CQ Researcher: Sexual Harassment

Source: CQ Researcher

"Employment lawyers say the widespread adoption of anti-harassment policies and training programs over the past decade has led to a decline in workplace sexual harassment charges filed with federal, state and local government agencies. But plaintiffs' attorneys say sexual harassment remains a persistent and under-reported problem that boiler-plate corporate policies and training programs often fail to address. And worker-rights advocates say the numbers of charges may be declining for other reasons, including a move by employers to require potential employees to agree to binding arbitration of workplace disputes. Companies say arbitration benefits everyone by speeding up the dispute process, but workers' advocates strongly disagree." Mantel, B. (2012, April 27). Sexual harassment. CQ Researcher, 22, 377-400. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/

Want to read more? Visit the CQ Researcher database, which provides an in-depth analysis of this issue, as well as many others.

Off-campus access is available with the current semester's passwords.

Have a question? Ask a librarian!

Newseum: What's happening today?

Want to know today's headlines from around the world? The Newseum, a museum in Washington, D.C., posts more than 800 front pages from today's newspapers on its website. Ninety-two countries are represented.

This unique display provides insight into what local, national, and international stories are of interest to different global communities.

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April 30 - Children's Day/Book Day

El día de los niños/El día de los libros is a celebration of children, families, and reading that culminates yearly on April 30. The celebration emphasizes the importance of advocating literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Check out the latest Día book list brochure -- it includes suggestions for children's books available in several languages, resource websites, and literacy tips.

Want to know more? Ask a librarian!

Avoiding Plagiarism

Are you finishing up a paper? Visit SWC's Writing Center (420D) and read through these tips on how to avoid plagiarism (from Facts on File Issues & Controversies).

"What Is Plagiarism?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, to plagiarize is to 'steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as ... [your] own.' Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional. Intentional plagiarism includes actions such as buying a paper from a Web site, copying an entire paper from another source, turning in someone's paper as your own, and hiring someone to write a paper for you. Unintentional plagiarism is less clear. The following actions are forms of plagiarism, whether intentional or not:

• Not placing a direct quotation in quotation marks. You have plagiarized if you use someone else's exact words or phrases and do not use quotation marks, even if you include a parenthetical reference or a footnote after it.

• Following another's sentence too closely. If you only change a word or two in the sentence, delete some words, or change the order of the sentence, you are plagiarizing, not paraphrasing.

• Placing parenthetical references or footnotes in the wrong place so that paraphrased material looks like your own idea.

• Using another's original idea without including a parenthetical reference or a footnote.

• Using too much of someone else's work. If most of your paper is made up of other people's ideas and words, even if you cite correctly, it may be considered plagiarism.

Plagiarism is a very serious offense in both the academic and professional worlds."

"Avoiding Plagiarism." Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. .

To read more about this topic in the Facts on File Issues & Controversies database, visit the Library's Articles and Databases page. Off-campus access is available with the current passwords.

Have a question? Ask a librarian!

Help! My Paper is Due

Chat Reference service from academic librarians is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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Free workshop on Friday

Books & E-books

Friday, April 20, 12:00 pm
Room L-244, Library

Learn about finding the best books and e-books on your research topic.

How many books can you check out and for how long? How can you read e-books on your home computer? What's the difference between Reference, Reserve, and Stacks? How can you find books to read for fun?

50-minute drop-in workshop -- no registration required

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CQ Global Researcher - Women's Rights

"The women's rights movement has made enormous strides globally in the last 15 years, with most countries signing treaties to end gender discrimination. But with conservative Muslim parties gaining power in some post-Arab Spring governments, feminists fear women's rights in the Middle East — already lagging by world standards — may be further threatened. Although women were at the forefront in last year's protests, female candidates have been scarce in recent elections.

One solution being considered: electoral gender quotas, already used in about 100 countries. In developed nations, women comprise the majority of recent university graduates, but females receive smaller paychecks than their male counterparts and rarely reach top management positions. Some experts attribute this to women's tendency to work part-time or take time off for parenting. Nordic countries are encouraging fathers to share parenting duties, while some countries are boosting the number of female business leaders through mandatory gender quotas for corporate boards."

Want to read more? Visit the Library's Articles and Databases page to research CQ Global Researcher and many other interesting databases. Access is available from off-campus with the current semester's passwords.

Have a question? Ask a librarian!

Essay Contest Winner

This year's prompt for the Friends of the Library essay contest was based on the College Book for 2012, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.

"Should Henrietta’s family be financially compensated for the HeLa cells? Why or why not? If yes, who do you believe the money should come from?"

The winning essay was submitted by Natosha Scott, who wrote about her grandmother's death and the decision, which Natosha didn't understand as a teenager, to give her body to science. Natosha asked, "Where would I visit her body to mourn, honor and bring flowers to the only person in this world who every really loved me? . . . I spent a great deal of time meditating on Henrietta Lacks and thanking her for her most awesome gift to the world. I came to truly believe within my heart that Henrietta, like my granny would have wanted to help the world in any way she could . . .”

Natosha received an IPad 3 as her prize. Congratulations!

Thanks to all who submitted essays and to the judges and the contest coordinators.

Celebrate National Library Week

Learn About Events and Activities
National Library Week, April 8-14—You belong @ your library

Frequently Challenged Books of the 21st Century
Each year, the American Library Association (ALA) compiles a list of the top ten most frequently challenged books to inform the public about censorship in libraries and schools. The ALA condemns censorship and works to ensure free access to information.

Six Word Story Sweepstakes
Tweet your entry by Wednesday, April 11!