President Biden invited many world leaders to attend a virtual meeting on climate change; you can watch it here live; this same site will have both a permanent recording and a transcript as well. At the same time, Greta Thunberg, climate activist, is testifying before the House Oversight Committee . The above features also pertain to this event – live view, archived video, and proceedings transcript.
Earth Day Teaching Resources
The following sites feature lesson plans, activities, timelines, and primary sources on this important topic: Earth Day: Selected Resources (Library of Congress); Documerica (more than 15,000 photographs highlighting environmental concerns, from the EPA); Earth Day (National Park Service); The National Parks (by Ken Burns. Access to the videos are behind a paywall but numerous other important features are readily available); Celebrating Earth Day with Primary Sources (Library of Congress); Earth Day (National Geographic for Kids); and How Did Earth Day Start? (How Stuff Works).
NJCU Men’s and Women’s Basketball Teams Win Conference Titles
In an histoic first for NJCU, both teams won their respective conference championships. Here is a two-minute report from News12 New Jersey on this accomplishment; in addition, NJ101.5 has a piece on this.
What Keeps College Presidents Up At Night – the 2021 Version
COVID, race relations, immigration policies, higher education financing – the list is endless. Please peruse this survey for the details.
The Capitol Police OIG Statement to House Committee
This short but damning document can be read here; his testimony can be viewed here. The entire report is classified as “law enforecement sensitive” and is not publicly available at this time. Here is NPR’s reportage on this.
2020/21 AAUP Salary Survey
Replete with tables and appendices (state institutional figures are here), this particular iteration highlights the impact of COVID on faculty/staff salaries/benefits; the key findings are a sobering read.
Two Major Security Reports Released
The Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community highlights major areas of near-term concern for the United States: China (“near-peer competitor”), Rusia, North Korea, COVID-19, climate change, global terrorism, emerging technologies, inter alia. Previous issues can be found in the DNI archives.
And Global Trends 2040 (National Intelligence Council) presents “…trends and uncertainties that will shape the strategic environment for the United States during the next two decades.” It is issued every four years; previous volumes are here.
How Office Staffing May Look Within the Next Year
The Office Re-Entry Index from LaSalle Network will be an updated survey detailing the opinions of high-level executives as they look forward to re-opening offices. Questions posed range from mandating vaccinations to hybrid workforces to re-entry obstacles. Numerous links are provided for further guidance. One figure of note:
When asked how they believe their workforce will be modeled 12 months from now with the information currently available, 77% of respondents stated it will be a hybrid model, with a portion of employees working in-office and a portion working from home.(4)
2019-20 New Jersey School Performance Reports
These district/school reports have just been published; because of the pandemic, data on chronic absenteeism was eliminated for this year. Other significant takeaways include: enrollment dropped by 3%; high school graduation rates rose slightly; and SAT scores dropped a bit. These developments are all highlighted in 4 things we learned about N.J.’s schools during COVID from nj.com. Some informative graphs are available from the ever-reliable NJ Spotlight.
Watch the Russian Version of “The Fellowship of the Ring”
Broadcast only once on Russsian TV and then lost for three decades, this two-part adaptation is available for free on YouTube, Presently, there are no sub-titles in English, but it makes for lovely viewing anyway.The Guardian has an informative article about this re-discovery.
World’s Best Hospitals 2021
Newsweek has teamed with Statista to produce a listing of the best 200 global hospitals; they have also featured the best U.S. hospitals as well as healthcare institutions in other countries. The lists can be manipulated by ranking, city, country, state (where applicable). The methodologies are also available for perusal. See how many New Jersey hospitals made the cut (pun intended).
The Library of Congress Builds COVID Collections
In response to COVID-19, the Library of Congress has started to archive various media depicting the ravages of this pandemic. Presently, posters, graphic art work, photographs, and drawings are available. This is an ongoing project that will include more material as time goes by.
National Security Reports – March 2021 Update
Final Report (this is a 700+ page report; an executive summary is available. National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence); Priorities for the Department of Defense (DOD Secretary); 2021 High Risk List (GAO); A Plan To Reform U.S. Security Assistance (Center for American Progress); 2020 Internet Crime Report (FBI); Global Change Research Needs and Opportunities for 2022-2031 (NAP); The 2020s Tri-Service Modernization Crunch (American Enterprise Institute); Ten Years In: Implementing Strategic Approaches to Cyberspace (Newport Papers 45. Naval War College); Parameters (50th anniversary issue, U.S. Army War College); A Hard Look at Hard Power: Assessing the Defense Capabilities of Key US Allies and Security Partners—Second Edition; Security Threats, American Pressure, and the Role of Key Personnel: How NATO’s Defence Planning Process is Alleviating the Burden-Sharing Dilemma; and 2019: A Changing International Order? Implications for the Security Environment (the last three volumes – Strategic Studies Institute).
Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA): Water System Security and Resilience Provisions; Transnational Crime Issues: Arts and Antiquities Trafficking; National Preparedness: A Summary and Select Issues; Climate Change Adaptation: Department of the Interior; U.S. Capitol Attack and Law Enforcement Use of Facial Recognition Technology; Coup in Burma (Myanmar): Issues for U.S. Policy; Army Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs); and Mexico: Challenges for U.S. Policymakers in 2021. (all CRS)
COVID Vaccination Rates by County
This interactive feature from The Washington Post allows one to see what the vaccine rates are in individual counties, and how they compare both to the overall state and national figures for each age group examined. The accompanying text is well worth the read. For example, Hudson County lags significantly behind both state and national averages while Bergen County is mostly ahead in all indices. (This disparity gives credence to the Kaiser Family Foundation report that states: “As observed in prior weeks, there is a consistent pattern across states of Black and Hispanic people receiving smaller shares of vaccinations compared to their shares of cases and deaths and compared to their shares of the total population”. Other county-level statistics can be found at this CDC site.
Louvre Collections Online
A massive, years-long project to digitise the Louvre’s multiple collections has resulted in this site that allows searching via multiple filters. Explore the various departments that comprise this museum and wonder at its scope and depth. I have fond memories of this institution from the 1970s and 1980s; I hope to get back some time soon.
Can Colleges Require Students to Get COVID Vaccinations?
At least according to these reports – yes. As institutions of higher education require proof of vaccination against various contagious diseases such as measles, the argument states that colleges can indeed require proof of vaccination against COVID. Can there be exceptions to this mandate – yes. What accommodations will be necessary in those instances run the gamut from remore learning, living off campus, or additiona PPE.
Please review these articles:
Can colleges make students get Covid vaccines? Here’s what experts say(CNBC); Can Colleges and Universities Require Student Covid-19 Vaccination? (Harvard Law Blog); Mandating COVID-19 Vaccinations (Georgetown); and Considerations for Reopening Institutions of Higher Education for the Spring Semester 2021 (American College Health Association).
Watch President Biden’s First News Conference
It is here, courtesy of C-SPAN. After this event, there will be transcript available.
Guides to U.S. Women’s History
There are innumerable entry points into the vast field of women’s studies; this blog will point out some of those of great value.
Discovering American Women’s History Online contains links to over 700 sites that feature online primary sources. Culled from universities, non-profits, governmental sites, this overarching site allows access to a wide variety of primary sources from letters to images. Well worth a look.
The Library of Congress has hundreds of research guides; a goodly number deal with women – look under “Gender and Women’s Studies” for a complete list of the fifty-four guides that lead to a wealth of resources stored at the Library of Congress and at external resources as well.
Internet Women’s History Sourcebook presents excerpts and full text from primary sources ranging from ancient times through the 19th century.
Independent Voices features thousands of issue of the alternative press; here are the feminist titles.
Women Working, 1800-1930 from Harvard University examines women and economic life during these years.
Bibliographies in Gender and Women’s Studies from the University of Wisconsin offers over 90 subject-specific titles that include pointers toward online resources and primary sources.
Online Science Library for Educators
The National Geographic Resource Library is a vast cornucopia of encycloedia entries, infographics, collections, maps, photographs, etc that can be filtered by grade level. By limiting your choice to “articles”, one calls up encyclopedia entries on a vast number of scientific topics; each entry has links to explain terminology/definitions and most end with linked further reading, whether from newspaper article, government site, or verified websites.
Easy to navigate and pleasing on the eye, this site offers a wealth of information distilled into very understandable presentations. A lot of work was done to put this resource together; one should take advantage of it.
Dictionary of Archival Terms
Issued by the Society of American Archivists, the SAA Dictionary of Archives Terminology features new and updated entries on words/phrases/organizations that have particular relevance to archival science. You can sign up for the “word of the week“, read about the origins of this highly-sophisticated resource, suggest a term, or offer feedback on an entry.
There are thousands of definitions gleaned from 600 sources. This is an informative, enjoyable tool. (A point of transparency, I pursued archival science as my C field and had the pleasure of working in several New York-area archives.)
