Roosevelt University Library Blog

Can potential employers see your Facebook profile?

You may have noticed that Facebook has changed their privacy practices. Even though you may think you have everything set to private, you quite likely are revealing more about yourself than you thought you were as recently as a few weeks ago. Potential employers are looking up applicants' Facebook profiles, so if you haven't taken a look at your public profile, you should, and soon.

Here's what you need to do first:

Mouse over Settings > Click Privacy Settings > Click Profile Information > Click Preview My Profile

See this? This is what any Facebook user can see about you. All they have to do is search your name. Look at everything that is displaying here, click it. People very likely can see your photos, the links you post to your profile, the notes you've written, all of your friends, where you work... they don't even need to friend you to snoop on you now. You can see other examples of this by clicking the names of people who comment on your friends activity that you aren't friends with yourself. Go ahead: snoop a little bit. 

You'll likely want to change this. Here's the first thing to do:

Mouse over Settings > Click Privacy Settings > Profile Information > Change Settings. 

There's a button here that controls the privacy of every part of your profile. If it's set to Everyone, you're showing everything you got. If it's set to Friends of Friends, these things can be seen by people you're friends with - not everyone in the world, but a lot more people than you might realize (you may not be friends with your boss - or your potential boss - but you may have a friend who's friends with your boss... you get the idea). Setting it to Only Friends makes the information viewable only by the people you've added as friends. 

You'll want to check all of these individual bits of your profile, but most crucial may be the setting for your Photo Albums. If you click the Edit Settings button for Photo Albums, you'll see a list of all of your albums, and see the privacy setting for each album. You'd be surprised what is or is not set to private.

Next, I'd recommend checking out the privacy settings for all of the applications you use. These can be as innocuous as What Personality Type Am I? or Pieces of Flair, but believe it or not, Links, Notes, and Videos are all applications as well. Remember the 25 Things About Me note you wrote? Yeah: everyone can read that. Here's what to do:

Mouse over Settings > Click Application Settings > click Edit Settings for each Application (links, notes, etc.) > Privacy.

Note: the first set of applications that appear when you to Application Settings isn't even all of the applications you use on Facebook. To see all of the applications you are using, Click the drop down menu that says Recently Used and switch it to Authorized. Yeah, you probably forgot you authorized a lot of these. At this point you may decide it's a better idea to get rid of some of these altogether - click the X at the right of the application to remove it.

OK, you're starting to get your information in order. At this point you may want to preview your profile again to see what it looks like to the world. You'll notice that all of the pages you're a fan of are still visible. This not be that big of a deal to you - you're a fan of Twilight, beer, and Camaros, who isn't? - but again, think about the people who can see this who you may not particularly want to know about your random interests. Unfortunately, the only way to make these not appear in your public profile is to remove yourself as a fan from the pages you don't want appearing here. There's no quick way to do this: you have to go to your profile and click the Info tab, go to the bottom of the page, click See All to the right of the Pages heading, and delete the ones you don't want visible to the world at large.

Looking back at your public profile, you'll note that your friend list is visible. Again, this may not seem like a big deal, but again, think to yourself: is it anyone's business? And consider this: Your network is valuable information, and there are people working furiously to map the way people are connected while the information is visible to anyone with a Facebook account. It's like mapping the human genome, but instead of mapping genes, they're mapping people. Don't believe me? Read this: http://www.lightbluetouchpaper.org/2009/12/11/facebook-tosses-graph-privacy-into-the-bin/

To prevent your friends list from being public, you'll need to go to your profile, click the little pencil that appears in the top right corner of the Friends box on your profile and uncheck Show My Friends on My Profile. It makes the little thumbnail pictures disappear from your profile, but you can still click See All and see them yourself, as can your friends, or click the Friends link that appears at the top of Facebook at all time. Again, the important thing is that people you don't know can't see it.

One more thing that's still viewable in your public profile is your gender. It's not like they can't figure out what it is, but if you want it to disappear, you have to go to your profile and click to edit the Basic information, and uncheck Show my sex in my profile.

One last thing to worry about. You've likely seen your friends post a status update saying that Facebook will automatically index all your info on Google, which allows everyone to view it. Facebook is denying this, but they've denied or tried to downplay other privacy risks in the past, so it's a good idea to take it seriously. To change this option, go to Settings > Privacy Settings > Search > then UN-CLICK the box that says Allow indexing. 

Got all that? Good. Now preview your public profile again. This is the information you're putting out to the world at large. Is this information you feel comfortable making available to your current or future employers? 

Here are some more articles about guarding your identity on the internet: 

• "Online privacy: Do Americans need better protection?", a report by CQ Researcher (note: you will be prompted to log in with your Roosevelt ID number, starting with 23311
• "You can de-tag but you can't hide", from the Daily Princetonian
• "Facebook 2.0", from EDUCAUSE Review
• "Should internet privacy end at death? Online photos of teen's fatal crash spark controversy over privacy, 1st amendment rights", a CBS News report 
• "Privacy Matters: the truth about data privacy", a public service campaign from the Interactive Advertising Bureau  
• "Google dashboard: Now you know what Google knows about you", from Mashable 
• "Is online privacy a generational issue?", from Wired 

Many library computers are out of order

The university is experiencing a campus-wide problem with their computers, so unfortunately, a number of the computers in the library, as well as the entire university, are not operational. About half of the AUD and Performing Arts library's computers are still working, but please be patient, as the University's IT department is working furiously to correct the problem.

Doing Business Abroad – International Culture & Norms

So a student goes into the Library and asks for a book…

No, this isn’t going to be a library joke, just an interesting punchline to a question that many business students usually need to research about at sometime in their RU career (and tend to inquire about at the Library) – where do I find information regarding doing business abroad; especially within a particular country?

A newfangled way is to try the Library’s subscription to Business Source Premier.  Try typing in “Bulgaria” (or whatever country is under consideration) and, in “Select a Field”, limit to “GE Geographic Terms”.  On the second line, type in “Customs”.  Now click “Search”.  One result is for a “Social Overview”, which is a chapter within a Country Review on Bulgaria.  This will give much "Human Development Index" fluff, but midway into the overview is a brief section regarding "Ettiquette:  Cultural Dos and Taboos" and, further down, a "Business Culture:  Information for Business Travellers" section.  Not much, but a start - continue digging around in Business Source Premier, trying other results and various search terms.

An old-fashioned, yet classic, way is to look for the circulating book called 
Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands by Terri Morrison, and others.   Both our Downtown and Schaumburg Campus Library own the 1994 edition:  HF5389 .M67 1994.  This book, and its more recent counterparts discussed below, gives information regarding "Cultural Orientations:  Cognitive Styles, Negotiation Strategies, & Value Systems"; "Business Practices:  Appointments, Negotiating, & Business Entertaining"; and "Protocol:  Greetings, Gestures, & Gifts".  They will provide perfect information for this project. 

The 2006 edition of Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands  can be requested via Interlibrary Loan from another library by using the I-Share library catalog. 

There are also three 2007 editions of the book that focus on:  18 Latin American  countries, 12 Asian  countries, and 25 European  countries.  The RU Library owns Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands:  Europe in the print Reference collection, call number REF. HF5389 .M67 2007.

Another old-fashioned way (alright, maybe the circa 1980's way) is to photocopy from the Library’s latest Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations.  The twelfth edition is available in both the Downtown and Schaumburg Campus Libraries.  Find it in:  REF G63 .W67 2007.  Worldmark will give background information, both economic and political, for each of the world's sovereign countries.  Statistical information given is from 2003.  You will need to jot down citation information, and should also photocopy the title page and ‘verso’.  The verso is the reverse of the title page; the verso will have the title's copyright date and the publisher's name and location.  The next time you email the pdf version of an article, together with its' APA or MLA formatted citation information, don’t forget to give a brief mental nod to those old-time researchers who used this ‘brute force’ method.

Good luck and enjoy the business of traveling the information superhighway!

Win $500 @ your library®!!!

Win $500 @ your library®

Annual Undergraduate Research Award

Honorable Mention Awards --$50

It pays to do your homework.

The Roosevelt University Library proudly sponsors annual awards for undergraduate research.  The awards are given to the papers or projects that demonstrate significant use of the library’s resources and services and show evidence of the application of research and information-gathering skills to original scholarship. 

A panel of Roosevelt faculty, librarians, and other educators judge entries based on the criteria listed below.  Entries become property of the Library, and the awards are presented in the spring term in April 2010.

RU Eligible?

The Library invites submissions from all degree seeking undergraduates.  Students may enter projects or papers completed for a Roosevelt University course. Research projects must be complete at the time of submission. The next award will be given in Spring ’10, and entries from the academic terms of Spring ‘09, Summer ‘09 and Fall ‘09 are all eligible.

Student applications must include:

• Application cover sheet
• • See Web address below for link to application 
• A signed letter of support from the sponsoring faculty member or instructor
• Summary of the research project (300 word maximum)
• Complete Research Project:
• • A 500-700 word essay describing your research strategies and use of library tools and resources.  
  • A 500-750 word essay describing your research strategies and use of library tools and resources.

Entries for 2009 awards must be received by 5:00pm, March 15th, 2010

Information and application can be found at:

http://www2.roosevelt.edu/library/undergraduate-research-award-2009.htm

In Memoriam--Michael Jackson, Patrick Swayze, Mary Travers

 

Photo courtesy of Amanda Dow

With the holidays coming up, it's hard to believe that 2009 will soon be over. This year has seen its share of music and theater milestones but has also seen the passing of iconic stars such as Michael Jackson, Patrick Swayze, and Mary Travers.  The PAL has created a display in honor of these three icons, showcasing their contributions to the world of music and theater.  Feel free to check out the display, which includes some of the items listed below.  Some other items that couldn't be added due to lack of space are also featured.

Michael Jackson

Known as the legendary "King of Pop," Jackson died on June 25th, 2009.  Jackson's career began in childhood as a member of the Jackson 5, producing hits such as "I Want You Back" and "I'll Be There."  Jackson went on to become one of pop music's most influential artists, introducing his famous "moonwalk" at the Motown 25 variety show and becoming one of the first African-American artists to receive significant airplay on MTV with his memorable video Thriller.  In honor of Jackson, the PAL has included these items in the display:

  Where did our love go? : the rise and fall of the Motown sound / Nelson George ; foreword by Quincy Jones ; introduction by Robert Christgau.  Motown records produced some of pop music's most famous acts--the Supremes, the Temptations, and of course, the Jackson 5.  This book discusses the rise and fall of Motown and how its artists have influenced popular music acts today. 

Hitsville USA: the Motown singles collection 1959-1971.  This set includes songs by some of Motown's most famous artists, including Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder,  Diana Ross, and Smokey Robinson.

 Performance and popular music: history, place and time, edited by Ian Inglis.  Jackson knew exactly how to combine performance and music.  His performance at the Motown 25 special--where he unveiled his famous moonwalk--remains one of the most famous pop music moments ever.  Read about this and other groundbreaking musical performances in this book.  Note: this item not on display.

 Many performers, including Jackson, have battled conditions such as anxiety and insomnia.  In the book Singing with your whole self : the Feldenkrais method and voice, singers can learn more about how to use the Feldenkrais method to cope with these conditions and also reduce problems such as muscle strain, tension, and illness.

Patrick Swayze

A well-known movie actor and professionally trained dancer, Swayze died on September 14, 2009 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.  Swayze studied dance at the Harkness and Joffrey Ballet companies before appearing in films such as The Outsiders and the cult classic Dirty Dancing.  In honor of Swayze, the PAL has included these items in the display:

  A Century of Dance.  Covers the various dance styles that have evolved over the century, including swing, jazz, tap, and many more.  Swayze is featured in a photo of the famous "lift" sequence from Dirty Dancing.

Grease / book, music, and lyrics by Warren Casey & Jim Jacobs.  Swayze was cast as a replacement for the role of Danny Zuko in the original Broadway production of Grease.  Note: Swayze does not appear in this recording.

  Film Choreographers and Dance Directors.  Learn about famous choreographers and dancers that have worked in the film industry, covering the years 1893-1995.

Swazye passed away after a battle with pancreatic cancer.  For more information on the disease, check out the following websites:

• Pancreatic Cancer Action Network: http://www.pancan.org/section_about/
• National Cancer Institute: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopoics/types/pancreatic/

Mary Travers

As a member of the folk singing group "Peter, Paul, and Mary," Mary Travers died on Wednesday, September 16.  Travers and fellow group memebers Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey were instrumental in the development of the folk movement of the 60's.  Some of the group's most popular hits include "Blowin' in the Wind," "If I Had a Hammer," and "Leavin on a Jet Plane."  In honor of Travers, the PAL has included these items in the display:

 Story behind the protest song: a reference guide to the 50 songs that changed the 20th century, by Hardeep Phull.  Peter, Paul and Mary were known for their strong beliefs on the civil rights and anti-war movements and performed one of the most famous protest songs of the era, "If I Had a Hammer."  This book covers the evolution of the protest song, from the 30's to the present day.

Songs of the 60's.  This score includes Lee Hays and Pete Seeger's song "If I Had a Hammer," considered one of the primary protest songs of the 60's and further popularized by Peter, Paul, and Mary.

Folk Song America.  This compilation features songs by some of folk music's most prominent figures, including Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Simon and Garfunkel, and the Kingston Trio.

Travers had battled Leukemia for several years.  For more information on the disease, check out the following sites:

• Leukemia and Lymphoma Society: http://www.leukemia.org.
• Leukemia Research Foundation: http://www.leukemia-research.org.

The display is up in a case in the southwest corner of the reading room.  Many thanks to PAL practicum student Amanda Dow for assisting in the creation of the display.  Feel free to check it out and learn more about some of music and theater's memorable figures!

Corrections to the APA Publication Manual

The APA recently released the 6th edition of its Publication Manual, which you can view at either library location. However, the APA has announced a number of errors in the first printing of the manual, and has released a document detailing the corrections to the manual, which you can view here (requires Adobe Reader):

http://supp.apa.org/style/PM6E-1st-Printing-Reprint-Corrections.pdf

In addition, they corrected their Sample Paper:

http://supp.apa.org/style/PM6E-Corrected-Sample-Papers.pdf

A good, up-to-date resource for writing papers using APA citation style is the OWL at Purdue APA Formatting and Style Guide.

Working in Groups as a Team in the Business World

So your business professor gives you a class assignment that reads something like this:  “Find Scholarly Articles Treating This Quotation:  ‘Working in Groups in the Workplace is both Necessary and Impossible.’”.  How would you best begin an in-depth article search using the RU library databases?

Well, our skilled personnel in the library have come up with two methods of attack:

Way #1:  from the library’s homepage, go into ‘Online Resources A-Z’ and choose ‘Business Source Premier’.  If you’re off campus, log in using your complete ID number.  Next to the ‘Find’ box, type in “Teams in the workplace” and limit your results to “full text”.  You’ll get well above 6,000 hits.  So, on the second line, type in “Team building.”  This decreases the results to a manageable 320 or so.  If, instead of “Team building” you type in “Intergroup relations,” on the second line and redo the search, the results are also a reasonable 60 or so.

Way #2:  start from the library’s homepage, click on ‘Find Journals & Newspapers by Title or Subject’.  In the ‘Title begins with’ field, type in “Small Group Research”.  Since you want more recent information, click on the link for “Sage Premier 2008”.  This will bring you to the periodical’s homepage.  Now, enter “teams workplace” in the ‘Quick Search this Journal’ field at the left column and click “Go”.  You should find plenty of articles in pdf full text.

Good luck, and enjoy your time researching this topic – it’s not necessarily an impossible task!  For other interesting business-related blog posts, browse our “Value Line Investment Survey” or “Welcome to the Wall Street Journal” missives.

Catalog will be down Sun. Nov. 1st

On Sunday, November 1st, the Roosevelt University Library book catalog and I-Share catalog will be unavailable between 6:00 AM and 10:00 AM. Access to databases and the intranet may be affected as well. 

Interview with Prof. Hunt about new book, Blueprint for Disaster

Professor D. Bradford Hunt, Associate Dean of the Evelyn T. Stone College of Professional Studies and Associate Professor of Social Science and Chair of the Department of Professional and Liberal Studies, has published a new book entitled Blueprint for Disaster: The Unraveling of Chicago Public Housing. Roosevelt Librarian Jennifer Lau-Bond recently interviewed Professor Hunt about his newest publication.

Why did you want to write a book about public housing in Chicago?

I wanted to find the answers to a deceptively simple question – what went wrong with public housing?  It was clear that something had gone terribly awry, and the answers written by others left me unsatisfied.  Digging into the topic, I found surprising stories about past policy decisions, and these stories added to my desire to write a book.  Finally, it had been over 25 years (1983) since someone had written a history of the Chicago Housing Authority, and it was time to assess its rise and fall. 

Was there a moment when public housing in Chicago went wrong, or was it just doomed from the start?

Public housing in Chicago was never doomed from the start.  But a series of misguided policy decisions put the city’s projects on a downward spiral.  If there was one decision that particularly undermined the program, it was the choice to build projects with a high-proportion of multi-bedroom apartments (i.e. 3-, 4-, and 5-bedroom apartments).  This created an unprecedented density of youth in public housing that made social control by residents difficult.  Read about this in Chapters 5 and 6!

Can you tell us about the types of research you needed to do for this project?

Some of the most important research was done at the Chicago Housing Authority’s archive, which is a collection of file cabinets stored in a poorly-lit warehouse on the far south side.  (The warehouse was in terrible shape, and I had nightmares that it would burn down, turning all that valuable history into ash).  I spent hours poring over files trying to understand the bureaucratic records and the voices, pressures, and policies behind them.  But the material yielded new stories and new information that had not been previously discussed.

Beyond archival work, I also interviewed numerous people engaged in public housing work – everyone from current residents to former executive directors.  The hard part of the topic is that the research phase could have been endless.  I had to stop the research and start the writing – a problem that many students have as well!

In the book, you mention New York City's Housing Authority as an example of a “successful” housing program. Is this the only example of success? What other models exist for public housing projects that are sustainable while still accomplishing their goals?

New York is one of the few large public housing authorities in the U.S. that has not experienced severe problems, though they have had substantial difficulties. (Other relatively successful housing authorities are in St. Paul, Minnesota and, to a lesser extent, Seattle).  Tiny housing authorities in small towns (often in the South) also continue to maintain viable housing developments under the old model.  But for most big cities, the public housing program as developed in the 1930s and expanded in the 1950s did not prove a good method for building affordable housing.

Instead of large-scale projects, we now know that a range of affordable housing options should be offered in every city.  Some families simply need an income subsidy and are fine; the federal Housing Choice Voucher program works for them.  Other groups, like single men, are often best served in new Single Residency Occupancy developments.  And some need what we call “Supportive Housing,” especially for families suffering from severe problems like addiction and mental illness.  Supportive Housing is often subsidized by government but managed by non-profit social service agencies who have the knowledge to help those most in need.  

The main point here is that there is no one-size-fits-all housing program that can work.  The “affordable housing problem” is highly fractured and complicated, and it requires numerous small-scale solutions.

What were the best and worst parts of the writing/publishing experience?

 The best and worst part about writing and publishing Blueprint for Disaster was that the work was incredibly challenging.  Some days I craved that challenge; other days I wish the book were done.   But the challenge was clearly the driving force.  I had to wrestle with questions that all historians ask themselves:  how am I going to explain what happened?  How am I going to be fair to the people and organizations of the past?  How am I going to make this history relevant?  Those are hard questions to answer. 

Just as in any student research paper, I had to make sure that each paragraph was focused on moving the story forward.  There was no room for “fluff” in this book, and the editors made sure that I “drove a narrative” in my writing.  Fortunately, I had a lot of help not only from my editors but from many volunteer readers of the manuscript, including my Mother, a former English teacher.  She’s my secret weapon!  Thanks Mom!

 

• To purchase a copy of the book, click here.
• To locate a copy of the book in the RU Library, click here.
• To read a review of the book from the August 15, 2009 Chicago Tribune, click here (requires authentication with RU Library borrower ID).
• To read an article about the book and Chicago Public Housing from the Chicago Reader, click here.

President Obama declares October 2009 National Information Literacy Awareness Month

On October 1, 2009, President Barack Obama declared October 2009 National Information Literacy Awareness Month. 

The need to be aware of our information, how to process and evaluate it accurately and responsibly is not only a necessity for our students here at RU, but for all information and knowledge seekers.  We at Roosevelt University library are very happy to see President Obama pay attention to such a vital issue and dedicate a month of awareness to this.

From The White House:
NATIONAL INFORMATION LITERACY AWARENESS MONTH, 2009
- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

Every day, we are inundated with vast amounts of information. A 24-hour news cycle and thousands of global television and radio networks, coupled with an immense array of online resources, have challenged our long-held perceptions of information management. Rather than merely possessing data, we must also learn the skills necessary to acquire, collate, and evaluate information for any situation. This new type of literacy also requires competency with communication
technologies, including computers and mobile devices that can help in our day-to-day decisionmaking. National Information Literacy Awareness Month highlights the need for all Americans to be adept in the skills necessary to effectively navigate the Information Age.

Though we may know how to find the information we need, we must also know how to evaluate it. Over the past decade, we have seen a crisis of authenticity emerge. We now live in a world where anyone can publish an opinion or perspective, whether true or not, and have that opinion amplified within the information marketplace. At the same time, Americans have unprecedented access to the diverse and independent sources of information, as well as institutions such as libraries and universities, that can help separate truth from fiction and signal from noise.

Our Nation's educators and institutions of learning must be aware of -- and adjust to -- these new realities. In addition to the basic skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic, it is equally important that our students are given the tools required to take advantage of the information available to them. The ability to seek, find, and decipher information can be applied to countless life decisions, whether financial, medical, educational, or technical.

This month, we dedicate ourselves to increasing information literacy awareness so that all citizens understand its vital importance. An informed and educated citizenry is essential to the functioning of our modern democratic society, and I encourage educational and community institutions across the country to help Americans find and evaluate the information they seek, in all its forms.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 2009 as National Information Literacy Awareness Month. I call upon the people of the United States to recognize the important role information plays in our daily lives, and appreciate the need for a greater understanding of its impact.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

What is information Literacy? Click Here.
To see the original proclamation Click Here.
To tell us what you think, click 'comments' below.