Jobs in the Geography Field

Jobs in the Geography Field A common question asked of those studying geography is, What are you going to do with that degree? Actually, there are many potential careers for geography majors. While job titles dont often include the word geographer, studying geography teaches young people a wide range of useful skills for the marketplace, including computer, research, and analytical talents that translate well to the workforce. An internship in an area of interest will get your foot in the door and provide valuable on-the-job, real-world experience that will make your resume much more impressive. Here are some options as you begin your job search: Urban Planner/Community Developer Geography is a natural tie-in with urban or city planning. City planners work on zoning, land use, and new developments, from gas station renovations to the development of new sections of the urban geography. Youll work with property owners, developers, and other officials. If youre interested in this area, plan to take urban geography and urban planning classes. An internship with a city planning agency is essential experience for this type of work. Cartographer Those with cartography course backgrounds probably enjoy making maps. News media, book and atlas publishers, government agencies, and others are looking for cartographers to help produce maps. GIS Specialist City governments, county agencies, other governmental bodies, and private groups often need experienced GIS (geographic information system) professionals. Coursework and internships in GIS are especially important. Computer programming and engineering skills are also helpful in this arena- the more you know about computers, the better off you are. Climatologist Organizations such as the National Weather Service, news media, the Weather Channel, and other government entities occasionally need climatologists. These jobs usually go to those with meteorology degrees, but a geographer with experience and coursework in meteorology and climatology would definitely be an asset. Transportation Manager Regional transit authorities and shipping, logistics, and transportation companies look kindly on applicants with transportation geography and good computer and analytical skills in their backgrounds. Environmental Manager Environmental assessment, cleanup, and management companies do business throughout the world. A geographer brings excellent skills to project management and the development of papers such as environmental impact reports. Its a wide-open field with tremendous growth opportunities. Writer/Researcher During your college years, youve undoubtedly spent time developing your writing skills, and as a geography major, you know how to research. Consider a career as a science writer or travel writer for a magazine or newspaper. Teacher Becoming a high school or university geography instructor requires additional education beyond your undergraduate degree, but it would be rewarding to instill your love of geography in future geographers. Becoming a geography professor would allow you to research geographic topics and add to the body of geographic knowledge. Emergency Manager Emergency management is an under-explored field for geographers but fertile ground for . geography majors. They understand interactions between humans and the environment, know about hazards and earth processes, and can read maps. Add a bit of political acumen and leadership skills and you have a great emergency manager. Get started in this field by taking hazard courses in geography, geology, and sociology and interning with an emergency management agency or the Red Cross. Demographer For a population geographer who loves demographic data, what could be more rewarding than becoming a demographer working for state or federal agencies to help develop population estimates and other information? The U.S. Census Bureau actually has a position titled Geographer. Interning in a local planning agency would help you get started. Marketer Another way to become involved in demography, the study of human populations, is marketing, where you gather demographic information and get the word out to those interested in the demographics youre researching. This is one of the more glamorous arenas for a geographer. Foreign Service Officer Every country on Earth has a diplomatic corps to represent their homeland abroad. Geographers are excellent candidates for this type of career. In the United States, you begin the process of becoming a foreign service officer by taking the Foreign Service Officer Test. The work can be difficult but rewarding. You might spend years, if not your entire career, away from home, but depending on the assignment, that might be just fine. Librarian/Information Scientist Your research skills as a geographer apply particularly well to working as a librarian. If you want to help people navigate the world of information, this could be the career for you. National Park Service Ranger Are you a physical geographer who needs to be outside and wouldnt consider working in an office? A career in the National Park Service could be right up your alley. Real Estate Appraiser Real estate appraisers develop an estimate of value for a piece of property, researching market areas, assembling data, and using various analytical techniques to provide a number that reflects all market evidence. This multidisciplinary field incorporates aspects of geography, economics, finance, environmental planning, and law. Typical appraisal tools include aerial photos, topographic maps, GIS, and GPS, which also are the tools of a geographer.

Incomplete Parallels

Incomplete Parallels Incomplete Parallels Incomplete Parallels By Mark Nichol In each of the following sentences, an associated pair of phrases are not optimally stated and organized to make their relationship clear. The discussion after each statement proposes a solution, which follows in each case. 1. Follow with user support and usage monitoring to ensure a smooth transition and an optimal user experience during and post-implementation. In this sentence, during and the prefix post share implementation (and post should be directly attached, with no hyphen), but a preposition and a prepositional prefix cannot share a root word, so replace post with a distinct preposition: â€Å"Follow with user support and usage monitoring to ensure a smooth transition and an optimal user experience during and after implementation.† 2. Millions of Americans, including younger citizens, recent immigrants, and those who do not use credit actively, have a limited or no credit history. The parallel structure of â€Å"a limited or no† is not erroneous, but the idea is more clearly communicated with more complete wording: â€Å"Millions of Americans, including younger citizens, recent immigrants, and those who do not use credit actively, have a limited credit history or none at all.† 3. Such programs should be based on a clear understanding and an evaluation of potential threats of data loss.   Understanding cannot share a preposition with evaluation, because the article an grammatically partitions the two nouns. (An cannot be omitted, because doing so will imply that clear applies to evaluation as well as to understanding.) Assign understanding its own iteration of of, and, to provide further clarity, treat the corresponding phrase as a parenthetical: â€Å"Such programs should be based on a clear understanding of, and an evaluation of, potential threats of data loss.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Great Similes from Literature to Inspire You5 Lessons for Mixing Past and Present TenseWords That Begin with Q

Write a response to the film Genetics and Public Policy. What was new Movie Review

Write a response to the film Genetics and Public Policy. What was new to you What surprised you Did you agree with the arguments presented - Movie Review Example Watching the film, I found it amazing to what extent genes control human organisms. I have read about genes before, but I had no idea about the latest findings in the industry. They make up chromosomes, which compose DNA. The documentary states that 99% of DNA people have are identical and only 1% makes all people unique. Any deviations in chromosomes result in disabilities or certain diseases like sickle cell disease or Down syndrome. Indeed, if people can observe the development of chromosomes and detect deviations in their number or structure, they can help couples have healthy children. It is interesting that scientists can use genetic testing to â€Å"program children†; for instance they could influence eyes color or even sex of a future child. In this way people can predict and support healthy and sustainable future generation. The biggest surprise for me is that scientists do not share common views on the need of regulation for genetic testing. Some of them say that government already pays too much attention to what they do and it makes the process slower. The other group of scientists believes that the process is already too fast and government should impose more regulations on genetic testing. This group of scientists is afraid of opening a new Pandora box because nobody knows how far people can go in search of a perfect human being. I agree with the arguments which support stronger regulations for genetic testing. It is a great progress in science, but its results will support unwanted consequences such as greater gap between the rich and the poor. All scientists agree that genetic testing is a costly procedure; as a result, only rich people will afford to use it to have better and healthier children. Poor children will be deprived of these advances and their children will be weaker. Moreover, disabled people will be oppressed by the fact that their parents could prevent their disability but they did not do it. Developing technologies

Report and PowerPoint presentation about comparing between two Dining Essay

Report and PowerPoint presentation about comparing between two Dining Hall - Essay Example Others will have their dining halls centralized at one building while others prefer decentralized services. However, the ultimate objective of these plans is providing quality and affordable meals to the students. in this easy, I present my findings from an analysis of two leading universities’ dining halls in the state of Florida, the Florida University of Technology dining hall and the University of Florida dining hall. Features of the Florida University of Technology dining hall Centralization into one building The Florida University of Technology dining hall, commonly known as the Panther Dining Hall, is the sole food provider to the students in the campus. Located at the main residential building in the university, the dining hall seeks to provide the students with convince in the accessibility of food to the students. ... With its large windows that always remain open; the dining hall has a good supply of air. Additionally, students can enjoy outside weather, by choosing to eat from the outside. There are cleaners who constantly keep on mopping the floor, thus maintaining its clean nature. Quality and variety of meals Despite being the sole food provider in the university, the dining hall strives to offer the students with a variety of meals that are high quality and affordable. Professionally prepared and packaged, the students receive high standard services from the dining hall. Having a meal in the hall gives one the impression of eating from a three star restaurant. Among the popular meals available in the dining hall to the students, include pizza buffet, pasta to order, deli, dessert, home-style entree with carvery, and salad (â€Å"Florida Institute of Technology,† 2013.) Presence of bars and international drinks Within its premises, there is an international bar and grill, which serves students with different alcoholic brands. With a variety of different alcoholic beverages, most of which are drawn from different countries, the dining hall factors in the international students (â€Å"Florida Institute of Technology,† 2013.) Therefore, one does not have to leave the campus premises in order to have their drinks. Not unless the students want to for a night out in the city, the dining hall fully caters for all the drinks that students could require. This enhances their security, as they do not have to leave the school compound most of the times. Different alcoholic bars and beverage bars The dining hall also has a beverage bar, one that serves the non-alcoholic drinks to the students (â€Å"Florida Institute of Technology,† 2013). This

Alexander Hamilton Essay Example for Free

Alexander Hamilton Essay There are four reasons why Alexander Hamilton argued in favor of the development of manufacturing. His first reason was that manufacturing would help the economy. The economy would grow financially and manufacturing would cause more trade. His second reason was that manufacturing would bring down tariffs, which would cause more trade and jobs. His third reason was that manufacturing would bring more immigration to the â€Å"Young America†. With the new population it will expand America and open more areas for trade. His last reason was employment. Having manufacturing would create more jobs through farming and factories. Alexander Hamilton’s way of helping the United States Government was very wise. Hamilton reasoned that helping the Government would secure American independence. He thought that the United States needed to have a sound policy of encouraging the growth of manufacturing and at the same time he wanted to make sure that the United States’ future was still strong. He argued for the development of manufacturing because he believed that he could achieve the subsidies of the economy by giving away tariffs. He thought that if the United States government gave high tariffs then no one would want to trade with the United States. He also believed that his polices would not only help trade but help other weaknesses of the economy such as employment and immigration. These policies would not only promote the growth of manufacturing but provide diversified employment opportunities and promote immigration into the â€Å"Young America†. They would also expand the applications of technology and science for all quarters of the economy, including agriculture. The Industrial Revolution was the most important development during the 19th century. It brought many changes towards American Life. A new class of industrial engineers organized the land, labor, mineral resources, and capital of the nation, to maximize both the production and profit. There were many new inventions in, transportation and communication, and in the use of the assembly-line techniques that made the growth of huge, nationally based industries with enormous financial and political influence. A group of small independent farmers, craft workers, and merchants became one big business for industrial centers. Immigrants and farmers alike poured into large industrial centers to compete for jobs.

Gender Differences :: essays papers

Gender Differences I was surprised finding out that the topic for our paper was about our feelings of belonging to the other gender. I think the title of the book "Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus" by John Gray applies to how different men and women are in their attitudes, feelings and lifestyles. This experience for me will be enjoyable for me since I have never thought what it would be like to be a female and also to hopefully give me a better insight on a few questions that have interest me about women since I was a little kid. Both, men and women, are constantly concerned about looking "good" even though they are physically different. In order to look appealing to others, men are supposed to be big, strong, and athletic, whereas women are supposed to be thin, pretty, and big-breasted. I often wonder why we put so much emphasis on the way a person looks. I think females feel more of the pressures of looking "good". In the past, I've talked to some of my girlfriends and they told me that the pressure and competition they are faced with is stressful and painful. I told them that I am not too critical when checking out girls and when it comes to seeing other males bigger or stronger than myself, that I don't feel too much pressure of trying to look better than them. I am rather more concerned of my own health and ways to improve it. I was really surprised when they told me that other girls are the ones who usually criticize or pressure them. When I was aware of this, I did notice, at times, while walking around casually with my girl friends, when they weren't looking appropriate, would get stares, hisses or comments from other females. I was even surprised when I heard my girlfriends talking about other girls right in front of me, even though most of these time s I didn't notice anything wrong or different about the other girls they were talking about. From this observation, I think the pressure of always looking good would be greater if I was to be a female. I would always try to look good and to please others. Girls, I think, are faced with enormous pressures to look good. Television, for example, almost never features old,

Customer’s Adoption of Mobile-Commerce a Study on Emerging Economy

International Journal of e-Education, e-Business, e-Management and e-Learning, Vol. 1, No. 3, August 2011 Customer’s Adoption of Mobile-Commerce A Study on Emerging Economy Rahmath Safeena, Nisar Hundewale, and Abdullah Kamani Abstract—Today, mobile communication technologies provide immense additional scope for consumers’ banking transactions due to their always-on functionality and the option to access bank’s facilities anytime and anywhere. Mobile banking is a subset of electronic banking which underlies not only the determinants of the banking business but also the special conditions of mobile commerce.It is the latest and most innovative service offered by the banks. But not enough study has been done to known regarding how customers perceive and evaluate electronically delivered mobile banking services. The study considers five factors perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norm, consumer awareness about mobile banking and perceived risks associated with mobile banking. This study also points out that these factors have a strong and positive effect on customers to accept mobile banking system. Index Terms—m-commerce, mobile banking; perceived usefulness, ease of use, risk, awareness, subjective norm.I. INTRODUCTION The proliferation of, and rapid advances in, technology-based systems, especially those related to the internet, are leading to fundamental changes in how companies interact with customers [1-3]. Mobile phone usage has spread in a very broad manner both in developing and developed countries. With mobile communications already as a prime case for leapfrogging traditional infrastructure, mobile banking (M-Banking) has great potential for extending the provision of financial services to unbanked people through a technology that is both familiar and widespread.One of the first commercial applications of the mobile commerce was mobile banking (m-banking) [4], [5]. The rapid growth of mobile applica tions has given rise to a new term: m-commerce. M-commerce is defined as the application of wireless communications networks and devices to the execution of transactions with monetary value – either direct or indirect [6]. As the number of mobile phone users is growing, purchasing products and services using mobile phones and other mobile devices are also increasing; also the use of Mobile Banking is still in initial stages and more research in this field is needed [7].Internet banking and mobile banking (m-banking) has become the self-service delivery channel that allows banks to provide information and offer services to their customers with more convenience via the web services technology. A key component of many initiatives is the implementation of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software [8]. Many companies in the financial services sector have been quick to implement Internet capabilities, and electronic service is becoming a viable option for interaction between financial service providers and their customers [9].Customer satisfaction and customer retention are increasingly developing into key success factors in e-banking [2]. Technology, in particular, has been increasingly employed in service organizations to enhance customer service quality and delivery, reduce costs, and standardize core service offerings [1], [9-11]. Mobile banking service allows customers to manage their accounts with ease. Mols et al. , [12] stated that the diffusion of electronic banking is more determined by customer acceptance than by seller offerings.Not enough is known regarding how customers perceive and evaluate electronically delivered services. Lee and Lin [10] have also recently highlighted the need for further research to measure the influence of e-service on customer-perceived service quality and satisfaction [1]. This study considers the five factors perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norm, consumer awareness about mobile banking and perceived risks associated with mobile banking. Half of the people that have tried mobile banking services will not become active users.Highly publicized cases involving major security failures might have contributed to the public’s concern and lack of acceptance of mobile banking. The present study aims at examining the impact of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norm, and consumer awareness on mobile banking and perceived risk on the acceptance of mobile banking by the consumers. II. MOBILE BANKING With mobile commerce or m-commerce technology, consumers can use mobile phones, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) and laptop computers to access the internet, send and receive messages and make transactions at ny time from any places without having tied to a particular location [13]. Mobile banking is a subset of electronic banking which underlies not only the determinants of the banking business but also the special conditions of mobile commerce. Mobile Ban king has been gaining increasing popularity amongst various sections of the society for past few years, having recovered from the shock of the dot-com burst [14]. Mobile Banking refers to provision and availment of banking- and financial services with the help of mobile telecommunication devices.The scope of offered services may include facilities 228 Manuscript received July 12; revised July 25, 2011. Rahmath Safeena, Nisar Hundewale, Abdullah Kamani, are College of Computers and Information Technology, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia (e-mail:safi. [email  protected] com,e-mail:n. [email  protected] edu. sa,e-mail:abd ullah. [email  protected] edu. sa) International Journal of e-Education, e-Business, e-Management and e-Learning, Vol. 1, No. 3, August 2011 to conduct bank and stock market transactions, to administer accounts and to access customized information [15].With mobile technology, banks can offer services to their customers such as doing funds transfer while trav elling, receiving online updates of stock price or even performing stock trading while being stuck in traffic. Smart phones and 3G connectivity provide some capabilities that older text message-only phones do not. The convergence of mobile communications and distributed networked computing has provided the foundation for the development of a new channel of electronic business, mobile business [15].Mobile business (m-business) is defined as the use of the mobile information technologies, including the wireless Internet, for organizational communication and coordination, and the management of the firm [16]. M-Banking is a term used for performing balance checks, account transactions, payments, credit applications etc. via a mobile device such as a mobile phone or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). It is the convenient, simple, secure, anytime and anywhere banking. Many new e-commerce applications will be possible and significantly benefit from emerging ireless and mobile networks. Thes e applications can collectively be termed wireless e-commerce or mobile commerce [17]. The earliest mobile banking services were offered via SMS. With the introduction of the first primitive smart phones with WAP (wireless application protocol) support enabling the use of the mobile web in 1999, the first European banks started to offer mobile banking on this platform to their customers [15]. SMS Banking is a Mobile technology that allows you to request and receive banking information from your bank on your mobile phone via SMS [18].WAP banking is another form of the E-banking that enables the user to communicate interactively with the bank, for which client uses only GSM mobile phone with WAP service. With its options and the method of controlling WAP banking reminds an easy form of Internet banking. WAP is a universal standard for bringing Internet-based content and advanced value-added services to wireless devices such as phones and PDAs [19]. III. CONSUMER ATTITUDE TOWARDS M-BAN KING Technological innovations are having significant importance in human general and professional life. This era can safely be attributed as technology revolution.The quick expansion of information technology has imbibed into the lives of millions of people. Rapid technology advancements have introduced major changes in the worldwide economic and business atmosphere [20]. Research on consumer attitude and adoption of mobile banking showed there are several factors predetermining the consumer’s attitude towards online banking such as person’s demography, motivation and behavior towards different banking technologies and individual acceptance of new technology. It has been found that consumer’s attitudes toward online banking are influenced by the prior experience of computer and new technology [21].The adoption of electronic banking forces consumers to consider concerns about password integrity, privacy, data encryption, hacking, and the protection of personal i nformation [22]. Electronic banking requires perhaps the most consumer involvement, as it requires the 229 consumer to maintain and regularly interact with additional technology (a computer and an Internet connection) [23]. Consumers who use e-banking use it on an ongoing basis and need to acquire a certain comfort level with the technology to keep using it [24]. Customer adoption is a recognized dilemma for the strategic plans of financial institutions.Several studies have investigated why individuals choose a specific bank. Important consumer selection factors include convenience, service facilities, reputation and interest rates [25], [26]. According to Delvin [27], customers have less time to spend on activities such as visiting a bank and therefore want a higher degree of convenience and accessibility. The service-quality attributes that the Internet banks must offer to induce consumers to switch to online transactions and keep using them are perceived usefulness, ease of use, reliability, responsiveness, security, and continuous improvement [28].In another study by [29], they found that individual expectations regarding accuracy, security, network speed, user-friendliness, and user involvement and convenience were the most important quality attributes in the perceived usefulness of Internet-based e-retail banking. The crucial factors that affect an individual’s decision to use or not to use online services the age, the difficulties of using the Internet, fear of changes in banking sector due to technological development and lack of information concerning products and services provided to customers through electronic delivery channels.Factors such as speed of transactions or the cost of using the Internet have little impact on an individual’s final decision [30]. In the study by [1], revealed six composite dimensions of electronic service quality, including the provision of convenient/accurate electronic banking operations; the accessibility and reliability of service provision; good queue management; service personalization; the provision of friendly and responsive customer service; and the provision of targeted customer service. Perceived usefulness, security and privacy are the main perusing factors to accept online banking system [20].According to a study WAP, GPRS and 3G features from mobile devices are of no significance or influence in the adoption of e-banking services [31]. IV. RESEARCH MODEL AND HYPOTHESES Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are the two components of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). According to [32],†perceived usefulness is the extent to which a person believes that using a particular system will enhance his or her performance, while perceived ease of use is the extent to which a person believes that using a particular system will be free of effort†.TAM has been widely used by information system researcher; there is a common agreement among them that the model is val id in predicting the individual’s acceptance of new technologies [33-36]. Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use is significant factors affecting acceptance of an information system or new technologies. Prior research has empirically found positive relationship between perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness as critical factors on the use of e- banking [31], [37-39]. Hence an application perceived to be useful International Journal of e-Education, e-Business, e-Management and e-Learning, Vol. , No. 3, August 2011 perceived to be easier to use than another is more likely to be accepted by users. By applying these into online banking context we hypothesize: H1: Perceived usefulness has a positive effect on intention to adopt and use MB. H2: Perceived ease of use has a positive effect on intention to adopt and use MB Adoption is the acceptance and continued use of a product, service or idea. According to [40], [41], consumers go through â€Å"a process of knowled ge, persuasion, decision and confirmation† before they are ready to adopt a product or service.The adoption or rejection of an innovation begins when â€Å"the consumer becomes aware of the product†. Consumers will seek out services which offer the best value for money. Hence, for adoption of mobile banking, it is necessary that the banks offering this service make the consumers aware about the availability of such a product and explain how it adds value relative to other products of its own or that of the competitors. An important characteristic for any adoption of innovative service or product is creating awareness among the consumers about the service/product [40].The amount of information consumers have about online banking has been identified as a major factor impacting the adoption. According to [40], while the use of online banking services is fairly new experience to many people, low awareness of online banking is a major factor in causing people not to adopt on line banking. In an empirical study of Australian consumers found that consumers were unaware about the possibilities, advantages/disadvantages involved with online banking. Hence, we posit that:H3: Awareness about MB has a positive effect on intention to adopt and use MB Perceptions of risk are a powerful explanatory factor in consumer behavior as individuals appear to be more motivated to avoid mistakes than to maximize purchasing benefits [42]. The construct Perceived Risk reflects an individual’s subjective belief about the possible negative consequences of some type of planned action or behavior, due to inherent uncertainty. Pavlou [43] refers to perceived system risk as the overall amount of uncertainty perceived by an organization in a particular purchase situation.The Perceived Risk associated with online transactions may reduce perceptions of behavioral and environmental control, and this lack of control is likely to negatively influence e-commerce usage intentions [ 44]. Similar is with m-commerce applications. Diffusion of innovation literature is often silent on perceived risk as a factor influencing the diffusion of an innovation, despite adoption behavior often being a process of dealing with the uncertainty about incorporating an innovation into ongoing practice [45].Services are inherently more risky than products and that the major reason for this is the higher levels of uncertainty which are associated with services [42], [46], [47]. Polatoglu and Ekin [48] also found that perceived risk was one of the major factors affecting consumer adoption, as well as customer satisfaction of mobile banking services. Perceived risk usually arises from uncertainty. Hence we hypothesize: H4: Perceived risks have a negative impact on intention to adopt and use MB. Subjective norm is the perceived social pressure to engage 230 or not to engage in a behavior.Subjective norm is determined by the total set of accessible normative beliefs concerning the exp ectations of important referents [49]. It is the person’s perception that most people who are important to him think he should or should not perform the behavior in question [50]. individual often respond to social normative influences to establish a favorable image within a reference group. Moore and Benbasant define image as the degree to which use of an innovation is perceived to enhance one’s status in social system [51]. H5: Subjective norm has a positive effect on intention to adopt and use MB.RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Perceived usefulness Perceived ease of use Awareness Perceived risk Subjective Norm Fig. 1. RESEARCH MODEL Mobile Banking Adoption The key intention of this paper is to evaluate those factors that manipulate the nature of customers towards mobile banking and their growing tendency towards the online financial institutions. A survey instrument in the form of questionnaire was developed through data collected from previous studies on acceptance of mobile banking. We constructed several questions in the questionnaire based on the objectives of the research.SPSS 12 package was used for analysis. Likert scale is used in order to identify the respondents’ perceptions towards mobile banking adoption. During the interviews we sought general information from the managers about mobile banking and asked them to discuss the reasons for undertaking mobile banking and to highlight mobile banking development challenges. We also asked them to discuss the issues relevant to the future of the initiative. The questionnaires were based on customers’ intention to adopt mobile banking. Sample Convenience sampling method was used.It is a type of non-probability sampling which involves the sample being drawn from that part of the population which is close to hand, i. e, sample population selected because it is readily available and convenient. The reasons of using this sampling type are twofold. First, it offers an easy way to obtain the ra w data for the further analysis. Second, it saves times and costs since the respondents can be randomly selected. Choosing this campus is because of two reasons. First, those business and economics student are revealed with the knowledge of applied business and economics.At the same time, they are equipped with the knowledge of computer science, where the concept of mobile banking is not an alien for these students. Second, it was found that there is no study ever conducted in International Journal of e-Education, e-Business, e-Management and e-Learning, Vol. 1, No. 3, August 2011 the campus, it leaves a motivation to the research to perform a study in order to investigate the students’ adoption for mobile banking in the near future. Table 1 shows the profile of the respondents. The sample shows that the number of male (78. 84%) respondents is higher than the number of female (21. 15%) respondents.The sample shows that the largest age group that responded was from 20 to 30 ye ars of age (82. 7%), followed by age 31 to 40 (11. 5%), then 41 to 50 (03. 8%) and >50 (1. 9%). In the education background more than 55% of the respondents were postgraduate students and more than 28% were graduate students and 11. 5% were PhD students. TABLE I: PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS Items No. of Respondent 42 Male 11 Female 20-30 43 31-40 6 41-50 2 >50 1 Graduate 15 Postgraduate 29 PhD 6 Other 2 Factor loading values were obtained using varimax rotation. According to the above table, most of the factor loading for each instrument exceeded 0. , meeting the essentially significant level of convergent validity. Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization. Rotation converged in 6 iterations. Using eigenvalue greater than 1 as a selection criterion. Each has cumulative frequency of 21. 11, 43. 16, 52. 85, 58. 55 and 69. 94 percent respectively. These factors accounted for 69% of the variance and the factor loading were greate r than 0. 6. Hence the results show that H1, H2, H3, H4 and H5 are confirmed. The results are consistent and are supported by previous studies.TABLE II: RELIABILITY TEST Determinants No. of items PU 7 PEU 5 AW 7 PR 6 SN 2 Reliability 0. 834 0. 760 0. 836 0. 600 0. 778 Demographics Gender Age group Education Percent 78. 84 21. 15 82. 7 11. 5 3. 8 1. 9 28. 8 55. 8 11. 5 3. 8 V. DISCUSSION AND FINDINGS Although mobile banking provides flexibility in performing financial transaction, fast and easy, however individuals are still reluctant to adopt the system because of several reasons. First, the security and privacy are two elements in the perceived risk. Without a proper knowledge of the system, individuals are not interested to test the system.Perceived usefulness, ease of use and consumer awareness has positive impact on the intention to adopt mobile banking while perceived risk has negative impact on it. When online banking is perceived as useful, customer’s intention to adop t it would be greater. Likewise bank customers are likely to adopt mobile banking when it is easy to use. Social influence has positive effect on the use of mobile technology as the individuals think that using the advanced technology will improve his image and status in the society and also it improves his performance.This shows that bank customers anchor their online banking adoption intention to the beneficial outcomes and ease of use process of the system. This finding is particularly important for managers as they decide how to allocate resources to retain and expand their current customer base. However, building a risk-free online transaction environment is much more difficult than providing benefits to customers. Further, the research instrument was tested for reliability using Cronbach’s coefficient alpha estimate. The Cronbach’s alpha values for all dimensions range from 0. 60 to 0. 93, exceeding the minimum alpha of 0. [52], thus the constructs measures are d eemed reliable. Principal component factor analysis with a varimax rotation was conducted. The aim of factors analysis is to confirm the construct validity of the scales could be performed adequately by using principle component analysis. In order to reach this, the minimum factor loading of 0. 6 on its hypothesized constructs is proposed by Nunnally [53]. A number of analyses were conducted for factors analysis. 231 PU PU1-0. 680 PU2-0. 681 PU3-0. 761 PU4-0. 827 PU5-0. 664 PU6-0. 735 PU7-0. 647 TABLE III: FACTOR LOADING SN PEU AW PR PEU1-0. 558 AW1-0. 50 PR1-0. 833 SN1-0. 901 PEU2-0. 577 AW2-0. 711 PR2-0. 658 SN2-0. 886 PEU3-0. 537 AW3-0. 658 PR3-0. 759 PEU4-0. 569 AW4-0. 600 PR4-0. 650 PEU5-0. 824 AW5-0. 662 PR5-0. 679 AW6-0. 662 PR6-0. 741 AW7-0. 658 Code PU1 PU2 PU3 PU4 PU5 PU6 PU7 PEU1 PEU2 PEU3 PEU4 PEU5 AW1 AW2 AW3 AW4 AW5 AW6 AW7 PR1 PR2 PR3 PR4 PR5 PR6 SN1 SN2 TABLE IV: FACTOR EXPLANATIONS. Statements MB gives flexibility to conduct banking business 24 hours/day MB transact ions save more time. MB makes it easier for me to do my banking. MB helps me to know the state of my account faster. MB provides me prompt and efficient services.MB provides systems to give appropriate feedback. MB gives the joy of controlling my financial transactions. Learning to use MB was easy for me. Instructions in the MB system are clear and understandable. I find MB system easy to use. MB has more flexible ways to search for information. I feel that user-friendliness of the MB website is important. I think that I am aware about the benefits of MB I think that I have received enough information about MB. I will frequently use MB in the future. I will strongly recommend others to use MB. I think that using the new MB service is beneficial for me.I have positive perception about using the MB service. MB is compatible to my banking needs. MB will allow unauthorized person to access personal information. MB provides accurate, relevant and up to date information. MB has the chance of data loss and fraud. MB needs expertise and training. MB has inadequate information on the website and less operational reliability. I trust the ability of MB to protect my privacy. People who are important to me think that I should use MB facilities People who influence my behavior think I should use the MB. International Journal of e-Education, e-Business, e-Management and e-Learning, Vol. , No. 3, August 2011 VI. CONCLUSION The result of this study shows that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norm, consumer awareness and perceived risk are the important determinants of mobile banking adoption. This study meets the desired objective; but it suffers from one setback. Study concludes that majority of customers are accepting online banking because of many favorable factors. 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Apples Ethics and Social Responsibility Essay

Apples ethics and social responsibility In researching the Apple Company’s Social (Supplier) and ethical responsibilities I found that their initiatives are geared toward Empowering Workers, Labor & Human Rights, Health & Safety, Environment and Accountability. I think their approach is interesting but I feel that a large company like Apple can do way more for the local communities and country as a whole. Apples stance on empowering their workers is a wonderful thing. I think more companies need to recognize that a happy workforce makes for an overall greater employee and customer experience. Apple Inc. employs staff all over the world and is committed to treating employees with respect and dignity. The company provides educational resources for all of their employees giving them the opportunity to earn an undergraduate degree. Apple has very high standards and expectations in the industry. They provide their employees with the appropriate tools necessary to meet the high bar set forth; communicate and maintain a safe and respectable workplace. Training on the Apples Code of Conduct is mandatory for all new and existing employees. When it comes to Labor & Human Rights Apple is committed to ending excessive work hours, providing a foundation for ethical employment, preventing underage labor, stopping excessive recruitment fees and bonded labor and responsible sourcing of minerals. Apple only does business with companies that uphold the highest commitment to Human Rights. Apple has very high standards in Health & Safety, Environment and Accountability. They believe that every worker has the right to a safe and healthy workplace. Improving health and safety is essential and all workers receive the appropriate education on the topic. All apple suppliers must work alongside of apple to reduce their environmental impact and use a number of methods to identify risks. Apple believes in accountability for themselves and suppliers and has strengthened their code of conduct to meet the responsibility standards. In my opinion Apple has not quite met their  Social Responsibility standards, and can do more. In 2012 the NY Post reported that Apple was trying to get rid of the reputation as stingiest company. They made over $150 million in charitable donations split between multiple organizations that year. They donated 500,000 to â€Å"SF Gives† in May of 2014. But giving back has never been an immediate priority of Apple as Steve Jobs stated. Not to mention all of the negative publicity Apple has received in reference to the working c onditions of their overseas warehouses. Apple’s Reputation Have you ever heard the saying you are â€Å"guilty by association†? Unfortunately that is the way the world works. Foxconn is the main producer of Apple’s products along with a number of other well-known companies. Based out of China the Foxconn-Apple warehouse that employs over 500,000 workers has been in the media in recent years regarding violation of the Labor & Human rights laws. In July 2009, an employee at the Foxconn warehouse that makes iPad committed suicide after his home was raided; he was badly beaten and humiliated over a missing iPhone. In a report released in early 2011 by the Guardian there were a large number of suicides from Foxconn-Apple facilities in China. It is said that the tragic suicides were a result of the employees being overworked and deplorable working conditions. The guardian also reported in late 2012 91 children working at one of Apple’s Foxconn suppliers which is almost ten times more than what was reported in the previous years. This does not meet the very high standards set forth by the company in the eyes of the general public. In 2009, 137 employees were poisoned by n-hexane use at one of the Apple- Wintek LCD plants in East China. N-Hexane is a narcotic that attacks the nervous system when exposed to it. This poison was used for drying touchscreens in order to speed up production to fill larger orders received by the factory. Most of the workers impacted were forced to resign and absolve Wintek of all future responsibility. It is rumored that Apple and Wintek were very slow to react to the incidents. Apples reputation has definitely taken a hit from the negative publicity surrounding their overseas suppliers. In an effort to clean all of this up Apple has vowed to eliminate child labor and excessive work hours throughout the complete supply chain. They want to ensure that the supplier code of conduct is being enforced and practiced at all times.  Foxconn has taken steps to prevent future suicide attempts by installing preventative suicide nets around their buildings, providing counselling and requiring employees to sign a no-suicide agreement prior to employment. Apple has also prohibited the use of n-hexane and states that the product is no longer in use at any facility associated with the company. Suppliers Adherence to Wage and Benefit Standards The various labor practice violations among Apple’s suppliers still remain very high. In 2012 China Watch reported- after investigating the working conditions of 10 of Apple-Foxconn facilities. They determined that it was not only the Foxconn facilities with deplorable work conditions, but it exists within Apple’s supply chain. According to epi.org Apple itself finds that in more than 28% of cases, suppliers are not compliant with the wage and benefit standards set. In early 2012 the Fair Labor Association (FLA) conducted a month long investigation and uncovered significant issues at three Foxconn facilities in China. Among the issues found were -excessive overtime, issues being compensated for overtime, severe communication gaps which led to unsafe working conditions amongst the workers and an overall unhealthy deplorable environment. Although Apple is â€Å"committed† to ensuring fair Labor and Human rights, they should take additional steps to enforce their Supplier Responsibility Standards. I’d first recommend for the company to have a significant increase in the number of independent audits performed annually on overseas warehouses. This will help ensure that employees are not working excessive overtime or receiving lower than minimum wages. Communication is an absolute necessity in large warehouses, and every incident should be documented. The audits can also be vital in making sure that the workers are in a reasonably safe and healthy environment. Apple Inc. needs substantial improvement in the realm of transparency and secrecy in order to eliminate labor rights abuses by its suppliers. The majority of the company’s â€Å"secretive practices† involve the complete supply chain. Some of their factories are said to be gated off and have police /security to prevent trespassing, workers must sign confidentiality agreements and live in dorms within the factories. Apple reports the percentage of their suppliers that violate the code of conduct, but will not release the names of the actual facilities that were not compliant. The company needs to be  more forthcoming and discontinue the secretive practices that prevent the general public from observing working conditions and business practices within its suppliers. Customer Loyalty Apple has a very loyal customer base despite the despicable acts the company has been associated with throughout the years. In my opinion, most of their customers are working class and know how vital it is to be reasonably compensated for their work. Apple’s customers may have some concerns if the prices increase, but they will buy the products. You may have a customer like me that feels like the current price point of Apple’s products is already high. There are four Apple products in my home 1- IPad 1-Ipad mini 1-MacBook and an IPhone 5s totaling close to $4,000 retail. That is how much Apple made from 1 household in a matter of a year. If all of their customers are paying those types of prices, that is more than enough for Apple to ensure that all workers have reasonable wage and benefit packages. This is a company that has customers waiting in line for days to buy new innovative products regardless of the price. Apple is known for making a higher profit by paying overseas companies next to nothing for production. As I previously stated Apple customers are very loyal. I believe the customers would pay more for products if the prices increased. Simply because once you start using apple products it’s like you have to have the next best thing. They definitely live up to the reputation of providing new technology and innovative top of the line products. The company may receive negative feedback from current and new customers, but they will still buy the products out of necessity. Apple’s Marketing Approach In my opinion Apple’s overall marketing strategy is one of the best in the industry. Anytime a new IPhone is released customers wait in line for days leading up to just to get the latest and greatest. Online orders go through the roof and the waiting lists get quite long. So clearly Apple is doing something right to market their products to customers. According to Forbes magazine Apple is such a great marketer that they won the 2012 CMO Survey Award for Marketing Excellence and has been the co-winner for five consecutive years. In the late 1970’s Apple adopted a 3 point marketing philosophy that remains at the core of their brand today. The original  three points are Empathy, Focus and Impute and are taken into consideration when implementing current market strategies. Apple is known to have top of the line products and technicians to match. Their employees are very knowledgeable and eager to assist in giving their customers the best experience possible. That will take any company a very long way as customer satisfaction and experience is vital to the success of any business. On paper Apple looks great, but in order to improve its competitive advantage in the global marketplace a few recommendations should be made. The Apple logo is one of the most recognized, respected and trusted names in the world today. Apple has already established competitive advantage in the global marketplace around constructing a top of the line, small and innovative product line. I feel like they should continue to put time and resources into capitalizing on the advantage and enhancing the reputation of the Apple brand. Things appear to be going great for Apple, but achieving an ongoing competitive advantage requires constant monitoring of the organizations competitive landscape. Openness to rethinking the company’s current advantages is vital in remaining competitive. Works Cited Apple Inc. (2013). Supplier Responsibility Standards. http://www.apple.com/supplier-responsibility/pdf/Apple_Supplier_Responsibility_Standards.pdf. China Labor Watch. (2012). Beyond Foxconn:Deplorable Working Conditions Characterize Apple’s Entire Supply. http://www.chinalaborwatch.org/news/new-415.html. Christine Moorman, Forbes. (2012). Why is Apple a Great Marketer. http://www.forbes.com/sites/christinemoorman/2012/07/10/why-apple-is-a-great-marketer/. Connie Guglielmo, Forbes. (2012). Apple’s Supplier Labor Practices In China Scrutinized After Foxconn, Pegatron Reviews. http://www.forbes.com/sites/connieguglielmo/2013/12/12/apples-labor-practices-in-china-scrutinized-after-foxconn-pegatron-reviewed/. Dunstan Pria, Fox. (2012). Apple’s Chinese Manufacturer To Fix Labor Violations. http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2012/03/29/apples-chinese-manufacturer-to-fix-labor-violations/. Fair Labor Association. (2012). FAIR LABOR ASSOCIATION SECURES COMMITMENT TO LI MIT WORKERS’ HOURS, PROTECT PAY AT APPLE’S LARGEST SUPPLIER. http://www.fairlabor.org/blog/entry/fair-labor-association-secures-commitment-limit-workers-hours-protect-pay-apples-largest. Scott Nova, Isaac Shapiro, EPI. (2012). Polishing Apple Fair Labor Association gives Foxconn and Apple undue credit for labor rights progress. http://www.epi.org/publication/bp352-polishing-apple-fla-foxconn-labor-rights/.

Economic Reasons for Legalizing Marijuana

Economic Reasons for Legalizing Marijuana The war on drugs- no matter how you feel about it- is undoubtedly expensive. A great deal of resources go into catching those who buy and sell illegal drugs, prosecuting them in court, and housing them in jail. Critics of the war on drugs believe these costs are especially exorbitant when it comes to marijuana, a substance that is widely used and, according to numerous scientists, no more harmful than legal drugs such as tobacco and alcohol. Theres another cost to the war on drugs, too- the revenue lost by governments that cannot collect taxes on the sale of illegal drugs. In a 2010 study for the Fraser Institute, economist Stephen T. Easton attempted to calculate how much tax revenue the Canadian government could gain by legalizing marijuana. In 2018, for many of the reasons Easton outlined in his study, Canada passed the Cannabis Act, which legalized the adult use of recreational marijuana. Revenue From Marijuana Sales Eastons study estimated that the average price of 0.5 grams (a unit) of marijuana sold for $8.60 on the black market, while its cost of production was only $1.70. In a free market, a $6.90 profit for a unit of marijuana would not last for long. Entrepreneurs noticing the great profits to be made in the marijuana market would start their own grow operations, increasing the supply of marijuana, which would cause the street price of the drug to fall to a level much closer to the cost of production. Of course, this doesnt happen because the product is illegal; the prospect of jail time deters many entrepreneurs and the occasional drug bust ensures that the supply stays relatively low. We can consider much of this $6.90 per unit of marijuana profit a risk-premium for participating in the underground economy. Before Canada legalized cannabis, this risk premium was making a lot of criminals, many of whom had ties to organized crime, very wealthy. Marijuana Taxes Easton argued that if marijuana were legalized, the excess profits produced by the risk-premium could be transferred to the government: If we substitute a tax on marijuana cigarettes equal to the difference between the local production cost and the street price people currently paythat is, transfer the revenue from the current producers and marketers (many of whom work with organized crime) to the government, leaving all other marketing and transportation issues aside we would have revenue of (say) $7 per [unit]. If you could collect on every cigarette and ignore the transportation, marketing, and advertising costs, this comes to over $2 billion on Canadian sales and substantially more from an export tax, and you forego the costs of enforcement and deploy your policing assets elsewhere. Supply and Demand One interesting thing to note from such a scheme is that the street price of marijuana stays exactly the same, so the quantity demanded should remain the same as the price is unchanged. However, its quite likely, in places where cannabis use is currently criminalized, that legalization would change the demand for marijuana. We saw that there was a risk in illegally selling marijuana, but since drug laws often target both the buyer and the seller, there is also a risk (albeit smaller) to the consumer interested in buying marijuana. Legalization would eliminate this risk, causing the demand to rise. From a public policy standpoint, this is a mixed bag: Increased marijuana use can have ill effects on the health of the population, but the increased sales bring in more revenue for the government. By legalizing marijuana, governments can have some control over how much marijuana is consumed by increasing or decreasing taxes on the product. There is a limit to this, however, as setting taxes too high will cause marijuana growers to sell on the black market to avoid excessive taxation. When considering legalizing marijuana, there are many economic, health, and social issues to analyze. Although one economic study should not be the basis for a countrys public policy decisions, Eastons research does conclusively show that there are economic benefits to the legalization of marijuana. With governments scrambling to find new sources of revenue to pay for important social objectives such as health care and education, you can expect to see more leaders exploring the idea of legalization.

An Apple for the Teacher

An Apple for the Teacher The tradition of putting an apple on teacher’s desk was allegedly started by a grade-school student who polished a red apple and placed it on teacher’s desk just before the class start. The â€Å"apple polisher’s† intention was to ask for a better grade or bribe the teacher with a bright and shiny red apple. REMEMBERING OUR FIRST STAGE OF EDUCATION Apple as a Symbol of Teaching in Different Countries The apple has been the symbol of teaching for many years but used differently some parts of the world. For instance, seems so different from the original apple polisher’s intention, students in Europe who cannot afford school fees traditionally bring an apple for the teacher as acceptable payment in kind. In Nashville, Tennessee, U.S, a crystal apple award is given to a teacher â€Å"who made a difference†. Moreover, the apple according to literature represents the happy relationship between teachers, students, and their families and from a teacher’s perspective, an apple on their desk is an appreciation of their hard work and a gift from people who like and see them as noble professionals. Teaching is the most demanding of all profession but according to a teacher with more than thirty years in service, teaching is the most rewarding and noble profession of all. For one thing, teachers help younger generation survive the challenges of present and future by transferring their knowledge and skills. The reward on the other hand such as simple a bear hug from students, an apple on the desk, a birthday card with a note, and so on is far greater than the demands. Teaching Is the Noblest Profession of All Teaching is a profession that is conceptually and ideally noble. Compared to another profession, teaching has a multitude of dimensions and it is considered to be the only profession that requires becoming a qualified practitioner.  For instance, teachers must undertake sound professional training before they can teach, undergo induction training at work and update their knowledge and skills through continuous education. Moreover, teachers are mostly engaged in human development activities. Qualified teachers normally mastered the knowledge of the subject, the pedagogy, teaching techniques, dedicated to students’ learning and betterment of our society. The professional and cultural dimensions of teaching made it an even  more difficult profession. However, the most inspiring justification for being an exceptional and noblest profession is the reality that monetary consideration in teaching is often secondary. One of its primary principles is selflessness and required by the code of ethics to maintain dignity and avoid controversies in and out of school. In fact, aside from maintaining a high standard of personal appearance, a teacher’s own life should reflect dignity in education, act as people with superior educational skills, blameless, obedient, and neutral to any social, economic, and political issues. Despite enormous demands and pressure, teaching is a poorly paid profession, teachers do not usually have similar public respect that other professionals enjoy, considered professional but not autonomous at the workplace, they normally need to work in the evenings and on weekends, perform enormous clerical activities, and in most occasion dealing with poor working condition. JUNK FOOD IN SCHOOL

Businesses and Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 15

Businesses and Society - Essay Example As the paper outlines they also need to meet other expenses such as food as well as other related bills from this same income. Against this backdrop, it can be noted that the basic problem addressed is that elderly people remain citizens of their given communities and they should be honoured and cushioned from paying high prices especially on drugs that are meant to save their lives from threatening diseases. The main concepts being addressed here include the issue of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and that of morality which derives from the concept of ethics. There is need to balance the needs of the people in the society and the need for businesses to be profitable in a moral fashion. This paper highlights that Strydom suggests that â€Å"Social responsibility is the concept that maintains that businesses are part of the larger society in which they exist and are accountable to the society for their operations.† In other words, there is need for the organisations to strike a fine balance between the needs and interests of customers, needs of the environment and the need for businesses to realise their financial goals. This goes hand in hand with the concept of ethics, which is loosely defined as an attempt to distinguish between something that is morally good from bad. The issues of morality and social responsibility have gained prominence especially with regards to the ways businesses operate. There is need for businesses to establish goodwill with the values and norms of any given society it would be operating in as a way of promoting mutual understanding. The success of any given company would be determined by its willingness to observe the social norms of the areas it would be operating in.