The Black Death Essay Example for Free

The Black Death Essay What were the short term and long term impacts of the Black Death on Medieval society? The Black Death is one of the most fatal diseases in human history and took its peak in Europe from 1348 to 1350. Half of Europe’s population was wiped out due to this disease and the short and long term impacts greatly affected the structure of Medieval Society. The Black Death or otherwise known as the plague was thought to have begun in Central Asia, which spread down the Silk Road and eventually to Europe in the 14th century. The disease was caused by the fleas on infected rats, which spread the infection by biting a person or animal. However, the disease could also be contracted by breathing in airborne droplets from a person who already had the plague. Trading ships helped spread the plague as there were many rats on board who could jump off at the harbours they were trading in. Symptoms for the plague began in the first few days and included headaches, feeling of weakness, aches in the legs and groin, a white coating on the tongue, fever, vomiting, muscles pains, bleeding of the lungs and mental instability. The victim would also begin to develop black buboes on the armpits, leg, neck or groin that are red when first formed but will eventually grow to the size of an egg, turn black and burst, ultimately killing the victim . This disease killed very quickly, between 2 to 4 days and gave the victim a strong desire to sleep, which would kill them if it was allowed. There were many ‘treatments’ to the Black Death, many of them ineffective and superstitious such as wearing a magpies beak around your neck and cutting a hole in your head to let out bad spirits. However, there were wise women that lived in villages who provided medicine from herbs that actually worked. In all, there were not many effective way to cure the plague as people back in the Medieval times had little scientific understanding and believed the plague was a punishment sent from God, hence there were people called flagellants who went around whipping themselves and begging for God’s forgiveness. The short impacts of the Black Death had changed Medieval society greatly. Whole families and towns were wiped out and it is estimated that around 200 million people in Europe fell to the plague. Villages and towns began barring anyone from entering in fear of the plague and some of the rich chose to escape overseas. People began running amok, drinking and enjoying themselves as much as they could as they believed they had not long to live. Others thought that living quietly would cure them of the plague while a large amount of people believed that the world was going to end. The Crusades (a religious war fought between the Christians and the Muslims) came to a halt as the soldiers fighting the war had mostly died from the plague. Prices for everything also went down as most of the customers were dead and Free land become quite common as the people who owned the land were all dead. There were so many deaths that there was no one to farm the lands and barely anything had been harvested, resulting in starvation. The Long term impacts of the Black Death were better living conditions for the peasants after the plague as there were hardly any people left so the peasants remaining could get more wages subsequently improving their houses, tools and clothes. Higher wages also meant that some could send their children to school where they learnt to read and write to get better jobs. More schools were built due to this development and life became much easier for the poor. The power that the church had over the people was also diminishing as many believed that the plague was sent to punish the wicked, which was mainly the peasants but when even people of the church began to die, people began to question the church’s power. There were also more opportunities for women as many men had died so the women had to fill in for their jobs. For the first time, women could be the head of a household and own a wage earning job such as a blacksmith. Peasants were not so bound to the land anymore and this caused problems as the feudal lords of those times lost power and more peasants began looking for a better life. However, these were not the only long term impacts of the Black Death and in 1381; an event occurred in England that had never taken place before in the Medieval Ages. This event took place due to the smaller number of people to work the land; the peasants wanted more wages and freedom so that they could live a better life. Taxes also grew higher because of war and the Poll Tax in 1381 was the highest ones, leading the Peasants to rebel in what is now called ‘The Peasant’s Revolt’. The Peasants Revolt was an event in Medieval history where common people fought for more rights and freedom. It began in the villagers when Essex refused to pay taxes and attacked the tax collectors starting a riot that spread through Kent and Essex. The peasants eventually grouped together and decided to march to London to force the King to give them more rights. They elected a leader called Wat Tyler on the 7th of June, released a priest called John Ball and assembled together outside of London where King Richard (the present 14 year old king) met the rebels at Mile End. Wat Tyler demanded six things from the King. He demanded that Serfdom was abolished, that there be no more feudal services for the peasants, that land would be held freely at 4d an acre per year, the church lands must be given to the people and that there should be no legal difference between one man and another. King Richard agreed to these requests and pardoned the rebels. The same day, King Richard went to meet the rebels again at the Banks of Thames but confusion amongst the rebels stopped him from landing. Some rebels left after being pardoned but some stayed and murdered two of the King’s advisors in the tower of London. After this, the King went into hiding when the peasants destroyed the Duke of Lancaster’s palace and freed the prisoners. Finally, the King met with the rebels again and Wat Tyler made more demands but was stabbed to death when some felt he was threatening the King. The rebels were disbanded and killed under order of the King, the revolt had failed. However, it would not be until at 500 years later that Wat Tyler’s demands became a reality. The Black Death was a devastating disease that occurred in Europe in the 14th century that wiped out half of the population. The short term impacts were not only of mass death but also of the events that took place afterwards, such as the Peasant’s Revolt that resulted from the short term impacts of the plague. Whether short term or long term, the Black Death greatly impacted Medieval Society and triggered some of the most major events in English history.

PROJECT ON CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT WITH RELIGARE SECURITIES LTD Essay Example for Free

PROJECT ON CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT WITH RELIGARE SECURITIES LTD Essay The company can then use the information to learn about the behavior of its customers and improve the way it does a business. It can look at recurring complaints from multiple customers to solve a problem which would otherwise go unchecked with a normal formats and management system of the company. The main objective of my project is to find effective solution for the Customer Relationship Management and accordingly increase the credibility and profitability of the company. This study is more related to consumer behavior and perception about the facilities and convenience provided by the company, Customer Satisfaction is emphasized in this management. o Helping an enterprise to enable its marketing departments to identify and target their best customers, manage marketing campaigns with clear goals and objectives, and generate quality leads for the sales team. Assisting the organization to improve telesales, account, and sales management by optimizing information shared by multiple employees, and streamlining existing processes (for example, taking orders using mobile devices) o Allowing the formation of individualized relationships with customers, with the aim of improving customer satisfaction and maximizing profits; identifying the most profitable customers and providing them the highest level of service. o Providing employees with the information and processes necessary to know their customers, understand their needs, and effectively build relationships between the company, its customer base, and distribution partners. CHAPTER 2. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT A. Title of the project: Customer Relationship Management (CRM) with Religare Securities B. Objective of the Study: The objective of the project was to analyze „Effective Customer Relationship Management‟ for Religare Securities Ltd., Pune for that we have to understand current CRM System and Services provided from the company and its effect on Customer Needs, Satisfaction Level, their response and emotions. The objective of this study to analyze existing customer satisfaction as those customers are the key sources to new customers with respect to the performance, sales efforts and sales service. As the company stands second in India in aspect of turnover after Kotak Mahindra Securities, it‟s clear that it has very strong Customer Relationship Management System and perfect people to handle it properly for the benefit of customers and company as well. Actual and personal meeting with existing customers and employees has brought me to the reality of the effectiveness of the system and their success. For analyzing the same factor I staked my whole duration of the project and simultaneously for internal study and market watch and other group assignments. Questionnaire is based on the existing services and the satisfaction level of the existing customers which includes questions like Name, Age, Gender, Income, Investment Frequency, feedback about services which they are provided like conformation, calls, suggestions, solutions on stuck money like dead investment and all. On an average all the customers are happy with the company and look forward to the growth of it. C. Scope of the study: Scope the this study is it will assist Religare to get its own Customer Relationship Management system mirror well and it will get all the important things before eyes to apply all the possible ways to provide a superb service to the customers and accordingly make them loyal and retain them long lasting and also to get new customers to be served. Scopes can be stated in few points as follows. o Maintain current / existing customers. o Achieve new potential customers. o Retain all the customers. o Profitability Increment o Reputation and credibility Increment, etc. The heart of CRM is not being customer centric but rather to use customer profitability as a driver for decision making and action. Before exploring this assertion, it is useful to review the process of resource allocation as it is practiced in most organizations. The budget process largely consists of an extrapolation of the past. Resource constraints pit function against function with back room deals that are based on internal politics versus the marketplace. This decision process has little insight as to what is working and what is not working (as it applies to the marketplace) or for that matter why? Without insight relative to cause and effect, the organization has no choice but to follow intuition and anecdote. It is analogous to the story about the marketing VP who admitted that half the advertising budget was wasted; the problem was he did not know which half. CHAPTER 3. PROFILE OF THE COMPANY Profile of company Religare Enterprises Limited (REL): Religare, a Ranbaxy promoter group company, is one of the leading integrated financial services institutions of India. The company offers a large and diverse bouquet of services ranging from equities, commodities, insurance broking, to wealth advisory, portfolio management services, personal finance services, Investment banking and institutional broking services. The services are broadly clubbed across three key business verticals- Retail, Wealth management and the Institutional spectrum. Religare Enterprises Limited is the holding company for all its businesses, structured and being operated through various subsidiaries. Religare‟s retail network spreads across the length and breadth of the country with its presence through more than 1,217 locations across more than 392 cities and towns. Having spread itself fairly well across the country and with the promise of not resting on its laurels, it has also aggressively started eyeing global geographies Religare Enterprises Limited (REL) is one of the leading integrated financial services groups of India. REL‟s businesses are broadly clubbed across three key verticals, the Retail Institutional and Wealth spectrums, catering to a diverse and wide base of clients. The vision is to build Religare as a globally trusted brand in the financial services domain and present it as the „Inv estment Gateway of India‟. All employees of the group guided by an experienced and professional management team are committed to providing financial care, backed by the core values of diligence and transparency. REL offers a multitude of investment options and a diverse bouquet of financial services with its pan India reach in more than 1800 locations across more than 490 cities and towns. REL operates globally following its acquisition of London‟s oldest brokerage and investment firm, Hichens, Harrison and Co. plc. With a view to expand, diversify and introduce offerings benchmarked against global best practices, Religare operates its Life Insurance business in partnership with the global major- AEGON. For its wealth management business Religare has partnered with Australia based financial services major- Macquarie. Religare has also partnered with Vistaar Entertainment to launch India‟s first SEBI approved Film Fund offering a unique alternative asset class of investments. Religare Securities Limited (RSL), a 100% subsidiary of Religare Enterprises Limited is a leading equity and securities firm in India. The company currently handles sizeable volumes traded on NSE and in the realm of online trading and investments; it currently holds a reasonable share of the market. The major activities and offerings of the company today are Equity Broking, Depository Participant Services, Portfolio Management Services, International Advisory Fund Management Services, Institutional Broking and Research Services. To broaden the gamut of services offered to its investors, the company offers an online investment portal armed with a host of revolutionary features. o RSL is a member of the National Stock Exchange of India, Bombay Stock Exchange of India, Depository Participant with National Securities Depository Limited and Central Depository Services (I) Limited, and is a SEBI approved Portfolio Manager. o Religare has been constantly innovating in terms of product and services and to offer such incisive services to specific user segments it has also started the NRI, FII, HNI and Corporate Servicing groups. These groups take all the portfolio investment decisions depending upon a client‟s risk / return parameter. o Religare has a very credible Research and Analysis division, which not only caters to the need of our Institutional clientele, but also gives their valuable inputs to investment dealers. Trading in Equities with Religare truly empowers you for your investment needs. We ensure you have superlative trading experience through – ï‚ · A highly process driven, delight approach ï‚ · Powerful Research Analytics and ï‚ · One of the „best-class‟ dealing rooms Further, Religare also has one the largest retail networks, with its presence in more than 1800* locations across more than 490* cities and towns. This means, you can walk into any of these branches and connect to our highly skilled and dedicated relationship managers to get the best services. The Religare Edge o Pan India footprint o Powerful research and analytics supported by a pool of highly skilled research analysts o Ethical business practices o Single window for all investment needs through your unique CRN Religare Enterprise Limited, through its subsidiaries, offers a range of integrated financial products and services to retail inventors, high net worth individuals, and corporate and institutional clients in India. It operates in three divisions: Retail Spectrum, Wealth Spectrum, and Institutional Spectrum. The Retail Spectrum division offers equity brokerage, commodities brokerage, personal financial services, including insurance brokerage and mutual fund distribution; internet trading; loans against shares; and personal loans. The Wealth Spectrum division provides portfolio management services, wealth advisory services, and private client equity services, such as international equity services. The company was formerly known as Religare Enterprises Private Limited and changed its name to Religare Enterprises Limited in July 2006. The company was incorporated in 1984 and is based in New Delhi, India. Industry Profile 19 Industry Profile While regulation and reforms have made major improvements in the quality of the equity markets in India, its rapid growth and development are largely due to strong and efficient market intermediation. The robustness of the Indian markets today is attributable to a healthy blend of the quality of market Structure and efficient intermediation. Even as several countries are instituting procedures to commence. Equity derivative markets, India ranks amongst the top five countries globally in this segment, in less than five years of its introduction. This is an example of the proactive and progressive nature of the Indian brokerage industry. In the last decade, the Indian brokerage industry has undergone a dramatic transformation. From being made of close groups, the broking industry today is one of the most transparent and compliance oriented businesses. Long settlement cycles and large scale bad deliveries are a thing of the past with the advent of T+2 (Trading day + 2 days) settlement cycle and dematerialization. Large and fixed commissions have been replaced by wafer thin margins, with competition driving down the brokerage fee, in some cases, to a few basis points. 20 There have also been major changes in the way business is conducted. Technology has emerged as the key driver of business and investment advice has become research based. At the same time, adherence to regulation and compliance has vastly increased. The scope of services have enhanced from being equity products to a wide range of financial services. Investor protection has assumed significance, and so has providing them with education and awareness. Greater need for capitalization has induced several firms to access the capital market; foreign firms are showing increasing interest in taking equity stakes in domestic broking firms. Major developments in equity brokerage industry in India: 1. Corporate memberships There is a growing surge of corporate memberships (92% in NSE and 75% in BSE), and the scope of functioning of the brokerage firms has transformed from that of being a family run business to that of professional organized function that lays greater emphasis on observance of market principles and best practices. With proliferation of new markets and products, corporate nature of the memberships is enabling broking firms to expand the realm of their operations into other exchanges as also other product offerings. Memberships range from cash market to derivatives to commodities and a few broking firms are making forays into obtaining memberships in exchanges outside the country subject to their availability and eligibility. 21 2. Wider product offerings The product offerings of brokerage firms today go much beyond the traditional trading of equities. A typical brokerage firm today offers trading in equities and derivatives, most probably commodities futures, exchange traded funds, distributes mutual funds and insurance and also offers personal loans for housing, consumptions and other related loans, offers portfolio management services, and some even go to the extent of creating niche services such as a brokerage firm offering art advisory services. In the background of growing opportunities for investors to invest in India as also abroad, the range of products and services will widen further. In the offing will be interesting opportunities that might arise in the exchange enabled corporate bond trading, soon after its commencement and futures trading that might be introduced in the near future in the areas of interest rates and Indian currency. 22 3. Greater reliance on research Client advising in India has graduated from personal insights, market tips to becoming extensively research oriented and governed by fundamentals and technical factors. Vast progress has been made in developing company research and refining methods in technical and fundamental analysis. The research and advice are made online giving ready and real time access to market research for investors and clients, thus making research important brand equity for the brokerage firms. 4. Accessing equity capital markets Access to reliable financial resources has been one of the major constraints faced by the equity brokerage industry in India since long. Since the banking system is not fully integrated with the securities markets, brokerage firms face limitations in raising financial resources for business and expansion. With buoyancy of the stock markets and the rising prospects of several well organized broking firms, important opportunity to access capital markets for resource mobilization has become available. The recent past witnessed several leading brokerage firms accessing capital markets for financial resources with success. 23 5. Foreign collaborations and joint ventures The way the brokerage industry is run and the manner in which several of them pursued growth and development attracted foreign financial institutions and investment banks to buy stakes in domestic brokerage firms, paving the way for stronger brokerage entities and possible scope for consolidation in the future. Foreign firms picked up stake in some of the leading brokerage firms, which might lead to creating of greater interest in investing in brokerage firms by entities in India and abroad. 6. Specialized services/niche broking While supermarkets approach are adopted in general by broking firms, there are some which are creating niche services that attract a particular client group such as day traders, arbitrage trading, investing in small cap stocks etc, and providing complete range of research and other support to back up this function. 7. Online broking Several brokers are extending benefits of online trading through creation of separate windows. Some others have dedicated online broking portals. Emergence of online broking enabled reduction in transaction costs and costs of trading. Keen competition has emerged in online broking services, with some of these offering trading services at the cost of a few basis points or costs which are fixed in nature irrespective of the volume of 24 trading conducted. A wide range of incentives are being created and offered by online brokerage firms to attract larger number of clients. 8. Compliance oriented With stringent regulatory norms in operation, broking industry is giving greater emphasis on regulatory compliance and observance of market principles and codes of conduct. Many brokerage firms are investing time, money and resources to create efficient and effective compliance and reporting systems that will help them in avoiding costly mistakes and possible market abuses. Brokerage firms now have a compliance officer who is responsible for all compliance related aspects and for interacting with clients and other stake holders on aspects of regulation and compliance. 9. Focus on training and skill sets Brokerage firms are giving importance and significance to aspects such as training on skill sets that could prove to be beneficial in the long run. With the nature of markets and products becoming more complex, it becomes imperative for the broking firms to keep their staff continuously updated with latest development in practices and procedures. Moreover, it is mandated for certain types of dealers/brokers to seek specific certification and examinations that will make them eligible to carry business or trade. Greater emphasis on aspects such as research and analysis is giving scope 25 for in-depth training and skills sets on topics such as trading programs, valuations, economic and financial forecasting and company research. 10. From owners to traders A fundamental change that has taken place in the equity brokerage industry, which is a global trend as well, is the transformation of broking from owners of the stock exchange to traders of the stock market. Demutualization and corporatization of stock exchanges bifurcated the ownership and trading rights with brokers vested only with the later and ownership being widely distributed. Demutualization is providing balanced welfare gains to both the stock exchanges and the members with the former being able to run as corporations and the latter being able to avoid conflict of interests that sometimes came as a major deterrent for the long term growth of the industry. Emerging challenges and outlook for the brokerage industry .Brokerage firms in India made much progress in pursuing growth and building professionalism in operations. Given the nature of the brokerage industry being very dynamic, changes could be rapid and so as the challenges that emerge from time to time. A brief description on some of the prospects and challenges of the brokerage firms are discussed below. 26 11. Fragmentation Indian brokerage industry is highly fragmented. Numerous small firms operate in this space. Given the growing importance of technology in operations and increasing emphasis on regulatory compliance, smaller firms might find it constrained to make right type of investments that will help in business growth and promotion of investor interests. 12. Capital Adequacy Capital adequacy has emerged as an important determinant that governs the scope of business in the financial sector. Current requirements stipulation capital adequacy in regard to trading exposure, but in future more tighter norms of capital adequacy might come into force as a part of the prudential norms in the financial sector. In this background, it becomes imperative for the brokerage firms to focus on raising capital resources that will enable to give continuous thrust and focus on business growth. 13. Global Opportunities Broking in the future will increasingly become international in character with the stock markets being open for domestic and international investors including institutions and individuals, as also opportunities for investing abroad. Keeping abreast with developments in international markets as also familiarization with global standards in broking operations and assimilating major practices and procedures will become relevant for the domestic brokerage firms. 27 14. Opportunities from regional finance Regional economic integration such as that under the European Union and the ASEAN have greatly benefited businesses in the individual countries with cross border opportunities that helped to expand the scope and significance of the business. Initial measures to promote South Asian economic integration is being made by governments in the region first at the political level to be followed up in regard to financial markets. South Asian economic integration will provide greater opportunities for broking firms in India to pursue cross border business. In view of several of common features prevailing in the markets, it would be easier to make progress in this regard. 15. Product Dynamics As domestic finance matures and greater flow of cross border flows continue, new market segments will come into force, which could benefit the domestic brokerage firms, if they are well prepared. For instance, in the last three to four years, brokerage firms had newer opportunities in the form of commodities futures, distribution of insurance products, wealth management, mutual funds etc, and as the market momentum continues, broking firms will have an opportunity to introduce a wider number of products. 28 16. Competition from foreign firms Surging markets and growing opportunities will attract a number of international firms that will increase the pace of competition. Global firms with higher levels of capital, expertise and market experience will bring dramatic changes in the brokerage industry space which the local firms should be able to absorb and compete. Domestic broking firms should always give due focus to emerging trends in competition and prepare accordingly. 17. Investor Protection Issues of investor interest and protection will assume centre stage. Firms found not having suitable infrastructure and processes to ensure investor safety and protection will encounter constraints from regulation as also class action suits that investors might bring against erring firms. The nature of penalties and punitive damages would become more severe. It is important for brokerage firms to establish strong and streamlined systems and procedures for ensuring investor safety and protection. 29 Chapter 4. Literature Review Literature Review Historical Background: Customer relationship management (CRM), a concept that has been around since the mid 90s, has its roots in the technology of sales automation and call center operations. At that time, it was thought that merging the customer data from the field (sales) with the call center interactions would result in more informed interactions with the customer. The concept resonated with user organizations and soon mergers and acquisitions created a host of software vendors all claiming to have an integrated set of capabilities that became known as CRM. On a parallel track, Internet-based tools such as e-commerce, Internet marketing, personalization, and self-help were evolving. These products competed outside of the CRM sphere due to the newness of the technology, and they were referred to as e-business. When the concepts of CRM and e-business melded together there was a short period of e-madness where vendors talked about eCRM and e-everything. There are still vestiges of this transition in the industry such as essentially using e-business to add value to vendors and referring to it as partner relationship management (PRM) or providing tools for employees and referring to it as employee relationship management (ERM). 31 Similarly, enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors realized that the 360-degree view of the customer has to include transaction data, so they have likewise developed an integrated package with CRM capabilities. Thus from a technology perspective CRM consists of a set of applications that address the needs of customer-facing functions that in turn feed a common database that is supported by business analytics. Each vendor has variations on this theme. On the other hands, CRM can be defined as a process or methodology used to learn more about customers‟ needs and behaviors in order to manage and develop stronger relationships in an organized way with them. 32 Components of CRM: 1. Contact an Account Management: Relevant data for customer profile is captured with the help of the software. Necessary information is captured from prospective customers. CRM system stores data in common customer database. The database integrates customer account information and presents it in desirable format to the company. The data is used for sales, marketing, services and other applications. 33 2. Sales: Sales process management follows a customized sales methodology with specific sales policies and procedures. Sales activities include – Product information, Product configuration, sales prospectus and sales quote generation. CRM also provide the history of customer account so that the sales call can be scheduled accordingly. 3. Marketing and fulfillment: CRM helps the professionals in product marketing, target marketing, relationship marketing and campaign management. By analyzing customer and business value of direct marketing can be estimated. CRM also helps in customer retention, behavior prediction, channel optimization, personalization. Customer response and requests can be quickly scheduled and hence sales contacts. 34 4. Customer Service and support: CRM system provides service representatives with adequate access to customer database. It also helps to create, assign and manage the service requests by customers. Calling format is designed to route customer calls to respective attendants as per the skills and authority to handle special cases. Help desk system is developed to help customer service representative to help customers who face problems with product or service to resolve it. Web-based Self Service means help customer to access personalized information at company website. 5. Retention and loyalty programs: The primary objective of CRM is to enhance and optimize customer retention and loyalty. CRM systems are also useful in determining most loyal and profitable customers and reward. 35 The essential link between Marketing, Sales and Customer Service: Too often, the three key functions that directly affect customers -Marketing, Sales and Customer Service – operate independently of one another. This can create confusion and inconsistency in how you communicate and service your customers. For examples, marketing staff may come up with a price promotion. However, if that is not communicated to the sales team, the result could be incorrect billing, which may take time or resources from the customer to rectify and could create ill will and mistrust, making it seem like your company does not adhere to its word. 36 Similarly, if a salesperson makes a sale and gives certain guarantees to a customer but those are not communicated to the customer service team or even to the other sales team members, then the customer may fees as if the company is not standing behind its assurance. This can be particularly problematic if there is employee turnover and poor communication between or even departments. This „silo effect‟ – where information is between vertically in departments that may or may not communicate with each other- could actually damage your business. With comprehensive CRM system, however, customer communication is captured and housed in an accessible database, making the most current information available to anyone who needs it and has access to the system. By breaking through barriers between various business functions and making communication transparent, your company can act in a more consistent and unified fashion with its customers, instilling a greater level of trust and strengthening customer relationships. Religare Securities Limited (RSL) provides a host of financial services under one roof following a ONE STOP SHOP philosophy. It has a dedicated team of professionals to cater to the variety of services to Individuals, Corporate and Institutions. The team updates its clients with opportunities with a sense of competitive urgency and risk management. What‟s more, their special analysts design customized services for HNI and Institutions. 37 Over the years Religare Securities Ltd. has played a successful role in clients wealth creation. In the process Religare Securities Ltd. also refined itself, as an investment advisor and is poised to provide complete Investment Management Solutions to its valued clientele. The following is the product profile of the company. ï‚ · Equity Broking BSE and NSE ï‚ · Derivatives Futures and Options ï‚ · Internet Broking- Online Trading ï‚ · Commodities Trading NCDEX MCX ï‚ · Institutional Broking ï‚ · Depository Services NSDL CDSL ï‚ · Portfolio Management Services ï‚ · NRI Investments ï‚ · Initial Public Offerings (IPO) ï‚ · Mutual Fund Investment NEWS: Religare Securities bags LIPPER-STARMINE Award for Excellence in Research Mumbai, February 18, 2009: Religare Securities Limited a wholly owned subsidiary of Religare Enterprises Limited has been recently awarded the LIPPER-STARMINE broker award for Earnings Estimates in Midcap Research for 2008. The Lipper| StarMine Awards organized by Thomson Reuters, for Asset Management and sell-side broking Companies in India, were announced last week in Mumbai. The awards recognize analysts who are more accurate than their peers in forecasting earnings, awarding credit to those who demonstrate an ability to make accurate estimates earlier than their peers. On receiving the award, Mr. Amitabh Chakraborty, President (Equity), said, We are extremely proud to receive this award as a validation of our efforts in what was the most difficult and volatile year in stock market and corporate history. It is in these difficult times that the ability of a team to accurately estimate corporate earnings stands its truest test and we have succeeded in enabling our customers to make informed buy or sell recommendations in order to give above average returns to investors. 40 Equities What is equity? Funds brought into a business by its shareholders is called equity. It is a measure of a stake of a person or group of persons starting a business. What does investing in equity mean? When you buy a companys equity, you are in effect financing it, and being compensated with a stake in the business. You become part-owner of the company, entitled to dividends and other benefits that the company may announce, but without any guarantee of a return on your investments. Dematerialization What is Demat? Demat is a commonly used abbreviation of Dematerialisation, which is a process whereby securities like shares, debentures are converted from the material (paper documents) into electronic data and stored in the computers of an electronic Depository (SEE next page). You surrender material securities registered in your name to a Depository Participant (DP). These are then sent to the respective companies 41 who cancel them after dematerialization and credit your Depository Account with the DP. The securities on dematerialization appear as balances in the Depository Account. These balances are transferable like physical shares. If at a later date you wish to have these Demat securities converted back into paper certificates, the Depository can help to revive the paper shares. What is the procedure for the dematerialisation of securities? Check with a DP as to whether the securities you hold can be dematerialised. Then open an account with a DP and surrender the share certificates. What is a Depository? A Depository is a securities bank, where dematerialised physical securities are held in custody, and from where they can be traded. This facilitates faster, risk-free and low cost settlement. A Depository is akin to a bank and performs activities similar in nature. At present, there are two Depositories in India, National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) and Central Depository Services (CDS). NSDL was the first Indian Depository. It was inaugurated in November 1996. NSDL was set up with an initial capital of Rs 124 crores, promoted by Industrial Development Bank of 42 India (IDBI), Unit Trust of India (UTI), National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. (NSEIL) and the State Bank of India (SBI). Who is a Depository Participant (DP)? NSDL carries out its activities through business partners Depository Participants (DPs), Issuing Corporates and their Registrars and Transfer Agents, Clearing Corporations/Clearing Houses. NSDL is electronically linked to each of these business partners via a satellite link through Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATS). The entire integrated system (including the VSAT linkups and the software at NSDL and at each business partners end) has been named the NEST (National Electronic Settlement Transfer) system. The investor interacts with the Depository through a Depository Participant of NSDL. A DP can be a bank, financial institution, a custodian or a broker. 43 Chapter 5. Research Methodology 44 Research Methodology Research Design: Research design means adopting that type technique of research which is most suited for the research and study of the problem. For the study and the research of the problem proper material has to be selected and collected for the investigation. â€Å"A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure.† Jahoda, deutish. Cook. In order to know about effectiveness of Customer Relationship Management in Religare Securities Ltd., it was necessary to interact with the customer. The sample taken comprised of respondents from Pune city. A questionnaire had to be designed to collect valuable information from the different customer groups. The questionnaire which was designed suitably to meet the objective of research work. 45 Nature of Research: In this project report I have undertaken quantitative type of study. Type of the questions: The questions in the questionnaire asked to the visiting customers of Religare Securities Ltd, Regional office in Pune, are Straight Forward and Limited Probing. Type of the Questionnaire: The questionnaire in this project report is straight forward and formalized. Type of Analysis: The analysis done in this particular project report is statistical. 46 Sources of Data: a. Primary Data: The Primary data are those data which are collected fresh and for the first time and thus happen to be original in character. The primary data that was collected through interview conducted in Regional Branch with daily visiting customers. The primary data sources include copies of questionnaire and data of their respective responses. b. Secondary Data: The secondary data are those which have already been collected by someone else and which have been passed through the statistical process. Secondary data was collected through company websites. Some of the web sites http://www.religaresecurities.com/ and some others like. 47 Chapter 6. Primary Data Collection 48 Primary Data Collection Research Technique: As the researcher, I adopted survey method as a research technique for this particular project report. Contact Method: I as a researcher interviewed the respondents by personal interview. Sampling Plan: a) Population: The population covered in this project report refers to the existing (Office Coming) customers of Regional Office, who have their trading and D‟mat A/c with Religare Securities Ltd. b) Sample Size The sample size undertaken by me for this particular project report is 100 respondents. 49 c) Sample Element The respondents contacted and interviewed in this project report are all from different domain some of them were Businessmen, High Net-worth Investors, Proprietors, even Students also invest in Share Market. d) Sample Extent As a researcher, I conducted this survey only for the customers in Regional Office of Religare Securities, Pune. e) Sample Duration The survey was undertaken from the 01st June, 2009 to 30th July, 2009 i.e. for two months. f) Research Instrument: Questionnaires containing both open ended and close ended questions were used as a research instrument in this particular project report. 50 Chapter 7. Data Analysis Interpretation 51 Data Analysis Interpretation 1. Respondents: Respondents Businessmen HNIs Proprietors Individuals Number of respondents Interpretation: Above pie chart represents that research contains 100 respondents which are Businessmen, HNIs, Proprietors and Individuals and they are 30, 8, 24, 38 respectively in numbers and percentages. 30% 8% 24% 38% Businessmen HNIs Proprietors Individuals 52 2. Income Group(Annual): Income Group (INR) 10000 1 Lakh 1 Lakh 5 Lakh 5 Lakh-10 Lakh 10 Lakh Above Number of respondents Interpretation: Above pie chart represents that the research contained 100 investors and customers of Religare Securities Ltd. All the people were from different different Income group which are in numbers shown above. W e can clearly see sample includes more customers from first income group i.e. INR 10,000 – 1 Lakh 43% 37% 13% 7% 10000 -1 Lakh 1 Lakh -5 Lakh 5 Lakh -10 Lakh 10 Lakh -Above 53 2. Company Interaction via Email and Telephone Calls: Interaction Via Email and Telephone Calls Interpretation: From the above result of Company Interaction via Email and Telephone calls, we can imagine the satisfaction level of customers and accordingly Customer Relationship is managed through electronic media to maximize the wealth of customers. In Religare mostly dealers are in touch of regular traders / customers and customers also get loyal to the company through this practice. Every call is taped by default for the evidence of orders to buy or sell the stocks and Emails too. Excellent Interpretation: When it was asked sudden and on the time answer was the same of maximum people, it means the credibility and trustworthiness of the company is on the height. It‟s nothing but the result of Relationship Management. It is said that Share Market means „Well of Loss‟, nevertheless Religare‟s Customer don‟t have any tension in investing because they believe in Company‟s Researchers and Analysts and their investment tips too. 96% Number of respondents Interpretation: From the above answers Customer Relationship can be very well highlighted because out of 100, 43 people have rated Religare on the scale of 1 to 10 and again in remaining maximum customers say that they rate Religare at on the scale of 1 to 10.Every customer has his own value and consideration about Religare because they invest their Hard Earned money and take risk to earn more cause of Religare‟s Services and Attachment and it is all the output of Customer Relationship Management. 4% 5. Where do you invest/ trade mostly? Where Customers Invest mostly Equity Commodity Currency Number of respondents 66 19 15 Interpretation: One general question was asked in questionnaire to know the investment flow of customers towards Religare Services. When it was asked why they invest in specific area mostly then it was answered by many people that liquidity market is easy to make money out of investment and take money out whenever we feel not to put. And other reason many customers don‟t want to invest for long time.And about currency some people were not interested. 66% 19% 15% Equity Commodity Currency 57 6. Where do you trade mostly? Where Customers Trade mostly Intraday Delivery Both Number of respondents 48 37 15 48% 37% 15% Intraday Delivery Both 58 Interpretation: From the above view of graph we come to know that maximum people, 61% customers trade in Intraday Trading. On this customers say they like to trade in Intraday because of Short term investment and high level of excitement and sometimes they feel their money seems to sink. It‟s like One Day Cricket play for many customers. In Delivery, people say here is „No / Low Risk, More Money‟ , in this people say if scrip goes down like „Satyam‟, then also we get chance to book profit buying current stocks in low price and putting old stock aside temporarily. Here we find people hesitate to invest in Intraday and confident to trade in Delivery trading. Very less traders population do trade in both area, for few people it‟s nothing but fund managing, if one finds difficulty in making money in Intraday, they simultaneously manage their fund for Delivery, but very few people feel do this type of management. Eventually Religare is the Broking firm and it doesnâ₠¬Å¸t lose its attention from making money for its customers and lose its attention from Customer Relationship Management. 59 7. Do you trade in any other broking firm? Trade in other Broking Firm Yes No Number of respondents Interpretation: Above pie chart represents the maximum people have their D‟mat A /c and Trading A/c somewhere else also nevertheless they say they trade from Religare only and few of their other A/cs are put Non-Operating by them. Here we get a fact that Religare‟s Customer Relationship Management really has something very attractive and attachable to emotions cause of services. Few of them were hesitating while answering this question. 8. Are you satisfied with the services provided by Religare? Satisfaction Strongly Yes Slightly Yes No Strongly No Slightly No Number of respondents Interpretation: Above chart represents us the output of Customer Relationship Management with the help of the services and customers satisfaction can show a mirror of the efforts of the company towards making their customers loyal to them. Here 64% customers have selected and stated that they are fully satisfied with the services that they are getting from Religare Securities Ltd. 64% 9. Since last how many years you are in field of trading? Since when customers are trading ? Less than 1 year More than 1year More than 2 years Number of respondents Interpretation: This question was asked intentionally to know the loyalty of customers with Religare Securities Ltd., which is nothing but the back-screen coding of on screen output. These all things are the proud of Religare and its customers are also very proud to be in Religare. 17% Customer Relationship Management Business Drivers and Benefits ï‚ · It empowers management with a real-time pipelines and forecasting so they can build and focus on high profit, sustainable relationships. ï‚ · It empowers staff wit customer intelligence and best practices to increase their likelihood of successful transactions. ï‚ · It increases customer‟s acquisition, retention, loyalty, and profitability by integrating information across the enterprise. ï‚ · It enables executive and management to gain customer insight. 64 Customer Relationship Management Risks ï‚ · Effective internal controls must be in place to prevent customer information from becoming scattered across databases and servers. ï‚ · CRM can be associated with significant revenue cycle. ï‚ · CRM should be kept and handled and carefully kept inside the company only otherwise Customers Database can be misused by rivals. Customer Common Findings while contacting: ï‚ · Generally people whom I have contacted they were from different domains like Business, Proprietors, High Net worth Income Group (HNIs) and students. ï‚ · Their responses may not be proper because of their „Busyness‟ in Dealing Room. ï‚ · This data is called Primary Data, which is considered very genuine but is this case it misrepresents the Reality and Credibility. 65 ï‚ · Some people, its felt that they gave fake response, with impression that this questionnaire is from Religare Securities internal. ï‚ · Some people did not take it serious because this was not important to them as they are busy for trading at dealing Room. ï‚ · Every data interpretation and statistics cannot be think worthy from their results because this study is for only two months altogether. 66 Chapter 8. Limitations 67 Limitations Findings are according to the observations. 1. Many consultants, vendors, and analysts today define CRM in terms of being a customer-centric business strategy that is enabled by a set of applications that support customer-facing functions and management decision making. That may capture the essence of what CRM is, but while it does not concentrate on the extra expenses occurring on Company‟s A/c due to increment in expenses in serving customers all the ways and Return on investment means consideration may not be more than expected. Customer may not give that much business transactions which is estimated or expected. 2. It needs specific staffs to handle all the tasks of Customer Relationship Management because the data that is feed in system cannot be handled merely by Relationship Managers who has to make new customers and take care of their dealings and also to accomplish their additional responsibilities. 68 Suggestions 69 Suggestions 1. Short Duration: o Project research duration was only for two months, in this tenure neither study nor observation can be done properly. For example, we saw sample plan – in that only 100 customers could be contacted and now the problem is- from this samples we cannot think of Macro Level Perception of customers. Many people may be from same point of view and many may not and those 100 people may not contain these type of people. So duration of Research Project should be more than two months. 2. Customer Category: o To find effective Customer Relationship Management, Broking firm can do one more thing which will be very beneficial to them in finding Asset Customers from the bottom level management to top level management. Religare should adopt system of allotting Customer Categories according to their transactions, due payments, exposure, loyalty, frequency of trading and all. 70 o In this system at all the level where CRM is handled and watched by Top class officials of the company, they also get to know the list names and details of the loyal customers and CEO or Board of Directors also get to know total customers and at last their turnover of the total transaction. 3. Affiliated Awareness Programs: o Religare should arrange affiliated programs within its own groups to come to the sense of new people and accordingly to prospecting and acquiring new customers. o With the help of it companies CRM will help it to get height of success and dominate the world of Services. Because CRM affects Marketing, Sales and profitability and these all can be achieved by CRM. o For E.g., Religare Securities can play few awareness documentaries and Advertisement with „Religare Vistaar‟ this will result in getting more and more customers to serve and accordingly Religare can become the first ranker in turnover very soon. 71 Appendix I. Copy of questionnaire II. Bibliography , 72 Questionnaire 1. Name:________________________________________________ 2. Contact No:________________________________________________ 3. Occupation: ï‚ £Businessman ï‚ £Proprietor ï‚ £HNI ï‚ £Individual 4. Income Group(Annual): ï‚ £ 10000 1 Lakh ï‚ £1 Lakh 5 Lakh ï‚ £ 5 Lakh-10 Lakh ï‚ £ 10 Lakh Above 5. How do you find Company Interaction via Email and Telephone Calls ? ï‚ £Poor ï‚ £Fair ï‚ £Good ï‚ £ Very Good 73 6. Do you find company’s investment tips useful and beneficial? ï‚ £Yes ï‚ £No ï‚ £Can’t Say 7. Where do you rate Religare on the scale of 10 in terms of Services? ï‚ £4 ï‚ £6 ï‚ £8 ï‚ £10 8. Where do you invest/ trade mostly? ï‚ £Equity ï‚ £Commodity ï‚ £Currency 9. Where do you trade mostly? ï‚ £Intraday trading ï‚ £Delivery Trading 10. Do you trade in any other broking firm? ï‚ £Yes ï‚ £No If Yes, name of the broking firm__________________________________ 74 11. Are you satisfied with the services provided by Religare? ï‚ £Yes ï‚ £No Since last how many years you are in field of trading? ï‚ £Less than 1 Year ï‚ £More Than 1 Year ï‚ £More than 5 Year 12. What improvement do you want be done in company’s services? ï‚ £__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________ 13. Which service do you like most in Religare? ï‚ £_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 75 Bibliography Websites = http://deadpresident.blogspot.com http://religareonline.com http://www.religaresecurities.com Newspapers = The Hindu Books =

Forehead Lipoma Case Study

Forehead Lipoma Case Study ABSTRACT The lipoma is a relatively rare maxillofacial tumor, although it occurs with considerable frequency in other areas, particularly in the subcutaneous tissues of the neck. Lipomas are common benign soft tissue neoplasms of mature adipose tissue. They have been known to grow to large sizes causing masticatory and speech difficulties. The usual lesions consist of a well circumscribed, lobulated mass of mature fat cells. In other situations the covering mucosa becomes ulcerated and presents a diagnostic dilemma and seldom occurs in the younger age group. We present a case of forehead lipoma affecting 52 year old male patient. KEY WORDS – Lipoma , forehead , surgery INTRODUCTION Lipomas are benign tumors of mesenchymal origin consisting of mature fat cells which usually are involved by a thin fibrous capsule(1) . There are several forms and dimensions of this condition depending on location or evolution time which may cause orofacial deformity in some patients.( 2) Etiology of lipoma remains uncertain, even after pointing endocrine changes and heritance factors as possible causes. It is known that lipomas are mainly present in the fifth and sixth decade of life, being rarely found during childhood .(3,4) Lipoma’s are also seen in intra oral sites such as in lips, tongue, palate, buccal vestibule, floor of the mouth and parotid region(1,3) . Incisional or excisional biopsy can be done in these cases. Yellow coloration of lipoma should be observed as well as fluctuation of the lesion. This lesion will be on the liquid surface due to its lower density than a fixer solution(5,6-8). The treatment of lipomas is surgical removal. The recurrence is rare (1) a nd there is no reported malignant transformation (6) . Although, growth of lipoma is usually limited, it can grow to large proportions which can interfere in the speech, mastication, that reinforce the necessity to realize a surgical removal.(7,8) The present study aims to show a rare case of forehead lipoma in the maxillofacial region. CASE REPORT A 52 year old male reported to the Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery with the chief complaint of swelling in the forehead region which patient noticed 1 year back which had been gradually increasing initially but reported rapid growth since 1 month. On examination , a well defined 2 x 2 cm swelling was noticed in the forehead region on the right side just above the right eyebrow (Fig. 1). The skin over the swelling was stretched. No lymph nodes were palpable. On palpation, swelling was soft , fluctuant , non tender , mobile and the margins were slippery under the palpating finger. The swelling was non-pulsatile. The provisional diagnosis of lipoma was established. A differential diagnosis of dermoid cyst was excluded by negative aspiration . Routine blood investigations were carried out and were normal to plan an excisional biopsy under Local Anesthesia . Local anesthetic with adrenaline was infiltrated at the periphery of the lesion. Incision was then given along the crease in forehead to achieve better esthetic closure , crossing the swelling at its greatest bulge. Lesion was then slowly dissected out with the capsule in toto (Fig 2). Hemostasis achieved and subcuticular sutures were given (Fig. 3 4) so that scar is aesthetically acceptable . Histopathology report revealed a capsulated lesion with numerous adipocytes with peripherally placed nuclei. Admixed collagenic streaks were also seen. The entire lesion was excised and no recurrence has been observed for the past 6 months and the patient is under regular follow up. DISCUSSION Lipoma is a benign slow growing neoplasm composed of mature fat cells. Lipomas in the oral cavity are rare. The most common locations of lipoma in the oral cavity have been reported to be in the buccal mucosa, a region abundant in fatty tissue, followed by tongue. The hard palate has very little fatty tissue and the incidence of a lesion here is quite low. [9] Lipoma differs metabolically from the normal fat cells even though they are histologically similar. It has been shown that the fat of lipoma is not used for energy production during starvation period, as it happens with normal adipose tissue, their lipid is not available for metabolism. Adipose tissue is present in two basic forms white fat and brown fat. The clinical features of lipoma vary according to their rate of growth, size, and location. The usual complaint is of a painless palpable esthetically unpleasant mass, and there is seldom dysfunction of an involved muscle. A characteristic feature is a change in consistency and form of many of these lesions during contraction of involved muscle. The tumor is soft and flat when the muscle is relaxed and becomes firm and more spherical when muscle contracts. The etiology varies from the differentiation of multipotent mesenchymal cells in fat tissue, cartilage, and bone to metaplasia of a preexisting lipoma. Mesenchymal cells are modified by systemic and local influences that range from local trauma to prolonged ischemia. [10] Occasionally, the lipoma may invade muscles or grow between them: the so-called infiltrating lipoma. Infiltrating lipoma is an uncommon mesenchymal neoplasm that characteristically infiltrates adjacent tissues and tends to recur after excision. This type of lipoma is extremely rare in the head and neck region , and its congenital type is rare. [11] Lipoma consist of mature fat cells arranged into lobules that are separated by septa of fibrous connective tissue (12). Liposarcoma is important in the differential diagnosis, because well differentiated liposarcoma often contains many areas of lipomatous tissue. Despite the close histological similarity to normal adipose tissue, lipomas, usually have chromosomal aberrations such as translocations involving 12q13-15, locus interstitial deletions of 13q, and rearrangements involving 8q11-13 locus. [13] The clinical differential diagnosis includes ranula, dermoid cyst, thyroglossal duct cyst, ectopic thyroid tissue, pleomorphic adenoma and mucoepidermoid carcinoma, angiolipoma, fibrolipoma and malignant lymphoma. The definitive diagnosis is made by means of microscopic examination which shows adult fat tissue cells embedded in a stroma of connective tissue and surrounded by a fibrous capsule. On some occasions lipoma of the buccal mucosa cannot be distinguished from a herniated buccal fat pad, except by the lack of a history of sudden onset after trauma. Lesions outside the oral cavity could show greater recurrence rates after surgical excision. CONCLUSION Lipomas found in the oral and maxillofacial region are rare and usually slow growing lesions. The clinical course is usually asymptomatic until they get larger in size. Most lipomas develop in the subcutaneous tissues but deeper tissues may be involved as well. Surgical excision is the main treatment for lipoma. The complete excision along with precautions to prevent damage to adjacent structures should be emphasized during the operation, which is the key factor in order to avoid recurrence with least morbidity.

A milimeter too far Essay -- Medical Research

A millimetre too far: Discuss metastatic melanoma (skin cancer) with particular reference to the genes involve. Introduction In 2008 11,767 new cases of malignant melanoma was reported in the UK (UK, 2011) . Melanoma involves melanocytes of the skin which have a role in protecting the deeper layers of the skin from UV light emitted from the sun. Metastatic melanoma occurs when a primary tumour travels into the bloodstream and spreads to other body parts i.e. liver or lymph nodes. The survival rate for people with metastatic melanoma decreases the later the diagnosis and the bigger the spread (metastasis) of the cancer. Scientists have therefore investigated ways in which treatment for melanoma can be improved by diagnostic markers and by targeting the genes involved in the development of melanocytes; also the genes involved in uncontrolled proliferation as seen in metastatic melanoma. BRAFV600E Mutation of BRAF gene (a member of the RAF family of serine-theronine kinase (Gorden et al., 2003) has led to countless research on therapeutic treatments that target BRAF gene and inhibit its expression. Before melanoma gets to the metastatic stages there are a series of somatic mutations in melanocyte genes that leads to the transition from radial growth phase to vertical growth phase (Tan, 2012). Over activation of BRAF gene (somatic mutation) in melanoma leads to the uncontrolled proliferation and survival of melanoma cells via activation of the RAS/RAF/MAPK pathway (Gorden et al., 2003); the attachment of BRAF to RAS proteins activates the MAPK pathway involved in melanoma proliferation and the regulation of genes involved in the metastatic cascade. Recent studies showed that 92% of melanoma samples had a substitution (l... ...M., Elder, D. E., Hsu, M. Y., & Herlyn, M. (1994). Regulation of Mel-CAM/MUC18 expression on melanocytes of different stages of tumor progression by normal keratinocytes. [Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.]. Am J Pathol, 145(4), 837-845. Tan, W. W. H., J.E.;Schulman, P. (2012, 29 Feb 2012). Malignant Melanoma Retrieved 15 March, 2012, from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/280245-overview Toh, B., Wang, X. J., Keeble, J., Sim, W. J., Khoo, K., Wong, W. C., . . . Abastado, J. P. (2011). Mesenchymal Transition and Dissemination of Cancer Cells Is Driven by Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Infiltrating the Primary Tumor. Plos Biology, 9(9). doi: ARTN e1001162 DOI 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001162 UK, C. r. (Producer). (2011, April 5). Skin cancer - UK incidence statistics. Retrieved from http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/types/skin/incidence/#Trends

Isolation in a Rose for Emily :: A Rose For Emily, William Faulkner

Isolation dominated the seventy four-year life of Emily Grierson in 'A Rose for Emily' by William Faulkner. Never in this story did she live in harmony with anyone one short time. Even when she died of age at seventy four, people in Jefferson town rushed into her house not because they wanted to say goodbye forever to her but because they wanted to discover her mystic house. Many people agreed that it was the aristocratic status that made Emily?s life isolated. And if Emily weren?t born in the aristocratic Grierson, her life couldn't be alienated far away from the others around her. Having been the only daughter of a noble family, Emily was overprotected by her father who 'had driven away' all the young men wanting to be close to her. As a result of that, when she got to be thirty, she was still alone. It was Mr. Grierson who alienated his daughter from the normal life of a young woman. If she weren't born in the Grierson, if she didn?t have an upper-class father, she could get many relationships with many young men in order to find herself an ideal lover. Then she might have a happy marriage life with nice husband and children In addition, as a lady descended from aristocracy, Emily was educated in how to behave as a noble, which became her huge barrier to people around her. Throughout the story, Emily always 'carried her head high enough', even when she went out with Homer Barron, bought rat poison, or talked to the Board of Alderman. A head carried high showed that Emily was absolutely aware of her status, which kept her from having a person to confide with. Even she never talked to the Negro servant who lived under the same roof with her for years. That was the reason why people only saw him go in and out of the house silently from the beginning to the end of the story. If Emily carried her head a little bit lower and spent time looking at people around her, she could find a reliable listener to help her escape from the isolation. According to people in Jefferson town, the Grierson was really a monument, although this monument was fallen, they considered Emily, the last Grierson, an example to the young people. As a result of that, townspeople, especially 'some of the ladies began to say that it was disgrace to the town and a bad example to the young people?

The Scarlet Letter :: English Literature

The Scarlet Letter In most books, readers see events and happenings in their own personal way, which differs slightly from other readers' interpretations of the same book. In The Scarlet Letter, however, a radical new theory has developed on the death of Arthur Dimmesdale. Originally, it was generally accepted that Chillingworth's part in the death of Dimmesdale was purely psychological, but perhaps he played a greater role than thought before. In the book, Chillingworth is a physician who had been captured by Native Americans sometime ago and subsequently released by them into Boston, Massachusetts, who was strictly a Puritan settlement at the time. In the years of his imprisonment by the Indians, he was taught many native herbs and plants of the New World, and their uses on the human body. Through this, he entered Boston as a physician, known to have "gathered herbs, and the blossoms of wild-flowers, and dug up roots, and plucked off twigs from the forest-trees, like one acquainted with hidden virtues in what was valueless to common eyes." ( The Scarlet Letter , p. 120). Chillingworth had the knowledge of a particular drug, Atropine, which caused a sickness that closely resembled the condition of Dimmesdale. Chillingworth's motive for retribution to Dimmesdale for his adultery was very clear throughout the book, "There is a sympathy that will make me conscious of him. I shall see him tremble. I shall feel myself shudder, suddenly and unawares. Sooner or later, he must needs be mine." (p. 80). Chillingworth's vengeful nature consumed his life and his only goal in life became the torment of Hester's adulterous husband, Dimmesdale. He was already showing signs of sickness, assumed by the reader to be attributed to his guilty conscience, and these were only amplified by the poisoning Chillingworth had inflicted upon him. Dimmesdale's physical state and reactions also gave the reader clues to Chillingworth's role in Dimmesdale's demise. Upon Chillingworth's arrival to Boston, Dimmesdale immediately showed symptoms of atropine poisoning, or, to the reader at the time, signs of his guilt and adultery. As the doctor-patient relationship between Chillingworth and Dimmesdale grew, Dimmesdale's health faded. "His form grew emaciated; his voice, though still rich and sweet, had a certain melancholy prophecy of decay in it; he was often observed, on any slight alarm or other sudden accident, to put his hand over his heart with first a flush and then a paleness, indicative of pain." (p. 119). Also, as time progressed, Dimmesdale's symptoms became more severe and resembled like those attributed to atropine poisoning.

Tama Speed Cobra Pedals Review

Camco, DW and Ludwig have all produced such beasts, as has Japanese drum giant Tama. Its Iron Cobra pedal is truly a drum world icon, having been relied on by countless big-name artists on the world's biggest stages over many years. But now comes a new pretender in the form of the Speed Cobra, with features borrowed from its well-regarded older sibling and a host of innovative design tweaks to boot. Tama's tagline for the Speed Cobra is ‘Extreme Velocity, Serious Power'. As such the Speed Cobra's new features have two simple goals in common – to increase speed and to increase aggressive response. Tama points out that these two aims have traditionally been mutually exclusive, with fast pedals losing some power, and powerful models reacting slower than some would like. So what solutions do Tama offer? Well to start with, a quick overview of the features which the Speed Cobra shares with the Iron Cobra. Such things include the Oiles bearing hinge (as used in the aerospace industry no less), the patented Cobra Coil spring – which is located beneath the footboard to quickly return it to its default position after each stroke – and the Vari-Pitch beater holder that enables adjustment of the footboard link angle independently of the beater angle. To that already impressive mix, the Japanese company has added several significant new features. The first and most obvious of these is the ‘Fast Foot' footboard. Longer than on the Iron Cobra, the Fast Foot board is designed to increase speed of response but at the same time require less effort than previous designs. In addition, the face of the board is smooth to reduce friction, which Tama reckon will improve control. On top of this there's an impressive new bearing assembly in the shape of the Fastball bearing on the end of the drive shaft, a true round sprocket (which Tama have named, brilliantly, ‘LiteSprocket') that's evidently 40 percent lighter than the Iron Cobra's, and the new Projector Beater. The beater allows the choice of narrow or wide ‘striking surfaces' simply by changing the head angle – go for punchy, defined attack with the former or a fatter, fuller response with the latter. All this talk of new features (and we haven't touched on the chain drive's new Recessed Setting which increases the angle of attack for super speed and light action, nor the new ‘Super Spring', designed to offer less resistance at the beginning of the pedal stroke) has left us little space to discuss the actual build quality of the Speed Cobra. Fortunately, little space is required for this, as it is stunningly good. The Speed Cobra is beautifully engineered and does the Cobra name proud. If your eyebrows headed skyward at the number of clever feature names Tama has bestowed on the Speed Cobra, a word of warning. For sure, it's easy to dismiss ‘Speed Spring' or ‘LiteSprocket' as marketing waffle, but when pressed into action the Speed Cobra does a fantastic job of silencing the cynical. For starters it's an incredibly smooth-rolling pedal. An objective appraisal of the impact of the new bearing mechanisms, for example, is well out of the scope of a review like this, but subjectively it feels wonderful. .For metal drummers dishing out high-bpm double bass battery, the Speed Cobra could be your new best friend. But that's not to say Tama's newbie is a one-trick pony. It's so well-conceived and built – with the kind of near-endless adjustment that high-end pedals offer these days – that it could be pressed into service in any genre with aplomb.