Welcome new students and welcome back returning students from the WBS Librarians!

For new students your induction and the information on the Library & IT services webpages should give you all the information you need to start using Library and IT services.  You can also pick up a user's guide at any of the four libraries or access an online copy here.

Keep your eye on this blog (and subscribe to get updates straight to your email inbox) for information about library resources, details of training and links to online training guides to help you make the most of the Library.

***New this year*** Use Library Search to find books, view your library account to see what books you have and when they are due back, and to renew and reserve books.  Use Library Search to find journals, e-journals and articles for your assignments.  Use Library Search to access e-resources needed for your study such as Business Source Complete, Emerald and Mintel.  We will be recommending useful resources on this blog.

See also the FAQs on this blog, which will be regularly updated with questions such as "where can I get company SWOT analyses?".  Feel free to ask questions and leave comments on the blog.  We will also be adding a link to our profile pages soon so that you can access all our contact details if you want to contact us for training or to ask any questions.

We look forward to seeing you all during the course of the academic year!

Photo credit: Major Clanger used under the creative commons license by-nc-sa

Problem with Institutional login

Are you getting a blank screen when you try to connect to an e-resource?

We are currently experiencing problems with institutional login. Try using Firefox - when the blank screen appears, click the refresh button. In the majority of cases this works.

(NB the refresh button doesn't appear to solve the problem in Internet Explorer!)

Photo credit: 'Road to nowhere' http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisschoenbohm/4684578915/

Free access to EIU Global Forecasting Service

EIU is offering free access to their Global Forecasting Service

Just go to www.eiu.com/gfs to register.

Global Forecasting Service:

• download monthly Power-point presentations, that summarise the main points of the global forecast
• access a free, monthly updated PDF report covering the global forecast
• access data, analysis and forecasts for the global economy, plus drill down options for the regions most important to you
• regular articles on the critical issues that influence economic prospects
• succinct analysis of the top ten risks confronting the world economy at any given time

Start-up Stories

The BBC have created a series of online videos where "the brains behind ten successful start-ups discuss how they did it".  See the full range here. It includes this one from Dom Sagolla, creator of Twitter and DollarApp:

Datastream e-training sessions - more dates

Do you need help using Datastream?

Thomson Reuters is holding extra online Q&A sessions to answer your Datastream queries.

To sign up email training.uki@thomsonreuters.com stating the date and time of the session you would like to attend. Thomson Reuters will then email you with login details for the session.

• 7th July 3pm (Wednesday)
  
• 16th July 11 am (Friday)
  
• 19th July 11am (Monday)
  
• 28th July 3pm (Wednesday)
  
• 6th August 11am (Friday)
  
• 9th August 11am (Monday)
  

New blog from WBS MBA students

Our MBA students have started a new blog. It is described as "a blog for MBA applicants who want to get an insight view into to the exciting life and hard work of Westminster Business School MBA students. The content of the blog is provided in full by our MBA students."
View it here: blog.business.westminster.ac.uk/mba/
We have also added it to our blog list, in the right hand menu bar of this blog.

World Cup fever and the sound of Vuvuzelas

The World Cup is now in full swing in South Africa. We have heard a lot about (and from) the Vuvuzelas but apart from making the drone of the Vuvuzela (in)famous what impact will the World Cup have on South Africa both commerically and socially?

Tourism is set to increase after the slow growth witnessed in previous years. Global Market Information Database (GMID) has a report on Travel and Tourism in South Africa which looks at the impact of the World Cup and its future sustainability. From GMID you can also get statistical and demographic information on the country as well as consumer lifestyle reports. Find the South Africa country page by locating it from the 'geographies' tab.

The government have invested heavily in public transport infrastructure, which fans are being urged to use amidst stories of grid-locked roads. GMID has a consumer report related to transport which gives details about South Africa's transport infrastructure and spending in previous years.

EIU Viewswire is a good source of the latest political and economic news and analysis. From the first page of the database choose South Africa from the left-hand country/region drop-down menu. Click on "1click report" from the South Africa page to get a full report including a ten year economic outlook.

The database Emerging Markets gives details of South Africa's consumer price index, top companies, top industries and the latest analysis/research. From the first page of the database click on South Africa in the right hand menu, then click on the home tab to get to the country outlook homepage.

Find the databases GMID, EIU Viewswire and Emerging Markets all on InfoLinX. When you have read all that sit back and enjoy the tournament!!

Photo credit: AfricanGoals2010 http://www.flickr.com/photos/50989081@N07/ CC BY-NC 2.0