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CIAO DATE: 03/01
Foreign Policy
Net Effect
Listserved
gwis2.circ.gwu.edu/~gprice/listof.htm
Web sites that can organize thousands of disparate sources of information simply and efficiently are worth their bandwidth in gold. Take George Washington University librarian Gary Price's List of Lists, for instance. As a clearinghouse for rankings published elsewhere, the List of Lists provides links to data on education, business, science, the environment, food, entertainment, the computer industry, and more.
Lists cover both the United States ("Catfish Consumption by State") and the world ("Indonesia's Largest Conglomerates" or "Who's On Top in Latin America"). So if you're dying to find out which country is number one in "World Chocolate Consumption" (Switzerland), which company is Japan's largest employer (Hitachi, with 331,494 on the payroll), or if you want to find some more practical information, be sure to add this site to your list.
A Historical Account
If the words "credit" and "debit" make you nod off, you'll be pleasantly surprised by a Web page of the Association of Chartered Accountants in the United States (ACAUS)-"Accounting: A Virtual History." Concise and highly readable, this two-year-old project offers a fascinating chronology of the evolution and globalization of modern accounting practices.
Although rudimentary accounting techniques can be traced to Mesopotamian scribes in 3500 B.C., Renaissance-era Italians are considered the fathers of modern accounting. Franciscan friar Luca Pacioli's definitive 1494 work Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, Proportioni et Proprortionalita provided the basis for double-entry bookkeeping and was widely disseminated throughout Europe. The Scots formalized the accounting profession in the 19th century, creating the first societies of public accountants. When British capital began flowing to nascent U.S. industries in the late 1800s, accountants crossed the pond and set up shop in the United States.
ACAUS officials seek to "put into human terms the contribution of accountants. . . to human progress and development." So pay a visit. Even if you don't know your assets from your elbow.
Read and Reactor
Haven't heard much about nuclear power since Three Mile Island and Chernobyl? Well, there are 433 power reactors operating all over the world right now. The International Nuclear Safety Center's (INSC) Web page, maintained by the Argonne National Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy, has the scoop on the plant nearest you.
Originally designed to provide information about the U.S. Department of Energy's safety improvements to the 65 Soviet-designed reactors still in operation, the INSC's Web page now includes detailed data on all of the world's nuclear power plants.
The site catalogs plants by country, type, and design and posts updates about reactors planned, under construction, or shut down. Serious browsers can call up schematics of reactors, information on who builds and operates the plants, and even scientific papers about specific reactor types. An interactive global map puts it all right at your fingertips-without the risk of radiation.
On the Books
www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/avalon.htm
Hammurabi laid down the law in Babylon. Between 1795 and 1750 B.C., he generously dispensed capital punishment, even for offenses like running a raucous tavern. For a look at Hammurabi's code, plus other historical documents from ancient times to the present, look at the Web site of the Avalon Project at Yale Law School. The project, established in 1996, weaves together historical documents-and history-by linking passages of text in each document to the full text of any related document.
History fans can browse through documents by century, title, or author-or search the whole archive. Particularly worthwhile is the Major Document Collections section. Organized by subject, it provides fascinating background to many historical and contemporary crises. For example, "Palestine 1916-1999: A Documentary Record" explains the origins of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through documents such as the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916, in which Britain and France carved up the Middle East between them.
A Very Civil Society
Another October, another World Series, and once again baseball forgot to invite anyone except the Americans. Cricket tries to be a little more inclusive. And it helps to have CricInfo (www.cricket.org).
British colonialism and massive population movements over the last few decades have taken cricket just about everywhere, from Barbados and New Delhi to Copenhagen and Kampala. CricInfo fulfills several needs for its users from 180 countries. It provides cricket fans with extensive coverage of key games, including live text commentary (and occasionally even live visual coverage when site managers can circumvent the problem of broadcast rights). It allows fans to follow developments in the game, such as a recent series of stunning corruption scandals. And it connects scattered cricket enthusiasts to local cricket clubs and leagues, which often form the cultural backbones of immigrant communities. CricInfo has practically monopolized the global network of the second most popular sport in the world (after soccer).
International affairs watchers can easily rationalize spending time on CricInfo. After all, cricket relations between India and Pakistan (currently frigid) indicate the political mood on the subcontinent. The composition of South Africa's cricket team reflects the social changes and political pressures in that country. The battle between cricket and basketball in the West Indies attests to shifting cultural identities. The emergence of cricket in the Unit population is reconfiguring the Middle East. CricInfo covers the world. All it lacks is a forum for hate messages against Americans who confuse the game with croquet.