AF302 SEM 1–2016 ASSIGNMENT QUESTION

(15% towards coursework)

Written Assignment - (Group of 4 Members)

Due Date: Friday May 13thby 3pm to School Secretary

This is a group assignment. You need to get into group of 4 members from any tutorials to attempt this assignment. If any student cannot find group members please see Jocelyn so she can allocate you in a group. Please note that a soft copy of the assignment is to be uploaded on Moodle by the due date and timefor checking with “Turnitin” that highlights any assignments that appear to be similar or copied. Also you need to submit hard copy of your assignment with the marking guide to the School of Accounting Secretary. Please ensure that both the hard and soft-copies are the same, if different both copies will be discarded. Include bibliography for all referenced and research articles cited.

Maximum Word Limit: 3000 words

QUESTION

Mobile money is the use of mobile phones to store, send and receive electronic value. Mobile money is a new form of payments systems that should provide greater convenience, flexibility and cost savings to consumers. The Fiji Government has just recently announced that $70 million dollars will be paid to the victims of cyclone Winston. They are considering paying these monies through the Vodafone’s M-PAISA mobile app. Mobile money has also been advocated as a vehicle of financial inclusion. Financial inclusion is the provision of low cost and accessible financial services to the financially disadvantaged in society. Pacific Island Countries such as Fiji, Solomon Islands, Samoa and Papua New Guinea have begun encouraging private sector companies such as commercial banks and mobile network providers to deploy mobile banking services in their respective countries. While mobile money has a lot of promise it also presents significant challenges to these economies.

REQUIRED:

Write a research paper onmobile money in the Fiji Islands.Students should discuss which aspect of mobile money they wish to investigate. Their research question should be something which is important but at the same time reasonable to achieve within the time constraints of the assignment. Students should research the experiences of countries with mobile money and then decide the research questions relevant to the Fiji Islands context. The research question will determine the nature of the methodology employed to answer the essay’s research question.

Below is a list of sample research questions that students may wish to use or adapt for their purposes:

i.) What are Fiji Islanders perceptions’ of mobile banking services?

ii.) What are the types of mobile banking services offered in the Fiji Islands?

iii.) Are mobile banking services providing a competitive advantage in Fiji Islands?

iv.) What are the benefits/challenges to mobile banking services in the Fiji Islands?

v.) What are the perceptions’ of banks and mobile network operators towards mobile banking in the Fiji Islands?

vi.) What is the role of the Reserve Bank in implementing mobile banking in the Fiji Islands and what regulatory gaps exist?

vii.) Are Fiji Islanders using mobile banking services? Why and why not?

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Marking Guide – Cover Sheet

AF302 Written Assignment (15%)

Marking Criteria / Very Poor / Poor / Satisfactory / Good / Very good / MARK
CONTENT (25Marks)
The student has:
  • interpreted the instruction/question appropriately.
  • clearly addressed the topic with appropriate elaboration of relevant sub-topics, appropriately weighted and within the prescribed word count.
  • demonstrated an understanding of the necessary concepts/perspective/theories.
  • used sufficient and appropriate material from relevant and credible sources to effectively support the key points.
  • followed any instructions on the number and type of references to be used.
  • demonstrated the ability to critically reflect upon key ideas/issues/findings.
  • Related issues to the Pacific Island context.
  • Collected data from primary sources to support arguments.

STRUCTURE/ORGANISATION (25 Marks)
  • the introduction is appropriate to the type and format of response and clearly outlines the focus.
  • the body of the response is well structured, with coherent and logical development of key ideas in appropriate sections/paragraphs.
  • each section/paragraph has a clear focus and line of thought.
  • the conclusion is appropriate to type and format of the response, successfully summarising the key ideas/issues/findings.

WRITTEN EXPRESSION (25 Marks)
  • the writing style is appropriate to the task.
  • the writing is fluent, exhibiting grammatically correct sentences that are appropriately punctuated.
  • there are no spelling or typing errors and due regard is given to rules of capitalisation and abbreviation, etc.
  • key ideas from the literature are effectively paraphrased and cited, and direct quotes are appropriately incorporated.

PRESENTATION (5 Marks)
  • the essay is well presented and professional quality

REFERENCING (20 Marks)
  • in-text citations and direct quotes follow referencing guide rules.
  • reference list and/or bibliography appropriately compiled.

Total available marks = 100 Total mark obtained
Marks towards coursework = 15% / /100

Assignment AF302 2016Page 1 of 3