Flexible working time and work life balance

Flexible working time and work life balance The male breadwinner model, which puts an emphasis on the household as the womans sphere and the workplace as the mans sphere, no longer defines how most families divide labor between men and women (Crompton 2006). The increased participation of women in the labor market, along with technological change and globalization, have dramatically changed the structure of the labor market, and have most likely changed how workers balance their life between work and family. (copy) Good as well: flexible working practices brought upon by an increasing need for work-life balance which have been largely if not wholly due to external forces that are beyond the control of organisations. However, all organisations operate and seek to support in the environments that are continuously subjected to change. These changes can have a marked effect on an organisation, its performance, even its survival. Meanwhile, time after time, organisations react to the drivers of change by taking short-term or knee jerk decisions that predictably have an effect on the way work is organised. What is work life balance? Work life balance is employment based on emergent new values, which doesnt discriminate against those with caring or other non- work responsibilities, and which provides an opportunity for people to realize their full potential in work and non work domains. Lewis (1996:1) According to a recent study by Georgetown University, employee stress from trying to find time for their children correlates with decreased productivity and increased absenteeism. The study found that unplanned absences were costing some businesses nearly $1 million a year. Thus, HR specialists are trying in many attempts to help employees reach work-life balance by introducing new working strategies. One of these strategies is flexible working time. Flexible scheduling allows employees to adjust the time or place their work as completed. It can mean compressing 40 hours into four days, starting and ending workdays at different times, or doing some of your work at home. The reason may be as simple as wanting to better manage a long commute. Some parents choose to arrive at work later so they can take their children to school. Some companies may offer these options to retain female employees who might consider leaving their jobs after having children. But is it really that flexible time always helps to achieve work-life balance? Does employee prefer to manage his/her time or like to be committed to a specified timing because he/she may not be able to manage time, which leads to a more mess and imbalance? And which of these two options will increase the p roductivity? This research brings together material from diverse sources to provide an overview of recent research, current thinking and future debates on the key work-life policy issues, especially those which affect organizations in Bahrain. To build an informed policy debate on work-life balance issues in Bahrain, more Bahraini based research is essential. Chapter Two Literature review: 2.1 Work-life balance: The (phrase) Work-Life Balance was originated as a consequence of the Family Friendly Policies that were introduced in the 1970s and 1980s in UK, primarily as a retention tool for women, and since then it has become a widespread concept. With this, they were for women and about women. To avoid the pitfall of being viewed as discriminatory and the need to bring a more, all-inclusive significance into these policies, they were renamed as work-life balance policies. Since the 1970s, the UK Government has introduced several governmental changes to strengthen and to protect the rights of workers. In response to these changes, demands from employees as also from customers who want a larger business window a large number of organizations in the UK, have today introduced varied and innovative Work-life balance policies. The Government continues to play a key role in ensuring that (WLB) continues to gain momentum through legislation, financial incentives and support and promotion of best prac tices (Milburn, 2003). ** DTI (2003) Work and Parents: Competitiveness and Choice Department of Trade and Industry, London. 2.2 What is Work life Balance? Meanwhile, the definition of Work-life balance is about people having a measure of control over when, where and how they work (DTI, 2003). This is achieved when an individuals right to a fulfilled life inside and outside paid work is accepted and respected as the norm, to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and society. work life balance emphasizes on the adjustment of working patterns, and it focuses on the need for everyone, regardless of age, race or gender, to find a pace (that suits them) to help them combine work with other responsibilities or aspirations. Work-Life Balance has an important underlying implication that Work-Life Balance is for everyone, not just for mothers or families and is critical in not just developing policies but also in reviewing them and their impact on employees (Alexandra, 2003), thats why the idea that employers should enhance flexibility has been promoted recently. Within the UK, The Prime Minister Tony Blair launched the Work-Life Balance campaign, in March 2000. The aim of the campaign was in two-fold. First, to convince employers of the economic benefits of work-life balance (this was done by the employment of real-life case studies). Secondly, to convince employers of the need for change (DTI, 2003). Work-life concerns are simply added to an organizations bundle of practices that are designed to benefit competitive strategy to aid attraction and retention in tight labor markets, reduce high levels of absenteeism, and establish long-term relationships with employees based on commitment and productivity. 2.3 The need for a work-life balance As individuals, are all expected to play multiple roles, i.e. employee, boss, spouse, parent, child, sibling, friend, and community member. In turn, each of these roles imposes demands on us that necessitate time, energy and commitment to fulfill. The conflict of work-family or work-life happens when the cumulative demands of these many work and non-work life roles are miss-assorted in some respect so that participation in one role is made more difficult by participation in the other role (Duxbry and Higgins, 2001). Duxbry and Higgins conceptualize work-life conflict to include areas such as, role overload (RO) (having too much to do and too little time to do it in) as well as role interference (when incompatible demands make it difficult, if not impossible, for employees to perform all their roles well). Additionally, role interference can be divided into two factors: family to work interference (FTW) and work to family interference (WTF). With the first case, interference occurs when the roles and responsibilities of the family hinder the work related responsibilities (i.e., a family illness prevents attendance at work; conflict at home makes concentration at work difficult). With the latter case (WTF) interference occurs when work demands make it harder for an employee to fulfill their family responsibilities. 2.4 Background to Flexible Working Rights In April 2003 employees in the UK were first given the right to request flexible working. In the modern work environment, the introduction of these new rights helped to point up that traditional working patterns could no longer be sustained by employers and that there was a need to address the work/life balance. Organizations already facing skills shortages would find recruitment and indeed retention made harder if a more flexible approach to working patterns was not adopted. Suite of Rights The flexible working rights which were established were significant in themselves, however, they formed part of a new set of rights which sought to create a more family friendly work environment. Until April 2003, individual parental rights were primarily limited to maternity leave for a new mother giving her the right for a leave, the right for parents to take emergency time off for dependants (not just limited to children) and to take up to 13 weeks parental leave, which had been introduced in December 1999. In April 2003, however, the following new rights were introduced: The right to maternity leave was extended considerably so that, for the first time, all employees (regardless of their length of service) were entitled to 26 weeks maternity leave and those with more than a years service acquired the right to 52 weeks maternity leave. Fathers also gained rights, albeit limited to 2 weeks paternity leave, on the birth of their child. Extraordinary new rights were given to those seeking to adopt, with statutory adoption leave and statutory paternity leave, giving rights reflecting maternity and paternity leave, for adopting parents. It is significant (and perhaps indicates the extent to which this Government is keen to support working parents) that the next item on the flexible working agenda, announced in 2004, is the possibility of allowing flexible maternity leave between parents; instead of only a mother having the right to take up to 52 weeks maternity leave, there is the vision of some limited swapping of the right to maternity absence as between the mother and father of the child. Before these revolutionary new rights in 2003, the ability of any employee to work flexibly or indeed part-time was very much limited to circumstances where an employer agreed through good will or good practice to such an arrangement. Critics of the flexible working rights argue that the new provisions have not moved this position forward because all they provide is a right to request and to have that request considered seriously. Before they existed, however, there were only two circumstances where flexible working patterns of any sort could be enforced: Firstly, where an individual was a disabled employee and could demonstrate that some form of adjustment to their working hours or duties and working arrangements amounted to a reasonable adjustment which their employer was grateful to make in accordance with the disability discrimination. Secondly, and only as a way of challenging a refusal, female employees could argue that in respect of part-time working, a refusal to agree to part-time work was contrary to the sex discrimination. This is on the basis that it can be shown that a practice within an organization prohibiting part-time working (or indeed a practice allowing only full-time working) operates to the greater disadvantage of women than men and thus falls within the concept of indirect sex discrimination. Why was it Implemented? The history that reflects the flexible working laws introduced in 2003 goes back a number of years. In June 2001, the UK Government established a Task Force whose role was to consider specifically the issues which working parents face; in particular the Task Force was to consider how to assist parents in meeting their desire for flexible working patterns, whilst at the same time remaining compatible with the need for business efficiency and requirements. The establishment of the Task Force was against the background of a voluntary campaign and Government funding to encourage employers and businesses to address work/life balance issues. In March 2000, the Prime Minister launched a campaign known as the Work/Life Balance Campaign with a view to persuading organizations to improve the lot of working parents in such a way as to nevertheless continue achieving business and customer requirements. The original campaign was not in fact focused upon parents, but looked at all employees regardless of whether they had caring responsibilities or not. It was significant, however, in recognizing that the attitude, culture and philosophy of workers had moved on considerably from the ambitious society of the 1980s and 1990s. According to information from the Department of Trade and Industry, the Work/Life Balance Campaign was accompanied by a test fund which, in the run up to the introduction of legislative requirements and legal obligations, encouraged employers to introduce and develop innovative working arrangements. By helping to fund consultancy support, projects were undertaken with work/life balance in mind, including the introduction of new working patterns as well as specific recruitment projects. Over the three years from 2000 to 2003, the Work/Life Balance Challenge fund benefited employers to the sum of  £10.5 million. In its report on 19 November 2001, the Government Task Force made nine recommendations to the Government, many of which were translated to form the basis of the new legislation. In addition to the campaign and the recommendations of the Task Force, the Government had also informed itself of the views of the working population, through the issue of a green paper: Work and Parents: Competitiveness and Choice. This consultation paper was issued in December 2000. The responses to the consultation paper made clear that whilst improving maternity and indeed paternity rights (such as parental leave) would be of benefit to working parents, by far the most popular and indeed significant benefit was improved flexibility to meet childcare and work responsibilities. Armed with these responses and the Task Force report About Flexible Working, the Government tabled parts of the Employment Act 2002 which resulted in implementation of significant new flexible working rights, implemented through an amendment to the Employment Rights Act 1996 and two sets of regulations. Demographic Changes Demographic changes have played a significant role in impressing the need for organizations to develop more varied and non-traditional working patterns: With the ageing population, many more people are finding that they have caring responsibilities such as looking after elderly or disabled relatives. As we are all living longer, more individuals are becoming disabled, according to the Employers Forum on Disability in UK. With the move away from extended families and as people become more mobile, so they are not living close to relatives and parents, those with children are less able to rely on grandparents or other relatives to help with child care responsibilities. The percentage of women who have taken up employment has increased. The trend for life expectancy, although different for men and women, has increased by roughly five years. The Business Case So much for the demographic changes, but there are also business benefits for organizations which offer new or more flexible working arrangements, particularly given the high skills shortage in the UK and more older people who themselves are keen to work but may prefer or indeed require more flexibility. Employers may be surprised to know that for some individuals the ability to work flexibly is more important than the pay or benefits that a particular job may provide. In an online poll carried out by Reed Recruitment in conjunction with the Department of Trade and Industry in UK as part of its Work/Life Balance Campaign 2002, a third of those polled (out of 4,000 people) expressed a preference for having the opportunity to work flexibly, rather than having a  £1,000 pay rise (Reed.co.uk). Over 43% of the men who responded to the poll selected flexible working as the benefit they would most look for in a new job, compared to 13% who would look for a company car, and 7% who considered gym membership to be the priority. Adopting family friendly and flexible working policies has the following advantages for employers: Retention of staff is the key to the stability and knowledge of the organization. Knowledge is lost when somebody leaves and networks are broken. This can be critical in a small business where major customers can go elsewhere when an employee, who understands their needs and whom they trust, moves on to a competitor. The typical recruitment costs of replacing an individual have been estimated at an average  £3,500, ranging from  £1,000 for an unskilled manual worker to over  £5,000 for a professional employee. These costs do not take account of the investment made in training (both formal and informal training) which is lost if skilled employees leave the workplace, as well as lost time and experience. Consequently, it makes commercial sense to try and retain staff rather than recruit new staff [Labor Turnover, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, October 2000]. Savings in absenteeism. Absenteeism costs approximately  £500 per employee a year. A quarter of employers rank home and family responsibilities as one of the five main causes of sickness absence. Employers that help their employees to balance their work with their family lives see improvements in business performance (Cheibl, L. and Dex.S, 1998). It enables businesses to benefit from a greater contribution from the workforce and maximizes the contributions that working parents are able to make to their employers. A strong track record in work/life balance can be a selling point to potential employees who consider that such a balance is important. Many employers sees benefits from flexible working and leave arrangements including: improved employee satisfaction and motivation improved retention rates and recruitment benefits increased employee productivity reduced labor turnover improved reputation Reduced absenteeism. All of which provide improved business results. After having introduced the new rights for parents in 2003, a survey was conducted and analysis of how successful the new rights have been within the UK (Employment Relations Occasional Papers: Results of the First Flexible Working Employee Survey, Tom Palmer, Department of Trade and Industry). The outcome of that report demonstrated that one million parents had made requests for flexible working. That is only a quarter of those who are eligible, meaning that three million who could have made such a request have not done so. Perhaps significantly, it seems that employers when faced with such requests do not have any major difficulty acceding them. 80% of those employees requesting flexible working had their request agreed. The shortfall of those pursuing their new rights and the three million who have not, may be explained by the surveys statistics which demonstrate that 52% of parents who are eligible are unaware in the first place that they have the right to request flexible workin g. The Government has declared an intention to extend these new rights beyond parents with children under six. However, the success and significance of new rights such as these can only be measured when individuals become fully aware of their abilities. The fact that 10% of employees without dependent children were reported in the survey to have requested flexible working, suggests that there is a need on the part of individuals without children to gain this benefit. In organizations where requests were made, despite that individuals did not always have the statutory right, the reasons for the change warrant examination: 13% quoted work life balance 11% cited family responsibilities 11% simply because they wanted more free time (i.e. voluntary and not driven by childcare or family pressures) 7% because of travel arrangements 7% to meet the caring needs of relatives or friends 6% due to health problems. As these statistics demonstrate therefore, an organizations ability to offer flexible working arrangements provides a significant benefit to an extremely wide pool of actual or potential employees. This may, however, just be the tip of the iceberg. What the survey does not analyze is how many individuals simply do not pursue a request. In the Equal Opportunity Commissions Annual Report for 2003-2004 (available at www.eoc.org.uk) four in ten mothers, one in ten fathers and one in five carers have left an organisation or refused a job because of caring responsibilities. This suggests that there are many who do not have confidence in their organizations willingness to accommodate them. What Can be Requested? The statutory request for flexible working, which must be in writing and must be dated (Regulation 4), can request a variation to the individuals contract in one of the following ways: a change to the hours of work; a change to the time when the work is required (for example, the same eight hour day but an early start and early finish); a change to the place of work as between home and place of business. The statutory provisions do not go beyond these fairly focused and limited flexible arrangements. Nothing within any of the provisions appear to prevent the employee seeking a change to more than one of the above, for example to reduce hours and work from home. What other scholars said: Given the competing demands of work and life, it is unsurprising that many employees experience conflict between the two domains. Work-life conflict can affect any employee but people with care responsibilities are more likely to suffer most because of the greater demands on their time. Research has tended to find that mothers, particularly those with young children, are less satisfied with their work-life balance than other groups of workers (Saltztein et al. 2001). Feelings of work-life conflict have been associated with, psychological and physical health problems; marital and family relationship problems, increased sickness absence and decreased life and job satisfaction (Evans and Steptoe 2002; Crouter et al. 2001;Westman 2001) The effects of work-family conflict on organizational outcomes have been well documented in the management and psychology literatures. According to Netemeyer, Brashearà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ËœAlejandro, and Boles (2004), work-family conflict is an inter-role conflict where job expectations interfere with family-related responsibilities. The detrimental effects of work- family conflict on job satisfaction, employee retention, and psychological well-being have also been addressed (Brough, and Kalliath 2004). Related to work-family conflict, identity theory suggests individuals possess certain life roles (i.e., work-family roles) that may conflict, thus creating a spillover effect (Thoits 1991). When role clash occurs, the more valued role (i.e., family) takes precedence, and individuals are likely to instill protective measures to safeguard valued roles against potential damage. According to identity theory, these defense mechanisms may be implemented at the risk of abandoning the conflicting role(i.e., work) (Thoits 1991). Consistent with this notion, a study based in the retail sales industry indicates that when salespeople encounter conflict between two salient roles (work and family), they tend to withdraw from the less salient work role through higher turnover in order to maintain the more valued family role (Netemeyer, Brashearà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ËœAlejandro, and Boles 2004). Work-life conflicts are seen to have a potentially detrimental impact on productivity, personal effectiveness, marital relations, child-parent relationships and even child development (Gornick and Meyers, 2003). A review of the role conflict literature indicates that studies proposing links between work-family conflict and job satisfaction have also witness a dramatic increase. For instance, the majority of studies have shown that work-family conflict is associated with decreased levels of job satisfaction (Adams and King 1996). Employers do realize that employee stress is partially due to the challenges in balancing work and family (Matusicky 2003). A good balance between work and family life has been said to benefit employers, as it is linked to better life satisfaction and subsequently to workers being more productive, creative and efficient (Zelenski, Murphy and Jenkins 2008). Numerous studies have demonstrated that employees who are dissatisfied with their jobs are more likely to engage in organizational deviance behaviors such as working less hard, absenteeism and company theft (Lau, Au, and Ho 2003). A recent meta-analysis on the effects of ethical climate suggests that job dissatisfaction poses a significant threat to organizations due to its intensifying effects on dysfunctional behavior (Martin and Cullen 2006). Drew et al.,(2003) believes that a number of factors might encourage employers to adopt policies to promote work-life balance. These include the business case for such polices such as a lower staff turnover, reduced absence and improved productivity, as well as changes in human resource management and changes in technology that enhances opportunities for working from home. Another key factor is increasing demand for greater flexibility from employees. All reviewed research results show positive effects of flex-time on the work-family balance. Flex-time workers with children under the age of 18 report lower levels of time pressure, and a higher level of job and life satisfaction than do their non-flex counterparts (Zuzanek 2000). Flexible work hours are associated with more satisfaction with family life (Jekielek 2003) and a reduction in perceived time stress (Tausig and Fenwick 2001). Analysts Comfort, Johnson and Wallace (2003) also found flex-time to be related to increased job satisfaction, increased satisfaction with pay and benefits, and a reduction in paid sick days. All of these relationships appeared slightly stronger for women. Over one-third of Canadian employees report having flex-time schedules (Comfort, Johnson and Wallace 2003).The proportion of those who reported having flex-time arrangements is higher among men than among women and is mainly found in small establishments, non-unionized settings, low-skill occupations, retail and commercial industries. A research on flexible working in Ireland has found these arrangements are more common in the public than in the private sector and that, women make use of them more frequently than men (Drew et al., 2003). Gender and the public/private sector distinction are two key factors in the analysis of the effects of flexible working. The measure of work-life conflict captures tensions between work and family commitments. In this research I want to investigate whether flexible working arrangements facilitate a work-life balance and reduce work pressure.

How are nonverbal signals sent by casual dress in the workplace? Essay

How are nonverbal signals sent by casual dress in the workplace? Business Communication Apr 11, 2005 How are nonverbal signals sent by casual dress in the workplace? The phenomenon of casual dress in the business place has come full circle. Many companies are now moving away from casual dress. Many business leaders have come to realize that the nonverbal signals sent by casual dress, conflict with the image the company is attempting to portray. A trend that was seeing more and more companies opting for casual dress, now has companies considering a complete withdraw from this popular business fashion. Companies will need to completely overhaul their dress codes if casual dress is to survive. The History The concept of business casual dress began in the early 1990’s in Silicon Valley, California. In the beginning, it was a method of getting out of those hot suits in the summer, allowing people to be more comfortable in their work environment. It was expanded to console or placate workers during hard times. â€Å"Casual Fridays were introduced, experts say, to improve morale among cynical white-collar folks who saw their coworkers falling like flies during the layoffs of the 1980s and early 1990s. Generally, the casual look was never meant to replace traditional Monday-through-Thursday business attire† (McPherson, p. 134). Business casual was hyped as an employee benefit. The casual experiment quickly gained popularity. The attitudes toward casual dress began as positive and at its peak in the mid 1990’s the business industry reported that 63.7% of all businesses were allowing some form of casual dress (Cotton, Inc., 1997). Positive Thinking Whether true or perceived, some businesses and workers have stated a positive outcome to casual dress. â€Å"Some of the more commonly touted benefits include improved employee morale, a lack of cost to the employer, increased worker productivity, more open communication between staff and managers, cost savings to employees because casual business wear is less expensive, and improved work quality (Gutierrez & Freese, 1999). Casual dress was received so well by the employees that most companies thought they had tapped into the morale gold mine. †Take Morgan & Finnegan LLP, a Park Avenue law firm in New York. It started a Casual Friday routine during the summer of 1998. It was so well received the firm decided to allow bu... ...ished and then policed. References Allen, F. L. (2003, December). Dress for the Occasion: Your Attire - Your Image. Retrieved April, 5 2005, from http://www.blacksocietypages.com/advice.html Cotton, Inc. (1997, January, 23). Corporate Casual Daze?. Retrieved April 5, 2005, from http://www.cottoninc.com/lsmarticles/?articleID=373 Cotton, Inc. (2001, November 1). Casual Dilemma. Retrieved April 5, 2005, from http://www.cottoninc.com/lsmarticles/?articleID=392 Emily Post Institute (2003). Many businesses today have a "Dress Down Friday" policy. Do you think this is a good idea?. Retrieved April 5, 2005, from http://www.emilypost.com/surveys/results/poll2.htm Gutierrez, T., & Freese, R. J. (1999, April). Benefit or burden? Dress-Down Days . Retrieved April 5, 2005, from http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/1999/0499/Features/F320499.HTM McPherson, W. (1997, March). "Dressing Down" in the Business Communication Curriculum. Business Communication Quarterly, 60(1), 134-146. Taub, S., & Parsi, K.JD, PhD (2003, Feb). The Trend Toward Casual Dress and Address in the Medical Profession. Retrieved April 5, 2005, from http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/6563.html

It Is the Experiences of Childhood That Determines Who We Will Become. Discuss Essay

Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner enunciates how we become products of who we are when young. Amir, to win his father’s approval allows for the rape of his friend, Hassan to occur. In the process he becomes an insomniac. However Amir is able to redeem himself by rescuing Sohrab from further abuse by the Taliban. Similarly, Baba is never able to overcome his guilt of not acknowledging Hassan as his son, and thus leads a tormented life. Assef too, being a child with treacherous views grows to be a member of the Taliban. Amir, to win his father’s approval allows for the rape of Hassan to occur and becomes an insomniac as a result. Amir, believing Hassan is the ‘price (he) (has) to pay’, allows him to be raped, causing him to carry an enormous amount of guilt and shame with him, until he seeks redemption, forcing him to become an ‘insomniac’, as he is no longer able to be at peace with himself. By moving to America, Amir believes he can ‘bury (his) memories’ and forget the traumatic events of the winter of 1975. However, the amount of guilt Amir is carrying with him for not correcting his wrongdoings is what forces him to eventually return to Kabul and seek redemption. Amir, who is a ‘coward’ when a child, remains so until he is forced to sacrifice himself for Hassan, by facing Assef in order to rescue Sohrab, and ultimately gain redemption. Baba leads a tormented life as he is never able to overcome his guilt of not acknowledging Hassan as his son. Baba, because of his childhood, is never able to bring himself to admit that Hassan is own son and as a result is a ‘tortured soul’. Throughout his childhood, Baba growing up with Ali, becomes aware of the social inequalities between them, and this affects his inability to claim Hassan as his own son. Baba grows up with a sense of superiority at being a Pashtun, which is the biggest reason holding him back from owning up to his actions. As it is a ‘shameful situation’, Baba does much charitable work in order to achieve redemption, but nothing he does is able to overcome his guilt and shame at not giving Hassan the life he deserves, as a Pashtun. Assef, who has horrific thoughts and views as a child grows to be a member of the Taliban. Throughout his childhood, Assef bullies many of the neighbourhood children, being viewed as a ‘sociopath’, controlling them through his ‘stainless steel brass knuckles’, and keeping them at a fearful distance from himself. Assef has a shocking ‘vision’ of eradicating the Hazaras, and being a member of the Taliban years later, this is put into practice, when all the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif are massacred. Assef, being a bully in childhood, obtains a sense of power through controlling those around him through a sense of fear, grows to be a member of the Taliban, who also control the country through the sense of fear they instill in their citizens of Afghanistan. Through Amir, who becomes an insomniac at his guilt and shame of not preventing a horrific crime, Baba, who is a tortured soul at not being able to admit to his actions, and Assef who grows up to be a member of the Taliban from being a bully, Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner demonstrates how we will grow up to be products of who we are when we are young.

Consumerism Has Changed Our Society - 1342 Words

Consumerism over centuries has shaped our society into the world we live in today. Throughout our history, the American dream has been to become the most successful person you can possibly become given the opportunities presented to you. Consumerism has provided our country with a lot of jobs and efficient sources of income for the general population. Consumerism gives our country an upside unlike many other countries in that you could grow up in a hardworking blue collar family and become the most successful person in America. Even though consumerism has a lot of positive effects, it also could be the reason for a lot of society’s issues that people have to live through day in and day out. A positive effect that consumerism has had on our society is that consumerism has made our society more hard working and driven. Consumerism has also shaped our society to be more free spirited because our society has been able to produce a lot of products, giving us choices like the type of clothes we can wear or the type of house we can buy. Another positive effect that consumerism has had on our society is that it has made us more competitive. On most suburban streets, you can see numerous fast food chains right next to each other; this competition makes us become more creative and more efficient thinkers. When a person has to make a critical decision like finding something to eat for dinner, they have many options and maybe their decision can come down to being best tasting food.Show MoreRelatedHow Graphic Design Has Had On Popular Culture And Consumerism1700 Words   |  7 PagesIn this summative essay I would like to explore and analyse the influence that Graphic design has h ad on popular culture and consumerism. Graphic design can be defined as â€Å"the art and practice of planning and projecting ideas and experiences with visual and textual content. The form of the communication can be physical or virtual, and may include images, words, or graphic forms.† (aiga.org) Designers are problem solvers and it is their job to come up with a suitable solution to a problem. They haveRead MorePatagonias Sustainability Strategy : DonT Buy Our Products Case Study1160 Words   |  5 Pagesthat has little in common with the actual satisfaction of needs or the principle of reality as there is no moderate consumption at all. A consumer society is a set of relationships where the symbolism of material objects acting as the meaning of life dominates attracting consumers to acquire things and thereby grant themselves a certain status. The case study ‘Patagonia’s Sustainability Strategy: Don’t Buy Our Products’ prepared by Zahir Dossa d iscusses consumerism and the way Patagonia has decidedRead MoreBranding And Its Effect On Society1567 Words   |  7 Pages In society today, everything has a name for it. If the product doesn’t have a well-known name, it goes by name that a well-known product that is similar goes by. Branding has made its impact on society and it’s never going to go away. In this situation, all we can do from here is analyze more and more until we fully understand its presence in society and its effects. Branding has its biggest effects on consumerism, which makes us question consumerisms power in society. Has our society become oneRead MoreEssay The Effects of Consumerism on Adults and Children1085 Words   |  5 PagesThe Effects of Consumerism on Adults and Children Consumers are creatively successful when designing a persuasive advertisement for increased profitability. In a normal household, it’s the parents who have the financial obligations; therefore, it would be wise to grab their attention. On the other hand, it takes less than a strategic mind targeting children because the simplest things fascinate them. Businesses have been perfecting commercials to be effective on the viewers, for years. AlthoughRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Mackleore1366 Words   |  6 PagesThere are many things that are part of our daily lives that we have come to accept as normal, because they have been part of our society for so long that we no longer question their presence. If you look at our society from an outside perspective, you begin to see some things that appear to be very strange had you not grown up with it. Alternative rapper â€Å"Macklemore† often tackles subjects like these to give listeners a look at the world from a different po int of view, and start conversations. OneRead MoreThe New Consumerism And Media Culture1418 Words   |  6 Pages The New Consumerism and Media Culture Professor Chyng- Feng Sun October 31, 2017 In Chapter 27, The New Politics of Consumption: Why Americans Want So Much More Than They Need, author Juliet Schor states consuming is authentic as it gets in the American culture and the standard of living has changed in relation to consumerism. Americans need to work longer hours in order to make money that they are then pressured to spend. Schor describes today s consumerism as the new consumerism. This canRead MoreAmerican Rock N Roll Essay1578 Words   |  7 Pagesand defined a discernible difference between the young and the old. Post-war depression was replaced by a youthful optimistic spirit, which allowed for expression of self among the youth of American society. The optimistic spirit offered by pop culture icons allowed the youth to recover from a society which condemned them. An extreme example of this condemnation is the Kent state massacre of 1970 where 4 students were killed and 9 were wounded (History.com Staff 2009). Fashion, particularly the miniRead MoreConsume r Consumption Essay1316 Words   |  6 PagesAre You What You Buy? As a society we are embedded in a culture of consumption. Consumerism brings out a passion in people to have things, be it objects or services that will make them feel better. This passion becomes a powerful force that makes people make some unwise decisions in their life. The money consumers spend on these goods could be going to the ever-surmounting needs for health care, poverty help, or other things that would help the society as a whole. This is why America is theRead MoreConsumerism Warping Human Values : We Are Consumers1696 Words   |  7 PagesConsumerism Warping Human Values You and I consume; we are consumers. The global economy is set up to enable us to do what we innately want to do: buy, use, discard and buy some more. If we do our job well, the economy thrives. If for some reason we fail at our task, the economy suffers. This model of economic existence has been reinforced in the business pages of every newspaper, and in the daily reportage of nearly every broadcast and web-based financial news service. It has a familiar name: consumerismRead MoreEssay The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly712 Words   |  3 PagesI think as Americans we all contribute to the materialistic society we live in, one way or another. Some people might say a line should be drawn between consumerism, a way of helping the economy by buying and the act of over consumption by having too much. I believe without any economic education, we don’t see the financial burden we cause the economy. Majority of the time when an individual receives money whether it’s the form of income, birthday, or just good luck; we feel the need to reward ourselves

Reading Notes On Kill A Mockingbird - 3311 Words

Marcus Djuhadi Mrs. Dunn P.D. American Literature, Period 6 To Kill A Mockingbird - Reading Notes Summary // Style Language // Response // Other PART ONE Chapters 1-3 Main character introduced: Jean Louise Finch (â€Å"Scout†) Her older brother: Jeremy Finch (â€Å"Jem†) Father: Atticus Finch, works as a lawyer Mother died when Scout was 2, Jem remember her but Scout does not Jean Louise explains her ancestral roots; her family seems financially secure Maycomb, Alabama is the exposition - fictional, but is a small Southern town Imagery of the town (6) - town appears nothing fancy, old small community, heat of the south reinforced Story takes place in the early 1930s: Great Depression The setting sounds very slow/stagnant. Not much is going on - I predict this exposition correlates to the Maycomb community’s ideology and behavior Calpurnia (â€Å"Cal†) - the family cook. She is African-American The tone of the book is very mature-sounding. This is slightly confusing as I know Jean Louise is a very young girl still. She is likely very intelligent concerning Lee’s formal diction and recollection of the plot. This could also be a case of the time period. Children might be mature also because of their added responsibility (after mom passed) Use of advanced vocabulary â€Å"Jem and I found our father satisfactory†¦ treated us with courteous detachment,† (6). â€Å"I had felt her tyrannical presence,† (7). The siblings meet and play with Charles Baker Harris (â€Å"Dill†) - he is characterized as veryShow MoreRelatedEssay Justice System in To Kill a Mockingbird897 Words   |  4 PagesAlthough the dedication of Mr. Finch in â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird†, even though it turned out against his favor due to an absence of evidence and a debauched court hearing. This court hearing makes readers question whether or not the justice system of that era was fair and in retrospect, a good question is whether or not our justice system today is fair and lawful. If you think that a false conviction was unfair, Tom is eventually killed for his false conviction under a faulty justice system. To meRead Moresocratic seminar962 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿To Kill a Mockingbird Socratic Seminar On the upcoming block day we will have a Socratic Seminar in which we discuss the chapters in To Kill a Mockingbird that deal with Tom Robinson’s trial and its aftermath. Your assignment is to prepare for the seminar ahead of time, participate in the seminar and capture the main ideas of the discussion in your notes. A Socratic Seminar is a formal discussion, named after the famous Greek philosopher, Socrates, who literally gave his life for his beliefRead MoreEssay on Human Nature In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee1556 Words   |  7 PagesThe cruel nature and intentions of people can either hurt or harm individuals or it can bring about resilience and determination. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee revealed that humans often have other motives in life; some are born to be evil in nature, some are naturally innocent and then there are some that are born to protect the innocent. Lee utilized a variety of symbols and themes that correlated with each other and thus had the ability to create questions in the minds of theRead More The Life of Nelle Harper Lee Essay808 Words   |  4 Pagesre-write her work perhaps by expanding one of the short stories into a novel. For the next two and a half years, Lee revised the work under the supervision of her editor, Tay Hohoff [6]. Finally , in 1960, Harper Lees first and only book, To Kill a Mockingbird, was published. The story, which is set in a small Alabama town during the 1930s, is narrated by Scout, a six year old girl. She tells the events surrounding a court case in which her father, Atticus Finch, defends a black man, Tom RobinsonRead MoreThe Importance Of Communication And Parents Or Guardians By Making A Good Impression From The First Contact911 Words   |  4 Pages 1. A teacher can provide positive communication to parents or guardians by making a good impression from the first contact. Communication itself can be done through email, notes, calls, or face-to-face. The best way to begin a good communication channel is by starting early to contact the parents and introduce yourself and your expectations/plans for communication. By stating these to both the parent and the student, everyone will know the best way to contact you. This makes it easier for you toRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1665 Words   |  7 Pagesare two characters in â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird† that have matured throughout the whole novel. These two characters went through a crucial trial and had stereotyping, racism, loss and big learning moments. Jem and Scout were just like any other child but were in stages of maturing and growing up. Children including Jem and Scout mature through the influences of family, how they deal with loss and a rude awakening to t he cruel unfair justice of the world. â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird† connects with how childrenRead MoreThe Mockingbirds in To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee Essay1989 Words   |  8 PagesWalt Whitman’s 1859 poem â€Å"Out of the Cradle Rocking Endlessly† depicts the mockingbird as a symbol of innocence that chants or sings of fond memories from the past. By contrast, Harper Lee’s famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird, published in 1960, written almost a century after Whitman’s poem, portrays the mockingbird as innocent but as a fragile creature with horrific memories – memories of discrimination, isolation, and violence. Harper Lee wrote her novel, which is rooted in the fictional townRead MoreAnalyzing Language and Grammar573 Words   |  2 Pagesof even change the entire course of a story. Since everyone has their own way of speaking, the usage of certain words or phrases can help us to understand the personality or choices of a specific character. For example, in Harper L ee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, every single character has a different dialect. By listening to their speech and usage of grammar for only a short period of time, you can tell if that person is well-educated. In addition, you can tell if they are old or young. Even thoughRead MoreThe Horrible Acts Of The Holocaust1868 Words   |  8 Pages To Kill a Mockingbird is a witty and well-written account of the realities of a â€Å"tired old town† (4) where there was â€Å"nothing to buy and nothing to buy it with† (4). Purposefully, it comes across not merely an innocently portrayed, yet eye-opening, story of a young girl start to grasp the inequalities of her society. Rather, it is accompanied by recollection of the unfortunate pillars of hate of the places Harper Lee matured in. We now perceive this account as an ‘archaic† and â€Å"ancient† recountRead MoreThe Most Important Thing You Know About Me849 Words   |  4 Pagesthen, eventually, my Mas ter’s Degree in Nursing. I love reading fiction more than any other kind of book. I have read all of the Twilight and Hunger Games books and I am currently reading the Divergent series. I have also read other books, like The Notebook and The Giver among many other fiction books. One of my most favorite books is To Kill a Mockingbird. I have also enjoyed some non-fiction like The Diary of Anne Frank. I like reading mythology and took a course on it in high school. We read

Total Quality Management Tqm - 1681 Words

Total Quality Management (TQM) The Total Quality Management is the concept of processes and integration all of functions within an organization in order to focus on quality control and also approach to long-term success to continue improvement in all aspects but not short- term goal. TQM of business plan began in 1980 in the United States. It was popular until early 1990. Nowadays, in the small business to large business, including restaurant and fast food businesses that used system quality standards to manage the organization because they believed in quality of the standard is bringing them business growth in worldwide. TQM is the most common sense (Shri Ramdeobaba Kamla Nehru Engineer College and National Institute of industrial†¦show more content†¦A market leading business such as McDonald’s, Starbucks, Pizza Hut or KFC cooperation is the world’s largest chain of franchise companies. They are successful strategy of selling product in high quality, cheaper and quickly process on sales (Chang Kleiner, 2008, pp.107-109). Another key of TQM indicate to 5S Method that the tools for helping analysis of process running on the work place. It will be creation and maintaining well organization, clear and high quality. The companies created a specialty sales group to manage this operation. The implement of total quality management is related to franchise and supplier that can be for the top leader in the food and beverage industry (Chang Kleiner, 2008, pp.107-109). Everyone has had experience with poor quality that makes impact to customers. So the successful companies understand impact of customer defined quality can have on business. For this reason they firms continually increased their quality standard and integrated effort designed to improve quality performance. One of the more common implement for improving a process to manage variation in total quality management (TQM) that indicated to Quality Circle (QC) is the employee participle method. QC focuses on companies in improvement that involves to all employee aspects of the companies. Employees are focused on customers to find solutions to manage the problem and management approach to long-term success for the customer

Impact of Infant and Young Child Feeding †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Impact of Infant and Young Child Feeding. Answer: Introduction: Maternal and infant under-nutrition remain among the most damaging and pressing challenges facing infants especially in low and middle-income economies. Under-nutrition negatively affects both the cognitive and physical growth of a child. The World Health Organization (2009) approximates that 35%to 45% of child deaths are related to under-nutrition. Under-nutrition also prevents a considerable number of the survivors from fully developing to their potential. Furthermore, WHO estimated that in 2016 the number of obese children under five years had reached 41 million, 52 million were wasted and too thin for their height, and 155 million were stunted and too short for their age. Few children meet the recommended breastfeeding and nutritional complimentary foods frequency necessary for their age(Prudhon et al., 2017). To ensure that children develop and grow to their full health potential, adequate nutrition is necessary during their infancy and early childhood (Patel et al., 2015). Moth ers and health care professionals should, therefore, prioritize improving IYCF practices. To improve the health of children, the WHO prescribes IYCF as one of the most effectives methods. It is imperative for health workers to support or help both the mothers and families to adopt appropriate and sustainable IYCF practices. This support is in terms ofhelping mothers solve feeding challenges, providing expert counsel, giving appropriate advice, and knowing where and when to refer their clients if highly complicated feeding complications arise(Prudhon et al., 2017). Therefore, it is important for healthcare professionals to poses the necessary knowledge and skills to assist mothers and their families in improving their IYCF practices. IYCF education promotes economic development at both the family level and national level by reducing health costs and improving child development. To evaluate thebehavioral changeofIYCF education onmothers, families, and healthcare practitioners. To reduce the infant mortality rate in Nepal by improve the nutritionof infants. IYCF education interventionsare necessary to reduce infant mortality rate and ensure children develop to their full potential. This research specifically aims to answer the following IYCF questions. Can infant mortality rates in Nepal be reduced by imlementing IYCF education programs? What is the importance of implementing IYCF education aimed at trainingnutrition and maternal healthcare practitioners? Is IYCF educationcost-effective to health facilities and Nepal? Background and Rationale Countries in South Asian countries such as Nepal are faced with a persistently high child mortality and under-nutrition rate. Poor IYCF practices significantly contributes to the under-nutrition and high mortality rates. Interventions and strategies should be established to improve the nutrition of families and the community, promote appropriate breastfeeding practices, and complementary feeding in Nepal. These interventions can be reinforced by relevant government policies to improve their outcome.In order to meet their nutrition targets, UNICEF and WHO identified policies as key in the creation of environments that support efficient IYCF practices.The IYCF Global Strategy developed UNICEF and WHO recognizes that to alleviate the risk of infant mortality and morbidity, it is important to ensure exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding in infnats below six months of age (Dykes Hall-Moran,2009). To improve the chances of survical, improved health and improved development of infants, it is important exclusive breastfeed infants below six months of age. This prevents life-long effects such as impaired social and intellectual development, reduced productivity, and poor school performance. This Strategy underlines the courses of action for providing support to mothers and families as they carry out their roles. It is important to develop approaches for improving feeding practices that are tailored to specific countries. The Strategy further recognizes that the health and nutrition of mothers and their babies cannot be separated. Despite the numerous studies emphasizing the importance of breastfeeding in promoting infant survival, developing countries experience gaps in implementing the Global IYCF Strategy by WHO and UNICEF (2003).Governments need to facilitate an environment that is favorable for implementation of the Strategy. Measure to ensure optimal breastfeeding should be enforced. Optimal breastfeeding includes initiating breastfeeding during the infants first hour, exclusively breastfeeding for the first few months, and continuing breastfeeding after one year together with adequate complementary feeding. According to a recent analysis by Edmond et al. (2006), sub-optimum breastfeeding, especially in infants who are not breastfed exclusively during the first six half-year since birth, causes10% of gastro-intestinal infection burden andup to the death of up to 1.4 million infants below five years of age.Another research activityconducted in Ghana came to the conclusionthat 16% of infant deaths could be avoided if the infants were breastfed from the first dayand if they were breastfed from the first hour the rate of avoidable infant deaths could be up to 22%(Edmond et al., 2006).This is partly due to the long thought fact that the immune and nutritional properties of maternal colostrum provide additional protection to the infant (Morales et al., 2012).The infant mortality rate was discovered to be associatedclosely with the type of breastfeeding practiced by healthcare attendants and mothers. Infants who were predominantly or partially breastfedwere exposed to a higher mortality risk co mpared to infants who were breastfed exclusively. This is particularly relevant for mothers and healthcare professionals in Africa and Asian countries where despite the fact that women already predominantly or exclusively breastfeed their babies, the infant mortality and neonatal mortality rates are still high. The study identified the type of breastfeeding pattern, initiation timing, and promotion of breastfeeding as a key strategy for ensuring child survival. The financial and economic benefits of education on health systems in developing countries is analyzed at micro and macroeconomic levels. A study by Hollar-Bhar et al. (2015) identified breastfeeding counselingas among the most cost-effective child care interventions for reducing mortality and morbidity rates. For every infant death averted, breastfeeding promotion programs such as counseling incur a cost of $100 to $200 similar to rotavirus and measles vaccination (Caulfield et al., 2006). According to Hollar-Bhar et al. (2015), the global sales of supplements and baby foods such as milk formula increased significantly between 2003 and 2013 from $22.4 billion to approximately $58billion. Most of these sales were recorded in Asian countriesand were characterized by a rapid decrease in breastfeeding practices in highly populated low and middle-income countries like Indonesia, China, and Nepal (Hollar-Bhar et al., 2015).To determine the cost-effectiveness of infant and young child feed ing practices, it is imperative to estimate the financial outlays. These costs include costs associated with legislation and developing policies, media campaigns, training of community volunteers and health workers in counseling, and monitoring costs.In addition, when infants fall ill due to poor breastfeeding habits, the human capital development of the mothers is affected as they miss work (Ickes et al., 2017).In order to reduce cases of under-nutrition in populations with food insecurity, it is important to adopt strategies such as cash transfers, food supplements, and nutritional counseling.To implement these strategies, it is necessary to consider their budgetary feasibility and economic relevance. Due to their influence, health workers play an important role in ensuring effectiveIYCF practices (Samuel, Olaolorun Adeniyi, 2016).It is crucial to conduct supportive supervision to build the competency and capacity of community workers and healthcare professionals to implement IYCF support and counseling (focusing on breastfeeding and complementary feeding). Further, actions in maternity facilities to encourage breastfeeding practices should be enforced through institutionalizations of the Global IYCF Strategy. According to a UNICEF report in 2015, infants should be breastfed exclusivelyfor the first six mothssince birth. WHO reports on infant and young child feeding in 1991 and 2008 recommend exclusive breastfeeding as one of the best and natural methods of preventing infant illnesses and ensuring infants develop to their full potential.Exclusive breastfeeding has been estimated to decrease cases of infant mortality in developing countries such as Nepal by up to 13% (Chung et al., 2007). Further, a recent study on promotingIYCF education among health workers focusing on exclusive breastfeeding by Edmond et al. (2006) found that the likelihood of mothers whoreceived the IYCF counseling to exclusively breastfeedtheir newborn infants wasconsiderably increased in the first six months. UNICEF approximates that infants who are exclusively breastfed are upto 14 times more probability to survive their first six months of life compared to children who are not breastfed.This is in part due to the dr astic reduction of deaths as a result of diarrhea and respiratory infection (Lamberti et al., 2011) The rationale behind conducting IYCF education in Nepal is based on timely initiation of breastfeedingas from the first hour, breastfeeding exclusively from birth to six months, and continued breastfeeding after the first year. Earlyinitiation of breastfeeding helps improve the mortality of newborns and prevents the onset of various infection (Edmond et al., 2006).Breastfeeding within an infants first hour of birth stimulates the production of colostrum which is important for the infants immune protection and a source of much-needed nutrients.There are numerous benefits of exclusive breastfeedingduring an infants first six months. According to Lamberti et al.(2011), one of the mainbenefitsconferred is the drasticreduction in gastrointestinal infections especially in developing countries such as Nepal. Partially breastfeed, and non-breastfed infants are exposed to a high mortality risk from infections such as diarrhea. Reports by WHO and UNICEF recommend that children should continue breastfeeding upto two years or more. This is because breast milk is an important source of nutrients as well as energy. Continued breastfeeding has long-lasting positive effects on the development and health of children during their early childhood.Education on efficient breastfeeding practicesgreatly reduces the mortality rates among infants and ensures their development to full potential (Reinbott et al., 2015). Training health personnel on effectiveIYCF practices is important to enhance cost-effective breastfeeding practices(Samuel, Olaolorun Adeniyi, 2016). Proposed Action Plan This IYCF education intervention primarily aims to decrease infant mortality rates in Nepal by approximately 40% while encouraging exclusive breastfeeding. The propsed action plan should ensure compliance with ethical guidelines prescribed in the Helsinki Declaration and must be consequently cleared by Nepals Ethical Review Board. Infants and mothers who require medical attention must be promptly attended to in standard medical centers. The main approaches and activities to improving the impact of IYCF education among mothers and health workers in Nepal will be aimed at improving the availability of information, improving IYCF behavior and awareness among caregivers, establishing a supportive policy environment, and capacity building among health care professionals. The funding to cover these activities will be sourced from international organizations such as WHO and UNICEF, government funding through Nepals health ministry, community contribution, and other available sources. To improve the accessibility of correct information on IYCF, the eisting information and documents will be evaluated along with the breastfeeding habits in different ethnic groups and regions of Nepal. The existing material will be updatedin accordance with the latest guidelines from WHO and UNICEF reports on IYCFpractices. New material tailored to the demographic structure and background of Nepal will be developed after careful research. Guidelines on appropriate breastfeeding practice will be provided through posters, leaflets, social media posts, and flip charts in various maternal health facilities. Furthermore, counseling software on IYCF practices will be provided to nutrition counseling centers and health facilities. A distribution network to provide information to families and the community will be established together with the relevant communication equipment. An important strategy to enforce IYCF education will be to provide refreshtraining programs to update nutrition coun selors and health carepractitioners on IYCF communication skills, utilization of the new IYCF material, proper breastfeeding practice, and updated nutrition knowledge. To improve the behavior and awareness on appropriate IYCF practices among mothers, the community, and other caregivers, activities to communicate this information will be carried out through mass media (Mashreky et al., 2015). Communication campaigns will be organized in Nepal. Examples of these campaigns include Nepal Breastfeeding Week and Mother and Child Nutrition Week.' Furthermore, to improve breastfeeding behavior among caregivers, reproductive-aged women, and mothers in Nepal, training will be conducted. Guidelines prescribed by WHO and UNICEF will be distributed to health facilities and families. Organizing contests and advertisement campaigns through the internet and social media will be used to spread awareness on proper weaning practices rapidly. Establishing a supportive policy environment It is important to review prenatal care policies to ensure that their implementation is supportiveof proper breastfeeding practices (Harris et al., 2016). An evaluation and situational analysis on possible constraints hindering the implementation of proper breastfeeding regulations and guidelines will be conducted in the Nepal community. Workshops and meetings aimed at developing an effective and complete policy framework will be organized.To attract interest and draw attention to IYCF interventions, advocacy meeting will be held. It is also important to establish and train a team dedicated to ensuring proper IYCF practices are enforced in various regions in Nepal. Appropriate breastfeeding programs will be strengthened by cooperating with existing projects.In addition, centers providing counseling on infant nutrition will be set up. It is crucial to ensure that health workers and other infant nutrition caregivers have the relevant knowledge and skills (Baker et al., 2013). This will be achieved through providing training activities to refresh the caregivers competency in providing appropriate breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices. Training material containing updated information from recent research activities on breastfeeding practiceswill be provided to healthcare practitioners. It is, however,important to continue research on proper breastfeeding practices among mothers in Nepal. Studies should be carried out to continuously improve breastfeeding practices to reduce infant mortality rates and improve both their mental and physical development. To evaluate the impact of IYCF education on reducing infant mortality rates, measures will be put in place to ensure localities from various regions in Nepal report the progress of their program implementation and the outcomes. An effectiveness trial will be conducted among low socio-economic mothers and to educate mothers and heathcare practitioners on proper IYCF practices to reduce infant mortality and ensure infants develop to their full potential.The impact of providing IYCF education to caregivers and families inlow socio-economical groups will be assessed. The essential indicators such as thetiming of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding, continued breastfeeding, training health workers, and the cost-benefit of the action plan will be periodically monitored. After monitoring the above indicators, an evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of the action plan for reducing infant mortality through IYCF education will be conducted to ensure the continued improvement of breast feeding practices.An analysis on the cost-effectiveness of IYCF education will be based on outcomes and costs recorded in the study. The costs of this IYCF strategy will include service delivery andorganizational costs,salary expenses incurred as a result of using health professional, andthe cost of other relevant materials. These implementation expenses will determined after an analysis of participatinghealth service facilities, nutrition centers,and financial records derived from the health care projects.Specifically,medical and nutritional health personnel will collect weight and height measurements using existing methods and record the data on infant growth chart to determine the development progress of the infants. Infant mortality will be measured in terms of the number of infant deaths recorded within one year since birth. Anticipated Outcomes and Significance Developing effective and sustainable interventions to improve complementary feeding will be integral components of efforts to reach the child survival and malnutrition Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The proposed research will provide high-level evidence of the efficacy of peer counseling to support proper breastfeeding and complementary feeding approaches and reduce malnutrition in young children in rural Nepal. The findings will provide crucial interventions prescribing the appropriate approaches that healthcare practitioners should emulate in Nepalandthe generalSouth Asia. The outcomes and finding of this research project are expected to greatly affect the infant healthcare practices in Nepal. The study should be able to assist in reducing the infant mortality rate in Nepal by providing relevant IYCF education on infant nutrition. There is a need to ascertain that health practices support, promote, and protect exclusive breastfeeding and adequate complementary feeding.Exclusive breastfeeding not only reduces the mortality rate of infants but is also associated with better educational performance, improved cognitive ability, and the healthy development of the brain.Infant and young child education promote economic developmentat both the family level and national level by reducing health costs and improving child development (Srivastava Sandhu, 2007).Poor breastfeeding programs result in increased health care costs due to high child morbidity and the consequences of not breastfeeding such as chronic illnesses and obesity. It is therefore important to establish cost-effective IYCF practices in low-income countries such as Nepal.Health workers play an essential role in ensuringadequateIYCF practices. It is crucial to conduct supportive supervision to build the competency and capacity of community workers and heal thcare professionals. This study is therefore significant in reducing infant mortality rates by ensuring mothers and caregivers have the necessary skills and knowledge for appropriate breastfeeding practicesandemphasizing the cost-effectivenessof breastfeeding in Nepal. Proposed Timeline The research activity to determine the impact of IYCF education on the mortality rate of infants in Nepal will be carried out over a three period covering all activities from setting up the project to preparing a final report based on the results derived from the study. The following tableoutlines the timing of activitiesin the study. Task and Activities 1st Year Quarters 2nd Year Quarters 3rdYear Quarters 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Ethics clearance / Project set-up / Formative research / Formulation of intervention / Determine research instruments / Pilot study / Enrolment of research subjects / / / / Implementation of action plan / / / / / / / / / Surveys / / / / / Follow up studies / / / / / / / / / Data entry / / / / / / / / / Data analysis / Proposed Budget, and Justification of Budget The research project is estimated to cost $199k. Thisis after considering the travel and communication expenses, salaries, consumables and materials, equipment, miscellaneous expenses, and other indirect costs. The following table shows costs and their drivers expected to be incurred while researching the impact of IYCF education on infant mortality rates in Nepal. Activities and Items Amount of $ Salaries 96890 Consumables and other materials 24400 Equipment 19000 Communication and travel expenses 24500 Miscellaneous expenses 11600 Total direct costs 173390 Indirect costs (15% of subtotal) 26009 GRAND TOTAL $199,399 References Baker, J., Sanghvi, T., Hajeebhoy, N., Abrha, T. H. (2013). Learning from the design and implementation of large-scale programs to improve infant and young child feeding. Food and nutrition bulletin, 34(3_suppl2), S226-S230. Black RE AL, Bhutta ZA, Caulfield LE, de Onis M, Ezzati M, Mathers C, Rivera J, for the Maternal and Child Undernutrition Study Group. Maternal and child undernutrition: global and regional exposures and health consequences. Lancet. 2008;371:24360 Breastfeeding. (2017). UNICEF. Retrieved 10 October 2017, from https://www.unicef.org/nutrition/index_24824.html Chung, M, Raman, G, Chew, P, Magula, N, DeVine, D, Trikalinos, T, Lau, J. Breastfeeding and maternal and infant health outcomes in developed countries. Rockville, MD; US Department of Health and Human Services; 2007. p. Avaliable at https://www.ahrq.gov/download/pub/evidence/pdf/brfout/brfout.pdf. Dykes, F., Hall-Moran, V. (Eds.). (2009). Infant and young child feeding. John Wiley Sons. Edmond, K. M., Zandoh, C., Quigley, M. A., Amenga-Etego, S., Owusu-Agyei, S., Kirkwood, B. R. (2006). Delayed breastfeeding initiation increases risk of neonatal mortality. Pediatrics, 117(3), e380-e386. Harris, J., Nguyen, P. H., To, Q., Frongillo, E. A., Menon, P. (2016). Progress in improving provincial plans for nutrition through targeted technical assistance and local advocacy in Vietnam. Health policy and planning, 31(10), 1333-1341. Holla-Bhar, R., Iellamo, A., Gupta, A., Smith, J. P., Dadhich, J. P. (2015). Investing in breastfeedingthe world breastfeeding costing initiative.International breastfeeding journal,10(1), 8. Ickes, S. B., Baguma, C., Brahe, C. A., Myhre, J. A., Adair, L. S., Bentley, M. E., Ammerman, A. S. (2017). Maternal participation in a nutrition education program in Uganda is associated with improved infant and young child feeding practices and feeding knowledge: a post-program comparison study. BMC Nutrition, 3(1), 32. Infant and Young Child Feeding - UNICEF DATA. (2017). UNICEF DATA. Retrieved 10 October 2017, from https://data.unicef.org/topic/nutrition/infant-and-young-child-feeding/ Jones, G., Steketee, R. W., Black, R. E., Bhutta, Z. A., Morris, S. S., Bellagio Child Survival Study Group. (2003). How many child deaths can we prevent this year?.The lancet,362(9377), 65-71. Lamberti, L. M., Walker, C. L. F., Noiman, A., Victora, C., Black, R. E. (2011). Breastfeeding and the risk for diarrhea morbidity and mortality. BMC public health, 11(3), S15. Mashreky, S. R., Rahman, F., Rahman, A., Talab, A., Rahman, Z. (2015). Role of mass media in increasing knowledge and practices of mothers on IYCF: findings from a community trial in rural Bangladesh. South East Asia Journal of Public Health, 5(1), 18-24. Morales, E., Garca?Esteban, R., Guxens, M., Guerra, S., Mendez, M., Molt?Puigmart, C., ... Sunyer, J. (2012). Effects of prolonged breastfeeding and colostrum fatty acids on allergic manifestations and infections in infancy. Clinical Experimental Allergy, 42(6), 918-928. Patel, D. V., Bansal, S. C., Nimbalkar, A. S., Phatak, A. G., Nimbalkar, S. M., Desai, R. G. (2015). Breastfeeding practices, demographic variables, and their association with morbidities in children. Advances in preventive medicine, 2015. Prudhon, C., Maclaine, A., Hall, A., Benelli, P., Harrigan, P., Frize, J. (2017). Research priorities for improving infant and young child feeding in humanitarian emergencies. Retrieved 10 October 2017, from Reinbott, A., Kuchenbecker, J., Herrmann, J., Jordan, I., Muehlhoff, E., Kevanna, O., Krawinkel, M. (2015). A child feeding index is superior to WHO IYCF indicators in explaining length-for-age Z-scores of young children in rural Cambodia. Paediatrics and international child health, 35(2), 124-134. Samuel, F. O., Olaolorun, F. M., Adeniyi, J. D. (2016). A training intervention on child feeding among primary healthcare workers in Ibadan Municipality. African journal of primary health care family medicine, 8(1), 1-6. Srivastava, N., Sandhu, A. (2007). Index for measuring child feeding practices. Indian journal of pediatrics, 74(4), 363-368. Thow, A. M., Karn, S., Devkota, M. D., Rasheed, S., Roy, S. K., Suleman, Y., ... Godakandage, S. (2017). Opportunities for strengthening infant and young child feeding policies in South Asia: Insights from the SAIFRN policy analysis project. BMC Public Health, 17(2), 404. UNICEF. (2015). Adopting optimal feeding practices is fundamental to a childs survival, growth and development, but too few children benefit. Retrieved September 25, 2015, fromhttp. data. unicef. org/nutrition/iycf. html. World Health Organisation. Indicators for Assessing Breastfeeding Practices: Report of an informal meeting. Geneva: WHO; 1991. World Health Organization. Indicators for assessing infant and young child feeding practices Washington D.C., USA: WHO; 2008. World Health Organization. The Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding. Geneva: WHO; 2003.