BICblog

Life Beyond Google: Some of the Best of the Rest

2008-04-10T11:21:00.000-07:00

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)

2008-02-28T16:24:00.000-08:00

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)

2008-02-28T15:40:00.000-08:00

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)

2008-02-27T09:04:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-27T08:28:00.000-08:00

“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

2008-02-27T08:22:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-27T08:08:00.000-08:00

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

February American Pulse™: Government Should Deal with Its Debt Issues Now, Taxes too High and Americans Addicted to Debt

2008-02-26T10:34:00.000-08:00

COLUMBUS, OH – 2/26/2008 – Now hear this elected officials, or those who are campaigning for office, most Americans are looking for help from Washington in the form of fiscal restraint by confronting national debt issues now rather than passing it on to future generations as 71.8% feel the Government should deal with debt issues immediately, according to the latest American Pulse™ Survey of 4,070 respondents. When dealing with debt issues, the Government may want to consider options other than raising taxes as 77.9% of Americans already believe their Federal taxes are too high.

In addition, an overwhelming majority (79.2%) believe Americans are addicted to debt. 77.4% say Americans should focus on savings to benefit their individual financial situations.
Other key findings include:

· 42.7% say their debt is too high…64% say their savings are too low.

· 68.6% strongly disagree or disagree with the statement: “The U.S. government is looking out for my financial interests.”

· 66.2% believe the media can stimulate a recession.

· 45.6% believe the U.S. is already in a recession…39.1% say the U.S. is not currently in a recession but will soon be in one.

· 50.2% would rather have Congress and the president work out long-term solutions to current economic challenges than get a rebate check.

· 60.7% blame problems in the housing market for the sluggish economy.

· 50.8% say they live paycheck to paycheck.

To view a complete report or to submit a question for future surveys: http://americanpulse.bigresearch.com.

The Wisdom of the Chaperones: Digg, Wikipedia, and the myth of Web 2.0 democracy.(Source: Slate.com)

2008-02-26T08:20:00.001-08:00

The article

Public Attitudes Toward Government Accountability and Transparency 2008 (Source: Association of Government Accountants (AGA))

2008-02-26T07:45:00.000-08:00

AGA believes that the importance to a healthy democracy of efficient reporting of government financial information is difficult to overstate. Without accurate fiscal information, delivered regularly, in an easily-understandable format, citizens lack the knowledge they need to interact with—and cast informed votes for—their leaders. In this regard, a lack of government accountability and transparency undermines democracy and gives rise to cynicism and mistrust.

This result is reflected in the survey findings, which reveal deep dissatisfaction among the American public with both the availability of government financial information and the way it is delivered to the people. Much of this dissatisfaction has to do with issues of trust and a gap between what the public expects and what is actually delivered. The survey also captured information relating to how the public would use fiscal information, were it provided to them in a usable form.

How Large is China’s Economy? Does it Matter? (Source: Source: Congressional Research Service)

2008-02-26T07:34:00.000-08:00

China’s rapid economic growth since 1979 has transformed it into a major economic power. Over the past few years, many analysts have contended that China could soon overtake the United States to become the world’s largest economy, based on estimates of China’s economy on a “purchasing power parity” (PPP) basis, which attempts to factor in price differences across countries when estimating the size of a foreign economy in U.S. dollars. However, in December 2007, the World Bank issued a study that lowered its previous 2005 PPP estimate of the size of China’s economy by 40%. If these new estimates are accurate, it will likely be many years before China’s economy reaches U.S. levels. The new PPP data could also have an impact on U.S. and international perceptions over other aspects of China’s economy, including its living standards, poverty levels, and government expenditures, such as on the military. This report will not be updated.

Economic Mobility Project Releases Comprehensive Study of Income Mobility in the U.S.

2008-02-26T07:30:00.000-08:00

A major new look at the trends and issues impacting economic opportunity for Americans was released today by the Economic Mobility Project, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts. “Getting Ahead or Losing Ground: Economic Mobility in America,” is authored by three Brookings Institution scholars, Julia B. Isaacs, Isabel V. Sawhill and Ron Haskins and includes new chapters on education, wealth, international comparisons and trends over time. These, combined with previously released chapters on gender, race, immigration and families, comprise the entire volume.

Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2007 (Source: Congressional Research Service)

2008-02-26T07:26:00.000-08:00

This report lists hundreds of instances in which the United States has used its armed forces abroad in situations of military conflict or potential conflict or for other than normal peacetime purposes. It was compiled in part from various older lists and is intended primarily to provide a rough survey of past U.S. military ventures abroad, without reference to the magnitude of the given instance noted. The listing often contains references, especially from 1980 forward, to continuing military deployments especially U.S. military participation in multinational operations associated with NATO or the United Nations. Most of these post-1980 instances are summaries based on Presidential reports to Congress related to the War Powers Resolution.

House of Cards - Consumers Turn to Credit Cards Amid the Mortgage Crisis, Delaying Inevitable Defaults

2008-02-26T07:25:00.000-08:00

The Center for American Progress released a report examining in detail the relationship between slowly growing U.S. mortgage markets, the suddenly aggressive growth of credit card debt, and what both trends could mean to borrowers, their lenders, and global financial markets.

The U.S. credit card market is showing signs of trouble just as the home mortgage crisis surges to unprecedented heights across the United States and throughout the global financial marketplace. Against the backdrop of record-high numbers of home foreclosures, lenders are tightening mortgage lending standards, making it harder for families to maintain their consumption in the face of weakening income growth. At the same time, credit card issuers present their all-too-convenient lending product as a much needed but inevitably dangerous pressure valve for cash-strapped borrowers.

ANNUAL REPORT ON STATE OF COMPETITION IN THE WIRELESS INDUSTRY

2008-02-22T13:23:00.000-08:00

FCC Releases Annual Report On State Of Competition In The Wireless Industry
From the report:

· Approximately 280 million people, or 99.8 percent of the U.S. population, have one or more different operators offering mobile telephone service in the census blocks in which they live.

· More than 95 percent of the U.S. population lives in areas with at least three mobile telephone operators competing to offer service.

· More than half of the U.S. population lives in areas with at least five competing mobile telephone operators.

· Approximately 99.3 percent of the U.S. population living in rural counties, or 60.6 million people, have one or more different operators offering mobile telephone service in the census blocks within the rural counties in which they live.

Also:
the volume of text messaging traffic rose from 9.8 billion messages sent during December 2005 to 18.7 billon messages sent during December 2006.

World Development Report 2008

2008-02-22T13:21:00.000-08:00

The World Development Report 2008 calls for greater investment in agriculture in developing countries and warns that the sector must be placed at the center of the development agenda if the goals of halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 are to be realized. With the theme Agriculture for Development, the report noted that while 75 percent of the world’s poor live in rural areas, a mere 4 percent of official development assistance goes to agriculture in developing countries. Visit the web site to download the full report, view the slide show and read about the Three Worlds of Agriculture.

Information Economy Report 2007-2008

2008-02-22T13:19:00.000-08:00

The Information Economy Report 2008 - Science and technology for development: the new paradigm of ICT, analyses the current and potential contribution of information technology to knowledge creation and diffusion. It explores how ICTs help generate innovations that improve the livelihoods of the poor and support enterprise competitiveness. The report examines how ICTs affect productivity and growth and reflects on the need for a development-oriented approach to intellectual property rights in order to enable effective access to technology. ICT has also given rise to new models for sharing knowledge and collective production of ideas and innovations, known as "open access" models, which often bypass the incentive system provided by intellectual property rights. (See download for full report)

Accounting and auditing resources: Sites for the investor, academic, and practitioner

2008-02-22T13:02:00.000-08:00

Go to site

FTC Releases List of Top Consumer Fraud Complaints in 2007

2008-02-22T13:00:00.000-08:00

The FTC today released the list of top consumer fraud complaints received by the agency in 2007. The list, contained in the publication “Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft Complaint Data January-December 2007,” showed that for the seventh year in a row, identity theft is the number one consumer complaint category. Of 813,899 total complaints received in 2007, 258,427, or 32 percent, were related to identity theft.

The report breaks out complaint data on a state-by-state basis and also contains data about the 50 metropolitan areas reporting the highest per capita incidence of fraud and the 50 metropolitan areas reporting the highest incidence of identity theft.

The report states that credit card fraud was the most common form of reported identity theft at 23 percent, followed by utilities fraud at 18 percent, employment fraud at 14 percent, and bank fraud at 13 percent.

Consumers reported fraud losses totaling more than $1.2 billion; the median monetary loss per person was $349, the report states.

+ Full Report (PDF; 2.4 MB)

"Why Ratings No Longer Matter" - news from BIGresearch

2008-02-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

Marketing today is a pressure-filled endeavor full of challenges and opportunities brought about by slow growing markets, economic uncertainty, consumer indifference to old advertising channels and the quest to take all of this into account and execute marketing plans with greater ROI. Most of the old marketing models no longer work as consumers have taken control. A new consumer-centered consumption model is taking shape which focuses on making sales rather than reaching ears or eyeballs.

Last Friday, the Intelligence Briefs section on the Radio Business Report website, www.rbr.com, included the article "Why Ratings No Longer Matter" by BIGresearch. If you are involved in planning or implementing a marketing budget, we think you will find the article of great interest.

To read "Why Ratings No Longer Matter," click here: http://www.bigresearch.com/big-ratings_021508.pdf

Continental International Management Program

2008-02-05T14:18:00.000-08:00

The Mahaffey Business Information Center hosted the Executive Education's Continental group. 33 participants were introduced to the market research and other information resources of the BIC. A follow up session was held where program members worked with the BIC staff at finding specific information needed for their projects. Participants are from both the U.S. and Europe.

American Pulse Survey (BIGResearch)

2008-02-05T14:05:00.000-08:00

Political Debates Preferred Over Commercials, Writers’ Strike Equals Less TV Watching & 30 Ideal Age for Most

COLUMBUS, OH – 1/30/2008 – Politicians should think twice before sinking a lot of campaign dollars into their TV ads, according to the latest American Pulse™ Survey of 4,098 respondents, as 87% of Americans say TV commercials don’t affect their vote. Constituents also say they are looking for balance in a candidate with 51.6% more likely to vote for someone with both Washington experience and new ideas. Additionally, almost half (49.3%) of Americans prefer politicians to communicate their positions through TV debates (vs. 4.1% who say TV commercials).

When asked in which professional sport they think steroids are used most regularly, Baseball tops the list for Americans with 32.9% saying so. Wrestling (29.2%) and Football (22.4%) round out the top three. 60.1% say proven use of steroids at any point during a professional athlete’s career should eliminate them from being inducted in a Hall of Fame or receiving other sporting accolades…22.1% don’t care.

Other key findings include:

* Effects of Hollywood Writers’ Strike: 30.2% are watching TV less, 27.9% are reading books/magazines more and 27.5% are surfing the Internet more.
* 30 ranks highest for the age Americans would choose to be, followed by their current age, 35, 21 and 25.
* 83.2% know that TV Stations are switching to 100% digital broadcasting in February 2008…37.8% are annoyed because they think it’s just another way for big companies to make money.
* Of those who work, most are satisfied with their pay…only 38.3% say they are over-worked and under-paid.
* While the vast majority of those who have been married (72.7%) did not have second thoughts on their wedding day, more than 1 in 10 (14.9%) say they should have listened to themselves and called off the wedding.
* Top five most noble professions: medical professional, educator, clergy, parent and firefighter.

To view a complete report or to submit a question for future surveys: .

American Pulse™ Survey is collected online by BIGresearch every month exclusively utilizing Survey Sampling International’s (SSI) U.S. panel covering topics such as politics, religion, pop culture and the economy.

BIC host "Career Summit"

2008-02-05T13:53:00.002-08:00

On Tuesday Jan. 8, 2008, the Mahaffey Business Information Center hosted member of the three career group on campus: MBA Career Development, Career Center and the ND Law School's Career Services. More than 20 people met for lunch and conversation about common interests and goals. The goals of the “summit” was to further cooperation among the various career organizations on campus and explore how the Hesburgh Libraries can contribute to their success -- and ultimately the mission of the University.

Exec Education

2008-02-05T13:53:00.001-08:00

Business Information Center - University Libraries - University of Notre Dame

2008-02-01T11:52:00.000-08:00

Welcome! BIC blog is ON!

2008-02-01T08:55:00.000-08:00

Mahaffey Business Information Center BLOG, welcomes YOU!

Latest from the BIC:

Announcing the addition of "Business Source Complete," an EBSCO product. This title enhances the content of "Business Source Premier". (Read more...)
Market Insight has been replaced by S&P NetAdvantage
Career Development Resources: How to access WetFeet, Vault, etc. Create and present your video interview to employers by placing your VideoSnapshot as a link on your resume. Plug in a webcam. Don't have a webcam? Ask the BIC for a loaner.
BIGresearch resources at the BIC.
Ad$pender Manual