2016

Sept. 12, 2016: Transparent Language Online

Use the Transparent Language interactive software offered to Radford University students, faculty, and staff to learn a new language or practice a new language. Transparent Language is accessible via computer, mobile devices, and as an app for Apple and Android products.

The web-based version offers a variety of interactive ways of practicing language learning and comprehension. Many fun options for practice are available including Matching, Recognize & Say It, Recognize & Write It, Listening Recognition, Multiple Choice, and Pronunciation Practice.

Test your memory with the app, which contains flashcards to practice with and a quiz to see how many vocabulary and phrases you are able to recognize. Access Transparent Language by logging into the myRU portal and following the Transparent Language Online link on the Academics or Employee webpages.

April 15, 2016: Mergent Online’s Investext Snapshot and Mergent Intellect

Research for company and industry data is now easier with these newly added Mergent database resources. The Mergent Online database now contains the additional feature of Investext Snapshot and the library now has access to Mergent Intellect as well.

Mergent databases may be helpful for students of any major. One can use these resources to research information for S.W.O.T analysis and marketing assignments, as well as, review companies, industries, and products through authoritative reports. Mergent Online’s Investext Snapshot supplies access to the Thomson Reuters Embargoed Research Collection providing access to research reports on 42,000 companies and 125 industries worldwide. Investext Snapshot reports are “written by analysts at investment banks and independent research firms from across the globe.” (Mergent) The reports “provide unique insight, including forecasts and opinions from the most sought-after industry experts.”(Mergent)

You can use Investext Snapshot to search by Country, Company, Contributor, or Industry. Searches can be exported into Excel spreadsheets and the research reports can be downloaded or emailed.

The newly redesigned Mergent Intellect database is considered by Mergent to be “the premier global private company database.” This database contains 243 million records and includes both active and inactive companies. You can learn about company executives through their job titles, functions, and biographies. You can search Mergent Intellect for information about companies, people, or industries.

The Job Search feature of Mergent Intellect has four search options: Occupation Search, Industry Search, Employer Search, and Veterans Search. You can use the Occupation Search to find potential internships or employers. The Veterans Search offers the option to translate a military job into a civilian job.

Mergent Intellect has also collaborated with Nielsen to provide demographic reports. You can find information about consumer demand, behavior types in U.S. households, and perform market analysis of locations for future projects.

Feb. 19, 2016: Kanopy Streaming Video

Kanopy provides access to more than 26,000 streaming videos. These films include award-winning documentaries, theatrical releases, and many more interesting topics. Kanopy acquires films from well-known producers including the Video Project, Criterion Collection, PBS, Kino Lorber, New Day Films, The Great Courses, and Passion River, Many independently produced works are also attained.

Use Kanopy to view documentaries on historic figures, such as Zora Neale Hurston, watch and listen to speeches given by Martin Luther King Jr. and other prominent presenters, and investigate news topics, including Black Lives Matter.

Kanopy can be searched using keywords. For example, search the keywords of “Women’s History,” then narrow the results using the facets of Subjects, Suppliers, Filmmakers, Features, Languages, Captions, and Year of Production. The Browse Subjects search menu is another method to begin a Kanopy search. This drop-down menu contains a list of subjects, which when hovered over will display more subject topics, for example: Browse Subjects: Social Sciences: Gender Studies. This will return films connected with Gender Studies.

Kanopy’s streaming interface allows viewers to watch films whenever and wherever they are, and on any device. Many of the films offer closed captioning and transcripts. Faculty and students will find Kanopy easy to share playlists and film recommendations through social media and email.