Tidbits on June 17, 2014
Bob Jensen at Trinity University

Set 1 of My Favorite Lilac Photographs
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Lilacs/Set01/LilacsSet01.htm  

 

Tidbits on June 17,, 2014
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/

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

 




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

Academe Around the World --- http://chronicle.com/article/Remembering/146845/?cid=wb&utm_source=wb&utm_medium=en

Animal Farm: Watch the Animated Adaptation of Orwell’s Novel Funded by the CIA (1954) ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/06/animal-farm-animated-funded-by-the-cia-1954.html

Miracles of the Natural World --- http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=FiZqn6fV-4Y

In 1964, Arthur C. Clarke Predicts the Internet, 3D Printers and Trained Monkey Servants ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/06/in-1964-arthur-c-clarke-predicts-the-internet-3d-printers-and-trained-monkey-servants.html

Dick Cavett’s Worst Show: Starring John Cassavetes, Peter Falk & Ben Gazzara (1970) ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/06/dick-cavetts-worst-show.html

Oldsters Flash Mob --- http://www.youtube.com/embed/FIMd5KFG1vQ?rel=0

Unique and Beautiful Horses --- http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Y5XJbSqwriM?rel=0

Monty Python Links ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/06/michael-palins-tour-of-the-best-loved-monty-python-sketch-locations.html

A Master List of 1,000 Free Courses From Top Universities: 30,000 Hours of Audio/Video Lectures ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/05/list-of-1000-free-courses-from-top-universities.html
There are 150 free business courses ---
http://www.openculture.com/business_free_courses
Principles of Managerial Accounting - Free iTunes Audio - Anthony Catanach & Noah Barskey, Villanova ---
https://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/principles-managerial-accounting/id388954205?mt=10
Accounting and Its Use in Business Decisions - Free – Alison ---
http://alison.com/courses/Accounting-and-Its-Use-in-Business-Decisions
Accounting in 60 Minutes: A Brief Introduction - Free - Udemy ---
https://www.udemy.com/accounting-in-60-minutes-a-brief-introduction/?dtcode=th48xvn5
Fundamentals of Accounting – Free - Alison ---
http://alison.com/courses/Introduction-to-Accounting-1
Introduction to Accounting - Free – US Small Business Administration ---
http://www.sba.gov/sba-learning-center/training/introduction-accounting
Introduction to Cash Accounting - Free – Alison ---
http://alison.com/courses/Introduction-to-Cash-Accounting
Managerial Accounting - Free – Saylor.org ---
http://www.saylor.org/courses/bus105/

Great Illusions --- http://www.flixxy.com/darcy-oakes-jaw-dropping-dove-illusions-britains-got-talent-2014.htm


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

Ballet Dancers Do Their Hardest Moves in Slow Motion ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/06/ballet-dancers-do-their-hardest-moves-in-slow-motion.html

Lost in the Fifties --- Lost in the Fifties- Another Time, Another Place - YouTube

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

J.S. Bach’s Comic Opera, “The Coffee Cantata,” Sings the Praises of the Great Stimulating Drink (1735) ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/06/j-s-bachs-comic-opera-the-coffee-cantat.html

Chris Christie's Dance Moves Will Hypnotize And Amaze You ---
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com#ixzz34c4dLoJO

 

Pandora (my favorite online music station) --- www.pandora.com
TheRadio
(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's threads on nearly all types of free music selections online ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Music.htm


Photographs and Art

Colossal (Art History) --- http://www.thisiscolossal.com/

Gauguin: Metamorphoses (art history) --- http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2014/gauguin/

Gauguin and Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise (art history) --- http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/gauguin/

The Brummer Gallery Records (Art History) --- http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16028coll9

Iconic Italian Graphic Artist Bruno Munari's Rare Vintage "Interactive" Picture-Books ---
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/06/12/bruno-munari-nella-nebbia-nella-notte/

19th Century Caricatures of Charles Darwin, Mark Twain, H.M. Stanley & Other Famous Victorians (1873) ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/05/19th-century-caricatures-of-charles-darwin-twain.html

14 Places To Visit In 2014 --- http://www.businessinsider.com/where-to-travel-in-2014-2014-6

19 More Stunning Images Found On Google Street View --- http://www.businessinsider.com#ixzz33xcMuvoQ

The 20 Most Beautiful iPhone Photos Of The Year 2014 --- http://www.businessinsider.com#ixzz34QJZalP7

Ralph Fasanella: Lest We Forget (Common Man Art History) --- http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/archive/2014/fasanel

Botticelli’s 92 Illustrations of Dante’s Divine Comedy ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/06/botticellis-92-illustrations-of-dantes-divine-comedy.html

Expeditions at the Field Museum: Amazonian Birds ---
http://expeditions.fieldmuseum.org/amazonian-birds-0

Kress Foundation (European Art History) ---  http://www.kressfoundation.org/

Links from The Economist

 

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

David Brooks’ List of “Really Good Books” ---
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1/#inbox/14686382bfc93495

Read 9 Books By Noam Chomsky Free Online ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/05/read-9-books-by-noam-chomsky-free-online.html

"Thoreau on the Greatest Gift of Growing Old," by Maria Popova, Brain Pickings, May 26, 2014 ---
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/05/26/thoreau-on-growing-old/

John Cheever Reads “The Swimmer,” His Famous Short Story, in Its Entirety (1977) ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/06/john-cheever-reads-the-swimmer.html

Botticelli’s 92 Illustrations of Dante’s Divine Comedy ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/06/botticellis-92-illustrations-of-dantes-divine-comedy.html

Famous Writers’ Report Cards: Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Norman Mailer, E.E. Cummings & Anne Sexton ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/06/famous-writers-report-cards.html

Iconic Italian Graphic Artist Bruno Munari's Rare Vintage "Interactive" Picture-Books ---
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/06/12/bruno-munari-nella-nebbia-nella-notte/

Free Electronic Literature --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm
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 17, 2014
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/tidbits/2014/TidbitsQuotations061714.htm      

U.S. National Debt Clock --- http://www.usdebtclock.org/
Also see http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

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

GAO: Fiscal Outlook & The Debt --- http://www.gao.gov/fiscal_outlook/overview 

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

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




3-D Printing --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3-D_printing
Do you really know what it is? I don't know much about it except that it's a really, really big deal for the future.

In 1964, Arthur C. Clarke Predicts the Internet, 3D Printers and Trained Monkey Servants ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/06/in-1964-arthur-c-clarke-predicts-the-internet-3d-printers-and-trained-monkey-servants.html


This Math Question From A Hong Kong Elementary School Test Has Adults Stumped (20 second time limit) ---
Ready --- Set --- Go!
http://www.businessinsider.com/math-question-from-hong-kong-elementary-school-test-2014-6


Scary!
"The Dark Side Of Facebook, Where People Lie, Steal, And Make Millions," by Alyson Shontell, Business Insider, June 14, 2014
http://www.businessinsider.com/jason-fyk-dark-facebook-cybercrime-2014-6#ixzz34iVslHUj


Scary!
"Chinese Teens Have Found Remarkable High-Tech Ways To Cheat On Tests," by Kayla Ruble, Business Insider, June 14, 2014 ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/high-tech-ways-to-cheat-2014-6

China’s students have apparently developed skills for building cheating devices to use during an SAT-like exam that look like they have been pulled straight from a James Bond movie.

Ahead of China’s massive college entrance exam — the Gaokao — that took place on Saturday and Sunday, local media outlets released photos of cheating devices confiscated by police around the country in recent weeks.

The photos show intricate cheating equipment, a majority of which were created by students in the southwestern city of Chengdu before taking a different test, the National Professional and Technological Personnel Qualification Examination.

Around 40 students, all originally from Shanghai, were reportedly caught with the devices, which were disguised to look like everyday objects.

Some of the uncovered equipment included miniature cameras installed into both a pen and a set of glasses, as well as wireless earphones resembling small earplugs. In one instance, a grey tank top was wired with a plug capable of connecting to a mobile phone that could be used to send out information. There was also a camera installed in the shirt.

“Cheating happens in every country, but it’s extremely rampant in China," Yong Zhao, the presidential chair at the University of Oregon's College of Education, told VICE News. "This isn’t the first time and it won’t be the last.”

Cheating has been an enduring issue in China, where the emphasis placed on standardized tests can create high-pressure environments.

“For over a thousand years China has been using tests,” Zhao said. “Standardized tests tend to be the only way for upward social mobility, passing the test has been a way to change people’s lives.”

Ahead of this year’s exam, which was taken by nearly 9.4 million students across the country, Beijing was preparing to send police out to monitor and handle cheating incidents.

In fact, students practically expect to be able to cheat on exams.

During protests last summer against a crackdown on Gaokao cheating, students chanted, "We want fairness. There is no fairness if you do not let us cheat."

The Gaokao is China’s SAT or A-level equivalent, with many students' chances at matriculating into college reliant on their exam results.

One of this year's essay questions from a Shanghai version of the test translated into English reads: "You can choose your own road and method to make it across the desert, which means you are free; you have no choice but finding a way to make it across the desert, which makes you not free.Choose your own angle and title to write an article that is not less than 800 words."


Read more:
https://news.vice.com/article/high-stakes-testing-led-chinese-teens-to-use-spy-like-cheating-equipment#ixzz34iYm3jmJ
 

Bob Jensen's threads on new and old ways of cheating ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Plagiarism.htm


"Brazil’s income disparities are great, but so is its progress," The Economist, June 12, 2014 ---
http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21604202-brazils-income-disparities-are-great-so-its-progress-welcome-italordan

Jensen Comment
Brazil is one of the four BRIC nations whose economic growth will eventually outstrip entitlement-doomed USA and Europe combined ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Entitlements.htm

A BRIC nation at the moment is a nation that has vast resources and virtually no entitlement obligations that drag down economic growth --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRIC

In economics, BRIC (typically rendered as "the BRICs" or "the BRIC countries") is an acronym that refers to the fast-growing developing economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. The acronym was first coined and prominently used by Goldman Sachs in 2001. According to a paper published in 2005, Mexico and South Korea are the only other countries comparable to the BRICs, but their economies were excluded initially because they were considered already more developed. Goldman Sachs argued that, since they are developing rapidly, by 2050 the combined economies of the BRICs could eclipse the combined economies of the current richest countries of the world. The four countries, combined, currently account for more than a quarter of the world's land area and more than 40% of the world's population.

Brazil, Russia, India and China, (the BRICs) sometimes lumped together as BRIC to represent fast-growing developing economies, are selling off their U.S. Treasury Bond holdings. Russia announced earlier this month it will sell U.S. Treasury Bonds, while China and Brazil have announced plans to cut the amount of U.S. Treasury Bonds in their foreign currency reserves and buy bonds issued by the International Monetary Fund instead. The BRICs are also soliciting public support for a "super currency" capable of replacing what they see as the ailing U.S. dollar. The four countries account for 22 percent of the global economy, and their defection could deal a severe blow to the greenback. If the BRICs sell their U.S. Treasury Bond holdings, the price will drop and yields rise, and that could prompt the central banks of other countries to start selling their holdings to avoid losses too. A sell-off on a grand scale could trigger a collapse in the value of the dollar, ending the appeal of both dollars and bonds as safe-haven assets. The moves are a challenge to the power of the dollar in international financial markets. Goldman Sachs economist Alberto Ramos in an interview with Bloomberg News on Thursday said the decision by the BRICs to buy IMF bonds should not be seen simply as a desire to diversify their foreign currency portfolios but as a show of muscle.
"BRICs Launch Assault on Dollar's Global Status," The Chosun IIbo, June 14, 2009 ---
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/06/12/2009061200855.html

Their report, "Dreaming with BRICs: The Path to 2050," predicted that within 40 years, the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China - the BRICs - would be larger than the US, Germany, Japan, Britain, France and Italy combined. China would overtake the US as the world's largest economy and India would be third, outpacing all other industrialised nations. 
"Out of the shadows," Sydney Morning Herald, February 5, 2005 --- http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2005/02/04/1107476799248.html 

The first economist, an early  Nobel Prize Winning economist, to raise the alarm of entitlements in my head was Milton Friedman.  He has written extensively about the lurking dangers of entitlements.  I highly recommend his fantastic "Free to Choose" series of PBS videos where his "Welfare of Entitlements" warning becomes his principle concern for the future of the Untied States 25 years ago --- http://www.ideachannel.com/FreeToChoose.htm 


"How We Grieve: Meghan O'Rourke on the Messiness of Mourning and Learning to Live with Loss," by Maria Popova, Brain Pickings, June 9, 2014 ---
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/06/09/meghan-o-rourke-the-long-goodbye/


Summary information about the millions of students who take (but often do not complete) free non-credit MOOCs from prestigious universities
Surprise (maybe):  Only a third of the students are from North America

"8 Things You Should Know About MOOCs," by Jonah Newman and Soo Oh, Chronicle of Higher Education, June 13, 2014 ---
http://chronicle.com/article/8-Things-You-Should-Know-About/146901/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

1. The overwhelming majority of MOOC students are male

2. MOOCs attract students who already have college degrees

3. The median age of MOOC participants is 24

4. One-third of MOOC participants are from North America

5. Nearly half of registrants never engage with any of the content

6. Europeans view the most course content

7. Students with a doctorate viewed more course material

8. Serial students are the most engaged

What we still don't know

Granted, these data are still a relatively small sample from a limited number of MOOCs. As the number and variety of MOOCs has grown exponentially since these initial courses were offered in 2012-13 — EdX alone has offered more than 200 courses from more than 30 partner institutions — there are certainly more data that can shed light on other interesting questions. What are the motivations and goals of registrants? What kinds of content engage students the most? Do students cherry-pick lessons throughout the course, or tend to drop out as the class progresses?

These are the questions future MOOC data releases can help us answer, so we can learn even more about how such courses are being used and by whom.

Jensen Comment
Because of the advanced and specialized content of most MOOCs, it's not surprising that MOOCs attract experts who already have doctorates. Many of them are most likely professors who are looking for content from prestigious universities that that they can add to their own teaching and research.

A median age of 24 does not tell us anything about the distribution of the students except that the middle age is 24. Half are older and half are younger.

Without assessment we cannot know how much of this content is really learned. Many students may sign up for ideas about ideas about what to study later on in life --- a little like my wife who has more planned projects than years left in her life.

Different MOOCs serve different purposes. For example, most MOOCs are probably taken by specialists who want to see how prestigious professors in their specialties deal with those specialties. For example, how does an Harvard expert on Dylan Thomas or James Joyce deal with the writings of Thomas or Joyce? Many MOOC students who sign up for the free MBA core courses from Penn's prestigious and expensive Wharton School do so to prepare for their own MBA core courses to be taken elsewhere.

Of course most people probably still sign up for MOOCs because they are curious about course content in prestigious universities. Most MOOC courses are filmed during live courses on prestigious university campuses.

Sometimes on-campus students are allowed to take the MOOCs rather than attend class, as in the case of the first MOOC course that originated in an artificial intelligence course at Stanford University. Students did not have to attend class, but they did have to do all the course assignments and take the course examinations. What they found is that more than have the students preferred to view the MOOCs rather than attend class. One reason might be the ability to pause and rerun portions of video lectures until every segment is better learned.

Students in interactive case courses will, of course, be required to attend live courses on campus, because what is learned in class is largely derived from what students contribute to discussions in class. Two sections of a Harvard Business School case course may differ like night versus day. MOOC courses tend to be more lecture-based than case-based. Students who sign up are usually more interested to learn what a professor knows rather than what the students in class know. Some of the best case-method teachers never reveal what they know about course content --- at least not directly.

Bob Jensen's threads about MOOC choices and how to sign up for them ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI


"After Announcing Plans To Destroy Microsoft Windows, Meg Whitman Pulls A Gutsy Move," by Julie Bort, Business Insider, June 11, 2014 ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/hp-announces-plans-to-destroy-windows-2014-6 

HP CEO Meg Whitman showed more than a little chutzpah on Thursday during her company's annual customer conference.

Moments after HP announced its grand new plans to compete with the Microsoft Windows operating system,  Whitman was thanking Microsoft for being a major sponsor of the conference and inviting the company's new CEO, Satya Nadella, on stage.

Nadella joined Whitman and Intel's new CEO Brian Krzanich for a fireside chat-style interview conducted by New York Times columnist and author, Tom Friedman.

But just before Nadella joined via video conferencing, during Whitman's keynote speech, CTO Martin Fink, head of HP Labs, showed off what HP hopes will be a game-changing new data center computer. It's internally calling that computer "The Machine."

HP is creating a lot of new technology to build The Machine, especially a new form of memory known as "memristors" which won't lose data if the power turns off (also known as "non-volatile memory").

The Machine's claim to fame is that it can process loads of information instantly while using hardly any power. HP wants this computer to replace the servers being used in today's data centers. But it also hopes the tech will become the basis for the next generation of PCs.

And The Machine will not use Windows.

In fact Fink announced on Thursday that the company is working on a brand new free and open-source operating system and is inviting universities to help research and build it.


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/hp-announces-plans-to-destroy-windows-2014-6#ixzz34QDXuC5D
 

Jensen Comment
But wonders never cease. Now there's a mysterious sea animal that eats white sharks.

California Dreamin'
With 80% of the world's office workers trained on Windows, MS Office and software requiring Windows, business firms and government agencies are not about to spend a trillion dollars to drop Windows and retrain their computer users for other operating systems. Most USA government agencies like the IRS are still running on ancient Windows XP. Change does not come easy in government or business.

If anybody destroys Windows it will be Microsoft --- which since Version 7 may well be on its way to destroying Windows.

Interestingly, HP still offers new computers with Windows 7 installed rather than later versions of Windows. This shows you what HP customers think of later versions of Windows.


From the CFO Journal's Morning Ledger on June 14, 2014

Intel Thursday cited stronger-than-expected demand for business PCs, increasing revenue guidance for the year
”The change in outlook is driven mostly by strong demand for business PCs,” Intel said in a news release. For the second quarter, the company expects revenue between $13.4 billion and $14 billion, compared with its previous guidance of $12.5 billion to $13.5 billion. The Journal’s Josh Beckerman notes that companies that make computers or computer parts have benefited from businesses needing to update aging PCs because of the end of Microsoft’s support for Windows XP operating system.


Also note how popular technology is becoming in the onsite K-12 classrooms
"Report: 83 Percent of High Schools Offer Online Courses," by Joshua Bolkan, T.H.E. Journal, June 6, 2014 ---
http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/06/11/report-83-percent-of-high-schools-offer-online-courses.aspx

Only 17 percent of high schools do not currently offer any online classes and more than 40 percent are offering online courses in English language arts, history, math or science, according to the latest report from Project Tomorrow's Speak Up report.

Based on online survey responses from more than 400,000 teachers, administrators, students and community members, the latest report, "The New Digital Learning Playbook: Advancing College and Career Skill Development in K-12 Schools," examines attitudes about technology's role in preparing K-12 students for higher education and careers.

The reasons principals who participated in the survey cited for offering online classes include offering remediation, at a rate of 66 percent, Keeping students engaged, at 63 percent and to provide credit recovery options, at 61 percent.

"Teachers who teach online classes, in particular, see a strong correlation between the use of technology and students' college and career ready skill development," according to information released by Project Tomorrow. "More than half of these teachers say technology use helps students understand how to apply academic concepts to real world problems (58 percent), take ownership of their learning (57 percent) and develop problem solving and critical thinking skills (57 percent)."

Other key findings regarding online learning and digital resources include:

  • 32 percent of elementary school teachers surveyed told researchers they use games in their classrooms. The most common reason cited was increasing engagement, at 79 percent, followed by the ability to address different learning styles at 72 percent;
  • Science teachers are more likely than other teachers to report using digital content in the classroom, with 63 percent reporting that they use videos they find online versus only 48 percent of other teachers. Science teachers also reported using animations at a clip of 52 percent and only 22 percent of other teachers said the same. The difference held across other types of digital content as well, including virtual labs, real time data, online textbooks and teacher-created videos;
  • Teachers with online classes were more likely than those in 1:1 environments and those using digital content to report that technology helps students develop creativity, take ownership of their learning, develop critical thinking or problem solving skills or understand how concepts relate to the real world;
  • Online teachers were less likely than teachers in 1:1 environments and teachers who use digital content to tell researchers technology can increase motiviation to learn or help students learn to work collaboratively;
  • While 41 percent of teachers surveyed reported that they had taken at least one online course for professional development, only 17 percent told researchers they were interested in teaching an online class;
  • More than half, 54 percent, of administrators who participated in the survey told researchers they believed " that the effective use of digital content within the classroom can increase students' career readiness by linking real world problems to academic content. Administrators surveyed also said that providing enough computers and bandwidth to realize those benefits was a challenge, at rates of 55 and 38 percent, respectively; and
  • Technology administrators who took part in the survey said that sufficient bandwidth would increase the use of streaming content in classes (74 percent), increase the use of multimedia tools (68 percent) and the use of online curricula (57 percent).

Read more at http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/06/11/report-83-percent-of-high-schools-offer-online-courses.aspx#ly5DUUCPUp93XCxL.99

Department of Education in March 2014:  17,374 online higher education distance education and training programs altogether

Jensen Comment
Note that the hundreds of free MOOC courses from prestigious universities are not the same as fee-based distance education degree and certificate programs that are more like on-campus programs in terms in student-instructor interactions, graded assignments, and examinations. Some campuses like the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee even treat online programs as cash cows where the tuition is higher for online programs than identical on-campus programs.

The (Department of Education Report in March 2014) report says that American colleges now offer 17,374 online programs altogether, 29 percent of which are master’s-degree programs, with bachelor’s and certificate programs making up 23 percent each. Business and management programs are the most popular, at 29 percent of the total, followed by health and medicine programs (16 percent), education programs (14 percent), and information technology and computers (10 percent) ---
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/quickwire-there-may-be-fewer-online-programs-than-you-think/51163?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

From US News in 2014
Best Online Degree Programs (ranked)
---
http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education

Best Online Undergraduate Bachelors Degrees --- http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/bachelors/rankings
Central Michigan is the big winner

Best Online Graduate Business MBA Programs --- http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/mba/rankings
Indiana University is the big winner

Best Online Graduate Education Programs --- http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/education/rankings
Northern Illinois is the big winner

Best Online Graduate Engineering Programs --- http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/engineering/rankings
Columbia University is the big winner

Best Online Graduate Information Technology Programs ---
http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/computer-information-technology/rankings
The University of Southern California is the big winner

Best Online Graduate Nursing Programs --- http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/nursing/rankings
St. Xavier University is the big winner

US News Degree Finder --- http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/features/multistep-oe?s_cid=54089
This beats those self-serving for-profit university biased Degree Finders

US News has tried for years to rank for-profit universities, but they don't seem to want to provide the dat

 

Bob Jensen's threads on distance education and training alternatives ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/CrossBorder.htm


Question
Is Google God (or at least Skynet?)

"Is Google Replacing God? There are some things that the all-knowing Internet can't provide," by Christine Rosen, The Wall Street Journal, June 12, 2014 ---
http://online.wsj.com/articles/christine-rosen-is-google-replacing-god-1402614743?tesla=y&mod=djemMER_h&mg=reno64-wsj

January 3, 2005 message from Glen Gray

Maybe my mind is drifting—or maybe 2 plus 2 does equal 4.

Terminator 3 has been playing recently on cable. [Don’t read further if you don’t want to know the ending!]

At the end of Terminator 3, we learn that Skynet (which takes over the world in the future and tries to kill all humans) is not controlled by just one major computer as we thought in Terminators 1 and 2, but instead, Skynet is all the computers on earth connected together—acting as one giant computer brain.

Tonight I was watching 60 Minutes on TV and they dedicated 30 minutes to Google. Google is able to search all computers connected to the Internet. Recently Google released software that will search all the computers on LANS. Now you can Google on your cell phone, search libraries, etc. etc. etc. Now they are working on a universal translator (Start Trek anyone?) that will automatically search and translate any document in any language.

Is Google Skynet? Think about it.

Glen L. Gray, PhD, CPA
Dept. of Accounting & Information Systems
College of Business & Economics
California State University, Northridge
Northridge, CA 91330
http://www.csun.edu/~vcact00f  

January 3, 2005 reply from Bob Jensen

Hi Glen,

I also watched the excellent 60 Minute module.   Google is amazing in almost every aspect, including how it is managed.  I think that all business policy and organization behavior students should watch this module.  It will be interesting to see how long the company can continue to grow at an exponential pace and maintain its long-standing motto to “Do No Evil.”   These guys really believe in that motto.  Google is probably the most cautious firm in the world about who gets hired and promoted.

There has never been anything quite like Google in terms of management, except SAS probably comes a little bit close.

Yes I think Google could become Skynet if it were not for the serious policy of Google to not be a monopolist (except by default) which is the antithesis of Microsoft Corporation.  Also there is the black cloud of Microsoft hanging over Google to pull down Google’s Skynet even if it takes a trillion dollars.  

There were some very fascinating things that I learned from the 60 Minutes module.  For one thing, Google is getting closer to scanning the documents in alternate languages around the world and then translating each hit into a language of choice (probably English to begin with).  Secondly, I knew that Google bought Keyhole, but I had not played in recent years with the amazing keyhole (not Google Views) ---  http://www.keyhole.com/

Readers interested in the wonderful “Defining Google” 60 Minutes module should go to http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/12/30/60minutes/main664063.shtml

I might also add that this module was followed by another module on The World’s Most Beautiful Woman --- http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/12/29/60minutes/main663862.shtml
She’s very articulate and a pure delight in this world of sinking morality even though her movie roles to date have been
Bombay frivolous.

 


Tech Links forwarded by How-to-Geek newsletter on June 9, 2014

In traditional Hawaiian culture, the placement of a flower in the hair of women has subtle symbolism; a flower behind the left ear indicates the wearer is in a relationship, and a flower behind the right ear indicates availability. The same symbolism does not apply to men.  
Today's Tech Term

Cold Buffer

A Cold Buffer is a reserved section of computer memory that has not been used, accessed, or received any data for a long period of time.

 
 
 
What We're Reading from Around the Web

"Chicago Police Caught A Robber With Facial Recognition Technology, And He's Off To Prison For 22 Years," by Rebecca Borison,  Business Insider, June 9, 2014 ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/chicago-robber-caught-by-facial-recognition-2014-6


Court Rules in Favor of Firing Bad and Often Absentee Teachers in California (who until now were protected by teacher union rules on tenure)
This ruling may catch on in other states of the USA

This decision is one for the history books, says the National Council on Teacher Quality
"End of the age of dinosaurs," The Economist, June 10, 2014 Jun 10th 2014 ---
http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2014/06/teacher-tenure

DESPITE the earthquakes of reform that have rattled public education in recent years, there are parts of the system that still resemble “The Lost World”, where prehistoric creatures still roam. A long-standing demand of education reformers has been that it should be easier for schools to fire bad teachers. The terms in many teacher contracts forbid this. Most schools when making cuts are forced to fire the newest teachers rather than the worst ones—a policy is better known as "last in, first out". The result is that a lot of bad (and often expensive) teachers linger in the system.

Having lousy teachers is terrible for children and their future prospects. Pupils assigned to better teachers are more likely to go to college and earn decent salaries, and are less likely to be teenage mothers, according to work published in 2011. If teachers in grades 4 to 8 are ranked according to ability, and the bottom 5% are replaced with teachers of average quality, a class’s cumulative lifetime income is raised by $250,000. Bill Gates once pointed out that if every child had mathematics teachers as good as those in the top quartile, the achievement gap between America and Asia would vanish in two years.

Owing to the glut of studies showing that teacher quality is more important than a classroom’s size, income level or access to high-tech wizardry, 18 states and Washington, DC, now require tenure decisions to be “informed” by measures of whether a teacher is any good. Fifteen states and DC are using teacher efficacy as a factor in deciding whom to lay off. And in 23 states teachers can now be sacked if their evaluations are unsatisfactory.

California, though, was one of these Jurassic Lost Worlds where the dinosaurs of the teaching world still roared. Its mighty teachers’ unions helped it block change. But thanks to a lawsuit brought by Students Matter, an advocacy group formed by David Welch, a rich entrepreneur from Silicon Valley, all this may now change. Mr Welch (with the help of some extremely expensive lawyers) has just won a case challenging teacher tenure, and a Los Angeles court has now ruled that job protections are unconstitutional. The court struck down five teacher-tenure laws.

The lawsuit, brought on behalf of nine schoolchildren, concentrated on three areas: teacher tenure, dismissal procedures and seniority rules. The plaintiffs had argued that the rules resulted in grossly ineffective teachers obtaining and retaining permanent employment, and these teachers were disproportionately in schools serving low-income and minority students. The judge said this violated fundamental rights to equal education. "There is also no dispute that there are a significant number of grossly ineffective teachers currently active in California classrooms," he said, adding that “the evidence is compelling. Indeed it shocks the conscience.”

Implementation of the ruling has been stayed pending appeals. The California Teachers Association has promised a fight. Teachers complain that they can now be fired on unreasonable grounds, and they have criticised the circumvention of the legislative process. But Mr Welch has said he felt obliged to go through the courts after watching union-backed Democrats repeatedly thwart reform. From the start he and his allies were keen to frame the case as a defence of children’s civil rights, not an attack on teachers. John Deasy, the superintendent of the Los Angeles school district, compared the denial of adequate education to ethnic-minority children to the refusal of café owners to serve coffee to black students over 50 years ago.

This decision is one for the history books, says the National Council on Teacher Quality, a reformist research group. Even Mr Welch’s legal team sounded surprised at the scale of their victory. The ruling will affect one in eight public-school children in America, thanks to the size of California’s education system, and could resonate well beyond the Golden State. As the NCTQ announced, “this landmark case should put states across the country on notice: policies that are not in the best interest of students cannot stand.” Roars of approval all round.

Jensen Comment
I wonder if and when the courts will consider eliminating tenure in the state college and university system.

Bob Jensen's threads on tenure controversies ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies.htm#MLA

 


For man to be able to live he must either not see the infinite, or have such an explanation of the meaning of life as will connect the finite with the infinite.
"Leo Tolstoy on Finding Meaning in a Meaningless World," by Maria Popova, Brain Pickings, June 3, 2014 ---
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/06/03/tolstoy-confession/

Shortly after turning fifty, Leo Tolstoy succumbed to a profound spiritual crisis. With his greatest works behind him, he found his sense of purpose dwindling as his celebrity and public acclaim billowed, sinking into a state of deep depression and melancholia despite having a large estate, good health for his age, a wife who had born him fourteen children, and the promise of eternal literary fame. On the brink of suicide, he made one last grasp at light amidst the darkness of his existence, turning to the world’s great religious and philosophical traditions for answers to the age-old question regarding the meaning of life. In 1879, a decade after War and Peace and two years after Anna Karenina, and a decade before he set out to synthesize these philosophical findings in his Calendar of Wisdo, Tolstoy channeled the existential catastrophe of his inner life in A Confession (public library) — an autobiographical memoir of extraordinary candor and emotional intensity, which also gave us Tolstoy’s prescient meditation on money, fame, and writing for the wrong reasons.

He likens the progression of his depression to a serious physical illness — a parallel modern science is rending increasingly appropriate. Tolstoy writes:

Then occurred what happens to everyone sickening with a mortal internal disease. At first trivial signs of indisposition appear to which the sick man pays no attention; then these signs reappear more and more often and merge into one uninterrupted period of suffering. The suffering increases, and before the sick man can look round, what he took for a mere indisposition has already become more important to him than anything else in the world — it is death!

. . .

A Confession is a remarkable read in its entirety. Complement it with Tolstoy’s subsequent opus of philosophical inquiry, A Calendar of Wisdom, and this rare recording of him reading from the latter, exploring the object of life shortly before his death.

Also see more meditations on the meaning of life from Carl Sagan, Maya Angelou, Richard Feynman, David Foster Wallace, John Steinbeck, Anaïs Nin, George Lucas, and Viktor Frankl.

Continued in article

Bob Jensen's threads on free downloads of the classics ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm


Thomas Pekkety --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Piketty

Piketty’s second law regards the relationship between capital (e.g., machines, software, buildings) and national income. Piketty argues that the owners of capital will capture a growing share of national income at the expense of labor. He says that will happen because savings and investment will continue to grow, even as population growth and technological progress slow, along with overall economic growth.
Piketty's 'Second Law

We simply do not at all agree with the macroeconomic reasoning that undergirds his forecast . . . Robert Solow, a Nobel prize-winning economist, was closer to the truth in 1956, when he said that as the economy’s growth rate slows toward zero, so will the national savings rate. “Postwar U.S. data, moreover, [are] consistent with this theory in that decades with low growth have typically been associated with low (or even negative) net savings rates,” . . .
Tony Smith, a Yale University economist, and Per Krusell of Stockholm University’s Institute for International Economic Studies

"Is Piketty's 'Second Law of Capitalism' Really a Law?" by Peter Coy, Bloomberg Businessweek June 6, 2014 ---
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-06-06/is-pikettys-second-law-of-capitalism-really-a-law 

The two economists agree with Piketty that wealth inequality has grown, but they say the causes include “educational institutions, skill-biased technical change, globalization, and changes in the structure of capital markets.”

Update, June 6: In an email Piketty wrote that he didn’t understand the professors’ case. He said his book argues that savings rates have been falling more slowly than growth rates, not that the process will go on forever. Or, as he put it:

We’ve never written that the capital income ratio beta=s/g should go to infinity if g goes to zero: presumably people would stop saving (i.e. s would go to zero) much before that! We’re just saying that the simplest way to explain the rise in capital-income ratios that we observe in the data in recent decades is that saving rates did not fall as much as growth rates, so that mechanically the capital-income ratio tends to rise to relatively high levels, just like in the 19th century. I don’t think they are disputing this. Also note that the rise of capital-income ratio is certainly not bad per se, and does not necessarily imply high inequality. Tell me if I missed something!

Martin Feldstein --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Feldstein

"Piketty's Numbers Don't Add Up:  Ignoring dramatic changes in tax rules since 1980 creates the false impression that income inequality is rising," by Harvard's Martin Feldstein, The Wall Street Journal, May 14,  2014 ---
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304081804579557664176917086?mod=djemMER_h&mg=reno64-wsj

Thomas Piketty has recently attracted widespread attention for his claim that capitalism will now lead inexorably to an increasing inequality of income and wealth unless there are radical changes in taxation. Although his book, "Capital in the Twenty-First Century," has been praised by those who advocate income redistribution, his thesis rests on a false theory of how wealth evolves in a market economy, a flawed interpretation of U.S. income-tax data, and a misunderstanding of the current nature of household wealth.

Mr. Piketty's theoretical analysis starts with the correct fact that the rate of return on capital—the extra income that results from investing an additional dollar in plant and equipment—exceeds the rate of growth of the economy. He then jumps to the false conclusion that this difference between the rate of return and the rate of growth leads through time to an ever-increasing inequality of wealth and of income unless the process is interrupted by depression, war or confiscatory taxation. He advocates a top tax rate above 80% on very high salaries, combined with a global tax that increases with the amount of wealth to 2% or more.

His conclusion about ever-increasing inequality could be correct if people lived forever. But they don't. Individuals save during their working years and spend most of their accumulated assets during retirement. They pass on some of their wealth to the next generation. But the cumulative effect of such bequests is diluted by the combination of existing estate taxes and the number of children and grandchildren who share the bequests.

The result is that total wealth grows over time roughly in proportion to total income. Since 1960, the Federal Reserve flow-of-funds data report that real total household wealth in the U.S. has grown at 3.2% a year while the real total personal income calculated by the Department of Commerce grew at 3.3%.

The second problem with Mr. Piketty's conclusions about increasing inequality is his use of income-tax returns without recognizing the importance of the changes that have occurred in tax rules. Internal Revenue Service data, he notes, show that the income reported on tax returns by the top 10% of taxpayers was relatively constant as a share of national income from the end of World War II to 1980, but the ratio has risen significantly since then. Yet the income reported on tax returns is not the same as individuals' real total income. The changes in tax rules since 1980 create a false impression of rising inequality.

In 1981 the top tax rate on interest, dividends and other investment income was reduced to 50% from 70%, nearly doubling the after-tax share that owners of taxable capital income could keep. That rate reduction thus provided a strong incentive to shift assets from low-yielding, tax-exempt investments like municipal bonds to higher yielding taxable investments. The tax data therefore signaled an increase in measured income inequality even though there was no change in real inequality.

The Tax Reform Act of 1986 lowered the top rate on all income to 28% from 50%. That reinforced the incentive to raise the taxable yield on portfolio investments. It also increased other forms of taxable income by encouraging more work, by causing more income to be paid as taxable salaries rather than as fringe benefits and deferred compensation, and by reducing the use of deductions and exclusions.

The 1986 tax reform also repealed the General Utilities doctrine, a provision that had encouraged high-income individuals to run their business and professional activities as Subchapter C corporations, which were taxed at a lower rate than their personal income. This corporate income of professionals and small businesses did not appear in the income-tax data that Mr. Piketty studied.

The repeal of the General Utilities doctrine and the decline in the top personal tax rate to less than the corporate rate caused high-income taxpayers to shift their business income out of taxable corporations and onto their personal tax returns. Some of this transformation was achieved by paying themselves interest, rent or salaries from their corporations. Alternatively, their entire corporation could be converted to a Subchapter S corporation whose profits are included with other personal taxable income.

These changes in taxpayer behavior substantially increased the amount of income included on the returns of high-income individuals. This creates the false impression of a sharp rise in the incomes of high-income taxpayers even though there was only a change in the legal form of that income. This transformation occurred gradually over many years as taxpayers changed their behavior and their accounting practices to reflect the new rules. The business income of Subchapter S corporations alone rose from $500 billion in 1986 to $1.8 trillion by 1992.

Mr. Piketty's practice of comparing the incomes of top earners with total national income has another flaw. National income excludes the value of government transfer payments including Social Security, health benefits and food stamps that are a large and growing part of the personal incomes of low- and middle-income households. Comparing the incomes of the top 10% of the population with the total personal incomes of the rest of the population would show a much smaller rise in the relative size of incomes at the top.

Finally, Mr. Piketty's use of estate-tax data to explore what he sees as the increasing inequality of wealth is problematic. In part, this is because of changes in estate and gift-tax rules, but more fundamentally because bequeathable assets are only a small part of the wealth that most individuals have for their retirement years. That wealth includes the present actuarial value of Social Security and retiree health benefits, and the income that will flow from employer-provided pensions. If this wealth were taken into account, the measured concentration of wealth would be much less than Mr. Piketty's numbers imply.

The problem with the distribution of income in this country is not that some people earn high incomes because of skill, training or luck. The problem is the persistence of poverty. To reduce that persistent poverty we need stronger economic growth and a different approach to education and training, not the confiscatory taxes on income and wealth that Mr. Piketty recommends.

"A modern Marx:  Thomas Piketty’s blockbuster book is a great piece of scholarship, but a poor guide to policy," The Economist, May 3, 2014 ---
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21601512-thomas-pikettys-blockbuster-book-great-piece-scholarship-poor-guide-policy

"Thomas Piketty: Marx 2.0," by Rana Foroohar, Time Magazine, May 19, 2014, pp. 46-49 ---
http://time.com/92087/thomas-piketty-marx-2-0/?pcd=hp-magmod

But "redistribute wealth" is a relative term.  Paul Krugman's review --- 
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/may/08/thomas-piketty-new-gilded-age/
Jensen Comment
Especially note Krugman's point about how technology changed the structure of wealth in America to a point where Piketty's European world is not quite the same as the U.S. world of the wealthy in 2012. Piketty does not entirely overlook that in his book.

Ten ways to fight inequality without Piketty's Wealth Tax ---
http://qz.com/201695/ten-ways-to-fight-inequality-without-pikettys-wealth-tax/

ensen Comment

History does not repeat itself in the 21st Century replacement of labor with capital. Never before in history has capital become so effective and efficient in replacing labor with robotics and other technology. Soon we will have driverless  on the highways,

Amazon orders will be filled entirely by robots. The parcels will be delivered by drones above the maddening unemployed crowds below. Soon our wars will be fought with robots and drowns.

The only human thing left to dissidents will be terrorists blowing up the power grid and innocent people. Thant and poisoning our food and water supplies.


"Ex-Goldman director Gupta loses bid to stay out of prison," by Jonathan Stempel, Reuters, June 12, 2014 ---
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/06/11/usa-crime-insidertrading-gupta-idINL2N0OS1UC20140611

Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc director Rajat Gupta has failed to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to delay the June 17 start of his two-year prison term while he pursues an appeal of his insider trading conviction.

Gupta, also a former global managing director of the consulting firm McKinsey & Co, had asked the country's highest court for permission to stay free during his appeal, after the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on May 30 denied him the same request.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who handles emergency applications from the 2nd Circuit, on Wednesday denied Gupta's request to stay out of prison.

The full 2nd Circuit has yet to decide whether to rehear Gupta's appeal of his conviction, which a three-judge panel of that court upheld on March 25.

Gary Naftalis, a partner at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel who represented Gupta, declined to comment. Seth Waxman, a WilmerHale partner and former U.S. solicitor general, is also among Gupta's lawyers.

Gupta, 65, is the highest-ranking corporate official to be convicted in the government's multi-year probe of insider trading in the hedge fund industry.

Continued in article

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


"Time Inc. Has a Big Problem—So Does Digital Journalism:  As the storied magazine company returns to its inky origins, the future looks bright for digital journalism as a product, but dim for large-scale digital journalism as a business," by Derek Thompson, The Atlantic, June 9, 2014 ---
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/06/time-inc-has-a-big-problemso-does-digital-journalism/372460/

View the informative. albeit somewhat controversial, charts. The secret to lots of advertising seems to be giving away a lot of free stuff that people want --- the Google model.


"Ten States With the Fastest Growing Economies," 24/7 Wall Street, June 12, 2014 ---
http://247wallst.com/special-report/2014/06/12/10-states-with-the-fastest-growing-economies/

Jensen Comment
If you want your state to grow as fast as the winners discover some massive oil and gas deposits in your back yard. It would be easy to say that having a large and diverse population hurts growth, but that does not explain economic growth in Texas in areas other than oil and gas.

Aside from oil and gas, not being bound up in union militancy and not having high state taxation seems to be a winner for economic growth. Keep in mind that the rich tend to get richer and poor poorer as evidenced by the growth in Medicaid that has become the biggest item in nearly all state budgets, especially the states with low economic growth.

Eventually, economic growth will be tied to rain and water reserves more than most anything else.


How to Mislead With Statistics
"Why Economists Can’t Always Trust Data," Fiscal Times, June 3, 2014 ---
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2014/06/03/Why-Economists-Can-t-Always-Trust-Data

To make progress in economics, it is essential that theoretical models be subjected to empirical tests that determine how well they can explain actual data. The tests that are used must be able to draw a sharp distinction between competing theoretical models, and one of the most important factors is the quality of the data used in the tests. Unfortunately, the quality of the data that economists employ is less than ideal, and this gets in the way of the ability of economists to improve the models they use. There are several reasons for the poor quality of economic data:

Non-Experimental Data: Economists do not have the ability to perform experiments, except in a very limited way. Instead, they must rely upon historical data. This makes tests of theoretical models much more difficult to conduct. 

A chemist can, for example, go the lab and perform experiments again and again and this has several advantages. To see the advantages, suppose there are two chemicals that combine imperfectly, and the investigator would like to know the temperature that produces the most complete chemical reaction.

The first advantage is that in a laboratory, the air pressure, amount of oxygen in the air, the temperature, and so on can be controlled as the chemicals are combined.

When using historical, real-world data this is not possible. All of the factors will vary –– they cannot be held constant unless the researcher is lucky enough to encounter a “natural experiment” where “all else equal” holds and that is rare –– and the inability to hold “all else equal” confounds the tests. It is still possible to add controls that try to capture the other factors that might influence the outcome, but one can never be sure that this has been done sufficiently well to allow clean statistical tests.

The second advantage is that the experiment can be repeated many, many times so that any randomness in the outcome of individual experiments can be averaged out. In the experiment above, for example, the chemicals could be combined 1,000 times at each temperature, and then the outcomes averaged to smooth out the noise in individual experiments.

In economics there is simply no way to, for example, run an experiment where the Great Recession occurs thousands of times and various policy interventions are implemented to see what type perform the best. Economists are stuck with a single historical realization, and can never be sure the extent to which the outcome is due to randomness or inadequate controls. 

Surveys, Revisions, and Real-Time Data:
Economic data is usually based upon surveys rather than a full tabulation of the variable of interest. Unemployment data, for example, is based upon
a monthly sample of approximately 60,000 households. In some cases, as with GDP, the data arrive with a substantial time lag leading to revisions as new data clarifies the picture. For GDP, there is an advance estimate based upon data that is available one month after the end of a quarter, followed by second and third estimates released after two and three months later. There is also a first annual estimate released in the summer incorporating further new data, and there are subsequent annual and five-year revisions. 

In economics there is simply no way to, for example, run an experiment where the Great Recession occurs thousands of times and various policy interventions are implemented to see what type perform the best. Economists are stuck with a single historical realization, and can never be sure the extent to which the outcome is due to randomness or inadequate controls. 

Surveys, Revisions, and Real-Time Data: Economic data is usually based upon surveys rather than a full tabulation of the variable of interest. Unemployment data, for example, is based upon a monthly sample of approximately 60,000 households. In some cases, as with GDP, the data arrive with a substantial time lag leading to revisions as new data clarifies the picture. For GDP, there is an advance estimate based upon data that is available one month after the end of a quarter, followed by second and third estimates released after two and three months later. There is also a first annual estimate released in the summer incorporating further new data, and there are subsequent annual and five-year revisions. 

- See more at: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2014/06/03/Why-Economists-Can-t-Always-Trust-Data#sthash.XKizjNmC.dpuf

See more at:
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2014/06/03/Why-Economists-Can-t-Always-Trust-Data#sthash.SDS9IFGX.dpuf

Jensen Comment
Much of the problem in the social sciences, and economics and investing in particular, is that if models predict those affected by the predictions may change their behavior. Social science research is sometimes very unstable. Another problem is that there are so many missing variables that are incorrectly assumed to be insignificant. And there's a huge problem of interdependency among model variables is often ignored by researchers desperate to imply findings of causality.


"Harvard and MIT Release MOOC Student Data Set," Inside Higher Ed, June 2, 2014 ---
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/06/02/harvard-and-mit-release-mooc-student-data-set#sthash.Rvg8e49L.dpbs

Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the two universities behind the massive open online course provider edX, on Friday released the data sets behind the data visualization tool Insights. The data covers students who enrolled in the 16 edX courses offered by the two institutions during 2012-13, and has been scrubbed for information that could identify individuals. The data set can be downloaded from the MITx and HarvardX Dataverse.

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/06/02/harvard-and-mit-release-mooc-student-data-set#ixzz33TZ2F1Iq
Inside Higher Ed

 

"Will MOOCs Undermine Top Business Schools, or Help Them?" Chronicle of Higher Education, June 3, 2014 ---
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/will-moocs-undermine-top-business-schools-or-help-them/53021?cid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en "

Massive open online courses are not currently cannibalizing tuition-based programs at top business schools, according to an enthusiastic report from the University of Pennsylvania. Rather, MOOCs could become a recruiting tool for tapping new pools of potential students.

Business schools that offer MOOCs should also figure out how to charge the many students who sign up for the online courses without intending to complete them, write the authors of the report.

The report looks at data and survey responses from students in nine MOOCs offered by Penn’s Wharton School. The researchers found that 78 percent of the students were from outside the United States, and 35 percent of the U.S. residents taking the business MOOCs were foreign-born. Among the Americans, 19 percent were members of underrepresented minority groups, compared with 11 percent among M.B.A. students as a whole.

“Our data suggest that, at least at present, MOOCs run by elite business schools primarily attract students for whom traditional business-school offerings are out of reach,” write the authors.

Rather than undermine the existing business model, MOOCs may help Wharton and other business schools recruit outside the normal pipelines, the researchers speculate. “These three groups—students from outside the United States, especially developing countries, foreign-born Americans, and underrepresented American minorities—are students that business schools are trying to attract,” they write.

The Penn report also reiterates a point that has become a refrain among researchers looking at free online courses: Completion rates are poor metrics for judging the success of a MOOC because the goals of students who register for such courses vary. Indeed, only 5 percent of the registrants in Penn’s business MOOCs finished their courses, and those who completed were “disproportionately male, well-educated, employed,” and from countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; also, American students “tend to be white.” But a mere 43 percent of students who were surveyed said that obtaining a certificate of completion was important to them.

Based on the apparently diverse motivations of people who sign up for MOOCs, the Penn researchers offer some business advice to institutions offering them: Find ways to charge students who have no plans to complete their MOOCs.

“Business schools must bear this in mind and move away from a business model of charging for certificates of completion,” the authors advise. “Instead, they must tailor offerings to the goals of these learners, whatever they may be.”

Penn, which has released several reports (not all of them flattering) based on data from its MOOCs, was an early institutional partner with Coursera, the largest MOOC company. The university also owns a stake in the company. Penn’s provost, Vincent Price, is listed as a member of Coursera’s advisory board.

Bob Jensen's threads on MOOCs and other free education materials from prestigious universities ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI


Question
"What accounting courses are available on a listing of 1,000 free courses from prestigious universities?" Chronicle of Higher Education, June 3, 2014 ---
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/will-moocs-undermine-top-business-schools-or-help-them/53021?cid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

 

Note that advanced accounting is not covered nearly as well as philosophy, ethics, computer science, literature, history, etc.
A Master List of 1,000 Free Courses From Top Universities: 30,000 Hours of Audio/Video Lectures ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/05/list-of-1000-free-courses-from-top-universities.html
There are 150 free business courses ---
http://www.openculture.com/business_free_courses
Principles of Managerial Accounting - Free iTunes Audio - Anthony Catanach & Noah Barskey, Villanova ---
https://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/principles-managerial-accounting/id388954205?mt=10
Accounting and Its Use in Business Decisions - Free – Alison ---
http://alison.com/courses/Accounting-and-Its-Use-in-Business-Decisions
Accounting in 60 Minutes: A Brief Introduction - Free - Udemy ---
https://www.udemy.com/accounting-in-60-minutes-a-brief-introduction/?dtcode=th48xvn5
Fundamentals of Accounting – Free - Alison ---
http://alison.com/courses/Introduction-to-Accounting-1
Introduction to Accounting - Free – US Small Business Administration ---
http://www.sba.gov/sba-learning-center/training/introduction-accounting
Introduction to Cash Accounting - Free – Alison ---
http://alison.com/courses/Introduction-to-Cash-Accounting
Managerial Accounting - Free – Saylor.org ---
http://www.saylor.org/courses/bus105/

Bob Jensen's threads on free course material, videos, tutorials, and entire courses from prestigious universities ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI


"Former UNC Basketball Star Says He Got Straight A's Without Going To A Single Class," by Emmitt Knowlton, Business Insider, June 6, 2014 ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/rashad-mccants-on-unc-academic-scandal-2014-6 

Rashad McCants, the second-leading scorer on the University of North Carolina's 2004-05 basketball team that won the national championship, told ESPN's "Outside the Lines" that he rarely attended class, turned in papers written entirely by tutors, and took bogus courses in the African-American Studies department during his three years in Chapel Hill. 

 

"I didn't write any papers," McCants said. "When it was time to turn in our papers for our paper classes, we would get a call from our tutor ... carpool over to the tutor's house and basically get our papers and go about our business."

During the spring term of 2005, McCants says he made the Dean's List and got straight-A's in four classes that he never attended.

When asked if UNC men's basketball coach Roy Williams knew about this, McCants told Outside The Lines, "I think he knew 100%. ... It was something that was a part of the program." 


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/rashad-mccants-on-unc-academic-scandal-2014-6#ixzz33tDghpcI

Chapel Hill Researcher at Center of Turmoil Over Athletes’ Literacy Resigns ---
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/chapel-hill-researcher-at-center-of-turmoil-over-athletes-literacy-resigns/76317?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

"University of North Carolina learning specialist receives death threats after her research finds one in 10 college athletes have reading age of a THIRD GRADER," by Sara Malm, Daily Mail, January 10, 2014 ---
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2537041/University-North-Carolina-learning-specialist-receives-death-threats-research-finds-one-10-college-athletes-reading-age-fifth-grader.html

Mary Willingham exposed college athletes' lack of academic abilities

Continued in article

 

Jensen Comment
More often than not employers make it uncomfortable for whistleblowers who don't resign. UNC does not deny that for ten years varsity athletes took fake courses and were "allowed" to change their grades. They just contend that these athletes did not suffer academically because they were in the wonderful learning environment of the University of North Carolina. Yeah Right!

UNC Fudging the Grades of Athletes
"Scandal Bowl: Why Tar Heel Fraud Might Be Just the Start," by Paul M. Barrett, Bloomberg Businessweek, January 6, 2014 ---
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-06/unc-athletic-scandal-charges-of-fraud-could-be-tip-of-wider-revelations?campaign_id=DN010614

The corruption of academics at the University of North Carolina’s Chapel Hill campus could turn into the most revelatory of all of the undergraduate sports scandals in recent memory. Beginning three years ago with what sounded like garden-variety reports of under-the-table payments from agents and improper classroom help for athletes, the affair has spread and deepened to include evidence of hundreds of sham courses offered since the early 1990s. Untold numbers of grades have been changed without authorization and faculty signatures forged—all in the service of an elaborate campaign to keep elite basketball and football players academically eligible to play.

After belatedly catching up with the UNC debacle in this recent dispatch, I’ve decided the still-developing story deserves wider attention. Or, to put it more precisely, the excellent reporting already done by the News & Observer of Raleigh merits amplification outside of North Carolina.

The rot in Chapel Hill undermines UNC’s reputation as one of the nation’s finest public institutions of higher learning. Officials created classes that did not meet. That’s not the only reason more scrutiny is needed. There’s also the particularly pernicious way that the school’s African and Afro-American Studies Department has been used to inflate the GPAs of basketball and football players. The corruption of a scholarly discipline devoted to black history and culture underscores a racial subtext to the exploitation of college athletes that typically goes unidentified in polite discussion. (UNC’s former longtime Afro-Am chairman, Julius Nyang’oro, has been criminally indicted for fraud.)

Another reason Chapel Hill requires sustained investigation is the manner in which the athletic and academic hierarchies at UNC, along with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, have so far whitewashed the scandal. Officials have repeatedly denied that the fiasco’s roots trace to an illicit agenda that, in the name of coddling a disproportionately black undergraduate athlete population, has left many students intellectually crippled.

Dan Kane, the News & Observer‘s lead investigative reporter, does old-school, just-the-facts-m’am work—and more power to him. Digging up the basic data has been a lonely and arduous task for which Kane has been rewarded with craven accusations of home state disloyalty. As he wrote last month, the six official “reviews” and “investigations” of the wayward Afro-Am Department have all failed to connect the dots in any meaningful way. In coming weeks and months, I hope I can supplement Kane’s dogged efforts with some long-distance perspective. Valuable tips from concerned local people, some of them UNC alumni, are already pouring in, and that’s part of the reason I’m going to pursue the story. Keep those e-mails coming.

One source of insight is Jay Smith, a professor of early modern French history at UNC. A serious scholar who understands the university’s sports-happy culture, Smith has developed a powerful distaste for the way his employer has obfuscated the scandal. “What’s going on here is so important,” he told me by telephone, “because it’s emblematic of what I think goes on at major universities all across the country,” where the business of sports undermines the mission of education. That sounds right to me.

Smith has the best sort of self-interested motivation for making sense of what has happened on his campus: He’s writing a book about the whole mess, based in part on statistics and personal experiences proffered by UNC instructors assigned over the years to assist varsity athletes. To me that sounds like a page-turner—and even the basis of an HBO movie.

I asked Smith what he thinks is going to happen next. He pointed to comments that the local district attorney made when the disgraced former Afro-Am chairman, Nyang’oro, was indicted in December. Orange County DA Jim Woodall told the News & Observer that a second person is also under investigation and could be indicted soon. Woodall did not identify the second target, except to say the person is not someone who currently works for UNC. ”Other probes have identified Nyang’oro’s longtime department manager, Deborah Crowder, as being involved in the bogus classes,” the News & Observer noted. “She retired in 2009.” Both Crowder and Nyang’oro have refused to comment publicly, and Nyang’oro’s criminal defense lawyer didn’t return my e-mail inquiry.

The indictment of Crowder, a relatively low-level administrative figure, could crack open the case. It defies logic that Nyang’oro and his assistant would have operated a rogue department without the knowledge of more senior faculty members, if not top university administrators. It further defies reason that this pair would have created phony classes for athletes without the urging and participation of people in the UNC athletic bureaucracy. Nyang’oro and Crowder are going to have ample reason to sing as part of potential plea deals.

Even before that happens, according to Smith, one or more well-positioned whistle-blowers are likely to go public and start naming names if they think the powers that be are planning to isolate Crowder and Nyang’oro as the sole villains. This thing goes much higher, and there’s much more to come from Chapel Hill.

 

"Alleged Academic Fraud at U. of North Carolina Tests NCAA's Reach:  Myths surrounding the group's investigation cloud the controversy at Chapel Hill," by Brad Wolverton, Chronicle of Higher Education, September 7, 2012 ---
http://chronicle.com/article/Alleged-Academic-Fraud-at-U/134270/

"North Carolina Admits to Academic Fraud in Sports Program," Inside Higher Ed, September 20, 2011 ---
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/09/20/qt#270772

Bob Jensen's threads on professors and Teachers Who Let Students Cheat ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Plagiarism.htm#RebeccaHoward


"States Spending the Most (and Least) on Education," by Thomas C. Frohlich, 24/7 Wall Street, June 3, 2014 ---
http://247wallst.com/special-report/2014/06/03/states-spending-the-most-and-least-on-education/#ixzz33aTwhr4e 

Spending Per Pupil (Top 10 States)
$19,522 New York
  17,290 Alaska
  17,266 New Jersey
  16,273 Connecticut
  16,039 Vermont
  15,897 Wyoming
  14, 142 Massachusetts
  14,005 Rhode Island
  13,864 Delaware
  13,608 Maryland

Spending Per Pupil (Bottom 10 States)
    $8,371 Florida
      8,294 Tennessee
      8,260 Texas
      8,222 Nevada
      8,200 North Carolina
      7,558 Arizona
      7,466 Oklahoma
      6,658 Idaho
      6,206 Utah

Jensen Comment
Reasons are many and complicated for differences between the highest and lowest ranked states above. One huge factor is that some states do not take advantage of economies of scale.

Exhibit A is Vermont at $16,039 per pupil. Vermont has no large cities and lots of small towns. The Vermont Legislature failed in 2014 to consolidate school districts. There are more school districts than towns in Vermont, and some school districts have more school board members than teachers. There are almost no students in some schools due to shrinking birth rates and populations.

Alaska, and Wyoming have problems taking advantage of economies of scale due to widely dispersed and low-populated school districts that are hard to consolidate because of long distances between districts. Also there is risky winter weather for long-distance busing.

Six of the top 10 spending states have powerful labor unions, including teachers unions, that dominate politics in each state. Unions have far less power in the bottom ten states.

The differences between the top spending and low spending states do not necessarily equate to education quality such as average SAT scores. I would rather have my grandchildren educated in Utah or Idaho versus states like New York, Alaska, and New Jersey spending more than twice as much per pupil. Teachers are attracted to quality of life in states like Utah and Idaho and will work for lower salaries.

Part of the difference between the top 10 and bottom 10 is caused by cost of living. Cost of living is much higher in New York, Alaska, and New Jersey. Teacher salaries in Utah and Idaho would be inadequate living costs in New York, Alaska, New Jersey, Connecticut, or Vermont where food, housing, and state taxation are killers on personal finances.


Recommended from Around the Web (Week Ending June 7, 2014)
MIT's Technology Review
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/527896/recommended-from-around-the-web-week-ending-june-7-2014/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_source=newsletter-daily-all&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20140606


It's extremely unusual for the courts to force granting of diplomas or even a grade change in a course
The courts instead prefer to award monetary damages rather than to make academic standards decisions

If the courts started assigning grades the dockets would be filled with millions of cases.

"Judge Orders Case Western to Grant Diploma to Medical Student," by Nick DeSantis, Chronicle of Higher Education, June 4, 2014 ---
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/judge-orders-case-western-to-grant-diploma-to-medical-student/79167?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

Jensen Comment
On two occasions while I was on the faculty of Trinity University I had to deal with a student, the student's lawyer, and disgruntled parents regarding my assignment of F grades. Trinity University was extremely professional in helping me deal with these two cases. In both instances the proceedings were terminated before going to court. In one case the graduate still lives with an unchanged F grade on his transcript even though he took the course again from somebody else.

In the other case I elected to show sympathy for the student. He was a graduating senior and was already accepted to the University of Texas Law School. I changed his F to an incomplete and let him repeat the course as a summertime independent study. He earned a C grade the second time around.

Of course there were many more instances where students did not dispute their F grades --- at least not with their lawyers sitting beside them.

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


Question
Do bonuses often lead to unethical behavior?

Sidetracked: Why Our Decisions Get Derailed, and How We Can Stick to the Plan by Francesca Gino (Feb 26, 2013)

The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone--Especially Ourselves by Dan Ariely (Jun 18, 2013)

 


"Keeping Up With the Joneses on RateMyProfessors.com," by Rob Jenkins, Chronicle of Higher Education, May 28, 2014 ---
https://chroniclevitae.com/news/505-keeping-up-with-the-joneses-on-ratemyprofessors-com?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

I confess: I occasionally check my ratings on Rate My Professors to see what students are saying about me. The comments are mostly pretty good, with the main complaint being that, apparently, it’s hard to get an A in my class.

I can live with that. My understanding of the whole grading scale thing is that A’s are supposed to be hard to get.

But checking my own ratings isn’t the only reason I go to Rate My Professors. I’ve learned that what students are saying about me is far less interesting than what they’re saying about my colleagues.

As a former department chair and dean who once evaluated faculty members for a living, I have to say that for the most part students absolutely nail it. Sometimes they’re a bit harsh, or catty, or mean spirited. Sometimes their biases are evident, such as when they give a professor both high marks overall and high marks for “easiness.” And of course it’s always amusing to read a student trash an English teacher by saying something like, “She not a very good teacher you cant get A in her class.”

But mostly they get it right.

For instance, you know those colleagues you've long suspected of being poor teachers? Check out their ratings. You may well discover that you were, in fact, correct. (In some cases, as a former administrator, I know they’re poor teachers, and it’s gratifying to see the students’ comments confirm my judgment.) Or how about those department members that you regard as antisocial, miserable you-know-whats? Turns out students pick up on that pretty quick, too.

Of course, there are always those professors who wear their unpopularity with students like a badge of honor, convinced that being a “good” teacher and being “liked” are mutually exclusive propositions. Or at least that’s what they tell themselves, as they look down their noses at the rest of us. I say, whatever helps you sleep at night.

The students, for their part, don’t seem to care about those kinds of self-justifications. They just know which teachers they like and which ones they don’t, and their jerkometers are always set on high.

I also enjoy reading what students are saying about the colleagues I admire. Even the best teacher is bound to elicit a few juicy comments, some of which may—just may—at some point find their way onto a birthday card that is passed around the department for everyone to sign. Hey, what are friends for?

- See more at: https://chroniclevitae.com/news/505-keeping-up-with-the-joneses-on-ratemyprofessors-com?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en#sthash.SKZxXWi0.dpuf

 

Jensen Comment
I go to the RateMyProfessors.com site quite often because it is entertaining (especially humorous) as well as being somewhat informative. Millions of student responses are now archived on RMP.

The respondents are self selecting.
And the self-selecting samples are often too small to place any credence on the numerical ratings.

But the subjective comments can be interesting such as comments that the professor gives credit for participating in campus protests against the college's administrators. Students often point out how ridiculously easy it is to get an A in a course.

There are some myths floating around about the RateMyProfessors.com site.
One myth is that only disgruntled students tend to submit reviews. Actually the opposite is the case. If you study the responses for most any college or university such as Trinity University you will find that the overwhelming majority of respondents love and respect their teachers. The smile icons are much more frequent than the frown icons. 

The replies from some professors are also interesting.
Mostly they defend their academic standards.

My biggest disappointment is that so few graduate students send in evaluations to RateMyProfessor.com.
In part I think this is grade inflation. Most graduate students now get A or B grades, and a rare C grade is tantamount to a D or F. If graduate courses were more competitive there would probably be more evaluations sent to RMP.

A second disappointment is that students tend to complain in any course where there is a lot of work (even when they give high marks to the professor).
This seems to be a sign of the times where students no longer respect learning if it takes blood, sweat, and tears.

A third disappointment is that the very-highest rated ("Top") professors especially acknowledged on the RMP site tend to be rated by students as easy graders. S
adly, this is a sign of the times ---
http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/toplists/topLists.jsp

A fourth disappointment is that the RMP site has no special section for submissions from students 10 or more years after graduation.
I think that student respect for their harder teachers increase over time.

Note the following from the RMP site as of May 2014 ---
http://blog.ratemyprofessors.com/were-getting-a-makeover/

As the title suggests, you’re going to be seeing some big changes here on RateMyProfessors.com in the near future. Since you’re always on the go, we’re making it easier for you to use RateMyProfessors.com from your mobile devices. You’ll be able to search, browse, and rate with ease from wherever you are. We’ll also be updating our look and adding some helpful, new features. Excited yet? We are!

Anything you’d like to see changed or added to RateMyProfessors.com? Let us know in the form below!

Grade Inflation and Dysfunctional Teaching Evaluations (the biggest scandal in higher education) ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies.htm#GradeInflation


"Thoreau on the Greatest Gift of Growing Old," by Maria Popova, Brain Pickings, May 26, 2014 ---
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/05/26/thoreau-on-growing-old/

“Living has yet to be generally recognized as one of the arts,” Karl De Schweinitz wrote in his 1924 guide to the art of living, and as with any art, genius-level mastery at it is only accomplished through hours upon hours of deliberate practice. It’s a truth that Henry David Thoreau, one of the great masters of the art of living, illustrates in a particularly beautiful passage from The Journal of Henry David Thoreau, 1837–1861 (public library) — the same treasure trove of wisdom that gave us Thoreau on what success really means, friendship and sympathy, and why not to quote Thoreau.

Writing in the afternoon of October 20 of 1857, shortly after his fortieth birthday, Thoreau does what he does best, drawing from an everyday encounter a profound existential parable:

I saw Brooks Clark, who is now about eighty and bent like a bow, hastening along the road, barefooted, as usual, with an axe in his hand; was in haste perhaps on account of the cold wind on his bare feet. When he got up to me, I saw that besides the axe in one hand, he had his shoes in the other, filled with knurly apples and a dead robin. He stopped and talked with me a few moments; said that we had had a noble autumn and might now expect some cold weather. I asked if he had found the robin dead. No, he said, he found it with its wing broken and killed it. He also added that he had found some apples in the woods, and as he hadn’t anything to carry them in, he put ’em in his shoes. They were queer-looking trays to carry fruit in. How many he got in along toward the toes, I don’t know. I noticed, too, that his pockets were stuffed with them. His old tattered frock coat was hanging in strips about the skirts, as were his pantaloons about his naked feet. He appeared to have been out on a scout this gusty afternoon, to see what he could find, as the youngest boy might. It pleased me to see this cheery old man, with such a feeble hold on life, bent almost double, thus enjoying the evening of his days. Far be it from me to call it avarice or penury, this childlike delight in finding something in the woods or fields and carrying it home in the October evening, as a trophy to be added to his winter’s store. Oh, no; he was happy to be Nature’s pensioner still, and birdlike to pick up his living. Better his robin than your turkey, his shoes full of apples than your barrels full; they will be sweeter and suggest a better tale.

But perhaps the greatest gift of old age is that of unselfconsciousness — 150 years after Thoreau, in reflecting on her long career of interviewing creative icons, Debbie Millman observed that the only two people not plagued by the characteristic self-doubt of creators were Milton Glaser and Massimo Vignelli who, not coincidentally, were both in their eighties. Thoreau, too, arrives at the same appreciation in considering the old man:

This old man’s cheeriness was worth a thousand of the church’s sacraments and memento mori’s. It was better than a prayerful mood. It proves to me old age as tolerable, as happy, as infancy… If he had been a young man, he would probably have thrown away his apples and put on his shoes when he saw me coming, for shame. But old age is manlier; it has learned to live, makes fewer apologies, like infancy.

Continued in article

Jensen Comment
What I enjoy most about retirement is that I am no longer my resume. I'm not aspiring for a new career, a new job, a new committee appointment, or a new honor. I can be me --- take it or leave it.

One of the myths about retirement is that it is less work. After planting flowers in my three gardens for three solid days I've never been so exhausted in my life --- one does tire more easily in the autumn of life. I'm impatient in our short season and tend to buy "seedlings" in one-gallon pots or larger --- mostly New Guinea Impatiens. If I'm not planting there are always other endless chores awaiting. Actually "chore" is probably the wrong term. The word chore suggests that one does not enjoy the activity. I enjoy most of my chores, especially sitting on a tractor on a cool mountain day while mowing or hauling or even blowing snow. My mountain home is a bit like Thoreau's Walden pond. I learn something new almost every time I step outside or turn on my computer.

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


"16 Facts About China (and Russia) That Will Blow Your Mind," by Mamta Badkar, Business Insider, June 2, 2014 ---
 http://www.businessinsider.com/mind-blowing-facts-about-china-2014-6?op=1#ixzz33WN6ezbL

Jensen Comment
I did not attempt to verify any of these "facts."

At first blush it sounds wasteful to cut 20 million trees each year for chop sticks. But, if you ate out of disposable paper containers, water and energy to heat the dish water would not be be needed. What is more costly from an environmental standpoint --- hot dish water or disposable eating utensils?

Of course the Chinese may mostly wash dishes and use wooden chopsticks --- the worst of both worlds.


"Frequentist vs. Bayesian Analysis," by David Giles, Econometrics Beat, June 6, 2014 ---
http://davegiles.blogspot.com/2014/06/frequentist-vs-bayesian-analysis.html

"Statisticians should readily use both Bayesian and frequentist ideas."

 
So begins a 2004 paper by Bayari and Berger, "The Interplay of Bayesian and Frequentist Analysis", Statistical Science, 19(1), 58-80.

 
Let's re-phrase that opening sentence: "Econometricians should readily use both Bayesian and frequentist ideas."

 
Before turning to economics, my undergraduate training was in statistics and pure mathematics. My statistical training (in the 1960's) came from professors who were staunchly Bayesian - at a time when it was definitely "them and us". With few exceptions, the attitude was that "if you're not with us, then you're against us". And this was true on both sides of the Frequentist-Bayesian divide.

 
Hardly a healthy situation - but we've seen similar philosophical divisions throughout the history of economics, and in pretty much every other discipline at some point.

 
After a very orthodox training in econometrics (based largely on the texts of Johnston, and Malinvaud) I ended up doing my Ph.D. dissertation on some problems in Bayesian econometrics - supervised by a wonderful man who probably didn't have a Bayesian bone in his body. My first J. Econometrics paper looked at some of the sampling properties of certain Bayes estimators. How non-Bayesian can you get?

 
So, I've always told students that they need to be flexible in their econometric thinking, and they need to be prepared to use both frequentist and Bayesian tools. Time has proved me right, I believe. Modern econometric practice takes advantage of a healthy mix of ideas and techniques drawn from both tool boxes.

 
Yes, this has been made possible by the considerable advances that we have seen in computing methods and power in recent decades. But it's also reflected something of a shift in the mind-set of statisticians and econometricians alike.

 
Here's the concluding section of the Bayari and Berger paper, in its entirety (pp.77-78):
"It seems quite clear that both Bayesian and frequentist philosophy are here to stay, and that we should not expect either to disappear in the future. This is not to say that all Bayesian or all frequentist methodology is fine and will survive. To the contrary, there are many areas of frequentist methodology that should be replaced by (existing) Bayesian methodology that provides superior answers, and the verdict is still out on those Bayesian methodologies that have been exposed as having potentially serious frequentist problems. 
Philosophical unification of the Bayesian and frequentist positions is not likely, nor desirable, since each illuminates a different aspect of statistical inference. We can hope, however, that we will eventually have a general methodological unification, with both Bayesian and frequentists agreeing on a body of standard statistical procedures for general use"
I hope that student followers of this blog will take the time to read the Bayari and Berger paper, and to learn more about Bayesian methods.
 

Statistical Science Reading List for June 2014 Compiled by David Giles in Canada ---
http://davegiles.blogspot.com/2014/05/june-reading-list.html

Put away that novel! Here's some really fun June reading:

My favorite critique of statistical inference:
The Cult of Statistical Significance: How Standard Error Costs Us Jobs, Justice, and Lives ---
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/temp/DeirdreMcCloskey/StatisticalSignificance01.htm


"The Thirteenth Annual In2: In Thinking Network Forum," by Jim Martin, MAAW's Blog, May 30, 2014 ---
http://maaw.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-thirteenth-annual-in2-in-thinking.html


Grade 12 ACT Admissions Examination --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACT_%28examination%29

"ACT Exam Will Include New Writing Scores and Readiness Indicators," Chronicle of Higher Education, June 6, 2014 ---
http://chronicle.com/blogs/headcount/act-exam-will-include-new-writing-scores-readiness-indicators/38473?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

The big tests keep evolving. Three months after the College Board unveiled plans for revising the SAT, its rival—ACT Inc.—announced on Friday coming changes in its own examination, now the nation’s most widely used college-entrance test.

Starting next year, students who take the ACT will receive more information about their readiness for college and careers, ACT officials said. The test results will include a “STEM Score,” representing a student’s performance on the mathematics and science portions of the exam, and an “English Language Arts Score,” which will combine the student’s performance on the English, reading, and writing sections.

The exam also will include two new indicators. One will show whether a student is likely to understand the kinds of complex texts he or she will take in college.

The other will assess a test taker’s career readiness, revealing his or her mastery of skills—such as applied math and reading-for-information—that employers value, ACT officials said. The measure will be based on the scores of students who have taken both the ACT and ACT Inc.’s WorkKeys tests, which are job-skills assessments (Illinois and Michigan, for instance, give both exams to all 11th graders).

“We asked how we can make the results more useful and more relevant to students, teachers, and counselors,” Jon Erickson, president of education and career solutions at ACT, said in an interview on Tuesday.

The new scores and indicators will supplement students’ overall score on the exam. The ACT’s traditional 1-to-36 scale will stay the same.

But the ACT’s optional writing test is changing. Currently, the prompt for the 30-minute essay asks test takers to argue one side of an issue, such as whether high schools should require students to wear uniforms. Although samples of the new prompts were not yet available, Edward R. Colby, a spokesman for ACT, said the questions would be more nuanced.

“It won’t be ‘this side or that side,’” Mr. Colby said. “The question will ask students for multiple perspectives and support. It will be a more-complex prompt than what we’re delivering now.”

The essays will be scored in four categories: ideas and analysis, development and support, organization, and language use. That approach will allow students to better determine their strengths and weaknesses, Mr. Erickson said. (Now, two graders score the essays on a 1-to-6 scale, based on an overall evaluation of the writing; the two scores are summed.)

Those changes may or may not make the writing test more appealing to colleges, most of which do not require applicants to submit writing scores (a shrinking number of institutions—about 12 percent—use the ACT writing test, according to ACT). Still, some of the colleges that do require it are large, and a majority of ACT takers write essays (52 percent of high-school seniors graduating this year).

Also this week, ACT officials said that four more states—Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, and Wisconsin—would require all high-school juniors in public schools to take the ACT as part of a statewide assessment program. That will bring the total to 17 states.

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


"Venezuelan Prostitutes Are Making A Killing By Doubling As Currency Traders," by Linette Lopez, Business Insider, June 9, 2014 ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/prostitutes-trade-dollars-in-venezuela-2014-6


"Gender Bias Alleged at UCLA's Anderson Business School," by Melissa,Korn, The Wall Street Journal, June 4, 2014 ---
http://online.wsj.com/articles/gender-bias-alleged-at-uclas-anderson-business-school-1401924672

One of the nation's top-ranked business schools is "inhospitable to women faculty," according to an internal academic review.

Faculty of the Anderson Graduate School of Management at University of California, Los Angeles, received a confidential copy of the review, conducted by a group of university professors and outside business-school deans, in April. The next day, the institution's first female dean, Judy Olian, met with the heads of several other elite business schools at the White House, where the group discussed business schools' roles in making workplaces friendlier to women and working families.

Back on campus, many professors noted the irony. Among the findings of the report, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal: Anderson is inconsistent in how it hires and promotes women as compared with men; has created "gender ghettos" in certain academic areas; and shows a "lack of confidence" in female faculty.

Dr. Olian said her administration is taking the findings seriously, and that the climate for women has been a priority since she became dean eight years ago. "This is going to require a lot more than numbers and policies. It's really soul-searching," Dr. Olian said. "I have to ask myself, what here might have had unintended consequences? And what subtle things should we, can we, must we be doing to improve the climate?"

Dr. Olian has notched many accomplishments during her tenure at Anderson: She raised $190 million for the school, successfully wrested administrative control away from the state education system and, in the past four years, oversaw a 60% jump in full-time M.B.A. applications.

But other than the dean herself, no women hold any of the school's 24 endowed chairs, prestigious positions used to attract and retain top talent.

Women made up 20% of tenure-track faculty at Anderson and 14.3% of those with tenure in the 2012-2013 academic year, including Dr. Olian, according to school figures.

By comparison, an analysis of 16 peer institutions—including the business schools at the University of Virginia, Stanford University and University of Michigan—found that, on average, about 30% of tenure-track and 19.5% of tenured faculty were women in the 2012-2013 year. That analysis was done by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, an accrediting group.

Gender is a fraught issue at many elite business schools. Harvard Business School gained attention last fall for its aggressive efforts to help women faculty and students thrive more in the classroom. And at the Yale School of Management, an instructor sued in federal court late last year, alleging gender and age discrimination after her appointment wasn't renewed. Yale says the suit is without merit.

Interviews with professors and administrators at a number of top programs suggest that the problems are particularly acute at Anderson. The internal report states that women have high rates of job satisfaction when beginning careers at the school, but face a "lack of respect" regarding their work and "unevenly applied" standards on decisions about pay and promotions.

Twice in the past three years, the university's governing academic body took the relatively rare step of overruling Dr. Olian, who had recommended against the promotion of one woman and against giving tenure to another, according to four Anderson professors.

In one case, the university found that policies allowing faculty to take parental leave without falling behind on the tenure track had been incorrectly applied to the candidate. In that same period, they said, a male candidate for promotion passed through the Anderson review, but didn't get clearance from the university.

Dr. Olian and a UCLA representative declined to comment, citing personnel privacy.

After seeing the review's initial findings in January, Dr. Olian created a Gender Equity Task Force. Among other things, the group wants to standardize promotion review criteria, said Aimee Drolet Rossi, a marketing professor and a member of the task force.

Prof. Rossi, who has been at the school since 1997, said she hasn't observed overt discrimination or hostility at Anderson, but said she has witnessed subtle digs and dismissive comments directed at women from colleagues and students. "It's death by a thousand paper cuts," she said.

The concerns at Anderson arose from a November review by the university's academic senate, which regularly assesses the academic health of UCLA's departments. The authors of the report—a group that included four UCLA professors and deans of three other business schools—set out to review issues related to academics only, but concerns about women faculty arose repeatedly during the evaluation, the report said.

The report praised the school's academic rigor and world-class faculty under Dr. Olian's leadership. But it also concluded that school administrators have done little to address problems raised in a 2006 study of gender at Anderson.

Dr. Olian disputed that: "To say that [the 2006 report] didn't capture the attention of the administration I don't think is really in line with the facts. In fact, I think it's wrong," she said in an interview, adding that the school implemented eight or nine of about a dozen recommendations.

Anderson this school year added female faculty and reduced the overall tenure-track pool, bringing to 28% the share of tenure-track faculty who are women. And the number of female full professors has tripled during Dr. Olian's tenure—to six, not including Dr. Olian—making women 12% of the 49 full professors on faculty.

The percentage of women enrolled in Anderson's full-time M.B.A. program rose to 34% last year from 28% in 2006.

Professors of both sexes at Anderson said the latest report accurately captured the atmosphere.

"I was, like, 'Wow, it's spot on,' " said one woman management professor who asked to remain anonymous. "I was pleased to see it come out."

Barbara Lawrence, a tenured professor of management and organizations who has spent 30-plus years at Anderson, is leaving the school this month, weary of being told, for example, that her research was insignificant.

She also said she fought for years both before and after Dr. Olian's arrival to bring her salary in line with male peers after discovering a $30,000 gap, finally nearing parity in 2009.

In an interview, Dr. Olian declined to comment on Prof. Lawrence's pay differential claim, but said most merit reviews run on a three to four year cycle.

Continued in article

History of Professional Women ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm#Women

Bob Jensen's threads on gender issues in academe ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies.htm#GenderSalaryDifferences


From How-to-Geek Newsletter on June 2, 2014

Download Wiley's Information Security Book Bundle -- A Free 228 Page Sampler
This Wiley e-book bundle includes selected materials from 5 recently published titles in Wiley's expansive catalog of titles. The material that is included for each selection is the book's full Table of Contents as well as a full sample chapter for your enjoyment.
Click here to download

Download the Essentials of the Cloud - Includes the Free Demystifying The Cloud eBook
Download this kit to learn everything you need to know about Cloud - Includes the Free Demystifying The Cloud eBook
Click here to download


From the CFO Journal's Morning Ledger on June 10, 2014

NCAA in $20 million videogame settlement with ex-athletes
The National Collegiate Athletic Association settled a lawsuit brought by college players over Electronic Arts Inc.’s college-themed football and basketball videogames, announced in the opening minutes of another landmark trial over pay for college athletes, the
WSJ’s Sharon Terlep reports. The NCAA said it would pay $20 million to current and former Bowl Subdivision football players and Division I men’s basketball players. The settlement is historic in that the NCAA will cut a check to modern-day college players for their on-field performance, yet the NCAA maintains it can prohibit college athletes from earning money off their play while in school.

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


From CFO Journal's Morning Ledger on May 30, 2014

China hacking is deep and diverse
China’s Internet espionage capabilities are deeper and more widely dispersed than believed, the 
WSJ reports, underscoring the challenge the U.S. faces in addressing what Washington considers economic espionage. Some of the most sophisticated intruders observed by U.S. officials and private-sector security firms work as hackers for hire. Sometimes freelancers appear to take orders from the military, at other times from state-owned firms seeking a competitive advantage.


"Redesigning Mary Meeker's Ugly Internet Slideshow," by Belinda Lanks, Bloomberg Businessweek, May 30, 2014 ---
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-05-30/redesigning-mary-meekers-ugly-internet-slideshow

Jensen Comments
Some slides have less text, which is probably a good thing during the presentation. However, for those of us who cannot attend the presentation, sometimes more text adds value for a much larger absentee audience. A dark background is easier on the eye, and the dark background makes it easier to track a red laser pointer. However, be sure to set the your printer so that it does not drain your printer ink to print dark backgrounds.

Bob Jensen's threads on PowerPoint and other presentation helpers ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/thetools.htm#PowerPointHelpers


Best of the Scout Report (from the University of Wisconsin) for 2014

Reader Favorites
- National Center for Science Education: Publications & Media
- Iowa Maps Digital Collection
- Whaling History: Laura Jernegan, Girl on a Whaleship
Staff Favorites
- MakeUseOf
- Finding Our Place in the Cosmos: From Galileo to Sagan and Beyond
- Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States
- Butterick's Practical Typography
- World Food Clock
- Nature Soundmap
- Museum of Fine Arts: Hippie Chic

Jensen Comment
Many of the Scout Report links over the years are included in
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm
I'm still working on the index by adding a few index items each week.




From the Scout Report on May 29, 2014

Delete It Later --- http://www.deleteitlater.com/ 

Have you ever wanted to delete a Facebook or Twitter post after it was published? It can be a good practice but can be tough to remember. Delete It Later allows users to schedule the posting of statuses, updates, and photos along with the option to schedule when the content will be removed. This version is compatible with all operating systems.  


ReMarkable --- http://remarkable.seedlessapps.com 

Educators and professionals will be delighted to learn about SeedlessApps.com’s flagship application, ReMarkable. This handy app allows students or co-workers to submit documents digitally. It's a great way to reduce the use of paper and users can mark all documents and then send them back in pdf format. This particular version is compatible with Apple devices with iOS 6.0 or later


Ancient underwater volcano, Ka’ena, discovered in Hawai’i
Researchers discover precursor volcano to the island of Oahu
http://www.hawaii.edu/news/article.php?aId=6529

Found! New Underwater Volcano Discovered in Hawaii
http://www.livescience.com/45680-new-hawaii-volcano-discovered-ka-ena.html

Ancient Underwater Volcano Discovered in Hawaii
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/20/us-usa-volcano-hawaii-idUSKBN0E006F20140520

Ka’ena: Scientists Discover New Underwater Volcano on Hawai’i
http://www.sci-news.com/geology/science-kaena-volcano-hawaii-01931.html

Hawaii Volcanoes History
http://www.ohranger.com/hawaii-volcanoes/hawaii-volcanoes-history

Violent Hawaii - Video: Full Episode
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/violent-hawaii/video-full-episode/1422/


From the Scout Report on June 13, 2014

Ravel --- https://www.ravellaw.com/ 

The Ravel app is designed for lawyers and legal professionals looking for key law review materials in a timely fashion. First-time visitors should start with the Take Tour tab to get used to how it works. Additionally, the in-house blog is a great source of information and there is a great word cloud feature that can be most useful. This version is compatible with all operating systems.


Marco Polo --- https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/marco-polo-find-your-phone/id866937080 

If you yell out Marco Polo, will your phone appear? It might if you elect to download this attractive, interactive app. Designed by Matt Wiechec, users can simply shout "Marco!" and wait for their phone to reply "Polo!” from wherever it is hiding. It's quite easy to use and it is compatible with Apple devices running iOS 7.0 or later.


Summer travel season is well under way in the United States
American, Southwest See Strong Start to Summer Travel
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-06-09/american-southwest-see-strong-start-to-summer-travel

STR Predicts Strong Summer Performance for U.S. Hotel Industry
http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article78063.html

Five U.S. Summer Trip Ideas
http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/five-us-summer-trip-ideas

8 Best Cheap Summer Vacations
http://travel.usnews.com/Rankings/Best_Cheap_Summer_Vacations/

Nantucket Among Best All-American Summer Trips
http://www.boston.com/travel/new-england/2014/06/10/nantucket-among-best-all-american-summer-trips/e018OtgqxjtEZjtGf1OSOK/story.html

National Park Service: Travel Itinerary Series
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/

Bob Jensen's Travel Ideas and Helpers ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob3.htm#Travel

 


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


Education Tutorials

Robert R. McCormick Foundation: Resources (tools for teaching and learning) ---
http://www.mccormickfoundation.org/page.aspx?pid=640

Lesley University Library: Data Sources and Teaching Resources ---
http://research.lesley.edu/content.php?pid=98065&sid=735233

Bay Area Television Archive --- http://digital-collections.library.sfsu.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16737coll5

MagLab U: Learning about Electricity and Magnetism --- http://www.magnet.fsu.edu/education/tutorials/

A Master List of 1,000 Free Courses From Top Universities: 30,000 Hours of Audio/Video Lectures ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/05/list-of-1000-free-courses-from-top-universities.html
There are 150 free business courses ---
http://www.openculture.com/business_free_courses
Principles of Managerial Accounting - Free iTunes Audio - Anthony Catanach & Noah Barskey, Villanova ---
https://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/principles-managerial-accounting/id388954205?mt=10
Accounting and Its Use in Business Decisions - Free – Alison ---
http://alison.com/courses/Accounting-and-Its-Use-in-Business-Decisions
Accounting in 60 Minutes: A Brief Introduction - Free - Udemy ---
https://www.udemy.com/accounting-in-60-minutes-a-brief-introduction/?dtcode=th48xvn5
Fundamentals of Accounting – Free - Alison ---
http://alison.com/courses/Introduction-to-Accounting-1
Introduction to Accounting - Free – US Small Business Administration ---
http://www.sba.gov/sba-learning-center/training/introduction-accounting
Introduction to Cash Accounting - Free – Alison ---
http://alison.com/courses/Introduction-to-Cash-Accounting
Managerial Accounting - Free – Saylor.org ---
http://www.saylor.org/courses/bus105/

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

Bob Jensen's bookmarks for multiple disciplines ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm


Engineering, Science, and Medicine Tutorials

Open Source Physics --- http://www.compadre.org/osp/

MagLab U: Learning about Electricity and Magnetism --- http://www.magnet.fsu.edu/education/tutorials/

Science Fair Projects in Biology, Natural History and Agriculture Science ---
http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/tracer-bullets/bio-agtb.html

Teach the Earth --- http://serc.carleton.edu/teachearth/index.html

"There’s a Huge Underground Ocean (bigger than any ocean on the surface) That Could Explain the Origin of Seas," by Melissa Hellmann, Time Magazine, June 13, 2014 ---
http://time.com/2868283/subterranean-ocean-reservoir-core-ringwoodite/

Expeditions at the Field Museum: Amazonian Birds ---
http://expeditions.fieldmuseum.org/amazonian-birds-0

Visionary Engineering: Harold "Doc" Edgerton (MIT History) ---  http://edgerton-digital-collections.org/

Lesley University Library: Data Sources and Teaching Resources ---
http://research.lesley.edu/content.php?pid=98065&sid=735233

U.S. Copyright Office: Historical Information --- http://www.copyright.gov/history/index.html

Arkansas Natural Resources Commission --- http://www.anrc.arkansas.gov/

From the Scout Report on May 29, 2014

Ancient underwater volcano, Ka’ena, discovered in Hawai’i
Researchers discover precursor volcano to the island of Oahu
http://www.hawaii.edu/news/article.php?aId=6529

Found! New Underwater Volcano Discovered in Hawaii
http://www.livescience.com/45680-new-hawaii-volcano-discovered-ka-ena.html

Ancient Underwater Volcano Discovered in Hawaii
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/20/us-usa-volcano-hawaii-idUSKBN0E006F20140520

Ka’ena: Scientists Discover New Underwater Volcano on Hawai’i
http://www.sci-news.com/geology/science-kaena-volcano-hawaii-01931.html

Hawaii Volcanoes History
http://www.ohranger.com/hawaii-volcanoes/hawaii-volcanoes-history

Violent Hawaii - Video: Full Episode
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/violent-hawaii/video-full-episode/1422/

Bob Jensen's threads on free online science, engineering, and medicine tutorials are at ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm


Social Science and Economics Tutorials

Duke University: Sanford School of Public Policy --- http://research.sanford.duke.edu/papers/

New England Public Policy Center Working Papers (banking) ---  http://www.bos.frb.org/economic/neppc/wp

Morrison Institute for Public Policy --- http://morrisoninstitute.asu.edu/

Lesley University Library: Data Sources and Teaching Resources ---
http://research.lesley.edu/content.php?pid=98065&sid=735233

e-Archives: Governors Web Records (current and former USA governors) ---  http://kdla.ky.gov/records/e-archives/Pages/GovWebRecords.aspx

Italian Futurism, 1909-1944: Reconstructing the Universe --- http://exhibitions.guggenheim.org/futurism/

Arkansas Natural Resources Commission --- http://www.anrc.arkansas.gov/

Bob Jensen's threads on Economics, Anthropology, Social Sciences, and Philosophy tutorials are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm


Law and Legal Studies

Duke University: Sanford School of Public Policy --- http://research.sanford.duke.edu/papers/

U.S. Copyright Office: Historical Information --- http://www.copyright.gov/history/index.html


From the Scout Report on June 13, 2014
Ravel ---
https://www.ravellaw.com/ 

The Ravel app is designed for lawyers and legal professionals looking for key law review materials in a timely fashion. First-time visitors should start with the Take Tour tab to get used to how it works. Additionally, the in-house blog is a great source of information and there is a great word cloud feature that can be most useful. This version is compatible with all operating systems.

 

Bob Jensen's threads on law and legal studies are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm


Math Tutorials

MathJax (mathematics visual displays) --- http://www.mathjax.org/

Visualization of Multivariate Data (including faces) --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/352wpvisual/000datavisualization.htm 

Bob Jensen's threads on free online mathematics tutorials are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm


History Tutorials

Colossal (Art History) --- http://www.thisiscolossal.com/

The Brummer Gallery Records (Art History) --- http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16028coll9

Gauguin: Metamorphoses (art history) --- http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2014/gauguin/

Gauguin and Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise (art history) --- http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/gauguin/

National Archives: Docs Teach (Historical Documents) --- http://docsteach.org/

Kress Foundation (European Art History) ---  http://www.kressfoundation.org/

Winona Newspaper Project (Small Town Newspaper Histories) --- http://www.winona.edu/library/databases/winonanewspaperproject.htm

George and Frank C. Hirahara Photograph Collection, 1943-1945 (especially Japanese American Incarceration) --- 
http://content.libraries.wsu.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/hiraharag

Pullman Digital Collection (Railroad History) --- http://collections.carli.illinois.edu/cdm4/index_nby_pullman.php?CISOROOT=/nby_pullman

U.S. Copyright Office: Historical Information --- http://www.copyright.gov/history/index.html

In 1964, Arthur C. Clarke Predicts the Internet, 3D Printers and Trained Monkey Servants ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/06/in-1964-arthur-c-clarke-predicts-the-internet-3d-printers-and-trained-monkey-servants.html

Open VA: Video Archive (History of Virginia) --- http://openva.org/live/

San Francisco Public Library: Golden Gate International Exposition --- http://sfpl.org/index.php?pg=2000036601

Ralph Fasanella: Lest We Forget (Common Man Art History) --- http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/archive/2014/fasanel

Columbia Spectator (History of Columbia University) --- http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/

Brooklyn Historical Society Blog --- http://brooklynhistory.org/blog/

The Digital Atlas of Idaho --- http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/

WSU Vancouver Historic Collection --- http://library.vancouver.wsu.edu/archive/ws

Idaho Trails --- http://www.trails.idaho.gov/trails/

Mountains and Mountaineering in the Pacific Northwest ---
https://content.lib.washington.edu/portals/mountaineering/index.html

Priest Lake Museum Association Collection (Idaho)--- http://www.lib.uidaho.edu/digital/priestlake

Horrific WWII Statistics
http://pippaettore.com/Horrific_WWII_Statistics.html

Unearthing St. Augustine's Colonial Heritage --- http://ufdc.ufl.edu/usach

Italian Futurism, 1909-1944: Reconstructing the Universe --- http://exhibitions.guggenheim.org/futurism/

Duke University: Sanford School of Public Policy --- http://research.sanford.duke.edu/papers/

Calisphere: Disasters (in California) --- http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu/mapped/disasters/

Teach the Earth --- http://serc.carleton.edu/teachearth/index.html

19th Century Caricatures of Charles Darwin, Mark Twain, H.M. Stanley & Other Famous Victorians (1873) ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/05/19th-century-caricatures-of-charles-darwin-twain.html

Read 9 Books By Noam Chomsky Free Online ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/05/read-9-books-by-noam-chomsky-free-online.html

Visionary Engineering: Harold "Doc" Edgerton (MIT History) ---  http://edgerton-digital-collections.org/

e-Archives: Governors Web Records (current and former USA governors) ---  http://kdla.ky.gov/records/e-archives/Pages/GovWebRecords.aspx

Iconic Italian Graphic Artist Bruno Munari's Rare Vintage "Interactive" Picture-Books ---
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/06/12/bruno-munari-nella-nebbia-nella-notte/

Monty Python Links ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/06/michael-palins-tour-of-the-best-loved-monty-python-sketch-locations.html

Bob Jensen's threads on history tutorials are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm
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


Music Tutorials

 

Bob Jensen's threads on free music tutorials are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm

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/

May 30, 2014

May 31, 2014

June 2, 2014

June 4, 2014

June 5, 2014

June 6, 2014

June 9, 2014

June 10, 2014

June 11, 2014

June 12, 2014

June 13, 2014

June 14, 2014

 

 

 


"For One Baby, Life Begins with Genome Revealed:  How a California father made an end run around medicine to decode his son’s DNA," by Antonio Regalado, MIT's Technology Review, June 13, 2014 ---
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/527936/for-one-baby-life-begins-with-genome-revealed/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_source=newsletter-daily-all&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20140613

Jensen Comment
One year in a think tank one of my colleagues was Nobel Prize Laureate  Josh Lederberg back in the days when cloning of frogs had just commenced. His worry was not so much that cloning would fail --- rather his worry was that cloning would be highly successful.

The article above is not about cloning per se. But it is closely related. The modern cloning techniques involving nuclear transfer have been successfully performed on several species. Notable experiments include:

Jensen Comment
In the early 1900s there was no need to clone bookkeepers --- they were all alike. Today we are plagued by almost too much diversity of thought and philosophy and confusion.


The Incredible Stair-Climbing, Self-Parking, Amphibious Wheelchair

An Army vet with no engineering training built his wife the most amazing wheelchair you've ever seen. Read Joshua Green's profile of the company, Tankchair, or take five minutes and watch this incredibly inspirational video.
http://newsletters.businessweek.com/c/1190484/432f990d4411617f/2


"No World for Old People:  Battle Hymn for Seniors," by Accounting Professor Steven Mintz, Ethics Sage, June 10, 2014 ---
http://www.ethicssage.com/2014/06/no-world-for-old-people.html

I recently returned from a trip to see my mom who is 95 years old and living in an assisted living facility. Dad passed away about 1 ½ years ago so an assisted living facility is the best place for my mom who can barely see or hear and has advanced dementia. During my visit I reflected on the treatment of seniors like my mom and the expectations of society for valuing those who came before us and provided opportunities for all of us to live a better life.

Some seniors are quite vigorous even into their late 80s and early 90s. Others, like my mom, deal with challenges that would make most of us not want to get out of bed in the morning. One problem is the way society treats seniors. Unlike many Asian countries that honor and respect seniors for their knowledge and years of influence, in the U.S. we all too often see them as a burden. In East Asian cultures steeped in a Confucian tradition that places a high value on filial piety, obedience and respect, it is considered utterly despicable not to take care of your elderly parents.

In his 1994 book, "Beyond Peace," Richard Nixon predicted that our nation’s biggest challenge would not be war with a foreign enemy, but rather an internal “war” over how to allocate money within our borders. With our national debt above $17 trillion, his prediction is being realized.

Many current fiscal issues are actually decades old, but a newer economic and cultural war targeting seniors has been intensifying. The conflict will only worsen; demographers tell us that about 10,000 Americans will turn 65 each day for nearly the next two decades!

This war is being waged on two fronts. First, a vicious cultural divide is festering among younger Americans toward seniors. A Facebook study from March 2013 monitored 84 different groups of 20-29 year olds, conducted by Cal Berkeley, Yale, Hunter College, and Hopkins School in New Haven. The report's findings are alarming: “Seniors are a burden to society;” “I hate everything about them;” “They don’t contribute to society;” “Anyone over 69 should immediately be put in front of a firing squad.” I thought, that could be me in two years.

Seniors already face a daunting challenge: savings remain stagnant, but food and medical costs continue to rise. Last year, the government decided to garnish seniors’ Social Security payments if they co-signed on any student loans that became delinquent.

There is bipartisan support in Washington for reducing Social Security cost of living increases by substituting products in the calculation, forcing seniors to change eating and living habits, reducing their ability to maintain a standard of living.

The war on seniors is not just an American phenomenon. An article published in the April 2013 Generation America magazine (GenerationAmerica.org), entitled “No World for Old People,” details how seniors are being neglected, abused, and marginalized worldwide.

Increasingly the younger generation sees seniors as a fiscal burden not only to the country but their own personal finances as Medicare and Social Security increasingly consume more and more budget dollars with no end in sight. In fact, the country may reach a point in the future where retirees will not receive the Social Security and Medicare benefits they are entitled to because they have paid into the system for many years. This is no “freebie” for seniors.

Our society does not honor seniors for their sacrifices that helped build our great nation. We almost never see a news report that honors what they have done for our society unless it is Veterans Day or Memorial Day. Let us never forget that many seniors fought in World War II. They are part of the greatest generation, saved many lives in Europe, and were trailblazers in their fields.

The lack of respect and caring for seniors just reinforces the idea that we truly have a “throw away” society with respect to our seniors. What is lacking in our society is respect, kindness, and empathy for seniors. I found myself thinking about this during my trip to see my mom. Do the children of seniors know where their parents and grandparents are? Do they know what they are doing;? Do they understand the challenges they are facing? Do they even care? Or, do these children turn a blind eye toward the quality of life their parents and grandparents have in their senior years?

Some people may think: Out of sight, out of mind, so let’s put them in a nursing home or an assisted living facility. Let someone else deal with the problems of elder care. This is a way to satisfy our collective consciousness. Instead, we should reach out to our parents and grandparents; call them on the phone and ask how they are doing; visit them from time to time. But, above all else, love them unconditionally – the way we want to be loved.

Nursing homes and assisted living facilities sound like the perfect answer to the problem of aging and infirm parents and grandparents. However, all too often they seem like depressing places to be and oblivious to the needs of those they are entrusted to care for. Many of the “care-givers” think of elder care as a burden and they lack the empathy and patience to treat seniors the way they deserve to be treated – the way the care-givers would like to be treated in their senior years.

We need to fast forward 20 or 30 or 40 or even 50 years and realize, if we’re lucky, we’ll be around and facing the inevitable challenges of being in our senior years. Will our children be there for us, or will they ignore us as do all too many young adults today?

After I ended my trip to see my mom, I looked deep inside my soul and asked myself whether I am doing all that I should to show my mom respect, kindness and love. Could I do more? What would that be? If not now, then when?


"Animal Madness: How Deciphering Mental Illness in Our Fellow Beings Helps Us Become Better Versions of Ourselves," by Maria Popova, Brain Pickings, June 6, 2014 ---
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/06/10/animal-madness-laurel-braitman/


On an Airplane:  Think Twice Before Eating Pretzels Directly Off Your Tray Table ---
http://links.mkt3142.com/ctt?kn=4&ms=ODY2MDM2MgS2&r=MTkyODM0MDg0MAS2&b=0&j=MzAyNDI5MTUxS0&mt=1&rt=0


A Bit of Humor

Dick Cavett’s Worst Show: Starring John Cassavetes, Peter Falk & Ben Gazzara (1970) ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/06/dick-cavetts-worst-show.html

Jon Stewart Perfectly Mocks Liberals Who Deny Science ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/jon-stewart-samantha-bee-vaccination-2014-6

Monty Python Links ---
http://www.openculture.com/2014/06/michael-palins-tour-of-the-best-loved-monty-python-sketch-locations.html


Forwarded by Auntie Bev

WELCOME to 2014:

• Our Phones – Wireless
• Cooking – Fireless
• Cars – Keyless
• Food – Fatless
• Tires –Tubeless
• Dress – Sleeveless
• Youth – Jobless
• Leaders – Shameless
• Relationships – Meaningless
• Attitudes – Careless
• Babies – Fatherless
• Feelings – Heartless
• Education – Valueless
• Children – Mannerless
• Country – Godless

Congress - Clueless


Forwarded by Maureen
SENIORS & COMPUTERS

          As we Silver Surfers know, sometimes we have trouble with our
computers.

          Yesterday, I had a problem, so I called Georgie, the 11 year old
next door, whose bedroom looks like Mission Control, and asked him to come
over.

          Georgie clicked a couple of buttons and solved the problem.

          As he was walking away, I called after him, 'So, what was wrong?

          He replied, 'It was an ID ten T error.'

          I didn't want to appear stupid, but nonetheless inquired, 'An,
ID ten T error? What's that? In case I need to fix it again.'

          Georgie grinned...'Haven't you ever heard of an ID ten T error
before?

          'No,' I replied.

          'Write it down,' he said, 'and I think you'll figure it out.'

          So I wrote down:

          ID10T

          I used to like Georgie, the little shithead.




Humor Between May 1-31, 2014 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book14q2.htm#Humor053114

Humor Between April 1-30, 2014 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book14q2.htm#Humor043014

Humor Between March 1-31, 2014 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book14q1.htm#Humor033114

Humor Between February 1-28, 2014 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book14q1.htm#Humor022814

Humor Between January 1-31, 2014 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book14q1.htm#Humor013114

Humor Between December 1-31, 2013 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book13q4.htm#Humor123113

Humor Between November 1-30, 2013 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book13q4.htm#Humor113013

Humor Between October 1-31, 2013 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book13q4.htm#Humor103113

Humor Between September 1-30, 2013 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book13q3.htm#Humor093013

Humor Between July 1 and August 31, 2013 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book13q3.htm#Humor083113

Humor Between June 1-30, 2013 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book13q2.htm#Humor063013

Humor Between May 1-31, 2013 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book13q2.htm#Humor053113

Humor Between April 1-30, 2013 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book13q2.htm#Humor043013

Humor Between March 1-31, 2013 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book13q1.htm#Humor033113

 




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

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

Update in 2014
20-Year Sugar Hill Master Plan --- http://www.nccouncil.org/images/NCC/file/wrkgdraftfeb142014.pdf

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/

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

The Cult of Statistical Significance: How Standard Error Costs Us Jobs, Justice, and Lives ---
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/temp/DeirdreMcCloskey/StatisticalSignificance01.htm

How Accountics Scientists Should Change: 
"Frankly, Scarlett, after I get a hit for my resume in The Accounting Review I just don't give a damn"
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/temp/AccounticsDamn.htm
One more mission in what's left of my life will be to try to change this
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/temp/AccounticsDamn.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.

Accounting  and Taxation News Sites ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/AccountingNews.htm

 

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://listserv.aaahq.org/cgi-bin/wa.exe?HOME
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.

Over the years the AECM has become the worldwide forum for accounting educators on all issues of accountancy and accounting education, including debates on accounting standards, managerial accounting, careers, fraud, forensic accounting, auditing, doctoral programs, and critical debates on academic (accountics) research, publication, replication, and validity testing.

 

CPAS-L (Practitioners) http://pacioli.loyola.edu/cpas-l/  (Closed Down)
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
FEI's Financial Reporting Blog
Smart Stops on the Web, Journal of Accountancy, March 2008 --- http://www.aicpa.org/pubs/jofa/mar2008/smart_stops.htm
FINANCIAL REPORTING PORTAL
www.financialexecutives.org/blog

Find news highlights from the SEC, FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board on this financial reporting blog from Financial Executives International. The site, updated daily, compiles regulatory news, rulings and statements, comment letters on standards, and hot topics from the Web’s largest business and accounting publications and organizations. Look for continuing coverage of SOX requirements, fair value reporting and the Alternative Minimum Tax, plus emerging issues such as the subprime mortgage crisis, international convergence, and rules for tax return preparers.
The CAlCPA Tax Listserv

September 4, 2008 message from Scott Bonacker [lister@bonackers.com]
Scott has been a long-time contributor to the AECM listserv (he's a techie as well as a practicing CPA)

I found another listserve that is exceptional -

CalCPA maintains http://groups.yahoo.com/taxtalk/  and they let almost anyone join it.
Jim Counts, CPA is moderator.

There are several highly capable people that make frequent answers to tax questions posted there, and the answers are often in depth.

Scott

Scott forwarded the following message from Jim Counts

Yes you may mention info on your listserve about TaxTalk. As part of what you say please say [... any CPA or attorney or a member of the Calif Society of CPAs may join. It is possible to join without having a free Yahoo account but then they will not have access to the files and other items posted.

Once signed in on their Yahoo account go to http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/TaxTalk/ and I believe in top right corner is Join Group. Click on it and answer the few questions and in the comment box say you are a CPA or attorney, whichever you are and I will get the request to join.

Be aware that we run on the average 30 or move emails per day. I encourage people to set up a folder for just the emails from this listserve and then via a rule or filter send them to that folder instead of having them be in your inbox. Thus you can read them when you want and it will not fill up the inbox when you are looking for client emails etc.

We currently have about 830 CPAs and attorneys nationwide but mainly in California.... ]

Please encourage your members to join our listserve.

If any questions let me know.

Jim Counts CPA.CITP CTFA
Hemet, CA
Moderator TaxTalk

 

 

 

 

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

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

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

All my online pictures --- http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/PictureHistory/

 

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