Bob Jensen's Tidbits

I recently sent out an "Appeal" for accounting educators, researchers, and practitioners to actively support what I call The Accounting Review (TAR) Diversity Initiative as initiated by American Accounting Association President Judy Rayburn --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/395wpTAR/Web/TAR.htm

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

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

Reintroduced from Janie
It's hard to kiss the lips that chew your ass out all day long --- http://jbreck.com/itsshardtokiss.html
(Click on the play button in the upper left corner)

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

The Adventure of the Copper Beeches by Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) --- Click Here

The Adventure of the Abbey Grange by Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) --- Click Here

They also understand that the really rich won't pay the (inheritance) tax anyway because they hire lawyers to avoid it.
"Taxes Everlasting: Why the superrich don't mind the death tax," The Wall Street Journal, June 8, 2006 --- http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110008487

The true value of a human being is determined by his ability to attain liberation from himself.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein

Over the past year or so, the British cultural historians Lisa Jardine and Annie Watkins conducted two surveys designed to pin down a consensus on novels that had "changed reader's lives." First, they interviewed 400 women, most of them involved in the arts, media, and university life. "Absolutely every woman we spoke to had her favourite," they reported recently in Britain's Guardian newspaper. Beyond the enthusiasm evinced by the interviewees, Jardine and Watkins were struck by the wide range of responses: . . . "The men's list was all angst and Orwell. Sort of puberty reading," Jardine cheekily told the Sydney Morning Herald. "We found that men do not regard books as a constant companion to their life's journey, as consolers or guides, as women do... They read novels a bit like they read photography manuals."
Nick Gillespie, "What's Your Favorite Novel? A recent survey of men's and women's favorite books points to a more fundamental question—and a fascinating answer," Reason Magazine, June 9, 2006 --- http://www.reason.com/links/links060906.shtml

What can (college) athletes do to protect their image? For starters, they should cultivate a positive one off the field. Some athletes have recently lived together off campus in their senior years and used their residences for all-campus parties. The potential for alcohol poisoning, date rape, and disruption to neighbors is very real if these parties go unmonitored. In addition, it is critical that individuals take responsibility for their actions and monitor the behavior of their peers. There are many aspects to being on a team for better and for worse. Finally, one way to monitor image is not to splash photos of questionable conduct over Facebook.com. This is not to say “misbehave, just as long as you keep it quiet.” Avoiding poor conduct is most important, but posting shameless photos is simply dumb.
David Tuttle --- http://www.trinity.edu/departments/student_affairs/student_conduct/2006report.htm

Gore's credibility is damaged early in the film when he tells the audience that, by simply looking at Antarctic ice cores with the naked eye, one can see when the American Clean Air Act was passed. Dr. Ian Clark, professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Ottawa (U of O) responds, "This is pure fantasy unless the reporter is able to detect parts per billion changes to chemicals in ice." Air over the United States doesn't even circulate to the Antarctic before mixing with most of the northern, then the southern, hemisphere air, and this process takes decades. Clark explains that even far more significant events, such as the settling of dust arising from the scouring of continental shelves at the end of ice ages, are undetectable in ice cores by an untrained eye.
Tom Harris, "The gods are laughing," National Post in Canada, June 7, 2006 --- http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=d0235a70-33f1-45b3-803b-829b1b3542ef&

What Schumer doesn't understand is that these are the very areas for which citizens of his own state (NY) have been leaving in droves to relocate. That's why Atlanta, with nearly five million residents, is home to the Centers for Disease Control, the world's busiest airport and the largest telecommunications infrastructure in the nation. And it's no secret now that Atlanta, home to the tallest building in the nation outside of New York or Chicago -- right behind New York's Chrysler Building -- was considered a major target following 9/11. Throw in CNN's headquarters being located in Atlanta, and I think there's a fairly good reason, beyond peanuts, to bring this area up to speed with those cities that have, to now, enjoyed the lion's share of urban security funds.
Matt Towery, "Revenge of the peanut farmers," Townhall, June 8, 2006 --- Click Here

Tom Robinson had long wondered about his family tree. He never suspected its roots might lie in the Mongolian steppe. The Florida accountant knew his great-great-grandfather came to America from England -- but beyond that the trail went cold. So he turned to "bioarchaeology" to test his DNA. He was in for a surprise. According to a British geneticist who pioneered the research, Robinson appears to be a direct descendant of Genghis Khan, the Mongol warrior. Some scientists say that claim goes too far, though few doubt Robinson's DNA reveals a direct genetic link to Mongolia.
"Descended from Genghis Khan? DNA test tantalizes a Florida accountant," PhysOrg, June 7, 2006 --- http://physorg.com/news68906418.html
Jensen Comment
If all this is true, Tom Robinson is not especially unique. The Gehghis Khan purported was very horny and has over 16 million direct decedents --- http://snipurl.com/FertileMale

A letter from Hotels.com to its customers said E&Y "was taking additional steps to protect the confidentiality of its data" by encrypting the customer data. A Hotels.com spokesperson said it doesn't appear that the laptop was the target of the car break-in or that credit cards had been used inappropriately. This is at least the third reported case of E&Y laptop theft that occurred in February. On Feb. 9, E&Y auditors left a secured room in a Miami hotel conference room for lunch and came back to find their laptops missing. Security footage shows two men entering and leaving the room within the one-minute delay of the auto-lock door. On Feb. 13, E&Y sent a letter to Bay Area clients warning that their Social Security numbers and other personal data were on a laptop stolen from an employee's locked car. The sensitive data was password-protected, according to the accounting firm.
"Another E&Y Laptop Stolen," SmartPros, June 7, 2006 --- http://accounting.smartpros.com/x53391.xml

In April 2006 I commenced reading a heavy book entitled Great Minds in Management: The Process of Theory Development, Edited by Ken G. Smith and Michael A. Hitt (Oxford Press, 2006).

The essays are somewhat personalized in terms of how theory development is perceived by each author and how these perceptions changed over time.

In Tidbits I will share some of the key quotations as I proceed through this book. The book is somewhat heavy going, so it will take some time to add selected quotations to the list of quotations at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen//theory/00overview/GreatMinds.htm

Developing Resource Dependence Theory: How Theory is Affected by its Environment

PG. #453 & 454
PFEFFER 21.5 THE POLITICS OF THEORY IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
There are, I believe, many misconceptions about theory and theory development in the organization and social sciences, particularly on the part of younger scholars. In concluding this discussion of the development and evolution of resource dependence theory, it is useful to both review these beliefs and see how they play out in understanding the growth and development of resource dependence.

The first, most strongly held, and possibly most harmful mistaken belief is that theories succeed or fail, prevail or fall into disuse, primarily, and some would maintain exclusively, on the basis of their ability to explain or predict the behavior that is the focus of the theory. Moreover, there is a belief that a theory's success in prediction and explanation is particularly important in explaining its success if there are competitive theories covering the same dependent variables. This belief is erroneous in at least two ways.

First of all, as argued elsewhere (Ferraro, Pfeffer, and Sutton, 2005), theories may create the environment they predict, thereby becoming true by construction rather than because they were originally veridical with the world they sought to explain. To the extent people believe in a particular theory, they may create institutional arrangements based on the theory that thereby bring the theory into reality through these practices and institutional structures. To the extent people hold a theory as true, they will act on the basis of the theory and expect others to act on that basis also, creating a normative environment in which it becomes difficult to not behave on the basis of the theory because to do so would violate some implicit or explicit expectations for behavior. And to the extent that people adhere to a theory and therefore use language derived from and consistent with the theory, the theory can become true because language primes both what we see and how we apprehend the world around us, so that talking using the terminology of a particular theory also makes the theory become true.

Second, the philosophy of science notwithstanding, theories are quite capable of surviving disconfirming evidence. Behavioral decision theory and its numerous empirical tests have shown that many of the most fundamental axioms of choice and decision that underlie economics are demonstrably false (e.g., Bazerman, forthcoming), but economics is scarcely withering away. Nor are the specific portions of economic theory predicated on assumptions that have been shown to be false necessarily any less believed or used. A similar situation is true in finance, where assumptions of capital market efficiency and the instantaneous diffusion of relevant information, so that a security's market price presumably incorporates all relevant information available at the time, have withstood numerous empirical and theoretical attacks. To take a case closer to organization studies, the reliance on and belief in the efficacy of extrinsic incentives and monetary rewards persists not only in the lay community but in the scholarly literature as well. So, Heath's (1999) insightful study of what he terms an extrinsic incentives bias is as relevant to the domain of scholars as it is to practicing managers and lay people.

What this means for resource dependence theory is that to the extent that claims that it is virtually dead (Carroll, 2002) are true and that it has been subsumed by transactions cost theory, this state of affairs may say less than one might expect about the comparative empirical success or theoretical coherence of transactions cost theory. As David and Han (2004: 39) summarized in their review of sixty-three articles empirically examining transaction cost economics, "we...found considerable disagreement on how to operationalize some of TCE's central constructs and propositions, and relatively low levels of empirical support in other core areas." Instead, the comment about the relative position of resource dependence and transactions cost theory may say more about the politics of social science and the fact that power is currently out of vogue and efficiency and environmental determinism such as that propounded by population ecology and other perspectives reifying an impersonal environment, with all of their conservative implications, is currently more in favor.

Many scientists, notably anthropologist, on government grants oppose open access publishing
At first glance, it seems that the research world is united against the Federal Research Public Access Act. Scholarly associations are lining up to express their anger over the bill, which would have federal agencies require grant recipients to publish their research papers — online and free — within six months of their publication elsewhere. Dozens of scholarly groups have joined in two letters — one organized by the Association of American Publishers and one by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. To look at the signatories (and the tones of the letters), it would appear that there’s a wide consensus that the legislation is bad for research. The cancer researchers are against it. The education researchers are against it. The biologists are against it. The ornithologists are against it. The anthropologists are against it. All of these groups are joining to warn that the bill could undermine the quality and economic viability of scholarly publishing.
Scott Jaschik, "In Whose Interest?" Inside Higher Ed, June 15, 2006 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/06/15/open

How to find what students are thinking and how they are socializing
The answer given by Shawn McGuirk, director of judicial affairs, mediation and education at Fitchburg State College, in Massachusetts, was that, if institutions want to know what the kids are doing these days, they’ll want to know what they’re doing on Facebook. The good, and the bad. In a Magna Publications Web seminar for student affairs staff members Wednesday, McGuirk said that colleges should use Facebook faux pas as teachable moments whenever possible, rather than embracing Facebook as policy or law enforcement tool.
David Epstein, "The Many Faces of Facebook," Inside Higher Ed, June 15, 2006 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/06/15/facebook

Cheap Drinking Water from the Ocean
A water desalination system using carbon nanotube-based membranes could significantly reduce the cost of purifying water from the ocean. The technology could potentially provide a solution to water shortages both in the United States, where populations are expected to soar in areas with few freshwater sources, and worldwide, where a lack of clean water is a major cause of disease.
Aditi Risbud, "Cheap Drinking Water from the Ocean: Carbon nanotube-based membranes will dramatically cut the cost of desalination," MIT's Technology Review, June 12, 2006 --- Click Here

Question
What's the newest outsourcing trend in student cheating?
This could not possibly happen in the United States (Ha! Ha!)

Answer
In a unique twist to outsourcing from Britain to India, students in British universities have been paying computer professionals in India to complete their course assignments for a fee. The newly recognised trend, operating mainly through the Internet, has been dubbed as "contract plagiarism" by British academics who have tracked such malpractices. It is more in vogue among students enrolled in IT courses in British universities.
"British students outsourcing assignments to India," The Times of India, June 14, 2006 --- Click Here

Another Question
If students are outsourcing their assignments, where are they spending their time?

University of Chicago Cocktail Parties for Educational Purposes: Don't get drunk or hit on the women
On Friday afternoon at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business, students are streaming towards their weekly dinner with deans and fellow classmates -- all 500 of them. This is just one of the GSB's many social events throughout the year. They include corporate-sponsored cocktail hours, formal dinners, mock receptions, and theme parties. While these gatherings may sound like fun, they also serve a weighty purpose -- getting students a good job. In fact, for those outside B-school, the experience may sound like a little too much fun. After all, this is school, not a vacation. But there's a lot to be learned from the socializing. It's an opportunity to network and scope out your B-school buddies — and competitors." Careers are a focal point of student socializing and networking," says Stacey Kole, deputy dean of Chicago's full-time MBA program.
"The Art of the Schmooze," Business Week, June 12, 2006 --- Click Here

Bob Jensen's a worried owner of a Jeep Grand Cherokee
The attorney general is calling for a federal investigation into potentially fatal problems with Jeep Grand Cherokees. This comes just months after a freak accident at a Hamden car wash killed a 52-year-old man. A Jeep Grand Cherokee went out of control and mowed down the man. It is called "jeep sudden acceleration," and apparently it happens when a Grand Cherokee is shifted from neutral to drive. Doug Newman, the owner of Newman's Connecticut Car Wash says he's seen it before -- at least four times, "The incidents I know of with this problem all occur at the exit end of the car wash. Upon starting the car, the car immediately red lines, goes to 2800 - 3000 RPMs, at the same time you're putting the car in gear it takes off." Problems with sudden acceleration have also been reported at places like drive up ATMs. Daimler Chrysler, which makes Jeep, does not acknowledge there is a problem. The company says they did several studies that concluded "driver error is the only plausible explanation for sudden acceleration."
"Attorney general calls for investigation into Jeep Grand Cherokees," WTNH, June 13, 2006 --- http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=5022450

Howard Dean Having it Both Ways to Lure Voters on Both Sides:
Troops should leave Iraq, but troops should also stay in Iraq

"Brown Dents Dean: With Dems, 'Don't Know What I'm Voting For'," Newsbusters, June 13, 2006 --- http://newsbusters.org/node/5851

Answer (Probably not, but these claims are part of a worldwide effort to dupe the press. Watch for false terrorist accusations to be recklessly reported in Time Magazine, Newsweek, The New York Times and The Washington Post)
Terrorism experts said yesterday torture claims made by some of the 17 suspects arrested in Toronto in connection with alleged bomb plots are consistent with a familiar pattern. "What we have seen is that this is pretty much standard operating procedure for [accused terrorists] to make these kinds of complaints," said Tom Quiggin of the Centre of Excellence for National Security in Singapore. During court hearings on Monday, several men arrested for what police describe as an Ontario terror plot claimed prison guards had tortured them. A jihadist training manual seized by police in Britain instructs captured terrorists...
Stewart Bell, "Suspects' torture claims predictable, experts say," Canada's National Post, June 14, 2006 --- http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=e59a54a4-b316-4704-898c-6974d230ba50

EBay signs up 200 millionth member
EBay Inc. has now registered 200 million users of its online auction services, which would make it the fifth-largest country in the world if its members could form one nation, its CEO said on Tuesday.
"EBay signs up 200 millionth member," Reuters, June 13, 2006 --- Click Here

LAS VEGAS EBay's big buying binge was the talk of its fifth annual user convention here this week, which pulled 15,000 sellers from around the world eager to learn what the Internet auction giant plans to do next. While eBay Inc. is showing signs of a middle-age crisis, with slowing growth and a sliding stock price, company executives seemed almost giddy as they outlined plans to use their recent acquisitions to move beyond auctions -- into communications, advertising and financial services.
"An Older, Wiser EBay, Growing Patiently," by Leslie Walker, The Washington Post, June 15, 2006, Page D01 ---
Click Here

New Poet Laureate of the United States
Donald Hall will be named poet laureate of the United States today (June 14), The New York Times reported. The position — which operates through the Library of Congress — is designed to promote awareness of poetry.
Inside Higher Ed, June 14, 2006 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/06/14/qt

Turn Left at the Presbyterian Church
A growing number of Presbyterians are engaged in a battle for the future of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Over the past two years, this denomination -- my denomination -- has taken a turn toward radicalism that threatens to tarnish a once-proud institution. At issue is the Presbyterian Church's decision in 2004 "to initiate a process of phased, selective divestment in multinational corporations operating in Israel." The fallout was immediate, painful and damaging. Not only are a handful of church leaders taking positions that are highly unpopular in the pews, they are doing so with heavy-handed, top-down measures, actions that run contrary to long-honored traditions. Not surprisingly, the church is experiencing problems with declining membership and dwindling financial support -- due in large part to widespread frustration over the direction the leadership has taken. Instead of developing policies to unite us, the leadership is sowing seeds for further defections by large numbers.
"Turn Left at the Presbyterian Church," by Jim Roberts, The Wall Street Journal, June 15, 2006; Page A14 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115033656216580816.html?mod=opinion&ojcontent=otep

June 15, 2006 reply from a religion professor and ordained minister in the Presbyterian church

But Not Necessarily at the Local Level
Presbyterian Church dismisses UT professor

Old News
I don't believe in God. I don't believe Jesus Christ was the son of a God that I don't believe in, nor do I believe Jesus rose from the dead to ascend to a heaven that I don't believe exists. Given these positions, this year I did the only thing that seemed sensible: I formally joined a Christian church. Standing before the congregation of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas, I affirmed that I (1) endorsed the core principles in Christ's teaching; (2) intended to work to deepen my understanding and practice of the universal love at the heart of those principles; and (3) pledged to be a responsible member of the church and the larger community.
"Why I Am a Christian (Sort Of)," by Robert W. Jensen, AlterNet. March 10, 2006 --- http://www.alternet.org/story/33236/

June 12 Update
"Presbyterian church dismisses UT professor," by Andy St. Jean, The Daily Texan --- Click Here

Another Snapshot of Congressional Ethics (that infamous oxymoron)
The Congressional debate over "earmarks" continues, and not in a way that makes the GOP majority look good. This week the Members are pushing through another 1,500 special spending projects, even as the controversy has engulfed California's Jerry Lewis, who as House Appropriations Chairman is earmarker in chief. Federal investigators are examining whether Mr. Lewis abused his position by steering earmarks to his political friends and former employees. In one case, the Justice Department is investigating whether defense industry lobbyists were urged to contribute money to a political action committee run by Mr. Lewis's stepdaughter, with a good portion of the money used for her own salary.
"Earmarker in Chief." The Wall Street Journal, June 15, 2006; Page A14 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115033555119580784.html?mod=opinion&ojcontent=otep

"Revamping the Web Browser: Surfing the Web has meant using much the same technology for years. Now startups are working on new ways to navigate the Net," by Wade Roush, MIT's Technology Review, June 12, 2006 --- Click Here

Modern Day Arsenic and Old Lace
Ms. Rutterschmidt, 73, and another woman, Helen Golay, 75, pleaded not guilty last week to federal charges of mail fraud and submitting false insurance applications. According to the authorities, the two women extended helping hands to two homeless men, getting them off the streets and putting them up in apartments, while at the same time plotting their deaths. Posing as aunts, fiancées or cousins, they took out numerous life insurance policies on the men, Paul Vados and Kenneth McDavid, with themselves as the beneficiaries, collecting over $2.2 million after the men died in separate hit-and-run traffic cases, the authorities said.
Cindy Chang, "Two Elderly Women Suspected as Femmes Fatales in Insurance Fraud Scheme," The New York Times, June 12, 2006 --- http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/12/us/12grannies.html

IRS Laptop Lost With Data on 291 People
Given the likelihood of lost luggage on airlines (especially with valuable contents), what's more stupid than checking your laptop before a flight?
An Internal Revenue Service employee lost an agency laptop early last month that contained sensitive personal information on 291 workers and job applicants, a spokesman said yesterday. The IRS's Terry L. Lemons said the employee checked the laptop as luggage aboard a commercial flight while traveling to a job fair and never saw it again. The computer contained unencrypted names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and fingerprints of the employees and applicants, Lemons said. Slightly more than 100 of the people affected were IRS employees, he said. No tax return information was in the laptop, he said.
Christopher Lee, "IRS Laptop Lost With Data on 291 People," The Washington Post, June 8, 2006 --- Click Here
Jensen Comment
Although many fewer people are victimized relative to the huge VA breach, the extent of personal data loss for each person is immensely more serious in the IRS loss.

"Laptop Security, Part 2: Tips on protecting your data, should fate--or a criminal--separate you and your notebook," by James A. Martin, PC World via The Washington Post, June 9. 2006 --- Click Here

The Unknown Professor has a fascinating post today about how Journal Rankings may be manipulated.

Two longish look-ins:

"In today's Wall Street Journal (online subscription required) Sharon Begley provides a rare look into the world of academic journal rankings. She describes some of the ways that scientific journals manipulate their "impact factors"."

and later describing his/her (I would imagine people know, but I won't out anything) own experiences (I would add to his below comment by saying I would be surprised if anyone who has published a few papers has not had the reference coaching happen now and then).

"One [way] is to ask authors to include additional citations to other pieces in the journal. I've seen this tactic used several times (both on my pieces and on those of colleagues). Typically, once a piece is either accepted or in the "last round", the editor might "suggest" other articles in the same journal which might possibly be cited. In one case, the editor gave a colleague of mine a list of eight possible citations (which would have increased the total citations in the author's bibliography by almost 50%). However, this doesn't happen as much as you'd think, because I use my bibliography as one of the criteria I use in deciding which journal to submit a piece to: if I cite a good number of articles from a particular journal, it's probably a good fit for the piece"

Why Indonesia remains relatively lenient on terror
Wherever he is, Osama bin Laden must be smiling. Next week, Abu Bakar Bashir -- the al Qaeda-linked cleric known as Southeast Asia's "emir of jihad" -- is expected to walk free from a Jakarta jail. It's all perfectly legal. Mr. Bashir has served his time, and his terrorist organization, Jemaah Islamiya (JI), isn't banned in Indonesia. Clearly, it's time to ask why the world's most populous Muslim country remains relatively lenient on terror, when the threat is so real . . . In exchange for gaining the political support of PKS and others like it for legislative initiatives -- such as last year's painful slashing of fuel-price subsidies -- the president sometimes turns a blind eye when conservative Islamic ideas rear their ugly head. Other times, former President Abdurrahman Wahid recently told us, Mr. Yudhoyono "lacks courage."
"Jakarta's Jihadist," The Wall Street Journal, June 8, 2006 --- Click Here

Racism on the Rise in Germany: Ugly resurgence of racism with prowling violent gangs
"There are areas in Brandenburg and other parts of the East," Mr. Heye said, "where dark-skinned foreigners might not make it out alive." Just a couple of weeks ago, an Ethiopian-born engineer in Potsdam had his skull smashed at a bus stop when he got into a shouting match with two youngsters. The refugee organization Afrikarat, meanwhile, has promised to provide football fans from abroad with a map of "no-go areas." While Mr. Heye was at first shouted down by local politicians from all major parties for gross exaggeration, the annual criminal statistics published the very next day confirmed the basic trend: Violent hate crimes were up 24% in 2005 -- to 1,034 from 832 -- and continued to be most prevalent in the East. If you adjust for the lower number of immigrants in, say, rural Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a foreign-looking person is about 25 times as likely to be assaulted in the East as in the West, says University of Hannover criminologist Christian Pfeifer.
Mriam Lau, "No-Go Germany," The Wall Street Journal, June 8, 2006 --- Click Here

Bringing Data Back From the Dead
But there are less-expensive alternatives, including some of the consumer software and services we tested. In some cases, the results surprised us. Norton SystemWorks ($70, http://www.symantec.com ), for example, attempts to repair hard drives while they are failing. But Norton writes to the damaged drive, which can actually worsen the problem and can make future data recovery efforts more time consuming and costly. Disk Doctor, an application built into SystemWorks, reported that it had repaired many clusters on one of our test drives, but when it was done the drive would no longer boot.
David Greenberg, "Bringing Data Back From the Dead," The Washington Post, June 4, 2006 --- Click Here

"Study: Web is the No. 1 media," by Candace Lombardi, The New York Times, June 6, 2006 --- Click Here

Questions and answers related to adjustments to prior-period financial statements

When cows can fly Louisiana politics will be honorable
Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, said Tuesday that there is "an honorable explanation" for the damaging scenario being painted by the federal government in the federal bribery probe targeting him, and he again denied breaking any laws. Jefferson declined to discuss specifics of the 15-month investigation that has yielded two guilty pleas amid allegations that the congressman accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes. Jefferson has not been charged and would not speculate on whether he thought an indictment was coming from the northern Virginia grand jury investigating him. In a wide-ranging interview late Tuesday in his congressional office, the site last month of an unprecedented FBI search, Jefferson said he has no intention of stepping down and reiterated his plan to seek a ninth term in November.
Bill Walsh and Bruce Alpert, "Jefferson promises he has 'an honorable explanation'": He says he'll seek re-election this year," The Times-Picayune, June 7, 2006, ---
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/washington/index.ssf?/base/news-1/114966136294780.xml&coll=1

Grandma May Truly Become Miss Piggy: Scientists hope to cure Alzheimer's with piglet clones
Scientists working in Denmark said on Friday they planned to use piglets they had cloned in their search for a cure for Alzheimer's disease.
PhysOrg, June 8, 2006 --- http://physorg.com/news69077612.html

"New Drugs Might Benefit Diabetics: Pfizer's, Merck's Medicines Break Ground in Treatment Of Type 1, 2 Forms of Disease," by Jennifer Corbett Dooren, The Wall Street Journal, June 12, 2006; Page B5 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115007339741277468.html?mod=todays_us_marketplace

Company-funded studies unveiled over the weekend at the American Diabetes Association's annual meeting suggested a pair of innovative drugs could benefit diabetics.

Several studies suggest Merck & Co.'s proposed drug Januvia, for Type 2 diabetes, was effective at lowering a measure of blood sugar without significant side effects. Januvia is awaiting approval from the Food and Drug Administration to treat Type 2 diabetes, which is more common than Type 1. Januvia is a drug known as a DPP-4 inhibitor, and if approved would likely be the first in a new class of diabetes medicines. Novartis AG has a similar drug, Galvus, also awaiting FDA approval.

Separately, new data from studies of Pfizer Inc.'s inhaled form of insulin, Exubera, showed the product lowered or maintained blood sugar without serious side effects. Pfizer's Exubera is the first needle-free form of insulin and is set to hit the market next month. Insulin is required to treat Type 1 diabetes and more severe forms of Type 2 diabetes. Exubera could replace daily short-acting insulin injections but wouldn't replace long-acting insulin.

Continued in article

Erotic images elicit strong response from brain
A new study suggests the brain is quickly turned on and "tuned in" when a person views erotic images. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis measured brainwave activity of 264 women as they viewed a series of 55 color slides that contained various scenes from water skiers to snarling dogs to partially-clad couples in sensual poses. What they found may seem like a "no brainer." When study volunteers viewed erotic pictures, their brains produced electrical responses that were stronger than those elicited by other material that was viewed, no matter how pleasant or disturbing the other material may have been. This difference in brainwave response emerged very quickly, suggesting that different neural circuits may be involved in the processing of erotic images.
"Erotic images elicit strong response from brain," PhysOrg, June 9, 2006 --- http://www.physorg.com/news69083681.html

Man Meets Woman, Man Thinks Sex?
When a man and woman meet for the first time, men may be more likely to think about sex -- or at least more likely to admit it. That's the core finding of a study in June's issue of Psychology of Women Quarterly.
Miranda Hitti, "Man Meets Woman, Man Thinks Sex?" WebMD, June 9, 2006 --- http://www.webmd.com/content/article/123/115123

ABC News: Hospital Has Legionnaires' Disease Cases
Legionnaires' disease have been diagnosed among patients and visitors at a San Antonio hospital, and health officials suspect the facility is the source of the outbreak. Among those diagnosed at North Central Baptist Hospital, three have died. But health officials said they already were ill and they didn't know how much of a factor Legionnaire's disease played in the deaths.
"ABC News: Hospital Has Legionnaires' Disease Cases," ABC News, June 15, 2006 --- http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2078246

Car Ads Keep Selling Sex,
While many car advertisements today focus on families and young consumers, many companies continue to play to their physically mature but adolescently-minded male base.
A page by "Sylvia" at CarSpace.com (the social networking site from Edmunds.com) contrasts ads from the 1970's and today, and things haven't change much.
John Gartner, "Car Ads Keep Selling Sex," Wired News, June 9, 2006 --- http://wiredblogs.tripod.com/cars/

Check out this 1970 Dodge Charger ad on YouTube, which depicts women as bubble-headed playthings who swoon all over a nebbish guy because of his wheels. And then watch the contemporary Dodge Durango ad that wasn't aired because of it's phallic references. Yup, car advertisers love to make the pitch all about getting laid.

Although not about sex, the Toyota Vios ad is a clever ripoff ad about the tempetation of cars.

In his new short story collection In Persuasion Nation, absurdist extraordinaire George Saunders offers a surreal depiction of the destruction of individuality through consumer mega-culture

"Boxed In," by Vince Passaro, The Nation, June 26, 2006 --- http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060626/passaro

If you are a new reader of George Saunders, the first thing you ought to know is that Saunders is the funniest writer in America, more likely to make you laugh in public, if that's where you're reading his books, than any writer since P.G. Wodehouse. The competition--David Sedaris, Tom Wolfe, Christopher Buckley--isn't even close.

It is easy, therefore, to pigeonhole Saunders, to think of him largely as a wit and an absurdist extraordinaire. This would be to miss his point. Saunders's laughs are a cover, a diversion, beneath which reside some profoundly serious intentions regarding the morality of how we live and the power of love and immanent death to transform us into vastly better creatures than we could otherwise hope to be. These are the biggest intentions an artist can have.

Among younger writers these days, Saunders has many imitators. He often writes with great wit and affection about working-class people and the situations of nonsensical hardship they face. With so few writers left in the United States qualified (and willing) to cover this terrain, Saunders ends up attracting some disciples simply along class lines. But class is not his main concern. His main concerns are much harder to pin down--unlike writers who often can be successfully imitated, say Ann Beattie or Raymond Carver, Saunders does not work in the mainstream tradition of North American short fiction, nor does he have a simple style, though it may sometimes appear so. His sensibility, always a close relative of style, is exclusively his own, sophisticated, daring and politically unusual, to the degree that one can't really imitate him unless one believes what he believes--everything he does is in service of an immovably unique worldview. In this as in several other ways, Saunders reminds me of Flannery O'Connor, which is to say he is a radical, and only a small number of people who really understand the convictions behind his work--the caustic humor that, pulled back, reveals a scouring contempt for consumer society and modern life, as well as a deep and specifically religious eagerness for transcendent meaning--would choose to embrace them.

No agreement or even negotiation with the Arabs until they accepted that Zionism was invincible
As I write, Israel is faced with a democratically elected Hamas government, the legacy of its own brute military policies toward the Palestinians. Behind Hamas's statement that it will not recognize Israel--for which it is isolated and financially starved--we can ironically detect the shade, and perfectly logical consequence, of the ethos of Jabotinsky, who famously ended his 1923 essay "The Iron Wall": "The only path to an agreement in the future is an absolute refusal of any attempts at an agreement now." There could be no agreement or even negotiation with the Arabs until they accepted that Zionism was invincible. For Jabotinsky inflexibility was political doctrine.
"The Zionist Imagination," by Jacqueline Rose, The Nation, June 26, 2006 --- http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060626/rose

June 1, 2006 message from James L. Morrison [jlm@nova.edu]

The June/July 2006 issue of Innovate (www.innovateonline.info) offers a range of practical ideas for using new technologies in classrooms as well as ways to avoid common pitfalls caused by technology. This is a one-time mailing to you; if you wish to receive future announcements of new issues and our webcast schedules, please take advantage of our free subscription at http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=subscribe

We open with Sir John Daniel and Paul West’s exploration of how the digital dividends of technology can be used to overcome the digital divide for impoverished nations worldwide. They examine the challenges of bringing higher education to developing nations and advocate open educational resources as a potential solution to the problem.
(See http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=252 )

Our next three articles address specific ways in which instructors have used the digital dividends available to them in teaching. Ulises Mejias describes a graduate seminar he taught on the affordances of social software--software that allows for information exchange, collaboration, and ease of communication. His students used the software while learning about it and critiquing it, illustrating well the learning opportunities afforded by this category of technology.
(See http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=260 )

S. Pixy Ferris and Hilary Wilder examine wikis, one example of social software, as a way to bridge the distance between students and teachers.

Adopting the linguistic theory of Walter J. Ong, they see teachers as part of a print paradigm of learning, whereas they propose that students are increasingly a part of a secondary-oral paradigm characterized by certain attributes of both oral-based cultures and print-based cultures. Wikis, they argue, can be a pedagogical bridge between these two educational positions.
(See http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=258 )

Craig Smith focuses on chat, a common way for online instructors to replace classroom discussion. He provides a protocol to keep discussions focused and productive, helping teachers realize the potential usefulness of an easily accessible technological tool. (See http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=246 )

Technology also presents some problems in the classroom. The easy availability of apparently anonymous information on the Internet blurs definitions of plagiarism. While tools such as electronic plagiarism detectors have become more common, Eleanour Snow argues that they are not enough. She advocates online tutorials as an easy and effective way of teaching students about plagiarism, and offers examples and links to tutorials for teachers eager to begin the process of educating themselves and their students.
(See http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=306 )

Howard Pitler also sees a need to make copyright guidelines clear, but argues that copyrights should be more flexible. He offers guidance about how copyright works and describes Creative Commons, a Web site that provides writers and artists a way to select the rights that they want to reserve and make it clear to others exactly what they are allowed to reproduce and alter.
(See http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=251 )

Another difficulty inherent in the digital age is the notorious attrition rate in online education. While noting that drop rates for online courses should not necessarily be equated with lack of success, David Diaz and Ryan Cartnal acknowledge that reducing attrition in such courses should still be on educators' agendas. In addressing this issue they examine the impact of term length on attrition rates, advocating a shorter length to enable time-strapped students to complete the course more efficiently. (See

http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=196 )

Please forward this announcement to appropriate mailing lists and to colleagues who want to use IT tools to advance their work. Ask your organizational librarian to link to Innovate in their resource section for open-access e-journals.

Thanks!

Jim

James L Morrison
Editor-in-Chief, Innovate
http://www.innovateonline.info
Professor Emeritus of Educational Leadership UNC-Chapel Hill http://horizon.unc.edu

"Sex-Ed Resources," by Elizabeth Bernstein, The Wall Street Journal, June 15, 2006; Page D2 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115032944307080646.html?mod=todays_us_personal_journal

Should four-year-olds learn the facts of life?

An increasing number of parents are dealing with sex education at home -- often long before it comes up in the classroom. And now, parents can turn to a wave of books and videos to help address the subject with small kids, some even as young as four.

"The trick is to find out from the kid what they really want to know," says Dr. Charles Shubin, who teaches pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland. He recommends that parents choose sex-ed materials that are age-appropriate and that they review all books and videos carefully before showing them to their children. Here are some resources:

Book: "But How'd I Get in There in the First Place?" by Deborah M. Roffman
Price/Publisher: $14 (paperback); Perseus Publishing
Comment: Ms. Roffman -- who teaches sex education at schools in Baltimore -- thinks parents shouldn't always wait until a child asks to bring up the topic of sex. Published in 2002 and aimed at parents of children under seven years old, her book gives straight-forward advice.

Book: "Everything You Never Wanted Your Kids to Know about Sex (But Were Afraid They'd Ask)" by Justin Richardson, M.D., and Mark A. Schuster, M.D., Ph.D.
Price/Publisher: $14.95 (paperback); Three Rivers Press
Comment: This book explains in depth a child's sexual development, the emotions a parent may experience as a child changes and how to talk to the child about sex. Topics include nudity at home, a child's sexual orientation, abstinence and dealing with sexually active adolescents.

Book: "It's Not the Stork" by Robie H. Harris
Price/Publisher: $16.99; Candlewick Press
Comment: "It's Not the Stork," which will be published next month, is aimed at kids as young as four years old. Many parents will like this book's direct approach, but some may feel it offers too much too soon.

Book: "Where Did I Come From?" by Peter Mayle
Price/Publisher: $9.95 (paperback); Kensington Publishing
Comment: Originally published in 1973, more than two million copies of this sex-ed book have been sold in the U.S. The cartoon-style drawings are child-friendly, if a bit cheesy. In one, a sperm wears a top hat.

DVDs: "The Birds, the Bees, and Me"
Price/Publisher: $19.95; National Training Organization for Child Care Providers
Comment: These 20-minute DVD videos -- there's one aimed at girls and one aimed at boys -- use cartoons, diagrams and college-age narrators in an attempt to make young children comfortable with topic of sex. They cover basic information about the changes a body goes through during puberty, sexual intercourse and how a "baby" -- note, not a fetus -- grows in a woman's body. There is also a strong abstinence message.

From Smart Stops on the Web, The Journal of Accountancy, May 2006 --- http://www.aicpa.org/pubs/jofa/may2006/news_web.htm

Invest Time for a Laugh
www.dailyreckoning.com
Who says researching investment information can’t be fun? At this Web site, visitors not only get the latest market headlines and insights, but also some laughs. For example, the Essentialist Glossary in the Extras section defines Bill Gates as “where God goes for a loan.” Users also can read special reports on investing in India or value-investing strategies, subscribe to the free Daily Reckoning financial e-letter or get five secrets for investing in small- and micro-cap stocks.

Forwarded by Dick Haar

Tax his land, Tax his wage, Tax his bed in which he lays.

Tax his tractor, Tax his mule, Teach him taxes is the rule.

Tax his cow, Tax his goat, Tax his pants, Tax his coat.

Tax his ties, Tax his shirts, Tax his work, Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco, Tax his drink, Tax him if he tries to think.

Tax his booze, Tax his beers, If he cries, Tax his tears.

Tax his bills, Tax his gas, Tax his notes, Tax his cash.

Tax him good and let him know That after taxes, he has no dough.

If he hollers, Tax him more, Tax him til he's good and sore.

Tax his coffin, Tax his grave, Tax the sod in which he lays.

Put these words upon his tomb, "Taxes drove me to my doom!"

And when he's gone, We won't relax, We'll still be after the inheritance TAX!!

Accounts Receivable Tax Building Permit Tax CDL License Tax Cigarette Tax Corporate Income Tax Dog License Tax Federal Income Tax Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) Fishing License Tax Food License Tax Fuel Permit Tax Gasoline Tax Hunting License Tax Inheritance Tax Inventory Tax IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax), IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax), Liquor Tax, Luxury Tax, Marriage License Tax, Medicare Tax, Property Tax, Real Estate Tax, Service charge taxes, Social Security Tax, Road Usage Tax (Truckers), Sales Taxes, Recreational Vehicle Tax, School Tax, State Income Tax, State Unemployment Tax (SUTA), Telephone Federal Excise Tax, Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax, Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax, Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax, Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax, Telephone State and Local Tax, Telephone Usage Charge Tax, Utility Tax, Vehicle License Registration Tax, Vehicle Sales Tax, Watercraft Registration Tax, Well Permit Tax, Workers Compensation Tax.

COMMENTS: Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago and there was prosperity, absolutely no national debt, the largest middle class in the world and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

Professor Robert E. Jensen (Bob) http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen
Jesse H. Jones Distinguished Professor of Business Administration
Trinity University, San Antonio, TX 78212-7200
Voice: 210-999-7347 Fax: 210-999-8134 Email: rjensen@trinity.edu

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