Links for 2011-02-18

"A new study to be published in the upcoming issue of The Review of Higher Education examines more closely the root of the reality of who delays going to college, and why. Not only are high school graduates of lower socioeconomic status more likely to delay college, but they also experience longer gaps and are less likely to graduate once they do enroll.

"The popular press frequently writes about students who take a gap year and the many programs arising to serve them," writes the study's author, Sara Goldrick-Rab. "It is troubling that so many of those articles neglect the significant socioeconomic differences in who experiences the gap year and in what ways. It is quite possible that socioeconomically advantaged students are accruing additional advantages during their time off, while socioeconomically challenged students are experiencing a delay for less positive reasons.""

"Now, I, Kevin Drum, happen to like classical music but not jazz. I like film but don't really get much of a kick out of theater. I love novels but have never developed an appreciation of poetry. Etc. etc. If it turned out that my tastes were broadly shared, would that mean there's a market breakdown in jazz, theater, and poetry? Or would it mean that public tastes have changed over time and artists ought to change with it? If great playwrights are producing scripts for HBO movies instead of scripts for regional theaters, does that mean the market is working or failing? If serious modern composers produce music that the public has to be bribed to listen to (usually with a post-intermission performance of a popular old warhorse), does that mean there's a breakdown in the market for serious modern music? Or does it mean that serious modern composers ought to rethink the kind of music they write? How do you know?"