Monday, January 27, 2020

Media Rights for Barclays Premier League in Singapore

Media Rights for Barclays Premier League in Singapore 1. Background Information In 1998, StarHub first introduced the English Premier League to Singapore and has constantly secured broadcasting rights for the past 12 years. During that period, local telecommunications rival, SingTel, has launched their own pay-TV service named mio TV on July 2007, signaling its intention to rival StarHub to be the nations main pay-TV provider. In 2008, SingTel made its first step by securing the media rights to the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League from 2009 to 2012. With the rights for these prestigious European football competitions, many StarHub pay-TV customers were forced to sign up with SingTels mio TV to satisfy their needs. One year on, in October, SingTel rocked the nation by announcing their victory in the bidding war for the media rights for the English Premier League, which is known now as the Barclays Premier League, from 2011 to 2013. The victory was greeted with dismay from many football fans, as they now have to make the jump from StarHubs pay-TV over to mio TV to get their dosage of English football. This effectively ended StarHubs 12-year broadcasting rights of the league, which would certainly result in a fall of subscribers in time to come. 2. Purpose of the Report This report aims to identify the various economic concepts shown in the textbook, and show how they are applicable in the actual business world using the decisions of StarHub and SingTel as examples. 3. The Art and Science of Economic Analysis 3.1 The Economic Problem In the article, it is clearly identified that the resources which led to Starhub bringing in the Barclays Premier League (BPL) to Singapore are human capital and the entrepreneurial ability of the firm. Human capital was shown in the form of knowledge they had on the wants of the locals, and the entrepreneurial ability of StarHub made them realize that they could profit from this project. It was exactly the same two factors that led SingTel to wrestle for the BPL media rights from StarHub. Having observed the huge economic benefits StarHub enjoyed with the monopoly of the BPL media rights in Singapore, SingTel realized they too, would profit hugely from the ownership of the BPL media rights. Thus, SingTel launched a bid to rival StarHub for the rights, which sparked off a bidding war between the two telecommunications firm. Eventually, SingTel earned the rights to broadcast the leagues game for the next 3 years, starting from 2010. 3.2 The Science of Economic Analysis SingTels decision to foray into the Pay-TV market and especially, the market for televised sports like soccer is not due to a normative economic statement, or opinion, made by their staff. Instead, it has been based on a positive economic statement, which is backed by concrete facts. The decision to outbid StarHub for the BPL media rights was greeted by the stock market with changes to the share prices of both firms. StarHubs price dived 16 cents to a low of $2.01 before closing at $2.03 yesterday. SingTels share price rose from $3.25 to $3.31 before closing at $3.28. (A whole new ball game in pay-tv market, 2009, October) This supports the statement that the local market for the BPL is lucrative, as the stock market has made changes to reflect the expected future gains of SingTel, and the foreseen loss of StarHub. Having said so, the change in the share prices are definitely in response to SingTels successful bid, thus eliminating the possibility that the fallacy that association is causation was committed. 4. Economic Tools and Economic Systems 4.1 Three Economic Questions Of course, before the bid was launched, SingTel had to know what to do should they win the bid. Hence, the three economic questions learned in Microeconomics come into play. Firstly, SingTel has identified the broadcasting of Barclays Premier League matches as a service they wish to provide to the nation. Secondly, the launch of mio TV in 2007 paved the way for the bid, with SingTel in the clear that they would use the mio TV as a portal to broadcast programmes, especially the BPL games in the future. With the above two questions answered, SingTels ultimate aim was to overtake StarHub as the nations leading pay-TV provider. Hence, their target market would be the existing subscribers to StarHubs pay-TV, and more notably, the huge number of subscribers to the BPL games and other sports programmes. 4.2 Negative Spillover Costs Negative spillover costs have been incurred with SingTels foray into the local pay-TV market. This is supported by the article which mentioned that SingTels foray into pay TV which split the football content which previously all resided with StarHub actually fuelled soccer fans ire. Thanks to competition between the duo, they said, football fans have to sign up for both StarHub and SingTels pay-TV services to enjoy all of the matches they had previously received when StarHub was the sole pay-TV player. (A whole new ball game in pay-tv market, 2009, October) With that, it is clear that the move by SingTel has not gone down well with sports subscribers of StarHubs pay-TV and has created unnecessary inconvenience. 5. Economic Decision Makers 5.1 The Firm The answers from the three economic questions, namely what service to produce, how and who to produce the service for, reiterates the fact that SingTel is a firm, just like StarHub. Firms are economic units created by entrepreneurs looking to earn money through the combination of the various resources to produce a good or provide a form of service. A more specific term to describe SingTel and StarHub are that they are separate corporations. Corporations are one of the most highly-valued forms of business, often equipped with significant financial power. Funds can be raised quickly through the sale of the corporations stocks, which also leads to the company having an array of stockholders. Behind the strong financial wealth are several drawbacks. Firstly, stockholders are unable to have a significant say in the operations of the corporations with their votes making up only a minority. Instead, a board of directors is often entrusted with the job of making corporate decisions with their bigger shares. Corporate income is also taxed twice, resulting in more profits being used to pay taxes. Despite that, corporate incomes are often huge sums of money, and the taxes would not be able to affect it much. 6. Demand, Supply and Markets 6.1 Demand, Supply and Market Equilibrium for SingTels mio TV For SingTels mio TV, the demand and supply increases by the same value. The increase in demand is attributed to the successful bid of SingTel for the Barclays Premier Leagues media rights. With the media rights, SingTel is able to broadcast the BPL games on their pay-TV service. This would cause a significant increase in the subscribers for mio TV as the subscribers want their dosage of BPL football. This is in line with the taste and preferences of the subscribers, which is a determinant of demand. Hence, there will be a rightward shift for demand. The change in supply for SingTels mio TV is due to SingTels expectations on the future prices of their sports package, which is a determinant of supply. With the hype for the BPL matches present now, it would bring along sales for the sports package. However, in a years time, people might be more interested in other sporting events, and the BPL matches would not appeal as much to the public. As a result, SingTel would then have to reduce their prices to increase sales as the sport package would turn into a luxury product, instead of a necessity. This would see a leftward shift for supply. With an identical shift in the demand and supply curve, the equilibrium price will remain the same. 6.2 Demand, Supply and Market Equilibrium for StarHubs pay-TV For StarHubs pay-TV, a fall in demand has been observed. This is a result of their failure to continue providing Singapore with the BPL matches on their pay-TV service. As such, consumers desperate for their fix of football decided to make the jump to SingTels mio TV due to their taste and preference for the BPL matches. This is the determinant of demand that causes the fall in demand. There is no change reflected in the supply curve as the channels in the sports package are still present. However, the only difference is the removal of the BPL content. Hence, there is no change in supply. As such, the equilibrium price has reduced to account for the fall in demand. 7. Elasticity of Demand and Supply 7.1 Price Elasticity For many Singaporeans, the Barclays Premier League matches are not considered as a necessity to them. Hence, the demand of SingTels sports package is more price elastic to the general public. This means that they are very responsive to changes in the price plans for the matches, and would be unlikely to sign up for the package should it be too pricey. However, to the football fans in the nation, it is a content they are not able to live without. Therefore, the demand of the package is less price elastic to them, suggesting they are not responsive to price changes. This indicates that they would be willing to sign up for the package, regardless of the change in price. 7.2 Income elasticity With the nation recovering quickly from the economic recession, as seen from the recent reports stating that Singapores economy expanded at a stunning pace of 19.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2010. (Singapore economy zooms 19.3% in Q2, 2010, July), the money income of consumers has risen. To them, SingTels sports package is a normal good, as compared to StarHubs sports package, which has been deemed as an inferior good. This is highly due to SingTels success in securing the media rights for the BPL games, which allows them to broadcast the BPL games and other related programmes on mio TV. Thus, with the increase in money income of consumers, they would be more willing to purchase the sports package launched by SingTel. 8. Production and Cost 8.1 Costs in the Long Run and Economies of Scale Firstly, the successful bid for the BPL media rights and ESPN Star Sports brought an increase to the amount of channels available for mio TV. This would indicate an increase in the output by SingTel. Next, average cost for SingTel decreases as they would see an increase in subscribers, especially with football fans rushing to sign up for their sports package. This would cover up the cost incurred between q and qa. Lastly, with the increase in customers for SingTels mio TV service, they would have to increase their plant size to cater to the increase in demand. The plant size could increase in the form of having more service centers around the island, with more technicians and customer service officers hired to meet demands. This would open up the opportunity to create a more extensive division of labour, reflected from qa to q. In the long run, SingTels decision to take over as the exclusive broadcaster of BPL content would enable them to earn a tidy sum of profit. SingTel was not afraid of suffering losses even though StarHub reported that they lose money from providing sports content to pay-TV customers. (A whole new ball game in pay-tv market, 2009, October) They knew that as they were the only pay-TV operator showing BPL content, they would be able to benefit from the media rights with business opportunities coming in from all over the market, including advertising and partnership deals. 8.2 Explicit and Implicit Costs In the case of SingTel, they have incurred both explicit and implicit costs in their decision to outbid StarHub for the BPL media rights. The explicit costs incurred are the money spent on bidding for the exclusive media rights for the Barclays Premier League and the cost of operating mio TV. The implicit costs, also known as the opportunity cost incurred, would be the reduction of their budgets to spend on other genres of programmes. This reduces their ability to bid for other genres of programmes such as primetime blockbusters. 9. Oligopoly Duopoly 9.1 Barriers to Entry With only two pay-TV operators in Singapore, the oligopoly could be identified as a duopoly. A duopoly is a form of oligopoly where only two dominant players are present in a market. As with all kinds of market structure, barriers to entry are in place to deter additional competition. Firstly, there is a high-start up cost involved to enter the pay-TV industry. With bids starting from six-figure sums, a lack of start-up funds would certainly spell the end of the new company as they would not be able to compete with the financial power of StarHub and SingTel. Secondly, StarHub and SingTel have been around for some time, establishing a reputation along the way. The general public is more accustomed to these brands, and any new entrants to the pay-TV market would find it hard to persuade customers to switch to their service. This is true till they are able to force competition through providing exclusive content that the customers demand or other attractive deals. In the case of SingTels mio TV, their original entry to the industry back in 2007 was tough as StarHub was the only established player in the market. SingTels mio TV was finally able to garner the support of customers when they secured the rights to the elite European football competitions. Lastly, the new entrants would probably suffer losses early on, as a large output is required before low production costs can be achieved. This is also known as the economies of scale. The economies of scale would not benefit the new entrants as it takes time to establish high economies of scale. This would put them at a disadvantage as they are unable to effectively compete with the other pay-TV providers. 9.2 Price Leadership Price leadership refers to a player in the market that establishes a price for the rest of the industry to abide to. The player that sets the market price is usually one of the forerunners in the industry, and others in the market would follow suit. This is practiced to avoid price competition as everyones prices will be kept the same. In the case of SingTel, after they have taken over the media rights for the BPL games from StarHub, pressure was inflicted by the public for prices to remain the same. Fans feared that a change in ownership of the rights would cause a hike in the price for BPL matches, due to the exorbitant bid made by SingTel for the rights. Hence, SingTel agreed to maintain the same price that StarHub used to charge for their sports package, appeasing the public. Thus, price competition was not present in this scenario. $25 million StarHub pay-TV SingTel mio TV Raise Raise Maintain Maintain $25 million $20 million $20 million $20 million $25 million $20 million $25 million9.3 Game Theory SingTels huge bid for the Barclays Premier League media rights was not made without any form of theory. Instead, SingTel and StarHubs bids for the BPL media rights could be represented by the game theory. In the game theory presented above, the figures used are generic as the actual bid was not disclosed to the public. The objective of the game theory is to avoid the worst possible outcome, which in this scenario, is losing the bid for the rights. Hence, neither SingTel nor StarHub would think of maintaining their current bid. This is because if the other party decides to raise their bid, it would effectively rule them out of the competition. Thus, neither side would maintain their bid, ruling out the option of both parties maintaining their bids. As such, the only likely choice would be for both telecommunications firm to raise their bid. The difference was that SingTel decided to raise their bid significantly, which outweighed StarHubs raised bid with ease. Hence, SingTel obtained the media rights for the Barclays Premier League. 10. Conclusion In conclusion, SingTel has come a long way to achieve its goal of overtake StarHub as Singapores dominant pay-TV operator in sports. When SingTel first started, they experienced difficulties attracting customers as they were unable to rival what StarHub was able to offer to its subscribers. It was only when they obtained the broadcasting rights for the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League that football-mad customers decided to make the switch to SingTels mio TV. A year ago, SingTel stepped up its attempt to overtake StarHub by outbidding the latter for the BPL media rights for the next three years. Their successful bid enabled them to be the new price leader in the industry, and many football fans from StarHub made the jump from StarHubs pay-TV to SingTels mio TV to get their fix of football. This led to an increase in demand of SingTels mio TV, and a fall in demand for StarHubs pay-TV. Looking at the long term benefits, SingTels costs have been reduced due to an increase in the economies of scale, through establishing more service centers and hiring more workers to meet the increased demand. With a huge number of customers making the switch from StarHub pay-tv to SingTel mio TV due to their need for football, it has allowed SingTel to overtake StarHub as the nations dominant pay-TV operator in sports.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Hurricane Katrina: A Man-made Disaster Essay -- Emergency Management E

At 7:10 EDT on August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina made landfall, etching lasting memories of those living in and around the New Orleans, Louisiana. It was this day that Hurricane Katrina came ashore and caused what was to be thought as one of the â€Å"most destructive storm in terms of economic losses† ("Hurricane Katrina —," 2007) of all times. Who was to be blamed for the failure in emergence management response and preparation, no one seemed to know or understand. Those left in the wake of this disaster could only stand by and wonder who was at fault, what preparation were to be in place and why wasn’t there a quicker response to help the hundreds of thousands that needed immediate aid and disaster assistance. Failures of the Katrina Disaster According to Howard Dean "Before Katrina, everyone, including America's friends and enemies, believed if something awful happened in the world, you could call in the Americans and they'd fix it" (Dean, 2008). These were the thoughts of Howard Dean and many others as they looked back on President Bush’s legacy of eight years in office. But, was he the only one to blame or should we also look at the chain of command up and down that was responsible for the proper actions that should have been taken? In the corporate world it is believed that if things fail then the blame should be placed on the president or the chief executive office (CEO) of the company because of their responsibility within the corporation, but is that fair? The failure of Katrina was long before written in the failure through the inefficiency of the local, state and federal government when it came to emergence management preparation. Arnold Howitt and Herman Leonard stated in their article, Katrina and the Core Ch... ...s, Louisiana. Works Cited Haddow, G. D., Bullock, J. A., & Coppola, D. P. (2010).Introduction to emergency management. (4th ed., pp. 1-26). Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann. Howitt, A. M., & Leonard, H. B. (2006). Katrina and the core challenges of disaster response. The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, 30:1 winter 2006. (2005). Frontline "the storm". (2009). [Web Video]. Retrieved from http://video.pbs.org/video/1555897742/ Dean, H. (2008). Hurricane Katrina left a mark on George W. Bush’s presidency. U.S. News & World Report, Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2008/12/11/hurricane-katrina-left-a-mark-on-george-w-bushs-presidency. (2007). Hurricane Katrina — most destructive hurricane ever to strike the u.s. national Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce, Retrieved from http://www.katrina.noaa.gov/

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Operating System Security Flaws Essay

As basic users, security is one feature that most of us overlook when it comes to operating systems until it is too late. In this paper we will discuss the security flaws within the Windows Operating system, and then discuss countermeasures to fix the system flaw. We will first look at some known flaws in Windows 7 and Windows 8. An Information Security Engineer at Google had decided to reveal a flaw that affected two of Microsoft’s newest operating systems that allowed attackers to obtain higher privileges on an unpatched computer. The vulnerability was caused due to an error within the ‘win32k.sys’ when it processes certain objects and it can be exploited to cause a crash or perform arbitrary code with kernel privilege. A more recent flaw in Windows has been identified as the Zero-Day Vulnerability; the Microsoft Windows Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) package manager remote code execution vulnerability (CVE-2014-4114) permits attackers to embed OLE files fro m external locations. CVE-2014-4114 flaw can be exploited to download and install malware on to the target’s computer. This vulnerability affects all versions of Windows to include; Windows Vista Service Pack 2, Windows 8.1 and Windows Server versions 2008 and 2012. The Microsoft technology allows rich data from one document to be embedded in another document or link to a document. The OLE is usually used for embedding locally stored content but this flaw allows the unprompted download and execution of external files. The attackers send the targeted individuals or corporations a spear-phishing email that contains a malicious PowerPoint (PPT) file attachment; this email is detected by Symantec as Trojan.Mdropper. The sent file contains two embedded OLE documents containing URLs. If the targeted individual opens the PPT file, the URLs are contacted and two files are downloaded which in turn will install the malware on the computer. When the malware is installed on the victim’s  computer, this creates a back door that allows the attackers to download and install other malware; the malware can a lso download updates for itself to include an information stealing component. Microsoft is advising customers that there is no patch currently available for this vulnerability; they have supplied a fixit tool that decreases the attacks. While the present exploits are using PowerPoint files to deliver the malware, given the type of flaw, they may start using different office files such as word documents or excel spreadsheets. The second zero-day vulnerability is CVE-2014-4113, which is a local elevation of privilege vulnerability; this flaw has been seen in attacks against Windows Server 2003/R2, 2008/R2, Windows 2000, Windows Vista and Windows XP SP3. This flaw cannot be used on its own to compromise a victim’s security. The attacker would need to gain access to a remote system running any of the above lists operating systems before they could execute code within the context of the Windows Kernel. (â€Å"Sandworm Windows Zero-Day Vulnerability Being Actively Exploited In Targeted Attacks†, 2014). Microsoft’s security advisory states the company is vigorously working to provide broader protections to their customers; the company states that the resolution of the issue may include providing a security update through a monthly patch update or providing an unscheduled security update. As stated above Microsoft issued a temporary fixit tool that can be applied to 32-64 bit versions of PowerPoint 2007, 2010 and 2013. This can be used until an official patch is released. Also another countermeasure to avoid downloading malware on to your operating system is not open any PowerPoint Presentations or documents from unknown parties, even mail from known addresses should be avoided unless you can confirm with the sender that the email was intentionally sent. Many emails are compromised because some individuals make their passwords to easy or they have downloaded spyware and the attacker gets that information and uses their email to send out their virus to other users. I have received emails from my mother when I didn’t expect them and I would inform her that her email had been hacked. Many are not aware that this has happened unless they are told, References: Google Engineer Finds Critical Windows 7 / 8 Security Flaw. (2001-2014). Retrieved from http://news.softpedia.com/news/Google-Engineer-Finds-Critical-Windows-7-8-Security-Flaw-355406.shtml Sandworm Windows zero-day vulnerability being actively exploited in targeted attacks. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/sandworm-windows-zero-day-vulnerability-being-actively-exploited-targeted-attacks

Friday, January 3, 2020

Landerville Business Plan Essay - 2702 Words

Business Plan LANDERVILLE INVESTMENT AGENCY By: Billy Hill October 3, 2009 Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary for Landerville Investment Agency 2. Business Description and Financing 3. Tax Lien Business 4. Tax Lien Market 5. Operations and Procedures 6. Bidding and Property Risks 7. Projected Profit 8. Conclusion 1. Executive Summary for Landerville Investment Agency, LLC Landerville Investment Agency’s goal will be to purchase tax liens from state government and city treasurer auctions and recoup the funds from the owner. State governments and city treasures will issue a lien against residential and business properties in an effort to recoup the owed tax money (Carr, 2003). After I have†¦show more content†¦This company research and act quickly to purchase tax liens certificates deemed to be on good properties but the main goal will be to recoup funds from property owners (Merrit, 2009). Foreclosure will be the last resort, but the company will have to recoup their cost in order to make a profit (Merritt, 2009). City governments and county treasurers in more than thirty states have authorized the selling and purchasing of tax lien certificates on homes and businesses (Moreau, D., amp; Goldwasser, J., 1993). 3. Tax Lien Business What are tax liens? When a home owner fails to pay their real estate taxes, the county or city treasurer will place a lien on the property to ensure payment of the money owed (Carr, 2003). The tax lien is the legal assertion the county takes to recoup a specific amount of money against a property (Carr, 2003). Since it is a legal action the tax lien, the court records the action as part of the land record file (Carr, 2003). If the owner tries to sell or refinance the property the recorded lien would have to be financially satisfied before any ownership change (Carr, 2003). In some states such as California the owner can transfer the property title to another name, but if they want to sell the home or refinance then they will have to pay off the lien (Carr, 2006). Tax liens apply to residential and business properties. In the United States there are many states that sell tax liens on

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

A Psychoanalytic Reading Of Hamlet Essay - 2158 Words

Shamah fatima Prof. Hussain Azam Shakespeare 4 December 2016 A Psychoanalytic Reading of Hamlet William Shakespeare s Hamlet is different from other Elizabethan revenge plays in the sense that the playwright did put much effort in depicting the psychological make-up of his hero Hamlet. The way Shakespeare portrays the psychological complexities of Hamlet, the play has become a lucrative text to the critics to see through the psychoanalytic lens. Analysis of Hamlet using psychoanalytic criticism reveals the inward states of Hamlet’s mind. Among the various aspects of Hamlet’s character, the thing that instantly draws our attention is his relation with his mother Gertrude. It is here the psychoanalytic critics opine that Hamlet has an Oedipus Complex to his mother. Freud developed the theory of Oedipus complex, whereby, says Freud, the male infant conceives the desire of eliminate the father and become the sexual partner of the mother. Hamlet, too, has several symptoms to suffer from Oedipus Complex. Hamlet’s Oedipus Complex: A fundamental basis for all of Freudian psychology resides in the Oedipal feelings which Freud believed are common to all male children. The major psychological distinction between one person and another was said to come from the way the person handled those feelings and the way that handling was represented in everyday life. Freud is categorical about the existence of the Oedipal impulse: â€Å"It is the fate of all of us, perhaps, to direct our first sexualShow MoreRelated Psychoanalytic Analysis of Shakespeare?s Hamlet Essay1291 Words   |  6 Pages If one wants to truly understand the psychological implications of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the primary focus should be on the character Hamlet, and how he develops and modifies throughout the play. 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Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Zeitoun free essay sample

In the notes about this book, Eggers explains that the book is based on the accounts of Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun. What does the story gain by reflecting only the Zeitoun familys view of the events? What might be lost in such an approach? The story gains by reflecting only the Zeitoun familys view of the events mainly because of the discrimination that Zeitoun had to go through during the Hurricane Katrinna, by the simple reason that Zeitoun is a muslim man, they accused him and his two friends, of being part of the AlQaeda. The American police – military or a higher power – imprisoned them by their religion and did not give them their right to a phone call or a lawyer. â€Å" Zeitoun was pushed toward the front door. The other officers had already gathered Ronnie and Nasser onto an enormous fan boat. It was a military craft, far bigger than any other boat Zeitoun had seen since the storm. Abdulrahman Zeitoun is a man who was born in Syria and migrated to New Orleans to settle. He runs a successful construction company and is well known around the city of New Orleans. From the very beginning of the story the author begins to reveal to the readers Zeitoun’s character and the importance of family to him. In the beginning of the book, Eggers uses the fishing trips Zeitoun was a part of as an example of his love for his family. Zeitoun would go fishing and catch many fish for his family and not collect a dime from the task. Although he genuinely had a love for the sea and adventure, most of his ambition was driven by love for his family and the need to care for them. In his household, family was put first over everything. I believe that this was presented in that part from the book as they would venture out in the cold night to gather provisions for their family. Where Zeitoun comes from, family is reliant upon family. He was raised with this mentality and it was sort of engraved into him as he grew older. So when he was included into another community, he implemented this mindset and treated the community like it was his family; caring for them and trying to keep everyone safe. When Hurricane Katrina rolled along, there was an instinctive feeling in him that swayed him from moving and caused him to remain in the city. He later realized that he needed to be there for his community and that his presence was necessary in order to bring safety to the people in his city; his community, his family. In the book, Eggers also displays how community and family are needed in times of tragedy. He even showed that tragedy may even trigger a stronger sense of togetherness or it may work to destroy communities. Following the horrific effects of the hurricane, the percentage of crimes in the city soared as some acted out of panic and fear for their survival, and some took advantage of the confusion in order to commit crimes. This was triggered by a lack of community and the idea of needing to steal from the community in order to survive. It is an â€Å"everyone for themselves† outlook to the situation. This sort of anti-community attitude is a dangerous one and really causes the problem to inflate. If everyone worked towards helping their community in this time of peril, the situation would have been much less severe. Examples that include the strengthening of a sense of community are found in the decisions and acts of Zeitoun and Todd. They stayed in the city and devoted their time to assisting people in need. The tragedy allowed them to do acts that they weren’t accustomed to. Todd was a completely new man after the storm hit. His time was engulfed in supporting his community and this was caused by the tragic hurricane and the helplessness it brought to most people in the city. This strengthened both Zeitoun and Todd’s devotion to the community and they worked towards rebuilding the morale and conditions of the people. Stressing the positive effects that came from helping the community and highlighting the negative effects that came from hurting the community, Eggers is trying to express that having a strong sense of community in any given situation is definitely important in ANY given situation. I totally agree with the author’s social comment and understand the huge role a strong community plays. I believe this strong sense of community is extremely important in hard times as it may lessen the effects of whatever the calamity. A final example towards the importance of family is the role his family played in Zeitoun’s release from incarceration. When Zeitoun went missing his family became hysterical and constantly worried for him. His family from afar was constantly calling his wife, Kathy, asking her where he is and pleading her to go and find him. His older brother Ahmad sent a barrage of letters to news stations and the media asking for the whereabouts of his brother and begging them to search for him. After his wife found out he was in prison she hired an attorney and fought to have Zeitoun released. Zeitoun was released after only staying about a month in prison compared to other prisoners from New Orleans who were released from about five months to a year. This highlights the power of family in a difficult situation and can be a means of life or death in some cases. The author spent a quarter of the book showing the trouble Zeitoun’s family went through to retrieve him. Due to this, Eggers really argues the importance of family and I completely agree with him. The prisoners without a strong family connection such as Nasser and Todd ended up staying for about four times as long as Zeitoun. This goes to show that having solid family relations are extremely crucial. Through events described in the book, a strong community and family are viewed highly by the author. He places much emphasis on the advantages of a good sense of community and ties to one’s family. He also portrays how events can be much more drastic when there is a lack of or a shaky sense of the two factors. In conclusion, Dave Eggers stresses the importance of family and community in â€Å"Zeitoun† and I completely agree that the two are something that no one should be without.