Category Archives: Economy

Survey: More Freshmen than Ever Say They Go to College to Get Better Jobs, Make More Money

The current economic situation in the United States has a major influence on first-year students’ decisions about which college to attend and is reflected in their reasons for pursuing higher education, according to the CIRP Freshman Survey, UCLA’s annual survey of the nation’s entering students at four-year colleges and universities.

The survey, part of the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP), is administered nationally by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education and Information Studies.

Two out of three first-year students (66.6 percent) surveyed said they believe current economic conditions significantly affected their choice of college, up from 62.1 percent just two years earlier, when the question was first asked. (more…)

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How Social Media Can Help Grow Your Business

In today’s world, it’s simply not enough to advertise your business using radio and/or newspaper ads. Your online presence is as vital to the continued success of your business as local advertising. Using social media only strengthens your position both online and off.

Using social media as part of your marketing campaign can produce a great deal of interest in your business. As most social media sites are free to utilize, there is very little risk to yourself or the business. The impact social media can have is worth the time to invest in order to expand.

1. Interaction – Those who frequent social media websites such as Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest are able to communicate with others they are following. This gives the consumer the feeling that he or she has a voice in your business. By interacting with those individuals, you are opening your business up to a clientele that feels your business cares about their input. (more…)

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Evolution of Human Resources

Future of organizational development Employee Development Roundtable topic

Remember the personnel department? It’s an old fashioned concept now with its focus on record-keeping and employee policies, evolving into “human resources management” in the latter half of the 20th century.

But the future of human resources is also changing. Panelists and attendees at the University of Delaware’s Employee Development Roundtable in December discussed how organizations will develop their employees in the future, how local and global business pressures will affect the field, how technology will change employee development and what organizational development professionals should do now to shape the future. (more…)

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Credit Card Debt: Younger People Borrow More Heavily and Repay More Slowly, Study Finds

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Younger Americans not only take on relatively more credit card debt than their elders, but they are also paying it off at a slower rate, according to a first-of-its-kind study.

The findings suggest that younger generations may continue to add credit card debt into their 70s, and die still owing money on their cards.

“If what we found continues to hold true, we may have more elderly people with substantial financial problems in the future,” said Lucia Dunn, co-author of the study and professor of economics at Ohio State University. (more…)

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In Financial Ecosystems, Big Banks Trample Economic Habitats and Spread Fiscal Disease

Like the impact of an elephant herd grazing on grassland, multinational banks shape the financial environment to an extent that far outweighs their small number. And like a contagious person on a transnational flight, when these giant, interconnected banks succumb to financial ills, they are uniquely positioned to infect wide swaths of the financial system.

Researchers from Princeton University, the Bank of England and the University of Oxford applied methods inspired by ecosystem stability and contagion models to banking meltdowns and found that large national and international banks wield an influence and potentially destructive power that far exceeds their actual size. (more…)

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MSU Professor Provides ‘Social Class for Dummies’

Matthew Diemer, associate professor in MSU’s College of Education, talks about his paper “Practices in Conceptualizing and Measuring Social Class in Psychological Research.”

Social class has been linked to health, college attainment and other important outcomes, but the best ways to define and measure social class are still unclear to many, a Michigan State University scholar argues. (more…)

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Father’s Death Affects Early Adolescents’ Futures in Developing World, Says MU Anthropologist

Knowledge of effects could lead to better assistance for youths

COLUMBIA, Mo. – A father’s death can have long-term effects on a child’s later success in life and can be particularly harmful if the father passes away during a child’s late childhood or early adolescence, according to new research by a University of Missouri anthropologist. Recognizing the impact that a father’s death can have on adolescents could lead to improved counseling and assistance programs, especially for needy families in the developing world.

“Certain negative effects of a father’s death can’t be compensated for by the mother or other relatives,” said Mary Shenk, assistant professor of anthropology in MU’s College of Arts and Science. “The loss of a father can result in lower adult living standards for the bereaved children. Not only is a child emotionally affected, but the lack of a father’s earning power can cause children to get married younger or drop out of school in order to work.” (more…)

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