Message from UCD Library Training - Jan-Feb 2014

UCD Library regularly offers training courses on diverse topics. This semester we offer our usual EndNote and EndNote Web courses, along with research and information-related sessions. In the next month we offer the following:

Stay Alert! Keeping Current with Research - Tues, 4th February  details

Data Caring: Why Manage Your Research Data? - Wed, 12th February: details

Making a Map with Google Mapping Products - Wed, 19th February: details

Protecting Your Research Data - Wed, 19th February: details

Ethical Issues in Data Management - Thurs, 20th February: details

For our entire schedule of courses being held this semester, please go to http://www.ucd.ie/library/supporting_you/courses_diary/allclasses.

There's no need to register for these courses. Just show up on the day.

We will continue to keep you informed of new courses being offered.

Regards,
UCD Library Training

An Essential research tool - EndNote lessons!

The school has arranged a one-hour session on EndNote for our iBusiness students:

This lecture-based session will take place on Tuesday 21 January from 13.00-14.00 in C302.

And a second session to facilitate our PT students, also on Tuesday 21 January, from 17.00-18.00 in C301.

Start shaping them while they're at university

Poland has grown to become one of Europe's largest outsourcing destinations, but the country's outsourcing providers are beginning to realise they can no longer compete on cost alone. In fact, if cost was the main concern then clients would have outsourced their work to India a decade ago. Local knowledge is still important, so how do you get the tech staff you need to supply the local outsourcing industry? (link to the article on ZDNet)

Seminar materials and links

Slides and pointers to material from a seminar on the assumptions of Global Sourcing (aka O/O: Outsourcing/Offshoring).

For proposed principles for responsible investment involving the UN see http://www.unpri.org/

An example of one group’s proposal for principles for responsible outsourcing http://www.sourceoutpoverty.org/ and... http://www.slideshare.net/leila_c/guiding-principles-for-socially-responsible-outsourcing-v10-presentation

The Slides

Emerging global change and its issues 2013 from Allen Higgins

The IBEC report

Ireland's "digital natives" a major plus for conducting global business

Liam Halpin, interviewed by Silicon Republic's John Kennedy, explains why he thinks Ireland is the perfect location for conducting global business (link).

Democratising innovation for vehicle design

Public agencies are applying the principles of crowdsourcing to new tech design projects in efforts to both reduce the costs of government procurement and to gain access to the best ideas. The 2013 winners of the drive-train element of the US's DARPA FANG Challenge were a team of three who had never met before collaborating on their proposal (link).

Refs:
DARPA Vehicle Forge: (link)

Exercise: national factors

Categories to consider:

• Skills
• Cost
• IT Infrastructure
• Risk
• Quality
• Local market
• Economy
• Location (geographic)
• Culture
• Political

For country E.

Issues:

• Cultural-politics
• Unhelpful govt. attitude to business
• Climate
• Time zone (wrt North America)
• Risk of disruptive events
• Corruption
• Illiteracy rate
• Education system
• Inconsistent IT capabilities in different cities

Positives:

• Skilled labour force, multi-lingual
• Low cost
• Smart village initiative
• Workers willing to work overtime
• World class telecommunications infrastructure (where it is available)
• Access to Europe, Middle East, North Africa
• Easy business environment
• Timezone same as some major markets
• Gateway to Middle East
• Tax breaks in special hub zones.