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The Scout Report
January 6, 2006
Volume 12, Number 1
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A publication of the Internet Scout Project.
Sponsored by University of Wisconsin - Madison Libraries.
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==   I N   T H E   S C O U T   R E P O R T   T H I S   W E E K  ========

====== Research and Education ====
1.  Anthurium: A Caribbean Studies Journal
2.  Wisconsin Local History and Biography Articles Collection
3.  Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
4.  Community-based Networks and Innovative Technologies
5.  Slavery in New York
6.  The Henry Ford Museum

====== General Interest ====
7.  Millennium Seed Bank Project
8.  African Art Now: Masterpieces from the Jean Pignozzi Collection
9.  Student Press Law Center (Last Reviewed on August 30, 1996)
10. Partnership for a Nation of Learners
11. Electronic Literature Organization
12. The Glocal Forum

====== Network Tools ====
13. Virtual Desktop Toolbox 2.62.3
14. Startup Mechanic 2.6

====== In The News ====
15. International convention moves to ban global export of caviar



====== Research and Education ====

1.  Anthurium: A Caribbean Studies Journal
http://scholar.library.miami.edu/anthurium/home.htm

While some may think the extent of Caribbean literature is limited to the
works of Derek Walcott, the website for this journal housed at the
University of Miami may help visitors to expand their horizons. Anthurium is
a peer-reviewed journal that publishes original works by Caribbean writers
and scholars, and appears only in a digital online edition. Started in the
fall of 2003, the journal has published pieces on Caribbean slave narratives
and new poems on the experiences of indigenous peoples throughout the
region. Visitors can also use a number of indices to find works of interest,
including those that are organized by author or title. Finally, visitors may
also appreciate the fact that there are external links to other digital
initiatives, along with a link to the Caribbean Literary Studies program at
the University of Miami. [KMG]


2.  Wisconsin Local History and Biography Articles Collection
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/wlhba/

For many decades, librarians and their assistants combed over newspapers for
items of interest, including obituaries, colorful news stories, and
advertisements. These types of clippings were mounted on note paper and
subsequently placed into bound volumes. Over the past few decades, a number
of institutions have begun to digitize these invaluable documents. One such
institution is the Wisconsin Historical Society, which happens to have
hundreds of these scrapbooks. Currently, visitors can search through 16,000
articles, which include materials on Wisconsin people and communities from
the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Users can perform basic searches
using keywords and place names, or perform very detailed searches through
headlines, country, newspaper, or main heading. From Robert La Follette to
John Muir, much of Wisconsin's past that is both grand and everyday is
revealed within this site. [KMG]


3.  Patuxent Wildlife Research Center [pdf, Real Player]
http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/

For close to seventy years, the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in
Maryland has had a diverse set of ongoing research projects dealing with
wildlife and natural resources in and around the region. Their homepage
offers a great deal of material on these projects, along with some very fine
information for the general public. The "Spotlight" section is a good place
to start as it contains a frog call quiz and video clips of Atlantic sea
ducks in their natural habitat. The "Science Features" area contains an area
where visitors can ask resident biologists pressing questions and a "Did You
Know?" section that provides answers to such questions as "Why are whooping
cranes endangered?"  The site is rounded out by an area that provides a
tribute to Chandler S. Robbins, an employee of the center for over sixty
years. Robbins is perhaps best known as the author of "The Field Guide to
Birds of North America" and for his work on identifying the deleterious
effects of DDT on bird populations. [KMG|


4.  Community-based Networks and Innovative Technologies [pdf]
http://propoor-ict.comunica.org/

Much of the talk about an information society and the use of technology in
such a society remains an unfulfilled promise in the developing world. This
disconnect is particularly strong in rural areas, which often do not have
the necessary infrastructure to take part in any social or economic
improvements that may be the by-product of such developments. This report
from the United Nations Development Program, authored by Sean O Siochru and
Brian Girard looks at how an innovative combination of community-driven
enterprises and the new wave of wireless and related technologies may assist
such communities most effectively. The report is divided into five primary
chapters, and a number of appendices which contain detailed case study
information from such countries as Poland, Argentina, Peru, and India. Those
users who may be pressed for time may wish to read the preface and the
report summary offered here. [KMG]


5.  Slavery in New York [Macromedia Flash Player, Real Player]
http://www.slaveryinnewyork.org/index.html

The diversity of the city of New York for many seems to be one of the best
examples of America's "melting pot", and for many people around the world,
Gotham is the city that first comes to mind when thinking about America's
great urban metropolises. It is of course no surprise to many informed
members of the public that the city was also at the heart of the slave trade
for close to two hundred years, a fact that seems to stand in stark contrast
with the openness of today's city. This well-designed online exhibition,
created by the New York Historical Society explores this aspect of the
city's history through the use of interactive galleries and multimedia
presentations that include interviews from National Public Radio with the
curators of the exhibition. The section titled "Free Blacks in New York's
Public Life" (contained within Gallery 6) is definitely worth a closer look,
as it looks at how blacks were portrayed in paintings and other rendering
during the Federalist period. [KMG]


6.  The Henry Ford Museum [Macromedia Flash Player]
http://www.hfmgv.org/

Whatever one's feelings may be about Henry Ford, his legacy to the American
public is tremendous, and his love of American history is well-documented.
Part of this legacy may be found at the Henry Ford Museum complex, which
contains a number of operational units, such as Greenfield Village and the
Benson Ford Research Center. For those who might be unable to make the
pilgrimage to Michigan, the Museum's omnibus website will help bring some of
the fine edifying material into their homes. For starters, there is the
"Explore & Learn" area of the site, which contains a number of online
exhibits such as a tour of the bus that carried Rosa Parks on her fateful
trip in Montgomery and the "Innovators" exhibit, which profiles such
Americans as Thomas Edison and R. Buckminster Fuller. [KMG]



====== General Interest ====

7.  Millennium Seed Bank Project [pdf]
http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/msbp/

A number of organizations have developed a concerted interest in
establishing seed banks to protect the wide diversity of existing plant life
for future generations. The Royal Botanic Gardens is currently working on
their own project, whose ultimate goal is to collect 24,000 plant species.
So far, they have successfully secured samples from almost all of the native
flowering plants in the United Kingdom, and their work continues on in the
present day. Many visitors to the site will want to peruse their homepage
and the helpful graphic (a peapod) helps orient first-time visitors to the
various sections on the site, such as "Solving Seed Problems" and their
publications and data area. The site also includes a field manual for those
who would like to collect their own seeds in the field as well as data about
the seeds collected thus far in the Seed Information Database. [KMG]


8.  African Art Now: Masterpieces from the Jean Pignozzi Collection
http://www.nmafa.si.edu/exhibits/pigozzi/index.html

Masterpieces from the Jean Pignozzi Collection is an exhibition  currently
on view at the National Museum of African Art (NMAfA) in  Washington D.C.,
organized by the Pignozzi Collection-Contemporary  African Art Collection
(CAAC) and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston,  and funded by Continental
Airlines. The show features works by 28
African artists from 15 African countries, whose works have been collected
by Swiss photographer Jean Pignozzi. Pignozzi began collecting African art
in 1989, and has amassed a collection of over 6,000 pieces. The web
exhibition is arranged into 3 sections and the first two: Apartheid & Africa
and Kinshasa provide background information. The third section, Artist Works
and Biographies,  includes biographical sketches and photographs of the 28
artists, and  examples of at least one of each artists' works, such as Bodys
Isek  Kingelez fantastical architectural constructions, or Romuald
Hazoumeacute's masks, or (one of the few women in the show) Esther
Mahlangu's brightly colored murals.  [DS]


9.  Student Press Law Center [pdf] (Last Reviewed on August 30, 1996)
http://www.splc.org/

Since its creation in 1974, the Student Press Law Center has devoted itself
to providing support services to high school and college journalists about
the importance of the First Amendment. Their website is designed to
complement their work, and one section that visitors should examine is their
resource center area. This area contains a FAQ area about the nature of
student press rights at the high school and college level and several
interactive tests on student media law and the First Amendment. Visitors
will also want to peruse the current edition of the Student Press Law Center
Report, which is published three times a year. The Report includes coverage
of ongoing cases involving student publications, and archives dating back to
1996 can be found here as well. The site is rounded out by a number of news
updates offered along the left-hand side of the homepage. [KMG]


10. Partnership for a Nation of Learners [pdf]
http://www.partnershipforlearners.org/

It is hard to imagine a way to seamlessly integrate museums, libraries, and
public broadcasters into the needs of their communities, but the Partnership
for a Nation of Learners initiative seeks to do just that. The initiative
was started by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Institute of
Museum and Library Services and is designed to assist such institutions in
the quest "to be leaders in their local communities". To do this, the
Partnership is offering workshops, web-based materials and grants. This
website was created to provide information on these programs. While a great
deal of material has yet to be added to the site, they plan on offering case
studies of successful partnerships, along with archived videoconferences.
[KMG]


11. Electronic Literature Organization [Macromedia Flash Player]
http://www.eliterature.org/

Astute readers of the Scout Report may find themselves asking: "What is
electronic literature?" Well, as defined by the Electronic Literature
Organization (ELO) the term refers to "works with important literary aspects
that take advantage of the capabilities and contexts provided by the stand-
alone or networked computer." The ELO was started in 1999, and since that
time the organization has worked to facilitate bringing new works in this
arena to the general web-savvy public. Visitors to the homepage can proceed
to examine any number of new works, such as the non-linear work "Shandean
Ambles", authored by Deena Larsen. Along with the usual contact information,
the site also has a tab for presenting information about the ELO's programs,
such as the "Preservation, Archiving, and Dissemination (PAD) Project",
which is designed to identify and protect endangered electronic literature
and like-minded creations. The site is made complete with a news archive
that dates back to July 2000. [KMG]


12. The Glocal Forum [pdf]
http://www.glocalforum.org/

Globalization is a concept and process that is generally understood by the
general public and the media. Glocalization, however, is a term that
requires some explanation. The term is meant to serve as a "new paradigm for
international relations and an innovative practice of development
cooperation". The Glocal Forum is a way for a diverse set of policymakers
and concerned citizens to maintain a sustained dialogue on how this paradigm
(and its attendant processes) may transform local communities in a positive
and equitable fashion. The Forum's homepage contains links to three separate
initiatives, including the Glocal ECities Network and the Glocal Forum US.
The Glocal Forum section of the site contains information about their annual
conference and their primary directives, which include youth empowerment and
peacebuilding. [KMG]



====== Network Tools ====

13. Virtual Desktop Toolbox 2.62.3
http://www.r2d2-software.com/

This intriguing program effectively enlarges your monitor by creating non-
virtual or virtual desktops. Users can organize programs and windows by
categories, and also share programs and windows between virtual desktops.
Visitors also have the capability to customize their workplace by adding a
background picture and sounds. This program is compatible with all computers
running Windows 2000 and newer. [KMG]


14. Startup Mechanic 2.6
http://www.startupmechanic.com/

As the New Year begins, many may be concerned about how to ensure that their
computer system is running smoothly and without those seemingly omnipresent
ad-tracking programs and other such nuisances. One program that is worth
taking a look at is the Startup Mechanic, which scans users' systems for
data mining and tracking components. The program also includes Startup
Monitor which will notify users when any program registers to run when the
system starts up. This version is compatible with all computers running
Windows 98 and newer. [KMG]



====== In The News ====

15. International convention moves to ban global export of caviar
Caviar export ban may help threatened species
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/01/04/news/caviar.php

Roe woes for caviar lovers
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1136328630925&call_pageid=968350072197&col=969048863851

UN-backed treaty puts caviar export quotas on hold pending new data
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=17078&Cr=fish&Cr1=

Caviar Emptor: The Decline of the Caspian Sea Sturgeon [Real Player]
http://www.caviaremptor.org/

FAQs: Caviar Trade
http://worldwildlife.org/trade/faqs_caviar.cfm

Fishonline
http://www.fishonline.org/

Those oh-so salty eggs of the sturgeon have fascinated everyone from
Aristotle to the nouveau riche that reside on various cul-de-sacs along
America's eastern seaboard. Regrettably, the demand for these tiny morsels
has outstripped the supply, and this week the secretariat of the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species declared that there would be a
temporary ban on caviar exports. In recent years, there has been increasing
concerns about the long-term viability of the sturgeon population, and a
number of factors (including pollution) have led to drastic reductions in
their numbers. Much like the price of gold in recent years, the price of
beluga caviar has doubled, with the current price standing at about $200 an
ounce. Many concerned organizations are concerned due to the fact that
temporary bans in 2001 and 2002 failed to result in stricter conservation
measures and sturgeon populations continued to fall. It should be noted that
effectively managing the sturgeon population has been bedeviled by the fact
that harvest data for these rather imposing creatures do not include those
fish that are poached across their natural habitat. [KMG]

The first link will take users to a news article from this Wednesday's
International Herald Tribune which provides some interesting background
information on the recent ban. The second link leads users to a piece from
the Toronto Star that discusses the potential effects this ban may have on
Canadian connoisseurs of caviar. The third link leads to an official press
release from the United Nations' News Centre about the caviar export ban.
The fourth link leads to a site that provides information about the current
status of the Caspian Sea sturgeon, along with helpful environmental
friendly alternatives. The fifth link will take users to a FAQ offered by
the World Wildlife Fund that answers such questions as "Why is caviar
traded?" The final link leads to a site created by the Marine Conservation
Society that provides information about which fish are from well managed
sources around the world. [KMG]


From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2006.
http://scout.wisc.edu/

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