Domestic Violence Spills into the Workplace

While NFL is still dealing with the issue of players who perpetrate domestic abuse, they are not the only employers who must face this dilemma. In fact, most employers do not have policies for handling abusers, but instead focus on the victims ("Domestic Violence: The NFL Isn't the Only Workplace With a Problem," NBC News, September 22, 2014). Although there are an estimated "13,000 acts of violence against women in the workplace every year," companies are encouraged to address this issue with policies that protect employees.

Review selected hard copy and online library books related to domestic violence at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library.

Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

• abused women
• family violence
• intimate partner violence

"Recognizing Abusive Relationships: Romance and Dating"

(3:12 minutes) from the Films on Demand video database - Films Media Group, 2013.

Note: Login with your My LoneStar login or Lone Star College ID/library card barcode number to view the video off campus.

"Healthy relationships are built on respect and trust; one person should not wield power over another. Dating abuse usually follows a pattern that escalates to extreme abuse. . ." - producer summary

Domestic Violence edited by Louise I. Gerdes
Greenhaven, 2012.
call number: 362.829 Dom

"This book is a collection of articles in which authors debate whether domestic violence is a serious problem, whether teen dating violence is a serious problem, and whether economic downturns amplify problems that can lead to domestic violence." - publisher's summary

A Safe Place for Women: Surviving Domestic Abuse and Creating a Successful Future by Kelly White
Hunter House, 2011.
call number: 362.829 Whi
"It's the story of one woman's ordeal with an abusive husband and how she gained the strength to leave him and thrive in a new life with her children. Noted women's advocate Kelly White unsparingly revisits the dark periods of her husband's irrational, violent moods. Her narrative makes clear why women often stay in such situations." - and also how to end them.

Immigrant Children Are First in Court

To stem the tide of children coming across the border from Central America, immigration courts are moving minors (and their parents if they accompany them) to the front of the line within 21 days after the deportation process begins ("Criticism Arises after Children Are Rushed to See Immigration Judges," Los Angeles Times, July 28, 2014). Some say that this expedited legal action does not allow time to locate an attorney and prepare a defense. However, others note that this new policy makes it clear that the courts will uphold immigration laws.

Review selected hard copy and online library books related to immigration at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library.

Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

• border security
• illegal aliens
• immigrants
• immigration

Border Insecurity: Why Big Money, Fences, and Drones Aren't Making Us Safer by Sylvia Longmire
Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
call number: on order
"With practical suggestions for policing the borders, informed by experience on the ground, the book provides an easy, quick, energetic, and nonpartisan introduction to the subject." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

The Beast: Riding the Rails and Dodging Narcos on the Migrant Trail by Oscar Martínez; translated by Daniela Maria Ugaz and John Washington.

Verso, 2013.
call number: 305.906 Mar

"This searing account of the hardships suffered by Central American migrants headed through Mexico to the United States comes from true shoe-leather reporting." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

Global Crossings: Immigration, Civilization, and America by Alvaro Vargas Llosa

The Independent Institute, 2013.

call number: 305.906 Var

“The book first looks at the immigrant experience, which connects the present to the past, and America to the rest of the world, and explores who immigrants are and why they move. It contends that the conduct of today is no different than that in the past, and contrary to the claims by immigration critics, the patterns of contemporary migration do not differ fundamentally from those of other epochs. The book then discusses immigration and culture and tackles assimilation, globalization, and cultural differences.” - publisher summary excerpt

Guantánamo in Spotlight with Taliban-Bergdahl Release Deal

More men may be moved out of the Guantánamo base in light of the recent prisoner exchange of Taliban leaders for Bowe Bergdahl ("Obama Administration Considers Transfer of More Guantánamo Detainees," Guardian (London, UK), June 9, 2014). Obama stated in 2013 that he plans to close the detention center. Some 149 detainees remain at Guantánamo, but a review board has been created to allow men to petition for freedom.

Review selected hard copy and online library books related to Guantánamo at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library.

Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

• Afghan War 2001 prisoners
• combatants
• Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp
• Guantánamo Bay Naval Base

Selling Guantánamo: Exploding the Propaganda Surrounding America's Most Notorious Military Prison by John Hickman
University Press of Florida, 2013.
call number: 355.129 Hic
"Americans have been sold a bill of goods on the rationale for detaining "unlawful combatants" at the Guantanamo prison facility according to this probing study. Hickman, associate professor of govern-ment at Berry College, makes a bold case that official Washington keeps the majority of these men imprisoned as pawns in an ongoing propaganda war manufactured for domestic consumption." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

The Terror Courts: Rough Justice at Guantanamo Bay by Jess Bravin
Yale University Press, 2013
call number: 345.73 Bra
Note: Login with your My LoneStar login or Lone Star College ID/library card barcode number to view the video off campus.
"Jess Bravin, the Wall Street Journal 's Supreme Court correspondent, was there within days of the prison's opening, and has continued ever since to cover the U.S. effort to create a parallel justice system for enemy aliens. A maze of legal, political, and moral issues has stood in the way of justice--issues often raised by military prosecutors who found themselves torn between duty to the chain of command and their commitment to fundamental American values. While much has been written about Guantanamo and brutal detention practices following 9/11, Bravin is the first to go inside the Pentagon's prosecution team to expose the real-world legal consequences of those policies. Bravin describes cases undermined by inadmissible evidence obtained through torture, clashes between military lawyers and administration appointees, and political interference in criminal prosecutions that would be shocking within the traditional civilian and military justice systems." - publisher summary excerpt

Lethal Injection Gone Awry Renews Debate on Capital Punishment

The recent lethal injection nightmare in Oklahoma recharged the capital punishment discussion as the administered drug mixture caused prolonged agony for the inmate being executed ("Botched Oklahoma Execution Stirs Outrage, May Bring Changes," Los Angeles Times, April 30, 2014). As opposition to the death penalty increases, states are having difficulty finding drugs that will "paralyze an inmate and stop the heart," so unproven and undisclosed lethal drugs are becoming more commonplace.

Review selected hard copy and online library books and videos related to capital punishment at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library.

Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

• capital punishment
• death row

"Moyers and Company: And Justice for Some: Early Electric Chair Executions" (3:42 minutes) from the Films on Demand video database - Films Media Group, 2013.
Note: Login with your My LoneStar login or Lone Star College ID/library card barcode number to view the video off campus.
"Moyers and his guests discuss the botched execution of the William Kemmler, first person sentenced to the electric chair. Some Supreme Court justices have qualms about executions but feel they must upholding the Constitution." - producer summary

A Wild Justice: The Death and Resurrection of Capital Punishment in America by Evan J. Mandery - Norton, 2013.
call number: 345.73 Man
"Mandery (criminal justice, John Jay Coll.; Capital Punishment in America: A Balanced Examination) has written a tour de force examination of how the U.S. Supreme Court from 1963 to 1977 ruled on death penalty issues. Filled with information from the justices' private papers as well as extensive interviews with their clerks and with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund counsel (especially Anthony Amsterdam), this book is revelatory." - Library Journal review excerpt

Life without Parole: What Everyone Needs to Know [electronic resource] edited by Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., and Austin Sarat - New York UP, 2012.
call number: eBook Collection database book
Note: Login with your My LoneStar login or Lone Star College ID/library card barcode number to view the video off campus.
"Is life without parole the perfect compromise to the death penalty? Or is it as ethically fraught as capital punishment? This comprehensive, interdisciplinary anthology treats life without parole as "the new death penalty." Editors Charles J. Ogletree, Jr. and Austin Sarat bring together original work by prominent scholars in an effort to better understand the growth of life without parole and its social, cultural, political, and legal meanings." - publishers summary excerpt

Texas Abortion Law Affirmed

The latest ruling on abortion restrictions in Texas on March 27 affirmed the hospital admitting privileges provision for abortion providers, citing that "90% of women in Texas would still be able to find an abortion provider within 100 miles of home" although residents of less-populated areas of Texas may need to go farther for abortion services as a result of House Bill 2 signed into law in July 2013 ("Texas Abortion Limits Law Upheld by Appeals Court," Los Angeles Times, March 27, 2014).

Review selected hard copy and online library books and videos related to abortion, pro-life movement, contraception, and reproductive rights at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library.

Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

• abortion
• contraception
• pro-choice movement
• pro-life movement
• reproductive rights

"Moyers and Company: What's Fueling the Modern Abortion Debate?" from the Films on Demand video database - Films Media Group, 2013.
Note: Login with your My LoneStar login or Lone Star College ID/library card barcode number to view the video off campus.
"In this edition of Moyers and Company, Bill discusses the changing face of the reproductive rights movement and those it serves—as well as the success of social conservatives on the abortion front—with Jessica González-Rojas, executive director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, and Lynn Paltrow, founder and executive director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women." - producer summary excerpt

Generation Roe: Inside the Future of the Pro-Choice Movement by Sarah Erdreich - Seven Stories Press, 2013.
call number: on order
"Journalist and women's health advocate Erdreich delivers a passionate study of the past, current, and future state of the pro-choice movement in America. . . This is a thoughtful and comprehensive treatment of one side of an emotionally charged topic." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

Reproductive Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know by Rickie Solinger - Oxford, 2013.
call number: 363.96 Sol
"Includes a concise, unbiased explanation of the historical (e.g., while before the mid-19th century, a woman could legally ask a physician or midwife to terminate her pregnancy, by 1910 almost every state had criminalized abortion), political, legislative, and judicial elements surrounding the issue. . . Researchers interested in the full context of abortion rights and other reproductive issues will appreciate this helpful guide." - Library Journal review excerpt

The Street Politics of Abortion: Speech, Violence, and America's Culture Wars by Joshua C. Wilson - Stanford Law Books, 2013.
call number: 363.46 Wil
"Wilson (political science, Univ. of Denver) chronicles the evolution of the anti-abortion movement from grassroots clinic protests to its present form as a highly organized and politically powerful collection of institutions. . . This is a thoughtful and well-documented history of the anti-abortion movement, not an analysis of the right or wrong of abortion." - Library Journal review excerpt

Prescription Drug Addiction and Its Consequences

When public figures such as Academy Award winner, Philip Seymour Hoffman, die from a drug overdose, the issue of addiction gets press coverage ("The Rise of Drug Overdoses in the US," BBC News, February 7, 2014). The latest reports on his death published at the end of February, show that he died from a combination of heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepines and amphetamines ("Philip Seymour Hoffman Died of Accidental Drug Overdose: Coroner," Los Angeles Times, February 28, 2014). However, the first article mentions that "in 2010, prescription drugs killed more than 22,100 people in the US, more than twice as many as cocaine and heroin combined."

Review selected hard copy and online library books and videos related to substance abuse, addiction, and drug use at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library.

Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

• addicts
• drug abuse
• drug control
• substance abuse

Clean: Overcoming Addiction and Ending America's Greatest Tragedy by David Sheff - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.
call number: 362.29 She
"Sheff makes his case methodically and convincingly, finishing with a stark look at the failure of the War on Drugs-and a comparison to the far more effective wars on cancer and AIDS, fought with the weaponry of 'education and prevention, changing public policy, and improving treatment,' rather than 'interdiction, arrest, prosecution, and eradication.'" - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

By Some Miracle I Made It Out of There: A Memoir by Tom Sizemore with Anna David - Atria Books, 2013.
call number: B Sizemo (biography)
"Some Miracle I Made It Out of There is a harrowing journey into the heart of addiction, told in riveting and often shocking detail-a terrifying cautionary tale for anyone who's peered over the abyss of drug abuse." - publisher summary excerpt

Click the image above for a video
on prescription drug abuse.

"America's Secret Epidemic" from the Films on Demand video database - CNBC, 2011.
Note: Login with your My LoneStar login or Lone Star College ID/library card barcode number to view the video off campus.
"Nearly 48 million Americans abuse prescription drugs. It is the second most abused drug behind marijuana. It is estimated nearly 26,000 people die a year. Drug Czar, Gil Kerlikowske makes prescription drug abuse a top priority." - video clip summary

Cyber Theft Compromises Target Security, Causing Financial Problems for Millions of Shoppers

Cyber thieves took vendor credentials to create the Target security breach affecting some 40 million credit and debit card numbers in late 2013 ("Target Says Criminals Attacked with Stolen Vendor Credentials," Reuters, January 29, 2014). A Target representative did not provide further details on the theft. Meanwhile, government officials in Washington renewed discussion on creating a standard for reporting such security incursions to the public in light of this major hit to the third largest retailer's customers.

Review selected hard copy and online library books and videos related to computer security/crime at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library.

Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

• computer crimes
• computer security
• cyberspace security
• cyberterrorism

Cyber Warfare: How Conflicts in Cyberspace Are Challenging America and Changing the World by Paul Rosenzweig - Praeger, 2013.
call number: 355.4 Ros
"An up-to-date, accessible guide to the growing threats in cyberspace that affects everyone from private individuals to businesses to national governments."  - publisher summary

50 Ways to Protect Your Identity in a Digital Age by Steve Weisman - FT Press, 2013.
call number: 332.024 Wei
"Discover why ID theft is more dangerous than ever, and discover today's most dangerous new threats -- including attacks targeting medical records, personal finance and online banking sites, the elderly, and military service members. Meet the hackers and organized crime groups who want to steal your identity and money -- and learn how to protect your data and your life! Step by step, Weisman shows how to avoid risks, minimize risks you can't completely avoid, and immediately take the right steps if you're ever victimized." - publisher summary excerpt

Computer Security Literacy [Electronic Resource]: Staying Safe in a Digital World by Douglas Jacobson and Joseph Idziorek  - CRC Press, 2013.
call number: EBSCO eBook
Note: Login with your My LoneStar login or Lone Star College ID/library card barcode number to view the entire eBook off campus.
"(This book) helps you better understand the practical aspects of computer security. The authors cover such popular security topics as social networking, social engineering (phishing), and online shopping. They also address situation awareness, including the security risks of using wireless Internet at a university and the risks of using a public computer." - publisher summary excerpt