Articles that apply to reference

Articles found in my building’s re-cycle bin. They could all help interactions at the reference desk.
“Unmasking ‘racial microaggressions.’ ” Tori DeAngelis. 40(2) Monitor on Psychology 42-46 (Feb. 2009).
Racist actions can be sosubtle that the perpetrator may not be aware of his bias, but the minority individual will pick-up the discrimination. Controntation most likely will result in denials. Derald Wing Sue’s article on this topic in the American Psychologist received letters accusing him of overblowing incidents or creating destructive negativity.
Some interesting criticisms of Sue :
Kenneth R. Thomas “The theory, in general, characterizes people of color as weak and vulnerable, and reinforces a culture of victimization instead of a culture of opportunity.”
Kenneth Sole admits that microagressions occur; clients of his consulting firm speak about them. “But instead of encouraging their anger, he works with them on ways to frame the incidents so they feel empowered rather than victimized.” … ” ’My own view is that we don’t serve ourselves well in the hundreds of ambiguous situations we experience by latching onto the definition of the experience that gives us the greatest pain’ – particularly in one-time encounters where one can’t take more systemic action.”
Sue responds: “My hope is to make the invisible visible. Microaggressions hold their power because they are invisible, and therefore they don’t allow us to see that our actions and attitudes may be discriminatory.”
“Why Can’t We Be Friends?”. Tori DeAngelis. 40(2) Monitor on Psychology 48-49 (Feb. 2009). Diversity programs can distract individuals from structural injustice a study by Tamar Saguy, Nicole Tausch, Jack Dovodio and Felicia Pratto has found. Pleasant social interactions encourage low-power groups to expect kindlier actions from high-power groups. The high-power groups do not extend more kindnesses. Says Dovidio: “You want get beyond simply liking one another to the real issues of inequity and disparities that exist between groups, and to create a space where you can explore each others’ perspectives and understand each other.”
“Mini-multitaskers.” Rebecca A. Clay. 40(2) Monitor on Psychology 38-40(Feb. 2009). Multi-tasking hinders learning. There are two kinds of learning based upon the differences between procedural memory and declarative memory. Procedural memory relies upon the basal ganglia, a less flexible memory than declaraive memory based in the hippocamus.
“Collaboration brings an innovative approach to nursing education." Elizabbeth Poster. 4 (2) American Nurse Today 34-35 (Feb. 2009).
Nursing educators and practitioners were disturbed that graduating students clinicl experience “depended on random events.” Students had gaps . Educators and practitioners defined ten learning modules for common conditions. Since there are complaints that graduating law librarians have gaps, our SIGS and groups could create similar modules.