February 2009 – JCCC Billington Library

Books of Today: GAME Support (Unleashed!)

Today, we’ve started to process two series of books: Game Programming Gems and AI Game Programming Wisdom. Both series have come recommended by the folks in our GAME curriculum, so if you possess any interest or are taking the classes, you’ll have these handy reference materials available for your perusal. They’re full of tips, tricks, interviews, how-tos and information about the different specializations within the game development industry.

If you’re not familiar with our Library Reserves, they’re the books on the first floor that you probably think are all dictionaries and encyclopedias. FALSE! Well, not all of them, anyway. They are materials that can’t be taken out of the library (sadface) because they’re either too valuable or (like these) are books designed to be glanced at in short intervals and not always worth reading cover to cover for your need at that moment.

Books of Today… Freaking Me Out

I think that today’s RSS feed revealed some of the most disturbing titles we’ve seen this year. And the content reflects it, I’m sure. The first eye-catcher was First Kill Your Family: Child Soldiers of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army. That’s pretty self explanatory, but kudos to whomever dreamt that title up. Nothing drives home the horror of war like those which recruit children, and the Lord’s Resistance Army is absolutely horrifying. The book is worth checking out if you’re concerned about world events, child exploitation, or military history.

The next jolt to the senses comes from the famed New Age philosopher (should that be in quotes?), Sylvia Brown, with Psychic Healing: Healing Using the Tools of a Medium to Cure Whatever Ails You. Now, far be it from me to take on proving or disproving psychic ability, but when you’re used to seeing scholarly material fly past your eyes every day, this isn’t exactly the first thing you expect to see. It’s an audio book, so who knows.

Some other exciting titles include Death of a Witch, Promises in Death, Terminal Freeze, and the innocent sounding The Accountant’s Story, until you see the subtitle: Inside the Violent World of the Medellin Cartel. Some winners today. Surely one of these peaks some morbid curiosity.

Back of the Class # 2

Well, it isn’t really the second week, but it is the second update. In the second week, we were broken into groups and asked to start putting together a report on a flooring product. Our group chose bamboo flooring, and the research began.

Here’s a research tip for this update: instead of digging through database after database for articles, try out our federated search tool.

Can I do this from home?!

If you are a JCCC student, then yes you can.

alright!

When you load the home page, you’ll see an articles tab in the middle, revealing some pre-arranged categories. Something as specific as Interior Design isn’t really there, so you gotta be creative. There will be relevant articles in “art”, “business”, and others.

To cut out some guessing, there’s a link that says “Multi-Database Search“. That takes you to Central Search (requires JCCC login if off-campus). This tool digs through lots of databases at once. Once in there, you can enter your search terms above and select multiple categories below. Thus, I put in “bamboo flooring” for a keyword search, and select the categories of “business” and “science and technology”. I probably could check more, but I figure bamboo flooring is a manufactured product that is relatively new, and it is a big part of the Interior Design world right now. Business and Science/Technology should return plenty of results.

You’ll get articles that are often linked to the full text, and at least an abstract to let you know if the article is relavent. It isn’t perfect, and it may not catch all available subscriptions we have, but it certainly trims down the time when you’re not 100% sure where to start. Don’t be afraid to try it!

Time To Be Barefoot and Pregnant: It Is BotD!

I was once told that when a man and a woman love each other very much, the woman might quit her job to stay home and wait for the stork to stop by with a baby to keep her company while she stays at home. My father, he’s not a creative guy. But he’s also wrong.

Aside from being misogynistic, the above can be adult-ified as saying “women leave the workforce for family”. I’ve heard it called “the Mommy Track”, but another term is “opting out”. Our book for this Friday, Opting Out? Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home by Pamela Stone. Stone researched a group of women who were fortunate enough to be able to afford leaving their jobs after having children, and it turns out that it wasn’t to fill the gender role.

As it were, work sucked. The workplace had put undue stigma or pressure on them, and made work unfun. Others weren’t able to find the balance between being a successful employee at the top of or on an advancing track and being the parent they were expected to be. This look at gender in the workplace might reveal less about the mothers’ motives and more about workplace prejudices and ideals.

Book of the Day Aims to Teach

So this guy, Gardner, he comes up with this theory about their being 8 kinds of intelligences, and there’s a lot of research out there about it.

So our book for today, Teaching & Learning Through Multiple Intelligences by Linda and Bruce Campbell with Dee Dickinson, has a chapter for each kind of intelligence, and breaks down the multiple aspects of teaching, assessment, test-taking, and oodles of other considerations needed for educators to do their job to the best of their ability. With that model repeated in each chapter, it sets the tone for handling each student, and something future and current educators might want to consider, or at least explore if curious about Gardner’s proposed learning behaviors

Unfortunately, the author is not the same Bruce Campbell I wanted it to be.

‘White Like Me’ Author Speaks Today

Just a reminder (ripped straight from announcements here):

Diane Kappen, adjunct associate professor, psychology, will facilitate the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Book Club discussion of “White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son” by Tim Wise from 2 to 4 p.m. today. The group will meet in the In-Focus Dining Room, Commons Building.

“White Like Me” is available in the JCCC Bookstore. The book discussion is free and open to the public.

In addition, Tim Wise will speak at JCCC on Feb. 17. The first program runs from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in Craig Auditorium. A second, in Yardley Hall, runs from 7 to 8:30 p.m. A reception precedes the presentation from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Carlsen Center Lobby.

Book of the Day Goes Back to the Middle East

One argument you here about certain Middle Eastern countries is that their citizens have no influence due to their authoritarian government. Political Participation in the Middle East hopes to change your perspective by showing how participating through trade organizations, through activism, or a number of other organized or informal ways has actually allowed members of these countries to play an active part in government, despite perceptions of their structure. It isn’t a pro- or anti- authoritarian argument, but rather a way to see things a bit closer than we may be used to viewing them.