Think Tank Working Papers

In addition to using the library’s subscription databases such as CIAO (Columbia International Affairs Online), to find white papers and publications from think tanks and NGOs, there are a number of good websites to look at as well:

WorldPress (not to be confused with wordpress!) has a searchable library of international NGOs and think tanks, listed alphabetically:

Here are a few examples:

FRIDE is a think tank based in Madrid that aims to provide the best and most innovative thinking on Europe’s role in the international arena. It strives to break new ground in its core research interests of peace and security, human rights, democracy promotion, and development and humanitarian aid, and mould debate in governmental and non-governmental bodies through rigorous analysis, rooted in the values of justice, equality and democracy.

FRIDE’s working papers:

 

International Development Research Center

IDRC is a Canadian Crown corporation that works in close collaboration with researchers from the developing world in their search for the means to build healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous societies.

IDRC Working Papers

 

Harvard Kennedy School of Government Faculty Working Paper Series

Faculty working paper topics include human rights, advocacy, economics, international relations/globalization, security, conflict management, legal issues, and welfare, health care and social policy.

New Films in the Human Rights Film Collection

The Human Rights Film Collection at Babbidge Library has over 470 films in it.   Here are a few of the most recent additions to the collection:

12.511, Caso Rosendo Radilla: Herida Abierta de la Guerra Social en México.  Comisión Mexicana de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos (CMDPDH): WITNESS, c2008.  [English Subtitles]  Call number: HV6322.3 .C37 2008

“In 1974, Rosendo Radilla Pacheco disappeared at a military checkpoint in southern Mexico. As a prominent activist and mayor, Rosendo fought for access to health and education in Atoyac, in the state of Guerrero–a region historically plagued by hardship and neglected by authorities.Decades later, Radilla’s unresolved case reached the Inter-American Court of Human Rights as a emblematic example of government activities during the Dirty War–a period when the autoritarian regimes of the 1960s and 1970’s employed miltary tactics to crush opposition movements. Now Mexico faces charges of crimes against humanity. The video tells the stories of Radilla’s daughter, Tita, and other families who have disappeared relatives. They show us how seeking the truth in the past strengthens justice in the future.”

Between Two Fires: Torture and Displacement in Northern Uganda.  WITNESS and Human Rights Focus, 2006.  Call number: JC599.U36 B48 2006

Human Rights in Burma.  Burma Issues and Witness, 2007.  Call number:  JC599.B93 H863 2007

Rights on the line : vigilantes on the border / produced by American Friends Service Committee, ACLU, Witness ; writers and producers, Tamaryn Nelson, Ray Ybarra.  Call number:   JV6483 .R54 2005  disc.1-2

Bought & sold.   a Witness production in association with the Global Survival Network ; produced and directed by Gillian Caldwell.  Call number:   HQ281 .B68 1997

Rise: revolutionary women re-envisioning Afghanistan.   A Witness production in collaboration with the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan ; written and produced by Ronit Avni.  Call number:  HQ1735.6 .R57 2002

The Drilling fields.  A Catma Films production for Channel Four ; producer, Poonam Sharma ; director, Glenn Ellis ; writer/researcher, Kay Bishop.  Call number:  DT515.45.O33 D75 2008

 Expelled.  A Witness production; written, produced and directed by Michael Granne.  Call number:  HD8039.S86 E89 2001

 Missing lives : disappearances and impunity in the North Caucasus.  A co-production of: Memorial & WITNESS.  Call number HV6433.C49 M566 2007

Crying sun : the impact of war in the mountains of Chechnya.  A co-production of: Memorial & WITNESS.  Call number DK511.C37 P63 2007

Human Rights Initiative Funding for 2010-2011

The Human Rights Initiative at the University of Connecticut is seeking proposals for human rights events for the 2010-2011 academic year.

In the past, the Human Rights Initiative has funded speakers, films, workshops, art exhibits and theatrical productions. Applications will be accepted from university departments, faculty, student groups, institutes and cultural centers from all UConn campuses. The Human Rights Initiative is supported by the Office of the Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs.

Criteria For Funding Funding Available: Funds for UConn Human Rights Initiative: From Ideas to Action events will normally be limited to a maximum of $2,500.

Under exceptional circumstances, the committee may approve a higher amount depending upon the significance of the speaker or event.

Types of Events Eligible for Support: Funding is available to pay for speaker’s honoraria, speaker travel and meals, for group performances, round table discussions, programs, or promotional materials.

Who May Apply: Funding will be available to representatives of university departments, schools, colleges, student groups, institutes, and cultural centers.

Criteria For Selection: A faculty and student review committee will consider the following criteria when selecting what organizations will receive funding:

  • Clear focus on human rights
  • Creates, fosters and/or expands an interest in human rights
  • Contributes to the UConn Human Rights: From Ideas to Action as a whole, does not significantly duplicate another event, adds to a wide range of types of events
  • Quality of speaker or event
  • Interdisciplinary appeal
  • Appeal to students, faculty, and general public
  • Practical, feasible, well-planned event
  • Reasonable cost and proportional to the impact of event

The criteria and application for funding are both available electronically.

Application Deadline is March 31, 2010

Please contact Rachel Jackson at 860-486-5393 or via email at rachel.jackson@uconn.edu, if you have questions.

2009-2010 Recipients of the Human Rights Initiative Funding

New Research Guides Available!

In addition to the Human Rights Research Guide, there are several new research guides available on the UConn Libraries website:

For a complete listing of research guides, go to http://classguides.lib.uconn.edu/

Human Rights in the USA Film Series: Trouble the Water

Please join the Human Rights Institute and the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center for the February film for the 2009-2010 Human Rights Film Series: Human Rights in the USA.

Film:  Trouble the Water (2008)
Directed by Carl Deal and Tia Lessin

 Tuesday, February 9, 2010
4:00 pm, Konover Auditorium
Thomas J. Dodd Research Center

Trouble the Water, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, and nominated for the Best Documentary Feature Academy Award, revolves around the stories of Kimberly and Scott Roberts who captured the scene inside their attic as Hurricane Katrina raged outside their New Orleans home. Weaving together home video from the Roberts’ camera, news coverage of events as they unfolded in real time and footage they shot of the couple over the course of two years, the film constructs a portrait of a community that had been abandoned long before Katrina hit, and a husband and wife surviving not only deadly floodwaters, armed soldiers and bungling bureaucrats, but also their own past. Trouble the Water follows Kimberly and Scott’s journey through post- hurricane despair and chaos as they struggle to navigate the FEMA bureaucracy, resist eviction from temporary housing, cope with traumatic stress, and try to make a new start in Memphis. 

The full film series schedule and downloadable poster is available on the Dodd Research Center’s website at http://doddcenter.uconn.edu/events/hr_usa_film_series.htm

New Films in the Human Rights Film Collection

The Human Rights Film Collection at the University of Connecticut Libraries has reached 450 films! 

Recent addions to the Human Rights Film Collection include:

  • My Neighbor, My Killer (2009)
  • The Reckoning:  The Battle for the International Criminal Court (2009)
  • American Outrage (2008)
  • Angels on our Shoulders (2008)
  • Betrayal (2008)
  • Children in the Fields (2008)
  • Pray the Devil Back to Hell (2008)
  • Taxi to the Dark Side (2008)
  • China Blue (2008)
  • Children in No Man’s Land (2008)
  • XXY (2007)

Click here for a full listing of films.

And mark your calendars, the Human Rights in the USA film series resumes on Tuesday, February 9 at 4 PM with a screening of “Trouble the Water,” about a couple’s experiences during and after Hurricane Katrina.

New (beta) Library Catalog!

The UConn Libraries are testing a new library catalog to suppliment our current catalog, HOMER.  The beta catalog searches holdings in WorldCat, so you can quickly find materials held both in UConn Libraries and elsewhere.  It also searches selected databases such as PubMed, ERIC, Articles First, and others. 

Try it out, and let us know what you think!  http://www.lib.uconn.edu/

What’s New in the Library for Spring 2010

Happy New Year, everyone!  I have a bunch of updates about Homer Babbidge Library for the spring semester! 

1.       New Hours for Babbidge Library   

 Babbidge Library will now be open later on Fridays, and earlier on weekend mornings.  The new hours are Monday-Thursday 7:30 am- 2 am; Friday 7:30 am- 10 pm; Saturday 10 am- 6 pm; Sunday 10 am- 2 am.  The Dodd Center’s spring semester hours remain Monday-Friday, 10 am- 4 pm.  

2.       Kindle Borrowing Pilot Program

 During the spring semester, the library will be testing a pilot program for students and faculty to check out Amazon Kindles from the iDesk at Babbidge Library for a 2 week loan period.  A list of FAQs about the project is available at http://lib.uconn.edu/services/circulation/KindleFAQ.pdf

3.       Borrowing Laptops, Digital Cameras, Voice Recorders at the iDesk

 Laptops are currently available for loan at the iDesk, and the library will be expanding this service to include digital cameras, digital voice recorders and other items in the coming weeks.  Please contact the iDesk for more information:  860.486.2518.

 4.       Human Rights in the USA Film Series

The Human Rights in the USA film series continues with three films in Spring 2010:  Trouble the Water, on February 9; Sicko on March 16, and The Garden on April 13.  Descriptions of the films and the full schedule are available at http://doddcenter.uconn.edu/events/hr_usa_film_series.htm.

 5.       RefWorks and Google Maps Mash-up Workshops 

 Sign up to attend an upcoming library workshop:  http://www.lib.uconn.edu/instruction/workshop/

 6.       Streaming Media Services

 Did you know?  You can request to have film or other media available to students through your HuskyCT course site.  If there are films that you use frequently in your classes that you would like to stream, we can look into acquiring the streaming rights to those films.  Further information and the streaming video request form are available at the library’s streaming media guide at http://classguides.lib.uconn.edu/streamingmedia. 

 7.       New resource guides for Media/Video and Distance Learning

http://classguides.lib.uconn.edu/mediaresources
http://classguides.lib.uconn.edu/distancelearning

8.      And finally, a new system for printing at Babbidge Library

Details to come soon…