The 2017 high school survey from US News & World Report has just been issued; you’ll find Jersey City’s results here. More than 28,000 high schools were examined for this annual iteration.
Archive for April, 2017
Update on Hudson County Construction Projects
Jersey City is not the only municipality in Hudson County witnessing a building boom. Every other town appears to be in the midst of rising towers of condos or rentals. This article from the Hudson Reporter provides a detailed and informative review of what is happening. It is the best summation of county-wide construction activities I have seen; it is very readable considering the amount of information offered. Another article from this same paper provides an overview of all the advances the county has made in attracting businesses.
The Spectre of Famine
Famine, the “extreme and general scarcity of food, as in a country or a large geographical area”, has appeared in four conflicted countries – Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen. This is an unprecedented occurrence; such large-scale simultaneous scarcities of food have never before been recorded in so many countries. All four countries face both internal and external military pressures. The International Crisis Group is publishing Instruments of Pain, a four-part series devoted to the above countries and their travails. Additional sites of relevance include: Millions across Africa, Yemen could be at risk of death from starvation – UN agency (UN News Centre); Famine and Food Crises (UNICEF); Drought and War Heighten Threat of Not Just 1 Famine, but 4(The New York Times); and Famine Early Warning Systems Network.
March for Science – Live Updates
Global updates can be found here; C-SPAN is also covering this. A listing of the 600+ satellite sites in also online.
U.S. Nurses During World War I
When the United States entered the war in 1917, there were 403 active duty nurses in the Army; by June 1918, there were over 12,000 serving nurses (Highlights in the History of the Army Nurse Corps, 8). They operated at times under horrendous conditions, in many instances assuming the roles of physicians. One such example is found in A History of Base Hospital 32 in which overwhelmed medical officers could not provide the anesthetic work that was necessary, so nurses and orderlies were called in (141).
A fuller history of the Army Nurses Corps is found in volume 13, part 2 of the Medical Department of the United States Army in the World War. Also, please consult Answering the call : the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, 1917-1919 : a commemorative tribute to military nursing in World War I. Contemporary histories, letters, and postcards can be found here including the oft-referenced The training camp for nurses at Vassar College (more on this camp is here as well).
There can be no doubt that nurses were among the bravest of the brave: “…three received the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army’s second highest award; twenty-four were awarded the Distinguished Service Medal; sixty-nine received the British Royal Red Cross; twenty-eight were given the French Croix de Guerre; and two received the British Military Medal.” (Army Nurses of World War One: Service Beyond Expectations)
2017 New Jersey School District Spending
The annual Taxpayers Guide to Education Spending has just been released. One can find how school districts spent their education funding, what were the sources of the funding, what is the median teacher salary, and a whole host of other indicators. Here is Jersey City’s profile. If you are interested in just the teacher salary component of these reports, please scroll down to the bottom of this article and utilize the tool found there. Be aware that this feature only highlights teacher salaries; it does not include administrator and support personnel salary figures that are found in the individual school district reports.
Anthropological Research on the Use of Social Media
Public Access ICT across Cultures: Diversifying Participation in the Network Society (MIT Press); Social Media in Southeast Turkey, Social Media in Northern Chile, Social Media in Industrial China, Social Media in Rural China, Social Media in Southeast Italy, Social Media in South India, Social Media in Emergent Brazil(this latter volume is due out in October 2017. They and others to follow are all part of the Why We Post ethnographic project tracing the use of social media in various communities around the world. (The volumes are published by the University College London Press.) Also, look at Anthropology of Social Networking, a directory of research projects.
10th Anniversary of the Library Blog
It was exactly ten years ago today that this blog was launched. Some facts:
There are 2449 entries containing thousands of links
The blog has been viewed 169,226 times
The top ten countries with the most views: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Philippines, India, Germany, France, Australia, Spain, and South Korea
The most popular entries are:
I would like to thank all the supporters of this blog who have encouraged its development and who have commented on its content. It has been a pleasure, and I look forward to continuing the journey.
Fred Smith
Director of Library Services
Photos of New Jersey from Back in the Day
Please look at this “Vintage Photos” site from the Star Ledger; some of the photos in these topically-themed collections date back to the 19th century.
“This Month in New Jersey History”
Sponsored by the Star Ledger, this monthly photo gallery highlights events and people that impacted New Jersey and, at times, the world.
Council on Foreign Relations Special Reports
“Council Special Reports (CSRs) are concise policy briefs that provide timely responses to developing crises or contributions to current policy dilemmas.” Recent ones discuss the tensions between NATO and Russia, and the sometimes turbulent relationship of Silicon Valley to Washington, D.C. You can search by region, topic or year.
Homage to the Card Catalog
Unfortunately, this piece of library technology has been relegated to the dustbin of history, but remember at one time this was THE portal into a library’s book collection.
For the Cost Of a Subway Ride, Take Advantage of the New City-wide Ferry Service
Commencing in the summer of 2017, a roll-out of a city-wide ferry service commences. Presently, only the Staten Island ferry provides commuter rides in the city; this will change with the addition of new routes that will emanate from Brooklyn, Queens, the East Side, and the Bronx. Having had a grandfather who worked for McAllister, it is so nice to see the re-emergence of ferry routes in the city.
Reports on Brexit From European Sources
While Brexit will certainly affect the United States, it will have a major impact in Europe in so many sectors, among them trade, travel, work, and borders. Because of this, this posting will be limited to works emanating from various European think tanks. (A U.S. perspective can be read here: Economic Implications of a United Kingdom Exit from the European Union).
Bruegel examines Brexit from an economic perspective.
Carnegie Europe (Brussels) features Brexit-related works.
The Centre for European Policy Studies has a section on “Britain and the EU“.
The Centre for European Reform has “Britain & the EU“.
Chatham House contains “After Brexit: Britain’s Future”.
The European Parliamentary Research Service hosts “What Think Tanks Are Thinking” – a guide to European institutional research. The latest edition on Brexit was posted on February 17, 2017); previous studies can also be accessed.
The European Council on Foreign Relations discusses European reactions in Brexit:Responses.
The European Policy Centre has issued dozens of reports on Brexit.
The UK Parliament Library issued Brexit: a reading list of post-EU Referendum publications by Parliament and the Devolved Assemblies [definition of purpose of devolved assemblies] on March 29, 2017. This document lists hundreds of linked reports generated from the House of Lords, the House of Commons, and select committees
Syria – Current Events and Overview
This CRS report succinctly outlines the conflict in Syria – Armed Conflict in Syria: Overview and U.S. Response. Also, please read the International Crisis Group’s Syria section and the Council on Foreign Relations’ Syria page.
2016/17 AAUP Faculty Salary Survey
The main page is here; New Jersey listings are here. Data comes from 1,022 higher education institutions with over 380,000 faculty members.
Science Fiction Films
The following are just some sites that provide information on science fiction films and TV.
British Film Institute: Study Guides
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction: Media (Authoritative source; embedded within it is the equally reputable Encyclopedia of Fantasy
Film Quarterly: Forty Years, A Selection (see Chapter 3 on genre films)
Internet Movie Database. Arguably one of the most visited sites on the Internet. Try its genre page.
Internet Movie Script Database (hundreds of free movie scripts.)
Main Film Genres (what it says with numerous links)
Museum of the Moving Image. Research Guide. (Hundreds of links)
National Film Registry (Library of Congress)
New York Times Movie Reviews (every review since 1960 with selections from previous years also available; search by title, year, genre, critic, or country of origin)
Roger Ebert movie reviews. (Contains movie reviews and other features by the only film critic to ever win a Pulitzer. An interview with him is here.
Science Fiction Films (FilmSite.org; come here for additional genre listings)
Short of the Week: Science Fiction (Short science fiction films with good production values freely available)
2017 Pulitzer Prize Winners and Their Full Text Works Online
These prizes were just announced and you have an opportunity to read the writings that garnered them their awards. Just click on the publication’s name, and you will have access to the award-winning pieces; the runner-ups as well have their articles online.
“Scientist of the Day”
This site comes to us courtesy of the Linda Hall Library; it is a daily biography of some worthy whose work is in its collection.
Congressman Frank J. Guarini Library Blog 