Understanding Autism And The Different Disorders On The...

Understanding autism and the different disorders on the autism spectrum has become more prevalent in today’s society, mostly due to the increase in children being diagnosed. Disorders such as Rhett’s syndrome, Fragile X and Asperger s are becoming more prevalent in today’s classroom. The research studies reviewed for this paper focus specifically on Fragile X (FXS), which is also termed Martin-Bell syndrome. This essay will review the literature on FXS including the prevalence of it, the importance of early intervention strategies, the types of treatments that can be used with FXS and behaviors that are related to individuals that are diagnosed with FXS. Etiology The etiology of autism may include genetic, environmental, and autoimmune etiologies (Levy, Mandell, Schultz, 2009). Although, autism may originate from any one of these categories, Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is an inherited condition characterized by an X chromosome that is abnormally susceptible to damage. FXS is the most common inherited cause of intellectual disabilities and is strongly linked to the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) on a behavioral and molecular level (Hagerman et al., 2009). The change or mutation on the X chromosome that causes FXS is called the Fragile X Mental Retardation-1 gene or the FMR-1 gene. The FMR-1 gene is found in every cell in the body. The protein that this gene produces is vital to correct human development. With FXS the FMR-1 gene either makes too little of the protein orShow MoreRelatedLearning Disability And Disorder ( Autism )1267 Words   |  6 PagesLearning Disability/Disorder A learning disability or disorder is a term used for various learning complications. Individuals who have to cope with a learning disability are not dumb or lazy, in fact, they are just as smart, or in some cases, smarter, than individuals without any disability. The only different thing between the two is that an individual with a disability has their brain wired somewhat different and this affects the way they receive and process information. This means that they seeRead MoreChildren With Autism Spectrum Disorder1502 Words   |  7 Pagesby a disorder that affects the very things we need to fit in to society. The ability to be able to fit in, communicate and behave in proper ways, allows us to function, work and survive in life. For many children and adults, they live with a disorder that dictates these behaviors and language skills to be very different from the average American. These skills they are challenged with, make it very difficult to live independently. The disorder these individuals live with is called Autism SpectrumRead MoreAutism Spectrum Disorder ( Autism ) Essay1739 Words   |  7 Pagesnoting a lack of understanding of social conventions (Lai, 2014). These two observations would be the beginning of a disorder known as the Autism Spectrum Disorder. This developmental disorder, characterized by a range of deficits in different areas, is increasingly prevalent in society and in the media. While the exact numbers vary from country to country, according to Lai (2014), 1% of the general population is diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. The range of this disorder has a detrimentalRead MoreAutism Spectrum Disorder1493 Words   |  6 PagesAutistic spectrum disorder is caused not only by environmental factors but also by genetic inheritability. This disorder can range from mild to severe and is shown in many different forms. Symptoms include speech impairment, disorganized language; sensory processing disorder which causes absent respon ses, sleep disorders, depression and anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and many more. Diagnosing autism does not include medical test but instead a team of physiologists and physicians observe theRead MoreAutism Spectrum Disorder ( Asd ) Essay1561 Words   |  7 PagesINTRODUCTION What Is Autism? What is Autism Spectrum Disorder? Autism is a complex neurobehavioral condition that joins cripplings in social association and developmental vernacular and social capacities combined with unbendable, excess practices. Because of the extent of signs, this condition is right now called Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It covers an unlimited scope of signs, capacities, and levels of the prevention. ASD keeps running in reality from a handicapped person that to some degreeRead MoreAutism Spectrum Disorder And Autism Essay1393 Words   |  6 PagesAutism is a neurological disorder with many forms and severities, better known as autism spectrum disorder, that begins early in childhood and lasts throughout the individual’s life. Autism spectrum disorder is defined as developmental disabilities that can cause significant social, communication, and behavioral challenges (CDC). Previously, autism was recognized in distinct groups and types. Now, autism is referred to as a spectrum because there is an overlap among all the different forms of autismRead MoreTypes Of Students With Disabilities1446 Words   |  6 PagesI was given the opportunity to observe different types of students with disabilities in a self-contained special education class. I viewed many different types of disabilities such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, speech and language impairment, intellectual disabilities, visual impairment, and physical disabilities. Four out of the six students in the self-contained class I observed lacked social, communication, academic, and some behavior problems. Due to many of the students lacking these componentsRead MoreEssay about Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Theories of Vygotsky1423 Words   |  6 Pagesdecade has acknowledged the impacts of characteristics and life-functioning for individuals on the autism spectrum. Models of support or interventions strategies have been researched but little, or limited practical or resourced models appeared as accessible for families of older youth. The intention of this research paper was to investigate a specific activity group for youth on the autism spectrum. The group runs concurrently with a parent group and is funded through a respite funding provisionRead MoreThe Different Types of Autism675 Words   |  3 Pagesmild form of autism. Autism affects every 1-in-70 boys and 1-in-315 girls around the world. It affects the brain’s way of thinking and processing information. Many people with autism have a hard time with concentration, organization, and remembering certain things. Consequently, autism is a mental disorder that affects the brain, body, and other people. According to Mary Brownell, â€Å"autism is a neurobiological condition that ranges from severe to mild.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"People with autism spectrum disorder (ASDs) haveRead MoreAutism Spectrum Disorders Essay1734 Words   |  7 Pagescharacteristics or Autism Spectrum Disorder, including its symptoms, treatments, and possible causes. This paper will also highlight the differences between Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD) and Asperger Disorder(AD). Autism spectrum disorders effect one in 110 births in the United States. Autism spectrum disorders are severe, incurable developmental disorders whose symptoms, including impairments in social interaction and communication, emerge during the first two years of life. Asperger disorder distinguishes

Analysis Of Oryx And Crake By Margaret Atwood - 1619 Words

In the novel Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, the protagonist, Snowman, lives in the aftermath of a society that was controlled almost entirely by pharmaceutical companies. Snowman, who used to be known as Jimmy, lives in isolation as the human population has been wiped out by a disease that was spread through a drug meant to prevent aging. This was at the hand of his boss and childhood friend, Crake, who wanted to make way for a new race of genetically engineered humanoids that are designed to never experience the ills of modern human society. Before these humanoids, or â€Å"Crakers,† had come into existence, pharmaceutical companies owned walled-off cities, known as the Compounds, in which their employees lived as the upper class. All members of these communities worked for the same companies, so much of their lives was dedicated to finding ways to prevent diseases and preserve youth. Outside these walls were the â€Å"pleeblands,† where the lower general popu lations lived. Residents of the Compounds would go so far as to be vaccinated before stepping foot outside their Compounds into the pleeblands for fear of disease. The society described in the novel reflects some aspects of society as we know it today and presents an excellent social commentary. Despite being written in 2003, it accurately predicts and satirizes the â€Å"oversharing† that we see on the Internet in 2015. Jimmy and Crake spend their free time throughout high school watching videos online, includingShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Oryx And Crake By Margaret Atwood2021 Words   |  9 PagesMargaret Atwood expression on her views with education in her book Oryx and Crake shows the conflicting battle between two disciplines; science vs. humanities. Atwood describes sciences and humanities by dividing between social aspects as well as how they are viewed in society and how our education places us in this society. In Oryx and Crake, Atwood uses the terms words perso n and numbers person to describe the intellect of a person that places them into a category that ultimately shapes howRead MoreAnalysis Of Oryx And Crake By Margaret Atwood1861 Words   |  8 Pagestesting and electronic surveillance. Every citizen of the United States of America has the right to privacy, but companies and cooperation, hackers, and even the U.S.A government have been violating those rights. In the fictional novel Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood there was very little privacy because employers kept constant tabs on their employees to keep them from disclosing information. Every citizen in the United States of America should care about their privacy being violated because. InRead MoreAnalysis Of Oryx And Crake By Margaret Atwood1383 Words   |  6 Pages In â€Å"Oryx and Crake† by Margaret Atwood, we are able to look at the parental relationships of Jimmy and how his relationship with his parents affected him. Jimmy comes from a family that could be described as dysfunctional. His mother is depressed and neglects him while his father is carefree, takes things lightly, but also neglects him as well. Due to the negative relationships with his parents, it has affected him in a negative way that will affect the way he forms relationships in the futureRead MoreAnalysis Of Oryx And Crake By Margaret Atwood1979 Words   |  8 Pagestribulations of life. Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood, is a novel about a post-apocalyptic world in which the scientific approach to the world clashes with a more naturalistic approach. Crake represents an idealistic view of the world shown by the way he strives for perfections. He believed that in their current form, humans were far from perfect because of the undesirable traits they possessed and devoted his life to fix this inherent problem in humanity by creating the Crakers. Oryx displays an optimisticRead MoreAnalysis Of Oryx And Crake By Margaret Atwood1321 Words   |  6 Pagesrighteous and unrighteous characteristics of individuals. Having said that, ethics plays a significant role in Margaret Atwood’s novel, Oryx and Crake. The world in which Oryx and Crake are presented differs from our own. The lifestyle throughout the novel demonstrates the value and importance of ethics in one’s life and how it can effortlessly lead to a tragedy. In the novel, Margaret Atwood focuses on the excess of the lack of moral responsibility and freedom showing that as much as science can helpRead MoreAnalysis Of Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury And Oryx And Crake By Margaret Atwood1660 Words   |  7 PagesThroughout the novels, Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury and Oryx and Crake w ritten by Margaret Atwood, family plays a large role in the flow of the plot. It is throughout both novels where one can see how great an effect familial ties and expression have on the way a single family works and how these workings are a smaller reflection of what society sees as its average. Without family structure and a way for one to express themselves society would not be able to function. What is the trueRead MoreOryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood1014 Words   |  4 PagesThe concern about the condition of the world today is an ever present debatable issue in our current society. In the science fiction novel Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, the author as put by Jayne Glover in critical analysis â€Å"Human/Nature: Ecological Philosophy in Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake†, Atwood â€Å"speculates on what the near future may be like considering the realities of contemporary environmental, social and political issues† (Glover 50). Atwood’s novel specifically focuses on theRead MoreIs It Real?1433 Words   |  6 PagesJimmy constantly questioned his surroundings; â€Å"is it real†¦?† (Atwood 269) became a reoccurring theme. Over a game of virtual chess one day Jimmy asked, â€Å"why don’t we use a real set, the old kind with plastic men?† To which crake later responded, â€Å"the real set is in your head.† (Atwood, 93) These seemingly unimportant debates among friends, proved to be a small part of the problems apparent in our modern society. Atwood has drawn to attention the idea that the world in which we live is no longer realRead MoreEssay about Self Discovery in Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake2273 Words   |  10 Pageswith the self. â€Å"Oryx and Crake† is a novel by Margaret Atwood that demonstrates how certain intriguing, distinctive characters develop themselves. Her novel demonstrates how there is no simple way of discovering oneself, but rather a combined method. Margaret Atwood’s book Oryx and Crake demonstrates that both the constituted and atomistic methods of self-discovery must be practiced to fully understand oneself. The captivating characters and people in her book Oryx and Crake demonstrate this.

E Payment Free Essays

Chapter 1. Introduction 1. 1 Electronic payment systems and their place in electronic commerce 1. We will write a custom essay sample on E Payment or any similar topic only for you Order Now 1. 1 E-commerce and electronic payment systems 1. 1. 2 Limitations of traditional payment systems in the context of online payments 1. 1. 3 The need for new payment systems designed for e-commerce 1. 2 User acceptance: understanding and issues 1. 3 Research objectives 1. 4 Research scope 1. 4. The role of electronic payments in customer e-commerce activities 1. 4. 2 Approach and methodology Chapter 2. Classification and characteristics of electronic payment systems 2. 1 Classification of payment systems 2. 1. 1 Introduction 2. 1. 2 Primary classification of payment systems 2. 1. 3 Further classification of account-based systems 2. 1. 4 Further classification of electronic cash systems 2. 1. Payment mediation services vs. payment systems 2. 2 Identifying the characteristics of payment systems 2. 3 Advantages and limitations of payment models 2. 3. 1 Advantages and limitations of the electronic cash model 2. 3. 2 Advantages and limitations of the acount-based model 2. 5 Conclusions Ch apter 3. User survey of electronic payment systems 3. 1 User acceptance of electronic payment systems 3. 2 Survey of users’ attitudes towards characteristics of payment systems 3. 2. 1 Survey participants . 2. 2 Questionnaire design and analysis 3. 2. 3 Survey results and discussion 3. 2. 4 Implications for user acceptanc Introduction 1. 1 Electronic payment systems and their place in electronic commerce In the early 1990s the business and consumer world encountered a new way of conducting trade business, which was named electronic commerce (e-commerce). Over the years electronic commerce has evolved into a popular and acknowledged way of conducting business. While researchers are still trying to understand it and gauge its importance and turnover, e-commerce is changing and growing incredibly quickly, producing such extraordinary results from both business and customer perspective that its phenomenon cannot be overlooked by anyone who has ever thought of conducting business, whether in online or offline environments. With many organisations and people labouring in the field of e-commerce it has become very clear that ecommerce is here to stay and organisations and customers are trying to get maximum benefit from it. E-commerce has become especially important in two interrelated dimensions, namely business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce. Business to-consumer e-commerce is enabling customers to have an increasing influence on products created, how products are customised, and how services are delivered. Ecommerce offers customers convenient shopping methods for products, information and services, electronic banking, and personal finance management. It is making it easier for consumers to find the desired products and services, match them more precisely to their requirements, and compare prices, (Vulkan, 2003). Several business models have been developed to support various customers’ needs, among them are online portals, content providers, transaction brokers and community creators. For business-to-business relations e-commerce facilitates the form of organisation where companies rely on suppliers and product distribution to respond more effectively to the changing market and customers demand and to achieve more efficient operation. This type of e-commerce relationships offers organisations the possibility to work in the direct contact with producers, giving more room for customization and control over business activities. This helps to reduce the costs significantly by removing ‘middlemen’ from the supply chain. Good examples of companies that employ this business model are Dell and Cisco, (Guttmann, 2003; Laudon Traver, 2002). Consequences that e-commerce brings for business-to-business relationships are eliminating inventory, and operational and distributional costs that indirectly provide customers with lower prices. E-commerce can help businesses to increase production flexibility by ensuring timely availability of components from suppliers, to improve quality of the products by increasing cooperation between buyers and sellers and reducing quality issues, to increase opportunities for collaborating with suppliers and distributors, and to create greater price transparency — the ability to see the actual prices on the market, (Laudon Traver, 2002). In this way e-commerce responses to the customer demand of lower prices and greater convenience. 1. 1. 1E-commerce and electronic payment systems The most popular definition of e-commerce is based on the online perspective of the conducted business. E-commerce provides the capability of buying and selling products, information and services on the Internet and other online environments. As for any trading activity, the issue of safe and reliable money exchange between transacting parties is essential. In an e-commerce environment, payments take the form of money exchange in an electronic form, and are therefore called electronic payments. Electronic payments are an integral part of e-commerce and are one of its most critical as pects. Generally defined, electronic payment is a form of a financial exchange that takes place between the buyer and seller facilitated by means of electronic communications. An e-commerce electronic payment is a financial exchange that takes place in an online environment, (Kalakota Whinston, 1997). Electronic payment systems (EPSs) are summoned to facilitate the most important action after the customer’s decision to pay for a product or service – to deliver payments from customers to vendors in a most effective, efficient and problem-free way. The role of e-commerce electronic payment systems is pivotal for future of ecommerce, whose further growth depends on the timely development of EPSs. The development of new types of e-commerce purchasing relationships and business models has created the need for new ways of money exchange and new EPSs. For instance, online auctions, (Ribbers Heck, 2004), has spurred the necessity for personto- person payment systems to allow online money exchange between individuals. Certain types of information products and services require small payments and micropayments. Businesses would like to sell information content that costs very little, accumulating revenues with high turnover. E-commerce EPSs can be designed for selling specific types of products, for example for trading copyrighted online content, such as music. Another unforeseen earlier requirement is conducting e-commerce using wireless mobile devices, such as mobile phones or personal digital assistants (PDA). The need for paying with mobile devices has urged the development of payment systems for mobile electronic commerce, (Laudon Traver, 2002). In addition, ecommerce provides the possibility to enhance current payment systems or substitute them with online variants. The need for online payments was first addressed by using extant payment methods of the offline world for online payments. For example credit cards, originally intended as an offline credit instrument, have become the major payment instrument for ecommerce. As e-commerce and online purchasing grows, the weaknesses of credit and debit cards, and cheques are becoming more apparent. These limitations are discussed in section 1. . 2. The lack of the fit-for purpose payment mechanisms and infrastructure is one of the main restricting factors that hold back the growth and evolution of ecommerce, (Guttmann, 2003; Laudon Traver, 2002; O’Mahony, Peirce, Tewari, 1997). 1. 1. 2 Limitations of traditional payment systems in the context of online payments Three factors are stimulating the development of electronic payment systems: reduced operational and payments pr ocessing costs, growing online commerce and decreasing the costs of technology, (Kalakota Whinston, 1997). Reduction of costs is one of the major reasons for research and development of EPSs. The central impetus for ecommerce and e-business is to provide a more efficient service, primarily in terms of costs. In this light, paying online with traditional payment systems such as credit cards is rather paradoxical, given that credit cards are one of the most expensive of all available mainstream payment means for both end consumers and merchants, defeated perhaps only by paper checks, (Lietaer, 2002; Laudon Traver, 2002). Several limitations of traditional payment systems in the context of e-commerce can be outlined. Existing payment systems, such as credit cards, are inadequate for retail customer digital business from the following viewpoints: Lack of usability. Existing payment systems for the Internet require from the end user to provide a large amount of information, or make payments using complex elaborated web site interfaces. E. g. credit card payments via a web site are not the easiest way to pay, as these require entering extensive amounts of personal data and contact details in a web form, (Kalakota Whinston, 1997). Lack of security. Existing payment systems for the Internet are an easy target for stealing money and personal information. Customers have to provide credit card or payment account details and other personal information online. This data is sometimes transmitted in an un-secured way, (Kalakota Whinston, 1997). In practice this happens even in spite of introduction of secure transactions mechanisms, such as Secured Socket Layer. Providing these details by mail or over the telephone also entails security risks, (Guttmann, 2003; Laudon Traver, 2002). Lack of trust. Users tend not to trust existing systems with the long history of fraud, misuse or low reliability, as well as novel systems without established positive reputation. In the present situation, money loss by customers is quite possible when using existing payment systems, such as credit cards, for Internet payments. Potential customers often mention this risk as the key reason why they do not trust a payment service and therefore do not make Internet purchases, (Lietaer, 2002). Lack of applicability. Not all web sites support a particular payment method, thus limiting customers’ ability to pay. Credit cards work only with merchants who have signed-up to the services of the corresponding credit card company, and do not support direct business-to-business or interpersonal payments, (Kalakota Whinston, 1997). Lack of eligibility. Not every potential customer with money and intention to pay can make use of certain payment methods. Not all potential buyers can obtain credit cards due to credit history limitations, low income or other reasons, (ibid). Lack of efficiency. Some payments over the Internet can be too small to be handled by existing payment systems, because of overheads included in the processing of payments and transaction. Credit cards are too expensive for effecting small payments and are unsuited for small transactions. The minimum fixed fee charged to the retailer for processing a transaction could even surpass the value of the goods sold, (Guttmann, 2003). High usage costs for customers and merchants. Existing payment systems use a rather expensive infrastructure to facilitate the payment process. Credit cards are very expensive for end users, not in the least because of the enormous and growing size of fraud, which amounts to billions dollars per year. This loss is invisibly re-financed by users by the higher costs of credit card services. In addition, credit card payments are still heavily paper-dependent. Most credit card bills are sent in a paper form to customers by post, and the bills are mostly settled by posting paper documents, like checks of giro payments, which makes the whole cycle rather expensive. As mentioned above, this means that resources employed in processing of credit cards transactions render them rather ineffective for small payments, because the high overhead of credit cards, (Laudon Traver, 2002; Guttmann, 2003). In online credit card payments credit cards are not physically available for inspection by the payee, (this situation is referred as ‘card not present’). This imposes higher charges for merchants, because the chance of fraud is higher; see section 2. 1. 3 for more discussion. Credit cards have low finality of payments because users can refute or repudiate credit cards payments in certain situations. Moreover, financial regulations in certain countries, e. g. in the USA and the UK, place the risks of repudiation, fraud, or non-payment largely on the merchant and issuing banks, (Laudon Traver, 2002; APACS, 2002). These issues make credit cards less attractive to merchants. Certain authentication schemes, e. g. Verified by Visa and SecureCode from MasterCard allow to shit fraud liability from merchant to credit cards issuing banks, and can ease this burden for merchants, (see www. verifiedbyvisa. com and www. mastercard. com). However, end users can found themselves paying more for the cards issued by the banks to refinance bank’s losses due to fraud. There are more concerns related to the credit card use in online e-commerce that are responsible for reluctant users acceptance of credit cards and e-commerce. According to the report published by marketing research firm IDC, (Asmussen, Raschke, Arend, 2002), almost half of European users of the Internet do not buy goods online because they either do not trust the Web merchants or fear their credit card details will not be secure. According to analysts, total credit card fraud rose to $4 billion in 2002 (i. e. $2 for every card issued). Industry estimates that the amount of online credit card fraud could be in the $5oo million range, (Laudon Traver, 2002). Authorities believe that hackers have stolen more than one million credit card numbers from E-commerce sites. It would not be a surprise that many customers use their credit cards with reservations. A survey by Visa of 15 Banks from 12 EU countries in 2002 found that online credit card payments account for nearly half of all complaints. More than one in five of these came from people who had not even shopped on the Internet, but were billed for online transactions, (Philippsohn Thomas, 2003). Privacy issues are also associated with the use of existing payment systems. There are cases when users’ identities (i. e. personal data such as credit card numbers, names and addresses) were stolen when hackers break into websites’ databases and obtain personal information of the customers. Fraudsters then attempt to use this information to open new credit and bank accounts using the stolen identity, (Philippsohn Thomas, 2003). These and other issues with existing payment systems such as credit cards render them not very suitable for online payments. 1. 1. 3 The need for new payment systems designed or e-commerce Despite that electronic commerce is a growing phenomenon, its future development is, to a large extent, hampered by the lack of appropriate payment systems. Since most of business-to-consumer payments over the Internet are performed currently via credit cards, an admittedly problematic payment medium due to costs, security and trust problems, the need for new payment systems clearly emerges from the existing situation, (Lynch Lundqui st, 1996; Wayner, 1997; Laudon Traver, 2002; Guttmann, 2003). Research and development in Internet-based payments tried to resolve this situation by conjuring numerous online EPSs, a good proportion of which has been put to use. This was possible due to the stimulating factors listed above, and in the first place due to the availability and reduced costs of the enabling technology. However, the new payment systems, purposely crafted for the Internet, also could not avoid their own share of problems. This has led to the reluctant use of new online electronic payment systems, i. e. esulted in low user acceptance of newly introduced payment systems by customers, (see section 1. 2). User acceptance of electronic payment systems At this stage the situation with the development of online EPSs is far from ideal. A survey on electronic money developments by the Bank for International Settlement reports a rather low level of EPSs use, even in the most advanced countries, (BIS, 2000). According to the European Central Bank, the proportion of online payme nts among cashless payment instruments in the European Union is rather low. The report admits that although there has been a lot of discussion on the use of EPSs and their importance â€Å"it is still not a widely used medium†, (ECB, 2001). The lack of customer demand, the diversity of technological standards and the lack of support by financial institutions are mentioned among the reasons preventing the development of electronic payment systems, (ECB, 2003). Some experts estimate that about 85% of all Internet transactions are done with credit cards that were not originally designed for the Internet, (Philippsohn Thomas, 2003). According to a survey by marketing research firm Jupiter Research, credit cards are still the dominant payment method for online purchases, accounting up to 95% of online transactions in the United States, (Jupiter Media Metrix, 2000). This demonstrates still low user acceptance of alternative electronic payment systems, designed specifically for e-commerce. 1. 2User acceptance: understanding and issues End user acceptance of such sensitive technology as money-circulating payment systems is the critical key aspect of the whole path of payment systems’ establishment. Without such acceptance no technology can successfully exist on the market, and payment systems are not an exception. According to Dillon Morris (1996) user acceptance is â€Å"the demonstrable willingness within a user group to employ information technology for the tasks it is designed to support†. This definition can be enhanced with the understanding that the user perception of information technology (IT) can be influenced by objective characteristics of technology, as well as by human factors and interaction with other users and related parties. For example, the social information processing model (SIPM), (Salancik Pfeffer, 1978), suggests that attitudes towards technology are influenced by opinions, information, and behaviour of others. User acceptance is a pivotal factor determining the success or failure of any information system project, (Davis, 1993). Many studies on information technology report that user attitudes and human factors are important aspects affecting the success of an information system, (Davis, 1989, Burkhardt, 1994, Rice Adyn, 1991). The arguments in section 1. and in the following paragraphs suggest that this is the case also with EPSs. Besides SIPM, a well-known approach to explaining and modelling user acceptance is the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), (Davis, 1989). TAM suggests that users formulate attitudes toward the technology that depends on whether they perceive the IT to be useful and easy to use. However, TAM does not take into account other factors that may be critical to user acceptanc e or rejection of such specific technology as EPSs, such as security, trust, privacy and involved risks. Extending the SIPM assumption, user acceptance of online EPSs could be affected by a number of factors and parties, creating a broader sense of the social context of EPSs in the Internet environment. User experience with an EPS can be influenced or manipulated by various aspects, such as marketing, publicity, the reputation of the bank behind the system, trust towards the company operating the system and technology behind the system, and convenience of the user interface, see also Guttmann (2003), Kalakota Whinston (1997), Egger (2003). Figure 1. attempts to illustrate the social context in which parties and factors could possibly influence user perception and experience with electronic payment systems. These parties and factors should be taken into consideration when exploring issues of user acceptance of online EPSs. They are either required for a successful operation of a payment system (banks), its promotion (marketing organisations), or monitor and regulate its operation (gover nment). For example, the company operating the payment service will have to address users’ concerns about security, privacy and trust. Users can be influenced in their experience by other parties than the operator itself, e. g. the bank or financial institution that facilitates the payment transactions, see Figure 1. 1. Customers can be influenced by the user interface, or by other parties involved in the payment service, such as technical partners. Since e-commerce EPSs operate in the Internet environment, the reputation and impression of the system can be easily communicated to other users via online communities, creating yet another social impact on the system. Therefore, social influences, e. g. opinions and behaviour of other users, like family and friends, and reputation of banks and the parties involved, should be taken into account for user acceptance of EPSs. This argument can be supported by above-mentioned SIPM, (Salancik Pfeffer, 1978). Issues such as trust, usability, applicability, security, and convertibility are extremely important because they can influence subsequent decisions of people whether to use a payment system or not. There are several obstacles to user acceptance of EPSs: developers not only have to sell the service to potential users, they also have to convince the users to entrust their money to a third party institution, to rely on the payment system in their business and personal finance, and to use it frequently for convenience, reliability, specific applications, services and for a variety of other reasons. To achieve this high standard of user acceptance, the creators of a payment system should bear in mind user-related factors from the very beginning of the conception of the payment system. Designing for user acceptance of online electronic payment systems is thus the main issue put forward by research described in this thesis. An open challenge remains for designers and developers of novel Internet-based payment systems to meet user expectations, requirements, preferences and needs in design and operation of the systems. Resolving these issues is critical for the development and operation of new payment systems and future growth of e-commerce. 1. 2. 1User factors in payment technology The importance of user-related factors can be demonstrated in the example of the notorious problem of security of information systems. There are thousands of security mechanisms, matched with a growing number of hacks and security breaches, (Flynn, 2001, p. 61). However, the nature of security issues is changing with the constant improvement of information technology. While security technology is becoming increasingly sophisticated and tamper-proof, experts in information security admit that user factors are the most important issues for security problems. The vast majority of all security issues in IT environments is caused or assisted by users inside organisations, rather than hackers and other utsiders. Security experts know many stories about people exchanging their passwords, or IT managers attaching notes with logins and passwords to their monitors, or about hackers finding these notes in the trash. To avoid this kind of mistakes, experts are talking about enforcing security policies in organisations, to be able to address user-related factors in security, (Flynn, 2001). Therefore, security practices have embr aced user-related factors. This example helps to illustrate the importance of user-related factors in the design and operation of information systems. The following example illustrates a failure of a payment system due to neglecting to focus on user and market needs. The Chipknip â„ ¢ and Chipper â„ ¢ smart card payment technologies, (Nannery, 1998), were introduced in the Netherlands in early 90s. Both systems were intended to provide a way of paying small amounts in everyday transactions, which people would normally pay with cash. However, these two systems competed with each other for some time, being incompatible, so customers could not pay with the competitor’s card at certain shops, (BIS, 2001). Eventually, this created problems of interoperability and limited the user base for both systems. Another obstacle was that the card readers were installed in shops where people already had another method of payment – debit cards, which worked very effectively and efficiently and which were used by most people for all kinds of payments. In a way, Chipknip and Chipper duplicated the functions and applications of debit cards. On the other hand, the real need for Chipknip and Chipper for small payments at parking lots, vending, and public transport tickets machines was not met. A serious situation arose regarding the high costs of accepting Chipknip for merchants. As the result, the union of Small and Medium Enterprises in the Netherlands threatened to boycott Chipknip, (Het Financieele Dagblad, 2001). In this case, an important factor stimulating the development of EPSs was not met, namely the reduced operational and processing costs. Despite of a certain potential for uses acceptance of e-purse technology (Van Hove, 2004), this situation is changing slowly. All these issues led to a low acceptance of Chipper and Chipknip technologies. Chipper International decided to stop operations and support of Chipper in the Dutch market, (Libbenga, 2001; BIS, 2001); Chipper has fused with Chipknip, and while some issues have been addressed, the expected applications for this smart-card technology are yet to come. The example above helps to illustrate the complexity of human and marketing factors in the context of payment systems and their crucial influence on the eventual success of a payment system. Therefore, for successful design of electronic payment systems from the user perspective it is important to find out what user-related factors and systems’ aspects have the most direct impact on user acceptance and which of them can cause problems when neglected in design. 1. 3Research objectives 1. 4Research scope 1. 4. 1 The role of electronic payments in customer e-commerce activities The process of paying is an essential part of customers’ online buying activities. These activities are well described by the Consumer Mercantile Activities Model, (Kalakota Whinston, 1997). The model comprises prepurchase interaction, purchase consummation and postpurchase interaction phases. The payment activity takes place within the purchase consummation phase, Figure 1. 2. â€Å"The purchase consummation phase specifies the flow of information and documents associated with purchasing and negotiating with merchants for suitable terms, such as price, availability, and delivery dates; and electronic payment mechanisms that integrate payment into the purchasing process†, (Kalakota Whinston, 1997). The buyer arrives to payment activities after identifying products of services to be purchased. The buyer and seller conduct then a mercantile transaction. In a mercantile transaction the buyer and the seller exchange information followed by the necessary payment. The payment methods they use should be mutually negotiated and agreed on (ibid). Therefore, in order to conduct a successful e-commerce mercantile transaction the buyer should at least be willing to use the payment method offered by merchants. From this viewpoint, user acceptance of e-commerce EPSs is critical for the completion of the purchase consummation phase and the whole purchasing process. It can be therefore bserved that the payment process and the user involvement in it are highly important for e-commerce activities. Scope of payment systems Business-to-consumer Payment Systems This research is focused on user acceptance of new payment systems in consumer ecommerceenvironments. The main focus of the presented work is therefore Businessto- Consumer e-commerce EPSs, which are designed with the main purpose to f acilitate payments for consumer e-commerce. Taking into account the B2B systems would have made the scope too broad to handle within this research. Payment Systems designed for the Web Currently, consumer e-commerce is done mainly via the WWW (Web) service of the Internet. The market for conducting e-commerce payments via wireless PDAs, mobile phones and other Internet services is still under development, (Bohle, 2001a), and therefore does not have a wide user basis and usage experience. Thus, in the scope are Web-oriented online e-commerce EPSs and Web e-commerce applications. Scope of payment tasks Because the scope of the defined business relations is Business-to-Consumer, the payment tasks in the focus of this thesis are related to consumer e-commerce and trade of goods and services. In these tasks there should be at least one 1) business party involved and 2) one physical person, who is conducting purchasing activities in an ecommerce environment. Scope of target activities These activities include those that are related to buying goods and services, and essentially represent consumer e-commerce. The scope of these activities is embracing a significant and, arguably, the most important part of the consumer e-commerce represented by B2C relations. Purchasing goods: tangible, require shipping, intermediated (by shipping companies). Purchasing information and software: intangible, immediate, not intermediated (by shipping companies). Purchasing services: intangible/tangible, not always immediate, can be intermediated (by service companies). The following activities are therefore excluded from the scope because they are not in line with the defined scope of electronic payment systems, namely B2C consumer ecommerce. Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) money payments and exchange. C2C payments do not belong to B2C e-commerce, (Figure 1. 3), e. g. personal auctions payments, debt settlement. Specific payment applications, for instance, gambling or adult-content sites. In this context the sites place specific requirements on B2C relations and userrelated factors, e. g. on privacy. Related activities Additional activities that have to be explored are the influence of pre- and postpurchase interaction phases, according to Kalakota and Winston (1997) on the user experience with a payment system on the whole. It is very likely that correct introduction,application and follow up of payment products and services in retail e-commerce are important for user acceptance of EPSs, and therefore the pre- and post-purchase interaction phases cannot be reasonably disregarded when investigating the payment process. The user experience within these phases could affect their decision as to whether to use the e-commerce service at all, without even arriving at the payment process itself. Amount of money The minimum amount of money within the scope was chosen to be above â‚ ¬2. This means excluding small and micropayments. The nature of payment tasks in case of micropayments is different from higher amounts. For instance, users may wish to automate this kind of payments to avoid the need to authorize a payment of â‚ ¬0. 01 every time, while with bigger amounts they are likely to have control over each transaction. Furthermore, different researches show that at this moment there is little market for services that support small and micropayments, (Bohle, 2001b). In the focus are therefore small to medium sized payments, e. g. from â‚ ¬2 to â‚ ¬1,000. The upper payment limit is set to â‚ ¬1,000 to indicate that highest amount within the scope of this research. The suggested range of payment amounts is typical for the current status of the domain and is similar to range of payments with existing offline EPSs, like credit, debit and smart cards, (Lelieveldt, 2001; Bohle, 2001a). Larger payments can be expected to raise different user acceptance issues, because of more user attention to risks, security, efficiency and other aspects of transactions with such amounts, (Humphrey, 1995). 1. 4. 2 Approach and methodology This research employs practices of the multidisciplinary scientific field of Human- Computer Interaction in order to research issues of user acceptance and user-related factors in online e-commerce electronic payment systems. Specifics of HCI research The nature of Human-Computer Interaction is such that it has to employ various scientific, research and design disciplines and cross borders between them for successful research. HCI is different from other disciplines in that it studies interaction between people and artificially created artefacts, and not an independent natural phenomenon, like in other disciplines. This complex nature of HCI and its research goals compel researchers to adopt both inductive and deductive approaches to science, as described in Mackay Fayard (1997). In the deductive approach the purpose is to generate a set of hypothesis that can explain real world phenomena. The scientist proposes a theory about a phenomenon, and formulates a hypothesis to be tested in an empirical research. In order to verify the hypothesis, an experiment is conducted, and with the revision of its results the theory is re-examined and an updated hypothesis is created. This approach is employed by the experimental study of this thesis. The inductive model aims to construct the most precise description of the real world, as opposed to explanation. The scientist observes phenomena in the real world without having a preconception or theory of what they are looking for. Then the scientist attempts to create a model of the world that explains the phenomena. By returning to the real world the model can be validated and changed if there are contradictions between the model and the studied phenomena. The qualitative study in this thesis employ this approach for requirements elicitation and creation of the design recommendations. The research process applied in this thesis, aimed to gain validated design knowledge, can be described as an iterative circular or spiral movement. This process is best described by Figure 1. 4, adapted from the work of Rauterberg (2000). This approach asserts to combine â€Å"analytical strength of empirical validation methods (e. g. , observation, experiment, inquiry, etc. with the synthetic strength of system design†. This triangle structure conceptualizes the three most important components of HCI research: â€Å"(1) the collection of ‘design relevant knowledge’, (2) the ‘interactive system’ in different possible representation forms, and (3) the several possibilities to represent a ‘user’ for (empirical) validation†, (ibid). The following sections describe how using diverse research activities hel ped to combine these components in the research reported in this thesis. Outline of the thesis The diagram in Figure 1. illustrates a combination of the research and design activities of this thesis. These activities included acquiring design knowledge on ecommerce EPSs, applying the knowledge to a commercial payment system designed by an industrial party, and empirical validation of the design knowledge. Chapter 2 presents a survey of literature on EPSs, which was necessary for understanding EPSs. The outcome this survey is a classification and a set of characteristics of EPSs. The importance of the characteristics of EPSs had to be confirmed with potential users of EPSs. Chapter 3 describes an investigation into the importance of the characteristics of EPSs to end users by means of a survey of consumer attitudes towards EPSs. The user survey helped to identify what characteristics should be given more attention in the design of EPSs. However, the knowledge about the importance of the characteristics did not inform how they should be realised in design of EPSs. To acquire a deeper understanding of these issues, a qualitative research in the form of a diary study was conducted, Chapter 4. The diary study aimed to understand how EPSs are experienced and perceived by users in the context of actual use and how EPSs can be designed to meet users’ needs. As the outcome of the diary study, implications for design of Internet-based payment systems have been derived and formulated as design recommendations. To ensure that the application of the design recommendations benefits user acceptance of EPSs, an experimental study was conducted, that is described in Chapter 5. This study helped to substantiate the validity of a subset of the design recommendations. It was hoped to find the ideal situation where it is possible to apply the hypothesised design knowledge to a real-life system, rather than testing them in the laboratory, in order to achieve high realism of the results. Due to the participation of industrial parties, this situation has become available. The experimental study involved two parts: 1) a real-life EPS was redesigned in accordance with the proposed DRs, 2) an experimental comparison of the redesigned system with the old one has indicated improvements of user attitudes in several aspects, thus demonstrating the validity of the design recommendations. Chapter 2 2. 1 Classification of payment systems 2. 1. 1 Introduction This chapter presents a framework for classification and characterising of electronic systems that facilitate paying in an e-commerce environment. This framework is an attempt to describe and to relate the wide variety of the payment systems, with more than 150 payment mechanisms invented worldwide. This chapter also presents a survey of literature on EPSs, which has been a necessary step for understanding payment systems. The outcome of this phase of the research is a classification and characterisation of electronic payment systems. . 1. 2 Primary classification of payment systems The principal classification of EPSs is based on the form of money representation and the principle of money transfer. Existing payment systems can be divided into two groups: electronic cash mechanisms (or electronic currency) and credit-debit systems, (Medvinsky Neuman, 1993). Electronic cash resembles conventional cash, when parties exchange electronic tokens that represent value, just as banknotes and coins determine the nominal value of conventional cash money. The credit-debit approach in the context of electronic payments means that money is represented by records in bank accounts, and this information is electronically transferred between parties over computer networks. Another terminological approach offered by Wayner (1997), based on the type of information that is exchanged, distinguishes between ‘account-based’ and ’token-based’ systems, which, respectively, corresponds to credit-debit systems and electronic cash in the definition of Medvinsky and Neuman. A similar distinction is found in Camp et al. 1995), who distinguish between notational and token forms of money. A different view on classification of EPSs is offered in Asokan et al. (1997), where payment mechanisms are classified based on the temporal sequence of money flows between the payer and receiver of the payments. Various attempts of classification of payment systems are also reported in Kuttner and McAndrews (2001), and Schreft (2002). These re ferences are aggregated into the classification of electronic payment systems, illustrated in Figure 2. , which was first reported in Abrazhevich (2001b). The figure illustrates the further classification of EPSs, described in the following sections. It provides examples of EPSs in each subcategory; some of these systems are described further in the text. The figure illustrates if the systems are only theoretical developments, that were only tested as limited pilots, and that have never been implemented for the commercial use. Payment mediation services that aggregate various EPSs in one payment infrastructure are described in section 2. 1. 5. 2. . 3 Further classification of account-based systems In the group of account-based systems, one can distinguish between 1) generic online EPSs that use simple account-based model for serving Internet payments, 2) systems that use the debit and credit cards model, and 3) specialized payment systems that, for instance, were designed for tradin g content online such as music. Some researchers consider credit cards systems as a separate group of payment models, (Medvinsky and Neuman, 1993), others consider them to be a variant of the credit-debit type. This classification adopts the latter distinction. The basic principle of account-based systems is that the exchange of money between accounts is maintained by a payment service provider. Users can authorize charges against their EPS accounts, as they would do with usual bank accounts, though the ways of authorization are different for various systems. With the debit approach, the customer maintains a positive balance of the account and money is subtracted when a debit transaction is performed. With the credit approach, charges are posted against the customer’s account and the customer is billed for this amount later or subsequently pays the balance of the account to the payment service. One of the most widely used systems for electronic payments is the debit card, which as the name suggest, is a clear example of a debit system, (Evans Schmalensee, 1999). Debit cards combine the service of Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) cards and cheques. When customers pay with a debit card, the money is automatically deducted from their checking bank account. In contrast with the credit cards, the spent money comes from the bank account directly. Many banks issue a combined ATM/debit card that looks like a credit card and can be used in places where credit cards are accepted. In this case, when users pay with a debit card, the payment will still be processed as a debit transaction. Other payment mechanisms that use the credit-debit model are Yahoo PayDirect, Pay- Pal. com, and theoretical payment projects like NetBill (Sirbu and Tygar, 1995), and NetCheque (Medvinsky and Neuman, 1993). A special group of account-based instruments that are currently in wide use are credit card systems. A great part of trade on the Internet is done using credit cards and these payment systems should not be overlooked. The biggest advantage of this approach is that the customers, who have already received credit cards offline, can use them directly for online payments. This also results in high scalability, as no additional installations are necessary. Credit cards provide a large customer base for merchants who accept them, thus their applicability is quite high. There are critical security issues associated with the use of credit cards in an online environment. When using credit cards over open networks, encryption mechanisms, such as widely used Secure Socket Lauer (SSL), in principle can prevent a hacker or eavesdropper from intercepting the customer’s credit card number. There are some schemes that even hide card numbers from the merchant, providing protection against intercepting the card details from merchant databases or against fraud by the merchant. Nevertheless, these incidents happen regularly (Caunter, 2001; IFCC, 2003; Wales, 2003). It is important to note, however, that without some form of customer registration with a payment service or substantial proofs of identity, credit cards can be very risky to pay with and can be easily abused. Even encrypted Internet credit card transactions do not include the owner’s signature, and anyone with knowledge of the customer’s credit card number and expiration date can create a payment order. An important aspect of credit card payments in the online world is referred to as card-not-present (CNP) transactions. CNP transactions are those where neither the card, nor its holder are present at the point of sale, e. g. in orders by mail, telephone, fax or the Internet. The buyer does not have to demonstrate the physical presence of the card, or the card and the buyer do not have to be co-located. This imposes issues with card validation, security and fraud. CNP transactions are widely used in mail order/telephone order purchasing (MOTO) which also do not require co-location of buyer and seller. To secure transactions of this type, credit card companies ask for additional information, such as name, address, etc. that can be used to verify their identity, for instance, if the ordered goods should be mailed to the billing address associated with the credit card. Other information often required is the additional 3-4 digits code, printed on the back side of the card and not present in the credit card number. Merchants ask the customer to read this code from the card in a card-not-present order. The merchant then asks for verification during the authorization process. The issuer (or credit card processor) validates the code and relays the decision to decline or approve the transaction to the merchant. Nevertheless, the MOTO transactions incorporate limited protection against credit card fraud. Credit card CNP transactions could sometimes employ even less identity verification information. Since no signature involved in CNP transactions, the buyers can opt out of any order, if they claim they did not agree with the purchase, (O’Mahony, Peirce, Tewari, 1997). The charges for orders cancellation are borne by merchants in the form of the higher costs for processing of CNP transactions. In addition, merchants could be liable for the whole amount of the disputed order, (APACS, 2002). Furthermore, because online payments are administered as standard credit card charges, the costs are too high to make this method unsuitable for payments below â‚ ¬1 and hence inefficient. Credit card companies are constantly lowering the minimum amount that can be paid to enable small payments, but charges for merchants still remain high. It should be also taken into account that cards are issued by banks and organisations, which after a screening, decide whether they can issue credit cards to certain customers. Customers with a low income, an imperfect credit history, might not be eligible for a credit card. This may restrict the customer base to a certain degree and limit user and merchant acceptance of credit cards as a payment method. 2. 1. 4 Further classification of electronic cash systems Electronic cash is stored in a digital form and serves as a cash substitute for the Internet or other information systems. Electronic cash represents value in some form and can be spent with merchants, who deposit money in their own accounts or can spend it in other places. It can be represented by electronic ‘bills’ and ‘coins’, certificates, packets of data, or electronic tokens in one form or another. When using electronic cash systems, customers purchase electronic digital tokens from the issuing company using a conventional payment system, e. g. credit cards, electronic checks, or even paper currency (for example, via a reverse automatic teller machine which accepts cash, or when purchasing prepaid cards). Some of the systems allow converting electronic cash back into another form of money (Medvinsky and Neuman, 1993), which is very important for convertibility of the systems. Another distinction amongst electronic cash systems is between those that use smart cards for the storage of tokens and those where tokens reside only on user’s accounts and computer networks. The former are often called electronic purses (e-purses), the latter are sometimes addressed as ‘online cash’ or ‘Web cash’. Examples of e-purse electronic cash systems are CAFE project, (Boly et al. , 1994) and Mondex (Martin, 1994). Tokens in these systems exist and travel in the computer environment,for example, on a currency server or customers’ hard disk. Mondex is a smart card payment system that was designed to enable person-to-person as well as Internet payments, (Van Hove, 1999, p. 141). The card can be used to make small payments, store personal and application-specific information, and serve as a telephone card. Web cash representatives are E-cash, E-gold, Millicent (Glassman Manasse, 1995), PayWord and MicroMint (Rivest Shamir, 1996), and NetCash system (Medvinsky and Neuman, 1993). It has to be noted that these systems are mostly theoretical work and have not been implemented on the market. Systems that employ smart cards e. g. Chipknip, Chipper in the Netherlands, Proton in Belgium, and Visa Cash can be also placed in the category of electronic cash and also called e-purses, however, in representing money they hardly use tokens. In this case, the numerical data stored on the card is changed when a payment takes place. Judged by the principle of the operation and use they act like electronic purses. The value is stored on a card and if the card is lost, the money is gone, in a fashion similar to cash. It has to be noted that smart cards like Chipknip are not principally designed for Internet payments and are used mainly at point-of-sale terminals. There have been nevertheless pilot tests of facilitating paying over the Internet with Belgian Proton smart card EPS, but the use of Proton on the Internet is now discontinued. An important development towards standardisation of e-purses is establishing Common Electronic Purse Specifications with the goal to define requirements needed to implement a globally interoperable electronic purse program, while maintaining full accountability, (see www. cepsco. org). CEPS, which were made available in March of 1999, outline overall system security and certification. Being established by the key parties in electronic purse cards, and supported by organisations from over 30 countries, CEPS paved the way for the creation of an open global electronic purse standard. For cardholders it means that they will be able to use their electronic purse cards domestically and internationally with the knowledge that the card will be accepted wherever the acceptance mark is displayed. Visa Cash is an example of CEPS implementation, (see www. visa. com). Prepaid card EPSs can be also included in the same category of electronic cash, because the principle of their work resembles the use of e-purses, such as Chipknip. Users can buy a prepaid card for a specified amount. Prepaid card systems are specifically designed for Internet payments. Users can pay with a prepaid card by entering on merchant sites the card’s unique number, which corresponds to the card’s nominal. The value of the card is decreased by the amount paid to the merchant. To better understand what issues that surround electronic payment systems, it makes certain sense to introduce a definition of payment mediation services, which use existing payment systems as mediators to provide extra services. 2. 1. 5 Payment mediation services vs. payment systems To further refine the focus of this research, we have to make one important distinction, which is between payment mediation services and payment systems. This distinction particularly makes sense in the context of electronic and Internet payment mechanisms. Payment mediating services have appeared as a response to the imperfection and inefficiency of current payment systems for the Internet. They extend the services of the existing systems and operate as mediators between merchant, payment systems and users. Their goal is to help merchants to accept as many payment systems users could possibly want to use when paying over the Internet. In payment mediation services the existing payment infrastructure from many payments providers is aggregated to provide broader services, or to overcome shortcomings of the available payment options. Figure 2. 2 describes the relations between merchants, EPSs and payment mediation services. The difference between payment mediation services and payment systems can be summarized in that a payment mediation service is as an intermediary between payer, business, and payment system, while there is no such middle tire for payment systems. The payment process in this case is transparent to the users of a site. A mediating service provider ‘intercepts’ payments from users, processes them, and credits the account of the owner of the site when the authorization and transactions are completed. For example, there are numerous companies among mediating services providers that facilitate acceptance and processing of various credit cards. A special class of payment mediation services has emerged, that provides convenience for paying bills for businesses and end users. An example of payment mediation services is providing bill payments for end users and companies, for instance, utilities or telephone bills. Over a Web front-end provided by the billing systems, customers and companies can pay bills that are normally paid offline by paper cheques or bank transfers. Some systems even provide additional services such as automated accounting merged with online payment facilities. Syndication of payment services Another angle on payment mediating systems is viewing them as a form of syndication of payment services in an online environment. The notion of syndication originates from the entertainment world, where it forms the fundamental organizing principle. With the advent of the ‘new economy’ and the use of the power of Internet distribution, syndication can be recognised as an emerging model for e-commerce. In this context syndication would mean selling the same information to many different customers, who render and integrate it with other information in various value-adding ways and then redistribute it. According to this principle, businesses involved can play three or more roles: originators who create original content; syndicators, who collect and package digital information to meet specific customers’ needs; and distributors who deliver digital content to customers, (Werbach, 2000). In the context of online payments, payment mediation services can be seen as syndicators of the original services offered by payment systems. Payment mediation services syndicate e-commerce EPSs, offering merchants the way to accept a variety of payment systems. Examples of payment mediation services A good illustration a payment mediation service is Bibit Billing Services (www. bibit. com). This Dutch company specializes in Internet payment and billing services. The service supported about 70 payment methods from 18 countries by 2004. When customers want to pay on a Web site of a Bibit’s client, they select one of the provided payment methods. The payment process goes as follows: 1. A customer selects products on sale in a virtual shop. 2. For payment, the customer is then redirected to Bibit Payment Service. 3. Within Bibit Payment Service, the customer can select a payment system he or she would like to pay with, provided it is supported by Bibit. The customer makes the payment with the system of his or her choice. 4. After a successful payment, Bibit notifies the merchant that the order can be shipped and transfers the money to the merchant. The processing of the transactions, which is conducted entirely by Bibit, is therefore transparent to the customers of the site and the client company. The company business model, which utilizes a number of payment systems, relies on providing extra services to facilitate payments, and therefore it fits into the definition of a mediating system. It is interesting to note that the service allows the use of micropayments, by accumulating charges for products like news, articles, stock and research reports, online games and charging users on a subscription basis. Examples of other payment mediation services are Orbiscom (www. orbiscom. com), iBill (Ibill. com), PayTrust, (www. paytrust. com), DataCash (www. datacash. com), PayNet (www. paynet. ch). Systems that conceal real customer’s credit card numbers by providing them a unique temporary card number for each transaction have gained certain popularity among payment mediation services. The customers can then use this unique number in a normal credit card transaction, and their real credit card will be charged. This temporary card number expires after every transaction and would not be approved for the subsequent use. The data of real credit cards of customers is not exposed to parties online in online transactions. In this case the payment mediation services are using credit cards infrastructure to provide extra security and anonymity (ABN-Amro e-wallet, O-Card by Orbiscom. com). By using these measures merchants expect to accept more secured payments without changing the way shoppers pay and without changing existing payment processes or infrastructure. The research summarized in this thesis is concerned mainly with payment systems and not with mediating solutions for existing payment infrastructure. Payment mediation services on the Internet emerged because of the absence of relevant payment solutions or have problems that prevent their successful use by merchants and users. Many of EPSs are probably transitory systems, unable to completely solve problems that appear in the context of the Internet paying process, because the problems originate in the payment systems they use; see discussion on PayPal. om in section 2. 4. While syndication of EPSs by payment mediation services provides in the end a better level of service than individual EPSs they use, it also places the payment mediation systems out of the scope of this research, which is exploring ways to design better individual EPSs. 2. 2 Identifying the characteristics of payment systems As observed in the example with Chipknip and Chipper in the previous chapter, there are a l ot of factors that determine the success or failure of payment systems, and not all of them are of technical nature. As mentioned already, user acceptance depends on many issues, such as consumer choice, preferences, advertisement, a state of the market, etc. The discussion of diverse aspects of electronic payment systems can be found in many works on development and research of payment systems. Attempts to classify and describe the requirements and characteristics of payment systems such as security, reliability, convertibility, efficiency, traceability, and others can be found, among others, in the works of Medvinsky Neuman (1995), Langdon et al. (2000), Lynch Lundquist (1996), Wayner (1997). It has to be noted however, that these studies are mainly focused on technical aspects of electronic payment systems, which is not the only facet that is important in this field. Below the characteristics of payment systems are extended to account for user-related aspects of EPSs. These characteristics can be also used for assessment of payment systems, as described further. The list of characteristics of payment systems Anonymity, privacy This characteristic reflects the desire of users to protect their privacy, identity and personal information. In some transactions, the identities of the parties could be protected by anonymity. Anonymity suggests that it is not possible to discover someone’s identity or to monitor an individual’s spending patterns. Where anonymity is important, the cost of tracking a transaction should outweigh the value of the information that can be obtained by doing so. As an illustration, when a customer pays with a debit card, the purchase is registered at the vendor and bank’s databases. It is possible to find out what amount was paid and what actually was purchased. Thus debit card payments are not anonymous. On the contrary, when one pays with cash at a shop or in a marketplace, no one can say by examining the cash that money came from the payer, as there is no direct information about this payer’s personality associated with the banknotes. Thus, cash is an anonymous payment system. Currently, the right of users to choose how their personal information is disclosed is viewed as privacy. There are privacy laws in several countries that limit usage of personal information by banks, authorities and other parties, including online businesses and payment systems, like European privacy acts or similar directives, e. . European Commission Data Protection Directive. Applicability The added value of a payment mechanism is dependent upon how useful it is for buying something. Applicability (or acceptability, as it is often referred in literature, (Medvinsky Neuman, 1995)) of a payment system is defined as the extent to which it is accepted for payments at points of sale, or at online e-com merce sites in this case. For instance, cash is accepted widely and virtually everywhere in the offline world and thus has a very high level of applicability. Debit cards and credit cards have a very high applicability, as one can pay with them in a variety of places. The applicability of a payment system may vary from country to country. For example, in Germany and in the Netherlands cheques are no longer common due to the steady growth of other payment methods. However, in the UK and the USA cheques are still quite a common method of payment and the level of their applicability is quite high. Authorization type Authorization type is referred in the literature as the form of a control over the validity of transactions, (Lynch and Lundquist, 1996; Asokan et al. 1997). The authorization type can be offline or online. Offline authorization means that users of the system can exchange money while not connected to a network, without a third party mediating for the transaction. Paper cheques are an illustration of offli How to cite E Payment, Essay examples

Monopoly Market Structure Is One Major †Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: How To Monopoly Market Structure Is One Major? Answer: Introducation In the area of economic, a monopoly market structure is one major types of market structure. In a monopoly market structure only a single firm succeeds in a particular industry. In other words, it can be said that, in a monopoly market structure, only one firm supplies products or services in the marketplace. No other alternates of that product or service would be available in the market. In monopoly system, an organization does not face a situation of competition because of it does not have any opponent (Vault. 2017). Along with this, on the basis of the given case analysis, there are some major characteristics of the market, which has created monopoly market for Microsofts operating system. For case, Microsoft is the sole organization that developed assorted applications such as: Internet Explorer, Windows Digital Media Player, and so on with its operating system; and these applications of the company provided monopoly power to Microsoft Corporation. On the other hand, Microsoft Corporation released the advanced versions of the products of its competitors. The company did research earlier to recognize that which types of products and services they will launch in the market. After recognition these products/services, Microsoft released latest versions of those products or services to enjoy the advantages of monopoly market in an appropriate manner. For case, Microsoft launched Internet Explorer to compete with Navigator and to make it close to Navigator. Moreover, Microsoft integrated Internet Explorer as well as Media player with Windows. These features of Microsoft created monopoly market that operating system of Microsoft enjoyed. Microsoft launched a disk to take monopoly power in the market (Boyes Melvin, 2015). With the help of the disk, users would be able to take tour of windows at their home and offices. The users became able to training of all the software and applications with the disk launched by the Microsoft. So, ac cording to me, the above characteristics created monopoly market that operating system of Microsoft enjoyed. With reference to the case suggest, Microsoft might differ if this had been a (monopolistic) competitive environment. Monopolistic competition is a situation of imperfect competition where lots of producers sell differentiate products to meet the needs and demands of the customers (Vault. 2017). Along with this, in a monopolistic competitive environment, Microsoft would not be a single supplier of products or services. It will face a situation of high competition in the marketplace. It is because of many producers will be there to provide differentiate products or services to users. By competing in a monopolistic competitive environment, Microsoft would not be a producer of a sole product or service. User would not be obliged to buy the software and applications of Microsoft. They may choose other seller to buy similar software and applications to fulfill their needs at lower prices. On the other hand, a monopolistic competitive environment may reduce the revenues and market share of Microsoft. The organization may lose its control and would not be able to have control on the entire market. Moreover, it is true that in a monopolistic competitive environment, customers would not be able to buy perfect substitutes of their demands products services, software, applications, etc. But, they will definitely get the similar products as well as services in the marketplace (Boyes Melvin, 2015). In this way, the market positioning, market share, market demand supply, productivity, and profitability of Microsoft might differ in a monopolistic competitive environment. There can be seen either an increase or a decrease in the positioning, market share, productivity, and profitability of Microsoft Corporation in the market. Oligopoly is a type of market structure in which few firms operate in the marketplace. In this type of market structure only some firms have control on the whole market. These firms have large majority of market share in the marketplace. Along with this, only a few firms dominate in an oligopoly market structure; so there is possibility that some other small firms may operate in the marketplace. An oligopoly is very much similar to a monopoly market structure. A major difference is that in a monopoly market one firm dominate the entire market; while in an oligopoly market two or more firms may control the whole marketplace (Hall Lieberman, 2007). Moreover, with reference to the given case, it is clear that United and Continental Airlines operate in an oligopolistic market; so they have control on the whole market. These are the only firms those manage long distance flights; and domestic as well as international travel in an effectual and a proper manner. On the other hand, oligopolistic markets work for the good of both United Continental Airlines. It improves the profits and revenues of these airlines. These airlines cover top four domestic routes that enhance the popularity of the airlines in the eyes of customers. These airlines have the biggest hub for international flights. There is no other airline available in the nation that provides the facility of international flights to the travelers (MOUAWAD McGEEHAN, 2010). . Moreover, due to the merger, the growth opportunities of these airlines have increased in both domestic and international markets. They do not face a situation of high competition because of they do not need to compete with lots of competitors. In addition to this, both these airlines may upgrade their services; and may charge high prices for these services to enjoy high profits. There is no other big airline that may provide similar services to customers. Moreover, with reference to the case, high prices of airlines may reduce the profits of airlines; and customers may move towards other airline services. So, it can be said that, oligopolistic markets will work in the favor of these airlines. But, they need to implement some strategies to build a strong customer base. They just need to provide high quality services at the lower or reasonable costs. They need to invest some money on the safety and protection of the customers (Hall Lieberman, 2007). Overall, the merge would be beneficial for both these airlines; and they would be able to enjoy the advantages of oligopolistic markets in an effectual manner. References Boyes, W., Melvin, M. (2015). Microeconomics. USA: Cengage Learning. Hall, R. Lieberman, M. (2007). Economics: Principles and Applications. USA: Cengage Learning. MOUAWAD, J., McGEEHAN, P. (2010). Rumblings in the New York Skies. Retrieved From: https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/business/05airfight.html?ref=business_r=1 [Accessed On: 17th May 2017] Vault. (2017). MICROSOFT CORPORATION. Retrieved From: https://www.vault.com/company-profiles/computer-software/microsoft-corporation/company-overview.aspx

Young Man in Vietnam free essay sample

â€Å"Young Man in Vietnam† by Charles Coe goes against the 1980 patriotic views of Vietnam veterans, as he positions readers to be sympathetic towards veterans. Through the use of characterisation and symbolism Coe has positioned readers to be sympathetic towards the young man in Vietnam. Firstly, the use of the character’s narration readers is swayed into sympathising the character. Through the use of the character’s narration readers begins to understand the sentimental value of the letter. â€Å"You remember the taste of salt water in your mouth how cold the wind felt until you dried off. You remember talking to Peggy You remember how her soft hands was† Through this narration readers begin to understand that the letters bring him back to his past into a fantasy. However the fantasy is often interrupted by reality leaks dripping on him, which the readers sympathises the character for. Similarly, the character’s action is evidence that the character has grown frustrated towards reality. We will write a custom essay sample on Young Man in Vietnam or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page â€Å"You want to hold her very badly you sit up suddenly startled. Another leak. You get up and kick your foot locker but the leak doesn’t stop. The transition between fantasy and reality is evidently has an impact on the character when he kicks the foot locker in frustration. Through the characters narration and action readers have grown sympathetic for the character, readers have understood the sentimental value of the letter and sympathises the fact that his fantasy of his past is constantly interrupted. Secondly, through the use of actions of the character and symbolism Coe has position readers to be sympathetic towards the character. â€Å" You look pass as the men carry the body pass you. You realise you have been holding Peggy’s letter in your left hand the whole time. The ink hopelessly blurred. You crumpled it into a ball and dropped it into the mud and begin to walk back to your tent. The character’s action is symbolic for two things one of which relates to the sentimental value of the letter. The letter which is his comfort during the war is blurred by rain which ironically the same cause of the constant interruption of his fantasy, the crumpling and discarding of the letter is symbolic for his surrender to reality and to fritter away his past and fantasy. Coupled with, the emotional state that he was in through connoting his actions readers sympathises the fact that the character feels hopeless, loneliness, and frustration. By bringing the letter along it connotes the characters desperateness to be accompanied by a love one, the crumpling of the letter connotes disappointment and frustration, and the discarding of the letter is connotes the hopelessness the character feels. Through the used symbolic actions Coe positions readers to be sympathetic towards the character’s emotional state that is cause by the war.

Free Essays on Virginia Woolfs Thoughts

that the men’s college is of high society, and the women’s college is shadowed with destitute necessities. Woolf has indeed attempted to stress the importance of women’s place in society in comparison to that of the man’s. A detailed meal description pertaining to the men’s college, such as, â€Å"The lunch on this occasion began with soles, sunk in a deep dish, over which the college cook had spread a counterpane of the whitest cream, save that it was branded here and there with brown spots like the spots on the flanks of a doe†¦Ã¢â‚¬  proves that Virginia Woolf even went in depth to exaggerate the favoritism shown towards t... Free Essays on Virginia Woolf's Thoughts Free Essays on Virginia Woolf's Thoughts Woolf’s Personal Thoughts Revealed In this passage, Virginia Woolf has taken her motivational views about women and fiction and has woven them into a story which is set in an imaginary place where her audience can feel comfortable and can open their minds to what she has to offer. Woolf’s personal views, opinions on women’s place, plus her examples of rhetorical devices such as diction, details, and syntax, add up to one incredible and creative piece of literature. Woolf expresses through diction, her own attitudes about the way women have been treated, and how their values are naturally different from those that men have. In describing the men’s college, Woolf’s particular word choice, such as â€Å"partridges†, and the phrase that â€Å"their sprouts foliated as rosebuds but more succulent†¦Ã¢â‚¬  show that she views this society as upper class and more complex. This observation is reversed when, in the second passage, Woolf describes the meals at the women’s college. By using such words as â€Å"doubtless†¦uncharitable†¦and stringy†, it is obvious that her opinion clearly states that women are inferior to men, therefore, their living arrangements are subjacent as well. It is not difficult to comprehend the apparent distinction in which Virginia Woolf is trying to make, showing through her words that the men’s college is of high society, and the women’s college is shadowed with destitute necessities. Woolf has indeed attempted to stress the importance of women’s place in society in comparison to that of the man’s. A detailed meal description pertaining to the men’s college, such as, â€Å"The lunch on this occasion began with soles, sunk in a deep dish, over which the college cook had spread a counterpane of the whitest cream, save that it was branded here and there with brown spots like the spots on the flanks of a doe†¦Ã¢â‚¬  proves that Virginia Woolf even went in depth to exaggerate the favoritism shown towards t...

Concept Clarification Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Concept Clarification - Essay Example There is a wide gap in the physical structure and mental capability between those who are 60 and others aged 90. Not everyone who is 60 disappears into oblivion right away. There are those enjoying exuberant health and actively involved well into their 90s. But not everyone, however, is so fortunate. In the light of the fast economical changes taking place, the issue most important after environment is health care for the aged, particularly those who are left alone, and have nowhere to go. Fear of failing health and deteriorating physical abilities make them prone to fall and injuries. Morbid fear of being unable to move and look after oneself portentously lurk. The possibility of better handling the situation through counseling and improving balancing abilities through exercises must be explored and actively pursued. It will be a healthy world where the elderly are energetic and active so that their wisdom and experience could be put to good use for the society at large. Given the opportunity, there could be no doubt the elderly would be only too happy to immerse themselves in activities which guide them in the art of health-promoting self-care behavior, self-efficacy, and self-care agency. Use of research instrument such as Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II Scale (HPLP II), Self-Rated Abilities for Health Practices Scale (SRAHP), Exercises of Self-Care Agency Scale (ESCA), provide invaluable inputs into the causes and effects and raise awareness and self-esteem of the anxious elderly. Inter-personal health promotional behavior and activities among long-term elderly married couples, important and necessary in view of its ubiquity, to analyze relationship quality, perceived barriers, perceived self-efficacy, and social support by means of regression analysis to detect the factors that need to be addressed for better health. A healthy aging social segment reflects good health for society in general. Antecedents The problem of homelessness originates with the individual as well as the social system. Individually the reasons for homelessness set in with any or all of the factors such as broken family background, domestic violence, level of education, ethnicity among others. Structurally, at the society level, lack of facilities, unemployment, poverty, poor income, lack of accommodation facilities, among other factors contribute to homelessness. Homelessness is one of the debilitating causes for quicker deterioration of health for older adults. It is more common in urban situations where accommodation eludes those with little or no income. Biological factors contributing to physical changes begin to weaken the body muscles and joints leading to the fear of falling. In such situation, it is doubly damning if the individual is already beset with homelessness. At times, even standing up without support gives way and the person falls. Health promotional concepts have been emerging ubiquitously with encouraging response from the people of all age groups. Pender's Health Promotional Model (HPM) is particularly noteworthy because of it meticulous approach and provisions for treatment. Pender's Health Promotional Model (HPM), introduced in 1987, seeks to identify individual characteristics and experiences before considering commitment to a plan

Purpose and History of Penitentiaries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Purpose and History of Penitentiaries - Essay Example In tandem with this assertion, it is evident that a prison was rarely used as a type of punishment. The local prisons held men and women, boys and girls, murders and debtors collectively. During that time, prisons were also poorly maintained and were mostly controlled by inattentive prison warders. Most of those held in the prisons died of diseases such as gaol fever (Koritansky, 2011). The most relevant innovation during this time was that buildings of the prototype house of correction. Most of the individuals held in the cells were vagrants, petty offenders, and disorderly poor locals. Before the end of the seventeenth century, they were absorbed in the prison system, and it fell under the control of local justice of peace. The 18th century was characterized as the time of ‘Bloody Code’ and the death penalty faced immense opposition and jurors were declining to give judgments that could lead to the execution of offenders. By mid-18th century imprisonment and hard labor was one of the best types of punishment for petty offenders. Transportation was also used as an approach of disposing of convicted people. However, towards the end of the 18th-century transportation was curtailed, and other sanctions had to be found. Some of the most prominent alternatives were house of correction and hard labor. This led resulted in utilization of prison hulks between 1776 and 1857 (Roth, 2010). In 1777, John Howard harshly criticized the prison system since it was filthy, barbaric and disorganized. This prompted him to call for reforms that entailed installation of paid staff, proper diet, outside inspection among other needs for convicts. However, other penal reformers felt that prisoners need to suffer but it should not grave impacts on a convict’s health. The Penitentiary Act of 1799 elucidated that the gaols need to be constructed for one inmate per cell (Roth, 2010). During the first half of 19th century, there was a watershed in state

Perspectives of Regulation of Complex Financial Institutes Essay

Perspectives of Regulation of Complex Financial Institutes - Essay Example General complaints about a â€Å"lack of regulatory aggressiveness† ignore the realities of actually bringing enforcement actions in a tough environment. Regulatory enforcement in the United States operates surprisingly well given the difficulties of this operating environment, and critics have not presented credible alternatives to the present system. A second perspective is that major financial institutions escape meaningful regulatory constraints because their power and influence overwhelm regulators and because individuals from regulatory institutions give too much deference to major financial institutions and their key executives and staff. This perspective suggests that financial regulation in the United States is broken largely because of this political dynamic and needs fundamental reform. This paper will examine and look into how regulators and firms deal with each other, how interdependent they are on each other and the outcome of such interdependency. What kind of b enefits and liabilities develop due to their strong ties. Financial institutes will be used as the premise of all discussion. Special attention will be given to potential benefits and risks of such cohesive regulatory networks. Regular dealings between regulators and financial institute beyond the regular rule making boost up co-operation. Ineffect transparency takes a toll. Information disparities also strengthen regulatory cultures and bring down the threshold of external pressure need to effect changes within firms. The conditions that bring this benefit impede flow of information and genuine criticism from outsider. As a result performance standards dip and various other problems crop up. The paper looks into various examples of such fraudulent activities and also the circumstances in which these tensions are more likely to manage without damage from these problems. Strong ties that encourage cooperation within insiders have a huge impact on the flow of information. Information disparity arises and outsiders are asked to stop criticism. A lot of problems shape up as a result. A very prominent example in this case would be the SEC, NASD and NYSE when they acted against conflicts of interests in investment banking and mutual funds, immediately after outsiders. In 2003, at a cost 1.4 billion dollars, regulator prosecutors and large securities firms settled charges. The firms had encouraged investment analysts to mask and exaggerate corporation’s investment value while misleading investors in order to win the corporation’s investment banking business. For many years, this was floating around as a secret in the industry while the press and various congressional hearings had focused on it. While the participants were aware of the ethical implications of such a business, they eventually came to terms with it and started living with it as if it was a normal part of the business. The Lehman Brothers came to the rescue and appealed for new synergy by a nnouncing a new model for dealing between analysts and investment banking. This was widely accepted new paradigm for synergy and stated that â€Å"The analyst is THE key driver of the firm relationship with its corporate client base. Analysts need to accept responsibility and use it to expand the franchise and DRIVE PROFITABILITY

The Foreign Policy Of Nepal Politics Essay

The Foreign Policy Of Nepal Politics Essay Upon the formulation of the Maoist-led government, both India and China were closely watching the new Prime Ministers decisions. While India was vigilante as to whether the policies of the government predominantly and essentially compromised of pro-communism visionaries would reflect such ideologies. It was watchful of the possible strengthening of Chinas ties with Nepal due to alignment of the governments ideologies. Similarly, China has been very cordial towards Nepal ever since, with higher diplomatic correspondence, especially visits to Kathmandu, causing worries in India. The face of Indi-China relations are changing, thus the Nepalese foreign policies will need to adjust with the shifting tides.  [1]  Convincing its neighbours of a balanced and neutral position amongst the imperceptible tension shall be a herculean task for the diplomatic and political scientists of Nepal. The imperceptible tension is founded on the competition between these rising economies to be the biggest economic powerhouse in Asia, and subsequently the world. Both the economies (China and India) are growing exponentially. With regard to China, expert predictions are that its volume of trade, which is already bigger than that of US since 2012 (although the latter remains the biggest economy) will get bigger with its market expanding in Europe in such a way that even the European competitors with have high time matching up.  [2]  There have been speculations that in 2040, the Chinese economy will reach $123 trillion, or nearly three times the economic output of the entire globe in 2000.  [3]   India must be well aware about the growing dominance of China in regional market. It has alleged China of an encirclement strategy since the Chinese focus on the sector of transportation can be observed in the Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Sri Lanka and Pakistan and all of these countries have one significant commonality- they surround India.  [4]  However, these emerging superpowers are seeking to enhance their economic cooperation in the present light. The current Chinese  investments in India  are to the tune of around $580 million, a sizeable amount, which India and China are seeking to increase through agreed to a five-year plan on economic cooperation as well as setting up a joint working group (JWG) to go into all trade related issues.  [5]  The competitiveness has soured the diplomatic relations between China and India, if not stalled them since the volume of trade between these giant economies is in fact growing rapidly, with the volume of trade expected to i ncrease by as much as $30 billion dollars by 2015.  [6]   On the other hand, territorial skirmishes are still going on between these two hefty neighbours of Nepal. One critique pens that although it is highly improbable that these two archrivals of the 19th century would head towards a confrontation, the territorial skirmishes still loom large in the 21st century. The vestiges of the Sino-Indian war which dates back to the 1962 remains, since the border dispute has not been solved despite genuine attempts by both the parties for it. Both the parties have tightened the security in the borders by deploying more military forces, making it highly militarized, in fact, one of the highest in the world. Periodic clashes are not uncommon and set off the countries towards series of arguments.  [7]   Nepal should be a careful vigilante in the coming years of the concurrent power tussle and cooperation between the neighbours. That Nepal is the land bridge between India and China is a fallacy, these the nations share more border connected with each other. However, the clamours of any skirmishes taking place has had resonated in Nepal as well, in which both the neighbours wait for Nepals response. The equidistant policy of Nepal, which is also a constitutional directive principle of Nepal, finds itself being frayed when such happens. C.K. Lal makes following observation for prospects and limits for a productive foreign policy, amidst Sino-Indian relation  [8]  : Kathmandu has the potential to become the idea-bridge between the two giant neighbours; Nepal has the potential of emerging not as an information technology hub, but as a centre of excellence in learning Chinese and Indian economy, culture and society. Tourism development is a desirable goal, but rich Chinese are not going to come to Nepal to trek in the Himalayas for quite some time-they would rather go to Paris to learn the ways of living like Parisians or travel to London to have suits tailored at bespoke outfitters of Savile Rowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦it would be too much to expect that Nepals economy stands to benefit from development of trucking routes between Bihar and Tibet. Nepalis have to learn to be interpreters of a new world order of which both their neighbors are going to be important players. Hindi needs to be celebrated for that reason, not because some Madheshis think that it is their mother tongue. More Nepalis have to begin learning Chinese. And Nepal needs to aim for a respectable place on the next EPI list. Similarly, Shrestha suggests that if Nepal could have 10% of the transportation crossing through its territory, it would be a billion dollar turnover for Nepal, whose worth cannot be overstated.  [9]   8.2 India China Interference or Nepals Imprudent Foreign Policy? There is nothing extraordinary for China and India to have political interest over Nepal. They reasons to have such an interest in Nepal because it is their neighbour with a contiguous territory sensitive to political unity and security.  [10]   One apt instance would be the visit paid by Prime Minister of Nepal Baburam Bhattarai to India in the recent past. Nepal did not present a concrete proposal through official channels in advance that would have given the Indians time to process it through their multiple agencies. The Nepal embassy in India-with its limited resources, lack of outreach among influential politicians and commentators, and dismal bureaucratic leadership-was unable to do the groundwork for a big breakthrough in quick time. While the visit was a success in restoring trust between the two governments, and kick-starting many bilateral mechanisms that had been inert, it was underwhelming only because of what the Nepali side had promised.  [11]   Managing the India-China dynamic will remain Nepals foremost diplomatic challenge in years to come. And if we go by this years track record, the Nepali establishment is still not equipped enough with the skills to do so tactfully. There was a vote for a position in an important UN body recently, with both India and China competing. At the last minute, Nepal decided to vote for China-Beijing, which had already served two terms on the body, lost. The rest of the South Asian region, including arch-rival Pakistan, had voted for India.  [12]  A reporter writes on the issue: For years, visiting Indian ministers and other dignitaries have been trying to project an image of deep amity with Nepal, reiterating that the two countries share age-old cultural, social and other ties. However, apparently, these vaunted ties do not extend to working together at the UN. Even as India celebrates the victory of its candidate A Gopinathan over his Chinese rival Zhang Yan at Mondays vote for a five-year term at the UNs Joint Inspection Unit, Indian mandarins in Kathmandu have been left unhappy by the fact that Nepal chose to vote against India.  [13]   The above is not going to the last time that Nepal is placed in a sticky situation, where it is to express its support to one of the two neighbours it does not otherwise intend to upset. The best way to go about it is a political honesty and transparency, which can only be possible if it has a certain foreign policy practice that it swears to, which should be the basis of its actions in relations to its neighbours and not speculations and predictions. 8.3 Adjusting to the Influence of Globalization and Global Economies Rapid momentums are taking place in the world and states are competing for a comfortable positions in world polity, economic security with a few on a head on with each other. Amidst such momentums, Nepal has a huge responsibility of catching up, for becoming a developed country from a troubled and struggling developing country. If we take a birds view of the globe, we can see phenomenal progresses going around. Since its downfall, Russia has gotten over its Lenin syndrome, Economic competitiveness has replace the imperial policies. Nongovernmental and transnational organizations are thriving. The recession has taken a toll majorly on United States and Europe. New economies are seeking to become the topdogs position beside the elite Superpowers, who still have successfully maintained their grasp on their own position. Asia is resurfacing as the basket of civilization with a steady Japan and agile India and China. It has been forecasted that in the next 15/20 years, Japan, Russia and Brazil, closely followed by Indonesia will emerge as major players in the international arena  [14]  . Scholars have opined following to be the face of world order by 2050:  [15]   China will continue in its mission to surpass the States as the ultimate economy and shall do so in a matter of 15-20 years, followed by India, who will not lag behind, standing besides the States and China by the time the calendar reads 2050. The elite powerhouses of present day will maintain their status quo, but will not be able to prevent the present day average economies, with a considerable economic growth rate, from catching up. Europe will continue to go with the transnational policy and will extend its relations with other growing economies. Either the world will witness a chronic food deficit, crumbling the deprived pockets of globe and their malnourished population, or the nations will work expeditiously towards fulfilling their commitment, thus eliminating chronic hunger. International organizations, transnational organizations and Nongovernmental organizations gain momentum. Those such as WTO will gain more prominence as the least and developed nations, along with average will form alliances and voice demands for enhanced participation and privileges. 8.4 Reinforcing the Importance of Regional Organizations The feats that regional organization can achieve are evident in the economic order of the European Union, the control displayed by NATO in the Kosovo in the name of humanitarian assistance, the cartel of OPEC over supply of petrol to the nooks and crannies of globe, the effective solidarity demonstrated by AU and ASEAN for the collective interest of their regions among others. South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established in 1985, on 8th December. Bangladesh and Nepal explicitly lobbied for it at various meetings. Since its inception, SAARC has SAARC has developed and consolidated its institutional framework and the scope and volume of its activities has expanded, with the setting up of 11 Technical Committees.  [16]   Democratization process in the region is picking up: The recently adopted SAARC Democracy Charter gives expression to collective commitment of the member states to promote and preserve values and ideals of democracy and democratic institutions. The Charter also reinforces the supremacy of the Member States respective constitutions and envisions strengthening democratic institutions by reinforcing democratic practices. Guarantee of the independence of judiciary and primacy of rule of law along with the commitment to adhere to UN Charter and other international instruments are some of the salient features of the Charter.  [17]   However, SAARC has even been labelled the most derided regional association in the world. It has been ridiculed for its incompetence in promoting regional trade, security, unity and a whole host of other issues. It has been called to be merely an avenue for leaders to partake in photo opportunities.  [18]  Ã‚   However, there is no other alternative to SAARC for South Asians. It cannot choose not to have any sort of regional cooperation or only promote bilateral relations.  [19]  Ã‚   The importance of SAARC for Nepal is immense. The impediments of globalization have made regionalism more preferable for small states. Inoguchi and Bacon enumerate on the argument drawing reference to the East Asian small states who despite their developmentalist-based successes have been poorly equipped to address and manage their high levels of interdependence sensitivity and in such lights have realized that their best response to this sensitivity to globalization is to develop an explicitly regionalist approach, but that in order to do this they have had to adapt to different and more transparent proto-democratic norms of political and economic self- and collective governance.  [20]   Trivedi asserts that the South Asian countries, on a positive note, do have a number of inherent advantages with regard to regional co-operation. They command a huge potential market with a combined population of more than 1.5 billion people. What is needed is to enlarge, integrate and unify this market by removing barriers to trade and taking other measures that will enhance regional co-operation.  [21]   Nepal should promote reinvigoration of SAARC. SAFTA is a pact signed 2004 by the SAARC member states, through which the member states intend and elevate common contracts among themselves, involving trade operated by states, supply and import assurance in respect of specific products. Agreements are to be concluded for tariff concessions and non-tariff concessions (sensitive list). This could provide special preference to least developed SAARC member like Nepal.  [22]   8.5 Other Critical Areas not to be Left Out Combating poverty is in the epicentre of Nepals foreign policy, especially in terms of foreign aid and assistance. Managing the refugee problem and fulfilling its international treaty obligation towards human rights, upliftment of women and children will be vital for Nepal to improve its impression in the international forums. Climate Change will be one of the most pressing issues in the 21st century. For countries like Nepal, the test of climate policy and action is how the communities will see change in their adaptation to the adverse effects climate change which they are already experiencing. Of crucial importance to Nepal is also the issue of protection of the Himalayan ecosystem against the adverse effect climate change, including through the melting of glaciers. Comprehensive framework for adaptation will also need to address the needs for disaster risk reduction. The indispensability and vulnerability of mountain ecosystem in addressing sustainability found a reference in the Rio+20 declaration, owing to Nepals diplomacy as chair of the LDCs. This needs to be further pursued. The continuation of Adaptation Fund created from 2% from CDM under the Kyoto Protocol is also equally important for us.  [23]   Another area the commendable participation in the UN Peacekeeping operations that has improved Nepals image in the international forum.  [24]  Such endeavours should be continued for Nepal to gain positive attention of its regional partners as well as other international vigilantes. CHAPTER XI 9. CONCLUSION SUGGESTION Annette Baker Fox writes, The distinctive power of great states flows from their military strengthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦for the Small state, diplomacy is the tool of statecraft.  [25]  Ã‚  Ã‚  Historically foreign policy has been a vital tool of Nepali statecraft and test of statesmanship. The nature of politics which is witnessing fundamental changes in the entire spectrum of issues/interests, institutions and actors in a crucial time (21st  Century) and location (in Asia between India and China) makes Nepals foreign policy formulation and conduct of diplomacy particularly challenging now.  [26]  The diplomats and policy framers of Nepal should be aware about the fact that its position, whether economic, political or geographic, confers upon it certain rights and privileges, and it is the international obligation of developed states to uphold them. It has, for instance, certain rights to transit and passage being a landlocked country, provided it hones in its diplomats the quali ty to not flinch while asserting demands of exercise of such rights and privileges in concerned platforms. Dealing with simultaneously cooperating and competing regional and global super-powers embroiled in their own internal upheavals in a rapidly changing global political and economic order and strategic equation demands access to right information and ability to interpret it with knowledge, understanding and experience. Historical intricacies and new complexities seen through the eyes of simple convictions, outdated dogmas or vested interests distort comprehension; policies based on them can lead to unintended serious consequences.  Ã‚  [27]  Ã‚  Nepal can be no exception to this recommendation for the reason of it having just resurfaced through a horrendous armed conflict. Sympathy-based foreign aid and assistance cannot be sustained for long, since resources are diverted elsewhere when the crisis is worse. Sustainable development also requires Nepal to strength its resources. Development of human resource in fields of trade and energy will be crucial for Nepal in the days to come . 9.1 Relations of Trust and Confidence with India and China Historically Nepal is the meeting point of two great civilizations and today it is one of the epicentres of competing interests in an impending global paradigm shift. Located between two global economic and strategic powerhouses, Nepal can greatly benefit from developments taking place in India and China today. However, it is essential to realize that proximity adds vitality but also sensitivity and complexity in interstate relations demanding high priority and careful handling.  [28]  As late Prof. Yadu Nath Khanal, the most respected Nepali diplomat scholar wrote long ago our foreign policy will breakdown at the point where either India or China looses faith in us and concludes that her vital national interests and sensitivities do not receive proper recognition in our conduct of relations. Changing global and regional political, economic and security needs and the seriousness of the challenges faced by the South Asian states, particularly extreme poverty and threats from terro r networks have made things more complicated.  [29]   Nepals national sovereignty and territorial integrity while the other feels so exposed that it feels compelled to apply its own Monroe doctrine. In this sensitive relationship, vain debates,  name-calling and finger pointing  only  raise risks of more external involvement in internal power contests. So, domestic politics is the biggest problem of Nepals foreign policy today; restoration of trust and confidence with all our foreign friends and partners, but most importantly India and China is the top priority of Nepals foreign policy making and conduct of diplomacy.  [30]   9.2 National Interest, but also Guiding Principles Nepal will have to come up with a guideline on its equidistance principle very soon if it does not want to get too deep into the Tibet-China struggle. It has not allowed Tibetans to hold protests against China on its soil on number of occasions, including the birthday of the exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama, who is reviled by Beijing as a separatist. While Nepal cannot swear support to the One China Policy, it cannot discharge of Chinas insinuations of assistance in exchange for such support. National Interests and guiding principles should both be concerns of Nepal.  [31]   9.4 Active role in SAARC Many institutions of SAARC framework lies in Kathmandu, including the SAARC Secretariat. Nepal has been a favourite venue for hosting several SAARC summits. If Nepal proactively persuades reenergizing SAARC, it can only benefit from being the hub for south Asian diplomacy, to some extent, what Luxembourg is for the European Union. 9.5 Economic (Development) Diplomacy Nepal will firstly have to work a way to limiting and subsequently finishing off its international debt and appeal for waivers and grants. It will have to negotiate with not only its neighbours but other prospective countries for making free trade agreements, duty-free and excise agreements and such. It should demonstrate strong leadership as the chair of the LDCs in platforms like WTO and UN. 9.6 Forward looking and Dynamic Diplomacy Edward Hallett Carr suggests, before the First World War, in most democracies war was regarded mainly the business of soldiers and as a corollary, international relations and foreign policy the business of professional diplomats, outside the scope of domestic party politics or a matter of public scrutiny. The war of 1914 once and for all changed the view that war only affects and can be conducted by professional soldiers. It also ended the corresponding notion that foreign policy could safely be left in the hands of professional diplomats.  [32]   To encapsulate in a few points, the areas to be worked out in the future for a sound foreign policy with regard to India and China would be: Development of foreign policy guidelines, such as on the equidistance principle Honing negotiation skills Democratization of foreign policy A renewed vigor and proactive participation in SAARC Vigilance of the interactions between India and China.