A Brief History of Slot Machines

A Brief History of Slot Machines According to Legal Slots, the term slot machines was originally used for all automatic vending machines as well as for the gambling devices, it was not until the 20th century that the term became restricted to the latter. A fruit machine is one British term for a slot machine. The one-armed bandit is another popular nickname. Charles Fey Liberty Bell The first mechanical slot machine was the Liberty Bell, invented in 1895 by car mechanic, Charles Fey (1862–1944) of San Francisco. The Liberty Bell slot machine had three spinning reels. Diamond, spade, and heart symbols were painted around each reel, plus the image of a cracked Liberty Bell. A spin resulting in three Liberty Bells in a row gave the biggest payoff, a grand total of fifty cents or ten nickels. The original Liberty Bell slot machine can still be seen be at the Liberty Belle Saloon Restaurant in Reno, Nevada. Other Charles Fey machines include the Draw Power, and Three Spindle and the Klondike. In 1901, Charles Fey invented the first draw poker machine. Charles Fey was also the inventor of the trade check separator, which was used in the Liberty Bell. The hole in the middle of the trade check allowed a detecting pin to distinguish fake nickels or slugs from real nickels. Fey rented his machines to saloons and bars based on a 50/50 split of the profits.​ Demand for Slot Machines Grows The demand for Liberty Bell slot machines was huge. Fey could not build them fast enough in his small shop. Gambling supply manufacturers tried to buy the manufacturing and distribution rights to the Liberty Bell, however, Charles Fey refused to sell. As a result in 1907, Herbert Mills, a Chicago manufacturer of arcade machines, began production of a slot machine, a knock-off of Feys Liberty Bell, called the Operator Bell. Mills was the first person to place fruit symbols: i.e. lemons, plums, and cherries on machines. How The Original Slots Worked Inside each cast iron slot machine there were three metal hoops called reels. Each reel had ten symbols painted on it. A lever was pulled that spun the reels. When the reels stopped, a jackpot was awarded if three of a kind of symbol lined up. The payoff in coinage was then dispensed from the machine. Age of Electronics The first popular electric gambling machine was the 1934 animated horse race machine called PACES RACES. In 1964, the first all-electronic gambling machine was built by Nevada Electronic called the 21 machine. Other all electronic versions of gambling games followed including ones for dice, roulette, horse racing, and poker (Dale Electronics Poker-Matic was very popular). In 1975, the first electronic slot machine was built by the Fortune Coin Company.

Decisions can change everything

Decisions can change everything Free Online Research Papers Life is about making decisions, some can lead to positive outcomes or negative consequences. A decision is a choice one makes to reach a final conclusion, one that can change outcomes like the path of life. On a daily basis one makes different kind of decisions, careless ones or more important ones; some can even be able to define life and its future. These decisions are always up to you but can be easily influenced by many factors. The level of pressure towards one choice has to do with the age as well, the younger the person, the less amount of â€Å"life† knowledge that the person has. Adults can defend themselves better than younger people, that is why teenagers can be easily influenced by society’s ethics and family’s beliefs versus what they think for themselves. Teenagers have a harder time at making decision since they are highly influenced by different factors. Society’s ethics are the beliefs that state the difference between right and wrong. They are the differences between what society approves and disapproves; this can be tested in several ways. As stated in the Allphilosophy website,† Right or wrong is relative. It is defined by the principles we share in common. The principles we share in common are the principles we subscribe to and are the principles that bind us.† These principals are taught to us in the different stages of life, but apart from that can be corrupted in a way by the diverse pressure surrounding us. One’s decision is life is influenced by ethics, for example, ethics declare that drugs are illegal. An EL PAIS article talks about a family with a teenage daughter, she is put into a â€Å"society’s ethics† situation. Her parents have been growing marijuana in the basement of her house and she is awake of it; she is between the right and wrong concept. In her situation she knows and has learned that her parent’s actions are illegal and for this reason she decides to turn them in. Her parents had important job positions in the United States, but their insensible decision combined with the daughter’s right move was the reason why they were sued. In this example, the daughter was clearly influenced by society’s rules and perfectly knew the differentiation between what is right and what is wrong in society. A conclusion by an adolescent can depend on various aspects; society can be one and normally leads the person to do the right thing. Family is the group of people that will always be there for you, even if the situation is harsh no one can eliminate that love that goes around, they will help you out and be by your side if everyone else leaves you aside. Among the different stages of life, the family teaches you vales and basically the way of living life. When one reaches the teenage part of life, family and parents have had a huge amount of influence and normally your actions and decisions you make are reflected on the way they have done it. Since they are the examples you follow and even make choices for you, the most common would be having the teenager turn out like them. In some cases, the family values contradict those of society; an example of this is clear in the story â€Å"The Barn Burning†, where the father is corrupted but it doesn’t influence the rest of the family’s decision. The fact that the father goes from town to town burning barns teaches the son a lesson. He does realize th at it is against the law and ethics but decides to stick to his father, not because he is right but because he is all he has. This is demonstrated when the son says: â€Å"I could run away on and on and never look back, never need to see his face again. Only I can’t.† the son could just run away but as he, himself thinks about later on, they are blood and blood should stick together at all time. In this case he son knows that he doesn’t want to turn out like his father but also values family, which complicates his decisions in life. As shown above, society and family are normally the two most influential factors, but the most dangerous one is the evolving mind of a teenager. Once a kid enters the teenager stage of life they become self center and think that they have some sort of â€Å"personal magic†. An adolescent normally only thinks about themselves and wants to experiment new things, this highly influences a decision in life; they tend to loose trust towards others and feel that nobody has felt their pain or love. Those symptoms and emotions can persuade some teens to react in a negative way. Another factor that can have a large amount of pressure on decision making is the â€Å"personal magic† that teens tend to think they own. By this, it would mean that in their point of view, no harm in any way can occur to them. A perfect example for it would be that many teenage girls have the possibility of being pregnant but not the one that thinks so, since she has that personal magic in her. The teen ager brain is not fully evolved at that age, and that is why the thoughts and false believes can also affect a decision made by an adolescent. In conclusion, there are many factors that affect the decision making of a teenager, the three main ones discussed are society’s ethics, family’s beliefs and the developing brain of a teenager as well. Decisions can be very important, specially since some are even life changing and that is why they have to be made carefully and in the right atmosphere, with no negative influence surrounding. Work sited Del Pino, Javier. Hay un Monton de droga encase. EL PAIS. 1998. Faulkner, William. Barn Burning. 1939. University of New Hampshire. Family Developing Fact Sheet. http://allphilosophy.com/topic/2048 Research Papers on Decisions can change everythingCapital PunishmentThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenThree Concepts of PsychodynamicIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andHip-Hop is Art19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided Era

Corporate governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Corporate governance - Essay Example Moreover, evidence of working together as a team and the essence of synergy would always ensure sustainable competitive market. This is what is targeted as one of the most principle aspects by investors and its slightest brink make an organization susceptible to tragic downfall incase of scam or misappropriation (Geel 2011). Hawkama, an institute of corporate, being put in place by independent international institutions that teamed up together, was meant to reform good governance by helping the countries that participated in the treaty to have good financial and economic integration amongst them and other countries across the globe. The main mission of the Hawkama treaty was to help the countries involved develop good strategies necessary to improve universally, well integrated corporate governance. Besides, it was meant to enhance efficiency in relation to coordination, designing, planning and actual rolling of proficient corporate governance reforms. Moreover, the institution is eq uipped with the right assessment tools to help in determining the outcome of corporate governance policies at all private sectors. Hawkama article, however, recommended the following as the right governance steps (Bornstein 2005). Demonstrating commitment to good corporate governance For an organization to reap the benefits of good corporate governance, it must demonstrate its willingness of putting the practice to the later. All the stakeholders, which are considered as part and parcel to an organization must show commitment and join hands in working together towards building a single business case of corporate governance. For this to be effectively enacted, managers of the organizations and other leaders should be encouraged to attend talks about institutional good governance. Hypothetically, the article has given an illustration on how the commitment of leaders in an organization can actually motivate the members to produce substantially operational and markets and the higher pro fit results and this would attract more investors into such organizations (International Finance Corporation, Hawkamah 2008). Planning and setting priorities Organizations that expect to bear advantage of good governance, must seek to avail adequate measures that would ensure more attention is given to the important and urgent duties. This success is profusely possible only when an organization is able to make comparative difference between its performance and its competitor as a way of identifying the relevant governing principles. In this case, their right choice of practices is to avert any slightest action considered vise to the relationship of the organization either internally or externally with other stakeholders (International Finance Corporation, Hawkamah 2008). Implementing good board practices Board is considered as the key aspect where issues relating to corporate governance are strategized. In this case, the board plays the role of strategic guidance and oversight manag ement during implementation of corporate governance. Besides, it carries out a mandate of a trustee to the shareholders. Most basically, how the board would fulfill its responsibilities is used as a determinant by investors to assess the potentiality of an organization. If the board is given an authority to run as an independent, professional and most predominantly a vigilant body, then it would ultimately succeed to the achievements of

Offer of Fixed Interest Investment Funds to the Public Prospectus Assignment

Offer of Fixed Interest Investment Funds to the Public Prospectus - Assignment Example The main purpose of laws is to ensure that businesses meet the needs and wishes of shareholders and the interests of stakeholders in accordance with modern business practices.6 This prospectus promotes the company as a whole and informs shareholders, future shareholders and stakeholders of any risks that are involved in the fixed interest investment funds.7 The issuer is an investment planning company with limited liability, registered under the laws of England and Wales. ... nce of the Funds 23 Tax Implications 23 Charges and Expenses 23 Bibliography 27 Definition of Terms Articles of Association: The contractual document authorising the issuer to offer the fixed interest investment funds. Back-end Fee: A fee payable upon redeeming an investment or share. Common Law: judicial decisions binding the issuer in the administration and management of the fixed interest investment funds. Depository: The Bank or financial institution holding legal title to the fixed interest investment funds. Doctrine of Corporate Opportunity: A major risk factor and concern of investors relative to the risks associated with managers and directors mismanaging any investment funds and the applicable common law and statutory laws safeguarding against this kind of investment risk. Fiduciary Duty: A common law and statutory law prescribing the duty of care and level of competence applicable to and enforceable against managers who have monetary responsibilities in situations where the y have control over funds that are not their own. Fixed Interest Investment Funds: funds invested with a fixed and predetermined interest rate. Investor: The person or body corporate purchasing the fixed interest investment fund. Issuer: The institution offering the fixed interest investment funds to the public. Load Fee: A fee payable upon entering an investment fund and deducted from the initial investment. Maturity Term: The bond’s life or the date at which the terms relative to the investment fund have been satisfied have been fixed. Open-ended Investment Company: an investment company characterised by collective investment schemes under the structure and framework of a company comprised of diverse capital. Statutory Law: Legislation prescribing the policies, practices, rights, duties

China Economic Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

China Economic Development - Essay Example Chinese leader during this period attempted to transfer the heart of agriculture from traditional farming to household activities (Roche, 2010). These reforms extended to price liberalization, in a more gradual way. It became followed by fiscal decentralization (Roche, 2010). Also as part of the undergoing reforms, business enterprises managed by the state became granted independence. This means that, all the government officials found at the local levels and also managers of a number of plants had more authority (Roche, 2010). This led to the development of a number of privately owned firms within the service producing sector, together with the manufacturing sectors (Roche, 2010). Chinese banking system became diversified, and the country’s stock markets began to rise as the country’s economic reforms took hold (Roche, 2010). China began growing at a rapid pace because of these existing reforms and widely opened the shut doors of its economy to the entire globe for tra de opportunities and direct more foreign investment (Roche, 2010). As a nation, it has undertaken a slow but sure method in implementing all of its economic reforms (Roche, 2010). The country has sold the equity of a number of the country’s state banks to foreign companies and also bond markets. Its role in the international market has also grown over the years (Roche, 2010). China's Global Economy The economy of China witnessed some radical transformations after Deng Xiaoping took charge in 1978 (Roche, 2010). The country has transformed from being a highly centrally planned economy to an open economy from his era (Roche, 2010). The country has now transformed to a leading power house for the world’s economy over the past ten years. In Roche’s... this paper tells that China has also a well developed transport and railway network running throughout the country. The country has developed expressways making the container transportation effective. By late 2006, the country had six provinces with close to 2000 (km) of expressway. Also, the length of the country’s railway system is over 77 000 (km), ranking it third in the globe, next to America and Russia. Nevertheless, Japan has a more advanced and well maintained infrastructure, which undergoes regular and constant upgrading and expansion. According to Roche, the country’s private and public sectors take the responsibility of a number of infrastructural services and operate them efficiently. Japan posses a remarkably extensive and highly modern road network that consists of around 1,152,207 kilometers of highways, and 6,114 kilometers of expressways. The length of the rail network in Japan is 23,670 kilometers. More than half of Japan’s rail network is elect rified. The country is also famous for its high-speed trains. The country also has extensive and modern sea and air transport systems. The country’s communication system is also highly advanced consisting of both the public and private providers. To sum up, this paper says that China posses massive sea ports that have the most influential gateways for its foreign trade. Going by the recent record, China ranks first globally in terms of cargo through put by its weight and also by the high numbers of containers it handles.

The most effective visual images Essay Example for Free

The most effective visual images Essay It was a dull night in November, I had completed my work. I accumulated all the equipment that I would use to breathe life into the lifeless monster on the ground; I was so nervous that I was nearly in pain. By one in the morning, the rain fell gloomily on the windows. My candle was about to go off, when I saw the yellow eye of the monster open. It breathed in deeply and an unexpected motion vibrated his limbs. Could I describe my feelings when I saw this? How could I create such an ugly man? His body had a nice figure and I tried to make him look good, but he came out extremely butters. Oh my days! He was uglier than the devil himself. Through his yellow skin, I could see the muscles and veins. Can you imagine, his hair was pure black and his teeth were white like WOH! The nasty difference was his dull eyes that appeared to be almost the same colour as his yellow face, apart from his proper thin black lips. To get to this point I worked for almost two years, you know. I went without rest and I even made myself sick, blad. I wanted this moment more than a man should want anything, now I had finished my work, the buffness that I had imagined it to be had gone and now I am full of disgust. Man, this thing that I have created was so butters, I would go blind if I looked at it. I quickly went out of the lab and for ages I was walking up and down my bedroom, trying to cool down, you get me. I did fall asleep, but it was proper edgy, full of bare nightmares. By Vivian Amobi Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mary Shelley section.

Impacts of the Pornography Industry

Impacts of the Pornography Industry Critically assess the case that the products of the contemporary pornography industry are both a cause of violence and discrimination directed against women and also ‘intrinsically harmful’. It is not the purpose of this essay to defend the contemporary pornography industry which to this day remains a ‘dirty’ and -to a large extent- a male-dominated, exploitative business, but rather to understand the reasons behind this sad reality. Pornography made its first prominent appearance in feminist discourse in the late 70s, when feminist groups such as ‘Women Against Violence in Pornography and the Media’ (WAVPM) embarked upon their anti-pornography campaign in the San Francisco Bay area. The so-called ‘sex wars’ of the 1980s brought about an unprecedented division within the feminist movement. Anti-pornography writers, such as Andrea Dworkin and Catharine MacKinnon -authors of the famous ‘Minneapolis and Indianapolis ordinances’ advocated the censorship of pornographic material, on account of its role as ‘a practice that is central to the subordination of women’. Other feminists put forth a liberal legal argum ent, invoking the First Amendment to the American Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech. Two decades later, the pornography debate has retained its relevance in feminist discourse. There is still heated disagreement over three interrelated issues: what is the definition of pornography? Does pornography cause violence and discrimination against women? What is the best way to deal with pornography in the policy and legislation arenas? While critically assessing the anti-pornography thesis, I will argue in turn that most sexually explicit graphic material is not the cause but can mirror the misogyny and exploitation that characterizes modern societies; and that far from being ‘intrinsically harmful’ pornography can in fact be employed in the service of feminist ideas. A necessary starting point if we are to understand pornography would be an analytically helpful definition. But this is itself one of the main points of disagreement between feminists. The pro-censorship side has emulated traditional definitions of pornography and equated sexual explicitness with violence and female subordination. Dworkin understands pornography as the platform where sexist ideology thrives by exhibiting male supremacy,   discernible in seven interwoven strains: the power of the self, physical power, the power of terror, the power of naming, the power of owning, the power of money and the power of sex’. Contemporary porn depicts women as the helpless victims of men: bound, tortured, humiliated, battered, urinated upon or ‘merely taken and used’. Evoking the Greek etymology of the word, Dworkin (1990:24) defines pornography as the ‘graphic depiction of whores’, (‘porne’ being the Greek for a cheap prostitute or sex slave ). Thus pornography is conceived as something sexist, violent and exploitative by definition; in other words, as an intrinsically harmful phenomenon. Even at this early stage, pro-censorship analysis seems to rest on shaky methodological grounds. First it involves a clearly circular argument which condemns pornography without trying to understand it, almost like arguing that ‘pornography is bad, because it is bad’. Second, the cross-cultural analysis of Ancient Greece is dubious, if not completely a-historical, since ‘pornography’ is not an ancient but a Victorian neologism, invented in the 19th century, thus reflecting Victorian sensitivities rather than ancient realities. Third, the definition of porn as a field of violence and sexism logically entails a distinction from other, sexually explicit material that is not violent, demeaning and exploitative, but is based on sentiments of mutuality and reciprocity. Defining this emerging category, usually referred to as ‘Erotica’, is a highly subjective endeavor and obviously unhelpful for an academic or a judge. Equating sexual explicitness to vi olence, misogyny and other value-judgments is not only counter productive to the search for a descriptive definition of pornography; it is also untrue, since it is often the case that ‘soft porn’ or even altogether non-sexual material can contain much more disturbing scenes of violence and sexism than pornography itself. Fourth, most of the anti-porn literature has applied its definitions of pornography in a vague and inconsistent manner, jumping from the ‘graphic depiction of whores’ to the more mainstream concept of porn as cheaply produced ‘smut’ for instant consumption; and sometimes to a more inclusive definition containing phenomena as diverse as fashion, TV commercials, sex toys and sex education.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Methodological concerns aside, anti-porn definitions of pornography entail positions that appear to contradict the very essence of feminism. Anti-porn pronouncements on ‘good, sensitive Erotica’ vis-à  -vis ‘bad, abusive porn’ are essentially pronouncements about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sexuality. At the risk of caricature, this entails restrictions on sexuality of Orwellian dimensions, and is contrary to the fights of the feminist, gay and lesbian movements for sexual liberation and diversity. One anti-porn author opines that ‘erotica is rooted in eros, or passionate love, and thus in the idea of positive choice, free will, the yearning for a particular person, whereas in pornography the subject is not love at all, but domination and violence against women’. Statements like this one seem to imply an acceptance of old patriarchical stereotypes of the form ‘men are aggressive and polygamous by nature, while women are pas sive and monogamous’ and that women do not, cannot or should not enjoy sex in itself. Paradoxically, Dworkin’s (1990) synoptic treatment of the history of pornography exaggerates the passivity and helplessness of female victims and the violence of male domination to such an extent, that it unwittingly reinforces the very binary stereotypes that feminism has historically fought to uproot. Her presentation of women in pornography as ‘whores’, is at best patronizing, if not condescending and insulting towards female porn-workers, who often choose to follow that mode of subsistence. The choices of porn-workers deserve as much respect as those of women working in less stigmatized industries and, perhaps, even greater feminist solidarity.     Ã‚   Pro-censorship argumentation tends to revolve around two rhetorical devices. The first is the exaggeration of the amount and degree of violence contained in pornographic material, through the accumulation of undeniably disturbing images. The slide shows projected in WAVPM meetings and the material articulately described in Dworkin’s book have been handpicked for their shock-value and power to disturb. Drawn primarily from the underground cultures of Bizarre, Bestiality and SM, most of these images are largely unrepresentative of the mainstream market, which is both highly diversified and specialized. Specialization is a key-point because of the basic fact that different people have different ‘turn-ons’. Given that some people may find publicly disturbing, what others view as privately stimulating is no good reason to label porn in its entirety as intrinsically offensive. The second rhetorical device lies in the argument that pornography is not just a representatio n of imaginary violence but also a recorded reality or as put by MacKinnon, a ‘documentary of abuse’. Again this argument misleadingly conflates reality with representational fantasy. To claim that every woman -or man- that appears to be abused in a porn-movie is actually abused, is almost as naà ¯ve as claiming that every man shot-dead in, say, ‘the Terminator’, is actually dead. The anti-porn argument fails to take into consideration factors such as artifice, acting and role-playing. While genuine case of abuse are not absent from the porn industry, the vast majority of depictions of ‘violence’ occur in a role-playing context which carefully ensures the safety of the actors. My view is that understanding pornography requires a descriptive definition which, instead of passing judgments over the moral credentials and political consciousness of its participants, focuses on the realities of the porn industry. In this light, modern pornography, as we know it, is the graphic representation of sexually explicit material, mass-produced and mass-consumed with the purpose of sexual arousal. Although it is not ‘intrinsically evil’, this industry is morally no better than the society that produces it. The effect of sexually explicit material on its viewers and society at large is the second main component of the pornography debate. Anti-porn analysis has insisted on a theory of causality, whereby real rape, physical abuse and humiliation of women by men occur as a direct result of their exposure to the ‘hateful values’ of pornography. In Dworkin’s own words ‘at the heart of the female condition is pornography: it is the ideology that is the source of all the rest;’. By equating the representation of violence with injurious action, Dworkin evokes what neo-Aristotelian theorists of representation have termed as the ‘Mimesis-model’. Derived from the Greek word ‘mimesis’, meaning ‘imitation’ or ‘reproduction’, the model positions the real both before and after its representation. At a theoretical level the Mimesis-model can be sufficiently challenged by another Aristotelian concept, that of Catharsis. This would entail that far from reducing men to perpetrators of violence, exposure to the mock-violence of pornography -with all its artistic conventions and restrictions- would relieve them of the violent dispositions that lay ‘hidden’ in their psyche, in the same way that, say, a horror movie may give us pleasure without inciting violence and blood-thirst. The Catharsis-model fits particularly well to the very nature of pornography. Founded on a much-attested human desire for an occasional breach of taboo, porn tends to represent situations and feelings that may well be antisocial and very often remote from what the actual social practice is. Japan -a country with one of the lowest rape rates world-wide- sustains a huge pornographic industry that ‘specializes’ in violence and sexual domination. The anti-pornography perceptive fails to grasp this crucial distinction between social reality and harmless fantasy. In terms of empirical evidence, psychological experiments on the alleged correlation between exposure to porn and violent activity are, at best, inconclusive. Historical and cross-societal analysis is equally unpromising for the Mimesis-argument. Porn, in its modern sense, is a very recent creation. And yet, the exploitation of women by men had predated it by thousands of years. At the same time, political systems that adhered to the systematic suppression of pornographic representations, such as the Soviet Union or modern Islamic states, had not been less exploitative or violent. And yet, many anti-porn thinkers have insisted on censorship, despite the fact that this insistence has produced an awkward alliance with moral traditionalists from the Right. If passed, the 1984 Minneapolis ordinance would have reinvented ‘pornography’ as a criminal offence, distinct from ‘obscenity’. This would have allowed women to take civil action against anyone involved in the production, or distribution of pornography, on the grounds that they had been ‘harmed’ by its portrayal of women. In the passionate words of Andrea Dworkin (1990:224) ‘we will know that we are free when the pornography no longer exists. As long as it does exist, we must understand that we are the women in it: used by the same power, subject to the same valuation, as the vile whores who beg for more.’ If only, pornography was, indeed, the mother of all evil. Then sexism could be uprooted at one, simple, legislative stroke. But unfortunately, sexism, viole nce and exploitation are endemic to the economic structure of the modern society and pervasive of all our media. Pornography seems to have been singled out as a scapegoat for all forms of sexual prejudices in today’s world. The long-standing social stigma and visual honesty of the industry made it an easy target to right-wingers and left-wingers alike. Censorship has not worked in the past and there is no reason to believe that it will work in the future. I believe that the only viable solution to the pornography problem is the exact opposite of censorship, namely support for ‘the Politics of Representation. Women should try to ‘capture’ pornography, as producers, script-writers and directors, in a manner consistent with earlier feminist ventures into other male-dominated fields, such as literature, politics, media, religion, education and science. ‘Going legit’, would not only mean that society as a whole will take a less hypocritical stance to the realities of pornography   but also that regulation would guarantee better working conditions for female porn-workers (e.g. unionization, safe-sex, better security, health and cleanliness). Most importantly establishing a feminine perspective within the industry would counterbalance the male bias from which it now suffers. Following the example of ventu res such as ‘Femme Productions’ -launched by former porn-worker Candida Royalle and targeting a couple market- sexually explicit material written and produced by women can celebrate women’s right to pleasure without complying to sexism and exploitation. Pro-censorship feminists have been mistaken in defining pornography as problem. The explicit representation of sexual scenes is neither ‘intrinsically harmful’ nor a direct cause of violence. While men retain the reigns of an industry plagued with social stigma, porn will continue to be biased and exploitative. Yet, in the right hands, pornography can become an instrument for feminist action.   Ã‚  Ã‚   BIBLIOGRAPHY Barker, I. V. (2000): ‘Editing Pornography’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 643- 652 Butler, J. (2000): ‘The Force of Fantasy: Feminism, Mapplethorpe, and Discursive Excess’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 487-508 Carter, A. (2000): ‘Polemical Preface: Pornography in the Service of Women’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 527-539 Cornell, D. (2000): ‘Pornography’s Temptation’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 551-68 Dworkin, A. (1990): ‘Pornography: Men Possessing Women’, London: The Women’s Press Ltd C. A. MacKinnon (1988): ‘Pornography and Civil Rights: A New Day’, Minneapolis: Organizing Against Pornography Kilmer, M.F. (1997): ‘Painters and Pederasts: Ancient Art, Sexuality, and Social History’,in M. Golden and P. Toohey [eds] Inventing Ancient Culture: Historicism, Periodization, and the Ancient World, London, pp 36-49. MacKinnon, C. A. (1993): ‘Only Words’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 94-120 Rodgerson, G. E. Wilson [ed] (1991): ‘Pornography and Feminism: the Case Against Censorship’, Feminists Against Censorship, London: Lawrence Wishart Royalle, C. (2000): ‘Porn in the USA’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 540-550 Rubin, G. (1992): ‘Misguided, Dangerous and Wrong: an Analysis of Anti-pornography Politics’, in A. Assiter and A. Carol [ed], Bad Girls and Dirty Pictures: the Challenge to Reclaim Feminism, London: Pluto Press, pp 18-40 Russell, D. E. H. (2000): ‘Pornography and Rape: A Causal Model’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 48-93 Sutton, R.F., Jr. (1992): ‘Pornography and Persuasion on Attic Pottery’, in A. Richlin [ed], Pornography and Representation in Greece and Rome, New York, pp 3-35.