James Drogan

A month ago my wife and I traveled to the Midwest for a reunion of my high school class.  In my kit I had packed a new iPad intending to see whether it and I could develop a meaningful, working relationship.  I had previously blogged about the acquisition of the device in Yep, I Have One.

The title of this post is from a presentation I did some time ago. In A Small View of a Possible World I raise the question whether being always on, always connected, always transacting  is a good thing.

Here, as you can see, I'm wondering whether it is even possible.

The only browser available on the iPad is Safari.  One of the important sites I visit on a regular basis is the Norwich University School of Graduate and Continuing Studies Virtual Campus.  The reason for that is explained in Back to School.  Unfortunately, this site requires Firefox.  So, while I can, from the Midwest, be always on and always connected, I cannot be always transacting.  There are other sites that have the same preference for one browser or another.

The browser wars continue and the collateral damage is at the user level.

Now I admit to increasing technological naiveté, but I'm not, on the whole, too shabby in this regard.  Perhap there is a fix for this of which I'm unaware.

The lesson here is that claims of connectivity need to be verified.  And the onlye way to do that is to do that.

Here's some good advice from the Financial Times for those of you who make presentations.

Here's one of my efforts at minimalism in a presentation.

I muttered and mused over this device for a considerable period of time.  How would I use it?  What value would it add to the way I work?  Yes, I really did ask these questions.

I didn't need to answer because I received it as a gift.

I am a content creator in addition to being a content reviewer.  Can I create content on the device?  Yes, but a laptop is much, much better for this.  However, if you need a device that an fill in on occasional basis, this may work fine.  We've  four day trip coming up next weekend and I need to be connected.  This will be a good test.

All the practical aside, what a gorgeous piece of technology.  That it is part of a larger, architected system makes it even better.  It's not technology anymore, it's the user experience.

In a 2003 presentation (How to Use Computers and the Internet in Daily Transactions) I concluded with the words in the title.  This morning brings us more musings on technology by Nicholas Carr, Does the Internet Make You Dumber?

Carr, as he always does, provokes us to examine our assumptions and to question accepted wisdom.  As educators, we may bemoan the open smart phones and laptops in our classes and rightly so for some of the reasons given in the Carr article.  But as citizens of the larger world, and mindful of the recent major mishaps associated with the deadly combination of technology-cum-creativity-cum-hubris, our concerns should be broader.

This is a new graduate elective that will be taught Fall 2010 as part of the Masters of Science in International Transportation Management program at SUNY Maritime College.

This course examines issues of current or emerging significance in international transportation management through the lens of contextual analysis.  Clear identification of the issues, an assessment of their importance within the global context, and recommendations of resolution are important capabilities for the global executive.  This course provides the opportunity to learn the essential and relevant underlying skills.  An understanding of the socio-political-economic realities of the world, and the development of ethical, critical thinking and communication skills are features of this course.

In Fall 2010 the focus will be on the reconfiguration of international transportation management (ITM) caused by four sets of forces:

1. Geoclimatic; widening of the Panama Canal, Chinese port development
2. Systems; equipment and facilities, management
3. Human resource; culture, education, diversity
4. Socio-economic-political; corporate social responsibility, sustainability, international relations/law/economics

Topics 1 and 2 will last three weeks each; 3 and 4 will last four weeks each.

Each topic will be examined in terms of the nature of the forces, their impact on ITM, the actions that ought to be taken to manage the impact.

These are contemporary issue affecting ITM today and in the foreseeable future.  The objective is for the student to have an awareness of these issues sufficient to provide value to organizations that must deal with these matters.  This awareness constitutes understanding of and contemporary thinking about the issues, knowledge of the key players and sources of information, a demonstrated capability to think critically about the matters at hand, and the capacity to put forward the results of this thinking in a clear and compelling manner.