Biological Effects Of Radiation Environmental Sciences Essay

Radiation describes a procedure in which energetic atoms or moving ridges travel through a medium or infinite. There are two distinguishable types of radiation ; ionising and non-ionizing. The word radiation is normally used in mention to ionising radiation merely holding sufficient energy to ionise an atom but it may besides mention to non-ionizing radiation illustration like wireless moving ridges or seeable visible radiation. The energy radiates travels outward in consecutive lines in all waies from its beginning. This geometry of course leads to a system of measuring and physical that is every bit applicable to all types of radiation. Both ionising and non-ionizing radiation can be harmful to beings and can ensue in alterations to the natural environment. Radiation with sufficiently high energy can ionise atoms. Most frequently, this occurs when an negatron is stripped from an negatron shell, which leaves the atom with a net positive charge. Because cells are made of atoms, this ionisation can ensue in malignant neoplastic disease. An single cell is made of millions of atoms. The chance of ionising radiation doing malignant neoplastic disease is dependent upon the dose rate of the radiation and the sensitiveness of the being being irradiated. Alpha atoms, Beta atoms, Gamma and X-Ray radiation, and Neutrons may all be accelerated to a high plenty energy to ionise atoms. Alpha atom: In alpha atom, the self-generated procedure of emanation of an alpha atom from a radioactive karyon. Alpha atom is by and large termed as alpha decay. An alpha atom is emitted by a heavy karyon. The karyon, called parent karyon has a really big internal energy and is unstable. An alpha atom is a He nucleus holding two protons and two neutrons. When two negatrons revolving around the karyon of He atom are knocked out wholly, we have double ionized He atom known as alpha atom. Beta atom: a beta-particle is a fast moving negatron. The self-generated procedure of emanation of beta-particle from a radioactive karyon is called beta decay. Beta decay is of three types: beta-minus, beta-plus, and electron gaining control. Beta-minus: beta-minus is like an negatron. It is surprising that nucleus contains no negatron, so a karyon can breathe negatron. In the neutron inside the karyon is converted in to a proton and an negatron like atom. This negatron like atom is emitted by the karyon during beta-decay. In beta-minus decay, neutron in the karyon is converted in to a proton and a beta-minus atom is emitted so that the ratio of neutron to proton lessenings and therefore the nucleus becomes stable. Beta-plus: In a beta-plus decay, a proton is converted in to a neutron and a antielectron is emitted if a karyon has more protons than neutrons. Electron gaining control: In negatron gaining control, nucleus absorbs one of the interior negatrons go arounding around it and hence a atomic proton becomes a neutron and a neutrino is emitted. Electron gaining control is comparable with a antielectron emanation as the procedures lead to the same atomic transmutation. However, in negatron gaining control occurs more often than antielectron emanation in heavy elements. This is because the orbits of negatrons in heavy elements have same radii and hence orbital negatrons are really near to the karyon. Gamma beam: Gamma beams are the high energy packages of electromagnetic radiation. Gamma radiations have high energy photons. They do non hold any charge and their comparative remainder mass is zero. Gamma-decay it is the self-generated procedure of emanation of high energy photon from a radioactive karyon. When a radioactive karyon emits a beta atom, the girl karyon is excited to the higher energy province. This aroused karyon beams are emitted by the girl nucleus so it is clear that the emanation of gamma beams follows the emanation of alpha or beta atom.Non ionising radiation:Non-ionizing signifiers of radiation on life tissue have merely late been studied. Alternatively of bring forthing charged ions when go throughing through affair, the electromagnetic radiation has sufficient energy to alter merely the rotational, quiver or electronic valency constellations of molecules and atoms. However, different biological effects are observed for different types of non-ionizing radiation Radio moving ridges: Radio moving ridges whose wavelengths range from than 10^4m to 0.1m, are the consequence of charges speed uping through carry oning wires. They are generated by such electronic devices as LC oscillators are used in wireless and telecasting communicating system. Infrared beams: Infrared radiations have wavelength runing from about 0.3m to 10^ -4m and besides generated by the electronic devices. The infrared radiation energy absorbed by a substance as internal energy because the energy agitates the object ‘s atoms, increasing their quiver or translational gesture, which consequences temperature increases. Infrared radiation has practical and scientific application in many countries, including physical therapy, infrared radiation picture taking, and quiver spectrometry. Ultraviolet radiation: Ultraviolet radiation screen wavelength runing from about 4X10^4m to 6X10^-10m. The Sun is an of import beginning of ultraviolet radiation visible radiation, which is the chief cause of tan. Sunscreen locations are crystalline to seeable visible radiation but greater per centum of UV visible radiation absorbed. Ultraviolet beams have besides been implicated I the formation of cataracts. Most of the UV visible radiation from the Sun is absorbed by ozone molecules in the Earth upper ambiance, in a bed called stratosphere. This ozone shield converts lethal high energy UV radiation to infrared radiation, which in bends warm the stratosphere. X raies: X raies have the scope from approximately10^-8 to 10^-12m. The most common beginning of X raies is halting of high energy negatrons upon the pelting a metal mark. X raies are used as nosologies tool in medical specialty and as the intervention for certain signifiers of malignant neoplastic disease. Because X raies can damage or destruct living tissue and being, attention must be taken avoid necessary exposure or over-exposure. X raies are besides used in the survey of crystal construction because x-rays wavelengths are comparable to the atomic separation distance in solids. Electromagnetic radiation: The wave nature of electromagnetic radiation explains assorted phenomena like intervention, diffraction and polarisation. However, wave nature of electromagnetic radiation, could explicate phenomena like photoelectric consequence, Compton Effect. The cathode rays consist of negative charged atoms called negatrons which are the component of an atom and therefore the component of affair. Harmonizing to the construct of radiation illustration light moving ridge ‘s wireless moving ridges, X raies, microwaves etc. are assumed to transport energy in packages or packages known as photons or quanta.Biological consequence of radiation:In biological consequence of radiation, there are many unsafe effects of our wellness and organic structure. Biological effects of radiation are typically can be divided into two classs. The first category consist of exposure to high doses of radiation over shots period of clip bring forthing ague or short term effects. The 2nd class represents exposure to low doses of radiation over an drawn-out period of clip bring forthing chronic or long term effects. High dosage ( acute ) : high doses tend to kill cells, while low doses tend to damage or alter them. High doses can kill so many cells that tissues and variety meats are damaged. This is bend may do a rapid whole organic structure response frequently called the ague radiation syndrome ( ARS ) . Low doses ( chronic ) : low doses spread out over long periods of clip do n't do an immediate job to any organic structure organ. The effects of low doses of radiation occur at the degree of the cell, and the consequences may non be observed for many old ages. Although we tend to tie in high doses of radiation with ruinous events such as atomic arms detonations, there have been documented instances of persons deceasing from exposures to high doses of radiation ensuing from tragic events. High effects of radiation: high effects of radiation are skin Burnss, hair loss, asepsis, cataracts. Effectss of skin include ( blushing like tan ) , dry ( skining ) , and moist ( vesicating ) . Skin effects are more likely to happen with exposure to moo energy gamma, x-ray, or beta radiation. Most of the energy of the radiation sedimentation in the skin surface. The dosage required for erythematic to happen is comparatively high, in surplus of 300 radiations. Blistering requires a dosage in surplus of 1,200 radiations. Hair loss, besides called epilation, is similar to clamber effects and can happen after acute doses of about 500 radiations. Asepsis can be impermanent or lasting in males, depending upon the doses. To bring forth lasting asepsis, a dosage in surplus of 400 radiations is required to the generative variety meats. Cataracts ( a clouding of the lens of the oculus ) appear to hold a threshold about 200 radiations. Neutrons are particularly effectual in bring forthing cataracts, because the oculus has high H2O content, which is peculiarly effectual in halting neutrons.High dose effects:Dose ( radiation ) consequence observed15-25 blood count alterations. 50 blood count alteration in single. 100 Vomiting ( threshold ) . 150 Death ( threshold ) .Classs of effects of exposure to low doses of radiation:There are three general classs of effects ensuing from exposure to low doses of radiation. These are: Familial: the consequence is suffered by the progeny of the person exposed. Bodily: the consequence is chiefly suffered by the person exposed. Since malignant neoplastic disease is the primary consequence, it is sometimes called the carcinogenic consequence. In-utero: some erroneously consider this to be a familial effect of radiation exposure, because the consequence, suffered by a development is after birth. However, this is really a particular instance of the bodily consequence, since the embryo is the 1 to the radiation. Radiation hazard: the approximative hazards for the three chief effects to degree of radiation are: In familial consequence, hazard from 1 paradoxical sleep of radiation exposure to the generative variety meats about 50 to 1,000 clip ‘s less than self-generated hazard for assorted anomalousnesss. In bodily consequence, for radiation induced malignant neoplastic disease, the hazard estimation is developing any type of malignant neoplastic disease. However non all malignant neoplastic diseases are associated with exposure to radiation. The hazard from deceasing from radiation induced malignant neoplastic disease is about one half the hazard of acquiring the malignant neoplastic disease. In utero: Spontaneous hazards of foetal abnormalcies are about 5 to 30 times greater than hazard of exposure to 1 paradoxical sleep radiation. However, the hazard of child goon malignant neoplastic disease from exposure in utero is about the same as the hazard to grownups exposed to radiation exposures. Linear no-threshold hazard theoretical account: general consensus among experts is that some radiation dosage by a additive, no threshold theoretical account. This theoretical account is accepted by the NRC since it appears to be most conservative. Linear: an addition in dose grownups in a relative addition in hazard. No-threshold: any dosage, no affair how little, produces some hazard. The hazard does non get down at 0 because there is some hazard of malignant neoplastic disease, even with no occupational exposure. Exposure to radiation is warrant of injury. However, because of the additive, no-threshold theoretical account, more exposure means more hazard, and there is no dosage of radiation so little that it will non hold some consequence.Effects OF RADIATION ON CELLSIonizing radiation absorbed by human tissue has adequate energy to take negatrons from the atoms that make up molecules of the tissue. When the negatron that was shared by the two atoms to organize a molecular bond is dislodged by ionising radiation, the bond is broken and therefore, the molecule falls apart. This is a basic theoretical account for understanding radiation harm. When ionising radiation interacts with cells, it may or may non strike a critical portion of the cell. We consider the chromosomes to be the most critical portion of the cell since they contain the familial information and ins tructions required for the cell to execute its map and to do transcripts of it for reproduction intents. Besides, there are really effectual fix mechanisms at work invariably which fix cellular harm – including chromosome harm.Uses of radiation: Nuclear natural philosophies application are highly widespread in fabrication, medical specialty in biological science, we present a few of these application and implicit in theories back uping them. Tracing: Radioactive tracers are used to track chemicals take parting in assorted reactions. One of the most valuable utilizations of radioactive tracers in medical specialty. For illustration, I, a food needed by the human organic structure, is obtained mostly through consumption of iodinated salt and sea nutrient. Radiation therapy: Radiation causes much harm to quickly spliting cells. Therefore, it is utile in malignant neoplastic disease intervention because tumour cells divide highly quickly. Several mechanisms can be used to present radiation to a tumour. In some instances, a narrow beam of X ray or radiation from a beginning such as 60co is used. In other state of affairs, thin radioactive acerate leafs called seeds are implanted in the cancerous tissue. The radioactive isotope 131I is used to handle malignant neoplastic disease of the thyroid. Black organic structure radiation: An object at any temperature emits electromagnetic moving ridges in the signifier of thermic radiation from its surface. The features of this radiation depend on the temperature and belongingss of the object ‘s surface. Thermal radiation originates from accelerated charged atoms in the atoms near the surface of the object ; those charged atoms emit radiation much as little aerials do. The thermally radiation agitated atoms can hold a distribution of energies, which accounts for the uninterrupted spectrum of radiation emitted by the object. The basic job was in understanding the ascertained distribution of wavelengths in the radiation emitted by a black organic structure. A black organic structure is an ideal system that absorbs all radiation incidents on it. The electromagnetic radiation emitted by the black organic structure is called black body radiation. Radiation harm: Radiation harm means that electromagnetic is all about in the signifier of wireless moving ridges, microwaves, light moving ridges so on. The grade and type of harm depend on several factors, including the type and energy of the radiation and belongingss of the affair. Radiation harm in biological being is chiefly due to ionization effects in cells. A cell ‘s normal operation may be disrupted when extremely reactive ions are formed as the consequence of ionising radiation. Large those of radiation are particularly unsafe because harm to a great figure of molecules in a cell may do to decease. In biological systems, it is common to divide radiation harm in two classs: bodily harm and familial harm. Bodily harm is that associated with any organic structure cell except the generative cells. Bodily harm can take to malignant neoplastic disease or can earnestly change the features of specific being. Familial harm affects merely generative cells. Damage to the cistrons in generative cells can take to faulty cells. It is of import to be the aware of the consequence of nosologies interventions, such as X raies and other signifiers of radiation exposure, and to equilibrate the important benefits of intervention with the detrimental effects. Damage caused by the radiation besides depends on the radiation ‘s perforating power. Alpha particles cause extended harm, but penetrate merely to shoal deepness in a stuff due to strength interaction with other charged atoms. Neutrons do non interact via the electric force and hence penetrate deeper, doing important harm. Gamma beams are high energy photons that can do serve harm, but frequently pass through affair without interactions. For example- a given dosage of alpha atom causes approximately 10 times more biological harm produced by radiation than equal dosage of X raies. The RBE ( comparative biological effectivity ) factor for a given type of radiation is the figure of rads of X ray or gamma radiation that produces the same biological harm as 1-rad of the radiation is being used. Radiation sensors: Atoms go throughing through affair interact with the affair in several ways. The atoms can, for example- ionize atoms, spread from atoms, or be absorbed by atoms. Radiation sensors exploit these interactions to let a measuring of the atom ‘s energy, impulse, or alteration and sometimes the very being of the atom if it is otherwise hard to observe. Assorted devices have been developed for observing radiation. These devices are used for a assortment of intents, including medical diagnosings, radioactive dating measuring, mensurating back land radiation, and mensurating the mass, energy, and impulse of atoms is created in high-energy atomic reaction.Consequence OF RADIATION ON HUMANSA really little sum of ionising radiation could trip malignant neoplastic disease in the long term even though it may take decennaries for the malignant neoplastic disease to look. Ionizing radiation ( x-rays, radon gas, radioactive stuff ) can do leukaemia and thyroid malignant neop lastic disease. There is no uncertainty that radiation can do malignant neoplastic disease, but there still is a inquiry of what degree of radiation it takes to do malignant neoplastic disease. Quickly spliting cells are more susceptible to radiation harm. Examples of radiosensitive cells are blood organizing cells ( bone marrow ) , enteric liner, hair follicles and foetuss. Hence, these develop malignant neoplastic disease foremost. If a individual is exposed to radiation, particularly high dosage, there are predictable alterations in our organic structure that can be measured. The figure of blood cells, the frequence of chromosome aberrances in the blood cells and the sum of radioactive stuff in piss, are illustrations of biomarkers that can bespeak if one is exposured high dosage. If you do non hold early biological alterations indicated by these measurings the radiation exposure will non present an immediate menace to you.Radiation toxic conditionRadiation toxic condition, radiation illness or a crawl dosage, is a signifier of harm to organ tissue caused by inordinate exposure to ionising radiation. The term is by and large used to mention to acute jobs caused by a big dose of radiation in a short period, though this besides has occurred with long term exposure. The clinical name for radiation illness is acute radiation syndrome as described by the CDC A chronic radiation syndrome does be but is really uncomm on ; this has been observed among workers in early Ra beginning production sites and in the early yearss of the Soviet atomic plan. A short exposure can ensue in acute radiation syndrome ; chronic radiation syndrome requires a drawn-out high degree of exposure. Radiation exposure can besides increase the chance of developing some other diseases, chiefly malignant neoplastic disease tumours, and familial harm. These are referred to as the stochastic effects of radiation, and are non included in the term radiation.Radiation ExposureRadiation is energy that travels in the signifier of moving ridges or high-velocity atoms. It occurs of course in sunshine and sound moving ridges. Man-made radiation is used in X-rays atomic arms, atomic power workss and malignant neoplastic disease intervention. If you are exposed to little sums of radiation over a long clip, it raises your hazard of malignant neoplastic disease. It can besides do mutants in your cistrons, which you could go through on to any kids you have after the exposure. A batch of radiation over a short period, such as from a radiation exigency can do Burnss or radiation illness. Symptoms of radiation illness include sickness, failing, hair loss, skin Burnss and decreased organ map. If the exposure is big plenty, it can do premature aging or even decease.

Apple Revenue Recogonition

Apple revenue recognition Apple Inc Revenue Recognition Concepts A. Revenue is gross amount a company received or billed from service provided or units sold, Revenue is earned regardless money come in or not at that particular time. It is assumed revenue is earned, when it is realizable, and earned. Revenues are derived from company normal operation. The company exist to sell it is core product or services to the market. Gain rise from non operation activities of the entity. An asset sells can be considered a gain if the company originally depreciated the assets to zero, then sell it.Even know the company used the assets to generate revenue, the assets transaction is a gain, because it is not a core business transaction. The primary function of a business is not to sell the assets for a gain. Any amount of gain from non operation of core business is considered to be a gain. Examples are currency gain, Short term investment gain, and extraordinary gain. B. When a business recognized r evenue, it means it has earned the revenue, and it is realizable in that period, which indicated a transaction, or service has occurred.The business did its obligation to bill or accepts money at that period. The business has full expectation it will receive the revenue in the near term depending the billing agreements. The income statement is affected by revenue recognition, also the balance sheet is affected, and all this individuals: Account receivable, Tax payable, COGS, Cash, Unearned revenue. The revenue criteria from FASB concept 5 says: revenue to be recognized on the income statement, revenue must be realized, or realizable and earned. CYes, they do align with FASB standards; Apple recognized revenue when persuasive evidence of transfer ownership arrangement exists. 1. Entity has transferred to the buyer the significant risks and rewards of ownership of the goods; 2. Entity retains neither continuing managerial involvement to the degree usually associated with ownership nor effective control over the goods sold 3. The amount of revenue can be measured reliably; 4. It is probable that the economic benefits associated with the transaction will flow to the entity. DThe multiple element contract is referring to the embedded unspecified upgrade right that the company might be obligated to provide. It is difficult to put a monetary value, because the company has to estimate the cost of upgrade, and once they estimate the cost, the company must set deferred revenue by subtracting it from original sales. The new rules allowed the company to estimate as low as possible because the upgrade costs are not that significant to swing the income statement. E Compensation metric could be aligned with revenue growth. FITunes songs sold online on net basis, and recognized when transaction occurred Mac-branded accessories are recognized when billed, if it sold online apple waits until customers receive the items, because apple is liable until delivery. IPod sold to third party reseller in India is recognized when apple billed the third party. G Apple recognized the amount it billed it‘s customers, apple takes inventory risks, therefore it recognized the gross amount it billed, if it sold online from another company, apple only recognized net sales. H 50 Mac * 2800 = 140,000Unit price 2,500 Software + 2 years service =300 Apple will recognize the whole gross sale 140,000 as revenue for 2010. Because apple took the inventory risk, Apple will bill the community college the 140,000, and recognized the same amount as the revenue. I Account receivable |Dr. |Cr. | |Sep 26,2009 $3361 | | | |$2149 | |Sep, 25,2010 $5510 | | Deferred Revenue |Dr. Cr | |Sep,25,2009 $2906 | | | |$1217 | |Sep,26,2010 $4123 | | Net sale |Dr. |Cr. | |Sep, 26, 2009 $42,905 | | | |$22,320 | |Sep, 26,2010 $65,225 | | IJournal Entry Unearned revenue2053 Sale Revenue2053 Deferred Revenue |Dr. Cr | |Sep,25,2010 $2053 |Sep,26,2009 $2053 | | | | |Sep,26,2010 |0 | Sale Revenue |Dr. |Cr | |Sep,25,2010 |$2053 | | | | |Sep,26,2010 |$2053 II Journal entry Cash21,225 Account receivable 44,000 Sale Revenue65,225 Unearned Revenue |Dr. |Cr | |Sep,25,2010 $2903 |Sep,26,2009 $2903 | | | | |Sep,26,2010 |$0 | Sale Revenue |Dr. Cr | | |Sep,25,2010 $2903 | | | | | |$62,322 | |Sep,26,2010 | | | |$65,225 | III Journal Entry Cash44,000 Account Receivable44,000 Analysis JI under the old model revenue was deferred and recognized each year on straight line basis over its economic life of the product, but under the new model Apple is able to take significant portion of the sale at the time of transaction. IIProspective can only apply to future while retrospective can apply to the past transactions. Apple elected to use retrospective. K Iincreased its net income IIBalance sheet and Cash Flow statement (operation). IIImproved gross margin LMost of the cost good already occurred before apple was able to recognized revenue. Therefore, Apple must adjust individual account to match its expense, and revenue.MIncreased operation cash flow NAccounting rules, and procedures might be preventing unfair reporting, but it has a major flaws. One of the flows is accounting doesn’t adapt quickly to economic condition. Accounting numbers doesn’t really reflect the true value of a company. Account is lagging indicator. One industry can benefits from particular accounting procedure, and rules, but it can also hurt another industry by not reflecting true economic value. We will like to report to our shareholders actual reflection of our operation, but accounting procedures doesn’t allow us to communicate the actual result.

Is there a danger of inflation in Greece Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Is there a danger of inflation in Greece - Essay Example Greece ultimately joined the Euro monetary area as its 12th member from January 1, 2001 after the European finance ministers' council decided on June 19, 2000 that the country had fulfilled all the convergence criteria and approved its accession (Micco et al, 61). Greece had a troublesome inflation history. In 1990, the performance of the Greek economy was very poor with the inflation reaching higher than 20% and the budget deficit exceeding 16% of the GDP. During that particular year, the growth rate was literally zero and the current account deficit was 4.3% of the GDP. The EMU project came as a blessing in disguise for Greece and throughout the 1990s, Greece implemented economic and political policies that were in tune with those of EMU (Greece in the European Union, 93). This paper discusses the inflation trends and theories in general, and explores the Greek economic scenario briefly in particular with a view to finding out whether there is a danger of high level of inflation in the coming days in the country. A deep analysis of the economic factors guiding the inflation trends in Greece suggests that the Government economic measures will certainly help reduce the inflation threat considerably. Body Part A (Inflation theories) Before we proceed to assess whether or not an impending threat of high level of inflation is emerging in Greece, there is need to study the essentials of inflation on how it is caused. In any country, inflation is basically caused through the emergence of two powerful but common scenarios. Factors of inflation The two factors from which inflation stems are an increase in demand for products, known as the demand pull inflation and an increase in the cost of factors of production, known as the cost push inflation. Monetarists, also known as the neo-classical theorists, point out that when there is a surge of money supply in a nation's economy, it leads to excess money on an aggregate level and creates more demand by increasing the spending capacity of the population. To put it simply, inflation is created when the spending power of the population exceeds the capacity of a country 3 to produce goods and services in enough quantities. This is a situation where prices of commodities go on increasing with the supply levels of goods and services lying below the supply levels of money in the country. As the inflation is caused through an increase in demand, it is called the 'demand pull inflation'. Higher volumes of money supply are generally pumped into the economy of a country when its Government prints more currency or indulges in heavy borrowings to meet budget deficits (Theories, Demand pull inflation). On the other hand, the non-monetarists, also known as the Keynesians, argue that when the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country increases it does so with higher prices sending a message that the economy has passed the stages of full employment levels of output. This type of situation naturally raises the prices of various commodities. In the phenomenon of a cost push inflation, the cost of factors of production increases paving the way for higher prices of commodities. That leads to wage increase and in turn enhances the

Marketing Mix Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Marketing Mix - Assignment Example Anyone with the ability to express themselves in a convincing manner would have easily passed for a good marketer. I then discovered that I did not know what the process of marketing entails (Huang, pg.47). It is a general assumption that marketing entails travelling, talking and most importantly convincing. Most of my friends think that marketing is an easy and straight forward process. On the part of my relatives, marketing involves them asking of questions and ensuring they are convinced before they spend their money. The real issue of marketing is however a complex process. Marketing involves more than just words and convincing (Huang, pg. 67). A successful marketing is subject to a variety of factors like technology and skill. For the customer-company exchange to be successful, the marketing has to be efficient and up to the task. Use of modern technology in marketing is advisable. Despite saving time and money, managers have confirmed technology as a very efficient means of marketing. The marketing labor has to have a high level of skill and education in that field of practice. Drafting my marketing mix is not going to prove an easy job. In the face of prospective employers, I may require patience and technique to sell myself successfully. Employees also require skilled and experienced labor. I am going t gain skill through education, but time has to be consumed in the process of gaining experience I am also going to use technology to market myself to my prospective employees. I will develop a website from where potential employees can access any information they need about me. In as much as it is important to market myself to potential employees, it is a relatively difficult

Education and its Methods Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Education and its Methods - Assignment Example This paper shall look at the differences in the learning techniques from last week. A humanist approach that takes into account only the potential of the person as a whole may at times be misleading and detrimental to the process of development of a child. In theory, every facet of the child undergoes a change while a humanist model of education is followed by the teachers or the educators (Smith, 2003). However, this is not true. That is, it may not follow while the theory is being translated into practice. This may lead to problems whereby an aspect of a child that needs specialized attention is left out of the process of education or is not given adequate attention. Humanist education is also not easy to implement at a logistical level. In third world countries and even on certain first world countries, it is not possible to accommodate many children within a framework that provides a completely humanist form of education. As a result, it is necessary to temper any form of educati on that is taken with the positives of the others. In this context, it may be a good idea to describe a few details of the cognitivist school of learning theory. According to theorists who believe in the power of this form of learning, it is important to develop in learners the abilities to structure their own mind in such a manner that it would be easier for them to understand the new events and facts that are provided to them. In a certain course of time, they shall attain the necessary abilities for the purpose of understanding new facts on their own. This mode of learning depends on installing in a person the apparatus for further learning (Mergel, 1998). An integration of these systems may lead to complications whereby the best in both may not be utilised and the negatives of both may be inculcated in it. There may, however, on the brighter side, also develop a system that has the positives of both. This system may be able to provide specialized attention to the problem of chil dren and also develop their particular skills while also developing them as a whole. While providing children with nothing but theoretical models that do not interact, one runs the risk of losing out on motivating the child. Setting the child within a system where there is no change in the conditions of learning may lead to the child not feeling a sense of ambition which is essential for the development of a mindset that is conducive for the reception of facts. Motivating a child to create such a mindset is extremely necessary for his or her further development. This development needs to have a solid basis and this can proceed from an understanding of one’s strengths and weaknesses, both of which may then be assessed according to the cognitivist and the humanist schools of learning theory. This can then also be tied to the aspect of self-regulation that needs to be a part of the education of a child. This regulation can proceed from an understanding of one’s talents an d needs when faced with the world. This needs an understanding of the world and one’s position in it and also knowledge of one’s talents that may be put at the service of the world. This can then be used for a regulation of the manner in which education is conducted. The biological bases of learning and memory also need to be taken into account while looking at methods of imparting education to children. The age of the

Mardi Gras Funny story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mardi Gras Funny story - Essay Example We started our journey yesterday afternoon and before the fall of the evening, we were already in New Orleans. Everybody seemed happy with some adoring special attires to mark Murdy Gras Day. As per our plan, we checked in at one of the famous bars. The mood inside was exciting. People were very many. Something peculiar struck us though, one side of the bar had relatively few patrons with some tables empty. We did not bother to find out why more people preferred one side of the bar to the other. The mood did not allow us to do that. After approximately two minutes, a young beautiful waiter came, and we placed our orders. The first round of beers came, and we cleared it fast. The waiter enquired if we were comfortable with paying for the first set before proceeding to the next one. We retorted that it should come at the end of drinking. We ordered for several rounds of assorted beers. The interesting part came when we requested for the final bill for the evening. The bill was double my expectation. On enquiry, we realized that the cost of beer was almost double the normal rate. Besides the cost of beer being high, the waiter explained that the table we occupied had a different rate from the rest. Ignorance has no defense. We had no more cash as the bill was far much high. We came to an agreement with the bar owner that we be waiters for the rest of the night. It was embarrassing and funny. Before travelling to New Orleans, we had organized to meet with the girls after drinking. We resorted to being offline as a way of escaping from the girls. As the night progressed, we went round serving patrons at the bar. An unfortunate coincidence occurred just when we were about to finish the waiting role. The women we were to meet happened to occupy one of the tables I was serving. It was an amusing scenario and embarrassing at the same time. The thought of serving a girl you are interested in was a spoiler for the whole Murdy Gras

Puerto Rican Americian Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Puerto Rican Americian - Essay Example In 1508 Juan Ponce De Leon took over the island in the search of gold and killed many natives in this quest. Many of the Tainos were killed in this quest and the remaining Tainos fleed away to the mountains to save themselves. It was then that human trade began on this island and half the population of the island consisted of these slaves of African origin. In 1898 the Spanish American war decided the fate of the island in the hands of the United States. The island has ever since been in the control of United States and the people have accepted the fact by cutting down on their movement launched against the US. It has its own government but the presence of the American military is disturbing for some of the Puerto Ricans. The culture of the country is a blend between the natives and the African culture. People there can have the darkest of skin or they can even have a freckled white skin. The diverse culture of the country is the most interesting point along with the occasions that t he people of Puerto Rico celebrate. Traditions and culture would be the most important part of this essay and is discussed in the following paragraphs (Morris 1995; Galvan 2009). Importance of Puerto Rico to the United States Puerto Rico has proved to be an important territory for the United States as it can access different states through this region. It has also proved to be a region in which they can train and test their weapons. The bases of United States in Panama were closed in 1999 and Puerto Rico has ever since served the purpose (Giger & Davidhizar 2008). Economy of Puerto Rico The economics of the country depend upon different sources mainly tourism and different crops. The climate of the region ranges from 75 degree Farenheit to 85 degrees Farenheit. It has one of the most beautiful cruise ship ports known as San Juan. The tourism of the territory depends upon different resources and beaches and ports are one of these resources. Resorts and attractive destinations have pr oved to be a tourist attraction. The economy also depends upon different crops which include coffee, pineapples, mangos and plants. Although its economy is not suffering from any blow the per capita income of the state is still low in comparison to the United States of America (Giger & Davidhizar 2008). Culture of Puerto Rico The culture of Puerto Rico is diverse and people from different backgrounds reside in the region. The language spoken in the region is English and Spanish. The people of Puerto Rico are known for their hospitality and love. People in Puerto Rico express their love through gifts and homemade food. If a guest rejects a gift it might be considered as an insult by the individual who gifts. The celebrations in the region are respected by many people. The people of Puerto Rico also celebrate the holidays of the United States along with their own designated holidays. Puerto Rico Day, Three Kings Day and Constitution Day are all celebrated as the holidays of Puerto Ric o. Most of the people living in Puerto Rico are Catholics and they celebrate their holidays accordingly (Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 1997; Morris & Bonilla 1997). Family values are respected a lot in the region and people have to live according to the old traditions. Marriage is a respected institution in the culture as they believe that having a kin is very important to expand their family. Although

Business Outreach program - Anaytical report Research Proposal

Business Outreach program - Anaytical report - Research Proposal Example The American Housing Family is an organization that deals with equipping homeless and low-income individuals and families, providing permanent affordable housing, and improving their lives to become self-supporting members of the society. Even though this project is of great help to the homeless and the less fortunate, the issue of ventilation standards is a major matter to the peoples’ health. Poor ventilation standards result inthe risk of easily conducting dangerous diseases like asthma. A research that was done in 2009 showed that above 50% of homeless people had at least one respiratory manifestation. Another publication on Building and Environment in 2012 showed that improvement in air conditioning reduces the risk of asthma symptoms to the residents. Companies who engage in such projects not only stand a chance to fame but also grow economically and socially. Deploying the HVAC by Solaris to the American Housing Family will boost Solaris growth and also Products’ recognition globally. Solaris will also gain the merit of quality product trust at little or no cost which is the main weapon to success. Many companies strive and use a lot of their resources while trying to gain customers trust with their products. â€Å"Joining the society contributes to an atmosphere of integrity, social awareness, and excellence† (Tichy, McGill, & St. Clair, 1997, p. 173). Our group chose The American Housing Family for the Outreach Program due to the fact that they have local shelters in OC County and have different types of housing. They have wide recognitions globally and reputations for awards. Solaris deploying community services to the American Housing Family will improve on global recognitions, social and economic

Open source software Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Open source software - Essay Example In today's business world which uses IT for its optimal and non-stop functioning, a database is something which any organization will not run without. Speedy business needs has made database an absolute requirement. As their number increases, so is the competition between them. These all vendors always think about new and innovative ideas to win the market competition. One of these way has been to offer customer an open source software so that if the customers preferences changes they can make necessary amendments This has given rise to a numerous software solution providers or database developers. Does this, supplying open source software,give an indication about future of all database Vendors Do all database vendors will eventually have to open up their source code or go out of business This essay disagrees to this thought and will examine few reasons for it.Those who still believe in supplying closed source software will always own a bigger share of the market as they have been do ing it in the past.In the recent past some companies have searched for a more economic database than to shell out a hefty amount to Database biggies every time they thought of expanding their business limits.There stepped in the open source database software because modifying it to the extended needs just take little.As the volume of business is rising and so does the requirement of software capabilities.Many companies today resort to open source database but merely acquiring an open source doesn't guarantee that whatever changes you make to the database it will always work with finesse. There may be instances of irrecoverable data loss or reduced security. There will be no one to take guarantee to that effect. That's why, industries where there is a requirement of updating the software importantly with the transfer of their past crucial data, they will always look for bigger companies doing this against insured terms. These insured terms are not possible even if you have a complete software development wing in your office. Developing software is a group effort, but modifying the software with keeping existing data intact is a serious group effort. Now days there are so many companies selling open source databases but they are less preferred upwards in size of business. So the open source will of course keep in market and remain in competition with the packed database software but will never be able to beat them. There is also a psychological reason behind this that as someone reaches towards the peak his chances of falling are increasing. The top of the peak is all surrounded by falls so after reaching near to peak no one would like take a cheap and risky step but will always go for a costly but assured step. For example a bank would never use open source software modified by its own organization. There is a related online special article in which Lacy S (2006) has told about Herman's search for database management keeping budgetin mind. "His search took him in an unexpected direction. He's spended a lot of time evaluating databases built around the open-source software that's disseminated and developed freely over the Internet. Sony, like most big companies, has been conservative when it comes to open source. So now Herman and executives like him are the spoils in what's shaping up to be a heated round of database wars. On one side are the defending champions -- Oracle, IBM, and Microsoft -- against a ragtag bunch of coders and some more organized corporate ventures, all going to market in different ways, but all trying to take down the Big Three using the power of open source." This open source trend is rising not only in database softwares but in other fields too. In this regard Valimaki (2005) states in his book - The rise

Alejandro Gonzlez Irritu Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Alejandro Gonzlez Irritu - Essay Example Today we know about them through the narrative of conquerors, religious, and the surviving Indians that learned how to read and write after the Conquest. Archeologists and historians uncover still the hidden clues of the past, but it is writers and filmmakers who unveil the ideology of a once proud and strong civilization turned into a weak and timid society which in spite of all the deficiencies held or attributed loves its independence and its dignity more than its own life. Cinematography has played a decisive role in the history of Mexico. During the revolution period, many documentaries were filmed about the battles, and it is said that Pancho Villa made a lot of money for the cause and himself by allowing American cinematographers to film him in action. He even choreographed the battle of Celaya for this purpose. Filmmakers like Buà ±uel, Rodriguez , Galindo and "El Indio" Fernandez depicted the urban dramas of the forties using the natural settings of the "vecindarios" and th e "barrios pobres" of cities practically lost within the great metropolis, bringing Mexican movies to its Golden Era. Stories like "Nosotros Los Pobres" and "Ustedes los Ricos" showed the clash of classes that already existed then and have bitterly deepened today. October 1968 would close the golden era of filmmaking. Thousands of students and college professors would be slaughtered between two armed fronts prepared by the hand of the political power; PRI. President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz ordered Luis Echeverria, his secretary of Government, the massacre of students in Tlaltelolco, an historical site known as "The Square of the Three Cultures," holding what's left of the Pre-Hispanic constructions, (1325), the temple of Santiago Apostol,(1535) built after colonization and the modern archeology of the former building for the Foreign Relations Secretary.(Mexicomaxico)

The Club Essay Example for Free

The Club Essay The Club (1978), written by David Williamson, is a satirical play that follows the fortunes and misfortunes of a football club over the course of the season. David Williamson cleverly integrates the realistic portrayal of characters and dialogue into the play in order to effectively provide the reader with an insight into the power and politics of sport and the commoditisation of players. The main themes in The Club that David Williamson communicates across to the reader are power and the concept of ‘human loyalty verses materialistic gain’, which will be explained in further detail below. Power is also explored extensively in The Club; much of the play is based on power struggles between the characters. As mentioned earlier, the power struggle between Laurie and Jock is evidenced by Laurie’s accusation that Jock supported the committee’s traditional approach only to stop Laurie from succeeding. Obviously some of the characters are much more successful than others. For example, Gerry is able to skilfully manipulate the other characters so he can accomplish his own hidden agenda. However the two players, Danny (the team Captain) and Geoff, do not really become involved in these power struggles except when they aid Laurie at the end of the play. Ted (the president) has the most obvious power at the start of the play, although he steadily loses it throughout as the other characters strive to improve their standing. The desire for power is basically universal, and there is resentment from those who are not in power towards those who are. These sporting attitudes have been clearly evident in sport in the last few decades. Attitudes towards commercialism are also explored in The Club. In the play, the Club itself is just beginning the road to commercialisation with the purchase of Geoff Hayward (the star recruit) for $90,000. However, Gerry (the administrator) and Jock’s plans for next year not only include the dropping of some Club traditions, but also extensive commercialisation as wealthy entrepreneurs are recruited for sponsorship money which will be used to buy more players. Jock is a person who supports the commoditisation of players when it is in agreement with his goals. For example when trying to avert a players’ strike, Jock claims that former Club heroes would be disgusted by the idea, â€Å"I want to turn all those photographs around so they don’t have to look down on this shameful scene. † However, it is later revealed that Jock supports the buying of players and a coach who has not played for the Club, both of which are against traditions, to ensurethat the Club wins a premiership next season. This hypocritical attitude towards tradition is probably a fairly typical Australian attitude. This attitude presented by Williamson is probably even more widespread now, as success and the reaching of goals is seen as being even more important today. Loyalty is also an important issue in The Club, although each of the characters is loyal in very different degrees and ways. Some of the characters, like Danny, are fiercely loyal to others; for example Danny threatens a players’ strike if Laurie is forced to resign, â€Å"If that bloody committee of yours gives Laurie the boot tonight, then we don’t play tomorrow. † Other characters, like Jock and Gerry, lack loyalty to other people and will manipulate and lie for their own personal advantages but are loyal to the Club as a whole. Gerry believes that, â€Å"Loyalty to any one individual is a luxury you can’t afford in a business with a multi-million dollar turnover. † Gerry’s pragmatic attitude is perhaps typical of the attitudes which are becoming commonplace in the cutthroat business world of the 1990s. In The Club, David Williamson utilises realistic dialogue to assume convey meaning and enrich the text of the play. Williamson achieves realistic dialogue through the constant use of many language devices including emotive language insults, interruptions, sarcasm, idioms, colloquialism, slang, irony, jargon and hyperboles. The main purpose is to depict power and domination between characters. This is done through a device such as tone, as it creates an atmosphere of tension and conflict. Tone is shown between the two most powerful characters, Gerry the football administrator and Laurie the Club’s coach. Gerry’s tone is calm and uses very formal language, which indicated his power and control over other characters. ‘You’re scarcely in a position to be delivering ultimatums, Laurie’. Laurie also shows control by his tone and word choice. ‘If you play well enough and the team plays well enough for the rest of the year, they’ll find it pretty hard to sack me’. The tone in Laurie’s dialogue changes from exasperation to control indicating that he has become his own master. Laurie’s approach to dealing with situations shows his power and dominates. The shift in tone of Gerry and Laurie’s dialogue emphasises the power shifts that take place in ‘The Club’. The frequent use of slang and colloquial language represents the Australian culture and way of life. Also, use of football jargon such as ‘goal-to-goal line’ shows how familiar the club members are with their sport. Another purpose shown throughout the play is the conflicting relationships between characters. Williamson has created this purpose through the use of sarcasm used by the characters. In the first scene, Ted and Danny have come across as having a conflicting relationship as there are many problems associated with the football club. ‘This is lovely, really delightful, a strike threat’. By Ted using sarcasm it gets Danny worked up therefore has created a conflicting relationship. Danny who is a young footballer complains about how little money he has in the back. ‘I can hardly wait, I’m taking my two best friends to Pizza Palace and putting the other half in the bank’. This has added tension between the two characters, and has showed how they use dialogue to create conflicting relationships. Sarcasm adds a feeling of resentment and reflects an unwillingness to be open to the prospect of resolution. Williamson’s portrayal of characters, even nowadays, reflects many Australian attitudes very accurately, even though the play was written many decades ago. Some of the attitudes expressed, especially those regarding the commoditisation of sport, are even more relevant today than when the play was written, while others, such as tradition, are still equally relevant in the current Australian society. By studying ‘The Club’ it has also helped demonstrate how purposes are made by using a range of language devices such as tone and sarcasm, therefore showing how dialogue helps express its underlying theme or power and relationships. It is because of this that David Williamsons 1978 play The Club is still being performed as it gives audiences a realistic perspective into the past, present and future of sport.

The current financial and economic situation Essay Example for Free

The current financial and economic situation Essay During my analysis of the current financial and economic situation, I uncovered how the effects of the situation are still being revealed. It is imperative to recognize that the situation is complex in nature and that is why we must comprehend how this dire situation came to be. We must also comprehend why we are seeing the consequences unfold, the various impacts of the financial bailout, and lastly how we might fix the situation. My research paper shall discuss in depth the effects of our ‘financial crunch’ on financial markets, such as on banks, credit unions, the stock market, the mortgage industry, and retail sectors. Because these key aspects of our culture have been negatively affected by the credit crunch, the middle class is feeling doubts about their capability to overcome this new harsh financial sphere that now exists. This paper shall carefully examine how the financial crunch has affected these individuals and thus the retail and sales industry. It shall also look at some top financial companies which require the bailout money in order to survive; for instance, Lehman Brothers, Bears Stearns, and AIG. Furthermore, we shall correlate how individuals unwittingly began to rely on credit as a means to obtain more expensive items that might otherwise be outside of their price range. In fact, we shall see that people began living beyond their means due to relying on credit versus cash purchases and this has lead to the financial mess that we are in today (http://www. economist. com/opinion/displayStory. cfm? source=hptextfeaturestory_id=11885697). In addition, I shall pin point key aspects of the financial bailout that were proposed to aid individuals in returning to their safe spending habits and thus aiding the financial retail markets. Our government is seeking to rectify the situation via the financial bailout and such governmental driven policies might in fact be essential for the development of new successful businesses and our infrastructure. The paper will need to distinguish if such policies and procedures can positively or adversely impact the financial and credit crunch situation that we find ourselves in. Towards the conclusion of the research paper, I will attempt to suggest how perhaps in hindsight we could have warded off this recession at an earlier time. My suggestions will holistically analyze how vital it is to see the â€Å"big picture† as a long term development and not simply focus on the short-term details of our dilemma. My in-depth analysis includes ‘re-valuing’ the American dollar, holding our politicians responsible for how they are spending or investing our tax dollars, absolutely educating people in how to stop relying on their credit cards for purchases, considering organic produce, and how â€Å"turning green† in the long run will be beneficial for everyone. Look more: problem and solution essay Our failure to tackle the beginning signs of the recession has indeed played a negative role in where our financial perspective lies today. Hopefully, the federal financial bailout that we find ourselves in having to come to terms will can help us learn from this experience and prevent it from occurring once again in the future. For these reasons the bailout became a pressing necessity (http://www. usnews. com/blogs/the-home-front/2008/10/3/5-reasons-the-house-passed-the-bailout-bill. html) What led to Our Current Financial Problems? The bottom line: It was the misuse of our money, risky endeavors of the mortgage and banking industry, and individuals turning to credit for the chance to procure non-essentials without paying upfront. Honestly, the true origins of this financial problem were due to being more careless with other people’s money than we are with our own money. This predicament was entirely supported by credit card companies and the mortgage industry seeking to make an easy buck. These entities were satisfied in granting high credit lines to individuals who they knew via trend and marketing analysis would be unable to pay their bills on time. This led to those corporations receiving millions based upon late fee charges and finance charges. As our public began to depend more and more on credit cards, they found themselves unable to surmount the incredible amount of debt that they had created (Velshi 16-18). Now with this situation, these individuals began to declare bankruptcy because they were unable to pay their bills and wanted the collection agencies to stop badgering them. This act was not something the credit card companies, banking industry, or mortgage companies had the foresight on how to handle. http://www. economist. com/finance/displayStory. cfm? source=hptextfeaturestory_id=11 885272 We saw that as prices rose, including oil prices, people were under pressure to meet their basic necessity payments, and began to make minimum payments on their credit debts. The fallout reflected in their credit ratings and scores dropping due to outstanding debts and responsibilities. This financial distress was seen early on by economists who were ignored businesses such as banking giants and mortgage entrepreneurs were busy making bucket loads of money. This was also shown in the economic bubble perspective, that consumer spending was slowing down because they were seeing their home values decreasing. The public had become used to the real estate market booming and decided to refinance their homes to lower their monthly mortgage payments. By doing this, they drew the equity out of their homes at the same time and spent this money in the retail industry. The retail industry saw such actions becoming common place and developed more lines of credit opportunities to compel people to get further and further into debt. The retail industry focused on charging late charges and finance charges to draw money out of people in this vicious cycle. The subprime mortgage industry and banking industries were similarly practicing unethical procedures. They used lax lending standards so they could make the most money as the home valued at higher levels and their return customers spent more to refinance to lower rates. When the introductory interest rates reverted back to the regular interest rates, individuals were faced with the impasse of either making their higher mortgage payments or trying to refinance on a home which they now owned more than it was worth. Such individuals were also weighed down with other debts, such as student loans, car loans, rising oil prices, increased costs in the retail sector, and the increase in the cost of living in 2001, which made it difficult to make timely payments. In the United States, we saw that home sales and prices fell sharply in March of 2007. Americans were also seeing high unemployment and the foreclosures began on homes. Overwhelming debt led to this severe economic situation and the recession that people were seeing. The stimulus and bailout is expected to help people face these problems. (http://money. cnn. com/2009/02/17/news/economy/obama_stimulus_meas_success/index. htm) For people overextended in their vicious debts, they now faced financial pitfalls as they had to select between making payments to debt collection agencies versus providing food for their families (http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/business/7523234. stm). The Aug 7, 2008 article, â€Å"Home Truths: A housing slump helped cause the credit crisis. But its effect on spending may have been exaggerated† the Economist illustrates that when the housing bubble burst, new homeowners were suddenly faced with the opportunity to purchase homes at much lower prices. This made it more affordable for young Americans to obtain homes at lower prices if they could qualify through the banks. This article shows that for current homeowners and landlords, this difficult economic situation leads to them cutting back on their spending in order to overcome this â€Å"loss of wealth. † (http://www. economist. com/finance/displayStory. cfm? source=hptextfeaturestory_id=11885272) As this housing and mortgage bubble has burst it has also cracked the illusion that debt was the answer to obtaining more material items. We arrived at this recession because of lax loaning practices and standards. We can see that the financial sector cared about making money versus the right decisions about who to lend money to or even how much money should be lent. This is why the financial bailout has arrived. Historically we have seen that past causes of a recession can be either external or internal in nature. For instance, internal causes include high interest rates, high taxes, high spending, mistakes by the fed to curtail financial concerns, corporate fraud, and investor reluctance to invest. On an external front, some past causes of a recession include global stock market falls such as in Asia or Europe, wars, and other such financial mayhem in the world. Overall, opinions are often divided as economists tend to disagree about when and if we are in a recession but currently they all agree that our economy is in bad shape and it has been for some time. While they hesitate to say what has toppled our economy and caused stagnation, they are certain that a variety of facts has led to our current financial predicament. Both the internal as well as external causes have resulted in a global domino affect around the globes financial and retail spectrum. The best reference we have for this situation is the Great Depression were economists saw a sharp decline in international trade . During the Great Depression large businesses were unstable and the governement via the New Deal was charged with the task of limiting how much power businesses had and giving more power to labor unions. Regulations were put into place which increased the amount of taxes paid by large corporates which generated revenue for the government and helped the government lower trade tariffs which had caused international markets to sell less. As people decided to save more in the face of those economic hardships they wound up actually saving less because businesses saw retail expenditures drop. They then decided to balance out there budgets they needed to layoff workers. As the article, â€Å"Causes of the Great Depression Political Perspectves on Causes and Cures†, states, â€Å" The increased savings (reduced spending) †¦. contributed to price deflation, perpetuating the Great Depression†¦. Businesses, cut back on investment spending because they were pessimistic about the future†¦. (led to) less investment, fewer jobs, less consumption and even less reason for business to invest. † http://www. experiencefestival. com/a/Causes_of_the_Great_Depression_-_Political_Perspectves_on_Causes_and_Cures/id/4905687 Role of the Financial Bailout for Lehman Brothers, Bears Stearns, and AIG Lehman Brothers: The nation’s 4th largest investment bank, Lehman Brothers, made poor investment decisions in its real estate holdings. Lehman Brothers, was one of the first investment banks granted the rights to borrow emergency money from Fed as a loan like commercial banks are allowed to. The true issue that arose with Lehman Brothers was that it was a insolvency risk (http://www. moneyweek. com/investments/stock-markets/what-went-wrong-at-lehman-brothers-03809. aspx). They had a large number of loans related to real estate and because such assets depreciated in value with the real estate market bubble burst, the face value of such properties was marked as a financial loss (Muolo 42-43, 143-144). When the company attempted to sell itself to Bank of America and Barclays, they were faced with their potential bidders requesting government support because they didn’t know the true scope of Lehman Brother’s financial losses. The Treasury department refused to grant this support, and both banks walked away from negotiations. After this occurred, Lehman was forced into filing for bankruptcy. (http://cbs5. com/business/lehman. brothers. crisis. 2. 816615. html) http://cbs5. com/national/lehman. brothers. shares. 2. 814040. html http://www. moneyweek. com/investments/stock-markets/what-went-wrong-at-lehman-brothers-03809. aspx Bears Stearns: Unlike Lehman Brothers, Bears Stearns was unable to get banks to lend money to them. As investors lacked confidence that the company could repay the prior loans granted to it, the reputation of this 5th largest investment bank faltered. The final element that led to its demise was that investors believed that the bank would be unable to adhere to the prior complex agreements that it had with the many other financial institutions that it did business with. Because such financial relationships with other banks was precarious and if the bank failed, those relationships could send a ripple effect through the economy the Federal Reserve was forced to agree to support JPMorgan Chase’s decision to purchase Lehman Brothers (http://www. usatoday. com/money/industries/banking/2008-03-17-bear-stearns-bailout_N. htm). The Federal Reserve agreed to â€Å" fund $30 billion of Bear Stearns assets that would be difficult to sell quickly, raising the possibility that taxpayers could be on the hook for part of the bailout†¦. As far as Wall Street securities houses go, Bear Stearns wasnt too big to fail, says Steve East, chief economist for FBR Capital Markets. (FBMC) It was too interconnected to fail. This collapse was the direct result of the bursting housing bubble. Society saw that home prices rose and fewer people could afford to purchase, so lending banks created new types of mortgages to qualify people who would not have qualified otherwise for the traditional 30 year fixed mortgage. These subprime mortgages allowed banks and brokers to charge fees for the closings which gave them substantial profits but no risk once the loans were sold to Wall Street. Investors, such as Bears Stearns, purchased these bulk complex securities packages and remained profitable on the interest generated from these packages. But when the housing market started to crash, borrowers became unable to refinance and select to default on their mortgages. With more defaults piling up, companies like Bears Stears were left with assets which were reflecting as devaluation. AIG The situation with AIG (American International Group) is a precarious one. As of Sept 16, 2008 this globally based company underwent a liquidity crisis due to its credit rating being downgraded; thus, AIG was forced to post collateral promises with its trading counter parties. When the company sold its CDS to meet collateralized debt obligations it endured a sharp decline in their value. The Federal Reserve was then forced to financially prop up the company so it did not collapse; which would have caused financial ruin for the global economy as other companies would have also collapsed. The Fed then created $85 billion in a secured credit facility for AIG, and took over 80% of AIG equity stake (Velshi 18). This bailout was by far the largest U. S. government bailout of a private company, but it was smaller than the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which occurred earlier in Sept 2008. After this occurred, the share prices of AIG fell more than 95% in value to $1. 25 from its prior $70. 13 per share. Investors found that AIG valued the types of securities that it held at Alt-A and its sub-prime mortgage backed securities at 1. 7 to 2 times more than the rates used by Lehman Brothers, the largest bankruptcy in U. S. history. The following month on Oct 9, 2008 the company forced to borrow an additional $37. 8 billion as a second secured asset credit facility initialized by the Federal Reserve (http://money. cnn. com/2008/09/17/news/companies/aig_explainer/index. htm? postversion=2008091715). The defaults for the next months were increasing steadily which shows that the company itself was facing a big collapse. Then on Nov 10, 2008 the U. S. Treasury heralded that it would be acquiring $40 billion in newly issued AIG senior preferred stock, under the power of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Acts Troubled Asset Relief Program. Federal officials indicated that its $40 billion investment in AIG would enable the government to decrease the total risk exposure to AIG to $112 billion from $152 billion (http://news. yahoo. com/s/ap/20090302/ap_on_bi_ge/aig_rescue). During this financial bailout mayhem, the public learned that AIG executives squandered bailout money at an exquisite California resort. This â€Å"vacation† using bailout money cost $444,000 and included spa activities, festivities, and golf retreats. In addition, these executives also used $86,000 on a hunting trip to England; this with the Fed giving them additional loans of $37. 8 billion! They also used $343,000 on trip to Phoenix Arizona for an exotic resort there. So when does this bailout money end! Attempting to sell their assets, AIG has been unsuccessful in paying off its government loans. With the global economy taking hits in insurance businesses, AIG is being protected by the Fed from falling into bankruptcy. This financial support by the government has lead to the Fed writing off some of its loans as losses and further devaluing the U. S. dollar. Recently as of March 2, 2009 AIG reported a 4th quarter loss of $61. 7 billion dollars for the last three months of 2008. This loss impacted Europe and Asian trading markets as well. Financial Problems and How the Financial Bailout is Hoping to Address Each Point: Effects Both Here at Home and Abroad †¢ Problem: increase in unemployment as companies downsize Bailout Solution: $39 billion will be spent on health insurance for the unemployed who can use this money to pay for cobra coverage or Medicaid. In addition $43 billion will be spent to enable them to increase their unemployment benefits and receive job training for new positions. †¢ Problem: credit tightening and lending standards inflexible Bailout Solution: rescinding the requirement that a $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit be paid back over time, and giving loans to companies and new procedures to ensure that lending continues so that student loans, car loans, etc†¦would be easier to obtain (http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2009/02/01/GR2009020100154. html). In addition, changes to how mortgages were granted occurred http://useconomy. about. com/od/criticalssues/a/govt_bailout. htm) †¢ Problem: retail industries closing as public demand decreases, and infrastructure concerns Bailout Solution: $31 billion: Construction and repair of federal buildings and other public infrastructure along with water projects and mass transit projects. For retail industries and small businesses the government will double the amount they can write off for capital investments and vital business related purchase. (http://www. glennbeck. com/content/articles/article/198/20639/) †¢ Problem: decrease in global expansion efforts and trade between countries which affects emerging economies which depend upon the U. S. and U. K. for big and small purchases and exports in order to continue growth and expansion Bailout Solution: n/a. If the U. S. economy can get back on track this would coincide with other countries being less impacted by our poor financial situation. †¢ Problem: failure of the mortgage and real estate industries due to being unable to aid individuals with in refinancing or making new purchases because banks are refusing to lend money Bailout Solution: aid to struggling home owners, but not listed in bailout bill †¢ Problem: growth projections declining from 4. 9% in 2007 to 4. 0% in 2008 Bailout Solution: $275 billion in tax relief ($1,000 tax cut for families, $500 tax cut for individuals through SS payroll deductions) along with $20 billion spent to increase the food stamp benefit over 13% so as to help ease the rising food costs. †¢ Problem: inflation increases in oil, commodities, and food prices and energy issues Bailout Solution: $32 billion is destined for funding a smart electricity grid in order to reduce waste, and $16 billion is geared for research and development on energy related work, energy tax cuts, and credits (http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2009/02/01/GR2009020100154. html). †¢ Problem: individuals recognizing that the federal and state governments are over extended in war funding and not tending to our financial crisis in a timely or appropriate manner Bailout Solution: efforts to bring troops home, but not listed in bailout situation †¢ Problem: value of the American dollar and reputation has turned drastically negative Bailout Solution: n/a. Efforts to fix our tarnished reputation but the American dollar is devaluing even more due to the bailout. †¢ Problem: Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Bear Stearns, and IndyBank also being key examples of financial companies which all required immediate aid from the federal government in order to collapse (http://www. imf. org/external/np/speeches/2008/032108. htm) Bailout solution: Continued support of such institutions to ensure that they do not fail How Should We Fix the Regulation? As voting citizens, we must should insist that the government account for its spending habits and they must be made responsible for spending more than it can obtain via revenue. For companies like AIG which receive bailout money and spent it frivolously on expensive resorts they must be held responsible and the board of directors held accountable or given jail time. The cost of war has also been unaccounted for, so our new regulations need to decrease the amount of spending on that front. As the bailout takes our hard earned money it needs to be used on improving transportation, education, medical requirements, and even social security. Poor lending standards and practices must be better regulated for those seeking to get good refinance rates or purchase new homes, cars, or even student loans. As we are seeing a sharp rise in unemployment and off-shoring of jobs, it is improper that businesses which hire individuals in the United States are forced to pay unemployment taxes; whereas, companies which elect to outsource their labor force are not required to pay these same taxes. This means such companies have more money in revenue due to the fact that they are paying their employees less overseas and adding to the unemployment that we see here at home. This action is counterproductive because from a financial perspective organizations might save more money by outsourcing and not having to pay the additional taxes, but it also means that unemployment will continue to rise in the face of such activity. A fair technique would be to increase the taxes on companies with large profits, and grant a fair marginal credit to companies which employ workers in the United States. This activity would put money back in the hands of American workers who can then turn around and use their paychecks in the economy and ease the financial crunch. This would also allow them to learn how to manage debt more practically and not take the equity out of their homes to pay debt off. I suggest that we better educate ourselves in managing our finances and saving versus running ourselves into the ground in insurmountable debt. References: Amadeo, Kimberly (2009). What Exactly is the Bank Bailout Bill. Retrieved Feb 26, 2009 from http://useconomy. about. com/od/criticalssues/a/govt_bailout. htm Aversa, Jeannine. Govt moves to aid AIG yet again; when will it end? Retrieved March 1, 2009 from http://news. yahoo. com/s/ap/20090302/ap_on_bi_ge/aig_rescue Beck, Glenn. Obama Stimulus Package Breakdown. January 26, 2009. Website. Retrieved Feb 26, 2009 from http://www. glennbeck. com/content/articles/article/198/20639/ Congressional Budget Office | Reporting by Karen Yourish, graphic by Laura Stanton The Washington Post February 01, 2009. Website. Retrieved Feb 26, 2009 from http://www. washingtonpost. com/wpdyn/content/graphic/2009/02/01/GR2009020100154. html Heaton, Chris Sholto. (9/19/2008). MoneyWeek. What Went Wrong at Lehman Brothers. Retrieved Feb 26, 2009 from http://www. moneyweek. com/investments/stock- markets/what-went-wrong-at-lehman-brothers-03809. aspx Luhby, Tami (2008). Why the Fed Pulled the Trigger on AIG. CNNMoney. com, retrieved March 1, 2009 from http://money. cnn. com/2008/09/17/news/companies/aig_explainer/index. htm? postversion =2008091715 Muolo, Paul and Mathew Padilla (2008). Chain of Blame: How Wall Street Caused the Mortgage and Credit Crisis. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Mullins, Luke (2008). U. S. News. Five Reasons The House Passed the Bailout Bill. Retrieved from http://www. usnews. com/blogs/the-home-front/2008/10/3/5-reasons-the-house- passed-the-bailout-bill. html Kato, Takatoshi. (3/21/2008) The Financial Crisis and Economic Outlook-Lessons for Securing the Benefits of Financial Deepening. Retrieved Feb 28, 2009 from http://www. imf. org/external/np/speeches/2008/032108. htm Sahadi, Jeanne. CNNMoney (2/17/2009). Stimulus: Now for the Hard Part. Retrieved Feb 27,2009 from http://money. cnn. com/2009/02/17/news/economy/obama_stimulus_meas_success/index. Htm Small, Jay Newton (10/3/2008). Time. What the Bailout-Bill Crisis Has Wrought. Website Retrieved http://www. time. com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1847205,00. html The Associated Press (2008). Obama, McCain wary about financial bailout. Website. Retrieved Feb 27, 2009 from http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/26856877/ The Economist (2008). The credit crunch: The year of living dangerously. Website. Retrieved Feb 26, 2009 from http://www. economist. com/opinion/displayStory. cfm? source=hptextfeaturestory_i d=11885697 The Economist (2008). The credit crunch one year on: Mission creep at the Fed. Website Retrieved March 1, 2009 from http://www. economist. com/finance/displaystory. cfm? story_id=11897000 The Economist (2008). Home Truths: A housing slump helped cause the credit crisis. But its effect on spending may have been exaggerated. Website. Retrieved Feb 26, 2009 from http://www. economist. com/finance/displayStory. cfm? source=hptextfeaturestory_id=11 885272 The Economist (2008). The credit crunch one year on: Mission creep at the Fed. Website Retrieved March 1, 2009 from http://www. economist. com/finance/displaystory. cfm? story_id=11897000 Stamp, Gavin. BCC News. Credit crunch a year on: The losers. Retrieved Feb 26, 2009 from http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/business/7523234. stm U. S. And World (9/10/2008). Lehman Brothers Announces $3. 9 Bil 3Q Loss. Retrieved on Feb 28, 2009 from http://cbs5. com/national/lehman. brothers. shares. 2. 814040. html U. S. And World (9/12/2008). Emergency Meeting Held To Discuss Lehman Crisis Retrieved on Feb 28, 2009 from http://cbs5. com/business/lehman. brothers. crisis. 2. 816615. html Velshi, Ali (2009). Gimme My Money Back: Your Guide to Beating the Financial Crisis. New York: Sterling and Ross Publishers. Pgs 16-25 Causes of the Great Depression Political Perspectves on Causes and Cures. Retrieved March 3, 2009 from http://www. experiencefestival. com/a/Causes_of_the_Great_Depression_- _Political_Perspectves_on_Causes_and_Cures/id/4905687 Waggoner, John and David J. Lynch (3/15/2008). USA Today. Red flags in Bear Stearns collapse. Retrieved on March 1, 2009 from http://www. usatoday. com/money/industries/banking/2008-03-17-bear-stearns- bailout_N. htm

The Indian Gaming Industry Marketing Essay

The Indian Gaming Industry Marketing Essay The Indian gaming industry is at a nascent stage but is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. In the last 15 years, India has witnessed considerable economic growth. This, in addition to its demographic structure, offers immense potential for the gaming industry. An amalgamation of our culture, rising urban incomes, education, IT development and telecom growth offer the perfect platform for the gaming industry. IT and telecom considerably drive the gaming industry. One of the segments with highest growth is the console gaming industry which is capturing higher market share year on year. While the global gaming industry is growing at 22 per cent, the Indian gaming industry is valued at Rs 13 billion and is expected to grow to Rs 38 billion by 2015  [2]  . India offers a huge pool of talent in the IT and programming sector which plays a substantial role in the development of quality games at reasonably lower costs. Additionally, while the gaming industry is picking up, serious players and investors are entering into the industry, consequently facilitating its further growth. Figure 1 Growth Trend of the Gaming Industry in India  [3]   Recently, 3G rollout in India, an increasing number of high-end mobile phone users, and broadband and DTH penetration into homes, contributed to the strong market currents that the Indian gaming industry is now riding on. Over the years, the price of games has declined significantly, making the games more affordable to Indian gamers  [4]  . High-end mobile phone consumers, for instance, a growing iPhone consumer base, point towards a promising future for the mushrooming gaming industry. These buyers thus become a very lucrative segment which includes a premium, tech-savvy population which, evidently, has higher disposable incomes. Figure 2 Orientation of Gaming Industry in prominent markets  [5]   Due to the rising population in urban India, more and more open fields and available lands are being converted to high rises, for commercial or residential purposes. This leaves the kids with little or no space to play, which adds on to the inclination towards indoor games. Hence, urbanization as well serves an important factor for the rise in console gaming market in India. As per NASSCOM report, the growth drivers in the gaming industry in India are  [6]  : The growth of the gaming industry from 2006 levels is primarily driven by increased consumer spending on gaming. The services side of the business is propelled by captives set up by international publishers of mobile game development, BPO support for MMORPG games and development revenues from PC/console game production, game art, etc. By 2012, the movement up the value chain in services, resulting in more end to end off-shoring work, is expected to contribute to the growth of revenue from development services. Domestic outsourcing is also expected to pick up, especially in the mobile and online gaming segment. Original IP development in domestic and international markets, which is at a nascent stage, will gain in significance in coming years. Falling console prices and increasing mobile and broadband penetration are expected to give a fillip to consumer markets. However the growth in gaming Industry is also coupled with challenges. As per NASSCOM report  [7]   Lack of trained man power in the industry who have the skill sets to develop end to end games and have worked in advanced NGN pipelines Infrastructure related issues like high cost of consoles, non availability of adequate bandwidth, non availability of SDKs etc Pirated copies of gaming software and tampering of consoles in still wide spread in the country Acclimatizing the Indian population to gaming which is relatively a newer form of entertainment and not integrated into the Indian culture. Lack of original Indian IP and quality games with local themes which can spur the Indian market High import duties for gaming hardware and absence of well defined policy for the growth of gaming industry Objectives  [8]   The objectives of this MRR are as follows: To study the potential market for console based gaming in India and to reach the potential customers in this particular segment of the gaming industry To study the feasibility to set up experience gaming flagship stores and scale up implementing the franchise model To study the feasibility of organizing regional league events and launching a pan-India console gaming league event leveraging upon the underlying business model To study the feasibility of creating a virtual store model functioning as an e-commerce platform to achieve appropriate channels of merchandize distribution and social media integration To study the feasibility of synergies between each of the business models so that it helps in strengthening the brand Scope and Limitations of the study  [9]   Scope Overall A study of the current Indian Gaming Industry, focusing on the console gaming industry in India A study of the various players in console gaming market Retailers, Parlours An overview of the fully integrated console gaming pan-India network comprising of stores, IT Infra-Telecom network, e-stores, vendor partners and pan-India competition An integrated financial analysis of the business plan Console Gaming Store A study on the requirements for setting up a console gaming store A study and recommendation on the business model of the store franchise/ownership A study on local/regional popular gaming championships A study on the experience aspect of consumer viz. gaming merchandize, game theme-based relevant food/snack/beverage, entertainment lounges A study on the interior design plus IT infrastructure for the store e-Store A study of the pre-requisites for operating an e-Store A study of the integration of virtual and physical platforms. (demo games, league leader boards) A study of IT resources for the e-Store. (hardware / software / network maintenance) A study of the supply chain framework required for operating an e-commerce model A study of social-media integration of the GOD brand through the e-platform A detailed financial analysis for the business model League Model A study to explore opportunities at the various feasible levels (local, regional, national etc) to conduct the league A study to look at the logistics and other facilities required to organize such a league A study of marketing and sponsorship to run the league model A study to look at the financial feasibility of organizing such a league Limitations The study will focus only on console gaming The study will only focus on partnerships with console makers and console game makers and no local players The study will not include who will be the architect and owner of the store The study will not include where the equipment and other technical requirements will be sourced from The study will have market research that will have limited sample size In lieu of reliable data, interviews with experts from the company and the industry will be conducted Who will implement the technology infrastructure, supply centre and training and development and the quality of implementation is not known Approach and Methodology  [10]   Analysis External Analysis of console gaming industry in India Feasibility (Strategic) Analysis of each business model Competitor Analysis Data Gathering Existing competitor stores in major cities Internet Probable supplier / partner working model Feasible communication channels with console game publishers and vendors Other secondary research Survey Three tier-1 cities (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore) with sample size 30 Customer questionnaire over e-mail, social media and other online channels Study Functional feasibility Technical feasibility Survey Analytics Interview Potential customers from sample space Supplier / Partner FGDs Existing game parlour owners Note: The above might change in case we adopt the lean start-up process for this business External Analysis Indian Gaming Industry Macro-Environment Analysis Political Context The key political factors influencing the Indian gaming industry are as follows: High duties and taxes for console gaming  [11]   The gaming industry is growing at a very healthy rate. The introduction of all major players like Wii and the aggressive promotions of Xbox 360 have taken the Indian console gaming industry on a high growth trajectory. Even upon the high growth expectations from the Indian market, these consoles are still quite expensive as compared to the US. One of the key factors for this difference is the high duties and taxes in India. These components add as much as around 40% to the price of the consoles. This is comprised of around 27% of customs duty and more than 12% of value added taxes. This significantly increases the prices of gaming consoles in India.  [12]   Infrastructure issues for the gaming industry  [13]   India ranks quite low on the internet and broadband penetration when compared to rest of the world. The average broadband speed available in India is also quite low when compared with the developed countries. This restricts users from connecting with wide range of gamers across territories and to play as per their convenience. However, this is expected to be overcome by the advent of high speed internet at affordable rates. The technological development in the past few years would play a very important role in bringing the gaming revolution in the near future in India. Economic Context The economy of India is the eleventh largest (by nominal GDP) and one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The growth rate for the year 2011 2012 was 6.5% and is expected to grow at 6.9% in the year 2012 2013 (as per World Bank)  [14]  . This provides an opportunity for various industries to grow within the country. Maximum growth has been observed during the 2000 decade when the country touched growth rate as much as 10.6%. The per capita income has also increased steadily in the past years. It soared by 15.6% in the fiscal year 2010 2011  [15]  . One of the key factors behind the economic development was the economic liberalization in the early 1990s. This strong economic development portrays an increase in the paying capacity of the consumers and an increased standard of living. The needs of people also grow along with prosperity and opens new opportunity for businesses. Gaming as an industry has also been growing gradually with this incremental growth trend. For the gaming industry, the expected growth is magnificent. As per a NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies) report, a 4X growth in the Indian gaming industry is expected from the year 2010 to 2015. The same report states that the console gaming industry would grow 17X from the year 2010 to 2015  [16]  . The rising disposable income in urban India and the increasing consumerism makes a good case for growth in the console gaming segment in the next few years. Social Context Indias population in 2011 was more than 1.2 billion (Source: World Bank) and a growth rate of 1.41%  [17]  . India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% below the age of 35. It is expected that, in 2020, the average age of an Indian will be 29 years, compared to 37 for China and 48 for Japan  [18]  . The increasing per capita income has largely increased the middle class population of the country. This change in the economic status, when seen along with the overall young population, it can be inferred that the paying capacity of the youth has increased in the past years. The interests of people has also evolved including entertainment and gaming. Gaming is gradually gaining importance not only as a source of entertainment but more towards lifestyle. The earlier modes of gaming was TV video games and small hand held devices, which has moved to online, mobile based and console gaming. This growth is also supported by the increased paying capacity of youth, who are the most important target market for gaming. Due to the rising population in urban India, more and more open fields and available lands are being converted to high rises, for commercial or residential purposes. This leaves the kids with little or no space to play, which adds on to the inclination towards indoor games. Hence, urbanization as well serves an important factor for the rise in console gaming market in India. Another social factor is that of safety. The anti-social elements of the society are also growing, especially in the urbanized regions, which is a cause of concern for the parents to let the kids play outdoors. The cases of kidnapping of children for ransom have become a commonplace now. To avoid such risks, parents prefer their children to go out only under their supervision, or to remain indoors, playing video games on computer or on consoles. A change in the mindset of parents has also been observed in the past years in terms of how they perceive video games, maybe on computers, or on consoles. Earlier, these games were looked at things which would distract the children from studies, and would spoil the child. Parents were conscious that the children would get addicted to these games. But gradually this mindset has undergone a great change. The parents of today, not only allow their kids to play the games, but they themselves enjoy playing such games with them. One of the reasons for such a change is the genre of games being developed these days. The games developed earlier were mostly racing or fight based, but now, the games include all variety and cover various fields, including education and strategy type games. These games dont only entertain the kids but also play an important role their mental development. The motion games have taken the trend to the next level by providing means of physical exercises as well. It has also been observed that the games developed specific to India have shown very good response in the market. Sony launched Hanuman: Boy Warrior, a PS2 game based on Indian mythology with an expectation of 3000 to 4000 units uptake on the first day, though the response was 10,000 units. Indian origin social networking site Ibibo started its cover versions of social networking games with Teen Patti and Mumbai Underworld, getting tremendous response. Sony is also planning to launch games based on characters of Amar Chitra Katha. Going forward, we can expect more local developers and players to come out with similar games.  [19]   Technological Context India has been growing stronger technologically in the past decades. The technological advancement is also one of the key factors for economic growth and prosperity. Post liberalization, in the early 1990s, a lot of investment in the country has on the technology. The advent of internet was a big leap in the field of communications globally. The telecommunication industry in India is also quite matured. Total number of telephone subscribers in India is more than 960 million, with an overall tele-density of almost 80%  [20]  . But the users of broadband are still limited to less than 1% of the population  [21]  . This leaves a huge scope for development of the internet gaming industry. At the same time, this also signifies that the potential for console gaming market is immense. The number of smartphones in India is currently about 30 million, and is growing at a CAGR of more than 30%  [22]  . This also opens up a huge market of mobile gaming in India. This is increasing trend of adoption of technology and getting closer to digital gaming, is effectively inducing the spirit of gaming in the Indian multitude, which would eventually reach to the best gaming experience which can be provided by console gaming. Hence, we see that from a technology perspective, India is very receptive to changes and new technology, gaming being a very important dimension of this entire change process. Environmental Context The world has been observing strange climatic changes in the past years. A lot of these have been attributed to global warming as well. The irregular rains, amounting to much more than usual downpour during the monsoons and scorching heat during summers is cause of major concern globally. From a macro perspective, the glaciers are melting and causing danger of extension for some species. But from a micro perspective or from an individuals point of view, such extreme climate causes day-to-day inconvenience. One of the side effects of these extreme climatic conditions is the inconvenience to children who would want to go out and play. The parents are conscious not to send their kids out for playing in extreme heat or chilling cold, and would rather prefer to keep them in-doors and provide options to play and entertain within the house. Such environmental changes, not good for the human populations though, are favourable for the thriving gaming industry in India. These factors add onto the influence on people to get more and more involved in the flourishing world of gaming. Legal Context One of the most prominent concerns for the concern for the digital world today is piracy. The creativity industry has been losing great amount of revenues due to this evil. The laws for piracy are in place but still need a more firm implementation. Piracy has been observed majorly in the music and movie industry, which has been going on for a long time now. Eventually, this evil also grew on to the world of softwares, as computing became an inevitable part of our lives. The latest trends of piracy are being observed in the field of gaming, wherein PC gaming and console gaming are the soft targets for pirated games. The revenue being lost by these industries due to piracy is immense. The game console manufacturers like Sony are creating more robust and intelligent systems to identify and not support duplicate or pirated games, but at the same time theres more to be done by the government towards reducing this piracy. National Competitiveness Gaming industry growth Comparative Study of other economies Gaming Industry is already a multibillion dollar industry in developed economies and is growing at a tremendous pace. The below list shows some key developed economies and emerging economies and their current growth pattern  [23]  . Developed Economies: United States The US video game market is and has always been the largest in the world. From 2003 to 2008, it more than doubled, from $7.00 billion to $15.5 billion, respectively. Because console gaming is the most popular in the United States and knowing the console market is declining it is projected the US market will continue to sustain growth but at a slower rate. It is expected to reach $21.1 billion in 2013. Online gaming will be the fastest growing gaming category in the US. Canada Canadas market is growing at a very fast rate. Between 2003 and 2008, it grew from a mere $0.4 billion to $1.3 billion. This number is expected to reach $2.4 billion in 2013 while the increasing mobile penetration (phones per capita) of 69% in 2008 is expected to reach 91% in 2003. Japan After a 30.2% growth spurt in 2007, the Japanese market declined by 20% in 2008 and is further stagnating. As in the United States, console gaming is the most popular in Japan; the significant decline of console gaming is expected to dramatically affect Japans growth. Even though Japan is the home of several major video game players, and even though the market size between 2003 and 2011 is projected to increase from $3.5 billion to $6 billion, the console market will disproportionately grow from $2.7 billion to $2.9 billion. Western Europe The analysis of Western Europe consists of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and Finland. Similar to the US and Japan, console gaming consists of the greatest portion of the market (70%). However, Western Europe is also the largest world market for PC games. The market in Western Europe is projected to increase from $5.0 billion in 2003 to $13.9 billion in 2008 to $19.5 billion by 2013. Emerging Economies India The gaming market in India has taken a huge leap in recent years. It emerged in 2006 explaining the lack of data in the chart above. As with many other translational corporations, big video game firms (EA, Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard) have recently established operations in this economy. In conjunction with its growing economy, the video game market is projected to grow from $0.21bn in 2008 to $1.60bn in 2012. The short-term future of the industry lies in Zeebo a new console launched in India but the long-term future, like other countries, is expected to lie in online gaming. Indias video game market is growing at such a fast rate that UTV Interactive, an Indian video games publisher, recently purchased the US online gaming firm, True Games Interactive. Brazil In Latin American, the market expanded from $0.3bn in 2003 to $0.7bn in 2008 and is projected to reach an estimated $1.3bn in 2013. Though the market has grown about $1 billion, Brazil only comprises about 5% of the market. Though it has minute market share, Brazil is still one of the key emerging markets in the region and the world. Internet penetration is projected to significantly increase from 32.9% in 2008 to 73.2% in 2013. Russia Another one of the BRIC economies, Russias video game industry is expected to double from $0.25bn in 2007 to $0.5 in 2012. With increasing mobile penetration, mobile gaming has become a large part of the countrys market. Porters Diamond Model Analysis The below study gives a detailed analysis on national competitiveness of the gaming industry with respect to the leading economies in this industry and a focus on emerging countries like India which have a bright scope for growth in the future. Figure 3 Porters Diamond Model for gaming Industry in India  [24]   The above diagram shows the four corners that make up the national competitiveness structure of the diamond model. Government and Chance above can be attributed to as exogenous parameters. Factor Conditions: HR Knowledge Pool  [25]   Given the current scenario of the video game industry, irrespective of the any particular mode that is thriving over another, e.g., online social media integrated increase in demand over conventional PC gaming, what we see is that the countrys leading rapid growth in the industry is capitalizing on a human resource platform that is developing and evolving over time. An analysis of the video game industry value chain that will be dealt with later involves major parties like publishers, console vendors, retailers and consumers. Every stage in the chain involves extensive human resource requirements. A recent study suggests one of the key 3 reasons why the US, Canadian, Japanese as well as emerging economies like the BRIC economies are world leaders in the gaming space, is their ability to incubate: Skilled workforce There is a massive requirement of programmers and game developers that are young understand the changing trends of the industry and fast in bringing our new games to the market, thanks to the shorter product S-curves of gaming companies. Leading economies like the US and Japan, and of late the BRIC nations, especially India, are breeding grounds for high quality technical talent pool, thanks to its universities, evolving scope and encouragement for fresh talent to take up rewarding careers in the gaming industry. Supporting Industries Another factor in steep success of game companies in these leading economies are the supporting industries that groom the industry continually, e.g. retail distribution, online marketing, global supply chain and key partnerships (Facebook and Zynaga). These supporting industries help provide employment across diverse roles and opportunities. With impressive growth projections of the video gaming industry in India, from $ 0.21 billion (2008) to $ 1.6 billion (2012) , aggressive acquisitions like UTV Interactive buying US gaming firm, True Games Interactive, rising middle class with high disposable income, social trends boosting child awareness towards latest technologies, online and brick-n-mortar retail influx, all these factors show the growth potential in supporting industries in India other than US based publishing and developing companies. Thus theres a requirement of talent pool, both by ways of quality as well as quantity  [26]  . Physical Resources Infrastructure The infrastructure scenario of India is congenial to the scope for growth of the video game industry. The symbiosis of the key physical resource requirements can be depicted using a diagram as below: Figure 4 Physical Resources Infrastructure Capital Resources Financing and capital injection across all segments of the industry is crucial to the overall growth of the industry and hence increases in substantial contribution to Indias GDP. The primary underlying factors are: High disposable income of the urban middle class segment Entrepreneurial attitude to establish end-user delivery systems, e.g. cafes, parlours, lounges, franchises, online media tie-ups, etc. Liberal legal and government norms encouraging domestic and foreign investment in the sector. Presence of operations of transnational firms in the country Based on recent research, EA, Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard have already established operations in India  [27]   Transnational gaming companies to encourage and invest in development of gaming software from India RD centres which will further boost national economic outlook on a global scale Firm Structure, Strategy Rivalry: If we take a look at a generic organizational structure of a game development company, we could then analyze how Indian companies are faring against the leading AAA rated ones and whether their firm structure is in accordance with their long term strategic intent and growth prospects. Future opportunity: extrapolation of existing structure into service space for emerging economies like India Figure 5 Firm Structure From the above diagram, we can see that any game development company functions in a dual structured operational model, first, a business management arm which takes care of the marketing, PR, releases, publishing and reviews of the game, and, second, a project management arm which takes care of the game development through all its technical and functional stages of development, testing and go-live. At the organizational level as well, apart from the above hierarchy, if we compare gaming companies like Electronic Arts against Indian majors like Indiagames, we would see a similar pattern. Every such game development company works in a studio format, each studio responsible for production of a particular genre or line of gaming, e.g., casual, kids, sports, action, etc. Thus, for a country like India where gaming industry growth looks positive, inculcating such a competitive and global culture sets the firm on the path of sustainable development. As mentioned in the earlier section, based on a research by Duke University, companies like EA, Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard have setup operations in India. This would in turn give rise to rivalry and competition among the subsidiaries and help release games faster in the market, thus increase potential to bring more and more new and advanced games in the market. Also, the presence and growth of the local Indian gaming community like Indiagames and Zapak also adds to the rivalry, since home-grown developers and publishers would not so easily give way to transnationals to break into the domestic market. Now having spoken about the firm structure and rivalry in the game development and publishing end, the industry looks feasible for a new business in a country like India. However, if we