Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/57707
W harton Research Data Services, or WRDS, is an Internet-based business data research service from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. The service has evolved to become a common research tool for over 220 institutions around the world. WRDS carries a broad set of historical data from the world's leading providers of research-quality databases such as the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP), Standard & Poor's Compustat, Thomson Financial's Institutional Brokers Estimates System (IBES), the New York Stock Exchange's Trade and Quote database (TAQ), and other important business research databases in a manner that gives universities several key benefits: Outsourced Data Management. The WRDS staff receives the data directly from providers and posts the data to our system in SAS data sets. The data is warehoused at Wharton and access is provided to subscribers over the Internet. Simultaneous Access to Multiple Data Sources. WRDS provides a common interface to a variety of databases, simplifying extraction and increasing productivity. You no longer have to spend countless hours programming and decoding tapes or writing Fortran access programs. The information is easily retrievable over the Internet— anytime, anywhere—via point- and-click web query pages, SAS/PC Connect, or a secure shell (SSH) login session. Professional Technical and Research Support. Our staff of doctoral-level research specialists is available to you on-line through email. Integrated Tools. WRDS provides sophisticated software tools and sample programs for a wide variety of applications, including security analysis, conducting event studies, and testing asset-pricing models using Fama-French portfolios. Classroom Application. WRDS enables faculty to demonstrate real-world applications of principles, using actual company data in place of hypothetical examples. IP-based access. One-click, IP-based access in labs and libraries is available. If you are interested in trying a demonstration of WRDS, simply point your browser to http://wrds.wharton.upenn.edu and click on the DEMO link under the WRDS logo. We welcome your feedback and questions at wrds@wharton.upenn.edu "WRDS offers a 'complete package': Financial and markets data from the most reliable third-party sources; a convenient data access interface tailored to research applications; a PC-SAS link with sample programs that allows you to access and manipulate data directly from your personal computer; and a responsive technical support staff. Put simply, WRDS is the only single source solution for your business research needs." –PROFESSOR BRUCE JOHNSON UNIVERSITY OF IOWA, HENRY B. TIPPIE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS You concentrate on research; we handle all the data management. sor of marketing, has been involved with the project since its launch. For SIU, he says, joining Facebook was really a necessary step to keep the school in touch with students. In fact, in a poll of the 80 students in his class, he found that nearly 100 percent of them use the site on a regular basis, while only four students still use MySpace. Moreover, the majority of them use Facebook on a daily basis. "For many of our students, Facebook has replaced traditional e-mail—in fact, many rarely even check their e-mail anymore," Campbell says. "It's not that e-mail is becoming an obsolete tool for communicating with students, but it's definitely becoming less effective." The group offers the school an easy, no-cost way to post school announcements, recruit for student organizations, and upload photos. In the future, the school may use Facebook to survey students on dif- ferent topics. Facebook also makes faculty seem more approachable and opens up new avenues of communication, says Campbell. "On Facebook, I get messages from students who probably wouldn't ask a question in class or stop by my office." Moreover, once students graduate, they are likely to continue using Facebook—and remain members of the SIU Col- lege of Business Group. It then becomes a tool, says Campbell, "to build a sustainable virtual com- munity that stretches beyond the four-year col- lege experience." SOCIAL NETWORKING Tech@Tuck Takes On Web 2.0 A recent event hosted at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth in Hanover, New Hampshire, highlighted how Web 2.0 technologies promise to transform business-to-customer rela- tionships, influence marketing and brand management, and challenge product development. The event, "Web 2.0: Shifting Business Boundaries," included a panel discussion that explored fur- ther the online trends that continue to blur the lines between companies and consumers. Panelists included J.P. Rangaswami, managing director, BT Design, for BT Group; Sylvia Marino, executive director of com- munity operations for Edmunds. com; Pete Fields, e-business director for Wachovia; Chris Kelly, chief pri- vacy officer for Facebook; and John Lester, Boston operations director for Second Life. BizEd MAY/JUNE 2008 61