应用型本科国际贸易实务课程的改革与探索

应用型本科教学组织过程中要突出"应用",即在教学方案、课程设置和课堂教学方面要重视实践教学,实现理论与实践环节的交叉融合。国际贸易实务是国际经济与贸易专业的专业主干课,本身的实践性很强,在传统教学中往往将这门实践课按照理论课的模式来讲授,被理论化的实践环节很抽象不易被学生掌握和吸收,我们要从课内实践、模拟实训和校外实践三方面来强化本专业学生的实践能力,以实践实用为目的,以就业为导向来组织国际贸易实务的课程教学,提高国际经济与贸易专业毕业生的实际动手能力和就业竞争力。     

Nontraditional student withdrawal from undergraduate accounting programmes: a holistic perspective

A collaborative project of several Quebec universities, this study investigates nontraditional student withdrawal from undergraduate accounting programmes. A nontraditional student is older than 24, or is a commuter or a part-time student, or combines some of these characteristics. Univariate and multivariate analyses of student dropout factors were performed. A logistic regression for full-time students indicates several significant determinants of student withdrawal: returning to school after working for some time, enrolment in a non-first choice programme, dissatisfaction with programme choice and courses, and low grade point average (GPA). For part-time students, low GPA is the main explanatory factor for student withdrawal. Other factors appear to be instrumental in withdrawal decisions, such as management of external resources (time and family responsibilities) for women. The results suggest that students would benefit from university support services to acquire learning strategies that improve perseverance. Lastly, in-class learning activities that help bolster grades could decrease student withdrawal rates.     

Regression Analysis: Instructional Resource for Cost/Managerial Accounting

Abstract

This paper describes a classroom-tested instructional resource, grounded in principles of active learning and a constructivism, that embraces two primary objectives: ‘demystify’ for accounting students technical material from statistics regarding ordinary least-squares (OLS) regression analysis – material that students may find obscure or overly abstract – and increase student knowledge regarding the use of Excel for cost-estimation purposes. The resource consists of a set of seven student-related files – PowerPoint slides, Word documents, and Excel files – divided into two major parts: four files that deal with simple (i.e., one-variable) linear regression and three files related to the incremental unit-time learning-curve model. A separate Word file, meant for instructors, provides detailed guidance regarding the use of the student-based files. The resource is flexible in that it can be used at both graduate and undergraduate courses in cost/management accounting; customized to meet the needs of individual instructors (coverage of the entire resource requires approximately seven hours of in-class time) and used in conjunction with any cost/management accounting textbook. Throughout the resource many references to related online supplemental materials are provided, including links to relevant online video clips.     

The Accounting Profession as a Career Choice for Tertiary Business Students in Japan-A Factor Analysis

This study aims to investigate the major factors that influence Japanese tertiary business students' vocational choice. A questionnaire-based survey was administered to both accounting and non-accounting students in Japanese tertiary institutions at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The results of two individualized factor analyses indicated significant differences between factors influencing the career profiles of both these groups of students. It further shows that the major influence affecting vocational choice for accounting students was based on intrinsic values. Non-accounting students indicated career prospects as the major contributing factor when choosing a career. These results are very important for accounting educators in Japan as they attempt to address the current unpopularity of the accounting profession.     

论会计教学中的思维教学法

会计专业本科教学的核心目标是让学生掌握专业技能,利用技能解决实际的问题,强调的是知识应用能力。但是在现有的教学方式下,学生学到的只是惰性知识,学习迁移能力差。解决的出路是,在现有教学方法中加强对学生思维模式的培养。思维教学法是帮助学生克服知识应用与学习迁移问题的有用工具。     

Power to business professors: Automatic grading of problem-solving tasks in a spreadsheet

This paper presents an innovative approach, based on Excel files and a detailed implementation guide, that allows a professor with proficient spreadsheet skills to develop individualized problem-solving tasks for assignments and examinations that test students on cognitive thinking processes beyond memorizing and drilling. The professor accomplishes this goal by requiring the students to model a business problem-solving task in a worksheet environment. Each student’s work is marked automatically by a generic “plug and play” Visual Basic for Application (VBA) algorithm. The scores and feedback provided are tailored to each individual student and address not only the problem-solving outcome but also the problem-solving process. The learning objective discussed in this work is implemented at a Norwegian university business school.     

Using journal entries to teach partnership tax: An illustrative case

The use of journal entries to teach partnership taxation concepts provides students with a visual tool that liberates them from the memorization of formulas that has long been a staple in partnership tax education. Employing journal entries as our pedagogy, we present a case designed to be a comprehensive project for a stand-alone graduate partnership taxation course. We also provide guidance for how individual components within the case can be assigned, which could be particularly useful to instructors of business entity tax courses. Our case provides a resource that will assist instructors in teaching and students in understanding (1) the book accounting requirements, and (2) the interrelationship between the tax and book reporting requirements. Graduate tax students who completed this case in its entirety agree that the case meets its stated learning objectives, and that journal entries are an effective tool for analyzing partnership tax transactions and make learning partnership taxation easier.     

Do students’ perceptions matter? A study of the effect of students’ perceptions on academic performance

Prior accounting education literature documents that students typically associate accounting subjects with negative perceptions, but there are also recent suggestions that the stereotype of the accountant has positive associations. These perceptions of accounting are likely to affect students’ attitudes towards learning and, consequently, influence their performance. We examine the relationship between students’ perceptions and students’ performance. The present study involved undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in management accounting subjects. Our findings indicate that students’ performance is negatively affected by the negative perceptions of accounting that students bring to the subject. Our findings also suggest that positive perceptions of accounting held by students at the end of the semester have a positive impact on students’ performance.     

基于内部增值观的本科教育质量调查研究（一）——本科教育质量结构性问题

基于教育质量评价的内部增值观,在借鉴美国大学生学习投入调查（NSSE）以及汉化版NSSE-China的的基础上,编制了“大学学生学习与发展调查问卷”,以内蒙古财经大学为例,通过随机抽样,开展了大学生学习性投入的调查研究.调查内容涵盖反映本科教育质量的五大可比性指标——学业挑战度、主动合作学习水平、生师互动、教育经验丰富度、校园环境支持度.通过对1541个有效数据的分析并与全国常模进行比较,对本科教育质量问题进行了诊断.     

Graphical organizers in tax education

The purpose of this teaching note is to share with tax instructors several graphical organizers developed by the authors for use in teaching topics typically covered in undergraduate and graduate tax courses. Their use may be motivated by studies documenting improvements in student learning through improved text comprehension and memory when such displays are used, and also by studies concluding that students exhibit decreasing reliance upon textbook information and increasing reliance upon instructor provided communications in their learning and study processes. Additional motivation stems from the graphical organizers’ desirable attributes as instructional resources: ease of use, presentation efficiency and flexibility, and a facilitated ability to highlight cause-and-effect based conclusions inherent in tax law.     

工科高校综合性经济类公选课设置研究

为了培养工科学生经济学素养，提高其分析问题、认识问题的能力，特别是为工科学生将来从专业技术岗位走向管理岗位打下良好的基础，文章针对工科高校开设经济类公选课客观存在的主要问题，提出工科高校应设置综合性经济类公选课。综合性经济类公选课的设置能从师资队伍、学生学习时间方面解决教学资源和需求的冲突问题。由于是面对没有经济学基础的工科学生设置的公选课，其课程内容应从经济学基础性知识入手，涉及知识面广，密切联系实际。在课程设计中，既要关注工科高校经济学学习氛围的营造，又要考虑工科学生主动性问题意识淡薄的客观性，同时，在内容设计方面需要秉承一些基本设计原则。     

Dissolving the research mystique

This paper reports on a research oriented accounting course designed for senior undergraduate and graduate students. Topic selection, hypothesis construction and a research proposal are developed within the course through four building block assignments and a scavenger hunt. As an awareness enhancer a journal search identifies specific accounting issues researched and/or discussed in the literature. An ideas matrix collects the essence of potential topics, and three topics are developed into hypotheses based on problem statements. The design of a project culminates in a research blueprint.     

市场营销蒙授专业人才培养模式改革的探索

市场营销蒙授专业现有人才培养模式存在着培养目标单一、生源基础不同的学生使用同一套培养方案、专业课设置面窄过细、实践教学环节薄弱等弊端,限制了学生个性的发展,导致学生消极对待学习,影响学生实际操作能力的锻炼和提高,难以适应就业市场的多样化需求。因此,必须通过确立多样化的培养目标、制定个性化的人才培养方案、构建合理化的人才培养质量评价体系、打造高水平的师资队伍、强化教学运行管理、重视对蒙汉双语授课专业学生的管理等措施,对蒙汉双语授课学生因材施教、个性化培养,才能适应社会对少数民族人才的多样化需求。     

Interest rate swaps

This instructional case is intended to introduce graduate and undergraduate financial accounting and finance students to derivatives using interest rate swaps. The major learning objective is to understand derivative accounting methods, using interest rate swaps, as proposed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board's recent Exposure Draft. A secondary learning objective is to understand key features of a management control system for derivatives' activities. Both matched and unmatched interest rate swap examples are used in this case. The matched swap is based on an actual swap done by a bank for one of its customers. The case is written from the perspective of an audit partner writing a report summarizing interest rate swap accounting and related management controls for a client who wanted to recognize all gains and losses related to its interest rate swaps immediately in current earnings.     

Q-analytics: An ethics case on unlicensed software usage

This short role-taking ethics case is designed to provide students with several different perspectives related to the unauthorized/unlicensed use of software within a realistic accounting setting. Although the case could be considered for use in a variety of accounting classes at both undergraduate and graduate levelswith limited preparation, it is likely to be most relevant to Accounting Information Systems, Auditing, Controllership, and Accounting Ethics courses. The case can be read in about ten minutes, after which the class is assigned to groups that deliberate over the concerns of six different roles regarding the software-usage issues implied in the case.The issues are relevant to the students because they will inevitably encounter software-usage problems in their personal or professional lives. Furthermore, they inevitably have been exposed to similar copyright-infringement issues in the realms of music and video, which helps make for a rich class discussion.The case has consistently generated considerable discussion and debate within a graduate-level controllership course. A survey of students from five graduate accounting classes over a three-year period indicates favorable perceptions of the case.     

Modelling Performance Improvement and Switching Behaviour in Team Learning

Accounting educators and agencies have sought to incorporate team learning activities into conventional learning methods. The readiness-assurance process (RAP) of team learning, in which students take quizzes first as individuals and second as members of student teams, has been shown to be effective in this regard. We analyse the RAP with a fixed-effects regression model to identify the factors that contribute to performance improvement and we use ordered logit regression to estimate, probabilistically, switching behaviour within student teams. A longitudinal study was conducted over the course of a semester in which 101 undergraduate accounting students, comprising 22 teams, completed six quizzes. Within-team knowledge disparity was shown to be a significant indicator of performance improvement, and individuals appeared more likely to switch their answers after the first quiz. There were no significant effects for either performance or switching associated with demographic measures of sex and English fluency. Implications for accounting educators are discussed.     

A Business Communication Module for an MBA Managerial Accounting Course: A Teaching Note

Abstract

This Teaching Note describes a two-hour-and-40-minute Business Communication module developed and used by the author over the past six years in an MBA Managerial Accounting course at a university in the USA. The module has two modest but important goals: to sensitize graduate accounting students to the importance of communication skills for professional success; and to provide students with a set of writing-improvement resources. The students' component of the module consists of a set of five readings and two learning resources. For teachers, a comprehensive set of PowerPoint slides is available from the author. The module is flexible in two respects: it can be used in graduate-level accounting courses other than Managerial Accounting; and a reduced version of in-class presentation time is possible by using only a sub-set of the PowerPoint slides, based on teacher preferences. Student responses to the module have been consistently positive and have supported continued use of the module into the future.     

《国际贸易实务》课程教学模式构想

《国际贸易实务》作为国际贸易专业的主干课,又是跟实践环节最为密切的课程,是国贸专业教学中的重中之重。本文专门针对实务课程的特点,提出该课程在本科教学中的模式构想,其意义在于提高学生掌握国际贸易实务的兴趣、促进学生进一步掌握国际贸易实务技能、提高学生的实践能力、增加课堂吸引力、取得良好的教学效果,形成学习专业技能、掌握专业技能、提高专业技能的氛围。     

Guest Editorial

This paper reports the results of a longitudinal study of the determinants of student performance on undergraduate accounting degree examinations. The educational background, demographic characteristics and financial/investment characteristics of a group of undergraduate students were determined in an attempt to explain differences in student performance in both first year and third year examinations. The results indicate that few of these background variables had a significant impact on examination performance and that the best predictor of third year performance was in fact performance in the first year examinations.