The money and priority given to science and engineering education in the coming year by Congress and President Bush is woefully inadequate, says the Task Force on the Future of American Innovation, whose members include a wide spectrum of scholarly and industry groups ranging from Google to the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.
The occasion for the slam is the 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill, according to a blog post today by the Computing Research Association, a task-force member.
“The President and Congress, for all their stated support this year for making basic research in the physical sciences and engineering a top budget priority, ended up essentially cutting, or flat-funding, key science agencies after accounting for inflation,” reports the blog."
Source: Chronicle of Higher Education: Wired Campus
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Thursday Brainteaser # 1
This brainteaser is about places - real or fictitious - where films were set.
1. The largest city in Morocco was the setting for a famous 1943 film staring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Name the city.
2. Was the 1971 film "Walkabout" set in Australia, New Zealand or Hawaii?
3. Which postwar city was the setting for the 1949 film "The Third Man"?
4. In a 1999 film written by Richard Curtis, Julia Roberts played a celebrated US film actress who falls for a British bookshop manager, played by Hugh Grant. In which area of London was the film set (The area gave the film its title)?
5.The picturesque Scottish fishing village of Pennan was the location for the village shots in which 1983 film directed by Bill Forsyth?
6. Which county in Iowa was the setting for a 1995 film about a man (played by Clint Eastwood) who has come to photograph the seven covered bridges in the location?
7. The film "The Bridge on the River Kwai" was about a bridge being built in which country: China, Japan or Burma?
8. What was the name of the Georgia plantation which was the home of Scarlett O'Hara in the film "Gone With the Wind"?
9. The 1996 film "Trainspotting" was about young heroin addicts in which city?
10. In which 1937 film was Ojai in southwestern California the location for "Shangri-La"?
Look on the blog tomorrow for the answers!
1. The largest city in Morocco was the setting for a famous 1943 film staring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Name the city.
2. Was the 1971 film "Walkabout" set in Australia, New Zealand or Hawaii?
3. Which postwar city was the setting for the 1949 film "The Third Man"?
4. In a 1999 film written by Richard Curtis, Julia Roberts played a celebrated US film actress who falls for a British bookshop manager, played by Hugh Grant. In which area of London was the film set (The area gave the film its title)?
5.The picturesque Scottish fishing village of Pennan was the location for the village shots in which 1983 film directed by Bill Forsyth?
6. Which county in Iowa was the setting for a 1995 film about a man (played by Clint Eastwood) who has come to photograph the seven covered bridges in the location?
7. The film "The Bridge on the River Kwai" was about a bridge being built in which country: China, Japan or Burma?
8. What was the name of the Georgia plantation which was the home of Scarlett O'Hara in the film "Gone With the Wind"?
9. The 1996 film "Trainspotting" was about young heroin addicts in which city?
10. In which 1937 film was Ojai in southwestern California the location for "Shangri-La"?
Look on the blog tomorrow for the answers!
December Additions to Credo Reference
The Credo Reference database added these full text reference books this month:
Collins Irish Dictionary,
Encyclopedia of American Poetry: The Twentieth Century ,
RoutledgeEncyclopedia of the United States in the Nineteenth Century ,
New Penguin Business Dictionary,
New Penguin Dictionary of Music,
Penguin Dictionary of Sociology,
Penguin Dictionary of Economics,
Penguin International Dictionary of Finance.
Credo Reference is a completely customizable general reference solution for the Goodwin community of learners. Its full-text, aggregated content covers every major subject from the world's best publishers of reference.
Gallup Poll Publications
I want to inform you that two important Gallup Poll publications have been added to LexisNexis Academic database. In addition to the Gallup Management Journal, which was already available, as subscribers to this database we will now be able to access the following two titles:
Gallup Poll News Service
Description: The Gallup Poll News Service is the internet's leading polling-based news source. The Gallup Poll News Service provides news centered on public opinion. Published each business day, articles from the Gallup Poll News Service analyze findings and trends in politics, business, social issues, and Americans' lifestyles.
Full source description: http://w3.nexis.com/sources/scripts/info.pl?263351
Direct search link: http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/api/version1/sf?shr=t&sfi=AC00NBGenSrch&csi=263351
*Note: Updating of this source is temporarily suspended during a data format conversion; current coverage will be reinstated shortly.
Gallup Poll Tuesday Briefing
Description: The Gallup Poll Tuesday Briefing is Gallup's premier weekly online news publication. Each Tuesday, the Gallup Poll Tuesday Briefing publishes in-depth articles on the opinions and issues Gallup is investigating in government, in the workplace, in schools, in hospitals, and in faith communities.
Full source description: http://w3.nexis.com/sources/scripts/info.pl?263354
Direct search link: http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/api/version1/sf?shr=t&sfi=AC00NBGenSrch&csi=263354
Those needing opinion poll data should also try using the Polls & Surveys SmartIndexing term in combination with news searches run from the Power Search form or the News search form. This will retrieve news stories that report on the contents of public opinion polls.
Gallup Poll News Service
Description: The Gallup Poll News Service is the internet's leading polling-based news source. The Gallup Poll News Service provides news centered on public opinion. Published each business day, articles from the Gallup Poll News Service analyze findings and trends in politics, business, social issues, and Americans' lifestyles.
Full source description: http://w3.nexis.com/sources/scripts/info.pl?263351
Direct search link: http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/api/version1/sf?shr=t&sfi=AC00NBGenSrch&csi=263351
*Note: Updating of this source is temporarily suspended during a data format conversion; current coverage will be reinstated shortly.
Gallup Poll Tuesday Briefing
Description: The Gallup Poll Tuesday Briefing is Gallup's premier weekly online news publication. Each Tuesday, the Gallup Poll Tuesday Briefing publishes in-depth articles on the opinions and issues Gallup is investigating in government, in the workplace, in schools, in hospitals, and in faith communities.
Full source description: http://w3.nexis.com/sources/scripts/info.pl?263354
Direct search link: http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/api/version1/sf?shr=t&sfi=AC00NBGenSrch&csi=263354
Those needing opinion poll data should also try using the Polls & Surveys SmartIndexing term in combination with news searches run from the Power Search form or the News search form. This will retrieve news stories that report on the contents of public opinion polls.
LexisNexis Academic Enhancements
I’m very pleased to announce several important enhancements to LexisNexis Academic database that went into effect last weekend.
1. Individual States added to Federal & State Codes Search Form source selection
They have added the combined statutes, constitution, annotated code, and court rules file for each state to the source selection box.
2. Improved tools for Results Groups
The results classification tools at the left of the results window now allows you to sort alphabetically in addition to the previous arrangement by number of hits. There is also a new “View Multiple Groups” feature that allows you to combine any of the groupings displayed into a customized subset of your results.
3. Findable People and Companies
This new feature exploits the XML tagging LexisNexis has been adding over the past few years. Companies and personal names that have been identified and tagged in full text documents are now highlighted with links to related searches. For companies, a single click takes you to the full Company Dossier report, or you can choose a Company Profiles search or a news search. For people you can choose a biographies & news search or a straight news search.
Instruction on using LexisNexis Academic database can be arranged with library staff.
1. Individual States added to Federal & State Codes Search Form source selection
They have added the combined statutes, constitution, annotated code, and court rules file for each state to the source selection box.
2. Improved tools for Results Groups
The results classification tools at the left of the results window now allows you to sort alphabetically in addition to the previous arrangement by number of hits. There is also a new “View Multiple Groups” feature that allows you to combine any of the groupings displayed into a customized subset of your results.
3. Findable People and Companies
This new feature exploits the XML tagging LexisNexis has been adding over the past few years. Companies and personal names that have been identified and tagged in full text documents are now highlighted with links to related searches. For companies, a single click takes you to the full Company Dossier report, or you can choose a Company Profiles search or a news search. For people you can choose a biographies & news search or a straight news search.
Instruction on using LexisNexis Academic database can be arranged with library staff.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Getting More From the Web: Tip # 1
Use search engines and Wikipedia to find quality research. Yes, I included Wikipedia so read on. It often makes sense to start with search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and other favorites. It doesn't hurt to see if there is a good article on Wikipedia. But you use these sources to carry you to better places such as the library databases and other authoritative information--sources you can cite in research papers.
“Wikipedia itself is very hit or miss,” says Ann Cullen, an adjunct professor at Simmons College's library science program. “I have seen Wikipedia entries that shocked me because of what was not included. And others blew me away because they were so good.” Cullen adds that “Wikipedia is an excellent avenue for finding other resources, but Wikipedia itself should not be the source.”
“Wikipedia itself is very hit or miss,” says Ann Cullen, an adjunct professor at Simmons College's library science program. “I have seen Wikipedia entries that shocked me because of what was not included. And others blew me away because they were so good.” Cullen adds that “Wikipedia is an excellent avenue for finding other resources, but Wikipedia itself should not be the source.”
W.E.B. Griffin Vacation Reading
Escape from the stress of shopping, ice, snow, cold, The Nutcracker, and too much Christmas music. Why not read a Griffin novel for relief?
Griffin is the author of 38 thrilling military and detective novels, all of which have been listed on The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and other best-seller lists. The Goodwin Library has twelve of them. Hurry to the library before they are all checked out.
Griffin is the author of 38 thrilling military and detective novels, all of which have been listed on The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and other best-seller lists. The Goodwin Library has twelve of them. Hurry to the library before they are all checked out.
Spiritual Changes iin Students
This report comes at just the right time of the year and appears to have nothing to do with Mike Huckabee. While attendance at religious services declines, college students nationwide show significant growth in a wide spectrum of spiritual and ethical considerations during their first three years of college, according to a UCLA study, the first longitudinal research project of its kind.
Compared to when they were entering freshmen, college juniors are more likely to be engaged in a spiritual quest, are more caring, and show higher levels of equanimity and an ecumenical worldview. While 41.2 percent of freshmen in 2004 reported they considered developing a meaningful philosophy of life “very important” or “essential,” just three years later in 2007 a 55.4 percent majority of those same students agreed. Additionally, “attaining inner harmony” was reported as “very important” or “essential” by 48.7 percent when they were freshmen in 2004, and jumped to 62.6 percent by 2007.
Source: Spirituality in Higher Education (Higher Education Research Institute, Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, UCLA)
Compared to when they were entering freshmen, college juniors are more likely to be engaged in a spiritual quest, are more caring, and show higher levels of equanimity and an ecumenical worldview. While 41.2 percent of freshmen in 2004 reported they considered developing a meaningful philosophy of life “very important” or “essential,” just three years later in 2007 a 55.4 percent majority of those same students agreed. Additionally, “attaining inner harmony” was reported as “very important” or “essential” by 48.7 percent when they were freshmen in 2004, and jumped to 62.6 percent by 2007.
Source: Spirituality in Higher Education (Higher Education Research Institute, Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, UCLA)
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Poverty Effects on U.S. Scores
Not only did many industrialized countries outperform the United States in science on a recent international exam, but American students’ academic achievement was also more likely to be affected by their wealth or poverty and family background than was their peers’ in higher-scoring nations.
That was one of several sobering findings for the United States included in the results of the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, released this week. The program showed U.S. students lagging behind a majority of participating developed nations in both science and mathematics. On the same subject, an article in the Hartford Courant today states that "Connecticut must address the severe poverty in the inner cities and the achievement gap in its urban schools if it is to have a chance of staying competitive in this century."
Source: Education Week December 12 2007 and today's Courant
That was one of several sobering findings for the United States included in the results of the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, released this week. The program showed U.S. students lagging behind a majority of participating developed nations in both science and mathematics. On the same subject, an article in the Hartford Courant today states that "Connecticut must address the severe poverty in the inner cities and the achievement gap in its urban schools if it is to have a chance of staying competitive in this century."
Source: Education Week December 12 2007 and today's Courant
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
New York Times: 10 Best Books 2007
FICTION
Man Gone Down by Michael Thomas--This first novel explores the fragmented pesonal histories behind four desperate days in a black writer's life.**
Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson--In this short Norwegian novel translated by Anne Born, an Oslo professional hopes to cure his loneliness with a plunge into solitude.*
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano. Translated by Natash Wimmer, this is a crafitlty autobiographical novel about a band of literary guerrillas.
Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris--Layoff notices fly in Ferris's acidely funny first novel set in a white-collar office during the dot-com debacle.*
Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson. The author offers a soulful novel about the travails of a large cast of characters during the Vietnam War.**
NONFICTION
Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran--The author catalogs the arrogance and ineptitude that marked America's governance of Iraq.**
Little Heathens: Hard Times & High Spirts on an Iowa Farm During the Depression by Mildred Kalish--This long-titled book is a memoir of childhood memories filled with joy and wonder.**
The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin--An outsider's account of the cloistered court's inner workings.**
Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh: A Woman in World History by Linda Colley--Colley tracks the "compulsively itinerant" Marsh across the 18th century and several continents.**
Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century by Alex Ross--In his own feat of orchestration, The New Yorker's music critic presents a history of the last century as refracted through its classical music.**
*-in library now
**ordered
Source: New York Times December 9, 2007
Man Gone Down by Michael Thomas--This first novel explores the fragmented pesonal histories behind four desperate days in a black writer's life.**
Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson--In this short Norwegian novel translated by Anne Born, an Oslo professional hopes to cure his loneliness with a plunge into solitude.*
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano. Translated by Natash Wimmer, this is a crafitlty autobiographical novel about a band of literary guerrillas.
Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris--Layoff notices fly in Ferris's acidely funny first novel set in a white-collar office during the dot-com debacle.*
Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson. The author offers a soulful novel about the travails of a large cast of characters during the Vietnam War.**
NONFICTION
Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran--The author catalogs the arrogance and ineptitude that marked America's governance of Iraq.**
Little Heathens: Hard Times & High Spirts on an Iowa Farm During the Depression by Mildred Kalish--This long-titled book is a memoir of childhood memories filled with joy and wonder.**
The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin--An outsider's account of the cloistered court's inner workings.**
Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh: A Woman in World History by Linda Colley--Colley tracks the "compulsively itinerant" Marsh across the 18th century and several continents.**
Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century by Alex Ross--In his own feat of orchestration, The New Yorker's music critic presents a history of the last century as refracted through its classical music.**
*-in library now
**ordered
Source: New York Times December 9, 2007
Really No Child Left Behind
The British government will today promise every pupil a dedicated tutor to support them through their secondary schooling and act as a personal contact point for parents who are worried about their child's progress. Pupils will be assigned one member of the school staff to act as behaviour mentor and to meet their parents, to allow swift action should their grades begin to slide.
Parent-run school councils and a national parent panel to advise ministers on policy will be established under plans that ministers said should redraw the boundaries between home and school for the 21st century. Parents will be at the heart of a 10-year children's plan to improve children's education and happiness. What will they think of next!
Source: Guardian Unlimited December 11, 2007
Parent-run school councils and a national parent panel to advise ministers on policy will be established under plans that ministers said should redraw the boundaries between home and school for the 21st century. Parents will be at the heart of a 10-year children's plan to improve children's education and happiness. What will they think of next!
Source: Guardian Unlimited December 11, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
Just in Time for Next Semester: Graphic Syllabi
Much like a concept map or mind map, a graphic syllabus uses spatial arrangement, connecting lines and arrows, and sometimes numbers to show the logical, temporal progression of the course through topics within the subject matter, according to author Linda Nilson. The library has just ordered her book, The Graphic Syllabus and the Outcomes Map: Communicating Your Course. Why use a graphic syllabus? Nilson suggests that a text syllabus is often not read by students unless the teacher reads it with them on the first day of class. A Great deal of research documents that students handle text poorly, especially when confronted with technical language--thus the graphic syllabus.
Source: The Teaching Professor December 2007
Source: The Teaching Professor December 2007
Electronic Book from ICONN
Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine, 2005 Covers alternative and complementary medical practices, such as reflexology, acupressure, chelation therapy, kinesiology, polarity therapy, naturopathy, and Chinese medicine. Includes therapies for specific disorders and diseases, medicinal uses for plants and herbs, efficacy studies, and analysis of acceptance by traditional scientists and doctors. Access this from library homepage under ICONN.
Friday, December 07, 2007
Do Something
The staff of this website, Do Something, believe young people have the power to make a difference. It is their aim "to inspire, support and celebrate a generation of do-ers: people who see the need to do something, believe in their ability to get it done, and then take action."
This website is a community where young people learn, listen, speak, vote, volunteer, ask, and take action to make the world a better place. Currently, only 23% of this generation actively volunteers. The Do Something staff hopes to create a do something generation: a world where more than 51% of young people are involved with community action.
http://www.dosomething.org/
This website is a community where young people learn, listen, speak, vote, volunteer, ask, and take action to make the world a better place. Currently, only 23% of this generation actively volunteers. The Do Something staff hopes to create a do something generation: a world where more than 51% of young people are involved with community action.
http://www.dosomething.org/
Happier?
Thousands of Harvard University students have discovered that you can become happier. They learned that secret from accalimed teacher Tal Ben-Shahar's class on positive psychology--a branch of psychology that combines the latest scientific research with good old common sense. Imagine that! Now by listening to the CD version of Shahar's book Happier, you can join his class and learn how positive psychology can make you happier right now--no lottery win, job promotion, or new love required. The Happier CDs are in the Goodwin library.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
America's Best high Schools
A new study from U.S. News & World Report ranks America's best high schools. U.S. News & World Report, November 29, 2007
Monday, December 03, 2007
Then We Came to the End: Recommended Reading
Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris is widely recognized as one of the very best first novels of 2007. Anyone who has ever worked in an office will empathize and laugh reading this hilariousl novel of the humanity and cruelty of corporate life. It is available in the Goodwin Library.
The Academic Leader
The December issue of The Academic Leader, the newsletter for academic deans and department chairs, is here! In this issue you will find:
Simple Commitment but Long-Term Challenge (promotion and tenure)
A Case Study of a University Leadership Seminar (leadership development)
Creating and Sustaining Institution-wide Pedagogical Change (strategic initiatives)
College Faculty and the "Choice of Achilles" (faculty roles)
Notify the library staff if you are interested in a copy of this issue.
Simple Commitment but Long-Term Challenge (promotion and tenure)
A Case Study of a University Leadership Seminar (leadership development)
Creating and Sustaining Institution-wide Pedagogical Change (strategic initiatives)
College Faculty and the "Choice of Achilles" (faculty roles)
Notify the library staff if you are interested in a copy of this issue.
Free Resources for Children
The "Additional Research Resources" section of iCONN -- links to free resources -- has been substantially expanded in the areas of Children (K-12 Resources) and Science. I encourage you to check both out at http://www.iconn.org/AdditionalResources.aspx
History Tidbits for December 3
Tennessee Williams' drama of class conflict and self-deception, A Streetcar Named Desire, opened on Broadway December 3, 1947. Stanley Kowalski was played by 23-year old Marlon Brando with Kim Hunter playing his wife, Stella. The play won the Pulitzer Prize in 1948 and made Brando a star.
Christiaan Barnard performed the first human heart transplant on December 3, 1967 in a nine hour procedure in Capetown, South Africa. The recipient of the first transplant died 18 days later of pneumonia. By this year, some 70,000 hearts will have been transplanted with some functioning more than 20 years.
Source: Smithsonian magazine December 2007
Christiaan Barnard performed the first human heart transplant on December 3, 1967 in a nine hour procedure in Capetown, South Africa. The recipient of the first transplant died 18 days later of pneumonia. By this year, some 70,000 hearts will have been transplanted with some functioning more than 20 years.
Source: Smithsonian magazine December 2007
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