Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-16T14:48:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 649611 bytes, checksum: c2c1964350010c0b471169ba5cb5f9cc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-07-30 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The present work has as objective to analize the main changes that occur in the organizational culture of a State Bank that passed for a privatization process, and today are part of a private banking group, with the perspective of the organizational culture based on the Model of Architecture of the Organizational Culture - LANDMARK. The model Landmark brings the culture as a social construction of the collective body, that reflects the auto-image of an organization. The research is characterized as a study of case of descriptive exploratory approach and purely qualitative boarding. The citizens of the research had been the collaborators who had worked in the State Bank and today are placed in the agencies of the Private bank. For collection of the data it was used of half-structuralized interviews. The technique used for interpretation of the data was the analysis of content of Bardin (1977). The results of the carried through interviews had shown that the organizational culture presented well significant changes in all the studied dimensions. In the transition process, the collaborators had lived deeply new practical administrative who had forced a change of behavior in the day the organizational day, resulting in a cultural renewal. One of the main aspects desencadeadores of all mannering process occurred in the dimension necessities with the perspective change that previously the collaborators had its functional stability and currently the main changes in the too much dimensions fight for its permanence in the organization stimulating. In the dimension values, the collaborators had had that to disconfirmed or to substitute the existing values in the State Bank and to assume the new values of the Private bank. As for the dimension knowledge, the collaborators are stimulated by the organization to have a professional formation and search as many common knowledge s how much specific therefore they consider that its current function requires a bigger gamma of knowledge. Finally in the dimension abilities, it was evidenced that when stimulating the professional formation of its collaborators, the company is increasing the intellectual level of each one, with this improves each time its abilities techniques. / O presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar as principais mudanças que ocorrem na cultura organizacional de um Banco Estadual que passou por um processo de privatização, e hoje faz parte de um grupo bancário privado, com a perspectiva da cultura organizacional fundamentado no Modelo de Arquitetura da Cultura Organizacional - MARCO. O modelo Marco traz a cultura como uma construção social do corpo coletivo, que reflete a auto-imagem de uma organização. A pesquisa caracteriza-se como um estudo de caso de enfoque exploratório descritivo e abordagem puramente qualitativa. Os sujeitos da pesquisa foram os colaboradores que trabalharam no Banco Estatal e hoje estão alocados nas agências do Banco Privado. Para coleta dos dados utilizou-se de entrevistas semi-estruturadas. A técnica empregada para interpretação dos dados foi a análise de conteúdo de Bardin (1977). Os resultados das entrevistas realizadas mostraram que a cultura organizacional apresentou mudanças bem significativas em todas as dimensões estudadas. No processo de transição, os colaboradores vivenciaram novas práticas administrativas que forçaram uma mudança de conduta no dia a dia organizacional, resultando numa renovação cultural. Um dos principais aspectos desencadeadores de todo processo comportamental ocorreu na dimensão necessidades com a mudança de perspectiva que anteriormente os colaboradores tinham sua estabilidade funcional e atualmente lutam pela sua permanência na organização impulsionando as principais mudanças nas demais dimensões. Na dimensão valores, os colaboradores tiveram que desconfirmar ou substituir os valores existentes no Banco Estadual e assumir os novos valores do Banco Privado. No que se refere à dimensão conhecimentos, os colaboradores são incentivados pela organização a ter uma formação profissional e buscam tanto conhecimentos gerais quanto específicos pois consideram que sua função atual requer uma gama maior de conhecimentos. Por fim na dimensão habilidades, constatou-se que ao estimular a formação profissional de seus colaboradores, a empresa está aumentando o nível intelectual de cada um, com isso aprimora cada vez suas habilidades técnicas.

Syfte och forskningsfrågor: Vårt syfte är att utreda och analysera relationsskapande i banksektorn, vilket sker både genom fysisk personlig interaktion och via kundmedverkan online. Avsikten är att bidra till kunskap om vad som påverkar skapande och utvecklande av konsumentrelationer med denna utgångspunkt. 1. Vilka är centrala faktorer för skapande och utvecklande av relationer inom banksektorn? 2. Vilka aspekter är framträdande i kundens roll i det traditionella- respektive virtuella servicelandskapet? Metod: Studien av kvalitativ karaktär och har genomförts utifrån ett växelspel mellan deduktion och induktion, vilket resulterade i en abduktiv forskningsansats. Datainsamlingen har utförts genom fem semistrukturerade intervjuer med representanter från banksektorn, som har stor kompetens inom ämnet. Slutsats: Studien har resulterat i kunskap kring att det är väsentligt för banker att finnas tillgängliga både fysiskt, genom personliga möten, och via plattformar online. Vi har konstaterat att olika aspekter, beroende på vilket sätt banken möter kunden, fysiskt eller virtuellt, är viktiga för att utveckla och bibehålla kundrelationer. Vi har identifierat sju nyckelfaktorer för att relationen mellan banken och kunden ska bli så gynnsam som möjligt för båda parterna: proaktivitet, anammande av fintech-tjänster, sömlösa- och lättnavigerade plattformar, utbildande av kunder, aktivt arbete med sociala medier, tillvaratagande av CRM-system samt anpassande av den fysiska miljön för kundens välbefinnande. / Purpose and research questions: Our aim is to investigate and analyze the creation of relations within the banking sector, which occurs through physical personal interaction and online customer participation. The intention is to contribute with knowledge regarding what influences the creation and development of consumer relations. 1. Which are the key factors for creation and development of relations within the banking sector? 2. Which are the prominent aspects of the customer's role in the traditional and virtual servicescape? Method: The study is of qualitative character and was completed through an interaction between deduction and induction, which resulted in an abductive approach. The empirical data was gathered through five semistructured interviews with knowledgeable representatives from the banking sector. Conclusion: The study has resulted in knowledge, that it is essential for banks to be available both physically, through personal meetings, and through online platforms. We have found that different aspects, depending on the way the bank meet their customer, physically or virtually, is important for developing and maintaining the customer relations. We have identified seven key factors to make the relation between the bank and the customer as beneficial as possible for both parties: proactivity, acceptance of fintech services, seamless- and easy-navigated platforms, educating the customers, active social media channels, usage of CRM systems, and adaptation of the physical environment to satisfy the customers well-being.

O objeto do presente trabalho é o diagnóstico do arcabouço regulatório pátrio destinado à prevenção de crises bancárias, quais sejam a regulação sistêmica e a regulação prudencial, e como as transformações ocorridas no sistema financeiro na segunda metade do século XX o afetam. A partir desse estudo, o trabalho pretende demonstrar que, embora a regulação sistêmica e a regulação prudencial no País tenham incorporado avanços notáveis nas últimas décadas, ainda há falhas significativas a serem corrigidas e desafios a serem enfrentados. Se por um lado o atual arcabouço regulatório é marcado por exigências e controles mais rigorosos que os encontrados em outros países, por outro lado, constam também inúmeros instrumentos de resgate a bancos sendo aplicados de forma desordenada, sem regras claras, com pouca ou nenhuma prestação de contas, e até mesmo desvirtuando o propósito original de alguns desses instrumentos. A presença de uma multiplicidade de mecanismos de resgate com tais características é uma preocupante fonte de risco moral no mercado. Outrossim, o exame das transformações ocorridas no Sistema Financeiro Nacional nas últimas décadas evidencia que as dificuldades enfrentadas por autoridades bancárias em outros países, como o fenômeno do grande demais para quebrar e o monitoramento do risco sistêmico em um contexto de conglomeração financeira, já são uma realidade no País, representando desafios para a regulação sistêmica e a regulação prudencial, e provocando a reflexão sobre as consequências desses movimentos no setor bancário nacional para o arcabouço regulatório vigente. Em conclusão, o trabalho pretende demonstrar que, apesar de seus inegáveis méritos, a exaltação ao arcabouço regulatório pátrio em face de seu desempenho considerado positivo na crise financeira recente deve ser vista com temperamentos, e que a atuação das autoridades bancárias nos próximos anos deve ser mais centrada na correção das falhas identificadas e reflexão sobre os desafios apresentados. / The study aims at evaluating the national regulatory framework designed to prevent banking crises (e.g. systemic and prudential regulation), and how the transformations that occurred in the financial services industry throughout the second half of the 20th century affect it. Based on this analysis, the study intends to demonstrate that, albeit the systemic and prudential regulation in Brazil have incorporated important developments over the last decades, there still are significant flaws that need to be fixed and challenges to be faced. If, on the one hand, the current regulatory framework is marked by demands and controls that are more rigorous than those adopted by other countries, on the other hand, the mechanisms designed to rescue distressed banks are being applied in an unorganized manner, without clear rules, little or no accountability, and even distorting the original purpose of some of these mechanisms. The presence of this variety of rescue mechanisms with such characteristics is a concerning source of moral hazard. Furthermore, the examination of the transformations in the financial system in recent history shows that the challenges faced by banking authorities in other countries, such as the too big to fail phenomenon and the complexity of monitoring systemic risk in the context of financial conglomerates, are also present in Brazil, creating challenges to the current regulatory framework, and claiming a reflection on the consequences of such transformations in the national financial services industry. In conclusion, the study aims at demonstrating that, despite its unquestionable merits, the exaltation to the Brazilian systemic and prudential regulation in light of the countrys performance in the recent financial crisis should be analyzed with caution, and that the role of the banking authorities over the next years should be focused in fixing the flaws identified in the analysis and reflection over the challenges discussed throughout the study.

Submitted by Elizabete Silva (elizabete.silva@ufes.br) on 2015-01-14T16:41:02Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertacao.Suzanne Gomes Otoni.pdf: 1883033 bytes, checksum: f93dac30c07f8a0f7f0312ff455ebb13 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Elizabete Silva (elizabete.silva@ufes.br) on 2015-01-14T16:43:51Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertacao.Suzanne Gomes Otoni.pdf: 1883033 bytes, checksum: f93dac30c07f8a0f7f0312ff455ebb13 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-01-14T16:43:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertacao.Suzanne Gomes Otoni.pdf: 1883033 bytes, checksum: f93dac30c07f8a0f7f0312ff455ebb13 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / CAPES / Esta dissertação enfoca o tema do desenvolvimento sustentável no setor bancário, destacando-se a elaboração e implementação do The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) em sua aplicação no setor bancário brasileiro. Sistematiza o referencial teórico-conceitual sobre desenvolvimento sustentável realçando as distinções entre a economia tradicional e a Economia Ecológica. Sistematiza, ainda, o embasamento teórico-conceitual sobre regulação ambiental, enfatizando sua transição dos modelos de regulação direta, para as abordagens de policy mix, com destaque para os pagamentos por serviços ambientais (PSA) e o TEEB. Assim, aborda iniciativas de sustentabilidade no setor bancário no Brasil, destacando-se a participação do banco Santander na elaboração do TEEB Brasil. Ressalta como considerações finais que apesar da progressiva multiplicação de iniciativas de sustentabilidade no setor bancário, tais processos ainda são incipientes e persistem indefinições de formatação de regulação específica para o setor bancário no que tange à sustentabilidade. / This dissertation focuses on the theme of sustainable development in the banking sector, highlighting the design and implementation of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) in its application in the brazilian banking sector. Systematizes the theoretical and conceptual framework on sustainable development highlighting the distinctions between traditional economics and ecological economics. Also systematizes the theoretical and conceptual background on environmental regulation, emphasizing their transition models of direct regulation, to the approaches of policy mix, especially for payments for environmental services (PES) and the TEEB. Thus, discusses sustainability initiatives in the banking sector in Brazil, highlighting the participation of Banco Santander in preparing the TEEB Brazil. Underscores how closing remarks that despite the progressive multiplication of sustainability initiatives in the banking sector, such processes are still incipient and persist uncertainties formatting specific regulation for the banking sector regarding the sustainability.

Submitted by Giscar Elias El Khouri (giscarelias@hotmail.com) on 2013-01-09T18:43:45Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇÃO GISCAR ELIAS EL KHOURI.pdf: 2300511 bytes, checksum: d242eb7786f9d0ef9cd2ea30932fe457 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Janete de Oliveira Feitosa (janete.feitosa@fgv.br) on 2013-01-11T12:58:25Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇÃO GISCAR ELIAS EL KHOURI.pdf: 2300511 bytes, checksum: d242eb7786f9d0ef9cd2ea30932fe457 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Janete de Oliveira Feitosa (janete.feitosa@fgv.br) on 2013-01-11T12:59:17Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇÃO GISCAR ELIAS EL KHOURI.pdf: 2300511 bytes, checksum: d242eb7786f9d0ef9cd2ea30932fe457 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-01-16T13:06:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇÃO GISCAR ELIAS EL KHOURI.pdf: 2300511 bytes, checksum: d242eb7786f9d0ef9cd2ea30932fe457 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-12-21 / This research evaluated the moral harassment phenomenon at the Bank Credit SA considering how this practice is revealed in the work environment, their physical and psychological effects and, finally, the psychosocial impact of moral harassment in the organizational environment of the company; adding that the nomenclature given to this bank is fictitious since we did not obtain formal authorization of the institution identified as the object of the research study. The conclusions are based on a qualitative ethnographic research through semi-structured interviews, with reports of ten (10) respondents, employees of the Bank Credit SA, about the moral harassment phenomenon. As a way of validating the obtained data it was applied a virtual ethnographic research from a quantitative of 103 (one hundred and three) respondents, all employees of the institution, through the survey. Finally, an interview was conducted with the President of the BancaRio - Sindicato dos Bancários do Rio de Janeiro, social actor able to describe the moral harassment phenomenon in the banking sector holistically, filing so the analyzes regarding the profile of the Bank Credit SA, especially those similar or divergent from common sense. The topics of the discussion are circumscribed from years 80-90 when it gives the stabilization of the Brazilian economy through the implementation of the Real Plan, in the FHC government. In this context, the banking sector went through a restructuring process, marked by privatization and the adoption of new ways of management that resulted in conflicts in the workplace. These changes led to a breakdown in the processes of banking, reconfiguring the sector, settling in a crystallized way thus acknowledging moral harassment as a commonplace and institutionalized practice. This research concludes that, against this scenario moral harassment proved a commonplace phenomenon that was incorporated into the organizational culture of this company as a means of punishment for employees who do not meet the established goals. The organizational climate of Bank Credit SA is tense and propitious to moral harassment; this phenomenon reduces the productive capacity of the employee, leading to increased costs unproductive and inefficient for the bank itself. Moral harassment in relations between the employees of the Bank Credit SA reveals more commonly vertically downward and its practice is strongly perceived by employees of the institution. / Esta pesquisa avaliou o fenômeno assédio moral no Banco Credit S.A., considerando de que maneira esta prática se revela no ambiente de trabalho, seus efeitos físicos e psicológicos e, por fim, a repercussão psicossocial do assédio moral no ambiente organizacional dessa empresa; acrescentando que a nomenclatura dada a este Banco é fictícia, uma vez que não obtivemos autorização formal desta instituição apontada como objeto de estudo da pesquisa. As conclusões são baseadas numa pesquisa etnográfica qualitativa através de entrevistas semi-estruturadas, com relatos de 10 (dez) respondentes, empregados do Banco Credit S.A., acerca do fenômeno assédio moral. Como forma de validação dos dados captados foi aplicada uma pesquisa etnográfica virtual, de cunho quantitativo a 103 (cento e três) respondentes, todos empregados dessa instituição, através do survey. Por fim, foi realizada uma entrevista com o Presidente do BancáRio - Sindicato dos Bancários do Rio de Janeiro, ator social apto a descrever o fenômeno assédio moral no setor bancário holisticamente, ajuizando assim, as análises relativas ao perfil do Banco Credit S.A., sobretudo àquelas semelhantes ou divergentes do senso comum. Os tópicos da discussão estão circunscritos a partir dos anos 80-90 quando se dá a estabilização da economia brasileira, através da implantação do plano real, no governo FHC. Nesse contexto, o setor bancário passou por um processo de reestruturação produtiva, marcado pelas privatizações e a adoção de novas formas de gestão que resultaram em conflitos no ambiente de trabalho. Essas modificações levaram a uma ruptura nos processos das transaçoes bancárias, reconfigurando o setor, se estabelendo de forma cristalizada admitindo assim, o assédio moral como uma pratica corriqueira e institucionalizada. Esta pesquisa conclui que, diante deste cenário o assédio moral revelou-se um fenômeno corriqueiro que foi incorporado à cultura organizacional desta empresa como mecanismo de punição aos empregados que não atingem as metas estabelecidas. O clima organizacional do Banco Credit S.A. é tenso e propício as práticas de assédio moral; que esse fenômeno reduz a capacidade produtiva do empregado, induzindo ao aumento de custos com improdutividade e baixa eficiência para o próprio banco. O assédio moral, nas relações entre os empregados do banco Credit S.A. se revela mais comumente de forma vertical descendente, sua prática é fortemente percebida pelos empregados desta instituição.

The subject of the thesis called Analysis of the impacts of the Amendment to the Consumer Credit Act on the banking sector of the Czech Republic is the Amendment to the Consumer Credit Act effective since 1.12.2016 and its presumed impact on banking sector including the consideration of the justification of some provisions of the Act. The objective of this thesis is a clear summary of fundamental changes which waste from new legislative and outlining the related questions, mapping the consumer credit market tendencies from macro and micro view and recognition of possible risks and opportunities related to the amendment. The data are processed using the simple descriptive statistics method with use of graphic methods and word comments.

Bakgrund: Arbetslivet förändras ständigt till följd av digitaliseringen och tillgången till information ökar kraftigt. Banksektorn är en av de sektorer som påverkats mest av dessa förändringar och studier har visat att arbetsrelaterad stress ökar till följd av detta. Det är lätt att utifrån studier och fackliga undersökningar förknippa stress i banksektorn med arbetsmiljöproblem eftersom fokus ligger på ohälsa och sjukskrivning. Samtidigt vill många människor arbeta i banksektorn och i andra yrkesgrupper med liknande karaktärsdrag. Det behövs en djupare förståelse för stress i banksektorn och hur den kan upplevas i moderna, föränderliga yrken med stor informationsbearbetning. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att förstå hur stress upplevs, med banksektorn som exempel, samt att utifrån detta belysa problematiken kring begreppet stress. Metod: Detta är en kvalitativ flerfallstudie med ett socialkonstruktivistiskt perspektiv. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom 10 semistrukturerade intervjuer från tre svenska banker. Studien har utgått från empirin och har således en induktiv ansats. Slutsats: Studien visar att ett arbete i banksektorn är intensivt och innebär höga krav i form av långa arbetsdagar, komplexa arbetsuppgifter, deadlines och ansvar. Dessa krav ger upphov till stress som upplevs både negativt och positivt. Negativ stress upplevs vid en förlorad kontrollkänsla och vid en konfliktkänsla mellan arbete och privatliv. Positiv stress upplevs genom en känsla av utmaning och, till viss del, adrenalinrus. Studien har visat att stress upplevs på olika sätt, både positivt och negativt. Till följd av detta kan begreppet stress behöva nyanseras och bli mindre förknippat med negativa värden. / Background: Work is constantly changing due to digitalization and access to information is rapidly increasing. These changes affect the banking sector and studies have shown that work related stress increases as a result. One can easily associate stress in the banking sector with problems in the work environment since that is what studies and surveys are focusing on. At the same time, many people find the banking sector attractive, as a workplace. This study is necessary, because we need a better understanding about how stress can be perceived in modern professions, characterized by the processing of information. Aim: The aim of this study is to increase the understanding of how stress is perceived, using the banking sector as an example. Further, we aim to illustrate the problem concerning the concept stress. Methodology: This is a qualitative case study using the perspective of social constructivism. The empirical data has been collected through semi-structured interviews with three Swedish banks. The study has an inductive approach. Conclusion: This study shows that the banking sector is an intensive workplace and involves high demands as long working hours, complex tasks, deadlines and responsibility. These demands contribute to a lot of stress. Negative stress is perceived when the sense of control is lost and when a conflict between work and personal life arises. Positive stress is perceived when a sense of challenge appears and, to some extent, with a feeling of adrenaline. The results have proven that stress in the banking sector is perceived in various ways, both negative and positive. The concept stress might therefore need to be altered and be less associated with a negative value.

Despite that the Swedish banking sector consists of many different actors, which provides more options for consumers in their choice of bank, the four major banks, Nordea, Swedbank, Handelsbanken and SEB, have a superior position in the banking sector. Although previous research shows that consumers lose confidence in the four major banks, there is still low consumer mobility in the banking sector. A change of bank is often described as a complicated process that takes a lot of time, which discourages consumers from implementing the change. This is a qualitative study of how bank customers experienced the change of bank. The purpose of this study is to gain a further understanding of how bank customers experience a bank change and what switching costs they experienced. The study is conducted with a deductive approach where previous research forms the basis for the interview questions used to collect data. A compilation of three well-known and widely used references about switching costs has formed the basis for the interviews questions. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with respondents who have changed banks in the past year. After the interviews have been presented, these are analyzed and the results of the study show that the respondents have experienced the change of bank as smoothly. The study concludes with a discussion about how customer mobility in the Swedish banking sector may increase. / Trots att den svenska banksektorn består av många olika aktörer vilket ger flera alternativ för konsumenterna i deras val av bank har de fyra storbankerna, Nordea, Swedbank, Handelsbanken och SEB, en överlägsen position inom banksektorn. Fastän undersökningar visar att konsumenterna tappar förtroende för storbankerna är det fortsatt låg bytesintensitet inom banksektorn. Ett byte av bank beskrivs ofta som en krånglig process som tar lång tid vilket avskräcker konsumenterna att genomföra bytet. Detta är en kvalitativ studie om hur bankkunder som genomfört ett bankbyte upplevt det. Syftet med denna studie är att få en mer djupgående förståelse för hur svenska bankkunder upplever ett bankbyte och vilka byteskostnader som upplevts vid bytet av bank. Studien utförs med ett deduktivt tillvägagångssätt där tidigare forskning utgör grunden för intervjufrågorna som används för att samla in data. En sammanställning av tre välkända och allmänt använda referenser om byteskostnader har utgjort grunden för intervjufrågorna. Tio semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med respondenter som har bytt bank under det senaste året. Efter att intervjuerna presenteras analyseras empirin och studiens resultat visar att bankkunderna har upplevt bankbytet som smidigt. Studien avslutas med en diskussion angående hur kundrörligheten inom banksektorn kan tänkas öka.

This master thesis is based on analyses of the Cypriot banking sector from 2010 to 2016. The aim is to describe the effects of the recent financial crisis in Cyprus to locally operating banks, to assess the assistance provided to Cypriot banks and especially to analyze the development of systemically important Cypriot banking institutions, namely the Bank of Cyprus Group, Cooperative Central Bank, Hellenic Bank and RCB Bank Ltd with emphasis on the most important banking institution in Cyprus. The work draws mainly from published financial results of the systemic banks and from the Central Bank of Cyprus representing the consolidated banking sector. Furthermore, for the purpose of this study was used the Eurostat database, EBA and the IMF periodicals, along with the websites of the credit rating agencies.

The thesis focuses on the impact of the current global financial and economic crisis on economy of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The aim of the thesis is to assess the impact on the economy as a whole as well as on selected sectors. The first part introduces the causes and timeline of the crisis. The thesis then concetrates on the macroeconomic impact of the crisis on Great Britain, i.e. economic output, labour market, public finance, price development and balance of payments. The effect of the crisis on the construction industry and banking sector is analysed in the second part of the thesis. The final part aims to assess the measures of British government and central bank introduced during the crisis.