Book Review: The Healing of America

February 3rd, 2010

image courtesy amazon.com

Reid, T. R. The healing of America : a global quest for better, cheaper, and fairer health care. Penguin Press, 2009.

Washington Post correspondent T. R. Reid took his injured shoulder to doctors around the world to see how their health care systems would treat his shoulder pain. His American orthopedist recommended that his shoulder be replaced with a man-made titanium device. The orthopedist in France recommended physical therapy to strengthen the muscular system in his shoulder. In India, he received herbal medicines and full-body massages with sesame oil, with surprisingly good results.

The purpose of Reid’s quest was to find out why health care in other free market economies have better outcomes at a lower cost than in the U.S. On basic measures of health systems performance: coverage, quality, cost control and choice, the U.S. is far behind other countries. Reid concludes that in the U.S., the cost is higher due to the complexity of our health care system and the way American health insurance is managed. U.S. private health insurance has the highest administrative costs of any health care payer in the world.

Reid presents several health care models, including the Bismarck model used in Germany, Japan and France; the Beverage model used in the UK, Italy and Spain; and the national health insurance model in Canada. These countries combine universal coverage and government regulation with entrepreneurialism and respect for private markets to produce high-quality, low-cost health care for all.

© Reviewer: Meg Trauner & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
All rights reserved.

Duke OIT Maintenance May Affect Library Access

February 2nd, 2010

image courtesy Google.com

Duke OIT has scheduled a hardware upgrade that may affect your access to Library resources.

OIT is upgrading the hardware that supports the Shibboleth authentication services (which control access to Duke secure resources) during a scheduled maintenance window today (Tuesday, February 2nd) between 6:00 – 6:30 PM.

Users may notice a very brief (2-3 minutes) interruption in their ability to authenticate to Shibbolized services like FuquaWorld, course web sites, Ford Library & Duke Library databases and e-journals, Ford Library e-reserves and other services.

If you wish to have uninterrupted access to Library databases and e-journals during the maintenance window, please activate your Fuqua or Duke VPN connection before following links to those resources.

Thanks for your patience during this necessary system maintenance.

ProQuest Databases Off-line For Maintenance

January 29th, 2010

ProQuest logo

All ProQuest databases (including ABI-INFORM Complete) will be temporarily unavailable this weekend while the vendor performs necessary system maintenance.

This maintenance outage will take place from Saturday, January 30, 2010, at 10:00PM EST to Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 2:00AM EST.

Fuqua & Duke users may select alternative databases for article searches during the maintenance window by visiting our Databases By Subject page.

Thanks for your patience during this essential maintenance.

Update Google Chrome for Library Access

January 28th, 2010

image courtesy Google.com

If you use the Google Chrome™ browser, and have tried to access web pages for reserve readings, or other resources in the Library’s secure folder (library.fuqua.duke.edu/internal/), you may have received an UNAUTHORIZED error.

Earlier versions of Google Chrome were not compatible with the authentication method we use; but the latest release of Chrome is compatible. Here’s how to get it.

  1. Find out if you have the latest version installed (v. 4.0.302.3 as of 1/26/10) by clicking the “wrench” icon in the Chrome toolbar, and select “About Google Chrome”. If you have this version, you don’t need to read any further.
  2. If your version of Google Chrome is earlier than 4.0.302.3, un-install Chrome completely using the Add-Remove Programs option in your Windows Control Panel.
  3. Browse to http://www.google.com/chrome and download and install the latest beta of Google Chrome. Chrome can also be downloaded from the Filehippo.com file archive where version numbers are clearly visible.
  4. With Google Chrome 4.0.302.3 or higher installed, you should now be able authenticate to, and access pages in the Library’s secure folder.

If you are running Google Chrome v. 4.0.302.3, and still cannot access pages in the Library’s secure folder, please email us.

Book Review: Supercorp

January 27th, 2010

image courtesy amazon.com

Kanter, Rosabeth Moss. Supercorp : how vanguard companies create innovation, profits, growth, and social good. Crown Business, 2009.

Harvard Business School professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter has a response to the greed-is-good argument. Her new book Supercorp shows that in agile and innovative companies, business performance and social good are intimately connected. In vanguard companies, the corporate culture is both high-performing and humanistic, and provides the foundation for sustainable growth, profit and innovation over the long term.

Vanguard companies are successful and prosperous in their own right and use their core business strengths to address significant societal needs. There are numerous examples of this, including IBM’s response to the tsunami in Asia. Social initiatives are usually selected without profit motive but they provide returns by enhancing the innovation process, by providing positive meaning to employees and by building goodwill in the community.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter is the author of several ground-breaking and best-selling books, including Men and Women of the Corporation, The Change Masters, and When Giants Learn to Dance.

© Reviewer: Meg Trauner & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
All rights reserved.

New Movies for January

January 26th, 2010

Our latest titles:

9
Brothers Bloom
Carriers
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
District 9
Extract
Glengarry Glen Ross
Hangover
How About You
Inglourious Basterds

It Might Get Loud
Moon
Nothing But the Truth
Paper Heart
Paranormal Activity
Perfect Getaway
Straight Story
Hurt Locker
Ramen Girl
Glee
, season 1

Dean Blair Sheppard on DukeReads.com

January 25th, 2010

book cover image courtesy amazon.com

On Tuesday, January 26, 2010, at 7pm EST, Blair Sheppard, Dean of the Fuqua School of Business, and Frank Stasio, NPR Host, will discuss A Brief History of the Human Race by Michael Cook as part of the DukeReads series of webcasts.

We encourage you to watch this webcast live on the Duke Ustream channel, or on the Duke Live Ustream Facebook page.

Book Review: In Fed We Trust

January 21st, 2010

image courtesy amazon.com

Wessel, David. In Fed we trust : Ben Bernanke’s war on the great panic. Crown Business, 2009.

A veteran editor of the Wall Street Journal tells a vivid tale of the people and events surrounding the Great Panic of 2008.

The book opens in September 2008 with the question of what to do about Lehmann Brothers. Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke, a scholar of the Great Depression, is convinced that the economic catastrophe from the 1930’s was the fault of the Federal Reserve. Yet Lehmann is allowed to fail, becoming the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, and setting off a worldwide financial collapse. According to Wessel, from that moment Bernanke vowed to do whatever it takes to avoid Depression 2.0.

Under Bernanke’s leadership, the Fed spearheads the largest government intervention in 50 years and is directly accountable to no one. This book is a behind-the-scenes look at the recent financial crisis and the Feds unprecedented response, as policymakers play by ear to keep liquidity flowing. This gripping story shows how decisions were made in this key moment in financial history.

© Reviewer: Meg Trauner & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
All rights reserved.

The Director’s Picks – January 2010

January 19th, 2010

stack of books

Fuqua School Dean Blair Sheppard asked Ford Library Director, Meg Trauner to select five recent business books that should “be on his nightstand”.

Click the titles below for information on location and availability.

© Meg Trauner & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
All rights reserved.

Martin Luther King Day Hours

January 15th, 2010

dr. martin luther king

The Ford Library will be open for use on the Martin Luther King holiday, Monday, January 18th; but reference and research assistance services will not be available until Tuesday, January 19.

Our hours on Monday, January 18th will be 8am – 8pm.

Note that the Fuqua School buildings will be locked on Monday, January 18th for the Martin Luther King Holiday.

Library users will need your DukeCard to gain access into the buildings.

Thanks for your understanding.