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Showing posts from October, 2022

Zhou and Colleagues Greedily Improve the Cloud

Data deduplication has been broadly used in the Cloud due to its storage space saving ability.   One issue with deduplication is a phenomenon called data fragmentation.   To deal with data fragmentation, Cloud implements a procedure that diminishes the restore performance.   Although capping methods have been developed to alleviate data fragmentation, they employ rewriting procedures that are only partially successful.   To address this problem, TSYS School assistant professor of computer science Yi Zhou and his research colleagues from Jinan University (China) and the University of Exeter (United Kingdom) propose a multi-segment greedy rewriting method named MGRM.   As they explain in their study forthcoming in IEEE Transactions on Cloud Computing , MGRM works sequentially to rewrite in a way that achieves a good balance between deduplication and restore performance.   To do so, it adaptively switches between two working modes – an optimal rewriting mode and a radical rewriting mode

How do the Earnings of Turner College Graduates Compare?

     University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue recently informed faculty and staff within the USG that it has developed a new, one-stop website, Georgia Degrees Pay , dedicated to helping students, families, taxpayers and other stakeholders compare how much it costs to attend any USG institution, how well these institutions help students become successful and how much in potential future earnings graduates can expect.  According to Perdue, “Prospective students will be able to make informed decisions regarding which institutions fit their needs and ambitions best, while having easy access to extensive information including system initiatives and financial aid options.  The site will keep developing as we add more and more data to help Georgians make good decisions.”  Turner Business visited the site to see how the future earnings of Turner College graduates compares to those of our peer institutions, which are referred to by the USG as “State Universities.”  The nine instit

Alumni Focus: Ralph Mitchell

As CEO of Carthage Financial Group, a Boston-based independent fee-based registered investment advisor (RIA) firm, Ralph Mitchell devotes much of his energy to the education of his clients about two activities – financial literacy and financial services.  Mitchell describes financial literacy as the sense that proven financial strategies are indeed relevant to individuals, families and businesses, while financial services are defined as the implementation of these strategies through the use of insurance, annuities, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, commercial real estate and foreign securities.  His own sense about these financial topics was first established from 1973 through 1977, during which time he earned an undergraduate degree from the Turner College of Business.  Mitchell’s dedication and discipline to engaging in these two activities over more than 30 years with Carthage Financial Group was likely honed during his 30 years of service, beginning in 1977 and ending in 2007 at the ra

TURNER COLLEGE SPOTLIGHT

  D. Abbott Turner The namesake of Columbus State University’s business school – D. Abbott Turner – is an iconic one in Columbus.  Even so, many readers of Turner Business likely know relatively little about his professional and civic life.  Turner was born in Macon, Georgia, on October 24, 1892.  It was not until 1913 that he moved to Columbus, which he did to work as a private secretary for the local manager of Stone and Webster, a Boston-based company that was acquiring water power and electricity generation facilities in riverside cities such as Columbus.  In 1907 the firm purchased the Bibb Company’s Columbus Power Company, which later became part of the Georgia Power Company.  Later in his business career, Turner would serve as a director for Georgia Power.  Four years after his arrival in Columbus, Turner married Elizabeth Bradley, the daughter of W.C. Bradley.  At about the same time as his marriage to Elizabeth, Turner assumed management of the steamboats that were owned by W

Ricci Luyties Discusses Management and Leadership Philosophy with Turner Business

If there were a Mount Rushmore for American men’s volleyball, Ricci Luyties would likely be a part of it.   Born in Pacific Palisades, California, Luyties became a star volleyball player during his high school playing days at Palisades High School.   He led the team to the Los Angeles City Championship match as both a junior and a senior, and was named Los Angeles’ Player of Year in the process.   Luyties went on to start four consecutive years (1981-1984) for the UCLA Bruins, during which time UCLA won four consecutive NCAA Men’s Volleyball championships.   UCLA went undefeated in each of his sophomore and senior years, and over the course of his collegiate career UCLA won 83 straight home matches.   He was named All-American during his junior and senior seasons in 1983 and 1984, and became the first player in NCAA history to receive back-to-back NCAA Player of the Year Awards.   In 1995, Luyties was inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame, and in 1986 his #11 UCLA jersey was retired at f

Turner College Economist Explores Business Cycles and Tourism Departures in the South Pacific

Demand for international tourism tends to rise during economic expansions and fall during economic contractions.  In other words, it is pro-cyclical.  However, the response of tourism demand to business cycles may vary across contractionary and expansionary phases.  Furthermore, tourism demand and business cycles may not be synchronous.  These are other issues are explored by Turner College economics professor Frank Mixon and colleagues at Lincoln University (New Zealand) and the University of New Haven in their study appearing in the November 2022 issue of Tourism Economics .  To conduct the study, Mixon and his colleagues analyze quarterly data on tourism departures and real GDP for Australia and New Zealand.  The key findings of this study are that tourism demand in both Australia and New Zealand is pro-cyclical, tourism demand cycles in New Zealand strongly lag business cycles by one year, whereas in Australia, they weakly lag business cycles by one quarter, and, overall, tourism

Alumni Focus: Carina Marzari

In her current position as Product Manager for Business Strategy at DeVry University, Carina Marzari is responsible for managing the institution’s $130 million business programs portfolio .  She assumed this role in early this year (2022), after previously working as a senior business analyst for DeVry University for almost six years (2016-2022).  Marzari’s professional career prior to joining DeVry University began in 1999, as a marketing assistant at John Deere (1999-2002).  Her work experience also includes service as a marketing team leader at Syngenta (2002), a senior marketing analyst at Kepler Weber (2002-2005), and a market research analyst at CME Group (2007-2008).  As one would expect, Marzari’s impressive professional career has been facilitated by some noteworthy educational milestones, beginning with receipt in 2000 of an undergraduate degree in business administration and management from the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria.  The Turner College of Business has also pl

TURNER COLLEGE SPOTLIGHT

The Ray and Evelyn Crowley Endowment A number of stories at Turner Business have mentioned the Turner College’s Ray and Evelyn Crowley Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship.  The current holder of the Crowley Chair is Turner College management professor Kirk Heriot , as each of these prior entries has noted.  None of these prior entries provides details about the origin of this particular endowment.  Established in May of 2005, the Crowley Endowed Chair is named for Ray Crowley and his wife Evelyn, both of whom have contributed substantially to support quality education and scholarship in the Columbus area.  Ray was born in 1932 in Lennox, South Dakota.  He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Dakota in 1955, and later, in 1963, went on to complete the advanced management course at Harvard University.  During his professional career, Crowley, a certified public accountant, held positions with Peat Marwick & Company, Bay State Milling Company, General Mills, and Roya

Zhou and Co-Authors Mix Cocktail to Address Read-Disturb Issues in NAND Flash Memory-Based Solid-State Devices

NAND flash memory is a type of non-volatile lightning-fast storage technology found in solid-state drives that does not require power to retain data.   When in use, a large number of read-disturb-induced rewrites are performed in the background, also known as “read reclaim,” to alleviate the read-disturb issue with this type of technology.   These rewrites can significantly degrade the performance and shorten the service life of solid-state devices in read-intensive workloads.   To address this issue, TSYS School assistant professor of computer science Yi Zhou and his colleagues from Jinan University, Michigan Technological University and the University of Maine propose a novel read-disturb management approach referred to as “Cocktail” that outperforms three existing approaches in extending the service life of solid-state devices and improving solid-state device response times.   Testing performed by Zhou and his colleagues for their study, which is set to appear in a future issue of

Turner College Faculty Lead Roundtable Session at CSU’s 2022 Graduate Research & Writing Bootcamp

Three Turner College faculty – Phil Bryant , Kirk Heriot and Frank Mixon – led a “Meet the Editors Roundtable” session at CSU’s 2022 Graduate Research & Writing Boot Camp on Saturday, October 15.  Bryant, an associate professor of management in the Turner College, is the co-founder of Servant Leadership: Theory & Practice , and the current editor-in-chief of Compensation and Benefits Review , the leading practitioner journal in human resource management.  Heriot, holder of the Turner College’s Crowley Endowed Chair and professor of management, is the founder and editor of the American Journal of Entrepreneurship .  Mixon, holder of the Turner College’s Buck Endowed Chair and professor of economics, will take over as editor of the Journal of Financial Economic Policy in January of 2023.  Bryant opened the presentation by explaining the difference between subscription-supported, traditional journals and newer, open-access publishing formats.  He also stressed the importance of

Los Angeles Rams GM, Les Snead, Speaks with Turner Business

Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead was raised by a single mother, Pam Snead, in Eufaula, Alabama, who often had to work multiple jobs to make ends meet.   Seeing her rise from humble beginnings to becoming a pillar in the local community taught him many lessons about life, such as the value of hard work and developing grit, that helped him succeed in his journey as an All-State offensive lineman at Eufaula High School and as a reserve tight end on the 1993 Auburn University team that finished the season undefeated.   After a brief stint as a graduate assistant at Auburn University, Snead began his professional career, and his informal education in organizational leadership, in the NFL in 1995 as a talent scout with the Jacksonville Jaguars, an expansion franchise.   There, he worked for legendary coach Tom Coughlin, and over the first two years of Snead’s tenure in Jacksonville the team improved its regular season record from 4-12 to 9-7.   In that second season, the Jaguars we

Google Manager Visits Turner College to Showcase Employability Opportunities for Tech-Focused Students

J essica Mitchell, a Campus Outreach Program Manager from Google, recently spent three days in the Synovus Center of Commerce and Technology on CSU’s Main Campus in order to provide career development opportunities and hands-on learning experiences to students and faculty from the TSYS School of Computer Science in the D. Abbott Turner College of Business.   The Google recruiter led a series of resume workshops for undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty members.   These workshops gave students detailed insight on how to build a resume, what it should look like and what key information should be included on it for those specific technical-related jobs.   Roydon D’souza , a senior computer science major, believed that the resume workshop was very informative and gave students like him the information and tools they need to get a job or internship at Google – or with any company in the tech sector.   “She’s giving us the key to get into Google,” D’souza said.   “She explain

Turner Business Interview: Wen Shi

Turner Business recently touched base with Wen Shi , an associate professor of economics in the Turner College, to discuss her current and future research endeavors. TB: What are you working on at the moment in terms of research? WS:  I am currently researching three different topics.  First, I am working on a project about automation in production, and its economic impact.  Second, I am continuing to do research on monetary policy in Korea.  Third, I am investigating the impact of China’s foreign direct investment on the Association of Southeast Asian (ASEAN) countries TB: What are your plans for future research projects? WS: I am getting set up to work on a project concerning community banks, which are locally owned banks that focus on serving businesses and households in their geographic area. TB: What courses do you teach, and how does your research complement your teaching? WS: My current teaching rotation includes principles of macroeconomics, money and banking, g

Turner College FMA Students Hear from Synovus COO

The Turner College’s chapter of the Financial  Management Association (FAA) recently held its first meeting of the 2022-2023 academic year.  Members welcomed Bob May , a Chief Operating Officer at Synovus, who spoke to the group about corporate and investment banking.  May earned a BBA from CSU’s Turner College in 2000, and currently serves on the Alumni Board at CSU.  Brett Cotten , a professor of finance in the Turner College, is the faculty advisor to the FMA.  Turner College finance majors and others who are interested in joining the FMA can scan the QR code below.  The group’s meetings typically begin at 12:30 pm, and food and drinks are provided.                   

Alumni Focus: Matthew Murawski

After earning a bachelor’s degree in history from Ball State University in 2006, Matthew Murawski entered the U.S. Army as an airborne platoon leader.  Over a seven-year career in the Army, Matthew rose to the position of company commander, in which he c losely worked with the Afghan National Army Soldiers, Afghan National Police, and the National Directorate Service to supply logistics to over 500 Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) personnel.  After being honorably discharged in 2013, he co-founded Maltitude, a craft beer market in Uptown Columbus.  After selling the business in 2014, Matthew began pursuit of an MBA from the Turner College, which he earned in 2015.  This achievement helped propel Murawski to a new role as a fixed income sales associate at Drexel Hamilton, a 100% veteran owned and operated investment bank headquartered in New York City.  After a little more than two years with the company, Matthew moved to Goldman Sachs, the multinational investment bank and finan

TURNER COLLEGE SPOTLIGHT

Business Tutoring Lab Economics can be much more challenging than a drawing a graph with a supply and demand curve.  What about the time value of money? Having access to a tutor can help students connect class material to the real world.  Fortunately for students in the Turner College, some extra help, provided by great tutors, is available, Monday through Friday, inside the Turner College’s tutoring lab.  The lab, which is located in Room 347 in the Synovus Center on CSU’s main campus, is staffed by high-achieving graduate and undergraduate students in the Turner College.  The lab’s staff provides assistance in several undergraduate business courses, including accounting principles (ACCT 2101 and 2102), economics principles (ECON 2105 and 2106), managerial finance (FINC 3105), business analytics (BUSA 3115) and corporate financial analysis (FINC 3115).  The tutoring services provided by the lab are free to business majors at CSU; students simply sign an attendance sheet upon arrival a

Alumni Focus: LaGeisha Fifer

Having already begun her professional career as a market service analyst for Aflac in 2005, LaGeisha Fifer gave it a boost when she earned a BBA in marketing from the Turner College in 2007.  After graduation, she completed another 10 years with the company, where she reviewed, analyzed, negotiated, and communicated various operational exceptions to/from internal and external customers.  During that time, Fifer earned an MBA from Troy University, an achievement that would help propel her into her current position as Senior Sales Recruiter for Technical Solutions at the Atlanta office of ABM Industries, a facility management provider founded in 1909 in San Francisco, California, that provides a broad range of services and solutions to building owners, such as energy management and reduction, system design, equipment installation, and preventive maintenance .  In this positi on since 2019, Fifer is responsible for hiring top talent across the U.S. to join ABM’s Technical Solutions divi

Alumni Focus: Nancy Swartout

Education backgrounds in both science and business administration have served Nancy Swartout well during her professional career.  After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, Nancy became an R&D chemist with the iconic American multinational oil and gas corporation, ExxonMobil.  Nancy held that position for 6.5 years when, in 1995, she became a procurement manager for Vulcan Materials Company, a Birmingham-based producer and distributor of construction materials.  The transition from research and development to management, or from science to business, is where the Turner College enters Nancy’s professional journey.  As it turns out, she earned an MBA from the Turner College at CSU in 1994, thus providing Nancy with a smoother path to career advancement in corporate management.  After five years with Vulcan Materials Company, she returned to ExxonMobil as a procurement manager.  Over the next 22 years, Nancy advanced through

Alumni Focus: Jenifer Robertson

After earning a business administration degree from the University of Washington in 2005, Jenifer Robertson began her professional career as a financial analyst for the Seattle office of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.  In that position, she negotiated loans for the federal government in the commercial fishing industry , among other responsibilities.  Shortly after leaving NOAA, Robertson entered the MBA program in the Turner College at CSU.  After earning her MBA, she joined T-Mobile as a Salesforce Administrator.  During her 4.5 years with the company, Robertson rose to Senior Program Manager, and later to Salesforce Architect.  By the time she departed T-Mobile in late 2021, she held the position of Senior Technology Product Manager.   Now, she holds the position of Product Manager of Enterprise Systems at the Seattle offices of Motive, a software development company that combines IoT hardware with AI-powered applications to connect and automate physical oper