JustMeans has an interesting post about the different perspectives that Hershey’s first Corporate Social Responsibility Report has generated in the past week. Competitors have issued such reports for several years, according to the posting.
journal of econometrics for professor
I have placed an early volume of the Journal of Econometrics on the reference desk hold shelf (under the printer) for Prof. Robert Pawlewicz. He will be in to copy the articles he needs. (There seemed to be an error in the record for this journal in print so I checked to see if we had the volume that he needed and we did.)
Tax 9863 workshop this Saturday
I’ll be doing a workshop at 4 p.m. this Saturday for some graduate tax students in Room 135. It was just scheduled. Please let me know if you have any questions. Rita
Access to FASB Codification via 2 databases
Baruch accountancy students and faculty have access to the FASB Accounting Standards Codification through two databases: the FASB Accounting Standards Codification and CCH Accounting Research Manager. Access to the Codification on RIA Checkpoint was removed late this summer in a cost saving move.
Here are the details:
The FASB Accounting Standards Codification database is paid for by the accountancy department as access for Academic Users is available only to students and faculty in accountancy programs. Access for academic users requires a password and log in, available only from accountancy faculty members. The Academic User version is the same as the Professional View (but without the cost to accounting students and faculty).
Anyone, including students can access the free Basic View of the Codification. First time users need to register. After registration, access is by Registered User. As a librarian, it might be good to establish your own free access to the basic view as the password and login information for Academic Users is, again only for Baruch accountancy students and faculty.
Here’s how to register for a free basic account:
At the FASB Codification
First time users need to go to New User—First Time Users-Order. Then, select Basic View-Free Access at https://www.fasb.org/store/subscriptions/fasb/new
Once they have established an account, they will log onto the codification as a Registered User. (Further down in the column on the homepage of the database.)
Once order is clicked, scroll down –Users are asked for an email address and to agree to terms. They will then get an email confirmation to access the basic view. (If they go for the professional view it costs about $850. They should not do that.)
Once students or anyone has registered, they access the database as a Registered User.
The Basic View allows browsing the codification by topic and basic printing. The basic view doesn’t allow keyword searches, or emailing of results. These features are available in the Academic View that is available to accountancy students and faculty.
The Codification is also available on CCH Accounting Research Manager by clicking FASB under Standards. CCH Accounting Research Manager offers interpretations and examples, which can be very helpful. Books 24×7 offers full text of books explaining the Codification. CUNY+ can be searched for print versions of the Codification.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
NBER Declares Recession Over
A student asked about this at the reference desk yesterday. The official announcement from the NBER was made at their website on September 20th. The Wall Street Journal did a nice analysis in this article, “Recession ended in June 2009.”
Google Updates Transparency Report
Google has updated its April Transparency Report to an interactive map. News from the BBC describes it as a new cencorship tool where anyone can “click an individual country to see how many removal requests were fully or partially complied with, as well as which Google services were affected.” Earlier this week, the Official Google Blog posted the announcement about “Tools to visualize access to information.” You can find the map here.
New Name for Opposing Viewpoints
In early August, Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center was re-launched with a new interface and a new name: Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Here’s a video from Gale about the new interface. There is also this guide: Oppposing Viewpoints in Context: Search Tips (pdf).
If you see the database listed by its old name somewhere on the library website or on a LibGuide, mention it here in the comments to this post so it can get updated.
Sources of historic gold prices for assignment
Last night a student came to the reference desk looking for data giving the prices of several commodities (gold, any oil) and the CPI for five years for a class assignment due Monday.
She wanted them in downloaded Excel files. I was able to locate what she needed except for Gold. Although I initially missed “Gold” in the currencies available in Factiva (one can download two years from Factiva), Ryan reminded me it was there. (He was walking by and I asked him.)
I also found, after the student left, that the World Gold Council offers historic gold prices from 2000 (daily, monthly, but not annually) downloadable into Excel. Bloomberg, Reuters and Datastream were also mentioned as sources to the student.
WRDS access changes
WRDS has made it easier to access their data.
It is NOT necessary for library-based users to apply for individual accounts.
The new process is as follows:
The user connects to WRDS via the Databases page.
There, s/he will be asked for their Baruch email address; the WRDS system will then immediately send an email to that address, containing a one-day access ticket (actually a customized URL). (Both “Baruchmail” and “Baruch” are working).
Faculty and those working continuously with data will still probably want to create their own account so they don’t have to ask for a one-day pass, but for others this might be enough.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Lehman bankrupcty and reference to Dickens
Today’s Crain’s New York has a story about Lehman defying bankruptcy to become a company again. In the article there’s a reference to Jarndyce & Jarndyce, a bankruptcy case in Charles Dickens’ Bleak House. I like these references as they help show students, who may not be interested in literature, that it does matter.