Monday, November 25, 2019

All My Life for Sale Essays

All My Life for Sale Essays All My Life for Sale Essay All My Life for Sale Essay The Life of EBay In the essay â€Å"All My Life for Sale†, John Freyer explained how he sold all of his possessions in his apartment to move out for college. Those items had some sort of sentimental value to people who purchased them and gained a vague relationship with them. One way he expressed himself, is when he sold his first wave of objects on eBay. He asked the highest bidders if they could update him on how his things were doing. He wondered if his buyers were taking good care of his things. Freyer is the type of person who would hold on to things hoping they would get used or fixed one day. He got a community started on his website allmylifeforsale. com. Over time, Freyer started to receive messages containing photographs about the stories from people who were a part of the project. He also requested if people could send him their address so he could come and visit. Not too long after, an invitation from the person who purchased Freyer’s salt shaker invited him to their house in Portland, Maine. The six thousand dollars that Freyer made from his selling his things helped him start his journey to visit people all over the country by car. â€Å"As I met more people, the awkwardness of meeting strangers started to wear off†¦ Some may say too comfortable†¦ I would help myself to food in the high bidder’s refrigerator without a second thought† (85) He started to think they were more than just strangers. For example, he acted like a kid who walks into his parent’s fridge to get something to drink. Soon after September 11, Freyer starts to mature. I stopped caring so much about the objects that I was visiting and started caring more about the people who invited me†(86). This personifies that he is growing up in a sense that he is paying attention to the things that really matter in this world. â€Å"Although I hadn’t made it to everyone who had invited me to visit, I knew that it was time to stop driving. †(86) Freyer started to realize that everything was in good hands and he should start worrying about himself. He wanted to set his priorities straight. He had to graduate college.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Short answer Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Short answer - Assignment Example In this case, individual names may come into use or the use of names of acquaintances. These sequences often vary widely between composers. Schumann used such sequences in some of his compositions. One of the cryptograms he used was Scha (E-flat, C, B natural, A) as a representative for self in carnaval. In other cases, he used the reverse sequence of ASCH (Daverio 65-70). Music in the romantic era was an avenue that allowed the composers to express their emotions freely without hindrance. There were different types of music in this era. Schubert’s composition ‘the death and the maiden’ belonged to the category of ‘lied’ that combined an art song and the piano. ‘The death and the maiden’ was slow, accompanied by piano, and expressed the strongest of emotions of death. These traits make it fit in the romantic era. Schubert makes use of several devices to portray the characters of the famous poem ‘Erlkonig’. The story depicted in the poem has the narrator, father, boy, and Erlkonig. Schubert used different voice ranges with narrator using the middle range. He assigned the father a low range and a high range for the son while the Erlking stands out with the use of melody and piano adjustments. There are triplets of piano repetitions before the appearance of the ghostly Erlking. As the Erlking speaks, the piano produces rises and falls of arpeggios. There is a hastening of the pace as the father makes attempts of rescuing his son (Daverio

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Evaluate the role played by Britain in shaping modern Australian Essay

Evaluate the role played by Britain in shaping modern Australian society and political culture. Does the term 'Austral Briton' still hold any relevance - Essay Example A good and profound example is the Head of State who is the current Queen of England. The other is the Union Jack symbol in the Australian flag. Many Australians as at the WWII either descended from Britain or were actually having direct ancestral links to Britain2. This paper will therefore discuss the role played by Britain in shaping modern Australian society and political culture while shedding light on whether the term ‘Austral Briton’ still holds any relevance. Before the 1st World War Australian inhabitants especially the ones born there or had their ancestry trailing from Britain or Ireland were being termed as ‘Aussie’ colloquially. This was rather a term that denoted ability to survive through hard times and later was more defining as it distinguished those born in Australia and immigrants3. This latter distinction was coined during and after the 2nd World War. The nation was originally a British penal colony from 18th century and more precisely from 17884. The continent had been seen to be one that is full of hardships by Joseph Banks who went further to suggest that convicts should be taken there from Britain. It is in 1788 that the first batch of convicts docked at Botany Bay5. This first fleet comprised of marines, men and women convicts. The following years saw an increased movement to Australia as more convicts were being shipped and being taken further inland. The women population among the convicts was just 20 perc ent. This disparity between men and women convicts went a long way to shape the current mateship ideology. This transportation of convicts to Australia however came to an end officially in 1850. More and more people started to stream in from various nationalities but the biggest number was from Britain making them dominate the demographics of Australia6. Australia was a region of the earth where democracy did not exist as a formal system of ruling masses up until the colonisation by the British. Most

Monday, November 18, 2019

Self-Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Self-Reflection - Essay Example Self-Reflection In my second essay concerning the dangers of children playing video games, I used as logical argument in some parts to convince the reader on the dangers of children playing video games. As noted in the classes of this course, one of the main components of good writing is â€Å"logos†. This is the ability to appeal to the logical aspect of an issue and engage the audience in a reasonable manner. In my essay I note that â€Å"When children are outside, they can make friends or they can spend time with their friends. They can laugh and run about as they play. They can share stories while waking together. Physical activity is then closely connected to social activity.† These statements are meant to convince the audience on the real importance of play to the children. The use of practical information succinctly captures the essence of physical activity in a manner that is resonant with the audience. During the course, I also learnt about the importance of solid development of the main concept in any writing. My essay on the effect of technology on different generation exemplifies the vital skill I learnt concerning progressive development of the subject matter. At the beginning of the essay, I reflected on the background issues relating to technology and the different generations that exist. This was meant to give the audience a contextual background based on the key elements of the topic. Having established a solid foundation of the topic, I then delved into the core issues that technology has on different generations by the use of detailed explanations.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Fantasy Trading and Legality Thereof

Fantasy Trading and Legality Thereof ABSTRACT Regulators are at a crossroads. On one hand, innovation in businesses should not be stifled by excessive and outdated regulation. On the other hand, there is a real need to protect the users of these services from fraud, liability and unqualified service providers. This predicament is far more complex than it seems, since regulators are confronted here with an array of perplexing questions. Firstly, can these practices be qualified as innovations worth protecting and encouraging? Secondly, should the regulation of these practices serve the same ends as the existing laws for equivalent commercial services? Thirdly, how can regulation keep up with the evolving nature of these innovative practices? The answer to these questions has a single answer Very little is known about the socially effective ways of consistently regulating and promoting innovation. This article deals with the legality of fantasy trading using tests, various schools of thought and a comparative analysis, among othe r things. Additionally, the article also seeks to delve into the question of regulation per se. That is to say how much regulation, if any, is just and apt keeping in mind that the world is now brimming with innovation than ever before. In a global context, are fantasy trading and especially fantasy sports trading a harmless distraction or an unregulated business area poised to be a multibillion-dollar industry or both? Do fantasy trading and illegal betting fall in the same moral spectrum? These questions, among others, are pertinent to note because of this simple reason Demographics. Nearly 57 million people play fantasy sports in the U.S and Canada alone[1]. Backdrop: The issue of legality In early October 2015, the biggest scandal to hit the young fantasy sports industry was reported by the New York Times. An employee at Draftkings, a Boston-based daily fantasy website, released privileged fantasy draft information before the start of the third week of the National Football League (NFL) season. This employee won $350,000 that same week at FanDuel, a rival daily fantasy website hailing from New York.[2] FanDuel and DraftKings have become the two biggest entities in the fast-growing daily fantasy sports industry. DraftKings alone expected to pay out $1.2 billion in cash prizes in 2015.[3] Industry estimates anticipate that $2.6 billion in contest entry fees will be paid this year across the industry and that by 2020 partaking will rise up to $14.4 billion. In July, Fox Sports, one of the biggest TV Networks, led a $300 million funding round for Draft Kings.[4] Despite this, not all was hunky dory for the fantasy sports industry as the events of October had a tremendous impact on daily fantasy sports websites. Eric Schneiderman, Attorney General of New York demanded DraftKings and FanDuel to stop accepting New York-based players, as their games constituted illegal gambling under New York state law. Joining the bandwagon, Attorney Generals in five other states declared that the daily fantasy games are a form of gambling or illegal under state laws. The states include Texas, Illinois, Hawaii, Vermont and Mississippi. Offering a differing view, Rhode Islands attorney general declared the activity legal but said it needs to be regulated. On October 8th, a class action lawsuit was instituted in a New York federal court alleging that the two companies fraudulently induced players to pay money for contests without proper acknowledgement that company employees could play the contests with privileged information giving an impression of Insider Tradi ng[5]. Nevada has banned both sites from operating in-state until the companies, and their employees, receive state gambling licenses an action that would officially mark daily fantasy sports as gambling operations in the US[6]. This presents a challenge to legal scholars and policy makers as under federal sports betting laws in the U.S, sports gambling is deemed illegal in all states except four[7]. Even under the Interstate Wire Act of 1961, it is illegal for sports gambling information to be transferred across state lines unless both states have a legalized sports gambling regime. In Australia, there is a segregation between fantasy trading games which are permitted by Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the ones operating without any such license provided by ASIC. Such games are warned by the ASIC[8]. According to the ASIC, fantasy stock trading firms could be flouting the law if they incentivize or reward real trades. Additionally, firms facilitating such trading must obtain an Australian Financial Services license. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), on August 30, 2016 issued a press release[9] warning investors about such schemes. It further clarified that these schemes are neither approved nor endorsed by SEBI or any other SEBI recognized exchange. Furthermore, in its caveat, it also stated that the benefits generally available to an investor such as the dispute resolution mechanism as well as the grievance redressal mechanism would not be available to the concerned participant. Similarly, even the Bombay Stock Exchange issued an advisory against such leagues/competitions and schemes etc.[10] ANLYSIS AND EXAMINATION OF ITS LEGALITY It is the authors submission that it is detrimental to declare a budding and more importantly an innovative industry illegal without qualification. Unfortunately, there are currently no laws for fantasy trading and fantasy sports companies. In the US, if a website qualifies as a fantasy sports provider under the Uniform Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), so long as the website fulfills three statutory obligations, it is notconsidered to be a gambling transaction and is therefore free from all of the regulations and restrictions gambling law provides[11]. An evergreen comparison in the spheres of law, public policy and economics is at of securities trading and sports gambling. Many investors buy stock for the same reasons that gamblers may choose certain slots machines, lottery numbers, or squares on a roulette table, or choose to bet or fold a certain poker hand.[12] Findings by scholars like Christian Hurt conclude that, despite being structurally different, sports betting and the securities market are not very different when it comes to the balance of chance and skill required to be successful in either. It is the submission of the author that it is conceivable to place fantasy football into a comparison between sports betting and securities exchanges. At this juncture, it is imperative to note that the business model of fantasy stock trading is largely similar to fantasy sports trading. The position of law in the USA with regards fantasy trading is fascinating. Fantasy trading is legal in the US but is largely unregulated by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). The process of creating a regulatory framework for this industry is underway[13]. Despite a strict prohibition on sports betting in the US, the Congress has not touched upon, rather intentionally, online fantasy sports. To illustrate, in 2006 Congress passed the UIGEA. The Act made it illegal for those engaged in the business of betting or wagering to knowingly accept funds connected to illegal internet gambling. But the Act creates an explicit exception for fantasy sports games[14]. The exception enunciates: (I) All prizes and awards offered to winning participants are established and made known to the participants in advance of the game or contest and their value is not determined by the number of participants or the amount of any fees paid by those participants. (II) All winning outcomes reflect the relative knowledge and skill of the participants and are determined predominantly by accumulated statistical results of the performance of individuals (athletes in the case of sports events) in multiple real-world sporting or other events. (III) No winning outcome is based (aa) on the score, point-spread, or any performance or performances of any single real-world team or any combination of such teams; or (bb) solely on any single performance of an individual athlete in any single real-world sporting or other event.[15] Hence, games based upon the performances of several individuals/teams over several games, set prizes and the relative knowledge and skill of participants prevent fantasy trading from being deemed as gambling operations and illegal. It is the opinion of the author that it is paramount to examine whether fantasy trading constitutes illegal online betting. Erick Lee, for example, opines that fantasy games do not constitute illegal betting, nor are such games plagued with the same public policy problems as traditional gambling only restricted statutory regulation within hypercompetitive [high payout] fantasy leagues should be enacted.[16] On the contrary, Nicole Davidson distinguishes between Games of Chance and Games of Skill and determines that fantasy sports rely on chance more than skill. This, tied with the entrance fee consideration most participants pay, may put fantasy trading in conflict with federal and state laws, Davidson argues.[17] For sake of our analysis, reference has been made to a particular framework computed by scholar Christine Hurt. To Hurt, attempts to distinguish most any kind of gambling from most any kind of investing are illusory.[18] She thus rejects the traditional distinction, still used by courts today, of games of chance versus games of skill and replaces it with a spectrum of speculation ranging from games of pure chance to games of pure skill.[19] According to Hurt, Sports Betting, Stock Trading, and Insider Sports Betting all sit right in the middle, between Pure Chance and Pure Skill. She also finds trading in derivatives markets, and day-trading, to be more based in chance than sports betting; meanwhile, illegal insider sports betting and insider stock trading are more based in skill than individual stock trading.[20] In an analysis of where fantasy sports, particularly daily fantasy sports, sits on this spectrum, the answer falls lies between sports betting, stock trading, and insider s ports betting. It is difficult to come up with many legitimate reasons to ban sports gambling on one hand, but allow stock trading on the other. Hurt points to dated arguments for paternalism, social order, and morals as reasons for historys disdain for gambling. Arguments against gambling may focus on the immorality of either striving to achieve something without earning it or worshiping luck and therefore straying from monotheistic Judeo- Christian teachings.[21] Truth be told, determining figuring out a regulatory environment for fantasy trading through the lens of social policy and moralistic arguments is a messy affair. I would now analyze the structure of fantasy trading in order to determine its legality. The determination would be based on three facets operational, contractual and regulatory. The author would also look into the legalities of gambling as it falls in the same domain as the securities market and fantasy trading. It is pertinent to note that fantasy stock trading closely mirrors the Securities Market. The service provider manages the information they receive, publishes it selectively and profits based off the information they provide. Lets analyze fantasy trading using a three prong test. First, an examination of the operational structure of a fantasy trading transaction shall be done- who participates, who aids the transaction, in whose control the information is, timeline, expenses and changes made to the contract etc. Second, the contractual consideration is perused. Thirdly, the regulatory framework surrounding the transaction and the industry shall be looked into. We would be l ooking into the fantasy trading industry and regulations of the US, as there exists little legal literature on this subject matter in India. The Competition When it comes to stakeholders, there exist four of them. Participants are the ones who compete in the fantasy leagues. Host sites are the websites where information, news updates and statistics are stored and released. Commissioners oversee the league rules and solve disputes amongst players. Treasures collect money from the participants. However, due to multiple roles assumed by one stakeholder, effectively, there exist only two stakeholders the participants and the hosting website. Needless to say, the structure of the competition bears a resemblance to internet gambling and stock trading. The Consideration All participants pay entry fee. Participants can be denied at the behest of the commissioners/treasurers. The participant provides money in exchange for the chance of greater winnings. This is problematic as this is what makes one instantly compare illegal gambling with fantasy trading. In exchange, the website, provides as consideration the information available on their website, a stake in the prize and other website functions. Under terms of use websites also require participants to agree to all terms, including age limits, refund policies and conditions of participation. This generally exists by way of Standard Form Agreement. The Regulatory framework Much of the current controversy surrounding daily fantasy sports is centered on the exceptions that allow fantasy sports sites to operate despite federal antigambling laws.[22] Other laws that have put a blanket ban on online sports gambling have not been applied to fantasy sports. Despite the 1961 Wire Act, it has not been applied to fantasy sports leagues. There is no indication that any fantasy sports companies are banned under the Illegal Gambling Business Act. MEASURES: THE BEST FOOT FORWARD A complete ban is strict no-no because of its economic consequences. Banning, I believe, sends across a specious message to innovators. However, the author does understand the number of challenges these innovative practices poses on regulators. The first question to be asked here is when should fantasy trading be considered economically and legally relevant? How can the regulators strike the balance between the advancement of innovation and protection of customers from fraud and liability? A monstrous problem with any regulator across the world, I believe, is the misapplication of legal tools in innovative practices. Ex: Fixing tariffs by way of regulations for disruptive business models such as Ola and Uber is counterproductive to the innovation ecosystem.[23] To conclude, the formula has been: Changed Game + Same Rules = Game Over Other option, albeit risky, is that of self-regulation. The fantasy sports trading industry is the US is largely self-regulated. This is depicted in the age restriction and other terms of use. Furthermore, employees of the company or immediate family members of said employees; employees of any competing fantasy sight and any immediate family member; employees of any sports governing body that has access to privileged information or is barred from participating in sports bets; and more are prohibited from entering a contest.[24] There are a few rules designed to protect participants from frauds. But, the problem with self-regulation is that in a country like India this form of governance is unprecedented. More so, we do not know how the industry enforces these rules. For example: When it comes to enforcing the employee ban on participation, the scandal in the world of fantasy trading was created by an employee who won $350,000 by playing at another, rival site. CONCLUSION An important facet to fantasy trading that places it in the legal gamut is negotiability. Without negotiability which means the ability to raise the stakes or change the nature of the investment, any skill the participant may bring on the table is futile. They are left to the fancies of chance. For example: Stocks are negotiable. That is to say while the terms of the stock may be fixed at any time they can buy more stock or sell stock. They can even wield influence over the company. Likewise, in fantasy sports trading, participants can trade athletes with other with other participants or auction for new athletes. They exercise a lot of influence over negotiating their stake in the league. Fantasy trading is the middle grounds of share trading which is legal and online betting games like sports betting which is largely illegal. The more interested parties join in this industry, the tougher it will be to criminalize fantasy trading. The state views skill based games as legal and greater the needle points towards worshipping luck, the more chances of the game being deemed illegal. It is my opinion that Fantasy trading is completely legal so long as these games have longer timeframes, modest jackpots and smaller groups of participants. Games with short timeframes, giant jackpots and large participation come close to illegal gambling. Final thoughts are that we need some framework of regulation. An absolute ban is a thumb down. A policing system must be put in place to forbid employees from using potential privileged information to win big, ensuring that service providers are fairly handling the entry fee and distributing awards and checking for conflicts of interests between participants among other things. A robust dispute resolution mechanism is required in order to keep fantasy trading a legitimate and benign industry. ************* [1] http://fsta.org/research/industry-demographics/ [2] Joe Drape and Jacqueline Williams, Scandal Erupts in Unregulated World of Fantasy Sports. NYTIMES.COM, Oct. 5, 2015. [3] Bob Hohler, An uncertain line between fantasy sports, gambling. BOSTONGLOBE.COM, Aug. 2, 2015. [4] Dustin Gouker, Are FanDuel and DraftKings Television Partnerships All Locked In After Summer Flurry? LEGALSPORTSREPORT.COM, Aug. 12, 2015. [5] Supra n. 2. [6] Joe Drape, DraftKings Continues to Operate in Nevada NYTIMES.COM, Oct. 18, 2015. [7] Andew Vacca, Sports Betting: Why the United States should go all in. Willamette Sports Law Journal. [8] Georgia Wilkins, Fantasy Stock trading in ASIC sights. THE SUNDAY MORNING HERALD, March 28, 2016. [9] http://www.sebi.gov.in/sebiweb/home/detail/34568/yes/PR-SEBI-CAUTIONS-INVESTORS [10] http://www.bseindia.com/news_section/atten_investors.htm [11] Marc Edelman, A Short Treatise on Fantasy Sports Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law 35 (2012) [12] Christine Hurt, Regulating Public Morals and Private Markets: Online Securities Trading, Internet Gambling, and the Speculation Paradox, 86 B.U.L. Rev. 371 [13] https://www.sec.gov/oiea/investor-alerts-bulletins/ia_fantasytrading.html [14] Marc Edelman, A Short Treatise on Fantasy sports and the Law: How America regulates its new national pastime, 3 Harv. J. Sports Ent. L. Rev. 1, 37 (2012). [15] 31 U.S.C.A. ÂÂ §5362 (2006). [16] Erick S. Lee, Play ball! Substituting Current Federal Non-regulation of Fantasy sports leagues with limited supervision of hyper-competitive leagues, 29 Loy. L.A. Ent. L. Rev. 53, 87 (2008-2009). [17] Nicole Davidson, Internet gambling: should Fantasy sports leagues be prohibited? 39 San Diego L. Rev. 201, 228-229 (2002) [18] Christine Hurt, Regulating public morals and private markets: Online securities trading, internet gambling, and the speculation paradox, 86 B.U.L. Rev. 371, 377 (2006). [19] Christine Hurt, Regulating public morals and private markets: Online securities trading, internet gambling, and the speculation paradox, 86 B.U.L. Rev. 371 (2006). [20] Id. at 378. [21] Id. at 402. [22] Marc Edelman, A Short treatise on Fantasy sports and the Law: How America regulates its new national pastime, 3 Harv. J. Sports Ent. L. Rev. 1, 37 (2012). [23]Akshay Deshmane, Delhi readies policy to fix tariff ceiling for Uber, Ola ECONOMICTIMES.INDIATIMES.COM, Aug. 11, 2016. [24] Draftkings Terms of Use, https://www.draftkings.com/help/terms.; Fanduel Terms of Use, https://www.fanduel.com/terms.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

All Quiet On The Western Front :: essays research papers

The story of several schoolmates who symbolize a generation destroyed by the dehumanisation of the First World War, All Quiet on the Western Front tells of the men who died, and the tragically changed lives of those who survived. Remarque follows the story of Paul Bà ¤umer, a young infantryman, from his last days of school to his death three years later. Whereas the journey motif is typically used to portray a positive character development, that of Paul is deliberately the opposite. In what has been dubbed the greatest antiwar novel of all time, Remarque depicts the way in which Paul is snatched away from humanity by the brutality of war. However while Paul and his comrades become separated from society, and begin to rely on their basic survival instincts, in their own surroundings they still show humane qualities such as compassion, camaraderie, support and remorse. Paul’s transformation from human to soldier begins in training camp, and is reinforced by the trauma at the front. His return home further alienates him from society, and Paul begins to feel safe at the front with his friends. Nonetheless throughout the novel suffering and mortality bare Paul’s true side, and he momentarily regains his former self. Bà ¤umer, the German word for tree, is an early indication that Paul must remain firmly rooted in reality to survive the brutality of war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Even when the novel begins, all Paul has known is death, horror, fear, distress, and despair. He describes the other soldiers in his company, including his German school mates with whom he enlisted after constant lecturing from their school master, Kantorek. The pressures of nationalism and bravery had forced even the most reluctant students to enlist. However weeks of essential training caused any appeal the military may have held for them to be lost. Corporal Himmelstoss, the boys’ instructor, callously victimizes them with constant bed remaking, sweeping snow, softening stiff boot leather and crawling through the mud. While this seems to be somewhat cruel treatment, it was in fact beneficial for the soldiers. â€Å"†¦the most important result was that it awakened in us a strong, practical sense of esprit de corps, which in the field developed into the finest thing that arose out of the war – comradeship.† (p23) The time spent at training camp prepared the boys for what was to come, by making them tough and brutal, while at the same time creating an army that does not stop to question its orders.