Business Blog

The Pew Internet & American Life Project has two good reports pertaining to the Internet’s impact on the music industry. The first report, titled Artists, Musicians and the Internet, discussess what artists think about the Internet. A summary of the report:

They have embraced the internet as a tool that helps them create, promote, and sell their work. However, they are divided about the impact and importance of free file-sharing and other copyright issues.

Another report, Music and Video Downloading Moves beyond P2P, discusses how Americans are sharing music in ways that do not involve peer to peer networks. An excerpt from the introduction of the report:

About 36 million Americans—or 27% of internet users—say they download either music or video files and about half of them have found ways outside of traditional peer-to-peer networks or paid online services to swap their files, according to the most recent survey of the Pew Internet & American Life Project.The Project’s national survey of 1,421 adult Internet users conducted between January 13 and February 9, 2005 shows that 19% of current music and video downloaders, or about 7 million adults, say they have downloaded files from someone else’s iPod or MP3 player. About 28%, or 10 million people, say they get music and video files via email and instant messages.

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When doing research on a particular company, it is often a good idea to do a little research on the company’s industry as well. By understanding a little more about the industry, you may be able to determine how well the company is doing as a whole, as well as how it is doing in its particular industry.

The library has some great resources for industry overviews and industry surveys. The Encyclopedia of American Industries is one source that is very useful in this area. Since this is an online encyclopedia, Ohio University students, faculty and staff can access this resource from anywhere. The book is organized in by SIC code and is in two volumes; Volume One is for Manufacturing industries, and Volume Two is for Services & Non-manufacturing industries. Articles in this book are generally of medium length (4-10 pages) and very easy to read. Each article contains an Industry Snapshot, Industry Organization and Stucture, Current Conditions (as of publishing in 2004), and Industry Leaders.

Another similar resource are the Standard & Poor’s Industry Surveys. We have these surveys in print at the learning commons desk, and online as part of Market Insight. To get to the online surveys, go to Market Insight and then click on the Industry Tab within the database. Next, choose the appropriate industry from the drop-down menu. Please note that when looking at these industries, you may have to think in very broad terms. For example, if you need an industry survey for the paper clip industry, try looking in the office supplies section. Once you choose an industry, you will see a link to the Industry Survey on the left side of the screen. These industry surveys are generally 20-40 pages in length and are very up-to-date (they are updated every 6 months).

While these are just two of the more commonly used resources, you might wish to check out the Industry Information section of InfoTree for more options.

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Do you need to study for a standardized test such as the GMAT or LSAT, but you don’t have time to take a class? Do you want to take a practice test, but you don’t want to fork over thirty bucks for a study guide? Learning Express may be your answer.

Learning Express is a collection of online versions of practice tests and tutorial course series designed to help individuals succeed on the academic or licensing tests. The tests provide immediate scoring, complete answer explanations, and an individualized analysis of results. While a variety of practice tests are available, business students might be particularly interested in the GMAT or LSAT practice tests available in Learning Express.

Learning Express is one of many resources the library purchases to support initiatives in scholarship at Ohio University.

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