Researching the Laws of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

Roger Williams is generally recognized as the founder of Rhode Island. Although his settlement of Providence in 1636 was not the first or only settlement in the area, he was able to open the whole region to English settlement. Due to his friendship with local Indians and knowledge of their language he obtained land from the Indians and assisted other settlers in doing the same. When Williams was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635 because of his rejection of Puritanism, his friend, Governor John Winthrop, suggested that he start a new settlement at Narragansett Bay. Founders of other early settlements also migrated from the Massachusetts colony seeking religious freedom. Rhode Island began as four separate towns, which were not incorporated until a joint government was formed in 1647, under the “Incorporation of Providence Plantations,” or Charter of 1644. Until the granting of that charter, Rhode Island had no authority to exist as an English colony. The official name of the state remains today “Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.” Rhode Island refers to Aquidneck Island, the location of the present-day towns of Portsmouth, Middletown, and Newport. According to Howard Chapin’s Documentary History of Rhode Island, “the earliest appearance of the name Rhode Island as the designation of the island of Aquidneck is in a letter from Roger Williams to Deputy Governor John Winthrop ... which from its context was evidently written in the spring of 1637.” As described below, the Island was one of the first areas in the Colony to be settled. Providence Plantations refers to early settlements at the northern end of the Narragansett Bay, in Providence and the surrounding area. The word plantation has the meaning of a settlement in a new country or region: colony. Parts II, III, and IV of this paper consist of bibliographic essays covering three main periods in the early development of the Colonial government and legal institutions of Rhode Island: 1636-1647, the formation of the four original towns and their consolidation under a Parliamentary Patent, or Charter; 1647-1663, government under the Code of 1647 and the issuance of a Royal Charter; and 1663-1776, governance under the Royal Charter and the deterioration of relations with the monarchy leading to a declaration of independence. While the history of Rhode Island is fascinating, only the bare essentials are provided in this article, sufficient to explain the background and context in which legal institutions developed in the Colony. Part V deals with legislative documents and includes a bibliographic listing of important legislative documents of the colonial period. Part VI addresses the early development of Rhode Island’s court system, and includes a bibliographic listing of both primary and secondary sources on the history of the courts. The conclusion provides a list of additional sources for researching the history, government, and laws of colonial Rhode Island, including archival collections in the state

The Foundation Center 2003 Annual Report

In 2003, the demand for information on institutional philanthropy reached the highest level in decades. The weak economy resulted in reduced giving by foundations, prompting renewed public interest in their activities. Faced with limited resources, grantmakers reassessed their strategies and programs to seek the greatest impact, while nonprofits tackled a difficult fundraising climate to sustain vital programs and services. As the need for resources intensified, the Foundation Center played a crucial role for both these audiences by connecting them to current and authoritative information on U.S. grantmakers and their giving

New partnerships for learning: meeting professional information needs

This paper has been prompted by the challenges created by recent proposed reforms to social care services in the UK services which are being 'modernised', a term ubiquitous in policy documents but difficult to define with confidence. Government modernisation and e-government programmes highlight with renewed urgency the need for social care practitioners on the front line to have up-to-date, reliable information. Yet the rise in the rate and volume of information published (over new and old channels) has, paradoxically, made it increasingly difficult for them to keep up with new developments. How can higher education institutions best contribute to the social care community through a period of profound ideological and structural change? In particular, the paper discusses the key challenges of keeping abreast of research; changes in the social/organisational/professional context of social care; how social care practitioners learn; and effectively integrating practice, research and educatio

Social media for student learning: enhancing the student experience and promoting deep learning

Traditional Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) was introduced as a retention-motivated initiative in the College of Science and Engineering 5 years ago. Despite a high level of interest from students, there were several practical barriers that prevented many students from attending these sessions. As an alternative, an online space for Virtual Peer Assisted Learning (VPAL) was trialled. VPAL was found to have not only all the benefits of traditional PAL but also more that had not been anticipated. In this paper we will discuss the practicalities involved and the design choices that had to be made. We will also showcase some anonymised examples of academic and social dialogue between peers and outline some of the unexpected advantages of using VPAL over traditional PAL

An ‘objective-centred’ approach to course redesign: using learning objectives to integrate e-learning

This article describes the process of integrating e-learning into the M-level research methods course Research Synthesis for Policy and Practice. It explores an ‘objective-centred’ approach to course redesign. This entails using learning objectives as the basis for developing online activities and integrating technological tools. This article describes what this ‘objectives approach’ meant in practice and illustrates the importance of learning objectives for the redesign process. Embedding elearning into the course provides new opportunities to meet existing objectives in an innovative, and hopefully more effective, way. Technological tools provide the scope to extend and develop new learning objectives to better meet the needs of students. Whilst objectives are central to the redesign, the article highlights the significant role played by other types of knowledge, namely tutor experience, student views and research