Information-Seeking Behavior of Novelists in Archives

Archives are a frequently untapped resource for novelists. Accounts of daily life, the lives of individuals, details of specific eras, and other minutiae found in the documents and memorabilia housed in archives can be used to fill out the essential scenes and events of the stories. Such facts and personal details help fiction writers make their stories real to readers and keep misconceptions and factual errors out. This study looks at the limited literature on the subject of authors in archives and presents examples of the types of information housed in particular archives to illustrate the kinds of details that could be useful in writing fiction. This study also demonstrates to archivists ways in which they can help authors to become aware of the value of archives in their research and to help them find the documents that would be most useful, based in part on this author’s experience as a novelist, a member of several writers’ groups, and panelist at numerous genre conventions attended by writers, editors, publishers, agents, and fans

Case Files: A Congressional Archivist\u27s Dilemma

One of the more difficult decisions for congressional archivists is deciding what to do with case files. It might help to first understand what importance casework held in the congressperson’s career, particularly as it influenced chances of re-election. A review of the literature shows that there is little agreement among experts in this regard. In congressional archives there is also little agreement on whether the files should be retained. This paper looks at the advantages and disadvantages in using various methodologies in processing these files in an effort to clarify criteria for making that decision

Public Rates Of Return On Higher Education Investments, By State

Public rates of return on higher education expenditures are calculated by state.  Benefits accruing to states from their investments in higher education are measured by differential tax revenues collected from college-educated citizens versus high-school-educated citizens.  For most states we find an adequate rate of return on such investments.  However, we conclude that in addition to monetary returns, state governments likely consider other factors when deciding upon expending resources for higher education needs

Adiabatic motion of a neutral spinning particle in an inhomogeneous magnetic field

The motion of a neutral particle with a magnetic moment in an inhomogeneous magnetic field is considered. This situation, occurring, for example, in a Stern-Gerlach experiment, is investigated from classical and semiclassical points of view. It is assumed that the magnetic field is strong or slowly varying in space, i.e., that adiabatic conditions hold. To the classical model, a systematic Lie-transform perturbation technique is applied up to second order in the adiabatic-expansion parameter. The averaged classical Hamiltonian contains not only terms representing fictitious electric and magnetic fields but also an additional velocity-dependent potential. The Hamiltonian of the quantum-mechanical system is diagonalized by means of a systematic WKB analysis for coupled wave equations up to second order in the adiabaticity parameter, which is coupled to Planck’s constant. An exact term-by-term correspondence with the averaged classical Hamiltonian is established, thus confirming the relevance of the additional velocity-dependent second-order contribution