How Far Do Sociologists Agree That Education Benefits the Ruling Class Essay

The debate outlined above suggests that some sociologists believe that education benefits the ruling class, however other sociologists may argue that education benefits everyone or just men. To address this issue I will be looking at both sides of the argument and I will assess to what extent sociologists agree that education benefits the ruling class. Some sociologists; such as Marxist agree with the statement above that education benefits the ruling class. One reason for this is that they believe that education brings about social class reproduction, to benefit them. This means that rich can afford to go to big successful private schools, and then go onto having successful jobs, whereas the poor will continue being poor, as they cannot afford to go to private schools and therefore will not achieve the same grades as the ruling class and will not get as well paid jobs. They believe that the working class do not achieve in education because of their material deprivation and cultural deprivation meaning that the working class will not achieve as much as the ruling class, as they cannot afford to buy books, tutors or equipment like the ruling class can. Another reason Marxists agree with this statement is because they believe that through education the wealthy learn to rule, and the working class learn to be ruled. They believe that there is a hidden curriculum where the working class learn respect, authority, punctuality and hard work. This will then prepare them to be obedient workers for the ruling class, who will then exploit them to make a profit. Furthermore, Marxists believe that education transmits ideology; this means it puts the working class in a false consciousness this means that the working class cannot see that education therefore they do not start to revolve, and do anything about it. According to Marxists meritocracy is just a myth, and education is not fair as it favours the wealthy. On the other hand, other sociologists such as functionalists disagree that education benefits the ruling class. According to the functionalism education benefits the whole of society. They believe that the main purpose of education is secondary socialisation; this is where pupils learn important norms and values e.g. respect, manners, punctuality, and hard work. They learn this through social control and sanctions; these sanctions could be punishments, rewards, formal or informal. Functionalists believe that education helps maintain order in society, and without order there would be chaos (anomie). They also believe that education provides a sense of national identity, like being a British citizen. Another reason that functionalists disagree with the statement is because they believe that education performs occupational role allocation, this is where pupils will get a job according to their talents or skills therefore the most talented or most skilled will get the highest paid jobs. Functionalists believe that education provides the institution of work with skilled workers; this is the idea of organic analogy, where each institution is society work together to benefit one another. Functionalists claim that education is a meritocracy and that education is fair and based on equality of opportunity. They also believe that education provides an opportunity of social mobility, where the working class can move up the social class system if they work hard enough. Another function of education is that it provides child minding, therefore when the child is at school it allows both parents to work and earn money. Another view this is the feminists view, they disagree that education benefits the ruling class, however they believe that education benefits men. They claim that the role of education is to benefit males, to maintain a patriarchal society, where men dominate society. They do this by socialising students into traditional gender roles, where the females learn to be a housewife and the males learn to be the breadwinner. This is achieved through subject choice, and career advice, these are often based on stereotypes. For example, males will learn engineering at school, whereas females will not more domestic subjects such as cooking and sewing. However, this view may not be as relevant today as since the 1980s girls have been achieving better at all levels, which suggests that society is now less patriarchal and girls now have more opportunities. After assessing both sides of the argument, it is evident that education does benefit both the ruling class, and the working class. I think this because although education doesn’t benefit the working class as much, it does teach them important morals such as not to steal etc., I also believe that the education does benefit the ruling class, as it teaches them skills for the future, however I feel as though education is no long patriarchal as girls are achieving better then boys. Overall, I have come to the conclusion that education benefits everyone, some maybe not so much, but I believe everyone gains from education whether it is skills to work, or morals.

Information Assurance Essay

Information Assurance (IA) can be referred to as the process that involves in the management of perils that are closely related to the usage, processing, storage and electronic transfers of information. This field has been birthed by information security, a field in computer security. Information Assurance is aimed at availability, authentication, non-repudiation, integrity and confidentiality of information and information systems thus serving as a defense and protection turf for electronic information. The process of Information Assurance commences with the act of specifying and classifying the assets of the information to be protected. This process of information specification and classification is done objectively taking into contemplation the nature, source and the purpose of the information in focus. This is followed by risk assessment that is done by Information Assurance practitioner who has to put into consideration the likelihood and the impact of the undesired actions that may negatively affect the disclosure of the information in storage to unauthorized individuals. It is at this stage that the both qualitative and the quantitative value of the risk in relation to the current situation and predictable hazard is determined. Moreover, the IA practitioner develops a risk management plan that puts forward the countermeasures that can probably mitigate, accept, eliminate or transfer the risks. The plans also puts into consideration the detection, prevention and response towards the emergent or prospective perils (Qian, Tipper, Krishnamurthy, 2008). During the plan development, various frame works can be employed such as ISO 17799, PCIDSS, ISO/IEC 27002 or CobiT. Procedures and policies such as frequent data and information backups and configuration hardening, installation of anti-virus programs and firewalls are among the countermeasures that can be used. Other activities included as countermeasures are trainings and the restructuring of the computer network systems which put in place computer emergence response team (CERT) or computer security incident response team (CSIRT). These countermeasures aim at managing, extenuating or totally eliminating the forthcoming risks in the most cost-effective manner. Later, implementation, testing and evaluation of the plan are undertaken through various designed methodologies such as formal audits. An overhaul, known as the service integrity service is put in place to protect the resources of the system from accidental unwarranted change, destruction or loss (Rogers, 2004). The system’s authenticator, also referred to as the system administrator, bears the entire authorization mandate and it is only through his certification and accreditation that a third party or any other person can access the information in store. In addition, liaison of the authenticator with the user representative and the program manager grants equal access rights to the protected information. The above three officials also have to decide agreeably on the most appropriate approaches to be instituted in an attempt to meet all the information security prerequisites. Once they have identified these methodologies, they also highlight on the security remedies that are satisfying. The authenticator’s leadership, these information system officials are bestowed with the obligation to oversee the activities of the information system security. So as to be able to access the information in the system, the authenticator has to issue a declaration indicating that approval has been granted to the any alleged declaration holder to operate the automated information system (AIS). Included in this declaration are the sets of standardized rules and regulations that must be adhered to the latter by all users having the right of access to the stored information. These prescriptions are aimed at safeguarding the information in store and the Automated Information System at large. Besides this declaration, data security can be ensured by the use of logins, passwords and digital certificates which are specifically issued to those users who are sanctioned (May, et al, 2004). The former is not so much campaigned for but instead, the latter and the use of biometric techniques such as voice and fingerprints as regarded as more secluded methods. Computer information attackers have devised ways to overwrite and also override these login passwords and as a result, this safety methodology is rarely relied upon. Once authentication has been granted, encryption of the sensitive data is done to avert it from eavesdropping and other related computer information crimes. During the process of authentication personal information is gathered and entered into the automated system which aids in the person’s identification. As a result, the party is issued with a credential. This credential validates the user identity claim when he/she is accessing the controlled and protected assets or information. In pursuit to ensure more safety over the stored information, multi-factor authentication has been employed. The multi-factor authentication process is subject to various environments and other technological rudiments and varies depending on these two aspects (Department of the Army, 2007). These techniques may include network architecture controls, remote network access, network sniffers and securing network ports. Failure to conform to or adopt any of the above mentioned authentication methodologies will expose the stored data to computer information systems defaulters who can craftily bypass weak technical controls. Consequently, they distort the information. This distortion may vary from mere acts such as modifying the main memory’s information after having read it to causing notable and probably irreversible behavior of the schedulers which are finally associated with the crashing of the entire information systems with large volumes data loss. In addition the can disable the firewall module packet filtering by transforming the image such that the agent’s in-memory store code starts working inappropriately (Larry, 2009). This may render the agent disabled from accessing the system. Once automated information attacker gains this unauthorized opportunity to access to the clients’ information he has the freedom to perform dynamic data modifications. Besides, he can access the system management memory (SMM) handler. The end result of this will be a system management random access memory (SMRAM) cache-based attack. Computer information criminals also alter the information system’s operating codes. Moreover, they can access client’s personal and confidential details such personal identification numbers and probably financial institution’s information thus ending up in a big loss in their finances. National and scientific databases have been prepared and managed by the governments of various states. Moreover, academic organizations and research institutions are also reliable. However, these stakeholders have to take keen attention during the auditing of the information, especially those received from partnerships with other organizations to avoid errors that may be disastrous in the future. In information assurance, the information flowing in the associated institutions should be confidential as earlier said and also the information’s integrity should be well safeguarded. In ensuring that the information meets these prerequisites, the British standards well implemented. Information assurance standards are also published a template in the IA website. Moreover, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) site contains these standards which are also coordinated with the MCNOSC. Therefore in conclusion, information assurance can be basically taken to mean the information operations (IO) aimed at information and information systems (IS) protection. This is achieved through the information assurance standards that see the achievement of information availability, its integrity, confidentiality, authentication and non-repudiation. The realization of these standards ensure the refurbishment of IS through the amalgamation of restoration, detection, fortification and reaction competences

Chance of Success for E-Commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Chance of Success for E-Commerce - Essay Example Around the world, photography has become a growing interest among individuals. With the addition of phones with cameras in them, the number of pictures that an average person takes per day can be anywhere between 20 to 50 pictures. These amateur photographers also like to share their photos with others but do not have much of a platform for this. The aim of â€Å"eGallery.com† is to give these individuals a chance to show their photographs and get recognized among others for their brilliance. The target audience varies from is upcoming young artists to other keen amateur photographers who just have the desire to show their talent to the world. In short, people all around the world will be able to use this platform with registered usernames. The site will offer three different types of registrations, amateur accounts, basic professional accounts and elite professional accounts. By offering limited access to the amateur accounts, we expect most users to upgrade to one of the pro fessional accounts to gain access to more user upload space and unlimited uploads. The amateur account and basic professional accounts will also have restrictions on the sizes of the photographs uploaded. To counter these restrictions, the elite professional account will be restriction free with unlimited photograph sizes and storage space. Also, an added online photo editor application will be available only to the elite professional users. This will target individuals who are interested in displaying their work or individuals who appreciate professional photography and are interested in buying photographs that appeal to them. Google, Bing and Facebook ads will be used to deliver the website name to the targeted people. The elements that the website will use to have an effective strategy for the website marketing are 4Ps i.e. price, promotion, place, and products. There will be very strong online competition from websites that have already been present in the market for similar pur poses such as â€Å"deviantart.com†. â€Å"deviantart.com† already focuses on providing its art products to the public by purchasing them online. (Wall Art at deviantART.com). To tackle our competition, the website of eGallery.com will provide an easy platform to use and also provide online photo editing applications. The website will also provide its basic professional and elite professional accounts with free of cost advertising of their photographs. A SWOT analysis has been conducted to get a better perspective of the competition and to analyze the website and its competitor strategies. The SWOT analysis has been provided in this report. To operate our core processes, we would have the bank which would be dealing with all the online transactions of users and buyers. On the other hand, we would get a corporate account with â€Å"box.net† to counter the mass online storage of all the photos involved. â€Å"box.net† has been a leader in the field of provi ding professional online solutions to companies which require storage. (Simple Online Collaboration: Online File Storage). These will be our primary two agents in the middle to help us operate our website once it is up and running. An investment of roughly $7000 will also be involved in the set-up of the website. This will also involve a payment of $500 dollars every time the website needs to be updated to meet new requirements.

Classical Realism and Liberal Internationalism Essay

Classical Realism and Liberal Internationalism - Essay Example Taking a look at the recent revolutions and uprising against the sitting governments in Libya, there have been calls for the interventions of foreign military support to the rebels. Proponents of this notion have been calling for the involvement of the United States to support the rebels with their military, as this would spread liberalism and save lives. It would provide an equal ground against the government, which had the disposal of the military in the country to deal with the rebels and seize the revolution. It can be observed that the revolution had an effect of bringing political chaos to both ends, as well as destruction to the nation’s wellbeing for a long period of time. Advocates of both interventions do not seem to fully comprehend the use of force in contributing to political order as in the first place the scenarios happening were created by the absence of a strong state to instil liberal norms, strong government institutions and a sense of nationalism to the cit izens. Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi was ready to kill Libyans; the same people he says love him but have a funny way of showing him as he refers to the rebels wanting him out of power. Humanitarians called for the intervention of the United States military to stop Gaddafi from killing his own people who were revolting against him. The successful overthrowing of his government was followed by elections in July 2012. A General National Congress was voted in and a political coalition widely regarded as the liberal option. accorded power, the National Forces Alliance having won 39 seats over the Justice and Construction party affiliated to a Muslim Brotherhood with 17 seats nationwide. I will rationally argue that classical realists’ works such as Morgenthau and Thucydides remain foundational texts for international relation scholars and are cited more frequently than their counterparts in the disciplines of social sciences. This can be attributed to the fact that international relations are still young in its field and feels the need to justify itself intellectually. It shows the need and resolve to have lucid, defensible readings of text that build reliable bridges between realism and the problems that will be of interests to the scholars in the contemporary world such as those formulating liberal internationalism. I will argue that internationa

Cost of Quality SLP Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cost of Quality SLP - Assignment Example By so doing he attracted many competitors, where some of them try to capitalize direct using the Coke name. This case tries to consider the strategic way in which the company continues to record its growth all across the global beverage markets, successfully becoming the position of the largest maker of beverages, frequently being recognized for the consumer marketing and the distribution strategies that created the long-standing advantages through competitiveness. The scale of distribution was propelled by strategy made by chairman and CEO Robert W. Woodruff to guarantee the global supply in U.S. servicemen in times of Second World War (chronicles of Coca-Cola 2011). The company strategies starts with manifesto, for growth that the former chairman and CEO Neville Isdell continue to initiate on as the current chairman and the CEO Muhtar Kent make advancement on his own strategy:(2020 Vision Press Release ,2009). This new strategy worked on to mould the predecessor, specifically for the god use of new innovation to reach their vision of (2020.) The Coca-Cola Company has owned minority shares in some of their largest franchises, in 2007; the company brought back their campaigns after, according to the company coca-cola company (89 years) under the new contract bottling business has experienced about 60 percent of coca-cola syrup, Coca-Colas quality. In other words the problem was primarily technical, even though, the problem was through quality control and quality assurances, where not only Coca-cola executives were solving the wrong problems precisely, but still violating the cardinal rules of crisis management: never try to insult you customers or stakeholders, especially the parents and the children’s. Without the knowhow, the Coca-cola executives were tricked by numerous forces, many of them being their own make: where strong corporate culture makes the group reinforcement mentally (groupthink), the narrowest and the

Federal Express Performance and Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Federal Express Performance and Strategy - Essay Example â€Å"FedEx has a unique product line because they offer a wide range of services—FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, etc.—in which their customers can get about anything and everything done. FedEx has a diverse and broad customer base, they are not really aiming towards a certain demographic, but a lot of their services are business related†. (Roger, 2006; Greg, 2007) FedEx is really trying to please everyone, from a person in the business industry to a house wife. The services offered allows anyone in the business industry to send packages anywhere around the world so that can improve their business. Their services also allow a house wife or grandmother to send birthday gifts to their families. With all the services that FedEx offers their consumers, it no wonder why they have competition with UPS, DHL, and the United States Postal Service (USPS). â€Å"UPS is a package delivering company and global provider of specialized transportation and logistics services . DHL is a premier global delivery network by trailblazing express shipping from one country to another†. (Chaffey, 2009) USPS is an independent federal agency that provides mail processing and delivery service for individuals and business in the United States. Even with this tough competition, that has not stopped FedEx from expanding their services worldwide and opening head quarters in Hong Kong, China, that will serve all of Asia; Brussels, Belgium, that will bring services to all of Europe; Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that will serve of all the Middle East and Africa; Miami, Florida, that will serve all of the Latin America and the Caribbean1. With all of these international locations and the head quarte rs in America, it is no surprise that today FedEx Express has the world’s largest all-cargo air fleet, and in a 24 hour period those fleets travel nearly 500,000 miles while its couriers log 2.5 million a day, which is equivalent to 100 trips around the world1. (Chaffey,

An Effective Approach to Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

An Effective Approach to Management - Essay Example He should see that the tasks accomplished are according to customer satisfaction (Williams, 2010, pp.7-8) In essence, there are five specified tasks of a manager. Managers â€Å"set goals, organize activities, motivate and communicate, measure performance, and develop people.† (Daft, 2011, p.5) There are different approaches to management. Some of the most influential ones are classical approach, the human relations approach and contingency approach. Each approach offers valuable insights for practicing managers in their efforts to define management problems and opportunities, and to develop ways to deal with them. This paper focuses on human relations approach of management with Accenture as case study. The traditional classical theory of management was a drawback in many ways. It failed to comprehend the behavioral patterns of individual employees. This theory is a concept of rigid laws in management practice. This theory is based on the assumption that employees are motivated only by financial incentives, and ignored the human aspect of employees i.e. their social and psychological needs. This theory assumed that productivity is the only objective of an organizational body and ignored the multiple goals of the organization. Overall, the classical approach is more mechanical with no focus on motivation and inter-personal relationships between employees and management personnel (Agarwal, 1983, p.29) As a result a natural outgrowth of this management theory is the human relations theory also known as behavioral management theory. This theory came into practice in the 1930s (Griffin & Moorehead, 2009, p.85) and is based on the concept â€Å"satisfied workers will give more work.â₠¬  (Daft & Marcic, 2010, p.30) The initial focus of the theory was on worker cooperation and thoughtful management, but gradually the focus shifted to the daily performance of workers. The concept of this theory was to integrate skilled and quality performance with motivation aspects.

Toxicology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Toxicology - Essay Example This paper declares that pleasure can be described as a â€Å"state or feeling of happiness and satisfaction resulting from an experience that one enjoys.†. Pleasure can serve to promote addiction. The process is a complex neurobiological one, which relies on the reward circuitry or limbic activity. These processes involve dopaminergic signalling. Endorphins and endogenous morphinergic mechanisms may also play a role. Addictive drugs are able to act directly on the reward pathways. Reward pathways are linked to the brain’s limbic system. The euphoria induced by drugs enhances the activity of the brain’s pleasure and reward systems. This discussion stresses that various species show differences in the rate of development of tolerance and physical dependence. Even in the same animal, tolerance develops to drugs at different rates, which rules out the possibility of an alteration in drug absorption, metabolism, excretion, etc., as a basis for the tolerance. Although tolerance develops to many of the effects of the opiates, miosis appears to be resistant to tolerance development. The pupil may be always sensitive to opiates because of the existence of different types of opiate receptors whereas the drug receptors on the cells of different tissues become less sensitive to the drug at different rates. â€Å"The most important point is that tolerance and dependence develop to different effects of drugs at different rates†.

United States Military Functions as the Worlds Police Essay

United States Military Functions as the Worlds Police - Essay Example The incidents that are going to be looked at include: attack on Libya in operation ‘Odyssey Dawn’ in the year 2011; Operation New Dawn of Iraq in the years 2010 and 2011; Operation Neptune Spear which sending of two batteries of Patriot missiles and 400 troops Turkey in the year 2012; and Drone strikes launched on al-Shabab militants in Somalia in the year 2012. Looking at the attack of Libya in Operation ‘Odyssey Dawn’ in the year 2011 the most notable thing is that the attack was more political than it was for the sake of international security and stability. The then Libyan leader, Colonel Gadhafi had been a non-cooperator with the western government's something that is believed to have put him in bad records with the government of the USA. In my opinion, the attack was not really necessary. Operation New Dawn of Iraq in the years 2010 and 2011 is one of the involvements of the US military that is believed to have been highly unnecessary. Due to the period of the involvement, a good number of the United States of America citizens believe that this must have cost the country a lot of finances that would have been used in solving the problems that the country was facing internally at that time (Lane, 2004). Internationally, it was sometimes seen as a case of overindulgence of the internal affairs of another country. There are a number of factors of US history since 1865 that has led to the U.S’s rise as a world superpower policeman. These factors include: their economic superiority and stability, which enabled them to spend on improving their military; the US-Spanish eviction from the Cuba war of 1898 which played a pivotal role in the establishment of the United States of America as the highest ranked world power; and the three years long war during which the US defeated the Filipino insurgents that helped them in gaining control over a point of geostrategic and trading significance (Meernik, 2004).

Police work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Police work - Essay Example In addition, the officers have the duty of controlling traffic and executing any other duties as designated by their commanders (Perez, 2011). The process of becoming a police officer varies from one country to the other because the laws of different countries have set different of becoming a police officer. There are four basic requirements to be fulfilled by any person who want to become a police officer. The first requirement is that one must have attained a legal age of 21 years, be a citizen of the United State and have a valid driving licence. Secondly, one must be morally upright. This means that a person who intends to become a police officer should not have been convicted of crime and felonies during his/her teenage life. Therefore, teenagers are urged to shun any form of crime and domestic misdemeanour because it may disqualify them of becoming a police officer. The third step entails having a good credit record. This means that for one to be considered to a position of a police officer one should have clean credit record. This may involve avoiding debts accumulation and paying creditors promptly. It is therefore , vital for a person with a passion of becoming a police officer to have a good credit rating to qualify for a position of a police officer. The forth step involves having a good job experience. This involves having any little experience that may help the recruiters to see that one is responsible person and can be in a position to work both as an individual as well as a team member. The fifth requirement involves being physically feet according to the health standards for all police officers. For example, police officers are expected to have muscle reflex, being able to run short and long g distances as well as being to lift heavy objects. The sixth requirement involves understanding what the work of a police officer is as well as how they should relate with the general public (Northeast Editing,

Jungs View of Religion Essay Example for Free

Jungs View of Religion Essay I will be explaining Jung understands and his views of religion. Jung first starts with the key concept of the mind which is the three concepts of consciousness – consciousness, personal unconsciousness and the collective consciousness. Consciousness is where we actively make decisions and choices. The thoughts are based on a sensory experience e. g. the things we see, smell, hear, touch and taste. These are directly accessible. The personal conscious is out thoughts, feelings, urges which are difficult to bring to the consciousness and they are not directly accessible. They have been environmentally determined. The collective unconsciousness is inherited and the thoughts are shared by everyone – archetypes (inherited ideas: first prints or partners that form the basic blue print for major dynamic counterparts of the human personality. ) Jung believes that the archetypes pre exist in the collective unconscious of humanity. They determine how we both perceive and behave. Archetypes are the source of the ideas or images that is inherited instead of the ideas themselves. The experiences you have construct/create uniform images. We inherit a functional disposition to produce the same or very similar ideas not inherit the idea. This is the reason for a dream dictionary, for example a person could be dreaming that their friend is falling. So the falling is the image drawn from the archetype and the friend is from their experience. So the collective unconscious means that many of our ideas will be shared with people. There are different types of shared archetype examples are: the person – this is the mask that covers out true natures for the benefit of society. The mask could be good impressions of what is expected of us by others or the false impression to manipulate others behaviour and opinions. In our dreams the may manifest itself in images of ourselves appearing at a party in disguise. The shadow – this is our darker sides of us. In dreams it might reveal itself in the form of personification of evil e. g. Satan or monster. It could be deeper of our personality identity beings to be lost and individuals experience the chaos of getting closer to the material structure of psychic life. This commonly is found in the woods. The animus – is the masculine side of a female. They may appear as an exotic, sensual, young man or as heroes. The anima – is the female side of a male. They may appear as a  dancing girl, seductresses or goddess. Jung believes that the way neuroses(mental illness is caused by being psychically imbalanced) occurs is that it arises from being psychically imbalanced (so we become mentally ill if the when the psychic energy – psychological energy by which the work of the personality is performed isn’t flowing as well as it could. To maintain mental health all of the features of the personality need to be balanced so the psychic flows properly. There needs to be a balance between conscious and unconscious and the different archetype. If you fail to do this according to Jung this causes a mental disorder. Jung says through individuation (figuring out who you are and becoming your own self) you become psychically balanced personality through the addition of the range of archetypes into the conscious personality. There are two main process of individuation; the first part is when they come to terms with the outer environment with its challenges through work, friendship and relationship. The second part is from a middle age onwards is to come to terms with one’s own personality. For example a mid-life crisis, this is when someone is in the middle of their life they want what they never had in their youth age e.g. a sports car. They want to become psychically balanced as they missed out when they was youths. The things that come from the archetype such as images or thoughts are considered to be religious. Jung redefines religious thought as the numinous. This relies on Rudolf Otto’s understanding of the religious or numinous experience. According to Otto’s a numinous experience affects our consciousness which is caused by something external to our consciousness. Any experience which is archetypal in origin can be stated as religious. All archetypal images are ineffable (indescribable) . Our images of god are themselves archetypal. The concept of god is one of these primordial images (an archetype). Everyone is born with the tendency to generate religious images of god and angels . the actual image that we have of god are through our experiences in the world. An example of a case study is where Miss Miller had a dream about a moth’s desire for light. Jung said this parallel between god and light can be found in countless religious traditions e. g. the Aztec preoccupation with the sun and the Christian view of Jesus as ‘light of the world’. The role of religion is the process of individuation. The two reasons he gave was the self archetype this guides and controlled the innate process of individuation. Individuation is a religious process. The second reason is the self archetype generates images of wholeness. For example the mandala – means circle and is perfectly balanced, the design is symmetrical which represents the balance and wholeness same with Islamic art instead the repetitive patterns to show his eternality. Jung argues that god images are beneficial to our health. The images are used by the mind to individuate the personality, the personality then achieve its goal of integration. Religion now becomes clear, the ones that reject religion are therefore less likely to individuate successfully and is most likely to experience neurosis as a result. Jung concludes that the existence of an actual god is similar to Freud’s – there is no proof either way. We don’t know where the archetype actually comes from and we don’t know the origin of the-psyche because there are ineffable. As a psychic reality – god is real to those who experience the effect of archetypes. Jung always considered religious beliefs to be a natural expression of the collective unconscious.

Casual Internet Gamers in India

Casual Internet Gamers in India Casual Internet Gaming in India is the area of dissertation which will be researched. A phenomenon relatively new to the world, casual internet gaming is an area which is yet to be researched and fully understood. Computer gaming is an area close to my heart, as well as an exciting and challenging field to work on, where the markets are still evolving and promising great potential in the near future. Electronic gaming itself is a very wide subject which hasnt been properly researched, especially in India. Internet gaming is a subset to it, but again an area so vast that it cant be covered in one research. Going down further, I chose casual internet gaming because of the following reasons- Casual gaming is by far the most popular mode of gaming on internet in India. Internet speeds in India allows only casual gaming to grow currently. Social media is proving to be an ideal platform for their growth No research on this topic has been done so far. We are yet to understand why people and Indians in particular are attracted towards casual gaming. Till now, Indian Marketers have not taken a consumer-centric approach to make and deliver casual games. There is great scope in the field, as Indians discover casual gaming and get hooked on to it through various platforms According to a recent study by JuxtConsult , Of the 47 million Internet users, 39 million are based in urban areas, while only 8 million reside in the rural. Hence Internet penetration is largely limited in India and speeds are still slow. In such a scenario, the only games that can work well are casual games because they dont need high end computer/gaming systems, nor are the speed requirements a constraint. In fact, being the only mode of gaming which is viable, it has been the focus of the gaming industry as well. From dedicated websites like zapak to integration of casual games to social media networks like facebook, casual games are available across the internet. The surprising part is that no one has really tried to understand the reason for their popularity or the potential profitability of these games. The growth of Indias casual games market comes in line with the overall growth of the countrys games market and industry. According to founder of CasualGaming.biz, Gaurav Mirchandani the industry has changed substantially over the past few due to the growth of internet users in India whom now have broadband access in their homes, at work, and in restaurants and hotels. This change has sparked a new emergence of casual gaming in India as a leisure and as lead to new small companies setting up offices for game development outsourcing mostly for flash and PC downloadable games. The Industry focus has been on delivering casual games across platforms to the maximum possible user base. However, no thought has been given to the consumer and their needs. The Industry lacks a consumer-centric focus in game development and delivery. A deeper understanding of why these games are being played, and by whom they are being played is necessary to improve the standards and profitability of casual gaming as a business. As the world moves towards the virtual avenues provided by the technological revolution, internet gaming assumes significance as the next major frontier of the world. Brands are already investing in this area and can really cash on into this profitable business. Internet now provides people the choice of playing with other individuals over the cyber space. The constant advances in technology open up new possibilities regularly, taking computer gaming to new heights each time. Hence, the objective of the research will be to understand the psyche of the Indian casual gamer. This will help the Indian gaming industry understand the consumers better and hence deliver better products to them. Not only that, it will also help them improve the profitability of the business, by understanding what is relevant to the gamers, and what is not. This will be an exploratory study into the realm of casual gaming in India. Given the time constraints of a dissertation, I will be able to focus on limited aspects of casual gaming. Hence I am choosing only those aspects of the area, like why do gamers behave as they do and where and when they play games, which are important both for the Industry and the academia. Again due to the time constraints and vastness of the topic, everything cannot be covered in one research. Hence a study on the college-going gamers will be conducted. LITERATURE REVIEW Very little literature is available on consumers of Casual Gaming in India. I studied the gaming industry in general to find references to casual and internet gaming, especially in the Indian context. Gaming: India is All Set! -Rao, K. Rajesh (rajesh, 2008) Prospects for Animation Gaming Industry in India. -Kuruvila, A. O. (A.O, 2008) (Computer gaming on the go in India, 2004) India: The Final Frontier for Games? (Silicon india, 2008) Zapak Taking Casual Games seriously! (Vimali, 2008) Casual Gaming A Big Draw for VCs. (Khanna, 2008) Games people play (Marketing Management, 2007) Casual video gaming is now serious business (2007) Casual Computer Games Go Upscale (2007) Nothing casual about it Rajiv Fernando 2009 The article presents the authors views concerning the development of the gaming industry in India. He relates that the new generation is characterized by the evolution of interactive digital content and distributed model of games services. The author perceives good opportunities for game developers and providers associated with the increase of Internet penetration and digital content. The article starts off with a preface of the Global and Indian gaming and animation industry and goes on to dwell upon the statistics of the industry in India. It then follows up with a SWOT analysis of the Indian gaming Industry Reports on the report released by British Broadcasting Corp. in 2005 regarding the mobile gaming market segment in India. Increase in the number of mobile phone users in October 2004; Factors that influenced the growth in the mobile gaming sector; Number of game developers and mobile companies that provide games to their subscribers. The article provides an overview of the computer games industry worldwide, particularly in India. It explains the technology trends that might influence the advent of these games including powerful cellular telephones, cloud gaming and the growth of broadband networks. A historical background on the emergence of these electronic games is also presented. The article discusses the success of the online games introduced by Zapak Digital Entertainment in India. Zapak is influential to the success of the gaming industry through the launching of massive multiplayer online games (MMOGs), hardcore games and large format gaming cafÃÆ' ©es. The companys strategies in creating value chain for its customers and distribution network are mentioned. The article presents the views of the author on various issues related to the electronic games industry in India. It focuses on the casual gaming business. The author addresses the problems on piracy and financing animation and gaming projects in the country. Future opportunities for the casual gaming space are also cited. The article discusses conflicting studies concerning the target audience for casual games. A study by Information Solutions Group found that casual gamers are predominately female. In-game advertisement firm Eyeblaster backed this data up, claiming that the majority of casual gamers are females that are more than thirty years old. However, a study by Ipsos Insight showed that more than half of computer and video gamers are male, data that is backed up by a Universal McCann study about console gamers. The article reports on the growing competition among firms in the video games industry in New York City. According to IDC Research, revenues from casual video games are expected to increase by 68 percent to $750 million in 2007 and are forecasted to reach $2 million by 2009. Wade Tinney, co-founder of Large Animal Games, said that it is important for firms in the industry to be well-funded so that they can move quickly and make products that compete with those with other companies. The article talks about the demographics of casual gamers worldwide according to the various studies that have been conducted. It also talks about the distribution of these games and what the game developers are doing to fight off competition in the casual gaming segment. It takes the zapak example to show that casual games are here to stay. It further tells about the future plans of zapak and compares the groeth of casual gaming in India with increase in internet penetration.It re-iterates that industry observers believe that online games had great potential for growth in the Indian gaming market, as it overcame the problem of piracy. Sify eyes kids for gaming biz (2007, Infotech.indiatimes.com) Web 2.0: Online Communities, Personalization and the Web OS. (Singh, 2006) Casual Games White Paper -IGDA ,2003 The 2009-2014 Outlook for PC Casual Games in India Icon Group International, Inc. 2008 Insights on Casual Games, Nielson, 2009 Casual gaming study conducted by NPD Group China Gaming 2008à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"2012 Forecast and Analysis Casual Gaming Market Update James Kuai and Peter Shackelfor 3Q 2007 2004 China Casual Game Research Report (2005) It shows the interest of the industry in the casual gaming industry and an attempt to focus on the needs of the consumers, finally. I talks about Sify and its plan to acquire casual games and make them available all across Sifys cyber cafes. The article reports developments on Web 2.0 in India. Social networks and casual gaming continue to prevail in the major themes of Web 2.0. Online communities emphasize the notion of more sharing and connectivity on the Internet, as well as a strong focus on personalization. Another interesting phenomenon in the Web 2.0 world is the emerging space of online casual gaming. This article is on the International Casual Games industry. Numerous players continue to enter the market, business models are constantly changing, and new customers are found every day. This paper helps define the industry, and give everyone a base level of understanding of all aspects of this space. It is not intended to go into minute detail on any one subject, but provides broad understanding to the major factors involved in the casual game industry. This econometric study covers the latent demand outlook for PC casual games across the states, union territories and cities of India. Latent demand (in millions of U.S. dollars), or potential industry earnings (P.I.E.) estimates are given across over 5,000 cities in India. This report does not discuss the specific players in the market serving the latent demand, nor specific details at the product level. Nor does the report cover actual sales data (which are simply unavailable, in a comparable or consistent manner in virtually all of the cities in India) This study looks at data from more than 800 casual games for PC computers, which are defined as inexpensive to produce, straightforward in concept, easy to learn and simple to play. They say that casual gamers return more often to games and therefore play more often than hardcore gamers. The study, which surveyed nearly 3,000 U.S. gamers, identified 14 specific types of gamer within 39 different game genres. Casual gamers were divided into 10 classifications. The study also offered data that would seem to dispel the myth that casual gamers dont invest as much time playing games as core gamers do. This IDC study examines the dynamics of the China gaming market and focuses on online gaming. It looks at market drivers, dynamics, and strategies; the competitive landscape; and includes profiles of the top 10 vendors as well as a 2008à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"2012 forecast. The concentration of the China online gaming market improved significantly in 2007. The revenue sum of the top 10 vendors occupied 91.8% of the total market. Casual Gaming Market Update provides in-depth analysis of the current dynamics and future directions of the rapidly growing casual gaming industry in the USA, including quantitative forecasts, competitive analysis, consumer perspectives, and profiles of leading companies in the casual gaming value chain. According to iResearch, market size of China online casual game industry was RMB 25 million in 2003 and it reaches to RMB 410 million in 2004 with growth rate of 356%. The fast growth of online casual game industry is mainly attributable to the market success of QQ game platform and Shanda BnB. iResearch forecasts that market size of China online casual game industry will keep fast growth in the following years: its is estimated that market size of China online casual game will reach RMB 1.78 billion in 2007. The literature review failed to reveal any concrete consumer research done in the field of Casual gaming in India. Apart from references in articles in business and technology magazines, only two proper journal articles were found on the subject. No survey, scholarly article, book, dissertation etc on this topic covering the consumer angle and pertaining to India was found. Being a new research area, this is not surprising, but only logical. Hence we find a huge research gap here, particularly in the Indian context. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES FRAMEWORK We see that there is a wide research gap in this area. At best surveys, statistics and reports are available on the subject. While the consumers have been studied in the west and Asian markets like China, an Indian study to understand the consumer was not found on an extensive search. Therefore, in the proposed research we plan to- Understand the Indian college-going casual internet gamer No research was found on the above mentioned research field, inspite of extensive search. An exploratory research in this field is hence in order. The phenomena of Internet gaming and hence out study will be largely restricted to SEC A and SEC B in India ( JuxtConsult study,2009 ). This is due to the current limitations of internet penetration. Though a comprehensive study needs to be done on all existing and potential casual gamers, the proposed dissertation will be limited to college going gamers only. This will be so keeping in mind the time constraints of the dissertation. The research objectives: Find out reasons why college-goers play casual internet games What are usage patterns of casual internet-gaming in India Explore the casual gaming phenomena First we need to know the platforms where casual internet games are being played by college-goers. After that we will find the reasons why these gamers are hooked on to casual internet gaming. We will then find the relations between the usage pattern and the reasons of usage and explore this area of casual gaming from the consumer perspective. This will give us various hypothesis which then can be verified. Hence it will help develop a consumer-centric approach which is currently missing in the industry. A deep understanding of the casual internet gamers in India is necessary for this approach. The researchs objective is to develop this new approach for the industry and academia alike within the constraints of a research (college-going students only). PROPOSED RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY To find out the whys and hows of the Indian Casual gaming industry, a qualitative research will be in place. Here we are trying to understand the usage and behavior of the college going audience with respect to casual gaming, which requires a qualitative approach. Secondary research- Being an area which appears to be hardly studied, the starting point would be studies done on gaming in India, for example à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" IAMAI-IMRB report NASSCOM Animation Gaming Report IGDA reports These reports give an insight on the demographics of the Indian gamer and are a good place to start. A secondary research on the subject of Casual online gaming will tell us where to find the gamers and challenges of the Industry. It will basically give an industry point of view. With the help of these reports and an extensive online research, we will be able to find out the platforms where the gamers are playing casual games, for example- Dedicated Casual gaming websites Social media networks Mobiles Film/brand promotion websites A comprehensive list of all the casual gaming platforms on the internet will be made. Once we know where to find the college going casual gamer, we can move on to the next stage, which is to probe him/her. Apart from this, casual gaming phenomena in other countries will be studied where research has already been done on the subject. Quantitative studies on Indian gaming industry will be studied to form a strong base for the qualitative research to be undertaken. Primary research- We will through the secondary research know where to find the Indian casual gamer. We will then do a primary research to find the reasons why people play casual games. In- depth Interviews- To find out the reasons why people play casual internet games 15 in-depth interviews will be conducted keeping in mind that all possible platforms are covered. The hows and whys of the college going gamers will be found out. Questionnaire- To understand the usage patterns of the casual internet gamers, a qualitative questionnaire will be in order. It will give us the various attitudes of the gamers along with consumption patterns of the college-going gamers. We will be able to find out which games they are playing, when they are playing and how they are playing. A questionnaire will have a sample size of around 40 people from the college-going gamers. The results of the in-depth interview and questionnaire along with the secondary research will then be used to develop the psychographic profiling of the casual internet gamer. This will be done using the TGI software tool. The universe will be derived by the intensive secondary research. Sample size is proposed to be 15 in-depth interviews and 40 gamers (20 men and 20 women) for the questionnaire, keeping in mind our target, the college going gamers. Mere numbers are irrelevant here as our focus is on developing a deep understanding on the subject. As this is a qualitative study, a probability sampling method is ineffective and expensive; hence we will do non-probability sampling with convenience, quota and snow-ball sampling techniques. A content analysis technique will be undertaken. The analysis will be with a systematic description of behavior asking who, what, where, where and how questions within formulated systematic rules to limit the effects of analyst bias. Being an exploratory research, this will be a good basis to begin with. EXPECTED CONTRIBUTION The Indian gaming industry is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 49% to reach USD 830 million by 2012 which was USD 167 million in 2008. Casual internet gaming is an area of the industry which is popular and growing. And it is also an area where on an extensive search no concrete research could be found. Hence this area of research appeals to both the industry and academia. No consumer centric approach in this field has yet been observed. This research will perhaps be the first of its kind where the psychographic profiling of the college going casual internet gamers will be done and basic STP constructs on the same will be developed. For the industry, this approach will help them develop and deliver better products and being an exploratory research, for the academia the research output will provide further scope for researching in the field. This research only focuses on College going gamers. There are a lot of other segments which can be studied. Also, casual gaming is just a subset of computer gaming, which in itself is a large field to research on, given the dearth of studies done in the Indian context, leaving scope for further researches, using this research as a basis. Casual Internet Gamers in India Casual Internet Gamers in India Casual Internet Gaming in India is the area of dissertation which will be researched. A phenomenon relatively new to the world, casual internet gaming is an area which is yet to be researched and fully understood. Computer gaming is an area close to my heart, as well as an exciting and challenging field to work on, where the markets are still evolving and promising great potential in the near future. Electronic gaming itself is a very wide subject which hasnt been properly researched, especially in India. Internet gaming is a subset to it, but again an area so vast that it cant be covered in one research. Going down further, I chose casual internet gaming because of the following reasons- Casual gaming is by far the most popular mode of gaming on internet in India. Internet speeds in India allows only casual gaming to grow currently. Social media is proving to be an ideal platform for their growth No research on this topic has been done so far. We are yet to understand why people and Indians in particular are attracted towards casual gaming. Till now, Indian Marketers have not taken a consumer-centric approach to make and deliver casual games. There is great scope in the field, as Indians discover casual gaming and get hooked on to it through various platforms According to a recent study by JuxtConsult , Of the 47 million Internet users, 39 million are based in urban areas, while only 8 million reside in the rural. Hence Internet penetration is largely limited in India and speeds are still slow. In such a scenario, the only games that can work well are casual games because they dont need high end computer/gaming systems, nor are the speed requirements a constraint. In fact, being the only mode of gaming which is viable, it has been the focus of the gaming industry as well. From dedicated websites like zapak to integration of casual games to social media networks like facebook, casual games are available across the internet. The surprising part is that no one has really tried to understand the reason for their popularity or the potential profitability of these games. The growth of Indias casual games market comes in line with the overall growth of the countrys games market and industry. According to founder of CasualGaming.biz, Gaurav Mirchandani the industry has changed substantially over the past few due to the growth of internet users in India whom now have broadband access in their homes, at work, and in restaurants and hotels. This change has sparked a new emergence of casual gaming in India as a leisure and as lead to new small companies setting up offices for game development outsourcing mostly for flash and PC downloadable games. The Industry focus has been on delivering casual games across platforms to the maximum possible user base. However, no thought has been given to the consumer and their needs. The Industry lacks a consumer-centric focus in game development and delivery. A deeper understanding of why these games are being played, and by whom they are being played is necessary to improve the standards and profitability of casual gaming as a business. As the world moves towards the virtual avenues provided by the technological revolution, internet gaming assumes significance as the next major frontier of the world. Brands are already investing in this area and can really cash on into this profitable business. Internet now provides people the choice of playing with other individuals over the cyber space. The constant advances in technology open up new possibilities regularly, taking computer gaming to new heights each time. Hence, the objective of the research will be to understand the psyche of the Indian casual gamer. This will help the Indian gaming industry understand the consumers better and hence deliver better products to them. Not only that, it will also help them improve the profitability of the business, by understanding what is relevant to the gamers, and what is not. This will be an exploratory study into the realm of casual gaming in India. Given the time constraints of a dissertation, I will be able to focus on limited aspects of casual gaming. Hence I am choosing only those aspects of the area, like why do gamers behave as they do and where and when they play games, which are important both for the Industry and the academia. Again due to the time constraints and vastness of the topic, everything cannot be covered in one research. Hence a study on the college-going gamers will be conducted. LITERATURE REVIEW Very little literature is available on consumers of Casual Gaming in India. I studied the gaming industry in general to find references to casual and internet gaming, especially in the Indian context. Gaming: India is All Set! -Rao, K. Rajesh (rajesh, 2008) Prospects for Animation Gaming Industry in India. -Kuruvila, A. O. (A.O, 2008) (Computer gaming on the go in India, 2004) India: The Final Frontier for Games? (Silicon india, 2008) Zapak Taking Casual Games seriously! (Vimali, 2008) Casual Gaming A Big Draw for VCs. (Khanna, 2008) Games people play (Marketing Management, 2007) Casual video gaming is now serious business (2007) Casual Computer Games Go Upscale (2007) Nothing casual about it Rajiv Fernando 2009 The article presents the authors views concerning the development of the gaming industry in India. He relates that the new generation is characterized by the evolution of interactive digital content and distributed model of games services. The author perceives good opportunities for game developers and providers associated with the increase of Internet penetration and digital content. The article starts off with a preface of the Global and Indian gaming and animation industry and goes on to dwell upon the statistics of the industry in India. It then follows up with a SWOT analysis of the Indian gaming Industry Reports on the report released by British Broadcasting Corp. in 2005 regarding the mobile gaming market segment in India. Increase in the number of mobile phone users in October 2004; Factors that influenced the growth in the mobile gaming sector; Number of game developers and mobile companies that provide games to their subscribers. The article provides an overview of the computer games industry worldwide, particularly in India. It explains the technology trends that might influence the advent of these games including powerful cellular telephones, cloud gaming and the growth of broadband networks. A historical background on the emergence of these electronic games is also presented. The article discusses the success of the online games introduced by Zapak Digital Entertainment in India. Zapak is influential to the success of the gaming industry through the launching of massive multiplayer online games (MMOGs), hardcore games and large format gaming cafÃÆ' ©es. The companys strategies in creating value chain for its customers and distribution network are mentioned. The article presents the views of the author on various issues related to the electronic games industry in India. It focuses on the casual gaming business. The author addresses the problems on piracy and financing animation and gaming projects in the country. Future opportunities for the casual gaming space are also cited. The article discusses conflicting studies concerning the target audience for casual games. A study by Information Solutions Group found that casual gamers are predominately female. In-game advertisement firm Eyeblaster backed this data up, claiming that the majority of casual gamers are females that are more than thirty years old. However, a study by Ipsos Insight showed that more than half of computer and video gamers are male, data that is backed up by a Universal McCann study about console gamers. The article reports on the growing competition among firms in the video games industry in New York City. According to IDC Research, revenues from casual video games are expected to increase by 68 percent to $750 million in 2007 and are forecasted to reach $2 million by 2009. Wade Tinney, co-founder of Large Animal Games, said that it is important for firms in the industry to be well-funded so that they can move quickly and make products that compete with those with other companies. The article talks about the demographics of casual gamers worldwide according to the various studies that have been conducted. It also talks about the distribution of these games and what the game developers are doing to fight off competition in the casual gaming segment. It takes the zapak example to show that casual games are here to stay. It further tells about the future plans of zapak and compares the groeth of casual gaming in India with increase in internet penetration.It re-iterates that industry observers believe that online games had great potential for growth in the Indian gaming market, as it overcame the problem of piracy. Sify eyes kids for gaming biz (2007, Infotech.indiatimes.com) Web 2.0: Online Communities, Personalization and the Web OS. (Singh, 2006) Casual Games White Paper -IGDA ,2003 The 2009-2014 Outlook for PC Casual Games in India Icon Group International, Inc. 2008 Insights on Casual Games, Nielson, 2009 Casual gaming study conducted by NPD Group China Gaming 2008à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"2012 Forecast and Analysis Casual Gaming Market Update James Kuai and Peter Shackelfor 3Q 2007 2004 China Casual Game Research Report (2005) It shows the interest of the industry in the casual gaming industry and an attempt to focus on the needs of the consumers, finally. I talks about Sify and its plan to acquire casual games and make them available all across Sifys cyber cafes. The article reports developments on Web 2.0 in India. Social networks and casual gaming continue to prevail in the major themes of Web 2.0. Online communities emphasize the notion of more sharing and connectivity on the Internet, as well as a strong focus on personalization. Another interesting phenomenon in the Web 2.0 world is the emerging space of online casual gaming. This article is on the International Casual Games industry. Numerous players continue to enter the market, business models are constantly changing, and new customers are found every day. This paper helps define the industry, and give everyone a base level of understanding of all aspects of this space. It is not intended to go into minute detail on any one subject, but provides broad understanding to the major factors involved in the casual game industry. This econometric study covers the latent demand outlook for PC casual games across the states, union territories and cities of India. Latent demand (in millions of U.S. dollars), or potential industry earnings (P.I.E.) estimates are given across over 5,000 cities in India. This report does not discuss the specific players in the market serving the latent demand, nor specific details at the product level. Nor does the report cover actual sales data (which are simply unavailable, in a comparable or consistent manner in virtually all of the cities in India) This study looks at data from more than 800 casual games for PC computers, which are defined as inexpensive to produce, straightforward in concept, easy to learn and simple to play. They say that casual gamers return more often to games and therefore play more often than hardcore gamers. The study, which surveyed nearly 3,000 U.S. gamers, identified 14 specific types of gamer within 39 different game genres. Casual gamers were divided into 10 classifications. The study also offered data that would seem to dispel the myth that casual gamers dont invest as much time playing games as core gamers do. This IDC study examines the dynamics of the China gaming market and focuses on online gaming. It looks at market drivers, dynamics, and strategies; the competitive landscape; and includes profiles of the top 10 vendors as well as a 2008à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"2012 forecast. The concentration of the China online gaming market improved significantly in 2007. The revenue sum of the top 10 vendors occupied 91.8% of the total market. Casual Gaming Market Update provides in-depth analysis of the current dynamics and future directions of the rapidly growing casual gaming industry in the USA, including quantitative forecasts, competitive analysis, consumer perspectives, and profiles of leading companies in the casual gaming value chain. According to iResearch, market size of China online casual game industry was RMB 25 million in 2003 and it reaches to RMB 410 million in 2004 with growth rate of 356%. The fast growth of online casual game industry is mainly attributable to the market success of QQ game platform and Shanda BnB. iResearch forecasts that market size of China online casual game industry will keep fast growth in the following years: its is estimated that market size of China online casual game will reach RMB 1.78 billion in 2007. The literature review failed to reveal any concrete consumer research done in the field of Casual gaming in India. Apart from references in articles in business and technology magazines, only two proper journal articles were found on the subject. No survey, scholarly article, book, dissertation etc on this topic covering the consumer angle and pertaining to India was found. Being a new research area, this is not surprising, but only logical. Hence we find a huge research gap here, particularly in the Indian context. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES FRAMEWORK We see that there is a wide research gap in this area. At best surveys, statistics and reports are available on the subject. While the consumers have been studied in the west and Asian markets like China, an Indian study to understand the consumer was not found on an extensive search. Therefore, in the proposed research we plan to- Understand the Indian college-going casual internet gamer No research was found on the above mentioned research field, inspite of extensive search. An exploratory research in this field is hence in order. The phenomena of Internet gaming and hence out study will be largely restricted to SEC A and SEC B in India ( JuxtConsult study,2009 ). This is due to the current limitations of internet penetration. Though a comprehensive study needs to be done on all existing and potential casual gamers, the proposed dissertation will be limited to college going gamers only. This will be so keeping in mind the time constraints of the dissertation. The research objectives: Find out reasons why college-goers play casual internet games What are usage patterns of casual internet-gaming in India Explore the casual gaming phenomena First we need to know the platforms where casual internet games are being played by college-goers. After that we will find the reasons why these gamers are hooked on to casual internet gaming. We will then find the relations between the usage pattern and the reasons of usage and explore this area of casual gaming from the consumer perspective. This will give us various hypothesis which then can be verified. Hence it will help develop a consumer-centric approach which is currently missing in the industry. A deep understanding of the casual internet gamers in India is necessary for this approach. The researchs objective is to develop this new approach for the industry and academia alike within the constraints of a research (college-going students only). PROPOSED RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY To find out the whys and hows of the Indian Casual gaming industry, a qualitative research will be in place. Here we are trying to understand the usage and behavior of the college going audience with respect to casual gaming, which requires a qualitative approach. Secondary research- Being an area which appears to be hardly studied, the starting point would be studies done on gaming in India, for example à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" IAMAI-IMRB report NASSCOM Animation Gaming Report IGDA reports These reports give an insight on the demographics of the Indian gamer and are a good place to start. A secondary research on the subject of Casual online gaming will tell us where to find the gamers and challenges of the Industry. It will basically give an industry point of view. With the help of these reports and an extensive online research, we will be able to find out the platforms where the gamers are playing casual games, for example- Dedicated Casual gaming websites Social media networks Mobiles Film/brand promotion websites A comprehensive list of all the casual gaming platforms on the internet will be made. Once we know where to find the college going casual gamer, we can move on to the next stage, which is to probe him/her. Apart from this, casual gaming phenomena in other countries will be studied where research has already been done on the subject. Quantitative studies on Indian gaming industry will be studied to form a strong base for the qualitative research to be undertaken. Primary research- We will through the secondary research know where to find the Indian casual gamer. We will then do a primary research to find the reasons why people play casual games. In- depth Interviews- To find out the reasons why people play casual internet games 15 in-depth interviews will be conducted keeping in mind that all possible platforms are covered. The hows and whys of the college going gamers will be found out. Questionnaire- To understand the usage patterns of the casual internet gamers, a qualitative questionnaire will be in order. It will give us the various attitudes of the gamers along with consumption patterns of the college-going gamers. We will be able to find out which games they are playing, when they are playing and how they are playing. A questionnaire will have a sample size of around 40 people from the college-going gamers. The results of the in-depth interview and questionnaire along with the secondary research will then be used to develop the psychographic profiling of the casual internet gamer. This will be done using the TGI software tool. The universe will be derived by the intensive secondary research. Sample size is proposed to be 15 in-depth interviews and 40 gamers (20 men and 20 women) for the questionnaire, keeping in mind our target, the college going gamers. Mere numbers are irrelevant here as our focus is on developing a deep understanding on the subject. As this is a qualitative study, a probability sampling method is ineffective and expensive; hence we will do non-probability sampling with convenience, quota and snow-ball sampling techniques. A content analysis technique will be undertaken. The analysis will be with a systematic description of behavior asking who, what, where, where and how questions within formulated systematic rules to limit the effects of analyst bias. Being an exploratory research, this will be a good basis to begin with. EXPECTED CONTRIBUTION The Indian gaming industry is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 49% to reach USD 830 million by 2012 which was USD 167 million in 2008. Casual internet gaming is an area of the industry which is popular and growing. And it is also an area where on an extensive search no concrete research could be found. Hence this area of research appeals to both the industry and academia. No consumer centric approach in this field has yet been observed. This research will perhaps be the first of its kind where the psychographic profiling of the college going casual internet gamers will be done and basic STP constructs on the same will be developed. For the industry, this approach will help them develop and deliver better products and being an exploratory research, for the academia the research output will provide further scope for researching in the field. This research only focuses on College going gamers. There are a lot of other segments which can be studied. Also, casual gaming is just a subset of computer gaming, which in itself is a large field to research on, given the dearth of studies done in the Indian context, leaving scope for further researches, using this research as a basis.

Children and Adoption Act Legislation Evaluation

Children and Adoption Act Legislation Evaluation Looking at ‘The Children and Adoption Act’ identify and trace the development of the policy in its present format Introduction In 2005 the Children and Adoption Act was created in response to a green paper entitled Parental Separation: Children’s Needs and Parents’ Responsibilities (2004). This new bill addresses issues both in the realm of contact between children and separated parents, and foreign adoption issues. However, for the purposes of this essay the researcher will focus on the issues of contact, as these are the most pressing and widely talked about aspects of the bill. Firstly, we will outline the major points of this legislation. As a response to the green paper and an update on both the 2002 Making Contact Work report and the 1989 Children Act, the Children and Adoption Act (2005) aims to address certain key issues of contact between separated or divorced parents and children. The major part of the legislation deals with new processes and powers given to courts when issuing and enforcing contact orders. Firstly, a new initiative known as ‘contact activity directions’ is now available to the courts. These directions allow the court to help promote contact between non-resident parents and children through various courses or counselling. For example, by going for psychiatric or physical treatment to improve the likelihood of cooperation between children and the separated parents. Additional powers granted to the courts are also an important part of this bill. The court now has added power to monitor contact and to report back to the court about the maintenance of such orders. Further, the court now needs to attach a notice of warning to contact orders stating the consequences of a breach of the order. Family assistance orders can now be issued in more than just exceptional circumstances, allowing for a greater opportunity to develop cooperation and contact arrangements. The way in which a breach of a contact order can be punished has also changed. In the past, options open to the court were to put the parent in breach in prison or fine them an amount of money, transfer residence of the children to the other parent, or do nothing. These options were often inadequate or not available in all cases, and so the laws have been changed. A parent in breach of a contact order can now face what is known as an ‘enforcement order’ which can be applied for by either parent or the children concerned. This enforcement order will invoke a requirement for unpaid work on the offender, meaning they will have to carry out a certain amount of duties or work for no fee – much like community service. The court needs to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the person is failing or has failed to comply, and that the making of an order is necessary to secure compliance with the order. Once an order is initiated, a Children and Family Court Advisory a nd Support Service (CAFCASS) officer will monitor the situation and report back to the court about compliance. If breach occurs again then the order can be extended or increased as the court sees fit. Another way in which a breach can be punished by the court is through compensation to the other party for financial loss suffered as a consequence of the breach. This is meant to be compensation rather than a punitive payment, and is based upon the financial situation of the offender as well as the needs of the child. These are the main areas of interest in the new Children and Adoption Act in terms of contact, and will be discussed in detail throughout the rest of the essay. In order to do this, the reasoning and objectives behind this new bill first need to be look at. The three main objectives are as follows: To promote and stimulate contact activity between children and non-resident parents To improve the monitoring of compliance with contact orders and reduce delays in complying with these orders. To give the courts increased powers to punish breaches of contact orders that punish the offender and result in compliance rather than harming the welfare of the child. These objectives are in response to a number of issues raised over the last few years. Of these issues, the most notable is the bias towards mothers in terms of contact, with the majority of mothers being the resident parent after separation. Many examples of fathers being denied contact by mothers are documented, and some of these will be discussed later in the essay. The main aim of this essay is to compare the current Children and Adoption Bill to previous legislation, and whether or not it manages to meet its objectives and address the issues that have caused controversy over the last 15 years. The researcher aims to show that whilst this new legislation does go some way to improving the previous situation and improving the chances of contact between children and non-resident parents, it still lacks gender specific policies to deal with the socio-cultural bias towards mothers in parental disputes over contact. Comparisons with previous legislation The original legislation put in place to deal with issues of parental separation and child contact were outlined in the 1989 Children Act. The major problems with this legislation were that it didn’t give enough powers to courts to enforce compliance of contact orders, and that contact was not generally promoted outside of the orders. This resulted in many orders being breached and lengthy delays in getting breached orders enforced. The powers open to the courts meant that many non-resident parents, usually fathers, were unable to see their children due to mothers denying access. Another problem is that the 1989 Act gave parental responsibility automatically to the mother if the parents were not married at the time of the child’s birth, and the father had to apply for responsibility if an agreement could not be reached with the mother. Basically, the rights of a non-married father were fairly limited under this bill. Also, there was a severe lack of monitoring in terms of compliance with the bill and the general contact situation. This left the door open for unfounded allegations by mothers against the fathers in order to stop or delay contact. Even those fathers that clearly established themselves as fit to have contact often found they were unable to obtain contact in the face of hostility from the resident parent. Even with court intervention, not much could often be done. The options open to the court were to put the mother in prison, fine the mother, hand over residence to the father or do nothing. Prison and monetary sanctions were often not practical as they harmed the welfare of the child, and residence passing to the father was not always possible if their residence was unsuitable for the child. In many cases, a severely non-compliant mother would face no penalties for breaching the contact order, and so the father would be unable to see the child at all. Although it wasn’t always the case that the father lost out, even when he was able to get contact there were often large delays and extreme stress involved to do so, and the situation could change. Examples of just how difficult it was for the courts to make decisions about contact under this legislation can be seen in the following two case examples. 1 Family Law Reform 1279 (2004). In S (A Child) (Contact : Promoting Relationship with Absent Parent). The appeals court looked at a father appeal against the dismissal of an application for direct contact with his daughter, aged six. There had been separation between parents five years previously, and voluntary arrangements that had worked in the beginning had since broken down. The child was reluctant to have contact, mainly due to the mother’s extreme reluctance to make any form of contact work, and there were unproven allegations of domestic violence by the mother against the father. The president of the FLR put the dilemma as follows: â€Å"If a mother is truly recalcitrant, the court can commit to prison for contempt or fine the mother. Most mothers do not have enough money to pay a significant fine and this sanction is seldom used, particularly since she is the primary carer of the child. Equally the sanction of prison for mothers who refuse to allow contact is a heavy one and may well be a self-defeating one†¦At this stage also the court may have the evidence that the continuing efforts to persuade the mother to agree to contact are having a disproportionately adverse effect upon the child whose welfare is paramount and the court may find it necessary, however reluctantly, to stop trying to promote contact. That is a very sad situation but may be necessary for a short or for a longer time if the welfare of the child requires it†. In this case, she granted the appeal to allow the parties to jointly instruct a consultant child psychiatrist to asses the family and the contact prospects. Although this is in some way positive, it doesn’t help the father see his child at all, and delays contact even further. This next case of 1 FLR 1226 (2004) D (A Child) (Intractable Contact Dispute : Publicity) shows even further the problems that occur for fathers when the mother denies access. The mother had in this case had not allowed the father to see his daughter at all for 2.5 years, and it was clear this situation was not going to change. Munby J concluded that the father would have to abandon his contact application because the mother was clearly not going to change her mind, and there was very little the courts could do to change this situation. He said: â€Å"There are no simple solutions. And it is idle to imagine that even the best system can overcome all problems. The bitter truth is that there will always be some contact cases so intractable that they will defeat even the best and most committed attempts of judges. But that is no reason for not taking steps — urgent steps — to improve the system as best we can†. This was clearly a injustice, and many pressure groups have formed over the years to combat such issues and greatly improve the rights of fathers in these proceedings. This has come about due to such cases as well as the clear desire of modern fathers to be more involved in the lives and upbringing of their children (O’Brien Shemilt, 2003). Two of the main groups around today are Families Need Fathers and Fathers For Justice (see websites www.fnf.org.uk and www.fathers-4-justice.org/home/index.html). Families Need Fathers have tried to combat these issues by appealing for change, and are the largest such charity in the UK. Fathers For Justice are quite different in their approach, and have staged aggressive protests over recent years involving climbing up buildings dressed as superheroes and often getting arrested for their troubles. However, their controversial protests have divided the community on these issues, with many believing their actions show real passion whilst others believing their reckless behaviour does nothing for the cause and simply damages the reputations of other fathers (Kelly, 2006). Although these groups vary radically in their ways of tackling the issues, their existence clearly shows the desire for change. The previously mentioned cases and increasing coverage in the media led to the 2002 review of policy in the 2002 report by the Children’s Act Sub-Committee to the Lord Chancellor entitled Making Contact Work. Many of the issues raised in cases and through the work of pressure groups came to the fore in this report, including the issues of giving courts more power, reducing delays, promoting contact and increasing monitoring facilities so that contact orders are maintained. This report set the foundation for the 2004 Green paper and the subsequent Children and Adoption Act in 2005. The benefits of this act will be looked at next. Benefits of the Children and Adoption Act The Children and Adoption Act (2005) has been seen as a possible breakthrough in the fight against inequality for non-resident parents, and a step towards better contact once separation has occurred. In general terms, the Act is an acknowledgement that previous laws were inadequate in terms of contact orders and rights for non-resident parents in the face of non-compliance from resident parents. The first major benefit of this act is the new powers to promote contact through the use of contact direction activities. Previously, a non-compliant resident parent might feel that the non-resident parent is unfit or unsuitable to be allowed contact with the child or children. However, contact direction activities allow the resident parent to get reassurances that the non-resident parent is altering their behaviour and improving through various treatments and counselling. This can help promote contact and allow the parties involved to work towards an amicable solution. If this does not work, then the consequences of breaching the contact order are far clearer than they were before. Although non-compliant resident parents generally knew the consequences previously, they were not as firm as they are now or as enforceable. The new laws regarding punishment for breach are also a big improvement on the previous penalties of fines and imprisonment. The unpaid work punishment via an enforcement order is much more workable, and provides real consequences for the non-compliant parent as well as reducing the harm to the child. The further punishment of compensation is also better than a fine, as this money still stays within the parent unit and the financial situation and welfare of the child are taken into account. However, perhaps the most important benefit associated with this new bill is the increased monitoring facilities on offer, allowing for quicker decisions and a reduction in delays for non-resident parents. Through monitoring by CAFCASS and court officials, evidence regarding allegations made against parents can be quickly obtained and the status of compliance with the contact order can also be monitored. This acts as a deterrent against making unfounded allegations and breaching the contact order, and also allows for speedy reestablishment of contact should the order be broken. Overall, the Children and Adoption Act (2005) represents a definite improvement on previous legislation. Despite this, there are still many issues that are not resolved, especially in terms of gender bias. The next section will deal with these specific issues and how they relate to the new bill. Gender Issues Not Dealt With Although the bill is seen as an improvement on the 1989 legislation, it has still come in for much criticism for not dealing with the gender issues that are at the heart of debate on contact law. The new Children and Adoption Act does make it easier for contact laws to be enforced, but shies away from issues of gender bias that have been the major cause for concern for many people. The law still fails to deal with the major issue of gender bias towards mothers due to the large percentage of mothers who are the resident parents after separation, and the general socio-cultural bias in favour of the importance of mothers for children. It has also been noted by the aforementioned pressure groups that mothers often obstruct or at the very least fail to encourage contact for the non-resident father. It is believed that a more adequate solution to the problem would be to give an automatic 50:50 division to parents, thereby eliminating gender bias altogether. Although this is a very good idea in principle, in practical terms it is unlikely to work because of the possibly unsuitability of one parent in such situations, and so a 50:50 split might not be in the best interests of the children involved. Although it is generally accepted that the bias is still towards mothers, there is some evidence to suggest that the gender bias goes both ways, and is more a bias towards the non-resident parent than a gender specific issue. In Kielty (2005), the views a small sample of non-resident mothers in the UK, who now number over 130,000, are taken into account. It shows that although many of the non-resident mothers have a good relationship with their children and still have contact, that some are denied access due to the reluctance of the resident father to allow contact. In these cases, it has been no easier for the mothers to gain access than it has for the typical non-resident fathers. This study further shows how the Children and Adoption Act fails to deal with all aspects of the gender bias in contact cases, and due to the much higher number of non-resident fathers than non-resident mothers, the legislation can be seen as much more favourable to mothers than it is to fathers. One thing that was also made clear in the Kielty (2006) study and Sobolewski and King (2005) study is that these gender bias issues can be overcome, but only if the parents have a good relationship and are willing to work together. In the Kielty (2006) study, the mothers who generally had contact with their children were the ones who had voluntarily become the non-resident parent, and had a good level of cooperation with their ex-partners. The same was true in the Sobolewski and King (2005) study, where it found that high levels of parental cooperation allowed for increased levels of contact and less of a need for court proceedings. However, the study also found that cooperation after separation was fairly uncommon, with 66% of mothers saying the father of their child had no influence on the child’s upbringing. It is clear that more needs to be done than the current legislation allows for, and although the objectives of giving more power to the courts, reducing delays and improving monitoring have been met, the issues of gender bias and cooperation still need much work. The findings of this essay will now be concluded, and there will also be a look at what the future holds for parental contact legislation. Conclusions It is clear that the problems of the 1989 Children Act seen in various case examples, and the continued campaigning and media coverage of pressure groups have helped to shape the Children and Adoption Act of 2005. In many ways, this bill is a huge step forward in the fight to establish equality of contact with children for resident and non-resident parents after separation. There is a great improvement in the powers of the court to enforce the contact orders, and much more workable punishments for breaches. Also, monitoring has been improved with the cooperation of CAFCASS and so delays in getting contact orders and allegations analysed are being reduced. Also, the ability to promote contact through contact direction activities is a definite step in the right direction. It can be said that the three main objectives of increasing court powers, improving promotion of contact and improve contact order monitoring have all been achieved. However, there are still some major issues that have not been dealt with, namely the gender bias still in place against fathers. With so many more non-resident fathers than non-resident mothers, and the increased likelihood of mothers to deny access to fathers, the legislation still does not give fathers the equal rights to see their children that they deserve. In a bid to address this, the government is now trying to focus on improving cooperation between separated parents so as to ease conflict and reduce the problems of bias in the legislation. One way that this is being done is through pilot family resolution projects (Samuel, 2006). These pilot schemes have had a fairly low turnout, but have shown that agreements can be reached through an improvement in mutual parent understanding and cooperation. However, there is still a long way to go to make this scheme workable, and so far results are not much better than for in-court conciliation. The gender bias issue definitely needs to be dealt with through future legislation or more effective means of improving cooperation between parents. Also, the involvement of the children in this process is key, especially those older children. Their needs and opinions should be of paramount importance when deciding the outcome of contact disputes. 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