Friday, April 27, 2012

Google Scholar Interface Update

Earlier this month we posted about the ups and downs of using Google Scholar (among other Google search tools) for academic research. Today, the Google Scholar interface is up and running, making searching this way far more expedient than it used to be. Clicking the "full text" link to the right of a search result will open the article in EBSCOhost.

Set Google Scholar preferences on an off-campus device:

  1. Go to http://scholar.google.com/Click the link next to the search box called "scholar preferences"
  2. Scroll down to where it says "library links"
  3. Type chestnut hill college into the search box
  4. Check the box next to chestnut hill college when it appears below the search box 
  5. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click "save preferences."
Now, go back to http://scholar.google.com/ and start searching!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Big news on the drive to work today! The New York City Department of Records has released a gallery of over 800,000 images and audio from the Municipal Archives, including glass-plate crime-scene photos from the NYC Police Department. Free and open access makes this historic resource a great tool for researchers in many subject areas ... history, political science, art, criminal justice, sociology, and others.

 In Oct. 7, 1914, painters are suspended from wires on the
Brooklyn Bridge in New York. 
Photo provided by the
New York City Municipal Archives

The link the the Gallery went live today after being up quietly for two weeks. It contains digital artifacts from as far back as the mid-1800s. Links to the gallery can be found on the Web Resources pages of the Library's website. Let us know what you think!

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Using Google for College Research?

It wasn't all that long ago that librarians and educators at the college level admonished students to give up the googling habit they acquired in their primary and secondary schools. So why are so many of us changing our tune now, in a time when there is more information on line than ever, from more sources than ever, creating an even greater need than ever to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff?

Well, because that is exactly what some of Google's tools have been working at, and in the process there has been a collaboration with library systems that makes searching more interactive with the student's library. And that's a good thing because, lets face it, no matter how much we beg students to leave Google for lighter fare, they're never going to do it. The goal, then, is to make using Google work well for academic research.


Until now we at Logue Library have adopted an "if you can't beat 'em join 'em" attitude," teaching the use of Google Scholar with the added step of how to copy information from the article citation, and plug it into our eJournals directory to see if the library subscribes to that particular issue of the journal that contains the desired article. It's clunkier than searching EBSCOhost, PsycNET or another of our subscription databases that already contains the full article content (or links to the full content) without being asked to pay $15-$35+ from the publisher.

This month, Logue Library is working with EBSCOhost to link its electronic subscriptions to Google Scholar search results. When the process is complete, students searching from locations on campus and using their ID from off campus will be a click or two closer to getting access to the content they find through Google Scholar. We will be asking for volunteers to help us test it in the next couple of weeks. If you would like to see a preview of this firsthand, volunteer!

Google Books (NOT Google Play Books)

Interaction between the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) - the world's largest public access online library catalog - and Google Books (not to be confused with Google Play Books) has been quietly available since 2008 but is still a little bug-gy on the OCLC end. When searching from a computer or mobile device,* select a book from the Google Books results list and look in the left menu. There will be one or the other of two links for searching a library catalog. If the book is not available as an eBook, the link Find In A Library is visible after a list of purchase locations. If it is an eBook, first click the link Get This Book In Print, and then Find This Book In A Library, which is below a list of places selling the book.

That link will take you to the web version of the OCLC catalog WorldCat. Students logged into a computer on campus or through the proxy server will see a box below the book description stating that they are connected to the Chestnut Hill College network, and providing a link to the library's catalog. A link to OCLC First Search is next to the catalog link, and serves as a back-up if the library's catalog link is not configured properly or the library does not have the book or this particular edition of the book. Clicking the First Search link will also give students the opportunity to request a book through interlibrary loan, rather than make a purchase.

*Note from Diane: When you search Google Play Books, you will not see any links to library holdings. When you are on your iPhone or Android and you type books.google.com into the browser, the page that displays contains a button that says, "Get the Andriod App." That app is the Play Books app. There is no app that I am aware of for books.google.com. Ignore that button and search Google Books on your phone the same way you would on your laptop browser.


Yesterday, Google announced an extensive update to their Art Project, and we have added it as a resource to the Logue Library Arts Web Resources page. As of today it contains some 30,000 works from over 150 galleries worldwide, browsable and searchable by collections, artists and genres. Students and educators can create individual galleries to reference in research and presentations. It is interactive and allows students to not only collaborate with other students and professors, but contact experts directly.

Contact a Logue Librarian for help integrating Google into your academic research.

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Help Wanted!

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.

Thursday, September 09, 2010

Welcome Back!

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!

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Librarians Do Gaga

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

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Award-Winning Teacher a Chestnut Hill College Graduate

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.

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Buyer Beware!



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.

Friday, April 23, 2010

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!

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

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!

-----

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.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

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.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

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?


Tuesday, November 03, 2009

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/.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

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.


-----


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."

Monday, October 12, 2009

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!

Friday, September 11, 2009

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"

Monday, August 31, 2009

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!

Monday, March 30, 2009

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.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

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.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

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]