Bob Jensen's New Bookmarks on January 5, 2001
Bob Jensen at Trinity University 

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Quotes of the Week 

It distresses us to return work that is not perfect.
Epitaph on Grave Marker
(However, the quote originated on a note pinned on a spot that a laundry service failed to remove.)

The best time to make friends is before you need them.
Ethel Barrymore

Self-reflection is the school of wisdom
Balthasar Gracian

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost.
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by frost.
 J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings

You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.
Mark Twain

All are but parts of one stupendous whole, whose body Nature is, and God the soul.
Alexander Pope

To My Many Friends:  Auld Lang Syne,  Robert Burns
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And auld lang syne?

Chorus:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne.


2. And surely, ye'll be your pint stowp!
And surely I'll be mine!
And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
Chorus: 		3. We twa hae mn about the braes
And pou'd the gowans fine;
But we've wander'd mony a weary foot
Sin' auld lang syne.
Chorus:

4. We two hae paidled i' the burn,
Frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin' auld lang syne.
Chorus:

5. And here's a hand, my trusty fiere,
And gie's a hand o' thine;
And we'll tak' a right gude-willy waught,
For auld lang syne.
Chorus:

10,000 Folk Songs (Printed lyrics and download music) --- http://ingeb.org/home.html 

The new acronym to memorize is P2P
Not just a chaotic haven for Napster fans, peer-to-peer networking is getting praise from the button-down side of e-commerce for the business problems it can solve.  http://www.eweek.com/a/pcwt0012201/2663715/ 

For my Threads on the Napster/Wrapster/Gnutella/Pointera/FreeNet Paradigm Shift in Web Serving and Searching, go to  http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/napster.htm 

In my opinion, P2P and knowledge bases will be the next big thing in education and training.  Especially in areas that are highly technical, experts will begin file sharing of their expertise on a P2P basis.  For example, instructors and trainers may then download them to create custom knowledge bases that can be diced and sliced for each course each time it is taught or designed for web delivery.  Software like Blackboard is moving toward customized libraries.  See http://www.utexas.edu/computer/news/features/0010/customization.html 

Wow Site of the Week 

Fathom:  A must see for looking into the crystal ball of knowledge portals:  http://www.fathom.com/ 
However, at this point I cannot get some parts of this portal to work.  For example, the Business and Finance section fails for me.  Maybe I am just not doing it properly.

Fathom Partners to Date:

You love to delve into new ideas. You take pleasure in discussion, even if it gets heated, even if you could argue the other point of view just as well. You were born to live in the knowledge economy.

You're going to Hong Kong on business and want to probe deeper than the sound bites on the nightly news. You're tired of web searches that result in 20,347 different kinds of nonsense.

You're a doctor with a crush on art history. You're a fireman with a passion for paleontology. You've recently retired and you've heard that people with active minds live longer.

 You want to participate in the world of ideas, even if those ideas can be challenging and counter-intuitive and complex, because you like it, because it's good for your career, because it's good for your soul, because you can.

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/00/04/fathom.html 

Fathom, a for-profit spin-off, implements one aspect of Columbia's three-part digital media strategy, which also includes Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning and Columbia Media Enterprises.

Fathom will address the most serious weakness of information on the Worldwide Web, the inability to authenticate the bulk of its content. All Fathom original content will be authenticated, meaning that the knowledge will be attributed to the appropriate educational or cultural institution and its faculty or professional staff. Fathom's standards of academic and editorial integrity will be monitored by the Fathom Academic Council, a panel of selected senior faculty and curators from participating institutions, which will be chaired by Columbia Provost Jonathan Cole.

Offering the best free content of universities, libraries, and museums, Fathom will enable a worldwide audience of students, working adults, and lifelong learners to explore subjects of professional or personal interest. Much of Fathom's content has never been available outside of the participating institutions.

Examples of Fathom content currently in development include:

A "Main Street" for knowledge and education, Fathom will include a comprehensive directory of related online courses offered by universities and cultural institutions, plus textbooks and other academic titles, specialized periodicals, individual articles and other publications, CD-ROMs, academic travel, and learning resources. Users will enroll in online courses through Fathom, with tuition fees, accreditation, and admission policies set at the discretion of the offering university or cultural institution.

Fathom users will have the opportunity to interact and collaborate with the leading experts in their field. Fathom's unique architecture will provide a powerful "search and explore capability" that will allow users to follow their interests, independently or with expert guidance, across the widest possible range of subjects.

Yahoo! Internet Life Names Fathom as 'Best Learning Portal'

Unique Interactive Knowledge Site Selected as One of the 100 Best Web Sites for 2001 NEW YORK, Dec. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Yahoo! Internet Life has named Fathom ( http://www.fathom.com ) as the ``Best Learning Portal'' in its 5th Annual ``Top of the Net'' issue (on sale December 19). As the leading consumer lifestyle magazine covering the Internet, Yahoo! Internet Life praised Fathom's dynamic e-knowledge site for its vast collection of intellectual resources, convenience, degree of user interactivity, and prestigious member institutions. These institutions include Columbia University, London School of Economics and Political Science, Cambridge University Press, The British Library, The New York Public Library, The University of Chicago, the University of Michigan, American Film Institute (AFI), RAND, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Victoria and Albert Museum, Science Museum (UK), and The Natural History Museum (UK).

Award-winning Web sites appear in the ``100 Best Sites for 2001'' feature of Yahoo! Internet Life's January 2001 issue. The sites were chosen not only for excellence in past and present performance, but because the magazine's editors believe they represent the best of the Internet as it will unfold in the upcoming year.

As the ``Best Learning Portal,'' Fathom offers visitors a wide array of online education opportunities. Fathom provides visitors with access to free content, including lectures, interviews and articles, from the world's leading creators and sources of knowledge. Visitors can also register and enroll in online courses, offered for a fee, that complement their specific interests, as well as participate in provocative online forums with experts on favorite subjects. All content on the site meets Fathom's exemplary quality standards and is authenticated, meaning that the knowledge is attributable to the appropriate academic or cultural institution and its faculty or research staff.

``It is unprecedented for us to bestow an accolade of this nature to a site that has not even officially launched,'' said Yahoo! Internet Life Editor Cree McCree. ``We thought it would have been remiss not to include Fathom because we truly believe Fathom is going to become the leader in its field.''

``We are honored to be recognized by such an esteemed publication,'' said Ann Kirschner, Ph.D., Fathom's President and CEO. ``Our goal has always been to create a site that gives users greater access to some of the world's rich intellectual resources and offers a unique, quality educational experience. It is extremely satisfying to know that Yahoo! Internet Life has selected Fathom as one of the Web's top sites.''

About Fathom

Fathom Knowledge Network Inc. is a unique interactive enterprise dedicated to the dissemination of knowledge. The company's Web site ( http://www.fathom.com ) offers unprecedented opportunities for discovery through authenticated free content, overseen by an advisory board selected from its members, as well as related knowledge and education e-commerce opportunities. Composed of the world's leading universities, museums, libraries, publishers and research institutions, Fathom includes Columbia University, London School of Economics and Political Science, Cambridge University Press, The British Library, The New York Public Library, The University of Chicago, the University of Michigan, American Film Institute (AFI), RAND, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Victoria and Albert Museum, Science Museum (UK), and The Natural History Museum (UK).

About Yahoo! Internet Life

Yahoo! Internet Life ( http://www.yil.com ), the world's largest consumer lifestyle magazine covering the Internet, is a monthly publication of Ziff Davis Media. With its mission to entertain, engage, educate and empower Internet enthusiasts, Yahoo! Internet Life serves the New American Consumer(TM). Reaching one in nine of all daily Internet users in America and read monthly by over 5.3 million people, Yahoo! Internet Life chronicles the culture, content and community of the Internet. In January 2001, the four year-old magazine will surpass a circulation of 1.1 million copies per month, solidifying its place as one of the fastest-growing magazines in the history of publishing. Notable accolades include recognition as one of Advertising Age's Best Magazines of 1998; a Circulation Excellence Award from Circulation Management magazine; inclusion as one of Folio magazine's Top 10 Launches for the 90s; as three consecutive Top 10 Hottest Magazine citations from Adweek; and an award from Capell's Circulation Report as Top 10 Best Performer of 1999.

SOURCE: Fathom Knowledge Network Inc.

 

Bob Jensen's threads on knowledge portals and vortals can be found at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/portals.htm 

Pricewaterhouse Coopers Won the Contract
Updates on my earlier notices about the U.S. Army distance education project:

From The Chronicle of Higher Education on October 30, 2000 --- http://chronicle.com/free/2000/10/2000103001u.htm 

At least six teams of corporations and colleges have submitted bids for a U.S. Army project to deliver distance-learning courses to soldiers all over the world. Many colleges, seeking to hedge their bets, are members of two or more competing teams.

Companies that have announced plans to compete for the contract include International Business Machines Corporation, NCS Pearson (a division of the giant publishing company), and the consulting and technology-outsourcing companies Arthur Andersen, Computer Science Corporation, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Science Applications International Corporation. Bids were due Friday, and details of all of the bidding teams were not immediately available. However, some college administrators say there may be as many as 20 companies or teams bidding for the contract.

Each bid includes an "integrator" that would coordinate most aspects of the project, including the technology and the recruitment of colleges to offer courses. Colleges would offer their distance-education courses to the soldiers through a portal site created and maintained by the integrator.

Some teams include hundreds of academic institutions of many types. For example, I.B.M.'s team includes Georgia Virtual Technical College, the Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions Research Alliance, Texas A&M University at Kingsville, the University of Maryland University College, and the University of Oklahoma.

In July, Army officials announced that they would spend more than $600-million over the next six years on the new program. Last month they issued a request for proposals asking for companies and consortia to respond with plans outlining how to begin and manage the program. Military and college officials have compared the initiative to the G.I. Bill of Rights in terms of its magnitude and its impact on both soldiers and higher education.

College administrators, eager to sign up with as many potential integrators as possible, have bombarded officials of the competing companies with telephone calls.

For an earlier article on August 29, 2000 see http://chronicle.com/colloquylive/transcripts/2000/08/20000829caldera.htm 

Forwarded by Glen Gray on December 23, 2000

U.S. Army Chooses PricewaterhouseCoopers to Run Big Distance-Education Project 
By SARAH CARR <mailto:sarah.carr@chronicle.com>  
Washington 

After several months of angling among distance-education providers, the U.S. Army announced Thursday that the consulting company PricewaterhouseCoopers will coordinate a $453-million project to deliver distance-learning courses to soldiers all over the world. The secretary of the Army, Louis Caldera, made the announcement at a press conference here. PricewaterhouseCoopers will serve as the "integrator" for the project, managing the technology and recruiting colleges to offer courses. 

PricewaterhouseCoopers has formed a team of 10 companies and 29 colleges to work together on the initial offering. Through the project, called Army University Access Online, the Army hopes to offer distance-education courses to all interested soldiers at little or no charge. The first courses will be offered at three Army bases next month, with Army officials estimating that 15,000 students will take courses next year. "We are essentially establishing a virtual institution for 15,000 students, and we need to open our doors in the next 30 days," says Jill J. Kidwell, the program manager for the project at PricewaterhouseCoopers. "We will definitely be ready to go, but we also have our work cut out for us." 

The companies on PricewaterhouseCoopers's team include Blackboard, which will provide the courseware, and PeopleSoft, which will coordinate the administrative system. Participating institutions include Florida State University, Northern Virginia Community College, Pennsylvania State University, and Regents College. The contract with PricewaterhouseCoopers calls for the government to pay significantly less than the $600-million the Army had originally estimated the project would cost. 

Paul Boyce, an Army spokesman, says PricewaterhouseCoopers's bid came in below the Army's projections. "It was a very competitive process," he says. "We had a number of quality bids and proposals, and that particular bid was obviously a good value as well as of high quality. When you make an initial estimate, you expect that through the competitive process there will be a good deal of innovation and an efficient price will emerge." A handful of teams, each with a different integrator, vied aggressively for the contract, hoping to gain both income and prestige within the distance-learning industry. Other companies that had been in the running include International Business Machines, NCS Pearson (a division of the giant publishing company), and the consulting and technology-outsourcing companies Arthur Andersen, Computer Sciences Corporation, Electronic Data Systems, and Science Applications International Corporation. Most of the colleges and companies interested in working on the Army project signed on with several of the integrators, hoping not to be shut out when the final decision was made. "We did not have exclusive arrangements, nor did we demand exclusive arrangements," says Ms. Kidwell of PricewaterhouseCoopers. She adds that the 29 academic institutions were selected primarily for their experience in working with the military, as well as with the goal of creating a diverse mixture of institutions. "We have a process in place to begin expanding the pool of academic institutions," she adds. "I don't think that institutions should feel left out because they are not part of the initial set." 

Another PricewaterhouseCoopers spokesman says the company is currently finalizing deals with other institutions, including the University of Massachusetts. Trace Urdan, an equity analyst at the investment firm of W.R. Hambrecht & Company, says he thinks the project should be particularly advantageous for some of the smaller companies working with PricewaterhouseCoopers, like Smarthinking, which offers tutoring online. Such companies, he says, will have special access not only to the Army's pool of students, but also to the 29 colleges. He adds that many industry analysts will be watching the Army's project closely in the coming months. "People will be paying attention to see how well it works, and to see if the Army likes it and renews it," he says. "It is not like it is a slam dunk. I think the program will have to continue to improve and expand."

From Syllabus News December 27, 2000

DISH Network Channel Awarded

The California Community College Satellite Network (CCCSAT) has recently been awarded a national public interest channel on the DISH Network. The channel will be launched on December 15, 2000. As a component of the California Community College system (the largest community college system in the world), CCCSAT has the distinction of being the first community college to be selected for this opportunity. Utilizing the vast resources of the California Community College system, the CCCSAT channel (CCN) (Channel 9405) will provide informational, educational and enrichment programming airing 24 hours daily, 7 days a week to over five million households.

Good morning Professor:

Given your wide experience with the net, you might already be aware, but I just discovered that the use of technology to educate is not limited to the ivy halls of universities and colleges. The Kiplinger Letter contained a reference to virtual high schools which "give students in rural, poorly funded areas Web access to courses taught in wealthier schools." Doing an Internet search, I found numerous entries including sites in Massachusetts, Kentucky, Florida, Missouri and Indiana.

www.class.com <http://www.class.com>  contained the following:

A new model for high school learning is emerging throughout the world. Known as virtual high schools (or VHS), these alternative "halls of learning" are growing out of the worldwide need to provide an equal opportunity for a quality education to each and every student, regardless of location or time.

Increasingly, this new approach is providing a solution to the problems facing administrators today including chronic teacher shortages, more regulation, and increasing demands from students and parents for new ways to learn.

A VHS can supplement any school district's curriculum and help solve learning problems. VHS courses are delivered online, and teacher support can be administered locally or through the Independent Study High School. Students log in to take a class, anytime and from any place with Internet access. Sophisticated communication tools furnish the mechanism for contacting teachers, taking tests, and chatting with other students.

www.vhs.concord.org <http://www.vhs.concord.org>  provides a listing of media articles concerning virtual high schools at http://vhs.concord.org/Pages/About+Us-Media+Coverage  <http://vhs.concord.org/Pages/About+Us-Media+Coverage> 

Hope your holiday is filled with joy and peace and the blessings of the season. I have fond memories of our 4 Christmases in San Antonio ... though having grown up with the white Christmases of NYC, I never got used to wearing T-shirts and shorts when that blessed event came amidst 70-80o temperatures!

Janet Flatley 
AVP-Controller 1st Fed S&L Assn 
Pt Angeles WA

Having once attended Iowa State University (please don't ask when), I was pleased to see that the Cyclones defeated the University of Pittsburgh in the Insight.com bowl (football game) in Phoenix on December 28.  Insight.com is one of the more successful technology companies and remains a very good place to go when searching for technology goods and services (especially good deals on over 100,000 products).  Go to http://www.insight.com/cgi-bin/bp/web/gdirect.html  (There is a special section on Education products.)  

New!
Bob Jensen's Threads on Webledgers for Distributed Network Computing of Accounting Systems and Business Services  http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/webledger.htm

The next generations of networks will accommodate the yearnings of the visionaries and will inspire the imaginations of traditional thinkers. Two concepts will drive the networks of the future: extensibility and collaboration. From these two forces, new and novel ways of thinking about what a business is and how business processes can operate will emerge, separating the innovators from those who fail to grasp the new possibilities within their reach --- http://accounting.pro2net.com/x28281.xml 

The main conclusions in the above article are that wireless LANS will no longer tie each computer down to network cables between rooms and buildings and that distributed network computing (with files and software stored on remote servers) will become very common.  For a review of Webledger alternatives that do just that for accounting and business services, see 

 

Pew Scholars affiliated with the American Accounting Association are Tony Catanhach (Villanova) and Anita Hollander (Tulsa). It is a great honor to be selected as a Pew Scholar. I don't think they are on the Round 1 program described below, but they may appear in subsequent rounds.

I might note in passing that there is a great article on the BAM pedagogy by Catanach, Croll, and Grinaker in the November 2000 edition of Issues in Accounting Education --- http://www.rutgers.edu/Accounting/raw/aaa/pubs/issues.htm 

You can listen to Dr. Catanach in a free MP3 recording at http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/000cpe/00start.htm 

You can also read about the BAM at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/265wp.htm 

-----Original Message----- 
From: EDUCAUSE [mailto:EDUCAUSE@EDUCAUSE.EDU]  
Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2000 4:47 PM To: CAT01-
ANNOUNCE@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU |
Subject: Plan Now to Attend the Center for Academic Transformation Seminar

Please read and forward to a colleague:

The Center for Academic Transformation, an EDUCAUSE affiliate, is pleased to announce the following seminar:

"State-of-the-Art Learning Environments: Pew Grant Program in Course Redesign Round I Results" (co-sponsored by the Executive Forum in Information Technology at Virginia Tech) will be held February 26, 2001, at the DFW Airport Marriott South, Dallas, Texas.

Featuring the results of the first of three rounds of the Pew Grant Program in Course Redesign, faculty project leaders show how to increase quality and reduce costs using information technology. Faculty from four institutions talk about their models of course redesign, including their decisions regarding student learning objectives, course content, learning resources, course staffing and task analysis, and student and project evaluation. These models provide varied approaches that demonstrate multiple routes to success, tailored to the needs and context of each institution. For further information and registration materials, please visit http://www.center.rpi.edu/LForum/learnenv.htm l

The Department of Justice has joined in a lawsuit filed against KPMG that alleges that the accounting firm helped a client defraud the government by preparing false hospital cost reports that were submitted to Medicare and Medicaid --- http://accounting.pro2net.com/x28167.xml 

From InformationWeek Online  December 28, 2000

** Detective Database Is On The Case

In the old "Batman" TV series, the caped crusader solved many of Gotham's most dastardly crimes by plugging random bits of evidence into his Batcomputer. With a flurry of blinking lights and mechanical whirring noises, the machine would inevitably spit out the name of whichever super-villain was behind the latest plot. It's a concept that was once laughable, but today it's a reality through the use of a program called Special Investigative Unit Support System.

"[SIUSS] is a comprehensive intelligence and analytical program that is designed to take in all the information that is gained during a case and process it,"says Danny Holder, VP of sales for Anteon-CITI, a subsidiary of federal IT contractor Anteon Corp. SIUSS looks at data including vehicle registrations, arrest records, complaints, property ownership, and surveillance reports, then makes links, draws timelines, and performs tactical analysis to help law-enforcement officials solve crimes.

As an example of the software's abilities, Holder offers a hypothetical conspiracy case in which an informant provides the names of some suspects. Investigators obtain the phone records of the suspects, and run them through SIUSS, revealing patterns of calls to certain groups of people. SIUSS then associates that information with surveillance records, allowing investigators to extrapolate that the suspects are using certain people to work for them. "We begin to see some things that we didn't before," says Holder. "It can open some doors for the investigators."

The software has helped to break a number of real-life cases. Holder describes a drive-by shooting which took place at a wedding in Seattle. The description of the suspect was of an Asian male in a red Corvette, heading north. Seattle police called their colleagues to the north, in Vancouver, which has a large Asian community. The Vancouver police entered the suspect's description into SIUSS and, six weeks later, the system flagged a red Corvette that was seen during a surveillance. The suspect was later caught and convicted. Holder points out that if the surveillance information was just put in a paper report and filed, someone would have had to member the shooting and draw the necessary correlations, and the suspect might never have been caught.

There are about 500 copies of the SIUSS system being used by various local, state, and federal offices. Holder says the market will grow. He thinks that while the law-enforcement community has been slow to acquire technology, it is quickly becoming more computer savvy. "Now they want to go to the next step," he says. "They want to work smarter." - David M. Ewalt

 

This spring, jointly with my colleague Professor Kinsun Tam, I am teaching a graduate seminar on Security & Privacy in Internet Commerce. The course outline is at

http://www.albany.edu/acc/courses/acc680.spring2001/ 

We look forward to any comments/suggestions/critiques that the readership of the AECM listserv may have.

Respectfully submitted,

jagdish -- Jagdish S. Gangolly, 
Associate Professor (j.gangolly@albany.edu) 
State University of New York at Albany, Albany, NY 12222. Phone: (518) 442-4949 Fax: (707) 897-0601 URL: http://www.albany.edu/acc/gangolly 

 

While it's still too early to sort out the winners and losers this holiday season, so-called "bricks-to-clicks" retailers have gained ground on online "pure plays." http://www.eweek.com/a/pcwt0012271/2668192/ 

Medications Affect Calculations

Forwarded by Aaron Konstam
e Chronicle of Higher Education, From the issue dated December 15, 2000
"A Fresh Excuse for Math Mistakes," by Scott Street

You won't find a warning on a box of Dimetapp or Tavist that using such a medication may make it harder to solve mathematics problems.

But a new study by three Youngstown State University professors suggests that it does. The unpublished report concludes that some common medicines, notably antihistamines, can cause careless or unexplained errors in problem solving by both college students and their professors. That includes, according to the study, such simple blunders as "175 + 91 = 84."

The medicine "causes an instantaneous short-circuit in the brain," says Joseph Altinger, a mathematics professor at the Ohio institution. "It's like a blip, and in that blip you end up making a mistake."

Mr. Altinger first noticed the phenomenon in 1986, when he was teaching an algebra class at Youngstown State and made four errors. He had taken an over-the-counter sinus medication the night before. He didn't make another error for several weeks, and then he took another sinus pill. A day later, he made the same type of mistakes in class.

The study -- based on data gathered from more than 300 students by Mr. Altinger; Andy Chang, a statistics professor; and Sharon Shipton, a nursing professor who specializes in pharmaceuticals -- affirmed Mr. Altinger's hypothesis that medication can cause calculation errors. What's more, male students are more likely than female students to make careless mistakes.

Mr. Altinger stresses that the students do not experience any other ill effects. They "feel normal," he says.

 

Hi XXXXX,

I greatly appreciate the tip on the  article by Professor Ketz.  I don't agree entirely with Ed, but his article is food for thought. What Ed fails to balance in the article are some of the underlying long-term advantages of majoring in accounting and working in public accounting:

1. Auditing and tax careers are stable in the sense that, when the economy crashes and the other professions cut way back on hiring, auditors and tax accountant graduates are still in high demand. I take great comfort in the fact that our accounting graduates have job offers through the thick and the thin (the same cannot be said for our other graduates).

2. Accounting firms offer some of the best internships while students are still in undergraduate programs.

3. Auditing and tax client exposure can lead to executive-track opportunities that are often not available to other graduates. For example, one of our graduates (who was an audit manager on a medium-sized client here in San Antonio) became the client's CFO and took his senior in on the deal as the Controller. We have some computer science majors who became executives with start-up dot.coms, but those dot.com and other start-up company opportunities are fading while the accounting graduates still face opportunities of advancement with clients.

3. The client base in public accounting is relatively stable. Consultants are constantly sweating out landing new clients after their one-shot deal with existing clients terminates.

4. Some of the highest paying careers at the moment are in computer programming. But can you imagine being a computer programmer for your entire life? I admire those techie-types who have this aptitude and stamina, but many of our students who major in accounting have no aspirations to be computer programmers for the rest of their lives. Generally, computer programmers have to go back to school to get an education in accounting or business to advance up the career ladder.

I think the students should have a balanced exposure to career alternatives and be warned that high starting salaries are not the major criteria for the best careers.

I don't know how to apportion "blame" for the decline in accounting majors in the U.S. at the moment.  I do think the five-year requirement is not necessary and is most definitely part of the problem causing that decline.  I hesitate sling arrows at the Big Five. The main reason we have had so many accounting majors in the past is that the Big Five hired in good times and bad times (when majors in all other business disciplines had very few job offers in hand).  When the economy is down, the Big 5 firms are the only reliable employers still actively seeking our accounting graduates.

Until recently, public accounting was about the only startup alternative for our accounting graduates.  Industry tended to seek accountants with public accounting experience and almost never made offers to new graduates.  (I think Ed really misses the point on this one.)  We have just faced some very good times in which non-typical job opportunities and starting salaries have created more competition in career choices. The demise of dot.coms demonstrates how non-typical the past decade has been in higher education.

For some sobering thoughts on the value of traditional education vis-a-vis e-Commerce curricula, see "Harvard B-School's E-Mania," by Phil Buchanan, New York Times, December 12, 2000 --- http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/12/opinion/12BUCH.html.

Bob Jensen

-----Original Message----- 
From:  XXXXX 
Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2000 10:53 AM 
To: 'Jensen, Robert' Subject: Advice to Accounting Students

Bob...

Because of your interest in accounting education and recruiting, I thought you'd be interested in this Opinion piece by Ed Ketz at Penn State, at: <http://accounting.pro2net.com/x28277.xml> . 

 I would be interested in getting your reaction posted at  Pro2Net on this very critical issue.   For instance:   How much blame does the Big Five really share?   What must educators do now?  What can accounting majors expect from the job market?   Or anything else that may occur to you.

Thanks, 
XXXXX

I may be the only one coming down squarely on both sides of this debate.

The Critical Perspectives on Accounting Journal is planning a special issue for the forthcoming annual convention of the American Accounting Association Atlanta, August 2001. The title of the issue is entitled "AAA Inc" and aims to stimulate debate into the Association's sympathies and allegiances. We aim to promote this heavily before the meeting.

Participants in the special issue include:

Abraham Briloff, 
John Stancil <jstancil@PEOPLEPC.COM> ; 
James Groff <JGroff@UTSA.EDU> ; Ross Fuerman <RFuerman@aol.com>; 
HHENDRICKSON, <henricks@servms.fiu.edu > ; 
Brendan O'Connell <boconne2@richmond.edu> ; 
Dwight M. Owsen <owsend@ACCESS.ETSU.EDU >; 
Mary Ellen Oliverio <MOliverio@pace.edu> ; 
Prem Sikka <prems@essex.ac.uk> ; 
Paul Williams <WILLIAMSP@COMFS1.COM.NCSU.EDU> ; 
EArrington <cearring@uncg.edu> ; 
Roger Collins <rcollins@CARIBOO.BC.CA> ; 
SFilling <steven@panoptic.csustan.edu>; Robert Jensen <rjensen@trinity.edu> ; 
Ed Schribner <escribne@NMSU.EDU> ; 
Barbara Scofield <scofield_b@utpb.edu> 

As many AAA and section members are involved in this project, I would like to request that the Public Interest Section host a concurrent session(s) forum, on this topic, where those "for" and "against" the issue be invited to participate in a formal debate. I would hope that Abe Briloff would be able to the meeting. Ideally, a two-concurrent-session sequence would be ideal (a full morning) but I suspect we would have to settle into the one-session straightjacket of the convention format.

I will submit a formal paper request to you in January. This will be "in my own name" (but this email is to alert you that I am serving merely as a proxy for this larger group.

Please let me know if there is anything else I should do; and especially anyway we might secure greater elbow room for this forum.

How about brunch!

Seasonal Greetings, 
TonyTinker [TonyTinker@email.msn.com] 

This will be the first ToolBook upgrade that I will not purchase, largely for reasons mentioned in the December 20 edition of New Bookmarks at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/book00q4.htm#122000 

In fairness, however, I will pass along a marketing message about the new Version 8.0:

Hi Bob,

Happy Holidays from click2learn.com. We're celebrating the Holidays with the release of our next version of ToolBook Instructor 8.0. I wanted to notify you of all the new improvements and new features for version 8.0.

A new "Catalog" that has been redesigned with new objects, icons, buttons, etc. The Catalog is now a dockable window. Unlike the previous version, the catalog now works in a vertical orientation, so you can dock it next to the application you're creating. No more minimizing and maximizing the Catalog window.

A brand new Actions Editor that has been redesigned to improve ease-of-use without losing any of its powerful features. The Actions Editor now incorporates a new "Actions Palette". The Actions Palette allows the Author to drag & drop actions into your action sequences, thus allowing for quicker and more efficient Authoring. Another ease-of-use function is "In-place Editing". This utility allows you to modify common properties of actions without going into the action properties dialog. Once again, this makes ToolBook easier to use without giving up any powerful functions.

The DHTML Run-time engine has been redesigned to produce a 35% improvement over version 7.2. The new DHTML deployment also allows for faster Web output to the Internet or LAN. Making changes to a particular page is now easier than ever. The new version allows for corrections to be made to one particular page without having to re-export all the pages. This will allow the Author greater flexibility when designing a particular book or content. Corrections will be made in only a few seconds.

ToolBook Instructor version 8.0 now includes a free Web Site to upload ToolBook applications and use our exclusive tracking and managing utilities.

Access to our Electronic Learning Network (eLN), a fully integrated Learning Portal. This private Web Site will be yours for free for one full year. It will allow 100 different users, and 500mb of storage capacity. The Site will allow for you to customize and create your own look and feel. Using our .Manager utility, the ToolBook Author will grant students access to an additional learning environment that is hosted and serviced by click2learn.com. If you've never deployed content to the Internet, here is the opportunity to experience online learning without having to design and pay for a Web Site. There are 11 different file types that can be uploaded, including Real Player/Real Audio, MP3's, Adobe PDF, HTML, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Authorware, Flash 4.0, Microsoft Word, Power Point, and all ToolBook applications. It's a learning environment that supports many different files, and allows for tracking and managing of your ToolBook tests, and quizzes. The results can then be downloaded into an Excel spreadsheet directly from the Site to follow student progress offline. We've created a fictitious Corporate University, entitled "ACME Technologies". This fake Site was created using .Manager, and shows examples of a logo and images, as well as colors, tag lines, hyperlinks, text, and graphics. Please examine this Site in more detail, http://home.click2learn.com/solutions/acmedemo/about.html 

ToolBook Instructor version 8.0 supports all of the Industry standards, including AICC, SCORM, and Microsoft's certification LRN. This is the only Authoring tool which supports all three Industry standards.

Obviously, our development staff has worked hard to make version 8.0 the easiest, and most powerful version yet. ToolBook Instructor will continue to be the leader because we're constantly "raising the bar" to our competitors. I would like you to examine the software in a little more detail, please click on the link to see a demo of version 8.0, http://home.click2learn.com/products/instructor.html# 

I would be happy to answer any questions concerning ToolBook Instructor version 8.0 or any general questions about the e-Learning Industry. Please contact me at your convenience.

Brian Findlay 
Account Manager click2learn.com 
A Wired World Company (800) 471-5184 x5833 (425) 637-5833 brian.findlay@click2learn.com 

 

Dear NetLedger User,

Throughout the past year we have been making significant enhancements to our NetLedger products and services. Our completely integrated online business application - including accounting, payroll, online commerce, online bill payments, purchasing, time and expense reporting and more - are enabling thousands of growing businesses to be more efficient and effective everyday.

In January, our pricing will change to $9.95 per month per user for our powerful core accounting application. We would like to encourage you to join NetLedger today and lock in today's current pricing of $4.95 per month per user. If you do, you will lock in this current pricing for the next three years, so act now.

We are confident that NetLedger's value to your growing business will far exceed the monthly cost. Call us NOW at 1-800-NETLEDGER to sign up.

Sincerely,

The NetLedger Staff
http://www.netledger.com/ 

Bob Jensen's threads Threads on Webledger Systems for Networked Accounting and Business Services can be found at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/webledger.htm 

 

An article on the MS/GP takeover is at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2000/dec00/12-21gp.asp. 

GP has always been closely tied to Microsoft software. We also use GP, although the Enterprise version. We needed to have all the elements of the BackOffice suite in order to run GP.

Roger Debreceny [rogerd@NETBOX.COM] 

 

From Phil Livingston at the FEI --- http://www.fei.org/newsletters/express/feiexpress50.cfm 

Frederick W. Cook & Co. just published their annual survey of stock and option grant practices at the 250 largest market cap companies. Here are some of the observations I found interesting. 18% of the Top 250 that employed stock options had vesting tied to some specific performance criteria. Of those, 76% used the criteria to accelerate vesting. Another 18% of the Top 250 used reload options. If you haven't studied reload options, you should. They are designed to encourage management ownership. 9% of the Top 250 use premium options, where the exercise price is set above the market price on the grant date. As you would expect, 99% of the Top 250 granted options to top management.

Interestingly enough, the use of stock payments in annual bonuses is increasing. There are two basic kinds of programs in place. In mandatory programs, an executive is required to take a percentage of his bonus is stock. The range is 20% to 39% of the bonus that has to be taken in stock. In elective programs, the executive can choose payment in stock up to 100% of the annual bonus. Some companies offer sweeteners to get the execs to elect more stock. General Mills is an example. The company matches one restricted share for every four restricted shares the executive takes in lieu of a cash bonus.

The broad use of executive stock ownership guidelines is interesting as well. These require the individual to own a minimum amount of stock (options don't count).

The full report is now available on-line as an Adobe Acrobat file.  See http://www.fwcook.com/top250.html 

Fair Disclosure on the Web
I've been looking at company web sites to see how they are handling Reg. FD issues. I found two interesting pieces that I want to direct your attention to. First is Intel, which despite its recent stock decline, does a great job giving forward-looking information through its quarterly "Outlook." The Outlook is published on Intel's web site. However, before you can access it, you must click through and acknowledge that you have read the disclaimer language of the SEC's "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements. It's kind of like the license acceptance dialogue box you click through when installing new software. Intel was very smart to employ that technique, maximizing the chance that the safe harbor will hold up. During its quiet period, which is currently the situation, the Outlook is not available, but here is a link to the page. http://www.intel.com/intel/finance/disclaimer_outlook.htm  

It is also interesting is that companies are employing web-based publication of their disclosure policies. Rohm and Haas is one such company. Here's a link to their policy. Ed Liebert, Treasurer of Rohm and Haas, is a member of our Committee on Corporate Finance. In our last meeting, we discussed the changes going on around Reg. FD and these policy statements. Thanks for the input, Ed!

Phil Livingston [mailmanager@feiexpress.fei.org] 

I almost deleted pooling of interest from Advanced Accounting this semester until I got feedback from one of our adjuncts who works in the not for profit world. She felt that pooling of interest will remain the primary method of acquisition for not for profits that have no current stock market value to use to calibrate the revaluation of assets needed with purchase method. So I left in the course the concept of pooling and the contrast with purchase method, but dropped the discussion of criteria.

Barbara Scofield [scofield_b@UTPB.EDU] 
University of Texas of the Permian Basin Odessa, TX

From InformationWeek Online December 29, 2000

Outsourcing can ease many maladies -- people shortages, skill gaps, and over- ambitious corporate plans, to name three. But increasingly, it can also improve your chance of seeing the inside of a courtroom.

Through the '90s, litigation fees related to outsourcing contracts increased 40% to 50%, according to Cutter Consortium technology fellow Tom DeMarco. In fact, DeMarco says, the average company with an outsourcing contract spends the equivalent of 15% of its IT budget on litigation in general. "Many companies don't realize this because the money comes from another pocket," he says.

Hardest hit by outsourcing litigation, according to Cutter, are companies who are new to outsourcing and government agencies. "The average cost of litigation fees is greater than the cost of coding, which is the bulk of a typical IT budget," DeMarco says. What's the fighting all about? Projects never completed, obliterated project budgets, and results that bear little resemblance to original plans.

The legal headache occurs more often than thought, DeMarco says. "It's nothing for the big systems integrators to have 50 ongoing cases at once."

To prevent a showdown in court, Cutter recommends:

- Writing a contract both operations staff and management can easily understand;

- Including a master agreement explaining legal terms and definitions, a statement defining the work to be performed, and service- level agreements defining the desired criteria and deliverables;

- Crafting a user's guide that defines the different areas of the contract, and preparing separate operating guides for reference for each section of the contract;

- Confirming that the contract states what was agreed upon by the negotiators;

- Training all operating personnel on dispute resolution; and

- Sharing the information with all parties -- everyone should know what guidelines are being used to complete the work. - Elisabeth Goodridge

Recognizing that relationships with service providers are fraught with risk, IT managers are beginning to look to "prenuptial agreements" to set the terms of the relationship up front --- http://www.eweek.com/a/pcwt0012281/2665550/ 

An example of an outsourcing service is provided in the NewMedia Newsletter December 28, 2000

Online customer service/support. Companies like LivePerson.com and PeopleSupport.com can provide you with outsourced, live-on-the-Web 24/7 customer support without hiring additional customer-support staff. This addresses the "live, immediately" concern when it comes to phone-based customer support. Of course, this kind of service doesn't come for free.

Otherwise, you can provide a variety of customer-support options that can be developed with the help of firms like IslandData Corp. and RightNow Technologies, among many others. Then again, you're getting away from the live and immediate part of the program at this point.

* Follow through. Back in my days of inside sales/customer service, we had some very basic ideas drilled into our heads: ask if the customer needs any other assistance, and follow up any order or situation with some kind of acknowledgment. We didn't have e-mail back then, so we used the telephone. No matter what method you use, follow-up contact after the sale or problem resolution helps to build goodwill between you and the customer.

I know all of this seems to be very rudimentary. I think (and hope) most new-media pros would read this and think, "he ain't describing me." But if I've seen this enough, and more importantly, if Ad-Marketing List subscribers have seen this enough to mention it, we have a problem.

If you are making it difficult for your customers to communicate with you in a variety of ways, you may soon find you won't have any more buyers.

* Bob Woods ( bwoods@internet.com ) is managing editor of NewMedia.com.

Internet Resources from The Chronicle of Higher Education --- http://chronicle.com/free/resources/index.php3 

For other resources, see http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/newfaculty.htm 

Greetings

Seasons Greetings to everyone, a few months ago I came across an interesting website from Professor Jensens website called www.howstuffworks.com. Today I found a very good one I wanna share with everyone http://www.refdesk.com/ 

Enjoy the holidays 
Patrick Charles charlesp@cwdom.dm 

Eric Lundquist presents a few high-tech treats we can all wish for, but you won't find them in any store --- http://www.eweek.com/a/pcwt0012206/2665431/  

Interested in XML? Sign up for a free weekly email full of XML news, features, downloads and reviews. http://www.zdnet.com/enterprise/lists/xml/subscribe.html 

Denise, 

Keep in mind that the FASB's announcement is a tentative decision. Nothing will be official until the FASB issues a final rule, which is now estimated to be no earlier than around June 2001. Companies cannot elect to follow the tentative decision early - they have to wait until it is official.

As others have noted, probably the more important decision in this project by the Board is to eliminate pooling of interests accounting. Again, this is a proposal and the Board will redeliberate the issue in January or February. I expect this to be their final position but it won't apply until after the final rule. Companies like GE will be able to complete pending deals by using pooling, if they otherwise qualify.

You mentioned that you cover this topic in a consolidation class. Keep in mind that the FASB also is proposing to change the accounting for consolidation. Rather than being based on majority ownership, it would be based on control, which would radically change the entities included in consolidated statements. Further, the FASB is considering changing a number of consolidation procedural matters, such as the accounting for "minority interest" and the accounting for sales of stock by subsidiaries. (These proposals are in still another project - on liabilities and equity.) Again, a final rule hasn't been issued and isn't expected any earlier than mid 2001. My personal view (and hope) is that this proposal won't be implemented as it won't improve accounting in this area.

You can get a current status report on these and other FASB agenda projects by going to fasb.org.

It seems to me that educators have a challenge in these areas as well as many others such as revenue recognition, distinguishing between debt and equity instruments, accounting for financial instruments, etc. There are many areas of accounting that are in transition. Whatever rules we teach now may well be outdated before students apply them or perhaps even before students are tested on them in the CPA or CMA exams. That's why I think we make a mistake in beating rules to death in accounting education, as is so prevalent in intermediate accounting, advanced accounting, and similar classes. We can't possibly give students enough understanding of all of the current rules that they will have to apply in practice. For example, how many schools include in-depth coverage of accounting for derivative instruments, yet that is the most important new rule facing the accounting profession this year end.

While some reasonable amount of "rule coverage" probably is necessary, I think the intermediate and advanced accounting classes should be focused much more on accounting concepts, research stills, and critical thinking. We can't possibly expect accounting students to know all of the rules, but we can prepare them much better by giving them a sound foundation (understanding concepts), showing them how to resolve accounting problems using technology (research skills), and emphasizing the thinking processes that help them recognize problems and then reach appropriate judgments using the foundation and research already mentioned. This will be a lot harder than teaching still more (or different) rules. But it should better prepare students for the business world and it also might make the accounting major more attractive for more students.

As a final note, to what extent do you teach students how to use accounting information rather than only how to prepare it? My personal view is that the FASB's tentative decision on non amortization of goodwill will produce better information for users of financial statements as any goodwill write downs will be caused by identifiable negative economic events rather than arbitrary amortization. Rather than just telling students that rules may be changing, I think our challenge is to explain why and help future accountants become confident about explaining to other business leaders what the accounting results can tell investors and creditors about future prospects of a company.

By the way, the FASB is actively considering accounting for financial instruments at fair value and an international paper on that topic will be issued by the Board very soon. However, there is no plan to consider adjusting property, plant and equipment to fair value, and I doubt that will happen in the foreseeable future.

I apologize for getting a little carried away, but you obviously hit a bit of a nerve on this matter. I'd be very interested in others' reactions.

Denny Beresford University of Georgia

Denise Stanley wrote:

Hi everyone! I will be teaching Advanced Accounting in the spring and I was just wondering how those of you who teach consolidations plan to deal with FASB's recent announcement that "an acquiring company can no longer amortize the goodwill associated with the acquisition." http://www.accountingweb.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=34568&d=101&h=0&f=0&datefor mat=%o%20%B%20%Y 

FASB Announces End of Goodwill Amortization

"It is a landmark decision. The Financial Accounting Standards Board has announced than an acquiring company can no longer amortize the goodwill associated with the acquisition.

The ruling is tentative now, and is expected to become final by spring of 2001. It is also expected that the ruling will apply retroactively.

The decision is good news for many companies. Although amortization is strictly a paper transaction, until now companies that amortized goodwill reported expenses that depleted current earnings. Now companies will be able to present income statements that more clearly reflect the cost of doing business."

AccountingWEB US 21 December 2000 Categories: Top News, Legislation

A. Denise Stanley, MACCT, CPA Assistant Professor of Accounting Emory & Henry College Emory, Virginia 24327 adstanle@ehc.edu 540.944.6187 Voice 540.944.6223 Fax Have a great day! :)

eWeek

:  The Year in Review

eWEEK analyzes the year's brightest and most challenging moments in IT -- all in all, it was one of the most eventful 12 months ever. http://www.eweek.com/a/pcwt0012221/2665428/ 

Looming on the horizon are signs and portents of big things to come in the IT world. By Stan Gibson. --- http://www.eweek.com/a/pcwt0012226/2665426/ 

Yahoo:  The Year in Review: Part One

It's time to look back on the sites we've featured this year and acknowledge the ones that stand out. As usual, we've selected sites that cover a broad range of topics, from piggyback artists to overheard conversations to obscene interiors. So, without further ado, we present Part One of our 2000 Picks of the Year. Enjoy...

A great online source for references, dictionaries, quotes, great books, poetry, and much more --- http://www.bartleby.com/ 

American Masters (PBS, Film, Music, History, Literature) http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/index_basic.html 

Note that the above website has a section on Education Resources.

Art and Culture (note the use of Flash) --- http://www.artandculture.com/ACSniffer/index.html 

How many times have I started to write a novel, only to quit with some of the same frustrations noted by this great writer --- Bumps on my Head --- http://home.earthlink.net/~mchabon/ 

Journal E Real Stories from Planet Earth (Literature) --- http://www.journale.com/ 

HP sent 100 free digital cameras to 100 people.  See some of the (occasionally weird) results at http://www.hp.com/100cameras/ 

Some information about CPA online self-study courses:

I like www.surgent.com 

Scott Bonacker [scottbonacker@MOCCPA.COM]b 

Because of my location far from metro areas, I rely almost exclusively on self-study. I have found an excellent, though specifically focused, source through Financial Managers Society (www.fmsinc.org <http://www.fmsinc.org>  or (800) 275-4367). FMS sponsors telephone seminars at very reasonable cost ($149 member; $199 nonmember) on a wide variety of topics of interest to financial institutions. The beauty of these seminars is that my company pays for my CPE, and as many people as can fit into our conference room can listen in. Recent seminars covered interest rate risk, stress-testing investments, accounting update (SFAS review), and funds transfer pricing. Future seminars will cover swaps and the swap curve, privacy policy, verifying investment and profitability models, and purchase accounting. Seminar materials are sent via PDF attachments to email by KRM Information Services www.krm.com <http://www.krm.com>  which conducts the audio presentation. KRM also conducts seminars for other non-profits; for example, presentations on estate taxes and personal financial analysis for the American Bankers Assn.

Other vendors I have used carry more general topics (multiple choice format): Accountants Education Group www.accountantsed.com <http://www.accountantsed.com>  (800) 627-7310 Professional Education Services www.pescpe.com <http://www.pescpe.com>  (800) 998-5024 American Center for CPE www.accpe.com  <http://www.accpe.com>  (800) 394-6275

I have also used the following, but find their format of multiple choice plus case study/essay requires more time: American Management Assn www.amanet.org <http://www.amanet.org>  (800) 714-6395 AICPA www.aicpa.org <http://www.aicpa.org>  (888) 777-7077

Janet Flatley [jflatley@FFPA.COM] 
AVP-Controller 1st Fed S&L Assn Pt Angeles WA

The MACPA (Maryland Association of CPAs) has a lot of self study courses, both online and off. Their website is www.macpa.org and is easily navigated. The direct link to their online/self study page is http://www.macpa.org/cpe/onlinecatalog/ 

Susan Huddy, Costello & Huddy, Chartered [shuddy@CPAWORKS.COM] 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The year-end edition of Neal Hannon's Internet Essentials 2000 is now available at http://members.home.com/nhannon/news.html 

Neal's "Wow Site of the Week":  Microvision
http://www.mvis.com/1-rsdisp.htm

There are three principal categories of applications for personal displays that span a broad range of fields of use, ranging from defense and public safety to consumer electronics and entertainment. Microvision is currently developing personal display solutions in the following areas:

Wearable "augmented reality" displays Incorporated into eyeglasses, goggles or helmets, Microvision's technology will display an image that doesn't block the user's view but will instead superimpose a high-contrast monochromatic or color image on top of it. This ability can enhance the safety, precision and productivity of professionals performing complex tasks.

Wearable three-dimensional / interactive displays Microvision's technology can be incorporated into eyeglasses, goggles or helmets to create a stereoscopic, 3-d effect. These compact, high-resolution displays can further enhance the visual realism of the interactive experience to make the simulated environment more engaging.

Hand-held two-dimensional displays Microvision's technology will be integrated into cellular phones and pagers, allowing users to tap into business networks or the Internet to view e-mail, web pages, faxes and files as if on a full-size desktop monitor. This ability affords greater convenience and utility to users of these devices.

 

Bob--This is being passed around the net:

After digging to a depth of 100m last year, Russian scientists found traces of copper wiring dating back 1000 years, and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network one thousand years ago.

So as not to be outdone, in the weeks that followed, American scientists dug 200m, and headlines in the US newspapers read: "US scientists have found traces of 2000 year old optical fibres, and have concluded that their ancestors already had advanced high-tech digital telephone 1000 years earlier than the Russians."

One week later, the Irish press reported the following:
"After digging as deep as 500m, Irish scientists have found absolutely nothing. They have concluded that 5000 years ago, their ancestors were already using mobile phones."

Ed

My apologies - some of these are good and I couldn't resist forwarding part of the message

For example - chronic screen spasm forces me to reboot my computer almost every day.

Scott Bonacker, CPA McCullough, Officer & Company, LLC Springfield, Missouri moccpa.com

-----Original Message----- From: whatis.com Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2000 11:16 AM To: scott bonacker Subject: Word-of-the-Day: sniglet

T H E W H A T I S.C O M W O R D - O F - T H E - D A Y December 26, 2000 sniglet

TODAY'S WORD: sniglet (See the definition with hyperlinks at http://whatis.techtarget.com/WhatIs_Definition_Page/0,4152,506044,00.html)

A sniglet is a word that should be in the dictionary but isn't. Sniglets are the brainchild of comedian Rich Hall who, with a little help from his friends, wrote a series of books containing sniglets in the mid-eighties. With a little help from Rich Hall and our readers, here are some IT-related sniglets we think should be in the dictionary but aren't:

Execuglide - to maneuver oneself around the room while seated in a wheeled office chair.

Animousity - vigorously clicking your pointer device because a page is loading too slowly.

Screen spasm - pages that try to load simultaneously on your computer screen as a direct result of your animousity.

Prairedogged - the feeling of helplessness that overtakes you when co-workers in neighboring cubicles constantly pop their heads up to ask you stupid questions, offer unsolicited comments, or otherwise waste your time.

Cellphonic appraisal - the activity that occurs when a ringing cell phone causes everyone in the room to check and see if it's theirs.

Gadaboutag - the orphan html tag that's messing up your page.

Dot gone - last year's e-commerce hopeful.

Tacitician - a conference call participant who performs non-work related tasks without being overheard.

Fonesia - the affliction that strikes when you dial a phone number and forget whom you were calling just as they answer.

Egotictic - the amount of time wasted because you stubbornly refuse to look it up in the manual.

WAPathy - lack of interest in wireless technology.

Forwarded by Auntie Bev
                ACTUAL EPITAPHS FROM GRAVESTONES
  
    On the grave of Ezekial Aikle in East Dalhousie Cemetery, Nova Scotia:
                 Here lies
                 Ezekial Aikle
                 Age 102
                 The Good
                 Die Young.
  
      In a London, England cemetery:
                 Ann Mann
                 Here lies Ann Mann,
                 Who lived an old maid
                 But died an old Mann.
                 Dec. 8, 1767
  
      In a Ribbesford, England, cemetery:
                 Anna Wallace
                 The children of Israel wanted bread
                 And the Lord sent them manna,
                 Old clerk Wallace wanted a wife,
                 And the Devil sent him Anna.
  
      Memory of an accident in a Uniontown, Pennsylvania cemetery:
                 Here lies the body
                 of Jonathan Blake
                 Stepped on the gas
                 Instead of the brake.
  
    A lawyer's epitaph in England:
                 Sir John Strange
                 Here lies an honest lawyer,
                 And that is Strange.
  
    Lester Moore was a Wells, Fargo Co. station agent for Naco, Arizona in the cowboy days of the 1880's.  He's buried in the Boot Hill Cemetery in
      Tombstone, Arizona:
                 Here lies Lester Moore
                 Four slugs from a .44
                 No Les No More.
  
      In a Georgia cemetery:
               "I told you I was sick!"
  
      John Penny's epitaph in the Wimborne, England, cemetery:
                 Reader if cash thou art
                 In want of any
                 Dig 4 feet deep
                 And thou wilt find a Penny.
  
      On Margaret Daniels grave at Hollywood Cemetery Richmond, Virginia:
                 She always said her feet were killing her
                 but nobody believed her.
  
      In a cemetery in Hartscombe, England:
                 On the 22nd of June
                 - Jonathan Fiddle -
                  Went out of tune.
  
      Anna Hopewell's grave in Enosburg Falls, Vermont has an epitaph that sounds like something from a Three Stooges movie:
                 Here lies the body of our Anna
                 Done to death by a banana
                 It wasn't the fruit that laid her low
                 But the skin of the thing that made her go.
  
      More fun with names with Owen Moore in Battersea, London, England:
                 Gone away
                 Owin' moore
                 Than he could pay.
  
      Someone in Winslow, Maine didn't like Mr. Wood:
                 In Memory of Beza Wood
                 Departed this life
                 Nov. 2, 1837
                 Aged 45 yrs.
                 Here lies one Wood
                 Enclosed in wood
                 One Wood
                 Within another.
                 The outer wood
                 Is very good:
                 We cannot praise
                 The other.
  
      On a grave from the 1880's in Nantucket, Massachusetts:
                 Under the sod and under the trees
                 Lies the body of Jonathan Pease.
                 He is not here, there's only the pod:
                 Pease shelled out and went to God.
  
      The grave of Ellen Shannon in Girard, Pennsylvania is almost a consumer tip:
                 Who was fatally burned
                 March 21, 1870
                 by the explosion of a lamp
                 filled with "R.E. Danforth's
                 Non-Explosive Burning Fluid"

In those days, sharing was personal.  People could not just shrug away and recommend that those in need contact a welfare agency, homeless shelter, United Way, or the Salvation Army.  This is a story forwarded by Maureen Chea.

The Rifle (Author Unknown)

Pa never had much compassion for the lazy or those who squandered their means and then never had enough for the necessities. But for those who were genuinely in need, his heart was as big as all outdoors. It was from him that I learned the greatest joy in life comes from giving, not from receiving.

It was Christmas Eve, 1881. I was fifteen years old and feeling like the world had caved in on me because there just hadn't been enough money to buy me the rifle that I'd wanted so bad that year for Christmas. We did the chores early that night for some reason. I just figured Pa wanted a little extra time so we could read in the Bible. So after supper was over I took my boots off and stretched out in front of the fireplace and waited for Pa to get down the old Bible. I was still feeling sorry for myself and, to be honest, I wasn't in much of a mood to read Scriptures. But Pa didn't get the Bible, instead he bundled up and went outside. I couldn't figure it out because we had already done all the chores. I didn't worry about it long though, I was too busy wallowing in self-pity.

Soon Pa came back in. It was a cold clear night out and there was ice in his beard. "Come on, Matt," he said. "Bundle up good, it's cold out tonight." I was really upset then. Not only was I not getting the rifle for Christmas, now Pa was dragging me out in the cold, and for no earthly reason that I could see. We'd already done all the chores, and I couldn't think of anything else that needed doing, especially not on a night like this. But I knew Pa was not very patient at one dragging one's feet when he'd told them to do something, so I got up and put my boots back on and got my cap, coat, and mittens. Ma gave me a mysterious smile as I opened the door to leave the house. Something was up, but I didn't know what. Outside, I became even more dismayed.

There in front of the house was the work team, already hitched to the big sled. Whatever it was we were going to do wasn't going to be a short, quick, little job. I could tell.We never hitched up the big sled unless we were going to haul a big load. Pa was already up on the seat, reins in hand. I reluctantly climbed up beside him. The cold was already biting at me. I wasn't happy.

When I was on, Pa pulled the sled around the house and stopped in front of the woodshed. He got off and I followed. "I think we'll put on the high sideboards," he said. "Here, help me." The high sideboards! It had been a bigger job than I wanted to do with just the low sideboards on, but whatever it was we were going to do would be a lot bigger with the high sideboards on. When we had exchanged the sideboards Pa went into the woodshed and came out with an armload of wood---the wood I'd spent all summer hauling down from the mountain, and then all fall sawing into blocks and splitting. What was he doing? Finally I said something. "Pa," I asked, "what are you doing?"

"You been by the Widow Jensen's lately?" he asked. The Widow Jensen lived about two miles down the road. Her husband had died a year or so before and left her with three children, the oldest being eight.

Sure, I'd been by, but so what? "Yeah," I said, "why?" "I rode by just today," Pa said. "Little Jakey was out digging around in the woodpile trying to find a few chips. They're out of wood, Matt."

That was all he said and then he turned and went back into the woodshed for another armload of wood. I followed him. We loaded the sled so high that I began to wonder if the horses would be able to pull it. Finally, Pa called a halt to our loading, then we went to the smoke house and Pa took down a big ham and a side of bacon. He handed them to me and told me to put them in the sled and wait. When he returned he was carrying a sack of flour over his right shoulder and a smaller sack of something in his left hand.

"What's in the little sack?" I asked.

"Shoes. They're out of shoes. Little Jakey just had gunny sacks wrapped around his feet when he was out in the woodpile this morning. I got the children a little candy too. It just wouldn't be Christmas without a little candy."

We rode the two miles to Widow Jensen's pretty much in silence. I tried to think through what Pa was doing. We didn't have much by worldly standards. Of course, we did have a big woodpile, though most of what was left now was still in the form of logs that I would have to saw into blocks and split before we could use it. We also had meat and flour, so we could spare that, but I knew we didn't have any money, so why was Pa buying them shoes and candy? Really, why was he doing any of this? Widow Jensen had closer neighbors than us. It shouldn't have been our concern. We came in from the blind side of the Jensen house and unloaded the wood as quietly as possible, then we took the meat and flour and shoes to the door.

We knocked. The door opened a crack and a timid voice said, "Who is it?"

"Lucas Miles, Ma'am, and my son, Matt. Could we come in for a bit?"

Widow Jensen opened the door and let us in. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The children were wrapped in another and were sitting in front of the fireplace by a very small fire that hardly gave off any heat at all. Widow Jensen fumbled with a match and finally lit the lamp. "We brought you a few things, Ma'am," Pa said and set down the sack of flour. I put the meat on the table. Then Pa handed her the sack that had the shoes in it. She opened it hesitantly and took the shoes out one pair at a time. There was a pair for her and one for each of the children---sturdy shoes, the best, shoes that would last. I watched her carefully. She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling and then tears filled her eyes and started running down her cheeks. She looked up at Pa like she wanted to say something, but it wouldn't come out.

"We brought a load of wood too, Ma'am," Pa said, then he turned to me and said, "Matt, go bring enough in to last for awhile. Let's get that fire up to size and heat this place up."

I wasn't the same person when I went back out to bring in the wood. I had a big lump in my throat and, much as I hate to admit it, there were tears in my eyes too. In my mind I kept seeing those three kids huddled around the fireplace and their mother standing there with tears running down her cheeks and so much gratitude in her heart that she couldn't speak. My heart swelled within me and a joy filled my soul that I'd never known before. I had given at Christmas many times before, but never when it had made so much difference. I could see we were literally saving the lives of these people.

I soon had the fire blazing and everyone's spirits soared. The kids started giggling when Pa handed them each a piece of candy and Widow Jensen looked on with a smile that probably hadn't crossed her face for a long time. She finally turned to us. "God bless you," she said. "I know the Lord himself has sent you. The children and I have been praying that he would send one of his angels to spare us."

In spite of myself, the lump returned to my throat and the tears welled up in my eyes again. I'd never thought of Pa in those exact terms before, but after Widow Jensen mentioned it I could see that it was probably true. I was sure that a better man than Pa had never walked the earth. I started remembering all the times he had gone out of his way for Ma and me, and many others. The list seemed endless as I thought on it. Pa insisted that everyone try on the shoes before we left. I was amazed when they all fit and I wondered how he had known what sizes to get. Then I guessed that if he was on an errand for the Lord that the Lord would make sure he got the right sizes.

Tears were running down Widow Jensen's face again when we stood up to leave. Pa took each of the kids in his big arms and gave them a

hug. They clung to him and didn't want us to go. I could see that they missed their pa, and I was glad that I still had mine. At the door Pa turned to Widow Jensen and said, "The Mrs. wanted me to invite you and the children over for Christmas dinner tomorrow. The turkey will be more than the three of us can eat, and a man can get cantankerous if he has to eat turkey for too many meals. We'll be by to get you about eleven. It'll be nice to have some little ones around again. Matt, here, hasn't been little for quite a spell." I was the youngest. My two older brothers and two older sisters were all married and had moved away.

Widow Jensen nodded and said, "Thank you, Brother Miles. I don't have to say, "'May the Lord bless you,' I know for certain that He will." Out on the sled I felt a warmth that came from deep within and I didn't even notice the cold. When we had gone a ways, Pa turned to

me and said, "Matt, I want you to know something. Your ma and me have been tucking a little money away here and there all year so we could buythat rifle for you, but we didn't have quite enough. Then yesterday a man who owed me a little money from years back came

by to make things square. Your ma and me were real excited, thinking that now we could get you that rifle, and I started into town this morning to do just that. But on the way I saw little Jakey out scratching in the woodpile with his feet wrapped in those gunny sacks and I knew what I had to do. So, Son, I spent the money for shoes and a little candy for those children. I hope you understand."

I understood, and my eyes became wet with tears again. I understood very well, and I was so glad Pa had done it. Just then the rifle seemed very low on my list of priorities. Pa had given me a lot more. He had given me the look on Widow Jensen's face and the radiant smiles of her three children. For the rest of my life, whenever I saw any of the Jensens or.split a block of wood, I remembered, and remembering broughtback that same joy I felt riding home beside Pa that night. Pa had given me much more than a rifle that night, he had given me the best Christmas of my life.

And that's the way it was on January 5, 2001 with a little help from my friends.  If you are an accounting practitioner or educator, please do not forget to scan http://www.accountingeducation.com/.

 

In March 2000 Forbes named AccountantsWorld.com as the Best Website on the Web --- http://accountantsworld.com/.
Some top accountancy links --- http://accountantsworld.com/category.asp?id=Accounting

 

The Intuit accounting vortal is at http://www.intuitadvisor.com/intuit/vortal/gtf/gvortal.gtf 

 

How stuff works --- http://www.howstuffworks.com/ 

 

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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