Struggle for Quality of Life through the PRISM of Work

In observance of International Workers’ Day or Labor Day, FAU Digital Library brings you PRISM (Political & Rights Issues & Social Movements), a collaboratively digitized collection of the Florida Atlantic University and University of Central Florida libraries. PRISM, a collection of pamphlets, from the 19th and 20th centuries, reveals a gamut of burning issues reflective of leftist and liberal views  from around the world.

These issues are similar to the experiences of today. For example, fair trade is moving at a slow pace. Despite the growing number of organizations and projects addressing labor rights, social equality continues to be a rallying cry as was made apparent in parts of the Middle East, Europe, and even in Wisconsin, United States.

In a recent statement to observe World Day of Social Justice, International Labour Organization Director-General Juan Somavia declared:

Women and men without jobs or livelihoods really don’t care if their economies grow at 3, 5 or 10 per cent per year, if such growth leaves them behind and without protection.

International Workers’ Day, also referred to as May Day, had its origins in the United States with the 1886 founding of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). In 1955, AFL merged with the splinter group, Congress of Industrial Organizations, to become the AFL-CIO.

PRISM is one of several collections in PALMM (Publication of Archival, Library & Museum Materials), a cooperative digital initiative of the public universities of Florida to provide access to source materials for research and scholarship.

Diversity and Digital Collections@FAU Libraries

For Black History Month, the Digital Library features its Pearl City Oral History Collection. Pearl City was Boca Raton’s pioneering African-American community. One of the featured interviews is with Ms. Lois Dolphus Martin where she describes her 1930s segregated school experience at Roadman’s Elementary School, the first school in Pearl City.

 The Roadman Elementary SchoolRoadman Elementary School

The school was first called Boca Elementary and the name was changed when it was moved to Dixie Highway and what is now Glades Road here in Boca Raton, Florida.   Martin’s firsthand account sheds light on race relations as they existed in Delray Beach and Boca, and the events and changes over the decades which brought diversity to our community. To read and listen to Lois Martin’s interview or other Pearl City resident interviews click here.

Studs Terkel: 1912 to 2008

Studs (Louis) Terkel, broadcaster and oral historian, born May 16 1912; died October 31, 2008
See
ChicagoTribune Obituary

Over 40 years ago Studs Terkel began a conversation with the American people, asking them to expose their everyday lives. He tenderly and truthfully told our story (the
American and the human) throughout his career as broadcaster and writer. His two well known books, Working (1974) and Race: How blacks and whites think and feel about the American obsession (1992), are good examples of his oral history style. Continue reading

In the News: Presidential Campaigns

Week of September 8, 2008

News Item: The presidential campaigning season is in full swing. Candidates for the offices of President and Vice-President of the United States have been officially nominated by their respective parties. Now, they will travel the country and present their platforms before voters head to the polls on November 4th.

The American Campaign: U.S. Presidential Campaigns and the National Vote
By James. E. Campbell. Texas A&M University Press, 2000
Call Number: JK528 .C36 2000

American Presidential Campaigns and Elections
Edited by William G. Shade et al. Sharpe, 2003
Call Number: JK1965 .A57 2003

Divided States of America: The Slash and Burn Politics of the 2004 Presidential Election
Edited by Larry J. Sabato. Pearson/Longman, 2006
Call Number: JK526 2004 .D58 2005

Encyclopedia of Presidential Campaigns, Slogans, Issues, and Platforms
By Robert North Roberts and Scott John Hammond. Greenwood Press, 2004
Call Number: E176.1 .R6 2004 (In Reference)

In Defense of Negativity: Attack Ads in Presidential Campaigns
By John G. Geer. University of Chicago Press, 2006
Call Number: JK2281 .G44 2006

Mediating the Vote: The Changing Media Landscape in U.S. Presidential Campaigns
By Michael Pfau et al. Rowman & Littlefield, 2007
Call Number: JK2281 .P43 2006

Notable Speeches in Contemporary Presidential Campaigns
By Robert V. Friedenberg. Praeger, 2002
Call Number: Available online through NetLibrary

Presidential Campaigns: From George Washington to George W. Bush
By. Paul F. Boller, Jr. Oxford University Press, 2004
Call Number: E176.1 .B683 2004

The Race to 270: The Electoral College and the Campaign Strategies of 2000 and 2004
By Daron R. Shaw. University of Chicago Press, 2006
Call Number: JK1976 .S53 2006

Running on Race: Racial Politics in Presidential Campaigns, 1960-2000
By Jeremy D. Mayer. Random House, 2002
Call Number: E839.5 .M39 2002

Sneaking into the Flying Circus: How the Media Turn Our Presidential Campaigns into Freak Shows
By Alexandra Pelosi. Free Press, 2005
Call Number: JK526 2004 .P45 2005

The Way to Win: Taking the White House in 2008
By Mark Halperin and Jon F. Harris. Random House, 2006
Call Number: JK526 2008 .H35 2006

Welfare for Politicians?: Taxpayer Financing of Campaigns
Edited by John Samples. Cato Institute, 2005
Call Number: JK1991 .W45 2005

Videostyle in Presidential Campaigns: Style and Content of Televised Political Advertising
By Lynda Lee Kaid and Anne Johnston. Praeger, 2001
Call Number: JK2281 .K26 2000

Blackwell Synergy and Wiley InterScience Merger

“The journal content previously available on Blackwell Synergy is now being delivered through Wiley InterScience www.interscience.wiley.com due to the merger of Wiley-Blackwell’s online journal systems. Blackwell Synergy is no longer operating.”

According to the Wiley site, this is just the first phase of a total integration of products. For now, Blackwell Reference is on the same platform, and only the journal content has migrated. The expected roll-out date of the new interface is early 2009. If you were familiar with the Blackwell interface, you will notice that the Wiley site does not indicate an individual institution’s subscriptions. To confirm the coverage of a journal, type in the journal title in the electronic journal search box, http://www.library.fau.edu/ecollect/ejournals.htm.

Information for Registered Users of Blackwell Synergy:

No action is necessary — all active Synergy accounts* have been migrated automatically. If you already had a Wiley InterScience account your information will be combined. You may be requested to accept new terms and conditions the first time you log in after June 30th.

Journal content pages will look slightly different but you can still find them if you have bookmarked the page. You will be redirected to the equivalent page where it exists on Wiley InterScience or to the journal issues page. Once in Wiley InterScience we would suggest you re-save your bookmarks for your favourite journals.

Access to articles and most functions will continue uninterrupted, although you will notice small differences in design and terminology. Key changes are described below and will be highlighted the first time you log in after June 30th

For more information see Wiley’s Onlline Content Transition News.