UNIVERSITY POINT

Cost of Labour Turnover

2009-12-04T21:13:00.000-08:00

Cost of Labour Turnover
The Cost of Labour Turnover can be examined under two broad categories ;
A.Preventive cost
B.Replacement cost
Preventive cost : As the name suggest,these are cost which are incured by a firm to keep a contented labour force force so as to prevent axcessive labour turnover,These A.cost therefore,include :
01.Personnel Administration
02.Medical Services
03.Welfare-e.g.provision for subsidised canteen meals,sports facilities,etc.
04.Gratuity and Pension Schemes
05.Aportion of high wages,Bonuses,perquisities,etc.Which are paid in excess of the average amount paid in the industry to discaurage labour turnover.
B.Peplacement cost :
Labour turnover is assopciated with replacement.Replacement nacessitates,recruitment,training,absorpsion of new workers.Since the new worker will take more time to do job than a trained worker,There will be loss of output and more wastage.Therefore,replacement cost will mean cost of all these elements.More precisely,the following may be enumerated under this heading ;
01.Cost of recruitment,training,Induction etc.
02.Loss of Output due to :
a.time-lag between defection and recruitment
b.inefficiency of new workers
03.cost of tooland machine breakage
04.cost of scrap and defective works
05.cost of additional supervision nacessitated by inexperiences of new workers.
06.cost of additional compensation payable arising out of frequent accidents.
07.loss of goodwill and hence high costs in termes of disadvantageus labour contracts.
The overall cost of labour turnover will be reflected in one or more of the items or heads already mentioned.The cost may be shown per worker employed or replaced or as a fraction of the total cost or selling price.Howover the more convinient method is to express it as follows :

Hazmat Certification Test

2009-11-28T20:54:00.001-08:00

Hazmat Certification Test
Contrary to popular belief, there is no hazmat certification test that is recognized by the US Government. It is up to each employer to determine what type of training and testing suits them best.

There is no "passing" score.

This can cause a problem because any score could be a passing score and any score could be a failing score. Here's a specific example. You give a warehouse worker who sometimes drives a truck a 20 question test. Let's say get 18 out of 20 questions correct. They scored 90%. That sounds good, doesn't it?

Well, let's say the two questions the employee missed were on Placarding, a vital function for shippers and truck drivers. If they went through a training program and when done, do NOT understand the requirements that apply to their job function, they aren't trained. Period. You cannot use them in a hazmat employee function until this deficit is fixed.

At Transportation Development Group - in our hazmat / DG training, we review every question with the students after the test and make sure they understand the correct answer before they leave. We also document that review in a follow-up letter.

Finally we do not "pass" a student on an exam unless they score at least 80%. This is also the minimum score for IATA certification.

General Filing and Indexing

2009-11-28T18:48:00.000-08:00

General Filing and Indexing
Any business worth its salt tends to have a vast network of connections spread throughout the world.It aspires afer dealing with a clientele scattered over all parts of the globe.In order to deal effectively and successfully with its customers,and business must be necessarily maintain a most up to date and efficient system of kepping its documents,records and all others necessary papers, so that ready references are easily and quickly available.This can be done,only,if the business office maintains an efficint,simple and comprehensive system of filing and indexing so far as its records,documents etc are concerned.An effient system of filing and indexing is practically the keystone of anymodern office organisation.Disorganised and haphazard methods of maintaining papers will involve any business organisation in a maze of chaos and confusion.In practice it is found how contineously the system of filing has been passing from one stage of improvement to another.Amongst the various systems,the following are worth nothing.
01.Paper to be arranged on metal holders----------

Mechanical Devices in Office

2009-11-28T18:26:00.000-08:00

Mechanical Devices in Office
Just as modern production is now a days concentrated in a single unit on a large scale system, so alsao the modern office of a business tends to be correspondingly large.In order to deal efficienly with its system of copying correspondence and documents,as well as to issue circuller letters,etc.a modern office generally uses various mechanical devices to expedite work.Following are the devices :
01.Telephone 02.Type-writer 03.Dictaphone and Ediphone
Copying and Multiplying Process
01.Printing 02.Hectogram 03.Memiogram
04.Rotary Multiplier
05.Multigraph 06.Lithography and printing 07.Roneo Letter Copier 08.Photostate 09.Addressing Machine etc

मेचानिकल देविसस इन ऑफिस

2009-11-28T18:25:00.000-08:00

Blood Pressure

2009-11-28T08:05:00.001-08:00

Blood Pressure

According to Ayurveda, high blood pressure involves all the doshas, the heart, and the blood vessels.We can see signs and symptoms of derangement of vata dosha mainly that of 'Vyana vayu' in high blood pressure. People with Pitta and Vata predominante constitution and Pitta and Vata imbalance, are more prone to hypertension than any other. Unprocessed anger, frustration, irritability, anxiety and fear leads to mal-adaptation of the endocrine system, which then leads to conditions like hypertension. Treatment is based on bringing these imbalances back to normal. In the treatment of hypertension; nutrition, exercise, breathing exercises (Pranayama), yoga, meditation, behavioral modification along with various herbs and minerals are prescribed. The following products will help you to normalize your blood pressure.

ABSTRACT

2009-11-28T07:47:00.000-08:00

ABSTRACT

Background Treatment added to statin monotherapy to further modify the lipid profile may include combination therapy to either raise the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level or further lower the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level.

Methods We enrolled patients who had coronary heart disease or a coronary heart disease risk equivalent, who were receiving long-term statin therapy, and in whom an LDL cholesterol level under 100 mg per deciliter (2.6 mmol per liter) and an HDL cholesterol level under 50 mg per deciliter for men or 55 mg per deciliter for women (1.3 or 1.4 mmol per liter, respectively) had been achieved. The patients were randomly assigned to receive extended-release niacin (target dose, 2000 mg per day) or ezetimibe (10 mg per day). The primary end point was the between-group difference in the change from baseline in the mean common carotid intima–media thickness after 14 months. The trial was terminated early, on the basis of efficacy, according to a prespecified analysis conducted after 208 patients had completed the trial.

Results The mean HDL cholesterol level in the niacin group increased by 18.4% over the 14-month study period, to 50 mg per deciliter (P<0.001), and the mean LDL cholesterol level in the ezetimibe group decreased by 19.2%, to 66 mg per deciliter (1.7 mmol per liter) (P<0.001). Niacin therapy significantly reduced LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels; ezetimibe reduced the HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels. As compared with ezetimibe, niacin had greater efficacy regarding the change in mean carotid intima–media thickness over 14 months (P=0.003), leading to significant reduction of both mean (P=0.001) and maximal carotid intima–media thickness (P0.001 for all comparisons). Paradoxically, greater reductions in the LDL cholesterol level in association with ezetimibe were significantly associated with an increase in the carotid intima–media thickness (R=–0.31, P<0.001). The incidence of major cardiovascular events was lower in the niacin group than in the ezetimibe group (1% vs. 5%, P=0.04 by the chi-square test).

Conclusions This comparative-effectiveness trial shows that the use of extended-release niacin causes a significant regression of carotid intima–media thickness when combined with a statin and that niacin is superior to ezetimibe. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00397657 [ClinicalTrials.gov] .)

Source Information

From the Cardiology Service, Walter Reed Army Medical Center (A.J.T., T.C.V., P.J.D., M.M.); and Medstar Research Institute, Washington Hospital Center (A.J.T., N.J.W.) — both in Washington, DC; Medco Health Solutions, Franklin Lakes, NJ (E.J.S.); Cardiac Associates, Rockville, MD (L.G.); University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore (M.M.); and Washington Adventist Hospital, Takoma Park, MD (M.T.).

This article (10.1056/NEJMoa0907569) was published on November 16, 2009, at NEJM.org.

Lessons from the Seerah of Our Beloved Prophet

2009-11-21T06:38:00.000-08:00

Lessons from the Seerah of Our Beloved Prophet
Spiritual Development
Community Building
Leadership Skills
Family and Marriage
Interfaith/Intra-faith Relations
Youth, MSA & MYNA Programs

The Message that Changed the World
The Man Who Came to Perfect Noble Character
Connecting with Allah: Nurturing the Prophetic Tradition in our Daily Lives
Thinking Outside the Mosque: The Prophetic Model for Community Service
The NEW Companions: Applying Past Lessons to Today’s World
Strengthening Our Soul through Dhikr
Lost in Translation: Connecting with Our Parents
Pursuing Freedom from Oppression in the Family: The Right of Each Muslim
Where’s the Love?: Understanding the Concept of Ummah
No Muslim Left Behind: Mercy as a Tool for Uniting Communities
Understanding the Love Triangle: You, Your Spouse and Your Lord

Frustration-Free Packaging

2009-11-21T05:28:00.000-08:00

Frustration-Free Packaging
Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging is a multi-year initiative designed to make it easier for customers to liberate products from their packages. Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging eliminates hard plastic "clamshell" cases and those annoying plastic-coated wire ties, commonly used in toy packaging.
Through the Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging Certification initiative, manufacturers can send their packaged products to our labs for free analysis and feedback on how their packaging can become Certified Frustration-Free. The program today offers over 350 best-selling items from leading brands including Mattel, Logitech, Fisher-Price, Garmin and Seventh Generation, as well as Amazon brands like Kindle and AmazonBasics.

Export Procedures

2009-11-21T05:07:00.000-08:00

Export Procedures : The order or Indent
The first step is an export transaction is generally the receipt of an order or indent for the goods to be shipped to the prospective importer.
The term "intent"arises from the old customs,when such order used to be made out in more than one copy and then each of them indented or torn at the edge arbitrarily.this was done to keep the identical copy of an order.now this practice is no longer in vogue,as exact and similer carbon copies can be made of same order.
usually,an indent should contain full and detailed information about
(a) Dtails of goods required,it's quality,quantity,size,marks,etc.
(b)Price,(c)packing & shiping instructions (d)date of shipment and
(e)Methods of reimbursement.
Indents are usually of verious types and made according to commodities.
An indent may be an "Open"or a "closed"one.It is open,when the importer leaves some option to buyer in the exporting country,regarding the selection of goods,price and marks,etc.In a "closed" indent exact description,price and marks,etc of goods are genrally given,and the imporer's buyer in the exporting country merely acts as a medium.In this modern days of advertising and quick dissemination of news the latter type of indent is more often to be met with.when the prospective importer mention the price of the comodity in an indent,it may happen that it is not acceptable to the exporter.In such an event an indent maypass backwards and forwards untill it is finally accepted by both parties.when a final or a "confirmatory" indent ensues.
After an indent is finally accepted by the exporter,arrangements are made for the shipment of the goods.

Export Trade

2009-11-21T04:27:00.000-08:00

The export trade is undertaken by a number of different people,consisting of manufacturer,export,merchants,commision agents,etc.

Disclaimer

2009-11-21T04:18:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer
Every effort has been made to accurately represent this product and it’s potential. Even though this industry is one of the few where one can write their own check in terms of earnings, there is no guarantee that you will earn any money using the techniques and ideas in these materials. Examples in these materials are not to be interpreted as a promise or guarantee of earnings.
Earning potential is entirely dependent on the person using our product, ideas and techniques. We do not purport this as a “get rich scheme.”
Any claims made of actual earnings or examples of actual results can be verified upon request. Your level of success in attaining the results claimed in our materials depends on the time you devote to the program, ideas and techniques mentioned, your finances, knowledge and various skills.
Since these factors differ according to individuals, we cannot guarantee your success or income level. Nor are we responsible for any of your actions.
Materials in our product and our website may contain information that includes or is based upon forward-looking statements within the meaning of the securities litigation reform act of 1995.
Forward-looking
statements give our expectations or forecasts of future events. You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They use words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with a description of potential earnings or financial performance.
Any and all forward looking statements here or on any of our sales material are intended to express our opinion of earnings potential. Many factors will be important in determining your actual results and no guarantees are made that you will achieve results similar to ours or anybody elses, in fact no guarantees are made that you will achieve any results from our ideas and techniques in our material

Why Are my Device Drivers Causing Errors?

2009-11-20T03:25:00.000-08:00

Why Are my Device Drivers Causing Errors?
Device drivers can create errors with a computer’s performance for a number of unrelated reasons. No matter which reason lies behind the problem, frustration occurs as the computer continues to refuse to run properly. In some case, the problem will be a minor one that only affects a single device. Yet in others, it can be a dilemma that creates an entire array of problems.
Common Program Errors
• Abnormal program termination
• Add/Remove programs error
• Program startup error
• C++ Runtime error
• Program runtime error
• Disk error checking program
• Program end error
• Program not responding
Outdated Drivers no longer supported for your Device
Perhaps one of the most common reasons behind device driver errors is the need to update your drivers, especially when you update your operating system. This isn’t a strategy that comes to mind readily. After all, the device drivers have been working all along so there didn’t seem to be any need to think about it. Plus, reminders for updates are often scheduled to be sent out and received by those who need them.
Corrupt files lead to Program Errors
Another one of the reasons behind faulty device drivers is the presence of a corrupt file or the absence of a file entirely. An improper shutdown could be the culprit here. Whenever a computer is shutdown without going through the proper motions, files can become lost or damaged. Corrupt files when discovered by the manufacturer will lead to a release of a new updated driver.
Incompatibility
Another culprit behind faulty device drivers is an incompatibility among software applications or drivers that are currently installed on the computer. This is one of the most important reasons behind the suggestion that consumers check the system requirements for any new peripherals they select to add onto their computers.
Manufacturer problems
As alluded to under the corrupt files paragraph above, a faulty device driver can be blamed on the manufacturer. This problem is generally addressed quickly with a replacement driver for the device.
Additional Driver Issues
Finally, human error can also be blamed on occasion for faulty device drivers. All too often, the hand is quicker than the eye and a necessary file is accidentally deleted. With the absence of a necessary file, the device is not going to function.
The first signs that are noticed when a device driver is damaged, missing, or outdated is that the device to which it belongs no longer works properly if at all. The best strategy around this problem is to update your device drivers if they are outdated or reinstall them if they are damaged.

Why Are my Device Drivers Causing Errors?

2009-11-20T03:04:00.001-08:00

Risk Management

2009-11-20T03:03:00.000-08:00

"Risk Management" Articles & Interviews
Showing 1 - 12 of 49 Results Sort by: Relevance | Date
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Articles & Interviews Results

1. Four Reasons to Start an RBAC Program Today
[ Guest Opinion ] Topic: Risk Management | Author: KellyManthey | Date Published: 09/16/2009
Role Based Access Control (RBAC) is the process of granting people within similar job functions the same access to resources (systems, data etc.) required to do their job. The concept centers on putting into business-friendly terms the logical grouping of resource access. These resource access...
2. Undervaluing the Need for Risk Management Is Risky
[ Article ] Topic: Risk Management | Author: LoraBentley | Date Published: 03/03/2009
As recently as last week, Yale University behavioral economics professor Robert Shiller told reporters the current mess in the financial markets results in part from a failure to manage risk. Last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission offered new guidance on a risk-based approach to...
3. Agencies, Industry Dragging Feet on Emergency Alert Systems
[ Article ] Topic: Telecommunications Services | Author: CarlWeinschenk | Date Published: 09/04/2009
Crisis situations involve two important information flows: First responders and other professionals must be able to communicate with each other, and officials must keep the public informed about what is going on. Crises – September 11, the Virginia Tech shootings, Hurricane Katrina and others –...
4. Don’t Let Your Business Fail – Back up Your Data
[ Guest Opinion ] Topic: Backup | Author: KenShaw | Date Published: 08/12/2009
You have car insurance to replace or repair your car and health insurance if you get sick or injured, but what would you do if you lost all your data? Do you have data insurance? For a small business owner, data loss could result in having to start from scratch or worse – business failure....
5. Pros and Cons of Managed Security Services
[ Guest Opinion ] Topic: Managed Security Services | Author: BobViolino | Date Published: 08/26/2009
More organizations are using managed security services, where security functions such as vulnerability assessment and network firewall monitoring are offered to clients as a service. These services offer potential benefits to organizations that lack the internal security resources. They also...
6. Cloud Computing: Understanding the Risks and Questions to Ask Your Service Provider
[ Guest Opinion ] Topic: Cloud Computing | Author: AdamBosnian | Date Published: 10/12/2009
Cloud computing - the process of storing, accessing and sharing company data and processes remotely on the Internet - has changed the audit and risk profile of data systems in most organizations. Whilst the economics of going down the cloud route for data storage are highly attractive, there are...
7. Eight Steps to Reducing Compliance Risks
[ Interview ] Topic: Risk Management | Author: LoraBentley | Date Published: 08/29/2006
Lora Bentley spoke with Richard Cellini, Esq., a VP with Integrity Interactive Corp. Integrity Interactive provides compliance risk management tools to more than 300 companies in the Fortune 2000, located in the United States and the European Union. Bentley : In your opinion, what are the...
8. What Good Will a 'Market Stability Regulator' Do?
[ Interview ] Topic: Legislation and Regulation | Author: LoraBentley | Date Published: 05/16/2008
Lora Bentley spoke with Chuck Saletta, a contributor for The Motley Fool , an investment services company. Bentley : You have written that the government's proposed regulatory response to the subprime lending scandal is overkill. How so? Saletta : My primary concern is with Paulson's plan...
9. Converging GRC Initiatives Across the Enterprise Just Makes Sense
[ Interview ] Topic: Risk Management | Author: LoraBentley | Date Published: 03/13/2009
Lora Bentley spoke with John Kelly, marketing director at governance, risk and compliance solution provider OpenPages . Kelly says prevailing trends in the GRC market this year include an increased awareness of risk and a growing tendency to converge all GRC efforts within an organization into a...
10. Security Staffs Deal with Challenges of Compliance, Organized Crime
[ Article ] Topic: Security Metrics | Author: CarlWeinschenk | Date Published: 11/20/2007
There is no shortage of evidence that cyber crime is getting more organized . Indeed, it is the one security trend that supersedes all others. The scary idea is that the dark side has banded together and taken a systematic approach to getting their hands on information that doesn't belong to...
11. Making IT Governance More Relevant
[ Guest Opinion ] Topic: Internal Governance | Author: VentanaResearch | Date Published: 07/23/2009
Summary Few corporations have a clear idea of the benefits they receive from their IT spending. While they may be able to assess their gains in efficiency from, say, server consolidation, they are in the dark as to whether their purchases of applications running on those servers are enhancing or...
12. The Risk of Underestimating Risk Management
[ Article ] Topic: Risk Management | Author: DennisByron | Date Published: 08/05/2008
Governance, risk and compliance (GRC) management is a buzzword du jour. But because of that, IT management and staff might ignore it. Don’t! The combination of an explosion in unstructured data to be managed and the coming exponential growth in services — many of them crossing firewalls by

Indent Business

2009-11-19T23:06:00.000-08:00

Indent firms act as an intermediaries in the import trade between the dealler and the foreign manufacturers.The

Pro Forma Invoice

2009-11-18T03:17:00.000-08:00

A pro Forma Invoice is usually used in the following circumtances :-
01.In order to point out the prospctive buyer what he should pay in case he buys the goods.It is akin more or less a price quatation,and is used where goods were sent on approval.If goods are kept,payment ought to be made according to the pro forma invoice.
02.It is used where the buyer is unknown to the seller and the latter wants payments before the delivery of goods.The seller at first sents a pro forma invoice and request for payment delivery.
03.It is sent to the customs authorities for evaluating goods to be consigned abroad for the purpose of assessing duties.
04.It is also sent by the principal to agent who under taketo sell goods in behalf of the formr.The agents take permission of goods and do not pay until they are sold.The pro forma invoice is sent to the agent in order to enable him to know at what prices the principal wants him to sell the goods.

Future and Limition of BAG

2009-11-18T02:31:00.000-08:00

Bangladesh Container glass(BAG) :Our amber glass bottles have many advantages over others-for liquid medicine it still better than pet of many counts,including higher shelf life,hygiene,sealing and capping.Above all glass packaging does not invilve expensive installation like that of PET.Bengal glass has potential to export but infrastructural difficulties and limited logistic support are certain disadvantages to beat the indian glass bottles in the neighbouring contries.

Some thing about Allah

2009-11-17T03:38:00.000-08:00

Do you know about Allah ? what is the funtion of allah ? what is liking of him ? Allah is the superpower ?Seeing the operation on the earth It seems that He has no jobs,he given to perform all the jobs to the sattern and nothing dislikes the activities of sattern.That is why the corruption is being increasing day by day.am I write or wrong ?

Something came suddenly

2009-11-05T03:17:00.000-08:00

some thing has been coming out of him certainly it has been coming right towards me certainly it was something certainly it has been coming out of him and it had meaning a charming meaning a struggling meaning a clear meaning and it had been coming out of him right towards me.something has been coming out of him certainly it has been coming right towards me certainly it was something certainly it has been coming out of him and it had meaning a charming meaning a struggling meaning a clear meaning and it had been coming out of him right towards me.

Wind starts to generate energy

2009-11-05T03:12:00.000-08:00

Wind is a form of solar energy. Winds are caused by the uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the irregularities of the earth's surface, and rotation of the earth. The Sun heats our atmosphere unevenly, so some patches become warmer than others.
These warm patches of air rises, other air blows in to replace them - and we feel wind blowing.
Wind flow patterns are modified by the earth's terrain, bodies of water, and vegetation. Humans use this wind flow, or motion energy, for many purposes: sailing, flying a kite, and even generating electricity.
The terms wind energy or wind power describes the process by which the wind is used to generate mechanical power or electricity. Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power. This mechanical power can be used for specific tasks (such as grinding grain or pumping water) or a generator can convert this mechanical power into electricity.
So how do wind turbines make electricity? Simply stated, a wind turbine works the opposite of a fan. Instead of using electricity to make wind, like a fan, wind turbines use wind to make electricity. The wind turns the blades, which spin a shaft, which connects to a generator and makes electricity.

Travian

2009-10-18T09:48:00.000-07:00

Travian is a browser game featuring a world with thousands of other real players. One begins the game acting as a chief of a tiny village.

Human Rights

2009-10-10T04:05:00.000-07:00

What Human Rights Are
Do you know what Human Rights are?
Every person is entitled to certain rights – simply by the fact that they are a human being. They are "rights" because they are things you are allowed to be, to do or to have. These rights are there for your protection against people who might want to harm or hurt you. They are also there to help us get along with each other and live in peace.
Many people know something about their rights. They know they have a right to be paid for the work they do and they have a right to vote. But there exist many other rights.
When human rights are not well known by people, abuses such as discrimination, intolerance, injustice, oppression and slavery can arise.
Born out of the atrocities and enormous loss of life during World War II, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created by the United Nations to provide a common understanding of what everyone’s rights are. It forms the basis for a world built on freedom, justice and peace.

Beauty Pick of the Day

2009-10-08T04:31:00.000-07:00

At B4A, we beiieve in 100% natural skin care, not naturaly derived skin care, far removed from a never-ending chain of chemical compounds and harsh laboratory processes. Toxicology, cancer studies, and dermatologists agree with us. While you can accelerate or create the illusion of "results" by using synthetic, laboratory derived ingredients, there is no substitute for pure, natural ingredients.Although chemicals and lasers can work faster, there is almost always some side effect, whether that be cancer-causing nitrates, releasing formalehyde, causing denatured skin,or harming your overall health. Using natural ingredients offer some perks too. They are great for your skin and health, help the environment,regulate skin moisture ,reduce inflammation, heal wounds and scars--the list goes on and on.Most importantly, natural ingredients provide long-lasting effects over time without damaging your skin or health. Besides, why alter what God created, instead of using what He made?

Human rights

2009-10-08T03:51:00.000-07:00

Human rights violations
According to Human Rights Watch, bombings and other attacks which have led to civilian casualties are reported to have "sharply escalated in 2006" with "at least 669 Afghan civilians were killed in at least 350 armed attacks, most of which appear to have been intentionally launched at non-combatants."[137][138] By 2008 the Taliban had increased its attacks using suicide bombers and the targeted killing of unarmed civilian aid workers such as Gayle Williams.[139] The United Nations reports that the number of civilians killed by both the Taliban and the pro-government forces in the war rose nearly 50% since 2007. In the first six months of 2009 595 civilians died at the hand of the Taliban, and 309 at the hands of NATO and Afghan government forces. In the first half of 2008, the Taliban had killed 495 civilians and the allies 276.[140] [141] The high number of civilians killed by Taliban is blamed in part on their increasing use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), "for instance, 16 IEDs have been planted in girls' schools" by the Taliban.[140