Islamic Banking And The Islamic Loan - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 24 Words: 7163 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? In order to have better understanding towards this research, in this chapter I will describe the development of Islamic Loan in Malaysia, and discuss about the different between theories and practical of Islamic Loan. At the same time, this chapter will preferably describe in details regards on Islamic Loan. This research is to study the effectiveness of Islamic Loan consumers within in Malaysia. Equally, the purpose of this research will be discussed in this chapter. Introduction research background In the past few decades, Muslim countries have experienced considerable economic growth. The markets of these countries, spanning from North Africa to Southeast Asia, are expanding at a rapid pace and are gradually evolving into important international economic centers. The expansion and sophistication of the Islamic markets, as well as the increasing demand for Islamic financial products by borrowers and investors, have spurred a movement toward Islamization of various aspects of the economic activities in these markets. Hence, this movement has resulted in the creation of an Islamic financial market alongside conventional financial markets. The concepts of modern Islamic banking start in the mid of 1940s, Model for Islamic banking is in the mid of 1950s. In 1960s, the details of the concepts for interest-free banking and comprehensive of Islamic banking established. In addition, during 1960s, the political environment of almost all the Muslim countries was hardly favorable for a change in the banking and finance entire system. So, the first establishment of Islamic banking was in Mit Ghamr, Egypt in 1963. The model for the first Islamic banking was the German Savings bank modified to comply with the Islamic principles, but the charter of the Bank did not refer to Shariah Law. In 1973, the second Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers adopted a document on the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Institution of an Islamic Bank, Economics and Islamic Doctrinesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. Besides that, The Islamic Development Bank named as (IDB) was established after the second Islamic Conference. The purpose of IDB is to help the economic development and the social progress of the member countries and Muslims communities individually accord with the principles of Syariah Law. Apart from that, IDB helped to establish a number of Islamic banks in the member countries. During that year, the Islamic banks have been establish which include: Dubai Islamic Bank in 1975, Faisal Islamic Banks of Sudan in 1977, Faisal Islamic Egyptian Bank and Islamic Bank of Jordan in 1978, Islamic Bank of Bahrain in 1979, The International Islamic Bank of Investment and Development, Luxembourg in 1980 and BIMB in 1983. Until today, there are more than hundred financial institutions which apply to operate on an interest-free basis in 34 countries. In 1983, after enacting of the Islamic Banking Act (IBA) of Malaysia, the first Islamic bank in Malaysia was establish which named as Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB). BIMB start with a RM 100 million of paid up capital and RM 500 million as an authorized capital to carrying out its activities on an interest-free basis with a permit of IBA. According to the newspaper New Straight Times on 6th July 1982, the Finance Minister, Tengku Razaleigh described the Islamic Bank as the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“First step in the governmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s efforts to instill Islamic values into the countryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s economic and financial systems as a r eplacement for the current Western-base economic systemà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. In 1993, the commercial banks, merchant banks and finance companies in Malaysia began to offer Islamic banking products and services under the Islamic Banking Scheme (IBS Banks). All the IBS banks should separate their Islamic business activities fund from the conventional business activities. They shall not mixed up both business activities and operate the business activities together. They should operate the business activities separately as well as two companies which is not related at all. The main different between conventional banks and Islamic banks is that Islamic banks is based on Shariah Law which conventional bank do not. So, all the transaction, dealings, investment, product features and business approach of Islamic banks are derived from the Shariah Law. This will make significant different in many part of operations with the comparison to conventional banks. Islamic banks use Syariah Law princip les to governing of their businesses activities. For example, the principles are as below: The absence of interest-based transactions (riba). The avoidance of economic activities involving oppression (zulm). The introduction of an Islamic tax (zakat). The avoidance of economic activities involving speculation (gharar). The discouragement of the production of goods and services which contradict the Islamic value (haram). Besides that, the relationship between the banks and the customers is different for conventional banks and Islamic banks. Conventional banks are based on the debtor and creditor relationship between the depositors or borrowers and the banks respectively. The price of credit is the interest which reflecting the opportunity cost of money. Based on Syariah Law first principle (2:279) stated that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“deal not unjustly and shall not be dealt with unjustlyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? which have explained the Islamic banks is not based on the debtor-creditor r elationship. In Islamic banking systems, the creditor should not take any advantage of the borrowers and the loan to be given or taken by the borrowers is free of charge and to meet any contingency. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Islamic Banking And The Islamic Loan" essay for you Create order Background of the Islamic Loan Many conventional banks in Malaysia have Islamic banking system such as Maybank Islamic Banking, CIMB Islamic Banking and so on. And provide to their customers a variety of Islamic Banking services. Therefore, in order to form a basis for current study, literatures regarding to service quality of Islamic Loan and customer satisfaction are reviewed to further uphold the research title which is the effectiveness of the Islamic Loan. Islamic Loan also named as Islamic financing. Islamic banks is different from conventional banks because Islamic banks is followed Syariah Law which the conventional banks do not have. The law that known as Syariah Law is complies by the world Islamic banks not only Islamic banks in Malaysia. It is an international law that must be followed by all the Islamic banks. In Syariah Law, it has few common terminologies in it. For example, Wadiah which allows the safe of the deposits in the banks and when the depositor demands for it, the banks must refund to the depositors. Hibah is the gift which means the borrowers give a token of appreciation after loan or benefit obtained in return. Besides that, it has Qardrul Hassan for benevolent loan, Mudharabah for profit sharing, Murabahah for cost plus, Musyarakah joint venture, Ijaran Thumma al-Baià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ for hire purchase. Islamic Loan is using Base Financing Rate (BFR) while conventional loan package is used Base Lending Rate (BLR) in Malaysia. According to Bank Negara Malaysia, current Base Lending Rate and Base Financing Rate is 6.30 % effective from 13th July 2010 until now. The different between conventional loan package and Islamic loan is in an Islamic Financing transaction, a bank can buy the property from the seller in case of refinancing. Then, they will resell it to the seller plus profit while allowing the seller to pay for the purchase in installments. The reason Islamic banks use BFR is because Islamic banks are not lender as of other types of bank that offers t erm loan to consumer. Islamic banks only apply financing service to the borrowers because Islamic banks have rule to be followed which is the Syariah Law. Islamic banks apply the same as other banks which is the BLR but as for Islamic bank, they used BFR as their reference. The rate is mainly to check the market interest rate. Islamic loan nowadays is popular among loan borrowers. This is because numerous of commercial banks did apply this financing in their organization. For example, Maybank, CIMB Bank , etc. With this current financing, many loan borrowers attracted to this type of loan which does not affect their loan even the fluctuation of BLR but in Islamic financing is BFR. Bank officers will introduce this type of loan to loan borrowers and explain its advantages to the loan borrowers. This type of loan does not meant for Muslim only but now it is applicable to non-Muslim as well. When they attached to this type of loan, they are not affected by the fluctuation of BFR bec ause Islamic loan are on fixed rate basis. Based on Parasuraman etal. (1985), service quality has been identified as a critical success factors for organizations to build their competitive advantage and increase their competitiveness. The five dimension of SERQUAL instrument are as below: 1. Tangible 2. Reliability 3. Responsiveness 4. Assurance, 5. Empathy. Problem Statement Basically, there are research been done on Islamic Loan, nevertheless at most it focus on the attributes of Islamic Loan. There is lack of study on the service quality and customer satisfaction of existing Islamic financing borrowers. As the economy of Malaysia is recovering, the Malaysia citizen lifestyle is going uptrend. Everybody is effort to buy a property in the future, house for example. This will heighten the expectation and perceptions of customers, thus making Islamic financing service quality an increasingly important issue. So, understanding Islamic financing service quality issues for Islamic banks becomes crucial. Therefore, this study is expected to provide an insight of the customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ experience on overall Islamic financing service quality. In this research, the quality dimensions regarding to Islamic financing service quality is determined to study the customer satisfaction in adopting the Islamic financing service. The problem statement has been developed. Research Objective The research objectives are as follows:- To identify the key dimensions of Islamic finance service quality. To explore the level of customer satisfaction on adopting Islamic finance. To measure the quality dimensions that influence customer satisfaction in the Islamic finance adoption context. Significance of study Until today, most studies that have been done previously are all emphasizing on the factors that influencing the Islamic banking adoption in developed countries as well as under developed countries also. In Malaysia, it is the same as above mentioned. However, there is rare research on the quality dimension and customer satisfaction on the Islamic financing. Therefore, this research is beneficial as it generates new knowledge regarding to the factors influence of overall service quality of the Islamic financing and its relationship with customer satisfaction on Islamic financing. The research findings will lead us to have more in-depth understand the customer perception and experience on Islamic financing service quality. In addition, there is also benefits to Islamic banks that could derived from this research is they are able to identify the important elements which could improve the Islamic financing service quality and which can later lead to customer satisfaction. Besides t hat, is also helps to promotion of Islamic financing because the customers are willing to promote the Islamic financing to their family, friends and relatives as well. Apart from the above mentioned, this research also provide the insight of customer satisfaction in service industry and apply it in the Islamic financing service. This is a extra benefits in doing this research. However, the only satisfaction is not sufficient but extra effort like create a good relationship with the customer is very essential in the business strategies which will generate more customer excitement. As we learn from the books, the cost of obtaining a new customer is much more higher than retaining the existing customer in the organizations. the Islamic banks could retain their existing customer from shifting to their competitors by having understanding of the customer satisfaction on the Islamic financing service quality. Moreover, the banks have their existing customers promoting their Islamic f inancing to the others. Besides the benefits of helping the banking industry to have broader customer base and bank customers experiencing quality service, this research is also expected to provide a fundamental concept for future research in this area by the other researchers. Scope of study This study is for the customers of the Islamic banks who are taking Islamic financing within Taiping. The study will focus on took before or existing customers who are taking Islamic financing. Those people who are under age are not included in this study. As an ethical and responsible researcher, the respondent personal details will not be disclosed to the third party except the people who are involved in conducting this study. Operational Definition In this study, there are a few factors that are influencing the service quality and the customer satisfaction of adopting Islamic financing. There are five dimensions in SERQUAL which have mentioned above. There are Tangible, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy. Keywords Definition Sources Tangible The Appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, printed and visual materials. Parasuraman (1991) Reliability The ability of the Islamic banks to perform the promised service dependently and accurately. Zeithaml etal. (1990) Responsiveness Convenience, speed, and timeliness of service delivery to the customers. Johnston (1997) Assurance The safety of promises of the firms provides its customers. Parasuraman (1991) Empathy Caring, individualized attention the firms provides its customers. Parasuraman, Zeithaml Berry (1988) Organization Research The organization of this research is designed based on the following chapters to studying the effectiveness of the Islamic Loan which is the service quality that provided by the Islamic banks and the customer satisfaction of the Islamic banks. Chapter 1 normally is explains the introduction of the proposed study. Besides that, it also explains the problem statement of the research as well. The objective and background of the study are described in this chapter. Chapter 2 is explained about the literature review. The independent and dependent variables are also discussed in this chapter. In addition, the relationship between independent and dependent variables is also analyzed in this chapter. Chapter 3 is discussing the way to do conduct the research. Hypotheses and research framework would be developed. The sampling method, data collection and the data analysis method are explained in this chapter. Chapter 4 is described the research findings and discussion. In this ch apter, the results of the findings will be analyzed which include the demographic analysis of the respondents and the reliability. Besides that, the hypothesis would be tested out with certain measurement method. Chapter 5 is the conclusion and the recommendation of the research study which include the overall findings that derived from the analysis, and the suggestions for the Islamic banks to enhance their service quality on the Islamic loan. In addition, a recommendation for the future researchers to conduct a further study will also include in this chapter. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, the independent variables and dependent variables are both explained based on certain theories that fit to apply in this research. The dimensions of service quality in each of the independent variable are discussed in this chapter as well. After that, I will discuss the relationship between the independent variables and dependent variable in accordance with the literature reviewed. 2.1 Islamic Loan Islamic Loan is any form of financing made according to Islamic law, which forbids the payment or receipt of interest. An Islamic loan may be an interest-free loan, but often it is a more complex transaction. The technology can have a considerable impact on service delivery, hence avoiding the issue or problem pertinent in face to face settings (Dabholkar Bagozzi, 2002). According to Akinci et al. (2004), Islamic financing provides the option to offer convenient and economic service without reducing the quality of services to the customers. As in literature from Zineldin (2000), it indicates that it is difficult in developing a strong relationship with customers if the businesses fail to provide distribution channels that their modern customers value and demand. Though there is no direct interaction between the customer and the service provider, however, Zeithaml (2000) contends that each service element offered in electronic environment represents an opportunity for organizati on to reinforce its level of quality to the customers. He also further argues that organizations should emphasize on every encounter that may occur prior to, during, and after the loan transaction. The overall service quality can be improved after the organizations focus on developing efficient and effective upfront service (Driff Palmer, 1999). As a result, it may contribute to enhancing the image and reputation of the company which will further lead to increase the trust of customers. 2.2 Front Desk Customer Service Quality Customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ perceptions of service quality and their satisfaction are profoundly influenced by the service they encounter. This concept as described by Meuter et al. (2000) encompasses all aspects of services company with which the customer may interact, including its personnel, its physical facilities and other tangible elements during a period of time. Therefore in order to form a basis for the current study, service quality and customer satisfaction literature focused on interpersonal service encounter regarding to the matter of Islamic financing were reviewed. Service quality has been identified as a critical success for organizations to build their competitive advantage and increase their competitiveness. Service quality is an essential research topic in view of its significant relationship to cost, profitability, customer satisfaction, customer retention, service guarantee and competitive capabilities (Oliveira et al., 2002). Unlike the manufacturing produc t quality that can be easily assessed, service quality is kind of intangible and abstract things that can be very difficult in measuring it. As described in Parasuraman et al., (1985), the literature has proposed that service quality is determined by the discrepancy between customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ expectation and service providerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance and the service they received. Their studies have uncovered the key service quality attributes that significantly affect the customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ perception of overall service quality. A lot of studies have been done which focused on the dimensions of traditional service quality. Parasuraman et al. (1985) are regarded the best well known among the researchers in service quality. They have built a conceptual model of service quality that can well describe the source of quality problem. Their hard work led to a list of five determinants of service quality as a result of their focus group studies with service provid ers and customers. Namely, 1. reliability, 2. responsiveness, 3. empathy 4. tangible 5. assurance In their research, Parasuraman et al. (1991) developed the SERVQUAL instrument that included 22 item tool used to measure the service quality level by the gap which exist between customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ expectations and perceptions of the service received through the five dimensions. Customer satisfaction can be gained by the service quality provided by the business, while meeting the need and expectation of the customers is the key priority of businesses. The definition of customer perceptions of service quality is the belief of customers concerning to the received and experienced service (Yang et al., 2004). In the service industry, the goal of the service marketer is to close or narrow the gap between customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ expectations and perceptions. Although the SERVQUAL instrument has been applied to measure service quality in a variety of contexts, however, it has been criticized as it is just a generic tool and not appropriate to measure certain service quality in varied settings (Brown et al., 1993). The SERVQUAL might overlook the interaction between the reliability of Islamic financing and customer because Islamic financing were not existed when this instrument was developed in 1980s. However, the concept of Islamic financing service quality has emerged from this original service quality. Despite of Islamic financing has existed with the benefits it brings, there is still a quest of the low adopting rate or lake of retention of customer remain applying Islamic financing provided by particular bank. A major problem of Islamic financing is that banks are forgetting the traditional rules of business like listening to their customers and delivering the satisfaction that they are willing to pay for. Banks need to know who they are serving, what they need and their problems are, and what their financial priorities are Wee ldreyer (2002). Research has indicated that Islamic loan service quality is an important element in the success of Islamic financing (Akinci et al., 2004). Intuitively, in order to enhance a bankà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s reputation, improve its customer retention, and attract new customers, banks should offer quality service to their customers. Therefore, based on the traditional dimensions of service quality, recent studies attempt to identify the dimensions of Islamic financing quality. Studies from Cronin and Taylor (1992) have indicated that high level of customer service quality can result in a positive influence on customer satisfaction. Traditionally, SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al., 1988, 1991) has been used as a generic instrument for measuring service quality of service firms with modifications to suit individual needs. It has been widely used to assess the service quality of various service organizations including banks (Cowling Newman, 1995). For example, based on Cowling and Newman (1995), one bank found that among the 5 quality dimensions in SERVQUAL, the discrepancy between the customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ expectations and their perceptions was the highest for responsiveness, empathy, and reliability and the lowest for tangibles. Business and academic researchers have been trying to conceptualize and measure electronic service quality, but the issue has not been examined as a whole. WebQual for example which was developed by Loiacono et al (2000) for rating website on 12 dimensions but the focuses on the operationalization are on the technical quality of website rather than on the service quality as experienced by customers through the website. In addition, Lassar et al. (2000) examined the effects of service quality on customer satisfaction in private banking by using the well known SERVQUAL and the functional-quality based model. They found that the functional-quality based model did a better job of predicting customer satisfaction than SERVQUAL ins trument for those customers actively involved or highly interested in service quality. Besides those, other attributes such as customer confidence, online resources and relationship service to evaluate online service quality were found in Cox and Daleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (2001) study. Santos (2003) uncovered communication, support, efficiency, security, reliability and incentive as dimensions of online service quality. According to a research done by Iraq Islamic financing users, White and Nteli (2004) found that assurance is the most important attribute among the users, followed by responsiveness of service delivery, ease of use, credibility of the bank and product variety. 2.3 Islamic Financing Information System Quality Other than front desk customer service quality, the Islamic loan information system quality can also affect the overall Islamic financing service quality. By dividing the financing service quality into 3 categories, therefore, some of the quality dimensions in online information system quality are overlapped and discussed above. Yang et al. (2004) explained that the primary goal of information system service is to ensure that the customers are able to function independently and to do numerous transactions on their own. Derived from the above literature, the current study defines Islamic information system quality as the extent to which the information system performs its intended function of enabling the customers to carry out transactions and information searches at nearby branches. In addition, the research regarding information system quality in an end-user computing environment may be regarded as a good reference for discussing the online system quality. The term end-user can be defined as a user that directly interacts with the application financing in order to source out the information or prepare output report (Doll Torkzadeh, 1988). Similarly as the situation can be applied to when a customer attached to Islamic financing, it can be considered as an information system, whereas the customer as an end-user of the information system. Therefore, the data processing is regarded as an important issue in an end-user environment where the users seldom have direct interaction with the operation staffs of the websites. In order to measure the end-user computing satisfaction, there were 5 quality dimensions proposed by Doll and Torkzadeh (1988) that affect the end-user satisfaction which are below, content; accuracy; format; ease of use; timeliness. Since the Web site functions as an information system, the organization and structure of Islamic financing should be easy to follow and navigate. The sequencing, placement and naming of hy perlinks and navigational menus should be based on customer intuition. A well-designed navigational structure can facilitate consumersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ perceptions of bank control and enjoyment (Jun Yang, 2004). Besides, according to Goldfinger (2001), assurance was seen as a major obstacle to Islamic financing. Assurance issues have been identified as significant determinants of Islamic financing quality as proposed by Jun and Cai (2001). Banks were concerned about unauthorized access to their systems, and customers were concerned with the safety of their personal data and the risk of fraudulent transactions. Thus the bank information system assurance could be an important quality dimension in system quality as well. While other (Jayawardhena Foley, 2000) suggested following 5 critical features of Islamic financing websites to enhance customer satisfaction. There are:- design; content; interactively; navigation; security. 2.4 Islamic Loan Service Quality Besides the review of literatures regarding to front desk customer service quality and Islamic financing information system quality that contribute to the study of Islamic financing service quality, another category of which is Islamic loan service product quality. Previous researchers have found that banking service product quality has an important role in determining banking customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ perception of the overall banking service quality. According to Yang et al. (2004), we can define banking service product quality as the number and relevance of the islamic financing product and services to customers. From the bank product quality perspective, it is mainly associated with diverse features and product variety. Strieter et al. (1999) depicted that the increased emphasis on marketing a variety of financial services is one of the most development in banking. The same could apply to the base of banking service as Dixon (1999) also argued that the main reason to ge tting more customers attached to islamic loan is not the attraction of the financing itself but the services and products provided and available to the customers. Latimore et al. (2000) supported the argument. It should be noted that with the advent of the internet technology, the present banking customers can have unlimited access to financial information and enjoy a wider range of options in selecting the financial institutions and competitive products than ever before. Therefore, the subtle differentiation in quality level of bank products and their timely introduction into the marketplace have become a vital driving force to attract new customers and enhancing customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ satisfaction (Mols, 2000). 2.5 Overall Islamic Financing Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction For banks to retain and expand the customer base, it is crucial for banks to understand the criteria the customers use to evaluate Islamic financing service and how these can influence the customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ perception of overall Islamic financing service quality and satisfaction with the service and banking overall. As such, it leads to the relationship between service quality and satisfaction. There are a number of studies that have empirically and theoretically investigated the relationship between service quality and satisfaction in the context of traditional banking service (Sureshchandar et al., 2002). Customer satisfaction towards the products and services offered by organization is often perceived as the determinant to an organizationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s long-term competitiveness and success and that is highly related to the service quality (Taylor Baker, 1994). The satisfaction of customer is influenced by two factors which are experience and expectation with t he service performance (Yi, 1900). As a result, we can say that the quality dimensions discussed in previous sections could be regarded as the criteria that customers expected and customers evaluating those criteria after the service they received, hence the customer satisfaction towards the expectation of those quality dimensions and real experience by adopting the Islamic financing create the sense of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. In literature of satisfaction and dissatisfaction, disconfirmation has been given attention where it refers to the gap between expectation before purchase and perception of after purchase (Peter Olson, 1990). There are two types of disconfirmation which is positive and negative disconfirmation. Positive disconfirmation occurs when product performance is better than expected, thus it is more likely lead to satisfaction, and the negative disconfirmation occurs when product performance is less than expected, which is more likely to be dissatisfie d. Another explanation by McQuitty et al., (2000), that consumer satisfaction is the result of an evaluative process that compares expectation of prepurchase and perceptions of the performance during and after the consumption experience. If the dissatisfaction gap between their expectations and actual experience is wide, customers are likely never returned to the organization or in worst case as to communicate negative word-of-mouth (Blodgett Wakefield, 1995). These are the reasons that service companies nowadays are aiming for customer satisfaction by providing quality service to customers in order to increase customer satisfaction which leads to favorable word-of-mouth, customer retention and customer loyalty (Newman, 2001). In fact, few studies have examined the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction in a context of Islamic financing. Al Hawari and Ward (2006) showed that service quality affects customer satisfaction and then bank profitability. Beside s, service quality has also been related to customer satisfaction and customer behavioral intentions. Satisfaction often acts as a mediating role between customer perceptions of service quality and the creation of behavioral intentions (Cronin, Brady Hult, 2000). And those intentions can be measured by word-of-mouth, repurchase intention, loyalty, price sensitivity and complaining behavior (Zeithaml et al., 1996.). 2.6 Customer Satisfaction vs. Customer Delight Academic and practitioners have recognized that merely satisfying the customer is not sufficient to create exceptional behavioral consequences such as positive word-of-mouth and loyalty (Oliver, Rust, Varki, 1997). Recently, the customer delight that goes beyond the satisfaction has given more attention in the service industry research field (Berman, 2005). As distinct to satisfaction, (Berman, 2005) depicted that customer delight is defined as positive response to surprising product attributes or services encounter. It is also argued that only service and product that fall outside the zone of tolerance and exceed the customerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s expectations lead to loyalty-driven profit. However, outrage and pain can result when a customer encounters unanticipated poor service, and dissatisfaction occurs when the service could not meet the customerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s expectations. When expectation of customer are met or exceeded, the customer will feel satisfied and have a mod erately high repeat intent. While delight is the mixture of surprise and happiness when one exceeds customer expectations on main criteria that create memorable and emotional responses that more strongly drive overall satisfaction and repeat purchase intention (Berman, 2005). As argued by Berman (2005), not all product and service attributes are able to result in customer delight. Product or service attributes that enhance utility beyond that which is expected and leads to surprising pleasant are often called excitement factors. For example, hospitality service context, a highly level of novelty and entertainment in a resort or exceptionally good service in a restaurant can be such excitement attributes. They differ to such as the cleanliness of a room or freshness of the food in a restaurant which are considered a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“mustà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? for customer and this example of basic requirements are not able to elicit satisfaction but merely prevent dissatisfaction. CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY In this chapter, the research process will be discussed. This chapter will cover the scope of research firstly, following by the research design. Thirdly, theoretical framework will be discussed and the hypothesis will be developed for the variables. After that, the questionnaire for the research will be designed. Besides that, this chapter also explains the sampling design and techniques. Data collection techniques and data analysis measurement will also discuss in this chapter. 3.1 Scope of Study This study intends to evaluate the effectiveness of Islamic loan among consumer within Malaysia towards the service quality provided by Islamic banks. From the findings of the study, we expect that the factors that contribute to the effectiveness of Islamic Loan after experiencing the service provided by Islamic banks can be identified. The respondents of this study are the consumer in Taiping, Perak. The dependent variable in this study is the effectiveness of Islamic Loan among consumer within Malaysia towards Islamic banks while the independent variables are tangible, realibility, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. 3.2 Research Design According to Sekaran (2003), a research is always start with developing the theoretical framework by identifying the variables, then only design the research procedure for the data is able to collected and analyzed. Research design is a blueprint or framework for conducting the project of marketing research according to Malholtra (2004). It identifies the way for collecting the data which is needed and resolved the marketing research problems. It is consider as a foundation of a researcher to conduct a project. Moreover, a well research design will result the marketing research project which is conducted become effectively and efficiently. The descriptive study will be used as research design in this study. This is because the research problem and the variables which are related to the research problem will have a better description in the study. According to Sekaran 2003, a descriptive study is able to describe the characteristics of the variables of interest in a situation. Ba sed on this descriptive study, the independent variables of this study which have been described above after reviewed from the literature will have a better explain towards the dependent variable of this study. 3.3 Theoretical Framework After the review of literatures, the reliable variables to be study are identified. For developing in-depth understanding of effectiveness of Islamic loan among consumers within Malaysia, a research framework (Figure 1) is built up based on previous related research. Tangible Reliability Customer satisfaction on adopting Islamic Loan Responsiveness Assurance Empathy Independent Variables Dependent Variable 3.4 Hypothesis Development Due to the constraints of real-life evaluation in the current study, the service quality dimension had to be simplified and adjusted for survey. Thus, not all of the dimensions that discussed in literature review are included in this hypothesis testing. 3.4.1 Tangible As described earlier, tangible is the appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, printed and visual materials (Parasuraman, 1991). Intuitively, the valuable information of Islamic financing and the physical facilities in the bank that provided by Islamic banks will leads to customer satisfaction. H1: Tangible is positively affecting customer satisfaction towards adopting Islamic financing. 3.4.2 Reliability As referred to Zeithaml et al. (1990), reliability in banking industry is referred to the ability of the Islamic bank to perform the promised service dependently and accurately. When the customers are adopting with the Islamic Financing, the problem or issue arisen will need to be resolve by the Islamic banksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ staffs. H2: Reliability is positively affecting customer satisfaction towards adopting Islamic financing. 3.4.3 Responsiveness Responsiveness as one of the service quality dimensions can be refers to the reaction time of the service. The reaction time of service that reflecting the responsiveness can be as a result of convenience, speed, and timeliness of service delivery. (Zeithaml et al. 1990) Intuitively, the responsiveness is also a service quality dimensions for Islamic financing area. The customers expect the Islamic banking staffs provide a convenience, speed and timeliness of service delivery for them to avoid wasting their time to the Islamic financing procedures. H3: Responsiveness is positively affecting customer satisfaction towards adopting Islamic financing. 3.4.4 Assurance According to Zeithaml et al. (1990), Assurance is the knowledge and courtesy of the Islamic banksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ staffs and their ability to convey trust and confidence towards the customers. Customers are very concern with the safety of their personal data and the risk of fraudulent transactions. H4: Assurance is positively affecting customer satisfaction towards adopting Islamic financing. 3.4.5 Empathy A story of Zappoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s show online store, famous for its customer service, described an employee who not only refunded an order for a recently deceased customer when requested by a family member, but went on to send flowers for the funeral. Instead of maintaining a transactional relationship with customers, empathy means never forgetting to have concern to customers even in their lives aspects. (Articlebase, 2009) Intuitively, it applies to Islamic financing area which is a type of service, and customer expect the banking staffs provide caring and understand their needs in Islamic financing and any other fulfillment of humanity for example. H5: Empathy is positively affecting customer satisfaction towards adopting Islamic financing. 3.5 Questionnaire Design Questionnaire design is an integral part of a research project. A good questionnaire design enables the researcher to collect the data which is related to the purpose study. Besides that, a questionnaire design divide into 2 types of question which is open-ended questionnaire and close-ended questionnaire. In this study, all questions are close-ended, because it will help to enable the quantitative analysis to generate result from the findings. Besides that, a closed-ended questionnaire can produce the data in more objective opinion rather than subjective and it can obtain the data in quick by distributed to many respondents at the same time. Moreover, in the questionnaire of this study, it will have a statement which is explains the purpose of this study and the collected data will only being used for academic purposes. Apart from that, the questionnaire workability will be enhanced by review to the published related journals. The language used in the questionnaire is English. Furthermore, the questionnaire consists of 2 sections. The first section will be the respondentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s demographic data which is used for the classification. Second section will measure the quality of the independent variable towards the effectiveness of the Islamic loan. 3.6 Sampling Design and Techniques As referred to Sekaran 2003, sampling is the process of selecting a sufficient number of elements from the population. The sample will represent the population elements and provide an understanding of the population elements characteristic. 3.6.1 Sample Unit As we learn from the research book, population refers to the entire group of peoples, events or things of interest that researchers wishes to investigate. The populations of this study consist of all the consumer in Taiping, Perak. In addition, the sampling units would be citizens who are taking Islamic loan now or before in Taiping. 3.6.2 Sample Size The size of sample size of a research is very important, because an appropriate sample size will ensure representativeness of the study and enough cases to run the multivariate analysis, such as pearson correlation analysis. In this study, a sample size of 200 will be selected as the respondents and multiple linear regressions analysis will be used. 3.6.3 Sampling Technique The sampling technique of this study is by means of a convenience sampling to study the effectiveness of Islamic loan. The respondents of this study are randomly selected according to their availability. Besides that, this sampling method is able to collect the data from diverse citizens in Taiping instead of just focus on a particular bank of consumers. This helps to increase the generalization of result to the entire Taiping citizens. 3.7 Data Collection Techniques In a good research design, data collection techniques are also play an important role of it. There are 2 types of data collections method which are qualitative and quantitative method. Quantitative method will be used as a data collection mean in this study. As referred to Sekaran (2003), quantitative data refers to information gathered in the narrative form through interview and questionnaire. 3.7.1 Primary Data Primary data is data gathered for research from the actual site of occurrence of events or simply called firsthand data. For this study, the primary data will be form distribution of questionnaire. A questionnaire was used as the main form of data collection in this study. The details of the primary data collection by using questionnaire have been discussed in questionnaire design above. 3.7.2 Secondary Data Secondary data is the data collected through such existing sources. Secondary data are the data collected and recorded by someone else to the needs of the researcher. It can be articles, books, journals, newspaper and online sources to enhance the knowledge in the issue of the topic. The benefit of seeking secondary data sources is time saving and cost efficiency. However, secondary data as the sole source of information has the disadvantages of becoming obsolete, and not meeting the specific needs of the particular situation or setting. Hence, it is important to refer to sources of information that are up-to-date. In this study, the most used secondary data are the online sources and journals. In addition, secondary data helps the researcher to reach the idea of doing the research in preliminary stage. 3.8 Data Analysis and Measurement 3.8.1 Data Measurement Scale According to the social sciences, scaling is the process of measuring or ordering entities with respect to quantitative attributes or traits. For example, a scaling technique might involve estimating individualsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ levels of extraversion, or the perceived quality of products. The techniques of scaling used are necessary study to obtain the behavior responses or preferred choices of subjects towards objects, events or persons. In this study, the questionnaire is designed in 2 types of rating scale which are the category scale and likert scale. 3.8.1.1 Category scale This scale presents a sequence of numbers or words which only serve to identify certain entities or observation and have no quantitative significance. It helps to elicit a single response and assign subjects to certain categories or groups. Thus, the category scale is normally generating to obtain the demographic data of respondents. As a result, it can help to calculate the frequency or percentage. 3.8.1.2 Likert Scale. Likert scale is constructed to examine how strongly the respondents agree or disagree with the particular statements on the scale from 1 to 7. However, in this study, only scale from 1 to 5 is used. For example: Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 3.8.2 Data Analysis The data collected are then processed by using the Statistical package of Social Science (SPSS) software. The function of SPSS is to assist researcher to analyze the result of the questionnaire and then to be interpreted in the finding section. Several analysis methods will be applied are descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, distribution analysis, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple regression. 3.8.2.1 Descriptive Statistics A descriptive statistics is a statistics that describes the phenomenon of interest. It is used when the researcher is interested to know what is the average score when a set of figures are involved as well as extend of variability in the set. For example, frequency analysis will be conduct by determine the demographic characteristic of the respondents towards the dimensions of service quality provided the Islamic banks. 3.8.2.2 Reliability Analysis (Cronbachà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Alpha) The reliability of measure is established by testing for both consistency and stability. It is used to measures the consistency of the questionnaires for each variable. Consistency indicates how well the items measuring a concept hang together as a set. Cronbachà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Alpha is a reliability coefficient that indicates how well the items in a set are positively correlated to one another. Cronbachà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s alpha is computed in items of the average intercorrelations among the items measuring the concept. The closer Cronbachsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ alpha is to 1, the higher the internal consistency reliability. 3.8.2.3 Pearson Correlation Analysis The Pearson correlation analysis helps to evaluate the correlation between the independent variables and dependent variables in this study whether it has significance, negatively correlated or positively correlated relationship. 3.8.3.4 Multiple Regression Analysis It is a powerful and flexible procedure for analyzing associative relationships between a metric dependent variable and one or more independent variables. It is also to determine whether the independent variables explain a significant variation in the dependent variable: whether a relationship exists and set the mathematical equation relationship relating the independent and dependent variables. 3.9 Pilot Test When the survey questionnaire was drafted, there were many assumptions and pre-judgments about what respondents were both able and willing to do. Accordingly, there was a need to pilot-test the questions with non-target respondents to gain objective views. Pilot-testing a questionnaire can help to guard against faulty assumptions and detect mistakes in the questionnaire and identify and correct potential impediments before the survey instrument is used for collecting data of value.

Hip Hop Is The Best - 767 Words

One thing that many hip hop fans like to say nowadays is the ever so popular phrase, Hip Hop is dead. What is meant by that statement is that the quality of the music has diminished significantly. The hip hop artists that were grew up on are either gone (deseased), or are past their prime at this point. That doesn t necessarily mean that, hip hop is dead. Don t get me wrong, there may never be another Tupac, Biggie, or Eminem. All three are often looked at as the best to ever do it. But, hip hop is still in good hands. The leaders of today s hip hop are Kendrick Lamar, J.Cole, and Drake. Almost the entire world knows who Drake is after his worldwide smash hit single, Hotline Bling. Obviously, it s a song towards the female listener, but Drake as we know can also get himself out of a beef. Up until now, he was aleady respected by all of hip hop for his past mixtapes, and album quality with Take Care, and Nothing Was The Same. When Meek Mill began throwing shots at Drake via Twitter, Drake only days later released a response diss track called, Charged Up. That diss was nothing special, but when he came back with another diss track towards him called, Back To Back. It was then when Drake earned respect from the game. He s always had flow, but his punchlines in that track may be unmatched by anyone. It will be exciting to hear his next album, Views From The 6, when that album comes out. He could each legendary status with that album. It is scheduled toShow MoreRelatedHip Hop Culture And Culture1196 Words   |  5 PagesHip-Hop Culture and race have had a complicated relationship in the past two decades. It has been commonly referred to as â€Å"black music† and a reflection of black culture. However, recent studies done by the Mediamark Research Inc. showed that 60% of rap music buyers are white. 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Top of Volcano Blown Off In Blast! 18/04/82 Essay Example For Students

Top of Volcano Blown Off In Blast! 18/04/82 Essay 60 people were killed today when Mt. St Helens blew its top Mt. St Helens erupted two years ago today in a blast that caused the volcano to be reduced by 451 metres (1313 feet). The volcano is south-western Washington and is part of the Cascade Range. Mt. St Helens had been dormant since 1859 and has let off its first blast since then today. The volcano killed all life in an area of 180 sq. cm(70 sq. miles) including at least 60 people! The ash and dust spread much farther than this, of course. Today it is continuing to emit to emit dust and ash at intervals. Today a monument has been erected called the National Volcano Monument, in memory of this tragedy. How A Volcano is Formed A volcano is formed in this way: 1)Magma starts off below the crust. 2)Magma collects in chamber. 3) Pressure rises. 4) The pressure rises so high that the magma breaks through the crust and volcano erupts. Often volcanoes are cone shaped. You might ask: How do they get like that? This is the answer: When a volcano erupts many minerals and fragments are blown up, many falling in a circle around the volcano. As lava flows onto this it builds up around the volcano, so the volcano gets higher still. Each time the volcano erupts, more lava, minerals and fragments are emitted. Therefore every time a volcano erupts it erupts it gets taller, and some like Mt. St. Helens have even become tall enough to be classed a mountain. NB: This article originally contained pictures, elongating it and making it better presented. Aron Cohen,1991 .

Intestine Discord Essay Example

Intestine Discord Paper As for the last part of the quote, (The end of Obedienceby Intestine Discord), we see that paradoxically, though the people all agree on the fact that they need to follow the judgement of one single authority so as to be protected from the potential threat they represent to each others, this rule can only be enforced upon them by fear. Hobbess justification for this is that if they have no other reason to stick to rules but the idea that they should do so, then they will inevitably, subject to their natural selfishness, be inclined to pursue their own interests, even when that means causing harm to others (which is usually the case, for there is a discrepancy between individual and common interest). The problem that follows is that, if people are so unwilling to stick to the contract, even knowing it is in their own interest to do so, then how did they come, while still in the state of nature, to establish that same contract?  In Leviathan, a common authority is created when everyone in a state of natures agrees to submit their Wills, everyone to his Will, and their Judgements, to his Judgement (Leviathan ch.17) Hobbes talks about the contract in terms of a promise made by the people, to each others and not to the sovereign, in which they agree to take one persons or assemblys judgements as their own however, he also claims that in a state of nature, the bonds of words are too weak to bridle mens ambition, avarice, anger, and other Passions, without the fear of some coercive power (Leviathan ch.14). We will write a custom essay sample on Intestine Discord specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Intestine Discord specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Intestine Discord specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The only explanation for someone sticking to this promise while in a state of nature, where diffidence regulates the relationships between people, relies on the fact that this promise is not made to the sovereign, but, as I mentioned above, to the other prospective citizens. Therefore, the fact that I keep my word, and take the sovereigns judgement as my own, will probably not be a disadvantage in dealing with other people, even if they dont: it wont be an advantage either, for only if everyone follows the same rule will the commonwealth be instituted. We could think that the life in the state of nature is so miserable that it compels the multitude to keep their word only in order to abandon such a lifestyle, and in that case, only if either the sovereign cannot satisfy the peoples basic needs, and condemns them to starvation or extreme poverty, or he cannot find the appropriate laws to control his peoples opinions will his regime come to an end. Of the former case I have already spoken, as far as the latter is concerned, Hobbes was, curiously enough, particularly concerned about humanists, a kind to which he had belonged himself in his youth, for, he thought, they misread the texts of the Ancients; they praised republican liberties out of their context, and wanted it for themselves, whereas for Hobbes it was precisely those wishes for individual liberties that could lead to the death of the commonwealth, for the freedom of men only means discord. In conclusion, I shall say that although Hobbess account of how to govern a state seems to inevitably lead to a very authoritarian rule, such commonwealth could just as well turn out to be a libertarian state, since much is left and that is, I think, what seems most striking to us today to the character of the sovereign.  A parallel could be drawn with Marxs thought, if we consider that such sovereign sought to keep his authority by increasing his subjects wealth which Hobbes does indeed suggest and, introducing this materialist point of view, we could imagine a hobbesian state to be very close to Marxs ideal communist society: one where the individuals wellbeing would be assured, leaving them free to pursue their own interests in different areas. Such comparison, however, ignores the fact that whereas for Hobbes there is no such thing as society, and only the representative can indeed act, for Marx the opposite is true, i.e., the people are those who have the real power; moreover, whereas Hobbes thinks that authority of one person or assembly is the only way to avoid civil war, Marx rather sees the rule of one group of persons as the source of internal conflict.  Whereas one seeks to abolish freedom, and sees in it the source of all Intestine Discord, the other seeks to free the man in order to eliminate conflict. Both, however, suggest rather extreme types of government; both produced, in different ways, visionary accounts of society, and, what is more, it should not be forgotten that Hobbes sought to as did Marx abolish preconceived ideas: he denied that kings power could be of a divine nature, and introduced the idea that it actually came from the people although his conception of representation was, as weve seen, very different of our modern interpretation of it (which implies a two-way, interactive relationship), he was the one who introduced this concept, undeniably a crucial one in modern politics.

Battle of Ascalon in the First Crusade

Battle of Ascalon in the First Crusade Battle of Ascalon - Conflict Date: The Battle of Ascalon was fought August 12, 1099, and was the final engagement of the First Crusade (1096-1099). Armies Commanders: Crusaders Godfrey of BouillonRobert II, Count of FlandersRaymond of Toulouseapproximately 10,000 men Fatimids al-Afdal Shahanshahapproximately 10,000-12,000 men, possibly as high as 50,000 Battle of Ascalon - Background: Following the capture of Jerusalem from the Fatimids on July 15, 1099, the leaders of the First Crusade began to divide the titles and spoils. Godfrey of Bouillon was named Defender of the Holy Sepulchre on July 22 while Arnulf of Chocques became the Patriarch of Jerusalem on August 1. Four days later, Arnulf discovered a relic of the True Cross. These appointments created some strife within the crusader camp as Raymond IV of Toulouse and Robert of Normandy were angered by Godfreys election. As the crusaders consolidated their hold on Jerusalem, word was received that a Fatimid army was en route from Egypt to retake the city. Led by Vizier al-Afdal Shahanshah, the army encamped just north of the port of Ascalon. On August 10, Godfrey mobilized the crusader forces and moved towards the coast to meet the approaching enemy. He was accompanied by Arnulf who carried the True Cross and Raymond of Aguilers who bore a relic of the Holy Lance which had been captured at Antioch the previous year. Raymond and Robert remained in the city for a day until finally being convinced of the threat and joining Godfrey. Battle of Ascalon - Crusaders Outnumbered: While advancing, Godfrey was further reinforced by troops under his brother Eustace, Count of Boulogne, and Tancred. Despite these additions, the crusader army remained outnumbered by as much as five-to-one. Pressing forward on August 11, Godfrey halted for night near the Sorec River. While there, his scouts spotted what was initially thought to be a large body of enemy troops. Investigating, it was soon found to be a great number of livestock which had been gathered to feed al-Afdals army. Some sources indicate that these animals were exposed by the Fatimids in the hope that the crusaders would disperse to pillage the countryside, while others suggest that al-Afdal was unaware of Godfreys approach. Regardless, Godfrey held his men together and resumed the march the next morning with the animals in tow. Approaching Ascalon, Arnulf moved through the ranks with the True Cross blessing the men. Marching over the Plains of Ashdod near Ascalon, Godfrey formed his men for battle and took command of the armys left wing. Battle of Ascalon - The Crusaders Attack: The right wing was led by Raymond, while the center was guided by Robert of Normandy, Robert of Flanders, Tancred, Eustace, and Gaston IV of BÃ ©arn. Near Ascalon, al-Afdal raced to prepare his men to meet the approaching crusaders. Though more numerous, the Fatimid army was poorly trained relative to those the crusaders had faced previously and was composed of a mix of ethnicities from throughout the caliphate. As Godfreys men approached, the Fatimids became discouraged as the cloud of dust generated by the captured livestock suggested that the crusaders had been heavily reinforced. Advancing with infantry in the lead, Godfreys army exchanged arrows with the Fatimids until the two lines clashed. Striking hard and fast, the crusaders quickly overwhelmed the Fatimids on most parts of the battlefield. In the center, Robert of Normandy, leading the cavalry, shattered the Fatimid line. Nearby, a group of Ethiopians mounted a successful counterattack, but were defeated when Godfrey assaulted their flank. Driving the Fatimids from the field, the crusaders soon moved into the enemys camp. Fleeing, many of the Fatimids sought safety within the walls of Ascalon. Battle of Ascalon - Aftermath: Precise casualties for the Battle of Ascalon are not known though some sources indicate that Fatimid losses were around 10,000 to 12,000. While the Fatimid army retreated to Egypt, the crusaders looted al-Afdals camp before returning to Jerusalem on August 13. A subsequent dispute between Godfrey and Raymond regarding the future of Ascalon led to its garrison refusing to surrender. As a result, the city remained in Fatimid hands and served as a springboard for future attacks into the Kingdom of Jerusalem. With the Holy City secure, many of the crusader knights, believing their duty done, returned home to Europe. Selected Sources History of War: Battle of AscalonGodfrey His SuccessorsMedieval Crusades: Battle of Ascalon

Certainty vs. Certitude

Certainty vs. Certitude Certainty vs. Certitude Certainty vs. Certitude By Mark Nichol What’s the difference between certainty and certitude? My hunch was that they’re interchangeable, but it turns out that they have a slight but significant difference in connotation- of that I am certain. Certainty and certitude, of course, share a root word: the Latin term certus, meaning â€Å"fixed† or â€Å"settled.† Certainty originally meant â€Å"pledge† or â€Å"surety,† then developed a sense of â€Å"something that is certain,† and certitude derives from a Latin word with the same meaning. But along the way, distinct connotations have emerged, though they are not always observed: A certainty can be something known based on fact, while sometimes, a certitude is something one is convinced of on the basis of faith. (The synonym conviction more obviously refers to what one believes rather than what one knows.) This is a useful distinction, but it’s unfortunately unlikely to ever emerge as one writers use consistently. The antonyms differ in form: uncertainty, but incertitude. (Incertain and incertainty existed in Middle English but were supplanted by the un- forms.) Other words based on certus include the adjectival and adverbial forms of certainty, certain and certainly, as well as the verb certify, meaning â€Å"confirm† or â€Å"vouch for†; the noun form is certification, and something that can be confirmed or vouched for is certifiable. (In colloquial usage, one who is, in jest or derision, thought eligible to be judged insane is referred to as certifiable.) Certificated is an adjective derived from the obsolete use of certificate as a verb. The noun certificate originally meant â€Å"action of certifying† but now has a dominant sense of â€Å"a document that provides certification.† Ascertain (the prefix a, meaning â€Å"to,† followed by certain) once meant â€Å"assure† or â€Å"inform† but now means â€Å"determine.† Concert and associated words are related to certain by way of the root word, though here, -cert has the sense of â€Å"strive.† 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 Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Bare or Bear With Me?Loan, Lend, Loaned, LentPhrasal Verbs and Phrasal Nouns

Quantitative and Qualitative How smartphones influence teenagers in EF Research Paper

Quantitative and Qualitative How smartphones influence teenagers in EF Cambridge - Research Paper Example The study will aim at carrying out a study of Smartphones in the teenage world. It will also aim at performing the study how Smartphones have affected the daily lives of teenagers at EF Cambridge. Teenagers feel that Smartphones reduce their work load. For instance, Smartphones allow teenagers to slide their screens effortlessly rather than tapping keys like conventional phones. Smartphones have applications like facebook, twitter, whatsap, and other social sites that help in the creation of new friendships (Zheng and Lionel 2006, p.1). Alternatively, Smartphones seem to have created more problems because teenagers have become lonesome, exposure to bullying, and exam cheating. The study gained more information from journals and books on Smartphones and their markets. The study used questionnaires as the main method of collecting data for the study. The questionnaires contained two sections; the first section required teenagers at EF Cambridge to give their views toward the pros and cons of utilizing Smartphones. The second section of the questionnaires required several teenagers who did not own Smartphones to give their reasons and the present trend of owning Smartphones. One hundred and twenty (120) teenagers took part in the study but only 100 questionnaires were received. The study possessed several limitations. The data collected was inadequate to give a definite answer regarding the influence of smart phones amongst teenagers at EF Cambridge. The study occurred between 120 students whereby only 100 return their questionnaires. The number of participants was very small to represent the high number of teenagers in EF Cambridge. Hingorani, Woodard, and Askari-Danesh (2012), p.33) all from Alabama State University discovered that smart phones have become powerful gadgets amongst young people compared to computers. Sarwar and Soomro (2013, 217) discovered that mobile communication has

Fitmath in Afterschool and Why It Is Effective Dissertation

Fitmath in Afterschool and Why It Is Effective - Dissertation Example School time and various resources are frequently diverted from various types of physical Education and openings for physical action for example recess. (HRDC, 2001). The program Fitmath the kids, under goes numerous stages in which they study how to turn out to be fit both bodily and mentally, the significance of having well eating habits with nourishing foodstuff, and to maintain body in correct shape, additionally to thorough mathematical abilities. And it helps to accomplishing and learning maths with fun and pleasure. (Wenger). According to Nancy Protheroe in his article called, what does Good Math Instruction look like? Says that, it entails good teachers, effectual math surroundings, and a curriculum that is more than a mile broad and an inch deep. This research article points out that it takes more than a good trainer to teach math. According to MUCHA in his article says that, Mathematics subject has always been an essential constituent of person thought and culture, and the d evelopment of technology in current times has further enlarged its significance. Nowadays mathematics is a crucial partner in areas where once it played no particular role. (Mucha). Fit math is one of the most significant programs in schools in the 21st century. It connects healthy academics and eating. This program assists students in increasing self-assurance in their physical capability, in addition to enhancing familiarity, by way of expressions in the fields of physiology, anatomy, and mathematics. Fundamental fact acquisition is a significant part of building up higher-order math abilities. (Springer). On the other hand, getting learners with a history of academic rebelliousness to engage in various activities associated to acquisition of various skills can be difficult. (Lynn Arthur Steen 2010). According to Michelle Kulas in her acrtcile called, Need for After-School Exercise Programs says that, program related to after-school fitness build exercise fun for children. Dependi ng on the style of program, it will help the child to study a new sport or have the alternative to join in in a large variety of exercise activities. She also says that, because of this exercise program it will helps to develop health of the kids by being physically active at the same time as also playing with and cooperating with other kids in a supervised setting. Also After-School Exercise Programs will be capable to create new friends and may enjoy superior self-assurance and self-esteem. (Kulas, 2011) According to Sam Piha in his article called AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS: WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT AND HOW SHOULD WE MEASURE SUCCESS says that, after school programs offer young people with the various types of learning practices and opportunities that may not be obtainable to kids in their homes or classrooms. And also they recommend young people opportunities to study new things and build up significant skills that are essential to achievement in school and in life. The article Effective M athematics Instruction says that, Mathematics instruction is an extremely complex procedure that tries to create abstract ideas more tangible, difficult thoughts comprehensible and multifaceted evils solvable. Visual depictions bring

India of My Dreams Essay Example for Free

India of My Dreams Essay Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom With these words of Pandit Nehru, on 15th August at the stroke of the midnight hour India declared itself independent from the British rule. As the Union Jack was being brought down and the Indian tricolor flew up the hopes and aspiration of the Indian founding fathers were completed. Sixty years after the birth of this massive and diverse nation though there has been considerable progress, the overall picture of life in the country is depressing. With increasing prices and growing unemployment, the common man remains as poor as he had been. Though education has spread, its standard and quality have received a set back. Nor is the political scene very encouraging. While the working of democracy is not satisfactory, the forces of religion, provincialism and linguism pose a threat to the unity of the country. Our leaders lack the qualities of idealism, integrity and self sacrifice, which were abundantly in evidence during the days of the struggle for freedom. In this bleak situation, it is natural for the youth of the country to have a vision of a stronger India. In the same way I have a vision too – a fearless, strong, self reliant India. I visualize my country way ahead of other nations all round the globe in every aspect, whether its development in any field or showing its military might or being a fore-runner in technological advancement, skills and prosperity. I visualize India being a country that will provide equality of opportunity to one and all irrespective of caste, creed, and sex. A place that will provide optimum scope for development of latent skills of an individual and then to use it for the welfare of the nation. I strive for such a country wherein the poorest of the poor feel that this is his country in building which his voice has its due importance. I wish for a constitution, which will release India from all thraldom and patronage, and give her, if needed, the right to sin. I dream of a nation where nobody is illiterate and nobody sleeps hungry, where there is no distinction on the basis of genre, religion or caste, where justice to a common man is neither denied or deleted, where corruption in public life does not exist, where criminals do not occupy ministerial berths nor enter legislative assemblies, where merit counts in every sphere of life, where jobs cannot be purchased, where criminals have to spend the rest of their lives behind the bars and where the intellectuals like Amartya Sen do not have to leave the countrys shore for higher research and recognition. Today India is grappling with divided states, poverty, and population on the one hand and a mà ©lange of languages, traditions, festivals, religions, cultures which poses a problem but my vision for India is a country where the Kirtans from Gurudwaras, and Azan from Mosques, the Bhajans from Temples and chiming of the bells from churches merge and mingle and produce a harmonious, melodious, tune of humanity. I dream of a casteless and a perfect India of which all Indians can be truly proud of. My vision of India may sound like a dreamers agenda but the day every Indian citizen realizes his responsibility towards his country my vision would be reality. At last I would like to conclude with the words of Sir Rabindranath Tagore: WHERE the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free Where the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls Where words come out from the depth of truth Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection Where the mind is led forward by thee Into ever-widening thought and action Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

History of the Internet :: Computer Network

A Free Net The Internet has revolutionized the communication world in unprecedented ways. It allows worldwide broadcasting, global distribution of information, and it is a medium for the interaction and communication of individuals without regard for geographic location. Thirty years ago, America?s principal Cold War think-tank, the RAND Corporation, faced a strategic dilemma: how could the United States authorities successfully communicate after a nuclear war? The solution was a network of individual nodes, computer units that would send and receive information in a random manner. If one area of nodes were destroyed the message would bounce between the others. After the Cold War ended, and the threat of nuclear war subsided, the potential for this ?internet? was realized. Of course, in the beginning, it was small and difficult to make use of, but as more corporations and different social groups began to possess powerful computers, the network grew and became more useful. As with the growth of fax machines in the early 1990?s, the Internet was only practical if someone else had one to communicate with. Today, the Internet has moved out of its original base in the military and research institutions and into schools and learning centers, public libraries and commercial sectors. It is now a vast system of millions of computers, not only corporate and military, but personal as well. The Internet can be used for the purpose of gathering information and communicating. The Internet enables users to surpass the distance barrier and Page 2 communicate with anyone on the face of the planet, provided that they have access to a computer. According to recent research, the world?s Internet population is only expanding. By the year 2002, it is estimated that 490 million people will have Internet access. At the end of this year, the United States will have 135.7 million users - that?s 36.2% of the total world users (CyberAtlas). Lately there has been another addition to the usefulness of the Internet, the sales of products and services. These transactions are known as e-commerce, the ?e? standing for electronic. In 1998 a three-year moratorium banned the taxing of Internet use and on- line spending. Currently, a new law is looking to extend this ban another five years. There are currently 7,500 state and local tax systems throughout the United States. These numbers could be significantly increased if state and local governments were able to tax e-commerce. On-line businesses would be buried in costly paperwork trying to meet the terms of conflicting tax clauses. Under the current system, it is difficult to determine the locality from which an order was placed and it is unclear where an Internet

“Catcher in the Rye”: Not a Bildungsroman Essay

Bildungsroman: a coming-of-age novel. Many critics and readers alike have argued that JD Salingers Catcher in the Rye is a superb example of a bildungsroman. The novel is a narration by Holden Caulfield, a troubled and mentally unstable sixteen year-old that has just been expelled from his fourth prep school. Holden, who is undergoing treatment in a mental institution, recounts the story of his mental breakdown and the events leading up to it. He concludes the story with brief hints at his recovery. Though one assumes that Holden is receiving and responding to treatment, his attitude and tone are unchanged throughout the novel. If the protagonist has not matured since story began, how can Catcher in the Rye be considered a bildungsroman?The novel opens with Holden carelessly tossing around the fact that he has been expelled from Pencey Prep (page 2). Though Holden has previously been kicked out of three other prestigious schools, he is completely apathetic about the situation. He has no drive; no concern or outlook for his future whatsoever. Even after everything that Holden experiences throughout Catcher in the Rye, his attitude is unchanged at the conclusion: and what school Im supposed to go to next fall, after I get out of here, but I dont feel like it. I really dont. That stuff doesnt interest me too much right now (page 213). That statement unequivocally proves that Holden has not matured at all. Contemptuous, bitter, judgmental: take your pick. Each word describes Holden to a tee; not just in the beginning, but throughout the entire narration. Holden is constantly judging everyone he comes into contact with. He speaks about Mr. Spencer (page 10), a professor at Pencey Prep, in the same patronizing tone that he describes a particular psychoanalyst with (page 213). Though the events take place several months apart, Holdens attitude is consistent. He continues to have a cynical, patronizing, and overall pessimistic outlook on people and life in general. If Holden is just as immature and mentally undeveloped at the end of the novel as he was at the beginning, how can one argue that he has come of age? Having a mental breakdown and needing treatment for said breakdown may very well be considered a rite of passage. However, to be considered a coming of age story, Holden would need to be changed for the better because of his  rite of passage. One can clearly tell from his consistency in tone, attitude, and maturity level (or lack thereof) that Holden has not changed in the least. Though many critics and readers alike have claimed Catcher in the Rye to be an excellent bildungsroman, there is certainly a strong argument to be made against this claim. â€Å"Catcher in the Rye† By JD Salinger (1951)Pamela Hunt Steinle (2000). In Cold Fear: The Catcher in the Rye Censorship Controversies and Postwar American Character. Ohio State University Press.

Economics IA Commentary †Market Failure Essay

Household energy bills will increase by à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½50 as the impact of green taxes triples over a decade, new research shows. By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent, Published: 12:01AM BST 17 Aug 2010 The sum the Government levies from energy use will rise to more than à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½16 billion by 2020, a think tank has estimated. Policy Exchange, which has close links to Conservative ministers, calculated that the cost of green taxes, surcharges and other levies on energy will go from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5.7 billion this year to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½16.3 billion in 2020. In 2020, some à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½6.4 billion of the total will come from levies applied to domestic energy consumption. That is up from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2 billion today. The increase will add à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½40 to the average household gas bill and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½8 to an electricity bill, according to data from the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Household energy bills are increased by a number of Government environmental policies, including the Renewables Obligation and other levies applied to energy usage to fund low-carbon power generation. Energy companies also face charges for schemes including the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme, costs which are then passed on to customers. â€Å"Green† levies are meant to increase the price of carbon-emitting energy use, with the aim of funding alternative sources and encouraging consumers to change their behavior. Much of the money raised by such levies does not end up with the Treasury, but â€Å"green taxes† are regarded with suspicion by some consumers, who regard them as a disguised revenue-raising measure. Simon Less, Policy Exchange’s head of environment and energy, said that the various environmental charges should be considered taxes by another name. â€Å"The funding for these policies may come through energy bills, rather than the tax man, but it is a tax, and an increasingly large one paid by individual households and firms. Its scale makes it even more important that this money is used in the most efficient way possible.† Warning about need to gain public support for measures to combat climate change, his report says that â€Å"raising taxation through energy bills, rather than, say, using income tax, is relatively regressive, because the poorest households tend to spend a larger proportion of their income on energy.† Dr Less also said they funds that are supposed to go to renewable energy sources are often spent inefficiently. He said: â€Å"Climate change is a major threat. It needs to be tackled as a priority, and that will be expensive. But the public and industry will not put up with paying such large sums if the money is going to be wasted.† Last week, The Daily Telegraph highlighted the latest â€Å"green† charge to be applied to British businesses, the Carbon Reduction Commitment, which will require big companies to buy â€Å"permits† for their carbon emissions. Thousands of those companies are facing large fines if they fail to register with the new scheme before a deadline next month. The articles discusses that although ‘green taxes’ are applied to fund low-carbon power generation with the ultimate aim of encouraging consumers to tap alternative energy, they will increase the cost of household energy bills by à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½50 by 2020. Externalities are third party effects arising from production and consumption of goods and services for which no appropriate compensation is paid. Negative externalities occur when such production and/or consumption impose external costs on third parties outside of the market for which no appropriate compensation is paid. Households consuming carbon-emitting energy can be considered to be a negative externality as it affects the rest of society and even a nearby country which is outside the ‘consumption market’. Many a time, the government will impose a tax on those who create negative externalities attempting to correct market failure. The graph shows negative externality of consumption, where MPB (marginal private benefit) is much higher than MSB (marginal social benefit).The consumption of pollution-emitting energy can be represented by the demand curve MSC (marginal social cost) in the diagram. This curve shows the spillover costs on society with each additional unit of consumption. Consumption is at Q1 and not at the optimal, Q* indicating over consumption leading to welfare loss to society. In order to correct this, ‘green taxes’ are being introduced in an effort to bring consumption to the optimal. This would however result in the optimal price to shift from P* to P2, which is relatively higher. Carbon emissions refer to the release of Carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere when fossil fuels like gas, oil, or coal are burnt. In a natural carbon cycle, carbon dioxide is re-absorbed by plants and trees but currently, the burning rate is faster than the absorption rate. Global warming is the direct negative consequence and the government has to invest in new research technologies to avert further crises. In UK, there are a number of governmental environmental policies, like the Renewables Obligation and other ‘green levies’ which are used to fund low-carbon emission energy. According to the article, ‘Green taxes’ would rise threefold, from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5.7 billion in 2010 to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½16.3 billion in 2020. In the coming years, as world population rises, so will energy consumption, carbon emissions and its negative effects; these taxes will follow suit. In the short run, the tax increases might not be very large and hence would not cause a great decrease in quantity demanded. In the long run however, as the taxes rise to a sizeable amount, then the deterrent action will ensue; consumers will now be discouraged from consuming carbon based energy and shift to alternative sources. However, In reality this is only partially true. The tax will be most effective on households with lower income, as this tax will cover a larger percentage of their income. The tax will not be as effective on wealthy households since it would be just a negligible amount in their budget and they will not think twice before spending on goods that cause negative externalities. Another disadvantage of such a ‘taxation’ method is achieving the right level of taxation so that private cost will exactly equate with the social cost. The government cannot accurately put a monetary value on the private benefits and cost of firms; in fact, a certain financial figure on the value of externalities such as the cost to natural habitat, long-term effects of ozone layer depletion or even that of the human life for that matter, is rather hard to arrive at. All in all, all that the government and other environmental agencies can hope to achieve is the correct direction of movement towards the optimum level of output. A more effective step the government could take is to impose a complete ban on certain forms of energy consumption that produce large quantities of emissions or issue marketable pollution permits. The latter case of Carbon emissions’ trading has been gaining momentum in many countries now and is a central feature in Kyoto Protocol and the European Union Carbon Emissions Trading Scheme which started in full in 2005. This new approach involved the issuance of limited volume of pollution rights which are sold to companies that pollute. The incentive is that if the company pollutes less, then they can sell their excess permits in the secondary market. As the number of permits being issued is carefully reduced year by year, total carbon emission can be curbed efficiently and simultaneously the path towards greener energy alternatives can be also be paved.

Maos Hundred Flowers Essay Example

Maos Hundred Flowers Essay Example Maos Hundred Flowers Paper Maos Hundred Flowers Paper In 1956 Mao Zedong started a campaign to allow more freedom within his communist regime in China. However in a year the campaign had been cancelled, and replaced by a anti-rightist campaign. Was this just a clever trap to allow Mao to see his critics? Or was it a genuine attempt to allow the Chinese people more freedom? Many historians have argued either way. In 1956 Mao thought it was time to allow more freedom, and allow great expression of thoughts. He intended to allow people to constructively criticises how well communist China was advancing. He made a speech saying how he was extremely pleased with Chinas current state, and hinted he would be allowing intellectuals more freedom. This was very unusual behaviour from Mao, as he was normally against intellectuals. However did he do this for a certain reason? Mao had been so pleased with Chinas state he had sent all the Russian advisers home, as the contract was costing China heavily in resources. However by losing the Russian advisers he needed to allow the Chinese intellectuals to have some more freedom to inspire them to continue the work the Russians were doing beforehand. Stalin died in 1953, and when Nikita Khrushchev came to power he slammed Stalin, and when Mao saw this he could see the same happening to him in China. Therefore to stop this happening Mao allowed criticism within his own party so he did not become like Stalin. This helped make himself less like Stalin too. Another possible reason for Mao to make a genuine to attempt to give more freedom was that he was getting suspicious of a Military Coup. He had used the military in the early stages of his campaign, but after they had sorted out the country they were no longer needed. He needed to give more freedom to stop the military deciding to take power. However there a few potential reasons which show it could be a clever trap. In 1956 there was a nation wide revolt against the Russian communist regime. The Government fell quickly and Russia had to send in troops to regain control. Mao did not want the same happening in China, therefore allowing people to openly criticises the regime he could see the people who could be willing to start an uprising. He mainly expected this to come from the intellectuals of China. When Mao cancelled the Hundred Flowers campaign in 1957, many thought it was a clever trap to allow Mao to find out his enemies within the state, however after studying the evidence, I feel Mao had made a genuine attempt to give more freedom within China. However, when he saw how much people did not agree with his policies, he panicked and removed the Hundred Flowers campaign, and decided to send the opposition to re-education centres.

How to Find Adult Education and Earn a GED in Michigan

How to Find Adult Education and Earn a GED in Michigan You may be pleasantly surprised to find some refreshingly unusual education opportunities for adults on the Education page at Michigan.gov. It takes a few clicks to find these treasures. From the main landing page, click on the Education tab at the top, and then on Students on the left navigation bar. On the Students page, click on Adult Learning on the right navigation bar, under Timely Topics for Students. Here you will find links to wonderful and unexpected programs like Becoming an Outdoors Woman, getting work as a Seasonal Farm Worker, and help for the blind at the Commission for the Blind. There is also a link for the Michigan Historical Museum Volunteer Program/Docent Guild, a fantastic way for lifelong learners to share their love of history, knowledge of the local areas, and hard-earned wisdom. College Career Prep Under the College Career Prep heading, there are links for the more traditional kinds of adult education. Unfortunately, at the time of this publishing, the link for Adult Education Resource Center simply takes you back to the Education landing page. The Michigan Career Portal link does take you to a new site focused on helping Michigan citizens find jobs, from management careers to skilled trades. There is a counter that shows Michigan has more than 90,000 jobs available! Use the search box to find the jobs appropriate for you. On the Career Explorer tab on this page, youll find helpful tools for assessing and developing your skills, and a very interesting opportunity under the Career Jump Start tab to work with a liaison who can point you in the right direction. There are 10 of them, each assigned to a region of the state. Contact info for each is at the bottom of the Career Jump Start page. Earning Your GED in Michigan Sadly, the GED link at the bottom of the Education/Students page opens a PDF that does not appear to be current, and it is the only apparent link for GED information. The best way to find GED information at Michigan.gov is to search for GED in the search box at the top of the page. The first result is a link to the Michigan Workforce Development Agency, which oversees this aspect of adult education in Michigan. When GED and high school equivalency testing options became available in the United States on January 1, 2014, Michigan chose to continue its partnership with GED Testing Service, which now offers a computer-based GED test. Your best option for information is to visit GED Testing Service, where you can find testing centers in your own county. In March of 2015, the state transitioned from paper transcripts and certificates to a paperless, web-based credentialing system. Its an easier, much faster way to receive your credentials, and they can be easily forwarded to schools and potential employers in Michigan. This is a state credentialing service, not national. You can still get a paper copy if you desire. There may be a small fee. Registered Apprenticeship If you are looking to develop skills in a particular trade, you will want to be sure to visit the Registered Apprenticeship page, also found on the Michigan Workforce Development Agency site. Opportunities are available in skilled trades, energy, health care, information technology, and advanced manufacturing. If you participate in this program, youll receive extensive on-the-job training under supervision in addition to classroom education. Youll find addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses for the people to contact. Return to the list of states.