Sunday, November 1, 2009

Project #3 Systems Level Research

My relative research for this project consists of debit cards, Peoples Bancorp, the current housing market, student loan crisis, and Domo the brown creature (from postcard #2). They all give support to my negative stance on the Debit Card, but also give a slight balanced reasoning to the up side.

My interrelated products on the systems level consists of emphasizing how the debt from using debit cards effects all fields of debt. I am choosing to use the relativity within the pulse of the current housing market and student loan crisis to show how helpless we are when our debt is affected in our living and academic world.

My PostCard #3 is placed within a social and technical contextual systems. Although this housing would follow underneath an environmental system, the economic debt reflects our social nature of spending and responsibility, so the end result would be a social system.


 Debit Card Research:

A debit card (also known as a bank card or check card) is a plastic card that provides an alternative payment method to cash when making purchases. The use of debit cards has become widespread in many countries and has overtaken the cheque, and in some instances cash transactions by volume. Like credit cards, debit cards are used widely for telephone and Internet purchases, and unlike credit cards the funds are transferred from the bearer's bank account instead of having the bearer to pay back on a later date.

Debit cards are riskier than password protected (PIN-only) old-fashioned ATM cards because debit card can be used with a PIN or can also be used with only a signature, without a secret PIN or password, just like a credit card, over the phone or in a store.

The risks of using debit cards are:
Legally, your ultimate liability for fraudulent use of a credit card is generally only $50. And, when a credit card is fraudulently used, you are also only disputing whether you owe the bank money.
Unlike a credit card, if your debit card is used fraudulently, the thief robs your checking account. Potentially, all your money is drained out of your checking account. It could take the bank 10 days or more to investigate and refund your money. In the meantime--you could bounce checks to your landlord, credit card company, or mortgage company.
Peoples Bancorp offers a new spin on the classic debit card, The Connect Card.
With the Connect Card, you'll experience the benefits of an ATM card, a credit card, and a check - all in one card.

Some of the benefits to the Connect Card are:
Can be used wherever MasterCard® is accepted.
No check to write, no check approval process with each purchase.
Sharing a checkbook no longer necessary.
No monthly payment or interest.
Increased security - reduces the need to carry large sums of cash.
Detailed monthly statement.


Sources for Debit Card Research:
http://www.aarp.org/money/credit_debt/a2002-08-14-ManagingMoneyDebitCards.html
http://www.pirg.org/consumer/banks/debit/debitcards1.htm
http://www.peoplesbancorp.com/debit_card.html



Peoples Bancorp Research: 

Peoples Bancorp Inc. is a diversified financial products and services company with $2.0 billion in assets. We offer a complete line of banking, investment, insurance, and trust solutions through 47 offices and 39 ATMs in Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky.
The Peoples Bancorp mission is to provide the best personalized financial services, at fair prices, for the economic benefit, full service and well-being of the people in our communities. The goal shall be accomplished through their core values that represent the foundation of Peoples Bancorp.
    •    Clients as a Focus
    •    Business With Integrity
    •    Trust Among Clients, Communities, and Associates
    •    Commitment to Communities
    •    Continuous Will to Win
    •    Development of Associate Skills



Source for Peoples Bancorp Research:

http://www.peoplesbancorp.com/debit_card.html
http://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NASDAQ:PEBO





Housing Research:

Debt affects almost all aspects of society and definitely all of economy. One of the greatest problems facing America's economy to date is the housing market. Although we're starting to crawl out of the deep well of debt, the market is still in the red. Although companies such as Fannie Mae and New Century Financial are creating their own stimulus packages and warnings to avoid debt, both companies continue their downhill spiral.

The majority of the Peoples Bankcorp operations and circulation is located in Ohio. The home value rates and percentages over mortgages are the key numbers to look at determining the health of the housing market. Local statistics show that previously the majority of metro areas in Ohio's most populated cities were several points into the red in past years. However, recently the percentages were all in the green. The lowest percentage has been 0.7% and the highest an impressive 2.7%. These positive numbers are a positive leap compared to the rest of the country, and means that Ohio's mortgage and debt forecast looks like blue and sunny sky's.


Sources Housing Market Research:

http://www.marketwatch.com/
http://www.zillow.com/local-info/#metric=mt%3D34%26dt%3D1%26tp%3D5%26rt%3D14%26r%3D102001%2C394913%2C394806%2C394463
http://realtytimes.com/
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/3292007_Subprime_Market.asp





Student Loan Debt Research:

Thousands of college graduates are facing a student loan crisis.
The job market is shrinking, and the sour economy is preventing employers, parents and relatives from helping those who are behind on payments.
Student loan defaults are at their highest rate since 1998, and likely will go higher. And though federal student loans offer some payment modification options, private loans are far more onerous, because even filing for bankruptcy rarely wipes out the debt.
Congress might tackle bankruptcy law reform again this year, but it decided as recently as last year not to allow student loans to be easily discharged through bankruptcy filings.
Without such an option, many college grads are saddled with debt and unable to buy a home or obtain other credit. That can leave them in some cases unable to pursue the careers they studied for because they must take low-paying jobs just to try to keep up.
But lawmakers should move carefully on any reform, banking industry officials say.
Student debt is rising every year. College costs, as well as graduate school costs, have gone up faster than inflation. Pell grants have not kept, but, Stafford loan and other federal student loan interest rates are near record lows.
 

College Student Loan Debt
A recent study by the National Center for Education Statistics (1) shows that about 50% of recent college graduate have student loans, with an average student loan debt of $10,000. The average cost of college increases at twice the rate of inflation; the College Board (2) estimates that public school costs an average of about $13,000 a year and private schools costs $28,000.
College students are facing a sea change in borrowing to pay for their degrees — unfortunately, many would still be drowning in debt.
The change, perhaps as soon as July, would end the Federal Family Education Loan program that has dominated the federal student loan pool for more than 40 years.
Banks and other private sources would be cut out of the process by the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, passed in September by the U.S. House. The measure still must considered by the Senate.
Colleges that once kept a long list of lenders are converting to the Direct Loan Program, in which student loans come directly from the government.

Sources for Student Loan Research:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/2009-05-12-studentloans13_N.htm
http://www.studentdoc.com/student-loan-debt.html






Domo Research:

Domo is the mascot of Japan's NHK television station, appearing in several 30 second stop motion sketches shown as station identification during shows.
His monster-like features conceal a gentle soul with a body of pure fluff. Domo just cant stop watching television. Is this a problem? Perhaps it is if you're already a sloppy creature whose daydreams often lead to disasters.
In 2006 Nickelodeon announced that it was to develop 26 two-minute shorts, Domo-Kun for broadcast in the United States In December 2007 announced that Nickelodeon would begin airing the shorts in early 2008.
Target used the character as the theme of its 2008 Halloween promotions. This included a number of Halloween-themed products, such as candy and toys. An original animation was created for Target, available on its website. 7-Eleven stores used the character in a promotion beginning October 1, 2009.
The name "Domo" was acquired during the second episode of his show in which a TV announcer said, "dōmo, konnichiwa" (どうも、こんにちは), which is a greeting meaning something along the lines of, "Well, hello there!", but which can also be interpreted as "Hello, Domo!", and thus is a convenient pun. The kun suffix on "Domo-kun," the name used to describe the character in the Japanese versions, is a Japanese Honorific often used with young males.

Domo, the main character, is described as "a strange creature that hatched from an egg," with a large, sawtoothed mouth that is locked wide open. Domo can only communicate via producing a low-pitched noise which sounds somewhat like his own name, but other characters appear to understand him. Domo is known to pass gas repeatedly when nervous or upset.



Sources for Domo Research:

http://www.domonation.com/pages/who




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