Aspiring Adults Adrift - Tentative Transitions of College Graduates

Richard Arum, Josipa Roksa

Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

Summary

Few books have ever made their presence felt on college campuses—and newspaper opinion pages—as quickly and thoroughly as Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa’s 2011 landmark study of undergraduates’ learning, socialization, and study habits, Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses. From the moment it was published, one thing was clear: no university could afford to ignore its well-documented and disturbing findings about the failings of undergraduate education. Now Arum and Roksa are back, and their new book follows the same cohort of undergraduates through the rest of their college careers and out into the working world. Built on interviews and detailed surveys of almost a thousand recent college graduates from a diverse range of colleges and universities, Aspiring Adults Adrift reveals a generation facing a difficult transition to adulthood. Recent graduates report trouble finding decent jobs and developing stable romantic relationships, as well as assuming civic and financial responsibility—yet at the same time, they remain surprisingly hopeful and upbeat about their prospects. Analyzing these findings in light of students’ performance on standardized tests of general collegiate skills, selectivity of institutions attended, and choice of major, Arum and Roksa not only map out the current state of a generation too often adrift, but enable us to examine the relationship between college experiences and tentative transitions to adulthood. Sure to be widely discussed, Aspiring Adults Adrift will compel us once again to re-examine the aims, approaches, and achievements of higher education.

Available since: 09/02/2014.

Print length: 264 pages.

Other books that might interest you

Hold Fast to Dreams - A College...

Beth Zasloff, Joshua Steckel

An “invaluable” memoir by a counselor who left the elite private-school world to help poor and working-class kids get into college (Washington Monthly).  Winner of the Studs and Ida Terkel Award   Joshua Steckel left an elite Manhattan school to serve as the first-ever college guidance counselor at a Brooklyn public high school—and has helped hundreds of disadvantaged kids gain acceptance. But getting in is only one part of the drama. This riveting work of narrative nonfiction follows the lives of ten of Josh’s students as they navigate the vast, obstacle-ridden landscape of college in America, where students for whom the stakes of education are highest find unequal access and inadequate support.   Among the students we meet are Mike, who writes his essays from a homeless shelter and is torn between his longing to get away to an idyllic campus and his fear of leaving his family in desperate circumstances; Santiago, a talented, motivated, and undocumented student, who battles bureaucracy and low expectations as he seeks a life outside the low-wage world of manual labor; and Ashley, who pursues her ambition to become a doctor with almost superhuman drive—but then forges a path that challenges received wisdom about the value of an elite liberal arts education.   At a time when the idea of “college for all” is hotly debated, this book uncovers, in heartrending detail, the ways the American education system fails in its promise as a ladder to opportunity—yet provides hope in its portrayal of the intelligence, resilience, and everyday heroics of young people whose potential is too often ignored.   “A profound examination of the obstacles faced by low-income students . . . and the kinds of reforms needed to make higher education and the upward mobility it promises more accessible.” —Booklist

Show book

Heart

Sandeep Jauhar

For centuries, the human heart seemed beyond our understanding: an inscrutable shuddering mass that was somehow the driver of emotion and the seat of the soul. As cardiologist and bestselling author Sandeep Jauhar shows in The Heart, it was only recently that we demolished age-old taboos and devised the transformative procedures that changed the way we live. Deftly alternating between historical episodes and his own work, Jauhar tells the colorful and little known story of the doctors who risked their careers and the patients who risked their lives to know and heal our most vital organ, braiding those tales of discovery, hubris, and sorrow with moving accounts of the patients he's treated over the years. He also confronts the limits of medical technology, boldly arguing that future progress will depend more on how we choose to live than on the devices we invent. Affecting and engaging, The Heart takes the full measure of the only organ that can move itself.

Show book

Lift Off - 12 Things to Know...

Sharon B. Heaton

You may have contemplated selling your business for some time. Perhaps someone recently approached you with an offer, catching you off guard. You don't know whether it's a fair price or how to proceed. 
 
No matter where you are in the process, Lift Off! What You Need to Know to Sell Your Business will guide you through preparing your company for sale and navigating the M&A journey. It explains in simple terms what you need to do. 
 
You'll get a working knowledge of the entire sale process. You'll understand how potential buyers calculate your company's value as a "machine" that generates revenue and profit. You'll recognize pitfalls ahead and learn to maintain confidentiality. 
 
The book will help you determine if your business is valuable to a buyer and what it may be worth. You want the best possible deal and to fully grasp the terms. There are likely aspects of the sale preparation you are unaware of. 
 
Lift Off! will prepare you to: 
• Evaluate if your business has value to a new owner 
• Learn how outsiders calculate a company's value 
• Identify potential issues in the process 
• Ensure confidentiality 
• Manage the emotions all owners feel when selling their "machine" 
 
Whether you've done lots of preparation or none at all, this book will guide you through the process of selling your business and lifting off to your next life stage.

Show book

The Art Of Psychological Warfare...

Michael T. Stevens

Do you feel like other people always get the best of you? Do you wish you were more assertive in dealing with others? Have you ever felt bullied or dismissed by others? Want to get some payback? Then you're ready to take psychological warfare seriously. You'll never have a mere conversation again after putting our tricks into practice. 
This book teaches you personal interaction on a psychological level. It runs from trivial tricks like getting people to like and respect you more, to tactical life skills like making a convincing argument or persuading somebody to do you a large favor. In case you're up for some heavier artillery, it also teaches you how to play manipulative tricks on people by exploiting arcane quirks in the human mind, to psychological combat maneuvers practiced by law enforcement and the military. 
Learn from psychology experts and military black-ops experiments alike, as we explore the maze of the human mind and discover some access panels that weren't meant to be discovered. If you don't want to use it offensively, you can also use it as a defense against the con artists and sociopaths who try to pull one over on you - perhaps you'll even see your relationship in a new way. 
It's time you asserted yourself! Get in touch with your inner Jedi and learn a few mind tricks of your own. If you even use it to argue your way out of one traffic ticket, this book has paid for itself right there.

Show book

Stop ADHD Now Hypnosis - Unleash...

Dreamy Hypnosis

Discover the key to managing ADHD and unlocking your untapped potential with "Stop ADHD Now Hypnosis: Unleash Your Inner Superpower & Reclaim Your Focus". This transformational audiobook is your guide to understanding ADHD, navigating its challenges, and turning it into your greatest superpower.  
This isn't about fighting ADHD, but embracing it. Learn how to harness the unique qualities often associated with ADHD, such as creativity, energy, and hyperfocus. Experience the soothing, yet powerful effects of hypnosis that help recalibrate your mind, restoring balance and enhancing focus. 
Dive into an immersive audio experience that's designed to instill a profound sense of relaxation while empowering you with coping mechanisms and strategies. Through the powerful tool of hypnosis, cultivate a healthy mindset that improves concentration, manages impulsivity, and enhances your natural talents. 
Whether you're struggling with ADHD yourself, or you're a parent, teacher, or friend supporting someone with ADHD, this audiobook offers practical insights and effective strategies to thrive. So, prepare to break the chains of distraction and unleash your inner superpower, because a focused, fulfilled life is just an audiobook away. Rediscover your potential and reclaim your focus with "Stop ADHD Now Hypnosis".

Show book

Selfie - How We Became So...

Will Storr

“An intriguing odyssey” though the history of the self and the rise of narcissism (The New York Times).

Self-absorption, perfectionism, personal branding—it wasn’t always like this, but it’s always been a part of us. Why is the urge to look at ourselves so powerful? Is there any way to break its spell—especially since it doesn’t necessarily make us better or happier people? Full of unexpected connections among history, psychology, economics, neuroscience, and more, Selfie is a “terrific” book that makes sense of who we have become (NPR’s On Point). Award-winning journalist Will Storr takes us from ancient Greece, through the Christian Middle Ages, to the self-esteem evangelists of 1980s California, the rise of the “selfie generation,” and the era of hyper-individualism in which we live now, telling the epic tale of the person we all know so intimately—because it’s us.

“It’s easy to look at Instagram and selfie-sticks and shake our heads at millennial narcissism. But Will Storr takes a longer view. He ignores the easy targets and instead tells the amazing 2,500-year story of how we’ve come to think about our selves. A top-notch journalist, historian, essayist, and sleuth, Storr has written an essential book for understanding, and coping with, the 21st century.” —Nathan Hill, New York Times-bestselling author of The Nix

“This fascinating psychological and social history . . . reveals how biology and culture conspire to keep us striving for perfection, and the devastating toll that can take.”—The Washington Post

“Ably synthesizes centuries of attitudes and beliefs about selfhood, from Aristotle, John Calvin, and Freud to Sartre, Ayn Rand, and Steve Jobs.” —USA Today

“Eminently suitable for readers of both Yuval Noah Harari and Daniel Kahneman, Selfie also has shades of Jon Ronson in its subversive humor and investigative spirit.” —Bookseller

“Storr is an electrifying analyst of Internet culture.” —Financial Times

“Continually delivers rich insights . . . captivating.” —Kirkus Reviews

Show book