Tidbits on December 30, 2016
Bob Jensen
at
Trinity University
Holiday Memories in 2016
http://cs.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/ErikaBob/Holidays/XMAS01/HolidayMemories2016.htm
Tidbits on December 30, 2016
Scroll Down This Page
Bob Jensen's Tidbits ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm
For
earlier editions of Fraud Updates go to
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudUpdates.htm
For earlier editions of New Bookmarks go to
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookurl.htm
Bookmarks for the World's Library ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm
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
Updates from WebMD --- Click Here
Google Scholar --- https://scholar.google.com/
Wikipedia --- https://www.wikipedia.org/
Bob Jensen's search helpers --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/searchh.htm
Bob Jensen's World Library --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm
Online Video, Slide Shows, and Audio
President Obama and First Lady wish everyone a
Merry Christmas ---
http://time.com/4617678/president-obama-michelle-christmas-address/?xid=newsletter-brief
Watch a 2-Year-Old Solve Philosophy’s Famous Ethical “Trolley Problem” (It
Doesn’t End Well) ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/watch-a-2-year-old-solve-philosophys-famous-ethical-trolley-problem-it-doesnt-end-well.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
Jensen Comment
Erika and I yesterday watched the Helen Mirren film entitled "Eye in the Sky"
---
https://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Eye-in-the-Sky/80080265?trkid=201886046
That movie centers on a drone strike in Kenya where the debate concerns whether
collateral damage with a 65% chance of knowingly killing one child outweighs an
almost certain chance of killing 80 people in a mall (where the terrorists cause
the deaths).
Hear “Twas The Night Before Christmas” Read by Stephen Fry & John Cleese ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/hear-twas-the-night-before-christmas-read-by-stephen-fry-and-john-cleese.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
Political Correctness Offends Me
John Cleese Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Klu1SCueDow
Not Humor
The phrase "living in 1984" relates to "Big Brother" in the writing of George
Orwell
Ansel Adams, Photographer: 1958 Documentary Captures the Creative Process of
the Iconic American Photographer1 ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/ansel-adams-photographer-1958-documentary-captures-the-creative-process-of-the-iconic-american-photographer.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
These striking images show just how overcrowded China's population really is
---
http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-china-overcrowded-2016-12
Woody: A Prize-Winning Short Animation About a Wooden Man’s Dream of Becoming
a Concert Pianist ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/woody-a-prize-winning-short-animation-about-a-wooden-mans-dream-of-becoming-a-concert-pianist.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
Free music downloads ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/music.htm
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
Girl With Autism Takes Internet by Storm With ‘Hallelujah’
Rendition ---
http://nypost.com/2016/12/23/girl-with-autism-takes-internet-by-storm-with-hallelujah-rendition/
Country Singer Ray Stevens Reveals How Election Fraud Typically
Takes Place ---
http://www.angrypatriotmovement.com/ray-stevens-voter-fraud-song/
Controversial Versions of “The Star Spangled Banner”: Igor
Stravinsky, Jimi Hendrix, José Feliciano & John Philip Sousa ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/controversial-versions-of-the-star-spangled-banner.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
Frank Zappa Gets Surprised & Serenaded by the U.S. Navy Band at
the San Francisco Airport (1980) ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/frank-zappa-gets-serenaded-by-the-u-s-navy-band-at-the-san-francisco-airport-1980.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
Hear a Great 4-Hour Radio Documentary on the Life & Music of
Jimi Hendrix: Features Rare Recordings & Interviews ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/hear-a-4-hour-radio-documentary-on-jimi-hendrix.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
Acclaimed Japanese Jazz Pianist Yōsuke Yamashita Plays a Burning
Piano on the Beach ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/acclaimed-japanese-jazz-pianist-yosuke-yamashita-plays-a-burning-piano-on-the-beach.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%2
Jensen Comment
The last time I saw a piano on fire was at the end of the "Great Balls of Fire"
clip from the life of Jerry Lee Lewis movie
Try to not move your hands and legs while this clip plays.
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
Photos Show Aleppo Before and After the War --- http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-of-aleppo-before-the-war-2016-12
Time Magazine: The Best Space Photos of 2016 ---
http://time.com/4510266/best-space-photos-2016/?xid=newsletter-brief
Saturn's Moon Pandora ---
http://gizmodo.com/this-is-our-best-look-yet-at-saturns-moon-pandora-1790381408
Photographs from Rhode Island: America's first offshore
wind farm just launched with GE turbines twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty
---
http://www.businessinsider.com/ge-wind-farm-block-island-2016-12/#the-block-island-wind-farmwill-generate-30-megawatts-of-energy-which-is-the-amount-required-to-powerevery-home-on-block-islanderic-crucerey-the-farms-project-manager-tells-business-insiderit-will-emit-about-40000-fewer-tons-of-greenhouse-gases-per-year-than-fossil-fuels-would-to-generate-the-same-amount-of-energy-thats-the-equivalent-of-taking-150000-cars-off-the-road-1
Jensen Comment
The New England coast teams with bird life, including thousands upon thousands
of eagles. No mention is made of the estimated bird kill of this farm but the
kill rate has to be huge given the kill rate of most smaller wind installations
---
http://savetheeaglesinternational.org/new/us-windfarms-kill-10-20-times-more-than-previously-thought.html
Off-shore wind farms were developed much faster in Denmark where alternative
sources of power are much more expensive than in the USA.
How To Understand a Picasso Painting: A Video Primer ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/how-to-understand-a-picasso-a-video-primer.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
The Best Pictures Taken on the International Space Station in
2016 ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/best-pictures-astronauts-international-space-station-2016-12
How To Understand a Picasso Painting: A Video Primer ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/how-to-understand-a-picasso-a-video-primer.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
Time Magazine: Top 10 Photos of 2016 --- http://time.com/top-10-photos-2016/?xid=newsletter-brief
Obama First Family Album --- http://time.com/the-obamas-family-album/?xid=newsletter-brief
John Muir Laws: How to Draw Plants http://johnmuirlaws.com/drawing-plants
Audibon Society Photographs of Owls ---
http://www.audubon.org/news/10-spectacular-owl-photos-you-have-see
The Owl that Came tp Visit Bob Jensen ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Birds/Set02/BirdsSet02.htm
11 game-changing military planes from the last 15 years ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/21st-century-airplane-innovation-military-plane-2016-12
Battle of the Bulge ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/battle-of-the-bulge-nazi-germany-world-war-ii-photos-2016-12
Bob Jensen's threads on art history ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm#ArtHistory
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
Bob Jensen's threads on libraries --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm#---Libraries
Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Faulkner: A Free Yale Course ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/hemingway-fitzgerald-faulkner-a-free-yale-course.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
Fill Your New Kindle, iPad, iPhone, eReader with Free eBooks, Audio Books,
Online Courses & More ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/fill-your-new-kindle-ipad-iphone-ereader-with-free-ebooks-audio-books-online-courses-more.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
Geek's Guide to the Galaxy (science fiction) --- https://geeksguideshow.com
Longreads --- https://www.longreads.com
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 December 28, 2016
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/tidbits/2016/TidbitsQuotations122816.htm
To Whom Does the USA Federal Government Owe Money (the booked
obligation of $19+ trillion) ---
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/politicalcalculations/2016/05/25/spring-2016-to-whom-does-the-us-government-owe-money-n2168161?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl
The US Debt Clock in Real Time ---
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
Remember the Jane Fonda Movie called "Rollover" ---
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollover_(film)
To Whom Does the USA Federal Government Owe Money (the
unbooked obligation of $100 trillion and unknown more in contracted
entitlements) ---
http://money.cnn.com/2013/01/15/news/economy/entitlement-benefits/
The biggest worry of the entitlements obligations is enormous obligation for the
future under the Medicare and Medicaid programs that are now deemed totally
unsustainable ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Entitlements.htm
Entitlements are two-thirds of the federal budget.
Entitlement spending has grown 100-fold over the past 50 years. Half of all
American households now rely on government handouts. When we hear statistics
like that, most of us shake our heads and mutter some sort of expletive. That’s
because nobody thinks they’re the problem. Nobody ever wants to think they’re
the problem. But that’s not the truth. The truth is, as long as we continue to
think of the rising entitlement culture in America as someone else’s problem,
someone else’s fault, we’ll never truly understand it and we’ll have absolutely
zero chance...
Steve Tobak ---
http://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/2013/02/07/truth-behind-our-entitlement-culture/?intcmp=sem_outloud
"These Slides Show Why We Have Such A Huge Budget Deficit And Why Taxes
Need To Go Up," by Rob Wile, Business Insider, April 27, 2013 ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/cbo-presentation-on-the-federal-budget-2013-4
This is a slide show based on a presentation by a Harvard Economics Professor.
Peter G. Peterson Website on Deficit/Debt Solutions ---
http://www.pgpf.org/
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
Born without Arms and Legs:
‘I’m Glad I Don’t Need Any Shoes’: Janis McDavid, 25, was born with no arms and
legs. But he still goes to university, drives a car and travels the world. Today
he is embarking on his career. How, though, does he do it?
http://www.yerepouni-news.com/archives/277990
If you do a search for 'Janis McDavid" images you will find that he's truly a handsome young man and an inspiration for us all.
Professors at America's elite colleges pick
one book every student should read in 2017 ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/books-harvard-yale-princeton-professors-2016-12/#jill-abramson-harvard-the-paranoid-style-in-american-politics-by-richard-hofstadter-1
Bob Jensen's recommendation is anything by Michael Lewis, the latest being
The Undoing Project ---
https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Lewis/e/B000APZ33E/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1482759321&sr=1-2-ent
December 26, 2016 reply from Denny Beresford
I'm about halfway through reading "The Undoing Project." It isn't as easy a read as Liar's Poker or Moneyball, but the subject matter is fascinating. I particularly enjoyed this sentence describing some of the papers by professors Kahneman and Tversky: "They had to play, at least in the beginning, by the rules of the academic game, and in that game it wasn't quite respectable to be easily understood."
Fill Your New Kindle, iPad, iPhone, eReader
with Free eBooks, Audio Books, Online Courses & More ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/fill-your-new-kindle-ipad-iphone-ereader-with-free-ebooks-audio-books-online-courses-more.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
Eight 2016 Books Recommended by Alumni of the Stanford University Graduate
School of Business ---
https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/eight-books-your-summer-reading-list?utm_source=Stanford+Business&utm_campaign=7adfdb93b7-Stanford-Business-Best-Of-12-26-2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0b5214e34b-7adfdb93b7-70265733&ct=t(Stanford-Business-Best-Of-12-26-2016)
The Atlantic: Best Books of 2016 ---
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/12/the-best-books-we-read-in-2016/511517/
Top 10 Library Stories of 2016 ---
http://lisnews.org/ten_stories_that_shaped_2016
2016 in Crime Other than Drug Dealing Murderers
The Year of Heists and Capers ---
http://qz.com/872441/2016-the-year-in-heists-and-capers/
David Giles: Top Econometrics Posts of
2016 ---
http://davegiles.blogspot.com/2016/12/top-new-posts-of-2016.html
Housing Affordability: Canada vs. the U.K. vs. Australia vs. the USA
---
https://www.businesscycle.com/ecri-reports-indexes/report-summary-details/economic-cycle-research-ecri-international-home-price-outlook
20 Rules of Personal Finance ---
http://awealthofcommonsense.com/2016/12/20-rules-of-personal-finance/
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)
Finance Tips from
The Math Dude Blog ---
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/
These my be especially interesting when
teaching financial literacy modules
The Khan Academy also has some
great personal finance tutorials ---
https://www.khanacademy.org/economics-finance-domain/core-finance/investment-vehicles-tutorial
Bob
Jensen's Personal Finance Helpers ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob1.htm#InvestmentHelpers
5 Biggest Retirement Savings Mistakes ---
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2016/12/21/5-biggest-retirement-savings-mistakes/93562116/
Jensen
Comment
To this I would add the failure to estimate medical expenses in retirement even
when you're relatively healthy. First, note that Medicare is not free. You must
pay for Medicare insurance even though you've been taxed for it for most or all
of your working life. Secondly, Medicare only pays 80% of the hospital and
doctor charges. You can pay less by taking out Supplemental Medicare coverage,
but this coverage is relatively expensive for what it pays for most people. Much
depends on your medical expenses. Blue Cross Anthem thus far makes out like a
bandit in my case but has lost a fortune on my wife due mostly to her enormous
surgery expenses.
Medicines are expensive in spite of paying out more for Medicare D coverage. Firstly, there are many medications not covered by Medicare D. Secondly, there is a donut hole. For example, most users of insulin will hit the donut hole before the end of the year and find themselves paying out hundreds of dollars just for insulin before the end of the year.
Many retirees fail to estimate what how lousy the standard deduction is for reducing income taxes. For most of their working lives they saved on income tax by deducting interest on their home mortgage, employee business expenses, etc. Unless they have sizeable added medical expenses in retirement they discover that they are no longer able to itemize deductions, and that the standard deduction is not a suitable substitute.
Many retired parents who prepared for their own expense emergencies failed to factor in the future pleas of their children and grandchildren for financial assistance. Those children and grandchildren might experience divorces, health disasters, job losses, etc. and make appeals for funding from retired parents and grandparents. Sometimes it comes down to tough love once again
Bob Jensen's Personal Finance Helpers ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob1.htm#InvestmentHelpers
Killer’s psychiatrist can be
sued by victim’s family, Washington Supreme Court says ---
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/court-says-killers-psychiatrist-can-be-sued-by-victims-family/
The family of a Spokane woman who was murdered along with her son can pursue a lawsuit over whether the killer’s psychiatrist should have done more to protect them, the Washington Supreme Court held in a case with implications for mental-health professionals around the state.
Rebecca Schiering and one of her sons, Phillip, were shot by her ex-fiance, Jan DeMeerleer, in 2010. DeMeerleer, who also wounded another of Schiering’s sons in the attack, then returned to his own home and killed himself.
Schiering’s family sued the killer’s psychiatrist, Dr. Howard Ashby, and Spokane Psychiatric Clinic, alleging they were negligent in their treatment of DeMeerleer and that they should have done more to protect the victims. Ashby knew his patient had previously expressed homicidal and suicidal ideas, but found no “real clinical problem” in their most recent meeting, three months before the killings.
In a 6-3 opinion, the Supreme Court held Thursday that the lawsuit can go forward. The majority said mental-health professionals must act with reasonable care to identify and mitigate the dangerousness of psychiatric patients.
Jensen Comment
Sounds like a good way for the psychiatrist to become the killer's main target.
I wonder how this affects some revelations in a killer's college essay graded by a professor.
Reply from a school teacher on December 27, 2016
Good Morning, Bob.
In the public school district where I work, we are required to immediately report to the designated authority all statements, actions, writings, etc., that are suicidal or homicidal.
I also follow this rule in my personal life. These are serious issues and professional help should always be sought.
Brands That Will Disappear in 2017 ---
http://247wallst.com/special-report/2016/12/22/brands-that-will-disappear-in-2017/?utm_source=247WallStDailyNewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=DEC232016&utm_campaign=DailyNewsletter
Legendary Physicist David Bohm on the Paradox
of Communication, the Crucial Difference Between Discussion and Dialogue, and
What Is Keeping Us from Listening to One Another
by Maria Popova
Brain Pickings, December 18, 2016
https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/12/05/david-bohm-on-dialogue/?utm_source=Brain+Pickings&utm_campaign=73741f1675-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_12_14&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_179ffa2629-73741f1675-234390133&mc_cid=73741f1675&mc_eid=4d2bd13843
If we are to live in harmony with ourselves and with nature, we need to be able to communicate freely in a creative movement in which no one permanently holds to or otherwise defends his own ideas.
Political Correctness Offends Me
John Cleese Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Klu1SCueDow
Not Humor
The phrase "living in 1984" relates to "Big Brother" in the writings of George
Orwell
MIT Profs Push Moneyball Approach For Faculty
Hiring And Tenure Decisions ---
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2016/12/mit-pushes-using-moneyball-in-faculty-hiring-and-tenure-decisions.html
Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Faulkner: A Free Yale
Course ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/hemingway-fitzgerald-faulkner-a-free-yale-course.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
Computer Programming Language ---
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(programming_language)
Learn Python: A Free Online Computer Programming Course from Google ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/learn-python-a-free-online-course-from-google.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
You need not be an experienced computer programmer to succeed in this course.
Yale University: Introduction to
Psychology (Free Course) ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/introduction-to-psychology-a-free-course-from-yale-university.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
Jensen Comment
Remember the familiar pedagogy (sitll widely used in large universities) where a
professor lectures to 1,000 or more students who then also meet in much smaller
recitation sections who meet with TAs.
I have to wonder how this might change if the students still have the recitation sections when the large lectures are replaced with free MOOCs from prestigious universities. Of course a university doing so runs the risk of being criticized for too much outsourcing. However, this might work for a very small number of courses (such as experimenting with one course).
This outsourcing model might work even better in smaller universities struggling to provide enough resources for some majors such as when a small Computer Science department outsourcers some programming languages to prestigious universities like MIT.
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
Wal-Mart's Huge Experiment With Higher Wages
and Work Schedules ---
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/upshot/how-did-walmart-get-cleaner-stores-and-higher-sales-it-paid-its-people-more.html?_r=0
Jensen Comment
Wal-Mart has always tended to pay the managers within stores quite well and
tended to promote employees to managers from within.
This is more of an experiment with paying higher wages to non-managers. Wal-Mart has always had pretty good fringe benefits such as free college (on-line) and employee training. The most controversial fringe was health care that in the past had a substantial waiting period between the date of hire and the date health care benefits became available. This tended to weed out employees who were not going to stay on the job such as those with addiction problems and high absenteeism..
With reaccreditation at risk, Alamo Colleges
(San Antonio) drop course based on the 7 Habits self-help book that board had
approved to replace a humanities requirement ---
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/12/19/alamo-colleges-drop-required-7-habits-course-reaccreditation-risk?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=64cbadd5e0-DNU20161219&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-64cbadd5e0-197565045&goal=0_1fcbc04421-64cbadd5e0-197565045&mc_cid=64cbadd5e0&mc_eid=1e78f7c952
This blind taste test of chicken nuggets
illustrates how so often critics do not agree on competing alternatives ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/chicken-nugget-taste-test-mcdonalds-wendys-burger-king-chick-fil-a-fast-food-2016-12
Jensen Comment
A huge problem lies in choosing the sample size of critics. This particular
study suggests it's more likely to get a majority to agree as sample size is
degreased. For example, having only three tasters increases the odds of all
favoring McDonalds based on the results of this particular study.. It's hard to
say what increasing the sample size to a million critics my become since
predicting that from a very small pre-sample is very tenuous in this case.
There's also a problem of politics. In particular, Chic-fil-A is likely to have a positive or negative outcome based upon it's conservative political stances rather than taste of its chicken nuggets. Even though this was a blind taste test, some sample subjects may assume that the best tasting nuggets have to come from Chic-fil-A and vote for or against those nuggets according to politics rather than taste.
What I'm trying to say is that taste my not always be in the eyes, nose, and tongue of the beholder.
This is an Excel trick that might change how
you sometimes analyze data ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/excel-what-if-analysis-data-tables-2016-12
Yeah Right!
PLOS One: Quantity and/or Quality? The Importance of Publishing Many Papers
---
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0166149
Jensen Comment
As "research and publication" took over as the leading criterion for promotion
and tenure the academic world experienced and exposion of so-called refereed
journals, many of them from profit-seeking publishers. The result was an
explosion in quantity and an a bifurcation of quality from extremes of highest
quality to garbage with sham refereeing. The good news was an increase in
specialty journals. The bad news was a shortage of dedicated referees.
One controversial factor was the impact of technology on publication and distribution costs, especially in the rise of e-journals that did not even entail hard copy printing of journals. This made it possible for libraries to be almost the entire source of revenue for some journals. My point here is that journals no longer had to rely on reader subscriptions to foot the bill in a market of supply and demand. Interestingly, the market of supply and demand now applies to blogs rather than "refereed" publications. For a blog to be successful it has to satisfy the needs of readers rather than libraries that fail to allocate resources based upon user demand. For example, one faculty member may be responsible for a campus library's subscription to an obscure journal.
What the above PLOS One Website fails to get across is that opposing the benefits of publishing many papers are the frauds perpetrated by making it so easy for faculty to get promotions and tenure based on the many P&T committees and administrators who are willing to count publication records rather than read the publications.
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudReporting.htm#ScholarlyJournals
Gaming for Tenure as an Accounting Professor ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/TheoryTenure.htm
(with a reply about tenure publication point systems from Linda Kidwell)
Freshman Drops Out Of Kansas State With 4.0
GPA, Says College Is A Scam Because Students Learn Quadratic Equations, Not
Taxes ---
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2016/12/freshman-drops-out-of-kansas-state-with-40-gpa-says-college-is-a-scam-because-students-learn-quadrat.html
Jensen Comment
Maybe he should transfer to Wayne State or Michigan State where algebra is no
longer required. Actually this student is naive about the difference between
education and training in the early years of college. The purpose of algebra and
calculus is to educate of abstract reasoning and to keep options open for
changing majors. I recommend that financial literacy (that includes some basics
on tax knowledge) be part of the common core in the first two years of college.
But I don't think this is what the particular student in this case had in mind
about "learning taxes" that we normally teach in later years in both schools of
accounting and law. Since he has a 4.0 GPA perhaps he should have tested out of
algebra and taken whatever Kansas State allows for substitution in the common
core.
I don't think this student had the best kind of academic counseling.
Nations Ranked According to Job Happiness ---
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/06/countries-with-the-happiest-employees/
Jensen Comment
All three of our sons became seriously unemployed their careers. One thing about
unemployment is that it tends to make for greater appreciation when employment
is found. They no longer complain as much about their supervisors. Maybe all
three sons now have better supervisors. Or perhaps they are happier because
employment beats the alternative. I was more fortunate in life. I was happy in
every one of my jobs and never had a supervisor that I did not like and
appreciate. It may have helped that, like my father, I'm a workaholic.
Examples of How Both Files and Backup Files Can Be Lost Forever
1. There are 30,000+ emails lost forever in the Hillary Clinton email scandal. They were apparently destroyed before the Wikileaks backup system obtained access.
2. The IRS lost Lois Lerner's backup files after being ordered by Congress to protect those backup files in a scandal where President Obama is suspected of illegally using the IRS to help his 2012 re-election campaign.
3. The Australian government lost over 1 million gigabytes of taxpayer files
and the backup files
---
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/dec/13/tax-office-criticised-after-computer-crash-leaves-it-unable-to-provide-basic-online-services
Moral of Story
Backup file protection is not always what it's cracked up to be.
In fact the thriving ransomware industry is evidence of the frequent failure of backup systems.
The Russians Are Coming? Nope They've
Alread Been Here in a Massive Fraud Against Advertisers
White Ops has exposed the largest and most profitable ad fraud operation to
strike digital advertising to date ---
http://go.whiteops.com/rs/179-SQE-823/images/WO_Methbot_Operation_WP.pdf?utm_source=MIT+TR+Newsletters&utm_campaign=4c73aeafe7-newsletters-the-download&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_997ed6f472-4c73aeafe7-153727301&goal=0_997ed6f472-4c73aeafe7-153727301&mc_cid=4c73aeafe7&mc_eid=fe7f400ea3
From an MIT Newsletter on December 21, 2016
Security research company White Ops has uncovered what it calls the “largest and most profitable ad fraud operation to strike digital advertising to date.” Russian criminals acted as an advertising firm, promising to host ads on sites like Fox News, ESPN, or CBS Sports. In reality, they built fake web pages that no real person would visit. Then, they used a sophisticated army of bots, scattered across 500,000 different U.S. IP addresses, to view the ads. Those bots were programmed to be active during the daytime, appeared to be using Chrome on a Mac, and even had fake Facebook accounts. To anyone checking stats, they looked like real people. The approach netted the hackers between $3 million and $5 million per day. "[It] is a beautiful simulacrum of a real browser," explained White Ops CEO Michael Tiffany to CNN. "This is the kind of theft in which nothing has gone missing." Apart from $180 million—because the trick was so good that it took two months to spot.
Credit Suisse is paying $5.3 billion to settle
a mortgage backed securities case in the US ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/credit-suisse-agrees-53-billion-settlement-over-us-mortgage-backed-securities-case-2016-12
Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson's Bank of America Extortion Scheme (Hustle) Finally Laid to Rest
From the CFO Journal's Morning Ledger on November 23, 2016
Do the Hustle? Nope
The government’s Hustle case against Bank of America Corp. is finally dead. The case, in which the government accused the bank’s Countrywide Financial Corp. unit of churning out shoddy mortgage securities in the run-up to the financial crisis, already was thrown out by a U.S. appeals court in May. The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, which had first brought the case in 2012, then asked the appeals court to reconsider its decision, a request that was denied.
Jensen Comment
A better word for "Hustle" is Treasury Department "Extortion." When the economy collapsed in 2007 due to poisoned mortgages BofA had no poisoned mortgages. Then Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson came calling like an extortionist according to former BofS CEO Ken Lewis. Paulson gave BofA no choice but to buy Countrywide Financial with its millions of poisoned mortgages. The secret intent was to give Countrywide deeper pockets so that the Federal Government could turn around a sue BofA billions for all the financial crimes of Countrywide Financial.
There was never any doubt about the high crimes of Countrywide Financial on the main streets of cities and towns across the USA. Countrywide issued millions of mortgages to borrowers having no hope of meeting their mortgage obligations.
It makes me feel good that Paulson finally got his just dessert. I only wish he would be sued. As the former CEO of Goldman Sachs he bailed out Goldman with milk and honey and pissed on BofA. Now he's retired on his millions from Goldman and seemingly can't be touched for his extortion crimes.
Paulson Also Forced Merrill Lynch onto Bank of America
Merrill Lynch had a friend in Hank Paulson, but
he was no friend to Bank of America shareholders
The ex-US Treasury Secretary
has admitted telling the Bank of America boss he might lose his job if he walked
away from a merger from Merrill Lynch. The former US Treasury Secretary says the
merger was necessary Hank Paulson warned the bank's chief executive Kenneth
Lewis that the Federal Reserve could oust him and the board if the rescue did
not proceed. But Mr. Paulson insisted that remarks he made were "appropriate."
Bank of America bought Merrill during the height of the financial crisis and
suffered severe losses.
"Paulson admits bank merger threat,"
BBC News, July 15, 2009 ---
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8152858.stm
More Women Are Their Family’s Sole Breadwinner Than Ever Before ---
http://motto.time.com/4607876/female-breadwinners-rise-report/?xid=newsletter-brief
Bob Jensen's threads on women in the professions ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#Women
Jensen Comment
In the dark ages when I got my first job in a CPA firm (the Denver Office of
Ernst & Ernst) the CPA profession was virtually a male profession. We had one
woman in the back room doing tax returns who was not allowed to see clients. Now
CPA firms hire more women than men --- in part because more women than men
graduate in accounting. Because of the 150-hour requirement most graduates
aspiring to become CPAs earn masters degrees in accounting. CPA firms are also
making a concerted effort to break the glass ceiling to partnership status. The
largest CPA firms have family leave programs and flexible work scheduling where
client work can often be done at home using modern networking technology.
The sticking point for men and women is that usually less then 20% of the new hires become partners in larger CPA firms. However, most of those new hires don't aspire to become partners subject to high tension and pressures to obtain and maintain clients for their firms. What new hires typically want most from CPA firms are experience, costly training in specialties, and exposure to clients who often offer higher paying jobs with less travel and workload pressures.
Professors of accounting usually like the high turnover in the first ten years of CPA firm employment. This creates the openings for our latest graduates to get experience, costly training in specialties, and placement in a corporate world reluctant to hire new graduates who have no experience and specialty training. It seems to be win-win as far as turnover is concerned.
Not surprisingly some of our accounting graduates start their own small firms after being well-trained by the larger CPA firms. Firms specializing in tax services and investment consulting services are especially popular for younger professionals seeking to go out on their own. CPAs are often much more trusted than brokers and other finance consultants who are not CPAs with tax specialties. Often law firms secretly outsource their tax return preparations to CPA specialists.
HOne would think there there would be more wanting to go back for accounting Ph.D. degrees, but the huge pre-requisites in mathematics and statistics in virtually all respected accounting doctoral programs are barriers to entry, especially since life in academe is in most instances less financially rewarding. Accounting doctoral programs are no longer about accounting.
The good news is, however, that most accounting doctoral programs are free,
including room and board allowances. Even so, there are now less than 150 Ph.D.
graduates in accounting annually across the USA ---
http://www.jrhasselback.com/AtgDoctInfo.html
Accounting doctoral programs were larger when accounting doctoral programs were
about accounting and there was less publish or perish pressure for non-tenured
accounting faculty.
There are no incentives to earn an accounting Ph.D. for graduates who do not want academic careers. Certificates of specialty are much more important for non-academic careers such as CPA certificates, CMA certificates. forensic accounting certificates, CFA certificates, etc. The world of accounting can be a very, very technical world much like the world of medicine is a very technical world of sub-specialties.
Harvard: 9 Sustainable Business Stories
That Shaped 2016 ---
https://hbr.org/2016/12/9-sustainable-business-stories-that-shaped-2016?referral=00563&cm_mmc=email-_-newsletter-_-daily_alert-_-alert_date&utm_source=newsletter_daily_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=alert_date&spMailingID=16172632&spUserID=MTkyODM0MDg0MAS2&spJobID=921921821&spReportId=OTIxOTIxODIxS0
Eight Retirement Myths Debunked ---
http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/on-retirement/articles/2016-12-15/8-retirement-myths-debunked
Chronic Team Grading Dilemma ---
http://www.chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,202839.0.html
Jensen Comment
I once listened to a presentation by a professor from a major university who
said the entire course grade was based upon a team project in a class of 10
students. He said that he resolved the team grading dilemma by giving
every student an A grade every semester he taught the course. It's no wonder
that this course had to be limited to 10 students per semester. Otherwise every
university student meeting the prerequisites would surely want this course.
Also what's the point of even grading the project? I suspect he really
didn't spend mjch time grading the project.
These striking images show just how
overcrowded China's population really is ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-china-overcrowded-2016-12
At the start of the 20th century, average life expectancy globally was
just 31 years. Today it is 71. Will this progress continue? Matthew Rees reviews
two books about the future of progress and innovation ---
http://www.wsj.com/articles/bending-the-arc-of-history-1481588883?mod=djemMER
Reverend Malthus Math ---
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthusianism
Animated Map Shows How It Took 200,000 Years for Human Population to Reach 1
Billion, and Only Another 200 Years to Get to 7 Billion ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/animated-map-shows-how-it-took-200000-years-for-human-population.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
Jensen Comment
The most rapid and fearsome explosions of world population are in Asia and
Africa. It occurred to me that the fastest way to destroy the United Nations
would be to have all UN representatives be chosen by popular vote. What would
happen is that Asia and Africa would take over the UN and the NATO countries and
Russia would probably pull out, thereby defeating the purpose of the UN in
unifying the world.
McGill University Neurology will no longer
patent researchers' findings, instead everything will be open access ---
https://boingboing.net/2016/12/17/mcgill-neurology-will-no-longe.html
As the Drive to Share Data Intensifies, Can
Standards Keep Up? ---
http://www.chronicle.com/article/As-the-Drive-to-Share-Data/238722?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=de3b7fff280445c193689fc52eec49ce&elq=7cd67ff93f4b4708bec4e4c074f490e9&elqaid=11893&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=4768
Patrick J. Curran struggles with the problem when studying alcoholism in families. Quynh C. Nguyen sees it when analyzing housing-voucher programs. And the Nobel laureate Harold E. Varmus encounters it while developing genomic databases for cancer patients.
Their trouble isn’t with sharing their data — all three professors are eager participants in the open-data revolution.
Instead, the problem is confidently sharing and interpreting data — huge amounts of it — with relevance and accuracy.
As they and other scientists embrace sharing, they’re finding that computer systems are quite good at storing and easing access to the enormous quantities of information they generate. But comparing and synthesizing all that data, in differing formats and styles and methods, requires human skill and judgment. And even the best aren’t sure how to do it, raising questions of whether the nationwide rush toward open data will really mean a momentous revolution in scientific progress or just a whole new level of gnarly reproducibility issues.
Mr. Curran is a professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who studies the effects of alcoholic parents on their children. He combines findings from multiple studies and sees a challenge lurking in the varied scientific meanings and assessments that professional colleagues apply to terms such as "anxiety" and "depression."
"The thing that keeps me up at night," he said, "is, Am I making a substantive theoretical conclusion that is based on some artifact of how we scored the scale?"
Continued in article
Jensen Comment
One of the huge problems in finance and accounting is that empirical
researchers often use the same purchased databases like CompuStat, CRSP, and
AuditAnalytics. Efforts to replicate/reproduce research findings are rare,
really rare, in financial accounting and when they do happen they usually use
the same data. Errors in that data happen a lot, and any research conclusions
drawn from faulty data are likely to be the same conclusions drawn in
replication attempts,. This is why findings that contradict earlier findings are
so rare in accounting research.
Bob Jensen's threads on why replications are
rare in financial accounting research ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/TheoryTar.htm
When is the last time you say an accountics scientist in financial accounting
collect his or her own data?
"A Scrapbook on What's Wrong with the Past,
Present and Future of Accountics Science"
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/temp/AccounticsWorkingPaper450.06.pdf
Iowa State University Political Science:
Academic Integrity That Wasn't ---
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/12/20/frequent-source-comments-politics-admits-no-formal-focus-group-informed-his-insights?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=de6a599079-DNU20161220&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-de6a599079-197565045&goal=0_1fcbc04421-de6a599079-197565045&mc_cid=de6a599079&mc_eid=1e78f7c952
AP reveals political science professor who cited a focus group as key source for his many interviews and essays never had one.
Iowa State University will not take any action involving a professor who has made misleading references to a focus group in frequent commentaries on U.S. politics.
Steffen Schmidt, a political science professor at the university, is an oft-quoted source in local and state media outlets for his insight about issues related to the presidential election and politics more widely. In his comments to the media and opinion pieces, he has frequently referenced a focus group that informs his public comments.
An Associated Press report found that the term “focus group” in Schmidt's statements and writings refers not to a carefully designed academic study or a set of trusted expert sources but to anyone Schmidt might speak with about an issue he comments on.
The AP began looking into the focus group in November after Schmidt cited its findings in a critique of Hillary Clinton’s outreach to African-American, women and LGBTQ voters. After the AP filed an open records request for communications about the focus group, he acknowledged that there was no set panel.
Schmidt said in an email that he was not aware the term would be confusing and plans to stop using it in the future.
“My thought is that I don’t need to use any term in future, since the columns are my views,” he added.
Iowa State’s leadership drew a distinction between use of the term in formal research in scholarly venues and in opinions offered to the media or in news columns.
“His use of the term ‘focus group’ has been to provide context or support for opinion pieces he has shared with media,” said Wolfgang Kliemann, the university’s associate vice president for research and research integrity officer. “At no point has he presented this as formal research, nor does it meet the definition of research in a federal or academic sense. We have been clear about Dr. Schmidt’s intent.”
Marybeth Gasman is a University of Pennsylvania higher education professor and the editor of Academics Going Public: How to Write and Speak Beyond Academe. She said that argument put forth by Iowa State doesn’t hold water. The term “focus group” is not a confusing one, and it does not take on a different meaning depending on the context, she said.
“He knows exactly what it means,” Gasman said. “He also knows it lends an enormous amount of weight to his argument if he uses that term.”
A focus group usually involves a random collection of people -- not a group of an academic’s friends or colleagues and students he encounters, as Schmidt told the AP he saw the term. A professor's focus group research may also require the approval of a university institutional review board, a committee set up to approve and monitor research involving human subjects
Bob Jensen's threads on when professors
cheated ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Plagiarism.htm#ProfessorsWhoPlagiarize
This is the best research we've seen on how
many Americans are really struggling financially, and it is heartbreaking
---
http://www.businessinsider.com/just-capital-research-on-living-wage-2016-12/#a-staggering-number-of-americans-arent-making-a-living-wage-1
Jensen Comment
The article does not stress what seems to me to be obvious in the graphic ---
raising the minimum wage may be dysfunctional. For example, California, Oregon,
and Washington that have raised minimum rages have some of the worst problems
with counties struggling financially. Firstly, there's a problem with cost of
living. A minimums wage of $25 per hour might not be enough in those states
counties where living costs are relatively high. For example, in San Francisco
nearly all low-wage workers have to be homeless or cummute long distances from
outside the city. This is not the case in San Antonio, Texas.
Secondly, there's a problem of how businesses and local governments deal with minimum wages. One problem is outsourcing such as when a university or courthouse outsourcers its janitorial services. A related problem is to cut back on working hours as wage rates increase. Another problem, especially in California and Oregon is discouraging new business ventures due to taxation and regulations. For example, the Town of Portland, Oregon just imposed a surtax on some companies (like Wal-Mart) to raise money to help the homeless. This may help the homeless at the expense of low-wage workers who will actually see their incomes decline due to working less hours and losing opportunities for jobs in companies that now shirk moving into Portland.
Will the Minimum Wage Debate Ever Be Settled?
---
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/12/minimum-wage-debate/510383/
Jensen Comment
About the only thing we can conclude is that minimum wages have differing
impacts in differing circumstances such as local employment markets, worker
ages, living costs, and fringe benefits such as the value of
training/apprenticeships. In a really free market economy some workers might
benefit greatly from working for nothing if the training is extremely valuable.
And we have to consider the prospects of workers on minimum wages. Wal-Mart has
low wages but in most instances those wages are above minimum wage. But Wal-Mart
also offers solid promotion tracks for quality workers, and the promotions in
almost all instances are relatively attractive even if the work itself can be
boring and stressful at the same time.
Minimum wage impact data from Seattle may be highly misleading when compared to similar studies in San Antonio.
Minimum wage impact data may be quite different when comparing Burger King in San Antonio with construction workers in San Antonio. This is because Burger King resists hiring undocumented workers nationwide whereas in San Antonio there are probably more undocumented construction workers in the underground (cash-only) market than those who work for reported wages and fringe benefits. In my opinion raising the minimum wage in San Antonio will only strengthen the underground market job supply. Authorities are hesitant to shut down the underground labor supply since doing so will badly hurt thousands and thousands of families of undocumented workers.
Comparing minimum wages in Europe with the USA is also misleading. In spite of the current media coverage of immigration issues in Europe, those issues are relatively small compared to immigration issues for people easily getting into the USA from Latin and South America.
Harvard: The Right Way to Rebuild
America's Infrastructure ---
https://hbr.org/2016/12/the-right-way-to-rebuild-americas-infrastructure?referral=00563&cm_mmc=email-_-newsletter-_-daily_alert-_-alert_date&utm_source=newsletter_daily_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=alert_date&spMailingID=16145910&spUserID=MTkyODM0MDg0MAS2&spJobID=921530068&spReportId=OTIxNTMwMDY4S0
Why Faculty Still Don’t Want to Teach Online
---
https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2016/12/13/advice-faculty-members-about-overcoming-resistance-teaching-online-essay?goal=0_1fcbc04421-fe6072796a-197565045&mc_cid=fe6072796a&mc_eid=1e78f7c952
Jensen Comment
This is a case for highly stratified sampling. The voices we should be listening
to most are teachers who are meritorious for both their online and their onsite
teaching. Those that we should listen to least are those that do a lousy job
onsite and online. The problem is how much to listen to those teachers who are
meritorious onsite and lousy online. More than anything else, this is probably
an attitude problem for which there is no easy attitude adjustment.
If done well, online teaching tends to burn out teachers who allow instant messaging or very frequent messaging. In part this is because it's so easy to contact a teacher online relative to having to trudge across campus to catch an onsite teacher during office hours. It's a little like why tech support often will allow telephone support but not email support. The email support system may become overwhelmed whereas students/users become discouraged by telephone queues and try harder to solve problems on their own.
December 17 Reply from Elliot Kamlet
Hi Bob
I teach on-line during our winter and summer sessions. I'm really sensitive to the texting issue so I do not take texts, although I can text my students through remind.com if the need arises. I do not accept email from students about general course questions (as opposed to my grandmother died and I can't take the test).
The only way they question is through the Blackboard discussion board. That has the impact of a question in class. All students can see the question and answer. I check 3-4 times per day-not constantly like email and texts. It makes the experience that much more enjoyable.
If I were fresh out of school and setting myself up, I wouldn't teach on-line and the elder statesmen, as you say, would oppose it. After all, if I taught online, and researched at home, I mighty never come to school. All those discussions that happen in the hallways and generate lines of thought would not be part of my experience. I wonder if that will continue on out into the future.
Elliot
Harvard: Solar Is Being Held Back by
Regulations, Not Technology ---
https://hbr.org/2016/12/solar-is-being-held-back-by-regulations-not-technology?referral=00563&cm_mmc=email-_-newsletter-_-daily_alert-_-alert_date&utm_source=newsletter_daily_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=alert_date&spMailingID=16136159&spUserID=MTkyODM0MDg0MAS2&spJobID=921431675&spReportId=OTIxNDMxNjc1S0
Obama's Parting Shot at Birds
nearly four times the current limit
"Final wind-turbine rule permits thousands of eagle deaths," Matthew
Daly, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle, December 14, 2016 ---
http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Final-wind-energy-rule-permits-thousands-of-eagle-10795876.php
The Obama administration on Wednesday finalized a rule that lets wind-energy companies operate high-speed turbines for up to 30 years — even if means killing or injuring thousands of federally protected bald and golden eagles.
Under the new rule, wind companies and other power providers will not face a penalty if they kill or injure up to 4,200 bald eagles, nearly four times the current limit. Deaths of the more rare golden eagles would be allowed without penalty so long as companies minimize losses by taking steps such as retrofitting power poles to reduce the risk of electrocution.
The new rule will conserve eagles while also spurring development of a pollution-free energy source intended to ease global warming, a cornerstone of President Barack Obama's energy plan, said Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe.
"No animal says America like the bald eagle," Ashe said in a statement, calling recovery of the bald eagle "one of our greatest national conservation achievements."
The new rule attempts to build on that success, Ashe said, adding that the Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to balance energy development with eagle conservation. Wind power has increased significantly since Obama took office, and wind turbines as tall as 30-story buildings are rising across the country. The wind towers have spinning rotors as wide as a passenger jet's wingspan, and blades reach speeds of up to 170 mph at the tips, creating tornado-like vortexes.
The surge in wind power has generally been well-received in the environmental community, but bird deaths — and eagle deaths in particular — have been a source of contention.
The birds are not endangered species but are protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The laws prohibit killing, selling or otherwise harming eagles, their nests or eggs without a permit.
It's unclear what toll wind energy companies are having on eagle populations, although Ashe said as many 500 golden eagles a year are killed by collisions with wind towers, power lines, buildings, cars and trucks. Thousands more are killed by gunshots and poisonings.
Continued in article
49.000 Wind Turbines Now Exist Across 30
States
Sure, it’s green energy—but it also results in hundreds of thousands of
bird deaths each year
Audubon Society
http://www.audubon.org/news/will-wind-turbines-ever-be-safe-birds
Wind turbines kill an estimated 140,000 to 328,000 birds each year in North America, making it the most threatening form of green energy.
And yet, it’s also one of the most rapidly expanding energy industries: more than 49,000 individual wind turbines now exist across 39 states. The wind industry has the incentive to stop the slaughter: Thanks to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, it’s illegal to kill any bird protected by the Act—even if the death is "incidental," meaning it occurs unintentionally on the part of the wind farm.
The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act recommends that to avoid eagle deaths, specifically, companies seriously consider where they site their wind developments, and that they also limit turbines’ impact using techniques like radar to detect incoming birds. But as the accident at the Peñascal wind farm shows, it’s unclear if deterrents like these actually work. The Ways Wind Farms Try to Scare Birds Away There are many kinds of retrofits that people are testing to hopefully make wind turbines better for birds.
Here are some of the options (the Audubon Society thinks clean energy is more important that the banning of windmills).
Continued in article
Photographs from Rhode Island: America's first offshore wind farm
just launched with GE turbines twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/ge-wind-farm-block-island-2016-12/#the-block-island-wind-farmwill-generate-30-megawatts-of-energy-which-is-the-amount-required-to-powerevery-home-on-block-islanderic-crucerey-the-farms-project-manager-tells-business-insiderit-will-emit-about-40000-fewer-tons-of-greenhouse-gases-per-year-than-fossil-fuels-would-to-generate-the-same-amount-of-energy-thats-the-equivalent-of-taking-150000-cars-off-the-road-1
Jensen Comment
Here in New England many environmentalists see the Block Island wind farm as
a horrid example of dirty politics ---
http://www.deepwaterresistance.org/risk_analysis.html
Environmentalists complain that Deep Water picked this island so because they
would not be regulated properly ---
http://www.theday.com/article/20150821/NWS01/150829833
Having made his living in the utility industry, Warfel, a 17-year island resident, said he analyzed the project as well as Block Island’s power problems, and concluded that they could have been solved much more cheaply with energy conservation and on-island resources. He accused the Block Island Power Co. of being a “rogue utility” not properly regulated by the state that left the island vulnerable to Deepwater’s pitch. “I see no joy in taking this historic viewshed and adulterating it for the benefit of D.E. Shaw,” he said.
Costs Environmentalists Don't Like to Measure or Disclose
EV = Electric Vehicle
Your Tesla might be worse for the environment
than a gas car —
http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/hold-smugness-tesla-might-just-worse-environment-know/#ixzz4T0gPy25z
. . .
Where did that battery come from?
Carl Sagan is famed for saying, “We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows about science and technology.” He could have been talking directly about lithium-ion batteries. Chances are you are sitting within three feet of something that uses lithium-ion technology, heck you are probably reading these words thanks to lithium-ion batteries. Yet, not that many people really understand what goes into them.
So how do they work? Like any battery, lithium-ions work by creating a flow of current (electrons) between a positively charged (missing electrons) cathode and a negatively charged anode (extra electrons), through a conductive electrolyte. Lithium makes a great battery because it is both very conductive, making it a good electrolyte, allows for extremely high electrical potential. And of course, because this electrochemical reaction is reversible, the batteries are readily rechargeable.
As great as lithium is for batteries, it has a dark side as well: The stuff is downright nasty. Lithium is flammable and highly reactive, as anyone who has seen photos of burning a Tesla can attest, but that’s the least of our worries. The EPA has linked the use of extremely powerful solvents in the creation of lithium electrolytes and cathodes to everything from cancer to neurological problems. Specifically, the cobalt used in the creation of the most energy dense lithium-ion batteries is poisonous and extremely carcinogenic. Pulmonary, neurological, and respiratory problems have all been connected to cobalt exposure.
A good rule of thumb is that any industrial process that makes liberal use of the word ‘slurry’ is not good for pandas, or for that matter people. And, boy, does slurry come up a lot in the battery-making process.
Other combinations of lithium are not as bad, but none is exactly good. The lithium-iron phosphate used in lower energy density batteries is better in terms of its carcinogenic effect, but might be worse in terms of the impact on the biosphere.
Is it getting hot in here?
Clearly then, EVs and plug-in hybrids have environmental costs. What effects however, do lithium-ion batteries have on John Q. Polar Bear? Well, a recent study from Norway looked at the global-warming potential of the complete lifecycle of EVs, from mining to recycling. Previous studies hadn’t accounted for the energy-intensive process of building EVs, and missed the point: They’re not that much better than gasoline cars.
The best outcome for EVs was a 24-percent improvement in global-warming potential over the average gas powered car, and between 10 percent and 14 percent over diesel. These numbers are nothing to sneeze at, but they change radically depending on the source of electricity that EVs are powered on.
The above numbers rely on the European power mix, which more heavily favors nuclear, hydroelectric, and renewable sources of energy than other parts of the world.The global warming potential for EVs that rely on natural gas – generally considered to be the cleanest fossil fuel – show an improvement of only 12 percent over gasoline, and break even with diesel.
Most alarming, EVs that depend on coal for their electricity are actually 17 percent to 27 percent worse than diesel or gas engines. That is especially bad for the United States, because we derive close to 45 percent of our electricity from coal. In states like Texas, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, that number is much closer to 100 percent. That’s right folks; for residents of some of the most populous states, buying an EV is not only toxic, it’s warming the planet more than its gas-powered counterparts.
With cars that supposedly generate “zero tailpipe emissions,” how are these pollution numbers even possible? The simple answer is that as well as being messy to produce; battery production requires a tremendous amount of electricity. The initial production of the vehicle and the batteries together make up something like 40 percent of the total carbon footprint of an EV – nearly double that of an equivalent gasoline-powered vehicle.
Continued in article
Jensen Comment
In fairness coal is on it's way out is some nations, but not in India, China,
and various coal-rich nations. Cleaner natural gas, propane, nuclear fuel, and
hydrogen will still be major power sources on the grid for years to come
All these sources of grid power to recharge batteries are relatively costly..
Adobe Flash ---
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Flash
Note the Alternatives and Criticisms
It looks like Adobe Flash’s days are finally numbered ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/adobe-flash-dead-usage-chart-2016-12
A Scientist Says: Why I still won’t review for or publish with
Elsevier–and think you shouldn’t either ---
http://lisnews.org/why_i_still_won_t_review_for_or_publish_with_elsevier_and_think_you_shouldn_t_either
How to Mislead With Statistics
Mozart, the best new artist of 1782, outsold Drake and Beyoncé this year ---
http://qz.com/860786/mozart-outstrips-drake-adele-kanye-west-in-cd-sales-in-2016/
The hottest selling CD of the year is from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who sold 1.25 million CDs in five weeks according to Billboard, blowing away all his younger (and alive) competition. There’s a catch, though: Universal Music Group dropped a box set of Mozart’s complete discography to mark the 225th anniversary of his death, and each of the 200 discs in the set counts as a sale. So only about 6,000 buyers are responsible for Mozart topping the pops
The New Parental Leave Policy at American Express ---
http://fox6now.com/2016/12/12/parental-leave-american-express/
NEW YORK — Having a family while working at American Express is about to get a lot better.
Starting in January, the financial services giant will expand its paid parental leave policy for mothers and fathers to 20 weeks at full pay, plus another six to eight weeks for women who give birth and require medical leave. Full-time and part-time employees who have worked at Amex for at least a year are eligible.
That’s a big shift from the company’s current policy of offering six weeks of paid leave for the primary parent plus another six to eight weeks for birth mothers who require medical leave. Secondary caregivers, meanwhile, have gotten just two weeks.
Under the new policy, parents will also have access to a 24-hour lactation consultant. And mothers who go on business trips will be able to ship their breast milk home for free.
In addition, expectant parents will have access to a parent concierge, whom they can go to for information on the company’s family benefits and resources.
And employees who wish to have a child will receive up to $35,000 for adoption or surrogacy for up to two children. Those undergoing infertility treatments, meanwhile, will receive up to a lifetime maximum of $35,000 to help defray costs.
Ikea, AXA also get more generous
Amex joins a growing list of companies that have made their parental and family leave policies more generous in the past two years.
Continued in article
Walter E. Wiliams: Please, No More Miracles (Tariffs) ---
http://townhall.com/columnists/walterewilliams/2016/12/14/please-no-more-miracles-n2258786?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&newsletterad=
President-elect Donald Trump has warned companies that they are not going to leave the United States anymore "without consequences." He has lived up to his threat by pressuring Carrier to give up its planned move to Monterrey, Mexico, in exchange for a taxpayer handout. It is a safe bet that other U.S. companies will be descending on Washington looking for handouts in the name of "fair trade" and "leveling the playing field."
Part of Carrier's problem is the congressional miracle created for the U.S. metal industry. Import restrictions placed on steel, copper tubing and aluminum extrusions benefit American producers of those products. Not having to worry about foreign steel, copper tubing and aluminum extrusions, American producers of those products can charge higher prices and maintain higher employment. The real cost of import restrictions is the harm they do to steel-, copper- and aluminum-using manufacturers. Companies can escape some of those U.S. government-imposed costs simply by moving across the border.
There are other government-imposed costs that can be avoided through relocation. The U.S. corporate income tax is the highest in the world. Slashing the U.S. corporate income tax would reduce incentives to relocate. While we're at it, there should be an elimination of the taxation of foreign earnings when they are repatriated into the U.S. Finally, we should apply reasoning to the onerous regulations emerging from unelected bureaucracies such as the Environmental Protection Agency.
If you're looking for a good example of the effect of a nearly completed congressional miracle, it would be the U.S. candy manufacturing industry. American Sugar Alliance spends millions of dollars lobbying Congress to impose restrictions on foreign sugar, in the form of tariffs and quotas. That means the American sugar producers can charge higher prices, create more jobs and have higher profits. But that's just stage one of the effect of the congressionally created miracle.
Chicago used to be America's candy capital. Today it's a mere shadow of its former self. Brach's used to employ about 2,300 Americans; now most of its jobs are in Mexico. Ferrara Candy Co. has also moved much of its production to Mexico. Wages are indeed lower in Mexico, but wages are not the only factor in candy manufacturers' flight from America. Life Savers, which manufactured in America for 90 years, moved to Canada, where wages are comparable to ours. By moving to Canada, Life Savers became more competitive because it saved itself a whopping $10 million a year in sugar costs.
Continued in article
Bloomberg: How Apple Alienated Mac
Loyalists ---
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-20/how-apple-alienated-mac-loyalists?cmpid=BBD122016_BIZ
. . .
Mac upgrades, once a frequent ritual, are few and far between. The Mac Pro, Apple's marquee computer, hasn't been refreshed since 2013. The affordable and flexible Mac mini was last upgraded in 2014. And when a new machine does roll out, the results are sometimes underwhelming, if not infuriating, to devotees.
In October, after more than 500 days without an update, Apple unveiled the new MacBook Pro with a slimmer design and louder speakers. The laptop garnered mostly favorable reviews from the technology press but grumbles from creative types, a key constituency, who said the device under-performed rival products.
Interviews with people familiar with Apple's inner workings reveal that the Mac is getting far less attention than it once did. They say the Mac team has lost clout with the famed industrial design group led by Jony Ive and the company's software team. They also describe a lack of clear direction from senior management, departures of key people working on Mac hardware and technical challenges that have delayed the roll-out of new computers.
While the Mac generates about 10 percent of Apple sales, the company can't afford to alienate professional designers and other business customers. After all, they helped fuel Apple's revival in the late 1990s. In a stinging critique, Peter Kirn, founder of a website for music and video creators, wrote: "This is a company with no real vision for what its most creative users actually do with their most advanced machines."
If more Mac users switch, the Apple ecosystem will become less sticky—opening the door to people abandoning higher-value products like the iPhone and iPad.
People now have more options. Microsoft Corp., once derided by Mac loyalists for its clunky, buggy software, offers Windows 10, which provides the tablet type functionality Apple pioneered with the iPad. Microsoft's Surface computers offer Apple-esque quality and a well-reviewed creative paint program aimed at the Mac's audience. Sensing an opportunity, Microsoft called the MacBook Pro a "disappointment" and said more users than ever were switching to its Surface laptops.
An Apple spokesman declined to comment. However, the company has said the Macintosh remains one of its most important products and denies it takes a back seat to other gadgets.
Four years ago at Apple's annual developer conference, marketing chief Phil Schiller pledged to keep the computer front and center in the company's product arsenal. "Nobody turns over their entire line as quickly and completely as we do at Apple," Schiller said. "We’re really proud of the engineering team and the work they do to do this quick so you can get the exact product you need." Two years later, the company held a 30th birthday party for the Macintosh, a splashy event that featured a OneRepublic concert at Apple's Cupertino, California headquarters. The company also created a website celebrating the Mac's history.
To be fair, Apple depends on Intel Corp., which still makes key chips for Macs. Like the rest of the PC industry, Apple's innovation and product cycles are sometimes constrained by when Intel produces new chips—a process that's getting more difficult.
Continued in article
The Macbook Pro Launch in 2016 Is a Perplexing Misstep for Apple ---
http://qz.com/861334/the-macbook-pro-launch-is-a-perplexing-misstep-for-apple/
Not All Measures of GDP Are Created Equal ---
http://davegiles.blogspot.com/2016/12/not-all-measureds-of-gdp-are-created.html
In April, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the last appeal of the Authors
Guild in the nearly decade-old Google Books copyright case ---
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/04/fair-use-prevails-as-supreme-court-rejects-google-books-copyright-case/
LISNews Summary on December 15, 2016
10. Google Books Case Finally Ends
In April, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the last appeal of the Authors Guild in the nearly decade-old Google Books copyright case.9. Open Data Initiatives
This year saw continued growth of efforts to make research data freely available.8. Libraries Catch Pokémon Go Fever
Many libraries got on board with the latest augmented reality app based on collecting and fighting with other Pokémon creatures.7. Intellectual Property Disputes Aplenty
Legal cases involving everyone from Anne Frank to the NFL made headlines this year.6. Libraries Fund Open Access
More libraries now offer to pay author fees for open access publications.5. Welcome, Robot Overlords
This year AI agents won a game against a grandmaster of Go, made medical diagnoses, and drove a truck across the highway. Time will tell how these advances impact libraries.4. Sci-Hub
Piracy of academic research became a big league success via the website Sci-Hub, raising many questions and discussions about the need for such a clandestine distribution of knowledge.3. "Illegal Aliens"
After the U.S. Library of Congress announced the Subject Heading "Illegal Aliens" would be replaced with the terms "Noncitizens" and "Unauthorized immigration," Congress legislated a halt to the renaming process.2. Carla Hayden becomes the new Librarian of Congress
In September, Dr. Hayden was sworn in as the successor to James Billington, giving many hope about the future of the nation's library.1. Our "Post-truth" Era
The circumstances resulting in the naming of OED's word of the year, namely the rise of fake news and our current political climate, make librarians and other educators as important as ever.
The 10 biggest box-office bombs of 2016 ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/biggest-box-office-bombs-2016-12/#10-hail-caesar-30-million-1
Eye Opening (Wow) and Eye Closing (Yawn) Books in 2016
Economist Magazine 2016 Book Recommendations
---
http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21711295-best-books-2016-are-about-china-language-microbes-hereditary-power-inequality?cid1=cust/ednew/n/bl/n/2016128n/owned/n/n/nwl/n/n/NA/8318375/n
Quartz Favorite 2016 Books ---
http://qz.com/853593/quartzs-favorite-books-of-2016-in-25-words-or-less/
Brain Pickings: Best Children's Books of 2016 ---
https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/12/12/the-best-childrens-books-of-2016/?utm_source=Brain+Pickings&utm_campaign=ea1dba75d6-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_12_12&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_179ffa2629-ea1dba75d6-234390133&mc_cid=ea1dba75d6&mc_eid=4d2bd13843
The New York Times: 10 Best Books of 2016 ---
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/books/review/best-books.html
The Association of Small Bombs By Karan Mahajan
The North Water By Ian McGuire
The Underground Railroad By Colson Whitehead
The Vegetarian By Han Kang. Translated by Deborah Smith
War and Turpentine By Stefan Hertmans. Translated by David McKay.
At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails By Sarah Bakewell
In the Darkroom By Susan Faludi
The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between By Hisham Matar
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City By Matthew Desmond
Jensen Comment
This is a book that shows us the dark side of USA poverty. It's an eye-opening book about government welfare policies and programs gone bad.Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right By Jane Mayer
Jensen Comment
There are 400 billionaires in the USA: Half are Good (Democrats) and Half are Bad (Republicans)
A better title for this book would've been "A Billionaires Guide for Political Correctness" (Of course Oprah and Bill Moyers love it)
Bill Gates Book Choices for 2016 (not
necessarily published in 2016)---
http://time.com/4590348/bill-gates-best-books-of-2016/?xid=newsletter-brief
String Theory, by David Foster Wallace.
Shoe Dog, by Phil Knight.
The Gene, by Siddhartha Mukherjee.
The Myth of the Strong Leader, by Archie Brown.
Honorable mention: The Grid, by Gretchen Bakke.
Newsweek's Choices for Favorite Books of 2016 ---
http://www.newsweek.com/our-favorite-books-2016-newsweek-staff-picks-528632
Buisness Insider Readers Choose the 20 Best Books in 2016 ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/best-books-goodreads-2016-12
Brain Pickings: The Best Science Books of 2016 ---
https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/12/07/best-science-books-2016/?utm_source=Brain+Pickings&utm_campaign=c7e5d16b78-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_12_06&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_179ffa2629-c7e5d16b78-234390133&mc_cid=c7e5d16b78&mc_eid=4d2bd13843
Bob Jensen's Favorite Book for 2016 by one of Bob Jensen's Favorite Authors
Book Review
Michael Lewis’s ‘Brilliant’ New Book About Cognitive Bias ---
http://www.wsj.com/articles/michael-lewiss-brilliant-new-book-about-cognitive-bias-1480982097?mod=djemMERMichael Lewis’s brilliant book celebrates Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, Israeli-American psychologists who are our age’s apostles of doubt about human reason. The timing is fortunate, given that overconfident experts may have caused and then failed to predict such momentous events as Brexit and the election of Donald Trump.
Mr. Kahneman and Tversky (who died in 1996) first started working together in 1969. They were well-matched. The Holocaust survivor Mr. Kahneman chronically doubted even himself. The brash Tversky targeted his doubts toward others, especially (as one acquaintance noted) “people who don’t know the difference between knowing and not knowing.” Testing people with quizzes in their laboratory, they found a host of “cognitive biases” afflicting rational thinking.
One bias they found is that we underestimate uncertainty. In hindsight bias, for example, test subjects misremembered their own predictions as being correct. As Tversky explained, “we find ourselves unable to predict what will happen; yet, after the fact we explain what did happen with a great deal of confidence. . . . It leads us to believe that there is a less uncertain world than there actually is.” Mr. Lewis is outraged by McKinsey & Co. coaching their consultants to radiate certainty while billing clients huge fees to forecast such unknowable variables as the future price of oil. The work of Tversky and Mr. Kahneman convinced Mr. Lewis that, as he puts it when summarizing the view of a jaded former consultant, such “confidence was a sign of fraudulence.”
Failing to process uncertainty correctly, we attach too much importance to too small a number of observations. Basketball teams believe that players suddenly have a “hot hand” after they have made a string of baskets, so you should pass them the ball. Tversky showed that the hot hand was a myth—among many small samples of shooting attempts, there will randomly be some streaks. Instead of a hot hand, there was “regression to the mean”—players fall back down to their average shooting prowess after a streak. Likewise a “cold” player will move back up to his own average. (Both Mr. Lewis and his subjects love sports examples; Mr. Lewis now says that he realizes the insights chronicled in his 2003 “Moneyball,” about flawed judgment in baseball, had been predicted by Mr. Kahneman and Tversky all along.)
Failing to understand regression to the mean is a ubiquitous source of prediction errors, such as expecting China’s world-record streak of high economic growth rates to continue forever (it won’t). Mr. Kahneman showed that such flawed thinking had even messed up the Israeli Air Force. Officers praised pilots after a great landing and berated them after a terrible one. Officers then noticed that the next landing after a fantastic one was worse, while the one after a horrendous one was better. The Air Force concluded that praise backfired while criticism improved performance. Mr. Kahneman noted that this spurious conclusion failed to understand regression to the mean. When he repeated this story to test subjects later, they made up stories about why praise backfired—they were also blind to the regression to the mean. Mr. Kahneman wrote: “It is part of the human condition that we are statistically punished for rewarding others and rewarded for punishing them.”
We also process uncertainty about people badly, resorting to stereotypes based on a small number of vivid examples about different types of people. Nobody in basketball thought of an awkward Chinese-American as a typical star, so nobody drafted Jeremy Lin in 2010. The Knicks discovered his abilities only in 2012 after a rash of injuries forced them to play him. Tversky and Mr. Kahneman found that stereotypes are more powerful than the logic of probability. They told test subjects that a fictitious “Linda” was smart and socially conscious and asked which is more likely: (a) that Linda is a bank teller or (b) that Linda is a bank teller and a feminist. Subjects chose (b) even though the subset of feminist bank tellers has to be smaller than the set of all bank tellers (feminist and non-feminist). Linda was just too irresistible a stereotype of a feminist to obey the laws of sets and probability.
Today vivid examples of Muslim terrorists have the far more serious consequence of inducing many to vastly overestimate the likelihood that any random Muslim might be a terrorist. A passenger on an American Airlines flight in May reported a suspicious dark-haired man next to her scribbling what looked like Arabic on a piece of paper. Security personnel pulled him off the plane only to discover that he was an Italian professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania who had been doing differential equations.
It would be wrong to mock uneducated people for such mistakes, because Mr. Kahneman and Tversky found that even those trained in statistics exhibit the same cognitive biases. Indeed, there exist no experts without cognitive biases to fix everyone else’s cognitive biases.
Tversky sadly died much too young, at age 59. Mr. Kahneman went on to win the Nobel Prize in economics in 2002, then wrote a best-selling book, “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” in 2011—the next great book to read after this one. There Mr. Kahneman balanced out the account a bit. He and Tversky had focused on mistakes, but there are many things that the brain does well—as Mr. Lewis also notes.
Continued in articleJensen Comment
One of my all-time favorite writers is Michael Lewis. I first encountered him in my research on derivative financial instruments frauds. My "timeline" of these frauds has many quotes from books by Michael Lewis ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudRotten.htm#DerivativesFrauds
The FTC’s complaint said those
claims, used in DeVry’s marketing material and advertisements, were exaggerated
and deceptive (mostly about post-graduate employment opportunities)
DeVry University and its parent company will pay $100 million to settle a
lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission ---
http://www.chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/devry-settles-federal-lawsuit-for-100-million/116150?cid=db&elqTrackId=cd45f0235991466f88c71cec8d889066&elq=0ae47d9362e84978935c876244c1e3d8&elqaid=11867&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=4751
How Big Banks Are Putting Rain Forests in
Peril ---
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/03/business/energy-environment/how-big-banks-are-putting-rain-forests-in-peril.html?elqTrackId=1e783a001785455391c2ccd48a2f85ca&elq=0ae47d9362e84978935c876244c1e3d8&elqaid=11867&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=4751&_r=0
Environmental groups raced to the scene in West Kalimantan province, on the island of Borneo, to find a charred wasteland: smoldering fires, orangutans driven from their nests, and signs of an extensive release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
“There was pretty much no forest left,” said Karmele Llano Sánchez, director of the nonprofit International Animal Rescue’s orangutan rescue group, which set out to save the endangered primates. “All the forest had burned.”
Fingers pointed to the Rajawali Group, a sprawling local conglomerate known for its ties to powerful politicians like Malaysia’s scandal-plagued prime minister. But lesser known is how some of the world’s largest banks have helped Rajawali — and other global agricultural powerhouses — expand their plantation empires.
The year before the clearing of trees in West Kalimantan, Rajawali’s plantation arm secured $235 million in loans — funds that the Indonesian company used to buy out a partner and bolster its landholdings — from banks including Credit Suisse and Bank of America, according to an examination of lending data by The New York Times.
Continued in article
The New York
Times: the Finnish government will randomly choose 2,000 unemployed
people and pay them a regular wage for doing nothing, no strings attached
---
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/17/business/economy/universal-basic-income-finland.html?ref=technology&utm_source=MIT+TR+Newsletters&utm_campaign=1772be079e-newsletters-the-download&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_997ed6f472-1772be079e-153727301&goal=0_997ed6f472-1772be079e-153727301&mc_cid=1772be079e&mc_eid=fe7f400ea3
Jensen Comment
This is a variation of the Cuban Model wherein every Cuban gets free housing,
free education, free medical services, free transportation, and free coupon
books for food and beer. Unlike Finland, however, there's not much incentive to
become employed since the maximum wage allowed is $27 per day.
This Finnish Model is an experiment akin to a negative income tax favored by conservative economist Milton Friedman. Neither the Finnish Model nor the Negative Income Tax Model, however, would work well in large economies having massive underground (cash-only) economies where many people supposedly being low in income are really secretly employed for cash supplementing their reported incomes. Examples of economies having huge underground economies include the USA and India. India is now trying to fight back against the underground economy by replacing cash with digital payment systems having records of payments. However, thus far the experiment in India is a disaster since it was too big a transition implemented much too quickly.
There's potential unfairness in the Finnish Model and the Negative Income Tax Model for people living alone versus people living in co-habitation such as is common in marriage. It is harder to live alone on a $40,000 cash benefit than to live with another person and doubling up two $40,000 cash payments or living with another person earning $200,000 per year.
The Cuban model is better in many instances to giving cash for not working since many people are irresponsible with money --- such as letting the kids go hungry and not paying the rent so that the cash can be spent on booze, drugs, gambling, cruises, etc.
However good it sounds on paper, however, the Cuban model is not sustainable. The same can probably be said for the new Finnish Model and the Negative Income Tax Model. They can probably only work in a nation having an enormous windfall to support enormous numbers of people who do not work --- Kuwait comes first to mind before the crash in oil prices. Norway could not make it on oil money alone even before oil prices crashed.. North Korea would like to win by extortion where the rest of the world pays enormous amounts to prevent North Korea from selling WMDs to terrorists. There's great risk to this strategy, however, since North Korea might be destroyed in retaliation if terrorists use those WMDs.
The Atlantic: Fidel Knew the 'Cuban Model'
Couldn't Last Forever ---
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/11/fidel-castro-obituary/508805/
. . .
His self-awareness evinced itself most notably during a discussion about the relevance of Cuban revolutionary socialism. I had asked him if he believed that the Cuban model was still something worth exporting. He answered, “The Cuban model doesn't even work for us anymore.” As I wrote at the time, this struck me as the mother of all Emily Litella moments—it seemed as if the leader of the Revolution had just said, in essence, “never mind.”
Continued in article
In Cuba where the goal was to eliminate inequality, Fidel Castro found that his ration books, free housing, free public transportation, and minimal wages destroyed incentives to work.
"Report: Castro says Cuban model doesn't work,"
by Paul Haven. Associated Press, Yahoo News,
September 8, 2010 ---
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100908/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_cuba_fidel_castro_5
Fidel Castro told a visiting American journalist that Cuba's communist economic model doesn't work, a rare comment on domestic affairs from a man who has conspicuously steered clear of local issues since stepping down four years ago.
The fact that things are not working efficiently on this cash-strapped Caribbean island is hardly news. Fidel's brother Raul, the country's president, has said the same thing repeatedly. But the blunt assessment by the father of Cuba's 1959 revolution is sure to raise eyebrows.
Jeffrey Goldberg, a national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine, asked if Cuba's economic system was still worth exporting to other countries, and Castro replied: "The Cuban model doesn't even work for us anymore" Goldberg wrote Wednesday in a post on his Atlantic blog.
He said Castro made the comment casually over lunch following a long talk about the Middle East, and did not elaborate. The Cuban government had no immediate comment on Goldberg's account.
Since stepping down from power in 2006, the ex-president has focused almost entirely on international affairs and said very little about Cuba and its politics, perhaps to limit the perception he is stepping on his brother's toes.
Goldberg, who traveled to Cuba at Castro's invitation last week to discuss a recent Atlantic article he wrote about Iran's nuclear program, also reported on Tuesday that Castro questioned his own actions during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, including his recommendation to Soviet leaders that they use nuclear weapons against the United States.
Even after the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba has clung to its communist system.
The state controls well over 90 percent of the economy, paying workers salaries of about $20 a month in return for free health care and education, and nearly free transportation and housing. At least a portion of every citizen's food needs are sold to them through ration books at heavily subsidized prices.
President Raul Castro and others have instituted a series of limited economic reforms, and have warned Cubans that they need to start working harder and expecting less from the government. But the president has also made it clear he has no desire to depart from Cuba's socialist system or embrace capitalism.
Fidel Castro stepped down temporarily in July 2006 due to a serious illness that nearly killed him.
He resigned permanently two years later, but remains head of the Communist Party. After staying almost entirely out of the spotlight for four years, he re-emerged in July and now speaks frequently about international affairs. He has been warning for weeks of the threat of a nuclear war over Iran.
Castro's interview with Goldberg is the only one he has given to an American journalist since he left office.
From the Scout Report on December 16, 2016
OverSight --- https://objective-see.com/products/oversight.html
For Mac users concerned about cybersecurity, OverSight is a free security tool designed to alert users when the microphone or webcam on their computers have been activated. As the creators of OverSight note, "[o]ne of the most insidious actions of malware" is that it can "[abuse] the audio and video capabilities of an infected host to record an unknowing user." The creators go on to say, that "while the webcam's LED will turn on whenever a session is initially started, new research has shown that malware can surreptitiously piggyback into such existing sessions [such as Facetime or Skype sessions] and record both audio and video - without fear of detection." For more information about OverSight and to download this tool, check out the link above. [MMB]
deseat.me --- https://www.deseat.me
Gmail users interested in adding some simplicity to their lives will want to check out deseat.me, a tool that identifies websites that you've previously signed up for in order to help users unsubscribe. By visiting the website above and signing into Google, users can see the names of organizations and businesses where they currently have subscriptions. For each email list, visitors can select to keep the subscription or to add it to the "Delete Queue." A heads up: adding sites to the Delete Queue does not automatically unsubscribe users, but users can click on a link to the host site's webpage in order to unsubscribe.
New Study Uncovers Alumni Attitudes Toward College Career Services
Students Who Get Better Career Guidance Remember College More Fondly
http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/12/15/505005019/ getting-good-career-advice- will-make-your-college- experience-better
Only 17 percent of recent graduates say career centers are 'very helpful'
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/12/13/only-17- percent-recent-graduates-say- career-centers-are-very- helpful
Gallup-Purdue Index Report 2016
http://www.gallup.com/reports/199172/gallup-purdue-index- report-2016.aspx
Colleges Really Need to Rethink the Career Advice They Deliver
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/12/ colleges-really-need-to- rethink-the-career-advice- they-deliver/510647
O*NET OnLine
https://www.onetonline.org
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Resources for Jobseeker or Worker
https://www.bls.gov/audience/jobseekers.htm
Free Online Tutorials, Videos, Course Materials, and Learning Centers
Education Tutorials
University of Washington Center for Philosophy for Children: Lesson Plans ---
http://depts.washington.edu/nwcenter/resources/lesson-plans
Example: Ethics of Self-Driving Cars ---
http://depts.washington.edu/nwcenter/lessonplans/ethical-dilemma-self-driving-cars/
Bob Jensen's threads on general education tutorials are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#EducationResearch
Bob Jensen's bookmarks for multiple disciplines --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm
Bob Jensen's links to free courses and tutorials --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI
Engineering, Science, and Medicine TutorialsGenes --- http://www.mdpi.com/journal/genes
Globe at Night (astronomy, light pollution) --- https://www.globeatnight.org
Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet: Resources: Graphics and Multimedia --- http://climate.nasa.gov/resources/graphics-and-multimedia
New England May Not Be Volcano-Free Forever ---
https://www.wired.com/2016/12/new-england-might-not-volcano-free-forever/
Jensen Comment
I watch daily toward New Hampshire's White Mountains for smoke signals.
The History of Emotions Blog --- https://emotionsblog.history.qmul.ac.uk
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
Deliberating in a Democracy --- http://www.did.deliberating.org/lessons/index.html
University of Washington Center for Philosophy for Children: Lesson Plans ---
http://depts.washington.edu/nwcenter/resources/lesson-plans
Example: Ethics of Self-Driving Cars ---
http://depts.washington.edu/nwcenter/lessonplans/ethical-dilemma-self-driving-cars/
The Expanding Canon: Teaching Multicultural Literature - The Interactive
Forum ---
https://www.learner.org/workshops/hslit/interactive/index.html
The History of Emotions Blog --- https://emotionsblog.history.qmul.ac.uk
Watch a 2-Year-Old Solve Philosophy’s Famous Ethical “Trolley Problem” (It
Doesn’t End Well) ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/watch-a-2-year-old-solve-philosophys-famous-ethical-trolley-problem-it-doesnt-end-well.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
Jensen Comment
Erika and I yesterday watched the Helen Mirren film entitled "Eye in the Sky"
---
https://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Eye-in-the-Sky/80080265?trkid=201886046
That movie centers on a drone strike in Kenya where the debate concerns whether
collateral damage with a 65% chance of knowingly killing one child outweighs an
almost certain chance of killing 80 people in a mall (where the terrorists cause
the deaths)
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
Scroll down to Lawhttp://depts.washington.edu/nwcenter/lessonplans/ethical-dilemma-self-driving-cars/lele
Math Tutorials
Mathematics and Music --- http://www.ams.org/samplings/math-and-music
Bob Jensen's threads on free online mathematics tutorials are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm
Scroll down to Mathematics and Statistics
Bob Jensen's links to free courses and tutorials --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI
History Tutorials
Battle of Adwa 1896 (Ethiopia in 1896) --- http://www.battleofadwa.org
American Experience: The Rise and Fall of Penn Station --- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/penn
The History of Emotions Blog --- https://emotionsblog.history.qmul.ac.uk
75 Years of CIA Maps Now Declassified & Made Available Online ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/see-75-years-of-cia-maps-now-declassified-at-the-agencys-cartography-center.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
Bob Jensen's threads on history tutorials are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm
Scroll down to History
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
Mathematics and Music --- http://www.ams.org/samplings/math-and-music
American Vernacular Music Manuscripts: ca. 1730-1910 --- http://popmusic.mtsu.edu/ManuscriptMusic
Bob Jensen's threads on free music tutorials are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm
Scroll down to Music
Bob Jensen's threads on music performances ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/music.htm
Writing Tutorials
Grammar Guides: http://australianhelp.com/grammar
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
CDC Blogs --- http://blogs.cdc.gov/
Updates from WebMD --- http://www.webmd.com/
December 13, 2016
December 14, 2016
December 15, 2016
December 17, 2016
December 22, 2016
December 27, 2016
The Case Against Sugar --
https://aeon.co/essays/sugar-is-a-toxic-agent-that-creates-conditions-for-disease?utm_source=Aeon+Newsletter&utm_campaign=6e820fdc68-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_12_22&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_411a82e59d-6e820fdc68-68951505
50 Foods You Should Never Eat (but I do in many instances) ---
http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/nutrition/50-foods-you-should-never-eat/ss-BBodjvN?ocid=spartanntp
Diabetes Missing Link Discovered ---
http://phys.org/news/2016-12-diabetes-link.html
Why (Most) Vitamin Pills Don't Work and May be
Bad for You ---
http://www.bbc.com/future/storyhttp://www.bbc.com/future/story/20161208-why-vitamin-supplements-could-kill-you/20161208-why-vitamin-supplements-could-kill-you
Jensen Comment
One of my physicians years ago told me that all vitamine pills did for me was
make for expensive urine.
USA Melanoma Rate is Rising, Study Finds
---
http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/us-melanoma-rate-is-rising-study-finds/ar-BBxpYTQ?ocid=spartanntp
Humor for December 2016
Hear “Twas The Night Before Christmas” Read by Stephen Fry & John Cleese ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/hear-twas-the-night-before-christmas-read-by-stephen-fry-and-john-cleese.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
Bill Murray & Gilda Radner Deliver the Laughs in Two 1970s Skits for National
Lampoon ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/bill-murray-gilda-radner-deliver-the-laughs-in-two-1970s-skits-for-national-lampoon.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
SNL's Effort to Help the GOP Win Bigger in
2018 and 2020 ---
http://www.vox.com/2016/12/18/13997238/snl-russia-baldwin-trump-putin-tillerson-goodman-cold-open
Pissing off a shirtless Putin even more is not a good way to stop the hacking
SNL = Sore
Nighttime Losers
on NBC
Country Singer Ray Stevens Reveals How Election Fraud Typically Takes Place
---
http://www.angrypatriotmovement.com/ray-stevens-voter-fraud-song/
An Arranged Marriage is a Family Affair ---
https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/511472/arranged-marriage-family-affair/
Acclaimed Japanese Jazz Pianist Yōsuke Yamashita Plays a Burning Piano on the
Beach ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/acclaimed-japanese-jazz-pianist-yosuke-yamashita-plays-a-burning-piano-on-the-beach.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%2
Jensen Comment
The last time I saw a piano on fire was at the end of the "Great Balls of Fire"
clip from the life of Jerry Lee Lewis movie
Try to not move your hands and legs while this clip plays.
More About Social Correctness Than Political Correctness
Lake Superior State University's 41st Annual List
of Banished Words ---
http://www.lssu.edu/banished/
Jensen Comment
Much depends upon context. Motivational speakers make millions of dollars
beating socially incorrect words to death. Rappers make millions beating
politically incorrect words to death.
The Real Obituary of Chris Connors, Age 67
Irishman Dies from Stubbornness, Whiskey
http://www.barstoolsports.com/boston/this-is-without-a-doubt-the-best-obituary-ive-ever-read-its-not-even-close-outstanding-outstanding-obituary/?utm_campaign=SocialflowTw&utm_source=BarstoolTw&utm_medium=Socialflow
Forwarded by Paula
The Miracle of Sister Tarasita ---
http://www.richmond.com/life/in-my-shoes/article_ca3e3d37-e195-5cc0-99bf-5a848619e2d7.html
Humor December 2016 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q4.htm#Humor1216.htm
Humor November 2016 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q4.htm#Humor1116.htm
Humor October 2016 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q4.htm#Humor1016.htm
Humor September 2016 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q3.htm#Humor0916.htm
Humor August 2016 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q3.htm#Humor083116.htm
Humor July 2016 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q3.htm#Humor0716.htm
Humor June 2016 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q2.htm#Humor063016.htm
Humor May 2016 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q2.htm#Humor053116.htm
Humor April 2016 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q2.htm#Humor043016.htm
Humor March 2016 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q1.htm#Humor033116.htm
Humor February 2016 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q1.htm#Humor022916.htm
Humor January 2016 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q1.htm#Humor013116.htm
Humor December 1-31, 2015 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q4.htm#Humor123115.htm.htm
Humor November 1-30, 2015 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q4.htm#Humor113015.htm
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
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
AECM
(Educators)
http://listserv.aaahq.org/cgi- 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.
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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. |
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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. |
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Business Valuation Group
BusValGroup-subscribe@topica.com This discussion group is headed by Randy Schostag [RSchostag@BUSVALGROUP.COM] |
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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
|
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The CAlCPA Tax Listserv
September 4, 2008 message from Scott Bonacker
[lister@bonackers.com]
Scott forwarded the following message from Jim Counts
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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
a