Happy 10th Anniversary, InSITE!

The first issue of InSITE was published on February 19, 1996. In celebration of InSITE’s 10th anniversary, Cornell Law Library is pleased to announce the availability of an RSS feed <http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/lawlibrary/insiteasp/public/rss.asp> for InSITE content.

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is an XML-based format designed for the distribution of Web content. Using RSS feeds, content is delivered automatically to your desktop ­ there’s no need to visit and re-visit your favorite Web sites on a regular basis to browse updated content.

To start using RSS, you need a special “news reader” (also called an “aggregator”) that downloads and displays RSS content feeds from Web sites you select. Many different readers are available and many are free of charge. Some readers are stand-alone programs intended to be installed on the user’s workstation while others (such as Bloglines at (http://www.bloglines.com/) are Web-based. Once you’ve set up your news reader, follow its instructions to subscribe to RSS feeds.

Here is the February 20, 2006 issue of InSITE (ISSN 1521-9046):

Centre for Constitutional Studies
The Centre for Constitutional Studies is a project of the law school of the University of Alberta along with the departments of History and Political Science. Founded in 1987, the Centre is dedicated to encouraging and facilitating the interdisciplinary study of constitutional matters both nationally and internationally. Legal researchers will be interested in the “Publications” section, which contains abstracts dating back to Volume 1, No. 1 (1993) from the Review of Constitutional Studies, the Centre’s formal academic and peer-reviewed journal. The Constitutional Forum, published three times a year, is also abstracted back to Volume 1, No. 1. The Centre’s occasional paper series, "Points of View," is available full-text in PDF. Site visitors will appreciate the “Constitutional Keywords” web page, which is intended to assist members of the public in understanding several key words and concepts that recur in Canadian constitutional debates. [BWK]

Criminal Justice / Mental Health Consensus Project
Coordinated by the Council of State Governments (CSG), the Criminal Justice / Mental Health Consensus Project (the Project) is a national effort to help policymakers at all levels, as well as those in the criminal justice and mental health professions “improve the response to people with mental illness who become involved in, or are at risk of involvement in, the criminal justice system.” The CSG developed the Project as a response to state officials who were seeking advice on dealing with mental health issues; meetings were held and a Project Report was issued. In addition to providing the text of the Project Report, the website provides other resources including information on programs, significant national projects, and technical assistance. Profiles of programs are organized into a database that can be searched or browsed, and users may limit their searches by jurisdiction, issue, and other parameters. The Project has been involved in several national projects, detailed on the site. These cover many topics, including violence against women and mental health courts. Other information on the site is tailored to specific occupations within the larger criminal justice system. [MM]

Feminist Sexual Ethics Project
The Feminist Sexual Ethics Project is supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation and Brandeis University, and is a project of the University’s Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. The Project is dedicated to exploring sexual ethics with the major world religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Each religion has its own sub-page, which provides links to essays, articles, bibliographies, literature reviews, and links to related websites. The Project also focuses on the legacy of slavery in the United States and the Western world as a component of sexual ethics. Visitors may also browse links to news items about the Feminist Sexual Ethics Project, including video and audio files, dating back to 2003. Researchers will be interested in the site’s “Academic Programs” page, which provides more information about Brandeis University and related research. [BWK]

Human Trafficking Search
Human Trafficking Search is a web portal provided by the National MultiCultural Institute “as a service to those individuals and organizations working to eliminate human trafficking.” The site provides access to thousands of documents on the web produced by various entities and categorizes them into four topics: Human Trafficking, Child Labor, Bonded Labor, and Sex Slavery. Within each category, users have basic and advanced search options. The search features support Boolean searching, as well as phrase searches, truncation and wildcards. Users may also limit by date, author, and document field. Synonyms may also be added, although many of these are automatically searched. Significant guidance is provided on the site as to how to use the search function. For human rights researchers, the portal provides convenient access to a vast array of web-published material. [MM]

ICONS Project
According to its website, the International Communication and Negotiation Simulations (ICONS) Project at the University of Maryland is an “experiential learning program that uses customized Web-based tools to support educational simulations and simulation-based training.” Designed for use in the classroom by high school teachers and college professors, the simulations support training programs related to conflict resolution, decision making, negotiations, cross-cultural communication, and crisis management. The Project provides a laboratory where students can test theories about how decision-makers resolve conflicts through an interactive negotiation module that instructors can integrate into their courses. There are fees associated with running simulations through the Project, but visitors can engage with a sample scenario to learn how the simulations are run. Researchers may be interested in the site’s Research Library, which is provided to help participants prepare for the simulations by familiarizing them with their assigned countries or roles, as well as the issues over which they will be negotiating. [BWK]

InSITE contributors: Julie Jones, Research Attorney, Brandy Kreisler, J.D., M.L.S., Matt Morrison, Research Attorney, Jean Pajerek (editor), Head of Technical Services & Information Management, all members of the professional staff at Cornell Law Library.

About InSITE: InSITE highlights selected law-related Web sites in two ways: as an annotated publication issued electronically and in print; and, as a keyword-searchable database. The law librarians at Cornell evaluate potentially useful Web sites, select the most valuable ones, and provide commentary and subject access to them.

Digital versions of this information can be accessed via:

1. Searchable database or by browsing current and archived issues on the web: Click InSITE at www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library

2. E-mail subscription. Send the following request: SUBSCRIBE InSITE-L <YourFirstName> <YourLastName> to: listproc@cornell.edu

3. Readers can subscribe to the new InSITE RSS feed at http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/RESOURCES/insite.htm

The contents of InSITE and any recommendations therein are the opinions of the authors and do not reflect the views of Cornell University. InSITE is copyright protected by Cornell Law Library, © 2006 Cornell Law Library. Permission to republish InSITE issues on Law Librarian Blog has been granted. For permissions, contact Jean M. Pajerek [jmp8@cornell.edu].