Effect of the Internet on Banking Today

Effect of the Internet on Banking Today To evaluate the importance of Internet to enhance the todays banking in order to create and deliver value for the customers. Provisional Working Title: The Internet usage has increased in the current generation due to the change in the astounding rates with the advancements in the technology. The studies carrying out ion the impact of the technological advancements have revealed that the technology has been impringed in all aspects of the common peoples life. The electronically handling capability for all the complicated works are increased in this situation. The Internet is treated as the global trend which can reduce the time and distance to perform the important transactions. The change emerged to the internet banking from the conventional banking is termed to be leap transformation. The banking sector in the current days is able to provide with the novel services to the consumers through effective exploitation of the internet. This has given the advantages in two folds that are for bank as well as for the customers. The banks have emerged in to hi tech service providers and to develop the services to eliminate the banking concerns with better focus on the needs and requirements of clients. The current banking sector is implementing novel technologies and expertises to make the complication and concerns of original banking plan to much easier and easily accessible by the consumers. The commencement of the electronic banking initiated with the ATMs. And at present the trend has emerged to carry out the transactions through mobile phone, through internet, direct bill payment, electronic fund transfer and the I banking. The augmentation in the E commerce and the utilization of the internet banking has been supporting the transactions in the banking with better se curity options with confidentiality in transaction has led to the importance of Internet banking in the current day. Thus the current project is aimed carry out a thorough study on the concept of Internet and the applicability of the same in the highly service oriented sector like banking. Thus the project is able to reveal the benefits that will improve the customer loyalty which is very much necessary in the banking sector further the project will explain the extent of applicability of internet in banking sector. Thus the importance of internet in the current banking sector is analyzed through this. For this study both qualitative approach and the qualitative approach (or primary research) and the secondary research such as Literature review in order to accomplish the study. Aims and the Objectives: In order to accomplish the theme of the project, the researcher has framed several aims and objectives. Aim: The main aim of the project is to determine the importance of the internet in the todays banking sector. In order to accomplish this aim the following objectives are framed that should be met: To analyze the concept of the conventional banking sector To evaluate the major issues and concerns of conventional banking sector through literature review. The conduct the primary study to evaluate the importance of internet in todays banking To carry out analysis to assess the benefits of internet for banking. To recommend viable suggestions to improve the customer loyalty through the internet in banking sector. Preliminary literature review: The literature review describes the theories and the models from various sources such as books, articles, white papers, web references, journals etc that will be able to reply the research queries. The internet has now become the universal exploitation in day to day life. Banking being a highly service oriented sector has to grow further as the competence is augmenting and only quality work will increase the growth. Conventional banking sector: [Mabid Ali Al-Jarhi and Munawar Iqbal] For every developing financial system, banking system is considered as one of the important characteristics. An efficient banking system helps to improve the society. The conventional banking system provides different functions. The transfer of assets from those who have surplus to those that require extra assets to run their various business activities is facilitated by banking. The conventional banking is based on the principle of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the more you have, the more you getà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The conventional banking is based upon the security, and makes all efforts to recover the money. [Naveed Azeem Khattak] Unless a specific exception is made on a default loan, the charge interest does not stop in conventional banking. Depending on the length of loan period, the interest is charged. The risks are eliminated in the conventional banking during the transactions. In conventional banking sector legal responsibility is not taken by the banks du ring the transaction with the customer. In the conventional banking, interest on the capital amount is charged based on the time value. Even if the organization suffers losses, the interest is charged by the banking system and there is no concept of sharing the losses. No agreement is made while distributing working capital finance, cash finance and the running finance for the exchange of goods and services. The conventional banking is a time consuming process. To process a simple transaction like clearing a cheque it takes several hours. This problem is avoided by the internet banking. The transactions done through the internet banking consumes very less time and makes the banking convenient and faster. Major Issues and Concerns of Conventional Banking: [Dr. Kashif-Ur-Rehman] the major issue in the conventional banking is the online transactions are not possible. The conventional banking is a time consuming process. To process a simple transaction like clearing a cheque it takes several hours. Here the administrator has a lot of work and the efforts required are more. The conventional banking consumes a lot of time since the banking activities should be performed at the particular bank branches. The conventional banking makes the financial transactions slower. The customers do not get satisfied by the conventional banking systems since the transactions are done at a slower rate. The customers can perform the bank activities, payments of bills and many other services of bank only during the bank timings. Unless a specific exception is made on a non-payment loan, the charge on interest does not stop in conventional banking. In conventional banking sector legal responsibility is not taken by the banks during the transaction with the cu stomer. The e banking service which makes the transactions faster and simpler cannot be provided by the conventional banking system. The major issues in the conventional banking approaches are the more waiting time for the exploitation of services, complicated process, issues in bouncing of the checks and other credit transactions, unavailability of full data of clients bother personal and transaction details, no process to check the account details in between, more costs of transaction in the view of consumer. The issues are also faced by the banks due to lack of technology such as complicated process execution, more costs of process, no insight about the consumers, and lesser availability of skilled employees, more chance for frauds, lower growth rate, lower retention and loyalty of consumers. The major drawback of the conventional or usual banking is that there is no chance for the development and implementation of the innovative products and services to attract customers. Importance of internet in banking: [Olga Tartu 2003] The banking offered to the users which includes the services such as enquiry about the balance in their financial statement, about account dealings, account statement, payments of bills and many other services of bank is termed as Internet in Banking. Internet in the banking enables the consumers to manage their savings and save their time. The internet banking requires the active bank account with the balance in it for the transactions, credit card or debit card number, bank account number, internet banking PIN number and a pc with internet connection. The e-banking i.e. electronic banking is provided by the internet banking which allows the customers to carry out the banking activities online. Accessing of any information regarding account and transactions can be done by the internet banking at any time of the day. The customers of the bank can appeal permission and can execute banking activities through computer, television or cell phone. The financial transacti on can be done through the e-banking; the e-banking can be defined as the electronic connection between the user and the manager of the bank. The internet in banking provides many services like online dealings and it allows them to control their financial accounts at any time. The internet in banking permits the clients to perform all the activities using a secured website that is managed by the banks. Benefits of internet for banking: Few benefits of the internet for providing the banking services lie in its cost effectiveness, transactional service as well as information of consumers can be exploited by employing internet, 360 degree insight, lesser waiting time, reduced time for transactions and usage of services, reduced distance, reliability and better user interface etc. [Suganthi, B., Balachandran, G. (2001)] The various benefits provided by the internet banking are as follows: The people can access their personal business account information online. By the internet banking the services offered by the different banks can be compared. It allows online applying and buying the financial products. The main advantage provided by the internet banking is that it is cost effective. By the use of internet banking, the administrator work gets significantly reduced. The internet banking makes the financial transactions faster, and provides flexibility in performing financial transactions. The time require for processing the transactions of bank is reduced by the internet banking. Accessing of any information regarding account and transactions can be done by the internet banking at any time of the day. No need to visit the bank for applying loan, it can be done online through the internet banking. The services provided by the internet banking have made banking much easier and faster for the customers as well as bankers. The internet banking permits the clients to perform all the activities using a secured website that is managed by the banks. 24 hours service is available through the internet banking. Recommendations to improve the customer loyalty through the internet in banking sector: [Kotler and keller, 2006] The internet banking has provided many advantages to the customers. Understanding the customer needs is an important factor to be considered. The customers are able to access more information and wide range of services through the internet banking. Since the internet banking reduces the time required to access the accounts, the customers are satisfied and resulted in the increased loyalty. The success of any business depends on the customer satisfaction. The service quality is the important factor in achieving the satisfaction of customer. The major issue in the internet banking is the security. The privacy of the customer, the danger of getting hacked by the hackers and the issues relating to the banking activities are the main issues that occur in the internet banking. These issues in the internet banking can be reduced by the proper planning. The banks should make their customers to believe that the services provided by that bank are secured. The website through which the online transactions are performed should be managed and controlled properly. Since the internet does not provide the secured means of communication, the proper measures are to be taken while designing the website. When the user gives the personal information like the credit card number or the account number, privacy issue arises. The internet does not provide privacy for the users information that is being shared through the emails. The various services that are offered by the internet like social networking sites, email facilities, online shopping and also browsing of other websites should be done in such a way that hacking of users private data is not possible. The website should be planned carefully so that the customers satisfy and improves the loyalty. The services provided by the internet banking like online dealings should be managed effectively by the bank administrator. Why is this work important? (What contribution to knowledge / originality is involved?) The conventional banking sector holds several concerns and issues regarding speed of service delivery and much waiting time for the consumers due to the inability to have soft copy about the details of consumers and proper coordination. The distance of the bank and complicated process is another major concern that has been reduced and eliminated completely by providing faster services and elimination of the major concerns of conventional banking services through the Internet deployment. This has reduced the distance and waiting time of the consumers ultimately aiming to improve the level of satisfaction. Thus the loyalty of the customers will be increased by retention and thus the growth of banking will augment. Thus, the current research will be beneficial for the banks trying to upgrade the technology of internet for providing the banking services with latest expertises such as E banking, Mobile Banking etc to improve the retention of the customers and allow growth of the banks. Methodology Sources of data: Research Methodology is used to realize the concept of the project. By the research method one can know the products of analysis and also the total process of the project. Various research methods are explained by the researcher in the research methodology to find the aims and objectives of the research. For completing the project effectively a variety of research methods are discussed. For collecting the data that helps in completing the project successfully Primary research and secondary research methods are used. The data is analyzed and then results are made after analyzing the collected data. Some of the research methods are commonly used for any research process. The various research processes are Experiment methods Survey methods Observation methods Case studies method Literature review The research methods used for the successful completion of this project are Qualitative research and quantitative research or Primary research and the Secondary research or literature review has been employed as the major methods to collect the data required to accomplish the project. Primary Research: The primary research is the method of collection of the information for some particular purpose. Te data can be collected through his method is very eminent to accomplish the project theme. The data through this method can be obtained by 2 different methods such as interviews conducted on a personal basis and the individual observations. The primary research in the current project both qualitative research and the quantitative research has been exercised in the form of personal interviews and the questionnaire survey. This approach also ascertains various benefits such as congregation of in depth solutions for the queries, applicable for relatively small sample size, accurate analysis of the study, lesser fraction of the refusals compared to other practices. This approach has fewer demerits such as it is costly process, can be biased with the interviewer, time taking and slow process, privacy issues etc may indulge in the process. In the current research project, a direct interview has been commenced by involving the managers and other experts of major banks like ICICI, Citi bank etc. The questionnaire survey has been instigated by employees, consumers to understand the importance of internet in the todays banking sector. Qualitative Research Method: [Marshall PA. 2003]Qualitative research method is a type of logical research. The approach of gathering inà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"depth information during questioning the participants is done in the Qualitative Research. Qualitative research methods are more flexible when compared to quantitative research methods. The indefinable factors can be recognized by the qualitative research methods. Participant research, in-depth interviews and focus groups are the three types of qualitative research methods. The participant observation is used for collecting the data based on the behaviors. To obtain the group data, focus groups are used. For collecting individual data in depth interviews are used. Qualitative research contains very smaller sample size. In the qualitative research mainly the interviews and group discussions are carried out. In this type of research the customer response forms, information or media clips are provided. The current study has employed the direct interview sessions wi th the managers and experts of banking sector like ICICI, Citi groups to congregate the change of banking from conventional banking to high speed baking and its applicability in current situations. Merits of Qualitative research: It helps in building new theories It uses subjective information Explore new areas of research The questions which are complex to evaluate in the quantitative methods can be examined by the qualitative research method. Demerits of qualitative research: It is expensive Time consuming process The information gathered is limited to questionnaires and interviews. Quantitative Research Method: [Rosnow, R.L. and Rosenthal, R. (2005)]By the quantitative research identifying the relationship among the different variables things, time and performance etc is accomplished. From positivism the data is extracted. For answering a specific research question the quantitative research methods involve a group of statistical data. To establish the occurrence and quantity of their reactions a systematically calculated sample of participants is asked a set of questions on a survey. In the Quantitative research method evaluation of the suitable events is done by the examiner. This procedure of the quantitative method is primarily determined on the number of the features and associated relationships of the several variables. Sampling methods are utilized for the quantitative research which makes the consumer surveys. In this study, questionnaire survey has been commenced by involving the employees and the consumers who are major banking service users to provide with the valuable solutions i n descriptive questions. Merits of quantitative research: Provides high reliability Effective utilization of sampling techniques Demerits of quantitative research method: The exact information is not provided Inability to control the situation where respondents provide the response to the questions in the survey Secondary Research: The secondary research is the process of collection of the data from varied sources that is, it is the process of gathering the data from previously published form of data. The various sources that will involve in the collection of the data are books, journals, magazines, web sites, periodicals, trade stats, white papers etc. the secondary research can be again divided as external research and the internal research. In the current project literature review has been employed as the major secondary research that will work out to know the opinions and views of various authors and experts along with the initial ground work applicable with the identical theme of the project from root. This type technique has several merits such as in depth study from base, availability of large pool of resources etc. the demerits of this approach is that the information collected may be in general form, in accuracy of the collected data, older and outdated data will be available sometimes, novel concept will have lower material. Anticipated outcomes: The following are the anticipations of the current study: A literature study that will reveal the importance of the internet in the todays banking sector in the view of various author that has been collected from a variety of sources such as journals, white papers, books, web sites, magazines, texts and the documents etc. To draw the probable conclusions from the study based on the above approach. To accomplish the quantitative research and the qualitative research as primary research that will help to draw the views on the theme of the project from experts, management gurus and other participants. To analyze the results in comparison with secondary research. To suggest viable recommendations for better process of banking. Ethical issues of this work: The ethics are very prominent aspect that has to be considered wile accomplishing the project and especially during the qualitative and quantitative study. In general the ethics shall be validating to all the parts of the project right from planning to completion of the project. The study shall thus be carried without the ethical issues such as unnecessary interruption of the property and ecology or surroundings or the harmful actions towards to partake in the project. The individuals and participants in order to partake shall admit the conveyance to participate by acknowledging the letter of consent as agreement. Thus the ethical issues can be avoided along with the confidentiality concerns and privacy aspects. The research f the current project shall thus be carried out by keeping the ethical issues in view and has to deliver the results without any major concerns and shall be able to forecast the probable issues in prior.

Sociology and Material Culture

Haley Schweitzer Sociology 1010 Term Paper Sociology and Oops My Mistake Sociology is defined as, the study of people doing things together or more specifically, â€Å"the systematic study of the development, structure, interaction, and collective behavior of organized groups of human beings† (Merriam Webster Dictionary). This paper will examine the discourse of structure in sociology, the sociology of culture, and the deviance and sanctions in sociology. After discussing these topics, I will illustrate my act of norm breaking and how it ties in with these three areas of sociology.The structure of sociology can be identified as, the relationship of definite entities or groups to each other, enduring patterns of behavior by participants in a social system in relation to each other, and institutionalized norms or cognitive frameworks that structure the actions of actors in the social system. Basically saying within the structure are groups, statuses, roles, and institutions. In sociology, a group refers to two or more people who interact on a basis of shared qualities and experiences. A status refers to a specific position within a group, for example, a manager, employee, or a grandma.Within statuses there are two subgroups, ascribed status and achieved status. An ascribed status is one that is unalterable, such as a grandma. An achieved status is one that is obtainable, such as a manager. A role is an expected behavior within a status. For example, while an employee states the position of that role, the employee’s guidelines determine what behavior is appropriate for his/her role. This is the same concept for a status and a role. An institution is complex social structures that meet basic human needs.There are five main institutions: family, economy, education, politics, and religion. The sociology of culture consists of the beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics common to the members of a particular group or society. Through cultur e, people and groups define themselves, conform to society's shared values, and contribute to society. Thus, culture is constructed from three components which are norms, values, and material culture. Norms are â€Å"rules† within a culture that specify how people should conduct themselves every day.  Read also  Sociology and Social Integration.For example, one norm that may vary among different cultures is oculesics (eye behavior). Americans, for instance, maintain fairly direct eye contact when conversing with others. Asians, on the other hand, may avert their eyes as a sign of politeness and respect. A culture's values are its ideas about what is good, right, fair, and just. For example, a European that came to where I work said there was a saying in his country that Europeans worked to live, while Americans lived to work. So the values are different in America than they are in Europe.Material culture refers to the physical objects, resources, and spaces that people us e to define their culture. These include homes, neighborhoods, schools, churches and so forth. All of these physical aspects of a culture help to define its members' behaviors and perceptions. For example, technology is a vital aspect of material culture in the United States today. American students must learn to use computers to survive in college and business, in contrast to young adults in the Yanomamo society in the Amazon who must learn to build weapons and hunt to survive.Deviance is any behavior that violates social norms, and is usually of sufficient severity to warrant disapproval from the majority of society. Deviance can be criminal or non-criminal. Today, Americans consider such activities as alcoholism, excessive gambling, being nude in public places, stealing, lying, refusing to bathe—to name only a few—as deviant. Sanctions are socially constructed expressions of approval or disapproval. Sanctions can be positive or negative. A positive sanction rewards someone for following a norm and serves to encourage the continuance of a certain type of behavior.For instance, when parents reward a child with money for earning good grades, they are positively sanctioning that child’s behavior. A negative sanction is a way of communicating that a society, or some group in that society, does not approve of a particular behavior. For instance, imprisoning a criminal for breaking the law, and taking away a teenager’s television privileges for breaking curfew are all negative sanctions. The arena I chose for my norm breaking was my downstairs TV room with group of friends some of which I wasn’t well acquainted with. The statuses consisted of many friends with a few friends of friends.The roles to be played in the group were well mannered and somewhat proper of being at someone’s house that you don’t know very well. The expected roles of my close friends and I were to behave politely and welcoming. Most of my friend s are well behaved but also a lot of fun to be around. I have a very diverse group of friends with all different kinds of beliefs. Now since new people I hadn’t met before were coming along I made the room all nice, clean and well organized. I didn’t want people to come and see my house for the first time and not want to come back.I bought some different snacks and drinks for everyone to enjoy during the movie and hopefully make them feel more comfortable and at home. We all gathered on a typical Friday night to watch a movie at my house. One of my closer friends hasn’t had much experience with girls but recently I was able to hook him up with a kind of friend of mine so I invited them along to join us. When he and his girlfriend got to the house me and her started some small talk and she said he was lacking in the first kiss department. I told her he was probably just nervous but that I would get to the bottom of it.I thought about it since I had yet to do the whole norm breaking thing and decided this would be the easiest and most comfortable thing I would be able to do. I mean I had my close friends there but I also had some strangers that were most likely still trying to figure all the new people out. When the movie started I sat near the couple and observed both of their movements to decide whether or not to do it. The movie ended, I got up and turned the lights on and just as I predicted there she was sending millions of hints his way that he had to be seeing the whole time but still nothing.Well it was now or never I walked right up to her grabbed her face a planted one on her, I looked at her face bright red and utterly confused then looked at Blake and said, â€Å"Oh she was hinting at you†¦ sorry, my mistake,† and I walked out of the awkward, silent room for a minute to get myself together. I walked back to a rather confused room with very weird looks from everyone. There was silence for a couple of minutes then I exp lained to all of them why I did what I did. This resulted in a lot of laughter and uncontrollable crying. But still some judging looks.My negative sanctions were the strange looks from all the new people I had just met as well as the very embarrassed and angry look from Blake. Also that the new people that had come that had come that night would not return and when I would see them around town I was avoided and looked at as a â€Å"freak. † In conclusion, I was able to examine the sanctions of deviant behavior from a personal standpoint and the effects it may have when people decide to break norms in a situation after learning the structure of sociology as well as the rules of deviance and sanctions.

Determinism Versus Free Will Essay

Freedom is an ideal that many people in privileged society take for granted on a daily basis. Just because some people find themselves at home in a country where social norms have evolved to allow a rational sense of individualism and free will within its borders does not concede that free will is a universal right. In fact, many other countries such as Syria struggle to bring their policies up to speed with more progressive democracies such as Spain or the Australia, and their populace suffers backlash from corrupt legal systems and government. However, one thing that these countries stand to learn from successful nations such as the United States is that populations with more personal freedom tend to be happier with their lives as a whole than those who feel limited and stagnant in their development. At the same time, as freedom is important in making any group of people happy, there must be limits placed on their actions to avoid moral misconduct; that is, the concept of personal responsibility is a crucial one to keeping society clean, and it is commonly accepted that accepting responsibility for one’s actions is a way to keep society tidy. However, the weighting of moral codes and ethics is a difficult thing to do with accuracy because of the varying nature of such an abstract concept. In â€Å"Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility,† Harry Frankfurt describes a principle that states that â€Å"a person is morally responsible for what he has done only if he could have done otherwise. † Called the principle of alternative possibilities, this proposition purports that moral responsibility and choice go hand in hand; without one, the other can’t be just. As Frankfurt mentions in his writing, most people would take for granted this idea as a faultless constituent of the rationale behind lawmaking. However, Frankfurt conjectures a few obscure ways in which this principle could be contradicted. One example given was of a man named Jones who had decided to do something morally wrong, and when a second party was notified of his intent, Jones was forced to follow through with his actions. Here, Jones obviously would have been considered morally liable because whether or not the second individual had forced him to commit his crime of choice, he would have done so anyways. The logic stands to reason then, by the example given, that such a possibility does exist to make a similar situation happen. Whether by karma or by blackmail, myriad similar things could happen, and since moral fibre lies within the conscience and not in the physical realm, evil has been done as soon as one decides to act. At the same time, in this example, Frankfurt manages to give a proof that determinism and moral responsibility are compatible because, as he points out, it is possible to be responsible without the option to do otherwise. That is, in the case given, the threat of blackmail could have been so severe that Jones would have had no choice but to do what he had done. This would mean, then, that Frankfurt’s example would present a large hole in the way most people would see the intersection of free will and determinism; that is most would see it as incompatible, but by Frankfurt’s proof, they can sometimes run side by side practically parallel. While Frankfurt was quite perceptive to realize such a possible proof of compatibilism, this also presented a hole in his argument in that free will and determinism are not necessarily compatible because at the same time that one could be forced to do something without prior intent, if determinism were true, then the whole situation would have been predetermined, and if everything were predetermined then responsibility cannot exist as an option. Responsibility is defined as a state of having to deal with something, which in itself entails making certain decisions. However, despite the fact that determinism seems to dictate a timeline of events that completely eliminates the importance of making decisions, perhaps the brain’s ability to make decisions is a real one and decisions are, in cognitive terms, actually taking place. Determinism has merely caused one line of thought or line of decision making to necessarily end up coming true over the other. If determinism were true, then that would not entail that there is no such thing as a decision, it simply means that all our decisions would have been made beforehand. In that sense, the idea which Frankfurt presents is lent credence. If free will and determinism were indeed compatible, then every Christian, every latter-day saint, and every last-minute convert would be happy to know that they were much more likely to be granted a spot in heaven. According to the most popular scriptures, God is an all knowing, all powerful, and all good being, who granted the right of free will to all humans as an ultimate test to determine their destiny for better or worse. In this way, God is purported to be both liberal and deterministic; it only goes to follow that Frankfurt’s theory would be happily received by many religious believers. In some sort of real-world sequel to the book 1984, there would be signs all over the place proclaiming the existence of God based on some study created by Frankfurt’s constituents. Mass converts would line the streets of all the New York burroughs. Heaven would be a doorknock away. Though such an extreme scenario could only be conceivable in a novel, the image is clear. Sarcastic as it may be, such a magnitudinous occurrence in modern society could not be expected to occur based on some example with such abstract and intangible results. Perhaps in some warped space-time corollary the same would be seen in the science of philosophy. Perhaps a new theorem would be passed in its discourse, and textbooks with the same tired old vocabulary would be entirely rewritten to include Frankfurt’s new theorem. Though no one cares about philosophy as much as religion, still such a magnitudinous occurrence would be like an earthquake caused by everyone in the town of Athens jumping at the same time: difficult to conclude based on the lack of further evidence. Perhaps this pattern of occurrences is one of the holes in Frankfurt’s theorem. Well, not a hole in the sense that it disproves his logic, but a criticism nonetheless; it seems that his idea is too marginal to conclude something so physically contradictory as to say that just because a person could be forced to do something that he would otherwise not have done could prove determinism as right as the theory of relativity. Surely the scientific community would be all ears to Dr. Frankfurt’s dissertation as to why they should all wear underwear to work the next day: in a word, â€Å"who cares! † with determinism proved true, the scientists would probably feel a lot more relaxed for the next few weeks, however, when they tallied up all the evidence as to why they suddenly converted to Dr. Frankfurt’s new school of thought, they would have only one piece of evidence as to why: the mysterious case of Mr. Jones. Realizing that it was fate, they would rest their faces in their palms and wait for something else to happen. While Frankfurt’s logic is as technically true as is that of a Cartesian argument for the existence of reality all in one’s own imagination because of the lack of evidence to the contrary, perhaps the shoddy reputation of philosophical theories as being worth anything besides food for thought is nil. They are always careful with words, so as to traipse around the discerning and cold ears of the left-brained. There, they peacefully coexist with poets, artists, and other like minds. However, no matter the precision of their wording, it is always the popular decision to simply stay in the third dimension of thinking without bringing in any extraneous points of view that would go against common sense in an inherently immaterial way. â€Å"One nation, under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. † This famous verse marks the final few words of the American Pledge of Allegiance. Without prior knowledge of the country, one would probably be led to assume that Americans value freedom highly. In this case, they would most certainly be on to something. Freedom is a beautiful thing, yet it is powerful at the same time. Its power can be used for good or for evil, and that is why America (as well as every other model society) simply is not complete without a decent legal system. Obviously murder, rape, and theft are all violent crimes which must carry harsh penalties for those who commit them, and they all share one thing in common that no minor traffic violation does at heart: a morally wrong motive. Truly it would take a sick individual to commit any one of these things with intent to do so. So where does the idea of determinism in relation to the concept of free will fit into this picture? It is a tight fit in an ever-evolving jigsaw, but one of the obscure pieces nonetheless that must be considered to get the bigger picture. Laws are changing all the time, and morals have to remain at their core. When one remembers the addendum, â€Å"under god,† of the Pledge of Allegiance, it becomes ever clearer how determinism can fit into the moral scheme of the country as well. However, when it does in a legal sense, it goes against what is clearly stated in the constitution: America has secular laws unlike some other countries, and although some of the laws on the books are outdated and had better jurisdiction in a time when America is more religious, new laws as of late are much more secular. This adds to the point that determinism is becoming an increasingly abstract concept in society as times progress; that is, it has less place in law than it does in philosophical thought. Determinism is a concept that no proof, no theorem, and no scientific data will ever elucidate and validate before society. It would mark a monumental moment in the history of things, but if it were true, it would not matter very much what happened; all events thereafter would be destined to occur. For this reason and the reason of practicality, it is necessary to view determinism as an abstraction rather than reality. In such a dimension where determinism were held to be true, it would follow from assumption that free will would be merely an illusion. But why then, one would suppose, would humans have evolved to become such complex decision makers? If one believes in an omniscient and omnipotent God, then determinism’s validity seems much more promising, however for all other parties, it seems better left in the realm of abstraction. However, despite its realistic application, determinism remains as essential to philosophical abstraction as does the concept of good and evil. That is one reason it manages to justify itself in the vocabulary of philosophers worldwide — a broad vocabulary, indeed. Frankfurt happens to be like a Newton or Aristotle of his day and age, postulating truly genius and more importantly original ideas in such a relevant field as his own, A polite way to put it but an apt one as well. It is an inventive mind who decides to venture well beyond the blurred lines of the abstract and metaphysical in order to question an a priori truth so firmly believed to be accurate as the perpendicularity between determinism and free will; it is an inventive mind indeed. Works Cited Frankfurt, Harry. â€Å"Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility. † N. p. : n. p. , n. d. N. pag. 620pixeltable. Web. 05 Dec. 2013.

Last Time Consecutive Democratic Presidents Were Elected

Political analysts and Beltway pundits can debate the obstacles facing Democrats in the 2016 presidential election. But theres one inescapable truth facing the partys nominee, no matter if its Hillary Clinton or Elizabeth Warren or Julian Castro: Voters rarely elect someone from the same party for consecutive terms. â€Å"Mostly, the White House flips back and forth like a metronome. Voters just get tired after eight years,† the writer Megan McArdle wrote. Explains political analyst Charlie Cook: They tend to conclude that it is time for a change, and they trade the in party for the out party. In fact, since American politics evolved into what we know as the current two-party system, the last time voters elected a Democrat to the White House after a president from the same party had just served a full term was in 1856, before the Civil War. If thats not enough to scare of presidential hopefuls in the Democratic Party who want to succeed two-term President Barack Obama, what is? Last Democrat to Succeed a Democrat The last Democrat elected to succeed a Democratic president was James Buchanan, the 15th president and the only one ever to come from Pennsylvania. Buchanan succeeded President Franklin Pierce. Youd have to go back even further in history to find the most recent instance of a Democrat being elected to succeed a two-term president from the same party. The last time that happened was in 1836 when voters elected  Martin Van Buren to follow  Andrew Jackson. This, of course, does not include the four terms of Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt; he was elected to the White House in 1932 and re-elected in 1936, 1940 and 1944. Roosevelt died less than a year into his fourth term, but he is the only president to have served more than two terms. Why It's so Rare There are very good explanations for why voters rarely choose a president from the same party for three consecutive terms. The first and most obvious one is fatigue with and unpopularity of the president who is completing his second and final term at the time of the election for his successor. That unpopularity often sticks to the candidate of the same party. Just ask some of the Democrats who sought unsuccessfully to succeeded Democratic presidents including  Adlai Stevenson in 1952) Hubert Humphrey in 1968 and, most recently, Al Gore in 2000.   Another reason is distrust of people and parties who hold power for too long. The distrust of people in power ... dates back to the age of the American Revolution and the mistrust of hereditary rulers with no curbs on their powers, wrote the National Constitution Center. What It Meant in 2016 The rarity of presidents from the same party being elected consecutively is not lost on political analysts when it came to the 2016 presidential election. Many believed the success of Hillary Clinton, who was the most likely contender for Democratic nominee, hinged on who the Republicans chose. Opined the New Republic: The Democrats could benefit if the Republicans nominate a relatively inexperienced right-winger or someone who possesses the temperament of a high school football coach rather than a president ... If they opt for an experienced centrist in 2016  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  Florida’s Jeb Bush is the obvious example  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  and if the party’s right wing doesn’t demand he toe the line, they could stand a good chance of reclaiming the White House and of confirming Americans’ reluctance to keeping the same party in the White House three terms in a row.