For more than fifteen years psychologist Julian Edney has visited college campuses across the nation to study the effects of greed in a society where over $100 billion in new wealth accumulates each year. On each of his stays, he would play a game with randomly selected students where 10 metal nuts in a bowl represented ‘extra credit’. The students would then take the nuts for a single extra credit point. In this, he promised to double the amount of nuts left in the bowl every 10 seconds. Hypothetically, the game could last forever yielding limitless rewards as the students took turns taking a nut from the bowl. However Dr. Edney determined that 65 percent of the groups couldn’t get pass the first 10 second round, and the others could only make it a few more cycles until modest students turned into rambunctious maniacs scrounging for that last nut. Edney’s conclusion: Greed trumps trust. (U.S. News Magazine, 6/17/96 Special)
“Small towns and neighborhoods in America used to be cohesive,” political scientist Bruce Frohnen pronounced in the May 1999 issue of Family Policy. “They did not seek openness to all ways of life. Nor did they seek economic betterment as the sole proper goal,” he added. “Faith and tradition were ruling forces in the lives of Americans, bidding them care for their families and neighbors and their souls, as much as their pocketbooks.” But as the material girls and boys grew, so did the need for greed. In a recent study by Roper Starch Worldwide, the values of teenagers moving into the new millennium have drastically changed from their parent’s visions. The percentage who said they wanted to earn “a lot of money” grew 25 points from the 38 percent in 1975. Those who said they needed a microwave oven as a necessity rose 19 points, and the percentage that believed life without an answering machine was incomprehensible grew more than 18 points. At the same time, teenagers who believed “developing a meaningful philosophy of life” dropped by 42 percent. However the rise of money’s power in student-age adults coincided with a reward system for the newly transpired talents. Repetitive tasks are being replaced by super technology while responsibilities requiring intelligence and skill are more emphasized. It is a “winner take all” society though, where the lopsided share of benefits go to very few players.
The ostentation is not all coming from the upcoming generation though.
Michael F. Scheier and Charles S Carver say, “Psychologists have approached the notion of positive thinking from a variety of perspectives. Common to most viewers, thought, Is the idea that positive thinking is some way involved holding positive expectancies for one’s futures”. Well, that being said, when one is becoming too optimistic and positive, the won 't be prepared for events that will come to them. Ehrenreich says, “Sometimes we need to heed our fears and negative thoughts, and at all times we need to be alert to the world outside ourselves, even when that included absorbing bad news and entertaining the views of “negative” people” (204). In my opinion, I think it is very important to watch the news, some may think differently. According to the Huffington post, a blogger advised, “Studies show that you will sleep better with less news intake late at night” (193). With studies shows that you will sleep better because one isn’t getting the bad news intake that keeps you up all night thinking about it, that is one’s choice to watch the certain news they are watching. I think everyone should be aware of their surroundings, one cannot just be so optimistic because events like the great depression, 911 and other disasters that happened in America would have come more prepared as if you were being too positive nothing is going to go wrong
Greed Economics: The uplifting or debilitating effect of the excessive desire of gain on the production, consumption and distribution of goods and services.
In America Ehrenreich 's use of sarcasm and humor would have been better understood, but she wasn 't in America, so some of the things she said when translated into English was not legible to people who do not speak English. For instance, Ehrenreich uses a scenario of a woman wanting a diamond necklace she saw in a shop window, “The next thing you see is she’s wearing it. She “attracted it to herself” is the explanation. Actually, we call that burglary.” (page 3) Now to an English-speaking audience we may snicker and laugh because of course you call that burglary, but to an audience who does not speak English they probably looked at that remark as just a regular statement in which case her attempt to engage them using humor failed completely. Ehrenreich made another sarcastic remark when talking about breast cancer and people 's idea of having the illness being a gift that should be appreciated she says, “In fact, if your idea of a gift is cancer, get me off your christmas list right away.” (page 1) There is a good chance her spanish audience did not understand that comment after it had been ran through translation. Ehrenreich did do a great job at addressing her audience in the fact of not knowing if her book had been translated in Spanish, but her constant sarcastic remarks may have been thoroughly lost on the
Optimism is a state of mind in which an individual will tend to “expect the best possible outcome or dwell on the most hopeful aspects of a situation” (freedictionary.com). Over the past few decades, optimism has become more than just a state of mind; it has become its own empire, a power in itself. In Barbara Ehrenreich’s book, “Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America,” she expands on the notion that optimism, or positive thinking, has emerged as a strong “ideological force in American culture…--one that encourages us to deny reality, submit cheerfully to misfortune, and blame only ourselves for our fate” (Ehrenreich 43-4). By using her own experience of being a breast cancer victim, a victim constantly bombarded by pink ribbon culture and the overwhelmingly positive attitude that comes with it, she shows how America’s “retreat from real life drama and tragedy of human events is suggestive of a deep helplessness at the core of positive thinking” (Ehrenreich 59). Many movements have been overrun by the power of positive thinking that swept the nation, including the breast cancer movement. With all the campaigns, pink products, and corporate sponsorships that the movement has come by, a sort of breast cancer culture was created. This culture, otherwise known as pink ribbon culture, is deeply rooted in positive thinking. The problem with positive thinking is that it distracts us from the reality we are living in, a reality where we have yet to find a cure to breast cancer, and that it makes us lose sight of larger problems at play. Positive thinking does more than just divert our attention away from our primary goal to eliminate breast cancer completely with the discovery of a cure, it ...
Many would say Americans spend more on things they do not need than families did on the past. With a steadily increasing housing market and education becoming more and more important to the social class level of a person, however, Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi argue against this notion by saying families only spend more on providing a home with a safe neighborhood and good school district in order to ensure a better future for their children. As they both say in Why Middle Class Mothers and Fathers are Going Broke, “For most middle-class parents, ensuring that their children get a decent education translates into one thing: snatching up a home in the small subset of school districts that have managed to hold on to a reputation of high quality and parent confidence” (Warren 406). Because of this rising need for a good education, as the economy shifts and causes housing prices to rise, parents must find new ways to create an income in order to provide. Warren and Tyagi would argue this caused a “bidding war,” and parents began the now common concept of a second income; “By the early 1980s, women’s participation in the labor force had become a significant factor in whether a married couple could buy a home” (Warren and Tyagi 409). As stated previously, for middle class families this second family income is the new common dynamic within social class rankings. Not everything is based on consumption, one may argue today parents would do anything to provide for their children, which makes families in lower social classes have a harder time as they cannot afford to live in the scarce housing communities with good schools that may provide a better future for their
Your child comes to you and tells you that she needs to have a serious talk with you and your wife. She is frowning, sucking up her tears, and speechless. You see that there is nothing good that is going to be said in this conversation. “I’m pregnant!” she says. Your teenager comes to you that claiming that they are going to have a child. You are going to be a grandparent. You start to think what you did wrong, how she is going to balance school, the child, and her life. Many parents can agree that they would never want to see their child raise another child. A good number of families can have a teenager that has put themselves in this position and can all agree that is not an easy challenge. The show, “16 and Pregnant," is a great way to discourage
The Microsoft Encarta dictionary defines greed as "an overwhelming desire to have more of something such as money than is actually needed." This definition cannot be argued with for it is plain and simple, giving the essence of the word. But to millions, perhaps billions of people, greed is something else. Some people portray greed as being qualities of the evil, selfish, and corrupt. Although these viewpoints may be partially true, greed cannot be condemned as solely being an escapee of Pandora's Box. Let us agree that greed is pursuing actions guided by rational self-interest. This means that anything outside food and water acquired at the cost of anyone else, no matter little they are affected can be defined as greed. Greed is a driving force of the world's wellbeing; all attempts to eliminate greed from humanity have ended up as disasters. Nearly all inventions of today and days past are the offspring of greedy people. Most jobs and societies are created because of greed since it is a motivator and pushes people to try and do their best. It is greed that encourages the consumer to purchase the best product at the cheapest price, thus creating market forces that help in eliminating inefficiency and waste. Greed is an asset to humanity, a tool that some are able to embrace and prosper by better than others.
A database management system, or DBMS, gives the user access to their data and helps them transform the data into information. Such database management systems include dBase, Paradox, IMS, and Oracle. These systems allow users to create, update, and extract information from their databases. Compared to a manual filing system, the biggest advantages to a computerized database system are speed, accuracy, and accessibility.
From the diagram below show how the DBMS working. First stage is database; database is a place for structured set of data held in a computer, especially one that is accessible in various ways. For example is student name, i/c and ID, from the information the lecture can access their profile, result and other. Second stage is database management system which means the place for the data will combine together. Third stage is application program which means the all data have been separate according their functions. As example, the lecture need to know about student result just enter their information and click the result button. The information will appear. Last stage is end user which means the lecturer
Many users find it easier to install, implement and use MySQL than other RDBMS. The developers can easily install MySQL without dealing with complex configurations. At the same time, they can use a number of third-party tools to implement the database according to their requirements. Each programmer familiar with Structured Query Language (SQL) can further use the database without any hassle.
Databases are becoming as common in the workplace as the stapler. Businesses use databases to keep track of payroll, vacations, inventory, and a multitude of other taske of which are to vast to mention here. Basically businesses use databases anytime a large amount of data must be stored in such a manor that it can easily be searched, categorized and recalled in different means that can be easily read and understood by the end user. Databases are used extensively where I work. In fact, since Hyperion Solutions is a database and financial intelligence software developing company we produce one. To keep the material within scope I shall narrow the use of databases down to what we use just in the Orlando office of Hyperion Solutions alone.
Although the database yields considerable advantages over previous data management approaches, database do carry significant disadvantages.
B. Cade Massey once said that, “It 's gotten to the point where people really feel pressure to think and talk in an optimistic way” (Massey). Optimism is generally seen as healthy, while pessimism is generally seen as dangerous. The difference between optimism and pessimism is a difference in perspective and mindset. An optimist has a positive perspective, while a pessimist has a negative one. An optimist has a cheerful mindset, while a pessimist has a gloomy one. There are consequences to both perspectives. The difference in consequences, according to William James, is that, “Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power.” However, assuming that it is moderated, pessimism is healthy for a person’s well-being. Pessimism is more realistic than
Optimism gives us energy; optimism is a surge of power that takes over our being. It makes our efforts feel worthwhile. Optimism is the light that rushes through our veins that allows us to feel the love after a lifetime of pain. In the end it is rewarded because even though some of these efforts will fail, others will succeed, and we cannot know ahead of time which are which. Even though there is no guarantee when it comes to which direction and path our lives will take us, the risk and fear of the unknown either makes or breaks the barrier of success for each individual. Sure, disasters and tragedies have the ability to permanently affect your life, but will you let the negativity consume your entire being in order to avoid the struggles of persisting through the hardships? Some tend to neglect the confrontation of those internal fights, but the people who strive to attack problems with confidence and faith show genuine signs of optimism, “optimistic people believe that negative events are temporary, limited in scope (instead of pervading every aspect of a person’s life), and
Greed Greed is a selfish desire for more than one needs or deserves. Greed can make honest men murderers. It has made countries with rich valuable resources into the poorest countries in the world. We are taught it is bad and not to practice it. But consider a world without greed, where everyone is as sharing as Mother Theresa was. The progress of humankind would be at a standstill. Greed has given our society faster travel, better service, more convenience, and most importantly, progress. Greed has created thousands of billionaires and millions of millionaires. But why is greed associated with evil? In their day, most capitalists like Cornelius Vanderbilt and John D. Rockefeller were depicted as pure evil. Vanderbilt stole from the poor. Rockefeller was a snake. But the name-calling did not come from the consumers; it was the competing businesses that complained. The newspapers expanded on these comments, calling them "robber barons." These are inaccurate terms for these businessmen. They were not barons because they all started penniless and they were not robbers because they did not take it from anyone else. Vanderbilt got rich by making travel and shipping faster, cheaper, and more luxurious. He built bigger, faster, and more efficient ships. He served food on his ships, which the customers liked and he lowered his costs. He lowered the New York to Hartford fare from $8 to $1. Rockefeller made his fortunes selling oil. He also lowered his costs, making fuel affordable for the working-class people. The working-class people, who use to go to bed after sunset, could now afford fuel for their lanterns. The people, who worked an average 10-12 hours a day, could now have a private and social life. The consumers were happy, the workers were happy, and they were happy. Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft Corporation is another example of a greedy person. He is the richest man in the world with about $40 billion and he continues to pursue more wealth. Just because he has $40 billion does not mean the rest of the world lost $40 billion, he created more wealth for the rest of the world. His software created new ways of saving time and money and created thousands of new jobs. Bill Gates got rich by persuading people to buy his product. His motive may have been greed, but to achieve that, he had to give us what we wanted.