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PROF. - ADVISES . COLLEAGUES
University Park, Pa. In the
view of at least one aspiring
author, the college professor who
turns out textbooks from the
comfy confines of his campus
may not be adequately tuned in
to the 'professional world about
him.
What's more, there is every
reason to believe that members
of the professional community
apparently fail to realize this or
may care even less.
"There is a great gulf between
the practitioners and the academ
ician," says. Dr. Ronald M. Cope
land, associate professor of ac
counting at The Pennsylvania
State University.
"The practitioner doesn't read
college texts and the academic
ian doesn't know what's going on
in the field. In accounting, for
example, the professor and the
professional often work independ
ently of each other and seldom
communicate.
"While accounting obviously is
my veciaity, 1 feel safe in ven
turing the same can be said for
other specialized fields such as
law, medicine, or history."
Dr. Copeland became interest
ed in the situation when he and
two colleagues began collaborat
ing on an advanced accounting
text. Along the way he found:
"Much of the information con
tained in current accounting text
books bears no relationship to
current accounting thought or
practice.
"Most advanced texts contain
at least one section or chapter
that's pure nonsense in that it
focuses attention on a state that
never existed hi American ac
counting practices."
At the outset, Copeland wants
one point to be unequivocally
"Roughly 90 per cent of what
you find inmost texts is relevant
and pertinent," he says. "What,
I'm talking about is that 10 per
cent off the top, material that is
irrelevant or outdated. We've got
to stop wasting a kid's time by
exposing them to archaic mater
ial."
THE HIGHACRES COLLEGIAN
To 'document his position, Dr.
Copeland points to the account
ing profession's statement of af
fairs, an inventory of an indivi
dual's assets and liabilities in
bankruptcy proceedings.
"The form designated in all
advanced texts was derived from
the fonn used in England in the
early 1800's," he explains. "This
is because our ilea American ac
countants and textbook writers
were from England.
"But in England this form, was
required by law. In America it
wasn't, never has been, and isn't
used: Yet, in texts, writers are
still going back to the original
English form and nobody's ap
parently bothered to question it."
Copeland cites a variety of rea-
sons for the discrepancy, he's dis
covered between accounting
texts and acounting practice.
"The wide range of topics cov
ered by authors of advanced - texts
require they rely on secondary
sources of information since pri
mary data often is unavailable,"
he observes.
"It is highly unlikely a single
author, no matter how exper
ienced, is familiar with all the
topics he discusses. He tradition
ally accepts what someone else
wrote before him."
Another factor, he continues,
is that much of the material in
latter day textbooks is there pri
marily because it is referred to
professional accounting examina
tions.
What apparently is overlooked,
Dr. Copeland maintains, is the
consideration that the test more
likely than not refers to the ma
terial simply because it appears
in earlier texts.
And finally, there's that com
munication gap between the aca
demic and professional account
ing communities.
"The academician may not ev
en be aware of the issues and
concerns confronting practition
ers at the operating level while
practicing accountants may not
wish to become involved in the
philosophical arguments lofted
from the ivory tower," Dr. Cope
land says.
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S. G. A. ELECTION
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APRIL :t-1 , .'1131.ir:• J . 7 .4 •
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FISHING FUN IF
University Park, Pa. —, If fish
ing for fun is your bag, then
you'd probably be interested in
knowing if, your fish has more
lives than a cat or just how
smart he really is.
And that's exactly what re
searchers at The Pennsylvania
State University hope to be able
to tell You from a study to be
launched with the beginning of
the State's trout season in mid-
April.
"It's generally presumed if
you catch a fish and release
him, that means he'll be avail
able for the next fisherman who
comes along," says Dr. R. L.
Butler, associate professet of
zoology at the University and in
novator of the research program.
"But there are a few studies
on hand which indicate that that
may not necessarily be true.
What we'll be looking for pri
marily is whether the trout dies
after he's been caught with a
fly.
"Or if he doesn't, is there any
limit on the number of times he
can be caught? Does he learn
to avoid the fly after being hook
ed two or three times? How good
is his memory? Can he no longer
be taken?"
The research, to be sponsored
by Trout Urlirnited, a national
ang:ling organization headquart
ered in Denver, Colo., is to be
conducted on truce Creek about
APRIL
THEY SURVIVE
20 miles from, the Penn State
caminls, near Colerain State
&Me 500 wild trout will be
taken from the creek, ;tagged and
returned for the experiment.
Only 40 fishermen .will be al
lowed' to fish along the one- third
mile experimental section of the
creek It any one time under a
special permit to be distributed
by the • researchers at the site.
"rt's important to note__ that
this will be a population of wild
trout, fish which were spawned
and grew up in the stream anti •
have not been exposed to the'
artificial effects of a fish. hatch-.;
ery," Dr. Butler emphasizes.
"If we find that the fish does
not die after being caught, we'll
be looking to learn if the frequen
cy of the cate'h has any effect on
the growth of the trout," he con
tinues.
"We also , should be able to
determine what part of the ex
perimental population doesn't
participate in the catch or. whe
ther the age, experience, even
the sex of the angler has any
thing to do with his success in
fishing for fun."
Even though he hasn't fished
himself for almost five years—
"lt's a matter of time," he says
Dr. Butler has been an avid
fisherman and still retains a
deep appreciation for the sport.