B-School Bulletin: Why Cambridge Analytica Is A Watershed Moment

Claire Traweek, Sam Kim, Jessy Lin, Neil Gohklay, and Juliet Wanyiri pose with two of their mentors after winning second place in the migrants and refugees category as part of the Vatican’s first-ever hackathon. Photo courtesy of the MIT Innovation Initiative

A Low-Tech Solution For High-Impact Health Care

News from MIT Sloan School of Management

“Over 17 million people around the world are forced to flee their homes by conflict or persecution each year. After enduring the long and treacherous passage to safety, many refugees arrive at settlement camps suffering from malnutrition and dehydration and require medical attention on site.

“Most ailments are easily treatable if properly diagnosed, but communicating across languages and cultures can be difficult. Patients often struggle to convey their symptoms, and doctors worry they may be missing crucial information. To complicate matters, doctors jot patients’ medical notes on paper, which can result in incomplete and illegible information being recorded. Further, each time a refugee moves to another camp, a new record has to be started for the individual, making it hard to maintain a consistent medical history over time.

“There’s no shortage of apps designed to address the current refugee crisis. Rather than impose an entirely new system or technology, a team of MIT undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. students from multiple disciplines set out to develop a solution that recognizes and supports existing workflows that also helps overcome time, language, and cultural barriers in doctor-patient interactions to improve overall medical care for refugees.”

A young woman participating in the Mastercard Foundation Hanga Ahazaza initiative gains hands-on training

Cornell SC Johnson To Train Young Rwandans In Hospitality Industry

News from Cornell University SC Johnson College of Business

“The Cornell SC Johnson College of Business has joined the Mastercard Foundation Hanga Ahazaza initiative, which is dedicated to increasing economic opportunities for youth in Rwanda while enhancing access to financial services and training so small tourism and hospitality sector enterprises can expand.

“Cornell SC Johnson has been awarded a five-year partnership to train young Rwandans age 16-35 in the hospitality industry. In collaboration with eCornell and Cornell SC Johnson’s executive education program, this new initiative will focus on various content areas, including hotel operations, service, leadership, financial management, marketing and revenue management, which will be taught in a combination of online courses and live, virtual synchronous events with faculty.”

A Tennessee warbler

Northwestern Takes Action To Make Buildings Bird-Friendly

News from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management

“Working with the local community and experts from American Bird Conservancy, Northwestern University is using state-of-the-art solutions to keep birds from dying in collisions with glass walls and windows.

“The measures put Northwestern in the vanguard of a growing movement among U.S. colleges and universities to implement practical, effective and cost-efficient strategies to reduce bird strikes, which kill up to 1 billion birds a year in the United States alone.

“Unlike humans, birds do not understand the concept of glass as a transparent barrier. They take glass reflections as open landscapes and, thinking they have a clear path, crash into a solid surface.”

Georgetown’s Language Landscape Promotes Multiculturalism

News from Georgetown University McDonough School of Business

“Since Georgetown University’s founding in 1789, the school has encouraged students and faculty members to broaden their worldviews and dedicate themselves to others, regardless of cultural and linguistic differences.

“Back then, the university offered language courses in Spanish, French and English for nonnative speakers, even publishing a pamphlet for prospective students in each of those three languages in 1789 to reflect the university’s multilingual demographic.

“From John Carroll to Fr. Edmund Walsh, S.J., Georgetown’s leaders have argued that being people for others requires members of the Georgetown community to cultivate an understanding of others by traversing linguistic barriers.”

Kickstart Your Job Search: How Neuroscience Can Help

News from The Wharton School

“The modern job search is fraught with a number of interpersonal and technological land mines, so much so that most of us have given up any notion about a hiring decision coming down to simply who is the most qualified candidate for the position.

“So, what’s a job seeker to do to gain an edge?

“You can start by looking to the brain.

“During a recent segment on Career Talk, which airs on Wharton Business Radio on SiriusXM channel 111, Wharton marketing professor Michael Platt talked with host Dawn Graham, director of career management for Wharton’s executive MBA program, about how neuroscience can shed light on the best way to approach major career decisions.”

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