http://www.alternet.org/water/79741/
The big bottled water companies are trying to counter negative press by tying their products to charitable causes.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Money buys happiness -- if you spend on someone else
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Money can buy happiness, but only if you spend it on someone else, researchers reported on Thursday.
Spending as little as $5 a day on someone else could significantly boost happiness, the team at the University of British Columbia and Harvard Business School found.
Their experiments on more than 630 Americans showed they were measurably happier when they spent money on others -- even if they thought spending the money on themselves would make them happier.
"We wanted to test our theory that how people spend their money is at least as important as how much money they earn," said Elizabeth Dunn, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia.
They asked their 600 volunteers first to rate their general happiness, report their annual income and detail their monthly spending including bills, gifts for themselves, gifts for others and donations to charity.
"Regardless of how much income each person made, those who spent money on others reported greater happiness, while those who spent more on themselves did not," Dunn said in a statement.
Dunn's team also surveyed 16 employees at a company in Boston before and after they received an annual profit-sharing bonus of between $3,000 and $8,000.
"Employees who devoted more of their bonus to pro-social spending experienced greater happiness after receiving the bonus, and the manner in which they spent that bonus was a more important predictor of their happiness than the size of the bonus itself," they wrote in their report, published in the journal Science.
"Finally, participants who were randomly assigned to spend money on others experienced greater happiness than those assigned to spend money on themselves," they said.
They gave their volunteers $5 or $20 and half got clear instructions on how to spend it. Those who spent the money on someone or something else reported feeling happier about it.
"These findings suggest that very minor alterations in spending allocations -- as little as $5 -- may be enough to produce real gains in happiness on a given day," Dunn said.
This could also explain why people are no happier even though U.S. society is richer.
"Indeed, although real incomes have surged dramatically in recent decades, happiness levels have remained largely flat within developed countries across time," they wrote.
Spending as little as $5 a day on someone else could significantly boost happiness, the team at the University of British Columbia and Harvard Business School found.
Their experiments on more than 630 Americans showed they were measurably happier when they spent money on others -- even if they thought spending the money on themselves would make them happier.
"We wanted to test our theory that how people spend their money is at least as important as how much money they earn," said Elizabeth Dunn, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia.
They asked their 600 volunteers first to rate their general happiness, report their annual income and detail their monthly spending including bills, gifts for themselves, gifts for others and donations to charity.
"Regardless of how much income each person made, those who spent money on others reported greater happiness, while those who spent more on themselves did not," Dunn said in a statement.
Dunn's team also surveyed 16 employees at a company in Boston before and after they received an annual profit-sharing bonus of between $3,000 and $8,000.
"Employees who devoted more of their bonus to pro-social spending experienced greater happiness after receiving the bonus, and the manner in which they spent that bonus was a more important predictor of their happiness than the size of the bonus itself," they wrote in their report, published in the journal Science.
"Finally, participants who were randomly assigned to spend money on others experienced greater happiness than those assigned to spend money on themselves," they said.
They gave their volunteers $5 or $20 and half got clear instructions on how to spend it. Those who spent the money on someone or something else reported feeling happier about it.
"These findings suggest that very minor alterations in spending allocations -- as little as $5 -- may be enough to produce real gains in happiness on a given day," Dunn said.
This could also explain why people are no happier even though U.S. society is richer.
"Indeed, although real incomes have surged dramatically in recent decades, happiness levels have remained largely flat within developed countries across time," they wrote.
Dozens of children in U.S. face life in prison
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1045443520080321
Dozens of children in U.S. face life in prison
Fri Mar 21, 2008
In all, 2,225 people are sentenced to die in U.S. prisons for crimes they committed as minors and 73 of them were aged 13 and 14 at the time of the crime
Human Rights Watch estimates that only 12 people outside the United States face such sentences.
Not all those serving life-means-life sentences for crimes committed as minors are convicted killers.
Dozens of children in U.S. face life in prison
Fri Mar 21, 2008
In all, 2,225 people are sentenced to die in U.S. prisons for crimes they committed as minors and 73 of them were aged 13 and 14 at the time of the crime
Human Rights Watch estimates that only 12 people outside the United States face such sentences.
Not all those serving life-means-life sentences for crimes committed as minors are convicted killers.
Antonio Nunez was convicted of multiple counts of attempted murder and also aggravated kidnapping and sentenced to life without parole for his role in a kidnap, police chase and shootout in April, 2001, in which nobody was injured.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Great Tips
http://www.examiner.com/a-335400~John_Mack__Chairman_and_CEO__Morgan_Stanley.html
My five tips for young people for success
1 Do what you love. Money isn’t everything. You need to find a job that you enjoy — that excites you.
2 Take risks and make mistakes. And learn from those mistakes. If you don’t do that, you won’t grow. Don’t go through life sitting back and not being a risk-taker.
3 Demand to be managed. Demand that your managers make you better. It’s their challenge to mentor you and teach you. It’s your responsibility to make sure they do that.
4 Tell people what you think. Don’t just sit back or be intimidated. You need to do it tactfully, but tell people what you think.
5 Maintain your reputation. Always do what’s right for your client and your company and your own reputation. Success is built on honesty and integrity. And you should do whatever it takes to maintain your reputation.
======================================================
Interesting thoughts! My reactions:
1) Not sure I agree – if you don’t have cash, you can’t do things that you enjoy.
2) Don’t agree either – all I do is get ire if I make mistakes and take risks
3) Doesn’t one just get more ire if one tries this? It’s a good theory, but does it work in practice? Managers don’t seem to have the time to mentor and teach you.
4) Agree to a degree, but not sure if it works in practice.
5) Agree
My five tips for young people for success
1 Do what you love. Money isn’t everything. You need to find a job that you enjoy — that excites you.
2 Take risks and make mistakes. And learn from those mistakes. If you don’t do that, you won’t grow. Don’t go through life sitting back and not being a risk-taker.
3 Demand to be managed. Demand that your managers make you better. It’s their challenge to mentor you and teach you. It’s your responsibility to make sure they do that.
4 Tell people what you think. Don’t just sit back or be intimidated. You need to do it tactfully, but tell people what you think.
5 Maintain your reputation. Always do what’s right for your client and your company and your own reputation. Success is built on honesty and integrity. And you should do whatever it takes to maintain your reputation.
======================================================
Interesting thoughts! My reactions:
1) Not sure I agree – if you don’t have cash, you can’t do things that you enjoy.
2) Don’t agree either – all I do is get ire if I make mistakes and take risks
3) Doesn’t one just get more ire if one tries this? It’s a good theory, but does it work in practice? Managers don’t seem to have the time to mentor and teach you.
4) Agree to a degree, but not sure if it works in practice.
5) Agree
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)