Notable E-Book: Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology

I have extolled the virtues of electronic reference books before. They are easy to search and easy to access from anywhere you have an internet connection and a valid, current Suffolk ID number. But there is sometimes another key advantage to electronic reference sets, and that is that publishers often don't just close out the content with the publication of the print version. They actually continue to revise, update, and add fresh content. This kind of continuing effort does not occur with all eReference, but it is the case in our latest Notable E-Book, the Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology.

This current (2007) encyclopedia is based on a companion print resource of some 11 volumes. Our electronic version has all of the over 1800 entries in the paper set, but also includes regular updates--there have been two so far --of new and revised entries and other features. I've just received notice that 20 new entries have been added. These include Adoption, Biosociology, Global Warming, Practice Theory, Sweatshops, as well as several biographical entries on famous figures like Kant and Darwin.

Blackwell, a respected publisher, says of the encylopedia: "This ground-breaking project brings together specially commissioned entries written and edited by an international team of the world's best scholars and teachers. Published simultaneously in print and online, it contains...clear, concise, expert definitions and explanations of the key concepts, entries ranging from short definitions of key terms to extended explorations of major topics, both classical sociology and contemporary developments in the field, and introductions to sociological theories and research that have developed outside of the United States and Western Europe. "

The online version is not particularly elegant in design, but it is serviceable. Search for key words in the search box in the upper right of the screen, or browse the Table of Contents by alphabetical entries using the links in the left frame.

When you are looking for quick overviews or definitions of sociological theories and topics, this extensive electronic encyclopedia might well be worth consulting.

[FIND the Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology the same way you would any other book, checking the title in our Online Catalog.]

Notable E-Book: Barrier: the Seam of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Barrier [electronic resource] : the seam of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict / Isabel Kershner
New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2005

This is an outstanding online title available to Suffolk University students, faculty, and staff. Isabel Kershner describes the effects of the controversial barrier erected by Israel between itself and Occupied Palestine. She does so by interviewing both Israelis and Palestinians who are continually impacted by this tragic necessity. The book is not so much about the physical structure of concrete and wire but about the humanity caught in "the seam" and about those who created the barrier. The views of academics, military planners, and 'martyrs' are presented and in the process, the reader gains an understanding of the current state of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This title is an ebrary online book, available only to those affiliated with Suffolk University. To access the content from off-campus, a Suffolk University ID number is required. If the user is off-campus, go to "ebrary" in "List of Databases" and download the ebrary reader and/or view brief training videos.

[Find Barrier : the seam of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by searching the title in the Suffolk University catalog. This title may be found also by choosing "Databases by Subject"-"E-books"-"ebrary."]

Link of the Week: Open Vault

In this YouTube age, short videos have become increasingly important as both a cultural expression and a source of information. Most internet purveyors of short video clips provide entertainment and little more. However, for those who want to get past the Mentos fountains and the piano playing kitties, here is a website to peruse.

Open Vault is web resource created and maintained by Boston's Public Television station, WGBH, and (in the site's own words) "Open Vault provides online access to unique and historically important content produced by public television station WGBH for individual and classroom learning. The ever-expanding site contains video excerpts, searchable transcripts, a select number of complete interviews for purchase, and resource management tools."

Want to see, from 1993, poet Lucille Clifton read one of her poems? Want to see bits of a 1978 William Wegman video profiling his dog (or is it the avant-garde photographer....), Man Ray? Want to see Flo Kennedy sound off (in 1976) about racism in the women's movement? Want to see a clip from Vietnam: A Television History (1981), in which special counsel to U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson, Harry McPherson, discusses President Johnson's "internal stalemate" about the war? How about a cool, très artsy clip from Ros Barron's 1976 "dramatic movement work," Magriitte sur la Plage?

As the dates above indicate, this is not a good source for up-to-the-minute news segments. These are slightly more historical clips that come from the documentaries, public affairs programming, and news shows of WGBH. There are many excellent clips related to the Boston and Massachusetts region--especially useful are the ones detailing the issues and lives of the minority communities. In some cases, transcripts are provided for the clips, and you can register with the site to be able to keep notes on videos and the like. And, just like Amazon will suggest additional books or videos based on other user's purchases, Open Vault will even suggest other clips, based on the viewing of previous visitors.

Although you can buy some full-length videos related to a few of the featured programs at Open Vault (see Shop PBS or WGBH Stock Sales to explore these options) most of the clips in this media library and archive resource are not available elsewhere, and are meant to simply be used and viewed here.

This website is still developing and evolving, but if you'd like to explore short videos that have some educational value and informational substance to them, this website is worth a browse. [Note: If you don't already have it, you will need to download Apple's Quicktime Player to view the video clips.]

Link of the Week: EarthTrends

In honor of former Vice President Al Gore's recent win of the Nobel Peace Prize for his environmental work related to climate change, I thought I'd list a web resource called EarthTrends. EarthTrends self-describes as "a comprehensive online database, maintained by the World Resources Institute [WRI], that focuses on the environmental, social, and economic trends that shape our world."

These are the same folks who put out a well-known biennial World Resources report, which is available online at their website. Sawyer Library also owns printed versions of these reports, published by Oxford University Press, so if you'd like to browse through paper versions, come in and take a look at our reference holdings.

EarthTrends includes current news links right on its opening page. But it organizes much of the rest of its content according to Research Topics which include Coastal & Marine Ecosystems, Water Resources & Freshwater Ecosystems, Climate & Atmosphere, Population, Health, & Human Well-being, Economics,Business, & the Environment, Energy & Resources, Biodiversity & Protected Areas, Agriculture & Food, Forests, Grasslands, & Drylands, Environmental Governance & Institutions, and Special Collections. In each category, there is a Searchable Database, Maps, Country Profiles, Features and Data Tables.

Articles and tables are available fulltext and often links are provided to other WRI materials, or to useful resources elsewhere on the web.

Because of its currency and "statistical, graphic, and analytical data in easily accessible formats," EarthTrends can be a valuable resource. However, keep in mind that the WRI " is an environmental think tank that goes beyond research" into an environmental advocacy role. Their stated "mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth's environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations."

Although Al Gore would no doubt applaud their efforts, the materials here certainly do not pass academic muster in situations where a teacher is requiring the use of peer-reviewed scholarly journal literature. In other situations, this website can be a valuable one.

By the way, it is worth noting that Vice President Gore won the Nobel in conjunction with another group, the IPCC. I featured them in our blog several months back. To take a look at that entry, click here.

Link of the Week: CSEP's Codes of Ethics Online

Business Ethics, Corporate Responsibility, Fair Trade, Whistle-Blowing, Fiduciary Obligation, Product Safety--Terms like these are bandied about a great deal....especially since scandals like Enron and WorldCom and Mattel's lead toys have come to light in recent years. But how do you codify what a professional or a corporation owes to their clients, customers, workers, or shareholders?

Codes of Ethics are designed to help, before it reaches the point of legislation and litigation.

In June 1996, the Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions (located at the Illinois Institute of Technology) received a grant from the National Science Foundation to put their extensive collection of codes of ethics on the web. This web collection includes over 850 codes of ethics of professional societies, corporations, government, and academic institutions. Earlier versions of some codes of ethics of some organizations represented are also available so researchers can study the development of codes. A literature review, an introduction to the codes, and a User Guide are also available at the site. And the Center maintains links to other web resources, too.

You can either browse the "Index of Codes," which is organized by professional category, or you can use a customized Google to search across all the content at the website.

Whether you are a philosophy student, a management or business law major, or merely an interested consumer, this website might be worth a look.

CSEP's Codes of Ethics Online is but one of many websites that we have included in our Business Ethics Resource Guide, which lists database, web, and print resources that would helpful for anyone interested in business ethics. Consult this guide, or browse through our other guides for research guidance on other disciplines and topics. And remember, you can always come and talk to us about your latest research project at the Reference Desk!

New Database: Massachusetts Newsstand

When searching for newspaper articles on a topic, most of us look to LexisNexis Academic as our primary resource. And in most cases, this would still be your best research tool for wide-ranging access to daily newspaper content from around the world....Despite its new and harder-to-use interface!

However, if you are researching a local story or issue in Massachusetts, then a new database-- just added this summer--called Massachusetts Newsstand, might be an easier and more efficient research tool. A product of ProQuest, the same company that provides us with our Wall Street Journal database, Massachusetts Newsstand provides full-text coverage of most of the major newspapers of the Bay State. Here is what is available:

The Berkshire Eagle; Pittsfield, Mass. Full Text: 2005 - current

Boston Globe; Boston, Mass. Full Text: 1987 - current

Boston Globe (pre-1997 Fulltext); Boston, Mass. Full Text: 1980 - 1996

Boston Herald; Boston, Mass. Full Text: 1991 - current

BusinessWest; Chicopee Full Text: 1992 - current

Gazette; Haverhill, Mass. Full Text: 1992 - 1997, with some exceptions

New England Business; Dublin Full Text: 1975 - 1992

North Adams Transcript; North Adams, Mass. Full Text: 2005 - current

The Patriot Ledger; Quincy, Mass. Full Text: 1991 - current

Plymouth County Business Review; Pembroke Full Text: 1991 - current

Sentinel & Enterprise; Fitchburg, Mass. Full Text: 2005 - current

Standard Times; New Bedford, Mass. Full Text: 1992 - 1997

The Sun; Lowell, Mass. Full Text: 2004 - current

Telegram & Gazette; Worcester, Mass. Full Text: 1989 - current

To search across all content, simply put your search terms in the Basic Search box on the opening screen. Click the grey tab below the box for "More Search Options" whether its to pinpoint a specific field like Author or to look for specific Document Types like Editiorials. And look at the tabs near the top for other approaches. For example, click the "Publications" tab to easily select a single newspaper to search.

[FIND Massachusetts Newsstand on our "Databases by Subject" List in the "General Resources" category.]

New Database: CQ Almanac Online

If you have ever researched national legislative matters, there's a good chance that you have encountered and consulted a set of massive green books called, at various times, Congressional Quarterly Almanac, CQ Almanac, and CQ ... Almanac Plus. These annuals provide "Year-by-year analysis on politics and policy in the U.S. Congress" and are a treasure trove of "Legislative Analysis, Policy Tracking, Data, and Primary Sources." CQ Press says of this resource: "Building on the reporting and analysis done throughout the year by CQ's award-winning news staff, the Almanac offers original narrative accounts of every major piece of legislation that lawmakers considered during a Congressional session. Arranged thematically, CQ Almanac organizes, distills, and cross-indexes for permanent reference the full year in Congress and in national politics. Its clear and concise language makes the Almanac an essential resource."

Unfortunately, the books are unwieldy and not a lot of fun to deal with if you need to use several volumes to track a particular issue or legislative path.

To add flexibility and ease to this valuable resource, we have added CQ Almanac Online as a new Library database. You can access the database through the direct link above, through a link in the online catalog, or as part of the CQ Political Reference Suite, which includes other valuable governmental research tools including Historic Documents, the Political Handbook of the World, Vital Statistics on American Politics, and Congress and the Nation.

CQ Press is still loading some years, but upon completion, coverage will include the contents of all volumes from 1945 to date. And an additional tool called the "Policy Tracker" is also still in planning stages.

For now, you can do keyword searches from the search bar, or you can browse by topic or by the number of the Congress. Series appendices include CQ Key Votes Tables, Conservative Coalition Tables, Floor Votes Tables, a Glossary of Congressional Terms, Interest Group Ratings, Party Unity Tables, Presidential Messages, Presidential Support Tables, Public Laws, and Voting Participation Tables.

We hope that you find this resource useful!


[FIND CQ Almanac Online as part of our CQ Political Reference Suite on our "Databases by Subject" List in the "Social Sciences" category.]