6/20/05
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EEVL Xtra
http://www.eevlxtra.ac.uk/
Brief article about EEVL Xtra from ResourceShelf
http://www.resourceshelf.com/2005/06/new-from-eevl-eevl-xtra.html
A new, free service which helps people find: articles, books, the best websites, the
latest industry news, job announcements, technical reports, technical data, full text
reprints, the latest research, teaching and learning resources, and more, in engineering,
mathematics and computing, has been released by EEVL.
EEVL Xtra is aimed at academics, researchers, students, lecturers, practicing professionals and anyone else looking for information in engineering, mathematics and computing. EEVL Xtra cross-searches (hence the ‘X’ in Xtra) over 20 different collections relevant to engineering, mathematics and computing, including content from over 50 publishers and providers. Databases cross-searched include: CiteSeer, Copac, CSA Hot Topics, CISTI, ePrints UK, Inderscience Journals, IoP Electronic Journals, NASA Technical Reports, Pearson Education, zetoc, and more.
EEVL Xtra helps with subject-based information retrieval. In many cases, the full text of items found via EEVL Xtra should be freely available. In some cases, the full items are details of books, websites or articles. In some cases, the full text of items may be available to you if your institution subscribes to the publication.
In addition, there are several ‘Xtra Extras’ featured on the home page which link to:
EEVL Xtra is an initiative of Heriot Watt University, and is produced by EEVL, the Internet guide to engineering, mathematics and computing.
Deeper Science Education, Not More MCAS Tests
http://www.parentscare.org/scienceedstatement.pdf
With a rallying cry of “Deeper Science Education, Not More MCAS tests,” a group
of scientists and science educators released a statement urging the Massachusetts Board of
Education to vote against imposing science and technology MCAS exams as graduation requirements.
The group, including science professors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and
Harvard University, education professors, secondary science teachers and developers of science
curricula, address what they believe is necessary to prepare students for further study and
practice in science. They describe how a science graduation requirement test will undermine the
goal of better science education in Massachusetts public schools.
Science Academies Issue Statements on Climate Change, African Development (pdf)
http://nationalacademies.org/onpi/06072005.pdf
The U.S. National Academy of Sciences joined 10 other national science academies in calling
on world leaders, particularly those of the G8 countries meeting next month in Scotland, to
acknowledge that the threat of climate change is clear and increasing, to address its causes,
and to prepare for its consequences. Sufficient scientific understanding of climate change
exists for all nations to identify cost-effective steps that can be taken now to contribute
to substantial and long-term reductions in net global greenhouse gas emissions that cause
global warming. The statement echoes the findings and recommendations of several previous
reports by the U.S. National Academies. In another joint statement, G8 science academies and
the Network of African Science Academies urged world leaders to embed science, technology,
and innovation in all aspects of international development in Africa.
Science Educator Amicus Briefs
http://ncseweb.org/selman/index.html
“Friend of Court” opposition to evolution warning labels Have been filed by
coalitions of proscience organizations in support of a recent U.S. District Court decision,
Selman v. Cobb County School District, that ruled that evolution “warning labels”
in public school textbooks in Cobb County, GA, were unconstitutional. The “friend of
the court briefs” were filed in the eleventh circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, in
response to an appeal seeking to overturn the Selman decision.
Signatories included national and local organizations representing scientists, science educators, civil libertarians, and concerned proscience citizens, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Academy of Sciences, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Jewish Congress, The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) and others.
“The Cobb County stickers send a misguided message to students that evolution lacks scientific status,” said Mike Padilla, NSTA President. “This is damaging to students and their understanding about the scientific process, and it jeopardizes the professional responsibility of science teaches to teach good science. NSTA is pleased the stickers were ordered removed and we strongly urge the court to uphold this decision.” (From NSTA)
Controlling Science
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/documentary_archive/4553065.stm
This four part series was first broadcast March 2004. It is available for download in mp3
format from the BBC. “Recent legislation brought in to fight terrorism has resulted
in tighter border controls for scientists and information. As a result, American science is
concentrating on defence technologies and there is less money available for fundamental
research.” Includes:
Thomas L. Friedman
http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/266/
“In his latest book, The World is Flat, Friedman describes the unplanned cascade of
technological and social shifts that effectively leveled the economic world, and
‘accidentally made Beijing, Bangalore and Bethesda next-door neighbors.’ Today,
‘individuals and small groups of every color of the rainbow will be able to plug and
play.’ Friedman’s list of ‘flatteners’ includes the fall of the
Berlin Wall; the rise of Netscape and the dotcom boom that led to a trillion dollar
investment in fiber optic cable; the emergence of common software platforms and open source
code enabling global collaboration; and the rise of outsourcing, offshoring, supply chaining
and insourcing. Friedman says these flatteners converged around the year 2000, and
‘created a flat world: a global, web-enabled platform for multiple forms of sharing
knowledge and work, irrespective of time, distance, geography and increasingly, language.’
At the very moment this platform emerged, three huge economies materialized — those of
India, China and the former Soviet Union — ‘and three billion people who were out
of the game, walked onto the playing field.’ A final convergence may determine the fate
of the U.S. in this final chapter of globalization. A ‘political perfect storm,’ as
Friedman describes it — the dotcom bust, the attacks of 9/11, and the Enron scandal —
‘distract us completely as a country.’ Just when we need to face the fact of
globalization and the need to compete in a new world, ‘we’re looking totally
elsewhere.’ ” (From MITWorld)
If you would like to listen to more Tom Friedman, try the podcast “Being Opinionated in America: Maureen Dowd & Thomas Friedman” at http://webcast.berkeley.edu/events/index.html
(eco)Logical: Greening the 21st Century City
http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/268/
Quote: “This is not idealism. Going green makes sense economically and politically.
When we use less energy, we save money. If we lower the city temperature one degree by
green methods, we save 150 million dollars in energy costs.” — Mayor Richard
Daley
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is the 2005 recipient of the Kevin Lynch Award, presented by the School of Architecture and Planning, City Design + Development. The award was established in 1988 to honor Kevin Lynch, an MIT professor and one of the 20th century’s foremost urban thinkers. In this presentation, Mayor Daley gives a stunning overview of the “greening” of Chicago, demonstrating the cumulative effect on the city, its people and its economy.
Speakers:
Featured InterView: Dr. Claude M. Steele
http://www.nationalacademies.org/interviews/people/steele.html
Growing up just outside of Chicago during the civil rights era, Claude Steele was raised
with an awareness of the importance of education for black Americans. His interest in
literature nearly led him to become a writer, but he found that social psychology was
more to his liking.
RFF Policy Leadership Forum, June 23
The RFF Policy Leadership Forum hosts Rep. Sherwood L. Boehlert (R-New York), Chairman,
House Science Committee, Speaking about Environment and Energy Priorities: A View from
Congress, on Thursday, June 23 at 5:00 p.m. at the 1st Floor Conference Room, RFF
Conference Center, 1616 P Street, NW, Washington, DC.
Please R.S.V.P. for this event by June 21 to Virginia Kromm, events@rff.org or (202) 328-5042.
In his 22 years in Congress, Rep. Boehlert has proven himself a leading champion of clean air, clean water, land conservation, and efficient energy use, often noting that “meaningful environmental legislation may be our single most important legacy.” He has supported agricultural conservation programs to preserve open space and wetlands and protect wildlife habitat; promoted the strengthening of fuel economy standards for cars and trucks; favored technologies to create clean and renewable energy sources; and sponsored legislation to significantly reduce power plant emissions that result in acid rain.
Rep. Boehlert has chaired the House Science Committee since 2001. The Committee oversees more than $30 billion in annual federal nonmilitary scientific and technology research and development programs, with jurisdiction over NASA, the National Science Foundation, and research and development initiatives within the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Commerce.
The RFF Policy Leadership Forum provides prominent individuals in the public policy arena with a neutral site in which to present and discuss their ideas on important energy, environmental, and natural resources issues. RFF strives for political balance among speakers and makes all events open to the public free of charge.
Evidence: An Essential Tool: Planning for and Gathering Evidence Using the Design-Implementation-Outcomes (DIO)Cycle of Evidence.
NSF, 2005.
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2005/nsf0531/nsf0531.pdf
Scientists, Engineers, and Technicians in the United States: 2000.
NSF, 2005.
http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jspods_key=nsf05311
Scientists, Engineers, and Technicians in the United States: 1999.
NSF, 2005.
http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jspods_key=nsf05312
Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2006.
CRS, 2005.
http://www.ncseonline.org/NLE/CRS/abstract.cfm?NLEid=64182
Science and Technology Policy: Issues for the 109th Congress.
CRS, 2005.
http://www.ncseonline.org/NLE/CRS/abstract.cfm?NLEid=64185
Charting the Landscape/Mapping New Paths: Museums, Libraries, and K-12 Education.
IMLS, 2005.
http://www.imls.gov/pubs/pdf/Charting_the_Landscape.pdf
Re-Engineering Water Storage in the Everglades: Risks and Opportunities.
NAP, 2005.
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11215.html
New Report, Charting the Landscape/Mapping New Paths: Museums, Libraries, and K-12 Education.
Inst. of Museum and Library Services, 2005.
http://www.imls.gov/pubs/pdf/Charting_the_Landscape.pdf
Collections for the Future: the MA's inquiry.
Museum Association, 2005.
http://www.museumsassociation.org/asset_arena/text/ns/policy_collections.pdf
National Nanotechnology Initiative at Five Years.
PCAST, 2005.
http://www.nano.gov/FINAL_PCAST_NANO_REPORT.pdf
Advanced Technology Program: Inherent Factors in Selection Process Are Likely to Limit Identification of Similar Research.
GAO-05-759T, May 26, 2005.
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05759t.pdf
Measuring Service-Sector Research and Development.
NIST, 2005.
http://www.nist.gov/director/prog-ofc/report05-1.pdf
Condition of Education 2005.
US Dept. Education, 2005.
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/
An International Perspective on Advancing Technologies and Strategies for Managing Dual-Use Risks: Report of a Workshop.
NAP, 2005.
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11301.html
Strengthening U.S-Russian Cooperation on Nuclear Nonproliferation.
NAP, 2005.
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11302.html
Improving Breast Imaging Quality Standards.
NAP, 2005.
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11308.html
Growing Up Global: The Changing Transitions to Adulthood in Developing Countries.
NAP, 2005.
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11174.html
The Astrophysical Context of Life.
NAP, 2005.
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11316.html
Avoiding Surprise in an Era of Global Technology Advances.
NAP, 2005.
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11286.html
Decision Making for the Environment: Social and Behavioral Science Research Priorities.
NAP, 2005.
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11186.html
High-Performance Structural Fibers for Advanced Polymer Matrix Composites.
NAP, 2005
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11268.html
Interim Report of the Committee on Changes in New Source Review Programs for Stationary Sources of Air Pollutants.
NAP, 2005.
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11208.html
An International Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility — Exploring a Russian Site as a Prototype: Proceedings of an International Workshop (prepublication).
NAP, 2005.
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11320.html
The National Academies Keck Futures Initiative Designing Nanostructures at the Interface between Biomedical and Physical Systems: Conference Focus Group Summaries.
NAP, 2005.
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11317.html
Space Studies Board Annual Report 2004.
NAP, 2005.
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11322.html
Conversations with Berkeley Researchers
http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/PubEd/CBF.html
In these lively and unedited interviews, distinguished faculty from the University
of California, Berkeley, talk about their lives and their work. Includes:
and more …
Reshaping Scholarly Communication
http://osc.universityofcalifornia.edu/
A website from the University of California that addresses the challenges and
opportunities presented by the current crisis in scholarly communication. Includes
a section on “how stakeholders are making a difference.”
Athenaweb — a portal for audiovisual information on science is launched by the European Commission
http://www.athenaweb.org/
The European Commission, in association with a number of professional media and science
organisations, is launching an innovative web portal designed for audiovisual and
scientific communities in Europe, to support their work in promoting and communicating
about science. Functions of this new platform include an electronic library of science
programmes, an online agenda of key events, a European science news service and a forum
for co-productions and partnerships.
Janez Potoènik, European Commissioner for Science and Research said “Most European citizens get their information from television, including on science and research issues. We need to make sure that the information available is of the highest possible quality. AthenaWeb is an innovative response to some of the problems faced when communicating about science and technology.”
Developed in close partnership with communication and science professionals, this pilot project consists of a web-based service with a number of innovative functions. These include:
Free registration is required. This is a site well worth your notice!
Monterey Bay Aquarium
http://www.mbayaq.org/
This lovely website is replete with vivid images and videos, interesting activities,
conservation tips, and more. It is arranged in a user-friendly manner, is a visual
treat, and has something of interest for nearly anyone. See sharks, jellies, sea
otters, a kelp forest …
World in the Balance: The People Paradox
http://www.pbs.org/nova/worldbalance/
It took all of human history until the year 1804 for our population to reach its first
billion. Now a billion new people are added every dozen years. What does the future
hold for Earth's growing human family and its environmental health? In “The
People Paradox,” the first installment of NOVA’s two-hour special
“World in the Balance,” our producers investigate three countries —
India, Kenya, and Japan — where social and economic forces have produced starkly
different population profiles. With moving personal stories, this program gives an
up-to-date global snapshot of today's human family, now numbering 6.3 billion and
likely to increase to nearly 9 billion by 2050. Here's what you'll find online:
Scirus Adds Access to Caltech Collection of Open Digital Archives
http://www.scirus.com/srsapp/advanced/index.jsp
Over 3000 documents are searchable. Earlier this week, Scirus added access to the
T-Space repository (over 2500 documents) from the University of Toronto. You can
select these and other institutional repositories from the Scirus advanced search
interface. (From ResourceShelf) (If you aren’t familiar with Scirus, it is
the web search engine developed by Elsevier to search the science part of the web.)
Raptor Resource Project
http://www.raptorresource.org/
Finally, a webcam the whole family can enjoy. This nonprofit conservation group pokes
cameras inside the nests of peregrine falcons, ospreys, eagles, and owls. You can watch
the birds cozy up with their eggs or coddle their newly hatched chicks. Check the what's
new page to see what the birds have been up to recently, and get the stats on each nest's
occupants. At the Eyrie, you can read the project director's blog or peruse reports on
bird banding and family trees. There's even downloadable falcon wallpaper and fact sheets
for more details. If the birdcams intrigue you enough to want your own live version,
you'll find instructions on building a nest box. You don't need binoculars to watch bird
life — you can do it from your computer. (From Yahoo's Picks of the Week)
Botany Photo of the Day
http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/potd/
“In science, beauty. In beauty, science. Daily.”
Inspired by NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day, the gardeners and plant enthusiasts at the University of British Columbia's Botanical Centre have grown their very own photo blog. The first entry, on April 5, 2005, of a Chinese parasol storax, let it be known that these pictures would be painterly and lush. From a close-up of ferns, a Himalayan blue poppy, or this delicate fragrant granadilla, the diverse plants of Canada and the plentiful holdings of the UBC garden bloom forth. Categories include mosses, conifers, and the always-popular flowering plants. If you're the type who thinks fungus is don't-touch-that gross, dare to view these beauties. The garden syndicates its content through RSS, so plant a feed and see a new picture blossom each day. (From Yahoo's Picks of the Week)
Whatever Happened to Polio?
http://americanhistory.si.edu/polio/
Until AIDS, polio was the “most notorious disease” in 20th-century America.
In 1916 alone it took the lives of 6,000 Americans, many of them children. It's
difficult to believe that this debilitating illness forced family separations and
quarantines, but it did. Polio also gave rise to the March of Dimes and the iron lung
and influenced a president who suffered from the disease. This Smithsonian site explores
how polio changed us, the vaccines that halted its crushing advance, and its medical
legacy. Filled with pop-up audio, pictures, a timeline, and quotes, the site traces how
deeply polio marked U.S. history and culture. It also reminds us that this debilitating
disease is very much present in the world today as it continues to endanger many around
the globe. Tragically, a site entitled “Whatever Happened to Polio?” must
also ask, “Will there always be polio?” (From Yahoo's Picks of the Week)
Carnegie Mellon: Alan and Danny's Puzzle Page
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/puzzle/index.html
Alan Frieze and Danny Sleator, professors from Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer
Science, are the hosts of this website of puzzles. Every few weeks, they post a new
puzzle and a few weeks later, they post the solution and related references. The
fairly advanced puzzles generally involve constructing an algorithm or a proof, and
some also involve writing a computer program to solve them. Previously posted
puzzles and their solutions are also available here. [VF] (From the Scout Report)
Stanford University: Folding@home
http://folding.stanford.edu/
Center for Automation in Nanobiotech: Nanorobotics
http://www.nanorobotdesign.com/
University of Texas Austin: Robotics Research Group
http://www.robotics.utexas.edu/simulations/
EdCenter: Interactive 3D Modelling
http://www.edcenter.sdsu.edu/geowall/
EuclideanSpace: Building a 3D World
http://www.euclideanspace.com/
The Breve Simulation Environment
http://www.spiderland.org/breve/
Cyberbotics, Ltd.: Webots (TM)
http://www.cyberbotics.com/publications/ars.pdf
Three-dimensional (3-D) rendering and animation technology is not only used for
entertainment, but also for research and educational purposes. The technology
can be used for purposes of scientific simulation in fields such as physics,
biology, or chemistry. For example, Stanford University's Folding@home project
(1) uses 3-D simulations and distributed computing to study protein folding,
misfolding, aggregation, and related diseases. Three-D simulations can also be
used to observe phenomena that would normally be impossible to scrutinize in
detail, as is demonstrated on this website on Nanorobotics (2). This next website
describes work by the Robotics Research Group (3) in using 3-D simulations to
enhance undergraduate and graduate engineering education. The EdCenter (4) makes
available several compressed files of 3-D simulations that model earthquake data,
Mars, a San Diego Fly Through, and more. On this website (5), Martin Baker
provides “all you need to know about 3D theory” and this website (6)
provides access to a free open-source software package which “makes it easy
to build 3-D simulations of decentralized systems and artificial life.” This
last article from Cyberbotics, Ltd. (7) discusses how mobile robotics simulation
programs can be used to design robots. [VF] (From the Scout Report)
The Bayer Facts of Science Education XI: American Parents Speak Out About Their Children and Science
http://www.bayerus.com/msms/news/facts.cfm?mode=detail&id=survey05
“According to the latest national science education/science literacy survey
from Bayer Corporation, despite the fact that women, African-Americans, Native
Americans, and Hispanic Americans are under-represented in science and engineering
(S&E) in the United States, parents of these students are overwhelmingly
confident that their children — both boys and girls — can succeed in these subjects in
school and in the workplace. The survey also reveals a subtle gender bias. While
almost all the parents believe S&E careers are desirable for the children, 65%
say they are ‘very desirable’ for the sons, but only 41% say ‘very
desirable’ for their daughters. All parents were united in their belief that
the science and engineering communities need to do a better job of making today’s
students more aware of the wide range of job opportunities available to them in these
fields.’ (From NSTA)
Women & Science: Statistics and Indicators
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/science-society/women/wssi/index_en.html
Although it is still not possible to answer all of these questions, the these webpages contain information that can help us begin to understand the answers. You can download the latest indicators available on the subject of women and science for the 25 EU Member States and the 7 countries associated to the European Union's 5th and 6th Framework Programmes. If you want to examine these data for your own analysis, you can also download the raw statistics.
2005 Expoloravision Awards
http://www.exploravision.com/2004/national_winners.htm
At a Washington, D.C. press conference and awards banquet, the Toshiba/National
Science Teachers Association (NSTA) ExploraVision Awards Program honored eight
2005 national winning teams — including four first-place and four second-place
winners. Students combined creativity with scientific knowledge and research to
envision technologies that could make the world a safer and better place. Moved
by last year’s tragic tsunami, one winning team proposed an innovative
satellite-based earthquake warning system. Winners were selected from a group of
4,405 student entries representing the work of more than 13,500 students from
across the U.S. and Canada. The ExploraVision program is sponsored by Toshiba
Corporation, the Toshiba America Group Companies, and the Toshiba America
Foundation, and is administered by NSTA. By working in groups of two to four,
students chose a technology that exists today and envision what it might be like
20 years in the future. Since the program’s inception, over 240,000 students
have participated. In addition to an all-expenses paid trip to the nation’s
capital for an awards weekend this weekend, each student on the four first-place
teams will receive a $10,000 savings bond, and students on the second-place teams
will each receive a $5,000 savings bond. (From NSTA)
Rank Graduate Programs
http://www.phds.org/rankings/
At this site from PhD.org, a form walks you through rating various graduate school
characteristics in a given discipline on their relative importance to you.
Characterisitics include educational quality measures, faculty reputation and
activity measures, program size measures, funding measures, and program composition
measures. You are then presented with a list of graduate programs that best fit
your needs, according to information from National Research Council data.
Teacher-To-Teacher Workshops
http://www.paec.org/teacher2teacher/math.asp
Teacher-to-Teacher Workshops are closed-captioned video footage from previously held
workshops provided by the US Department of Education. The workshops “brought
together some of the nation's most effective teachers and education experts to share
with their colleagues research-based practices and proven methods of using data to
inform instruction.” The video courses can be viewed either online or on the
Florida Education Channel. By completing the free enrollment process, teachers have
access to the professional development courses and the electronic Professional System,
or ePDC, which is a personal portfolio that will document a teachers' professional
development. The courses cover English/Language Arts and Math/Science instruction as
well as some topics broadly applicable to all educators, such as basics on No Child
Left Behind, Building Teacher Leaders and Differentiated Instruction. [VF]
(From the Scout Report)
Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching: INTERMEP
http://www.intermep.org/
This website features a variety of projects and products produced by the Centre for
Innovation in Mathematics Teaching (CIMT) at the University of Exeter. For example,
the Mathematics Enhancement Program is an ongoing project to develop and trial a new
mathematics course with primary schools in the United Kingdom. Results from diagnostic
tests are posted online along with the instructional units and related curriculum
materials. The International Project on Mathematical Attainment is a longitudinal,
international study of mathematical attainment, which follows students in several
countries from their first year in school onwards. The tests used in the study and
conference reports from 1999, 2002 and 2003 are posted online. Also available here is
the International Journal for Mathematics Teaching & Learning, which is published
only in electronic form and “aims to enhance mathematics teaching for all ages
(and abilities) up to 18 years, through relevant articles, reviews and information from
around the world.” They invite anyone involved in the teaching of mathematics to
contribute. The section called The Complete CIMT Index offers links to a variety of
instructional resources and descriptions of other projects associated with the Centre
for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching. [VF] (From the Scout Report)
NASA: How Does This Work?
http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/multimedia/index-how-it-works.html
The videos on this website from NASA demonstrate how things developed and used at NASA
work, including such things as solid rocket boosters, space shuttle main engines, and
parachutes. The website is intended to “showcase the creativity and dedication that
allow the challenges of space flight to become some of our greatest achievements.”
The videos footage and silted graphics are accompanied by narration and printed subtitles.
[VF] (From the Scout Report)
Profiles of Engineering Colleges
http://asee.org/about/publications/profiles/search.cfm
“This directory provides detailed profiles of U.S. and Canadian schools
offering undergraduate and graduate engineering, as well as engineering
technology programs with the intent of preparing prospective students for their
future education in engineering. The descriptions of institutions represented
in this directory allow students to compare schools using a range of
characteristics from location and degrees offered to student appointments and
research expenditures.” Information was furnished by institutions that
responded to ASEE's annual survey. Information is available from 1998 to present.
You will find contact information, statistics, costs, programs and more. An
excellent tool for comparing engineering programs.
1906 San Francisco Earthquake Centennial Alliance
http://1906centennial.org/members.php
The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/info/1906/
Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco — The Great 1906 Earthquake And Fire
http://www.sfmuseum.org/1906/06.html
Before and After the Great Earthquake and Fire: Early Films of San Francisco, 1897-1916
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/papr/sfhome.html
San Francisco after the '06
http://photo.ucr.edu/california/projects/sf1906/
“At almost precisely 5:12 a.m., local time, a foreshock occurred with
sufficient force to be felt widely throughout the San Francisco Bay area.
The great earthquake broke loose some 20 to 25 seconds later, with an
epicenter near San Francisco. Violent shocks punctuated the strong shaking
which lasted some 45 to 60 seconds. The earthquake was felt from southern
Oregon to south of Los Angeles and inland as far as central Nevada.
The California earthquake of April 18, 1906 ranks as one of the most significant earthquakes of all time. Today, its importance comes more from the wealth of scientific knowledge derived from it than from its sheer size. Rupturing the northernmost 430 kilometers of the San Andreas fault from northwest of San Juan Bautista to the triple junction at Cape Mendocino, the earthquake confounded contemporary geologists with its large, horizontal displacements and great rupture length. Indeed, the significance of the fault and recognition of its large cumulative offset would not be fully appreciated until the advent of plate tectonics more than half a century later. Analysis of the 1906 displacements and strain in the surrounding crust led Reid (1910) to formulate his elastic-rebound theory of the earthquake source, which remains today the principal model of the earthquake cycle.”
The centennial is coming up, and folks are already planning for it.
Chasing Venus: Observing the Transits of Venus, 1631-2004
http://www.sil.si.edu/exhibitions/chasing-venus/
“This exhibit provides background information and history of transits of
Venus, the astronomical events where ‘the planet Venus passes directly
between Earth and the Sun, appearing as a small black dot on the Sun's disk.’
Features details about seven past transits of Venus (1631, 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874,
1882, 2004), and the upcoming transit in 2012. Includes links to related sites.
From the Smithsonian Institution Libraries.”
(From Librarian's Index to the Internet)
PubChem and ACS
http://osc.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/acs_pubchem.html
“The American Chemical Society (ACS) is calling on Congress to shut down the
NIH's PubChem, a freely accessible database that connects chemical information with
biomedical research and clinical information, organizing facts in numerous public
databases into a unified whole. It is a critical component of NIH's Molecular
Libraries Initiative, which in turn is a key element of the NIH strategic
‘roadmap’ to speed new medical treatments and improve healthcare. ACS
claims that PubChem competes with its Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS).”
(From Univ. of California Office of Scholarly Communication)
Optics for Kids
http://www.opticsforkids.com/
This site provides an introduction to the field of optics for children and includes
interactive demonstrations, instructions for experiments, games, lesson plans, and
other resources in various areas of optics (such as magnification, diffraction,
filters, and optical illusions). In English and Spanish. From the Optical Society of
America (OSA), a professional membership organization.
(From Librarian's Index to the Internet)
A Maths Dictionary for Kids by Jenny Eather
http://www.amathsdictionaryforkids.com/
“The Maths Dictionary is animated, interactive, and allows students to practice
their math skills. Over 500 terms are explained in simple language. Click on
‘billion’ and discover that you have 10 billion brain cells working for
you right now. Roll your mouse over the world time zone chart and you instantly know
the time for that part of the world. Every math teacher should bookmark this Web
site.“ (From Blue Web'N)
Cornell University: Project Euclid
http://projecteuclid.org/Dienst/UI/1.0/Home
Project Euclid, available through the Cornell University Library, is “a
user-centered initiative to create an environment for the effective and affordable
distribution of serial literature in mathematics and statistics.” The project
is a collaborative partnership with scholarly publishers, professional societies,
and academic libraries. The goal is to provide full-text searching, reference
linking, interoperability through the Open Archives Initiative, and long-term
retention of data. Visitors can “Tour Euclid“ to read more about the
functionality of the website, including the different options for access. Some
publishers require a paid subscription, while others may offer a pay-per-view
option or free downloads. Multiple linking options make this a dynamic database.
The website has a simple search function and the option to browse the database by
journal title, publisher or discipline. A News section provides updates on the
project and newly added journals. [VF] (From the Scout Report)
Drexel University: Archimedes
http://www.mcs.drexel.edu/~crorres/Archimedes/contents.html
Chris Rorres, a retired professor from the Department of Mathematics at Drexel
University and currently a part-time lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania's
School of Veterinary Medicine, maintains this site all about Archimedes. The main
page of the website provides some quick facts about Archimedes, such as his
inventions (i.e., war machines) and fields of science he is credited with initiating
(i.e., hydrostatics and static mechanics). Often called the “father of integral
calculus,” Archimedes wrote about topics such as plane equilibriums, quadrature
of the parabola, the sphere and cylinder, spirals, conoids and spheroids, floating
bodies, and measurement of a circle. These and other topics are explored further in the
articles and online resources. Some sections provide background on his life, his death,
and feature collections of pictures of Archimedes and stamps of Archimedes. [VF]
(From the Scout Report)
Drilling Lake Vostok
Russia to Resume Drilling Lake Vostok
The Lost World of Lake Vostok
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2000/vostok.shtml
Michael Studinger's Lake Vostok Homepage
http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~mstuding/vostok.html
Does Life Exist in Antarctic Lake Buried Under Miles of Ice?
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/11/1115_041115_antarctic_lakes.html
Lake Vostok: Information From Answers.com
http://www.answers.com/topic/lake-vostok
It sometimes seems as if our planet has no secrets left — but deep beneath the
great Antarctic ice sheet scientists made an astonishing discovery. They found one of
the largest lakes in the world. Its very existence defies belief. Its extreme
environment may be home to unique flora and fauna, never seen before, and NASA are
excited by what it could teach us about extraterrestrial life. But 4 kilometres of ice
stand between the lake and the surface, and breaking this seal without contaminating
the most pristine body of water on the planet is possibly one of the greatest challenges
science faces in the 21st century. Lake Vostok's waters may hold many new species as it
is an ecosystem that has been sealed-off from the outside world for millions of years.
Scientists had previously drilled into the ice above the lake but had stopped well short of the water-ice interface. Now Russia has obtained a permit to do further drilling, with the ultimate goal to reach the water under the ice.
Virtual Hilltribe Museum
http://www.hilltribe.org/
Much of the received wisdom regarding the preservation of indigenous or highly localized
cultures would seem to suggest that technology would seem to be effectively destroying
their traditions and folkways. Providing a counterpoint to this view is the Virtual
Hilltribe Museum, which is a product of the Mirror Art Group of Chiang Rai, Thailand.
With funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, the organization is guided by the statement
that “We believe that empowerment of minority cultures via media and technology is
essential for their survival.” While this site focuses primarily on the experience
of the hillpeople in northern Thailand, the Mirror Art Group's mission is “to
stimulate interest and educate all people interested in learning about hilltribe cultures
across the world”. On their well-designed and thorough site, visitors can learn
about the various hilltribes through interactive features, including voice recordings,
short video clips. Visitors would do well to take a close look at the “Slices of
Life” area of the site, which contains a number of first-hand observations about
hilltribe marriage customs and one village elder reciting his genealogy. [KMG]
(From the Scout Report)
The Human Brain
http://www.fi.edu/brain/
“Here you can get to know your brain, ‘the food it likes, the challenges it
craves, the rest it requires, the protection it deserves.’ Provides information
about nutrition, brain injuries, lead poisoning, the effect of exercise and stress on
brain functions, and related health topics (such as Alzheimer's disease/dementia,
depression, and stroke). From the Franklin Institute Online.”
(From Librarian's Index to the Internet)
Traditions of the Sun: Chaco Culture National Historical Park
http://www.traditionsofthesun.org/
Chaco Canyon is considered one of the most important National Historic Parks in the
Southwestern United States and the full import of the area is only now being explored
by researchers working in the area. This interactive site was developed through a
rather collaborative process between NASA's Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum and
the National Park Service at Chaco Canyon, along with numerous other organizations
and individuals. The key tool afforded visitors to the site is the ability to explore
a variety of sites within the park that are not currently open to the public. This is
made possible through satellite photographs and aerial photos, and a creative
interface that allows users to toggle through the different areas of the park at their
leisure. The site also includes a detailed timeline of events, numerous video clips,
and an overview area which discusses the importance of this site. [KMG]
(From the Scout Report)
The following items are from Edupage. To subscribe to Edupage: send mail to: listproc@educom.unc.edu with the message: subscribe edupage Anonymous (if your name is Anonymous; otherwise, substitute your own name). To unsubscribe send a message to: listproc@educom.unc.edu with the message: unsubscribe edupage. (If you have subscription problems, send mail to: manager@educom.unc.edu.)
UNIVERSITY RESEARCHERS DEVELOPING BROWSER TO FIGHT TERRORISM
http://news.com.com/2100-1012_3-5730176.html
Researchers at the University of Buffalo (UB) are developing browser
technology that endeavors to identify hidden connections in vast
collections of documents. Rather than simply looking for matches to
specified query terms, which is what typical search engines do, the UB
technology seeks to uncover connections between ideas. According to
John McCarthy, professor emeritus of computer science at Stanford
University, a tool that successfully links concepts could be an
important breakthrough. A number of federal agencies, including the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), are investing in the research,
which they hope can be used to find the sorts of connections that will
aid efforts to fight terrorism. The project has been used to search the
report from the 9/11 Commission as well as public Web pages, looking
for connections regarding the hijackers. The tool searches for concepts
such as names, dates, and places and maps the connections it finds,
potentially resulting in trails of evidence useful to investigators or
other authorities.
CNET, 2 June 2005 (via Edupage).
FEDS LOOK TO ADD CONTROLS TO COMPUTER SYSTEMS
http://www.fcw.com/article89154-06-09-05-Web
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is developing
a set of controls that federal agencies will be compelled to adopt to
increase the security of their computer systems. The controls are part
of an effort to bring agencies into compliance with the Federal
Information Security Management Act (FISMA). FISMA Implementation
Project Leader Ron Ross said that agencies will be required to add 17
safety controls to their systems, noting that stronger controls will be
required for more important systems. When finalized, the controls will
become mandatory in January 2006. Agencies will have one year to
implement the controls on existing systems; for new systems, the
controls will be required immediately. Ross stressed that although it
will not be “easy to put in all these controls and get them working,”
the government must make every effort “to establish a federal level of
due diligence” for its computer systems.
Federal Computer Week, 9 June 2005 (via Edupage).
STUDY PREDICTS GAINS IN IT JOB MARKET
http://news.com.com/2100-1022_3-5739974.html
A survey conducted by staffing firm Robert Half Technology paints a
rosier picture for IT professionals than has been offered by the
company for three years. Results of the survey, which polled CIOs at
more than 1,400 U.S. companies, showed that 14 percent expect to hire
full-time IT staff in the third quarter, while 3 percent projected
reductions in IT staff. Eighty-one percent of respondents said their
staffing levels will remain steady. Respondents indicated that the
primary factors determining staffing levels were business expansion (38
percent) and the need for higher levels of customer and end-user
support (21 percent). The report comes amid mixed signals regarding the
IT job market. According to the Labor Department, the number of
unemployed high-tech workers fell by 64,000 last year. Still, the
overall number of unemployed IT professionals was nearly 150,000, and
60,000 high-tech jobs were cut in the first quarter of this year,
double the number of jobs lost during the same period in the previous
year.
CNET, 9 June 2005 (via Edupage).
HIGHER ED ORGANIZATIONS CALL FOR TELECOM REFORM
http://chronicle.com/prm/daily/2005/06/2005060101t.htm
A group of 12 higher education organizations has issued a statement
outlining its position on several aspects of the anticipated revision
of the Telecommunications Act. The group, which has set up a Web site
(http://www.broadbandforhighereducation.org/)
that advances five
principles, calls on the federal government to take appropriate steps
to support the ongoing development of and access to the Internet. The
group urges that the Internet be “open to all persons and all lawful
content” and that “a level playing field for competing technologies” is
vital. The group also supports allowing states and municipalities to
implement high-speed networks that would bring broadband access to
anyone in those areas, including many who might otherwise not have such
access. The group also said the federal government should “renew its
leading role in funding academic research and development in future
Internet technologies.” Mark Luker, vice president of EDUCAUSE, one of
the organizations in the consortium, said the initiative is “not only
altruistic for all citizens but strategically important for higher
education.”
Chronicle of Higher Education, 1 June 2005 (sub. req'd)(via Edupage).
VIRGINIA TECH TO STUDY WIRELESS FOR DOD
http://www.fcw.com/article89023-05-31-05-Web
The Department of Defense (DOD) has awarded a $246,000 grant to
Virginia Tech to study ways to integrate wireless networks on a
battlefield to ensure that they interoperate properly. The Defense
University Research Instrumentation Program seeks to create a
communications infrastructure based on networks — both wired and
wireless — that can communicate with one another, according to Thomas
Hou, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at Virginia Tech
and principal investigator on the project. Because wired and wireless
networks have been developed separately, many have architectural
differences that prevent them from interoperating. The project will
also study smart antennas for wireless networks and video
communication. The results of the project are expected to apply to
network communication problems currently affecting emergency workers
and first responders.
Federal Computer Week, 31 May 2005 (via Edupage).
GOOGLE UNDER FIRE FOR LIBRARY PROJECT
http://chronicle.com/free/2005/05/2005052301t.htm
The Association of American University Presses has become the latest
group to voice objections to Google Print for Libraries, a project in
which the search engine is scanning some or all of the books in five
university and public libraries in the United States and Britain. In a
letter to Google, the organization questions the notion that copyright
law allows Google to scan copyrighted works into its database, even if
only small portions of those texts are available online. Peter Givler,
the group's executive director, said that copyright law fundamentally
applies to making copies, regardless of what is done with them. The
Publishers Association, which represents publishers in England, has
also objected to the project, raising many of the same objections as
the Association of American University Presses. For its part, Google
said it is working with publishers to address their concerns and to
make the project beneficial to them as well. Hugh P. Jones, copyright
counsel of the Publishers Association, said he has been in contact with
Google but that so far the two groups have failed to agree.
Chronicle of Higher Education, 23 May 2005 (via Edupage).
DATABASES GO PORTABLE
http://chronicle.com/prm/weekly/v51/i38/38a03401.htm
As handheld computing devices become increasingly common, organizations
that maintain a variety of databases are modifying their content to
allow for easy access by handheld devices. Chemical Abstracts Service,
which is a division of the American Chemical Society, is finalizing a
“mobile” version of a database that contains data on roughly 25 million
molecules, allowing users of handheld devices to access molecular
weights, boiling points, and other information in a format designed for
portable devices. The final database will be available to the public
later this year. Medical sciences already have a broad range of
databases designed for handhelds, and many librarians see the trend
continuing for other fields. As for the upcoming chemistry database,
reactions are mixed, even at single institutions. At Yale University,
David Austin, associate professor of chemistry, said the database will
be extremely valuable, whereas Glenn Micalizio, assistant professor of
organic chemistry, said he sees little value in it, given widespread
access to laptops and desktops.
Chronicle of Higher Education, 27 May 2005 (sub. req'd) (via Edupage).
JOURNALS USING SOFTWARE TO UNCOVER PLAGIARISM
http://chronicle.com/prm/daily/2005/05/2005051901t.htm
Software designed to uncover plagiarism is increasingly being used not
only for student papers, where it got its start, but also for academic
journals, where it is turning up instances of self-plagiarism as well.
Although some dismiss self-plagiarism as unimportant relative to
plagiarizing another's work, the practice of republishing one's own
work in various venues strikes others as similarly objectionable.
Christian Collberg, assistant professor of computer science at the
University of Arizona, characterized self-plagiarism as vita padding
and said that self-plagiarists who are funded from public sources are
misusing taxpayer money. Collberg is working on a software application
specifically designed to uncover instances of self-plagiarism. Though
not as concerned about self-plagiarism, Cornell University is testing a
plagiarism-detection application on an archive it maintains of articles
in physics, math, and computer science. Among the 300,000 articles in
the archive, the tool has found a few thousand instances that warrant
further investigation.
Chronicle of Higher Education, 19 May 2005 (sub. req'd) (via Edupage).
STUDENTS SHOW EASE OF IDENTITY THEFT
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/technology/18data.html
Graduate students at Johns Hopkins University set out to see how much
personal information they could collect on as many individuals as
possible, using only the Internet and $50. The 41 students were in a
course taught by Aviel D. Rubin, professor of computer science and
technical director of the university's Information Security Institute,
who divided them into groups of three or four and instructed them to
use only legal, public sources of information. The exercise mimicked
the activities of data brokers, such as ChoicePoint and LexisNexis, and
the students were able to collect and aggregate vast amounts of
information, even with limited time and budgets. Although Rubin was
pleased that fewer Social Security numbers were among the data
collected than he had anticipated, privacy advocates insisted that such
information remains easy to obtain, posing enormous risk of identity
theft. Even without Social Security numbers, the data collected
represented for some individuals a very broad picture of who they are,
where they live, and activities in which they participate. Such access
to personal information worries many, including Sen. Ted Stevens
(R-Alaska), who conducted a similar experiment, instructing his staff
to try to steal his identity. Aside from information they discovered
about Stevens, they were told they could buy his Social Security number
for $65.
New York Times, 18 May 2005 (registration req'd) (via Edupage).
IBM AND ONECLEVELAND COLLABORATE ON GRID COMPUTING
http://www.internetnews.com/ent-news/article.php/3505951
IBM this week unveiled its Economic Development Grid, an effort to
bring grid computing out of research labs and into government,
education, health care, and other areas. OneCleveland, a nonprofit
organization working to bring high-speed Internet to the city of
Cleveland, is the first to use the Economic Development Grid.
OneCleveland has been working on the project with IBM for two years,
according to Scot Rourke, president of the organization. The
implementation includes several separate projects: the Higher Education
Collaborative Grid, designed to give new access to higher education and
increase enrollments at Ohio universities; the K-12 Outreach Grid,
which gives K-12 teachers access to resources at other schools and
universities; and the Healthcare Collaborative Grid, a system of
sharing information among hospitals to improve health care. Organizers
hope that the technology will attract business and other economic
interests to the region.
Internet News, 18 May 2005 (via Edupage).
REPLACING BOOKS WITH COMPUTERS IN LIBRARIES
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/14/education/14library.html
As digital delivery of printed material becomes increasingly efficient
and common, some colleges and universities are relocating books from
libraries to make room for facilities where students access content on
computers. The University of Southern California was one of the first
to create such a digital learning laboratory in 1994, and in the past
few years it has been joined by schools including Emory University, the
University of Georgia, the University of Arizona, the University of
Michigan, and the University of Houston. The University of Texas at
Austin has recently decided to move all of the books from its
undergraduate library to other facilities and create an “electronic
information commons.” No one expects books to disappear completely,
but, according to Geneva Henry, executive director of the digital
library initiative at Rice University, libraries should be primarily
concerned with the exchange of ideas rather than simply storage of
books. As colleges and universities work to provide appropriate
services to students who have grown up with computers, the trend to use
electronic resources is likely to continue.
New York Times, 14 May 2005 (registration req'd) (via Edupage).
CLICKING ON CAMPUS
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,67530,00.html
Faculty at hundreds of colleges and universities are using small
electronic devices similar to television remote controls as part of
their in-class instruction. Commonly referred to as “clickers,” the
devices allow students to respond to instructor questions by choosing
one of several options or, in some cases, by entering a numeric answer.
Answers are transmitted by either infrared or radio frequency signal to
a receiver connected to a computer, which logs the responses and can
track individual students’ responses, as for a quiz, or display
responses from the entire class anonymously. Faculty who use the
devices said that because they allow students to respond anonymously,
they encourage participation from students who might be too shy to
answer verbally in class, and they elicit more honest answers on
controversial subjects. Stephen Bradforth, a chemistry professor at the
University of Southern California, said that after he began using
clickers in his classes, attendance and participation increased. He
also noted that the devices force professors to think differently about
how they teach their courses.
Wired News, 14 May 2005 (via Edupage).
GAMING DEGREES ON THE RISE
http://news.com.com/2100-1043_3-5706921.html
Students at a growing number of colleges and universities have the
opportunity to study video-game development, even as supporters of
studies differ on whether the value of such programs lies in practical
or theoretical application. At some campuses, such as the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, students in gaming programs use video games as a
foundation for understanding sociology, anthropology, economics, or
pedagogy. Kurt Squire, who teaches at Wisconsin, said, “Our school is
not in position a of turning out people for industry.” Programs at
schools such as the University of Denver, on the other hand, focus
their efforts on preparing students to work as video-game developers.
Officials at that university credit the program with reversing the
declining number of applicants to the computer science department.
Scott Leutenegger, head of the university's undergraduate gaming
program, said that like academic film programs in the 1930s and 1940s,
gaming programs were initially met with skepticism but have begun to
earn wider respect. Still, he said, gaming programs are not for
everyone. “This is an industry with high burnout rates, long hours, and
incredibly tight deadlines,” said Leutenegger.
CNET, 16 May 2005 (via Edupage).
HOUSE HEARS DEBATE OVER DARPA FUNDING
http://chronicle.com/prm/daily/2005/05/2005051301t.htm
The debate over what some describe as a troubling shift in the stance
of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for research
it chooses to fund moved to the House Science Committee this week.
DARPA came under fire from a number of sectors recently when it
acknowledged that it would give preference in funding decisions to
projects with more immediate results, rather than basic, long-term
research with less obvious — but some say more vital — implications for
developing new technologies. Critics of the change also said funding
for cybersecurity projects was inadequate and should be increased.
Joining the academics at the hearing who were critical of DARPA’s
changed focus was Rep. Sherwood L. Boehlert (R-N.Y.), who expressed his
support for basic research and for cybersecurity projects specifically.
Anthony J. Tether, director of DARPA, defended his agency, saying that
projects of the type described are in fact being funded. In addition,
he suggested that funding for certain types of research, such as
computer science, is often included in grants supporting other types of
research, such as microelectronics.
Chronicle of Higher Education, 13 May 2005 (sub. req'd) (via Edupage).
DUTCH ACADEMICS LAUNCH OPEN-ACCESS SITE
http://www.theregister.com/2005/05/11/open_access_research/
Dutch academics have publicly announced a Web site that offers free
access to scholarly material from all of the country’s universities.
The Digital Academic Repositories (DARE) project, which started a year
ago as a test program, is a joint effort among all Dutch universities,
the National Library of the Netherlands, the Royal Netherlands Academy
of Arts and Sciences, and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific
Research. DARE includes 47,000 academic articles and other digital
resources, including bibliographic information, full text materials,
and audio and video files. Organizers of the project said no other
country allows such widespread and easy access to its academic
research. Such open access publishing projects remain anathema to most
commercial publishers, but supporters of open access argue that it is
the appropriate publishing model, given digital technologies and
increasing subscription costs for traditional academic publishing.
The Register, 11 May 2005 (via Edupage).
HAMLET DATABASE NEARS COMPLETION
http://chronicle.com/free/2005/05/2005051001t.htm
An online database that includes all available commentary on
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is expected to debut within the next few months.
The database was the brainchild of Bernice W. Kliman, who, in the early
1990s was working on a printed edition of such a collection for the
Modern Language Association. Kliman saw the Internet as a better tool
for such a project, and she raised about $1 million from the National
Endowment for the Humanities for her idea. Over the past 10 years,
scholars including Eric C. Rasmussen, a professor of English at the
University of Nevada at Reno, have been working to gather every bit of
scholarship and criticism ever written about the play and add it to the
database. When the database is complete, users will be “able to see 400
years’ worth of commentary” for any single line of the play, according
to Rasmussen. Certain items from critics in the 20th century had to be
left out, however, due to copyright concerns. “We tried to, of course,
credit the edition,” said Kliman, “but also just paraphrase rather than
copy sentence by sentence.”
Chronicle of Higher Education, 10 May 2005 (via Edupage).
GOOGLE OFFERS MORE DIRECT SEARCHES WITH SCHOLAR SERVICE
http://chronicle.com/free/2005/05/2005051101t.htm
Computer users at more than 100 colleges and universities can now take
advantage of changes made to the Google Scholar search tool that give
more information about and easier access to available resources. Those
institutions that are participating in the service have given Google
details about which resources they have in their libraries and lists of
online databases for which they have subscriptions. Users indicate
their campus, and search results will direct them to the most direct
means of getting the desired resource. Google said that initially the
service will be free of advertisements, as the company works to build a
base of “happy users.” Steven J. Bell, library director at Philadelphia
University, noted that for universities that do not have necessary
database tools, the new service is not an option. Bell also commented
that although the service will be useful for some users, its
limitations, including the resources available in the searches, will be
problematic for other users, especially those with a deep understanding
of a particular discipline.
Chronicle of Higher Education, 11 May 2005 (via Edupage).
IBM WORKS WITH COLLEGES TO INCREASE AMERICAN IT EMPLOYEE GROWTH
http://www.localtechwire.com/article.cfm?u=11383
Last month, IBM officials and U.S. professors gathered to discuss new ways
of marketing computer science classes to American college students.
According to Gina Poole, vice president of IBM's Academic Initiative, some
2.2 million American computer jobs will need to be filled by 2010. The
meeting was part of IBM’s Academic Initiative program, which donates money
and equipment to schools in exchange for recruiting privileges. Some
educators suggested restructuring their programs to utilize untapped
interdisciplinary alliances, citing how Business and Economics majors could
benefit from computer classes. Others suggested allowing a wider group of
students to take the courses, such as how North Carolina electrical
engineering students are double-majoring in computers.
NEW WAH COMPRESSION METHOD MAKES PHYSICS DATABASE INDEXING EASIER
http://www.primidi.com/2005/05/23.html
Researchers of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (BNL) are working
on a new method that will greatly reduce the difficultly of researching
millions of petabytes of data generated during physics experiments. The
project simulates a recently developed software package, dubbed FastBit,
with a bitmap index compression scheme, known as the World-Aligned Hybrid
(WAH), which works to efficiently filter out unwanted data from Internet
files at extremely high speeds. Tests conducted by the team reveal that WAH
works significantly faster than other indexing systems.
Beast Blender
http://www.beastblender.com/
The Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists invites you to dabble in animals without
dirtying your fingers. Their Beast Blender allows mad scientists to invent animals that
nature never intended. Mix up the long black-and-white appendage of a ring-tailed lemur
with the scaly body of an alligator. Test out a mosquito’s long proboscis or a white
cockatoo’s plumage. Remember, the head doesn't have to be in the front, nor the tail at
the end, or so they say. Change the sizes and positions to suit your weirdest whims. You
can save your alien beast or email it to friends. Don’t feel like changing the natural
order of things? Check out the gallery and see what less scrupulous artists have built.
Nightmare creatures come to life, thanks to taxidermists who usually deal with the dead.
(From Yahoo's Picks of the Week)
All items from the Scout Report are copyright Susan Calcari, 1994-2005. 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.
Blue Web’n is a searchable library of Blue-Ribbon Web sites categorized by grade level, content area, and type. Visit Blue Web’n online at http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this newsletter are those of the participants (authors), and do not necessarily represent the official views, opinions, or policy of the National Science Foundation.