Now in its twentieth year, HRW reviews human right abuses throughout the world. Highlights of the report, in all their chilling detail, can be read as well; previous volumes are also available. Compare this to the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices published by the State Department. A previous blog entry on this topic contains many more relevant links.
Archive for May, 2010
2010 Memorial Day Observances
The Bergen Record lists several parades, parades in New York cities/towns can be found as well as those in Mercer County and in various parts of New Jersey. More New Jersey parades can be found here.
Kean University Eliminating Colleges/Departments
Kean University, among the largest higher education instituions in the state, is no stranger to controversy. The newest plan is to replace all chairpersons with non-tenured administrators and return the chairs to teaching duties. In addition, the different colleges will be converted into various “schools.” More information is found at: nj.com, insidehigher ed (May 5, and the May 7 issue contains a link to the draft proposal), northjersey.com, and mindingthecampus.com.
Reading Scores for Urban School Districts
It is a mixed bag, according to Reading 2009: Trial Urban District Assessment. Eighteen urban school districts participated in this latest go-round, and the results were compared against both national and large city results(large city being defined as having a population of more than 250,000). Some urban districts made progress, but most did not. Urban districts closest to NJCU include New York City and Philadelphia. These figures come as part of the larger The Nation’s Report Card: Reading 2009 survey. Results for New Jersey (and all other states, along with comparison tables) in the various report cards (mathematics, reading, science, and writing) are available online as well. All of these surveys are subsumed under the NAEP. What is the NAEP? “The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas. Assessments are conducted periodically in mathematics, reading, science, writing, the arts, civics, economics, geography, and U.S. history.”(overview) News reports are to be found at: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Atlanta Constitution, and The San Diego Union Tribune.
Coverage of May 22 Trenton Rally
Here are some of the more informative articles: from nj.com (with photos and videos), World Socialist Web Site, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Jersey Journal, NorthJersey.com, and PolitickerNJ. YouTube videos are available as well as photos on Flickr. Here is an article, with photos, detailing past protests in Trenton. NJN coverage is also available.
Additional Biographies/Writings of Elena Kagan
Ms. Kagan is no stranger to the Washington corridors of power. She served during the Clinton years as Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy as well as Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council. As such, she was actively involved in a wide variety of policy decisions. Some of her writings can be found here and here courtesy of the William J Clinton Presidential Library. More biographies can be found at both Decision Makers and whorunsgov.
Teacher Salaries in New Jersey
With all the talk in New Jersey about teacher salaries, this is as good a time as any to put some real figures out to the public. The median salary in New Jersey is $57,467; in Jersey City, it is $52,623. This interactive map gives the salary figures for all the school districts in Bergen and Passaic counties along with selected districts in Morris and Hudson Counties, while this link allows you to look at every school district in the state, including charter schools. These figures should be used in conjunction with the administrator salaries which have also been published. How do salaries here compare with other states? There is no one source which will give the absolute best answer because of the varying criteria used to factor out what a “salary” actually is. (For more on this topic, please read An Exploratory Analysis of the Content and Availability of State Administrative Data on Teacher Compensation. NCES, 2008) But there are some reports which should be consulted: The 2009 Compensation Survey (American Federation of Teachers); Occupational Employment Statistics (Bureau of Labor Statistics); 2009 Rankings of the States (National Education Association) ; and 2009 Digest of Education Statistics (table #79 (p.118) – Estimated Average Annual Salary…).
2010 NJCU Graduation Photos
Thanks to Lou Tiscornia, Director of Television and Multi-Media Productions at the University, here are almost 350 photos of the ceremony. In addition, a batch of photos and a news report are available courtesy of The Jersey Journal. Flickr also features a nice selection.
Writings by Elena Kagan, Supreme Court Nominee
Senate/House Hearings on the Gulf Oil Spill
In what looks to be a very busy day for some CEOs, there are two separate Senate hearings today focusing on the Gulf oil spill: the first, begun at 10am, is the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; the second hearing begins at 2:30 today by the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works. Both hearings can be watched live and will be accompanied by witness statements. 5-13-10 Update: Also, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce has its own hearings underway.
How Governor Christie’s “33 Bill” Legislative Proposals Will Impact Higher Education
Tucked within the highly touted “33 bill” legislative proposals are bills that will adversely affect college employees. Among them: allowing colleges/universities to establish probationary periods for faculty members; pulling classified employees out of the civil service system; and having colleges act the employer of record for collective bargaining purposes. News reports on Christie’s proposals as well as the Democratic news conference pushing their own agenda can be found at: nj.com (with related videos), The Press of Atlantic City, Asbury Park Press, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. NJN has a video report as well. The full text of the bills are here, here, and here.
Biography of Elena Kagan, Supreme Court Nominee
President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Elena Kagan, has never held a judgeship before. She, if approved, will become only the fourth female Supreme Court Justice. Biographical information is available from: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, biography.com, and SCOTUSblog. She is currently the Solictor General of the United States; to fill that position she had to answer a 51 page questionnaire from the Senate Judiciary Committee, a process she will have to go through again. Her answers to the original series of questions are here. The confirmation hearings for her present position are also online. Some of her statements and writings can also be perused, and videos of her are found on C-SPAN. President Obama’s nominating remarks are now online. A previous post has dealt with the nominating process for the Supreme Court.
Christie Creates Higher Education Task Force
What with all the press being generated about Governor Christie’s impending roster of legislative proposals (including the suspension of some civil service regulations), his signing of executive order 26 may have gone unnoticed. This order creates the New Jersey Higher Education Task Force which is charged with making recommendations centering around the governance structures of high ed institutions in the state, the relationships between the state and higher ed, capital investments, and private-public partnerships. The Task Force is headed by former Governor Tom Kean who was also president of Drew University. The buzz around this task force is that UMDNJ will be dismantled and its constituent parts divided among Rutgers, Rowan, and NJIT. News reports can be found at: The Star-Ledger, newjerseynewsroom, and The Record.
Summer 2010 Library Hours
The Guarini Library will have the following hours for the summer:
Summer I (May 24-June 28) & Summer II (July 6-August 9), the hours will be Sunday 11am-5pm; Monday-Thursday 7:30am-9pm. We’ll be closed May 28-May 31(Memorial Day weekend) and July 2-July 5(4th of July weekend).
Intersession hours are Monday-Thursday 8am-5pm.
What Do Lady Gaga and Bill Clinton Have in Common?
Both of them are listed in the 2010 Time 100 Most Influential People. These worthies are divided among certain categories: leaders, heroes, artists, and thinkers. Each brief profile is written by another well-known individual; i.e., Cyndi Lauper opines on Lady Gaga, while Bono sings Bill Clinton‘s praises. Access to all of Time‘s lists is also available; they can be searched by category or year. And let’s not forget The Least Influential People[and Things] of 2010.
Gulf Oil Spill
The explosion and destruction of the Deepwater Horizon offshore platform has resulted in an oil spillage that will rival or possibly surpass that of the Exxon Valdez(extensive links here). At least 5000 barrels(that’s 210,000 gallons) are being released daily with the prediction it could go to 60,000 barrels a day. NOAA maintains a special site for this incident; the EPA has a separate page; FEMA has its National Situation Updates; the National Library of Medicine has issued a Health Topic on Oil Spills; and there is a joint Federal website at Deepwater Horizon Response. A good brief description of what an oil spill is can be found at this Encyclopedia of the Earth article. C-SPAN features Federal Response to Oil Spill videos which can be supplemented by White House remarks and press conferences. Maps of the spill and its extent are found at this University of Texas site. The National Academies Press has dozens of monographs on oil spills while these reports from the CRS are of merit: Oil Spills in U.S. Coastal Waters: Background, Governance, and Issues for Congress and Environmental Activities of the U.S. Coast Guard. To keep current, try these newspapers which have special sections on this crisis: Houston Chronicle, The Times-Picayune(New Orleans), The Tampa Tribune, and The New York Times. CNN is also providing extensive coverage. Another great resource is Disaster in the Gulf (Public Policy Matters), containing press releases, statements, government reports and hearings arranged chronologically within broad topical areas. June 7 UPDATE: This CRS report is of special importance: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Selected Issues for Congress.
Use of Educational Technology in Schools
Educational Technology in U.S. Public Schools: Fall 2008 is the latest in an ongoing series of reports on this topic. Statistics are presented detailing the types of hardware being used, staff available to implement ed tech, Internet access, and the perceptions of educational technology. Additional reports on ed tech are also available.
2010 Class of the New Jersey Hall of Fame
The inductees and their biographies are available here. Additional information and photos are located at: NPR and The Examiner. Video highlights are available at YouTube.
Economic Crisis – May 2010 Update
Impact of the Recession on Older Americans (Population Reference Bureau); Aftermath of the Crisis (Inter-American Development Bank); U.S. Unemployment: A Historical View, 1948 – (Wall Street Journal); Economic Challenges: Past, Present, and Future (Chairman Bernanke); Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (numerous reports); Big Banks Mint Money Again: $18.7 Billion (CNN); The Financial Crisis’ Effects on the Alternatives for Public Pensions (Brookings); Addressing Foreclosed and Abandoned Properties (Bureau of Justice Assistance); Losing a Job During a Recession (CBO); U.S. Fiscal Policy After the Financial Crisis and Recession (CBO); and Six Critical Elements of Financial Reform (Roosevelt Institute);
Congressman Frank J. Guarini Library Blog 