The World Internet Project New Zealand Team has published its reports on The Internet in New Zealand 2009. You can find the full report and an Executive Summary at the AUT website:
http://www.aut.ac.nz/research/research-institutes/icdc/projects/world-internet-project
As most of us are aware from the what is happening in our information services, the Internet is rated very highly as an information source. In this report the Internet comes out on top as the most important information source in New Zealand in 2009: 65% rated the internet as important whereas libraries rated only 45% . Libraries were less important than TVand newspapers. I guess it highlights our role in making sure that the internet sources our clients use are the best!
The World site is to be found at: http://www.worldinternetproject.net/ so you can check reports for other countries. It could be useful for the marketing department as well.
Showing posts with label information sources. Show all posts
Showing posts with label information sources. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
NZ companies web-aware
It was reported recently in the Dominion Post newspaper of 30 November 2009 on p.C6 that New Zealand businesses are more likely to have websites and ‘engage in e-commerce that their Australian counterparts.’ Statistics New Zealand has compared the technology industries of the two countries in a study entitled: Information and Communication Technology in New Zealand and Australia which can be found at:
http://www.stats.govt.nz/Publications/BusinessPerformanceEnergyAndAgriculture/ict-in-nz-and-aust/business-use-of-ict.aspx
54% of small businesses in New Zealand have a web presence compared with 48% in Australia, and overall 60% of businesses in New Zealand have a web presence as opposed to 53% in Australia.
What does this mean for the information professional in international trade? It is very frustrating being unable to find exporting companies on the web and it is obvious that 40% of businesses in New Zealand don’t have a web presence. It means that we cannot use the web as the only source of business and product intelligence. We will still need to rely on other means such as yellow pages, trade and business directories, and personal networking.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
New New Zealand datasets website
The New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs has just produced and gone live with their data.govt.nz website which is an index to publicly accessible government datasets. These are not necessarily new datasets, but this website brings them all together.
A search on exports retrieves four results, but a search on trade is more productive and produces 13 hits.
This is a good way to ensure that you or your international trade colleagues have picked up all the relevant and available information.
A search on exports retrieves four results, but a search on trade is more productive and produces 13 hits.
This is a good way to ensure that you or your international trade colleagues have picked up all the relevant and available information.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Underpants and other products
This is the cover of Joe Bennett's recent book "Where underpants come from" in which he traces a pair of underpants from the retailer back to the manufacturer and to the sources of the materials used. In this case from a New Zealand retailer to a Chinese manufacturer and to sources in Thailand and Xinjiang, China's western-most province. It was a fascinating read - does anyone know of any other similar books? It would be good to know about them for trade and business libraries and information services.
As a side benefit this book described the situation of the Uighur people, the indigenous majority of Xinjiang. As it happened I had just finished Joe Bennett's book before the July 5 riots in Urumqi.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Got the numbers...
Photo: Marie-Louise Siddle
Reflections at Chaffers Bay, Wellington Harbour
July 25, 2009
It goes without saying that statistics are an invaluable source for the information professional. They are also the most frustrating area to deal with, which is probably why many people working in international trade are happy to take any sets of figures they can find. Three points illustrate some of the difficulties faced.
1. I was checking all my links yesterday on the New Zealand School of Export website and discovered that the freely available Trade and Banking statistics that I had had for Russia no longer were available. In fact the Russian government doesn’t appear to provide any free statistical service. There are statistics available in other compilations and I will be using those.
2. Statistics New Zealand has just given its website a makeover and as a result has caused mayhem among New Zealand libraries with links to Statistics New Zealand pages. Even the Library at Statistics New Zealand has over 900 links to fix! Our website had only one – a measure perhaps of the fact that we haven’t come to terms with all the information that is offered there.
3. Today I had an information enquiry about exports from the Manawatu-Wanganui region. Locally we don’t have a port from which goods are exported so that has proved difficult. A report from BERL economics entitled: Economic Profile and Projections for the wider Manawatu Region:
http://www.visionmanawatu.org.nz/downloads/BERL%20projections%20to%202026.pdf
has digested a lot of statistics and provides some help. Statistics New Zealand may have some way of tracking these figures but neither Table Builder or Infoshare on the revamped website have helped.
All in a day for the information trade professional I guess!
1. I was checking all my links yesterday on the New Zealand School of Export website and discovered that the freely available Trade and Banking statistics that I had had for Russia no longer were available. In fact the Russian government doesn’t appear to provide any free statistical service. There are statistics available in other compilations and I will be using those.
2. Statistics New Zealand has just given its website a makeover and as a result has caused mayhem among New Zealand libraries with links to Statistics New Zealand pages. Even the Library at Statistics New Zealand has over 900 links to fix! Our website had only one – a measure perhaps of the fact that we haven’t come to terms with all the information that is offered there.
3. Today I had an information enquiry about exports from the Manawatu-Wanganui region. Locally we don’t have a port from which goods are exported so that has proved difficult. A report from BERL economics entitled: Economic Profile and Projections for the wider Manawatu Region:
http://www.visionmanawatu.org.nz/downloads/BERL%20projections%20to%202026.pdf
has digested a lot of statistics and provides some help. Statistics New Zealand may have some way of tracking these figures but neither Table Builder or Infoshare on the revamped website have helped.
All in a day for the information trade professional I guess!
Monday, August 3, 2009
LIBRARY WEEK 2009
A young information trade professional! But it did get your attention... LIBRARY WEEK 2009 runs from 10th to the 16th August in New Zealand.
The theme this year is ESCAPE, EXPLORE, DISCOVER Ki te whai ao, ki te ao marama. ESCAPE from your office - EXPLORE this blog and some of the international trade libraries and information services that have been featured. and DISCOVER all the information that is available through these services for the trade professional.
If you are interested in Library Week and what happens go to:
www.libraryweek.org.nz But here are some ideas youcould try in your organisation:
1. Run a quiz based on your catalogue (with prizes of course - fair trade products for example)
2. Suggest some useful YouTube links for your colleagues
3. Get your colleagues to nominate their best international trade book giving 5 reasons. Make these into a short bibliography for everyone in the export section.
Enjoy Library Week 2009!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
International Trade Library no.3/4
The Jules Léger Library situated in Ottawa, Canada at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. It has as its main mandate support of the research needs of departmental employees both at Headquarters in Ottawa and at missions abroad. In addition, the Library supports the needs of Canadian and foreign clients conducting research in the subject areas mandated to the Department such as foreign affairs and international trade.
Also on the Canada Foreign Affairs and International Trade website is the Multimedia Centre:
This Centre holds a collection of podcasts and videos. CanadExport podcasts connect Canadian companies to industry experts and leaders in business, not to mention the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service—Canada's most comprehensive network of international business professionals. These podcasts explore hot topics as well as pan-sectoral exporting and investment opportunities, not to mention science and technology partnerships.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Picking up information
It's amazing where one picks up information related to aspects of international trade. I regularly read a magazine from the Columban Fathers which often has items which I have not seen in other media. Last year they ran a series on the Millennium Development Goals which didn't seem to get much publicity in the mainstream press. The June issue of The Far East included a reprinted article by Ruth Dearnley entitled "A glass and a half" in which it was announced that Cadbury's Dairy milk chocolate would become Fairtrade certified later this year.
Under the Fairtrade scheme, Cadbury will pay a guaranteed minimum price for cocoa even if the open-market proce falls below it.
Photo: www.unicef.org.uk depicts cocoa beans drying in Ghana. Cadbury's will triple the amount of Fairtrade cocoa imported from Ghana to about 15,000 tonnes a year.
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