We’ve mentioned that one particular type of game is declining in popularity. We were talking about HTML5 games. If you grew up in the early 2000’s, you know exactly what these browser based games are. The ID does not need to show a voter’s current address. Whether the voter’s address is up to date with the DMV is not relevant to proving identity at the polls. The ID does not need to comply with the federal REAL ID Act.

But swings in component costs are very much structured into the business model of every manufacturer of high tech consumer electronics.What not necessarily factored in is variable costs in the manufacturing and assembly line pieces of the production process. The NYT piece contends that manufacturing costs in China are about to get more expensive and that this is going to affect the business of companies like Apple, Dell, HP and others who rely on Chinese factory work low cost to maximize the profits.Foxconn and companies like it operate almost on the Walmart model, where the profits come measured in cents per unit, but so many units fly through the fingers of the million or so employees per day that the operation does rake in the cash.Thus, wages in China will rise, pushing up the cost of manufacturing electronic gadgets. It takes years to get an alternative supply chain running up to reliable speed, particularly where delicate high tech gizmos like the iPhone are concerned (and where assembly line slip ups are already making headlines) so Apple and its competitors are just going to have to suck up the increased cost for quite a while.

None of the cases I could read about discussed monopoly profits (so I guess, no although it was not my argument). It not 100% clear that dumping was the proximate cause of their industrial decline (these things are very hard to be sure about!), but a strong case is made that it was a major factor. And German industries enjoyed substantial protection in their home markets.

Background and aims: Since the inclusion of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) in the latest (fifth) edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 5) as a tentative disorder, a few psychometric screening instruments have been developed to assess IGD, including the 9 item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale Short Form (IGDS9 SF) a short, valid, and reliable instrument. Methods: Due to the lack of research on IGD in Slovenia, this study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the IGDS9 SF in addition to investigating the prevalence rates of IGD in a nationally representative sample of eighth graders from Slovenia (N=1,071). Results: The IGDS9 SF underwent rigorous psychometric scrutiny in terms of validity and reliability.