Monthly Archives: February 2008

Student Spotlight: Congratulations, Leslie Hubbard!

Congratulations to Leslie Hubbard on her Fall 2007 graduation from The Pennsylvania State University, University Park. Leslie graduated with a BS in Supply Chain and Information Systems with honors in Supply Chain and Information Systems, and a Minor in Economics. Her thesis was titled “Gauging the Preparedness of Recent Supply Chain Graduates with Respect to Job Skills.” As Leslie’s Thesis Advisor, I was very proud to attend her Fall 2007 graduation along with her parents, Ruth and Phil (photo below).

Leslie’s activities at Penn State included independent study as a MIS 204 Teaching Intern, Thon Rules and Regulations Committee, a tutor at the Morgan Academic Support Center for Student Athletes, a Smeal Building Ambassador and Smeal Representative to Undergraduate Student Government (USG). She completed two internships, a co-op, as well as one summer studying at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. Her Awards and Honors include the R. Gene Richter Scholar, Dean’s List (every semester), and Honor Society Memberships in Beta Gamma Sigma and Phi Eta Sigma.

Leslie now begins her career as a consultant for Deloitte Consulting, LLP in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Student Spotlight: Phuree “Will” Smittinet – Finance Grad

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Will Smittinet recently graduated from Smeal with degrees in Finance and Economics, with a Minor in International Business. Will is currently completing an executive internship in the oil, gas, and petrochemical business in his native Thailand. He will complete this internship in a few months, after which he will return to the U.S. to complete an M.S./ Ph.D. at a top school.

I first met Will as an MIS 204 student, and came to know him much better when he returned to complete independent study as a Teaching Intern. I would describe Will as very unique. He is quite gracious, and able to carry a tremendous intellect without a trace of pretension. Below are his thoughts on “MIS 204 in Practice.”

Our company encompasses the entire petrochemical value chain from upstream (oil research and drilling) to downstream (retail sales and service). As such, all information – from the price and quantity of raw materials to the final products – play a crucial role in our short and long-term investments. This is true whether it is gasoline, polypropylene, or even the type of plastic we plan to make today. We use IS to support our use of both physical goods and also financial derivatives to maximize profits and minimize effects from oil and gas price fluctuations.

Management Information Systems (MIS) plays a crucial role as a supportive system for information processing and management roles. As I travel around the world, I rely heavily on speed, accuracy and up-to-date information from our MIS and IT departments. The bottom-line of my company investment portfolio, as well as my short and long-term strategies, always depends on access to quality information.

In the oil, natural gas, and petrochemical business, the margins along the value chain are quite slim, highly competitive and regulated. As a result, the profit and loss on middle to downstream processes are less than a point of a percentage basis. Even upstream projects only yield a relatively modest margin, despite requiring massive amounts of research, cutting edge technology and investment. As a result, access to information can yield modest, but important, upstream gains that can be used to offset middle or downstream losses.

Increasingly, we rely on IT, MIS and more recently Knowledge Management (KM). KM enables the instant transfer of knowledge between experienced employees and executives, even after some have left or retired. KM guarantees that our company will not suffer a shortage of either technical or personal expertise, allowing us to maintain a good relationship with our partners, suppliers and customers.

MIS 204 offers a wide and critical perspective on how to use and even request additional services. These services could support split-second investment decisions. In fact, I believe that our trading team (who purchase a billion barrels of crude oil and gas daily) requires even more IS support today.

Thanks, Will S.

Wicked IS – Vanity Press Yourself

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My family takes lots of pictures each year that are never seen. It is so easy to press that button, but so hard to do much more. Recently we’ve seen tremendous growth in websites dedicated to helping photographers “share “photos with others. For a price, these sites will print the photo on paper or even novelty items like coffee cups. I have never taken advantage of these sites for printing, though, as I am averse to the shipping cost. Other sites, such as Wal-Mart, have eliminated shipping costs by allowing a user to send photos for printing to a particular store.

As an alternative, I have played with Windows Movie Maker, Google’s Picasa and Apple’s iMovie to burn photo slide shows to disks. This has been useful for sharing groups of photos with friends. I am not sure, based on my experience, that these shows are ever watched more then once.

A tradition we began a few years ago was to create an annual family calendar. Basically a 13 page calendar (12 months plus 1 front page) can display ~60 of the best photos from the previous year. Selecting the best becomes part of the fun. I was happy to see at least a few of the photos escaping their digital confines. I save the calendars at the end of the year as a somewhat floppy photo album.

Anidea that recently caught my eye is the vanity press reengineered for our digital age. Stephen Wildstrom, author of Technology & You for BusinessWeek, recently described Blurb’s BookSmart software and publishing. For as little as $20, an author can capture a collection of photos, blogs or other assets in a professional book. I think this could be a great and relatively inexpensive way to capture and share an important event with others.

I’ll have to tell my wife we need a coffee table – we’ll need someplace to share these books! With a little creative effort, vacations, weddings and other celebrations can be memorialized in an accessible format.

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Stephen H. Wildstron (2008), “So You Want to Publish That Novel,” BusinessWeek, January 9, downloaded Feb. 22, 2008 from http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_03/b4067000256155.htm?chan=technology_tech+maven+page+-+new_digital+entertainment

Wicked IS – Apostrophe Befuddle Computers

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As sophisticated and advanced as current computing may seem, the truth is we actually have a long way to go. In fact, since we are only a few years into the Web-World, I suggest we are actually in the Model-T era of computing. I liken the sputtering, hand-cranking early days of marvelous automobiles to our current large, clunky desktops with blue screens of death. Just as cars have evolved substantially in quality and features since their origin, I suspect we should also expect a fantastic century of computing innovation ahead.

A recent article by Associated Press writer Sean ODriscoll reinforces my belief by describing computer problems when processing names that contain an apostrophe, hyphen or even a surname such as “van.” Even the few programmers that have anticipated such names in their data entry forms can see their efforts undone by an uncooperative database computing system. Apparently such a problem kept thousands of voters out of the 2004 Michigan caucus.

For now, I have a wait and see attitude. I marvel at advancements such as groupware (and other forms of social computing) as well as the “miracle” of placing an international video-call from my computer for free (see my Skype blog).

Sean ODriscoll (2008), “Apostrophes in Names Stir Lot O’ Trouble,” Centre Daily Times, Downloaded 22 February 2008 from http://www.centredaily.com/news/nation/story/418396.html

Wicked IS – TV Converter Box Coupon Program Benefits a Few

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After many years of debate and planning, America will switch February 17, 2009 from analog to digital television. This is probably the most significant advancement in television technology since color. This also means that most TVs – unless modified – will no longer function after that date. There are two groups, however, that need not be concerned. This includes those already using a converter box from a cable provider, or those already with a “digital ready” TV (most likely purchased after March 2007).

For the other 13 million households (or 12 percent) of us, the government (https://www.dtv2009.gov/) presents these options:

Keep your existing analog TV and purchase a TV converter box. A converter box plugs into your TV and will keep it working after Feb. 17, 2009, or
Connect to cable, satellite or other pay service, or
Purchase a television with a digital tuner.

I suspect a 4th option might be to purchase a VCR or DVD/ VCR combo with a digital tuner.

Note that DTV and HDTV are not the same thing. HDTV is the ability to play digital content. DTV is the ability to tune a broadband digital signal to a specific channel. The benefits of DTV include much higher video and audio quality, as well as the ability to squeeze ten or more channels into the same spectrum. This frees scarce and valuable spectrum for additional content.

Consumers with NO cable or satellite provider can apply for one or two digital converter box coupons per household worth $40 each online at http://www.dtv2009.gov/, or via phone at 1-888-DTV-2009. For example, Wal-Mart plans to sell a Magnavox digital converter for $9.87 with the coupon, or $49.87 without. Note that the coupons expire 90 days after being mailed.

Unfortunately, the majority of customers have pay service (i.e. cable or satellite reception) are not eligible for this coupon. These customers will still need digital ready TVs or converter boxes (purchased or rented).

For those that want to see video or photos of converter boxes, customers or the coupon in Wal-Mart stores, HDTV Magazine suggests http://video.walmartstores.com/video/?id=959.

Wicked IS – Worlds Collide: My Dad’s on Facebook!

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The practices of social networking, as well as parents annoying children, now move at Internet speed!

Social networking is described by Whatis.com as “the practice of expanding the number of one’s business and/or social contacts by making connections through individuals.” Websites dedicated to social networking are the hallmark of the second generation of web-based communities called “Web 2.0.” Social networking sites have evolved over generational differences, however. LinkedIn is for working professionals while Facebook and Myspace are for youth.

Although only a few sites make headlines, Wikipedia currently lists over 100 social networking websites. Facebook gets lots of media attention, and for good reason. Facebook was launched in 2004 by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg for other Harvard students. In just one month, half of the Harvard undergraduates had registered themselves. In just a few years the network expanded to over 60 million users. In 2007 Microsoft paid $240 million for just 1.6% of Facebook.

With such growth, it was inevitable that the generational divide of social networks would be short lived. In some cases it may be parents wishing to keep track of their children, teachers wishing to be accessible to students, or in my case, the Dean asking me to become familiar with social networking sites. Although I am normally quite motivated to investigate new technologies and web trends, I needed to be asked to cross this divide. I had been quite happy following the growth and exploits of Facebook and Myspace through business trades.

The reaction from my children has been quite different to my Facebook membership. My son has championed 80% (i.e. 4) of my Facebook “friends.” My youngest daughter, on the other hand, is mortified. To keep some peace at home, I have not invited her to become my Facebook friend.

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Liz Ryan, “Worlds Colliding: My Mom’s on Facebook!”, Businessweek, Sept. 4, 2007, Downloaded Feb. 15, 2008 from http://www.businessweek.com/careers/content/sep2007/ca2007094_579616.htm?chan=search

Wicked IS – Google’s Cloud

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The latest buzz in distributed computing is called “cloud computing.” This takes distributed computing, or the sharing of more than one computer to solve a particular problem, to astronomical levels. Google’s use of cloud computing, as Businessweek points out, also signals a shift in computing focus. The result, says Yahoo Research Chief Prabhakar Raghavan in “Google and the Wisdom of Clouds” may be a world with five “computers” – Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, IBM and Amazon. Mark Dean, head of IBM’s research operation in Almaden, Calif. predicts that these computing clouds will make the Web seem tiny by comparison.

Note that early computing was based on large, centralized “mainframe” computers. Mainframes represent the opposite of cloud computing. Although mainframes, such as the famous IBM 360, did wonderful jobs tracking accounting transactions in large companies, they were quite limited in the number of users or applications that could be run simultaneously. In the late 1990’s, the growth of the Internet and increased demand for networked computers signaled the end of the mainframe era. Distributed computing in the form of inexpensive client-server networks quickly became common in the business place. Client-server is the basis for the World Wide Web. The file sharing of Shawn Fanning’s Napster was based on another distributed computing form called peer-to-peer.

Other more computationally intensive distributed computing was called grid computing and parallel computing. The difference of Google’s cloud is 1) the number of computers, and 2) the focus on search. Google’s cloud, according to Businessweek, is a “network made up of hundreds of thousands, or by some estimates 1 million, cheap servers, each not much more powerful than the PCs we have in our homes.” The focus on search predicts a data-centric future. This means a world where enormous amounts of personal data will be captured and used for business purposes – much more than our current world.

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Stephen Baker, “Google and the Wisdom of Clouds,” Businessweek, December 13, 2007, downloaded Feb. 13, 2007 from http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_52/b4064048925836.htm.

Wicked IS – Skype’s ‘Make-or-Break Year’

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Photo 8.jpg We have talked about Skype in MIS 204 for several years as an example of “distributed computing” (1 user accessing many computers). Initially it seemed that mostly international students used Skype to make overseas telephone calls using the Internet – “Voice over Internet Protocol” or VoIP. However, additional features supporting video calls seems to have increased the popularity of Skype among all students. So, I finally decided to try Skype.

My daughter Kirsten and I tried the service this past weekend (see photo). First we called some friends in Germany followed by a high school friend now living in Australia. We were very impressed. Using the “SkypOut” feature, we called telephones in the other countries. This means we had to pay for the calls. Our calls totaled around 45 minutes, and the cost was around $1.40. This is the close to the rate we would have paid had we been in the other country calling from a pay phone. My high school friend (Marty) is looking into a microphone and video camera for his computer, so he can make free calls to family and friends in the U.S.

I do not know how successful Skype itself will be over the long term (see Businessweek link). However, the ability to place calls over the Internet seems to be reaching a point where personal callers can benefit. Meeting the higher standards of businesses, however, is another matter.

Diversity after September 11, 2001

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I remember my shock following the 9/11 attacks. I also remember the wide response by the American public – some good, some bad. “This American Life” from Chicago Public Radio tells the story of “Shouting Across the Divide.” This includes the story of a Muslim woman that tries to keep her family together after the elementary school her daughter attends begins to use a textbook that says Muslims want to kill Christians.

Listen to the Podcast: http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1163

Diversity and the Soldier

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Diversity is described by the U.S. Government’s Office of Civil Rights as a term used broadly to “refer to many demographic variables, including but not limited to race, religion, color, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, age, education, geographic origin, and skill characteristics.“ In a diverse community, humans would ideally not use these differences as a basis for discrimination.

This is particularly difficult if an individual is using personal experience to “justify” bias. For example, Sam Slavin returned home as a soldier in Iraq with feelings of hate and anger toward Muslims. “This American Life” from Chicago Public Radio tells the story in “The Devil in Me” of unusual action that Sam took to change himself, and the Muslim students who helped him do it.

Listen to the Podcast on your computer: http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=340