We sadly mark the passing of a powerful force in the civil rights movement, Coretta Scott King. Working quietly behind the scenes while her husband was alive, Mrs. King became a more public voice after Martin's death. Her memoir, My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr, is available in the Vairo Library in both print (E185.97.K5K5) and audio formats (E185.97.K5K5 1972). It documents only a glimpse of some of this woman's accomplishments.
The New York Times called Edward Tufte "The Leonardo da Vinci of Data." He has written numerous books on the visual display of information, and conducts seminars on the topic. In this brief essay, Tufte argues "PP has a distinctive, definite, well-enforced, and widely-practiced cognitive style that is contrary to serious thinking. PP actively facilitates the making of lightweight prsentations." (p.26) He finds its use by students particularly antithetical to learning.
(Vairo Library P93.5.T848 2004)
If you have not yet discovered the National Security Agency's web site for kids, you'll want to visit http://www.nsa.gov/kids/. You can meet CryptoCAT, Decipher Dog, T. top and CSS Sam. It's the kinder, gentler side of NSA (or maybe not).
Larry Beinhart defines fog facts as "important things that nobody seems able to focus on" or lies that many people accept as truth. He cites numerous examples from the war on terror, the war in Iraq, the economy, the press. The topics covered include sex, obesity, and death, among many others. Classes in communications and journalism might build on several threads of discussion Beinhart suggests. There is a lot to ponder in this little book, Fog Facts: Searching for Truth in the Land of Spin. (Vairo Library P95.82.U6B45 2005)
What is Life Worth? is by Kenneth R. Feinberg, the Special Master in charge of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. Feinberg explains how he met "the greatest challenge" of his career. As he says in his preface, "this book focuses on how my administration of the 9/11 fund changed me, the public policy implications of the story, and, perhaps most important, the lessons the families can teach us about life, death, and coping with grief." (ix) We hope we will never need another Special Master; but if we do, this book will be a tremendous help.
(Vairo Library KF1328.F45 2005)
Karaoke Nights: an Ethnographic Rhapsody is based on a dissertation by Rob Drew of Philadelphia. It is an analysis of the "everyday ritual" that karaoke has become for many people. It looks at the personal and social significance of this phenomenon. Henry Jenkins (MIT) says "it ranks with the best ethnographic studies of popular culture to date."
(Vairo Library ML3918.K36D74 2001)
George Kuh and his NSSE colleagues have just published another essay on institutional factors behind student success in college. It is available on the web at http://www.sc.edu/fye/resources/assessment/essays/Kuh-1.19.06.html. Robin Stokes has referred us to the work of Kuh before, and this essay summarizes the latest findings from his survey work. In particular, he focuses on what is working at institutions with high retention rates. The factors this essay identifies are not new, but the importance of clarity of mission, cross unit cooperation, persistence of effort, etc. cannot be overemphasized.
Shell Global Scenarious to 2025 is the product of experts working for the Royal Dutch/Shell Group. Their scenario teams examine emerging worldwide trends in economics, politics, and the regulatory environment to posit three scenarious for the future. While the focus of their predictions is the impact on energy systems, the trends they identify could have implications for other business and education. This is a fascinating look at how business prepares for the future, maybe even helps shape it.
(Vairo Library HD9560.5.S54 2005)
Building the Economic Case for Investments in PreSchool was the title of a forum held in early January, sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts and PNC Financial Service Group. The key paper presented was by Nobel Prize-winning economist James K. Heckman, "Investing in Disadvantaged Young Children is an Economically Efficient Policy." This paper is well worth reading. It is chock full of statistics that demonstrate money spent on early childhood interventions has much higher returnes than tuition subsidies, police, criminal rehabilitation, and public job training. If the moral arguments are not sufficient, perhaps the economic arguments will help us do the right thing.
http://www.ced.org/newsroom/center_prek.html