One of the big news stories of the day is the bill tabled by our federal government about legalizing marijuana.  (See: Bill: C-45: An Act respecting cannabis and to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and other Acts)

I hear that the hard-working students in ECON 807 (Macroeconomic Theory and Policy) have hit a roadblock with their assignment -- access to CANSIM via the Statistics Canada site has been interupted lately as Statistics Canada is experiencing website issues.

From the expressions of many of the people using our libraries these last few days, it's clear that we have hit Crunch Time...

"Crunch Time" definition: that wonderful time of term when paper deadlines that seemed far away in January now loom so close that they cast a shadow over you. That time when exam study habits vie with procrastination habits for your attention... when you just want a quiet study spot, a word of encouragement, and maybe one last bit of information to cement your argument. 

We're here for you!  ... <more>

I just came across a great tip sheet from the Journalists' Resource: Free tools for visualizing economic data.

The title is pretty much self explanatory. I thought I'd mention it here because doing so gives me a chance to talk about the hot topic of data visualization and the indispensable Journalists' Resource...

As you may have heard, there's been some talk lately about reopening and renegotiating the NAFTA agreement. If you'd like to join that conversation and want to contribute more than just "alternative facts," consider consulting this handy dossier of statistics from our newest database: Statista...  <more>

Our BUS 345 students are going to be doing some taste tests again this semester, and this time the focus is on cheese!

It seems like just yesterday that smartphones were invented, followed shortly after by that wonderfully positive phrase, "There's an app for that!"*

And, as surely as traffic chaos follows Vancouver snow, I've noticed that the solutions proposed by many of our business students now start with a wonderfully enthusiastic proclamation, "We're going to build an app for that!" 

And, since the bottom line is never far from mind in business, even in academia, that bold statement is followed very quickly by the all-important question... "Are we going to go broke doing this?"... <more>

We've all been there... that moment in a research project when you just need one key number to cement the last piece of your argument.

For instance, you might desperately need to know...

• the main things considered by Canadian Millennials when buying cars, or    
• the media consumption habits of Canadian commuters, or 
• a detailed statistical overview of Canada's oil & gas industry?

... Sound familiar? Then you really should get to know the newest database available via the SFU Library... <more>