Halloween is the second-largest commercial holiday in the country, coming in second only to Christmas. No matter your major or interests, you could find an opportunity to haunt somewhere within an industry that supports Halloween.
During election season, people love to accuse the media of bias. Liberals and conservatives assail local and national newspapers, as well as various television newscasts, of tilting in one political direction or another. Since it is unlikely that a news source can be biased in both directions, many people’s perceptions must be erroneous.
You may have read that President Trump paid no federal income taxes for a few years. The press and rival politicians reacted with horror. Assuming President Trump accurately reported his income, losses, and other information, then there is absolutely nothing immoral or unethical about this result.
The COVID-19 epidemic has revealed that scammers are still alive and well. They nimbly offered nostrums to prevent or cure the virus to naïve buyers within a few weeks of the epidemic’s explosion. In doing so, the medical quacksters have lived up to their predecessors: let no health scare or new technology go to waste.
In the wake of the disruption in America’s economy, legislators on both sides of the aisle quickly rushed through palliatives for American businesses and workers. In doing so, they may have created situations rife with what economists call “moral hazard,” situations where the affected parties have disincentives to mitigate losses.
The Covid-19 virus has turned the college experience upside-down as students have been removed from dorms to stop the spread of the disease, and face-to-face classes have been moved to remote delivery. Potential first-year and transfer students are being encouraged to consider a ‘gap year’ and delay enrollment until the educational environment returns to ‘normal.’
Faculty are the life-blood of our educational mission -- getting students ready for business. They provide the leadership and direction for our future while balancing three significant responsibilities -- teaching, scholarship, and service. Our first three awards recognize faculty whom the leadership team believes perform at the highest levels in each of these distinct areas. They distinguish themselves in their excellence and commitment.
A few weekends ago, we spent a lot of long hours cleaning up a seven acre property. With that space, social distancing would not be a problem, so we hired three Panthers to help get it done. Fortunately, they all passed the Wilson Work Ethic test.
Embezzlement—“theft or misappropriation of funds placed in one’s trust or belonging to one’s employer (Google.com dictionary).”
Embezzlement is a friendly-sounding word, not harsh like “extortion.” Employers, however, have to guard against even trusted employees. The newspapers frequently report long-time employees, who embezzled money over a number of years. In many cases, the employee had overspent, sometimes out of a desire for fancy consumer items and sometimes out of desperation to cover unanticipated medical bills or car repairs.
A wise professor in graduate school once told me that the most relevant research questions come when you least expect them, and usually when you are talking with people about their everyday activities and concerns. He was known for always carrying a pen and notepad regardless of the social setting. While I carry a smartphone instead, his advice has served me well. For me, a casual conversation with a colleague has led to a new line of research involving beer. Tough gig, right?!