Professional Notes

Dr. Marsha Blumenthal, Economics Department, was a presenter at the annual meetings of the National Tax Association Nov. 13 in Chicago and the Association of Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action Nov. 20 in Denver. Her paper, jointly written with Laura Kalambokidis, University of Minnesota, was titled “The Compliance Costs of Nonprofit Organizations.”

Dr. John Conbere, Organization Learning and Development Department, School of Education, leads a study of alternate dispute resolution programs that has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The study is examining the effectiveness of USDA programs and a cost-benefit analysis of the use of mediation to resolve disputes between and among employees. The research team includes Tom Hoverman, a doctoral student in organization development, and colleagues from the University of Minnesota and Indiana University. This is the study's second year.

Dr. Camille George, Programs in Engineering and Technology Management, attended Dunwoody College of Technology and passed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certification exam. She was certified as a Universal Technician, the highest-level certification for nonautomotive refrigeration and air-conditioning. She did this to obtain a controlled substance – in this case, a refrigerant for an interdisciplinary unit on refrigeration in the Thermodynamics (ENGR 381) course that she teaches. In the unit, eight working refrigeration units were built by students. (Now that's dedication.)

Dr. Meg Wilkes Karraker, Sociology Department, wrote the preface on sociology for Discovering the Social Sciences, a seventh-grade social studies text by Wally Borner.

Dr. Susan Marsnik, Legal Studies in Business Department, College of Business, recently returned from teaching in a one-week MBA Intensive Seminar Program for the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. She presented to seminars on legal aspects of international business, Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and Innovation, Intellectual Property, and Licensing. Other presenters included business faculty from Rochester Institute of Technology, the University of California-Berkeley, Ohio State University and the University of Iowa. The International Business Law Review, a peer-reviewed publication of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business, has accepted for publication her article, “A Delicate Balance Upset: A Preliminary Survey of Exceptions and Limitations in U.S. and European Union Digital Copyright Law.” It will be published in spring 2004.

Dr. Shirley Polejewski, Accounting Department, College of Business, presented a paper, “Free Trade Zones: Their Impact in Developing Markets,” at the 15th Asian Pacific Accounting Conference, a branch of the American Accounting Association, held in Bangkok, Thailand. Polejewski was a moderator for one section of papers presented in the area of management accounting. More than 300 participants represented 36 countries and 140 universities and presented 84 papers on accounting issues.

Dr. John Spry, Economics Department, is author with Philip Coelho and James McClure of a recently published journal article, “The Social Responsibility of Management: A Reprise,” in the Mid-American Journal of Business, fall 2003 issue.

Dawn Swink, Legal Studies in Business Department, College of Business, was elected president of the Tri-State Academy of Legal Studies at its annual conference Nov. 7-8 in Cleveland, Ohio. At the conference she presented her article, “Utilizing Technology and Hard Copy: Effectiveness of the Wall Street Journal in Business Law Courses.