INTB300 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

INTB300 - Essay Example The author believes that while education is major element that is able to promote these ideals, it can, at the same time become a tool for the vested interest to play havoc with the lives of the innocent people. The financial scams, terrorism, child abuse etc. are few instances of misuse of education at its worst. Globalization has become an intrinsic part of contemporary social structure which needs to be understood for its wider ramifications on various spheres of human life. Indeed, historical events have been great facilitators to understand the change. One therefore must make efforts to understand the complex nature of changing social values and adopt them in their lives so as to exploit them for one’s own personal and professional growth. The current recessive trend in American economy is often contributed to President Reagan’s market policies and liberalization. But it is important to note that deregulation of banks was the major factor that had promoted riskier business propositions. It was during President Clinton’s administration that banks’ deregulation bill was passed. Hence, sub-prime loans of banks for housing had ultimately resulted in the collapse of American economy. Thus, one can say that economic reforms must be accompanied by effective government control

Real GDP, unemployment rate Essay Example for Free

Real GDP, unemployment rate Essay Economic indicators measure and characterize the current state of economy. Unemployment rate, inflation rate, real GDP, and oil price per barrel form the general economic picture and show further directions of economic policies and tactics. â€Å"Real GDP is gross domestic product in constant dollars. In other words, real GDP is a nation’s total output of goods and services, adjusted for price changes† (Picker, 2007). Real GDP is often compared to nominal GDP which is always expressed in current dollars. In the third quarter of 2007, real GDP equaled to 11658. 9 billion of constant dollars, having increased 4. 9 percent as compared to the second quarter of 2007. Gross private domestic investment is one of the basic components of real GDP. In 2007, gross private domestic investment also increased to reach 1859. 9 billion dollars (GPO Access, 2008). The graph shows the historical fluctuations of real GDP in the United States: the beginning of 2007 was marked by the greatest real GDP decrease since 2005. The decrease of real GDP in the second half of 2006 indicates the start of economic recession in the United States. The unemployment rate is â€Å"the number of unemployed as a percent of the labor force† (Picker, 2007). In March, the U. S. economy was characterized by 5. 1% unemployment rate (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2008). Normally, unemployment rates should not exceed 6 percent. Thus, unemployment rates in the U. S. are kept within the reasonable limits. However, the chart shows the slight but continuous unemployment rate increase since the beginning of 2007. These trends create a picture of recession in the American economy. Inflation rate shows the increase of prices for consumer goods and services, and is counted on a yearly basis (Picker, 2007). Inflation rates are basically measured with the help of Consumer Price Index (CPI); CPI calculates the value of consumer goods and services basket which households purchase (Picker, 2007). The chart shows the constantly increasing inflation rates in the U. S. economy. In March, the average cost of goods and services basket advanced 0. 3 percent (MERIC, 2008). These trends indicate the inability of the Federal Reserve to cope with the inflation problem. Growing inflation requires that the Fed pushes up interest rates and slows down the economy, but as the Fed decreases interest rates to regulate particular markets, it puts the economy into a deeper recession. Oil price per barrel is usually counted on the basis of the OPEC or NMEX oil basket prices. At the beginning of 2008, the barrel of oil cost $90. 7; by the end of April, the price has already crossed the mark of $116 per barrel (WTRG Economics, 2008). The chart shows significant continuous increase of oil prices. During 2007, the price of oil per barrel has nearly tripled. Inflation rates, unemployment rates, oil prices per barrel, and real GDP are the four interrelated economic indicators, which determine, at what stage of business cycle the U. S. economy stands. Business cycles impact all areas of economic development; the airline industry is not an exception. In many instances, airlines develop and act according to the basic economic laws. The state of real GDP and Consumer Price Index determine consumer capability to purchase tickets and choose convenient flights. The price of oil per barrel seriously increases airline industry costs, which the industry compensates for the account of more expensive tickets. The growing energy prices contribute into the CPI growth. The growing price of oil per barrel impacts unemployment: â€Å"on average, every time oil prices go up 10 percent, 150,000 Americans lose their jobs† (Eldad, 2007). It is stated that â€Å"the cycles of the airline market are often considered to be a response to fluctuations in the evolution of the GDP and to lie beyond the sphere of the industry’s influence† (Eldad, 2007). Unemployment does not significantly impact the airline industry. The United States has been able to keep unemployment rates at reasonable levels. Inflation rates directly impact the way the airline industry performs on the market. In general, inflation indicates the growth of all costs and expenditures within airline industry. Inflation means that energy prices grow, too. Traditionally, fuel and oil costs constituted 15 percent of the airline industry expenditures, but inflation and growing prices of oil per barrel have raised this index to 30 percent (Eldad, 2007). Due to continuous inflation growth and oil price increase, airlines annually lose up to $200 million (Eldad, 2007). These are the indicators of the economic recession. Economic recession is one of the five stages of business cycle. Since 2005, the airline industry has been experiencing serious economic losses and numerous business closures. The slight increase of real GDP in the last quarter of 2007 reveals promising trends which will hopefully help airlines cope with energy prices. The recession stage of the business cycle suggests that the U. S. economy has not yet reached the trough at the very bottom of its economic decline. This is why the airline industry should be prepared to facing even more serious economic difficulties. The current economic situation is more consistent with the classical economic conditions. The state is not involved into regulating inflation rates or oil prices per barrel. In the oil market, the state acts according to laissez-fair principles of classical economic theory, which promote free business choice and minimal state involvement into economic processes. Although the state regulates interest rates and seems to make everything possible to minimize the economic consequences of recession, its strategies are aimed at regulating particular markets and not the U. S. economy in general. The airline industry is given sufficient freedom for taking economic decisions according to the changeable economic conditions in the U. S. Conclusion The current state of real GDP, inflation rates, oil price per barrel, and unemployment rates form the picture of economic recession in the United States. The airline industry experiences significant economic losses. As the U. S. economy faces the recession stage of the business cycle, airlines should be prepared to even greater economic losses before the economy reaches the trough at the bottom of its economic decline.

Hitler an the Holocaust :: Essays Papers

Hitler an the Holocaust Adolph Hitler was known as the dictator of Nazi Germany. As a youth, Hitler already showed signs that characterized his later life, such as the unableness to make ordinary human relationships, a hatred for non-Germany people such as the Jews, and the dream of living in a world of fantasy. So when Adolph Hitler came into power in 1933, he lived out these characteristics in a very publicized way. Once elected, Hitler went on to create an absolute dictatorship and had an ultimate goal of establishing a greater Germany that had ever existed before in history. In the establishment of this great Germany, Hitler was able to murder approximately six million Jews with his Nazi Germany during World War II.1 The Jews were believed to have an inheritance that threatened German and Christian values. This attempt made by the Germans to kill as many Jews as possible came to be know as the Holocaust. On January 30, 1933, the German president Hindenburg named Adolph Hitler the Chancellor, which was the most powerful position in the German government.2 At this time Hitler was already the leader of the strongest and most powerful party in Germany, the Nazi Party. The Nazis first called the German Workers’ Party, were a nationalist and extremely racist group that held the same views as Hitler.3 Hitler first started out as a member of the Party, then moved his way to the top. He soon changed the name of the German Workers’ Party to the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, otherwise known as the Nazis.4 The party all had basically the same views and ideas; they were all violent, racial, nationalists, and opposed liberal democracy. The party took the symbol of the swastika and the Heil greeting from other German racist groups, and the German salute.5 Hitler rose to become the highest power in the Nazi party and was ready to become the leader of Germ any. As soon as he was put in power, Hitler was out to end German democracy and instead make an absolute dictatorship. In March of 1933, the Enabling Act gave Hitler ultimate dictator power.6 As soon as this power was granted, Hitler began preparing for the war. In preparing for war, Hitler recreated a universal military service; he then went on to build a powerful air force.

The Role of the Doctor in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening :: Chopin Awakening

The Role of the Doctor in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening According to Benjamin, or at least according to my Benjamin, as translated then taken from secondary sources that probably used him to their own ends, the novel is constructed along a trajectory he calls â€Å"homogenous, empty time† referring to the contiguous relation of characters and their activities to each other as a way of connecting their place in the narrative. There are quite a few examples of this in Kate Chopin’s Awakening, but the best is found on page 87 of Chapter XXII as the doctor is introduced into the text. And in one sentence, describing the doctor, Chopin outlines a way of reading her novel. While in his garden reading, Doctor Mandelet is interrupted by Mr. Pontellier, who promptly reports his wife’s troubled mind, indicating that Mr. Pontellier himself has a troubled mind through lines like â€Å"it isn’t easy to explain† or â€Å"She’s making it devilishly uncomfortable for me†(88). These disclosures help to add a few more stenciled lines, deepening Mr. Pontellier, who is, through the course of the novel, made most noticeable by his absences. His character is marred by a dependency on social conventions and aristocratic pride that he cannot push the logic of the facts toward a conclusion that would require a rethinking of his way of life. On page 87, when the doctor is first introduced he comes out of homogenous, empty time to enter the narrative. That is to say, his history and life are written into the novel as it collides with the drama of Edna Pontellier’s suicide. Thus the doctor supports the teleological structure of the novel that each character was there for a purpose in carrying out the book’s eschatology—the end of the narrative. The doctor, the reader of the body, and as we find out the reader of the unconscious, enters the text reading. Before we find him reading, we are given a few details about his life: â€Å"He bore a reputation for wisdom rather than skill—leaving the active practice of medicine to his assistants and younger contemporaries—and was much sought for in matters of consultation†(87). As a character that facilitates a disclosure, the doctor—the reader— comes to know what we already know, as if the character in the book sought the reader’s help but the reader could not say. And it is very generous of Chopin to put her â€Å"reader† in such high regard.

Acceptance of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility

Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 CHAPTER ONE: 1. 0 INTRODUCTION OF THE STUDY INTRODUCTION The Islamic concept of Al-Ijarah Thumma al-bay’ refers to lease or hire or rent ending with purchase. It is a type of lease which concludes with option to buy back which is concludes the legal title of the leased asset and will be passed to the lessee at the end of the period.It is one of the contemporary innovative products which are design to meet the public demand at the same time, securing long term competitiveness in the financial market. AITAB comprised two contracts which are al-ijarah (leasing or renting) and followed by al-bay’ (sale) contract. Al-Ijarah: a contract whereby the lessor (Islamic bank) will rent the assets to the lessee (customer) over a certain period and at the end monthly rental amount as agreed by both parties. (Khir et al. 2008) Al-Bay’: upon completion of the rental period or upon the early settlement the lessor will then enter into the sale contract with the lessee to sell the asset at a pre-agreed selling price. (Khir et al. , 2008) Al-ijarah and al-bay’ are both categorised under the contract of exchange. The former relate to the exchange of usufruct for money, while latter involves the exchange of good for money. In AITAB the contract of al-ijarah runs separately from the contract of al-bay’. Since both contracts are executed in a sequence.A new contract AITAB can be used to describe the process of converting an Ijarah into a sale contract. (Khir et al. , 2008) AITAB is one of the contemporary innovative approaches in the Islamic hire purchase instrument which is an alternative product to conventional hire purchase. The significant difference between the two is that Islamic hire purchase is a unique contract involving a combination of two different contracts, thus involving a number of legal and shariah issues. It 1 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 calls for special rules on leasing and sale at different stages of the transactions in the light of shariah. It refers to owning the benefit of certain assets for a specific period of time, by paying an agreed sum of rental, with an agreement that the owner will transfer the rented asset to the hirer at the end of the agreed period or during the period, provided all rental payments or instalments have been made in entirety.The transfer of ownership is affected by a new and independent contract, either by giving the asset as a gift, or selling it at an agreed price. (AlZuhayli, 2002) Conventional hire-purchase, the product is considered as a loan to which interest rate and hiring charges would be applicable and in case of late payment of instalment price, interest would accumulate. But in Islamic hire-purchase, the product is considered as a mode of financing, not a loan and the product would have a profit rate and a mark-up and for late payment of instalment price, only late payment charge pre-agreed would be applicable. Billah) Based on the statements above, the researcher conduct the study among staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan to identify the most significantly criteria’s such as perception, competency among car dealers and bank officer and awareness can influence them in order to accept Islamic hire purchase facility. The result for the acceptance of Islamic hire purchase facility will be collected by distributed the questionnaire to 200 staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan.After that, the analysis will be interpreted by using the SPSS 20. 0 program. 2 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 1. 1 BACKGROUND OF COMPANY JABATAN PELAJARAN NEGERI KELANTAN ESTABLISHMENT HISTORY Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan history start when th e director first (formerly called Penguasa Pelajaran) namely Encik Mohd Ghazali B. Mohd Ariffn designate at year 1992. He then awarded with the title Dato' Bentara Luar and work until year 1930.The office first located in building known by the name of â€Å"Pejabat Panjang†, namely a building nearby Istana Kota Lama. Then in year 1930 an on the other hand Pejabat Pelajaran move on the other hand to other building known by the name of â€Å"Pejabat Pohon Celagi† namely Kelantan State Secretary building, nearby old office building. In year 1965 the office move on the other hand to new building namely Bangunan Persekutuan that is today. From year 1922 to 18 august 1998 there are 25 people Director.They are made up 13 people noble Malay, 10 people noble English and 2 people that noble Chinese. Director Encik Saw Chee Ling had given his service for 12 years. Since colonial era until today, Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan has been expanding rapidly him in effort increase t his quality education in accordance with Education Philosophy policy country. Today, Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan has owned 10 sectors that include Sektor Khidmat Pengurusan dan Pembangunan, Sektor Pengurusan Sekolah, Sektor Pengurusan Akademik and Sektor Pendidikan Islam.Under this department also be established State Educational Technology Division. While at district level on the other hand was constituted ten parts of Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah namely Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah Kota Bharu, Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah Pasir Mas, Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah Tumpat, Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah Pasir Puteh, Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah Bachok, Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah Tanah Merah, Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah Machang, Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah Kuala Krai, Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah Gua Musang and Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah Jeli. Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 1. 2 PROBLEM STATEMENTS Dual banking syste m imposes by Bank Negera Malaysia affecting the demand for Islamic financial product. This situation has influenced some staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan to choose Islamic or conventional hire purchase loan for buying car. In this study, staff perception toward Islamic hire purchase facility implies whether they are really known about the AITAB operation itself.Researcher also identify common perception toward AITAB contract which is profit charge are too costly, penalty charge for late payment, accordance with syariah guideline and more Researcher also knows car dealers and bank officers also as importance key player toward acceptance of Islamic hire purchase facility. Thus, researcher also identify common problem about competency among car dealers and bank officer whether among them are lack of knowledge about Islamic financial product.Others problem that researcher identify is awareness among staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan itself whether they aware about Isl amic Hire Purchase facility or not. The common problem on awareness among staff is what Islamic Hire Purchase have compared to conventional, the existence of Islamic financial product, the modus operandi of the AITAB contract itself and more. I. 3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY There are several objectives that have been developed in this research as the following:I. II. III. To examine staff perception toward Islamic hire purchase facility.To identify competency among car dealers and bank officers. To evaluate effects of awareness among staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan. In this research, researcher identifies the most contributing factor of acceptance of Islamic Hire Purchase facility among staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan is awareness. This had be proven by Pearson correlation relationship at r = 0. 837 4 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 1. 4 SCOPE OF THE STUDYThis study will f ocus on the acceptance towards Al-Ijarah Thumma Al-Bay’, Islamic hire purchase facility among staffs in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan. In this research, researcher had pick up about 200 staff from the population of 460 staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan as are respondents to complete the questionnaire. The respondent of this study are all staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan which are mostly involve in hire purchase facility that offered by Islamic and conventional bank. The researcher has chosen this area because of high population. 1. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY The first limitation is that the probability of absenteeism of the respondent due to leave or outstation since all respondents is the staff of Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan. The second limitation is lack of knowledge. Researcher does not have experience and never been exposed in making a complete research in the university. Researchers will facing difficulties to understand the word using by the r espondent. The third limitation is uncooperative respondent. In process of gathering the information, researcher will need to collect data through the questionnaire.However, it can be difficult to gain full cooperation and commitment from the respondent and they may think that it does not give any advantage to them. Respondent also will take a very long time to answer the questionnaire and it also will make the researcher take a long time to analysis the data. Corporate constraint also can be a limitation in this study because the respondent cannot give hundred percent performances in answer the questionnaire. 5 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 1. 6 SIGNIFICANT OF STUDYTo the Manager Help the manager to identify the behaviour of his subordinates and how they react towards the acceptance of Al-Ijarah Thumma Al-Bay’ Islamic Hire Purchase Financing as their source of car financing. To the researcher It will provide better understanding and can give new knowledge to the researcher. The study will be conducted to give a clear picture on the staff’s awareness and acceptance on the AlIjarah Thumma Al-Bay’ Islamic Hire Purchase Financing. The result of the study will help the researcher to know the stuff’s perceptions towards factors that influence stuffs decisions in accepting Islamic Financing Product.To the public The data gathered in this study can help the individual to gain more knowledge about the important and benefits of accepting Al-Ijarah Thumma Al-Bay’ Islamic Hire Purchase Financing as part of their source of car financing. This study may increase the level of awareness and create acceptance among public about Al-Ijarah Thumma Al-Bay’ Islamic Hire Purchase financing as their source of car financing decisions. To others The information may be used by the financial institution to improve the services related with Islamic Car Financing product. This study may provide useful information for further research in this area of interest.The findings of this study could provide some form of empirical data for future research in this area. It could perhaps also help in the more effective implementation of Al-Ijarah Thumma Al-Bay’ Islamic Hire Purchase Financing. 6 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 To the bank There are a lot of benefits of this research to the bank. From this research, it will provide information to the bank on the real scenario. Therefore, the bank can use this information and results to improve its management, services, efficiency and etc.In fact, with this research it will help the bank to come out with new strategies and solutions to monitor its profitability and can improve its performance. Thus, the bank can also use the recommendations suggested by the researcher to improve its performance an d position. 7 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 1. 7 DEFINITION OF TERM Al-Ijarah Thumma Al-Bay’ In the context of Islamic finance, the ijarah concept is usually applicable in financing contracts such as in real property financing, vehicle financing, project financing and personal financing.There are also financing products that enable customers to lease assets from Islamic financial institutions with an option to acquire the leased assets at the end of the lease tenure based on the concept of ijarah muntahia bi al-tamlik or al-ijarah thumma al-bai (Bank Negera M. , 2010) Perception Customers’ perceptions are often identified by their level of satisfaction towards particular products or services. (Nurdianawati I. A, 2006) Competency More competent, knowledgeable employees are more likely to design processes and deliver services that conform to customer needs. (Ahmad, 2010).Awaren ess Research on bank patronage in Malaysia find that almost 100 per cents of Muslims and 75% of non-Muslims were aware of the existence of Islamic banks. Most of them wished to have a relationship with these banks if they had a complete understanding of this system. (Sudin Haron N. A. , 1994) Acceptance AITAB is a name which capture a public acceptance because it provides better features compared to conventional hire-purchase. Muslim customers, who accept and understand its operation, request it as an alternative to conventional hire-purchase. (Nurdianawati I. A, 2006) 8Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 CHAPTER TWO: 2. 0 INTRODUCTION LITERATURE REVIEW Literature review is important as references and as a guideline to the researcher in conducting research and to search the information. It also used as the supporter to the study that will be conducted. This chapter will discuss about the literat ure review which relevant to the topic of the study. The purpose is to ensure that no important variable that has in the past been found repeatedly to have had an impact on the problem is ignored. . 1 Acceptance AITAB is a name which capture a public acceptance because it provides better features compared to conventional hire-purchase. Muslim customers, who accept and understand its operation, request it as an alternative to conventional hire-purchase. They will come to an institution which they know offering such Islamic product. For example, many corporate customers come to Bank Pembangunan to purchase machinery through AITAB facility, because they know the benefits that the facility has to offer, for example, full margin of financing and lower penalty for late payment. Nurdianawati, 2006) Other finding shown AITAB also gains support from the non-Muslims. In some institutions, 60% of their customers are non-Muslims, comprising the Chinese in majority. They can see the advantage of signing up AITAB, which is 1% penalty for late payment, as compared to conventional hire-purchase which imposes 8% penalty. (Bank Negara, 1998) A survey in United Kingdom found the demand for Islamic financing will grow in future if Islamic banks pratice the correct marketing measures. In the research, five (5 %) percents of muslim in United Kingdom are loyal customers to the Islamic financial services.Majority of muslim are still comfortable with the conventional financial services, while only a quater of muslims tend to show preference for Islamic finance. (Humayon, 2004) 9 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 2. 2 Perception Nowadays, in the dual banking system that had been practice by Malaysia giving an effect to the consumer to choose either Islamic Hire Purchase or Conventional hire purchase. Mostly Muslim customers claim that there are no differences between Islamic Hire-Purchase and Con ventional Hire Purchase.Islamic banking products are available at two full pledged Islamic banks and at all commercial and merchant banks in Malaysia. However, these products are still not fully accepted by customers. According to Norafifah Ahmad and Sudin Haron (2002), at the end of 2000, total deposit at conventional banks was RM381 billion while total deposit in Islamic Financial Institution was RM31 billion. In the case of loans, RM416 billion was extended by conventional system, and RM21 billion was given by Islamic system. This results indicates that perception of Conventional System were far good than Islamic financial system.Islamic Hire purchase (AITAB) provides better features compared to conventional hirepurchase. Muslim customers, who accept and understand its operation, request it as an alternative to conventional hire-purchase. They will come to an institution which they know offering such Islamic product. Moreover AITAB also gains support from the non-Muslims. In some institutions, 60% of their customers are non-Muslims, comprising the Chinese in majority. They can see the advantage of signing up AITAB, which is 1% penalty for late payment, as compared to conventional hire-purchase which imposes 8% penalty. Nurdianawati, 2006) Perceptions of Malaysian corporate customers of Islamic banking products and services indicated that Islamic banks were not the main choice because of the lack of knowledge. More than half of the respondents (65 %) said they had limited knowledge of the Islamic banking system. This study shows that Islamic banks have not conducted enough programmes to educate people or promote their products to the public. (Norafifah Ahmad, 2002) 10 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012They showed that 63 % of Muslim respondents possess limited knowledge of IBF. They do not fully understand the operation of IBF even though Islamic banking has been establ ished in Malaysia for more than twenty years. This factor has led to low usage of Islamic banking facilities among the Muslim respondents. (Sudin Haron N. A. , 1994). A similar situation occurred in Singapore, where only 22. 6 percent of Muslims deposit money in Islamic banks solely because of religion (Gerrard, 1997) Another important indicator determining customers’ positive or negative perception is their patronage criteria towards the service provider.In one of the earliest patronage studies on Islamic banking, Erol and El-Bdour (1989) discovered that the most important criteria considered by customers in patronising Islamic banks are provision of fast and efficient services, the bank’s reputation and image, and confidentiality. Others study found that religion is not the main factor encouraging Muslims to choose Islamic banks to hold their funds. Their findings also indicate that bank customers perceived no difference between the services offered by Islamic and co nventional banks, the former being perceived as merely duplicating the latter. Erol C. K. -B. , 1990). In addition, many of muslim also doubt of shariah permissibility on the Islamic banking instrument. (Humayon, 2004) In Malaysia, customers’ positive perception towards Islamic banking is far more crucial mainly due to the fact that Islamic banks have to compete with the long established conventional banks in a dual-banking system. Since 1983, Malaysia to date has a dual banking system, whereby the Islamic banking system operates in parallel with the conventional system.The former is currently represented by 27 banking institutions, comprising nine Islamic banks and 18 conventional banking institutions (eight commercial banks, four merchant banks and six discount houses) offering Islamic banking products and services under the Islamic Banking Scheme (IBS), also known as Islamic windows. (Bank Negera, 2005) 11 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among st aff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 2. 3 Competency Customers also may not to choose Islamic Hire Purchase facility for their car financing due to lack of competency among car dealers and bank officers.Most car dealer claimed there is no differences between Islamic and conventional thus give impact to costumer’s decision. The misleading view of AITAB among the customers is partly contributed by the lack of experience and knowledge among bank officers in giving correct and satisfactory explanation about AITAB. Some of these bank officers do not even understand the distinction between AITAB and conventional hire-purchase. Many proclaim that both products are similar especially with regards to its documents, procedures and governance.Hence, they are unable to highlight the advantages and benefits of AITAB as compared to conventional hirepurchase. (Nurdianawati, 2006) More competent, knowledgeable employees are more likely to design processes and deliver ser vices that conform to customer needs. (Ahmad, 2010). In addition, development of appropriate employee skills and competencies is important determinant of better service quality and favorable consumer perceptions about service delivery (Chung, 2002) Furthermore, a dealer acts as a middleman between a financial institution and a customer.In Malaysian context, the customer usually approaches the dealer first for the purpose of purchasing a particular vehicle before applying hire-purchase facility from a financial institution. In fact, the customer’s choice between conventional and Islamic financing facility depends mostly on the dealer’s explanation and recommendation. Ideally, a dealer with a high Islamic conscience proposes AITAB to the customer and able to explain how the facility works, its advantages and differences from conventional facility. However, not all dealers are equipped with in-depth understanding of AITAB facility.Thus, it is expected that they would not be able to educate their customers accordingly. In reality these dealers even tend to propose conventional facility either because their understanding of AITAB is limited or they 12 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 do not want to expose their customers to an unnecessarily complicated situation. (Nurdianawati, 2006). In addition, many dealers that are lack in understanding of AITAB facility assume the facility offered by Islamic and conventional bank are totally same.They only concern with their commission for their sales. 2. 4 Awareness. Haron et al. (1994) who pioneered in the research on bank patronage in Malaysia find that almost 100 per cent of Muslims and 75% of non-Muslims were aware of the existence of Islamic banks. Most of them wished to have a relationship with these banks if they had a complete understanding of this system. In Singapore, a study by Gerrard and Cunningham (1997) rev ealed that the Singaporeans, Muslims or non-Muslims, are generally unaware of the principles of Islamic banking.Study in Humayon (2004) shown some of the muslims may not aware of the Islamic financial instrument in the financial market. Others study on Singapore by Haron, Ahmad and Planisek (1994) revealed that only 40 percent of Muslim customers consider religion as an important factor in patronizing banks. Similarly, there is general lack of awareness of Islamic banking system among Singaporean communities, be they Muslims or non-Muslims. These results suggest that Islamic banks do not need to rely on the religious factor as a strategy in attracting customers, but they should focus more on provision of quality and efficient services.One of the contributing factors to this absence of awareness among Muslims is the lack of understanding of Islamic banking. A study conducted in Singapore showed that only 20. 7 percent know the meaning of ‘Riba’ and 31 percent know the me aning of Shari’ah. The study also showed that only 3 percent can explain accurately the meaning of Ijarah, Mudarabah 13 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 and Musharakah.Surprisingly, no one could explain accurately the meaning of Murabaha (Gerrard, 1997) Rammal and Zurbruegg (2006) found that it is important for financial institution to understand the dynamism of customer segmentation, build customer relationship and address requirement and preferences of specific segments. By doing so, it will boost up customer identification and create awareness among consumers. This finding then supported by Harun et al. (1992) where there is no significant difference between Muslims and Non-Muslims in their selection criteria.Islamic banking product used different names for their product and it has cause several difficulties and misunderstanding by customers, some claimed that it is a religious prod uct that only meant for Muslims, and some just find it too difficult to learn the names therefore they stay away (Nordin, 2001). According to them again, what is actually taught to the Malaysians since their pre-school period is aqidah and understanding of Islamic principles but little emphasis is given to the mu’amalat or the daily transaction activities according to Islam.In another study of Malaysian commercial customers and their views of Islamic financial services, Haron et al. (2002) noted that 65% of the respondents admitted to having limited knowledge of Islamic banking, while at the same time indicating that they believed the concept had good potential in the Malaysian market. Bley and Kuehn (2004) found a high level of ignorance among the 300 interviewed Muslim with regard to what constitutes acceptable Islamic finance principles. He reported that the higher the religious commitment and the lower the level of general education, the stronger the preference for Islami c over conventional finance.His study also revealed that overall; students’ knowledge of conventional and Islamic finance terms and concepts was surprisingly low among students in United Arab Emirates. 14 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3. 0 INTRODUCTION In this chapter, it will focus on the research methodology that will use in this study. In essence, research methodology will provide researcher the needed information that guides researcher to make informed decisions to successfully deal with the problems.The information gathered could be the result of the analysis of data gathered firsthand or the data that are already available. Research methodology will presents the nature of study, data sources, pilot study and reliability test, data collection and data analysis technique. 3. 1 POPULATION AND SAMPLING DESIGN According to Sekaran, (2006), population is a complete group of entities sharing some common set of characteristics. For this research the population is among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu.This research is using sampling frame; meaning is concerned with the selection of a subset of individual from within a population to estimate characteristics of the whole population. (Malhotra, 2004) in his writing define sample frame as a lists of elements from which a sample may be drawn for identifying the target population. A sampling frame is a representation of the elements of the target population. In this research, the sampling frame is the staff at Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan. The populations taken are 200 from 460 staff. 3. 2 SAMPLE SIZE Sample is a subset, or some part, of a large population.In research, sampling is important because the researcher intend to come up with accurate and reliable findings in order to be able use for further research. The sample size for this study is the actual numb er of subjects chosen as a sample to represent the population characteristics, which is according to Sekaran, (2006). Refer to Roscoe (1975), sample size larger than 30 and less than 500 are appropriate for most research. So, the researcher decided that the sample of 200 15 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 012 respondents is appropriate to represent the population of staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan. 3. 3 SAMPLING METHOD Sampling is the process of selecting items from the population so that the sample characteristics can be generalized to the population. Sampling involves both design choice and sample size decisions (Sekaran, 2006). The idea of sampling is to select a few samples from a bigger group known as population, so that it becomes a basis for estimating or predicting a fact, situation or outcome regarding the actual number of group under study.The method used for this study is co nvenience sampling. It is the method of drawing samples that does not impose any restrictions. This is also the least reliable sampling that is cheap and convenience. 3. 3. 1 Convenience Sampling Technique Convenience sampling refers to the collection of information from members of the population who are conveniently available to provide it (Sekaran, 2006). Meanwhile, Cooper and Schindler (2006), defined convenience sampling is non-probability sampling where researchers use any readily available individuals as participants.It is the most often used during the exploratory phase of the research project and it is perhaps the best way of getting some basic information quickly and efficiently. 3. 4 METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION In this research, the data gathered parallel to the objectives of the study. The methods of data collection that the researcher used to collect the data were primary data and secondary data. 16 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 3. 4. 1 PRIMARY DATA It is the data collected for a specific purpose from original sources.Primary data been obtained by distribution of the respondents selected. The entire questionnaires are collected personally. In this research, the primary data was collected from the personally administered questionnaire. Personally Administered Questionnaire The questionnaire has been designed according to the needs of the topic study. It is to ensure that the respondents would be fully understood and answer all the questions since there is personal administered question. In designing the questionnaire’s questions, the content, structure and appearance would give an impact to the respondents’ attitude.Thus, all these things should be properly organized. In the questionnaire designs, the researcher divided it into 3 sections which include as follows: Section A – Section A comprises questions pertaining to their personal par ticulars. The first part of the questionnaire was divided into 2 areas of information. One was on the personal information and the one on others Islamic financial product. Section B – Section B focused on obtaining information on dependent variable. It is the customer selection criteria for bank. This section is designed by using a Likert Scale.The student had to circle the appropriate response with the statement from a scale of (1-5) ranging from the caption ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’. Through the 5 point scale, the researcher could decide to what the acceptance of Islamic Hire Purchase facility among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan. Section C Criteria I – Criteria I focused on obtaining information on effect of perception in acceptance of Islamic Hire Purchase facility. This section also used a Likert Scale. This scale will be 5 point 17 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 012 scale wills response of the participant toward on perception towards acceptance of Islamic Hire Purchase facility among staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan. Criteria II – Criteria II focused on obtaining information on effect of competency in acceptance of Islamic Hire Purchase facility. This section also used a Likert Scale. This scale will be 5 point scale wills response of the participant toward on competency among bank officer and car dealers towards acceptance of Islamic Hire Purchase facility among staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan.Criteria III – Criteria III focused on obtaining information on effect of awareness in acceptance of Islamic Hire Purchase facility. This section also used a Likert Scale. This scale will be 5 point scale wills response of the participant toward awareness in towards acceptance of Islamic Hire Purchase facility among staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan 3. 4. 2 SECONDARY D ATA Secondary data were obtained through searching the journal which published reported of previous researchers that different in authors, perceptions and theories. The data and information are also gathered from the website. 8 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 3. 5 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK The research model shows that the dependent variable is the acceptance of Islamic Hire Purchase facility. This dependent variable is expected to have a significant relationship with personal characteristics, perception, competency and awareness as independent variables. INDEPENDENT VARIABLES DEPENDENT VARIABLE Perception Acceptance of Islamic Hire Purchase facility Competency Awareness Figure 3. 5. 1: The Theoretical Framework of the study.RESEARCH VARIABLES Two main types of variables that are used in this research include dependent variable and independent variable. DEPENDENT VARIABLE The dependent variable that used in this study is Acceptance of Islamic Hire Purchase INDEPENDENT VARIABLE The independent variables that are used in this research are perception, competency and awareness. 19 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 3. 6 HYPOTHESIS Hypothesis 1 (Perception) Ho: There is no significant relationship between acceptance of Islamic hire purchase acility among staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan and perception. H1: There is significant relationship between acceptance of Islamic hire purchase facility among staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan and perception. Hypothesis 2 (Competency) Ho: There is no significant relationship between acceptance of Islamic hire purchase facility among staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan and competency. H1: There is significant relationship between acceptance of Islamic hire purchase facility among staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan and c ompetency.Hypothesis 3 (Awareness) Ho: There is no significant relationship between acceptance of Islamic hire purchase facility among staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan and awareness. H1: There is significant relationship between acceptance of Islamic hire purchase facility among staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan and awareness. 3. 7 DATA ANALYSIS AND ADMINISTRATION Data analysis is a procedure to analyze data or information that obtains during the research. In order to achieve the research objective, the data that been obtained from the respondent must answered or fulfill the expectations.In this research, the researcher wants to measure which is the most significant criteria in acceptance of Islamic hire purchase facility among staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan. 20 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 The procedure of the analysis that used is by using the SPSS 20. 0 s oftware application. All the data from the questionnaire that answered by the respondents had been analyze using this software. The process of entailing earrangement, breaching down, reduction and separation of data into as many as needed to determine their nature, relative important, functions and interrelationships. In completing this study, it will includes some basis data analysis including reliability analysis, frequency analysis, correlation analysis and multiple regression by using SPSS 20. 0 program. 3. 7. 1 RELIABILITY ANALYSIS According to Sekaran (2006), the reliability of a measure is established by testing for both consistency and stability.Consistency indicates how well the items measuring a concept hang together as a set. The reliability will ensure to test the data. Reliability is an attest to the consistency and stability of the measure instrument. The reliability of a measure indicates the extent to which it is without bias (error free) and hence ensures consistent measure across time and across the various items in the instrument. The most commonly reliability test that has used is Cronbach’s Alpha. The Cronbach’s Alpha can be interpreted as a correlation coefficient and it range in value from 0 to 1. 3. 7. FREQUENCY ANALYSIS According to Cooper and Schindler (2006), frequency distribution is ordered array of all values for a variable. In order to analyze the whole information of research question based on respondent’s profile information of the respondents such as gender, marital status, level of income and age. Frequency distribution is also simply reports the number of the responses that each questions received. It is the simplest way of determining the empirical distributions of the variables. The frequency distribution is a display of the frequency occurrence of each score value.The frequency distribution can be display is many form such as tabular and graphical form. In this study, the frequency distribution had be en measure the questionnaire in section A that it is about respondent’s profile such as gender, age, race, 21 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 religion, level of education, marital status, salary, sector and had been used any Islamic financial product. 3. 7. 3 PEARSON’S CORRELATION ANALYSIS The other name of Pearson’s coefficient of correlation is Pearson Correlation Matrix.The coefficient of correlation is used to determine the magnitude, direction and significant level of relationship between dependent and independent variables. As a descriptive technique, it is very powerful since this method indicates whether variables share is something in common with each other. 3. 7. 4 MULTIPLE REGRESSIONS The multiple regressions describe the strength of the linear relationship between two variables when one is considered the independent variable and the other is the dependent var iable (Cooper and Schindler, 2006).Regression is a powerful tool for summarizing the nature of the relationship between variables and for making predictions of likely values of the dependent variables. Regression analysis aids in understanding how much of the variance in the dependent variable may be explained by a set of predictors. For regression coefficient, estimates, model fit and R squared change are chosen in this study. 22 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 CHAPTER FOUR: ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 4. 0 INTRODUCTIONIn this chapter, the researcher will identify the questionnaires response rate from the respondents. After collecting the data, now the researcher able to analyze and interpret it using the SPSS 20 software. Techniques using in interpreting data is by using reliability analysis, frequency analysis, correlation analysis and multiple regression in SPSS programs. These steps are impor tant to see the relationship between the variables and to know the variables are significant or not. 4. 1 FREQUENCIES ANALYSIS A frequency analysis shows the frequency of occurrence of each score value of the research data.The objective is to obtain a count of number of responses associated with different values of the variable. This analysis is appropriate and suitable to analyze the question in Section A which is respondents profile such as gender, race, religion, level of education, maritial status, age, salary, sector, used others Islamic finance product. TABLE 4. 1. 1 Frequency of Section A- Demographics’ profile Statistics GENDER AGE RACE RELIGION LEVEL EDUCATION MARITIAL STATUS SALARY SECTOR OTHERS ISLAMIC FINANCIAL PRODUCT Valid N Missing Mean Median Mode Std. Deviation Variance Skewness Std.Error of Skewness Minimum Maximum 0 1. 58 2. 00 2 . 496 . 246 -. 306 . 172 1 2 0 2. 44 2. 00 2 . 889 . 790 . 068 . 172 1 4 0 1. 05 1. 00 1 . 240 . 058 5. 207 . 172 1 3 0 1. 05 1. 00 1 . 208 . 043 4. 423 . 172 1 2 0 2. 71 3. 00 4 1. 215 1. 475 . 006 . 172 1 5 0 1. 83 2. 00 2 . 419 . 175 -1. 081 . 172 1 3 0 3. 09 3. 00 3 1. 206 1. 455 . 616 . 172 1 6 0 3. 59 3. 00 1 2. 617 6. 847 . 872 . 172 1 10 0 3. 05 3. 00 5 1. 583 2. 506 -. 021 . 172 1 5 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 23 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012Profile (n=200) Gender Male Female Age 21 – 30 years 31 – 40 years 41 – 50 years 51 years and above Race Malay Chinese Indian Religion Islam Buddha Level Education SPM STPM Diploma Bachelor Degree Maritial Status Single Married Others Salary RM 1000 and Below RM1001 – RM2000 RM2001 – RM3000 RM3001 – RM4000 RM4001 – RM5000 RM5001 and Above Sector Sektor Khidmat Pengurusan & Pembangunan Sektor Pengurusan Sekolah Sektor Pengurusan Akedemik Sektor Pengurusan & Pembangunan Sektor Pendidikan Islam Sektor Penilaian & Pep eriksaan Sektor Jaminan Kualiti Sektor Psikologi & Kaunseling Sektor ICT Other Islamic Financial Product Islamic Vehicle Financing Islamic House Financing Islamic Personal Financing Islamic Credit Card Takaful Frequency Percent Valid percent 42. 5 57. 5 15. 0 38. 5 34. 5 12. 0 95. 5 4. 0 0. 5 95. 5 4. 5 21. 0 25. 5 19. 5 30. 0 4. 0 19. 0 79. 5 1. 5 4. 5 32. 0 33. 0 15. 5 11. 0 4. 0 30. 0 14. 5 16. 0 5. 0 10. 0 13. 0 2. 5 6. 5 2. 5 25. 5 17. 0 14. 0 14. 5 29. 0 Cumulative percent 42. 5 100. 0 15. 0 53. 5 88. 0 100. 0 95. 5 99. 5 100. 0 95. 5 100. 0 21. 0 46. 5 66. 0 96. 0 100. 0 19. 0 98. 5 100. 0 4. 5 36. 69. 5 85. 0 96. 0 100. 0 30. 0 44. 5 60. 5 65. 5 75. 5 88. 5 91. 0 97. 5 100. 0 25. 5 42. 5 56. 5 71. 0 100. 0 85 115 30 77 69 24 191 8 1 191 9 42 51 39 60 8 38 159 3 9 64 66 31 22 8 60 29 32 10 20 26 5 13 5 51 34 28 29 58 42. 5 57. 5 15. 0 38. 5 34. 5 12. 0 95. 5 4. 0 0. 5 95. 5 4. 5 21. 0 25. 5 19. 5 30. 0 4. 0 19. 0 79. 5 1. 5 4. 5 32. 0 33. 0 15. 5 11. 0 4. 0 30. 0 14. 5 16. 0 5. 0 10. 0 13. 0 2. 5 6. 5 2. 5 25. 5 17. 0 14. 0 14. 5 29. 0 24 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 Table 4. 2. 1 provides an exploration of the sample for the investigation.The total number of respondents was 200 and the demographic profile of the respondents is shown in table. Among the demographic profile of respondents discussed are gender, age, race, religion, level education, maritial status, salary, sector and used others islamic financial product. Respondents were 42. 5% from male group and 57. 5% of female group. From the race‘s profile, 95. 5% of the respondents are malay, 4. 0% of the respondents are chinese and 0. 5% respondents are indian. Besides that, percentages of the religion profile, 95. 5% of the respondent are Islam and followed by 4. 5% respondent are buddha. Meanwhile, in terms of level education, 21. % of the respondents are SPM, 25. 5% of STPM, 19. 5% of Diploma, 30. 0% of Bachelor and 4. 0% of Master. The majority of respondents are married which indicated 79. 5%, 19. 0% are single and followed by others 1. 5%. Reviewing on the age‘s profile, 15. 0% of respondents were in the ages between 21 – 30 years old, 38. 5% were between 31 – 40 years old, 34. 5% were the age of 41 – 50 years old and 12. 0% the age of 51 years old above. From the salary’s profile, 4. 5% of respondents were below RM 1000, 32. 0% were between RM1001 – RM2000, 33. 0% were between RM2001 – RM 3000, 15. 5% were between RM 3001 – RM 4000, 11. 0% were between RM 4001 – RM 5000 and 4. % were RM 5001 and above. Reviewing on the sector‘s profile, 30. 0% of respondents were in the Sektor Khidmat Pengurusan & Pembangunan, 14. 5% were in Sektor Pengurusan Sekolah, 16. 0% were in Sektor Pengurusan Akedemik, 5. 0% were in Sektor Pengurusan Pembangunan Kemanusiaan, 10. 0% were in Sektor Pendidikan Islam, 13. 0% were in Sektor Penilaian dan 25 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 Peperiksaan, 5. 0% were in Sektor Jaminan Kualiti, 6. 5% were in Sektor Psikologi & Kaunseling and 2. 5% were in Sektor ICT. Meanwhile, in terms of used others islamic financial product, 25. % of respondent were in islamic vehicle financing, 17. 0% were in islamic house financing, 14. 0% were in islamic personal financing, 14. 5% were in islamic credit card and 29. 0% were in takaful. 26 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 4. 2 ANALYSIS OF RELIABILITY The important of the reliability of a measure is to determine the stability and consistency the questions that are distributed to the respondents. This reliability is to test the goodness of the data. Cronbach’s alpha is most common used to measure the reliability. The closer Cronbach’ s alpha is to 1, is the better.In almost every case, Cronbach’s alpha is an adequate test of internal consistency reliability. In this study, the results of reliability test are shown in the table that had separate according to each of the variables. Reliability of measure is established by testing for both consistency and stability. RELIABILITY Less than 0. 6 Range 0. 7 Over 0. 8 RANGES Poor Acceptable Good Source: Sekaran (2006) Alpha Coefficient Ranges ; 0. 6 0. 6 to ; 0. 7 0. 7 to ; 0. 8 0. 8 to ; 0. 9 0. 9 Strength of Association Poor Moderate Good Very Good Excellent Table 4. 2. 1: Ranges of Reliability 27 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 012 Reliability Analysis done when questions from all variables were well structured and can be understands by respondents. It happened and because the Cronbach’s Alpha for all variables higher than 0. 6. It means respondents answered the ques tions without bias, with consistent and stable. The closer Alpha value is to 1, the higher the internal consistency reliability. The results of all variables Reliability Analysis were shown in table below: TABLE 4. 2. 2: Reliability Output for section B – Acceptance of Islamic Hire Purchase facility Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Cronbach's N of Alpha Alpha Based Items on Standardized Items . 952 . 952 7Item-Total Statistics Scale Mean if Scale Corrected Item Deleted Variance if Item-Total Item Deleted Correlation AC : AITAB is the best choice for vehicle financing AC : Recommed AITAB contract to others AC : Will Use again AITAB contract AC : AITAB is suitable with financial planning AC : As muslim, no choice expect AITAB contract AC : Willing to switch to AITAB AC : Understanding make accepting for AITAB 23. 89 23. 92 23. 94 23. 89 23. 98 23. 92 23. 85 25. 526 25. 566 25. 619 25. 606 25. 517 26. 279 25. 860 . 871 . 864 . 852 . 844 . 853 . 742 . 829 Squared Multiple Correl ation . 803 . 795 . 812 . 806 . 744 . 591 . 730 Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted . 942 . 942 . 943 . 944 . 943 . 952 . 945 Based on the reliability statistics table, the Cronbach’s alpha for the 6 items show the reliability of 0. 952 which mean that this dependent variable is reliable. The result is excellent because according to Sekaran (2010), 0. 9 is excellent. 28Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 TABLE 4. 2. 3: Reliability Output for section C – Perception Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Cronbach's N of Alpha Alpha Based Items on Standardized Items . 892 . 893 6 Scale Mean if Item Deleted PR : Known about AITAB PR : AITAB different from convensional hire purchase PR : Accordance with syariah guideline PR : Good alternative to acquire assets PR : 1% penalty charge for late payment is suitable PR : Use AITAB as first choice 19. 56 19. 34 19. 24 19. 33 19. 42 19. 10 Item-Total Statistics Scale Corrected Variance if Item-Total Item Deleted Correlation 14. 570 14. 778 14. 77 16. 421 14. 788 15. 413 . 724 . 783 . 768 . 637 . 681 . 694 Squared Multiple Correlation . 615 . 716 . 689 . 426 . 550 . 574 Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted . 872 . 862 . 865 . 885 . 880 . 876 Based on the reliability statistics table, the Cronbach’s alpha for the 6 items of perception show the reliability of 0. 892 which mean that this independent variable is reliable. The result is a very good because according to Sekaran (2010), 0. 8 to 0. 9 is very good. 29 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 TABLE 4. 2. 4: Reliability Output for section C – CompetencyReliability Statistics Cronbach's Cronbach's N of Alpha Alpha Based Items on Standardized Items . 859 . 861 5 Item-Total Statistics Scale Mean if Scale Corrected Item Deleted Variance if Item-Total Item Deleted Correlation CM : Car d ealers inform no different between AITAB and conventional hire purchase CM : Car dealers lack of information and knowladge about AITAB CM : Car dealers only thinking their sales bonus CM : Bank officer respect your dicision to use AITAB contract CM : Bank officer give good respond on request use AITAB Squared Multiple Correlation Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted 15. 13 9. 983 .728 .628 .815 15. 14 10. 218 .671 .579 .831 14. 87 9. 846 .721 .548 .818 14. 93 11. 497 .645 .725 .838 14. 93 11. 597 .631 .727 .841Based on the reliability statistics table, the Cronbach’s alpha for the 5 of competency show the reliability of 0. 859 which mean that this dependent variable is reliable. The result is a very good because according to Sekaran (2010), 0. 8 to 0. 9 is very good. 30 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 TABLE 4. 2. 5: Reliability Output for section C – Awareness Reliability Statistic s Cronbach's Cronbach's N of Alpha Alpha Based Items on Standardized Items . 897 . 900 6 Scale Mean if Item Deleted AW : Know existance of islamic banking AW : Know AITAB is one of islamic finance product AW : AITAB is replace for onventional hire purchase AW : Know about 1% charge if late payment AW : Know about AITAB had been use by non muslim AW : Know about last payment in AITAB is for payment buying asset 18. 80 19. 07 Item-Total Statistics Scale Corrected Variance if Item-Total Item Deleted Correlation 17. 347 16. 538 . 660 . 753 Squared Multiple Correlation . 535 . 695 Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted . 888 . 875 19. 20 19. 19 19. 19 17. 005 15. 592 15. 361 .756 . 734 . 745 .656 . 592 . 629 .876 . 878 . 876 19. 38 16. 085 .714 .585 .881 Based on the reliability statistics table, the Cronbach’s alpha for the 6 items of awareness show the reliability of 0. 897 which mean that this independent variable is reliable. The result is a very good because according to Sekaran (2 010), 0. 8 to 0. 9 is very good. 31Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 4. 3 CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS Correlation analysis is used for explained whether there is an existence of association and the strength of the relationship between the independent variables (perception, competency, and awareness) towards the dependent variable (acceptance of islamic hire purchase facility). Sekaran (2006) suggested that it would be appropriated to use Pearson Correlation Matrix where it is the first issues to determine is whether the correlation coefficient is statistically significant or not significant.The rules of thumb have been proposed to characterize the strength of the association between variables, based on the absolute size of the correlation coefficient. Correlation between Are said to be 0. 8 and 1. 0 Very Strong 0. 6 and 0. 8 Strong 0. 4 and 0. 6 Moderate 0. 2 and 0. 4 Weak 0 and 0. 2 Very Weak Ta ble 4. 3. 1: Rule of Thumb of Correlation Coefficient Size 32 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 Correlations Mean Of Perception 1 Mean Of Acceptance . 789** . 000 200 1 200 Pearson Correlation Mean Of Perception Sig. (1-tailed) N 200 Pearson Correlation . 789** Mean Of Sig. (1-tailed) . 00 Acceptance N 200 **. Correlation is significant at the 0. 01 level (1-tailed). Table 4. 3. 2 : Pearson Correlation Coefficient between Mean Perception and Mean Acceptance Correlation analysis is conducted to test the relationship between selection decision and service quality. The result of Pearson Correlation tests showed that there is a strong significant relationship (0. 789) between these two variables. The one-tailed significance test is p ; 0. 000 showing that the outcome of the test is not by chance, and therefore can be confidently accepted or trusted, therefore reject the null hypothesis. r(200) = 0 . 789, p ; 0. 0001, one-tailed 33Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 Correlations Mean Of Competency Mean Of Competency Pearson Correlation Sig. (1-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. (1-tailed) N 1 200 . 724** . 000 200 Mean Of Acceptance . 724** . 000 200 1 200 Mean Of Acceptance **. Correlation is significant at the 0. 01 level (1-tailed). Table 4. 3. 3 : Pearson Correlation Coefficient between Mean Competency and Mean Acceptance Correlation analysis is conducted to test the relationship between competency and acceptance. The result of Pearson Correlation tests showed that there is a strong significant relationship (0. 24) between these two variables. The one-tailed significance test is p=0. 000 showing that the outcome of the test is not by chance, and therefore can be confidently accepted or trusted, therefore reject the null hypothesis. r(200) = 0. 724, p;0. 0001, one-tailed 34 Acceptance O f Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 Correlations Mean Of Awareness Pearson 1 Correlation Mean Of Sig. (1-tailed) Awareness N 200 Pearson . 837** Correlation Mean Of Sig. (1-tailed) . 000 Acceptance N 200 **. Correlation is significant at the 0. 01 level (1-tailed). Mean Of Acceptance . 837** . 000 200 1 200 Table 4. 3. : Pearson Correlation Coefficient between Mean Awareness and Mean Acceptance Correlation analysis is conducted to test the relationship between awareness and acceptance. The result of Pearson Correlation tests showed that there is a very strong significant relationship (0. 837) between these two variables. The one-tailed significance test is p=0. 000 showing that the outcome of the test is not by chance, and therefore can be confidently accepted or trusted, therefore reject the null hypothesis. r(200) = 0. 837 , p;0. 0001, one-tailed 35 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Stu dy among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 4. 4 REGRESSION ANALYSIS Regression is another technique for measuring the linear association between dependent and independent variables.It become as a subsequent after the correlation coefficient measure. Although regression and correlation are closely related, regression assumes the dependent variable is predicatively linked to the independent variable. The result of the Regression analysis were shown as below. Table 4. 4. 1 : Regressions – Model Summary Model Summaryb R Square Adjusted R Square . 753 . 750 Model 1 R . 868a Std. Error of the Estimate . 421 a. Predictors: (Constant), Mean Of Awareness, Mean Of Competency, Mean Of Perception b. Dependent Variable: Mean Of Acceptance 4. 4. 2: ANOVA ANOVAa Model Regression Residual Total Sum of Squares 106. 215 34. 781 140. 996 df 3 196 199 Mean Square 35. 405 . 177 F 199. 518 Sig. .000b 1 a.Dependent Variable: Mean Of Acceptance b. Predictors: (Constant), Me an Of Awareness, Mean Of Competency, Mean Of Perception 36 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 Table 4. 4. 3 : Coefficient Coefficientsa Unstandardized Standardized Coefficients Coefficients B Std. Beta Error . 161 . 162 . 229 . 218 . 496 Model t Sig. Collinearity Statistics Tolerance VIF (Constant) Mean Of . 251 . 072 Perception 1 Mean Of . 229 . 055 Competency Mean Of . 522 . 069 Awareness a. Dependent Variable: Mean Of Acceptance .997 3. 502 4. 195 7. 535 .320 . 001 . 000 . 000 . 294 . 466 . 291 3. 406 2. 144 3. 437Regression analysis were employed to test the influence of three important variable of interest namely perception, competency and awareness. The r-square statistics in the model of summary is 0. 753 or 75. 3%. This implies that 75. 3% of the variation or changes in the dependent variable i. e. acceptance of Islamic hire purchase facility can be attributed to the three independent v ariables; however the remaining 24. 7% is not known and need further investigation. The significance level produced by the ANOVA table showed that the p value is less than 0. 05 implying that the model is valid and the result of the relationship is not by chance. Therefore we reject the null hypothesis.Finally, researcher found that the three independent variables, perception, competency and awareness have provided enough evidence to influence the acceptance of Islamic hire purchase facility. 37 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 4. 5 HYPOTHESIS TESTING Insignificant = Accept Null Hypothesis (Ho) / Reject Alternate Hypothesis (H1) Significant = Accept Alternate Hypothesis (H1) / Reject Null Hypothesis (Ho) P ; 0. 05 P ; 0. 05 After made several analyses to all variables for this study, all hypotheses should be discussed to determine its relevancy and whether it is supported or not. For this stu dy, Pearson Correlation Analysis was used to assess the relationship between independent and dependent variable.Hypothesis 1 (Perception) Ho: There is no significant relationship between acceptance of Islamic hire purchase facility among staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan and perception. H1: There is significant relationship between acceptance of Islamic hire purchase facility among staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan and perception. The result from Pearson correlation shows perception significantly has positive correlated to acceptance at the relationship (r =0. 789). Thus, significant relationship exists and the H1 accepted and reject the H0. Hypothesis 2 (Competency) Ho: There is no significant relationship between acceptance of Islamic hire purchase acility among staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan and competency. H1: There is significant relationship between acceptance of Islamic hire purchase facility among staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan and c ompetency. The result from Pearson correlation shows competency significantly has positive correlated to acceptance of Islamic hire purchase facility at the relationship (r =0. 724). Thus, significant relationship exists and the H1 accepted and reject the H0. 38 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 Hypothesis 3 (Awareness) Ho: There is no significant relationship between acceptance of Islamic hire purchase acility among staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan and awareness. H1: There is significant relationship between acceptance of Islamic hire purchase facility among staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan and awareness. The result from Pearson correlation shows awareness significantly has positive correlated to acceptance of Islamic hire purchase facility at the relationship (r =0. 837). Thus, significant relationship exists and the H1 accepted and reject the H0. 39 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 5. 0 INTRODUCTIONThis chapter discusses the major findings of this study and to identify whether the finding met with the result conducted. Besides that, the researcher also gives some suggestions and ideas from the result. 5. 1 CONCLUSION In this research, hypothesis was initially tested by using the correlation coefficient to determine its significant level. From the analysis, the results indicated that all the three independent variables in the hypotheses were found to be significant at the 0. 01 level of significant at the (1 tailed). In order to substantiate the hypotheses, the multiple regression analysis was further analyzed. The R-square (R2) value of the model indicates 75. 3% of the variations explained the all independent variable whereas the remaining 24. % cannot be explained and needed further exploration in terms of other concepts which were not included in the study. As a conclusion, all the independent variables have relationship based on the correlation analysis. Awareness was the most factors determinant acceptance of Islamic hire purchase facility among staff in Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan followed by perception and competency. 40 Acceptance Of Islamic Hire Purchase Facility: A Case Study among staff In Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Kelantan, Kota Bharu 2012 5. 2 RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the findings result, the researcher has provided some of the recommendations for this study in order to overcome the problem faced.First of all, this research was successfully done to know the relationships between those independents and dependent variable. Perception Provide Islamic Hire Purchase facility (AITAB) information. Information about Islamic Hire Purchase facility should be easy to find by everybody because majority workers can effort to buy a car. Thus, information should be easily access by consume r in order to get a clear view about Islamic hire purchase facility. For example, Bank Negera Malaysia through website, information about Islamic Hire Purchase facility can be downloaded by anyone. Competency Training the staff Customer is

The Home Place Essays

The Home Place Essays The Home Place Paper The Home Place Paper The Home Place The story ‘’The Home Place’’ by Guy Vanderhaeghe is about a relationship between a father and a son. Throughout the story, the readers see and understand the reason behind Gil and Ronald broken relationship. In this story, the author implies that when a father puts is love for is land before his son, their relation will suffer. Vanderheaghe explains his theme with the help of the characters traits, the setting and conflicts. The author develop the character of Gil as a father who love is land, is dominant and cold. During the story, Vanderheaghe demonstrates many times how much Gil adore is land and how important it is to him, for example: † To Gil it had all been beautiful. It was all he had ever wanted, to possess that place and those sights†(15). Gil is also a man who likes to be in control. He wants things to go his way even if it not is responsibility anymore. At one point in the story, Gil even interfere in his son life when he 2 tell him: ’’‘’No divorce, Ronald,† he repeatd. †No divorce. Don’t let that bitch break up the home place†Ã¢â‚¬ (16). Ronald relationship with is father is awful because his father is not only dominant with him but he is also really cold toward him. The best example of this coldness would be at the end when Gil says to Ronald: ‘’You’ve got no right to look down on me,’’(17). Vanderhaeghe use of conflict emphasises the problem between Gil and Ronald. In the story, the readers quickly understand that two of the major conflicts are between Gil and his son. To start off, Gil is a shame of his son because he never accepted his choice. To Gil everything his son is doing is wrong. Even when he got married Gil speculation was ‘’that is son married only to get his hands on land’’(14). The other main conflict in ‘’The Home Place’’ would be about the land because Ronald is not taking care of his father land, the way Gil would like. When Ronald says to his father that he would ‘’open a pit and peddle gravel to the Departement of highways by the yard’’(16) instead of using the land to grow wheat and carrots, Gil is disgust with his son’s idea. During the story, readers can see Ronald’s internal conflict. He feels like he is not important to his father and that he 3 will always come second to the land. That’s probably one of the reason why †All spring Ronald fired his huge, gasoline-laced bonfires of scrub oak and poplar’’(16). Destroying the land is the only way Ronald can use to get even with his father for making him feel that way. The details that Vanderhaeghe uses to describe the setting demonstrate the love that Gil has for his land. This story takes place mainly on the family land. The Home place is special to Gil â€Å"Situated in a valley’’ (14) and ‘’down by the river’’ (14). The home place also have a beautiful land that ‘’consisted of the original quarter Gil’s father had homesteaded, the pre-emption, and another 320 acres picked up cheap from a Finnish immigrant’’ (14). The farm is everything Gil ever wanted and a day away from all the beautiful sights the farm has to offer made Gil restless. Another important part of the setting is the broken fences Gil wanted to repair because ‘’the wires were rotten with rush’’ (17) and ‘’They were a disgrace’’ (14). The fact that Gil wants to repair the fences so badly makes the readers understand how attach he is to the land and how important the image of the farm is. Even dough the land is no longer his, he still wants to be proud of the land he gives to his son. In conclusion, the author made it clear that Gil would have given up anything for his land. He never had a relationship with it son, Ronald, because he was too preoccupied with the home place to give him any attention. Gil is also someone who needs to be in charge but Ronald still want against his wishes when he got married and started to destroy the land. Ronald’s father never had any respect for is son and that’s one of the reason why they were so many conflict between the two of them.

The Best Way to Read the Passage in SAT Reading

The Best Way to Read the Passage in SAT Reading SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The SAT Reading section presents you withchallenging tasks. Not only will you have to sustain your focus over a long 65-minute section, but you’ll also have to search activelyfor evidence in each passage to back up your answers. The testmay be time intensive and full oftricky â€Å"distractor† answers, but you can learn to avoid the common pitfalls with the right approach. This guide will discuss the best strategies for reading the passages effectively and achieving a high score on the new SAT Reading. To start, let’s go over what the redesigned passages are going to look like on your test. Types of Reading Passages On the SAT Since the 2016 SAT (out of 1600 points) was rolled out, every SAT reading test featuresfour individual passages and one pair of passages. One of these passages comes from US and World Literature, two come from History and Social Studies, and two deal with Science.In total, each passage (or set of paired passages combined) will contain about 500 to 750 words. One or more of them will feature a graph, table, or chart. You’ll be tasked with answering a total of 52 Reading questions.You’ll complete the Reading section all at one time in one 65-minute section- the first section you'll do on the SAT. There are a few strategies you can use when readingthe passages. Before delving into these reading strategies, let’s review the types of Reading questions you’ll encounter. Types of Reading Questions On the SAT The new SAT asks reading comprehension questions about main points, details, inferences, vocabulary in context, function, author technique,evidence support, and data analysis from a graph, table, or chart. The new SAT is primarilyconcerned with howyou connectevidence to your answersand deconstruct logic and arguments. By keeping this emphasis in mind, you can keep an eye out for relevant details and meaningas you read through the passages. These are the main ways that College Board will test your reading comprehension skills: Big Picture / Main Point: What is the overall purpose of the passage? Is it describing an issue or event? Is it trying to review, prove, contradict, or hypothesize? Little Picture / Detail: Detail questions will usually refer you to a specific line within the passage. They might ask what a sentence means or how it functions within the overall passage. Inference: These questions ask you to interpret the meaning of a line or two in the passage. Don't worry, they won't be too vague or open to interpretation, as there can only be one absolutely correct answer. Vocabulary in Context: These questions usually also refer you to a specific line and ask how a word functions within a sentence. These words are often not too advanced; instead, they're often common words that may have an unusual meaning based on context. Function: These questions often ask what a phrase, sentence, or paragraph is accomplishing within the context of the whole passage. This links to your understanding of the big picture / main point. Author Technique: What's the author's tone, style, or other technique in this passage? Paired passage questions often ask you to compare and contrast author techniques or opinions. Evidence Support: These questions ask you to choose a line or series of lines that provide the best evidence to your answer to a previous question.Therefore, an evidence question could refer back to any of the question types mentioned above, with the exception of vocab-in-context. These evidence support questions often take the form, â€Å"Which choice provides the best evidence to the previous question?† While these questions can help you check your thinking, they may also contain a trap; if you answered wrong to the previous question, you'll probably find that the mistake in your thinking hasa corresponding answer in the evidence question. Data Analysis: These questions are entirely new and refer to graphs and charts. They may ask something like, â€Å"Which claim about traffic congestion is supported by the graph?† The hardest ones may combine with an inference question, like, â€Å""The author is least likely to support which interpretation of the data in this figure?† Understanding the types of passages and questions will begin to improve your understanding of the Reading section and how you approach each passage. As you take SAT practice tests, keep a critical eye on how each question fits into one or more of the above categories.Now let's look specifically at what steps you should take when reading through the passages to maximize your comprehension and take control of your time management. One step at a time... How to Read the Passages Some students jump into reading, others read the questions first, and still others swear by a â€Å"back and forth† method. In our view, the five steps described below represent a tried and true approach that works for most students. It uses effective methods to understand the important points of the passage before you even read it, and it helps you save time digesting the passage. With five passages to read and 52 questions to answer in only 65 minutes, time is of the essence. Read over these steps, give this approach a try, and see if it helps you preserve your focus and work efficiently as you prep for the SAT Reading. Step 1 A good standard approach is to glance over the corresponding questions before you begin to read the first passage. This way, you'll have a sense of what you're looking for and where to focus your attention. Even though the passage may be a fascinating description of space mining or Japanese marriage customs, deep reading is not your goal here- answering the questions correctly and efficiently is. You can always learn more about a topic after the SAT. For now, you want to laser your focus onto the tasks at hand. As you read the questions, you can circle the Big Picture / Main Point questions right off the bat. You can leave these for the end, as in this example from College Board'sSAT Practice Test 1: Here,the main purpose question comes first. You can choose to answer it last, though, once you have a strong understanding of the passage. As for the specific line questions, you can make a mark on the lines referenced and pay special attention to them when reading. All of this marking and prioritizingis not to suggest that you won't be quickly reading the whole passage; instead, it's a way to know what you're looking for before you start. Again, this is an approach that saves time for most students, but you should also feel free to use the method that works best for you. Step 2 Quickly read the information blurb that comes at the very beginning of the passage. This shouldhelp you situate the passage in context. When is the author writing, for instance? Is she an author of fiction, a scientist, or a historian? Having this context at the beginning may help you begin to have an understanding of the tone, style, and purpose of the passage. This passage is from the dads of DNA themselves! Things are about to get science-y! Step 3 Now, go ahead and read the passage. You should read quickly, even skimming for important features. These include the last line of the introduction (usually the thesis of the passage), opening sentences of paragraphs, and the conclusion. Also, look out for transitional words and phrases, like however, additionally, and despite,that might mark a shift in or continuation of ideas. This approach will be much more helpful and time-saving than trying to understand each and every word. Another consideration as you read is your own mindset. You probably know that being interested in a subject helps you pick it up faster. You may think you can't help what you're interested in, but actually, you have a great deal of control over your mindset. If you try to approach the passages beingreally interested in, even fascinated by, the topic at hand, then you'll be able to speed up your reading and improve your retention. You might be skeptical, but the SAT actually can have some pretty intriguing, random information, and they have such a great range you're likely to be interested in some, if not all, of the passages. Step 4 On to answering the questions. Leave the ones you circled for the end. It can be helpful to predict your own answer before actually looking at the answer choices. They are designed and worded so that they all sound plausible, so they could distract you from your original understanding of the question. If your passage includes a chart or graph, then you'll have one or two data interpretation questions. You may be able to answer these even before skimming the passage, but in most cases it will be helpful to have context. Many of these questions don't ask for data analysis alone, but instead ask if the data supports a claim made in the text or if the author incorporated a data point to prove or refute an argument. These kinds of questions will call on you to find evidence in numbers as well as in prose, as in this tableand questionbased on the above mentioned passage by Watson and Crick: Notice how this question isn't straightforward data analysis. It goes one step further by asking a "little picture/detail" question about the authors' proposed pairing of bases in DNA. You'll have to locate info in both the passage and the table. As you work through the various passage and data-based questions, itcan be distracting to go back and forth between the test booklet and bubble sheet. It can be useful and save timeto answer the entire set of questions in your test booklet and then transfer all your answers to the bubble sheet in one chunk.But make sure you don't run out of time doing this, and be careful that your answers line up corrently on the bubblesheet! The detail questions shouldgo in chronological order with the passages, so the first detail question might refer to a line near the beginning of the passage and continue in order after that. They're not all mixed up in random order, but rather coincide with the flow of the passage. Step 5 Once you've answered the other questions, you can go back to the general purpose questions you circled. You should have your best sense of the passage at this point, after you've read it and answered other questions about it. Finally, you can go ahead and carefully transfer your answers to the bubble sheet. These 5 steps are an effective approach for most students reading and answering questions on the Critical Reading passages. If you've never tried this kind of reading strategy before, definitely try it out on your next practice test and see if your score improves. This is especially effective if you find that you keep running out of time! Let's discuss some other tips and strategies that are helpful to keep in mind. Be on the lookout for SAT "red herrings"! Tips and Strategies forCritical Reading Beyond practicing your reading efficiency, you can use some other strategies as you answer the questions and prep for this section. The age-old trick of process of elimination is alwayse useful. An unexpected preparation strategy is to practice answering ACT Science questions. Read on for a few more useful strategies that will help you do your best on SAT Reading. Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! Look to Eliminate Wrong Answers None of the answers will be glaringly wrong. In fact, they're worded in such a way that they'll often all seem plausible! This means you'll have to play interception on your own brain. It may be easily distracted by answers that seem sort of right, but you have to halt your distracted thought processin its steps. If you find yourself overly rationalizing or justifying an answer, it's probably not the correct one. There is only one 100% correct answer, and it won't cause you too much overthinking. Generally, wrong answers are too specific, too broad, describe a relationship in reverse order, or just present a totally unrelated concept. This article goes into further detail about how to eliminate wrong answers in order to land on the one 100% correct one. A good rule of thumb is to avoid extremes. Words like "never" or "always" are not usually present in the correct answer. But to follow my own advice, I should never say never! Another essential mindset, and one that the new SAT will ask to use explicitly, is one that looks for evidence. Back Up Your Answers With Evidence Don't just choose an answer that "feels" right- instead, make sure you can back up all your answers with evidence direct from the text. None of these questions require you to have any pre-existing knowledge of the topic. Instead, they're testing your reading comprehension. All your answers should be proven and supported by the passage. Even if the answer were to be factually inaccurate (don't worry, it won't be), the questions are still completely about the passage, not about knowledge you already have. This is an important point to remember for the SAT, which will use texts with which you may be familiar or that are especially relevant to history or contemporary life. To answer questions correctly, it's crucial that you turn off your personal biases or opinions and base your understanding completely on the text at hand. Luckily, the new evidence support questions will be a good reminder to keep referring back to the text for your responses. You’ll likely get two to three evidence support questions per passage that explicitly ask you to choose one or a few lines that prove your answer to a previous question. These help you check your thinking and ensure that you have proof for an answer. Even if a question is not followed by an evidence support question, though, you should try to use this mindset of backing up your responses with evidence directly from the text. That way you know you’re basing your answer on the words on the page, rather than on your own assumptions. Practice Data Analysis with ACT Science Questions Those who consider themselves English buffs may not love the addition of charts, tables, and graphs in their SAT Reading questions. What's this data doing in a reading comprehension section, anyway? According to College Board, the inclusion of data analysis is part of itsattempt to connect the new SAT with what students are learning in the classroom and with real-world skills. You can actually sharpen your data interpretation skills by practicing with ACT Science questions. The ACT questions may call for more specialized scientific knowledge, but they still demand the same skills of interpretation as will the SAT Reading questions. By referring to charts and graphs for your answer and looking for evidence in data, you'll be better prepared for the data and evidence-based Reading questions on the SAT. Know Your Literary Terms and Techniques SAT Reading is primarily concerned with understanding function (of words, sentences, paragraphs) and argument. Therefore, most of your SAT reading practice should focus on deciphering the logic and structure of a piece. However, it's stilluseful to review the most common literary terms, like theme, style, tone, foreshadowing, and imagery, as well as some of themost common words to describe them.In addition to reviewing definitions, you should learn how to apply and find them in something you read.It's one thing to know that a tone can be somber, hopeful, or suspicious; it's another to determine the tone of a given passage. Test prep will help you get better and better at this, along with reading and analyzing as much as you can in and out of the classroom. Study Vocabulary As mentioned above, the vocabulary questions based on passages will not test your understanding of little-usedbig words.Instead of obscure vocab, Reading questionsmight ask aboutrelatively common words that are used in an unusual way within the context of the passage.This means you should practice interpreting meaning in context, along with understanding the denotations (definitions) and connotations (what words imply or suggest) of words. To give a simplistic example, note how the phrase, "Nice job," can have two very different connotations in these two contexts. "Nice job," Kathy snickered to her friends, after tripping you in the cafeteria. "Nice job!" Kathy said admiringly, as you showed her the bowl you made in ceramics. Understanding multiple-meaning words, as well as tone, is all aboutcontext. Given these steps and strategies,how can you strengthen your Reading skills? Practice, Practice, Practice The Reading section on the SAT is not always so closely aligned with your high school English classes, although the redesigned version is more connected than ever before with its emphasis on evidence-based reading. While your English classes may encourage you to be creative and support all kinds of interpretations, your SAT Reading questions will only have one absolutely correct answer, and that answer must be derived from and supported by the text itself. You can strengthen your ability to read and answer questions quickly with serious test prep, which will not only help your reading comprehension skills, but also your time management and pacing. Reading sources outside of class, like news articles from the New York Times, will also help you hone your skills of analyzing logic, deconstructing arguments, and determining author opinion and tone. If you're applying as a humanities or social sciences major, you especially want to make sure you score highly on the Reading section of the SAT. Take practice tests, identify your weaknesses,understand your mistakes, and practice often and effectivelyso you can score highly on Reading. With the right approach and sufficient test prep, youcould even achieve a perfectReading score. What's Next? Now that you know about the changes tothe Reading section, check out ourComplete Guide to the New SATto learnabout the rest of the redesigned test! Are you deciding between the new SAT and the ACT? You can readall about how the two tests compare to each other here, as well as learn about the changes taking place to theWriting section of the ACT. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We have the industry's leading SAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today:

Microsoft Word Tips How to Use Find and Replace

Microsoft Word Tips How to Use Find and Replace Microsoft Word Tips: How to Use Find and Replace When working on a large document, you may need to quickly find certain words and phrases. Good news, then! Microsoft Word’s search functions are a great tool to use while editing. But how do they work exactly? Let us walk you through the Find and Replace tools in Microsoft Word. Searching a Document How to access the search options in Microsoft Word depends on the version you are using: In Word for Windows, go to Home Editing on the ribbon and click Find for the basic search or Replace to open the Find and Replace window The basic search box is displayed as a default in Word for Mac, but you can also click the magnifying glass and select Replace†¦ to open the advanced Replace With†¦ search window These options can also be accessed via the shortcuts Ctrl + F (basic search) or Ctrl + H (find and replace). Search options in Word for Windows. The Navigation Pane The navigation pane is a panel on the left of the screen in Microsoft Word to help you navigate your document. It can be opened by accessing the basic search options (see above) or by going to View Show on the main ribbon and checking the box that says Navigation Pane. Once you have opened it, you will have three options available: Headings – A list of text formatted with a Heading style in the document Pages – A thumbnail preview of each page in the document Results – A list of text that matches the term(s) used in a search Navigation pane tabs. It is this last tab that interests us most here. This is where you’ll see the full list of results when you search for a term or phrase in Microsoft Word, making it easy to find issues quickly. Using Find and Replace Effectively The Replace function in Microsoft Word lets you search for terms and replace them with other text. This can be especially useful if you decide to change a specific word throughout a long document. To use this tool, first open the Find and Replace window (see above). Next, you need to: Enter the term you want to search for in the Find what field Enter the new term you want to replace it with in the Replace with field Click Find Next to search for the term and Replace to replace it The Find and Replace window. You can also click Replace All to replace all instances of a term at once. However, this can introduce errors if you are not careful, so it is usually better to take each replacement one at a time. One great use of the Find and Replace tool is to remove double spaces from a document. All this requires is searching for a double space and using a single space in the Replace with field. Advanced Searches Feeling confident now? Well, you might be ready for Microsoft Word’s advanced search options. These can be accessed by clicking the More button in the Find and Replace window. Advanced search options. Here, you will find options to search for specific capitalization of terms, formatting, and even special characters. You may not need to use these options often, but they can be very useful for making sure that formatting and capitalization are consistent throughout a document.