The Privileged Position Of Business Essays - Political Terminology

The Privileged Position Of Business THE PRIVILEGED POSITION OF BUSINESS Hudson first states what he believes to be the central assumption of the Pluralist description of American politics that there is no one dominant group in American Society. He argues that there is a dominant group, business. I agree that the pluralist ideology is wrong and that business is very dominant in our political society. He continues by stating that there are two faces of the political privilege of business. The first involves business actively manipulating the political system to obtain their political objectives. Hudson starts by stating that the first aspect, that of the active manipulating of the political system by business to obtain political objectives, can be divided into three aspects, business predominance in lobbying policy makers, the role of business in financing elections, and messages favorable to business in the media, schools, and universities. I will first discuss his views on the predominance of business in lobbying policy makers. He argues that the pluralist theory is wrong in determining the significance of representativeness of these groups and should instead see the extent to which these groups represent one societal interest that of business. I agree that there are many interest groups but a majority of them are in some way lobbying for business. I also believe that the majority of the people know that this is going on and dont like it and would like to see a change. Next Hudson discusses the businesses role in providing finding for elections. The business that contribute money can expect to be heard by the elected officials they have helped. He states that business dominates lobby groups as well as dominates the universe of campaign contributions. I believe that this gives businesses a huge advantage and also I believe that this is the major reason business predominates over politics in our society. And the more closely you look at this issue the more clearly you see the money these businesses contribute to candidates who are in effect already pro-business then they become even more for business when they know this will in all probability get them re-elected. I definitely agree that this poses a real problem and needs to be dealt with. In addition, business controls citizen access to information through ownership of the media. I agree with this completely. I was surprised to read that most of the mass communication industry is now concentrated in about twenty giant holding companies. The idea that newspapers and television are businesses themselves and project pro-business views is a given. But also other businesses pay for them through advertising. I do agree that this is going on but I am not sure of the effect that it has. Hudson then describes the second face the more subtle of the faces of which most of us fail to think about. This face is the power we give to business to make societies crucial economic decisions. He states that leaving important societal decisions to the market means dividing authority for important social decisions between two sets of rulers and that in any capitalist market system government officials and businessmen rule. Where we can somewhat control our government officials we cant control businessmen. I again agree that this is a problem which needs to be dealt with. But I really had never thought of this before. And I agree that this places business above government in making economic decisions which the public should have a lot more say so in. Lastly, Hudson discusses why business privilege is a threat to democracy. He sets out four ways in which it is a threat. First, is that the full range of political interests in society are not equally represented. I definitely agree that this is a threat because ordinary people even people associated with non-business related interest groups are overlooked because business has more money and therefore more power to persuade politicians. Second, business power restricts the agenda of policy alternatives seriously debated and discussed when public policy is formulated. Third, business power undermines the development of an effective citizenry. And, fourth business privilege results in substantive policies that are contrary to the needs and interest of a majority of Americans. Political Issues

Case 1 in the International Spotlight, Vietnam Essays

Case 1 in the International Spotlight, Vietnam Essays Case 1 in the International Spotlight, Vietnam Essay Case 1 in the International Spotlight, Vietnam Essay Jason Proctor N00038265 Case 1: In the International Spotlight, Vietnam Management 4600 – International Management CRN 85418 9/09/2011 1. In what way does the political environment in Vietnam pose both an opportunity and a threat for the American MNCs seeking to do business there? The political environment poses an opportunity for American firms because the Vietnamese government is now working hard to attract U. S. investment. Their Government is continually being innovative and perfecting mechanisms and policies to encourage all non-state economic sectors to expand investment, including the U. S. , to increase the efficiency of foreign investment. Now American companies have the chance to gain a strong position by investing while the political opportunities are good. The United States has emerged to become the largest investor in Vietnam, accounting for 47. 8 percent of total newly registered capital. (Vietnam Business News Online) Becoming the 150th member of the World Trade Organization shows the country has the willingness to open its trade doors and a strong political move to prove that the country is willing to abide by outside rules and regulations. This would impress investors and would likely consider doing business with Vietnam. Being a communist nation, the government still closely controls the economy and U. S. firms may find that their opportunities will be limited and a number of unforeseen possible legal problems may exist. Typically a communist government does not care for a multinational business as they only want what’s best for their country. An example of this type of action would be that the government will try to pawn one multinational off against another in order to gain a better position for itself. This would sour relationships between those multinational investors while only making minimal or short term gains for them. The organization and structure of how Vietnam does business is not as efficient as some of the multinational corporations that want to do business there. David Dapice, an economist with the Vietnam Program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government said â€Å"Vietnams economic system is dualistic: the export and domestic sector are quite efficient and use capital pretty efficiently; while some government-controlled enterprises are largely inefficient. (International Business Times) This would indicated that the high political influence and control of Vietnamese firms have much to learn since its 2007 induction to the World Trade Organization to have a dominate place in the global economy as an effective and efficient leader. A more extreme threat would be that the communist state of Vietnam could take over a corporation and seize contro l over its assists. There could also be underlying tension from past relationships that Vietnam and the U. S. have had especially being around four decades from the Vietnam War. Many of whom who lived through that could hold currently hold political and government positions that could weaken relations with American investment. 2. Why are U. S. multinationals interested in going into Vietnam? How much potential does the country offer? How might Vietnam compare to China as a place to do business? With a population of 90 million, Vietnam has an average national income of $ 1,168 per person annually and a literacy rate is 90%. (US Department of State online) Even though the income level is low compared on the global scale, this indicates that there is a willingness to learn and grow as a population. This is much potential for investing into this country as you have a workforce that can read, understand and has the capacity to learn. This makes it an attractive market for many firms. Vietnam is showing effort to be multination by not only learning the English language but showing efforts to improve their overall education. U. S. multinationals will be interested that the growth of Vietnam’s economy will spawn the need for a variety of goods and services, many of which are currently not widely available. This is a prime time to start to market not only new business but products, services and jobs that this economy can use to grow, modernize and adjust to the international markets. Technology and industrial equipment that can help increase the nations productivity. This increase in the nation’s productivity will improve business relations and raise the countries standard of life as the Vietnamese worker is content on making almost nothing currently. The potential here is almost limitless as the emerging country is just now opening up globally. I believe Vietnam compares to China as they both have strong agriculture, natural resources and low cost labor to provide multinational corporations. China and Vietnam are both communist countries that have heavy government control and direction. Light industrial and labor intensive industries are on the rise in both countries. With the similarities Vietnam and China have on the international business market, â€Å"Vietnam is a sound alternative to China for those looking at Asia for their investment†, writes Mr. Christopher Runckel, President of Runckel Associates. The Vietnam Economic Times: Supplement October 2006) Another similarity Vietnam has with China is the boom in industrial and power transmission markets. China is one of, if not the top, importer and exporter of minerals and power sources such as coal and oil. Vietnam currently has a $50 billion plan to build its power plants and power transmission system over the next 10 years. This move will boost the industrial production of the country due to their slow production recently due to power black-outs. Vietnam is also speeding up its negotiations with coal-exporting nations which include Australia and Russia. Vietnam has the need for even more power to fuel its power and industrial needs. To fill this need, Vietnam is looking to Russia to borrow funds to build its first nuclear electricity power plant. (WSJ) China has already implemented a nuclear program to help with their needs of electrical power supplement. 3. Will there be any opportunities in Vietnam for high-tech American firms? Why or why not? Vietnam’s Chamber of Commerce says  e-commerce will grow to  $6 billion over the next three years, and  consumers will pay $2 billion  online by 2015 as  30 million internet users get comfortable with online purchasing. This leads me to believe that there are plenty of opportunities in Vietnam for high tech American firms. An example would be American high-tech solar panel maker  First Solar. This company is investing in a $300 million factory in Vietnam that will employ 600 workers to make  advanced semiconductor technology renewable energy products. Another example would be telecommunications. Companies that can offer cellular telephone and wireless technology will find Vietnam to be an excellent market to operate in. American firms can move in and build cellular towers at a lower cost than traditional buried and raised cable networks which means an American cellular provider can create a system that can connect all parts of the country locally and internationally at a fraction of what it could cost to wire the nation with high cost copper and aluminum cable. Our text book refers to this as a form of technologic leapfrogging in which â€Å"regions of the world are moving from a situation where phones were unavailable to one where cellular is available everywhere. A big indicator that American firms will have plenty of opportunity in Vietnam is the move made by Citigroup Inc. who took a 9. 9% stake in a Vietnamese brokerage firm Horizon Securities Corp. Currently Vietnam only allows foreigners can buy only up to 49% of a local brokerage, but Vietnam has committed to allowing full ownership by 2012. If Citi decides to take a larger stake then, it will then bring the local brokers technology, servic e and compliance standards into line with Citis practices globally. WSJ) This is an opportunity for not only high-tech and financial firms but a big opportunity for Vietnam in return to modernize its technological systems and financial infrastructure on an international level. Another aspect that high-tech American firms can invest in is in IT outsourcing. ATT recently rated Vietnam as the next IT outsourcing hotspot as Vietnam produces 10,000 or more software and hardware engineers creating a viable market for IT talent. Vietnamese graduates come from American but also from international universities giving them strong technical and English language skills. These are the skills that open up more opportunities for American and other international corporation inside Vietnam. Sources of research: Text: â€Å"International Management: Culture, Strategy and Behavior†, Fred Luthans, 8th edition News Articles: China Briefing China vs. Vietnam as the Future Workshop of the World china-briefing. com/news/2011/05/20/china-vs-vietnam-as-the-future-workshop-of-the-world. html Vietnam Business News US Becomes Largest Investor in Vietnam http://vietnambusiness. asia/us-becomes-largest-investor-in-vietnam International Business Times Vietnam: High Potential, High Risks ibtimes. com/articles/46475/20100826/vietnam. htm U. S. Department of State, Vietnam state. gov/p/eap/ci/vm Article Vietnam work culture different than China http://people. bath. ac. uk/mnsipc/Reading/AsiaPac%20articles/vietnam%20work%20culture. pdf Wall Street Journal – â€Å"Vietnam Plans to Raise $48. 8 Billion for Power Projects in 2011-2020† http://online. wsj. com/article/SB10001424053111903454504576487853952928320. html? KEYWORDS=Vietnam+investing Business in Asia Unleash the Force business-in-asia. com/vietnam_compared_to_china. html Article Doing Business in Vietnam http://taglaw. com/files/Doing%20Business%20Guides/Doing%20Business%20in%20Vietnam. pdf Vietnews South seeks more US investors dztimes. net/post/business/south-seeks-more-us-investors. aspx The Saigon Times The Third Wave Coming http://english. thesaigontimes. vn/Home/business/investment/14849 Vietnam Economics – Vietnomics http://vietnomics. wordpress. com/2011/05/14/early-adopter-ibm-setting-pace-in-vietnam

Benefits and Challenges of Cloud Services

Cloud puting plays a great role in providing various advantages over the Smartphone applications and other technical advancements within the growing market place. This report is elaborating various benefits of cloud puting in this sector. Cloud puting for Smartphone-like devices apps development and growing in the marketplace Benefits of cloud puting over Smartphone applications Cloud puting provides various benefits to the field of mobile applications of the Smartphone (Chandramouli, Iorga & Chokhani, 2014). These applications make the operations and system functionalities easier with respect to the technical advancements as well as with respect to the user demands. Some of these advantages are elaborated in this report. These are explained as follows: Sharing of information : Previously the users needed improvised system architecture that is the hardware and software for sharing data and important information with the help of their mobile devices (El Amraoui & Sethom, 2016). In contrast with this fact, in the contemporary times, the users don’t need the plex architecture such as plex hardware and software for transferring their data and information. In spite of this, the cloud based smart phone applications made the system made these transfers easy and effective accordingly the contemporary scenario. Enhanced features and functionalities : New cloud applications are easy to operate the within the smart phones in order to maintain the effectiveness of the operations at present situation. In addition to this, enhanced features and functionalities of system provide more effectiveness to the users with respect to their demands and needs in the contemporary timing (Garg, Versteeg & Buyya, 2013). The technical feasibility and effective functional options provided through the cloud puting applications in the smart phones enhances the speed of operations as well as this ensures about the accuracy of the results collected from the cloud puting applications. Ease of access : Cloud provide various kinds of access to the users as this provides private, public and protected services to the users. All of these access patterns are easy to be operated by the users (Kovatsch, Lanter & Shelby, 2014). This accessing the process is not dependent on the place, time and other aspects related to the users applications. In addition to this, mostly the organization uses the private and protected features. Some cloud hosts provide the public access to their data in order to maintain its features. Broader reach of the users : Cloud features can be used globally that defines the effectiveness of the system architecture of the cloud puting approaches (Park & Kim, 2014). In addition to this, there is various other technical feasibility analysis that ensures about the effectiveness of the cloud puting over smart phone applications.   Cost effectiveness of the system architecture as well as the vendors : Now a days the cloud vendors are easily available and any organization or institute can utilize the cloud services within selective cost structure within their premises (Rodrà ­guez-Garcà ­a et al., 2014). Greentek is one application development organization that mainly deals with medical research and development aspects. In contrast with this fact, the organization wants to migrate their system architecture to the PaaS system of cloud system (Sunyaev & Schneider, 2013). In contrast with this fact, there are various challenges as well as various benefits involved in this migration process. These challenges and benefits are elaborated in this part of the report. These are given as follows: Quick Development and Testing : Greentek can easily cope up with the different configurations and developmental features of the system architecture. In addition to this, the deployment and development team of Greentek can easily operate multiple machines at different locations as per their demands (Willcocks & Lacity, 2016). In contrast with this fact the testing and other important development features can be tested with the help of PaaS application within the organization. Dynamic allocation : In accordance with the petitive market places, IT departments need the flexibility and operational excellence for implementing new application within the organization (Zhang, Cherkasova & Loo, 2015). Dynamic allocation provides effective testing opportunities and market analysis with the help of cloud application support. Increased focus for business and international entrepreneurship : The organizational heads are responsible for the effective decision makings and other important aspect involved within the system architecture of the Greentek. This aspect allows the organizational heads in solving various issues that helps them to focus on the international requirements of business (Zheng et al., 2013). In contrast with various kinds of benefits of PaaS applications, there are various challenges that are included within the Greentek. These challenges are elaborated as follows: Data security : Like other cloud puting applications, PaaS also involves various technical and data security related issues within the system architecture of Greentek. This aspect reduces the technical feasibility of the system architecture (Chandramouli, Iorga & Chokhani, 2014). The third party hosts involves various malicious codes and effective threats within the system architecture of the organization. Limited Flexibility : The PaaS solution cannot match with the IaaS applications or solutions within the organizational structures (El Amraoui & Sethom, 2016). The product of PaaS does not match in patibility with the SaaS products. This aspect also reduces the effectiveness of the system architecture in PaaS applications in Greentek. Customer Captivity : The customer captivity with the help of limited number of PaaS vendors is not enough to serve them better way (Garg, Versteeg & Buyya, 2013). This aspect also reduces the effectiveness of the system offerings of the PaaS. Problems of integration : There is various integration issues involved within the system architecture of the PaaS applications. This application can trigger the increase of plexity of the system. Greentek wants to implement the SaaS application in order to improvise their system architecture. In contrast with these facts, there are various challenges of SaaS applications and these are explained as follows: Security and privacy challenges : SaaS is nothing but the application of clod base and it involves various security and privacy threats within the system architecture within the technical domain of Greentek. This aspect is considered as one of the most effective challenges of Greentek. Hybrid IT infrastructure : SaaS is one of the most plex hybrid architecture that offers various plexities within the system architecture of Greentek. Once the organization bines its existing system architecture with the cloud applications then it b es more plex than the previous one (Kovatsch, Lanter & Shelby, 2014). Complex architecture : plex architecture is another disadvantage of the SaaS applications involved within the system architecture of the Greentek. In addition to this, the plex architecture involved within SaaS cloud set up makes the operations tough to be managed (Park & Kim, 2014). Lack of skills among employees :   Most of the time, the employee does not have proper skills and effective knowledge about the system architecture of Greentek (Rodrà ­guez-Garcà ­a et al., 2014). This aspect reduces the chances of managing the plex system architecture of Greentek. Access challenges : In contrast with various disadvantages of the SaaS, access challenge is another disadvantage of SaaS applications. Whenever any organization or system heads are using the tools of SaaS, access control b es a difficult challenge for them (Sunyaev & Schneider, 2013). Any traditional software offers various monitoring setting to the users in order access the information and data within the cloud. In contrast with this fact, the SaaS applications does not provide this controlling measures to the users in order to maintain the system architecture and various other functions. Time constraint : Time constraint is another technical disadvantage of the SaaS applications within the system architecture (Willcocks, & Lacity, 2016). As the plexity of the system architecture is increased due to the SaaS implementation process, time constraint makes the system architecture more inefficient in Greentek. Faulty integration : Faulty integration is another disadvantage of the SaaS application within Greentek. In addition to this, the accounting and sales data are not synced with the system architecture of SaaS application (Zhang, Cherkasova & Loo, 2015). This is known as the faulty integration of the SaaS application within any organization. Uploading of files and other aspects that are important to be connected may create issues during the transfer of files and data. This report is elaborating all the benefits of the cloud puting in the field of Smartphone applications in the present era. This assignment is considering Greentek, one application development organization that wants to implement SaaS within their organization. In contrast with this fact, various benefits and challenges are being elaborated in this assignment. Chandramouli, R., Iorga, M., & Chokhani, S. (2014). Cryptographic key management issues and challenges in cloud services. In  Secure Cloud puting  (pp. 1-30). Springer New York. El Amraoui, A., & Sethom, K. (2016, March). Cloudlet Softwarization for Pervasive Healthcare. In  Advanced Information Networking and Applications Workshops (WAINA), 2016 30th International Conference on  (pp. 628-632). IEEE. Garg, S. K., Versteeg, S., & Buyya, R. (2013). A framework for ranking of cloud puting services.  Future Generation puter Systems,  29(4), 1012-1023. Kovatsch, M., Lanter, M., & Shelby, Z. (2014, October). Californium: Scalable cloud services for the internet of things with coap. In  Internet of Things (IOT), 2014 International Conference on the  (pp. 1-6). IEEE. Park, E., & Kim, K. J. (2014). An integrated adoption model of mobile cloud services: exploration of key determinants and extension of technology acceptance model.  Telematics and Informatics,  31(3), 376-385. Rodrà ­guez-Garcà ­a, M. à ., Valencia-Garcà ­a, R., Garcà ­a-Sà ¡nchez, F., & Samper-Zapater, J. J. (2014). Ontology-based annotation and retrieval of services in the cloud.  Knowledge-Based Systems,  56, 15-25. Sunyaev, A., & Schneider, S. (2013). Cloud services certification. munications of the ACM,  56(2), 33-36. Willcocks, L. P., & Lacity, M. C. (Eds.). (2016).  The new IT outsourcing landscape: from innovation to cloud services. Springer. Zhang, Z., Cherkasova, L., & Loo, B. T. (2015). Exploiting cloud heterogeneity to optimize performance and cost of MapReduce processing.  ACM SIGMETRICS Performance Evaluation Review,  42(4), 38-50. Zheng, Z., Wu, X., Zhang, Y., Lyu, M. R., & Wang, J. (2013). QoS ranking prediction for cloud services.  IEEE transactions on parallel and distributed systems,  24(6), 1213-1222.

12 linguistics branches Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

12 linguistics branches - Research Paper Example (Crystal, 1997) Morphology is like the mother who teaches the baby how to talk. This branch often studies how the words are constructed out of smaller units which have a meaning or grammatical function, for example the word friendly is constructed from friend. This branch has a sister two sisters called syntax which studies how the words combine to form sentences and the rules which govern the formation of sentences, and phonetics that studies speech sounds; how they are produced in the vocal tract (articulatory phonetics), how they are transmitted through the air (acoustic phonetics), and how they are perceived by the listener (auditory phonetics).Their mandate is to ensure words are correctly written and spoken. (Crystal, 1997) The screaming child, phonology studies the sound system of language; how the particular sounds used in each language form an integrated system for encoding information and how such systems differ from one language to another. On the other hand the curious father, psycholinguistics always studies the mental processes underlying the planning, production, perception and comprehension of speech, for example how memory limitations affect speech production and comprehension. This is to ensure the child speaks correctly with good perceptions of things. The twin brother of the father, uncle sociolinguistics, is also keen to the social factors such as social class, educational level, and age, sex and ethnic origin so that the child may grow to understand them to link in the sentences. (Crystal, 1997) The elder brother of the child, semantics who studies the meaning and how words and sentences are related to the real or imaginary objects they refer to and the situations they describe. This is to ensure that the child links together the words that are related. However the elder sister of the child, pragmatics is keen in on the context of the situation. He studies the use of language in communication, particularly the relationships between

Difference in Elderly Care between US and Japan Essay

Difference in Elderly Care between US and Japan - Essay Example Elderly Health Care in US and Japan become very important because of the increasing number of the elders in these countries and the fast growth of the country, even without having much time to spare for their family. One of the recent studies conducted in U.S. about the ratio of the elders points out that the number of elders in U.S. is estimated that "35.6 million people -12.2% of the population ...are 65 and older and by 2011, the baby boom generation will begin to turn 65, and by 2030, one in five people is projected to be age 65 and older." (Senior facts: Non medical in home care facts: Facts on aging, n.d). The given data points to the number of elders in U.S. and shows that their number covers 12.2% of the population. It also shows the necessity of giving great care to elders that their number is expected to be one in five people by 2030 which is not at all a lesser number. The United States contains less than five percent of the world's population and thirteen percent of its p eople are above the age of eighty. The growth rate of elderly population is considerably increasing day by day. It may double manifold in the coming years. It indicates the need for more activities to give assistance to the elderly people. When one analyzes the Elderly Care in U.S. and Japan it is understood that elderly care in these countries are different and U.S. stands much better among the two in Elderly Care. The United States has implemented many facilities for the elderly people especially for their health. An observation of U.S. health care reveals that the health care in United States is consistent with basic standards is largely unknown. One among the methods of elderly care in U.S. is Hospital Care. It is generally provided by physicians. They provide both inpatient and outpatient services. As the elders are in need of great care and concentration a group of doctors and nurses are needed to monitor them. These elderly patients who are admitted to the hospital are physically unstable and they need full time observation and care to maintain their physical as well as mental health. The hospital care is equipped with all the care taking measures so that the people who want to give a satisfactory care to their elderly relatives automatically turn to the Hospital Care facility. Another facility is that of the Nursing Home. The elderly people will have a facility where they are watched over by nurses and staff as well. Here they get help for all sorts of daily living activities. Say for example, they get food in correct time, get bathed and the pills that help them to sustain their health sound.  

Hunting song Essay Example for Free

Hunting song Essay This story, â€Å"Hunting Song†, helps us envision the deer hunting tactics of the Navajo people. Although the true moral of this story is terrifying, the author of this poem wrote it in a way that it sounds almost peaceful. He uses beautiful, environmental imagery such as the mountains and dewy flowers to help us picture this scene better in our minds. This story teaches us about the Navajo song writing tradition, their appreciation towards the deer, and their hunting tactics. A major aspect of the Navajo culture is song writing. The people practically wrote songs for most of their activities, such as hunting. They have many, many songs that describe the many different facets of life. The song, Hunting Song is one of the more superior songs out of all the rest. That is because it was said by the Navajo bards, that the deer transformed itself into human. This explains why the hunter of this story was very content with killing this deer. It shows how the hunter may have felt proud to have caught an animal that is so incredible. The tribe’s appreciation for the deer is amazing. This song is basically a sacred verse for killing the deer. It’s incredible how the Navajo people are so thankful. For instance, people nowadays, in Korean society, kill cows and pigs. However, they do not particularly feel appreciative towards them. This song helps us understand how the Navajo are one with nature. It teaches the importance of the animals and helps us value what we receive in life. Although there is insufficient information in this story to figure out how they hunt, we can get a general consensus of it. In the last stanza, the author stated how he killed the deer by the â€Å"luck of (his) chase. † This last part helps me picture a man holding a spear, chasing the deer. However, we do not know if that is how the deer actually died. The fun part of this is that the author left the hunting techniques out so that his audience may imagine many other ways the hunter could have murdered the deer. From evaluating this hunting song, I was convinced that we all should appreciate and take value of our surroundings. I was surprisingly very inspired by the Navajo culture. It made me think of the time when I went hunting with my friend’s family back in the States. Although I didn’t recite a sacred verse to the elk we killed, I now know that I should the next time I go hunting. I feel as though I’ve learned so much about the people of Navajo and their traditions. Hunting Song teaches us about the Navajo song writing tradition, their appreciation toward the deer, and their awesome hunting tactics.

Creationism in Public Schools Essay -- Teaching Education

Creationism in Public Schools Teaching Creationism in Schools The question as to whether or not creationism should be taught in public schools is a very emotional and complex question. It can be looked at from several different angles, its validity being one of them. Despite the lack of evidence to support the fundamentalist idea of creationism, that in itself is not enough to warrant its exclusion from the curriculum of public schools in the United States. The question is far more involved and complex. One way to address the question is whether or not creationism, in itself, is a valid idea to be taught in public schools. The answer to this can be yes. Not only should a student in American public schools learn and acquire knowledge in empirical sciences, and other tangible facts both in history and other courses, but he should also learn how to think and make decisions for himself. Unfortunately, as it turns out, creationism is in direct conflict with the biological theory of evolution. Many fundamentalist propose that creationism should replace, or at least be offered as an alternative to Darwin’s theory of evolution. This is not the right approach. Creationism, as exemplified in the book of Genesis, should not be taught in a science course. Science runs on a certain set of rules and principles being: (1) it is guided by natural law, (2) it has to be explanatory by reference to natural law, (3) its conclusions lack finality and therefore may be altered or changed, (4) it is also testable against the empirical world, and finally (5) it is falsifiable. These characteristics define the laws, boundaries, and guidelines that science follows. In a science course, all knowledge conveyed is shown, or has been shown in the past, to exemplify a strict adherence to these qualities. Creationism, unfortunately in the eyes of Christian fundamentalist, does not exemplify any adherence whatsoever to these rules and guidelines of science. Therefore, it should not be included in the science curriculum in public schools, even as an alternative to evolution. Another idea is that which is held by those who subscribe to the idea of scientific creationism. Scientific creationism, as it relates to this topic, states that God was the creator, and that evolution is simply a means, developed by Him, of conservation. Due to this definition ... ...plausible alternative. Even if the Book of Genesis happened to find a place in the English curriculum of public schools, or an any other curriculum for that matter, it would still violate the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. Even if all these hurdles were overcome, it would still be hotly debated by different religions as to which story of creation to teach. For all of these reasons, it is impossible for any version of creationism to be taught in public schools in the United States. As one can see, the question of whether or not creationism should be taught in public schools is not so much a question of should it be taught, as it is more of a question of can it be taught. Can the Book of Genesis, or even a version of it be taught legally as part of a standardized curriculum? The answer is no. Can Native American versions of creation be taught? The answer is no. Can any idea of creation, subscribed to by any religion be taught legally? The answer is no. Should it be taught? Yes. Where then should it be taught legally, if not in the public school system? Probably, the best environment would be the home. The best teacher would probably be the parent.

Internet gambling Essay

Gambling online is growing exponentially, without the protection of reliable regulatory structures that ensure age and identity verification, the integrity/fairness of the games, or that responsible gaming features are included on a site. In a poorly regulated Internet environment, this study investigates gambling on twenty online sites. Content analysis was utilised to evaluate whether the sample displayed responsible gambling features. In the absence of established, agreed, regulatory evaluation criteria, the researchers constructed their own, based on examples of good practice on available websites and following the recommendations of the Gambling Review Report 2001 and the Gambling Act 2005. The primary findings suggest that most online gambling sites are responsible and most show elements of good practice, which is of interest given the unregulated environment and absence of policing. While some features are derived from conventional gambling policies and regulatory influences, some are unique to the special ethical risks of gambling on line. Web designers and commissioning organisations appear to have anticipated social criticisms by incorporating guards against unethical outcomes before regulatory controls have been imposed. As the impossibility of regulating/controlling the Internet is a common cliche in many commentators’ analysis, this self regulation and willingness to refrain from taking revenue from vulnerable punters, is intriguing. The authors recommend further research to establish an accurate picture, including the size and characteristics of the UK online gambling market. Secondly, to study and compare online gambling with more traditional forms of gambling in terms of underage and problem gambling. More studies need to investigate which forms of responsible gambling are most effective in reducing underage and problem gambling. Lastly, the response of the industry to legislation and micro regulation would be a guide for policy makers and responsible industry practitioners. Introduction Since the increased popularity of Internet access into homes and workplaces in the early nineties, Internet gambling opportunities have expanded at a surprisingly swift pace and more people are gambling online (Wood, Williams and Lawton, 2007). The unregulated nature and uncontrollability of the Internet, with low or no tax gambling, have created a perfect environment for the proliferation of gambling (Crist and Yeager, 1998). Anyone, anytime, anywhere with a computer, a connection, and a credit card can gamble at hundreds of different online gambling websites. Recent statistics state there are as many as 2,500 gambling websites currently operating; consisting of 1,083 online casinos, 592 sports and race-books, 532 poker rooms, 224 online bingo sites, 49 skill game sites, 30 betting exchanges, 25 lottery sites and 17 backgammon sites (Casino City, 2006). Gamcare (2008) state that the number of Internet gambling websites is approximately 3,000. By 12 September 2007, the Gambling Commission had received only 146 applications for operating licences that include provision for online gambling, a minute proportion of the 2,500 sites worldwide. Internet gambling revenues in a single year were $651 million in 1998, more than double the estimated $300 million from 1997 (Sinclair,1999). Further, the global Internet gambling industry is forecast to grow from about $9,000 million in 2004 to $25,000 million in 2010 (European Commission, 2006). If the estimated figures are accurate, then the importance of Internet gambling will continue to rise. Gambling presents a large set of negative social consequences and online gambling has its own challenges beyond those of gambling in general; introducing many new potential problems and rekindling many old ones (Griffiths,1999). Internet and land based casinos have problems detecting and deterring addicted gamblers. Even with the opportunity presented to physically verify age in conventional gambling outlets, no gambling jurisdiction is 100% effective in keeping out underage gambling (Gambling Online Magazine, 2004). It is feared that the anonymity offered by the Internet will exacerbate this problem. Computer-based systems allow gamblers to self-exclude or establish loss limits and may stand a better chance of being effective than the current systems in most conventional casinos. Whilst a determined gambler can move from site to site, reports of players’ activities can be made readily available with contact details for bodies that aim to assist those with problem gambling issues. However, offline and online operators other than those regulated in the UK, do not collect information about a customer’s financial situation, spending or habits, for both practical and protection of privacy reasons. A person who has developed a problem must identify it themselves and take their own constructive steps to deal with it. Operators only train staff to help those who believe they have a problem and approach customer services. Presently there is no comprehensive research or definitive standard as to how to identify someone who has developed a gambling problem. The prevailing view is that it is the minority of players who develop gambling problems. The current regulatory response to this issue is influenced by this perspective (EGBA, 2007). The Growth of Internet Gambling Several factors have contributed to the growth of online gambling. †¢ Internet access has increased globally and technologies that drive the Internet have improved. Confidence in conducting financial transactions online has increased and some governments have licensed online operators within their borders. †¢ The personal computer extends the range of choice. Land-based casinos dictate which games are available to players. Online gambling lets players move through cyberspace to play the games they prefer. †¢ The Internet provides the highest level of anonymity for conducting gambling. The more pervasive concern has been that the Internet attracts people away from person-to-person contact, fostering alienation and real-world disconnection (Boase, 2006). †¢ The costs of establishing online sites are considerably less than those of land-based gambling operations. Flatt (1998) has estimated as little as $135,000. Problem Gambling The ability to gamble anonymously provides problem gamblers with a safe haven without physical scrutiny or surveillance (Scharf and Corrin, 2002). Problem gambling is categorised as an addiction. A severe disorder characterised by obsessive thoughts of gambling, a loss of control, often involving lying and stealing in order to recover gambling losses. As well as other negative consequences (Netemeyer,1998). Specific to Internet Gambling is the role that technology contributes to alteration in gambling habits (Griffiths, 1999). There are no regulated opening times, as exercised by terrestrial operations. It has been argued that there is an ‘exodus from reality’, in the sense that gambling online does not involve ‘real cash’. A gambler may lose control as he or she cannot see a money balance and does not suffer a physical loss. Online gambling loses the social aspect of gambling creating the disadvantage that there are no friends or peers to discourage a gambler from going too far (Griffiths, 1999). Underage Gambling. There is a high priority of protecting children from online gambling, considered more addictive than conventional forms of gambling, because of young people’s familiarity with and access to computer-based technologies (Conway and Koehler, 2000). They have a perception of control resulting from their skills honed playing PlayStation or interactive video games, and may have a false sense of security boosted by their fluency (Mackay, 2004). Another concern is that underage gamblers have easy access to sites and to forms of gambling, from which they otherwise would be excluded by conventional outlets. Many sites offer a ‘demo’ mode, i.e. play without wagering money. It is suspected that ‘demo’ games may give very good odds. Adolescents who are successful on these games could develop a habit which continues when they reach adulthood and are legally permitted to gamble for money, when the odds are no longer so favourable (Mackay, 2004). Regulation Gambling in its various forms is often seen as a deeply-rooted trait of the human activity, which although a source of gratification for many and not innately immoral, can cause harm to individuals. Gambling has long been subject to regulation by governments, reflecting moral, religious and political mores. A pragmatic motivation for such regulation is to generate revenue, which might result in a conflict of interest in regulatory regimes, as the industry grows. The objective of regulation can vary from protecting consumers by ensuring the probity and integrity of the gambling operators and the purging of fraud and abuse of criminal activities, such as money laundering, to reduction of the social cost of problem gambling. There is a gap in the literature concerning the efficacy of regulation. Regulation of online gambling is a comparatively new phenomenon and it is too early to measure its effectiveness. There are debates about appropriate licensing frameworks, legal and technical standards for operators and cover issues, such as protection of customer funds, continuous and repetitive play and intervention to tackle problem gambling. Methodology Content analysis, adopted for this study, has been defined as a systematic, replicable technique for compressing many words of text into fewer content categories based on explicit rules of coding (Krippendorff, 1980). Content analysis has four key advantages: †¢ it is unobtrusive †¢ it is flexible and applicable to unstructured materials †¢ it is context sensitive. †¢ it can be applied to large amounts of data. The lack of research applying content analysis to websites is partially a result of the complexity of Internet information, in particular; the definition of a website, the unit of analysis and the method of sampling. A major problem in conducting Internet content analysis is related to defining the term ‘website. ’ With a large volume of information on a website, it becomes unworkable to analyse the whole website. Therefore, parts of the website, the units of analysis, must be chosen for evaluation. In addition to size, websites differ in purpose, structure and content, therefore selecting a unit of analysis consistently across all samples is highly problematic (Ha and James, 1998). Coding an entire website is difficult and can introduce bias based on size. Selecting the unit of analysis is not an easy task as the volume of data can overwhelm the researcher. In this study the first step was to decide on the sample. The sample consisted of the top twenty most popular online gambling sites visited in Britain, according to: †¢ www. gambling. com, †¢ www. cam-orl. co. uk. Internet-betting-online. html and †¢ www. ukcasinoguide.org. uk . The sites were accessed and coded during a period of three days, in February 2006. The term website was applied on a general level, defined as a collection of pages or files linked together and available online. The unit of analysis was the homepage, plus drill downs. The study attempted to limit the analysis to the homepage. However, it was decided that the content available on a homepage was too limited and did not necessarily reflect the breadth and scope of content available on the whole website. The study experimented with gambling sites. A commonality of approaches indicated prima facie industry norms. The study observed evidence of good practice. The content of the websites was evaluated by characteristics providing factual information and of responsible gambling. The coding template was based on possible features associated with each of the two categories and was used to record the content of each website, within the unit of analysis. Ratings were based on how difficult it was to locate information. More drill downs meant the information was harder to find and scored a lower rating. It was believed that the more easily located and extensive the information, the more an online gambling operator was committed to responsible gambling. Reliability and Validity The reliability of a study involving content analysis refers to the stability and reproducibility of the results (Stemler, 2001). Stability requires researchers to code the data consistently. According to Weber (1990), concerns regarding reliability often stem from the ambiguity of word meanings, category definitions, or other coding rules. The validity of a study involving content analysis is determined by the extent to which the definitions (included in the tool) reflect the sub-categories. The validity of categories is enhanced by the inclusion of many words to arrive at the same judgment. For example, the words gambling and betting were considered interchangeable. One of the primary reasons to conduct content analysis is to collect objective information. Therefore, the study ensured that the procedure was clearly laid out and defined. It was consistently applied to the sample. The following three steps were taken to enhance the reliability and validity of the study’s findings and to ensure that the information gathered was objective. First, to enhance the reliability of the results, after the tool was applied to the website, the coder re-coded the website on the same day to ensure accuracy. Second, the coding scheme was tested to ensure the suitability of the categories and the overall reliability of the tool. It was important that the list of variables was exhaustive and mutually exclusive in order to avoid any confusion. Lastly, to improve the validity of the results, the definitions were reviewed and expanded to ensure that there was an exhaustive list of words for each sub-category where applicable. For example, for the sub-category ‘Addiction Help,’ words such as ‘problem gambling,’ ‘concerns about gambling,’ were included in the coding guidelines to broaden the category, allowing the coder to capture the data. Findings Considering the large amount of data collected, only the criteria of responsible gambling were analysed intensively. These are illustrated in Table 1. The key areas of concern, underage gambling and problem gambling are expanded in Tables 2 and 3 respectively. Sample characteristics Security Online gambling security is as good as most other e-commerce sites. There are no reported any security-related fraud (Turner, 2002). Online gambling sites know that cheating their customers is bad for business and therefore tend to be honest. The market is so competitive that the reputation of market leaders is paramount. Players are likely to switch to rival sites if practices are questionable. Payment systems are critical to the success of any online business and online gambling operators have their own particular challenges to face. The integrity of systems must be assured. [pic] Table 1 Voluntary Initiatives Systems must be secure from hackers and crackers, from both outside and from within. There are readily available codes to ensure security such as the use of encryption and digital signatures. These technologies are already in use. All sites accessed displayed secure transaction information. The ‘dot com boom’ followed by the ‘dot com crash’ has had Internet gambling casualties. Several Internet gambling operators have gone bankrupt. For example Netbetsports and Luvbet folded owing their customers money (Barker, 2007). These firms had a relatively high profile within the industry. Luvbet was one of the first bookmakers to promote an Internet site offering tax free betting. Netbetsports offered Internet customers high bet limits and tax free betting, when UK tax rates were still nine per cent. Internet gambling is expanding in ever-changing and unregulated websites (Hartman, 2007; Holahan, 2006). It is uncertain whether as an unintended consequence of domestic regulation; risk taking clients might be challenged to gamble with unscrupulous vendors. This could represent an extra excitement factor, perhaps generating worse personal consequences, than in an unregulated environment. Responsible gambling The concern with responsible gambling is the rationale of this study. It was intended to measure how online sites recognise that gambling can cause problems for customers and to investigate and record the measures to offer checks. The websites were evaluated according to how helpful responsible gambling information was. The study found no consistency in the responsible gambling information. British legislation requires mandatory procedures promoting socially responsible gambling. This should be clear and prominent on their homepage, if it is to be effective. Eleven sites displayed responsible features on the home page or easily accessible links. Most of the remaining sites contained these features, but access was difficult, hence their lower rating. Fair Gaming and Independent Audits Fair gaming refers to sites operating honestly and responsibly, ensuring monetary deposit safety and winning bets paid in a timely manner. Fifty-five per cent of sites accessed contained information stating that they were independently audited. Independent audits confirm the percentage of payouts of games, review the output and validity of the software, that it consistently produces random results and fair outcomes of games. For example Price Coopers Waterhouse at www. roxypalace. com. The Gambling Review Report (2001) recommends that online gambling software systems must be random-operated and tested by the Gambling Commission. Online sites must make payments only to the credit card used to make deposits or by cheque to the player. The study looked for evidence of these recommended features. Security and honesty of transactions are as important to the supplier as the customer. A bad reputation for online gambling sites could be commercially crippling (Griffiths, 2003). Therefore the responsible features recorded here do have an economic payoff. Ethical Statement An ethical code was a key criterion to be assessed when visiting each site. Only one ‘ethical code’ which covered policies on compliance and data protection, measures restricting minors and the risks of compulsive gambling, was observed. This might be seen as a ‘narrow’ interpretation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) focussing on legal/rule based elements. Legal safeguards are problematic, since any Internet relationship questions which law should be complied with. Smeaton and Griffiths (2004) found two-thirds of the sites they visited displayed no evidence of social responsibility and concluded that social responsibility was a low priority for online sites. Problem Gambling Social responsibility can be evidenced by attempts to offer services in a way that does not encourage repetitive play or by supporting a client with a problem. Sixty per cent of the websites provided problem gambling information. InterCasino UK |Ethics drill down finds the website is committed to detecting and reducing compulsive gambling with |Med | | |procedures including monthly deposit limits and analysis of gambling patterns (this information was not | | | |verifable for the study). | | |Coral Casino |Link to GamCare and facilities for daily/weekly deposit limits, self exclusion periods and access to customer|High | | |accounts. | | |Platinum Play Casino |Link to gambling support agencies and facilities for self-assessment tests, daily/weekly deposit limits, self|High | | |exclusion periods, access to customer accounts and filtering programmes. | | |Spin Palace Casino |Link to gambling support agencies and facility self exclusion periods. |Med | |City Club Casino |Link to a statement of encouraging sensible gambling and link to Gamblers Anonymous. |Low | |Roxy Palace Online Casino |Link to Gamblers Anonymous website. |Low | |32 Vegas Red |Link to Gamblers Anonymous website. |Low | |Victor Chandler |No link or message to be found. |Nil | |Crazy Vegas Casino |Link to gambling support agencies and facilities for self-assessment tests, daily/weekly deposit limits, self|High | | |exclusion periods and filtering programmes. | | |English Harbour |Link to Gamblers Anonymous website. |Low | |Casino Tropez |No link or message to be found. |Nil | |Vegas Red Casino |No link or message to be found. |Nil | |Ruby Fortune Casino |Link to gambling support agencies and facilities for self-assessment tests, daily/weekly deposit limits, self|High | | |exclusion periods, access to customer accounts and filtering programmes. | | |Eurobet Casino |Link to GamCare and facilities for daily/weekly deposit limits, self exclusion periods and access to customer|Med | | |accounts. | | |UK Casino Club |About Us’ link leads to a ‘Responsible Gaming Policy’ which offers a self-assessment test, cooling off |Med | | |periods and exclusion options. | | |Golden Riviera |Link to Gamblers Anonymous website. |Low | |William Hill Casino |Link to GamCare and facilities for daily/weekly deposit limits, self exclusion periods and access to customer|Med | | |accounts. | | |Hammers Casino |No link or message to be found. |Nil | |King Solomons Casino |No link or message to be found. |Nil | |www. 888. com |Link to Gamblers Anonymous website. |Low | Table 3 Problem Gambling Information UK legislation requires training of gambling operators’ employees to identify problems and to have procedures to sensitively deal with these. Fifteen sites had problem gambling information. Five linked to the Gamblers Anonymous website. Four sites offered assessment tests. It was not within the parameters of this study, to determine if online gambling sites follow up on tests, when a result indicated a problem. Three of the sites accessed provided information relating to filtering programmes, which can block underage users. These could be found through links to other sites and there was a free trial download facility available. Self-exclusion and Deposit Limits A player who feels that he or she is losing control of play and requires help in restricting access to online gambling were served by eight sites in this study that provided the facility for self-exclusion. This option was never located on the homepage and accessed only through drill downs. The study could not determine if applications were processed immediately or if self-exclusion from one site meant exclusion from multiple sites. It was unclear if these schemes required the gambler to undergo counseling assessments prior to re-admission, or if after the self-exclusion period had lapsed; the player automatically was included again. The study was also not able to clarify if players who request self-exclusion were given information about problem gambling counseling services. Computer-based systems can allow gamblers to self-exclude or establish loss limits and may stand a better chance of being effective than the current systems in most conventional casinos today. Whilst a determined gambler can move from site to site, reports of a player’s activities can be made readily available, with contact details for bodies that aim to assist those with problem gambling issues. Internet gambling operators are equipped to collect adequate data and information to be able to identify patterns of problem gambling (DCMS, 2006). There is the technological ability for operators to collect enough data to be able to identify patterns of problem gambling. This is a requirement of the 2005 Act. However, this is a prescription only for operators with a British licence and the position of the European Gambling and Betting Association (EGBA, 2007) is that it is extremely difficult to monitor and identify when someone has begun to gamble irresponsibly. Therefore according to EGBA, offline and online gambling operators should not collect information about a customer’s financial situation, spending or habits, for both practical and privacy issues. Operators that act on this aim to establish a responsible reputation and may see it as a competitive advantage factor. Yet they may infringe the principle of privacy. An issue for regulators is whether to acquire the power to compel operators to intervene in the event of identifying a problem gambler. The technical provisions in Britain for socially responsible Internet gambling have been drafted and are in the process are being applied. Assessment of the effectiveness of regulations in curbing problem gambling has yet to be done. Some sites permit customers to limit the amount of money that they are able to deposit into their account on both a daily and/or a weekly basis. It was noted that amounts may be revised downwards at any time, but increases are implemented after twenty-four hours. The online gambling operators are unable to override limits set by customers. Some sites allow access to a player’s full history of transactions, withdrawals and deposits. The Gambling Review Report (2001) recommends online sites should be required to set up facilities that enable players to set maximum stakes, limits and to self-ban. Protection of Underage Gamblers In order to ensure child safety online sites were evaluated for identity verification and exclusion facilities, such as the use of filtering software. The Gambling Review Report (2001) offers guidelines to ensure that identification standards are comparable to those of off-line casinos. It asserts that all players who register to play online should be properly identified before they are permitted to play. Age Verification Most sites studied required a prospective gambler to only complete a registration form in order to play. These sites rely on the player to disclose their correct age and do not verify the accuracy of the information. Underage gamblers can use their parents’ credit cards or even their own to register and set up accounts (Schroeder and Versch, 1998). The Gambling Review Report (2001) recommends that players who register online should be properly identified, before they are permitted to play. All sites displayed an age warning on their homepage. 32 Vegas Red alone stated it had taken steps to ensure that their site did not attract young people and used software that stops the underage from joining. Smeaton and Griffiths (2004) have investigated underage gambling and found poor standards of verification. The concern is that many sites are not employing identity verifications systems to check the age of players and therefore allow underage play. Verification systems work by searching available government and financial databases, to find evidence to support the personal information supplied by the player. For example, credit ratings or inclusion on the electoral roll can verify that the player is of the required age. However such searching again might threaten individual privacy. InterCasino UK |Logo displayed on homepage. Ethics drill down reveals site requires customers to declare that |Low | | |they are of legal age. | | |Coral Casino |Logo linked to statement that the company reserves the right to request proof of age. |Med | |Platinum Play Casino |Logo linked to statement defining the customer as adult and sane as per laws of country of |Med | | |residence. | | |Spin Palace Casino |Logo linked to statement relying on responsible parenting. |Med | |City Club Casino |Terms of Use’ drill down states customer must be adult as per country of residence. |Low | |Roxy Palace Online Casino |Terms & Conditions’ drill down states customer must be of legal age. |Low | |32 Vegas Red |About Us’ drill down leads to ‘Responsible Gaming’ drill down stating it is illegal for anyone |High | | |under 18 to open an account or to play and that they have taken steps to ensure that the website| | | |does not attract young people and our website uses software that stops under 18’s joining (this | | | |could not be verified by the study). Also requests responsible parenting. | | |Victor Chandler |Logo linked to statement defining the customer as adult as per laws of country of residence. |Med | |Crazy Vegas Casino |Logo linked to statement relying on responsible parenting. |Med | |English Harbour |Terms & Conditions’ drill down states customer must be of legal age. |Low | |Casino Tropez |Terms of Use’ drill down states customer must be of legal age. |Low | |Vegas Red Casino |Terms of Use’ drill down states customer must be of legal age. |Low | |Ruby Fortune Casino |Logo linked to statement relying on responsible parenting. |Med | |Eurobet Casino |Logo linked to statement stating the company reserves the right to request proof of age. |Med | |UK Casino Club |Responsible Gaming’ drill down leads to downloadable Children Protection Software and urges |High | | |responsible parenting. | | |Golden Riviera |Terms & Conditions’ drill down states customer must be of legal age. |Low | |William Hill Casino |Responsible Gaming’ drill down leads to statement that the company reserves the right to request|Med | | |proof of age. | | |Hammers Casino |Terms of Use’ drill down states customer must be adult as per country of residence. |Low | |King Solomons Casino |Logo linked to statement defining the customer as adult and sane as per laws of country of |Low | | |residence. | | |www. 888. com |Link leads to statement that it is illegal for anyone under 18 to play and that they have taken |High | | |steps to discourage and track young people (this could not be verified by the study). Website | | | |recommends software supporting responsible parenting. | | Table 2 Age Verification Telephone Betting The Gambling Review Report (2001) states that aspects of online gambling should be more heavily regulated than conventional gambling. However, the Internet’s characteristics make it more difficult to regulate. This study looked for evidence of telephone betting and considered implications of this facility. The three sites that offer the player the facility of telephone betting have a UK High Street presence. It could be argued that the reason why these organisations have added online sites to their operations is to expand opportunities. Using the BCG Matrix, the shops could be considered ‘cash cows,’ well-established with high market share. The new online sites could be ‘stars. ’ The prospect of growth is exciting as are the opportunities (McDonald, 2002). Land-based operators provide an online presence, giving extra services for the player, the anonymity of play compared to their shops, higher levels of usibility, and possibly even more security, simply to grow their businesses, rather than to offer player protection in this feature (Johnson, 1997). Ultimately this criterion failed to help evaluate the concept of responsible on line gambling, given the ‘virtual’ existence of most sites. Technical Support All sites provide ‘24-7’ telephone and technical support, with free numbers, player-to-technician online chatroom and email support. Every channel of communication is available to guarantee full access for a player. This measure is clearly very important to the site operators and customers. The sites are very competent in not losing customers through technical problems and offer very many points of contact. Yet the same form of in house supportive ‘counseling’ service is not offered to problem gamblers. Licenses It is not illegal for British residents to gamble online, nor is it illegal for overseas operators to offer online gambling to British residents. However, the Gambling Act 2005 requires an operator to obtain a licence if they site any piece of equipment, for example a database, presentation device, or determining device in the UK, regardless of whether other devices are outside the country (DCMS, 2005). Gibraltar |Canada |Caribbean |UK |Unknown | |5 |7 |6 |1 |1 |. Table 4 Sources of Licenses As an example the City Club Casino is licensed by the Island of Curacao, but displays US and UK freefone numbers, in prominent positions on their website, which may mislead the player into thinking that the site is American or British. Another disingenuous feature is when ‘UK’ appears.

Hewlett Packard Case #2

2. What do you think of the way the team set out to find a market for the Kittyhawk? What correct turns and what wrong turns did they make? When setting out to find a market for Kittyhawk, there were several correct and incorrect decisions that the DMD division made that greatly affected their product and its future effectiveness. They initially went about it the right way by researching the electronics industry and the several companies within the industry that might want their new product. They also spent time analyzing HP’s future product plans and how they aligned with that of Kittyhawk’s.They looked into businesses where their innovative and disruptive product may have a greater demand and be better able to quickly incorporate their product, such as the mobile and gaming markets. The DMD division made the mistake of not waiting for the market to develop before mass producing their product. Existing customers tend to be hesitant when moving away from products that t hey have already invested in and move towards a disruptive technology. Many customers may not even have the resources or capabilities to use HP’s new product.DMD should have given time for customers to become aware of their innovative product before jumping to conclusions of future demand trends. One way to initially see how customers would react to Kittyhawk would have been to do beta and end user testing before establishing a permanent market. Also, the company hired a market research firm specializing in high-tech markets to help them segment the market, but since Kittyhawk was so innovative, the research was almost useless because there were no reliable leads or demands from customers.At the Computer Electronics Show, HP did not capitalize on the immediate market need set forth by Nintendo, who wanted their product for $50. This went against DMD’s original purpose of the project which was to create a cheap, small disk drive, which was exactly what Nintendo wanted. Instead, they chose to go into the PDA market, which was stated to have technical issues and an uncertain future. This was an unnecessary risk taken by HP.At the show, they bypassed the desktop and notebook computer sections, which were established markets that could have taken advantage of Kittyhawk. Although searching for a â€Å"new hill† to establish their market is a good idea to get a first-mover advantage, there are high demand risks when focusing solely on unproven markets. Instead of focusing on such unproven markets, DMD should have created their product so it could be variable enough to adjust to different consumer needs, which would attract a much wider market.DMD made the mistake of setting forth goals for Kittyhawk before assessing the market. These goals were not only unreasonable, but they created a lot of pressure on the engineering staff. They set forth a strict deadline of introducing the Kittyhawk in 12 months and breaking even in profits in 36 months. Alt hough this is a good idea to motivate your engineers to beat the competition and achieve a first-mover advantage, the engineers instead sacrificed aspects of the product that were critical to its success and were part of the original goal.In order to lower the price of the product as much as possible to satisfy customers, they sacrificed some of the promised capabilities that set the product apart from the competition. Although there is definitely an innovation and price tradeoff, when HP refused to sell Kittyhawk for less than $130, it was a clear indication of how they had moved so far away from their original goal of creating a visionary product and were mainly focused on just creating profits.

Gender Equality Reaction Paper Sample Research Paper Example

Gender Equality Reaction Paper Sample Research Paper Example Gender Equality Reaction Paper Sample Paper Gender Equality Reaction Paper Sample Paper Gender and Development Reaction Paper Throughout centuries, gender inequality has always been one of the main issues in our society. Just recently, King Abdullah, revolutionized Saudi Arabia by giving women the right to vote and hold position for the first time. In Italy, Ma-Vib, an Engineering firm, was placed on the hot seat when it chose to fire only female employees during a series of lay-offs. Through the Gender-conflict approach, we view gender inequality as a form of social stratification – that gender inequality is long-standing system of hierarchy between the sexes, where Men has always been on the upper-tier. Gender-conflict approach/perspective views patriarchy as something women continually accept because they have been socialized into a society with the notion that women are inferior. This particular matter got my attention because as a woman, I believe this is the closest subject which I can relate to myself. I chose this because this view can bring about cataclysmic change in our society when people just become more aware of it. Need a good writing essay helper? Our team is here for you just let us know! Gender Sensitivity I am aware of the changes in gender-equality in our society today. Women are now progressing to gain equal rights. These beliefs toward gender roles created conflict. The unequal distribution of society’s wealth and power between the two sexes exposes the continuing dominance of men’s privilege and values throughout the society. The activities men were involved in were often those that provided them with more access and control to resources and decision-making power. : The characteristics of the activities performed by men and women toward the ages become people’s perceptions of the attributes of men and women themselves, thus came social stratification. Women were perceived, and then regulated as housewives – responsible for cleaning the house, cooking dinner and taking care of the children, while Men were stratified as income-generating mechanism of the family. The social-conflict perceives society as an â€Å"arena of inequality† that can generate change. Gender and Development I believe that gender-conflict approach leads to development, as it brought about feministic movements in our society. People, men and women alike, became aware of the inequality in our society. They saw the social stratification existing between the genders. They saw gender roles. After seeing the society, in the gender-conflict approach, the feminist movement flourished. Women experienced gender inequality in different environments and occupations. Nowadays, there are more women known to have jobs, and men are no longer the sole bread-earner in the family. Women contribute not just on to the welfare of the family, but also to the political and economical aspects of the society. Just like in the events on Saudi Arabia; however, feminist movement on the country has a long way to go, since many barriers still exist, like women not entitled to drive, or women not permitted to neither work nor have medical operations without the permission of a male relative. I believe that just by seeing the society on a different perspective can bring change to it.

Rooms Division Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rooms Division - Assignment Example The functions of the reception office include: There are wide ranges of front office services which include: Reservations, check-in and registration, mail and information, uniformed service and baggage handling, telephone calls and messages, handling guest accounts, and check-out and bill settlement. These operations start from the time a guest calls or sends in a request for reservation/accommodation (www.answers.com). Therefore the staff of the front office starts interacting with guest by taking in guest information and reservation request, leading to confirmation of reservation and finally to the handling of guest on arrival and guest check-in. Front office takes in the guest information for future use and provides the guest with information about the hotel and its various services and thus becomes the connecting link between the guest and the hotel (www.hotelmanagement.com). The pivotal role played by the front office is quite apparent from this very fact that it is the centre of all activities connected with guests in the hotel. Therefore, the decisions regarding the sale of a room to a particular guest, availability and allocation of a room, maintaining guest account by coordinating with the housekeeping and room service are the major front-of-the office activities. It is the first contact a customer has with the hotel. If it is sort from the start, it makes transition much easier when they are in the hotel. The key to the success of a hotel business is service which starts with the first contact between the guest and the hotel personnel of the front office. The way guests are received and treated is very vital because it becomes the basis of their impression and conditions their disposition about what the hotel provides. It is necessary to have a well-defined plan of a Hotel front office area to enhance smooth operations since the front office area is the first place a customer comes into contact on

In 2007, a change of canadian market by the influence of global Essay

In 2007, a change of canadian market by the influence of global warning - Essay Example Millions of acres of Canadian land are turning red due to the rapid warming. A beetle is playing havoc with the forests and it is suggested that this beetle needs to be swept across the Northern Mountains so that it could be killed by the severe cold weather of the place. Other officials in certain areas of Alberta are doing their best to set the forest on fire so that somehow or the other this beetle could be killed once and for all. Global warming has also threatened the fisheries segment within the Canadian society and for doing the things right it is pertinent to understand that Canadian oceans need to grant permission to the restricted number of boats on the fishing grounds and everyone must not be allowed to boat for the sake of catching fish. With this issue, salmon are starting to appear in those areas where they did not use to be in the first place. Furthermore, they have disappeared from the places they used to be. The climate change can have lasting effects on the industries that are existent within Canada whereby the productivity levels could hit an all time low. Furthermore, there would be the problems in the line of the basic living conditions and not to forget the amenities which would not be easily accessible and indeed made available. The change brought by the global warming would indeed have a bad taste in the mouth as far as the Canadian trade and relevant markets are concerned. There would be issues like high oil prices and the like in the coming eras. With that one can easily expect the cost of living to increase to alarming levels and not only that but also the spending would increase as would be the case with the inflation levels which would hit the doldrums. Global warming is something that can have lasting impressions on the whole of the Canadian society if not only a select segment within it. Canada needs to respond to the threat of global warming in a head