Rivals take aim at UPS, FedEx with services focus
http://www.wsj.com/articles/ups-fedex-rivals-take-services-focus-1447788645?mod=djemCFO_h&alg=y
Online purchases of bulky items like furniture are up
sharply, creating opportunities for delivery companies able to provide home
dropoffs with services such as set up, installation and removal of old
goods.
November Readings, by David Giles,
Econometrics Beat, November 15, 2015 ---
http://davegiles.blogspot.com/2015/11/november-reading.html
Somewhat belatedly, here is some suggested reading for this month:
- Al-Sadoon, M. M., 2015. Testing subspace Granger causality. Barcelona GSE Working Paper Series, Working Paper nº 850.
- Droumaguet, M., A. Warne, & T. Wozniak, 2015. Granger causality and regime influence in Bayesian Markov-switching VAR's. Department of Economics, University of Melbourne.
- Foroni, C., P. Guerin, & M. Marcellino, 2015. Using low frequency information for predicting high frequency variables. Working Paper 13/2015, Norges Bank.
- Hastie, T., R. Tibshirani, & J. Friedman, 2009. The Elements of Statistical Learning: Data Mining, Inference, and Prediction (2nd. ed.). Springer, New York. (Legitimate download.)
- Hesterberg, T. C., 2015. What teachers should know about the bootstrap: Resampling in the undergraduate statistics curriculum. American Statistician, in press.
- Quineche. R. & G. Rodríguez, 2015. Data-dependent methods for the lag selection in unit root tests with structural change. Documento de Trabajo No. 404, Departmento de Economía, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.
From the CPA Newsletter on November
19, 2015
US ranks 14th in world for financial literacy
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/
The US ranked 14th in a survey of global
financial literacy that was conducted in more than 140 countries. The
researchers asked multiple-choice questions about topics such as interest
and diversification. Only 57% of Americans received a passing grade. Find
the AICPA's financial education resources at
360financialliteracy.org.
Forbes
(11/18)
Bob Jensen's personal finance helpers
---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob1.htm#InvestmentHelpers
A Guide to College Savings Plans ---
http://www.moneygeek.com/education/college/resources/college-savings-plans-guide/
Bob Jensen's helpers in personal
finance ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob1.htm#InvestmentHelpers
The BBA, unique in
Australia, is specifically designed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
professionals wishing to gain a degree qualification to maximise their career
options.
Applications open for new business degree
for Indigenous students
http://www.uts.edu.au/about/uts-business-school/news/applications-open-new-business-degree-indigenous-students
These are the top 15 European universities if
you want a high-paying job in finance ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/best-paid-universities-for-finance-graduates-2015-11
Jensen Comment
What is even more revealing is how some European countries did not make the
list, including Germany, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway. I think all the
universities that made the ranking are fee-based and not free like the
universities in Germany, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway where the top high
school graduates can go for free tuition.
November 13, 2015 reply from
Martin Persson
Dear Bob,
I grew up in Sweden and attended London School of Economics, which made the
list, before moving to Canada. Tuition has not been free in Sweden for
several years but all students are, just as in the US, offered government
backed student loans. These are subsidized and you qualify even if you
choose to pursue your education elsewhere. The same is true for Denmark and
Norway. As such, a lot of students, such as myself, chose to pursue their
education in the UK or elsewhere.
The reason a lot of students choose to pursue their education in the UK is
not a function of the potential to pay a much higher fee, presumably because
it would give a higher quality education, but because the city of London is
a great place for finance and everyone already speaks English. This is a
less daunting move than one to perhaps Berlin or Barcelona, where one has to
pick up what would be a third or fourth language. I am sure things are
similar here in North America: people do not move to New York City solely
for the purpose of paying more money in tuition. It just so happens that
it's the financial hub.
As a side note, I was given what amounted to almost a full scholarship to
attend LSE and tuition at Oxford and Cambridge is 9,000 GBP per year for any
student from Europe. This is considerable lower than most of its American
counterparts.
I have no interest in engaging in the rather venomous back and forth that
I've seen on this mailing list as of late, so I hope this reaches you in the
spirit intended.
Best wishes,
Martin
--
Martin E. Persson, MSc, PhD, FHEA
Assistant Professor, Managerial Accounting & Control
Ivey Business School at Western University
1255 Western Road
London, Ontario, Canada, N6G 0N1
http://ssrn.com/author=1327162
November 13, 2015 reply from
Zafar Kahn
The report says (emphasis
added):
The survey was based on the
salaries of 700 finance workers in London who graduated after 2011, and
excludes people with MBAs.
Business schools in Paris
and London dominate the rankings, with six institutions in London, and seven
in Paris making the list.
It says all. Drawing
any inferences beyond the study subjects is meaningless. No basis for
trashing free tuition institutions.
November 13, 2015 reply from Bob Jensen
I stand corrected. I should have looked more
closely at the sample.\
Bob
Jensen
November
13, 2015 reply from Bob Jensen
This
set me out thinking about how Europeans rank their universities vis-a-vis
how the USA media (e.g., US News) rank USA universities.
My first Google hit revealed how much more
difficult it must be to rank European universities because of differences
between both education of applicants and whether much of the academic
research is conducted outside the universities.
Consider Germany as a case in point
---
https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/3n2tsj/ranking_of_european_universities_according_to_the/?
In
terms of global rankings I think there's more of a tendency to rank
universities within each nation rather than between nations ---
http://worldtop20.org/global-universities?gclid=CNbfp-qcjskCFZWHaQodV70IbA
In
general, rankings of colleges and universities can be highly misleading. In
Europe these rankings are even more misleading. Globallysuch rankings are
probably total nonsense.
A
few things I've picked up along the way in life include speculations that
cheating is rampant in many of the top universities within some nations.
Exhibit A is Russia. Partying is supposedly rampant in Japanese universities
where students are intently serious before being competitively admitted to
universities. Of course cheating and partying is pretty rampant in other
nations, including the USA.
Universities
vary greatly in terms of quality of programs within a university. For
example, in the USA it used to be the case that some universities with top
engineering programs had pretty weak business schools to catch the students
that flunked out of engineering. This was more the case 50 years ago than
today.
Perhaps
I'm in deep enough trouble already.
Bob
Jensen
August
1, 2013 message from
Liesel XXXXX (I disguised her last name)
Dear Professor Jensen,
My name is Liesel XXXXX and I am an accounting doctoral student at Stockholm
Universtiy in Sweden. However, I am an American from San Antonio, Texas, who
received my BBA and took MPA courses at University of Texas at Austin. I
worked for many years as an auditor and consultant, beginning with Arthur
Andersen in San Antonio and ending up with a regional firm in Madison,
Wisconsin. I then took the leap to Europe to study IFRS, and have learned so
much more. I took a Masters in Accounting at Stockholm School of Economics
and Stockholm University and studied MBA courses at Fudan University in
Shanghai, China.
I will be attending the AAA conference in Anaheim this coming week and was
perusing some of the material, and came upon your delightful website. Thanks
to your website, I have had very little sleep in the past two nights!! It is
such a fun read, that I cannot stop.
It has been a an eye-opening experience to learn accounting in Sweden, and I
am not talking about IFRS. I am talking about the historical differences
between European countries (sans the UK) and the US in regards to business
education, how businesses are structured in regards to financing and
corporate governance. The difference in mentality is quite vast. This brings
me to the reason that I enjoy your site so much.
I would describe my education
in Sweden as being more of a critical, discursive one.
I sometimes struggle with how to "fit" my education and experiences in
Sweden into an American context. For me, the content on your website is very
much a bridge between the American and the Swedish context. You have some
great links that provide a good start in learning about the philosophy of
science and the philosophy of social science. I am concentrating my efforts
on reading historical accounts mainly in the field of economics to aid in my
quest.
I just wanted to thank you for your enlightening and fun website that has
given me guidance in my aim to understand the European discursive methods
with my American education background.
I was a bit disappointed to learn that you are now in New Hampshire, as I am
currently visiting my family in San Antonio. I would have enjoyed meeting
you. But, I am sure that you are enjoying the fantastic summer weather up
there.
Best regards,
Liesel XXXXX
Misleading
Statistics
Top USA Business Schools That Are the Hardest to Get Into
http://www.business2community.com/us-news/the-top-25-hardest-business-schools-to-get-into-rankings-01377924
Jensen
Comment
Any rankings of schools based on acceptance rates among applicants are
misleading without more detailed comparisons of
applicants.
For
example, one obvious consideration is the pool of applicants between a very
expensive program (Stanford) and an inexpensive program (Arizona State
University). In fact the above article is now out of date since there is no data
yet about the impact of the MBA program at Arizona State becoming tuition free.
I suspect that ASU in the future will become the hardest MBA program in the
world to get into based on its acceptance rate.
There are other barriers to application that affect pools of applicants. One is
living costs. Subsidized housing costs (such as affordable apartments for
candidate families) may be limited, especially in some of the most expensive
business programs and most expensive outside housing such as those business
programs like Columbia, NYU, SMU, Harvard, Babson, Bently, Stanford,
Chicago, etc.
Other
barriers to application can be the spousal job market. Some business candidates
will depend upon spousal income while in the business program. In some locales
the job market is very good for most any spouse such as the job markets in New
York City, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Seattle, Phoenix, and Silicon Valley. The
spousal job market is not so great in Hanover, Ithaca, Iowa City, East Lansing,
Lincoln, etc.
Other barriers to application are the job markets for business graduates. Some
applicants will beg, borrow, and steal enormous amounts to get into the business
programs like those of Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, Wharton, and Dartmouth having
very high average salaries of business graduates. These top prospects may not
even apply to business programs where the average salaries for business
graduates are significantly lower.
My
point is that acceptance rate statistics based upon pools of applicants are
misleading if those pools of applicants themselves differ greatly between
programs.
Make Your Own College Rankings ---
http://chronicle.com/article/Make-Your-Own-College-Rankings/151473/?cid=inline-promo
Bob Jensen's threads on ranking
controversies in general are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies.htm#BusinessSchoolRankings
In Accounting We Call it EIEO ---
Everything In, Everything Out
"Cranking Out Credentials — but What
About Quality?" by Katherine Mangan, Chronicle of Higher Education,
November 17, 2015 ---
http://chronicle.com/article/Cranking-Out-Credentials-/234228?cid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en&elq=e04cc3e81c37409fa69422fd0133d152&elqCampaignId=1874&elqaid=6943&elqat=1&elqTrackId=befc899056144718b79a868368dc3c88
Jensen Comment
Exhibit A is comprised of all graduate programs that only give A or B grades to
any student who makes an effort --- some B grades go to students who make an
effort but would not have a chance in a competency-based examination. For
example, increasingly law schools are now both admitting and graduating a large
number of students who do not have a chance of passing the BAR examination. Many
accounting graduates are afraid to even take the CPA examination. California's
Two-Year Colleges now want to fire their accreditor and bring in an easier
accrediting agency.
The EIEO phenomenon is linked to grade
inflation and the power students now have over teacher performance ratings ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/assess.htm#RateMyProfessor
Grade Inflation: Taking a RateMyProfessors.com (RMP)
Hit for Tough Grading
The national competition below has nothing whatsoever to do with RMP
"4 Professors of the Year Are Honored for Excellence in Teaching and Service,"
by Kate Stoltzfus, Chronicle of Higher Education, November 19, 2015 ---
http://chronicle.com/article/4-Professors-of-the-Year-Are/234266?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elq=9bb456361c274fdc9ab06414d3c75bda&elqCampaignId=1887&elqaid=6955&elqat=1&elqTrackId=82fc8b62b32d40a9ba12a04e24126998
Most
professors hope to have an impact on their students, but their work usually
takes place behind classroom doors. For the national recipients of the
2015 U.S.
Professor of the Year Awards, their influence on
their campuses is now rippling outward.
. . .
Community Colleges
Amina El-Ashmawy, a professor of chemistry at Collin
College, in Texas
When the cost of textbooks spiked, Ms. El-Ashmawy decided to
write her own curriculum with colleagues at Collin College
so that every student could get access to the materials for
her chemistry lab. She has served on American Chemical
Society exam committees and has collected data to improve
the college’s approaches to learning. Because chemistry can
be abstract, Ms. El-Ashmawy uses everyday examples to make
science relevant and wants students to feel free to make
mistakes as they learn. She says that, after she graduated,
the pay in laboratory work was "enticing," but such work
"didn’t excite me the way teaching did."
Continued in article
Jensen Comment
This is a grade inflation era when most professors across the USA, trembling in
fear of student evaluations that affect their tenure and performance
evaluations, are good teachers with one flaw --- they've become easy graders and
thus caused the grade inflation in virtually all colleges and universities ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/assess.htm#RateMyProfessor
Each year I look up the four Professor of the Year winners on
RateMyProfessors.com for insights into what makes them award-winning Professors
of the Year in a national competition that has nothing to do with
RateMyProfessors.com
And yes I am aware of all the possibly misleading results on RateMyProfessor.com.
Firstly the sample sizes are relatively small and respondents are
self-selecting. But I study RMP a lot since it is entertaining and well as
informative. What I find is that contrary to popular opinion great numbers of
respondents praise rather than lambaste their teachers. I don't pay much
attention to the rating numbers, but I do like to read the subjective comments
of students. Often they are quite insightful about teaching.
Virtually all the time these four
award-winning professors also rate high on RateMyProfessors.com for outstanding
reasons of caring for students, dedication to teaching, and teaching quality.
But the sad news is that nearly always they also are rated as "Easy" teachers in
terms of grading.
A noteworthy exception is the 2015
Award Winning Professor El-Ashmawy cited above who is apparently a hard grader
willing to take a hit on her teaching evaluations ---
http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=225916
Some of the 70 RMP respondents describe
her as an incredible teacher. I suspect there would be many more who would have
done so if her median grades were A- in every course.
Professor El-Ashmawy should also
receive the Courage of the Year Award if there was such an award. I am really,
really glad that she received a coveted national 2015 Professors of the Year
Award without selling her soul out to grade inflation pressures.
Bravo!
I might also note that she teaches
online as well as onsite and must work night and day to perfect her craft.
RateMyProfessors.com ---
http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/
"Professors Read Mean Student Evaluations," by Paul Caron, TaxProf
Blog, June 28, 2014 ---
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2014/06/professors-read-.html
"Lower Education," by Michael Morris, Inside Higher
Ed, September 9, 2011 ---
Click Here
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2011/09/09/morris_essay_on_faculty_responsibility_for_decline_in_college_student_standards
"When Students Rate Teachers,
Standards Drop Why do colleges tie academic careers to winning the approval of
teenagers? Something is seriously amiss," by Lyell Asher, The Wall Street
Journal, October 27, 2013 ---
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304176904579115971990673400?mod=djemEditorialPage_h
"Why We Inflate Grades," by Peter Eubanks, Inside
Higher Ed, August 9, 2011 ---
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2011/08/09/essay_on_why_faculty_members_participate_in_grade_inflation
Grade distribution by course and section at UW-Madison (since 2004)---
http://www.metafilter.com/110462/Grade-distribution-by-course-and-section-at-UWMadison
"Most Frequently Awarded Grade at Harvard: A," Inside
Higher Ed, December 4, 2013 ---
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/12/04/most-frequently-awarded-grade-harvard
Mode = A
Median = A-
In the 1940s both the mode and the median grade was C (the historic average
performance grade).
Jensen Comment
It would be sad if it was just the Ivy League that gave out such high median
grades. But these days high grades are given out in virtually all USA
colleges and universities ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/assess.htm#RateMyProfessor
Look at the data tables and charts
Diploma Mill Fraud
EDMC is the nation's
second-largest for-profit college system and the parent company of four higher
education systems: Argosy University, The Art Institutes, Brown Mackie College,
and South University. It was acquired by Goldman Sachs in 2006, which retains
40% ownership in the company today.
"College accused of being a 'high-pressure
recruitment mill' agrees to a record $95.5 million settlement," by Abby
Jackson, Business Insider, November 16, 2015 ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/for-profit-college-edmc-settled-civil-lawsuit-for-955-million-2015-11
Jensen Comment
For-profit universities tend to have no admission standards.
The good news is that any student who can pay
the tuition has a chance, especially online alternatives for degrees.
The bad news is that for-profit universities
have had a race for the bottom in recruiting students who have little aptitude
for higher education, little time to devote to learning (e.g. a parent with
three pre-school toddlers), and an low prospects of ever completing a program.
The bad news with the political plans for free
undergraduate education for every student in the USA is that the non-profit
colleges and universities may commence a scramble for government-paid tuition is
that hey may commence a race for the bottom in recruiting students who have
little aptitude for higher education, little time to devote to learning (e.g. a
parent with three pre-school toddlers), and an low prospects of ever completing
a program.
Bob Jensen's Fraud Updates ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudUpdates.htm
"Louisiana’s School Voucher Victory: A sordid Justice
Department lawsuit gets a judicial rebuke," The Wall Street Journal,
November 20, 2015 ---
http://www.wsj.com/articles/louisianas-school-voucher-victory-1448061539?mod=djemMER
Bobby Jindal made a name for himself in
the GOP by championing school choice. Upstaged by new candidates on the
block, the Louisiana Governor this week dropped out of the Republican
presidential race. But at least the education reformer can take heart that
his private-school voucher legacy has finally been protected.
Last week a 2-1 majority of the Fifth
Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a district court ruling that granted the
Justice Department pre-clearance review of Louisiana vouchers. The
“burdensome, costly, and endless” process imposed “a vast and intrusive
reporting regime on the State without any finding of unconstitutional
conduct,” wrote appellate Judge Edith Jones for the majority.
The rebuke punctuates a sordid, two-year
case in which the Obama Administration sought to deny poor, black kids
better educational opportunities under the pretext of promoting integration.
In August 2013 Justice sued to block Louisiana’s vouchers, which the
Administration claimed appeared “to impede the desegregation progress” of
public schools under federal desegregation orders dating to the 1960s and
’70s.
Only students who come from families below
250% of the poverty and attend schools with a C or lower grade are eligible
for the vouchers. In 2013 black students received 85% of 6,800 vouchers
awarded. But Justice complained that black voucher recipients might leave
their failing public schools more white.
According to a study by Boston University
political scientist Christine Rossell—who has analyzed desegregation plans
for more than 25 years—Louisiana vouchers “had no negative effect on school
desegregation in the 34 school districts under a desegregation court order.”
Justice produced no evidence to the contrary.
Switching tactics, Justice in November
2013 asked the court to allow federal oversight of Louisiana’s vouchers
under a 1975 desegregation order that banned public funding of
discriminatory private schools. Justice demanded that the state, prior to
issuing vouchers, hand over racial data for each public school as well as
applicants’ names, addresses, race, previous public school and private
school preference.
In April 2014, federal Judge Ivan Lemelle
imposed a tortuous federal pre-clearance review that allowed Justice to veto
voucher awards. Parents of voucher recipients and the Louisiana Black
Alliance for Educational Options petitioned to intervene in the case. They
argued that the feds didn’t have jurisdiction over a private school voucher
program.
The Fifth Circuit agreed. As Judge Jones
explains, Justice can’t compel disclosure of state records without alleging
illegal public aid of discriminatory private schools, which it didn’t. “DOJ
admits that [its] position amounts to a fishing expedition,” writes Judge
Jones, and an “attempt—through pre-award ‘back and forth’ with the state on
every single voucher—to regulate the program without any legal judgment
against the state.” Justice’s argument “represents more than ineffective
lawyering.”
The Administration’s dubious prosecution
of vouchers in Louisiana reflects its willingness to throw poor kids under
the bus to curry favor with the teachers’ unions. Unlike President Obama,
Mr. Jindal will leave office on the right side of history.
Question
Why did we love Goofy more than Mickey?
George Lucas Says Jar Jar Binks Was
Based on Goofy, Ahyuck ---
http://time.com/4119022/george-lucas-revealed-favorite-star-wars-character-jar-jar-binks/?xid=newsletter-brief
"Business or pleasure? Course and scope of
employment while on a business trip," by Sua Sponte, A Dallas Appellate
Blog, November 5, 2015 ---
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=434a9d29-9e57-4e1d-b32d-16d0e1fc30f9
Thank you Scott Bonacker for the heads up.
Jensen Comment
This is an interesting case that makes what seems to be a sensible extrapolation
of the contractual terms of the insurance contract. It would have been better,
however, to have this circumstance and other circumstances spelled out more
explicitly in the contract, but when it comes to writing contracts it's usually
impossible to spell out all possible circumstances.
Does this particular insurance contract in
effect force the out-of-town employee to sacrifice most normal pleasures of
leisure time relative to pleasures enjoyed when at home? For example, must the
employee stay in the hotel room during all leisure time while on a business
trip? If he's shot as an innocent bystander in a hold up while having a cocktail
in the hotel's bar should he be denied coverage?
If the employer sends an employee to a high risk
location, such as a border town in Israel, and the employee is murdered coming
home in the evening from a synagogue should he be denied coverage since he left
his hotel for personal reasons? Remember that where his employer sent him
greatly increased his personal risk in going to and from a place of worship
relative his home synagogue in Bethlehem, New Hampshire.
It may well be that an suitable insurance
contract in such circumstances has to 12,437 pages long in small fonts.
"Woman claims right to reside in pricey Piper Glen home,"
by Michael Gordon, Charlotte Observer, November 12, 2015 ---
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article44522178.html
Moorish Nation, whose members make it their
business to assume ownership of vacant luxury homes without paying a dime,
appears to have established an outpost in one of Charlotte’s finest
neighborhoods.
Read more here:
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article44522178.html#storylink=cpy
Bikers Bring Justice in Lieu of Helpless Police
"Squatters Trash Home of Deployed Soldier, so Bikers Show Up & Bring KARMA,"
buzpo.com, November 12, 2015 ---
http://buzzpo.com/squatters-trash-home-of-deployed-soldier-so-bikers-show-up-bring-karma/?utm_content=buffer302ab&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=positivelyrepublican
Army Spc. Michael Sharkey was stationed in Hawaii
when he learned that a pair of ex-cons had broken into his New Port Richey,
Florida, home and claimed it as their own.
By the time Sharkey was able to return home, Julio
Ortiz and Fatima Cardosa had already changed all of the locks and
established residency with his address.
“They are criminals,” the soldier told local news
affiliate WFLA. “I am serving my country, and they have more rights to my
home than I do.”
Legally, there was nothing Skarkey could do.
But bikers don’t always care as much about the law
as they do vigilante justice.
When police claimed they could not kick Ortiz and
Cardosa out because they had established residency, a local biker gang of
military veterans stepped in to “peacefully make the squatters
uncomfortable.”
Continued in article
Jensen Comment
Maybe we need more bikers. In some cases the owners across the USA are simply on
vacation when their houses are taken over by thugs. Occupiers are encouraged by
promises that if they remain nonviolent and eventually go to prison they will
quickly be released. Meanwhile for months they've enjoyed luxury housing and
other people's personal belongings for free.
Distracted, misbehaving children (including college students)
aren’t learning ---
Eva Moskowitz ---
http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-students-need-to-sit-up-and-pay-attention-1447373122?mod=djemMER
"University
of Minnesota Rejects 9/11 Remembrance Because it Might Incite Racism," by
Christine Rousselle, Townhall, November 12, 2015
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/christinerousselle/2015/11/12/university-of-minnesota-rejects-911-remembrance-because-it-might-incite-racism-n2079788?utm_source=thdailypm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl_pm&newsletterad=
Here's
another instance of political correctness on a
college campus going a smidge too far, courtesy of the University of
Minnesota-Twin Cities: A proposed resolution to
recognize the 9/11
terrorist attacks on campus each year was rejected by the Minnesota Student
Association as it may potentially violate a "safe space" on campus.
Continued in article
"The right to fright;
An obsession with safe spaces is not just bad for education: it also diminishes
worthwhile campus protests," The Economist, November 14, 2015 ---
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21678223-obsession-safe-spaces-not-just-bad-education-it-also-diminishes-worthwhile-campus?cid1=cust/ednew/n/bl/n/20151112n/owned/n/n/nwl/n/n/NA/n
. . .
Like many bad ideas, the notion of safe spaces at
universities has its roots in a good one. Gay people once used the term to
refer to bars and clubs where they could gather without fear, at a time when
many states still had laws against sodomy.
In the worst cases, though, an idea that began by
denoting a place where people could assemble without being prosecuted has
been reinvented by students to serve as a justification for shutting out
ideas. At Colorado College, safety has been invoked by a student group to
prevent the screening of a film celebrating the Stonewall riots which
downplays the role of minorities in the gay-rights movement. The same
reasoning has led some students to request warnings before colleges expose
them to literature that deals with racism and violence. People as different
as Condoleezza Rice, a former secretary of state, and Bill Maher, a
satirist, have been dissuaded from giving speeches on campuses, sometimes on
grounds of safety.
What makes this so objectionable is that there are
plenty of things on American campuses that really do warrant censure from
the university. Administrators at the University of Oklahoma managed not to
notice that one of its fraternities, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, had cheerily sung
a song about hanging black people from a tree for years, until a video of
them doing so appeared on the internet. At the University of Missouri, whose
president resigned on November 9th, administrators did a poor job of
responding to complaints of unacceptable behaviour on campus—which included
the scattering of balls of cotton about the place, as a put-down to black
students, and the smearing of faeces in the shape of a swastika in a
bathroom.
Distinguishing between this sort of thing and
obnoxious Halloween costumes ought not to be a difficult task. But by
equating smaller ills with bigger ones, students and universities have made
it harder, and diminished worthwhile protests in the process. The University
of Missouri episode shows how damaging this confusion can be: some activists
tried to prevent the college’s own newspaper from covering their
demonstration, claiming that to do so would have endangered their safe
space, thereby rendering a reasonable protest absurd.
Fifty years ago student radicals agitated for
academic freedom and the right to engage in political activities on campus.
Now some of their successors are campaigning for censorship and increased
policing by universities of student activities. The supporters of these
ideas on campus are usually described as radicals. They are, in fact, the
opposite.
Jensen Comment
And that is an illustration of how campus leaders are becoming gutless in
protecting free speech that is not politically correct. The worst thing is the
power that a single crazy has in turning the campus upside down. Students gather
for protests when a crazy, possibly not even a student, throws a noose the the
lawn or a redneck pickup drives through campus late at night showing a
Confederate Flag. The football coach, following a secret ballot vote among
players, who can and cannot be the next politically correct President of the
University of Missouri.
"Enter the Real Power of College Sports," by Thabiti Lewis, The
Chronicle of Higher Education, November 11, 2015 ---
http://chronicle.com/article/Enter-the-Real-Power-of/234166?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elq=cd4be9689b50447e8764a07472663aa3&elqCampaignId=1822&elqaid=6865&elqat=1&elqTrackId=ed1415809ac44e9caecede860b4f91ea
. . .
These
courageous young athletes deserve applause for taking an
enormous chance. Like the Northwestern University football
team, which demanded to be unionized, the Missouri players
are using their power as college athletes to bring attention
to injustice in the world.
Perhaps the
Missouri basketball team will apply pressure to help get the
list of demands met. Or maybe during the college-football
playoff or bowl games, or the NCAA basketball tournament in
March, players from other teams will protest by sitting on
the bench or refusing to play.
The
NCAA’s president, Mark Emmert, likes to remind us that these
players are "student-athletes" and therefore undeserving of
pay Maybe athletes in football and basketball will decide to
leverage the moment for a bigger piece of the financial pie.
Perhaps Clemson University’s football players will follow
Missouri’s lead and strike to get their president, Jim
Clements, to respond to the
list of grievances that a student
group, the Coalition of Concerned Students, gave him in
January to deal with a pattern of social injustice.
Regardless
of what happens next, my hope is that this is only the
beginning. For now, the Missouri players have shown us the
power of sport in American culture. Their stand reminds us
of what we learned during the Montgomery bus boycott: Those
who control systems of power have a different meter of
morality when it comes to money than when it comes to
people.
Jensen Comment
My reply is published at the end of the above article. Since NCAA Division 1
teams will soon be hiring professional athletes with little interest or aptitude
for academics I'm all in favor of either changing Division 1 universities to
Divisions 2 or 3 as a way of resisting becoming pro team corporations. Also
football should probably be dropped entirely given the lawsuit risk that is now
costing the NFL tens of billions. Do our universities want to continue this
lawsuit risk.
The average federal employee earned $84,153 in 2014—roughly
50% more than the average worker in the private economy
How to Mislead With Statistics
From a Wall Street Journal newsletter on November 20, 2015
Mac
Zimmerman cites a Cato Institute report
showing that “the average federal employee earned
$84,153 in 2014—roughly 50% more than the average worker in the private
economy. When you include benefits like health care and pensions —
nearly 80% higher than
everyone else.”
The Editorial ---
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-sweet-gig-of-being-a-bureaucrat-1447978181?mod=djemMER&alg=y
Jensen Comment
Comparisons like this should contrast differences in public sector versus
private sector distributions of income. Relative to the public sector the
private sector has a much larger standard deviation in a distribution that is
not at all normal (think of the millions of minimum wage workers in contrast to
a much smaller number of overpaid corporate executives). The public sector
nearly always pays more than minimum wage but even the USA President Obama's
salary is paltry compared to the highly paid corporate CEOs with all sorts of
side deals like bonus plans and stock options.
In comparison to the public sector, many private sector
employees are on potentially lucrative pay-for-performance plans such as
performance commissions and bonuses. And there are usually more overtime
opportunities in the public sector.
Anecdotally, most graduates from accounting masters degree
programs are seeking to pass the CPA examination and make a career in the
private sector. There must be a reason. A few might seek to become glamorous
pistol-packing FBI agents but most of the relatively small number of graduates
looking for public sector jobs (like joining the IRS as a staff accountant) do
so because they were passed over by the private sector. Many of those in
the public sector like those who become IRS agents are seeking opportunities to
break into higher paying jobs in the private sector.
A huge lure of the private sector is the possibility (however
remote) of rising to compensation levels well above opportunities for
above-average compensation in the public sector.
Major IRS Policy Change
"Tax ID theft victims may obtain copies of fraudulent returns," by Paul
Bonner, Journal of Accountancy, November 12, 2015 ---
http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2015/nov/tax-id-theft-victims-may-obtain-bogus-returns-201513385.html#sthash.Sp4xnRjI.dpuf
The IRS posted
instructions on its website for taxpayers or their
CPA or other authorized representative to obtain copies of returns filed by
thieves using the taxpayers’ stolen identification. The new procedures
represent a change of policy for the Service, which previously had refused
to release fraudulent returns due to privacy concerns. Acknowledging that
taxpayers victimized by stolen identification tax refund fraud may have a
compelling concern to determine just what information about them was stolen
and how it was used, the IRS said it will provide copies of fraudulent
returns for the current tax year and up to six previous tax years. However,
requests for the returns must meet strict requirements, and certain
information will be redacted from the copies provided. Also, the IRS must
have resolved the underlying identity theft case before it will provide a
copy of any affected return. For now, only individual returns in the 1040
series may be requested. -
See more at:
http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2015/nov/tax-id-theft-victims-may-obtain-bogus-returns-201513385.html#sthash.Sp4xnRjI.dpuf
Instructions ---
https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Instructions-for-Requesting-Copy-of-Fraudulent-Returns
"The Amazing Science Behind Pets That Find
Their Way Home," by Jeffrey Kluger, Time Magazine, November 9, 2015
---
http://time.com/4104980/animal-navigation-pets/?xid=newsletter-brief
. . .
Mammals—and particularly two
of the species of mammals that humans love best: dogs and cats—have a range
of ways to get around. Dogs, no surprise, are very big on scent, and that
can take them a very long way.
“An eleven-mile distance is
actually not terribly long for a dog,” says Bonnie Beaver, the executive
director of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists and a professor
at Texas A&M University. “If the dog had walked both from and back to his
home he’d be following his own scent trail.” In this case, the dog was
instead probably following an equally compelling smell: that of its owner, a
type of navigation that is entirely possible over long distances as long as
the wind is right.
Dogs extend their scent
range by moving among overlapping circles of familiar scents—much the way
cell phone coverage relies on interconnected footprints from different cell
towers. A dog that wanders out of its own immediate range might pick up the
scent of, say, a familiar dog in the next circle. That might point it to a
circle that contains a familiar person or tree or restaurant trash can, and
so on.
Cats, like other animals,
might rely more on magnetic fields—a faculty that could turn out to be quite
common in mammals. “There are some studies that show that the ears of most
mammals contain iron,” Beaver says. “That may cue them into the magnetic
direction in the ground. There’s work showing that cattle, deer and voles
tend to orient in a north-south direction.”
The overall temperament of
an animal—or, more broadly, of the species—can play a role in navigation
too. A dog that travels a great distance to get home is likely trying to
return to its owner, since the dog-human bond is a powerful one. A cat that
travels the same distance is—sorry cat owners—probably just tying to return
to its territory.
No matter how well animals
navigate, scientists caution against an observation bias that may make them
seem better than they are. A dog or cat that finds its way halfway across
the state makes news; the uncounted others that stay lost do not. What’s
more, some cases of remarkable returns may turn out to be matters of
mistaken identity, unless there’s a positive way to identify an animal like
an implanted microchip that some owners use along with a collar.
Continued in article
Jensen Comment
When I lived on an acreage north of Tallahassee I had two horses for my children
who rarely rode them. But I rode them regularly on a complex set of trails in
the 100,000 acres if forest across the road that extended all the way into
Georgia. I marked a maze of trails so I could find my way home, but I doubt that
my horses could comprehend my markings on the trees. And yet from deep in the
woods each horse could inevitably find it's way back home without my guidance.
When I was a kid in Iowa we had several teams of
draft horses. It was slow and boring to take a grain wagon all the way into town
(usually Ringsted) behind plodding horses. However, once the grain was unloaded
in town we could tie the reins to the wagon, slap the horses on the butt, and
let them take the empty wagon back to the farm. It was usually fun to wait
around town until I could hitch a ride in a car headed somewhere near the farm
---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/max01.htm
From the Scout Report on
November 20, 2015
Momentum:
Personal Dashboard ---
https://momentumdash.com/
Momentum, a
free Chrome browser extension, wins excellent reviews on several counts.
First, it is simply nice to look at. Once downloaded, a personalized
dashboard will open every time you use Chrome to check your email or read
the news, featuring a beautiful landscape image from Iceland, Spain, or some
other locale. Reviewers also like the inspirational quotes ("What is your
main focus today?" or "Be awesome.") that greet users. Finally, the
easy-to-use to-do list that automatically appears on the screen helps keep
users on track and doing what they most want to be doing with their computer
time.
NeedToMeet
---
http://www.needtomeet.com/
Scheduling
meetings - whether for work, for volunteer activities, for sports, or for
just about any other occasion - can be laughably difficult in today's hyper
busy world. That's where NeedToMeet, a handy online app, comes in. Using the
calendar is easy. Simply enter your available times and then share the
invite with guests who may then mark the times they, too, are available. A
single glance shows you when everyone is available so you can easily
schedule the meeting, avoiding the incessant loops of emailing back and
forth.
The Coca-Cola Bottle Turns 100
See the Original Coke Bottle Patent Granted 100 Years Ago
http://time.com/4105134/coke-bottle/
The Classic Coca-Cola Bottle Turns 100 Today
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/classic-coca-cola-bottle-turns-100-today-180957291/?no-ist
Why We Took Cocaine Out of Soda
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/01/why-we-took-cocaine-out-of-soda/272694/
Watch 128 Years of Coca-Cola's History in 2 Minutes
http://www.fastcompany.com/3035762/watch-128-years-of-coca-colas-history-in-2-minutes
The Coca Cola Bottle
http://www.high.org/Art/Exhibitions/The-Coca-Cola-Bottle.aspx
Soda & Mineral Water Bottles
http://www.sha.org/bottle/soda.htm
Free online textbooks, cases, and tutorials in accounting, finance,
economics, and statistics ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm#Textbooks
Education Tutorials
Resources Toolkit for New Teachers ---
http://www.edutopia.org/article/new-teacher-resources-toolkit
Discovery Education: Introduction
to Bacteria ---
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/introduction-to-bacteria.cfm
Bob Jensen's threads on general education tutorials are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#EducationResearch
Philadelphia Museum of Art: Teacher
Resources
http://www.philamuseum.org/teacherresources
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
PhilSci-Archive (philosophy of science history) ---
http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/
Michio Kaku & Brian Green Explain String Theory
in a Nutshell: Elegant Explanations of an Elegant Theory ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/11/michio-kaku-brian-green-explain-string-theory-in-nutshell.html
Note that there are two videos that are more of an introduction to string theory
than an explanation of it that us novices probably would not understand anyway.
Discovery Education: Introduction
to Bacteria ---
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/introduction-to-bacteria.cfm
Galaxies: The Glory of Spirals
---
http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2015/11/19/galaxies_two_photos_of_nearby_spirals.html
Scientists observe the birth of a baby
planet for the first time ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-observe-the-birth-of-a-baby-planet-for-the-first-time-2015-11
Architecture: Check out 22
Bishopsgate — a new London skyscraper that wants to be 'the City’s first
vertical village' ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/londons-new-skyscraper-22-bishopsgate-2015-11?r=UK&IR=T
Mars Science Laboratory ---
http://mars.nasa.gov/msl/
The Mars Society ---
http://www.marssociety.org
STEM Lesson Plans: Mars Education ---
https://marsed.mars.asu.edu/stem-lesson-plans
NOVA: Can We Make It to Mars? ---
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/space/can-we-make-it-to-mars.html
ChemCam on Mar ---s
http://www.msl-chemcam.com/
Seven Minutes of Terror: The Challenges of
Getting to Mars ---
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki_Af_o9Q9s
Open Culture: Aelita: Queen of Mars ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/06/watch-the-first-russian-science-fiction-film-aelita-queen-of-mars-1924.html
Science Fiction Encyclopedia: Mars ---
http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/mars
Histropedia: Mars in Fiction ---
http://histropedia.com/timeline/jjqqtpg9bg0t/Mars-in-fiction
100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books set on or
about Mars ---
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/302.100_Science_Fiction_and_Fantasy_Books_set_on_or_about_Mars
NPR: How 'The Martian' Became A Science Love
Story ---
http://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2015/09/30/444446982/how-the-martian-became-a-science-love-story
Radio Station's 'Attack By Mars' Panics
Thousands ---
https://archive.org/details/1938-10-31_Attack_By_Mars_Panics_Thousands
Gods, Heroes, and Monsters Curriculum
http://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources/curricula/mythology/index.html
Mars: Adrift on the Hourglass Sea ---
http://www.thehourglasssea.com
UCI Exploring the Cosmos: Lecture 19: The
Martian Canals Controversy
http://faculty.humanities.uci.edu/bjbecker/ExploringtheCosmos/lecture19.html
The Poetry Foundation: Tracy K. Smith ---
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/tracy-k-smith#poet
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
The 13 women who transformed the world of
economics ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/women-who-transformed-the-world-of-economics-2015-11?r=UK&IR=T
Video: The Psych Show ---
https://www.youtube.com/user/thepsychshowdotcom
United Nations Environment Programme
--- http://www.unep.org
Bob Jensen's threads on Economics, Anthropology, Social Sciences, and
Philosophy 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
Law and Legal Studies
Bob Jensen's threads on law and legal studies are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm
Math Tutorials
Bob Jensen's threads on free online mathematics 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
History Tutorials
An Interactive Timeline Covering 14
Billion Years of History: From The Big Bang to 2015 ---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/11/an-interactive-timeline-covering-14-billion-years-of-history-from-the-big-bang-to-2015.html
The 13 women who transformed the world of
economics ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/women-who-transformed-the-world-of-economics-2015-11?r=UK&IR=T
PhilSci-Archive (philosophy of science history) ---
http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/
Philadelphia Museum of Art: Teacher
Resources
http://www.philamuseum.org/teacherresources
The Poetry Foundation: Tracy K. Smith ---
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/tracy-k-smith#poet
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
Beautiful, Color Photographs of Paris
Taken 100 Years Ago—at the Beginning of World War I & the End of La Belle Époque
---
http://www.openculture.com/2015/11/beautiful-color-photographs-of-paris-taken-100-years-ago.html
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
The Aaron Copland Centennial: NPR
Archives ---
http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/copland/archives.html
From the Top (Classical Musicians) ---
http://www.fromthetop.org/
Bob Jensen's threads on free music tutorials are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm
Bob Jensen's threads on music performances ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/music.htm
Writing Tutorials
Bob Jensen's helpers for writers are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob3.htm#Dictionaries
Bob Jensen's threads on medicine ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2-Part2.htm#Medicine
Updates from WebMD ---
http://www.webmd.com/
November 13, 2015
November 14, 2015
November 16, 2015
November 17, 2015
November 19, 2015
November 23, 2015
Video: The Psych Show ---
https://www.youtube.com/user/thepsychshowdotcom
Time: Health Blog ---
http://time.com/health/
While we're waiting for World War III
here are some things that might give you comfort ---
Nine at-home remedies that actually work ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/at-home-remedies-that-actually-work-2015-11
Humor November 13-23, 2015
From the Harvard Business Review
Strategic Humor: Cartoons from the December 2015 Issue ---
https://hbr.org/2015/11/strategic-humor-cartoons-from-the-december-2015-issue
The 10 funniest 'Dilbert' comic strips about
idiot bosses ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/dilbert-comics-on-bosses-2015-10
'Calvin and Hobbes' just turned 30 —
here's the history of the strip and its mysterious creator Bill Watterson ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/calvin-and-hobbes-just-turned-30-heres-the-history-of-the-strip-and-its-mysterious-creator-bill-watterson-2015-11
"Stealing is punishable by the law,"
the sign reads. "If you are caught stealing the bathroom tissue from dispenser,
you will be barred permanently from all New York Public Libraries."
http://lisnews.org/attention_library_toilet_paper_thieves_youve_been_warned
Unless you're visiting from Venezuela --- then God Bless You!
Jensen's Advice --- Bring your own from the hotel
21 Badly Placed Advertisements
---
http://www.lifedaily.com/21-badly-placed-adverts-guaranteed-to-make-you-chuckle/#utm_medium=referral&utm_source=yahoo&utm_campaign=YH-BadAdvert
A computer made up stories about these
13 photos and the results are hilarious ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/robot-wrote-hilarious-love-stories-about-internet-images-2015-11
I don't think this writer is ready for the big time.
Forwarded by Paula
The Irish Furniture Dealer
Murphy, a furniture dealer from Dublin,
decided to expand the line of furniture in his store, so he decided to go to
Paris to see what he could find.
After arriving in the ‘City of Lights’,
he visited with some manufacturers and selected a line that he thought would
sell well back home.
To celebrate the new acquisition, he
decided to visit a small bistro and have himself a nice glass of wine. As he sat
enjoying his drink, he noticed that the small place was actually quite crowded
and that the other chair at his table was the only vacant seat in the house.
Before long a very attractive young
Parisienne walked up to his table and asked him something in French. Murphy did
not understand a word, but anyway pointed to the vacant chair and invited her to
sit down. He tried to communicate with her in English, but she did not speak his
language. After a couple of hapless minutes, he took a napkin and drew a picture
of a wine glass and showed it to her. She nodded, so he ordered some wine for
her. After sitting together at the table for a while, he took another napkin,
and drew a picture of a plate with food on it and she nodded once again.
They left the bistro and found a quiet
cafe that featured a trio playing romantic music. They ordered dinner, after
which he took another napkin and drew a picture of a couple dancing. She nodded,
and they got up to dance They danced until the cafe closed and the band was
packing up.
Back at their table, the woman, with a
sensual smile on her lips took a napkin and drew a picture of a four-poster bed.
To this day, Murphy has no idea how she figured out he was in the furniture
business.
Humor
October 1-31, 2015
---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q4.htm#Humor103115
Humor September 1-30, 2015
---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q3.htm#Humor093015
Humor August 1-31, 2015
---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q3.htm#Humor081115
Humor July 1-31, 2015
---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q3.htm#Humor073115
Humor June 1-30, 2015
---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q2.htm#Humor043015
Humor May 1-31, 2015
---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q2.htm#Humor043015
Humor April 1-30, 2015
---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q2.htm#Humor043015
Humor March 1-31, 2015
---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q1.htm#Humor033115
Humor February 1-28, 2015
---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q1.htm#Humor022815
Humor January 1-31, 2015
---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q1.htm#Humor013115
Humor December 1-31, 2014
---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book14q4.htm#Humor123114
Humor November 1-30, 2014
---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book14q4.htm#Humor113014
Humor October 1-31, 2014
---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book14q4.htm#Humor103114
Humor September 1-30, 2014
---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book14q3.htm#Humor093014
Humor August 1-31, 2014
---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book14q3.htm#Humor083114
Humor July 1-31, 2014---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book14q3.htm#Humor073114
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
-
With a Rejoinder from the 2010 Senior Editor of The Accounting Review
(TAR), Steven J. Kachelmeier
- With Replies in Appendix 4 to Professor Kachemeier by Professors
Jagdish Gangolly and Paul Williams
- With Added Conjectures in Appendix 1 as to Why the Profession of
Accountancy Ignores TAR
- With Suggestions in Appendix 2 for Incorporating Accounting Research
into Undergraduate Accounting Courses
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