Bob Jensen's Tidbits

Yes the snow is here for Halloween in the White Mountains. This is Mt. Washington (about 30 miles from our cottage)
Day after day we've endured gale force winds that have blown all but the ice off the crown of the mountain. Yesterday the winds exceeded 133 mph.
I took this shot late in the day from the front of our cottage.

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

Dan Roberts delivers two-minute history lessons on public radio stations around the world. --- http://www.amomentintime.com/

Forwarded by Auntie Bev
In March, 2005, this song was performed at a Diamond Rio concert. They received an immediate standing ovation, and continue to do so every time they perform it! Sadly, major radio stations wouldn't play it because it was considered politically incorrect. Consequently, the song was never released to the public. If this song speaks to your heart, share it with friends and loved ones. Then let us cease being the silent majority and join together -- not as a particular political party, but as Americans! --- Diamond Rio Song

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

Dan Roberts delivers two-minute history lessons on public radio stations around the world. --- http://www.amomentintime.com/

The Adventure of The Beryl Coronet by Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) --- Click Here

The Access to Archival Databases (AAD) System gives you online access to electronic records that are highly structured, such as in databases. The initial release of AAD contains material from more than 30 archival series of electronic records, which include over 350 data files totaling well over 50 million unique records.
National Archives --- http://aad.archives.gov/aad/

Even liberals concede that President Hugo Chávez goofed at the U.N.
Both supporters and detractors of President Hugo Chávez say he may have miscalculated in turning the United Nations into his bully pulpit.
"Venezuelan’s Diatribe at U.N. May Have Backfired, by Warren Hoge," The New York Times, October 25, 2006 --- Click Here

Hugo Chávez may not be able to buy Cuba as planned
At this time the military seems to be loyal to Raul. Nevertheless, the dictator in waiting has at least two reasons to be worried. The first is Hugo Chávez, who pours an estimated $2 billion into the Cuban economy annually and seems to believe that he is the rightful revolutionary successor to Fidel. Rumor has it that attitude is not going down too well with Raul or his men. As Brian Latell, former CIA analyst and author of "After Fidel" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), pointed out this week: "It may also be reasonable to speculate that Raul and his military commanders feel contempt for the mercurial and often bizarre Venezuelan, who rose no higher than lieutenant colonel in the decidedly less professional and accomplished Venezuelan military."
Mary Anastasia O'Grady, "Cubans Begin to Just Say No," The Wall Street Journal, October 27, 2006; Page A15 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116191499193705599.html?mod=opinion&ojcontent=otep

Most women raped by Islamic men asked for it by not wearing veils
Australia's top Muslim cleric rationalized a series of gang rapes by Arab men, blaming women who "sway suggestively," wear make-up and don't cover themselves in the tradition of Islam . . . The victims of the vicious gang rapes are leading the national outcry – with some calling for deportation of the sheik. In a Sydney Daily Telegraph online poll, 84 percent of people said the Egyptian-born sheik should be deported.
"Imam justifies rape of unveiled women: Australian cleric compares victims to 'uncovered meat' that attracts cats," WorldNet Daily, October 26, 2006 --- http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52630

Anger Festering in French Areas Scarred in Riots: Crime Pays in French Courts
“Tension is rising very dramatically,” said Patrice Ribeiro, the deputy head of the Synergie Officiers police union. “There is the will to kill.” Last month a leaked law enforcement memo warned of a “climate of impunity” in Seine-St.-Denis, the infamous district north of Paris that includes suburbs like Épinay-sur-Seine. It reported a 23 percent increase in violent robberies and a 14 percent increase in assaults in the district of 1.5 million people in the first half of this year, complaining that young, inexperienced police officers were overwhelmed and the court system was lax. Only one of 85 juveniles arrested during the unrest was jailed, it added.
Elaine Sciolino and Ariane Bernard, "Anger Festering in French Areas Scarred in Riots," The New York Times, October 20, 2006 --- Click Here

America's Election Year Economics
Recently Bill Clinton, at the British Labour Party's annual conference, delivered what the Times of London described as a "relaxed, almost rambling" and "easy anecdotal" speech to an enthralled audience of leftists eager for evidence of American disappointments. Never a connoisseur of understatement, Mr. Clinton said America is "now outsourcing college-education jobs to India." But Mr. Clinton-as-Cassandra should not persuade college students to abandon their quest for diplomas: The unemployment rate among American college graduates is 2%. Mr. Clinton is always a leading indicator of "progressive" fashions in rhetoric. And every election year -- meaning every other year -- brings an epidemic of dubious economic analysis, as members of the party out of power discern lead linings on silver clouds.
George Will, "America's Election Year Economics," The Washington Post via The Wall Street Journal, October 19, 2006 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116120734276596841.html?mod=opinion&ojcontent=otep

Canadians Grow Weary of Crime Leniency
Calgarians are throwing their support behind a city cop facing internal charges after lashing out at the justice system. Const. Shaun Horne said he is overwhelmed by the support of fellow police officers and the public since the Sun reported he has lost faith in the justice system after a man with 65 convictions and Canada-wide warrants was released with conditions in December by justice of the peace Kristine Robidoux. “I’m at a loss for words,” he said today. “I can’t believe the support.”
"Charged cop gets support City cop facing internal charges after lashing out at the justice system," Canada's CNews, September 14, 2006 --- http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Law/2006/09/13/1837678-sun.html

Another Tragic Case of Judicial Leniency:
What will the judge do after the guy raped and killed again and again after being released by the judge?
Six years ago, convicted sex offender Kenneth Glenn Hinson was released from prison after a judge rejected prosecutors' pleas that he be committed indefinitely. That same judge was to preside Thursday over a preliminary hearing for Hinson, now charged with kidnapping and raping two teenage girls in an underground room behind his home. Circuit Judge Edward Cottingham's decision in 2001 allowed for the eventual release of Hinson, 48, who was arrested again after a four-day manhunt in March. The girls were sexually assaulted and left bound inside the room, concealed under a shed, but managed to free themselves and get to safety, authorities have said. The dungeon was a chilly, crypt-like space, just 4 1/2 feet deep and roughly the length and width of a midsize car, with the floor and walls lined with two-by-fours. A single 75-watt bulb illuminated the space.
Meg Kinnard, "S.C. rapist to face judge who freed him," Yahoo News, October 26, 2006 ---
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061026/ap_on_re_us/underground_dungeon
Jensen Comment
I know a judge in San Antonio, Texas that would give Hinson another probation sentence this time around. This judge repeatedly gave probation to a serial rapist who finally went to prison only because he finally raped a woman outside Texas (New Jersey). According to a video of San Francisco's Chief of Police, the San Francisco Chronicle and City Supervisors are doing their best to discourage applicants and lower the morale of present officers. San Francisco is known for its lenient Judges and liberal Supervisors. The S.F. Chief of Police accuses the Judges and Supervisors of having no accountability and calls the San Francisco Chronicle a piece of crap ---http://mfile.akamai.com/12948/wmv/vod.ibsys.com/2006/0728/9591734.300k.asx

But this one tops it all in terms of judicial and lawyer insanity
The roots of this folly are in the 1970s, when many state courts began to decide that the intentional acts of criminals shouldn't bar plaintiffs from collecting money from others with deeper pockets. So if you are carjacked -- sue the parking- lot owner. Most legislatures have yet to reverse this radical legal change. Thus trial lawyers, thanks to New York Supreme Court Justice Nicholas Figueroa's generous rulings and jury instructions, persuaded a jury in October last year that the terrorists who planted a truck bomb in the World Trade Center garage in 1993 were only 32% responsible, while the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was 68% responsible -- and therefore, under New York law, wholly on the hook for $1.8 billion in damages.
Ted Frank, "Follow the Money," The Wall Street Journal, October 28, 2006; Page A7 ---
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116199449742706658.html?mod=todays_us_opinion

Here's a way you can drastically cut your auto insurance rates from major insurance companies --- register your car easily in North Carolina --- http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/15877350.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Generation of online libraries is born --- http://physorg.com/news81346069.html

Hackers are having success in looting online stock accounts: Guess where these high tech thieves live?
Hackers have been breaking into customer accounts at large online brokerages in the United States and making unauthorized trades worth millions of dollars as part of a fast-growing new form of online fraud under investigation by federal authorities. E-Trade Financial Corp., the nation's fourth-largest online broker, said last week that "concerted rings" in Eastern Europe and Thailand caused their customers $18 million in losses in the third quarter alone.
Ellen Nakashima, "Hackers Zero In on Online Stock Accounts," The Washington Post, October 24, 2006 --- Click Here

Bob Jensen's threads on computing and network security are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/ecommerce/000start.htm#SpecialSection

Investors never seem to grow weary of being screwed by mutual fund executives
The Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an investigation of 27 mutual-fund companies that the agency says have accepted kickbacks totaling hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years. The investigation centers on alleged arrangements in which independent contractors agreed to pay rebates to mutual-fund companies in order to win lucrative contracts for jobs like producing shareholder reports and prospectuses. The probe stems from a $21.4 million settlement the SEC reached last month with Bisys Fund Services Inc., an administrative-services provider owned by Bisys Group Inc.
Tom Lauricella, "SEC Probes Mutual-Fund Firms After Settlement in Kickback Case," The Wall Street Journal, Page A1, October 26, 2006 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116183087038004278.html?mod=todays_us_page_one

Question
Why are mutual funds still rotten to the core?

"The Soft Dollar Scandal," by Benn Steil, The Wall Street Journal, June 19, 2006; Page A15 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115068121938383835.html?mod=opinion&ojcontent=otep

The SEC will shortly issue its long-awaited final "interpretive release" on a brokerage industry practice that would make Tony Soprano blush. Known as "soft dollars," the practice involves a broker charging a fund manager commission fees five to 10 times the market rate for a trade execution, in return for which the broker kicks back a substantial portion in the form of "investment-related services" to the manager. Magazines, online services, accounting services, proxy services, office administration, computers, monitors, printers, cables, software, network support, maintenance agreements, entrance fees for resort conferences -- all these things are bought through brokers with soft dollars. And in one of the industry's loveliest ironies, fund managers even pay inflated commissions in return for trading cost measurement services which invariably tell them that their brokers cost too much.

Why do the fund managers do it? Why don't they buy items directly from their suppliers, and then choose brokers on the basis of lowest trading cost? The reason is clear. If the fund manager buys items directly from the suppliers, he pays with his firm's cash. If he buys them through brokers when executing trades, however, the law, or the SEC, lets him use his clients' cash.

How widespread is the practice? Some 95% of institutional brokers receive soft dollars, about a third of which were found by the SEC in the late 1990s to be providing illegal services to fund managers, well outside the scope of "investment-related." Surveys find that fund managers routinely choose brokers based on criteria having nothing to do with trade execution.

How much does this practice cost investors? My own analysis suggests that the cost in bad trading alone amounts to about 70 basis points a year, or about 14 times the estimated cost of the market timing abuses that dominated headlines in 2004.

The Senate Banking Committee held hearings on soft dollars in March 2004. Chairman Richard Shelby indicated at the time that the SEC would "get more than a nudge" to eliminate clear abuses, defined as services which could not reasonably be held to constitute "research." So what has our champion of investor rights decided to do for us? Punt the ball back to Congress. In its initial guidance last October, expected to be substantially reiterated in the forthcoming final verdict, the commission's long-awaited crack down amounted to little more than a memorandum to fund managers instructing them to read the law, cut out a few egregious abuses (office furniture is a no-no, though resort conferences are still fine), and pay only "reasonable" commissions.

How does the "reasonable" commission regime work in practice? Put simply, the higher the price tag on the soft-dollar goodies, the more trading the fund manager does with the broker to acquire them, which is clearly antithetical to investor protection.

To his credit, freshman SEC Chairman Christopher Cox issued a thoughtful statement in advance of last October's guidance, diplomatically describing soft dollars as an "anachronism" -- referring to the politics of unfixing fixed commissions 30 years ago, and Congress's insertion of the Section 28(e) safe harbor into the Exchange Act, allowing client trading commissions to pay for research. But it was under the SEC's watch that the safe harbor ballooned into a safe coastal resort, in which client-financed commission payments have become so generous that a broker for one of the nation's largest fund management companies made the headlines in 2003 by thanking the funds' traders with a lavish dwarf-chucking bachelor party. It is therefore time for Congress and the SEC to stop punting the ball back and forth, and for Congress finally to abolish the "anachronism."

As a Wall Street Journal reader in good standing, I'm not calling for more rules and market intervention. Quite the opposite. It is in the nature of a government-sanctioned kickback scheme that serial interventions by regulators will be required to pacify the fleeced. This is a simple property rights issue, and treating it sensibly as such would require less government intervention in the future.

The solution is simple. If a fund manager wants to buy $10,000 worth of research, let him write a check to the provider. That's how you and I would buy it -- we wouldn't expect to get it by making a thousand phone calls through Verizon at 10 times the normal price. There is a legitimate debate over whether the cost of research should be charged to the fund manager, which would then recoup it transparently through the management fee, or deducted directly from the clients' assets.

The first option was recommended by former Gartmore chairman Paul Myners in his famous 2001 report to the U.K. Treasury. The second would, in any case, be a dramatic improvement on the status quo. If the government did not force funds to buy research through brokers in order to pass the cost on to clients, the SEC's "best execution" requirements, meaningless in a soft-dollar environment, would actually become part of a fund manager's DNA. No longer forced to choose between soft dollars for his firm or good trades for his client, he will finally have an incentive to seek out value-for-money in both research and trading, as it will benefit both his firm and his client.

What do mutual fund traders think? At a November conference, I surveyed 35 of them anonymously. The majority, 46%, said that fund managers should buy independent research with "hard dollars," out of their own assets rather than those of the investors; 37% backed option two above, paying the providers directly rather than through commissions, which the SEC currently prohibits. A mere 17% supported the status quo, soft dollars. The problem is that fund managers have no incentive to move away from soft dollars while their competitors are legally using them to inflate profits.

So who actually loses from Congress correcting its mistake? Brokers. But shed no tears for them. Middlemen always lose when kickback schemes are ended.

Mr. Steil is director of international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Bob Jensen's "Rotten to the Core" threads are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudRotten.htm

Open Sharing Catching on Outside the United States
Britain’s Open University today formally begins its effort to put its course materials and other content online for all the world to use. With its effort, OpenLearn, which is expected to cost $10.6 million and is supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the university joins Massachusetts Institute of Technology and institutions in several other countries in trying to put tools for learning within the reach of otherwise difficult to reach populations.
Inside Higher Ed, October 25, 2006

Bob Jensen's threads on open sharing are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI

Google's Free Download Center (Google Pack Beta) and the New Firefox Upgrade
Mozilla released a new version of its Firefox web browser that has gained popularity as a free alternative to Microsoft's ubiquitous Internet Explorer software. In the two years since its release by the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation, the Firefox browser has won millions of devotees worldwide.
The Firefox Two browser made available for download on Tuesday was heralded by the Mountain View, California, organization as a "major update" developed by an "an international community of contributors." "Firefox 2 delivers the best possible online experience for people today," said Mozilla chief executive Mitchell Baker. "The improvements Mozilla has made to the ease of use, performance, and security in Firefox 2 reflect our ongoing, singular focus on meeting the needs of Web users all over the world." Localized versions of the browser were available in 35 languages and tailored to work with Windows, Macintosh or Linux computer operating systems, according to Mozilla. The browsers could be downloaded at the website http://www.getfirefox.com.
Jensen Comment
I use Firefox and like it (except for the slow downloads of media files). In my new computer I downloaded Firefox using Google's Free Download Center (Google Pack Beta) (that I highly recommend for downloading software) --- http://pack.google.com/intl/en/pack_installer_new.html?ciNum=6

A Tale of Two Web Browsers
A couple of the year's most-anticipated releases -- new versions of Internet Explorer and Firefox -- arrive within a week of one another. So which one is best?
Michael Calore, "A Tale of Two Web Browsers," Wired News, October 26, 2006 --- http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72003-0.html?tw=wn_index_2
Jensen Comment
Fortunately it's not an either-or type choice. I prefer to start with Firefox since it is less of interest to Hackers and has more security mainly because of that fact. But when Firefox does not work well, I simply paste the link into IE. It's like having both a sail and a motor for your search boat.

Updated and improved, Firefox remains excellent but breaks little new ground.
John Borland, "Firefox 2.0: The Honda Civic of Web Browsers: Updated and improved, Firefox remains excellent but breaks little new ground," MIT's Technology Review, October 27, 2006 --- http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17667&ch=biztech

A weakness has been discovered in Internet Explorer, which can be exploited by malicious people to conduct phishing attacks.
The problem is that it's possible to display a popup with a somewhat spoofed address bar where a number of special characters have been appended to the URL. This makes it possible to only display a part of the address bar, which may trick users into performing certain unintended actions. Secunia has constructed a demonstration, which is available at http://secunia.com/internet_explorer_7_popup_address_bar_spoofing_test/
The weakness is confirmed in Internet Explorer 7 on a fully patched Windows XP SP2 system. Solution: Do not follow links from untrusted sources.
"Internet Explorer 7 Popup Address Bar Spoofing Weakness," Secunia (Link forwarded by Richard Campbell) --- http://secunia.com/advisories/22542/
Richard Campbell forwarded this link and says it remains a problem in IE 7.

"A First Look at Windows Vista: Microsoft plans to introduce its new operating system to consumers in January. Is it worth upgrading?" by Erika Jonietz, MIT's Technology Review, October 20, 2006 ---
http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17640&ch=infotech

"You never get a second chance to make a first impression."

It's a tired saw, quoted in articles on topics from interviewing for jobs to designing websites. But it concisely conveys a basic truth of human nature: we draw conclusions about new experiences, new people, and new things very quickly. My first encounter with Microsoft's new Windows Vista was no exception.

Last week, I installed the "RC1" version of Vista--officially post-beta but still not yet ready for prime time--on two computers. My experiences on the two machines were quite different, but my overall impression was the same: Microsoft has a long way to go in the next three months if it hopes Vista will revive its image the way that Mac OS X revitalized Apple's.

Installing Vista on two computers might seem a bit excessive, but the Windows operating system is made for two different kinds of processors: 32-bit and 64-bit. By working with bigger chunks of data, the newer 64-bit processors can better handle intensive tasks such as video editing and playing advanced games. But most desktop and laptop computers in use--and plenty of those on store shelves--have older 32-bit processors, so Microsoft built two versions of Vista.

I started by installing the 32-bit version of Vista on an older Dell Latitude laptop. While it's possible to upgrade from Windows XP to 32-bit Vista--leaving all of your programs and data intact--I elected to do a clean install. Downloading Vista and burning a bootable DVD was simple, and the installation went smoothly.

My first reaction: Vista looks slick. The old squared-off windows now have rounded corners. The rectangular "start" button in the lower-left corner of the screen has been supplanted by a spiffy circle with the Windows logo. A transparent rectangle, called the Sidebar, runs down the right side of the screen. The Sidebar holds "gadgets," mini-applications that provide quick access to frequently needed information and tools. Vista comes with 11 such gadgets, 3 of which load the first time you start up: an analog-style clock, a slideshow viewer, and a newsreader with a collection of headlines from MSNBC.com and Microsoft. It's all unquestionably reminiscent of the Dashboard and Widgets in Apple's Mac OS X Tiger.

Of all the Sidebar applications, the Feed Headlines gadget--which can be customized with your favorite RSS feeds--stands out. Although Apple and the Mac community have created more than 2,300 Widgets to date, I have yet to find an RSS newsreader as flexible as Vista's.

The new Instant Search feature is also handy but, again, reminiscent of OS X. As with Apple's Spotlight, search boxes appear at the top of every window, making it easy to hunt down the file you're seeking. And searching with Instant Search is both faster and more effective than searching in Windows XP. After copying files from my personal PC to the test laptop, I typed "DNA sequencing" into the search box.

Continued in article

Warning
October 20, 2006 reply from Scott Bonacker [cpas-l@BONACKER.US]

Accountant's should be aware that Windows Vista and Internet Explorer 7 are not friendly with versions of QuickBooks (and Quicken) prior to 2007.

See

http://www.quickbooks.com/helpcenter/IE7ResourceCenter.aspx and http://msmvps.com/blogs/bradley/archive/2006/10/16/Quickbooks-and-IE7-and-Vista.aspx

for some additional information.

Scott Bonacker, CPA
Springfield, Missouri

Inside Teaching from the Carnegie Foundation --- http://gallery.carnegiefoundation.org/insideteaching

Welcome to Inside Teaching. This website is designed to support a community of learning, which includes teachers, professional developers, and other educators interested in learning and in teaching.

Visit collections of multimedia records of teaching practice. Learn from others' perspectives on using records of practice for teacher learning. Contribute your own teaching and learning experiences and browse materials and resources that reflect the larger context of the work featured here. This site itself is an environment of learning, a "living archive" that relies upon the contributions of visitors in order to grow and to thrive.

This is another reminder for accounting students and/or educators to send in their nominations for the the recipient of the 2007 Innovation in Accounting Education Award. Simple instructions are provided a the American Accounting Association site at --- http://aaahq.org/awards/award6.htm

Given the shortage of accounting faculty, increasingly accountants from industry are being hired on tenure tracks
Teaching is once again a career opportunity for practicing accountants

Business schools are facing a shortage of accounting faculty. While it's a recognized problem -- the AICPA recently granted $25,000 to a program that provides financial aid for senior business leaders who want to transition to university teaching -- there are several misconceptions about what constitutes an academic career. The accounting faculty job market is quite strong and finding a position should not be a problem, according to Gerald DeBusk, CPA, CMA, an assistant professor of accounting at Appalachian State University who entered academia after 17 years of public accounting and industry experience. In this week's Quick Tip, he outlines the general steps that are required to make the move, and debunks the myth that work as a college professor equates to less hours or stress. "The truth is that college professors work hard," says DeBusk, later adding, "There are rewards for teaching that are priceless ... it is a pleasure to be associated with young men and women.
Gerald K. DeBusk, "Hitting the Books: Transitioning Into Academia," SmartPros, October 2006 --- http://accounting.smartpros.com/x55210.xml
Jensen Comment
In the 1960s, new AACSB accreditation rules made it necessary for most accounting faculty to have doctoral degrees. The traditional MBA-CPA credential was not considered "terminally qualified" after these new AACSB rules went into effect. Now in 2006 under more flexible AACSB rules regarding accreditation, we are to some extent returning full circle. Doctoral programs cannot attract enough candidates to meet the shortage of accounting faculty. The Masters-CPA/CMA credential is regaining steam, especially in critical shortage areas of auditing, tax, and AIS. You can read more about the history of this saga at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/395wpTAR/Web/TAR395wp.htm

October 24, 2006 reply from Stokes, Len [stokes@SIENA.EDU]

Maybe as a discipline, we should also consider such a thing as a Clinical Doctorate, which many of the professional sciences are approaching. This type of doctorate could still contain some research framework but not be as time consuming as the Ph.D.

October 26, 2006 reply from Bob Jensen

Shortages of faculty have become so critical in the field of Business Administration that the AACSB initiated a "Bridge Program" to encourage and provide financial aid for business practitioners to enter into doctoral studies --- http://www.aacsb.edu/bridge/default.asp
Special efforts are being made to recruit women and minority students.

There are a few business administration doctoral programs (probably not widely known) that are somewhat clinical in nature.
For example see Pace University's executive doctoral program in business at --- http://appserv.pace.edu/execute/page.cfm?doc_id=14293

It is more common in fields outside of business to have "Executive Doctoral Programs," especially in Schools of Education, IT, and Medicine.

It is even common to have separate tenure tracks in "Practice." For example, the University of Pennsylvania has Practice Professors of Education --- http://www.gse.upenn.edu/faculty/vissa.html

Bob Jensen

October 26, 2006 reply from Mesa, William B. [wmesa@CCU.EDU]

Case Western Reserve University also has an Executive Doctoral Program where the research framework is Action Research than the traditional positivist approach.

http://weatherhead.case.edu/edm/

Bill Mesa, D.M., CPA
Assistant Professor of Management & Accounting
School of Business and Leadership
Colorado Christian University Faculty in Organizational Strategy Leadership
Enterprise in Asian Development Institute Eastern University
303.963.3306 wmesa@ccu.edu

October 24, 2006 message from Dan Ward [dward@LOUISIANA.EDU]

Have any of you faced the decision of hiring an individual with one of the on-line doctorates from a foreign university. The university in question is in France and has AACSB accreditation through the Masters level.

Many of the faculty are very concerned over the fact that no classes are required - just "research" and a dissertation. In short, we don't feel that the degree is really and earned doctorate in the traditional meaning of the term.

I would appreciate any feedback you could provide.

dan

October 24, 2006 message from CPAS-L@LISTSERV.LOYOLA.EDU

I recall reading that Fridtjof Nansen received his doctorate based on research.

> Many of the faculty are very concerned over the fact that no classes
> are required - just "research" and a dissertation. In short, we don't
> feel that the degree is really and earned doctorate in the traditional > meaning of the term.

October 25, 2006 reply from Bob Jensen

Hi Ron,

Interestingly, the AACSB that accredits undergraduate and masters degree programs in business and accounting does not accredit doctoral programs. To my knowledge there are no doctoral program accrediting agencies, at least none that are respected in the United States.

Doctoral programs are forced to ride on their reputations, reputations that in turn depend heavily upon the reputations of the universities that grant the doctoral degrees. It is generally assumed that a respected university will not jeopardize its reputation with any diploma mill doctoral program.

Although most traditional doctoral programs have some required courses (usually from top research professors) and some elective courses, virtually all traditional doctoral programs have qualification exams that test on scholarship and research skills considered essential by the institution granting the degree.

If a program waives all coursework and qualifying examinations, much depends upon the research qualifications and reputations of the major professors who must sign off on the candidate's dissertation. If these major professors have no notable reputations for research themselves, the graduates of their doctoral programs will find it difficult to obtain tenure track positions in credible universities.

There are many diploma mills around the world that will sell doctoral degrees without any effort whatsoever other than coming up with the money to buy the doctorate. It is recommended that job applicants never even mention that they have purchased such phony credentials.

Those who want phony doctorates from diploma mills can find alternatives at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudReporting.htm#DiplomaMill

Bob Jensen

Islamic Accounting --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_accounting

Categories: Sharia | Accounting systems | Accounting stubs | Islam stubs

The Differences of Conventional and Islamic Accounting --- Click Here (coloring makes this version hard to read)
The Power Point Version (easier to read) --- http://www.bus.osaka-cu.ac.jp/ja/research/events/seminar040205/sofyan.ppt

"Islamic Accounting: Challenges, Opportunities and Terror," AccountingWeb, October 5, 2006 --- http://www.accountingweb.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=102651

Recent events, from the start of Ramadan, to the Pope’s controversial remarks about Islam, to the discovery of a new tape by two of the September 11 attackers, to the release of Bob Woodward’s latest book, have once more made Islam a topic of conversation. Beyond the headlines, however, exists a complex religious and social system that affects far more people than just Muslims. Islamic finance, particularly Islamic banking, insurance and accounting, is playing a growing role around the globe, especially in the business world.
Islamic accounting is generally defined as an alternative accounting system which aims to provide users with information enabling them to operate businesses and organizations according to Shariah, or Islamic law. With little doubt, the greatest challenges to Islamic accounting and finance in the United States stem from a lack of knowledge and understanding of Islam and the intricacies of its financial laws and concerns regarding terrorism, combined with the U.S. regulatory framework and guiding principles of American business. The Muslim and Islamic financial markets within the U.S. and around the world, currently represent an enormous opportunity for those willing to overcome these challenges.

Islam & Islamic Financial Laws

“To professional accountants who have been brought-up on the idea of accounting as an ‘objective’, technical and value-free discipline, the idea of attaching a religious adjective to accounting may seem embarrassing, unprofessional and even dangerous,” Dr. Shahul Hameed bin Mohamed Ibrahim says in Islamic Accounting – A Primer.

Both conventional and Islamic accounting provide information and define how that information is measured, valued, recorded and communicated. Conventional accounting provides information about economic events and transactions, measuring resources in terms of assets and liabilities, and communicating that information through financial statements users, typically investors, rely on to make decisions regarding their investments. Islamic accounting, however, identifies socio-economic events and transactions measured in both financial and non-financial terms and the information is used to ensure Islamic organizations of all types adhere to Shariah and achieve the socio-economic objectives promoted by Islam. This is not to say, or imply, Islamic accounting is not concerned with money, rather it is not concerned only with money.

Islamic accounting, in many ways, is more holistic. Shariah prohibits interest-based income or usury and also gambling, so part of what Islamic accounting does is help ensure companies do not harm others while making money and achieve an equitable allocation and distribution of wealth, not just among shareholders of a specific corporation but also among society in general. Of course, as with conventional accounting, this is not always achieved in practice, as an examination of the wide variances in wealth among the populations of Arab nations, particularly those with majority Muslim populations shows.

In addition, because a significant part of operating within Shariah means delivering on Islam’s socio-economic objectives, Islamic organizations have far wider interests and engage in more diverse activities than their non-Islamic counterparts.

Concerns About Terrorism

The diverse activities and interests organizations pursue under Shariah is a cause for concern when applying conventional accounting to Islamic organizations. After all, conventional accounting can be used to disguise unethical and even illegal activities within the very organizations they were intended to provide information about. Imagine how easy it is to overlook or just not identify such information when employing an accounting system not designed for use with the type of organization it is being applied to.

In the past, the issues raised by this mismatch focused on the ability of users beyond the Muslim world to make appropriate decisions regarding investments. Since September 11, 2001, however, the concern has changed from the potential loss of investment to the possibility of supporting terrorism.

This concern is particularly significant for non-profit organizations involved in providing humanitarian relief outside the U.S.. Fortunately, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (DoT) has issued updated Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines: Voluntary Best Practices for U.S.-based Charities (Guidelines).

“The abuse of charities by terrorist organizations is a serious and urgent matter, and the Guidelines reinforce the need for the U.S. Government and the charitable sector alike, to keep this challenge at the forefront of our complementary efforts,” Pat O’Brien, Assistant Secretary for the Treasury’s Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crime, said in a statement announcing the updated guidelines. The Treasury Department is committed to protecting and enabling legitimate and vital charity worldwide, and will continue to work with the sector to advance our mutual goals.”

The Guidelines urge charities to take a proactive, risk-based approach to protecting against illicit abuse and are intended to be applied by those charities vulnerable to such abuse, in a manner commensurate with the risks they face and the resources with which they work. At the request of the charitable sector, the Guidelines contain extensive anti-terrorist financing guidance, as well as guidance on sound governance and financial practices that helps prevent the exploitation of charities.

Regulatory Issues

The regulatory environment Islamic individuals and organizations are most concerned with, considering the current political climate, are those relating to anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering. Yet the tensions arising from regulatory requirements within the U.S. related to American business practices often prove more difficult to resolve.

It is in trying to balance the expectations of distinct business cultures that the differences between conventional and Islamic accounting are most notable. For instance, depending upon the type of transactions the organizations are engaged in, the roles, responsibilities and rights assigned to each party can be contradictory and even in direct conflict. In some situations, such as transactions involving private equity, venture capital, profit sharing and liquidations, organizations and individuals employing conventional accounting may actually find they prefer Islamic accounting. Other issues, such as those related to taxation, require significant effort to resolve. The inherent flexibility of Shariah is a benefit under these circumstances, since the complexity of the American tax code is highly inflexible.

The number of Muslim consumers, investors and business owners has grown along with the Muslim American population which is currently estimated to be between six and seven million. Although demand for Islamic financial products and services has increased, both the supply and the number of providers remain insufficient. It should also be noted that Islamic orthodoxy, expressed as the desire to implement Shariah as the sole legal foundation of a nation, is actually associated with progressive economic principles, including increasing government for the poor, reducing income inequality and increasing government ownership of industries and industries, especially in the poorer nations of the Muslim world.

“While it is common to associate traditional religious beliefs with conservative political stances on a wide range of issues, this is only partly true,” said Robert V. Robinson, Chancellor’s Professor and chair of Indiana University’s Department of Sociology. “The Islamic orthodox are more conservative on issues having to do with gender, sexuality and the family, but more liberal or left on economic issues.

Islamic Accounting Web --- http://www.iiu.edu.my/iaw/

The Islamic Accounting Website is a project of the Department of Accounting, Kulliyah of Economics and Management Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. This project is under the direction of Dr. Shahul Hameed bin Mohamed Ibrahim, Assistant Professor and the current Head of the Department. The philosophy of the University is to Islamize knowledge to solve the crisis in Muslim thinking brought about by the secularization of knowledge and furthermore contributing as a centre of educational excellence to revive the dynamism of the Muslim Ummah in knowledge, learning and the professions. The Department of Accounting is fully committed to this vision and strives to Islamicise Accounting.

"ISLAMIC ACCOUNTING STANDARDS," by Shadia Rahman --- http://islamic-finance.net/islamic-accounting/acctg5.html

Sharing site of Dr Shahul Hameed Bin Hj Mohamed Ibrahim --- http://islamic-finance.net/islamic-accounting/

articles by the author

The Need for Fundamental Research in Islamic Accounting

A Review of Income and Value Measurement Concepts in Conventional Accounting Theory and Their Relevance to Islamic Accounting

From Conventional Accounting to Islamic Accounting

articles by other scholars

Accounting In A Historical Transition: A Shifting Dominant Belief From Hindu To Islamic Administration In Indonesia: Eko G. Sukoharsono

Shari'ate Accounting: An Ethical Construction Of Accounting Knowledge: Triyuwono, Iwan & M. Gaffikin

Islamic Accounting Standards : Shadia Rahman

Basic Principles Of Islamic Economy And Their Effectss On Accounting Standard Setting : M.R.Taheri

Forthcoming Articles on Islamic Accounting

October 20 reply from Adnan Bakather [bakther@YAHOO.COM]

Dear Prof. Jensen ,

What is your perception of Islamic accounting ? . Do you think that Islamic accounting may compete with the conventional one ? . Regarding the terror , do think that the link between Islamic accounting and terror can be established ? .

Adnan A.Bakather

October 21 reply from Bob Jensen

Hi Adnon,

I'm no expert on either Islamic Accounting or terror. Hence my answers should not be viewed as authoritative.

Islamic Accounting is closer to what we term "stakeholder accounting" in which attempts are made to "account for" impacts of an entity upon various stakeholders in society, including but not limited to investors and creditors. Stakeholder accounting is grand in concept but very difficult to put into practice due to the many intangibles that defy measurement or even analysis qualitatively. I discussed many of these problems years ago in a monograph called Phantasmagoric Accounting, Studies in Accounting Research Volume 14, American Accounting Association --- http://aaahq.org/market/display.cfm?catID=5

In other words, stakeholder accounting is grand in purpose but very difficult to put into practice. I suspect that Islamic Accounting is also grand in purpose but very difficult to implement in a global economic world. One of the main problems is breadth of purpose that exceeds the tools and information needed to meaningfully account to each stakeholder group. For example, trying to account for the cost of pollution or global warming of one factory upon society is virtually impossible to measure if there are millions of interacting factories, vehicles, natural phenomenon (such as methane bubbling up from the oceans and tundras), homes, and even burps from cattle (no joke) contributing to the same global pollution. There are also many interactions (called externalities in economic theory) of causes that greatly complicate the accounting.

At the financial level, Islamic Accounting has not addressed the thousands upon thousands of contracts that take place daily. Hence we cannot go to Islamic Accounting for answers on how to account for derivative financial instruments and hedge accounting, structured financing, synthetic and other complex leases, and intangibles. Islamic Accounting has not addressed the complex world of financial contracting to the extent that it has been addressed over centuries of conventional accounting. Islamic Accounting developed in a much simpler world of finance.

Perhaps the world should return to a simpler world of contracting that would make Islamic Accounting more suited to the world of finance. It is, however, naïve to assume that any accounting and reporting practices are going to magically overcome the really complex and intractable issues of stakeholder accounting in a complex world of externalities and interacting causal factors of individual persons and firms in the global aggregation of such causal factors.

As far as terrorism goes, I suspect the problem of tracing terrorist funding is one of having the appropriate internal controls in place all along the funding trail. This would seem to be a problem for any type of accounting system, although some accounting systems may work under more difficult constraints than others, e.g., systems that attempt to protect privacy greatly constrain accountability in law and finance. Accountancy and law are much more unrestrained in Big Brother's system conceived by George Orwell --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Brother

Terror on a global scale will lead us closer and closer to an Orwellian way of life out of desperation. The issue is not one of Islamic versus Conventional Accounting. The issue is one of Privacy versus Transparency Controls in all behavior, including financial contracting. At the moment no accounting system works very well against governmental or private sector corruption. The question is whether we want Big Brother to move in to end the corruption. In the United States we cannot even get campaign financing reform because the foxes in Washington DC are guarding both the hen houses and cold cash freezers.

But our accounting systems are good enough to force our elected officials to hide their stolen loot in their freezers. That's why we call it cold cash. By the way, the first thing Big Brother would do to end corruption, money laundering, and terrorism financing is to do away with all cash and anything resembling cash such as bearer bonds. If all financing leaves electronic tracks, Big Brother can put internal controls in place to virtually end corruption, money laundering, and terrorism financing. However, in the U.S., hell will freeze over before Congress votes to eliminate cash.

Bob Jensen

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Brother

Bob Jensen's threads on accounting theory are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen//theory/00overview/theory01.htm

From Scientific American: Politicians caught on Internet candid cameras
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa001&articleID=51681A7C14879F9ECA39669DF858F75B

"Armey: 'Parochial' GOP Has 'Compromised' Agenda," NPR, October 16, 2006 --- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6264356

October 17, 2006 message from David Fordham, James Madison University [fordhadr@JMU.EDU]

Now that Bob Jensen is a rural-dweller, I figured he and others ought to be aware of this danger.

I figure it's only a matter of time until a new FASB exposure draft is issued covering the accounting treatment for these losses. Given that it might be impacting national security, even Congress might get involved. Only one question remains: Why hasn't the Wall Street Journal picked up on this yet? Maybe they are losing their touch. This certainly tops most of their front page stories, both in factuality and importance.

See: http://www.cowabductions.com

After running the video, scroll through the 9+ pages of supplemental evidence and come to your own conclusion.

David Fordham
Neighbor of a cattle farm

October 20, 2006 reply from Bob Jensen

Hi David,

Up here we still hang cow and horse thieves with trials.

My neighbor down the road has some cute little shaggy Scottish cows.

Shoplifters Go High Tech: Theft Rings Alter Bar Codes
Just as technology has given a big boost to the retail industry, making it more efficient and productive, it has also transformed retail crime. Using sophisticated tactics such as bar-code forgery and fraudulent gift cards, criminals are stealing larger amounts, and it has gotten harder to catch them. Law-enforcement officers say many of the high-tech thieves belong to organized-crime rings that have turned retail theft into big business. And the Internet has made it easier for them to find buyers for the loot. Retail crime rose to about $37 billion in 2005 from $31 billion in 2003, according to a study conducted by the University of Florida, increasing almost twice as fast as retail sales over that period. Store employees, who have access to merchandise and familiarity with antitheft systems