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On the road to making libraries more accessible to people with disabilities, librarians often get stuck in technological mud. The choices are overwhelming, and many librarians feel they lack the technical expertise to select appropriate equipment. They have many questions about assistive technologies (AT): Should we buy a monochrome or color CCTV (close circuit television)? Which scanner works best? Can scanning software be used independently by someone who relies on synthesized speech output? How much RAM (Random Access Memory) and how large a hard drive are needed to run assistive technologies? How big a monitor is needed for screen enlargement software? Is the screen enlargement program compatible with the voice output program? Do we need a Braille printer? a refreshable Braille display? a personal transmitter/receiver system? If yes, FM or infrared? And what about a voice recognition system?

A few years ago, when the Americans with Disabilities Act was new and causing much concern among librarians and library administrators, it was difficult to find an issue of any major library science journal that did not address the legal issues surrounding access to library facilities and services. Librarians' interest in providing access to their services and collections is not new, but attention in the 1990s seems to have shifted away from what we can do toward what we must do for our user population with special needs.

This special theme issue of Library Hi Tech includes eight articles on technology and its impact on persons with disabilities. These articles represent a cross‐section of current research and practice in the field of adaptive technology and librarianship. Susan Beck begins by identifying the architectural barriers facing the disabled library user. Next, Marilyn Graubart tackles a less obvious but equally insidious access challenge: the attitudinal barriers facing the patron or staff member with a disability. Staff sensitivity issues are addressed and concrete solutions to staff training are presented. Other articles deal with various aspects of adaptive technologies. Case studies point out potential pitfalls facing librarians who must decide what to buy and how to best use it. Many in the disabled community have feared that the graphical user interface would reverse progress made with the earlier, primarily text‐based (DOS) systems. Alistair D.N. Edwards' history of the GUI provides the necessary background information for the articles that deal with pragmatic solutions to the graphics problems, including the trend toward graphics‐based OPACs and World Wide Web sites. What role will Braille, large print, and audio books and magazines play in the future of libraries and disabilities? Most libraries still collect books, and the nation's two largest suppliers of alternative format texts, the National Library Service and Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D), are sure to maintain a central role. This special issue winds up with Steve Noble's overview of the new RFB&D Internet‐based online catalog, which enables patrons to gain direct access to this agency's many recorded and electronic text offerings.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the informative power of rating agencies in the process of establishing sovereign risk, over a ten‐year period (1997‐2006).

First, following an earlier model, the concept of noise‐rater risk is introduced. Second, four panels were carried out to identify the most significant macro factors in determination of sovereign ratings, taking into account contemporaneous and lagged variables. The dependent variable is sovereign rating issued at the end of each year. Third, three kinds of errors committed by rating agencies when altering the sovereign ratings of emerging countries are defined.

Noise‐rater risk amplifies the chances of noise traders obtaining higher returns than arbitrators. The panels show that, with the exception of debt, all other factors are sample dependant, and that variables and samples leave ample space for subjective factors. Analysis of errors demonstrates that rating agencies appear to lose their focus/modus operandi/principles in times of crisis, and that they commit more errors immediately prior and after the onset of a financial crisis.

The paper argues for a cautious analysis of rating agency's informative power. Like any other stakeholder, rating agencies are influenced by cognitive limitations, erroneous beliefs, and the cost of acquiring and using information.

The paper uses behavioral finance methodologies to observe rating agencies and demonstrates, from its observations of sovereign ratings, that agencies tend to fail at times of financial turmoil, i.e. when they are most needed, by abandoning their “look at the future” principle.

This article discusses credit migration of diversified loan pool securitizations, as evidenced by the ratings transitions of mortgage‐backed securities (MBS) and asset‐backed securities (ABS). The authors contrast the ratings (i.e., credit) stability of MBS and ABS relative to ratings migration of general obligation corporate credit. They also use holding period returns to compare the total return portfolios of MBS/ABS to portfolios of senior unsecured corporate obligations.

Libraries, like the universities they serve, are faced with the daunting task of reconciling the traditional role as repository and provider of information with the increasing demands of a market‐driven society. Learning cafés can provide a place where these two divergent demands are potentially reconciled. By providing sophisticated technologies within a sociable environment, learning cafés seek to enhance the potential for interactive learning among its users. They have the potential to be hosts for an increasingly diverse array of emerging library services. Before incorporating a learning café within new or existing libraries, however, planners must keep in mind the types of learning best suited for this type of area and maintain a flexible design model so that the café can be adapted to future needs.

Provides a personal view of the development of the theories and applications of fuzzy systems which were first introduced in the 1960s. Details the interrelationships between the pioneering proponents of fuzzy theory. Concentrates in part I on the historical beginnings of the field and in part II continues to provide personal insights into contemporary studies.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an in-depth consideration of the color line in the US music market, much deeper treatment than that of a superficial social construct.

Content analysis was performed using archives from the Performing Arts Division of the New York Public Library.

A complex intersection of social and capitalist influences is fueled by culture and economics, filtered through the contributions of artists and media. Six major categories: social, media, artist, culture, industry, and economics contribute to its development and propagation. It continues to affect contemporary music markets.

Interpretation of archival data is subject to availability of material and subjectivity of the researcher. Steps were taken to minimize bias. The research implies an opportunity for the US music market to celebrate diversity and social justice.

Focusing on the symbolic use of music, marketers have the opportunity to empower consumers to embrace diversity, reversing the trajectory of the color line.

Embracing cultural heritage and celebrating diversity can promote economic gain without detriment to cultural interests.

The present research provides a much deeper consideration of the color line in the American Music Market than previous literature does. The consideration includes a combination of forces, from profit focused to cultural.

Oatmeal is widely identified with Scottish food and indeed is its culinary leit‐motiv for the many tourists who visit a proud land. Sadly, however, Scotland has turned its back on oatmeal in favour of the easier to handle but less nutritious ‘modern’ foodstuffs. Perhaps the decline was instituted with the arrival of the potato?