New & Noteworthy Resources

OxResearch is now available!

2007-06-19T15:31:00.000-07:00

Check it out through our Political Science Resource page.... at http://www.protopage.com/wsupols

Description:
OxResearch provides pointed and succinct analysis of current political, economic, and social developments in over 180 countries around the world. Originally developed by the Oxford Analytica consulting firm to aid government and business leaders, the source is now available to libraries and students. Over 1000 scholars at Oxford and other major world universities drawing on over 600 print and electronic news sources write these articles, styled after the daily press briefing given to the President of the United States. The service is now provided through ProQuest Information and Learning.

Coverage: 1986 - present; Current material is delayed on an automated, rolling three-month basis.

Encyclopedia of the American Constitution

2007-02-08T19:18:00.000-08:00

The first edition (1987) of the Encyclopedia of the American Constitution (2001) has long been known as one of the authoritative reference sources on the US Constitution. This second edition updates the first (CH, Jun'87) and its supplements through 1999. The main ingredients that have made this a useful source are still present--an extensive case index, name index, subject index, and glossary. Included in the appendixes are outlines of the development of constitutional law, the history of the Constitution, the Articles of Confederation, and an unannotated copy of the Constitution itself. The editors have expanded the subject index, including more popular terminology and enhancing access points for nonlegal scholars and undergraduates. Listed alphabetically by title, most records include a brief bibliography and extensive cross-references. Highlights of recent entries include information about the Clinton impeachment (1998), Reno v. ACLU (1997; Internet freedom of speech), and the Violence Against Women Act (1994). Along with The Oxford Guide to United State Supreme Court Decisions, ed. by Kermit L. Hall (1999), and Encyclopedia of the US Supreme Court, ed. by Thomas T. Lewis and Richard L. Wilson (CH, Feb'00), this set would enable beginning research on most constitutional topics. Ideal for college, university, and public libraries, and useful for graduate students reviewing for exams. -- R. H. McDonald, Auburn University

Encyclopedia of World Poverty

2007-01-18T19:41:00.000-08:00

Location: Reference HV12 .E54 2006

Poverty is more than just lack of income, it is deprivation from basic capabilities, rights, and freedoms that provide individuals the necessary choices and opportunities they need to lead a life they value. The Encyclopedia of World Poverty (3 vols.) provides extensive and current information, as well as insight into the contemporary debate on poverty. The three volumes of this state-of-the-art Encyclopedia contain over 800 original articles written by more than 125 renowned scholars. The entries contributing to this work explore poverty in various regions of the world, and examine the difficulties associated with the definition and measurement of poverty, along with its causes and effects.

Features:

Examines the geographic, political, social, cultural, and other economic characteristics of 191 countries and provides current vital statistics on poverty such as the mortality, disease, literacy, and illiteracy rate for each country

Addresses the various definitions and measurement techniques of poverty and includes each country’s ranking according to the Human Development Index and the Human Poverty Index, whenever available

Looks at potential causes of poverty, ranging from discrimination to climate factors such as drought and famine, as well as the potential effects of poverty including vulnerability, insecurity, powerlessness, social exclusion and disqualification, and stigmatization

Acknowledges the importance of various associations combating poverty such as Civil Society Organizations, Secular Charities, Religious Charities, and Non-Governmental Organizations

CRL: Center for Research Libraries

2006-11-18T11:10:00.000-08:00

CRL is a consortium of North American universities, colleges, and independent research libraries. The consortium acquires and preserves traditional and digital resources for research and teaching and makes them available to member institutions through interlibrary loan and electronic delivery.

WSU is a member of CRL. Please see a librarian for more information or contact the WSU Library's Interlibrary loan personnel to request materials.

Cochrane Library: Current Healthcare Information

2006-11-18T11:08:00.000-08:00

The Cochrane Library is a collection of databases that contain high–quality, independent evidence to inform healthcare decision–making. It includes reliable evidence from Cochrane and other systematic reviews, clinical trials, and more. Cochrane reviews bring you the combined results of the world’s best medical research studies, and are recognised as the gold standard in evidence-based healthcare. In addition to Cochrane reviews, The Cochrane Library provides other sources of reliable information, from other systematic review abstracts, technology assessments, economic evaluations and individual clinical trials – all the current evidence in one single environment.

Conspiracy Theories in American History: An Encyclopedia

2006-10-22T17:05:00.000-07:00

Location: Reference E179 C66 2003

This two volume encyclopedia has articles on conspiracies in American from the times of the puritans to the present. The set is organized in three major sections. The first provides an overviews of theories and topics. The second section contains alphabetical listed entries which cover "historical, intellectual, and political context behind theories. And the third section provides excerpts from original source documents to illustrate the range of conspiracies

American National Biography

2006-10-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

Location: WSU Reference CT213 .A68 1999

The American National Biography is an excellent resource twenty-four volume encyclopedia. "Over 10 years in the making, American National Biography is a fascinating study of the people who have shaped the United States. Why replace the Dictionary of American Biography instead of merely updating it through supplements? Because the editors include new scholarship and people who were missed in the original, especially women and ethnic minorities. Numbering 24 volumes and containing 17,500 entries, the work offers readable, informative, and critical biographies for each subject, the location of their papers (if they exist), and selective bibliographies. Excellent indexes--subject, contributor, place of birth, and occupation--enhance use. This is an outstanding set that will be heavily consulted for many years to come"--"Outstanding reference sources 2000," American libraries, May 2000. Comp. by the Reference Sources Committee, RUSA, ALA

A History of Women in the United States: State-by-State Reference

2006-10-03T17:06:00.000-07:00

Location: Reference HQ1410 H58 2004

Check out this four volume set. It is a great place to learn about women in the history of the United States. It's Joe Mount's favorite new resource. Ask him more about it!

Revolutionary Movements in World History: From 1750 to Present

2006-09-19T15:39:00.000-07:00

Location: Reference D295 .R49 2006

"This is a print encyclopedia that reaches around the globe to explore the most momentous and impactful political revolutions of the last two-and-a-half centuries, exploring their origins, courses, consequences, and influences on subsequent individuals and groups seeking to change their own governments and societies.

In three volumes, Revolutionary Movements in World History covers approximately 80 revolutions, from the American and French uprisings of the late 18th century to the rise of communism, Nazism, and Fascism; from Ho Chi Minh and Fidel Castro to the Ayatollah, the Taliban, and the fall of the Berlin wall. Written by leading experts from a number of nations, this insightful, cutting-edge work combines detailed portrayals of specific revolutions with essays on important overarching themes. Full of revealing insights, compelling personalities, and some of the most remarkable moments in the world's human drama, Revolutionary Movements in World History offers a new way of looking at how societies reinvent themselves." Library of Congress

Dictionary of Art by Grove

2006-09-01T07:46:00.000-07:00

Location: Reference N31 .D53 1998

"Along with writing a great poem, producing a great reference work is probably one of humankind's highest intellectual achievements, at least in the opinion of many scholars and all librarians. Such a work is The Dictionary of Art. With 6700 contributors (a list that reads like a who's who of the world's experts), it covers all aspects of the visual arts in all places at all times, with a weather eye to the contemporary and a discerning eye to the non-Western arts. Coverage includes biographical, geographical, philosophical, and theoretical information, as well as forms and themes, social aspects, and cultural influences. It ranges from Julia Margaret Cameron to Shoji Hamada, Korea to Timbuktu, the Enlightenment to Marxism, and Yoruba Masks to Abstract Expressionism, stopping along the way to include contemporary Algerian graphic artists, the Japanese Grass and Earth Society of early 20th-century painters, conservation and forgery, patronage, and feminism. The entries all include useful bibliographies, and the vast array of images?including artworks and objects, architectural designs and archaeological sites, maps and charts?offer a unique visual record. The work reflects the vast changes in accessibility and attitudes that have so marked the past few decades and have changed the face of art history forever. Those remote regions, previously behind curtains of iron, geography, or intellect, unencountered or unconsidered, have all become available to the scholar, and any acceptable reference book must take note of this. That this is done with no disservice to the accumulated wisdom of the past and with a broad vision of the present is a major triumph for what will clearly be the outstanding art reference tool for many generations of scholars. The cross references are not always as complete as one would wish, requiring use of the index more frequently than is highly desirable. And the excessive parenthetical insertions in the articles are disconcerting to the eye. These are small caveats that in no way diminish the usefulness of the work. Unfortunately, biographical coverage of well-documented historical figures is variable, so don't even think of discarding Thieme-Becker or Benezit." - Library Journal