Is the Whole World Going Broke?

Over the past couple of weeks many of us have been growing more and more concerned about the fiscal crisis on Wall Street that is spreading to what the pundits call "main street" (in other words, all the rest of us who don't work on Wall Street). Over the last couple of days it has become apparent that there is now an international crisis. This morning everything sounds so bad that a worldwide depression is being talked about.

For sometime now our university faculty has added international studies to the curriculum in a growing number of disciplines. International business, hospitality, nutrition, political science, anthropology, communication, etc. I won't even attempt to name every program that includes international or intercultural components. All of us have become more aware of how internationally intertwined so many aspects of our lives have become.

Here in the library we often have questions from students looking for demographic, trade, and cultural aspects of other countries. This semester we are pleased to announce the addition of a database to our library that will help immensely with the cultural aspect of these assignments. The database is called CultureGrams Online. Aside from the population and government statistics that you can find in a number of country profile products, this database includes information on family, housing, diet, recreation, dating and marriage customs and several other aspects of lifestyle. Check it out when you have a chance. You'll find that it will not only be helpful academically, it will also be useful for Scout Troops, university and civic organizations, or planning your next vacation. Everything from recipes to common courtesies and greetings is covered. As Martha Stewart would say, "It's a good thing."

Bernice Wright bwright@sfasu.edu rm. 202j 936.468.1528 Subjects - Agriculture, Forestry, Human Sciences, Human Services, Speech/Communication

Kid's Reading Levels

Did you ever wonder if a book would be appropriate for your child, or the class you are teaching? There is a way to find out. It is a tool that we have recently discovered called Scholastic Book Wizard http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/homePage.do

If you put the title of a book in the Scholastic Book Wizard you will find the recommended grade level equivalent or interest level for that book. If you put in an author's name, the site will list the author's works that are available, along with the grade level equivalent, interest level, and whether or not it has a Scholastic Reading Counts! Quiz or an Accelerated Reader Quiz. Click on the book's title and you get even more more information about the book. If you are looking to build your collection of childrens' books this site will be an invaluable help. Student Activities and Teaching Resources tabs are also available and allow you to use the site when developing lesson plans.

Check it out!

Tina Oswald toswald@sfasu.edu rm. 202f 936.468.1861 Subjects - Elementary Education, and Secondary Education/Educational Leadership

Beyond the Pale and Toad and the Wet Sprocket

The phrase "beyond the pale" appears frequently in writing; many guess at its meaning or just read past the phrase without looking up its meaning and move on. However, it could be central to the point the author is making. Its use extends through the lexicon of western civilization for at least 1000 years. If we ignore its origins or meaning of this and other phrases shared by our culture it hinders our understanding. Not knowing the shared fundamental knowledge of educated members of western society renders us illiterate regarding many of the things we read and hear throughout our lives. David Hirsch describes this concept of the need to know a standard set of facts and knowledge shared by all members of western society as "Cultural Literacy."

Wanting to be a literate and reasonably educated person, I often turn to reference sources to understand what I am reading or the world around me. One source many turn to Google. I tried it. After entering [Define:pale] Google retrieved several definitions. One was from Wikipedia: "Pale is the second album by Toad the Wet Sprocket released in January 1990.” This was not what I was looking for, so I turned to my all time favorite reference resource: "The Oxford English Dictionary” (OED).

The OED has two pages of text defining the word pale, its origins, and definitions for it from its first appearance an English text to the present. This multi volume work is comprehensive however; I will admit it did not mention "Toad and the Wet Sprocket.” The OED did reveal that a Pale was a poll or log lodged into an embankment with a pointed tip facing outward at an angle to act as a fence or defensive barrier impaling any attackers. This barrier defined the boundary of the civilized camp or village, from those who lived outside the defended area (or, beyond the pale) who were the "uncivilized" or "barbarians”. Eventually these boundaries became stone walls and then just lines on a map.

The meaning of beyond the pale also evolved from referring to the crude physical barrier to a conceptual line surrounding social behavior or set of shared ideals. Today it refers frequently to an individual or group that acts in a way beyond the accepted values, mores, or behavior of respectable or civilized members of society. This is beyond bending the rules or offending someone, but is an action so outrageous that society cannot accommodate or excuse the behavior. The offender traveled past the protective boundaries of civilization into barbarism; going "beyond the pale" of all reason and moral judgment.

I have nothing against Toad and the Wet Sprocket or Google, but I think the OED's definition is what I needed.

See: Rudyard Kiplings short story "Beyond the Pale", where a "man who willfully stepped beyond the safe limits of decent everyday society, and paid for it heavily".

The Oxford English dictionary.Oxford : Clarendon Press ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1989.
call no. SFA Ref nc PE1625 .O87 1989

The dictionary of cultural literacy [electronic resource] / .D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, James Trefil. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1993.
Online at Net Library
print version, call no. SFA Ref nc E169.1 .H6 1993

Cultural literacy : what every American needs to know / E.D. Hirsch, Jr. ; with an updated appendix, What literate Americans know [by] E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph Kett, James Trefil. New York : Vintage Books, 1988, c1987.
call no. LB45. H57

"Pale" by Toad The Wet Sprocket (Audio CD - Jan 16, 1990) Amazon

R. Philip Reynolds preynolds (AT) sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy, Religion, Political Science, Geography, Kinesiology

Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin, new VP candidate for the United States, and her opponent Joseph Biden ...

NEED TO KNOW MORE -

Use the library to find out more about the candidates and other influential people. Look in the library resource, Biography Resource Center (Sorry, only SFA folks can use it). When trying to find information about a person, the Biography Resource Center can offer accurate info in addition to journal articles and websites. When you need to know more about a person, go to the library. Ask a librarian.

	Marthea Turnage mturnage@sfasu.edu rm. 202c 936.468.1896 Subjects - Accounting, Criminal Justice, Economics and Finance, General Business, Law, Management/Marketing/International Business, Nursing, Psychology