Beers Critical Path Method

Beers Critical Path Method Beers Critical Path Method Introduction Background: This essay analyzes the transformation of a business-unit (Alpha) of a large public sector undertaking (PSU) company Beta. Alpha was set up with an intention of manufacturing x product for y market. Until December 2003, the primary mission of Alpha of about 900 people was the development, support and maintenance of product x, which was developed and implemented using sequential development method (App-2). The clumsy nature of the employed process and bureaucratic structure of the company was resulting into consistent delays into deliveries of low quality and over budgeted products. The unit had not been able to produce cost-competitive product with high-quality. It had been running without making profit for last three consecutive years. In 2004, newly elected governments inclination towards disinvestment of underperforming PSUs forced Beta to mull over the rationalization of its underperforming business-unit. Consistent pressure from the competitive market and senior managers from head-quarter (HQ) inevitably forced head of Alpha to revisit the units structure and processes. It was decided to come up with design and development of product with superior quality and cost competitiveness within a limited budget and time (i.e. Eighteen months). Revisit to the existing process and structure highlighted the major problems, which were due to lack of coordination and participation among functions in addition to sequential product-development methodology. Consequently, management decided to change the existing structure, and adopt concurrent engineering methodology (App-3) to produce x moving forward. Change Analysis Nature and type of change: Nature of change at Alpha can be analyzed by applying TROPICS test (Paton McCalman, 2008). Based on analysis, this change can be located at the Flexi/Grey area of change spectrum. Although time scales, control and sources factors are identified hard, but as a whole, change is inclined more towards soft end of the spectrum. Problem at Alpha can be considered messy as it involves soft complexities due to the introduction of a new working model and process method (Open university, 1985, cited in Senior Fleming, 2006). TROPICS Test (Modeled on source: Paton McCalman, 2008) Dimensions of the change CCP (Content, Context and Process) model (Pettigrew Whipp, 1991), widely used in organizational change analysis, can be applied in this case to understand the changes at Alpha. Although this model was originally developed to analyze private sector organization but later on, its application was extended to other fields and sectors (Pettigrew et al., 1992). Overall framework focuses on what (content), why (context) and how (process) dimensions of the organization change. CCP Framework (Modeled on source: Pettigrew Whipp, 1991) Context (Why): Traditionally, PSUs are considered to have bureaucratic culture (bureaucratic organization-structure and process culture) (Deal Kennedy, 2002). Such culture is generally hierarchy-driven, procedural, regulated, ordered, cautious, and power orientated (Wallach, 1983). The purpose of bureaucracy is to restrict individuals capacity exerting control over decision-making processes and activities (McHugh Bennett, 1999). According to Hofstede (2003), bureaucratic structure is based on rigid rules and processes, and competencies tied to the positions; where employees are accustomed to systemic but precise way of working, which operates on ‘one person, one job basis and require high degree of job specialization. Therefore, business knowledge and skills are owned by individuals; this makes knowledge sharing very problematic. De Long Fahey (2000) argue that the organization culture plays vital role in determining the people and specific business knowledge relationship. Alpha had been facing similar issues; due to the bureaucratic culture, decision-making was traditionally made at the top without much coordination with and participation of functions. Sequential-development approach used is linear in nature, which does not provide tangible results and product visibility until the product development lifecycle end (Martin, 1991; McConnell, 1996). Lack of individuals participation and knowledge sharing, conflict of authorities in conjunction with slow decision-making speed and cumbersome sequential nature of the product development used to induce significant delays in product delivery and implementation, causing low product-quality and high cost-per-product. Fig- can be used to show cause of realized changes using multiple-cause diagram. Multiple-Cause diagram (Modeled on source: Paton McCalman, 2008) Primary drivers for change can be identified by using a classical change management tool, Force-field analysis (Lewin, 1947). Main purpose for using this tool is to understand context (driving forces) and content (objective, goal, and restraining forces) and determine the process (ways to enhance positive factors and lessen negative factors) (Giardino et al., 1994). This tool confirms the nature and type of change at Alpha confirms, analyzed by TRPOICS test. The primary restraining forces indicate that most of the barriers to change involved soft aspects, such as senior management, existing culture and employee related barriers. Field force analysis (Modeled on source: Lewin, 1947) Content (What): Existing situation at Alpha was not conducive for proposed concurrent development approach either. This approach follows iterative process, which calls for authoritative and speedy decision-making activities along with team culture (Cockburn, 2002). However, bureaucracy structure hinders speed (Martin, 1991) and is not suitable for highly dynamic and complex business processes (Carnall, 2003). Crozier (1964, cited in Hughes, 2003) feels that static working patterns and fixed procedures are not beneficial in a dynamic and volatile business environment. Hence Alpha not only required change in product-development process but also to organization structure. Process (How): Changes at unit were managed and implemented using Beer et al.s (1990) critical path to corporate renewal. This six-step planned-change model needs to be executed in sequence to achieve a successful change. The critical path process in the present case was led by unit head with a middle management team. 1. Mobilize commitment to change through joint diagnosis of business problem: Prior to any effective change effort, it is important to have business problem clearly defined . Management should help people in developing a shared diagnosis of the problem (Beer et al., 1990) and realizing the need for change in existing status quo (Richardson Varkoi, 2003). Kotter (1996) describes the need for a powerful guiding coalition with involvement of key members of the organization. The number of such key members can be small to start with, and can gradually be increased as project gains momentum (Borjesson Mathiassen, 2003). At Alpha, initial step taken by the unit head to review the business broadly. Sticking to Lippits ‘golden rule (1959), an external consultant with his assistant was brought in to lead the change, and to develop the guidelines for the change management. External consultant was allowed to form a coalition-team with a senior researcher, five managers from various functions and six key expert employees from units production-department. Team together investigated existing and past product performances, results and artifacts. In order to analyze problems effectively, they also visited and observed many successful manufacturing companies. Through the analysis of their observations, customer satisfaction surveys and previous performance data, team formed a common understanding of the problem. Team recognized the flaw in the existing product methodology and lack of shared knowledge among employees due to which there were consistent and significant delays in product-delivery with poor p roduct-quality. They came up with two page fact sheet to support their analysis. At this point, team began to realize the need for an alternative organization model and development methodology. 2. Develop a shared vision of how to organize and manage for competitiveness: Once a problem is analyzed, coalition should align employees core tasks with vision of the organization, and lead them towards a task-aligned vision with redefining employees roles and responsibilities (Beer et. al, 1990). Objective of such new arrangements is to have better information-flow coordination pattern across all cross-functional departments. Moreover, these arrangements do not encounter much resistance as they do not cause any formal changes in systems and structure such as compensation or titles (Beer et. al, 1990). However, communications is essential to achieve such arrangement (Jones et al., 2004). Developing vision and strategy is generally a messy and time consuming process that results into guidance for future, which is feasible, desirable, flexible, and focused (Kotter, 1996). In order to develop vision, team executed future workshop to focus on democratic and creative idea generation from the participants. Future Workshops, a user-driven and participatory design technique, is used to help participants play an important role in designing vision for future, by actualizing a common problematic-situation (Greenbaum Kyng, 1991). This workshop is normally conducted in three phases: critique, visionary and realization phase (Jungk Mullert, 1986). The participants, at Alpha, consisted of management team and carefully chosen key employees. In critique phase, participants formulated their critical views regarding existing shared values and working procedures. At the end of this phase, participants were asked to prioritize the most important issues considered the barriers for the u nits development. In visionary phase, participants formulated the visions for units future direction, which brought in new suggestions and ideas for business activities improvement. In realization phase, participants identified actions to realize the visions most effectively as a response to critical issues. Relevant inputs gathered from participants of this process can be utilized while preparing overall change implementation plan (Jones et al., 2004). Based on cost-benefit analysis, future workshop and two-page factsheets, team carried out a SWOT analysis and developed a new organization model (refer fig-), along with a new methodology, concurrent development method, for product development and implementation. Intention of new model was to eliminate hierarchal and functional barriers to information sharing; whereas to adopt new product development approach to avoid delays and improve quality along with cost-competiveness of the product. Such organization-level changes do need an adequate support from senior management (Small Downey, 2001). therefore proposal of these changes was proposed to senior management team at HQ. While they were delighted to notice units pro-active and positive steps, they were not convinced with the new approach to resolve the critical issue as existing approach was working very well for rest of the organization. Eventually after few rounds of discussions, they got ready to lend their support and approved the proposal, despite their reservations. New organization model (Cross-functional Teams with their respective responsibility area) 3. Foster consensus for the new vision, competence to enact it, and cohesion to move it along. Beer et al. (1990) feels that just simply helping employees develop a new vision is insufficient to make change successful. Employees need to understand the positive impact of new structure and approach to be committed to that vision. Therefore, it is vital to share and communicate the vision to employees in overcoming resistance to change and developing required competencies to make new organization work. Change process can be successful only when there are clear, concise and realistic change-plan and implementation-plan in place; otherwise process runs at risk of adding further resistance to change (Mathiassen et al., 2005). In order to communicate the vision to all employees, a conference with presentation and discussion was held. Senior management team from HQ along with all the employees, were in attendance. The change-plan with new structure and methodology, and implementation-plan with goals, objective, risks and mitigation plans, training plans, and milestone and measurement plans were also presented. Presence of senior management in the conference boosted the morale and confidence of units management team. Subsequently, internal meetings took place and goals, strategy and vision were circulated. Once new roles and responsibilities are defined, people need to foster the skills to make the new arrangement work. In fact, changes in the relationships due to these new roles, responsibilities will push people towards learning, and foster new attitudes and skills. Changed coordination pattern also increases sharing of information, employee collaboration and participation; this, in turn, reduces resistance level which arises as a result of incorrect information and rumours (Kotter Schlesinger, 1979). Team took the help of human resource team, not only to make sure employees were clear about the changes, and their roles and responsibilities but also to understand the required skills and trainings for the employees. Required trainings were imparted to employees to develop their skills. Beer et al. (1990) advocate replacing those managers who despite all the support and guidance do not want to or cannot change in order to function in new setup. Having said that such decisions can sometimes backfire as not only there is a threat of losing valuable skills and knowledge but also it can make other employees demoralized, that can hamper the change progress. Introduction of new model and development approach caused restructuring resulting into redundancy of staff in small number. Uncertainty created by the situation also made few employees depart during the transition process. Few managers and employees were replaced and few were given promotion. Few key employees including managers, who were very much accustomed to past bureaucratic culture could not find the new working model and culture suitable for them and subsequently, left the organization. 4. Spread revitalization to all departments without pushing it from the top. With a new structure is in place for the unit, departments and functions do have to rethink about their authorities and roles in the organization. Effective interaction between them and new organization structure enables members of team to become effective by letting employees participate actively in team decisions (Beer et al., 1990). At Alpha, where managers of production department looked the most spirited and passionate about the changes, managers of engineering department were more hesitating. They had always been a dominant force at Alpha and these changes were perceived as threat to their authority. In the past, they always shown less concern whether production department could manufacture products based on their design specification. However, with new organization structure and method in place, engineering department had to collaborate with product department in product development activities. This actually forced them to re-visit their approaches to manage and organize their own department, and rethink over their roles. Often when speedy change is required, leaders tend to force the issue throughout the organization; this generally short-circuits change-process. The best way is to let each functions and departments find their own way to the new organization (Beer et al., 1990). In case of Alpha, departments were encouraged to apply general concept of teamwork and coordination to their own situation. For nearly a year, engineering department had to suffer agony in implementing theses concept and accepting the new structure. Decision of their move to new structure was natural; since it was their own choice, team members showed commitment to learn the required attitude and skills. 5. Institutionalize revitalization through formal policies, systems, and structures. In any change process, sequence of activities should be carefully considered as activities suited at one particular time tend to backfire, if initiated little too soon. This is especially applicable to activities related to changes in systems and structure. Leaders should institutionalize changes only when right employees are in place and new arrangements are up and running. Beer et al. (1990) argues that none of formal structure and systems is perfect but employee commit to them, as they work in structure and learn about required interdependencies. If the implemented change becomes part of the culture of organization then it is considered successful (Senior Fleming, 2006). The units revitalization was successful as it enabled employees to change their views about their roles and responsibilities. They actually became convinced that change would bring a difference. This eventually resulted into a striking improvements in value added per employee, gross inventory per employee, scrap reduction, quality, and profits. To their credit, business unit was able to achieve all these without further control system, compensation or restructuring. However, eventually when opportunity came, there were few change were made in the formal organization. For example, vice president of operation was asked to leave organization and that position was eliminated altogether. 6. Monitor and adjust strategies in response to problems in the revitalization process. In order to sustain the benefits of changes and being able to adapt to dynamic competitive environment, an organization should know the effective use of continuous shared monitoring of the change process (Mathiassen et al., 2005). Keeping such measurement criteria provides multiple advantages, such as i) it keeps people, with direct involvement in the change-process, motivated; ii) it gives management a sense of direction in which change-project is moving iii) it also depicts a relationship between achieved result and invested effort. Even after successful change implementation, it is essential to re-examine the original plan regularly and revise it with respect to current circumstances and situations (Senior Fleming, 2006). Stating clear objectives and process measurements criteria explicitly in the implementation plan was very helpful. Measurements were gathered at the end of pilot-study and appropriate process benchmarking was set, after comparison with previous internal and cro ss-industry data. In order to monitor revitalization, several mechanisms were put in place. Internal surveys and feedbacks were introduced to monitor attitude and behaviour patterns. A monitoring team was formed to keep regular watch over the processes and plan for new challenges. This team consisted of managers and key members of respective functional teams and human resource and finance teams. Outcomes and lessons Outcomes: Use of critical path model in present case proved to be an effective way to evoke organization renewal without actually enforcing it. Beer et al.s (1990) believe that employees resistance to changes can be managed effectively through task-alignment approach. This turned out to be a key success factor in case of Alpha. Once core task aligned with organizations vision, employees discovered that new structure and product-development method are more effective. They started willing to accept changes, which otherwise they may have resisted. Adoption of concurrent development method along with change in existing structure, improved not only speed of decision-making but also employee-participation and knowledge-sharing among functions and departments. This enabled company to reduce product-manufacturing and delivery time significantly; this, consequently, improved product-quality and cost-competitiveness and therefore, the profit. The problems associated with the new development method and s tructure is now believed to have eased with increase in employees familiarization of new structure, and development approach. Despite all that, change-project at unit cannot be entirely considered successful. Beer assumes the approach of the changes through critical path model to be always top-bottom. However, the change-project in Alpha was initiated by unit head and carried out by his middle-management team with the help of an external consultant. One of the necessary steps was to gain approval and support from senior management teams of HQ, who was not roped in right from the word go. Negotiations with them caused notable delay in the implementation of the planned changes. The combined effect of not having senior management from HQ directly involved in the coalition, and resignations of senior researcher along with few key members of coalition while restructuring impacted the speed of the changes and its desired results. Although, change-project is claimed to be successful by the management team; but absence significant key performance indicators at the beginning for measuring the success, raise question mark over their claim. In fact, this change-project would be considered a failure if measured against traditional performance indicators, such as cost (in budget) and time (on time). Present study raises a few reservations over the critical path model itself. Basic flaws with this model are the lack of provision for pilot-project, and feedback-loop (iteration) at each stage. Pilot-project is considered to be very handy while implementing new process, which enables people to view new aspects of the process. This approach also gives an idea to people how process will work in actual and assists convincing others, particularly management, about the benefits of new process (Borjesson Mathiassen, 2003). At Alpha, pilot-project approach was employed effectively and it was successful, which convinced senior manager at HQ that the change-project was moving in right direction. Measurements gathered during pilot-project were also helpful in maintaining concentration and sustaining improvements. However, coalition did not realize the importance of feedback-loop at each stage, which caused uncertainty in employees mind, particular during restructuring. This resulted into dep arture of key employees, leaving long-term impact on the unit (Fodor Poor, 2009). Being effective only at organization-level changes, the model either not considered or overlooked specific aspects of concurrent-development approach; this gives rise to need for a more specific and tailored framework to manage such process-level changes. Bibliography Fodor, P., Poor, J. (2009). The Impact of the Economic and Financial Crisis on HRM and Knowledge-Management in Hungary and Slovakia Empirical Research 2008-2009. Acta Polytechnica Hungarica, 6 (3), 69-91. Nadler, D.A and Tushman, M.L. (1989).Organizational Frame Bending: Principles for Managing Reorientation.The Academy of Management Executive,3 (3), 194-204 Paton, R.A. and McCalman, J. (2008).Change management: a guide to effective implementation, 3rded. London: SAGE Publications. Lewin, K. (1947). Frontiers in group dynamics. Human relation, 1, 5-42. Senior, B., Fleming, J. (2006). Organizational Change, 3rded. London: Prentice Hall. Kotter, J. (1996). Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Lippit, R. (1959). Dimensions of the consultants job. Journal of Social Issues, 15 (2), 5-11. Miles, M., Huberman, A. (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis, 2nd ed. New York: SAGE Publications. Richardson, I., Varkoi, T. (2003). Managing for Change when Implementing Software Process Improvement Initiatives. In: European Software process Improvement Conference, EuroSPI 2003. Borjesson, A., Mathiassen, L. (2003). Making SPI Happen: The IDEAL Distribution Effort. [Online] http://www.computer.org/plugins/dl/pdf/proceedings/hicss/2003/1874/09/187490328b.pdf?template=1loginState=1userData=anonymous-IP%253A%253A86.12.199.139 (Accessed on: 07 Mar 2010) Small, A., Downey, E. (2001). Managing Change: Some Important Aspects. [Online] http://downeysmall.com/pdf/iemc2001rp_web.pdf (Accessed on: 06 Mar 2010) Mathiassen, L., Ngwenyama, O., Aaen, I. (2005). Managing Change in Software Process Improvement. IEEE Software. 22(6), 84-91 Jones, J., Aguirre, D., Calderone, M. (2004). 10 Principles of Change Management. [Online] http://www.strategybusiness.com/ (accessed on: 27 Dec 2009), Kotter, J., Schlesinger, L. (1979). Choosing Strategies for Change. Harvard Business Review 57(2), 106-114 (1979) Jungk, R. Mullert, N. (1996). Future Workshops How to Create desirable futures. London: Institute for Social Inventions. Greenbaum J., Kyng M. (1991). Design at work: Cooperative Design of Computer Systems. New Jersey: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates. Beer M., Spector B. A., Spector B. (1990). The Critical Path to Corporate Renewal. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Pettigrew, A., and Whipp, R. (1991). Managing change for competitive success. Oxford.: Blackwell. Hughes, O. (2003). Public management and administration. London: Palgrave, Macmillan. Pettigrew A., Ferlie E., McKee L, (1992). Shaping Strategic Change The Case of the NHS in the 1980s. Public Money Management, 12(3), 27-31. Wallach, E. (1983). Individuals and organisations: The cultural match. Training and Development Journal, 29-36. Deal T. E. and Kennedy, A. A. (1982).Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. McHugh, M. and Bennett, H. (1999). Introducing team working within a bureaucratic maze.Leadership and Organizational Development Journal. 20 (2), 81-93. Carnall, C. (2003). Managing change in organizations, 4th ed. UK: Prentice-Hall. Cockburn, A. (2002). Agile software development. Boston: Addison-Wesley. Hofstede, G. (2003). Cultures and organisations—Software of the mind. London: Profile Books. De Long, D. W., Fahey, L. (2000). Diagnosing cultural barriers to knowledge management. Academy of Management Executive, 14(4), 113-127. Martin, J. (1991). Rapid application development. New York: Macmillan. McConnell, S. (1996). Rapid development—Taming wild software schedules. Washington: Microsoft Press. Giardino A. P., Giardino E. R., MacLaren C. F., Burg F. D. (1994). Managing change: A case study of implementing change in a clinical evaluation system. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 6 (3), 149 153.

Lord Of The Flies - Analyzing :: essays research papers

Ralph, the first character introduced to the audience, is probably the most likable character in the entire story. Although he does not ponder such deeply like Piggy, is not as spiritual like Simon, or as energetic as Jack, there is something in him that attracts the audience. Ralph serves as the protagonist of the story. He is described as being a playful, innocent child in the beginning, but towards the end he matures significantly. In the first chapter where he takes his clothes off and goes swimming like any child would do, he seems to be Adam in the Garden of Eden, a child left to play with the nature. However, as the plot progresses, Ralph faces both internal and external conflicts; from those conflicts he greatly matures. Ralph always has the strong belief that all the children will be saved from the island sooner or later; he is so sure that he even insists that they should have fire at all times to signal. However, when the boys abandon the fire which is symbolic of Ralph’s hope of getting saved, Ralph faces an internal conflict that makes him fear about their future; perhaps they will not be rescued at all. By insisting that the children should keep the fire going, he creates an external conflict with Jack whose values are different. Jack is enjoying life as a leader of the savages, and he fears that fire will possibly end his authoritarian rule over the savages. Both conflicts are resolved when Ralph finally meets the naval officer. Ralph is one of the few boys who realize that the only way to survive is through peace and order. Because he summons the boys at the beginning of the novel with the conch he and Piggy find, they look upon him as the most responsible of the boys and elect him as a chief over the humiliated Jack. Ralph creates a stable and peaceful society for the children to live; this significantly bothers Jack because he wants to have fun and do things that he never did back in the civilized society. Jack is eventually successful of pulling nearly all of the children out of Ralph’s control to form savages. Ralph represents the civilization, and Jack represents the primitive society. Moreover, Ralph is Golding’s symbolic method of democracy. To the audience, Ralph seems like Franklin D. Roosevelt during the World War II—he was certainly capable of stopping the World War II from breaking out, but he could not force anybody thus letting the War break out.

Against Abortion Essay -- Pro Life

Abortion is fundamentally wrong. It is wrong because it goes against the basic rights guaranteed to every human being under the 5th 9th and 14th amendments in the United States Constitution. Along with it going against the Constitution, there are some medical and moral reasons as to why it is wrong, such as an increased risk of breast cancer, and that the fetus does in fact feel the pain from the abortion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Simply defined, abortion means any premature expulsion of a fetus, whether it is by natural causes or an artificially induced abortion. Abortion is certainly not a new concept. It has been present in society dating all the way back to Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and into the Middle Ages. It was not until the 19th century that abortion began to get all the attention that it gets today. It was in the 19th century that the strict abortion laws were starting to be passed. The 1973 Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in the United States for pregnancy within the first six months.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Abortion is not only considered immoral by many, it also violates the Constitution. The 14th amendment forbids states to abridge privileges and immunities of United States citizens, to deprive a person of life, liberty or property without due process of law, or to deny any person the equal protection of laws. Under the United States Constitution, we are forbidden from depriving the life of another individual; abortion is just that. It is depriving a human being the right to life. Nowhere under the 14th amendment does it clarify between the living and unborn. So a fetus should still be protected.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Abortion also violates the 9th amendment which declares that just because certain rights are not in the Constitution does not mean that they do not exist. Courts cannot assume that just because a right is not listed that a person cannot be protected by the government. This is important because the Constitution does not mention abortion, but based on this amendment the unborn child is still under protection and is guaranteed the rights which are provided by the Constitution. The â€Å"silence† of the Constitution on the issue of abortion does not mean that it doesn’t provide a right. When the Constitution was written, abortion was not nearly as much of an issue. Yes it was already going on, but the large numbers of abortions were not taking place as they are toda... ...From a medical standpoint it is wrong as well. The risk of breast cancer increases in the mother and the fact that the baby will feel the pain of the abortion makes it inhumane. It is especially wrong in advanced societies such as ours. There are other alternatives to abortion, and it should not be used as birth control. Statistics have shown that about 80% of abortions are performed for social reasons instead of health reasons. Abortion is murder. If murder is against the law then abortions should be as well. Works Cited Anand, Kanwaljeet. â€Å"Pain of the Unborn.† 15, January 2004. 23 October 2004  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ELSI â€Å"Chromosomes† 2004. 23 October 2004   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Facts in Brief, â€Å"Induced Abortion.† 2000-2001. 23 October 2004   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Guttmacher, Alan Institute. â€Å"Abortion Statistics-World U.S.-Demographics-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reasons.† 2004. 23 October 2004   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Johnson, Douglas. â€Å"The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act- Misconceptions and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Realities† 5 November 2003. 23 October 2004   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mount, Steve â€Å"Due Process† 1995-2003. 24 October 2004   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reuters Health International Journal of Cancer. â€Å"First Pregnancy factors Tied to   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Breast Cancer Risk.† 1 November 2004. 23 October 2004   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Realism in “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens Essay

Realism was developed by the middle of the 19th century as a response to the idealistic world of romanticism which had dominated for the past half century. It was an aesthetic movement which attempted to hold up a mirror to its society to show a true reflection of reality. Although claiming to offer a slice of life by emphasizing chiefly in the importance of the ordinary amongst the middle and lower classes, realism is a relative concept, a representation of reality which adheres to a loose collection of conventions. Many of these are offered in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, which follows the life and struggles of the protagonist and narrator, Pip. Dickens uses techniques such as a chronological linear narrative, an omniscient narrator, the celebration of the ordinary, and the resolution of the enigma to drive the moral undercurrents of Pip’s everyday existence. This constructed realism is essentially a representation of reality based on Dickens ideology, offerin g social commentary and reflecting the values and attitudes of nineteenth century England. see more:old age home article The basic structure of Great Expectations follows a chronological development of Pip’s life; from his childhood innocence, to his disillusioned expectations, finally his rejection of the high life and a circular succession ending back at the beginning. This chronological structure of which Dickens narrates exemplifies Pip’s learning process through his moral and emotional turmoil and complies with the opportunity to generate a realistic setting. For example, Pip’s description of London, â€Å"a most dismal place; the skylight eccentrically patched like a broken head, and the distorted adjoining houses looking as if they had twisted themselves to peep down at me through it,† creates an archaeologically realistic description of London, and hints a sense of foreboding, foreshadowing the futility of Pip’s expectations. This ideology developed through Pips learning process is created through a carefully crafted linear plot in order to present fiction as reality. Reflected by the matured Pip in the perspective of the omniscient narrator, Great Expectations’ first person narration employs the wisdom of hindsight to define the events and characters of the story. Dickens imbues the voice of the matured Pip to make judgments on his past actions, at the Christmas  dinner for instance, Pip experiences a deep desire to tweak Mr. Wopsle’s large nose–to â€Å"pull it until he howled.† The older Pip narrates this encounter comically and sympathetically, conveying his youthful innocence through the perspective of a child. This convention of retrospect produces a sense of psychological depth and compassion, given access to Pip’s feelings, thoughts and motivations. As the newly democratic age finds importance in the individual, essentially Great Expectations is both an external novel in Pip’s commentary of the society around him and an internal novel in the development of his perspective. By evoking consciousnes s of Pip’s character, Dickens coaxes the audience to enter the illusion of reality. Furthermore, in parallel to the importance of the individual, realism tends to concern its interests in the commonplace and ordinary everyday lives among the lower classes. Through the characters of Great Expectations, Dickens celebrates the commonplace, employing Pip, the most ordinary of subjects, as a central vehicle instilled to investigate his social reality and to express ideological views on society. Biddy, for instance â€Å"was not beautiful – she was common, and could not be like Estella – but she was pleasant and wholesome and sweet-tempered.† Despite her humble position in society Biddy emerges with admirable values, which contrasts to the cold beauty, cruelty and deception of Estella. In accordance to realist conventions concerned with rejecting the ideal, Dickens portrays the upper class with great malice, greed and corruption as Miss Havisham encourages Estella to torment Pip, whispering â€Å"Break their hearts!† Ideologically driven, realism is deliberate in rejoicing in the ordinary, and condemning the supreme. Moreover, realism is largely concentrated on ideologically driven values as the central issues of life tend to be ethical. Dickens paints the lower class to embody a high moral ground and rejects the false values of the upper class. Drummle, for instance, is an upper-class lout, while Magwitch, a persecuted convict, has a deep inner worth. This concept is developed with greater depth in the character of Joe, of which despite his position in society, his unrefined and uneducated qualities, is identified as the epitome of goodness. As a true ‘gentleman’, â€Å"It was not because I was  faithful, but because Joe was faithful,† Joe contrasts to the aspirations Pip seeks to become, of which Dickens shows as corrupt and materialistic. It was Joe’s â€Å"quiet goodness† stemming from honestly, empathy and kindness, which compelled Pip, as he reflects in retrospect, to reject the values of this society in favor of an inner morality. Additionally, a sense of ending is invested in Great Expectations which resolves the plot. The learning process Pip embarks on educates him on the futility of his expectations, and his hopes to return as a gentleman is a complete failure: Estella reminds him coldly that she has â€Å"no heart.† In Pip’s case, closure is restored through his moral development and growth, epitomized in his reconciliation with Joe and Biddy. His maturation toward adulthood is symbolized by his desire to rectify his behaviour toward his lower class loved ones. Pip has at last learned that love, loyalty and morality hold more value than social class and wealth. On a different vein, at times Great Expectations does not remain faithful to the conventions of realism. Dickens tends to slip in and out of reality, deviating from realism to social satire, using hyperbole to satirize the pretentiousness of Pumblechook’s social improvement â€Å"a large hard-breathing middle-aged slow man, with a mouth like a fish, dull staring eyes†¦looked as if he had just be all but choked.† The gothic genre is also apparent in Pip’s first description of Miss Havisham, â€Å"†¦ought to be white, had lost its luster, and was faded and yellow. I saw that the bride within the bridal dress had withered like the dress†¦Now, waxwork and skeleton seemed to have dark eyes that moved and looked at me.† The audience’s first impression of Miss Havisham is thus one of darkness, mystery and terror. With these constructed implications, realism is considered a loose convention as Dickens deviates between reality and the conventi ons of other genres. It can be seen that Great Expectations exhibits aspects of realism as it assumes that reality inheres in the here and now, in the everyday. Dickens employs themes including accurate descriptions of specific setting, the chronological structure of the story, the omniscient narrator, the importance of the ordinary, the pedestrian, and the middle class with  tendency to reject the ideal and the resolution of the enigma. Dickens also tends to deviate between different genres in contrast to the realistic portrayal of certain aspects in society. When these constructs are applied in literature, a set of conventions emerges, however in order to mimic reality they only offer an abstraction of reality reflecting the values and ideology of the composer’s context. With that said, literary realism is essentially a representation of the world based on the attitudes of the composer, carefully constructed to a set of conventions.

Homeostasis Lab Report Essay

Mr. Bell’s honors level chemistry class conducted an experiment during their lab demonstrations, this consisted of elements such as phosphorus and calcium chloride in their experiment. This along with another hydrogen based sunstance produced, what looked like a pinkish-looking substance inside of their flasks that were at their lab stations. see more:chemistry matriculation notes semester 2 Sophmore Kelly Caudel said, â€Å" I actualley enjoy doing the experiments in this class, because it gives us a chance to get away from the bookwork and lectures that Mr. Bell usually makes us endure.† It seemed as if the students in his class were showing tremendous progress in their efforts at their lab stations. That is, until one pair of students dropped their Erlenmyer flask that contained what was left of the chemical compound that was being created. A minute after the very noisy shatter of the glass, the whole class turned to see what had happened. While the two students very awkwardly cleaned up their mess, Mr. Bell procceeded in his efforts to help his students produce what would be a lovely pinkish-looking fluid, which was the result appropriate for the lab conducted. Sophmore Chase Cabe exclaimed in a rather elated voice,† This was definitely the best lab that we have done in his class so far. I like mixing up the elements into compounds and seeing how they react to each other. The result turned out looking great.† As the lab drew to a close, both Mr. Bell and his students returned to their desks with the impression that they were both satisfied with what they had done during the duration of the lab.

Case Study on India China Infrastructure

A Case Study, Overcoming Infrastructure Roadblocks: Are Chinese Lessons Relevant? This paper aims to document and analyse the different approaches in overall infrastructure sector performance for these two very different countries from the policy and institutional dimensions. It identifies factors that have worked in China and India. It also identifies some important lessons which could be relevant for future infrastructure development.For the last two decades, both India and China have grown at twice the global rate and If this trend continues for next few decades, with their vast labor supply, favorable demographics, and aspirations for reaching the developed world per capita income and consumption standards, these economies can be expected to have a significant impact on the world economy. China adopted a development model where manufacturing and exports are the key drivers of its economic performance. Related article: A. K. Kraipak CaseChinese government recognized that export competitiveness and manufacturing require connectivity to the global economy and, as a result, infrastructure development was propelled by a substantial and sustained drive supported by the government. The most remarkable common factor behind the success of infrastructure in China was the single-minded goal of sustaining economic growth and recognition of the importance of infrastructure development in achieving this goal.China’s unparalleled growth and poverty reduction in the last two decades has gone hand in hand with development of infrastructure stemming from its export-led strategy. India, the other â€Å"giant† in Asia, did not follow the suit of the successful this infrastructure model in building ahead of demand. Its development strategy from time to time focused on redistribution of wealth rather than growth. In the early 1980s, China was among the poorest nations in the world, with m ore than 60% of its population, or over 634 million people, living on less than $1 a day.By 1990, China reduced poverty to less than 33% and, by 2003, to 13. 4%. This was possible because of very high growth rates fueled by trade openness. India’s achievements on growth and poverty during the same period have been steady but relatively modest—the overall population living on less than $1 day declined from 54. 4% in 1980 to 42. 1% and 30. 7%, respectively, in 1990 and 2003. The total number of poor, however, remains high at over 325 million.To some extent, India’s overall performance was negatively influenced by the initial development model that emphasized import substitution and self-reliance, which was one of the contributing factors to its lack of trade openness for most of the period since independence. In the early fifties and sixties both countries had fairly similar levels of infrastructure assets and services. For example, China’s electricity outp ut at 7. 3 billion kWh in 1952 compares well with India’s power output of 6. 3 billion kWh in 1950-51.The Indian road network in 1950s was extensive at 400,000 kms compared to about one third that in China and both countries, about 40% of roads were paved then. India’s railway network at 53,000 kms was more than double that of China at 23,000 kms. India and China had similar numbers of telephone subscribers [pic] Though most Indian planning policies have continued to emphasize the importance of Infrastructure, they did not embrace the Chinese single-minded goal of infrastructure development, anticipating future demand and building ahead of time.India’s development model, which began with a balance between growth and distribution in the early fifties, was changed in mid-course with a greater emphasis on redistribution during the critical period of growth. A number of pro-poor programs were introduced which reduced overall fiscal space for infrastructure developme nt, even within infrastructure priorities, political interests drove the overall resource allocation, for example, in the 1970s and 1980s, government emphasized development of minor irrigation and rural roads as part of anti-poverty programs.Employment generation through construction of rural roads, and ground water and minor irrigation to support food security received much higher priority compared to need to enhance logistics to support industrial growth and improving overall economic efficiency. In five year plans a major goal was to connect all villages (with population of more than 1,500 inhabitants) with rural road network; however, this was done through â€Å"minimum needs program† supporting employment creation and leading to waste and inefficiency.Most of the roads thus created did not meet quality standards because fiscal space was not adequate to accommodate both the demand for resources for rural roads and also the national highway network which was getting conges ted. Even in the case of power sector, village electrification was a priority so as to provide power for the farms, but not necessarily to households. Emphasis on connectivity, without improvements in overall economic efficiency meant unsustainable financial burden on the government budgets.In the time of slower economic growth or external shocks such as wars and high oil prices, infrastructure investments were major casualty. China with its high economic growth rates and higher savings rates was able to allocate much larger resources for investments in general. In the 1980, China saved 35% of GDP whereas India’s savings rate was less than half at 15. 5%. This combined, with higher fiscal deficits in India, meant that it was not always possible to invest in infrastructure [pic] [pic] Planning Framework—Institutions, Processes, Incentives and AccountabilityDevelopment planning in any country can follow two broad models—it can either be an integral part of the pol itical decision-making process or it can be divorced from politics where technocrats keep a firm hold on the planning process as a matter of rational and efficient management. In China, planning followed the first model. The State Planning Committee (SPC), and its subsequent variants, have been and remain at the center of China’s political and economic affairs. The SPC sets the national policy agenda, makes important policy decisions, and even guides the lawmaking process to ensure that these decisions are implemented.Through a dual-track implementation system, its policy-making role also extends to closely monitoring and guiding policy implementation. Thus the Chinese planning institutions fully integrate political economy considerations in the process of designing and implementing development plans. In China, strong accountability for delivery of plans was embedded through powerful party structure and this has so far led to better economic outcomes in terms of growth and in frastructure development. The Indian planning process historically tended to be more technical than political.Although the Planning Commission, with the Prime Minister as the Chairman, had some institutional ties to the political decision-making process, the process has tended to be more technical in reality, captured at times by technocrats who wanted to ensure rational and managerial efficiency. The planning institutions in India at the national and state levels adopted a consultative process for the formulation of plans. Plan formulations for important sectors were undertaken by working groups with broad mandates and high levels of technical expertise.These working groups included not only representatives of the line ministries, but also financial sector, private sector, and academic institutions. This process of participation, however, worked well only in the initial phase of the preparation of formal plan documents. Most of the times, there was disconnect between targets and pe rformance, plan and implementation, and demand for resources and actual availability of funds. As a result, in most years until recently, infrastructure projects were actually built on a piecemeal approach.Unlike the dual-track system in China, overall implementation in India has more often been divorced from the planning process. Similarly, policy-making too was fragmented where, for example, a number of policy reforms have been often decided by committees and working groups, without the Planning Commission always being in charge of the process of reform designs or action plans for implementation. India’s planning ability, widely regarded as world class, was not backed by underlying incentives and accountability systems in China that delivered better outcomes. Infrastructure Sector ReformsThe planning framework for infrastructure was very different in China and India. Similar to their efforts in rural transformation and agricultural modernization, China was able to adopt a d ual benefit infrastructure development policy—to build infrastructure that will promote economic growth and to build systems that directly target poverty reduction. The vast program of building expressways was complemented with several programs that would directly benefit the poor. Having a centralized political system with complete State control made it possible to take risks that would have been more difficult under alternate political paradigms.The political costs of direct dissent were relatively small, if not entirely absent in China. Until 1994, the Indian government did not have a comprehensive framework for infrastructure. Most of the government interventions were through large number of sector ministries and departments—Ministry of Finance, Planning Commission, Pricing bureaus, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), etc. Since there were so many actors, the entire spectrum of infrastructure functions, namely, planning and policy making, regulation, production, and su pply tended to be dominated by public sector SOEs.The SOEs in these sectors had the skills and capabilities to influence important decisions; however, accountability structures were being weakened due to excessive interference by political â€Å"bosses†. Reforms in the Indian electricity sector have not been very successful, despite the fact that these were pursued more systematically with amendment of the Electricity Act in 1991, which allowed private sector participation and even 100% foreign ownership. This alone did not lead to real improvements on the ground until recently.Part of the problem lay in the lack of a credible regulator, partly due to a political setting that remained uncoordinated. The electricity sector in the Indian federal system remains on the â€Å"concurrent list,† implying responsibility for the sector by both the central government and the state governments. One of the most important factors that remained uncoordinated was the funding issue. A large number of states had followed the practice of subsidizing power for agriculture and, as a result, there was ambiguity regarding who was going to pay for the power.The financial status of most of the State Electricity Boards (SEB) was grim, with most experiencing large and unsustainable deficits. In the early 1990s, the rate of return on all SEBs combined was highly negative (-13. 5% of capital employed). Until 1998-99, private investments were allowed only in power generation in India. Private sector participation in power transmission was allowed but private sector participation in power distribution did not occur until 2003.Although many states have set up independent regulators that have been fairly effective, the fundamental issue of who pays for the subsidized power has remained an important challenge. Unlike India, however, China’s power sector reforms have been relatively more successful in terms of the level of foreign and private sector participation in reduci ng the funding gap. The foreign private sector was welcomed into China, not only due to the need to augment financial resources, but also for the needed manufacturing capacity to produce the power generating equipment for an ambitious capacity expansion program.Foreign direct investments (FDI) in China took various institutional forms such as joint ventures, build-operate-transfer (BOT) types of arrangements, equity joint ventures, loans, and equity in the existing energy enterprises. In 1996, the sector was further reformed under the new Electricity Law that created the State Power Corporation of China as an entity separate from the Ministry of Electric Power, thus signifying a first step to separating regulation from actual production and supply. Given the dual pricing system of â€Å"new plant, new price,† China’s power sector funding gap has not been as large as that of India.A majority of farmers in China believe this TO GET RICH, BUILD ROADS FIRST; TO GET RICH FA ST, BUILD FAST ROADS saying. Numerous recent studies have demonstrated that the greatest effect on poverty reduction can come from investments in the transport sector, particularly roads. It has been shown that an efficient road network increases access to services and economic opportunities, facilitates domestic market integration, lowers the cost of production and transportation, and allows healthy competition both domestically and internationally.In addition to accessibility, the quality of the roads also plays an important role in economic development. Although China had a late start, its achievement in building an extensive national road network in the last two decades has been unprecedented. With almost 30,000 km of expressways, China is fast catching up with the U. S. , which has the world’s largest road network. China is adding 5,000 km of expressway every year, expecting to reach a level over 80,000 km by 2020.Before discussing the current state of the Indian road ne twork, it is useful to touch upon three important trends that have significantly influenced the way in which road infrastructure has been developed and utilized in recent decades. First, there has been a gradual but persistent mode shift in India from rail to roads. In 1960, rail carried 85% of goods traffic and 51% of passenger traffic; by 2001, those percentages had declined to 23% and 13%, respectively. The vast majority of this demand appears to have shifted to the road system, which currently accounts for 70% of freight transport and 85% of passenger transport.Second, with rising GDP, demand for automotive and freight travel has grown rapidly and consistently. Third, despite the stunning growth in road transport demand, investment in new highway capacity has been anemic. These three trends, taken together, help explain the current state of the India's road infrastructure, which is now both woefully underdeveloped and over-utilized. Even though the Indian road network as a whole is denser than that of China, its highway component is comparatively underdeveloped.Despite significant improvements since the establishment of the National Highway Administration of India (NHAI), in contrast, India’s existing national highway network is characterized by slow speeds, heavy congestion and low service levels. It is not only the Indian road network that has remained under-funded —almost all other infrastructure services remain, at present, far below the level required to sustain the economic growth needed to address pervasive poverty Important lessons learnt On Infrastructure developmentWhen it comes to roads, the important goals for future development of India’s road infrastructure are given as follows:- †¢ Upgrading the capacity and efficiency of existing infrastructure. †¢ Establishing total connectivity for an all-weather rural road network †¢ Developing a modally-balanced transport system, particularly in urban areas †¢ Co ntributing to a reduction in regional disparities †¢ Contributing to sub-regional economic cooperation †¢ Putting a much greater emphasis on safetyIn order to perform their tasks more effectively, these national, state, and local agencies must collectively overcome a number of structural challenges, many of which can only be solved through policy or institutional reform. At the broadest level, the most pressing issues fall under the categories of poorly defined bureaucratic structure/mission, insufficient accountability, poor asset/system management, and inadequate resource mobilization. These categories can be broken down into greater detail as follows:Poorly defined bureaucratic structure/mission †¢ Unclear or overlapping responsibilities, often with no agency in charge †¢ Multiple mandates including roads, buildings, and irrigation †¢ Absence of clear strategic goals, mission statements, performance indicators, or investment plans Insufficient accountabil ity †¢ Failure to separate policy and operational roles for clear accountability †¢ Not enough consultation with road users †¢ Failure to report all relevant information Failure to impose sanctions on poor performance †¢ Absence of independent bodies to verify information and assess performance †¢ Inappropriate evaluation techniques that are merely input-based, focusing solely on accounting for expenditures against the budget. †¢ Taking into consideration the physical or operational conditions of the actual road network. Poor asset/system management †¢ Inadequate attention to data collection and analysis in decision-making †¢ Excessive focus on new investment vs. maintenance Uneconomical investments made under political influence †¢ Lack of competition in procurement †¢ Need for leaner staffing with greater skill-set diversification †¢ Declining investments in transport relative to GDP †¢ Input from private finance still ve ry limited †¢ Need to make better use of user charges in the form of gas taxes or tolling Though these problems are daunting, agencies at various levels within the government have taken initial steps to address them in recent years. Within the central government, notable examples include: Increasing the level of public funding for transportation within the Five-Year Plans †¢ Creating the Central Road Fund (CRF) to finance road development and maintenance through an earmarked â€Å"cess† (tax) on diesel and gasoline †¢ Operationalizing the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to act as an infrastructure procurer rather than a provider †¢ Establishing the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) to upgrade the nationals major highway routes †¢ Amending the National Highway Act to expedite land acquisition, permit private participation in road financing, and allow for the tolling of public roads In addition to standard techniques, such as the issuance of state- and federally-backed bonds, more innovative public-private partnership arrangements have also been developed.Examples include BOTs (build-operate-transfer contracts, in which a private partnership builds and operates a facility for a fixed number of years, recouping its expenses plus a reasonable profit through tolling, before transferring the facility back to the state) and other forms of maintenance and operations concessions. Though there is an overwhelming recognition of the contribution of infrastructure in modern economies, the links between infrastructure and economic growth and poverty reduction is neither certain nor automatic. Infrastructure development results in improvements in productivity and in overall quality of life but the impact is still contextual.A study prepared jointly by three major development institutions—the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and the World Bank (WB)—advocated that it is not enough to examine impacts of infrastructure without broadening and deepening the definition of poverty and economic growth. In the study, the impacts of infrastructure are seen to occur at three levels—first, through facilitating economic growth; second, through improving quality of life; and, finally, through enhancing broader social and economic capabilities. Nevertheless, manufacturing and exports have proven to be key drivers to economic performance of less developed and developing countries. Infrastructure provides connections to the global economy that are crucial for export competitiveness and manufacturing. China used infrastructure as a policy instrument and active political tool to reduce poverty and trigger growth.The Chinese government had a strategic vision that was combined with a sustained drive toward economic growth, which resulted in unprecedented growth, poverty reduction, and gains in efficiency, but at a cost of increased inequality and great r egional disparity. India started with a very rational approach of maintaining a balance between growth and distribution, but changed mid-course to a greater emphasis on redistribution. India learned the hard way that a greater emphasis on redistribution was not viable without robust and sustained growth. The resulting consequences were limited improvements in growth and poverty reduction with relatively little impact on income distribution.

Hindu Religion

HINDU RELIGION Dennis E. Leber Axia College RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD (AXIA) HUM/130 NAOMI DOUMBIA AUG 14, 2007 The Hindu religion The Hindu religion is strongly dependent on the Hindu philosophy and in addition, has inculcated a lot of rituals and practices. The Hindu religion has 333 million gods; this is because the Hindu philosophy believes that every human being is God himself. This acceptance of the multiplicity of the Supreme Being in many forms is the hallmark of the Hindu religion. The Hindu religion is also very assimilative and has accepted many faiths into it. The Hindu religion also allows religious freedom and does not enforce the edicts of the religion on anyone. In fact, Hinduism teaches that a person, in order to attain liberation from the worldly bondage, must select the religion that he is comfortable in. Hence, it accepts the existence of all other religions as a means to realize God. The Hindu religion like other religions also believes in the battle between the good and the evil although at a lower level of existence. The religion preaches that man must advance himself through successive levels of knowledge in his quest for the final truth. Hence, the concept of the Devas, or the good deities and the Asuras, the demoniac characters are very important in the Hindu traditions. Many folklores revolve around the battles between the Devas and the Asuras. The important Godheads in the Hindu tradition are Brahma, Vishnu and Siva who correspond with the three ‘Gunas' or qualities of Satva (pureness), Rajas(action), and Tamas(darkness and inactivity). Man is a mixture of the three gunas and the inherent nature of a person will depend on the predominance of the three gunas in him. The Hindu Social Life The Hindu social life is caste based, which was originally devised for the division of labor. Hence the Hindu society has the Brahmins, the highest class who performs rituals and is supposed to be the most educated in terms of religion. Then comes the Kshatriyas who are the warrior and ruling class. Following them in importance comes the Vaishyas, who are the business class. Last comes the Shudras who serve the upper class. People who do not come in these four classes were previously classified as the untouchables who had to do menial jobs in the society and were looked down upon. Women were given important position in the family even though her importance in public affairs was greatly curtailed during the later years of Hindu history The Hindu way of life has many beliefs that were perhaps a means that offered social balance in the society. For example, the norm of sacrifice and the mandatory rules on feeding others helped to provide food for the needy. Similarly, the social practices were seen as the physical manifestations of the philosophical edicts that Hinduism preached. For example the practice of sacrifice to the fire is a physical manifestation of the philosophic ritual of giving up everything for the sake of understanding the truth. Similarly, the belief that the confluence of the three rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswathi is holy, is due to the Tantric belief that the meeting point of the three nerve centers in the body awakens the Kundalini, which is the seat of power in the human body. The desire for liberation from earthly existence Dharma is the duty that you have to fulfill in life through your placement. Karma states that you will reap what you sow. And the desire for liberation from earthly existence is achieved through the combination of the two aforementioned methods. Life & death has a cycle. The cycle is wrought with earthly pleasures & pain. Your intention is to be free from materialistic desires because they are temporary. Only the soul is eternal. So by meditating, fulfilling your duties, and by eventually ridding yourself of your karma; you are free to exist as soul and be one with the universe as opposed to continuing the cycle of birth & death. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Hindu drawn from Aug, 2007 Origin of Hinduism, About. com drawn from Aug 2007