To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement Honeypots Essay

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement Honeypots are an ethical way of identifying illegal activity on the Internet - Essay Example Lance Spitzner (2002), project HoneyNet founder, defines Honeypots as â€Å"a security resource whos value lies in being probed, attacked or compromised,† which implies that when a system is designated as aHoneypot, the target is to get it exploited, delved and attacked. The idea is to falsely present the system as available for being probed so that the administrator could evaluate its weak areas and the hacker can be traced. Since Honeypots only act like live systems and do not contain live data therefore, the intruder can never comprehend that the network is fake. This aspect, however, paves the way for ethical concerns since Honeypots involve making the systemvulnerable to outside attacks. The strategy of entrapment that Honeypots entail has also becomes controversial matter. However, Honeypots has its fair share of pluses and minuses, which are described below. 1. Honeypots inform about the shortcomings in security systems. Usage of Honeypots although poses a threat to the system but from a long-term perspective it can encourage introduction of more secure, effective and alert security systems. Scottberget al., assert that â€Å"tracking an intruder in a honeypot reveals invaluable insights into attacker techniques and ultimately motives so that production systems can be better protected. You may learn of vulnerabilities before they are exploited† (2002, pp. 388). 2. Kurt Kleiner(2005) believes that Honeypots are advantageous for information systems because of their ability of containing and/or fighting viruses. Honeypots can be considered as healing hubs that â€Å"would attract a virus, analyse it automatically, and then distribute a counter measure† (Kleiner 2005). 3. Mark Edmead(2002) considers Honeypot as beneficial because in comparison to IDS (Intrusion Detection System) it only collects small data, which limits the network bandwidth requirement as well as the amount of data to be

The essence of Made in Canada Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

The essence of Made in Canada - Case Study Example From these reasons, it is clear that quality plays a huge role in making people buy Canadian made products, including buying Paderno’s products. â€Å"Made in Canada† More than ever, the social consciousness of consumers is pushing organizations to promote strategies aimed at corporate social responsibility (Henein & Morissette 49). In the case of Paderno, this should push them to showcase their products as having local characteristics. Even if their products are not made locally, such as the cheaper products they import, they can impress the consumers by laying emphasis on the local features that their value chain possesses, such as product assembly and design, as well as development and research. Companies should also highlight their impact on the local economy in a creative manner, such as with regards to creation of jobs, impact of product purchase on the local economy, or the local partners that they involve in various processes (Henein & Morissette 49). Consumers in Canada, as well as other developed countries, are increasingly searching for products that are made in Canada. These reasons are because of various consumer trends. One of these trends has to do with the buy local movement with most consumers now shopping closer to home (Henein & Morissette 50). They are also looking for goods that are locally made because they are aware that buying goods made in the country are a better choice both environmentally and ethically. Rising awareness on health may also impact Paderno’s Made in Canada brand as a population that is gradually ageing becomes more aware of their cookware choices and how they are ergonomically designed. Most Canadians now consider the impact that products will have on their health, especially food and, more recently, cookware, and are more willing to pay higher prices for products they trust, which are mostly Canadian made products. Canadian consumers are also increasingly frugal with their money as incomes stagnate , which means that they are more cautious about spending. As more Canadians live on fixed incomes, they will begin to turn to the best value for their money, which is Canadian made. Consumers are also showing an increased desire for goods that are customized, which means they are searching for what exactly they want. This, in most cases, is Canadian made. Finally, the internet culture has seen many Canadian consumers doing their shopping online, which, coupled with blogs that are increasingly talking about buying Canadian made products, has made it essential for companies to insist on the â€Å"made in Canada† brand (Henein & Morissette 50). The internet factor is especially important in perpetuating the Made in Canada brand since most people will first go to the internet when researching on a particular product (Henein & Morissette 51). At least 70% of consumers in Canada have reported that internet reviews of products, particularly those made in Canada,

The Ethics of Milgram Essay Example for Free

The Ethics of Milgram Essay When this question is posed, immediately we are confronted with a subject of ethics. In three studies by; Milgram, Zimbardo and Hofling, conformity and obedience are tested to extreme levels. Thus bringing ethics to the forefront of the psychological community and the world, concerning the treatment of subjects/participants. Milgrams study addressed obedience to authority. This began three months after the start of the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, his accomplices and his/their part in the genocidal holocaust. Eichmann had said that he was simply following orders. The experiment was set up to see how varying members of society would respond to a figure of authority when asked to deliver electric shocks to another person. Milgrams orthodox view was that few subjects would administer harsh shocks to another human. The test however showed Milgram that though the participants questioned whether they should continue, surprisingly it took little prompts to get them to continue. In this scenario 65% delivered the full, potentially fatal shock to the subject. These findings are of enormous importance both from an ethical and psychological viewpoint. This simple experiment showed and extreme willingness to follow the commands of an authoritys figure, against their own morals, even when confronted with the screams of another person. In Zimbardos experiment obedience and conformity are addressed within a prison environment. This was a mock prison setup at Stanford University, participants were requested in a local newspaper, 24 were chosen. This study showed the knock on effect of demoralisation. The prisoner participants were kept in a constant state of uncertainty from the moment they were arrested, to when the guards took over. In having their individuality removed through complying with the processes applied by the rules of an institutionalised system, the display of obedience grew dramatically. The guards in turn conformed to their perceived position of authority. On the second day the guards put down a rebellion. In response the guards decided to break the prisoners moral by dividing and conquering, developing distrust amongst the inmates and consolidating themselves into a working unit. The effects of this from an ethical point of view is that the inmates were subject to mental and physical mistreatment on a grand scale, meanwhile the guards it seemed had forgotten that the situation was experimental, as they grew more sadistic an abuse of power was displayed. Every prisoner fell under the guards arbitrary control as their living conditions continually fell into the realms of degradation and depravity. When an inmate had been in the prison for approximately thirty six hours he displayed acute emotional disturbance, crying and rage. After interview it was decided that he was trying to con his way to early release. He was given the option of remaining but as an informant in exchange for no further harassment from the guards. This did not seem to work as this lead him to telling the other inmates that they could not leave or quit, this lead to his condition worsening as he screamed cursed and began to act crazy. He was released. This strongly raises the issue of ethical practice, though the experimenter wanted to maintain a real life prison scenario, the protection of the prisoners human rights were not taken into consideration enough, especially in view of the guards sadistic and aggressive methods. Possibly a real prison guard should have lead the other guards for better reality between guard and inmate. The next day the family and friends of the inmates arrived to visit them, the experimenters became concerned that the extreme conditions, if witnessed by the family and friends would possibly effect the continuation of the experiment. So they cleaned and fed the inmates, played music through a speaker system, had a cheerleader greet the awaiting visitors. The visitors mood was good, as they saw the whole thing as a bit of fun, in this way the experimenters systematically brought the visitors behaviour under situational control. Though the parents complained about the arbitrary rules they complied like good middle class citizens trusting implicitly the words of educated men of medicine. When the parents were reunited with their children they were shocked to see how drawn and fatigued they seemed to be, when this was raised, the experimenter simply used reverse psychology on a typical American family, by challenging the strength of their childs resolve and in turn challenging their parenting skills. These methods paid off, and the parents didnt want to waste anymore of the experimenters times and left. Ethically this was a poor decision as the parents werent part of the experiment, but were used without thought to how they may react or feel when they would eventually find out that they had been party to a hoax and that their children were actually being treated badly. It is impossible to tell how much the aftershock would affect a family.

Importance Of Set Design Theatre Essay

Importance Of Set Design Theatre Essay Adolph Appia (pictured left) 1862 1928, was a Swiss theorist, pioneer in modern stage design and is most famous for his scenic designs for Wagners operas (Design for act I of Parsifal Pictured left). What set Appia aside from other stage designers was his rejection of painted two dimensional sets. He created three dimensional living sets, which he believed created different shades of light which were necessary as light was important for actors to engage in the setting, time and space. Instead of using the conventional way of lighting from the floor, Appia lit the stage from above and the sides of the stage, thus creating depth and a three dimensional set. Light intensity and colour helped Appia to gain a new perspective of scene design and stage lighting. This helped to set the mood and create an authentic stage set. Appia believed that the reason sets werent successful during his time, was because of a lack of connection between the director and the set designer. He believed that there should be an artistic harmony especially between these two people in order for his theory to be successful. There are three core points which Appia uses to help define mise-en-scene: Dynamic and three dimensional movements by actors. Perpendicular scenery. Using depth and the horizontal dynamics of the performance space. Light, space and the actor are all malleable commodities which should all be intertwined to create a successful mise-en-scene. He used steps, platforms and columns to create depth and manipulated light in order to make the set look real. Light was considered to be the primary element which linked together all the other aspects of the production and Appia was one of the first designers to realise its potential, more than to merely illuminate actors and the painted backdrop behind. This was shown in his staging of Tristan und Isolde (1923). Notice the steps, columns and ramps. Directors and designers of the present day have taken great inspiration from Adolph Appias theory. Perhaps the main reason being the huge advance in technology, which was only just emerging in the late 19th century. Edward Gordon Craig (1872-1966) also like Adolph Appia was an English theatre practitioner. Unlike Appia however he believed actors had no more importance than marionettes. Gentlemen, the Marionette is a writing in which Craig explains how the actors are merely puppets on strings. He had a great interest in marionettes claiming they were the only true actors who have the soul of a dramatic poet, serving as a true and loyal interpreter with the virtues of silence and obedience. (Innes, Christopher, (1998) Edward Gordon Craig: A Vision of Theatre). He built elaborate and symbolic sets, for example his set for the Moscow Art Theatre production of Hamlet (1909) consisted of movable screens. And like Appia, he broke the stage floor with platforms, steps and ramps. He replaced the parallel rows of canvas with an elaborate series of tall screens. Craig left a promising career in acting in order to concentrate on directing and developing ideas about the theatre of the future, which was inspired by Hubert von Herkomers scenic experiments with auditorium lighting and three dimensional scenery in productions at the Bushy Art School. Craigs idea of new total theatre drew on the imagination to create a vision of colour harmony, visual simplicity and an atmospheric effect under the sole control of a single artist. Also inspired by his partner Isadora Duncan, a dancer which inspired him to look into the concept of the rhythms and movements in nature acting as a vehicle for an emotional and aesthetic experience. Craig was very interested in electrical light, something new and only just emerging in his time. An example of this can be seen when he worked on Dido and Aeneas. Craig used a single colour back cloth with a gauze stretched at an angle in front of it onto which light of another colour was projected, an astoundingly three dime nsional effect was achieved (Innes, Christopher, 1998, Edward Gordon Craig: A Vision of Theatre, P. 46). He intensively researched theatre of the past in order to create his new theatre. He imagined a theatre which was a fusion of poetry, performer, colour and movement designed to appeal to the emotions. As he progressed through his work, he followed his symbolist views using movement to create mood and in his studies in 1906 talked of removing elements of sets or props and replacing them with symbolic gestures. For example a man battling through a snowstorm, Craig questioned whether the snow was necessary. Would the actors movements be sufficient to convey what was happening? In 1900 after Craig had developed himself as a set designer he worked on a production of Dido and Aeneas which was ground breaking as a set for theatre design. Due to certain limitations Craig was able to break away from the elaborate Victorian stage designs and experiment with abstract and simpler designs. Craig himself believed that what he was creating was new theatre and wouldnt be widely accepted until the future and this was true. During the 1950s Kenneth Tynan wrote of how Craigs ideas that he expounded fifty years ago, in his breathless poetic prose, are nowadays bearing fruit all over Europe. Craig has influenced practitioners such as Constantin Stanislavsky, Meyerhold and Bertolt Brecht, and he also still impacts many designers and practitioners of the modern day. Although both of these designers worked independently from one and other, they arrived at similar conclusions. They both criticised realistic theatre, arguing against the photographic reproduction as a primary function of scene design. Appia didnt agree with Stanislavskys theory of the fourth wall so he discarded it and designed a theatre building which became the first theatre in the modern era without a proscenium arch. Both theorists believed that the settings should suggest and not reproduce the location. Both also broke the two dimensional view on sets by using platforms and different levels, designing spaces that were practical and functional for performers. Also with the advance in technology, both took advantage of electricity which made it possible for the stage to be lit using bulbs. This helps to develop as an art and both used light as an important part of their visual elements. Appias and Craigs designs focus heavily on stressing contrasts between light and dark creating heavily atmospheric sets. Appia and Craig shared a lot of the same opinions; however they were not in total agreement. Appia Believed that the director, fused theatrical elements and the designer was an interpretive artist, bringing an authors work to life from page to, stage forming a functional environment for the actors. Craig believed that theatre needed a master artist who would create all of the production elements. His designs were frequently thought to be on a larger scale than Appias. Appias designs usually required a set change for each location in the performance, whereas Craig used the modern unit using one basic setting which can represent various locations throughout the movement of its elements with only the need of slight changes such as lighting, props etc. Both Appia and Craig have greatly influenced the way theatre has evolved. Not only as technology has advanced but also at the way the directors, set designers and production teams in general are working. There is a lot more communication and discussion between the directors and the set designers vision into how a set should look. Also Sets on stage are predominantly three dimensional using levels, ramps, stairs and depth. The use of light has perhaps changed the most dramatically moving from the floor to lighting rigs in the ceiling and along the side of the stage. It is safe to say without the ideas and theories that the two had, theatre may not be where it is today.

The Graphic Novels: Maus, Persepolis, Fun Home, and Barefoot Gen Essay

The super-genre of what collectively can be called ‘comics’ represents a cultural phenomenon which has exploded in the last fifty-plus years onto the public scene. Evolving from newspaper strip comics to superhero stories in paperback periodicals, the world of comics spread further and further into public appeal. With the publication of Art Spiegelman’s Maus, however, comics opened the door onto a world of possibilities. After Maus received high acclaim, despite its academic taboo as a medium, many more historical-commentary graphic novels found their way into the public eye: Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, Keiji Nakazawa’s Barefoot Gen, and a legion of others. Taken together, this new sub-genre of the super-genre provides a personal glimpse into many historically tragic, enlightening, or revolutionary events. These historic-autobiographic stories can effectively introduce people, whether students in a classroom or a curious independent reader searching for truth, to history, because of the format, the popularity of the historical events they encircle, the relatable personal perspective, and the groundbreaking, attention-amassing approval they enjoy. While graphic novels such as Maus, Persepolis, Fun Home, and Barefoot Gen may differ greatly in content, the format of conveying a story of novel-length complexity through sequential art consolidates all these titles into one sub-genre. These graphic novels would effectively represent history in a classroom setting (besides a personal, individual enjoyment) due to the changed demographic of students in high schools and colleges in the United States (if not throughout the world). With the advent of the Internet and the popularity of the television and video... ...tting within significant historical periods, and relatable, personal point of view, historic-autobiographic novels effectively represent historical events. The next step toward gaining academic respect requires proving their efficacy to scholars both of history and of literature. Once these works secure an educational following similar to the public fanbase, perhaps history classes and interdisciplinary venues may begin incorporating the graphic novel into their reading lists. Until then, the usefulness of Maus or Barefoot Gen as commentaries on World War II, Fun Home on homosexuality and the Sexual Revolution, and Persepolis on the Iranian revolution must be enjoyed purely from an individual standpoint. Works Cited "Your Right-Brained Visual Learner." Time 4 Learning. Time 4 Learning, Web. 6 Oct 2009. . The Graphic Novels: Maus, Persepolis, Fun Home, and Barefoot Gen Essay The super-genre of what collectively can be called ‘comics’ represents a cultural phenomenon which has exploded in the last fifty-plus years onto the public scene. Evolving from newspaper strip comics to superhero stories in paperback periodicals, the world of comics spread further and further into public appeal. With the publication of Art Spiegelman’s Maus, however, comics opened the door onto a world of possibilities. After Maus received high acclaim, despite its academic taboo as a medium, many more historical-commentary graphic novels found their way into the public eye: Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, Keiji Nakazawa’s Barefoot Gen, and a legion of others. Taken together, this new sub-genre of the super-genre provides a personal glimpse into many historically tragic, enlightening, or revolutionary events. These historic-autobiographic stories can effectively introduce people, whether students in a classroom or a curious independent reader searching for truth, to history, because of the format, the popularity of the historical events they encircle, the relatable personal perspective, and the groundbreaking, attention-amassing approval they enjoy. While graphic novels such as Maus, Persepolis, Fun Home, and Barefoot Gen may differ greatly in content, the format of conveying a story of novel-length complexity through sequential art consolidates all these titles into one sub-genre. These graphic novels would effectively represent history in a classroom setting (besides a personal, individual enjoyment) due to the changed demographic of students in high schools and colleges in the United States (if not throughout the world). With the advent of the Internet and the popularity of the television and video... ...tting within significant historical periods, and relatable, personal point of view, historic-autobiographic novels effectively represent historical events. The next step toward gaining academic respect requires proving their efficacy to scholars both of history and of literature. Once these works secure an educational following similar to the public fanbase, perhaps history classes and interdisciplinary venues may begin incorporating the graphic novel into their reading lists. Until then, the usefulness of Maus or Barefoot Gen as commentaries on World War II, Fun Home on homosexuality and the Sexual Revolution, and Persepolis on the Iranian revolution must be enjoyed purely from an individual standpoint. Works Cited "Your Right-Brained Visual Learner." Time 4 Learning. Time 4 Learning, Web. 6 Oct 2009. .

Midterm Exam Essay

Utopian Stories After reading the short stories thought this semester, I have found that many of the Utopian stories are thematically the same. A Utopian story is a short story or novel in which someone pays the cost for perfection in society. There are three short stories that are most thematically alike those are: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson in 1948; The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin in 1975; and Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. in 1961. I have chosen these three stories because someone pays the cost in each of these stories and the results in each of them are the same. The elements of plot, characterizations, settings and symbols of each of these stories are alike. The story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is about village who stones a villager, old or young, once a year, for good crops and harvest. This person is chosen by a draw from a box. As in the lottery, the short story entitled The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K Le Guin is about a community that isolates and eglects a child for a â€Å"perfect† community and in Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. he community is restrained by handicap’s so that everyone can be equally perfect. All of these stories plots have the one person that is tortured or killed for everyone else’s happiness. Someone has to die or be neglected for perfection, they become sacrifices and not willingly. They are chosen unfairly or are held back of their gi fts. The characterizations in each of these stories are simply innocent. None of the main characters had a choice and if they rebelled they were still put to death. In The Lottery Mrs. Hutchinson seems to be a normal mother and a great wife. She was doing as women in that time should have done, and she was late because she was doing the dishes. She was innocent. In The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas a young boy is neglected and frowned upon as a sacrifice. It is not said that this boy had done anything to deserve this, or that he was chosen because of his behavior. He was innocent and very young, most likely pure. In Harrison Bergeron both the mother and father were a normal family however the father had to wear a handicap to make im less intelligent and Harrison was a normal boy that was smart and talented however he disagreed and paid a cost. I believe that all the characters were treated unfairly. They all seemed to be nice and normal. The settings and Symbols of each of the stories are in a small village or community. A smaller community is easier to control and persuade. I think that the symbols are similar they are all restraints in a way or isolation. Stones were used in the lottery and when thinking of a stone I think of something cold and hard and very uncomfortable. In the Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas they used a basement to keep the boy in. When thinking of a basement I think of a dark cold place also very hard and uncomfortable. In Harrison Bergeron they used handicap’s that were probably uncomfortable and the loud sounds in their all very uncomfortable. In conclusion I believe that these three stories were all thematically alike. The Lottery, The Ones Who Walk away from Omelas, and Harrison Bergeron were all great stories and I would recommend them to anyone who would like to read a utopian story.

Environment Analysis of Toy Industry

Doing business in the worlds toy industry today, is anything but plain sailing, with the toy industry as a whole generating $21.47 Billion in 2009 and $21.65 Billion in 2008 (Riley, 2010) This producing a fiercely competitive market, but a market that is very open to new entrants,right throughout the industry. The market is also growing year on year with birth rates rising throughout the world, with the U.K. Birth rate growing this year (2014) by 13%.Risk of entryThe barrier of entry to the Toy industry is very low, this given new and up and coming entrepreneurs and companies a chance of success in this very fast paced and fiercely competitive market, to create products to capture the attentions of children and adults alike. The market environment has also pushes many well known brands to invest a major part of their budgets on research and development, allowing them to introduce new products continuously. Many well known brands such as as Hasbro, Mattel, BanDia and many other compan ies also invest huge amounts of money to compete for licensing of products connected to characters from TV shows, Films and video games,to expand their market share.Power of the BuyersThe toy industry is very concentrated, this leaving manufacturers I a very weak bargaining position with its customer, for example fives stores including Wall-mart and Toys â€Å"R† Us make up 54% or Hasbro's net Revenue in 2009. (Hasbro inc., 2009) Target, Wall-mart and Toys†R† Us also had 43 % of Net Sales of Mattel, (Datamonitor, 2007)these both figures being massive  amounts of products and given these companies power on pricing. The rise in online activity had also gave the manufacturer a door to sell direct to customer, but most of the large manufacturers still use the traditional route through supply chain.Power of the SuppliersThe materials used within the production of 1UpToys products, for example plastics, paper, cardboard, computer chips and cables, are available from a wide range of suppliers , but are susceptible to market related pricing, (e.g., copper for wiring, plastics etc.) some of which are controlled by legislation due to the chemical compounds (like Phthalates and BPA) Which could incur higher taxation brackets and could be subject to government legislation.Threat of substitute productThe threat of substitutes are growing with the continuous growth in demand, with children at a very young age having access to high technological gadgets and platformsThis has driven toy companies to incorporate more technology within their products, as toy companies are now in direct competition not only with other toy products but also with traditionally non toy products such as, Tablets, computers, smart phones and even Mp3,s offering gaming within their technological platforms. The risk from these platforms is very high and is on the increase, as with prices continue to drop on cell phones and technological other gadgets, children are adopting to them earlier in their lives, with these devices offering gaming and entertainment at a very low cost and on occasions no cost at all to download.The phenomenon of these technological devices has added extra pressure to the toy industry as a whole , to create toys with enough bells and whistles to compete with these digital device alternatives, with the cost of traditional toys significantly much higher to invent and manufacturer in comparison to  the digital format. As a result to this the profit margins of the more traditional product is significantly lower, adding to the need to sell more units per product to make profit in today’s toy market.Another major factor for the toy industry is that children at different ages have shifted preferences. Young children are expecting more stimulation from their playthings than before to capture and hold their attention. Hasbro calls this phenomenon of kids â€Å"Getting older, younger.† This threatens everyone in the toy industry b ecause the window toys and games have to make their way into children’s lives keeps shrinking. The toy industry also relies heavy on the intellectual properties of any given toy business, which they may not be able to protect from countries with loose copyright laws and regulations.This may not be a problem throughout the E.U and the United States, but is very rampant within emerging economies, for example China where products such as, DVD’s, Action Figures and nearly every other product thinking able can be copied and reproduced at a fraction of the retail price though piracy, which is a huge problem for the toy industry and a great threat to any companies looking to soften their domestic revenue losses by expanding to China or any other emerging economy.Competitive Rivalry in the IndustryThe Completive rivalry in the toy industry is fierce and diluted with numerous alternatives popping up everyday, with new platforms arising contentiously within this business sector, with companies and new toy products fighting for the limited shelf space, within all the same stores throughout the retailing world, with companies using all the resources possible to gain the competitive advantage over their competitors.This competitiveness has seen all toy companies jockeying for position and has over all lowered companies profit margins, as they compete with pricing with each other, using lower pricing strategies and offering exclusives and unique features to their customer base, at a cost to them.There is also fierce competition within the supply chain, with most toy companies have the majority of its manufacturing done in China, it can only stock as much shelf space as there is available space on large cargo container ships., with many companies fighting for the space, especially just before the holiday season, the price per TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) may go up in these peak seasons and shipping costs are also very vulnerable to changes in fuel pricing, which is forever on the rise.SLEPT Analysis (see appendix 2),we can look at the (Macro) external environment for the toy industry.Social EnvironmentThe social environment of today’s toy customer base is increasingly becoming more technically driven, with children and â€Å"tweens† spending more and more of their time on the internet and social media platforms, as accessibility to these high speed internet and mobile devices enter more homes everyday. A study released in January 2010 by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation found that young people, aged 8-18, spent seven and a half hours seven days a week consuming media (Music, videos, blogs, social media, etc.) While consuming, they are also multitasking. So they can fit almost eleven hours of media into that seven and a half hours (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010) and this is growing year on year, with easier accessibility and reduced cost to online access.This has rising to in 2013 and said to be having serious con sequences , with kids ages 8 to 18 spending on average 44.5 hours per week in front of screens, with parents being increasingly concerned that screen time is robbing them of real world experiences. Nearly 23% of youth report that they feel â€Å"addicted to video games† (31% of males, 13% of females.) These are the results of a new study of 1,178 U.S. children and teens (ages 8 to 18) conducted by Harris Interactive (2007) that documents a national prevalence rate of pathological video game use.Dr. Douglas Gentile, Director of the Media Research Lab at Iowa State University reports, â€Å"Almost one out of every ten youth gamers shows enough  symptoms of damage to their school, family, and psychological functioning to merit serious concern.†The industry could be more drawn to the needs of the consumer and promote games and toys that cross over online and offline platforms,and also incorporate a educational value or the use of learning a musical instrument or techniqu es involved in doing so.Legal EnvironmentThere are increasingly tight rules and regulations about the materials that need to go into toy construction in order to make them safer and more resistant to fire hazards. This has had the impact of raising costs on production within the industry, but these regulations can vary in different countries, but are generally set the same throughout the EU, with safety at the forefront of production.The Toy industry has to be very careful to follow these regulations, especially when out sourcing to places such as China who have generally a loose safety standards and could have serious consequences to any company importing products from theses areas. Loose safety standards in Chinese factories caused the massive toy recall of 2007 which over 10 million toys that contained unsafe levels of lead and small magnets which, if swallowed, could cause serious injury or death. This recall cost not only millions of dollars but severely damaged the costumer co nfidence. A problem like this looms over every toy company that uses manufacturing plants in China.The Legal environment of the toy industry is also continuously protecting and fighting for its copyright on its products. This can be very complicated and confusing for example both Mattel and Hasbro have the rights to the board game Scrabble (Hasbro has rights in North America, Mattel has them everywhere else.) Two India based brothers and programmers created free to play version of Scrabble on Facebook called Scrabulous. At the height of its popularity, Scrabulous attracted a half million players a day. Mattel and Hasbro both sued the Argawalla brothers and forced them to remove the game  from Facebook.Hasbro then made a slow and clunky official version bemoaned by fans of Scrabulous.The official version now draws 90,000 players daily. Instead of working with the creators of the knock-off and bringing the game into the fold of officially licensed content, Mattel and Hasbro caused r esentment and hard feelings in customers on the world’s most popular social network. These actions of putting a substitute cheap version of the game, could have a negative impact on your customer base, especially in the public eye, on a network like facebook that has billions of users and potential customers.Economic EnvironmentThe manufacturing of products for the toy industy for any years has mainly relied on Chinese manufactering, due to the combination of cheap labor and undervalued currency has been a very attractive recipe for keeping production costs as low as possible. This arrangement might be very profitable to the toy industry, but does make them very susceptible to problems within in China itself.In recent times with the up and coming working classes of Chinese people are demanding more pay and benefits, some that we in the UK take for granted on a daily basis (health and safety, Severance pay, etc.) in the working environment. These demands can have explosive aff ects, with the toy company Hasbro feeling the full effects. In November, 2008,a worker riot broke out at a Hasbro factory in Dongguan, China (Foreman, 2008). 80 senior migrant workers, who felt they were being jilted by management on their severance pay, quickly organized a mob of 500 people that overturned a police car, stormed the factory offices, and damaged computers.Political EnvironmentThe politiacl envirment is more driven towrds trade restriction within China and Chinese currency develpoments, as most of toy trade is manufactoered within its counry. This has been mentioned by the US in recent times, with the Chinise undervalued currency being a target by plolicy makers within the  US. Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi brought up the possibility of a new China currency bill that would give the â€Å"†¦ the [Obama] administration leverage in its bilateral andmultilateral negotiations with the Chinese government so that U.S. businesses and workers have a more level playing field in world trade.† No one really knows how much this would affect export prices from China, but it is an issue that should remain onthe radar.Technological EnviromentThe Technological Environment of the toy industry is very highly paced ,with toy fads coming and going within the toy market continiusly. Toy companies need to innovate and keep moving forward with demand and try to create the next big toy breakthrough.The toy customer in today’s market are mostly looking for intractability within the game, with many offering these platforms, such as Wii, Xbox, Playstation for example, using various platforms do so, even smaller toys such as Furbbie and tamagotchiis being very popular in their time, selling millions of units in their day or Fad as its known.This fast moving technological environment relies on getting product to the market first and is very prone to company espionages fast moving technological environment relies on gett ing product to the market first and is very prone to company espionage, which is wide spread throughout the toy industry.