Why I firmly believe that I will have another happy year

最近同學開始一一詢問老師對指導畢業專題之篩選準則，為了證明我仍在狀況內，容我也報告如下：

我的準則是：

有意或無意要剝削我的，請找別的老師 -- 誰都可以 (of course, Prof. Wang is included. ha)。
還有 ...

以為我不懂沉沒成本與機會成本的，別找我。
以自己方便時間決定討論時間的，別找我。
寬容自己遲到爽約、不容忍我遲到爽約的，別找我。
沒辦法凝聚組員共識的，別找我。
拒繳保證金的，別找我。
沒修過我的選修課的，別找我。
想找王教授但被拒絕的，別找我。
想找我指導然後一直厚顏麻煩別的老師技術支援的，別找我。
不能努力且忍受讓論文題目套上「國際化」虛名的，別找我。
以為我靠微薄指導費買雪茄的，別找我。
不願在此按「讚」的，別找我。
沒看過這篇啐啐唸的，別找我。
心裡OS「保證讓老子(或本姑娘)如期畢業、就找你」的，別找我。
心裡OS「老子(或本姑娘)寧可不畢業、也不找你」的，別找我。
Note: 最後這一類，日後應該會大器晚成。讓一事無成的我，羨慕又佩服！

試問：還有人會想找我嗎？

極可能的標準答案：我自己。

只是，自己不能指導自己，而且我又不用修畢業專題！

In the end, I think that I will have another happy year.

賤嘴創意笑話 An office joke inspired by those who know who they really are

A secretary recently changed password for her computer at work. One day, her boss was in a hurry to use that computer but realized that he did not know the new password.

The computer only showed the hint for password: "That is who you are."

The boss tried several passwords such as hero, king, bratpitt, boss, ceo, Hitler, handsome, beautiful, god, and even honey but all in vain.

"What the hell the PASSWORD is! Can anyone here tell me about it?" shouted by the boss.

..... silence ...... silence

"Idiot," softly said by the secretary.

The boss could hardly hear that. So he raised his voice, "What did you say?"

"Idiot," again nearly whispered by the secretary.

Another employee just passed by and was shock, "What did you say? Dare you! How could you reveal his nickname?"

"I was just giving him the PASSWORD." said by the poor secretary.

Next day the company strictly prohibited setting the PASSWORD on any computer.

考試週 賤嘴創意笑話 A fruitful conversation earlier today inspired the following two jokes

話說有一對柏拉圖式戀愛的男女
女：我不喜歡沒有『功能性(functional)』的東西
男：我也是，farewell, my love
女：Likewise
O.S. That might be why Platonic love is hard to find.



An average-looking (with unique character) young man was walking with his pals. Two guys knew that he had a GF who could literally have his baby anytime. They joked about his active sex life. Suddenly,he said calmly: "Have never held her hand."
Two men were shocked, "How come? Liar!"
He said: "True! On our first date, I told her that hand-holding is sacred and must be saved for the wedding night. To be precise, I introduced her the notion of progressive dating (moves) backwards."

張大春與大學生的對話 (good for critical thinking and professional blog-writing)

全文原貌轉載如下

答大學生────關於狗屁的文化創意產業
2010-11-16 08:23 ｜迴響：208｜點閱：45068

網友大學生私人留言，公開作答：
您好，我是一名大學生，請問依您看來，「學界」有沒有義務因應「業界」的需要而改變學習課程的內容，甚或大到學術方向? 這麼問，是因為有不少業界人士跑到學界來(是誤人子弟?還是傳授經驗?)，業界或許有一些值得學習的實際經驗，但那常跟理論搭不上邊，畢竟不管有沒有學術背景都可以進入業界。例如：本校文學院開了一系列「創意產業學程」，(http://gogo.tku.edu.tw/cci/index.html)，裡面來自業界的老師，常常利用上課或作業來為自己的事業宣傳；另一方面，又可以在外的工作經歷上大膽地寫「大學教授」，儘管這些來自業界的教授參差不齊。 像這是一篇任教於淡江大學的業界人士的演講，(http://blog.yam.com/oakacorn/article/27775632)，我完全聽不懂他在講什麼。基本上，我也聽不懂他上課在上什麼。請問能為我解釋他的意思嗎?

答曰：光是看到貴校「文創產業中心」的「五大主修領域」裡有「創意漢學」，我就想向你致哀了。除了向你致哀，我還能作甚麼呢？
我仔細觀看並分析了貴校設立文創中心的一切說明和宣傳網頁（也建議我部落格的瀏覽客人都去看一眼），發現這這個中心就是建築在臺灣集體幻覺上的一個單位。這不只是貴校的問題，而要從整體臺灣的社會去理解。
我是一個寫作的人，我根本不承認有文創這回事，就好像我是一個正常的細胞，我不承認惡性腫瘤是我的一部份一樣。
文創產業的來歷是一群寄生蟲般的人物，在既沒有創作能力、也沒有研究能力的前提之下，逞其虛矯夸飾的浮詞，闖入原本的出版、表演、戲劇、影視、廣告、藝術展覽和交易等等傳統領域。進入了這些行業之後，他們與上述各領域的專業技術、教養和知識亦無關，他們的興趣和職責就是媒合政商資源，看起來充其量不過就是一種兼領經紀人和營銷者身份的幫閒份子。創作者拉不下臉來談生意，就需要他們。他們生意談大了，就回過頭來指導創作者。創作者要是沒出息一點，就等著被這種人掌控、消費或淘汰；創作者要是不要臉一點，就自己出面說：「我也是搞文創產業的！」可是憑藉著在業內幫閒的資歷，他們可以演講、寫專欄、出書，成為意見領袖，還彼此串合，虛構出「文化創意產業」這樣的語詞。還反過頭來告訴創作者：你們所幹的活兒，其實是我這個產業的一個環節、一個零件、一個「區塊」。
你也許還想問：文創的內容是甚麼？答案可以像這些寄生蟲一樣多變──他們自己反正也是騎驢找馬，連哄帶騙不需要準主意，條列整齊的綱領從1到9、從A到Z，拐人相信它有一套正式的演繹或分析架構就好，他們最高明的技倆就是把一堆行政、管理、財經、統計等科目中可以用常識化語言描述出來的訊息整編成一套冠以「產業」之名的雞零狗碎，摸著石頭過河。
詐騙集團要鍛鍊到極高明的境界，才能夠立足為文創產業；加入他們成為追隨者、學習者則只要夠愚蠢就行了。
親愛的大學生：從你的信裡我會看到良知與品行，如果你不希望浪費時間、浪費生命、浪費智能，建議你遠離這一套課程，因為共犯結構就是這樣的一種東西，正常細胞會死去，而惡性腫瘤一如蒙德羅梭的短篇經典所形容的那樣：「當他剛剛醒來時，恐龍還在那裡。」
http://blog.chinatimes.com/storyteller/archive/2010/11/16/564264.html

中文在英文通告之妙用 -- a simple example

(The following is posted on my door as well as in all my courses at e-learning.)

My office hours will be changed to “on-demand and flexible” basis due to the limited temporary power supply in building Z till the end of October, 2010. I will be working at home, or at coffee shops where air-conditioning service is provided.

How and when can you find me, if applicable? I will be easy to reach before and after class meetings. Class breaks too. I strongly urge you to make appointment via emails. I check emails at least twice a day at jsw12011958@gmail.com.
My cell phone number is 0912-604-341.

共體時艱
認同和包容

Those words are commonly seen nowadays. May I end this note with them.

結合網路流傳的佳言『喜歡你的人不需要，而不喜歡你的人不會相信』與一卡車的產官學人士掛在嘴邊的『企業倫理』 納入授課大綱

The following has been incorporated in syllabi of all courses I offer this term.

關於修課的態度、教學的熱忱、教師評分的客觀與否、同學填寫教學評量是否公允，這些重要議題，屬性就是主觀的，我們應該避免討論、解釋，用不著虛情假意、浪費時間。為什麼呢？因為喜歡你的人不需要，而不喜歡你的人不會相信。追求真理，才是所有討論與解釋的目的。努力取得現代公民應具備的素養，才無愧大學教育的金錢支出與機會成本。

有大智的教務長於開學準備週研習會提到，假設有老師表示，老師可能會依個人的不滿情緒，向評鑑委員爆料，教務長睿智的回應：「委員應該會記錄此類意見，但是導致不滿情緒的問題，並不會因此而解決或消失。」以此類推，同學可能會依個人的不滿情緒，在填寫匿名的教學評量時宣洩一番，此類意見確實會見光，但是導致不滿情緒的問題，並不會解決或消失。所以，良性與即時溝通、提出建設性意見，才是正途。本人歷年課程之學生整體成績與教學評量，都放在e-learning，力求透明化。每門課都要與企業(或職場)倫理相結合，同學考試不能作弊；教師打成績要有擔當；不用功就不要推說老師不會教；家長也不該既要求學校要嚴格、又不能接受被勒退的竟是自己的子女。緣此，教師、學生、家長、教務主管，都要恪遵企業倫理。

『e世代之標準化作業』 與 『在屋頂大聲告白的戲劇化思維』之小衝突

jsw: 剛才收到手機簡訊，同學姓名都沒給，只表示要加選 (嗯 … 為什麼不包飛機，在天空拉布條呢？)初犯原諒！下一封類似的天兵簡訊，會被原貌轉寄給校長、部長與教育委員會立委，讓他們知道，幾百億教育經費砸下去，還是有盲點。
難怪會有『生小孩的地方』的笑話。
Hint: 白癡色鬼、機智美女、給錢看好康的、公車、路邊的婦產科。
沒聽過這笑話的人，自己去 google 吧。


Student: 簡訊是我發的= =
我怕你今天沒有要上facebook，加上有名額限制，以防萬一!!


jsw: 從未聽說用簡訊卡位之事。真的要採用土法鍊鋼、也不想包飛機拉布條，可以學習岳飛母親。在背上(嗯 小腿或手臂亦可 -- 只要夠粗)刺青七字：『讓我加選微積分』。這樣...一般人應該會被感動。


Student: 我考慮採用。

Once a year ... 資訊透明化 是 end-users 的最佳對策 (updated in 2011)

Serah - Flight Of The Stork

Loreena McKennitt - The Lady of Shalott (LIVE)

黄莺莺 - 哭砂

Sealed with a Kiss

Agnetha Fältskog, an ex member of the Swedish 70's pop group ABBA.

All I ask of you

Angel

Sarah Mclachlan - I Love You (album : Mirrorball)

Detailed Solution to Examination One (summer session) -- Micro Principles

★★★ Detailed Solution to Examination One (Int’l Business Administration, WUCL) ★★★
Summer 2010
Instructor: 衛忠欣 (Jong-Shin Wei)
經濟學(一) (Principles of Microeconomics)
(07)342-6031 ext.6222
93001@mail.wtuc.edu.tw
jsw12011958@gmail.com

9:30 am ~ 10:40 am, July 9, 2010
Open books/notes exam (excluding texts written in Chinese). Absolutely no talking nor borrowing items during exams.，可使用自己的資料、字典或翻譯機。行動電話若響起，該生扣十分、以強調基本禮貌。務必工整依序作答。題目較多，目的在於測試是否有平日閱讀英文資料之習慣。Watch your time and have fun!
Part One: 20 Multiple choice questions. [By multiple choice in an English-speaking academic environment, we mean that you must choose the most appropriate one from 4 alternatives. 依慣例，答錯不倒扣！] 80 points
1. An economic agent, called A, has 20 hours to be spent on producing goods X and Y under linear (or fixed rate) technologies specified as follows. Spending a hours, with 0 ≦ a ≦20, on the production of X can bring him a/2 units of X (or expressed by x = a/2); spending  hours, with 0 ≦ a ≦ 20, on producing Y can yield a units of Y (i.e., y = a). A’s production possibility frontier (or PPF for short) is
(A) 2ax + ay = 20;
(B) (a/2)x + ay = 20;
(C) 2x + y = 20;
(D) x + 2y = 20.
Ans: C. [In light of linear (or fixed rate) technologies, since a hours can produce a/2 units of X, 1 unit of X requires (labor in the amount of) 2 hours. Similarly,a hours can produce a units of Y, implying that 1 unit of Y requires (labor in the amount of) 1 hour. Hence, 2x + y = 20.]

2. [continued from question 1] Since a/2 units of X are trade-off for a units of Y, we shall say that the opportunity cost of producing
(A) 1 unit of Y is 2 units of X;
(B) 1 unit of Y is 0.5;
(C) 1 unit of X is 0.5;
(D) 1 unit of X is 2 units of Y.
Ans: D. [a/2 : a = 1/2 : 1 = 1: 2]

3. [continued from question 2] We then conclude that
(A) A has the absolute advantage in producing Y;
(B) A has the absolute advantage in producing X;
(C) A has the comparative advantage in producing Y;
(D) None of the above (is true).
Ans: D. [Recall definitions of absolute advantage and comparative advantage]

4. [continued from question 1] The PPF of A
(A) has -2 as slope and two intercepts as 10 and 20;
(B) has -1/2 as slope and two intercepts as 20 and 20;
(C) has -2 as slope and two intercepts as 10 and 20;
(D) has -1/2 as slope and two intercepts as 10 and 20.
Ans: A. [The geometric properties of a line, 2x + y = 20 on the X-Y plane]
5. An economic agent, called B, has 30 hours to be spent on producing goods X and Y under linear (or fixed rate) technologies specified as follows. Spending a hours, with 0 ≦ a ≦20, on the production of X can bring him a/2 units of X (or expressed by x = a/2); spending  hours, with 0 ≦ a ≦ 20, on producing Y can yield a/2 units of Y (i.e., y = a/2). B’s production possibility frontier (or PPF for short) is
(A) x + y = 30;
(B) x + y = 15;
(C) x + 2y = 20;
(D) 2x + 2y = 15.
Ans: B. [In light of linear (or fixed rate) technologies, since a hours can produce a/2 units of X, 1 unit of X requires (labor in the amount of) 2 hours. Likewise,a/2 hours can produce a units of Y, implying that 1 unit of Y requires (labor in the amount of) 2 hour. Hence, 2x + 2y = 30 or x + y = 15.]

6. [continued from question 5]
(A) The opportunity cost of producing 1 unit of X is 2 units of Y;
(B) The opportunity cost of producing 1 unit of X is 0.5 unit of Y;
(C) The opportunity cost of producing 2 units of X is 2 units of Y;
(D) None of the above is true.
Ans: C. [1 : 1 = 2 : 2]

7. [continued from questions 1 and 5] Regarding A and B,
(A) A has the absolute advantage in producing X;
(B) A has the absolute advantage in producing Y;
(C) B has the absolute advantage in producing X;
(D) B has the absolute advantage in producing Y.
Ans: B. [For x = 1, A needs to spend 2 hours; B needs to spend 2 hours. For y = 1, A needs to spend 1 hour; B needs to spend 2 hours. Hence, A has the absolute advantage in producing Y. Incidentally, we can see from intercepts and numbers on the right-hand side of two equations. For A, 20 hrs bring him 10 units of X, 10/20 = 1/2. For B, 30 hrs bring him 15 units of X, 15/30 = 1/2. We have a tie here. For A, 20 hrs bring him 20 units of Y, 20/20 = 1. For B, 30 hrs bring him 15 units of Y, 15/30 = 1/2. Note 1 > 1/2. Measuring productivity (between two agents) is the key here.]

8. [continued from questions 1 and 5] Regarding A and B,
(A) Neither has the comparative advantage in producing X;
(B) A has the comparative advantage in producing X;
(C) B has the comparative advantage in producing X;
(D) None of the above.
Ans: C. [For A, the opportunity cost of producing 1 unit of X is 2 units of Y. For B, the opportunity cost of producing 1 unit of X is 1 unit of Y. Hence, B has the comparative advantage in producing X. Also, A has the comparative advantage in producing Y. Intuition? A’s PPF is steeper than B’s PPF.]

9. [continued from question 1] Now we introduce another economic agent, called C, who has 30 hours to be spent on producing goods X and Y. The PPF is x + y = 30.
Regarding A and C,
(A) A has the absolute advantage in producing X;
(B) A has the absolute advantage in producing Y;
(C) C has the absolute advantage in producing X;
(D) None of the above.
Ans: C. [For x = 1, A needs to spend 2 hours; C needs to spend 1 hour. For y = 1, A needs to spend 1 hour; C needs to spend 1 hour. Hence, C has the absolute advantage in producing X.]

10. [continued from questions 5 and 9] Regarding B and C,
(A) B has the absolute advantage in producing X;
(B) B has the absolute advantage in producing Y;
(C) C has the absolute advantage in producing both goods;
(D) None of the above.
Ans: C. [For x = 1, B needs to spend 2 hours; C needs to spend 1 hour. For y = 1, B needs to spend 2 hours; C needs to spend 1 hour. Hence, C has the absolute advantage in producing both X and Y.]

11. 基於 incentives and rational behavior 的認知，校長呼籲同學不要盲目熱衷展場美女(國內所謂的賣場showgirl)的打工之途，與下列何者相似？
(A) 如果知道要分手，當初就不該交往；
(B) 黃豆漲價，讓豆漿變淡，比漲價要好；
(C) 帥哥美女的追求者人數，真的不多；
(D) 在重視點名成績且有150名學生的課堂上，道德勸說同學勿伏案小睡。
Ans: D. [如果課業負擔不重，展場美女的打工機會，當然有吸引力。如果到課就有基本分數，即使精神不濟也會上課。]

12. There are three projects, 1, 2, and 3. The benefit from undertaking project i is B(i); the cost of undertaking project i is C(i), where i = 1, 2, 3. If we know that project 1 has the smallest opportunity cost, then
(A) project 1 has the largest net benefit;
(B) project 1 has the smallest net benefit;
(C) project 1 的淨效益，不可能等於 project 1 的機會成本；
(D) project 1 的淨效益，不可能大於 project 1 的機會成本。
*Ans: D. [To see why (A) is incorrect, consider the following example. Let B(1) = 10, C(1) = 6, B(2) = 10, C(2) = 4, B(3) = 8, and C(3) = 2. The opportunity cost of undertaking project 1 is 6 = Max{10 - 4, 8 - 2}; the opportunity cost of undertaking project 2 is 6 = Max{10 - 6, 8 - 2}; the opportunity cost of undertaking project 3 is 6 = Max{10 - 6, 10 - 4}.]

13. There are three projects, 1, 2, and 3. The benefit from undertaking project i is B(i); the cost of undertaking project i is C(i), where i = 1, 2, 3. If we know that only one project has the largest net benefit, then
(A)有最小機會成本的 project，必是有最大淨效益的 project；
(B)有最小機會成本的 project，未必是唯一；
(C)有最大機會成本的 project，必是有最大淨效益的 project；
(D) None of the above.
*Ans: A. [lectures]

14. Suppose that you chose to walk downtown to save $10 on a textbook priced at $30. Today, you will buy a computer on campus store at the price as $3000 even you know that the same computer can be found at a downtown store with price as $2960.
This reasoning is similar to
(A) 要求捐出一日所得，而不是每人捐2000元；
(B) 既然來到 all-you-can-eat 餐廳，我一定要拼命吃；
(C) 聽演講時，避免坐在最後一列；
(D) 勿以善小而不為、勿以惡小而為之。
Ans: A. [proportion!]

15. Suppose the net benefit of 1 is B(1) - C(1) = 10 - 8 = 2; the net benefit of 2 is B(2) - C(2) = 6 - 2 = 4. This is consistent with
(A)文藻實施全面點名的機會成本很大；
(B) sunk cost is important；
(C)明星球員應領高薪；
(D)妳愛1的程度超過妳愛2的程度，2比1還愛妳。
Ans: D.

16. The title of the movie we saw on the first day of class is
(A) Save the Earth;
(B) Earth;
(C) Our Home;
(D) Home.
Ans: D. [Obvious]

17. [continued from question 16] 該影片的旁白，一再重覆的是
(A) More and more;
(B) Faster and faster;
(C) Sooner or later;
(D) Bigger and bigger.
Ans: B. [Just see if you did pay attention to that movie.]

18. [continued from question 16] 該影片提到，紅樹林的快速消失，加害者是
(A) 養蝦場；
(B) 鯊魚；
(C) 水鳥；
(D) 螞蟻。
Ans: A.

19. [continued from question 16] 該影片提到，大幅度的森林變成農地，種植黃豆。約多少比例的黃豆，被用於歐亞地區禽畜的飼料？
(A) 50%;
(B) 60%;
(C) 75%;
(D) 90%.
Ans: D.

20. [continued from question 16] 該影片提到，在孟加拉，只貸款給窮人的銀行，實施30多年，
(A) 讓一億五千萬人受惠；
(B) 讓一千五百萬人受惠；
(C) 最後被爆料，竟然是在斂財；
(D) 創始者竟無緣得到諾貝爾獎。
Ans: A. [Additional information: 經濟學家穆罕默德．尤努斯(Muhammad Yunus)創建葛萊敏銀行(Grameen Bank)。穆罕默德．尤努斯於2006獲頒諾貝爾和平獎。You might also learn it in Money and Banking.]

Part Two: Analytical questions. [注意字體工整、邏輯順暢與不要出現錯別字或注音(與火星文)！如果字跡難以辨認，視同未答。畫蛇添足、答非所問、不知所云、自曝其短，將不利得分。] 20 points

21.你(妳)修這門暑修課程的機會成本為何？請扼要說明。
我為什麼不會問「你(妳)修這門暑修課程的淨效益為何」？
Ans: skipped. 如果要計算你(妳)修這門暑修課程的淨效益，就必須先估算暑修成績。

22.你(妳)未來在職場面試時，應不應該主動說明「這四年的教育都是全面強制點名的」？
Ans: No! [Why not? To be elaborated during lectures]


Performance:
12 students
Adjusting rule: (original score)(1.2)
Average: 56.3
Highest-lowest: 70-43


(撰寫試題無著作權；歡迎全貌下載流傳)

職場笑話 -- 改編加長版

據說是上班族票選第一名笑話 -- 改編後如下：

一隻蛇與一隻兔子在野外相撞， 兩人爭吵一陣後竟發現 ，彼此都是個瞎子，便惺惺相惜了起來。
蛇泣道：「我從小就沒了父母， 連水中的倒影也看不見，到現在我還不曉得我是什麼動物。」
「我也是耶！」兔子也感傷的說：「我也不知道自己長什麼樣子.....」
一陣長談，蛇想出了一個點子 ，它向兔子道：
「我想到了，我們彼此觸摸對方，告訴對方是什麼動物好嗎？」
兔子興奮的大叫 :
「好啊好啊好啊，我終於可以知道我是什麼動物了！」
蛇說 ：「我先來 ！！」接著他便把小白兔捲起來.....
「嗯！ 你有溫暖的身體，毛茸茸的身子，長長大大的耳朵，尖尖的鼻子，健壯的後腿，還有一小條尾巴，末端還附一個小毛球......」
「我知道了！！」 蛇高興的大喊： 「你是隻小白兔！！」
知道身世的兔子大喜 ：「該我了 ，該我了 ！！」便蹦蹦跳跳到了蛇的身邊,開始用鼻子觸摸
.....
「嗯？ 哇 ！！ 你是個冷血動物，臉皮跟身子皮都很厚，還有黏黏噁心外表，嘖嘖！有長長可以到處鑽的身體，但是竟然沒有肩膀..............哇靠 ！ 頭小小的沒什麼腦袋，嘴巴竟是全身最大的器官......天啊！！嘴巴裡有毒牙！！你老師的！！ 還有分叉的舌頭！！」
兔子突然大怒跳開：「你竟然是個公司主管 ！！」


蛇生氣說：「想騙我？」一口把兔子吞下去。
旁邊一隻烏龜開口：「我在這裡呆了20年，你猜我是什麼動物？」
蛇便把烏龜捲起來..... 烏龜馬上縮頭不動裝死。蛇一放開牠，烏龜就碎碎唸、又爬得慢。蛇一靠近，烏龜又馬上縮頭不動。
蛇輕蔑的說： 「你是公司的小職員！！」

啟示：主管也是上班族，小職員有心聲，主管亦然

On ignorance, mistakes, rules, discretions, and corruptions

Disclaimer: This is not my story as I smoke cigars and occasionally am a pipe-smoker. To me, smoking cigarettes causes terrible smell, just as most of you will agree with me.

甲是外國人，不知道室內公共場所已經是全面禁煙。甲問他的英語家教學生乙，是否介意甲來根「飯後煙」，乙說沒關係啊，你當然可以消費你買的東西。少數顧客向餐廳老闆抗議，乙辯稱甲對他很重要、也謊稱自己不知煙害防治法。是地方首富的乙，建議老闆把抗議者請出去，索性把餐廳改為「有煙餐廳」(NOT a smoke-free restaurant)。老闆想了一下，反正老闆自己平日也偶爾在廚房偷偷哈上一口，這回既然有乙承擔責任，也就真的如此做了。老闆還對自己的行動力(Just do it -- no matter how much it costs)自豪，也不忘酸一下被請出去的顧客：「這是我的店。」結果餐廳生意大跌，招牌還沒換新，環保人員來開罰，只看見甲一人悠閒地在吞雲吐霧。

不知法而違法，不嚴重　-- 告知後，要求改正即可。
以謊言掩飾誤判、以謊言掩飾違法，都很嚴重。
一人犯錯，是常態。直線組織裡的多人交疊犯錯，終將結束組織的生命，這就是社會科學重視的議題之一：腐化 (corruption)。

An open letter to students in UB4 before their graduation

Dear students in UB4:

這是班導師第一次、也是最後一次給你(妳)們的公開信。首先要恭喜大家，學業告一段落，應該興奮地邁向人生的下一階段。即使有極少數延畢同學，也應該滿懷喜悅與抱持感恩之心，只是晚半拍離開這個四年的環境罷了。(上課不是也有遲到的嗎？遲到的同學，未必會有較差的學期成績。)當年我大學畢業時，也是如此心態。估計諸位至少還有60年的人生旅途，所以這四年只占十五分之一，很多喜怒哀樂，終將變成不重要的回憶。然而，我敢預言，這四年的歷練，應該是獨一無二的。

正因為『獨一無二』，我衷心希望，贈送大家「誠信、原則」四字，盼望大家能一生受用。有人應該聽說一些關於下週一晚宴的最新發展，身為班導師，我有責任提供第一手報導。在系學會會員大會(與系師生座談會合併舉辦)之前，系學會會長就客氣地與我商議系學會送舊晚會之地點問題，在過程中我也提醒她，當初我逐一發送 MSN 訊息，籲請 UB4同學繳交會費，一來糾正常見的大四生不繳會費之怪象，也保證系學會的送舊餐會能與謝師宴合併舉辦，可望節省時間、人力與金錢。在當天會議中，我又報告一次，包括系主任在內，與會的老師也聽到此一小小創舉。未料，五月初，系學會竟然告知：系學會送舊，與謝師宴是兩碼子事。我立即發信提醒會長與系主任，所得到的答案，甚至出現「搭便車」這類字眼，令我詫異、遺憾。

我在部落格寫道，我遺憾、也抱歉，曾經眼瞎耳聾為不值得付出的團體或個人背書、支持。我有自由，不參加有違誠信原則的活動。我有義務，拒絕為有違誠信原則的活動助陣、鋪路。身為教育工作者，我不可能現身說法，告訴同學：「背信是可以被接受的。」我任教的課程裡，作弊是不被允許、也沒發生過。胡搞瞎搞的企業確實存在，希望諸位將來不會遇到，至少趁還沒踏入社會之前，我們能提供正確的示範。基於此原則，我無法為系學會這樣的行為背書，也不應該參與。

不同於二十年前的校園文化，今日的系學會，已是一社團組織，系主任是當然的指導老師，只是不像其他社團的指導老師，沒有校長的聘書，學務處也好意讓各系自行輔導。系上老師，沒繳會費，但是基於教師使命感與情緣，總是希望在旁助陣、協助。我當然會憂心，往後系學會如何能收到大四生的會費？該說的話已說，能幫忙的也做了，自認問心無愧。

有人問：「你會生氣嗎？」基本上，這都是教育的一部份，學生犯錯，是可以被原諒的。我真的覺得，系學會此舉，陷我於不義，因為我勢必失信於諸位。已經繳交系會會費的同學，如果相信我這裡的歷史陳述，請接受導師的道歉。因為不相信會有(部份)退費之奇蹟，我誠懇地自掏腰包，補償繳費者每人一百元(正好是會費的三分之一)。非全額退費，並非異象，大家就看開一點，爾後保持一些戒心。如此，我們親身體驗『誠信』之可貴，堅守「原則」之勇氣。也是一件好事！

如果有同學想與導師聊天吃飯，我還蠻好約的。費用不是問題，大家依照所得的「比例原則」推算即可。這兩年我與同學的小組餐聚，不是進行的還好嗎？我在學生時期，與尊敬的老師吃飯，也都是如此，將心比心，也是良好的傳承。我計劃為「原訂計畫」奉獻的一些紀念品，將改留給我們的小團體聚餐抽獎用。

感謝同學閱讀至此，請相信我逐字敲打的時間，應該是諸位瀏覽時間的十倍，該相信我的誠意吧。

祝
一帆風順！

衛忠欣

後記：
"Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

I saw those two quotes (from Bible) from my friend's web site after typing this letter.
Now I know where I got the strength and courage to stand tall and have faith.

如何牽線 -- (case study) materials for the course Workshop on Information and Negotiation

Case: A 與 B 同為一家傳統產業的小主管。A 利用總經理的莫名其妙信任，在缺乏自知之明 (see my posting on facebook) 的情況下，開始違反行政倫理與體制運作，搞一些自己發明的小動作。B 的部門，予人有些搖搖欲墜之感，讓 A 更能理直氣壯，直接伸手介入B 的部門事務。(想到古人有所謂屍骨未寒之比喻，在此，人還活得好好的耶。) B 不敢上稟總經理，因為老總已經「充分授權」。我告訴她：還有董座啊！ B 說：我那敢驚動老董啊！
深知董事長是一位有智慧的傾聽者與信徒，我該如何牽線呢？

Solution: 我將下列內容，同時寄給董事長與B。Email 的主旨是 『引子』。

歷史學家卡西烏斯．迪歐紀錄了一則發人深省的歷史事件，是關於公元117–138年間羅馬皇帝哈德良。
「有一次，有個女人在哈德良行經的路途中向他哀求。一開始，哈德良對她說：『我沒有時間聽妳的請求。』但是當她後來對他喊著：『那你就別做皇帝了！』哈德良聽了便轉回來，聽她所要提的請求。」

很多帝王或忙碌的經理人，總是不希望被人打擾，上帝不像他們。

----------------
case study continued...

董座回信：God's ways are far beyond our imagination. I happened to meet B.

Detailed Solution to Midterm Examination, Math for Mgmt, Spring 2010

Detailed Solution to Midterm Examination, Macro Principles, Spring 2010

★★★★ Detailed Solution to Midterm Examination (Int’l Business, WUCL) ★★★★
Spring 2010 Instructor: 衛忠欣 (Jong-Shin Wei)
經濟學(二) (Principles of Macroeconomics) (07)342-6031 ext.6222
93001@mail.wtuc.edu.tw jsw12011958@gmail.com

3:30 pm ~ 4:50 pm, April 26, 2010
Open books/notes exam. Max: 111 points in 80 minutes; absolutely no talking nor borrowing items during exams.，可使用自己的資料、字典或翻譯機。字典或翻譯機之使用，限在前30分鐘之內。行動電話若響起，該生扣十分、以強調基本禮貌。務必工整依序作答。題目較多，目的在於測試是否有平日閱讀原文書之習慣。Watch your time and have fun!
Part One: 30 Multiple choice questions. [By multiple choice in an English-speaking academic environment, we mean that you must choose the most appropriate one from 4 alternatives. 依慣例，答錯不倒扣！] 75 points

1.The measure of GDP can take into account of efforts in
(A) protecting environment;
(B) creating more jobs domestically;
(C) slowing down the rate of resource depletion;
(D) fighting with the cocaine trafficking.
Ans: B. [See p.322, text]

2.It is fair to say that while measuring the aggregate output, we put more weight on
(A) services provided by the government sector;
(B) goods produced by the production sectors;
(C) black market activities;
(D) high-priced goods and services.
Ans: D. [See p.323, text]

3.Henry is a writer who married June, who stays home doing unpaid housework and child care duties. If June chooses to work at a law firm while paying someone to do the housework and child care, in the spirit of GDP computation, we shall say
(A) there will be an increase in GDP but it is over-stating;
(B) there will be an increase in GDP but it is under-stating;
(C) there will be a decrease in GDP but it is over-stating;
(D) there will be a decrease in GDP but it is under-stating.
Ans: A. [See p.324, text]

4.It is very common in Taiwan that grand parents help with child care when both parents go to work full-time. In light of this and in comparison with what happens in USA, we shall say that the GDP in Taiwan seems to
(A) be over-estimated;
(B) be under-estimated;
(C) take into consideration of the quality of child care;
(D) fall due to the low birth rate.
Ans: B. [See p.324, text]

5.Education provided by public schools
(A) is not sold in markets;
(B) is not included in GDP because that it only helps with the quality;
(C) is not included in GDP because that we cannot find the market price for it;
(D) None of the above is correct.
Ans: A. [See p.325, text]

6.(基本時事題) Choose the correct statement.
(A)經濟部長是施顏祥；
(B)經建會主委是陳沖；
(C)經濟部長是蔡勳雄；
(D)金管會主委是李紀珠。
Ans: A.

7.(基本時事題) 依據行政院主計處，我國的經濟成長率，係
(A)按民國95年價格計算之國內生產毛額的年增率；
(B)按民國85年價格計算之國內生產毛額的年增率；
(C)按前一年價格計算之國內生產毛額的年增率；
(D)國內生產毛額的年增率。
*Ans: A. [Test if you follow information given on internet.]

8.A paid B $900 for baby-sitting last night. Today B spent $800 to have her hairs cut. For each hair cut, the assistant got paid (by the owner of the hair salon or gallery) in the amount of $100 (for washing hairs etc.) When we compute GDP, it is meaningful to
(A) view 900 + 800 + 100 as the increase in income;
(B) view 900 + 800 as the increase in expenditure;
(C) view 900 + 100 as the increase in income;
(D) view 900 + 700 as the increase in income.
*Ans: B. [See pp.325-6, text]

9.張三收成一批葡萄，他將一半的收成賣給李四吃，賺取$50,000。至於剩下的一半，張三自己吃去一半，將另一半拿去發酵釀酒，自製的私酒偷偷賣給王五喝，張三賺取$40,000。張三種植葡萄，對GDP的貢獻是
(A) 100,000;
(B) 90,000;
(C) 50,000;
(D) None of the above.
*Ans: C. [張三收成的葡萄，市值為$100,000。50,000 + 40,000 = 90,000. 私酒是在黑市交易，不能計入。See p.326, text]

10.(Learn economics from watching movies.) In the movie Cast Away (浩劫重生), Tom Hanks lived in an island alone for years. During that period, if we view that island as an economy, her GDP
(A) is zero because that Tom was lazy;
(B) is zero because that there was no market;
(C) is zero because that Tom’s time had no value;
(D) is not zero because that Tom worked hard to survive.
Ans: B.


11.John paid $4,000,000 for a new apartment in 2000. He sold that apartment for $2,600,000 in 2010. The real estate agent earned $160,000 in this transaction (from the seller and the buyer, of course). Regarding John’s transaction in 2010, the contribution to GDP is
(A) 4,000,000 - 2,600,000 - 160,000;
(B) 4,000,000 - 2,600,000 + 160,000;
(C) 2,600,000 + 160,000;
(D) None of the above.
Ans: D. [It is 160,000. See p.328, text]

12.「以價制量」的經濟(干預)政策，不易付諸實施。下列何者不屬於此類？
(A)Carter administration proposed to use gasoline tax to reduce the USA dependence on foreign oil;
(B)Increasing unit tax on cigarettes to discourage smoking;
(C)以死刑來嚇阻犯罪；
(D)知名學校希望提高研究所考試的報名費。
Ans: C. [trivial; lectures]

13.The main reason for implementing the mandatory immunization laws is
(A) The situation at which all were vaccinated is Pareto efficient;
(B) It helps increase government’s revenues;
(C) Evidence (such as what happened in the Boulder County of Colorado) shows that self-insurance works better;
(D) The best outcome to me is that I remain unvaccinated while all other people were vaccinated.
Ans: D. [pp.298-9, text]

14.Recall the green vs. red experiment (also see the extra credit question at the end of this exam paper). Relating it to the HINI immunization event last year, we see that
(A)實際接受疫苗注射的普遍度，類似大多數人選綠球；
(B)實際接受疫苗注射的普遍度，類似大多數人選紅球；
(C)如果張三接受疫苗注射，事後不會後悔；
(D)唯有百分之百的疫苗注射率，才是社會最適解。
Ans: A. [lectures; pp.298-9, text]

15.Which statement is true regarding the health care costs in USA?
(A)They account for 20 percent of national income in 1940;
(B)They account for 40 percent of national income in 2009;
(C)Main reasons for the sharp increase from 1940 to 2009 are inflation and sophisticated high-tech developments;
(D)The main reason for the sharp increase from 1940 to 2009 is the emergence of the third-party payment system.
Ans: D. [lectures; p.299, text]

16.Government-financed medical insurance
(A)不包括我國的全民健保；
(B)包括美國的HMO；
(C)立意在於防止醫療資源的浪費；
(D)是一種third-party payment system。
Ans: D. [See p.299, text]

17.Andy just had a minor surgeon. His demand for hospital stay (measured in days) is given by P + 50Q = 300. Hospital room charge is $200 per day. Without the insurance covering his hospital stay, how many days will Andy stay in the hospital?
(A) 1 day;
(B) 2 days;
(C) 3 days;
(D) None of the above.
Ans: B. [p.300, text. From P = 200 and P + 50Q = 300 we get Q = 2.]

18.[continued from question 17] If Andy’s hospital stay is fully covered by insurance, then how many days will Andy stay in the hospital?
(A) 2 days;
(B) 3 days;
(C) 6 days;
(D) None of the above.
Ans: C. [Andy is maximizing his consumer’s surplus by choosing Q = 6.]

19.[continued from question 18] Andy’s consumer surplus is
(A) 1800;
(B) 1200;
(C) 600;
(D) None of the above
Ans: D. [It is (300)(6)/2 = 900.]

20.[continued from question 18] Compare question 18 with question 17. Andy’s medical insurance causes a loss in medical care resources measured by “room charges due to extended stay minus Andy’s extra benefit”, which is
(A) 400;
(B) 300;
(C) 200;
(D) 600.
Ans: A. [It is 4(200)/2 = 400; see p.301, text]

*21.[continued from question 20] Suppose that the insurance provider offers Andy an option: He can get $x in cash, but he must pay the room charges, and the length of his hospital stay is exactly the answer to question 17. If both the insurance provider and Andy become better off when Andy agrees to that option, what would be the number x?
(A) 1300;
(B) 700;
(C) 800;
(D) 900.
Ans: D. [Andy finds it attractive due to 900 - 400 = 500 > 400. The insurance provider finds it attractive due to 900 < (200)(6). See p.301, text]

22.[continued from question 21] What happens to the hospital’s revenue?
(A) It increases by 800;
(B) It decreases by 800;
(C) It decreases by 600;
(D) None of the above.
Ans: B. [(200)(6) – (200)(2) = 800. Recall lectures]

23.Examples of in-kind transfers in Taiwan include
(A)老人津貼；
(B)消費券；
(C)急難救濟金；
(D)免費營養午餐。
Ans: D. [Notice that消費券 is quite different from food stamps in USA.]

24.It is 3 pm on Monday and you are a piano tutor who is teaching kids piano at your apartment. A carpenter is doing heavy work at your next-door neighbor’s apartment. The noise he is making forces you to stop your teaching. You both understand that you earn money by tutoring while he makes a living by working as a carpenter. Suppose that you both can negotiate at no cost and you both know what Coase theorem is all about. [Lucky you both!] If both agree that everyone is entitled to the environment without noise, then
(A) you should pay him and ask him to do his job at another time and this arrangement will make both better off;
(B) he should pay you and ask you to reschedule your session and this arrangement will make both better off;
(C) he must stop working in order to avoid the law suit;
(D) whoever pays another person to reschedule will be worse off.
Ans: B. [See p.273, text]

25.[continued from question 24] If both agree that doing house remodeling work is allowed during a weekday afternoon, then
(A) you should pay him and ask him to do his job at another time and this arrangement will make both better off;
(B) he should pay you and ask you to reschedule your session and this arrangement will make both better off;
(C) the best you can do is to reschedule your session and ask for nothing;
(D) whoever pays another person to reschedule will be worse off.
Ans: A. [See p.273, text]

26. (與新聞相關的活用題)前一陣子，中國大陸某地方首長來台。該天夜晚台北101大樓突然燈火通明。有一些反對人士大罵浪費、不環保、抱大腿。被罵的一方，則找了一些有些牽強的理由來搪塞。其實，被罵的一方可以搬出經濟學原理，來進行有效的辯護，那就是
(A) We live in a world full of informational asymmetry;
(B) Turning on those lights can prevent missiles attack from China in a cost-effective way;
(C) The government can subsidize private property owners to plant trees or to turn on all those lights to generate positive externalities;
(D) Since those lights are public goods, meaning that everyone can benefit at no cost.
Ans: C. [Make sure you know why (D) is not a good choice.]

27. Being an economic naturalist might help you with your social life. Adam and Eve are dating. Suddenly they have a big fight and that makes both thirsty. “Let us drink something and we will split once we finish the drink,” agreed by both. They face two choices: (1) each has a cup (250 cc) of coke; (2) both share a cup (500 cc) of coke (of course, each has a straw).
(A) If they want to make the date last longer, they should go for (1);
(B) If they want to make the date last longer, they should go for (2);
(C) No difference between (1) and (2)
(D) The waiter might prefer (1) to (2).
Ans: B. [See p.283, text]

28. Example of avoiding or resolving the tragedy of the commons do not include
(A) 國人習於構築籬笆或矮牆，圍成私人庭院；
(B) 讓師生領養校園花木；
(C) 持續開放系辦公室空間但是嚴密喧譁、小睡或進食；
(D) 對社區網球場收取使用費。
Ans: D. [See p.281, text]

29. Examples of excludable but not rival consumptions do not include
(A) fire protection;
(B) driving on a toll road at 5 am;
(C) driving on Highway 88 at 5 am;
(D) watching movies on HBO channel.
Ans: C. [Recall lectures]

30. The office of the department of international business administration is where students can spend some time during the class break. If you, having learned economics principles and heard about the vision from some faculty members, are asked to name that place, which name will you pick most likely?
(A) Tiger’s Paradise;
(B) Toyota’s Resort;
(C) Freedom’s Corner;
(D) International Commons.
Ans: D. [Think about the common resources. No need to explain how the adjective ‘international’ is conceived.]

Part Two: Analytical questions. [注意字體工整、邏輯順暢與不要出現錯別字或注音(與火星文)！如果字跡難以辨認，視同未答。畫蛇添足、答非所問、不知所云、自曝其短，將不利得分。教師也有權公告具有特色之作答。] 30 points
31. There are three industrial firms in the Dark Age Valley, A, B, and C. The initial pollution level for A is 50 units; for B is 80 units; for C is 70 units. Under the current technology, the cost of reducing pollution by one unit is $20 for A; $30 for B; $10 for C. At present, the government gives each firm 50 tradable pollution permits.
Firm A proposes to sell 10 units of permits to firm B; firm C proposes to sell 20 units of permits to B. The price of tradable permit is (agreed to be) 25. Carefully explain, with data, why all three firms will benefit from trading pollution permits in this way. Which firm benefits most? Which firm benefits least?
Ans:
For A, (25)(10) - (20)(10) = 50, greater than 0. Note 50 - 0 = 50.
For C, (25)(20) - (10)(40) = 100, greater than -200. Note 100 - (-200) = 300.
For B, -(25)(30) = -750, greater than -900. Note -750 - (900) = 150.
Since (1) the total pollution level is still kept at 150 and (2) all three firms prefer participating in this trade (and the follow-up) to no-trade , we can call it Pareto-improving.
By 300 > 150 > 50, we see that C benefits most, followed by B.

32. Recall the materials I showed during lectures regarding比中指事件。How can we relate it to the teaching/learning of externalities? Be specific and organized. 偏離主題必後悔。
Ans: The intention (of the Office of Students Affairs) of using that incident to remind students of the importance of appropriate conduct and image issue is understandable, if not well received or highly appreciated. However, leaving the issue of violating traffic regulations unattended, ignoring the possibility that the woman in photos might be in the process of making some video/photo for homework assignment, failing to note that we are obliged to publicly announce that “Smile, you are on hidden camera” before we video-tape them, and publicizing those video-taped materials without properly protecting those involved might very well generate externalities. People might think: Don’t they have more important things to do? 這與最近大家詬病的所謂「網友發動網路人肉搜尋」，有何不同？如果判斷力不足的學生，被誤導去四處拍照搜證文藻教職員生的活動，豈不是又回到文化大革命時期的紅衛兵、聞香隊之行為？
Note: 至於無法得到分數的答案，如：因為學校的關注，造成老師多講了這個話題，因為他只需教授經濟學，不需多講此事件。這就是外部性。

Extra credits question: RED or GREEN? Make your pick.
如果你選擇紅球，相對多數的同學也選擇紅球，我會加你3分。
如果你選擇紅球，相對多數的同學卻選擇綠球，我會加你0分。
如果你選擇綠球，相對多數的同學卻選擇紅球，我會加你4分。
如果你選擇綠球，相對多數的同學也選擇綠球，我會加你1分。
Note: In case there are 28 REDs and 28 GREENs, then the relative majority (to you) is GREEN if you happen to choose RED; the relative majority (to you) is RED if you happen to choose GREEN.
33.你會選擇紅球還是綠球？ 只能擇一！
Findings:
41 Students chose GREEN; 14 students chose RED.

34.你猜相對多數的同學，在上一題是選紅球還是綠球？只能擇一！猜中加2分。
Findings: 44 students guessed correctly.

(撰寫試題無著作權；歡迎全貌下載流傳。)

當下到處可見 grade inflation。同學是相互競爭、不是與老師較技。
所以有調分公式：(原始分數 + 10)*(1.3). Average: 61.8. Highest is 90; lowest is 33.
期中預警 13人

A real-world example illustrating sunk costs, cost-benefit analysis, decision-making, and game-playing

I am teaching an elective course, Applied Game Theory, this term. According to the course syllabus, there will be in-class final exam, no midterm exam, and class will be held as usual during the midterm exam week. [You see that I do observe and comply with the rules set forth by our school. Are you, my friend, Lady M, also a VP, reading this now?] There is only one task on syllabus for the meeting in midterm exam week, which is “individually check the progress of game-playing assignment.”

On April 26, 2007, the day before the scheduled meeting, an idea stoke me that perhaps I could run the progress-checking in a more cost-effective and more efficient way. So, I sent out an email via e-learning platform to all enrolled students. I stated clearly that nobody would be asked to show up before 4:00 pm. From 4:00 pm to 4:30 pm, about eight students (names given specifically) would go thru the process with me on an one-on-one basis. Another group will be treated from 4:30 pm to 5:00 pm, followed by the third and the fourth group. I thought that everybody would be happy with this arrangement although it was announced just 24 hrs ahead of the time.

Now let me share with you my conversation with Mr. C. Lin on April 27.
At 3:57 pm, Mr. Lin came to my office with no expression on his face: "I have been waiting for you almost one hour."
I replied: "Got you! How many times do I have to remind you of the importance of checking emails sent thru e-learning?"
He calmly stared at me and slowly moved toward the elevator.
"Are you leaving? Hey, if you leave now, very likely I will hold you for being absent for two or three hours (in class meeting). Come on, it is not worthy! You will lose everything." I said.
"I have wasted one hour already. If I choose to stay, I will have to wait for another hour before you run the scheduled check on my case. In total, I will waste two hours and there is still a chance that you may keep me waiting longer. That is why I should be smart and take off." He replied.
"Wait a minute! Have you forgotten about sunk costs I taught in principles of economics? Do stay! I will not break my promise. Trust me"

What happened? At 4:01 pm, I saw Mr. Lin quietly sat in the classroom and waited for his turn. I will say that he was making a rational decision. Why?
Since he did not get that email notification, he paid the price by wasting one hour (from 3:10 pm to 4 pm). But that is the so-called sunk cost, which should be irrelevant in the following argument.
If he chooses to leave at 4 pm (after speaking to me), he will not get the benefit and the cost to him will be two or three hours counted as class absence.
If he chooses to stay, he will get the benefit and the cost to him will be one hour as the foregone waiting time.
Hence, the cost-benefit analysis tells us that Mr. Lin, provided that he is rational, should stay. And he did! Good for him.

Of course, if I do not keep my promise and somehow handle his case around 6 pm, he will get the benefit but the cost to him will be two hours as the foregone time. Even for this worst scenario, it is still better than his leaving at 4 pm. Besides, if he takes my strategic action into consideration, we will have a two-person game. As I assured him of my commitment in keeping my words, neither of us should have thought about the game-playing.

Credits: 雖然C. Lin偶爾會有所謂的嗆聲動作，他時而能夠即時回答問題，也曾對經濟學小考問題，提出有水準的批判見解。比起一些老僧入定或是喬裝乖乖牌的同學，要強多了。文藻週的至少兩天下午，(我個人覺得有些奇怪的)經典閱讀活動曲終人散時，我由走廊經過，只見他一人在教室默默地還原課桌椅。他的動作，令我聯想起電影「天之驕子」裡，男老師於開學第一天，在空教室對齊書本與桌緣之一幕。就憑這些觀察，日後只要他開口要推薦函 (references)，我一定樂意相助。

An Example of Incorporating youtube to Teaching

(to be used in teaching the course, Workshop on Information and Negotiation, on May 3, 2010)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVGKAIS7Q4g

source:
dxmonline — 西元2009年07月20日 — 肯．羅賓森爵士(Sir Ken Robinson)以生動活潑的案例來談教育制度。他深切希望教育制度能培育而非扼殺學生的創意。


Notes added by jsw:

This is good for teaching public speaking, not really suitable for discussion on education (and policy-making). It is like the comedian show, popular in some western countries, not in Taiwan. [The show ‘David Allen at Large’ was on TV long time ago when I was in USA.]
我不贊同「教育扼殺創意」這類娛樂新聞標題煽情化之句子。
有基本邏輯思考訓練的人，應該知道：我們把教育，視為一種機制 (mechanism)，有足夠人數的所有可能的學生構成的集合，視為一種社會 (society or the set of all profiles)。如果我們檢驗後發現，針對社會裡每一類的 profile，實施教育這一種機制，對學生的創意，有抹殺打壓之影響，才能下結論：教育扼殺創意。
反之，如果有10萬學生，其中8萬位算是循規蹈矩，只是怎麼教怎麼學，也不會有創意。7000位是透過教育洗禮，變得有創意。1000位天生就有創意，不幸在教育過程中被淹沒或犧牲。12000位則是教育體制的漏網之魚(也就是浪費教育資源的學生)。
我們不能說：
教育制度必能培育學生的創意。
也不能說：
教育制度必會扼殺學生的創意。

一些沒有創意的人，常會怪罪教育制度不好，害他喪失創意。這種人到處都可見。
A拿菜刀砍死B，是A的錯，不是發明菜刀的人之錯，因為菜刀的用途，不是用來砍人的。
以前不只一位國文老師說過一則故事，萬惡不赦的盜匪在行刑前，要求生母給他吸一口奶，竟咬斷乳頭，表示都是母親沒教好。其實，十歲左右的我，那時就不相信會有這種事，撇開講述者是否有心理問題或嚴重意淫，也不談在古代那種文化背景，充滿肅殺之氣的刑場怎麼會有人脫衣服，自己殺人犯罪，最後竟然怪罪母親縱容他，我無法理解。現在更相信我當時的認知。
以該講者為例，如果他一直在家中，與老人家、寵物，談天氣聊是非(用流行俚語形容：嘴砲)，度過15~20年，會有這種犀利幽默智慧？才怪！

P.S. 用字遣詞，是藝術，是功夫，更是態度與教養問題。正因為這樣，我不會加入『墮落教師聯盟』的粉絲團。那裡有很好的討論平台，發言人也不易是狀況外的嘴砲快閃族，只是粉絲團的主打介紹詞，竟是

『你很賭爛現在教育制度嗎?
你以墮落為己任嗎?
你夠瘋狂沒人把妳當老師嗎?
歡迎加入粉絲團支持我們
讓我們繼續 "有叫無累" 吧
"一日為師...終身墮落"』

Being stupid is unacceptable (story continued)

別再嚷嚷『學校怎麼教的都是以後用不到的理論！不知道這是不是你要的答案』，自己問自己：那家公司願意雇用笨蛋！

A: 單位來了位新人。主管要求他們去調查，其他學校XX系的國考錄取率。我說可以用今年考生或學生家長的身份去刺探敵情。未料，她打電話大剌剌地說：我是X校XX系，因為要評鑑資料，所以想知道貴系的國考錄取率。笨笨笨笨笨！

B: WOW! I thought that she called her boyfriend or mom for help. 我見過這類助理。You might tell her: 順便問對方有沒有缺。

A: 昨天還真的問到一家，不過對方晃點她說會再寄資料給她。

(一週後)

A: 最近那位新人有好消息了！甲校XX系系主任跟她說，必須先E其他學校的國考率給他，甲校才會回覆。結果新人興沖沖地把所有收集到的情報寄給了甲校XX系系主任。未料，甲校XX系系主任發現乙校XX系系主任尚未回覆，就給了一個不錯的回答：『因為乙校XX系都沒填，所以我們也不填，等乙校XX系回覆了，我們就回覆。』今天，那位新人氣炸了！

B: 甲校XX系系主任真是好樣的，不費力就取得他校的國考率資料，他是孔明後裔嗎？也許應該請他到訊息與談判課程，來一場協同教學，分享他這類草船借箭的絕活。我腦海閃過一幕，新人以那位童顏巨乳明星的嗲聲嗲氣語調，加上田中千惠在海角七號的獨特日本腔國語：『好討厭喲！他們都欺負我！』

以前看過一部浪漫日片，每年雨季來臨時，已逝的情人(竹田結子飾演)會出現。也許改成，雨季來了，笨人潮也隨即到來。

(borrowing some words from an old song, End of the World)
Don't they know
it is the end of the world
'cause stupid people are everywhere

由簡短留言與回應 看邏輯推理之趣味與應用

無意間，在部落格捕捉到一小段有趣的留言與回應。

Miss A (who is a friend on internet whom I never met nor spoke to) posted on her blog: 我可以接受外貌不佳的人...但無法接受外貌不佳、學歷不高又內涵空空、談話LOW...的人..
Mr. B: 我也滾遠些
Miss A: Mr.B...你是外貌出色的人...什麼都沒有 也沒關係..


What exactly were on the mind of Miss A?
1. 她接受的人，也許有外貌不佳的人。
2. 如果外貌不佳的人，被她接受，他一定不能是
(i)學歷不高又內涵空空 且 (ii) 談話LOW...

所以
如果外貌不佳的人，被她接受，他可能是學歷不高又內涵空空，但是不會談話LOW...
如果外貌不佳的人，被她接受，他可能是學歷高或有內涵，但是談話LOW...

彙整得知，
外貌不佳的人，只要符合以下任一條件，就可能會被她接受：
(a)學歷高；(b)有內涵；(c)不會談話LOW...
此外，
外貌既不佳、學歷也不高又內涵空空且談話LOW...的人，則不可能會被她接受。
OS: 如此看來，她的標準不算嚴苛。

3. 由她對 Mr. B的友善回應，解讀為：外貌出色的人，一定會被她接受。緣此，不被她接受的人，一定是外貌不出色(即不佳)的人。所以，只要我們知道：張三不被她接受，就可推論，張三的外貌不出色(即不佳)。
OS: 此話一出，應該沒有人會坦承(或希望)「自己不被她接受」。她可以落個耳根清靜。
注意：這並不是說：任何外貌不出色(即不佳)的人，一定不會被她接受。

Question for further interest:
一般所謂的「外貌協會(會員)」，究竟指的是：
外貌出色的人，一定會被(她)接受
還是
會被(她)接受的人，一定是外貌出色

Policy or Disclaimer

Sometimes I write stories (in the preliminary version) which might come from my dream land but sound so familiar and close to our lives. Digging out the truth won’t do us any good. If something is real, people tend to say that it is fictitious to protect innocents. If something is fictitious, people promote it by saying that the least expected will come to you anytime anyhow. Some readers might wish them to be true while some do not. I have hereby determined that publishing my preliminary thoughts here is acceptable for the following reasons:

1.I offer a disclaimer that the contents here are not intended to harm any reader in any way;
2.My posting offers the readership of this blog a chance to research into the involved issues at their own cost and risk, eventually fostering our understanding of the society;
3.The term “professionalism” calls for a profession -- i.e., a money-making activity. Nevertheless, this blog is a consuming asset rather than a producing asset -- i.e., I don't get a (bloody) dollar for doing this. So I can be as professional or unprofessional as I want.
(I borrow some words from a blog by Mr. Brian Gill.)

由還錢談起 (To repay or not to repay -- that is the question)

由還錢談起 – Yes ... my dear friend lost in contact, I am thinking about you... and, to be specific, the money I lent to you some years ago

Prof. Jerry Liu is proud to be a weekend vendor. I admire him and admit that I am too impulsive to do something like that. On the top of that, I surely will exercise the price discrimination toward customers. In light of that, I might do something on which I seem to have comparative advantage (to some extent). Here is what I have in mind. Twice in a week or so, I shall post some crazy (or naive) thoughts here as open questions or questions that demand serious follow-ups rather than cheap answers.
Here is the first one:
期盼友人還錢，真的比中統一發票還難。可是，很多學生卻能輕鬆地說：『老師教過的，早就還給老師啦！』(難怪老師不易瘦身？) 緣此，應該調漲學費。保留知識、不還給老師的人，日後可以部份退費。至於還給老師的人，既然豪氣萬丈，當然不必退費給他們。會計室是最大贏家。
forgot to add: 當政客貪污、醫生與教授舞弊新聞爆發時，民代、教育界、民意異口同聲，要求他們以前的學校(e.g., NTU among others)，應該對倫理教育負責之時，怎麼沒想到，他們只是把學的東西，早就還給母校呢？To me, it is not much different from the situation at which quite a number of students taking my economics or professional writing courses already returned whatever they learned from me. No big deal.
如果是我當家，也許在英語初戀營的宣誓詞，加上:
敬天愛人；學多少、算多少、Never repay!

從心做起

最近電視台的談話性節目，一窩蜂地談論陸生來台與大陸學校向台灣優秀學生招手。幾位所謂的名嘴，滿臉憂愁，一直說政府再不拿錢出來，我國人才都跑光啦。
好多年前，讀過一篇文章，提到印度的經濟、統計人才之培養，令美加與歐洲讚不絕口。印度沒有好的硬體設施，有的是敬業態度。看看我們國家，中小學也要建一流的視訊會議廳，體育館、游泳池、電子跑馬燈看板，比比皆是。還有同學要求請假單全面e化，認為反正要求學校普設掃瞄器即可。(何不乾脆要求每校撥發一億元，大家植晶片？)觀念不改，穿金戴銀，還是不改草包內涵。教授與學生穿的是西服或套裝、細肩帶小可愛、脫鞋？不該是話題焦點。課程有沒有真材實料，才是重點。今天聽到學生談及某位老師，直誇她的好。我與她雖是點頭之交，也欣賞她這位老師。我不願、無法、也沒資格去討論她是不是好老師，但是我知道她的教學評量分數超高。令我失望的是，同學們認為她是好老師，理由竟然是「她不會驚醒上課睡覺的同學」。我帶諷刺語氣對同學說，這學期妳沒有她的課，睡眠也許不足吧？

以美國為例，這十年來，師生利用部落格(blog)交流，已經很普遍。沒有人會寫一段意見，然後加註：
Students in ECON101, please respond

這學期的訊息與談判實作，我透過作業，想激勵這類自由學風。可惜見到不少：

(請討論一下 "xxxxx")
(新題目) xxxxxx
(大家我改題目了!!!) xxxxxx
xxxxxx 請大家發表一下意見


然後一群好友來捧場，革命感情確實了不起(不會輸給電影色戒的那群流亡學生)。只是偶有搞笑來亂的、有文不對題的、有亂放電的、有斷章取義的 ... 我們老師的研究，不是這樣完成的。
也讓我想到：有時見到同學，在期末考試時，伏案小睡20~30分鐘，然後狂寫幾分鐘。原先以為同學蒙周公指點，功力大增。閱卷時，才發現只是重抄題目、抒發自己學習心得，最後祝福老師假期快樂、強調自己無法暑修、一定要準時畢業，才對得起父母與列代祖宗。如果 …如果我們的學生『拜託』老師給60分，老師『拜託』學生在期末評量客氣給分，這樣的學習環境，五年五千億的額外補助，也沒用！

A joke to make your day

女兒是爸爸上輩子的情人?

在飛機上，我跟一對父女坐同一排。
小女孩她爸，看得出約三十歲左右。小女孩，長得挺聰明可愛的，大概是小學一二年級。
空姐發食物了，小女孩兒一拿到，非常高興的打開吃，想必是餓壞了。
父親：「你謝謝阿姨沒？」
小女孩很可愛的說：「謝謝阿姨」
父親：「跟阿姨說，阿姨你真漂亮。」
小女孩這時語氣變了：「“阿姨，我爸說你真漂亮。我爸每次看到美女就會這樣」
她爸爸楞了一下.....
空姐聽的高興的說：你問問爸爸是要牛肉飯還是雞蛋麵？
小女孩依然還是那腔調：不用啦，他看見美女就飽了。
空姐很尷尬的說：那就牛肉飯吧。
然後空姐走了.......
這父女倆又說上了，可語氣完全不是父女，而是好像很好的哥兒們或是姐妹掏鬥嘴的那種，小女孩說話也好像是個小大人。
她爸爸：我剛才是那麼說的嗎？
小女孩：好了啦，我還不知道你心裏在想些什麼啊！你能不能不要這樣啊，只要我媽一不在，你就開始了，你覺得你這樣好嗎？
她爸爸臉都綠了說：再廢話我以後再也不帶你出來！
小女孩：哎呀，您還是趁早不要帶我出來好了。我現在就覺得我在這裏是多餘的。像你這種男人當初我媽願意嫁給你就該偷笑吧。人家都說女兒是爸爸上輩子的情人，我就感到奇怪了，我上輩子是不是瞎了眼不然怎麼看上你呢？

旁邊的人全都低頭偷笑，飯也差點噴出來了!

Source: 網路文章；來源無法考證。美女友人 Jewel Lee 熱心分享。如有無聊狗仔小人，想要提告侵害智慧財產權，先去告Jewel Lee 看看。

Postscript:
1.基督徒是不相信輪迴轉世的。如果我不是基督徒，這種說法，也有些盲點 -- 爸爸上輩子的長相與態度，未必與現在一樣。此外，女兒上輩子，說不一定是宇宙無敵超級大恐龍妹耶！
2.就策略談判而言，這段對話，可能已經讓空姐印象深刻。應該遠遠勝過「爸爸直接問空姐：我可以與妳交朋友嗎」！

又有天兵提供靈感 -- 見怪不怪、該怪不怪、要怪就怪別人

Student L:
學校沒有充分的說明去實習的學習內容，只是一味的宣揚實習會增加未來工作的實務經歷，這樣是否為變相的誘導學生呢?

jsw:
如果以上邏輯是對的，試問，
被抓到的捷運襲胸色狼：『上面露半球、背部露丁字褲的辣妹，也沒充分說明她不是穿來勾引我，只是一味的賣弄、刺激我的生理反應，這樣是否為變相的誘導我這一類的好男孩呢?』

Student H:
以這樣的邏輯，全天下再也沒有人會侵犯上面露半球、背部露丁字褲的辣妹，而被視為色狼了。因為他們都是好男孩!

jsw:
H 寫道：『全天下再也沒有人會侵犯上面露半球、背部露丁字褲的辣妹，而被視為色狼了。』
建議H去修中文寫作

Student L:
To H: 若是穿著很性感的女生引起男生的生理反應，你可以解釋成為女生在誘導男生，目前為止都和我的邏輯相當，但是若男生做出不法的動作，就不一樣了。這就關系到法律的問題!!
舉例:
電玩游戲代言人或是主持人都要找身材窈窕或是穿著清涼的女性來擔任，廠商就是想吸引男性加入游戲。(以上電玩代言人是有薪資的誘因才會穿著清涼，而廠商也是有不確定性的收益;等同於學校會有一定的產學合作企劃，而同學則是有不確定性的學習成效)⋯⋯

Student H:
To L: 以邏輯思考，變相誘導學生就好比老師舉例的"變相誘導我這一類的好男孩"，因為沒有充分的說明去實習的學習內容只是一味的宣揚實習會增加未來工作的實務經歷就像老師舉例的"被抓到的捷運襲胸色狼：上面露半球、背部露丁字褲的辣妹，也沒充分說明她不是穿來勾引我，只是一味的賣弄、刺激我的生理反應"
老師只是對你敘述句子的邏輯性，跟捷運色狼論是不是有異曲同工的感覺。
如果老師敘述的話，可做為襲胸犯罪者澄清自己並不是色狼而是好男孩，那被抓到的捷運色狼，都可以在襲胸後說:我並不是甚麼色狼，會襲胸並不是我願意的，是因為我被人誘導後才會做出襲胸的動作的，不應該直接稱我這類的好男孩為色狼。

jsw to H (or should I direct it to L):
Were you drinking again while posting? Here is my advice often given for writing class: 逐字唸你寫的，錄音後成沉澱一天，然後聽錄音、不看螢幕，你會覺得這是外國人在說話。Time to stop and move on. In closing, let me make clear once and for all that I was just trying to point out the problem with logical reasoning in student L's comment. 總之，我發現有人中文閱讀與寫作，有大問題。

當學校提供實習機會，除了基本說明之外，基於誘因或行銷技巧，當然會為實習遠景美言好幾句。學校提供學生一個自我選擇的機會，結果選擇實習的學生，竟然大剌剌質疑學校在變相的誘導學生！所以我舉辣妹為例，假設辣妹有自信，穿出性感，當然希望她心儀的男孩會注意與接近她。如果你長相愛國、個性悶騷又愛意淫，(正所謂)不是她的菜，你去襲胸被逮，你的理由是辣妹在放電、變相的引誘大家，也沒有充分告知 (1)你不是她的菜 (2)乳溝與股溝僅供遠觀。這樣的色狼，豈不是白癡？

我當然不是在鼓勵色狼，或是幫色狼脫罪。我是採用類此推論 (A:B = C:D)，告訴 Student L，她的思考模式，讓我想到那位既是色狼、又是白癡的虛擬人物。

英文、創意、理論、實務、性 -- 2010雜念

A student, to my surprise, scored 240 points in 大專英檢（CSEPT）, could not understand　
"All I can and will say is: Watch out the high opportunity costs of dealing with trash."
Well, maybe he was just lying.

也驚訝現在的學生，不知讀莊子或林語堂的書，難怪沒有創意思考能力。不喜歡的，就是理論。沒有被要求到的，就是自己最喜歡追求的實務。可是，理論二字，也有保護罩的功能。假設我開一門棒球課，學期已經過了1/3，還沒教投球與揮棒。有人質疑，我就說：『理論基礎很重要啊，我要先教基礎與基本功。』
常見不入流的業界人士與政府官員，一直說學校要幫學生的未來雇主，教導學生實務的能力。自己政策推動不力或是公司虧損時，就推說：『理論上，不該這樣啊。』

Robert Solow once joked about Milton Friedman by writing something like: “Milton always writes about money (貨幣). Well, sex is constantly on my mind but I keep it away from my writing.” Since I am not Solow, I shall write a little bit about sex. And it is my blog, meaning that I can say whatever I want.
在我是學生的年代，健康教育都是偷偷地、仔細地讀完，絕大多數同學在20歲以前，還沒性經驗，也不會吹噓或假裝純真。當今的大學生，就不一樣了。請問：『關於那檔事 … 在我是學生的年代，我們是重理論；在30年後的今天，學生是重實務。』這樣敘述，可以嗎？

上週，Alex 與我幾秒鐘腦力激盪，產生一小品： 『我不是不會扣籃，只是目前還在鑽研理論的部份。』

Back to late 1980s, when I was a graduate student at Purdue. It was quite common (and possibly still is now) to see that students often shied away from taking theory courses (kind of dry). Recall that a decrease in supply will make the price go up. When theorists were hard to find, some students would brag about their expertise in theory. Professor James C. Moore, who was a solid economist (specializing in math econ and trade theory) and my role model for years, once said: “Do not claim you are a theorist unless you really are.” I still remember the reaction on the faces of those senior graduate students. It was a cold winter morning and the room was central-heated. After his words, the room was cold as outdoors and one could almost hear one's heart beat. Bingo!

Prescribed Task vs. Realized Outcome

C同學問起點名之事，我決定先試著說明，該制度的設計者，當時可能的想法：『在設計點名制度時，請假不是常態, …』。
結果L同學回應：『請假真的是少數案例嗎?你可以去問問看老師嗎?』.

Unbelievable! 也許我們先不急於國際化，應該先提升同學的中文閱讀能力。
醫生接生嬰兒時，大家都會誇讚祝福嬰兒。嬰兒成長為有用的人，這是 prescribed task. 有些人不幸成為智障、敗類、人渣、人魔，這是 realized outcome. 有人分不清楚 prescribed task 與 realized outcome?? 讓我想到：吃了會拉，何不直接吃屎？ 還有情歌裡的：早知會分手，當初就不該愛你。
Conclusion: The economy may not be bad as thought. 因為一堆人吃飯免錢
Note:
1.吃飯免錢 = 白吃 = 白癡 (因為寫錯字)
2.去年指導一組同學，寫畢業專題，題目是：論「釋放訊號」在大學校園的認知 -- 以文藻點名制度為例。同學告訴我，一位小主管明白指出，研究點名這類議題，與國際企業管理不相關，似乎把這份專題報告視為家醜。(The rest is history.) 不到半年時間，由UB3同學的電郵發問，顯示他真是多慮 -- 連同系學弟妹都完全不知這份專題報告！令人啼笑皆非。

難得見到同學對教室管理的意見 (from a mini series of comments on facebook)

jsw: "親愛的衛老師，請問你認不認同上課的時候，少數同學以"噓聲"來警惕其他少數同學討論功課的作法？" 以上是路人甲同學問我的問題。
我猜測他是認真的問，我當然是要認真的答。What do I think? 討論功課是好事，只是不該在課堂上進行，老師拿鐘點費，是唯一的供給者。如果我得罪玉皇大帝，被罰去教棒球，我會要求同學先跑三千公尺，耗掉20分鐘，然後將同學分組，討論30分鐘，然後每組負責人報告或示範，接著開放集體討論。我最後總結，誇讚這是教過最好的一班。重點是一學期下來，沒有人會注意到 ... 我根本不懂棒球！

Miss T:恩，我還是會繼續討論的，哈!!!

jsw: Dear Miss T, 還好妳不在我課堂上 ....... 我的噓聲不夠力 得靠橡皮筋來制止討論聲 相信大家可以諒解 哈!!!

Mr. P: 基本上我同意老師所說的：討論功課是好事，只是不該在課堂上進行。我想這是我們都知道的，但也都是許多人所做不到的，我想少數同學以"噓聲"作為警惕，可其實這對老師、以及其他認真且安靜上課的同學相當不禮貌，畢竟噓聲在國際禮儀所代表的含意實在不佳，所以那些想警惕討論功課的人是否有更好的辦法？我個人淺見是，老師上課要是被吵雜聲吵到不能上課，便會安靜，這時班上的聲音頓時少了麥克風的音量，我想同學們應會有自知之明察覺要安靜，以回復正常上課秩序！

jsw: Mr. P, When did you begin to observe class activities? haha I am impressed although I still have reasonable doubt. 這幾年我一直有奇想 -- 讓椅子可通輕微的電力。別笑 也許有一天會實現。不過，聰明的美少女如 Miss T (see comment left above) 會備妥絕緣衣物。緣此，還是橡皮筋最合成本效益原則。

Mr. P: 好方法，太棒了，我愛你！！

jsw: Dear Mr. P, With all due respect, how many times do I have to tell you... do not say that you love me since I do not love you. Do you know that LOVE is an expensive good? After all, you do not love me, you just love to claim that you love me. So, stop making such a false claim.

Mr. P sent a hyperlink 劉若英的歌『我等你』 (Youtube)

jsw: Dearest Mr. P, 我當然知道劉若英，一點點喜歡她、不至於愛她。 你還是別煩我吧。不然 我請 Richard 在導生晤談簿誠實記載： 『P同學愛上男老師』 保證你以後要勤跑輔導中心 -- trust me! You won't like that. 陳副座要你們勤跑外語診斷中心，不是輔導中心！

Mr. P: 好吧 cry cry

落幕 Happy ending.

天兵也會貢獻靈感

天兵秦同學 (I truly do not want to reveal his identity) 在FB留了些蠻白目的話，我用暗喻提醒他，此類留言，應該匿名行之。沒想到，天兵竟追問：要如何匿名留言啊？
認真想想，真是好問題耶。
Here are my suggestions.

(1). Put all those trash/garbage talk on Word document and submit it electronically to the newspaper with a pen name that can strongly convince the editor that the author is some idiot. Since most people will never admit that they are idiots, the editor might take special interest in checking it out immediately. Pen name must be used since you have no right to ruin the reputation of your school or work place.

If (1) does not work (and I bet in any amount of money that it won't), try (2).

(2). Write all those trash/garbage talk on toilet papers. Use them to wipe your butt and flush them to the toilet. It is nice because you can do it daily. By doing so, you will accomplish the task of bringing 'talking shits' and 'real shits' together. It also leaves no evidence and comply with the recycling policy. In addition, if you use heavy ink while writing and wipe hard on your butt, names of those in the context might be accidentally printed on your butt. In a way, one could say that someone is kissing your ass. Is that amazing or what?

Real GPA vs. Nominal GPA -- who is going to buy them?

Accidentally I found the following (not-so-new) quote from internet.

‘Less than 2 percent of grades given at elite institutions are D's or F's, and that at schools such as Pomona, Duke, Harvard and Columbia, about half of all grades are A's. … Harvey Mansfield Jr., a Harvard government professor, has tried on his own to draw attention to the problem by giving his students two grades — one that's officially reported for transcripts and another, lower, that reflects what he feels they truly earned. "I remember when a B was an honors grade — today a B-minus is a slap in the face," Mansfield says. "I still give two grades. When I stop, that's when you'll know we've started to make progress."’

Let’s face it. Who on earth (or on campus?) will care if I assign two grades – one nominal and another real?

The website created by Stuart Rojstaczer, a professor of environmental science at Duke, www.GradeInflation.com, contains very interesting data of many universities in USA. [For instance, at Purdue, GPA ave is 2.71 in 1980 and 1990; 2.81 in 2006. At Princeton, ave is 3.13 in 1980; 3.22 in 1990; 3.27 in 2006. At FIU, ave is 2.72 in 2006. At Cornell, ave is 3.13 in 1990; 3.36 in 2006. At Harvard, ave is 3.05 in 1975; 3.30 in 1990; 3.45 in 2005. At Vanderbilt, ave is 3.28 in 2006. At Nebraska-Lincoln, ave is 3.07 in 2006. At Duke, ave is 3.02 in 1980; 3.21 in 1990; 3.42 in 2006. At U. of Oregon, ave is 2.95 in 1992; 3.10 in 2004. At U. of Minnesota, ave is 2.77 in 1970; 2.88 in 1980; 2.83 in 1990; 2.95 in 1997. At Middlebury, ave is 3.10 in 1990; 2.29 in 2000; 3.34 in 2004. At Lehigh, ave is 2.6 in 1972; 2.97 in 2000; 3.15 in 2007. At Ohio University, ave is 2.66 in 1986; 2.82 in 1990; 3.01 in 2004.] Now I remember why, as a graduate student in the 80s, I was so eager to study at places such as Purdue and Minnesota. Professor M. Watts, who was the course coordinator while I served as a graduate instructor, did a good job then (and afterwards).

The following links might be of some interest.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2007-03-27-princeton-grades_N.htm

http://www.erinoconnor.org/archives/2003/03/blowing_up_grad.html

Another research topic is the teaching evaluation inflation.

Syllabus for Workshop on Information and Negotiation (Spring 2010)

(to be read backwards. That is, view the jpg file on the bottom first)

由難得的共識談起

一開學的會議後，幾位感同身受的老師，難得痛快地分享對教學評量的感受。有人說要應該對得到 4.9 (out of a perfect 5)的老師擴大表揚 (OS: 給他專用廁所、施予斷層掃瞄更好)；我還是舊調重提，認為全校平均4.26 (OS: 即將受到退場機制衝擊的學校，其平均值也是在4.0以上)，不可思議。往好處想，我們的學生應該沒有抱怨的理由啊，難怪校園一片祥和、沒人刮老師的車、沒人跳樓、也不必擔心斧頭或開山刀，KTV生意興隆。大家可能看過一段極浪漫的文字："魚對水說，你看不到我的眼淚，因為我在水裏；水對魚說，我能感覺到你的眼淚，因為你在我心裏。"
以類比法改寫：少數對我給分失望的同學說，老師你不知我的痛，因為你總是面對成績冊。我說：我能感受你的痛，因為你給我的評量，永遠在我的考績檔案裡。haha I like it!
P.S. 其實，在我的母校(Purdue)，老師對優良教師的頭銜，多是敬而遠之。When I was an Assistant Professor teaching in USA, I was also naive (even stupid) to believe that professors should focus on teaching first. After a decade or so, I now realize that even in these days, the lack of having a good judgement on the quality of teaching (let alone the red tape) forces professors to justify and secure their existence (including paychecks) by engaging in research activities which can be better appraised by better people in better places for many years to come.

Here comes Spring term in 2010

Q: 為何不見備課時間？
A: (1)熟悉到不需準備　(2)當下的教學評量無法彰顯備課的準備心血　(3)真正在乎的人還沒站出來發聲　(4)準備愈多、抱怨聲愈高　(5)不希望加重無心學習的繳費者之內疚　(6)有學生難過說：我辛苦唸得痛不欲生，老師沒本事讓我過關。所以，坦承用心準備的老師，豈不是丟臉到家嗎 (7)All of the above。

也許有人納悶：如果老師只是臭屁無知、不備課，真能撐過一學期嗎？
Ans:
如果政府高官在立法院被質詢時，請立委自我介紹給新科立委，就輕鬆愉快過了一天(甚至一會期?) 如果新任總統與每位選民意見交流半小時，整個四年任期也就填滿啦。所以安排每位同學自述對課程的背景了解與期望，再逐一請其他同學評論。即使是120人的大班授課，也能填滿一學期的內容。整學期，除了互動，還是互動。WOW! 大家應該都可以去電機系、醫學系、物理系當老師或學生了。是不是該透過友人傳訊給帥氣的金小刀，不用花錢費力去補吳先生的遺缺，用這裡的偏方即可？

橫批：快樂與卓越

Solution to Final Exam -- 被外行人刪除的課程 Microeconomics (F2009, Wenzao)

★★★★ Solution to Final Exam (Int’l Business Administration, WUCL) ★★★★
Fall 2009 Instructor: 衛忠欣 (Jong-Shin Wei)
個體經濟學 (Microeconomics) (07)342-6031 ext.6222
93001@mail.wtuc.edu.tw jsw12011958@gmail.com
3:30 pm ~ 5:15 pm, Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Open books/notes exam. You can consult dictionary of any kind from 3:30 pm to 4:10 pm only. This is intended to creative incentives for you to read materials before the test, not during the test.不可參閱中文書籍與中譯本。教科書影印本，更在嚴禁範圍內。For questions 1 to 30, choose the most appropriate one from four alternatives. Three points for each. Questions 31~33 are analytical questions. Total: 120 points. 題目較靈活、非填鴨式，宜有系統地依序作答。

1. Imagine that you were a vendor of selling coffee at some festival (園遊會) from Monday thru Friday. On each day you had to pay NTD500 in advance for (renting) coffee maker, kitchen facilities, chairs, tables, water and electricity usage (all in one package). On Monday, you paid NTD3,000 for purchasing coffee beans, sugar, milk, and paper cups. All were exhausted at the end of Wednesday. In the early morning on Thursday, you made another (補貨) trip to buy coffee beans, sugar, milk, and paper cups, which cost you NTD5,000. At the end of Friday, luckily all were exhausted. Each day you hired a part-time worker at the cost of NTD1,000 daily. Before the festival, you earned NTD2,000 daily by working at some coffee shop. Assume that you asked 5 days off in order to sell coffee at festival. Those are all we know about your cost structure. From Monday thru Wednesday you sold 100 cups daily; from Thursday to Friday you sold 200 cups daily. The price of coffee was fixed at NTD50 per cup throughout. [This question and some following it were conceived by a stimulating conversation with Mr. Chu, also a student in this class.] Treating those five days as the period of running business, your fixed cost was
(A) 500;
(B) 2,500;
(C) 7,500;
(D) 25,500.
Ans: B. [Note that another (less plausible) way of doing it is to treat salaries paid to part-time helper and your foregone salaries as part of your fixed cost. In that way, the answer becomes 17,500 (= 2,500 + (1,000)(5) + (2,000)(5)).]

2. [continued from question 1] Treating those five days as the period of running business, your variable cost was
(A) 10,000;
(B) 15,000;
(C) 18,000;
(D) 23,000.
Ans: D. [3,000 + 5,000 + (1,000)(5) + (2,000)(5) = 23,000. Again, another (less plausible) way of doing it is to count salaries paid to part-time helper and your foregone salaries as part of your fixed cost. In that way, the answer becomes 8,000.]

3. [continued from question 1] Treating those five days as the period of running business, your profit was
(A) somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500;
(B) somewhere between 800 and 1,000;
(C) somewhere between 600 and 800;
(D) None of the above is correct.
Ans: B. [Profit was [(100)(3) + (200)(2)](50) - 2,500 - 23,000 = 9,500.]

4. [continued from question 1] Let q be the amount of cups sold daily. Denote C(q) your variable cost (function).
(A) C(100) = C(200);
(B) C(100)/C(200) is about 0.5 ;
(C) C(100)/C(200) is about 0.7;
(D) C(100)/C(200) is about 0.6.
Ans: C. [On Monday, variable cost of producing 100 cups was 1,000 + 2,000 + 3,000/3 = 4,000. Likewise for Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday, variable cost of producing 200 cups was 1,000 + 2,000 + 5,000/2 = 5,500. On Friday, variable cost of producing 200 cups was 5,500 as well. Hence C(100) = 4,000 and C(200) = 5,500. Note 40/55 is about 0.73.]

5. [continued from question 1] Let q be the amount of cups sold daily. Your average variable cost
(A) was decreasing;
(B) was increasing;
(C) was increasing and then decreasing;
(D) was decreasing and then increasing.
Ans: A. [Your average variable cost was 4,000/100 = 40 when q = 100; was 5,500/200 = 27.5 when q = 200. We do not know what happens if q is neither 100 nor 200.]

6. [continued from question 5] Why couldn’t his average variable cost remain to be a constant? Reasons exclude
(A) 每日咖啡濃度未必相同；
(B) 咖啡豆售價會波動；
(C) 牛奶售價會波動；
(D) 顧客對咖啡的需求改變。
Ans: D. [Obvious]

7. [continued from question 1] Let q be the amount of cups sold daily. If we have to say something about your supply curve, that will be
(A) it contains the point (100, 50);
(B) it contains the point (200, 50);
(C) it is consistent with P = MC;
(D) it is a vertical ray.
Ans: B. [At P = 50, making 200 cups yields profit (50 - 27.5)(200) - 500, greater than (50 - 40)(100) - 500.]

8. [continued from question 1] Treating those five days as the period of running business. 你的報酬率 (rate of return) 約為
(A) 12%;
(B) 19%;
(C) 37%;
(D) 41%.
Ans: C. [9,500/25,500 is about 0.37.]

9. Suppose that you have NTD200 to be spent on coffee and cherries consumption. Prices are NTD100 for each cup of coffee; NTD50 for each box of cherries. We quantify your satisfaction as follows: one cup of coffee gives you 20 utils; two cups of coffee give you 28 utils; three cups of coffee give you 34 utils; four cups of coffee give you 38 utils; five cups of coffee give you 41 utils; one box of cherries gives you 20 utils; two boxes of cherries give you 35 utils; three boxes of cherries give you 50 utils; four boxes of cherries give you 80 utils; five boxes of cherries give you 85 utils. Your should buy
(A) 2 cups of coffee;
(B) 1 cup of coffee and 2 boxes of cherries;
(C) 4 boxes of cherries;
(D) None of the above is correct.
Ans: C. [80 is the highest utility level you can get.]

10. [continued from question 9] Here we see
(A) how we solve the problem by using MU1/P1 = MU2/P2;
(B) law of diminishing marginal utility holds for coffee only;
(C) law of diminishing marginal utility holds for cherries only;
(D) law of diminishing marginal utility holds for both goods.
Ans: B.

11. [continued from question 9] If you have NTD400, then you should buy
(A) 3 cups of coffee and 2 boxes of cherries;
(B) 2 cups of coffee and 4 boxes of cherries;
(C) 1 cup of coffee and 5 boxes of cherries;
(D) None of the above is correct.
Ans: B. [(1, 5) will cost you 350 and yield 105 utils; (2, 4) will cost you 400 and yield 108 utils; (3, 2) will cost you 400 and yield 69 utils; (4, 0) will cost you 400 and yield 38 utils. Note that (0, 6) is not feasible.]


12. [continued from questions 9 and 11] Here we see that an increase in income
(A) shifts down your demand curve of coffee;
(B) shifts up your demand curve of cherries;
(C) makes you consume more cherries;
(D) None of the above is correct.
Ans: D. [For coffee, note the movement from (0, 100) to (2, 100); for cherries, the point remains to be (4, 50). 此題係測試同學對需求曲線之靈活運用。]

13. Question 12 best illustrates the phenomenon which is
(A) 咖啡與櫻桃是互補財；
(B) 供給面因素導致咖啡比櫻桃貴；
(C) 所得增加會使消費者增加購買最喜歡的商品；
(D) 櫻桃是你最喜歡的商品。
Ans: D.

14. Suppose that last year you worked as a (private) English tutor for junior high school students to earn tuition and fees. You charged NTD800 per hour when you had one student; NTD600 per hour when you had two students; NTD500 per hour when you had three students; NTD400 per hour when you had four students. The number of students you tutored fluctuated over time. Tutoring was done on the one-on-one basis; one hour per day for each student. Your supply of labor
(A) satisfied the law of supply;
(B) reflected that the market equilibrium price might be around NTD400 per hour;
(C) reflected that the market equilibrium price might be around NTD800 per hour;
(D) reflected that your opportunity cost of tutoring for one hour was no greater than NTD600.
Ans: B. [If your opportunity cost of tutoring for one hour was over NTD400, it did not make sense for you to teach four hours and earn NTD1,600 only.]

15. [continued from question 14] let C(q) be the your daily operating cost (including commuting and preparing materials) in providing tutorial service for the number of students being q of {1, 2, 3, 4}. Which one of the following makes sense?
(A) C(1) = 600; C(2) = 1,000; C(3) = 1,300; C(4) = 1,500;
(B) C(1) = 600; C(2) = 800; C(3) = 1,100; C(4) = 1,500;
(C) C(1) = 600; C(2) = 1,000; C(3) = 1,600; C(4) = 2,600;
(D) C(1) = 700; C(2) = 1,400; C(3) = 2,100; C(4) = 2,800.
*Ans: A. [Think about the decreasing marginal cost. Note that (A) is better than (B) in light of your willingness of offering reduced rate when q increases.]

16. [continued from question 15] You wished that you could have
(A) four students;
(B) at least two students;
(C) at most two students;
(D) at most three students.
*Ans: D. [For one student, (daily) profit was 800 - 600 = 200; for two students, profit was 1,200 - 1,000 = 200; for three students, profit was 1,500 - 1,300 = 200; for four students, profit was 1,600 - 1,500 = 100.]

17. [continued from question 15] Your best friend at Taipei also served as a tutor similarly. Yet she charged NTD800 per hour when she had one student; NTD900 per hour when she had two students; NTD1,100 per hour when she had three students; NTD1,400 per hour when she had four students. Her function C(q) might be defined such that
(A) C(1) = 800; C(2) = 1,900; C(3) = 2,300; C(4) = 4,000;
(B) C(1) = 900; C(2) = 1,800; C(3) = 2,700; C(4) = 3,600;
(C) C(1) = 600; C(2) = 1,800; C(3) = 3,400; C(4) = 5,000;
(D) C(1) = 500; C(2) = 1,100; C(3) = 2,000; C(4) = 3,000.
*Ans: D. [Key: 800 > 500, 1,800 > 1,100, 3,300 > 2,000, and 5,600 > 3,000.]

18. [continued from question 17] In term of production efficiency, we shall say that
(A) you always spent less time on each session than your best friend did;
(B) having more students reduced your preparation time for each session;
(C) you and your best friend were equally efficient;
(D) efficiency comparison does not make sense since tutorial service is not a manufacturing good.
*Ans: B. [To see why (A) cannot be chosen, notice C(1) = 600 in your case; C(1) = 500 in your friend’s case.]

19. [continued from question 17] Your friend wished that she could have
(A) four students;
(B) three students;
(C) two students;
(D) one student;
Ans: A. [For one student, (daily) profit was 800 - 500 = 300; for two students, profit was 1,800 - 1,100 = 700; for three students, profit was 3,300 - 2,000 = 1,300; for four students, profit was 5,600 - 3,000 = 2,600.]

20. [continued from question 17] The reason we assume that you and your friend were at different cities has to do with
(A) the assumption that college students are all alike;
(B) the assumption that searching for qualified tutors is easy;
(C) jealousy;
(D) equilibrium prices.
Ans: D. [See question 14.]


21. Recall question 9. Your utility function might be
(A) U(C1, C2) = Min{C1, C2};
(B) U(C1, C2) = Max{C1, C2};
(C) U(C1, C2) = f(C1) + g(C2);
(D) U(C1, C2) = 2C1 + 3C2.
Ans: C. [Additively separable! Make sure you know why (D) is false.]

22. Suppose that one (kind of) input is used, under the technology characterized by a continuous and increasing function f, to produce some output. The input price r > 0 is given. Assume no fixed cost, f(0) = 0, and f exhibits decreasing returns to factor (defined in Ch.8; also known as the diminishing marginal product). Let C(q) be the cost of producing q units of output. The graph of function C is
(A) 向下開口、正斜率的拋物線；
(B) 向上開口、正斜率的拋物線；
(C) 向下開口且有最高點的拋物線；
(D) 向上開口且有最低點的拋物線。
Ans: B. [Recall lectures]

23. [continued from question 22]
(A) We need calculus to understand it;
(B) C(0) = 0;
(C) marginal cost curve is U-shaped;
(D) average cost curve is negatively sloped.
Ans: B. [Recall lectures]

24. Suppose that one (kind of) input is used, under the technology characterized by a continuous and increasing function f, to produce some output. The input price r = 1 is given. Assume C(q) = 10 + q0.5 be the (total) cost of producing q ≧ 0 units of output. The graph of function f is
(A) 向下開口、正斜率的拋物線；
(B) 向上開口、正斜率的拋物線；
(C) 向下開口且有最高點的拋物線；
(D) 向上開口且有最低點的拋物線。
Ans: A. [Recall lectures]

25. [continued from question 24]
(A)f(0) = 10;
(B)f(2x) = 2f(x);
(C)f(x) = x0.5;
(D)f(x) = x2.
Ans: D. [Recall lectures. Producing q units of output bears the variable cost q0.5 = (1)(q0.5), meaning that q0.5 units of input must be purchased. Hence, x units of input will produce x2 units of output. Hence, production function is f(x) = x2.]

26. [continued from question 24] Assume this firm takes output price P > 0 as given.
(A) Producing nothing is her unique best output choice;
(B) She has two best output choices;
(C) She cannot have any best output choice;
(D) It all depends on whether P is sufficiently high.
Ans: C. [Obvious. d/dq is positive when q is sufficiently large.]

27. Let variable cost curve be向下開口、正斜率的拋物線for q > 10; becomes 向上開口、正斜率的拋物線 for q > 10。The marginal cost is 6 at q = 10.
(A) It is possible to have MC = AVC at q = 10;
(B) 6 is the minimized marginal cost occurring at q = 10;
(C) AVC is minimized at q = 10;
(D) For q > 10, her AVC is向上開口、正斜率的拋物線；
Ans: B. [Last week I showed by drawing on the chalkboard why (A) is false.]

28. 『我不知道，這是不是你要的答案。我覺得‧‧‧』課堂討論裡，與這句話無關的是
(A) 洪蘭教授；
(B) 鄭同學；
(C) 國企系第一屆與第二屆各一位女性畢業生；
(D) 前任校長。
Ans: A. [Recall lectures. From questions 28 and 29 you might see why we do not really need mandatory attendance checking. 我的焦點與洪蘭教授不同，上課時間啃雞腿的學生有三種：邊啃邊聽課的、邊啃邊放空的、在教室外啃雞腿的。強制點名制度下，第三種不存在。我認為區分前兩者，是教師的基本責任。]

29. Find the correct statement.
(A) 本學期任課教師提供三次 Dollar Auction 實驗；
(B) 本學期任課教師在 Dollar Auction 實驗中，約賠了NTD200；
(C) 上週吳同學授課中途報備尿遁，係由窗戶出去、由前門回來；
(D) 上週蘇同學前來旁聽，被她同學戲稱為「水貨」。
Ans: C. [The idea of making this question is similar to that of question 28.]

30. “The exam consists of 100 questions (皆為四選一的選擇題). Correct answers are equally distributed among A, B, C, and D. I do not care if anyone happens to pick the same answer, say C, for all 100 questions,” announced by Professor John Doe before the exam starts.
(A) Hard-working (and brilliant) students in good standing will benefit (most) from this design;
(B) Unprepared students will benefit (most) from this design;
(C) It now becomes impossible to have anyone scoring under 25 points;
(D) Students with average performance will benefit (most) from this design.
Ans: A. [Such a design actually benefit hard-working (and brilliant) students while penalizing the unprepared students. Why? Does this resemble the open books/notes policy?]

31. You are a price-taking consumer with utility function U(C1, C2) = C1 + C2 defined for all non-negative real numbers C1 and C2. Your budget line is given by
2C1 + C2 = 100.
(i) Precisely depict your indifference map and budget line on C1-C2 space. Find your optimal consumption bundle(s).
(ii) Recall what we did for deriving the (individual) demand curve of good one. Use a diagram to illustrate how, for this case, you find your demand curve of good one on the C1*-P1 space. Hint: Let P2 be fixed at 1 and vary P1.
Ans: skipped; recall lectures and see text.

32. Use an indifference map and budget lines to illustrate why it is possible, for a price-taking consumer in a two-good case, to have the following effects:
P1 = 0, P2 > 0, and M = 0 → C1* < 0 and C1* > 0.
Ans: skipped; recall lectures.

33. [Test how you think like an economist.] The following photo was taken by me during the class break. Here is my recollection. Right before the break, I noticed that the student (Mr. Lee) on that photo was apparently taking a nap for a few minutes. So, during the break I approached him and took my mobile phone out. With his consensus and my properly setting the scene (intentionally showing the textbook cover), I had that photo taken in 10 seconds. According to my background check, that student outscored (or outplayed) most students in that class in the midterm exam.



An unintelligent bystander later commented: “It is silly to publicize that photo. It is YOUR microeconomics text shown in that photo. Professors teaching some other courses might use that photo against you. 讓洪蘭知道，就慘了！”
Why am I, trained in economics, so sure about the above comment being silly or even stupid?
Ans: Information asymmetry is the key issue. People neither can nor wish to know what is going on in each classroom. I have never heard about evaluating universities based on such criterion. When I was an undergraduate student, at that time some universities had strict policies (even mandatory school uniform) but nobody valued those some universities above some others which were much liberal in nature. Nowadays, we know grading can be quite subjective, and even be used to exchange good relationship with students particularly when professors really had little to teach at those courses, nor are they interested in the course materials themselves. That is why good schools (and even MOE here) have to emphasize the research performance. After all, it is a tough battle with much stronger enemies. However, bystanders did make a big scene out of some trivial incidents, e.g., the news about Medical School at NTU and a mini series following the observation made by Prof. Hung. Well, self-disclosure might help a bit. What actually interested me was the immediate comment made by Mr. Lee, “I really want to have the textbook used in XXX (name of another course) shown up on the photo.” Since he was half sleepy while saying that, I have every reason to believe that he was not lying. Also see questions 28 and 29.

Solution to Final Exam -- Micro Principles (F2009, Wenzao)

★★★ Solution to Final Exam (Int’l Business Administration, WUCL) ★★★
Fall 2009 Instructor: 衛忠欣 (Jong-Shin Wei)
經濟學一 (Principles of Microeconomics) (07)342-6031 ext.6222
93001@mail.wtuc.edu.tw jsw12011958@gmail.com
3:30 pm ~ 5:00 pm, January 11, 2010 Open books/notes exam. For questions 1 to 30, choose the most appropriate one from four alternatives. Three points for each. Questions 31 and 32 are short-essay or analytical questions (12 points each).
Total: 114 points.　字典與翻譯機，限於 4:00 pm 前使用。題目較靈活、非填鴨式，宜有系統地依序作答。

1. Recently we saw a movie clip about a meeting between a college young man (Todd) and his professor (Dr. Stephen Malley played by Robert Redford) in his office. That meeting took place
(A) in the late afternoon;
(B) at lunch hour;
(C) in the early morning;
(D) in the evening.
Ans: C. [From questions 1 thru 3, you will see why we do not really need mandatory attendance checking. 我的焦點與洪蘭教授不同，上課時間啃雞腿的學生有三種：邊啃邊聽課的、邊啃邊放空的、在教室外啃雞腿的。強制點名制度下，第三種不存在。我認為區分前兩者，是教師的基本責任。]

2. [continued from question 1] The title of that movie is
(A) The Class;
(B) The Emperor's Club;
(C) Charlie Wilson’s War;
(D) Lions for Lambs.
Ans: D. [Chinese title of (D) is 權力風暴；Chinese title of (C) is 蓋世奇才]

3. [continued from question 1] What we can learn from that clip include
(A) students can gain by bribing professors;
(B) students can gain by threatening professors;
(C) opportunity costs;
(D) social costs of cheating on exams.
Ans: C. [Also 差別取價(price discrimination)與自我選擇(self selection). http://www.aliran.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=427:on-robert-redfords-new-film-lions-for-lambs&catid=53:200710&Itemid=10 ]

4. Lessons we learn from rainfall data in California and New Mexico are
(A) 陳菊市長透過垃圾車廣播呼籲大家節約用水是有效的；
(B) 自來水公司應該視地區制定水費費率；
(C) 自來水公司應該由大陸進口自來水；；
(D) 政府應補貼獎勵大家抽取地下水。
Ans: B. [p.126, text]

5. [continued from question 4] Bad policies include
(A) 針對公立學校推動「一校一泳池」，減少民營游泳池之供給；
(B) 對洗車業實施總量管制；
(C) 檢討用水量龐大的工廠之水費費率與輔導遷徙；
(D) 對游泳池與三溫暖業者實施給水總量管制。
Ans: A.

6. The notion of utilometer
(A) was proposed by Adam Smith;
(B) was proposed by Jeremy Bentham;
(C) was proposed by Thorstein Veblen;
(D) was proposed to measure output thru input usages.
Ans: B. [p.126, text]

7. Examples of violating the law of diminishing marginal utility include
(A) 咖啡續杯半價；
(B) 90分鐘的協同教學的聽眾意見回饋通常比一學期的教學評量為佳；
(C) Most prefer spending NTD240 to see the movie Avatar now to buying its DVD at NTD299 six months later;
(D) Unfamiliar songs may become your favorite songs.
Ans: D. [p.126, text]

8. Suppose that you have NTD200 to be spent on coffee and strawberries consumption. Prices are NTD100 for each cup of coffee; NTD50 for each box of strawberries. We quantify your satisfaction as follows: one cup of coffee gives you 10 utils; two cups of coffee give you 18 utils; three cups of coffee give you 22 utils; four cups of coffee give you 24 utils; five cups of coffee give you 25 utils; one box of strawberries give you 20 utils; two boxes of strawberries give you 35 utils; three boxes of strawberries give you 45 utils; four boxes of strawberries give you 50 utils; five boxes of strawberries give you 51 utils. Your should buy
(A) 1 cup of coffee and 2 boxes of strawberries;
(B) 2 cups of coffee;
(C) 4 boxes of strawberries;
(D) None of the above is correct.
Ans: C. [50 is the highest utility level you can get. See pp.127-133, text]

9. [continued from question 8] Here we see
(A) how the formula MU1/P1 = MU2/P2 works;
(B) law of diminishing marginal utility holds for coffee only;
(C) law of diminishing marginal utility holds for strawberries only;
(D) law of diminishing marginal utility holds for both goods.
Ans: D. [Judging from 10 > 8 > 4 > 2 > 1 and 20 > 15 > 10 > 5 > 1]

10. [continued from question 8] If you have NTD300, then you should buy
(A) 3 cups of coffee;
(B) 2 cups of coffee and 2 boxes of strawberries;
(C) 1 cup of coffee and 4 boxes of strawberries;
(D) None of the above is correct.
Ans: C. [60 is the highest utility level you can get. See pp.127-133, text]

11. [continued from questions 8 and 10] Here we see that an increase in income
(A) shifts your demand curve of coffee to the right;
(B) shifts your demand curve of strawberries to the right;
(C) makes you consume less of coffee;
(D) makes you consume less of strawberries.
Ans: A. [For coffee, note the movement from (0, 100) to (1, 100); for strawberries, the point remains to be (4, 50). 此題係測試同學對需求曲線之靈活運用。]

12. Question 11 best illustrates the phenomenon which is
(A) 咖啡與草莓是互補財；
(B) 供給面因素導致咖啡比草莓貴；
(C) 所得增加會使消費者增加購買最喜歡的商品；
(D) 你是理性的消費者。
Ans: D. [草莓是你最喜歡的商品]

13. According to Chapter 5,
(A) 建商應該在台北信義區興建大坪數的高樓住宅；
(B) 建商應該在屏東地區興建小坪數的高樓住宅；
(C) 由好市多(Costo)試吃的大排長龍，可推知主客群所得水準下降；
(D) 由好市多(Costo)試吃的大排長龍，可推知顧客滿意度增加。
Ans: C. [pp.136-138, text]

14. During the last 30 years or so, we see fast growth in manufacturing industries while the service industries tend to grow slowly. Yet we see that real wages in both categories have risen substantially. One explanation is
(A) opportunity cost;
(B) government regulation;
(C) that nowadays it is more difficult to obtain licenses in service industries;
(D) that nowadays service industries have less employees.
Ans: A. [pp.147-148, text]

15. Suppose that you have worked as a (private) English tutor for junior high school students to earn tuition and fees. You charge NTD800 per hour if you have one student; NTD600 per hour if you have two students; NTD500 per hour if you have three students; NTD400 per hour if you have four students. Tutoring is done on the one-on-one basis; one hour per day for each student. Your supply of labor
(A) satisfies the law of supply;
(B) reflects that the market equilibrium price must be around NTD400 per hour;
(C) reflects that the market equilibrium price must be around NTD500 per hour;
(D) reflects that your opportunity cost of tutoring for one hour is no greater than NTD400.
Ans: D. [If your opportunity cost of tutoring for one hour is over NTD400, it does not make sense for you to teach four hours and earn NTD1,600 only.]

16. [continued from question 15] let C(q) be the your daily operating cost (including commuting and preparing materials) in providing tutorial service for the number of students being q of {1, 2, 3, 4}. Which one of the following makes sense?
(A) C(1) = 800; C(2) = 1,200; C(3) = 1,500; C(4) = 1,800;
(B) C(1) = 500; C(2) = 700; C(3) = 900; C(4) = 1,000;
(C) C(1) = 600; C(2) = 1,200; C(3) = 1,800; C(4) = 2,400;
(D) C(1) = 600; C(2) = 800; C(3) = 1,200; C(4) = 1,600.
*Ans: B. [Think about the non-increasing or decreasing marginal cost]

17. [continued from question 15] You wish that you can have
(A) four students;
(B) three students;
(C) at most two students;
(D) at least three students.
*Ans: D. [For one student, (daily) profit is 800 - 500 = 300; for two students, profit is 1,200 - 700 = 400; for three students, profit is 1,500 - 900 = 600; for four students, profit is 1,600 - 1,000 = 600.]

18. [continued from question 16] Your best friend also serves as a tutor similarly. Yet she charges NTD800 per hour if she has one student; NTD900 per hour if she has two students; NTD1,100 per hour if she has three students; NTD1,400 per hour if she has four students. Her function C(q) might be defined such that
(A) C(1) = 800; C(2) = 1,600; C(3) = 3,000; C(4) = 5,600;
(B) C(1) = 900; C(2) = 1,800; C(3) = 2,700; C(4) = 3,600;
(C) C(1) = 700; C(2) = 1,500; C(3) = 3,000; C(4) = 5,000;
(D) C(1) = 600; C(2) = 1,200; C(3) = 1,800; C(4) = 2,400.
*Ans: C.

19. [continued from question 18] In term of production efficiency, we shall say that
(A) you are more efficient than your best friend is;
(B) you are less efficient than your best friend is;
(C) you and your best friend are equally efficient;
(D) efficiency comparison does not make sense since tutorial service is not a manufacturing good.
Ans: A.

20. Borrow the example of Harry’s collecting recycled cans detailed in Chapter 6. Let q be the amount of cans he find; P be the redemption price (which is how much Harry can get for each collected recycled can). Suppose q = 600 (measured in cans daily) if P = 1 (cent per can); q = 1,000 if P = 1.5; q = 1,300 if P = 2; q = 1,500 if P = 3; q = 1,600 if P = 5. Stories behind this exclude
(A) Harry has more incentive to collect cans when P is higher;
(B) It becomes more difficult to collect cans when P is higher;
(C) Collecting more cans make Harry work more efficiently;
(D) More people start collecting cans when P is higher.
Ans: C. [Recall lectures]

21. [continued from question 20] Those (q, P) pairs are best interpreted as
(A) Harry’s demand curve as a price-taking consumer;
(B) The market supply curve of recycled cans;
(C) Harry’s supply curve as a price-taking producer;
(D) Harry’s supply curve as a price-making producer.
Ans: C. [Obvious]

22. The text has an example showing that each resident is willing to pay 6 cents (thru taxes) for each container removed from local environment. If the community has 60,000 citizens, then the benefit of removing one container becomes (6/60,000 =) 0.0001 cent per person! By the similar reasoning, when library spends NTD400,000 on subscribing e-journals or e-books but, on record, only 400 (檢索與下載人次) out of 8,000 people actually use them,
(A) we should pay attention to 400,000/8,000;
(B) we should pay attention to 400,000/400;
(C) we should stop subscribing them and subsidizing those 400 people or less;
(D)其意義與大量印發便民手冊與勞服宣導手冊相同。
Ans: A. [Think of the nature of public goods. See pp.164-165, text.]

23. The text raises an interesting point regarding financial analysts spending money and time on having superior forecasting models. Which of the following is not true?
(A) There are too many smart people working as corporate earning forecasters;
(B) Any one individual analyst spends less, he can be sure that the winning forecast will not be his;
(C) The society as a whole suffers little if all analysts spent less money on their forecasting models;
(D) Competition among those analysts leads to social optimum.
Ans: D. [See p.189, text]

24. A monopolist faces the market demand function f(P) = a - bP (with a > 0 and b > 0).
(A) Her marginal revenue curve (on Q-MR space) is 正斜率的直線。
(B) Her marginal revenue curve (on Q-MR space) is 負斜率的直線；
(C) Her revenue curve (on Q-R space) is 向上開口、正斜率的拋物線；
(D) Her revenue curve (on Q-R space) is 向下開口、正斜率的拋物線。
Ans: B. [Q = a - bP we have R = PQ = (a/b)Q - Q2/b, hence MR = a/b - (2/b)Q. See p.218, text]

25. [continued from question 24] Her revenue is maximized when
(A) Q is a;
(B) Q is a/2;
(C) Q is a/3;
(D) None of the above is correct.
Ans: B. [Q = a/2 maximizes R = PQ = (a/b)Q - Q2/b. Why? Note also that MR = 0 when Q = a/2.]

26. A firm takes output price P > 0 as given. Her variable cost is 0 at q = 0; 10 at q = 1; 15 at q = 2; 16 at q = 3; 20 at q = 4. Producing nothing is her unique best output decision if
(A) P = 4;
(B) P = 5.6;
(C) P = 6;
(D) P = 10.
Ans: A. [Her minimal average variable cost is 5 at Q = 4. Note profit is Q(P - AVC) - FC.]

27. [continued from question 26] Let P = 5.
(A) She can not maximize her profit;
(B) q = 5 is her best output decision;
(C) She cannot shut down production;
(D) She will choose q such that her marginal cost equals 5.
Ans: B. [At P = 5, she can choose either q = 0 or q = 4, yielding maximized profit as -FC. Hence we see the shut-down option. Marginal cost is not defined here.]

28. Suppose that both AVC and MC curves are U-shaped. MC is minimized at q = 3; AVC is minimized at q = 8; MC = AVC at q = 8 only.
(A) For q < 3, her VC is向下開口、正斜率的拋物線；
(B) For q > 3, her AVC is向上開口、正斜率的拋物線；
(C) For q < 8, her MC is向上開口、正斜率的拋物線；
(D) For q > 3, her MC > AVC.
Ans: A. [For q < 3, her VC is向下開口、正斜率的拋物線。For q > 3, her VC is向上開口、正斜率的拋物線。]

29. Let market demand and supply curves be Q = 3 - P and Q = P - 1 respectively.
If government decides to impose a unit tax, $1, and let sellers collect taxes on behalf of the government. At the new equilibrium (Q*, P*), we see
(A) consumers’ surplus is 1/8;
(B) consumers’ surplus is 1/4;
(C) producers’ surplus exceeds consumers’ surplus;
(D) None of the above is correct.
Ans: A. [Before tax, the equilibrium price is 2 and the equilibrium quantity is 1. Imposing unit tax on sellers’ side makes the supply curve shift to P = 1 + Q + 1 = 2 + Q. By Q = 3 - P and Q = P - 2, we get P* = 2.5 and Q* = 0.5. Keep in mind that sellers have to render tax money (= (1)(0.5)) to the government. It is easy to calculate CS = PS = (1/2)(1/2)(1/2) = 1/8.]

30. Let market demand and supply curves be Q = 3 - P and Q = P - 1 respectively.
If government decides to impose a unit tax, $1, directly on consumers.
(A) The new demand curve is Q = 4 - P;
(B) The new demand curve is Q = 2 - P;
(C) The new equilibrium quantity is 1;
(D) The new producers’ surplus is 1/4.
Ans: B. [The new demand curve is P = 3 - Q - 1 = 2 - Q. By P = 2 - Q and P = 1 + Q, we get Q** = 0.5 and P** = 1.5. Here, CS = PS = 1/8.]

31. Nowadays most countries do not have beverage container deposit laws (that require prices must be marked up to include the container deposit). Yet containers (especially aluminum cans) are well recycled by market force. In all universities in Taiwan, professors are required to hold (at least) 4 hours per week as office hours. Students are also asked in end-of-term teaching evaluations about whether they find professors helpful outside the classrooms. Ironically, students, definitely including mine, generally do not make use of office hours. Can you use demand and supply curves to analyze the “market” for office hours? Identify what price and quantity are. Can we say that there is a market failure here? What can we do to increase the demand (and/or supply) of advising time provided by the office hours policy? Will lifting (or abandoning) the office hours policy make students use more office hours? Can we say that students in better universities use office hours more often?
Ans: (skipped here)

32. Consider two countries, A and B. Suppose that each country has 10 hours to spend on producing goods. Assume that for one hour in the production of (good) X, A can produce 4 units of good X; for one hour in the production of (good) Y, A can produce 6 units of good Y. Assume that for one hour in the production of X, B can produce 2 units of good X; for one hour in the production of Y, B can produce 4 units of good Y. As we did in class, perfect divisibility and fixed technology are assumed throughout.
(i) Precisely depict the PPC (or PPF) for A on the x-y plane. You must also write down the equation, indicate the intercepts and slope.
Ans: The PPF for A is (1/4)x + (1/6)y = 10 or 3x + 2y = 120. Vertical intercept is 60, horizontal intercept is 40, and the slope is -1.5. [The PPF for B is (1/2)x + (1/4)y = 10 or 2x + y = 40. Vertical intercept is 40, horizontal intercept is 20, and the slope is -2.]

(ii) Does any country have the absolute advantage in producing some good? Carefully explain.
Ans: For one hour in the production of (good) X, A can produce 4 units of good X, B can produce 2 units of good X, hence A has the absolute advantage in producing X.
Likewise, by 6 > 4, A also has the absolute advantage in producing good Y.

(iii) What is A’s opportunity cost of producing good X? What is B’s opportunity cost of producing good X? Does any have the comparative advantage in producing some good?
Ans: The PPF for A is 3x + 2y = 120; the PPF for B is (1/2)x + (1/4)y = 10 or 2x + y = 40. Hence, A’s opportunity cost of producing one unit of good X is 1.5 units of good Y. B’s opportunity cost of producing one unit of good X is 2 units of good Y. We see that A has the lower opportunity cost in producing good X (than B does), hence A has the comparative advantage in producing good X. Of course, B has the comparative advantage in producing good Y.

(iv) After each country specializes on producing some good according to the comparative advantage, a free trade takes place. Name a reasonable relative price of good X for them to trade. Which country is the exporter of good X?
Ans: Any number between 1.5 and 2 will do. Country A will export good X and import good Y.

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Last update on January 10, 2010