Monday, September 30, 2019

Legal Aid

â€Å"It is difficult to judge the success of reforms in legal aid provision as we lack agreement on the aims and objectives of a legal aid system†. Discuss. INTRODUCTION Legal aid helps with the costs of legal advice for people who can’t afford it. If anyone needs help with the costs of legal advice, he can apply for legal aid. Whether he   will receive it depends on: the type of legal problem he has; his income (how much he earn) and how much capital (money, property, belongings) he has; whether there is a reasonable chance of winning his case and whether it is worth the time and money needed to win.The legal aid scheme was set up after World War 2 by the  Legal Aid and Advice Act 1949[1]  in UK. The Legal Aid system was mainly introduced to help people who otherwise would not be able to afford it, to gain access the courts. It therefore enabled them to get a fair hearing and resolve legal problems. Legal Aid is central to a society based on social justice. It i s there to help everyone who really needs it. And by reducing discrimination based on a person’s financial standing, it enables fair access for all to the courts.We have to remember that before Legal Aid was introduced, many people could not afford to get the protection of our legal system due to the high costs involved. Thus, the aim of the Legal Services Commission[2]  is to make quality legal aid accessible to everyone thereby ensuring effective delivery of justice and legal advice. The aims and objectives of it are, * help people to resolve their legal problems as soon as possible * make it easier for people to get legal help especially if they belong to a disadvantaged group * help people find alternatives to going to court Provide a high quality legal service. HISTORY OF LEGAL AID SYSTEM Prior to  Access to Justice Act (AJA) – 1999[3]  in UK, legal aid service was based upon demand laid system. The system became increasingly expensive to run while catering for fewer and fewer people. In 1950, 80% of the community was covered by legal aid provision. In 1998, the provision of legal aid had fallen to less than 40%[4]. From the mid 1980s, various Lord Chancellor tried to reform the system. Their task was made acute by the fact that expenditure on legal aid doubled to ? 1. 4 billion over a four year period to 1995.A variety of reforms were attempted. Payment systems were changed, eligibility criteria revised and control shifted from the Law Society to the Legal Aid Board (Legal Aid Act 1998)[5]. In 1997, Labour government suggested that there might be a change in the direction of legal aid policy[6]. A number of the changes have been made by the  Children Act – 1989[7]  and the  Courts and Legal Services Act – 1990[8]. In 1993, two significant changes were made. Standard fees for criminal legal aid in the Magistrates Courts were introduced and the practice of franchising was initiated.However, over the past seven years, the cost of civil and family legal aid had tripled which meant; the taxpayers were paying more and getting less in return. The problem was not simply the rising costs. As fewer people were becoming eligible for legal aid, it would appear that expenditure was not accompanied by an increase in value for money. Therefore, in 1996, Lord Mackay capped the legal aid budget[9]. CHANGES AND ADVANTAGES IN LEGAL AID SYSTEM Following the  Access to Justice (AJA) Act – 1999, there had been many changes in legal aid system in UK.Access to Justice (AJA) Act – 1999  established a Legal Service Commission[10](LSC) to maintain and develop the Community Legal Service[11]  (CLS), replaced of civil legal aid and Criminal Defense Service, replaced of criminal legal aid. Section 5 of Access to Justice Act (AJA) – 1999[12]  provides the budget for the Legal Service Commission (LSC) to maintain the Community Legal Service (CLS) fund. The Legal service Commission (LSC) funds th ese services by entering into contracts with solicitors by way of a franchise. The main aim for introducing the franchise scheme was to secure value for money.Therefore, if solicitors feel that there are few chances of success in a case, they are deterred from expending money given to them by the Legal Service Commission (LSC). Thus, this leads to effective fund management on the part of the solicitors. Those who are ineligible for public funding, have to pay privately for legal services and this can be expensive. For this reason, the Lord Chancellor has developed the Conditional Fee Arrangement (CFA), which is a no win, no fee basis[13]. It was introduced by the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 and was extended recently by the  Access to Justice Act (AJA) – 1999.However, it does not apply in criminal case, family case etc. Under the  Access to Justice Act (AJA) – 1999, not only the court can order a losing party to pay the costs and success fee to the winning pa rty, but it is also possible, by virtue of  Section 29, Access to Justice Act (AJA) – 1999[14], to ensure against losing a case, which if won, the court may order the losing party to pay the cost of the insurance premiums. The Criminal Defense Service[15]  (CDS) was established under  Section 12 Access to Justice Act (AJA) – 1999[16]  for the purpose of securing those individuals who are involved in criminal investigations or criminal proceedings.They have access to ‘such advice, assistance and representation as the interests of justice require’. It is funded in a similar way as Community Legal Service (CLS), by the issue of franchise contracts, grants or loans or through the establishing and maintaining of advice and assistance bodies. Moreover, a duty solicitor scheme, which is free, is available to those people who are arrested and held in custody at a police station. LIMITATIONS OF ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT (AJA) – 1999 However, despite the above, the legal aid service is still not very effective. There are lack of commitment and poor communication from the lawyers.Community centers and Law centers are more effective in providing help and assistance. There are lack of advisers in areas like social security, housing, disability discrimination, employment and immigration. There is a distinct problem of ‘Access to Justice’ in certain where there are no solicitors who do publicly-funded work. Even, those solicitors who do publicly-funded work cut back on the number of cases they take on due to low rates of pay. Beside, the statutory charge may mean that a claimant may have nothing left even though he/she has won the case. CARTER REVIEWIn 2006, Lord Carter, in his review, drew attention to the need to continue reforming legal aid[17]. The review was concerned with the design of an efficient procurement system that also contained quality guarantees. Thus, it was based on the notion of an open and responsive mark et. The review argued that cost increases because of systematic weakness in the way legal aid services are procured and therefore, inefficiencies increases in the way the services are delivered. The Carter review recommended that fees should be paid on a fixed or graduated scale. However, fixed fees will impact negatively on advice, particularly in more complex cases.This will eventually result into work being done by para-legals and less qualified advice workers. Some research available to Carter Review suggested that whereas small firms could provide criminal legal aid in an efficient manner, larger firms were not able to do the same. This would suggest that further research would be required on the impact of reform as it might drive out of the market those very firms that were best suited to provide value for money in provision of legal service. CONCLUSION Implementation of legal aid act in both developed and underdeveloped countries indicates government’s willingness to s erve the poor.However, the government must also ensure that the act is regularly reviewed to address loopholes. The Government should follow a strategy of continuous improvement. In order to judge the success of reforms in legal aid provision, it is necessary to first establish a set of criteria against which it will be evaluated. These criteria should be set by the Government officials, Judges, and Legal Aid experts. Few criteria that could be used to evaluate the system are given below. * Administrative efficiency with focus on the procedural aspects of legal aid applications. Easy access to the courts irrespective of claimant’s or defendant’s financial means. * Initiative to create awareness in rural areas, especially in under-developed countries. * Effect of legal aid on tax payers. It is also essential to have accessible legal aid services beyond the government organizations. An active partnership between and NGO and a government agency can play a very significant role in social service delivery. They compensate for each other’s weaknesses and deficiencies. However, the government has to balance the needs for legal aid with the pressuring needs of other social services such as healthcare and education.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Employment Rights Act Essay

1. Know the statutory responsibilities and rights of employees and employers within own area of work. 1.1 List the aspects of employment covered by law Here is a list of the aspects of employment covered by law; minimum wage, discrimination, health and safety, holiday entitlements, redundancy, dismissal, training, disciplinary procedures, union rights and consultation, maternity rights, protected disclosures, working time regulations, particulars of employments. Working hours and holiday entitlements, Sickness absence and sick pay, Anti – discrimination provisions, Data protection, Relevant equalities legislation. 1.2 List the main features of current employment legislation is : – Health and Safety Act 1974 – Equality Act 2010 – Date Protection Act 1998 – Employment Rights Act 1996 – Part Time Workers Regulations Act 2000 – Working Time Regulations Act 1998 – National Minimum Wage Act 1998 1.3 Outline why legislation relating to employment exists. Legislation relating to employment exists to protect the rights of employers and employees by providing rules and regulations that must be followed. It prevents employers from abusing or taking advantage of employees. To prevent exploitation and To ensure safe working environment. 1.4 Identify sources and types of information and advice available in relation to employment responsibilities and rights. Sources and types of information that are available to employment responsibility and rights include: Employment contracts -copy, company policies, manager of team, Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, Jobcentre Plus, Citizens Advice Bureau, Department for Work and Pensions, Employment Appeals Tribunal Service, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, Access to Work (to help pay towards a support worker or the equipment you need at work) and Direct.gov website. Understand agreed ways of working that protect own relationship with employer.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

The future has begun Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The future has begun - Research Proposal Example Moreover, the process that food goes through when in the farm also determines on their quality. Natural nutrients for plants and animal produce the healthiest food for human beings. The use of chemical to enhance growth contributes to unhealthy effect when people consume such products. Underwood argues that the process of producing better beef have a cost to consumers. He says that Bryan Gilvesy beef is not just a beef like other, but a lean, tender and clean beef (Underwood). Underwood discusses the life of Bryan Gilvesy as an experienced farmer. He has worked in his farm for more than 15 years taking care of his longhorn cattle’s which have a diverse breed that overcome diseases and feed on a variety of plants. Moreover, the cattle’s do calve with minimum human interference. Therefore, the way into the future is likened to the work of producing good quality beef that have healthier nutrient that increases the nutrient taken by human

Friday, September 27, 2019

The Enron case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Enron - Case Study Example d the corporation and it was realized that their reported financial condition was sustained considerably by an institutionalized, methodological, systematic and crafted planned accounting fraud, which was to be known as the Enron scandal. The corporation did this through a complicated arrangement of special purpose entities they referred to as the Raptors. The Raptors were expected to cover their expenses if the stocks in their start-up businesses collapsed. Most surprising is the fact that the corporation took spent 16 years to grow from about $9 billion assets to $60 billion, but only spent about a month to go bankrupt. The Company collapsed so fast and so entirely. In fact it made history as the largest bankruptcy and accounting scandal in American. The absence of truthfulness by management about the company led to their downfall. The overriding benefits and public trust ended immediately. For years the management lied about the financial reporting thus worsening the economic ability. They made employees loos job and lack of investors trust was evident. The senior management team believed Enron had to be perfect in everything it did and that they had to safeguard their reputations and their compensation as the most successful management in the US. Three most common forms of accounting frauds above where witness that led to the downfall of the company. The corporation followed these illegal accounting practices in financing which subsequently ensure the company be valued more attractively and appealing to the investors by the by Wall Street analysts and rating agencies. Most notably was the fact that Enron as a company used various related parties in increment of equity and crafted its financial arrangements using various loopholes in laws. All these was surprisingly was conducted trying to not consolidate into its reports and accounts by at will not fulfilling certain ethical conditions. This was a principle and a plan that proposed by both Andrew Fastow and

Thursday, September 26, 2019

The Principles Of The Marketing And Promotion Of Events Essay

The Principles Of The Marketing And Promotion Of Events - Essay Example Before deciding on the marketing approach, it is necessary to ensure that it is aligned with the company’s mission and vision statements (Bowdin et al., 2011). The next principle of strategic marketing planning process for events is referred to research and analysis of both external and internal environments as well as marketing mix analysis. Crowther et al. (2015) recommend embracing a plurality of research methods and adopting multiple research methods. The marketers need to understand various external factors (including political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal) that might have an impact on the company’s strategy. Furthermore, it is important to understand key event attendees, their motivation, demands, and expectations of the event, their lifestyle, interests, leisure needs, etc. (Bladen 2012; Bowdin et al. 2011). Understanding of internal event environment also is important, as well as analysis of current competition (Bowdin et al., 2011) . One of the great tools that can be used is the analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). Thus, for example, while analyzing internal environment for managing mega sports events, it is possible to consider good infrastructure in place, good political standing, volunteers as major strengths, while lack of infrastructure, limited budget, lack of human resources can be viewed as a weakness (Karadakis et al. 2010). Opportunities may include the growth of the tourism industry and increase the quality of life, while threats may vary from pollution to political instability (Karadakis et al. 2010). This information is the valuable tool in hands of marketers as it provides them with further insights on how better to develop strategies and tactics related to event product, its place, processes, partnerships, people, and communication (Getz 2012).

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Assignment one Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Assignment one - Essay Example It has been observed that currently, tax laws are drafted in such a manner that they can reduce possibilities of tax avoidance. However, tax planning also paves way for lessening tax liability. The difference between tax avoidance and evasion is highlighted in the report along with appropriate examples. The report also elaborates on failure of the UK tax system, which attempted to equalise tax policies for all income group. The reason why taxation policies of UK are influenced by international and EU policies are depicted in the report. The methods are practised for reducing amount of tax paid by people. The main difference between the methods is that one employs legal means; whereas, the other is illegal and can be referred as tax fraud. The professionals, who are engaged in the documentation, help individuals in employing such illegal means for cutting down tax liability, which is highly penalized. Tax avoidance is referred as the â€Å"legal exploitation of tax regime to ones own advantage† (Azimuddin Law Associates, 2013). The attempt is undertaken in order to reduce tax amount, which are payable as per the tax laws and are fully disclosed in documents to tax authorities. The examples of tax avoidance can be cited as tax deductions and modifying business structure by incorporating or establishing an offshore for a company in tax haven (Simplified Finance, 2014; Azimuddin Law Associates, 2013). Tax evasion is referred as illegal practice for escaping tax. In this process, taxable income, profit that is liable for tax or other activities for taxation is hidden. The amount of income is misrepresented or the tax reducing factors like, exemptions or credits and deductions, are purposely overstated. The method can be regarded as an isolated incident within legal activities. Tax evasion occurs in informal economy, where illegal activities are extensively prevalent. This indicates the fact that the

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Introduction of e-banking service in HSBC plc bank and what is its Essay

Introduction of e-banking service in HSBC plc bank and what is its impact on the functioning model of a Bank - Essay Example The research approach undertakes a specific design that is "the overall strategy chosen to obtain the information required to answer the research question" (Ghauri and GrØnhaug p 47 2002). The research approach will review the types of research design and data collection methods. The research approach is built on logical relations and not just beliefs. Descriptive research is used when the research question is understood (Ghauri and GrØnhaug 2002). In the research approach, the data measurements are dependent on the obtainment of required information and the quality of the information. The outcome of the research, therefore, is dependent on the measurement procedures used in the collection of the data, and this in turn is dependent on the types of data collection (Ghauri and GrØnhaug p 47 2002). This is an important concept of qualitative research, where the description is either inductive or deductive. Inductive research begins with a question and seeks to describe it, and deductive research begins with the problem by working backwards to the answers. Therefore, this research uses the inductive approach to build the theory from the data gathered to explore possible conclusions towards E-banking - Modifications in SCM (Supply Chain Management of the Bank) and Security issues such as Phising & Pharming. The selected research methodology is a descriptive interview with one manager at HSBC Bank in London. This will be a structured interview that focuses on E-banking - Modifications in SCM (Supply Chain Management of the Bank) and Security issues such as Phising&Pharming. Secondary research is to review published materials such as: articles previous researched etc. which would be analysed to gain a broader perspective of the issue. This brings the question of research strategy. Combining the approach as an inductive, qualitative description with a well-established research strategy will allow for a better

Monday, September 23, 2019

Sexual harassment in the workplace Research Paper - 1

Sexual harassment in the workplace - Research Paper Example Today, sexual harassment cases filed under the law, thanks to several well-publicized court actions, have become a â€Å"hot ticket† legal item, with thousands of alleged cases heard each year and as many victims saved from the indignity of work-related sexual advances. Sexual harassment as defined legally by the website Equal Rights Advocates as â€Å"unwelcome verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is severe or pervasive and affects working conditions or creates a hostile work environment† (par. 1). This said â€Å"hostile environment† is one of the primary benchmarks for alleged sex discrimination and perhaps the most damaging in its affect on the individual’s civil rights. As one might imagine, to be fired, refused a promotion, demoted or helpless to avoid a poor performance evaluation must be the worst consequence of this deliberate act. Even if the conduct does not result in such actions, constant sexual harassment interferes wit h work performance, in itself creating the said â€Å"hostile environment.† As example, repeated sexual comments unreported can make an individual so uncomfortable as to affect performance and subsequently lead to negative work assessments. No doubt, before Title VII, many a worker was dismissed without the full disclosure of what was going on, or even if it was, out of the control of the offended person. One can only imagine this situation. Sexual harassment is also legally defined as an overt and obvious form of sex discrimination, which means men are allowed--although in the nineties, statistically not as likely as women to do so -- file charges. Today, however, changes have occurred and more men are filing complaints. In 2006 the number of complaints by men sat somewhere around 1870; by 2009 it was up to 2,094. â€Å"The spike in male sexual harassment claims coincides with a recession that has hit men harder than women† (Mystal par 2-3). Statistics show that from 2008 to 2010 the number of men who lost their jobs was nearly double that of women. Using the state of Michigan as an example, where unemployment is high, the percentage of claims by men increased nearly 10 percent from 2007 to 2009. (Mystral par. 3). Whether men or women are filing, the conclusion is clear. Since the early nineties things have certainly changed in terms of attitudes toward what was once thought quite acceptable â€Å"normal† male/female, or female/male behavior in the workplace. There is a heightened consciousness in society concerning sexual harassment, and a relentless, much-needed, and well-overdue push toward "zero tolerance" of sexual harassment in workplaces, including the military. Those old enough can remember the well-publicized Tailhook scandal regarding sexual abuse and harassment against female military recruits, as well as suits brought against major corporations by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), including Mitsubishi Motor C orporation for a consistent pattern of acceptance of harassment. Conclusions were clear: No one desiring a secure career in the private or public sector today can afford the attitude that may have once prevailed that sexual harassmen

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Crucible Experience Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Crucible Experience - Assignment Example How do you become a good leader? That question is one of the mysteries of the world. No one knows the answer to that; however, people can try and be good leaders. Actually, there are studies that people undertook to determine what it takes to be a good leader. Robert J. Thomas’ The Crucible of Leadership is just that. A crucible is a vessel in which metals like gold are melted. It is another term for certain incidents in life that would make people change, just because the incident is so intense that change is inevitable. Basically, like the object, crucible incidents in life are instruments that would melt – transform – you into a better object. For Robert J. Thomas, crucibles in life are important, since these make us (leaders) aware of our weaknesses by gaining insights to ourselves. It is extremely helpful, however difficult, that we have crucibles in our lives as they teach us important life lessons and the ways to be strong. For Thomas, the â€Å"combinati on of hardiness and the ability to grasp that concept that, above all, allows a person to not only survive an ordeal but to learn from it, and to emerge stronger, more engaged, and committed than ever†; that is what it takes to be a good leader, and one could get that by getting such challenges in a crucible. Basically, Thomas echoes the maxim, â€Å"What does not kill you will make you stronger†. In this case, it makes you a better leader too. These ordeals, therefore, are important to us. Back in 2005, I was in Iraq. Being a single, female soldier in Iraq is not very easy. I’m not complaining, but I had my share of difficulties. I was a commander; a leader. I know that sexual inequality is not as strong as compared to, say, the 60s, but it still exists. As a female commander, I had to endure rumors about my leadership. Worse, I had to endure rumors about myself, on a daily basis. Everyone was talking behind my back; everyone was lying to me; everyone was preten ding to be with me, but actually was not. It was a pretty difficult experience, especially since I am a commander and I have to be in control of the subordinates. I tried to confront everyone who’s involved but I decided against it since I know that it would only add friction and create tension among the people involved. I knew that they disliked me but I decided to let it all go. There was no point of taking things personally. We were in a war and adding more stress to that is not just worth it. I have to lead my soldiers through that war. I do not have to let the rumors get the best out of me. I decided to focus and deliver my duties as an effective commander. So, I dropped it and refused to acknowledge their taunts and rumors. They can’t do anything to hurt me because I was their commander, only rumors. In the end, they stopped because they could not get a reaction from me; and I led them through battles, unscathed. Although the relations between me and them are not as fraternal and jovial as people would imagine, we became a good unit out in the field. If I chose to bicker with them and engaged them with their taunts and rumors, it would have then been an awkward time out there in the field. There might be a chance that they might rebel against me, because personal feelings can always get in the way. Keeping things professional is the best way out of this problem, as well as keeping quiet. This crucible of mine taught me how to see things on a basic perspective; without letting emotions getting the best out of me. It also taught me to be more calculating, and this is proving to be more useful in these times. A leader is supposed to inspire and motivate. Can I do that when I am acting emotionally, when I am retaliating to their immature behavior? The answer is â€Å"No†. A good organizational leader is someone who develops plans and strategies that make soldiers into better players of such teams. Experience is the best teacher when it c omes to these types of leadership. My crucible experience will

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Counselling and Psychotherapy Ethics Essay Example for Free

Counselling and Psychotherapy Ethics Essay Practitioners should give careful consideration to the limitations of their training and experience and work within these limits, taking advantage of available professional support. If work with clients requires the provision of additional services operating in parallel with counselling or psychotherapy, the availability of such services ought to be taken into account, as their absence may constitute a significant limitation. Good practice involves clarifying and agreeing the rights and responsibilities of both the practitioner and client at appropriate points in their working relationship. Dual relationships arise when the practitioner has two or more kinds of relationship concurrently with a client, for example client and trainee, acquaintance and client, colleague and supervisee. The existence of a dual relationship with a client is seldom neutral and can have a powerful beneficial or detrimental impact that may not always be easily foreseeable. For these reasons practitioners are required to consider the implications of entering into dual relationships with clients, to avoid entering into relationships that are likely to be detrimental to clients, and to be readily accountable to clients and colleagues for any dual relationships that occur. Practitioners are encouraged to keep appropriate records of their work with clients unless there are adequate reasons for not keeping any records. All records should be accurate, respectful of clients and colleagues and protected from unauthorised disclosure. Practitioners should take into account their responsibilities and their clients rights under data protection legislation and any other legal requirements. Clients are entitled to competently delivered services that are periodically reviewed by the practitioner. These reviews may be conducted, when appropriate, in consultation with clients, supervisors, managers or other practitioners with relevant expertise. Maintaining competent practice All counsellors, psychotherapists, trainers and supervisors are required to have regular and on-going formal supervision/consultative support for their work in accordance with professional requirements. Managers, researchers and providers of counselling skills are strongly encouraged to review their need for professional and personal support and to obtain appropriate services for themselves. Regularly monitoring and reviewing ones work is essential to maintaining good practice. It is important to be open to, and conscientious in considering, feedback from colleagues, appraisals and assessments. Responding constructively to feedback helps to advance practice. A commitment to good practice requires practitioners to keep up to date with the latest knowledge and respond to changing circumstances. They should consider carefully their own need for continuing professional development and engage in appropriate educational activities. Practitioners should be aware of and understand any legal requirements concerning their work, consider these conscientiously and be legally accountable for their practice. Keeping trust The practice of counselling and psychotherapy depends on gaining and honouring the trust of clients. Keeping trust requires: attentiveness to the quality of listening and respect offered to clients culturally appropriate ways of communicating that are courteous and clear respect for privacy and dignity areful attention to client consent and confidentiality Clients should be adequately informed about the nature of the services being offered. Practitioners should obtain adequately informed consent from their clients and respect a clients right to choose whether to continue or withdraw. Practitioners should ensure that services are normally delivered on the basis of the clients explicit consent. Reliance on implicit consent is more vulnerable to misunderstandings and is best avoided unless there are sound reasons for doing so. Overriding a clients known wishes or consent is a serious matter that requires commensurate justification. Practitioners should be prepared to be readily accountable to clients, colleagues and professional body if they override a clients known wishes. Situations in which clients pose a risk of causing serious harm to themselves or others are particularly challenging for the practitioner. These are situations in which the practitioner should be alert to the possibility of conflicting responsibilities between those concerning their client, other people who may be significantly affected, and society generally. Resolving conflicting responsibilities may require due consideration of the context in which the service is being provided. Consultation with a supervisor or experienced practitioner is strongly recommended, whenever this would not cause undue delay. In all cases, the aim should be to ensure for the client a good quality of care that is as respectful of the clients capacity for self-determination and their trust as circumstances permit. Working with young people requires specific ethical awareness and competence. The practitioner is required to consider and assess the balance between young peoples dependence on adults and carers and their progressive development towards acting independently. Working with children and young people requires careful consideration of issues concerning their capacity to give consent to receiving any service independently of someone with parental responsibilities and the management of confidences disclosed by clients. Respecting client confidentiality is a fundamental requirement for keeping trust. The professional management of confidentiality concerns the protection of personally identifiable and sensitive information from unauthorised disclosure. Disclosure may be authorised by client consent or the law. Any disclosures should be undertaken in ways that best protect the clients trust. Practitioners should be willing to be accountable to their clients and to their profession for their management of confidentiality in general and particularly for any disclosures made without their clients consent. Practitioners should normally be willing to respond to their clients requests for information about the way that they are working and any assessment that they may have made. This professional requirement does not apply if it is considered that imparting this information would be detrimental to the client or inconsistent with the counselling or psychotherapeutic approach previously agreed with the client. Clients may have legal rights to this information and these need to be taken into account. Practitioners must not abuse their clients trust in order to gain exual, emotional, financial or any other kind of personal advantage. Sexual relations with clients are prohibited. Sexual relations include intercourse, any other type of sexual activity or sexualised behaviour. Practitioners should think carefully about, and exercise considerable caution before, entering into personal or business relationships with former clients and should expect to be professionally accountable if the relation ship becomes detrimental to the client or the standing of the profession. Practitioners should not allow their professional relationships with clients to be prejudiced by any personal views they may hold about lifestyle, gender, age, disability, race, sexual orientation, beliefs or culture. Practitioners should be clear about any commitment to be available to clients and colleagues and honour these commitments. Teaching and training All practitioners are encouraged to share their professional knowledge and practice in order to benefit their clients and the public. Practitioners who provide education and training should acquire the skills, attitudes and knowledge required to be competent teachers and facilitators of learning. Practitioners are required to be fair, accurate and honest in their assessments of their students. Prior consent is required from clients if they are to be observed, recorded or if their personally identifiable disclosures are to be used for training purposes. Supervising and managing Practitioners are responsible for clarifying who holds responsibility for the work with the client. There is a general obligation for all counsellors, psychotherapists, supervisors and trainers to receive supervision/consultative support independently of any managerial relationships. Supervisors and managers have a responsibility to maintain and enhance good practice by practitioners, to protect clients from poor practice and to acquire the attitudes, skills and knowledge required by their role. Researching The Association is committed to fostering research that will inform and develop practice. All practitioners are encouraged to support research undertaken on behalf of the profession and to participate actively in research work. All research should be undertaken with rigorous attentiveness to the quality and integrity both of the research itself and of the dissemination of the results of the research. The rights of all research participants should be carefully considered and protected. The minimum rights include the right to freely given and informed consent, and the right to withdraw at any point. The research methods used should comply with the standards of good practice in counselling and psychotherapy and must not adversely affect clients. Fitness to practise Practitioners have a responsibility to monitor and maintain their fitness to practise at a level that enables them to provide an effective service. If their effectiveness becomes impaired for any reason, including health or personal circumstances, they should seek the advice of their supervisor, experienced colleagues or line manager and, if necessary, withdraw from practice until their fitness to practise returns. Suitable arrangements should be made for clients who are adversely affected. If things go wrong with own clients Practitioners should respond promptly and appropriately to any complaint received from their clients. An appropriate response in agency-based services would take account of any agency policy and procedures. Practitioners should endeavour to remedy any harm they may have caused to their clients and to prevent any further harm. An apology may be the appropriate response. Practitioners should discuss, with their supervisor, manager or other experienced practitioner(s), the circumstancess in which they may have harmed a client in order to ensure that the appropriate steps have been taken to mitigate any harm and to prevent any repetition. Practitioners are strongly encouraged to ensure that their work is adequately covered by insurance for professional indemnity and liability. If practitioners consider that they have acted in accordance with good practice but their client is not satisfied that this is the case, they may wish to use independent dispute resolution, for example: seeking a second professional opinion, mediation, or conciliation where this is both appropriate and practical. Clients should be informed about the existence of the Professional Conduct Procedure of this Association and any other applicable complaints or disciplinary procedures. If requested to do so, practitioners should inform their clients about how they may obtain further information concerning these procedures. Responsibilities to all clients Practitioners have a responsibility to protect clients when they have good reason for believing that other practitioners are placing them at risk of harm. They should raise their concerns with the practitioner concerned in the first instance, unless it is inappropriate to do so. If the matter cannot be resolved, they should review the grounds for their concern and the evidence available to them and, when appropriate, raise their concerns with the practitioners manager, agency or professional body. If they are uncertain what to do, their concerns should be discussed with an experienced colleague, a supervisor or raised with this Association. All members of this Association share a responsibility to take part in its professional conduct procedures whether as the person complained against or as the provider of relevant information. Working with colleagues The increasing availability of counselling and psychotherapy means that most practitioners have other practitioners working in their locality, or may be working closely with colleagues within specialised or multidisciplinary teams. The quality of the interactions between practitioners can enhance or undermine the claim that counselling and psychotherapy enable clients to increase their insight and expertise in personal relationships. This is particularly true for practitioners who work in agencies or teams. Working in teams Professional relationships should be conducted in a spirit of mutual respect. Practitioners should endeavour to attain good working relationships and systems of communication that enhance services to clients at all times. Practitioners should treat all colleagues fairly and foster equality opportunity. They should not allow their professional relationships with colleagues to be prejudiced by their own personal views about a colleagues lifestyle, gender, age, disability, race, sexual orientation, beliefs or culture. It is unacceptable and unethical to discriminate against colleagues on any of these grounds. Practitioners must not undermine a colleagues relationships with clients by making unjustified or unsustainable comments. All communications between colleagues about clients should be on a professional basis and thus purposeful, respectful and consistent with the management of confidences as declared to clients. Awareness of context The practitioner is responsible for learning about and taking account of the different protocols, conventions and customs that can pertain to different working contexts and cultures. Making and receiving referrals All routine referrals to colleagues and other services should be discussed with the client in advance and the clients consent obtained both to making the referral and also to disclosing information to accompany the referral. Reasonable care should be taken to ensure that: the recipient of the referral is able to provide the required service; any confidential information disclosed during the referral process will be adequately protected; the referral will be likely to benefit the client. Prior to accepting a referral the practitioner should give careful consideration to: the appropriateness of the referral; the likelihood that the referral will be beneficial to the client; the adequacy of the clients consent for the referral. If the referrer is professionally required to retain overall responsibility for the work with the client, it is considered to be professionally appropriate to provide the referrer with brief progress reports. Such reports should be made in consultation with clients and not normally against their explicit wishes. Probity in professional practice Ensuring the probity of practice is important both to those who are directly affected but also to the standing of the profession as a whole. Providing clients with adequate information Practitioners are responsible for clarifying the terms on which their services are being offered in advance of the client incurring any financial obligation or other reasonably foreseeable costs or liabilities. All information about services should be honest, accurate, avoid unjustifiable claims, and be consistent with maintaining the good standing of the profession. Particular care should be taken over the integrity of presenting qualifications, accreditation and professional standing. Financial arrangements Practitioners are required to be honest, straightforward and accountable in all financial matters concerning their clients and other professional relationships. Conflicts of interest Conflicts of interest are best avoided, provided they can be reasonably foreseen in the first instance and prevented from arising. In deciding how to respond to conflicts of interest, the protection of the clients interests and maintaining trust in the practitioner should be paramount. Care of self as a practitioner Attending to the practitioners well-being is essential to sustaining good practice. Practitioners have a responsibility to themselves to ensure that their work does not become detrimental to their health or well-being by ensuring that the way that they undertake their work is as safe as possible and that they seek appropriate professional support and services as the need arises. Practitioners are entitled to be treated with proper consideration and respect that is consistent with this Guidance.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Software Quality Requirement Analysis on Educational Game

Software Quality Requirement Analysis on Educational Game Software Quality Requirement Analysis on Educational Mobile Game with Tourism Theme Anggy Trisnadoli1*, Istianah Muslim2, Wenda Novayani3 Abstract: Mobile game is one type of game that runs on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs. In previous research, we have proposed quality model for mobile game which is a quality model that was built to measure quality from mobile games. This model was built from quality requirements that were analyzed for mobile games. Educational mobile game is education game genre with mobile based that aimed to learning, then the quality requirements maybe will different compared to other games. This research was conducted by analyzing the mobile games quality requirements that specific for educational games genre in order to generate new quality requirements that are specific to the mobile educational game. The case studies that become an evaluation of current research are the tourism of Riau province, Indonesia. So the mobile educational game that will design later is a mobile educational game that contains about tourism in Riau province. To get a list of criteria for this case, then we conducted a survey of several users, and also formed a group discussion forum along with a tourism ambassador of Riau province, so that the quality requirements will be more reliable. So the proposed quality requirements may become a reference to build a game product that has a good quality based on the users perspective. Keywords: Software quality, games, mobile games, educational mobile games, tourism, Riau province. Game is a system composed of artificial rules that involve players with the aim to entertain [1] [2]. Game contains scenarios that composed of a collection of audio and visual interest that allows users to enjoy game play that has been given by the game. By the unique characteristics game compared to other software, then, there are many things that do more specific, special for the games. Quality model for mobile game is one of the quality models that were built to measure the quality of the mobile games [3]. This model was built based play ability quality models built by Sà ¡nchez et al [4] and adapted to the quality requirements for mobile games [3]. In its application this quality model used to measure the quality of a users perspective, so that measurements can be made after the game finished mobile products developed. In designing an educational game, it must be guided by a good reference. Quality assurance can be done starting of the development stage, the design stage. Quality models for the mobile game offers a collection of properties that indicate the needs of a mobile game quality, so that the quality requirements can be used as a reference in building a good mobile game. However, that offered quality requirement is built for the mobile game in general, while the mobile educational game is a genre the mobile game with educational or learning, so that the quality requirements could have a few differences. Based on these problems, so, in this research we performed an analysis of the mobile games quality requirements that are specific to the educational games genre, to be able to produce a game product that has fit quality of the quality requirements based on the users perspective. As for the issues that will be studied in this paper are does requirements for a quality mobile game can be used as a reference in the design stage of development the mobile educational games. And how far the relationship of quality requirements for mobile game required to Mobile Educational Games with Tourism content of the users perspective to be able produce a good quality product. 2.1. Quality Requirement for Mobile Game In 2015, research on the quality model for mobile games has been conducted by Trisnadoli, Hendradjaya and Sunindyo [2] entitled A Proposal Quality Model for Mobile Games. Quality Model for Mobile Game was formed based on the software quality requirements that has been compiled based on the criteria and ideas from several researches on mobile games [3]. The proposed model has quality factors as shown on Fig. 1. Fig. 1. Quality Model for Mobile Games [2] Factors and sub factors for the quality of the quality model for mobile games that have been proposed are Usability In Use with sub factors Effectiveness In Use, Efficiency In Use, Satisfaction. Then Flexibility In Use with sub factor Accessibility. And Safety with subfactor User Health Safety Table 1. Quality Requirements for Mobile Games [3] No Quality Requirements for Mobile Games 1 Game gives a clear goal and a player can achieve goal 2 Players do not find any error in the game 3 Game can be played in a short time 4 Game easy to understand by players 5 Game has a manual (help feature) 6 Control of the game has been consistently in according with the standards 7 Games provide an appropriate response to the action of Players 8 Challenges, strategies and the steps of the game are already balanced 9 Screen layout is comfortable to be seen 10 Audio of the game was comfortable and supportive with a good game 11 Mobile devices and game interface are already suitable and appropriate 12 The experience of playing is Fun 13 Players get the appropriate reward 14 Storyline or scenario of the game is interesting 15 Players can express themselves 16 No repetition that make the game boring 17 Game control is appropriate and flexible 18 Game can accommodate the surrounding environment 19 Game supports multiple ways to play 20 Players are not affected on safety and health issues Mobile game is defined as a game played on a mobile platform-based devices are expected to increase the entertainment on the users mobile device. Mobile devices that can be applied to mobile game such as Smartphones, PDAs, Tablet PCs and Portable Game Console. Mobile game is highly dependent on the device that became his home [5]. Based on the characteristics of mobile games and mobile applications presented by several researchers [6]-[11] then performed an analysis of the characteristics and then were extracted to produce set of quality requirements are been the foundation of building a quality requirement that will be used. After conducting an analysis of data that has been collected, so, the conclusion of proposed quality requirements for mobile game can be seen in Table I. 2.2. Educational Game Genre Characteristics According to Sugihartono [12], educating means the process of changing the attitudes and behavior of a person or group with a mature effort with teaching and training efforts. Education can be obtained for both formal and informal. Formal education was obtained from a structured learning that has been designed by an institution. While the non-formal education is the knowledge gained humans in everyday life either experienced or learned from others. One way to learn with non-formal system is by educational game. Educational games are games that are designed or created to stimulate thought include improving concentration and problem-solving [13]. YM Harahap on [14] concluded that the educational game is one of the games that can be useful to support the teaching and learning process with more fun and more creative, and usable to provide teaching or increase user knowledge by an exciting media. According to Hurd and Jennings [15] declared that educational game is game that is specifically designed to teach user a certain learning, concept development and understanding and guide them in their ability to train and motivate them to play. Factors that are considered necessary in developing educational game are usability, accuracy, appropriateness, Relevance, Objectiveness, Feedback, Engagement, Motivation, and Gaming Literacy. Dondlinger [16], said that a number of distinct design elements on educational games are narrative context, rules, goals, rewards, multisensory cues, and interactivity seem necessary to stimulate desired learning outcomes. And a few other things about the characteristics of the educational game are Challenging, Fun, and Excitement not patronizing and based on experience, interactive, expertise, reflection. Determination of the quality requirements of mobile educational games, we perform an analysis based on various sources of quality requirements, such as the quality requirements that have been offered by previous researchers then combine from survey results that conducted on some respondents, while also using the functional requirements of mobile educational game stakeholders for tourism in Riau province. So that, the proposed quality requirements can become a reference in developing mobile educational game with good quality.   Ã‚   3.1. Quality Requirements for Mobile Educational Game based on Users Perspective In determining the quality requirements of mobile games from the users perspective, data collection or surveys conducted to several respondents randomly. Respondents, who being questioned are derived from various professions, age, sex, and excitement in playing the games. The stuff to consider in conducting a survey on software quality requirements analysis for mobile games are The comfort of audio and visual, Interest on the storyline, Satisfaction in playing, the comfort using control game, Screen size of mobile devices, Addictive (the desire to repeat the game). Survey of users was conducted in the form of an interview. Selection of respondents by random sampling method is applied to 130 people with different backgrounds, but still has an interest in using games on mobile devices. The interview results are then analyzed and processed by concluding and verification of data obtained. Table II is the result of the conclusions of the quality requirements of mobile games based on the users perspective. Table 2. Survey Result on Requirements from Users Perspective No Indicator Requirements 1 The comfort of audio and visual Mobile game should be good appearance The layout that is used comfortably viewed Color usage harmonious and good 2. Game Controller The buttons position is appropriate The controller usage is simple 3 Storyline Game characters are Interesting Scenario of the games are not boring The desire to repeat the game again and again Based on data that shown in Table II, and after calculation of the number of respondents who give a positive statement on the list of requirements, so the number was created in the percentage as shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 2. Survey result on requirements from users perspective by percentage 3.2. The results of the Forum Group Discussion for Riau Province Tourism Case Study Forum Group Discussion (FGD) was conducted to get a conclusion for the criteria that are required to build a mobile educational game with a case study of tourism on Riau province. This activity was attended by 35 participants that were an ambassador for tourism in Riau province. Discussions were held during few hours, then, closed with some results which can be seen in Table III. Table 3. FGD Result to Mobile Educational Game Criteria No Indicators Criterias 1 Interface Attractive appearance (eye catchy) 2 The color usage is comfortably viewed 3 Audio comfortable to hear 4 Storyline Interesting storyline or game play 5 Not boring 6 Addiction (wanted to play again-and again) 7 Education Contents Simple but meaningful Growing a curiosity From the discussion we get conclude that the most important content in game tourism theme are Arts, Tourist Attraction and Folklore. Arts with Traditional Dance, Songs and Musical Instrument. Tourist Attraction with Nature and Historical Heritage. Folklore with Legend and Fairy Tales. Table III shows the various technical criteria to be considered in the development of an interesting mobile educational game. In order to build a mobile educational game on tourism sector, there are several things to consider such as the content, simple but meaningful and interesting, and dont forget to contain about Malay art and culture, because it is a hallmark from Riau Province. As for the interface of this educational game, the things to consider are the attractive appearance, the use of color that comfortable to look at and pleasant sound to be heard. After discovering the things that become important considerations in the requirement of mobile games, educational games, also the requirement for mobile game with tourism content, then formed a new calculation to show the overlapping and interrelated requirements to be good quality requirements as a reference in designing a mobile-based game with education genre and tourism case study in Riau province. The results of the analysis are shown in Table IV. Table 4. Mapping of Quality Requirements for Mobile Educational Games with Tourism Theme Requirements Quality Requirements for Mobile Games [3] Previous Research on Educational Game Survey Result from Users Perspective FGD Result on Educational Game on Tourism Game provides a clear goals à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Game is easy to understand à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Game can be played in a short time à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Game have complete features à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Control of the game has been consistently in according with the standards à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Screen layout is comfortable to be seen à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Audio of the game was comfortable and supportive with a good game à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ The mobile device screen is appropriate to the game à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ The experience of playing is Fun à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Storyline or scenario of the game is interesting à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ No repetition that make the game boring à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Game control is appropriate and flexible à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Players gain knowledge from the game à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Game is simple but meaningful à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Content on tourism must be update à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Language usage appropriate to target of player à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Having educate messages behind the entertainment given à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Based on that Table IV, indicated that some requirements are actually owned by all sources are used, but there are some requirements that are not discussed on several sources. Especially the contents of tourism that it only required if the specific case study towards the tourism sector, would be an important thing for the preparation of quality requirements. Based on all the stages that have been done before, and then we analyze it to propose a new quality requirement. Proposed quality requirements for mobile educational game that specific to tourism case study are show on Table V. It contains the proposed quality requirements for mobile educational game with a case study of tourism. So in designing and developing mobile educational game later, these quality requirements can become one of factor to be good quality software. Because of the good quality software is start from the design stage, not only during the implementation or development, even when they are published to the user. Table 5. Proposed Quality Requirements for Mobile Educational Games with Tourism Case Study No. Quality Requirements 1 Game provides a clear goals 2 Game is easy to understand 3 Game can be played in a short time 4 Game have complete features 5 Control of the game has been consistently in according with the standards 6 Screen layout is comfortable to be seen 7 Audio of the game was comfortable and supportive with a good game 8 The mobile device screen is appropriate to the game 9 The experience of playing is Fun 10 Storyline or scenario of the game is interesting 11 No repetition that make the game boring 12 Game control is appropriate and flexible 13 Players gain knowledge from the game 14 Game is simple but meaningful 15 Content on tourism must be update 16 Language usage appropriate to target of player 17 Having educate messages behind the entertainment given Based on the analysis and evaluation, the conclusions of this research are software quality requirements especially in the game are heavily dependent on type and case studies that will be develop. Software quality requirements can be composed of any various kinds of input, not only from the existing criteria, but also can be collected based on user feedback and the specific requirements of stakeholders that will use the software. Quality requirements for mobile educational game on tourism case studies has been built specifically based on the criteria that collected to build a good quality software. The proposed quality requirements can become a reference in building software educational game design since the beginning, so the quality of mobile educational games already maintained earlier. For future research, the proposed quality requirements should be performed a validation testing on the feasibility, so that it can be more confirmed as good quality requirements. And the proposed quality requirement can be a reference to build a quality model with specific quality factors and complete metrics to evaluate the mobile educational game software, so it can measure how much the quality value of a mobile educational game in tourism theme. Acknowledgment We would like to thank to Politeknik Caltex Riau to Support this research, also to Riau Province and Pekanbaru Citys Tourism Ambassadors Bujang-Dara to help us with very generous discussion and feedback. References Clearwater, D. A. (2011). What defines video game genre? Thinking about genre study after the great divide. The Journal of the Canadian Game Studies Association, 5(8). Trisnadoli, A., Hendradjaya, B., Danar, S. W. (2015). A proposal of quality model for mobile games. In ICEEI 2015 International Conference. IEEE. Trisnadoli, A. (2015). Software quality requirement analysist on mobile game based software (Analisis kebutuhan kualitas perangkat lunak pada software game berbasis mobile). Journal of Applied Computer (Jurnal Komputer Terapan), 1 (2). Sà ¡nchez, J. G., Simarro, F. M., Zea, N. P., Vela, F. G. (2009). Playability as extension of quality in use in video games. Proceedings of 2nd International Workshop on the Interplay between Usability Evaluation and Software Development (I-USED). Ponnada, A., Kannan, A. (2012). Evaluation of mobile games using playability heuristics. Proceedings of the International Conference on Advances in Computing, Communications and Informatics (pp. 244-247). ACM. Hussain, A., Kutar, M. (2008). Usability metric framework for mobile phone application. In Conference Information Integration and Web-based Applications Services. ACM. Jeong, E. J., Kim., J. (2009). Definitions, key characteristics, and generations of mobile games. Mobile Computing: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications. Monash University Korhonen, H., Koivisto, E. (2006). Playability heuristic for mobile game. Proceedings of the 8th conference on Human-computer interaction with mobile devices and services. ACM. Nantes, A., Brown, R., Maire, F. (2008). A framework for the semi-automatic testing of video games. In AIIDE. Nayebi, F., Desharnais, J. M., Abran, A. (2012). The state of the art of mobile application usability evaluation. Proceedings of 25th IEEE Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering (pp. 1-4).IEEE. Salmre, I. (2005). Writing mobile code: Essential software engineering for building mobile applications. Addison-Wesley Professional. Sugihartono, Fathiyah, K. N., Setiawati, F. A., Harahap, F., Nurhayati, S. R. (2007). Psychology of Education (Psikologi Pendidikan). UNY Press. Handriyantini, E. (2009). Computer Based Educational games for Elementary Student (Permainan edukatif berbasis komputer untuk siswa sekolah dasar). Malang: Journal of STIKOM Indonesia (Jurnal STIKOM Indonesia). Harahap, Y. M. (2015). Design of Educational Game as a Learning Media for Preschool Children with Adobe Flash CS 5. SP (Perancangan Game Edukatif Sebagai Media Pembelajaran Pada Anak Usia Dini Dengan Adobe Flash CS 5. SP) Mathematics, USU. Hurd, D., Jennings, E. (2009). Standardized Educational Games Ratings: Suggested Criteria. Scientific Paper. Dondlinger, M. J. (2007). Educational video game design: A review of the literature. Journal of applied educational technology, 4(1), 21-31. Authors biographies Anggy Trisnadoli obtained his B.Sc. degree in Informatics Engineering from Politeknik Caltex Riau in 2011, a M.Sc. also in Informatics Magister from Bandung Institute of Technology in 2015. He has worked as a lecturer in Politeknik Caltex Riau from 2012. Currently, he is lecturing in Information System, Computer Department of Politeknik Caltex Riau, Indonesia. His research interests are in games, mobile application, 3D Animation and Multimedia Software. His email address is [emailprotected] Istianah Muslim is a lecturer in Information System Department in Politeknik Caltex Riau. She received her Master of Industrial Engineering from Institute of Technology Sepuluh Nopember in 2013. Her research interests are in the area of human factor, ergonomic, safety and health, supply chain management, production planning and Design Product. Her email address is [emailprotected] Wenda Novayani is a lecturer in Computer Engginering Department in Politeknik Caltex Riau. She received her diploma degree in Computer Engginering from Politeknik Caltex Riau in 2006 and B.Sc degree in Electrical Engginering from Intitute Teknologi Bandung in 2013.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Who Has Seen The Wind - The Godlessness Of Formal Religions :: essays research papers

The essence of God isn't found in today's formal religions. It is evident throughout the novel Who Has Seen the Wind that author W.O. Mitchell intrinsically believes and wishes to convey this message. He states that the prairie is nature in it's simplest form, complete onto itself, and that the religious structure of today's "God" is simply made up by people to ease their pain and fears. Underlying everything is the sense that we as human beings don't really know where we're going, or for that matter, where we're coming from, in our search for God and the truth. W.O. Mitchell sees the prairies as the basic fundamental unit of nature. "Here was the least common denominator of nature, the skeleton requirements simply, of land and sky- Saskatchewan prairie" (WHSTW, p3) One might assume that this implies that God doesn't exist; That somehow, since the prairie is already complete, God is effectively out of the picture. Not the case! Rather, this implies, perhaps subtly, that God exists incorporated into nature itself, living with it, and not as the heavenly arbitrator he is supposed, by modern religion, to be. This is perhaps the most important message we are shown in the book. God is real, lives in real things, and, as we will see, is not bound by the finicky limitations and expectations of human beings. It is apparent that there is a definite message we are willed to decipher when we come across Brian creating his own "gods" on paper. This act is symbolic of the childish way in which we've created our own religious conventions and beliefs. Brian feels sad and lonely, so he solves the problem by copying what he sees as religion's solution: Brian was wishing that Forbsie didn't have the mumps†¦ He didn't want to draw men, he wanted to ride a vacuum cleaner up into the sky where it was blue†¦ on the paper he made blue with his crayon. And God was there. (WHSTW, p31) Brian, being a child, is impervious to the horrible sin of blaspheme. This, in conjunction with his natural curiosity, allows him to take religion at face value exposing it to the readers for the hollow shell it is: Not as a means to God, but a means to solving personal problems of loneliness and fulfilling dreams. This "confusion" on Brian's part is used by W.O. Mitchell to show insight into the falseness of religion as a means to God.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Marketing Plan Essay -- GCSE Business Marketing BTEC Coursework

Marketing Plan Current Market Situation An opportunity for Western Slopes's success exists because the national tourism and travel industry is growing 4% and adventure travel 10% annually. According to the Department of Commerce, the US travel and tourism industry is the nation's third largest retail industry and will be number one by the year 2000. Revenues from travel have increased approximately 100% in the last decade with US travel agencies producing over $100 billion in revenues each year. The travel and tourism market is separated into two main categories, business and leisure travel. Each contribute about 45% to total revenues. Adventure travel falls primarily under the leisure travel category. Revenues from leisure travel earned by US travel agencies were almost $50 billion annually. Reasons for this growth include a healthy domestic economy and devaluation of currency in other regions which has made travel less expensive for US residents. Leisure travel increased by 3.2% in 1997 and 2.0% in 1998. The healthy economy has increased business which in turn boosted domestic business travel 4.8% in 1997 and 3.6% in 1998. Adventure travel, a segment of the travel and tourism industry, growing 10% annually, it is one of the fastest growing segments of the travel industry. More than 50% of the US adult traveling population, or 147 million people, have taken an adventure trip in their lifetime, 98 million in the past five years. Skiing is one of the activities...

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Date Rape :: essays research papers

The following morning is a dreadful, long one that stays with you forever. The memories in your mind keep crawling up every night when you fall asleep. You keep asking yourself, â€Å"Why did it happen to me? What did I do wrong?† Yet no answer comes to mind, all that you can think of is being violated, being misled for a simple task-rape. Why does it happen to us? What do the men see when the door is opened and a gorgeous women stands in front of their eyes. The mind collapses trying to find a solution to the problem. It's like having an exam and the only way for you to score is to cheat. So all girls are just scores guys try to push themselves upon? The mind grows blank and the human body works with sexual instinct. Date rape is one of those things that one man can't find a proper answer for. There are so many possibilities that one might think of as the cause of the problem. Which one is the right one? Is there one specific answer that is physiologically correct? No. Everyo ne has his or her own opinion, whether it is from experience or from common knowledge. Date rape is mainly cased by the in-proper behavior of the rapist. A man who can rape a woman has obviously been brought up in an uncomfortable, improper raised environment. A young boy who watches violent sex related movies, is most likely to be sexually violent in his life. A child who is not taught from right and wrong is not going to understand what a girl might want out of a date compared to his urges. Men don't necessarily understand that "No" actually means no. Stubbornness works strongly with the mind. A young boy looks up to his father, he wants to be like his father, and act like his father. When the parents ignore their children it causes them to become very free in their decisions; it makes them believe that they can do whatever they please. For example, if a child is being ignored by both o his parents, than they are not around that child when he or she do something wrong. Yet the child doesn’t know that. The child thinks that if no one stops his or her actions than he can do it again. That is how bullies are raised-it leads the mind to more. Date Rape :: essays research papers The following morning is a dreadful, long one that stays with you forever. The memories in your mind keep crawling up every night when you fall asleep. You keep asking yourself, â€Å"Why did it happen to me? What did I do wrong?† Yet no answer comes to mind, all that you can think of is being violated, being misled for a simple task-rape. Why does it happen to us? What do the men see when the door is opened and a gorgeous women stands in front of their eyes. The mind collapses trying to find a solution to the problem. It's like having an exam and the only way for you to score is to cheat. So all girls are just scores guys try to push themselves upon? The mind grows blank and the human body works with sexual instinct. Date rape is one of those things that one man can't find a proper answer for. There are so many possibilities that one might think of as the cause of the problem. Which one is the right one? Is there one specific answer that is physiologically correct? No. Everyo ne has his or her own opinion, whether it is from experience or from common knowledge. Date rape is mainly cased by the in-proper behavior of the rapist. A man who can rape a woman has obviously been brought up in an uncomfortable, improper raised environment. A young boy who watches violent sex related movies, is most likely to be sexually violent in his life. A child who is not taught from right and wrong is not going to understand what a girl might want out of a date compared to his urges. Men don't necessarily understand that "No" actually means no. Stubbornness works strongly with the mind. A young boy looks up to his father, he wants to be like his father, and act like his father. When the parents ignore their children it causes them to become very free in their decisions; it makes them believe that they can do whatever they please. For example, if a child is being ignored by both o his parents, than they are not around that child when he or she do something wrong. Yet the child doesn’t know that. The child thinks that if no one stops his or her actions than he can do it again. That is how bullies are raised-it leads the mind to more.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Morality and God Essay

Morality only exists if we believe in God; therefore if God doesn’t exist there is no morality. There have been so many evil acts committed in the name of God that it is difficult to maintain that a belief in God equates to morality. There are situations that happen every day where decisions are made based off of human rights that contradict the word of God. Morality comes from within, it is an understanding of right versus wrong and the ability to choose what is right. Knowing all this a belief in God is not a requirement for a person to be moral. (Mosser, 2011) We are taught that morals are basically the difference between right and wrong. A child may be taught that stealing is wrong because it hurts the store owner and can ruin the child’s reputation. Or the child may be told that if they steal they will be punished because God is always watching. The child has learned the fundamental difference between right and wrong, even if the reasoning is different. This will allow the child to make moral decisions when they grow up whether it is based off of human compassion or fear of God. If we accept that the child understands right from wrong regardless of their reason, we accept that God is not a requirement to be a moral person. If a person observes an act of violence or torture, they are morally required to stop it. In biblical times these acts were not only accepted but encouraged by the bible. Today, a person would not ignore these things simply because they did not believe in God. There are human rights that we believe each person is entitled to and someone with good morals would help out another person in need because it is the right thing to do. If it turned out that God does not exist, violence and torture would not suddenly become acceptable. (Mosser, 2011) Mass acceptance of a belief does not make it right. Ancient religions that believed in numerous gods have been pushed aside as fairy tales, for the more widely accepted belief in a single God. During their time those gods were prayed to just as fervently as today’s God. What was accepted as true back then is now known as a fable, and the laws of the day have been wiped away and replaced with our modern laws. These laws were put in to place to punish people who do wrong to others. They have become the moral balance. If you do wrong you will be punished, if you continue to do what is right you will live unmolested and enjoy your freedoms. God is not a requirement for someone to act morally, because there are earthly punishments for crimes. There is no right or wrong without God because He determines what is right and wrong. Moral standards cannot be enforced without God to ensure that we are punished or rewarded for our acts. Someone who does not believe in God may change their morals to whatever suits them at the time. We have been given guidelines by God on what is morally acceptable, and informed of the punishment that comes with being immoral. When an individual does not believe in God they cannot be a moral person, because they have no moral standards. (Millard, A. 2000) The Ten Commandments give us a basic understanding of what is right and wrong. These Commandments along with various scriptures from the bible determine which acts are moral and which are immoral. An individual who witnesses a crime but does not believe in God can simply decide that they are not responsible for stopping the crime. This may lead one to believe that if a non-believer does something right that they have morals. This is not the case, because they could just as easily do wrong and their conscience would have been just as clear. They have no moral compass to tell them that this act is leading them astray from God. (Riskin, S. 2007) If one does not believe in God they cannot know right from wrong and cannot do what is right because they do not have the understanding. The lack of a belief in God means that rules do not have to be followed. If you do not fear the wrath of God, there is nothing to stop you from committing immoral acts, or any crimes for that matter. Any situation can be overlooked because there is no fear of punishment without a fear of God. Only a person with a firm belief in God can be considered moral because they fear His punishment and desire his reward. God is the only person great enough to enforce moral standards, without his guidance there can be no binding morals. Moral standards come from God and without Him a person cannot be moral. When we talk in absolutes we ignore possibilities that exist outside of our beliefs. There are many examples of individuals that believed in God who acted immorally, as well as examples of people who do not believe in God acting with good morals. Their beliefs do not determine their morality, their acts do. If we are to base morality solely on a belief in God then which believer do we follow? Do we follow the believer who commits crimes, or only the believer who is an upstanding member of society? Adolf Hitler was raised as a Catholic, and in his adult life spoke of his religious beliefs. He wanted to create a pure Germany, through a religion known as positive Christianity. Positive Christianity removed the Jewish elements from the standard Christianity doctrine and replaced them with Nazi philosophy. More than six million Jewish people were killed during the Holocaust in the ideal of positive Christianity. Bill Gates is noted as saying he does not know if there is a God or not, yet he donates billions of dollars to Charity every year. The foundation he formed with his wife to address extreme poverty and poor health in third world countries has brought attention and relief to millions of people across the globe. These acts were not done in the hopes that they would be rewarded, but instead to help the human condition. A general concern about the welfare of our neighbors is not exclusive to God. Not every action is based solely off of a person’s morals. There are many reasons people decide to do things and we cannot judge a person’s moral standing off of a single action. We do not look at Adolf Hitler and say that he is a great moral figure because he believed in God. On the same note we do not look at Bill Gates, a non-believer and say that he is immoral. We look at their actions over time and determine whether or not they acted morally. We know that killing millions of innocent people is immoral; just as we know that helping sick and injured people is moral. Which God you believe in determines what you consider to be moral. Muslims agree that polygamy is acceptable. Protestants and the Jewish believe divorce is acceptable if certain conditions are met. Catholics are strictly against both polygamy and divorce. Which God is morally right? All of these groups worship the same God, so perhaps it is the translation of the word of God that is in question. When we look at this we begin to have a better understanding that God’s contradictory words could bring the thought of what is moral crumbling down. There are many controversial moral endorsements in the bible that are accepted today. There are also commands given that are ignored because they are no longer socially accepted as truth. Exodus 20:13 says we must not kill. However, Leviticus 20:13 tells us that if a man lies with another man he must be put to death. There are many debates and arguments over whether homosexuality is moral, but we overlook the second part of the scripture because it is no longer held as a valid punishment. The times have changed and we cannot murder or we will go to jail. Leviticus 19:19 says it is a sin to wear clothes made from two different types of material. You will be hard pressed to find anyone backing up this claim today. (King James Bible) Many religious people have chosen scripture from the bible to suit their lifestyles over the years, but ignore things that are no longer socially accepted as immoral. They hold others to strict standards on matters that they do not agree on and use verses from the bible to support their viewpoint. If everyone used the internal right versus wrong approach to morality there would be less confusion on which standards we held each other to. It is unfair to condemn someone for something using half of a statement from the bible, and then ignore the rest of the statement because it does not agree with current beliefs. Our faith, lessons from our parents or even witnessing other people’s actions are different reasons to decide what we believe is moral. All three have flaws that can lead to differing views on the same subject. However, at the end of the day there are certain things that everyone accepts as morally right, or morally wrong. These are situations where it does not matter how you learned it, you just know it. Biblical teachings tell us that certain things are acceptable, while others are punishable by death. But in the legal society of America acting on the acceptable things will land you in prison, and the immoral sins are inalienable rights. Every day decisions are made across the world without having to consider if we will be punished by a higher being. These things prove that a person does not have to believe in God to act morally. A moral person is someone who not only understands the difference between right and wrong, but also does what is right. The lack of God in someone’s life doesn’t make a person immoral just as the presence of God does not make someone moral. Morality is not proven by a belief in God. References King James Bible Millard, A. (2000). How reliable is exodus? Biblical Archaeology Review, 26(4), 50-57. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/214908737? accountid=32521 Mosser, K. (2011). Logic an introduction. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Riskin, S. (2007). Ten commandments audience? Washington Jewish Week. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/220857354? accountid=32521.

Bill Recommendation Essay

Is it a good idea for those individuals convicted of armed robbery to receive double the sentence that it is now? In my opinion the answer is no. Policy making in the field of criminal justice is extremely vital to society. Punishments can be very confusing in the fact of what is appropriate. What is too much and what is too little? There have been many studies that show that there is little or no deterrent of crime such as armed robbery when the punishment is a long sentence to prison. The reason for this lack of deterrent is because the person who is committing the crime or crimes knows what is at stake, yet he or she chooses to commit the robbery anyway. This is because the gains of that robbery outweigh the prison sentence. The main purpose of this bill is to stop or at least lessen the amount of armed robbery that is being committed by putting those who commit the crime behind bars for a longer period of time. This seems like a good idea at first glance. However there is more to this proposition. Lengthening the prison sentence is being used as a deterrent or to simply take the bad guys off the street for longer. This has not worked in the past and will not work now. Facing a long sentence has not deterred robbery from happening. If prison sentencing was enough robbery would not be around in society especially not as frequent as it is today. According to a study done by the FBI in 2006 447,403 robberies were reported to the police, which equals out to a rate of one robbery per minute in the United States (McGoey, 2014). The punishment for robbery can be up to 25 years in the United States. Doubling that and making the sentence 50 years will hardly make any change in the robbery rate. If anything it would just cause the jails and prisons to  become overpopulated quicker, costing taxpayers more money. Bill Recommendation There are more effective ways to address a crime than make the punishments more intense or longer. The classic school of criminology is what I base my recommendation on. In the late 1700’s, which are the time that the classical school came about, the punishment for crimes was extremely cruel and would be seen today as barbaric. Cesare de Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham played a tremendous role in the theory of criminology and criminal justice today would not be where it is without them. Their main focus was to lessen the harsh punishments implemented by the judicial system at the time (Schmalleger, 2012). Cesare de Baccaria believed that preventing crimes would benefit a society more than punishing someone who committed a crime. This belief was the driving force of the classic school of criminology. He believed the punishment should fit the crime for instance theft should be punished through the use of fines and crimes that cause personal injury to be punished by corporal punishment. This would, in turn he believed, prevent these crimes from happening. Jeremy Bentham viewed crime a little differently than Beccaria. Bentham was viewed as a utilitarian. He believed that the punishment for any crime must be that of the greater good for the community. Basically stating that any pain being used as a punishment towards an offender must be justified to benefit the good of the society. Modern criminal justice still holds its foundation in that of the classic school of criminology. Having said that, long prison sentences do act as a major deterrent for many criminals, but poses a major conflict of ideas to that of the classic school of thought due to the fact that crimes are committed based on free will and rational thinking. There are Bill Recommendation many factors such as emotional instability in s sudden moment, and mental and physical disorders that a longer prison sentence simply would not abolish. There is also the very likely chance that drugs and or alcohol is involved.  If the offender is being driven by an addiction nothing, surely not a longer prison sentence is going to persuade his or her decision (Schmalleger, 2012) With all of that being said, the answer to decreasing crime, more specifically armed robbery, a longer prison sentence is not the answer. The question at hand is: what is the answer? This is a question that is going to be debated as long as crime is resent in the population. Juvenile criminals usually mature into adult criminals, so perhaps putting more criminal emphasis on juvenile crime must be done. In addition to everything, it is well known that drugs are the foundation of many crimes. Drugs are responsible for many thefts and robberies, and more time behind bars is not going to make a drug addict think twice before robbing someone. More emphasis needs to be put on the war on drugs and alcohol addiction. Put the taxpayers money to good use by stopping the spread of drugs, not on paying for more people inside if jails. Lets stop the robberies from happening. References McGoey, C.E. (2014). Robbery Facts: Violent Crime Against Persons. Retrieved from http://www.crimedoctor Schmalleger, F. (2012). Criminology Today: An Integrative Introduction (6th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

“Nick’s main attitude to east coast society is fascination.” How far, and in what ways do you agree with this statement?

In â€Å"The Great Gatsby† the feelings of the main characters are often difficult to work out, and this ambiguity continues with the character of Nick. However, I believe that the feeling of â€Å"fascination† could be taken in two different ways – positive and negative. It could mean that Nick is enthralled and entranced wholly by what he sees, or fascinated in that he is amazed by how fake or shallow the people can be on the East Coast. Throughout the novel, Nick's thoughts and feelings change frequently, depending on the situation he is in and the people that he is with, and this is why it is difficult to try and establish what his main feeling is as it varies so much. I will look at the main points in the book where the East Coast society is clearly shown, and try to establish Nick's main attitude and how Fitzgerald presents his thoughts and feelings to us. One of the primary places where Fitzgerald displays the society to us is when Nick meets Tom and Daisy. When describing Daisy's voice, Nick words phrases such as â€Å"low, thrilling†, and calls it an â€Å"exhilarating ripple†. I believe that this type of description, which occurs frequently whenever Nick talks about Daisy, show his fascination in a positive way with the East Coast world. The words â€Å"thrilling† and â€Å"exhilarating† imply that Nick is almost mesmerised by her as they are so emotive, something which I believe holds true for the society as a whole – it appears as if Nick is put in something of a trance by the glamour of it. I believe Fitzgerald chose Nick to have this reaction to Daisy because it goes some way to showing his feelings towards the East Coast. This is because Fitzgerald leads the reader to believe that Daisy is supposed to represent the people and the society on the east coast as a whole – by making her pretty, somewhat naive and somewhat false, Fitzgerald is able to show Nick's feelings about the situation as a whole through one character. I believe that this aspect of the novel shows mainly the fascination on Nick's part. Although the reader gets the impression that Nick is mesmerised by this world, Fitzgerald makes us doubt this due to the way that he has written some of Nick's narration. For example, when describing Daisy and her mannerisms, Nick narrates â€Å"That was a way she had. † This quote implies that Nick realises that Daisy is not how she presents herself to be, and almost knows that she's fairly manipulative in the way she acts. There are numerous examples of this throughout; Nick explains that Daisy has â€Å"an absurd, charming little laugh†, and the word â€Å"absurd† again implies that he finds it too charming to be real. I believe that Fitzgerald wanted Nick's feelings to be ambiguous – these comments contribute to the impression that if the reader takes away the surface attraction, Nick is actually fascinated by the falseness of the society around him rather than fascinated in wonder. In this way, I would say that Nick's main feeling here would also be fascination – but not in the same way as the fascination with Daisy and her appearance as I believe that to be more of a surface fascination. Whilst I believe these negative comments to be a sign of Nick's absorption in this world, it is easy to understand why some readers could take them as signs of out and out contempt. Contributing to this view would be the way that Fitzgerald makes Nick sound mocking and sometimes sarcastic towards Daisy. An example of this is when he says â€Å"That's why I came over tonight† in response to Daisy's question about the story of the butler's nose. The sarcasm is clearly evident in that reply, and it has an air of mockery to it also as the reader realises that Daisy is perhaps not the brightest of people. Fitzgerald has ensured that the reader knows that Nick has realised this also, and because of this, it would be easy to feel that he is mocking Daisy as he knows she won't understand the sarcasm in his response. This would create the impression that Nick holds Daisy and the lifestyle in general in contempt and would therefore go against the statement that Nick is mainly fascinated by this world. However, I believe that many of Nick's sarcastic comments are actually him trying to be funny, as I don't believe that he would be capable of being nasty to Daisy as he is so mesmerised by her. I also believe that this fits with Nick's perception of the whole society, due to the fact that I think Fitzgerald meant Daisy to represent the East Coast as a whole. Another main situation in the novel where we see what Nick thinks about the society is up to and during Gatsby's parties. In a similar fashion to his description of Daisy, at the beginning of Chapter 3 Nick provides us with a very long description of everything about the parties. The description is very detailed, for example the â€Å"spiced baked hams, crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold†. The detail in the description means that Fitzgerald has created the impression that Nick is relishing describing what he sees, and again that he is drawn in by the extravagance and beauty of what he can see. This adds to this impression that Nick's main attitude. In addition to this, Fitzgerald uses lots words that make things sound magical in the description, for example â€Å"bewitched†, â€Å"gold† and â€Å"floating†. These words create the feeling in the readers' minds that Nick is enchanted by what he is seeing – as if he is placed in some sort of trance by the glamour of it all. Again, I believe that this can be linked to how he feels about Daisy – Nick is put in almost a trance by her looks and her voice, and it's almost as if only the odd negative thought is able to slip through that. Again, Fitzgerald makes Nick's true feelings difficult to ascertain, as he puts in words into the description that are very ambiguous in their meaning. They make the reader unsure of Nick's truth in his words, as the way they are taken entirely depends on the individual reader's point of view. An example of this is the phrase â€Å"A bar with a real brass rail was set up†. Here, the word â€Å"real† is what makes the reader unsure, as it could just be taken in the same way as everything else – Nick is describing everything in sight with detail and relish. However, it could also be taken as mocking, because â€Å"real† sounds as if Nick could be making fun of those people who care about and are truly fascinated by the authenticity of the brass rail. The first point of view, that this is genuine wonder from Nick, would contribute to the first interpretation of fascination, as it would demonstrate a real interest in the extravagance of the society that they would be able to afford and expect something like that. However I believe that the second point of view, the mockery, would also contribute to an attitude of fascination – but the second interpretation of the word; the meaning that involves Nick being fascinated by the shallowness and materialism of the people and the society in general. This is because the society in the East is a lot more concerned with possessions and appearances than Nick would have been used to in the Midwest, where family would have been much more important. In conclusion, in creating such intense description, I believe Fitzgerald makes the reader feel that Nick's main feeling here is fascination, but leaves us undecided as to what think. Another aspect of the parties that creates a similar dilemma is how Fitzgerald creates dialogue and conversation during the parties. When Nick is talking to the two girls, the way that the narration during the dialogue between speech is put makes Nick sound potentially mocking – the repetition, for example â€Å"It was for Lucille, too† sounds very mocking and as if Nick feels that the conversation he is surrounded by is very artificial and that nobody there is very individual. This would clearly be a reflection on society there as a whole and would go against the statement in the title. Another possibility is that Fitzgerald wants the reader to feel that Nick feels superior to the people around him, and so is repeating names and sayings in order to create humour – to be mocking in a more light-hearted way. This interpretation would not particularly support the view that Nick is fascinated by society either. However, another interpretation would be that Fitzgerald wants us to feel that Nick is so caught up in the conversation that he is simply writing down everything because he feels it is all really interesting, or that he is too engrossed to filter what is being said. This third view of the narration by Fitzgerald would obviously support the statement that Nick is fascinated by the society. This is the view that I would take, due to the fact that other aspects placed in the novel at this point by Fitzgerald support it – for example â€Å"A thrill passed over all of us† and â€Å"We all turned and looked around for Gatsby†. These sentences show that Fitzgerald wants us to see that Nick feels included in this conversation and is intrigued by it, and so adds to the view that Nick's main attitude is fascination. A similar effect is achieved by the way in which Fitzgerald structures the narration here – when Nick is describing what he sees, he writes lists of the things. Fitzgerald has structured these not in a fluent, literary way but by putting a heavy repetition of the word â€Å"and† in-between each new addition to the list. This makes Nick seem almost overwhelmed by what he sees – as if he is too mesmerised by it all to try and structure anything coherently. It also gives the reader the impression that the objects are never-ending, and makes us feel that Nick believes all the enthralling things he sees will go on forever. It creates the feeling of wonder that I would link strongly with fascination, and as a result I believe it supports the title statement. It could be pure fascination at the glamour and appearance of all these things, but it could also be fascination at just how much there is – Nick could be in wonder at the overly extravagant natures of the parties. Again, I believe Fitzgerald has constructed this ambiguity intentionally to show how Nick has conflicting emotions about the society he is now involved in. A separate place in the novel where we see Nick immersed in the East coast world is during his visit to New York, which we are briefly told about. I believe Fitzgerald placed this description of New York in the novel to show Nick's reactions to the East Coast outside of East and West Egg. I think the description on New York adds to the idea that Nick is mainly fascinated by the society, because Fitzgerald uses such mysterious and magical words in the description – for example â€Å"enchanted†, â€Å"twilight† and â€Å"haunting†. These words create the feeling for the reader that Nick believes he is in some sort of magical world, and displays his obvious liking for the city. I think that Fitzgerald intended this to link with Nick's overall feelings about East and West Egg, as I believe that if he wished us to believe that Nick was repulsed by the nature of the area he would not be so complimentary about New York. The description creates an appealing vision of the city, not one that is meant to deter the reader. As a result, I believe that this description adds to the impression that Nick's main view is fascination. The way that Fitzgerald presents Nick also affects what we think his opinion is about East Coast society, because his personality affects how we take his reactions. Fitzgerald has presented Nick as a character who always looks for glamour in situations, and prefers to see the better side of things. This can be seen in the New York description, when he imagines that he is involved in the lives of the glamorous people around him. As a result of this personality we are given for Nick by Fitzgerald, personally I am more inclined to go with the interpretations that he is simply fascinated by what he sees of the culture in the East. In addition to this, we are told that Nick is very reserved with judgements, and this personality trait makes me think that Nick would therefore not be mocking and sarcastic so early on in the book – i. . during the bits I have written about – which also makes me believe that most of his fascination is genuine. Overall, I would agree fairly strongly with the statement that Nick is mainly fascinated by East Coast society; however I think the type of fascination that he feels varies depending on the situation. I believe that he is fascinated in terms of the glamour of that world and also, at times, fascinated by how materialistic and shallow i t appears to be.