Tidbits on June 20, 2011
Bob Jensen at Trinity University

This week I made a special photograph file of my favorite
wildflower pictures in these mountains
Click Here
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Wildflowers/Set01/WildFlowersSet01.htm    

 

Why retirement is better in Florida for some folks
The VILLAGES Fl - Town of Custom Golf Carts (90 miles of trails for seniors who loft their drivers licenses) ---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrpq5A-KAoA

Why retirement is better in New Hampshire for us
On June 14 there's a freezing wind that leaves my 150 little Sun Impatiens pleading for little coverlets plus a roof over their heads

But in August I know my Sun Inpatiens will look like this

You know, New Hampshire is such a special place. When I arrived I took a deep breath of this crisp New England air and thought, “Wow, I’m in the state that’s next to the state where Ben and Jerry’s ice cream is made.”
Conan O'brien at the Dartmouth College 2011 Commencement

Video:  Conan O’Brien Kills It at Dartmouth Graduation--- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/06/conan_obrien_kills_it_at_dartmouth_graduation.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

More of Bob Jensen's Pictures and Stories
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Pictures.htm

 White Mountain News --- http://www.whitemtnews.com/

I have a bird nesting under our back deck
An enormous crow stands on the deck day-after-day trying to figure out a way to get under the deck
Video of an American Robin's Nest --- Click Here
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9479342&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1

Bookmarks from my friend, Dan Gheorghe Somnea, in Romania --- http://dansomnea.tripod.com/

The tidbit below provides an example of how to make retirement more rewarding (for people of any religious faith or no religious faith). Mark is the youngest of seven children who grew up on a Seneca farm in Iowa. In his early career he was a dairy farmer in southern Minnesota. His father, my Uncle Millen, was an expert farmer and horse breeder. Mark's wife Terry retired from her successful career in Minneapolis and now helps orphans and poor people in Africa.

Those Who Give Their All to Open Share with the Poor
From my Cousin Mark (who has spreading cancer and still serves the poor people in Africa) ---
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/markjensen
As a volunteer missionary, Mark has been running test plot experiments to genetically modify corn for dry climates in Africa.
His career in Minnesota before he retired to be a missionary was artificial insemination of dairy cattle after he sold his dairy farm
How rich Mark's life became by open sharing in retirement.
He's a great example of how it is more rewarding to give than receive.
 

Mark was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2003.  Despite several surgeries and many rounds of chemo, it has gone to Stage 4 -- metastasized to his liver and lungs.  However, thanks to the prayers of many, he has beaten the averages and continues to be active in his mission work as a rostered, volunteer ELCA missionary serving peasant farmers in Tanzania, East Africa. 
 

Background Story

Written by Mark's wife, Terry:
One fine Sunday morning in 2003 when Mark was sitting in church (Christiania Lutheran, Lakeville, MN) God chose him to do something.  It took him some months to figure out what that something was.  Finally, after he decided to go to Africa to help teach Tanzanians how to drill wells for safe-drinking water, he then discovered what he believes to be his real mission is -- to teach subsistence, peasant farmers in Tanzania how better to grow their food -- mainly corn and beans.  Before his trip to Africa, he thought he should get a complete physical.  That is when they discovered the colon cancer.


During these past years Mark has had several surgeries.  Eventually the cancer metastasized to his liver and lungs, therefore, Stage 4 status.  We always say, though, that because of all the people praying for Mark he has beaten all the averages.
Until recently, Mark and Terry have been going to Africa for extended periods of time.  Typically, they would be in Africa for 3 months, alternately back home to Minnesota for 3 months, etc.  During the 3 months that they were home in the U.S. Mark was in some kind of cancer treatment, mostly chemo.


Both Mark and Terry "wear" their Christianity on their sleeves and are happy to be working with people in Tanzania in many ways, including:

Mark - Founding Director (volunteer) of Agriculture Institute, Tumaini University, Iringa, Tanzania - teaching better farming methods to peasant farmers.  Want to see more of Mark's missionary work-- please go to website http://www.tumainiag.com/
There you will find more information and lots of pictures of the great work that he is doing in Tanzania.

Mark & Terry - volunteers.  Working with a local parish in Matamba, Tanzania for the betterment of orphans and others in that community.  This mission is mainly centered through the efforts of the people at St. John's Lutheran Church, Annandale, MN.

Update Report
Cousin Mark passed away on June 13, 2011

 

 

Tidbits on June 20, 2011
Bob Jensen

For earlier editions of Tidbits go to http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm
For earlier editions of New Bookmarks go to http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookurl.htm 

Click here to search Bob Jensen's web site if you have key words to enter --- Search Site.
For example if you want to know what Jensen documents have the term "Enron" enter the phrase Jensen AND Enron. Another search engine that covers Trinity and other universities is at http://www.searchedu.com/.


Bob Jensen's past presentations and lectures --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/resume.htm#Presentations   


Bob Jensen's Threads --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/threads.htm

Bob Jensen's Home Page is at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/




Online Video, Slide Shows, and Audio
In the past I've provided links to various types of music and video available free on the Web. 
I created a page that summarizes those various links --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/music.htm

Video:  Touring the Earth from Space (in HD) --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/06/touring_the_earth_from_space_in_hd.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Explore --- http://www.explore.org/

The future of NASA's space shuttle program (video by David Pogue)  --- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLiUNs4rDqk

Moving Image Source (history of film) --- http://www.movingimagesource.us/

Big Apple History - PBS Kids Go! http://pbskids.org/bigapplehistory/index-flash.html 

War & Peace: An Epic of Soviet Cinema --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/06/war_peace_an_epic_of_soviet_cinema.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

The Short Literary Life of Sylvia Plath --- http://www.sylviaplath.de/
Video:  Sylvia Plath Reads “Daddy” ---
Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/06/sylvia_plath_reads_daddy.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Dylan Thomas --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dylan_Thomas
Dylan Thomas Poetry --- http://www.dylanthomas.com/
Anthony Hopkins Reads Dylan Thomas --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/05/anthony_hopkins_reads_dylan_thomas.html

Ernest Hemingway --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway Reads “In Harry’s Bar in Venice” --- Click Here

http://www.openculture.com/2010/04/ernest_hemingway_reads_in_harrys_bar_in_venice.html

 Virginia Woolf: Her Voice Recaptured --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2010/02/virginia_woolf_her_voice_recaptured.html

Video:  Cultural Icons: A New Collection --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/06/230_cultural_icons_a_new_collection.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

In 1937 Walt Disney introduced the Super Cartoon Camera for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/06/walt_disney_presents_the_super_cartoon_camera.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

VJ Day in Hawaii --- http://vimeo.com/5645171

Why retirement is better in Florida for some folks
The VILLAGES Fl - Town of Custom Golf Carts (90 miles of trails for seniors who loft their drivers licenses) ---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrpq5A-KAoA

22 year old Choi Sung-Bong had to overcome many obstacles in his life, but never gave up.---
http://www.flixxy.com/korea-talent-choi-sung-bong.htm

The Ayn Rand Guide to Romance --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/06/the_ayn_rand_guide_to_romance.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

"YouTube Begins Streaming Commencement Speeches Live," by Jeff Young, Chronicle of Higher Education, June 10, 2011 ---
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/youtube-begins-streaming-commencement-speeches-live/31693?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

YouTube is Going Live --- http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2011/04/youtube-is-going-live.html

"Top 10 Amazing Chemistry Videos," by Aaron Rowe, Wired Science, March 2, 2008 ---
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/03/top-10-amazing.html


Free music downloads --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/music.htm

I did not verify this, but if it's true it should be an inspiration to all poor people of the world
Korea's Got Talent - Choi Sung-Bong --- http://www.flixxy.com/korea-talent-choi-sung-bong.htm
Here's the Wikipedia entry that does point out some controversy

ITALIA-CANTO A LA BELLEZA ---
http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/Tayi-344584-italia-canto-la-belleza-travel-places-nature-ppt-powerpoint/

Let's remember the good times --- like when you were out of town
Steve Martin Releases Bluegrass Album/Video --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/06/steve_martin_releases_bluegrass.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Stairway to Heaven Played with Google Guitar Doodle (Les Paul) --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/06/stairway_to_heaven_played_with_google_guitar_doodle.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Classical guitarist Jonny Greenwood, Philip Glass and Gyorgy Ligeti (entire concert) ---
http://www.npr.org/2011/05/26/136622314/jonny-greenwood-glass-and-ligeti-an-evening-of-premieres-and-a-rarity

Verdi's Requiem: An Opera In Disguise ---
http://www.npr.org/2011/06/04/136928271/verdis-requiem-an-opera-in-disguise

Awesome Marionette --- http://www.youtube.com/embed/kPvciIdDZAE

Satin Sheets (Jeanne Pruett) --- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZutNGdcqH0
Satin Sheets (Waylon Jennings) --- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMpG6uzLwqM&feature=fvst

Amazing Grace --- http://www.clarrissegill.com/videoclips/amazing_grace.php

And I listen quite often to Soldiers Radio Live --- http://www.army.mil/fieldband/pages/listening/bandstand.html
Also note
U.S. Army Band recordings --- http://bands.army.mil/music/default.asp

Web outfits like Pandora, Foneshow, Stitcher, and Slacker broadcast portable and mobile content that makes Sirius look overpriced and stodgy ---
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2009/tc20090327_877363.htm?link_position=link2

TheRadio (my favorite commercial-free online music site) --- http://www.theradio.com/
Slacker (my second-favorite commercial-free online music site) --- http://www.slacker.com/

Gerald Trites likes this international radio site --- http://www.e-radio.gr/
Songza:  Search for a song or band and play the selection --- http://songza.com/
Also try Jango --- http://www.jango.com/?r=342376581
Sometimes this old guy prefers the jukebox era (just let it play through) --- http://www.tropicalglen.com/
And I listen quite often to Soldiers Radio Live --- http://www.army.mil/fieldband/pages/listening/bandstand.html
Also note
U.S. Army Band recordings --- http://bands.army.mil/music/default.asp

Bob Jensen listens to music free online (and no commercials) --- http://www.slacker.com/ 


Photographs and Art

British Library: Out of this World Exhibit (science and space museum) --- http://www.bl.uk/sciencefiction

UCLA Asia Institute [iTunes] http://www.international.ucla.edu/asia/

Slide Show of the Flowers of Our 50 States --- http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=1221321706636&source=jl999

G.E. Brings Bad Things to Death
G.E.'s Finest Gun --- http://www.daveweinbaum.com/A10.html

ITALIA-CANTO A LA BELLEZA ---
http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/Tayi-344584-italia-canto-la-belleza-travel-places-nature-ppt-powerpoint/

Video:  Touring the Earth from Space (in HD) --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/06/touring_the_earth_from_space_in_hd.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Bob Jensen's threads on history, literature and art ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#History


Online Books, Poems, References, and Other Literature
In the past I've provided links to various types electronic literature available free on the Web. 
I created a page that summarizes those various links --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm

British Classics on the iPad App (Free… For Now --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/06/british_library_ipad_app.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Binding Friendship: Ricci, China and Jesuit Cultural Learnings --- http://www.bc.edu/sites/bindingfriendship/

The Short Literary Life of Sylvia Plath --- http://www.sylviaplath.de/
Video:  Sylvia Plath Reads “Daddy” ---
Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/06/sylvia_plath_reads_daddy.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

War & Peace: An Epic of Soviet Cinema --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/06/war_peace_an_epic_of_soviet_cinema.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Dylan Thomas --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dylan_Thomas
Dylan Thomas Poetry --- http://www.dylanthomas.com/
Anthony Hopkins Reads Dylan Thomas --- Click Here

http://www.openculture.com/2011/05/anthony_hopkins_reads_dylan_thomas.html

Ernest Hemingway --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway Reads “In Harry’s Bar in Venice” --- Click Here

http://www.openculture.com/2010/04/ernest_hemingway_reads_in_harrys_bar_in_venice.html

 Virginia Woolf: Her Voice Recaptured --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2010/02/virginia_woolf_her_voice_recaptured.html

Free Online Textbooks, Videos, and Tutorials --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm#Textbooks
Free Tutorials in Various Disciplines --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#Tutorials
Edutainment and Learning Games --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/thetools.htm#Edutainment
Open Sharing Courses --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI




Now in Another Tidbits Document
Political Quotations on June 20, 2011
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/tidbits/2011/TidbitsQuotations062011.htm            

Peter G. Peterson Website on Deficit/Debt Solutions ---
http://www.pgpf.org/

Bob Jensen's health care messaging updates --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Health.htm




Getting Close to Home
Vietnam War Casualties Listed by Home of Record --- http://www.virtualwall.org/iStates.htm


House Sales Tax in the Health Care Bill ---
http://www.snopes.com/politics/taxes/realestate.asp

Mixture of True and False Information That the Obamacare Legislation Kicks in a 3.8% Sales Tax

False:  Health care legislation imposes a 3.8% sales tax on all house sales in the United States

True:  Health care legislation imposes a 3.8% transactions tax on profits over the capital gains
          The calculation is really quite complicated

Question
Does this transactions tax apply to profits that are plowed back into another house?

Jensen Comment
Although New Hampshire has a no sales tax on most items other than restaurant and hotel bills, it does have a formidable sales tax on the prices paid for real estate. Typically, 7% of the price is paid by the buyer and 8% is paid by the seller, although who pays what can be negotiated in the sales contract. This came as a surprise to me after I made an offer to buy the mountain cottage where I now live.


"YouTube Begins Streaming Commencement Speeches Live," by Jeff Young, Chronicle of Higher Education, June 10, 2011 ---
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/youtube-begins-streaming-commencement-speeches-live/31693?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

YouTube is Going Live --- http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2011/04/youtube-is-going-live.html


Question
What is a newly-discovered (discovery actually dates back to 1974) barrier to learning accounting and mathematics?

Answer
Dyscalculia --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyscalculia

"Math disorder makes consumers easy prey," by Bob Sullivan, MSNBC, June 13, 2011 ---
http://redtape.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/06/13/6851179-math-disorder-makes-consumers-easy-prey?ocid=twitter
Thank you Robert Harris for the heads up.

Some people seem to get taken to the cleaners every time they buy a car, subscribe to TV service or get a new cell phone.  New research suggests the problem might not be in their wallets, but in their genes.

Brain scientists are starting to get a handle on a relatively new disorder called "dyscalculia," which is loosely described as dyslexia with numbers.  While plenty of people are insecure about their number skills, dyscalculics are bad at math in a very fundamental way: Studies indicate their brains can't even recognize groups of five or six objects, or link numeric symbols with their corresponding values.

Researchers believe dyscalculia is as common as dyslexia -- perhaps impacting  one in 20 adults, as explained in a recent Body Odd column.

The implications of this disorder for high school algebra students are obvious; but the nightmare it can cause adult consumers is a far more serious -- and largely misunderstood -- social problem.

Dyscalculics often can't count change, said Professor Brian Butterworth, of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, and perhaps the world's leading dyscalculia expert.  They don't understand interest calculation or exchange rates.  By the time they become adults, they are so insecure about numbers that they frequently cede all money issues to others, a recipe for disaster.

"Unfortunately, there have been no studies that I know of, looking into the vulnerability of dyscalculics as consumers," Butterworth said.  "It would be a valuable addition to this area."

Butterworth's latest research, published in last month’s Science Magazine, focused on the fundamental causes of dyscalculia, which he believes comes from an undeveloped ability of some people to recognize and quantify sets of objects, something called "numerosity processing." But he's also interviewed hundreds of adults who can't perform basic math calculations and he understands the heartbreaking impact the disorder can have.

"One of the first dyscalculics we saw, many years ago, was in prison for shoplifting,” he said. “It turned out that he was too embarrassed to go to the till because of his problems with money." 

On his website, MathematicalBrain.com, there's an interview with successful author Paul Moorcraft, who managed to hide his disorder from everyone until he "came out" with the problem at age 55.  He'd been making lousy business deals his whole life.

“I was very successful but I couldn’t count. I kept it hidden my whole life … even counting under the table with my fingers at a board meeting,” he said.  

Continued in article

Bob Jensen's threads on aids to disabled learners are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/thetools.htm#Handicapped


"QuickWire: Top 10 Trends in Academic Libraries," by Jennifer Howard, Chronicle of Higher Education, June 16, 2011 ---
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/quickwire-top-10-trends-in-academic-libraries/31796?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en


I did not verify this, but if it's true it should be an inspiration to all poor people of the world
Korea's Got Talent - Choi Sung-Bong --- http://www.flixxy.com/korea-talent-choi-sung-bong.htm
Here's the Wikipedia entry that does point out some controversy


Question
What's hotter than education and learning on campus?
"Have some Madeira my dear" (Limelighters from my generation) ---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrbAyHVVYgI

From The Wall Street Journal Weekly Accounting Review on June 17, 2011

Why We're Going Back to Single-Sex Dorms
by: John Garvey
Jun 13, 2011
Click here to view the full article on WSJ.com
 

TOPICS: Business Ethics

SUMMARY: The president of Catholic University has written a WSJ opinion page piece on the university's decision to return to single-sex dorms. Questions ask students to understand both a philosophically-based introductory argument as well as supporting arguments based on data analysis. The piece also may surprise students-why does the WSJ, a business publication, print a story about their dormitory lives?

CLASSROOM APPLICATION: The article may be used in any business course, particularly to show the breadth of coverage by the newspaper when first introducing its use in class.

QUESTIONS: 
1. (Introductory) Who is John Garvey?

2. (Advanced) What two distinctive types of evidence does Mr. Garvey use in supporting his argument for returning to single-sex dormitories?

3. (Advanced) What questions might be raised about the evidence used by Mr. Garvey to support his arguments? Hint: look at the comments online by WSJ readers.

4. (Advanced) Would the arrangements in dormitories have impacted your choice of college or university? Explain your thoughts on this question.
 

Reviewed By: Judy Beckman, University of Rhode Island
 


 

"Why We're Going Back to Single-Sex Dorms:  Student housing has became a hotbed of reckless drinking and hooking up," by John Garvey, The Wall Street Journal, June 13, 2011 ---
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304432304576369843592242356.html#mod=djemEditorialPage_t

My wife and I have sent five children to college and our youngest just graduated. Like many parents, we encouraged them to study hard and spend time in a country where people don't speak English. Like all parents, we worried about the kind of people they would grow up to be.

We may have been a little unusual in thinking it was the college's responsibility to worry about that too. But I believe that intellect and virtue are connected. They influence one another. Some say the intellect is primary. If we know what is good, we will pursue it. Aristotle suggests in the "Nicomachean Ethics" that the influence runs the other way. He says that if you want to listen intelligently to lectures on ethics you "must have been brought up in good habits." The goals we set for ourselves are brought into focus by our moral vision.

"Virtue," Aristotle concludes, "makes us aim at the right mark, and practical wisdom makes us take the right means." If he is right, then colleges and universities should concern themselves with virtue as well as intellect.

I want to mention two places where schools might direct that concern, and a slightly old-fashioned remedy that will improve the practice of virtue. The two most serious ethical challenges college students face are binge drinking and the culture of hooking up.

Alcohol-related accidents are the leading cause of death for young adults aged 17-24. Students who engage in binge drinking (about two in five) are 25 times more likely to do things like miss class, fall behind in school work, engage in unplanned sexual activity, and get in trouble with the law. They also cause trouble for other students, who are subjected to physical and sexual assault, suffer property damage and interrupted sleep, and end up babysitting problem drinkers.

Hooking up is getting to be as common as drinking. Sociologist W. Bradford Wilcox, who heads the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, says that in various studies, 40%-64% of college students report doing it.

The effects are not all fun. Rates of depression reach 20% for young women who have had two or more sexual partners in the last year, almost double the rate for women who have had none. Sexually active young men do more poorly than abstainers in their academic work. And as we have always admonished our own children, sex on these terms is destructive of love and marriage.

Here is one simple step colleges can take to reduce both binge drinking and hooking up: Go back to single-sex residences.

I know it's countercultural. More than 90% of college housing is now co-ed. But Christopher Kaczor at Loyola Marymount points to a surprising number of studies showing that students in co-ed dorms (41.5%) report weekly binge drinking more than twice as often as students in single-sex housing (17.6%). Similarly, students in co-ed housing are more likely (55.7%) than students in single-sex dorms (36.8%) to have had a sexual partner in the last year—and more than twice as likely to have had three or more.

The point about sex is no surprise. The point about drinking is. I would have thought that young women would have a civilizing influence on young men. Yet the causal arrow seems to run the other way. Young women are trying to keep up—and young men are encouraging them (maybe because it facilitates hooking up).

Continued in article

My mom always told me I was in America and could marry any girl I please. As I grew older, I discovered I couldn't please any of them!
Unknown bachelor
As quoted by David Fordham. I think Mickey Rooney said the same thing after after seven marriages. To his credit, he's still married to his eighth bride Jan Chamberlain --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Rooney#Marriages

Dartmouth College Fraternity Toast to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Lying, Stealing, Cheating, and Drinking
If you're going to lie, lie to a pretty girl.
If you're going to steal, steal from bad company.
If you're going to cheat, cheat death.
If you're going to drink, drink with me.
This was forwarded, as best I can recall, by Richard Sansing

On matters sexual and soulful, colleges can be divided into two categories, the “spiritual” and the “evangelical” — the former the domain of hookup culture, the latter of purity culture, according to Donna Freitas, an assistant professor of religion at Boston University and author of the new book, Sex and the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America’s College Campuses (Oxford University Press).

"Sex and the Soul," by Elizabeth Redden, Inside Higher Ed, April 16, 2008 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/04/15/sexsoul

"Just roommates:  Colleges' final frontier: mixed-gender housing," by Peter Schworm, Boston Globe, April 2, 2008 --- Click Here

Now, some colleges are crossing the final threshold, allowing men and women to share rooms. At the urging of student activists, more than 30 campuses across the country have adopted what colleges call gender-neutral rooming assignments, almost half of them within the past two years.

Once limited to such socially liberal bastions as Hampshire College, Wesleyan University, and Oberlin College, mixed-gender housing has edged into the mainstream, although only a small fraction of students have taken advantage of the new policies so far. Clark and Dartmouth universities introduced mixed-gender rooms last fall, and Brown and Brandeis announced plans last month to follow suit.

The University of Pennsylvania, Skidmore and Ithaca colleges, and Oregon State University also allow roommates of different genders. Students at New York, Harvard, and Stanford universities, among many others, are calling for gender-blind dormitory rooms.

. . .

Supporters hail the trend as a key advance for homosexual and transgender students that eliminates a gender divide they see as outdated, particularly for a generation that has grown up with many friends of the opposite sex. Traditional rooming policies, they say, infringe upon students' rights and perpetuate gender segregation.

Continued in article

Breaking Up is Harder to Do on Campus
"Date Your Roommate? Oregon Colleges Allow Couples in Dorm Rooms," by Josh Fischman, Chronicle of Higher Education, http://chronicle.com/news/article/4216/more-oregon-colleges-are-allowing-roommate-couples-in-dorms

Drinking and Linking in Dormitory and Fraternity Hotbeds
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies.htm#DatingRoommates


"Stanford's Gravity Probe B confirms two Einstein theories," Stanford Report, May 4, 2011 ---
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2011/may/gravity-probe-mission-050411.html 

Proving Einstein Right
After 52 years of work, Stanford and NASA's Gravity Probe B satellite has confirmed two predictions of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity. Using four ultra-precise gyroscopes and pointing at a single star, the experiment measured the geodetic effect, or the warping of space and time around a gravitational body, and frame-dragging, the amount a spinning object pulls space and time as it rotates.


Worst Films by Decade --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worst_movies_ever

Only a few are in the realm of science fiction.

Question
Was Dick Tracy's wrist device a two-way cell phone or a one-way radio transmitter?

"The Best Hard Science Fiction Books of all Time: Ten titles that inspired Technology Review to publish its own collection of sci-fi stories," by Stephen Case, MIT's Technology Review, June 6, 2011 ---
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/26836/?nlid=4566

Jensen Comment
Arthur C. Clarke is arguably the most famous science fiction writer of all time. In a recent interview (I can't recall the reference) he stated that his biggest oversight was in not anticipating the cell phone era. Even Dick Tracy had a wrist watch that was also a telephone (or maybe a short distance radio transmitter). Perhaps Chester Gould anticipated something that Clarke did not take up on in his great books. I can't recall if Dick Tracy's wrist device received as well as sent out voice messages. Perhaps batteries and fingers are too large for wrist cell phones and smart phones today. But speech recognition software and advances in batteries may change all of that in the near future.

June 9, 2011 reply from David Fordham

Being old enough to remember Junior, Sam Catchem, Diet Smith, Tess, and MoonMaid, I well remember the device, and I always thought it was two-way. But it had an antenna that ran up your sleeve, up your arm.

I'm waiting on the moon cars, those silent, one-man air-scooters, equipped with the anti-gravity propulsion similar to that used in the space coup.

While I admit Arthur Clarke's genius at sci-fi, I personally consider Asimov to be superior, for Asimov expertly wove the ridiculousness of politics, political correctness, and other social "requirements" as thickly-embedded parts of his science fiction. Similar to Shakespeare's applicability to modern life, Asimov's vision of the future incorporated many recognizable facets of human frailties, foibles, and stupidity.

One scene in particular I remember was from the Foundation trilogy, where an archaeology professor was engaged in a debate with a layman about the origins of the human species. The professor was claiming that humans originated on earth, and the layman asked whether the professor had been to earth and engaged in any digs or other field research. The professor was aghast at the suggestion. He asked, what was the use in wasting the money for field research? There was ample evidence among the thousands of academic articles that had been published, and published academic articles are far superior to anything you could dig up out of the ground. Published academic articles are the only evidence that a true scientist needs to form conclusions. That fact had been established beyond question by earlier research, ... published in academic articles.

But back to topic: Bob, I'm blown away by the accuracy of the speech recognition built into my new AndroidX smartphone. I remember when speech recognition required hesitation for computation, lots of computing power, and the computer had to "learn" your voice. I got the new phone 2 weeks ago, and the first time I picked it up, it recognized almost every word I spoke, with no training. And I don't pause between words anymore, I slur everything together like my normal conversational speaking. Voice recognition has come a long way in the last year or two, and I'd guess we are getting close to where the original Star Trek's computer was supposed to have been in the 1966 series.

Regarding things that will disappear, my daughter thinks that "kitchens" will disappear from being "standard" in homes. There might be a nook where you keep the fridge (for drinks) and the microwave, and maybe the dishwasher for the dirty glasses, but the days of the huge kitchen, filled with pots and pans hanging from hooks over the island, the countertop filled with food processors, blenders, Kitchenaid mixers, jars of spices, and containers of flour and sugar, built-in ovens and six-burner cooktops, will be a thing of the past. She cooks and enjoys it, and her husband, being first-generation American of Italian extraction, is an excellent cook, but they notice that they are unique among their social circle.

David Fordham
JMU

"The Five Worst (Hard) Science Fiction Movies Ever: Cautionary tales where realism went wrong," by Stephen Cass, MIT's Technology Review, June 9, 2011 ---
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/26860/?nlid=4583


"GRE and SAT validity," by Stephen Hsu, Information Processing, June 8, 2011 ---
http://infoproc.blogspot.com/2011/06/gre-and-sat-validity.html

GPA-SAT correlations
"Psychometric thresholds for physics and mathematics," by Stephen Hsu and James Schombert, MIT's Technology Review, May 24, 2010 ---
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/posts.aspx?bid=354

This is a follow up to our earlier paper on GPA-SAT correlations. Click below for the pdf.
Non-linear Psychometric Thresholds for Physics and Mathematics

ABSTRACT
We analyze 5 years of student records at the University of Oregon to estimate the probability of success (as defined by superior undergraduate record; sufficient for admission to graduate school) in Physics and Mathematics as a function of SAT-M score. We find evidence of a non-linear threshold: below SAT-M score of roughly 600, the probability of success is very low. Interestingly, no similar threshold exists in other majors, such as Sociology, History, English or Biology, whether on SAT combined, SAT-R or SAT-M. Our findings have significant implications for the demographic makeup of graduate populations in mathematically intensive subjects, given the current distribution of SAT-M scores.

 
There is clearly something different about the physics and math GPA vs SAT distributions compared to all of the other majors we looked at (see figure 1 in the paper). In the other majors (history, sociology, etc.) it appears that hard work can compensate for low SAT score. But that is not the case in math and physics.

One interesting question is whether the apparent cognitive threshold is a linear or non-linear effect. Our data suggests that the probability of doing well in any particular quarter of introductory physics may be linear with SAT-M, but the probability of having a high cumulative GPA in physics or math is very non-linear in SAT-M. See figure below: the red line is the upper bound at 95% confidence level on the probability of getting an A in a particular quarter of introductory physics, and the blue line is the probability of earning a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 or so
.

Continued in article

Jensen Comment
Near perfection in grade averages is increasing due to grade inflation in both high school and college ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/assess.htm#RateMyProfessor

Hence I would think SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT standardized tests would be used to further partition graduates with stellar grade averages.

Tests measure cognitive ability, but grades measure motivation as long as grade inflation does not ruin everything in education.

About ETS Research --- http://www.ets.org/research
More credit should be give to efforts made my ETS to reduce cultural and disability factors in testing.

Paying Students to Raise Text Scores ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies.htm#GMAT


But, at the end of a day, your students walk out of the room looking exactly like they did when they first walked in (maybe a little sleepier). I think this is one of the reasons that teachers sometimes become mediocre. The results seem the same regardless of their efforts. They don’t get the positive reinforcement for their work that comes from seeing a tangible output. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that I believe this has had negative consequences for the U. S. as it has morphed from a manufacturing economy to a service economy.
Joe Hoyle, "What do we accomplish?" Getting the Most From Your Students, June 9, 2011 ---
http://joehoyle-teaching.blogspot.com/2011/06/what-do-we-accomplish.html

Jensen Comment
I don't quite agree and neither does Joe in the end. At the end of a help session students who got it have bigger smiles, more confidence, and seem a bit more awake. Our best hope is that what they just learned will stick with them for the rest of their lives.


"8 Simple Ways To Share Data Online," by David Strom, ReadWriteWeb, June 17, 2011 ---
http://www.readwriteweb.com/biz/2011/06/8-simple-ways-to-share-data-on.php

If you have to jointly author a spreadsheet with a colleague, what is the first thing that you do? Email it back and forth. This can be painful, particularly as you try to keep track of your partner's changes and hope the emails transit back and forth across the Internet. Add a third or fourth person, and things get worse. Luckily, there is a better way, and a number of Web-based service providers have stepped up with tools to make spreadsheet sharing a lot easier than sending attachments.

We've written about a few of them, including Longjump and Hyperbase (one of our products of the year for 2008), but I have tried a bunch others, and will show you what is involved and how they stack up.

The process is very straightforward: you either copy and paste data or take your spreadsheet and upload it to the service, after creating accounts for you and your collaborators. Then you can make changes via your Web browser, no other software is required. Some of the services allow for more bells and whistles. Setup time is minimal; your data is properly protected by the service and safe from harm. And you don't need to learn any Web/database programming skills either.

For many people, the spreadsheet is still one of the most popular low-end database applications. The rubric of a table of rows and columns is easily understood and can easily be used as a way to view records and fields of a database. Plus, you don't need to design special reports to view your data entries, and you can easily sort your data without having to create data dictionaries or other database structures, just use the appropriate Excel commands. Having a specialized service that can share this data makes it easier to collaborate too, whether your partners are across the office or on the other side of the world. As long as they have an Internet connection, they are good to go.

There are eight different services currently available, in order of increasing cost:

Online Spreadsheet Sharing Services

 

Service

Price

Storage limits

Pagos  Spreadsheetlive.com

Free (for now)

1 MB

Google Docs

Free

Really unlimited

Microsoft Live

Free

50 MB

Smartsheet.com

$10/mo for up to 10 spreadsheets

30 MB

Longjump Database

$19/mo for two users

3 MB

HyperBase

$175 setup plus $44/mo for 5 users

1.25 GB

TrackVia.com

$250/mo for 10 users

4 GB for entry plan

Intuit QuickBase

$299/mo for 10 users

1 GB for entry plan

Pricing and support

When you decide on the particular service, it pays to read the pricing fine print. There are discounts for annual subscriptions on most services, and some such as Smartsheet offer additional discounts for non-profit and educational institutions. All of these services have 14 day or 30 day free trials to get started, so you can get a feel of what is involved in manipulating your data and how easy it is to make changes, produce reports, and receive notifications.

Continued in article

June 18, 2011 reply from Amy Dunbar

I find Google docs great for small spreadsheets, but cumbersome for large files.

I set up Dropbox folders for each of my groups in my online class (3-5 students in a group). They post their project spreadsheets in the group folders, and if a student has a question, I can quickly open the spreadsheet to see what is going on. Students contact me by AIM and we discuss the spreadsheet via AIM. Works like a charm for me.

Amy Dunbar

UConn

Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL): Learning Spaces Collaborative --- http://www.pkallsc.org/

Bob Jensen's threads on sending large files across the Internet ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob4.htm#SendingLargeFiles

 


Ethics Case:  Lawyers at Work Siphoning Off Settlements

"Justice in Kentucky:  The bar disciplines Stanley Chesley. Calling Mike DeWine," The Wall Street Journal, June 16, 2011 ---
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304186404576387901327162050.html#mod=djemEditorialPage_t

It isn't often that a professional legal organization disciplines one of its own, but that's what happened Tuesday to plaintiffs bar legend Stanley Chesley. Now let's see if Mr. Chesley's business partner, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, keeps him employed.

The Kentucky Bar Association voted to disbar Mr. Chesley, a Cincinnati-based attorney who was one of several lawyers involved in a $200 million 2001 settlement with a company that made the diet drug fen-phen. The attorneys were later accused of taking a significant portion of the settlement that should have gone to their clients. Three attorneys have already been stripped of their law licenses, and two of those were convicted of defrauding clients.

Mr. Chesley was brought to the bar on charges of violating nine ethics rules, including taking unreasonable fees, sanctioning misconduct by other lawyers, and failing to fully inform clients. The trial commissioner who investigated, Judge William Graham, called Mr. Chesley's actions "shocking and reprehensible" and recommended that he lose his license and be forced to return $7.6 million of the $20 million he took in the case. The bar association on Tuesday accepted both recommendations, although the Kentucky Supreme Court will review the case.

All of this puts the spotlight on Mr. DeWine, a former Republican Senator who made a political comeback as AG in 2010. Ohio's government has become an engine of dubious shareholder lawsuits on behalf of its public pension funds, in hopes of landing legal jackpots to fill the state's budget hole. The state retained Mr. Chesley for its suit against Fannie Mae, and Mr. DeWine has kept Mr. Chesley on the job despite the Kentucky ethics case and evidence that the lawsuit king was less than honest with the federal judge overseeing the Fannie litigation. (See "Republicans for Lawsuits," May 31, 2011.)

Continued in article

Bob Jensen's Fraud Updates are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudUpdates.htm


"Teach Financial Literacy," by Steven Bahls, Chronicle of Higher Education, June 13, 2011 ---
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2011/06/13/essay_on_responsibility_of_colleges_to_teach_financial_literacy

 As a college president, I ask students and graduates what are we doing correctly and what can we improve upon. The typical responses to how we can improve are not surprising — more parking and more financial aid (often in that order). Lately the most common answer from recent graduates as to how we can improve has been surprising — more education about financial literacy and the practical aspects of living in today’s world.

I hear the following comments with increasing frequency, particularly since the Great Recession of 2008:

Faculty and administrators at liberal arts colleges do not shy at complex thinking. We tend to scrutinize the details even as we comprehend the big picture. We look for connections among areas of thought, and revel in a multitude of perspectives. By the end of their four years on campus, our students have benefited from a well-rounded, richly layered education. I believe most even recognize what it means to be liberally educated. Having learned to "turn the crystal" as they develop their views and goals, they are confident and able to find success on many levels.

Why then do so many recent graduates seem unable to demonstrate sound decision-making in an area as fundamental as finances and entering the work world?

Is it possible that in our efforts to foster creative and critical problem solving, we neglect the basics of responsible day-to-day living and working? As we carefully engage students in discerning shades of gray, is it at the expense of black and white?

Two events have led me to ask these questions. First is the number of conversations like those described above, with graduates who confided to me their frustrating lack of “real-world” financial knowledge. The second is the fact of the high loan default rate among recent college graduates, which is 7 percent nationwide (Augustana’s rate is 4.2 percent). I know I am not alone in asking the question: What should we do?

Personal Prosperity and the Common Good

Jon Meacham, the former editor of Newsweek, addressed the 2011 Council of Independent College Presidents Institute. Meacham praised the role of liberal education, noting that "people who know about Shakespeare tend to create the Internet." But if appreciating Shakespeare and other skills common to a liberal education is viewed by most as "quaint and quirky," liberal education will not survive. Instead, he argues that liberal education must be "vital and relevant" by "training young minds to solve problems and to see what others have yet to see and to think energetically about creating jobs and wealth," which Meacham calls the "oxygen of democracy."

I'd go one step further than Meacham. Our graduates can’t create wealth and jobs if they don’t have the ability to balance a checkbook, or the skills to hold a job.

When asked to define "personal success," I think it is fair to suggest that most college freshmen would put "financial success" toward the top of their list. As they begin taking liberal arts courses, they connect their learning to other aspects of their lives, and many begin to think of a career as something more than just a paycheck. They develop meaningful working relationships with faculty members and other students, and may experience some peaks in their education — whether through an internship, international study, research with faculty or other achievements in their major studies. Their definition of success develops more facets.

At Augustana College, we have long promoted high-impact learning experiences as well as the close relationships that allow integrated and collaborative learning to flourish. Recently we have begun to take new steps toward teaching certain life skills fundamental to ensuring success of all kinds.

Leadership about financial literacy must come from the top. I remind our students that if they live like college graduates with good jobs while they are students, their debt levels will cause them to live like students when they graduate. Going out to a mid-priced restaurant twice a week for four years could easily cost $8,000. Putting those charges on a credit card and carrying the balance over four years tips the cost to well over $10,000.

Five years ago, before the severe economic downturn, we introduced a class on personal finance. Offered each spring and fall term, the class is packed with seniors and some juniors. Having read Plato and Neruda, spent hours upon hours working in our human cadaver or volcano lab, or climbed Machu Picchu, these students suspect they must improve their financial literacy before they graduate.

Their instructor, an alumnus retired banker, begins by teaching how to use financial templates. The students create a personal profile and then produce a cash flow statement for the previous year. After clarifying their own understanding of their financial history, which generally is filled with gaps until this class, they work with their instructor on the process of creating a budget for the next year. Taking into account three to four personal financial goals (e.g., paying for students loans, emergency funds, etc., and even retirement), the students lay their financial path for the future. At all times throughout the class they keep in mind their current net worth, and how that value should affect their financial decisions. The course is such a success that, given the financial illiteracy demonstrated by too many young alumni, we now are offering a free three-hour seminar as a "crash course" in personal finance for our graduating seniors.

Sharing Responsibility

Augustana is not the only liberal arts college to offer such a class, and there is more we all can do. Many liberal arts colleges are adding majors that address personal financial viability in a changing world and also attract prospective students in an increasingly competitive market.

Augustana’s newest majors — which extend from traditional majors — include graphic design, neuroscience, environmental studies, multimedia journalism and engineering physics, among others. While some of our faculty state concerns that our college’s liberal arts foundation might be shaken by the contemporary and perhaps more fiscal focus of these programs, most see the new majors as logical progressions of traditional fields and therefore deeply related to our college’s mission.

Continued in article

A Sad, Sad Case That Might Be Used When Teaching Personal Finance:  Another Joe Lewis Example
"Desperate times:  Ex-Celtic Williams, once a top scorer, is now looking for an assist," by Bob Hohler, Boston Globe, July 2, 2010 ---
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2010/07/02/desperate_times/

Every night at bedtime, former Celtic Ray Williams locks the doors of his home: a broken-down 1992 Buick, rusting on a back street where he ran out of everything.

The 10-year NBA veteran formerly known as “Sugar Ray’’ leans back in the driver’s seat, drapes his legs over the center console, and rests his head on a pillow of tattered towels. He tunes his boom box to gospel music, closes his eyes, and wonders.

Williams, a generation removed from staying in first-class hotels with Larry Bird and Co. in their drive to the 1985 NBA Finals, mostly wonders how much more he can bear. He is not new to poverty, illness, homelessness. Or quiet desperation.

In recent weeks, he has lived on bread and water.

“They say God won’t give you more than you can handle,’’ Williams said in his roadside sedan. “But this is wearing me out.’’

A former top-10 NBA draft pick who once scored 52 points in a game, Williams is a face of big-time basketball’s underclass. As the NBA employs players whose average annual salaries top $5 million, Williams is among scores of retired players for whom the good life vanished not long after the final whistle.

Dozens of NBA retirees, including Williams and his brother, Gus, a two-time All-Star, have sought bankruptcy protection.

“Ray is like many players who invested so much of their lives in basketball,’’ said Mike Glenn, who played 10 years in the NBA, including three with Williams and the New York Knicks. “When the dividends stopped coming, the problems started escalating. It’s a cold reality.’’

Williams, 55 and diabetic, wants the titans of today’s NBA to help take care of him and other retirees who have plenty of time to watch games but no televisions to do so. He needs food, shelter, cash for car repairs, and a job, and he believes the multibillion-dollar league and its players should treat him as if he were a teammate in distress.

One thing Williams especially wants them to know: Unlike many troubled ex-players, he has never fallen prey to drugs, alcohol, or gambling.

“When I played the game, they always talked about loyalty to the team,’’ Williams said. “Well, where’s the loyalty and compassion for ex-players who are hurting? We opened the door for these guys whose salaries are through the roof.’’

Unfortunately for Williams, the NBA-related organizations best suited to help him have closed their checkbooks to him. The NBA Legends Foundation, which awarded him grants totaling more than $10,000 in 1996 and 2004, denied his recent request for help. So did the NBA Retired Players Association, which in the past year gave him two grants totaling $2,000.

Continued in article

June 17, 2011 reply from Zane Swanson

Last week, I was at an OSCPA committee meeting on financial literacy. The committee is embarking on an effort to develop financial literacy mini-courses to be given at the workplace in the form of box lunches. It isn’t just college students who have financial literacy problems as Bob’s post also notes.

For my 2 cents, I think that a set of “killer apps” for smart phones is needed to help everyone with financial literacy issues. The “credit world” technology appears to have advanced while the sociological state of many peoples’ financial knowledge seems to be left behind in the dust. So when you can’t sleep at night for whatever reason, maybe this is a place where you could have an idea which will solve one of the world’s problems. If nothing else, thinking about this one is sure to put you to sleep.

Zane Swanson

 

Bob Jensen's personal finance helpers ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/BookBob1.htm#InvestmentHelpers


"India's Powerful Can't Escape Jail:  A scandal over a telecom spectrum sale snares members of the elite," by Mehul Srivastava, Business Week, June 8, 2011 ---
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_25/b4233013968530.htm?link_position=link2
(And jails in India are far worse that our Club Feds in the U.S.)

Jensen Comment
Jailing the rich and powerful is not as common in the United States where white collar crime generally pays even if you get caught. There are of course a few exceptions such as Bernie Madoff  and Bernie Ebbers. But those that spend a few years in Club Fed generally emerge to enjoy their stashed offshore loot or loot hidden by friends and family. Other rich and famous like Michael Milken, Martha Stewart, and Leona Helmsley legally remained billionaires after their vacations in Club Fed. White collar crime generally pays in the United States ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudConclusion.htm#CrimePays

June 4, 2011 message from Roger Collins about a prison where inmates prefer to be incarcerated (for the sex and drugs and protection)

Video of Club Fed in Venezuela
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/06/03/world/americas/100000000849275/venezuelas-prison-paradise.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=thab1 

Roger

Roger Collins
TRU School of Business & Economics


Synching and Backup of Multiple Computers

May 14, 2011 message from Roger Debreceny

Ross Stevenson asked recently about synching and backup. I use three systems in tandem.

First, for some years now I have been synching all files on my laptop and two desktops with Windows Live Mesh (and its predecessors). It works seamlessly and quickly. It does require a bit of discipline to ensure that you maintain the same directory structure -- which actually makes life a little easier as the file that you need will be in the same place on each computer.

http://explore.live.com/windows-live-mesh?os=other 

Second, one of those PCs in turn is backed up daily to Mozy@Home. I am currently backing up 45gb to Mozy.com at a cost of ~$50pa.

Third, I use a free subscription to synch up to 2gb through www.dropbox.com. This synchs the files to the three desktops, the Web through www.dropbox.com , Android phone and Android tablet. I share a folder in that structure with a co-author. Our shared writing and data files are stored in this folder. There are Mac, iPhone and iPad dropbox apps as well. There are also some newer alternatives to dropbox, but they do not seem to have any better functionality.

Roger Debreceny

Bob Jensen's Technology Bookmarks are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob4.htm


Questions
Here's something the IASB and FASB "failed to cover" in their guidelines for measuring fair value ---
How do you value lewd pictures sent to you by Rep. Weiner?
Does FAS 157 cover highly unpredictable value deflation after the balance sheet date?

"TLP: How Weiner's Women Got the Money Shots and Avoided the Mess," Adrienne Gonzales, Jr. Deputy Accountant, June 14, 2011 ---
http://www.jrdeputyaccountant.com/2011/06/tlp-how-weiners-women-got-money-shots.html

The practice was especially visible last week when ABC News ran an exclusive interview with Meagan Broussard, one of the women who was sent lewd photos by Anthony Weiner, after the network paid her about $15,000 for photos. ABC said it's extensive reporting, including the interview, led to Mr. Weiner’s admissions about his online behavior.

Continued in article

Jensen Comment
Seriously, how do you report fair value of an asset that deflates very quickly in value after the balance sheet date even though it had much higher value on the balance sheet date --- such as lewd photos paid for just before the fiscal-year cutoff on June 30, 2011?

Does FAS 157 cover this serious post-date valuation aspect of fair value accounting?
What if the valuation deflation is very hard to predict at the time the audited financial statements are released to the public?


Population Growth --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_growth
Population Growth from 10000 BC to 2000 AD

Population Growth from 10000 BC to 2000 AD

 

The 1970s has many ugly legacies. Surely, however, the cruelest was this leading Western export: the idea that the Earth has reached its limit with us, and that the solution is to persuade other folks who don't yet have what we do to lower both their populations and their expectations.
"The Return of the Population Bomb: When the experts tell you there are too many people, they don't mean too many Swedes," by William McGurn, The Wall Street Journal, June 13, 2011 ---
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303714704576383764019676614.html?mod=djemEditorialPage_t

When Marx wrote that history repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce, he had it half correct. In our day, it comes back as the 1970s.

All around us we see its manifestation in the revival of floppy hats, platform shoes and maxi dresses. We can, however, also detect this same retro fashion sense on the op-ed page of the New York Times. There last week Tom Friedman's column carried one of the sentiments most in vogue in the 1970s: "The Earth Is Full."

Mr. Friedman invokes the usual grim specters so beloved of a certain kind of intellectual: natural disasters (tornadoes, floods and droughts); rising prices (food and energy); the threat to stability; and of course the kicker—that there are just too many darn people around these days.

It's a familiar meme, and it comes bearing the familiar scientific credentials. In this case the authority is, Mr. Friedman tells us, "an alliance of scientists" called the Global Footprint Network, "which calculates how many 'planet Earths' we need to sustain our growth rates." Right now they say it is 1.5. Which can mean only one thing unless we cut way, way back: We're doomed.

Back in the days of bad hair and Jimmy Carter, this kind of report was a staple of enlightened thought. Here is but a tiny sampling:

• On the eve of that decade, Stanford University biologist Paul Ehrlich opened his best-selling book "The Population Bomb" with this sunny declaration: "The battle to feed all humanity is over. In the 1970s, the world will undergo famines—hundreds of millions of people are going to starve to death." Of course, nothing of the kind happened.

• The Club of Rome, an international group of academics, scientists and global citizens, commissioned a now-infamous 1972 report called "The Limits to Growth." Like so many others, these scientists informed us that we were running out of . . . well . . . everything.

• Or take Robert McNamara, the "whiz kid" president of Ford Motor Co. Later, as chief of the World Bank, he would throw tens of millions of development dollars into population control because he said—sounding much like Mr. Friedman—the alternative was a world no one would want. If voluntary methods failed, he warned, nations would resort to coercion.

All these things were the received orthodoxies of their day, endorsed by the experts, sustained by the scientists, and challenged by only a few brave souls such as economist Julian Simon. From these pet orthodoxies two clear implications flowed.

First, when the experts tell you there are too many people, they don't mean too many Swedes. They mean too many poor people, mostly brown or black or yellow. In Hong Kong, I stumbled across a 1959 book written by an American entitled "Too Many Asians." Today the focus has shifted from Asia—but the theme remains. Early last month, the New York Times ran a page-one story citing United Nations warnings about the growing population of Africa.

Second, if the experts continue to tell countries they need to control their population or else, Mr. McNamara is absolutely right: That "or else" is going to mean coercion.

We saw that throughout the 1970s as well.

In India, the government of Indira Gandhi launched a massive and brutal sterilization campaign. In China, women's monthly periods were charted on blackboards at their places of work—and even today women are sometimes hunted down and forced to abort if they become pregnant without permission. Meanwhile, in the early 1980s, black women in Namibia complained about being forcibly injected with contraceptives after having their first babies. From Peru to the Philippines, the poor and vulnerable were subject to similar outrages.

Continued in the article

"Current World Population," by Matt Rosenberg, About.com Geography, May 11, 2011 ---
http://geography.about.com/od/obtainpopulationdata/a/worldpopulation.htm

World Population Growth

Year Population
1 200 million
1000 275 million
1500 450 million
1650 500 million
1750 700 million
1804 1 billion
1850 1.2 billion
1900 1.6 billion
1927 2 billion
1950 2.55 billion
1955 2.8 billion
1960 3 billion
1965 3.3 billion
1970 3.7 billion
1975 4 billion
1980 4.5 billion
1985 4.85 billion
1990 5.3 billion
1995 5.7 billion
1999 6 billion
2006 6.5 billion
2009 6.8 billion
2011 7 billion
2025 8 billion
2043 9 billion
2083 10 billion

Bob Jensen's threads on the entitlements bomb ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Entitlements.htm


Nine Things That Will Disappear in our Lifetime ---
http://s3.zetaboards.com/Tranquility/topic/7489553/1/

Jensen Comment
I'm not so sure some of them will disappear so much as be transformed, e.g., music and television. And the Post Office may survive as a parcel carrying giant that competes with UPS and FedEx.

Can you think of other things that are likely to disappear?

June 9, 2011 reply from David Fordham

What about spare tires? Although I taught all four of my kids how to change a tire (even the girls), they have all called AAA road service or taken advantage of the $2.50 per year upcharge on their insurance premium. If the tow-truck drivers would all start carrying some kind of universal-mount spare tires, we can eliminate carrying a spare tire in the trunk of every car on the road, everywhere we go.

I was pleasantly impressed to see Privacy on the list as "already gone". I'm glad people are finally beginning to realize this. (Perhaps the fact that all Android-based devices are equipped with Google's Latitude might help educate the masses...?)

Bank checks are already almost gone from Europe. And I like the European ways of authentication for financial transactions, too, but Americans are too paranoid to accept such an elegant solution to an obviously-easy-to-solve problem... too many Americans have no clue about the difference between "identification" and "authentication" and therefore have closed their minds tighter than a modern plastic blister-pack.

One more thing that is almost already gone is "the wristwatch". Yet another that might soon go is the "wall clock". I noticed in my Maymester class yesterday that out of 18 students, not a single one was wearing a wristwatch. Not one. Without thinking, I asked them how they can tell what time it is when they aren't in a building with a clock. Every one of them pulled out their cell phone. I pulled out mine, too, and sure enough, right there on the front, is the current time. (Being a radio amateur, I compared the time on the phone with WWV last night (the National Institute of Standards and Time, the people who "make" the correct time correct), and to my amazement, the times were in synch to the undetectable fraction of a second.

I don't think print books will disappear for a while yet. As more people (like me) abandon private cars for busses and other public transit based on cost and convenience, the ill-effects of rain, wind, mud, snow, dirt, etc. on e-readers tends to demonstrate the relative robustness of a paperback hardcopy. Further, if I accidentally leave a Patrick Robinson novel on the bus, it isn't as big a loss as if it were an iPad. At least not yet.

And the biggest loss with the end of books will be something called "historical archives". Today's generation does not value carefully-collected historical reference. They see no need for their grandchildren to have access to a carefully edited collection of today's material. Instead of having carefully culled collections for future generations to pore over, all we'll have will be randomness based on accidental unnecessary media conversion. This means historical retention of unnecessary drivel, accompanied by the loss of more important works which were not contemporaneously recognized as being important and thus were not converted to more modern media formats and therefore lost forever. THIS is going to be a BIG problem for future generations.

I also disagree about houses of worship. They come and they go, they modernize and later return to classic design, but they tend to be perennial over time. Worship is subject to fads, but there is enough orthodoxy to perpetuate classical worship once it catches on again, as it has done and inevitably will continue to do.

But I agree about capitalism, in the pure form and classic sense. The innovation inherent in unfettered competitiveness can be counterbalanced by the waste and waste-distribution tragedies inherent in unfettered competitiveness. When innovation comes down and waste and waste-distribution failures go up, the model results in a negative sum game. I believe we are in a period of high waste and high waste-distribution inadequacies, and in my opinion innovation driven by competition is (with a few very-exceptional areas) very low. (If you don't think waste-distribution is a problem, just try to get a billing error on your telephone, cable, or credit card bill fixed.... these are some of the most innovative companies out there, and the sheer, utter waste to society inherent in their basic customer service procedures is unbelievable. -- Like starvation, the problem is not total amount existent, it's an unequal distribution problem.)

Regarding AIDs, ... Bob, there are LOTS and LOTS of diseases which are technologically capable of being completely eradicated, but the solutions are politically untenable because they are politically incorrect. Public health has been trumped by individual rights, so while technologically feasible, many of these diseases aren't going to be eradicated any time in the foreseeaable future. AIDs is not even the most virulent or deadly of them, either. If cancer is ever found to be contagious, passing from person to person, I guarantee it will never be eradicated either until society's attitudes change. If democratic principles ever become extinct, perhaps we will have a crack at conquering some of these diseases.

AM Radio might also be added to the list. Electronics repair shops will shortly be gone. I've already mentioned large kitchens as standard features in homes. My wife thinks huge yards of cut grass will eventually become rare (but maybe not die out completely, no pun intended).

David Fordham
JMU

June 9, 2011 reply from Bob Jensen

Hi David,

In many ways the historical archives will not only be preserved, they will be easily accessible online. I won't have to travel down to Cambridge for the history books at Harvard and MIT since millions of shelved books will all be at my computer's disposal --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm 

However, there are some old books that will be lost or very, very difficult to find. You and I have shelves full of old textbooks. Most campus libraries will not provide shelf space to older editions of textbooks unless pressured to do so by patrons of particular textbooks. If some accounting historian wants to compare successive editions of the old Finney and Miller Intermediate Accounting textbooks, I don't know where to look other than to travel to Athens to visit my friend and mentor Herb Miller who is now in his 90s. When Herb and Lenore are gone, the University of Georgia would be smart to preserve their collection of old books.

The University of Mississippi Accounting History Libraries are terrific, but I don't know that they preserve successive editions of all the accounting, AIS, auditing, and tax textbooks. I doubt that they store all the older editions. But each edition is most likely in some faculty office somewhere in the world until at some crucial point the old editions are sent to a dumpster or paper recycling bin.

When I emptied out my campus and home offices in San Antonio in preparation for my move to New Hampshire, I put hundreds of books on tables in a campus hallway and gave the books away free to anybody who passed by the tables. Faculty could take books for their own offices, the campus library, or other nation distribution centers. But there were some books that I just could not even give away. Those I left at Goodwill collection sites and hoped that not all of them were destroyed. The least popular books were early editions of old textbooks, many of which will probably never be scanned into digital archives.

Over the years most faculty members save a lot of hard copy that books and journal articles that they never look at again in their entire lives. But there are always a few gems that in later years we're glad that we can find. I've got both an outside studio and a barn crammed with stuff that I did move. Some things are humorous --- like working papers that were rejected by referees for very good reasons.

Bob Jensen

 


Please Don't Shoot the Messengers
From the Tax Professor Blog on Paul Caron on June 12, 2011 --- http://taxprof.typepad.com/

IRS Apologizes to 300 California Gay & Lesbian Taxpayers

New York Times, From IRS to Gay Couples, Headaches and Expenses, by Scott James:

The IRS, not exactly known as a bastion of compassion, had these words for gay and lesbian couples this week: we’re sorry.

The public apology was in response to inquiries from The Bay Citizen about problems faced by same-sex couples, most in California, who are filing returns in compliance with new rules that recognized their relationships for the first time.

The change to the tax code, put into effect for 2010, was supposed to be a step toward equal treatment by the IRS. Instead, couples have faced a litany of conflicts. The latest involves at least 300 taxpayers who have had their returns rejected with terse letters signed by an enigmatic IRS employee named J. Bell from Fresno.

“Your return includes income or tax liability for more than one taxpayer, other than husband and wife,” the letters read. Note: husband and wife. Not two husbands, or two wives.

Couples who received the letters had to produce additional paperwork and faced delays in receiving refunds; most were forced to hire tax professionals.

In a statement this week, the IRS said that the letters had been “incorrectly sent” because of a processing error and that it “apologizes for this mistake and sincerely regrets any inconvenience to taxpayers.” ...

How the errant letters started is unclear. Tax experts who brought the letters to the attention of the IRS weeks ago had wondered if anti-gay IRS employees were acting out of malice. ...

J. Bell is just the latest headache for same-sex couples — 60,000 in California — trying to comply with a tax system that has become increasingly complicated because of inconsistencies between state and federal laws regarding their relationships.

The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act effectively bans federal recognition of gay couples, yet more than a third of states recognize some form of legal partnerships.

To deal with one of these conflicts, the IRS said last year that same-sex couples in states with community property laws (California, Nevada and Washington) should combine and then split their incomes for their federal returns. The motivation behind the change was fairness: heterosexual married couples can combine incomes, which can lower tax brackets and overall taxes paid if one spouse earns more.

But the change has had mixed results.

Interviews with more than a dozen Bay Area tax preparers and same-sex couples have revealed that the new rule has proved to be cumbersome and expensive. It is too complex for do-it-yourself tax filing computer software, and many couples were forced to hire tax professionals. ...

The Bay Citizen, Should Gays be Taxed the Same as Straights?, by Scott James:

there’s a passionate fight happening largely outside of the spotlight over gays and taxes, and it has national implications for the entire gay rights movement.

Many of the leaders of this battle are right here in the Bay Area.

At the forefront is Patricia Cain, a law school professor at Santa Clara University and leading expert on same-sex tax law. She’s been studying (and advocating) on this issue since 1991 - her blog  is required reading on the subject. In fact, Professor Cain is so far out front on this issue that while I’m writing about one problem she’s already working on the next snag gay couples will face (self employment tax snafus, FYI).

“Federal tax laws have failed to keep up with state property and family laws,” Dr. Cain said. And it’s not just gay couples that are impacted – millions of Americans live in alternative family situations these days not recognized by the IRS.

If Dr. Cain is the general in this fight, she has a battalion of accountants, lawyers and tax experts joining her in battle.

Among them is Mary Anne Courtney, an enrolled agent and certified financial planner in San Francisco who everyone refers to simply as “Courtney.” She worked with many of the couples I interviewed, and she’s dismayed the differences between the rhetoric from Washington and reality.

“I just heard the proclamation from the Obama White House saying June is LGBT month. That’s great. That’s my president. Now tell the IRS,” she said.

Lawyer Deb Kinney is also a distinct voice in this fight. Between personal appearances and online seminars, she estimated that she and her peers reached about 6,000 gay taxpayers and their accountants to instruct them about the recent IRS change. “We did as much as we could,” she said.

Why such a huge effort?

There’s more than just the current tax mess at stake.

Americans have a heightened sense of fair play. Not everyone agrees that same-sex marriage should be legal, but most people think that everyone should be treated equally when it comes to the IRS and taxes. Gay rights advocates believe that a majority of Americans will conclude it’s fundamentally unfair that gay people are taxed differently than straight people.

Opponents of same-sex marriage have seen this argument coming and are prepared.

Tom McClusky, senior vice president of the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C., a faith-based organization that has taken a high profile position against gay marriage, said the issue is not tax fairness, but that homosexuals want rights that others do not have.

“It’s not a matter of equality,” McClusky said. “They’re looking for special treatment.”

The Family Research Council opposes any tax changes that would treat same-sex couples the same as heterosexual married couples. The group argues that the union of one man and one woman benefits society and should be encouraged by the government, and “that homosexual conduct is harmful to the persons who engage in it and to society at large, and can never be affirmed,” according to the FRC website.

McClusky seemed almost gleeful when told about the mess same-sex couples have faced with the recent IRS change.

“They asked for special treatment, so they can’t complain about the complications they’ve received because they got what they wanted,” he said.

So it appears yet another front has opened up in the culture wars, one waged with accountants and spreadsheets.

Same Sex Tax Law Blog, My Birthday Present, by Pat Cain:

What would I like for my birthday? How about an apology from the IRS about how it has been treating same-sex couples in community property states this tax season? Voila! It came -- just one day after my real birthday. Close enough. ...

Just to be clear, in my view, the battle is not between us and the IRS. The IRS wants to do the right thing. It wants to tax each citizen on the right amount of income under existing law. That is its job. However, the IRS is seriously hampered from promulgating rules that apply to same-sex couples by the the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The IRS is to be commended for understanding that DOMA cannot usurp state property law. Thus I continue to applaud its decision about how to tax community income of same-sex couples. And now that the IRS understands how difficult it is to communicate these new rules, even to its own employees, I applaud them again  -- this time for their apology -- which, by the way, I accept.

 


Question
What are two of the most  Freakonomish and Simkinish processes in accounting research and practice?

Accounting researchers may want to track Freakonomics publications along with the works of Mikhail Simkin at UCLA

Freakonomish and Simkinish processes in auditing pracice
The IASB and FASB are moving us ever closer into requiring subjective evaluations of unique items for which CPA auditors have no comparative advantages in evaluation. For example, CPAs have no comparative advantage in estimating the value of unique parcels of real estate (every parcel of real estate is unique). Another example would be the ERP system of Union Carbide that has value to Union Carbide but cannot be dismantled and resold to any other company.

The problem with many subjective evaluations is that the so-called experts on those items are not consistent in their own evaluations. For example, real estate appraisers are notoriously inconsistent, which is what led to many of the subprime mortgage scandals when appraisers were placing enormous values on tract housing as if the real estate bubble would never burst. And placing a fair value on the ERP system of Union Carbide is more of an art than a science due to so many unknowns in the future of that worldwide company.

Freakonomish and Simkinish processes in accounting research
Secondly, accounting researchers may want to track Freakonomics and  the related works of Mikhail Simkin at UCLA. Professor Simkin made quite a name for himself evaluating subjective evaluators and in illustrating the art and science of subjective and science evaluations ---
http://www.ee.ucla.edu/~simkin/

And the tendency of accounting researchers to accept their empirical and analytical academic publications as truth that does not even need a single independent and exacting replication if Freakonomish and Simkinish in and of itself ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/TheoryTAR.htm

"Measuring The Quality Of Abstract Art: Abstract artists are only 4 per cent better than child artists, according to a controversial new way of evaluating paintings," MIT's Technology Review, June 14, 2011 ---
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/26882/?nlid=4597

Here's a bit of mischief from Mikhail Simkin at the the University of California, Los Angeles.

Simkin has a made a name for himself evaluating the relative performance of various groups and individuals. On this blog, we've looked at his work on the performance of congress, physicists and even World War I flying aces.

Today, he turns his attention to abstract artists. For some time now, Simkin has a run an online quiz in which he asks people to label abstract pictures either real art or fake. It's fun--give it a go.

One average, people answer correctly about 66 per cent of the time, which is significantly better than chance.

Various people have interpreted this result (and others like it) as a challenge to the common claim that abstract art by well-know artists is indistinguishable from art created by children or animals.

Today, Simkin uses this 66 per cent figure as a way of evaluating the work of well known artists. In particular, he asks how much better these professional artists are than children.

First, he points out the results of another well known experiment in which people are asked to evaluate weights by picking them up. As the weights become more similar, it is harder to tell which is heavier. In fact, people will say that a 100g weight is heavier than a 96g weight only 72 per cent of the time.

"This means that there is less perceptible difference between an abstractionist and child/animal than between 100 and 96g," says Simkin.

So on this basis, if you were to allocate artistic 'weight' to artists and gave an abstract artist 100g, you would have to give a child or animal 96g. In other words, there is only a 4 per cent difference between them.

That's not much!

Simkin goes on to say this is equivalent in chess to the difference between a novice and the next ranking up, a D-class amateur.

Continued in article

Bob Jensen's threads on what went wrong with accounting standard setting and academic accounting research are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Theory01.htm


"Wage Inflation is a B*tch," by Adrienne Gonzalez, Jr. Deputy Accountant, June 15, 2011 ---
http://www.jrdeputyaccountant.com/

Now what you should do is check out this (April 2000) Cleveland Fed paper,

Bob Jensen's suggested added reading:

"American Wage Stagnation," by Richard Posner, The Becker-Posner Blog, April 18, 2010 ---
http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/2010/04/american-wage-stagnationposner.html
Also read the comments

"Trends in American Income Inequality Prior to the Recession," Nobel Lauriate Gary Becker,  The Becker-Posner Blog, April 18, 2010 ---
http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/2010/04/trends-in-american-income-inequality-prior-to-the-recession-becker.html


New Technology for WordPress sites
"Omeka Gets Access Keys Plugin, by  Cory Bohon, Chronicle of Higher Education, June 14, 2011 ---
http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/omeka-gets-access-keys-plugin/34011?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

Just a few months ago, I wrote a post introducing a plugin I developed that allows anyone to make their WordPress site more accessible and easier to navigate. [Note: like almost all WordPress plugins, this one works if you're hosting your own site but not if your site is hosted by WordPress.com.] This pluginwhich is listed in the WordPress.org plugin directorymakes it easy to specify keyboard shortcuts for built-in WordPress functions and for access to other internal or external pages.

Access keys, as you may already know, are an example of universal design: they make a site easier to navigate not only for people who are blind or have low vision but for all people (provided they can use a keyboard).

But I couldn’t just stop with WordPress. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working to create a plugin with the same functions for Omeka, a content management system for scholarly collections (and a ProfHacker favorite). Just yesterday, I released the Access Keys plugin for Omeka to the public, allowing any Omeka administrator the ability to make their site a little more accessible with just a few clicks.

The Omeka Access Keys plugin allows an admin to give keyboard shortcuts to the following built-in action:

In addition, the Omeka plugin will read aloud the available access keys to users navigating through the site using a screen reader. For the visual users, the site administrator can place a small link to a listing of the access keys anywhere in the theme.

Continued in article

Bob Jensen's Technology Bookmarks ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob4.htm


Question
What "tactics" of this controversial professor led to his resignation/firing?

Answer
Alleged misrepresentation of facts.

"Controversial Journalism Prof to Retire," Inside Higher Ed, June 14, 2011 ---
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/06/14/qt#262441

Northwestern University announced Monday that David Protess will retire on August 31. As professor of journalism, Protess won acclaim for leading the Innocence Project, which worked to help falsely accused individuals demonstrate their innocence, but in the last year his tactics have been questioned by law enforcement officials and the university.

David Protess Press Announcement from Northwestern ---
http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2011/04/university-statement-david-protess_mobile.html 

Northwestern University generally does not discuss publicly actions regarding its faculty and staff. However statements in the media by Professor David Protess and our desire to be as forthcoming as possible on an issue of great importance to the University, its faculty, our students, alumni and our community prompt us to make the following statement.

This afternoon Medill Dean John Lavine shared information with his faculty that explained his decision several weeks ago not to assign teaching responsibilities to Professor David Protess this quarter.  Protess is on leave from both teaching and directing the Medill Innocence Project this quarter.

Lavine’s decision followed a thorough review by the University and its outside counsel, Jenner & Block, of the information provided by Protess to Lavine and University attorneys in connection with a court case and of the practices and procedures of the Medill Innocence Project, which has been led by Protess. The review uncovered numerous examples of Protess knowingly making false and misleading statements to the dean, to University attorneys, and to others. Such actions undermine the integrity of Medill, the University, the Innocence Project, students, alumni, faculty, the press, the public, the State and the Court. 

Under Professor Protess’ supervision, student journalists working with the Medill Innocence Project investigated the murder conviction of Anthony McKinney from Fall 2003 through spring 2006. 

In May 2009, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office issued a court-approved subpoena to Medill seeking 11 categories of documents relating to the McKinney case, including a request for memoranda created by students as part of their investigative journalism work on the case. The University began working on a way to respond to the subpoena completely and accurately and also protect our students, their privacy and journalistic independence.

To be responsive to the subpoena, Northwestern needed to be certain which materials could be protected by a claim of reporter’s privilege under Illinois law and not be relinquished to the State and what materials would have to be turned over because they had been published or shared with a third party outside Medill. University lawyers repeatedly made that distinction clear to Protess, and Northwestern relied on his representations, as the long-time director of the Innocence Project, regarding what had been shared outside Medill and for which privilege could therefore not be claimed. Based on the information provided by Protess, the University took the position that student memos were privileged.

However, in June 2010 the University discovered that there were many inconsistencies emerging between Protess’ representations and the facts. Mr. McKinney’s lawyers produced in court student memos they said were received from Protess or from the Medill Innocence Project at his direction – documents Protess had said were never shared outside Medill. As a result, it became clear that the position the University had taken in court concerning the students’ memos was not supportable. Additionally, Sidley Austin, the law firm representing Protess and the University, informed the court that statements it had previously made were not accurate and withdrew its representation of Protess.  Northwestern then hired Jenner & Block to determine what had happened in the subpoena response process.

Jenner & Block scrutinized relevant material obtained from computer hard drives related to the McKinney matter and conducted interviews with individuals with first-hand knowledge of the conduct regarding the subpoenas in the case.

The review uncovered considerable evidence that Protess: authorized the release of all student memos to Mr. McKinney’s lawyers despite his repeated claims to the contrary; knew from the very beginning that doing so waived any claim of privilege; and repeatedly provided false and misleading information to the lawyers and the dean.  As just one example, in December 2009 Protess sent them a falsified communication in an attempt to hide the fact that the student memos had been shared with Mr. McKinney’s lawyers.  This communication included what Protess said was a copy of a November 2007 email, unredacted save for removal of “personal information,” that he had sent to his program assistant.  The email copy he provided stated that: “My position about memos, as you know, is that we don’t keep copies….” However, examination of the original 2007 email, which was only recently obtained by the University, revealed that the original wording actually was: “My position about memos, as you know, is that we share everything with the legal team, and don’t keep copies….” 

In sum, Protess knowingly misrepresented the facts and his actions to the University, its attorneys and the dean of Medill on many documented occasions. He also misrepresented facts about these matters to students, alumni, the media and the public. He caused the University to take on what turned out to be an unsupportable case and unwittingly misrepresent the situation both to the Court and to the State.

Medill makes clear its values on its website, with the first value to “be respectful of the school, yourself and others - which includes personal and professional integrity.”  Protess has not maintained that value, a value that is essential in teaching our students.  That is why Medill Dean John Lavine has assigned the course to another faculty member this quarter and Protess is on leave.

The Medill Innocence Project’s work and achievements have been instrumental in pursuing the truth and righting wrongs. Northwestern University and Medill are committed to this work and its continuance, and the investigative journalism class related to the Project is now underway for the quarter with new leadership. 

Another very controversial case where a tenured professor was actually fired from the University of Colorado is the Ward Churchill case where Churchill was accused of plagiarism and of false claims that he is a Native American --- The Cherokee Wannabe.
The Saga of Ward Churchill --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HypocrisyChurchill.htm
In June 2011 Churchill's long-awaited appeal was accepted for deliberation by the Colorado Supreme Court. The Court is expected to rule on this case late in 2011,

Bob Jensen's threads on when professors cheat are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Plagiarism.htm#ProfessorsWhoPlagiarize


Lake Wobegone (Illusory superiority) Rankings of European Universities --- All of Them are Above Average
It's like a kids' fair where everybody earns a blue ribbon

"A New European Ranking: Prizes for All!" by Ben Wildavsky, Chronicle of Higher Education, June 13, 2011 ---
http://chronicle.com/blogs/worldwise/a-new-european-ranking-prizes-for-all/28377

Bob Jensen's threads on ranking controversies are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies.htm#BusinessSchoolRankings


Looking for Every Nook and Granny
"With the New Nook, Grandma Gets Wired: A pared-down version of the Barnes & Noble e-reader has the grandmother demographic in mind," by David Zax, MIT's Technology Review, June 6, 2011 ---
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/helloworld/26847/?nlid=4602

. . .

So it's no surprise to hear from Barnes & Noble's CEO this week that one of the target markets for its latest iteration of the Nook is the granny demographic. At an event in New York on Tuesday, reports Reuters, chief executive William Lynch told the group gathered that the inspiration for the latest Nook was a letter that had asked why no e-readers were tailored to the geriatric set (or other dead-tree loyalists, like myself).

"The Kindle 3 has 38 buttons. That's 37 more than the all-new Nook," Lynch said, comparing his offering to Amazon's latest. With just one button, the latest of late-adopting grandparents should be able to take the latest Nook for a whirl.

The new Nook is priced at $139, making it competitive with Amazon's Kindle, and starts shipping on June 10—though you can pre-order it now, if you like. (There's actually a cheaper Kindle, one that costs $114, but it's ad-supported—not true of the latest Nook.) The Nook weighs in at 7.5 ounces and has a 6-inch touchscreen display. It was just a month ago that the B&N introduced a revamped color e-reader, priced at $249, one that could even play videos and let you play popular games like "Angry Birds." But the whole idea behind the $139 Nook is to simplify, simplify, simplify. Its display is plain black and white—a true e-reader. Its screen is specifically designed to be "paper-like."

B&N execs made a claim at the May 24 event—that the new Nook had superior battery life to its competitors, lasting up to two months. This led to a battle of press releases between Amazon and B&N, with the former claiming the latter hadn't played fair with their battery life tests. Amazon has traditionally based its battery life claims on one-hour-per-day usage; B&N's usage tests assumed just a half-hour per day. But the smackdown seems to have reached a sort of détente, reports Wired—Amazon just rejiggered its own analysis based on 30-minutes-per-day usage.

Two months of battery life? One month? Who cares? It's a tremendous amount of time, next to what a charge gets you on your laptop or smartphone. Then again, unless grandma also has those gadgets, her expectations how long a battery ought to run may be different from yours.

Bob Jensen's threads on the history of electronic books ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/eBooks.htm


The only thing more dangerous than an amateur economist is a professional economist.
Berta’s Fundamental Law of Economic Rent as quoted in Simoleon Sense

The latest Census Bureau report provides details of the 2008-09 school year, as the nation was in the midst of the recession. That year, 48,238,962 students were enrolled in the U.S. K-12 public education system. That was a decline of 157,114 students from the previous year. They were taught by 3,231,487 teachers (full-time equivalent). That was an increase of 81,426 teachers from the previous year.
Kyle Olson, "What Teachers Unions Won't Tell You About School Layoffs," Townhall, June 16, 2011 ---
http://townhall.com/columnists/kyleolson/2011/06/16/what_teachers_unions_wont_tell_you_about_school_layoffs

Per-pupil spending rose 2.6 percent, and spending on employee compensation (salaries and benefits) rose 2.3 percent. The United States average for per-pupil spending was $10,499, with 25 states spending more than $10,000 per student.
Kyle Olson, "What Teachers Unions Won't Tell You About School Layoffs," Townhall, June 16, 2011 ---
http://townhall.com/columnists/kyleolson/2011/06/16/what_teachers_unions_wont_tell_you_about_school_layoffs


"Go to Community College, Earn a Bachelor's Degree: Florida Likes That Combination," by Jennifer Gonzalez, Chronicle of Higher Education, June 12, 2011 ---
http://chronicle.com/article/Floridas-Community-Colleges/127880/

Jensen Comment
Thus far, Florida's community colleges are not offering accounting bachelor's degrees. However, when I was at Florida State University, the senior state universities had to accept Florida's two-year community college graduates as transfer students. There were many good community college graduates, but in accounting the flunk out rate in intermediate accounting was extremely high among community college transfer students. This leads me to question somewhat the academic standards of the newer community college four-year degrees. However, maybe their own flunk out rates are very high in the third years of study.

I question somewhat the need for community colleges to offer bachelor's degrees if the senior institutions are providing viable distance education alternatives to students who for one reason or another face obstacles when forced to leave home to attend a university in a different city. I would be more supportive of community college bachelor's degrees before this era of distance education.

If community colleges are awarding a significant number of bachelor's degrees, perhaps there main mission is getting downgraded in their budgets --- the main mission being to offer low-cost and convenient opportunities for some disadvantaged high school graduates to begin a college education. Senior universities then bear the higher costs of full-time accounting, business, engineering, science, and other faculty needed for the education beyond the first two years.


Hype Versus Reality in Higher Education
"In Follow-Up, 'Academically Adrift' Students Show Worrisome Levels of Debt and Joblessness, Author Says," by Scott Carlson, Chronicle of Higher Education, June 12, 2011 ---
http://chronicle.com/article/In-Follow-Up-Academically/127900/

Bob Jensen's threads on higher education controversies ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies.htm

 


"Updating A Security Program," by Jerry Trites, IS Assurance, June 11, 2011 ---
http://uwcisa-assurance.blogspot.com/

Companies that have a security policy (don't all of them?) need to update it regularly. This has been a basic precept of good security. But in modern times, it still is not always done and the times point even more than ever to the need for it.

Ernst & Young has released a document called "Information Security in a Borderless World" in which it points out, based on a survey, that many companies feel their security risk has increased. The reasons relate to the increasing incidence of global attacks, the increase in cloud computing and the use of mobile devices. On the latter, the study points out that banning mobile devices will actually increase security, contrary to the instincts of some companies.

Continued in article

Download the article:
http://www.ey.com/GL/en/Services/Advisory/IT-Risk-and-Assurance/Information-Security-in-a-borderless-world--time-for-a-rethink

What I found interesting is that this tidbit was posted by Jerry at 3:30 a.m. I don't know whether he was up that early or had just not yet gone to bed.


Identification Versus Authentication

June 9, 2011 message from David Fordham

Chuck Pier wrote:

I was wondering if you could clarify what you meant by the difference between "identification and authentication." I'm not sure that I follow.

To which I reply:

Chuck:
Most Americans don’t differentiate between identification and authentication. But they are very different concepts. Before we get to that question, let’s look at some background:

The late medieval Dutch are supposedly the first to recognize the need for identification and authentication. I have no citations in my head and don’t have time to look them up right now, but the Dutch are reportedly the first ones in Western Civilization to engage in major trade with far-off complete strangers. (The Romans, Babylonians, Venetians and many other cultures extensively engaged in major amounts of “distance trading”, but most of the Roman, Venetian, etc. trading was done with partners who were familiar to those engaged in the transactions, even though the partners may have been located far-off. Plus, the magnitude of the major Dutch “companies and corporations” involved amounts of fungible money, concentrated in a single trading entity, that would boggle the mind of most small Venetian, Babylonian Roman, etc. traders.)

So related to this is the Dutch invention of the corporate form of governance, where stockholders together trust large sums of money or other assets to “complete strangers” who are trusted to operate the business.

The middle-ages Dutch were wise to the dangers which resulted in the 1929 crash, and knew that you don’t trust lots of assets to complete strangers without knowing something about them. To keep your “complete-stranger” trading partner or hired manager from absconding with your money, it would be useful to know “where he slept”, “who’s his daddy”, “where he came from”, “where can we find him if we need him”, and other such information that would allow pursuit, capture, and remedy in the case of defalcation on his part.

Thus, the Dutch were the first in the modern era to require business licenses, civil registrations of birth, parentage, death, residence, articles of incorporation, etc. purely for public information purposes. There is a nice museum in Leiden, Holland, which brags about this, and I’ve encountered the explanation in other places, including Cologne, Strasbourg, and even a lecture at University of North Florida years ago.

(Of course, many others rightly point out that kings and emperors and guilds required business registration for taxation purposes and monopoly purposes and professional protection and such, many centuries earlier. Even Augustus at the time of the birth of Christ was requiring civil registration. And churches have kept birth, baptism, and death records for generations. But my sources in my travels all seemed to credit the Dutch for the “registration for public consumption”: the birth of the “vital statistics” and “information databases” purely for sharing knowledge with the public, allowing public verification of who your trading partner is … and is not. )

These mandatory registration and vital statistics collections formed a database at the town hall (the Stadshuis), which could freely be viewed and inspected by anyone wishing to verify your veracity.

Now let’s answer the question.

Identification is the concept of “I am this person, from among the many”. Ergo, the use of a first name, middle name, and last name, with possibly a town of origin, to differentiate you, individually, from the many other people that are walking around on earth. This is identification.

Authentication is the verification of “are you really who you say you are?” It is a one-to-one, as opposed to the “one from many” process.

Once identification has been offered (“I am David Fordham, originally from Jacksonville, the professor at JMU”), authentication is the process whereby someone can verify that I really AM the David Fordham from Jacksonville that is a professor at JMU.

Both identification and authentication are necessary for reliable trade to occur, especially if the transaction is not completed at a single point in time. In other words, if the transaction is complex, or involves credit (payables and receivables), or delayed delivery, or any other of dozens of factors, the trading partners have to both trust each other, and therefore must know who it is they are trading with, so they’ll be able to pursue, collect, and remedy if necessary.

Business law uses the term “non-repudiation” to signify that one party cannot “get out of” a contract by claiming that “I’m not who you think I am, I’m not the one who is obligated under that contract, I don’t owe you the money”. Authentication is required for non-repudiation.

The same problem appears today on the internet. You get an email from a potential trading partner offering you a stake in the liquidation of treasure from a Nigerian Oil Company. The person identifies himself by name, title, and country of origin, but how can you authenticate that he really is the former president of the Nigerian oil company?

Or you want to order an item online from ABC company and pay later. How does ABC know you are really the Chuck Pier you say you are, and not that scalawag David Fordham pretending to be Chuck Pier?

The combination of identification and authentication requires a reliable, secure, process known as “registration”, with a trusted third party. In the case of the Dutch, the third party was the elected government, the town hall, the town clerk. (This is why the Groeninge museum in Bruges displays a prominent painting of the town clerk being skinned alive for corruption in his duties… ostensibly to scare future town clerks into avoiding such a fate.)

Some examples: you register with your bank. They open an account for you. This is registration. At registration, they assign you a user id. This is used for identification: you are the only customers -- from among their many -- who have that unique userID. You then provided a PIN or password. This is later used for authentication. Thus, when you start to do business with the “complete stranger” (e.g., the ATM machine in Des Moines, or the server you log onto via the website), you can identify yourself via the userID, and then authenticate your identification by entering the password or PIN.

Once authenticated, you can now transact business, including changing your PIN number or password if you wish. Authentication results in trustworthiness.

Since there is a growing problem with hijacked URL’s, many banks are now using “Two-way” ID and authentication. This requires an additional step: at the time of registration, you select a picture, icon, symbol, or some other indicator that YOU wish the BANK to use to authenticate itself to you! This means the bank is registering with YOU. Then, when you log onto what you think is the bank’s website, after you enter your identification, before you release your password, the bank authenticates itself by transmitting the special picture/icon/symbol that YOU picked, to prove to you that the bank itself is the website you are dealing with. Then you can reliably enter your password, knowing you are dealing with the bank, and not giving your password to an impostor website.

Another two-way authentication routine being used by banks is the cookie system. When you log onto the banks server, if the bank doesn’t find a cookie authenticating your machine, it will require you to either provide an additional layer of authentication (answer a secret question, like “what was the name of your first goldfish?” or “Which side of the bed does you spouse sleep on”” or something like that), or alternatively, my bank sends a special authentication code to my cell phone or home phone which must be entered. This code is good for only one time. This way the bank is adding a layer of protection.

With third-party registration, both parties must trust the third party. For example, both you and your ATM/bank’s webserver trust the personal banker you used when you registered with the bank.

Europeans are old hands at trusting their governments, at least to some degree Most European countries have identification cards – you register with the government and get your ID card – and no one objects. This is suitable for run-of-the-mill day-to-day transactions. When in Europe, I was always being asked for the identity card Belgium issued me when I arrived with my residential visa. It was used for almost every major transaction, from establishing phone service, to getting a monthly bus pass, to getting doctor services, to verifying my credit card, to cashing travelers checks, to renting a storage unit, to checking in at the airport.

And even the Europeans who don’t trust the government still recognize that registration is necessary for authentication, and accept it as a necessary requirement for commerce and social order. (A few outlaws excepted…ahem)

By contrast, many Americans are descended from the rebellious, scurrilous scoundrels who didn’t trust the European governments, and many of us still don’t trust government, of any ilk. Thus, Americans have steadfastedly refused to accept, to trust, to even allow, mandatory registration with the government. And since most Americans aren’t as precise with their meanings, they confuse “registration” with “identification systems”.

International travelers are familiar with the need for identification and authentication. Passports are issued by governments. Presto. But other Americans are loathe to register, to be identified.

The U.S. Social Security card system was on the way to being the national ID system, and the state drivers licenses are becoming the de facto ID system. Why? Because of the need, that’s why. Your doctor asks for your social security card ONLY to make sure they get the right John Brown in case you are put in the hospital, or if a John Brown tries to sue for malpractice. They ask for your drivers license for its biometric data, to make sure you are indeed the John Brown you say you are.

And because we don’t have a generalized, centralized, everyday version of registration/authentication/registration, we suffer from a patchwork of individual registrations/identifications/authentications. For example: how many different logins and passwords does the average American have? If we had a single, reliable, robust, well-designed, and relatively secure (the operative word is relatively, not positively) system, we could all dispense with the redundancies for most (not all, but most) of these different logins. I don’t think that my ham radio yahoo groups password, or my ToyotaRepair groups password, or even my Lexmark printer user-group passwords need to be as secure as my Chase password.)

I laugh every time my old curmudgeon friend across the street says, “It’ll be a cold day in hell before I let them put biometric data on my drivers license.” After I stop giggling uncontrollably, I show him that his drivers license already has biometric data on it. His picture, weight, height, hair color – in short, sufficient biometric information for reasonable (but not perfectly accurate) identification AND some authentication is right there on his license. The only thing he is objecting to is digital biometric measures, which are much more robust, more precise, harder to fake, harder to forge, harder to manipulate, and in short, more secure than the analog data already there.

To repeat, modern commerce requires, mandates, absolutely cannot function without, reasonable levels of identification and authentication. The Europeans knew this is 1520. Americans in 2011 disagree, but we Americans are actually operating with such a system in order to keep our economy running. The problem is, because the American “de facto” system was not centrally organized, designed, or implemented properly, it is functioning in a haphazard, half-baked, mickey-mouse way. This lack of a formal, well-designed system is responsible for many of the problems we have with identity theft, fraud, etc.

Americans seem to be superior to Europeans (with apologies to my European friends who respectfully disagree) in designing thorough and complex systems. But Europeans are superior to Americans when it comes to realizing that maximizing the benefit to all individuals in a society requires some sacrifice of individuality within that society. Americans should put effort into designing a good system and accept that it may require some individual sacrifice for the greater good of all individuals. Sacrifice is "giving up something good, for something better."

Can well-designed identification, authentication, and registration systems be hacked? Of course. Nothing is 100% safe. But systems architects, whether aircraft systems, architectural systems, manufacturing systems, accounting systems, or ID/authentication/registration systems, all work better, more efficiently and with less problem and less failure IF THEY ARE DESIGNED with their objectives in mind.

By mickey-mousing the SS# and drivers systems to serve as the de facto commerce-support systems whose needs were recognized by the Dutch, Americans are more susceptible to failures, forgeries, etc. By claiming (rightfully) that the modern systems are not perfect and 100.000% safe, we ignorantly accept a system that is 97.50000% safe, instead of accepting a system which could be 99.99999999 safe, and then let the two-percent failure rate serve an excuse for not implementing the higher-reliability system.

Registration is prerequisite to authentication. Authentication in turn is required to verify identification. Identification and its corresponding authentication are necessary for trust, which is necessary for commerce in a large society.

Wow, I didn’t realize I wrote so much. Sorry. This is a topic that I’m passionate about. If you read this far, I apologize. I’ll hit enter to get you a response, and I’ll abbreviate it later if you don’t read this far.

David Fordham


University of Illinois: Gaming Initiative --- http://www.library.illinois.edu/gaming/index.html

The Realities of High Corporate Tax Rates in States Like Illinois and the Realities of Rotten Governmental Accounting
The same thing that drives corporations to set up sham corporate headquarters off shore (to keep profits out of reach of the IRS) also drives corporations to flee states that impose high corporate tax rates (like Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and California) to states that took on less unfunded entitlements burdens (like Texas and North Carolina). 

"Illinois Tax Firesale:  A case study in high corporate rates and special favors," The Wall Street Journal, June 9, 2011 ---
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304474804576370102955207570.html#mod=djemEditorialPage_t

Illinois gained nationwide notoriety in January when Governor Pat Quinn signed into law a 67% hike in the personal income tax rate while lifting the corporate tax rate to 9.5%, the fourth highest in the nation. How is that working out?

The good news is that corporate tax receipts in Springfield are up by about $300 million amid the economic recovery—though the state comptroller's office announced in April that the state still faces $8 billion in unpaid bills. The bad news is that, according to the state's Department of Commerce, Illinois has already shelled out some $230 million in corporate subsidies to keep more than two dozen companies from fleeing the state. And more are on the way.

The ink was barely dry on the new taxes before major employers announced their unhappiness. The equipment giant Caterpillar, the spinal cord of the Peoria economy, says the higher business and personal income taxes will cost the company and its 23,000 Illinois employees $40 million a year. "I want to stay here, but as the leader of this business I have to do what's right for Caterpillar when making decisions about where to invest," CEO Doug Oberhelman said in the wake of the tax increase, adding that Illinois "is not favorable to business."

Caterpillar has long built new facilities outside Illinois to avoid the United Auto Workers, most recently in Texas. And after the Quinn tax hike, at least six states—from Virginia to zero income tax South Dakota—offered lower costs if the firm relocated. Caterpillar is staying put for now.

When the cellphone business Motorola Mobility hinted this spring that it might leave for San Diego, Mr. Quinn bounced into action. "I know how to work with the big businesses," he declared to the media, as he rushed—taxpayer checkbook in hand—to keep the company in the state. Motorola pocketed $100 million in tax incentives last month to stay in Libertyville.

Mr. Quinn's latest quest is to keep Sears in the state. In May, the retailer—based in Hoffman Estates with some 6,000 workers—hinted that it may look for a new home because of expiring tax breaks. The suitors include Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and even New Jersey. "We will sit down with the Sears people," Mr. Quinn promised. "I'm sure we'll work something out."

No doubt he will, since in two years in office Mr. Quinn has doled out corporate welfare to at least 80 firms, costing the state nearly $500 million, according to a tally by the Chicago Tribune. Late last year Navistar, the commercial truck engine maker, secured $65 million in handouts. Continental Tire nabbed $19 million. Even deal-of-the-day Web business Groupon, which is preparing an IPO to raise $750 million, grabbed $3.5 million in tax credits to stay in Chicago. U.S. Cellular got a $7.2 million package to keep its headquarters in the Chicago area, while Chrysler received an "investment package" worth $62 million for its Belvidere assembly plant.

Continued in article

Jensen Comment
Some states suffer worse from unfunded long-term entitlements obligations --- like Illinois and California made promises they may not be able to keep for retired state worker and teacher pension and medical plans relative to North Carolina that has much more conservative fiscal management.

Some state governments have made entitlements promises that they may just not be able to keep. Governmental accounting has been a game of shadows and mirrors and wonderland dreams.

Voters are just beginning to realize how the accounting profession aided and abetted the deceits of lousy fiscal management in local, state, and national government
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Entitlements.htm

Bob Jensen's threads on the sad state of governmental accounting ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Theory02.htm#GovernmentalAccounting


"Escape From Illinois, Cont:. Now the Chicago Merc wants relief," The Wall Street Journal, June 15, 2011 ---
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303848104576383872937102498.html#mod=djemEditorialPage_t

The line of businesses looking for tax relief in Illinois keeps growing, with the latest plea coming from the owner of the iconic Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board of Trade. CME Group Executive Chairman Terrence Duffy told a shareholders meeting last week that Illinois Governor Pat Quinn's 30% hike in the corporate tax rate enacted in January will cost the company $50 million this year. "We don't want to leave Chicago," Mr. Duffy said, but "we have to do what's right for our shareholders." A spokesman confirmed that the company is exploring all options to save money.

We reported last week that dozens of major Illinois firms—from Caterpillar to Motorola to Sears—are in open rebellion in the wake of Springfield's $6 billion revenue grab and new 9.5% corporate rate, fourth highest in the U.S. Mr. Quinn has already carved out some $230 million in special tax breaks this year to save companies from his own tax policies and keep these firms from fleeing.

Our guess is that Mr. Duffy's statement is also an attempt to bargain for better tax treatment, and it's hard to blame him. The Chicago Tribune reports that CME pays 8.9% of its income in state tax, while most businesses pay well below 7% and many pay no tax at all thanks to rich deductions. Mr. Quinn says he's having an "ongoing conversation" with CME, and we'll bet a February pork belly contract that he'll deliver the bacon.

Continued in article

The Realities of High Corporate Tax Rates in States Like Illinois and the Realities of Rotten Governmental Accounting
The same thing that drives corporations to set up sham corporate headquarters off shore (to keep profits out of reach of the IRS) also drives corporations to flee states that impose high corporate tax rates (like Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and California) to states that took on less unfunded entitlements burdens (like Texas and North Carolina). 

"Illinois Tax Firesale:  A case study in high corporate rates and special favors," The Wall Street Journal, June 9, 2011 ---
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304474804576370102955207570.html#mod=djemEditorialPage_t

Illinois gained nationwide notoriety in January when Governor Pat Quinn signed into law a 67% hike in the personal income tax rate while lifting the corporate tax rate to 9.5%, the fourth highest in the nation. How is that working out?

The good news is that corporate tax receipts in Springfield are up by about $300 million amid the economic recovery—though the state comptroller's office announced in April that the state still faces $8 billion in unpaid bills. The bad news is that, according to the state's Department of Commerce, Illinois has already shelled out some $230 million in corporate subsidies to keep more than two dozen companies from fleeing the state. And more are on the way.

The ink was barely dry on the new taxes before major employers announced their unhappiness. The equipment giant Caterpillar, the spinal cord of the Peoria economy, says the higher business and personal income taxes will cost the company and its 23,000 Illinois employees $40 million a year. "I want to stay here, but as the leader of this business I have to do what's right for Caterpillar when making decisions about where to invest," CEO Doug Oberhelman said in the wake of the tax increase, adding that Illinois "is not favorable to business."

Caterpillar has long built new facilities outside Illinois to avoid the United Auto Workers, most recently in Texas. And after the Quinn tax hike, at least six states—from Virginia to zero income tax South Dakota—offered lower costs if the firm relocated. Caterpillar is staying put for now.

When the cellphone business Motorola Mobility hinted this spring that it might leave for San Diego, Mr. Quinn bounced into action. "I know how to work with the big businesses," he declared to the media, as he rushed—taxpayer checkbook in hand—to keep the company in the state. Motorola pocketed $100 million in tax incentives last month to stay in Libertyville.

Mr. Quinn's latest quest is to keep Sears in the state. In May, the retailer—based in Hoffman Estates with some 6,000 workers—hinted that it may look for a new home because of expiring tax breaks. The suitors include Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and even New Jersey. "We will sit down with the Sears people," Mr. Quinn promised. "I'm sure we'll work something out."

No doubt he will, since in two years in office Mr. Quinn has doled out corporate welfare to at least 80 firms, costing the state nearly $500 million, according to a tally by the Chicago Tribune. Late last year Navistar, the commercial truck engine maker, secured $65 million in handouts. Continental Tire nabbed $19 million. Even deal-of-the-day Web business Groupon, which is preparing an IPO to raise $750 million, grabbed $3.5 million in tax credits to stay in Chicago. U.S. Cellular got a $7.2 million package to keep its headquarters in the Chicago area, while Chrysler received an "investment package" worth $62 million for its Belvidere assembly plant.

Continued in article

Jensen Comment
Some states suffer worse from unfunded long-term entitlements obligations --- like Illinois and California made promises they may not be able to keep for retired state worker and teacher pension and medical plans relative to North Carolina that has much more conservative fiscal management.

Some state governments have made entitlements promises that they may just not be able to keep. Governmental accounting has been a game of shadows and mirrors and wonderland dreams.

Voters are just beginning to realize how the accounting profession aided and abetted the deceits of lousy fiscal management in local, state, and national government
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Entitlements.htm

Bob Jensen's threads on the sad state of governmental accounting ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Theory02.htm#GovernmentalAccounting


I'm Just a Retro Find Kinda Guy

Question
In a page search, how can I keep from hitting on Joke or Joe when I'm really seeking Jones?
Also when I first type Jo the search sometimes passes over the first instance of Jones and lands on a subsequent instance of Joke or Joe.

Although I use all three browsers, my main browser is Firefox.

One problem I have with Firefox, IE, and Chrome is with the Find box for searching for a word or phrase within a given page. The search begins when I start to type the item in the Find box and the search routine often passes over the what I'm really searching for in the complete word or phrase. Perhaps I'm just being old fashioned, but I prefer what is now termed "retro find" where I can type the entire word or phrase into the Find box before the search begins.

Firefox has a great help service that will answer questions that cannot be found in the forums. I did so yesterday in search of a way to restore retro find to my Firefox browser. It turns out that there is no way to return to the good old days of automatic retro find searching. But there is a work-around that I will share with you. This is the answer I received from a Firefox expert. The solution will also work in Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and virtually every other Internet browser.

 

The only way to do that would be to type the text elsewhere first (e.g. the Google search bar) and then paste the text in the Find bar, but that is a lot of extra effort.

The retro find extension doesn't work on current Firefox versions

 

This cut and paste answer is a rather obvious solution to retro find, but it just did not occur to me --- must be getting old. I use a somewhat better approach of adding a nonsense letter to the front of the word I'm searching for on the page. For example, if I'm searching for Jones I type in xJones. Then I erase the x and let the search begin on the full word Jones. That prevents me from first hitting on words like Joke or Joe when I'm really seeking Jones. Sometimes it will go immediately to a word commencing with x, but there are not many such words in the English language.

Sadly, there's no longer a menu option to just chose "retro find" as your default word search alternative.

Firefox does have a way for folks who want to search a page without using the Find box. Go to Tools-Options-Advanced and check the box in front of "Start to search when I start typing". Then when you're on a Web page just typing part of the search term will commence the search routine without having to bother with the Find box. As for me, I still like to retro find using the Find box.

Respectfully,
xJensen


"Seven Problems a Recovery Won't Fix." by Umair Haque, The Harvard Business Reveiw Blog, June 8, 2011 --- Click Here
http://blogs.hbr.org/haque/2011/06/seven_problems_a_recovery_wont.html?referral=00563&cm_mmc=email-_-newsletter-_-daily_alert-_-alert_date&utm_source=newsletter_daily_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=alert_date

"Is Economics Ready for a New Model?" by Justin Fox, Harvard Business Review Blog, December 2, 2010 --- Click Here
http://blogs.hbr.org/fox/2010/12/economics-ready-for-new-model.html?referral=00563&cm_mmc=email-_-newsletter-_-daily_alert-_-alert_date&utm_source=newsletter_daily_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=alert_date


The Media Institute --- http://www.mediainstitute.org/

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers --- http://www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica/home.html

The State of the News Media 2011 --- http://stateofthemedia.org/?src=pp-footer

Disappearing Schools of Journalism and Journalism Students ---
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/04/15/qt#257076
Journalism is now ranked as the most useless degree in college:

The most useless 20 college degrees," The Daily Beast, April 27, 2011 ---
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-04-27/useless-college-majors-from-journalism-to-psychology-to-theater/ 

As college seniors prepare to graduate, The Daily Beast crunches the numbers to determine which majors—from journalism to psychology —didn’t pay.

Some cities are better than others for college graduates. Some college courses are definitely hotter than others. Even some iPhone apps are better for college students than others. But when it comes down to it, there’s only one question that rings out in dormitories, fraternities, and dining halls across the nation: What’s your major?

Slide Show
01.Journalism
02. Horticulture
03. Agriculture
04. Advertising
05. Fashion Design
06. Child and Family Studies
07. Music
08. Mechanical Engineering Technology
09. Chemistry
10. Nutrition
11. Human Resources
12. Theatre
13. Art History
14. Photography
15. Literature
16. Art
17.Fine Arts
18. Psychology
19. English
20. Animal Science

 
Jensen Comment
This listing raises more questions than it answers.
 
In some regions, like California and Nevada, where they're laying off K-12 teachers by the tens of thousands, teachers probably fare worse than any of the above new graduates.
 
It's not at all clear why chemistry graduates have such dismal prospects when chemical engineering graduates have the hottest prospects.
 
 
I certainly do not know why Mechanical Engineering Technology graduates have such a dim future when engineering in general is a pretty solid major. It would seem such graduates
could simply offer themselves as mechanical engineering.
 
Why do K-12 schools and colleges make such a strong effort to attract women and minority students into chemistry if there's some indication that this is setting them up
for failure (if you believe the above rankings).? Actually many chemistry majors are probably shooting for medical school, thereby, making chemistry not such a dismal choice.
 
Why aren't the prospects for advertising graduates simply an internal shift from hard copy media to digital media and the Web? I'd like to say the same thing about journalism graduates, but the New York Times hires hundreds of reporters and the Huffingon Post reads the NYT to write commentaries on what NYT reporters discover. In accountancy we would call this the difference between Professor Abe Briloff and Bob Jensen.

Why do philosophy graduates fare better than psychology graduates in the job market. The argument is that there are a million more psychology graduates, but I thought that there were zero jobs for philosophy graduates (who typically go on to law school and chase ambulances).
 
 
 
Many humanities students typically major in the disciplines that interest them most and sometimes give them the best rounded educations when they fully expect well in advance to have to go on to graduate school or a post-graduate professional school for a career. For example, many expect to go on to law school. Chemistry majors may be hoping for medical school. Animal science majors may be hoping for vet medicine. Music majors commonly get a graduate degree in music education.
 
Theatre majors get technology certificates on how to repair popcorn machines.
 
Child and Family Studies majors (men and women) get married to working spouses and raise the kids.
 
What about all those majors offered in the Physical Education Department like basket weaving. Is the job market or graduate school market really so hot for those graduates?
 
The bottom line in many respects is that your ultimate career prospects depend upon many things other than choice of a major, especially since there are graduate aschools to kick you into gear for a career. Much more depends upon where you graduate (the Ivy League really is best although the top military academies get you lifetime early retirements to die for), how well you do (that 4.0 gpa counts for a lot in a flagship state university and getting a perfect score on the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, or whatever.
 

Bob Jensen's threads on accounting news ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/AccountingNews.htm


From the Scout Report on June 10, 2011

Yammer --- https://www.yammer.com/ 

Yammer is a communications tool that creates a secure social network for companies and other groups that have a desire to share information, documents, and other materials. After signing up for an account, users can create a site for their organization that will allow users to engage in enterprise microblogging, private messaging, and communities of interest. This version is free, although there is an additional version available with more features for a fee. Yammer is compatible with all operating systems, including Linux.


Netted --- http://netted.net/ 

Browsing the web for interesting material can be enjoyable, but it's also nice to have some bright friends help you along the way. The folks at Netted compile a daily listing of compelling online tools, apps, and other items that will be worthy of your email inbox. Visitors can sign up to receive Netted and they can also browse popular categories such as "Saving", "Applications", and "Travel". This version is compatible with computers running all operating systems, including Linux


Germany tracks down source for dangerous E. coli outbreak Germany Concludes E. Coli Tainted Bean Sprouts
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/11/world/europe/11ecoli.html

Number of Rare E. Coli Cases in U.S. Rose Last Year
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/us/08food.html

Economic costs of E. Coli outbreak
http://video.ca.msn.com/watch/video/economic-costs-of-e-coli-
outbreak/16ifpbqes

EU boosts E. Coli compensation offer for farmers
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15141284,00.html

Q&A: E. Coli outbreak
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13600144

FightBac!
http://www.fightbac.org/


From the Scout Report on June 15, 2011

NetGalley --- http://www.netgalley.com/ 

Before a book is released to the general book-buying public, the publisher will send out galley copies to potential reviewers, bloggers, journalists, and librarians. With NetGalley, interested parties can make requests for galleys to be sent to them electronically. First-time visitors will need to log in first and fill out a profile before they request any galleys. Visitors can use the site to browse the catalog of available titles and they can also check out the "FAQ" area. This version of NetGalley is compatible with all operating systems.


CloudSave --- https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/omiekjeapoonbhiemenfoccbdpeagdah 

Recently, there's been a great deal of talk about the "cloud" and its potential computing advantages. Those who would like to take advantage of the cloud should take a look at the CloudSave application. Visitors can use CloudSave to save files from Google Docs, Amazon Cloud Drive, Facebook, Picasa, and many other programs and applications. Currently, this version of CloudSave works with all operating systems running the Google Chrome browser


IBM at 100: How do they do it?
IBM: 1100100 and counting
http://www.economist.com/node/18803123

IBM Press Room: IBM Centennial
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/presskit/32887.wss

As centennial looms, IBM CEO succession talk perks up
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/as-centennial-looms-ibm-ceo-succession-talk-
perks-up/50451


The Backstory on IBM's Centennial Book: Making the World Work Better
http://asmarterplanet.com/blog/2011/06/the-backstory-on-ibms-centennial-
book-making-the-world-work-better.html


Corporations: The Brain Builders
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,937187,00.html

IBM Research: Deep Blue
http://www.research.ibm.com/deepblue/

 


Free online textbooks, cases, and tutorials in accounting, finance, economics, and statistics --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm#Textbooks


Education Tutorials

Center for Research on Learning and Teaching --- http://www.engin.umich.edu/teaching/crltengin/researchscholarship/index.html

Advanced Placement
AP Central: AP Calculus AB Course Home Page --- http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/teachers_corner/2178.html

National Girls Collaborative Project (science, engineering, and math) --- http://www.ngcproject.org/resources/newsletter.cfm

The Opportunity Equation (education and careers in math and science) --- http://opportunityequation.org/

Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL): Learning Spaces Collaborative --- http://www.pkallsc.org/

STEM Equity Pipeline --- http://www.stemequitypipeline.org/Resources/OnlineResources/default.aspx

Bob Jensen's threads on general education tutorials are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#EducationResearch


Engineering, Science, and Medicine Tutorials

AMSER Science Reader Monthly: Bionics --- http://amser.org/ASRM-201105.html

Video:  Touring the Earth from Space (in HD) --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/06/touring_the_earth_from_space_in_hd.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

The future of NASA's space shuttle program (video by David Pogue)  --- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLiUNs4rDqk

British Library: Out of this World Exhibit (science and space museum) --- http://www.bl.uk/sciencefiction

The Physics Professor's Ultimate Resources --- http://www.collegeonline.org/library/articles/physics-professor-resources/

American Association of Physics Teachers --- http://www.aapt.org/index.cfm

University of Minnesota Physics Demonstrations Page  (video) --- http://groups.physics.umn.edu/demo/ 

Physics History Videos:  Physclips --- http://www.physclips.unsw.edu.au/

Portsmouth and Macclesfield Collections (Isaac Newton, Gravity, Calculus, Physics) ---
 http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/portsmouth_and_macclesfield/

Magnetic Resonance Online Texts --- http://www.ebyte.it/library/refs/MROnlineTexts.html

Physics Education Technology --- http://phet-web.colorado.edu/new/index.php

The Big Bang --- http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=3639

Clifford Glenwood Shull Collection (Physics) --- http://diva.library.cmu.edu/Shull/index.html

American Institute of Physics: Education --- http://www.aip.org/education/

Physics for Humanists --- http://ocw.tufts.edu/Course/30

Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education --- http://caise.insci.org/

"Top 10 Amazing Chemistry Videos," by Aaron Rowe, Wired Science, March 2, 2008 ---
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/03/top-10-amazing.html

Teaching Resources: Botany and Plant Pathology --- http://www.ag.purdue.edu/btny/pages/teachingresources.aspx

Plant Genome Research Outreach Portal --- http://www.plantgdb.org/PGROP/pgrop.php

Ocean Data Viewer --- http://data.unep-wcmc.org/

American Association of Anatomists: Anatomy Resources --- http://www.anatomy.org/resources/resource_links.asp

Contaminated Site Clean-Up Information --- http://www.clu-in.org/

ESA: Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability --- http://www.esa.org/seeds/

Baltimore Ecosystem Study - Education --- http://www.beslter.org/frame5-stuff.html

National Girls Collaborative Project (science, engineering, and math) --- http://www.ngcproject.org/resources/newsletter.cfm

The Opportunity Equation (education and careers in math and science) --- http://opportunityequation.org/

Burke Interactive (museum of natural history and culture) --- http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/interactive/

STEM Equity Pipeline --- http://www.stemequitypipeline.org/Resources/OnlineResources/default.aspx

Chemical & Engineering News --- http://pubs.acs.org/cen/multimedia/

Bob Jensen's threads on free online science, engineering, and medicine tutorials are at --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#Science


Social Science and Economics Tutorials

Up Front Blog: Brookings Institution (immigration, entitlements, debt, crime. policy) ---  http://www.brookings.edu/Up_Front.aspx

American Radicalism --- http://www2.lib.msu.edu/branches/dmc/digital.jsp?coll=1

Binding Friendship: Ricci, China and Jesuit Cultural Learnings --- http://www.bc.edu/sites/bindingfriendship/

Burke Interactive (museum of natural history and culture) --- http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/interactive/

UCLA Asia Institute [iTunes] http://www.international.ucla.edu/asia/

University of Illinois: Gaming Initiative --- http://www.library.illinois.edu/gaming/index.html

The State of the News Media 2011 --- http://stateofthemedia.org/?src=pp-footer

World Bank: China --- http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/china

Explore --- http://www.explore.org/

Disappearing Schools of Journalism and Journalism Students ---
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/04/15/qt#257076
Journalism is now ranked as the most useless degree in college:

The most useless 20 college degrees," The Daily Beast, April 27, 2011 ---
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-04-27/useless-college-majors-from-journalism-to-psychology-to-theater/ 
As college seniors prepare to graduate, The Daily Beast crunches the numbers to determine which majors—from journalism to psychology —didn’t pay.

Some cities are better than others for college graduates. Some college courses are definitely hotter than others. Even some iPhone apps are better for college students than others. But when it comes down to it, there’s only one question that rings out in dormitories, fraternities, and dining halls across the nation: What’s your major?

Slide Show
01.Journalism
02. Horticulture
03. Agriculture
04. Advertising
05. Fashion Design
06. Child and Family Studies
07. Music
08. Mechanical Engineering Technology
09. Chemistry
10. Nutrition
11. Human Resources
12. Theatre
13. Art History
14. Photography
15. Literature
16. Art
17.Fine Arts
18. Psychology
19. English
20. Animal Science

"Colorado Regents Vote to Shutter Boulder Journalism School," Inside Higher Ed, April 11, 2011 ---
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/04/15/qt#257076

A divided Board of Regents of the University of Colorado System voted narrowly Thursday to close down the journalism school at its flagship campus at Boulder, The Daily Camera reported. The regents voted 5 to 4 to shutter the school, approving a plan to replace it with a "journalism plus" approach in which students could earn a bachelor's degree in journalism if accompanied by another major. Board members who opposed the school's elimination argued that its problems could be fixed.

Jensen Comment
There appear to be various problems with this School of Journalism, but underlying all of them is the drying up of career opportunities for graduates in journalism ---
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1690/survey-journalism-communication-job-market-minority-employment-college-education-skills

This saddens me in the new era where the opportunities are declining for those who collect the news on the streets in all parts of the world while the opportunities for those that are primarily aggregators (but not collectors) of news seem to be increasing. Collectors of news like The New York Times and Boston Globe are losing money hand over fist while aggregators like the Huffington Post are thriving. A lot is wrong with this model of news gathering, but the fact of the matter is that news gathering is expensive whereas news aggregating is cheap. Hey I do it for free.

"PricewaterhouseCoopers PwC: 2010 Internet Ad Revenues Zoom Up To Records," Big Four Blog, April 15, 2011 ---
http://www.big4.com/blog/pricewaterhousecoopers-pwc-2010-internet-ad-revenues-zoom-up-to-records-731

Move over Print Media…the new King has arrived! And it is advertising on the internet. Get this – Full year 2010 US internet advertising revenues was a record $26 billion, up 15% from 2009 and Q4-2010 revenue was also a record at $7.45 billion, up 19% from Q4 2009 and 15% from Q3 2010.

The Washington Post Finds Distance Education More Profitable Than the Newspaper Business
The Washington Post Company continues to diversify not in journalism but in for-profit education. Last year, the company reported that it took in more revenue from its Kaplan businesses than the newspaper business. In filings last week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Post reported that it had purchased an 8.1 percent stake in Corinthian Colleges Inc.
Inside Higher Ed, February 18, 2008 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/02/18/qt

 

The Media Institute --- http://www.mediainstitute.org/

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers --- http://www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica/home.html

Bob Jensen's threads on Economics, Anthropology, Social Sciences, and Philosophy tutorials are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#Social


Law and Legal Studies

The State of the News Media 2011 --- http://stateofthemedia.org/?src=pp-footer

University of Illinois: Gaming Initiative --- http://www.library.illinois.edu/gaming/index.html

American Radicalism --- http://www2.lib.msu.edu/branches/dmc/digital.jsp?coll=1

Bob Jensen's threads on law and legal studies are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#Law


Math Tutorials

Teaching College Math --- http://teachingcollegemath.com/

The Opportunity Equation (education and careers in math and science) --- http://opportunityequation.org/

National Girls Collaborative Project (science, engineering, and math) --- http://www.ngcproject.org/resources/newsletter.cfm

Estimation of Type III Error and Power for Directional Two-Tailed Tests Using PROC POWER ---
http://www2.sas.com/proceedings/sugi30/208-30.pdf

Bob Jensen's threads on free online mathematics tutorials are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#050421Mathematics


History Tutorials

Moving Image Source (history of film) --- http://www.movingimagesource.us/

War & Peace: An Epic of Soviet Cinema --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/06/war_peace_an_epic_of_soviet_cinema.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

 Virginia Woolf: Her Voice Recaptured --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2010/02/virginia_woolf_her_voice_recaptured.html

The Short Literary Life of Sylvia Plath --- http://www.sylviaplath.de/
Video:  Sylvia Plath Reads “Daddy” --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/06/sylvia_plath_reads_daddy.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Video:  Cultural Icons: A New Collection --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/06/230_cultural_icons_a_new_collection.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Dylan Thomas --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dylan_Thomas
Dylan Thomas Poetry --- http://www.dylanthomas.com/

Anthony Hopkins Reads Dylan Thomas --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/05/anthony_hopkins_reads_dylan_thomas.html

Ernest Hemingway --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway Reads “In Harry’s Bar in Venice” --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2010/04/ernest_hemingway_reads_in_harrys_bar_in_venice.html

John Walsh unravels the mystery behind Hemingway's suicide ---
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/being-ernest-john-walsh-unravels-the-mystery-behind-hemingways-suicide-2294619.html

British Classics on the iPad App (Free… For Now --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/06/british_library_ipad_app.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Virginia Convention of 1861 --- http://collections.richmond.edu/secession/

University of North Carolina
Documenting the American South: The First Century of the First State University --- http://docsouth.unc.edu/unc/

Binding Friendship: Ricci, China and Jesuit Cultural Learnings --- http://www.bc.edu/sites/bindingfriendship/

The State of the News Media 2011 --- http://stateofthemedia.org/?src=pp-footer

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers --- http://www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica/home.html

Seattle Municipal Archives: Digital Document Libraries --- http://www.seattle.gov/CityArchives/Exhibits/ddl.htm

Burke Interactive (museum of natural history and culture) --- http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/interactive/

UCLA Asia Institute [iTunes] http://www.international.ucla.edu/asia/

Big Apple History - PBS Kids Go! http://pbskids.org/bigapplehistory/index-flash.html

American Radicalism --- http://www2.lib.msu.edu/branches/dmc/digital.jsp?coll=1

Video:  The Ayn Rand Guide to Romance --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/06/the_ayn_rand_guide_to_romance.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Open Culture Beat No. 4 --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/06/open_culture_beat_no_4.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

These cultural goodies (and others) flowed through our Twitter stream during the past week. Find us at @openculture … or Like us on Facebook.

 

Bob Jensen's threads on history tutorials are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#History
Also see http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm  


Language Tutorials

Bob Jensen's links to language tutorials are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#Languages


Music Tutorials

 

Bob Jensen's threads on free music tutorials are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#050421Music

Bob Jensen's threads on music performances ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/music.htm


Writing Tutorials

Bob Jensen's helpers for writers are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob3.htm#Dictionaries


Updates from WebMD --- http://www.webmd.com/

June 9, 2011

June 10. 2011

June 11, 2011

June 13, 2011

June 14, 2011

June 15, 2011

June 16, 2011

June 17, 2011

 

 

 


"Adding it up: Research shows how early math lessons change children's brains," by Erin Digitale, Stanford School of Medicine, June 6, 2011 ---
http://med.stanford.edu/ism/2011/june/math.html

Researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine have demonstrated that a single year of math lessons is associated with unexpectedly big changes in the brain’s approach to problem solving and that these changes can be seen in the brain scans of second- and third-graders.

The latest findings are part of the ongoing effort by Vinod Menon, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and of neurology and neurological sciences, to understand how children develop problem-solving skills in order to find better methods of teaching those who struggle with numbers.

His latest study, published online May 18 in the journal Neuroimage, is the first to ask how one year of early math lessons changes brain function. After third grade, tackling arithmetic problems engages striking new patterns of neural communication between brain regions involved in numerical thinking and those involved in working memory, the research showed.

“The surprise is that you would see significant changes within one year,” said Menon, senior author of the study. The findings were surprising in part because the study tracked changes over a one-year interval between second and third grades, rather than examining developmental changes between children and adolescents or adults, Menon said. “In spite of many individual differences, a year of schooling does have, on the average, a major impact on brain function and skill,” he said.

Continued in article




Those Who Give Their All to Help the Poor
From my Cousin Mark (who has spreading cancer and still serves the poor people in Africa) ---
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/markjensen
As a volunteer missionary, Mark has been running plot experiments to genetically modify corn for dry climates in Africa




We didn’t have cell phones [during my days at Northwestern]. If you made plans to meet someone in a snow storm and they didn’t show up, you just assumed that they were devoured by wolves and went on with your life. And we couldn’t text, and we certainly couldn’t sext each other. If you wanted to send someone a picture of your private parts, you had to fax it. That’s how Kinko’s got its name!
Steven Colbert, 2011 Northwestern University Graduation Speech --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2011/06/stephen_colbert_at_northwestern.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29


Forwarded by Gene and Joan

A six year old goes to the hospital with her grandmother to visit her Grandpa. When they get to the hospital, she runs ahead of her Grandma and bursts into her Grandpa's room ..."Grandpa, Grandpa," she says excitedly, "As soon as Grandma comes into the room, make a noise like a frog!"

"What?" said her Grandpa.

"Make a noise like a frog - because Grandma said that as soon as you croak, we're all going to Disneyland


Forwarded by Gene and Joan,

When asked by a young patrol officer "Do you know you were speeding? This 83-year-old woman talked herself out of a ticket by stating . . ..

"Yes, but I had to get there before I forgot where I was going."


A Million Tidbits from Davidson College

Questions
What's more dangerous --- Tripping or Slippin
g?
Or put another way --- Where does all that kudzu end up?

Slip and Slide at Davidson College
From Inside Higher Ed on June 15, 2011

Davidson Turns Over a Tough Job to Goats

Kudzu is out of control on Davidson College's paths and trails, and officials fear that the growth could lead to walkers or runners tripping. After various human and machine efforts failed to match the kudzu, the college has rented 30 goats, which have been tasked with eating the problem away, WCNC News reported. The college is spending $3,000 to rent the goats, which eat 12-18 pounds of kudzu a day.

Jensen Comment
Being an old farm boy it struck me that the goats may leave something more hazardous on the trails.
And we hope runners take off their shoes before entering the dorms and cafeterias.

Accounting Case for Your Financial Accounting Courses
How will the lease on goats be accounted for under the new FASB leasing rules?

Hint:
This lease most likely will not be renewed if the goats succeed or fail!


When Deloitte's professionals assist in hammer-and-saw repair of poor peoples' homes
"Caption Contest Tuesday: Deloitte Has a Lot of Tools," by Caleb Newquist, Going Concern, June 14, 2011 ---
http://goingconcern.com/2011/06/caption-contest-tuesday-deloitte-has-a-lot-of-tools/

Jensen Comment
I recommend reading the comments.

 The comment I added reads as follows:
"These are just accountants accelerating depreciation."

 




Tidbits Archives --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm

Click here to search Bob Jensen's web site if you have key words to enter --- Search Site.
For example if you want to know what Jensen documents have the term "Enron" enter the phrase Jensen AND Enron. Another search engine that covers Trinity and other universities is at http://www.searchedu.com/

Find a College
College Atlas --- http://www.collegeatlas.org/
Among other things the above site provides acceptance rate percentages
Online Distance Education Training and Education --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Crossborder.htm
For-Profit Universities Operating in the Gray Zone of Fraud  (College, Inc.) --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies.htm#ForProfitFraud

Shielding Against Validity Challenges in Plato's Cave ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/TheoryTAR.htm

What went wrong in accounting/accountics research?  ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory01.htm#WhatWentWrong

The Sad State of Accountancy Doctoral Programs That Do Not Appeal to Most Accountants ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory01.htm#DoctoralPrograms

AN ANALYSIS OF THE EVOLUTION OF RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS BY THE ACCOUNTING REVIEW: 1926-2005 ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/395wpTAR/Web/TAR395wp.htm#_msocom_1

Bob Jensen's threads on accounting theory ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory01.htm

Tom Lehrer on Mathematical Models and Statistics ---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfZWyUXn3So

Systemic problems of accountancy (especially the vegetable nutrition paradox) that probably will never be solved ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudConclusion.htm#BadNews

 

World Clock --- http://www.peterussell.com/Odds/WorldClock.php
Facts about the earth in real time --- http://www.worldometers.info/

Interesting Online Clock and Calendar --- http://home.tiscali.nl/annejan/swf/timeline.swf
Time by Time Zones --- http://timeticker.com/
Projected Population Growth (it's out of control) --- http://geography.about.com/od/obtainpopulationdata/a/worldpopulation.htm
         Also see http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/P/Populations.html
        
Facts about population growth (video) --- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U
Projected U.S. Population Growth --- http://www.carryingcapacity.org/projections75.html
Real time meter of the U.S. cost of the war in Iraq --- http://www.costofwar.com/ 
Enter you zip code to get Census Bureau comparisons --- http://zipskinny.com/
Sure wish there'd be a little good news today.

Free (updated) Basic Accounting Textbook --- search for Hoyle at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm#Textbooks

CPA Examination --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cpa_examination
Free CPA Examination Review Course Courtesy of Joe Hoyle --- http://cpareviewforfree.com/

Rick Lillie's education, learning, and technology blog is at http://iaed.wordpress.com/

Accounting News, Blogs, Listservs, and Social Networking ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/AccountingNews.htm

Bob Jensen's Threads --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/threads.htm 
Current and past editions of my newsletter called New Bookmarks --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookurl.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called Tidbits --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called Fraud Updates --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudUpdates.htm

Online Books, Poems, References, and Other Literature
In the past I've provided links to various types electronic literature available free on the Web. 
I created a page that summarizes those various links --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm

Some of Bob Jensen's Tutorials

Accounting program news items for colleges are posted at http://www.accountingweb.com/news/college_news.html
Sometimes the news items provide links to teaching resources for accounting educators.
Any college may post a news item.

Accountancy Discussion ListServs:

For an elaboration on the reasons you should join a ListServ (usually for free) go to   http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/ListServRoles.htm
AECM (Educators)  http://pacioli.loyola.edu/aecm/ 
AECM is an email Listserv list which provides a forum for discussions of all hardware and software which can be useful in any way for accounting education at the college/university level. Hardware includes all platforms and peripherals. Software includes spreadsheets, practice sets, multimedia authoring and presentation packages, data base programs, tax packages, World Wide Web applications, etc

Roles of a ListServ --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/ListServRoles.htm
 

CPAS-L (Practitioners) http://pacioli.loyola.edu/cpas-l/ 
CPAS-L provides a forum for discussions of all aspects of the practice of accounting. It provides an unmoderated environment where issues, questions, comments, ideas, etc. related to accounting can be freely discussed. Members are welcome to take an active role by posting to CPAS-L or an inactive role by just monitoring the list. You qualify for a free subscription if you are either a CPA or a professional accountant in public accounting, private industry, government or education. Others will be denied access.
Yahoo (Practitioners)  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/xyztalk
This forum is for CPAs to discuss the activities of the AICPA. This can be anything  from the CPA2BIZ portal to the XYZ initiative or anything else that relates to the AICPA.
AccountantsWorld  http://accountantsworld.com/forums/default.asp?scope=1 
This site hosts various discussion groups on such topics as accounting software, consulting, financial planning, fixed assets, payroll, human resources, profit on the Internet, and taxation.
Business Valuation Group BusValGroup-subscribe@topica.com 
This discussion group is headed by Randy Schostag [RSchostag@BUSVALGROUP.COM

Many useful accounting sites (scroll down) --- http://www.iasplus.com/links/links.htm

 

Bob Jensen's Sort-of Blogs --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/JensenBlogs.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called New Bookmarks --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookurl.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called Tidbits --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called Fraud Updates --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudUpdates.htm

Some Accounting History Sites

Bob Jensen's Accounting History in a Nutshell and Links --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory01.htm#AccountingHistory
 

Accounting History Libraries at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) --- http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/accountancy/libraries.html
The above libraries include international accounting history.
The above libraries include film and video historical collections.

MAAW Knowledge Portal for Management and Accounting --- http://maaw.info/

Academy of Accounting Historians and the Accounting Historians Journal ---
http://www.accounting.rutgers.edu/raw/aah/

Sage Accounting History --- http://ach.sagepub.com/cgi/pdf_extract/11/3/269

A nice timeline on the development of U.S. standards and the evolution of thinking about the income statement versus the balance sheet is provided at:
"The Evolution of U.S. GAAP: The Political Forces Behind Professional Standards (1930-1973)," by Stephen A. Zeff, CPA Journal, January 2005 --- http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2005/105/infocus/p18.htm
Part II covering years 1974-2003 published in February 2005 --- http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2005/205/index.htm 

A nice timeline of accounting history --- http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2187711/A-HISTORY-OF-ACCOUNTING

From Texas A&M University
Accounting History Outline --- http://acct.tamu.edu/giroux/history.html

Bob Jensen's timeline of derivative financial instruments and hedge accounting ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudRotten.htm#DerivativesFrauds

History of Fraud in America --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/415wp/AmericanHistoryOfFraud.htm
Also see http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Fraud.htm

 

 

Professor Robert E. Jensen (Bob) http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen
190 Sunset Hill Road
Sugar Hill, NH 03586
Phone:  603-823-8482 
Email:  rjensen@trinity.edu