(seb) RockBand Tournament
Tuesday, October 4 at 12:00pm ]]>
“I think it’s more than a jargon,” says Karuna Joshi of Cloud Computing, a topic she will discuss this Friday during a Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Department Colloquium, “It’s an actual paradigm shift.” Ms. Joshi, a Ph.D. candidate in Computer Science at UMBC, has been pursing research on Cloud Computing for the past three years and was recently awarded a prestigious IBM Ph.D. Fellowship (2011-2012) to help fund her efforts. Ms.Joshi explains that with the widespread implementation of Cloud Computing, Computing has the potential to become a utility—such as power or water—that would be widely available over a wireless network.
Though the cloud has the potential to save money and increase efficiency within organizations that choose to implement the new technology, there are still serious concerns about security, she says. What’s revolutionary about the cloud, for example, is that is removes the need to contain software and information on a particular device. Instead, information and services are wirelessly available to a network of users. The risk is that without proper security enforcement, sensitive information could potentially be accessed by hackers.
Nevertheless, Cloud Computing is steadily gaining credence among popular companies, says Joshi. Amazon, Microsoft and Google, for example, have all developed clouds. “I believe it will be strongly adopted by the industry,” says Ms. Joshi, “It’s the fastest growing field in the computing area.” Even federal agencies have been mandated to move to a cloud system under the Federal Cloud Computing Initiative, as a way to reduce cost by consolidating necessary information and services into a central, easy to manage location.
Ms. Joshi explains that the novelty of the field makes her work exciting. The research allows her to explore issues that have not been addressed, such as the future of negotiation for acquiring services in the cloud. Through her research, Ms. Joshi has developed an ontology for the life cycle of the cloud that is composed of five phases: requirements, discovery, negotiation, composition and consumption. In addition, she is collaborating with the National Institute of Standards and Technology ( NIST) on a web-based prototype system.
Ms. Joshi envisions a future where powerful portable computing devices, like iPads, tablets and smartphones, will replace traditional computers. This future is only possible, explains Joshi, if the widespread implementation of Cloud Computing and the transformation of computing into a service becomes a reality.
Ms. Karuna Joshi will speak about her research this Friday, October 7th at 1 p.m. in ITE 227.
]]>NPR’s Morning Edition reports the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote today on a temporary measure — or “continuing resolution” — to keep the government funded through mid-November, after having missed its appropriations deadline for the 14th year in a row. Congress uses continuing resolutions when they can’t complete work on appropriations bills before the start of a new fiscal year. UMBC political science professor Roy Meyers told NPR, “What that means is that there’s a great deal of uncertainty when you’re running a program about how much money you have to hire people or to sign contracts and the like, and that creates lots of inefficiencies.”
A USA Today article on the same topic focused on proposals to improve the budget process. However, not everyone is optimistic about the suggestions. Meyers is wary, telling USA Today, “When members of Congress don’t want to confront the difficult policy decisions, they start talking about process, and we may be in that phase now.”
]]>Dalton Tolliver ’15 was named the America East Conference Volleyball Rookie of the Week for matches ending October 2, 2011.
Tolliver amassed a team-high 28 kills in two matches and hit .323 in a 3-0 win over Binghamton and a 3-2 setback versus Albany. She totaled one solo block and recorded four assisted blocks. Her 16 kills versus Binghamton tied a season high.
She is the second Retriever freshman to earn the first-year player award in 2011. Hannah Schmidt ’15 was the league’s recipient on August 29 and September 6.
Read the full press release here.
]]>In today's competitive environment and global economy, an organization's success depends on the full contribution and productivity of every person. Achieving optimal results for your organization requires full engagement of the diverse perspectives which represent your market place as well as your workforce.
The true potential of all people, regardless of their color, race/gender, their sexual orientation and/or their disability can only be achieved through the equal acceptance of all in our society. Allowing people to confidently share and express their ideas, thoughts and strengths without fear will only improve productivity on both a personal and corporate level.
Team building, effective communication and strong leadership are just a few of the topics that will be discussed during this highly professional presentation. The organization's ability to be open-minded and to raise positive awareness comes from within each individual. However, fostering the ideals of this enriching environment must begin with a strong commitment from the top executives.
Let your employees, your colleagues, suppliers and your customers know that you fully support a diverse workforce. It is time to let go of the stereotypical and inaccurate views that are held by so many, preventing the true success of your organization. Open communication, employee involvement and awareness will only have the most positive return.
This interactive presentation is the perfect opportunity to share this vision with all of your workforce. It is especially effective if given prior to implementing a diversity strategy or when working to improve your present diversity program. A great presentation for your next Annual Shareholders Meeting, sales conference, trade show, or your own "Diversity Days" - celebrating your company's continued improvements in recognizing all aspects of its workforce.
Unique presentations tailored to your organization's diversity needs can also be discussed. Continued involvement and on-going consultation is available for all topics.