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By Shirl Kennedy
 Government agencies, think tanks, commercial and non-profit organisations, and trade associations provide an incredibly rich and diverse collection of free reports and research. The trouble is there are so many available resources, it's difficult for any information professional to know what's out there, never mind categorise them in a useful way.
As editor of DocuTicker, I spend my days combing through the masses of data out there. What goes onto DocuTicker are links to only free, full-text reports. Here's a glimpse into the careful selection process I use to populate the site with new resources every day:
- I make every effort to include important documents many people are
looking for, i.e. those mentioned in the news or that are issued on
a regular basis. I also try to include interesting items our readers
are unlikely to stumble across on their own.
- Everything I post includes a link to a freely available full-text
report. DocuTicker doesn't include documents from subscription
journals (unless offered as free samples) or reports that must be
purchased.
- I try to include a good mix of subject matter, with an emphasis on
high interest topics, such as education, health care, social and
cultural issues. In the new iteration of DocuTicker, recently
unveiled, you'll find these categories, and in the future you'll
also see topical RSS feeds. In other words, if you're interested
only in reports on health and health care, you will be able to
subscribe to a feed that shows postings in that category.
- In each post, I try to include an abstract taken directly from the
document or from a press release issued by the agency responsible
for the document. I don't provide commentary/reviews/value judgments
-- either about a document or the organisation that produced it.
Many of these groups have some sort of ideological axe to grind,
which doesn't mean the reports they generate are useless, but we
assume our readers are savvy enough to educate themselves by
trolling the organisation's website.
- Although DocuTicker is aimed at a predominately American audience,
I make an effort to include international materials useful to our
global readership. I depend on help from non-U.S. readers to
increase our coverage. If you're aware of any good fishing holes for
full-text reports, or can alert us to especially important or
time-critical documents, please get in touch.
I also depend on feedback from readers to let me know what they like and what they don't like. If you encounter something you think I should post or a site I should monitor for content, I want to hear from you.
Below is a selection of recent DocuTicker postings. You can read these and more by going to <http://www.docuticker.com>:
Different Cultures, Similar Perceptions: Stereotyping of Western European Business Leaders Source: Catalyst
'Different Cultures, Similar Perceptions: Stereotyping of Western
European Business Leaders is the third report in a series of studies
Catalyst is undertaking to examine barriers to women's advancement
in the workplace. It exposes some significant differences in the
nature and prevalence of stereotypic perceptions across cultural
clusters in Western Europe'.
Direct link to this DocuTicker post: <http://www.docuticker.com/?p=5589>
World Cup Special: Football, Sports, and Development Source: World Bank
'For two months every four years, the world stops for the World Cup.
It is estimated that 1.3 billion people watched the final of the
2002 World Cup in Japan, a number which is sure to rise this year in
Berlin. So, earlier this year, research teams from some of the
world's leading investment banks shifted their eyes from stocks and
bonds to predicting the winners of this summer's matches in Germany.
The reason - studies suggest that success or failure in football (or
soccer) may affect a country's economy'. Links to many full-text
papers on economics and the World Cup (PDFs).
Direct link to this DocuTicker post: <http://www.docuticker.com/?p=5571>
Who's Afraid of Labour Market Flexibility Source: The Work Foundation (UK)
From press release: 'The widespread conviction that low levels of
employment regulation and weak trade unions are the cause of
Britain's good record at creating jobs and keeping unemployment down
is today exposed as a myth in a new study by The Work Foundation.
The study also takes aim at the assumption that "being more like
America" is essential if high levels of unemployment in some
continental European countries are to be reduced'.
Direct link to this DocuTicker post: <http://www.docuticker.com/?p=5568>
The Other Search: Making the Most of Site Search to Optimize the Total Customer Experience Source: Web Side Story
'Effective site search can take you from high abandonment to full
carts, one-hit visits to long eyeballs, or from a contact center
deluge of nasty-grams to loyal customers. Internet search - the
activity on Google and Yahoo! - delivers visitors to your door. Site
search - that search box that should be a navigation choice you
offer on every Web page - drives the customer's experience and
triggers the delivery of your marketing messages for the duration of
the visit. Customer activity that begins on an Internet search
engine doesn't end at the entry point to your site. You should
sustain attention to visitors until they have either completed their
objectives or abandoned them. Site search and the information it
offers can help you determine how to surpass customer expectations
and also reduce the number of frustrated visitors. The site search
box itself is a tremendous gift to you from your customers: they are
telling you exactly what they want, in their own words. They are
inviting you to make your best offer. But in order to hear them, you
need a plan for monitoring and managing seeker experience. Our 5-
step plan provides the fundamentals for getting the most out of
customer visits. We also provide KPIs and key metrics for your site
and your seeker experience'.
Direct link to this DocuTicker post: <http://www.docuticker.com/?p=5508>
The Framing Effect of Price Format Source: Harvard Business School Working Papers
'Existing evidence suggests that preferences are affected by whether
a price is presented as one all-inclusive expense or partitioned
into a series of charges. To explain this phenomenon, we propose a
simple psychological mechanism whereby price format determines how
many product attributes are actively processed at the time of
valuation. Three studies support the hypothesis that price
partitioning acts as an incentive to process multiple product
dimensions. This process sometimes leads to the paradoxical
overweighting of minor (but easy to evaluate) attributes that would
be overlooked under an all-inclusive price format. The effect of
price partitioning on demand can be detrimental or beneficial,
consistent with existing conflicting findings in the literature and
with variance in practice. Beyond its predictive and prescriptive
implications, this theory contributes to the general notion that
pricing might affect as much as capture perceived value'.
Direct link to this DocuTicker post: <http://www.docuticker.com/?p=5490>
Middle East and North African-Investment Policies Source: The World Bank Governance and private investment in the Middle East and North Africa
'This paper addresses the issue of the low level of private
investment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with
special emphasis on the role of governance. Based on the existing
literature, the authors categorize what types of governance
institutions are more detrimental to entrepreneurial investments.
They then estimate a simultaneous model of private investment and
governance quality where economic policies concurrently explain both
variables. The empirical results show that governance plays a
significant role in private investment decisions. This result is
particularly true in the case of "administrative quality" in the
form of control of corruption, bureaucratic quality, investment-
friendly profile of administration, and law and order, as well as
for "political stability." Evidence in favor of "public
accountability" seems, however, less robust. The estimations also
stress that structural reforms-such as financial development and
trade openness-and human development affect private investment
decisions directly, and/or through their positive impact on
governance. These findings bring new empirical evidence on the
subject of private investment in the developing world and in MENA
countries in particular'.
Direct link to this DocuTicker post: <http://www.docuticker.com/?p=5479>
Wireless Security Source: Infosec Writers
'As more and more home and business users adapt wireless
technologies because of their ease of use and affordability, these
devices are coming under attack by the malicious who are after your
data and by the casual user looking for free bandwidth. In this
paper, I will explain how wireless attacks are done on Wired
Equivalency Privacy (WEP) networks, other common network attacks and
then present several options to defend wireless networks'.
Direct link to this DocuTicker post: <http://www.docuticker.com/?p=5545>
The State of IPTV 2006: The Advent of Personalized Programming (PDF; 1.03 MB) Source: New Millennium Research Council
'Internet Protocol Television is an all-encompassing term that
covers many different forms of video programming and services.
Because the underlying technologies are Internet-based, IPTV can be
transmitted over broadband networks and accessed by customers
through a number of different devices. In general, IPTV allows
consumers not only to customise their video programming experience.
IPTV also empowers organizations of all types to directly and more
inexpensively access new and/or targeted global audiences often
otherwise unavailable to them via traditional television'.
Direct link to this DocuTicker post: <http://www.docuticker.com/?p=5536>
Life Sciences-Security Programs Source: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Life Sciences Focusing On Security Issues
'Major global life sciences organizations plan to enhance their
security programs, hiring chief security officers and investing in
technological advancements to protect their products, customers, and
brand, according to a new survey conducted by the Deloitte Touche
Tohmatsu (DTT) Security & Privacy Services industry group, made up
of Deloitte member firm Security & Privacy Services practices. The
study, one of the first to focus on security and privacy issues in
the life sciences and health care industry, canvassed more than 90
percent of the major pharmaceuticals, as well as the leading
biotechnology and medical device companies globally.' Free
registration required to access report.
Direct link to this DocuTicker post: <http://www.docuticker.com/?p=5496>
Biometrics Source: Infosec Writers Two Papers (full documents in PDF)
+ Biometrics - The Wave of the Future? (Daniels): 'Will biometrics be
a factor in our future? Of course it will, at least to the extent
that it has been in our past history. We as citizens must decide
upon the best methods to use and the best way to utilize this
technology. Biometrics can be defined in several ways such as the
study of measurable biological characteristics. In reference to
Information Security it specifically applies to the automated use of
physiological or behavioural characteristics to determine or verify
identity'.
+ Biometrics: 21st Century Security (Smith): 'Biometrics is a process
used to identify or authenticate an individual's identity using any
of a series of physical or behavioural characteristics. These
characteristics can include but are not limited to fingerprints,
hand or palm geometry, retina and iris scans, facial mapping,
signature or writing style, and more recently, DNA maps. While
relatively new, biometrics is rapidly advancing and growing in
acceptance and use. The importance of this emerging technology does
not necessarily lie in learning the intricacies of how biometric
science works, but in exploring the management of the exposures
biometrics present to individuals, businesses, and governments. This
process begins with identifying the cyber risk exposures that
biometrics makes possible'.
Direct link to this DocuTicker post: <http://www.docuticker.com/?p=5459>
By presenting a hand-picked selection of full-text resources from specific kinds of organisations, DocuTicker does something that no other site/weblog/mailing list does. We've found that it appeals not only to librarians but also to others looking for timely information and research material. For example, we have a significant readership among journalists, who can do everything from gather background to find inspiration for their next in-depth feature. Living, breathing professional librarians review materials from a wide range of sources, on a wide range of topics, to provide a unique - and free - service.
Shirl Kennedy has worked in academic, corporate and public libraries, and was Web Guide Manager for Time, Inc.'s Business 2.0 magazine. Currently the reference librarian at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, FL, she writes the Internet Waves column for Information Today. Her newest book, The Savvy Guide to Motorcycles, was published last November. A former newspaper reporter, Shirl received her masters degree in library science from the University of South Florida. She lives in St. Petersburg, FL, with two cats, a motorcycle, a pick-up truck, and her younger son -- and she takes baseball very, very seriously.
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