The Implication of EPOS Systems

The Implication of EPOS Systems William Hill is a major bookmaker worldwide, with over seventy years experience in offering betting services.   It is currently one of the leading gaming companies in the UK, where it operates over 1600 betting shops, serves over 800,000 betting slips each day via phone (standard and mobile), and recently began Britains first interactive digital television channel devoted entirely to gambling (Lee 2004).   It is the countrys most successful Internet gambling company in a country where over four million people bet in online gaming rooms every month (Thomas 2004).   William Hill was the first major gaming organisation to offer online betting, opening its website in 1996 (Lee 2004). The William Hill culture pairs low-cost, low-risk emphasis in businessdecision making with a willingness to be innovative, particularly inregards to use of technology (Hargrave 2004)).   This makes it all themore surprising that the organisation has waited so long to implementelectronic point of sale   (EPOS) machines in its betting shops.   Whilethese are expected to make the company more profitable, efficient, andcompetitive, the implications of these machine span across theorganisation.   Of specific interest is the effect of the system on thepeople involved, traditionally an important part of William Hillssuccess.   This study seeks to consider the possible benefits and losses to William Hill from the implementation of the EPOS system. Three specific areas of consideration are the effect of the machines oncorporate and local shop culture, whether the EPOS system will increase efficiency, and whether the system will contribute to increased competitiveness. The objectives of this study are to critically examine the introductionof an electronic point of sale system as implemented at William Hill.  Specifically, this study aims to examine the strategic considerationsof the EPOS and how its effectiveness can be optimised.   The studybegins with a review of literature and research available about WilliamHill, the firms operations, and EPOS systems in general.   ThisLiterature Review serves as a foundation for understanding analysis ofthe rest of this work.Following the Literature Review, of first consideration will be theeffect of EPOS on the corporate and local culture of William Hill.  Will EPOS enhance or detract from positive aspects of current culture?  Will the increase in customer information and the ease of its analysisdraw new customer groups into traditional betting shops?   If so, whatwill be the effect of this on the shops and their regulars?  Ã‚   How willstaff react to the changes caused by the EPOS system?   W ill EPOS changehow customers and staff interact?   How does the introduction of EPOScompare to the effect of technological advances on workers in general? The second objective is consideration of the efficiency of the EPOSsystem.   It will be compared to the traditional manual betting systemit replaced, with analysis of improvements in or negative effects ontime and cost.   Has William Hill become more efficient, and moreimportantly more effective, with the introduction of EPOS?   It is abetter organisation as the result of automation?   Finally, the study seeks to project the effects of EPOS on WilliamHills competitiveness.   Will the system encourage customers to switchto William Hill?   Can the organisations market share be expected toincrease?   What are the overall results on a holistic, corporate levelof automation, and how can the firm best implement such technologywithout undermining its established strengths?   What is the moststrategic way the system can be implemented, and how can it mostgreatly benefit the organisation as a whole?This study seeks to address these questions through the study ofinformation and data provided by William Hill and in literatureavailable about the firm, similar gambling companies, and electronicpoint of sale systems in general. It is anticipated that the EPOS system will be found to increaseefficiency and competitiveness for William Hill, albeit at some changeto and possible loss of culture.   This is anticipated to be an overallpositive innovation, however, increasing profit across several gamingplatforms, allowing for improved marketing activities, and increasingmarket share for the company.   The system is anticipated to provide afaster, more accurate, and more secure way of processing bets, inaddition to generating data relevant for market analysis. Many articles about William Hill, including the companys ownpublications, describe the organisation as an innovator (William Hill2005).   This is certainly the case, and low-cost, low-risk strategyhasnt kept the firm from pursuing technological advances and marketexpansion in many areas, the most recent being the installation of anEPOS system in its betting shops.   The company currently provides fourvehicles for gambling:   traditional betting shops, phones-basedbetting, including via mobile phones, Internet gaming, and interactivedigital television.   Plans to expand into casino gambling have beentemporarily shelved, as the Gambling Bill under consideration by thegovernment now appears less likely to benefit gaming organisations whoexpand into casinos (WH Annual Report 2005).   All of these may beeffected and possibly benefit from the introduction of EPOS machines.  Ã‚  EPOS can support all four major betting vehicles, and enhance how theycan work toget her to increase the number of customers, repeatcustomers, and customers spend.Traditional betting shops, also called retail shops, remain thebackbone of William Hills operations.   The retail division contributed166m of the pounds 232m, or almost seventy-two percent, of the totalprofits brought in by the organisation in 2004 (WH Annual Report2004).   The shops also provide a credibility and recognisable brandseen as contributing to the success of other gaming vehicles (Thomas2004).   The retail shops are the location of the EPOS machines, and arelikely to be most effected operationally and culturally by theirimplementation.   Demographically, the customers of William Hillsbetting shops tend to be older than customers using other bettingvehicles (Hargrave 2004).   It has been observed that shop customers arealso predominantly male. Internet gamblers are demographically younger, and many have neverentered a retail betting shop (Hargrave 2004).   They often participatein a variety of onlin e games in addition to traditional odds betting.  They are likely to hop from site to site, and show little loyalty toany one gaming organisation (Thomas 2004).   Online gambling firms musttherefore work harder to differentiate their site from the many othersavailable.   As over time a natural consolidation of the market islikely to occur, those organisations that can reinforce their marketpositioning are more likely to succeed (Thomas 2004).   William Hill hasthis positioning as a sector leader with multiple gambling vehicles.  This positioning will be enhanced by the EPOS system, a way to linktraditional shops with their credibility and market presence, to thefirms online offerings.   The convenience of EPOS and the organisations electronic vouchersystem could encourage online gamblers to consolidate their gamingactivity with William Hill.   The EPOS support William Hillsintegration of their online business and local shops, with onlinecustomers now able to deposit mo ney into or draw from accounts at anyWilliam Hill shop.   The voucher system allows customers to depositmoney or withdraw winning from any William Hill shop.   This wasoriginally handled over the counter; however, the new EPOS system nowallows the entire system to be handled by machine (Anon 2003).This has the potential to increase both shop-based and onlinebusiness.   For example, a thirty-something career woman might behesitant to frequent one of William Hills betting shops, perceivingthem to be historically male-dominated, older, and perhaps evenworking-class.   However, she is on her way to do some shopping, anddecides to quickly draw off her recent online winnings.   She stops in abetting shop, and has a positive experience.   It is clean, well run,with professional, courteous staff.   She can draw on her winningseasily using the EPOS terminal.   Because the woman has a favourableexperience with the product and people in her transaction, she issignificantly more likely to use the EPOS terminal again, and to stopin the betting shop.   William Hill has possibly converted an onlinecustomer to an online and shop customer.   Similarly, some shop regulars may eschew credit cards.   Online gamingis therefore unavailable to them.   EPOS in combination with WilliamHills combined online and shop accounts allow these customers todeposit cash at their local betting shop, and use those funds foronline bets.   This has the potential to further increase the firmsonline customer base.   Internet customers may be further intrigued bygaming options offered online that go beyond their options via shops orthe phone.   Using the Internet to place traditional bets, for example,increases the chance these customers will try arcade or casino gamesavailable online, thereby increasing the types of product purchased(Anon 2003).   This expands the purchase mix for William Hill, andincreases the likelihood of larger total purchases per customer.A concer n for management should be the potential of one gaming vehiclesuch as the Internet to draw customers away from the firms othervehicles, in effect cannibalising its own operations one for theother.   William Hills most recent Annual Report acknowledges thisissue (2004).   The company has analysed profit and other financialdata, and is confident that no cannibalising is taking place.   Allthree gaming vehicles in operation for the year have shown modest toimpressive growth, with no indication of one taking customers at thedetriment to the others (WH Annual Report 2004).Phone betting, including mobile betting via WAP technology, is seen bymany as the gaming vehicle of the future (Hargrave 2004).   The EPOSsystem could contribute to the expansion of phone betting by making iteasier to draw on winnings and deposit funds for future bets.   The OffTrack Betting organisation in New York City, USA, found lines andcustomer wait time reduced by up to forty percent at some outlets wit hthe implementation of various betting and point of sale machines (OTB2003).   The system can similarly support William Hills newest venture,interactive television.   There are questions whether the firms brandis strong enough to support a television channel, although thepotentials for increased revenue are significant (Hargrave 2004).   Theorganisation does not intend to broadcast many sporting or otherbet-producing events, given the prohibitive cost of doing so.   Rather,the television channel will offer number generated betting options, aswell as gambling games similar to those offered by the firm on itswebsite (Hargrave 2004).   This allows the non-computer literate toparticipate in betting outside of traditional shops.   Their anonymityand access to gambling increase, both of which have been linked toincreased consumer spend (Anon 2003).   Non-computer literate gamblersare no longer bound by the restricted hours of the betting shop, andcan play a variety of gambli ng games through their televisions(Hargrave 2004).   The EPOS s ystem supports this gaming vehicle in thatthese customers must have some way to deposit money for their gamblingactivities and withdraw any winnings they may have.   The EPOS systemallows them to do this conveniently and with the same discretionafforded to them by interactive television or the Internet gamblingvehicles.One potentially negative effect of the EPOS system is reduction ofcustomer loyalty.   Loyalty occurs when a consumer experiences goodproduct at a reasonable price and convenience, with acceptableservice.   If these expectations are met, the customer is likely torepeat the shopping experience.   Over time, the customer forms a habitof this shopping experience, which then develops into an attitude ofloyalty (Duffy 1998).   One component of loyalty development is staff,and in particular customers interaction with staff.   The peoplerepresenting an organisation and the service they provide can m ake orbreak a customers purchasing experience (Garavan 1997).   The EPOSsystem will replace some functions currently performed by people, whichmay have a negative impact on both customers and remaining staff.Repeat customers make up a significant portion of retail bets in thegaming sector, and many have established some form of relationship withretail staff.   These relationships contribute to the loyalty or habitsof customers, causing them to frequent one gaming retailer, and therebyincreasing the customer spend at that shop (Anon 2003).   This customersegment may feel overlooked with the replacement of some stafffunctions by machines.   For example, a man regularly frequents hislocal William Hill betting shop, gambling regularly as a hobby, but notto the gambling addiction level of play.   His visits to William Hillmay be for him the same as another persons frequenting a neighbourhoodpub; in this case he has the opportunity to interact with others whoshare his interest. The common denominator in such social interactionwill often be the shopkeeper or retail staff (Gamble and Gamble 2005).  If this social interaction is lost, the customer may switch to asimilar s hop operated by another organisation where such interactionis supported.   Fortunately for William Hill, the other major bookmakerswith whom it competes have already implemented EPOS systems, makingthis customer loss less likely to occur (Hargrave 2004).The EPOS removes the feeling of being disloyal to shop staff by bettingonline instead of at their establishment, which could also potentiallycontribute to lost customers.   Customers who shop at one establishmentfor a long period of time may feel guilty or embarrassed when changingto another store.   They may try to avoid contact with staff from theirprevious shopping preference if they have been trying out other storesfor a period of time (Gamble and Gamble 2005).   With the reduction ininteraction between William Hill staff and cu stomers caused by the EPOSsystem, the customers may no longer have social need to continue to betexclusively or predominantly with William Hill.Another possible loss is to the William Hill culture, particularly thatof local shops.   Steve Smethurst quotes David Russell, William Hillsgroup HR director, as acknowledging, â€Å"Once we have that in place [theEPOS system], the requirements on shop managers to settle bets will begone:   that challenges the very core of what people have been doing foryears† (2004, 36).   For one thing, the introduction of the machinesreduces the number of staff required at each shop.   The company has nostated plans for layoffs, but also has not addressed the impact EPOSwill have on staff (WH Annual Report 2004).   This may be in part to thetraditionally high turnover in some segments of the gaming business,although more prevalent in the telephonist position that in retail shopstaff (Smethurst 2004).Management of gaming organisations need to examine the importance ofpeople in their product differentiation.   Consideration is called forin examining the fact that all the major betting shops now utiliseelectronic point of sale technology, and much of this is produced bythe same company, Alphameric Red Onion (William Hill PLC 2004).   If onecan access the same machines at any shop, and each has similar bettingoptions, what would cause the customer to frequent one shop overanother?   While some online gaming organisations seek to an image ofglamour and escape to paradise after a long day at work, this type ofpositioning is more effective for the casino venturing into onlinegaming than the traditional betting shop down the street (Thomas2004).   Re-branding a company as old and established as William Hillwould be difficult, expensive, and unlikely to be effective.   Nor is it possible for any one gaming establishment to differential itsproduct on price in the long-term.   The EPOS system will produce costsavin gs compared to the former manual bet-taking and managementinformation systems (WH Annual Report 2004).   This cost savings occursfrom reduction in staff needed to operate a betting shop, more rapidprocessing of bets, and standardisation of bet settlement by removingthe local human component.   The EPOS system also replaces manual inputinto management information systems, allowing increased communicationbetween shops and the corporate offices, and increasing the companysability to respond to betting fluctuations (William Hill PLC 2004).  The firm did incur additional capital investment expense during 2004due to the purchase of the EPOS system, but the Annual Report indicatesthis is a negligible amount and will be easily amortised. Cost benefits, resulting in increased profits and more competitiveprice structures, in combination with lack of product differentiationin the gaming sector, can be expected to result in increased marketshare for William Hill.   This increase should occur across all four ofits gaming platforms, although primarily in Internet, mobile andtelevision sales, as lack of differentiation causes sector-wideconsolidation and the elimination or absorption of smaller firms byindustry leaders (Thomas 2004).   Some market advantage certainly goes to the organisations with the most(and most convenient) locations.   William Hill CEO David Hardingstresses the importance of place in the firms differentiation efforts,contending branding and convenience are the most important factors ingaming choice.   â€Å"People always underestimate the guiding principle ofbetting, and thats to make it convenient,† he states, â€Å"branding willalways remain dominant, and as long as you make it easy to gamble,people will do so† (Hargrave 2004, P20).   Along this line of thinking,over time the sector power of larger organisations with theirestablished shop sites will cause market consolidation, squeezing outsmaller firms (Thomas 2004).   This then further enhances theconvenience of the shops of large-sector players.   Organisations thatcan integrate their various services, as described above in theinteraction between internet gamblers, William Hill  rquote s voucher system, and EPOS machines in the local retail shops, also have an advantage in the convenience department.   However, loss of personal touch is something William Hill should beseriously considering.   Atomisation historically causes loss of jobs,and â€Å"William Hill employs more than 10,000 people:   8,500 in shops,1,000 in call centres, and 1,000 in support† (Smethurst 2004, 36).  People, particularly retail staff, play a major role in product andorganisation differentiation within a service-based firm such asWilliam Hill.   This is particularly relevant as the company pridesitself for its rigorous hiring practices and top-notch staff.   WilliamHill undertook a complicated pre-hiring screening process to help thecompany ensure i t was bringing in workers with the best possible jobfit (Smethurst 2004).   For example, the human resources department atWilliam Hill â€Å"identified the motivational factors that make someonegood at a job,† then formulated a profile of the ideal front-line staffperson (Smethurst 2004, 36).   This profile was used to c reate anautomated telephone screening process that was used with all initialapplicants to the retail shops.   The company then sends potentialrecruits through interviews and role-play exercises before making a joboffer (Smethurst 2004).   All these evaluate the attitude as well as theskills of potential employees.   Smethurst quotes Russell as saying,â€Å"you can add skills to people, but if they had the wrong attitude inthe first place then its not going to work† (2004, 36).   HopefullyWilliam Hill management has considered the possible impact on staff andtheir attitudes in their implementation of EPOS machines.Human Resources Consultant Richard Samson of the EraNova Instituterecently presented his theory of out-peopling (Frauenheim 2001).   Justas jobs can be off-shored from one country to another, so jobs can beout-peopled, going from work performed by people to work performed bymachines.   While this can offer short-term advantage, Samson arguesthat similar potential losses are likely in the long-term.   â€Å"Most ofthe work tasks done now by people will be done by smart technologywithin twenty to thirty years† (Frauenheim 2001).   Job loss causesanger and resentment amongst those put out of an organisation, andoften-sympathetic bad attitudes with workers who remain.   This shouldbe of particular relevance for a firm so concerned about workerattitude that they developed a complex and expensive screening processto ensure proper attitude amongst new hires.   Remaining employees alsobecome even more key to the generation and maintenance of customerloyalty, as   the fewer employees with whom an individual customerinteracts, the more important the quality of interaction with theemployee becomes (Garavan 1997).Reduction in employees in proportion to machines can also influence thepublics perceptions of the organisation.   William Hill is a companythat promotes service as part of its corporate image.   This serviceinfers a level of caring amongst those at the company for theircustomer (Company Website 2005).   If the customer begins to viewWilliam Hill shops as simply a place lined with electronic kiosks, muchlike the gambling version of the local Laundromat, this image of caringservice is no longer projected.   This can contribute to customerloyalty and repeat purchase over the long-term.   Management must find away to maintain its positive corporate image, therefore, while goingforward with its atomisation and cost-saving plans.Loss of jobs also creates macroeconomic impacts for both the sector andthe country.   This has historically been evidenced across manyse ctors.   In agriculture, for instance, small farms that once requiredan entire family to run have been swallowed up and consolidated withlarge commercial ventures that employ many machines and few people(Gottheil 1999).   Economic impacts of rapid changes in job availabilityand employment can destabilise an entire economy.   If unemploymentsoars and discretionary income plummets, William Hill and other gamingorganisations will likely see a sharp drop in profits, as they are adiscretionary spend for most consumers (Gottheil 1999).  Ã‚  Ã‚   More machines also lead to the increased likelihood of gamblingabuse.   The University of Sydney, Australia, undertook a significantstudy of the effect of gambling machines, ATM machines, and EPOSsystems on gambling abuse and addiction (Blaszczynski, Sharpe andWalker 2001).   They found customers were more likely to abuse gamblingor display addictive behaviour when gaming places were primarilymachine-serviced.   The more people invol ved in gaming transactions, theless likely addictive behaviour was evidenced, unless such behaviourwas encouraged by the staff involved (Blaszczynski, Sharpe and Walker2001).   They additionally found limiting the combination of machines,such as removing ATM machines from shops where EPOS and similar wereavailable reduced addictive behaviours.Also, while gambling addicts are often profitable in the short-term togaming establishments, too many people suffering from this malady hastraditionally led to public outcry, tightening of gaming regulation,and increased taxes on winnings (Blaszczynski, Sharpe and Walker2001).   It is in the best interests of all involved, therefore, forgaming organisations to strive to increase customers gambling spendingwithout crossing the line into gambling addiction.   The University ofSydney study showed that slowing the timing on machines, for example,reduced the likelihood of display of addictive behaviour Blaszczynski,Sharpe and Walker 2001.   Research and findings such as this should bestrongly evaluated by William Hill management to ensure the optimum useof gaming machines in its shops.Still, not withstanding possible detractions to the organisation, theEPOS system offers many potential benefits to the William Hill firm.  Electronic point of sale technology will enable the bookmaker to take,settle and pay bets electronically, record information from suchtransactions in a central software system, display and distributetargeted betting opportunities and manage estate-wide risk (WilliamHill PLC 2004).   Of these benefits, the two most intriguing from acorporate standpoint are the ability to gather data and profilecustomers, and the resulting use of such data in creating targeted andevent-specific marketing.The EPOS system also allows for extensive capture of customerinformation.   Data generated from customer input can include the numberand frequency of bets, the type of events bet upon, the average amountof each bet , and much more.   This allows the firms management tocreate customer profiles, representing current and target consumergroups.   (Woodruff and Gardial 1996).   For example, a middle-agedcustomer bets on dog races every other Friday.   He typically bets onthe favourites, in the total spend range of pounds forty to sixty, witha typical mix of eight to twelve bets of three to five pounds each.  Since he frequents William Hill, the company can assume some level ofretail brand or local shop loyalty.   The firm would like to see thecustomer bet more often, and in greater amount.   Because they havecollected this data on the customer through the EPOS system, they cansend him direct, targeted advertisements for dog races, and bettingwithin his favoured range.  Ã‚   If they can entice him to place a betoutside his pattern, they have potentially increased his regular spendin addition to this one betting event (Smethurst 2004).   Data gathered from the EPOS system can also b e used to create customerprofiles, which can then be targeted for marketing and event-specificadvertising.   William Hill noticed from similar data gathered on itswebsite that many were registering but not betting.   They hired aprivate firm to assist them in converting this web traffic into betting(Lee 2004).   The firm divided website registrants into four randomgroups.   One group was sent nothing, one was sent a service-led followup email, one was sent an offer-let follow up email, and one received areminder email that they had yet to place a bet.   The company was ableto demonstrate that service- and offer-led email follow up increasedthe number of registrants who became bettors by more than five percent(Lee 2004).   If an experiment such as this can have such positiveresults with random groups, imagine the impact of targeted emails andadvertising on William Hills customer base.Another benefit to the company is that electronic point-of-saletechnology will increase t he efficiency of William Hills bettingoperations.   Prior to the EPOS system, all bets were placed andrecorded manually in betting shops.   In an oversimplified explanationof the manual process, a customer would place a bet by giving a writtenticket to a retail shop staff member, who would give them a receipt inreturn.   The customers bet would be recorded in the shop, and if theywere entitled to winnings, these would be settled by the shop manageror designated staff person.   The organisation had various managementinformation systems into which data from individual shops was recorded,and this was forwarded to the central offices on a regular basis(Caldecote 2004).   Issues for management with the manual system included both the accuracyand detail of reporting.   For example, under scrutiny regarding theannual amount of unclaimed returns at William Hill, David Hood claimedthe company was unable to quantify annual unclaimed returns because thepre-EPOS reporting system did not record or allow for such (Caldecote2004).   This type of information is vital to managements analysis ofthe overall health of the organisation, in addition to profit and losscalculations.   The detail of information provided by the EPOS systemwill easily rectify these reporting difficulties.   The electronicsystem will also save time, allowing data from each shop to be capturedalmost instantly (William Hill PLC 2004).   This enables the company tocalculate statistics and perform analysis on events as they occur, forexample.   In a time-sensitive business such as gambling, this can be ofgreat advantage.Another benefit is that the EPOS system potentially allows William Hillto expand business hours at reduced cost.   As it reduces the need forstaff, betting shops can remain open longer for the same staff costs.  Longer hours give customers more opportunity to bet, increasing thelikelihood of more customers betting because of the enhancement inconvenience, and increas ing the amount customers are likely to bet, asthey are in the betting shop for a longer period of time.   Morecustomers and more spend mean more profit, and potentially more marketshare, all of which are naturally favourable to management (Woodruffand Gardial 1996).     Ã‚  Ã‚   Increased efficiency typically leads to increased competitiveness,provided the firm is being efficient about the right activities.  William Hill was a bit behind its competitors, being the last major UKbookmaker to implement an EPOS system.   It faces one primary competitorin the broader sector, Ladbrokes, and a slew of smaller competitors,primarily in the online market (Thomas 2004).   While many of thesesmaller competitors are striving for differentiation along a variety oflines, William Hill holds to its position that its company branding andstatus will carry it through against such firms.   It has the advantageover Ladbrokes of being in the online gambling arena longer, and hasstepped ahead of them in its entry into television.   Ladbrokes has alarger number of traditional shops, however, which must be factored ingiven William Hills emphasis on the importance of convenience andplace in its loyalty strategies (Thomas 2004, Hargrave 2004).   Ladbrokes also has employed EPOS for a longer time, and has thereforeincreased the integration of the machines and the data they generateinto its overall business and marketing strategies (Hargrave 2004).  The two have similar brand recognition, and are viewed as primecompetitors.   Given Ladbrokes already uses an EPOS system, it is morelikely that increased market share for William Hill will come from theelimination or absorption of smaller competitors, rather thansignificant customer win from Ladbrokes.  Ã‚   Findings of the analysis of available literature concerning WilliamHill, EPOS systems, and potential benefits and losses are generallyfavourable for the EPOS system.   The potential drawbacks of the EPOSsystem include lessened customer loyalty and damage to the corporateimage of a service-oriented firm.   Staff attitude and feeling of valuealso have the potential to suffer from automation.   The system fits inbroad corporate culture of a firm innovative in its use of technology,but may have a negative impact on employees and could potentiallychange local shop culture.   This is particularly important if jobs willbe lost or phased out due to the introduction of the EPOS machines,although the company has not indicated this will be the case.   Theorganisation must finally be cognisant during both implementation andcontinued operation of the potential for gambling abuse and addictionusing EPOS and other automated gambling devices, and make an effort toprovide   a safe, contro lled betting environment.The anticipated benefits of the system, however, outweigh potentialdrawbacks.   First, the EPOS system will increase efficiency in how betsare taken, settled, and paid, both increasing security in bettingtransactions and making each transaction faster and less expensive.  This provides the firm with the potential to forward such savings tothe consumer, increasing the companys ability to meet or beatcompetitors on price issues.   Whether or not any cost savings are passed along to the consumer, thesystem also makes William Hill more competitive in a number of otherways.   In combination with the voucher system already in place, theEPOS system greatly increases the convenience afforded to the customerin placing and settling bets, and withdrawing winnings.   This increasedconvenience is anticipated to result in new customers, particularlythose drawn from other

Monitoring Therapeutic Drugs: Strategies

Monitoring Therapeutic Drugs: Strategies This article provides an introduction into some of the current techniques and assays utilised in Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) TDM is a multi disciplinary function that measures specific drugs at intervals to ensure a constant therapeutic concentration in a patient blood stream. The selection of an analytical technique for TDM involves a choice between immunoassay and chromatography technique. Once the methodology has been chosen, there are also numerous options available within these categories including FPIA, EMIT, KIMS, HPLC and nephelometric immunoassay. An overview of each method is given and its processing of drugs. The future outlook in the methodology involved in TDM is also explored and discussed. INTRODUCTION Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is a multi disciplinary function that measures specific drugs at selected intervals to ensure a constant therapeutic concentration in a patient blood stream. (Ju-Seop Kang Min Hoe Lee) The response to most drug concentrations is therapeutic, sub-therapeutic or toxic and the main objective of TDM is to optimize the response so the serum drug concentration is retained within the therapeutic range. When the clinical effect can be easily measured such as heart rate or blood pressure, adjusting the dose according to the response is adequate (D.J. Birkett et al). The practice of TDM is required if the drug meets the following criteria: Has a narrow therapeutic range If the level of drug in the plasma is directly proportional to the adverse toxic If there is appropriate applications and systems available for the management of therapeutic drugs. If the drug effect cannot be assessed by clinically observing the patient (Suthakaran and C.Adithan) A list of commonly monitored drugs is given in table 1. The advances in TDM have been assisted by the availability of immunoassay and chromatographic methods linked to detection methods. Both techniques meet the systemic requirements of sensitivity, precision and accuracy. Within both methods are many numerous options and will be further explored in this title. Ideally the analytical method chosen should distinguish between drug molecules and substances of similar composition, detect minute quantities, be easy to adapt within the laboratory and be unaffected by other drugs administrated. An overview of the current analytical techniques and future trends in TDM is emphasised in this title and its role in laboratory medicine. NEPHLEOMETRIC IMMUNOASSAY AND its USE IN TDM Immunoassays play a critical role in the monitoring of therapeutic drugs and a range of techniques in which the immunoassay can be existed exist. Nephleometric immunoassays are widely used for TDM and are based on the principle of hapten drug inhibition of immunoprecipitation. The precipitation is measured using nephelometric principles that measure the degree of light scattering produced. In some cases Turbidmetry principles can be applied to measure precipitation via the amount of transverse light. In nephleometric immunoassays, if the drug molecule is a monovalent antigenic substance, a soluble immunocomplex is formed. However if the drug molecule is a multivalent antigenic substance, whereby two drug moieties are conjugated to a carrier protein, the conjugate reacts with the antibody to form an insoluble complex. The insoluble complex may compose of numerous antigens and antibodies, thus scattering the light. Therefore nephleometry of turbidmetry techniques are required to measure the reaction. In respect to this principle precipitation inhibition of a drug can be measured. The test sample (serum) is introduced to a fixed quantity of polyhaptenic antigen and anti drug antibody. The serum drug antigen competes with polyhaptenic antigen for binding to the anti drug antibody. Any free drug present in the sample inhibits the precipitation between the antibody and polyhaptenic antigen. Therefore the drug concentration ids indirectly proportional to the formation of precipitate whi ch is quantified by a nephelometer. The more polyhaptenic antigen present, the more precipitate is formed until the maximum is encountered. Further addition of antigen causes a reduction in the amount of precipitate formed due to antigen excess. The use of nephelometric immunoassay for TDM is termed competitive due to the competitive binding for the sites on the antibody by the antigen. It also distinguishes the drug assay system from the conventional nephleometric immunoassay for proteins. Variations of this assay exist including: The use of saliva or CSF may be used as an alternative to serum. Both alternative matrixes contain less light scattering molecules and so a larger volume of sample is used in order to compensate. Turbidmetric methods may also be applied to quantitative immunoprecipation . turbidmetric analysis is preformed at a lower wavelength and similarly detects immunoprecipation like nephelometric techniques. End point analysis of immunoprecipitaion is commonly employed, however rate analysis is also applicable. Addition of formaldehyde blocks further precipitation and is utilised in end point analysis. Agglutination inhibition immunoassay can also be detected by nephelometric immunoassay systems in which the drug or hapten is directly linked onto the surface of the particle and is generally suitable for low serum drug concentration while precipitation inhibition detects concentration above 1ug/ml If homologus and heterologus drug concentrations are utilized for antibody and polyhaptenic antigen preparations, sensitivity and specificity may be increased. Polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies may be employed in this assay. The use of monoclonal antibodies removes any interference caused by antibody cross reactivity. Choosing a hybrid cell with the most desirable antibody is difficult and therefore is most likely to be less sensitive than the use of polyclonal antibodies Overall the nephelometric immunoassay is an excellent assay system for TDM. Advantages over other assay systems include its simplicity, speed and low cost. It is a homogenous method that requires no separation steps or isotopes. Only two reagents are required in limited amounts as if the antibody to antigen ratio is not optimum, the sensitivity is decreased. This is due to the formation of less precipitate in the absence of drug. In the presence of a drug, inhibition is less efficient. The sensitivity of the assay depends on antibody hapten binding, however it yields high specificity. Therefore nephelometric precipitation inhibition immunoassays are a novel technique in the clinical practice of TDM. (Takaski Nishikawa Vol 1, 1984) FLUORESCENCE POLARIZATION IMMUNOASSAY AND its USE IN TDM Fluorescence polarization immunoassay(FPIA) is a widely used 2 step homogenous assay that is conducted in the solution phase and is based on a rise in fluorescence polarization due to the binding of the fluorescent labelled antigen with antibody. The first step of the immunoassay involves the incubation of the serum sample with none labelled anti drug antibody. If the patient sample contains drug molecules, immune complexes will form between antibody and antigen. The second stage of this assay involves the addition of a flourscein labelled antigen (tracer) into the mixture(.Jacqueline Stanley 2002) The purpose of the flourscein tracer is to bind on any available sites on the drug specific antibody for detection purposes. If the first stage occurred in which the anti drug antibody formed a complex with the drug from the sample, less or no antigen binding sites will be available for the tracer to bind to. Consequently a higher proportion of the flourscein tracer is unbound in the solut ion. If the sample contains no drug an antigen, Step 1 does not occur and the anti drug antibodies will bind the flourscein antigen tracer. In this assay the degree of polarization is indirectly proportional to the concentration of drug present. (: Chris Maragos 2009) Fluorescence polarization is calculated to determine the concentration of drug present. Fluorscein labelled molecules rotate when they interact with polarised light. Larger complexes rotate less then smaller complexes and therefore remain in the light path. When the large immune complex is labelled with a fluorescent tracer, it is easily detected once present in the light path. If no drug was present in the sample, the availability of binding sites on the antibody entices the fluorscein tracer to bind, restricting its motion resulting in a higher degree of polarisation, Thus it is easy to identify that polarization is indirectly proportional to the concentration of drug present. The benefit of utilising FPIA in TDM includes the elimination of processed to separate bound and free labels, an indicator that this assay is time efficient. An unique feature of this assay is that the label used is a flurophore and the analytical signal involves the measurement of the fluorescent polarizatio n. ( Jacqueline Stanley 2002) A standard curve is constructed to determine the concentration of drug present and is easily reproducible due to the stability of the reagents utilized and the simplicity of the method. However FPIA has some limitations and is prone to interference from light scattering and endogenous fluorescent tracers in the samples. To help overcome these limitations variations on the technique is employed including: Use of a long wavelength label The fluorscein tracers utilized produce adequate signals, however light scattering events can interfere with these signals. The use of a long wavelength label permits extended fluorescence relaxation times which may be more sensitive for the detection of high molecular weight antigens on drugs. Use of CE-LIF The use of capillary electrophoresis with laser induced fluorescence detection enhances the sensitivity of this method. This competitive FPIA separates free and antibody bound tracers and utilizes LIFP as a detection system.( David S. Smith Sergei A 2008) Overall FPIA has proven to be a time and cost effective, accurate and sensitive technique in TDM and remains one of the most promising methods in this clinical field. ENZYME MULTIPLIED IMMUNOASSAY TECHNIQUE AND its USE IN TDM Enzyme Multiplied Immunoassay Technique (EMIT) is an advanced version of the general immunoassay technique utilising an enzyme as a marker. EMIT is a 2 stage assay that qualitatively detects the presence of drugs in urines and quantitatively detects the presence of drugs in serum.( David S. Smith Sergei A )Both the competitive and non-competitive forms of this assay are homogenous binding based that rapidly analyze microgram quantities of drug in a sample. in the competitive assay, the patient sample is incubated with anti drug antibodies. Antibody antigen reactions occur if there is any drug present in the sample. The number of unbound sites indirectly correlates with the drug concentration present. The second step involves the addition of an enzyme labelled specific drug which will bind to available binding sites on the antibody inactivating the enzyme. A enzyme widely used in EMIT assays is Glucose 6 Phosphate Dehydrogenase which primarily oxidises the substrate added (Glucose 6 Phosphate). The co-factor NAD+ is also reduced to NADH by the active enzyme. Any enzyme drug conjugate that is unbound remains active, therefore only in this case , can the oxidation of NAD+ to NADH occur. An increase in absorbance photometrically @ 340nm correlates with the amount of NADH produced. (Jacqueline Stanley 2002) A non competitive format of this assay also exists, where by drug specific antibodies are added in excess to the sample resulting in antigen antibody interactions if the drug is present. A fixed amount of enzyme drug conjugate is then added which occupy any unbound sites present on the antibody. The active enzyme that is unbound oxidised NAD+ to NADH indicating presence of free enzyme conjugate and subsequently drug molecules present. (chemistry.hull.ac.uk/) EMIT technology is becoming increasingly popular as a method to monitor therapeutic drug levels. Drugs monitored using this technique includes anti asthmatic drugs, anti epileptic drugs and cardio active drugs. Radioimmunoassay work on the same principle as competitive EMIT with the exception of the use of a radio isotope as a marker. Gamma radiation is emitted from the marker leading to a high level of sensitivity and specificity. As it uses radio isotopes it is not the most cost effective in todays modern environment. MICROPARTICLE IMMUNOASSAY AND its USE IN TDM Microparticle agglutination technology uses latex microparticles and plays a leading role in TDM in the quantitative measurement of carbarbapenzaine, phenytoin, theophylline and phenybarbital. Kinetic movement of microparticles in solution (KIMS) is a homogenous assay and is based on the principle of competitive binding between microparticles via covalent coupling. When free drug exists in the patient sample, it will bind to the antibody present. As a result the microparticle antigen complex fail to bind with the antibody and the formation of a particle aggregate does not occur. Micro particles in solution fail to scatter light causing a low absorbance reading. If the patient sample is negative for the drug, the micro particle drug complex binds to the antibodies. The complex that is formed upon binding blocks the transmitted light and causes light scattering resulting in increasing absorbance readings. Hence the degree of light scattering is inversely related to the concentration of drug present. Light scattering spectroscopy improves the sensitivity and quantitation of particle based immunoassays, thus making KIMS a highly sensitive and accurate technique in TDM. Its popularity has developed throughout the years for many reasons. Reagents required for this assay are in expensive and have high stability. KIMS is a universal assay and can be preformed on a variety of analyzers. The assay has minimal interference as a change of absorbance is measured as a function of time while absorbance readings of interfering substances do not alter with time.( Frederick P. Smith, Sotiris A. Athanaselis) CHROMATOGRAPHY AND its USE IN TDM For many years liquid chromatography has been linked to detection systems and its application in TDM is becoming incredibility popular. Liquid chromatography was initially employed in response to difficulties arising in Gas Chromatography (G.C) due to heat instability and non specific adsorption on surfaces. High Performance Liquid chromatography is the main chromatography technique utilized for TDM. Thin Layer Chromatography (T.L.C) and Gas Chromatography are other alternatives, however have limitations that suppress their use in TDM. A derivatization step must be performed for highly polar and thermo liable drugs for G.C to be successful. TLC has a poor detection limit and is unable to detect low concentration of drug present. HPLC has revolutionized the monitoring of TDM with rapid speed and sensitivity of analysis and can separate a wider variety of drugs compared to GC and TLC. For this reason, HPLC is considered the most widely adaptable chromatographic technique when coupled w ith UV detection and Mass Spectrophotometry for TDM.( Phyllis R. Brown, Eli Grushka) BASIC PRINCIPLES IN HPLC HPLC is a separation technique performed in the mobile phase in which a sample is broken down into its basic constituents. HPLC is a separation technique that employs distribution differences of a compound over a stationary and mobile phase. The stationary phase is composed of a thin layer created on the surface of fine particles and the mobile phase flows over the fine particles while carrying the sample. Each component in the analyse moves through the column at a different speed depending on solubility in the phases and on the molecule size. As a result the sample components move at different paces over the stationary phase becoming separated from one another. Drugs that are localised in the mobile phase migrate faster as to those that are situated in the stationary phase. The drug molecules are eluted off the column by gradient elution. Gradient elution refers to the steady change of the eluent composition and strength over the run of the column. As the drug molecules elute of HPL C is linked to a detection system to detect the quantity of drug present in the sample. Detection systems include mass spectrophotometry and UV detection. (Mahmoud A. Alabdalla Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine) DETECTION SYSTEMS USED IN HPLC FOR TDM Detection of HPLC with a diode array ultraviolet detector has proved to be a sustainable application system in the identification after HPLC analysis. The use of UV detection allows the online possession the compounds UV spectra. These detection system absorb light in the range of 180-350nm. UV light transmitted passes through a sensor and from that to the photoelectric cell. This output is modified to appear on the potentiometric recorder. By placing a monochromatoer between and light source and the cell, a specific wavelength is created for the detection , thus improving the detectors specificity. A wide band light source can also be used as an alternative method. In this case the light from the cell is optically dispersed and allowed to fall on the diode array.( Mahmoud A. Alabdalla Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine) HPLC can also be coupled to a mass spectrophotometer as a detection method. Mass spectrophotometry (MS) elucidates the chemical structure of a drug. Sensitivity of this technique is observed as it can detect low drug concentration in a sample. Specificity of this method can be futher enhanced by Tandem mass spectrophotometric analysis. This involves multiple steps of mass spectrophotometry. This is accomplished by separating individual mass spectrometer elements in space or by separating MS phases in time. (Franck Saint-Marcoux et al) FUTURE TRENDS IN TDM METHODOLOGY AGILENTS 1200 HPLC MICRO CHIP Agilents 1200 HPLC micro chip technology combines microfliudics with an easy use interface that confines the HPLC procedure tot his dynamic chip. The micro chip technology integrates analytical columns, micro cuvette connections and a metal coated electro spray tip into the chip to function as a regular HPLC analyzer. The compact chip reduces peak dispersion for a complete sensitive and precise technique. The microchip comes complete with an integrated LC system into sample enrichment and separation column. The operation of the chip is well defined and manageable upon insertion into the Agilent interface which mounts onto the mass spectrophotometer. The built in auto sampler loads the samples and the sample is moves into the trapping column by the mobile phase. Gradient flow from the pump moves the sample from the trapped column to the separation column. The drug is separated the same as the convention methods however reduced peak dispersion does produce better separation efficiency than the conventional method. This form of technology is currently in use in the United States but has not developed outside of the U.S(http://www.agilent.com) PHYZIOTYPE SYSTEM This is the latest application on the market for the treatment and monitoring of drugs associated with metabolic disorders. The PhyzioType system utilizes DNA markers from several genes coupled with biostatisical knowledge to predict a patients risk of developing adverse drug reactions. (Kristen k. Reynolds Roland Valdes) AMPLICHIP CYP450 TEST The Amplichip CYP450 Test is a new technology that has revolutionised the TDM of anti psychotic drugs. This test has been approved by the FDA in 2006 but is not currently in use in laboratories in Ireland. This test is used for the analysis of CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 genes, both of which have an influence in drug metabolism. The function of this test is to identify a patient genotype so their phenotype is calculated. Based on the patient phenotype, a clinician determines the type of therapeutic strategy he/she will commence (Kristen k. Reynolds Roland Valdes) DISCUSSION This paper illustrates the increasing role of immunoassay and chromatography techniques in the clinical laboratory routine monitoring of therapeutic drugs. Before an analytical technique is introduced into TDM it must meet the requirements of sensitivity, accuracy and specificity needed for most TDM applications. The methodology of TDM in todays clinical setting revolves around the use of immunoassays and chromatography techniques. A range of immunoassays was discussed revolving around their principle and advantages and limitations. The majority of immunoassays utilised in the TDM are homogenous based for rapid analysis and efficient turn around time for drug monitoring. Most immunoassays involved in TDM are based on the same principle of competitive binding for antibody. The factor that distinguishes each immunoassay is the detection methods used. Detection methods discussed in this reviewed include nephelometric techniques, flourscein labels, enzyme labels and the use of micro part icles. Each method relies on different detection principles as discussed, however characteristics common to all methods include accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. The methodologies discussed also are time and cost efficient, both essential in laboratory assays. Chromatographic techniques are also discussed with HPLC providing the most impact to TDM. Gas and thin layer chromatography are other chromatographic techniques, however neither can be utilised in TDM due to the limitations both techniques hold against TDM. . HPLC is a rapid sensitive method for the quantitation of drugs in a sample and for this reason is the most widely adaptable chromatographic technique applied in TDM. Like all chromatographic techniques drugs are separated based on the interaction of the drug with the stationary phase which determines the elution time. Detection methods primarily used are UV detection and mass spectrophotometry The final thought on this overview of TDM was an insight into the future of its methodology and applications .Future and approved methods are discussed given a brief outline on each. The constant development of methodologies and techniques in this area of TDM are ongoing constantly keeping the area of TDM one of the most fastest and interesting in clinical medicine. Literature Review: The Impact Of Legalized Abortion Literature Review: The Impact Of Legalized Abortion The publication of the controversial paper on legalised abortion and its affect on the rate of crime by Levitt and Donohue (2001) has resulted in widespread condemnation from a variety of sources, for example, Joseph Scheidler, executive direction of the Pro-Life Action league, described the paper as so fraught with stupidity that I hardly know where to start refuting it Crime fell sharply in the United States in the 1990s, in all categories of crime and all parts of the nation. Homicide rates plunged 43 percent from the peak in 1991 to 2001, reaching the lowest levels in 35 years. The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) violent and property crime indexes fell 34 and 29 percent, respectively, over that same period. (Levitt, 2004) In his journal The impact of Legalized abortion on crime Levitt attempts to offer evidence that the legalization of abortion in 1973 was the chief contributor to the recent crime reductions of the 1990s. Levitts hypothesis is that legalized abortion may lead to reduced crime either through reductions in cohort sizes or through lower per capita offending rates for affected cohorts. The smaller cohort that results from abortion legalization means that when that cohort reaches the late teens and twenties, there will be fewer young males in their peak crime years, and thus less crime. He argues that the decision in Roe v Wade constitutes an abrupt legal development that can possibly have an abrupt influence 15-20 years later when the cohorts born in the wake of liberalized abortion would start reaching their peak crime years. In essence, Levitt puts forward the theory that unwanted children are more likely to become troubled adolescents, prone to crime and drug use, than wanted children are. As abortion is legalized, a whole generation of unwanted births are averted leading to a drop in crime two decades later when this phantom generation would have grown up. To back up this point, Levit t makes use of a platform from previous work such as (Levine et al 1996) and (Comanor and Phillips 1999) who suggest that women who have abortions are those most likely to give birth to children who would engage in criminal activity. He also builds on earlier work from (Loeber and Stouthamer-Loeber 1986) who concludes that an adverse family environment is strongly linked to future criminality. Although keen not to be encroach into the moral and ethical implications of abortion, Levitt, through mainly empirical evidence is able to back up his hypothesis by concluding that a negative relationship between abortion and crime does in fact exist, showing that an increase of 100 abortions per 1000 live births reduces a cohorts crime by roughly 10 per cent and states in his conclusion that legalized abortion is a primary explanation for the large drops in crime seen in the 1990s. One of the criticisms that can be levied against this study is its failure to take into consideration the effect other factors may have had in influencing crime rates during the 1980s and 1990s, such as the crack wave. Accounting for this factor, the abortion effect may have been mitigated slightly. Also Levitts empirical work failed to take into account the greater number of abortions by African Americans who he distinguishes as the race which commit the most amount of violent crime, and his evidence fails to identify whether the drop in crime was due to there being a relative drop in the number of African Americans. The list of possible explanations for the sudden and sharp decrease in crime during the 1990s doesnt stop at Levitts abortion/crime theory and Levitt himself in his 2004 paper identifies three other factors that have played a critical role. The first is the rising prison population that was seen over the same time period, and (Kuziemko and Levitt, 2003) attribute this to a sharp rise in incarceration for drug related offences, increased parole revocation and longer sentences handed out for those convicted of crimes, although there is the possibility of a substitution effect taking place where punishment increases for one crime, potential criminals may choose to commit alternative crimes instead. There are two ways that increasing the number of person incarcerated could have an influence on crime rates. Physically removing offenders from the community will mean the avoidance of any future crime they may plausibly commit during the time they are in prison known as the incapacitation affect. Also there is the deterrence effect, through raising the expected punishment cost potential criminals will be less inclined to commit a crime. As criminals face bounded rationality, expected utility gained from crime will have an effect on the amount of time spent devoted to crime. (Becker, 1968). A study conducted by Spelman (2000) examined the affect the incarceration rate would have on the rate of crime and finds the relationship to have an elasticity measure of -0.4 which means that an increase in the levels of incarceration of one percent will lead to a drop in crime of 0.4%. In Economic models of crime such as Becker (1968), improvements in the legitimate labor market make crime less attractive as the return earned from legitimate work increases. Using this model, the sustained economic growth that was seen in the 1990s (Real GDP per capita grew by almost 30% between 1991 and 2001 and unemployment over the same period fell from 6.8 to 4.8 percent) could be seen as a contributing factor to the drop in crime witnessed and many scholars (such as) have come to that conclusion. However, the improved macroeconomic performance of the 90s is more likely to be relevant in terms of crimes that have financial gains such as burglary and auto theft and does not explain the sharp decrease seen in homicide rates. Also, the large increase in crime seen in the 1960s coincided with a decade of improving economic growth, further corroborating the weak link between macroeconomics and crime (Levitt, 2004). One other explanation for the drop in crime and the most commonly cited reason can be seen in the growing use of police innovation, and an adoption of community policing. The idea stemmed from the broken window theory, which argues that minor nuisances, if left unchecked, turn into major nuisances (Freakonomics) The main problem with the policing explanation is that innovative police practices had been implemented after the crime rate had already began declining, and perhaps more importantly, the rate of crime dropped in cities that had not experienced any major changes in policing (Ouimet, 2004).

RIM is Done Essay -- Business, Technology

Research In Motion (RIM) is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile and tele-communications market. They are mostly known for making the BlackBerry brand. When the BlackBerry was invented during the early 2000’s it was a huge hit. When 2011 came along, things starting to go downhill for RIM. Over the course of the year, they have lost more than 75% of their stock value. This caused a decline in investor’s confidence. However, they would have to deal with competition from Apple, faulty devices like Playbook turned consumers off, and frequent job cuts. If these points do not get dealt within the next 5 years they will declare bankruptcy and will cause a major impact in the cellphone industry. Competition from Apple is taking away potential sales from RIM. However, it is one of the few problems they must deal with in order for them stay in business. Apple is just one of the few competitors for RIM. On October 12th, Apple released the new iMessage and its new iPhone 4S and while that was happening, RIM was facing a worldwide outage that affected millions of people. People that were using the BlackBerry were sick, and tried having to deal with frequent outages, and decided to switch to the iPhone. That is another reason why competitors like Apple are doing a lot better because of selection. Rim’s phones are out-dated compared to those other firms’. Consumers have more choices today, and in many cases, the alternatives are superior. The BlackBerry has a single-core chip inside with a 640x480 screen, compared to the Apple, which has two-cores and 640x960 screens. On March 11th 2011, Apple release... ...ada – CBC News, December 15, 2011 RIM looking anemic: Revenues down, more job cuts on the way, PlayBook sales negligible, September 15, 2011 RIM stocks drop 23 per cent after BlackBerry maker reports poor Q2 performance – Global News, September 16, 2011 RIM timeline – theSpec.com, January 23, 2012 Exclusive: Amazon weighed buying RIM, interest cooled – Yahoo! Finance, January 12, 2012 Is Lazaridis/Balsillie exit enough to save RIM? – Yahoo! Finance, January 23, 2012 Rim’s Chances For A Successful 2012: About Zero – BYTE, January 03, 2012 Rim’s Chances For A Successful 2012: About Zero – BYTE, January 03, 2012 RIM stock declines 8.4% following CEO step-down – Fudzilla, January 23, 2012 Ten things RIM's new CEO must do right away – CNET News, January 23, 2012 Microsoft, Nokia Reportedly Considering Rim Buyout – HotHardware, January 12, 2012

Ultimately Disgusting :: essays research papers

Ultimate fighting is one of the most brutal and barbaric sports ever to be seen on television. Ultimate fighting is a no-rules fighting competition, designed to provide violent entertainment for its viewers. In this competition a fighter is allowed to punch, kick, and choke his opponent to win a fight. Ultimate fighting first came to the United States in 1993 when SEG began promoting it as, 'The Ultimate Fighting Championship.'; Ultimate fighting is an unsafe sport and people should not be permitted to view or compete in such violent competitions. Dr. George Lindberg editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association says, 'Someone's spinal cord could be fractured, an arm could be broken, and choking could result in brain damage. The possibility of injury is very high'; (Sokolove 1). The American Medical Association wants an all out ban on boxing and ultimate fighting. Senator John McCain, the leader in the opposition wants it banned because he is concerned about injury to the competitors (Kirby 20). In the UFC competitors have received broken arms, damaged their spinal cord, and been knocked out on several occasions. In a recent event in the Ukraine, a competitor died after he was beated badly. After the fight he collapsed, was taken to a hospital, and later died (Kodi). Cockfighting is banned in almost all states in this country, however in most states ultimate fighting still goes unregulated. Why are we allowing humans to compete in events that we have decided is too dangerous for animals (Sokolove 1)? Isn't allowing this type of event to go on telling our children that it is ok to fight? This type of event serves no positive purpose, and only increases the tolerance for violence in our society. Fans and promoters of ultimate fighting argue that fighters should be allowed to compete in any type of violent event if both participants are consenting. Isn't there a point then where all of this goes to far though? Suppose someone wants to televise the death of someone who consents to being killed. Under their logic this type of thing would be ok because everyone is consenting. We have already banned such consenting activities such as prostitution, drugs, and assisted suicide; we should just add this to the list. John McCain believes that the fighter's consent is deceptive. He says a fighter is, 'driven by profits or the enticements of publicity associated with it and unknowingly is placing his or her life at risk (Kirby 20).

Brave New World by Huxley and Future Predictions Essay -- Brave New Wo

Brave New World by Huxley and Future Predictions Due to the â€Å"Enlightenment† belief in understanding through science and the scientific innovations of the â€Å"Industrial Revolution† during the 18th and 19th Centuries in Europe and America, the notion that society could be vastly improved through scientific progress pervaded â€Å"western† culture. Naturally, these advances were expected to culminate in the 20th Century. However, the shear brutality and scale of World War I and the hopelessness of the world economic depression of the 1930’s destroyed prior expectations and new socio-economic and political movements emerged, such as: Social Darwinism, Eugenics, Marxism, Fascism, Nazism, Fordism (which encompasses both mass-production and mass-consumption), etc. In his novel A Brave New World, Alduous Huxley incorporates various negative aspects of these movements into a morbid prediction about the future of industrialized society. Moreover, considering the parallels between some of the aspects of Hux ley’s utopian society and those of contemporary, industrialized, consumer society, A Brave New World is frighteningly prophetic. The starkest parallel between Huxley’s utopia and modern industrialized society is the absence of religion. In the novel, people worshipped Henry Ford as the new God and all traces of prior religions were completely obliterated. Hence, crucifixes were cut into T’s to represent Ford’s model T, â€Å"†¦the Charing-T Tower lifted towards the sky†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Hux 61). Additionally, Bibles, Korans, and other holy books were banned in Huxley’s utopia and simple colloquialisms involving God were replaced with Ford, â€Å" Thank Ford! He was not the last† (79). Coincidentally, leaders in many modern industrialized societies have... ... 2.) A.R.I.S.= the American Religious Identification Survey, directed by Dr. Ariela Keysar of New York City University. Works Cited Arab Human Development Report 2002. New York, NY: United Nations Development Programme Arab Fund for Economic And Social Development. 2002. â€Å"Better Ways.† Economist. 28 July. 2001: p. 61. Bible, the. King James Version. Huxley, Alduous. A Brave New World. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publisher, Inc.1932. Kimmelman, Michael. â€Å"Beauty? Brains? Place Your Orders.† New York Times. 16 Feb. 2001: E33. National Center for Health Statistics. 14 April. 2003. divorce.html. National Vital Statistics Report. Vol. 50, Num. 5. 14 April. 2003. nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr50/nvsr50_05.pdf. â€Å"Stumbling in the dark.† Economist. 28 July. 2001. p.51. â€Å"Top Twenty Religions in the United States, 2001.† Adherents.Com. 14 April. 2003.

Implicit cognition Essay

Implicit cognition refers to internal influences that affect an individual’s behaviours. The identifying feature of implicit cognition is that an individual’s past experiences can influence their judgements in   fashion that the individual is not introspectively aware of – i.e. the person is not conscious of the fact that the experiences have affected his/her perceptions in such a way. (Greenwald & Banaji, pg 4; 1995) Evidence supports the view that social behaviour and attitudes in particular are often based largely on unconscious attitudes, for example an individual’s attitudes towards a specific ethnic group are prone to be implicitly influenced. Implicit attitudes are commonly thought to mainly effect cognitive bias in a negative way (e.g. racism), however Edward Thorndike (1920) named the ‘halo effect’, upon observing that personality ratings showed a tendency for positive attributes to be associated with other positive attributes more than they should be (Greenwald & Banaji, pg 9; 1995). A great amount of ‘halo effect’ research has been based on using physical attractiveness as the objectively irrelevant attribute that influences perception of other characteristics. Studies have shown that attractive people are judged to possess greater social skills as well as being more successful in employment (Dion, Berscheid & Walster; 1972). As previously mentioned implicit cognition is caused by past experiences influencing judgement in ways that the individual is not introspectively aware, thus it is imperative to use indirect measures to gauge an individual’s implicit attitudes. The distinction between direct and indirect measures depends on the relationship between what the subject is informed about the purpose of a measure and what the researcher chooses to interpret from the subject’s response to the measure (Greenwald & Banaji, pg 8; 1995) – the researcher will inform the subject that one attribute is being measured when in fact the researcher will interpret information about another attribute based on the subjects response to the measure. It is necessary to use indirect measures because implicit attitudes are by definition attitudes that an individual is unable to report as they are unaware of their existence i.e. implicit attitudes are beyond an individual’s introspective limits. For the purpose of this essay I have chosen to examine the reaction time based ‘Implicit Association Test’ (IAT) and Facial Electromyography (fEMG) which is based on physiological measurement. Implicit attitudes result in projections of behaviour or judgments that are under the control of automatically activated evaluation, without the actor’s awareness of that causation. The IAT procedure seeks to measure implicit attitudes by measuring their underlying automatic evaluation. A beneficial property of the IAT is that it may resist individuals masking their attitudes using self presentation strategies (e.g. providing false responses in order to gain social acceptance or avoid criticism). In short, the IAT may reveal attitudes and other automatic associations even or those who prefer not to express those attitudes (Greenwald et al, pg 1464-5; 1998). The IAT is performed over a series of five stages; the first stage is called ‘Target Concept Discrimination’ in this stage the target concept is introduced and the subject is instructed to simply pair the stimuli with its corresponding concept, for example a study on implicit attitudes towards sexual preference (Project Implicit – an online database of IATs offering the test to the public, spearheaded by Dr Anthony Greenwald, Dr Brian Nosek and Dr Maharin Banaji) presents the subject with the task concepts ‘gay’ and ‘straight’, the subject is then presented with images displaying gay or straight couples or words such as homosexual and heterosexual. When the stimulus appears on screen the subject pairs it with the corresponding category – picture of a man and wife pairs with straight concept. The next stage in the IAT is ‘Associated Attribute Discrimination’ as previously this stage is presented as a two- category discrimination task. The subject is asked to pair words such as happiness, love, agony, strife with the corresponding attributes good and bad according to which attribute best suits their meaning. Following the introduction to the ‘Target Concept Discrimination’ and to the ‘Associates Attribute Dimension’, the two are amalgamated in the third stage –i.e. gay and good on one side of the screen and straight and bad on the other or vice versa. During this stage stimuli for target and attribute discriminations appear on alternate trials. For example’ a picture of a homosexual couple would be shown followed by the word ‘famine’.   As previously the subject pairs the stimuli with their matching category. The fourth stage consists of reversing the target concepts position in the experiment and the final stage of the experiment combines the ‘Reversed Target Concept Discrimination’ with attribute discrimination. For example the gay concept is now on the same side of the screen as bad. The subject is then presented with alternating stimuli and pairs them with the appropriate concept or attribute. If the target concepts are differentially associated with the attribute dimension, the subject should find one of the combined task (either the third stage or the fifth stage) to be more difficult than the other- this is shown in the subjects reaction time; longer reaction times suggest the subject has higher difficulty pairing an attribute with a concept. The measure of the difference in difficulty is used to provide the measure of implicit attitudinal difference between the target categories (Greenwald et al, pg 1465-6; 1998). In the example of implicit attitudes towards sexual preference, it should be easier to complete the task when straight is combined with good if there is a stronger association between heterosexuals and good meanings than between homosexuals and good meaning, thus showing an implicit attitude of bias towards heterosexuals. Also it is common to use training stages before each of the combined discrimination stages to reduce the effects the order of the combined discrimination tasks has on the IAT results. Since the IAT was first described by Dr. Anthony Greenwald et al in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 1998 it has grown exponentially in popularity, having been used in over 300 published studies and cited in over 800 articles (Azar, 2008). Among the reasons for the success of the IAT are its relative ease of use, the large effect sizes it creates, its high level of adaptability and its resistance to subject’s faking their responses. To show the validity of the IAT Greenway et al (1998) used the classical known-groups validity measure. This measure consists of using groups whom are known previous to the experiment to differ regarding the construct of interest. Greenwald et al used Americans of Korean and Japanese descent to test the validity of the IAT. The participants had to classify positive and negative words along with typical Korean and Japanese names in the combined discrimination stage, as expected the IAT results showed that individuals of Korean or Japanese descent were prone to hold mutually negative implicit attitudes towards the other ethnicity (Banse et al pg 146; 2001). It has been disputed that the reason for these IAT results is at least partially based on ethnic groups being more familiar with names associated with in their own group, i.e. positive IAT scores may reflect familiarity more so than sympathy with their own ethnic group. Another commonly expressed concern with the internal validity of the IAT is the order in which the combined discrimination tasks appear. Greenwald et al (1998) expressed that all other thing being equal, strengths of associations used in the first of the IAT’s two combined tasks had a tendency to be stronger than those used in the second combined task. However, in a subsequent study Nosek et al (2005) showed that an increase in the length of the training stages before each of the combined discrimination stages can result the order having less of an effect on the IAT scores. If the pairing order effect is due to the interference caused by learning and becoming accustomed to an initial response set and subsequently needing to replace it with a new response set, then extra practice with the new response set may act to reduce this effect. (Nosek et al, pg 177; 2005). Furthermore the IAT is designed that the order of the combined discrimination task be random.

Introduction Hacienda Luisita

Introduction Hacienda Luisita was once part of the holdings of Compania General de Tabacos de Filipinas, Sociedad Anonima, better known as Tabacalera, which was founded on November 26, 1881 by a Spaniard from Santander, Cantabria and Santiago de Cuba, Don Antonio Lopez y Lopez. He was the first Marques de Comillas and was famous for being an associate of the first Spanish Prime Minister with foreign blood, the Spanish-Filipino mestizo Don Marcelo Azcarraga y Palmero. His relative on his Spanish side, Ricardo Padilla, married Gloria Zobel y Montojo (younger half sister of Mercedes Zobel de Ayala de McMicking, largest Zobel owner in the Ayala group of companies) and was an aide-de-camp of Juan de Borbon, Count of Barcelona, father of the current King of Spain, His Majesty DonJuan Carlos de todos los Santos de Borbon y Borbon-Dos Sicilias. The estate was named after Antonio's wife, Luisa Bru y Lassus. Their son, Claudio Lopez, the second to hold the title , donated some of the profits to the Jesuits to create the Pontifical University of Comillas, a university outside Madrid. Lopez acquired the estate in 1882, a year before his death. Lopez was a financial genius who parlayed his work adventures in Cuba and Latin America into a steamship, companies and trading businesses. He was the most influential Spanish businessman of his generation and counted the Prime Minister and the King of Spain as his personal friends. Tabacalera was a private enterprise he founded with the sole intention of taking over the Philippine Tobacco Monopoly from the Spanish colonial government. This included the Hacienda Antonio (named after his eldest son), Hacienda San Fernando and Hacienda Isabel (named after his eldest daughter) in Cagayan and Isabela provinces where the legendary La Flor de Isabela cigar was cultivated. Tabacalera’s incorporators were the Sociedad General de Credito Inmobiliario Espanol, Banque de Paris which is now Paribas and Bank of the Netherlands which is now ABN-AMRO. The sugar and tobacco in the Philippines were the reason why the Lopez de Comillas family were able to donate such a huge pontifical university to the Jesuits on top of lavishing on their home, the Palacio de Sobrellano in Comillas and the Guell park (designed by Gaudi) in Barcelona. Don Alfonso Guell y Martos born in 1958, the fourth Marquis of Comillas, currently holds the title. He is also the Count of San Pedro de Ruisenada, the third to hold that title. Both are grandee status in Spain and as such can address the King as â€Å"mi primo† or â€Å"my cousin. Contrary to what was expected, Spanish-owned Hacienda Luisita did not languish when the Americans took full control of the Philippine government. In fact, Tabacalera as a whole experienced prosperous times because of the legendary sweet tooth of the Americans. With Cuban sugar not enough for their domestic market, the Americans tapped the Philippines for its sugarcane requirements. At one point during pre-war Manila times, Hacienda Luisita supplied almost 20% of all sugar in the United States. Luisita sugar became popular among Filipino (specifically Ilocano) expatriates in America just as much as Victorias sugar was popular among Manila’s elite circles back home. The Americans also brought the centrifugal-based machinery which doubled the production of the estate and therefore did not require the cane to be loaded by truck to Laguna to be squeezed in the haciendas there, including those of the Roxas y Zobel families. As this new technology swept in Luzon and the sugar mills consolidated, many wealthy families fell into foreclosure or combined their resources. Some of the brave few like Honorio Ventura (who paid for Diosdado Macapagal’s schooling), the De Leons, Urquicos, Lazatins and the Gonzalezes did just that— which is how PASUDECO came into being. Structurally, there was little change in the hacienda; Tabacalera y Compania positionedSpanish-Filipino and American-Filipino encargados and administradores to manage the vast estate. Like all haciendas and tabacaleras in the Philippines, the Hacienda Luisita continued to operate during the Japanese occupation. The Japanese were bent on ensuring that commodities such as sugar and rice be made available to the majority of the Filipinos, therefore avoiding any tempers of additional insurgencies and guerilla movements. The Spanish-Filipino administrators simply placed their subordinates, Japanese journeymen (who, like many impoverished Chinese immigrants from Fujian fled south to the Philippines for a better life) and Korean stevedores working as machinists in the centrifugal system, to the helm. This kept both the Japanese and the Spanish in good terms as both their interests were protected. As a matter of fact, even before World War II, the Tabacalera had in their payroll a good number of Japanese migrant workers doing odd jobs around Hacienda Luisita. (Before 1942, the Philippines was a first class colony in Asia while Hong Kong and Singapore were poor cities; Tokyo and Japan as a whole was relatively closed from the outside world then). When the Japanese Imperial Army marched into the country, these lowly migrant workers became valuable translators and managers. In conjunction with re-taking the Philippines from the Japanese, on January 25, 1945 General Douglas MacArthur moved his advanced headquarters forward to Hacienda Luisita. In the 1950s, the onset of the Hukbalahap rebellion led the Spanish owners of Tabacalera to sell Hacienda Luisita and the sugar mill Central Azucarera de Tarlac. Ramon Magsaysay, then president of the Philippines, blocked the sale of the plantation to the eager and wealthy Lopezes of Iloilo. During those times the brothers Fernando Lopez and Eugenio Lopez as well as their cousins were one of the wealthiest in all of the Visayas Islands, save for a few Chinese Filipino families in Cebu and Leyte, as well as the Familias Aliadas de Villegas, Teves, Lopez, y Rodriguez (a family with origins from Santander, Galicia, & Asturias; as well as China – Teves). Fearing the Lopezes might become too powerful after already owning Meralco, Negros Navigation, Manila Chronicle, ABS-CBN, various haciendas in Western Visayas and then the nearby PASUMIL consortium in del Carmen, Pampanga that they purchased from the Americans, the President offered the property to Jose Cojuangco, nicknamed â€Å"Pepe† through Magsaysay protege and Cojuangco's son-in-law, Benigno Aquino. Magsaysay also knew the Cojuangcos through his wife, Luz, of the prosperous Banzons, an old Chinese Filipino family. Unfortunately, President Ramon Magsaysay died in Mount Manunggal, Cebu in 1957. The sale was consummated in President Carlos P. Garcia’s term, a close ally of then Senator Ferdinand Marcos and five years from the day President Magsaysay offered the land. The Jose Cojuangcos were wealthy in land and bank holdings and in Philippine pesos. They were not wealthy in United States dollars which was closely regulated then by the Philippine Central Bank. In fact, Pepe and his wife Metring were not able to send Pepe’s younger brother Eduardo Sr. (Danding Cojuangco’s father) to the United States for treatment for the mere fact that they could not exchange their pesos to dollars. Eduardo Sr or Endeng Lalake later died of kidney failure. The Jose Cojuangcos acquired the property in 1958 through a loan from the Government Service Insurance System and a dollar loan from the Manufacturers Trust Company of New York, which was guaranteed by the Central Bank of the Philippines, with consent from Miguel Cuaderno, its governor. Pepe also reduced his stake in the Paniqui Sugar Mills, though he and his cousins still managed it on behalf of his aunt, Ysidra Cojuangco, the matriarch. Hacienda Luisita was the largest investment he ever made. With the ink barely dry, he appointed not his eldest son Pedro but his son-in-law Benigno Aquino Jr as administrator. Pepe and Ninoy introduced an almost social welfare state: free medicines and check up, scholarships to colleges, free education, free food and equitable shares to the harvest, free child care and nutrition, free burials, a village with housing earmarked for the farmers, even free gasoline to the tractoras. Like the Paniqui Sugar Mills, not a single workers’ strike was instigated during their administration. Pepe barely made any money from the Hacienda Luisita. Understanding that the value of the Luisita is in the farmers who till it, he chose to rehabilitate the Filipinos who before were almost slaves under the Tabacalera. He was able to sustain these losses due in part of his other more money making investments in the Bank of Commerce and First Manila Management which owned the Pantranco buses and the Mantrade group. As Ferdinand Marcos was elected for a second term in 1969, the reverse happened to Pepe. At Bank of Commerce, where he and his brother Juan â€Å"Itoy† Cojuangco and nephews Ramon Cojuangco(later of PLDT; son of relative Antonio Cojuangco Sr) and Danding Cojuangco (eldest son of deceased brother Eduardo Cojuangco Sr) each owned equitable stakes, the last three factions planned a coup d’ etat by toppling him from the presidency of the said bank. The three did not want Pedro (Pepe’s first born) to be bank president which was against the aging Pepe’s wishes. To avoid a scandal, Pepe Cojuangco sold his remaining shares in Bank of Commerce, almost equal to 28%, to his relatives. Thus Pepe lost his one of eventually three lifelines in nurturing the Hacienda Luisita. As the 1970s crept in and immediately after Benigno Aquino Jr imprisonment on false charges, Pepe’s business empire began to wane. He was unable to purchase new machines and new technology for the aging sugar mill that stands in the middle of the estate because of the government’s refusal to Pantranco’s appeals for higher charges as compared to its competitors who have since been permitted so. Business critics believed it was Marcos’s way of pressuring Pepe to influence his son-in-law from attacking him and his wife, First Lady Imelda Marcos(who recently built the Cultural Center of the Philippines and whom Ninoy labeled as the new Evita Peron). His close business associate in First Manila Management of the Pantranco / Nissan Philippines / Mantrade fame, Manuel Lopa, died in 1974. With his death, the FMMC-Mantrade companies lost their immunity from the Marcoses (Manuel was a close personal friend of Speaker Daniel Romualdez, Imelda's uncle). Ambassador Benjamin Romualdez, brother of Imelda, then coerced Pepe and his son-in-law, Ricardo â€Å"Baby† Lopa (Manuel’s son) into selling the collection of 38 companies under First Manila Management to him. Baby and his wife Teresita Cojuangco, together with Pepe and the rest of the Lopa heirs, had no choice but to sell. The second lifeline disappeared with this extortion. In 1976, First United Bank, the banking concern Pepe built on his own after his ouster from the family owned Bank of Commerce which he saved from bankruptcy decades ago, was sold for an amicable amount to his nephew, Danding Cojuangco, who was then close to President Marcos, with both mothers being Ilocanas notwithstanding. The poorest branch of the Cojuangcos, the Eduardo branch, has become the richest through the sheer genius of Danding. Though this third lifeline disappeared in good terms, the Jose Cojuangcos were left with nothing but a half-rehabilitated and barely earningwhite elephant of a hacienda. Practically all of his farm workers mourned his death. Many flooded his funeral Mass to see him off. Pepe Cojuangco died on August 21, 1976, five years from the day of the Plaza Miranda bombing. His wife, Demetria Sumulong-Cojuangco, died due to colon cancer (the same disease that killed daughter Cory Aquino). Both died disappointed and broken-hearted. Their children and grandchildren zealously took key positions in the holding company to save the hacienda from the creditors, all of whom wanted to slice Luisita away save for Chinabank of Binondo, who defied the anger of President and Mrs. Marcos by continuing to help them. Chinabank was partly owned by the Dee, Sycip and Lim families. With Ninoy and his wife Cory Aquino in exile in Boston, the remaining children took drastic steps in ensuring that the hacienda continued to exist and operate. To maximize the productivity of sugar and therefore profitability, a certain level of economy must be reached. Thus the Jose Cojuangcos tried their best to keep the Luisita in one piece. They refurbished and re-used old 1950s era farm machines and tools, doubled capacity production maintained low expenses. There were a lot of reasons why Luisita remained in Cojuangco hands. One, it helped that Danding Cojuangco was the de facto kingpin of Tarlac and his kind mother Josephine Murphy Cojuangco was still cordial to them. For Marcos to touch Hacienda Luisita he also would have to force Agrarian Reform into the Ysidra Cojuangco haciendas which were under the supervision of Danding Cojuangco. Thus, many haciendas around Luisita were hacked to smaller pieces such as those of the De Leons[disambiguation needed ],Escalers, Urquicos, Arrastrias, Quiasons and Gonzalezes[disambiguation needed ] but not those of the Cojuangco. Two, it helped that the price of sugar spiraled so high because of President Marcos and Roberto Benedicto manipulating the sugar prices primarily in Negros Occidental. Third, Ninoy Aquino was not in the Philippines lambasting President Marcos in the underground movements. For as long as the Marcoses heard less of Pepe’s son-in-law, the less government pressure there was on the Jose Cojuangcos. Most importantly, it helped that most of the farm workers who remember Pepe understood the frugality measures his children had to implement. On Pepe’s death anniversary and that of the bombing of Plaza Miranda, Ninoy Aquino was gunned down in broad daylight, August 21, 1983. Upon the installation of his wife, Cory, Pepe’s daughter, the property was folded into the Hacienda Luisita Incorporated established on August 23, 1988. [1] In compliance with the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program which at this time around did not exempt anyone whether or not they were close to President Marcos before, nearly 5,000 hectares of Hacienda Luisita were placed under astock distribution agreement between the landowners and farm workers. President Aquino wanted to make sure that all farmers’ rights are recognized. If the farmers agreed for a stock distribution agreement then the plantations would also remain intact. Many haciendas, including those assembled by Ysidra Cojuangco a century before, did not qualify or the farm hands there refused the offer. Thus, the majority of all Cojuangco lands disappeared while a Cojuangco was President of the Philippines. This caused a silent rift within the Cojuangco clan. All the lands where sugarcane and molasses were derived to feed the Paniqui Sugar Mills were hocked to appease the government program and those of the angry farm workers. Hacienda Luisita was saved by the perseverance of Cory’s siblings and the fact that most of the farm workers signed the agreement, counting that one day the life in Hacienda Luisita would be just as good as the time when Pepe and Ninoy used to managed it. However, development and new technology did not arrive in Cory Aquino’s term. She barred any relative from starting any new businesses. Furthermore, she forbade many among her siblings and cousins from retaking the family businesses lost in the 1970s unless it was sold back to them (as with the case between Romualdez selling back First Manila Management to the Lopa clan) or was awarded to them by the PCGG or Presidential Commission on Good Government. The old sugar mill in the middle of Luisita remained rickety and with holes in its roofs. After 1992, Cory Aquino stepped down from the Philippine presidency. That was also the time that elder brother Pedro â€Å"Pete† and sons Melecio â€Å"Mel† and Fernando â€Å"Nando† entered the hacienda hoping to make it profitable. Mindful of the farm workers, they instituted very slowly the fiscal reforms to achieve this goal. This partly explains why every year from 1988 until 2008 the Hacienda Luisita and itsCentral Azucarera de Tarlac posted hundreds of millions of losses. Only in 2009, buoyed by the huge demand for sugar and the unpredicted fluctuating prices of Brazilian sugar, did the family corporation post a profit. The various siblings stopped contributing money from their own non-hacienda corporations for the benefit of Pepe’s hacienda, which was a huge sigh of relief for them. On the other hand, the management style of the Pedro Cojuangcos lacked the charisma of the deceased Ninoy. His United States educated children, Mel and Nando, continue to strive to placate the needs of the farmers while balancing the budget. Sadly, when profit arrived so did the workers’ strikes. The unrest was blamed on the allies of current President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who were shocked to see Cory Aquino joining anti-Arroyo rallies. Some blamed Danding Cojuangco since owning the hacienda would complement San Miguel and Ginebra’s ethyl, molasses and sugar needs. This was refuted by Danding himself and his cousins believe in him. In 2005, the Department of Agrarian Reform canceled the stock distribution agreement, citing that it had failed to improve the lives of more than 5 000 farmer beneficiaries. Hacienda Luisita Incorporated appealed this decision, but in May 2006, the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council rejected with finality the motion of Hacienda Luisita Incorporated to reconsider the revocation of the stock distribution agreement. However, the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order, stopping the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council from parceling out the land to the workers.