scholarly journals Increasing Transparency for Consumers Showing Probabilities of Virtual Items in Loot Boxes in Digital Games

2020 ◽  
pp. 22-27
Author(s):  
Philipp Christian Lohse
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Game Design ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Digital Games ◽  
The United States ◽  
Research Field ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk

Purpose of the study: This study is motivated by the increasing public discussions about loot boxes. There are similarities between loot boxes and gambling. Digital games often cross the line between skill-based games and gambling. Methodology: The presented data in this study is based on an online survey from July 2019 in Germany, Hungary, South Africa, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. Main Findings: This paper discusses the public acceptance of a possible loot box regulation. Often, the probabilities of items inside loot boxes are not shown. This paper discusses the acceptance of mandatory showing of loot box probabilities and finds that there is a major agreement to the possible increase of transparency. Research limitations: The presented data only applies to Germany, Hungary, South Africa, Thailand, the UK, and the USA in July 2019. Findings from this study cannot be transferred to other countries. There might be further regional differences in other countries. Further research of consumer preferences for possible regulations can help in determining useful regulations for digital games with loot boxes. Novelty/Originality of this study: Knowledge in this research field is still limited. There are yet adequate studies that explore consumer preferences concerning game design. This applies especially for the field of consumer preferences concerning the showing of probabilities of virtual items inside loot boxes.

Antitrust Regulation of IT Giants` Activities: Main Trends of Foreign and Russian Legislation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.V. Shram ◽  
Keyword(s):  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Network Effects ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Economic Concentration ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Antitrust Regulation

The article is devoted to the antimonopoly regulation of IT giants` activities. The author presents an overview of the main trends in foreign and Russian legislation in this area. The problems the antimonopoly regulation of digital markets faces are the following: the complexity of determining the criteria for the dominant position of economic entities in the digital economy and the criteria for assessing the economic concentration in the commodity digital markets; the identification and suppression of cartels; the relationship between competition law and intellectual property rights in the digital age. Some aspects of these problems are considered through the prism of the main trends in the antimonopoly policy in the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Russia. The investigation findings of the USA House of Representatives Antitrust Subcommittee against Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook are presented. The author justifies the need to separate them, which requires the adoption of appropriate amendments to the antimonopoly legislation. The article analyzes the draft law of the European Commission on the regulation of digital markets – Digital Markets Act, reveals the criteria for classifying IT companies as «gatekeepers», and notes the specific approaches to antimonopoly regulation in the UK and the US. The article describes the concepts «digital platform» and «network effects», presented in the «fifth antimonopoly package of amendments», developed in 2018 by the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation, and gives an overview of the comments of the Ministry of Economic Development regarding these concepts wording in the text of the draft law, which formed the basis for the negative conclusion of the regulator. It is concluded that in the context of the digital markets’ globalization, there is a need for the international legal nature antitrust norms formation, since regional legislation obviously cannot cope with the monopolistic activities of IT giants.

scholarly journals Integrity…Courage…Honour: A Comparative Study of Law Enforcement Agencies

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. p119
Author(s):  
Ansia Storm
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
The United States ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Corruption Perception ◽  
First World ◽  
Preliminary Support

Purpose—The purpose of this paper was to compare three first-world countries’ law enforcement agencies to those of South Africa. The aim was to identify areas where South Africa’s agencies can improve to take the fighting of corruption to a higher level, and in doing so, improve their ranking on Transparency International’s scale, and their Corruption Perception Index.Design/methodology/approach—The author compared South Africa’s law enforcement agencies to those of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia to identify possible areas where South Africa’s agencies can improve.Findings—The results indicate preliminary support for areas in South Africa’s law enforcement agencies that need restructuring and improvement.Practical implications—Improved law enforcement agencies will assist in the fight against corruption, improving South Africa’s corruption perception index (among others), which might encourage foreign investment.Originality/value—The results of this study point to opportunities to strengthen law enforcement agencies in South Africa, which will result in improved crime-fighting abilities, higher prosecution rates, and improved crime statistics.Research limitations—Law enforcement agencies (which deals with corruption in general) from the USA, the U.K., and Australia will be explored and compared with those of South Africa.

scholarly journals Host’s Specific SARS-CoV-2 Mutations: Insertion of the Phenylalanine in the NSP6 Linked to the United Kingdom and Premature Termination of the ORF-8 Associated with the European and the United States of America Derived Samples

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Khalid ◽  
Yousef Al-ebini ◽  
David Murphy ◽  
Maryam Shoai
Keyword(s):  
Mutation Rate ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
The United States ◽  
Genome Sequences ◽  
Dna Viruses ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Geographical Locations

AbstractThe coronavirus belongs to the order Nidovirales, which is known for the longest RNA genome virus. The polymerase enzyme of SARS-CoV-2 has proofreading functions, but still, the RNA viruses have a higher mutation rate than DNA viruses. The mutations in the viral genome provide a replication advantage in any population/geographical location and that may have profound consequences in the outcome and pathogenesis, diagnosis and patient management of the viral infection. In the present study, we have analysed full-length SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences, derived from symptomatic/asymptomatic COVID-19 patients from all six continents to investigate the common mutations globally. Our results revealed that SARS-CoV-2 is mutating independently, we identified total 313 mutations and some (21 mutations) of them are prevailing over time irrespective of geographical location. Another important finding, we are reporting here is, the mutation rate of the virus varies in different geographical locations suggesting the virus is adapting different strategies in the infected populations, having different genetic backgrounds across the globe. We have identified 11085TTT insertion (insertion of the Phenylalanine in NSP6 at position 38) mutation, which is mainly linked to the UK derived SARS-CoV-2 samples, we have also discovered non-sense mutation in ORF-8 after 17 amino acid is linked to the European and the USA derived SARS-CoV-2 samples.

scholarly journals Anesthesia guidelines for COVID-19 patients: a narrative review and appraisal

2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 486-502
Author(s):  
Sharon Ong ◽  
Wan Yen Lim ◽  
John Ong ◽  
Peter Kam
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Anesthetic Management ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Federation ◽  
National Guidelines ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Reporting Framework ◽  
Anesthesia Technique ◽  
The Uk ◽  
New Evidence

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has challenged health systems globally and prompted the publication of several guidelines. The experiences of our international colleagues should be utilized to protect patients and healthcare workers. The primary aim of this article is to appraise national guidelines for the perioperative anesthetic management of patients with COVID-19 so that they can be enhanced for the management of any resurgence of the epidemic. PubMed and EMBASE databases were systematically searched for guidelines related to SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, the World Federation Society of Anesthesiologists COVID-19 resource webpage was searched for national guidelines; the search was expanded to include countries with a high incidence of SARS-CoV. The guidelines were evaluated using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II tool. Guidelines from Australia, Canada, China, India, Italy, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America were evaluated. All the guidelines focused predominantly on intubation and infection control. The scope and purpose of guidelines from China were the most comprehensive. The UK and South Africa provided the best clarity. Editorial independence, the rigor of development, and applicability scored poorly. Heterogeneity and gaps pertaining to preoperative screening, anesthesia technique, subspecialty anesthesia, and the lack of auditing of guidelines were identified. Evidence supporting the recommendations was weak. Early guidelines for the anesthetic management of COVID-19 patients lacked quality and a robust reporting framework. As new evidence emerges, national guidelines should be updated to enhance rigor, clarity, and applicability.

‘A splendid innovation, these English titles!’ The invention of subtitling in the USA and the UK

2019 ◽  
pp. 267-290
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
The United States ◽  
Silent Films ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Methodological Problems ◽  
The Uk

This chapter offers the first account of the beginning of subtitling in the United Kingdom and in the United States. The release of foreign-language films with superimposed English titles began in both countries in the course of 1931, and became generalised in 1932. The chapter discusses early experiments in titling, including the use of interpolated titles after the fashion of silent films. It also raises a number of methodological problems, including the difficulty of interpretation of press data. This difficulty means that as yet we have only a provisional picture of early subtitling practices in the UK and USA, and for several of these early subtitled versions the nature and extent of the titling is not known. The chapter also discusses the question of survival of the material artefacts of these subtitled versions.

British and US Anticommunism Between the World Wars

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Olmsted
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Interwar Period ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Union Activists ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Cold War

This article examines the espionage and propaganda networks established by former professional spies and other anticommunist activists in the interwar period in the United States of America and the United Kingdom. In both countries, conservatives responded to the growing power of labor in politics by creating and funding private groups to coordinate spying operations on union activists and political radicals. These British and US spies drew upon the resources of the government while evading democratic controls. The anti-labor groups also spread anti-radical propaganda, but the counter-subversive texts in the UK tended to highlight the economic threats posed by radicalism, while those in the USA appealed to more visceral fears. The leaders of these anti-labur networks established a transnational alliance with their fellow anticommunists across the Atlantic decades before the beginning of the Cold War.

scholarly journals COMPARATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AMERICAN AND BRITISH PEER-TO-PEER LENDING MARKETS

Federalism ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 172-192
Author(s):  
T. G. Bondarenko ◽  
O. A. Zhdanova ◽  
T. P. Maksimova
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
World Market ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Weak Points ◽  
Peer Lending ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The Uk

Peering lending arose as a response to the challenge of time at the moment when banks showed their weak points: extreme over-regulation and sluggishness. It is the reason leading to the emergence in the global financial market of a new mechanism — peertopeer lending, which requires a comprehensive study, which is advisable to start with an analysis of peer-to-peer lending markets in two founding countries — the United Kingdom and the United States. The stages of development of the peering mechanism in these countries reflect the trends of the world market as a whole. The structural and dynamic analysis made it possible to identify general trends in the development of markets in terms of slowing their growth rates over the next five years, which indicates that markets have reached their maximum and the need to find new ways of qualitative development in order to increase the numbers. Analysis of differences in legislative regulation of markets showed that the main differences are based on the use of different peer-to-peer crediting models in the UK and the USA, which in turn leads to nonidentical regulatory objects from a legal point of view, although in general the concept of peer-to-peer lending does not change.

International perspectives

2020 ◽  
pp. 95-110
Author(s):  
Ian Cummins
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Initial Period ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gauteng Province ◽  
International Perspectives ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Fiscal Considerations ◽  
The Impact

This chapter will examine deinstitutionalisation in Italy, the United States, and post-apartheid South Africa. In examining the different drivers and outcomes of policies in these areas, similar themes to the UK experience emerge. These include: the role of scandals in the pressure for change, the role of fiscal considerations in the development of policy, an initial period of optimism and the impact of scandals. In Italy, the work of the psychiatrist, Franco Basaglia was seen as a possible blueprint for wider reforms. Basaglia’s work became very influential amongst radicals and the anti-psychiatry movement. The USA was at the forefront of the deinstitutionalisation policy. The links between the closure of psychiatric facilities and the expansion of the use of imprisonment have been most closely examined in this context. Finally, the chapter examines the total policy failure that led to the deaths of one hundred and forty-four patients in Gauteng Province, South Africa in 2014

scholarly journals The use of non-speech oral-motor exercises among Indian speech-language pathologists to treat speech disorders: An online survey

2015 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roha M. Thomas ◽  
Ramesh Kaipa
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Clinical Effectiveness ◽  
The United States ◽  
Speech Disorders ◽  
Speech Language Pathologists ◽  
Oral Motor ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Oral Motor Exercises

Objective: Previous surveys in the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom (UK), and Canada have indicated that most of the speech-language pathologists (SLPs) tend to use non-speech oral-motor exercises (NSOMEs) on a regular basis to treat speech disorders.At present, there is considerable debate regarding the clinical effectiveness of NSOMEs. Thecurrent study aimed to investigate the pattern and extent of usage of NSOMEs among Indian SLPs.Method: An online survey intended to elicit information regarding the use of NSOMEswas sent to 505 members of the Indian Speech and Hearing Association. The questionnaire consisted of three sections. The first section solicited demographic information, the second and third sections solicited information from participants who did and did not prefer to use NSOMEs, respectively. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyse the responses that were clinically relevant.Results: A total of 127 participants responded to the survey. Ninety-one percent of the participants who responded to the survey indicated that they used NSOMEs.Conclusion: The results suggested that the percentage of SLPs preferring to use NSOMEsis similar to the findings of surveys conducted in the USA, the UK, and Canada. The Indian SLPs continue to use NSOMEs based on a multitude of beliefs. It is important for SLPs toincorporate the principles of evidence-based practice while using NSOMEs to provide high quality clinical care.

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