Factors Involved in the Tanker Contract Essay

Issues that relate to security are of key concern to all nations (Meyer, 2007). The national security and internal defense are some of the sectors that are allocated lump sums of resources in the budgetary allocation (Meyer, 2007). Such allocations are in line with the perceived importance that the area of defense has. The united states as a country is no stranger to conflict and is one of the country that has been involved in external conflict for long periods of time both in the 20th and 21st century (Meyer, 2007). The politics involved in the security are some of the most interesting and widely covered happenings in the US press. Financial power is seen to go in line with military power in that countries that have the financial ability tend to develop their military capabilities and the same can be said of countries that have military abilities. National security is an area of key concern and therefore there is lots of secrecy involved in its dealings (Meyer, 2007). The nature of the deals often require utmost confidentiality from the parties involved and therefore many transactions happen in well defined and approved channels. The military association are developed with time and may be extended to association in other areas since its better to develop good relations with persons with security details that could be detrimental to the country if leaked (Meyer, 2007). The military world has been developing with technological improvements and the military equipments currently being used are characterized by more accuracy and considerable throughput (Verkuil, 2007). These two factors are but a few of the considerations in choosing a partner or a contractor that will help in developing certain aspects of the security system (Verkuil, 2007). It therefore does not come as a surprise that military procurement procedures and processes have considerable controversy since people have varied views on efficiency and security implications (Verkuil, 2007). This research paper analyses the issues involved in the airforce contract tender to build tankers between Boeing and Northrop Grumman with the aim of highlighting key issues involved in addressing security critical details. Background Boeing KC-767 is one of the military aerial refueling strategy that had been developed by Boeing 767-200 (CBS News, 2008). The tanker was designated KC-767 after it was selected by the US airforce to replace the KC-135’s. However, in December of 2003, the contract was frozen after corruption allegation on the bidding process were forwarded. The development of the project is said to have cost Boeing over $ 1 Billion as the project was based on the assumption that the US airforce will be the chief consumer. Ever since the freezing of the project the Italian and the Chinese government have each ordered a number of these tankers. To address the KC-X competition the Boeing offered the 7627-200 Long range freighter which is based on the KC-767 (Online News Hour, 2008). However, the Department of defense selected KC-30 which was developed by Northrop Grumman (CBS News, 2008). The Boeing company on the 11th March 2008 submitted a protest on the decisions made by the airforce, the United States accountability office upheld their protests and in so doing the status of the KC-45A was placed in doubt and therefore the Boeing company was again in position to bid for the contract (CBS News, 2008). This was no to be since the US government in September 2008 terminated all bids on the KC-X (CBS News, 2008). In March 2002, the US airforce selected Boeing’s KC-767 on the grounds that it had clearly demonstrated the abilities to meet their requirements. The United States Airforce (USAF) in their acceptance statement brought out four points that they cited as being behind their decision (CBS News, 2008). The Boeing’s design was designated KC-767A and was included in DOD’s 2004 model designation report. Approximately 100 KC-767 tankers were leased from Boeing for the air refueling program. Even though the refueling program was in place in many countries in the US, many had questions about its effectiveness and cost implications especially the idea of leasing crafts which may never have any buyer once the lease period was over. This argument brought forward by senator McCain was however countered by the number of US allies who were more than willing to buy their used crafts (CBS News, 2008). The congressional budget office was next in line as they criticized the budget stressing on its fiscal irresponsibility (United States Government Accountability Office, 2008). This led to the striking of a deal where the state would buy 80 KC-767 and lease twenty (United States Government Accountability Office, 2008). However, in December of 2003, the pentagon announced that the project had to be frozen due to a corruption allegation brought against one of its former staffer (CBS News, 2008). Furthermore, documentations that proved that the A330 based tankers were more suited to the task specifications of the airforce were more cost effective relative to Boeing tankers were found (CBS News, 2008). The scandal led to the sentencing of the culprit who pleaded guilty to corruptions and led to the resignation of Boeing’s CEO. Donald Rumsfeld in 2006 announced the cancellation of the KC-767A leases as a measure aimed at cutting the costs and a redefinition of the USAF mission (United States Government Accountability Office, 2008). The defense secretary further stated that the move will not in any way affects the mission of the KC-767A as the upgrade of the KC-135’s fleets will help in moving towards the goals (United States Government Accountability Office, 2008). However, the development did no affect the relationships between Boeing and its other customers. The development were however short lived and Boeing and Northrop were soon back in the ring fighting for a big defense contract. The basis of Boeing’s arguments was that the KC-30 was more versatile and had a large furl capacity than the KC-135 that were being used by the airforce. The KC-135 was developed by Boeing who were bidding for an airforce contract against their nemesis Northrop Grumman . The latter won this round of battle as the departments of defense announced that it has won the tender to procure 179 new KC-45A tankers (Online News Hour, 2008). The Boeing company almost immediately took to the Government Accountability Office and filed a protests claiming the evaluation of its KC-30 was unfair (Online News Hour, 2008). Boeing further claimed that its refueling tanker could easily be reconverted to a passenger plane compared to Northrop’s version as shown in the Air force’s post decision briefing. According to Boeing’s vice president they had more strengths than their competitors was all he heard from the post decision briefing. Boeing’s protests led to a review of the selection process by the accountability office which forced Northrop to freeze the project which it had already allocated $ 35 billion (Online News Hour, 2008). Northrop Grumman executives are on the other hand highlighting the irresponsibility involved in freezing a critical project to the development of the military for expensive lobbying in the congress that will inevitably lead to a change of the decisions made by the airforce (Online News Hour, 2008). Northrop Grumman executives further claim the decision is ironic since they put their best efforts in ensuring that the airforce receives a products that they consider the best in consideration of the design (Online News Hour, 2008). They are pushing for the public knowledge of the facts of what they represents and what they are not. The congress was divided sharply on this issue and so was the general public. Boeing supporters claim that the Northrop Grumman design was a basic passenger airbus plane (Online News Hour, 2008). A Kansas congress man was cited claiming that the decisions made by the airforce was a bad one as the airforce as it has bend backwards to deal with a French company (Online News Hour, 2008). Boeing’s die hards near its main production facility claimed that it is the only true tanker manufacturers and a mistake had been made (Online News Hour, 2008). A Washington senator supported this point of view and claimed that offering a military contract to a foreign company was suicidal and would incapacitate America’s ability to develop their own fleet if they should ever pull out of the deal (Online News Hour, 2008). An Alabama state senators is of a different view and approached the subject from a resource allocations view point (Online News Hour, 2008). People near Northrop are bound to benefit more that those near the Boeing plants and therefore there senators have opinions that display their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the resource allocations (Online News Hour, 2008). She further states that there have to be losers and winner either way (Online News Hour, 2008). The Boeing group further accuse the airforce of a change in parameter in order to accommodate the design put up by Northrop Grumman so as to ensure two bidders are present (Online News Hour, 2008). Even though many are of the view that the airforce was trying to lock out Boeing due to the scandals it previously had, Boeing executives were of the view that was not the case as the specifications that were asked by the airforce were changed considerably to ensure Northrop was in the race (Online News Hour, 2008). They further claim that the large sized tanker proposed by the Northrop was a liability and only countries not interested in their taxi ways would allow for such aircrafts. The Northrop group however counter this argument by stating that their design is more sophisticated and has advantages that are yet to be seen (Online News Hour, 2008). Issues Boeing is one of the world’s best known manufactures of aircrafts and so is Northrop Grumman who are the manufacturers of the airbus (Online News Hour, 2008). These are two top brands who are obviously competing in other areas of business and therefore any decision that involve them is bound to raise considerable heat. It should b noted that both are American companies though Northrop Grumman is partly owned by a French company. The nature of the contract which involves the security of America as a nation is a matter of national concern as it involves the development of structures that could ensure the growth of security systems. Boeing and Grumman being business structures, such a big contract will obviously attract the interest of stakeholders from both sides. There are a number of key issues that have been brought out by the airforce contracts which include: i. Politics Military contracts are a matter of public concern since it is in place to protect the public, the resources used in the military contracts are derived from taxpayers and therefore the failure of such projects will be a waste of taxpayers money (Meyer, 2007). When McCain questioned the cost effectiveness in leasing planes that would otherwise have no values when their lease period was over his motive as the senator of Alabama was to ensure that the taxpayers money is channeled to useful projects. Furthermore, it is quite clear that the politicians have the ability to shoot down potentially useful deals due to what Northrop Grumman executives refer to as expensive lobbying. Politics is not always objective for there are situations where the stakes involved are shielded from the public and though the politics and viewpoints will be developed to suit the public, the real reasons are often personal (Meyer, 2007). The inclusion of politics in such cases therefore has both advantages and disadvantages and should be weighed carefully. Military procurement just like any other public procurement scheme is prone to corruption, this was the case in the original contract that was brought to an end by Rumsfeld in 2006. Moreover, the big money involved in military procurement processes act as a natural catalysts for corruption, therefore there is need to come up with a robust self regulated systems that will ensure that such unethical practices are not in anyway included in the procurement process, the congress thus comes into the picture (Meyer, 2007). However, the political system is not known for its objectivity. In the cases, some of the reasons brought out against Northrop Grumman are flimsy and lack in objectivity. The fact that there will be lobbying is a clear sign that there will be loss in objectivity thus the decision will tend to favor groups that are be able to garner enough political support in the congress. Furthermore, the political system is one of the most corrupt system there is and the rationale in placing such a system to guard against corruption is questionable. ii. Security Military procurement is a security critical matter (Meyer, 2007). The military is in place to ensure that the US is protected against its external enemies (Meyer, 2007). The seriousness with which the equipment tendering process is treated and the keen eye that the media watches the unfolding of such events relay the importance placed on the military by the American people. The US is traditionally a ‘fighting nation’ and the effectiveness of its military and equipments is one of the factors that has cemented its place as a world power. Military activities require high levels of secrecy (Meyer, 2007). There is need to come up with effective equipments that can be used in varied situations. It should be noted that the arguments brought forward by the executives from both sides are centered around the superiority of their products or the weaknesses of their opposite. The need for accuracy and well developed products that have the required reputation are some of the considerations that led to the two big companies making it to the final stage. The two companies are multinationals that have developed their brands all over the globe. It is noteworthy that when the US defense secretary cancels Boeing’s leases other nations still seek their products and are continues seeking the products that have been labeled cost ineffective due to the reputation associated with their brand name. The importance of the security system is seen in the number of avenues and legislative systems that have been put in place to ensure that the process is done in a just manner (Krishnan, 2008). When the airforce declares that Northrop Grumman had won the bid for the airforce tankers, Boeing seeks redress through a different avenue: Public accountability office. The office looks at their complaints and decides to freeze the process. It should be noted that it was the same office that had early in the decades frozen a billion dollar Boeing contract due to corruption charges. Even though there are systems put in place to ensure proper procedures in procurement of services and services, they can be outdone easily (Krishnan, 2008). The corruption allegations made in the initial Boeing contracts are a clear case where the protocols were overridden and it only came to realization a couple of months after the contracts had been signed. Furthermore, the fact that is was later found out that a different design could meet the specifications made by the airforce with reduced costs clearly show that even though the guidelines are put in place they are rarely followed thus the need for a system or authority that will follow up on the recommendations and processes to ensure that they conform to the laid out guidelines. Some politicians have argued that the French affiliation of the airbus manufacturer is in itself a security risk and therefore a purely American company should be contracted. However, such a contracting systems will obviously lock out other capable companies and therefore bring about questions on the integrity of the bidding process. America has prided itself as being a liberalized nation, putting up measures that will lock out other qualified members on the basis of the compositions of its investors is contrary to the spirit of liberalization. Furthermore, being involved with a company that has partnered with a success story in Europe shields the tanker project from American economic downtimes though it effectively ensures that the project is affected by the happening in Europe. It is unrealistic to lobby for Boeing on the basis of confidentiality; a company that has already shown traces of corruption cannot be trusted and neither can a company that is yet to prove its worth in the military sector. Therefore, system should be put in place to ensure that the projects are monitored and compared to some given standards if either is to be awarded the contract. iii. Stability The US is the father of capitalism and is therefore a country that is characterized by intense competition between industry players who will always be on the look for additional finances that will ensure their development into the future (Verkuil, 2007). On the day it was reported that Northrop Grumman had won the military contracts its share prices rose by over 20 cents and Boeing’s shares fell by a couple of cents (CBS News, 2008). Note, the development in the contract procurement were being watched by investors who will then make their decisions on which company to invest in. Even though the large money involved in the transactions may be enough to lure investors into channeling their resources to a particular company, the reputation involved in being a company contracted with one of the world’s best airforce to develop its aircraft tankers is enough to cause significant changes in the company’s share index. Being a capitalistic economy where entities gain at the expense of others, Boeing is bound to feel the pinch. The situation is made worse by the consideration that Boeing has a well developed reputation and therefore failure to win a contract from a partner that it has associated with for a long time may be taken by the investors and its consumers in the wrong light. It may imply that the partner does not trust its capacity to develop superiors products or has doubts on its potential to remain productive. To bring the idea of reputation into perspective, many are of the notion that the corruptions charges brought against Boeing may have affected its chances of successfully bidding for the contract (Verkuil, 2007). This holds considerable weight in that the military is not all about facilities but also reputation. The American people and its enemies will always keep a keen eye on the military and any transactions conducted with a partner who is proved to be corrupt will dent on its integrity thus its reputation. Conclusion Awarding a contract to a company to deliver services that are of public interest is a complex process and will always involve the media and many other systems that have been put in place to ensure the safety of the public. Individual good and interest will always be central in the arguments brought forward by most people, this is more pronounced if the contract will significantly affect many people. It is therefore upon the government and the social systems to ensure that the systems put in place to ensure effectiveness of the bidding process are functioning properly and are robust enough to deal with the dynamism associated with such processes. If need be, changes must be instituted to ensure that the system are functioning. The products delivered must measure up to some predetermined standards to ensure quality and accountability. These measures and other quality management measures if well integrated into the bidding and implementation of contracts that are of public interest will ensure that the public benefits in the best possible way. Word Count: 3271 Reference List CBS News (2008). Boeing Spurned On Huge Air Force Contract. Retrieved 13 October 2008 from Krishnan, A. (2008). War as Business: Technological Change and Military Service Contracting. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Meyer, J. (2007). Working in a War Zone: Military Contractors. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group. Online News Hour (2008). Boeing, Northrop Grumman Clash Over Tanker Contract. Retrieved 13 October 2008 from United States Government Accountability Office (2008). Statement Regarding the Bid Protest Decision Resolving the Aerial Refueling Tanker Protest by The Boeing Company. Retrieved 13 October 2008 from Verkuil, R. (2007). Outsourcing Sovereignty: Why Privatization of Government Functions Threatens Democracy and what We Can Do about it. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Foreign Direct Investment Disadvantages Essay

There is a lot to be said for big retail to come to India, but we cannot simply be taken in and mimic something which is being pushed down our throats because those who make the policy appear to not have the faintest clue on how retail really works in India If there were clear answers in black and white to the question, there would really be no need for any debate on the issue, but the truth is that it is simply not that simple. On a philosophical and emotional level, the answer could be that any form of foreign participation in a domestic market is rife with dangers of the colonialism sort, but in this day and age, while the core concept of being wary of foreign dominance may still be true, the fact remains that there are plenty of ways to ensure that it works on a win-win basis for all concerned. The main problem with the current status of foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail in India is that it does not provide a level playing field to other players of the domestic and small sort. In addition, it appears to take a rather naive and simplistic view on certain aspects, which like myths being repeated, tend to become urban legends. On the other hand, no country can afford to take on an isolationist approach. To start with, it may help to go through the background and policy note on the Cabinet decision on FDI in retail, as put up on various places on the internet. Facebook, PIB) As this writer sees it, with a holistic view of the subject and not just based on jingoism of the â€Å"burn down the malls† (right view) and â€Å"bad for farmers† (left view) sort, but on rational evaluation of larger issues, there are some points which need to be straightened out. Large retail is inevitable, and that is a simple truth, but there has to be larger perspective for public good which seems to be missing from this policy. The people of India come first, including those who want a better product or service buying or selling experience, and at the end of the day i t is their wallets which will decide where they go. But at the same time, the government, with the policy as outlined above, cannot sell the baby with the bath-water, and make things worse. Some suggestions: 1) The present Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act requires urgent revamp if we really want to help the rural and agricultural sectors with a better go to market scenario. This, along with rapid introduction of the goods and services tax (GST) as well as ease of inter- and intra-state movement of foodgrain, agri products and fresh produce, would do more to improve matters, as well as do wonders for our conomy in a variety of ways—most of all in terms of controlling prices as well as reducing storage and transit losses. 2) The policy shown above makes a case that â€Å"brands† by big FDI retailers need to be carried across borders without in any way making it clear that the quality of those brands needs to be same across borders, too. As of now we see that with these manufacturers and retailers there is on e lower quality for sale in India and there is a better quality for sale in developed countries—case in point being soft drinks, processed foods, confectionery, electronics, motor vehicles and others. If anything is by way of a different quality for India for price or other reasons, then let it be clearly marked as such. 3) Specifically in the case of packaged and processed foods, the policy does not say anything about adherence to best case scenarios in terms of labelling of ingredients and avoiding misleading marketing ploys, thereby leading to a situation where outright dangerous products are foisted on Indian consumers. The amount of product detail available for consumers in developed countries must be matched for India, too. India cannot become a vast chemistry lab for processed foods or anything else. 4) More empirical data needs to be provided on subjects like â€Å"improvement in supply chain†. India is the country where the passenger rail ticket deliveries, fresh hot cooked food by dabbawallas and diamonds as well as other precious stones by angadias have set better than global standards in supply chains, so the same standards need to be quantified and applied to those seeking 100% FDI in retail. It is not too much to ask for them to match the Indian standards—unless those who made the policy are ashamed of our prowess. ) The investments in retail by the FDI route, when they come, should come only through a short-list of recognised tax adherence countries. The misused option of FDI coming in through known or suspect tax havens needs to be blocked—firmly. Likewise, full disclosures of the strictest sort need to be made on who the investors are—again, these cannot be suitcas e corporate identities hiding behind consultants and banks in shady tax havens or other countries. Unlike what happened in, for example, airlines, Indians need to know who is investing and from where. And in case there are legal issues, then we need to know who the faces are who will go through the Indian legal system, unless those who made the policy are ashamed of our legal system. 6) The payment processing and cash management as well as tax adherence part of this industry, both in terms of procurement and sale, need to be through the Indian banking system. And by fully transparent methods, so that float as well as control remains in India at all times, as is the case in developed countries.

Leadership Profile on Oprah Winfrey Research Paper

Leadership Profile on Oprah Winfrey - Research Paper Example    As an experienced person in human resource, human resource development is a key role that leaders in the human resource are required to partake. Looking at how Oprah manages to be the transformational leader, the idea is to ensure that there is the development of crucial skills as required in the department and to inspire hope, as well as motivation from within, and towards the success of any organization for which I get to work. Throughout her shows, Oprah is known to bring about transformation through touching stories and her own story is frequently featured in the show to inspire viewers. The above is one of the main aspects that have seen her become a renowned leader even on TV, where she applies novel ways to come up with means of changing lives by using her show and TV in general as a platform to air controversial issues (Jennerz 41). It is on her show that she brought warring families to make peace with one another and even sought closure for them in regard to the source of their misery. Her communication skills are exceptional on many levels as seen in how she manages to bring eloquence and even contain herself in spite of tear-jerking testimonies. This also brings up her ability to bring out the stories that different characters may have gone through in that she is not afraid to tackle the issues head-on. Contextually, her ethos, pathos, and logos in communication depict a confident character worthy of emulation by anyone is the human resource. By being a notable figure in media and mass communication, and having vested interests in offering assistance to mankind, she commands respect as she has a reputation to preserve (Lussier and Christopher 352). Besides this, she does support her concepts or any form of communication that she makes through factual representation, either by having experts present or through statistical records. In her entire career as a media personality, communication has played a key role in her transformational leadership a ccomplishments in that it is thanks to her skills that she has gained critical acclaim. A look at this indicates that she has co-authored books, and it is her character that has sparked interest in these books among the public. It is also her communication skills that have seen her ranked as an influential figure to the extent of being philanthropic to support her image, as well as seek the intervention of other leaders in worthy causes such as her case this year in Zurich, where she condemned racism (Hall). Thanks to Oprah’s character and skills, it is noteworthy that eloquence and vested interest in the needs of people is one of the top requirements if at all one seeks to be successful, communication is a crucial skill.  Ã‚  

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Hantavirus - Essay Example The N protein that introduces the virus into the cytoplasm of the healthy human cell (Mir, 2010). The N protein of the virus associates itself with the L protein of the human host and produce â€Å"capped primers† or nucleocapsids, which can initiate transcription of the viral mRNAs upon invasion of the healthy human cell. Meanwhile, the glycoproteins G1 and G2 are transported to the Golgi bodies from the ER. Once the nucleocapsids interact with the glycoproteins, hantavirions are formed and are released out of the cell through exocytosis (â€Å"Virology,† CDC, 2011). Once the virions are out of the plasma membrane, the symptoms of HFRS or HPS begin showing. The replication of the hantavirus occurs in the macrophages and vascular endothelial cells of the human lungs and kidneys (Muranyi et al., 2005). However, symptoms do not show until the replication process of a particular number of virions are finished and until these virions are released out of the plasma membrane to infect other cells. The endothelial cells of the lungs and kidneys are the main target cells of the virus. The endothelial cells are responsible for various physiologic functions of the body such as the regulation of edema, vascular repair and gas exchange (Mackow & Gavrilovskaya, 2009). Therefore, it simply follows that someone who is infected with hantavirus will have problems with these physiologic functions. The young man in the case study exhibited shortness of breath and labored and rapid breathing because the hantavirus has already invaded the endothelial cells of his lungs, which are responsible for gas exchange. Thus, the physiological ability of his lungs to handle gas exchange is impaired. According to Mir (2010), the hantavirus also infects mature and immature dendritic cells. Dendritic cells are actually responsible for capturing antigens and inducing a primary immune response among T lymphocytes (Wieder, 2003). However, the hantavirus uses

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Keeping the elderly in their home vs nursing home placement - Essay Example vels of investigation, the major concerns emerge in terms of public health care and questions of whether the individual or government should be responsible for funding nursing home residents. Achieving a substantial approach to the question of nursing home care will aid the nation by contributing to socio-political debates regards health care costs. One organization that supports this issue is the National Family Caregivers Association. This organization greatly considers the importance of supporting individuals that aid people in at-home living situations. One of the major things I learned in researching this subject was the strong change that has occurred for at-home care. With technological advancements, seniors now have many increased options for caregivers and other such aid that allow them to refrain from nursing home care. Prior to the investigation I would have further question cost issues between caregivers and nursing

Mythology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mythology - Essay Example MYTHOLOGY The world of mythology is interconnected with heroism and supernatural elements. Within this context, the stages of development in a hero’s life (departure, initiation and return), put forth by Joseph Campbell in the work The Hero with A Thousand Faces is noteworthy. One can see that the Godfather films (The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, and The Godfather Part III), by Francis Ford Coppola, belong to gangster film genre. The protagonist’s (Michael Corleone) transformation from a young man who hates gangster life to a gangster and later to an elderly individual who seeks redemption is beautifully portrayed by the director. Thesis statement: The portrayal of the character Michael Corleone from The Godfather films by Francis Ford Coppola proves that the same is according to the stages (departure, initiation and return) in the journey of a hero, put forth by Joseph Campbell in the work The Hero with A Thousand Faces (Special references to the films: The Godfat her, The Godfather Part II, and The Godfather Part III). The main stages in Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with A Thousand Faces According to Joseph Campbell, there is number of stages within the hero’s expedition or journey. All the heroes do not undergo all these stages, but the three stages (say, departure (past life), initiation (adventurous life) and return (return to motherland)) are most important. Seaward (2004), states that â€Å"The template of the hero’s journey involves three distinct stages: (1) the departure, (2) initiation, and (3) the return home† (p. 52). The first stage or departure helps the readers to have deep understanding on the hero’s adventurous life because this stage describes the hero’ adventurous in the past life. Moreover, this stage provides ample importance to the concept of heroism which can be generalized to the broader context of mythology. The second stage or initiation portrays the hero’s travel to the unknown world and adventures. This stage is important because it reflects the hero’s growth and development to a fully fledged hero, who is ready to face dangerous situations without fear. This stage is applicable to most of the conventional heroes because adventure is helpful to portray heroism. The problems faced by the hero during his travel to the unknown world are helpful to maintain the suspense of the whole story. The third and final stage is return, which portrays the hero’s return to his motherland. In this stage, the hero returns with immense power gained from the hardships faced during the journey. This stage is helpful for the hero to establish his victory over the evil. All these stages are again divided into sub-stages, but the essence of the hero’s growth and development is limited to the context of the foretold three stages. Michael Corleone and stages put forth by Joseph Campbell The plots of the three Godfather films revolve around Michael Cor leone, the main character. Campbell (2008), states that â€Å"Many tales isolate and greatly enlarge upon one or two of the typical elements of the full cycle (test motif, flight motif,

Business Strategy - company analysis Assignment

Business Strategy - company analysis - Assignment Example Over the period of time, Foster’s Group has expanded into its existing as well as current markets by acquiring new businesses and developing its existing business lines. Due to this, firm has been able to launch different brands of beer, wine and soft drinks in Australia and other parts of the world. It is also critical to note that the Foster’s Group’s wine business specially in US is not doing well and it has also written down the value of the division in order to recognize the losses incurred. Firm has also been charged for the violation of the occupational health and safety Act of Victoria, Australia and was fined heavily due to the death of one of the workers. This report will present an external and internal analysis of Foster’s Group besides identifying three important strategic issues faced by the firm. This report will also identify two important strategic actions which firm can undertake beside presenting the recommendations. External Analysis Tw o of the most important tools for performing external analysis include PESTLE and Porter’s Five Forces Analysis. ... Australia has one of the richest sources of natural resources and it is because of this reason that most of the foreign investment comes in the mining and minerals sector. During the current financial crisis, Australian economy remained well guarded due to the fact that majority of its trade takes place with China. (Economy Watch, 2011) Social Factors Total population of Australia is over 21 million1 with majority of population falling in the age bracket of 15-64 years. Such large population chunk therefore provides a really available market for the beer and other associated products manufactured and marketed by Foster’s. 92% of the population of the country is based upon White Population whereas 7% are Asians and 1% of the population comprises of aborigines. These statistics suggest that the social factors may be conducive for the firm to conduct its business with ease. Technological factors Industry for Beer, Wine and Soft Drinks does not particularly depends upon the techno logical changes however, technology can play its part in terms of advertising and marketing the products. Legal Factors Courts in the country are independent and put a real check over the unethical and illegal practices of the companies. Legislations such as occupational health and safety as well as anti-trust laws are in place to ensure that health and constructive competition exists within the economy. Environmental Factors Environmental factors in this industry does not directly affect the industry however, the overall impact of the industrial waste as well as the dumping of empty beer cans can pose significant threat to the environment. Porter’s Five Forces Threat of New Entrants This industry

Theoretical approach Essay Example for Free

Theoretical approach Essay The use of a theoretical approach to explain a phenomenon in the society is not uncommon. For this term paper the writer is required to use five theories to answer five moral questions given. One the theory is distributive justice. This theory has to do with justice in the allocation of goods in the society. It aims at reducing inequalities that occur unintentionally and it is guided by several factors. The amount of goods to be distributed, how they will be used and how they will be divided which in essence means it deals with ensuring the outcomes and the consequences of the allocation of goods in society are just. The other theory that will be applied in this term paper is the moral rights theory which entails the rights held by developers of copyrighted materials, the right to publish a book with a pseudonym among other rights. These rights are not anchored solely on law or people’s customs or beliefs they are just natural rights. The virtue of ethics is an approach that focuses on a moral agent’s character but not so much on the rules or the consequences. An action is thereby right or wrong due to what a character does not because of the consequences of their actions. Using this theory an individual will be able to discern whether the definition of what is considered ‘green’ should be standardized. The other theories that will be used to look at the Moral Issue Questions in depth are the utilitarianism and the ethics of care theories. Utilitarian approach advocates for the action that brings the most pleasure to the people. The outcome of an action therefore becomes very important since the results are measured by looking at the levels of satisfaction or dissatisfaction in the general public. The ethics of care theory on the other hand is an approach that looks at action being either right or wrong. This theory advocates for the interests of the people who are vulnerable to warrant special consideration and these people should be protected form harm. These five approaches will be used to look at the moral issues that the scenarios presented pose and the best answer to the MIQ based on those theories. Distributive Justice MIQ. Who should regulate corporate compensation? Defining excessive pay Investment advisors have been known to overcharge their clients for the services rendered. In this case Oakmark family of mutual funds are alleging that the manager of funds from Harris Associates charged the family double the amounts charged for the same services extended to other clients thereby violating their fiduciary duty (Barnes Mufson 2009). The family wants the court to determine if they have a legal claim and how much Harris associates should pay as compensation. The case creates many dilemmas and has myriad consequencies not just on the U. S. Supreme court but also on the political arena as well. The mutual funds field being as competitive as it is the Harris Associates feel mutual funds investors are free to scout the market and get the best advisor for their needs. Also, the fact that they managed to grow the Oaks Family account as extensive as they did means they have done their job. Despite the Harris Associate defending their actions, the Founder of Vanguard Group and a very influential figure in the mutual funds industry feels that what Harris Associates did was a direct violation of the fiduciary duty and the courts should enforce this duty on investment advisors (Barnes Mufson 2009). According to distributive justice theory the courts should regulate the corporate compensation. Leaving the decision to the investment advisors will propagate the injustices even further. Harris Associates were not just in charging the Oak Family double the amount charged other companies for the same or even lesser services rendered. Therefore the court should ensure that the Oak’s get justice and are fully compensated. This is because as the mutual funds industry grows most investment advisors are aligning their loyalties to suit themselves and the government should step in and protect the rights of the investors. Moral Rights MIQ. Should the government penalize Bank of America for accepting bail out money only to pay it back ahead of schedule in order to attract CEO with lucrative pay and benefits? The Federal Government gives corporations bailouts with several conditions which are basically to do with the control and effective running of the a bailout beneficiary. The Bank of America after benefiting from the government bailout is finding it challenging running its operations with the interference of the government. Therefore it has decided to repay the taxpayer aid extended by the government during the financial crisis before the payment periods is over to free itself of any direct government interference. Being free of government debt the company will then be in a position to attract a Chief Executive Officer after the current chief retires since as things stand now most are shying away from working in the corporation due to the present government interference (Appelbaum 2009). According to Appelbaum (2009) the government will not accept the repayment until the Bank can ascertain it is in sound economic health and has stabilized. The bailout was due to a poor expansion decision made by the then Chief Executive. The much needed bailout came but left the bank under the mercy of the government. This government involvement has really affected the search for a new Chief since it has increased the scrutiny of the banks activities and now all the decisions the bank officials make have to be analyzed by the federal government. The government’s intentions bailing out the bank were noble as it was safeguarding one of the countries big economic players and it had to make sure that the bank did not sink to the quagmire again in future. By virtue of the bailout the government therefore owns the corporation since it saved it from a total collapse. According to Moral rights theory the government has to scrutinize all the decisions made in the past and in the present as it has a right by virtue of the money loaned. The government is not penalizing the bank for accepting the bailout money it is just ensuring the situation never happens again. A corporations chief should be versatile enough to work under all conditions and therefore by shying away from a lucrative position because ones activities will be scrutinized by a rightful owner according to the moral rights theorists is not right. The government as a developer has a natural right over the bank and all its undertakings. Therefore the government is justified according to this theory to penalize the bank. Utilitarianism MIQ. Should future space programs be privatized? Private Enterprises Ticket to Fly Into Space According Achenbach (2009) there is the possibility that a time is coming whereby going to the moon or to outer space will be as easy as flying to another destination is today. This is because the notion of privatizing spaceflight is looking more and lucrative each day. The American government is finding it challenging factoring in all the activities of NASA in the budget. A committee was formed by President Obama led by a retired aerospace executive Norman Augustine to evaluate and advise the president on the best course of action to take about NASA. This is because the government is feeling the strain and even according to the Committee there is not enough money for NASA’s 2020 planned trip to the moon. The budget for future spaceflights has been reduced. The committee recommended changes in strategies employed by NASA and proposed NASA looks into or explores other cheaper exploration opportunities. The biggest dilemma has to do with the Ares 1 rocket whose maintenance cost has been very high and the committee has proposed a cancellation should be considered. This creates other complications like individuals loosing their livelihoods and some other security implications. The only way to deal with scraping off the Ares 1 is considering commercial spaceflight (Achenbach 2009). This means charging those that want to experience a trip to space. This way doors would be open to include private players in the industry. Some people are of the opinion that canceling the trip to the moon in 2020 will derail the plans to go Mars and the government should instead look into other recommendations (Achenbach 2009). The utilitarianism approach advocates for the decision that fosters the most pleasurable result for the majority. There are many alternatives to be looked at in this situation with NASA and all the alternatives have their pros and cons. Through the utilitarianism approach the spaceflight should be privatized. This will open up doors to all those interested companies to invest in this industry. This will encourage creativity and give a chance to the interested members of public a chance to visit space. Privatizing the spaceflights will ease the financial burden on the government which presently finances all NASA’s activities. This money could be put to other urgent needs. The private players will be happy as they can now make money independent of the government by flying astronauts to space commercially. Virtue ethics MIQ. Should there be strict guidelines and definitions on what is considered green meats and fish used in restaurants Most people are becoming very health and environmentally conscious and will only consume those products that are perceived to be inline with their ideals. In order to keep up with this trend entrepreneurs are also sourcing for raw materials from producers who use environmentally friendly methods to grow or rear their produce. This health and environmental platform is what Founding Farmers Restaurant anchored its business on. On its menu it had advertised for ‘green cuisines’ as its specialty (Black 2009). On close scrutiny as the business continued to thrive the restaurant started to deviate from its mission statement and selling products produced in environmentally degrading situations but claiming on the menu it was committed serving ‘green’ food. With growth it became very difficult to source for produce from small family farms and still turn a profit. This is because these farmers sell their products at higher prices than large scale producers as they do not benefit from economies of scale. Also, their supplies are not reliable and sometimes their produce is affected by the seasonal production. The management of Founding Farmers defended their decision to source for its produce form large scale producers by maintaining that in other areas the restaurant was fully ‘green’ (Black 2009). The lack of clear definition on what qualifies as ‘green’ or in other words sustainable foods leaves a lot of grey areas in which some of these entrepreneurs can get away with not offering the customer exactly what they need. Some restaurants like Equinox have managed to run their business by fully supporting family farms which is expensive on their part but they are committed to the course. Founding Fathers on the other hand try as much as possible and the effort is appreciated by many but they have overtime misled customers with their menu about the authenticity of their products. This is because they do not get all their meat from family farms neither are their vegetables from the family farms but they vouch for the quality by alluding that the end justifies the means (Black 2009). According to the virtue ethics theory regardless of the outcomes being good they unfortunately have no basis in establishing whether an action was right or wrong. Therefore what the Founding Farmers are doing remains morally wrong whether the food served in the restaurant is healthy or not. The actions of the managers of the business source for the produce from farms whose practices are in question but the restaurant sells its products buy claiming it got its produce from small scale family farms. Even if their servings are healthy they are not entirely ‘green’. Therefore there should be strict guidelines and definitions on what is considered ‘green’ meats and fish served in restaurants as Founding Farmers has been misleading the public. Ethics of care MIQ. Should the government allow for NBC and Comcast merge? A new kind of company, a new challenge for feds Access to information is very important therefore a situation where this access to information can be controlled by a single company poses a security risk to the country and to the public (Kang 2009). The discussions of a possible merger between Comcast and NBC has definitely caught people’s attention since Comcast is among the largest companies dealing with the provision of internet services whereas NBC is one of the largest television network. This means merging the internet with television thus the information that people have access to online and through the cable is the same. Presently there is information that is accessible through the television only and not available online. For instance in a situation whereby the internet providers feel that the information is too controversial and would affect them negatively thus they do not post it online but the same is revealed through cable. If the two are merged the general public would have access to the same information and this reduces the idea of watchdogs. Therefore as the two would be one it means looking out for each other thus movies produced by NBC would be available online as well without being. In essence the situation poses a very high security risk to the people and there is the possibility of serious exploitation of the general public (Kang 2009). The ethics of care approach advocates for the rights of vulnerable groups to be looked out for as they have no way doing it themselves. The government should not therefore allow NBC and Comcast to merge since this would mean limiting the information the people have on important issues. Reference List Achenbach, J. , (2009). Panel May Urge Strapped NASA To Outsource Commercial Flights. Washington Post; Sep, 5th 2009. Appelbaum, B. , (2009). Bank of America to repay U. S. : Firm will be first to reimburse taxpayers completely for bailout. Washington Post; Dec, 3rd 2009. Barnes, R. Mufson, S. , (2009). Defining excessive pay: Investor case may hint at high court approach to compensation. Washington Post; Nov, 1st 2009. Black, J. , (2009). Green cuisine not always as ordered: Founding Farmers still strives for goal of sustainable food. Washington Post; Dec 7th, 2009. Kang, C. , (2009). A new kind of company, a new challenge for feds. Washington Post; 27th, 2009.

In Broad Daylgith Essay Example for Free

In Broad Daylgith Essay â€Å"In Broad Daylight† is about Mu Ying, nicknamed Old Whore. She has affairs with different men and is publicly denounced and paraded before the community by the Red Guards who travel from another city and happen to know her bad name. Her dwarf peddler husband Meng Su tries to rescue her from the public humiliation, only to be humiliated himself by the Red Guards, the spectators and his wife as well. Finally, he is found crushed by a train, and Mu Ying lies alone at bus stop, deranged. Written from the point view of a naive boy, nicknamed White Cat, Ha Jin intends to portray through untainted and authentic lens a Chinese woman with a self-awakening feminist consciousness who stands up for her sexuality. Turning point number one in the story is when the questioning of Mu Ying has started and has to confess her crimes of adultery with three other men. She then comes to the point where she explains the feeling of wanting a man holding her with his strong arms very detailed. After Mu Ying describes this feeling of sexual need, a woman who is the mother of Bare Hips speaks from the front of the crowd and says â€Å"You have your own man, who doesn’t lack an arm or a leg. It’s wrong to have others’ men and more wrong to pocket their money† (Jin 156). And on this moment Mu Ying is still recovering from a punch of the Red Guards and still replies with a smirk on her face looking down on her husband â€Å"I have my own man? † (Jin 156). â€Å"My man is nothing. He is no good, I mean in bed. He always comes before I feel anything† (Jin 156). As a central focus of the public denunciation, Mu appeared to be rather calm when she was caught at home. She neither protested nor said a word, but followed the Red Guards quietly. In her eyes, these Red Guards were only a group of children. She did not expect that the join forces of the Red Guards and the revolutionary masses in the town would be tremendous enough to put her in destruction; more importantly, she did not think that her behavior had violated any rule or law. When her husband appealed to the Red Guards, she stared at him without a word, and a faint smile passed the corners of her mouth. In her yes, the behavior of her impotent husband is pedantic and ridiculous. When the Red Guard asked her why she â€Å"seduced men and paralyze heir revolutionary will with your bourgeois poison† (156), she responded rather calmly with a rhetorical question, â€Å"I’ve never invited any man to my home, have I? † (Jin 156). When several women hissed in the crowd, she even tried to persuade them by citing her own experience: â€Å"Sisters,† she spoke aloud. â€Å"All right, it was wrong to sleep with them. But you all know what it feels like when you want a man, don’t you? Don’t you once in a while have that feeling in your bones? Contemptuously, she looked at the few withered middle-aged women standing in the front row, then closed her eyes. â€Å"Oh, you want that real man to have you in his arms and let him touch every part of your body. For that man alone you want to blossom into a woman, a real woman—† (Jin 156). As a group of juveniles, White Cat and his companions know little about the adult life. This limitation makes their participation a journey of discovery. When adults burst out laughing at Mu Ying’s assertion of her husband’s impotence, the teenagers appeared to be puzzled. The dialogue between them shows this point clearly: â€Å"What’s that? What’s so funny? † Big Shrimp asked Bare Hips. â€Å"You didn’t get it? † Bare Hips said impatiently. â€Å"You don’t know anything about what happens between a man and a woman. It means that whenever she doesn’t want him to come close to her he comes. Bad timing. † â€Å"It doesn’t sound like that,† I said (Jin 157). Obviously, Bare Hips does not know any more than Big Shrimp though his impatient tone tries to conceal this ignorance. Ignorant as he is, Bare Hips makes so bold as to cry at Mu Ying, â€Å"Shameless Old Whore! † (Jin 154). Impossible to perceive, the innocent children are acting the role of accomplice in the public denunciation against Mu. Their thoughts and behaviors manifest the influence they have taken from their parents. In this sense, the innocent teenagers have degenerated from lovely angels to dreadful demons. This is a turning point because when the red guards pulled Mu Ying out of her house and started patrolling her through the city streets to get her to the school yard to sentence her, her husband came running from a street corner begging to let Mu Ying go â€Å"Please don’t take her away. It’s my fault. I haven’t disciplined her well. Please give her a change to be a new person. I promise, she won’t do it again† (Jin 155). And even though I have a feeling Mu Ying does not take the Red guard’s judging protocol as a serious punishment at that point, once she has confessed everything it all gets to her. That is when she gets the feeling that she really has humiliated and hurt her husband, because she is looking for him after she got hit with an ink bottle, only to find that he suddenly left the scene. That is the point she says she does not want to be punished after all and promises to better herself. What I saw as turning point number two becomes clear in the last paragraph, which means I did not see that really as the conclusion. It is the scene where Mu Ying is lying alone at the bus stop, saying: â€Å"Take me home. Oh, help me. Who can help me? Where are you? Why don’t you come and carry me home† (Jin 156). It is a perfect example of â€Å"You don’t know what you have until it is gone. † The second train that used its steam horn killed the husband of Mu Ying and made her a widow and truly alone. What I mean with that is that Mu Ying already felt alone because her man was not good enough for her. This feeling of loneliness combined with her husband’s underachieving partly lead to her committing adultery. Now with her husband dead, she finally exactly knows what it actually means to be alone. But moreover the story clearly shows that her husband saved her live once, after she was raped and now he again tries to get her â€Å"off the hook,† by taking the blame. Her grudge against men because of this rape is probably the other part of why she turned to adultery. It is almost shocking to observe that Mu Ying herself is not punished as the â€Å"Old Whore,† where Meng Su did not only try to take the blame, but also gets himself punished like in Old China. While the Red Guards only make her walk down every street saying the words â€Å"I am an evil monster† (Jin 160), instead of burning her alive, Meng Su is beheaded like in the old days. I strongly felt a parallel between the â€Å"blare of horns† announcing the beheading of Mu Ying’s husband. In Ha Jin’s story, the rough death of Meng Su, the husband, constitutes an â€Å"unscheduled event,† which brings White Cat and his companions to the violence of the adult world. The public denunciation of Mu Ying was no longer a thrilling scene, but something that touched them to their souls, evoking their introspection or maybe disillusion about the world. Bare Hips’s vomiting is a strong signal, indicating the shocking effect that the violence may have brought to him. After the shocking experience, they are no longer innocent adolescences, but adults struggling at the verge of understanding. This whole story turned out like a gruesome, tragic circle of misery and unanswered love to me. I think Meng Su loved Mu Ying dearly, but couldn’t take her grudge against men away that she got from the rape by the Russians. Imaginably, as a victim of the gang rape, she must have experienced a hard time of being treated with disdain. Instead of being hit to death by the accident, she has walked out of the shadow of the concept of chastity, and began to enjoy the pleasure of the flesh as well as economic benefits brought about by men, the invader of her virginity. The bitter time she has experienced has actually hardened her heart and paved the way for her further self-liberation, both physically and spiritually. Meng Su couldn’t cope with not saving her from the shame that the Red Guard trial put on her and killed himself, leaving his beloved Mu Ying really alone and helpless at the bus stop.

The Different Elements Of Identity

The Different Elements Of Identity At stake are questions about the linkages of different identity domains, how the various aspects of the self interconnect, and how various identities become active or inactive as people locate themselves in various social contexts (Narvà ¡ez et al 2009) Everyone needs to know who he or she is. This is a question about ones identity. Identity is a complicated and debatable termà £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ It is a set of characteristics that belongs uniquely to somebody. It includes both changeable and stable aspects and is influenced by both outside and inside factors. Ones identity consists of three basic elements: personal identity, family identity and social identity. Each of these elements is determined by individual circumstances (Wetherell et al 2008). First of all, personal identity is about ones moral beliefs and self values. It is showed in the decisions one makes, the way they talk to themselves and the different goals they have achieved in their lives (Wetherell et al 2008). Most people have a standard for right and wrong. People doing the right things would grow honesty and integrity (St Louis 2009). On the other hand, if a person keeps on doing things that they believe to be wrong, they may start to believe they are not to be trusted. These choices will have huge effect on how people consider themselves; this is called sense of worth (Nolan and Rudenstein 2009). Communicating with themselves, people do self-talk (Narvà ¡ez et al 2009) most of the time. This self-talk is an important way to build up the sense of how people consider themselves and their self-identity. Each person has their own standards and values. Each person judges how they are doing according to these criteria (Dyrenfurth 2009). Moreover, ones successes and failures will also affect personal identity (Dyrenfurth 2009). When people achieve their goals they feel accomplished and fulfilled (Narvà ¡ez et al 2009). In contrast, if one fails there occurs a self-questioning (Nolan and Rudenstein 2009). Setting and fighting toward goals also makes people meet their limits, which helps find their abilities as well as limitations. This is important for ones self-identity (Narvà ¡ez et al 2009). Second element is family identity. It is made up of the characteristics a person has been given along with the role in their family they have been born into (Wetherell et al 2008). Family identity builds up the cultural environment in which people will grow their knowledge of who they are. Scientifically, this is about DNA, which is unique to each and everyone. As well, the inherited traits (Narvà ¡ez et al 2009) one receives through birth determines both their mental and physical attributes. Some children may be gifted with high intelligence while others may suffer with an emotional, mental, or physical handicap (Crenshaw 1996, cited in Narvà ¡ez et al 2009). Although these nature born characteristics may have less impact during life experience, they will always have fundamental effects. The bearing on (Wetherell et al 2008) identity or say the role people are born into in their families has been well explored by many psychiatrists. There are many researches exploring the personal characteristics different roles of the family will have. Commonalities of people within each group (Wetherell et al 2008) can be explained by analyzing childrens behaviors in their families. The Firstborns (Wetherell et al 2008) are known to feel they have the responsibility to be the one to set an example in their family (Zylinska 2005, cited in St Louis 2009). While the youngest child of the family are often considered spoiled and not have to fight for as many rights as their older siblings. (St Louis 2009). Though these generalizations may vary in different families, they still impact on ones identity throughout life. Culturally family leads to the way of life one will go. Women and men have always considered having different roles in life (St Louis 009). This is determined in both gender roles and ethnic groups. For example, men are often taught to be the ones to earn money and in contrast, women are to be the homemakers. Men are natural to be tough and unemotional while women are caring and sensitive (Wetherell et al 2008). On ethnic stage, education is one of the most significant aspects in some cultures, while athletic ability or beauty is more important for others (Duany 2003, cited in Nolan and Rubenstein 2009). These are all cultural influences one would receive to build up their sense of identity. . . . the question, and the theorization, of identity is a matter of considerable political significance, and is only likely to be advanced when both the necessity and the impossibility of identities, and the suturing of the psychic and the discursive in their constitution, are fully and unambiguously acknowledged'(Hall 1996, cited in St Louis 2009). Finally, social identity is about ones world around them. It includes what one believes others feel about them and how one believes they fit within their society (Wetherell et al 2008). It is largely influenced by factors such as ones working class, monetary value, education level, and popularity (Dyrenfurth 2009). Owning a company compared to working at the bottom floor of a company creates a different sense of power and security (Nolan and Rubenstein 2009). Positions in employment can impact on the community one lives in and the respect they receive. This is how it impacts on the power and respect one believes they have (Nolan and Rubenstein 2009). This also affected by monetary conditions, as people with wealth are often given the same power and respect in society. A well-dressed person will be more intently listened to in public than one who is poor and in broken clothes. This will transfer over to the sense of worth people feel they have (Dyrenfurth 2009). Moreover, the level of education one experiences effects the belief of ones ability. Society as a whole enforces the separation (Wetherell et al 2008). Many community and business positions require a formal education record without giving exploration to the experiential background of candidates. This may cause one to believe they are more or less equipped, brighter or slower depending on the level of education received (St Louis 2009). Last but not least, ones popularity in society is among the greatest influences upon social-identity. To be popular or not in determined by many aspects. One can hold or lose popularity by showing their charm, good will, humor, intelligence, power, social standing, wealth, beauty and so on. Being liked or not is based on these qualities, which may highly likely cause one to re-evaluate the qualities they believe they have and their elf value and self-identity (Narvà ¡ez et al 2009). Peoples feel of their self-identity will change during their social experiences. In conclusion, with such individuality and uniqueness, it is without a doubt to say identity is complex, but it is also simple to see aspects from where self-identity is gained. Self-identity shifts throughout life with influences of family, personal, and social factors. In the end, ones identity is built up of a set of characteristics that one finds are uniquely belong to oneself.

Morality of Premarital Sex by Religiosity and Generation Essay

Morality of Premarital Sex by Religiosity and Generation Abstract Premarital sex is an issue that most teenagers and young couples face as they enter new phases of their relationship. The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a correlation between acceptance of sexual relations before marriage and religiosity or generation. This study is a cross-sectional, secondary analysis of the variables PREMARSX, RELPERSN, and COHORT (which was recoded into three generation categories), which were extracted from the 1998 General Social Survey (GSS). Data analysis of the three variables was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 10.0, applying Pearson's chi-square as the test of statistical significance and Cramer's V as the measure of association. The results of this study indicate that very religious people are more inclined to view premarital sexual relations as always wrong. When compared to the three generation categories, no significant correlation existed. Introduction Most couples have asked themselves whether or not sex is the next step in their relationship. It enters into both teenage and adult relationships, creating pressure for teenagers to be considered cool by peers and pressure for adults to make a commitment. For some, sex is the basis of the relationship; for others, it is not even an issue until marriage vows are proclaimed. One may conclude that people's views of premarital relations stem from their parents' teachings, from their siblings' influences, from their peer or social groups, from their religious background, or from the era in which they were raised. (â€Å"Teenage Sex, Friends and Family,† 1994, p51) As sexually... ...-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Not Wrong At All 51.69 45.20 42.62 47.48 52.17 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- n= 89 427 61 139 69 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chi-Square = 12.30, df = 12, p>.05; Cramer's V = .077 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We can observe from the table above that there is no relationship between PREMARSX and DEGREE. The chi-square value is 12.30 and is not significant at the .05 level. The Cramer's V indicates that there is a negligible association between the variables with a value of .077.

What Kind of God is He? :: Religion, Genesis, Trials

God puts trials upon everyone, and in Genesis twenty-two he sets Abraham out on his own journey, to sacrifice his own son, Isaac. After all the struggle Abraham and Sarah had to conceive the child, God decides that the boy should be sacrificed to him. And without an even a moment of procrastination or a murmur of woe (Gen 22:3) the man sets off to do God’s bidding. What sort of God would ask a loyal man such as Abraham to do this appalling deed? I believe firmly, that God did not do this so that Abraham would be deprived of the wonders of his offspring, or to have a human burnt offering for his own good, but to gain our trust and show how trustworthy he is. And also to show that if we just listen to what he has to say that we too, will have everything â€Å"provided† for us when urgent times come. He trusted in Adam and Eve, whose adversity started when they turned their ears away from Him and ate the forbidden fruit (Gen 3:6). Or in the story of Cain and Abel, Cain chooses not to listen to God and committed homicide against his brother Abel (Gen 4:8) and is then sent out to Nod. Yet again, another misfortune happened when Lot’s wife ignored the commands of the Lord and looked back at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, only to be turned into a pillar of salt (Gen 19:26). All these stories show how much God trusts in humanity but we either do not listen to his wishes or trust in Him, and because of this disobedience there are severe penalties. And this trend only continues throughout the bible. Abraham, on the other hand, conceded to his rules and does as he is told without even the slightest hesitation. He made his slow venture up the mountain, to the exact place God had shown him, and, builds the altar then ties his son up and getting him ready for the sacrificing (Gen 22:9). But at this point the Lord stopped him. Without shame, for he did as he was told, he announced â€Å"Here I am† (Gen 22 :11). This is unlike Adam whom has to hide himself for going against the Lords will earlier in chapter three of Genesis. And unlike in chapter three, instead of getting reprimanded and punished, Abraham is blessed by the Lord (Gen 22 :16-19), for he did what he was told even though it was a great loss in his family.

Chaos In William Shakespeares King Lear :: essays research papers

A device which Shakespeare often utilized to convey the confusion and chaos within the plot of his plays, is the reflection of that confusion and chaos in the natural environment of the setting, along with supernatural anomalies and animal imageries. In King Lear, these devices are used to communicate the plot, which is summarized by Gloucester as:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   …This villain of mine comes under the prediction: there’s son against father. The King falls from bias of nature: there’s father against child. (Act 1, Sc.1, 115 - 118) The “bias of nature'; is defined as the natural inclination of the world. Throughout the play King Lear, the unnatural inclination of nature, supernatural properties and animal imageries are used by Shakespeare to illustrate the chaotic state of England, which was caused by the treacheries of the evil characters.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gloucester is a character in the play who firmly believed that man’s fate has supernatural properties that are controlled or reflected by the heaven and stars:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  These late eclipses in the sun and moon   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Portend us to no good. Though the wisdom of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  nature can reason it thus and thus, yet nature finds   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  itself scourged by the sequent events. (Act 1, Sc. 2, 109 - 113) This is proclaimed by Gloucester as he is told by Edmund of Edgar’s supposedly treacherous plot to remove him from power. Gloucester’s trust in Edgar faltered as a result of Lear’s irrational banishment of Cordelia and Kent, coupled with recent anomalies in the heavens. Gloucester believed that Lear’s actions also came as a result of the star’s unusual behaviour. Edmund, the treacherous and bastard son of Gloucester, exploits Gloucester’s blind believe in the stars in his plot to oust Edgar out of the inheritance and ultimately to gain all of Gloucester’s wealth and land:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This is the excellent foppery of the world, that when we are sick in fortune (often the surfeits of the sun, the moon, and stars, as if we were villains on necessity; fools by heavenly compulsion; knaves, thieves, and treacherous by spherical predominance; drunkards, liars, and adulterers by an enforced obedience of planetary influence; and all that we are evil in, by a divine thrusting on. (Act 1. Sc. 2, 125 - 133) As a result of the irrational acts of trust by Lear and Gloucester, the state of England crumbled due to corruptness and treachery of Regan, Goneril and Edmund. At the point of ultimate chaos, Lear is disdained by his two evil daughters and has none of the power and honour of his kingship, and the state of nature reflects this chaos in the form of a tumultuous storm:

Proposal Online Banking

There has been a fundamental shift in the use of banking delivery channels toward self-service channels such the Internet [Hernandez-Ortega, 2007]. Internet banking, which was introduced in the early 1990s [Srivastava, 2007], makes it possible to replace the manual service functions provided by bank employees, along with the brick and mortar investment required of financial institutions [Dandapani, et al. , 2008]. It represents an electronic marketplace where consumers may conduct their financial transactions virtually [Reiser, 1997; Daniel, 1999].Today, financial service institutions that offer their services over the Internet are keen to accelerate the adoption process, knowing that the cost of delivering the service over the Internet is much less than delivering the same service over-the-counter [Polatoglu and Ekin, 2001]. In addition, Internet banking is an important innovation that presents institutions a vital distribution channel, which could act as a means of attaining compet itive advantage through cost reduction and better satisfaction of customer needs [Carrington, et al.  , 1997; Kassim and Abdulla, 2006; Mols, 1999].In response to the increased competition, banks in Malaysia are starting to leverage the Internet as a means to provide financial services. An empirical study by Sulaiman, et al. [2005] suggests that the adopters' perceptions of e-banking in developing countries appear to be very favorable. In Malaysia, however, despite the authorities? encouragement to the public to adopt Internet banking, traditional branch-based retail banking remains the most common method for conducting banking transactions.For example, Sivanand, et al.  [2004] found that, although more than 80% of their respondents were aware of Internet banking, less than 10% were currently using the services. With regard to information technology adoption, previous studies have suggested that the set of beliefs that influences an individual to adopt the technology may not be the same as the set of beliefs that leads to his or her initial adoption [Venkatesh, et al. , 2003]. According to Kruglanski and Klar [1985], each time a particular goal of an individual is achieved by a specific behavior, the cognitive link  between the behavior and goal becomes stronger.The result is a cognitive goal-behavior link that creates an automatic response behavior (i. e. , habit). This may suggest that factors that are considered by an individual in the initial stage of adoption may be different from the factors that are considered by him or her after using the technology. Repurchasing intention is one of the important constructs being studied by researchers [Soderlund and Ohman, 2003].Zeithaml, et al.  [1996] suggest that repurchasing intention is associated with a service provider?s ability to get its customers to remain loyal (i. e. , repurchase from the company), spend more with the company, and pay price premiums. In online business, the founder of Amazon. com, Jeff Bezos, noted that one way to build a relationship with customers is by observing their purchase behavior over time [Porter, 1998]. In another aspect, previous literature has highlighted numerous barriers to the adoption of Internet banking.One local finding suggests that the adoption of Internet banking is not so encouraging in Malaysia mainly because of factors such as lack of Internet accessibility, poor awareness, and security concerns [Suganthi, et al. , 2001]. Although there is sufficient evidence that the electronic revolution has commenced in Malaysia, Internet banking research, however, is still in its infancy, particularly with regard to the predictors of intention among current users to continue using the services.This study was undertaken, therefore, to better understand the predictors that may influence current Internet banking users to continue using these services. This paper attempts to determine predictors that may influence the current users of Internet banking to continue using the services. Based on the literature reviewed, we strongly believe that trust, compatibility, and ease of use are key predictors of their intention to continue using Internet banking services. The current users of Internet banking services in Klang Valley, Malaysia, were chosen as the population of this study.1.1 Research Question The objective of this study attempts to answer the following research question: Whether Internet banking services in Klang Valley Malaysia is accepted the Internet banking services for the country growth. Whether Internet banking services could improve the performance in Klang Valley in  Malaysia?1. 2 Problem Statement The explosion of internet usage and the huge funding initiatives in electronic banking have drawn the attention of researchers towards internet banking. (Yi-Shun Wang, Yu-Min Wang, Hsin-Hui Lin, Tzung-I Tang, (2003)) Point out the need for research to identify the factor that determine acceptance of internet banking by the user.  (Yi-Shun Wang, Yu-Min Wang, Hsin-Hui Lin, Tzung-I Tang, (2003))This study focuses on the adoption of Internet banking services by corporate customers in Malaysia and aims to gain a deeper understanding of the factors influencing the adoption of Internet banking services by Malaysian, particularly in Klang Valley customers. (Syed Shah Alam, Rosidah Musa, Faridah Hassan, (2009))1.3 Objective of the StudyThe objective of this project is to study effect of Internet banking services in Klang valley Malaysia on determinant of user acceptance of internet banking. Based on this goal, I have come up with sub-objectives to find out the determinants. The main objective why this study is being undertaken is to analyze whether the internet banking is accepted by people at Klang Valley in Malaysia. To determine that people in Klang Valley can adobe and can used it to improve their bank performance in the future.1.4 Significant of the StudyThis information is at least be able to provi de knowledge to researcher and me as well whether there is effect of financial risk management on financial sector performance in Malaysia and also how far the correlation between it.1.4.2 Investor This knowledge can be used by investor about the impact of financial risk management on financial sector in Malaysia when they need to make a certain decision1.4.3 To Generate Further Research With this study and other thousands research, it would be best to generate more knowledge for the future. As done by past professors and researchers, which now are being updated and improved to adapt to new environment and modern civilization. Not all past research can be reliable in the future, that’s why it is important to continuously keep it updated.1.5 Scope of Study The scope of this study are consist of banks in Malaysia and will focus in major area which is in Klang Valley. These studies are based bank in Klang Valley Malaysia. The data is a primary data and will be gathered directly from customer at the area.CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW2.0 Introduction Basically, in this chapter will briefly explain in detail regarding the previous researches that have been done on overall topics about the determinants of user acceptance of internet banking ; an empirical study Klang Valley in Malaysia. There are several arguments favors and against on this debating issues that had been discover through previous studies.2.1 Previous studiesLichtenstein and Williamson from Australian (2006)Used mass media theories through individual and focus group discussion to determine the decision of internet banking adoption. Findings showed that Australian older people with low income reported themselves were lack of awareness towards internet banking and its advantage, lack of internet lack of internet access and internet confidence, inadequate knowledge and support to use or initial setting up procedure, lack of trust, security and privacy risks were among the reasons of not using inter net banking services.Aktas and Topcu from Turkey (2010)Found that security and reliability were among the important factor that influences the adoption of internet banking. This followed by infrastructural competencies and user friendliness among respondents with accessibility to internet, aged 20 to 45, higher level of education and socioeconomic class. The study used Multi-criteria decision aid-based (MCDA-based).Suganthi and Balachandran from Malaysia (2001)Focused on the factors of accessibility, reluctance to changes, costs, trust in one’s bank, security concerns, convenience, ease of use through online survey that potentially influence internet banking adoption. The results revealed that there were positive significant relationships between accessibility, reluctance to changes and awareness with internet banking adoption.Chung and Payter from Malaysia (2002)Study the information, legal statement, order, ease of use, aesthetics effects, performance and others elements of bank that provide internet banking. The study found that a negative significant relationship between age and internet banking adoption among Klang Valley adopters. Monthly gross income and job position level had positive significant relationship with internet banking adoption among Klang Valley adopters. Further, there was no significant relationship between gender, marital status, ethnic group, level  of education with internet banking adoption.Khalil and Pearson from Malaysia (2007)Applied theory of diffusion of innovation (IDT) (Rogers, 1995) that focused on five key belief (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trial ability and obeservability) and trust (Mayers et al., 1995) to explore the intention to use internet banking among university students. The results of structural equation modeling showed that trust, relative advantage and trial ability significantly influence attitude. The attitude was play as moderator that influences intention to use technology that is internet banking.CHAPTER THREE DATA AND METHODOLOGY3.0 IntroductionThis chapter will focus on the method that will applied, where the procedures is clearly stated and defined. The data section clearly elaborate on the process of collecting data that needs to be obtained in order to perform the tests while the methodology section elaborates on the types of methods or tests that will be performed in order to determine the effective results.3.1 QuestionnaireData that used in this study is by using the number of 300 executive level peoples with a questionnaire investigation. This is based on the primary data that been collect and obtain by the executive level people in the area.3.2 Research Model and Hypotheses1. Perceived usefulness 2. Perceived ease of used 3. Perceived credibility3.3 Computer Self-EfficacyIn general, prior research has suggested a positive relationship between experience with computing technology and a variety of outcomes such as an affect towards computers and comp uter usage (Levin and Gordon, 1989; Harrison and Rainer, 1992; Agarwal and Prasad, 1999). A related construct, called computer self-efficacy, has been examined in the IS literature (e.g. Compeau and Higgins, 1995; Compeau et al., 1999; Hong et al., 2001). Computer self-efficacy is defined as the judgment of one’s ability to use a computer (Compeau and Higgins, 1995).3.4 Research Framework The research framework in this study provides a picture regarding the relationship between Computer Self-Efficiency, Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and Perceived Credibility to Behavior Intention. The Computer Self- Efficacy is the main thing to develop to the three and becoming the Behavior Intention. The figure below will show the relationship of the variables.3.5 Research Model This section will briefly explain the research model and methodology related to this research on the determinant of user acceptance of internet banking : an imperial study Klang Valley in Malaysia. Th e research model will be used to find the relationship between the three factors and will achieved the objectives of this study.3.6 Method usedDescriptive statisticThe following definitions are vital in understanding descriptive statistics: C Variables are quantities or qualities that may assume any one of a set of values. Variables may be classified as nominal, ordinal, or interval. — Nominal variables use names, categories, or labels for qualitative values. Typical nominal variables include gender, ethnicity, job title, and so forth. — Ordinal variables, like nominal variables, are categorical variables. However, the order or rank of the categories is meaningful.For example, staff members may be asked to indicate their satisfaction with a training course on an ordinal scale ranging from â€Å"poor† to â€Å"excellent. † Such categories could be converted to a numerical scale for further analysis. — Interval variables are purely numeric variables. The nominal and ordinal variables noted above are discrete since they do not permit making statements about degree, e. g. , â€Å"Person A is three times more male than person B† or â€Å"Person A rated the course as five times more excellent than person B.†Interval variables are continuous, and the difference between values is both meaningful and allows statements about extent or degree. Income and age are interval variables. C Frequency distributions summarize and compress data by grouping them into classes and recording how many data points fall into each class. The frequency distribution is the foundation of descriptive statistics. It is a prerequisite for the various graphs used to display data and the basic statistics used to describe a data set, such as the mean, median, mode, variance, standard deviation, etc. (See the module on Frequency Distribution for more information.)C. Measures of Central Tendency indicate the middle and commonly occurring points in a d ata set. The three main measures of central tendency are discussed below. — Mean is the average, the most common measure of central tendency. The mean of a population is designated by the Greek letter mu (F). The mean of a sample is designated by the symbol x-bar (0). The mean may not always be the best measure of central tendency, especially if data are skewed. For example, average income is often misleading since those few individuals with extremely high incomes may raise the overall average.  Ã¢â‚¬â€ Median is the value in the middle of the data set when the measurements are arranged in order of magnitude.For example, if 11 individuals were weighed and their weights arranged in ascending or descending order, the sixth value is the median since five values fall both above and below the sixth value. Median family income is often used in statistics because this value represents the exact middle of the data better than the mean. Fifty percent of families would have incomes above or below the median. — Mode is the value occurring most often in the data.If the largest group of people in a sample measuring age were 25 years old, then 25 would be the mode. The mode is the least commonly used measure of central tendency, particularly in large data sets. However, the mode is still important for describing a data set, especially when more than one value occurs frequently. In this instance, the data would be described as bimodal or multimodal, depending on whether two or more values occur frequently in the data set. C Measures of Dispersion indicate how spread out the data are around the mean. Measures of dispersion are especially helpful when data are normally distributed, i.  e. closely resemble the bell curve.The most common measures of dispersion follow. — Variance is expressed as the sum of the squares of the differences between each observation and the mean, which quantity is then divided by the sample size. For populations, it is design ated by the square of the Greek letter sigma (F2 ). For samples, it is designated by the square of the letter s (s2). Since this is a quadratic expression, i. e. a number raised to the second power, variance is the second moment of statistics. Variance is used less frequently than standard deviation as a measure of dispersion.Variance can be used when we want to quickly compare the variability of two or more sets of interval data. In general, the higher the variance, the more spread out the data. — Standard deviation is expressed as the positive square root of the variance, i. e. F for populations and s for samples. It is the average difference between observed values and the mean. The standard deviation is used when expressing dispersion in the same units as the original measurements. It is used more commonly than the variance in expressing the degree to which data are spread out.Pearson product-moment correlation coefficientDefinition Pearson's correlation coefficient betwe en two variables is defined as the covariance of the two variables divided by the product of their standard deviations. The form of the definition involves a â€Å"product moment†, that is, the mean (the first moment about the origin) of the product of the mean-adjusted random variables; hence the modifier product-moment in the name. For a populationPearson's correlation coefficient when applied to a population is commonly represented by the Greek letter Ï  (rho) and may be referred to as the population correlation coefficient or the population Pearson correlation coefficient. The formula for Ï  is:For a sample Pearson's correlation coefficient when applied to a sample is commonly represented by the letter r and may be referred to as the sample correlation coefficient or the sample Pearson correlation coefficient. We can obtain a formula for r by substituting estimates of the covariances and variances based on a sample into the formula above. That formula forr is:An equiv alent expression gives the correlation coefficient as the mean of the products of the standard scores. Based on a sample of paired data (Xi, Yi), the sample Pearson correlation coefficient is where are the standard score, sample mean, and sample standard deviation, respectively. Mathematical properties The absolute value of both the sample and population Pearson correlation coefficients are less than or equal to 1.Correlations equal to 1 or -1 correspond to data points lying exactly on a line (in the case of the sample correlation), or to a bivariate distribution entirely supported on a line (in the case of the population correlation). The Pearson correlation coefficient is symmetric: corr(X,Y) = corr(Y,X). A key mathematical property of the Pearson correlation coefficient is that it is invariant (up to a sign) to separate changes in location and scale in the two variables.That is, we may transform X to a + bX and transform Y to c + dY, where a, b, c, and d are constants, without ch anging the correlation coefficient (this fact holds for both the population and sample Pearson correlation coefficients). Note that more general linear transformations do change the correlation: see a later section for an application of this. The Pearson correlation can be expressed in terms of uncentered moments.Since ÃŽ ¼X = E(X), ÏÆ'X2 = E[(X − E(X))2] = E(X2) − E2(X) and likewise for Y, and since the correlation can also be written as Alternative formulae for the sample Pearson correlation coefficient are also available: The above formula suggests a convenient single-pass algorithm for calculating sample correlations, but, depending on the numbers involved, it can sometimes be numerically unstable.Linear regressionIn linear regression, the model specification is that the dependent variable, is a linear combination of the parameters (but need not be linear in the independent variables). For example, in simple linear regression for modeling data points there is one in dependent variable: , and two parameters, and : straight line: (In multiple linear regression, there are several independent variables or functions of independent variables. ) Adding a term in xi2 to the preceding regression gives: parabola:This is still linear regression; although the expression on the right hand side is quadratic in the independent variable , it is linear in the parameters , and In both cases, is an error term and the subscript indexes a particular observation. Given a random sample from the population, we estimate the population parameters and obtain the sample linear regression model: The residual, , is the difference between the value of the dependent variable predicted by the model, and the true value of the dependent variable . One method of estimation is ordinary least squares.This method obtains parameter estimates that minimize the sum of squared residuals, SSE,[17][18] also sometimes denoted RSS: Minimization of this function results in a set of normal eq uations, a set of simultaneous linear equations in the parameters, which are solved to yield the parameter estimators, . Illustration of linear regression on a data set. In the case of simple regression, the formulas for the least squares estimates are where is the mean (average) of the values and is the mean of the values. See simple linear regression for a derivation of these formulas and a numerical example.Under the assumption that the population error term has a constant variance, the estimate of that variance is given by: This is called the mean square error (MSE) of the regression. The standard errors of the parameter estimates are given by Under the further assumption that the population error term is normally distributed, the researcher can use these estimated standard errors to create confidence intervals and conduct hypothesis tests about the population parameters.General linear modelIn the more general multiple regression model, there are p independent variables:  wher e xij is the ith observation on the jth independent variable, and where the first independent variable takes the value 1 for all i (so is the regression intercept). The least squares parameter estimates are obtained from p normal equations. The residual can be written as The normal equations are In matrix notation, the normal equations are written as where the ij element of X is xij, the i element of the column vector Y is yi, and the j element of is . Thus  X is nÃâ€"p, Y is nÃâ€"1, and is pÃâ€"1. The solution is For a derivation, see linear least squares, and for a numerical example, see linear regression (example).3.7 HypothesisThe null hypothesis of the study is developed to cater for the pooling regression model. The null hypotheses are: 1. (A) H01: Computer self-efficacy will not have a positive effect on perceived usefulness of the Internet banking systems. H11: Computer self-efficacy will have a positive effect on perceived usefulness of the Internet banking systems. (B ) H01: Computer self-efficacy will not have a positive effect on perceived ease of use of the Internet banking systems.H11: Computer self-efficacy will have a positive effect on perceived ease of  use of the Internet banking systems. (C) H01: Computer self-efficacy will not have a negative effect on perceived credibility of the Internet banking systems. H11: Computer self-efficacy will have a negative effect on perceived credibility of the Internet banking systems. 2. H02: Perceived ease of use will not have a positive effect on perceived usefulness of the Internet banking systems. H12: Perceived ease of use will have a positive effect on perceived usefulness of the Internet banking systems.3. H03: Perceived ease of use will not have a positive effect on perceived credibility of the Internet banking systems. H13: Perceived ease of use will have a positive effect on perceived credibility of the Internet banking systems. 4. H04: Perceived ease of use will not have a positive effect on behavioral intention to use the Internet banking systems. H14: Perceived ease of use will have a positive effect on behavioral intention to use the Internet banking systems.3. 8 Expected OutcomeUsing the technology acceptance model as a theoretical framework, this study introduced â€Å"perceived credibility† as a new TAM factor to reflect the user’s security and privacy concerns in the acceptance of Internet banking, and examined the effect of computer self-efficacy on the intention to use Internet banking. Provide evidence of the significant effects of the individual difference variable (i. e. computer self-efficacy) on behavioral intention through perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and perceived credibility.