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Showing posts from November, 2019

Digital GDP on Government's Mind. Can We Maximize Growth Through Cluster Development?

There is a growing body of evidence that the current economic measures are not capturing the full power of the digital economy. More particularly, digital content and the digital economy are not fully utilized. The Theory of Transactional Clusters starts to build a broad/general theory based on existing cluster research to better determine how information sharing within the digital economy impacts innovative growth. Data has exploded over the past few decades. The value associated with digital services, software, and its impact on industry development is elusive at best. Older models are limited by the assumptions gained during their historical development. GDP is one such measure of national output but often doesn't do well in calculating digital value. Research has shown that digital content can increase GDP by as much as 6% (Byrne & Corrado, 2019). From an economic standpoint, digital content represents only a sliver of total economic value.  According to one of the la

Steps to Preparing Data- Keep it Clean!

Collecting pounds of data is useless unless we can do something with it that leads to new knowledge and information. You may start with a mound of useless numbers, samples, and information. It can feel a little overwhelming. You can reduce data anxiety by thinking about your study beforehand and following a few steps to preparing it for analysis and use. Pre-planning is important. Developing your coding process, organization methods, and statistical measurements beforehand will lead to a better study. That doesn't mean the process are set in stone but that a better data plan improves the end results. Scrub out useless data that isn't going to help your study. Be aware that what you may find useless does contain useful information. For example, if you have a lot of people who abandon your survey it may be the language, design, or even type of questions that push people to leave. Take out that data which is truly not helpful to your study because of inaccuracy and human err

Boxing and Muay Thai as Fitness: Watch the Knee to Abdomen!

If your planning on getting into shape and don't really know how to do it then you might want to pick up some Muay Thai boxing. While originally a number of years of training in Kenpo and general boxing I must say that Muay Thai has some serious advantages for fitness. Its almost all cardio! That is right! Boxers are known to be in shape. They spend almost all of their time training and very little in the ring. Thus, they are constantly conditioning and that means little to no fat on their bodies! Useful coordination! When your body works together to complete these moves there is useful coordination. The movements can be used for other types of activities that rely on those basic skills. Muscle and upper body strength! Kickboxing is known to produce people with high muscle strength. Mixing speed and force together creates a nuclear powerhouse for growing muscle. How did I do? Well...it was a great practice. Lots of body mechanic movement type stuff to make sure prop

Sampling Your Population-One Nut at a Time!

Sampling is a little like going to the grocery store and plucking a nut or two to "sample" the product. While this might get you kicked out of your local grocery store in a research world it is encouraged to sample as much as you want!!!! No one will shun you for grabbing a handful of sample nuts as long as you share what you did! 🤯 It would be in most cases, except a few small populations, excruciatingly difficult to test everyone in the population. We then must consider a smaller and more reasonable size that "sort of" shared the same characteristics as the main population. The risk in many of these cases is that sampling is done incorrectly and misrepresents the true population. To better ensure accuracy we may use a number different methods such as random and convenience samples. The video below gives a few ideas.... There is no such thing as an accurate sample! You can sample as much as you like, over and over, and it won't be 100% correct! Samp

Data!!! Data!!! Checking on Secondary Data Sources!

Data can come from all types of sources and piles up in our dashboards and can be of great help or hindrance to the achievement of our goals. If the data isn't managed properly you can make fatal errors that can destroy your business or cost you a lot of money down the road. Because research is expensive most people rely on secondary sources. Secondary sources are cheap but do require a level of care to ensure the data is saying what you think it is saying. Let us start by saying that secondary data can be expensive! There is a reason why secondary data makes more sense versus inventing and conducting your own research. It can be expensive and time consuming to create new studies. If you don't have the expertise in your business you will likely need outside consultants. Those businesses that rely on secondary data may want to consider a few issues..... 1. Make sure the data fits your purposes. Secondary data may or may not meet your needs. Just because someone counted the

Chewy Outdoor U.P. Adventures-Thoughts from a Dog :)

Not sure where he taking me but I hope there are treats! I know this is silly but I can't keep talking about wildlife, hiking and stuff over and over so I thought I would spice it up a little with thinking about hiking from a dogs angle..... This is Chewy! He is a sock thief and a convicted potty violator. Despite his shortcomings he loves the outdoors. We try hunt, hike, cross country run, snow shoe and other stuff as much as we can. This little guy can jump in the water and play around as much as the big dogs. Must have been an elephant path. Today's adventure was hiking back on some ATV trails in search of fitness, outdoors, and maybe some small game. Supporting wild life, habitat restoration, sustainable hunting, pollution clean up, and a lifestyles that allows for outdoor activities is helpful to our lives. There is a part of us that must reach back to our natural state every once in a while to feel more at ease. This is one of the reasons why I love

Discovering Problems with Exploratory Research

When we think of research an image comes to our mind of the lab coat professor going over calculations, long formulas and test tubes to come up with the next greatest discovery. No need for the coke bottle glasses that move into the finite details of "fineness". Exploratory research may ask a question but doesn't necessary seek a specific answer. Its main goal is to get into the weeds to understand the inner workings of their subject without coming to an pre-conclusions. Exploratory Research: When you are not sure exactly what is going on but you got a solid "hunch" you may want to explore ideas and concepts to better understand a problem. It focuses in a broad area and continues to adjust and changes as the situation changes. It is possible to start with one understanding and end with a completely different one later on. The essential purpose of exploration is to go into the unknown and explore what seems to be an appropriate path of discovery. You really