Sunday, May 31, 2009

Loan forgiveness for student loans

The NY Times recently ran two related articles on loan forgiveness programs used by students to finance their college educations. Loan forgiveness programs are often used to attract students to teaching or other service fields, or to keep qualified graduates working in their home state. The current economic recession has negatively affected many of the state programs and is threatening the education financing plans of former, current, and future students.

The first article, "Recession imperils loan forgiveness programs" focuses on the loan forgiveness program and problems of one couple in Kentucky.

The followup article, "Students relying on loans wonder whether forgiveness will last" broadens the scope to initiate an ongoing exploration of loan forgiveness in other states, at the federal government level, and potentially corporations as well.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

"Spent: Sex, Evolution and Consumer Behavior"

According to Geoffrey Miller, evolutionary psychologist and author of the new book, "Spent: Sex, Evolution and Consumer Behavior, " much of the pleasure that we derive from our spending is linked to our belief that our purchases will reflect on our intelligence or certain personality traits. Some of the author's new work was discussed in a recent New York Times article:
"In a series of experiments, Dr. Miller and other researchers found that people were more likely to expend money and effort on products and activities if they were first primed with photographs of the opposite sex or stories about dating."
The consumerist delusion, according to Dr. Miller, is believing that our purchases will actually affect the way we are treated by others. He also recommends exercises for controlling our consumerism by comparing the costs and pleasures of our purchases. The NYTimes makes these available at: nytimes.com/tierneylab.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Consumer electronics in China

"Changes Are in Store for China's Electronics Retailers: Which Model Will Win?"

This article from the Chinese edition of Knowledge@Wharton provides an interesting case study of doing business in China. U.S. consumer electronics retailer Best Buy recently announced expansion plans in China. Currently, the company operates 6 stores in Shanghai, 1 in Beijing, and another 150 outlets through a Chinese subsidiary. The Best Buy sales model is in direct contrast to the sales model used by its two major competitors, Gome Appliance and Suning Appliance. Best Buy sells a variety of competing brands using its own trained sales staff. Gome and Suning both use a store-within-a-store model, where manufacturers hire their own staff and then sell their products within their designated store space. The entry and expansion of Best Buy is b
ringing even more change to the changing consumer electronics marketplace in China. "At stake is a large -- and growing -- consumer market that was worth US$120 billion in China last year."

"Why Economists Failed to Predict the Financial Crisis"

According to a recent article in Knowledge@Wharton, economists failed to predict the current economic crisis because they traditionally focus on the role of producers and consumers of goods and services in economic cycles, and fail to acknowledge the importance of financial institutions, at the root of the current global economic crisis. A limited understanding of human psychology and a reliance on mathematical models that don't accurately reflect reality are also blamed.

The article cites the recent "Dahlem Report", critical of economists' disconnect from the real world. A need to re-assess business school curricula is also cited.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

New Business and Economics books in the USFSP library

New BUSINESS and ECONOMICS books in the Poynter Library, USFSP (in LC Call Number order, HB-HJ only) March 21 – May 3, 2009

The following new business and economics books are kept on the “New Books” cart on the first floor in the library for a few weeks, and then moved to the circulating collection on the second floor, unless checked out…

Poverty and social impact analysis by the IMF : review of methodology and selected evidence / Robert Gillingham, editor.
HC60 .P662 2008

The impact of fair trade / edited by Ruerd Ruben.
HC79.E5 I4998 2008

Modernizing a slave economy : the economic vision of the Confederate nation / John Majewski.
HC105.65 .M25 2009

Statistical and methodological myths and urban legends : doctrine, verity and fable in the organizational and social sciences / edited by Charles E. Lance and Robert J. Vandenberg.
HD30.4 .S727 2009

Ambush marketing : game within a game / Arul George Scaria.
HD59.35 .S33 2008

Florida's working-class past : current perspectives on labor, race, and gender from Spanish Florida to the new immigration / edited by Robert Cassanello and Melanie Shell-Weiss ; foreword by Richard Greenwald and Timothy Minchin.
HD8083.F63 F467 2009

Railroads in the Old South : pursuing progress in a slave society / Aaron W. Marrs.
HE2771.A13 M37 2009

Trade investment and development in the contemporary Caribbean / Bhoendradatt Tewarie and Roger Hosein.
HF3365.Z5 T49 2007

The career portfolio workbook : using the newest tool in your job-hunting arsenal to impress employers and land a great job / Frank Satterthwaite, Gary D'Orsi.
HF5383 .S27 2003

24 essential lessons for investment success / William J. O'Neil.
HG4521 .O5 2000


A more complete list of new books at the Poynter Library can be found here.

Please let me know if there are any particular publications that you would like to see in the library collection. Thank you,
Marcy

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Numbers for Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day....

The Census Bureau puts together a "Facts for Features and Special Editions" containing news releases with fun facts and numbers for holidays and special events. You can look at the Web page when you're looking for information on a specific topic, or you can subscribe to receive email news alerts when they become available.

The holiday fact sheets always have interesting numbers to report on any given topic: The Mother's Day release includes the number of single moms in the U.S. (9.8 million); the most popular day for giving birth in the U.S. (Wednesday); and the most popular baby names. The Cinco de Mayo release reports that there are 29.2 million U.S. residents of Mexican origin, representing 10% of the total U.S. population and 64% of the Hispanic population.

The news releases include a lot of facts and numbers that can help quantify a subject or provide ideas for further angles on a topic.

Monday, May 4, 2009

2009 Industry Outlook from Deloitte

Deloitte U.S. recently published its "2009 Industry Outlook". The report covers general and relevant issues such as the economic crisis, globalization, and implementation of the IFRS International Financial Reporting Standards, as well as the outlook for specific industries including automotive, health care, and real estate. You can also download the full 68-page report in PDF format.

Deloitte is a member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. The website for Deloitte Consulting offers reports on a number of current business and management issues such as Corporate Social Responsbility, Sarbanes-Oxley, and doing business in China.