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。
Friday, April 30, 2010
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"』
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"』
Thursday, April 29, 2010
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
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
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
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
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
Saturday, April 24, 2010
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.)
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!
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!
Friday, April 23, 2010
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！
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！
Thursday, April 22, 2010
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」！
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。
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!
"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。
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。
Thursday, March 25, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
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?
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?
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
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.
‘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.
Monday, March 01, 2010
Syllabus for Workshop on Information and Negotiation (Spring 2010)
(to be read backwards. That is, view the jpg file on the bottom first)
Friday, February 26, 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
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
Saturday, January 16, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, January 11, 2010
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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Also posted on my blog at http://jsw12011958.blogspot.com/
Last update on January 10, 2010
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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Also posted on my blog at http://jsw12011958.blogspot.com/
Last update on January 10, 2010
Friday, January 01, 2010
A random thought to end 2009
After teaching for over 20 years, former students came back once in a while. Some would talk about some good/bad experience in old days, right before I am unconsciously getting those out of my mind (which is a hard disk with limited memory space). What I really want to say is that 4 years actually amount to a very tiny portion in their entire life span. Life does go on.
In recent years, I tried (but in vain) to advise my students to see an old movie "The Emperor's Club" (天之驕子) which, in my opinion, truly reflects what former teachers like myself might have while facing students of different generations across the time zone.
好的老師從沒有自身的成就，他們傾一生之力灌注在學生的生命裡。原先他們(自以為)像是樑柱，撐起學校的一片天。建築物汰舊換新時，少有人會注意到當初的樑柱 -- But what happens if the new building proves to be a lemon good。
"A man's character is his fate."
"We are here to teach students and offer them a chance to excel themselves even against their (initial) will. Yet, some will never learn, for better or for worse. After all, teachers cannot mold students. And possibly no one can! The best we can do probably is to set up some timely examples and provide the best resources we can. The rest is out of our hands. Luckily the service we provide here does not have the life-time warranty. Otherwise, the college might go bankruptcy." If the latter is valid, MOE has no reason to care about 退場機制
In recent years, I tried (but in vain) to advise my students to see an old movie "The Emperor's Club" (天之驕子) which, in my opinion, truly reflects what former teachers like myself might have while facing students of different generations across the time zone.
好的老師從沒有自身的成就，他們傾一生之力灌注在學生的生命裡。原先他們(自以為)像是樑柱，撐起學校的一片天。建築物汰舊換新時，少有人會注意到當初的樑柱 -- But what happens if the new building proves to be a lemon good。
"A man's character is his fate."
"We are here to teach students and offer them a chance to excel themselves even against their (initial) will. Yet, some will never learn, for better or for worse. After all, teachers cannot mold students. And possibly no one can! The best we can do probably is to set up some timely examples and provide the best resources we can. The rest is out of our hands. Luckily the service we provide here does not have the life-time warranty. Otherwise, the college might go bankruptcy." If the latter is valid, MOE has no reason to care about 退場機制
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