BMG entertainment Essay Example for Free

BMG entertainment Essay Strengths: *First major record label to create websites branded towards different music genres. First major record label to use downloading technology to promote sales of CDs and cassettes. *Merged with AOLAOL has the largest internet service provider in the industry. *BMG was the largest music club in the world, and arguably the leader of the five major labels. *BMG set up a series of websites dedicated to specific genres of music. These sites linked fans to the artists websites, where they could download or purchase CDs. (Another innovative move from BMG) Weaknesses: * Through sites like CDNow and Amazon.com customers had the option of having CDs or cassettes mailed to them. Consumers may not want to deal with downloading music from the net. They may just stick with what they have. Many sites had illegal downloads, so the conventional consumer may not want to bother with this new type of technology. * Although BMG was the first company to create branded websites for specific music genres, they only focused on promotional aspects here, rather than focusing on selling music and in turn making money. Opportunities: * The innovativeness and newness of the digital era could spark a surge of  consumer interest in the music industry. For instance, the CD had a big impact on industry revenue; owners of tapes simply replaced their collections with CDs. * ;BMG is arguably the leader in the music industry, and consequently has the influence to take its existing customers with them into the digital mp3 era. * BMG had close relationships with all the players involved in setting tech standards for downloadable music. This could give BMG the heads up on newest technology, and an advantage for market entry. * If BMG begins to sell music on the internet, they can reduce their costs greatly by doing away with distribution and manufacturing expenses. Threats: * -In 1929 the new technology of radio posed a serious threat to the music industry. Could a similar event take place with Digital music, where BMG loses a lot of money due to a decrease in CD and cassette sales? * -Time Warner had one of the most advanced cable systems in the US. They were experimenting with services such as video on demand and HD TV so the possibility of digital music was definitely there for TW, and they had the internet resources to distribute it too. * -Would conventional music buyers want to go through the hassle of joining a website, installing a media player, and then buying additional software to play the music at their convenience? * -With a 56K modem (one that many still used 7 years ago), a song took roughly 7 minutes to download. Ten songs can take 70 minutes, and that is not appealing or convincing enough for conventional consumers to switch over to mp3s usage. * -Sonys Kiosks in retail music stores posed a threat for BMG. These kiosks  allowed customers to choose from a variety of over 4,000 songs, and create their own CD within 15 minutes. Attacking Piracy at the Source- the CDs In order to attack piracy, record labels must start at the source. Nearly all of the music traded on the Internet originally comes from CDs, which can be easily copied, or ripped, onto any computer as MP3 digital audio files. Most analysts point to CDs as the biggest hole in the music industrys strategy for aiding online piracy. The recording industry wants to make it harder for consumers to directly copy CDs, but it faces enormous hurdles. First, any barriers to copying must be backwards compatiblemeaning the new technologies would have to work on old CD players that dont screen for pirated material, and vice versa. Eventually, the group SDMI was formed, consisting of all the major players involved in setting the technological standards for downloading music.(ATT, Microsoft, Liquid Audio, IBM, etc) SDMIs efforts have focused on installing digital watermarks on CD tracks that would enable copyright holders to trace illegal copies and to create devices that would refuse to play copied tracks. In its first phase, SDMI selected a watermark system created by Verance Technologies as the global standard. Future record releases for BMG- Copy Management. It is the Record labels responsibility to protect the work of their artists. Copy management technology is one of several responses to illegal file sharing and mass copying, which has had a detrimental effect on the music industry (unit shipments have fallen 26% from 1.16 billion units in 1999 to 860 million units last year). There are a few features that are new to this type of technology: Device playability- These discs play just like an enhanced CD. Certain products recently tested had playability issues with DVD players, car  stereos and game consoles, yet these discs play on nearly all DVD players, car stereos, etc. Anywhere an enhanced CD will play, these discs will play. Mac playability The discs can now be played on a Mac like any other CD. Voluntary Collective Licensing- Music Industry and the Internet Many Record Labels have spent countless amounts of time evaluating alternatives that would pay artists while making file sharing legal. One solution that has emerged as the favorite is voluntary collective licensing. The concept is simple: the music industry forms a collecting society which then offers file-sharing music fans the opportunity to get legit in exchange for a reasonable regular payment, for example $5 per month. So long as they pay, the fans are free to keep doing what they are going to do anywayshare the music they love using whatever software they like on whatever computer platform they preferwithout fear of lawsuits. The money collected gets divided among rights-holders based on the popularity of their music. In exchange, file-sharing music fans would be free to download whatever they like using whatever software works best for them. The more people share, the more money goes to rights-holders.

Standardized Testing :: Standardized Testing Essays

Standardized Testing The truth is, white students continuously outperform black or Hispanic students in terms of proficiency test scores in every subject. For years, people have been trying to change this. Some blame the tests as being unfair and discriminatory, and seek to have them abolished. Perhaps the fault doesn’t lie in the tests and the discrepancy in scores lies elsewhere in the public education system. What the opponents of standardized testing need to understand is that this type of assessment is essential in having a public school system. The government implements standards for the student of the public school system to achieve by a certain grade level. Standardized tests are the most fair and effective way of measuring student achievement level. These tests are administered to everyone, regardless of sex, race or ethnicity. Just because white students typically perform better than minority students doesn’t mean that the testing is biased. Standardized testing is too important and too deeply entrenched in the public education system to deem unfair and have abolished. The tests that are being administered to students are used to determine the child’s proficiency in subjects such as mathematics and language arts - the building blocks of learning. This is to insure that all students are performing at or above their expected level. If a child is falling behind the rest of their class in these core subjects, these tests are a sure indicator of this. The student can then be looked after to insure that they progress along with the rest of their class. If not, then they can be held behind to insure that they gain adequate skills to perform at their required level of knowledge before proceeding to the next. It is important to â€Å"Leave no child behind† because inadequate preparation can be devastating for future education. If a student is not retaining this required knowledge, then the teachers must be aware, to insure the student a proper education. Students who cannot read or write should not be graduating from high school. Herman Badillo, chairman at the City University of New York, states firmly â€Å"the university should not have to be in the business of teaching basic reading, writing and English† (Blaming).

Copyright and whether it has been infringed?

In order to be able to settle the question whether or not there has been copyright infringement, the two underlying principles to guide us is the applicable law and infringement. The submissions by both parties to the dispute were drawn from the federal laws and a clear jurisdiction is provided for under the 1976 Copyright Act. Further, the submissions by the parties were clearly on cases that are from the federal courts and hence jurisdiction is not a debatable issue. The other issue is on the question of infringement.As previously indicated, the infringement arises when the copyright registered is used by somebody else who purports to be the owner of that work. In this issue, the plaintiff did not have his work registered, however, it is not a disputed fact that the works belonged to the plaintiff and therefore not an issue. The question that suffices in this case is the similarity of expression. The intention of the Copyright act is to protect the author’s expression of ide a and not the idea itself.In the present case the plaintiff had brought to the defendant the work which the defendant was to look into and decide whether it was a good idea or not, however, the defendant went on to pass the works to another third party who turned to be his agent to confirm the work and instead stole his ideas and a document was produced to that effect. The intention of the doctrine is to protect the authors’ expression. In order to settle this question the court looks at the nature of expression is it expressed in myriad ways or in narrow ways?In the above case, the expression is expressed in narrow form and therefore there is similarity of expression from the document which was produced by the third party, who was in concert with the defendant herein, it is therefore correct to submit that there was infringement by the defendant. Whether or not there is an implied contract of fact? The issue of whether or not that there existed a contract is one which cannot go ignored. The rule of thumb is that all contracts must be in writing. However, the case before us is that, there is no written contract between the parties and therefore the issue of implied contract of fact arises.Whether or not there is an implied contract of fact, the test will be applied to the intentions and conduct of the parties. A contract implied in fact will construct the whole agreement, further it is a contract that is created when a party tacitly accepts benefit at a time it was able to reject it. In the present case, it is the finding of the court and fact that the plaintiff had given the defendant manuscript and that they would use it for the purpose which was intended and should they do otherwise then the plaintiff should have go consideration.In arriving to this conclusion the court looks at the intention and the conduct of both parties at the time of making of the contact. It is clear from the conduct of the defendant especially from the second request for the m anuscript that there was intention to create an implied contract of fact. For the court to arrive at the conclusion that indeed the defendant was in breach is in order and therefore the plaintiff should be awarded the remedies that follow suit as a result of the defendant breaching the contract.Under the California laws which the plaintiff had pleaded under, the courts can enforce for remedies. Whether or not the affecting issues will affect the judgment of the court? There are other issues that directly and indirectly affect the outcome of the case this include; †¢ Exclusion of hearsay Evidence †¢ Denial of Motion to amend †¢ Finding of fact †¢ Statute limitations †¢ Attorneys fees It is trite law that the hearsay evidence will not be admitted on record save that it meets the exception rule. The issue in this case is whether or not in the trial courts’ finding the exclusion was in order.In the circumstances, the exclusion was in order since the evide nce which the parties had purported to bring before the court was adduced by a third party and clearly could not and hearsay hence did not fall within the exception rules. Motion to amend can be given if certain legal principles and threshold are met with the party seeking to rely on it. The underlying guideline is that, the Motion to amend can be given and if it does not seek to prejudice the other party. In the foregoing circumstance, a motion to amend was brought 19 months from the time the matter was filed in court and viewed with suspicion.The only conclusion that was arrived by the courts is that it was brought with the aim of forestalling the wheels of justice and it was proper for the court to deny the same. The burden of proof shifts to the person who alleges, in the foregoing circumstances if the plaintiff made allegations and did support using evidence which they did, then it can be held as the true fact. In presenting their evidence, the plaintiff did support his evidenc e and was not shaken by the defense and therefore the court is correct to find their position as the truth. The issue of limitations goes to back when the cause of action arose.It is the defendants’ submission that it is time barred under the California laws. The courts are guided from when the action arose in this case after the defendant failed to make good the payment and which was within time when the defendant was filling this suit which is now a condition precedent. The general principle is that the losing party should pay the costs. In this case, the defendant lost the case and further, it is our submission that the case was brought under the federal laws copyright Act of 1976 that the party guilty should pay the advocates costs.In conclusion, therefore it is my humble submission that the plaintiff has fulfilled the required threshold on matter of balance of probability and hence attained the chance of success. Works cited Lessick, Susan,† Copyright ownershipâ₠¬  UC Copyright. Feb 27, 2003 Nov 22, 2008 â€Å"Implied-in-fact Contract†, Business Dictionary, Ed 2007-2008 Massey, Calvin R,† The California State Constitution A reference guide† published 1879

Anti Diabetic Activity Of Sea Cucumber Essay - 1512 Words

Anti diabetic activity of Sea cucumber, Holothuria thomasi Saponin of Streptozotocin Diabetic Rats ABSTRACT This study was designed to confirm the presence of saponins in the Holothuria thomasi and evaluate its anti-diabetic potential in STZ- induced diabetic rats. The soapy lathers when mixed and agitated with water confirmed the presence of saponin in Holothuria thomasi, TLC showed the presence of one type of saponin, the functional group of saponin was similar to commercial standard saponin this confirmed with FTIR analysis and GC-MS analysis showed that the aglycone part of saponin was methyl esters of octadecanoic acid. Saponin extract was administrated orally to STZ-diabetic rats after 35 days of STZ-induction. Saponin extract significantly reduced serum blood glucose and significantly increased serum insulin level indicating that saponin could be antidiabetic effect. Saponin extract significantly decrease both serum cholesterol and triacylglycerol which indicated that saponin act as antihyperlipidemic. Also, saponin extract showed a significant decrease in both serum IL-6 and TNF-ÃŽ ± which indicated that saponin could be a good inhibition for inflammation. Saponin extract significantly decrease liver L-MDA , catalase and significantly increase liver non protein thiol this confirm that saponin could act as antioxidant. Histological examination of the pancreas of diabetic non treated group showed degenerative change in ÃŽ ²-cells, where as treatment reversed histo