21st Century Sociology Reference Handbook available online

Mahoney Library has recently subscribed to the electronic version of 21st Century Sociology Reference Handbook, from Sage Publishing. This ebook offers an introduction to the many subfields of sociology.

Access 21st Century Sociology via the Encyclopedias & Reference page, through either of the databases pages (A-Z or Subject), or via the CoolCat catalog. Once you are into the database, you will be presented with a search box. If you’d prefer to browse through the book, simply click on the ‘Social Science’ link below the search area. This brings up your ebook options, which currently only consist of 21st Century Sociology. Click on the book’s title, and you will get to an information page. From there, click on either the eTable of Contents or eBook Index to browse through this 2-volume reference work.

For direct access to explore 21st Century Sociology Reference Handbook, click here. If you have any problems accessing the database via Internet Explorer, hit the back button and try again. If this does not work, try connecting using the Mozilla Firefox browser.

FRONTLINE Special: Growing Up Online

In Growing Up Online, FRONTLINE takes viewers inside the very public private worlds that kids are creating online, raising important questions about how the Internet is transforming childhood.

The first ‘chapter’ of the program - Living Their Lives Essentially Online - focuses on high school students in Morris County, NJ. Subsequent chapters address topics like cyberbullying, online predators, and the impact on education and classroom behaviors.

Watch the program in its entirety, online.

FRONTLINE is a news documentary program on PBS. For more information or to view previous programs, see the FRONTLINE home page.

CQ Researcher Report: Student Aid

Each week the CQ Researcher addresses a different topic of current interest. This week’s CQ Researcher offers an in-depth look at student aid for college students:

“With a record number of students hoping to attend college next year – and fees higher than ever – finding a way to pay the bills will be tough for many. Congress and the Bush administration made common cause in 2007 to increase federal Pell Grants for students and reduce some student-loan interest rates. Nevertheless, critics say the increases won’t go far enough. To help middle-class families, states increasingly offer merit-based grants for college aid. But with merit scholarships replacing need-based aid, low-income and minority students – who often don’t have the grades for scholarships – are finding their college dreams harder to realize. Meanwhile, longtime concern that private lenders rake in excess profits from their high-interest student loans has reached new heights. Investigations of student lending are being conducted in several states, even as universities and lenders settle allegations of loan fraud with New York’s attorney general.”

• Has the right balance been struck between merit-based and need-based aid?
• Has the right balance been struck between grants and loans?
• Do private lenders deliver good value for taxpayers and students?

Read the rest of the report here.