private User defineBasicUserAttributes() {
   Date createdOn = new Date();
   User createdByUser = (User) SessionService.getSessionAttribute("user");
   String createdBy = createdByUser.getUserName();
   User newUser = new User();
   newUser.setCreatedBy(createdBy);
   newUser.setCreatedOn(createdOn);
   newUser.setDisabled(false);
   newUser.setEmail(email);
   newUser.setPassword(PasswordService.createHashedPassword(password));
   newUser.setUserName(userName);
   newUser.setFirstName(firstName);
   newUser.setLastName(lastName);
   return newUser;
 }