Resource : CasePlace.org

"The Cases on CasePlace.org are a carefully selected set of business case studies that pose social and environmental challenges within traditional business problems. The cases can be searched by keywords including titles, authors, regions, and companies. They can also be searched by using advanced search and searching under industry, discipline, topic, and region. Search results provide abstracts, as well as background materials and source information."Of interest are various cases on ethics and leadership. Source:CasePlace is a creation of the Aspen Institute’s Business and Society Program. Link to Site

Subjects : Business -- Case Studies

Interactive Copyright Guide for Faculty

"Baruch College, a senior college within The City University of New York, and Kognito Solutions LLC today announced the release of a free interactive guide to help faculty determine the appropriate copyright guidelines they must follow when using different types of copyrighted media in their courses. Structured as a subway map, the interactive guide asks faculty a series of questions related to the nature of the copyrighted works they want to use and the methods in which they plan to use them. As each question is answered, the faculty progress through the virtual subway system, learning important copyright rules that apply to their specific situations. At the "final stop," faculty are provided with a list of guidelines for using the copyrighted media."

Link to Guide | Link to Press Release

Subjects : Copyright

New Census Bureau Report : Men and Women in the U.S.

"This report provides a portrait of women in the United States and highlights comparisons with men at the national level. The data contained in this report are based on the samples of households who responded to the 1970, 1980, and 1990 censuses and Census 2000"
Download Report

Subjects : Gender Statistics -- U.S. Census

September 11: The Philanthropic Response

New study released from the Foundation Center. From the Press Release "A comprehensive overview of the more than $1.1 billion in grants reported by 1,339 foundations and corporations, including nearly $8 million awarded in 2003 alone for long-term needs and emerging social issues. According to Loren Renz, the Foundation Center's vice president for research, the results of the study suggest that a number of grantmakers adopted a long-term approach, making grants over two to three years."
Download Book

Also available is a searchable funding database that provides access to information on philanthropic giving for 9/11 as it is reported.

Subjects : 9/11 -- philanthropy

Student Success Dependent on Textbooks

"The vast majority of college instructors -- 84 percent -- believe students absolutely need a textbook to complete their courses, according to a Zogby International survey of 1,029 U.S. college faculty released last week."

"'The results underscore the critical role that updated textbooks and sophisticated learning tools play in college students' success,' Ms. Schroeder said. Eighty percent of survey respondents say it is important for textbook materials to be as current as possible. In addition, three-fourths of instructors polled either require or recommend the use of supplementary materials in addition to textbooks. In fact, the longer a professor's tenure, the more likely he or she is to require other sources: 49 percent of those with 26 or more years of experience say they require supplements."

Source: Association of American Publishers [via DocuTicker]

Download Document (word format)

Subjects : Academia -- Textbooks

Moral Values, Politics and the Faith Factor

"At this briefing, panelists will discuss whether common ground can be found on the role of religion in public life during the president's second term and beyond. Jim Wallis, founder and editor of Sojourners magazine, will discuss his new book, God's Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It (HarperSanFrancisco, 2005), in which he says that the political right has hijacked the language of faith for its political agenda. He argues that the left has largely ignored faith by separating moral discourse and personal ethics from public policy."

Participants also include :
E.J. Dionne, Jr.: Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution (Moderator)
Dr. Richard Land: President, Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Rev. J. Bryan Hehir : Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Religion and Public Life, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Marian Wright Edelman : President, Children's Defense Fund

Source : Brookings Institution
Download full transcript

Subjects : United States Politics -- Faith

World Economic Situation and Prospects 2005

" The continued recovery of the world economy resulted in unusually widespread growth in 2004, but a modest slowdown in all regions is expected in 2005, according to projections contained in World Economic Situation and Prospects 2005 (WESP 2005). Developing countries grew at the fastest rate in two decades in 2004. In addition to the stimulus provided by the United States, China is making an increasing contribution to global economic growth. Its rapid expansion has contributed to increased global demand for oil and many non-oil commodities, with the higher prices for the latter being of particular benefit to several countries in Africa and Latin America. Overall, prospects continue to be good, but the global imbalances pose a potential threat, to which a global response is required." Source : United Nations [via DocuTicker]

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Subjects : World Economy

Religion and Public Life, 2000-2004

"This survey, a follow-up to For Goodness' Sake, compares how Americans' views of religion in public life have changed since 2000. The survey found a smaller number of Americans who believe that deeply religious elected officials sometimes have to compromise in the political arena (although slim majorities still do). There are major decreases among those who attend religious services weekly." Source: Public Agenda [via DocuTicker]
Free Registration Required to Download Report

Subjects : Religion and Public Opinion -- United States

U.S. Attitudes about Homosexuality

"This study is a compilation of public opinion polls on acceptance of homosexuality, gay marriage, civil unions, partner benefits, party identification and voting of gays, employment, and adoption. The study includes all of the latest polling data as well as important historical trends for comparative purposes." Source:American Enterprise Institute [via DocuTicker]
Download Report

Subjects : Homosexuality and Public Opinion

GovTrac.us : New tool for tracking legislation and government representatives

"On this site you'll find the status of legislation, the speeches of representatives on the House and Senate floors, voting records, [and] campaign contribution summaries" Data sources include THOMAS and the websites of the U.S. House and Senate. Sign up to receive free monitoring of your interests via email alerts. Link to site

Subjects : Congress -- Legislation

Report of the Re-Entry Policy Council: Charting the Safe and Successful Return of Prisoners to the Community

"More than 100 leading policymakers—Republicans and Democrats, as well as officials representing law enforcement, corrections, and health and social service systems across the country—have developed the consensus-based recommendations that describe how to overhaul prisoner re-entry nationwide. The RPC is a partnership among 11 national organizations and is spearheaded by The Council of State Governments (CSG)." Download PDF
Source : Re-Entry Policy Council (Council of State Governments) [via DocuTicker]

Subjects : Criminals -- Rehabilitation

Study on Affirmative Action causes Controversy, Commentary, Critique

"A lengthy empirical study, entitled 'A Systematic Analysis of Affirmative Action in American Law Schools' by Professor Rick Sander will be published in the Stanford Law Review (Issue 2, volume 57). It concerns whether affirmative action has helped or hurt minority students (specifically black students) in the long run. Sander takes the position that more harm is done than good. Even before publication, the study had generated a lot of buzz because Sander posted a draft version in November. It was such a hot potato that Stanford has issued a FAQ about it. In addition, Sander posted raw data at this resource page."

"Here's some other early commentary: from another UCLA law prof, Professor Bainbridge; from The American Constitution society for Law & Policy blog; from Terry Eastland in The Weekly Standard here; and a full-scale rebuttal to Sander by Professors David L. Chambers, Richard O. Lempert both of the University of Michigan Law School, Professor Timothy T. Clydesdale of the College of New Jersey, and William C. Kidder, of the Equal Justice Society, entitled "The real impact of eliminating affirmative action in American law schools: an empirical critique of Richard Sander's Stanford Law Review study", which is slated to appear in a subsequent issue of the Standford Law Review. "

Source : NESL Reference

Google and Stanford Book Digitization - Beyond the Hype

Read about the details of the deal Stanford Library has made with Google's book digitization project. Most notably - Not all books will be scanned and works under copyright will not be made fully available. Read more...

1. Notes from the library meeting [thank you misseli]
2. Stanford University Libraries FAQ

QuickFacts now includes data for cities and towns with more than 25,000 people

The U.S. Census Bureau's State and County Quickfacts online resource provides "quick, easy access to facts about people, business, and geography" and now includes data for cities and towns. Select the state you are interested in either from the pulldown list or by clicking on the graphic and data tables will be presented. You can then further specify the city data within that state.
Link to site.

Subjects : United States Census -- Statistics

Staff in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2002, and Salaries of Full-Time Instructional Faculty, 2002-03

"The tables in this publication include data on the number of staff employed in Title IV postsecondary institutions in fall 2002 by primary occupational activity, length of contract/teaching period, employment status, salary class interval, faculty and tenure status, academic rank, race/ethnicity, and gender. Also included are tables on the number of full-time instructional faculty employed in Title IV postsecondary institutions in 2002-03 by length of contract/teaching period, academic rank, gender, and average salaries." Source : National Center for Education Statistics. Download PDF

Subjects : Postsecondary Institutions -- Statistics

U.S.-China trade, 1989-2003: Impact on jobs and industries, nationally and state-by-state

"The rise in the United States’ trade deficit with China between 1989 and 2003 caused the displacement of production that supported 1.5 million U.S. jobs. Some of those jobs were related to production or services that ceased or moved elsewhere; others are jobs in supplying industries. These jobs reflect the effect on labor demand – in lost job opportunities – in an economy with a worsening balance between exports and imports. Most of those lost opportunities were in the high-wage and job-hemorrhaging manufacturing sector. The number of job opportunities lost each year grew rapidly during the 1990s, and accelerated after China entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001. The loss of these potential jobs is just the most visible tip of China’s impact on the U.S. economy." Source: Economic Policy Institute. Download Report
Subjects : United States - China -- Trade Deficit

Asia's tsunami: the impact

New 28 page report available from the EIU. "Asia's tsunami: the impact" assesses the political and economic implications of one of the worst natural disasters in decades."
Link to Summary | Download Report

Subjects : Southeast Asia -- Tsunami

An Initial Assessment of the Impact of the Earthquake and Tsunami of December 26, 2004 on South and Southeast Asia

From the press release: "The wall of water that ripped across southern Asia last month, killing more than 150,000, could throw nearly 2 million additional people into poverty, according to a report released today by the Asian Development Bank (ADB)." Download Report
Subjects : Southeast Asia -- Tsunami

Same-sex Marriage, Civil Unions, and the 2004 Presidential Election

"Comparing data collected from the 2000 and 2004 presidential election exit polls, this short report undermines the claim that same-sex marriage cost John Kerry the presidential election. This report identifies categories of voters who were likely to oppose same-sex marriage as well as those who were likely to support it. The data from the exit polls also indicate heartening trends relating to voter acceptance of other forms of same-sex partnership recognition, like civil unions."
Source: National Gay and Lesbian Task Force [via DocuTicker] Download Report

Subjects : Same-Sex Marriage -- United States Election 2004

Barriers and Bridges: Access to Education for Internally Displaced Children

"Of the more than 27 million children estimated to lack access to education in emergency situations, substantial numbers are internally displaced. For these children not only is their educational development denied but they are deprived of other important benefits as well. Going to school is known to provide a degree of stability and normalcy in the traumatized lives of internally displaced children, and can be a critical source of psychosocial support. It can help to reduce children’s exposure to threats including sexual exploitation, physical attack and military recruitment." Source: The Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement [via DocuTicker]
Download Report

Subjects : Primary Education

What went wrong in Ohio?

Status report of the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff

This Status Report concerns irregularities reported in the Ohio presidential election. The report "includes a brief chronology of the events; summarizes the relevant background law; provides detailed findings; and describes various recommendations for acting on this Report going forward."
Download PDF report

Subjects : Voting -- United States Presidential Election

Arab Population in the West Bank & Gaza - The 1.5 Million Person Gap

"The assumption that Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza pose a demographic threat to Israel has to be radically revised. The 2004 Palestinian-Arab population was closer to 2.4 million than to the 3.8 million reported by Palestinian Authority (PA) officials. These findings should have a significant impact on politicians, policy makers and international aid agencies." Actual study done by a team of American and Israeli researchers. Source: American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation [DocuTicker] Link to Report Site

Subjects : Gaza and West Bank -- Population -- Statistics

The Future of the Internet

"A wide-ranging survey of technology leaders, scholars, industry officials, and analysts finds that most internet experts expect attacks on the network infrastructure in the coming decade as the internet becomes more embedded in everyday and commercial life. They believe the dawning of the blog era will bring radical change to the news and publishing industry and they think the internet will have the least impact on religious institutions." Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project [via ResourceShelf] Download Report

Subjects : Internet -- Future

Few American Voters Ever Changed Their Minds

"Just 16 percent of those who voted for George W. Bush said there was 'ever a time' when they thought they would vote for John Kerry. And 15 percent of Kerry voters said there was 'ever a time' when they thought they would vote for Bush. Put another way, 84 percent of Bush voters and 85 percent of Kerry voters said they never thought they would vote for the other candidate."
Source: National Annenberg Election Survey 2004 [via DocuTicker] Download Report

Subjects : Voting -- United States --Statistics

Stalled in Secondary: Student Achievement Lags in Middle Grades and High School

"Three years after enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act, student achievement in reading and math lags in the middle- and high-school grades, and too many states are not making progress closing achievement gaps..." "While some states are making good progress, the overall story demonstrates the need to move faster on reforms."

"The Education Trust analysis of student achievement on state assessments finds that while elementary schools are making modest gains, alarming trends persist at the secondary level. In high schools, for instance, the Latino-White gap grew or stayed the same in more states than it narrowed. We found the same pattern in the gap between poor and non-poor students." Source: Education Trust [via DocuTicker] Download PDF Report

Subjects : No Child Left Behind Act -- U.S. Education

Report on Global Anti-Semitism

From the Executive Summary : "The increasing frequency and severity of anti-Semitic incidents since the start of the 21^st century, particularly in Europe, has compelled the international community to focus on anti-Semitism with renewed vigor. Attacks on individual Jews and on Jewish properties occurred in the immediate post World War II period, but decreased over time and were primarily linked to vandalism and criminal activity. In recent years, incidents have been more targeted in nature with perpetrators appearing to have the specific intent to attack Jews and Judaism. These attacks have disrupted the sense of safety and well being of Jewish communities." Source : U.S. Department of State [via DocuTicker] Read entire report

Transcript of briefing to Congress on the Report on Global Anti-Semitism by Acting Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Ambassador Michael Kozak and Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues Ambassador Edward O'Donnell. Read Transcript

Subjects : Antisemitism

Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations Union Catalog

The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations Union Catalog is dedicated to “improving graduate education by developing accessible digital libraries of theses and dissertations." An evolving resource, searching is a bit hindered by various interfaces with different coverage. The largest database, hosted by OCLC, contains over 98,000 records for electronic theses and dissertations from over 40 institutions worldwide. Searchable by title, creator, contributor, or abstract and limit by topic, institution, year or language. Records include abstracts and links to the full text when access is unrestricted.[via RUSA] Link to Site

United Nations Official Document System

The U.N. Official Document System (ODS) became open and available to the public December 31, 2004. From the Press Release : "ODS covers all types of official United Nations documentation originating from duty stations worldwide, including selective documents of the regional commissions: Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and Economic Commission for Europe (ECE).

"Comprehensive coverage starts in 1993. Older United Nations documents are added to the system on a daily basis. Selective coverage of General Assembly and Security Council documentation currently reaches back to 1985. The ODS also provides access to the resolutions of the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council and the Trusteeship Council from 1946 onwards." Main Access Page | Simple Search Page | Advanced Search Page

Felony Sentences in State Courts, 2002

"Presents statistics for adults who were convicted of a felony and sentenced in State courts. The data were collected through a nationally representative survey of 300 counties in 2002. Within the 12 offense categories reported are the number and characteristics (age, sex, race) of offenders who were sentenced to prison, jail, or probation. Trends from 1994 to 2002 highlight the number and characteristics of adults convicted of felonies and the types and lengths of sentences imposed." Source : U.S. Department of Justice [via DocuTicker] Download PDF Report

Subjects : Criminal Statistics -- State Courts

The Spread of Single-Parent Families in the United States since 1960

From the abstract : About half of all American children can expect to live with both of their biological parents at age fifteen, compared to two-thirds of children born in Sweden, Germany, and France, and nine-tenths of those born in Italy. This form of American exceptionalism reflects both higher rates of divorce and higher rates of breakup among cohabiting couples in the US. The increase in divorce, which began in the early 1960s but leveled off in the early 1980s, affected women at all educational levels. Source: Harvard J.F.K. School of Government Faculty Working Papers. Read entire abstract | Dowload PDF report

Subjects : Single Families : United States

NationMaster

This interactive resource uses data from the CIA World Factbook, United Nations, World Health Organization, World Bank, World Resources Institute, and other sources (provided) to generate material that allows comparison of countries based on a variety of statistics. Excellent tool for quickly generating comparative charts, maps and graphs. Link to site

Subjects : Geography -- Statistics

Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archive

The Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archive is an Internet-accessible, fully searchable database of digitized versions of rare and unique library and archival resources on race relations in Mississippi. In executing this effort, The University of Southern Mississippi Libraries seek to: 1) enhance access to primary source material, 2) preserve original materials by creating digital surrogates, 3) create learning opportunities for remote users, and 4) create an infrastructure for a continuing digitization program. Link to Archive

Subjects : Digital Collections -- Mississippi -- Race Relations

MLA Honors former CASBS Fellows

"The Modern Language Association presented awards for distinguished scholarship in English, comparative literature, and foreign languages last week, during the association's annual convention, in Philadelphia." Recipients included Barbara Johnson (CASBS fellow 1990) and Gerald Graff (CASBS fellow 1995). Link to Chronicle of Higher Education Article

New CRS Report : Education Reform in Pakistan

"Pakistan's primary education system ranks among the world's least effective. The Bush Administration, Congress, and the 9/11 Commission each have identified this issue as relevant to U.S. interests in South Asia. Legislation passed by the 108th Congress called for U.S. support to 'improve and expand access to education for all [Pakistani] citizens' and required the Secretary of State to report on Pakistan's education reform strategy and the U.S. strategy to provide relevant assistance. This report reviews education reform efforts in Pakistan and U.S. assistance, and includes discussion of current policy." Download Report.

Subjects : Education Reform : Pakistan