EQUITY AND TRUST (LAW) Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

EQUITY AND TRUST (LAW) - Case Study Example The law requires that a trustee exercises the same degree of diligence that a man of ordinary prudence would exercise in the management of his affairs. In this report we shall examine the role of the trustees and the standard care he is required to take in some specific instances and also the reasons for the difference in the standards of care in such instances in the light of established case laws and the provisions of the Trustee Act 2000. " As a general rule, a trustee sufficiently discharges his duty if he takes, in managing he trust affairs, all those precautions which an ordinary prudent man of business would take in managing similar affairs of his own"- this was the court ruling in the appeal case of Speight v. Gaunt as early as in the year 1883. According to this settled law the standard care that a trustee is expected to take is limited to the extent that the trustee takes all precautions in administering the trust assets by taking such care which an ordinary prudent man of business would be taking in his own case. The trustee is exonerated from his liability so long as he proves that he has strictly followed the covenants of the trust deed and there is no willful deviation from the purposes for which the trust properties were put to use. The trustee is not expected to use any special skill or expertise with regard to the investment of the trust properties. As has been decided in the case of Fales v. Canada Per manent Trust Co.(1977) 2 SCR 302 "that of a man of ordinary prudence in managing his own affairs and traditionally the standard has been applied equally to professional and non-professional trustees. The standard has been of general application and objective". Hence traditionally there had been no distinction between professional and non professional trustees in the matter of deciding on the standard care to be exercised by the trustees with regard to the trust properties. This was the legal position at a time when the investment opportunities that were available for the trust properties were limited and hence there was no major problem encountered with the administration of the trust properties. However with the passage of time the possible avenues for investments had increased and this has created additional responsibilities for the trustees to consider the portfolios or assets in which they contemplate to invest the trust properties and decide whether the properties would be safe in such investments. Case of Learoyd v. Whiteley (1887) 12 App. Cas.727: "When the trustee serves both a life tenant and a remainderman beneficiary, the trustee must invest impartially and balance the preservation of the property for the remainderman with the need to produce a reasonable income for the life tenant"- this was the observation made in the case of Learoyd v. Whitely (1887) as regards the fiduciary position of the trustees. This ruling altered the degree of the standard care to be exercised by the trustees in that the responsibility of the trustee is extended to ensure that the safety of the investments is also taken into account while investing the trust property, so that the capital is not eroded. The argument of reliance by the trustee on a third person supposed to be an expert on the investments of the sort covered by the case will not exonerate the trustee from his fiduciary liability to the

Networking Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Networking - Coursework Example For example, security needs may entail authentication, encryption security levels and modes of detecting intrusion. Additionally, the costs involved in the three mediums are difficult to contrast due to the different costs involved such as- acquisition costs, installation costs and maintenance costs. For an entrepreneur who wants to establish a global satellite radio system, I would begin with using at least two GEO satellites strategically placed above the globe. This would enable the satellites to transmit signals to the radio satellite receivers. Additionally, the entrepreneur would have no interference since the satellites are placed directly above the earth and would orbit continuously. The frequency of the transmission would range from 5GHz to around 30GHz. A synchronous connection can be likened to a lift that stops every floor to allow people on and off from the ground floor to the tenth floor. The first four floors refer to the input messages, while the next six floors are responsible for producing data. The network chosen is a local LAN, which is wirelessly connected and also through coaxial cables. If additional media is required, a USB cable can be used for connecting to the network. In some instances, one may want to use an external hard drive. In such instances, the hard drive is connected either via the USB or

Business Regulations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Business Regulations - Essay Example This code was set up by the Press Compliant Commission in order to regulate the industry. This commission is an independent entity that was set up in the early 1990s following the recommendations of a commission on press regulation that was chaired by Sir. David Calcutt. The commission’s core responsibility is to ensure that the press adheres to the agreed code of practice on sensitive topics such minors and privacy (Fourie 2002: 46). In case of any breach of the code of conduct, the commission will conduct an investigation and either uphold the complaint or dismiss it in its entirety. With the exception of incidents regarding inaccuracies (these are dealt with by the editor responsible) all other cases have to be adjudicated and published by the commission. This commission came to being ultimately because government wanted to come up with measures to ensure protection of individual’s privacy rights against the activities of various media houses. The commission that was set up to give recommendations on how to replace the Press council which was the regulatory body before. This new regulatory body, the PCC had a maximum of one and a half years to have its impact felt or be replaced by a system that was to be statutory based. The defunct Press Council had been set up in the year 1947. This was after the recommendations of the Royal commission into regulation of the press. It was introduced to mainly deal with the ongoing claims of deteriorating standards in the press. It was however not successful and this was evident in the 1980s when the National Union of Journalists withdrew its membership. Many publications were ignoring it due to the fact that it did not any formal code of practice that the press could adhere to. It also did not have any legal means to enforce its resolutions and sanctions.(McNair, 2009) Over the years since the year 2000, events

SMS consolidates Essay Example for Free

SMS consolidates Essay Today SMS has become such a common mode of communication between youth peer groups that it has now become a mindset or norm amongst this young community and is no longer something that the youths even think about when using. [7] Of the 20 youths polled in our survey, 40% of the youths send between 5 and 10 SMS daily, and 20% send 15 or more SMS per day (Appendix 1, Figure 1). The reason for the enormous popularity of SMS amongst the youths in Singapore is, firstly, due to the fact that this mechanism of sending and receiving messages costs less. Sending an SMS message costs only five cents with some organisations offering users 500 free SMS messages a month. SMS is particularly suited for short messages like see you in the canteen at 2pm because SMS is much cheaper than calling someone and giving the same message. Calling someone to give the same message would invariably take more time and hence more cost. Secondly, sending SMS helps to save time, as it is an instantaneous form of communication. This is especially useful for youths in school, because very often they can only use their mobile phone in the strict constraints of break times. Also, SMS provides a very convenient method of exchanging small bits of information between young mobile users. The convenience of leaving messages when the other party is unreachable is one of the pros of SMS. Using SMS, one can get the message across even if they are unable to contact their friends. This function of SMS allows youths to have greater accessibility to their friends, hence its popularity. Thirdly, SMS allows the youth to feel more comfortable contacting people that they do not know very well because in contrast to voice communication, SMS is considered less personal. Certain things that teens dare not say to another person face-to-face can be done on SMS. Where shyness used to prevent some from communicating their feelings, text messaging has fully opened the gates. [10] Texting is considered less nerve-wracking and embarrassing than asking a girl for a date face-to-face. [10] Fourthly, at functional and symbolic levels, SMS allows youngsters to demonstrate that they are part of a social network and elevate their status within that network. The use of SMS consolidates a community of peers and allows them to differentiate themselves and their peers from others, such as adults. Within their small social networks, the use of particular words and symbols that are incorporated as SMS language also helps differentiate the networks through such common and tacit knowledge that is only shared by the community members. It provides a way of signifying group or community membership, as a way of marking outsiders and giving the group a clearer identity. Among the reasons for the popularity of SMS, most of the youths polled indicated that the convenience of SMS is the most favourable outcome of SMS. Also the survey shows that the greater accessibility to people and the time-saving factor are important outcomes of SMS (Appendix 1, Figure 2). CONS OF SMS TO YOUTH As described above, SMS has gained popularity among the youths due to its many advantages. However, there are also cons of SMS to the youth. In our survey, most youths indicated that addiction to SMS and language usage are unfavourable outcomes of SMS (Appendix 1, Figure 3). Now we shall go on to explain in detail the cons of SMS. Firstly, SMS is helpful and convenient to the youths, and hence they are in danger of getting addicted to SMS. A news report in London states that not finding a new message could be upsetting, especially for youngsters. [20] To them, receiving a message implied importance, boosted self-esteem, and knowledge that somebody cared and thought of them. [20] Many youngsters were paranoid and started worrying upon not receiving text messages. [20] Hence, they were constantly checking their mobile phones for new messages. It is clear that SMS addiction can potentially lead to serious distraction for the youth, especially when they start to expect people to drop them messages all the time. Furthermore, SMS is also distracting for youths who are still schooling. They can send SMS when the lessons are being delivered, dividing their attention span between listening to the teacher or lecturer. Thus these youths are unable to concentrate in class. Since SMS addiction has such serious repercussions, we are interested to find out what the youths feel about it. One question in our survey seeks to establish if the youths themselves think they are indeed hooked to it. The survey results (Appendix 1, Figure 4) show that 45% of the youths pooled stated that they are either addicted, or most probably addicted to SMS. A further 20% were neutral to the idea, and 35% indicated that they are either probably not addicted, or not addicted at all. These results are relatively close to one another, and hence not very conclusive. As such, we shall look at another question that asked what is the longest period they have gone without SMS. As high as 75% of the youths revealed that they have only gone without SMS for about 1 to 3 hours (Appendix 1, Figure 5). This time frame is rather small, and as such, we conclude that youths here do show some signs of being addicted to SMS. Secondly, just like the Internet, SMS has its side effects. Spam SMS is common nowadays as messages, especially jokes, are just forwarded blindly to anyone. Many parents worry that messages carrying fraudulent and pornographic content may harm their teenager children. However, from our survey, we learn that SMS spam is not ranked very highly as an unfavourable outcome of SMS (Appendix 1, Figure 3). This could be because messages with vulgar contents are relatively less common than jokes, and thus perhaps youths like the jokes sent, such that spam generally does not bother them. Thirdly, SMS serves as a threat to the youth relationship with their peers too. Misunderstanding and miscommunications can arise due to SMS. It is extremely difficult to discern tone in SMS, just as in email. What seems to the sender to be a completely innocuous message may be grossly misinterpreted by the recipient, causing certain discomfort if not irreparable harm. Also, there might be occasions when they compose a message and sent it to the wrong person. If the message happens to be about the person that they sent to, their relationship would be soured. Finally, using SMS will also cause loss of verbal communication, and affect our language usage. These aspects lead to stronger implications on the youths, and as such, they will be discussed in further details in the following section, which explain the social impacts of SMS on youths. THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF SMS ON YOUTH After ascertaining the reasons on why SMS is so popular, and the cons of SMS, we shall now focus on the social impact of SMS on youths. Firstly, one important social impact that SMS has on the youths is that it has altered the means of communication among the youths. Nowadays, some of them rely more on SMS than verbal communication. Indeed, this trend is shown through our survey: 70% of the youths polled prefer SMS to verbal communication (Appendix 1, Figure 6). As briefly mentioned under the cons of SMS, this has serious implications as the loss of verbal communication could cause youths to become shy, and be unable to express themselves effectively in future. In many situations too, one is relatively more comfortable sending a message via SMS than talking over the phone. Hence, SMS is seen as an easier method to get certain messages across such as breaking up with a girlfriend. This could be why young people breaking up via SMS is common. Furthermore, SMS has altered the means of communication by decreasing physical interaction among youths with people around them. Though due to its many advantages, SMS helps youths keep in touch with a greater number of people, this form of interaction be lose out in significance to the traditional form of meeting up and chatting with friends. This could have an important long-term effect on culture, interaction and attitudes of the youth within society. In addition, another way of how SMS has altered the means of communication is that, unlike in the past, arranging an outing beforehand is no longer needed, as SMS is instantaneous. People are now no longer as difficult to reach as before, and so a simple SMS message is often enough to arrange a physical meeting and night out with friends. Secondly, another social impact that SMS has on the youths is that there is now a change of language among the young SMS users. Due to the inherent limitations of 160 characters per SMS, there is a need for abbreviations or short-forms to save space, so as to squeeze as many ideas as possible in one single SMS. Sending messages like See you tonight at 830pm could be replaced by c u tonite, 830. Spelling out the entire word would take up more spaces such that more than one message would need to be sent, increasing the cost of sending. Hence short-forms have evolved to make SMS more efficient, less time consuming and cheaper. From our survey, we can conclude that 90% of those polled use short-forms in their SMS (Appendix 1, Figure 7). Hence, we can infer that SMS encourages a certain inventiveness to a language, [16] because the youths make use of abbreviations and smileys to maximise space, and to express emotions. As such, SMS is sometimes seen as a new language to youth culture. [16] Now, the word manipulations that the youths use, are increasingly being understood by other users. [16] As briefly mentioned under the cons of SMS, the form of language manipulation due to SMS usage has a detrimental effect on language as too many short-forms are used. Dr. Cynthia McVey, a psychology lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University, summed this up very well, Texting was second nature to a generation of young people. They do not write letters, so sitting down to write or type an essay is unusual and difficult. They revert to what they feel comfortable with. Texting is attractive and uncomplicated. [12] Hence some youths even unconsciously carry on with the usage of short-forms in their daily schoolwork, not only irritating their teachers, but also causing themselves to lose marks.

Effects of Violent Video Games | Essay

Effects of Violent Video Games | Essay Violent computer games, and their possible effect on players. Introduction The Problems Social Effects of Playing Computer Games Conclusion Bibliography Introduction Feeding childrens passion for computers, billions of dollars in both public and private funds are being spent to give children access in school, at home, and in the community. Nearly every school is now equipped with computers, (Fisch, 2004, p. 2) and over two-thirds of our nations children have access at home. (Fisch, 2004, p. 4) But is computer technology actually improving their lives? Computer technology has transformed society in a number of profound ways. For better or worse, the increasing pervasiveness of computer technology is a reality no one can ignore or stop, not that one would. Computers are fast becoming integrated into nearly every aspect of daily living, from school to work, to banking and shopping, to paying taxes and even voting. They provide access to a wide range of information without a trip to the library. They convey personal messages in place of the post office or telephone. And they compete with newspapers, radio, and television in providing entertainment an d news of the day. Computer technology also has a profound effect on our economy. Not only are computers changing the way goods and services are manufactured, distributed, and purchased, but they are also changing the skills workers need to be productive and earn a living. This climate sets the stage whereby we encourage our children to utilize a computer, as such represents not the world of tomorrow, but the world of today, and thus they need to be computer literate. The public generally agrees that for children to participate socially, economically, and politically in this new and different world, they must acquire a certain level of comfort and competence in using computers. National polls indicate widespread support for providing children with access to computers to enable them to learn adequate computer skills and improve their education (Trotter, 1998, pp. 6-9). In surveys, most parents and children report that they view computers and the Internet as a positive force in their lives, despite conce rns about exposure to inappropriate commercial, sexual, and violent content (National School Boards Foundation, 2000). Most parents believe that the Internet can help children with their homework and allow them to discover fascinating, useful things, and that children without access are disadvantaged compared to those with access. The scenario’s described above represent the current generation of parents, as opposed to their children. A generation that grew up on computer and video games that their parents had no idea of what they were playing, or even what the technology was. Thus, there was a real understanding and involvement gap (Brougere et al, 2004, p. 1-4). Those basically unsupervised children are now adults. Adults that grew up selecting their own video and computer games while developing their own culture without guidance to determination as to what was good for them or bad, as they were just interested in the experience of a new technology changing the world of play and relaxation. Thus it was the game, almost regardless of what it was, and not the content that ruled (Brougere et al, 2004, p. 1-4). When discussing violence in computer games, as a result of this foundational background understanding, there are three standards from which to choose, the children of parents who grew up playing games and basically picking them out themselves, those whose parents supervised what they played and purchased, which is a small minority, and lastly, those adults who either didn’t have either video games or computers in their home. The assumption is, that almost all of today’s adults played video and or computer games when they were children, if not their own, then on a friends console or computer. Children of a generation whose parents were maybe exposed somewhat to computers at work, but more often than not, were not. Thus, the problem of violence becomes one that rests on the shoulders of game developers, manufacturers and designers based upon industry research, educational and emotional findings, as well as studies concerning the effects of violence on children. The parents of today’s adults knew about the creeping violence on TV, that they grew up with and which was publicized when they were children and teenagers. But, the circumstances are different today, as there is no television standards board making noise about PC and video game content. Thus, the level of acceptable violence as well as the controls, industry oversight and general standards as to what is and is not acceptable comes into play. If you question the underlying foundation, think about the popularity of Madden football. Like it our not, that U.S. sport tops boxing for all out mayhem, violence, competitive spirit and aggression. Thus, the dilemma as represented by attempting to equate the level of violence and their effe ct is based upon a generation that really had no boundaries. The jury is still out on the subject of the effects of computer games on children, teenagers, and young adults, and it is seemingly hopelessly divided. There are â€Å"an overwhelming number of parents†, pegged at 96 percent, based upon a survey conducted by the Interactive Digital Software Association who indicate that they pay attention to video and computer game content that their children play (Business Wire, 2003). That same survey indicated that 44 percent of the parents in homes that own either video game consoles and or computers stated that they themselves used to play interactive games and that they play with their children either on a daily or weekly basis (Business Wire, 2003). The returns from that survey found that all in all over 60% of the responding parents play interactive games with their children at least once in the month (Business Wire, 2003). The parents responding at a rate of 89 percent stated that they were there when the games were purchased for chil dren under the age of 18. The survey revealed some interesting trends, as well as revealed that the children who are playing computer and or video games are the offspring of former and present players themselves. This brings to mind if these parents acceptance level of violence in computer and video games is slightly jaded in terms of what constitutes violence. In fact, the majority of gamers, as they are termed, are in fact adults, according to the Interactive Digital Software Association survey (Business Wire, 2003). The survey revealed that the entire universe of game players is getting older. The percentage of players who were under the age of 18 made up just 30 percent of the gamer population, which is down from the 34 percent recorded in 2002 (Business Wire, 2003). However, the survey avoided the critical issue, the extent of violence in the games the parents indicated that they were supervising the buying for, as well as playing with their children. The survey did state that 36 percent of the games pla yed on computer were action oriented, which tied with puzzle, board, and card games for the top spot (Business Wire, 2003). In fact, the preferences were almost evenly divided across the four categories, with driving and racing games scoring at 36 percent, and sports at 32 percent. Excessive, unmonitored use of computers, especially when combined with use of other screen technologies, such as television, can place children at risk for harmful effects on their physical, social, and psychological development. Children need physical activity, social interaction, and the love and guidance of caring adults to be healthy, happy, and productive. (Hartmann and Brougere, 2004, p. 37- 41) Too much time in front of a screen can deprive children of time for organized sports and other social activities that are beneficial to child development. (Hartmann and Brougere, 2004, p. 37- 41) In addition, children may be exposed to violent, sexual, or commercial content beyond their years, with long-term negative effects (Brougere et al, 2004, pp. 8). At present, excessive use of computers among children, especially younger children, is not typical. National survey data gathered in spring of 2000 indicated that children ages 2 to 17 spent about 34 minutes per day, on average, using computers at home, with use increasing with age (Preschoolers ages 2 to 5 averaged 27 minutes per day, school-age children ages 6 to 11 averaged 49 minutes per day, and teens ages 12 to 17 averaged 63 minutes per day) (Brougere et al, 2004, pp. 9). Available data on computer use at school suggest that exposure in the early primary grades, at least, is relatively modest. A spring 1999 survey of 26 elementary schools in the heart of Silicon Valley, where computer use might be expected to be high, found that although 70% of teachers in kindergarten through third grade had their students do some work on computers, the students computer time averaged less than 10 minutes per day (Brougere et al, 2004, pp. 11). This data suggest that younger children in particular are not currently using computers for excessive amounts of time. In the case of video games, even their critics acknowledge that they are instructing our children. The critics just dont like the form and the sometimes violent and sexually explicit content of the instruction, which they believe teaches children aggressive behaviors (Suellentrop, 2006). Yet if such games are nothing more than murder simulators, as one critic has called them, why is it, as gaming enthusiasts never tire of pointing out, that the murder rate has declined in recent years, there are more video games, and more violent ones, than ever (Suellentrop, 2006). The important thing to find out about video games isnt whether they are teachers; The question is, as game designer Ralph Koster writes in A Theory of Fun for Game Design (2004), what do they teach? (Suellentrop, 2006). The marketing strategies of game companies links closely to Hollywood action movies as a means to reach more gamers. The Cinema has emerged as the most prominent influence on games. Both cinema and games are superficially alike, in that they are relatively modern media that deliver audio-visual content to paying audiences. The similarities that the media share have meant that some artistic strategies can be transferred between the two. However, there is a limit to the extent that artistic techniques can be taken from one and used in the other. Game designers are increasingly using unsuitable cinematic conventions in the creation of their games. Activision, a Santa Monica based game manufacturer generated the Fantastic 4 game in agreement with its studio, whereby you can â€Å"assume the persona of Mir. Fantastic/Reed Richards, Invisible Woman/Sue Storm, Human Torch/Johnny Storm, or Thing/Ben Grimm and master their individual attributes and unique powers to solve puzzles, overcome obstacles, and defeat enemies. Another option is to control the Fantastic 4 together as a team and dynamically switch b etween characters during their adventures, and combine super powers in order to level more devastating attacks and accomplish missions† (Society for the Advancement of Education, 2005). And the trend includes almost any Hollywood movie that can be converted to action, with the Fantastic 4 representing a mild version of what the industry has to offer. The basic theme is the ‘good guys, against the ‘bad guys’ in such re-creations as â€Å"X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, the rival X-Men and Brotherhood† where you are â€Å"†¦ bonded by a common enemy, fight side by side for the first time, allowing players to switch instantly between super-power wielding teammates as they overcome obstacles, solve puzzles, and defeat more than 100 types of enemies† (Society for the Advancement of Education, 2005). Violence is a popular form of entertainment â€Å"a crowd of onlookers enjoys a street fight just as the Romans enjoyed the gladiators, and wrestling is a popular spectator sport not only in the United States, but in many countries in the Middle East (Centerwall, 1989, p. 23). Local news shows provide extensive coverage of violent crimes in order to increase their ratings. Technological advances have dramatically increased the availability of violent entertainment. The introduction of television was critical, particularly in making violent entertainment more available to children. More recently, cable systems, videocassette recorders, and video games have increased exposure. Hand-held cameras and video monitors now permit filming of actual crimes in progress. Economic competition for viewers, particularly young viewers, has placed a premium on media depictions of violence, as their attention translates into store sales. The Problems The level of acceptable violence of computer games, as well as violence in itself thus represents the question, as the top selling computer and video games all were violence based. And while the non-violent ‘Sims’ simulation game proved to be the top seller at 16 million copies, the next four games totaled 32 million (Wikipedia, 2007). Of those games Starcraft, 9.5 million copies sold, is a strategy war game played in space, whereby one can get a good idea of its content by the name on its expansion pack, ‘StarCraft: Brood War’ (Blizzard Entertainment, 2007). Half-Life (Planet Half-Life, 2007), 8 million copies, is a first person shooter game featuring blood spatters and other effects. Of the top ten computer games four are violence based, and of the next ten, 11 through 20, 5 are violence-based games (Wikipedia, 2007). Thus the ethics are sales, as well as creative foundation and premise from which the games are fashioned. The differing themes represent dir ections in terms of game development, what the manufacturer has build their reputation on, and the gamer profile they appeal to. Based upon the preceding the industry is split down the middle, with half gong for violence, and the other utilizing non-violent content. There is considerable evidence that violence on television, in video as well as computer games is harmful to children (Hope, 2005). And just as the current parents became adjusted to certain levels of violence in their exposures decades ago, such has magnified for their offspring according to lecturer Lesley Murphy of Robert Gordon University (Grant, 2006). The preceding calls for a scientific psychology concerning the effects violence games had on the parents to understand the level their children are being exposed to. Such should not only help us to understand our own the parent’s violence level, it should help to determine where this all stands in the realm of what is normal, speaking in relative terms. Playing computer games can be an important building block to computer literacy because it enhances childrens ability to read and visualize images in three-dimensional space and track multiple images simultaneously and there is also limited evidence available also indicates t hat home computer use is linked to slightly better academic performance. (Alington et al (1992, pp. 539-553). Dominick (1984, pp. 136-147) expresses concern there are the findings that playing violent computer games may increase aggressiveness and desensitize a child to suffering, and that the use of computers may blur a childs ability to distinguish real life from simulation. Compared to girls, boys spend more than twice as much time per week playing computer games (Funk, 1993, pp. 86-89) and are five times more likely to own a computer game system (Griffiths and Hunt, 1995, pp. 189-193). In a study of self-reported leisure time activities of 2,200 third and fourth graders, computer games topped the list of activities among boys: 33% of boys reported playing computer games, compared with fewer than 10% of girls (Harrel et al, 1997, 246-253). Initially it was thought that this disparity was the result of the games violent themes and lack of female protagonists (Malone, 1981, pp. 333-370). A more likely reason, however, is the difference between the genders in their play preferences: boys ten d to prefer pretend play based on fantasy, whereas girls tend to prefer pretend play based on reality, a rare theme for computer games, even those designed specifically for girls. Social Effects of Playing Computer Games As mentioned earlier, game playing has long been the predominant use of home computers among childrenespecially among younger boys. Although the available research indicates that moderate game playing has little social impact on children, concerns nonetheless have been raised about excessive game playing, especially when the games contain violence. Research suggests that playing violent computer games can increase childrens aggressive behavior in other situations. Existing research indicates that moderate game playing does not significantly impact childrens social skills and relationships with friends and family either positively or negatively. Studies often found no differences in the sociability and social interactions of computer game players versus non-players, (Phillips et al, 1995, pp. 687-691) but a few studies found some mildly positive effects. For example, one study found that frequent game players met friends outside school more often than less frequent players. (Colwell et al, 1995, pp. 195-206) Another study of 20 families with new home computer game sets explored the benefits and dangers of playing games and found that computer games tended to bring family members together for shared play and interaction. (Mitchell, 1998, pp. 121-135) Less is known, however, about the long-term effects of excessive computer use among the 7% to 9% of children who play computer games for 30 hours per week or more. (Griffiths and Hunt, 1995, pp. 189-193). It has been suggested that spending a disproportionate amount of time on any one leisure activity at the expense of others will hamper social and educational development. (Griffiths and Hunt, 1995, pp. 189-193) Indeed, one study of fourth- to twelfth-grade students found that those who reported playing arcade video games or programming their home computer for more than an hour per day, on average, tended to believe they had less control over their lives compared with their peers. (Wiggins, 1997) In addition, some evidence suggests that repeated playing of violent computer games may lead to increased aggressiveness and hostility and desensitize children to violence. (Provenzo, 2001, pp. 231-234) Although educational software for home computer use includes many games that encourage positive, pro-social behaviors by rewarding players who cooperate or share, the most popular entertainment software often involves games with competition and aggression, and the amount of aggression and violence has increased with each new generation of games. A content analysis of recent popular Nintendo and Sega Genesis computer games found that nearly 80% of the games had aggression or violence as an objective. (Dietz, 1998, pp. 425-442) One survey of seventh- and eighth-grade students found that half of their favorite games had violent themes. (Funk, 1993, pp. 86-89) Yet parents often are unaware of even the most popular violent titles, despite the rating system from the Entertainment In a 1998 survey, 80% of junior high students said they were familiar with Duke Nukema violent computer game rated mature (containing animated blood, gore, and violence and strong sexual Content), but fewer than 5% of parents had heard of it. (Oldberg, 1998) Numerous studies have shown that watching violent television programs and films increases children and adults aggression and hostility (Friedrich-Cofer and Huston, 2000, pp. 364-371) thus, it is plausible that playing violent computer games would have similar effects. The research on violent computer games suggests that there is, indeed, an association between playing such games and increased aggression, and that the critical variable is a preference for playing aggressive games, rather than the amount of time spent playing. (Friedrich-Cofer and Huston, 2000, pp. 364-371). Several experimental studies suggest that playing a violent game, even for brief periods, has short-term transfer effects, such as increased aggression in childrens free play, (Friedrich-Cofer and Huston, 2000, pp. 364-371) hostility to ambiguous questions, and aggressive thoughts. For example, one study of third and fourth graders found that those children who played a violent game (Mortal Kombat II) responded more violently to three of six open-ended questions than did children who played a nonviolent computer game (basketball) (Friedrich-Cofer and Huston, 2000, pp. 364-371). Furthermore, it has been found that children who have a preference for and play aggressive computer games demonstrate less pro-social behavior, such as donating money or helping someone. (Friedrich-Cofer and Huston, 2000, pp. 364-371). Studies of television have found that continued exposure to violence and aggression desensitizes children to others suffering, (Rule and Ferguson, 2001, pp. 29-50) but studies of computer games have not yet explored such a link. At least since the 1980s, however, both the U.S. and British military have used violent video games for training, reportedly to desensitize soldiers to the suffering of their targets and to make them more willing to kill. (Kiddoo, 2000, pp. 80-82). Conclusion The foundation of violence in computer games stems from the fascination with violence as spawned by the movies as well as television. These mediums have become an overbearing influence in game development and its expressive methods are being applied in game context. A look at the graphics of any video game reveals the similarities as well as attempt to capture as much realism as possible. Such is a natural evolution of the product and technology, but such also is continually blurring the fantasy atmosphere that used to be clearly delineated. The violence that exists in over 50 percent of computer as well as video games is not so much a product of the designers and manufacturers; it is a product of society in that the function of their businesses is to fulfill a need. And since the foundation for that need is there, they continue to create the games to fill it. The problem starts and exists with the consumer market, one that is a product of television and cinema culture that has been at work long before computer and video games arrived. There is now a sincere understanding that the effects have become deeply rooted facets of industrialized cultures, and games can not be blamed, yet they, along with other entertainment medium are contributing to the problem. Youth violence affects us all, and thus a reversal of the process is going to be a difficult undertaking as a result of the historical context from which it came. A look at the top selling video game categories reveals the extent of the problem: Table – Top Games Genres (Wikipedia, 2007) Rank Genre 1 Strategy / RPG 2 Action 3 Sport Games 4 Racing 5 All Shooter Games 6 Simulations 7 Family Entertainment 8 Children’s Entertainment 9 Fighting 10 Other Games 11 Edutainment With the following games rated as all time favorites, based on violent content: Donkey Kong, 1981, Nintendo Co. Ltd, Nintendo of America, Inc., Arcade. Doom, 1993, id Software, id Software, P.C. DOS. Dragon’s Lair, 1983. Magicom Multimedia, Cinematronics, Arcade. Duke Nukem, 1991, Apogee Software Ltd., Apogee Software Ltd., PC DOS. E.T.: The Extraterrestrial, 1983, Atari, Inc., Atari Inc., Atari 2600. Final Fantasy series I – IX, 1990 2003, Square Enix Co., Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc., Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, PlayStation, PlayStation 2. Final Fantasy VII, 1996, Square Co., Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc., PlayStation. Grand Theft Auto III, DMA Design Ltd., Rockstar Games, PlayStation2 Half-Life, 1998, Valve Software, Sierra On-Line, Inc., P.C. Win. ’95. Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, 2003, Nintendo Co. Ltd, Nintendo of Europe, Inc., GameCube. Mario Bros I-VII, 1983 –2003, Nintendo Co. Ltd, Nintendo of America, Inc., Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, GameCube. Max Payne, 2001, Remedy Entertainment Ltd., GodGames, Win. ’95. Metal Gear Solid, 1998, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan Co., Ltd., Konami of America, Inc., PlayStation. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, 1998, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan Co., Ltd., Konami of America, Inc., PlayStation 2. Myst, 1994, Broderbund Software, Keyboard Mouse, Macintosh. Pac-Man, 1980, Namco Ltd., Midway Mfg. Co., Arcade. Perfect Dark, 2000, Rare Ltd., Rare Ltd., Nintendo 64. Pokemon, 1998, Game Freak, Inc., Nintendo of America, Inc., Game Boy. Pong, 1973, Atari, Inc., Atari Inc., Arcade. Resident Evil, 2002, Capcom Co., Ltd., Capcom U.S.A., Inc., GameCube. Rogue Leader, 2001, Factor 5, Lucas Arts, GameCube. Silent Hill, 1999, Konami Computer Entertainment Kobe (KCEK), Konami of America, Inc., PlayStation. Space Invaders, 1978, Taito Corporation, Taito America Corp., Arcade. Spacewar, 1962, Russell, S. Street Fighter II, 1991, Capcom Co., Ltd., Capcom U.S.A., Inc., Arcade. Super Mario Bros., 1985, Nintendo Co. Ltd, Nintendo of America, Inc., Nintendo Entertainment System. Tekken 3, 1998, Namco Ltd., Namco Hometek, Inc., PlayStation. Tennis for Two, 1958. Higinbotham, W. Tetris, 1989, Pajitnov, A., Nintendo of America, Inc., Game Boy. Tomb Raider, Core Design Ltd., Eidos Interactive, PlayStation. Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, 2003, Core Design Ltd., Eidos Interactive, PlayStation 2. Winning Eleven 6: Final Evolution, 2003, Konami Computer Entertainment Kobe (KCEK), Konami Computer Entertainment Japan Co., Ltd., GameCube. Wolfenstein 3D, 1991, Apogee Software Ltd., Apogee Software Ltd., PC DOS Zelda I –VI, 1987-2003, Nintendo Co. Ltd, Nintendo of America, Inc., Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, GameCube. As a business, the economics of a return on investment figures importantly into the reasons as to why so many violent games are produced. Simply speaking there is a market for them! The high cost of producing games engenders a desire within the companies financing games production to ensure a return on their investment. In most popular mass culture, this has seen a cautious approach to creating content. There has been a streamlining of the creation of content, be it music, films or games, that has seen the removal of as many variables as possible in order to produce content that can be easily quantified and accounted for. Companies are reluctant to take risks and the simplest way of avoiding them is to repeat previously profitable formulae, or in the case of a developing medium, such as games, to adopt the techniques of the more developed and superficially similar medium of cinema. Designers are reliant upon the finance provided by publishing companies to create games. This has seen the production of numerous games based on Hollywood films and characters, or the construction of games that can be marketed and sold on the strength of their cinematic aesthetics and sensibilities. Computer and video game companies base their strategies of what to produce based upon careful market research and raw numbers, and the fact is, since 50% of the market has been and continues to be buying violent game content, they will continue to design and market these types of games! And while the problem is deep seated, there is a logical and easy solution, if only the adults will play along. The survey conducted by the Interactive Digital Software Association (2001), indicated the following statistics: adults purchase 90% of all games sold And that is the only statistic that will be utilized to make the point. As the controlling variable in the purchase, it is the adults that need to be reached. The problem is how? Educating Adults to the problem is the logical answer. But as the primary buyers of games overall, they are also heavy buyers of violent game content themselves. The preceding is more than an ethical dilemma, it is a cultural one. One whereby the cycle needs to be broken with the same vigor and force that instilled it in the first place. But, that took decades and billions in advertising and marketing dollars to put into place. Thus it seems that the only force large enough to impact upon this situation are governments. Therein lies the ethical problem, for this speaks of another regulation is a world that is fast becoming over regulated in order to save ourselves from ourselves! The solution that the preceding is leading up to is the same as has been done in the instance of cigarette smoking, warning labels on each box as a mandated action. Could the foundation for this approach be similar to the health risk utilized in the instance of cigarettes, only in this instance as a societal risk? That represents an extremely touchy subject as it seemingly broaches upon freedom of choice. The warning labels and legislation to curtail smoking has achieved success as a result of the non-smokers who did not wish to inhale second hand smoke in restaurants, offices and other public indoor locales. These restrictions did not and do not restrict smokers for smoking. Thus, why would it curtail violent game players from playing. Thus, could a violent game tax be the solution. This would or might represent a choice in that the extra money so charged would be put into a victims and marketing fund to fuel additional education on the dangers of violence. Seemingly, that might create an outcry as well, however, as is the case with any type of social change, the majority wins out, thus the non-violent lobby would have to organize itself for a long

Clifton Suspension Bridge Essay -- History Historical Bridge Architect

Clifton Suspension Bridge The Clifton Suspension Bridge is located in Bristol England, and spans the beautiful Avon gorge. This bridge has become the symbol of Bristol much like the Eiffel tower has of Paris, and the Opera house has of Sydney. The story of the Clifton Suspension Bridge began in 1754 with the dream of a Bristol wine merchant who donated his life savings to build a bridge over the gorge. To decide on a suitable design for the bridge a competition was held. Thomas Telford, the leading civil architect of the time was the judge. Mr. Telford attempted to submit his own design; however the decision to declare himself the winner was overruled and a second competition was held. This time, contrary to the recommendation of Thomas Telford, 24 year old Isambard Kindom Brunel was declared the winner and appointed project engineer. Brunel’s design consisted of a suspension bridge that spanned the breath of the gorge. Telford disagreed with the concept of erecting a suspension bridge of this size in such an exposed position. His doubt was likely a result of the near destruction of his last project the Menai suspension bridge. Nonetheless Brunel was given his first commission, and construction on the bridge began. The foundation stone was laid in 1831, however the project was plagued with political problems and by 1843 the project was abandon with only the towers complete. Before the political and funding problems could be resolved Brunel died an unexpected death at just 53 years old and the project had to be finished with out him. The design of the bridge was altered after his death. The original scheme was far more ornate with stone lions and Egyptian inspired decoration, these were left off the engineers who finished t... ...le plagued this project and by the time it was complete it was no longer the largest spanning bridge, though it is still a spectacular bridge sitting 76 meter above a deep gorge. Certainly a site worth seeing, apparently it is breathtaking to drive down the road to Bristol, turn a sharp corner and the white structure spanning the gorge. Today it costs 30p to cross the bridge in a car, pedestrians are not charged, and the speed limit has recently been raised to 25 miles per hour. Work Cited 1.) http://www.clifton-suspension-bridge.org.uk/index.php, October 27, 2004 2.) http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Clifton_Suspension_Bridge.html, October 27, 2004 3.) http://www.farvis.com/bridge,htm.htm, October 27, 2004 4.) http://www.about-bristol.co.uk/lnd-00.asp, October 27, 2004 5.) http://www.brantacan.co.uk/suspension.htm, October 27, 2004

My Dog Skip

English 101 09/17/2012 Gonzalo Garcia My dog skip When my english professor said to me that we was going to see â€Å"My dog Skip†, sincerely, I thought the film would be very boring. â€Å"the typical family film† I said. The only fact that glad me was that we went going to miss class. The praises that the professor said about the movie was useless, I thought that the movie would be boring. So, I started to see the movie. Soon I realized that the movie is not the comedy film, it is different.Little by little it begins to engage you until you cannot stop seeing the film. This movie does not look for too funny with a simple story line, easily jokes, and characters without evolution. My dog skip go far away showing a very good story line, an excellent soundtrack, and a excellent characters The story is set in 1942, town of Yazoo City, Mississippi during World War II. The story explores a family of three, Jack, Ellen, and Willie Morris. Willie is a shy boy. Ellen decides to go against father's orders and purchase Willie a faithful companion of his own for his birthday: a puppy.Although Jack firmly opposes this gift, his wife convinces him Willie is old enough to take care of a dog. Willie names his new friend Skip. The dog will become very well-known and popular among locals, and assist children to have higher self-confidence causing Willie make their first friends. The story line although it may seem simple in its approach is very deep and emotive. The story is about things like the value of friendship. For example, can be seen as the beginning of a child movie Willie is sad, lonely and left mauling by his classmates.But this situation is changing when he gives his dog skip and start having friends becoming someone much happier and self-confident. Another subject on which the film is about is the difficulty of integration that can have a young child due to continuing taunts that he receives from their peers. Causing great uncertainty in himself tha t prevents that he tries to relate to other children. At the beginning of the movie can be seen as Willie always is alone and with his head down due to its insecurity. This not only causes sadness in himself, also in their parents who feel the sadness of your child as much as the.Also another issue that the movie is about is that of a young man who gets involved in the war. In the film can be seen as both man that going to war and their loved ones and friends suffer by the uncertainty of whether he will return. This can be seen especially in the scene in which the bus returning from the army but they do not see the guy that they are expecting what causes them great sorrow. The best part of the movie is the final. When Willie is already elder and tells us the story of skip, is as Skip was our dog. It is very emotive. Is very difficult do not get excited with it.It is one of the best finals that I have never seen. Overall â€Å"My Dog Skip† has an excellent soundtrack. Always p erfectly accompanies the action. Generally is very quiet and leisurely helping to get involved more and more in the story line. This soundtrack gives as result some moments very emotional. For example when some men hit skip with a shovel and let him unconscious. Is likely to cry with this part. Other moment that stands out is when his mother gives Skip to Willie for first time and his father takes it away. In this part you feel sadness after they had seen the face of joy Willie and his later disappointment.Also must be emphasized the end of the movie already discussed above. In all these moments the soundtrack accompany action perfectly making us feel part of the movie. Finally, also must be emphasized that he characters also are very good. In general all characters are good, but in my opinion there are three characters that highlight over the rest: Jack is the heartbroken father who lost his leg in war years ago. Ellen is the simple minded housewife doing more manual labors than wo men usually complete. Willie, the protagonist with skip, is their lonely son-maybe ten years of age.He has no local friends, is poor at sports and teased at school. His best acquaintance is in his mid-twenties, a mechanic named Dink (Luke Wilson), who is called for battle not too long into the picture, leaving Willie all alone. Willie is the best character. He achieves get excited with his starring. For example, when he sees how one man hit Skip with one shovel. This scene is so hard that is almost impossible do not cry. Willie transmits his feelings very good, when he issad we are sad and when he is happy we are happy. This is the magic of this film. Moreover, we cannot forget Skip. He is only a dog, but I do not how I love him.May be, because I also had a dog, when I was younger and I fell identified with Willie and Skip. In conclusion, My dog Skyp is a very good film. Although at the beginning it seem a typical comedy film soon it engages you thanks to beautiful story, the good c haracters, and the emotive soundtrack. Every thing in the movie works good, there are not something that lower the lever. May be the only negative thing is that history is predictable. You know that something bad will happen to skip and that the finale will be sad. But the movie will remain in your memory during a lot of time, specially his fantastic finale.