Growing Up Asian in Australia Creative Story Essay

I just had an enormous fight with my mother, â€Å"I forbid you to ever go near the athletic track when you’re under my roof.† She didn’t take the news of my athletic training too lightly. â€Å"You go back there, you’re out! Out on the streets!† I grabbed my runners and slammed the front door on her. When she was out of earshot, I started insulting her with every swear word I knew, in both English and Vietnamese. I started running as fast as I could, but I should stop there and explain the whole thing. This morning I drifted between consciousness and sleep while everyone bustled around getting ready. They all get up so early and seem to stomp around the house for what feels like an hour before they finally leave. When the noise had subsided I managed to fall back asleep and woke up to my alarm and the foul smell of pho wafting from the kitchen. When I had dragged myself out of bed, I shuffled to the kitchen, enjoying the emptiness of the house. I like having it to myself in the morning, in fact I’d rather have it to myself most of the time, but my family never seem to leave. The house always feels so full. I unfolded and perched myself on one of the new kitchen stools my mum decided on. I picked out the pieces of chicken from the pho and threw away the rest of the noodle soup. I keep asking for something more edible for breakfast, like vegemite on toast, but mum insists that we eat our traditional cuisine. I left for school, jogging to school is my favourite part of the day. There’s just something about jogging in the morning, I can taste the crisp air as I breathe in and the feeling of it whipping my face and legs wakes me up. I sat outside of the locker bay, I can’t stand going in there during ‘peak hour’, the stench, a combination of sweat, deodorant, and old food, makes me want to puke. There’s always that crowd of older girls staring at me with that look of disgust as I walk through the corridor with my shiny black hair held up in a bun with some chopsticks and my uniform skirt that reached my knees that my mum made me wear. This was in contrast to the blonde hair and pasty white skin the other girls had. Their school uniforms barely covered their bums and I could almost see what they had for breakfast. I was used to it now though, being different to the other kids. My mother was big on  honouring our traditional culture, it was getting a bit ol d for me though. But I strolled through the door catching my breath, and ignored the girls as I have come accustomed to doing every morning. As I made my way to English I reminded myself why I hate school and I couldn’t wait to get to the athletic track just as my mum had told me not too. I despised English, I was no good at it, I always managed to get it confused with my home language. I was so conscious not to make mistakes. The other kids would give me the strangest of looks when I couldn’t think of the right words, I could hear them whispering amongst themselves whenever I raised my hand to speak. Shazza in the back row would always have a remark, â€Å"Here we go, dark one,† after being called anything and everything enough times, I stopped wincing. But class went quickly anyway, which most kids would be thankful for, but I hated lunchtime. I couldn’t stand the other kids staring at my lunch in the cafeteria, I was always eating something different to the other kids, they would grab there salad sandwiches and eat quietly together, whereas everyone could smell my goi from a mile away. I was lucky to get spring rolls one day, at least it was familiar to the other kids. I dreaded lunch time for that reason, I was sick to death of everyone starin g at me and asking, â€Å"what is that?† â€Å"where did you get that from?† â€Å"why does it smell like that† Not to mention there was always that one blatantly rude person that would walk past and simply just say, â€Å"ew, yuck† I just wasn’t in the mood today after the morning I’d had. After school, I made my way quickly to the athletics track, I knew my mother wouldn’t approve of this choice but it was the only place I could be myself. I quickly got changed into my active shorts and Nikes and made my way around the track. I could feel the breeze skim through my hair as my loose shirt caught the brisk air behind me. This was my sanctuary, the feeling was bliss. I made my way home, bracing myself for the approaching argument I was about to have with my mother. That feeling of pleasure left my body as quickly as it arrived. I stepped into the front door, and closed it behind  me as quietly as I could, maybe she wouldn’t notice I was late home. But before I could even take the first few steps inside, I heard mum coming from the kitchen, â€Å"where have you been!† â€Å"I told you not to go back to that athletics track!† â€Å"does this family mean nothing to you?† â€Å"you are too come home and do your homework afterschool, not run around willy nilly out on that track!† â€Å"now go and get those shoes off and go to your room!† The next day, I went straight home after school like my mother had said, she made me sit at the bench perched up on those hideous stools and do my homework until dinner time. She keeps telling me to respect our culture, and how if I were in Vietnam, I’d still be at school at this hour. Hearing about Asia frustrates me, it just reminds me that I don’t belong anywhere. But I didn’t have a choice, I sat there alone in front of my open books. I was almost the queen of procrastination, so I found myself questioning why I let her dictate how I spent my afternoon and why those nasty girls at school continuously direct cruel comments at me.. I was much more alert the following day, I sat in bed awake until I heard the front door close, it was the silence of the house and just the sound of clocks ticking, when I knew that the house was finally empty. I jumped out of bed, more enthused than ever, I ran straight into the bathroom and snapped the chopsticks I usually pin in my hair. I spent my time straightening my hair and piling on the makeup. This was something I’d never done before, it took me ten minutes to realise what the mascara was for, only after reading the fine print on the side of the bottle. I plucked and pampered myself until I felt like one of those geisha dolls, I was just missing the pointed conical hat. But I wasn’t thinking about Asia today, today I was purely Australia. A true blue Aussie Sheila. I was enjoying the emptiness of the house as I ran into my bedroom and pinned my school dress up to the top of my leg, a length that my mother would never catch me dead in. I was excited about scho ol today, I was excited for my salad sandwich that I’d just freshly cut diagonally and to see the look on the other girls  faces when they see me in the corridor. It was my favourite part of the day, my jog to school, it was more liberating this morning, I was more excited to arrive at the front gate, although I found myself running slower than usual. The wind wasn’t whipping my face at the same speed, I was conservative, I didn’t want to work up a sweat or do anything that might ruin my hair or smudge my mascara. I didn’t wait outside the locker bay today, I was ready to face everyone bright and early. I walked past the girls whom stand in the same place every morning and instead of the greasy look I get most mornings, each and every one of them looked me up and down, but in a good way. They actually seemed impressed to see me. The look on their faces was worth all the effort I had been to that morning and I was even more excited to get to class. People treated me differently today, it must’ve been about the way I looked. The kids in the cafeteria looked at me differently than usual, instead of a look of repulse, they were almost captivated to see what I had for lunch. Although my salad sandwich wasn’t as satisfying to the tastebuds as my traditional cuisine, I was more satisfied within myself especially when a few of the older boys said hello to me as they walked by, I couldn’t believe it! I was content with myself today, this was a feeling I hadn’t experienced for a while. I was even more excited to go to the athletics track this afternoon, I knew my mum would disapprove but maybe she wouldn’t know, I could just go there quickly and she might not realise what time it is when I get home. So I made my way there, I jogged to the track to save time warming up when I arrive. I sprinted into the change room, the smell of sweat was overwhelming and I just got a hint of a mild scent of cheap fragranced deodorant, that didn’t stand a chance in the old water damaged change rooms. I quickly threw my hair up into a messy bun, this wasn’t too different to usual, but my hair was still so silky straight that I looked like I’d gone to a lot of effort. I ran out onto the track as quickly as I had arrived and jumped straight into my lane. It was an exhilarating feeling, side by side my biggest competitor, she always undermined my abilities, but after the day I’d had I  was ready to take her on, I was sprinting as fast as I possibly could coming down the 100m stretch, I looked up and to my surprise my mum was standing up in the stand at the finishing line. She looked cross, but all I could think about was beating the girl beside me, she started to fall be hind, but I pushed through to the end and stepped over the finish line a length in front. I set a personal best! As I caught my breath I turned to my mum who was walking towards me, she still looked mildly unimpressed although the hint of a little smile was seeping through her smirking lips. I felt her arms wrap around me, which was totally unexpected as I hugged her back. â€Å"I am proud of you,† she said. â€Å"I’m sorry I didn’t let you train, I didn’t realise how happy it made you.† â€Å"But that beaming smile proved me wrong, and you’re so talented.† These words were more than touching coming from my mother, she then asked about the remainder of the makeup that was running down my face, I’d forgotten to wash it off in such a rush! I explained to her about the people at my school, and that I felt half & half, like I didn’t belong anywhere. She enlightened me to the fact that I didn’t have to change my identity to meet other people’s expectations, she said she supported me in my choice to be half Aussie and I was then allow to attend the training track whenever I wanted.

Global video games market Essay

?Introduction The global video game market, or the so called interactive entertainment industry, is the economic sector which focuses on the development, marketing and sales of video games. The worldwide video game sector includes video game console hardware and software, online, mobile and PC games and has reached $ 93 billion in 2013, up from $ 79 billion in 2012. Currently, the video game industry is a massive source of development; profit still stimulates technological advancement which is then applied by other industry sectors. Though not the main driving force, casual and independent games proceed having a considerable incidence on the industry, with sales of some of these titles such as Minecraft exceeding millions of dollars and over a million users. While outgrowth for consoles and PCs is not inert, development of mobile games is still active. As of 2014, newer game companies arose that vertically incorporate live procedures and publishing, rather than relying on a traditional publishers, and some of these have increased to significant size. The computer and video game industries have expand from small-scale markets to mainstream. They took in about US$9. 5 billion in the US in 2007, 11. 7 billion in 2008, and 25. 1 billion in 2010 (ESA annual report). The video game industry settled in 1971 with the launching of the arcade game. The insertion of video games to the domestic market with the release of the early video game console was effective the following year. Nevertheless, the video game crash of 1977 was the result of a one game domination and a market’s saturation, sparking a renascence for the video game industry and paving the way for the golden age of video arcade games. The game’s success influenced arcade machines to become widespread in mainstream locations such as shopping malls, traditional storefronts, restaurants and convenience stores†¦ By the end of the 1970s, the personal computer game industry initiated designing from a hobby culture, when personal computers just set out to become broadly available. The industry augmented along with the headway of computing technology, and often drove that progress. Modern personal computers owe many advancements and innovations to the game industry: sound cards, graphics cards and 3D graphic accelerators, faster CPUs, and dedicated co-processors like Physx are a few of the more notable improvements. Sound cards were promoted in addition of digital-quality sound to games and only later mended for music and audiophiles. Since the beginning, graphics cards were displayed for more colors. Subsequently, graphics cards were valorized for graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and games; GUIs drove the necessity for high resolution, and games led off using 3D acceleration. They also are one of the only pieces of hardware to enable numerous hookups (such as with SLI or CrossFire graphics cards). CD- and DVD-ROMs were instituted overall for mass distribution of media, notwithstanding the capability to store more data on inexpensive readily distributable media was instrumental in driving their ever higher speeds. Modern games are amongst the most demanding of applications on PC resources. Many of the high-powered personal computers are purchased by gamers who seek the rapidest equipment to power the latest cutting-edge games. Thereby, the inertness of CPU improvement is due partially to this industry whose games require faster processors than business or personal applications. The first part of the decade acknowledged the lift of home computing, and home-made games, particularly in Europe and Asia. This time also saw the uprise of video game journalism, which was later expanded to include covermounted cassettes and CDs. In 1983, the North American sector crashed due to the output of too many gravely marketed games (quantity over quality), resulting in the drop of the North American industry. The industry would ultimately be regenerated by the launching of the Nintendo Entertainment System, which resulted in the home console market being overpowered by Japanese companies whereas a professional European computer game industry also began materializing with great sized companies. Segmentation The global video games’ market can be divided into several parts according to several criteria. Technical factor-different platforms: Table 1: global video game sector revenue (Data source: GLOBAL GAMES INVESTMENT REVIEW 2014). The platform refers to the specific combination of electronic components or computer hardware which, in conjunction with software, allows a video game to operate. 1 Based on this technical factor, we can separate the whole market specifically. The global video game has 4 types. It follows console games, online games, mobile games and PC games. Currently, the console games is prominent in the market because of higher revenue. In every subset market, the competition is very fierce among international and domestic corporations. Geographic factor: Table 2 : regional video game market revenue. (Data source: GLOBAL GAMES INVESTMENT REVIEW 2014) Regarding the geographic location, generally in business and administration, lots of global corporations tend to segment the market into four parts: North America, EMEA, Asia Pacific and Latin America. From the view of market revenue, we can see that video game market in Asia Pacific has increased significantly. It is also a huge potential market to develop. World video game market Key Success Factors The video game industry is balanced with an important growth, but many sectors have already matured. Video games are a vast and expanding market. Our goal is to highlight the major sectors, which are interesting for reasons including significant technological evolution, high growth rates, new products’ development. The core hardware and game software markets are quite mature. The best markets for investment are those that supply valuable goods and services to game developers, publishers and gamers themselves. These are the areas that will build out the industry as it undergoes significant growth. Key success factors of Console games: Brand: It’s a tautology, but the brand is important. 10 years ago, before the advent of the Playstation, we can say that Nintendo and SEGA were synonyms of â€Å"console videogames†. When Sony decided to â€Å"attack† the console market, they pushed on marketing, on brand valorization, on advertising. They made a lot of investments to become popular in this market too. And they were successful. The same did Microsoft 5 years ago, with their first XBOX. Nintendo strategy was different and the result was that both the XBOX and the Playstation brand became really popular. Nintendo lost some of their popularity, but thanks to the portable console segment they were able to â€Å"survive†. Now, these 3 competitors can count on greats and strong brands, which make really unlikely the arrival of new comers. Costs: Costs are critical. Even if we are talking about big companies, this aspect should be taken into consideration not to transform a well-done strategy into a failure. Nintendo kept the productive costs low, so to make revenues from each console sold and at the same time being aggressive on the price. Microsoft did a long-time strategy. Their console cost more, but they took advantage from being the first in the market. Unfortunately their hardware is not reliable, obliging the company to spend a lot in free assistance. Sony did the worst: they produced an expensive console, with expensive components. Exclusive games: Each company has its own game and it makes difference to the other. For example, Nintendo can benefit from their own games (maybe the best in terms of gameplay). Plus a set of exclusives like the RE: Umbrella Chronicles and Monster Hunter 3 by Capcom, Microsoft worked hard on exclusives. Apart from halo3 or Mass Effect or Bioshock, Microsoft was able to steal a lot of titles to Sony: Devil May Cry 3, Ace Combat 6. Sony is losing advantage, and this is mainly due to Microsoft efforts. But the game is not over: Little Big planet, Gran Turismo 5, Metal Gear Solid 4 are titles that no real gamer should miss. Innovation: There are a lot of ways to innovate: game play, graphic, audio, online†¦ Microsoft and Sony focused on the last 3 aspects, while Nintendo made the game play the basis of their strategy (and the result was Wii and its incredible Wii remote). Online features: No console can be considered successful without an online platform. Even Nintendo had to admit it. Microsoft has the lead, with its Xbox live service. Sony is trying to reach Microsoft, with a free service (Playstation Network) but still to be improved. Nintendo is only tasting the market, with a light. Price: Value for money or Premium price? Nintendo chose to sell hardware less powerful, but at low cost. Sony did the opposite. And Microsoft positioned their product in the middle, thanks to the modularity of the Core and Pro versions of their console (†¦WI-FI only optional†¦). Technology: It’s clear: games must be more and more beautiful to see. However, with the Wii, Nintendo demonstrated that this is â€Å"only one key success factor†, not â€Å"the only one†. And everything depends on the market segment to be covered. For example, Sony and Microsoft focused on hardcore gamers. Timing: Timing is fundamental. Microsoft was the first this time, and they benefited from that. Imagine what could have happened if Sony had been able to be in the market during the same time, with a console more expensive, ok, but reliable. We can say that Microsoft were both good and lucky. There would be a lot to say about â€Å"timing†. Key success factors of mobile games : Compatibility: Playing a mobile game as an activity might meet the needs of a specific consumer group, including commuters with time to spare. Facilitating conditions: Payment options impact adoption, billing conditions and support options might impact on users’ willingness to adopt. Trialability: Mobile gaming has a level of â€Å"addictiveness†. Free trial might lead to addiction and subsequent adoption. Self-efficacy: Due to device limitations, a large group of potential â€Å"aged† gamers might not be able to play and also, technical serviced need to match the requirements need of different customer segments. Complexity: The ease of use of an entertainment application is of utmost importance as it is expected to be an enjoyable experience. In mobile game playing clear navigation influences response time and might have implications for the decision to play. Trust: Perceived fear of privacy invasion and/or lack of security might influence consumer choice. Relative advantage: The ubiquity and accessibility of mobile entertainment may satisfy the demand for a â€Å"killing time† and relaxing â€Å"fun† service. A technology based advantage is the offer of interactive multi-player games. Observability/ communicability: Refers to the ability to communicate with a peer group; to be observed playing which might be of social importance. Image: The personalized use of a mobile phone might lend its owner status-related features. Normative beliefs: Playing the same game as one? s friends might facilitate social acceptance; social pressures influence customer perceptions and decision making and facilitate building a critical mass. High-speed networks conjugated with the technological capabilities of smartphones (delivery of data). Key success factors of PC games: Sociable: The PC games enable to socialize with some friends for cybernetics with a combination of fun. Accessible: It is more common for people to have a pc at home that a console and almost everyone has at least one computer in their home. Low cost: Only need to buy the game to play, however, to play with console the cost increases because you have to buy the console and games separately. PC games make it so real that people feel they belong to play to that reality, for example, when playing car race people also feel that adrenaline you feel when driving a real car. Key success factors of online games: Ability to quickly adopt new technology: Being online can make any changes or updates directly Aggressive marketing/franchising: Now everyone remain constantly connected which is easier and faster to get to them to publicize products or services. Also, when you are playing you can go to receive more information or upgrade without having to resort to a place Accessible and cheaper: You can buy and purchase the game wherever you are, because you only need to be logged in and you don’t have to go to a specific place to buy the game and the machine. Safe time: Since you only need to be logged in, you save time to find a store where they sell and then go there to buy it. Massively Multiplayer Onlie Games (MMOGs) allow players to participate in all worlds’ areas. The derivatives’ sales (â€Å"advergaming†) represent a vast part of the market through advertising that encourage primary gamers to buy products related to the reality of each game. Geographic factors: Key success factor of video game in Asia: IP, part one: Major licenses may be easier but be aware of the localization and culturalization challenges. Major brands do carry significant weight in Asia, but not all western brands will succeed there. IP, part two: Original IP needs great design and technology. Using proven engines and middleware would be an option worth considering. Experienced development teams: If you’re not from Asia, then allow Asian companies and players to be involved in early testing. Listen and understand their comments. Funding: You must allow enough money for changes to the game later on. Incorporating Asian MMO traits will make the game ultimately better for the western markets too. Great Asian contacts: Look for contacts across multiple markets. There are different elements and requirements to be learned from each major market. Partnering in Asia: Find companies you can have shared goals with and trust. The ongoing support of the market partner for beta testing, updates and specific changes is absolutely critical. Support and listen to them. Openness and local help: The ability to communicate across different languages and cultures is critical. Unlike single player games, you do not walk away from them after launch. The development and support needs to be market focused and ongoing. Time: Unfortunately funding can direct launch timing. As with most games there is no second chance. Developers use various technologies to ensure faster and cheaper conception of online games: there is real opportunity to explore new kinds and methods of gameplay. Key success factor of video game in Latin America and North America: In the mid 1990s when Latin America privatized its telecommunications industry and saw the return of important flows of investment into the region for that specific area (Inter-American Development Bank Annual Report 2000). Significant amounts of capital were allocated to telecommunications, media and computing sectors, especially in Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, Venezuela and Argentina. Latin America is today one of the fastest growing regions in the world, even though is still a marginal market in comparison to the US, Europe and Asia. Latin America is interested in developing manufacturing lines and infrastructures to satisfy the local market, since US high-tech companies are interested in both the current potential of the local market and the future use of Latin America as a platform to export to the US and Canada. Latin America not only lies with the market itself, but also with the unrealistic perception of the region as a possible platform for exporting and improving global sales. Latin America could respond more to its potential as a low-cost producer and exporter rather than to its potential as a consumer-market like North America. Latin America has important social disparities of income from one social stratum to the other, â€Å"the patterns of consumption are very similar to the developed world. † (Euromonitor International, 1999) Latin America has knowledge, technology and a manufacturing capability to develop hardware. The model of the Maquila has been operating since the 1970s and takes advantage of the potential of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which not only facilitates access to cheap labour, but also provides exporting facilities based on a substantial reduction of tariffs to the US market. Evidence suggests that companies such as Microsoft and Nintendo are investing in Mexico, Costa Rica and Brazil in order to develop low-cost production centers capable of exporting to the US market using the opportunities that NAFTA and other inter-regional agreements provide. Key success factors of video games in EMEA: The production costs of video games are growing, as is increasingly required greater technical and visual quality. Despite this, note that the cost of sequel is significantly lower due to the reuse of components and technological developments of the previous versions. Merger of companies: For example, buying video game developer Activision by the French company Vivendi to merge with its subsidiary video game Blizzard, becoming the largest game development company in the world or the merger of Parmenion and solutions group. Low cost: Its production is technically simpler and therefore cheaper, also can be produced in large quantities allowing entry into this sector to smaller companies. Have casual games that are simple, both in game play and developing and easy to learn. Launched innovative product, targeting new demographics (adult female audience†¦). French Foreign Ministry created an internet portal called FRANCE GAME which aims to promote French videogame industry abroad. Competitive System Matrix Console games Mobile games PC games Online games Brand Compatibility Sociable Quickly adopt new technology Cost Facilitating conditions Accessible Aggressive marketing/franchising Exclusive games Trialability Low cost Accessible and cheaper Innovation Self-efficacy Real effects Safe time Online features Complexity Price Trust Technology Relative advantage Timing Observability/ Communicability Image Normative beliefs Competitive system analysis: †¢ Console games: – Relatively strong differentiation(Brand,Cost,Exclusive games,Innovation,Technology) – Strong advantage †¢ Mobile games: – Strong differentiation (Compatibility, Facilitating conditions,Complexity, Device advantage, Observability/ Communicability) – Relatively strong competitive advantage (As mobile devices continue to grow, mobile game category will show the biggest growth) †¢ PC games: – Relatively weak differentiation (sociable and accessible, technology) – Relatively weak competitive advantage (more common for people to have a PC than console at home) †¢ Online games: – Relatively strong differentiation (quickly adopt new technology and Aggressive marketing/franchising) – Relatively strong differentiation (â€Å"online revenues set to reach US$30bn in 2017, consumers are merely shifting from pay to own to pay to play†). Conclusion Nowadays, the video game industry has a considerable incidence on the economy through the sales of significant and complex systems and games. Over the next five years, video games will extend at a CAGR of 6. 5% to attain US$86. 9bn in 2017, up from US$63. 4bn in 2012. Consumers’ spending on console games will increase by a CAGR of 5% from US$24.9bn in 2012 to US$31. 2bn in 2017 as Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s rumored new Xbox console revive appeal in console gaming. That development will lead to North America surpassing Western Europe to regain in 2014 its number one position in console sales. â€Å"In many entertainment and media segments, China will overtake Japan in terms of size by 2017; in some cases, it has already. This is not the case in video gaming, however, because Japan will retain its position as the world’s second-largest market, at US$13. 7bn in 2017, behind the US at US$18. 2bn but ahead of China at US$11. 4bn. Although PC revenues remain stagnant, consumers are not abandoning the platform. With online revenues set to reach US$30bn in 2017, consumers are merely shifting from pay to own to pay to play. Online spending will increase by an average of 8% per year over the next five years. By 2017, the online platform will have almost reached parity with consoles; and US$97 will be spent on online games for every US$100 spent on console games. Driven by strong mobile gaming and video game consoles and software sales, the market is forecast to reach $ 111 billion by 2015, it added. The research firm said mobile games are the fastest growing segment of the (gaming) market, with revenue set to nearly double between 2013 and 2015 from $ 13. 2 billion to $ 22 billion. As mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) continue to grow, mobile game category will show the biggest growth due to the entertainment value provided by games compared with other app categories. This growth is fuelled by healthy sales of premium mobile devices globally and consumers’ desire to play games on these multi-function devices that are capable of displaying increasingly sophisticated game content, he added. 2013 was an important year for the game industry as Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are releasing their next generation video game consoles to a market that may be moving in another direction due to the popularity of mobile devices†(quotation, see the bibliography). Sony and Microsoft have released their game consoles in November 2013 and a repressed demand for them has caused a temporary reduction in console hardware sales during the last year. But, the augmentation will restart in 2014 and sales of existing console hardware are foreseen to increase from $ 15. 9 billion today to $ 22. 7 billion in 2015. Video game industry customs are comparable to those of other entertainment sectors (e. g. , the music recording industry), but the video game industry in particular has been charged of handling its development predisposition poorly. This promotes independent development, as developers leave to establish new companies and projects. In some notable cases, these ingoing companies grow extensive and impersonal, having endorsed the business habits of their forebears, and ultimately perpetuate the cycle. However, unlike the music industry, where modern technology has permitted a wholly professional yield to be scheduled exceedingly inexpensively by an independent musician, modern games necessitate crescent amounts of manpower and equipment. This dynamic makes publishers, who fund the developers, much more important than in the music industry. The industry insists on software piracy being a proper issue, and implement repressive measures to struggle against this widespread phenomenon. Nonetheless, digital rights management and other restraints have proved to be obviously unpopular among gamesters. Bibliography http://www. pwc. com/gx/en/global-entertainment-media-outlook/segment-insights/video-games. jhtml http://www. gartner. com/newsroom/id/2614915 http://www. wikinvest. com/industry/Video_Games http://www. theesa. com/games-improving-what-matters/families. asp http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Video_game_industry Gretz, R. T. 2010. Hardware quality vs. network size in the home video game industry, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization Palmer, R. a. and Millier, Segmentation: Identification, intuition, and implementation, Industrial Marketing Management T. N. S.and Project, M. B. A. F. The Video Game Industry: an Industry Analysis, from a VC Perspective, Online Smith, Product differentiation and market segmentation as alternative marketing strategies, Journal Of Marketing http://www. wepromite. com/2007/10/14/strategy-analysis-of-the-console-market-%E2%80%93-part-1-key-success-factors/ http://www. irma-international. org/viewtitle/32750/ http://www. gamasutra. com/view/feature/132098/a_path_to_western_online_games_. php? print=1 http://www. gamestudies. org/0202/lugo/ http://www. pymesonline. com/uploads/tx_icticontent/R02403_lbvideojuegos. pdf.

Epic Hero Comparison(Beowulf and The hobbit) Essay

An epic hero is a larger than life character who has legendary skill and prowess. An epic hero has to perform heroic deeds. An epic hero is thought of having traditional charm and charisma. He has very strong ethics morals and a code of conduct. The epic hero is always thought of as a male as the tradition of the epic hero originated in the Anglo Saxon culture which was a male dominant society. A perfect example of an epic hero is Beowulf. He kills Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon all of which are heroic deeds that no one else was able or willing to take on. The foes that Beowulf fought were all beyond human strength and capabilities and required superhuman abilities to bring down. In Bilbo’s case he takes down the spider by himself and tries to face up to challenges that he would normally never have done in his comfortable hobbit home. This shows a hero putting the need of the many against the need of the few. The heroic tradition in literature has definitely moved from epic heroes, the creation of larger-than-life characters that had legendary strength and physical characteristics, to the move towards anti-heroes, which particularly developed in the 20th and 21st centuries, with the focus on leading protagonists who lack certain heroic qualities such as idealism courage and generosity. In both stories, the concept of vengeance is the first to appear. In Beowulf, vengeance is what drives the entire plot of the poem, as one action is carried out in response to a former action – to seek vengeance for a prior wrong. It is Beowulf, introduced as a strong, powerful character from the start, whose own heroic code compels him to seek vengeance against Grendel for deeds the monster committed against Hrothgar. Beowulf himself is an epic hero who even before arriving at Herot has already built for himself a tremendous reputation that goes before him and is based on acts that no mere mortal could accomplish or achieve. He arrives at Herot as a fully formed character. When considering Beowulf as a character, it is clear that his exploits and fame confirm his as a character whose strength is certainly out of this world, and more powerful than any other character alive today. This shows he is definitely a hero in the epic hero tradition. Bilbo by contrast starts the novel as a quiet, peaceful and unadventurous hobbit that sometimes goes through periods where he wonders what on earth he is doing on this adventure with dwarves and a wizard. Bilbo is called upon to do more than he imagines himself capable of. He does not like to travel, preferring the safety of his hobbit-hole, but he has inherited a streak of adventurousness from his mother’s side, the Tooks. His adventurous Took side and his comfort-loving Baggins side are in conflict throughout much of the story. It is clear from his early attempts to sneak up on enemies, such as with the trolls that he has a lot to learn and his early failures show that he is much more of a dynamic character than Beowulf is in the way that he learns heroism and courage and refines his skills as time goes by. Near the beginning of their journey, Bilbo was quite vulnerable to the dangers and was frequently rescued by the others. As the adventure continues and Bilbo shows his worth and value first in the Misty Mountains and then secondly with the Elves and then finally the spiders, Bilbo becomes a hero in his own right. As he progressed through the quest, he went on his own little adventures which helped him become braver and wiser. Bilbo willingly forfeits his own claim to the treasure in order to secure peace. Bilbo shows himself to not just be a hero in terms of his skills and qualities but a hero in his character as well which is something arguably that Beowulf does not show as he seems to risk his own life against the dragon knowing that his death would be disastrous for his own people. Finally, his heroic status is secured when he delivers the Arkenstone of Thrain to the Elvenking and Bard in order to secure a peace between the dwarves and the elves and humans.

Emarketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Emarketing - Essay Example In addition, e-commerce is generally associated with buying and selling via internet or conducting transactions that technically involves the use of a computer (network) and then transactions that needed ownership or rights to use the goods and service for the internet. This industry seems to be growing. This is because as based on the International Data Corp (IDC) the estimated value of the global e-commerce in 2000 was roughly towards the US $350.38 billion. These figures are projected to climb up every yea, and it did, by 2004, the IDC rose by 10%. This shows that the market place is now being shifted towards the use of computer, internet. There is a huge market via Internet. But in order to understand this better, here are the basic concepts in e-commerce. There are some of the basic concepts of e-commerce that applies to understanding the difference of the relationship formation and maintenance in the market space and also in the market place. The E-commerce generally used a huge scope of technologies in order to provide the needs of its market wherever they may be. The relationship of e-commerce to its market place is to be able to provide both pre and p

MANAGEMENT RESEARCH Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MANAGEMENT RESEARCH - Essay Example I have been continuously using this approach until now. The second reason I want my dissertation to be deductive is that it will be more logical. On the other hand, if I followed the inductive approach (sometimes known as "bottom up" approach) it would lead me to a degree of uncertainty in my dissertation. In addition to this, inductive reasoning may not be handy in proving and providing arguments. Although I read some dissertations that used both approach, I noticed that deductive reasoning is a valid form of proving. On the contrary, if I would be using inductive reasoning as a writer, I must observe a number of situations in which patterns exist. Unfortunately, that doesnt mean that pattern observed is true for all situations. This would not be helpful in my subject which is banking and finance since I need a lot of proof. In short, using a deductive approach would be most suitable for my dissertation. In conclusion, this is only my standpoint about inductive and deductive approach, this is not meant if I have chosen deductive approach, inductive approach was wrong approach. Both approaches are correct but choosing is different from person to

Russian Independence in and how it relates to Edmund Burke's Theory Term Paper

Russian Independence in and how it relates to Edmund Burke's Theory - Term Paper Example (Bova, 2003, pg 9) Overview of Russian history In the period between 1970s and early 1980s, Russia was a calm nation that maintained the status quo. The president at that time, Leonid Brezhnev, was widely regarded as an incompetent leader, who kept a cabinet full of old, tired individuals who were not highly charged nor inspired. Moreover, the military kept away from political matters and there were not even the slightest sense of unrest among the population. However, this state had a negative impact on Russia’s economy at the time and she started falling behind economically as compared to other nations such as the United States, Japan Europe and China (Hough 61). The turn of events that eventually led to the revolution after the 1989 elections have the symptoms like the ones held by Edward Burke in his theory of modern revolution. This paper, therefore seeks to argue the events that led to the Russian coup de tat and to provide evidence whether they conformed or disagreed to the theory proposed by Burke. An overview of Edmund Burke’s Theory of Modern Revolution Burke started to have thoughtful insights into political matters such as the French revolution as early as 1787-8. He accurately predicted that the revolution will be a total catastrophe. He attributed it mostly to philosophies that had created a rift between divine will the general human population. Burke had two insights concerning modern revolution in France. One, he believed that the French still had the aspects of the ancient constitution and he gave an example of the ancient constitution of England. He believed that after the constitutions reforms, there was great possibility of adopting a good constitutional progress that would be peaceful. He believed that there was no need for any inhuman acts that would bring down prominent leaders that ruled the land. He never believed or advocated for the revolution way of dealing with political matters. These revolution issues lead to Burke wa nting to get more insights into it. It leads many people to know Burke as the inciter of conservativeness during the century. He argued that revolution would be the last solution in resolving the catastrophes that entangled any government. He viewed revolutions as a past gone philosophy, which easily destroyed the morality of the society, and in fact it broke the social ties the society enjoyed. Revolution, according to Burke, is a process that undermined the essence of civilization. He looked at the revolution approach as the destructor of the normal orders and positional powers. Authority was undermined by revolution also. He viewed that those who did not respect the law, and those that used violence to enforce their ideas, were the main cause of revolution, which had the basis of destruction and harmful intentions. (Burke & Clark, 2001, pg 69) Burke’s theory did not analyze what revolution was all about, but focused on the originality of the revolution, the violence and th e religious implications it caused to the society, the sudden collapse of the government, and the results all these actions lead to. Burke therefore had an outstanding opinion that was greatly respected in the nineteenth century. His support for the older reign in France was the main pointer to how he greatly opposed revolution. He

BUS503 - Org. Change and Transformation Mod 5 Case Assignment Essay

BUS503 - Org. Change and Transformation Mod 5 Case Assignment - Essay Example Bahe (2005) tells us that the average employee responds to each change in the following way, disbelief and denial, anger and blame, reluctant acceptance, and the final stage. In each of these stages the employees are very needy and need to be kept informed. Unfortunately today, change happens so fast that the employee often only has time to get through this process and then start again making change a time consuming process for managers as well (Sherman, 2009). The possible sources of resistance from the structural point of view are many. Bahe (2005), tells us that there are six sources of resistance that are typical of most organizations. Those are identified as structural inertia, limited focus of change, group inertia, perceived threat to expertise, and threat to established resource allocations. Structural inertia is the process of actually running the business, policies and procedures etc. The idea is to keep the company moving forward so the question is, is there a threat to that? The focus of change, we have all seen. This happens when no everyone makes the change. For example, one department decides to go on and do it the way they always have even though the rest of the departments have changed. It might even take a little while to discover. When group inertia happens, there is usually a specialized group that attempts to stop the change such as a union. There is of course the perceived threat to expertise. If we make this change will my knowledge not be important any more, will a robot be doing my job? Power relationships are what leadership is all about. It can be good power or bad power but everyone needs certain amount of power to get the job done. It is not unusual for a leader to have spent some time building up different kinds of power in his position. If that is possibly going to be affected there is then huge resistance and a lot of that will come from managers.

A Reflective Report on the Leadership of a Training Day for Classroom Essay

A Reflective Report on the Leadership of a Training Day for Classroom Assistants and Teachers - Essay Example The first part will focus on providing the readers with a clear description on how the leadership activity was conducted. Before describing the process on how the student went through the leadership activity, the student will first explain the activity’s main purpose, objectives, and success criteria. The second part of the study will provide a brief description of the evaluation technique used in the project in terms of measuring the student’s ability to meet the main purpose and objectives of the leadership activity aside from how the project has affected the leadership skills of the entire staff members as an organization and as a person. For the third part of the study, the student will reflect upon the leadership activity process and its outcome based on the theoretical frameworks and concepts that were tackled under the course E849 Leading and Managing for Effective Education. Eventually, the student will discuss her own preferred leadership strategy and style in terms of some issues related to the importance of teamwork as well as the organizational effectiveness and improvements. Using the student’s preferred leadership style, ways in which she could effectively influence the school organization regardless of the internal and external pressures will be thoroughly discussed. The last part of this paper will critically assess the significance of the first three parts of this study towards the student’s own leadership and management thinking and practice aside from its impact on my colleagues’ perception on effective leadership and management style.

Essay Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Essay - Article Example r states that the total amount of bribes was more than $24million and even the top level executives of the organization were aware about this ethical violation. These practices by the Wal-Mart are against the legal laws of its base nation. Wal-Mart had violated the legal rules that are stated within the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Under this act a local organization is not allowed to bribe officials in foreign markets. Due to this malpractice, the organization started an internal investigation and identified that during the period of 2005 the vice chairman of the organization involved in increasing the expense account of the organization and was making wrong entries in the gift cards account of the organization. Furthermore the article states that the internal investigations were not even clean and were rather conducted to clear the top officials instead of dealing with those who were involved in the unethical practice of bribing. The article even states that those individual who were held responsible for the practice were themselves investigating the case and due to this a clean investigation never took place. Barstow, D. (2012). At Wal-Mart in Mexico, a Bribe Inquiry Silenced. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 23 December 2014, from

Is technology an invasion of privacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Is technology an invasion of privacy - Essay Example The development of science in equipping the authority with methods of spying is not expected to end with wiretapping. Brand eisprescient and haunting words evidently apply nowadays, as the mark between science fiction and science is incessantly redrawn. This paper will show how technology is an invasion of privacy. Contemporary technologies for amassing personal information that surpass the physical, freedom enhancing restrictions of the ancient means are relentlessly appearing. They prod more deeply, extensively and quietly than traditional techniques, transcending obstructions (whether distance, walls, darkness, time or skin) that historically sheltered personal data. The boundaries that have defined as well as given authenticity to social groups, systems and the individual are progressively permeable lacking special validity. The influence of private and governmental organizations to coerce disclosure (whether centered on circumstance, technology, or law) and to collect, analyze a nd disseminate personal data is growing swiftly(Lyon& Zureik 45).The world is converting into a transparent community of record in that documentation of the history, present identity, location, physiological and communication, and psychological behavior and states is more and more possible through technology, and people’s privacy is no longer private. With extrapolative DNA and profiles, there are even alleges to being able to see individual futures. Collection of information often ensues invisibly, remote and automatically-being fabricated into routine undertakings. Awareness and unpretentious approval on the involvement of the individual might be lacking. The extent of personal data collected is increasing. Fresh technologies hold the capacity to disclose the unknown, unseen, withheld or forgotten. Like the unconscious or the atom discovery, they reveal tads of reality, which were previously concealed, or did not encompass informational clues. Individuals are in a way turne d inside out (Foucault 23). To be living as well as a social individual is to give off inevitably signals of continuous information-whether into the mode of heat, motion, pressure, brain waves, cells, perspiration, olifacteurs, sound, garbage, or waste matter, and more acquainted forms, for instance, visible behavior and communication. These fragments are awarded new connotation by modern surveillance technologies, thereby invading peoples’ privacy. In a value-added, hotchpotch process, machines (regularly with only a slight aid from their support system) may discover significance in combining and surfacing heretofore futile data (Lyon& Zureik 45).The proportion of what persons know concerning themselves (or are able to know) vs. what experts and outsiders can know about them has budged away from the person. Data in varied forms from extensively separated geographical regions, establishments and times can be certainly merged and examined. In comparatively unrestrained fashion , fresh (and old) establishments are capturing, merging and vending this data, or placing it to unique internal usages (Laudon 90). Technology is an invasion of privacy through the fresh information technologies that encompasses larger issues concerning the multifaceted inter-relations of society and technology;

Legal and Ethical Issues Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Legal and Ethical Issues - Term Paper Example The loan was granted to assist the company in meeting then financial requirements for constructing an additional manufacturing plant. The administration stopped the additional capital inflows the Solyndra a step that made them close down and more than a thousand employees lost jobs (Anderson, 2012). Production activities stopped, and the company had to explain what made them make such a decision. As the management explained, there was a persistent increase in the production cost while the prices of the solar panels were decreasing. These could not tally and, therefore, the company ended up making huge losses. The cause of the fall in prices of solar panels was that Chinese developers had come up with cheaper ones which served the purpose of the Solyndra’s. According to the Washington post (2011), â€Å"the foreign manufacturers were supplying cheaper solar panels due to government subsidies a move that made the market prices of the solar panels to decline forcing Solyndra to reduce their prices for it to remain competitive†. Another problem that was lightly disclosed that the company had delayed accounts receivables that they failed to collect in the correct time. The foreign competitors had better terms of sale since they used to extend their customers’ payment terms (Anderson, 2012). There was no compliance with the good terms in the side of the Solyndra’s customers. There was an attempt to get the company back to business where one of the shareholders provided $75 but that was in vain. The loan processing was made possible as a result of an energy law that was passed in 2005 to authorize the department to issue federal backed loans for innovative projects that helped in reducing air pollution. The study intends to evaluate the legal and moral issues that relate to the circumstance of Solyndra. Legal issues to be addressed included the involved the company finances, contracts, payment of private investors and laying down of

Indoor Plumbing and Public Sanitation in Developing Countries Essay Example for Free

Indoor Plumbing and Public Sanitation in Developing Countries Essay The porcelain throne, the pot, the pooper, the potty, the latrine, the toilet. That is something we don’t give much thought to, unless something is wrong with it. What about the shower or the sink? How often to do you go to your sink to get a glass of water and wonder â€Å"Am I drinking someone’s poo? Will it be clean today or will I get sick? † I know for myself, I rarely give this any thought at all and I can honestly say that I have never worried that my drinking water would be contaminated by feces. However, for many around the world, this is a constant concern. Many today either don’t have access to clean water or don’t have access to very much water at all. They openly defecate, as well as drink, cook, and bathe in contaminated water. This causes several life threatening diseases and illnesses. I will discuss the water and sanitation issues in under developed countries, as well as what is being done to improve these situations. Early one December morning in Boise Idaho, I woke up to an especially cold day. I tiredly scuffled myself to my bathroom, went pee and when I went to flush my toilet, nothing happened. Still slightly asleep and confused, I tried a couple more times to get it to flush. Still nothing happened. Frustrated, I opened my tank and found that there was no water in it at all. I thought that that was strange, so I checked my faucet. I turned the handle and no water came out, I quickly checked my shower and kitchen sink next. I had no water at all. Realizing that I had to work in a few hours and I had no way to shower, brush my teeth or clean up in any way, I became quite irate. I called my management company and apparently pipes had frozen in most of their properties. After this experience I started thinking about my reaction and how there are countries that don’t have access to clean water ever. Though I think that the reaction that I had would have been the same for any person living in the U. S. , I don’t know if it was as big of a deal as it felt like in the moment. I didn’t die from not having water for one day, I wasn’t forced to defecate in my front lawn or drink from a sewer. I didn’t get sick and I didn’t even have to go the entire day without a shower. In fact, I didn’t have to go even a couple of hours without access to water. We, in America, are so used to having constant access to clean water and indoor plumbing that if we have to go an hour without it, it’s as though our entire world is crashing down. We rarely give thought to those in underdeveloped countries that lack access to clean water at all. There are approximately 7 billion people living on earth today. There are about 2. 6 billion people today that don’t have a toilet or access to one (Yamaguchi). That is about 40% of the world’s population! That is a huge number of people without toilets. Here in America, there is not a single home that does not have a toilet. Even the homeless have constant access to restroom facilities and clean water. I had a conversation with a friend of mine that works with the homeless on a daily basis to see what the situation was like for the homeless in America in regards to restroom access and sanitation. I asked him if any of the homeless people that he worked with were ever forced to openly defecate or go without a shower. He informed that the only ones that did that were never forced to, but they did it by choice. He also told me that many that are homeless are on Medicaid, so if they get sick they can just go to the doctor. This is quite different from developing countries, where people die all the time from not being able to afford medical care. Developing countries not only lack affordable medical care but they have very limited ability to prevent the spread of illness, such as those caused by exposure to fecal matter (Yamaguchi). However, in America we have sewage systems and plants that filter and treat our sewer water. In Los Angeles there is the Hyperion sewage plant that processes enough fecal matter to fill three Rose Bowl Stadiums every day (Yamaguchi). That is just in Los Angeles, what about the rest of the U.  S.? It is mind boggling to think about how much is processed. Now let’s look at India, a country that has significantly grown economically, however is still severely lacking proper sanitation systems. According to UNICEF, about 600 million people in India are without access to a toilet (â€Å"World Toilet Day 2012†). That is more than half the population of India. Instead of using a toilet, they openly defecate wherever they can. Many use the Yamuna River (Yamaguchi), the largest river in the Ganges of Northern India. The result has been a severely contaminated water source. The river has literally turned black and bubbles from the methane gases. The shores are not only polluted with fecal matter but trash as well and yet still the people are using the water from the river (Yamaguchi). I think many American’s reaction to this would be â€Å"Gross† or we might generalize and think that Indians are just unsanitary people. Is that really the case, though? The people living in underdeveloped countries are rarely living in unsanitary conditions by choice. Many are ignorant to proper sanitation practices and/or are living in conditions where they have no access to clean water. In the urban slums of New Delhi, people are defecating anywhere they can; in the middle of the streets, next to rail road tracks, or just feet from where they eat, drink and sleep. The water they are using to cook, drink, and bathe with is water from a sewer (Yamaguchi). About 1000 children die every day from diarrhea (Bajait, Thawani). This lack of proper sanitation systems is exposing these children and adults to fecal matter on a daily basis, which is causing diseases like Typhoid, Cholera and other severe illnesses linked with diarrhea. Is this the fault of the individual or the fault of their governments? In my opinion, both are at fault. Though developing countries have very little access to informational services, I do believe that it falls in the hands of the individual to get informed and I believe that it is the responsibility of the government to provide the services required to inform its people on proper sanitation, as well as provide a clean environment to live in via sanitation systems. This lack of toilets, which results in a lack of clean water, is obviously a very big problem. So what is being done about it? In 2001 Jack Sim founded the World Toilet Organization. This organization is dedicated to improving the world’s toilet and sanitation situation. They make toilets that are affordable for those living in impoverished conditions. Jack Sim also works with governments of developing countries and small organizations to help provide toilets to those in need. One of those small organizations is run by Bapak Sumadi in Indonesia. Sumadi is a major leader in Indonesia in providing the public with toilets and teaching the importance of public sanitation. Together their goal is to end open defecation (Yamaguchi). Though the changes and effects are small, they are not insignificant. The conditions that these people are forced to live in, is truly a crisis. Thousands die every day from not having proper sanitation systems. The invention of the toilet and sewage systems has not only given us a way to get rid of our feces, but it has provided us with sanitary conditions which keeps our water clean and reduces the chances of contracting diseases. No matter who you are or where you live, everyone deserves to have access to a toilet and clean water. The question now is; what more can be done? Should the government help provide better access to toilets and sanitation systems? What about other countries? Do we hold any responsibility in helping these developing countries? In my opinion, yes we do. One scholarly journal, in reference to David Hemson, stated â€Å"†¦ regular water supply to the rural poor is both a constitutional requirement and a social necessity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Phaswana-Mafuya 298). I think it is imperative that we learn to help one another, so that we can grow together rather than grow apart. I know the next time that I use the restroom, take a bath, or even just get a glass of water; I will be grateful for all that I have and that I don’t have to worry about what I am drinking or bathing in. What about you?

A Review On Fleet Management Systems Information Technology Essay

A Review On Fleet Management Systems Information Technology Essay Management system of companys vehicles fleet with the help of commercial motor vehicles such as cars, vans, and trucks constitutes fleet management. The word fleet here refers to vehicle and a range of functions such as vehicle financing, vehicle maintenance, vehicle telemetric (taking and diagnostics), driver management, fuel management and health safety management. The companies whose businesses are based on transportation are helped by this system in a no of ways as: Removing or minimize the risks associated vehicle investment. Improving efficiency and productivity. Reducing overall costs of transportation and staff. In house fleet management department or an outsourced fleet management provided deal with these functions. Automatic vehicle locating tracking (AVLT) system Automatic vehicle locating tracking (AVLT) is a system through which the position of the vehicle can be located easily at any place in the earth at any point of time at any weather also with the help of Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographical Information System (GIS). Usage: This navigational system is commonly used in: Public Transport Many company management system like Fleet management Inventory management Logistic management etc. It also helps to improve the effectiveness and efficiency in service as well as cost. Types of technology used: This system uses different technologies for functioning e.g. RFID technology, GIS-GPS based technology. Global positioning system (GPS) The space based global navigation satellite system providing reliable location and time information in all weather and at anytime and anywhere on or near the earth when and where there is an unobstructed line of sight to 4 or more GPS satellite called global positioning system (GPS). This system established in 1973. It was created and realized by U.S department of defense (DOD) and is maintained by U.S government originally run with 24 satellites. It was established to overcome limitations of previous navigation system. Anyone with GPS receiver can freely access it. Usage: Today GPS is taken as a dual-use technology having applications both in military project originally. For commerce and scientific uses tracking and surveillance it has become a widely used and useful tool. Banking, mobile phone operations, control of power grids and other every activity are facilitated by GPSs accurate timing. Because of this system efficient, safe, economic and accurate work is being performed by farmers, surveyors, geologists and others. There are three basic components: absolute location, relative movement and time transfer that are used in civilian applications. Surveying: Surveyors use absolute locations to make maps and determine property boundaries Map-making used by both civilian and military cartographers use GPS extensively. Navigation Navigators digitally precise velocity and orientation measurements are valued by navigator. Cellular telephony: GPS/cellular position detection for  mobile emergency calls  and other applications. Tectonics: direct fault motion measurement in  earthquakes is enabled by GPS. Disaster relief/emergency services: To know location and timing capabilities. GPS is used by these services. GPS tours: content to display; for instance, information about an approaching point of interest is displayed is determined by location. Geofencing:  Vehicle tracking systems, person tracking systems, and  pet tracking  systems use GPS to locate a vehicle, person, or pet. These devices attach to the vehicle, person, or the pet collar. The application provides 24/7 tracking and mobile or Internet updates should the tracker leave a designated area. Recreation: geocaching,  geodashing,  GPS drawing  and  way marking GPS Aircraft Tracking Geotagging: For purposes such as photographs and creating map overlays location coordinates are applied to digital object and other documents respectively. However there are only few GPS enabled digital camera. How GPS works: GPS consists of three parts: space segment, control segment User segment. The space and control segments are developed, maintained and operated by U.S Air Force. Each GPS receiver uses to calculate its three-dimensional location (latitude, longitude, and altitude) plus the current time using broadcasted from space through GPS satellite. A master control station, an alternate master control station, and a host of dedicated and shared ground antennas and monitor stations constitute control segment. Geographical Information System (GIS) Any system that captures, stores, analyzes, manages, and presents data that are linked to location is called Geographical Information System (GIS). It is the merging of cartography, statistical analysis, and database technology. Google is the most common example which consist data and captured image of locations and shows corresponding location on user screen for which longitude latitude are mentioned. USAGE: cartography,   remote sensing,   land surveying, public utility  management   natural resource management geography urban planning   emergency management   navigation   Localized search engines. Working of Automatic Vehicle Locating Tracking (AVLT) System The system uses computer technology for primarily for tracking vehicles, freight system and automobiles. The information about real-time position of vehicle to a control system is passed on through signals send out by tracking device already attached to vehicle. Among several techniques available for determining the position and transmitting it, the selection of technique to be actually used depends upon the requirements. The position information is stored in a device for a specific period, which could be anything from a few seconds to some minutes. The information is send out by device either in the raw form (electronic signals) or as processed information. Transit agencies often use AVLT systems in combination with computer-aided dispatch, mobile data terminals and emergency alarms for improving passenger services, in real-time passenger information, automatic passenger counters and automated fare payment  systems. Purposes like automatic stop announcements, automated destination signs, monitoring vehicle components and prioritizing traffic signals can also use AVLT system for functioning. Diagram below illustrates representative working of GPS based AVLT system. Advantages of AVLT The AVLT has the following advantages: AVLT is used by Transit agencies for enhancing optimum utilization of fleet and reducing fuel consumption, labor and capital costs. It helps in improving adherence to schedule and accessing passenger information. Availability of plenty of data enables easier management of transit systems which further accounts for increase in net efficiency and productivity of the systems. Along with increase in operational efficiency, AVL systems ability to predict bus arrival timings in real time also enhances customer service, thus making increased customer service and satisfaction as the greatest benefit of AVL. The analysis of service performance in real time as well as chronologically, enabling system planning and emergency repairs is enabled by Supplementary technologies like automatic passenger counters. A direct link between AVL and increased ridership and revenues is shown in study conducted in 2003. Productivity enhanced- more trips, capital savings due to the ability to better utilize vehicles, maintenance costs reduced and thus general reduction of cost per vehicle Better adherence to schedule, accuracy in monitoring and coordination More number of users and higher user loyalty Need for supervisors and manual  data  entry reduced Ability to control operations and driver performance improved Off-route vehicles are tracked effectively. Improved communication network between drivers, supervisors, operators and other staff. Radio messages are lost in less numbers. Capabilities to inform passengers of bus arrival times improve the quality of service and help the travelers to take better decisions complaints from customers are reduced and thus need for customer information personnel these steps improve overall image of the transit agency The data is more accurate and complete and thus the agency is able to schedule and plan better Preparation time for schedule as well as number of staff required can be reduced. Better bus stop placement Better  security  for driver as well as travelers by enabling faster location of vehicles and response to accidents Better operational decisions towards detours due to sudden developments like bad weather, roadway closings and accidents COSTS FOR AVLT For the on-board device and the control center procurement, installation and software are included in the costs of AVLT. The costs of AVL also include labor costs concerning maintenance and new staff to operate the systems. Depending on the size, number of components and the sophistication of the system AVL systems are available at different prices. Today, there are wide ranges of AVL system models available. The simplest and basic models possess features like GPS/ DGPS AVL that have computerized dispatching, mobile data terminals and silent alarms. Models with highly sophisticated features are also available. For large fleet that needs similar features, as the cost of the central monitoring system is distributed over a larger number of vehicles, these systems workout to be cheaper ones. OBJECTIVES The objective of this review paper is to make a thorough study on: 1 . A review on where AVLT is being used. 2. Name of different service providers of AVLT in India 3. How this useful technology AVLT has helped Indian companies (Citing example of some Indian companies) 4. Effectiveness and trends of AVLT in Indian market 5. The difficulties faced to implement AVLT in large scale. A Review on Where AVLT is being used Transit agencies use AVLT to enhance optimum utilization of fleet and reduce fuel consumption, labor and capital costs. AVLT helps to improve adherence to schedule and access passenger information. With AVL, more data is available and this makes it easier to manage transit systems. The net efficiency and productivity of the systems thus increases. According to Kent Stable, Marketing Manager, Chameleon Direct are suppliers of GPS vehicle tracking systems Vehicle tracking devices can save your business significant amounts of money by providing you with information about inefficient practices that you would not easily be able to find out by any other means. Many problems associated with multi fleet businesses can be ironed out very swiftly when you have the right information. Track and monitor your entire fleets movements with the Automatic Vehicle Location System. An easy to install, implement, and cost efficient solution. Know exactly where your vehicles have been, where they ´re headed, and how fast.- (an advertisement given by Vodafone, India on all time real fleet management system ) Use of AVLT in India abroad Vehicle tracking system in India  is mainly used in transport industry that keeps a real-time track of all vehicles in the fleet. Though there are various GPS software and hardware developing  companies  in India working for tracking solutions, however, its application is not all that popular as in other countries like USA, Japan, Malaysia etc. which regulates the whole GPS network. In India it is mostly used in Indian transport and logistics industry and not much personal vehicle tracking eg. Delhi Transport Corporation , Meru Cabs. In a call-taxi operation, tracking the location of each available taxi in real-time is extremely critical. It would not be possible to scale up beyond 200-300 taxis with manual tracking, with the use of walkie-talkies or mobile phones. Hence we have opted for technology that is scalable for thousands of taxis, and is a highly successful model in countries like Singapore -MERU CABS Freight forwarding Logistic service providers are now increasingly adopting vehicle-tracking system for better fleet management and timely service. The system can continuously monitor shipment location and so can direct the drivers directly in case of any change of plan. Fleet managers can keep an eye on all activities of workers, vehicle over speed, route deviation etc. The driver in turn can access emergency service incase of sickness, accident or vehicle breakdown. All in turn supports money and time management, resulting better customer service. Acoording to Dr.Vinod N.Sambrani, (Institute of Management Studies Kuvempu University, Karnataka) and Dr. M. S. Subhas (Karnatak University, Dharwad, Karnataka) Route analysis helps managers to generate the most efficient route (best route / shortest route) that the vehicle should take between the company and it supply chain link. Alternative routes can also be generated and analyzed. Alternative routes help in rerouting of the supplies in case of problems (either man -made or natural on one route.) The best example of application of AVLT in freight forwarding is the popular logistic and courier company Federal Express(FedEx) totally depends on AVLT system . Emergency Management system Emergency management system is now a days getting is popularity in India . Health Management Research Institute (HMRI ) Hyderabad runs an emergency ambulance system (108) through AVLT to give customer proper service and reach at the emergency place within 30minites of the occurance of any accidents. Call centers In commercial vehicle segments the taxi operators of various call centers are now using vehicle-tracking system for better information access.   However, its application is in its infant stage in India and if adequate steps are taken in bringing the cost of hardware and software low then it can be used for tracking personal vehicle, farming (tractor), tourist buses, security and emergency vehicle etc. Again Government needs to cut down the restriction imposed upon the availability of digital maps for commercial use and this will encourage software industry in developing cost-effective tracking solutions. Though, sales of both commercial and passenger vehicles are growing but price of tracking service is very high and this is the key issue in Indian market. Hence, its important for market participants to reduce prices of GPS chips and other products in order to attract more and more users. As far as  Indian vehicle tracking  and navigation market is concerned the recent association of India with Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) will act as a catalyst in the improvement of vehicle tracking system. This will give an advantage in managing traffic, roadways and ports and also as an important tool for police and security agency to track stolen vehicles. Hence, in near future there is large prospect for the utility of vehicle tracking system in India, which can revolutionize the way we are communicating. Companies in India using AVLT in Fleet Management SAIL ( Steel Authority of India) : SAIL , Indias one of the top 10 public sector company in terms of turnover , uses AVLT for their Fleet Management system to optimize the routes, real time functionalities like tracking , reporting , controlling , monitoring , emergency situation handling etc. DTC(Delhi Transport Corporation) : DTC is one of the largest city road transport undertaking in India. It has a fleet of around 15000 vehicle carrying on the business on passenger transport on 800 routes from 33 depots all over Delhi with product mix comprising of City Intercity services. Meru Cab Services: One of the famous call taxi service in India, totally manages their fleets through AVLT .Locating the clients pick up and drop point , finding the shortest route and also monitoring the drivers performance and fuel efficiency in all the cases AVLT provides the solution. Maruti Udyog Limited: Maruti the leader in Indian automobile industry for two decades also uses AVLT system for their fleet management system .Tracking the inventory , supply and monitoring etc is done by AVLT system Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) : AVLT system is used to track the total fleet management . All the new buses have this GIS -GPS based navigation facility. Garbage Truck Monitoring (Swachcha Bangalore ) is another project taken by Bangalore Government with AVLT technology. EMRI HMRI 108 Service , Hyderabad : Emergency Management system and Health Management Research Institute of Hyderabad has launched 108 Ambulance services . They promises to reach any specific location within the 30min of the causalities. They fully depend on the AVLT system and totally manages their fleets. The Goa Government has also started this facility recently. Companies Providing Fleet Management services in India (Cities in India where GIS based vehicle tracking systems are used) The companies providing these services are as follows: Vodafone Telecom Services Airtel Telecom Services Albireo Telematics Pvt Ltd TriCAD Design Consultants (P) Ltd. Vajra Infratech Aayur Technology Solution Adhyan Techno Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Arya Omnitalk Wireless Solutions Private Limited CERT InfoTrack Clay Telematics Pvt. Ltd. Dhanus Digi m-Track Digitrack Eagleeye India effiKC Findnsecure Geo Edge Private Limited Indtrack Solutions INEN Solutions P Ltd Intergrated Digital Info Services Limited Invendis Technologies iWate Systems MahaVentures Next Gen Technologies Noble Integrated Solutions Nucleus Microsystems Omatics Remedy Software Systems Pvt. Ltd. Rilapp Network SATCOP India Sattvah Embedded Technologies (P) Ltd Smart Signals Pvt. Ltd. Symbioun Solutions Limited Traccia Traxis India Pvt. Ltd. CASE STUDIES OF DIFFERENT COMPANIES USING AVLT 1.Fleet Management System adopted by Maruti Maruti Udyog Limited has been the market leader in Indian Automobile Industry from the past two decades. MUL launched a service named N2N Fleet To facilitate the sales of MUL cars using the relationship management approach through Leasing and Fleet Management as two products, Management Solution, Through tie ups with other service providers like insurance company, replacement car service provider, and manpower service provider MUL presented a common face to the end client with a whole gamut of services. End-to-end backups/solutions across the vehicles life like: Leasing, Maintenance, Convenience services and Remarketing are some of the key services being offered by MUL. CHALLENGES FACED MUL was in search of a B2B solution, a common platform for all the partners, clients and respective MUL departments. As this service included interaction and data exchange between multiple organizations therefore safety and security of data became a very important issue not only for MUL, but also for partners and customers. Strict performance criteria and tight deadlines were the other challenges involved in the project. THE SOLUTION After a very tough business process analysis the AVLT system was by a business solutions provider. The modular architecture was customized in such a way so that the diff users can use the system as per their requirements. Scalability, security and flexibility were most important issues that were taken account of. THE BENEFITS The AVLT system provided MSU with Complete monitoring capabilities for its fleet of vehicles, maintenance, insurance, accident, rescue, and remarketing. 2. The success story of Meru Cabs Meru the new call taxi service launched last year by V-Link Taxi Pvt. Ltd, has re established the belief that IT can be deployed in just about any field, and can lead to phenomenal gains. As it is rightly said, Technology does not drive change-it enables change. The same has been the case with V-Link Taxis Pvt. Ltd. There was a complete transformation in the way V link carried out its operations after deploying the GPS-based system to track the newly-launched fleet of cabs called Meru. This service was first started of from Mumbai. The Challenges Sharing the importance of the solution, Nilesh Sangoi, CTO, V-Link said, In a call-taxi operation, tracking the location of each available taxi in real-time is extremely critical. It would not be possible to scale up beyond 200-300 taxis with manual tracking, with the use of walkie-talkies or mobile phones. Hence we have opted for technology that is scalable for thousands of taxis, and is a highly successful model in countries like Singapore. The Solutions V-Link has deployed different technologies from a number of different firms in India and abroad, including Dubai and Singapore. We use high-end GPS and GPRS (general packet radio service) technology in our Maruti Esteem vehicles. The technology has been specially deployed to ensure that passengers receive a timely response and are picked up and dropped at their destinations without any unnecessary delay, reveals Nilesah Sangoi (Tech. Head of Meru Cabs) Our vision is to give urban commuters in India a world-class traveling experience, by using a technology that has evolved in developed countries over the past twenty years, adds Sangoi. Every cab is fitted with a GPS-based tracking device that facilitates in locating the taxi closest to a customer pick-up location. Customer addresses and other details are communicated back to the driver on the display screen via the GPS enabled display in the cab avoiding the use of outdated radio trunking (walkie-talkie) technology. Every cab also has a tamper proof digital fare meter. The control room gets regular feed about the distance traveled, fare and the location of each cab. Customers also get a printed copy of the fare receipt at the end of the trip. Each cab is fitted with communication terminal (MCT), which has a built-in GPS receiver, LCD (liquid crystal display) screen and GPRS connectivity, which facilitates two way communication with the control room. Our data centre hosts a set of communication servers, application servers, and database servers, which are in constant touch with each taxi through GPRS. The latitude and longitude information is plotted on a GIS (Geographical Information Systems) map for real-time tracking, says Sangoi. The Benefits: This GPS enabled technology empowers the customer to book a cab through phone internet and SMS, and the control room can track the cab nearest to the customers location enabling a significant reduction in the turnaround time. If any customer leaves nay belonging in the cab the customer can lodge a complaint about the item left behind and the cab can be located to trace the lost item and it will be returned to the customer. This Fleet Management system is also important from the point of view of the passengers safety, and can also be used to note the drivers performance. V-Link Taxis Pvt. Ltd is a subsidiary of the V-Link Group, a corporate fleet management services organization that is headquartered in Mumbai, and operates in five major cities-Mumbai, Delhi and NCR, Pune, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. The company manages a fleet of over 5000 vehicles running an aggregate of more than 150,000 km a day. We have invested heavily in technology to provide best-in-class and highly reliable customer service. The investments are in line with the needs of todays competitive and swift-moving world, concludes Sangoi. In the future too, the organization aims to continuously upgrade its IT infrastructure to keep pace with the times. 3. EMRI HMRI Emergency Management Research Institute and Health Management and Research Institute , Hyderabad took a revolutionary step in the history of Indians emergency and health management system .They managed to build up the fleet management so efficiently that anytime and anywhere e its an emergency (disaster) or health related problem , they will reach the certain place within minimum time after getting the call in 108 hotline number. Later GVK EMRI , Mumbai also followed the same steps The Challenges The first challenges faced was to establish the system widely .. They had to build up many centers throughout the state. They also had to build up an efficient call center and to establish an efficient fleet management system to diagnose the emergency point and detect the nearest location of the fleet (eg. Ambulance) and send the fleet to the destination accessing the shortest and efficient route. The Solution They took the IT service help from Satyam Technologies Limited (Currently known as Mahindra Satyam) and build up an efficient fleet management system .They established a module based system. The main module is called as MCC( Mission Control center ) which gets the first news about the emergency from the call center and then locate the nearest centers , fleet and shortest route that gives the fastest access to the destination . The Benefits This fleet management system not only changed the look out of the emergency management system in India but that also inspired other states to follow this path. The efficient and excellent service fetched many awards to EMRI HMRI. Like GVK EMRI bagged NASSCOM CNBC TV18 IT user Award 4. Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) Delhi Transport Corporation is the one of the largest City Road Transport Undertaking in the India. It has a fleet of around 15,000 vehicles carrying on the business of passenger transport on 800 routes from 33 depots all over the state of Delhi with a product mix comprising of City and Inter-city services. The Challenges à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Integration of GPS with GIS map of Delhi for tracking of vehicles on a real time basis with two way messaging including distress messaging between the vehicle and the control station. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Monitoring whether the scheduled route and the time tables of the buses are followed or not. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Automatic generation, collection, storage and retrieval and analysis of data information and thus eliminating the human related errors involved in collecting of such data. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Building a dedicated integrated database employees, buses, bus routes etc. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Using the GIS model as a support system for implementation of the transport policies. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Analysis of deviations from standard like schedule route, timing, Missing Bus stops, Punctuality factor etc. based on captured vehicle data. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Enabling automatic bill generation for the buses. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Quick dispatch of relief vehicles in case of breakdown. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Integration with the Delhi metro smart card. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Working out realistic schedules according to traffic conditions based on speed of bus during different hours of the day and at different segments The Solution To accomplish the above-mentioned objectives challenges, CMC Ltd has developed an Automatic Fleet Management System incorporating its DGPS based Automatic Vehicle Tracking and Management system (AVTMS). CMC Designed, Developed and Implemented the Automatic Fleet Management System that include Vehicle Tracking System, Application software for billing, Operational Transportation Model for scheduling of buses and integration of Smart Card Reader with the Vehicle Tracking System, provision for Real Time Passenger Information System to Delhi Transport Corporation. The AFMS system is currently operational from two depots for 200 buses since last two years. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ GPS based tracker unit installed on 200 buses belonging to 2 depots à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Monitoring from a Central Control Station for both the depots simultaneously à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Solar based Database Server, AVTMS server, Communication Server à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Display of vehicles at Workstation using ARC Info suite and VC++ based application software à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Established two way messaging system between buses the central control room. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Public Mobile Radio Trunking System (Wireless Communication network) for collecting data from buses. Area of coverage is 1500 square kms. The Benefits Verification and Validation of GIS data of Delhi procured from a GIS data vendor, with the help of GPS in both standalone and differential mode. This is to ensure that the data is in required co-ordinate system. Real time trials were conducted after the buses were installed with the GPS devices to ensure the integrity of the data. Additional custom data as required in the project were collected by conducting extensive field surveys and were encoded in the map of Delhi for facilitation. GIS data was integrated with the turntables containing all the relevant information about various junctions. Application and customization of the of the screen of the reports and queries of the GIS data includes all the info about the buses and other fleets. 5. Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) In 1997, BMTC was spun off from the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation(Ksrtc) in order to focus exclusively on Bangalores rapidly expanding transit needs. The Bangalore Transport Service became Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation and the colour scheme was changed from Red to a Blue and White combination.BMTC remains a division of KSRTC. The Challenges Integration of GPS with GIS map of Bangalore for tracking of vehicles on a real time basis with two way messaging including distress messaging between the vehicle and the control station. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Monitoring whether the scheduled route and the time tables of the buses are followed or not. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Automatic generation, collection, storage and retrieval and analysis of data information and thus eliminating the human related errors involved in collecting of such data. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Building a dedicated integrated database employees, buses, bus routes etc. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Using the GIS model as a support system for implementation of the transport policies. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Analysis of deviations from standard like schedule route, timing, Missing Bus stops, Punctuality factor etc. based on captured vehicle data. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Enabling automatic bill generation for the buses. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Quick dispatch of relief vehicles in case of breakdown. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Working out realistic schedules according to traffic conditions based on speed of bus during different hours of the day and at different segments. Providing Real time information to the passengers . The Solution To accomplish the above-mentio

The process in Financial intermediation in the banking sector

The process in Financial intermediation in the banking sector The financial intermediation is defined as the process which had been carried out by the financial intermediaries as the middleman between the borrower (spender) and lender (saver) to smooth the flow of fund. The financial intermediation called as the process of using the indirect finance in the financial system, which the primary route to transfer funds from lender to borrower. Those savers who have the surplus money will deposits their fund in the financial institution, which will lends those funds to borrowers such as business firms, households, government or foreigners who shortage of fund. Financial intermediary are those financial institution such as commercial bank, finance company, merchant bank, Islamic bank and Brokerage Company. The financial intermediary help to transfer the funds between the lender and borrower in the ways of borrow money from the lender-saver and then using this money to make loan to borrower-spender. For example, the financial institution acquires fund s through public by issuing liabilities such as time deposits and saving accounts. After that, the bank might use that fund to acquire an asset by making loan to the people needed fund for investment or buying that company bond in the financial market. As a result, with the help of financial intermediary, the money successfully transfers from public to the borrower. Financial intermediaries play an important role in the financial system because they help to facilitate the risk transfer and in dealing with the increasingly complex of financial instruments and markets. The financial intermediarys role is to transform the assets which are less desirable by a large portion of public in to assets that are more preferable by the public. This transforming have serve four economic function which are providing maturity intermediation, reduction of risk by diversification, reducing the contracting and information processing costs and to provide a efficient payment mechanism. Besides, many subsequent authors also have stressed about the role of transaction cost in the financial intermediaries. Due to the financial intermediaries are very specializing in information processing, they have create the well-functioning financial institutions that has greatly reduced the transaction and information for customer. They can achieve the economy of balance through sp ecialization; this is because they are handling very large number of transaction so they are able to minimize the fixed costs by ward off the same production of information faced by borrower and lender. In addition, Petersen and Rajan (1994) stated that financial intermediaries develop specialist or expert people in evaluating prospective borrowers and investments projects. Other than that, they can also exploit customer information and reuse that information over time and again. As a result, there are more funds are made available for investments. For example, the fixed cost of assets evaluation mean that the financial intermediaries have an advantage over an individual because they allow the costs to be shared. Faulkender and Petersen (2003) mentioned that the information acquisition cost maybe still can lower down by establish a long-run relationship between the borrower and financial intermediaries. Furthermore, financial intermediation has gain confidence and trust from the pub lic by protect their assets with providing efficient service to help them manage their assets. This is because the financial intermediaries help them channel funds more efficiently to productive investments through funding pooling, better identification and monitoring of profitable investments and risk diversification. Diversification allows allocating assets and bearing risks more efficiently. Those investments are protected against from unconscientiously borrowers by the institutions qualified loan officers and well-trained investment analysts seek good investment opportunities and screen prospective securities so as to obtain the best yield available for the risk level that suits the investors preferences. Thus, the financial intermediaries are vital part for our economic system and in order to maintain the flow of money in the economy. Diamond and Dybvig (1983) show that how the financial intermediaries can improve the risk sharing and thus improve the economy welfare. The financial intermediarys help to diversify the risk of the lenders (savers) by help them to investigate their savings across different sector of business. They have the ability to get the important information that concern about the borrowers financial position compare to those in direct finance route which lender directly lends their money to borrowers in financial market without any information about the borrowers. Financial intermediaries can have the borrowers such important information is because they already have a history of exercising discretion with this type of information, and help to reduce unreliable information concerning the borrowers. This will help to solve the problems create by asymmetric information which are adverse selection and moral hazards. Financial intermediaries help them to screen risk, monitor risk and evaluate risk. It is more efficient for financial institution to screen the investment opportunity and risk on behalf of individuals compare to an individual to screen its. Since the institution has all the important information available about the lenders and borrowers, it helps to reduce the information costs for analyzing their data and save their time. Thus, individual can enjoy other services provided by the financial institution which can enable them to deposit and withdrawal funds without negotiation whereas the borrowers can avoid having a deal with individual investors. It concludes that it helps those individual not only save their time and money, and also offer low risk investment opportunity to them. If there is no the financial intermediaries, the lenders-savers and borrowers-spenders have to pay higher transaction and information costs and the facing the problem create by the asymmetric information such as adverse selection problem and moral hazards problems. Hirshleifer and Riley (1 979) said that adverse selection problems arise before the transaction occurs. Usually those people who agreeable to pay higher interest rate will be worse risk and thus the lenders are more likely had make a loan to high risk borrowers This problem only occurs on the borrowers but not the lenders. However, the moral hazard problem occurs after the transaction which it arise just as the borrowers involve in the chance of their loan will being repaid back to the lenders. It also will happen when the borrowers is taking too much risk as the costs incur more than the benefit that gains by borrowers. Therefore, it will discourage the individual savers from lending money to those borrowers who have such investment opportunity and affected the whole economic development in the country. Amina (2009) show that financial intermediaries also provide maturity flexibility service to individuals by creating financial claims with wide range of maturities so as to balance the maturity of different instruments so as to reduce the gap between assets and liabilities. As if there are no financial intermediaries, individual savers have to purchase the securities of borrowers it will lead them to have many uncertain risks such as the conflicting of the maturity needs of lender and borrower. For example, most lenders would like to lend money at short maturity, however normally the borrower will attempt to borrow for a longer maturity. It would make difficult for the borrower to match their larger loan amount with the small amounts of individual savings which are desired by the lenders then it will make the borrowing more difficult. In addition, financial intermediaries perform an important function as maturity intermediation to make sure investment from lenders and money borrowing for borrowers flawless. In the existence of financial intermediary, individuals income tax differentials are mitigated which it help to transfer tax deductions from low to high income tax payers and to provide tax free services in place of taxable interest. For example, the income invested in and earned by pension funds is not taxed until retirement when the rates are generally lower than before the retirement. Beside, commercial bank also rewards depositors with free service, which are non taxable, rather than pay interest, which is taxable. The depositors will receive nontaxable benefits such as checking accounts, travelers checks and low rate loan in return for the use of the money. In conclusion, the existence of financial intermediary played a very important role in the economic development of the country. In this modern world, it would not have been so efficient, aggressive and progressive without the financial intermediation. Financial intermediaries provide a convenient and safe place where lenders can safely invest excess money and borrowers can easily borrow fund with the low cost and low risk. Question 2: Compare money and capital markets and identify the major issuers of securities in the different markets and the difference among the various types of securities within and between each of the markets. Within your discussion of the money markets include a consideration of the role of the Federal Reserve System (Fed) and the banking system as they interact through required reserve maintenance and monetary policy actions by the Fed. Consider in your analysis the types and significance of the links between the money and capital markets via the term structure of interest rates, issuers of debt and equity, or the characteristics of these securities. There were two group of markets can be found in financial market. They were the capital market and the money market. Although they both come from financial market but they consist of differences. In capital market, we will found the stocks and bond market but in general it is the market for securities where long term funds can be raised by companies or government. To raise the funds, a person needs to purchase a price-set bond in order to borrow their money to the government or business for period of time and this will gain higher return as promised. The government or company paid the lenders through interest that accrues from the borrowings. Another way for the government or company to raise the fund is through the stock market. By using this method, they will sell shares of their stock which is the ownership of the company to the public or companies. Dividends will be paid to the shareholders as agreed by the company as the return on their investment. There were two markets in the capital market: Primary market and secondary market. New issues are distributed to the investor in the primary market and the secondary market is the place where trade securities. In money market, it is about the global financial market. The money market is the place where borrowing and lending in a short-term period. Short-term liquid funding also will be provided to the global financial system. The period of the borrowing of money by the company in a money market has an average of thirteen months. There are few common types of things that being used in the money market such as bankers acceptance, certificates of deposits, commercial paper and repurchase agreements. Normally the money market consists of banks borrowing and lending but money market also will involve by financial companies. A large amounts of asset where issued by the finance companies to fund themselves which is secured by the promise of eligible assets into an asset backed commercial paper conduit. The difference between the two markets is that capital market is for long term investment. They were selling stocks and bonds to borrow money from investors to operate their company. In money markets, it is the short term borrowing or lending market. The banks borrow and lend between themselves and it is usually paid back within thirteen months. The differences can be seen through the ways the two markets used for borrowing or lending transaction. In capital market, primary and secondary markets are interrelated. Securities emerge in primary market while other dealings take place in secondary market. However, there was no sub-division in money market. In efficient money market, secondary market does take place too. In capital market, the financial instrument that being used are debentures, shares, public sector bonds and units of mutual funds. On the other hand, money market uses different financial instruments such as Treasury bill, call money, commercial papers, and certificate of deposits. There were several characteristic of the securities in the money market. They are rapid maturity, safety, liquidity funds of securities of the money market. Short-term capital requirements of the business and government can be solve by issuing money market securities. The maturity of the securities is between three months and matured within one year. Federal funds and repurchase agreements are the money market instruments that examine the maturity of the securities. The credit ratings that surpass the other investment grade debt instruments make money market securities the safest investments available. (Jim Orrill, 2010) The SEC helps ensure this safety by mandating that at least 95% of a money market funds securities must be ones that have earned the highest rating of at least two of the five major credit rating institutions. Federal Reserve System is often referred as Fed is the central bank of the United States. In Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia or BNM is our central bank. Although central bank may differ in terms of structure and modus but they have common responsibility which is to maintain the monetary and financial stability. Sometimes, they are responsible for developing the financial infrastructure and participating in the overall development of nation. Bank Negara Malaysia is responsible to maintain the monetary stability. Preserved the value of the ringgit is the best way to ensure the price stability. This can maintain the inflation of the country low and stable. By maintaining the inflation at low and stable condition will not diminished the purchasing power of ringgit. When the inflation rate is high, people will tend to consider about their purchasing power. When this happened, demand for real assets like properties and houses will be higher because they were thought to be more inflation-proof. Interest of people will be less on investment in the productive capacity of the economy. The interest of holding saving in the financial system will be lesser as they expect that their savings value will be diminished. Fixed income earners will feel their ability to purchase goods and services become less. Bank Negara Malaysia influences the level of interest rates to conduct its monetary policy. Interest rates are the rate that the borrowers of the loan have to pay and the depositors earn on their deposits. To encourage people to save more, interest rate will be given at a high rate. When the economic is weak, funds will be injected into the banking system to reduce the interest rates. Economic activity will be stimulated by the increasing consumption and investment. (Elgilani Eltahir Elshareif, 2010) Short term and long term interest rates of fixed securities is important for the transmission mechanism of monetary policy. Usually the short-term rates will be influence by central bank, while the basis of investors expectations of future real interest rates and inflation affect long-term rates. The future real interest rates will affect the domestic investment and production. The real sector of the economy will affect by the term structure transmits monetary policy. In the open economy system, the structure will affect international capital flows and hence exchange rate. Required reserve is referring to the amount that the banking institution place with the BNM in compliance with the Statutory Reserve Requirement. Cash in vault of the banking institution and the demand deposits with BNM are considered as excess reserves. Demand and time deposits placed by the financial corporations are deposits of the private sector. Money market securities are extremely liquid can be converted into cash quickly. As the principles of these debts are repaid very rapidly thus the liquidity of the investment was gained. These securities give the optimum way to the public to invest in the money market securities by trading in large denominations. The money market securities are a wholesale market of short term debt instruments. Question 3: Are the following statements consistent or inconsistent? Explain your answer and discuss how equilibrium is achieved between the futures and cash markets. Answer: Yes, the statement equilibrium is achieved between the futures and cash markets is consistent. An equilibrium relationship can be exists between cash and futures markets. In order to explain how equilibrium is achieved between the futures and cash markets, we first need to take a look on the meaning of future and cash markets and understand how they functions in the commodity market, then we proceed with the basic relationship that arises between both markets. Lastly, we will explain how arbitrage and the law of supply and demand lead the future price to the equilibrium level. The futures market is a place where participants can trade for future contract. A future contract is a contract that involves two parties to buy or sell a specified asset on a specified future date at a price agreed today. While the cash market is a market in which the buyer makes an immediate payment for physical commodities that equal to the current market price, which also called the spot price. The purchaser of a future contract which represent as a long position holder undertakes to receive the delivery of the commodity on future and want to pay it for a low price as possible, while the seller of a futures contract which represent as a short position holder promises to deliver the commodity on future and want to receive a high payment as possible. Long Position Short Position Hedger Secure a current price to protect against future rising Secure a current price to protect against future declining price Speculator Secure a current price in anticipation of rising prices Secure a current price in anticipation of declining prices As above mentioned, the traders in the future market basically classified into two categories: hedgers and speculators. Hedgers can be farmers, dealer, foresters and oil drillers. They have the preexistence risk that connected with a commodity and they enter the market to reduce that risk. Thus, intended to protect against the price risks, they on purpose trade in the futures market to secure the future price of a commodity and sell it later in the cash market. Unlike hedger, speculators aim to profit from the vary price change that hedgers are protecting themselves against. They do not intend to minimize the risk but rather to get benefits from the intrinsically risky nature of the commodity market. For example, we assume a farmer bears the risk at the planting time associated with the uncertain harvest price his wheat will worth on the later 6 months. To avoid this risk he may enter the future market and sell a future contract. For instance, if the current market price for wheat is $10 per ton and he expected to produce 1000 tons of wheat in the next six months, he could lock the price at $10 per ton and selling a 1000 tons wheat future contract. In this manner, the farmer intends to establish a price today that will be harvested in the futures. At the end of the 6 months, the price of wheat in the cash market is actually $9 per ton, so the farmer benefit from the future contact and escapes the lower price. However, if the prices of wheat in cash market were $11 per ton, then the speculator would benefit from the future contact instead of the farmer. Since the future prices are fluctuate based on unpredictable circumstance, the gap between future price and spot price might be huge, hence, people calling the basis as referring to the difference between the cash price and future price of a contract. When a future contract near to its maturity date, the future price and spot price will move close to each other and finally become the same at expiration. Which means the basis must be zero at the maturity of the future contract. From Fig 4.3, we can see that as the delivery month of a future contract is neared, the futures price centralize to the spot price of the asset, and at the delivery period, future price equals to the spot price. So, as time passes, the basis narrows approach maturity of the contract. This behavior of the basis over time is known as convergence, this can be easily explained by arbitrage and the law of supply and demand. For example, suppose that future price is much higher than the spot price as time goes near to the contracts month of delivery. In this condition, traders will catch the arbitrage opportunity of shorting futures contracts, buying more underlying asset and then making delivery. Due to this, the future price will tend to fall, and suppose that future price is much lower than the spot price. Again, there will be arbitrage opportunity, traders are more willing to acquire short contract and cause more long future contract in the market. Thus, the futures price will tend to arise. In this manner, whether the future price is lower or higher to the spot price, at the expiration, both will be equal. In terms of supply and demand, the effect of arbitrage attracts traders to shorting futures contract and creates an increase the supply of contracts to market so makes the future price fall. Inversely, buying the underlying asset causes the demand of assets increase; as a result the future spot price will increase as well. In conclusion, we know that no matter how the future price is difference to the cash price, at the maturity, the basic must be zero, which means that the future price and cash price are equal. Therefore, we can say equilibrium is achieved between the futures and cash markets. Question 5: If banking were to be based on interest-free transactions, how would it work in practice? Do we really need Islamic banks? Is Islamic banking viable? How does Islamic banking fare and conventional banking differ? How many Islamic banks are working at present and where? The Interest-free transactions of Banks Practice Islamic banks are the financial institutions that operate base on Shariah principles. Islamic scholars commend trade-oriented banking in place of traditional interest-bearing credit oriented banking. The major vehicle of interest-free banking is a two-tier mudarabah, which is a business contract negotiated on the basis of profit-sharing ratios between two profits-seeking parties, A and B. Parties A provide funds to party B, party B independently manages the business according to the agreed terms. From the banking point of view, it is an advance agreement on a ratio in which realized business profits are to be shared. The basis of two-tier mudarabah is one mudarabah between the surplus economic units (depositors) and financial institution in order to replace interest-bearing contracts between savers and banks; and another mudarabah between the financial institutions and the deficit economic units in order to replace interest-bearing contracts between banks and ultimate users of funds. So, banks can negotiate deposits and advances on the basis of profit-sharing ratios. In effect, interest-bearing loans are replaced by profit-seeking investments and qard hasanah (loans on zero interest). Interest-free financial institution can efficiently perform all types of intermediation after eliminating interest from the system and the replacement of interest rates by profit-sharing ratios has profound macroeconomic consequences for unemployment, inflation, stability, growth, and income distribution. The Needs of Islamic Banks With Conventional Bank Many Islamic banks use the facilities of conventional banks for treasury management, foreign exchange, portfolio services and investment banking. Major multinational conventional banks have the critical mass to provide specialist service while Islamic banks are usually too small in size to take on such services themselves. Outsourcing makes sense for organizations when the benefits of internalization are outweighed by the administrative costs of trying to extend their functions into new areas where demand is limited. As most Islamic banks are located in the Muslim world, where most of the demand is for core banking services rather than for highly specialized finance, it is a potential management distraction to widen the facilities on offer excessively. This could actually result in deterioration in the quality of the basic level of deposit and funding services. Islamic Bank is Viable Islamic banking and finance are emerging as viable alternatives to conventional interest-based banking and financing. The long run goal of BNM is to construct an Islamic banking system operates same as the conventional banking system. However, an Islamic banking system requires three important elements to qualify as a viable system, such as a large number of players, various types of instruments and money market in Islamic world. In addition, the socio-economic values in Islam must be reflected in an Islamic banking system. BNM spreads the virtues of Islamic banking to distribute Islamic banking on countrywide with a lot of players and able to reach all Malaysians by achieving the above objective. Islamic financial products and services are being in their existing infrastructure and branches. It was seen as the most successful way to increase the number of financial institutions offering Islamic banking services efficiently. On 4 March 1993, BNM introduced an idea is known as Interest-free Banking Scheme (Skim Perbankan Tanpa Faedah). There are many Islamic banking services that provided by the banks using a range of Islamic concepts such as Mudarabah, Musyarakah, Murabahah, Ijarah and others. Mudarabah (Profit-sharing) A capital provider and another party to allow the entrepreneur to carry out business projects based on a profit sharing ratio under an agreement. However, the capital provider of the funds needs to bear all losses. Musyarakah (Joint Venture) The sharing of profits will be distributed base on predetermined ratio for a partnership or joint venture of a particular business. Both parties will bear the losses base on equity participation. Murabahah (Cost Plus) Sales agreement is applicable on the condition that the sale of goods at a price, other costs and the profit margin are agreed to by both parties. Ijarah (Leasing) A lesser (owner) leases property to a lessee at an agreed rental against a fixed charge. Islamic Banking versus Conventional Banking The difference between Islamic Banking and Conventional Banking which is conventional banking eliminates the risk while Islamic banks take the risk when involve in any transaction. In addition, conventional banks do not bear the liability only get the benefit from customers when involve in transaction with customers in form of interest. On the other hand, Islamic banks bear all the liability in transaction with consumer because in getting out any benefit without taking its liability is illegal in Islamic principles. In retail deposit services include the provision of current accounts and low-risk investment accounts base on mudarabah with clients sharing in any bank profits. Conventional banks provide similar deposit services at retail level and allow overdrafts on current accounts, which often incur both fixed-rate charges and interest. Islamic banks cannot offer overdraft facilities on current accounts. However, depositors who get temporary financial difficulties due to events beyond their control such as illness may receive interest-free loans. Conventional banks offer savings rather than investment accounts, the major attraction of such accounts being the interest paid to depositors. This often increases as the minimum notice period for withdrawals lengthens, with accounts which for example require three months notice for withdrawals paying more interest than those requiring one months notice. Some Islamic banks apply similar stepped returns with their investment accounts, with a higher prop ortionate profit share as the period of notice for withdrawals increases. Moreover, conventional bank concern on money as a medium of exchange, valuable and interest on capital is charging on time value basis. Islamic banks focus on the real asset but money is just a medium of exchange goods services for earning profit. In conventional banks, Government gets the loans easily from BNM through Money Market without any capital development expenses. In Islamic banks, Government cannot obtain loans without capital development expenditure. Lastly, debts financing in conventional banks has the benefit of leverage for a project because interest expense is deductible expense form taxable profits. This leads to maximize the tax burden over salaried persons. So, the saving and disposable income is affected badly and decrease in the real GDP. In Islamic banks, Mudarabah and Musharakah provide extra tax to Federal Government and minimize the tax burden over salaried persons. Hence, the savings and disposable income is rise and increase in the real GDP. List of Other Financial Institutions Offer Islamic Financial Products and Services According to the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions, there are currently 275 institutions worldwide that follow Islamic banking and financing principles, collectively managing in excess of $200 billion. These institutions are spread throughout 53 countries, including Europe and the United States. Twenty institutions now offer a variety of Islamic financial services in the United States. The Islamic banks are not the only banking institutions drawn in Islamic banking but Islamic banking services were introduced by other financial institutions via the Islamic Banking Scheme. In Malaysia, there are separate Islamic legislation and banking regulations in financial systems. The Islamic Banking Act (IBA) was established to provide BNM with the authorizations of supervising and regulating the Islamic banks. On 1 July 1983, Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB) was the first Islamic bank established and was operated base on Shariah principles. After few years, BIMB expanded rapidly and was being listed on the Main Board of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE). After that, BNM allowed the existing financial institutions to offer Islamic banking services through Skim Perbankan Tanpa Faedah. The Islamic Interbank Money Market (IIMM) was established to link the financial institutions and their instruments. The National Shariah Advisory Council on Islamic Banking and Takaful (NSAC) was established as the highest Shariah authority on takaful in Malaysia. On 1 October 1999, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad (BMMB) was established. The establishment of BMMB was the result of the joining between Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Berhad (BBMB) and Bank of Commerce Berhad (BOCB). Islamic Banks 1. Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB) 2. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad (BMMB) Commercial Banks 1. Alliance Bank Berhad 8. Malayan Banking Berhad 2. AFFIN Bank Berhad 9. AmBank Berhad 3. OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad 10. Public Bank Berhad 4. Citibank Berhad 11. RHB Bank Berhad 5. EON Bank B