“Adrienne Rich’s poem: Living In Sin” Analysis Essay

Adrienne Rich’s poem Living In Sin is a free verse poem about a woman’s fairy tale dream of marriage versus the reality of the sin of not loving each other. The subject of the poem is a woman starting a life of hope and happiness in a perfect relationship only to learn the true reality of the relationship. The speaker of the poem observes the woman’s life as sad and boring using the past tense versus the present, and short run on lines that set the hopeless mood of the poem. Imagery and colorful language is also used to describe the unhappy relationship throughout the poem. Living In Sin shows a woman’s life without rhyme in four meaningful images and as the tone changes she sees the relationship/marriage she expected and the relationship as it actually is. To begin with the speaker uses run-on lines, past tense and tone to illustrate the first image. â€Å"She had thought the studio would keep itself†¦Ã¢â‚¬  shows that in the beginning of the relationship she pictured a fairy tale marriage like Cinderella. There would be no chores, no dusting, everything would be a perfect marriage. The use of past tense means she is thinking of what is not. The lines are also short and choppy making everything sound hopeless. The next line, Half heresy†¦ the speaker comes back to the present tense of the leaky faucet, noise and dirty windows. The mood then shifts again and she paints a pretty picture of her home with fruit and happiness on the table, a piano with an expensive shawl, and a cat as a nice pet. The short, choppy run on lines makes the woman’s life appear hopeless and tired of doing this day after day. The next image the speaker speaks about is the dinner from the night before. By using the past tense again, Not that at five†¦. shows the image of a romantic dinner that never was. The poem looses this imagery with the sound of the milkman waking her up as the cold morning dawns only to ruin her fantasy dream of the frustration of cleaning up from the night before. The use of language to describe last night’s cheese is a metaphor to show how sour their relationship really is. The speaker also uses three sepulchral bottles, sepulchral meaning burial or tomb, as a metaphor or image of the bottles lined up as dead soldiers from the night before of drinking and partying. The woman feels as if she too has died inside and is living in a  tomb. The bug, a pair of beetle-eyes would fix her own–, is another example of an image of what the woman doesn’t expect from life as she writhe under the milkman’s tramp†¦personifies her bending in pain. Finally the man in her life is introduced. Again run on, choppy lines are used to describe him in only four lines shows he is not in her life very often and she is frustrated and angry at him. He is described as yawning which shows that he is ignoring her and just goes on with his on self absorbed life. He then plays the piano which is out of tune like their relationship is in need of help. Next he shrugs at the mirror and leaves for a cigarette suggests he doesn’t care about her. Then the reality, using past to present, as the woman realizes by the minor demons, her inner thoughts of the fantasy versus the reality of the house work he left behind for her to do. The woman goes back to making the house look perfect on the outside to keep up the idea of a fairy tale life that she once thought she might have. The image of the coffee-pot boil over on the stove shows that even though she is going on like nothing is wrong, inside she is boiling. Comparative imagery is used to show life then and now in the the pears are now last night’s cheese, the cat is now a beetle-eye bug, a piano with a Persian shawl is now an out of tune keyboard, and no dust upon the furniture of love is now a dusty table-top. The illusion of a fantasy and now the reality of her life. The final image ends with By evening she was back in love again, shows the fantasy versus the reality of waking to feel the daylight coming when she can start all over again. Like a relentless milkman up the stairs, she has to wake up and do the same thing day after day like the milkman waking up and starting all over again to deliver the milk. The woman goes back to her job that life will get better and someday will have a fairy tale ending, but until then she has to live in her tomb of a relationship, hence, living in sin of not being happy with what she has. Adrienne Rich’s poem does an interesting job of describing the miserable life of a woman looking for love. She uses colorful language and imagery to show the dark, unhappy life of this woman. There is a lot of emotion and feelings  throughout the poem. The words like, grime, writhe, coldly, sepulchral, beetle-eyes, jeered, and demons all give a feeling of the sadness that this woman feels every day. The poem is easy to read and feel the loneliness this woman has in four, choppy run on images. In conclusion, Living in Sin paints a picture of a woman finally realizing that her marriage is not a fairy tale ending. Through imagery, run on lines, and tone the sin is in the guilt from not living in the present and not being in love with her husband, who’s not in love. This was an interesting poem on the sin of not loving each other and accepting each other for who they are.

Beauty: the Evolution of Perception

Vennette Gonzalez Mr. Warner English 111 (032W) 19 November 2012 â€Å"Beauty†: The evolution of perception When looking in the past to see how people lived and viewed the world, there is one commonality that stands out. A woman’s beauty says a lot on how the culture and the people of that society perceived themselves and others. These past perceptions affect how current society and culture is perceived not only by the individuals of our generation but by our future generations as well.This paper will address how we as society view beauty as it has changed over a period of time, how these changes came about, and how the media played a role in this beauty evolution. How this beauty evolution begins starts in childhood. One of the first memories that children have is the reading of fairy tales. These stories set a foundation as to what we perceive as beauty. â€Å"Children’s media has been found to be powerfully responsive to social change and not simply in a way that mirrors society (Baker-Sperry and Grauerholz 714). With this early exposure to what is portrayed as beauty, it is established early in the developmental years of childhood of how a woman should look as well as act. â€Å"Children’s fairy tales can provide insight into the dynamic relationship between gender, power, and culture as well as the cultural and social significance of beauty to women’s lives (Baker-Sperry and Grauerholz 712). The cultural and social significance can be seen as â€Å"girls and boys are taught specific messages concerning the importance of women’s bodies and women’s attractiveness (Baker-Sperry and Grauerholz 724). † These fairy tales were created to accommodate the cultural values and conflicts of the era, and establish the values of what our society deems as appropriate and what is acceptable for our young children to grow into as well as establishing a baseline for beauty.As our children grow, they carry these value s and ideals with them. These fairy tales portray women as meek and powerless, who are damsels in distress in need of a knight in shining armor. With maturity some of these values and ideals change; however, Baker-Sperry and Grauerholz state that â€Å"The feminine beauty ideal is the socially constructed notion that physical attractiveness is one of woman’s most important assets, and something all women should strive to achieve and maintain (711). This belief is still prevalent in today’s society. This does not mean that â€Å"there is a direct relationship between cultural values concerning feminine beauty and women’s behavior and identities, but the feminine beauty ideal may operate indirectly as a means of social control insofar as women’s concern with physical appearance (beauty), absorbs resources (money, energy, time) that could otherwise be spent enhancing their social status (Baker-Sperry and Grauerholz 723). The impacts of this ideal feminine beauty not only affect our children, but it also affects how they perceive themselves and how the future generations will perceive us. â€Å"The feminine beauty ideal can be seen as a normative means of social control, where by social control is accomplished through the internalization of values and norms that serve to restrict women’s lives (Baker-Sperry and Grauerholz 712). This ultimately means that girls who are exposed to these fairy tales develop a belief that there are certain expectations that need to be upheld and if these expectations are not met then they will lack the power to succeed. â€Å"Workers of above average beauty earn about 10 to 15 percent more than workers of below average beauty. The size of this beauty premium is economically significant and comparable to the race and gender gaps in the U. S. labor market (Mobius and Rosenblat 222). According to Naomi Wolf â€Å"More women have more power and scope and legal recognition that we have ever had befor e; but in terms of how we feel about ourselves physically, we may actually be worse off (Wolf 16)† She also goes on to state â€Å"There is no legitimate historical or biological justification for the beauty myth; what it is doing to women today is a result of nothing more exalted than the need of today’s power structure, economy and culture to mount a counteroffensive against women (Wolf 19). † Due to this, beauty is now linked with power in the sense that the more beautiful you are the more powerful you are.This idea that beauty is power became more noticeable during the woman’s movement according to Wolf (19). She states that â€Å"By the time the women’s movement had made inroads into the labor market, both women and men were accustomed to having beauty evaluated as wealth (Wolf 26). † This influx of women in the work force changed how young girls related to the fairy tales they once read. They no longer had to portray the roles of the da msel in distress, but had to use their beauty to gain power and attention.This evolution from the damsel has led to a more independent woman who uses her beauty to get what she needs. â€Å"Before women entered the work force in large numbers, there was a clearly defined class of those explicitly paid for their â€Å"beauty†: workers in the display professions-fashion mannequins, actress, dancers, and higher paid sex workers such as escorts. Until women’s emancipation, professional beauties were usually anonymous, low in status, un-respectable (Wolf 33). † Now our young girls want to look like all the actresses, musicians, models etc†¦ that they see on TV, movies and in magazines.I think these changes occurred once the fairy tales were no longer in written media, where we used what was written down and our imagination to create our ideal of beauty. Once these fairytales became a visual (movies, TV. and magazines) our young girls wanted to copy what they saw . In 1969 Vogue offered a new look for women’s magazines (Wolf 73). â€Å"Vogue began to focus on the body as much as the clothes, in part because there was little they could dictate with the anarchic styles (Wolf 73). † â€Å"The number of diet related articles rose 70 percent from 1968 to 1972.Articles on dieting in the popular press soared from 60 in the year 1979 to 66 in the month of January 1980 alone. By 1984, 300 diet books were on the shelves (Wolf 73-74). † The timing of this influx of dieting articles is due to the popularity of a model named Lesley Lawson otherwise known as Twiggy. She hit the height of her career in 1966 where she was on the cover of Vogue magazine. She was the ideal beauty of that era where being boyishly thin was in. Whereas a decade before having womanly curves was the idea of what beauty was for example the pin-up girl Betty Grable.She was what was considered the ideal of that era. The images of both of these women show the sign ificance of how models, actress and movie stars affect the women and youth of our society. Both of these women were portrayed in women’s magazines or movies. â€Å"A woman reading Glamor is holding women-oriented mass culture between her two hands (Wolf 76). † With the mass media evolving and able to mass produce the media quicker than ever, the new ideals of what our young women view as beauty changes at an even more rapid pace. With the introduction of the internet mass media is now instant, and on demand. Glamour, beauty and the perfect body: these are the values upheld within our culture as necessary to the fulfillment of desirable femininity (Wark 41). † With this beauty evolution consistently changing it also reflects the changes in the values that we as a society hold. The mass media will always be an integral part of our Beauty evolution as it reflects society’s values. Works Cited Baker-Sperry, Lori, and Liz Grauerholz. â€Å"The Pervasiveness an d Persistance of the Feminine Beauty Ideal in Children’s Fairy Tales. † Gender and Society 17. 5 (Oct 2003): 711-726. http://www. jstor. org/stable/3594706. Web. 19 November 2012. Fox, Greer Litton. Nice Girl: Social control of women through a value construct. † Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 2 (1977): 805-817. Print. Mobius, Markus M. , and Tanya S. Rosenblat. â€Å"Why Beauty Matters. † American Economic Review 96. 1 (2006): 222-235. http://www. jstor. org/stable/30034362. Web. 19 November 2012. Wark, Jayne. â€Å"Wendy Geller’s 48 hour Beauty Blitz: Gender, Class and the Pleasures of popular Culture. † Art Journal 56. 4 (1997): 41-47. http://www. jstor. org/stable/777719. Web. 19 November 2012. Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth: How images of Beauty are used against Women. New York: HarperCollins, 2002. PDF File.

Oral Motor Therapy Helps Improve Articulation Disorders in Children Thesis

Oral Motor Therapy Helps Improve Articulation Disorders in Children - Thesis Example The application of oral – motor therapies as one of the most effective alternatives for facilitating enhanced speech acquisition/articulation among young children; has been widely proposed as well as debated by researchers and scholars alike. Articulatory disorders in children are often characterized by difficulties in generating accurate sounds with respect to phonemes or other similar speech sounds. The various types of articulation disorders include omissions – wherein certain sounds, often at the end of word, are omitted / dropped e.g., the word dish is often uttered as just di’; substitutions – wherein a sound is replaced/substituted by another sound, e.g., sh in the word dish is spoken as death; distortions: wherein certain additional sounds are added e.g., dish is uttered as a dish; and additions: wherein certain additional sounds are added at the end of the word e.g., dish is uttered as dish. Â  Such a disorder may be caused on account of several reasons, such as hearing loss – where the child has difficulty in accurately hearing certain sounds or oral motor disorders such as apraxia. The existence of phonological or articulatory disorders among children, alternatively referred to as PADs, is characterized by the occurrence of impediments in verbal communication or disorders other than neurological deficits or organic mutilations1. This paper strives to review, analyze and investigate the various studies/researches in the field of speech-language pathology, particularly in relation to articulatory disorders among children; assess the impact and effectiveness of oral motor therapies on improving and facilitating speech production in children; and justify the relevance and credibility of oral motor therapies as an effective means of improving such impairments through a broad study of historical researches conducted in this behalf. Although there exist several pieces of evidence and credible research conducted by promine nt scholars in the field of speech pathology which substantiate the application and effectiveness of oral motor therapy as a credible alternative of enhancing articulation in children suffering from PADs, there does exist, differing views and contradictions which counter such a hypothesis which are contrary to the research presented in this paper and claim otherwise.

MSc PROJECT MANAGEMENT Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MSc PROJECT MANAGEMENT - Coursework Example Senior management in children’s services indiscriminately punish employees for inadequacies in the assessment and referral systems. Although many analysts are of the opinion that ineffective implementations account for the errors, they decry the practice by management to blame and punish employees overlooking the assessment and referral processes. The result has been a consistent practice by employees to cover up errors occurring in the systems (Broadhurst et al., 2000). In addition, the workers take a more laid-back approach to disseminating feedback that helps the management to pinpoint functional and operational challenges in the systems. The overarching impact of this gap in communication between the employees and management is the clear impediment to innovation and continuous management necessary of all technology-based information systems. The vicious cycle of malpractices in the system has resulted in stagnation in the innovation process and the consequential failures o f the modernized assessment and referral. Many experts think the current flaws in the referral and assessment systems are traceable to the initial design frameworks of the systems. The approach taken by healthcare management left out key steps in the introduction and implementation of the computerised systems. Some of the problems included lack of careful assessment of the functions of the modernised systems (Kaye et al., 2004). Proper staff retraining was also necessary for effective transition from the manual systems to the automated system. Pushing to the periphery the needs and input from various stakeholders contributes to the current difficulties in the current modernised assessment and referral systems. The heavy level of investment in technological facilities seems to have done little to improve the quality of service delivery through the modernised assessment and referral systems. The

Hong Kong Architecture Style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

Hong Kong Architecture Style - Essay Example Having been born in Hong Kong (HK) and raised there for more than seventeen years, I grew up taking many of the features of my home city for granted. It wasn’t until I opted to study in the United Kingdom that I began to realize the many opportunities I lost. With many years of chances to visit some of the more historical sites and cultural wonders, I did not see any of them. I have surprisingly little awareness to its quality or style of architecture. To me, Hong Kong was just another busy city with the typical rectangular tower blocks and high-rise complexes everywhere. Construction was fast and demolition quick. The only real notice I took of these events was to absently note when a new building brought in a store I wanted or offered some other opportunity directly to my benefit or discomfort or when an older building went down that had been an empty eyesore for any length of time. This pattern I was living in can be characterized as living there only and that is all. Although I lived there, my life could have been characterized as merely existing since I did not notice any of the important things around me that made my living space unique. This theory applies to many who live there. In fact, it applies widely to people living in many places throughout the globe as it is human nature for people to take familiar things for granted. The world moves so fast, events happen so quickly in every sphere of life that success is impossible without keeping in close touch with the latest development. Studying architecture has certainly broadened my vision and changed my perspective regarding these things. My studies opened my eyes, teaching me how to observe and read buildings and the cities in which they stand in totally different ways. Having visited many other countries’ greatest architectural constructions representing many different eras and styles, I began to think about the architecture

Taiwan or hong kong (asian) rituals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Taiwan or hong kong (asian) rituals - Essay Example It has to be believed that the concrete religious practices, such as community festivals, calendrical festivals, rites of cosmic renewals, and family oriented and individual religious rituals of Taiwan are culminated from the fusion of local and national traditions. Thus, it is an attempt at unraveling intricacies of rituals in the sphere of: (1) how does the ritual reflect the values of a community; (2) what are the underlying consequences of the ritual; (3) what is the stated purpose of the ritual; and (4) what behavior does this ritual make it seem natural or normal, in the socio-cultural Taiwanese perspective. Anthropologists and sociologists are interested in ritual studies, because discussions about rituals have key cultural importance and social concern. They take ritual events as â€Å"a mirror to reflect the larger problems of particular interests in an ethnographic case that become amenable to analysts† (Husken). Rituals are viewed to act as powerful mechanisms for constructions of the self and the other, of personal and collective identities, and are generally held to have benign effects. They bring core cultural values, ideology, knowledge and dramatic style to bear on real social relationships, problems and difficulties, often at key moments of transition or intensification. Social scientists view that ritual action is a conscious social mechanism of symbolic actions that reinforces the status quo by overwhelming the practitioner with a feeling of moral obligation to adhere to societal sentiments, which stress the importance of maintaining social structure.In short, ritual s are often at the centre of the play of social and cultural forces operating in a society. The cultural attributes of marriage, death, as well as religious practices are considered fundamental to the cultural make-up and identity of a country. Taiwan is a country where past, present and future

Victoria Secret Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Victoria Secret Marketing - Essay Example By way of vast expansion it is felt that they may not be able to stick onto this concept of self preservation. But for expansion of the stores this aspect must be totally changed and a contradictory thought is required in this. There are also whole worlds of opportunities that wait outside the US. Even under calls for protectionism by several business and government leaders, the trade agreements and reconfiguration of certain countries are undergoing and becoming a global marketplace where new ventures can be and are willingly carried out. (The Wide World of International Trade) Though many limited brand companies do recognize the potentiality of the global marketplace, the thought of executing the new venture is found to be discouraging. By way of this expansion there could be a more-deeper amount of commitment and also by opening stores in various other countries we could learn and formulate strategic business plans in wake of the expansion and which specifically addresses the new realities. Firstly to measure the potential of our expansion and target markets, the market study should try to identify certain aspects like similarities in business culture, practices as well as the law in the countries that we are going to expand. There are also other communication barriers being the language. Even the thought of spending, national tradition and religious beliefs of the people have also to be taken into account. The stability of the economic and political background of the market has also to be taken into account. What are the barriers to the limited market e ntry And also the current market size and the potential for growth have also to be taken into account for expansion (The Wide World of International Trade) There are countries that are found suitable in all the above aspects for the opening of new stores and for the expansion of Victoria Sercret. They are Tokyo, Taiwan and Korea, Singapore, Philippines. There is a market open for expanding to nearly many hundreds of stores in Taiwan alone. This is because of the reputable and retailing know-how of the country and also due to the acceptance of the people perspective in inviting new markets. For example the Starbucks Coffee International have agreements signed in opening 12 retail stores in Tokyo, 7 in Hawaii, 6 in Singapore and also in Philippines in 1998. This shows that these countries are very open to new markets and also welcome the new stores and also accept the coming of more markets into their country. (Come one, Come all, Come Every Year!) As a member of the marketing team a very vast potential market could also be visualized in Taiwan and Korea. These countries are suitable for these market expansions due to their perspective of culture and religion. If new stores are opened in these countries there could be an inviting market waiting in these countries which could benefit our expansion in the perspective of culture and religious tourism throughout the year. In this study there were also countries that may not help in expansion. They are Iraq, Syria, Iran and Caucasian countries. There could be no gain in opening new stores in these countries due to less scope in potential market. Whereas, the Arab countries could also be another good place for our expansion for opening new stores, due to the importance given to tourism in these countries. We could gain a good amount of market from the Arab countries

Education & Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Education & Identity - Essay Example Douglass’ account Frederick Douglass is a prime example of this theory. He was born into slavery and lived through his early life serving his Master. His story revolves around the hunt for freedom and is engulfed in the concept of education affecting his perception of his own life. Since he started life as a slave, living to serve another was a norm for him and while his Mistress treated him with utter care in the beginning, she soon became wary of his thirst for knowledge. It is perhaps this thirst for knowledge that is equally influential in altering a person’s perception as without it, one may not pursue education and knowledge in the first place. Thus, Douglass was taught the beginnings of education by his new mistress Mrs. Auld. She later became extremely cautious of teaching him anything else or him learning anything else himself; â€Å"Mistress, in teaching me the alphabet, had given me the ~inch,~ and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ~ell.~† (Douglass). What this implies is that the educated elite were also wary of the power of education and it was not such a peculiar phenomenon. Ever since he learnt the alphabet, and realized that any further progress in education was scorned upon, he became all the more wary of acquiring knowledge and went to extreme lengths to learn to read and write. His efforts show his inclination and dedication to the task. His shrewdness gave way to several ingenious ways in the pursuit of education. He would employ several friends in the street and run his errands quicker than expected in order to save time for gaining knowledge through them. He started pondering over things he did not ponder over before, questioning his right to be free and why it was so difficult to attain: "You will be free as soon as you are twenty-one, ~but I am a slave for life!~ Have not I as good a right to be free as you have?" (Douglass). At times this newfound thinking became a measure of pain as well, and would dou se him in anguish whenever the question of slavery would arise in discussion. As his ability to read improved, so did his taste for newer books. He eventually read a book entitled The Columbian Orator which became the epitome of his changing perception. The story was very similar to his own wherein a slave who wished to be free from his master ran away thrice only to be returned to him. Eventually, after an intellectual discussion between him and the master, the slave is discharged of all duties at the master’s discretion. Of course, this sparked a growing urge within Douglass to be free himself. Notice how it incited a new drive inside of him to be free from anyone else’s possession rather than simply nurturing his old desire to read and write. While the old desire still persisted, the new feelings and emotions as a result of perceived education transpired within him superficially to overtake his old inclinations to read and write. Thus, it had a dual effect. This can be judged from the fact that he describes himself as a chattel earlier but later grows in feelings and emotions as a direct result of the knowledge he acquires, completely opposite to the description of a chattel. His perception was no longer the same regarding slavery. It did not just stop there. Once the perception changed, so did his desires in life. This revelation came as soon as he understood the meaning of abolition which,

he Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie Essay Example for Free

he Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie Essay Identity shows a person’s individuality. A person’s individuality can include how they dress, their beliefs, their personality traits, the way they speak, their culture, their education, etc. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and in my own life, it is evident that when exploring identity, a character must leave and return to his/her roots before truly understanding him/herself. Arnold finds out who he is by leaving and later coming back to Rowdy. In the last scene, before Arnold and Rowdy played their one-on-one basketball game, Arnold and Rowdy repair their lost friendship. It is then that Arnold thinks, â€Å"I would always love Rowdy. And I would always miss him too. † (230) This quote shows how Arnold realizes that he is different from Rowdy. To begin, he has always valued his friendship with Rowdy and so he says that he â€Å"would always love Rowdy. † Even when Arnold had a disagreement with Rowdy when heading to Reardan for a better education, he still thought of how Rowdy would defend him. However, by the end of the book, Arnold realizes that he will have to â€Å"miss† Rowdy because their dreams make them too different from each other. Therefore, Arnold discovers that his life can still include Rowdy, who has been his friend since the beginning, however, he cannot rely on Rowdy to be with him always. By the end of the book, Arnold has returned to Rowdy as a stronger and independent person. Similarly, I found my true identity after leaving and returning to my family. Growing up, I came from a home that was traditionally Chinese. We did not easily express our emotions, we were not allowed to date until after college, and being successful at school would ultimately bring honor to my family. Though these beliefs were deeply ingrained in everything I did, a rebellious side of me wanted to discover what it meant to be American as well. Why were the other families so expressive and communicative towards each other? What mattered beyond grades and doing well in school? These questions led me to leave my family and head to college eight hours away. There, I met many people who did not come from Chinese families. I noticed that some students were not as disciplined at school because their families did not stress education or some students were a little overly expressive with their feelings, which caused drama among their peers. I began to miss my house where my parents had instilled values towards having a good education and protecting our family’s privacy. When returning home, I was thankful for understanding my parent’s values and their intentions for my future. Arnold truly finds himself when he has accepted his origins and absorbed them into his perspective of himself. His reunion with Rowdy and the reservation show how he came full circle in finding himself. Even though Arnold wanted to both physically and emotionally remove himself from the reservation in order to pursue his dreams, he ultimately realizes that it is only when he acknowledges his heritage that he can move forward into adulthood.

Feudalism and New Social Order Essay Example for Free

Feudalism and New Social Order Essay Political turmoil and constant warfare led to the rise of the European feudalism, a political and economic system based on land ownership and personal loyalty. During the Middle Ages invaders raised havoc all over Europe, and as a result people looked at local leaders for protection, causing kings to lose political power. A new social order was set up as well as a different economic system. Feudalism changed the economic, social, and political systems severely, and made the way we know the Middle Ages in Europe today. From about 800 to 1000 invasions tore apart Europe. Vikings terrorized locals with fearsome raids, Magyars attacked and captured locals to sell as slaves, and Muslims were out to conquer and settle Europe. The Vikings came from Scandinavia by huge ships that held up to 300 hundred warriors. These huge ships had 72 oars and held tons in weight, yet could still maneuver through waters as shallow as 3 feet, making it easier for them to invade inland villages and monasteries. The Vikings carried out with terrifying speeds. Their approach was to beach their ships and get what they wanted then leave. The Magyars invaded sometime in the late 800’s. They were nomadic people that attacked from the east from what is now Hungary. They were excellent horsemen and attacked isolated villages and monasteries. The Muslims struck from North Africa. Since they were superb seafarers they were able to attack settlements on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts. In the 600’s and 700’s there goal was to strictly conquer and settle. By the 800’s and 900’s they added plunder to their goals. Kings couldn’t effectively defend all the lands from these invasions, causing people to no longer look to a central ruler for protection. Local rulers who had their own armies gained political strength and power. During 850 to 950, the time of the worst years of the invaders’ attacks, agreements were made all over Europe to ensure security, thus, the start of feudalism. Feudalism structured society creating a pyramid of power and defined social classes. The feudal system was based on rights and obligation, so a lord granted land to a vassal in exchange for military protection. It all depended on the control of land. The structure of feudal society was much like a pyramid. The pyramid determined a person’s power. At the tip top was the king, then came church officials and nobles. Beneath them were the knights. Knights pledged to defend their lords’ land in exchange for fiefs. At the very bottom were the peasants. This feudal system enabled a cash-poor but land-rich lord to support a military force. But, in the end, the people were classified into only three different groups: those who fought (nobles and knights), those who prayed (people of the church), and those who worked (peasants). The social class you received was usually inherited. During the Middle Ages, the majority of people were peasants, and most peasants were serfs. Serfs could not lawfully leave the land they were born on, but weren’t slaves because their lord could not buy or sell them, but whatever their labor produced belonged to the lord. Feudalism had an economic side as well, the manorial system. The manor system was the basic economic arrangement during the middle ages. It as well rested on a set of rights and obligations, but between lords and serfs. Lords provided serfs with housing, farmland, and protection from bandits and in return serfs tended the lord’s lands and all other tasks needed to maintain the estate. All peasants owed the lord certain duties, whether they’re a serf or not. Usually it was a few days a week of labor and a portion of the grain. But generally, peasants didn’t within 25 miles of their own manor. They could walk out into the middle of the field and see their whole world. A manor covered about a few square miles of land, and it usually had the lord’s manor house, a church, and workshops. Typically, 15 to 30 families lives in the village on a manor. To live on the lord’s land all peasants paid a hefty price. They had to pay a tax on all grain ground in the lord’s mill and a marriage tax to the lord. Plus a church tax to the priest. Due to the turmoil and constant warfare brought about by the invaders, a new political and economic system had emerged and made its’ mark. Feudalism ended the dark ages of European history by introducing order to the common persons life. it might not have been pretty, but feudalism helped restore order and a sense of community/lawfulness to the areas it was embraced by.

New Labours Policy for Childcare

New Labours Policy for Childcare Title: New Labours policies in relation to children and families maintain a focus upon control of family life rather than supporting families. Critically evaluate the statement with reference to at least two policy areas Introduction: The social policies of any government are aimed at welfare and protection of individuals and promote economic and social development with the aim of establishing a welfare state (Ellison and Pierson, 1998). Effective social policy also helps individuals to lead a fulfilling life and in turn promotes the growth and change of economies. Bad social policy retards the growth of a country and its individuals and leaves people in poverty or social exclusion. In this essay we discuss the labour government’s social policies with regard to families and children. We will discuss a few major policy areas in children’s issues and family welfare and will critically evaluate whether these new labour government social policies are aimed at supporting or controlling family life. Social Policies – Family and Childcare After Labour’s advent to power in 1997, there have been substantial increases in spending on family care aimed at helping families with formal childcare, early education and work life balance (Brewer et al, 2005). The three major reforms in this area are To increase the generosity of and entitlement to paid (and unpaid) maternity, paternity and  adoption leave To entitle all 3- and 4-year-olds to free part-time nursery education for 12.5 hours per week,33 weeks of the year; To increase the subsidies available to working parents for spending on formal childcare. We give labour’s policies on family and childcare as laid down in its manifesto for helping families. The key features are given as follows: Source: Brewer et al. 2005 Labour’s policies The main policies are in three areas of family life namely, maternity leave and pay, childcare element of the WTC and free nursery education. Maternity pay Increase paid maternity leave from six months to nine months in 2007 ( £329m) Enable the transfer of some paid maternity leave to the father (uncosted) Has set a goal of increasing paid maternity leave from nine months to 12 months by 2010 ( £195m) Childcare element of the WTC Increase the proportion of formal childcare costs that can be claimed from 70% to 80% in 2006 ( £130m) Free nursery Education Free nursery education for 3- and 4-year-olds for 12.5 hours a week, 38 weeks a year from 2007 ( £200m f) and 15 hours a week, 38 weeks a year by 2010 ( £300m) The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) analyses that labour’s policies of increasing paid maternity leave from 9 months to 12 months will cost a minimum of  £195 million per year, There are also possibilities of behavioural changes, which may increase above-inflation earnings growth and if this happens, the costs of the reforms will also increase considerably. The IFS further suggests that all main parties are committed to increasing the proportion of formal childcare costs that can be claimed under the childcare element working tax credit from 70% to 80% in 2006 at a cost of  £130 million per year. Labour is committed to increasing free nursery education for 3 and 4 year olds to 12.5 hours per week and 38 weeks per year by 2007 and this will cost  £200 million per year and if this is increased to 15 hours per week , 38 weeks per year by 2010, this will cost the government  £300 million per year (IFS report, 2005; also see Brewer et al, 2005). The Labour government’s focus on family and childcare policies has been on three areas: work–life balance child care and nursery education; the affordability of childcare. Since coming to power, Labour’s emphasis on family issues have focused greatly on increased maternity paid leave. The trend has been to increase the right to time off for new mothers and pregnant women and to compensate them during this period. The legislations brought into place for implementation of these policies included the Employment Relation Act (1999) in the first term of Labour’s power and the Employment Act (2002) in the second term which increased length of ordinary maternity leave and relaxed employments conditions related to additional maternity leave. Statutory maternity allowance and pay levels were also increased. Issues related to household expenditure and child care and the influence of parental poverty affecting children have been major concerns for the government. The government has put reducing child poverty as its focus in improving child welfare policies since 1999 and reduction of child poverty is an important aspect of the domestic policy agenda that has led to increases in children’s benefits and tax credits for families with children. According to Goodman et al(2005), although these increases in tax credits and benefits for families help the government to meet proximate policy aims and help reduce income based measures of child poverty, by 2004-05 and by 2010-11 it will be questioned whether and how much these financial transfers and benefits have affected measures of well being , especially improved conditions of children despite increase in income. A new measure of child poverty as identified by the Government is material deprivation. Studies have indicated the relationship between family income and material deprivation in children and have highlighted how poverty and deprivation influence both parent and child health (see Daniel and Ivatts, 1998). However, Blow et al (2005) attempted an analysis of the child benefit system or the CB which is a transfer payment depending on the number of children in the household. The study indicated that Child Benefits do seem to have considerable impact on household expenditure patterns although the cash received as child benefit has been found to be spent not on child assignable goods but disproportionately on alcohol. This obviously is a shocking piece of information but the government’s new policies of relating family income with material deprivation or poverty of children needs to be analysed beyond just how the benefit system is used. Government’s policies towards childcare are aimed at reducing material deprivation due to family economic condition (Berridge, 1999). Information on material deprivation is however often collected as an alternative basis for measuring poverty, and poverty measures based on this type of information are often referred to as â€Å"consensual† poverty measures (Goodman et al, 2005). Material deprivation is however a vague term as the absence of certain items of consumption in the household is usually described as material deprivation of children. However, governmental definition of deprivation may not be tenable as the presence o certain consumable in the household can be matter of choice or preference. Goodman et al (2005) correctly points out that low family incomes may be a reason for material deprivation, yet the other possible reasons have to be considered. The government policies of providing increased support on the basis of the number of children in household can also be flawed. Health levels have been found to vary according to changes in income levels although Goodman concludes that if properly studied, material deprivation can indicate long term measure of family income. Goodman and associates suggest that ‘there is still a lot to do in terms of developing a methodology for analysis of material deprivation which would be consistent with economic theory and guided by stricter ‘scientific’ rules’ (p.11). Government policies of promoting family welfare and childcare, providing benefits in proportion to the number of children in the household, using family income levels as a measure of material deprivation and making provisions for increased paid maternity leave and increased nursery care have been criticised as more controlling measures to regulate family life rather than providing support. Hills and Stewart (2005) have criticised New Labour policies as although helpful in reducing child poverty is completely ineffective in promoting economic equality in society. New Labour has taken poverty issues, especially in children very seriously and aims to halve this problem by 10 years and abolish it in another generation. Yet Hills and Stewart point out, despite these moves, Britain continues to remain an unequal society. A study by LSE suggests that child poverty has been reduced considerably through tax and benefits reforms (also see Berridge, 1999). Yet, although low income families with many children seem to have benefited from the policy, poverty levels among childless adults have reached record levels since Labour’s policies in 1997. Yet a one sided approach is not the only criticism against Labour’s policies. As claimed by analysts, controlling rather than supporting, by providing benefits to only a category of people seems to justify the increased resist ance of Labour’s policies regarding family issues and child welfare. In fact, Giullari and Shaw (2005) emphasise that as far as social policy on families and children are concerned, teenage pregnancy has been the subject of attention in recent social policy. Whether teenage parents should get supported housing and other kinds of support from the government and the family has been a controversial and problematic issue. The authors suggest in their paper that New labour’s construction of teenage parents’ housing needs as an issue to be considered is in isolation from support. The paper focuses on family support and suggests that New Labour’s supported housing strategy ignores its fragile and individualised nature and also tends to disregard teenage parents need for independent housing and capacity for autonomous living. New Labour seems to show more control of the teenage parents who are perceived to be at risk of welfare dependency rather than a genuine concern for support. The paper argues that if New Labour is to show genuine sup port to teenage parents, then providing independent housing to these parents should be a primary strategy. Conclusion New Labour’s policies seem to have concentrated on abolishing child poverty, maintaining family as a unit, providing increased maternity paid leave, and implementation of legislation that seem to support governmental decision on family issues. The families with more children are given many benefits and financial support whereas the childless adults seem to have been neglected and show record levels of poverty or loss in income with no government help after Labour came to power. Abolishing child poverty by focussing on income levels of family that apparently seems to determine material deprivation again seems to be a flawed policy biased in judgement. This is because material deprivation of children, an issue taken seriously by the government may be a question of personal choice and preferences and some children who are provided with certain consumables may not need certain others. This policy thus seems to be flawed as the government may not be the right institution to decide material deprivation in children and stress the separation of children into deprived or non-deprived categories based on assessment of family income levels. Finally we have discussed the direct control of government in issues of teenage parents to prevent them from taking benefits from the government which suggest that arguments against government control in social policy initiatives with regard to child and family issues may just be valid. Bibliography Allan G Crow G (2001),  Families, Households and Society.  Basingstoke.  Palgrave Berridge D. 1999,  Child Welfare in England: Problems, Promises and Prospects,  International Journal of Social Welfare,  Volume 8,Number 4, October 1999, pp. 288-296(9) Blackwell Publishing Laura Blow, Alissa Goodman, Greg Kaplan, Ian Walker and Frank Windmeijer, 2005,  How important is income in determining childrens outcomes? A methodology review of econometric approaches,  Mimeos , IFS publication. August. Laura Blow, Ian Walker and Yu Zhu, 2005,  Who benefits from Child Benefit?,  Mimeos, IFS publication Mike Brewer, Claire Crawford and Lorraine Dearden, 2005,  Helping families: childcare, early education and the work-life balance Election Briefing Notes, IFS publication Daniel P and Ivatts J (1998),  Children and Social Policy,  Macmillan Fox Harding, L (1997),  Perspectives in Child Care,  Longman 2nd ed. Ellison N. Pierson C. (1998),  Developments in British Social Policy.  MacMillan. Garatt D, Roche J Tucker S (1997),  Changing Experiences of Youth.  London. Sage Giullari , S and Shaw, M (2005),  Supporting or controlling? New Labour’s housing strategy for teenage parents,  Critical Social Policy, Vol. 25, No. 3, 402-417 Alissa Goodman and Michal Myck, 2005,  Parental income and child outcomes: what can we learn from material deprivation?  Mimeos, IFS publication John Hills and Kitty Stewart,  A More Equal Society? New Labour, Poverty, Inequality and Exclusion,  The Policy Press, 2005 Muncie, H, Wetherall, M, Langan M, Dallos, R Cochrane, A (1997),  Understanding the Family,  Open University Press Carol Smart Equal shares: rights for fathers or recognition for children? Critical Social Policy, Nov 2004; 24: 484 503. Websites: www.childpoverty.org Institute for Fiscal Studies website. www.ifs.org http://www.ifs.org.uk/publications.php www.childrights.org.uk www.sosig.ac.uk http://www.labour.org.uk/familiesandchildren04 New Labour report LSE http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/pressAndInformationOffice/newsAndEvents/archives/2005/John_Hills_NewLabourReport.html

Bruises :: essays research papers

A bruise is one of the most common types of injury. It occurs when there is a blow or fall that causes small blood vessels to break under the skin. The discoloration and swelling in the skin are caused by the blood seeping into the tissue. The symptoms are pain, a redness that later turns blue, then green, then brown and yellow before fading away. Cold compresses or ice are useful immediately after the injury. This reduces local bleeding and swelling. If the bruise is on the extremities elevate the limbs above the level of the heart to decrease blood flow. After 24 hours apply moist heat. Heat dilates the vessels and increases circulation to the affected area. The proper homeopathic remedy greatly speeds the time of healing bruises and relieves the bad quickly. Materia Medica ACETIC ACID (2). Shock causes great relaxation, with vertigo and fainting. Dry heat after much bruising or sprains. Eyes sunken and surrounded by dark rings. Emissions the next night. ARNICA (3*). The first remedy to give in bruising as it will prevent pain and soreness and help the absorption of blood. The entire body feels bruised and aches. Arnica tincture should be use externally if the skin is unbroken. BELLIS (2*). Useful when it seems that an internal organ or bowel has been bruised. It is sometimes called the internal Arnica. It is also useful for bruises of bangs to the female breast. (a). If Bellis is not sufficient it may be followed by Conium in bruises to the breast. CONIUM (2). Indurations following bruises. Bruises to the glands with stony hardness. Injuries to the breast. (a). Sulph-ac. follows well here. HAMAMELIS (3). The entire body feelings bruised and sore after traumatic injuries. Follow Arnica if it does not remove these feelings. Can be use as a tincture on severe bruising esp. if the skin is broken. HYPERICUM (2). Bruises that affect the nerves. Neuritis after bruising. LEDUM (3*). Bruises with dark purple ecchymosis. Discoloration long after injury. The injured part feels cold but is Better > by cold worse < by heat. Blackeyes. PHOSPHORUS (3). Bruise appear for almost no reason. Easy bleeding under the skin. The sufferer does not even know when they got the bruise. RUTA (3). This remedy is use for bruises to the bone and periosteum. It may also be used externally in tincture over the area. SYMPHYTUM (2). Pain in the eye after a blow with an obtuse body.

Against the War On Drugs in America Essay -- Legalize Narcotics Drug

The Case Against America’s War on Drugs The legal prohibition on most psychoactive drugs has been in place in this country for the better part of a century. This policy of prohibition, however, has never been based on reason or careful consideration, but on the paranoia of a small segment of society and the indifferent willingness of the majority to accept this vocal minority’s claims without question. Outlawing any use of a particular drug is a violation of the basic freedom of individuals to act as they please in their private lives. However, even if one does not accept this belief, an objective analysis of the United States’ history of prohibition clearly shows that attempts to enforce this policy have done far more harm than good, and have utterly failed to control behavior in the intended manner. These are the two lines of reasoning I will take to argue against drug prohibition in this paper. After giving a brief history of prohibition, I will show that it is wrong in principal and that there is no moral basis for this policy. I will then show that, regardless of moral considerations, prohibition has not and probably cannot work, and more specifically that the "war on drugs" has been a disaster which should be ended immediately. I will then conclude by discussing possible consequences of legalization. A Brief History of Prohibition Government has not always seen fit to outlaw psychoactive drugs in the Western world. In fact, there was no prohibition in this country until 1914. Cocaine and Marijuana were both used in the late 19th century both for medicinal and recreational purposes. During this time there was considerable pressure for a ban on alcohol, but narcotics were simply not viewed as a threat to society. N... ...ave been taken as self-evident, but it should be clear by now that they are not. It is time that we stop wasting our economic and legal resources on this hopeless crusade to shape everyone into a few people’s idea of perfection and put these resources toward helping those who truly need it. Works Cited Ackerman, Elise. "The Latest Buzz on Hemp." U.S. News & World Report, March 15, 2008. 50. ACLU. "ACLU Briefing Paper: Against Drug Prohibition." (Online) Lazare, Daniel. "The Drug War is Killing Us." The Village Voice, January 23, 2008. London, William. "Will Legalizing Drugs Benefit Public Health?--Yes." Priorities Volume 7 Number 2. 1995. (Online) Ostrowski, James. "Thinking About Drug Legalization." Policy Analysis No. 121. May 25, 1989. Rosenfield, Jim. "The War on Drugs is a Great Success." The Ostrich File. Volume 6, March 20, 1996. (Online). Against the War On Drugs in America Essay -- Legalize Narcotics Drug The Case Against America’s War on Drugs The legal prohibition on most psychoactive drugs has been in place in this country for the better part of a century. This policy of prohibition, however, has never been based on reason or careful consideration, but on the paranoia of a small segment of society and the indifferent willingness of the majority to accept this vocal minority’s claims without question. Outlawing any use of a particular drug is a violation of the basic freedom of individuals to act as they please in their private lives. However, even if one does not accept this belief, an objective analysis of the United States’ history of prohibition clearly shows that attempts to enforce this policy have done far more harm than good, and have utterly failed to control behavior in the intended manner. These are the two lines of reasoning I will take to argue against drug prohibition in this paper. After giving a brief history of prohibition, I will show that it is wrong in principal and that there is no moral basis for this policy. I will then show that, regardless of moral considerations, prohibition has not and probably cannot work, and more specifically that the "war on drugs" has been a disaster which should be ended immediately. I will then conclude by discussing possible consequences of legalization. A Brief History of Prohibition Government has not always seen fit to outlaw psychoactive drugs in the Western world. In fact, there was no prohibition in this country until 1914. Cocaine and Marijuana were both used in the late 19th century both for medicinal and recreational purposes. During this time there was considerable pressure for a ban on alcohol, but narcotics were simply not viewed as a threat to society. N... ...ave been taken as self-evident, but it should be clear by now that they are not. It is time that we stop wasting our economic and legal resources on this hopeless crusade to shape everyone into a few people’s idea of perfection and put these resources toward helping those who truly need it. Works Cited Ackerman, Elise. "The Latest Buzz on Hemp." U.S. News & World Report, March 15, 2008. 50. ACLU. "ACLU Briefing Paper: Against Drug Prohibition." (Online) Lazare, Daniel. "The Drug War is Killing Us." The Village Voice, January 23, 2008. London, William. "Will Legalizing Drugs Benefit Public Health?--Yes." Priorities Volume 7 Number 2. 1995. (Online) Ostrowski, James. "Thinking About Drug Legalization." Policy Analysis No. 121. May 25, 1989. Rosenfield, Jim. "The War on Drugs is a Great Success." The Ostrich File. Volume 6, March 20, 1996. (Online).

Programming Language and Future Career

Career-related discussions are something that my dad and I tend to have on the weekly basis, and have increased since changing my major to Management Information Systems last year. Our latest discussion was on the phone about word choice and the do’s and don’ts when writing/typing papers and other documents, moving forward in college as well as in my future career. What sparked up this conversation though was my dissatisfaction with a comment I got on a paper from a peer review. The comment stated that my choice of words were not â€Å"scholarly† or on the college level.It really got under my skin so I decided to call my father about it. I told him the situation, and I felt that my paper was scholarly and I wrote it in a way that my fellow classmates would understand. His response was, moving forward into my career, the choice of words I used really would play a big part. As more advice he told me that having a bigger vocabulary showed professionalism and knowled ge. Throughout our discussion I became frustrated because I believed that as long as my audience understood what I was talking about it should not matter how â€Å"simple† the words were.Even though I knew what he saying was right I did not want to hear it, because I was frustrated about the comment. I wanted to tell him that I didn’t care what he had to say after a while, but I have a lot of respect for my father. I knew what he was saying was right from experience being a computer programmer, where he is constantly in meetings and speaking in front of his colleagues. After we finish talking I still felt a little frustration, because I kept thinking back to the comment.I really was surprised by the valid points my father made about the situation because I was so set on the way I felt and my stubbornness took over. The discussion was really needed though, initially I was not going to go back and reedit my paper but my father words really made sense. I guess he was righ t the choice of words you choose can really go a long way. The advice I took from our discussion to help me in my future career was to continue practicing and improving my writing skills.

Hillcrest Case 7 H&P

HISTORY AND PHYSICAL EXAM Patient: T. J. Moreno Patient ID: 110497DOB: 02/15Age: 44Sex: M Room No. : 502 Date of Admission: 10/09/2013 Admitting Physician: Patrick Keathley, MD Endocrinology Chief Complaint: Left ankle pain. DETAILS OF PRESENT ILLNESS: This is a 44 year old Hispanic male who I was kindly asked to admit by Dr. Max Hirsch. The patient is status post arthrodesis of the left ankle and has newly diagnosed diabetes and hypertension. PAST MEDICAL HISTORY: Pre-op blood glucose was noted to be greater than 200. The patent asked for a medicine consult/admission for further evaluation.Currently he denies chest pain and shortness of breath. No dysuria, or increased urinary frequency. Past history is significant for hearing loss in the right ear subsequent to an assault several years ago. PAST SURGICAL HISTORY: Lower back surgery and a left ankle surgery. SOCIAL HISTORY: Patient admits to drinking beer on the weekends, some tobacco use, but no illicit drug use, is divorced with f our children, is a long haul truck driver, lives with his fiancee. MEDICATIONS: Patient is to provide a list, admits to taking no diabetes meds. PHSYICAL EXAMINATION: VITAL SIGNS: afebrile, BLOOD PRESSURE: 155/98. HEART RATE: 69.In general he is in no acute distress, alert and oriented X4. HEENT: Mucus membranes moist. No facial asymmetry. Left ear : WNL, Right ear: with profound hearing loss. LUNGS: clear to auscultation and percussion bilaterally. CV: Normal. S1, S2 without murmurs or rubs. GI: soft, non-tender, non-distended. No HSM. Positive Bowel sounds. GENITALIA: deferred. EXTREMEITIES: No edema. He has been admitted for left ankle surgery. NEUROLOGIC: intact with the exception on cranial nerve on the right. LABS: CBC within normal range. Pre-op glucose 239. BUN and creatinine of 8 and 0. 5. Pre-op UA with 3+ glucose. (Continued)HISTORY AND PHYSICAL EXAM Patient: T. J. Moreno Patient ID: 110497DOB: 02/15Age: 44Sex: M Room No. : 502 Page: 2 ASSESSMENT AND PLAN: 1) Status post ankle arthrodesis: tolerated procedure well, will continue to monitor. 2) Diabetes: patient with elevated glucose and blood in urine. We will start sliding scale for now. Likely needs Lantus. Possible candidate for Metformin. 3) Hypertension: We will start lisinopril. 4) Pain: we will continue to monitor pain post-op and provide adequate pain control. _____________________________________________________________ Patrick Keathley, MD Endocrinology PH/xx D: 10/09/ T: 10/10

How sawm shows devotion to god Essay

Sawm is the fourth pillar of Islam and is an important act of ibadah. The word â€Å"Ramadan† comes from the Arabic root word for â€Å"parched thirst† and â€Å"sun-baked ground.† It is expressive of the hunger and thirst felt by those who spend the month in fasting. As opposed to other holidays, when people often indulge, Ramadan is by nature a time of sacrifice. The month of Ramadan is sacred because the first revelation of the Qur’an is said to have occurred during this month. By tradition the month starts with the sighting of the new moon by at least two Muslims. For the entire month, Muslims must fast from daybreak to sunset by refraining from eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse. It is an apparent sign of devotion as it shows obedience, submission and servitude to God, the Exalted. By fasting, a Muslim expresses his submission to Allah’s command, his response to His will, and control over his own desires and wishes at the God’s command. In the holy month of Ramadan, a Muslim’s abstaining from food, drink, sexual intercourse, during the prescribed hours is the very manifestation of devotion to the Creator’s will. This self-deprivation represents a state of self-control and of overcoming pleasure, desire, and enjoyment, for the blissful love of God. It is a triumph of pure love over one’s pleasures for the eternal ones promised by God, the Almighty. This response to the Divine commandments represents and incarnates true devotion and is a brilliant display of spirit, intellect and decisive willpower. This purification allows them to prove their devotion to Allah by demonstrating they will honor the fast whether they are alone or with others, because it is His wish that they do so. Through fasting the Muslims are able to share in their unity with each other and their community, and display their gratitude to God for being given the words of the Qur’an. Through increased devotion, Muslims feel closer to their Creator, and recognize that everything we have in this life is a blessing from Him. Traditions (Hadith) succinctly explain this fact: â€Å"A fasting person is in a state of worship, even when (asleep) in bed, except when he backbites about another Muslim.†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Every breath you take is (has the reward of) Tasbih (praise to Allah) and your sleep is worship†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In a moving speech, the Prophet of Allah described the believing soul that fasts for love of Allah out of truthfulness and sincerity, and out of devotion for him then the whole day becomes an alter of worship, and each and every activity of the fasting body, provided it abstains from loathsome acts, is nothing but worship embodied. This is why Muslims become focused in Ramadan and carry out lots of Ibadah to gain reward and please Allah as we need him in our lives as he is that powerful and the guide The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) described the sleep of a fasting Muslim, even the very breathing, as acts of worship, because they emanate from a body regarded as being in a state of continual worship through abstaining from tasting delicious and lawful things, solely out of obedience and devotion to the Creator. He Himself extols fasting and attributes as a special blessing for mankind as is clear from a ‘Hadith-e-Qudsi’: The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) said: â€Å"God, the Exalted says: ‘Fasting is (exclusively) for me and I will reward it.† Ali ibn Musa al-Rida (A.S.), the Eighth Imam quoted his ancestor the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) on the chain of authority of his noble forefathers: â€Å"O people, anybody who in this month (Ramadan) cultivates good manners, will walk over the ‘Sira’ (Paradise’s bridge) on the Day when feet will tend to slip†¦.† The practices of Islamic fasting are designed to divert human mind towards righteousness through a process of self-denials. Fasting constitutes a process of self-purification, self-righteousness, and spiritual development of one self. Sawm also shows devotion to god through various other acts. An additional prayer is added in Ramadan called taraweeh.it is a Sunnah prayer and efforts are made to recite as much of the Quran as possible. This prayer is generally offered in congregation and those who cannot make it to the congregation pray it at home. This additional prayer prayed each day for 30 days shows love for god and how much we appreciate the guidance he sent through the Qur’an and how much we need god in our lives to show us the â€Å"straight path†. The night of power is also a way to show devotion to god as it was the night the Quran was revealed and so Muslims recite as much Quran as possible and perform other acts of Ibadah. This show devotion to god as many Muslims stay awake during the night so it shows our love for god as it says that the ummah will worship god and listen to him as he does to us. We will thank him and show devotion to him. The fasting person is training himself to remember that Allah (SWT) is always watching, so he gives up the things that he desires even though he is able to take them, because he knows that Allah (SWT) can see him. This shows devotion to god as it tells us that even though an individual would want to eat or do bad deeds as they can because it is in our control we do not as god has told us not to do it. This shows that the ummah will listen to god as we believe he provides and does everything we ask for us so we can do this for him. Another way muslins show devotion to god is through dua which is personal prayer to god. Many Muslims carry out this personal prayer in Ramadan after all the 5 prayers or in the morning before the fajr prayer when Muslims perform a Sunnah prayer called tahajud. This shows devotion to god as it show that Muslims are willing to wake up or stay awake just to please Allah and worship him as he fulfils our prayers so we must ask more and praise him during this. ‘Sawm is more about uniting the Muslim community than about showing devotion to Allah.’ Discuss? (10) Sawm is about showing devotion to Allah as In the holy month of Ramadan, a Muslim’s abstaining from food, drink, sexual intercourse, during the prescribed hours is the very devotion Muslim’s have to the Creator’s will. This self-deprivation represents a state of self-control and of overcoming pleasure, desire, and enjoyment, for the blissful love of God. It is a triumph of pure love over one’s pleasures for the eternal ones promised by God, the Almighty. This response to the commands of Allah represents and incarnates true devotion and is a brilliant display of spirit, intellect and decisive willpower. This purification allows them to prove their devotion to Allah by demonstrating they will honour the fast whether they are alone or with others, because it is His wish that they do so. . Through increased devotion, Muslims feel closer to their Creator, and recognize that everything we have in this life is a blessing from Him. Also Muslims celebrate the gift of Quran purely for the sake of Allah and to thank him for sending a guide to the Muslim’s. Ramadan is month were everyone recharges their spiritual batteries on for the sake of Allah and to have him be pleased with us and to forgive any previous sins. Sawm also is intended to strengthen the worldwide Ummah not merely in shared experience and practical provision but in contributing to the concept of spiritual unity and cohesive communal solidarity which is the hallmark of Islam. Through fasting the Muslims are able to share in their unity with each other and their community, and display their gratitude to God for being given the words of the Qur’an as they all as a community pray taraweeh and pray parts of the Quran collectively so all the young and all join in and realise the importance of the Muslim Ummah. In addition to this Muslim’s give their zakat or sadqa in the month of Ramadan as they also want those Muslim’s who cannot afford it to have the best Ramadan possible and it helps them also identify the poor and realise that as they are also Muslim’s it is our duty to help them. Mosque receivers is a way the Muslim community comes together as women and children in the home can listen top talks and speeches in the home so they don’t miss out on any information about Islam and can also hear the prayers at home so they become part of the community swell. Muslims give food to one another so it shoes that we are all there for each other and we are am Muslim Ummah so muslin’s should give in this blessed month to friends, relatives to share the bond of Islam. However sawm is about showing devotion to god and worshiping him through fasting or praying but to do this Muslim’s come together as an Ummah to help one another and get more reward of carrying out the worship together. However each individual Muslim for doing good acts will get rewards for him but the reason it is done together is because the Ummah is important in Islam to keep it going.

Legos

Legos are fantastic toys to satisfy anyone from young to old, with these toys you can build Marvel sets to Harry Potter sets. Legos have been around since 1932 and were made out of wood and metal, it is now 2018 and the legos have since then had a major progression in how they look. Nowadays legos are small plastic pieces that come in sets but back in 1932 you would just get random lego pieces and you would have to purchase more to get the right pieces for that specific set. Ole Kirk Kristiansen is the founder of Lego, Ole Kirk was born in Omvrà ¥ Mark, Blà ¥hà ¸j-Filskov parish, Denmark, on April 7, 1891. When Ole got to the age of seven, he worked as a smallholder but later he moved to a farm near Filskov. On November 1903 Ole Kirk became an apprenticed as a carpenter and joiner to his brother, Kristian Bonde Kristiansen. On February 1, 1916, Ole at the age of twenty four bought Billund Maskinsnedkeri for DKK 10,000. The Billund is a community consisting of small farmers. Billund factory crafts doors, windows, kitchen cabinets, cupboards, and coffins. The USA and UK place restrictions on imports, and this brings the crisis directly to the Danish farming community in 1930. Butter and pigmeat prices fall sharply, and as these products represent a huge section of Danish exports, life becomes very difficult for Danish farmers. Many farmers are forced from their farms. The economic crisis also has serious consequences for Ole Kirk Kristiansen. Farmers and smallholders, his most important customers, can no longer afford to carry out carpentry and joinery work, and in 1931 he has no option but to let his last journeyman go. After years of being successful finally the economy hit and this made Ole switch to making toys for little kids, which became a worldwide success. 1932 is a difficult year for Ole Kirk Kristiansen. Reflecting the crisis in agriculture, his carpentry and joinery business is not doing well. He is forced to lay off his last journeyman employee, and in the midst of his economic troubles he loses his wife, and finds himself alone with four sons aged between 6 and 15 years. Ole's son Godtfred Kirk Kristiansen would become a junior vice president of the company in 1950, on his 30th birthday. In 1957 Godtfred became a Managing Director, but the following year Godtfred became the head of the company after his father died to a heart attack on March 11, 1958. By 1960, Godtfred had bought out his three brothers to become sole proprietor of the company. Godtfred got married to a woman named Edith Kirk Christiansen which he had three kids with named Gunhild Kirk Johansen, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen and Hanne Kristiansen. On October 1969 Hanne and Kjeld were driving home from watching a movie and the car lost control and slid off the road killing Hanne and seriously injuring Kjeld. After this incident Godtfred went into a depression and considered selling the lego company. In 1979 Godtfred son Kjeld became president and CEO of the lego company. In 2004 Kjeld stepped down from his position of president and CEO to focus on being the owner of the lego group and vice-chairman of the board. While Kjeld was maintaining his role as vice-chairman of the board KIRKBI A/S, Lego Holding A/S and the Lego Foundation. Lego is privately held and is controlled by the Kristiansen family and their foundations. Kjeld and his wife, Camilla, live in Denmark and have three children and two grandchildren. His youngest daughter is the danish dressage rider Agnete Kirk Thinggaard. The production of lego is a complex algorithm, these robots make small toys for kids and adults to play with and get lost in time building and using them. Making legos all start with tiny plastic grains called granules which come in a bunch of different colors. From there trucks filled with granules drive up to one of the lego factories all around the world, where giant hoses suck up the granules and then dump them into three story high metal silos. There are 14 silos and each one can hold up to 33 tons of granules. From the silos, the plastic granules are fed down pipes to the molding machines. Inside the molding machines, the granules are superheated to a temperature of about 450 degrees Fahrenheit. This melted plastic goo is fed into molds, little metal containers shaped like hollow lego bricks. Think of them as very complicated versions of the ice cube trays you keep in your own freezer. The molding machine applies hundreds of tons of pressure to make sure the bricks are shaped with perfect accuracy. Then they are cooled and ejected, which only takes about 10 seconds. Because of the dangerous conditions and high precision required, the molding process is almost completely automated. Finished pieces roll down conveyor belts into boxes. When a box is full, the molding machine sends a radio signal to one of the robot trucks that patrol the hall. The robot trucks are guided by grooves in the factory floor. They pick up full boxes and place them onto another conveyor belt that takes them onto the next step of the manufacturing process. The next stop in the manufacturing process is the assembly halls where details are printed on and multi-part pieces are put together. Faces, control panels, numbers, words and other decorative details are stamped onto bricks by a giant printer. Some lego pieces like minifigure legs are made up of several pieces that fit together. These complex pieces are snapped together by machines that apply pressure with great precision. The final step is putting all the right pieces together to make complete lego sets. Sets can have hundreds of different pieces, so the packaging process has to be fast and accurate. Boxes called cassettes roll on conveyor belts underneath the bins that hold each type of piece. The bins open and close to release the right number of pieces into each cassette. Finally, packing operators fold the boxes and add the building instructions and additional pieces and look out for any machine-made mistakes.

Attrition in Bpo

Abstract The broad objective of this research is to identify the root causes of attrition and retention in BPOs, analyzing the level of employee motivation, satisfaction and involvement, generate a model for maximizing sustenance of employees in the organization and come up with concrete recommendations, which will eventually be valuable to the organizations to retain their employees for a long term. 1. Objective It is clear from the review of BPO research that solutions are required to some specific problems of practical importance in the field of escalating attrition and retention in BPOs. The broad objective f this paper is to identify the root causes of attrition and retention in BPOs, analyzing the level of employee motivation, satisfaction and involvement, generate a model for maximizing sustenance of employees in the organization and come up with concrete recommendations, which will eventually be valuable to the organizations to retain their employees for a long term. The spec ific objectives of this paper are:  · To identify and rank the factors of attrition in BPOs based on accumulative literature review and secondary data.  · To develop a regression model for escalating the stay of employees in BPOs nd give recommendations for the same.  · To assess the existing level of employee motivation and validate the model by studying the impact of recommendations on a small patch. 2. Introduction The last decade saw an upheaval in the growth and development of the Indian economy, which was accompanied by the revolution in the technological front and a radical change in the way businesses were done. Instead of being the jack-ofall- trades, the smart organizations have now redefined the way of working and now aim at being the master of their core business. Outsourcing the non-core processes in order to concentrate on the ore ones is how the companies prefer to work now. BPO has become the obvious strategic choice of the phenomenal lifestyles seem to flash t he mind in a jiffy. That’s just the start. One reads it again, contemplates over it, dives into the unveiled afflictions, and gives it a second thought and companies looking at the visible profits of cost reduction while improving the quality of service, increasing shareholder value etc. With the whirlpool of opportunities the Indian Business Process Outsourcing sector seems to be on a happy ride. It has emerged rapidly, and its exports have grown from $565 million in 2000 to about $7. 3 illion in 2005. With the boat steaming ahead in the global markets, India has already become the most privileged destination. Hence such an eternal inventory of opportunities simply showcases a phenomenon, which is no less than the renaissance for our Indian markets. Attrition in BPOs has terrible effects on the organization. The high attrition costs increases the costs to the organization considerably. They have to combat the amount of disruption due to unplanned exits. The more the people l eave an organization, the more it is a drain on the company’s resources like recruitment expenses, training and orientation resources and the time.The high attrition rate also affects the productivity of the organization. Therefore, it is extremely important to curb attrition not only for an individual firm but also for the industry as a whole. Many researchers have worked enormously on the IT & BPO sector, citing its challenges, issues, and ATTRITION AND RETENTION OF EMPLOYEES IN BPO SECTOR Ankita Srivastava [email  protected] com SKS Group of Institution,Mathura Yogesh Tiwari [email  protected] com SKS Group of Institution,Mathura Hradesh Kumar hradesh. [email  protected] com SKS Group of Institution,Mathura Ankita Srivastava et al,Int. J. Comp. Tech.Appl,Vol 2 (6), 3056-3065 IJCTA | NOV-DEC 2011 Available [email  protected] ijcta. com 3056 ISSN:2229-6093 opportunities in and around employee performance, employee satisfaction, employee turnover etc. 3. Literature Re view Grossman and Helpman’s (2005: 135) statement, â€Å"We live in an age of outsourcing,† clearly designates that outsourcing has now become an acknowledged, accepted and established business strategy. One of the most familiar forms of outsourcing is business process outsourcing BPO, i. e. , transferring the operational ownership of one or more of the firm’s business processes to an external supplier that, in turn, administers the rocesses according to some predefined metrics (Ghosh and Scott, 2005; Stone, 2004). BPO or Business Process Outsourcing thus refers to the rearrangement of entire business functions to some other service providers, primarily in low cost locations. The service provider may be either selfowned or a third party. This relocation or transferring of business processes to an external provider is essentially to accomplish increased shareholder value. Some of the general services provided by the BPOs are Receivables and Payables, Inventory Ma nagement, Order Processing, Cash flow Analysis, Reconciliation, Data Entry, PayrollProcessing, QuickBooks Accounting, Financial Statement Preparation and Accounting Services. Some of the web based services include live online sales and order entry, E-commerce transaction support, Live online enquiry handling, Web Design/Development. Reduced international trade barriers and improved telecommunication and IT capability over the past decade has led to a situation where organizations across the world are increasingly interlinked with each other. This has resulted in intense global competition, challenging business managers across the world to find ways to reduce the cost of conducting business and accessing lobal resources in meeting the need of global markets. In such a context, the reorganization of business models to leverage benefits of outsourcing and focus on core competencies has become a key strategy pursued by large corporations across the world. BPO service-providers are expec ted to provide a wide spectrum of benefits to their customers, ranging from having greater expertise in the outsourced processes, lower costs achieved through economies of scale, scalability and the ability to absorb cyclicality of loads.  · Demand-Supply Equations According to market analysis firm Gartner, the global outsourcing market in 2000 was pproximately $119 bn and will touch $234 bn by the end of 2005. The market is expected to grow to about $310 bn by the end of 2008. Contribution from the North American continent stands at about 59% of the total market, with Europe contributing about 27% and Asia-Pac region (including Japan) contributing the remaining portion of the market. In terms of vertical contribution, the financial services industry contributes approximately 17% of the total market size, followed by the Telecom sector (16%), Consumer Goods and Services (15%), Manufacturing (9%) and the rest by the Information Technology sector. Global BPO Market by IndustryFigure : 1 The BPO market can be broadly broken down into three areas of functional operations: i. Business administration (falling under G&A expense costs) ii. Supply chain management (COGS), and iii. Sales, marketing and customer care (Selling and marketing costs) India has emerged as one of the bright stars in the global Business Process Outsourcing market and has maintained its global competitiveness by offering the best combination of cost, quality and scalability. The growth rates of the Indian BPO-ITES industry have been 59%, 45. 3% and 44. 4% in years 2002-03, 03-04 and 04- 05 with revenues of over $3. billion in FY 2003- 04 and expected to touch $5. 7 bn in FY 2004-05. Ankita Srivastava et al,Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl,Vol 2 (6), 3056-3065 IJCTA | NOV-DEC 2011 Available [email  protected] ijcta. com 3057 ISSN:2229-6093  · BPO in India Currently the sector employs approximately 2,45,100 people and another 94,500 jobs are expected to be added in the current financial year. There a re over 400 ITES-BPO companies operating in the Indian market, including captive units (of both MNCs and Indian companies) and third-party services providers. In terms of markets, the US continues to be the main consumer of India’s ITES-BPO ervices (with a 66% share of the market), followed by Western Europe (including the UK), which accounted for 20% of export revenues. In terms of functional service offerings, Customer Care and Support services contributed approximately 34% of the industry’s revenues with the other leading service lines including Finance (with a contribution of 22%), Administration (13%) and Content Development (19%). The global financial services vertical remained the largest user of Indian ITESBPO services, followed by telecom, healthcare and airline segments. Captive units continued to dominate the ITESBPO industry, accounting for ver 65 percent of the value of the work off shored to India. 4. Research Methodology The methodology deployed for this survey consisted of primary research, with insights being captured through questionnaires and face -to- face discussions with senior management of participant organizations. Inputs from potential customers to this industry have also been collated, with respect to their key concerns while considering outsourcing to India. The analysis was further supplemented by PwC knowledge-bases and published data to validate trends and best practices, emerging from primary sources. Our analysis and findings are ased on consensus findings from the survey and are supported by quantitative and qualitative inputs from the respondents. The data presented in this report is based on information received from the respondents and has been collated to represent an industry trend. The general intent of this descriptive study was threefold. Therefore a systematic and organized methodology was obtained for the research study. A survey design was used to obtain the required information. The population for thi s study comprised of employees working in various BPOs in the National Capital Region. A sample size of 250 was chosen for this study. Simple andom sampling technique was used to gather data from the respondents, because of which respondents diverged from every age group, gender, organization, marital status etc. but were restricted only to low and middle level employees, where the attrition is highest. The questionnaire was intricately designed to tap the demographic variables including age, education, gender, marital status, and tenure of the respondents. It also gathered information about the factors responsible for attrition, the factors that can be employed to retain the employees in a BPO, their overall level of satisfaction, motivation, involvement and life nterest and work compatibility. Main data collection began in the month of July 2011. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17. 0 was religiously used for the statistical analyses.  · Primary Data An alysis A questionnaire was intricately designed to tap the factors responsible for attrition, the factors that are expected to be present in a specific job for retention. The instrument was divided into 4 parts. The first part gathered information about the personal profile of the respondents which included their age, gender, education, marital status, and tenure. Part II consisted of questions about their easons for change or probable change in their jobs. Part III aimed at knowing what according to the respondents is important for their sustenance in an organization. And last of all, Part IV was about their overall perception of the work which included their level of satisfaction, level of motivation, level of involvement and level of life interest and work compatibility.  · Secondary Data Analysis In order to gain a deeper understanding about the phenomenon of high attrition, and identification of the factors behind it, a lot of literature on BPO, particularly what got publishe d during 2004 and 2005 was studied in detail.Major causal factors for high attrition in Indian BPO industry identified in this study were based on qualitative research using secondary data. These were compared with causal factors for attrition identified through personal interview with a number of BPO employees in the Ankita Srivastava et al,Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl,Vol 2 (6), 3056-3065 IJCTA | NOV-DEC 2011 Available [email  protected] ijcta. com 3058 ISSN:2229-6093 NCR. There was a close similarity between the two results, authenticating the qualitative research on causal agents for attrition identified in this study. The study ranked low perceived value and onotonous work as number one factor attrition. Rank two was shared by high salary expectation and unusual working hours. Next factor was disillusioned employees; rank four was shared by stress and burnout, pressure to perform on metrics, and lack of motivation. Finally rank five was jointly shared by lack of security and soci al interaction. Causal Agents / Factors Score (on 1) (Rank) Higher Salary Expectation 0. 7 (Rank-II) Lack of Security 0. 3 (Rank-V) Lack of Social Interaction 0. 3 (Rank-V) Monotonous Work 0. 8 (Rank-I) Unusual Working Hours 0. 7 (Rank-II) Pressure to perform on Metrics 0. 5 (Rank-IV) Low Perceived Value 0. (Rank-I) Disillusioned Employees 0. 6 (Rank-III) Stress and Burnout 0. 5 (Rank-IV) Lack of Motivation 0. 5 (Rank-IV) Table 1: Summary of ranks from secondary study 5. Growth of BPO industry  · Company Owned Units Pioneered BPO in India Company owned units such as American Express, General Electric (GE), Citibank, and AOL etc. triggered the trend of outsourcing back office operations and call centre services to India. Since then several banks, insurance companies, airlines and manufacturing companies have set up back office service centers in India.  · Venture Funded New Companies Over the last few years, a number of xperienced professionals have set up start-up operations in India. Generally such start-ups have been funded by venture capital funds.  · Leading IT Services Companies enter BPO Given the magnitude of such opportunity, natural synergies with the software services business and the ability to leverage their high-end physical infrastructure and management bandwidth, most large IT services companies have ventured into ITES. Consolidation of the market with the smaller players merging with each other/ larger companies for economies of scale  · Domain / Industry Specialized BPO’s Niche players in industry verticals or specific usiness processes have setup BPO businesses. Many of these players have had vast experience in the domestic market and are now offering offshore BPO services Generalized large BPO players are now focusing on â€Å"verticalizing† their competencies and structures Industry Structure MNC subsidiar ies Internatio nal BPO Companie s Diversifi ed IT Compan ies GE Convergys Daksh Infosys (Progeon) British Airways Sitel Brigade Wipro (Spectrami nd) eServe, HSBC, Scope, AmEx eFunds Talisma Tech Mahindra Hewlett Packard —- Hero HCL Table: 2 Ankita Srivastava et al,Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl,Vol 2 (6), 3056-3065 IJCTA | NOV-DEC 2011Available [email  protected] ijcta. com 3059 ISSN:2229-6093  · Size and Growth of BPO in India Figure: 2 The growth in the BPO sector of India in 2004 was mainly due to the demands from the two segments – BFSI and telecommunications. There were low telecom costs for the leased lines and 400 companies were part of the BPO sector of India. The companies that were involved included third parties, Indian companies and MNC. Growth of BPO sector in India has been truly impressive in recent years, but things can get even better, according to market analysts. India stands out already as a market leader as far as BPOs are oncerned and so India also attracts huge foreign investments which are extremely essential since the Indian economy is expected to have an un precedented growth in the years to come. Growth of BPO Sector in India during the first half of 2007 was showing a moderate trend of growth which is registered at 14%. Five years ago, the growth in this sector was quite low due to less contracts but the situation is worse now. However, the growth of the BPO sector is expected to improve. The BPO and KPO sectors in India have been showing some positive signs with demands from western countries increasing manifold due to the vailability of cost-effective labour in India, which is highly skilled and also fluent in English. The BPOs in India are focused on increasing the growth through change in pricing techniques. Pricing in a BPO is supposed to be based on the value added to the business. So a remarkable change is in store as the BPOs in India work towards their full potential. Of course, the big boom in the BPO industry in 2003 had generated a lot of employment opportunities and continues even today. Nevertheless, Indian BPO sector i s facing competition from countries like Philippines, Mexico, Malaysia, China, and Canada. The xpected growth of this sector in 2003 was 25%. Nations like the United States and Europe are showing great interest in increasing their investments in the Indian BPO sector. India has an edge over other countries as we consider the following:  · Tech savvy professionals  · Cost effectiveness  · Superior competency  · Business risk mitigation  · 24 hour service  · Economy of scale The trends in growth of the BPO sector in India are as follows:  · 2003 – USD 2. 8 billion  · 2004 – USD 3. 9 billion  · 2005 – USD 5. 7 billion According to studies conducted by NASSCOM and leading business Intelligence Company, McKinsey & Co. he Indian IT/BPO segment is expected to employ over 1. 1 million Indians by the year 2008. Market research shows that in terms of job creation, the ITES-BPO industry is growing at over 50 percent. In the financial year 2003-2004, ITESB PO companies were the largest recruiters in the IT/ITES sector, adding a total of about 70,000 jobs. An estimated 70,000 new Jobs expected in 2005 in the field pf ITES. Plus there will be additional hiring to replace industry attrition that is around 25%. On the other hand BPO and outsourcing services would generate around 1, 25,000 new Jobs in 2005. McKinsey & Co. predicts global market or IT-enabled services to be over $140 billion by 2008. In that the opportunity for India will be around $ 17 Billion. Ankita Srivastava et al,Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl,Vol 2 (6), 3056-3065 IJCTA | NOV-DEC 2011 Available [email  protected] ijcta. com 3060 ISSN:2229-6093 Figure: 3 Supplier-Side Assessment  · Domestic Indian BPO Industry has seen a spurt in the recent years growing at a 33 %CAGR.  · The Domestic Indian BPO industry grew from a USD 660 Million to a USD 1. 18 Billion industry.  · EBITA margins for domestic BPO stood at a double digit Percent figure  · Billing rates are less com pared to offshore segment – Most Indian BPOs (especially all centers) are engaged throughout the night hours (for offshore clients), leaving the facility empty for the day. 1. This enabled them to be leveraged during the day for domestic markets in India Demand Side Assessment  · Financial, banking, and telecom companies are leading the domestic BPO wave: 1. BFSI sector companies – UK’s largest banking firm 2. Telecom majors- almost all major mobile & landline telephony provider 6. Factors responsible for attrition and retention of employees in BPO Hackman & Oldham (1976) proposed the Job Characteristics Model, which is widely used as a framework to study how particular ob characteristics impact on job outcomes, including job satisfaction. The model states that there are five core job characteristics (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback) which impact three critical psychological states (experienced meaningfulness, experience d responsibility for outcomes, and knowledge of the actual results), in turn influencing work outcomes (job satisfaction, absenteeism, work motivation, etc). The basic hypothesis of this research that employee motivation, employee satisfaction, employee involvement, and life interest and work compatibility lead to rolonged sustenance is an extension of this model with minor modifications in it. It is proposed that the Job Characteristics model is modified by redefining job dimensions as growth prospects, accountability, sense of accomplishment, self-esteem, job security, interpersonal relationships, working conditions, by extending organizational outcomes as satisfied, motivated, involved and retained employees. Figure 1 is the modified Hackman and Oldham’s Job Characteristics model which has been taken as the base to study the research questions pertaining to this research. The new model is also designed to be of use as a management tool and must herefore be simple and flexi ble enough to be of use to the management of an organization. Typical management questions would involve the likely motivational impact of job redesign, such as increasing employees’ level of control and responsibility over their work behaviour or introducing a scheme whereby employees participate in certain management decisions. The model should therefore allow managers to manipulate a host of job characteristics and investigate the likely effects upon the motivation, performance and sustenance of the workforce. This study aimed at exploring the dimensions of attrition and retention.Based on our ground work; initial survey and personal interviews held with the BPO employees, it was found that factors that contribute to attrition are quite different from the factors that contribute to retention. Ankita Srivastava et al,Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl,Vol 2 (6), 3056-3065 IJCTA | NOV-DEC 2011 Available [email  protected] ijcta. com 3061 ISSN:2229-6093 Figure:4 Modified version of H ackman and Oldham’s Job Characteristics Model Based on the Hackman and Oldham’s Job Characteristics Model and the modifications made to it, a clearer and more lucid pictorial framework of the model is given in Figure 5 and 6. Figure 5 learly illustrates the basic constructs of the attrition model: personal characteristics, negative job characteristics (job dimensions), and the final resultant as attrition. Figure 6 illustrates constructs of retention model i. e. personal characteristics, intrinsic job dimensions and the resulting level of satisfaction, motivation and involvement (work outcomes) and the final result i. e. retained employees (organizational outcomes). Figure: 5 Basic models for attrition Figure 5 clearly suggests the personal characteristics as age, education, gender, marital status and tenure along with the negative characteristics of a BPO job i. . monotonous nature of job, lack of motivation, poor mentoring, power and politics, dissatisfaction with co lleagues, low career growth, lack of skill variety, irregular working hours, achievement not recognized etc. These two collectively result in the attrition of employees. The question is how much do these factors actually contribute to attrition. Similarly figure 6 describes the personal characteristics and core job dimensions which are intrinsic in nature and how do they contribute to retention of employees. Figure: 6 Basic model for retention of employee 7. Result and Analysis  · Regression Model for retentionThe dependent variable was sustenance in an organization, and the independent variables were personal characteristics viz. age, gender, education, marital status, and retention factors viz. motivation factors, extrinsic factors, involvement factors, and life interest and job compatibility factors. All these eight factors were put in the model as independent variables and willingness to continue in the organization was put as the dependent variable. Intrinsic motivation facto rs, employee involvement factors, age and education are the main determinants of retention. The value of multiple R is 0. 60 and the value of r square is 0. 6 in the equation. It states that 36% of the retention in a BPO is explained by these factors. An employee’s sustenance in an organization can be rightfully explained by these factors. Ankita Srivastava et al,Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl,Vol 2 (6), 3056-3065 IJCTA | NOV-DEC 2011 Available [email  protected] ijcta. com 3062 ISSN:2229-6093 Equation: 1 Y= 1. 78 + 0. 47X 1 + 0. 15X 2 – 0. 13X 3 – 0. 11X 4 Where, Y = Stay in the organization X1 = Intrinsic Motivation Factors X2 = Involvement Factors X3 = Age X4 = Education After forming the regression model, value for each respondent’s willingness to stay in the organization was calculated.These predicted values were then compared to the actual values as given by the respondents. There was a strong correlation between the actual and predicted values. The cor relation came out to be 0. 659** which was significant at 0. 01 level. Thus, on the basis of the regression model it can be concluded that intrinsic motivation factors; and involvement factors are quite instrumental in retaining the employees in an organization and at the same time, age and education negatively contribute to the sustenance of the employees in the organization. Employee involvement is a proven tool to motivate and retain mployees and according to the result here, it can be constructive in the Indian BPOs too. In the West, there has been ongoing interest in getting workers more involved in various processes, such as decision-making and information sharing. Employee participation adds to employees’ growth needs and sense of achievement through a healthier deployment of their dexterity and potential. Employee participation in planning and decision making and in articulating new policies also acts an important tool to improve employee motivation. Finding ways to i ntrinsically motivate employees to improve effectiveness and performance can have ong lasting impact on their sustenance too. Based on the two dimensions i. e. motivation and involvement which, according to the regression model, significantly contribute to the sustenance of an employee in the organization, employees can be broadly classified into four broad categories. There are people who are woefully inadequate in both dimensions i. e. neither are they involved in the work, nor are they motivated to perform. We may call such people as ‘detached’ who leave the organization for no rhyme or reason, hence extremely difficult to be retained. Next comes the ‘disgruntled’ who get involved in the iven assignment but lack aspiring motivation. Such people are moderately to highly difficult to be retained as they lack in the basic intrinsic motivation. The other two segments comprise of ‘strugglers’ and ‘stars’ who are at the higher end of the motivation continuum. The former may be relatively lower in their involvement as compared with the latter. ‘Strugglers’ lack involvements but have a high degree of intrinsic motivation, because of which they struggle hard to work. It is moderately difficult to retain them. The ease and art lies in fulfilling their involvement needs by expanding their responsibilities, empowering them, aking them involved in decision making etc. ‘Stars’ are highly motivated and highly involved in the work, and thus they are the easiest to be retained. ‘Disgruntled’ and ‘strugglers’ are the focus segments, which a company would not want to lose. They need to be enhanced, protected, valued and retained by pulling away all the nonretentive forces and kicking the retentive forces into high gear. DISGRUNTLED Highly involved but demotivated employees Moderately to highly difficult to retain STARS Highly involved and highly motivated employees Easy to retain DETACHED Uninvolved and demotivated employees Highly Difficult to retainSTRUGGLERS Uninvolved but highly motivated employees Moderately difficult to retain LOW HIGH Table: 3 Intrinsic Motivations Involvement vis-a-vis Intrinsic Motivation: Effect on employee retention  · Model Validation For the final validation of the regression model, a small patch test was done on a sample of 50 employees in Intelnet Private Ltd. Few concrete recommendations were made to the process manager of this BPO and he was asked to stringently apply these recommendations. The employees chosen for this study were the ones who had said they would leave the organization if they were offered work with the same pay elsewhere.Data which was collected, after three months of implementation, was analyzed statistically. The response scores were put in the regression equation as derived from the fourth objective and the resultant willingness to stay in the organization was calculated. The comparison with the ir original scores clearly revealed that there was an escalation HIGH LOW Ankita Srivastava et al,Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl,Vol 2 (6), 3056-3065 IJCTA | NOV-DEC 2011 Available [email  protected] ijcta. com 3063 ISSN:2229-6093 in the scores. Also, the predicted scores and the actual scores of the willingness to continue in the organization was put under correlation.Finally, employees were classified under four broad categories based on their level of involvement and motivation viz. detached, disgruntled, strugglers and stars. 8. Conclusion The regression model for the retention of employees in a BPO explains two important factors i. e. intrinsic motivation factors and involvement factors. This result is robustly analogous with all the prevalent and established theories of motivation viz. Herzberg’s theory, Maslow’s theory, Alderfer’s Theory, McClellend’s Theory. According to all these theories, the higher order needs revolve around self esteem, or selfact ualization in one way or the other.According to Maslow’s theory, the higher-level needs are selfesteem and self-actualization. Only when one need is satisfied, another higher-level need emerges and motivates the person to do something to satisfy it. A satisfied need is no longer a motivator. Only the next level of needs in the hierarchy will act as motivators. Once a level of needs has been satisfied they no longer act as motivators and the individual then directs attention towards the next level of needs in the hierarchy. Herzberg draws a parallel with Maslow’s theory but with a subtle difference. According to his theory, motivator factors are actors that are intrinsic to the job, such as the content of the work itself and the availability of opportunities for responsibility, advancement and recognition for achievement. The motivator factors, which Herzberg described as â€Å"complex factors leading to this sense of personal growth and selfactualization†, would then be able to act on that employee and increase job satisfaction and productivity. Thus, according to this theory, in order to motivate workers towards higher productivity, it is important to ensure that the motivators are utilized to arouse the instinct of the employees. Herzberg’s motivator and hygiene actors can be mapped onto Maslow’s hierarchy of needs with the motivator factors corresponding to the higher order needs of ego and self-actualization. Next, according to Alderfer’s ERG theory, growth needs involve the intrinsic desire for personal development and include the intrinsic element of Maslow’s esteem category as well as self-actualization needs. Finally according to McClellend’s theory, people with a high achievement need have a compelling drive to succeed. They strive for personal achievement rather than rewards and have a desire to do something better or more efficiently than it has een done before. They seek situations where they can attain personal responsibility for finding solutions to problems, where they can receive rapid feedback on their performance so they can tell easily whether they are improving or not, and where they can set moderately challenging goals. 9. Recommendations Organizations should have a proactive retention strategy which helps in reducing employee turnover. Retention plan strategies should be different for different level of employees, because their roles are different; their needs are different; what motivates them are different and what makes hem leave are also different. Based on the study it has been seen that dimensions of satisfaction and motivate are significantly different for employees on the basis of age, gender, marital status and education. Then, the regression model revealed that intrinsic motivation and involvement factors, as well as age and education level contribute to the sustenance of employees in the organization. Thus based on the findings, it can be said if the employees are motivated and involved in the work they can be retained. The ease of retention would depend on their degree of motivation and involvement. It is desirable to lan employee retention strategy by an organization, which should cover following aspects:  · Reciprocity is the key. Employees are investors in the company and expect a return on investment. The return can be in the form of recognition, empowerment and authority.  · Retention must be part of the organization’s DNA. Successful organizations have woven retention and engagement deeply into their structure.  · Loyalty is never given. Loyalty must be earned; even satisfied employees sometimes leave. Therefore, develop sense of loyalty among the employees.  · Organizations must be seen as employers of choice. One has to compete on ompensation and benefits, but win on culture, learning and development.  · Stars include more than just the top 10% – – or 1%! Stars are people at any level who sustain in the organization and bring value to it. Ankita Srivastava et al,Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl,Vol 2 (6), 3056-3065 IJCTA | NOV-DEC 2011 Available [email  protected] ijcta. com 3064 ISSN:2229-6093  · Each generation of employees has different reasons for staying. For the first time in modern history, there are varied generations working side-by-side in most companies of this industry. Generational differences continue to pose new challenges to today’s employers.Thus, retaining them needs a generation-centric approach.  · Mentor widely and in both directions. Build learning relationships in all directions and hold all partners responsible for the success.  · Train intelligently. Provide on-going retention training in manageable bites – make it a continuous effort and find ways to size the retention plan to the specific demographics of the organization.  · Create a development culture. â€Å"Career development is the right thing for the organization (ide ntifying and developing future leaders), the right thing for the employee (creating a development environment), and a key retention omponent. †  · Recognize managers who keep employees. Meaningful recognition remains a potent energizer for employees and managers alike. 10. References 1. Vohra, Kushal, Systems Approach to Retention of Critical Employees. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn. com/abstract=662442 2. Tapper, David. â€Å"Worldwide and U. S. IT Outsourcing Services 2004–2008 Forecast: A Potential Perfect Storm. † Market Analysis (April 2004): IDC, Document 31089 . 3. Witt, L. A. , Martha C. Andrews, and Dawn S. Carlson. â€Å"When Conscientiousness Isn’t Enough: Emotional Exhaustion and Performance among Call Center Customer Service Representatives. †Journal of Management 30 (February 2004): 149–60. 4. Walletwatch. â€Å"Call Centre Attrition Puts HR Managers to Test. † (April 2003). www. samachar. com/biz/fullstory. ht ml; (Ac cessed on May 8, 2010). 5. Rediff. com â€Å"What Indian BPO Industry Needs. †(2005a). us. rediff. com/money/200 5/apr/23bpo. htm; (Accessed on May 1, 2010). ———. â€Å"1000 Jobs Offshored . 6. Ravichandaran, Ram. â€Å"BPO, ITES Sectors to Hot Up in 2005, Says NASSCOM Report. † Financial Express (March 9, 2005): 2 7. Ramchandran, Kumar and Sudhir Voleti. â€Å"Business Process Outsourcing (BPO): Emerging Scenario and Strategic Options for IT-enabled Services. Vikalpa 29 (January–March 2004): 49–62. 8. Prakash, S. and Chowdhury, R. (2004). â€Å"Managing attrition in BPO†, In search of Excellence, Cool Avenues, http://www. coolavenues. com/know/hr/s_1 .php. Last accessed on: February 06, 2010. 9. Pande, Bhanu â€Å"Sun, Survey Can’t Deter the Call of Duty. † Economic Times Online (July 29, 2005). (Accessed on May 8, 2010). 10. Neale, Helen. â€Å"Offshore BPO Delivery. † NelsonHall BPO and Outsourcing Sub scription Service: Nelson-Hall, 2004 . Ankita Srivastava et al,Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl,Vol 2 (6), 3056-3065 IJCTA | NOV-DEC 2011 Available [email  protected] ijcta. com 3065 ISSN:2229-6093