The economic principle I researched was “People generally respond to incentives in predictable ways” and “Institutions are the “rules of the game” that influence choices.”
Adam Smith's idea of greed being the natural driving force of people is flawed. It is a flawed idea that has become woven into us Americans as the sole reason that there is inequality. However, this is not the case. It is a fact that currency based economies, market economies, and Capitalism as a whole have not been around that long, at least in comparison to the rest of human history. This is because Capitalism is not natural, it has only created the conditions for people to tend towards greed. Some of the first human societies were actually the antithesis to market economies, gift economies. And gift economies still exist today even in a market dominated world. That is not to say that gift economies are Socialist, but they prove that we are capable of both generosity and greed; we are capable of Socialism just as much as we are Capitalism. To answer my initial question, incentives in Libertarian Socialism would be altruistic rather than greed based. People would actually be incentivized for productive labor in this way.
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Saturday, May 12, 2018
Final Post Social Media
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com
The economic principle I researched is how people generally respond to incentives in predictable ways. My research question to help me study this economic principle is: How do social media companies design apps to incentivize people to use them longer? What effect does this have on individuals, society, and business?
Through the article published in Vice Media titled “Your Addiction to Social Media is No Accident,” I found that social media companies use specific tactics like the like button, read receipts, typing dots, notifications, Snapchat streaks, and the moment delay it takes to refresh the feed in order to incentivize people to continue as loyal users of their app. MySpace is an example of a social media site that failed to incentivize users long term. Ultimately Myspace became unorganized, visually unappealing, and couldn’t keep up with the changing technology, according to “Myspace Collapse: How The Social Network Fell Apart.”
Because of the use of social media in daily life, companies have been forced to use it as a tool. Social media has influenced how businesses are run in today’s society, as I read in the article, “The Importance of Social Media in Business.” People can post through social media about a business, whether it be good or bad, so businesses are held to a higher standard and also must hire people to respond to customers who have questions, concerns, or complaints via media. Online advertising, hashtags, and more have all contributed to the using social media to business’ advantage. For individuals, there are both positive and negative impacts from the daily use of social media. In young adults especially, social networking sites actually promote growth and identity development, explains “Online Social Networking in Adolescence: Associations With Development, Well-Being and Internet Addictive Behaviors.” At the same time, addiction can occur and is more prone to those with certain personality types like some forms of introverts and extroverts.
All in all, the constant use of social media is exactly what these companies wanted and has led to impacts for the good and bad on our society and in business.
Friday, May 11, 2018
Final Post
The economic principle I researched was - People react to incentives in predictable ways.
In my research, I studied how National Parks like Yellowstone, Glacier, and Yosemite get so many people to visit their parks. I also researched how much smaller, lesser known areas do the same by looking at the Driftless Area.
In every case, I found that they all do very similar things, just tailored to specific parts about the park. For example, Yellowstone visitors are growing extremely quickly, which cause traffic problems as well as trail problems. To fix this, and make sure visitors enjoy their time and come back, they are spending millions on adding new trails, renovating old ones, and fixing the roadways. In Yosemite, they are doing very similar projects, but primarily focusing on maintaining trails and the habitat surrounding the trails and scenic routes. In the driftless area, their main focus is stream conservation, for the main visitors there are fisherman.
In all these cases, the governing bodies of the parks and areas are focused on visitor satisfaction, and making sure that visitors enjoy their time, and come back.
Synthesizing Research on Cigarette Use
The economic principle I researched was:
People generally respond to incentives in predictable ways. Institutions are the “rules of the game” that influence choices.
In recent discussions about e-cigarettes, or juuls, one controversial issue has been should the government allow new tobacco products to be made. On one hand, some citizens believe that the government would be infringing on their rights if it prohibits inventing new tobacco products. On the other hand, some citizens believe that the government has the right to protect its citizens from harm, so the government should band cigarettes altogether. I have found research that can help resolve this issue, and here are my findings.
Modern tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes, are being regulated. Florida lawmakers are trying to ban the sale of e-cigarettes for minors. Not only are states regulating these products, but so are schools. The FDA has also released a greatly detailed list of how tobacco products should be labeled and what determines the tobacco product to be labeled as a tobacco product.
Modern tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes, are being regulated. Florida lawmakers are trying to ban the sale of e-cigarettes for minors. Not only are states regulating these products, but so are schools. The FDA has also released a greatly detailed list of how tobacco products should be labeled and what determines the tobacco product to be labeled as a tobacco product.
The Art of Online Medicine
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| virtualrepconnect.com |
Although it is evident that not all types of patient care can be administered via the Web, general healthcare and minor symptoms can be treated online. For example, one article I read discussed how a patient with cardiac issues has been treated at home with an iPad monitor that detects serious health changes that may require immediate assistance. This is an effective way to be treated because this patient does not need to spend time driving to the hospital and paying the expensive stay costs.
Thus, in the grand scheme of virtual medicine, this new technology can potentially save time and money for both doctors and patients.
The Art of Grocery and Retail
In my second blog post, I discussed the many ways that grocery or retail stores strategically place their products or look of their store. This goes over how store’s look at what their customers have recently been purchasing and how they react to these stats. Also making sure that all the stores of their chain get supplied with enough products and not too much. Also goes over how products all have their certain price, and to make sure that everything is priced accordingly.
Third post goes over how every grocery or retail store has to know their customers and provide to them accordingly. Making sure the atmosphere and products of the store are up to their expectations every time they come in. It’s okay to embrace a certain crowd and only advertise to that type of group as long as it’s not hurting your business, in actuality it can help.
My last post goes over how you have to adjust your store to every season. It’s very important to capitalize on every season as there are many particular items that customers are going to expect depending on which season it is. This post went over the variety of items that go on sale depending on it’s season, and how even some months where nothing is going on like January and February, there’s still a lot of thought put into what customers might buy.
SYNTHESIZING RESEARCH ON GAP YEAR
The economic principle I researched was scarcity.
Students must make decisions on which (if any) university they would like to attend; this ultimately comes with the opportunity cost of the university you don’t attend and the resources you will use like; time, energy, money, etc, or if they will attend school or decide not to, in this case the opportunity cost would be either the schooling they don’t receive or the money they are potentially losing from not working instead.
In my 2nd blog post I really tried to get into what colleges are currently doing to recruit students to attend their university. Colleges all over the nation are really beginning to modernize their recruitment process and t’s seeing amazing results. This article in depth discussed the new techniques and explained exactly how colleges are using them currently. The article discussed QR Codes, Facebook competitions, youtube and vlogging, and so so much more that colleges are starting to participate in for incoming students.
In my 3rd blog post the articles I used helped to convey what universities think of gap years and which ones actually encourage it. The article, published in Gap Year Association titled 20 Colleges That Encourage a Gap Year Demonstrates this economic principle because it helps to show future college applicants what universities actually support students taking a gap year. The article showcased many shocking colleges that are all for students taking a gap year, some included being Yale, Harvard, and the University of Pennsylvania. The second article I did really discussed how gap years are viewed by colleges and what their thoughts are on the concept. It stated, many colleges and universities are increasingly open to the idea of students taking gap years before entering as freshman.-some even offer financial aid shockingly. For example, Princeton has been offering need-based financial aid for gap year students participating in its Bridge Year program since 2009, while the University of North Carolina provides $7,500 for applicants through its Global Gap Year Fellowship.
In my 4th blog post the article I did discussed the true pros and cons of taking a gap year, and in tremendous detail. This article demonstrates this economic principle because it helps to show an unbiased approach to determining if students would like to take a gap year. If students looked up information or researched gap years most articles that would pop up would be biased on one side, but bu including pros and cons it’s easier to decide. Many students choose to take a gap year before college, whether it is to get some work experience, volunteer, earn some money for their advanced education or travel the world and gain experiences that may help them during their degree. Some pros the article listed include; Time to think and figure out what you would like to do, you learn responsibility at a whole different level, you can submit a more impressive application, you can earn towards your education. On the contrary cons mentioned included; it puts you a year behind, you take the risk of losing momentum, and gap years can be extremely costly.
In my last blog post the article I did portrayed real life people and their stories of their own gap year. The articles followed up with previously interviewed people years later to see how their gap year had ended up affecting them, their attitude, and their life all together. Those included all came from completely different backgrounds, did completely different things during their gap year, and are doing completely different things in their lives now. Those involved went onto explore fields such as environmental science, education, political campaigning, and much more. Many parents worry that if their children take a gap year, it will make them appear undisciplined and insubordinate to employers, but this article helped to show the exact opposite. Your gap year is what you make of it and what you take from it.
In my 2nd blog post I really tried to get into what colleges are currently doing to recruit students to attend their university. Colleges all over the nation are really beginning to modernize their recruitment process and t’s seeing amazing results. This article in depth discussed the new techniques and explained exactly how colleges are using them currently. The article discussed QR Codes, Facebook competitions, youtube and vlogging, and so so much more that colleges are starting to participate in for incoming students.
In my 3rd blog post the articles I used helped to convey what universities think of gap years and which ones actually encourage it. The article, published in Gap Year Association titled 20 Colleges That Encourage a Gap Year Demonstrates this economic principle because it helps to show future college applicants what universities actually support students taking a gap year. The article showcased many shocking colleges that are all for students taking a gap year, some included being Yale, Harvard, and the University of Pennsylvania. The second article I did really discussed how gap years are viewed by colleges and what their thoughts are on the concept. It stated, many colleges and universities are increasingly open to the idea of students taking gap years before entering as freshman.-some even offer financial aid shockingly. For example, Princeton has been offering need-based financial aid for gap year students participating in its Bridge Year program since 2009, while the University of North Carolina provides $7,500 for applicants through its Global Gap Year Fellowship.
In my 4th blog post the article I did discussed the true pros and cons of taking a gap year, and in tremendous detail. This article demonstrates this economic principle because it helps to show an unbiased approach to determining if students would like to take a gap year. If students looked up information or researched gap years most articles that would pop up would be biased on one side, but bu including pros and cons it’s easier to decide. Many students choose to take a gap year before college, whether it is to get some work experience, volunteer, earn some money for their advanced education or travel the world and gain experiences that may help them during their degree. Some pros the article listed include; Time to think and figure out what you would like to do, you learn responsibility at a whole different level, you can submit a more impressive application, you can earn towards your education. On the contrary cons mentioned included; it puts you a year behind, you take the risk of losing momentum, and gap years can be extremely costly.
In my last blog post the article I did portrayed real life people and their stories of their own gap year. The articles followed up with previously interviewed people years later to see how their gap year had ended up affecting them, their attitude, and their life all together. Those included all came from completely different backgrounds, did completely different things during their gap year, and are doing completely different things in their lives now. Those involved went onto explore fields such as environmental science, education, political campaigning, and much more. Many parents worry that if their children take a gap year, it will make them appear undisciplined and insubordinate to employers, but this article helped to show the exact opposite. Your gap year is what you make of it and what you take from it.
We Done
The question I will research to help explore the economic principle is: What are the economics of a Music Concert and how do consumers respond to incentives by the music industry/ how are they incentivized.
Unfortunately, my third blog post didn't happen. Awkward, I know. But I thought I would fill the space here with a cool photo that I have taken at a concert!!!
In my second blog post, I discussed the economics of a concert. This article in-depth described how each ticket is strategically priced from the nosebleeds to the front row. So that the consumer gets exactly what they are paying for and everyone working from the sound technicians to the artist to the venue security can get a cut. The money is broken down exactly to the percent to make sure everyone involved in the process can get paid.
Unfortunately, my third blog post didn't happen. Awkward, I know. But I thought I would fill the space here with a cool photo that I have taken at a concert!!!
For my fourth article, I discussed price discrimination in the concert industry. Although it is hard to discriminate in smaller venues such as Chicago's, Aragon ballroom. In these types of venues, it is general admission which means there are no seats and everyone pays the same price. Although for shows at venues such as the United Center, where there are lots of different levels and artists can charge extremely high prices for close seats. Older artists are even more able to price discriminate because they know their audience is more diverse and older with a more disposable income than when they were first starting and had a young following.
In my final Article I discussed how Consumers are usually looking for the best deal when trying to buy a ticket to the show. Depending on the size of the venue and level of tickets that the artist offers will all take into an account of what the consumer is paying for. Each consumer has a different need/ want depending on their economics and passion for the band and what they are willing/ can spend on the artist.
Thursday, May 10, 2018
SYNTHESIZING RESEARCH ON UBI
I found through my research of UBI that people of all socioeconomic statuses respond to incentives in predictable ways. Those who do not desire to work will not do so if given no incentive, and work increases under UBI only if UBI provides the worker with enough financial relief to pursue their true passion, or a higher education. On the other end of the economic ladder, the rich very much enjoy being rich, and will take any opportunity to remain rich that is open to them, even if that means slightly higher taxes to prevent widespread dissatisfaction causing a revolution.
There are benefits and there are issues with UBI, both stemming from incentives. Whether or not UBI gives an incentive to work depends on both the individual and on the societal attitude towards work in general. For example, in the pilot study done in Finland, some artisans were able to lift themselves out of poverty and work after being provided enough security to not have to worry about bills. However, the culture of Finland and the attitude towards work there is vastly different than in the United States. UBI provides another incentive, too, but this time to the billionaires than would fund it--in the United States, it would give them vast political leverage and keep the economy going because poor people would now have money to spend, ensuring that the rich will always remain rich.
Synthesizing Research on the Economics of the NFL Free Agency
The economic principles I researched were Because of scarcity, people choose, all choices have an opportunity cost, and people gain when they trade voluntarily.
The topic I researched was the Economics and decisions and reason behind them in the NFL, specifically the Free Agency period whether it is a decision made by teams, players, coaches, or general managers. Each decision has different impacts and ultimately they all lead to the main goal of running a successful franchise or having a successful career in the NFL.
Throughout my research, I found that no decision is random in the NFL. However, unlike other sports, there is no equation for building the perfect team it is up to the staff to prioritize the needs based on their own experience with their teams. How NFL teams assess players and who assess them is a different situation for each team. Each team has different teams of scouts, coaches, and managers who help assess the value of the players. How they assess is up to that team and how they prioritize positions, youth, potential, experience, character, etc.
On the other end is the player themselves making the decision on which team to go with and why. Their decision-making process differs from that of the team because their goals may be different. Some players may care more about the money, winning, or personal success. Regardless of their motive for choosing a team, they are also more limited in their selections depending on their skill and what teams are looking for.
Ultimately, the main factor in an NFL transaction happening is the compatibility between the player and team. If a player and team are on completely separate pages of what they are trying to accomplish then very rarely will a deal ever be made between them? Not only is the compatibility and chemistry important in the transaction but to be successful on the team also.
The topic I researched was the Economics and decisions and reason behind them in the NFL, specifically the Free Agency period whether it is a decision made by teams, players, coaches, or general managers. Each decision has different impacts and ultimately they all lead to the main goal of running a successful franchise or having a successful career in the NFL.
Throughout my research, I found that no decision is random in the NFL. However, unlike other sports, there is no equation for building the perfect team it is up to the staff to prioritize the needs based on their own experience with their teams. How NFL teams assess players and who assess them is a different situation for each team. Each team has different teams of scouts, coaches, and managers who help assess the value of the players. How they assess is up to that team and how they prioritize positions, youth, potential, experience, character, etc.
On the other end is the player themselves making the decision on which team to go with and why. Their decision-making process differs from that of the team because their goals may be different. Some players may care more about the money, winning, or personal success. Regardless of their motive for choosing a team, they are also more limited in their selections depending on their skill and what teams are looking for.
Ultimately, the main factor in an NFL transaction happening is the compatibility between the player and team. If a player and team are on completely separate pages of what they are trying to accomplish then very rarely will a deal ever be made between them? Not only is the compatibility and chemistry important in the transaction but to be successful on the team also.
Cars and us
Government has affected the cars people choose to drive because there are rules and regulations to cars so that manufactures can make safer cars for the public , regulations that set a certain mpg rating (hybrid, electric cars) , and taxes on some countries and some environmental regulations affect how cars perform and look.
For a long time, cars represented the driver. If someone is rich, they may drive a fancy car. If someone works in harsh conditions, they may drive a heavy duty car. Basically, cars have changed the way we live, as explained in the article The Automobile - Effects / Impact on Society and Changes in Cars Made by Generation, written by LeisureLife. When cars were firstly massed produced in the early 20th century, the way and time people take to commute changed drastically. As cars became more affordable, many people began to own a car, not to mention that cars make traveling much easier. As times went on, suburbs became more and more popular and cars made it easier to get to such places. Another example is when the article says “Other modes of transportation had to be pushed aside in order to make room for the more comfortable and convenient automobile. Bicycles, railroads, and horses were among the most affected by the automobile’s sudden popularity in the 20’s.” Traditional methods were disregarded for the new and cool thing.
However, this prevents some flaws. Every car model is different- some cars are more practical, some are more in need of fuel. The cars that require more fuel (lesser miles per gallon) produced bad emissions. So there are different laws about protecting the environment. In the article “Alternative Fuel Vehicle” published by Science Daily, they explained how certain places like Europe has heavy taxes on fuel. California, on another hand, has strong environmental laws. With these two combined, this forces manufactures to make more efficient cars. The article says “Current research and development is largely centered on "hybrid" vehicles that use both electric power and internal combustion.” Some manufactures also moved to hydrogen powered vehicles. These methods are great ways for manufacturers to protect the environment and obey the laws, barely.
As mentioned before, companies are going for more efficient cars. In the article Diesel cars may be worse than petrol for carbon emissions, report claims written by Arthur Neslen, it shows that governments are trying to get car companies to make more efficient cars so car companies are trying to make diesel versions of cars; however, diesel is the same as gasoline or worse. More many reasons, cars are moving away from these fossil fuels as suggested by the article. “Diesel engines made after 2005 have all had particulate filters installed, but Helmers’ study cites French research which found that 75% of the devices tested were not working properly.” And it doesn’t help that global warming is at a all time high- “Diesel engines may be doing nothing to slow global warming despite being the backbone of Europe’s policy to reduce car emissions, a new report claims.” For this reason, cars are hybrid meaning they having electric and part combustion engine. Our future may see all electric cars rather than our normal gas or diesel cars, enforced by governmental laws.
For a long time, cars represented the driver. If someone is rich, they may drive a fancy car. If someone works in harsh conditions, they may drive a heavy duty car. Basically, cars have changed the way we live, as explained in the article The Automobile - Effects / Impact on Society and Changes in Cars Made by Generation, written by LeisureLife. When cars were firstly massed produced in the early 20th century, the way and time people take to commute changed drastically. As cars became more affordable, many people began to own a car, not to mention that cars make traveling much easier. As times went on, suburbs became more and more popular and cars made it easier to get to such places. Another example is when the article says “Other modes of transportation had to be pushed aside in order to make room for the more comfortable and convenient automobile. Bicycles, railroads, and horses were among the most affected by the automobile’s sudden popularity in the 20’s.” Traditional methods were disregarded for the new and cool thing.
However, this prevents some flaws. Every car model is different- some cars are more practical, some are more in need of fuel. The cars that require more fuel (lesser miles per gallon) produced bad emissions. So there are different laws about protecting the environment. In the article “Alternative Fuel Vehicle” published by Science Daily, they explained how certain places like Europe has heavy taxes on fuel. California, on another hand, has strong environmental laws. With these two combined, this forces manufactures to make more efficient cars. The article says “Current research and development is largely centered on "hybrid" vehicles that use both electric power and internal combustion.” Some manufactures also moved to hydrogen powered vehicles. These methods are great ways for manufacturers to protect the environment and obey the laws, barely.
As mentioned before, companies are going for more efficient cars. In the article Diesel cars may be worse than petrol for carbon emissions, report claims written by Arthur Neslen, it shows that governments are trying to get car companies to make more efficient cars so car companies are trying to make diesel versions of cars; however, diesel is the same as gasoline or worse. More many reasons, cars are moving away from these fossil fuels as suggested by the article. “Diesel engines made after 2005 have all had particulate filters installed, but Helmers’ study cites French research which found that 75% of the devices tested were not working properly.” And it doesn’t help that global warming is at a all time high- “Diesel engines may be doing nothing to slow global warming despite being the backbone of Europe’s policy to reduce car emissions, a new report claims.” For this reason, cars are hybrid meaning they having electric and part combustion engine. Our future may see all electric cars rather than our normal gas or diesel cars, enforced by governmental laws.
Synthesizing Research on the Beauty Industry
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| 7 Ways The Beauty Industry Convinced Women That They Weren’t Good Enough |
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| The Mitten Kitten Blog |
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| Etsy |
SYNTHESIZING RESEARCH ON How does the beauty industry use cultural values and customs to create incentives?
The beauty industry has drastically changed over the past century by having a more diverse consumer base to featuring more realistic expectations of what it means to be beautiful. However, makeup companies in the past have used cultural institutions such as colorism, societal expectations, and imperialism to further the western agenda of what it means to be beautiful.
Before mainstream makeup companies such as CoverGirl, Lancôme, and L’Oreal started to make products geared towards brown skinned customers, Iman, Black Opal, and Black Radiance, well-known ethnic makeup companies, came to the rescue and fulfilled their bases needs for makeup fitted for their skin tone according to Is the Makeup Industry Finally Embracing Diversity?. Mainstream makeup companies now had the incentive to make products catered to brown-skinned people due to researching finding that about $7.5 billion dollars were being contributed by this ethnic base to companies such as Iman, Black Opal, and Black Radiance. Contrary to these major improvements, the beauty industry didn’t always want brown skinned people to embrace their ebony hue. In the 20th century, skin-lightening creams, which contained cancer-causing chemicals, became popular across the world where brown skinned people made up a significant part of the population or places where western influence occurred. In this case, western beauty ideology is the institution that influenced the rules of the game, which would be how makeup companies were affected by this ideology and what the consumers began to want to look like.
In the United States, according to 7 Ways The Beauty Industry Convinced Women That They Weren’t Good Enough, beauty companies used advertisements geared African Americans to lighten their skin due the ideology that “whiter” black people were more acceptable in society compared to their more “afroid” counterparts. Across the world in Thailand, a beauty company called Seoul Secret marketed their product called Snowz with the slogan “White Makes You Win” and marketed off their consumers’ fear of being too dark by using black face in their commercial, Seoul Secret White Makes You Win Advertisement. It’s easy to say “the need to be white” has definitely gone global, but despite this current mass craze it may not be long before the need to have other features comes along since beauty ideology is known for constantly changing. In the 1920s, according to Learn How Our Standards Of Beauty Have Changed Throughout History, a more slim, boyish look was idealized for women, but later on in the 70s women were expected to have a more athletic built. There was a time when the hourglass figure was praised, yet in the 90s “heroin chic”, to be extremely skinny, started to make a trend. Beauty ideals have also changed globally as western institutions altered beauty ideology in the east such as Africa and Asia.
During Imperialism, western European countries such as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, along with the United States colonized and implemented their political, religious, and beauty ideology upon the natives in those regions. By forcing “white beauty” into populations that mostly consisted of brown people, they were psychological altered to believe that white was better and began to adhere to those standard. In some cases in Asia, women have gone under the knife to have Eurocentric features, such as double eyelids, according to Cultural Imperialism: Beauty from West to East. Skin lightening cream in Africa is the most popular method that many use to “become white”, many of which are known to contain cancer causing chemicals.
Beauty companies have profited off of society’s oppression of the beauty of brown people through colorism, societal expectations to be “as white as possible”, and through the mass implementation of western ideology.
How Taking a Gap Year Could Shape Your Life
The economic principle I’m exploring is scarcity My research question to help me study the economic principle is; How a Gap year can change students perspective and attitude
The article published in The New York Times titled "How Taking a Gap Year Could Shape Your Life" demonstrates this economic principle because it actually shows real life examples of students who did take a gap year and what they’ve become from it.
Many students are beginning to discuss taking a gap year and that could be thanks to Malia Obama. Taking time off between high school and college, like Malia is doing before she attends Harvard, has ‘plenty of appeal’ for high school graduates who don’t know what they want out of college or seek to work, travel or volunteer on the sort of schedule that an academic calendar does not allow. Parents however, become worried sick at the the mentioning of a gap year, while no parent wants to pay the outrageous tuition fees for students who don’t know what they are doing, a common fear and misconception is that taking a gap year actually slows down a students momentum. Twenty-five years ago, Ron Lieber(article author) and friend Colin Hall tried to dispel those concerns by finding and interviewing as many students who took gap years as they could.In the end they profiled 33 of them in a book called “Taking Time Off,” which was published 20 years ago. The two authors tracked down everyone from the book to see what exactly had happened to them. Lieber went into this experience asking himself and the 33 profiled; ‘Was their gap year ultimately incidental to their lives, or did it help them grow into the person they were meant to become? And for those who now had children, how would they react if their children wanted to take a gap year?’ It’s very hard to find data when researching a gap year, and that is partially thanks to the fact that federal data on college delay and completion don’t measure all the reasons people started college late. The article states that; ‘While some people make a deliberate choice to delay college to serve in the military or work or travel, others meander for a few years before deciding to try college after all.’ A number of researchers have shown a connection between a deliberate choice to take some time off and getting better grades upon return to the classroom.
The article went into further detail about a few of those being profiled. Those included all came from completely different backgrounds, did completely different things during their gap year, and are doing completely different things in their lives now. Those involved went onto explore fields such as environmental science, education, political campaigning, and much more. Many parents worry that if their children take a gap year, it will make them appear undisciplined and insubordinate to employers, which may have more to do with the term than how that year was spent. As many would put it like Abigail Falik, “It suggests a hole”. Abigail Falik prefers the term bridge year, because it helps to convey the deliberate connection between one stage of life and the next.
Many people who take a gap year get better jobs after college than people who don’t. Put yourself into an employer’s shoes, you’re hiring entry-level employees, wouldn’t you rather hire the risk-taking 23-year-olds who found their way in the world for a while than the 22-year-olds who done mostly nothing besides going to school? The article really helped to express the pro side of taking a gap year through showing real people and how it changed their lives. For example, Susie Steele took time off from the University of Vermont to teach disabled people to ski. She eventually landed a full-time job at the Keystone Science School in Keystone, Colo. Currently, Steele is a middle-school biology teacher in Louisville, Colo., and when asked she said she figures her odds would have been quite long without the gap year.
Through so many real life examples of real everyday people it's very apparent that the effects of one’s gap year lie solely in what they make of that gap year and the experiences that help them to grow and mature without experiences nothing but schooling for the majority of their adolescent and young adult life.
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