101 Dumbest Moments in Business

101 Dumbest Moments in Business. OK, maybe this is not funny if your name or business is listed. But...

I sure found this amusing. There are many good examples of why critical thinking skills are important for college students. Show this to students and remphasize that the library skills (information literacy and critical thinking) are actually applicable to real-life jobs.

Here are a couple of my favorites (text taken from site):

1. Speaking at an ad industry event in Toronto, WPP Group's worldwide creative director, Neil French, says there aren't more female creative directors "because they're crap" and they eventually "wimp out" and "go off and suckle something." French speaks from a stage decorated as a hunting lodge while being served drinks by a woman in a skimpy maid's outfit, of whom he asks, "Could you lean over a bit more?" Two weeks later WPP accepts French's resignation.

2. Fighting a proposal that would limit superstores in Flagstaff, Ariz., Wal-Mart signs off on an ad in the Arizona Daily Sun that asks, "Should we let government tell us what we can read? Of course not ... So why should we allow local government to limit where we shop?" The ad is illustrated with a vintage photo of Nazi supporters throwing books into a bonfire. Wal-Mart later apologizes, saying it had not appreciated the photo's "historical context."

3. With the help of Latin pop sensation Thalia Sodi, Hershey introduces Cajeta Elegancita, a new candy bar for the Hispanic market. Though the wrapper features a picture of Sodi, apparently she neglects to fill her Yanqui partners in on a subtlety of Spanish: In Mexico, "cajeta" can be used to mean "nougat." Elsewhere in the Spanish-speaking world, however, it's slang for female anatomy.

Beginner’s Guide to Business Research

Beginner’s Guide to Business Research. Kognito Solutions LLC has released this new information literacy tutorial which focuses on business. This site uses flash and has sound. Do not try to load this unless you are at the library or have broadband at home. Overall, I think this is a good product.

From the site:

Welcome to "Beginner’s Guide to Business Research", an information literacy tutorial developed in conjunction with Baruch College of the City University of New York.

This interactive tutorial provides students with hands-on, self-paced instruction on where and how to find the best, most accurate information via the Web when conducting business research.
The tutorial includes interactive activities, library database simulations, and an interactive quiz with customized feedback.

Please contact us if you are interested in discussing customization of this tutorial for your institution or development of similar cutting-edge resources.

Teaching about Canada

Teaching about Canada. Today is Federal elections in Canada. I have been following the news and I am interested to see who wins.

However, not one of my student workers in the library was aware of this! Mind you, we live in Michigan and Canada is real close by. For example, the CBC is on the basic cable package. The level of ignorance about this just shocked me. My students seem to know very little about Canada.

With this thought, I found this nice ERIC Digest which has tips and suggestions for teaching American students about Canada. I hope some teachers use this and get the students educated about Canada before they arrive on campus.

From the site:

The United States and Canada share the world's longest undefended border. The United States also trades more with Canada (exports and imports) than with any other country. Yet, the American public is largely uninformed about Canada, Canadians, and their unique culture. This digest considers (1) why United States students should study about Canada, (2) where content on Canada belongs in the curriculum, and (3) what useful strategies and resources can be used to improve the teaching of Canadian Studies.