Feminist Research Methods

Feminist Research Methods Introduction It is imperative to understand what entails feminist research methods before discussing the ways that these methods can be used to empower women. It is vital to get clarity of why these particular methods are referred to as ‘feminist research methods’.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Feminist Research Methods specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The study of methods and methodology shows that the unique differences are found in the motives of the research, the knowledge that the research seeks to expound, and the concerns of the researchers and the research itself. Feminist Research Methods Empowers A feminist research is an investigation that is conducted by women who recognize themselves as feminists and this investigation has a specific purpose for finding out (a ‘why’), certain types of questions and issues are to be known about a topic (‘what’) (Lather 571). Femini st studies use identifiable methods of finding out how and these characteristically base their success on the experience of women in a world where women are seen as subordinates to men. Feminist research methods, if they exist, then how are they different from the usual research methods in the conventional study? In response to these concerns, there are actually no distinctive feminist research methods from the conventional ones. They are innovations to the discipline-based methods made to the usual survey methodologies, experimentation and ethnography methods (Lather 572). The main argument of feminist research methods in this context explores the viewpoints of women like in networking, conversation, genealogy and multi-person consciousness. Partly, the dedication to the societal change of a situation where women are recognized for their contribution to the society entails a commitment to the subjects of the research (Monkman Stacki 174). A feminist research addresses these concer ns to a greater length. It can therefore be seen as a way of raising consciousness for the subjects.Advertising Looking for essay on gender studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More When women get involved in this type of studies as active members of the research process, they need space to question and resolutely assess their experiences (Lather 575). These methods also allow recognition of the relationships and the links that connect places, events and their lives and social world (Ramazanoğlu 137). The empowerment comes in a way that the research methods bring out education and knowledge and the confirmation that women’s experiences are part of a greater social structure. Feminist research methods also help to show that women contribute to development of meaning and participate in processes of analysis based on their experiences (Ramazanoğlu 138). The discussion among women and the availability of femi nist research methods are an opportunity to try women’s abilities in a male dominated community. There are social struggles through power, culture, class and gender. Through all these, women have to be recognized and appreciated (Ramazanoğlu 139). This is what emancipates and empowers the women. Even though the feminist research is intended to empower women, it often faces tough challenges. Looking at it from the women’s viewpoint, the attainment of knowledge can help to restructure the power imbalances in the research relationship and hence achieving the objectives of informing the society (Lather 577). In summary, the advent of this type of study design, the feminist research has played a very big role in reconstruction of the domain of conventional research. This has been exposed by new perspectives of research showing the reality of the social status. Issues like gender ethics, discrimination and female subjugation have helped bring out women consciousness empow ering them by offering legal reason for social change concerning issues of gender which adversely affect humanity (Bryson 67). What Methods and Tools Would You Employ To Empower Women In Development Projects? At a time when women across the world and especially in Asia are more exposed to the impact of economic downturn the ever before, examining the methods and tools used to safeguard and improve their participation is development project is necessary. Many international organizations for women empowerment focus on initiatives of poverty reduction.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Feminist Research Methods specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These projects help in addressing the basic needs of the targeted people (Bryson 67). Besides, these organizations focus mainly on provision of the necessary infrastructure which facilitate women’s empowerment like construction of roads, drilling of water and so on (Parvin e t al 48). Essentially, a project which provides safe and clean drinking water helps the women to significantly reduce the time they take to do their household chores. In most cases these have been the tasks of women. As a result, they get more time to take part in the income generating activities in their communities and the girls get an opportunity to attend school rather staying at home to do these household tasks (Bryson 69). In such cases that women are able to manage their time well and have some spare time that is not utilized by activities outsides their home. There are high chances that this liberated time could end up being quickly occupied by other new household tasks again. Whereas the connection between the empowerment of women and the community development is obvious, the connection between these two factors is not totally informal and subordination of women does not come out of poverty per se (Oakley 45). Because of the tendency of the problem to affect the entire soci ety, development of infrastructure, provision of income generating initiatives, support of the women self help groups and institutions of legislations that protect against discriminations are the tools for empowering women. These methods have a broader goal which is wider that human development and human development on the other hand is much greater than empowerment (Bryson 69). Nonetheless, there is significant overlap of the ideas from each of these concepts. The overall definition of what entails women empowerment is that ‘they are all processes that women need to take charge of and own in order to improve their position in the society’.Advertising Looking for essay on gender studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The elements of ownership and control need a wider range of opportunities where women can choose from and this understanding of overlaps the concept of human development when it is looked at from the perspective that empowerment is a process of increasing the number of options for survival (Oakley 45). In the Asian Countries The ability of women in achieving better heights in the society is often limited by a number of factors and on top of it all is the agency. Essentially, there is a limitation of women’s own ideas of what they can possibly do by themselves (Parvin et al 48). There have been laws especially those fashioned in line with religious beliefs and influenced by patriarchal society defining what is legal or illegal for women to do. Besides the societal norms are much stronger and selfish in defining what the woman should and should not be doing (Oakley 48). These beliefs and influences the activities women can engage in especially their ideas of empowering themselv es. Many of them having lived under such influences have internalized views like ‘I am a woman and I am able to do or not to do this because it’s against the society values, attitude and previous experiences’ (Oakley 48). There are also objective limits restricting the activities that are acceptable and not acceptable for women. In Asian nations, women have mostly been pushed aside by the ownership laws, political rights, access to employment since the woman’s place was determined to be at home, and the inheritance laws where women do not have right to inherit family property (Parvin et al 48). There is also the limit to the space and activities of women in other societal concepts and therefore tools of empowerment for Asian women do not have particular agent of change but facilitate empowerment as a process of change to be driven by women. Agency and education An important tool in Asia has been to build the agency and also ensure the people own and feel t hat sense of agency. In Asia, the ability of women to define their goals and act upon them to better their lives is pertinent (Parvin et al 48). The sense of agency is therefore an internal aspect of feeling able to act and also having that potential to do so. Agency is build by providing education. It’s quite clear that lack of it or poor quality education for girls and women contribute greatly to their low status in the society. Many girls in Asia have previously not attended schools because they were required to stay at home and take care of the home with their mothers. When they marry their role is to take care of the home, children and the husband (Parvin et al 51). The community at large must confront the attitude and assumptions which keep girls out of school. It is proper to have creative methods of changing the viewpoints of the society concerning education for girls (Kumar 110). To set up the platform for increasing the enrolment of girls, some laws must be stringen tly applied. Child labour should be abolished for good so that school going children can have only one job, to attend school. India and Pakistan have suffered considerable problems with child labour issues (Parvin et al 56). There should not be cases of early and forced marriage. These have been the primary factor why girls in Asia like in Saudi Arabia, Oman, India and other nations in the region have been abandoning school. With many activists outreach organization, the problem has significantly reduced (Letherby 123). For Asian women, social, political and economical empowerment has had an insightful impact on the position of the women. Generally, women’s position has allowed them to cause impacts that bring changes economic development and favors development equality and enjoyment of human rights. There have been considerable changes and more and more women have gotten into schools, university and even formal employment like clerical work, service industry and in manufactu ring sector. Even though today the proportion is still small, it is growing at a considerable consistent rate (Oakley 49). The Asian nations are adversely affected – especially the idea of sex selection abortion targeting girls. Most Asian have now set the primary school education compulsory for both girls and boys in many nations in East and South East Asia. More women are enrolling in secondary schools also. South Korea and Thailand have enrollment is the same for both boys and girls. On the other hand, Philippines’ enrolment of girls is rising above that of boys. Other countries like India, the proportion of women attending college is increasing yet it remains lower compared to that of men especially for college and university enrollment (UNESCO 2000). Countries like Iran Kuwait, Bahrain, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Qatar among other has strategized to empower women by education. This is because education is the only resource that can improve individual’s welfare in terms of economy and social advancement. Middle East countries used to exclude girls in education but this has changed dramatically in the recent times. The secondary and college education has been offering the girls the skills and knowledge to increase labor force. The challenge to this strategy has been that even though more girls are getting enrolment, sometimes they learn very little to allow then to prepare to compete and survive 21st century job market. Access has increased significantly but the quality is a challenge. The Arab Human Development report shows that the ability of access to education has not been able to offer the required credential for the women to get into employment and compete favorably in Arab societies. Power structures and Gender-based violence In order to act on the goals an individual sets, she must be aware on the implications of the power system on these goals. There are norms, legal frameworks and other discriminatory forces in the community (Nap les 98). Gaining awareness of all these is hence very important. Women in Asia have been subordinate to different power structures for so long. These structures include social class, gender, ethnicity and even place of residence (Naples 98). Unless women get awareness rising, they will continue to suffer under these gendered factors. Without awareness of these structures, women cannot act; therefore there will be no change. Because of the power structures that are oppressive, women have suffered domestic violence as victims of sexual, physical and psychological abuse. These harmful practices are mostly gender biased since Asian culture has rated men as superior gender (Naples 98). Human rights in the past have not been discussed openly and strongly (Letherby 123). As much as gender awareness is an individual thing, empowerment comes to a group and societal level. Women can come together and motivate each other for action (Letherby 123), For instance, the fight against violence campa igns done by women groups. Rising above the gendered power structures is what give the women power to stand up for their rights and human begins since basic rights like right to respect and dignity are inalienable (Naples 98). Empowering efforts would entail provision of medical care for victims of gender or sexual violence, psychological (counselling) services and legal action for the perpetrators. Self Esteem and Economic Development Living in a community where women are subordinates and subject to different types of oppression habitually causes naturalization of the predominant power relations. These often happen to a greater level that those oppressed begin to consider their powerlessness as natural cause or a justified phenomenon (Naples 99). It may lead to self oppression in which feminist theorists refer to the phenomenon as internalized oppression. The concept of building women self-esteem is that they must not feel that they are destined to be under men as a matter of fate rather to make them feel worthy, valuable and deserving of better regard in the society. This way, they can stand up for themselves and build better future based on their ambitious goals that come with high self esteem (Letherby 123). At a communal level, self-esteem develops into the feeling of the ‘right to exist’ and be successful in life competing equally against men. With shared goals and options, women can have a sense of belonging and therefore rise above the gendered power structure. Education is one way of attaining the self-esteem but in this case, setting up income generating activities for women would give them power and confidence faster (Ramazanoğlu 137). Women will be more confident and will have resources to help them fight oppression and take charge of their lives. Conclusion There are several ways that the issues of feminist research methods and empowerment of women can be addressed to attain better understanding of these issues. Feminist see it as a problem when women are ‘left out’ out of positions of power, history and even the daily events and communications. They tend to ask questions regarding circumstances that lead to women being ‘left out’. The problem comes when there is general assumption that it was deliberate and the root cause was men’s fear and contempt of women. To have a solution to such concerns, feminist research methods were devised to make demands against the inevitable resistance from men. These researches are perceived to be targeting to change social institutions and scientific knowledge. To get to the power needed to stand up against men, women have been striving to get permanent solutions like getting their own homes, increasing education and income, seeking for equal pay and insisting on equality in all aspects of life. Bryson, Valerie. Feminist Political Theory: An Introduction. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan. 2003 Kumar, Ranjit. Research Methodology: A Step-By-Ste p Guide for Beginners, Sage, p. 110 Lather, Patti. ‘Feminist Perspectives on Empowering Research Methodologies,’ Women’s Studies International Forum, 2002, Vol. 11, Issue 6, pp. 569-82 Letherby, Gayle. Feminist Research in Theory and Practice, Buckingham: UK, Open University Press. 2003. Monkman, Karen and Stacki, Sandra. ‘Change Through Empowerment Processes: Womens stories from South Asia and Latin America,’ Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 2003, Vol. 33, Issue 2, pp. 173-189 Naples, Nancy. Feminism and Method: Ethnography, Discourse Analysis, and Activist Research, New York: Routledge. 2003 Oakley, Ann., Experiments in Knowing: Gender and Method in the Social Sciences. Cambridge: Polity, 2000 Parvin, Gulsan., Ahsan, Reazaul., and Chowdhury, Mahmudur., ‘Women Empowerment Performance Of Income Generating Activities Supported By Rural Women Empowerment Creation Project (RWECP): A Case Study In Dumuria Thana, Bangla desh,’ The journal of Geo-Environment, 2004, Vol. 4, issue 3, pp. 47-61 Ramazanoğlu, Caroline. Feminist Methodology: Challenges And Choices, Thousand Oaks: CA, Sage Publications. 2002. The Arab Human Development report, Challenges to human security in the Arab Countries. Report. UN Development Programme, 2002. Retrieved from www.arab-hdr.org/publications/other/ahdr/ahdr2002e.pdf UNESCO Regional Office for Science and Technology. Annual Report 2000: UNESCO Annual Report. Cairo, UNESCO Regional Office for Science and Technology, 2000

Americanization of Global Media

Americanization of Global Media Summary The boom in the global media in the recent years owes much of its success to the integration it has made possible on the cultural levels. The paper tries to gauge the extent to which media has become global with special references to the web based media and then takes up the Americanization that the social fabric of the world has become enmeshed in. The paper also seeks the reasons for these phenomena. Introduction â€Å"A Literature Review is a systematic examination of knowledge available on a topic†. It is further opined that as far as academic literature review is concerned â€Å"it involves the use of appropriate peer-viewed articles† (Dawidowicz, 2010). The paper therefore examines and categorizes various texts that fall under the purview of global media studies and analyses the context and magnitude of influence of Americanization on the media in particular and the general masses in general. Today, in the wake of globalization, the world is no longer a di screet entity but is to be taken as an organic whole. The metaphor of a â€Å"melting pot† could have aptly described the situation (Storey, 2000). People across the world are in a state of constant drift and are trying to become world players.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Americanization of Global Media specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Still, the indigenous cultures of these people and their roots can never be entirely annihilated and hence the world has become a â€Å"salad bowl† implying that though people from various cultures reside in a particular area, they still retain their individual characteristic features as in a salad bowl the various vegetables, though mixed, can be separately identified (Campbell Kean, 1997). At the same time, one cannot deny the fact that people are more akin to see the world as a single stage and this has been made easy with the help of the proliferation of th e media under the garb of globalization. This, in turn, has been possible because of the advancements in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) throughout the world and the leading contributor being America. The proliferation of world markets was perhaps understood couple of decades back when Prof. Levitt opined that the â€Å"Globalization of Markets† is about to take place at hitherto incredible rates (Levitt, 1983). This has been supported by another stalwart of the field Prof. Ohmae who has proposed the concept of a â€Å"borderless world† (Ohmae, 1989). So it is highly likely that we, as a people, are converging rather than diverging with time and the day is not far when we would be actually able to do without borders and boundaries. But this phenomenon could never have been successful without the role of the global media. The boom in use of computers and the internet and eventually becoming a necessity rather than being a luxury has led to increased connectivity among people across the borders and has contributed meaningfully to the growth and sustenance of globalization. But this has been accompanied by various other changes in people who have given in to the advances made by globalization and the global media. Changing lifestyles and attitudes, lingua franca, desires and aspirations, more reliance on digital platforms and ultimately a general tendency towards Americanization characterize today’s youth all over the world. The paper reflects upon these issues and tries to highlight the impact of global media and the extent to which Americanization has given global media the much acclaimed thrust. ICT and its influence The world has become globalised because of the boom in ICT, as mentioned above. But the impact of ICT on our daily lives has made us more technologically oriented Huizinga (2006: 37). Nowadays, it is rather difficult to imagine a world and trade and commerce without computers and the internet.Advertising Looking for assessment on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The unprecedented growth in ICT has also led to make these technologies easily available and affordable as well. Other digital platforms are equally important and foster the life we currently lead. Our needs, desires and aspirations are heavily dependent on the information provided by these digital platforms – be it the internet or the satellite channels we watch on television. Moreover, as per Lester (2002: 124), ICT has been instrumental in changing the way we learn and communicate since reaching out to other parts of the world at almost no cost and no time has become a reality. As far as education is concerned, Couldry (2007: 253) opines that the introduction of digital learning methodologies in school has only bettered the way students across the world learn. This has also led to the integration of global learning in the true s ense of the term. Classroom pedagogy is being supported by digital learning objects and this integration is thought to be more conducive to increasing the concentration of students and therefore advancement in pedagogy as a whole. Marjorie (1992: 69) is also of the same opinion when he suggests that the increase in international web based pedagogy has been possible because of consolidation of data on websites and subsequent facilitation of various tutorials and other learning programs. The impact of ICT on education has been recorded by many a scholar and Hafez is no exception. Hafez (2006: 67) feels that the latest integration of knowledge forums and the ICT has helped facilitate the transformation of public libraries into digital learning platforms wherein knowledge can be accessed globally and by individuals across borders. Also the use of web browsers as a part of acquiring knowledge has slowly but surely seeped in to the education system. Hafez sees this as a cultural transform ation – one that has made us more prone to technology and ultimately let us break ourselves free of the shackles of borders and frontiers. On the other hand, trade and commerce is also deeply influenced by the advent of ICT. Huizinga (2006: 39) has noted that global commerce is deeply rooted in information technology. E-commerce has come up as a pertinent measure that traders and MNCs are opting for in order to maintain ties and trade relations with clients and customers throughout the world. In comparison, Eric (2005: 679) has opined that ICT has helped increase the international cohesiveness and accord in society. On the one hand, there has been an integration of the world on various fronts like education and business and on the other, the cultural diversity has also been comprehended and that too successfully via the ICT and various digital media. The various cultural aspects of the world have been enmeshed into an organic whole through a common system of knowledge-based e xperiences as a result of globalization.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Americanization of Global Media specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Today’s age is also known as the age of information. This has also been made possible through the proliferation of ICT. As per Boyd-Barrett (2006: 64), the way various data is stored and incorporated as well as used has helped the world prosper more than ever. Meta data storages and other technologies has been instrumental in increasing access to information across the various regions of the world and thus has successfully enhanced togetherness in almost all social and other aspects. But the most astounding fact that has surfaced is in the research of Huizinga (2006: 39) is that the more global economies are being integrated, ICT is more and more becoming an inevitable strategy. Moreover, media and its globalization in terms of developments in ICT have now taken the dr ivers seat since a lot depends on technological superiority. Internationalized Media Couldry (2007: 255) is of the opinion that global digital media has been instrumental in augmenting internationalization. This process has been carrying on for quite some time and international or global media has created a global platform for the masses who nowadays share common values and beliefs to a great extent. Authors like Baym (2007: 347) take the point further when they talk about the social networking websites – ones that have changed the world for good and obviously the way we communicate with the rest of the world. Social networking websites act as a very popular medium in todays world and that they conjoin multicultural aspects across the continents is known to all and sundry. But what is more important is that these websites like Facebook or Orkut are bridging the gap between the cultural diversities and creating a multicultural society – one that relies heavily on Americ anization. Also, there are hundreds of satellite channels operating in all countries and most of these channels can be accessed from other parts of the world as well. Moreover, these channels are also reason enough for the internationalization of media and its being transnational. Eric (2005: 572) in his seminal text reveals the impact of global media on lifestyles throughout the world. Especially the web media has changed the way we lead our lives. More than any other media, the web media is all the rage and it has patronized multicultural interaction at a hitherto unseen rate and that too on a global level.Advertising Looking for assessment on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Americanization The discourse on global media and its effects on society would not be complete until we discuss the impact of Americanization on the media and society at large. Of course there are various reasons for such a huge impact of Americanization on society and the media. 80% of the US citizens are computer literate and operate computers on a regular basis Huizinga (2006: 37). Moreover, the global hub of computers is undoubtedly the US. And so is the internet. Since both the computer and the internet stems from the US and have flourished in that country, the effects of Americanization on the computer and anything related to the internet is verily evident. As noted by Baym (2007: 349), the impact of America is immense since the massive usage of integrated global media has been momentous in the way world’s previously diverse knowledge has been incorporated into a common form of acquaintance. Particularly, the American culture has become widespread largely, since there h ave been a cohesiveness in communication among the people. As mentioned earlier, that the latest media is trying to create a single lingua franca throughout the world – a language that is spoken or atleast understood by majority of the web media users. This common medium of communication happens to be English – the language used by Americans. The reason for this is obvious – most of the companies that are known to be successful in the web business hail from America and therefore keen on the usage of English. Conclusion Global Media and its subsequent proliferation as well as its impact on the social fabric of the world are not only inevitable but also desirable. It has helped the world integrate on a common platform and has been instrumental in reducing the problems associated with such integration. Furthermore, what was found that the most potent form of media in todays world is indubitably the web media. The web media has actually crossed borders and created a platform wherein all other digital and media converge, to the extent that our social lives converge – irrespective of our nationality, culture, creed, values and needs as well as aspirations. In this context the impact of Americanization cannot be ignored and requires proper and individual attention. As mentioned earlier, most of these companies that have thriving businesses either on the media or on the web are from America. Naturally, the inclination to Americanize not only the websites but the entire experience is obvious. Nonetheless, we are on the verge of cultural integration via the global media in general and the web media in particular. One cannot ignore the fact that America is one of the foremost and most formidable economies to reckon with. The influence they can wield on trade and commerce is immense and like no other. So the impact of Americanization on media is but obvious. However, the way in which various authors have interpreted the flourishing of global me dia is different and this is of paramount importance. The reason is that these differences in perception or reason can be taken for as varying points of views that accumulate to form the entire experience or set of causes and effects that is known as global media or to be more specific – Americanized global media in todays world. References Baym, N. 2007. The New Shape of Online Community: The Role of the Media in Cultural Transformation. Social Integration Review, 12(3): pp. 341-359. Boyd-Barrett, O. 2006. â€Å"Chapter Four: Cyberspace, Globalization and US Empire† in, J. Libbey. Communications Media, Globalization and Empire, (pp 53-79). Eastleigh, Indiana University Press. UK. Campbell, N., Kean, A. 1997. American Cultural Studies: An Introduction to American Culture. Routledge. Oxon. p. 65. Couldry, N. 2007. New Media for Global Citizens? The Future of the Digital Divide Debate. Journal of World Affairs; 14(1): 249-261 Dawidowicz, P. 2010. Literature Review Made Easy – A Quick Guide to Success. Information Age Publishing Inc. America, p. 2. Eric, G. 2005. Revolutionizing the Society through the Media. Journal of Information Systems, 35(1): 672-684. Hafez, K. 2006. â€Å"Film and Programme Imports – Entertainment Culture as the Core of Media Globalization†, in The Myth of Media Globalization (p 57-89). Polity Press. Cambridge. Huizinga, J. 2006. The Role of ICT in Culture Transformation. Routledge Publishers. London. pp. 34-52. Lester, B. 2002. Building a Sustainable Society: The Digital Divide. Norton Company. New York. pp. 123-141. Levitt, T. 1983. Globalisation of Markets. Harvard Business Review, May/June, p. 92-102. Marjorie, F. 1992. The Mythology about Globalization. European Journal of Communication, 7: 69 – 71. Ohmae, K. 1989. Managing a Borderless World. Harvard Business Review, 53, May/June, p. 152-162. Storey, J. 2000. Cultural Studies: The Politics of an Academic Practice; an Academic Practice as Po litics. The Future of Cultural Studies. Leuven University Press. Leuven. p. 142.

Homework Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Homework - Assignment Example Cadenas sales force is likely to be unenthusiastic about the value-in-use pricing strategy. This is because, by using the cost plus pricing strategy, they would sell more since the PESA would be provided for free. This would encourage more customers to buy the servers since they will be provided the extra application for free. Nevertheless, they would also be encouraged to sell using the value-in-use pricing strategy since it will it offers a higher price thus a chance to a bigger commission (Bharadwaj and Gordon 4-6). Therefore, Jowers would recommend that the sales force should undergo training in order to comprehend and sell the value of PESA effectively. This will be achieved by convincing consumers that the represents higher productivity and greater savings. In the beginning, consumers will likely question the company’s reasoning in deviating from their tradition approach of providing such performance enhancing tools like PESA for free. This is one of the most difficult tasks that are associated â€Å"Atlantic Bundle† pricing. Therefore Atlantic Computers should strive to demonstrate to their consumers that PESA fundamentally quadruples the number of usual and basic TRONN servers. Additionally, they will need to emphasize that the tool will provide a saving aspect depending on the number of servers being purchased as well as saving on other costs. It is also imperative to ensure that they continue to providing excellent after sale service to encourage loyalty (Bharadwaj and Gordon 5-7). It is projected that the â€Å"Atlantic Bundle† will take approximately 4% market share. Therefore, it is improbable that Ontario will have any concerns at that particular time and would likely not take any counteracting measures at the new product entry in the market. However, Ontario is likely to take two to three years before

Developments in Pakistan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Developments in Pakistan - Essay Example The rulers and administrators of Pakistan had a tough task in dealing with the internal squabbles and maintaining the law and order situation. Pakistan shot into international fame, not because of its achievements in the economic field, but for its terrorist leanings. Whether it supports the international terrorism or not, is a highly debatable question even today. Its leadership asserts that it does not, but India and America strongly believe that it does! The developments in Iraq, the 9/11 terrorist attacks that rattled America in the year 2001,and the subsequent rise in global terrorism, whose base is in Afghanistan and the border districts of Pakistan, has brought this country to the international scene. Due to Americas close alliance with Pakistan for strategic reasons, this country is always in the limelight for one reason for the other, during the last decade. It emerged out of isolation and is a newsworthy country in the international press. â€Å" In October 1999, Pakistanà ¢â‚¬â„¢s Chief of Army Staff Gen. Pervez Musharraf replaced Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup. Following the military overthrow of an elected government, Islamabad faced considerable international opprobrium and was subjected to automatic coup-related U.S. sanctions. The September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and Musharraf’s ensuing withdrawal of support for the Afghan Taliban regime, however,had the effect of greatly reducing Pakistan’s international isolation.†(PDF-Pakistans....) From the point of view of policy declarations, USA avers that Pakistan is a vital ally in the international anti-terrorism coalition. USA is fully aware of the shortcomings and limitations of functioning of the Pakistans political leadership, where religious fanaticism rules the roost. USA wishes to lend a helping hand in strengthening

Factors affecting growth and development Essay Example for Free

Factors affecting growth and development Essay Introduction There are numerous factors that could potentially affect how an individual grows and develops. As Beyoncà © was growing up she may or may not have experienced factors that could influence on how she lives and what her future plans out to be. In this assignment, I will explain different situations for 5 life factors that may determine how someone lives. One of these is the biological factor. This is anything that affects how someone develops for example FAS. The second factor is environmental, this affects how someone develops due to their surroundings e. g. someone who is asthmatic. Thirdly is the socioeconomic factor, which according to Classroom.synonym.com (2017) â€Å"are the social and economic experiences and realities that help mold ones personality, attitudes, and lifestyle. The factor can also define refine regions and neighborhoods.† Next is the genetic factor this factor is based on things that affect an individual’s development because of their DNA. Finally is the lifestyle factor this is where the life that someone lives can affect how they develop physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially. Biological A biological factor that I would be explaining is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), which ultimately is an avoidable condition caused by the heavy consumption of alcohol that the pregnant mother is in taking. When an individual is pregnant the baby depends on them to be able to survive and grow, this process is done from the mother passing nutrients and oxygen from her blood, into the unborn baby’s placenta which then travels to the baby’s bloodstream. The mother will also help with the removal of waste and CO from the unborn baby. When a mother drinks alcohol it gets into her bloodstream which then eventually will pass through the placenta, which separates the mothers and baby’s blood, then entering the baby’s bloodstream. Mackintosh. M (2017) says that â€Å"drinking alcohol in the first three months is linked to miscarriage and birth abnormalities.† This is due to the high rate of alcohol in the baby’s blood which reduces the rate of oxygen ca using hindering the development of the baby’s lungs, heart and brain. There are many reasons on why someone may want to drink alcohol whilst pregnant. One reason could be that they are addicted to alcohol meaning that they can’t usually stop without the help of other people. Another reason could be that the mother just simply is totally clueless of her pregnancy, therefore, has carried on as normal for the first couple of months of the pregnancy. However, for many of the different reasons, there are people who are willing to help to ensure the safety of you and the unborn baby. An individual living with FAS will normally have visible physical effects such as distinctive facial features which include: a small head, narrow eyes and a smooth philtrum (the area between the nose and top lip). However, these features are more apparent when they are younger. It is known for some people who have FAS to have learning difficulties such as such as problems with thinking, speech, social skills, timekeeping, math’s or memory and mood, attention or behavioral problems – such as autism-like behavior or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). (NHS.UK, 2017) According to psychiatry.emory.edu (2017), â€Å"Children and adolescent with FAS and other alcohol-related disorders may be developmentally delayed, have mental retardation or have problems with specific learning differences or disabilities. These conditions are often associated with social, emotional, behavioral, and academic problems.† When these and other deficits are not identified early in life, children may be viewed as being deliberately â€Å"bad† or having â€Å"emotional† problems when, in fact, they are unable to act in ways that caregivers ask of them. Such labels can be very damaging to self-esteem.† Environmental There are many environmental factors that could affect an individual’s development, physically, intellectually, emotionally, and socially. For this factor, I will be explaining the effects of ‘Damp and Overcrowded Housing’. Dampness in buildings are mainly caused by the condensation of moisture in the air, the moisture settles and create perfect environments for bacteria such as fungi to grow. For example, If the mold/damp is present on a painted or wallpapered wall, it would cause the paint or wallpaper to peel away from them. If the mold continues to grow, it increases the risk of respiratory problems such as coughs and asthma, this is more likely for children. Many families live in a house that thrives with mold and dampness, leaving them open to the effects. There are many children who will experience asthma attacks due to the mold and overcrowding, resulting in them missing vital days of school. Which then lowers their chances of getting good qualifications, decreasing the chances of getting well-paid jobs. Living in poor quality housing will also affect an individual’s mental state, they may end up being depressed and stressed, due to the pressures that they are put under. The effects of stress can lead to behavioral problems such as eating disorders, physical problems such as nausea and dizziness, and cognitive problems such as memory loss, (Helpguide.org, 2017). It may also result in miscarriages or premature births which isn’t really good for the mother or the child. Due to there not being enough room in the house it could cause fights and relationship pressures to occur. Living in a damp and overcrowded house can also lead to other environmental factors such as discrimination. Discrimination affects both the children and adults of the family. For example, if a child, living in a house that has damp went to school some children may bully that individual because their clothes may smell like damp. This will affect how they make friends, because they may be wary about how people will react to them due to the past or ongoing situations of where they have been bullied. â€Å"Children from low-income families often forgo events that most of us would take for granted. They miss school trips; can’t invite friends round for tea; and can’t afford a one-week holiday away from home. While studies show that there are more play areas in deprived areas, their quality is generally poorer. Vandalism, playground misuse and danger of injury all act as deterrents to using what otherwise might be good facilities.† (cpag.org, 2017) Socioeconomic Income is the money that an individual or household gets and according to myaccountingcourse.com (2017) expenditures â€Å"are payments of currency or barter credits for necessary inputs (goods or services). This could be anything from purchases equipment to hiring employees. Obligatory settlements or payment of liabilities such as invoices, receipts, and vouchers can also be considered expenditures.† Both expenditures and income can affect an individual’s life in positive and negative ways, â€Å"your income has a greater impact on your health than lifestyle choices.† (Therecord.com 2017). An individual living in a high-income family may experience many positive interactions and opportunities that people who may be living in a low-income family may not experience. However, there are some disadvantages of being in a high-income family is that others may take advantage of them, for the money. Another disadvantage that applies to both high and low-income families i s that the individuals within may start to become ungrateful towards things and not think of others. Children who live in low-income households tend to struggle more than others with a higher income in many situations in life for example education or health, this is the secondary effects of an individual being poorer. Children living in poorer households are more likely to have low attendance/punctuality at school and are also more likely to get behavior referrals due to ‘bad behavior’. Lowered attendance leads too many missed lessons which put them behind hindering their intellectual development and their behavior which is seen as socially wrong would impact on them making friends. â€Å"Education is the process of learning. It includes the difference in the level of education that somebody has received and the qualifications that somebody has,† (classroom notes, 2017). Children from around the age of 5 may start to experience being bullied, due to their family income by other children, this can cause emotional outbursts triggering them to act out or even being extremely weary and quiet. Bullying can cause an individual to be emotionally unstable which will have impacts on their sexual relationships in future life. According to jrf.org.uk, (2017) â€Å"income influences many different outcomes at the same time, including maternal mental health and children\s anxiety levels and behavior.† Someone living in a high-income family will physical dress up well and they may have the latest fashion trends, whereas someone living in a low-income family may appear to have scruffy or large clothes that may most likely be handed down from a family member. Genetic The genetic factor that I will be explaining in this assessment is cystic fibrosis (CF). Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder which causes a mass production of mucus to build up throughout the individual’s organs in their body. An individual will only get CF if both biological parents were carriers of the gene. This means that parents that don’t have CF have a possibility of conceiving a child who has and shows CF. this disorder is very harmfully for an individual it affects their lungs due to the buildup of mucus in the pathways which then leaves them open to infections. Cysticfibrosis.org.uk (2017), states that â€Å"Cystic fibrosis can cause the pancreas to become blocked with mucus, and when this happens enzymes required for digesting food cannot reach the stomach. People with CF often need to take more than 50 tablets a day to help digest food and keep respiratory symptoms in check.† Someone who has cystic fibrosis will have a lowered life expectancy the average life expectancy of someone one living with CF is 41years old. Cystic fibrosis affects someone’s daily life because for treatment an individual will have to go through daily routines such as physio and taken tablets. These help to control the effects of CF. â€Å"Living with a chronic disease, such as CF, can be emotionally challenging. Although moments of sadness and anxiety due to the uncertainty of your health may come and go, depression and persistent anxiety should be treated as part of your overall health and emotional wellness.† (cff.org, 2017). Due to appointments, a CF patient may experience a low attendance at school or college, the missing lesson will then have intellectual development issues on the individual because they have missed out on key information that the teacher has given out. This disadvantages that individual compared to their peers which might cause them to feel isol ated. Lifestyle For this factor, I will be explaining about the use and misuse of substances. There are 2 types of drugs that someone may use these are: medical drugs such as paracetamol are usually prescribed by a doctor, to either relieve pain or to cure illness. Mackintosh. M (2017), explains that â€Å"recreational drugs such as alcohol and tobacco are taken by people because they like the effects that they have on their bodies, but they are addictive. Heroin and cocaine are illegal recreational drugs that are very addictive.† There are 3 main categories of drugs these are depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens (cause hallucinations or sensations and images that seem real though they are not). These will all influence an individual, however, the effects will be different depending on the type of drug that they have taken. Depressants such as alcohol and heroin tend to reduce the activity of an individual’s nervous system for a while. Some people will drink alcohol because they are feeling low/stressed, however, the effects of the alcohol cause the person to feel even lower so then they would drink some more, and the cycle will then continue. This may result in an individual beige pendant on alcohol which is a gateway to addiction. According to Wikipedia.org (2017), â€Å"alcohol intoxication affects the brain causing slurred speech and delayed reflexes.† Stimulants such as caffeine, speed up the reactions of the nervous system resulting in high performances in sports. According to Drugfre eworld.com (2017), â€Å"Stimulants can be addictive. Repeated high doses of some stimulants over a short period can lead to feelings of hostility or paranoia. Such doses may also result in dangerously high body temperatures and an irregular heartbeat.† This can cause individuals to feel socially cut off from everyone, which will affect them socially and emotionally.

Acute Diverticulitis Essay -- Diseases, Disorders

On my third day of clinical course I had an African America patient age 72, female, a retired high school teacher who was admitted for an Acute Diverticulitis with Perforation. She is diabetic and had a medical and surgical history of diverticulitis, High Cholesterol, Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM), Hysterectomy, and Scoliosis. She has been on clear liquid diet since she was admitted then she was Nothing by Mouth NPO for the CT scan for that day. When I got the assignment that I was going to be taking care of a patient with an acute diverticulitis, the first thing on my mind was that she will be in a severe abdominal pain, high fever due to infection because my aunty had same disease. To my surprise, she claimed a 0 /10 on a 0-10 pain scale. Her blood sugar and vital signs were normal except for respiratory that was 22. All her laboratory test results were normal including WBC. Patient concern was that she couldn’t have a bowel movement. She was me dicated on Colace- a stool softener, morphine for pain, sulfran for nausea, and azactam an antibiotics. Diverticulosis is a disease from the diverticulum. This is when the colon wall is been outpunched through the mucosa. These are small mucosal herniation bulging via smooth muscle and layers of the intestine along vasa recta formed opening in colon’s wall. Diverticulitis causes is still unknown but develop after a micro or macro perforation of diverticulum. Peritonitis is an end result from an intestinal rupture in the case of a large perforation. Clinically, diverticulosis could be asymptomatic or symptomatic, they are uncomplicated with no evidence of bleeding or inflammation. Signs and symptoms includes palpable mass and tenderness mostly i... ...an seven 6-ounce of glasses of fluid each day most especially for patients on pharmaceutical fiber supplements. Works Cited Ferzoco, K.H. (2010). Small bowel diverticulitis. The New England Journal of Medicine. 327: 302-7 Juchems, A.A. (2010). Long-term management of diverticulitis in young patients. Diseases of the Colon & Rectum. 58:627-629. Marinella, L.B. et al: (2010). Acute Diverticulitis. The New England Journal of Medicine. 327: 1521-1526 Painter, P.V. (2009). Diverticulitis. Gastroenterology Clinics of North America. 18:357-385. Spivak, W.K., & deSouza, J.M. (2008). Diverticulitis of the right colon. Digestive diseases and sciences. 49: 350-358 Wilcox, C.V. (2009). Limitation in the CT diagnosis of acute diverticulitis: Comparison of CT, contrast enema, pathologic findings in 16 patients. American Journal of Roentgenology. 201:381-385.

Mobile Banking

Introduction Many banks have established presence on the Internet and many others are in the process of doing so. Using telecommunication systems and networks, a bank can reach out to customers and provide them with not only general information about its services but also the opportunity of performing interactive banking transactions. In electronic banking, bank customers can request information and carry out most banking services (e. g. balance reporting, inter-account transfers, and bill payment) via a telecommunication network without the need to go at the bank’s branch offices.Electronic banking comprises all electronic channels customers use to access their accounts, including the Internet and recently mobile phones (WAP- Wireless Application protocol, SMS- Short Message Service, SIM Toolkit, PDAs-Personal Digital Assistants). The cell phone handset can be used as a terminal in much the same way as an ATM (Automatic Teller Machine). Currently, almost everyone in the devel oped countries carries a mobile phone.So, customers can access their bank accounts through the bank’s website using not only a computer but also mobile devices. M-banking is not only another channel for banking services, but there is the possibility for becoming the primary channel. What is Mobile Banking? Mobile banking is a Banking process without bank branch, which provides financial services to unbanked communities efficiently and at affordable cost. To provide banking and financial services through mobile technology device by mobile phone is called Mobile banking.Mobile banking (also known as M-Banking, mbanking, SMS Banking) is a term used for performing balance checks, account transactions, payments, credit applications and other banking transactions through a mobile device such as a mobile phone or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). The earliest mobile banking services were offered over SMS. With the introduction of the first primitive smart phones with WAP support ena bling the use of the mobile web in 1999, the first European banks started to offer mobile banking on this platform to their customers. A mobile banking conceptual model Mobile Banking refers to provision and availment of banking- and financial services with the help of mobile telecommunication devices. The scope of offered services may include facilities to conduct bank and stock market transactions, to administer accounts and to access customized information†. According to this model Mobile Banking can be said to consist of three inter-related concepts: * Mobile Accounting * Mobile Brokerage * Mobile Financial Information Services Most services in the categories designated Accounting and Brokerage are transaction-based.The non-transaction-based services of an informational nature are however essential for conducting transactions – for instance, balance inquiries might be needed before committing a money remittance. The accounting and brokerage services are therefore of fered invariably in combination with information services. Information services, on the other hand, may be offered as an independent module. Trends in mobile banking The advent of the Internet has enabled new ways to conduct banking business, resulting in the creation of new institutions, such as online banks, online brokers and wealth managers.Such institutions still account for a tiny percentage of the industry. Over the last few years, the mobile and wireless market has been one of the fastest growing markets in the world and it is still growing at a rapid pace. According to the GSM Association and Ovum, the number of mobile subscribers exceeded 2 billion in September 2005, and now (2009) exceeds 2. 5 billion (of which more than 2 billion are GSM). According to a study by financial consultancy Celent, 35% of online banking households will be using mobile banking by 2010, up from less than 1% today.Upwards of 70% of bank center call volume is projected to come from mobile phones. Mobile banking will eventually allow users to make payments at the physical point of sale. â€Å"Mobile contactless payments† will make up 10% of the contactless market by 2010. Another study from 2010 by Berg Insight forecasts that the number of mobile banking users in the US will grow from 12 million in 2009 to 86 million in 2015. The same study also predicts that the European market will grow from 7 million mobile banking users in 2009 to 115 million users in 2015.Many believe that mobile users have just started to fully utilize the data capabilities in their mobile phones. In Asian countries like India, China, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Philippines, where mobile infrastructure is comparatively better than the fixed-line infrastructure, and in European countries, where mobile phone penetration is very high (at least 80% of consumers use a mobile phone), mobile banking is likely to appeal even more. Mobile banking business models A wide spectrum of Mobile/branchless banking models is evolving.However, no matter what business model, if mobile banking is being used to attract low-income populations in often rural locations, the business model will depend on banking agents, retail or postal outlets that process financial transactions on behalf telcos or banks. The banking agent is an important part of the mobile banking business model since customer care, service quality, and cash management will depend on them. Many telcos will work through their local airtime resellers. However, banks in Colombia, Brazil, Peru, and other markets use pharmacies, bakeries, etc.These models differ primarily on the question that who will establish the relationship (account opening, deposit taking, lending etc. ) to the end customer, the Bank or the Non-Bank/Telecommunication Company (Telco). Another difference lies in the nature of agency agreement between bank and the Non-Bank. Models of branchless banking can be classified into three broad categories – Bank Focused , Bank-Led and Nonbank-Led. Bank-focused model The bank-focused model emerges when a traditional bank uses non-traditional low-cost delivery channels to provide banking services to its existing customers.Examples range from use of Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) to internet banking or mobile phone banking to provide certain limited banking services to banks’ customers. This model is additive in nature and may be seen as a modest extension of conventional branch-based banking. Bank-led model The bank-led model offers a distinct alternative to conventional branch-based banking in that customer conducts financial transactions at a whole range of retail agents (or through mobile phone) instead of at bank branches or through bank employees.This model promises the potential to substantially increase the financial services outreach by using a different delivery channel (retailers/ mobile phones), a different trade partner (telco/chain store) having experience and target market dist inct from traditional banks, and may be significantly cheaper than the bank-based alternatives. The bank-led model may be implemented by either using correspondent arrangements or by creating a JV between Bank and Telco/non-bank Non-bank-led model The non-bank-led model is where a bank has a limited role in the day-to-day account management.Typically its role in this model is limited to safe-keeping of funds. Account management functions are conducted by a non-bank (e. g. Telco) who has direct contact with individual customers. Mobile banking services Mobile banking can offer services such as the following: Account information * Mini-statements and checking of account history * Alerts on account activity or passing of set thresholds * Monitoring of term deposits * Access to loan statements * Access to card statements * Mutual funds / equity statements * Insurance policy management Pension plan management * Status on cheque, stop payment on cheque * Ordering cheque books * Balance ch ecking in the account * Recent transactions * Due date of payment (functionality for stop, change and deleting of payments) * PIN provision, Change of PIN and reminder over the Internet * Blocking of (lost, stolen) cards Payments, deposits, withdrawals, and transfers * Domestic and international fund transfers * Micro-payment handling * Mobile recharging * Commercial payment processing * Bill payment processing * Peer to Peer payments Withdrawal at banking agent * Deposit at banking agent A specific sequence of SMS messages will enable the system to verify if the client has sufficient funds in his or her wallet and authorize a deposit or withdrawal transaction at the agent. When depositing money, the merchant receives cash and the system credits the client's bank account or mobile wallet. In the same way the client can also withdraw money at the merchant: through exchanging SMS to provide authorization, the merchant hands the client cash and debits the merchant's account.Kenya's M-P ESA mobile banking service, for example, allows customers of the mobile phone operator Safaricom to hold cash balances which are recorded on their SIM cards. Cash may be deposited or withdrawn from M-PESA accounts at Safaricom retail outlets located throughout the country, and may be transferred electronically from person to person as well as used to pay bills to companies. One of the most innovative applications of mobile banking technology is Zidisha, a US-based nonprofit microlending platform that allows residents of developing countries to raise small business loans from web users worldwide.Zidisha uses mobile banking for loan disbursements and repayments, transferring funds from lenders in the United States to the borrowers in rural Africa using nothing but the internet and mobile phones. Investments * Portfolio management services * Real-time stock quotes * Personalized alerts and notifications on security prices Support * Status of requests for credit, including mortgage appr oval, and insurance coverage * Check (cheque) book and card requests * Exchange of data messages and email, including complaint submission and tracking * ATM location.Content services * General information such as weather updates, news * Loyalty-related offers * Location-based services Based on a survey conducted by Forrester, mobile banking will be attractive mainly to the younger, more â€Å"tech-savvy† customer segment. A third of mobile phone users say that they may consider performing some kind of financial transaction through their mobile phone. But most of the users are interested in performing basic transactions such as querying for account balance and making bill payment. Benefits of Mobile Banking * Real time on-line banking Available anytime, anywhere throughout the country * It is convenient, affordable and secure * It is much more effective in developing savings habits * It will make access to banking and advanced payment transactions at affordable cost * It is m uch safer, specify and safeguard against fraudulent transactions. Process of Mobile Banking: The concept is different from SMS Banking which was discussed previously. The architecture is based on the specific requirement that the facility is provided through GRPS, GSM, CDMA, EDGE, 3G and CSD enabled mobile phones.With Mobile banking, the following services can be availed of, but is not restricted to, * Viewing A/C statement * Viewing Cheque Status * Stopping Cheque Payment * Cheque Book Request * Fixed Deposit Enquiry * Bill Payment * Shopping/ Purchasing items The services can be provided to customers directly by the bank or through a 3rd party vendor; and explanations for both are followed. Architecture 1: When the bank provides the service directly to the customer The setup will have a web server, application server and the database at the ank’s premises. We shall call this the mobile banking server for ease of understanding. The application will ensure what services are t o be provided to the customer. Based on the banking services provided to the customer, the security of the infrastructure has to be built in. The database can be the same as the Core banking database, having another table for mobile banking users. The customer uses his/her mobile phones to transact through the mobile network.The Mobile banking server in turn talks to the Core banking systems of the bank for user authentication, processing transactions, authorization, etc. Architecture 2: When banks outsource this facility to 3rd party vendors This is the more popular architecture as Banks can quickly roll out their mobile banking solutions by connecting to a 3rd party. This is also the architecture with more security issues as interconnection with a 3rd party is involved. In this architecture, the mobile banking servers are located at the 3rd party vendor’s data centre.These servers will talk to the Core Banking servers of the bank through a secured channel (dedicated or shar ed link) for authentication, authorization and transaction processing. Pre requisites to using this facility The customer has to first register with the Bank for using Mobile banking facility by linking the user’s mobile number with the account number. Application functionality The mobile banking facility can be provided to mobile phone users through a client or a web based access. Using the client or web browser, the necessary security features are to be built.Customer performs banking transactions based the services like check account balance, fund transfer, bill payment, shopping, etc provided by the bank. User requesting a transaction * The user selects the service he wants to perform like check account balance, bill payment, etc. * The mobile banking server asks for re-authentication for critical transactions. a) Re-authentication with the mobile banking sever ensures that critical transactions are verified and mapped to the user. b) The re-authentication can be estricte d with the vendor only; the user need not authenticate with the bank every time a transaction is performed. Again this depends on the role played by the vendor. * User re-enters the credentials. * Server authenticates the mobile user and forwards the data to the bank on how to process the mobile user’s service request. For e. g. , checking the account balance service, the mobile banking server will contact the bank’s server on how to process the request. Bank processing the transaction * The bank server will ask for details required to service the user request. Taking the above example, the bank will ask for cheque number and this is forwarded by the mobile banking server to the end user. * The end user enters the details and sends it to the mobile banking server. * The server again asks for authentication. Once authenticated, the mobile banking server will forward the cheque number to the bank’s server. * This can be an optional check based on the criticality o f the service requested. For e. g. , if the bank provides fund transfer service, then it may be a good idea to again check for the user’s credentials.Again this is purely based on the criticality of the service provided * The bank’s server will check the status of the cheque and provide the details to the mobile user via the mobile banking server. Finally, this is just an example to show how the application should process requests from the mobile user. Based on the services provided by the bank, the security of the application can be built-in. For e. g. , if the application allows fund transfer or bill payment, then the required security threats should be identified and mitigated.Future functionalities in mobile banking Based on the ‘International Review of Business Research Papers' from World business Institute, Australia, following are the key functional trends possible in world of Mobile Banking. With the advent of technology and increasing use of smartphone a nd tablet based devices, the use of Mobile Banking functionality would enable customer connect across entire customer life cycle much comprehensively than before. With this scenario, current mobile banking objectives of say building relationships, reducing cost, chieving new revenue stream will transform to enable new objectives targeting higher level goals such as building brand of the banking organization. Emerging technology and functionalities would enable to create new ways of lead generation, prospecting as well as developing deep customer relationship and mobile banking world would achieve superior customer experience with bi-directional communications. Illustration of objective based functionality enrichment In Mobile Banking * Communication enrichment: – Video Interaction with agents, advisors. Pervasive Transactions capabilities: – Comprehensive â€Å"Mobile wallet† * Customer Education: – â€Å"Test drive† for demos of banking services * Connect with new customer segment: – Connect with Gen Y – Gen Z using games and social network ambushed to surrogate bank’s offerings * Content monetization: – Micro level revenue themes such as music, e-book download * Vertical positioning: – Positioning offerings over mobile banking specific industries * Horizontal positioning: – Positioning offerings over mobile banking across all the industries * Personalization of corporate banking services: – Personalization experience for multiple roles and hierarchies in corporate banking as against the vanilla based segment based enhancements in the current context. * Build Brand: – Built the bank’s brand while enhancing the â€Å"Mobile real estate†. Challenges for a mobile banking solution Key challenges in developing a sophisticated mobile banking application are: Handset operability There are a large number of different mobile phone devices and it is a big challenge for banks to offer mobile banking solution on any type of device. Some of these devices support Java ME and others support SIM Application Toolkit, a WAP browser, or only SMS.Initial interoperability issues however have been localized, with countries like India using portals like R-World to enable the limitations of low end java based phones, while focus on areas such as South Africa have defaulted to the USSD as a basis of communication achievable with any phone. The desire for interoperability is largely dependent on the banks themselves, where installed applications (Java based or native) provide better security, are easier to use and allow development of more complex capabilities similar to those of internet banking while SMS can provide the basics but becomes difficult to operate with more complex transactions. There is a myth that there is a challenge of interoperability between mobile banking applications due to perceived lack of common technology standards for mobile banking .In practice it is too early in the service lifecycle for interoperability to be addressed within an individual country, as very few countries have more than one mobile banking service provider. In practice, banking interfaces are well defined and money movements between banks follow the IS0-8583 standard. As mobile banking matures, money movements between service providers will naturally adopt the same standards as in the banking world. On January 2009, Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) Banking Sub-Committee, chaired by Cell Trust and VeriSign Inc. , published the Mobile Banking Overview for financial institutions in which it discussed the advantages and disadvantages of Mobile Channel Platforms such as Short Message Services (SMS), Mobile Web, Mobile Client Applications, SMS with Mobile Web and Secure SMS. SecuritySecurity of financial transactions, being executed from some remote location and transmission of financial information over the air, are the most complicated challenges that need to be addressed jointly by mobile application developers, wireless network service providers and the banks' IT departments. The following aspects need to be addressed to offer a secure infrastructure for financial transaction over wireless network: 1. Physical part of the hand-held device. If the bank is offering smart-card based security, the physical security of the device is more important. 2. Security of any thick-client application running on the device. In case the device is stolen, the hacker should require at least an ID/Password to access the application. 3. Authentication of the device with service provider before initiating a transaction. This would ensure that unauthorized devices are not connected to perform financial transactions. 4.User ID / Password authentication of bank’s customer. 5. Encryption of the data being transmitted over the air. 6. Encryption of the data that will be stored in device for later / off-line analysis by the customer. One-tim e password (OTPs) are the latest tool used by financial and banking service providers in the fight against cyber fraud. Instead of relying on traditional memorized passwords, OTPs are requested by consumers each time they want to perform transactions using the online or mobile banking interface. When the request is received the password is sent to the consumer’s phone via SMS. The password is expired once it has been used or once its scheduled life-cycle has expired.Because of the concerns made explicit above, it is extremely important that SMS gateway providers can provide a decent quality of service for banks and financial institutions in regards to SMS services. Therefore, the provision of service level agreements (SLAs) is a requirement for this industry; it is necessary to give the bank customer delivery guarantees of all messages, as well as measurements on the speed of delivery, throughput, etc. SLAs give the service parameters in which a messaging solution is guarante ed to perform. Scalability and reliability Another challenge for the CIOs and CTOs of the banks is to scale-up the mobile banking infrastructure to handle exponential growth of the customer base.With mobile banking, the customer may be sitting in any part of the world (true anytime, anywhere banking) and hence banks need to ensure that the systems are up and running in a true 24 x 7 fashion. As customers will find mobile banking more and more useful, their expectations from the solution will increase. Banks unable to meet the performance and reliability expectations may lose customer confidence. There are systems such as Mobile Transaction Platform which allow quick and secure mobile enabling of various banking services. Recently in India there has been a phenomenal growth in the use of Mobile Banking applications, with leading banks adopting Mobile Transaction Platform and the Central Bank publishing guidelines for mobile banking operations. Application distributionDue to the natur e of the connectivity between bank and its customers, it would be impractical to expect customers to regularly visit banks or connect to a web site for regular upgrade of their mobile banking application. It will be expected that the mobile application itself check the upgrades and updates and download necessary patches (so called â€Å"Over the Air† updates). However, there could be many issues to implement this approach such as upgrade / synchronization of other dependent components. Personalization It would be expected from the mobile application to support personalization such as: * Preferred Language * Date / Time format * Amount format Default transactions * Standard Beneficiary list * Alerts Mobile banking in the world Mobile banking is used in many parts of the world with little or no infrastructure, especially remote and rural areas. This aspect of mobile commerce is also popular in countries where most of their population is unbanked. In most of these places, banks can only be found in big cities, and customers have to travel hundreds of miles to the nearest bank. By 2012, it is estimated that there will be 1. 7 billion people with a mobile phone but not a bank account and as many as 364 million unbanked people could be reached by agent-networked banking through mobile phones.In Iran, banks such as Parsian, Tejarat, Mellat, Saderat, Sepah, Edbi, and Bankmelli offer the service. Banco Industrial provides the service in Guatemala. Citizens of Mexico can access mobile banking with Omnilife, Bancomer and MPower Venture. Kenya's Safaricom (part of the Vodafone Group) has the M-Pesa Service, which is mainly used to transfer limited amounts of money, but increasingly used to pay utility bills as well. In 2009, Zain launched their own mobile money transfer business, known as ZAP, in Kenya and other African countries. In Somalia, the many telecom companies provide mobile banking, the most prominent being Hormuud Telecom and its ZAAD service.Telenor Pak istan has also launched a mobile banking solution, in coordination with Taameer Bank, under the label Easy Paisa, which was begun in Q4 2009. Eko India Financial Services, the business correspondent of State Bank of India (SBI) and ICICI Bank, provides bank accounts, deposit, withdrawal and remittance services, micro-insurance, and micro-finance facilities to its customers (nearly 80% of whom are migrants or the unbanked section of the population) through mobile banking. In a year of 2010, mobile banking users soared over 100 percent in Kenya, China, Brazil and USA with 200 percent, 150 percent, 110 percent and 100 percent respectively. Mobile Banking in Bangladesh Starting: Mobile banking is a new technology in Bangladesh which started from 31st March 2011.Dutch Bangla Bank Limited pioneered in mobile banking services in Bangladesh. Most people heard about it but not have a clear idea. According to my survey almost 94% people heard about mobile banking and 6% haven’t heard a bout mobile banking. Interest to use: Many people heard about mobile banking. But they yet have not felt that they should use it as they are happy to use traditional banking system. Some people feel interest to use it. About 55% people feel they should use it and 45% people haven’t feel to use mobile banking according to the survey. Takes time by mobile banking than traditional banking: Mobile banking is real time on-line banking.As it is on-line banking it takes less time than traditional banking. It will make access to banking and advanced payment, transactions at affordable cost People have not to wait by standing in a long line which is happen in traditional banking system. But some people think it takes higher time and some people think it takes same time as traditional banking. According to the research only 5% people think it takes higher time, 34% people think it takes the same time and 61% people think it takes lower time than traditional banking system. Time saving: Mobile banking is available anytime, anywhere throughout the country. So it can save one’s time. But all people not think the same.About 70% respondents think that mobile banking can save their time, where as 30% think it cannot save time. Cost: It is convenient, affordable and it is much more effective in developing savings habits, it will make access to banking and advanced payment transactions at affordable cost. All people know that its cost is not higher than traditional banking. Around 56% respondents say its cost is lower, 20% say same and 24% say it is affordable than traditional banking. . A positive aspect of mobile phones is that mobile networks can reach remote areas at low cost. Trust worthy: It is much safer and safeguard against fraudulent transactions. One can trust mobile banking as traditional banking system.It has secured pin code which is known by the user, and also has a check digit without it no one can deposit money. But in Bangladesh traditional branc h-based banking remains the most widely adopted method of conducting banking transaction. The poor often have greater familiarity and trust with mobile phone companies than formal banking institutions. Furthermore a mobile handset can easily be adapted to handle banking transactions. But it is not commonly known by all. From the survey it is found that 63% respondents think mobile banking is trust worthy and 37% respondents feel it is not trust worthy. Use: It is much more effective in developing savings habits. Its using system is also easy. Anyone can use it.Poor people are often not considered viable customers by the formal financial sector as their transaction sizes are small, and many live in remote areas beyond the reach of banks branch networks. Informal banking services such as microfinance and village savings and loan associations remain limited in their reach. So, mobile banking system develops to bring poor people into banking system. 83% respondents face or heard no prob lem to use mobile banking. But 17% respondents heard or face problems to use it like-sometimes transaction do not reach at time, cannot operate it easily as traditional banking, not trust worthy. Prospect of mobile banking in Bangladesh:Mobile Banking is a Banking process without bank branch which provides financial services to unbaked communities efficiently and at affordable cost. The aim of the service is to bring more people under the umbrella of banking service. Bangladesh Bank governor Dr Atiur Rahman inaugurated the service through -Journal of Arts, Science ; Commerce  ¦ E-ISSN 2229-4686  ¦ ISSN 2231-4172 International Refereed Research Journal  ¦ www.. researchersworlld.. com  ¦ Vol. – III, Issue –1,Jan. 2012 [54] deposit and withdrawal of money from two banking outlets in the city. Government thinks it has a great prospect as it is a new technology in digital Bangladesh.But in Bangladesh many people think traditionally, because they cannot think it has any facility to use mobile banking. 69% people feel mobile banking has prospect in Bangladesh whereas 31% think it has no prospect in Bangladesh as many people will not feel interest or have belief on mobile banking. Suggestion to other to use the: 55% feel interest to use mobile banking but most people do not want to give suggestion to other to use it. As it is a new method of banking people haven’t 100% faith on it. So, people don’t want to take any risk by giving suggestion to use it. 68% respondents say they do not want to give suggestion and 32% respondents say they want to give suggestion to use mobile banking. Make life easier:Mobile banking is real time on-line banking, available anytime, anywhere throughout the country, it is convenient, affordable and secure, it is much more effective in developing savings habits, it will make access to banking and advanced payment transactions at affordable cost, it is much safer, speedy and safeguard against fraudulent tra nsactions. All of the characteristics of mobile banking make life easier. But 43% respondents feel it will not make life easier as it may not be trust worthy, but 57% respondents feel the facility which mobile banking give will make life easier. Security: In mobile banking a confidential pin code is used by the user. PIN ensures security of money and protects fraudulent transactions. So mobile banking is fully secured. It also believed by 70% respondents, but about 30% respondents say it is not secured as they cannot fully trust on online banking than traditional banking system.Speedy process: One benefit of mobile banking is a very speedy process. Transaction can be done anytime anywhere quickly in less time. So 100% people believe that it is a speedy process. Class of people: Mobile banking started with the idea to bring the poor under the umbrella of banking sector especially rural poor as there are not much bank facilities, also there savings is low so they feel shy to go to ban k. But according to my survey 38% respondents feel upper class, 21% respondents feel middle class people can use mobile banking. But 41% respondents say mobile banking can be used by all class of people. Problems encounted in collecting data:The researcher had to face the following problems in collecting data from the respondents: i. Generally most of the respondents have not enough idea about mobile banking. So it was very difficult to collect actual data. Because the information of the respondents was supplied from their idea. ii. Most of the respondents were not fully use mobile banking which caused another problem to data collection to the researcher. iii. Sometimes respondent could not answer to questions accurately and to the point. iv. The respondents were usually remaining busy with their work. So, the researcher had to visit some of them even at the work place and researcher sometimes had to pay more time to meet the respondents. v.Most of the respondents did not feel comfo rtable to answer questions. So researcher had to pay more time to gain their confidence. The banks that provides mobile banking, sms banking in Bangladesh: * Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd. * BRAC Bank Ltd. * Premier Bank Ltd. * Bank Asia Ltd. * HSBC * Dhaka Bank Ltd. * Standard Chartered Bank Ltd. * Mutual Trust Bank Ltd. * Trust Bank Ltd. * One Bank Ltd. * EXIM Bank Ltd. * IFIC Bank Ltd. * First Security Bank Ltd. * City Bank Ltd. * Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd. * Mercantile Bank Limited. Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited (DBBL) has for the first time introduced its mobile banking service, expanding the banking service from cities to remote areas.Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman inaugurated the service in July, 2011 by depositing Tk 2,000 and withdrawing Tk 1,500 through Banglalink and Citycell mobile networks in Motijheel area. Bangladesh Bank has already allowed 10 banks to initiate mobile banking. Of them DBBL kicked off first. â€Å"Mobile banking is an alternative to the traditional banki ng through which banking service can be reached at the doorsteps of the deprived section of the society,† the central bank governor said at an inaugural press briefing at Hotel Purbani. Atiur Rahman said through mobile banking various banking services including depositing and withdrawing money, payment of utility bills and reaching remittance to the recipient would be possible.By going to the DBBL-approved Citycell and Banglalink agents throughout the country, the subscribers can open an account provided they show the necessary papers and pay a fee of Tk 10. To use the banking service, subscribers must own a cell phone from any provider. The bank gives subscribers a four-digit PIN. By using the PIN, subscribers can use a number of banking services, including depositing and withdrawing money, while maintaining account security. Customers may hand over cash to agents in the bank's network, and agents can coordinate the transaction from their mobile phones, helping account holder s securely complete banking tasks using their PINs.Customers can deposit or withdraw money up to five times per day, up to Tk 5,000 per day. One percent of the transaction account or Tk 5, whichever is greater, will be deducted as a cash-in charge. The charge for cash-out is 2 percent of the transaction amount or Tk 10, whichever is greater. There are no fees for registration, salary or remittance disbursement services. Mobile Banking at BRAC Bank The service will enable millions of banked and unbanked people to deposit, withdraw and transfer money through mobile phones. bKash, a joint venture between BRAC Bank and US-based Money in Motion, will provide mobile banking with a fully encrypted VISA technology platform for transactions through mobile phones.Any mobile user can register and open up a bKash account and then do transactions through their mobile phones in easy, convenient and reliable way. â€Å"bKash will fundamentally change the way people now do transactions, as all tra nsactions will be possible through mobile phones in future,† said Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director of the bank. â€Å"Customers will not need to come to the bank; rather the bank will go to them,† he said at a press conference in Dhaka on the occasion of its 10th founding anniversary. The bank said a bKash account will act as a digital mobile wallet and anybody can take the service. â€Å"Your mobile phone will become your wallet.Customers can get financial services through phones, even by the handset that costs the lowest,† Rahman said. Under a partnership with UNDP and Local Government Division, bKash is rolling out mobile banking in 4,501 union parishads in the country. It has already signed a deal with a leading mobile operator and is in talks with others to enable all mobile users — currently around 7. 5 crore — to have individual digital wallets, said Mamdudur Rashid, deputy managing director of the bank. Recently some Bangladeshi banki ng companies and mobile network provider companies have launched mobile banking in Bangladesh. A new door of technology is opening in Bangladesh.Now people of Bangladesh can use their mobile phone as a bank account with balance transfer, payment, money upload and many more facilities at a low cost . I will give you some useful info about these services: * BKash Limited is a joint venture between BRAC Bank Ltd. , Bangladesh, and Money in Motion LLC, USA. Ensuring access to a broader range of financial services for the people of Bangladesh is the ultimate objective of bKash. It has a special focus to serve the low income people of the country and promote sustainable micro-savings to achieve broader financial inclusion by providing financial services that are convenient, affordable and reliable. * bKash is working both as an extension of BRAC Bank and as a full-scale mobile phone-based payment switch.This will highly benefit the country as 83% of the population lives under $2 a day and access to finance can help in improving their economic situation. Less than 15% of Bangladeshis are connected to the formal financial system whereas 44% of total populations are having mobile phones. Providing financial services using this mean can make the service more accessible and cost effective for the vast population of Bangladesh. How to open an account: 01. Go to any of your nearby bKash agent along with- a. Your mobile phone with active Robi number b. A copy of your Photo ID (National ID/Passport/Driving License/Other valid Photo ID) c. 2 copies of Passport size photographs 02. Upon successful registration you need to activate your wallet in following manner- Kash authorized agent will help you throughout the process and confirm registration. You will also receive a confirmation SMS in your mobile. Conclusion: Some policy Implications, Mohammad Mizanur Raman,(www. ampublisher. com) Mobile Phone Banking offers the potential to extend low cost virtual bank accounts to a larg e number of currently un-banked individuals worldwide. Change is being driven by falling costs of mobile phones including airtime, by competition and by the ability of electronic banking solutions to offer customers an enhanced range of services at a very low cost. Text-a-payment (TAP) builds upon the familiarity and comfort that people around the world have with sending text messages via their mobile phone.Instead of traveling to the bank to make their loan payment, clients can -Journal of Arts, Science & Commerce now text their loan payment directly to the bank; saving them both travel time and money. This is also beneficial for the bank, since they can increase their outreach to rural areas while reducing their costs. (Catching the Technology Wave: Mobile Phone Banking and Text-a-Payment in the Philippines, John Owens, Anna Bantug Herrera,www. bwtp. org) M-Banking technology has become one of the most familiar banking features throughout the world. Nowadays millions of inhabitant s of Bangladesh are within a network through mobile network coverage.But in the commercial sectors like banking, m-Commerce technology has not been adopted broadly yet. In context of Bangladesh where almost 95% of geographical areas including Chittagong Hill tract region is under cellular coverage and having sufficiency in Internet infrastructure in remote regions, m-Banking via mobile phones can be the right choice for the promising banking sector. Considering m-Commerce and m-Banking perspective in Bangladesh, a Push Pull services offering SMS (Short Messaging Service) based m-Banking system has been proposed which is able to provide several essential banking services only by sending SMS to bank server from any remote location. They are Broadcast, Scheduling, Event, and Enquiry and m- Commerce services.Fifteen push pull services underlying these categories are implemented in this proposed system which are most desired to customers. The proposed system not only brings banking trans action in hand’s grip but also makes it easier, robust and flexible with highest security. Moreover, modified data failover algorithm handles unexpected SMS server failure with any congestion or service request loss. At last, after evaluating each module of our proposed system a satisfactory accuracy rate 94. 95% has been obtained. Abstract The main objective of the study is to find out the problem and prospect of mobile banking in Bangladesh. For this research primary data were used. This study adopts with descriptive in nature.Total respondents were 120 within that 61 % respondents think it saves time than traditional banking, the highest number of respondents use mobile banking for ‘Air-time top-up’ service, that is 21%, out of 120 respondents 56% replied it is less costlier than traditional banking, 100% respondents did agree that it is speedy, and 38% respondents are upper class. Although this concept is new in Bangladesh but its potentiality is high. From t his research, other researchers and policy makers will get an insight about the problems and prospects of mobile banking in Bangladesh. Keywords: Problem, prospect, Mobile banking. References: * Dhaka Bank Ltd. , Banani branch. * Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd, Banani branch. * BRAC Bank Ltd, Banani branch. * www. thedailystar. net * Wikipedia * www. enterpriseinnovation. net * www. wikipedi www. marketresearch. com * www. bwtp. org * www. ampublisher. com * www. scribd. com/doc/54509127/28/MOBILE-BANKING-IN-BANGLADESH * www. researchersworld. com/vol3/Paper_05. pdf * bankinfobd. com/banks * www. dhakabankltd. com/ * www. bracbank. com/platinum_card. php * www. businessnewsbd. com/index. php? option=com_content&task=view&id=3619&Itemid=88 * www. dutchbanglabank. com/electronic_banking/PDF/MobileBankingBrochureEnglish. pdf Index: WAP – Wireless Application protocol SMS – Short Message Service PDA – Personal Digital Assistants ATM – Automatic Teller Machine M-bankin g – Mobile Banking Telco – Telecommunication Company Mobile Banking The Future of Mobile Banking by Rob Berger in Banking * Photo: BankSimple INTRODUCTION Communication is the exchange of information and feeling or ideas, which allow the majority of people to get the news of all sides. In addition, we are used the communication every day to let people know what we are doing or thinking even feeling which people are received that by voice, picture or chat. Moreover, communication technologies have made it simple to communicate to friends in the other side of the world by calling them using mobile phone, e-mailing them and writing in our web pages using social networks, such as Face book, Twitter or Messenger.Additionally, many other recourses are used by the majority of people to keep in touch with the world, which they can watch television or listen to the radio especially when they go to work. Therefore, communication technologies are considered one of the most important elements in our lives and that is why this essay is going to define the advanta ges and disadvantages of communications technology in terms of our health, education and relationships. This essay will elucidate firstly, the advantages and disadvantages of communications technology in health.Secondly, the advantages and disadvantages in education. Thirdly, the advantages and disadvantages in relationships. Finally, what scope should people be bothered about our grandchildren’s world if these technologies still run on to develops in the future? Mobile banking apps make banking and managing finances more convenient and less time consuming. They also reduce the need for working with loads upon loads of paper, like all those forms you need to fill out in brick-and-mortar banks.The most common activities performed by mobile banking app users include scanning and depositing checks, monitoring account balances and, for some, managing travel or hotel bookings. Many banks also offer online banking options for those who want an easier way to control their cash flow, pay their bills, and locate ATM stations. Some even allow person-to-person payments Mobile banking apps have actually been around for years. The first bank to ever offer their clients the convenience of doing banking-related activities on their mobile phones was Wells Fargo.Today, according to a research firm in Boston, more than 6,500 financial institutions in the US have developed mobile banking services for people who want to keep track of their finances on the go. Since more and more people rely on their smartphones (at least 70% of Americans who own smartphones use banking apps), app development is expected to increase even more. Developers will continue to come up with more innovative ideas for mobile banking. These apps will slowly change the course of regular banking. Just last January, a new kind of bank was introduced to the public.GoBank, created by prepaid reloader Green Dot, is a mobile banking app of a different kind. Unlike existing apps, GoBank is not connected to a ny brick-and-mortar bank. It is a â€Å"stand alone† app; a mobile bank in the real sense of the word. In other words, if you want to make a deposit or check your account balance, you will need to open the app on your phone. GoBank is the answer to the appeal of people who are practically glued to their mobile phones even when walking down busy streets. It can perform all basic bank functions, like paying bills and depositing checks.This development is not surprising. Developers often try to outdo each other in producing an app – or apps – that can easily catch the consumers’ fancy; especially consumers who use mobile banking every day of their lives. In the coming months and years, more apps like GoBank will be spotlighted in the market, and people will continue to want more. At this point, though, developers should also work on coming up with better security features for mobile banking. Security is the main reason why a good number of smartphone users d o not yet use mobile banking facilities on their device.So before anything else, this should be prioritized. Mobile Deposits Already available with many banks, users can deposit a check by taking a picture of it with their smartphone. I’ve used the feature now with Capital One 360 and absolutely love it. Called mobile remote deposit capture (RDC), my daughter uses this feature to deposit her paychecks into her Money account with Capital One 260. And I use it to deposit the occasional checks we receive. It’s a snap (pun intended). While not all banks offer this feature, yet, they will. Mobile Bill PayAs the person who pays all the bills in my family, this feature is really exciting. Imagine taking a paper bill you receive in the mail and paying it by taking a picture of it. Similar to RDC, Mobile Photo Bill Pay is on the way. U. S. Bank is already testing this functionality. There’s a hidden benefit to mobile bill pay–it will make switching banks easier. R ather than having to re-enter all your payee information and automatic payments, you can just snap a picture of each of your bills. Security The security risks of mobile banking are minimal.Mobile banking apps do not work with third party programs, as they deal directly with you and the bank they are linked to. Your banking privacy is not compromised or shared with anyone else. In addition, banks also require their mobile clients to provide the right username and password before performing any kind of transaction. Since apps are becoming more and more complicated and technologically advanced, however, security measures will need to keep pace. Leading the example is Wells Fargo, which is already working on using voice and speech recognition for carrying out banking transactions.This is an interesting development because it offers not only convenience, but also added security. Smartphone as Your Wallet Eventually, we’ll pull out our Smartphone to pay for things rather than our wallet. This is already a reality to a limited extent. Individual retailers like Starbucks offer apps that allow you to pay for products. And Google Wallet has made some progress. But overall we are still a long way from cutting up our cash and plastic. Rob Berger. The Future of Mobile Banking. March 10, 2013.