Why the Philanthropic Donations of Wealthy Individuals are Not as Great as We May Think

Largely overlooked when it comes to nonprofit organizations and their influence in society are the practices and influences of wealthy donors. Throughout history, wealthy individuals have been able to find immense amounts of influence through the donation of their wealth to the nonprofit sector. As individuals, we struggle to be critical of a sector that creates such an immense amount of good. However, this article pushes readers to ask: “What are the true motivations of wealthy donors?” Through a critical analysis of the philanthropic practices of Andrew Carnegie, who is often credited with the start of modern-day big philanthropic giving, this research indicates that the motives of wealthy individuals are not altruistic, and in fact, their donation of funds and the influence it creates have negative consequences on the beneficiaries of nonprofit organizations. A look at modern-day philanthropists such as Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos indicates that the practices, influences, and negative aspects of Carnegie’s philanthropic giving have transcended time, working their way into modern-day giving practices. Using analyses into the motives of wealthy individuals from Carnegie to Gates, my research helps to uncover the fact that the practice of big philanthropy is far from altruistic, and I encourage readers to look past the surface level good that philanthropic donors create in an effort to create a more transparent nonprofit sector

As Second-Generation Americans, We Aren’t as Different from Our Parents as We May Think

My parents were both born in Cambodia; my father in 1965 and my mother in 1968. They spent their younger years there, but when a communist regime called the Khmer Rouge violently attempted to take control of the country between 1975 and 1979, my parents made their way out of Cambodia, escaping what went on to be known as “The Killing Fields.” Eventually, they immigrated to the United States

As we may think and be: Brain-computer interfaces to expand the substrate of mind

Over a half-century ago, the scientist Vannevar Bush explored the conundrum of how to tap the exponentially rising sea of human knowledge for the betterment of humanity. In his description of a hypothetical electronic library he dubbed the memex, he anticipated internet search and online encyclopedias (Bush, 1945). By blurring the boundary between brain and computer, brain-computer interfaces (BCI) could lead to more efficient use of electronic resources (Schalk, 2008). We could expand the substrate of the mind itself rather than merely interfacing it to external computers. Components of brain-computer interfaces could be re-arranged to create brain-brain interfaces, or tightly interconnected links between a person’s brain and ectopic neural modules. Such modules – whether sitting in a bubbling Petri dish, rendered in reciprocally linked integrated circuits, or implanted in our belly – would mark the first step on to a path of breaking out of the limitations imposed by our phylogenetic past Novel BCI architectures could generate novel abilities to navigate and access information that might speed translational science efforts and push the boundaries of human knowledge in an unprecedented manner

Sharing our Blessings with Those in Need

Each year, National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week asks us to think about our most challenged neighbors during the days before Thanksgiving. As we consider our own reasons to be thankful, let us ask ourselves how we may share our blessings with those around us in need of food and shelter. [excerpt

“Ineffective” competition: a puzzle?

Conventionally, we think of an increase in competition as weakly decreasing prices, increasing the number of consumers served, thus increasing consumer surplus, decreasing firms profits, etc. Here, we demonstrate that, under some tame circumstances, an increase in competition may lead to a price increase in a horizontally differentiated market. We show this relationship for the petrol market in German cities

Is music conscious? The argument from motion, and other considerations

Music is often described in anthropomorphic terms. This paper suggests that if we think about music in certain ways we could think of it as conscious. Motional characteristics give music the impression of being alive, but musical motion is conventionally taken as metaphorical. The first part of this paper argues that metaphor may not be the exclusive means of understanding musical motion – there could also be literal ways. Discussing kinds of consciousness, particularly “access consciousness” (Block 1995), the second part proposes ways in which music could (hypothetically) be conscious. The conclusion states that a greater understanding of the interactions of “phenomenal consciousness” and “access consciousness” is important in conceptualizing non-human consciousnesses, such as music might be conceived to be

Perceiving deviance

I defend the claim that we have the capacity to perceptually represent objects and events in experience as deviating from an expectation, or, for short, as deviant. The rival hypothesis is that we may ascribe the property of deviance to a stimulus at a cognitive level, but that property is not a representational content of perceptual experience. I provide empirical reasons to think that, contrary to the rival hypothesis, we do perceptually represent deviance

Brief motivational interventions for college student drinking may not be as powerful as we think: An individual participant-level data meta-analysis

Background For over two decades, brief motivational interventions (BMIs) have been implemented on college campuses to reduce heavy drinking and related negative consequences. Such interventions include in-person motivational interviews (MIs), often incorporating personalized feedback (PF), and stand-alone PF interventions delivered via mail, computer, or the Web. Both narrative and meta-analytic reviews using aggregate data from published studies suggest at least short-term efficacy of BMIs, although overall effect sizes have been small. Method The present study was an individual participant-level data (IPD) meta-analysis of 17 randomized clinical trials evaluating BMIs. Unlike typical meta-analysis based on summary data, IPD meta-analysis allows for an analysis that correctly accommodates the sampling, sample characteristics, and distributions of the pooled data. In particular, highly skewed distributions with many zeroes are typical for drinking outcomes, but have not been adequately accounted for in existing studies. Data are from Project INTEGRATE, one of the largest IPD meta-analysis projects to date in alcohol intervention research, representing 6,713 individuals each with two to five repeated measures up to 12 months post-baseline. Results We used Bayesian multilevel over-dispersed Poisson hurdle models to estimate intervention effects on drinks per week and peak drinking, and Gaussian models for alcohol problems. Estimates of overall intervention effects were very small and not statistically significant for any of the outcomes. We further conducted post hoc comparisons of three intervention types (Individual MI with PF, PF only, and Group MI) vs. control. There was a small, statistically significant reduction in alcohol problems among participants who received an individual MI with PF. Short-term and long-term results were similar. Conclusions The present study questions the efficacy and magnitude of effects of BMIs for college drinking prevention and intervention and suggests a need for the development of more effective intervention strategies

Sequential variable selection as Bayesian pragmatism in linear factor models

We examine a popular practitioner methodology used in the construction of linear factor models whereby particular factors are increased/decreased in relative importance within the model. This allows model builders to customise models and, as such, reflect those factors that the client/modeller may think important. We call this process Pragmatic Bayesianism (or prag-Bayes for short) and we provide analysis which shows when such a procedure is likely to be successful