Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Play Station And Video Games - 1710 Words

Executive Summary Play Station and video games are technologies used for entertainment across all age groups all around the world. The young children aged from 5 to 10 years old occupy the largest percentage of users. Today there is wide variety of games attributed to the advancement in technology. The report is a detailed documentation of the impact of gaming on children with references to recent scholarly articles. It also touches on other involved parties in the management of the media entertainment. Introduction The platform of electronic gaming dates back to 1971 that was in the form of arcade video games (Wolf, 2012). In the 1980s, video arcades and console games were integrations in the learning process (Wolf, 2012). The target audience of the learning games was children aged between 5 and 10 years. The Learning Company is a pioneer in the history of games and learning with family-oriented software games emerging in the 1990s (Wolf, 2012). A recent development in digital learning focuses on providing children with tools for repairing, constructing and authoring contrary to the traditional games. SimCity is an example of the rear mentioned game. A large population of parents deal with video games in a manner one would deal with low nutritious foods, believing that exposing their children to the games in decreased periods is acceptable. An opposition to the school of thought is Andy Baio who has let his son Eliot play through a history of video games in a chronologicalShow MoreRelatedVideo Gameplay Of Video Games1617 Words   |  7 Pages Video Gaming has played a major factor for video gamers worldwide, this brings the expertise of video game developers to develop the next generation of video games. Video gamers(?) in Japan and the United States share the enjoyment in playing video games. What is the history behind video games? What are the prices of video games in Japanese? What are the prices of video games in the United States? How are American and Japanese video games are different? There are similarities and differences inRead MoreEvolution of Video Games1676 Words   |  7 Pages1. INTRODUCTION: 1. a What is Video Game? Video game is an electronic game seeking human interaction through an engaging user interface that is being fetched by a video device. Traditionally the term video in video game is referred as a raster display device, but it now implies any type of display device [monitors, TV etc] that can produce two or three-dimensional images. 1. b How does it work? The electronic systems used to play video games are referred to as platforms. The most famous platformsRead MoreNintendo Gamecube And Its Effects On Nintendo751 Words   |  4 PagesNintendo. Developers wanted to make mature games for the Play Station 2 and the soon to be released Xbox. Another reason developers shied away from developing on the Gamecube was for the lack of power and storage space with the discs (Thomas, L). Sony was using standard sized discs which meant that bigger games would be able to be played and developed, because of all the storage. Nintendo decided to try using smaller discs that had minimal storage and games would not be as big. This turned developersRead MoreSony Playstation 3 Case Study1151 Words   |  5 Pageslikely sway new buyers away from Wii. Sony has also built a library of very popular games that was a major weak point at the time around release. While many of these moves are a step in the right direction, they were almost expected. For Sony to truly bring back the following they once had with the Play Station 1 and 2, they need to go back to the fundamental mentality of game content. Many of the popular games are now released for all three systems (PS 3, Xbox, Wii), which makes the unique valueRead MoreNintendo Gamecube : A Successful Lifespan1391 Words   |  6 Pages Even though the Nintendo Gamecube was not selling like the extremely popular Play Station 2, and the questionable design, the console was still popular. Many companies praised Nintendo for what they were trying to do saying that Nintendo was trying something abstract and unique (Kennley, D). The Nintendo Gamecube had a successful lifespan that were building blocks Nintendo still uses today. There were multiple game series that made first time appearances on the console like Pikmin, Luigi’s MansionRead MoreMedia And Its Effects On Society1709 Words   |  7 Pagesspend watching it. Movies have also played a significant part of the media. Many popular movies are extremely violent. One of the popular movies that came out over the past few years, which is directed towards young teenage audiences, is the Hunger Games. It is about a post-apocalyptic world where a nation is divided into twelve districts. Two young representatives in each district are chosen at random to compete against each other to the death as entertainment while everyone else is forced to watchRead MoreSonys Playstation 4 is the Next Generation Video Game Console561 Words   |  3 PagesThe next generation of video game consoles is upon us, with Sony’s Play Station 4 leading the charge. Rather than the console being the center of the living room, Sony is making the player the focus. This helps transform a previously unsocial, solitary pass time into a community based personalized system. Sony’s PS3 came out about six years ago. Unfortunately, Microsoft had released the Xbox 360 prior to the release of the PS3. People bought the Xbox because at its release it was the only consoleRead MoreMassive Breach At Sony Play Station945 Words   |  4 Pages Title: Massive Breach at Sony Play Station By Durga Sravani Nandyala Northeastern University, College of Professional Studies Submitted to: Prof. Jason Black Abstract An analysis on the massive data breach on Sony play Station. This document has been presented as an academic exercise. This document would include the causes of the incident, Sony communication to the breach with customers, customer impact on Sony and finally steps taken by Sony in their recovery from the breachRead MoreThe Battle Of The Gaming Industry1372 Words   |  6 Pagesheadshot 50 appears just below him. Video games have always been a source of entertainment and an escape from reality. However, most do not know a lot about the history of the gaming industry. It is a long history full of ones rising to power and falling, betrayal, and exploring a whole new world that could only be reached in dreams. Ironically, the best way to describe gaming history is to say it was not a game. In 1972 Pong, one of the first successful video game, was released (â€Å"A Brief† para. 4)Read MoreViolence in Video Games770 Words   |  3 PagesIn the article from Thom Gillespie states that Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is the latest video game to be known of demeaning our society’s youth in the U.S. He states though however, video games such as GTA are â€Å"art† and deserve protection. Moreover, those games just mirror humanitys violent instincts; they do not provoke violence, Gillespie argues. These games also offer chances for debates about ethical issues and the costs of actions. It is known from his writings that Thom Gillespie is a professor

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Kantian Ethical Analysis - 1614 Words

b) - Kantian Ethical Analysis: 1 - Introduction and brief explanation of Kantian ethics: German philosopher Kant was first to introduce the Kantian ethics; hence, the named after him. According to Professor Elizabeth Anscombe, Immanuel Kant was Unitarianism’s rival; he believed actions that are taboo should be completely prohibited at all times. For instance, murder should be prohibited. Even though nowadays a person cannot be punished if death is involved as a self defense, from Kant’s perspective this is still prohibited, although sometimes these actions bring more happiness to the big majority of people than sorrow. Kant stated that before acting, one should ask his/her self: am I acting rationally and in a way that everyone will act as I purpose to act? Is my action going to respect the moral law or just my own purpose? If the answer to those questions is a no, the action must be abandoned. Kant’s theory is an example of the deontological theory that was developed in the age of enlightenment. According to Elizabeth, these theories say that  "the rightness or wrongness of actions does not depend on their consequences but on whether they fulfill our duty.†( Anscombe, 2001) Kant said that morality is built based on what he called â€Å"Hypothetical Imperatives†, but rather principles called â€Å"Categorical Imperatives† he referred to it as the supreme principle of morality. (Texas AM University, n.d.) Cavico and Mujtaba reported on their book that Kant stated that moralityShow MoreRelatedEssay about Kantian vs Utilitarian Ethical Parameters990 Words   |  4 Pagestask that stands before me in this paper is to address two situations and determine the ethical parameters in which a person should act. The two philosophical approaches that I will examine the situations with the Kantian and Utilitarian point of view. Kant deciphers his ethical questions by examining a persons motivation for performing an act regardless of the consequences. A person who utilizes the Kantian view believes that the only pure good is pure human reason without consequences. ThisRead MoreGovernment Surveillance On Social Media1750 Words   |  7 PagesMedia David Lopez Florida International University CGS 3095 Section U01 – Fall 2015 Abstract This paper will cover the pros and cons of government surveillance. It will cover different views on the issue such as ethical, social, and global impact. This paper will try to answer the question of how government surveillance on social media can impact local citizens in the United States and how it impacts on controlling terrorism locally and globally. Government Surveillance:Read MoreKantian Ethics1459 Words   |  6 Pagesto make logical decisions that would contribute in a positive way in society. An ethical theory that would best describe people that influence young children would be Kantian`s ethics. His ethical theory elucidates that morality is when we act based on duty for duty`s sake not for self-interest. For this reason in order to respect the law, a sense of duty to one`s actions is necessary (Kant, 287). Based on this analysis, young children would need Kant`s outlook on morality in order to be sufficientRead MoreKantian Ethics And The Categorical Imperative Essay1581 Words   |  7 PagesAnalysis of Kantian Ethics and critiques In Elements of Pure Practical Reason Book, I, Immanuel Kant, a prominent late Enlightenment Era German philosopher discusses his most famous ethical theory, the â€Å"Categorical Imperative.† The â€Å"Categorical Imperative† is a proposed universal law in stating all humans are forbidden from certain actions regardless of consequences. Although this is the general definition of this ethical theory, the Categorical Imperative† exists in two above formulations, A strictRead MoreA Research On Genetic Engineering1407 Words   |  6 Pagessituations as a way of informing the way humans think to support the more difficult decisions that are made in life. On such ethical theory, known as Utilitarianism, an ethical theory that was founded by the 18th century philosopher and social reformer Jeremy Bentham who is currently known as the father of modern Utilitarianism. This theory is best understood as a risk-benefit analysis in which the good brought about by a certain ac tion is weighed against the harm caused by that action. It was Bentham (1789)Read MoreEdward Snowden Kantian Ethics1885 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿ Edward Snowden, Kantian Ethics Edward Snowden the Ethical Issue In early 2013 a man by the name of Edward Joseph Snowden began leaking classified National Security Agency (NSA) documents to media outlets, which in turn ended up in public ears. These documents, mainly involving intelligence Snowden acquired while working as an NSA contractor, are mostly related to global surveillance programs run by the NSA. This has raised multiple ethical issues ranging from national security, information privacyRead MoreRelevance Of Personality And Psychopathy1057 Words   |  5 Pagesorganisation The conclusion that the NSDAP was a criminal organisation (and that the whole state of Germany became thus) derives from an ethical typology of organisational morality. The creation of a four square matrix from the Machiavellian â€Å"ethic† of means and ends identify four distinct ethical organisational styles; Machiavellian and criminal on one hand, and Kantian and â€Å"ethicall† on the other. In the Machiavellian matrix, the four types occupy the different sections of the diagram †¢ MachiavellianRead MoreVolkswagen Utilitarian Ethics1055 Words   |  5 PagesIt is unknown to the public whether Liang was acting under orders when he designed the software or he decided to create it on his own to meet requirements his superiors gave him. Both rule utilitarianism and Kantian duty ethics would condemn Liang’s actions as unethical. According to Kantian ethics, morality is governed by a universal moral law, the Categorical Imperative. One’s actions must not only obey the Categorical Imperative, but also be governed by purity of will. Purity of will means thatRead MoreEvaluating The Ethical Principles Of An Axis And Identifying Concrete Points At Which Certain Values Outweigh Others?1549 Words   |  7 Pagesemotionally charged responses, and simplification of arguments to their ethical ideals can provide essential guidance when crafting policy decisions. Field and Caplan attempt to apply sometimes vague guiding ethics to a real policy issue and are able to draw a conclusion from their model. In their attempt to fit these ethical theories to a graphical model, Field and Caplan make a few substantial simplifications. First, their analysis of the utilitarian perspective does not take the degree of harm intoRead MoreThe Case Of Frank Van Den Bleeken1672 Words   |  7 Pagesassisted suicide was an impending option as it had been made legal in the country back in 2002 (Krugel, 2016). Through ethical analysis, Immanuel Kant, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill would reach an agreement in which Van Den Bleeken should be restricted his right to physician assisted suicide. The three philosophers had various epistemological thought processes and ethical theories applied in determining what was moral. Whether it was the individual’s duty to stay in jail, the best option for

Monday, December 9, 2019

Wireless Networking Communication Management-Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Wireless Networking Communication Management? Answer: Introducation IT is commonly known as Yagi Antenna and it is an antenna of directional type. Yagi antenna has multiple parallel elements in a particular line (Yin et al., 2013). It has mainly three part, a reflector element, some directors. The reflector element has a longer size than the driven dipole and the directors have a smaller size. For this kind of design it has higher gain and better directivity. Strengths It has a higher directivity. It has lower power consumption. It has a low maintenance cost. This type of antenna has a larger frequency range. It can achieve very high magnitude of gain. Weakness It has a limited bandwidth and frequency level. Noise and environmental changes can affect the Yagi antenna. Applications The Yagi antenna is mainly used to achieve high value of gain and directivity. It is used in case of frequency modulation for narrow band region. Horn Antennas Horn antennas are also well known as the microwave antennas (Yang Marzetta, 2013). It has given this type of name as it is consisted of a flaring metal waveguide that has a shape like horn. It functions over a frequency range of 300 MHz. The main advantage of the Applications It is used mainly in case of speed enforcement cameras and also it is used in small distance radars (Yin et al., 2013). Cellular antenna Cellular antennas are those which are mainly used in the mobile phones and the cell phones (Inui et al., 2015). Cellular antennas are useful in case of long distance communication. Strengths The cellular antennas are used for the communication along very long distances and it is approximately 45 miles. The capacity of data transfer is very high. It can achieve the connection among any places among the globe. Weakness The main issue regarding the cellular antenna is the connection problem. The size of this type antenna is very big. The number of antennas in every base station has increased value. Applications Cellular antennas are used in mobile phones. It is also used for long distance communication. These antennas are used in the cellular base stations. Selection of antenna type for medium and long distance In case of long distance communication cellular antennas are used in a wide range. In case of global communication this type of antennas are used (Sarkar, Srivastava Saurav, 2014). This type of antenna has a very suitable value of bandwidth and gain. Comparison and contrast of FDMA and CDMA CDMA refers to code division multiple accesses and it is a method that has the access of different channels and it is a blend of several radio communications (Lo Lee, 2013). It is created by spreading the codes using orthogonal codes. It is a suitable example of multiple accesses. FDMA refers to Frequency Division Multiple Access and it is a method that utilises the channel for accessing and it also acts as a channelization protocol (Yang Marzetta, 2013). It provides the users several bands of frequency and is mainly used in satellite communication. CDMA FDMA It has no absolute limit of channel capacity. Cell capacity is limited. It distributes orthogonal codes in the main channel. In case of FDMA the frequency band is consisted of several disjoint sub bands. All terminals can act simultaneously. Individual frequency level is present in every terminal of FDMA. It is flexible and needs less frequency planning and soft handover. It is simple, established and robust. The transmission is simultaneous in nature and each user uses different band of frequencies. When the channel is inactive, it is also inactive. Most recent advanced wireless technologies RFID or Radio Frequency Identification detector is used to keep track of several objects (Han et al., 2015). The RFID acts on the principle of radio frequency which has a range of 134 KHz and for high frequency RFID systems; the value is almost 13.56 MHz Strength RFID is very useful in case of using in inventory management system. RFID is very helpful in case of tracking vehicles. RFID is used in automated tracking system and more advantageous in case of logistical tracking. Weakness The range of RFID is limited and it is not more than 100m. As RFID is a very new technology, people should be aware about it and should have proper knowledge about RFID. Best type of Antenna for future applications Antennas take an important role in wireless communication. Antennas are of different kinds and different types which are already discussed above (Ding et al., 2015). According to the types of antennas the applications are also different in nature. In future the main field of communication will be based on long distances and faster response (Aouani et al., 2014). In that case the cellular antennas will be most effective in terms of gain, bandwidth and directivity. References Aouani, H., Rahmani, M., Navarro-Ca, M., Maier, S. A. (2014). Third-harmonic-upconversion enhancement from a single semiconductor nanoparticle coupled to a plasmonic antenna. Nature nanotechnology, 9(4), 290-294. Ding, Z., Zhong, C., Ng, D. W. K., Peng, M., Suraweera, H. A., Schober, R., Poor, H. V. (2015). Application of smart antenna technologies in simultaneous wireless information and power transfer. IEEE Communications Magazine, 53(4), 86-93. Han, S., Chih-Lin, I., Xu, Z., Rowell, C. (2015). Large-scale antenna systems with hybrid analog and digital beamforming for millimeter wave 5G. IEEE Communications Magazine, 53(1), 186-194. Inui, T., Koga, H., Nogi, M., Komoda, N., Suganuma, K. (2015). A miniaturized flexible antenna printed on a high dielectric constant nanopaper composite. Advanced Materials, 27(6), 1112-1116. Lo, Y. T., Lee, S. W. (2013). Antenna Handbook: theory, applications, and design. Springer Science Business Media. Sarkar, D., Srivastava, K. V., Saurav, K. (2014). A compact microstrip-fed triple band-notched UWB monopole antenna. IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, 13, 396-399. Yang, H., Marzetta, T. L. (2013). Performance of conjugate and zero-forcing beamforming in large-scale antenna systems. IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, 31(2), 172-179. Yin, H., Gesbert, D., Filippou, M., Liu, Y. (2013). A coordinated approach to channel estimation in large-scale multiple-antenna systems. IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, 31(2), 264-273.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

The Potential Causes of the Financial Crises in South East Asia

The collapse of the financial systems of Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia has its roots in the fundamental and structural foundation of the international capitalist system which unavoidably will contribute to its crushing, under its own weight (Rahman, 1997).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Potential Causes of the Financial Crises in South East Asia specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More â€Å"The financial crisis was transformed into a full-blown recession or depression, with forecasts of GNP growth and unemployment becoming more gloomy for affected countries† (Khor, n.d.). â€Å"The threat of depreciation spread from a few countries to many in the region, and also to other areas such as Russia, South Africa, and possibly Eastern Europe and South America† (Khor, n.d.). The Potential Causes of the Financial Crises As far as the causes of the financial crises in these countries concerned there is no single opinion. They vary from economy to economy. The Asian Tiger economies were growing and were open to foreign investments, goods and services, capital flows and relying heavily on dollar markets (Nanto, 1998). â€Å"There has been a great debate over the causes of this depreciation as weather the domestic policies and practices or the inherent and unstable nature of the global financial system were responsible for it† (Garay, 2003). In the first phase of the crisis , the international establishment (represented by the IMF) and the G7 countries placed the blame directly on domestic ills in the East Asian countries as it spread from Thailand to Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, then to South Korea (Garay, 2003). Source: Garay, 2003. The Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-1998 and the Behavior of Asian Stock Markets Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More But s oon another view emerged which put the blame on the developments of the global financial system: the combination of financial deregulation and liberalization across the world; the increasing interconnection of markets and speed of transactions through computer technology and the development of large institutional financial players† (Garay, 2003). â€Å"A developing country opens itself to the possibility of tremendous shocks and instability associated with inflows and outflows of funds when it carries out financial liberalization before its institutions or knowledge base is prepared to deal with the consequences† (Garay, 2003). â€Å"A total of US$184 billion entered developing Asian countries as net private capital flows in 1994-96, according to the Bank of International Settlements† (Garay, 2003). â€Å"In 1996, US$94 billion entered and in the first half of 1997 $70 billion poured in† (Garay, 2003). â€Å"With the beginning of the crisis, $102 billion went out in the second half of 1997† (Garay, 2003). â€Å"From the above mentioned figure it is evident that the flows (in and out) can be so huge; the shifts can be so unpredictable and sudden when inflow turns to outflow and the huge capital flows can be subjected to the tremendous effect of â€Å"herd instinct,† in which a market opinion or operational leader starts to pull out, and followed by a panic withdrawal by large institutional investors and players† (Garay, 2003). Source: Garay, 2003. The Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-1998 and the Behavior of Asian Stock Market To maintain foreign investors’ confidence transparency on the business and government level is highly required. In the absence of transparency on such key economic variables as foreign reserves and policy directions, herd instinct prevails, which can make the situation uncontrollable (Kihwan, 2006).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Potential Causes of the Fina ncial Crises in South East Asia specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More â€Å"In the case of East Asia, although some of the currencies were over-valued, there was an over- reaction of the market, and consequently an ‘over-shooting’ downwards of these currencies† (Garay, 2003). â€Å"It was a case of self-fulfilling prophecy. The financial speculators, led by some hedge funds, were also responsible for the original ‘trigger action’ in Thailand. The Thai government used up over US$20 billion of foreign reserves to fight off speculative attacks† (Garay, 2003). â€Å"Speculators borrowed and sold Thai baht, receiving US dollars in exchange† (Garay, 2003). â€Å"With the falling of the baht, much less dollars were needed to repay the baht loans which made large profits for them† (Garay, 2003). â€Å"According to a report in Business Week in August 1997, speculative attacks on Southeast Asian currencies in July 1997 contributed to big profits for the hedge funds. According to Business Week, in July (the month when the Thai baht went into crisis and when other currencies began to come under attack) As a whole, the hedge funds made only 10.3 percent net profits (after fees) on average for the period January to June 1997whereas their average profit rate jumped to 19.1 percent for January-July 1997. Therefore, the addition of a single month (July) made the profit rate so far this year to almost double† (Khor, n.d.). â€Å"In some countries, the depreciation in the currencies was due to the outflow of capital by foreigners as well as local people who feared further depreciation, who were concerned about the safety of financial institutions† (Khor, n.d.). The East Asian financial crises are considered to be the result of over-investment on the part of the bankers and businessmen within the region as well as by the international bankers and businessmen. The market participants argue that â€Å"there was too much money chasing too small an investment outlet† (Rude, 1998). Surplus money was flowing into Korea and Southeast Asia to be profitably placed. The potential causes of the Southeast Asian financial crises can be distinguished between long-term secular developments, the medium-term economic conjuncture, and any immediate (efficient) cause (Rude, 1998).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The market participants advocate that a decline in the profitability and a rise in the riskiness of the underlying investment projects, a deterioration of local balance sheets, and a rise in the magnitude of the foreign exposures were the relevant long-term developments and that these trends created a financial structure that made a financial crisis in East Asia both possible and unavoidable. Changes in the economic conjuncture in 1996 and early 1997 pushed what was both possible and inevitable toward becoming a reality. The exchange rate attacks that began mid-1997 were the immediate trigger. From this perspective, deterioration of the underlying economic fundamentals and financial panic caused the crisis (Rude, 1998). The low-wage, export-oriented, foreign-financed growth strategy that the countries in Southeast Asia and the Republic of Korea were following ahead of the crisis became the victim of its own success. The underlying investment projects that both local and foreign capi tal were financing in the region were profitable and productive at one time. But because of the additional productive capacity created in one country after another in the same or similar industries, problems like rise in wages, decline in profit margins in the export industries, and the flow of funds toward the non-traded goods sector and into more speculative activities in the local real estate and equity markets were mushrooming (Rude, 1998). On the other hand, the relevant cash flows were becoming increasingly problematic, leading to a gradual deterioration in the balance sheets of local financial and non-financial institutions: increase in the liabilities to foreign and local creditors, decrease in the asset quality, rise in the leverage ratios. The gap- and duration-related interest rate exposures were escalating due to an increase in the maturity mismatch of assets and liabilities. Meanwhile, foreign capital continued to flow into South East Asia and the Republic of Korea from Europe, the United States, and Japan. An accommodating monetary stance and low inflation, contributed to low interest rates in the major industrial countries. The rise in the equity prices in the United States and Europe appealed investors to find sizeable exposures in highly valued, if not over-valued, securities in companies in the industrialized nations whose earnings potential may have fallen below those available in the Pacific Basin emerging markets. Compelled by a competitive search for higher yields to take on the Republic of Korea’s and Southeast Asia’s greater credit and country risks, international creditors increased their exposures to local banks and corporations, both directly through loans and indirectly through local and international bond markets. Japanese lenders were particularly eager to extend credits to the region, due to the poor investment prospects at home, especially to the foreign branches and subsidiaries of Japanese corporations. Equity in vestors in the United States and Europe were also driven to increase their exposure to the region’s greater market risks, both for diversification purposes and to search for even higher capital gains (Rude, 1998). Once profitable and productive these foreign investments, like the domestic ones, took on an increasingly speculative tone, their asset quality declined, the associated leverage ratios and interest rate risks increased, and the maturities were shortened. The aggregate market exposures became increasingly complex and obscure as well (Rude, 1998). It can be illustrated evidently by the two notorious off-balance sheet/derivative strategies used in East Asia. Special purpose vehicles (SPV) were set up to direct fund into the region and particularly into the Republic of Korea by the U.S. banks. In these arrangements, some of the stock was transferred by the banks to the SPVs which in turn issued short-term paper in the international markets using that stock as security a nd used it to make investments that were considered advisable by the banks. In reality, the banks had assumed a foreign exposure, but it never showed up on their balance sheets (Rude, 1998). â€Å"Total Return Swap† (or TRS) was another strategy in the same direction. These were a series of triangular transactions between international investment banks, Korean banks, and Indonesian companies. Double swaps were set up between the Indonesian companies and the investment banks, on the one hand, and between these banks and the Korean banks, on the other. Under these arrangements, the Indonesians, who did not have the Korean’s high credit ratings, were able to borrow, and the Korean and investment bankers made a high rate of return. The setback was that the Korean banks had to compensate the investment banks for any losses if the Indonesian companies went bankrupt, which ultimately happened (Rude, 1998). Three major changes in the economic conjuncture took place in 1996 and early 1997. First, due to developments in the general international economic environment and other factors, export growth rates, and hence, domestic growth rates in the region began to slip. Second, Official interest rate increases in the United States (March, 1997) and Germany (October, 1997) proposed that lending in the less risky Western industrial countries would become more profitable. Third, the economic and financial situation in Japan worsened. Japanese bankers and institutional investors began to consolidate their exposures not only at home, but in the Republic of Korea and Southeast Asia as well as Japan’s banking problems began to intensify (Rude, 1998). Local and foreign investors in the East Asian emerging markets were now reluctant to extend further credits and other moneys and soon began searching for ways to actually lessen their exposures (Rude, 1998). So, the extent and depth of the crisis should not be attributed to deterioration in fundamentals, but rathe r to panic on the part of domestic and international investors (Zhuang Dowling, 2002). In doing so, local and foreign market participants found that they now had a foreign exchange exposure that had in fact not existed before. Now, suddenly that the outlook had changed and a rush for the exit had ensued, the pressure on the local currencies was only downward. While it is simplistic to say that the fixed exchange rate regimes were to blame for the crisis, investors’ foreign exchange exposures had become the weakest link in the entire investment chain, and successive runs on the local currencies would be the mechanisms that would finally bring the whole, already precarious, financial structure down ((Rude, 1998).) The financial crisis in East Asia is a historic event. It has shocked the world economy profoundly. The crisis may have brought the process of globalization and internationalization to an end, which has been the characteristic of international economic developments s ince the early 1980s. It is necessary to limit the shriveling effects of the crises immediately. Then there is an urgent need to tackle the question of globalization and liberalization: if there is a need for a new architecture for the world economy, and if so, what shape it should take (Rude, 1998). â€Å"The crisis brought about macro-level effects, counting sharp reductions in values of currencies, stock markets, and other asset prices of several Asian countries† (Hwang, 2009). â€Å"Many businesses collapsed, and as a consequence, millions of people fell below the poverty line in 1997-1998.The most affected countries by the crisis were Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand† (Hwang, 2009). Argentina Crisis The Argentina crisis of 2001-2002 is the example of the social, economic and political turmoil. During the time of 1990’s Argentina had a very successful economy due to lower inflation rates, Argentina became the favorite point for international financial len ding that was strictly following the IMF regulations (Argentina Economic Crisis of 2001, n.d.). The export of beef and grain made Argentina’s economy very stronger (Tonelson, 2002). But, suddenly, in 2001 the Argentine economy suffered a terrible loss. The government was not in a position to pay foreign debts and a bid amount of dollars in government spending were cut short (Argentina Economic Crisis of 2001, n.d.). A news published in BBC says, â€Å"Many in Argentina blame the IMF for their country’s economic collapse in 2001 and 2002† (Argentine Financial Crisis, n.d.). The Argentina Crisis was Currency and Bank crisis. It was also due to wrong response to globalization (Ferrer, 2001). Feldstein (2002), â€Å"for example, argues that the crisis was due to exchange rate overvaluation that could not be easily corrected and to an excessive amount of foreign debt† (Torre et al, 2002, p.1). Source: Blejer, M I, Director, Centre for Central Banking Studies, Bank of England, Seminar on Crisis Prevention in Emerging Markets Singapore, July 11, 2006 Source: Blejer, M I, Director, Centre for Central Banking Studies, Bank of England, Seminar on Crisis Prevention in Emerging Markets Singapore, July 11, 2006 Source: Blejer, M I, Director, Centre for Central Banking Studies, Bank of England, Seminar on Crisis Prevention in Emerging Markets Singapore, July 11, 2006 Source: Blejer, M I, Director, Centre for Central Banking Studies, Bank of England, Seminar on Crisis Prevention in Emerging Markets Singapore, July 11, 2006 Source: Blejer, M I, Director, Centre for Central Banking Studies, Bank of England, Seminar on Crisis Prevention in Emerging Markets Singapore, July 11, 2006 Source: Blejer, M I, Director, Centre for Central Banking Studies, Bank of England, Seminar on Crisis Prevention in Emerging Markets Singapore, July 11, 2006 Actually, if we review the history of Argentina economy, we will find that in 1913 the actual GDP per person i n Argentina was almost 72 percent which was same as the US had and it was higher than the countries like Germany, France and Sweden. In 1950 though GDP became 52 percent but it maintained the same level same like US and higher than Germany but a drastic slack came in 1990s when its GDP came down by 28 percent and Argentina became far behind other Western European countries. It did not happen that Argentina became a poor country but its economy’s growth stopped for a while and gave unsatisfactory results (Saxton, 2003). Then the efforts came from the President Memen and he tried to adopt a free market approach. It helped in lessening the burden of the government by doing privatization, cutting tax rates and doing some reformations in the state. President Memen took quick actions to imply the reformations despite of much opposition. He did not adopt any slower or normal process for passing laws through Argentina Congress (Saxton, 2003). Now the actual crisis in Argentinaâ€℠¢s economy started during the period of recession and when Fernando De la Rua became the president in 1999. At the time of his presidency he committed to finish the recession and to remove corruption (Saxton, 2003). President De la Rua got the approval of increasing three higher taxes which had to be effective from April, 2000 to August 2001. â€Å"The increases came on top of already high tax rates. The highest rate of personal income tax, 35 percent, was near the level of the United States, but the combined rate of federal payroll tax paid by employer and employee was 32.9 percent, versus 15.3 percent in the United States; the standard rate of value-added tax was 21 percent, versus state sales taxes of 0 to 11 percent in the United States; and Argentina imposed taxes on exports and (from April 2001) on financial transactions, taxes that do not exist the United States. Argentina’s high tax rates encourage tax evasion: an estimated 23 percent of the economy is underground an d 30 to 50 percent of all transactions evade taxes† (Saxton, 2003, p.10). The economy started falling down in 2000 and it became slower than 1999. Richard Lopez Murphy, the new Minister of economy at that time promised to fortify the economy of Argentina by reducing spending of about 4.5 billion pesos with-in two years that was actually 1 percent of GDP per year that aroused the anger of public as these cuts were profounder than any other Argentinian government and this caused Lopez’s resignation with-in two weeks from his post joining (Saxton, 2003). Turmoil occurred in December 2001 when bank deposits were freeze due to a large number of withdrawals on November 30th. The people became depressed as they were not able to make payments. Credit got disappeared so people started showing their anger by doing demonstration in streets. In December, the IMF declared that it would not any loans to Argentina as the country was not the state of following loan agreements. Because of this Argentina was not able to get any loan from any foreign source. Again there were lots of protests in the country which forced De la Rua to resign from his post (Saxton, 2003). President Duhalde took the place of De la Rua as a president and he tried to adopt new economic policies. He tried to reserve the policy like convertibility system. This convertibility system was criticized for many years. â€Å"The dominant view among economic observers inside and outside Argentina was that the peso’s one-to-one exchange rate with the dollar had made the peso overvalued, making Argentine exports uncompetitive and preventing an export-led economic recovery† (Saxton, 2003, p.13). The government took some actions after following the regulations of Law of Public Emergency and Reform of the Exchange Rate Regime (January 6, 2002). The measures taken by the government are as follow (Saxton, 2003): It ended the convertibility system It devalued the peso from the rate 1 per doll ar to 1.40 per dollar It converted dollar bank deposits and loans into pesos It seized the dollar reserves of banks It imposed exchange controls It made penalty double for the employers who made employees without a job It introduced lots of new taxes and focused on frequently revising them The new policy resulted in some loss like Argentina’s economy became less from 5.5 percent to 10.9 percent in between 2001-2002.the number of bankruptcies became larger. Duhadle’s economic policies created big losses for the foreign banks and utility companies (Saxton, 2003). Some economic recovery was observed in the period of August 2002. Though it initially was not that strong as it should have been but later it caught strength. The exchange rate became less up to 4 pesos per dollar during 2002 and later in 2003 it became less than that by making it 2.90 pesos (Saxton, 2003). So Argentina’s crisis was not the failure of free markets rather it was the crisis came from the m istakes of the federal government in implying their economic policies. â€Å"Long-term growth will require reversing the policy direction of the last several years and allowing greater economic freedom, anchored in respect for property rights† (Saxton, 2003,p.49) Reference List â€Å"Argentina Economic Crisis of 2001.† n.d. UC Atlas of Global Inequality. [Online] Available from: http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/sap/Argentina_crisis.php . â€Å"Argentine Financial Crisis.† n.d [Online] Available from: http://www.providence.edu/polisci/students/economic_crisis/arg_fin_crisis_ft.htm#financial_crisis . Blejer, M. I. 2006. â€Å"Some Lessons From the Recent Financial Crisis in Argentina (2001/2).† Seminar on Crisis Prevention in Emerging Markets Singapore. [Online] Available from: http://www.imf.org/external/np/seminars/eng/2006/cpem/pdf/blejer.pdf Ferrer, A. 2001. â€Å"The Argentine Financial Crisis. World Press Review Online.† [Online] Available from: http:/ /www.worldpress.org/americas/1218argentina.htm Garay,U. 2003. â€Å"The Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 – 1998 and the Behavior of Asian Stock Markets† [Online] Available from: http://www.westga.edu/~bquest/2003/asian.htm Hwang, J. 2009. â€Å"Background: 1997 East Asian Financial Crisis. Life.† [Online] Available from: http://special.lifeofguangzhou.com/2007/node_657/node_661/2007/04/10/117619129417702.shtml Kihwan, K. 2006. â€Å"The 1997-98 Korean Financial Crisis: Causes, Policy Response and Lessons.† The High Level Seminar on Crisis Prevention in Emerging Markets. Organised by The International Monetary Fund and The Government of Singapore [Online] Available from: http://www.imf.org/external/np/seminars/eng/2006/cpem/pdf/kihwan.pdf Khor, M. n.d. â€Å"The Economic Crisis in East Asia: Causes, Effects, Lessons.† [Online] Available from: http://www.ifg.org/khor.html Nanto,D.K. 1998. The 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis. CRS Report. [Online] Av ailable from: http://www.fas.org/man/crs/crs-asia2.htm Rahman, A. 1997. â€Å"The Southeast Asian Financial Crisis and Distributive Justice in the Global System: Dare we cteate a new frame of mind?† Southeast Asian Financial Crisis of 1997: Retrospective essay. Columbia University, New York, December 1997. [Online] Available from: http://azlyrahman-illuminations.blogspot.com/2008/06/southeast-asian-financial-crisis-of.html Rude, C. 1998. â€Å"The 1997-98 East Asian Financial Crisis: A New York Market- Informed View.† Department of Economic and Social Affairs. in conjunction with the Regional Commission of the United Nations. [Online] Available from: http://www.un.org/esa/policy/pastmeetings/rude.pdf Saxton, J. 2003. â€Å"Argentina’s Economic Crisis: Causes and Cures.† Joint Economic  Committee United States Congress. [Online] Available from: http://www.hacer.org/pdf/Schuler.pdf Tonelson, A. 2002. â€Å"The Real Roots of the Argentine Financial Cr isis. American Economic Alert.† [Online] Available from: http://www.americaneconomicalert.org/view_art.asp?Prod_ID=47 Torre, A. et al. 2002. â€Å"Argentina’s Financial Crisis: Floating Money, Sinking Banking† [Online] Available from: http://www.econ.umn.edu/~tkehoe/classes/Schmukler.pdf Zhuang, J. Dowling, J.M. 2002. â€Å"Causes of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis: What Can An Early Warning System Model Tell Us?† ERD Working Paper No. 26. Economic Research Department. [Online] Available from: http://www.adb.org/Documents/ERD/Working_Papers/wp026.pdf This essay on The Potential Causes of the Financial Crises in South East Asia was written and submitted by user Allen Barron to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Free Essays on Paul’s Views On The Proper Relationship Of Judaism To Christianity

Paul’s views on the proper relationship of Judaism to Christianity The spread of Christianity to the Non-Jews or Gentile world could not have been possible without the works of one man, Paul of Tarsus. Paul the so call â€Å"apostle to the Gentiles† (Romans 15:16) and the â€Å"minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles† (Romans 15:16) was one of the most important figures that â€Å"supplied the rational† (Hinson, 48) to incorporate the Gentiles into the church and to preach the gospel to them. He showed interest in defining the proper relationship of Judaism to Christianity. What is the relationship of Christians to traditional Jews laws? The relationship between these two started with a lot of conflicts and controversies. Gentiles were being converted and demanded that they follow the Jewish Laws (Moses Laws). One of the Jewish laws that was debated was about circumcision. The claim was that Gentile believers should be circumcised, and then, as part of the covenant people of God, obey the laws of the covenant. You would think that Paul someone who grew up in good Jewish family, would agree with this notion but he clearly disagree with this. This is shown when he says â€Å"If you through a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?† (Galatians 2:14). This verse shows that Paul agrees with Peter when Peter said "Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of ou r Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are† (Acts 15:10-11). The point is that the Law of Moses were a burden that the Jewish people were not able to keep successfully. Those rituals showed that, no matter how hard people worked, they could never be perfect. They showed, for anyone who ever wondered, that works can never lead to salvation. On the view on what leads to salvation Pau... Free Essays on Paul’s Views On The Proper Relationship Of Judaism To Christianity Free Essays on Paul’s Views On The Proper Relationship Of Judaism To Christianity Paul’s views on the proper relationship of Judaism to Christianity The spread of Christianity to the Non-Jews or Gentile world could not have been possible without the works of one man, Paul of Tarsus. Paul the so call â€Å"apostle to the Gentiles† (Romans 15:16) and the â€Å"minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles† (Romans 15:16) was one of the most important figures that â€Å"supplied the rational† (Hinson, 48) to incorporate the Gentiles into the church and to preach the gospel to them. He showed interest in defining the proper relationship of Judaism to Christianity. What is the relationship of Christians to traditional Jews laws? The relationship between these two started with a lot of conflicts and controversies. Gentiles were being converted and demanded that they follow the Jewish Laws (Moses Laws). One of the Jewish laws that was debated was about circumcision. The claim was that Gentile believers should be circumcised, and then, as part of the covenant people of God, obey the laws of the covenant. You would think that Paul someone who grew up in good Jewish family, would agree with this notion but he clearly disagree with this. This is shown when he says â€Å"If you through a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?† (Galatians 2:14). This verse shows that Paul agrees with Peter when Peter said "Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of ou r Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are† (Acts 15:10-11). The point is that the Law of Moses were a burden that the Jewish people were not able to keep successfully. Those rituals showed that, no matter how hard people worked, they could never be perfect. They showed, for anyone who ever wondered, that works can never lead to salvation. On the view on what leads to salvation Pau...

Friday, November 22, 2019

Somatic Cells vs. Gametes

Somatic Cells vs. Gametes Multicellular eukaryotic organisms have many different types of cells that perform different functions as they combine to form tissues. However, there are two main types of cells within the multicellular organism: somatic cells and gametes, or sex cells. Somatic cells make up the majority of the bodys cells and account for any regular type of cell in the body that does not perform a function in the sexual reproductive cycle. In humans, these somatic cells contain two full sets of chromosomes (making them diploid cells). Gametes, on the other hand, are involved directly in the reproductive cycle and are most often haploid cells, meaning they only have one set of chromosomes. This allows each contributing cell to pass on half of the needed complete set of chromosomes for reproduction. Somatic Cells Somatic cells are a regular type of body cell that is not involved in any way in sexual reproduction. In humans, such cells are diploid and reproduce using the process of mitosis to create identical diploid copies of themselves when they split. Other types of species may have haploid somatic cells, and in these individuals, all of the body cells have only one set of chromosomes. This can be found in any sort of species that have haplontic life cycles or follow the alternation of generations life cycles. Humans begin as a single cell when the sperm and the egg fuse during fertilization to form a zygote. From there, the zygote will undergo mitosis to create more identical cells, and eventually, these stem cells will undergo differentiation to create different types of somatic cells. Depending on the time of differentiation and the cells exposure to different environments as they develop, the cells will begin down different life paths to create all of the functioning cells of the human body. Humans have more than three trillion cells as an adult, with somatic cells making up the bulk of that number. The somatic cells that have differentiated can become adult neurons in the nervous system, blood cells in the cardiovascular system, liver cells in the digestive system, or any of the many other types of cells found throughout the body. Gametes Almost all multicellular eukaryotic organisms that undergo sexual reproduction use gametes, or sex cells, to create offspring. Since two parents are necessary to create individuals for the next generation of the species, gametes are typically haploid cells. That way, each parent can contribute half of the total DNA to the offspring. When two haploid gametes fuse during fertilization, they each contribute one set of chromosomes to make a single diploid zygote. In humans, the gametes are called the sperm (in the male) and the egg (in the female). These are formed by the process of meiosis, which can turn a diploid cell into four haploid gametes. While a human male can continue to make new gametes throughout his life starting at puberty, the human female has a limited number of gametes she can make within a relatively short amount of time. Mutations and Evolution Sometimes, during replication, mistakes are made, and these  mutations  can change the DNA in the cells of the body. However, if there is a mutation in a somatic cell, it most likely will not contribute to the evolution of the species. Since somatic cells are in no way involved in the process of sexual reproduction, any changes in the DNA of somatic cells will not get passed down to the offspring of the mutated parent. Since the offspring will not receive the changed DNA and any new traits the parent may have will not be passed down, mutations in the DNA of somatic cells will not affect evolution. If there happens to be a mutation in a gamete, though, that can drive evolution. Mistakes can happen during meiosis that can either change the DNA in the haploid cells or create a chromosome mutation which can add or delete portions of DNA on various chromosomes. If one of the offspring is created from a gamete that has a mutation in it, then that offspring will have different traits that may or may not be favorable for the environment.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

HEALTH LAW AND ETHICS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

HEALTH LAW AND ETHICS - Essay Example If the employees understand the importance of being in the workplace, they will be inspired to continue offering their services. Furthermore, the mission statement provides a certain focus that emphasizes on the employees’ purpose and how they can visualize their contribution to the company. This motivates them to make their work a clear selling point for the institution’s policies. Meeting the goals of any company requires that all the staff members work in harmony. The globalization aspect has brought about diversity, and this requires careful handling. However, as management, meeting the needs of each individual may be quite challenging given the cultural and social aspects that characterize each interaction. Instituting a harmonious work space becomes difficult especially owing to the cultural differences that need to be streamlined to fit into the organizational culture that defines the code of ethics in the workplace. However, this challenge can be met by having a clear mission statement and an organizational culture that incorporates all the workers to avoid undue

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Competition Commission Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Competition Commission - Essay Example This protects the economy and consumers from unnecessary or unreasonable exploitation. The CC serves as a competition regulator under the BIS i.e. Business innovation and skills department. History and development The Competition Commission was created through the influence of the Competition Act 1998. Most of the powers of CC were governed by the Enterprise Act 2002. The CC replaced MMC (monopolies and mergers commission) in 1999. The powers and influence of the competition commission were enhanced. The commission was given the independence to make decisions and recommendations to the government after investigations. The commission makes enquiries and recommends the appropriate remedies arising from competition on the market. The Competition Commission is a public body. The commissions have been charged with a responsibility to ensure that major industries are regulated and a healthy competitive and fair relationship exists between companies, economy and consumers. The enquiry must be referred to the Competition Commission by other selected authorities. This ensures that the Competition Commission deals with merited cases.... The government aims at launching a more efficient body i.e. CMA (competition market authority) by the year 2014. This development shields the consumers from unhealthy business practices like monopolises that exploit consumers. Mission and aims Mission: working to create a better future every day. This includes developing new ways of conducting business leading to increases revenues while reducing environmental impact. Aims: Working with integrity Creating a positive impact in the society Doubling the size of the company while creating a better future Management structure and leadership Communication has a two-tire hierarchical management structure. The commission has a chief executive who works with a seven directors. The commission has strong legal advisors and enquiry teams to ensure all the stakeholders has direct access to the referral authorities when in needed of redress. The leadership has professional skills in corporate management and economic analysis (Bercusson & Estlund 2 008). The commission has set out a management structure capable of fostering faster decision making. The leadership and management structure is flexible in its response to external stimulus and stakeholder concerns. The structure makes it easier to relay advisory or arbitration information. Leadership team is empowered by the legislature to make strategic decisions based on the information from the market. Commission management must facilitate inclusive decision making and encourage teamwork (Leisering 2011). The information technology department must have the capacity to install platforms that enable the CEO to link with other directors within the commission. The management structure and leadership of

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Theories of Human Nature Essay Example for Free

Theories of Human Nature Essay In this paper I will contrast the five theories of human nature, and explain why I believe one to be more superior to the other four. To begin, the five theories of human nature are, rationality, divinity, man-machine, existentialism, and cultural. The first of the five theories is rationality, and simply states that one uses knowledge with the process of thought to draw a conclusion. If a dog’s bowl full of food in the morning, but later in the afternoon it has become empty. One could rationally draw the conclusion that the dog could have eaten all the food out of the bowl. The second is the theory of the five is divinity, and states that humans have all the qualities that the god of the Hebrews has. This would mean that all humans are immortal and infinite. Also this means that humans would be all loving, all knowing, and perfect. Man-machine is the third, and states that everything works like a system much like a robot. This means that one is the way he or she is because he was set up that way. This means that the only reason one acts the way he or she does is because that is the way he or she is â€Å"wired†. The fourth, existentialism, which states that one, must find or create his or her existence outside uniformity. One must get away from all the vices, problems, and routines of life, and must find his or her purpose in life. Finally the fifth, which is the cultural theory of human nature, and it states that there is not only one to define human nature. But, rather a mixture of the first four is the correct answer to the theory of human nature. I believe rationality is superior, and the other four fall short, because reason was used to conjure all other theories. Let’s consider a divine human nature. If we all had a divine human nature we would have no need to debate this, because we would be all knowing, and would know what our nature is. Man-machine falls short simply because it states that there is no rationality; however, it was probably thought up by a man who was searching for a reason why people act the way they do. Next, existentialism, where one must get away from everything and find out for him or her self what his or her purpose is. I really don’t mean to make a joke but this seems like Amish rationality. Then we are left with the cultural theory of human nature. This one just seems like someone wanted to end an argument between the other four. Also it just creates a circle, and does not help us determine which theory of human nature is superior; however the final nail in the coffin is the fact that this theory is trying to find a reason why they saw more than one of these in theories in human nature. I believe that rationality and logic are gifts from God, and are given to us to let us know he exists, and to draw us closer to him. For example take painting, how does one know that the painting had a painter? Because, the painting exists you can see, touch, smell, and even taste it even though you can’t see the painter. Likewise one knows a building had builder because it exists. Also, so that we can know that we have sinned against God by breaking His law. One of the Ten Commandments states: â€Å"you shall not bear false witness† or lie. If one were to tell a lie he would be a liar not only in the sight of God but also by the standard of men, and the bible states in revelation twenty-one eight â€Å"†¦every liar will have his place in the lake of fire†. Because, it also states â€Å"the wages of sin is death†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Romans 6:23a), and this means that we have earned hell for what we have done. Now, rationally who wishes to spend eternity in a lake of fire? But, thankfully it didn’t stop there, because after we find out what we’ve earned we read about what we haven’t: â€Å"†¦but, the free gift of God is eternal life†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . This gift was given to us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for the payment of our sins, and all we must do is put our faith in him, and turn away from our sins in repentance. And, rationally who doesn’t want eternal life.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

How Cahokia Was Mighty :: essays research papers

North of Mexico, the pre-Colombian settlement of Cahokia was the most influential and intricate Native American community in North America. A society of mound builders, which endured from about 9500 B.C. to 1400 A.D., they set up a massive trading center complete with their own types of governing bodies, architecture, religion, sophisticated farming, and local specialties. In one way or another, the Cahokian culture touched even the far reaches of the present day United States, â€Å" from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes, from the Atlantic coast to Oklahoma†, all from its central location in the Mississippi region. It is for these reasons that Cahokia was a superior power in the New World before the Europeans came, and even now, can be considered important and mighty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first factor that indicates the might of the Cahokian culture is the great structures of earth that they created for public buildings, residences of the nobility, religious purposes, and as burial ground. These mounds, 120 in number, were built on an area exceeding five square miles, and usually were between six and twelve feet in height. The largest mound however, named Monks mound for the colony of Trappist monks who later tried colonize atop the construction, covers today 14 acres at the base and rises 100 feet in height. What is even mightier about this mound, which happens to be the â€Å"largest pre-historic earthen structure in the New World†, is that it took over 19 million hours of labor to complete, and that it was done all by hand. The 22 million cubic feet of dirt it took to form the mound, was deposited in stages from about 900 to 1200 A.D.. The greatness that is Monks mound was probably used for governing, ceremonies, and for the Cahokian leaders’ living spaces and burial plots. Another remarkable mound in Cahokia, simply called Mound 72, was designed by the Cahokians so that one end of it faced the rising sun of the winter solstice, and the opposite end faced toward the setting sun of the summer solstice.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An additional type of architecture in the Cahokia realm that fascinated the excavators who found it’s remnants, are â€Å"wood henges†. Labeled for a likeness to England’s Stone-henge, the wood henges are several circles with different diameters of hundreds of feet and are made up of posts at regular intervals. What is so amazing about them is that the number of posts in each circle are in multiples of 12 (24, 36, 48, 60, and 72). It is believed that the posts marked lunar

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Mobile Shoppers

The entire digital marketing world is quickly converging on mobile as a favorite shopping partner. Thanks to the increasing purchases and usage of smartphones, approximately 50% of adults aged 18-64 in the U. S. are mobile shopping. With all of these technologically advanced phones in pockets and purses, the way people shop is changing. Mobile shopping is not one activity – Mobile-shopping behaviors include using one's phone to facilitate any part of the shopping experience — from comparing products, evaluating prices, and selecting where to buy, to sharing product photos, tweeting price details, and actually completing the transaction.The mobile shopping experience can also include activities post-purchase, such as returning or servicing a product. Arc Worldwide conducted a nationwide quantitative survey of 1,800 mobile-phone owners, followed by qualitative research using webcams, Flip video cameras, and shop-alongs as shoppers utilized their phones in the shopping exp erience. Two key findings cast a light on who is mobile shopping and how, and what it means for the future. Lights shall inherit the future -Mobile shoppers fall into two groups.Heavy mobile shoppers comprise about 20% of all mobile shoppers and drive 80% of the activity volume. Light mobile shoppers comprise the rest. Heavies love their phones, using them to share photos, download music, and check the news. They also love any form of shopping, whether it be at home, on a computer, or in the store. It's not surprising that they really enjoy the nexus — indexing 10 times higher than lights in mobile shopping. Heavy mobile shoppers know and use mobile as a specialized tool for shopping.Light mobile shoppers have a much narrower outlook toward mobile with regard to shopping. They see it primarily as an inferior portable computer, and therefore primarily use it in the car and on the go. Sixty-two percent of light mobile shoppers told us it was just easier to go online from a comp uter vs. shopping on their phone. While heavies have driven the growth of mobile shopping thus far, our research indicates that future growth will come from a small group of lights with the greatest potential to become heavies. We call them high potential mobile shoppers.They love their mobile phones and shopping in the way heavies do, but haven't yet converted their shopping activities onto their phones. Smartphone shopping apps are helping consumers buy more online, and they’re getting people better deals on the street. Two new data points from online auctioneer eBay and price comparison app Scanbuy help drive that home, and more importantly, suggest where things are ultimately headed: Deal-hungry users are increasingly going to put pressure on retailers, both online and offline, to change prices in real time to satisfy these more savvy buyers.Ex. EBay said Wednesday that global mobile sales brought in almost $2 billion in 2010, up from $600 million in 2009. In the U. S. , eBay mobile sales grew almost 175 percent, generating nearly $850 million in gross merchandise value in 2010. What this confirms is that consumers are wielding their smartphones as shopping tools, arming themselves with data that’s informing their choices. In some cases, it’s pushing people to buy online. In other cases, they’re searching for better deals nearby.But as users get more access to pricing data wherever they are at all times, it’s going to force retailers to have to react more in real time with their pricing. If users can see there are deals to be found elsewhere, retailers are going to have learn how to respond quickly with counter offers. This is good news for consumers, who can leverage this data more for in-store discounts and bargaining. Flash an online price of a product at a Best Buy employee, and see if the price can be matched or beaten. It’s going to put more pressure on retailers to monitor these pricing schemes and devise qu ick strategies.It’s not enough to just offer check-in coupons and offers; they’re going to have to be aware of the competing offers available to consumers as they hunt for bargains. 1. Extend online brand reputation to mobile with seller ratings – Having a great online reputation is essential to driving online conversions, per Google. With seller ratings on mobile, brands and retailers can extend their online reputation from desktop to mobile devices and leverage the power of the mobile platform to drive conversions on the Web. The seller ratings extension lets mobile searchers to see merchants who are highly recommended by other shoppers.By showcasing relevant and useful rating information for a business, the extension can help differentiate that brand from its competition and guide potential customers to purchase from its site. In recent studies, campaigns with mobile seller ratings saw a 7. 5 percent increase in click through rates when compared to campaigns without this extension. Seller ratings are aggregated from merchant review sites all around the Web and the extension will only show when a merchant’s online store has a rating of four or more stars and at least 30 reviews. . Take customers directly to the desired conversion path with mobile ad site links – Ad site links enable direct navigation to specific pages of a Web site. Since navigating on the mobile Web can still be difficult, site links for mobile can be especially useful in taking customers directly to the desired conversion path on a site, per Google. For example, with site links brands can quickly guide customers to the best selling products on their site or to an online store locator.Mobile users find this format particularly helpful and on average campaigns with mobile site links see a 30 percent increase in click through rates when compared to campaigns without site links. Right now a maximum of two site links can appear on mobile devices with ads displ aying two links across one line or stacked vertically on two lines. One-line site links can show with the click-to-call phone extension and will display one link to the Web site alongside the brand’s phone number. One-line site links can also show with the seller ratings extension and will display the company’s online store rating as well as two links to its Web site.The quality of a brand’s ad will determine which variation of mobile ad site links will show. Two-line site links typically show for higher quality ads. 3. Drive customers in-store with offer ads – Running an in-store promotion? Brands can get the word out and incentivize customers to visit their store by placing a coupon right into their AdWords ads. Mobile ads with offers enable advertisers to include special deals in their mobile search ads, allowing users to store coupons via email or SMS.Ads also display the brand’s phone number or business location on a Google Map for Mobile so t hat customers have everything they need to go to the store, redeem the offer and make a purchase. 4. Click-to-call ads for easier contact – Ensure that customers can easily connect with customer service by including a business phone number in mobile search ads. Since users who make a call are showing interest in a brand’s product or service, they are more likely to make a purchase. With a call costing the same as a click to an ad, this is a very cost-effective ad format for driving quality leads and conversions for a business.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Bias in Womens Sports Essay

The world of sports is strictly dominated by a male hegemonic structure, which is not exactly welcoming to the thought or idea of sharing this love of sports with the opposite sex. The term hegemony is defined as the dominance of one state or group of individuals over the others. Although women have shown a passionate interest for sports, their ability to join this culturally powerful organization as respected professionals has not been completely accomplished. They have been given opportunities to participate in athletic areas that are not the most culturally popular venues within American culture (i. e. golf, gymnastics, swimming, and tennis), but their inception and respected entrance into the American conglomerates of the sports world (i. e. basketball, baseball, and football) have been favorably denied. Men suffocating treasure their superior domination of this cultural superstructure and fear the idea of allowing the opposite sex entrance into their precious stratum. Men’s ultimate trepidation is sports not being only their secret possession. Women have passionately fought to prove themselves as strong enough, knowledgeable enough, and tough enough to survive in the historically constructed system men have carved out: the association of sports and the manner in which it operates. Although their desperate attempts have allowed them to chip through the first few layers of this concrete barrier in which they are faced with, their attempts to delve deeper to ultimately reach the core of its existence has been a disappointing failure. Despite the increase in female athletes participating in sports at a college and professional level, the use of female athletes as product endorsers has been limited. Some female readers like my wife has suggested that there may be an obvious media bias against female athletes and other problems related to how women’s lack of being feminine is portrayed to the public. I feel that women athletes don’t get enough recognition compared to male athletes in the media, and how they don’t appear as profitable product endorsers in magazines or commercials as men. Only five percent of media coverage is devoted to women’s sports (Adams ;amp; Tuggle, 2004). The time media spends to publish these articles of women athletes are significantly less; compared to their male athlete. Many companies choose not to endorse women athletes (Grau, Roselli, and Taylor, 2007). Men’s sports journalists tend to focus on coverage of team sports for men, while women’s sports coverage usually is focused on individual sports. In several articles, the media defends its biases claiming that it is what the public wants, and not all viewers are interested in women’s sports. I feel the number of women playing professional sports has drastically increased over the past decade, but the media’s news coverage of women’s sports has not increased with this movement of women in sports. On ESPN Live news radio, they have mentioned over the last ten years, there has been almost no change in the percentage of national airtime that was designated for women’s sports. Only about one in ten sports articles and TV sports stories include women while eighty-two percent of television sports stories cover men’s sports. Women make the cover of magazines or sports pages less than fifteen times a year (Huffman, Tuggle, ;amp; Rosengard, 2004). According to Adams and Tuggle (2004), in 1995, the length of men’s television sports stories were a little over a minute, where stories covering women’s sports were only about forty seconds. With two professional sports leagues, it was assumed that the coverage of women’s sports would increase, but this is not reality. The coverage of women’s sports on the television show, ESPN’s Sports Center, has actually decreased. In 1995, Sports Center aired about 730 stories on men and only about 30 on women. The ratio was 25:1. In 2002, 780 stories covered men’s sports. Only 16 stories were about women and the ratio was more than 48:1. ESPN did dedicate a weekend to women in sports. During this time, Sports Center only aired three stories that included a woman; the other 60 were about men. Kian, Vincent, and Mondello (2008), found that about seventy-five percent of the New York Times and USA Today’s articles covered men’s basketball. Less than one percent of the articles included both men and women, and twenty-four percent focused on just women’s basketball. Huffman, Tuggle, and Rosengard (2004) analyzed several universities’ coverage of women’s sports. Though forty-one percent of the college athletes are female, seventy-three percent of the sports newspaper articles focused on male college students. Eighty-two percent of television sports stories were dedicated to male athletes. In both newspaper articles and television stories, baseball was covered the most. Men’s basketball was twice as likely as women’s softball to be covered. Less time has been devoted to women’s sports coverage, and when it is, it is usually an individual sport compared to women’s team sports. This is a great example of The Elaboration Likelihood Model. It states that there are two routes through which persuasive messages are processed. My central route would be to provide and give examples of the statistical analysis increase in audiences viewing women’s sports, and it would be a good investment. In these modern times, women are more successful and looking for role models of strength and beauty, like a successful empowering female athlete. Celebrity women athletes can be positive catalysts in selling apparel and have great news worthiness. In my opinion, the media seems to favor women’s individual sports compared to women’s team sports. Out of 16 Sports Center stories that covered women’s sports, 12 were individual sports. Only two were about women’s basketball, though it was almost the end of the WNBA season (Adams ;amp; Tuggle, 2004). In the 1960’s, there were less articles on women’s Olympic sporting events compared to articles published in the 1990’s of the same genre. In 1996, 36 years later, NBC announced that woman’s team sports would be emerging. Even with this big announcement, NBC only aired a few minutes of a women’s soccer team winning the gold medal over China. They did not even have a reporter available at the women’s gold medal winning softball game. Over half of the women’s Olympics sports covered were individual sports. These sports included swimming, diving, and gymnastics. Serena Williams, a tennis player and Marian Jones, a track athlete, are the only females that have been on the cover of ESPN Magazine in the course of five years. Female athletes in individual sports are twice more likely to be in magazines than as those who play on team sports. In several related magazines like Sports Illustrated for Women, female’s models are dressed as athletes rather than real athletes and being pictured posing with props like soccer balls, to add more sex appeal to the magazine. Some journalists say this is because women’s individual sports are considered more feminine than the team sports like basketball and soccer where women look frazzled and sweaty (Grau, Roselli, and Taylor, 2007). Men’s sports are still the ones that bring in the big bucks for ticket sales and popularity. Seventy percent of the NCAA division athletic budget goes to men’s basketball and football. For every dollar that is spent on women’s sports, three dollars of the same budget is spent on men’s. For example, male coaches in almost every instance are paid more than female coaches (Huffman, Tuggle, and Rosengard, 2004). Women athletes are given much fewer multimillion dollar endorsement contracts than a male athlete. In 1998, 200 female athletes from many sports signed various endorsement contracts. The NFL alone had 250 players that signed deals with Nike. Over 400 male athletes from football, basketball, and soccer had endorsement contracts with Reebok that same year (Grau, Roselli, ;amp; Taylor, 2007). If the viewers wanted to see more of women’s sports, then the network would great fully air what the viewing audience would like to see. During an ESPN television show, Town Meeting, a female viewer in the audience asked the Senior Vice President and Manager of editing, why does ESPN not report more on women athlete’s and women’s sports? I can remember David Shaw turning to look at her directly in the face and saying â€Å"ESPN’s job is to report and cover the news and sports that our viewers are interested in†. He leaned forward and reiterated that their goal as a sports broadcast network was to get the highest rating possible, and they must air the sports news the public wants and will watch. Mr. Shaw also mentioned that the network cannot generate interest in women’s sports without solid data of interest, and if that is what they want to see they need to make this interest known. I feel some diehard male sports fans have a sense of Cognitive Dissonance theory. They think that it’s not cool to cheer for women’s sports, it’s not as exciting or fast paced as men’s sports. The theory of cognitive dissonance in social psychology proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by altering existing cognitions or adding new ones to create a consistent belief system. An example of this would be the conflict between wanting to watch women’s sports and knowing that media doesn’t have interest ; a person may try to change their feelings about the odds that they will actually suffer the consequences, or they might add the constant element that sticking to your guns is worth short term benefits. The network does air WNBA games on ESPN and ESPN2, but they seldom air highlights. Christina Brenamen, a commentator for ESPN, said that she feels the network doesn’t care and not to expect any changes anytime soon (Adams ;amp; Tuggle, 2004). Grau, Roselli, and Taylor (2007) found that many companies do not use female athletes as endorsers of their products, because they think that the average female consumer does not identify with female athlete, like males do with men athletes. Some of the companies assume that the average female consumer do not fallow women’s sports. They also suggest that some female athletes are too masculine and therefore do not have sex appeal. Angelini (2008) surveyed many individuals asking views about watching men’s sports vs. women’s sports. He wanted to uncover the stereotypes that individuals have on sports. Most of the participants believed that women’s sports were not as thrilling or exciting to watch as men’s sports. Those who participated in the study were asked to watch several sports clips while their heart rate was analyzed. After the clips were watched they were asked to answer recognition questions about what they had seen. Both male and females scored higher on the recognition questions after viewing female athletes. If the heart rate increased while the participant was watching the sport, it was determined that their arousal was high. If their heart rate was stable or deceased while watching the clip, it was determined that the participant was not aroused. Though most participants said that they were more aroused when watching the men’s sports, their heart rate actually determined that their arousal rate when watching women’s sports was the same as men’s at the beginning of the clip. Toward the end of the clips of men’s sports the arousal rate actually decreased. Angelini (2008) determined that because of the way the media depicts female athletes, the public thinks that men’s sports are going to be more exciting, through with extensive physiological research determined there are really no major differences. Since Universities viewed basketball as too masculine for women to play, and did not want to represent the women athletes of their school. The NCAA did not hold a women’s Division 1 tournament until 1982. In 2004, a women’s Division 1 championship game received the highest national television rating of any women’s or men’s basketball game that had ever been on a cable channel, up to that point. After analyzing two national newspapers and two sports web sites, during the 2006 NCAA and women’s sports tournaments, five main themes seemed to emerge from all of them. One, women’s basketball players were often compared to men. Two, men were never compared to women. Three, the female athletes were often said to be experienced players because most of them had grown up playing against boys. Four, the fathers of the athletes were interviewed more often than the mothers, because of their athletic ability. Finally, gender was mentioned as a main topic compared to the articles than men’s sports. In every article men’s basketball was reported before women’s. I would assume that there would be fewer gender biased remarks from the writers, but this was not the case. Even though writers have a little more time to evaluate on what is being written, unlike live television commentary, biases often still emerged (Kian, Vincent, ;amp; Mondello, 2008). Though the number of women playing sports has drastically increased, the media coverage has not kept up. The women’s sports covered typically are more feminine and individual like swimming, gymnastics, tennis and golf. Those sports activities are viewed as more masculine, like basketball, soccer, and softball, received significantly less media coverage. The media blames society and society blames the media for the differences in gender bias of sports (Grau, Roselli, ;amp; Taylor, 2007). It is unknown if television networks such as ESPN actually do research on what people would like to watch. They do not know that fifty percent of women say they watch television sports regularly and forty-six percent of men say that watch some women’s sports (Adams, ;amp; Tuggle, 2004). The 2004 NCAA Division 1 women’s basketball championships received the highest rating of all college basketball before then. One would think that after this evidence of interest, women’s basketball would receive greater attention. This is a great example of Evaluation Dimension in which our inner systems (beliefs, attitudes, values, etc. all support one another and when these are also supported by external evidence, and then we have a comfortable state of affairs. We also have a very strong need to believe we are being consistent with social norms. Like in the case of following other sports fans that are interested in women’s sports. When there is conflict between behaviors that are consistent with inner systems and behaviors that are consistent with social norms. A fitting Example would be the potential threat of social exclusion often sways us towards the latter, even though it may cause significant inner dissonance. Take for example, if I would approach my fantasy football team and said; â€Å"can we create a team in women’s sports†, that would really start some conflict within my group dynamic? I feel more research needs to be conducted to determine if it is really the public that is biased, or is the media just fallowing the same trend that they always have, and they just choose to report sports in the same standardized way. If we start to challenge the idea that masculinity defines sports at the cultural level. I believe that we will one day be able to develop an ideology that teaches and defends this innovative idea of gender quality throughout the educational process. The ultimate goal being that the foundation of sports promotes and abides by the system of gender equality at the professional level of women’s sports.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Media Vocabulary for English Learners

Media Vocabulary for English Learners Media plays an important role is everyone’s life. The vocabulary related to media is rich and extremely varied. Essentially, there are two main types of media-related vocabulary: vocabulary related to printed word and vocabulary related to the spoken word as used in broadcasts either on radio, TV or through the internet.   Study the vocabulary below and then take the gap fill quiz to check your understanding of some of the terms. Use these tips on learning vocabulary to help you remember the words on this list. You’ll find answers at the bottom of the article.   Types of Printed Media JournalMagazineNewspaperTabloid Types of News ArticleEditorialColumnReviewBreaking newsNews bulletin Newspaper / Magazine Sections InternationalPoliticsBusinessOpinionTechnologyScienceHealthSportsArtsStyleFoodTravel Types of Advertising CommercialNative AdvertisementAdSpotAdvertainmentBillboardSponsored   People in Print ColumnistCopy editorEditorJournalistEditorialistCopy-editorPaparazzi People on Television AnnouncerAnchor(person / man / woman)ReporterWeather(person / man / woman)Sports / Weather reporterAssignment reporter People Consuming Media ConsumersTarget audienceDemographic Media Type TVCablePublic TelevisionRadioOnlinePrint Other Related Words and Phrases Public service announcementPrime timeEmbeddedBy-lineScoop Media Quiz Use each word or phrase once to fill in the gaps. editorials, by-line, scoops, prime time, public service announcement, embedded reporters, paparazzi sponsors, copy editor, target audience, anchormen and anchorwomen, journals, tabloids, public TV, cable TV, billboard There’s no doubt that the media plays a huge role in everyone’s lives these days. From driving down the freeway and seeing a _____________ to looking at photos of celebrities taken by the _________ in the _________ at your local supermarket, everyone is someone’s ______________ for advertising. One way to avoid advertising is by watching ___________. However, there are also ____________ for these TV stations. If you watch ____________ during ____________, you’ll be bombarded with ads.Some media isn’t so bad. For example, you can subscribe to a quarterly academic ______________. The articles are reviewed by a _____________, so the writing is excellent. In newspapers, check the _____________ on articles, so you can follow the authors online. Another idea is to read _____________ to get important opinions on trending news. Some TV stations also have great news coverage, including _______________ that visit war zones to cover the news on the scene. You can get an overview of the day’s news by listening to the ___________ cover the stories of the day. Some TV channels get a ___________ if they’re the only on reporting on a story. Finally, you can also depend on TV stations to provide ___________________ in case of an emergency. Media Quiz Answers There’s no doubt that the media plays a huge role in everyone’s lives these days. From driving down the freeway and seeing a billboard to looking at photos of celebrities taken by the papparazzi in the tabloids at your local supermarket, everyone is someone’s target audience for advertising. One way to avoid advertising is by watching public TV. However, there are also sponsors for these TV stations. If you watch cable TV  during primetime, you’ll be bombarded with ads.Some media isn’t so bad. For example, you can subscribe to a quarterly academic journals. The articles are reviewed by a copy editor so the writing is excellent. In newspapers, check the by-line on articles, so you can follow the authors online. Another idea is to read editorials to get important opinions on trending news. Some TV stations also have great news coverage, including embedded reporters that visit war zones to cover the news on the scene. You can get an overview of the d ay’s news by listening to the anchormen and anchorwomen cover the stories of the day. Some TV channels get a scoop  if they’re the only on reporting on a story. Finally, you can also depend on TV stations to provide public service announcements in case of an emergency.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Origins of the ‘Lisp’ of Spain

Origins of the ‘Lisp’ of Spain If you study Spanish long enough, sooner or later youll hear a tale about Spanish King Ferdinand, who supposedly spoke with a lisp, causing Spaniards to imitate him in pronouncing the z and sometimes the c to be  pronounced with the th sound of thin. Oft-repeated Story Merely an Urban Legend In fact, some readers of this site have reported hearing the tale from their Spanish instructors. Its a great story, but its just that: a story. More precisely, its an urban legend, one of those stories that is repeated so often that people come to believe it. Like many other legends, it has enough truth- some Spaniards indeed do speak with something that the uninformed might call a lisp- to be believed, provided one doesnt examine the story too closely. In this case, looking at the story more closely would make one wonder why Spaniards dont also pronounce the letter s with a so-called lisp. Heres the Real Reason for the ‘Lisp’ One of the basic differences in pronunciation between most of Spain and most of Latin America is that the z is pronounced something like the English s in the West but like the unvoiced th of thin in Europe. The same is true of the c when it comes before an e or i. But the reason for difference has nothing to do with a long-ago king; the basic reason is the same as why U.S. residents pronounce many words differently than do their British counterparts. The fact is that all living languages evolve. And when one group of speakers is separated from another group, over time the two groups will part ways and develop their own peculiarities in pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. Just as English speakers talk differently in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and South Africa, among others, so do Spanish speakers vary among Spain and the Latin American countries. Even within one country, including Spain, youll hear regional variations in pronunciation. And thats all were talking about with the lisp. So what we have is not a lisp or an imitated lisp, just a difference in pronunciation. The pronunciation in Latin America is no more correct, nor less, than that in Spain. There isnt always a specific explanation of why language changes in the way it does. But there is a plausible explanation given for this change, according to a graduate student who wrote to this site after the publication of an earlier version of this article. Heres what he said: As a graduate student of the Spanish language and a Spaniard, being confronted with people who know the origin of the lisp found in most of Spain is one of my pet peeves. I have heard the lisping king story many times, even from cultured people who are native Spanish speakers, though you will not hear it come from a Spaniard. Firstly, the ceceo is not a lisp. A lisp is the mispronunciation of the sibilant s sound. In Castilian Spanish, the sibilant s sound exists and is represented by the letter s. The ceceo comes in to represent the sounds made by the letters z and c followed by i or e. In medieval Castilian there were two sounds that eventually evolved into the ceceo, the à § (the cedilla) as in plaà §a and the z as in dezir. The cedilla made a /ts/ sound and the z a /dz/ sound. This gives more insight into why those similar sounds may have evolved into the ceceo. Pronunciation Terminology In the above student comment, the term ceceo is used to refer to the pronunciation of the z (and of c before  e or i). To be precise, however, the term ceceo refers to how the s is pronounced, namely the same as the z of most of Spain- so that, for example, sinc would be pronounced like roughly think instead of like sink. In most regions, this pronunciation of the s is considered substandard. When used precisely, ceceo doesnt refer to the pronunciation of the z, ci or ce, although that error is often made. Other Regional Variations in Pronunciation Although differences in the pronunciation of the z (and sometimes c) are the most well-known of the geographical differences in Spanish pronunciation, they arent the only ones. Another well-known regional variation involves yeà ­smo, the tendency, common almost everywhere, for the ll and the y to share to share the same sound. Thus, in most areas, pollo (chicken) and poyo (a type of bench) are pronounced alike. But in parts of South America, the sound of the ll can be something like the s in measure, also called a zh sound. And sometimes the sound can be something like the j or sh of English. Other regional variations include the softening or disappearance of the s sound and a merging of the l and r sounds. The cause of all these variations is much as the same as for the regional variations in the z- isolation of some speakers can lead to diverging pronunciations. Key Takeaways Languages such as English and Spanish that cover wide geographical areas tend to develop regional differences in pronunciation.Such a natural change in regional pronunciation- and not a long-ago royal edict as is sometimes believed- is responsible for the z (and c before e or i) being pronounced differently in Latin America than in Spain.Those used to the Latin American pronunciation should not think of the pronunciation of Spain ans being inferior, or vice versa- differences exist, but neither type of Spanish is inherently better.