Science & Engineering Library
December Newsletter
|
|
Congratulations on finishing this semester! The Science & Engineering Library and the USC Libraries are here this December, continuing to offer online services and preparing for Spring 2021.
Important Information
|
|
|
|
USC Libraries & UCAS Library Partner to Support USC Students Studying Remotely in China
The USC Libraries have partnered with the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) Library in Beijing to support USC students currently studying remotely from China due to the COVID-19 pandemic. USC undergraduate and graduate students in China are eligible to use the UCAS Library’s virtual collections and services, including electronic databases, online reference, and other remote research support. UCAS electronic resources are available in addition to remote collections and services provided by the USC Libraries.
Similarly, currently enrolled UCAS students who are residing in the United States are eligible to access USC Libraries’ electronic resources and use virtual reference and other remote services. For UCAS students in the United States, please email Tang Li, USC Libraries Chinese Studies Librarian, at tangl@usc.edu to learn more about establishing access to the available collections and services. The partnership applies only to digital, remote access to collections and services of both libraries.
|
|
|
|
Computer Science Education Week
December 7-13
Computer Science Education Week recognizes the transformative role of computing and the need to bolster computer science at all educational levels. Here are a few of our Computer Sciences resources:
Also, participate in Google's Hour of Code event, offering one-hour coding activities!
|
|
|
U Mad? Free-To-Play, Mobile Video Games, Bias, and Norms
Free-to-play and mobile video games are an important and growing part of the video game industry, and yet they are often disparaged by journalists, designers, and players and pronounced inferior to games with more traditional payment models. In this book, Christopher Paul shows that underlying the criticism is a bias against these games that stems more from who is making and playing them than how they are monetized. Free-to-play and mobile games appeal to a different kind of player, many of whom are women and many of whom prefer different genres of games than multi-level action-oriented killing fests. It's not a coincidence that some of the few free-to-play games that have been praised by games journalists are League of Legends and World of Tanks. Access U Mad? here!
|
|
|
|
Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World
Misinformation, disinformation, and fake news abound and it’s increasingly difficult to know what’s true. Our media environment has become hyperpartisan. Science is conducted by press release. Startup culture elevates bullshit to high art. We are fairly well equipped to spot the sort of old-school bullshit that is based in fancy rhetoric and weasel words, but most of us don’t feel qualified to challenge the avalanche of new-school bullshit presented in the language of math, science, or statistics. In Calling Bullshit, Professors Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West give us a set of powerful tools to cut through the most intimidating data. Access Calling Bullshit here!
|
|
|
|
Out of My Skull: The Psychology of Boredom
Psychologists James Danckert and John Eastwood contend that boredom isn’t bad for us. It’s just that we do a bad job of heeding its guidance. When we’re bored, our minds are telling us that whatever we are doing isn’t working—we’re failing to satisfy our basic psychological need to be engaged and effective. Too many of us respond poorly. We become prone to accidents, risky activities, loneliness, and ennui, and we waste ever more time on technological distractions. But, Danckert and Eastwood argue, we can let boredom have the opposite effect, motivating the change we need. The latest research suggests that an adaptive approach to boredom will help us avoid its troubling effects and, through its reminder to become aware and involved, might lead us to live fuller lives. Access Out of My Skull here!
|
|
|
|
New Journal:
Soft Robotics
Soft Robotics (SoRo) is the leading robotics journal, publishing world-class peer-reviewed research on the emerging technologies and developments of soft and deformable robots, including coverage of flexible electronics, materials science, computer science, biomechanics, biomedical engineering, mathematical modeling, biopolymer chemistry, and tissue engineering.
|
|
|
|
Science & Engineering Library Displays
View the Science & Engineering Library's online exhibits:
|
|
|
|
|
|
