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With the increase in digitized content available, new presidential research avails itself to more quantitative analysis. More digitized resources from government agencies and private and university repositories allow presidential scholars access to a broader universe of content. Data for analysis include digitized documents, oral histories, and data sets. Presidential scholars and researchers have the option to collaborate with programmers, computer scientists, and graduate students to become acquainted with current repositories and experiment with new technologies such as text mining and the R programming language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is the third in a series in this regular feature. The intention of the series is to look at important global developments in health science libraries. These articles will serve as a road map, describing the key changes in the field and exploring factors driving these changes. The present article by the current president of the Medical Library Association outlines two important developments in the United States. The topics chosen for consideration are national initiatives in the United States impacting health sciences libraries and librarians and enhanced roles for U.S. health sciences librarians in providing support for research. J.M. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors discuss the career of U.S. satirist and lecturer Artemus Ward and his program on the Mormons. They mention Ward's visit to Utah and interactions with Mormons, there, his subsequent lecture series in the U.S. and Great Britain on the Mormons, and how the lectures influenced the opinion of Mormons.

University libraries provide access to thousands of online journals and other content, spending millions of dollars annually on these electronic resources. Providing access to these online resources is costly, and it is difficult both to analyze the value of this content to the institution and to discern those journals that comparatively provide more value. In this research, we examine 1,510 journals from a large research university library, representing more than 40% of the university's annual subscription cost for electronic resources at the time of the study. We utilize a web analytics approach for the creation of a linear regression model to predict usage among these journals. We categorize metrics into two classes: global (journal focused) and local (institution dependent). Using 275 journals for our training set, our analysis shows that a combination of global and local metrics creates the strongest model for predicting full-text downloads. Our linear regression model has an accuracy of more than 80% in predicting downloads for the 1,235 journals in our test set. The implications of the findings are that university libraries that use local metrics have better insight into the value of a journal and therefore more efficient cost content management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides an overview of popular music libraries and archives in the U.S. with emphasis on subcultural genres and forms of rock music that span from the 1940s to the 2010s. Topics discussed include the collection of sound recordings and efforts to obtain personal paraphernalia from musicians and official records from recording companies. The issues affecting these libraries and archives, such as corporate ownership and copyright, are examined.

Most scholars agree that the presidency underwent an important evolution in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. However, the causes of these changes continue to be subject to rigorous debate. Using a multimethod approach, I find that the political opportunities and incentives that presented themselves in the nineteenth and early twentieth century shaped presidential rhetorical behavior rather than the president's personal or partisan ideology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine whether US firms' M&A decisions influence the likelihood of voluntary adoption of clawback provisions in executive compensation contracts and whether clawback adoption improves subsequent M&A decisions. Because prior research finds that poor M&A decisions are associated with future earnings restatements, we predict that clawback adoption is more likely after these transactions. We further conjecture that M&A decisions will improve after clawback adoption, as its presence reduces executives' willingness to manipulate post-acquisition earnings. Consistent with our expectations, we find that (1) firms with more negative M&A announcement returns are more likely to adopt clawbacks; (2) firms that acquire targets with relatively poor accounting quality are more likely to adopt clawbacks; (3) clawbacks improve investor perception of M&A quality; and (4) executives are more responsive to the market when completing M&A deals if their compensation contracts include clawbacks. These results suggest that boards take a pro-active approach and consider factors that may lead to restatements when adopting clawbacks. Our results have implications for US policymakers, as the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 requires mandatory adoption of clawbacks. Our results also suggest that non-US firms can reduce managerial incentives to manipulate post-takeover earnings by using clawbacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Big data, like MOOCs, altmetrics and open access, is a term that has been commonplace in the library community for some time yet, despite its prevalence, many in the library and information sector remain unsure of the relationship between big data and their roles. This editorial explores what big data could mean for the day-to-day practice of health library and information workers, presenting examples of big data in action, considering the ethics of accessing big data sets and the potential for new roles for library and information workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To visit leisure reading collections in academic science and health sciences libraries to determine how they function and what role they play in their libraries. Methods The author visited seven libraries with leisure reading collections and carried out a semistructured interview with those responsible either for selection of materials or for the establishment of the collection. Results These collections contained a variety of materials, with some libraries focusing on health-science-related materials and others on providing recreational reading. The size of the collections also varied, from 186 to 9700 books, with corresponding differences in budget size. All collections were housed apart, with the same loan period as the regular collection. No collections contained electronic materials. Although there was little comparable statistical data on usage, at the six libraries at which active selection was occurring, librarians and library staff felt that the collection was well used and felt that it provided library users with benefits such as stress relief and relaxation and exposure to other perspectives. Conclusion Librarians and library staff at the libraries that undertook active selection felt that their leisure reading collection was worthwhile. It would be interesting for future work to focus on the user experience of such collections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the history of "rube" characters, or unsophisticated rural persons, in American performance. It argues that rubes were depicted as both yeomen and barbarians. The author considers rubes in American theater from the mid-nineteenth century, particularly in vaudeville and variety shows, and considers ties to minstrelsy and popular depictions of Yankee characters. Actors who performed rube characters are considered, including Cal Stewart and Frank Bell. Later rube representations in the film "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" and the television show "The Beverly Hillbillies" are also explored.

This chapter discusses issues surrounding Americans who identify with Judaism and Jewish student identity development, presents challenges Jewish students face on American college campuses, and offers strategies for faculty and administrators to use when working with Jewish undergraduates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the techniques used in locating a specific type of image or file in the U.S. Because of the existence of different types of images which varies in color, type and description, it is difficult for user to locate a specific image that he wants. Previously, the Library of Congress uses Thesaurus for Graphic Materials I and Thesaurus for Graphic Materials II in cataloguing and retrieving images. With the onset of new technology, collaborative tagging is used in assigning keywords to textual documents and image resources. Such a tool is used by sharing sites such as Flick because it allows massive image storage and web diffusion wherein users upload their own images and index them using their own tags.

Historical explanations for the American “noble experiment” with alcohol prohibition based on individual conspiracies, cultural changes, social movements, or self-interested bureaucracies are partial and unsatisfying. Recent advances in punctuated equilibrium theory shine new light on this historical enigma, providing a more persuasive account of the dramatic episodes associated with both constitutional prohibition and its repeal. Through longitudinal analysis of a unique data set reflective of early twentieth century public alcohol control sentiments, this article suggests that, as but one of a range of potential alcohol policy options, national alcohol prohibition was hardly a foregone conclusion. The ultimate adoption of prohibition over competing alcohol control alternatives, as well as its eventual repeal, can best be understood with reference to particular feedback processes inherent in the institutional structure of American policymaking, which readily account for both the mad dash for prohibition and the widespread clamor for repeal, which have traditionally eluded historical explanation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systems offices that deal with library information technologies have played an important role in academic libraries; however, not much is known about how systems offices are positioned within academic libraries. This study examined the present status and the influence of systems offices by exploring the power differences among five principal functional units based on strategic contingencies theory. A mail questionnaire was sent to the principal functional unit heads of each of 95 university libraries belonging to the Association of Research Libraries in the United States. A total of 484 questionnaires were sent; 235 questionnaires were returned. The three major findings of this study were that (a) systems offices had more perceived power than all but public services; (b) systems offices had higher levels on contingency variables than did most of the other units; and finally, (c) criticality was a factor affecting perceived power between systems offices and most of the other units. The study findings imply that strategic contingencies theory may be partially applicable to library settings. Library staff or units may strategically increase their power by aligning their services with goals critical to their library and cooperating with other staff or other units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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To explore the tobacco industry's interest and intentions driving its nicotine analogue research.Review of internal tobacco industry documents regarding nicotine analogues released as part of the Master Settlement Agreement between the tobacco industry and US state governments in 1998.The tobacco industry investigated nicotine analogues extensively. Four principal areas of interest are evident. First, research on tobacco products was directed towards greater understanding of nicotine pharmacology, how to screen for potential analogues and how to separate the central and peripheral effects of nicotine. Secondly, interest lay in the potential for analogues to replace nicotine in order to create more‘desirable’ products and to circumvent anticipated nicotine regulation. Thirdly, interest lay in potential pharmaceutical applications for analogues such as treatments for neurological disorders. Finally, there was interest in the public relations potential of the therapeutic potential of analogues to reduce the demonization of nicotine, by allowing the industry to point to its beneficial uses.With tobacco product and nicotine regulation being increasingly advocated in tobacco control it is important to understand the industry's interests in the potential role of nicotine analogues. Initial interest included using analogues as a means to circumvent regulation, but evidence suggests these plans were discarded due to fear that this may have instigated regulation of tobacco products. Nicotine analogue research has led to potential therapeutic uses for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and alarmingly for the industry, to a potential vaccine to prevent nicotine addiction.Tobacco manufacturers should be obliged to declare all additives being used in tobacco products. Regulatory bodies should be aware that that there is a distinct possibility that the industry has discovered ways to circumvent future regulation of nicotine through the utilization of nicotine analogues. Any regulatory drafting should broaden the definition of nicotine in order to incorporate analogues into the scope of pharmacologically active substances being regulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes the purpose of libraries after technology has been incorporated in the environment for learning in the U.S. Features of the libraries; Changes in operations of library due to application of Internet in education; Definition of cyber library.

Focuses on the increasing consortial activity among academic libraries in higher education in the U.S. Analysis of examples drawn from the Virtual Public Library of Virginia, a statewide consortium; Insight on the development of the library consortia; Benefits offered by the consortia.

Focuses on a study which examined the impact of the scarcity of informational texts in teaching first grade students in the United States. Definition of informational texts; Methodology of the study; Mean number of informational books in the classroom library per student.

This article focuses on literature related to the United States-Mexican border region. The United States-Mexicans border is a point where two diverse cultures meet and intermingle. Historians, public servants, legislators and others who are intimately concerned with the situation have long recognized the region as a somewhat unique area; the concept of uniqueness has been expressed in various ways, depending upon the orientation of the individual concerned. The author of the article informs that the purpose of the guide is to aid researchers dealing with contemporary situations. Within this concept one might legitimately include all historical works dealing with the area, since history is a continuum and conditions of the sixteenth century have had their influence on the institutions of today. But it would be manifestly impossible to include all historical writing on the area, and as a consequence an arbitrary line of distinction has been set; with few exceptions, and then only if the work is particularly applicable, the guide includes material dealing only with the period after Mexican independence.