We've all studied the industrial revolution in our history classes. We've been taught how pre-industrial and industrial changes have affected big cities. But what about post-industrial change? What impact does the latest technology have on the cities of today?

In his recently published a book, "Cities in the Third Wave: The Technological Transformation of Urban America," Leonard I. Ruchelman discusses exactly how new technology is affecting and transforming the cities of the 21st century.

"In the belief that technology is a force that has created and recast cities throughout history, my book attempts to address the important question of how cities are presently being affected by new technology and what they will be like in the future," said Ruchelman, eminent scholar of urban studies and public administration.

Ruchelman said he spent approximately two years writing the book after thinking about the topic for about five years. "These issues just weren't covered in the older textbooks," he explained.

He believes it is important for civic leaders to recognize and closely study the factors relating to the Third Wave in order to be successful. In the preface, he writes, "It is anticipated that this book will help readers understand what it will take for their cities, and other cities, to survive and even thrive in their changing environment."

Ruchelman, who has taught at Old Dominion since 1975, has published nine other books on issues within the public affairs arena, including "Big City Mayors," "Political Careers" and "Police Politics." "Cities in the Third Wave" was published by Burnham Inc. in Chicago.

Ruchelman will be in the University Bookstore at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, to sign copies of his new book.

-- by Sylvia Corneliussen

"The Big 'R': An internal Auditing Adventure"

A series of brutal murders has suddenly become associated with baseball. Fans are plagued by fear during every second of the game. Who will be next?

Sound like the makings for a murder-mystery novel? If you answered yes, you're partly right. It's also the backdrop for a new accounting textbook, of all things, co-authored by associate professor of accounting Douglas E. Ziegenfuss.

Published over the summer, this whodunit manages to combine the intensity of a mystery novel with the practical aspects of internal auditing.

Written in a novel format rather than that of a typical textbook, "The Big 'R': An Internal Auditing Adventure" is essentially a mystery that mixes a tale of murder and baseball while applying the concepts of internal auditing. The "R" refers to the big risk in business.

Written as a supplemental text for internal auditing classes, the book follows the story of an internal auditor for the New York Yankees who works with the FBI to solve a string of murders associated with Major League Baseball games. Throughout the story, elements of internal auditing, such as typical internal auditing engagement, risk assessment, fraud detection and interpersonal skills, are explained.

According to Ziegenfuss, accounting professor Larry Crumbley of Louisiana State University contacted him about helping to write the book. Crumbley, who has written several instructional novels of this type, always collaborates with a co-author - someone in the field. Internal auditing is Ziegenfuss' specialty.

"He wrote the exciting stuff, I wrote the boring stuff," said Ziegenfuss, who estimates he was responsible for about 35 percent of the project.