Student Perspectives on Business Education in the USA

This chapter examines the academic and personal trajectory a student takes from before they ever set a foot on campus to beyond a college degree. By first assessing the private vs. public school dynamics in Southern California, the author documents the ways in which these systems are a reaction to the American college system, and how the prevailing psyche around college as being an ultimate end for students and their parents plays out. Reflecting on personal choices and circumstances unique to the individual yields a variety of challenges and benefits posed by pursuing a college degree, all of which influence what to study and where to pursue it. Influences range from relative income to geographical location and parental occupation. Through an examination of these elements, the relative importance and weight of a college degree in light of developments accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic leaves the collegiate system and the students who are at the center of it in an unparalleled position.

The Long-Run Effects of Recessions on Education and Income

This paper examines the long-run effects of the 1980–1982 recession on education and income. Using confidential census data, I estimate difference-in-difference regressions that exploit variation across counties in recession severity and across cohorts in age at the time of the recession. For individuals age 0–10 in 1979, a 10 percent decrease in earnings per capita in their county of birth reduces four-year college degree attainment by 15 percent and earnings in adulthood by 5 percent. Simple calculations suggest that in aggregate, the 1980–1982 recession led to 1.3–2.8 million fewer college graduates and $66–$139 billion less earned income per year. (JEL E32, I21, I26, J24, J31)

Unexpected Destinations

This chapter argues that an upbringing of religious restraint constrains college choices, especially for professional-class kids. It does so by recalibrating their academic ambitions after graduation, leading them to rarely consider a selective college despite their excellent grades in high school. As a result, religiously restrained teens—and especially those from the professional class who have the resources to make it to college—tend to undermatch in the college selection process. This is evident among men and is especially prevalent among women. Girls who grow up with religious restraint have a self-concept centered around family, service, and God. They do not aspire toward prestigious careers, which makes a degree from a selective college less valuable. Unlike less affluent teens who want to improve their class position by gaining a college degree, religiously restrained teens are content maintaining their class position by attending college close to home and reproducing traditional gender norms.

Supporting Undergraduate Biology Students’ Academic Success: Comparing Two Workshop Interventions

When teaching college biology students to use effective learning strategies, does it help to address both the what and the when of studying? Findings indicated that students who learned about time management in addition to metacognition had higher exam grades and commitment to earning a college degree at the end of the semester.

Long-term prognosis and educational determinants of brain network decline in older adult individuals

Older adults with lower education are at greater risk for dementia. It is unclear which brain changes lead to these outcomes. Longitudinal imaging-based measures of brain structure and function were examined in adult individuals (baseline age, 45–86 years; two to five visits per participant over 1–9 years). College degree completion differentiates individual-based and neighborhood-based measures of socioeconomic status and disadvantage. Older adults (~65 years and over) without a college degree exhibit a pattern of declining large-scale functional brain network organization (resting-state system segregation) that is less evident in their college-educated peers. Declining brain system segregation predicts impending changes in dementia severity, measured up to 10 years past the last scan date. The prognostic value of brain network change is independent of Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-related genetic risk (APOE status), the presence of AD-associated pathology (cerebrospinal fluid phosphorylated tau, cortical amyloid) and cortical thinning. These results demonstrate that the trajectory of an individual’s brain network organization varies in relation to their educational attainment and, more broadly, is a unique indicator of individual brain health during older age.

Ethnicity, age, and education influence perceptions of vegetable healthiness and macronutrient content

Objective: To assess perceptions of nutritional content and health value of popular vegetables. Design: Cross-sectional online survey. Participants: A total of 760 adults participated in the study. Main Outcome Measures: Likert scale ratings of healthy, calories, carbohydrates, protein, and fiber, for (i) avocado, (ii) romaine lettuce, (iii) white potato, (iv) white onion, and (v) red tomato. Analysis: ANOVAs for continuous variables and Chi-square for categorical variables. Outcomes for nutritional content were compared using separate one-way ANOVAs with ethnicity (Hispanic/Latino vs. non-Hispanic); education (college degree/no college degree); age (18–34, 35–50, 51–70, 70 + ); and diabetes status (with or without diabetes) as the grouping variables. Results: Significant ethnicity effects were found for avocado, lettuce, potato, onion, and tomato. Education level effects were found for avocado, lettuce, potato, and tomato. Age level effects were found for avocado, lettuce, potato, and tomato. Conclusions and Implications: Participant perceptions of the macronutrient content of common vegetables and fruits largely coincided with the US Department of Agriculture values. However, stratifying by ethnicity, age, and education revealed significant differences in both macronutrient perceptions and perceived healthiness. There were no consistent, significant results for interactions of ethnicity by education, nor ethnicity by age. These results suggest that dietary interventions may need to be adjusted based on participant sociodemographic characteristics linked to the perceptions of nutritional value and healthiness.

Factors Determining Rice Farm Households’ Adoption of Organic Farming in Taiwan

The adoption of environmentally friendly farming practices, such as organic farming, is promoted as a promising option for meeting the sustainable development goals in Taiwan. Taking the paddy rice as an example, this study examines the determining factors of organic farming adoption with an emphasis on farm households’ socio-economic characteristics. Based on data drawn from the 2015 Census of Agriculture, Forestry, Fishery and Animal Husbandry, rice farm households’ adoption of organic farming is defined as allocating part of the farmland to rice plantation without using any chemical fertilizers and pesticides. In line with previous research, farm operators’ age, educational level and on-farm workdays are found to be significant determinants of organic farming adoption. Socio-economic characteristics of the farm household are also found to be relevant to the adoption decision. The results suggest that household-level human capital such as proportion of middle-aged or elder members, and proportion of members with college degree, have significantly positive effect on the adoption probability. Since organic farming is more labor-demanding than conventional farming, this study performs a further analysis to examine the differences in the determining factors between full-time and part-time households. Relative to the young operators, middle-aged operators in the full-time households are found to be less likely to adopt organic farming, whereas the elder operators in the part-time households have a higher adoption probability. Additionally, share of members with a college degree is found to be another significant driving factor of adoption, which is however only true for the part-time households. Exploring the diverse impacts of socio-economic factors for the two groups of households contributes to the extant literature by narrowing the gap in understanding the relation between farm management strategy and organic farming adoption.

Blacklist or Short List: Do Employers Discriminate against Union Supporter Job Applicants?

Starting in the 1980s, US employers revived aggressive action against unions. Employers’ public opposition to unions yielded a scholarly consensus that US employers actively and consistently discriminate against union supporters. However, evidence for widespread employer anti-union discrimination is based mainly on employer reactions to rare union organizing campaigns. To measure baseline or preventive anti-union discrimination, the authors field the first ever US-based résumé correspondence study of employer responses to union supporter applicants. Focus is on entry-level, non-college degree jobs and findings show no difference in employer callback rates for union supporter applicants relative to non-union applicants. Drawing on interviews and survey data, the authors suggest that union weakness itself may have hollowed preventive employer discrimination against union supporters.