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Multicultural Millennials Respond Positively to Health ‘Edutainment,’ Baylor Marketing Research Says
One-on-one interviews reveal which health issues concern millennials and their longing for optimal health Storytelling that educates and entertains – aka “edutainment” – is a powerful communications tool that can lead to positive health-related changes among multicultural millennials, according to a new marketing study from Baylor University. Tyrha Lindsey-Warren, Ph.D., clinical assistant professor of marketing in Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business, led the study, “Making multicultural millennials healthy: The influence of health ‘edutainment’ and other drivers on health-oriented diet change,” which is published in the Journal of Cultural Marketing Strategy. Charlene A. Dadzie, Ph.D., assistant professor of marketing at the University of South Alabama, coauthored the research. The research sought to determine which health issues most concerned multicultural millennials and to gauge how effective media can be as a tool to address those issues and drive change. “This study finds that by bolstering self-identity and employing health ‘edutainment,’ it is possible to have a positive impact on the health intentions and behaviors of the millennial generation,” the researchers wrote. There are more than 92 million millennials (ages 20-34) in the United States today, the researchers observed. More than 9 million of those are identified as being overweight, and much of that can be attributed to a sedentary lifestyle and media consumption. White Americans watch an average of 140 hours of television per month (35 hours per week); African Americans watch 213 hours of television per month; and Latino Americans watch 33 hours of television per week and stream more than six hours of video per month. “Millennials are tech-savvy, they love social media, they’re actually more health conscious than previous generations, and they have significant economic power,” Lindsey-Warren said. “With so many millennials – in the scope of this study, multicultural millennials – watching so many screens, there is great opportunity to generate information and increase products and services geared towards health-oriented behavior.” But to take advantage of this opportunity, public and private organizations need to understand what drives millennials’ health choices and communicate accordingly, the researchers wrote. A total of 265 people participated in two components of the study – a health survey of 245 undergraduate students and one-on-one, in-depth interviews of 20 multicultural millennials. ‘I’m old-young and it’s getting real.’ For the second part of the study, the researchers interviewed 20 people – 10 women and 10 men – from two organizations, a large northeastern U.S. university and a mid-sized nonprofit organization in Harlem, New York. The subjects represented cultural, socioeconomic and educational diversity. The interviews were used to better understand the health status of these millennials as well as their relation to storytelling in the media, the researchers said. Participants answered health and wellness questions regarding their own health and personal network (example: “What is your ideal health?”) and questions about their personal media usage (example: “What are the top five health and wellness issues you see regularly portrayed in the media?”). One of the strongest themes to emerge from those interviews was that multicultural millennials “long to be healthy in mind, body and spirit” and are open to “seeing authentic and relevant storytelling regarding health issues in the media that is meaningful.” “They would definitely respond to health messages when they truly see themselves in storytelling that meets them where they are in life,” the researchers wrote. Some of the health-related topics addressed by those being interviewed included healthy eating, asthma, sexual health, mental health and fitness. One interviewee, a 21-year-old woman said she gets “out of breath” when she runs up the stairs and her knees “crack and hurt.” “I would love to have ideal health again. I really would. I would love it. I’m old-young, and it’s getting real,” she said. ‘More involved in the narrative’ In addition to the one-on-one interviews, each of the 20 interviewees watched media clips from two television programs – ABC’s “Private Practice” and the nationally syndicated health show, “The Doctors.” Each show highlighted the accurate health information concerning attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). “Private Practice” told its story via fictional characters in an episodic dramatic storytelling format. In this format, health issues were not directly promoted and there was no direct-to-camera discussion of those issues. “The Doctors,” on the other hand, utilized the format of real doctors conveying accurate health information in real-life situations, directly to the camera and in front of a studio audience. “From the interviews, it was apparent that the storytelling in the health edutainment stimuli worked because the participants enjoyed and were more involved in the narrative conveyed in ‘Private Practice’ versus ‘The Doctors,’” the researchers wrote. “For example, the ‘Private Practice’ segment told the story of a young boy and his parents who desperately asked their doctor to give them a prescription for ADHD medicine for their son, even though the son did not want the medicine and the doctor felt that the prescription might not have been needed.” The “Private Practice” story resonated better with those watching and scored high across genders, according to the study. One 21-year-old male university student said he was diagnosed with ADHD as a child and saw himself and his parents in the “Private Practice” clip. He said he took ADHD medicine for a while. “I didn’t like it and I stopped taking it, and that was it. My parents were, ‘OK – if you don’t like it, that’s the way it is – you’re going to study harder, though. And, that was it,” he told the interviewers. A 28-year-old female from the nonprofit program said she saw the “Private Practice” clip and could relate to the situation as a parent. “I felt I could relate because I felt that my son had ADHD, and I really, I kind of diagnosed him myself, and said that, so I was really interested in this topic,” she told the researchers. Marketing and advertising implications Given the constant barrage of media in the lives of millennials, it is only reasonable to question the effect of this environment on their health and well-being, Lindsey-Warren said. The findings of the study are useful for practitioners in marketing, advertising, public relations, digital and branded entertainment. “Ultimately, the key to making a difference in the lives of multicultural millennials and their health, both now and into the future, may be achieving the right balance of educating and entertaining them,” the researchers wrote. “For millennials, Gen Z and alpha – the newest generation – ‘edutainment’ is and will continue to be a primary way to educate them,” Lindsey-Warren said. “It’s through the stories we tell on digital, on streaming, on gaming – that’s the way those generations are learning.” ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. ABOUT HANKAMER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY At Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business, integrity stands shoulder-to-shoulder with analytic and strategic strengths. The School’s top-ranked programs combine rigorous classroom learning, hands-on experience in the real world, a solid foundation in Christian values and a global outlook. Making up approximately 25 percent of the University’s total enrollment, undergraduate students choose from 16 major areas of study. Graduate students choose from full-time, executive or online MBA or other specialized master’s programs, and Ph.D. programs in Information Systems, Entrepreneurship or Health Services Research. The Business School also has campuses located in Austin and Dallas, Texas. Visit www.baylor.edu/business and follow on Twitter at twitter.com/Baylor_Business.
Couples Who Tailgate Together Stay Together, Says New Baylor Research
Marketing researcher and husband team up to study tailgating’s impact on relationships For millions of football fans across the United States, fall is the time to break out the grills, load vehicles with coolers and food and games, and gather with friends for the time-honored tradition of tailgating. It’s a tradition that Baylor University’s Meredith David, Ph.D., assistant professor of marketing, and her husband, Luke Lorick, have been enjoying since their undergraduate years at the University of South Carolina. The couple partnered on a recent research project to better understand tailgating’s impact on relationships and well-being. David is known nationally for her studies of phone snubbing – “phubbing” – and smartphone addiction. Lorick owns and operates Tailgating Challenge, a website devoted to testing and reviewing tailgating equipment, and he launched National Tailgating Day, which is celebrated annually on the first Saturday of September. “I noticed how at tailgates people actually interact with each other and are not glued to their phones like we see in restaurants and many other settings,” David said. “This led us to combine our expertise to study the impact of tailgating together on well-being.” The researchers surveyed 143 tailgating adults (44 percent were female) who answered questions about their partners and their respect toward that person. The results show that individuals who tailgate with their significant other report higher levels of respect and relationship satisfaction, David said. The results of the study will be presented later this month at the Atlantic Marketing Association Conference. “Tailgating fosters the human-to-human, face-to-face interactions and connections that we as humans need but yet find hard to come by as a result of cellphones and ‘phubbing’ tendencies,” David said. With over 70 million people tailgating annually, spending on average $150 on each occasion, David said this research offers important guidance for marketers, particularly in terms of positioning strategies in marketing communications for tailgating-related products and events. “For example, in advertisements, marketers should focus on portraying couples, or even friends, tailgating together as this may resonate more and help build bonds with the products they sell and the markets they are reaching out to,” David said. David said she and her husband knew that tailgating strengthened their relationship, but they wanted to dig in to see if it was – or could be – helpful to others. “We have lived and experienced these effects ourselves, so we wanted to determine if this impacted others the same way,” she said. “We found that tailgating helps strengthen relationships, in part, by helping people escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life. They disconnect from their TVs, laptops and cellphones and make real connections with loved ones and friends.” ABOUT MEREDITH DAVID, PH.D. Meredith David, Ph.D., serves as assistant professor of marketing in Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business. Her research focuses on marketing strategies with an emphasis on consumer behavior and well-being. Recently, her research has explored how new media technologies, including smartphones, impact personal and workplace relationships. She has also published research related to customized pricing tactics, interpersonal attachment styles and the pursuit of health goals. Her research appears in numerous professional and academic journals and she has been interviewed and quoted for her research in national and international news outlets, including ABC News, Fox News, Oprah.com, Redbook, Consumer Reports and Health magazine. ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. ABOUT HANKAMER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY At Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business, integrity stands shoulder-to-shoulder with analytic and strategic strengths. The School’s top-ranked programs combine rigorous classroom learning, hands-on experience in the real world, a solid foundation in Christian values and a global outlook. Making up approximately 25 percent of the University’s total enrollment, undergraduate students choose from 16 major areas of study. Graduate students choose from full-time, executive or online MBA or other specialized master’s programs, and Ph.D. programs in Information Systems, Entrepreneurship or Health Services Research. The Business School also has campuses located in Austin and Dallas, Texas. Visit www.baylor.edu/business and follow on Twitter at twitter.com/Baylor_Business.
Meet Your Newest Job Recruiter, the Algorithm – let our experts explain
Equal employment opportunities may not be part of a computer’s calculations, but one engineer from is trying to change that. When you apply for a job, chances are your resume has been through numerous automated screening processes powered by hiring algorithms before it lands in a recruiter’s hands. These algorithms look at things like work history, job title progression and education to weed out resumes. There are pros and cons to this – employers are eager to harness the artificial intelligence (AI) and big data captured by the algorithms to speed up the hiring process. But depending on the data used, automated hiring decisions can be very biased. “Algorithms learn based on data sets, but the data is generated by humans who often exhibit implicit bias,” explains Swati Gupta, an industrial engineering researcher at Georgia Tech who’s work focuses on algorithmic fairness. “Our hope is that we can use machine learning with rigorous mathematical analysis to fix the bias in areas like hiring, lending and school admissions.” But as algorithms harness speed and efficiency – how can they be adjusted to include and consider race, gender and other human factors? It’s an area Dr. Gupta has been researching and refining. If you are a reporter or journalist looking to cover this topic – that’s where our experts can help. Dr. Swati Gupta is an Assistant Professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech. Dr. Gupta is an expert in the areas of optimization, machine learning, and bias and fairness within the AI sphere. She is available to speak with media regarding this topic - simply click on her icon to arrange an interview.
IU Kelley School expert: $170 million fine of Google, YouTube probably not enough
In the largest fine ever, Google agreed to pay $170 million to settle a case with the Federal Trade Commission and New York’s attorney general over charges that YouTube made millions from violating children’s privacy laws. Scott Shackelford, associate professor of business law and ethics at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, chair of IU’s Cybersecurity Program in Risk Management and director of the Ostrom Workshop Program on Cybersecurity and Internet Governance, doubts it will have much of an effect. “Google, via YouTube, has been held accountable by the FTC and the New York Attorney General’s Office for its practices that violated children’s privacy, but it’s questionable whether a $170 million fine is sufficient to change business practices,” Shackelford said. “Similar to its $5 billion fine against Facebook, the FTC needs to do more to both increase these penalties, and even more importantly require the necessary steps to ensure that these violations do not recur. This is the FTC’s third fine against Google since 2011, for example, and it will likely not be the last.”
Inverted yields and a potential recession – are rocky times ahead?
Everything seemed to be going swell. Unemployment was low, the number of jobs was high and the economy seemed to be roaring. Until last week. Yields on two-year and 10-year Treasury notes inverted early Wednesday, a market phenomenon that shows investors want more in return for short-term government bonds than they are for long-term bonds. It's the first time that has happened since the Great Recession and it can be an indication that investors have lost faith in the soundness of the U.S. economy. - USA Today, Aug. 14, 2019 Inversions are usually the canary in the coal mine when it comes to recessions. In fact, this very same incident has occurred in the previous nine recessions since the mid-1950s. How bad will this recession be? Is there any way to reverse course? Is this simply an American issue or will it spread globally? Compared to 2008 – how bad of a situation are we in? There is a lot of speculation and questions being asked. If you are a reporter covering the economy and need an expert to help guide you through the situation and provide accurate information on the state of America’s economy – that’s where we can help. Dr. Simon Medcalfe is a highly regarded finance expert and the Cree Walker Chair in the Hull College of Business at Augusta University. Medcalfe is available to speak with media regarding the economy and its outlook – simply click on his icon to arrange an interview.
Key Environmental Quality Research Questions Identified for North America by Multidisciplinary Team
As density in cities increase along with other global megatrends, researchers are working to address environment and health challenges in collaborative ways. Using a recently pioneered process, a multidisciplinary team of North American researchers, government agencies and businesses leaders identified priority research questions for the United States, Canada and Mexico in an effort to tackle pressing environmental quality issues. In an article published in the journal of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Bryan W. Brooks, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Environmental Science and Biomedical Studies and director of the environmental health science program at Baylor University, led the Global Horizon Scanning Project (GHSP), which focuses on identifying environmental and health issues internationally. Brooks also facilitated GHSP workshops in Africa, Australia, Central and Southeastern Asia, Europe and Latin America. “We face palpable global environment and health challenges, which require innovative understanding, tools, products and systems to prevent, diagnose and manage adverse outcomes to public health and the environment,” Brooks said. “The GHSP was initiated as part of a larger effort to identify important international research needs. It is essentially a research roadmap towards achieving more sustainable environmental quality, which is necessary to protect human health, biodiversity and ecosystem services.” As part of the study, members of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry’s (SETAC) and the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Environmental Chemistry and Agrochemcials Divisions submitted questions that were then synthesized during a workshop by scientists and engineers from the academic, government and business sectors. “This project is intentionally inclusive, bottom-up, multidisciplinary, multisector and transparent,” Brooks said. “Answering these priority research questions will not be easy, but strategically doing so promises to accelerate progress to address grand challenges that matter to everyone.” “This report provides a comprehensive global perspective covering some of the world’s most critical environmental challenges that will impact society for decades to come,” said Sherine Obare, Ph.D., dean and professor of the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering at UNC Greensboro and chair elect of the American Chemical Society’s Environmental Chemistry Division. “SETAC’s ability to engage scientists from around the globe has led to forums that identify urgent challenges including, next generation 21st century analytical chemistry methods, strategies to predict chemical exposure, understanding multiple stressors and new approaches in chemical risk assessment. This project will define the scientific directions needed to transform environmental science and engineering, globally.” “The GHSP reflected in this paper has harnessed the insights of scientists not only across North America but around the world,” said Charles Menzie, Ph.D., Global Executive Director of SETAC. “Each brings tremendous experience and a strong sense of what is needed for future research. However, the distillation of these many into a set of consensus questions provides a much needed foundation for charting our direction for research to inform environmental policy. SETAC is proud to have supported this through our global meetings and now through our journal.” A related GHSP manuscript identifying priority environmental quality questions for the Australasiaregion of Oceania was also recently published in Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management. GHSP efforts from Africa and Asia are ongoing with plans to report priority research questions from these global regions in the next year. ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. ABOUT BAYLOR COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES The College of Arts & Sciences is Baylor University’s oldest and largest academic division, consisting of 25 academic departments and seven academic centers and institutes. The more than 5,000 courses taught in the College span topics from art and theatre to religion, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences. Faculty conduct research around the world, and research on the undergraduate and graduate level is prevalent throughout all disciplines.
The Spencer Foundation recently awarded Baylor University’s Diana R. Garland School of Social Work a $50,000 grant to study if and how accredited Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) programs incorporate curricula around religion and spirituality (RS) into social work education as well as assessing faculty views around the topic and how universities’ religious affiliations impact M.S.W. education. The School of Social Work’s Edward C. Polson, Ph.D., assistant professor, and Holly Oxhandler, Ph.D., assistant professor and associate dean for research and faculty development, are co-principal investigators for the study, “Graduate Social Work Faculty Views on Preparing Students to Ethically Integrate Clients’ Religion/Spirituality in Practice: A National Survey.” As of spring 2019, there were 290 M.S.W. programs accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), but little is known about how or if RS content is delivered within these colleges and universities. “Given that social workers provide the largest proportion of mental healthcare services in the U.S. [according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration], and clients have expressed a preference for integrating their RS in previous research, this is especially important to consider,” Oxhandler said. “In addition, no study has examined the potential impact religiously-affiliated colleges or universities have on M.S.W. education, including preparing students to ethically integrate clients' RS.” The research team, which will include a graduate assistant from the School of Social Work, will survey the approximately 5,000 full-time faculty across all of the CSWE-accredited M.S.W. programs to answer three questions: 1) How do M.S.W. programs prepare students to ethically integrate clients' RS in practice (if at all)? 2) What are M.S.W. faculty members' views and behaviors related to educating students on RS in social work? 3) In what ways, if any, do colleges' /universities' religious affiliation impact training on CSWE competencies in M.S.W. programs? Over the last few decades, research has shown a growing awareness that RS plays an important role in Americans' lives and the ethical integration of clients' RS in mental health treatment often contributes to positive outcomes. A previous study by Oxhandler revealed social workers held overwhelmingly positive attitudes toward integrating RS into treatment, but few were engaged in the practice. The study indicated only two practitioner characteristics that could predict their orientation toward integrating clients' RS into treatment: intrinsic religiosity (degree to which practitioners are internally motivated by RS) and prior training. This lack of training was reflected through surveys showing only 13 percent of social workers had taken a course in their M.S.W. program. Further, in another study by Oxhandler and Baylor alumna, Kelsey Moffatt, the team found a mere 78 of 257 programs mentioned a course on RS on their school websites in 2018. “We look forward to learning more about how M.S.W. faculty across the US integrate religion and spirituality content into their M.S.W. curricula as an element of clients’ culture and coping skills,” Oxhandler said. “Recognizing that clients tend to prefer their therapist assess and discuss the client’s spirituality as it relates to treatment, coupled with the fact that very few mental health care providers are trained in this area, we saw a need to better understand what's happening within M.S.W. programs.” The Spencer Foundation has been funding education research since 1971 and is the only national foundation focused exclusively on supporting education research. Their Small Research Grants on Education program supports research projects that will contribute to the improvement of education, and their goal is “to support rigorous, intellectually ambitious and technically sound research.” “I am truly grateful for the Spencer Foundation’s support for Dr. Polson and I to carry out this exciting project,” Oxhandler said. ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. ABOUT THE DIANA R. GARLAND SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY Baylor University’s Diana R. Garland School of Social Work is home to one of the leading graduate social work programs in the nation with a research agenda focused on the integration of faith and practice. Upholding its mission of preparing social workers in a Christian context for worldwide service and leadership, the School offers a baccalaureate degree (B.S.W.);a Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) degree available on the Waco or Houston campuses or online; three joint-degree options, M.S.W./M.B.A., M.S.W./M.Div. and M.S.W./M.T.S., through a partnership with Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business and George W. Truett Theological Seminary; and an online Ph.D. program. Visit www.baylor.edu/social_workto learn more.
The Gun Control Debate is at a Stalemate. Can Smarter Weapons Help to Solve it?
The gun control debate is at a stalemate. America seems incapable of finding common ground on background checks, waiting periods, weapons registries and restrictions or bans on select weapons. Shooting after shooting has resulted in decades of debate but little substantive change. But Professor Selmer Bringsjord from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, who recently weighed in on the issue, presented a concept that could turn the entire topic on its head by using artificial intelligence. Bringsjord accepts that America won’t get rid of its guns – so why not just make our guns smarter? Ethically AI-enabled weapons can put American politicians back to work by shifting the debate from the weapons we should ban, to the targets we will accept. Do we allow guns to kill school children, shoppers, concert-goers? The technology of ethical AI changes the conversation. His idea was just recently published in the Times Union: “Yet there is a solution, a technological alternative to the fruitless shouting match between politicians: namely, AI — of an ethical sort. Guns that are at once intelligent and ethically correct can put an end to the mass-shooting carnage. Consider the rifle apparently used by the human killer in the El Paso Walmart shooting. But now suppose that time is turned back to before his shots were fired on Aug. 3, and that his rifle, radically unlike the stupid one that killed, is both intelligent and ethical. This alternate-future rifle would know that it's approaching the Walmart by car and would accordingly know that it has no business being used anytime soon. Move forward in time a bit; the rifle is now in the hands of the aspiring, ear-muffed killer outside his car; but his weapon has fully disengaged itself and is locked into a mode of utter uselessness with the finality of a sealed bank vault. On the other hand, the guns in the hands of law enforcement officers who have dashed on scene know in whose hands they rest, and accordingly know that if they are trained on the would-be killer, they have every right to work well, if this criminal reveals some new threat. Notice: If people who don't actually pose a threat sufficient to warrant being shot by police can't be shot by smart, ethical guns, a fact that could lead to the welcome evaporation of a different but also vitriolic political shouting match.” -Times Union, August 16, 2019 Could AI be the answer to America’s gun problem? It’s truly a new perspective on an old issue. If you are a reporter covering this topic, let our experts help with your story. Dr. Selmer Bringsjord is the Chair of the Department of Cognitive Science expert in logic and philosophy, specializing in AI and reasoning. Dr. Bringsjord regularly speaks with media about AI and is available to speak about the concept of intelligent, ethical guns. Simply click on his icon to arrange an interview.
Are Germany’s economic walls crumbling? Let our experts explain the potential consequences.
As the saying goes … where there’s smoke, there is usually fire. And as trade wars, Brexit and overall global uncertainty crash like waves across the planet – there might be another sure sign we are headed for a global economic slowdown. Germany, the engine that runs Europe, may very well be in recession. “A technical recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth, and Germany saw a 0.1% drop in the April-to-June period. In its monthly report, the Bundesbank said that with falling industrial production and orders, it appears the slump is continuing during the July-to-September quarter. “The overall economic performance could decline slightly once again,” it said. “Central to this is the ongoing downturn in industry.” Deutsche Bank went further Monday, saying “we see Germany in a technical recession” and predicting a 0.25% drop in economic output this quarter.” August 20 – Associated Press So, what will this mean for the EU, and economies far and wide? Do Americans need to be concerned? Is this just a stumble or is the world about to fall into another economic collapse? If you are a reporter covering the economy and need an expert for your stories – let us help. Jeff Haymond, Ph.D. is Dean, School of Business Administration and a Professor of Economics at Cedarville and is an expert in finance and trade. Dr. Haymond is available to speak with media regarding this topic – simply click on his icon to arrange an interview.
The World Needs More MBAs! Let an expert from WGU explain how partnerships can make it work.
Recently, much talk has centered on the closing of business school programs, and the extreme debt that many students take on to achieve a business degree. New data from Bloomberg Businessweek reported that nearly half of students polled from 126 universities across the world finance $100,000 or more for their MBAs. “Bloomberg Businessweek surveyed more than 10,000 2018 graduates of MBA programs from 126 schools about the amount of debt they piled on earning their degrees. The survey found that almost half of students at leading business schools around the world borrowed at least $100,000 to finance their MBA. According to the survey, at minimum 40% of MBA graduates from U.S. News & World Report’s top-ranking business programs — those at Duke, Dartmouth, University of Michigan, Cornell and University of Chicago — reported incurring at least $100,000 in debt.” July 09 – CNBC MBAs have been widely accepted by employers, and the return on investment for students has historically been high. Over the years, business programs have adapted to the needs of employers, and the basic design of the MBA, combining a broad scope of valuable business skills, has remained relevant despite massive changes in the business world. But with the rise of tuition costs, rapid changes in technology, and a higher value being placed on specialization, the long-standing value proposition of the MBA is changing. Cost, flexibility of delivery and open-loop, customized micro-learning are more likely to meet the needs of students and employers going forward. At WGU, we live and breathe the mission of supporting student academic success and expanding opportunities with affordable, valuable and relevant degree programs. Collaborations with companies which are equally committed to provide their employees the opportunity to sharpen their skills, advance in their careers, and better their lives, are one step in this evolution of business education. An evolution not in the future, it’s here. Dr. Rashmi Prasad is Dean and Academic Vice President of Western Governors University's College of Business. Dr. Prasad is available to speak with media regarding the need for higher education and how partnerships will bolster MBA programs and help graduates find success after they leave school – simply click on his icon to arrange an interview.
