Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/63913
Technology Kogod Premieres New Global IT Center In a move that reflects the global economy's increasing incorpora- tion of technology, American University Kogod School of Business in Washington, D.C., pre- mieres its new Center for Information Technology and the Global Economy this fall. The Center, says its head, Dr. Shyam Chidamber, will be the heart of the school's technology-based knowl- edge and resources, and will focus its work and research on global issues such as the use of the Internet, telecommunications innovation, national and international IT regula- tions, and e-commerce initiatives. Recognizing the interaction between technology and various disci- plines, the technology center also will Dr. Chidamber research and dissemination of knowl- edge about IT management in global businesses, says Kogod's dean Myron Roomkin. Of the importance of the human draw on the resources of other schools at American University. Its Washington School of Law, School of International Service, School of Public Administration, and College of Arts and Sciences will participate in the Center's No More Pencils, No More Books factor in IT development, Roomkin comments, "Technology is not just a machine-driven revolution. Beyond the hardware and software, there is 'humanware.' By drawing together our top technology resources—our skills, tools, and concepts—under one roof, we are creating a powerhouse of IT knowledge and information, which will be utilized around the globe." New Site Meshes Management Education and Social Issues This November, The Aspen Institute, a nonprofit organization devoted to social issues in several disci- plines including science, art, and business, launches a new Web site at www.CASEPLACE.org. The site is designed to integrate social and environmental issues with business decisions. It will offer a database of case studies that are uniquely related to social and environmental challenges facing the world of business. The new Web site is a result of a survey of second-year MBA students conducted by The Aspen Institute, which has offices in Aspen, Colorado; Chicago, Illinois; and New York, New York. As part of its Initiative for Social Innovation Through Business, the Institute asked the students what they believed would most enhance their education in management. Students responded that they believed that their course con- tent should integrate more social and environmental issues. Searchable by keyword or discipline, the online data- base will incorporate case studies covering issues such as ethics, accounting, finance, and other areas important to MBA courses of study. CASEPLACE.org will be free to regis- tered users, and it will allow users not only to access infor- mation, but also to exchange ideas with other users and submit their own relevant materials. More information about the study, titled "The Role of the Company in Society: Assessing MBA Student Attitudes, Aspen ISIB," is available at www.aspeninstitute.org/isib. The study is set for release in fall 2001. 54 BizEd NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2001 A common college campus staple—the textbook—may be disappearing within the next few years. Chicago-based goReader, and its handheld electronic book device of the same name, not only may make textbooks obsolete, but also promises to revolutionize the long- time student practice of highlighting information and taking marginal notes. The device, which comes in a 10.4" size, has a backlit, touchscreen display and can hold up to 65 textbooks in its computer memory. It has a battery life of five to ten hours and recharges through an AC adapter. With a special stylus, stu- dents can high- light in different colors, notate, cut and paste text onto an electron- ic clipboard, and electronically bookmark pages. In addition, a variety of Windows soft- ware comes pre-loaded on the device, including Windows Media Player and Microsoft Outlook, as well as pocket versions of programs such as Word and Excel. Not only that, but when a stu- dent is logged on to the Internet, the device also allows them to follow links embedded in the text to relevant infor- mation on the Web. With these capa- bilities, it has many of the functions of a standard laptop. As with any computer device, D ATA B I T Of the 900,000 IT positions that businesses say they hope to fill in 2001, 425,000 are expected to go unfilled because of lack of qualified applicants, indicates a study by the Information Technology Association of America. goReader is only as good as its com- patibility with existing systems. In the last year, the company has worked to partner with publishers willing to con- vert their textbooks into an electronic format. Publishers such as Addison Wesley and Harcourt College