The ESCAP Population Information and Communication Section, in cooperation with the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis (DESIPA), recently organized the Asia-Pacific POPIN Internet Training Workshop at Bangkok.
The Workshop, which was funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), enabled the trainees to mount population data and information, including graphics and photographs, on the Internet, the so-called "information superhighway".
Following the opening of the Workshop by Mr. Nibhon Debavalya, Director of the ESCAP Population Division, each trainee briefly described the situation in his or her own country with regard to the use of the Internet for disseminating population data and information.
The participants then received "hands-on" practice with a variety of information-handling computer programs and utilities that will increase their efficiency when they return to their home countries. Most of the participants work for national population information centres, one of the functions of which is to further increase the availability of population information in-country, regionally and globally.
The Workshop enabled the participants not only to "surf the Net" with ease but also -- more importantly -- to prepare documents using "hyper-text mark-up language", or HTML, a computer language used for mounting information on the World Wide Web of the Internet. In addition to this facility, the participants learned how to convert existing documents into "HTMLized" files as well as to scan graphics, such as their logos and maps, and photographs so that they would be readable on the Internet. Among the skills that they learned were configuring Internet "browsers", setting up "bookmarks", the use of hyper-text links and anchors, images, colours and backgrounds, creating ".gif" and ".jpg" files, among many others.
As a result of the course, the participants can now create tables and lists, handle graphics and photographs in HTML, all of which are essential tasks for mounting population data and information on the Internet.
An example of how the "links" function works was gained by having the trainees "click" on a file in their electronic introduction sheet named "Participants", which contained a photograph of the Workshop trainees, along with the resource persons from both DESIPA and ESCAP, and a list of the participants' names and addresses.
After approval by the participants' national offices, the draft "home pages" may be made accessible on the POPIN Web site on the Internet.
Said Ms. Susan Pasquariella, POPIN Coordinator, at the conclusion of the Workshop: "It's amazing to see what ESCAP has managed to do in such a short period of time to popularize useful new information technologies to make population data and information available to users of Asia-Pacific POPIN products and services".
A number of breakthroughs were achieved during the Workshop, the resource persons for which were supplied by both DESIPA and ESCAP. One of these was the creation of a CD-ROM (compact disc--read only memory) especially for the Workshop.
This powerful new product, which contains large sections of population data and information extracted from the Internet files of the global Population Information Network (POPIN), is unique and not yet available elsewhere in the world. One of its most powerful features was enabling users to go on-line on the Internet.
The reason is that, until relatively recently, the creation of CD-ROMs was an expensive undertaking. But with the availability of inexpensive "recordable" CD-ROM equipment, an enormous amount of information can be stored on and downloaded from discs.
Besides its function at the Workshop, the experimental CD-ROM may also serve as the prototype of a new product for making huge amounts of population data and information available to users in countries that do not yet have Internet access. (See article entitled "What are CD-Rs and WebCDs?" on page 8.)
United Nations Internet home page redesigned
The United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI) recently launched a new United Nations "home page" on the Internet's World Wide Web.
Besides the redesigned home page, the enhanced Web site contains a host of new information materials set up under five thematic categories: peace and security; economic and social development; international law; human rights; and humanitarian affairs.
A series of quick access points lead the user to detailed information on a number of topics including the various bodies of the United Nations, news items, documents, population information and audio-visual services.
In addition, a "hot-linked" map of United Nations Web sites around the world provides connections to United Nations offices and agencies in various locations, including Geneva, Paris, Vienna and Tokyo.
The Publications and Sales area of the site has been augmented to include detailed listings of available sales publications, as well as placing orders on-line.
More maps, statistical data and crosslinks make the entire site more organized and user-friendly. In order to maximize on-line connect-time for users, efforts have been made to downsize graphics wherever possible, so that the pertinent information can be retrieved as quickly and easily as possible, even with a relatively low-speed connection.
All available databases have been incorporated in the enhanced search function, enabling the user to conduct a range of searches from system-wide to very specific. The "help" facility has been expanded to provide additional on-line help on the search function.
The United Nations entered the "information superhighway" on 24 June 1995 with the pilot project on the World Wide Web. Since then the project has greatly enhanced the range and scope of materials made available. Also, a new area in French has been added to the Web site.
The entire home page has been designed in-house by an interdepartmental working group with staff from various departments cooperating to edit and process material for the site. The Department of Public Information (DPI) coordinates and maintains the Web site with the technical cooperation of the Electronic Services Division of the Office of Conference and Support Services.
Electronic news services available from Dag Hammarksjold Library
Two new information services provided by United Nations Headquarters can provide population information quickly to qualified users.
The first is a service meant mainly for users at Headquarters. Available through the Dag Hammarksjold Library at United Nations Headquarters in New York, it provides access to live-time newsfeeds from major international newswires and newspapers.
Access is on a first-come, first-served basis. Users can retrieve selected stories according to a customized profile or all news, as it is reported. Users are expected to provide their own diskettes for downloading.
The service, which is called NewsEdge, carries the wire services of Agence France Presse (in English), Reuters World Service, Economist Wire, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times/Washington Post, Oxford Analytica, United Press and Federal News.
The second service is available to information seekers in overseas locations. It is available through the Dag Hammarksjold Library to any mission or office of the United Nations with e-mail capability.
It is a customized desktop delivery service from World News Connection, an electronic international news service which replaces in part the former Foreign Broadcast Information Service reports.
This news service provides access to full text and summaries of magazine, newspaper and newswire stories, transcripts from speeches and radio and television broadcasts, and non-classified technical reports from sources throughout the world.
The Dag Hammarksjold Library will send daily, via e-mail, to any mission or secretariat staff member, a summary of all news stories in the stated area or areas of interest.
Users requesting the full text of selected items, reports etc., can simply notify the Library and the requested material will be transmitted the same day. (Be careful, the volume can be enormous!)
To arrange for this service, or for more information on other Dag Hammarksjold Library news-gathering and disseminating activities, qualified readers may write to the General Reference Desk at the following e-mail address: cherifm@un.org
POPLINE promotes database and improves service
The Johns Hopkins Population Information Program is holding a contest for users of its POPLINE CD-ROM information service and it recently announced the enhancement of its software.
The Program is seeking examples of effective promotional materials, including posters, handouts, help/tip sheets, tabletop displays and suggestions on how to use them.
The best entry will win a CD-ROM drive and runners-up will win POPLINE T-shirts. Entries must be received by the Program no later than 1 May 1997.
The software improvement instituted by the Program enables users to copy entries from the "autodex" to the search screen by pressing either the "insert" or "enter" keys.
For more information about these developments, readers may contact the Population Information Program by writing to the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 111 Market Place, Suite 310, Baltimore, MD 21202-4024, United States. E-mail: popline@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu WWW: http://www.charm.net/~ccp
Japanese statistics now available through Internet
Statistical data on Japan is available in both English and Japanese courtesy of the country's Statistics Bureau.
The Bureau's home page contains a guide to the Statistics Bureau and the Statistics Center, information about the statistical system in Japan and figures for the current year.
It also contains summary results of the population census, Labour Force Survey, Family Income and Expenditure Survey and Consumer Price Index, among many other items.
The World Wide Web address is http://www.stat.go.jp
The e-mail address is webmaster@stat.go.jp
What are CD-Rs and WebCDs?
Most information professionals instantly recognize the acronymn CD-ROM as meaning "compact disc--read only memory". But what of the not so well-known term "CD-R"?
It stands for "compact disc--recordable", and such discs will probably revolutionize data storage, according to experts in the field.
"With CD-Recordable drive prices dropping below the (US)$1000 level, the only questions now for many organizations looking for efficient archival storage are how and when", stated an article in the June 1996 issue of Byte by Jason J. Hyon and Michael D. Martin.
"CD-R discs...at $7 per disc...make (them) the perfect archival medium". Each contains 650 MB of data.
An article in the November issue of the same magazine raised a related issue in terms of the usefulness of CD-ROMs and the Internet. It asked the question: "Why bother with CD-ROMs in the Web era?", in reference to the Internet's World Wide Web service.
It answered the question by pointing to a number of examples where the use of the Internet, despite its power and enormity, would not be practical.
While acknowledging the primacy of the Web, it referred to CD-ROMs that venture on-line to augment the static content of the CDs. "WebCD heralds a new era -- big Web, small CD", it said in the article entitled "Hybrid Web/CD-ROM: Do It Yourself".
Quoted below is some technical information that describes the steps involved in producing a highly specialized "WebCD". Although it is more complex an operation than producing a CD-R for archival purposes, the quotes below give an idea of just what the future holds for information professionals.
"To build a site image, you run WebCD Packager, a Windows 95 application that integrates a Web crawler, a browser, and a CD-ROM-mastering utiltity", the article states. "Point it at your Web server--or even several of your servers, or any server anywhere (be careful!)--and scoop up the content you need. As you construct a package, you can browse it live--no waiting until the build finishes before you can view it".
Written by Mr. John Udell, the magazine's Editor for New Media, the article continues: "To distribute the image, you deliver it--on a CD Recordable (CD-R) disc, tape, or conceivably by way of FTP--to a mastering shop. The image contains all your Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), GIF, Audio Video Interleave (AVI), and other files, mapped to the eight-dot-three filename convention required by ISO-9660 and optimized for the peculiar access behavior of CD-ROM drives".
With such power at one's fingertips, the population information professional of the future will be able to package or repackage enormous amounts of useful information in a format that is easy to use and store.
Environmental reports available on-line
The link between population and poverty is almost obvious, but related information is not always easy to locate.
Now environmental reports previously available only to members of the United States Congress and their staff will be publically accessible to users anywhere in the world, according to a Population Reference Bureau report.
The Committee for the National Institute for the Environment (CNIE) is posting 140 Congressional Research Service environmental reports on its electronic library, the National Library for the Environment. Its World Wide Web address is http://www.cnie.org/nle
For more information, readers my also contact CNIE at 1725 K St., NW, Washington D.C. 20006-1401, United States. E-mail cnie@cnie.org
Draft strategy paper on the United Nations and the Internet
A draft strategy paper entitled "Internet: The UN and Electronic Information Future" was prepared recently by an interdepartmental working group at United Nations Headquarters.
The draft paper will serve to direct and form the basis for future discussions and activities related to the presence of the United Nations on the "electronic superhighway".
When the paper becomes available in final form, readers of this Bulletin will be provided more information on its contents.
Computer network launched to support people living with HIV
A new telecommunication service was launched on 1 December, World AIDS Day, to help people living with HIV or AIDS in the Asian and Pacific region to share experiences and information about the epidemic.
For more information, readers may contact: Mr. Paul Toh, APN+ Coordinator, Singapore. Fax: (65) 295-5567; E-mail: paultoh@pacific .net.sg
UNAIDS is also in the process of establishing a regional network aimed at answering HIV/AIDS-related inquiries of journalists and other media representatives. For more information, contact Mr. Tim France. Fax: (662) 288-1092; E-mail: france.unescap@un.org