User Adoption Momentum of E Banking In Malaysia

User Adoption Momentum of E Banking In Malaysia In the era of globalization and with the increasing competition in all the fields around the world many companies have modified their strategies so they can reach their customers around the world easier and cheaper. However the rapid growth of systems that rely on electronic technology especially those relating to the Internet and personal computer- led to a significant change in the exchanging of products and services. Many  Service organizations have adopted modern technology to reduce costs and enhance customer service quality, delivery, and standardize core service offerings. In addition a lot of non-banking companies entered the banking industry by offering products and financial services, giving the customers a lot of options and alternatives to carry out their banking transactions, this difficulty of the business process in the financial sector forces the banks to develop an alternative technological channel to attract customers and improve their perception. The rapid technological diffusion makes the internet the best way to provide customers with banking services regardless of the limits of time and geography. And thats what makes banks  consider the  internet as an important part of their strategic plans. Internet technology has changed the design and the way of delivering the financial services and as a result the banking industry has made continuous innovations especially in the field of communications and information technology that ultimately led to the emergence of the idea of what is known as the online banking. Banking services through the internet is a way to keep the existing customers and attract others to the bank, In this paper we define online banking as an internet portal, through which customers can use different kinds of banking services ranging from bill payment to making investments (Pikkarainen et al., 2004). Compared to the traditional approach, online banking is an inexpensive straightforward way to conduct banking business, exchange of personalized information and buying and selling goods and services from any place at any time. Despite the many benefits provided by this service to the bank and its customers, it remains a double-edged sword and not used by every customer, because the increasing distance between the bank and customers may lead to lack of confidence and an increasing in security concerns. As a result, the quality of electronic banking services become an important area of attention among the researchers and banks managers due to its strong influence on the business performance, lower costs, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and profitability (Seth et al., 2004). The main objective of this study is to focus on the importance of understanding the customers perception about internet banking by investigating and measuring the impact of selected factors such as perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), security and privacy (PC) and how they can influence the customer acceptance to conduct banking transactions via the internet, Based on the empirical data collected from individual customers in Bahrain. In the next section we will give some background information about the internet banking sector and review the relevant literature in this area, the following section describes the research methodology, which is then followed by the data analysis and the results from the survey, The paper concludes with a discussion, outlining the implications of the findings and the limitations of the study. 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) External variables Perceived usefulness Perceived ease of use Behavioral intention Actual system use Figure 1: The original Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989) The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is a perfect model which show how users accept and use a technology. In (TAM) the main determinants of users acceptance of new technology are perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) (Davis, 1989). Although (Chen and Barnes 2007; T.C. Edwin Cheng et al. 2006) found that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and security and privacy affect customer adaptation intentions, Qureshi et al., (2008) claimed that Perceived usefulness, security and privacy are the main perusing factors to accept online banking system. Celik (2008) stated that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are direct determinants of customers attitudes towards using internet Banking. Traditional service quality and website features (PU, PEOU and PC) that give customers confidence build trust in e-banking (Yap, K et al. 2010). Aderonke and Charles. (2010) found that Banks customers who are active users of e-Banking system use it because it is convenient, easy to use, time saving and appropriate for their transaction needs. Also the network security and the security of the system in terms of privacy are the major concerns of the users and constitute hindrance to intending users. Yap, K et al. (2010) claimed that Traditional service quality and website features that give customers confidence build trust in e-banking. Sadeghi and Hanzaee. (2010) found that According to the model of seven factors on the following dimensions: convenience, accessibility, accuracy, security, usefulness, bank image, and web site design. Some of these factors illustrate a significant statistical difference between males and females. Safeena et al. (2009) found that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, consumer awareness and perceived risk are the important determinants of online banking adoption. These factors have a strong and positive effect on customers to accept online banking system. Alda ´s-Manzano et al. (2009) found that TAM beliefs and perceived risks (security, privacy, performance and social) have a direct influence on e-banking adoption. Trust appears as a key variable that reduces perceived risk. Involvement plays an important role in increasing perceived ease of use. Riyadh et al. (2009) stated that Seven variables affecting e-banking adoption by SMEs are identified. They are: organizational capabilities, perceived benefits, perceived credibility, perceived regulatory support, ICT industries readiness, lack of financial institutions readiness and institutional influence. Al-Somali et al. (2009) found that the quality of the Internet connection, the awareness of online banking and its benefits, the social influence and computer self-efficacy have significant effects on the perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) of online banking acceptance. Education, trust and resistance to change also have significant impact on the attitude towards the likelihood of adopting online banking. Jahangir N. and Begum N. (2008) noted that perceived usefulness, ease of use, security and privacy, and customer attitude are significantly and positively related to customer adaptation. Hanudin Amin. (2007) found that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and perceived credibility had a significant relationship with behavioral intention. Further, these measures are good determinant for undergraduate acceptance for internet banking. Results also suggest that PU and PEOU had a significant relationship with computer self-efficacy. Z Liao and WK Wong. (2008) found that perceived usefulness, ease of use, security, responsiveness and convenience significantly influence customer interactions with Internet e-banking. In particular, individuals would place a great emphasis on the security of Internet-based financial transactions. As a conventional practice, commercial banks and financial institutions must continuously review security policy and strengthen the security control of Internet e-banking Wai-Ching Poon. (2008) found that all elements for ten identified factors are significant with respect to the users adoption of e-banking services. Privacy and security are the major sources of dissatisfaction, which have momentously impacted users satisfaction. Meanwhile, accessibility, convenience, design and content are sources of satisfaction. Besides, the speed, product features availability, and reasonable service fees and charges, as well as the banks operations management factor are critical to the success of the e-banks. WAP, GPRS and 3G features from mobile devices are of no significance or influence in the adoption of e-banking services in this study. Results also reveal that privacy; security and convenience factors play an important role in determining the users acceptance of e-banking services with respect to different segmentation of age group, education level and income level. Padachi et al. (2007) found that the most significant factor is ease of use and that other important elements featured reluctance to change, trust and relationship in banker, cost of computers, internet accessibility, convenience of use, and security concerns. Chen, Y. H. and Barnes, S. (2007) pointed out that perceived usefulness, perceived security, perceived privacy, perceived good reputation, and willingness to customize are the important antecedents to online initial trust. It is also discovered that different levels of trust propensity moderate perceptions toward the web site and online with respect to online initial trust, including perceived usefulness, perceived security, perceived privacy, perceived good reputation, and willingness to customize. Both online initial trust and familiarity with online purchasing have a positive impact on purchase intention. T.C. Edwin Cheng et al. (2006) found that The results provide support of the extended TAM model and confirm its robustness in predicting customers intention of adoption of IB. This study contributes to the literature by formulating and validating TAM to predict IB adoption, and its findings provide useful information for bank management in formulating IB marketing strategies. We analyzed the data using Structured Equation Modeling (SEM) to evaluate the strength of the hypothesized relationships, if any, among the constructs, which include Perceived Ease of Use and Perceived Web Security as independent variables, Perceived Usefulness and Attitude as intervening variables, and Intention to Use as the dependent variable. The results provide support of the extended TAM model and confirm its robustness in predicting customers intention of adoption of IB Moutaz Abou-Robieh. (2005) found that there was a correlation between respondents attitudes towards e-banking and their comfort level and feeling of security with regard to their age, level of education, and annual salary. 2.1 Perceived ease of use (PEOU) Safeena et al. (2009), Jahangir N. and Begum N. (2008), Z Liao and WK Wong. (2008) and Amin. (2007) stated that perceived ease of use have a strong and positive influence on customers intention to adopt and use internet banking. 2.2 Perceived usefulness (PU) Several studies showed that perceived usefulness influence customer interactions with internet banking, which effect the adoption of e-banking services (Sadeghi and Hanzaee. 2010; Safeena et al. 2009; Al-Somali et al. 2009; Jahangir N. and Begum N. 2008; Hanudin Amin. 2007, Z Liao and WK Wong.2008 ). 2.3 Perceived credibility (PC) Previous research has shown that security and privacy are the most concern for consumer, which have a direct or indirect influence on e-banking adoption (Aderonke and Charles, 2010; Sadeghi and Hanzaee, 2010; Alda ´s-Manzano et al., 2009; Riyadh et al. 2009; Jahangir N. and Begum N., 2008; Z Liao and WK Wong., 2008). Privacy put barriers on using online services (Hernandez and Mazzon, 2007). Moreover, Wai-Ching Poon. (2008) and Moutaz Abou-Robieh. (2005) noted that privacy and security factors play an important role in determining the users acceptance of e-banking services with regard to age, education level and income level. 3.CHALLENGES 4.1 RESEARCH MODEL AND HYPOTHESES The model of the study is presented below: Perceived usefulness Perceived ease of use Perceived credibility Intention to use Electronic Banking The representation of the proposed framework depicted the pattern and structure of relationships between the set of the measured variables. The purpose of the study is to measure correlations among variables and then use it to identify whether any relationships exists between these measured variables or not. We will extended TAM and add PC into the framework to test the effect of these three factors on e-banking adaption. In the extended model of TAM study, like (Safeena et al. 2009; Alda ´s-Manzano et al. (2009); Hanudin Amin, 2007), the attitudes factor has been neglected to simplify the model. The present study investigated the relationship between perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived credibility and customer intention to use electronic banking in Bahrain. Here perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and perceived credibility, were being considered as independent variables and customer intention to use electronic banking was being considered as a dependent variable. Perceived usefulness According to the Davis (1989) and Davis et al. (1989), perceived usefulness is the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would enhance his or her job performance. Perceived usefulness is defined as the individuals perception that using the new technology will enhance or improve her/his performance (Davis,1993). In Addition, Laforet and Li, (2005) and Eriksson et al., (2005) defined the term perceived usefulness as the subjective probability that using the technology would improve the way a user could complete. We hypothesize that People tend to use an application to the extent they believe it will aid their performance. H1: Perceived usefulness (PU) has a positive effect on customer Intention to use Electronic banking. Perceived ease of use According to Davis (1989) perceived ease of use refers to the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would be free of effort. The most significant factor on adoption Internet Banking is ease of use. (Padachi et al., 2007). Hence an application perceived to be easier to use than another is more likely to be accepted by users. And By applying these to electronic banking context we can hypothesize that: H2: Perceived ease of use (PEOU) has a positive effect on customer Intention to use Electronic banking. Perceived Credibility Perceived credibility is defined as the degree to which a user feels the certainty and pleasant consequences of using an electronic application service, when there is no financial risk, physical risk, functional risk, social risk, time-loss risk, opportunity cost risk, and information risk Jacoby and Kaplan (1972). However, (Ganesan,1994) present another definition of PC stating it as the extent to which one partner believes that the other partner has the required expertise to perform the job effectively and reliably. PC is usually impersonal and relies on reputation, information and economic reasoning (Ba and Pavlou,2002). Wang et al. (2003) stated that perceived credibility is consists of two important elements namely privacy and security, which affect directly consumer adaptation of electronic banking systems. Security refers to the protection of information or systems from unauthorized intrusions (Egwali, 2008). For the purpose of this research, perceived credibility (PC) is defined as users perception of protection of their transaction details and personal data against unauthorized access. Therefore, for studying the effect of perceived credibility on users acceptance in Bahrain electronic banking services, we pose the following hypothesis to determine it effect on users intention H3: perceived credibility has positive effect on customer Intention to use Electronic banking. 4. Methodology To assess the factors influencing the intention to use internet banking in Bahrain, a survey was conducted during the last quarter of year 2010. A Questionnaire were designed and distributed to retail users of banking services of different age group and of different educational level attained across the island. Survey Instrument The questionnaire we prepared for this exercise was divided into 2 sections. The first section concentrates on the general profile of the respondent including his/her age group, education level and profession and income group. In the second section we were interested in finding the factors affecting the customer intention to use internet banking in Bahrain. The respondents were provided with a list of 10 questions; 4 questions on perceived usefulness, 2 questions on perceived ease of use, 3 questions on perceived credibility and finally 1 question on intention to use. The participants were asked to indicate their perception on a likert scales (1- 5) with response ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The collected data were analyzed based on correlation and regression analyses using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 17computer program. Data collection The questionnaires were distributed directly among the customers through the researchers friends and relatives, a sample of 400 people was randomly chosen from the Bahraini community, all participants were bank customers selected randomly from universities, malls, Internet cafÃÆ' ©s and businessmen from private and public sectors. Also A digital online form was created using Google Documents in the same questionnaire style, Then the link was shared and publicized to Bahrainis through email as well as posting it on discussion forums. Once a subject would answer the questionnaire, the raw data will automatically be logged in a spreadsheet which can be only accessed and downloaded by the researcher. Since the questionnaire form was to be submitted online it guaranteed two things: First, it targeted people who really access the internet. Second, because all questions are need to be answered before submitting. The collection of data will be done automatically, efficiently and there wont be any loss of data The questionnaire we prepared and used had been pre-tested initially with a few number of people (5 users) working in different sectors to ensure consistency, clarity and relevance to the Bahraini case, Minor changes (related to the questions content, wording, sequence) were requested by those people, which we implemented before carrying out the final copy. A total of 200 useable responses were obtained yielding a response rate of 50% (200/400). Demographic profile of respondents: variable category Frequency Valid Percentage Age 18 25 25 35 35 45 45 yrs and above Gender Male Female Education Secondary and below Diploma Bachelor High studies Occupation Government sector Private Sector Self-employment Others Monthly Income in BD Less than 500 500-1000 1000 and above Assumptions or Limitations For this research, the following limitation existed in the collection of data, the survey assumed that the respondents have some familiarity with banks and banking transactions and have been exposed to or have knowledge of the existence of e-banking alternatives. For these responses in particular, it was difficult to ensure the true validity of the responses or the identity of the respondent. REFERENCES Aderonke and Charles. (2010). An Empirical Investigation of the Level of Users Acceptance of E-Banking in Nigeria. Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, vol. 15 (1). Al-Somali, S.A., Gholami, R. and Clegg, B.(2009). An investigation into the acceptance of online banking in Saudi Arabia. Technovation, vol. 29, pp.130-141. Al Nahian Riyadh, Md. Shahriar Akter , Nayeema Islam. (2009). The adoption of e-banking in developing countries: A theoretical model for SMEs. International Review of Business Research Papers, vol. 5 (6), pp.212-230. Ba, S. and Pavlou, P.A (2002). Evidence of the effect of trust building technology in electronic market: price premiums and buyer behavior.MIS Quarterly, vol. 26 (3), pp. 243-68. Celik, H. (2008). What Determines Turkish customers acceptance of internet banking? International Journal of Bank Marketing. Vol. 26 (5): 353-370. Chen, Y. H. and Barnes, S. (2007), Initial Trust and Online Buyer Behaviour, Industrial Management Data Systems, 107(1): 21-36. Davis, F. D. (1989), Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and User Acceptance of Information Technology, MIS Quarterly,13 (3): 319-339. Davis, F. D., Bagozzi, R. P. and Warshaw, P. R. (1989), User Acceptance of Computer Technology: A Comparison of Two Theoretical Models, Management Science, 35(8): 982-1003. Davis, F. D. (1993). User acceptance of information technology: system characteristics, user perceptions and behavioral impacts. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies,38, 475-487. Davis, F. D., Bagozzi, R. P., Warshaw, P. R. (1992). Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation to use computers in the workplace. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 22(14), 1109-1130. Egwali A. O., Customer Perception of Security Indicators in Online Banking Sites in Nigeria, Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, December 2008, vol. 13, no.3. Eriksson K, Kerem K, Nilsson D (2005). Customer acceptance of internet banking in Estonia, International Journal of Bank Market, vol. 23 (2), pp. 200-216. Ganesan, S.(1994), Determinants of long-term orientation in buyer-seller relationships. Journal of Marketing, Vol.58 (2), pp.1-19 Hanudin Amin (2007). Internet Banking Adoption Among Young Intellectuals. Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, December 2007, vol. 12 (3) Jacoby, J., Kaplan, L. B. (1972). The components of perceived risk. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Conference of the Association for Consumer Research, College Park, MD. Joaquin Alda ´s-Manzano, Carlos Lassala-Navarre, Carla Ruiz-Mafe and Silvia Sanz-Blas. (2009). Key drivers of internet banking services use , Online Information Review, Vol. 33 (4), pp. 672-695. Laforet S, Li X (2005). Consumers attitudes towards online and mobile banking in China. International Journal Bank Market vol. 23 (5), pp. 362-380. Moutaz Abou-Robieh. (2005). A Study of E-Banking Security Perceptions and Customer Satisfaction Issues. Nadim Jahangir and Noorjahan Begum. (2008). The role of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, security and privacy, and customer attitude to engender customer adaptation in the context of electronic banking. African Journal of Business Management, vol.2 (1), pp. 032-040. Padachi, Rojid, Seetanah.(2007). Analyzing the Factors that Influence the Adoption of Internet Banking in Mauritius. Patrick, T. (2002). Corporate Privacy Credibility Crumbles. Computer world, March, 4(10). Pikkarainen, T., Pikkarainen, K., Karijaluoto, H. and Pahnila, S. (2004), Customer acceptance of on-line banking: an extension of the technology acceptance model, Internet Research, vol. 14(3), pp. 224-235 Qureshi, T.M., Zafar, M.K and Khan, M.B. (2008). Customer Acceptance of Online Banking in Developing Economies. Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, Vol. 13 (1). Safeena, Abdullah and Hema. ( 2010). Customer Perspectives on E-business Value: Case Study on Internet Banking. Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, vol. 15 (1). Seth, N., S.G. Deshmukh and P. Vrat, 2004. Service quality models: A review, International Journal Quality and Reliability Management, vol. 22(9), pp. 36-51. T.C. Edwin Cheng, David Y.C. Lam and Andy C.L. Yeung. (2006) Adoption of internet banking: An empirical study in Hong Kong. Decision Support Systems, vol. 42 (3), pp 1558-1572 Tooraj Sadeghi and Kambiz Heidarzadeh Hanzaee. (2010). Customer satisfaction factors (CSFs) with online banking services in an Islamic country I.R. Iran. Journal of Islamic Marketing, vol. 1 (3), pp. 249-267 Wai-Ching Poon . (2008). Users adoption of e-banking services. Journal of Business Industrial Marketing, vol. 23 (1), pp. 59-69 Wang, Y., Lin, H., Tang, T. (2003). Determinants of user acceptance of internet banking: an empirical study. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 14(5), 501-519 Yap, K., D. Wong, C. Loh, and R. Bak (2010). Offline and online banking where to draw the line when building trust in e-banking. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 28(1), p.27-46 Z Liao and WK Wong. ( 2008). The determinants of customer interactions with internet-enabled e-banking services. Journal of the Operational Research Society, vol. 59 (9). User Adoption Momentum of E Banking In Malaysia User Adoption Momentum of E Banking In Malaysia In the era of globalization and with the increasing competition in all the fields around the world many companies have modified their strategies so they can reach their customers around the world easier and cheaper. However the rapid growth of systems that rely on electronic technology especially those relating to the Internet and personal computer- led to a significant change in the exchanging of products and services. Many  Service organizations have adopted modern technology to reduce costs and enhance customer service quality, delivery, and standardize core service offerings. In addition a lot of non-banking companies entered the banking industry by offering products and financial services, giving the customers a lot of options and alternatives to carry out their banking transactions, this difficulty of the business process in the financial sector forces the banks to develop an alternative technological channel to attract customers and improve their perception. The rapid technological diffusion makes the internet the best way to provide customers with banking services regardless of the limits of time and geography. And thats what makes banks  consider the  internet as an important part of their strategic plans. Internet technology has changed the design and the way of delivering the financial services and as a result the banking industry has made continuous innovations especially in the field of communications and information technology that ultimately led to the emergence of the idea of what is known as the online banking. Banking services through the internet is a way to keep the existing customers and attract others to the bank, In this paper we define online banking as an internet portal, through which customers can use different kinds of banking services ranging from bill payment to making investments (Pikkarainen et al., 2004). Compared to the traditional approach, online banking is an inexpensive straightforward way to conduct banking business, exchange of personalized information and buying and selling goods and services from any place at any time. Despite the many benefits provided by this service to the bank and its customers, it remains a double-edged sword and not used by every customer, because the increasing distance between the bank and customers may lead to lack of confidence and an increasing in security concerns. As a result, the quality of electronic banking services become an important area of attention among the researchers and banks managers due to its strong influence on the business performance, lower costs, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and profitability (Seth et al., 2004). The main objective of this study is to focus on the importance of understanding the customers perception about internet banking by investigating and measuring the impact of selected factors such as perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), security and privacy (PC) and how they can influence the customer acceptance to conduct banking transactions via the internet, Based on the empirical data collected from individual customers in Bahrain. In the next section we will give some background information about the internet banking sector and review the relevant literature in this area, the following section describes the research methodology, which is then followed by the data analysis and the results from the survey, The paper concludes with a discussion, outlining the implications of the findings and the limitations of the study. 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) External variables Perceived usefulness Perceived ease of use Behavioral intention Actual system use Figure 1: The original Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989) The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is a perfect model which show how users accept and use a technology. In (TAM) the main determinants of users acceptance of new technology are perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) (Davis, 1989). Although (Chen and Barnes 2007; T.C. Edwin Cheng et al. 2006) found that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and security and privacy affect customer adaptation intentions, Qureshi et al., (2008) claimed that Perceived usefulness, security and privacy are the main perusing factors to accept online banking system. Celik (2008) stated that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are direct determinants of customers attitudes towards using internet Banking. Traditional service quality and website features (PU, PEOU and PC) that give customers confidence build trust in e-banking (Yap, K et al. 2010). Aderonke and Charles. (2010) found that Banks customers who are active users of e-Banking system use it because it is convenient, easy to use, time saving and appropriate for their transaction needs. Also the network security and the security of the system in terms of privacy are the major concerns of the users and constitute hindrance to intending users. Yap, K et al. (2010) claimed that Traditional service quality and website features that give customers confidence build trust in e-banking. Sadeghi and Hanzaee. (2010) found that According to the model of seven factors on the following dimensions: convenience, accessibility, accuracy, security, usefulness, bank image, and web site design. Some of these factors illustrate a significant statistical difference between males and females. Safeena et al. (2009) found that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, consumer awareness and perceived risk are the important determinants of online banking adoption. These factors have a strong and positive effect on customers to accept online banking system. Alda ´s-Manzano et al. (2009) found that TAM beliefs and perceived risks (security, privacy, performance and social) have a direct influence on e-banking adoption. Trust appears as a key variable that reduces perceived risk. Involvement plays an important role in increasing perceived ease of use. Riyadh et al. (2009) stated that Seven variables affecting e-banking adoption by SMEs are identified. They are: organizational capabilities, perceived benefits, perceived credibility, perceived regulatory support, ICT industries readiness, lack of financial institutions readiness and institutional influence. Al-Somali et al. (2009) found that the quality of the Internet connection, the awareness of online banking and its benefits, the social influence and computer self-efficacy have significant effects on the perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) of online banking acceptance. Education, trust and resistance to change also have significant impact on the attitude towards the likelihood of adopting online banking. Jahangir N. and Begum N. (2008) noted that perceived usefulness, ease of use, security and privacy, and customer attitude are significantly and positively related to customer adaptation. Hanudin Amin. (2007) found that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and perceived credibility had a significant relationship with behavioral intention. Further, these measures are good determinant for undergraduate acceptance for internet banking. Results also suggest that PU and PEOU had a significant relationship with computer self-efficacy. Z Liao and WK Wong. (2008) found that perceived usefulness, ease of use, security, responsiveness and convenience significantly influence customer interactions with Internet e-banking. In particular, individuals would place a great emphasis on the security of Internet-based financial transactions. As a conventional practice, commercial banks and financial institutions must continuously review security policy and strengthen the security control of Internet e-banking Wai-Ching Poon. (2008) found that all elements for ten identified factors are significant with respect to the users adoption of e-banking services. Privacy and security are the major sources of dissatisfaction, which have momentously impacted users satisfaction. Meanwhile, accessibility, convenience, design and content are sources of satisfaction. Besides, the speed, product features availability, and reasonable service fees and charges, as well as the banks operations management factor are critical to the success of the e-banks. WAP, GPRS and 3G features from mobile devices are of no significance or influence in the adoption of e-banking services in this study. Results also reveal that privacy; security and convenience factors play an important role in determining the users acceptance of e-banking services with respect to different segmentation of age group, education level and income level. Padachi et al. (2007) found that the most significant factor is ease of use and that other important elements featured reluctance to change, trust and relationship in banker, cost of computers, internet accessibility, convenience of use, and security concerns. Chen, Y. H. and Barnes, S. (2007) pointed out that perceived usefulness, perceived security, perceived privacy, perceived good reputation, and willingness to customize are the important antecedents to online initial trust. It is also discovered that different levels of trust propensity moderate perceptions toward the web site and online with respect to online initial trust, including perceived usefulness, perceived security, perceived privacy, perceived good reputation, and willingness to customize. Both online initial trust and familiarity with online purchasing have a positive impact on purchase intention. T.C. Edwin Cheng et al. (2006) found that The results provide support of the extended TAM model and confirm its robustness in predicting customers intention of adoption of IB. This study contributes to the literature by formulating and validating TAM to predict IB adoption, and its findings provide useful information for bank management in formulating IB marketing strategies. We analyzed the data using Structured Equation Modeling (SEM) to evaluate the strength of the hypothesized relationships, if any, among the constructs, which include Perceived Ease of Use and Perceived Web Security as independent variables, Perceived Usefulness and Attitude as intervening variables, and Intention to Use as the dependent variable. The results provide support of the extended TAM model and confirm its robustness in predicting customers intention of adoption of IB Moutaz Abou-Robieh. (2005) found that there was a correlation between respondents attitudes towards e-banking and their comfort level and feeling of security with regard to their age, level of education, and annual salary. 2.1 Perceived ease of use (PEOU) Safeena et al. (2009), Jahangir N. and Begum N. (2008), Z Liao and WK Wong. (2008) and Amin. (2007) stated that perceived ease of use have a strong and positive influence on customers intention to adopt and use internet banking. 2.2 Perceived usefulness (PU) Several studies showed that perceived usefulness influence customer interactions with internet banking, which effect the adoption of e-banking services (Sadeghi and Hanzaee. 2010; Safeena et al. 2009; Al-Somali et al. 2009; Jahangir N. and Begum N. 2008; Hanudin Amin. 2007, Z Liao and WK Wong.2008 ). 2.3 Perceived credibility (PC) Previous research has shown that security and privacy are the most concern for consumer, which have a direct or indirect influence on e-banking adoption (Aderonke and Charles, 2010; Sadeghi and Hanzaee, 2010; Alda ´s-Manzano et al., 2009; Riyadh et al. 2009; Jahangir N. and Begum N., 2008; Z Liao and WK Wong., 2008). Privacy put barriers on using online services (Hernandez and Mazzon, 2007). Moreover, Wai-Ching Poon. (2008) and Moutaz Abou-Robieh. (2005) noted that privacy and security factors play an important role in determining the users acceptance of e-banking services with regard to age, education level and income level. 3.CHALLENGES 4.1 RESEARCH MODEL AND HYPOTHESES The model of the study is presented below: Perceived usefulness Perceived ease of use Perceived credibility Intention to use Electronic Banking The representation of the proposed framework depicted the pattern and structure of relationships between the set of the measured variables. The purpose of the study is to measure correlations among variables and then use it to identify whether any relationships exists between these measured variables or not. We will extended TAM and add PC into the framework to test the effect of these three factors on e-banking adaption. In the extended model of TAM study, like (Safeena et al. 2009; Alda ´s-Manzano et al. (2009); Hanudin Amin, 2007), the attitudes factor has been neglected to simplify the model. The present study investigated the relationship between perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived credibility and customer intention to use electronic banking in Bahrain. Here perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and perceived credibility, were being considered as independent variables and customer intention to use electronic banking was being considered as a dependent variable. Perceived usefulness According to the Davis (1989) and Davis et al. (1989), perceived usefulness is the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would enhance his or her job performance. Perceived usefulness is defined as the individuals perception that using the new technology will enhance or improve her/his performance (Davis,1993). In Addition, Laforet and Li, (2005) and Eriksson et al., (2005) defined the term perceived usefulness as the subjective probability that using the technology would improve the way a user could complete. We hypothesize that People tend to use an application to the extent they believe it will aid their performance. H1: Perceived usefulness (PU) has a positive effect on customer Intention to use Electronic banking. Perceived ease of use According to Davis (1989) perceived ease of use refers to the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would be free of effort. The most significant factor on adoption Internet Banking is ease of use. (Padachi et al., 2007). Hence an application perceived to be easier to use than another is more likely to be accepted by users. And By applying these to electronic banking context we can hypothesize that: H2: Perceived ease of use (PEOU) has a positive effect on customer Intention to use Electronic banking. Perceived Credibility Perceived credibility is defined as the degree to which a user feels the certainty and pleasant consequences of using an electronic application service, when there is no financial risk, physical risk, functional risk, social risk, time-loss risk, opportunity cost risk, and information risk Jacoby and Kaplan (1972). However, (Ganesan,1994) present another definition of PC stating it as the extent to which one partner believes that the other partner has the required expertise to perform the job effectively and reliably. PC is usually impersonal and relies on reputation, information and economic reasoning (Ba and Pavlou,2002). Wang et al. (2003) stated that perceived credibility is consists of two important elements namely privacy and security, which affect directly consumer adaptation of electronic banking systems. Security refers to the protection of information or systems from unauthorized intrusions (Egwali, 2008). For the purpose of this research, perceived credibility (PC) is defined as users perception of protection of their transaction details and personal data against unauthorized access. Therefore, for studying the effect of perceived credibility on users acceptance in Bahrain electronic banking services, we pose the following hypothesis to determine it effect on users intention H3: perceived credibility has positive effect on customer Intention to use Electronic banking. 4. Methodology To assess the factors influencing the intention to use internet banking in Bahrain, a survey was conducted during the last quarter of year 2010. A Questionnaire were designed and distributed to retail users of banking services of different age group and of different educational level attained across the island. Survey Instrument The questionnaire we prepared for this exercise was divided into 2 sections. The first section concentrates on the general profile of the respondent including his/her age group, education level and profession and income group. In the second section we were interested in finding the factors affecting the customer intention to use internet banking in Bahrain. The respondents were provided with a list of 10 questions; 4 questions on perceived usefulness, 2 questions on perceived ease of use, 3 questions on perceived credibility and finally 1 question on intention to use. The participants were asked to indicate their perception on a likert scales (1- 5) with response ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The collected data were analyzed based on correlation and regression analyses using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 17computer program. Data collection The questionnaires were distributed directly among the customers through the researchers friends and relatives, a sample of 400 people was randomly chosen from the Bahraini community, all participants were bank customers selected randomly from universities, malls, Internet cafÃÆ' ©s and businessmen from private and public sectors. Also A digital online form was created using Google Documents in the same questionnaire style, Then the link was shared and publicized to Bahrainis through email as well as posting it on discussion forums. Once a subject would answer the questionnaire, the raw data will automatically be logged in a spreadsheet which can be only accessed and downloaded by the researcher. Since the questionnaire form was to be submitted online it guaranteed two things: First, it targeted people who really access the internet. Second, because all questions are need to be answered before submitting. The collection of data will be done automatically, efficiently and there wont be any loss of data The questionnaire we prepared and used had been pre-tested initially with a few number of people (5 users) working in different sectors to ensure consistency, clarity and relevance to the Bahraini case, Minor changes (related to the questions content, wording, sequence) were requested by those people, which we implemented before carrying out the final copy. A total of 200 useable responses were obtained yielding a response rate of 50% (200/400). Demographic profile of respondents: variable category Frequency Valid Percentage Age 18 25 25 35 35 45 45 yrs and above Gender Male Female Education Secondary and below Diploma Bachelor High studies Occupation Government sector Private Sector Self-employment Others Monthly Income in BD Less than 500 500-1000 1000 and above Assumptions or Limitations For this research, the following limitation existed in the collection of data, the survey assumed that the respondents have some familiarity with banks and banking transactions and have been exposed to or have knowledge of the existence of e-banking alternatives. For these responses in particular, it was difficult to ensure the true validity of the responses or the identity of the respondent. REFERENCES Aderonke and Charles. (2010). An Empirical Investigation of the Level of Users Acceptance of E-Banking in Nigeria. Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, vol. 15 (1). Al-Somali, S.A., Gholami, R. and Clegg, B.(2009). An investigation into the acceptance of online banking in Saudi Arabia. Technovation, vol. 29, pp.130-141. Al Nahian Riyadh, Md. Shahriar Akter , Nayeema Islam. (2009). The adoption of e-banking in developing countries: A theoretical model for SMEs. International Review of Business Research Papers, vol. 5 (6), pp.212-230. Ba, S. and Pavlou, P.A (2002). Evidence of the effect of trust building technology in electronic market: price premiums and buyer behavior.MIS Quarterly, vol. 26 (3), pp. 243-68. Celik, H. (2008). What Determines Turkish customers acceptance of internet banking? International Journal of Bank Marketing. Vol. 26 (5): 353-370. Chen, Y. H. and Barnes, S. (2007), Initial Trust and Online Buyer Behaviour, Industrial Management Data Systems, 107(1): 21-36. Davis, F. D. (1989), Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and User Acceptance of Information Technology, MIS Quarterly,13 (3): 319-339. Davis, F. D., Bagozzi, R. P. and Warshaw, P. R. (1989), User Acceptance of Computer Technology: A Comparison of Two Theoretical Models, Management Science, 35(8): 982-1003. Davis, F. D. (1993). User acceptance of information technology: system characteristics, user perceptions and behavioral impacts. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies,38, 475-487. Davis, F. D., Bagozzi, R. P., Warshaw, P. R. (1992). Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation to use computers in the workplace. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 22(14), 1109-1130. Egwali A. O., Customer Perception of Security Indicators in Online Banking Sites in Nigeria, Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, December 2008, vol. 13, no.3. Eriksson K, Kerem K, Nilsson D (2005). Customer acceptance of internet banking in Estonia, International Journal of Bank Market, vol. 23 (2), pp. 200-216. Ganesan, S.(1994), Determinants of long-term orientation in buyer-seller relationships. Journal of Marketing, Vol.58 (2), pp.1-19 Hanudin Amin (2007). Internet Banking Adoption Among Young Intellectuals. Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, December 2007, vol. 12 (3) Jacoby, J., Kaplan, L. B. (1972). The components of perceived risk. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Conference of the Association for Consumer Research, College Park, MD. Joaquin Alda ´s-Manzano, Carlos Lassala-Navarre, Carla Ruiz-Mafe and Silvia Sanz-Blas. (2009). Key drivers of internet banking services use , Online Information Review, Vol. 33 (4), pp. 672-695. Laforet S, Li X (2005). Consumers attitudes towards online and mobile banking in China. International Journal Bank Market vol. 23 (5), pp. 362-380. Moutaz Abou-Robieh. (2005). A Study of E-Banking Security Perceptions and Customer Satisfaction Issues. Nadim Jahangir and Noorjahan Begum. (2008). The role of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, security and privacy, and customer attitude to engender customer adaptation in the context of electronic banking. African Journal of Business Management, vol.2 (1), pp. 032-040. Padachi, Rojid, Seetanah.(2007). Analyzing the Factors that Influence the Adoption of Internet Banking in Mauritius. Patrick, T. (2002). Corporate Privacy Credibility Crumbles. Computer world, March, 4(10). Pikkarainen, T., Pikkarainen, K., Karijaluoto, H. and Pahnila, S. (2004), Customer acceptance of on-line banking: an extension of the technology acceptance model, Internet Research, vol. 14(3), pp. 224-235 Qureshi, T.M., Zafar, M.K and Khan, M.B. (2008). Customer Acceptance of Online Banking in Developing Economies. Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, Vol. 13 (1). Safeena, Abdullah and Hema. ( 2010). Customer Perspectives on E-business Value: Case Study on Internet Banking. Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, vol. 15 (1). Seth, N., S.G. Deshmukh and P. Vrat, 2004. Service quality models: A review, International Journal Quality and Reliability Management, vol. 22(9), pp. 36-51. T.C. Edwin Cheng, David Y.C. Lam and Andy C.L. Yeung. (2006) Adoption of internet banking: An empirical study in Hong Kong. Decision Support Systems, vol. 42 (3), pp 1558-1572 Tooraj Sadeghi and Kambiz Heidarzadeh Hanzaee. (2010). Customer satisfaction factors (CSFs) with online banking services in an Islamic country I.R. Iran. Journal of Islamic Marketing, vol. 1 (3), pp. 249-267 Wai-Ching Poon . (2008). Users adoption of e-banking services. Journal of Business Industrial Marketing, vol. 23 (1), pp. 59-69 Wang, Y., Lin, H., Tang, T. (2003). Determinants of user acceptance of internet banking: an empirical study. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 14(5), 501-519 Yap, K., D. Wong, C. Loh, and R. Bak (2010). Offline and online banking where to draw the line when building trust in e-banking. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 28(1), p.27-46 Z Liao and WK Wong. ( 2008). The determinants of customer interactions with internet-enabled e-banking services. Journal of the Operational Research Society, vol. 59 (9).

Camus Philosophy As Revealed I :: essays research papers

In L’Etranger, Camus uses Mersaults’ experiences such as his mothers’ death, killing the Arab, the trial, and his interactions with other characters throughout the novel to convey his philosophy, which satisfies all principals of existentialism. To convey his existentialist philosophy, Camus uses the death of Mersaults’ mother in the beginning of the novel. On the first page, Mersault is more concerned about the exact time of his mothers’ death, and not the fact that he recently lost a loved one. This shows that Mersault feels that there is no reason to mourn for his mothers’ death, and also conveys the existentialist idea that reason is powerless to deal with the depths of human life. The fact that Mersault shows no compassion ultimately conveys Camus’ philosophy of existentialism. Also, at Mersaults’ mothers funeral Mersault does not cry or behave the way that society expects him to act. This is because Mersault is an existentialist, and does not act in the ‘appropriate’ manner in which society expects, which makes him estranged from the people around him. In the events leading up to the point when Mersault kills the Arab, the heat, sun, and light begin to affect him more and more, at which point his sensual feelings overwhelm him and cause him to pull the trigger and kill the Arab. This part of the novel shows how Mersault is estranged from nature, in the way that for the first time in the novel the sun and his sensual pleasures begin to act against him, and cause him to lose control. During the trial, Camus begins to ridicule the legal system, and make apparent the fact that Mersault is truly an outsider. Camus does this by making Mersault feel as though he is ‘out of place’ at his trial. He also does this by showing that Mersaults’ case is rushed, due to the fact that there is a more exciting parricide case next. This reveals Camus’ philosophy by Estranging Mersault from society, and legal system. During the time in which Mersault is imprisoned, he begins to feel that he is unable to accept death and wants to ‘escape the inevitable’.(p.104) This is how Camus uses Mersault to explain another principle of existentialism, which is that an existentialist begins to feel fear, anxiety and angst. The reason that Mersault feels this is that he is denied everything in prison and has nothing to deal with but himself, which makes him able to consider what is going to happen to him. Camus Philosophy As Revealed I :: essays research papers In L’Etranger, Camus uses Mersaults’ experiences such as his mothers’ death, killing the Arab, the trial, and his interactions with other characters throughout the novel to convey his philosophy, which satisfies all principals of existentialism. To convey his existentialist philosophy, Camus uses the death of Mersaults’ mother in the beginning of the novel. On the first page, Mersault is more concerned about the exact time of his mothers’ death, and not the fact that he recently lost a loved one. This shows that Mersault feels that there is no reason to mourn for his mothers’ death, and also conveys the existentialist idea that reason is powerless to deal with the depths of human life. The fact that Mersault shows no compassion ultimately conveys Camus’ philosophy of existentialism. Also, at Mersaults’ mothers funeral Mersault does not cry or behave the way that society expects him to act. This is because Mersault is an existentialist, and does not act in the ‘appropriate’ manner in which society expects, which makes him estranged from the people around him. In the events leading up to the point when Mersault kills the Arab, the heat, sun, and light begin to affect him more and more, at which point his sensual feelings overwhelm him and cause him to pull the trigger and kill the Arab. This part of the novel shows how Mersault is estranged from nature, in the way that for the first time in the novel the sun and his sensual pleasures begin to act against him, and cause him to lose control. During the trial, Camus begins to ridicule the legal system, and make apparent the fact that Mersault is truly an outsider. Camus does this by making Mersault feel as though he is ‘out of place’ at his trial. He also does this by showing that Mersaults’ case is rushed, due to the fact that there is a more exciting parricide case next. This reveals Camus’ philosophy by Estranging Mersault from society, and legal system. During the time in which Mersault is imprisoned, he begins to feel that he is unable to accept death and wants to ‘escape the inevitable’.(p.104) This is how Camus uses Mersault to explain another principle of existentialism, which is that an existentialist begins to feel fear, anxiety and angst. The reason that Mersault feels this is that he is denied everything in prison and has nothing to deal with but himself, which makes him able to consider what is going to happen to him.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Robert Frost’s â€Å"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening† is a poem that, at first glance, seems to simply describe the author’s journey through the woods. The poem’s language is uncomplicated and the rhyme scheme flows smoothly. Also, the subject matter is easily relatable to the audience; the poem speaks of things such as woods, snow, and a horse, which any reader can identify with or visualize. These qualities make it easy for the reader to take this piece at face value without reading into what the words mean rather than just what they say.Upon taking a closer look, however, the poem is undoubtedly the author’s memento mori. This becomes evident at the end of the poem, where there is an interruption in the flow of the language that elicits reconsideration of the poem’s facade of simplicity. Up until the last stanza, all the lines run seamlessly together. Then, the first two lines of the last stanza read â€Å"The woods are lovely, dark and deep/ But I have promises to keep. † What causes the reader to consider a second look at these two lines is the word â€Å"but. This word usually signals to the reader that what follows is in contradiction to what precedes it; however, in this case the second line does not contrast the first.Therefore, the reader must search for what is being contrasted. The author is not merely commenting on the â€Å"lovely, dark and deep† woods, but is contemplating something. To better understand what is being contemplated, a broader look at the poem is necessary. The first stanza the author writes, â€Å"He will not see me stopping here/ To watch his woods fill up with snow. This implies that the author is thinking about spending a considerable amount of time in these woods, which would be necessary to watch them fill with snow. The second stanza says that this snowy evening is â€Å"The darkest evening of the year. † It is possible that it means literally dark; howeve r, it is more likely that the author is figuratively speaking as to say his darkest, or most depressing, evening. The third stanza speaks of â€Å"downy flake,† which invokes images of soft down, commonly used as a pillow filling.The last two lines of the poem mention â€Å"miles to go before I sleep,† in which â€Å"sleep† is a euphemism for death. These six lines, when examined together, imply that the author is depressed and considering these woods as a final resting place. The author’s thought of spending much time, in this case eternity, in the woods using the downy flake to rest his head upon can be interpreted as his contemplation of memento mori. This brings the reader back to the word â€Å"but. † What is the author contrasting when he states that he has â€Å"promises to keep? The author is saying that although these woods are â€Å"lovely, dark and deep† and would make an ideal final resting place upon death, there are â€Å"mil es to go,† or more life to live before the journey of life ends. After reflecting on one simple word, â€Å"but,† which leads to an examination of the piece as a whole, it is evident that the this poem is the author’s memento mori in which mortality is contemplated and a final resting place is considered while stopping by woods on a snowy evening. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening Robert Frost’s â€Å"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening† is a poem that, at first glance, seems to simply describe the author’s journey through the woods. The poem’s language is uncomplicated and the rhyme scheme flows smoothly. Also, the subject matter is easily relatable to the audience; the poem speaks of things such as woods, snow, and a horse, which any reader can identify with or visualize. These qualities make it easy for the reader to take this piece at face value without reading into what the words mean rather than just what they say.Upon taking a closer look, however, the poem is undoubtedly the author’s memento mori. This becomes evident at the end of the poem, where there is an interruption in the flow of the language that elicits reconsideration of the poem’s facade of simplicity. Up until the last stanza, all the lines run seamlessly together. Then, the first two lines of the last stanza read â€Å"The woods are lovely, dark and deep/ But I have promises to keep. † What causes the reader to consider a second look at these two lines is the word â€Å"but. This word usually signals to the reader that what follows is in contradiction to what precedes it; however, in this case the second line does not contrast the first.Therefore, the reader must search for what is being contrasted. The author is not merely commenting on the â€Å"lovely, dark and deep† woods, but is contemplating something. To better understand what is being contemplated, a broader look at the poem is necessary. The first stanza the author writes, â€Å"He will not see me stopping here/ To watch his woods fill up with snow. This implies that the author is thinking about spending a considerable amount of time in these woods, which would be necessary to watch them fill with snow. The second stanza says that this snowy evening is â€Å"The darkest evening of the year. † It is possible that it means literally dark; howeve r, it is more likely that the author is figuratively speaking as to say his darkest, or most depressing, evening. The third stanza speaks of â€Å"downy flake,† which invokes images of soft down, commonly used as a pillow filling.The last two lines of the poem mention â€Å"miles to go before I sleep,† in which â€Å"sleep† is a euphemism for death. These six lines, when examined together, imply that the author is depressed and considering these woods as a final resting place. The author’s thought of spending much time, in this case eternity, in the woods using the downy flake to rest his head upon can be interpreted as his contemplation of memento mori. This brings the reader back to the word â€Å"but. † What is the author contrasting when he states that he has â€Å"promises to keep? The author is saying that although these woods are â€Å"lovely, dark and deep† and would make an ideal final resting place upon death, there are â€Å"mil es to go,† or more life to live before the journey of life ends. After reflecting on one simple word, â€Å"but,† which leads to an examination of the piece as a whole, it is evident that the this poem is the author’s memento mori in which mortality is contemplated and a final resting place is considered while stopping by woods on a snowy evening.

A Brief Look at Social Reconstructionism - 1299 Words

According to Sadker and Zittleman social reconstructinism encourages, â€Å"schools, teachers, and students to focus their studies and energies on alleviating pervasive social inequalities and, as the name implies, reconstruct society into a new and more just social order†. Social Reconstructionist is mainly founded on a â€Å"student-centered† classroom. It also encourages students to get out and help out in the community. Teachers can alter their curriculum around their classes needs. The purpose of social reconstructinism is to reconstruct society. Reconstructinism focuses primarily on their students and what better way to help them in the future. The best part about this philosophy, students take responsibility of their education. By the time students transition into college skills needed to survive in college will be learned. Social Reconstructinism is an effective philosophy because it values alteration in curriculum, actively involves students, and promotes cha nge in society. As a Social Reconstructionist the teacher chooses his or her way of teaching with their students in mind. The role of the teacher is to create information and challenging lessons that will open their student’s eyes to social inequities. School is the ideal place to educate students on global problems; Such as: racism, sexism, global warming, homelessness, etc. Primary task of the teacher is to present daring lessons that will demand emotional responses from students, making them what to doShow MoreRelated Effective Diversity in Learning Essay1854 Words   |  8 Pagesclassroom. Now we switch gears and think about a multicultural classroom. Multicultural refers to race, ethnicity, and culture. Race is a group of persons sharing a common publicly determined category often connected to genetic characteristics, physical looks, and heritage. Today, about one in three Americans are of color (Sadker, p. 76). Ethnicity refers to common cultural behaviors such as language, religion, and dress. Culture is a set of learned beliefs, values, symbols, and behaviors, a way of life