Hartford Business Journal – The concept of using large data sets to package information to customers started in the early 2000s with Google, which initially used systems to analyze data on websites to enhance its search engine performance, said Ramesh Shankar, associate professor of information systems at the UConn School of Business.
Department News
Articles about activities within the academic departments
MSBAPM & Alteryx Data Challenge
Alteryx has partnered with the MS in Business Analytics and Project Management program (MSBAPM) at the University of Connecticut School of Business to host a 2-week data challenge beginning on March 30, 2015. The competition focuses on leveraging the power and flexibility of the Alteryx platform along with skills gained in the MSBAPM program to solve the challenge. Students can submit projects as teams of up to four. Finalists will be invited to present their projects to a panel of distinguished judges, including Alteryx’s Chief Scientist, and various amazing prizes will be awarded.
More information about the data challenge can be found at the website:
MSBAPM Students are exuberantly forming teams to research about the Alteryx software, to understand the platform, how it’s used, and how the software aids analytics. Good luck to the participants!
TechnoEDGE 2015
UConn undergraduates are invited to sign up for the April 4th TechnoEDGE workshop. TechnoEDGE workshops are designed to provide students with technology training that focuses on reviewing, analyzing and formatting data for use in the business environment. A major component of the training is hands-on assignments, group projects and a capstone assignment, each designed to provide practical experience.
UConn School of Business
Saturday, April 4, 2015
Room 122 – Storrs campus
8:00am—3:30pm
Breakfast and Lunch is provided
Register on HuskyCareerLink under “Workshops”
TechnoEDGE is offered as a part of Travelers EDGE Professional Development Institute (PDI), a career readiness training program offered in partnership with Travelers Insurance.
Accounting, Finance Faculty Members Recognized for Outstanding Research
The School of Business has awarded its 2015 Best Paper Award to professors David Weber, from accounting, and Jose Martinez, of finance, for their exceptional research articles that will appear in esteemed academic journals.
Weber’s research paper is titled, “Does SOX 404 Have Teeth? Consequences of the Failure to Report Existing Internal Control Weaknesses.”
“Picking Winners? Investment Consultants’ Recommendations of Fund Managers,” is the title of Martinez’s work. His paper also recently received a prize from the University of Cambridge and the Commonfund Institute.
“Both papers are to appear in very prestigious journals in their respective fields, The Accounting Review and Journal of Finance,” said Sulin Ba, associate dean of academic and research support. “The selection committee was particularly impressed by the public policy implications that came out of both research projects. These implications will have an impact on our society in the years to come.”
The competition was intense this year with 10 nominations, all papers accepted in top academic journals, Ba said.
“Dr. Weber’s paper, co-authored with Ph.D. student Biyu Wu, addresses the requirement that corporations and their auditors publicly disclose internal control weaknesses, which is one of the most contentious and costly provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act,” said Mohamed Hussein, accounting department head. “The study is important because it shows that the enforcement mechanisms surrounding internal control reporting are often ineffective and in some cases may even provide disincentives for compliance.”
“This paper is one of many research projects conducted by the UConn accounting faculty that addressed critical accounting and tax issues,” said Hussein, noting that UConn accounting faculty research has been cited in Congressional hearings and in the British Parliament.
Chinmoy Ghosh, department head in finance, said he is pleased with his colleague’s success.
“Within a very short period of time since arriving at UConn in August 2014, Jose has made a significant contribution in almost every aspect of the job. Acceptance of his paper by the Journal of Finance, the top journal in the discipline, brings tremendous visibility and prestige to the department and the school,” he said. “Very recently, his research has been recognized by a leading academic group in Europe. His style of teaching and knowledge drew great praise from the Risk Management students at both our Hartford and Stamford campuses.
“Jose has also shown great interest and objectivity in various academic issues currently under review by the department faculty. We are very pleased to have him as a colleague and look forward to many more productive years from him at the School of Business.”
The Best Paper Award is funded by the generous support of the Arnold M. Robin & Rochelle M. Robin Excellence Fund.
Related articles:
Professor Jose Martinez Earns Triple Recognition for Work on Dubious Investment Management
Professor David Weber Finds Lack of Enforcement Surrounds Key Provision of Sarbanes-Oxley Act
Picking Winners?
Professor Jose Martinez Earns Triple Recognition For Work on Dubious Investment Management
A four-year research project by UConn finance professor Jose Martinez found no evidence that recommendations by highly paid investment consultants to institutional investors subsequently outperformed the market.
Professor Jose MartinezIn his paper, “Picking Winners? Investment Consultants’ Recommendations of Fund Managers,” Martinez presents survey data from investment consultants with a combined share of 90 percent of the consulting market, and focuses on the recommendations consultants made for actively managed U.S. equity funds.Continue Reading
Have the Skills But Not Getting Promoted? Your Lack of Confidence May Be Sabotaging Your Career
Could you give a speech in front of a room of strangers? Would you have the courage to run for elected office? Could you ask for a raise—and stand a good chance of getting it?
Those were some of the questions that executive coach, lecturer and author Barbara Roche asked more than 100 people during a program titled, “Women, Wisdom and Worth.” Continue Reading
Announcing Blackstone’s Future Women Leaders Program
Blackstone’s Future Women Leaders Program is a unique 1.5 day experience among financial firms, giving participants early exposure to finance and business through interactive information seminars, networking, and skill-building sessions. The program is open to sophomore women who are interested in exploring a career in the financial services industry.Continue Reading
‘Demystifying Big Data’ is Subject of March 25 Breakfast Seminar Sponsored by University of Connecticut School of Business
The University of Connecticut School of Business is offering a breakfast seminar titled, “Demystifying Big Data,” from 7:30 to 9 a.m. March 25 at the Society Room, 31 Pratt Street, Hartford. Professor Ramesh Shankar, assistant department head for the university’s information systems program, will discuss the opportunities and challenges associated with leveraging Big Data and extracting full value. Participants will gain an understanding of the business value offered by the emerging ecosystem of Big Data technologies such as Apache Hadoop, Spark, Hive, and others.
This a “must-attend” event for Human Resources, Marketing, Information Technology, Operations Management and Healthcare leaders as well as Chief Financial Officers, Chief Operating Officers and Chief Executive Officers. Business leaders will leave the seminar with an enhanced understanding of the potential of Big Data in their organization to improve functional and operational results.
Pre-registration is required and can be made online or by calling 860-486-5498. Seating is limited.
Dr. Shankar earned a Ph.D. from the Stern School of Business at New York University. His current research focuses on social media, strategic analysis of digital goods, such as software, music and video games, and the impact of information systems on business processes and structure of firms. He has served as a management consultant with many multinational corporations including PricewaterhouseCoopers, Morgan Stanley, Wipro Infotech and ICICI Ltd.
Business, Law Students Collaborate During UConn’s First Joint Negotiation Competition
The University of Connecticut School of Law hosted the first UConn Law School-UConn Business School Joint Negotiation Competition last month.
The event fostered professional achievement and collaboration among the students, with four MBA students continuing on to a regional competition at Villanova University in April.Continue Reading
Top Connecticut Experts Discuss Success of Healthcare Initiative: “We’re Not There Yet—But We’re Making Great Strides”
When it comes to access to healthcare, Connecticut residents are much better off now than they were prior to the creation of the Affordable Care Act, according to a panel of experts.
But, this new system is still in its infancy and there is still much to be done in order to achieve an ideal healthcare delivery system, they agreed.
The five panelists shared their expertise in a UConn School of Business program titled, “Grading the Affordable Care Act.” The March 4 program drew 75 people to the Graduate Business Learning Center in downtown Hartford. Continue Reading