The REAL Reason We Have a Blog!

. . . 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

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.

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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"

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?

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

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

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.

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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!

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

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

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

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

(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

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!

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

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

Facebook users hit by virus
By Dan Whitworth Newsbeat technology reporter

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

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'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!

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!

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 FAQs
  
• Get started with the RefWorks Tutorial and Quick Start Guide
  

Election 2008 -- Finding Real Answers Among the Hype

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

• Register to Vote!


• 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

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

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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. 1. What is the meaning of "air guitar"?
   An imaginary guitar that one pretends to play; also, the action of playing air guitar.
2. 2. How many strings does a bass guitar usually have: four, six or twelve?
   Four.
3. 3. Who played rhythm guitar in the Beatles?
   John Lennon.
4. 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. 5. On a guitar, what are "frets"?
   Strips of metal showing where to place the finger to obtain different notes.
6. 6. Flamenco is a vivacious style of guitar music. Is it originally Spanish, Portuguese or French?
   ¡Spanish, claro!
7. 7. Who wrote the guitar concerto known as "Concierto de Aranjuez"?
   Rodrigo.
8. 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. 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. 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

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

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!

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!

1. "Of the 100 largest economies on earth, 51 are corporations."
2. "In the past two decades alone, one third of the planet's natural resource space has been consumed."
3. "Eighty percent of the planet's original forests are gone."
4. Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are toxic to the brain.
5. "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."
6. "The average U.S. person now consumes twice as much as they did 50 years ago."
7. "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?)
8. Can you find evidence that the government and Victor Lebow were involved in the "planned obsolescence" and "perceived obsolescence" schemes?
9. "Incinerators are the #1 source of dioxin.
10. 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!

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!