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Newsletter No. 78


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                             Free Pint
         "Helping 34,000 people use the Web for their work"
                    http://www.freepint.co.uk/

ISSN 1460-7239                                 4th January 2001 No.78
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                           IN THIS ISSUE

                             EDITORIAL

                        MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES
                       from Cvetko Ostroznik

                           FREE PINT BAR
                    In Association with Factiva
                   a Dow Jones & Reuters Company
                     Reviewed by Simon Collery

                        TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
                     "Radio Industry Web Sites"
                           By James Hatts

                             BOOKSHELF
                        "Common Knowledge -
          How Companies Thrive by Sharing What They Know"
                     Reviewed by Martin White

                          FEATURE ARTICLE
                  "Careers Information Resources"
                          By Brian Nisbet

               EVENTS, GOLD AND FORTHCOMING ARTICLES

                        CONTACT INFORMATION

              ONLINE VERSION WITH ACTIVATED HYPERLINKS
            http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/040101.htm

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ADVANCED SEARCHING ON THE WEB - 30 January 2001 at the British Library
In just one morning, this course will show you the most
appropriate place to start - a directory, a search engine, or both
combined? Discover how to quickly narrow or broaden your searches. For
instance, do you keep getting an unwanted site dominating your
results? Are you looking for terms within a URL only? Contact Tony
Catarinicchia 020 7412 7915 or visit our website at
http://www.bl.uk/services/stb/courses.html for further details.

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                      >>>  ABOUT FREE PINT  <<<

Free Pint is a community of business professionals who use the Web for
their work. Members receive this free newsletter every two weeks
packed with tips on finding quality and reliable business information
on the Internet. Signing up at <http://www.freepint.co.uk/> provides
free access to the substantial archive of articles, book reviews,
industry news and events, with answers to your research questions and
networking at the "Free Pint Bar" and "Student Bar". This newsletter
is best read when printed out and viewed in a Courier font.

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                             EDITORIAL

If you read my Editorial in the last issue then you'll know that I was
just about to fly off to somewhere in the world for a 'survival' week 
for the BBC's forthcoming new series of "Bare Necessities". Well, they
flew us to the Arizona Desert just outside Phoenix where we built
our hut in Gold Canyon at the foot of Superstition Mountain!

I can't tell you too much about it, however we had lots of fun doing
cowboy-like things among the cacti and did in fact survive (as you may
have gathered). We were forced to eat little wriggly things and yes it
was absolutely freezing at night. I won't tell you if we three
'librarians' (am I a librarian?) beat the 'car salesmen' in the race
for achievement points, so you'll have to watch BBC2 in February to
find out. For the benefit of the two thirds of Free Pinters outside
the UK who can't see BBC2, just watch your local variation such as
"Survivor" and you'll get the idea. Did the experience change me as a
person? Well, I do now have a greater appreciation of the little
luxuries in life, such as food. Would I do it all again? Yes please.

We have some very interesting articles in today's Free Pint. We take a
look at how the Internet is transforming the radio industry in
surprising ways, and where to find UK career information on the Web -
not job sites but where to get actual career guidance. There's a
review of an interesting Knowledge Management book, as well as lots of
tips and the regular review of the latest at the Free Pint Bar.

On the topic of survival, I would once again ask for your help in
encouraging your colleagues and friends to sign up for the Free Pint
newsletter. We do rely on your support to help us grow our community
and by using our paid services like the new UK company research
gateway at <http://www.freepint.co.uk/icc/> you can invest directly in
the continued growth of Free Pint this year.

On that note, from me and the team here at Free Pint, we hope you have
a very Happy New Year!

Cheers
William

William Hann BSc MIInfSc
Founder and Managing Editor, Free Pint
e: william@freepint.co.uk
t: +44 (0)1784 455435
f: +44 (0)1784 455436

           Free Pint is a trademark of Free Pint Limited
                     http://www.freepint.co.uk/

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           Use Cruiser - for hosting with a difference!
                   http://www.globalgold.co.uk/

Are you looking after multiple accounts or managing multiple brands or
clients and in need of a more flexible hosting solution to help you
handle your business efficiently and effectively?

  If so, think Cruiser. http://www.globalgold.co.uk/Hosting/Cruiser

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>>> WHAT BETTER WAY TO REACH THE INFORMATION RESEARCH COMMUNITY? <<<

       If you have something to say to business researchers
      around the globe, then you should be advertising here.
                 Find out more about the benefits:
               http://www.freepint.co.uk/advert.htm

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                        MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES
                       from Cvetko Ostroznik

* Linkscan's Quickcheck - Integrity checks for links that have died,
  don't work or have been redirected. <http://malch.elsop.com/quick.cgi>

* TheCounter.com - Free counter service with up to the minute stats
  including referring pages. <http://www.thecounter.com>

* Internet.com - Valuable resource for all Web building needs.
  <http://www.internet.com>

* Tifosi-Club for all the latest Ferrari F1 news. With inside stories,
  a great online store, chat facilities and worldwide buddy link up
  for international race travelers.  Site monitored 24hrs a day. 
  <http://www.tifosi-club.com>

* F1 Rumours - For the best daily news during the Formula 1 season and
  a great live simulcast across the entire weekend.
  <http://f1rumors.net/f1rumors.html>

Cvetko Ostroznik is an Australian Solicitor and recent E-Com Graduate
living in Detroit USA.  His site is NetNewsCafe 
<http://netnews.50megs.com> with 40+ Internet topics, 4,000+ links and
twice daily updates.

Tell us about your top five favourite Web sites. See the guidelines at
<http://www.freepint.co.uk/author.htm> or email <simon@freepint.co.uk>

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    ** Isabella joined the Internet start-up to end up rich **

             If she's not careful, she'll end up dead!
     Starting on 8th January, read the first instalment of the
    serialised mystery, 'Trouble at Risk-eGames.com' exclusively
         presented on the Factiva InfoPro Alliance portal.
                   http://www.factiva.com/infopro

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 >>>  IT'S FREE TO SEARCH ALL STATUTORY UK COMPANY INFORMATION  <<<

           Search across all UK companies today for free
      and purchase detailed information only as you need it.
            There are no setup fees or monthly charges.
                   http://www.freepint.co.uk/icc/

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                           FREE PINT BAR
                    In Association with Factiva
                   a Dow Jones & Reuters Company
                           
                     Reviewed by Simon Collery
          http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/040101.htm#bar


           Free Pint Bar - http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar

[Note: To read a posting enter the message number in place of XXXX in 
the address <http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar/read.php?i=XXXX> or enter
the number in the "Jump To" box on the Bar homepage]

Sometimes I feel like an evangelist for all things online and in a
way I am.  Sure, high tech companies took a knock in the financial
world last year, but for information people and researchers there are
many blessings to be counted and I'm looking forward to another year
of surfing.  There are problems to be tackled but a lot of us would
be out of a job if there weren't.

Communications have been greatly improved by the development of the
Internet and those using it now have easy access to tools that didn't
exist a few years ago.  I recently reviewed a site that lists quite a
number of these tools, which are freely available to everyone with an
Internet connection (6404).  Some older forms of communication have
been enhanced too.  Voluminous phone books can be replaced by
sleek online directories (6489) and even reverse look-up directories
in some cases (6405).

One of our subscribers wants to know if you can get your stationery
designed online without needing to visit the designer (6540).
Possibly, depending on where you live.  But not everything online is
going smoothly.  Recently we have heard from a Free Pinter whose ISP
has collapsed leaving a lot of people without a connection
(6521, 6560) and from another who is unable to contact the company
hosting his Web site (6468).

Finding business information has been revolutionised by the Internet
and we have had queries on landfill contractors (6382), economic data
on Cambodia (6426), company data (6461, 6535), business proposal
templates (6474) and annual reports (6528).  There were also a couple
of questions about jobs (6518, 6554).  We are still looking for a
listing of top UK PR companies (6573) and convertibility of currency
in current and capital accounts (6550) if anyone has any suggestions.

Other free information resources are plentiful too and one of the
aims of my daily Tipples is to highlight the best I can find.  You
can listen to numerous styles of music all day long (6423) while
viewing great art, literature and historical documents (6512, 6494)
if you like.  But if you are at work you can search for events
(6513), ASPs (6523, 6477), patent data (6479), education information
(6451, 6471) and protection against discrimination at work (6534),
among other things.

Statistical and quantitative data is tricky, but there are plenty of
sites to check up (6438, 6439, 6501, 6509).  Some specific questions
have been asked about UK sites without UK domain codes (6496) and
online advertising in the car market (6510) and they haven't been
answered yet.  It's hard to say why quantitative questions can be so
hard to answer but some data is probably just not available.  And I
suspect search tools are not so good at certain types of query.

Now, said search tools are given a hard time, but what they do is
often impressive.  However, we are always looking out for superior
search tools (6415, 6596, 6444).  Apparently there are people known
as Web ferrets who spend their time surfing for information, sales
leads, etc (6416).  Haven't come across the term myself but it does
sound a little like my job.  Perhaps some Web ferret would be
interested in answering questions about search engine registration
and rankings (6410, 6435) and indeed, questions about search engines
in general (6374).

Developing all these useful search tools, communications tools and
resources are the Web masters and technical bods.  They have been
asking and answering questions about surfing with frames (6390),
problems with Dreamweaver (6412), IE favourites (6450), Lotus CC Mail
(6481), MS Publisher (6485), chatroom legal issues (6500), HTML title
tags (6508), Netscape bookmarks (6519), Web content management
systems (6545), creating Web sites (6547) and online survey design
(6580).

More miscellaneous questions have been asked about online auctions
(6392), Mailbase's change of name to Jiscmail (6398), rules to the
game "Tower of Hanoi" (6420), classified email directories (6440),
anti spamming laws (6456), autonomous learning (6559), customer
surveys on Intranets (6568), counterfeit banknote detection
techniques (6464), word and number puzzles (6589), occupational
awareness research (6592) and competitions for schools (6409).

And I think that just about wraps it up.

     Free Pint Student Bar - http://www.freepint.co.uk/student

[Note: To read a posting enter the message number in place of XXXX in 
the address <http://www.freepint.co.uk/student/read.php?i=XXXX>]

The Student Bar is waking up after its Christmas lull with a question
about the opacity and/or transparency of medical literature.  Does
anyone know about any research in this area? (1105).

      Simon Collery, Content Developer <simon@freepint.co.uk>

To read a message:

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If you have a tricky research question or can help other Free Pinters
then do post a message at the Bar <http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar> or
the Student Bar <http://www.freepint.co.uk/student>.

Visit daily for "Today's Tipple" - a different Web site reviewed every
working day at the Bar. Every Tuesday there is the "Pub Crawl", a look
at full text articles from a range of information and Internet 
publications. Access the archive of Tipples and Pub Crawls at
<http://www.freepint.co.uk/portal/content/tipple.php3>.

To have the latest Free Pint Bar postings sent to you every other day,
send a blank email to <digest@freepint.co.uk>. For the Student Bar
Digest send an email to <studentdigest@freepint.co.uk>.

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>>> ACCESS ALL FREE PINT ARTICLES AND TIPPLES BY INDUSTRY <<< The Free Pint Portal gives quick and easy access to all our content: http://www.freepint.co.uk/portal/content/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = TIPS AND TECHNIQUES http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/040101.htm#tips "Radio Industry Web Sites" By James Hatts Radio and the Internet go together very well. Despite early predictions that the Internet would have an adverse effect on traditional media such as radio, the past few years have shown that there are many synergies between the two media. In a local context, the World Wide Web has enabled radio stations to communicate directly with their audiences and provide support materials for their programmes. In a broader context, national and regional boundaries have been blurred as even the smallest radio station can stream its output over the Internet and reach out to new audiences. And not only is audio streaming less bandwidth-intensive than video, but it's possible to listen to radio whilst working on other things. This is a brief survey of industry websites. I have not attempted to cover every aspect of this huge industry, but the sites I have included should provide a good basis for further investigation of the world of radio. Industry sites -------------- Starting points for information on the industry wordwide include About.com's Radio Guide <http://www.radio.about.com/>. Generally speaking, radio portals seem to be country- or region-specific. The best UK source for radio industry information is the formidable Media UK Web site <http://www.mediauk.com/>. It has a comprehensive directory of radio stations, a directory of radio presenters and links to industry news sources. The Media UK forums offer a lively community for discussion and gossip. Industry news ------------- One of the best sources for industry news is ukRadio.com <http://www.ukradio.com/> - it's constantly updated and you can also receive a weekly email digest of the site's news coverage. A radio news site covering the USA and Canada is RadioDigest.com <http://www.RadioDigest.com/>. Media Central has a Radio news channel <http://www.mediacentral.com/channels/radio/>, but it does not appear to be regularly updated. John Cull's long-established Waveguide service <http://www.waveguide.co.uk/> now carries less radio news than it has in the past, but it's still worth checking out if the Java menus don't crash your browser. It's a pity that the industry's leading printed magazine in the UK has transferred so poorly to the Web - The Radio Magazine website <http://www.theradiomagazine.co.uk/> carries a few news stories, but you get the sense that they are missing an opportunity here. For industry gossip, Radiogoss <http://www.radiogoss.co.uk/> is the place to go. It has recently been sold by the founder and the site's format has changed, but there are still some good nuggets of gossip. The site survived an attempt to shut it down last year when EMAP Radio objected to coverage of its stations. The Radio Academy has a useful side panel on its Web site <http://www.radioacademy.org/> which rounds up radio news from across the Web. The Guardian's new Media Guardian site <http://www.mediaguardian.co.uk/broadcast/> has an impressive Broadcast section. Radio stations -------------- BBC Radio's homepage <http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/> provides a gateway to the Corporation's many radio services. In the US, the National Public Radio site is another useful resource. FMjock.com has a directory of UK radio stations <http://www.fmjock.com/ukdirectory.html> which contains links to Web sites. The quality of station websites can vary enormously. Some stations have a sophisticated Web presence, such as Virgin Radio <http://www.virginradio.co.uk>, whilst others have not progressed beyond first-generation websites, such as London's Spectrum 558am <http://www.spectrum558am.co.uk> The RAJAR site <http://www.rajar.co.uk/> is the place to go for audience information on British stations. Digital radio ------------- Digital audio broadcasting (DAB) is currently changing the face of the radio industry . The World DAB Forum Web site <http://www.worlddab.org/> is a good place to start for information on this new technology. For specific UK information, check out the UK Digital Radio Forum at <http://www.dab.org/>. Digital radio licence holders in Britain include Digital One <http://www.ukdigitalradio.com/> and Switch Digital <http://www.switchdigital.com/>. The UK multiplexes include a mixture of digital transmissions of existing analogue stations and new digital-only services. The BBC has a digital radio Web site at <http://www.bbc.co.uk/digitalradio/> which outlines its digital broadcasting plans. Internet broadcasting --------------------- Yahoo! Radio <http://radio.broadcast.com/> is a good place to track down live Web streams from the US. Leading Internet-only broadcasters include US talk radio site eYada.com <http://www.eyada.com/> and the UK's StormLive <http://www.stormlive.com/>. Several UK stations are now launching additional channels exclusively available online, such as Jazz FM's <http://www.jazzfm.com> subscription-based ejazz.fm <http://www.ejazz.fm>. Regulation ---------- Radio matters in the United States are dealt with by the Federal Communications Commission <http://www.fcc.gov/>. In the UK, the Radio Authority <http://www.radioauthority.org.uk/> issues licenses and regulates output. Complaints about standards and fairness are assessed by the Broadcasting Standards Council <http://www.bsc.org.uk/>. Student and hospital radio -------------------------- The smaller-scale, voluntary-sector side of the industry plays an important part in the development of new talent. The Student Radio Association <http://www.studentradio.org.uk/> is the body that represents student broadcasters in the UK, whilst the Student Radio Awards <http://www.studentradioawards.com/> recognise the on- and off- air achievements of stations in this sector. Beyond the Web -------------- There are plenty of email discussion groups covering aspects of the industry, from technical issues to discussion of specific stations and presenters. Many of these are hosted by eGroups <http://www.egroups.com/> and can be tracked down using the search facility. As ever, Usenet newsgroups can be worthwhile sources of specialist information. <news:alt.radio.broadcasting> and <news:alt.radio.uk> are just two of the many specialist groups available. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - James Hatts is Website Manager at Politico's <http://www.politicos.co.uk>, the high-profile Westminster political bookstore and publishing company. He is also the producer of London- SE1.co.uk <http://www.London-SE1.co.uk>, the local information site for London's South Bank area. In addition, James has acted as an Internet consultant to several voluntary sector organisations. He can be contacted at <james@hatts.co.uk>. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Related Free Pint links: * "Broadcasting" links, articles and news in the Free Pint Portal <http://www.freepint.co.uk/portal/industry/industry.php3?category_id=15> * Read this article online, with activated hyperlinks <http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/040101.htm#tips> * Post a message to the author now at the Free Pint Bar <http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar> * Access the entire archive of Free Pint content <http://www.freepint.co.uk/portal/content/> > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> FREE PINT FACT <<< Want to hear an amazing 'coincidence' story? Well, on my return from trying to survive in the desert in Arizona just before Christmas, I had some 1500+ emails in my inbox. I had many wishes of "Good Luck" from Free Pinters around the world, but of course nobody knew where I'd been, and I didn't even know where we were going until I arrived at the airport. One email however stood out from the rest ... "Your upcoming adventure sounds like it may be an experience to remember! I'll keep my fingers crossed that you have a wonderful time as well as a memorable one! Unfortunately, I won't be able to see the outcome because I can't get shows from the BBC here in the wild west of North America. :) I have thoroughly enjoyed your newsletter and have shared it with many. If you ever do get to the Phoenix, AZ, USA part of the world, let me know. My husband and I would love to take you to dinner and act as tour guides." The only email out of 1500 to mention a specific place in the world, and it happens to be the exact place we went to! Amazing! William Hann, Managing Editor <william@freepint.co.uk> > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT BOOKSHELF http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf "Common Knowledge - How Companies Thrive by Sharing What They Know" Reviewed by Martin White Nancy Dixon is an Associate Professor of Administrative Sciences at The George Washington University, Washington, DC. The book is based on a two-year study of organisations that are leading the field in successful knowledge transfer, including Ernst & Young, Bechtel, Ford, Chevron and British Petroleum. From this study Dixon identifies five methods of knowledge transfer: * Serial transfer - applies to a team that performs a task and then the same team repeats the task in a new context * Near transfer - transferring knowledge from a source team to a receiving team that is doing a similar task in a different location * Far transfer - transferring knowledge about a non-routine task * Strategic transfer - complex knowledge transferred to a team separated by time and distance * Expert transfer - transferring explicit knowledge about tasks that are routine, but carried out infrequently Each chapter comprises a number of quite detailed case studies that are very readable. For example the chapter on Near Transfer is based on KM practices at Ford, Texas Instruments and Ernst & Young. The characteristics of Near Transfer are then presented and then a set of best practice guidelines is offered, neatly summarised in a concluding table. Two final chapters provide first an overview of the five transfer models, and then recommendations for building an integrated (in the sense of accommodating all the models) KM strategy. There are of course several hundred books on knowledge management and I have read only a dozen or so of them. I cannot therefore position Common Knowledge in a ranking list of KM books. What does appeal to me is that this is a very practical book that provides a rather different perspective on the management of information. There is a certain amount of inevitable blurring between the five approaches, but this does not detract from the value of the book. The detailed case studies to my mind also confirm the benefits of the story-telling approach to KM strategy development that has been developed by Victoria Ward at Spark Knowledge and David Snowden at IBM. There is a good index, but the references are confined to particular articles or books that support the text of each chapter. This somewhat restricts the value of the book as a starting point for someone new to knowledge management. However I would recommend this book both to managers starting out on the KM path, and also to experienced KM practitioners that are looking for new models for KM strategy development. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Martin White is Managing Director of Intranet Focus Ltd. <http://www.intranetfocus.com>. He has 30 years' experience in the information business, in information management, publishing and consulting roles. His areas of interest include the design and management of intranets, the deployment of enterprise information portals, and business development strategies electronic information vendors. A regular contributor to Information World Review and Free Pint, he is also a columnist for the US periodical EContent on intranet issues and is currently completing work on a book on intranet management. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Information Management. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Related Free Pint links: * Related articles on "Knowledge Management" in the Free Pint Portal <http://www.freepint.co.uk/portal/industry/industry.php3?category_id=69> * Find out more about this book online at the Free Pint Bookshelf <http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf/common.htm> * Read about other Internet strategy books on the Free Pint Bookshelf <http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf/strategy.htm> * Read customer comments and buy this book at Amazon.co.uk <http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0875849040/freepint0c> or Amazon.com <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0875849040/freepint00> * Details: ISBN 0875849040 published by Harvard Business School Press written by Nancy M. Dixon * Search for and purchase any book from Amazon via the Bookshelf <http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf> To propose an information-related book for review, send details to <bookshelf@freepint.co.uk>. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> WHY DON'T YOU CONTRIBUTE TO FREE PINT? <<< Write an article, book review, or tell us your favourite sites. Find out more and sign up for the monthly Author Update at: http://www.freepint.co.uk/author.htm > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FEATURE ARTICLE http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/040101.htm#feature "Careers Information Resources" By Brian Nisbet So you want to be a photographer for MI5? Yes, there is information about that on the web, along with a thousand other careers, whether mainstream or a bit off the beaten track. Online information is being provided not only by those involved in careers guidance, but also by professional bodies and trade associations, specialist magazines and journals, companies and a host of various organisations. This article is about online careers information, not recruitment. It is easy to find recruitment sites - some of them must be spending a small fortune on marketing - and some of them are excellent. But very often their 'careers guidance' section consists of advice about interviews and writing your CV, not about the routes into different occupations. So this is a brief survey of online careers/occupational information, both for those looking for information for themselves, and those responsible for providing careers advice to others. The resources are all UK based, and are all free. But before launching into the sites, a small note on the issue of classification. Apart from an obvious alphabetic system, there are two different forms of classification used in some careers sites, reflecting the systems in specialist careers libraries. CLCI (Careers Library Classification Index) is mainly used in schools and colleges. The AGCAS system (Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services) is mainly used in Universities and other Higher Education Institutions. Of course, if the sites are any good, you should be able to find your way without knowing the system, but at least it explains the hierarchies used by different sites, and why you might come across this kind of entry: Prison Officer (MAD). Comprehensive information sites ------------------------------- One thing these sites have in common is that they are text heavy - definitely substance over style. Since most of the key sites come from an education or government background, they are refreshingly free of banner advertising. Learning Card Career Bank <http://www.dfee.gov.uk/lcard/index> has excellent comprehensive coverage. Each career section starts with background information and qualifications required, then provides further details, including selected links to relevant professional bodies or trade associations. Mainly aimed at schools and colleges, but there is a section on 'late entry'. Good navigation - careers are organized both in career sectors (CLCI) and A-Z listings (but the A-Z can be idiosyncratic - S has 12 entries before you actually get something beginning with S), and there is a keyword search. For those familiar with the 'Occupations' book, this is a bit like the online equivalent. LearnDirect:Job Profiles <http://www.learndirect.co.uk/home/careeradvice/job_profiles>. This is part of the University for Industry initiative, with ..."its vision of 'a learning society in which everyone, from whatever background, routinely expects to learn and upgrade their skills throughout life.'" So mainly aimed at mid-career users. There are concise articles about dozens of careers, but there are no further links and no search facility. It still harbours a few niggles e.g. the career titles that are supposed to "appear on the right side of your screen" actually appear as a drop down menu. Prospects Web <http://www.prospects.csu.ac.uk/> is produced by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit. Of the dozen or so sites claiming to be the number one graduate site, this is the real one. And so it should be, since it is the official site of AGCAS (Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services) and contains literary output from most of the Careers Advisers and Careers Information staff in Universities and HE Colleges in the UK and Ireland. There is an immense amount of useful information on hundreds of graduate careers in the 'career planning' section, as well as surveys, careers following particular degrees, ongoing links for further information etc. However, sometimes the navigation is a bit tricky, and even when you know what is in there, it is not always easy to find it. But if it's graduate information you are looking for, it's worth persisting. Plan It <http://www.ceg.org.uk/careers/>. Part of the Continuing Education Gateway produced by Glasgow City Council. The top category is split into about 26 different major career areas, with subsequent sub-categories. There is no alphabetic or keyword search, which is odd, because there is a keyword search on the courses part of the database. But what it lacks in searching, it makes up for in cross referencing to related jobs and relevant courses. Although the careers information is relevant for all of the UK, the Scottish emphasis of the site is seen in its links to courses in Scotland, and Scottish professional bodies. Mainly aimed at schools and young people. Simple design makes it easy to find your way around. Input Youth Information and Resource Centre <http://www.input.demon.co.uk/index.html>. Another regional site, mainly for schools, but this time for Northern Ireland, produced by the North Eastern Education and Library Board. Similar to the Plan It site above, but not as comprehensive. It includes links to relevant Northern Ireland based organisations. Not Quite So Comprehensive Information Sites -------------------------------------------- For graduates, there are a number of useful sites from publishers who have specialised in careers literature for Universities. Characteristically, and understandably, most of the material is self contained, and doesn't link to external sources. The better sites include Doctor Job <http://www.doctorjob.com/> produced by GTI, with several dozen brief job profiles written in a jaunty style. Inside Careers <http://www.insidecareers.co.uk/> only covers a handful of professions e.g. Actuaries, but each one is covered in considerable depth. Hobsons <http://www.hobsons.com> has a range of job descriptions in the 'Graduate Careers' section. Some Careers Service companies <http://www.careers-uk.com/Map_Page/Map%20Page.htm> and University Careers Services <http://www.prospects.csu.ac.uk/student/cidd/carserv/index.htm> produce online information, often with a local emphasis e.g.Bradfacts <http://www.careersb.co.uk/Careers_Information/Bradfacts_Main_Index.asp> produced by Careers Bradford. Increasingly, magazine and newspaper publishers are providing online careers information, often allied to their recruitment section. Usually they only cover a small number of mainstream careers e.g. marketing, finance, health, but the information is very up to date. For example, Workthing <http://www.workthing.com> from the Guardian Media Group includes current industry views for various sectors. TotalJobs <http://www.totaljobs.com/> from Reed Business Information has an 'insider's guide' in their career zone. Careerworld <http://www.careerworld.net/> produced by the Independent has short articles for several dozen career areas. Channel 4 has recently launched Brilliant Careers <http://brilliantcareers.channel4.com/> to support a series of programmes for schools to be broadcast later this year. The site currently contains brief information for a large range of careers. Reach for the Sky from BSkyB <http://www.reachforthesky.co.uk/> is also aimed at young people, and contains case studies of various careers, but it is a very flashy site, and doesn't work well in Netscape. Portals ------- Careers A-Z (UK) <http://www.careersa-z.co.uk/>. This portal is one of the easiest to navigate and most comprehensive. As the title suggests, it works on an alphabetic index, but there is also a keyword search and cross reference links to related job titles. For each career sector (and there are hundreds of them), there is a further breakdown by type of link e.g. careers information, courses, jobs, professional bodies etc. It is very broad ranging in the sources of links and the coverage is impressively thorough - a well researched site and an excellent starting point. University of London Virtual Careers Library <http://www.careers.lon.ac.uk/links/>. Another site with good coverage of UK links. The design is uncluttered and clearly laid out in sections e.g. Professional Bodies and Trade Associations, Career Choice, Magazines and Journals etc. Most of the sections are then organised by AGCAS classification. Unfortunately there is no cross referencing within sections e.g. there is no link from the Health Care Professional Bodies section to the Health Care Journals section. But one useful feature is that the URL of the linked site is typed next to the link - good if you want to print the page. Careersoft <http://www.careersoft.co.uk/> produces multimedia CDs and DVDs that are widely used in schools. This site is a portal to professional bodies and trade associations including postal addresses (for the increasingly few organisations without a web presence). A very impressive list of careers, but sometimes the links are a bit general and unspecific to that career. Another company, Trotman, who publish numerous careers books, have also produced The Careers Portal with useful links to Professional Bodies, as well as being a shop window for their publications. BBC Webguide <http://www.bbc.co.uk/webguide> has a Career Advice element to their Education section. Each of the linked sites is given a helpful short review, but the various subsections are a bit broad, which makes it harder to find things quickly. Northumbria University <http://www.unn.ac.uk/academic/hswe/careers/links.html>. This site is attached to the Careers Guidance course at Northumbria University, and appears to be primarily designed as a resource for Careers Advisers and teachers. It consists of a small number of long pages organised in CLCI order. Specific to particular careers and professions ---------------------------------------------- Many professional bodies and trade associations produce careers information, much of it now appearing on the web. The better sites include information on that profession or trade (of course), but also information on how to get into it, a list of courses, links to job vacancies and a few short articles from people doing that job. By way of example, have a look at the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy <http://www.csp.org.uk/> and the Institute of Logistics and Transport <http://www.iolt.org.uk/index2.htm>. As with all good design, it should be obvious how to access that information from the home page, but that is not always the case. Some National Training Councils <http://www.nto-nc.org/> for various sectors, produce some excellent online careers information. For example, Skillset for Broadcasting, Film, Video and Multimedia <http://www.skillset.org/>, or CITB for Construction <http://www.citb.org.uk/>. Finally, some specialist magazines and journals produce relevant guides e.g. New Scientist graduate careers <http://www.newscientist.com/graduate/>. For a list of other sites and portals, it is worth checking out the 'General Careers Advice' page of the University of London Virtual Careers Library <http://www.careers.lon.ac.uk/links/l010100.htm>. MI5 By the way, in case you do want to be photographer for MI5, you will find the information at <http://www.mi5.gov.uk/career/photo.htm>. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Brian Nisbet is a Careers Adviser at the University of Sussex Career Development Unit and edits the unit website <http://www.cdu.org.uk>. In addition, he does some freelance writing and provides Internet advice to several education sector organisations and graduate recruitment sites. 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