Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Mysterious key at the reference desk
Before we turn it over to security for lost and found, I wanted to ask if there is anyone staffing the reference desk that missing a key? It was sitting at the desk last night and is still here now. If no one speaks up, I'll take it to security tomorrow (Thursday).
Firefox experiment at reference desk
As an experiment, I've set up one of the Firefox browsers at the reference desk (on the PC in the rear across from the spiral staircase) so that when you open up a Firefox window or click the home button on the browser toolbar in Firefox, you get two tabs to open automatically:
- the front tab is the library's home page
- the back tab (it's not visible unless to click to get that tab) is the reference blog
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Social Networking and Impact on Organizations
I just had a question from a student who is interested in researching and finding articles on the impact of social networking sites on organizations (any orgs - companies, non-profits, govt.). Specifically, how do the SN sites change the behavior of the orgs.
I directed him to use some of our general dbs (academic search premier, proquest), business dbs (factiva, bu source premier), and technolocy related (lib and info sci dbs). We did find a few articles, but didn't come up with much on the fly. Tried keywords like social networking and organizations and impact, also used some of the subject terms the dbs suggested.
Does anyone have any suggestions for search strategies or resources?
Also note what he is NOT interested in - specific overviews of social networking sites (facebook, myspace, linkedin, etc) and general overviews or analyses that discuss what social networking is.
FYI - I took the student's email address, so feel free to post comments here and I'll direct him to this post. Thanks - Frank
I directed him to use some of our general dbs (academic search premier, proquest), business dbs (factiva, bu source premier), and technolocy related (lib and info sci dbs). We did find a few articles, but didn't come up with much on the fly. Tried keywords like social networking and organizations and impact, also used some of the subject terms the dbs suggested.
Does anyone have any suggestions for search strategies or resources?
Also note what he is NOT interested in - specific overviews of social networking sites (facebook, myspace, linkedin, etc) and general overviews or analyses that discuss what social networking is.
FYI - I took the student's email address, so feel free to post comments here and I'll direct him to this post. Thanks - Frank
CIC Courses at Baruch
You've probably read that the Schwartz Institute won the TIAA-Cref Hesburgh Award this year but you might have missed the story in their blog, cac.ophony, that reported on the growth of Communication Intensive Courses (CIC's) at Baruch. The distribution of the courses might surprise you. The largest number came from Sociology, followed by Anthropology, Music, Economics, Marketing, and Managment/Accounting (tied). Some food for thought for our outreach efforts.
CUNY Gen Ed Conference
CUNY's 4th annual General Education Conference will be held at Baruch this Friday. The program explores the theme "Gen Ed: Making it Work and Making it Matter."
Monday, April 28, 2008
Duplicate entries in the catalog
If you do a Browse search in our local catalog every record is showing duplicated. Central Office is working to fix it.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Sources for permeable pavement information
Last night a student came to the desk and said she had been having trouble finding information on permeable pavers. She said we didn't seem to have anything on it.
When her search was changed to permeable pavement, a newer type of pavement in which water goes through it, rather than making big puddles on the surface or resulting in run offs that led to flooding, (a very simplified explanation), there were numerous articles in ENR (Engineering News Record), Factiva, Lexis-Nexis, Science Direct and Business Source Premier.
There were a number of studies found on the web site of the National Asphalt Pavement Association. Other keywords to search were permeable asphalt pavement, porous asphalt pavement and pervious concrete (not the same material as asphalt, but a similar material made of concrete). Porous pavement can be either asphalt or concrete or other materials.
A Google search lead to many companies and other studies with this product. At the end, the student said it was a search for her job and she was very happy to get this help as she had spent a lot of time looking for permeable paver.
Some other students who have assignments related to environmental or sustainability opportunities might be interested in this topic. A number of cities are using this type of pavement now, or considering it. It has been used in the Netherlands for a number of years. (I learned this from a Dutch friend during a traffic jam one day when I commented on how dry the roads seemed after a rain storm.)
The student also said, at the beginning of the inquiry, she had attended library workshops on finding business information and advanced searching and found them helpful.
When her search was changed to permeable pavement, a newer type of pavement in which water goes through it, rather than making big puddles on the surface or resulting in run offs that led to flooding, (a very simplified explanation), there were numerous articles in ENR (Engineering News Record), Factiva, Lexis-Nexis, Science Direct and Business Source Premier.
There were a number of studies found on the web site of the National Asphalt Pavement Association. Other keywords to search were permeable asphalt pavement, porous asphalt pavement and pervious concrete (not the same material as asphalt, but a similar material made of concrete). Porous pavement can be either asphalt or concrete or other materials.
A Google search lead to many companies and other studies with this product. At the end, the student said it was a search for her job and she was very happy to get this help as she had spent a lot of time looking for permeable paver.
Some other students who have assignments related to environmental or sustainability opportunities might be interested in this topic. A number of cities are using this type of pavement now, or considering it. It has been used in the Netherlands for a number of years. (I learned this from a Dutch friend during a traffic jam one day when I commented on how dry the roads seemed after a rain storm.)
The student also said, at the beginning of the inquiry, she had attended library workshops on finding business information and advanced searching and found them helpful.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Annual Reviews blocked
Annual Reviews has blocked remote access because of spider/robot activity. Saad and I are working to resolve this issue.
Neighborhood Change Database
This is a brand new Geolytics database that we have just purchased. It is highly specialized and essentially serves one purpose: it allows patrons to directly compare census tract data from 1970 to 2000 in tables and maps.
Census tracts are statistical units created by the Census Bureau. They vary in area and tend to be larger in rural areas and smaller in urban areas. They were designed to have a population between 1500 and 8000 people, with an ideal size of 4000. Census tracts nest within county and state boundaries and never cross these boundaries. They are ideal for examining change within counties and cities.
The problem with making historical comparisons is that census tracts change over time, which makes direct comparison difficult. Over time, a tract may be split into two new tracts (in areas of population growth) or two tracts may be aggregated into one (in areas of population decline). In some instances, boundaries may have to be redrawn entirely.
This databases accounts for this problem by normalizing the data. The tracts and the data from 1970, 1980, and 1990 have all been manipulated to fit the 2000 census geography. This allows for direct geographic comparison across the four decades (you would choose the All Years option under Counts to access the normalized data). You also have the option of viewing the data the way it looked when it was released by selecting the individual census years under Counts.
You use the database to build your own tract reports. You select the area of interest (tracts within a state or county), the census year(s) of interest, and specific variables. You can view the data in a table, which you can download and use in Excel, or you can view the data in a map, where you can download it as a shapefile for use in GIS. You can also right click on the map and save it as an image.
Currently, the database can only be accessed using the Internet Explorer (IE) browser. Firefox isn't able to process it. I don't know if it will work with Mac browsers or not.
For most census questions, you'll still want to refer patrons to the Census Bureau's website or the Social Explorer (in our DB list). The Neighborhood Change db is dedicated specifically to time series analysis for census tracts - and can be a little daunting to use. Perhaps we can do a demo in the future.
Census tracts are statistical units created by the Census Bureau. They vary in area and tend to be larger in rural areas and smaller in urban areas. They were designed to have a population between 1500 and 8000 people, with an ideal size of 4000. Census tracts nest within county and state boundaries and never cross these boundaries. They are ideal for examining change within counties and cities.
The problem with making historical comparisons is that census tracts change over time, which makes direct comparison difficult. Over time, a tract may be split into two new tracts (in areas of population growth) or two tracts may be aggregated into one (in areas of population decline). In some instances, boundaries may have to be redrawn entirely.
This databases accounts for this problem by normalizing the data. The tracts and the data from 1970, 1980, and 1990 have all been manipulated to fit the 2000 census geography. This allows for direct geographic comparison across the four decades (you would choose the All Years option under Counts to access the normalized data). You also have the option of viewing the data the way it looked when it was released by selecting the individual census years under Counts.
You use the database to build your own tract reports. You select the area of interest (tracts within a state or county), the census year(s) of interest, and specific variables. You can view the data in a table, which you can download and use in Excel, or you can view the data in a map, where you can download it as a shapefile for use in GIS. You can also right click on the map and save it as an image.
Currently, the database can only be accessed using the Internet Explorer (IE) browser. Firefox isn't able to process it. I don't know if it will work with Mac browsers or not.
For most census questions, you'll still want to refer patrons to the Census Bureau's website or the Social Explorer (in our DB list). The Neighborhood Change db is dedicated specifically to time series analysis for census tracts - and can be a little daunting to use. Perhaps we can do a demo in the future.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Country Risk
These are the top sources to use for country risk analysis:
Business Monitor Online
Business Monitor’s Country Risk reports provide monthly analysis of the political, economic and business risk in 80 countries. Several kinds of risk reports are available. Risk Ratings for politics and the economy cover both the long and short term. Business environment risk is a measure of the investment climate measured by finance, competitiveness, openness and the environment. The BMI View is a risk summary given in the form of a SWOT analysis.
Economist Intelligence Unit. RiskWire
From Factiva
RiskWire's daily news bulletins report on ten areas of risk analysis for global business: security, political stability, government effectiveness, legal and regulatory, macroeconomics, foreign trade & payments, tax policy, labor markets, financial, and infrastructure. They rate each of these areas in the monthly “Risk Overviews.”
Institutional Investor. Country Credit Ratings
Institutional Investor magazine publishes Country Credit Ratings twice a year in its March and September issues. Sovereign risk analysts rate 172 countries on their credit quality based on political and economic factors and the chance of default.
PRS Group. International Country Risk Guide
PRS Group. Political Risk Service
From LexisNexis
The PRS Risk Service provides in-depth analysis and forecasts of the political and economic conditions in 85 countries. The International Country Risk Guides rate risk in over 130 countries. In addition to the composite risk rating, rating are given for political, financial and economic risk. Each report includes a list of “Items to Watch for” and a one-year business forecast.
To search these publications in LexisNexis begin at the Sources tab and choose “Country and Region Reports.” Select either title by putting a check mark in the box and then click on the “OK-Continue” button to proceed to the Search screen. Type in your search with the country name and date like this: Country(Sudan) and Date=2006.
Business Monitor Online
Business Monitor’s Country Risk reports provide monthly analysis of the political, economic and business risk in 80 countries. Several kinds of risk reports are available. Risk Ratings for politics and the economy cover both the long and short term. Business environment risk is a measure of the investment climate measured by finance, competitiveness, openness and the environment. The BMI View is a risk summary given in the form of a SWOT analysis.
Economist Intelligence Unit. RiskWire
From Factiva
RiskWire's daily news bulletins report on ten areas of risk analysis for global business: security, political stability, government effectiveness, legal and regulatory, macroeconomics, foreign trade & payments, tax policy, labor markets, financial, and infrastructure. They rate each of these areas in the monthly “Risk Overviews.”
Institutional Investor. Country Credit Ratings
Institutional Investor magazine publishes Country Credit Ratings twice a year in its March and September issues. Sovereign risk analysts rate 172 countries on their credit quality based on political and economic factors and the chance of default.
PRS Group. International Country Risk Guide
PRS Group. Political Risk Service
From LexisNexis
The PRS Risk Service provides in-depth analysis and forecasts of the political and economic conditions in 85 countries. The International Country Risk Guides rate risk in over 130 countries. In addition to the composite risk rating, rating are given for political, financial and economic risk. Each report includes a list of “Items to Watch for” and a one-year business forecast.
To search these publications in LexisNexis begin at the Sources tab and choose “Country and Region Reports.” Select either title by putting a check mark in the box and then click on the “OK-Continue” button to proceed to the Search screen. Type in your search with the country name and date like this: Country(Sudan) and Date=2006.
Mortgage Foreclosures by Zip Code
The place to go for foreclosure data by zip code is the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Just this month they announced a new service: Dynamic Maps of Nonprime Mortgage Conditions in the United States.
The maps show the following information for subprime and alt-A loans for each state and most of the counties and zip codes in the United States:
• Loans per 1,000 housing units• Loans in foreclosure per 1,000 housing units• Loans real estate owned (REO) per 1,000 housing units• Share of loans that are adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs)• Share of loans for which payments are current• Share of loans that are 90-plus days delinquent• Share of loans in foreclosure• Median combined loan-to-value ratio (LTV) at origination• Share of loans with low credit score (FICO) and high LTV at origination• Share of loans with low- or no documentation• Share of ARMs with initial reset in the next 12 months• Share of loans with a late payment in the past 12 months
The maps will be updated monthly. There are also data tables with more statistics for states.
Additional mortgage foreclosure resources are available from the Federal Reserve Board.
The maps show the following information for subprime and alt-A loans for each state and most of the counties and zip codes in the United States:
• Loans per 1,000 housing units• Loans in foreclosure per 1,000 housing units• Loans real estate owned (REO) per 1,000 housing units• Share of loans that are adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs)• Share of loans for which payments are current• Share of loans that are 90-plus days delinquent• Share of loans in foreclosure• Median combined loan-to-value ratio (LTV) at origination• Share of loans with low credit score (FICO) and high LTV at origination• Share of loans with low- or no documentation• Share of ARMs with initial reset in the next 12 months• Share of loans with a late payment in the past 12 months
The maps will be updated monthly. There are also data tables with more statistics for states.
Additional mortgage foreclosure resources are available from the Federal Reserve Board.
Sources on country risk data
I'm looking for more ideas on sources of data on country risk. I showed a student at the desk the following databases:
- Bankscope (it's got EIU country risk data)
- ISI Emerging Markets
- Business Monitor Online (offers that database's own risk ratings)
New database: Neighborhood Change Database
One more new database for today: Neighborhood Change Database
From our description (thanks, Frank!)
This Geolytics database contains census tract data from 1970 to 2000. The database contains the original data for each decade as well as normalized data that was modified to fit Census 2000 boundaries (thus making the geography and data for each census comparable). Create reports that can be downloaded as tables and maps that can be downloaded as shapefiles or saved as images. Must use the Internet Explorer browser.
Foreclosure data
Does anyone have advice about a source where you can find the number of foreclosures by ZIP code? A student at the reference desk needed to find it, and I promised I'd email him with any advice I was able to get from my colleagues.
FYI: The RealQuest database seems to have foreclosure data in it, but we don't subscribe to that part of the service.
FYI: The RealQuest database seems to have foreclosure data in it, but we don't subscribe to that part of the service.
Grove Art and Music Online Now OXFORD Art and Music Online
Our subscriptions to Grove Art Online and Grove Music Online have become Oxford Art Online and Oxford Music Online. They have a totally new feel and interface and there are more resources within each one too.
Palgrave Dictionary of Economics
Palgrave Dictionary of Economics is no longer on trial, but on full subscription.
Cabell's Directory of Publishing Opportunities in Business
The latest directory is available in electronic format from our database page.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Ernst & Young makes major globalization announcement
Yesterday the Big 4 accounting firm Ernst & Young made a major announcement on reorganizing its country practices in Europe, Africa and parts of Asia.
Some press reports today said it was the biggest news in the accounting profession since Enron failed, so its quite big news.
Some press reports today said it was the biggest news in the accounting profession since Enron failed, so its quite big news.
For students series in Gale Virtual Reference
The for students series we subscribe to (Drama for students, Novels for students, Poetry for students, Short Stories for students) have all been moved to an electronic format.
We have purchased the older volumes so their complete run is available electronically through the Gale Virtual Reference platform.
Whenever new volumes come out, they will be seamlessly added to that platform.
We will not be getting these series in paper any longer.
We have purchased the older volumes so their complete run is available electronically through the Gale Virtual Reference platform.
Whenever new volumes come out, they will be seamlessly added to that platform.
We will not be getting these series in paper any longer.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Bread for the World report encourages use of VITA tax program
I realize that tax season is over, but I thought you might want to know that a recent article posted on the Accounting Web reports that Bread for the World Institute, a nonprofit concerned with helping alleviate poverty, found that low income tax fliers could save more by using the VITA programs in regard to filing for their earned income tax credits.
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