Top 10 Computer Energy Savers

Here is an article from the Lifehacker blog that lists 10 ways to reduce the energy your computer uses plus saving you money on your electricity bill and reducing your carbon footprint. http://lifehacker.com/software/lifehacker-top-10/top-10-computing-energy-savers-278222.php

September e-book of the Month

Our September e-book of the month is The Economist Pocket World in Figures Profile Books, 2007 .

Where is economic growth fastest or inflation highest? Who consumes the most energy? What country has the most asylum seekers? Who are the heaviest drinkers and smokers?

If you want to know the answers to these, and thousands of other questions, you’ll find them in the September eBook of the Month.Completely updated, revised, refreshed and expanded for 2008, The Economist Pocket World in Figures contains rankings on more than 200 topics in subject areas as wide-ranging as geography, population, business, the economy, trade, transport, finance, industry, demographics, the environment, society, culture and crime.

If you have already established a NetLibrary account through Southwestern College Library, visit http://www.netlibrary.com/ and log in to read The Economist Pocket World in Figures or any of our 15,000 e-book titles.

If you do not have a NetLibrary account, you can create your own account from any computer on the Southwestern College campuses. Visit http://www.swccd.edu/~library/Lvl3/index.asp?L3=9 for more information.

Top Shelf

SWC librarians share some of their favorite resources.

Come back and take a look each week -- whether it's for a class assignment or for your own curiosity -- we're sharing some of the best, unique, most interesting (and occasionally odd!) books, e-books, and websites out there.

This week's Top Shelf selections come from librarians Tanya Carr and Tony McGee.

Book Selection
The Firefly Spanish/English Visual Dictionary, Call No. Ref PC 4629 F362 2004
If you're a bilingual Spanish/English learner, this source will be enlightening. It not only provides names of things in Spanish and English, it gives in-depth illustrations and a thorough breakdown of the item it's presenting. I can't put into words how helpful this reference tool is! It's organized by a series of indexed sections to include both scholarly subjects (astronomy) and every day useful subjects (food and kitchen). As for our avid golf librarian, Ron, it even breaks down golf terms for you. Did you know that the cover of a golf ball is a "revestimiento" and a tee is a "tee." Enjoy! -Tanya

Website Selection
Del.icio.us - http://del.icio.us/
(pronounced as "delicious") is a social bookmarking web service for storing, sharing, and discovering web bookmarks. A place to share your favorite Web links and see what other people are bookmarking. Its collective nature makes it possible to view bookmarks added by similar-minded users.Use of del.icio.us is free and you can search the site by keyword, create your own list of favorites to share with everybody else, add to an existing collection or view by popularity using a tag cloud http://del.icio.us/tag/. -Tony

Bonus Website Selection
WebMD.com http://www.webmd.com/
This medical and heath information site provides easy-to-understand information on hundreds of diseases, conditions and related issues. A new tool called Symptom Checker, lets you, "pinpoint potential conditions"—in seconds by clicking on body parts and selecting from a list of specific complaints (just be sure to check with your doctor for a real diagnosis). The new Revolution Health portal http://www.revolutionhealth.com/, which launched last April, has many of these same tools and features, including its own symptom checker. -Tony

This Week in CQ Researcher

Wounded Veterans by Peter Katel, August 31, 2007
Is America shortchanging vets on health care?

Early this year, The Washington Post exposed shockingly substandard treatment for wounded veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center 's outpatient facilities. Follow-up investigations soon turned up evidence that problems extended beyond shabby conditions at the military's top-drawer hospital.

Amid the present uproar, a presidential panel on military and veterans' health care has called for far-reaching changes, but some critics say changes need to go deeper if the country is to live up to its promises to its troops.

• Does the Dole-Shalala commission have the best plan for improving veterans' care?
  
• Are veterans being shortchanged by DoD and VA to save money?
  
• Would more money solve most of the problems with veterans' care?

To read this article and others visit our Articles and Databases webpage http://www.swccd.edu/~library/articles.htm and click on CQ Researcher. Select the Access Off-Campus link for information on how to access this resource from off campus locations.

Discover a new book to read

Harry Potter and philosophy ~ The physics of basketball ~ How to form a nonprofit ~ Improve your reading ~ Forensic aspects of poisons ~ Punk rock dad

Read about these and many other interesting topics in the latest batch of new books, available for 4-week check out in the library.

New Book at Southwestern College Library

Why Aren't More Women in Science? Top Researchers Debate the Evidence — Stephen J. Ceci and Wendy M. Williams, Eds.

Though many opportunities have opened for women, a glaring disparity remains between the number of women and men in science and math-based careers. In a society increasingly dependent upon science and technology, women's continued under-representation in these areas has alarmed educators and policy makers for decades. In this book, editors Ceci and Williams, both psychologists, pull together essays that provide cultural, historic, and scientific perspectives on women in science.

This book is available in the library' s main stacks collection at Q 130 W49 2007. Drop by and check it out.

This Week in CQ Researcher

Fighting Superbugs by Marcia Clemmitt, August 24, 2007
Are disease-resistant bacteria becoming unstoppable?

Antibiotics – the wonder drugs of the 20th century – are gradually losing their clout. Bacteria naturally develop resistance to antimicrobial drugs.

In recent years, overuse of antibiotics has caused a growing number of staphylococcus bacteria to evolve into disease-causing “superbugs” resistant to drugs like methicillin. While most superbugs once thrived only in hospitals, new strains outside health facilities are killing healthy people.

• Should government agencies do more to combat superbugs?
  
• Should the government make it easier for drug companies to bring new antibiotics to market?
  
• Should Congress limit the use of antibiotics in farming?

To read this article and others visit our Articles and Databases webpage http://www.swccd.edu/~library/articles.htm and click on CQ Researcher. Select the Access Off Campus link for information on how to access this resource from off campus locations.