core Metadata homepage. [AG]
[Back to Contents]
Internet Library of Early Journals
(ILEJ)
http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/ilej/
ILEJ
is a joint project by the Universities of Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and
Oxford, conducted under the auspice of the eLib (Electronic Libraries) Programme
(discussed in the Scout
Report for September 20, 1996). The project has digitized selected
twenty-year runs of three eighteenth- and three nineteenth-century journals and
placed the images online at the site. Journals include: Annual Register
(1758-78), Gentleman's Magazine (1731-50), Philosophical Transactions
of the Royal Society (1757-77), Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine
(1843-52), Notes and Queries (1849-69), and The Builder (1843-9).
Users can browse the journals by volume and section, conduct a standard search,
or try a "fuzzy search" (limited availability). The project has
considerable potential for scholars and students of British history and
literature, although slow loading image pages may! make it more useful as an
online index to these journals. [MD]
[Back to Contents]
The State of World Population 1998: The New
Generations--UNFPA [.pdf]
http://www.unfpa.org/SWP/SWPMAIN.HTM
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has recently issued its annual
report highlighting new developments in world population. This year's report,
The State of World Population 1998: The New Generations, focuses on the
ramifications of the rapid increases in two segments of global population: youth
less than fifteen years-old and elderly more than 65 years-old. This Website
contains text and .pdf files of the report, graphs and charts of key facts and
figures, press summaries outlining the report's contents and recommendations,
and news features with photographs for promotional publication. [AO]
[Back to Contents]
New Additions to ERIC Digests Database
http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/index/edo98b.html
ERIC Digests Index Page
http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/index/
The latest quarterly update to the ERIC (Educational Resources Information
Center) Digest database features 67 full-text short reports aimed at education
professionals and the broader education community. Each report includes an
overview of an education topic of current interest and offers references for
further information. Sample titles include Improving Ethnic and Racial Relations
in the Schools, Libraries and Democracy, Social Identity and the Adult ESL
Classroom, and A Paradigm Shift from Instruction to Learning. Users can search
the entire ERIC Digests database from the index page. ERIC, part of the National
Library of Education (NLE), is a nationwide education information system
sponsored by the US Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and
Improvement (OERI). [MD]
[Back to
Contents]
CURRENT SCIENCE TITLES--Mailing
List
CURRENT SCIENCE TITLES is a new, free one-way distribution
list from Science-Week (discussed in the Scout
Report for June 27, 1997). Each week, subscribers will receive a listing of
ten selected current articles "of broad and significant interest" to
the scientific community. Each listing includes the subject of the article, the
lead author, the author's affiliation(s), a complete journal reference, and
available author contact information. [MD]
To
subscribe to CURRENT SCIENCE TITLES, send e-mail to:
prismx@scienceweek.co
In the SUBJECT
line of the message type:
SUBSCRIBE CST
[Back to Contents]
Death Penalty Information Center
http://www.essential.org/dpic/
The
Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), a nonprofit organization operating out
of Washington, DC, prepares analytical reports for the media, the public, and
Congress on issues concerning capital punishment. Their fact-filled, frequently
updated site supplies a wealth of full-text reports, briefs, and statistics
examining all aspects of capital punishment. Topic sections analyze death
penalty information in relation to public opinion, race, sex, age, mental
competency, deterrence, innocence, and cost. A state by state listing clearly
outlines and compares the legislation and the statistics for capital punishment
nationally. A comprehensive list of links to other sources of information is
also provided. [AO]
[Back to
Contents]
Faerie Lore and Literature
http://faeryland.tamu-commerce.edu/earendil/faerie/faerie.html
An
impressive compendium of faerie literature and information, this site is the
project of Allen Garvin, an avid faerie enthusiast. Visitors can read
faerie-inspired stories, poems, novels, and plays; view pictures; access
bibliographies and related Websites; or look up terms in a browseable or
searchable dictionary. Garvin casts his net wide to include not only the obvious
classics such as Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, but also
lesser-known tomes like Joseph Ritson's 1831 Dissertation on Faeries.
Later plans include scanning in selected titles, adding motifs to stories and
dictionary entries to be cross-linked with the motif index already on-site, and
adding a map of British fairy sites. This site is a boon for anyone with an
interest--passing or abiding--in faeries. [TK]
[Back to Contents]
The Motley Fool
http://www.fool.com/
Founded by David and Tom
Gardner in 1993, The Motley Fool provides amusing and educational investment
information. Feature articles address topics of money management, investment
ideas, and stock research, among others. A clearly arranged Info/Help! site
index aids navigation. Current stock quotes, news, and an intriguing
"Fool's School" of how-to short essays and key terminology round out
this lively and colorful collection. [MW]
[Back to Contents]
Alfred Hitchcock--Master of Suspense
http://nextdch.mty.itesm.mx/~plopezg/Kaplan/Hitchcock.html
Created
by Patricio Lopez-Guzman, a Mexican university student and unpublished novelist,
Alfred Hitchcock--Master of Suspense is a terrific example of a fan's personal
tribute to a famous artist. Lopez-Guzman believes that you can appreciate
someone's personality by the lists they make, and he has made some good ones for
this site: a Hitchcock filmography with titles, casts, plot highlights, Leonard
Maltin ratings, and some images; a list of Hitchcock's cameo appearances in his
films; and a list of collaborators: writers, actors, and composers who worked
with Hitchcock, and younger directors influenced by his work, featuring
portraits and biographies. The section of scholarly essays from standard
reference sources and film critics gives visitors the opportunity for more
in-depth Hitchcock analysis. [DS]
[Back to Contents]
Mark McGwire Breaks Home Run Record [QuickTime,
RealPlayer]
majorleaguebaseball.com Story
http://www.majorleaguebaseball.com/nl/recmac62.sml
RealPlayer Recording of the Call
http://www.broadcast.com/sports/mlb/cardinals/mcgwire62.ram
Home Run Race
http://www.majorleaguebaseball.com/homerun/index.sml
On
September 8, with two out in the fourth inning of a game against the Chicago
Cubs, St. Louis Cardinal Mark McGwire hit a home run--his shortest home run of
the season, but one he will never forget. McGwire broke the record for home runs
in a single season, perhaps the most magical of all individual sport records in
America, and one held for 37 years by Roger Maris after he bypassed Babe Ruth.
Users can read about the home run at the official site for Major League Baseball
(discussed in the Scout
Report for August 25, 1995), or listen to a recording of the call at
Broadcast.com. The race for the home run record, however, is not quite over, as
the Cubs' Sammy Sosa is hot on McGwire's heels with several games left to play.
Major League Baseball's Home Run Race site offers lists of both players' 1998
home runs and QuickTime videos of the most recent (including the
record-breaker). The site also ! contains a listing of Roger Maris' 61 home runs
and a link to a RealPlayer career retrospective. [MD]
[Back to Contents]
Roller Coasters--Encyclopedia
Britannica
http://coasters.eb.com/
This site
chronicles a concise history of the "scream machine" from the Russian
Mountain of the 1780's to Coney Island to a vision of what the future may hold.
The timeline features prominent figures in roller coaster history including
"the father of the gravity ride," La Marcus Thompson; inventor John
Miller, who in 1919 patented the under-friction wheels that keep coaster cars
locked on their tracks; and "the sovereign of steel coasters," Ron
Toomer. A selective list of related links is provided. [JR]
[Back to Contents]
Glossary of Construction Terms
http://www.cacontractorreferral.com/text/glossary.html
Need
to know what a cantilever is? Curious about screeding and Type II Moderate
cement or cape chisels? Look no further than the Glossary of Construction Terms,
provided by the National/California Contractor Referral and License Bureau.
While by no means a definitive collection of construction terms, the glossary is
fairly comprehensive in terms of the basics, offering short, clear explanations
of tools, materials, and concepts. Topics include Carpentry, Concrete,
Electrical, Heating and Air Conditioning, Painting, Plumbing, and Roofing, among
others. [MD]
[Back to
Contents]
J-Track and J-Track 3D Beta 1
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/realtime/jtrack/
J-Track
and J-Track 3D are Java applets created by the Mission Operations Laboratory of
NASA to track and display, in real-time, orbits and other information about
satellites circling the Earth. J-Track displays a Mercator Projection of the
Earth with a selectable list of satellites to display. A simple click on a
satellite of interest will show its path over the earth as well as detailed
information about the satellite itself. J-Track 3D gives users a
three-dimensional view of the Earth and orbiting satellites while providing
informative capabilities similar to J-Track, but it also allows the user to
rotate the display, zoom in and out, and view orbits in space as well as on the
ground. Both J-Track and J-Track 3D are interesting applets providing both
entertainment as well as useful information. The programs are free to use and
work on almost any platform supporting Java; however, a computer with a 166 MHz
or faster processor is recommended for use with J-Track 3D. [CL]
[Back to Contents]
The single phrase below is the copyright notice to be used when reproducing any portion of this report, in any format.
From the Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project
1994-1998.
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/
The paragraph below is the copyright notice to be used when reproducing the entire report, in any format.
Copyright Susan Calcari and the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, 1994-1998. The Internet Scout Project (http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/), located in the Computer Sciences Department of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides information about the Internet to the U.S. research and education community under a grant from the National Science Foundation, number NCR-9712163. The Government has certain rights in this material. Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of the entire Scout Report provided this paragraph, including the copyright notice, is preserved on all copies.
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, or the National Science Foundation.
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