D'Angelo Law Library Blog

Calendar of International & Comparative Law Events

The Law School has a handy site for finding out about upcoming international and comparative law events (on the right hand side of the page).  For instance, Daniel Taub will be speaking on Tuesday, February 8, on "International Law and the Middle East Peace Process."  If you miss this or any other event back to October 2009, you can listen to recordings of them at the same site.  You can track these and other Law School events via the main calendar.  And sign up for email alerts.

Looking for a Computer in the Library?

The Library now has an available computers web application accessible via computers or mobile devices. The application displays the number of computers available for patron use in the different campus library locations, including at the D'Angelo Law Library.  The information provided includes library computers only and not computers on the Law School network.

Illinois Court Rulings and Rahm Emanuel's Mayoral Bid

It has been an interesting week in Chicago politics. Rahm Emanuel's political aspirations to be Chicago's next mayor were derailed on Monday by the Illinois Appellate Court's ruling denying him a place on the February ballot.  The Monday ruling was followed on Tuesday with the Illinois Supreme Court's stay pending appeal of the lower court's order.  On Thursday, the Illinois Supreme Court reversed the Appellate Court's ruling.  The various court documents in Case No. 111773, Maksym v. Board of Elections Commissioners of the City of Chicago, are available here on the Illinois Supreme Court web site. 

 

whitehouse.gov State of the Union website

The White House has created a State of the Union website to accompany the 2011 State of the Union address, scheduled for Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 9:00 EST.  The website will stream the address and, immediately afterwards, a panel of White House officials will take questions submitted through Facebook, Twitter and a webform provided by the site.  On Wednesday Press Secretary Robert Gibbs will take questions and on Thursday, President Obama answers questions in a live YouTube interview from the White House.  Thursday also features roundtables with policy experts on the economy, foreign policy, education and health care.  See the website for more information, including subscription information for Facebook, Twitter and web updates. 

Law in Free Internet Encyclopedias of Philosophy (SEP & IEP)

The project to create the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "a scholarly dynamic reference work", began in 1995 under the leadership of Edward N. Zalta.  Today, it is a rich resource with articles written by experts in the field on a variety of legal topics.  You can find articles by looking through the A-Z alphabetical listing, browsing the Table of Contents, or by doing basic and advanced keyword searches.  Examples of articles in the SEP include:

• Austin, John
• Constitutionalism
• Economic Analysis of Law
• Feminist Philosophy of Law
• Interpretivist Theories of Law
• Legal Obligation and Authority (Leslie Green)
• Legal Punishment
• Nature of Law (Andrei Marmor)
• Naturalism in Legal Philosophy (Brian Leiter)
• Pure Theory of Law (Andrei Marmor)
• Rawls, John
• Theories of Tort Law

Saving and Downloading PDFs in Google Chrome

Earlier this week, a student came to the reference desk because he had trouble saving and printing a PDF of a journal article using the browser Google Chrome. I figured others might be having the same problem and decided to share the solution here. The issue is that Chrome uses its own built-in PDF reader rather than the more familiar Adobe Reader. Like other aspects of Chrome, its PDF reader has a more minimalist appearance, so you don't see the usual icons, but it does allow printing and saving.

If you prefer Adobe Reader but still want to use Chrome, you can disable Chrome's built-in PDF viewer, and the Adobe Reader plug-in will automatically be enabled. To disable the built-in viewer, enter about:plugins in the address bar and click "Disable" underneath the entry for “Chrome PDF Viewer.” 

For more information, see Google Chrome's Help page.

Chicago Celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and His Legacy

"We are tied in a single garment of destiny." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Monday, January 17, 2011, is the 25th anniversary of the first Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday.  The University commemorated Dr. King's work with programs listed in the MLK Week schedule.  Judith Jamison, the Artistic Director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, delivered the keynote speech.  The University designated today as a day of community service to acknowledge the important role of civic engagement in Reverend King's message.  Sunday, the University will host a musical and liturgical celebration of Dr. King's legacy at Rockefeller Chapel.  

The Chicago Sinfonietta is also holding its annual MLK, Jr. tribute concert, A Dream Unfolds (Jan. 15-17).  Other tributes to the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. are taking place elsewhere in Chicago and nationwide.

Martin Luther King, Jr. worked for peace and justice throughout the world.  As he said, "Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere."  He influenced international legal reforms, and popular movements for peace, civil rights, and human rights worldwide.  The following bibliographies list works that focus on Dr. King's continuing legacy.

• The Legal Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:  Selected International Resources (2008).
• The Legal Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:  Selected Resources (2007).
• Martin Luther King, Jr., Civil Rights Activists & the Law: Selected D’Angelo Law Library Resources (2007).
• The Legal Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:  Selected Resources (2005).

 

The following list supplements the bibliographies:

University of Chicago Press e-books

 

 

Law and Happiness, edited by Eric Posner & Cass Sunstein, is one of the 1400+ University of Chicago Press books that the Library provides electronic access to via ebrary. You can browse all U of C Press books or search other e-book databases here.

Warm-up exercises to prevent texting injuries

I couldn't resist this...hat tip to the legalskillsprof blog...for pointing me to the Attorney at Work blog whose recent Productivity post provides 5 warm-up exercises to prevent overuse injuries from your smartphone.  See http://www.attorneyatwork.com/articles/practice-safe-texting/ for these helpful tips:

Vary the hand and digits you use, for example alternating between fingers to give the thumbs a break.

Reduce your keystrokes—find shortcuts and keep your messages as brief as possible.

Orient your hands into a neutral posture. The wrists should be relatively straight; avoid twisting them into odd angles, which will only cause additional stress to the hand and forearm muscles.

Align your head directly over your shoulders. Each inch that your head is forward places approximately 25 pounds more of stress on the neck and spine.

The 5 warm-up exercises are there, too - enjoy!

响堂山石窟: "Echoes of the Past": The Buddhist Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan (Smart Museum Exhibit)

Discover the remarkable history of the ancient Buddhist cave temples of Xiangtangshan. Through January 16. Free. [via Facebook]

Since the sixth century, Buddhist cave temples in northern China have housed a magnificent array of sculptures of Buddha, his attendants, and many other figures.  In the early 1900s, looters raided the caves and chiseled off heads, hands, and feet from the sculptures.  The severed parts of the sculptures have found their way into various private collections throughout the world.  For the past six years, the University of Chicago's Center for the Art of East Asia has engaged in a research and 3-D digital reconstruction project focused on the caves.  An international team of experts tracked down and photographed the missing parts of the sculptures, and then, using scholarly research and cutting-edge technology, the experts reconstructed the original appearance of the caves.  The Smart Museum has mounted an exhibit, called "Echoes of the Past," where visitors can view a virtual representation of the caves with missing parts of the statues digitally superimposed.  The exhibit is available for viewing, free, through Sunday, January 16, 2011.  On the closing day, the museum will conduct a Curator Tour at 2 p.m.