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01-28-08

Dr. Mahesh Raisinghani (School of Management ) to Serve as World Representative for Central and Southern USA Region at IRMA 2008

TWU-Update Volume 30, Number 2, January 21-February 3, 2008
The Information Resources Management Association (IRMA) has selected Dr. Mahesh Raisinghani (School of Management ) to serve as the world representative for the Central and Southern USA region and as track chair for the Information Systems Research (Philosophy and Methodology) at IRMA 2008. (Aug. 13-15 in Vienna, Austria).

Dr. Raisinghani also served as the external examiner of dissertations for the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa , and the University of Western Sydney, Australia, in 2007. A manuscript by Dr. Mahesh S. Raisinghani (School of Management) titled “Information Technology/Systems Offshore Outsourcing: Key Risks and Success Factors” is scheduled to appear in the IGI Global publication, Outsourcing and Offshoring of Professional Services, edited by Dr. Amar Gupta, Visiting Professor, Engineering Systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and T. R. Brown Chair in Management & Technology, Professor of Entrepreneurship & MIS and senior director of Research and Business Development Eller College of Management, at the University of Arizona.

4-29-07

Robin Hawkins, Business Major, Wins Presidential Award: Nominee Courtney Arno Also Busniess Major

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:Jeff Bowerman
April 29, 2007
(940) 898-2373
jbowerman@twu.edu

TWU Athletics Honors Student-Athletes at Annual Awards Banquet

DENTON, Texas (Apr. 29) – Texas Woman’s University Intercollegiate Athletics held its 2006-07 athletic awards banquet this afternoon at Kitty Magee Arena in Pioneer Hall.  Teams and individuals were honored for their athletic and academic accomplishments in basketball, gymnastics, soccer, softball, volleyball and athletic training.  

“I am so impressed with the quality of our student-athletes and what they have been able to accomplish both athletically and academically during the 2006-07 school year,” TWU Director of Athletics Chalese Connors said.  “Today’s banquet was a fitting way to recognize all of our student-athletes, coaches, and staff for their efforts over the last nine months.”

Dr. Ann Stuart, TWU Chancellor and President, was in attendance to present the 2006-07 President’s Award, the highest honor awarded to a current TWU student-athlete.  This year’s recipient is senior volleyball player Robin Hawkins, who demonstrated outstanding excellence in her sport, in the classroom and in the promotion of TWU Athletics.

Hawkins is a four-year letterwinner (2003-06) for the Pioneer volleyball team. As a freshman in 2003, she played in 63 games and helped TWU to a first-place tie in the Lone Star Conference North Division. She appeared in 111 games as a sophomore in 2004 and contributed to the Pioneers’ third place finish in the LSC North Division. In 2005, while serving as TWU’s team captain, she was named to the Lone Star Conference North Division All-Conference second team after leading the Pioneers in kills, aces, digs, and points. In 2006, while again serving as the Pioneers’ team captain, she led the squad with 59 service aces, was second on the club with 379 digs, and received LSC North Division All-Conference honorable mention recognition.

Hawkins has also piled up a lengthy list of academic accomplishments during her Pioneer career. She was voted to the Lone Star Conference All-Academic team in 2005 and 2006. She was also named to the Lone Star Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll in 2004 and 2005. In 2005, she was chosen for the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VI Second Team. She has been a member of the TWU Dean’s List for eight semesters in a row and also recently received the 2007 TWU School of Management Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award.       

Hawkins has served for the last two years (2005-06 and 2006-07) as the Vice President of the TWU Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). She has also been an active member of the 2007 Student Service Fee Allocation committee and the 2006 TWU Athletics Hall of Fame committee.  Additionally, she is a member of the TWU honor society for business, Sigma Beta Delta and worked for one year, 2004-05, as a resident assistant for TWU housing.  Robin has also performed community service projects with Adopt-A-Highway, the Apple Tree Project, the American Red Cross, and the TWU Adopt-A-Child at Christmas.

Four other Pioneer student-athletes were nominated for the President’s  Award: senior Kelley Humphries, a four-year letterwinner in basketball; senior Lindsy Russ-Keller, a four-year letterwinner in softball; sophomore Aly Vincent, a two-year letterwinner in soccer; and senior Courtney Arno, a three-year letter winner in gymnastics.

The Kitty Magee Award, recognizing the most dedicated student-athlete, was given to senior gymnast Catherine Schnoes. The Jo Kuhn Award, which honors outstanding leadership, was given to Humphries.  The athletic trainers selected sophomore soccer player Natalie Harrison for their Golden Cast Award, an honor given to the student-athlete who is the most conscientious about the treatment and rehabilitation of her injuries.

Outstanding Athlete Awards were given to an outstanding individual in each sport: Hawkins (volleyball), freshman Jessica Durr (basketball), Arno (gymnastics), Russ-Keller (softball) and sophomore Theresa Sanches (soccer).  The Outstanding Student Athletic Trainer Award was given to senior Woo Kyung Hwang.

For additional details, please contact the TWU Sports Information Department at (940) 898–2373 or visit  http://www.twuathletics.com/.

4-23-07

Dr. Mahesh Raisinghani accepted for publication in the IEEE Transactions of Engineering Management

Dr. Mahesh Raisinghani (School of Management) has an article titled, "Strategic E-Business Decision Analysis Using the Analytic Network Process" accepted for publication in the IEEE Transactions of Engineering Management.

He was selected to serve as the World Representative for the Central and Southern USA region and the Track Chair for the Information Systems Research (Philosophy and Methodology) at IRMA 2008 by the Information Resources Management Association. He was served as the external examiner of dissertations for the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa and the University of Western Sydney, Australia in 2007.

4-5-07

SIFE Competition

Our Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team did an amazing job at competition Wednesday!  We could not have been more pleased with their performance and effort.  Our team got 1st Runner-up in a very tough league.

The TWU SIFE team was so impressive, that judges and employers were raving about the presentation all day.  This helped get several of our team members job/internship offers leads.  I think our students were overwhelmed with being so popular and in demand!

Thank you all for supporting the SIFE team in many ways (including working with students and class).  The outcomes of the competition and the wonderful projects they do all year are extremely valuable to the students, to our program, and to TWU.  The SIFE team, through their projects, had a positive impact on hundreds of people of all ages in our community.  SIFE students also grew personally and professionally through their experiences.

In addition to the positive impact of our team’s presentation in Dallas, we will also get good business press from an exclusive photo op we had with Len Roberts, former CEO of Radio Shack and currently Chairman of SIFE International.  There should be an article in the Fort Worth Business Journal in a couple of weeks.

Thanks again for everyone’s support – and give Sherrie Taylor a pat on the back.  You can’t imagine how much hard work she has put into this program.

David Rylander

Co-SIFE sponsor, with Sherrie Taylor

2-15-07

National Association of Black Accountants Inc. Conference

The National Association of Black Accountants Inc. (NABA) was formed in the 1960’s to promote minority interests in the field of finance and information technology. The organization works with students interested in these professions from high school, college, to those pursuing professional courses such as the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification. It provides scholarships, education in business etiquette, and a platform for networking for those seeking employment.  After the NABA national office concluded the National Conference in Hollywood, Florida, earlier in 2006, the NABA Western Region hosted a regional conference October 19-21, at the Renaissance Hotel in Houston.

The Texas Woman’s University (TWU) chapter of NABA sent seven members to the conference to complement over 250 students from other schools. One of the main features of this Regional conference was a scholarship luncheon in which students received Scholarships from corporate sponsors through NABA.

Of the 15 scholarships awarded, three went to Texas Woman’s University. The following are the recipients and the respective sponsors of their scholarships:

  • Tawanda Mkanganwi (3.81 GPA), Ernst & Young
  • Dana Schultz (3.83), Conoco Phillips
  • Joey Muronda (3.95), Duke Energy

These scholarships were awarded based on members’ academic excellence and extracurricular activities including contribution to their chapter.

Prior to going to the conference, students were required to submit their resume under the online recruitment system to corporations with which they preferred to interview. The companies then pre-selected candidates they were interested in and scheduled interviews. Those not pre-selected got a chance to meet company representatives in person at the Opening Reception and to request consideration. Six of the representatives from TWU managed to get interviews, with three invited for post-conference office visits with accounting and energy firms.
Thirty firms sponsored the event, including Duke Energy, Samson Energy, Koch, Halliburton, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte and Touche, KPMG, Ernst and Young, Grant Thornton, Continental Airlines, Comerica Bank, Farm Credit Bank of Texas, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Wal Mart, Hewlett Packard, Becker CPA Review, and Bisk CPA Review.

For more information on NABA or the conference, please contact:

Global Text Project

TWU, School of Management will serve as an Agent of World Benefit. The idea is Open Content Textbooks: "No One is as Smart as Everyone" and Dr. Mahesh S. Raisinghani serves as an author and editor of the TECHNICAL FOUNDATIONS OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS section of this Global Text project being pursued as an open source business model to reach the student in developing/under-developed countries free-of-charge who may not be able to afford expensive college textbooks. The Globaltext project was initiated in early 2006 to develop a series of free, open content, electronic textbooks using modified wiki software.   The goal is to create a free library of 1,000 electronic textbooks for students in the developing world.

Vision

The goal is to create a free library of 1,000 electronic textbooks for students in the developing world
The library will cover the range of topics typically encountered in the first two years of a university's undergraduate programs.

The global academic community and global corporations will be engaged in creating and sponsoring this library
The project will create open content electronic textbooks that will be freely available from a Web site. Distribution will also be possible via paper, CD, or DVD. Our goal initially is to focus on content development and Web distribution, and we will work with relevant authorities to facilitate dissemination by other means when bandwidth is unavailable or inadequate. Thus, while the goal, educating the disadvantaged, is the same as that of the $100 laptop project, we are not tied to a particular device or medium.

We have experience with developing a free textbook, XML: Managing Data Exchange. This project started in January 2004 when a graduate class at the University of Georgia wrote the first version of the book. Subsequent graduate and undergraduate classes at the University of Georgia and elsewhere have improved and extended the book. It has been used as the XML text in a variety of classes, and in each case the class has been required to leave the book in better shape that they received it at the beginning of the term.

Experience with this project and the success of WikiBooks has convinced us that we can further develop the idea of free and open content books to increase the value of these books to students, particularly those who cannot afford paper-based textbooks. We want to add several innovations to improve the quality of the books.

Governance

Once the proof of concept has been established, a non-profit foundation or similar organization will be established to govern and manage the project.

International Advisory Board

The International Advisory Board advises on required textbooks and their content. It is comprised primarily of academics in developing and emerging economies.

Person

Affiliation

Country

Jason Cohen

University of Witswaterand

South Africa

Antonia Sanin Gomez

Universidad de los Andes

Colombia

Medhat Hassanein

American University in Cairo

Egypt

Mulugeta Libsie

Addis-Ababa University

Ethiopia

Ahmad Kamil Mahmud

Universiti Teknologi Petronas

Malaysia

Victor van Reijswoud

East African Center for Open Source Software

Uganda

Anas Tawileh

Cardiff University

United Kingdom



The initial texts

As proof of the concept, we will produce two new books: a business fundamentals text and an introductory Information Systems text. In both cases, we will seek participation from the academic, business, and student communities in the development and continuous evolution of the text. These books should never be out-of-date because they will be subject to continuous improvement. Each class using one of the books will be asked to add value to the book. They should leave a better book for the next class.

Both books will be initially written in English and then translated to Arabic, Chinese, and Spanish, an approach that has already been applied to some of the chapters of the first edition of the XML book (partially translated into Chinese).

We will also continue work on the XML book.

Incentives

We recognize that incentives are often important motivators, even when the overall goal of the project is eminently worthwhile and can have a profound impact on many people's lives. To supplement the intrinsic rewards of participating in this worthy endeavor, we will create some extrinsic opportunities.

Journal article publication

We plan to establish an electronic journal, tentatively entitled Envision: Journal of Learning and Knowledge Transfer, which will provide an academic outlet for book contributors to write complementary journal articles. For example, the author of a chapter on "branding" could contribute a journal article on "branding,"together with key concepts on how to teach such a subject. Another contributor might write on how to engage students in improving the quality of a book.

Student Scholarships

We also intend to offer scholarships to students who make a valuable contribution to a book. For example, a student who contributes a particularly useful exercise or adds a good example to a chapter might receive $100, which could be a significant reward in many developing countries. Thus, we have built into the financial model for each book, discussed in the next section, a project contribution that will fund such scholarships.

Students can be used to localize a text. For example, a student in Kenya could add an example of a local small business' marketing success. This would give local readers more connection with the text and also readers in other countries would extend their knowledge of regional and cultural differences. Student scholarships will assist us to achieve localization.

We will find groups of talented and motivated students who will take on a substantial portion of text authoring. In these cases, we will endeavor to secure sufficient funding to support such efforts.

Sponsorship

The plan is to base the long-term viability of the project on a sponsor for each book. We plan to present this idea to Global 1000 firms, with the intention of building a library of 1,000 texts each sponsored by a Global firm. In return, there will be a sponsorship banner at the head of every chapter for the firm and on the 'cover' of the book. We believe that most global 1000 firms will find this an attractive advertising or public relations proposition, and the amount requested is relatively small compared to the budgets these firms spend on promotion.

Adoption and enhancement

We will work through universities, world development agencies (e.g., World Bank, United Nations), and other appropriate bodies to promote adoption of the texts. Furthermore, we will work on creating a community that contributes to enhancement of the texts. It is not enough, we believe, to have a simple transfer of knowledge. Rather, we want to engage those who use the books, both instructors and students, to engage actively in improving the quality of the book. For example, cases and exercises based on local events will add help to make a text global. Many current texts usually draw heavily on North American situations.

Our plan is to work closely with academic opinion leaders in target countries to foster adoption. We think that local champions will be key to spreading adoption.

Translation and knowledge transfer

The initial two texts will in English and Chinese. Once the project is established, we will seek cooperative arrangements with other universities to support translation to Spanish and Arabic. The goal is not just translation into another language, it is also to create a two-way transfer of knowledge. Thus, an insight-generating learning exercise developed for the Arabic edition of a text should find its way into the editions in other languages. The text will be global when a knowledge network exchange exists, rather than a simple distribution channel.

Moving forward

Mass education has created tremendous opportunities and wealth for people in developed countries. It has enabled many to escape poverty, albeit a level of poverty that is not comparable to that of many in the developing nations. Mass education for the developing world is dependent among other things on finding low costs means of delivering free quality content to many. We believe we have the means for developing the necessary content and seek support to start an endeavor that can engage many for the benefit of many more.

The global text project is managed by the Center for Information Systems Leadership, Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia.

Postscript: See the global text blog. It is a way of introducing people to the project. In the latest blog, we list some ways of getting students involved in the project. See http://globaltext.typepad.com/

Insights from Alvin Toffler

The FT had an interesting article on Alvin Toffler's "big notion of the moment".  It's in the August 19/20 edition, by Nathan Gardels, and bears the title "He has seen the future".  Of course, we all know that Alvin Toffler and his wife Heidi saw the future quite clearly some 36 years ago when they published Future Shock, followed a few years later by The Third Wave.  The thing that struck me about the FT piece was Toffler's comment that "new technologies are enabling the radical fusion of the producer and consumer into the "prosumer".  And that, of course, is what the Global Text project is all about.  The consumers of texts are the ones who are creating and maintaining them.  Toffler goes on to say that "Even in the US, institutions out of synch with each other are caught in a "clash of speeds" between the old system and the new.  Standardized education is among the slowest institutions to adapt.  If you were a cop monitoring the speed of cars going by, you would clock the car of business, which changes rapidly under competitive pressures, at 100mph.  But the car of education, which is supposedly preparing the young for the future, is only going at 10mph".  Global Text  will help get education up to speed by enabling prosumers to keep text content current.  (One can only wonder if traditional businesses serving the education community will adapt.)  By way of illustration, Rick Watson noted that "Wikipedia’s opening two sentences for Pluto when accessed on August 25, 2006 reads: Pluto is a dwarf planet in the solar system.  It was classified as a planet until it was determined on August 24, 2006 that it is not a true planet".  Now that's going 100mph!

2006

Sherrie Taylor, SOM, Appointed to SIFE USA Faculty Advisory Committee

Sherrie Taylor (School of Management) was appointed in 2006 to the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) USA Faculty Advisory Committee. The 15 advisory committee members represent more than 1,000 SIFE USA faculty advisers from more than 800 colleges and universities in the United States.

SOM Business Students Win 2nd Place at United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship/Small Business Institute Conference

Business students in TWU’s School of Management won second place for the Undergraduate Specialized Case of the Year during the 2006 United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship/Small Business Institute conference. The students were recognized for their work with a Denton boutique.

Laura Rodriguez Awarded Renewal of Scholarship from Accounting Education Foundation of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants

Laura RodriguezLaura was born in Mexico , but at the age of 9, was brought to Dallas ; this meant that she had to start from 0 and learn English.  It was a slow, gradual process, but after several years in school, Laura started speaking broken English.  Laura stated that “being 1 st generation in college has made me a stronger, more independent person because I have to rely on myself, (in regard to what goes on in colleges or what types of financial opportunities are available).”  Currently, she is only four classes away f ro m getting a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, and she will continue working towards becoming a Certified Public Accountant.  In the summer and fall she likes to join soccer teams, and in her spare time she enjoys helping her community, especially children.

Laura believes that education is the key to success; and stated “I would not be this far if it weren't for scholarships.  The Accounting Education Foundation of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants has made my way through school easier by awarding me this scholarship for two years.  I am extremely thankful because this scholarship makes my life less stressful since I can work less hours and focus on school”.

She sums up her philosophy in a quote from WW Ziege. “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”

2004

Dr. Reg Rezac Participates in American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Item-Writing Workshop

Dr. Reg RezacDr. Reg Rezac participated in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants item-writing workshop in Memphis in May, 2004. The three day workshop produced 470 new questions which will be considered for future CPA exams.

Dr. Rezac also completed a review of two textbooks. The textbooks were: Advanced Accounting, 9 th edition by E. John Larsen published by Irwin McGraw-Hill; and Tax Research, 3 rd edition by Barbara Karlin, published by Prentice Hall.

The New York Times, World Business

The New York Times, World Business Page

The Washington Post, Business

The Washington Post, Business Page

page last updated 7/7/2008 13:32