Day: May 15, 2025

Lotteries can be a fun pastime and an engaging social experience, yet lottery play may come with serious drawbacks. One drawback of lotteries is that their odds of success tend to be low; people often spend more on tickets than any prize won from them. Furthermore, lottery playing may create unrealistic expectations and magical thinking which lead to people being fixated on winning instead of setting more sustainable goals; additionally it can lead to addictive behaviors which may harm both their financial health and personal lives.

Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” details an annual lottery that brings together members of a rural village for what appears to be harmless fun; but in reality is a deadly ritual which results in one person’s murder each year. Jackson creates suspenseful story by using conflict, theme and irony to show how societal traditions shape human behavior.

The lottery is a form of gambling in which participants purchase tickets to participate in a random selection of numbers for a chance at winning prizes based on these selections. Winning conditions depend on each game; for some lotteries this requires selecting all correct numbers while in others there are criteria like date of birth or state residency that participants must meet in order to match up their ticket with. Lotteries have long been an entertaining form of entertainment since centuries, and their popularity spiked dramatically during the 1980s due to increased social inequality and newfound materialism which encouraged belief that anyone could achieve riches with enough effort or luck!

Lotterie marketing campaigns expertly play into fear of missing out, or FOMO, by portraying buying lottery tickets as an investment with potentially massive returns. Lottery advertisements frequently showcase past winners or dreamers of wealth to create aspirational appeal and increase the chance of winning both attainable and life-altering prizes – which are constantly advertised on newscasts, radio, billboards and online – among friends and family members alike.

Whoever wins typically receive their winnings as a lump sum payment despite many participants expecting that they will continue playing. Winnings may be used for luxury goods and lifestyle enhancement, or invested into property, education, businesses or philanthropic initiatives.

While playing the Lottery can provide numerous advantages, it should always be approached responsibly and within reasonable boundaries. While playing can be fun and relaxing hobby, any compulsive gambling behaviour should be addressed immediately and professional help should be sought if it persists. Likewise, people considering investing should review their finances prior to commencing any Lottery betting, to make sure there is sufficient savings set aside in case any unexpected expenses arise.

The Sidney Prize is given monthly to journalism that exhibits exceptional reporting skills, storytelling and impact in relation to social justice issues. It is open to journalists worldwide but work must be intended and widely accessible for a US audience. In addition to giving out monthly Sidneys, The Hillman Foundation awards annual Sidneys, honoring investigative reporters who pursue investigative reporting or deep storytelling that benefits society as a whole.

Peter Wood’s work on the long-term harms of hook-up culture was selected as one of the five best magazine essays written this year by New York Times columnist David Brooks as one of his Best of 2020 essays, joining Hilton Als (The New Yorker) and Ed Yong (The Atlantic). Both writers are considered some of the nation’s leading intellectuals.

Brooks acknowledged a variety of other long-form works worthy of Sidney awards in his essay. These included former National Association for Scholars president Bruce Raynor’s 2025 Weekly Standard cover story on the effects of temporary employment on American middle class families, which highlighted the need for more research on its effect and providing greater protections and supports to these workers in gig economy work.

Clare Jackson of University of Sydney graduate student won the Leverhulme Prize for Historical Writing with her book on royalist ideas in late-17th-century Scotland, while Australian novelist Alice Sebold created an engaging memoir exploring mental illness while emphasizing narrative’s power in conveying personal stories.

Debbie Lee received the Event Cinemas Rising Talent Award in 2024 for her outstanding contributions to NSW’s short film industry. This honor bestows upon one practitioner working within this genre a $10,000 cash award.

The Sidney Black Memorial Engineering Scholarship recognizes and rewards outstanding achievements of UHI female engineering graduates who have demonstrated excellence in their studies, personal attributes and community/student life. The prize is valued at PS500 and open to graduating female engineering students in their final year of study who have passed all engineering subjects successfully and achieved academic success.

The Sidney & Elizabeth Gosling Prize is bestowed annually or biannually to a student who has produced an exceptional paper on any topic relating to private international law relating to foreign investment or maritime law, sponsored by Roberts & Holland and submitted as an individual project or course assignment under instructor supervision. A winner is generally chosen between April and May each year. It was originally established through a bequest from Mr. Addison Brown’s estate (LL.B 1855).