You are given the main class RecursiveMethods.java which invokes methods that can be selected from a menu. Your task is to implement two of these methods. -The first method isPal(s) determines whether a given string s is a palindrome. For example "12321" is a palindrome but "1231" is not. Currently the method isPal is a stub and you are expected to implement the method. -The second method isSAE(s) determines whether the given string s is a strict arithmetic expression (see below). This method is fully implemented for you. -The third method valueStrict(s) computes the value of the strict arithmetic expression s. Currently the method valueStrict is a stub and you are expected to implement the method using as a guide the implementation of isSAE(s). The methods should be implemented using recursive methods, no points will be given for iterative solutions. You should only need to work with the file RecursiveMethods.java but you will include your util1228 package for obvious reasons. Sample execution is shown below. SUBMISSION NOTES You will submit a single .jar file named A04.jar. Make sure that: 1) The jar file runs. In project properties under Run make sure the main class is set to a04.RecursiveMethods 2) The jar file includes all your source code. In project properties under packaging make sure .java files are not excluded. (see our Brightspace site for details about making JAR files) IMPORTANT NOTES A strict arithmetic expression (SAE) is one of the following: 1. Any nonnegative integer is a SAE (that is a nonempty string made of digits) 2. (x+y), (x*y), (-x), (+x), if x,y are SAEs Strict arithmetic expressions do not allow spaces and do not allow omitting parentheses. The following are valid SAEs: 12, (-12), (3*5), ((3*5)+10), ((-3)*((-5)+10)) The following are NOT valid SAEs: -12, 3*5, (-3)*5, (3), (5+4, (3 + 5) SAMPLE EXECUTION Menu 1. Test whether a given string is a palindrome 2. Test whether a given string is a strict arithmetic expression 3. Evaluate a strict arithmetic expression 4. Quit Enter your choice here: 1 Enter a string: 1234321 "1234321" is a palindrome Press enter to continue... Menu 1. Test whether a given string is a palindrome 2. Test whether a given string is a strict arithmetic expression 3. Evaluate a strict arithmetic expression 4. Quit Enter your choice here: 3 Enter a strict arithmetic expression: ((3*5)+10) The value is 25 Press enter to continue... Menu 1. Test whether a given string is a palindrome 2. Test whether a given string is a strict arithmetic expression 3. Evaluate a strict arithmetic expression 4. Quit Enter your choice here: 3 Enter a strict arithmetic expression: (-3)*5 ERROR: invalid arithmetic expression Press enter to continue... Menu 1. Test whether a given string is a palindrome 2. Test whether a given string is a strict arithmetic expression 3. Evaluate a strict arithmetic expression 4. Quit Enter your choice here: 4 Buy

ackage a04;

import java.util.Scanner;
import util1228.Menu;
import static util1228.Utilities.pause;
import static util1228.Utilities.isNumeric;

/**
 *
 * @author Joshua, Stavros
 */
public class RecursiveMethods {
    
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Scanner kbd=new Scanner(System.in);
        Menu m=createMenu();
        int choice,n;
        String s;
        do{
            m.display();
            choice=m.getChoice();
            switch(choice){
                case 1:
                    System.out.print("Enter a string: ");
                    s=kbd.nextLine().trim();
                    System.out.println("\""+s+"\" is "
                        +((isPal(s.replace(" ", "").toLowerCase()))?"":"not ")
                        +"a palindrome");
                    pause();
                    break;
                case 2:
                    System.out.print("Enter a string: ");
                    s = kbd.nextLine().trim();
                    System.out.printf("The string is %sa valid strict arithmetic"
                                    + " expression\n", 
                                      (isSAE(s))?"":"*not* ");
                    pause();
                    break;
                case 3:
                    System.out.print("Enter a strict arithmetic expression: ");
                    s = kbd.nextLine().trim();
                    if (!isSAE(s)) {
                        System.out.println("ERROR: invalid arithmetic expression");
                        pause();
                        break;
                    }
                    System.out.printf("The value is %d\n", 
                                      valueStrict(s));
                    pause();
                    break;
                case 4:
                    System.out.println("\nBuy!\n");
                    break;
                case -1:
                    System.out.println("*** Invalid Choice");
                    pause();
                    break;
            }
        } while(choice!=4);
    }
    
    /**
     * This method creates the Menu for the program and adds each of the options
     *
     * @return the created Menu
     */
    private static Menu createMenu() {
        Menu m = new Menu("Menu", 8, 50);
        m.addOption("Test whether a given string is a palindrome");
        m.addOption("Test whether a given string is a strict arithmetic "
                + "expression");
        m.addOption("Evaluate a strict arithmetic expression");
        m.addOption("Quit");
        return m;
    }

    
    private static boolean isPal(String input) {
        System.out.println("***Method isPal is a stub. It always returns false."
                + "\n***You are expected to implement this method.");
        return false;
    }
    
    public static boolean isSAE(String s) {
        int l = s.length();
        if (l==0) return false;
        if (isNumeric(s)) return true;
        if (l<3) return false;
        if (s.charAt(0)!='(' || s.charAt(l-1)!=')')
            return false;
        //Here we know that s is of the form (...)
        String s1, s2;
        //Next test whether  s  is of the form  (+...) or (-...)
        if (s.charAt(1)=='+' || s.charAt(1)=='-') {
            s1 = s.substring(2,l-1);
            return isSAE(s1);
        }
        //Here we know that s is not of the form (+...) or (-...)
        //Next test whether  s is of the form (x+y) or (x*y); that is,
        //there is a position in s that contains  '+' or '*' and the 
        //parts of s to the left and right of '+' or '*' are SAEs
        for (int i=2; i<l-1; i++) {
            if (s.charAt(i)=='+' || s.charAt(i)=='*') {
                s1 = s.substring(1, i);
                s2 = s.substring(i+1,l-1);
                if (isSAE(s1) && isSAE(s2)) 
                    return true;
            }
        }
        return false;
    }

    
    public static int valueStrict(String s) {
        System.out.println("***Method valueStrict is a stub. It always returns "
                + "0.\n***You are expected to implement this method.");
        return 0;
    }

    
}

Write code in SAS to do each of the following I have posted the data below from a pace delimited data set consisting of 66 randomly selected cars

1. Upload the data set to SAS and store it as a SAS data set called cars. Make sure the full values are stored for all character variables.
2. Create a comparative bar chart (with appropriate title and labels) displaying the brands of each car by fuel type (so that fuel type is on the x-axis). Do not stack the bars.
3. Write a program to determine the mean, variance, 20th percentile, and mode (and only those statistics) of the KMs and Price variables.
4. Perform a hypothesis test to determine if the mean price of cars with the petrol fuel type differs from the mean price of cars with the CNG fuel type.
5. Run a regression analysis using Price as the dependent variable and KMs as the independent variable such that 90% confidence intervals on the coefficients are included.

"Brand" "Condition" "Fuel" "KMs" "Model" "Price" "City" "Transaction" "Year"
"Daihatsu" "New" "Petrol" 19000 "Move" 1125000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2014
"Mazda" "Used" "Petrol" 89999 "Azwagon" 799999 "Karachi" "Cash" 2007
"Toyota" "Used" "Petrol" 140000 "Prius" 1225000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2007
"Toyota" "Used" "Petrol" 95000 "Corrolla Altis" 995000 "Karachi" "Cash" 1995
"Toyota" "Used" "Petrol" 61000 "Passo" 1150000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2012
"Suzuki" "Used" "Petrol" 100000 "Alto" 380000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2001
"Toyota" "Used" "Petrol" 86000 "Passo" 1650000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2015
"Suzuki" "New" "Petrol" 130000 "Alto" 525000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2001
"Nissan" "Used" "Petrol" 100000 "Tiida" 875000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2007
"Honda" "Used" "Petrol" 182000 "Civic EXi" 720000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2004
"Daihatsu" "Used" "Petrol" 85000 "Other" 625000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2011
"Suzuki" "Used" "Hybrid" 78523 "Alto" 545000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2010
"Suzuki" "Used" "CNG" 105000 "Mehran VX" 255000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2000
"Suzuki" "Used" "CNG" 100000 "Khyber" 135000 "Karachi" "Cash" 1989
"Other Brands" "New" "CNG" 660 "Other" 250000 "Karachi" "Cash" 1993
"Nissan" "New" "Petrol" 97000 "Dayz" 985000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2015
"Suzuki" "Used" "Petrol" 35000 "Cultus VXR" 580000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2008
"Toyota" "Used" "CNG" 127000 "Corolla GLI" 1390000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2012
"Suzuki" "Used" "CNG" 20880 "Mehran VXR" 430000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2011
"Suzuki" "Used" "Petrol" 88000 "Every" 885000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2012
"Suzuki" "Used" "CNG" 60000 "Mehran VXR" 150000 "Karachi" "Cash" 1998
"Toyota" "Used" "Petrol" 118000 "Corolla XLI" 975000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2008
"Honda" "New" "Petrol" 80999 "Civic VTi" 350000 "Karachi" "Cash" 1995
"Daihatsu" "Used" "Petrol" 10000 "Mira" 1500000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2017
"Toyota" "New" "CNG" 80000 "Corolla XLI" 1250000 "Islamabad" "Cash" 2005
"Toyota" "Used" "Petrol" 120000 "Prado" 5500000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2007
"Daihatsu" "New" "Petrol" 68000 "Mira" 1100000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2014
"Suzuki" "Used" "CNG" 123456 "Cultus VXR" 470000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2003
"Suzuki" "Used" "Petrol" 95000 "Mehran VX" 325000 "Gujranwala" "Cash" 2003
"Toyota" "Used" "Petrol" 127000 "Corolla GLI" 1150000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2009
"Suzuki" "Used" "CNG" 50000 "Cultus VXR" 430000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2003
"Mitsubishi" "New" "Petrol" 100000 "Pajero Mini" 500000 "Karachi" "Cash" 1998
"Suzuki" "Used" "Petrol" 8884 "Swift" 795000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2011
"Daihatsu" "Used" "Petrol" 22500 "Mira" 1250000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2016
"Honda" "Used" "Petrol" 560800 "Civic EXi" 240000 "Karachi" "Cash" 1990
"Suzuki" "Used" "CNG" 114000 "Alto" 595000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2011
"Suzuki" "Used" "Petrol" 35000 "Wagon R" 1200000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2014
"Suzuki" "Used" "CNG" 111111 "Mehran VX" 200000 "Karachi" "Cash" 1996
"Toyota" "Used" "CNG" 123 "Estima" 650000 "Karachi" "Cash" 1993
"Suzuki" "Used" "CNG" 14500 "Alto" 420000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2008
"Suzuki" "Used" "CNG" 10000 "Alto" 435000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2004
"Suzuki" "New" "CNG" 5 "Mehran VX" 250000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2003
"Toyota" "New" "Petrol" 59000 "Prado" 6000000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2009
"Suzuki" "Used" "Petrol" 28000 "Swift" 1400000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2015
"Hyundai" "Used" "Petrol" 70000 "Santro" 515000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2007
"Suzuki" "New" "Petrol" 45000 "Mehran VXR" 480000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2012
"Suzuki" "Used" "CNG" 2500 "Margalla" 335000 "Karachi" "Cash" 1996
"Daihatsu" "Used" "Petrol" 113000 "Cuore" 555000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2005
"Toyota" "Used" "Petrol" 84000 "Other" 1300000 "Karachi" "Cash" 2005

Hiring Discrimination Based on Social Media Posts

Human resource officers in most companies routinely check job candidates’ social media posts when deciding whom to hire. Certainly, young people are warned not to post photos that they might later regret having made available to potential employers. But a more serious issue involves standard reviewing of job candidates’ social media information. Specifically, do employers discriminate based on such information?

An Experiment in Hiring Discrimination via Online Social Networks

Two researchers at Carnegie-Mellon University conducted an experiment to determine whether social media information posted by prospective employees influences employers’ hiring decisions. The researchers created false resumes and social media profiles. They submitted job applications on behalf of the fictional “candidates” to about four thousand U.S. employers. They then compared employers’ responses to different groups—for instance, to Muslim candidates versus Christian candidates.

The researchers found that candidates whose public profiles indicated that they were Muslim were less likely to be called for interviews than Christian applicants. The difference was particularly pronounced in parts of the country with more conservative residents. In those locations, Muslims received callbacks only two percent of the time, compared with seventeen percent for Christian applicants. According to the authors of the study, “Hiring discrimination via online searches of candidates may not be widespread, but online disclosures of personal traits can significantly influence the hiring decisions of a self-selected set of employers.”

Job Candidates’ Perception of the Hiring Process

Job candidates frequently view the hiring process as unfair when they know that their social media profiles have been used in the selection process. This perception may make litigation more likely. Nevertheless, eighty-four percent of employers report using social media to recruit job applicants. One-third of those who recruit in this manner admit that they have disqualified applicants based on content found in their social media accounts.

The EEOC Speaks Up

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has investigated how prospective employers can use social media to engage in discrimination in the hiring process. Given that the Society for Human Resource Management estimates that more than three-fourths of its members use social media in their employment screening process, the EEOC is interested in regulating this procedure.

Social media sites, examined closely, can provide information to a prospective employer on the applicant’s race, color, national origin, disability, religion, and other protected characteristics. The EEOC has reminded employers that such information—whether it comes from social media postings or other sources—may not legally be used to make employment decisions on prohibited bases, such as race, gender, and religion.

Question Presented

Can you think of a way a company could use information from an applicant’s social media posts without running the risk of being accused of hiring discrimination?

QUESTION 1

1. Bill informs the security guard in London Shop that he saw another shopper stealing something. The security guard corners the shopper and accuses them of shoplifting. The security guard uses his arms to block the shopper from leaving the store until the police arrive.
   The accused shopper may be able to bring tort action against the store on the grounds of _____________________.
     

   		assault.
   		battery.
   		false imprisonment.
   		vicarious liability.

1 points   

QUESTION 2

1. The Queen's Wardrobe, a dressmaking boutique, agrees to make Rhonda's wedding dress for $2 000. The dress is to be ready for her wedding on June 1st. On May 14th, Jane, the owner called Rhonda to tell her that the dress would not be ready on time unless Rhonda agreed to pay an extra $500 so that Jane could hire someone to help her finish the lace embroidery. Rhonda is very upset, and feeling that she has no other choice, agrees. When she picks up the dress, she tells Jane that she does not think that it is fair that she should have to pay more than they had agreed upon and refuses to do so.

   		Since Rhonda has received the benefit of Jane having paid the extra money to get the dress completed on time, she must pay the extra money.
   		By agreeing to pay and then refusing to do so, Rhonda has committed tort of deceit and a court would award Jane the $500.
   		Since Jane was obligated under the contract to make the dress for $2 000, there is no consideration for Rhonda's promise to pay more and it is therefore unenforceable.
   		Since Rhonda agreed to pay more, she has altered the terms of the contract and must therefore pay the extra $500.

1 points   

QUESTION 3

1. Mary invites some friends to dinner and they accept. They purchase a much more expensive bottle of wine than they would normally drink and a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Mary calls them two hours before the dinner to tell them she has been invited out by the man of her dreams and is postponing the dinner.

   
   

   		The friends can claim the cost of the flowers and the wine since Mary has breached the contract.
   		Since Mary is merely postponing the dinner, she has not breached their dinner contract.
   		Even though they accepted her dinner offer, this is not a situation in which one party can sue another, since no reasonable person would think that there was any intention on Mary's part to create a legally enforceable contract.
   		Mary may not have intended to be bound to her promise, but her friends have suffered a loss and she cannot now claim she did not mean to enter a contract to provide dinner since she did not say that when she made her offer.

in this assignment you will create and use a database to find meanings and synonyms for given phrases. To do so you will use tables of synsets -- sets of one or more synonyms (specific phrases) that share the same meaning.

Your program should:

1. Display a message stating its goal
2. Create a database file using SQLite using your name (i.e. use your name as a file name - for example, my database will be named "nimdvir")
3. In your database, create a table named "synsets" with the columns "SynsetID" and "Definition", and populate it with values from the attached text file "Synsets" (also available to download here - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qmj518lIjTFn6xifnd_PCl6AadY_JeG8/view?usp=sharing)
4. In your database, create a table named "phrases" with the columns "SynsetID" and "phrase", and populate it with values from the attached text file "Phrases" (also available to download here - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r-JZrF_Ei7a2_FPhXJqo9b-i8nvpqMbc/view?usp=sharing)
5. Hint 1: make sure the encoding is correct (see previous readings)
6. Hint 2: make sure you parse the text files correctly
7. Hint 3: it is recommended not to import all the data while you are still working on the program. Use just a few values to make sure your program runs correctly, and them change it to import all the values from the files.
8. Ask the user to enter a phrase and check if it's in the database (not case sensitive)
9. If it's not in the database display a message and prompt the user to try again
10. If it is in the database, return as output:
11. How many meanings the phrase has? (in how many synsets it appear)
12. How many unique synonyms the phrase has? (how many other phrases share the same synsets? Make sure to not count the phrase itself or the same phrase twice)
13. Display all the meanings (definitions) the phrase has, including their corresponding Synset ID
14. Below each definition out the correlating synonyms

For example, for the phrase "jail"

there are 2 meanings and 11 unique synonyms

Meaning 1:

lock up or confine, in or as in a jail

Synset ID:

2494356

Synonyms:

gaol

• immure
• jailed
• jug
• lag
• laggin
• remand

Meaning 2:

A correctional institution used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody of the government (either accused persons awaiting trial or convicted persons serving a sentence)

Synset ID:

3592245

Synonyms:

clink

• gaol
• pokey
• poky
• slammer
• Remember:

Only use the material covered in this module -- do not use more advanced functions not covered yet in the course

• Make sure to include comments that explain all your steps (starts with #). Also use a comment to sign your name at the beginning of the program!
• Work individually and only submit original work

Submit a .py file!

Create individual python code cells for each of the three problems below. In each code cell, use any additional variables and comments as needed to program a solution to the corresponding problem. When done, download the ipynb file and submit it to the appropriate dropbox in the course's canvas page

. 1.

a. Cell Number 1 * Recreate the same list of dictionaries you used during assignment 2.09. (Scroll down to see assignment 2.09 instructions) * Create another variable and define it as an empty list. It will store middle names, so name the variable appropriately. * Loop through the list of dictionaries using a `for` loop, and add each middle name to the list created to hold middle names in the previous bullet point.

b. Cell Number 2 * Create a variable and assign it the length of the middle names list created in the previous cell. Use the appropriate instruction to calculate the length instead of just typing the correct number, which is known as hard-coding. (Hint: You don't have to redefine the list in the new cell as long as you ran the previous cell recently) * Use a `while` loop to count up to the length of the middle names list, and print out the index and value of each item in the list using a format string. (Hint: start your counter at `0` and stop iterating before you reach the length by using a `<` operator)

c. Cell Number 3 * Loop through the list of dictionaries defined in the first cell using another `for` loop. (Hint: Again, you do not need to redefine the list of dictionaries from the previous cell as long as you executed it recently) * Nested inside of that loop, loop through the keys in the current dictionary using another `for` loop and the `enumerate()` instruction. * Nested inside of the nested loop, print out the key and value using a format string. (Hint: You'll need to use the key to get the value out of the dictionary) * Also inside of the nested loop, once the index is greater than or equal to 2, break out of the loop.

2.09 assingment instructions for question 1

**Requirements:** * Create a list containing separate dictionaries for at least 3 people (family members, actors, invisible friends, etc.) and assign the list to a variable. Instead of using your actual family members' names, I want you think of different names starting with the same letter as your family member so that I can't be accused of identity theft. * Each person dictionary should have at least 4 key/value pairs: * first name * middle name. * age (rounded to the nearest decade) * your favorite thing about them * Be sure to use the same keys for each person (eg. "first_name" for everyone's first names). * Print out the entire list.

Bell Products Corporation manufactures after-market clutch plates for motorcycles, automobiles, racing applications, and heavy industry vehicles. One of the first stages of clutch plate production is to stamp the raw plates out of rolls of metal. The process requires the use of 100 ton presses that stamp out hundreds of plates per minute.

A chemical is used to keep the presses from overheating and is automatically sprayed in fractions of seconds to keep the press operating smoothly to lubricate and prepare the metal. The chemical also keeps the press from sparking during the punching process. A small spark could cause a fire and safety hazard. Therefore, the chemical is crucial to the operation of the stamping process.

The stamping solution contains proprietary ingredients that are toxic and considered to be hazardous waste, and disposal must be through EPA approved methods. The cost to dispose of the chemical is many times greater than regular waste products.

Currently, Bell Products uses a traditional, volume-based costing system for its clutch plate products. Total manufacturing overhead for the period is allocated to the clutch plates based on machine hours.

Fred, who was recently hired, is the controller for Bell Products. He has five years of experience as a cost accountant at a lumber manufacturing facility. At the lumber plant, Fred implemented an activity-based costing system that helped the plant manager determine the profitability of various product lines. After getting to know the manufacturing process at Bell Products, Fred has determined that an activity-based costing system would help management make better decisions and track the costs of the clutch plates more accurately.

Tina is the manager of the stamping department and is good friends with Fred. Tina runs a very efficient department and has earned several bonuses for the stamping department’s production and profitability. Each of the department managers are evaluated based on the profitability of the departments based on internal cost reports.

If activity-based costing is used to allocate costs and the hazardous waste of the stamping chemical is allocated to the department that uses the product, the internally calculated profits of the stamping department would decline drastically. The decline in profitability would be due to the extreme high cost of the stamping chemical and this cost would be directed allocated to the stamping department.

Tina decides to take Fred to an expensive restaurant and eventually brings up the activity-based costing system. She voices her concern about the allocation of the hazardous waste being directly allocated to her department. She asks Fred if there is any way that he could reduce the amount of hazardous waste allocated to the stamping department. Fred values Tina’s friendship and realizes that she is on the compensation committee that evaluates Fred on an annual basis. Fred definitely wants to keep Tina happy and on his side.

As a result, Fred decides to not setup a cost pool for hazardous waste. He reasons that since the hazardous waste has always been a part of the manufacturing process, he will bury it as part of the manufacturing costs that are allocated across all departments. He justifies his decision because the activity-based system will still accurately allocate all other costs and it is much more accurate than the old traditional costing system. Fred feels no one will get hurt. Since the activity-based costing cannot be used for external reporting, Fred feels that his decision is not illegal.

Using the Institute of Management Accountants Statement of Ethical Professional Practice on page 12 of your textbook (Exhibit 1-6) as an ethical framework, answer the following questions:

What are the ethical issues in this case?

1. Activity-based costing cannot be used for external reporting. Does this fact influence your analysis of whether Fred has violated any ethical principles? Why, or why not?
2. Do you agree with Fred that no one will get hurt by burying the hazardous waste into the general manufacturing cost pool shared by all departments? Explain.
3. What are Fred’s responsibilities as a management accountant? What should he do now?

Airbnb, a popular home-sharing website founded in San Francisco in 2008, offers millions of homes for
short-term rental in more than 190 countries. This company has revolutionized the sharing economy in
the same way that ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft have, and according to the company, the
site’s drive to connect hosts and potential renters has been able to contribute to the quality of life of
both homeowners and travelers. According to Airbnb’s press releases and information campaigns, their
services can reduce housing costs for travelers on a budget and can provide unique experiences for
adventurous travelers who wish to have the flexibility to experience a city like a local. The organization
also claims that most of its users are homeowners looking to supplement their incomes by renting out
rooms in their homes or by occasionally renting out their whole homes. According to a statement, most
of the listings on the site are rented out fewer than 50 nights per year.

Despite the carefully crafted messages Airbnb has presented to the public, in 2016 the company came
under intense scrutiny when independent analyses by researchers and journalists revealed something
startling: While some Airbnb hosts did in fact use the services only occasionally, a significant number of
hosts were using the services as though they were hotels. These hosts purchased a large number of
properties and continuously rented them, a practice that affected the availability of affordable housing in
cities and, because these hosts were not officially registered as hoteliers, made it possible for Airbnb
hosts to avoid paying the taxes and abiding by the laws that hotels are subject to.

Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 mandates that hotels and other public accommodations must not
discriminate based on race, national origin, sex, or religion, and Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968
(also known as the Fair Housing Act [FHA]) prohibits discrimination specifically in housing. However,
Airbnb’s unique structure allows it to circumvent those laws. The company also claims that while it
encourages hosts to comply with local and federal laws, it is absolved from responsibility if any of its
hosts break these laws. In 2017, researcher Ben Edelman conducted a field experiment and found that
Airbnb users looking to rent homes were 16% less likely to have their requests to book accepted if they
had traditionally African American sounding names like Tamika, Darnell, and Rasheed.

These findings, coupled with a viral social media campaign, #AirbnbWhileBlack, in which users claimed
they were denied housing requests based on their race, prompted the state of California’s Department
of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) to file a complaint against the company. In an effort to resolve the complaint, Airbnb reported banning any hosts who were found to have engaged in discriminatory
practices, and they hired former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and former ACLU official Laura
Murphy to investigate any claims of discrimination within the company.31 In 2016, Airbnb released a
statement outlining changes to company practices and policies to combat discrimination, and while they
initially resisted demands by the DFEH to conduct an audit of their practices, the company eventually
agreed to an audit of roughly 6,000 of the hosts in California who have the highest volume of properties
listed on the site.

Sources: AirBnB Press Room, accessed December 24, 2018, https://press.atairbnb.com/about-us/;
“Airbnb's data shows that Airbnb helps the middle class. But does it?”, The Guardian, accessed December
23, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jul/27/airbnb-panel-democratic-nationalconvention-
survey ; and Quittner, Jeremy, “Airbnb and Discrimination: Why It’s All So Confusing”,
Fortune, June 23, 2016, http://fortune.com/2016/06/23/airbnb-discrimination-laws/ (Links to an external site.).

Discussion Questions
1. What are some efforts companies in the sharing economy can take before problems of
discrimination threaten to disrupt operations?
2. Should Airbnb be held responsible for discriminatory actions of its hosts?