French Noun Endings Can Be a Telltale Sign of Gender

French gender  is a headache for many students of French. Why is manteau masculine and montre feminine? Why is  tà ©moin  always masculine and  victime  always feminine? As vexing as this subject is for nonnative speakers, we simply have to accept that French gender is here to stay. In fact, consider yourself lucky that youre studying French; in German and Latin, for instance, youd have to learn three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter), and in still other languages, it gets even more complicated. It might help to know that grammatical  gender (what were discussing here) has nothing to do with natural gender, which is actual, physical gender of living beings. Linguist Andrew Livingston tells us grammatical gender is a way of classing nouns thats older than recorded history. Its deeply embedded in the DNA of an array of Indo-European languages that trace their lineage to a common ancestor, which probably needed to differentiate between the animate and the inanimate. In French, theres simply no way to know the gender of every single noun other than by memorizing the gender of each. There are, however, certain patterns in suffixes and word endings that are a tip-off. As you can see by the number of exceptions here, these gender patterns are not foolproof indicators, but they can help. Before we begin, a couple of notes: We try to list the most common and, thus, most useful exceptions; we avoid obscure exceptions. Also, to avoid confusion, we do not list  dual-gender nouns.   French Masculine Nouns Here are some suffixes that usually indicate masculine nouns, as well as some important exceptions. -ageExceptions: la cage, une image, la nage, la page, la plage, la rage -b -bleExceptions: une cible, une à ©table, une fable, une table -cException: la fac (apocope of la facultà ©) -cleException: une boucle -d -deExceptions: la bride, la merde, la mà ©thode, la pinà ¨de; -ade, -nde, -ude endings -à ©Exceptions: la clà ©, la psychà ©; sà ©, tà ©, and tià © endings -eauExceptions: leau, la peau -à ¨geException: la Norvà ¨ge -et -eurNote:  This applies mainly to names of professions and mechanical or scientific things; also see -eur in the list of feminine endings. -fExceptions: la soif, la clef, la nef -iExceptions: la foi, la fourmi, la loi, la paroi -ing -isme -k -lException: une roseval -mException: la faim -meExceptions: une alarme, une à ¢me, une arme, la cime, la coutume, la crà ¨me, là ©cume, une à ©nigme, une estime, une ferme, une firme, une forme, une larme, une plume, une rame, une rime, -mme ending -mentException: une jument -nExceptions: la faà §on, la fin, la leà §on, la main, la maman, la ranà §on; -son and -ion endings -oExceptions: la dactylo, la dynamo, la libido, la mà ©tà ©o, la moto, la steno (most of these are apocopes of longer feminine words) -oir -one -ou -p -rExceptions: la chair, la cour, la cuiller, la mer, la tour (see feminine -eur) -sExceptions: la brebis, la fois, une oasis, la souris, la vis -steExceptions: la liste, la modiste, la piste; names for people like un(e) artiste, un(e) nudiste, etc. -tExceptions: la burlat, la dent, la dot, la forà ªt, la jument, la mort, la nuit, la part, la plupart, la ziggourat -treExceptions: la fenà ªtre, une huà ®tre, la lettre, la montre, la rencontre, la vitre -uExceptions: leau, la peau, la tribu, la vertu -xExceptions: la croix, la noix, la paix, la toux, la voix Feminine Noun Endings Here are some suffixes that usually indicate feminine nouns, as well as some important exceptions. Remember, we list here the most common endings, because these will be the most useful for you to know. -aceExceptions: un ace, un palace -adeExceptions: le grade, le jade, le stade -aleExceptions: un chà ¢le, un pà ©tale, un scandale -ance -beExceptions: un cube, un globe, un microbe, un tube, un verbe -ceExceptions: un artifice, un armistice, un appendice, le bà ©nà ©fice, le caprice, le commerce, le dentifrice, le divorce, un exercice, un office, un orifice, un prà ©cipice, un prince, un sacrifice, un service, le silence, le solstice, le supplice, un vice -cà ©Exception: un crustacà © -eNote:  Most countries and names that end in e are feminine. -eeException: un pedigree -à ©eExceptions: un apogà ©e, un lycà ©e, un musà ©e, un pà ©rigà ©e, un trophà ©e -esse -eurNote: This applies mainly to abstract qualities and emotions, except le bonheur, lextà ©rieur, lhonneur, lintà ©rieur, le malheur, le meilleur. Also see -eur  on the list of masculine endings. -feException: le golfe -ieExceptions: un incendie, le foie, le gà ©nie, le parapluie, le sosie -ià ¨reExceptions: larrià ¨re, le cimetià ¨re, le derrià ¨re -ineExceptions: le capitaine, le domaine, le moine, le magazine, le patrimoine -ionExceptions: un avion, un bastion, un billion, un camion, un cation, un dominion, un espion, un ion, un lampion, un lion, un million, le morpion, un pion, un scion, un scorpion, un trillion -iqueExceptions: un graphique, un pà ©riphà ©rique -ireExceptions: un auditoire, un commentaire, un dictionnaire, un directoire, un horaire, un itinà ©raire, livoire, un laboratoire, un navire, un pourboire, le purgatoire, le rà ©pertoire, le salaire, le sommaire, le sourire, le territoire, le vocabulaire -ise -iteExceptions: lanthracite, un ermite, le granite, le graphite, le mà ©rite, lopposite, le plà ©biscite, un rite, un satellite, un site, un termite -lleExceptions: le braille, un gorille, un intervalle, un mille, un portefeuille, le vaudeville, le vermicelle, le violoncelle -mmeExceptions: un dilemme, un gramme, un programme -ndeException: le monde -nne -oleExceptions: le contrà ´le, le monopole, le rà ´le, le symbole -rreExceptions: le beurre, le parterre, le tonnerre, le verre -seExceptions: un carosse, un colosse, le gypse, linverse, un malaise, un pamplemousse, un parebrise, le suspense -sà ©Exceptions: un exposà ©, un opposà © -sion -sonExceptions: un blason, un blouson -tà ©Exceptions: un arrà ªtà ©, le comità ©, le comtà ©, le cà ´tà ©, un dà ©putà ©, un à ©tà ©, le pà ¢tà ©, le traità © -tià © -tionException: le bastion -udeExceptions: le coude, un interlude, le prà ©lude -ueException: un abaque -uleExceptions: le prà ©ambule, le scrupule, le tentacule, le testicule, le và ©hicule, le ventricule, le vestibule ï » ¿-ureExceptions: le centaure, le cyanure, le dinosaure, le murmure

Democracy Or Vote Based System - 987 Words

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The Bento as a Culture in Japan Free Essays

The bento as a culture in Japan ID NO. 12411099 Word count: 1075 It is very convenient that students who study in APU can go to convenience store buying bento as lunch or dinner. In fact, everyday there are so many people who are students or businessmen buying bento as their lunch when they have no time to eat lunch in resturant or made by hand. We will write a custom essay sample on The Bento as a Culture in Japan or any similar topic only for you Order Now In some way, bento is a pretty important culture in Japan society. Bento first appeared in ancient period in Japan, which mostly stood for more wealthy class people. On the contrast, especially for the rural residents just took some rice balls when they went out do to something. The rice balls were considered formed in Yayoi era of the late (about two centuries before and after), which has been had a very long history. The rice balls was called † grip rice† (nigirimeshi), or â€Å"imperial Results† (omusubi) to the Edo period. From this point of view, we can know that bento has a long history in Japan, and it is a kind of special culture of Japanese. Lunch sale has become a highlight to attract customers to buy the bento in various large convenience stores, such as â€Å"7-11†, â€Å"Family-mart†, â€Å"Lawson†. They use lots of ways showing their bento, and constantly develop the bento in new-types and new-tastes. According to the seasons change, they make the inexpensive bento but in good color, flavor, and taste. Japanese are usually accustomed to cold food, but in the winter they can use the microwave in the convenience store heating the bento by free. It shows that the Japanese people about the natural view. Japan is a seaboard country, they accept the most of food by the sea, so they have a highly respect to the sea. The price of bento is generally in the range from 450 yen to 700 yen. The qualities of bento in lunch house and lunch share seems to be above the supermarkets and convenience stores, because the food is fresh, and probably also serves soup. Lunch of the forms from the wicker suitcase, bamboo baskets, exquisite lacquer box, aluminum lunch boxes has already evolved into today’s plastic or wood containers which are more convenient to take and heat. So why is bento so popular in Japan? Firstly, the bento stores are very popular. According to the survey, every province has almost 1000 bento stores in Japan. It indicates that the bento is a very important culture in Japan. Secondly, the economics decides the popular degree of bento in Japan. Thirdly, It can keep the balance of nutrition in daily life. Especially it is convenient for the businessmen who face much pressure of working. In particular, in Japan, the businessmen who are working in Japanese company always have to work overtime up to night, they don’t have much time on meal, so the bento is convenient and important for them. Most of them can buy the bento in convenience stores, or the people who have already got married can take the bento which made by their wives. Most of married men who take the bento from the family will feel a sense of happiness. It can deepen the relationship between husband and wife, promote the families getting more harmonious and happy. Lastly, bento has a power invaluable. Most of schools in Japan implement activity that called bento no hi. It is a activity that let children buy the ingredients of food what they want to cook, and then cook by themselves and the parents just only tell them how to cook. It also promote the interaction between parents and children. In the school, the children will show their bento each other, and it let them know how hard cooking. It even promote that the part of children choose to research the diet or the work about the diet sell. From above all, it shows that the bento as a culture in Japan society how important. The bento has a close relationship with the Japanese culture and society. Food is full of the bento box indicates that a smart Japanese culture. Bridging culture is like a bento box that is full of so many things in a narrow space. It is not only the quantities of requirements, but also require the qualities. Except the reduced consciousness reflect the reduced things, in society, the team spirit of Japanese people and the spirit of seriousness are as well as a kind of reflection of reduced consciousness. In other words, bridging culture is very important for Japanese people. The bento culture can be seem from the Japanese reduced consciousness. How about bento in my country? In China, in fact, there is not having so many different kinds of bento. Most of people choose to eat in resturant, family, or fast food. In some ways, fast food is seen as a kind of bento. It has so many fast food stores in China, such as McDonald’s, KFC. Most Chinese students and young adults like eating these fast food. The most of fast food is cooked by fried, which is full of oil, fat, and salt. It is unhealth for body. If people eat it very much and very frequency, it will lead to caner even death. And the fast food is not fresh, in some ways, it maybe not very clean in the process of cooking. But why are so many people loving it in China? I think it is depends on the different country country has different diet culture. Japanese people love hanami in different seasons. Especially they enjoy sakura in spring. And of course, they will take the bento with them, and they eat the bento with their families or friends in the trees while they enjoy sakura. This is a special culture in Japan. They feel it can release the stress in the daily life when they eating bento in the sakura trees. Above all of the contents, bento has a long history in Japan, bento gradually develops an art , and a kind of driving force. According to the development of bento, it shows that the development and change of Japan society clearly. At the same time, it indicates that the outlook and attitude on life of Japanese people in nowadays. According to the bento, it make a close relationship between individual and society, and it make people know each other as well as. The bento culture is a backbone of Japanese culture, it is a impetus that promote the development in Japan. References: : 2008 : ,2009 (2010/3/10) (Wikipedia). http://ja. wikipedia. org/wiki. : 2008. How to cite The Bento as a Culture in Japan, Essay examples

Solving Ethical Dilemmas in the Accounting Profession Essay Example For Students

Solving Ethical Dilemmas in the Accounting Profession Essay Introduction In today’s world businesses and firms are required to uphold high levels of ethical behaviors for them to run successfully. There have been an overwhelming increased number of unethical behaviors in the accounting environment where a lot of accounting environment present accountants with many accounting dilemmas. Accountants handling any financial information such as companies financial statement must be operate out rightly in an ethical manner because such information is critical to a company’s well being both legally and in a business perspective and also in the accountants own perspective as it determines his compensation and promotional opportunities. In understanding such dilemmas that face accountants in their daily accounting duties, we study critically the case of Daniel potter, a qualified AICPA accountant working at barker Greenleaf Company. Dan has an acute familiarity with most of the professional guidelines that relate to morality as an accountant. This guideline not only defined his academic success but also his dignity as an auditor. However, he is faced with a situation where he is finding difficulty defining one of the ethical guidelines on materiality according to the AICPA guidelines. He clearly indicates that the valuation of the property has been altered and thus undervalued by up to 7% of its initial value. But as his boss, Mr. Freeman asks him to omit his subject-to-opinion proviso, Dan feels the ethical conducts are being violated and thus refuses to alter the financial statement or his recommendations. In light with his superiors opinions, Dan feels the need to be loyal but again he knows very well that the accounting profession must uphold what it believes in and in asking him to give a different opinion on his clients property valuation, he was in violation of such conduct. All accountants should at any one time in the business environment show an unwavering ethical behavior because â€Å"significant deficiencies† have been cited in line with individual accounting ethics. Such is Sam’s case with ruby. In this case, a professional accountant such as jimmy’s accountant is supposed to be conversant with all expertise knowledge associated with accounting according to professional accounting in the public interest, post Enron. Information such as taxation information should not have been a problem to Jimmy’s accountant as earlier seen which leaves Sam to share such vital information with ruby’s lawyer who not a rofessional in that capacity. Stakeholders involved Stakeholders are parties both internal and external who have who have any form of stoke in the business. Bottom line profits are not the only rationale behind which companies operate when it comes to stakeholder analysis. Stake holders may include managers, clients employees etc whose interest is deemed vital to the success of any business. In Dan’s case scenario, the stake holders include baker Greenleaf company and all its employees who are involved directly with its inside or outside dealings. The big eight accounting firm which ran audits for baker. The real estate subsidiary which dealt directly with baker Greenleaf is also a stakeholder. Jimmy also comes in as a main stakeholder in when he decides to buy out Ruby’s business. Though with some ill intentions, and his as accountant disclosing the fact that he wasn’t in fact aware of how jimmy’s off book revenues were being treated and they could amount to tax evasion which he intended ruby to fully shield incase the deal went through. And finally Sam who is supposed to play a third party role and advice ruby on how to handle jimmy’s buy out transactions. Its however critical to understand that the impact of stakeholders in meeting an organizations goal is critical to the organizations well being. According to chapter four of the professional accounting in public interest, the future success of any business depends on how well it’s able to meet its stakeholders’ ethical expectations. Ethical problems were potential problems for disaster in areas where they damaged part or all of the organizational reputation. Stakeholders such as freeman risk exposing the organization to clients who might easily judge them as account frauds. .u63b6c4c1dfb02eec3c00962c2991674d , .u63b6c4c1dfb02eec3c00962c2991674d .postImageUrl , .u63b6c4c1dfb02eec3c00962c2991674d .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u63b6c4c1dfb02eec3c00962c2991674d , .u63b6c4c1dfb02eec3c00962c2991674d:hover , .u63b6c4c1dfb02eec3c00962c2991674d:visited , .u63b6c4c1dfb02eec3c00962c2991674d:active { border:0!important; } .u63b6c4c1dfb02eec3c00962c2991674d .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u63b6c4c1dfb02eec3c00962c2991674d { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u63b6c4c1dfb02eec3c00962c2991674d:active , .u63b6c4c1dfb02eec3c00962c2991674d:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u63b6c4c1dfb02eec3c00962c2991674d .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u63b6c4c1dfb02eec3c00962c2991674d .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u63b6c4c1dfb02eec3c00962c2991674d .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u63b6c4c1dfb02eec3c00962c2991674d .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u63b6c4c1dfb02eec3c00962c2991674d:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u63b6c4c1dfb02eec3c00962c2991674d .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u63b6c4c1dfb02eec3c00962c2991674d .u63b6c4c1dfb02eec3c00962c2991674d-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u63b6c4c1dfb02eec3c00962c2991674d:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The diary of anne frank by anne frank EssayCourse of action Any unethical behavior is always meant to benefit an individual or an organization at the expense of some aspect in the society. They further argue that accountants have the responsibility to follow all the generally accepted accounting ethics. Auditors are also obliged to put forward opinions that are fair to the financial statements they put forward. Dan’s cause of action therefore is bound by the ethical code of conduct that’s defined by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) whether it favors his superiors or not. If organizations cannot streamline their employees to follow such conduct however, it can choose to develop its own rules as long as they are in accordance to those put forward by AICPA. According to Osmond, such organizations may choose to come up with rules and regulations that govern their employees when it comes to handling certain vital financial information. Dan however lacks a venue to air his grievances because baker doesn’t have a board with which disciplinary measures can be taken on employees such as Freeman. However companies must make sure they enforce such laws and that they fully reprimand employees who fail to live up to the guidelines set. Having a strong disciplinary board is the only way such measures can bear fruit. In Dan’s case, having a board that is willing to take a stance against employees such as stakeholders such as freeman should produce appropriate solution. Such companies should resolve not to have any dealings with stakeholders who engage in inappropriate actions. Accounting as a profession should be founded by positive philosophy and only a positive philosophical approach is capable of accomplishing this. Dan’s stand to stick by his word is appreciated but his loyalty questioned. Such influenced should be pursued positively by baker. Plante and Moran, the ninth largest public accounting firm in the USA accredits one of its employees, Frank Moran, for having brought about change in a philosophical approach that has seen ‘revolutionary innovations’ among the workforce and the workplace in general, operating on solid social and ethical values. This can be borrowed by Dan whom, by standing by his decision can help revolutionalize the mentality held by long time serving accountants like freeman. Looking at the above case study, the four stakeholders clearly outline themselves. According to professional accounting in public interest post-Enron, this are divided into the four categories. †¢The self v/s others; this includes improper use of one’s influence and also misuse of information. Jimmy and Mr. Freeman fall into this category where they misuse the information given to them to mislead other stake holders. This should be addressed critically because it has a high influence on the overall welfare of the company. †¢Self and others v/s other; the areas affected by these stake holders include all services they offer to other stake holders. Dan and Freeman, Jimmy and his accountants, Sam Ruby and her lawyer are such stakeholders. This should also be tackled with urgency because some of the company stakeholders will feel shortchanged and should be ranked as high. †¢Client v/s client; areas affected include services they offer. Baker and the big eight accounting firm fall under this category. Should be ranked as high because any decisions taken by one client affects the other directly. †¢Employer v/s employer: areas affected include misuse of information and Dan and Freeman fall under this category. The board should address this directly in order to reduce the influence, especially negative ones, of some employees on others. Conclusion As seen earlier, most of the arguments support the upholding of accounting ethics by all practicing professional accountants regardless of their areas of profession.

What Is Orientalism Essay Example For Students

What Is Orientalism? Essay What Is Orientalism?Said made a clear analogy between orientalism and colonialism. They are both setwith the same binary opposition. white/ non whiteoccidental/ non occidentalIn a very detailed and structured study of the orient (behavior, habit,tradition ) we document a large amount of fact and data. All compile in ageneral study they produce the illusion of a well understood and objectivelyconstructed knowledge. These are, in fact, mere observations and purely subjective entities (seen onlywith the western eyes) which do not explain nor reflect the true nature of theobject. We will write a custom essay on What Is Orientalism? specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We then generalize from theses singles observations, set up categories andlabels. We are now able to answer questions very simply creating this illusionof knowledge. We witness the realization of cliches; single sided beliefs that fuels themselves upon their own ignorance. SAID then explains how this technique empowers his creator. The rigorousdiscourse, the elaboration of thought and ideas, subjectively authenticateditself. The content is no longer address and leaves the victim of the discoursereduced to plain and pure denial. The content has become a set of prejudicialbelief (cliches). To remind you of the famous aphorism: the pen is mightier than the swordHe writes:Orientalism is fundamentally a political doctrine willed over the orientbecause the orient was weaker than the west.Though injustice has already been served and the political establishment iscapitalizing on those cliches, it is interesting to notice that SAID himselfalready looks at the orient with orientalism (western eye). Was the orient really weaker than the west?Could it be simply that the orient was just farther? May be not interested? Hadno curiosity towards the western world?Could it be that the orient was to busy and was not much concern about thiswestern curiosity?Very clearly, Orientalism, a very subjective and erroneous ideology demonstrateits genuine power and how, like a rumor running wild, it is hard to remainobjective. I personally understand cliches like subversive negative myths which fashion theunderstanding and the knowledge of cultures, society and people. They create permanent damages, ingrain false ideas or concepts, instillignorance and are very difficult to revert or demystify. When SAID examines the effects of western cliches, he describe the orient asorientalized. It is now a subjective notion. The orient became a western concept, orientalism a tool to control andmanipulate. This relationship (western/orient) though works both ways: the west becomes asmuch of a fiction as orient is. We can also look at the west with orientalperspective. In this relation of differences a new western set of representation emerges. Both cultures now understand each other through a web of cliches. We witness an ideology of mutual ignorance leading to far greater differences. What can we do? Is it too late?In another text, writing back or challenging the canon, SAID offers a literarysolution. It is the writer responsibility to objectively criticize his discourse and toprotect the reader from misleading literature. And as for what as been done, writing back is surely a way to restore truth,denounce myths, abolish cliches and reach out to a more objective literature. It will seems though quite impossible to erase what as been done, to remainobjective when even your own thoughts are guided by subjective values deeplyrooted in our mind. The effect are much irreversible and the best we can do is not to steer awayfrom subjectivity and remain focus and aware of the power of text.

Gollum, Epenthesis, and Haplology

Gollum, Epenthesis, and Haplology Gollum, Epenthesis, and Haplology Gollum, Epenthesis, and Haplology By Maeve Maddox As I watched holiday re-runs of the Lord of the Rings movies, I wondered if there might be a term for the way Gollum adds syllables to words. Note: Gollum is a fictional character in The Hobbit and its sequels by J. R. R. Tolkien. In Peter Jackson’s movies, Gollum is played brilliantly by Andy Serkis. Gollum frequently adds a sound or syllable to words, especially plurals. For example: Sneaky little hobbitses. Put out his eyeses, make him crawl. What has it got in its nasty little pocketses? Master tricksed us.   Wicked, tricksy, false! There is a term for adding sounds to words: epenthesis /ee-PEN-thih-sis/. In phonology, epenthesis is the addition of one or more sounds to a word, usually within the word, but not always. The term combines Greek epi, â€Å"in addition to,† en, â€Å"in,† and thesis, â€Å"putting.† The addition of a consonant is called excrescence and the addition of a vowel is called anaptyxis. Here are some common examples of epenthesis sometimes heard in conversation: /I-dee-r/ for idea /drawr-ing/for drawing /fil-um/ for film /ath-a-leet/ for athlete /somp-thing/ for something Haplology, on the other hand, is dropping a sound or syllable from a word. The term combines Greek haplos, â€Å"simple† and logos, â€Å"speech.† Here are examples of haplology: /feb-u-ree/ for February /lye-bree/ for library /prob-ly/ for probably The examples I’ve given are all nonstandard pronunciations, but sometimes the processes of epenthesis and haplology result in alterations that eventually become standard. Epenthesis gives us England and thunder. The name England derives from the earlier form Engla land. An earlier form of thunder was thunner. Haplology is at work in the pronunciation of the British place name Worcester, which is still spelled with three syllables, but pronounced with two: /WOOS-ter/. Some regional speakers pronounce Mississippi as /mis-SIP-ee/. A similar process in spelling is called haplography: â€Å"Missippi† for Mississippi. (Also called misspelling.) 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 Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:30 Synonyms for â€Å"Meeting†Hang, Hung, HangedEach vs. Both

Applications in Corporate Finance. Buildalot Essay

Applications in Corporate Finance. Buildalot - Essay Example Background of the company Buildalot is a 50 years old construction company of Ireland. The company was incorporated 30 years back as a group of companies. This consists of many wholly owned subsidiaries that operate in different segment of construction industry. Three segments where company’s business operates are major construction projects, house building construction and office building construction. Subsidiary that operates in major construction project is based on types of undertaken projects. Office building subsidiaries undertake projects related to office constructions. It operates in Europe and Middle East along with successful penetration in the home country of Ireland. The company House building subsidiaries also operate in internationally. The company initially used to engage in residential house building in Ireland started these constructions in these major segments after incorporation in 30 years back. . Business environment analysis Market economy The company operates maximum in domestic market i.e. Ireland. Therefore, this market has substantial influence on this business. Age of democracy and age of the company is similar. So, the company has experienced gradual growth of expenditure of people of this country over the years. Inflation rate in this economy has remained 4% annually over last few years and GDP of this country has been expected to grow 4% annually for next few years. Countries in European Union are the main trading partner of this country. Market competition The extent of competition among the firms in construction industry in this market is high. Eight large companies have been leading the construction market in Ireland. There three other companies including Buildalot who are highly involved in construction work in domestic market as well international markets. According to company’s annual financial data of 2010, it constructed 12% of total new units during this financial year. But, in case of internati onal operation, its business is very small compared to other international companies. The company has generated substantial market share in Ireland especially in office construction segment. Construction projects subsidiaries also awarded many contracts in foreign markets also. Therefore, the company has successfully developed competency and brand value in domestic as well foreign markets. Equity capital structure of the company Buildalot is public limited company which has 441.6 million shares in issue out of total 800 million shares. Issuing price of share is ?0.50. Company’s shares price rose up all time high at ?13.82 at 30th June, 2011. This is a good indicator of company’s growth and it was because of its more than expected results in 2010 financial year. Institutional shareholders have maximum stake than individual shareholders

Forty Fruity Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Forty Fruity Company - Essay Example The company holds that it provides something for everybody, a reason for its choice of location (AIJN, 2008). The management at the company believes that as much as they do not promise eternal life and instant beauty to their clients, they advise that regularly drinking juice make them feel full of energy. FortyFruity Company runs through delicious, healthy, and nutritious item products as the product line. The company enlists milkshakes, delicious juices, and fruit salads on its menu prepared and presented in an upscale and bright environment. They become brighter, develop smoother skins, a smile that matches the complexion, as well as lose weight. Furthermore, they have a happier and healthier lifestyle. FortyFruity opened its doors to clients in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in two thousand and two. The company offered an exceptional concept concentrating in provision of fresh fruit salad and fresh juices to the fruit market. The company operates based on three primary goals in the FortyFruity business network. The fundamental goals are outstanding customer service, provision of highest quality fresh juices and fresh fruit salad, as well as affordable prices to all the clients. Since the company aims at ensuring that, a real combination of healthy and tasty drinks reaches the cus tomer’s table, then the location. The management should ensure that other outlets of the company are in densely populated areas. It will help the company get closer to the customers their clients, which will bring the difference between their accessibility and their competitors. It should add proper means of transporting or serving their customers to wherever they need. Their creamy and tasty shakes ought to have a combination of vanilla yoghurt, milk, and fruits (Groenewald, 2009). Customers consider the creamy shakes special products. The company will, and then squeezes the juice from fresh fruits to make their juice products more marketable. Forty Fruits holds

Chemical Synapses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chemical Synapses - Essay Example The process that must occur in the presynaptic axon is a series of events that lead to release of a neurotransmitter. An action potential in the presynaptic cell causes Ca2+ channels to open. An influx of Ca2+ into the presynaptic terminal causes the neurotransmitter, which is stored in synaptic vesicles, to be released by exocytosis. The neurotransmitter diffuses across the synaptic cleft, binds to receptors on the postsynaptic membrane, and produces a change in membrane potential on the postsynaptic cell. The change in membrane potential on the postsynaptic cell membrane can be either excitatory or inhibitory, depending on the nature of the neurotransmitter released from the presynaptic nerve terminal. If the neurotransmitter is excitatory, it causes depolarization of the postsynaptic cell; if the neurotransmitter is inhibitory, it causes hyperpolarization of the postsynaptic cell. Local currents depolarize each adjacent region to threshold. Finally, the presynaptic terminal is depolarized, and this depolarization causes voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in the presynaptic membrane to open. When these Ca2+ channels open, the Ca2+ permeability of the presynaptic terminal increases, and Ca2+ flows into the terminal down its electrochemical gradient. Ca2+ uptake into the terminal causes release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh), which has been previously synthesized and stored in synaptic vesicles. To release ACh, the synaptic vesicles fuse with the plasma membrane and empty their contents into the synaptic cleft by exocytosis. ACh is formed from acetyl coenzyme A (Acetyl CoA) and choline by the action of the enzyme choline acetyltransferase.

Benefits of Social Media Recruitment

Benefits of Social Media Recruitment With the advent of social media, companies have more information than ever on job candidates, and the process of evaluating those candidates can be lengthy. In the past, companies tried to determine candidate fit through their rà ©sumà ©s. Today, employers perform web searches on candidates, learn more about them from social media, and examine their work samples. These processes introduce noise and are potentially risky the Protected Class issue Id mentioned before often leading to inconsistent results as well. Also, it is a challenge to derive useful information, such as passion around a particular technology or relevant professional connections. To ensure no ethical or legal boundaries are crossed, our proprietary technology removes the noise, such as Protected Class data, ensuring both the privacy of the job seeker is protected while helping the employer get a better perspective on the best candidates for the position. Companies are increasingly using  social recruiting  t o source candidates for employment, as well as to investigate applicants they are considering hiring. Its important to be aware of how companies are using social media to recruit, so you can use employers recruiting tactics to your advantage and position yourself to be discovered by companies seeking candidates. A new survey released by  Jobvite, a company that provides applicant tracking software, shows that 92% of employers are using or planning to use social networks for recruiting this year. This is up slightly from last year at 89%. The study retrieved insights from over 1,000 companies, mostly based in the U.S., in a wide variety of industries. Social networks are viewed by corporations as a means to recruit both passive and active candidates in a personal yet professional way. Companies such as  Ernst Young  Ã‚  are building employer brands on social networks to position themselves as the best place to work and to interact with potential candidates. Aside from passively marketing their companies, recruiters are messaging prospects directly, getting introduced through connections and posting jobs in groups. They are using these networks to fish where the fish are. Here are some more details regarding how recruiters are using the top three social networks, and how you can best shape your profiles and posts to increase your chances of getting hired. 1. LinkedIn.  Nearly all (93%) of recruiters are using LinkedIn to discover talent. This is up from 87% in 2011 and 78% in 2010. Furthermore, 89% of recruiters have hired through LinkedIn. LinkedIn was made for recruiting, and the site has an entire suite of recruiting solutions.  LinkedIn Recruiter  allows recruiters to reach passive candidates by expanding the reach of their personal networks, contact candidates directly and manage a pipeline of talent. The smart advice is to fully utilize LinkedIn in your job search. Its essential to have to have a flawless (and completely filled-out) profile so that recruiters take you seriously. You should also optimize your profile by adding specialty keywords into your headline (for example eCommerce and Social Media Expert), summary, and throughout the rest of your profile so that when recruiters search for candidates with certain skills, you come up. I also recommend that you join industry groups to connect with recruiters that are loo king for industry-specific candidates. 2. Facebook.  Out of the three networks, Facebook saw the biggest gain in overall usage by recruiters to find job candidates, moving from 55% in 2011 and 2010, to 66% today. One in every four recruiters has successfully found a candidate on Facebook. Companies are using Facebook to discover talent and arent hiring directly from the site. But they are creating Facebook pages and promoting them, as well as jobs, through the  Facebook Ads  platform. Recruiters are using Facebook groups, advertising and their corporate Facebook careers page in order to source candidates. For instance, Marriotts Jobs and Careers page has an application that lets you run your own Marriott Hotel kitchen, which increases their page engagement and attracts more people to like the company. As a job seeker, you have to make sure youve turned on your privacy settings, are careful what you post regardless, and youre tapping into your friend network to get referrals. You can also use the BranchOut or BeKnown applications to map job openings to your network. If nothing else, you should like a company so you can follow updates and comment. 3. Twitter.  More than half of recruiters (54%) now use Twitter as part of their talent search. This is up from 47% in 2011 and 45% in 2010. Only 15% of recruiters surveyed have actually hired a candidate through Twitter. Companies are using Twitter to post job entries through their own accounts (i.e.  CitiJobs). They are also using third party companies, such as  Tweet My Jobs  and  Twit Job Search, to promote their listings. Job seekers should follow companies they want to work for on Twitter and watch out for job listings, while also interacting via Twitter with employees who work there. Again, its important to have a strong profile and several Tweets under your belt before you start truly utilizing Twitter to help you pursue work. If Im a recruiter, Social media can be a great source for discovering passive candidates those who are employed but open to changing jobs for the right opportunity who represent nearly half of all currently employed talent. Because the desired opportunities rarely exist on job boards, and job seekers are participating in communities all over the web (sites like GitHub for engineering talent, for example), social media can become a fascinating place for employers to find talent that they may not be able to find otherwise. At Reppify, we simplify this process even further by first identifying this talent and then connecting with this talent to suggest those candidates who best match against specific job criteria. If Im a job seeker, Leveraging your network wherever possible is key. The average user on a network such as LinkedIn, for example, has around 200 connections. With hiring on the rise again, job seekers will need to use their connections to help get ahead of the competition and get through to those jobs where they are most qualified. Soon, this will also begin working in reverse as employers adopt new technology and tools, those right jobs will begin to find you. ADVANTAGES OF UTILIZING SOCIAL MEDIA IN TERMS OF RECRUITMENT: It is more efficient. Organizations can use social media to tap potential recruits much more easily by advertising vacancies and searching for recruits on LinkedIn, for example. However, LinkedIn and other social media applications can actually be used for much more than simply a job post site. Indeed, social recruiting can be used to increase effectiveness and forge new and deeper relationships between employees and employers. Rather than simply recruiting the person with the best-looking CV, social media can ensure that that person is also the best fit for the company. Technology is essentially being used to provide better quality links to potential employees, developing and maintaining a relationship over a number of years, which can be tapped in to at later date. There are a number of ways in which this can be done, for example, LinkedIn, Facebook and other social networks offer the chance to form a community based on a topic determined by the organization. However, while an organization like Goldman Sachs globally invests over 100,000 hours each year in conversations with prospective employees, it is not always practical for organizations to put this much effort into their recruitment. That said, social media does make it simple for any organization to proactively develop some kind of relationship with potential employees to the best if its ability.  Ã‚   Social media applications are also being used to rate and compare employees, determine cultural fit and extend internal initiatives, like the referral scheme, to an external audience and using social media to compliment their hiring process: 75 percent are using LinkedIn for background checks and 48 percent are using Facebook for background checks. In fact, more than two-thirds of all HR professionals now run internet searches on job applicants. According to Microsoft, one in four HR employees has rejected a candidates application based on their social networking profile, while only 37 percent of people see it as their responsibility to protect their online reputation.   Top 10 tips for social media recruitment: Rip up the old organizational chart:  The corporate social media function crosses disciplines. The customer service, public relations, marketing and sales teams, they all have a stake in how the social media function impacts daily operations. Dont give the job to the junior staffer:  British furniture retailer Habitat learned a hard lesson in 2009: dont entrust the brands Twitter feed to an impudent intern. Since the infamous hash tag incident, in which Habitat tried to spam the Twitter verse by using trending hash tags from the Tehran protests, companies have started putting a dedicated, always-staffed Dont outsource:  This is a job thats far too vital to be placed in the hands of an outside agency. The insights that come with speaking directly to customers is crucial feedback that can better inform a companys sales, PR and marketing functions, plus product development and innovation.   Give the social media team the power to report to the board:  The social media outreach team has a finger on the pulse of customers, prospective customers and critics. This is vital detail that needs to be communicated as far up the management chain as possible.   Be prepared:  A lone gripe posted to Facebook, Twitter or on a blog can quickly become a PR nightmare. Have a response strategy drafted up and be ready to use it. Find your voice:  Veteran journalists speak of the need to develop a resonant voice, one that puts the reader at ease, entertains and informs. Its no different with your social media communications strategy.   Be courteous, professional and respectful:  This is a medium that gives some companies fits because they do not know how to respond to customers venting their frustration. Take the high road.   Treat each gripe as an opportunity to learn:  In the old days you had to organize focus groups, promising them tea and biscuits, to learn what the public thought of you and your products and how you conduct business. Now, that detail is available without strings.   Monitor, monitor, monitor:  What is the public saying about you? About your competitors? You need to listen intently before you can begin to engage, and ultimately, transform your brand into a more transparent and socially adept organization. Reasons Social Recruiting Beats Traditional Recruiting Recruiting top talent has always been a challenge. But with new social recruiting tactics, many companies are turning to online communities and platforms to source candidates quicker and easier. 1. Making Human Resources Human Again, Digitally: Social recruiting has a major advantage over traditional recruiting: its more human. Compared to the post a job; wait for hundreds of resumes; let ATS filter through keywords; never get back to anyone process many use today, social recruiting is a transparent, active approach where only the best candidates are sourced. In addition, recruiters can determine first impressions and cultural fit even perform a bit of a background check before approaching the candidate. 2. Ability to Connect with Top Talent Now: Social recruiting has made it possible to interact directly with job candidates. These days, the best candidates are easily found online and recruiters can weed out job seekers who are not a match for the position in a simpler way. Use social media outlets to find recommendations from previous employers can save you time you might have spent contacting references and former employers. 3. Leads to Better Connections Faster: In the traditional hiring process, it could be several rounds of resume reviews and phone screens before applicants and employers got to really connect on a personal level. Thanks to social media and video interviews, this connection is happening more instantaneously and with less time wasted. Now employers can see if a candidate will be a good match for the company sooner, helping both job seekers and hiring managers save valuable time and resources in the search for the perfect fit. 4. Make Your Job Openings Go Viral: The prime advantage of social recruiting vs. traditional recruiting is that social recruiting allows your job openings to have viral qualities. Viral qualities can include the language of your job description, the visuals you use, engaging or funny videos, and social connect ability features. You cant use any of these tools with traditional recruiting and why wouldnt you want to? 5. Helps You Get to Know More About the Candidate Than Just Whats on Paper: While social recruiting does have its challenges (its a legal compliance nightmare if done incorrectly), it helps you learn more about a person and their demeanor. Social recruiting lets you engage with candidates and assess not just their skills but their personality and ability to fit with the culture of your organization. 6. Discovering Candidates Who Want to Be Discovered: Companies are increasingly using social recruiting to source candidates for employment, as well as to investigate applicants they are considering hiring. Its important to be aware of how to use social media to recruit to discover candidates that have positioned themselves to be discovered. Social recruiting allows you to see how the candidate represents themselves and what companies they are connected with. 7. Allows Recruiters to Connect With Talent in a More Informal, Engaging Manner: Social recruiting allows talent acquisition professionals to engage with a community of talent in a more informal, engaging manner versus Were hiring, youre great, lets talk.   Ultimately, what were trying to do is initiate a dialogue and information exchange with people and social channels are an excellent way for this to happen. 8. Relationship-Driven Connections: Social recruiting supports the development and maintenance of relationships that can reach far beyond the immediate hiring need. By connecting and interacting with candidates through social channels, recruiters are able to create real connections and build relationships with interested individuals. You never know who may turn into a great new hire in the future! 9. Availability of Relevant Candidate Data: The combination of the quantity and quality of relevant candidate data in social networks is a game changer. Social connections are now mapped out in a way that makes it possible for employers to supercharge the referral process like never before. Employees dont have to conjure up candidates social networks can present quality referrals with a single click. CONCLUSION According to the research on this topic I do think that the use of social media by employers will continue to be the trend; and while there will be instances of Facebook password requests of candidates by potential employers so they can examine their profiles for objectionable content, these will likely remain edge cases. Most employers will pursue intelligent policies that effectively leverage relevant information from social media, such as project work on an open-source engineering site, to select the top qualified candidates.

Patriarchal Society and the Feminine Self in Kate Chopins Story of an

Patriarchal Society and the Erasure of the Feminine Self in The Story of an Hour  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚     Ã‚   Critical readings of Chopin’s works often note the tension between female characters and the society that surrounds them.   Margaret Bauer suggests that Chopin is concerned with exploring the â€Å"dynamic interrelation between women and men, women and patriarchy, even women and women† (146).   Often, critics focus on the importance of conflict in these works and the way in which Chopin uses gender constraints on two levels, to open an avenue for the discussion of feminine identity and, at the same time, to critique the patriarchal society that denies that identity.   Kay Butler suggests that â€Å"entrapment, not freedom, is the source of Chopin’s inspiration, for she is primarily concerned with exploring the way in which gender roles deny identity†;   she continues:   â€Å"yet without the entrapment, the question of identity, even the inspiration to write about identity, wouldn’t exist† (18).   Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour† most poignantly balances the dual focus of her work, describing the incipient awakening of Mrs. Mallard, and thus exploring the possibility of feminine identity, even while, ultimately, denying the fruition of such an experience.   Like all of her works, this short story reacts to a specific historical framework, the Cult of True Womanhood, in its indictment of patriarchal culture.   As Barbara Welter notes, in the nineteenth century, â€Å"a women judged herself and was judged by her husband, her neighbors, and society† by the attributes of a True Woman which included, especially, â€Å"purity† and â€Å"domesticity† (372).   The concept of purity, because it suggested that women must maintain their virtue, also, paradoxically, denied the... ... Story of an Hour.’†Ã‚   CLA Journal 16 (November 1994):   59-64.   Bauer, Margaret.   Chopin in Her Times:   Critical Essays on Patriarchy and Feminine Identity.   Durham:   Duke UP, 1997.   Butler, Kay.   â€Å"Freedom and Desire:   The Theme of Awakening in the Works of Kate Chopin.†Ã‚   Critical Interpretations:   Kate Chopin.   Ed. Harold Blooming.   New York:   Chelsea House, 1989.   14-32.   Chopin, Kate.   â€Å"The Story of an Hour.†Ã‚   The Heath Anthology of American Literature.   Ed. Paul Lauter, et al. 2nd ed. Vol. 2.   Lexington:   Heath, 1994.   644-46.   Papke, Mary E.   Verging on the Abyss:   The Social Fiction of Kate Chopin and Edith Wharton.   New York:   Greenwood P, 1990.   Welter, Barbara.   â€Å"The Cult of True Womanhood:   1820-1860.†Ã‚   The American Family in the Social Historical Perspective.   Ed. Michael Gordon.   New York:   St. Martin’s P, 1978.   372-92.        

Characteristics of Women That Attract Men Essay

2.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2.1 Research Sample We were searching for a characteristics of woman that attract men. After all, we distributed the questionnaire among Labuan Matriculation Colleges’ student (LMC) 2012/13 to get the specific answer. The questions are universal which can be answer by both gender, male and female. All the respondent are majority from Sabah and Sarawak, while some are from Peninsular Malaysia who studying in LMC. In this research, we were only focusing on teenagers, from age 19 to 20 as we believed, most individu starts to get serious in searching a life partner around this age circle. 2.2 Research Instrument Categorical and multiple-choices style of questions had been used in this questionnaire. Categorical style are most commonly use to determine the respondent’s life background, while, in order to prove the objectives, multiple-choices answer are given to help the respondents to answer bunch of questions. 2.3 Research Procedure After finished discussing the research’s topic, we combined all the ideas from the four heads of us to one paper. We justified the questions to be more specific and most important is , the questions must be interesting and easy to be answer. This is because, based on our own experienced, people will easily get bore when answering a question that sounds boring and difficult to answer, especially those question which you have to state a reason for some answer. So, in order to make sure the surveys is in the bag, we try to make it simple and easy as we can. Afterwards, we submitted the softcopy to our subject’s lecturer and wait for her approval. Next, we distributed the questionnaires to all the respondent in LMC during rest hour at cafeteria. There were 90 copies of questionnaire. 45 answered by male students age 19-20 while the rest answered by the opposite sex. It only took about 3minutes for each person to answer. Since both male and female can answer all the questions, we can see, there are a lot of different opinion between these two genders. Finally, making analysis is the hardest step to do when we have to check the answers one-by-one. However, it become easier when each of us showed cooperativity and helping each other.

Online Financial Services Essay Example

Online Financial Services Essay Example Online Financial Services Essay Online Financial Services Essay Introduction Services What are services? They are defines as concerned with performing tasks in and around households, business firms and institutions. Services industries are those domestic establishments which are providing some kind of services to businesses, governments and other organizations. FIRE, business and health services are the largest service industries. Business services include activities such as consulting, advertising, marketing and information processing. Categorizing service industries With these service industry groups, companies can be further categorized into those that involve transaction broking and those than involve a ‘hands on’ service. For instance, one type of financial service involves stockbrokers who act as the middle person in a transaction between buyers and sellers. Online mortgage companies refer customers to mortgage companies that actually issue the mortgage. In contrast, legal, medical and accounting industries perform specific hands on activities for their customers. In order to provide their service, these professionals need to interact directly and personally with their client. In this the opportunities for ecommerce are somewhat different. Currently doctors and scientists cannot treat patients over the internet but internet can at least assist their services by providing consumers with information, knowledge and communication. Features of service industries Knowledge and information intensity – With some exceptions such as providers of physical services such as cleaning, gardening and so on, and the most important feature of service industries is that they are knowledge and information intense. They process a great deal of information and employ people with the requisite skill and expertise. For example lawyers for legal services. However, financial services sector is not so knowledge intensive, but it requires much larger investments in information processing just to keep track of transactions and investments. In fact the financial services sector is the largest investor in information technology, with over 80% of their invested capital going to information technology equipment and services. For this reason, many ecommerce services are suited to ecommerce applications and strengths of the internet to collect, store and disseminate information and provide reliable and fast communication. Personalization and customization – Services differ in the amount of personalization and customization required in them to be delivered but still all types of services involve some amount of it. Services like legal, medical and accounting require extensive personalization – the adjustment of a service to the precise needs of a single individual or object. Others allow individual some personalization to choose from a restricted as in case of financial services. The ability of internet and ecommerce technology personalize and customize service or components of service is a major underlying the extremely rapid growth of ecommerce services. Further the amount of customization also depends on the ability of ecommerce or internet to do so. Online Financial Services The online financial services sector is a shinning example of an ecommerce success story. With the innovative, pure online firms have been instrumental in transforming the brokerage industry, the impacts of ecommerce have been somewhat less powerful in banking, insurance and real estate where customers are more likely to use the web for research, but conduct research for traditional suppliers. In addition, pure online financial firms are not yet profitable. The costs of marketing and technology have far exceeded the early estimates of experts. As in the retail marketplace, it is the multichannel financial firms who are showing the fastest growth and strongest prospects of long term revival. Online Banking and Brokerage Online baking was pioneered in the US by NetBank and Wingspan in 1996 and 1997 respectively. Traditional banks had developed earlier versions of telephone banking but did not use online services until 1998. Although late by a year or two, the established brand name banks have taken a significant lead in market share as measured by number of unique visitors. Same goes as true for the brokerage firms as well Early innovators such as E*Trade and Ameritrade had been displaced from their leadership positions by the financial industry giant Fidelity and discount broker pioneer Charles Schwab. Merrill Lynch, The largest brokerage firm in the United States did not develop an online presence until 2000, but it rapidly added new clients after going online. Online Banking Behavior and Preferences Any belief {or maybe even wishful thinking) that the Internet is just a passing fad seems to be laid to rest by a new survey from CashEdge in New York. The survey polled more than 400 consumers nationwide who use online banking. Eighty-five percent of the survey participants said they would bank only with an institution that offered online banking capabilities. In addition, 82 percent said they would use more online capabilities if offered to them. Other survey findings noted that 87 percent of respondents have more than one institution where they keep their money. Along those same lines, 71 percent said they would prefer not to have to use checks or cash, but would rather use online funds transfers. Online usage has also created more of a demand for speedier service. Seventy-four percent of those polled said they expect a new bank account to be available for use the same day that they sign up for it. The popularity of online banking has been based on both speed and convenience. A majority (66 percent) of those surveyed considered having to go to a branch to be a chore. At the same time, 88 percent said they tried to cut down on their visits to the bank while 75 percent said that if they could, they would never go for a branch and would instead do all their banking online. Granted, these are online banking customers being polled, so the results may be somewhat biased. Still, the numbers do show a growing reliance on the Internet as a means for banking. Finally, customers polled said they do have concerns regarding online banking. Close to 50 percent cited security as a main concern about conducting banking transactions over the Internet. In addition, 14 percent said the issue of security keeps them from banking online. Online Mortgage and Lending Online mortgage lending is a growing field that is starting to seriously compete with traditional ‘person lenders’. The process is relatively easy. The important thing to remember is to make sure your know the ins and outs of any and all online home mortgage loans prior to submitting your personal information. In some cases, youll find fees can be much cheaper than traditional in person lenders. Further, you may discover a greater range of mortgage loan programs available. Among the highlights of these programs may be lower rates of interest and flexible repayment terms. Also, borrowers with a bad credit history may find online mortgage lending to be the answer to their prayers. In most cases, web-based lenders offer more alternatives to those with less than desirable credit ratings. Finally, it can shave a ton of time off of the traditional in person route and having to wait (what might be several days) to be approved. The bonus here is if you dont get approved the first time, you can apply to another lender right away and like the first time; youll get your answer quick. Its important to realize that not all online mortgage lenders have representation in all states. Before taking the time to apply online, its in your best interest to make sure that the lender in question is represented in the state in which you reside. A big negative is unfortunately accountability. Its your job as the potential borrower to do your homework and keep on top of your application. Its wise to check out the company to make sure theyre legit and will be able to fulfill any promises they make regarding terms and interest rates. Unfortunately with both traditional and online mortgage lending, the mortgage loan programs offered may be more in lenders best interest than in yours. Again, its so very important that you do some research and comparison shopping. Just like with traditional in person lenders you want to make sure that it is in your best interest not theirs. Another possible negative is the fact that some lenders will charge you a fee prior to you learning whether or not your application has been successful. Please note that some traditional lenders also ask for a fee upfront. Borrowers beware there are many legitimate traditional and online lenders than dont insist on such a fee. Unlike any negative dealings you may have with traditional mortgage lenders, online mortgage lending isnt regulated by a governing organization in which you can complain to. The bottom line is that while online mortgage lending may be the way of the future, its also important to research the lender and ask the right questions. And, while applying for a mortgage loan online may seem like a great idea, dont discount the value of getting a comparison quote from a traditional in person lender. Financial portals A website that provides a variety of financial data and information, acting as an information hub for clients who are individual investors requiring timely financial news and data to make their investment decisions. Financial portals are intended to give clients all the finance-related information they need. Often, the portals themselves will provide visitors with quotes, research, articles, analyst recommendations, etc. Financial portals may also provide links to various relevant sites that offer this kind of information. In addition, many financial portals provide email accounts, chat rooms and web forums. They provide their comparison with comparison shopping services, independent financial advice and planning. On the contrary, independent portal do not themselves offer financial services but act as steering mechanisms to online providers. They generate revenue from advertising, referral fees and subscription. Financial portals are a major source of visitors to major established financial services sites. For instance, about one third of visitors to Wells Fargo began their sessions at a financial portal. About 20% of visitors to established sites exit to portal sites. These have become so important to established online service firms that some providers like Charles Schwab and Citibank went ahead and have developed their own portals myschwab. com and myciti. om respectively, which permits users to personalize their financial web pages and provide account aggregation services. In general, financial portals do not offer financial services but instead they make their money from advertising and add to the existing online price competition in the industry. They are also a counter strategy of the large banking institutions to ensnare consumers into a single branded financial institution system with a single account and high s witching costs. Financial Portals are Hot, but for Whom? Suddenly-even by Internet time-the long sought one-stop financial portal has arrived. E-banking watchers are predicting that very soon, most big banks and some smaller ones will be sporting websites where customers can come to handle all of their financial affairs. Whats been missing until now is the ability to aggregate information and perform transactions that involve a customers accounts at rival institutions. Rich payoffs await the bank that can field a full-service financial portal. Its customers will likely visit he site more often, stay longer, and use more services. An early-adopting bank has the chance to become its best customers primary bank, where all financial information is consolidated into always-available net worth statements. For high-net worth customers, basic banking will likely evolve into online versions of what is now being called wealth management. Financial services industry trends The financial services industry provides four different types of services: sto rage and access to funds, protection of assets, means to grow assets, and movement of funds. These have been traditionally provided by separate firms. However, changing the institutional structure of the financial services industry has direct consequence for the online financial services. The trend contributing towards this cause is the industry consolidation or in other words movement towards integration financials services. Unlike in the traditional times, when banks were not allowed to operate in more than one area and industries like banking, insurance, brokerage were prohibited to from having significant financial interests in one another. Due to this concept only, some very small banks emerged in US in the past and it was also once called the most over-banked country in the world at that time. But this has long back faded into oblivion. Today the concept which is fast catching up is integration of financial services under one umbrella. Industry Consolidation and Integrated Financial Services Financial supermarket Most of the big online stockbrokers offer basic banking services like check-writing, automatic deposit, online bill payment and even A. T. M. cards. Now some companies are pulling out all the stops to convince customers to combine all their financial accounts with them, instead of keeping money at an assortment of institutions. This is called a financial supermarket. First, Bank of America announced that customers with at least $25,000 in traditional bank accounts - like checking, savings, money markets and certificates of deposit - could trade stocks free on the company’s brokerage Web site. Now some online brokers have sharply raised the interest rates they pay on checking accounts. Some time back, E*Trade Financial, based in New York, raised its top rate for checking to 3. 25 percent from 0. 8 percent. In late April, Charles Schwab bolstered its top checking rate to 4. 25 percent, from 2. 58 percent. Consumers have often preferred choosing their financial services a la carte - picking an interest-bearing checking account here, and a stock-trading site there. But financial services companies clearly have something else in mind. But there is dark side to it as well. Consumers should think carefully before combining their financial accounts with one company. The flip side to the convenience may be a decrease in investor privacy and data security. If a hacker broke into a company’s computers, then potentially they will know all of your sensitive information. People who combine their checking and brokerage accounts with one company should be prepared for cross-selling, the industry’s term for marketing many different financial products and services to customers. It is advised that customers should shop around before buying additional financial products, like mortgages and certificates of deposit, and not just to accept the rate at a company where they already have an account. Mortgages are a great example because the difference in cost over the life of a mortgage can be truly astronomical. The promise of internet and ecommerce technologies in the long rum would be to take the financial supermarket model one step further by providing a truly personalized, customized and integrated offering to customers based on their complete understanding in terms of his financial behavior, life cycle status, and unique needs. It will take time to accomplish this thing and also develop the technical infrastructure and consumer behavior toward a much deeper relationship with online financial service institutions. Online Financial Supermarkets. Dont bet on them. Big brokers would love nothing better, but consumers arent likely to bite At E*Trades Web site, you can buy shares in initial public offerings, do your banking, and get a 5% discount on a bottle of Le Parfum de Golf. At the American Express Co. site, you can pay your charge-card bill, trade stock, and book a flight to Kiev or Kuala Lumpur. Merrill Lynch Co. s ML. com will soon have $29. 95 stock trades, videos featuring Merrill market mavens, and an auction for diamond earrings. The Web sure is hip. But does anyone really want all this from a stockbroker? Financial-services companies have long wanted to create giant financial super markets. And financial services companies on the Web are no different. The goal has been to offer consumers banking, investments, insurance, loans, and financial planning in one convenient place. The strategy has failed for decades, and it will fail again online unless financial-services firms radically change the way they sell their products and learn to compete on price. The core difficulty for such would-be supermarkets is that they face a constant barrage of competition from companies pitching better products or services at lower prices. Just as online brokers squeeze commissions down to an average of $15 a trade, American Express offers free buy orders for customers with balances of at least $25,000. Just as portal Yahoo! Inc. popularizes a Visa card featuring 5% discounts for online purchases, startup NextCard Inc. offers similar shopping bargains plus a choice of cards with various rates and terms. And you can design the picture on your card yourself. For free. Funneling The truth is, it probably doesnt hurt to offer sideshows such as earring auctions and perfume discounts. The problem for the one-stop shops comes when they try to funnel online customers into high-priced, proprietary products, which may well alienate Netizens accustomed to saving money online. Those potential customers will click through and be on their way, and its not hard for them to find a better deal. At E-Loan Inc. , you can compare low-rate mortgages from countless lenders. At least a dozen sites offer insurance shopping services. And new firms such as VerticalOne Corp. and a host of others let you maintain multiple online financial accounts from different companies at one Web site. Internet or not, people dont want to be tied downsomething online brokers know all too well. Many customers use online trading as a mere adjunct to their primary accounts at full-service brokers. And if they arent satisfied with one online broker, theyll switch to anotherand complain about their problems on message boards for all to see. A Forrester Research study found that only 16% of consumers are willing to keep their assets in a single institution. And theyre not eager to give up choice, especially when new financial products and services pop up online all the time. The Web is a world where consumers are in charge, and they can move money in an almost frictionless environment, says Forrester analyst James Punishill. Its easy to understand why the financial industry is rushing to develop large-scale financial Web sites. Consumers want to consolidate their financial lives on the Webbut not with just one firm. Successful online companies wont try to pigeonhole customers into the same old proprietary products they sold pre-Internet. Theyll offer a broad selection, use the power of the Web to facilitate comparison shopping, and explain why a premium is justified for higher-priced products. In financial services, the Net has changed the rules. Account aggregation Account aggregation is a method that involves compiling information from different accounts, which may include bank accounts, credit card accounts, investment accounts, and other consumer or business accounts, into a single place. This may include a database or may be provided through screen scraping where a user provides the requisite account-access information for an automated system to gather and compile the information into a single page. Usually this database resides in a web-based application or in client-side software. While such services are primarily designed to aggregate financial information, they sometimes also display other things such as the contents of e-mail boxes and news headlines. One of the first major account aggregation services was Citibanks My Accounts service, though this service ended in late 2005 without explanation from Citibank. Much has been said in the financial services and banking industry as to the benefits of account aggregation principally the customer and web site loyalty it might generate for providers but the lack of responsibility and commitment by the providers is one reason for skepticism about committing to those same providers. The service helps users to manage their money on the Internet (typical desktop alternatives include Microsoft Money, Intuit Quicken etc) in an easy to use manner wherein they get functionalities like single password, one-click access to current account data, total net worth and expense analysis etc. Multiple U. S. financial institutions and credit unions are providing the service, however most of the time a vendor, such as Yodlee or Vertical One, is the technology solutions provider. Both these are the leading account aggregators. They use the screen scrapping technology and software tools to pull information from upto one thousand different financial sites. A smart mapping technology is also used sometimes so that if the underlying websites change, the scrapping software can adapt and still find the relevant information. Account aggregation has evolved with single sign-on at most major banks such as Bank of America. With SSO (usually implemented via SAML) major financial institutions are now expanding their aggregation services into new areas. Rich Presentment (getting all the information about a bill that you owe) is a service that uses Aggregation extensively, and can be seen at AOL, using AOL Bill Pay. Aggregation also powers applications such as Funds Transfer, New Account Openings, Card Based Bill Pay and so on. Independent Financial Advisors are another group that account aggregators are beginning to focus their attention. Having seen increasing competition from the wirehouses and breakaway brokers, positioning themselves as their clients primary advisor is not as easy as it once was. Account Aggregation should be able to help many of these advisors gain the competitive edge by providing a look into their clients held-away and non-managed accounts. Aggregators such as Advisor Exchange and CashEdge specialize in working with the advisor industry and provide historical, transaction level data that is normalized and reconciliation ready The main consumer and regulatory issues generated by account aggregation services include: Disclosure including disclosure about the risk of using an aggregation service; Liability for unauthorised transactions it is important to determine for losses caused by unauthorised transactions. For example, under the current regime, a consumer who discloses their password or PIN to an aggregation service may lose the protection offered by the EFT Code if an unauthorised transaction occurs; Liability for other losses for example, losses caused by misrepresentations, inaccurate information, poor quality of the service, downloading software, interruption of the service, etc; Privacy – e. g. ho has access to personal information, and what will the information be used for; Security especially the security of any location where account information is stored by the aggregator; consumer education; Complaints and dispute resolution most aggregation services surveyed do not appear to provide internal or external complaints resolution processes; Cost of aggregation services, and debt recovery; Cross-jurisdictional issues for example, what are the implications if the ggregator is based in another jurisdiction; Regulation of aggregators should they be subject to the same pru dential supervision framework and other regulations that apply to deposit-taking institutions and/or other financial institutions? ; The implications of the Financial Transaction Reports Act, which is designed to deter money laundering and tax evasion. Security Understanding Consumer Preferences for Authentication Methods Would online banking increase if financial institutions provided their customers with ways to enhance security? A new survey TriCipher Consumer Online Banking Study, suggests that may well be the case. Conducted by Javelin Strategy Research, the survey found that 31 million U. S. consumers would begin banking online and another 39 million consumers would increase their online banking activity if offered free identity protection software by their banks. In fact, this authentication method was chosen by 53 percent of respondents. The second most popular authentication method- chosen by 33 percent of survey respondents- was biometrics, which uses a dedicated hardware device to verify such physical characteristics as a fingerprint. The survey also tracked consumers preferences of the following authentication methods. E-mail or SMS One Time Password (21 percent): An e-mail or text message is sent with a random second password. OTP Token (20 percent): A small electronic device provides a constantly changing password. Out-of-Band (16 percent): A call is made to a registered phone number, requesting that a user enter his or her password over the phone, Peripheral Device Recognition (15 percent): Connection of a removable device (e. g. iPod, cell phone) owned by the consumer Scratch-off Card (11 percent): A card containing several PINS that are scratched off one at a time Exploring the Electronic Vault With electronically signed documents growing in popularity, especially for processing mortgages, banks are facing the question of how to protect and manage them. Banks must provide airtight security, yet at the same time make the documents accessible to a broad range of personnel. Electronic vaults can solve the problem, according to ‘Advanced Electronic Vaulting Solutions. A white paper from eOriginal, a Baltimore based provider of electronic document solutions. An electronic vault, as defined in the companys white paper, manages the legally binding. Authoritative Copy of an electronically signed contract or other document, and possibly its related transaction documents, in a secure location where it is held and transitioned during the entirety of its lifecycle, Electronically signed documents have been legally viable since 2000, when President Clinton signed the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (E-SIGN) Act into law. When an electronic vault is in place, once a document has been e-signed, a final copy is immediately sent to an electronic vault, where access can be controlled. From then on, a log will keep track of anyone who accesses the document, including such functions as printing or copying. An electronic vault can provide additional benefits beyond chose of security and access. For example, using electronic vaults can demonstrate that an institution has an original, untampered document, which enhances the integrity of the document. In addition, the secondary market requires that documents be stored in a secure, closed system, and electronic vaults fit the bill. An effective vault system can even indicate the new owner of a loan document, without tampering with the original document in any way. When judging the effectiveness of an electronic vault system, financial institutions should consider several requirements: 1. All documents should be protected, encrypted and time-stamped. 2. Privileged access rights to the documents should be maintained and enforced. . A complete audit trail should be kept for each document, including document access and transfer of ownership. 4. The document should be tested on a regular basis to determine whether any alterations have been made. 5. A vault system must be able to destroy an electronic original in the case where a paper copy becomes the legal version. Financial industry requirements for better authentication The success of this Web-based channel has bred new problems, pri marily in the orm of new types of online fraud, online versions of traditional fraud, or offline fraud that leverages vulnerabilities in online services. So far, the financial industry has been remarkably effective at controlling this fraud,1 but financial institutions cannot assume that current fraud-control measures will always be effective, and in any case the public visibility of fraud schemes such as phishing is eroding consumer confidence in the safety of on-line financial services, which troubles both financial institutions and their industry regulators. One fundamental issue is authentication. Consumers are not as sure as they should be of the legitimacy of the Web sites they interact with, while the ability of financial institutions to authenticate their customers is being undermined by phishing schemes and other attacks aimed at stealing passwords and other sensitive information. The net effect is that people are losing confidence in the safety of conducting their financial business on the Web, which will have a negative impact on the growth and adoption of online financial services no matter how effective the financial industry is in controlling actual fraud losses. Government regulators, of course, are also concerned about this trend. With these concerns in mind, the Financial Services Technology Consortium (FSTC) last year initiated a project aimed at defining â€Å"Better Mutual Authentication† practices for online delivery of retail financial services. This project has brought together major financial institutions from the banking and securities sectors, along with leading technology vendors, industry associations and observers from government agencies. New insights have emerged from this Project regarding the nature of authentication in a Web/Internet context, including the conviction that- although the necessary technology is largely available in theory- current Web authentication practices must be substantially improved if customer confidence is to be restored. FSTC’s BMA Project encourages and supports efforts by W3C to coordinate broad-based initiatives to improve Web authentication, and Project participants are likely to contribute to, or leverage, W3C’s initiatives. From the FSTC BMA Project’s perspective, requirements need to be addressed in the following eight areas: 1. Usability 2. Mutuality 3. Credibility2 4. Scalability 5. Availability 6. Interoperability 7. Flexibility 8. Adaptability For financial services, the first three- usability, mutuality, and credibility- are the core requirements. Usability is vital. Embedded in the hardware, operating system, browser, and internet services available today in the average computer is a truly impressive array of security technology, but it’s nearly impossible for the average consumer to make effective use of it, or even to determine if it is working correctly. Customer confidence in financial services can only be achieved if customers are able to confirm through trustworthy user interfaces that their Web interactions are safe. At the same time, customer safety depends on protection from impostors who may attempt to impersonate either the customer to the financial service, or the financial service to the customer; hence, the need for mutual authentication. Credibility2 of authentication requires that both customer and financial institution confirm the authenticity of the other party using something better than just passwords or other shared secrets. Beyond these core requirements, no authentication solution can be effective for retail financial services unless it can scale to support the entire consumer population. And consumers will resist adopting any new measures that impact availability of services, or that are too likely to break. Given the diversity of consumer needs, various authentication techniques will be required, and so interoperability is essential. Evolving consumer requirements indicate that flexibility is necessary to allow consumers to utilize multiple platforms in an anywhere, anytime online context. And, emerging threats and ever more sophisticated attacks from increasingly organized adversaries implies that viable solutions must be adaptable to a range of new threat scenarios. FSTC’s BMA Project participants recognize that the problems of Web authentication cannot be addressed by any one organization, or even by an entire industry acting alone. Instead, a coordinated approach is required involving: Operating System (OS) developers Providers of end-user computing platforms- e. g. PCs, mobile devices Browser developers/vendors Web server software vendors Vendors of authentication techniques PKI service providers Web content providers- e. g. , financial institutions Internet Service Providers (ISPs) Standards-setting organizations Industry associations Government agencies End users- e. g. , consumers, citizens W3C is well positioned to bring together many of these players to establish common objectives and align their respective strategies. Financial Industry Re commendations Leverage PKI More Effectively – PKI alone, as currently implemented, does not allow a user to distinguish between a financial institution Web site and one that, although belonging to an impostor, has nevertheless obtained some sort of certificate and supports https sessions One possible approach would be for the financial industry to establish new guidelines for a restricted subset of the existing certification hierarchy that would issue certificates only to financial institutions, and then to add new indicators to the browser â€Å"chrome† that would let the user know whether a site’s certificate is certified by this â€Å"strong† certification hierarchy. Engage End Users in Mutual Authentication Perhaps the greatest concern with current Web authentication practices is that end users- the customers of financial nstitutions- are severely handicapped in their ability to know if the Web site they are viewing is legitimate or an impostor. The financial industry would like to see new approaches to Web authentication that actively engage the user in authenticating Web sites (financial services) as well as providing stronger evidence of the user’s authenticity. This will require active, two-way communications with users that provide consistent, understandable interfaces into the complete authentication process. However, user engagement should not become an additional burden or hurdle to be overcome. Instead, users should, at the very least, be given a dashboard they can trust and that provides the information they need when they need it, including useful alerts or warnings. Achieve Synergies with Alternative Authentication Techniques The financial industry recognizes that reliance on passwords alone is no longer adequate, given the current threat levels. Furthermore, the industry must address new regulatory guidance3,4 that calls for use of alternative authentication techniques that protect consumers from password theft and abuse. Multi-factor authentication is widely viewed as one of the more effective alternatives available to financial services providers. However, there are significant challenges with rolling out new authentication techniques that will adequately scale up to the many millions of consumers that already use online financial services. In particular, consumer adoption is a major concern. Improve Techniques for Managing Passwords No matter what new authentication techniques get deployed, the financial industry will continue to utilize passwords and other shared secrets that can be exchanged bi-directionally between customers and Web sites. Browsers already provide password management tools for users, and increasingly serve as the preferred â€Å"password vault† for end users. Unfortunately, this concession to user convenience also heightens exposure to potential abuses, and financial institutions are increasingly concerned about the mounting threats to their financial services and customer interests. Browsers also provide various means for end users to enter passwords through special-purpose dialogs, though all of these mechanisms are considered deficient in one way or another. The financial industry would like to see new password entry procedures incorporated into browsers that require prior establishment of TLS (SSL) sessions and that enforce effective security practices for use of passwords. Growing importance Small-biz adoption of online banking to surpass 50% More than half of U. S. small businesses will have adopted online banking by the end of 2007, according to a new research report. Small-business use of online banking grew dramatically from 1998 to 2007, and Tower Group, a Boston-area research firm focused on the financial-services industry, estimates a further 10-percent penetration by 2010. Despite the growth and revenue potential of small-business online banking many financial institutions continue to under-serve this vital market, Tower Group says its research shows. While 95 percent of banks in the U. S. offer a dedicated small business online-banking product. Many banks simply provide a re-branded version of consumer online offerings - rather than creating more advanced features that meet the unique needs of small businesses, the research firm contends. Small-business owners straddle the line between consumer banking and corporate cash management. They appreciate the simplicity of retail online banking, yet value the features such as multiple user access and electronic payments found in corporate online banking, Tower Group contends. Banks, credit unions and emerging non-bank competitors of all sizes are chasing the small business market in an effort to capture a share of this expanding segment, said Patricia Hines. senior analyst in the Wholesale Banking practice at Tower Group and author of the research. Highlights of the research include: In order lo retain existing small business customers, banks offering minimal features must expand online capabilities. Tower Group research found that less than 50 percent of banks include electronic payments in their small business online banking offering. At the upper end of the feature set, Tower Group expects banks to increase integration with other high-value online services such as employee payroll, merchant services, and investment management.