Logue Library

Help Wanted!

2011-04-05T12:02:00.005-04:00

Have you located an awesome resource during your research that you think future students might find useful as well?

We try to include resources on our subject web pages that will make your research dynamic and comprehensive, including RSS feeds of the latest news headlines and blog posts from reputable, citable resources in your subject, podcasts, and current tables of contents from leading journals, with links to the full text.

One thing I've noticed is that there is always more out there than we can possibly collect ourselves. There are only so many hours in a day!

MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK!

Your recommendations will help us put the best and newest research and information on our pages for other students to find quick access to. Pop into the "Ask A Librarian" chat window (even if we aren't on line at the time) or send an email to librarians@chc.edu.

And while you're at it, check out our Readers Corner page and give us a short review of your latest favorite book. We'll feature it on our site.

Welcome Back!

2010-09-09T10:24:00.005-04:00

As you begin your research using Logue Library's web page, please note that access to many of our resources are limited to the faculty, staff and currently enrolled students of Chestnut Hill College. If clicking a link presents you with a box like THIS:

Enter your CHC email username & password OR your library barcode number in the appropriate boxes. Come to the library's circulation desk to receive a barcode sticker for the back of your student ID.

We are here to help guide you through your research and welcome your questions. See any one of us, or type a question in the Meebo box for answers to quick questions. If you would like to spend a bit of time with one of us working on your research, ask to schedule an appointment, and we will sit with you for an entire hour if you need it.

We hope you have a very enjoyable & successful semester at Chestnut Hill College!

Librarians Do Gaga

2010-06-01T13:30:00.002-04:00

It is amazing what you learn to do at library school these days . . .

Award-Winning Teacher a Chestnut Hill College Graduate

2010-05-11T15:30:00.003-04:00

The Philadelphia Inquirer recently featured this year's 66 Lindback Distinguished Teaching Prize winners in an article titled In city classrooms, teachers with class.

One teacher from each of the Philadelphia School District schools is honored. Chestnut Hill College alumna Claudia DiCrosta was among them.

Claudia DiCrosta
Swenson Arts and Technology High School

Claudia DiCrosta was born and raised in Portugal. She holds a bachelor's degree in Spanish from Chestnut Hill College, where she minored in secondary education and psychology. Her first teaching position was at William Penn High School. Moving to Swenson Arts and Technology High School in 2006, she demonstrated her commitment to its students from the first day. She also mentors Temple and La Salle University students who are prospective Spanish teachers.

See the entire list of Distinguished Teachers profiled.

Buyer Beware!

2010-05-05T13:12:00.005-04:00

FRONTLINE last night delved into the for-profit college industry in their program, College Inc.

These billion-dollar businesses are cashing in on a boom in degree-seeking non-traditional students . . . those who are already established in the workforce and are looking to upgrade or change careers.

From unsavory sales practices to fraudulent degree programs, students have a lot of homework to do before deciding to go this route.

The REAL Reason We Have a Blog!

2010-04-23T13:27:00.004-04:00

. . . if anything is going to go wrong, it will go wrong just when you need it the most . . .

Recently the Chestnut Hill College web site server has been experiencing the effects of Murphy's Law. That is to say, if anything is going to go wrong, it will go wrong just when you need it the most. As stress mounts among the student population at the end of the semester -- and academic year -- the more likely access to the resources students depend on to finish their work will fail.

We feel your pain. We live it, too. That is why we created this blog three and a half years ago. On the left side of the page we have listed links to the most used journal article resources we subscribe to, the library's catalog, and a link to an alternative to our Web Resources pages. We use the bookmarking website "Delicious" for that.

We feel your pain.

You can also IM a librarian in the chat box under the links.

Please don't forget that this is here as an alternative! And if you were looking for an easy "'dog ate my homework'-for-the-21st Century" excuse to not have your work done... well, sorry about that!

Student Research in the Spotlight... From Today's Philadelphia Inquirer

2010-02-02T23:13:00.002-05:00

Today's paper contains an excellent example of the impact student research can and does have on society and politics. Imagine the implications of YOUR research as you delve into your Senior Seminar project!

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Two debates over marriage

"Former President Harry Truman said yesterday he did not believe white persons should marry Negroes. He said that racial intermarriage ran counter to teachings of the Bible." - New York Times, Sept. 12, 1963

By Grant Calder

Last year, an 11th-grade student of mine wrote a paper examining the controversy over interracial marriage from the mid-1950s to the mid-'70s. My student, Susannah Ivory, wanted to know more about the public debate surrounding Loving v. Virginia, the 1967 Supreme Court decision that unanimously struck down laws banning interracial marriage.

To keep the project manageable, Susannah restricted herself to one newspaper, the New York Times. She ran a search of its historical database for all of the items in which miscegenation or interracial marriage were mentioned during the two-decade period. Since the advent of digitized, online newspaper archives, data of this sort can be gathered in minutes; research opportunities are limited only by a student's ability to pose good questions.

A graph of the results showed two striking peaks: a big one in the mid-'60s, which was no surprise, and a completely unexpected bump in 1956 and '57. The articles revealed that the mid-'50s spike stemmed from the relaxation of censorship laws prohibiting the depiction of interracial relationships in books and films. For the first time, the public had an opportunity to experience and react to this type of integration - a decade before the Supreme Court got involved.

A typical 1958 article began, "A new novel by Legette Blythe titled Call Down the Storm is planned for publication next month by Holt. It is a story of miscegenation and racial integrations from the closing years of the Reconstruction period to the present."

Mentions of miscegenation disappeared almost completely from the Times by the end of the decade, but they resumed again in the early '60s as couples began to challenge the laws against interracial marriage in state courts. This time, higher-profile individuals and groups began to weigh in.

"Interracial marriage is completely compatible with the doctrine and canon law of Roman Catholicism, a national church organization said today," one 1963 article read. " 'Races do not marry,' the statement declared. 'Nations do not marry. Classes do not marry. Only persons marry.' " So much for President Truman's claims, two months earlier, of biblical prohibition.

In 1964, an article reported that a group of scientists working for the United Nations had issued a study stating "there is no biological justification for banning interracial marriages, nor for any advice aimed at banning them."

Susannah ended her paper with a reference to our own era: "The striking down of the anti-miscegenation laws represented a major step forward toward a more open and accepting society, but the time has come again for such a leap. Homosexual couples are now in the same situation that mixed-race couples were a half-century ago, and they face the same challenges."

In Loving, the court wrote, "Marriage is one of the 'basic civil rights of man.' ... To deny this fundamental freedom on so unsupportable a basis as the racial classifications embodied in these statutes ... is surely to deprive all of the state's citizens of liberty without due process of law." It doesn't seem like much of a stretch to suggest that these sentiments could apply to same-sex couples.

Today, the United Nations and the Catholic Church both find themselves involved in the debate over same-sex unions. Two years ago, on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a headline read, "In Europe, same-sex showdown moves to U.N." The accompanying article noted that 27 European countries supported a new declaration decriminalizing homosexuality, but the Vatican was resisting it. The Bush administration refused to sign on to that declaration, but the Obama administration joined 70 or so countries in supporting it last year.

Not surprisingly, the most cogent arguments in favor of personal freedoms often come not from governments or organizations, but from the individuals fighting for them. From a 1972 article, Susannah quoted the black mayor of Tuskegee, Ala., who was married to a white woman.

"A lot of things went through our minds," he said. "We felt there might be actual physical danger. We thought about hurting our friends and relatives. We even thought about the effect it would have on my political career. Finally we came to the point and said, 'To hell with it. I love you, and you love me. We're going to do the only honest and right thing.' " Sometimes it's that simple.

Grant Calder teaches history at Friends' Central School. The full text of the paper is available at researchproject.friendscentral.org.

Oxford's Word of the Year - "Unfriend"

2009-11-18T10:25:00.005-05:00

unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook.

Every year at this time, Oxford University Press announces a list of "words to watch" for possible inclusion in the next edition of their dictionary. The word at the top of the list becomes their Word of the Year.

An explanation on the OUPblog site says, "Unfriend has real lex-appeal” because friend has not, until now, been considered a verb.

Interestingly, the word unfriend is not used on the configuration pages of Facebook. The phrase "Remove Connection" directs the unfriending action.

Curious about other Words of the Year? The website AskOxford published a hundred Words of the Year. Here are the past 10 years of words:

1998 • to Google

1999 • blogger

2000 • bling

2001 • 9/11

2002 • metatarsal

2003 • to sex something up

2004 • chav

2005 • biosecurity

2006 • bovvered

2007 • locavore

2008 • hypermiling

Which of those had staying power?

Becoming the Word of the Year does not guarantee inclusion in the dictionary. The verb to google did not enter the Oxford or Webster's dictionaries until summer of 2006.

Should Everybody Go to College?

2009-11-12T12:05:00.006-05:00

Photo by Noah Berger for The Chronicle Review

In the most popular item posted this week on the website of the Chronicle of Higher Education, experts in economics, education, management, political science, and career counseling in the field of higher education are asked if they think everyone should go to college.

The responses are widely varied. In Are Too Many Students Going to College? the experts do not agree. This makes sense. The decision to go to college is personal and quite often a family decision. Deciding to continue education beyond high school is a financial and time commitment, whether the choice is community college, a two year or a four year degree program, or a shorter program designed for specific career preparation.

The issue seems to not be, "should you go," but "where should you go." Clearly in today's world, post-secondary school education gives people a better chance of a higher income. It is safe to say that what high school used to give you in earnings now requires some higher education.

Which expert do you agree with? Is college a waste of time and manpower, is it essential to earning a living wage and finding fulfilling employment, or something in between?

Shuttle Schedule from Logue Library Changes During SEPTA Strike

2009-11-03T12:41:00.004-05:00

Early this morning SEPTA drivers went on strike; this strike impacts bus lines, trolley lines and the subway. Regional Rail (which runs the SEPTA R7 and R8 trains into Chestnut Hill) is not impacted by the strike but is currently running up to 30 minutes late due to increased volume.

In response to the strike, the College’s shuttle system will be running on a modified schedule.

One shuttle will run a continuous loop between the R8 station, the R7 station and Logue Library.
The second shuttle will run between Logue Library and SugarLoaf approximately every 15 minutes.
Finally, a third shuttle will make as needed runs depending on traffic patterns and train schedules.

We ask for your patience during these times; there may be delays in the shuttle due to increased ridership and traffic. We will keep the College community informed of any updates.

For information on the SEPTA strike and help in planning a different route to campus please visit http://www.septa.org/.

Schools of Education Deserve Praise, Not Scorn

2009-10-28T14:22:00.006-04:00

by Stephen Krashen

(This was originally posted as an October 24th comment to a Newsweek blog post. The text of the post with a link to Duncan's speech appears below.)

Department of Education Secretary Duncan thinks that Schools of Education should be held accountable for student achievement. If so, American Schools of Education deserve praise, not scorn. If the role of poverty is taken into consideration, American children do very well in international comparisons.

The late Gerald Bracey pointed out that U.S. schools with less than 25 percent of their enrollments made up of children of poverty outscore all other countries in math and science. American children only fall below the international average when 75 percent or more of the students in a school live in poverty.

The obvious reason: The results of many studies confirm that the characteristics of poverty, hunger, poor diet, toxins in the environment, and a lack of reading material seriously affect academic performance. The United States has the highest level of childhood poverty of industrialized countries.

Clearly, poverty is beyond the control of Schools of Education.

Low scores on international tests are the fault of a society that allows so many children to live in poverty. Also, if we are to apply Secretary Duncan's logic, we should hold schools of business and departments of economics accountable for the current economic crisis.

-----

Duncan Offers Incentives for 'Revolutionary' Overhaul of TeacherColleges
by Patrice Wingert

As Wednesday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan's major speech at Columbia University this week called on America's teacher colleges to follow the lead of Louisiana, which has been setting the pace nationally in terms of overhauling its schools of education. The state has turned the devastation wrought by Katrina into an opportunity to force through the kind of education reforms that other states just can't seem to muster. One of its mostcontroversial strategies has been to include data on how effectively new graduates are teaching and how much their students are learning when evaluating the quality of teacher colleges and other training programs.

As Duncan put it: "Right now, Louisiana is the only state in the nation that tracks the effectiveness of its teacher-preparation programs. Every state in the nation should be doing the same." Duncan said the U.S. Department of Education would "provide incentives for states" through the ongoing $4.3 billion Race to the Top competition to make serious upgrades in their teacher colleges.

Duncan also went out of his way to chide university presidents for their failure to take the lead in overhauling the nation's overwhelmingly "mediocre" teacher colleges while blaming everyone else for the fact that too many high-school seniors aren't prepared to handle college-level work." I do not understand when college presidents and deans of the arts and science faculty ignore their teacher-preparation programs—and yet complain about the cost of providing remedial classes to freshmen," Duncan said. "Simply put, incoming freshmen don't know the content because too often they have been taught by teachers who don't know the content well."

Chilly Fall Break!

2009-10-12T11:38:00.004-04:00

It's fall break at CHC so things are a little quiet around here. Talking to you last week though, it was clear that you would be doing a lot of work over the break. Don't forget that we are still here if you have any research questions while you're getting it all done.

Check the library's Ask! page for a list of ways to contact us, or just type your question in the Meebo box on the left side of this page. (If we're not online at the moment, leave your email address and we'll shoot you a message as soon as we get back.)

Sorry you're missing our favorite tree's big annual display!

Here's hoping you're also having some fun! Fresh air and falling leaves might be just what you need to control that early afternoon crash! You know what they say. "All work and no play . . . "

See you in a couple of days!

The 7 Must Read SlideShare Presentations for Job Seekers

2009-09-11T11:45:00.005-04:00

Grabbed from Slideshare.net:

These seven presentations are handpicked by the Applicant Blog at applicant.com. They also got some love from from getthatjobonline.com

1. Effective Job Interviewing from Both Sides of the Desk
It is gives great advice by looking at both sides of the job interview. My favorite tidbit is,
"Your Awesomeness is not self-evident."

2. 10 Job Search Attitudes that Will Get You More Interviews
Short, but sweet. I think attitude is often an overlooked piece in the job hunt puzzle. My favorite tidbit is, "I will search as if I don't need a job."

3. Rethink your Job Search
This reads a bit like marketing material for JobTiger, but is still has good content. My favorite tidbit is, "Tap into job openings that may not have been published."

4. Leveraging LinkedIn for the Job Search
A great little walkthrough on using LinkedIn for your job search. Favorite tidbit, "When you find a connection, leverage it to find other connections."

5. 10 Commandements of Job Search
This is the presentation by the Applicant Blog, and it stresses staying positive. "Ignore the fact that your friend, uncle, aunt and even your mother-in-law is unemployed. It's about you."

"It stresses Staying Positive"

6. Job Search with Social Media & Mobile
This is a great presentation that covers LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter & some mobile apps. "Maxims remain the same ... tactics are very different."

7. Converging Trends Impacting Your Job Search
It covers a lot of ground discussing marketing trends, social media and what networking means today. "Become a content expert ... shift, cull & create content"

Back on the Hill

2009-08-31T15:36:00.002-04:00

Welcome! And welcome back to you old-timers!

If you're starting classes for the first time, don't forget to stop into Logue Library and have a look around. Get a library bar-code sticker for the back of your ID card so that you can check out books and other materials you'll be using to support your academic research.

If you're baaaaack after a fun summer, stop in and say hello and tell us what you've been up to! We missed you and are glad you're back!

SciFinder Scholar Incompatible with IE Version 8

2009-03-30T17:39:00.004-04:00

We were notified of this today from the publishers of SciFinder Scholar:

"On March 19, 2009, a new version of Microsoft Internet Explorer, Internet Explorer 8, was released. Internet Explorer 8 is currently incompatible with SciFinder; however, researchers can use a built-in compatibility setting that allows you to view SciFinder as displayed in Internet Explorer 7.

"The Compatibility View Setting allows Internet Explorer 8 users to maintain a list of sites that can be displayed in Compatibility View. There are also options for viewing all websites and intranet sites in Compatibility View. To learn more about how to use the feature, visit the CAS web page titled Using Internet Explorer 8 with SciFinder.

Please note: If you print detailed reference answers when using Compatibility View, some content will be missing. You can export your answer as a PDF or .rtf file and then print the exported files.

Please excuse any inconvenience. CAS is working on a permanent solution to use SciFinder with Internet Explorer 8. "

We are unaware of any problems using the Mozilla Firefox browser.

Logue Library Resources on Forgiveness and Reconciliation

2009-03-12T12:33:00.009-04:00

(photo from hoyasmeg's photostream at the Flickr Creative Commons.)

"Chestnut Hill College’s Institute for Forgiveness and Reconciliation is designed to be a learning laboratory for research and scholarship where forgiveness and reconciliation will be explored as alternatives to violence and conflict in our culture."

The inaugural lecture of the Institute will be presented by John Dear on March 25, 2009 at 7 p.m. at Chestnut Hill College in the Social Room, Fournier Hall. The topic of John Dear’s lecture will be “To Change the World, We Must Change Ourselves.” The lecture is free and open to the public.

There are many ways to explore the topic of Forgiveness and Reconcilliation across many disciplines of college research. Below are some tips to begin with.

Books
Search the Logue Library catalog or WorldCat (CHC log-in required). Call numbers for books begin with (in parenthesis): Religion and Philosophy (B) Psychology (R) and Sociology (H), History (D-F)

A few titles are listed here, with their call numbers at the end. Check the books shelved near these for more titles.

Minow, Martha. Between vengeance and forgiveness : facing history after genocide and mass violence. Beacon Press: 1998. HV6322.7 .M56 1998

Griswold, Charles. Forgiveness : a philosophical exploration. Cambridge University Press: 2007. BJ1476 .G75 2007

McCullough, Michael E. Forgiveness : theory, research, and practice. Guilford Press: 2000. BF637 .F67 F67 2000

Keogh, Dermot. Northern Ireland and the politics of reconciliation. Cambridge University Press 1993. DA990.U46 N6654 1993

Search Terms
Forgiveness, Reconciliation
Related topics – Victim-offender relations, Mediation, Restorative Justice

Sources of journal & newspaper articles – some with electronic full text
(CHC log-in required)

EBSCOhost – Academic Search Premier, SocIndex, and others as suit the topic

PsycNet – for psychology related articles

CIAO Columbia International Affairs Online (all full text)
Including Conflict resolution Peace studies, Ethnic conflict, etc
Extensive set of working papers and conference proceedings, as well as journals and case studies.

LexisNexis – Legal (all full text)
Use the Advanced Search for law reviews, reports from symposiums, and more. Good source for case studies.

Journals

Conflict Management & Peace Science
Routledge Press
Academic, peer reviewed quarterly
International Relations; Politics & Political Science
Features original & review articles focused on news & events related to the scientific study of conflict & peace.
Available in SocIndex 2004-present, except the current 12 months.

Contemporary Justice Review
Routledge Press
Academic, peer reviewed quarterly
Provides information for scholars, practitioners & activists of justice around the globe who seek to explore new models & demonstration projects of justice that have applicability to social systems from the local to the international level.
Available in SocIndex 1998-present, except the current 12 months

International Journal of Peace Studies
George Mason University/Institute for Conflict Analysis & Resolution
Academic, peer reviewed; two issues/year
Articles in international conflict, peace building, human security, globalization, nationalism, ethnic conflict, & other related topics.
Available in SocIndex 2005-present

Journal of International Affairs
Academic, peer reviewed; two issues/year
“Affiliated with the School of International Affairs at Columbia University. Articles from a diverse group of scholars, business executives and government officials examining the defining issues of our time.”
Available in Academic Search Premier 1975-present

Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work (formerly Social Thought)
Haworth Press/Taylor and Francis
Academic, peer reviewed quarterly
Focuses on topics pertaining to institutional and noninstitutional religion, as well as sectarian and nonsectarian approaches to spirituality as it relates to social work and the other helping professions.
Available in SocIndex 2000-present, except the current 12 months.

Journal of Social Issues
Blackwell Publishing
Academic, peer reviewed quarterly
Articles for the professional psychologist and allied social scientists concerned with research on the psychological aspects of important social issues, sponsored by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.
Available in SocIndex 1945-present, except the current 12 months.

Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health (Formerly American Journal of Pastoral Counseling)
Haworth Press (Taylor and Francis)
Academic, peer reviewed quarterly
Print (basement stacks) and electronic subscription (Logue Library Electronic Journals) Indexed in Academic Search Premier

Mental Health, Religion & Culture
Routledge Press
Academic, peer reviewed 8 issues/year
Aims to publish empirically-based work exploring the relationships between mental health & aspects of religion & culture. Also focuses on discussing conceptual & philosophical aspects.
Available in Academic Search Premier 1998-present, except the current 12 months.

Peace & Change
Blackwell Publishing Limited
Academic, peer reviewed quarterly
Scholarly and interpretive articles related to the achieving of a peaceful, just, and humane society. Topics related to peace and war, social change, justice, nonviolence and conflict resolution.
Available in Academic Search Premier 1975-present, except the current 12 months.

Peace & Conflict
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Academic, peer reviewed quarterly
Publishes work on subjects concerning peace, nonviolent conflict resolution, reconciliation, & the causes, consequences & prevention of war & other conflict.
Available in SocIndex 1995-present, except the current 12 months

Peace Review
Routledge Press
Academic, peer reviewed quarterly
International Relations; Politics & Political Science; Sociology; Sociology & Social Work
Focuses on current issues and controversies that underlie the promotion of a more peaceful world
Available in Academic Search Premier 1996-present, except the current 12 months.

Social Justice Research
Springer
Academic, peer reviewed quarterly
Acts as an multidisciplinary forum for the publication of original papers that have broad implications for social scientists investigating the origins, structures, & consequences of justice in human affairs
Available in Springer 1997-present.

Victims & Offenders
Routledge Press
Academic, peer reviewed quarterly
Provides an international and interdisciplinary forum of research, outcome studies, and evidence-based policies and practices on victimization, victim assistance, offender rehabilitation and treatment, and restorative justice.
Available in SocIndex 2006-present, except the current 12 months

Local Organizations related to Forgiveness or Reconcilliation

Good Shepherd Mediation Program
“Our mission is to empower Philadelphia community residents to creatively search for meaningful and lasting solutions to their conflicts without resorting to crime or violence”
5356 Chew Avenue Philadelphia PA 19138

Alternatives to Violence
National site –Under AVP contacts find Pennsylvania events and AVP leaders

American Friends Service Committee
1515 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Angela Berryman - Assistant General Secretary for Peace & Conflict Resolution

Friends Conflict Resolution Programs - Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
1515 Cherry StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19102
Caroline Packard, JD (215) 241-7029 carolinep@pym.org
Conflict resolution services & training for nonprofit organizations. Educational programs and mediation services.

Philadelphia Interfaith Walk for Peace and Reconciliation
Meets at Aqsa Islamic Society
1501 Germantown Avenue at 3rd & Jefferson Sts., Phila, PA 19122
Concern for Jewish–Islamic relations and situation in Palestine

Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia
3723 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3189
“Nonprofit organization that helps to strengthen and enhance awareness of the rich diversity of religious traditions in the Greater Philadelphia region. The Center arose to fill a void and emerged as the first multi-faith organization in our region principally dedicated to interreligious dialogue, education, and community building at the grassroots and leadership levels.”

Shalom Center
6711 Lincoln Drive, Philadelphia PA 19119.
215/844-8494
Originally founded as a division of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, it is now an independent 501c3 tax-exempt religious institution with its own board.
Concerns: the Iraq war and its by-products, especially including the emergence of torture as a tool of US policy and of top-down, unaccountable presidential power; "Beyond Oil," an effort to address the dangers American addiction to over-use of oil poses to the planet through the climate crisis of global scorching and other dangers; the creating of deeper connections among Jewish, Christian, and Muslim teachings and communities in Abrahamic mode; an interfaith effort to identify and encourage the use and marketing of "Sacred Foods"; peacemaking in the broader Middle East; gay rights, especially in marriage and other sacred contexts; and immigrants' rights.

Mennonite Central Committee
East coast office - Akron, PA. (717) 859-1151 or Toll Free (888) 563-4676
Email: eastcoast@mcc.org
Philadelphia contact (215) 316-9464
MCC seeks to demonstrate God's love by working among people suffering from poverty, conflict, oppression and natural disaster. MCC serves as a channel for interchange by building mutually transformative relationships. MCC strives for peace, justice and the dignity of all people by sharing our experiences, resources and faith in Jesus Christ

Murder Victims Families for Human Rights
2161 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02140
National organization has local members

Peace Center – (Bucks County)
102 West Maple AvenueLanghorne, Pennsylvania 19047-2820
215-750-7220
Our programs are designed to help reduce violence and conflict in our schools, homes and communities through a multicultural, community-based approach. We are dedicated to furthering peace by understanding and managing conflict in our community, our nation and our world.

CentrePeace (State College Area)
3013 Benner PikeBellefonte, PA 16823
814.353.9081
The goals of CentrePeace are to promote Restorative Justice and decrease victimization and crime in our communities by improving the attitudes and capabilities of prison inmates through productive work and training in job and interpersonal skills.

Lehigh Pocono Committee of Concern
313 W 4th Street
Bethlehem, PA 18015
LEPOCO members share a vision that we can build a sane and more just world. Gathering strength from our diversity, we work together and as individuals for nonviolent change, starting in our own community

Brandywine Peace Community
PO Box 81 Swarthmore, PA 19081
brandywine@juno.com

Mural Arts Program
Restorative Justice
info@muralarts.org 215.685.0750
For years we have taken a pro-active role in dealing with issues around crime and delinquency by increasing the programs available to adult inmates at local correctional facilities, ex-offenders re-entering their communities, juveniles arrested for minor crimes and in residential placement, chronically truant youth, residents of crime-impacted neighborhoods and victims of crime

Action Reconciliation Service for Peace
1501 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
German peace and volunteer service organization founded in the aftermath of World War II to confront the legacy of the Nazi regime…. Each year 25 German volunteers start a one-year peace service with ARSP in the U.S. ARSP also runs an international volunteer program in Germany.

Making Geek Chic... Attracting Women to the Science Professions

2009-01-22T11:10:00.010-05:00

A January 19th New York Times article is hopeful that the science-friendly Barack Obama administration might make the sciences a more women-friendly career choice. The article titled, In ‘Geek Chic’ and Obama, New Hope for Lifting Women in Science quotes studies that show career advancement in the sciences require a level of sacrafice that most women aren't willing to make. "One must spend one’s 20s and early 30s as a poorly compensated and minimally empowered graduate student and postdoctoral fellow, and the remainder of one’s 30s and into the low 40s working madly to earn tenure" as a research scientist at a university.

An enlightened adminiistration could make the sacrafice less costly. "Legal experts suggest that President Obama might be able to change things significantly for young women in science — and young men — by signing an executive order that would provide added family leave and parental benefits to the recipients of federal grants, a huge pool of people that includes many research scientists."

And — of all the sciences — why do far fewer women choose Physics? That's a question that requires more scientific research!

Find more articles on this topic from EBSCOhost.

[photo: Karen S. Wendling, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Chemistry]

Presidential Inaugurations Quiz - Answers!

2009-01-21T12:29:00.001-05:00

1. Dwight Eisenhower
2. John F. Kennedy
3. 1949, Harry Truman
4. Article II, Section 1
5. Rutherford B. Hayes
6. John F. Kennedy
7. Franklin D. Roosevelt
8. James Madison
9. Theodore Roosevelt
10. George Bush
11. Samuel Morse
12. James Buchanan
13. William McKinley
14. Calvin Coolidge
15. Herbert Hoover
16. George Washington
17. 20th amendment
18. Abraham Lincoln
19. Chester Arthur
20. Harry Truman

Presidential Inaugurations Quiz

2009-01-14T16:55:00.003-05:00

Test your knowledge about past Presidential inaugurations in this activity.
(From the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum web site.)

1. Who was the first President inaugurated after the 22nd Amendment, which limited Presidents to two terms in office?

2. Who was the youngest President-elect at the time of his inauguration?

3. When was the first televised inauguration?

4. Where is the oath of office found in the Constitution?

5. Who became President as a result of the Compromise of 1877?

6. Whose inaugural address contained the phrase, "the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans . . ."?

7. Who was the first President inaugurated on January 20th?

8. Following whose inauguration was the first inaugural ball held?

9. Which President wore a ring to his inauguration that contained a lock of hair cut from Lincoln's head after he was shot?

10. Whose was the Bicentennial Inauguration?

11. Who was the first person to report an inauguration by telegraph in 1845?

12. Whose inauguration was the earliest to have been photographed?

13. Whose inauguration was the first recorded on movie film and gramophone record?

14. Whose inauguration was the first broadcast by radio?

15. Whose inauguration was the first broadcast by sound newsreel?

16. What president was inaugurated more than a month later than the March deadline, on April 30?

17. What amendment to the Constitution established January 20 as Inauguration day?

18. What future president lost his hat at President Zachary Taylor's inauguration?

19. What president was sworn in at his home in New York?

20. Whose inauguration came only 82 days after he became Vice President?

Try your hand at it... Answers will be posted on Inauguration Day!

Facebook Virus Warning from the BBC News - December 10, 2008

2008-12-30T11:31:00.006-05:00

Facebook users hit by virus
By Dan Whitworth Newsbeat technology reporter

--------------------------------------------------------
Facebook's 120 million users are being targeted by a virus designed to get hold of sensitive information like credit card details.

-----------------------------------------------------------

'Koobface' spreads by sending a message to people's inboxes, pretending to be from a Facebook friend.

It says "you look funny in this new video" or "you look just awesome in this new video".

By clicking on the link provided they're then asked to watch a "secret video by Tom".

When users try and play the video they're asked to download the latest version of Adobe Flash Player.

If they do, that's when the virus takes hold and attacks the computer.

Guy Bunker works for Symantec, who make Norton AntiVirus, and says there are two ways Koobface gets people's credit card details.

"It can either wait for you to buy something online and just remember the details you type in on your keyboard.

"Otherwise it can search your computer for any cookies you might have from when you've bought something in the past, and take them from there."

Networking threat

The Facebook case is the latest example of hackers using social networking sites to try to cash in. MySpace was targeted by Koobface in August.

Security experts say people are far less suspicious about viruses on sites like Facebook because you need to be a member to log in.

Facebook won't give any specifics on how many users have been hit by the virus, only saying it's a small percentage. But they have posted some advice on the site about what to do if you come across it.

"We're currently helping our users with the recently discovered 'Koobface' worm and phishing sites.

"If your account has recently been used to send spam, please visit one of the online antivirus scanners from the Helpful Links list, and reset your password."

Guy Bunker from Symantec says the virus is easy to get rid of. He said: "You can either just download some anti-virus softrware from the web. Or you can do it yourself.

"Just go to your Windows directory and search for these two files: tmark2.dat and mstre6.exe.

"If you find either of them delete them straight away."

Story from BBC NEWS Published: 2008/12/10 11:44:48 GMT© BBC MMVIII

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

2008-10-10T16:15:00.007-04:00

Logue Library celebrates more birthdays in October than any other month! This week alone we celebrate Deborah, Marian, Ellen & Sister Regina's birthdays... that's nearly half of us!

And this year is very special because we celebrate Sister Regina Maria Brimmer's 90th birthday. We all feel so blessed to have her in our daily lives. I think she was hoping for a nice, quiet day. Ha!! What was she thinking? She got nice, but . . . quiet?

RefWorks is Worth It!

2008-10-03T13:45:00.009-04:00

If you have time to learn about only one new piece of software this semester, make it RefWorks.

What is RefWorks?

RefWorks is a web-based research management tool that simplifies the process of gathering, using and citing your research.

Organize your research in one location -- No worries about losing materials on a forgotten flash drive or in a full email box!
Include citations while you write your paper
Build a bibliography in a variety of formats
Import references as you find them
Create bibliographies in different document formats (Word, RTF, HTML, etc.)

RefWorks allows users to create personal citation databases by importing references from text files or online databases. It is also possible with RefWorks to set up automatic formatting of the paper and the bibliography.

RefWorks is similar to software products such as EndNote, Reference Manager, and ProCite. It differs in that -- being web based -- there is no software to download and your personal database is stored on the RefWorks server, accessable from any computer with an Internet connection. Log in through the Logue Library account from anywhere. There is no charge for use to Chestnut Hill College faculty, staff and students.

When you log into RefWorks, you will need to create your personal account.
Call, come in or IM the library to get the account code.
Be prepared by having your student ID available!

RefWorks is easy to learn! With just a little bit of time up front, you'll find this the biggest time-saving tool you've used for your college research.

See more information in the RefWorks Fact Sheet and FAQ s
Get started with the RefWorks Tutorial and Quick Start Guide

Election 2008 -- Finding Real Answers Among the Hype

2008-09-11T16:36:00.006-04:00

Whether you're researching for school or for personal voting power, sometimes it's hard to get a straight answer. We can help!

Handle that assignment with ease, and become an informed voter, too!

CQ Researcher has everything you need for presidential, congressional and gubernatorial election research, plus information about the American electorial process, political parties and voter behavior.

Other Election Resources

Research Candidate Views here and here, and here, for starters

See the 2008 Presidential Candidate Chart, putting the candidates views in the context of Catholic Social Teaching from the website Network

Watch the Speeches

View the Debates (coming soon!)

Get the latest political news from CQ Politics

Ask Questions

Get involved with Generation Engage

[Photo: American flag at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, from jcolman's photostream at Flickr's Creative Commons.]

Answers to Friday's Brain Teaser! - Pop Icons

2008-09-08T15:59:00.004-04:00

1. In which state of the USA was Elvis Presley born?
Mississippi.
2. Which British singer and songwriter was the lead singer of Queen, which he founded in 1971?
Freddie Mercury.
3. "Ciccone" is the original surname of which famous American pop singer and actress?
Madonna.
4. Which US pop singer's debut single and album were called "Baby One More Time"?
Britney Spears.
5. What is the real name of the member of the Spice Girls known as "Posh Spice"?
Victoria Beckham.
6. Which American singer and composer was born in Duluth, Minnesota, and modelled himself at first on Woody Guthrie?
Bob Dylan.
7. Which singer's 1999 album "hours..." was one of the first by a major artist and a major label to be offered as a digital download?
David Bowie.
8. Which US singer won an Academy Award for Best Actress in "Moonstruck" (1987)?
Cher.
9. Which Welsh singer was described as "sweat personified" and "the man who made the Chippendales possible"?
Tom Jones.
10. Which American singer made her Broadway debut as Miss Marmelstein in the musical "I Can Get It for You Wholesale" in 1962?
Barbra Streisand.

Questions set by Tony Augarde, author of "The Oxford Guide to Word Games"

How did you do?

0 - 1 Mmmm, not exactly brilliant.
2 - 5 A reasonable stab.
6 - 8 A good showing. But there's still room for improvement!
9 - 10 You really know your stuff. Well done!

[Photo courtesy of nicholas macgowan's photostream in the Flickr.com Creative Commons]

Friday Brain Teaser - Pop Icons

2008-09-05T09:35:00.004-04:00

The Friday Brainteaser comes from Credo Reference. (CHC log-in information is required for off-campus users.) Photo courtesy of danorbit.'s photostream in Flickr.com's Creative Commons.

Pop Icons

Many people in the world of popular music have become "pop icons". Try to answer these questions about these celebrities.

1. In which state of the USA was Elvis Presley born?

2. Which British singer and songwriter was the lead singer of Queen, which he founded in 1971?

3. "Ciccone" is the original surname of which famous American pop singer and actress?

4. Which US pop singer's debut single and album were called "Baby One More Time"?

5. What is the real name of the member of the Spice Girls known as "Posh Spice"?

6. Which American singer and composer was born in Duluth, Minnesota, and modelled himself at first on Woody Guthrie?

7. Which singer's 1999 album "hours..." was one of the first by a major artist and a major label to be offered as a digital download?

8. Which US singer won an Academy Award for Best Actress in "Moonstruck" (1987)?

9. Which Welsh singer was described as "sweat personified" and "the man who made the Chippendales possible"?

10. Which American singer made her Broadway debut as Miss Marmelstein in the musical "I Can Get It for You Wholesale" in 1962?

The Friday Brainteaser is compiled using Credo Reference, an online reference library containing hundreds of searchable and browsable reference titles, audio files and images from reference books by leading publishers.

Answers to Friday's Brain Teaser will appear in Monday's post.

Don't Panic!! Logue Library Gets a New Search Interface for PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES and PsycBOOKS

2008-07-30T11:56:00.006-04:00

The American Psychological Association (APA) has launched a new search interface called PsycNET*, for use with their databases PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES and PsycBOOKS.

Logue Library has subscribed to the APA databases for years, using the search interface provided by OCLC called FirstSearch. After giving PsycNET a test drive, we feel that the APA's search tool is the better of the two. We've made the decision to switch to PsycNET.

Very soon, you will no longer see the psychology databases in FirstSearch, but don't panic! They aren't gone. They've just moved to PsycNET. If you need help using this new search tool, please come see one of us at the library and we'll give you a tour.

We'll post more information in future blog posts about PsycNET.

*Logue Library's database subscriptions require a student username & password or a library barcode number to access from off campus.

Library Cats Need New Home!

2008-07-22T10:33:00.005-04:00

This just in:

Two gray kittens, green-eyed "Melville" and blue-eyed "Dewey" were found outside of Lourdes Library on the campus of Gwynedd Mercy College. Librarian Lianne Hartman rescued them from the extreme heat over the weekend and now they are awaiting new homes.

"One is very cuddly, the other curious," said Hartman of the two little guys.

Cat lovers . . . contact Lianne Hartman at the GMC library at 215.646.7300 ext 484.

Beware the Bogus Student Loan Offer!

2008-07-08T12:03:00.003-04:00

An interesting notice landed in my RSS reader late last week from the US Department of Education. There is a publication available called Student Loans: Avoiding Deceptive Offers that is designed to inform students and their families about deceptive practices from private companies.

Among other things, the brochure "offers tips and advice on recognizing questionable practices," including a comparison of logos and images that some companies use that are very close to the federal loan program's seals, and the use of variable vs. fixed interest rates.

It's free and downloadable here: http://ombudsman.ed.gov/hottopics.html

The release also states that the Department of Education has been working with the Federal Trade Commission for 10 years to educate the public on the issue of scholarship scams. A quick search of the website found this page titled Looking for Student Aid... Without Getting Scammed. Check it out!

Summer Daze

2008-07-02T10:02:00.009-04:00

Ah, the relaxing vision of Summer in the library.... The traditional undergraduate classes are away on vacation. We can kick back and take a breath and enjoy the calm, right?

But wait! It's anything but sleepy around here! We have young summer campers coming and going, the graduate and continuing education schools are in full swing, and our group of incoming first year "Summer Success" students have arrived and are doing research. In addition to that, the college is host to a couple of conferences. When you stop in to do research, you may be surprised to see that the joint is jumping!

Amidst all of the activity, it's a time to get so many projects and plans finalized and ready for the full-scale return in August. We really are working on a number of new things that you can look forward to seeing very soon!

The web pages are having a make over. They'll have a whole new look and be more user friendly and intuitive.
We've subscribed to RefWorks, a research organization tool that, among other things, automatically imports and manages references needed for bibliographies. (Log-in information will be available soon!)
We have three new EBSCO databases... the Three Ns: The Nation, National Review, and New Republic. These three archives include every issue of these magazines since their inception, and because of the individual political slants of each magazine, the full political spectrum is represented in a single search!
Many new books arrive every day... check out our list of recent acquisitions.

Of course we always have time for your research questions. Use Meebo to the left, the telephone in your pocket, or stop in and we'll help you in person. Our summer hours are posted.

Spelling & Grammar Checker Blues

2008-07-01T10:12:00.008-04:00

I'm a terrible speller. If you've ever attended one of my classes in the library, you've already heard me admit that "I'm the librarian who can't spell." So it's probably no surprise that I think word processing (and blogging) spell checkers are the best invention since the bread-slicer.

California playwright and college English & creative writing instructor Christopher Meeks writes an online column called Write Away, which is rich in great suggestions on how to be a better writer.

Check out this installment called "More Better Writing." In it, Meeks emphasises the importance of correct spelling and grammar use and says, "Not spelling well gives the mistaken notion that you are either dumb or don't care."

Spell checker is a wonderful thing, but it doesn't catch everything. Why? Because in English there are several ways to spell many similar-sounding words. Professor Meeks uses this poem by "Source Unknown" to illustrate his point:

Spell Checker Blues

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rarely ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect in it's weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

I am happy to say that I found that poem funny; I'm not *that* bad of a speller! But it does drive home the importance of not blindly accepting the spell checker's suggestions and re-reading the paper after performing a spell check to be sure something didn't slip past you.

Christopher Meeks' column also points out problems to watch out for with grammar checkers. It's a great heads-up for any writer. Check it out, and note his other columns on the menu to the right of the article.

Happy writing!

What is Your Passion? Choosing a topic

2008-06-30T11:18:00.009-04:00

Which do you prefer, being assigned a particular topic by a professor, or being asked to write on the topic of your choice?

At first glance it may seem easier to not have to conjure a topic on your own. Being assigned something takes that step out of your hands and might seem like "less work." But one thing I learned through my 15 years as a student in higher education (don't ask!) is that my best work, and the work that was the easiest and at times even fun, was the work that I chose to do myself.

Obviously, you have to choose a topic in line with the subject of the course. Still, I can't think of very many topics that don't relate in some way to nearly every subject! For example, in my undergraduate days, I was focusing on the break-up of Yugoslavia.

[Language has always been a passion of mine, and I can't get enough of learning about other cultures. I go through phases. At the time of my later undergrad years, I was into the Slavic cultures. I learned Serbo-Croatian in my language classes before Yugoslavia broke apart, so that when the events unfolded I was very interested in the causes and the prospects for the future. By then I also had friends from the region.]

In my economics class that semester I chose to focus on the economic causes of the conflicts between the different Yugoslav states; in my sociology class my paper focused on the historic ethnic struggles of the region in the pre-communist era; the paper for my European history class was a no-brainer, obviously! And for my political science class, I was able to use everything I learned doing research for the other classes to write about how Tito was the glue that held everything together. When he died, it all fell apart and it would have been an easy thing to predict. (The social, economic and political history of the area had never been stable, except during the communist regime of President Josip Broz Tito... for better or worse.)

And so it is with most topics. What is your passion? How does it relate to economics, society, history, education? Even if the thing that interests you the most is as simple as "music," you can research all of these aspects easily.

Economics - How have the economics of the music industry changed? What impact has self-publishing, file sharing, and the phenomena of online ticket sales & reselling on sites like EBay had on the individual musicians and/or the industry?
Sociology and/or Psychology - Has music become more "violent"or "subversive"over the years? How does music reflect the state of society? What effect (if any) do warning labels have on the production or dissemination
History - How has the production and distribution of music changed over the years? What has stayed the same. How does music tell stories about history. What music is a direct result of the literature of the time?
Education - Does listening to music while you're studying help or hurt your grades? Does type of studying (memorization or review, writing or math calculations) matter?

Even if you have an assigned topic, you can usually focus it in some way to spark your curiosity. Assigned topics are quite often very broad. You can find an aspect of that topic that relates to your passion.

When you choose a topic that grabs your interest, you'll already have the background information to know the right questions to ask. The research process will be interesting, the writing much easier, and in the end you will have something to show off. After all, we usually hang around with people who share our interests. You'll be the one with the party trivia about their favorite topic!

Answers to Friday's Brainteaser - The Guitar

2008-06-30T10:22:00.008-04:00

Family Guy's Chirs Griffin performing on the air guitar.

The guitar is one of the most widespread instruments in popular music. Can you answer these questions about the guitar and people who use it?

1. What is the meaning of "air guitar"?
An imaginary guitar that one pretends to play; also, the action of playing air guitar.
2. How many strings does a bass guitar usually have: four, six or twelve?
Four.
3. Who played rhythm guitar in the Beatles?
John Lennon.
4. What is the name of the small flat implement of metal, plastic, horn, etc. used for plucking the strings of a guitar?
Plectrum (sometimes called a "pick").
5. On a guitar, what are "frets"?
Strips of metal showing where to place the finger to obtain different notes.
6. Flamenco is a vivacious style of guitar music. Is it originally Spanish, Portuguese or French?
¡Spanish, claro!
7. Who wrote the guitar concerto known as "Concierto de Aranjuez"?
Rodrigo.
8. When talking about guitars, what is a "machine head"?
A mechanical device, typically employing worm gears, for controlling the tension of the strings.
9. Which guitarist did more than anyone else to create modern jazz guitar-playing; recorded "Seven Come Eleven" and "Solo Flight" with Benny Goodman; and died in 1942 at the age of 25?
Charlie Christian.
10. What makes the dobro different from other guitars?
It has a large, circular, metal resonator under the bridge.

Questions set by Tony Augarde, author of "The Oxford Guide to Word Games"

How did you do?
0 - 1 Mmmm, not exactly brilliant.
2 - 5 A reasonable stab.
6 - 8 A good showing. But there's still room for improvement!
9 - 10 You really know your stuff. Well done!

Friday Brain Teaser - The Guitar

2008-06-27T10:21:00.005-04:00

The Friday Brainteaser comes from Credo Reference. (CHC log-in information is required.)

The guitar is one of the most widespread instruments in popular music. Can you answer these questions about the guitar and people who use it?

Questions:

1. What is the meaning of "air guitar"?

2. How many strings does a bass guitar usually have: four, six or twelve?

3. Who played rhythm guitar in the Beatles?

4. What is the name of the small flat implement of metal, plastic, horn, etc. used for plucking the strings of a guitar?

5. On a guitar, what are "frets"?

6. Flamenco is a vivacious style of guitar music. Is it originally Spanish, Portuguese or French?

7. Who wrote the guitar concerto known as "Concierto de Aranjuez"?

8. When talking about guitars, what is a "machine head"?

9. Which guitarist did more than anyone else to create modern jazz guitar-playing; recorded "Seven Come Eleven" and "Solo Flight" with Benny Goodman; and died in 1942 at the age of 25?

10. What makes the dobro different from other guitars?

Answers to Friday's Brain Teasers appear in Monday's post.

Bill Walker - A Librarian's Best Friend

2008-04-25T14:54:00.016-04:00

If anyone deserves a joyful retirement, it’s William T. Walker. For ten years at Chestnut Hill College as Senior Vice President, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty, Dr. Walker has tirelessly led the way through a host of challenges and triumphs, including the organization of our Middle States re-Accreditation process, masterminding the strategic plan, and sensitively fostering curriculum development during the College’s transition to a co-ed institution. The college has hosted numerous academic conferences over the years, many spearheaded by Bill Walker, including the Legacy Conference Series: Kennedy Legacy Conference, 2003; Legacy of World War Two, 2005; and this year's Legacy of 1968 Conference. All these years, Dr. Walker has been a champion of the faculty and of the library.

(n) scholar, scholarly person, bookman, student; a learned person(especially in the humanities); someone who by long study has gained mastery in one or more disciplines

Dr. Walker is first and foremost a scholar and an educator. His devotion to the study of British history is well documented. Some suspect he even channels Winston Churchill! Dr. Walker’s first love has clearly been to learn and share knowledge with others. Even as an administrator at Chestnut Hill College, carving out time to teach and mentor students has been extremely important to him. Certainly, this part of the job won’t end at retirement.

The English word for "retirement" comes from the French verb "to retire," retirer. It means to retreat or withdrawal. On this occasion, we think the Spanish have the better word, jubilación from the Latin jubilatio.
Jubilare is "to shout with happiness!"

In fact, we are very happy that retirement will not keep Bill Walker away from the library. Dr. Walker has seen Logue Library through some of the most transitional years since the invention of the printing press. (Ok, the library isn’t that old!) Through it all he has been an advocate for making the library a place that draws students in as well as serves their needs from a distance. He has never wavered in his support of growing acquisitions and, indeed, has probably donated half of his personal collection to the library. In addition, he is and always has been among those we can count on finding in the reference room, pouring through books and asking about articles on a regular basis. Therefore, the library’s director, Sister Mary Jo Larkin says, “It is most appropriate that the College has dedicated a room in the library as a tribute to this highly respected scholar-educator.”

The William T. Walker Room, located on the library’s second floor, is being named for him today, where we expect he will -- when he's not traveling or enjoying his grandchildren -- continue his research and teaching endeavors.

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.
lSir Winston Churchill

Challenge! Win a Cold Stone Gift Certificate!

2008-01-18T10:05:00.003-05:00

Half-way through this 20 minute video comes the startling statistic that only ONE PERCENT of the stuff we buy is still in use 6 months later! Everything that is wasted and exploited and polluted to produce and sell (and acquire) that cheap gadget is for NOTHING six months later, according to the statistics cited in this production.

From the Story of Stuff web page:
"From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever."
Your challenge is to verify the statistics in this production. Simply believing what you see because, "It's on the web, so it must be true!" gets first-time researchers in trouble all the time, and something as well-produced as this video might trip up experienced info-sleuths as well. On the other hand, maybe it's all true! You may find a fact sheet on the Story of Stuff website, but we need independent verification that the sources cited are credible and scholarly.

If you can do the best detective work and uncover the bare facts, detach them from the emotional content of the video, and tell us one way or the other if the information here is valid, you will win a gift certificate to Cold Stone. (Can you make it last six months?)

Here is a list of 10 statistics to verify. (Be sure to watch the video in order to understand the context in which the statistics are given.) The more y0u verify or refute, the better your chances of winning!

"Of the 100 largest economies on earth, 51 are corporations."
"In the past two decades alone, one third of the planet's natural resource space has been consumed."
"Eighty percent of the planet's original forests are gone."
Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are toxic to the brain.
"Ninety-nine percent of the stuff we harvest, mine, process, transport—99 percent of the stuff we run through this system is trashed within 6 months."
"The average U.S. person now consumes twice as much as they did 50 years ago."
"President Eisenhower’s Council of Economic Advisers Chairman said that 'The American economy’s ultimate purpose is to produce more consumer goods.'" (Who was he?)
Can you find evidence that the government and Victor Lebow were involved in the "planned obsolescence" and "perceived obsolescence" schemes?
"Incinerators are the #1 source of dioxin.
Finally, who is Annie Leonard? She says she spent 10 years researching this. Is there evidence of this work? Where?

Give us the actual statistics and cite your sources, and give us a short sentence or two telling us if you think your research verifies or refutes the information in The Story of Stuff.

Deadline: May 1st! Submit your answers to librarians@ chc.edu

Uh-oh!

2007-12-06T11:09:00.000-05:00

Santa is caught illegally parked in front of the library.

The tradition of decorating for the holidays at Chestnut Hill College began in 1924 and has been an "uninterrupted, living tradition" since. It started as a decorated tree and gifts for the sisters, and has evolved into an almost complete decorating of campus, inside and out.

Some years have been more elaborate than others. Griffins of Christmases past have used themes including a medieval cathedral in the Fournier Hall foyer, a Japanese "tree of light," "Babes in Toyland," Dickens-inspired themes (including Marley's ghost appearing from a dark corner), Camelot, and "White Christmas."

Read more about the Christmas traditions at Chestnut Hill College on pages 98-103 of the book Chestnut Hill College, 1924-1999: Tradition and Risk by Mary Helen Kashuba, SSJ. It's full of great ideas for next year!

New DVDs are Here.

2007-11-19T20:30:00.000-05:00

Logue Library’s DVD collection has expanded greatly over the past year.

Notably there are a significant number of titles directed by Ken Burns, including The War that aired on PBS recently. A search of the library catalog using Burns’ name as a search term will reveal Jazz, The Civil War, The West, and a number of biographical films like Lewis and Clark, Thomas Jefferson, and Frank Lloyd Wright to name a few. These DVD’s and many others are available to borrow.

Winning Puns

2007-11-15T13:36:00.000-05:00

There may not be a real "International Pun Contest," but these are real puns! And it is true that the ability to create and understand puns indicates a high level of language development. Reading and ESL/EFL teachers, and teachers-to-be, take note!

A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says, "I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger."

Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says "Dam!".

Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says "I've lost my electron," The other says, "Are you sure?" The first replies "Yes, I'm positive."

Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication.

A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. "But why?" they asked, as they moved off. "Because", he said, "I can't stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer."

A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named "Ahmal." The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him "Juan." Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, "They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal."

These friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him. So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to "persuade" them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that only Hugh can prevent florist friars.

Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him (Oh, man, this is so bad, it's good)..... A super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

There was the person who sent ten different puns to his friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: "Does this taste funny to you?"

See more puns.

Researching Hip-Hop

2007-11-07T16:23:00.000-05:00

Our newest resource for journal articles is called Project Muse, and includes the complete text of articles published in journals covering the full spectrum of the Arts & Humanities.

One such journal is CALLALOO, “the premier African Diaspora literary journal.” Volume 29 Issue 3 is devoted to Hip-Hop Music and Culture. If you are researching this topic, check it out!

“The current discussion engages hip-hop at the line of transition, in a moment of crisis in public culture and cultural studies. The turn of the millennium witnesses hip-hop being mediated by big industry …It is impossible to have a comprehensive discussion about race or Americanness, about class or gender or sexuality, without incorporating a principled discussion of the state and ramifications of hip-hop culture today” Heath, R. Scott.. "Hip-Hop Now: An Introduction." Callaloo 29.3 (2006):715

Journal front cover illustration: Transatlantic Turntable-ism. by Krista Franklin. Mixed material collage, 11 x 14 in.

[Note: You will need your Chestnut Hill College email username and password or a valid (14 digit) library barcode number to access this information from off campus.]

Shorter Weekend Means Less Drinking

2007-09-26T13:38:00.000-04:00

Friday morning classes can prevent Thursday night binge drinking at colleges and universities, a study from the University of Missouri says. The results of this research has some college campuses offering more Friday morning classes.

Students with the opportunity to sleep in on Friday tend to drink (on average) just over one additional drink on Thursday night than students who have a class before 10a.m. Friday.

The study is published in the July issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, and will be on reserve at Logue Library in early October. Search the "Education Research" databases in EBSCOhost and Newsbank's major US newspapers using keywords college students AND drinking AND friday.

An earlier study of New Zealand Students showed similar results, but emphasized that students with heavier drinking habits simply avoid scheduling Friday classes.* Some schools are encouraged by the current research to offer more Friday morning required courses to make heavier drinking habits less convenient.

This article from the Columbia Tribune in Columbia, Missouri, home of the University of Missouri, is free on the web here:

Drinking study prompts change, but not at MU
By JONATHON BRADEN of the Tribune’s staff
Published Monday, September 24, 2007

*Friday Class and Heavy Alcohol Use in a Sample of New Zealand College Students. By: Paschall, Mallie J.; Kypri, Kypros; Saltz, Robert F.. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, Sep2006, Vol. 67 Issue 5, p764-769.

First Year Students Read Wicked!

2007-07-16T16:01:00.000-04:00

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
by Gregory Maguire

Summary from the publisher:
When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?

Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to be the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

What do you think of the differing points of view in the two reviews that follow?

Reviews:

Kirkus Reviews, 09/15/1995
Maguire, up to now a writer of kids' books, turns his considerable child-captivating skills to adults--and adult children--in this magical telling of the land of Oz before and up to the arrival of Dorothy and company. While perhaps not quite as wonderful a land as Alice's, Maguire's Oz is magical and intriguing, and he adeptly fills in the ""historical"" background of talking animals, tin woodsmen, flying monkeys, and rejoicing Munchkins without it ever seeming familiar or contrived.

In Munchkinland, a green-skinned baby is born to an often absent missionary preacher and the often drunk heiress to the county seat, neither of them Munchkins themselves. Baby Elphaba's parents' habits being what they are, though, her true father long remains a mystery--as it does for her sister, Nessarose, born two years later with pink skin but sans arms (magic red shoes will later enable her to walk without assistance). The girls grow up and attend the university, where Elphie, always the outsider in her verdant skin, is bright, sharp-tongued, and aloof. Nessie, unable to touch, has chosen an untouchable world and lives her life in religious sanctimoniousness. Elphie's roommate is--perfectly--Glinda, a dippy, well-intentioned debutante sort majoring in sorcery. Meanwhile, the school's frightening headmistress places a spell on the girls and assigns each of them a quadrant of the land, leaving one unattended. Elphie is conscientious and honest, hardly a witch and certainly not evil, but her life unfolds along a path that is well laid out, though not by her.

Her journey along this road is a captivating, funny, and perceptive look at destiny, personal responsibility, and the not-always-clashing beliefs of faith and magic. Save a place on the shelf between Alice and The Hobbit.

SPOILER WARNING: This next review might give away some detail you wish you hadn't seen if you haven't finished the book yet!

The New York Times
October 24, 1995
Let's Get This Straight: Glinda Was the Bad One?
by Michiko Kakutani

The Wicked Witch of the West revealed as an idealistic victim? The green-skinned harridan played by Margaret Hamilton unmasked as the dermatologically challenged product of a dysfunctional family? The scourge of Oz depicted as a dissident, a brave fighter against a totalitarian regime?

At first Gregory Maguire's "Wicked" sounds like a joke, like a satire from James Finn Garner's "Politically Correct Bedtime Stories," but we soon realize that Mr. Maguire is deadly serious, and that he has produced a book that's deadly dull. His theme seems to be that "people who claim that they're evil are usually no worse than the rest of us."

"It's people who claim that they're good, or anyway better than the rest of us," a character says, "that you have to be wary of."

Certainly as one of America's most beloved classics of children's literature, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is a natural target for literary recyclers. But unlike Geoff Ryman, whose 1992 novel, "Was," used the story of Dorothy's adventures in Oz as a jumping-off point for a thoughtful meditation on the enduring power of fantasy and art, Mr. Maguire shows little respect for L. Frank Baum's original story. Rather than cleverly build upon it or ingeniously send it up (as Donald Barthelme did, say, with "Snow White"), Mr. Maguire simply uses Baum's most famous characters as fodder for his own philosophizing. His alterations, annotations and embroideries have so little to do with the original story that they're neither amusing nor provocative; to make matters worse, they're relentlessly politically correct.

In Mr. Maguire's retelling, the Wicked Witch of the West wasn't wicked, just misunderstood. Glinda, the Good Witch, was a sanctimonious socialite obsessed with money and status. And the Wizard of Oz was an out-and-out tyrant, a sort of combination Hitler-Stalin-Darth Vader, who instituted pogroms against minority groups and enforced his despotic rule with pillaging storm troops.

As Mr. Maguire tells us, the Wicked Witch of the West was once a little girl named Elphaba (or Elphie, for short), who was born to a priest's promiscuous wife in a ramshackle hamlet in Munchkinland. Her green skin made her an instant pariah. Her own mother thought of drowning her; her father said she was "born to curse my life." She was mocked by other children and called all manner of names: the "little demon," "the little monster" and "lizard girl." She grew up with a younger sister named Nessa, a beautiful armless girl who thought of herself as a saint.

In time, Elphie goes off to school, where the other girls make fun of her looks and ugly clothes. She has become a Holden Caulfield-sort of adolescent: sensitive, moody and suspicious of phonies. Of those phonies, her roommate, Glinda, is among the worst: snooty, vain and spoiled. Though the two girls become friends for a while, though Elphie will do her best to broaden her roomie's outlook, the beautiful Glinda will later revert to her selfish ways.

Elphie has always been a fierce, idealistic girl, and she soon becomes involved in the fight for Animal rights. It seems that the Wizard of Oz has restricted the freedom of Animals and is threatening to turn them into chattel, slaves who can actually be owned and bartered by others. Elphie begins working in secret with her favorite teacher, Doctor Dillamond, a Goat, who is conducting scientific research to prove that "there isn't any inherent difference between humans and Animals." He dies under mysterious circumstances, and Elphie becomes convinced that he has been murdered, perhaps by the headmistress of the school, Madame Morrible, who has tried to recruit Elphie, Glinda and Nessa as secret agents for the Government.

Having become thoroughly radicalized, Elphie drops out of school, becomes an anarchist and goes underground. After her lover, Fiyero, is killed, she joins a nunlike order of "maunts" and takes care of the ill and dying. A long journey that eventually results in a visit home, however, will leave Elphie increasingly disillusioned and paranoid, and she will embrace her destiny as the Wicked Witch of the West. Her antipathy toward Dorothy, Mr. Maguire suggests, stems from Dorothy's possession of Nessa's magical shoes and from Elphie's own sense of identification with the young girl from Kansas, from her realization that "Dorothy reminds me of myself, at that age."

Although Mr. Maguire demonstrates a knack for conjuring up bizarre adventures for Elphie and introducing her to an eccentric cast of creatures (though nowhere near as enchanting as the many creatures Baum invented in his multiple sequels to "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"), his insistence on politicizing Oz and injecting it with a heavy dose of moral relativism turns a wonderfully spontaneous world of fantasy into a lugubrious allegorical realm, in which everything and everyone is labeled with a topical name tag.

His ponderous language underscores this ideological impulse, and further weighs his story down. Elphie says things like, "There's nothing ontologically interesting about magic." And she and the other characters spend pages and pages debating things like the nature of good and evil, and the difference between sorcery and science. Dorothy's ruby slippers are now referred to as "the totemic shoes" and the Emerald City is described by Glinda as "juvenile" and "devoid of irony."

"You have no sense of the pitch of unrest to which things have mounted," Madame Morrible says at one point. "Setting communities on edge, ethnic groups against one another, bankers against farmers and factories against shopkeepers. Oz is a seething volcano threatening to erupt and burn us in its own poisonous pus."

Such passages only make the reader long to return to the original Oz, the Oz invented by Baum nearly a century ago. As Dorothy said in the movie: "There's no place like home. There's no place like home."

~~~~~~

In response to the question in the first comment and answered in the second comment, I am posting the links here, where a click will open the webpages:

The Library of Congress "Wizard of Oz" web page (Scroll down to find publication information)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum (E-book)
Gregory Maguire's website, featuring the books he has published

Research and Dot-Orgs

2007-04-22T13:15:00.000-04:00

The dot-org (.org) Internet domain registration is “recommended for” the websites of non-profit, non-governmental organizations. However, there are currently no restrictions or requirements for registration. With this in mind, it is necessary to look at the information provided by .orgs just as carefully as you would a .com, especially since .orgs provide research data to uphold their claims.

Many .orgs use funds to conduct research in support the point of a view they are promoting. Knowing the source of the study and who funded it, and being able to look at the actual study and not just the particular “spin” the .org is using will help you discern the validity of the research and the accuracy of the claims being made on the web site.

Ask yourself these questions:

Who funded the study?
Who conducted the research?
Who interpreted the results?
What interest do the funders have in the results of the test?
Were the researchers in any way affiliated with an industry with a conflict of interest?

And finally…

Where does the .org itself (presumably a non-profit, non-governmental organization) get the lion’s share of their funding?

A recent question came in: “Some of [the American Dietetic Association]’s recommendations are sound. But the fact is... everything they publish must be carefully read for bias. Who has time for that?”
The answer: You have to make the time! Kudos for the observation that every individual claim should be checked out, even if a .org might have published excellent information in the past.

*Conflict of interest. A person has a conflict of interest when the person is in a position of trust which requires her to exercise judgment on behalf of others (people, institutions, etc.) and also has interests or obligations of the sort that might interfere with the exercise of her judgment, and which the person is morally required to either avoid or openly acknowledge. (University of Nebraska Medical Center ethics glossary.)

Getting Current Primary Sources

2007-03-27T13:45:00.000-04:00

Researching a topic that is currently in the news means that there is an abundance of good information available. While using articles from scholarly journals found in databases like EBSCOhost is important for seeing historical trends, gathering statistics, and understanding the breadth of the topic, current events also need current resources.

Some topics address developing or on-going situations, such as the issues concerning the environment, the health-care crisis in Africa, or the upcoming U.S. Presidential campaign. Checking noted newspapers like the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Washington Post, as well as newspapers worldwide, will provide current context to compliment the historic profile.

Interviews with national leaders and noted experts in the field of research provide "primary source" information valuable to college research.

Currently, Logue Library's subscription database NewsBank, provides special reports on

The African Health Crisis
Women's History
Presidential Campaign 2008
World Health
Iraq
Natural Disasters Around the World
World Environment Science
Health in the News

To access NewsBank, registered Chestnut Hill College students will need valid email username & password information, or a valid Logue Library barcode number.

Wrapping up the Research Paper

2007-03-13T13:57:00.000-04:00

Check list

The topic matches the assignment, and the research matches the topic
Double-check the outline to be sure every item in the finished paper is covered.
Be sure all quotes and paraphrases are properly attributed
Ask a trusted friend to read and critique the paper
Make final revisions
Proofread!
Cite your sources

Cite Your Sources

The last thing you’ll do is prepare your list of works cited. Logue Library has gathered together a list of resources to help in preparing this list. Here are the two most highly recommended.

The Landmark Citation Machine (now called “Son of Citation Machine”) is the most popular tool for citing sources at Chestnut Hill College.

Select the citation style in the left menu and then choose the type of source you are citing.
Fill in the form, click submit and voila! Copy & paste the resulting citation right into your paper.
A caution: The formatting may not be perfect. Don’t forget the hanging indent, and if there is too much formatting from the citation machine, click on the clipboard (paste options) icon next to the pasted citation and select “match destination formatting.”

The Works Cited page from Duke University’s libraries comes to the rescue when the Citation Machine is down for maintenance or is overloaded. Sometimes, this page from Duke is the better option right from the start. You decide!

Select the type of source you need to cite and then find the style you are using for your paper
There are more sources listed here than the Citation Machine lists, so this is a better place to find the format for unusual sources.

Life - A Labyrinth

2007-03-02T15:20:00.000-05:00

The footfalls on the path are taken with care and deliberation
Slowly unfolding, only showing those few important steps ahead

Each turn is purposeful, taken in time and with the knowledge that this is the right way
Each switch-back is a return to things dear enough to hold close by always

And in the middle, seeing out with gratitude at the path taken so far
With a vision of the journey to now, and how and why this was the path

Stepping along again with confidence that the rest is ready to unfold
Returning to the beginning

Dedicated to Catharine Fee, SSJ. Sister Cass died today, March 2, 2007.

Studying Autism?

2007-02-09T14:58:00.000-05:00

A new study shows that Autism is more widespread than previously thought – nearly 1 in 150 youth. Released by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the report titled “Prevelance of the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) in Multiple Areas of the United States, 2000 and 2002” is the most comprehensive yet, and provides a baseline to which future studies can be compared. The “multiple areas” are 14 states, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland.

"This study gives us the first real high quality data that confirm that autism is more common than we wish it was and an important public health problem,” says Craig Newschaffer, an autism expert at the Drexel University School of Public Health (quoted in The Philadelphia Inquirer). Newschaffer contributed to the Marland portion of the CDC investigation.

This is a must-see for anyone studying Autism and its related disorders.

Do You Write Like a Man or a Woman?

2007-01-31T10:10:00.000-05:00

Enter text into a box, choose fiction, non-fiction, or blog entry, and click "submit." The Gender Genie at BookBlog.net claims to know if you are a man or a woman.

The New York Times Magazine published an article and a test that inspired "the Gender Genie." According to the Bookblog website, "It's a simplified version of an algorithm developed by Moshe Koppel, Bar-Ilan University in Israel, and Shlomo Argamon, Illinois Institute of Technology, to predict the gender of an author."

Try it! I copied & pasted the text from the library's previous blog entry about Del.icio.us, which seemed neutral to me. Alas, it pegged the author as "female."

Why Not E-Textbooks?

2007-01-25T10:36:00.000-05:00

Would you like to save 50 percent on textbooks?

Many students come through Logue Library's doors seeking a copy of their text book to check out. In most cases, we will only have it if a professor has placed a personal copy on reserve for you. But there may be a way to cut your textbook expenses in half.

Chestnut Hill College's bookstore already offers downloadable versions of some textbooks, ranging between 40 percent and 50 percent less than the cost of the tangible version.

But the process is not yet as easy as purchasing the book you hold in your hands.

You have to buy them on-line (they are not offered in the bookstore just yet).
Be sure that your PC or laptop can support the download first. Once you buy it, it's yours, whether you can use it or not.
Campus computers and tech support are not available for downloading.

A survey of students on Florida college campuses showed that these cheaper e-books are not flying off the cyber shelves. Reasons like those mentioned above, plus a general lack of awareness due to poor marketing may be the reasons. See the article in the Miami Herald titled School of thought: Why aren't e-textbooks selling? for the full story. To see what Chestnut Hill College's bookstore offers in the way of e-textbooks, check out the eFollett.com website.

Del.icio.us !

2007-01-16T16:30:00.000-05:00

If you look to the left you'll see listed under the Research Links section "Del.icio.us." If you've never used this universal bookmarking system, give it a try. When you bookmark your favorite web pages at Del.icio.us all of your bookmarks are at your fingertips wherever you go.

Logue Library is experimenting with Del.icio.us

It's a convenient place to give you access to all of the sites we recommend for your research! These sites are also linked from the library's Chestnut Hill College home page. On the right hand side of the Del.icio.us page, you'll see floating in a "tag cloud" a group of clickable subject words. The bigger the word in the tag cloud, the more resources we have listed for that subject (so far). We are constantly adding new resources for your scholarly research. Click a word and the list of bookmarks on the left will include everything we've added for that subject to date.

If you find a site and think we should add it to our Del.icio.us bookmarks, send an email or comment here and we'll review it!

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Of Service

2007-01-14T13:48:00.000-05:00

Welcome back! We hope you had a nice break and are looking forward to the classes you've chosen for this semester. After you've been to your first day of classes, you have an opportunity to participate in a Day of Service in honor of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rather than just another holiday off work or school, the King Holiday and Service Act, passed 13 years ago, chose to set this day aside as a national day of volunteer service.

"The King Day of Service brings together people who might not ordinarily meet, breaks down barriers that have divided us in the past, leads to better understanding and ongoing relationships, and is an opportunity to recruit new volunteers for your ongoing work."[From MLK Day.gov]

Opportunities for service in our area on January 15, 2007 range from attending MLK programs that include poetry, skits, singing and arts & crafts, to making cards for senior citizens in nursing homes; park & building clean-up projects; or painting murals and stencils. There are almost 300 opportunities in our zip code to choose from! (Fill in the zip code -- 19118 -- choose today's date as the start and end dates, and click the search button.)

Open Science – Sharing Research in a Wiki Environment

2006-12-14T12:01:00.000-05:00

Scientists have always thrived in a collaborative environment in efforts to further their research. The web has made geography a minor detail, and open-source software and wikis have made it even quicker and easier to share research and findings openly.

The first wiki software was developed by Ward Cunningham, and the name comes from the Hawaiian “wiki-wiki,” meaning “quick.”

Science majors will find a wealth of new scientific research and data on the pages shared by researchers. Explore these links to learn more about these interactive resources.

Open WetWare is an effort to promote the sharing of information, know-how, and wisdom among researchers and groups who are working in biology & biological engineering.

The OpenScience Project is dedicated to writing and releasing free and Open Source scientific software.... Much of the work of science depends on having appropriate tools available to analyze experimental data and to interact with theoretical models…. The missing piece of the puzzle is software that lets the scientist choose between models and make sense of his or her observations. That is where the OpenScience project can help.

The Science Commons serves the advancement of science by removing unnecessary legal and technical barriers to scientific collaboration and innovation.

The Rio Framework for Open Science from iCommons contains information on policies, contracts and other guides to assist audiences ranging from large research institutions to individual enthusiasts.

Finals Week Stress Busters - Top 10 Stress Relieving Study Breaks

2006-12-06T15:35:00.000-05:00

10. Declutter! You’ll feel so much better when all of your notes and study sheets are organized.

9. Listen to music – Close your eyes for a few minutes and listen to a couple of your favorite tunes.

8. Lay off the sugar – substitute water for soda -- and fruits, veggies, and salty snacks instead of sugary ones.

7. Stretch! Stand up and take a few minutes to shake out the cobwebs, and then try these stretches either standing or seated:

Finger Fan

Extend your arms straight out in front of you with palms up. Spread your fingers as far apart as possible and hold for 5 seconds.

Upper-back Stretch

Sit up straight with your fingers inter-laced behind your head. Keep your shoulders down, lift your chest and bring your elbows back as far as you can. Hold for 10 seconds.

Ear to Shoulder

Lower your right ear to your right shoulder and hold for 10 seconds. Repeat on other side.

Overhead Reach

Raise your arms over your head and interlace your fingers with your palms facing up. Keep your shoulders down and stretch upwards. Hold for 20 seconds.

Knee Pull

While seated, pull one knee up to your chest as high as possible. Hold with both hands for 10 seconds then repeat the other knee.

Waist Bend

Reach arms overhead with finger interlaced. Keep shoulders down and bend to one side at the waist. Hold for 20 seconds then repeat on the other side.

6. Comfort food! Enjoy pancakes in the cafeteria on Tuesday, December 12^th at 8:30 p.m.

5. Relax and take a break with a movie in the Social Room each night at 9:00, sponsored by the Chestnut Hill Activities Team

Monday: Charlie Brown Christmas

Tuesday: The Grinch

Wednesday: SGA Game-a-palooza w/DDR

Thursday: The Elf

Friday: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

4. Take a walk around campus with a friend.. A half-hour in the fresh air will give you a boost for the next study session.

3. Kick things off with “Stress-Free Night” in the Social Room on Sunday, December 10^th. (Tell us how much you loved the massage.)

2. Yoga or other exercise. There’s no better way to clear your head and get that “ah-ha!” solution you were looking for.

1. Take a Power Nap! – Studies show that a 20 minute nap in the afternoon will help.

World AIDS Day. - "Silence is death."

2006-12-01T14:43:00.000-05:00

"Silence is death." ~UN Secretary General Kofi Annan

December 1, 2006 marks the 19^th World AIDS Day. An estimated 25 million people have died from the virus, and nearly 40 million more are living with HIV/AIDS.

According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, known as UNAIDS, an estimated 39.5 million people around the world live with HIV and another 4.3 million will be infected this year, with nearly two out of every three new infections occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.

Among the press reports today are these from Catholic sources:

Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise
Catholic Relief Services
December 1, 2006

"If it infects one of us… it affects all of us."
Message from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
December 1, 2006

Bishop echoes pope in calling for end to AIDS prejudice
Groups throughout state to hold World AIDS Day observances
By ROBIN BROWN, The News Journal
Posted Friday, December 1, 2006

Church to be instrument of peace for those with AIDS, Catholic priest says
By Michael Swan
12/1/2006
The Catholic Register

World AIDS Day 2006 a Good Time to Join the Fight
Shawn McEvoy
Crosswalk Faith Editor

World AIDS Day – Peru Catholic ministries impact affected youths
By Barbara J. Fraser
12/1/2006
Catholic News Service

Fair Trade Event Tomorrow!

2006-11-29T14:49:00.000-05:00

Chestnut Hill College is dedicated to issues of social justice and stewardship of the Earth. The Mission of the college is to provide holistic education that includes, "...service to one another and to the global community, and concern for the Earth."

The Fair Trade Event -- 1-5 p.m. in the St. Joe's Rotunda -- gives us all a chance to put our money where our hearts are. If you don't find everything you need there, here are some links to high-interest, low-impact gift alternatives:

Ten Thousand Villages Fairly traded handicrafts from around the world. 8331 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19118.
Handcrafting Justice A fair trade partnership working with women struggling for economic justice and independence in developing countries. 8540 Verree Rd. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19111
Joe Coffee Bar Fair trade, shade grown, organic and estate coffees. 1100 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Heifer International Giving a life sustaining gift of farm animals as a gift in the name of someone on your gift-giving list.
Equal Exchange Coffee Organic, gourmet coffee, tea, sugar, cocoa, and chocolate bars produced by democratically run farmer co-ops in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Fair Trade Federation List of members with on-line catalogs.
Thanksgiving Coffee Company Another fair trade coffee company.
Kokopelli's Green Market Environmentally friendly products and fast delivery!

If you like another fair and environmentally friendly place, let us know!

Holiday Shopping Tips for College Students (and Everyone Else!)

2006-11-28T14:36:00.000-05:00

Tip #1 Consumer Reports is getting the message out with full-page newspaper ads telling consumers NOT to fall for the extended warranty sales pitch. Read the article, Extended Warranty Hooey in the August 2006 issue at the Library (page 70), or right here to find out why.

Tip #2 Save time shopping:

Shop on Mondays or Tuesdays, preferably before noon
Make a list, and don't get sidetracked by that extra cute thing for someone already checked off
Shop on the Internet (see the next tip!)

Tip #3 Tips for on-line shopping safety from the Federal Trade Commission. (Here are the highlights):

Order only on a secure server
Know who you're dealing with
Check delivery dates
Check shipping and handling fees
Keep receipts & website printouts

And of course, since shopping on-line is the fastest, easiest way to compare prices, do it and get the best deal you can!

With all the spare time you save shopping early and/or on-line, you'll have time to work on this:

ACROSS

1.	Nickname for the Internet
4.	Vendors
6.	Federal agency charged with protecting consumer rights
7.	First letters of most web addresses
8.	Santa's gift delivery method
11.	Gadget clicked on the computer
12.	A consumer transaction
13.	Web location of a business, organization or person
14.	Computer symbol
19.	Federal _____ Commission
20.	Symbol often used to identify that a server is secure during online transmissions
21.	Personal information to protect during online transactions
23.	Time of celebration
26.	Activity done under mistletoe
27.	On a computer
28.	Trickery
29.	Santa's Work____

DOWN

2.	Kind of tree gifts are placed under
3.	Safest type of card to use to pay for online purchases
5.	Software required to access the Internet
9.	North Pole workers
10.	Encryption often used to transmit financial information online
13.	Red-garbed man who brings holiday gifts
15.	Holiday song
16.	Common delivery method for online purchases
17.	Kind of vendor to buy from
18.	Method of paying with money when items are delivered
21.	Identification used to access a computer or network
22.	Person to protect online transmissions from
24.	Snoozing
25.	A present

Puzzle Solution

But don't forget to study for those exams!

Word of the Day

2006-11-27T13:37:00.000-05:00

Firedrake: A creature of Teutonic mythology; usually represented as breathing fire and having a reptilian body and sometimes wings.

Decidedly not a Griffin!

Senior Seminar Help!

2006-11-21T12:56:00.000-05:00

We received this blog comment:

“Make sure to put lots of

information on stereotypes

of African Americans in the media

on the blog. I need my senior

seminar to be perfect!”

You’ve come to the right place!

(Any other requests?)

Stereotyping in the Media

Articles:

Using EBSCOhost’s Sociology databases, you can see a big difference between entering the phrase media stereotyping (which returns only a few, mostly about stereotyping women) and entering these individual search terms in separate boxes:

media
stereotype

To search within the 1,180 hits (this number changes as new resources are added), click on term in left hand menu called "STEREOTYPES (Social psychology)" and see that now you have about a hundred well-targeted hits.

The huge term ( media and stereotype ) and DE "STEREOTYPES (Social psychology) in mass media" will be sitting in your first search box.

Add an additional search term to the second search box to narrow your focus, like: African American or black

Do separate searches, or type black OR African American in the second box to combine the search.

(Note: African Americans returns only half the results as African American (not plural). Keep it simple for the best results.)

If your topic is about another stereotyped group of people, adjust your search terms accordingly. Remember to look for synonyms.

Books:

Select SEPCHEcat from the FirstSearch databases list.
Search for media stereotype. (To narrow further add black OR African American or another stereotyped group.)
Add another term to narrow your results further.
If the book is available at Logue Library, you will see the Chestnut Hill College logo next to it.
If it is not at Logue Library, you can click the Libraries: All SEPCHE Libraries: link to see which SEPCHE library owns the book. You can then travel to that library and check it out, just like you would here.
If you can’t get to the SEPCHE library, Interlibrary Loan is available.
To broaden your search to libraries worldwide, change the database you are searching to WorldCat.

E-Books:

Go to NetLibrary and search for media stereotype.
Add another term to narrow your results further.
When you find a book of interest, click on it and then browse by chapters listed in the left menu, or use the search box to find specific ideas inside the book.
Click the link at the top of the NetLibrary home page to "create a free account" while you are on campus, so that you can use NetLibrary from any Internet connection.

Good luck and . . don't forget to cite your sources!

Art & Literature Students: Check out this Gallery!

2006-11-13T12:36:00.000-05:00

Did you see the link included in a comment to the Melville post? It links to the website for the Rosenbach Museum & Library.

Maurice Sendak fans, take note: This beloved author & illustrator is featured in a permanent installation. The Maurice Sendak Gallery combines the artist's notes with interviews and works from the collection to demonstrate the challenges of creating a picture book.

This exhibition is a must see! Among Sandak's awards are the 1964 Caldecott Book Medal for the illustrations in Where the Wild Things Are and the 1970 International Hans Christian Andersen Medal for illustrations.

Weekly Brain Teaser - This week: Herman Melville

2006-11-12T14:02:00.000-05:00

Most people know that Herman Melville was the author of "Moby-Dick" (often spelled as two separate words) but there was a lot more to the man than this. See if you can answer these questions about Herman Melville and his work.

(Compliments of Xreferplus)

Questions:
1. In which American city was Herman Melville born?
2. What was the name of the captain in "Moby-Dick" who led the voyage to kill the white sperm whale?
3. Was Melville's "Billy Budd" published before or after his death?
4. What is the opening sentence of "Moby-Dick"?
5. Name one of the five novels which Melville published before "Moby-Dick".
6. To which English port did Melville sail in 1839?
7. Where did Melville work from 1866 to 1885?
8. Which British composer wrote an opera, first performed in 1951, called "Billy Budd" which was based on Melville's book of the same title?
9. Herman Melville dedicated his "Moby-Dick" to which other writer?
10. Which islands are the setting for Melville's novel "Typee"?

Answers:Find out the answers here, or copy and paste this link into your browser address bar: http://www.xrefer.com/quiz

Newsflash! Citation Machine Upgrade

2006-11-09T15:11:00.000-05:00

As of today, the Landmark’s Son of Citation Machine now includes Chicago Style! Now you can cite sources in all of your subjects using Son of Citation Machine.

Question and Answer

2006-11-09T09:15:00.000-05:00

You need quick statistical information, or just advice concerning a complex research question. How will you answer your questions? We’ve been trying out a couple of new on-line reference resources that will help get you the right information fast.

We've already introcuded you to AskHerePA, a 24/7 chat reference service. It's staffed by reference librarians at all times, so if you have a question any time of the day or night, log in and ask away!

Also new to us is XReferPlus The world's largest online reference collection, containing full-text content — 1.8 million entries and 40 million cross-reference links — covering every subject imaginable, from music to law to business and more, plus language dictionaries, conversion guides, and computer jargon. Check it out!

These are two brand-new references resources, available for the Chestnut Hill College community to use on or off campus. Let us know how they work for you.

XReferPlus has Entertainment Value!

Oh, yawn, you say? Reference books? Well, who wouldn't love to look through "Rawson's Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other Doubletalk"?

This dictionary takes the phrase you're looking for, defines it, and shows how it has been used.

For example, under "highly confidential (or sensitive) source" it says:

"A hidden microphone or wiretap, a bug; FBI-ese, from the long (1924-72) reign of J. Edgar Hoover as director of the Bureau. Such bugs often were emplaced during illegal black bag jobs, with the result that information from them had to be reported discreetly. For example, an agent might say that a *highly placed sensitive source of known reliability* was contacted and furnished items of personality (New York Times, 9/23/80)."

and

"Inanimate highly confidential sources, used in technical surveillance, should not be confused with the animate though usually cold-blooded confidential informant or source and source of information, i.e., an informer, a.k.a. informant. "

Wait, what is a "black bag job?" Hmmmnn... it says here:

"An illegal entry by a government employee, typically a member of the FBI or CIA, in order to gain information or to install a highly confidential source (a bug). "

This definition goes on for quite a while, and says it might be obsolete by now, but hey, for when you're watching those old movies, right???

Coming up on Crunch Time

2006-11-02T15:13:00.000-05:00

What’s not to love about November? The Autumn sky, crisp air, Thanksgiving holiday.... And those research paper deadlines!

Check the Links on the left for direct access to EBSCOhost and FirstSearch databases.
Click here for some tips on writing a good paper.

Don’t forget to cite your sources!

Here are the two most popular methods reported by users of Logue Library:

The Landmark Citation Machine – Now called “Son of Citation Machine.” This is the fill-in-the-blank-and-click-submit citation generator for APA and MLA styles.
The Duke University Libraries “Works Cited” page, which shows examples of APA and MLA, as well as the Chicago Style, used by the CHC History Department.

Concerned about Plagiarism?

Check here for some “dos” and “don’ts.”
If your professor requires it, submit your paper to TurnItIn.com.

Who Are They?

2006-10-31T12:36:00.000-05:00

Do you know these people?

Happy Griffin Halloween!

Ask Anytime!

2006-10-30T11:50:00.000-05:00

Need research help at 2 AM? Logue Library now provides that help by participating in Ask Here PA, Pennsylvania's new statewide live chat reference service. This free service offers live research help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Now Available 24/7

A reference librarian is online right now to provide fast answers to your questions, using information found on the Internet and in proprietary databases funded by libraries. In most cases, Ask Here PA librarians will provide an answer online in 15 minutes or less! If your question involves lengthy research, we'll get you started and/or provide a referral for you or your question.

All you need to begin is an Internet browser!

R I P Habeas Corpus?

2006-10-27T13:05:00.000-04:00

Researching Habeas Corpus.

On Tuesday, October 17, the U.S. Congress passed a law, which was then signed by the President, restricting Habeas Corpus rights.

Habeas Corups in Latin literally means, "You have the body." It is a court petition which orders that a person being detained be produced before a judge for a hearing to decide whether the detention is lawful. Habeas corpus is a basic individual right against arbitrary arrest and imprisonment.
www.leanlegal.com/dictionary/h.asp

For a history of Habeas Corpus in the U.S. using Academic (“peer reviewed”) resources type habeas corpus in the search box of these databases:

JSTOR
EBSCOhost’s Academic Search Elite

All JSTOR results are considered scholarly. To see only scholarly sources in EBSCO, click the “Academic Journals” link at the top of the list of search results.

To find the history of Habeas Corpus, type habeas corpus England into the JSTOR search box. See especially the article titled The Most Wholesome Law: The Habeas Corpus Act of 1679.

Current Issues and Analysis from the Press:
Type habeas corpus in the search box of these databases:

Newsbank
EBSCOhost’s Newspaper Source
Historical Perspective from the New York Times, from 1887 to 2003
What are they saying in Philadelphia? Check the Inquirer Archives.

Our Blogging Debut!

2006-10-24T11:59:00.001-04:00

We at Logue Library are launching our blog just in time for Halloween! Our goal is to give the Chestnut Hill College community another way to use the library's resources, and to post current events, pictures, maybe a contest now and then, and give you a place to comment.

Tell us what you think here in the comments spot, or stop into the library, have some Halloween candy and tell us about it in person!