Would-be MBA students getting ready to take the GMAT might be in for a little surprise when they show up at the testing center. In addition to all the usual security measures—including video monitoring and the computer adaptive test itself—test takers will soon be asked to submit to a new one: a biometric device that uses an infared light to capture the test-taker’s unique “palm vein pattern.”

Pearson VUE, the company that administers the GMAT for the Graduate Management Admission Council, plans to announce the new security effort tomorrow, but BusinessWeek got a sneak peak at it today.

The Fujitsu “PalmSecure” device will be rolled out next month at 16 testing centers in India and Korea for GMAT candidates. It goes live in the U.S. this fall, and when fully deployed will be used in 400 facilities in 107 countries by May 2009.

The announcement comes as the b-school world is embroiled in a cheating scandal involving the GMAT–users of a now-defunct test prep Web site, Scoretop.com, have been accused by GMAC of using it to post and access live test questions, and GMAC has said it will cancel the test scores of anyone who violated its rules.

But the new security measure is designed to stop a different kind of cheating–the use of professional test takers, or proxies, to take the exam on behalf of someone else. GMAC’s been burned by this type of cheater before. Back in 2003, it busted a half dozen people who took the GMAT for others for about $5,000 a pop. GMAC canceled 166 scores as a result, and five of the six imposters ended up at Rikers.

More : businessweek.com

Prospective and current graduate business students who used a Web site to cheat on entrance examinations over the last five years could have their scores thrown out.

The exam’s publisher, the Graduate Management Admission Council, is tracking down users of Scoretop.com after winning a lawsuit to shut down the site and seize a computer hard drive containing payment information and user identifications.

Scoretop sold VIP access for $30 a month, giving users previews to current questions on the latest Graduate Management Admission Test. Some were posted by users after taking the exam.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema also ordered site operator Lei Shi to pay $2.35 million plus legal costs in a June 20 ruling in the copyright infringement lawsuit.

In court documents, GMAC cited a posting by a user who said the information offered on the site was “inestimable,” saying that he saw 10 to 12 “word by word” items and “many of the other questions felt very familiar.”

About 6,000 GMAT scores from when the Web site started in 2003 to the present are in question, GMAC spokeswoman Judy Phair said Wednesday. It’s unclear how many test-takers are involved, because they can take the test several times a year.

“We have an ethical responsibility to schools and students to say this is a secure and fair test,” Phair said. “Obviously, you’re not being fair if you have an unfair advantage.”

The council plans to match data with test-takers and cancel the scores of anyone it determines knowingly used Scoretop to cheat on the GMAT. It will also notify the schools receiving scores, and perhaps prevent them from retaking the test. Phair said she can’t offer a timetable on the process.

Shi wasn’t represented by an attorney, according to court documents. McLean, Va.-based GMAC said Shi has returned to his native China and couldn’t be reached.

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Developing countries can jubelnd, impedes investment and competition from registration issues on the agenda of the WTO in Cancun. But it is perhaps too early to celebrate.

In an article in schools, the former Secretary General of Finance of India and WTO negotiators in the Uruguay Round, Mr. SP Shukla, reminds us, as in December 1988, at ministerial level in Montreal had the same divided on the issue of patents.

But, he said, in Montreal, “the Government of India has failed bilateral pressures, particularly from the USA, withdrew its opposition and agreed in April 1989 on the material aspects of property rights intellectual in the negotiations … The seeds of the WTO system, coercive measures, which in 1995 were sown in April 1989, ironically, soon after, and despite the success of manoeuvre at the Montreal meeting. “Mr. Shukla warns that the USA are enormous bilateral pressures on Brazil, China, India and South Africa to cancel its victory of Cancun.

Furthermore, continue to invest part of the WTO system. The study groups formed on these issues during the year in Singapore in 1997. It is only that the study groups are not yet in “negotiations”. This situation will prevail until an explicit resolution of deposit investments of the WTO is adopted.

Developing countries have been able to maintain investments of the WTO in Cancun, only because of the intransigence of developed countries on the issue of agricultural subsidies. They asked for concessions in agriculture in exchange for the inclusion of one or more of the Singapore issues at the WTO. Rich countries, particularly the USA, could not, because this compromise on the presidential elections in the USA in 2004. But it can accept this compromise in the future. This is not an advantage for poorer nations, such as the role of agriculture in the global economy has dropped dramatically. According to the World Development Report, the share of agriculture in the GDP of rich countries is 6 per cent in 1960 to less than 1 per cent in 2001. And for developing countries, it has fallen by 48 per cent to 23 per cent.

Thus, the reluctance of rich countries for agriculture is really with emotion. Economically, they have little to lose and much to gain in agriculture, in exchange for investments. Indeed, the collapse of Cancun, it is easier for the rich an internal consensus to “try” Agriculture in such an exchange.

It is necessary to change our strategy proactively so that we can end the small gains in agriculture and large losses on the Singapore issues. We must ask for cross-border trafficking of individuals instead of seeking concessions in agriculture.

In both rich and poor nations are poor towards poverty reduction. The rich say that the welcome is investment, transfer of capital in poor countries in order to facilitate and increase their wealth and reduce poverty. That can not happen because:

– World capital can no longer travel to poor countries;

– The long-term exposure to repatriate profits May débilitent economies and

– The predatory nature of multinational kill national entrepreneurship and an economy dependent. On the other hand, poor countries feel that agriculture, the opening of their open new markets, leading to higher prices for their agricultural products and improving their conditions of farmers. This should not happen again, because:

– Prices for agricultural products would decline as the growing competition between poor countries;

– There are limited opportunities for investment in agriculture, and therefore low potential to generate high incomes.

– The share of agriculture in the economy is declining.

These links doubtful on improving the prosperity must be abandoned. Eminent economist Mancur Olson showed that the increase in world income would be equally, if not more, by the free movement of natural persons as the free movement of capital. Some difficulties are noteworthy in this regard.

First, it is said that a multilateral agreement on free movement of labour allows free access to undesirable elements as terrorists. This can be processed into a right to deny access to certain people or groups. The USA, for example, can say it does not give free movement of certain groups.

Wigan & Leigh College (WLC), Delhi, is planning to expand the global operations of the 150-year-old UK based college by undertaking a South-East Asian expansion plan. Having an active presence in 32 countries, the college is now planning collaboration with institutes in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore so as to provide local students access to international education.

In an exclusive interaction with the NCR Tribune, Mr Vinay Parischa, director, Wigan & Leigh, spoke on the expansion plans of the college.