Team Balance

Games in themselves have been vociferously criticized for a long time as they have been considered to make the players couch potatoes by not involving any rigorous physical activity. This criticism is even true for video games and more so as they do not even require a “physical” opponent which at the least could have helped to develop some social relations. Add to this, the fact that these video games can be played any time of the day making it responsible for erratic sleep behavior and its subsequent consequences. However, there is a lot that players (not necessarily children) can and should learn from video games.

Learning’s from Video Games

In an article in Harvard’ Nieman reports, the author has given several examples as to how the video games can help the player in developing some of the skill sets. For example, combat games such as Full Spectrum Warrior and Metal Gear show how to wage war in contemporary global conflicts or sneak past enemy lines. Games like Simcity and Civilization require the players to manage a city or a whole civilization. Then there are games like Chibi-Robo which can imbibe basic family values in the player as they require keeping a house clean and also maintain a family happy. Games such as these are likely to have a last effecting on the child as the content is packaged in a format with which the child can easily relate to. Games like Tactical Iraqi have been set in realistic scenarios and require the player to learn the Iraqi language without offending the Iraqi culture thereby sensitizing people about the need to appreciate ones language, culture and preferences.

Performance before competence

Another distinctive feature of games over schools is that the gaming framework is based on the philosophy of putting performance before competence. In a game, the player learns things by doing it rather than relying only on reading. On the contrary, in a school environment, a child is more likely to learn by reading and may or may not have an opportunity to have hands on experience. Also, in a schooling environment, the child is under the constant pressure of performance and is most likely to follow the traditional norm whereas in a gaming environment the child is not under such pressure and is likely to explore newer techniques which contribute to the intellectual growth of the child. Every step of human life is filled with choices and it is necessary to make right choices or at least take immediate corrective action when the manifestations of a wrong choice are realized. Any video game would require the player to make choices at various stages and reap the after effects of his/her choices. This uncanny similarity of games with real life makes the video games an ideal simulator to train the mind and get used to making choices.  Academicians should also comprehend as to how children are self motivated to learn games independently and dedicate long hours without losing interest. If the academicians are able to translate the gaming framework to the school, it will not be a surprise to see the child staying long hours in school.

We all like to think we live in a world where nothing bad ever happens. Up until 9/11, there had been occasional events the government called home-grown terrorist attacks. You may remember Ted Kaczynski who achieved notoriety as the Unabomber, sending out bombs through the mail for some twenty years, and Timothy McVeigh who was responsible for the greatest loss of life through the Oklahoma City Bombing. These are rare individuals who become unhappy with the way things are and resort to extreme measures. This was a containable risk until Al-Qaeda highjacked four airplanes and crashed three of them into high-visibility targets. We might have considered this outrage a unique event but, for a variety of political reasons, America has continued military actions abroad. No matter what you might think of this form of action overseas, all informed sources confirm this action acts as a recruiting tool for groups of terrorists. For now, their retaliation has been against troops or targets based abroad. But we would be foolish if we ignore the risk of direct action on our soil.

Following the 9/11 attack, President Bush pushed through the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. This puts federal money on the line until 2014. By this time, the private insurance industry is supposed to come up with a proper framework to support the risk of loss and damage caused by terrorists anywhere within our borders. Until then, the Treasury acts as a reinsurer and, if the Secretary of the Treasury certifies losses caused by terrorism, it pays 90c in the dollar of every claim approved by private insurers. And, just so you understand the value of this back-up, no commercial insurance company can refuse to insure a business against terrorist risks. It’s your right to be covered at an affordable rate. Should an insurance company refuse, you can make a formal complaint and the company will face a fine.

Why should you consider this? You may have noticed that things are not going so well in Afghanistan. Some of our soldiers have failed to live up to our high expectations of honor. There has been a public burning of the Koran. A soldier recently decided to kill a few local Afghans for fun. This does nothing to improve America’s reputation with the Moslem world and everything to encourage extreme groups to retaliate. So far, they have aimed their anger at the troops and other soft targets abroad. But there may come a time when they decide to come to America. So if you run a business that might be a target or your business premises are close to a likely target, you should talk to your business insurance agent. If there look to be problems, remind your agent this form of insurance has been standard in countries where terrorism has been relatively common over the decades. So, for example, Pool Re was set up in 1993 to reinsure the market as the IRA continued its bombing campaign on British soil. It now offers reinsurance cover for France and Spain as well. The German government offers direct support like the US. Your business insurance agent should tell you US risks are priced as a percentage of your property value. Since these values have been falling because of the recession, terrorism insurance is more affordable.

Online games have become very popular because people all over the world are using their computer for leisure activities. There are many old fashioned games that can be played online in addition to the new video games. Many people like them because the have wonderful graphics and sounds. They can also be played anywhere with an internet connection including the car, the airport, and at a hotel.

Online games can be played against a computer. This is a great way to pick up the skills needed to play the game well. Many people enjoy playing against the computer when they want to learn new games to play. This allows you to play at your own speed. You can also access the rules of the game as you go if you have any questions. Most online games have different levels of difficulty so that you can make the game more challenging as your skills improve.

The opportunity to play online games against other plays has lead to the number of people playing online games exploding. Imagine playing your favorite video game at home against an opponent who is in China or another state in the United States. It is a great experience.

There are online games for anyone to play, depending on your interests. Online checkers, chess, and backgammon are common for older people as are solitaire, bridge, and hearts. The younger generations prefer the action packed video games that are made by Playstation, Ninetendo, and GameCube.

For those who enjoy gambling, you can experience online games for fun or real wagers. These games include Texas Hold ‘Em, Black Jack, and slot machines. There are online Casinos where you can wager and win real money.

Regardless of the type of games you like to play, online gaming offers you many great choices. You will love the graphics and the various game choices. Choose from classic games or the newest releases. You can also choose to play against the computer or other real people.

Most games are available at no cost. Some websites require you to become a member by creating a login ID and password before you can access the games. There are gaming sites that require you to pay per game or a monthly membership fee. Of course, the online casinos cost whatever amount of money you are willing to wager during your gaming activities.

One of the more exciting marketing strategies of the last ten years has been the growth in the use of coupons. The idea is simple. A central marketing agency promotes the named businesses by offering discount vouchers. Go to this restaurant, eat a magnificent meal, and enjoy a discount of 50%. This is a great promotion for the restaurant and the statistics show the majority of people who come to try out the meals return and pay the full price later on. Now let the pharmaceutical industry play with this idea. Suppose the drug manufacturers were to offer coupons to their loyal customers, how would the marketing plan work? Well, for a moment, consider the problem of the generic market. When the patent runs out on a brand, others may copy the chemistry and sell a generic version of the drug for a significantly lower price. From the customer’s point of view, this is wonderful news. The same drug is available. It has been approved by the FDA as an exact match for the original branded drug. And it comes at a heavily discounted price. Not surprisingly, this knocks a big hole in the profits of the branded manufacturer, so this manufacturer will search for a way to keep the generic manufacturer out of the market.

Enter the copayment coupons. The idea of copayments has been central to insurance policies for some years. This requires the patient to pay a proportion of the medical costs. It is actually self-insurance of that part of the costs. The justification advanced by insurance companies is that it reduces moral hazard, i.e. it is an encouragement to people only to seek treatment when it is genuinely necessary. Through the coupons, the manufacturers offer a form of subsidy to the patients if they copay for branded drugs. This makes the branded drugs more affordable and maintains more of their profit margin. Obviously, if the brands were losing too much of their market share, the manufacturers would have to reduce their prices to compete with the generics. In theory, the coupons represent a compromise. The patients pay less for the brand, but more than for the generic. The manufacturers give away a part of their profits, but less than through a price reduction to complete with the generic directly.

There is now a class action effectively accusing the manufacturers of fraud through their use of these coupons. As it stands, the insurance companies pay the manufacturer a fixed price for every branded pill or tablet prescribed. The manufacturers and pharmacists have been forgetting to tell the insurers about the coupons. It is highly relevant that the patients have been paying less at the drugstore counters. Because there are no savings to the insurance companies in paying for the generics, the premium rates stay high. This makes cheap health insurance even less likely to appear. In reality everyone is losing. Customers are still paying more than they should. Both individual and group health insurance plans cost more than they should. All this being purely for the benefit of the pharmaceutical industry. The class action describes these coupons as part of a bait and switch scam. If the courts agree, heavy damages will be awarded and there will be compensation available to some consumers.