New York SBDC Research Network

You have by now likely seen or used a wiki . A wiki is a simple but useful web tool to learn about any number of things. A natural outgrowth of email and blogs, it is server software that lets users to communally control content. A group of people can edit parts of text on the wiki, tweaking the information found there. The strength of the wiki comes from so many eyes constantly improving it. It is the closest thing to the original concept of what the web should be – an open tool for people to share information. While abuse does exist, moderators can correct incidents. One highly visible wiki is wikipedia , there is also wiktionary , wikiquotes , but they are well suited to collaborative projects. Organizations that are interested in knowledge management may be looking in this direction for information sharing. For more information on wikis check out HowStuffWorks.com for an article by Marshall Brain entitled “ How Wikis Work ”.

As a librarian, I tend to be cognizant of, and pulled by, two often conflicting values, the widespread distribution of information versus the desire to honor intellectual property rights (copyright, trademark, patent), the latter so the creators will be willing and able to "do it again." So, I was very interested in reading an article in the July/August 2005 Searcher, "The Magazine for Database Professionals" . The article, "Generosity and Copyright" by Laura Gordon-Murname , asked the question, "How can you help patrons identify public domain content...?" The copyright law has become more skewed towards the copyright holder over time, with longer periods and more lenient applications, so that the doodle on a napkin or a quick e-mail becomes copyrightable. According to Gordon-Murname, there are many critics who believe these changes fly in the face of the law as envisioned by Jefferson and others. She quotes Larry Lessig, who says this "per...

I frequently prepare usage statistics for presentation at meetings. A blog seems a good place to present them, too. Here's a few items of note: As most of you know, the Research Network has been serving the SBDC community since September 1992. On May 31st of this year, we received our 20,000th request for information. Thanks to John Narciso at our Farmingdale SBDC for being the one to help us reach this milestone! We answered 146 requests asked during the month of June. This is about right - we've averaged exactly 146 for every June since 1993. To put that number in perspective, know that our busiest month ever was April 2002, when a whopping 217 requests came to our doors. The lowest? October 1998, when there were but 74. Generally, March is our busiest month of the year, and (unsurprisingly) December is the slowest. In June, we devoted 1.4 hours of prep time per question. This isn't unusual - historically, we've spent 1.5 hours on a request. I'll try to re...

In this age of rising costs for proprietary information, the Research Network librarians have to be creative in their research strategies. One of the ways we track down industry trends is to look at Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings . Maybe your client sells a product in a retail establishment. Check out the manufacturer's filing for a discussion of the industry as well as competitors. Form 10-K is a good place to start. The 10-K is the annual report to the SEC, however, it's generally different from the Annual Report to Stockholders . The 10-K follows a standard format as mandated by the SEC and doesn't contain the colorful charts and graphs found in the glossy Annual Report to Stockholders. The 10-K describes how the firm does business, lists ownership and management, may provide estimates of market share and competition, discusses research and development activities, lists subsidiaries, and reveals legal proceedings and other matters that affect the compa...

While working on a question for an advisor, I came across a term I had not heard before: ‘ home-shoring’ . At a time when there is so much written about out-sourcing and off-shoring, it piqued my interest. We come across a lot of buzz words, and this was a new one on me. Naturally coined here in the US, home-shoring refers to the outsourcing of functions in this case to those working from their homes. Off-shoring has not worked out in many cases, particularly for call and customer services, and with increasing security fears, this seems to be a viable alternative. And apparently about as cost effective as off-shoring to India, while employing those within the market they serve. Not that we haven’t seen many home-based businesses offering outsourced services to industry, but now we have the lingo. Star Tribune Let's hear it for 'homeshoring' October 7, 2004 at 11:46 AM By Nick Eian September 19, 2004 FORUM0919 http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/4983779.html CNet News ...

There's a U.S. Census activity now taking place that will eliminate the need for the long form in the 2010 Census, and beyond. The American Community Survey is a nationwide survey designed to provide information more quickly, rather than having users wait for 10 years. Yet it it has received very little publicity, because the Bureau has little or no budget for promotion. "The decennial census has two parts: 1) the short form, which counts the population; and 2) the long form, which obtains demographic, housing, social, and economic information from a 1-in-6 sample of households. Information from the long form is used for the administration of federal programs and the distribution of billions of federal dollars. "Planners and other data users are reluctant to rely on [out-of-date data] for decisions that are expensive and affect the quality of life of thousands of people. The American Community Survey is a way to provide the data communities need every year instead of once...

We receive a number of requests for average wages paid - either hourly or per year - for a given occupation within a given geographic region. If this is something you're asked repeatedly, then you should bookmark this site: http://www.bls.gov/oes/oes_data.htm It presents wage estimate data generated by the Occupational Employment Statistics division within the U.S. Department of Labor. Right now, the most current data is available from May 2004. Data can be generated by a) the U.S. in general, b) an individual state, and/or c) selected metropolitan areas. (Metropolitan areas are usually defined as a collection of one or more contiguous counties, not necessarily within the same state. However, not all counties are part of a metro area. To find out, visit this section: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/msa_def.htm .) Back to the wage tables. You'll notice the far-left column is titled "SOC Code Number". Occupations are organized according to the Standard Occupationa...