Tidbits on July  28, 2015
Bob Jensen at Trinity University

Set 2 of Our Wild Rose Photographs ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/tidbits/Roses/Wild/Set02/WildRosesSet02.htm

 

Tidbits on July  28, 2015
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

The Frick Collection: Virtual Tour --- http://www.frick.org/visit/virtual_tour

Old World Radio --- http://www.oldradioworld.com/

A 68 Hour Playlist of Shakespeare’s Plays Being Performed by Great Actors: Gielgud, McKellen & More ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/a-68-hour-playlist-of-shakespeares-plays-being-performed-by-great-actors.html

The 5 most bizarre weapons of World War II ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-5-most-bizarre-weapons-of-world-war-ii-2015-7#ixzz3gi7M69Lf

 

Insanely Cute Cat Commercials from Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki’s Legendary Animation Shop ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/insanely-cute-cat-commercials-from-studio-ghibli.html


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

 

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

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

Vintage 1930s Japanese Posters Artistically Market the Wonders of Travel ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/vintage-1930s-japanese-posters-artistically-market-the-wonders-of-travel.html

18-feet-tall, 60-ton underwater sculpture ---
http://www.buzzfeed.com/rossalynwarren/ton-girl-holds-up-the-ocean-in-the-worlds-largest-sculpture#.xaBe8jgYw

The Sights of British Columbia ---
 
http://blog.sfgate.com/storystudio/2015/06/10/fit-ways-to-see-the-sights-in-vancouver/?utm_source=adsnative&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=hearst_travel1_-188363587

The (F)Art of War: Bawdy Japanese Art Scroll Depicts Wrenching Changes in 19th Century Japan ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/the-fart-of-war.html

Naval History and Heritage Command: Photography --- http://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography.html

The Frick Collection: Virtual Tour --- http://www.frick.org/visit/virtual_tour

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: Collections
http://www.nelson-atkins.org/collections/collection-history.cfm

NASA Releases New Image of Earth ---
http://time.com/3964653/nasa-earth-photo/?xid=newsletter-brief

Stunning photos of New Zealand's glowing underground cave world will take your breath away ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-new-zealand-has-glowing-luminosity-caves-glow-worm-photos-2015-7?op=1#ixzz3gXTLp4r2

 

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

Public Libraries Online --- http://publiclibrariesonline.org

250+ Killer Digital Libraries and Archives --- http://oedb.org/ilibrarian/250-plus-killer-digital-libraries-and-archives/

Bob Jensen's threads on libraries --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm#---Libraries

Hannah Arendt knew how to be a pariah. Is that the key to being a 21st-century cosmopolitan? ---
http://aeon.co/magazine/philosophy/what-makes-hannah-arendt-a-cosmopolitan/

A 68 Hour Playlist of Shakespeare’s Plays Being Performed by Great Actors: Gielgud, McKellen & More ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/a-68-hour-playlist-of-shakespeares-plays-being-performed-by-great-actors.html

Alexander Pushkin’s Poem “The Mermaid” Brought to Life in a Masterfully Hand-Painted Animation ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/alexander-pushkins-poem-the-mermaid-brought-to-life-in-a-masterfully-hand-painted-animation.html

Read Online Haruki Murakami’s New Essay on How a Baseball Game Launched His Writing Career ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/read-online-haruki-murakamis-new-essay-on-how-a-baseball-game-launched-his-writing-career.html

Beloved Poet Nikki Giovanni on Love, Friendship, and Loneliness ---
http://www.brainpickings.org/2015/07/15/nikki-giovanni-love-friendship-loneliness/?mc_cid=75ad06dcaa&mc_eid=4d2bd13843

Hear Dylan Thomas Read Three Poems by W.H. Auden, Including “September 1, 1939″ ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/hear-dylan-thomas-read-three-poems-by-w-h-auden.html

Stream Classic Poetry Readings from Harvard’s Rich Audio Archive: From W.H. Auden to Dylan Thomas ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/01/harvards-poetry-room-recordings.html

Cornell University Digital Archives: Cornell University Class Books --- http://digital.library.cornell.edu/c/cuda/class.html

Listen to 188 Dramatized Science Fiction Stories by Ursula K. Le Guin, Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, J.G. Ballard & More ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/188-dramatized-science-fiction-stories.html

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 July  28, 2015
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/tidbits/2015/TidbitsQuotations072815.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




A Master List of 1,150 Free Courses From Top Universities: 35,000 Hours of Audio/Video Lectures ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/a-master-list-of-1200-free-courses-from-top-universities-35000-hours-of-audiovideo-lectures.html

During these summer months, we’ve been busy rummaging around the internet and adding new courses to our big list of Free Online Courses, which now features 1,150 courses from top universities. Let’s give you the quick overview: The list lets you download audio & video lectures from schools like Stanford, Yale, MIT, Oxford and Harvard. Generally, the courses can be accessed via YouTube, iTunes or university web sites, and you can listen to the lectures anytime, anywhere, on your computer or smart phone. We didn’t do a precise calculation, but there’s probably about 35,000 hours of free audio & video lectures here. Enough to keep you busy for a very long time.

Right now you’ll find 133 free philosophy courses, 85 free history courses, 120 free computer science courses, 71 free physics courses and 55 Free Literature Courses in the collection, and that’s just beginning to scratch the surface. You can peruse sections covering Astronomy, Biology, BusinessChemistry, Economics, Engineering, Math, Political Science, Psychology and Religion.

Here are some highlights from the complete list of Free Online Courses. We’ve added a few unconventional/vintage courses in the mix just to keep things interesting.

Continued in article

The complete list of courses can be accessed here: 1,200 Free Online Courses from Top Universities
http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses

Jensen Comment
Many of the links provided are not for free courses. For example, there are such links as the link to the Penn State University Online Accounting Programs (undergraduate and graduate)  that are  not free.


Critical thinking --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_thinking

How did the academy end up investing so much in a nebulous, useless, and overly romantic notion like “critical thinking”?
"Thinking Critically about Critical Thinking," by  Christopher Schaberg, PublicBooks.org, June 11, 2015 ---
http://www.publicbooks.org//blog/thinking-critically-about-critical-thinking

Beyond the Essay: Making Student Thinking Visible in the Humanities (a brainstorming project on teaching critical thinking) ---
http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/beyond-the-essay/
Bob Jensen's threads on critical thinking and why it's so hard to teach ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies.htm#CriticalThinking
Also see
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Assess.htm#ConceptKnowledge

 


"What The College Kids Are Reading (at recommendations from their professors)," LISNews, July 24, 2015 ---
http://lisnews.org/what_the_college_kids_are_reading

Lots of colleges have these reading programs; some are just for freshmen, and for others, the entire campus or local community joins in. The idea is that books will stir discussion — and unite a class or campus around a topic. Some schools even have the author speak on campus, or weave the book's content into the year's curriculum.

Bob Jensen's links to online libraries ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm#---Libraries

Bob Jensen's Recommended (Cartoon) Book
The History of Economics & Economic Theory Explained with Comics, Starting with Adam Smith
---
http://www.openculture.com/2013/12/the-history-of-economics-economic-theory-explained-with-comics.html
This is not a free download ---
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0810988399/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0810988399&linkCode=as2&tag=openculture-20

. . .

The book covers two (plus) centuries of economic history. It starts with the Physiocrats, Adam Smith and theoretical development of capitalism, and then steams ahead into the 19th century, covering the Industrial Revolution, the rise of big business and big finance. Next comes the action packed 20th century: the Great Depression, the New Deal, the threat from Communism during the Cold War, the tax reforms of the Reagan era, and eventually the crash of 2008 and Occupy Wall Street. Along the way, Goodwin and the illustrator Dan E. Burr demystify the economic theories of figures like Ricardo, Marx, Malthus, Keynes, Friedman and Hayek — all in a substantive but approachable way.

As with most treatments of modern economics, the book starts with Adam Smith. To get a feel for Goodwin’s approach, you can dive into the first chapter of Economix, which grapples with Smith’s theories about the free market, division of labor and the Invisible Hand. Economix can be purchased online here.

Related Content:

An Introduction to Great Economists — Adam Smith, the Physiocrats & More — Presented in a Free Online Course

60-Second Adventures in Economics: An Animated Intro to The Invisible Hand and Other Economic Ideas

Reading Marx’s Capital with David Harvey (Free Course)

Jensen Comment
I ordered a used copy of this book from Amazon. This book is a most interesting way to learn the history of economics succinctly.

One surprise is that the book has a relatively good index. Another surprise is that the book has some small sections on my special interest --- derivative financial instruments and hedging, although these play a miniscule role in the comic book.

A few interesting quotations are shown below:

Page 17and Page 19
Enter Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683), who became the finance minister of France in 1665. He thought money was wealth, end of story. ... French thinking on economics change. Maybe wealth wasn't a stockpile of silver like Colbert thought. Maybe wealth circulated, like blood circulates throughout a body. Laws, regulations, tariffs, subsidies, and so on would get in the way of that natural circulation.

Page 61
Marx's logic applied to the Ricardo model and we don't live in that model.
(Neither does Greece)

Page 22and Page 23
Bakers didn't work because some Bread Planner told them to, or because they were saints who wanted people to be well fed. They worked because it was good for them ... So in Smith's economy, competition kept everyone honest. Every baker --- saint or greedhead alike --- was led, "as if by an invisible hand," to sell bread at  fair price, high enough to pay for the baker costs and work, low enough that others didn't steal the customers.

Page 183
Way back in the 1920s, the Austrian economists Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) and Freederick Hayek (1899-1992) saw economic planning become political dictatorship in country after country. They saw that when people lose their economic liberty, they lose their political liberty. ... Haye especially was a formidable thinker; instead of assuming the market worked, which economists had be doing since Ricardo, Hayek looked to how it worked --- how interaction of small units (people) creates a complex intelligence (the market), which responds to shortages, changes in taste, or new technologies far better than any human planner can ("invisible brain" might be a better term than "invisible hand.") . . .  People who try to replace this brain with their own systems will fail, and in the process of failing, they'll do a lot of dmagbe.

Page 184
Like Hayek, Friedman stressed that concentrated power is  threat to freedom. But he didn't seem to see that power cn concentrate in more than one form.

Page 185
(Market failure) refers to how --- even textbook-perfect markets--- can give bad results. for instance, with externalities which are essentially side effects of economic transactions. Bad externalities are everywhere, because the people mking decisions aren't the ones getting hurt. (in mathematical models these externalities are sometimes called non-convexities).

Page 240
By the 1980s, the IMF was full of neoliberals. Strure adjustment came down to adopting neoliberalism. Structural adjustment was hard to refuse; The World Bank, private lenders, business, the US Treasury, even aid donors would all steer cler of a country that the IMF was unsound (say what?) Still, people hated structural adjustment, and the IMF knew it. So part of the program was protected democracy in which the economic program was protected from democracy.

Continued in a nice summary of Economix

Added Comment
If you want to learn more about controversial Keynesian economics you might start with this book.


The Rivals Paul Samuelson and Milton Friedman arrive at the University of Chicago (in 1932) ---
http://www.economicprincipals.com/issues/2015.07.12/1758.html

Essays on Positive Economics --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essays_in_Positive_Economics

The F-Twist and Purpose of Theory: Prediction Versus Explanation ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Theory01.htm#Purpose


Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics
by Richard Thaler W. W. Norton & Company, $27.95 (Cloth)
Review by John McMahon on July 15, 2015---
http://bostonreview.net/books-ideas/john-mcmahon-richard-thaler-misbehaving-behavioral-economics


24/7 Wall St. Customer Service Hall of Shame and Hall of Fame --- Click Here
http://247wallst.com/special-report/2015/07/23/customer-service-hall-of-shame/?utm_source=247WallStDailyNewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=JUL242015A&utm_campaign=DailyNewsletter

Customer Service Hall of Shame --- Click Here
http://247wallst.com/special-report/2015/07/23/customer-service-hall-of-shame/?utm_source=247WallStDailyNewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=JUL242015A&utm_campaign=DailyNewsletter
Cable, telephone, and some big banks lead the list

Customer Hall of Fame ---
http://247wallst.com/special-report/2015/07/23/customer-service-hall-of-fame-2/2/
Amazon, Chic-fil-A, and Apple  are the top three. Yeah that's what I think as well I would have added NetFlix and Sears.

See the criteria table at http://247wallst.com/special-report/2015/07/23/customer-service-hall-of-fame-2/5/


17 Most Unreliable Cars To Own --- http://www.trendingstories.net/es/95/page2/17-Most-Unreliable-Cars-To-Own 
Recall that in the 2008 Chrysler was taken over by Fiat. It seems that did not help Chrysler's reputation for manufacturing unreliable cars --- sort of like the blind leading the blind. However. there are other unreliable models from supposedly more reputable manufacturing companies.

Fiat 500L (the least reliable of all)
Volkswagen Beetle
Ford Fiesta
Audi RS6
Nissan Pathfinder
Mercedes-Benz CLA 250
Chevrolet Silverado
Ford Escape
Cheverolet Cruze
Dodge Dart
Volkswagen Passat
Ford C-MAX Energi
Infiniti Q50
Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Mini Cooper Countryman
Volkswagan Touran
Jeep Grand Cherokee

Jensen Added Comment
My Jeep Grand Cherokee that sits in my barn most of the time is a real lemon. My friend (an elderly U-boat engineer) who bought a Mercedes became so frustrated with breakdowns that he traded it for a Subaru. Thus far he's more impressed with reliability. Years ago I had two German Beetles back in the days when they had air-cooled engines. Neither car seemed very reliable to me. Both were prone to oil leaks.

The most reliable cars I ever owned were a Plymouth stationwagon and a Cadillac sedan that I inherited from my father. But this is anecdotal. Cuban cars today provide some evidence that cars built in the 1950s were perhaps the best in terms keeping them running for ever and ever --- well maybe not the "best" compared to Model T Fords.

From the CFO Journal's Morning Ledger on July 27, 2015

Record fine for Fiat Chrysler
http://www.wsj.com/articles/record-fine-for-fiat-chrysler-1437953747?mod=djemCFO_h
Federal regulators hit Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV with a record $105 million fine for recall lapses covering millions of vehicles, adding to mounting scrutiny of the auto maker’s safety practices.

"Fiat Chrysler Must Buy Back Hundreds of Thousands of Ram Pickups," NBC News, July 27, 2015 ---
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/autos/fiat-chrysler-must-buy-back-hundreds-thousands-ram-pickups-n398911


"Trigger Warnings And The Law School Crisis," by Paul Caron, TaxProf Blog, July 24, 2015 ---
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2015/07/trigger-warnings-and-the-law-school-crisis.html

Kim Chanbonpin (John Marshall), Crisis and Trigger Warnings: Reflections on Legal Education and the Social Value of the Law, 90 Chi.-Kent. L. Rev. 615 (2015):

Paul's short  review continues 

Jensen Comment
I'm not clear on how to define a trigger warning and Marshall's essay did not do a whole lot to clear this up. Nor did trying to view it from a medical context ---
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trauma_trigger#Trigger_warning


Airbnb --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbnb

AirBnB has a genius plan to steal more business from hotels --- 
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2015/07/21/airbnb_for_business_the_home_sharing_startup_wants_to_woo_corporate_clients.html#ixzz3gztKw2MY

Jensen Comment
Technology gives rise to new business models, and few are more dramatic than Uber (transportation) and Airbub (apartment and home rentals). In my opinion academic accountants have not kept pace with changing times in research or classrooms or textbooks.

A noteworthy example is AirbuB.
What are the cost advantages and disadvantages of this new business model for providers and users of these rental properties? When and where are the AirBub competitions for traditional business and labor union models going  to become enormous over time? Why?

Whereas Uber is facing a lot of resistance in from labor unions and taxi companies that rely on  traditional business models, Airbub to date seems to be getting a free pass when it seems to me that hotel labor unions and their politician puppets should be up in arms. That may soon change as the competition is increasingly taking a bite out of the revenues of hotels and time shares.

In any case I hope for more academic literature in research and teaching that compares AirBub models with the traditional hotel models under varying locations and circumstances (such as minimum wage differences).  There should be more guidance for providers of AirBub apartments and houses. For example, how does liability insurance and casualty  increase and why? Do insurance companies already charge more for AirBub participation?

How do you calculate breakeven and prices? For example, AirBub does not compete well with hotels in terms of very short term rentals, e.g., one night stands. AirBuB competes very well in terms of monthly rentals. How about rentals more than one day and less than 30 days?

Should hotels be offering new menus of choice. For example, should a Marriott Courtyard offer differ rental prices for guests who want daily maid service versus those that are willing to make their own beds and clean their own rooms and bathrooms? Should Courtyard guests have an option of paying for swimming pools and beaches?

There may be some data already available. For example, how do revenue and costs differ between Marriott Residence Inns versus Courtyard and Fairfield Inns

As I study the Inn at Sunset Hill down the road under new management  it seems to me that bed and breakfast inns should perhaps offer more pricing choices. For example, guests that bring their own bedding and clean their own rooms could perhaps be given lower rates. This is problematic from a cost accounting standpoint. Outsourcing bedding laundry entails considerable fixed costs. It costs just as much for laundry pick up whether the truck picks up bedding for 10 rooms versus 20 rooms. The marginal cost of washing the bedding for each room is relatively low beyond the cost of picking up the laundry for one room.

My point here is that until costs of goods and services are analyzed it's easy to be misled by superficial ideas on such matters.

Also perhaps the Inn at Sunset Hill should seriously consider providing rooms to AirBub since competition is very keen up here among  traditional bed and breakfast inns.


Plato's Cave --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_Cave

Math Works Great—Until You Try to Map It Onto the World ---
http://www.wired.com/2015/07/math-works-great-try-map-onto-world/

In 1900, the great mathematician David Hilbert presented a list of 23 unsolved problems worth investigating in the new century. The list became a road map for the field, guiding mathematicians through unexplored regions of the mathematical universe as they ticked off problems one by one. But one of the problems was not like the others. It required connecting the mathematical universe to the real one. Quanta Magazine

Continued in article

"In Plato's Cave:  Mathematical models are a powerful way of predicting financial markets. But they are fallible" The Economist, January 24, 2009, pp. 10-14 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/2008Bailout.htm#Bailout

Bob Jensen's threads on Mathematical Analytics in Plato's Cave
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/TheoryTAR.htm#Analytics


"The mad, mad world of researching and publishing!" by Jim Hunton, AAA Doctoral Consortium, June 18, 2009 ---
http://commons.aaahq.org/files/0895522bed/Hunton_Publishing_Panel_061009.ppt
This link was also posted to the AAA Commons ---
http://commons.aaahq.org/posts/f9238c3ec1

Jensen Comment
The above AAA Doctoral Consortium presentation preceded the first of 30 retractions of Jum Hunton's research publications allegedly because he faked the data. For Jim research and publishing did indeed become a "mad, mad" world. It would really be interesting if Jim in the future mustered up the courage and humility to make presentations at AAA conferences.
 

More about the Jim Hunton cheating scandals ---
http://retractionwatch.com/2015/06/29/accounting-professor-notches-30-retractions-after-misconduct-finding/#more-29236

Hunton and Other Professors Who Cheated (search repeatedly on the word "Hunton")  ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Plagiarism.htm#ProfessorsWhoPlagiarize

July 15, 2015 reply from Paul Williams

Liked the slide about taking calculated risks to "maximize" success. Seems he certainly took his own advice. Perhaps Gary Previts and Tim Fogarty had the right idea about adding some diversity to the Doctoral Consortium. Three quarters of submissions were archival financial, but we don't have a problem because the "bias ratio" is negative. And that was said with an apparently straight face to a group of people allegedly trained to analyze data (fictitious or otherwise).


Power of a Type 1 (alpha error) Statistical Test --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_power

From Econometrics Beat by David Giles on

Questions About the Size and Power of a Test ---
http://davegiles.blogspot.com/2015/07/questions-about-size-and-power-of-test.html

Type 2 Error --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_I_and_type_II_errors#Type_II_error
Jensen Comment
In most cases testing for Type 2 error is more ideal than testing for Type 1 error, but the Type 2 error tests are generally not robust in terms of imprecise knowledge of the underlying error distribution of the process. Type 2 error is sometimes tested in quality control in manufacturing where the underlying distribution of a process that meets specifications is well known (with operating characteristic curves) .
See Operating Characteristics --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_positives_and_false_negatives

It's relatively rare in academic study to see tests of Type 2 error. I can't recall a single accountancy study of real-world data that tests for Type 2 error.


Mehmet Oz --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehmet_Oz

Dr. Oz made $1.17 million off a hemorrhoid treatment he promoted in his column ---
http://www.vox.com/2015/7/25/9036205/dr-oz-het-hemorrhoid

Jensen Comment
Was it Dr. Oz who said:  "She's got a pimple on her butt she's nice"


"Elite Australian Universities Reject Report on Graduates' Salaries," Inside Higher Ed, July 20, 2015 ---
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/07/20/elite-australian-universities-reject-report-graduates-salaries

Details ---
https://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/elite-australian-universities-cry-foul-over-claim-their-graduates-are-not-top-earners


Harvard Business Review Case Studies ---
https://hbr.org/store/case-studies?referral=03033&cm_mmc=email-_-so-_-best_selling_case_studies-_-best_selling_case_studies_071515_so&utm_source=so_best_selling_case_studies&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=best_selling_case_studies_071515_so
These are not free!


Internet of Things --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_Things

The problem with the Internet of things
CEOs from Best Buy and Flextronics talk at Fortune Brainstorm Tech about how cybersecurity and data privacy issues are holding back innovation.
Fortune, July 13. 2015 ---
http://fortune.com/video/2015/07/13/the-problem-with-the-internet-of-things/


YouTube --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube
YouTube Home --- https://www.youtube.com/
YouTube Education --- https://www.youtube.com/edu 

From the CFO Journal's Morning Ledger on July 20, 2015

YouTube advertisers increase 40% in year ---
Top brands eager to reach millennial consumers have boosted the number of advertisers on Google Inc.’s video site by 40% in the past year, the Financial Times reports. YouTube also said advertisers from the top 100 brands based on a ranking by Interbrand were spending 60% more than last year.

Jensen Comment
This reveals the changing times in free communication, marketing, entertainment, education, and training --- yes free education and training. YouTube is playing a huge role in education and training as major universities and training companies now have YouTube channels for a vast amount of training and education videos.

See YouTube Education ---
https://www.youtube.com/edu
Especially note the featured channels

But featured channels are almost a miniscule part of what you can learn on YouTube. For example, you can learn how to operate or trouble shoot almost any device in the market by searching YouTube in a clever way. You can learn how to do virtually anything in Excel via YouTube. You can learn how to analyze financial statements and prepare tax returns on YouTube. In fact there is very little that you cannot learn from YouTube.

My problem with YouTube learning is that it is less efficient than first trying other sources, especially Wikipedia. You can efficiently scan millions of Wikipedia modules with word searches and in many instances their table of contents. For example, compare searches of the "Capital Asset Pricing Model" in Wikipedia versus YouTube. Learning about the CAPM from YouTube takes much more time than learning about this model from Wikipedia.

And Wikipedia does not advertise --- yet!

Wikipedia --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page


Are the stock shares you own really yours?
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/22/business/dealbook/funds-find-they-dont-really-own-dell-shares.html?_r=0


"Former Emory University Employee Sentenced for Embezzling Funds from Emory," FBI, July 23, 2015 ---
https://www.fbi.gov/atlanta/press-releases/2015/former-emory-university-employee-sentenced-for-embezzling-funds-from-emory

Brenda Michael, a former Emory University administrative assistant, has been sentenced to one year, six months in federal prison for stealing more than $300,000 in student tuition payments from the university.

“Michael used her position at Emory to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in just over a year and a half,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Students trusted that this university employee was there to facilitate their enrollment. Had the defendant not been exposed by Emory, her deception could have caused even greater damage.”

“Those Emory University students had every right to trust in Ms. Michael, who was assigned by the University to assist those students. Unfortunately, Ms. Michael chose to betray that trust and use her position for personal gain. The FBI is pleased with its role in ensuring that Ms. Michael be held fully accountable for her criminal conduct, which today’s sentencing certainly does,” said J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.

“Emory University is satisfied with the outcome of this case and with the excellent work of the United States Attorney’s Office in prosecuting Ms. Michael for her crime. We take the security of our students’ financial information and thefts by employees very seriously and are pleased that we could work cooperatively with the United States Attorney’s Office in bringing the investigation to a successful conclusion,” said Nancy Seideman, Associate Vice President, Media Relations, Emory University.

Continued in article

They say that patriotism is the last refuge
To which a scoundrel clings.
Steal a little and they throw you in jail,
Steal a lot and they make you king.
There's only one step down from here, baby,
It's called the land of permanent bliss. 
What's a sweetheart like you doin' in a dump like this?

Lyrics of a Bob Dylan song forwarded by Amian Gadal [DGADAL@CI.SANTA-BARBARA.CA.US

 


"The Fields That Students Flock to During Recessions," by Josh Zumbrun, The Wall Street Journal, July 16, 2015 ---
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/07/17/the-fields-that-students-flock-to-during-recessions/ 

Graduating into a recession stunts the careers of the young men and women entering the labor market. But it turns out a lot of students don’t sit back and passively accept this outcome: Many students who see a recession during their early college years switch to majors with better job prospects.

According to new research from Benjamin Keys at the University of ChicagoBrian Cadena at the University of Colorado Boulder and Erica Blom at Edgeworth Economics, the shifts can be dramatic.

When the national unemployment rate rises by 1 percentage point, the share of women studying business rises by nearly two-thirds of a percentage point. The share of women studying nursing climbs by nearly a third of a percentage point. An additional quarter percentage point switch into accounting. Meanwhile, enrollment in education, literature and languages, sociology and psychology drops.

 

Jensen Comment
Accounting ranks number three from the top. It may well be on the top if it did not take five years (150 selective credits) and a certification examination to become a CPA. It is true that accounting firms are always hiring when the economy goes up or down. However, in public accounting there's a lot of forced turnover before employees are eligible to become partners. The secondary market declines somewhat for accountants who do not become partners after working in CPA firms for 5-10 years.

The low-ranking fields tend to be low ranking in boom or bust in the economy. Also many high-ranking fields like nursing are high ranking in boom or bust.


"Medicine, Law, Business: Which Grad Students Borrow The Most?" NPR, July 15, 2015 --- Click Here
http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/07/15/422590257/medicine-law-business-which-grad-students-borrow-the-most?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20150715

Hint:  Except for the outliers the correlation with starting salaries is less than I would have expected. However, the outliers increase this correlation. In some fields, especially business, the variance in lifetime earnings is much greater.

Partial Quotation from the Article

Students studying medicine and law typically borrow more than $100,000 to get through school, and many go on to high-paying careers.

At the other end of the spectrum, many Ph.D. students wind up in academia. Most get grants and subsidies — and the majority don't have to borrow any money at all to get through grad school.

One striking case: MBAs. People who go to business school take on significantly less debt than people at other professional schools. Most MBA programs are two years long — shorter than law school (three years) or med school (four).

But that's not nearly enough to explain the difference.

Jensen Question

I have a granddaughter who recently graduated in pharmacy with  enormous debt. It's not clear why pharmacists in general graduate with more debt than most other graduates outside of medicine. In her case the reason was that she chose an expensive small private college well beyond the means of her family for so many years.

 Her brother is now entering the University of Maine system intent of a nursing career. He has much more fear of debt than his sister. This is the main reason his undergraduate degree will cost so much less before he goes on to graduate school. As valedictorian of his high school class he also earned a scholarship of $1,000 per year  for any college of his choosing.

"What Does $1-Trillion in Student Debt Really Mean? Maybe Not That Much," by Beckie Supiano, Chronicle of Higher Education, May 16, 2012 ---
http://chronicle.com/article/What-Does-1-Trillion-Mean-/131900/

Bob Jensen's threads on student debt ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies.htm#StudentDebt

Bob Jensen's threads on careers ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob1.htm#careers


Hack Brief: Attackers Spill User Data From Cheating Site Ashley Madison ---
http://www.wired.com/2015/07/hack-brief-attackers-spill-user-data-cheating-site-ashley-madison/


Bob Jensen's threads on plagiarism detection tools --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Plagiarism.htm

"What Is Detected?" by Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed, July 14, 2014 ---
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/07/14/turnitin-faces-new-questions-about-efficacy-plagiarism-detection-software

Jensen Comment
It's hardly surprising that most student plagiarism goes undetected. As detection tools get more sophisticated so do the criminals in general except for the ones that are probably too stupid to get into college or crazed out of their minds with drug addiction.

One way to beat the plagiarism detection tools is to take the time to cleverly rewrite and paraphrase that which is essentially copied.

Another  reason that students get away with plagiarism is that in most instances their writings are not read by many people other than a weary professor who is probably grading their writing along with the submissions of 30 or more other students.

For professors who plagiarize the risks are greater due, in large part, to a wider audience of readers who are also experts on the subject matter. Professor plagiarism rewritings and paraphrasing of copied works need to be much more clever than those of students. History Professor Matthew C. Whitaker at Arizona State University rewrote/paraphrased and may have gotten away with it had he not done so much of it in a book that would be carefully read by experts on the subject matter.

Professor Whitaker got caught! But I doubt that credit can be given to plagiarism detectors like Turnitin. I suspect he was much too clever for that type of detection.

Some professors and students who plagiarize may not have done so directly They may have copied the works of their assistants or used services of companies that ghost write papers and books. How does one account for the fact that the famous anthropologist Jane Goodall plagiarized from Wikipedia? She surely is too smart to plagiarize directly herself. I guess (with no evidence whatsoever) that she may have borrowed the writings of a subordinate who did the plagiarizing.

In previous centuries in Europe lifting works of subordinates  would not even have been considered cheating since the writings (and sometimes even paintings) of subordinates was considered the works of their masters. In modern times this is academic cheating.

Monkey See Monkey Do
"Jane Goodall apologizes for lifting passages from Wikipedia for her new book," by Elizabeth Foster, National Post, March 20, 2013 ---
http://arts.nationalpost.com/2013/03/20/jane-goodall-apologizes-for-failing-to-cite-passages-from-wikipedia-and-elsewhere-in-her-new-book/

Jane Goodall, the primatologist famous for her painstaking research, has apologized for including dozens of passages without attribution in her new book.

Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and Wonder from the World of Plants is an exploration of the critical role nature plays in our world. The book’s focus on plant life is a departure for Goodall, whose expertise has long been primates.

While much of the book details Goodall’s personal experiences and opinions, sections ranging from a sentence to entire paragraphs were borrowed from websites like Wikipedia without attribution or footnotes.


From Full to Associate Professor:  A Rare Demotion in the Academy
"Anonymous Charges Vindicated,"  by Scott Jaschik, July 13, 2015 ---
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/07/13/arizona-state-demotes-history-professor-after-investigation-his-book

When an anonymous blog last year accused Matthew C. Whitaker of plagiarizing portions of Peace Be Still: Modern Black America from World War II to Barack Obama, he said that he wouldn't respond to charges presented in that way. His publisher, the University of Nebraska Press, backed him.

The anonymous nature of the charges bothered some at Arizona State University, where Whitaker was a full professor and led a research center. But after the university conducted an investigation and found misconduct, Whitaker now says that he agrees that he made significant mistakes in the book.

Mark S. Searle, Arizona State's interim provost, last week sent an email message to history faculty members in which he said an investigation into the book had "identified significant issues with the content of the aforementioned book." Searle went on to say that "as a result of the outcomes from that investigation, Dr. Whitaker has accepted a position as associate professor without a Foundation Professorship [an honor he previously held], and now co-directs his center."

Searle also forwarded a letter from Whitaker, in which he admitted wrongdoing. Both letters were forwarded by someone other than the authors to Inside Higher Ed.

"I have struggled to overlook the personal nature of the criticisms, and to evaluate and recognize that there was merit to some of them. I alerted ASU administration to the fact that the text contained unattributed and poorly paraphrased material. I accept responsibility for these errors and I am working with my publisher to make the appropriate corrections," he wrote.

Continued in article

"New Book, New Allegations," by Colleen Flaherty, Inside Higher Ed, May 13, 2014 ---
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/05/13/arizona-state-professor-accused-plagiarism-second-time#sthash.OmcGllGb.dpbs 

An investigation into plagiarism allegations against an Arizona State University professor of history in 2011 found him not guilty of deliberate academic misconduct, but the case remained controversial. The chair of his department’s tenure committee resigned in protest and other faculty members spoke out against the findings, saying their colleague – who recently had been promoted to full professor – was cleared even though what he did likely would have gotten an undergraduate in trouble.

Now, Matthew C. Whitaker has written a new book, and allegations of plagiarism are being levied against him once again. Several blogs – one anonymously, and in great detail – have documented alleged examples of plagiarism in the work. Several of his colleagues have seen them, and say they raise serious questions about Whitaker’s academic integrity.

Meanwhile, Whitaker says he won’t comment on allegations brought forth anonymously, and his publisher, the University of Nebraska Press, says it’s standing by him.

Three years ago, several senior faculty members in Whitaker’s department accused him of uncited borrowing of texts and ideas from books, Wikipedia and a newspaper article in his written work and a speech. In response, the university appointed a three-member committee to investigate. The group found that Whitaker’s work contained no “substantial or systematic plagiarism,” but that he had been careless in some instances, as reported by Inside Higher Ed at the time. As a result, the university did not impose serious sanctions on the scholar, who is the founding director of Arizona State’s Center for the Study of Race and Democracy.

In response, Monica Green, professor of history, resigned as department tenure committee chair. Several other professors called the investigation flawed and incomplete in a formal complaint to the university and in public statements.

Whitaker at the time told the university that his colleagues were pursuing a personal vendetta, possibly due to his race and the fact that they disagreed with his promotion, The Arizona Republic reported.

The university backed Whitaker, saying that the investigation had been thorough and carried out by distinguished scholars.

In January, the University of Nebraska Press published Whitaker’s newest book, Peace Be Still: Modern Black America from World War II to Barack Obama. Several prominent professors of history have written blurbs for the book, which won the Bayard Rustin Book Award from the Tufts University Center for the Study of Race and Democracy.

But not everyone is impressed.

Since the book’s publication, a blog called the Cabinet of Plagiarism has detailed numerous alleged instances of plagiarism in the book, including text and ideas taken from information websites and published scholarship. The blog is moderated by someone using the name Ann Ribidoux, who did not return a posted request for comment. There is no one on the Arizona State faculty by that name.


Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/05/13/arizona-state-professor-accused-plagiarism-second-time#ixzz31ajydqT2
Inside Higher Ed

Matthew C. Whitaker Homepage at ASU --- http://csrd.asu.edu/people/matthew-c-whitaker-phd


"UNLV Fires Professor for Repeated Plagiarism," by Peter Schmidt, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 2, 2014 ---
http://chronicle.com/article/UNLV-Fires-Professor-for/150309/?cid=at

The University of Nevada at Las Vegas has fired Mustapha Marrouchi, a professor of postcolonial literature, based on its finding that he plagiarized the work of numerous other scholars, according to documents it released to The Chronicle on Monday in response to an open-records request.

Donald D. Snyder, the university’s president, told the professor in a letter dated November 7 that he was firing Mr. Marrouchi for cause, effective immediately, based on the conclusions of a special hearing officer and the recommendations of a special hearing committee.

The five-member hearing committee had unanimously found Mr. Marrouchi guilty of academic dishonesty and of misconduct deemed serious enough to render him unfit to remain in his job in the university’s English department.

The committee voted, 4 to 1, in favor of his dismissal, with the dissenter arguing that instead he should be suspended for a year and required to forfeit six years’ worth of pay increases, apologize to his victims, undergo ethics training, and submit to plagiarism-software analysis any scholarly work he intends to submit to publishers over the next three years.

Continued in article


"2 Houston Professors Charged With Lying to Get Grants," Inside Higher Ed, April 29, 2014 ---
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/04/29/2-houston-professors-charged-lying-get-grants#sthash.GRY8YqLl.dpbs

.. her thoughts – if not always her words – remain her own.
"In Her Own Words," April 25, 2014," by Colleen Flaherty,  Inside Higher Ed, April 25, 2014 ---
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/04/25/investigation-brown-professors-plagiarism-case-goes-public#sthash.vVCokmYE.dpbs

Brown University’s investigation into a professor accused of plagiarism was supposed to remain confidential. But after it was leaked to the student newspaper, the professor is speaking out both to apologize for what she says was unintentional plagiarism and to assert that her thoughts – if not always her words – remain her own.

While some colleagues criticized the university’s response to its inquiry into Vanessa Ryan, assistant professor of English, especially in light of the fact that she recently was named as an associate dean who oversees a graduate teaching program, others have come to her defense. Plagiarism is often framed as an ethical choice, they say, but unintentional plagiarism is easier and maybe more common than many believe.

“In August 2013, I learned that my book contains inadvertent errors of attribution, which resulted from mistakes I made in documenting my research as I worked on the project over many years,” Ryan said via email. “I take full responsibility for these mistakes.”

At the same time, she said, “While, as a result of these mistakes, my book uses words from other scholars’ writings without attribution, the substance of the ideas in the book is my own.”

Last year, Brown University received an anonymous allegation that Ryan’s book, Thinking Without Thought in the Victorian Novel, published in 2012 by Johns Hopkins University Press, contained numerous instances of plagiarism.

David Savitz, vice president for research at Brown, said his predecessor determined that there was enough cause to convene a three-member panel of senior faculty members familiar with Ryan’s area of research but without personal ties to investigate.

After a “very serious” inquiry, “what they found didn’t rise to the level of the research misconduct,” Savitz said of the panel. Although there were unattributed quotes, Savitz said the panel found they weren’t central to Ryan’s argument, and were related to “peripheral or contextual issues.”

Quoting from the panel’s report, Ryan said the investigators found the “passages did not reflect the co-opting of others’ views as [my] own and notwithstanding these passages, the contribution of [my] book still stands.”

Ryan said she took immediate action, notifying her publisher, her department chair, other colleagues and the scholars improperly cited in her book.

She added: “I want to underscore how seriously I take academic integrity and how distressed I am to have made these unintentional mistakes. As my students and colleagues know, I am passionate about my work as a scholar, teacher, and member of our academic community.”

Still, some at Brown are not satisfied by that apology or by the university’s response to the query. Someone with access to the confidential plagiarism report leaked it to the student newspaper, the Brown Daily Herald. The paper ran a story and also reported that 13 English professors had written to the administration questioning the findings of the report and Ryan’s appointment in January as associate dean of the graduate school, in which she leads a training program for teaching assistants. To some faculty, it seemed like the wrong job for someone accused of bad academic behavior, however unintentional.

Ryan is still a faculty member, but is on administrative leave from that position until her contract expires next year, a university spokeswoman said.

James Egan, professor of English, said via email: “I stand behind what we wrote in the letter,” referring to the faculty letter saying that the university had acted inappropriately. But he declined further comment due to a department decision not to speak with media about the case.

Philip Gould, department chair, said he was not immediately available for comment.

Despite the criticism from some of her colleagues at Brown, others have stood behind Ryan since the allegations went public.

Kate Flint, a Victorianist who is familiar with Ryan’s work, and who is chair of the department of art history at the University of Southern California, said that Ryan’s response to the allegations demonstrates her academic integrity. Immediately, Flint said, Ryan called her to explain and offer an apology (although Flint’s work was not part of the investigation, to her knowledge).

Continued in article

It's Rare for Universities to Fire Tenured Professors Who Plagiarize
"Columbia U. Says It Will Fire Professor Accused of Plagiarizing a Former Colleague and Students," by  Thomas Bartlett, Chronicle of Higher Education," June 24, 2008 --- http://chronicle.com/daily/2008/06/3520n.htm?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

A Columbia University professor has been suspended and will be fired for plagiarism and for obstructing the university's investigation into her case, a spokeswoman said on Monday.

The allegations against Madonna G. Constantine, a tenured professor of psychology and education at Columbia's Teachers College, first came to light in February after an investigation, conducted by a law firm hired by the university, found that Ms. Constantine had plagiarized the work of a former colleague and two former students (The Chronicle, February 21). This month a faculty committee accepted the administration's ruling.

In February university officials reduced her salary and asked for her resignation, which she did not give.

A spokeswoman for the university confirmed that a memorandum was delivered to faculty members on Monday informing them of the decision to suspend Ms. Constantine, pending dismissal.

The spokeswoman declined to give further details.

In an interview last February, Ms. Constantine vigorously defended herself against allegations of plagiarism, and argued that it was she instead who had been plagiarized. She also contended that the university is biased against her and that her accusers are motivated by envy and racism (The Chronicle, February 22).

Ms. Constantine did not respond to an interview request Monday afternoon. But her lawyer, Paul J. Giacomo Jr., said the university had ignored information that would clear her. "The evidence that was offered by her accusers is highly questionable and is belied by evidence in Teachers College's own records," he said. Mr. Giacomo said that his client was keeping all options open and that she may appeal her termination to a faculty committee.

Continued in article

Jensen Comment
Punishments for faculty plagiarism are seldom as hurtful as punishments for student plagiarism. The key is admission of guilt with a humble apology. Denial and defiance can be more costly as Madonna G. Constantine discovered at Columbia University (see above link).

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

Retraction Watch (cheating in research) --- http://retractionwatch.com


It's Time for the End of Popular But Dangerous Adobe Flash ---
http://money.cnn.com/2015/07/14/technology/flash-firefox-facebook/

Mozilla blocked Flash by default in its Firefox browser late Monday night, a day after Facebook's (FB, Tech30) security chief called for Adobe to kill Flash once and for all.

The Flash-bashing picked up last week after revelations that the spyware giant known as the Hacking Team had been using Flash to remotely take over people's computers and infect them with malware. (That discovery took place after the Hacking Team was itself hacked. Documents revealed in the breach showed that the Hacking Team exploited two critical vulnerabilities in Flash's code.)

"It is time for Adobe to announce the end-of-life date for Flash," tweeted Facebook security chief Alex Stamos on Sunday.

Continued in article

Why Adobe Flash won't die, even though we all want it to ---
 http://www.businessinsider.com/adobe-flash-security-flaws-prove-we-need-to-move-to-html5-2015-7#ixzz3fyRT5Q2T 


Faculty Member at the University of Wisconsin Encourages Incoming Students to Go Somewhere Else

"U. of Wisconsin Professor’s Tweets Draw Criticism From Her Own Colleagues," by Andy Thomason, Chronicle of Higher Education, July 16, 2015 ---
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/wisconsin-professors-tweets-to-new-students-raise-republican-hackles/102063?cid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

. . .

The executive committee of Madison’s Faculty Senate weighed in on Thursday, criticizing Ms. Goldrick-Rab in a statement. “As faculty members of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, we support free speech and diversity of opinion, as has been our tradition,” the statement reads. “Such freedom requires responsible behavior and in this respect we are deeply dismayed with the actions Professor Sara Goldrick-Rab has taken toward students and faculty on Twitter in recent weeks to discourage them from coming here. While claiming to stand for academic freedom, she has in fact damaged that principle and our institution with inaccurate statements and misrepresentations.”

Continued in article


How to Mislead With Statistics
Output Per Hour Worked in the USA

From the CFO Journal's Morning Ledger on July 17, 2015

For a decade, economic output per hour worked has barely budged, and over the past two quarters it has fallen. That is, if you consult the federal government’s formula for calculating productivity, something that contrarian economists at Google Inc. and Stanford recommend against, the WSJ’s Timothy Aeppel reports. Google chief economist Hal Varian says sluggish U.S. productivity doesn’t reflect a high-tech wave of innovations that save people time and money. “There’s a lack of appreciation for what’s happening in Silicon Valley,” he says, “because we don’t have a good way to measure it.”

One measurement problem is that a lot of what originates in America’s technology hub is free or nearly free. But the only way goods and services move the official U.S. productivity needle is when consumers and businesses pay for them. Anything free, no matter how much it improves everyday life, isn’t included. Many in Silicon Valley say it is just a matter of time before new innovations surface in salable products and goose the official productivity tally. First, though, businesses must harness the innovations to the products they sell. Driverless-car technology, for example, won’t hit city streets for a while.


MIT:  Seven Must-Read Stories (Week Ending July 25, 2015) ---
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/539601/seven-must-read-stories-week-ending-july-25-2015/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_source=newsletter-weekly-business&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20150724

MIT:  Recommended from Around the Web (Week Ending July 25, 2015) ---
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/539596/recommended-from-around-the-web-week-ending-july-25-2015/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_source=newsletter-weekly-business&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20150724

MIT:  Seven Must-Read Stories (Week Ending July 18, 2015) --- Click Here
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/539326/seven-must-read-stories-week-ending-july-18-2015/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_source=newsletter-daily-all&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20150717

MIT:  Recommended from Around the Web (Week Ending July 18, 2015) --- Click Here
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/539361/recommended-from-around-the-web-week-ending-july-18-2015/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_source=newsletter-daily-all&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20150717


"Unpaid Internships Here to Stay?" by Jake New, Inside Higher Ed, July 16, 2015 ---
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/07/16/new-court-ruling-slows-momentum-lawsuits-challenging-unpaid-internships

Jensen Comment
We have a friend up here whose son earned an IT college degree and worked in IT for a while. He found that fielding repetitive tech support questions every day bored him to death. He decided to go into organic farm work. In the summer up here in the mountains he works for minimum wage at a local organic farm. However, he took an "internship" at an organic farm in Hawaii during the winter. That for him means free room and board in a dormitory while working for no wage. This seems to me to violate the no-wage conditions mentioned in the article above. But apparently this is common in the organic farm industry. Next winter he hopes to go back to Hawaii on another "internship." Another ploy in the organic farm industry is to pay minimum wage and then to get most of it back charging for room and board and transportation. This reminds me of the old abuses of charging workers outrageous prices at the company store.

Organic farm interns don't seem to mind because organic farming seems to be a way of life as well as a way of work.


"For $725 Million, You Can Buy a Texas Ranch That's the Size of a Small Nation," by Brian Gruley, Bloomberg, July 21, 2015 ---
http://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-famous-texas-waggoner-ranch-for-sale/?cmpid=BBD072115_BIZ

Jensen Comment
Seems like good timing to sell a Texas ranch during a year of heavy rains. I wonder about the prospects of rain in years to come.


"Study: Spending on Course Materials Continues to Drop," Inside Higher Ed, July 22, 2015 ---
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/07/22/study-spending-course-materials-continues-drop

College students spent less on textbooks in fall 2014 than they did in 2009, even though they bought just as many course materials, according to a study released by the National Association of College Stores. That development is fueled by a number of factors, including the rise of open educational resources, the growth of the rental textbook market and growing faculty awareness of the cost of course materials. Overall student spending on course materials continued its steady decline last academic year. The average student spent $563, a 20 percent drop compared to the 2007-08 academic year.

College bookstores remain the No. 1 destination for course materials, with 66 percent of respondents saying that's where they make their purchases. Amazon is drawing closer, however, with 42 percent of respondents naming the retailer as their go-to outlet for textbooks and other course materials.

Continued in article

The Report --- http://www.nacs.org/research/studentwatchfindings.aspx


"Reshaping the For-Profit," byAshley A. Smith, Chronicle of Higher Education, July 15, 2015 ---
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/07/15/profit-industry-struggling-has-not-reached-end-road

. . .

But the demand for for-profit institutions is still there, even as enrollments fall from their peak in 2010, said Steve Gunderson, president and CEO of the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities (APSCU) -- the for-profit sector's primary trade group. In 2012, approximately 3.5 million students attended for-profit institutions. That figure is lower than the 4 million students who were enrolled in 2010, but still higher than the 2.6 million figure in 2007, Gunderson said.

Yet the massive changes in the sector have even shaken up APSCU, which is shifting to focus less on large for-profit chains and more on the nonprofit education sector as a few high-profile members leave the association. (See related article about its future.)

For-profit colleges have been around for at least 100 years in some form or another, but the current-day institutions are unique in that they've been providing degrees rather than the certifications granted by truck-driving or beauty schools, said Kevin Kinser, chair of the department of educational administration and policy studies at the State University of New York at Albany and an expert on for-profit higher education.

"What we might see is not the demise or complete collapse of publicly traded institutions, but a different focus for them," he said. "A niche focus for them … a shift from degree granting to service providers. Maybe they have a higher education institution as part of the portfolio, but the portfolio is in the education service realm."

Continued in article

Jensen Comment
Unless for-profit graduates pass professional licensing examinations such as CPA or nursing certifications, public perception of for-profit degrees is that they are inferior and only slightly better than purchased diplomas from diploma mills. These universities try to attract students for the wrong reasons such as virtually zero academic admission standards, academic credits for life experiences, and easy grading. The Ph.D. degrees are largely vanity degrees that are not respected in the Academy.

In business education I don't think a single for-profit university has ever been accredited by the AACSB. For-profits reacted by inventing their own accrediting bodies having little respect in the Academy. They like to claim that the disrespect is snobbery. But but in reality the accrediting bodies and the "accredited" business programs have done little to earn respect.

What can save for-profits is competency testing that is respected because those earning competency badges truly are competent. The problem for for-profits will be in having a sufficient number of really competent students willing to pay enough for for-profit universities to really earn a profit.

From a marketing perspective, for-profit universities need to partner with respected organizations and leaders. The defunct Trump University just didn't cut it. The thriving Deloitte University has a shot at respect in the Academy if it expands into the competency-badge business.

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


Daniel Kahneman --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Kahneman

Update on Daniel Kahneman:
What would I eliminate if I had a magic wand?  ---
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/18/daniel-kahneman-books-interview


"Making an Impact with Games?" by Anastasia Salter, Chronicle of Higher Education, July 13, 2015 ---
http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/making-an-impact-with-games/60455?cid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en 

I’ve written a lot about using and making games for the classroom here at ProfHacker, as while games and learning have been around for a long time our ability (and interest) in realizing their potential is on the rise. One of the continuing challenges for bringing games into education is assessing the impact of games on learning. Often, it’s hard even to agree on what we want games to accomplish: are we most interested in raising student engagement? Reaching learners who are alienated by traditional lectures? Increasing critical thinking and analysis skills? Or getting content memorized or absorbed?

Games for Change and the Michael Cohen Group just released a report, Impact with Games: A Fragmented Field, that addresses some of these questions. It’s a great read for those of us thinking about the ramifications and challenges games present for higher education. Today I’m going to take a look at a few of the highlights that might be particularly of interest for ProfHackers working with digital pedagogy.

The group found five sources of disconnect within the field that contribute to the challenge of measuring impact: of those, two that strike me as particularly important are that ”Impact is defined too narrowly” and ”Evaluation methods are inflexible.” These are some of the frustrations with assessment that accompany any digital pedagogy, as we may default to using comparative measures (does this game “teach” better than a lecture?) rather than defining new metrics for a different type of learning

Defining games by their impact is one way to find great games that become the imitable standards for socially conscious or serious gaming. However, these games don’t all “teach” content in an expected way, and the impact of a game might even be entirely unrelated to knowledge-based outcomes–for instance, a great game might bring a team together for collaboration and problem-solving in new ways. The team observes that: ”When evaluators and researchers stick too rigidly to their preferred methods they lose the flexibility required to tailor assessment to unusual and complex games. Such rigidity can be dangerous, sometimes leading to games based on evaluation methods (rather than methods based on the game).”

Games of Strategy --- Voting for Sure Losers in Cross Voting in Primary Elections
Anyone can now register to vote (sometimes fraudulently) on Election Day in New Hampshire.
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/temp/NewHampshireVotingFraud.htm

GradeCraft --- https://www.gradecraft.com/

"Want to Make Your Course ‘Gameful’? A Michigan Professor’s Tool Could Help," by Casey Fabris, Chronicle of Higher Education, May 15, 2015 ---
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/want-to-make-your-course-gameful-a-michigan-professors-tool-could-help/56649?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

What if the classroom were more like a video game?

Barry J. Fishman, a professor of information and education at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, would like to help you find out. Mr. Fishman has borrowed elements of gaming to develop GradeCraft, a learning-management system that lets instructors organize their courses in a “gameful” way.

The system lets students choose their own path through a course, selecting the assignments that interest and challenge them. At its heart is a tool, called the “grade predictor,” that helps to “manage some of the chaos” of such a personalized system. The grade predictor also helps students figure out what they need to do to reach the classroom goals they set for themselves.

GradeCraft also aims to give students the ability to fail without detrimental consequences. There are many assignments to choose from, so any students who do poorly on one can find plenty of other tasks to redeem themselves. Instructors, meanwhile, can allow students to revise their work. Mr. Fishman’s assessment system treats unsuccessful assignments not as failures but as learning experiences that pull students closer to mastery.

Today’s students are often made to feel that they can’t afford to make mistakes, Mr. Fishman says. In video games, by contrast, risks don’t come with serious consequences: Maybe you just end up repeating a level. “The idea that, if you played a game and when your character died that was it, that game couldn’t be played anymore, that would not be a very good-selling game,” he says.

Continued in article

"Making Board Games in the Classroom," by Anastasia Salter, Chronicle of Higher Education, April 29, 2013 ---
http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/making-board-games-in-the-classroom/48983?cid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

I just got home from THATCamp Games II at Case Western Reserve University, where we played and made a lot of games. In the past I’ve talked about making games for the classroom using lots of technologies (Inform 7, inklewriter, Twine, Scratch), but games don’t require any computing power to be great. Physical board and card games can be powerful systems of representation and more immediately accessible for exploring something in a classroom. This might bring back made memories for some of us of classroom jeopardy–but when the mechanics of the game fit the content, it can be much more powerful than that.

During THATCamp Games II I taught a crash course workshop in making educational board games. Here’s the full Prezi from the workshop. The same basic process can be used for designing a game for a lesson or in asking students to make a game, which itself can provoke a different way of thinking about an idea. Here’s an overview of the process we used:

Phase One: Imagine

  1. Brainstorm an educational objective
  2. Choose a central mechanic
  3. Clarify your theme and concept

Most of us learned through board games at some point–even if it was the foundations of capitalism in Monopoly, a reductive version of the American dream in the Game of Life, or just color recognition from Candyland. But board games can address much more complex topics: Pandemic models cooperative disaster response to the spreading of infectious diseases; Eco Fluxx poses questions of environmentalism through a changing rules system; and there’s even an Umberto Eco: The Name of the Rose board game.

A straightforward goal–a purpose behind the game–works best when it can clearly be connected with the game. One of the teams during the workshop chose creative thinking and connected it with competitive challenges, as seen in the prototype above for “Think. Build. Tell.” These mechanics can then be interwoven with a theme, ideally in a way that strengthens both. For instance, a rebranded version of Monopoly may have a new “theme”, but it doesn’t really change gameplay–while moving a strategy game to a different era often rewrites all the rules.

Phase Two: Make

  1. Imagine your game space metaphor
  2. Design your system and pieces
  3. Prototype your playable design

There are lots of ways to think of game boards, but all of them have to represent something complex in a simple way. Most of them do that through using a visual metaphor–Monopoly simplifies the city to a single block, Sorry uses complete abstraction, The Game of Life conflates movement through space with movement through stages of life. One way to jumpstart game design thinking is to take all the pieces of a game box and throw away the rules, then imagine a new ruleset that makes all those pieces work together. This helps us explore how all the pieces of a physical game combine to form a system–it’s a lot more transparent than most video games.

Continued in article

Bob Jensen's threads on edutainment --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/thetools.htm#Edutainment

 


Did the department chair purposely solicit a negative tenure letter?
"The Professor Is in: A Nasty External Review," by Karen Kelski, Vitae from the Chronicle of Higher Education, July 7, 2015 ---
https://chroniclevitae.com/news/1057-the-professor-is-in-a-nasty-external-review?cid=VTEVPMSED1 

Jensen Comment
In the litigious culture of the USA's starving lawyers it's surprising than anybody would write a negative tenure letter.

Having been on the faculties of four universities my anecdotal experience is that it's much more common to solicit tenure recommendation letters from people who are known in advance to likely write positive letter. I received quite a few requests to send recommendation letters to other universities. In nearly all instances, however, the candidates had reasonably good research records. I very rarely was put to the test to recommend somebody with a weak research record, but when it happened I tried to write courteous letters responsible to my profession.

In retirement I refuse requests to write tenure recommendation letters and cut back on dreaded journal refereeing. Retirement does have it's privileges. I did, however, just accept a another hard-work committee assignment from the American Accounting Association to help choose an award winner for notable contributions to the literature. The old friend who called was just too much of a friend to refuse. Sigh!




From the Scout Report on July 17, 2015

TubeChop --- http://www.tubechop.com/ 

For those of us who give presentations, write blogs, or post on social media, we often want to offer a snippet of a longer video to make a point, get a laugh, or otherwise spice things up. Enter TubeChop. The platform is beautiful for its simplicity. Just find the YouTube, Vimeo, TedTalk, or other video that you would like to sample and paste the link into TubeChop. Then use the end bars to choose the exact second when your clip will begin and end, select "chop it," and copy or embed the generated link.


Firefox Hello ---  https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/hello/ 

For Firefox users who would like to video chat without downloading a third-party plugin (such as Skype or FaceTime), Firefox Hello can be an efficient, no-frills option. The audio and video quality are above average, there is no hard drive hogging plug-in to download and install, and the Firefox privacy policy says that, once connected, your conversations are encrypted. To use Firefox Hello, make sure you have downloaded the latest version of Firefox, then select the Firefox Hello icon (a smiley face on the right hand side of the tool bar). A video box will appear with a like that can easily be emailed or shared with a friend so chatting can ensue. They don't need to have Firefox to join the conversation


New Study on LSAT Raises Old Questions About Validity of Standardized
Tests
New Study Tries to Predict Law School Grades
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2015/07/13/new-study-tries-to-predict-law-school-grades/

What Makes a Law Student Succeed or Fail? A Longitudinal Study Correlating
Law Student Applicant Data and Law School Outcomes
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2627330

Validity of the SAT for Predicting First-Year College Grade Point Average
https://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/Validity_of_the_SAT_for_Predicting_First_Year_College_Grade_Point_Average.pdf

Do ACT and SAT scores really matter? New study says they shouldn’t
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/nail-biting-standardized-testing-may-miss-mark-college-students/

Study: High school grades best predictor of college success - not SAT/ACT
scores
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/02/21/a-telling-study-about-act-sat-scores/

See How the First SAT Compared to Today's Test
http://time.com/3921975/the-first-sat/


From the Scout Report on July 24, 2015

PhotoPin --- http://photopin.com/ 

For anyone who blogs or otherwise posts content on the web, one of the vexing tasks can be finding the perfect Creative Commons (CC) image to illustrate one's content. Enter PhotoPin. To use the service, start by entering a keyword into the search box. PhotoPin will then present all related, useable images from Flickr's collection. After reviewing the list, simply select "get photo" to download the photo and attribution link, and upload to your site or blog. For those interested in learning more about CC licensed photos, the FAQ offers a wealth of information.


LiveTrekker --- http://www.livetrekker.com

For short- and long-distance travellers, smart phones have become requisite. Readers can now add to the litany of conveniences LiveTrekker, an app that allows users to record and share their travels with the world. To use the app, select "Tracker," then "Start." LiveTrekker will then record your route on a GPS map. Meanwhile you can use the appropriate icons to take photos, record video and voice memos, or write comments along the way. When finished, select "Stop" and name the trip. From there, sharing to Facebook or other social media is as simple as touching another icon.


A New $100 Million Initiative Gives the Search for Extraterrestrial
Life a Turbo Boost
Stephen Hawking and Yuri Milner Announce $100M Initiative to Seek ET
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/stephen-hawking-and-yuri-milner-announce-100m-initiative-to-seek-extraterrestrial-intelligence/

Read the Inspiring 'Questions of Existence' Letter from the World's
Greatest Thinkers
http://time.com/3964301/breakthrough-listen-letter/

Drake equation: How many alien civilizations exist?
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120821-how-many-alien-worlds-exist

Stephen W. Hawking News
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/stephen_w_hawking/index.html

The Billionaire Who Friended the Web
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2011/0328/billionaires-11-profile-yuri-milner-billionaire-friended-web.html

The Search for Extraterrestrial Life: A Brief History
http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-space/article/2008-06/et-phone-earth

 


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


Education Tutorials

Homeroom: The Official Blog of the U.S. Department of Education --- http://www.ed.gov/blog/

Public Libraries Online --- http://publiclibrariesonline.org

250+ Killer Digital Libraries and Archives --- http://oedb.org/ilibrarian/250-plus-killer-digital-libraries-and-archives/

How did the academy end up investing so much in a nebulous, useless, and overly romantic notion like “critical thinking”?
"Thinking Critically about Critical Thinking," by  Christopher Schaberg, PublicBooks.org, June 11, 2015 ---
http://www.publicbooks.org//blog/thinking-critically-about-critical-thinking

Beyond the Essay: Making Student Thinking Visible in the Humanities (a brainstorming project on teaching critical thinking) ---
http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/beyond-the-essay/
Bob Jensen's threads on critical thinking and why it's so hard to teach ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies.htm#CriticalThinking
Also see
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Assess.htm#ConceptKnowledge

"Beyond Critical Thinking," by Michael S. Roth, Chronicle of Higher Education's Chronicle Review, January 3, 2010 ---
http://chronicle.com/article/Beyond-Critical-Thinking/63288/

Learn Psychology --- http://www.learnpsychology.org/

Free: Download Neil deGrasse Tyson’s 6-Lecture Course, The Inexplicable Universe ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/free-download-neil-degrasse-tysons-6-lecture-course-the-inexplicable-universe.html

American Academy of Arts & Sciences: Resources for the Humanities and Social Sciences ---
 http://www.humanitiescommission.org/AboutHumanitiesSocialSciences/resources.aspx

ReadWriteThink (nearly a thousand lesson plans) --- http://www.readwritethink.org/

African Online Digital Library --- http://aodl.org/

MIT’s Introduction to Poker Theory: A Free Online Course ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/mits-introduction-to-poker-theory.html

How to Take Photographs Like Ansel Adams: The Master Explains The Art of “Visualization” ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/how-to-take-photographs-like-ansel-adams.html

Science - HowStuffWorks --- http://science.howstuffworks.com/

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

Bob Jensen's links to free courses and tutorials ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI


Engineering, Science, and Medicine Tutorials

American Academy of Arts & Sciences: Resources for the Humanities and Social Sciences ---
 http://www.humanitiescommission.org/AboutHumanitiesSocialSciences/resources.aspx

Science - HowStuffWorks --- http://science.howstuffworks.com/

redOrbit (science magazine) --- http://www.redorbit.com/

The Huntington: Garden Programs --- http://huntington.org/WebAssets/Templates/content.aspx?id=838

Flora Delaterre: The Plant Detective --- http://floradelaterre.com/

The Shark Research Institute --- http://www.sharks.org

Free: Download Neil deGrasse Tyson’s 6-Lecture Course, The Inexplicable Universe ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/free-download-neil-degrasse-tysons-6-lecture-course-the-inexplicable-universe.html

NSF Special Report: Understanding the Brain --- http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/brain/

Online Veterinary Anatomy Museum --- http://www.onlineveterinaryanatomy.net/

USGS Multimedia Gallery (geology) --- http://gallery.usgs.gov/

Building the Knowledge Base for Climate Resiliency: New York Panel on Climate Change 2015 Report ---  http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.2015.1336.issue-1/issuetoc

Cornell University Digital Archives: Cornell University Class Books --- http://digital.library.cornell.edu/c/cuda/class.html

Urban Problems: Methods and Techniques in Urban Engineering ---
http://www.intechopen.com/books/methods-and-techniques-in-urban-engineering

From the Scout Report on July 24, 2015

A New $100 Million Initiative Gives the Search for Extraterrestrial
Life a Turbo Boost
Stephen Hawking and Yuri Milner Announce $100M Initiative to Seek ET
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/stephen-hawking-and-yuri-milner-announce-100m-initiative-to-seek-extraterrestrial-intelligence/

Read the Inspiring 'Questions of Existence' Letter from the World's
Greatest Thinkers
http://time.com/3964301/breakthrough-listen-letter/

Drake equation: How many alien civilizations exist?
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120821-how-many-alien-worlds-exist

Stephen W. Hawking News
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/stephen_w_hawking/index.html

The Billionaire Who Friended the Web
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2011/0328/billionaires-11-profile-yuri-milner-billionaire-friended-web.html

The Search for Extraterrestrial Life: A Brief History
http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-space/article/2008-06/et-phone-earth

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

Bob Jensen's links to free courses and tutorials ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI


Social Science and Economics Tutorials

Learn Psychology --- http://www.learnpsychology.org/

American Academy of Arts & Sciences: Resources for the Humanities and Social Sciences ---
 http://www.humanitiescommission.org/AboutHumanitiesSocialSciences/resources.aspx

The Paradox of Identical Twins and What It Reveals About the Psychology of Personal Identity and Celebrity Culture ---
http://www.brainpickings.org/2015/07/17/caroline-paul-almost-her/?mc_cid=75ad06dcaa&mc_eid=4d2bd13843

redOrbit (science magazine) --- http://www.redorbit.com/

Planners Web (urban planning) --- http://plannersweb.com/

Innovation District (urban planning) --- http://www.innovationdistrict.org/

Urban Problems: Methods and Techniques in Urban Engineering ---
http://www.intechopen.com/books/methods-and-techniques-in-urban-engineering

Advanced Seminar: Urban Nature and City Design ---
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/urban-studies-and-planning/11-308j-advanced-seminar-urban-nature-and-city-design-fall-2012/

African Online Digital Library --- http://aodl.org/

Building the Knowledge Base for Climate Resiliency: New York Panel on Climate Change 2015 Report ---  http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.2015.1336.issue-1/issuetoc

Cornell University Digital Archives: Cornell University Class Books --- http://digital.library.cornell.edu/c/cuda/class.html

The Illustrated Life of Trailblazing Journalist Nellie Bly, Who Paved the Way for Women in Media ---
http://www.brainpickings.org/2015/07/17/the-daring-nellie-bly-bonnie-christensen/?mc_cid=75ad06dcaa&mc_eid=4d2bd13843 

National Center for Women & Information Technology --- https://www.ncwit.org

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

Disarmament Education: United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs --- http://www.un.org/disarmament/education/

Defense.gov: Today in DoD --- http://www.defense.gov/today/

Bob Jensen's links to free courses and tutorials ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI


Law and Legal Studies

Disarmament Education: United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs --- http://www.un.org/disarmament/education/

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


Math Tutorials

MIT’s Introduction to Poker Theory: A Free Online Course ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/mits-introduction-to-poker-theory.html

Bob Jensen's threads on free online mathematics and statistics tutorials ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm#050421Mathematics


History Tutorials

Wonders & Marvels (curiosities in history) --- http://www.wondersandmarvels.com/

Vintage 1930s Japanese Posters Artistically Market the Wonders of Travel ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/vintage-1930s-japanese-posters-artistically-market-the-wonders-of-travel.html

The (F)Art of War: Bawdy Japanese Art Scroll Depicts Wrenching Changes in 19th Century Japan ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/the-fart-of-war.html

Old World Radio --- http://www.oldradioworld.com/  

The Illustrated Life of Trailblazing Journalist Nellie Bly, Who Paved the Way for Women in Media ---
http://www.brainpickings.org/2015/07/17/the-daring-nellie-bly-bonnie-christensen/?mc_cid=75ad06dcaa&mc_eid=4d2bd13843 

Snap Judgment (radio story telling) --- http://snapjudgment.org/

Harvesting the River (in Illinois) --- http://www.museum.state.il.us/RiverWeb/harvesting/index.html

Hannah Arendt knew how to be a pariah. Is that the key to being a 21st-century cosmopolitan? ---
http://aeon.co/magazine/philosophy/what-makes-hannah-arendt-a-cosmopolitan/

DPLA: The Golden Age of Radio in the US --- http://dp.la/exhibitions/exhibits/show/radio-golden-age

New American Radio --- http://somewhere.org/

The 5 most bizarre weapons of World War II ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-5-most-bizarre-weapons-of-world-war-ii-2015-7#ixzz3gi7M69Lf

Media History Digital Library --- http://mediahistoryproject.org/

French History Network (FHN) Blog --- http://frenchhistorysociety.co.uk/blog/

A City Torn Apart: Building of the Berlin Wall ---
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/international-relations/building-of-the-berlin-wall/index.html

The Scottish Register of Tartans --- http://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/index.aspx

Digital Preservation Tools Showcase --- http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/tools/

Library of Congress: Railroad Maps, 1828-1900 --- http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/connections/railroad-maps/file.html

African Online Digital Library --- http://aodl.org/

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: Collections
http://www.nelson-atkins.org/collections/collection-history.cfm

Naval History and Heritage Command: Photography --- http://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography.html

The Frick Collection: Virtual Tour --- http://www.frick.org/visit/virtual_tour

Cornell University Digital Archives: Cornell University Class Books --- http://digital.library.cornell.edu/c/cuda/class.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

Bob Jensen's links to free courses and tutorials ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI  


Language Tutorials

Bob Jensen's links to language tutorials are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2-Part2.htm#Languages


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

Bob Jensen's links to free courses and tutorials ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI


Writing Tutorials

ReadWriteThink (nearly a thousand lesson plans) --- http://www.readwritethink.org/

Read Online Haruki Murakami’s New Essay on How a Baseball Game Launched His Writing Career ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/read-online-haruki-murakamis-new-essay-on-how-a-baseball-game-launched-his-writing-career.html

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



Bob Jensen's threads on medicine ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2-Part2.htm#Medicine

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

July 13, 2015

July 14, 2015

July 15, 2015

Other Health News

July 16, 2015

July 21, 2015

July 22, 2015

July 23, 2015

July 24, 2015

July 25, 2015

July 27, 2015

 


"The Pharma Industry Thinks It Finally Has a Fix for Migraines," by David Wainer, Bloomberg, July 21, 2015 ---
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-21/there-s-hope-beyond-botox-as-pharma-races-for-first-migraine-fix?cmpid=BBD072115_BIZ

Some wear sunglasses indoors, apply cold vinegar compresses or chew on ginger. Others sit in the dark for days. But there’s one thing most migraine sufferers agree on: the pharma industry has failed them.

Four drugmakers are working to fix that by bringing to market the first generation of drugs developed to prevent migraines. The products, designed to target a peptide known to touch off the pain attacks, all have blockbuster potential.

Continued in article


Scientists just took a major step forward in understanding Alzheimer's ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/what-happens-when-someone-gets-alzheimers-disease-2015-7#ixzz3gRCymE77

Two New Alzheimer’s Drugs Offer Hope—With Caveats ---
http://time.com/3967541/new-alzheimers-drugs/?xid=newsletter-brief


A scientist who studies psychopaths found out he was one by accident — and it completely changed his life ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/psychopath-who-studies-psychopaths-2015-7#ixzz3gXU9yIyq

Jensen Comment
Before the brain scans his family recognized the "dark side" of his lack of emotion.


"The Science of Stress and How Our Emotions Affect Our Susceptibility to Burnout and Disease,"  by Maria Popova, Brain Pickings, July 20, 2015 ---
http://www.brainpickings.org/2015/07/20/esther-sternberg-balance-within-stress-emotion/?mc_cid=310b10396d&mc_eid=4d2bd13843

. . .

The most acute manifestation of how memory modulates stress is post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. For striking evidence of how memory encodes past experience into triggers, which then catalyze present experience, Sternberg points to research by psychologist Rachel Yehuda, who found both Holocaust survivors and their first-degree relatives — that is, children and siblings — exhibited a similar hormonal stress response.

This, Sternberg points out, could be a combination of nature and nurture — the survivors, as young parents for whom the trauma was still fresh, may well have subconsciously taught their children a common style of stress-responsiveness; but it’s also possible that these automatic hormonal stress responses permanently changed the parents’ biology and were transmitted via DNA to their children. Once again, memory encodes stress into our very bodies. Sternberg considers the broader implications:

Stress need not be on the order of war, rape, or the Holocaust to trigger at least some elements of PTSD. Common stresses that we all experience can trigger the emotional memory of a stressful circumstance — and all its accompanying physiological responses. Prolonged stress — such as divorce, a hostile workplace, the end of a relationship, or the death of a loved one — can all trigger elements of PTSD.

Among the major stressors — which include life-events expected to be on the list, such as divorce and the death of a loved one — is also one somewhat unexpected situation, at least to those who haven’t undergone it: moving. Sternberg considers the commonalities between something as devastating as death and something as mundane as moving:

One is certainly loss — the loss of someone or something familiar. Another is novelty — finding oneself in a new and unfamiliar place because of the loss. Together these amount to change: moving away from something one knows and toward something one doesn’t.

[…]

An unfamiliar environment is a universal stressor to nearly all species, no matter how developed or undeveloped.

In the remainder of the thoroughly illuminating The Balance Within, Sternberg goes on to explore the role of interpersonal relationships in both contributing to stress and shielding us from it, how the immune system changes our moods, and what we can do to harness these neurobiological insights in alleviating our experience of the stressors with which every human life is strewn.

Jensen Comment

Stress from a societal point of view is a great motivator such as when competition motivates us to work longer and harder to beat the competition as in sporting events, entrepreneurship, dating, writing, solving problems, politics, war, etc. But competition can also lead to bad behaviors such as cheating, bullying, fighting, addictions, sleep deprivation, burnout, mental breakdowns, etc. As with most things in life stress contributes to both good and lousy outcomes in life.

Some of the many kinds of stress ---
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress


Aldous Huxley --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldous_Huxley

"Get Out of Your Own Light: Aldous Huxley on Who We Are, the Trap of Language, and the Necessity of Mind-Body Education,"  by Maria Popova, Brain Pickings, July 22, 2015 ---
http://www.brainpickings.org/2015/07/22/aldous-huxley-who-are-we-divine-within/?mc_cid=310b10396d&mc_eid=4d2bd13843

Aldous Huxley endures as one of the most visionary and unusual minds of the twentieth century — a man of strong convictions about drugs, democracy, and religion and immensely prescient ideas about the role of technology in human life; a prominent fixture of Carl Sagan’s reading list; and the author of a little-known allegorical children’s book.

In one of his twenty-six altogether excellent essays in The Divine Within: Selected Writings on Enlightenment (public library), Huxley sets out to answer the question of who we are — an enormous question that, he points out, entails a number of complex relationships: between and among humans, between humanity and nature, between the cultural traditions of different societies, between the values and belief systems of the present and the past.

Continued in article


"Will Football Players Someday Take a Concussion Pill?" by Mike Orcutt, MIT's Technology Review, July 22, 2015 ---
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/539431/will-football-players-someday-take-a-concussion-pill/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_source=newsletter-daily-all&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20150722


Armadillo --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armadillo

Armadillos are considered responsible for nine new cases of leprosy in the Sunshine State (Florida) ---
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/22/spitting-armadillos-spread-leprosy-in-florida.html?via=desktop&source=twitter

Jensen Comment
Armadillos leave lots of big holes in the ground when they go after whatever it is that they like to eat. They're hard to poison due to having two stomachs and hard to shoot due to having armor plate and relatively small heads for fast moving targets. If they drown in your pool they will unload so much poop that you don't want them drowning in your pool ever again. I know about that first hand. Sometimes they're served off the grill at redneck BBQ back yard parties, but I would not recommend eating armadillo meat. I must admit that I don't know what the meat tastes like.

They are a somewhat common sight on country roads at night. But if you try pass over them while driving they have a habit of jumping straight up in the air and, thereby, denting the front of your vehicle. That is one way of killing them but is not a recommended way to cut back on the armadillo population. They were here before mankind on earth and will most likely still be here with the cockroaches long after the last man or woman on earth dies.


Mehmet Oz --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehmet_Oz

Dr. Oz made $1.17 million off a hemorrhoid treatment he promoted in his column ---
http://www.vox.com/2015/7/25/9036205/dr-oz-het-hemorrhoid

Jensen Comment
Was it Dr. Oz who said:  "She's got a pimple on her butt she's nice"




A Bit of Humor July 15-28, 2015

Jokes on MAAW --- http://maaw.blogspot.com/2015/07/jokes-on-maaw.html

Humor at Bob Jensen's Website Since 2000 or Before
Go to http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookurl.htm

  1. Select a date span
  2. Search repeatedly on the word "humor"
    Most of the humor that I post is forwarded by grandmothers --- Go Figure!

A Bit of Accountancy Humor Inspired by Enron and Related Scandals ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/fraudEnron.htm#Humor

It's No Laughing Matter: Analyzing Political Cartoons
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/activities/political-cartoon/resources.html


Forwarded by Paula

Something for  everyone to do to keep those "aging" gray cells active!  

1. Johnny's mother had three children. The first child was named April. The second child was named May.

...What was the third child's nam e?
 
2. There is a clerk at the butcher shop, he is five feet ten inches tall and he wears size 13 sneakers

...What does he weigh?
 
3. Before Mt. Everest was discovered,

....
  what was the highest mountain in the world?
 
4. How much dirt is there in a hole

...that measures two feet by three feet by four feet?
 
5. What word in the English language

...is always spelled incorrectly?
 
6. Billy was born on December 28th, yet his birthday is always in the summer.

....How is this possible?

7. In California , you cannot take a picture of a man with a wooden leg.

...Why not?
 
8. What was the President's name
....
  in 1975?
 
9. If you were running a race,
...and you passed the person in 2nd place, what place would you be in now?
 
10. Which is correct to say,
.... 

"The yolk of the egg are white" or "The yolk of the egg is white"?
 
11. If a farmer has 5 haystacks in one field and 4 haystacks in the other field,
...
how many haystacks would he have if he combined them all in another field?  

Here are the Answers

1. Johnny's mother had three children. The first child was named April The second child was named May. What was the third child's name?
 
Answer:  Johnny, of course
 
2. There is a clerk at the butcher shop, he is five feet ten inches tall, and he wears size 13 sneakers. What does he weigh?
 
Answer:  Meat.
 
3. Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world?
 
Answer:  Mt.  Everest; it just wasn't discovered yet. [You're not very good at this are you?]
 
4. How much dirt is there in a hole that measures two feet by three feet by four feet?
 
Answer:  There is no dirt in a hole.
 
5. What word in the English language is always spelled incorrectly?
 
Answer:  Incorrectly

6. Billy was born on December 28th, yet his birthday is always in the summer. How is this possible?
 
Answer:  Billy lives in the Southern Hemisphere

7. In  California , you cannot take a picture of a man with a wooden leg. Why not?
 
Answer:  You can 't take pictures with a wooden leg. You need a camera to take pictures.
 
8. What was the President's name in 1975?
 
Answer: Same as is it now -  Barack Obama [Oh, come on.....]
 
9. If you were running a race, and you passed the person in 2nd place, what place would you be in now?
 
Answer:  You would be in 2nd. Well, you passed the person in second place, not first.
 
10. Which is correct to say, "The yolk of the egg are white" or "The yolk of the egg is white"?
 
Answer:  Neither, the yolk of the egg is yellow [duh!]
 
11. If a farmer has 5 haystacks in one field and 4 haystacks in the other field, how many haystacks would he have if he combined them all in another field?
 
Answer:  One. If he combines all of his haystacks, they all become one big one.  
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IMPOSSIBILITIES IN THE WORLD

1) You can't count your hair.

2) You can't wash your eyes with soap.

3) You can't breathe through your nose when your tongue is out.

Put your tongue back in your mouth, you silly person.

Ten (10) Things I know about you.

1) You are reading this.  

2) You are human.
 

3) You can't say the letter ''P'' without separating your lips.
 

4) You just attempted to do it.
 


6) You are laughing at yourself.
 

7) You have a smile on your face and you skipped No. 5.
 

8) You just checked to see if there is a No. 5.
 

9) You laugh at this because you are a fun loving person and everyone does it too.
 
 

 


Forwarded by Paula

2 TOUGH QUESTIONS

Question 1: If you knew a woman who was pregnant, Who had 8 kids already, Three who were deaf, One mentally retarded, And she had syphilis, Would you recommend that she undergoes an abortion?

Read the next question before looking at the response for this one.

Question 2:

It is time to elect a new world leader, and only your vote counts.. Here are the facts about the three candidates.

Candidate A: Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologists. He's had two mistresses. He also chain smokes And drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.

Candidate B: He was kicked out of office twice, Sleeps until noon, Used opium in college And drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.

Candidate C: He is a decorated war hero, He's a vegetarian, Doesn't smoke, Drinks an occasional beer And never committed adultery.

Which of these candidates would be your choice?

Decide first ... No peeking, and then scroll down for the response.

Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt. Candidate B is Winston Churchill. Candidate C is Adolph Hitler.

And, by the way, on your answer to the abortion question:

If you said YES, you just killed Beethoven.

 

 

 




 




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