Life Beyond Google: Some of the Best of the Rest

Google is still the behemoth of search engines, but there is a plethora of alternative search engines that provide features not readily available on Google. Read more...(Source: fumsi)

Americans Eager to File Tax Returns This Year, According to NRF (Source: National Retail Federation)

Fatigued by rising gas prices and sinking home values, millions of Americans are breathing a sigh of relief in anticipation of a refund from Uncle Sam. The National Retail Federation’s 2008 Tax Returns Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, found that 61.2 percent of consumers have already filed their tax returns or will file a return by the end of the month. The survey also found that consumers filed earlier this year than they did last year; nearly one-third (28.5%) of Americans filed by mid-February, compared to 21.6 percent who had filed by that time last year. The remaining will file in March (23.7%) and April (15.2%).

Davidson Data Center and Network (DDCN)

Davidson Data Center and Network (DDCN) is an integrated, fully searchable database on transition and emerging markets. DDCN archives and provides free access to socio-economic micro and macro data on transition economies.

This is a three-faceted resource:

* Data Locator — DDCN points to data resources, primarily available on the web, held by other institutions (both free data and from commercial vendors).
* Archiving and Dissemination — DDCN also archives and disseminates data. Data sets that can be made available in the public domain are downloadable directly from this website at no charge. To save files from this site, we only require a one-time, free registration.
* Data Exchanges — DDCN facilitates data exchanges between researchers and between institutions. For data that cannot be made available in the public domain, DDCN assumes an active role in the brokering of access.

What, exactly, can you find here? If you browse by subject, you’ll see…

Macro Data (Comprehensive Databases, Macroeconomics and Growth, Monetary Data, Fiscal Data, Prices, Finance and Banking, Labor Force, Employment and Earnings. External Sector Data, Enterprises and Privatization, Poverty and Income Inequality, Population and Social Indicators, Science and Technology, Economic Sectors, Governance and Anti-Corruption)

Micro Data (Labor Force Surveys, Household Budget Surveys, Census Data, Public Opinion Surveys, Other Surveys, Administrative Records)

Firm Level Data (Enterprise Surveys, Bank Surveys, Other Firm Surveys, Administrative Data)

DDCN “is funded jointly by the William Davidson Institute (WDI) and a National Science Foundation (NSF) seed grant.” WDI, at the University of Michigan, “is a non-profit, independent, research and educational institute dedicated to developing and disseminating expertise on issues affecting firms in transition & emerging market economies.”

Is public information really public? The role of newspapers (Source: Centro Studi di Banca e Finanza Working Papers)

Our paper offers evidence that printed media can affect stock prices by covering public news (nonevents) even without resorting to spin or emphasis. However, the price reaction is limited to small caps, suggesting that small investors still obtain public information mainly through newspapers. The absence of spin or emphasis is the core element that differentiates our study from existing evidence, making it unique, to the best of our knowledge, in the financial literature on the media and asset pricing.

Information behaviour of the researcher of the future

“These findings (...although young people demonstrate an ease and familiarity with computers, they rely on the most basic search tools and do not possess the critical and analytical skills to asses the information that they find on the web.) add to our growing understanding of subjects that should concern all who work in further and higher education – the changing needs of our students and researchers and how libraries can meet their needs.” Traits that are commonly associated with younger users – impatience in search and navigation, and zero tolerance for any delay in satisfying their information needs – are now the norm for all age-groups, from younger pupils and undergraduates through to professors.

‘Google Generation’ is a myth

A new report, commissioned by JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) and the British Library, counters the common assumption that the ‘Google Generation’ – young people born or brought up in the Internet age – is the most adept at using the web. The report by the CIBER research team at University College London claims that, although young people demonstrate an ease and familiarity with computers, they rely on the most basic search tools and do not possess the critical and analytical skills to asses the information that they find on the web.

Consumer confidence reaches five year low

How are consumers planning to spend their stimulus checks from the government? Find out in this month's BIGresearch Video Briefing.