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The Scout Report -- January 28, 2005
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- Date: Tue, 01 Feb 2005 12:03:55 -0500
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======== The Scout Report ==
======== January 28, 2005 ====
======== Volume 11, Number 4 ======
====== Internet Scout Project ========
==== University of Wisconsin ========
== Department of Computer Sciences ========
== I N T H E S C O U T R E P O R T T H I S W E E K ========
====== NSDL Scout Reports ====
1. NSDL Scout Report for Math, Engineering, and Technology
====== Research and Education ====
2. European Union: Regional Policy
3. Alabama Mosaic
4. Kansas City Hopewell
5. An Uncertain Road: Muslims and the Future of Europe
6. World Meteorological Organization
7. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology: Biologically Inspired Research
Group
8. Education Next
9. Civil War Maps
====== General Interest ====
10. Heritage Scrapbooks
11. Mercury Action
12. American Institute of Architects
13. Simon Wiesenthal Center: Multimedia Learning Center Online
14. Didaskalia: Ancient Theater Today
15. The Ballerina Gallery
====== Network Tools ====
16. OmniWeb 5.1
17. Skype 1.1
====== In The News ====
18. Adding up the cost of bags
Copyright and subscription information appear at the end of the Scout
Report. For more information on all services of the Internet Scout
Project, please visit our Website: http://scout.wisc.edu/
If you'd like to know how the Internet Scout team selects resources for
inclusion in the Scout Report, visit our Selection Criteria page at:
http://scout.wisc.edu/About/criteria.php
The Scout Report on the Web:
Current issue: http://scout.wisc.edu/Reports/ScoutReport/Current/
This issue: http://scout.wisc.edu/Reports/ScoutReport/2005/scout-
050128.php
Visit the Internet Scout Weblog at:
http://scout.wisc.edu/Weblog/
Feedback is always welcome: scout@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
====== NSDL Scout Reports ====
1. NSDL Scout Report for Math, Engineering, and Technology
The second issue of the fourth volume of the MET Report is available. Its
Topic in Depth section offers websites and comments about Women in Science
and Mathematics.
====== Research and Education ====
2. European Union: Regional Policy [pdf]
http://europa.eu.int/pol/reg/index_en.htm
Since the creation of the European Union (EU), there has always been a great
deal of concern among its member nations about the welfare of disparities of
income and opportunity between its regions. The recent entry of 10 new
member countries in May 2004 has widened these gaps, and made the need for a
cohesive regional policy all the more pressing. In the words of this
regional policy site created by the EU, "regional policy transfers resources
from affluent to poorer regions". This site provides a host of documents
that detail these various policies and implementation tools, including the
very useful overview document, "Working for the Regions", which is available
in a number of languages. The site also contains a number of legal documents
related to the ways in which these polices are implemented, and what policy
instruments have been most successful thus far. [KMG]
3. Alabama Mosaic
http://www.alabamamosaic.org/
Designed as a collaborative statewide initiative, The Cornerstone Project is
a way to make various historical treasures from Alabama's archives,
libraries, museums, and other repositories accessible over the Web both to
residents of the state and a diverse set of interested parties. The funding
for this project came from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and
includes materials from 13 different organizations, including Auburn
University, Spring Hill College, and the Birmingham Public Library. All of
the collections may be accessed through a helpful search engine, or browsed
by thematic category. The categories include education, folklife,
literature, religion, and transportation. The cities and towns area offers a
nice glimpse into urban life in the American South, and includes several
dozen excellent images taken from the Birmingham Historical Photo
Collection. Visitors with a penchant for steamboats will appreciate the
rather interesting collection of digitized steamboat ephemera, most of which
dates from the post-Civil War period. [KMG]
4. Kansas City Hopewell
http://www.anthro.ku.edu/hopewell/
In 2003, the University of Kansas Museum of Anthropology was awarded a
Digital Library Initiatives grant for a project that would result in this
rather useful and interesting digitization project. The hope was that the
museum would be able to digitize some of the excellent collection of
material recovered from the 30 Kansas City Hopewell archaeological sites
that are located around the junction of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers. Most
of the sites date to the Middle Woodland or Early Ceramic period, which
ranges from 100 B.C. to 700 A.D. One of the fine features of this site is
the 3D images area, which includes 32 excavated items that visitors may view
in their entirety. The site is rounded out by a selection of helpful
suggested readings and a collection of external links to sites such as those
of the Society for American Archaeology and ArchNet. [KMG]
5. An Uncertain Road: Muslims and the Future of Europe [pdf]
http://pewforum.org/docs/index.php?DocID=60
A number of policy-makers from around Europe and elsewhere have commented
that the successful integration of Muslims into their respective countries
will continue to be a critical issue for decades. This December 2004
report, authored by David Masci, addresses that very subject, and is part of
the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life publication series. In the work,
Masci suggests that Muslim immigration into Europe poses special challenges,
largely due to the fact that most nations in Europe are constructed around a
population with a common ethnicity. Masci also suggests that another
possible crossroads involves the proposed (and highly debated) entry of
Turkey into the European Union. While formal talks with Ankara are scheduled
to begin in 2005, Masci goes on to suggest that the argument about Turkey's
entrance into the EU could be problematic due to the fact that recent polls
show that majorities in many European countries remain opposed to Turkish
accession. This report is definitely worth a look, particularly to those
people with an interest in immigration and strategies of effective
assimilation. [KMG]
6. World Meteorological Organization [pdf]
http://www.wmo.ch/index-en.html
International cooperation is considered one of the key components for
monitoring global weather and climate, and the World Meteorological
Organization (WMO) has been one of the leaders in this effort since its
founding in 1950. The WMO was created under the auspices of the United
Nations, and continues to facilitate the "free and unrestricted exchange of
data and information, products and services in real- or near-real time on
matters relating to safety and security of society, economic well being and
the prevention of the environment". A good place to start is the homepage
link to "MeteoWorld", which is the WMO's newsletter. Here visitors can learn
about recently issued publications, upcoming events, and WMO activities. Of
course, visitors will appreciate the publications section as well, which
includes materials published in English, French, Spanish, and Russian.
Rounding out the site is a very helpful link to the World Weather
Information Service, which offers official weather forecasts from selected
cities around the globe, as reported by the National Meteorological Services
worldwide. [KMG]
7. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology: Biologically Inspired Research
Group [avi, pdf]
http://birg.epfl.ch/
The School of Computer and Communication Sciences at the Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology is "one of the major European centers of teaching
and research in information technology." This website describes the research
of the Biologically Inspired Research Group. Its research focuses on the
intersection between computational neuroscience, robotics, nonlinear
dynamical systems, and adaptive algorithms. Inspired by biological systems
and trained in the fields of modeling, optimization, and control, the
researchers are working "to produce novel types of robots with adaptive
locomotion and sensorimotor coordination abilities, and in using the robots
to investigate hypotheses of how central nervous systems implement these
abilities in animals." The Research section describes some of the group's
work in numerical simulations of locomotion and movement control,
sensorimotor coordination, dynamic simulators of articulated rigid bodies,
statistical learning algorithms, evolutionary algorithms, nonlinear
dynamical systems, humanoid robotics, amphibious articulated robotics, and
modular robotics. Some sections are still under construction. Journal
publications, as well as descriptions of student projects and videos
demonstrating their accomplishments, are posted online. This site is also
reviewed in the January 28, 2005_NSDL MET Report_. [VF]
8. Education Next [pdf]
http://www.educationnext.org/
Published by the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, Education Next
is a journal designed to explore the various issues involved in transforming
K-12 education in the United States. As the project's mission statement
notes, "Education Next partakes of no program, campaign, or ideology. It
goes where the evidence points". With an editorial board that includes such
notable educational researchers as Diane Ravitch and E.D. Hirsch Jr., this
journal is definitely thought-provoking and worth a look. On this site,
visitors can read selected full-text articles from the current issue, and
from previous issues dating back to 2001. Some of the highlights from the
Winter 2005 issue include pieces on character education, the training of
future educators at various universities, and the salaries of teachers.
Additionally, each issue also includes a number of book reviews and
commentary from the journal's editors. [KMG]
9. Civil War Maps
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/collections/civil_war_maps/
Accuracy in mapping is crucial, and during the Civil War in the United
States this important skill was vital to a successful campaign. In one of
its most ambitious digital collections to date, the American Memory project
at the Library of Congress has placed approximately 2240 Civil War maps and
charts in this archive, along with 200 maps from the Library of Virginia and
400 maps from the Virginia Historical Society. Visitors can jump right in
by browsing the entire collection by place, subject, creator, or title. Some
real gems include the multitude of maps and views of Vicksburg in
Mississippi and those of the infamous Andersonville Prison in Georgia. The
site also contains a number of classroom resources for educators, and a very
nice essay (divided into seven sections) by Richard W. Stephenson that
explores the history of mapping the Civil War. [KMG]
====== General Interest ====
10. Heritage Scrapbooks
http://www.crcstudio.arts.ualberta.ca/heritage/
Despite the obvious advantage of sharing various photographs over the
Internet, there is a certain charm to older scrapbooks that bring together
all kinds of random objects, clippings, and so on. Culled from the
collection of one Dr. Gary Kelly, these online scrapbooks date from the
early 18th century to the present day, and offer a lovely selection of the
art and personal insights afforded by the practice of creating scrapbooks.
Currently, the site contains 21 scrapbooks, which may be browsed by title,
author, document type, and category. Users may want to begin their journey
through the scrapbooks by looking at the work of Sophia Jemmett, who created
her own scrapbook in 1835. Here they will find a host of images and drawings
that Ms. Jemmett found worthy enough to include within the work's 125 pages.
Another scrapbook of particular interest is the one created by Marjorie
Simpson. Her scrapbook begins during her days at the University of Oregon in
the 1920s and continues up to the year 1955. All in all, this site offers a
good introduction to some rather intriguing scrapbooks. [KMG]
11. Mercury Action [Microsoft PowerPoint, pdf]
http://www.mercuryaction.org/
Created by the Physicians for Social Responsibility, this website provides
information about the effects of mercury emissions on public health. This
material will be of great interest to health care professionals and
interested citizens and includes fact sheets on the levels of mercury found
in fish and on recent scholarship that looks at the relationship between the
location of power plants and increased levels of mercury. The research
section of the site is a good central location to find reports from the
Environmental Protection Agency on mercury and mercury emissions, along with
medical research on the toxicological effects of mercury. The emerging
science area also allows a glimpse into more current research on some of
these same topics. Finally, visitors may also view a slide show on mercury
that may be of use for those seeking to inform their colleagues or neighbors
about this topic. [KMG]
12. American Institute of Architects [pdf]
http://www.aia.org/
Founded in 1857, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has served as
the primary professional organization for architects for close to 150 years,
and is perhaps best known to the general public for its annual architectural
and design awards. On the website, visitors can learn about the career
opportunities for those interested in becoming an architect and read about
various outreach efforts that the AIA is currently embarking on. The general
public will appreciate the "Knowledge Communities" area, which gives access
to the wealth of knowledge provided by AIA members in a number of different
thematic areas, including historic preservation, religious architecture, and
sustainable design. Additionally, visitors to the site can peruse the latest
edition of AIAarchitect, which provides timely news to the architectural
community throughout the United States. [KMG]
13. Simon Wiesenthal Center: Multimedia Learning Center Online [pdf]
http://motlc.wiesenthal.com/
The Simon Wiesenthal Center has done the Web-browsing public a great service
by placing this extremely comprehensive and authoritative multimedia archive
online. Online since 1999, the Multimedia Learning Center provides access
to some of the past virtual exhibits sponsored by the Center's Museum of
Tolerance (including a fine one dedicated to Polish Jews), a host of
teacher's resources, and a helpful frequently-asked-questions area. The FAQ
area may be most helpful for students, as it contains an interactive
glossary of the Holocaust, a timeline of the Holocaust, and answers to 36
commonly asked questions about the Holocaust. The special collections area
of the site contains a number of relevant primary documents related to the
Holocaust, though it should be noted that the majority of them are available
only in German and Hebrew. [KMG]
14. Didaskalia: Ancient Theater Today
http://didaskalia.open.ac.uk/
The term Didaskalia is taken from the inscriptions used to record the
outcomes of drama and music festivals in ancient Athens, and as such, serves
as the name of this rather intriguing website. On the site, visitors will
find the group's academic journal, a number of study resources, and an
interactive discussion area known (appropriately) as the Agora. The archives
of the journal stretch all the way back to 1994, but full-text articles
don't appear in the archives until 1995. Some of the articles offered here
include "Ancient Drama in Performance" and "Classics and Its Position in
Future Cultural Politics". If they so desire, visitors may also elect to
sign up to receive email updates about future issues of the journal and
such. [KMG]
15. The Ballerina Gallery
http://www.ballerinagallery.com/
The art and skill involved in performing a well-executed pas de deux may be
difficult to convey on a website, but in lieu of that, this site does serve
as a nice homage to great ballerinas of the past and present. Created by
Jorgen Wilhelmsson, this site provides photographs and brief biographical
information about dozens of ballerinas, ranging from Diana Adams all the way
to Svetlana Zakharova. For these profiles, Wilhelmsson has drawn on a number
of sources, including The Encyclopedia of Dance & Ballet, The Oxford
Dictionary of Dance, and the Russian Ballet Encyclopedia. Along with a
selection of photographs, some of the profiles also contain links to
official and fan-sponsored websites for each dancer. Finally, visitors may
also want to peruse a collection of Wilhelmsson's own personal collection of
ballet memorabilia. [KMG]
====== Network Tools ====
16. OmniWeb 5.1
http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omniweb/download/
The newest version of the OmniWeb 5.1 Web browser contains a number of
helpful features that will be most welcome to those looking for extra
features as they surf the web. With this version, users will be able to
create tabs in order to identify several web pages at once, create
workspaces to save individual browsing sessions, and also auto-save browsing
sessions to boot. This free version of OmniWeb 5.1 may be used for 30 days,
and is compatible with operating systems running Mac OS 10.2 and higher.
[KMG]
17. Skype 1.1
http://skype.com/
With the rising costs of phone service, this handy application may be worth
giving a try. Skype 1.1. allows users to make phone calls using the Internet
for free, and can also be used to send instant messages and transfer files.
The sound quality is quite good, and there is end-to-end encryption of all
calls. This version of Skype is compatible with all operating systems
running Windows 2000 and higher and Mac OS X 10.3 and higher. [KMG]
(this is not a proven fact) ke
====== In The News ====
18. Adding up the cost of bags
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/01/25/BUGCJAVPAI1.DTL
S.F.'s 17-Cent Solution: Stop throwing away grocery bags, save millions
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-
bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/01/24/EDGT0ARQLT1.DTL
Bag Behavior
http://society.guardian.co.uk/societyguardian/story/0,,1137789,00.html
San Francisco Department of the Environment
http://temp.sfgov.org/sfenvironment/index.htm
Environmental Protection Agency: Recycling [pdf]
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/recycle.htm
Government of Ireland: Litter Pollution [pdf]
http://www.environ.ie/DOEI/DOEIPol.nsf/wvNavView/Litter+Pollution?OpenDocume
nt&Lang=
Cities around the world have been adopting various environmentally friendly
policies during the past few years. Some cities have moved to make
construction sites recycle materials, and still others, such as Chicago,
have made a concerted effort to incorporate "green" building principles into
their municipally financed structures. This past week, the city of San
Francisco continued to consider whether it will recommend a 17-cent fee on
each grocery bag, whether they be paper or plastic. The proposal requires an
economic impact study and legislative review, so the measure is unlikely to
take effect before the year 2006. One city legislator, Ross Mirkarimi,
remarked that he hopes that such an effort will encourage consumers to
change to using reusable cloth bags or recycled plastic and paper bags. One
official from the Society of Plastics Industry was quick to respond,
commenting that the figures quoted by San Francisco's Environment were quite
inaccurate. Similar pieces of legislation passed in other places as of late,
including Ireland, have met with success.
The first site will take visitors to a recent news piece from the San
Francisco Chronicle that talks about the situation regarding the proposed
piece of legislation. The second piece leads to a first-hand perspective on
the benefits of such legislation from Paul Goettlich, writing in the San
Francisco Chronicle this past Monday. The third link leads to a news article
in the Guardian from last February that describes a new additive that is
intended to allow plastic bags to degrade in a few months, rather than the
usual few decades. The fourth link leads to the homepage of the San
Francisco Department of the Environment, where users can learn about their
various innovative programs and initiatives. The fifth link will take users
to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recycling page, where they may
view facts and figures about recycling in different parts of the country.
The final website will take visitors to the clearinghouse for the government
of Ireland's aggressive and rather successful litter prevention and control
program. [KMG]
====== ======
== Index for January 28, 2005 ==
====== ======
1. NSDL Scout Report for Math, Engineering, and Technology
The second issue of the fourth volume of the MET Report is available. Its
Topic in Depth section offers websites and comments about Women in Science
and Mathematics.
2. European Union: Regional Policy [pdf]
http://europa.eu.int/pol/reg/index_en.htm
3. Alabama Mosaic
http://www.alabamamosaic.org/
4. Kansas City Hopewell
http://www.anthro.ku.edu/hopewell/
5. An Uncertain Road: Muslims and the Future of Europe [pdf]
http://pewforum.org/docs/index.php?DocID=60
6. World Meteorological Organization [pdf]
http://www.wmo.ch/index-en.html
7. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology: Biologically Inspired Research
Group [avi, pdf]
http://birg.epfl.ch/
8. Education Next [pdf]
http://www.educationnext.org/
9. Civil War Maps
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/collections/civil_war_maps/
10. Heritage Scrapbooks
http://www.crcstudio.arts.ualberta.ca/heritage/
11. Mercury Action [Microsoft PowerPoint, pdf]
http://www.mercuryaction.org/
12. American Institute of Architects [pdf]
http://www.aia.org/
13. Simon Wiesenthal Center: Multimedia Learning Center Online [pdf]
http://motlc.wiesenthal.com/
14. Didaskalia: Ancient Theater Today
http://didaskalia.open.ac.uk/
15. The Ballerina Gallery
http://www.ballerinagallery.com/
16. OmniWeb 5.1
http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omniweb/download/
17. Skype 1.1
http://skype.com/
18. Adding up the cost of bags
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/01/25/BUGCJAVPAI1.DTL
S.F.'s 17-Cent Solution: Stop throwing away grocery bags, save millions
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-
bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/01/24/EDGT0ARQLT1.DTL
Bag Behavior
http://society.guardian.co.uk/societyguardian/story/0,,1137789,00.html
San Francisco Department of the Environment
http://temp.sfgov.org/sfenvironment/index.htm
Environmental Protection Agency: Recycling [pdf]
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/recycle.htm
Government of Ireland: Litter Pollution [pdf]
http://www.environ.ie/DOEI/DOEIPol.nsf/wvNavView/Litter+Pollution?OpenDocume
nt&Lang=
====== ====
== Subscription and Contact Information ==
==== ======
To receive the electronic mail version of the Scout Report each week,
join the scout-report mailing list. This is the only mail you will
receive from this list.
To subscribe the Scout Report, or to manage your subscription, go to:
http://scout.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo
To receive the electronic mail version of the Scout Report each week in
HTML format, join the scout-report-html mailing list. This is the only
mail you will receive from this list.
To subscribe the Scout Report, or to manage your subscription, go to:
http://scout.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo
====== The Scout Report
====== Brought to You by the Internet Scout Project
====
==
The Scout Report (ISSN 1092-3861) is published every Friday of the year
except the last Friday of December by the Internet Scout Project,
located in the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Department of Computer
Sciences.
Editor Max Grinnell [KMG]
Managing Editor Chris Long [CL]
Co-Director Rachael Bower [REB]
Co-Director Edward Almasy [EA]
Contributors Nathan Larson [NL]
Rachael Enright [RME]
Valerie Farnsworth [VF]
Debra Shapiro [DS]
Internet Cataloger Todd Bruns [TB]
Software Engineer Barry Wiegan [BW]
Technical Specialists Justin Rush [JR]
Michael Grossheim [MJG]
Website Designer Andy Yaco-Mink [AY]
For information on additional contributors, see the Internet Scout Project
staff page.
http://scout.wisc.edu/About/bios.php
Below are the copyright statements to be included when reproducing
annotations from The Scout Report.
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 1994-2004.
http://scout.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, 1994-2004. The Internet Scout Project (http://scout.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, are 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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