The Promise at Hand

Based on a former RWJF vice president's seminar, gives an overview of the history and role of foundations in U.S. society, their uncertain status as social institutions, and their regulatory history. Urges foundations to see themselves as a public trust

The Adult and Continuing Education Collections at Syracuse University

Since 1949 Syracuse University has assembled historical documents, including manuscript, print, visual, and media materials, related to adult education. The Adult and Continuing Education Collections, housed in the George Arents Research Library, now form one of the world\u27s largest compilations of English-language materials in this field. They occupy 900 feet of shelf space and contain more than 50 groups of personal papers and records of organizations, all of which reveal much about the development of adult education as a field of study and as a practice in such areas as literacy and civic education. These papers document efforts to define educational authority, to establish creditable standards for learning, and to build programs that teach people to read, to plant better crops, and to adapt to new technologies. One can trace in them the strong threads of anti-intellectualism ironically paired with the equally strong threads of civic mindedness that are part of our cultural fabric, and take note of the perennial conflict between individualism and bureaucracy

American and French Perspectives on Trademark Keying: The Courts Leave Businesses Searching for Answers

Trademark owners in America and Europe are attacking the lucrative practice of selling search results and advertising linked to searches based on product names and trademarks, which is known as trademark keying. From makers of luxury products to travel companies, and insurance companies to home décor vendors, companies have sued Internet search providers to stop this practice that they believe amounts to trademark infringement. Recent cases against search engine companies in American and French courts reflect divergent views on the legality of the practice at this early stage of the debate. This Article evaluates recent rulings in both jurisdictions which illustrate the challenges that search engines and trademark owners face as they try to protect their interests

The FACT Act of 2003: Securing Personal Information in an Age of Identity Theft

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (“FACT Act”) makes incremental progress toward its goal of improving the protection of consumers and businesses in an age of increasingly sophisticated scams and cons. Congress enacted the FACT Act in order to further address the problems of identity theft, improve resolution of disputes over consumer credit information, enhance accuracy of consumer credit records, further regulate use of credit information, and broaden consumer access to credit information. The FACT Act imposes new business practices on companies that handle personal consumer information by requiring them to share with consumers information about data that has been collected and reported about them, as well as how and when that data is being used. Consumers and businesses may benefit from these changes if some harm has already occurred and, in any case, consumers should find that the accuracy and accessibility of their credit information has improved. However, they will find that prevention of future acts of identity theft was not the principal aim of the FACT Act and that other legislation and initiatives are necessary to adequately address these crimes

The Imperishable Perishable Press

When art and meaning come together so effectively, when craft and purpose meld so well, something precious emerges. Of the many one-of-a-kind things in the world, few have a memorable identity. In the work of Walter Hamady the art of bookmaking explores new terrain. The finished product is not a candidate for the museum or the gallery. It holds something for the eye and the mind both, something that was created by human hands to be held by human hands. Often beautiful, always different and provocative, the books of the Perishable Press are durable reminders of the creative spirit at work and play—thriving against the odds

Standing Where Roads Converge: The Thomas Merton Papers at Syracuse University

Keenan describes the contents of the Thomas Merton Papers, focusing on Merton\u27s ideas about Zen Buddhism

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead