Review
Alana Conner
Human Rights
Long Suffering Falls Short
Guilt might move people not to relieve suffering, but to exacerbate it by rationalizing that the victims somehow deserve their plight.
Individual Giving
Subtle Nudges for Greater Good
A look at a variety of tactics for galvanizing individuals to give.
Global Issues
Interviewer Beware
When it comes to job interviews, self-presentation tactics—appearance, gestures, postures, flattery, and self-promotion—go farther than you think.
Civil Society
How the Danes Do It
How much inequality there is in a society depends on how inheritable the wealth is, which in turn depends on the kind of wealth that it is.
Philanthropy
Radical Grantmaking
Funders who want to catalyze radical innovation should make long-term grants, invest in people, and offer rich and frequent feedback.
Environment
Tech Clears the Air
Manufacturers in the United States are building more and more products while churning out less and less air pollution.
Education
Charters Rock Exam
A recent study shows that the UK's charter (like) schools fare better than standard schools on national exams.
Individual Giving
Research: Tiny Cues Trigger Altruism
A mere hint of affiliation is sufficient to increase helping.
Nonprofits
Research: Strong Women, Strong Sector
The more empowered a country's women, the more vibrant its nonprofit sector.
Economic Development
Research: The Business of Bribery
A new study from Indonesia shows that extortionists respond to market forces in much the same way as do lawful businesspeople.
Global Issues
Research: Urban Emissionscapes
The mystery is over: A 10-city comparison of greenhouse gas emissions per capita pinpoints the sources of those emissions.
Nonprofits
Research: Shareholders Nudge Companies
What happens when large companies receive resolutions from their shareholders pressing them to take better care of the environment?
Nonprofits
Research: Start Them Younger
Children between the ages of 8 and 12 are an energetic, useful, yet largely overlooked pool of volunteer labor.
Global Issues
Medicare Saves Lives
Patients insured by Medicare are less likely to die within a week of hospital admission than their slightly younger counterparts.
Human Rights
Diversity Brings the Dollars
More diverse workplaces have higher revenues, more customers, larger market shares, and greater relative profits.
Global Issues
Why They Stayed
New research reveals the economic hardships that Katrina's "stayers" were battling and the abundance of negative opinions about them.
Nonprofits
How to Survive the Recession
The current recession has left few nonprofits unscathed and has hit theaters particularly hard. Creative entrepreneurial changes have proven more effective than the traditional belt-tightening.
Global Issues
It’s Not About the Work Ethic
Protestants' work ethic is a product of the denomination's emphasis on education.
Social Innovations
Think Passionate
Investors screen for entrepreneurial passion when making funding decisions.
Global Issues
The Violent Death of Benevolence
Research supports violent media's negative impact on civility.
Global Issues
At a Loss for Ethics
Studies show that individuals are more susceptible to corrupt behavior when trying to avoid a loss.
Research
Busy Jobs Send Most Volunteers
Research finds that men in busy jobs are the most likely to donate their time to volunteer.
Research
Saving Lives, Not Just Souls
New research estimates the value of the services provided by faith-based organizations.
Research
Not Racing to Help
Racism may have played a role in the government's delayed response to Katrina.
Research
No Profit for Her
Research shows that men may be more effective than woman at utilizing microfinance investments.
Research
Partners Must Start Smart
Starting on the right terms fosters the trust necessary for partners to work together over the long haul.
Research
Change Takes New Leaders
New leaders are initially given special license to shake things up.
Research
The End of the World Is Nigh (Maybe)
Research finds human extinction looms near if consumption levels do not decrease.
Research
Emotional Brands Bring the Bucks
Research shows branding differentiates nonprofits in stakeholders' minds.
Global Issues
Bad ’Hoods, Naughty Kids
The violence, noise, and crowding of poor neighborhoods stress kids and parents, bringing out their bad sides and breeding psychopathology.
Government
A Soldier’s Life for Her
The military's better than civilian life, say minorities and women such as Marine Corps Capt. Elizabeth Okoreeh-Baah, the first woman to pilot the V-22 Osprey.
Research
The Price of Going Left
In new democracies, right-leaning elections attract foreign investors.
Nonprofits
The Toughest Job You’ll Never Get
Would-be EDs cite inadequate mentoring, low pay, and poor lifestyle as career obstacles.
Global Issues
Don’t Save; Be Saved
Conservative Protestants are poorer partly because of their religion.
Socially Responsible Business
Smoke and Mirrors
British American Tobacco Malaysia has won the favor of the Malaysian government and people by making donations to cultural institutions, funding scholarships, and developing youth smoking prevention programs. But can a tobacco company ever be socially responsible?
Philanthropy
Where Nice Is Naughty
In most parts of the world, strangers helping strangers is strange.
Energy
A Lot of Hot Air
A popular Mexico City program for cutting air pollution from vehicles doesn’t work; in fact sales of new cars, used cars, and gasoline have climbed since the program's launch in 1989.
Nonprofits
The Problem With Trust
The most trusted employees cash in on lax internal controls to fleece nonprofits.
Civil Society
Aim for the Middle
To persuade a whole group, start by changing the minds of a few moderates.
Government
Red and Blue Revisited
The more race- and sex-segregated the county, the more Republican it votes.
Civil Society
Old Dogs, New Opinions
Contrary to stereotypes, people grow more liberal and tolerant as they age.
Business
The Stingy Hour
Workers paid by the hour are less likely to volunteer than are salaried employees.
Environment
Greening Supply Chains
When scarcity sets in, market forces can lead corporations to adopt green practices.
Economic Development
Is This the Silver Bullet?
Why narrowing the gap between the rich and poor could alleviate many social problems.
Individual Giving
The U-Shaped Giving Profile Explained
Most Americans give roughly the same percentage of their incomes.
Business
Butter Your Way to the Top
Flattery, not good governance, reaps corporate directorships – especially for white males.
Civil Society
The Sound of One Trap Flapping
How the vocal few can skew perceptions of public opinion.
Socially Responsible Business
Harnessing Purity and Pragmatism
As the wall between the nonprofit and corporate worlds crumbles, many social change organizations are asking themselves: Do we stick to our activist guns, or do we cross the divide and work with business? Research suggests that social movements need both kinds of organizations to make the changes they seek.
Nonprofits
Putting Women in Their Place
Which woman is more likely to attract unpleasant sexual attention: the office sweetheart or the ambitious upstart? A new study by social psychologist Jennifer Berdahl points to the upstart. From her findings, Berdahl concludes that “men aren’t harassing women to get into their pants, but to put them down....”
Government
Crushing Corruption
To find out how best to stem corruption in development projects, a Harvard economist conducted a sophisticated experiment in 608 Javanese villages. His results challenge current wisdom: Send in the outside auditors, rather than rely on local monitors.
Nonprofits
Stopping the Spread of Trauma
Many Iraq War veterans can't shake the feeling of being constantly imperiled, and their therapists, in turn, may develop traumatic stress symptoms themselves. A new study tells how organizations can protect their frontline providers from psychic distress.
Social Innovations
From the Bottom Line of Our Hearts
Why businesspeople don't mention values when they discuss social responsibility.
Nonprofits
Learning From Government
What the public sector can teach the nonprofit and business sectors.