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Sony Interactive Entertainment

Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) is a Japanese-American multinational video game and digital entertainment company of Sony. Jointly established by two subsidiaries in 2016, it primarily operates the PlayStation brand of video game consoles and products. It is also the world's largest company in the video game industry based on its equity investments.

In 1993, Sony and Sony Music Entertainment Japan jointly established Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. in Tokyo, which released the video game console PlayStation in Japan the following year and subsequently in the United States and Europe the year after. It founded the branches Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) in May 1995 (in Foster City, California) and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) in July 1995 (in Liverpool). In 2010, it underwent a corporate split and established Sony Network Entertainment International (SNEI), which provided gaming-related services through the PlayStation Network and Sony Entertainment Network, including the sale of game titles and content on the PlayStation Store, as well as offering PlayStation Plus. In 2016, both companies jointly established Sony Interactive Entertainment, with its headquarters located in San Mateo, California, U.S.

Sony Computer Entertainment founding, PlayStation release, and North American expansion (1993–2005)
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. (SCEI) was jointly established by Sony and its subsidiary Sony Music Entertainment Japan in 1993 to handle the company's ventures into the video game industry. The original PlayStation console was released on December 3, 1994, in Japan. The company's North American operations, Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA), were originally established in May 1995 as a division of Sony Electronic Publishing. Located in Foster City, California, the North American office was originally headed by Steve Race.

In the months prior to the release of the PlayStation in Western markets, the operations were restructured: All video game marketing from Sony Imagesoft was folded into SCEA in July 1995, with most affected employees transferred from Santa Monica to Foster City. On August 7, 1995, Race unexpectedly resigned and was named CEO of Spectrum HoloByte three days later. He was replaced by Sony Electronics veteran Martin Homlish. This proved to be the beginning of a run of exceptional managerial turnover. The PS console was released in the United States on September 9, 1995. As part of a worldwide restructuring at the beginning of 1997, SCEA and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) were both re-established as wholly owned subsidiaries of SCEI.

The launch of the second PS console, the PlayStation 2 was released in Japan on March 4, 2000, and the U.S. on October 26, 2000. On July 1, 2002, chairman of SCEI, Shigeo Maruyama, was replaced by Tamotsu Iba as chairman. Jack Tretton and Phil Harrison were also promoted to senior vice presidents of SCE. The PlayStation Portable (PSP) was SCEI's first foray into the small handheld console market. Its development was first announced during SCE's E3 conference in 2003, and it was officially unveiled during their E3 conference on May 11, 2004. The system was released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in Europe and Australia on September 1, 2005.

Creation of SCE Worldwide Studios, acquisitions, and restructure (2005–2011)
On September 1, 2005, SCEI formed SCE Worldwide Studios, a single internal entity to oversee all wholly-owned development studios within SCEI. It became responsible for the creative and strategic direction of development and production of all computer entertainment software by all SCEI-owned studios—all software is produced exclusively for the PS family of consoles. Shuhei Yoshida was named as president of Worldwide Studios on May 16, 2008, replacing Kazuo Hirai, who was serving interim after Harrison left the company in early 2008.

On December 8, 2005, video game developer Guerrilla Games, developers of the Killzone series, was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment as part of Worldwide Studios. On January 24, 2006, video game developer Zipper Interactive, developers of the Socom series, was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment as part of Worldwide Studios.

In March 2006, Sony announced the online network for its forthcoming PlayStation 3 (PS3) system at the 2006 PlayStation Business Briefing meeting in Tokyo, Japan, tentatively named "PlayStation Network Platform" and eventually called just PlayStation Network (PSN). Sony also stated that the service would always be connected, free, and include multiplayer support.

The launch date for the PS3 was announced by Hirai at the pre-E3 conference held at the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California, on May 8, 2006. The PS3 was released in Japan on November 11, 2006, and the U.S. date was November 17, 2006. The PSN was also launched in November 2006.

On November 30, 2006, president of SCEI, Ken Kutaragi, was appointed as chairman of SCEI, while Hirai, then president of SCEA, was promoted to president of SCEI. On April 26, 2007, Ken Kutaragi resigned from his position as chairman of SCEI and group CEO, passing on his duties to the recently appointed president of SCE, Hirai.

On September 20, 2007, video game developers Evolution Studios and Bigbig Studios, creators of the MotorStorm series, were acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment as part of Worldwide Studios.

On April 15, 2009, David Reeves, president and CEO of SCE Europe, announced his forthcoming resignation from his post. He had joined the company in 1995 and was appointed as chairman of SCEE in 2003, and then president in 2005. His role of president and CEO of SCEE would be taken over by Andrew House, who joined Sony Corporation in 1990. The PSP Go was released on October 1, 2009, for North America and Europe, and on November 1, 2009, for Japan.

On April 1, 2010, SCEI was restructured to bring together Sony's mobile electronics and personal computers divisions. The main Japanese division of SCEI was temporarily renamed "SNE Platform Inc." (SNEP) on April 1, 2010, and was split into two divisions that focused on different aspects: "Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.", consisting of 1,300 employees who focused on the console business, and the network service business consisting of 60 to 70 employees. The network service business of SCEI was absorbed into Sony Corp's Network Products & Service Group (NPSG), which had already been headed by Hirai since April 2009. The original SCEI was then dissolved after the restructuring.

The North American and European branches of SCEI were affected by the restructuring, and remained as SCEA and SCEE. Hirai, by that time SCEI CEO and Sony Corporation EVP, led both departments.

On March 2, 2010, video game developer Media Molecule, developers of the PlayStation 3 game LittleBigPlanet, was acquired by SCEI as part of Worldwide Studios. On August 23, 2010, the headquarters of the company moved from Minami-Aoyama to the (Sony Corporation's headquarters) in Kōnan, Minato, Tokyo. On April 20, 2011, SCEI was the victim of an attack on its PlayStation Network system, which also affected its online division, Sony Online Entertainment. On August 1, 2011, video game developer Sucker Punch Productions, developers of the Sly Cooper and Infamous series, was also acquired.

Launch of PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4, expansion into China (2011–2016)
In January 2012, BigBig Studios was closed and Cambridge Studio—renamed Guerrilla Cambridge—becoming a sister studio of Guerrilla Games. In March 2012, Zipper Interactive, developers of the SOCOM series, MAG and Unit 13, was closed. On June 25, 2012, Hirai retired as chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment; however, he remains on the board of directors.

On July 2, 2012, Sony Computer Entertainment acquired Gaikai, a cloud-based gaming service. In August 2012, Studio Liverpool, developer of the Wipeout and Formula One series, was closed. In August 2012, Sony Computer Entertainment announced PlayStation Mobile for Vita and PlayStation certified devices, with developers such as THQ, Team17 and Action Button Entertainment signed up.

A press release was published on August 20, 2013, announcing the release date of the PlayStation 4 (PS4) console. On that date, SCEI introduced the CUH-1000A series system, and announced the launch date as November 15, 2013, for North American markets and November 29, 2013, for European, Australasian and Central and South American markets.

Following a January 2014 announcement by the Chinese government that the country's 14-year game console ban would be lifted, the PS4 was scheduled to be the first Sony video game console to be officially and legally released in China since the PlayStation 2.

On March 6, 2014, Sony Computer Entertainment of America President and CEO, Tretton, announced he was resigning from his position at the end of the month, citing a mutual agreement between himself and SCEA for the cessation of his contract. Tretton had worked at SCEA since 1995 and was a founding member of the company's executive team. He was involved in the launch of all PlayStation platforms in North America, including the original PlayStation, PS2, PSP, PS3, PSN, PS Vita, and PS4. Tretton was replaced by Shawn Layden, who was the vice-president and chief operating officer (COO) of Sony Network Entertainment International, effective April 1, 2014. On April 2, 2015, it was announced that Sony Computer Entertainment had acquired the intellectual property of the cloud gaming service OnLive, and that its services would cease by the end of the month.

The beta version of Sony's first-ever cloud-based television service, PlayStation Vue (PSVue), was launched in the U.S. in November 2014. It was only offered on an invite-only basis for PS3 and PS4 users, prior to its official launch in early 2015. Sony signed deals with major networks, including CBS, Discovery, Fox, and Viacom, so that users can view live streaming video, as well as catch up and on-demand content, from more than 75 channels, such as Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. Although pricing and release dates for other regions was not publicized, Sony confirmed that PSVue will eventually be available on iPad, followed by other Sony and non-Sony devices.

Restructuring as Sony Interactive Entertainment (2016–present)
On January 26, 2016, Sony announced the reorganization and integration of Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Entertainment Network International, establishing a new company called Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) on April 1, 2016, under the umbrella of Sony Corporation of America. Unlike the former SCE, SIE is headquartered in San Mateo, California, and oversees the entire PlayStation brand, regional subsidiaries, and content business. SIE's Japanese branch, Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc, was established as a direct subsidiary of Sony Corporation. On March 24, 2016, Sony announced the establishment of ForwardWorks, a new studio dedicated to producing "full-fledged" games based on Sony intellectual properties for mobile platforms such as smartphones; it would later develop Disgaea RPG and is currently supporting Everybody's Golf on Android and iOS. ForwardWorks was later moved to another division within Sony becoming a subsidiary to Sony Music and therefore no longer a unit within Sony Interactive Entertainment.

It was reported in December 2016 by multiple news outlets that Sony was considering restructuring its U.S. operations by merging its TV and film business with SIE. According to the reports, such a restructuring would have placed Sony Pictures under Sony Interactive's CEO, Andrew House, though House would not have taken over day-to-day operations of the film studio. According to one report, Sony was set to make a final decision on the possibility of the merger of the TV, film, and gaming businesses by the end of its fiscal year in March of the following year (2017). However, judging by Sony's activity in 2017, the rumored merger never materialized.

On January 8, 2019, Sony announced that the company had entered into a definitive agreement for Sony Interactive Entertainment to acquire Audiokinetic.

On March 20, 2019, Sony Interactive Entertainment launched the educational video game platform toio in Japan.

On May 20, 2019, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that the company had launched PlayStation Productions, a production studio that adapts the company's extensive catalogue of video game titles for film and television. The new venture is headed by Asad Qizilbash and overseen by Shawn Layden, chairman of Worldwide Studios.

On August 19, 2019, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that the company had entered into definitive agreements to acquire Insomniac Games. The acquisition was completed on November 15, 2019, where Sony paid ¥24,895 million (US$229 million) in cash.

On November 8, 2019, Gobind Singh Deo, Malaysia's Minister of Communications and Multimedia, announced that Sony Interactive Entertainment would open a new development office in the country as in 2020 to provide art and animation as part of Worldwide Studios' efforts to make exclusive games for PlayStation consoles. The studio will be Sony Interactive Entertainment's first studio in Southeast Asia.

SIE announced the formation of PlayStation Studios in May 2020 to be formally introduced alongside the PlayStation 5 later in 2020. PlayStation Studios will serve as an umbrella organization for its first-party game development studios, including Naughty Dog, Insomniac, Santa Monica Studio, Media Molecule and Guerrilla Games, as well as used for branding on games developed by studios brought in by Sony in work-for-hire situations. Sony plans to use the "PlayStation Studios" branding on both PlayStation 5 and new PlayStation 4 games to help with consumer recognition, though the branding was not ready for some of Sony's mid-2020 releases like The Last of Us Part II.

SIE's parent Sony bought a minority stake in Epic Games for $250 million in July 2020, giving the company about a 1.4% stake in Epic. The investment came after Sony helped with Epic's development of new technologies in its Unreal Engine 5, which it was positioning for use in powering games on the upcoming PlayStation 5 to take advantage of its high speed internal storage solutions for in-game streaming.

In March 2021, SIE announced that it and RTS acquired the assets and properties of the Evolution Championship Series as a joint venture.

On April 13, 2021, Epic Games announced that it received an additional $200 million strategic investment from SIE's parent Sony Group Corporation.

On May 3, 2021, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced the acquisition of a minority stake in Discord, which would be integrated into the PlayStation Network by early 2022.

On June 29, 2021, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced the acquisition of Housemarque.

On July 1, 2021, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced the acquisition of Nixxes Software. Jim Ryan said later that month that they plan to work with Nixxes to release more of their PlayStation games to personal computers.

On September 8, 2021, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced the acquisition of Firesprite, a Liverpool-based developer with over 250 employees. The studio has multiple projects in development, with the projects focusing on genres outside the core offerings of PlayStation Studios. On September 29, 2021, Firesprite announced that it had acquired Fabrik Games, bringing the studio's headcount to 265.

On September 30, 2021, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that Bluepoint Games had joined PlayStation Studios, with Bluepoint working on original content instead of remaking an older game.

On November 4, 2021, Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired a 5% stake in the video game publisher Devolver Digital.

On December 10, 2021, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced the acquisition of the Seattle-based studio Valkyrie Entertainment.

Sony Interactive Entertainment announced its intent to purchase Bungie for $3.6 billion in January 2022. This deal closed on July 15, 2022. Under terms of this deal, Bungie remained an independent development studio and publisher, allowing Bungie to pursue development outside Sony's platforms, and was intended to help bolster live service games for SIE.

Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired Jade Raymond's Haven Studios in March 2022 and incorporating it as part of PlayStation Studios, making the studio Sony's first development team in Canada.

On July 18, 2022, Sony Interactive Entertainment and Repeat.gg announced that Sony Interactive Entertainment had acquired Repeat.gg.

On August 29, 2022, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that it had acquired Savage Game Studios, a mobile game development studio with offices in Helsinki and Berlin. Savage Game Studios joined the newly created PlayStation Studios Mobile Division, an independent operation from console development.

On August 31, 2022, it was announced that Sony Interactive Entertainment has acquired a 14.09% stake in FromSoftware.

On April 20, 2023, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that it had acquired Firewalk Studios from ProbablyMonster.

On August 24, 2023, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced it had acquired audio company Audeze, who makes gaming headphones.

On November 2, 2023, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that it would acquire UK-based iSize, a company which specializes in building AI-powered solutions to improve video delivery.

In the UK in November 2023, SIE was unable to dismiss a lawsuit from consumer advocates challenging the requirement that all digital content for the PlayStation systems be sold through the PlayStation Store along with the 30% fee that SIE takes for each sale. The suit has potential for damages up to GB£6.3 billion (US$7.9 billion).

On November 27, 2023, SIE signed Shift Up studio to become their first Korean second-party developers.

On November 28, 2023, SIE and Korean publisher NCSoft signed a strategic global partnership.

On February 27, 2024, SIE announced it would lay off 900 employees, approximately 8% of its workforce, as part of a restructuring operation. Additionally, President and CEO Jim Ryan announced the London Studio will close in response to the changes in the industry.

Having announced his retirement in September 2023, Jim Ryan left Sony at the end of March 2024. Sony Group president Hiroki Totoki became chairman of SIE on October 1, 2023 and interim CEO from April 1, 2024, following Ryan's departure. On May 13, 2024, Sony Interactive Entertainment unveiled a new leadership structure effective June 1, 2024, with Hermen Hulst and Hideaki Nishino becoming CEOs of separate divisions within SIE. Hulst will be the CEO of the Studio Business Group which he will oversee PlayStation's video game development as well as adaptations into other mediums such as television and film while Nishino will be CEO of the Platform Business Group, in which he will oversee hardware, technology, accessories, PlayStation Network and relationships with other developers and publishers. Both will report to SIE chairman Hiroki Totoki.

Corporate affairs
Hiroki Totoki serves as chairman of SIE, with Jim Ryan as president and CEO, having replaced John (Tsuyoshi) Kodera in April 2019. Kodera would end up leaving SIE in 2021. The first and longest-serving CEO of SIE is Ken Kutaragi, who served from 1993 to 2007. He is also known as the "Father of the PlayStation", and was honorary chairman of SIE for another four years after he resigned as CEO. Kutaragi has remained at Sony as a senior technology advisor. As of November 7, 2019, Hermen Hulst is the Head of Worldwide Studios.

Headquarters
SIE currently has eight main headquarters around the world. They are as follows:
 * Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC and Sony Interactive Entertainment America LLC (San Mateo, California) — the global and regional headquarters for North America and Latin America (except Cuba and the Caribbean countries)
 * Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe Limited (London, England) — controls operations in Europe, South Africa, Middle East, India, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand (except Russia, Egypt, Belarus and Baltic countries)
 * Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. and Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Asia (Minato, Tokyo, Japan) — controls operations in Japan and was also formerly the regional headquarters for Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
 * Sony Interactive Entertainment Korea (Seoul, South Korea) — controls South Korean operations
 * Sony Interactive Entertainment Singapore (Singapore) — controls Southeast Asia operations
 * Sony Interactive Entertainment Taiwan (Taipei, Taiwan) — controls Taiwanese operations
 * Sony Interactive Entertainment Shanghai (Shanghai, China) — controls operations in mainland China
 * Sony Interactive Entertainment Hong Kong (Hong Kong) — controls operations around Hong Kong and Macau

SIE also has smaller offices and distribution centers in Los Angeles, California, San Diego, California; Toronto, Ontario; Melbourne, Australia; Seoul, South Korea, Singapore; Shanghai, China and Liverpool, England.

Game approval
SIE evaluates and approves games for its consoles. The process is more strict than for the Nintendo Seal of Quality, and developers submit game concepts to Sony early in the design process. Each SIE unit has its own evaluation process; SIEE, for example, approved Billy the Wizard for its consumers but SIEA did not. The company sometimes imposes additional restrictions, such as when it prohibited PS and PS2 games from being ported to the PSP without 30% of content being new to the Sony console.

PlayStation
SCEI produces the PlayStation line of video game hardware that consists of consoles and handhelds. Sony's first wide home console release, the PlayStation (codenamed "PSX" during development), was initially designed to be a CD-ROM drive add-on for Nintendo's Super NES (a.k.a. "Super Famicom" in Japan) video game console, in response to add-ons for competing platforms such as the TurboGrafx-CD and the Sega CD (sold as the PC Engine CD-ROM² System and Mega CD in Japan respectively). When the prospect of releasing the system as an add-on dissolved, Sony redesigned the machine into a standalone unit.

The PlayStation was released in Japan on December 3, 1994, and later in North America on September 9, 1995. By the end of the console 12-year production cycle, the PlayStation had sold 102 million units.

PlayStation 2
SCEI's second home console, the PlayStation 2 (PS2) was released in Japan on March 4, 2000, and later in North America and Europe in October and November 2000, respectively. The PS2 is powered by a proprietary central processing unit, the Emotion Engine, and was the first video game console to have DVD playback functionality and also backwards compatibility with the original PlayStation games included out of the box.

The PS2 consisted of a DVD drive and retailed in the U.S. for US$299. SCEI received heavy criticism after the launch of the PS2 due to the games released as part of the launch, difficulties that it presented for video game designers, and users who struggled to port Sega Dreamcast games to the system. However, despite these complaints, the PlayStation 2 received widespread support from third party developers throughout its lifespan on the market.

On December 28, 2012, Sony confirmed that it would cease production of the PS2 through a gradual process that started in Japan—the continuing popularity of the console in markets like Brazil and India meant that PS2 products would still be shipped, while games for the console were released in March 2013. The PS2 stands as the best-selling home video game console in history, with a total of 155 million consoles sold.

Writing for the ExtremeTech website at the end of 2012, James Plafke described the PS2 as revolutionary and proclaimed that the console "turn[ed] the gaming industry on its head":

Aside from being the "first" next-gen console, as well as providing many, many people with their first DVD player, the PlayStation 2 launched in something of a Golden Age of the non-PC gaming industry. Gaming tech was becoming extremely sophisticated ... Sony seemingly knew the exact route toward popularity, turning the console with the least powerful hardware of that generation into a juggernaut of success.

PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) was SCEI's first foray into the small handheld console market. Its development was first announced during SCE's E3 conference in 2003, and it was officially unveiled during their E3 conference on May 11, 2004. The system was released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in Europe and Australia on September 1, 2005. The console has since seen two major redesigns, with new features including smaller size, more internal memory, a better quality LCD screen and lighter weight.

PlayStation 3
The launch date for the PS3 was announced by Hirai at the pre-E3 conference held at Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles, California, on May 8, 2006. The PS3 was released in Japan on November 11, 2006, and the U.S. date was November 17, 2006. Technology journalists observed that Sony had followed what Microsoft did with the Xbox 360, and produced the PS3 in two versions: one with a 20GB hard drive and the other with a 60GB hard drive.

The PS3 utilizes a unique processing architecture, the Cell microprocessor, a proprietary technology developed by Sony in conjunction with Toshiba and IBM. The graphics processing unit, the RSX 'Reality Synthesizer', was co-developed by Nvidia and Sony. Several variations of the PS3 have been released, each with slight hardware and software differences, and each denoted by the varying size of the included hard disk drive.

PlayStation Vita
The PS Vita is the successor to the PlayStation Portable. It was released in Japan and other parts of Asia on December 17, 2011, and then in Europe, Australia and North America on February 22, 2012.

Internally, the Vita features a 4-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor and a 4-core SGX543MP4+ graphics processing unit, as well as LiveArea software as its main user interface, which succeeds the XrossMediaBar.

On March 1, 2019, Sony has ended production of the system and physical cartridge games.

PlayStation 4
The PS4 was announced as the successor to the PS3 and was launched in North America on November 15, 2013, in Europe on November 29, 2013 and in Japan on February 23, 2014.

Described by Sony as a "next generation" console, the PS4 included features such as enhanced social capabilities, second-screen options involving devices like the handheld PlayStation Vita, a membership service and compatibility with the Twitch live streaming platform.

Following a January 2014 announcement by the Chinese government that the country's 14-year game console ban would be lifted, the PS4 was scheduled to be the first Sony video game console to be officially and legally released in China since the PlayStation 2—the ban was enacted in 2000 to protect the mental health of young people. Around 70 game developers, including Ubisoft and Koei, will service Chinese PlayStation users.

The Chinese release dates and price details were announced in early December, with January 11, 2015, confirmed by SCEI. The makers announced that both the PS4 and Vita consoles will be released in China, and the former's package will also consist of a 500GB and 1TB hard drive and controller.

The 20th anniversary of the original PS console was celebrated on December 6, 2014, with the release of a limited-edition, anniversary-edition PlayStation 4 with an aesthetic design that recalled the original 1994 PlayStation.

PlayStation 5
The PS5 was announced to succeed the PS4 in 2019, and released in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North America, and South Korea on November 12, 2020, with a further worldwide release on November 19, 2020.

Development studios
SIE maintains several in-house studios since 2005, with the most recent move to brand these as PlayStation Studios starting in 2020. All of these studios develop PlayStation console-exclusive games for Sony.

In addition to those listed below, Bungie operates as an independent studio and publisher under SIE since July 2022.

Other platforms
SIE began releasing some of its first-party studios' exclusive titles for Windows in 2020, starting with Horizon: Zero Dawn in August 2020, and with Days Gone in May 2021. Layden said in a 2021 interview that he was part of the team that came up with this concept, where they recognized "we need to go out to where these new customers are, where these new fans could be. We need to go to where they are... Because they've decided not to come to my house, so I've got to go their house now. And what's the best way to go to their house? Why not take one of our top-selling games?" Ryan said in an interview that with some of the latter PlayStation 4 titles that "There's an opportunity to expose those great games to a wider audience" and that Horizon: Zero Dawn release on Windows shows there was a strong interest in further releases. An investor report in 2021 stated that a primary factor in SIE's recent desire to expand into PC gaming under Ryan stems from the motivation to expand the PlayStation brand into China, Russia and India—markets where console-oriented gaming is far less prevalent than in the West and Japan. In June 2021 after acquiring the studio Nixxes which had become their go-to developer for these ports, Sony confirmed that they are dedicated to PC gaming and value PC gamers, although the PlayStation consoles will still be the "first" and "best" places to play their games. Subsequent Windows releases included 2018's God of War in January 2022, Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered in August 2022, the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves collection and Sackboy: A Big Adventure in October 2022, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales in November 2022, Returnal in February 2023, The Last of Us Part I in March 2023, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart in July 2023.

Video Games Chronicle observed that Sony had established a label, PlayStation PC around April 2021 to handle the publication of its games on Windows. The label was quietly renamed PlayStation Publishing in June 2024. The label will also release Sony's first published video game for the Nintendo Switch, Lego Horizon Adventures (excluding the MLB: The Show series which was published by MLB Advanced Media on rival platforms). SIE stated in a May 2022 investor report that sales of PC ports of their games had grown from US$30 million in their 2020 fiscal year, to US$80 million in 2021, and estimated to be US$300 million for 2022. Because of this, SIE plans to continue to support PC releases of their PlayStation exclusive games and anticipate that by 2025, a third of their games revenue will come from PC sales.

SIE also began seeking the mobile games market, forming a division named ForwardWorks to develop mobile games for Japan in 2016. To expand this ambition to the West, they hired a former content manager for Apple Arcade in 2020, as a means to bring their IPs to this platform. SIE acquired Savage Game Studios as their first dedicated mobile developer within PlayStation Studios in August 2022 for an undisclosed sum. It expects that by 2025, mobile games will make up 20% of their games revenue.

title: Sony Interactive Entertainment


text: User talk:209.7.119.150

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: User talk:209.7.119.150


text:
Belgique (disambiguation)

Belgique is the French name of Belgium, a country in Europe.

Belgique may also refer to:

 * Belgique, Missouri, USA
 * Belgian French (Belgique, Belgian; français de Belgique), a dialect of the French language
 * SS Belgique, a steamship, a cargo ship built in 1918 and scrapped in 1958, that carried the name "Belgique" (1946-1950)

title: Belgique (disambiguation)


text: User talk:130.63.18.200

title: User talk:130.63.18.200


text:
User:Hendrik Brummermann/XHTMLDumper.java

// // This work is licensed under CC-BY // (Creative Commons License - Attribution 2.0). // see: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

// You need the program "tidy" in your system's search path.

/* * $Log: XHTMLDumper.java,v $ * Revision 1.8 2005/01/08 12:01:30  nhb * Fixing invokation of wget * * Revision 1.7 2004/12/11 18:08:28  nhb * Store output of tidy into a file instead of reading it directly from stdout. * Do not depand on node.toString dumping the whole xml tree. * * Revision 1.6 2004/09/28 19:50:46  nhb * Bugfix: Doppeltes head-Element beseitigt und im inline Stylesheet die linke Spalte auf 0 gesetzt * * Revision 1.5 2004/09/28 19:09:55  nhb * - Skriptbasiertes Herunterladen von allen Links auf einer Seite. * - Der Head-Bereich wird ausgetauscht. * - Bild-URLs werden entsprechend umgeschrieben. * - Ausgabe eines wget-Skripts fuer Bilder * - keine Umkodierung von UTF-8 nach ISO-8859-1 mehr. * * Revision 1.4 2004/08/29 18:12:50  nhb * Neue Klasse: Book * * Revision 1.3 2004/08/28 21:27:26  nhb * *** empty log message *** * * Revision 1.2 2004/08/28 08:16:09  nhb * Refectoring * * Revision 1.1 2004/08/23 22:16:56  nhb * inital checkin * */ package nhb.wikipedia;

import java.io.BufferedInputStream; import java.io.BufferedOutputStream; import java.io.BufferedReader; import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream; import java.io.File; import java.io.FileInputStream; import java.io.FileOutputStream; import java.io.IOException; import java.io.InputStream; import java.io.InputStreamReader; import java.io.OutputStream; import java.io.StringWriter; import java.net.URL; import java.util.HashSet; import java.util.Iterator; import java.util.Set;

import javax.xml.parsers.DocumentBuilderFactory; import javax.xml.parsers.ParserConfigurationException; import javax.xml.transform.Transformer; import javax.xml.transform.TransformerConfigurationException; import javax.xml.transform.TransformerException; import javax.xml.transform.TransformerFactory; import javax.xml.transform.dom.DOMSource; import javax.xml.transform.stream.StreamResult;

import org.apache.xpath.XPathAPI; import org.w3c.dom.Document; import org.w3c.dom.Element; import org.w3c.dom.Node; import org.w3c.dom.NodeList; import org.w3c.dom.traversal.NodeIterator; import org.xml.sax.SAXException;

/** * fetches a collection of articles to disk. * It can rewrite links and remove the MediaWiki navigation. * Several articles can be combined to one file. * * @author Hendrik Brummermann  * @link http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ */ public class XHTMLDumper {

// --> --> --> --> --> --> --> --> --> --> --> --> --> --> -->   private static final String URL_PREFIX = "http://localhost:10080"; //"http://wiki"; private static final String WIKI_PATH = "/mediawiki/index.php/"; private static final String UPLOAD_PATH = "/mediawiki/images"; private static final String TARGET = "/tmp/wiki"; private static final String IMAGE_FOLDER = "wiki_files"; private static final String ID_SEP = "_____"; // <-- <-- <-- <-- <-- <-- <-- <-- <-- <-- <-- <-- <-- <-- <--

public XHTMLDumper { }

public class Article { // Variablen // private final Namespace NS_HTML = Namespace.getNamespace("http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"); private String title = null; private String url = null; private Element root = null; private Element content = null; private boolean unifyIDs = false; private boolean convertShortTags = true; private boolean fetchPageRequisites = true; private boolean rewriteLocalURLs = true; private Set pageRequisites = new HashSet; private String head = " \r\n" + "\r\n" + "/*<![CDATA[*/ @import \"wiki_files/main.css\"; /*]]>*/#content {margin: 0} \r\n" + "\r\n" + " \r\n" + " HISLSF - Dokumentation \r\n" + " ";       // DB-Interface-Admin - His

public Article(String title) { this.title = title; url = URL_PREFIX + WIKI_PATH + title; fetchAsXHTML; }

public void process { extractContent; unifyIDsAndConvertShortTags(root); }

/**        * Stores the file to disk. *        * @throws IOException bei einem E/A-Fehler * @throws ParserConfigurationException Konfigurationsfehler des XML-Parsers * @throws SAXException bei einem XML-Fehler */       public void saveToDisk throws SAXException, IOException, ParserConfigurationException { process; replaceHead; //           fetchPageRequisites; String filename = TARGET + "/" + title.replace(' ', '_').replace('/', '-') + ".html"; OutputStream of = new FileOutputStream(filename); of.write(XMLUtils.dumpXML(root).getBytes("UTF-8")); of.close; }

/**        * replaces the head-element *        * @throws IOException bei einem E/A-Fehler * @throws ParserConfigurationException Konfigurationsfehler des XML-Parsers * @throws SAXException bei einem XML-Fehler */       private void replaceHead throws SAXException, IOException, ParserConfigurationException { Document doc = DocumentBuilderFactory.newInstance.newDocumentBuilder.parse(new ByteArrayInputStream(head.getBytes)); Node oldHead = null; for (int i = 0; i < root.getChildNodes.getLength; i++) { oldHead = root.getChildNodes.item(i); if ((oldHead instanceof Element) && ((Element) oldHead).getNodeName.equalsIgnoreCase("head")) { break; }           }            Node newHead = doc.getDocumentElement; newHead = root.getOwnerDocument.importNode(newHead, true); root.insertBefore(newHead, oldHead); root.removeChild(oldHead); }

/**        * Downloads a HTML-document, converts it into xhtml using tidy * and parses it into an xml object tree. */       private void fetchAsXHTML { try { // fetch String file = NetUtil.fetchDocumentAsFile(url);

// run tidy //"tidy -asxhtml -utf8 $1 >$1.html 2> /dev/null" //             Process process = Runtime.getRuntime.exec("tidy -q -asxhtml -utf8 " + file); String outFile = File.createTempFile("xhtml", ".html").getAbsolutePath; Process process = Runtime.getRuntime.exec("tidy -q -asxhtml -utf8 -o " + outFile + " "+ file); /*               System.out.println("sleeping"); Thread.sleep(5000); System.out.println("sleeped");*/ process.waitFor; //Document doc = DocumentBuilderFactory.newInstance.newDocumentBuilder.parse(process.getInputStream); Document doc = DocumentBuilderFactory.newInstance.newDocumentBuilder.parse(new FileInputStream(outFile)); root = doc.getDocumentElement; } catch (Exception e) { e.printStackTrace; }       }

/**        * Extracts the content (i. e. strips the navigation). */       private void extractContent { try { content = (Element) XPathAPI.selectSingleNode(root, "//div[@id='content']");

// Einige Elemente loeschen //               XMLUtils.removeChildren(root, "//self::node[@id='contentSub' or @id='siteSub' or @id='toc' or @class='printfooter' or @id='catlinks' or @class='editsection']"); XMLUtils.removeChildren(root, "//self::node[@id='column-one' or @id='footer' or @id='contentSub' or @id='siteSub' or @class='printfooter' or @id='catlinks' or @class='editsection']");

} catch (TransformerException e) { e.printStackTrace; }       }

/* name: top id: contentTop id: bodyContent id: contentSub

private void unifyIDsAndConvertShortTags(Element element) { NodeList nodes = element.getChildNodes; for (int i = 0; i < nodes.getLength; i++) { Node node = nodes.item(i); if (node instanceof Element) { Element e = (Element) node; String nodeName = node.getNodeName;

// unify IDs if (unifyIDs && "a".equals(nodeName)) { String val = e.getAttribute("name"); if (!val.equals("")) { e.setAttribute("name", title + ID_SEP + val); e.setAttribute("id", title + ID_SEP + val); }                       val = e.getAttribute("href"); if ((val.length > 1) && val.charAt(0) == '#') { e.setAttribute("href", title + ID_SEP + val.substring(1)); System.out.println("#" + title + ID_SEP + val.substring(1)); }                   }

// convert short tags if (convertShortTags && ("a".equals(nodeName) || "div".equals(nodeName)) && (e.getFirstChild == null)) { e.appendChild(e.getOwnerDocument.createTextNode("")); }

// convert links to other pages if (rewriteLocalURLs && "a".equals(nodeName)) { String val = e.getAttribute("href"); if (val.startsWith(WIKI_PATH)) { e.setAttribute("href", val.substring(WIKI_PATH.length)); }                   }

// collection image urls and rewrite img-src links. if (fetchPageRequisites && "img".equals(nodeName)) { String url = e.getAttribute("src"); pageRequisites.add(url); if (url.startsWith(UPLOAD_PATH)) { url = IMAGE_FOLDER + url.substring(UPLOAD_PATH.length + 5); e.setAttribute("src", url); }                   }

// go to the next level unifyIDsAndConvertShortTags((Element) node); }           }        }

/**        * Returns a set of page requisites (like images) *        * @return Set */       public Set getPageRequisites { return pageRequisites; }

/**        * Return the xml object. *        * @return Element */       public Element getXML { if (content != null) { return content; } else { return root; }       }    }

public class Book { private Set pages = new HashSet; private Set pageRequisites = new HashSet;

/**        * creates a new book *        * @param name page containing a list of links * @throws IOException */       public Book(String name) throws IOException { // fetch wiki text BufferedReader br = NetUtil.fetchDocumentAsBufferedReader(URL_PREFIX + WIKI_PATH + name + "?action=raw"); fetchLinkList(br); br.close; }

/**        * Fetches all pages of this book * @throws IOException * @throws ParserConfigurationException * @throws SAXException */       public void fetchBook throws SAXException, IOException, ParserConfigurationException { Iterator itr = pages.iterator; while (itr.hasNext) { String page = (String) itr.next; System.out.println("fetching " + page + "..."); Article article = new Article(page); article.saveToDisk; pageRequisites.addAll(article.getPageRequisites); }           fetchPageRequisites; }

private void fetchPageRequisites { System.out.println("cd " + TARGET + "/" + IMAGE_FOLDER); Iterator itr = pageRequisites.iterator; while (itr.hasNext) { System.out.println("wget -N " + URL_PREFIX + itr.next); }       }

private void fetchLinkList(BufferedReader br) throws IOException { String line = br.readLine; while (line != null) { int pos = line.indexOf("");               while (pos > -1) {                    line = line.substring(pos + 2);                    int posEnd = line.indexOf(""); if (posEnd == -1) { // is the link closed? break; }                   String link = line.substring(0, posEnd); pos = link.indexOf("|"); if (pos > -1) { link = link.substring(0, pos); }                   link = link.trim; String page = link; if (page.length == 0) { continue; }                   page = page.replace(' ', '_'); pages.add(page);

// find next link line = line.substring(posEnd + 2); pos = line.indexOf("[[");               }                line = br.readLine;            }        }    }

public class Cover { private Element root = null;

public Cover(String name) { Article cover = new Article(name); root = cover.getXML; XMLUtils.removeChildren(root, "//div[@id='content']/*"); XMLUtils.removeChildren(root, "//div[@id='column-one' or @id='footer']"); try { Element content = (Element) XPathAPI.selectSingleNode(root, "//div[@id='content']");

} catch (TransformerException e) { e.printStackTrace; }       }

public Element getXML { return root; }   }

public static class XMLUtils { /** hide constructor */ private XMLUtils { }

/**        * Dumps an XML-tree into a String *        * @param node xml-node * @return String */       public static String dumpXML(Node node) { try { // Message-ID:  From: "Billy Ng" DOMSource source = new DOMSource(node); TransformerFactory tfFactory = TransformerFactory.newInstance; Transformer transformer = tfFactory.newTransformer; StringWriter sw = new StringWriter; StreamResult result = new StreamResult(sw); transformer.transform(source, result); return sw.toString; } catch (TransformerConfigurationException e) { e.printStackTrace; } catch (TransformerException e) { e.printStackTrace; }           return ""; }

public static void removeChildren(Element parent, String xpath) { try { NodeIterator itr = XPathAPI.selectNodeIterator(parent, xpath); Node node = itr.nextNode; Set set = new HashSet; while (node != null) { set.add(node); node = itr.nextNode; }               Iterator itr2 = set.iterator; while (itr2.hasNext) { node = (Node) itr2.next; node.getParentNode.removeChild(node); }           } catch (TransformerException e) { e.printStackTrace; }       }    }

/**    * Utility class for network access. */   public static final class NetUtil { private static final int BUFFER_SIZE = 10240;

/** Hide constructor */ private NetUtil { }

/**        * Gibt einen BufferedReader mit dem Ziel der URL zurueck. *        * @param urlString URL * @return BufferedReader * @throws IOException bei einem E/A-Fehler */       public static BufferedReader fetchDocumentAsBufferedReader(String urlString) throws IOException { URL url = new URL(urlString); InputStream is = url.openStream; return new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(is)); }

/**        * Laedt ein Dokument aus dem Netz herunter und * speichert es in einer lokalen Datei. *        * @param urlString URL * @return Dateiname * @throws IOException bei einem Fehler */       public static String fetchDocumentAsFile(String urlString) throws IOException { byte[] temp = new byte[BUFFER_SIZE + 1]; URL url = new URL(urlString); BufferedInputStream is = new BufferedInputStream(url.openStream); File file = File.createTempFile("dump", ".html"); file.deleteOnExit; String tempFile = file.getAbsolutePath; BufferedOutputStream os = new BufferedOutputStream(new FileOutputStream(tempFile)); while (true) { int aval = is.available; if (aval == 0) { try { Thread.sleep(100); } catch (InterruptedException e) { e.printStackTrace; }               }                int count = is.read(temp, 0, BUFFER_SIZE); if (count == -1) { break; }               os.write(temp, 0, count); }           is.close; os.close; return tempFile; }

}

/**    * main entry point *    * @param args command line arguments * @throws Exception if something unexpected happend */   public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception { if (args.length == 0) { System.err.println("Aufruf: nhb.wikipedia.XHTMLDumper title-of-link-list"); System.err.println("   title-of-link-list is the title of the page containing a list of links."); System.exit(1); }       XHTMLDumper xd = new XHTMLDumper; Book book = xd.new Book(args[0]); book.fetchBook;

/*article.process; System.out.println(article.getXML);*/

System.out.println("Fertig."); } }

//


text:
Gerald Gould

Gerald Gould (1885 – 2 November 1936) was an English writer, known as a journalist and reviewer, essayist and poet.

Life
He was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, and brought up in Norwich, and studied at University College London and Magdalen College, Oxford. He had a position at University College from 1906, and was a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford, from 1909 to 1916.

Gould had assisted the production of the edition of The Suffragette when the offices of the WSPU had been raided to review at the printers, whilst Grace Roe was going to Paris to speak to the Pankhursts.

On 6 February 1914 he and his wife Barbara Ayrton-Gould became two of the founders of the United Suffragists, which had male and female members, including Agnes Harben and her husband, and welcomed former militant and non-militants. The United Suffragists ended their campaign when the Representation of the People Act 1918 gave women limited suffrage in the United Kingdom.

From 1914 he was an official in C. F. G. Masterman's Wellington House War Propaganda Bureau, which may explain his failure to produce much poetry concerned with the War. He also worked as a journalist on the Daily Herald as one of "Lansbury's Lambs" — the group of idealistic young men helping with it after George Lansbury purchased it in 1913, and which included G. D. H. Cole, W. N. Ewer, Harold Laski, William Mellor and Francis Meynell.

It was probably Gould who brought Siegfried Sassoon to the paper as literary editor after its relaunch in 1919. Gould regularly contributed poetry to the Herald and gave several sonnets to Millicent Fawcett's Common Cause when it became the Woman's Leader in 1920.

Gould also reviewed novels for the New Statesman, moving to The Observer as fiction editor in 1920. He was also (not coincidentally) made chief reader for Victor Gollancz Ltd, where he was involved in the early publication history of George Orwell. He died in 1936 in London.

Family
Gould married Barbara Bodichon Ayrton (1888–1950), suffragist and after his death on the Labour National Executive and a Labour Party MP 1945–1950; she was daughter of the scientists William Edward Ayrton and Hertha Marks Ayrton. The artist Michael Ayrton (1921–1975) was their son.

Works

 * Lyrics (1906)
 * On the Nature of Lyric (1909)
 * My Lady's Book (1913)
 * Poems (1914)
 * Monogamy (1918) poems
 * The Happy Tree and Other Poems (1919)
 * The Journey: Odes and Sonnets (1920)
 * Lady Adela (1920)
 * The Coming Revolution in Great Britain (1920)
 * The English Novel of Today (1924)
 * The Return to the Cabbage and Other Essays and Sketches (1926)
 * Beauty the Pilgrim (1927) poems
 * Collected Poems (1929)
 * Democritus or the Future of Laughter (1929)
 * The Musical Glasses (1929) essays
 * All About Women: Essays and Parodies (1931)
 * Isabel (1932) novel
 * Refuge From Nightmare (1933)

His poem Wander-thirst is often quoted.

title: Gerald Gould


text:
Employment contract

An employment contract or contract of employment is a kind of contract used in labour law to attribute rights and responsibilities between parties to a bargain. The contract is between an "employee" and an "employer". It has arisen out of the old master-servant law, used before the 20th century. Employment contracts relies on the concept of authority, in which the employee agrees to accept the authority of the employer and in exchange, the employer agrees to pay the employee a stated wage (Simon, 1951).

Terminology
A contract of employment is usually defined to mean the same as a "contract of service". A contract of service has historically been distinguished from a contract for services (contract for the supply of services). The differing terminology implies a dividing line between a person who is "employed" and someone who is "self-employed". The purpose of the dividing line is to attribute rights to some kinds of people who work for others. This could be the right to a minimum wage, holiday pay, sick leave, fair dismissal, a written statement of the contract, the right to organise in a union, and so on. The assumption is that genuinely self-employed people should be able to look after their own affairs, and therefore work they do for others should not carry with it an obligation to look after these rights.

Following the unification of the city-states in Assyria and Sumer by Sargon of Akkad into a single empire ruled from his home city circa 2334 BC, common Mesopotamian standards for length, area, volume, weight, and time used by artisan guilds in each city was promulgated by Naram-Sin of Akkad (c. 2254–2218 BC), Sargon's grandson, including those of shekels. Codex Hammurabi Law 234 (c. 1755–1750 BC) stipulated a 2-shekel prevailing wage for each 60-gur (300-bushel) vessel constructed in an employment contract between a shipbuilder and a ship-owner. Law 275 stipulated a ferry rate of 3-gerah per day on a charterparty between a ship charterer and a ship-owner. Law 276 stipulated a 2$1/2$-gerah per day freight rate on a charterparty, while Law 277 stipulated a $1/6$-shekel per day freight rate for a 60-gur vessel.

In Roman law the equivalent dichotomy was that between locatio conductio operarum (employment contract) and locatio conductio operis (contract for services).

The terminology is complicated by the use of many other sorts of contracts involving one person doing work for another. Instead of being considered an "employee", the individual could be considered a "worker" (which could mean less employment legislation protection) or as having an "employment relationship" (which could mean protection somewhere in between) or a "professional" or a "dependent entrepreneur", and so on. Different countries will take more or less sophisticated, or complicated approaches to the question.

Employee vs. Independent Contractor
An independent contractor is in business for him or herself providing services to other businesses and does not work for or under an outside authority. Independent contractors are contracted on a temporary basis and paid at the completion of a project upon which their contract will be terminated. An employee works for an organization and is covered by federal and state employment and labor laws, which entitles them to certain benefits such as social security, income tax withholdings, and workers compensation, among others per the United States government (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2018).

Types of Employment
Employment contracts define the type of employment, which fall into two categories: at-will employment and for-cause employment.

For-Cause Employment
For-cause employees can only have their employment terminated for a just reason. The employer's decision to terminate an employee also must be reviewed by an independent body to ensure the termination was indeed just and provide protection for employees from unfair or arbitrary termination (Pitchford, 2005). The three largest classes of just-cause employees are federal and state employees, as well as union members.

At-Will Employment
On the other hand, at-will employment does not require an employer to give any cause for termination. At-will employment is unique to the United States, as most countries require specific procedures for employment termination. At-will employment was considered common law in the United States prior to the nineteenth century as opposed to the standard employment law in England, which was the annual hiring rule or seasonal hiring. In 1877, Horace Wood wrote his treatise on employment titled Master and Servant, which is considered by some to be the origin of at-will employment in the US. However, critics of Wood indicate that he incorrectly cited the cases to support his claim that employers can discharge workers for any reason. Shortly after, courts across the country upheld his claim (Pitchford, 2005).

There are several theories as to why at-will employment became a legal standard in the US. According to Jay Feinman in The Development of the Employment at Will Rule, as a result of the Industrial Revolution and increasing economic pressures, courts adopted the rule because it favored employers who were trying to avoid mounting employment lawsuits. Employers did not want employees to have a voice because if they knew they could be dismissed at any point, they would be less likely to protest working conditions, wages, etc. At-will employment doctrine also maximized employers’ ability to decrease their workforce in times of economic contraction (Ballam, 1996).

A second theory, proposed by Sanford Jacoby, argues that trade unions were much weaker in the US than in England during this period, so the courts did not offer as much protection for the annual hiring rule. Additionally, white collar workers in England during the nineteenth century garnered much more protection from the English courts due to their higher status compared to white collar workers in the United States (Ballam, 1996).

More recently, Deborah Ballam argues in Exploding the Original Myth Regarding Employment-At-Will: The True Origins of the Doctrine that the employment-at-will rule was the norm throughout the history of the United States because the agriculturally based economy and labor market were not conducive to the English annual hiring rule. “Because of the extensive use of indentured servitude, slavery, and express contracts for specified terms, and because of the severe labor shortage, few laborers would have been in situations where the annual hiring rule could have applied,” (Ballam, 1996).

Types of Employment Contracts
The two most common types of employment contracts include fixed-term and open-ended contracts.

Fixed-Term Contract
Fixed-term contracts are used when an employer wishes to hire an employee for a specific amount of time that is agreed upon in advance. Also known as task contracts, a fixed-term contract can also be used for the completion of a specific task and the contract will be terminated automatically upon completion of the task. Either party may terminate the contract before the end of the specified term if appropriate notice is given by either side (University of Strathclyde, 2013).

Open-Ended Contract
Conversely, an open-ended employment contract does not have a specified end date. Open-ended employment contracts are also called permanent, indefinite, or continuing contracts as they are typically used for long-term employment situations (University of Strathclyde, 2013). This type of employment contract may be terminated if either party gives appropriate notice to the other party or in specific instances such as health concerns, resignation, or misconduct.

Structure
An employment contract should clearly define all terms and conditions of the employment relationship. The most common elements to any employment contract include the following:

 * Terms of employment
 * Employee responsibilities
 * Employee compensation (i.e. wage/salary, benefits)
 * Employment absence
 * Dispute resolution
 * Nondisclosure agreements
 * Ownership agreements
 * Assignment clauses
 * Employment opportunity limitations
 * Grounds for termination

Scope of employment
Each employment contract contains a job description including the range of activities that an employee is reasonably expected to perform. Scope of employment often identifies demotion, transfer to different responsibilities, and modification or increasing current responsibilities. Travel and relocation can also be discussed in this section.

Compensation and benefits
Compensation includes a negotiated base salary or earning potential for an employee, performance incentives, production bonuses, signing bonuses, equity, and stock options. Benefits include insurance (health, life, vision and dental), pension plans, paid time off, vacation time, sick and personal leave. This section will also include if or when an employee's salary can be reduced for instances such as suspension or company financial distress.

Probationary period
Some companies begin employment with new employees on a probationary basis. An employee is hired for a trial period that gives the company an opportunity to evaluate an employee's job performance and conduct. The duration of the trial period, training guidelines and assessment standards should be outlined in this section. If an employee's performance is found to be unsatisfactory, the employer can terminate the employee at the end or before the completion of the probationary period. This section should also detail how the employer will inform the employee if they wish to continue the employment at the end of the probationary period. A probationary period can only be extended if agreed by both parties or if the employment contract allow it.

Non-competition
A non-competition clause prevents an employee from taking a position with a competitor of their employer following the termination of employment. The employer must have a legitimate interest in restricting the employee from future employment and the clause must be reasonable in time, activities, and geographic area.

Non-solicitation
A non-solicitation clause prevents an employee from soliciting the employer's clients, customers, or employees for his or her own benefit. The employee also cannot solicit the employer's clients, customers, or employees for a period of time after the termination of the agreement. This section protects the employer's information and tries to ensure company loyalty.

Non-disclosure
Under a non-disclosure or confidentiality clause, the employee agrees to not disclose information that the employer deems confidential or sensitive to the business and to take reasonable steps to prevent disclosure. Non-disclosures are commonly used to protect trade secrets, client information and other valuable information. A non-disclosure agreement can continue indefinitely or can include a duration clause that stipulates an end date of the agreement.

Moonlighting & best efforts
A moonlighting clause details the employer's expectation that an employee with treat their employment with the business as their primary job and that other jobs will not interfere with their job performance. In some cases, a moonlighting clause will go as far as to specify that an employee cannot hold any other form of employment other than with their employer. The employer can also require an employee to report any outside work.

Intellectual property
An employer can assign all work products and intellectual property created by an employee during their term of employment is an exclusive right of the employer. This clause pertains to inventions that relate to the company's past, present or reasonably foreseeable future business or research endeavors. Employers can claim the rights to inventions that were created using company resources, including confidential information, regardless of if they were developed during normal work hours.

Arbitration
This clause specifies that the employer and employee will resolve disputes outside of court and with an arbitrator. In arbitration, the disputing parties each present their side of an issue to an arbitrator who will act like a judge and decide the matter without a jury. The court will then enforce the arbitrator's binding decision on the dispute.

Termination
The term of the contract should be included in this section, detailing a specific time after which the contract will be terminated or no longer be enforceable. Renewals can be included as automatic with options not to renew or can be elective by both parties mutually.

Legal Implications
With at-will employment, employers must be wary of legal issues that could potentially arise from wrongful termination.

Civil Rights Act of 1964
Employees in the United States are protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin (Prenkert et al., 2019). Title VII covers all employers with 15 or more employees and who are engaging in an industry affecting interstate commerce. Employers include individuals, partnerships, colleges and universities, labor unions and employment agencies, as well as state and local governments. Title VII prohibits two theories of employment discrimination: disparate treatment and disparate impact. Disparate treatment occurs when an employer treats an employee differently because of the employee's protected status. Disparate impact occurs when an employer's policies or practices are seemingly neutral regarding protected statuses and have a disproportionate negative impact on members of one of those groups (Prenkert et al., 2019).

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Wrongful termination lawsuits can also arise from violating the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which protects both individuals who can perform the essential functions of their job despite their disability and those who need a reasonable accommodation to perform their duties (Prenkert et al., 2019). Reasonable accommodation includes making existing facilities readily accessible and usable, acquiring new equipment, restricting job, modifying work schedules, and reassigning workers to vacant positions. However, employers do not need to make accommodations that would create undue hardships. An act requiring significant difficulty or expense (Prenkert et al., 2019).

Fair Labor Standards Act
The Fair Labor Standards Act also affects employers and employment contracts in that it establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting employees in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments. The FLSA applies only to employers whose annual sales total $500,000 or more or who are engaged in interstate commerce (U.S. Department of Labor, n.d.).

Respondeat Superior
Lawsuits can arise as well from Respondeat Superior Liability or vicarious liability. Respondeat Superior is the legal doctrine that in Latin means “let the master answer." Respondeat Superior holds an employer legally responsible for the wrongful acts of an employee or agent if such acts occur within the scope of the employment or agency. A court will apply the doctrine regardless of how closely the employer was monitoring the employee. Respondeat Superior applies to employees, but not to independent contractors.

Criticism
Anarcho-syndicalists and other socialists who criticise wage slavery, e.g. David Ellerman and Carole Pateman, posit that the employment contract is a legal fiction in that it recognises human beings juridically as mere tools or inputs by abdicating responsibility and self-determination, which the critics argue are inalienable. As Ellerman points out, "[t]he employee is legally transformed from being a co-responsible partner to being only an input supplier sharing no legal responsibility for either the input liabilities [costs] or the produced outputs [revenue, profits] of the employer's business." Such contracts are inherently invalid "since the person remain[s] a de facto fully capacitated adult person with only the contractual role of a non-person" as it is impossible to physically transfer self-determination. As Pateman argues:

"The contractarian argument is unassailable all the time it is accepted that abilities can 'acquire' an external relation to an individual, and can be treated as if they were property. To treat abilities in this manner is also implicitly to accept that the 'exchange' between employer and worker is like any other exchange of material property. . . The answer to the question of how property in the person can be contracted out is that no such procedure is possible. Labour power, capacities or services, cannot be separated from the person of the worker like pieces of property."

According to some law scholars, generally, the contract of employment denotes a relationship of economic dependence and social subordination. In the words of the controversial labour lawyer Sir Otto Kahn-Freund,

"the relation between an employer and an isolated employee or worker is typically a relation between a bearer of power and one who is not a bearer of power. In its inception it is an act of submission, in its operation, it is a condition of subordination, however much the submission and the subordination may be concealed by the indispensable figment of the legal mind known as the 'contract of employment'. The main object of labor law has been, and... will always be a countervailing force to counteract the inequality of bargaining power which is inherent and must be inherent in the employment relationship."

title: Employment contract


text:
Dingelstädt

Dingelstädt is a town in the district of Eichsfeld in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the upper course of the river Unstrut, 8 km south of Leinefelde-Worbis and 15 km northwest of Mühlhausen. The former municipalities Helmsdorf, Kefferhausen, Kreuzebra and Silberhausen were merged into Dingelstädt in January 2019. In January 2023 Dingelstädt absorbed the villages Bickenriede and Zella from the former municipality Anrode, and Beberstedt and Hüpstedt from the former municipality Dünwald. In January 2024 it absorbed the village Struth from the former municipality Rodeberg.

Museums

The Borderland Museum Eichsfeld is a history museum a few miles away from Dingelstädt which deals with the German division and the GDR. Its grounds also include a hiking trail along the former Iron Curtain.

People

 * Christian Joseph Jagemann (1735–1804), scholar, court counselor and librarian
 * Anton Thraen, (1843–1902), the German astronomer, minister and native of Holungen died in Dingelstädt
 * Michael Robert Rhein (*1964), lead singer of the medieval rock band In Extremo.

International relations
Dingelstädt is twinned with:

 * 🇵🇱 Jarosław in Poland (since 2001)
 * 🇩🇪 Felsberg in Germany
 * 🇩🇪 Wenden in Germany

title: Dingelstädt


text:
Electromagnetic theories of consciousness

Electromagnetic theories of consciousness propose that consciousness can be understood as an electromagnetic phenomenon.

Overview
Theorists differ in how they relate consciousness to electromagnetism. Electromagnetic field theories (or "EM field theories") of consciousness propose that consciousness results when a brain produces an electromagnetic field with specific characteristics. Susan Pockett and Johnjoe McFadden have proposed EM field theories; William Uttal has criticized McFadden's and other field theories.

In general, quantum mind theories do not treat consciousness as an electromagnetic phenomenon, with a few exceptions.

AR Liboff has proposed that "incorporating EM field-mediated communication into models of brain function has the potential to reframe discussions surrounding consciousness".

Also related are E. Roy John's work and Andrew and Alexander Fingelkurts theory "Operational Architectonics framework of brain-mind functioning". Sources for Fingelkurts:
 * Andrew A. Fingelkurts and Alexander A. Fingelkurts, Mapping of the Brain Operational Architectonics, published in: Chen, F. J. (ed.) Focus on Brain Mapping Research, Nova Science Publishers, 2005 pp. 59-98

Cemi theory
The starting point for McFadden and Pockett's theory is the fact that every time a neuron fires to generate an action potential, and a postsynaptic potential in the next neuron down the line, it also generates a disturbance in the surrounding electromagnetic field. McFadden has proposed that the brain's electromagnetic field creates a representation of the information in the neurons. Studies undertaken towards the end of the 20th century are argued to have shown that conscious experience correlates not with the number of neurons firing, but with the synchrony of that firing. McFadden views the brain's electromagnetic field as arising from the induced EM field of neurons. The synchronous firing of neurons is, in this theory, argued to amplify the influence of the brain's EM field fluctuations to a much greater extent than would be possible with the unsynchronized firing of neurons.

McFadden thinks that the EM field could influence the brain in a number of ways. Redistribution of ions could modulate neuronal activity, given that voltage-gated ion channels are a key element in the progress of axon spikes. Neuronal firing is argued to be sensitive to the variation of as little as one millivolt across the cell membrane, or the involvement of a single extra ion channel. Transcranial magnetic stimulation is similarly argued to have demonstrated that weak EM fields can influence brain activity.

McFadden proposes that the digital information from neurons is integrated to form a conscious electromagnetic information (cemi) field in the brain. Consciousness is suggested to be the component of this field that is transmitted back to neurons, and communicates its state externally. Thoughts are viewed as electromagnetic representations of neuronal information, and the experience of free will in our choice of actions is argued to be our subjective experience of the cemi field acting on our neurons.

McFadden's view of free will is deterministic. Neurons generate patterns in the EM field, which in turn modulate the firing of particular neurons. There is only conscious agency in the sense that the field or its download to neurons is conscious, but the processes of the brain themselves are driven by deterministic electromagnetic interactions. The feel of subjective experience or qualia corresponds to a particular configuration of the cemi field. This field representation is in this theory argued to integrate parts into a whole that has meaning, so a face is not seen as a random collection of features, but as somebody's face. The integration of information in the field is also suggested to resolve the binding/combination problem.

In 2013, McFadden published two updates to the theory. In the first, 'The CEMI Field Theory: Closing the Loop' McFadden cites recent experiments in the laboratories of Christof Koch and David McCormick  which demonstrate that external EM fields, that simulate the brain's endogenous EM fields, influence neuronal firing patterns within brain slices. The findings are consistent with a prediction of the cemi field theory that the brain's endogenous EM field - consciousness - influences brain function. In the second, 'The CEMI Field Theory Gestalt Information and the Meaning of Meaning', McFadden claims that the cemi field theory provides a solution to the binding problem of how complex information is unified within ideas to provide meaning: the brain's EM field unifies the information encoded in millions of disparate neurons.

Susan Pockett has advanced a theory, which has a similar physical basis to McFadden's, with consciousness seen as identical to certain spatiotemporal patterns of the EM field. However, whereas McFadden argues that his deterministic interpretation of the EM field is not out-of-line with mainstream thinking, Pockett suggests that the EM field comprises a universal consciousness that experiences the sensations, perceptions, thoughts and emotions of every conscious being in the universe. However, while McFadden thinks that the field is causal for actions, albeit deterministically, Pockett does not see the field as causal for our actions.

Quantum brain dynamics
The concepts underlying this theory derive from the physicists, Hiroomi Umezawa and Herbert Fröhlich in the 1960s. More recently, their ideas have been elaborated by Mari Jibu and Kunio Yasue. Water comprises 70% of the brain, and quantum brain dynamics (QBD) proposes that the electric dipoles of the water molecules constitute a quantum field, referred to as the cortical field, with corticons as the quanta of the field. This cortical field is postulated to interact with quantum coherent waves generated by the biomolecules in neurons, which are suggested to propagate along the neuronal network. The idea of quantum coherent waves in the neuronal network derives from Fröhlich. He viewed these waves as a means by which order could be maintained in living systems, and argued that the neuronal network could support long-range correlation of dipoles. This theory suggests that the cortical field not only interacts with the neuronal network, but also to a good extent controls it.

The proponents of QBD differ somewhat as to the way in which consciousness arises in this system. Jibu and Yasue suggest that the interaction between the energy quanta (corticons) of the quantum field and the biomolecular waves of the neuronal network produces consciousness. However, another theorist, Giuseppe Vitiello, proposes that the quantum states produce two poles, a subjective representation of the external world and also the internal self.

Advantages
Locating consciousness in the brain's EM field, rather than the neurons, has the advantage of neatly accounting for how information located in millions of neurons scattered through the brain can be unified into a single conscious experience (called the binding problem): the information is unified in the EM field. In this way, EM field consciousness can be considered to be "joined-up information". This theory accounts for several otherwise puzzling facts, such as the finding that attention and awareness tend to be correlated with the synchronous firing of multiple neurons rather than the firing of individual neurons. When neurons fire together, their EM fields generate stronger EM field disturbances; so synchronous neuron firing will tend to have a larger impact on the brain's EM field (and thereby consciousness) than the firing of individual neurons. However their generation by synchronous firing is not the only important characteristic of conscious electromagnetic fields—in Pockett's original theory, spatial pattern is the defining feature of a conscious (as opposed to a non-conscious) field.

Objections
In a circa-2002 publication of The Journal of Consciousness Studies, the electromagnetic theory of consciousness faced an uphill battle for acceptance among cognitive scientists.

"No serious researcher I know believes in an electromagnetic theory of consciousness", Bernard Baars wrote in an e-mail. Baars is a neurobiologist and co-editor of Consciousness and Cognition, another scientific journal in the field. "It's not really worth talking about scientifically", he was quoted as saying.

McFadden acknowledges that his theory, which he calls the "cemi field theory", is far from proven but he argues that it is certainly a legitimate line of scientific inquiry. His article underwent peer review before publication.

The field theories of consciousness do not appear to have been as widely discussed as other quantum consciousness theories, such as those of Penrose, Stapp or Bohm. However, David Chalmers argues against quantum consciousness. He instead discusses how quantum mechanics may relate to dualistic consciousness. Chalmers is skeptical that any new physics can resolve the hard problem of consciousness. He argues that quantum theories of consciousness suffer from the same weakness as more conventional theories. Just as he argues that there is no particular reason why particular macroscopic physical features in the brain should give rise to consciousness, he also thinks that there is no particular reason why a particular quantum feature, such as the EM field in the brain, should give rise to consciousness either. Despite the existence of transcranial magnetic stimulation with medical purposes, Y. H. Sohn, A. Kaelin-Lang and M. Hallett have denied it, and later Jeffrey Gray states in his book Consciousness: Creeping up on the Hard Problem, that tests looking for the influence of electromagnetic fields on brain function have been universally negative in their result. However, a number of studies have found clear neural effects from EM stimulation.
 * Dobson, et al. (2000): 1.8 millitesla = 18,000 mG
 * Thomas, et al. (2007): 400 microtesla = 4000 milligauss
 * Huesser, et al. (1997): 0.1 millitesla = 1000 mG
 * Bell, et al. (2007) 0.78 Gauss = 780 mG
 * Marino, et al. (2004): 1 Gauss = 1000 mG
 * Carrubba, et al. (2008): 1 Gauss = 1000 mG
 * Jacobson (1994): 5 picotesla = 0.00005 mG
 * Sandyk (1999): Picotesla range

In April 2022, the results of two related experiments at the University of Alberta and Princeton University were announced at The Science of Consciousness conference, providing further evidence to support quantum processes operating within microtubules. In a study Stuart Hameroff was part of, Jack Tuszyński of the University of Alberta demonstrated that anesthetics hasten the duration of a process called delayed luminescence, in which microtubules and tubulins re-emit trapped light. Tuszyński suspects that the phenomenon has a quantum origin, with superradiance being investigated as one possibility. In the second experiment, Gregory D. Scholes and Aarat Kalra of Princeton University used lasers to excite molecules within tubulins, causing a prolonged excitation to diffuse through microtubules further than expected, which did not occur when repeated under anesthesia. However, diffusion results have to be interpreted carefully, since even classical diffusion can be very complex due to the wide range of length scales in the fluid filled extracellular space. Nevertheless, University of Oxford quantum physicist Vlatko Vedral told that this connection with consciousness is a really long shot.

Also in 2022, a group of Italian physicists conducted several experiments that failed to provide evidence in support of a gravity-related quantum collapse model of consciousness, weakening the possibility of a quantum explanation for consciousness.

Influence on brain function
The different EM field theories disagree as to the role of the proposed conscious EM field on brain function. In McFadden's cemi field theory, as well as in Drs Fingelkurts' Brain-Mind Operational Architectonics theory, the brain's global EM field modifies the electric charges across neural membranes, and thereby influences the probability that particular neurons will fire, providing a feed-back loop that drives free will. However, in the theories of Susan Pockett and E. Roy John, there is no necessary causal link between the conscious EM field and our consciously willed actions.

References to "Mag Lag" also known as the subtle effect on cognitive processes of MRI machine operators who sometimes have to go into the scanner room to check the patients and deal with issues that occur during the scan could suggest a link between magnetic fields and consciousness. Memory loss and delays in information processing have been reported, in some cases several hours after exposure.

One hypothesis is that magnetic fields in the 0.5-9 Tesla range can affect the ion permeability of neural membranes, in fact this could account for a lot of the issues seen as this would affect many different brain functions.

Implications for artificial intelligence
If true, the theory has major implications for efforts to design consciousness into artificial intelligence machines; current microprocessor technology is designed to transmit information linearly along electrical channels, and more general electromagnetic effects are seen as a nuisance and damped out; if this theory is right, however, this is directly counterproductive to creating an artificially conscious computer, which on some versions of the theory would instead have electromagnetic fields that synchronized its outputs—or in the original version of the theory would have spatially patterned electromagnetic fields.


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User:The silentist

Real name: Jeffrey Warren [mailto:jef@unterbahn.com]

I'm the founder of GrassrootsMapping.org and co-founder and Research Director for the Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science (http://publiclab.org). I design mapping and civic science tools and professionally fly balloons and kites.

I wrote the vector-mapping framework Cartagen (http://cartagen.org) and orthorectification tool MapKnitter (http://mapknitter.org), as well as open spectral database and toolkit Spectral Workbench (http://spectralworkbench.org).

I'm on the board of the Open Source Hardware Association, the board of the alternative education program Parts and Crafts in Somerville MA and an advocate of open source software, hardware, and data. I co-founded Vestal Design, a graphic/interaction design firm in 2004, and directed the Cut&Paste Labs project, a year-long series of workshops on open source tools and web design in 2006-7 with Lima designer Diego Rotalde.

http://unterbahn.com

http://publiclab.org/profile/warren

Feel free to leave messages, etc.

title: User:The silentist


text:
List of Boston Red Sox spring training venues

The Boston Red Sox have been a member of the American League (AL) of Major League Baseball (MLB) since 1901, and have held spring training prior to each season.

The franchise's first spring training was held in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1901, when the team was known as the Boston Americans. Since 1993, the city of Fort Myers, Florida, has hosted Boston's spring training, first at City of Palms Park, and since 2012 at JetBlue Park at Fenway South.

Notable events
In 1918, Babe Ruth hit a 573-foot home run during spring training in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Norman Rockwell's 1957 painting The Rookie is set in the team's spring training locker room, which at the time was located at Payne Park in Sarasota, Florida.

In 1987, unhappy about his contract, pitcher Roger Clemens left spring training in Winter Haven, Florida, which prompted general manager Lou Gorman to quip, "The sun will rise, the sun will set, and I'll have lunch."

In 1988, presidential candidate Michael Dukakis took batting practice in Winter Haven.

In March 2020, due to impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports, all MLB spring training was halted and the start of the regular season was delayed. Three months later, team president Sam Kennedy advised that the team would complete its preseason training activities at Fenway Park, upon resumption of preparations for the 2020 MLB season. The Red Sox organization made multiple changes to Fenway Park to accommodate "summer camp", including the use of luxury suites as alternate dressing rooms for players, and adding an additional bullpen area underneath the centerfield bleachers. In 2021, the team returned to JetBlue Park for spring training.


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User talk:LOLERSKATES

Stop vandalizing. It doesn't buy you anything. Lupo 19:24, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:LOLERSKATES