Monday, September 30, 2019

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen Essay

Dreamland written by Sarah Dessen is a book about a young woman named Caitlin. Caitlin was a normal girl in high school, living with her parents and her older sister Cass. Cass is the very opposite of Caitlin. Cass is outgoing, popular, a cheerleader, and was recently accepted into Yale. But on the morning of Caitlin’s sixteenth birthday, her and her parents wake up to find Cass’s letter telling that she ran away to New York to be with her boyfriend. Everybody’s about to change but Caitlin most of all. With everybody in a panic to find Cass, Caitlin just stays to herself knowing that Cass always knows what she is doing. After about 3 weeks everything calmed down. Caitlin tries to find something to keep her mind off of things. So her and her best friend Rina tried out for cheerleading and made the team. Her mom was more exited about it than she was. Her mom was at every practice and game cheering Caitlin on. Although Caitlin didn’t cheerleading at all, she was just happy her mom was happy. With her being a cheerleader now she hung out with the other cheerleaders and the football players. She was expected to be perfect and to date a football player. But that just wasn’t her. Then one night at a party she meets Rodgerson. She falls in love with him right away. With his mysterious side and dreamy green eyes he was perfect to her. She soon found out that he sells drugs and smokes cigarettes. But she loves being around him and being with him. She started smoking too and doing drugs with him. Everything was going perfect; her parents really liked him. One night Rodgerson was showing Caitlin around his house when he was supposed to be meeting with his father. When his father stormed through the room Caitlin hid behind the door and watched Rodgerson’s dad yell at him and he suddenly hit him right across the face. Rodgerson fell to his feet while his dad kept yelling and finally left, slamming the door behind him. Caitlin, stunned, slowly walked over to Rodgeron on the floor and just hugged him trying to be there for him. After that night they never talked what happened. Caitlin never brought it up, only because she was afraid of what she may find out. They just acted like nothing had happened. Even when she noticed new bruises on his body knowing where they had come from. One day she was let out from school late and Rodgerson had been waiting for over 45 minutes for her. She new he would be upset because he hated to wait. She was nervous as she got into his car so she immediately tried to explain what had happened when he told her to shut up and hit her right across the cheek. She couldn’t move, not just because of the excruciating pain but because she was so surprised. She just sat back in the seat and they drove in silence. Before she got down to get in her house he apologized not looking her in the eye and she just nodded slowly. When she got inside she told her parents that she had slipped outside on the black ice. They believed her. After what happened they never talked about it again. She just ignored it and thought he wouldn’t do it again. Then he hit her again, and then again. He would hit her almost every time he would get upset. She didn’t know what to do so she just covered the bruises with bagging clothes and if someone saw she would just make an excuse. Her grades were failing, she quit cheerleading, and was doing more drugs. She was always in a daze, in a dreamland. It was the first day April, the annual party at Caitlin’s house. While everyone was busy making food and setting up, Caitlin decided to stay in bed all day since she didn’t have to meet Roderson until later. Then Rina came, they hadn’t talked in months. She woke Caitlin up with a bathing suit and suntan lotion in hand. She told Caitlin they where going to the lake. She didn’t give her any option. Especially when everyone was telling her to go too. Caitlin was so nervous that she would have Rodgerson waiting on her. She tried to tell Rina, but she didn’t listen. So she tried to call Rodgerson but he wouldn’t answer. When she finally made it home, she saw his car. She ran to his car and got inside and immediately told him what happened. He slapped her and punched her so hard the door opened and she fell out of the car onto the grass. She couldn’t get up the pain was too much. He started to yell at her to get up, but she couldn’t. She could here the party behind her, she was praying someone would just come out to find them. The neighbor across the street saw it all and called the police and her mother. She could feel her mother come up behind her crying and screaming. She could here commotion and sirens getting closer and closer. All she could remember was Rodgerson being handcuffed and taken away. Finally awaken from her dreamland, Caitlin is taken to a rehabilitation center for care. They did not press charges on Rodgerson. Rodgerson had to do community service and goes to jail frequently. After several months of her rehabilitation, she went home to her family and friends. She had no more bruises or pain. She was back to herself, she was happy. But what made her most happy was seeing her sister Cass comes out behind everyone and gives her a hug. Overall, I did really like this book. It taught me lessons and I hope it teaches other girls the lessons too. One example is how to always tell someone if your hurting or something is happening in your relationships. I did get a little bored while reading some parts because it was on going and over detailed. That is the only thing I did not enjoy about it. But this book was a very good one, and I would recommend it all girls. To first see how some people could hurt you when you least expected and to always have someone to talk to and not hide from it.

What Is a Hero?

â€Å"How would we tell a hero story today? What would be the setting, what would the enemy be, and what values would the hero embody? † Heroes are a rare, but neccessary type of person. In reality, and our modern society, heroes are not out slaying dragons, or conquering an evil sorcerer. Heroes come in many shapes and forms, and what's capsulated within is the true power of a hero. The mainstream, and fictional heroes are held to a standard of an externally admirable image. Hercules, Zeus, Odysseus, Beowulf, and to a lesser extent, Professional WWE wrestlers along many others are all seen as masculine men who look as if their muscles are unobtainable by their large audience of observers. Take Martin Luther King Jr. for example, a man who inspired an entire race to break the crippling chains of oppresion. This was not a man of tenacious appearance, but when he spoke the world listened, and his words were stained in history. A true display of heroism was shown on September 11th, 2001 in New York City. After two airplanes collided with the Twin Towers, many people were left trapt inside of the buildings with smoke filling their lungs and fire searing their skin. Heroes, such as firefighters and police officiers, quickly reacted and put themselves on the line to save others. Selflessness opitomizes heroism in this instance. These modern day heros, fire fighters, police officiers and even civilians, sacrificed their lives to save another individual which in most cases were complete strangers demonstrated the true beauty of humanity. The enemy, known as Al' Qeada was the group who carried out this attack. Al Qeada is a network of Islamic terrorists operatives who were created to scare society. Most believe that the attacks were brought about because of their hatred for America. The kamikazee suicide bombers perceived themselves as heroes due to their act of selflessness, but a hero does not harm those who are innocent, those who have families, and those who are relied upon by others for love and support. The enemy was not rational about their decision to pestilate fellow human beings who were not involved with the so thought indescretions America had placed on their country. We cannot control the actions of other people, but in times of chaos we can come together and be heroes. Anyone who breathes air on Earth has the potentional to be a hero. It is not an issue of appearance, not an issue of race nor an issue of nationality. Heroism completely depends on bravery, pride, love, and selflessness, which all people are capable of presenting. A channel affect is created when a hero is seen. A hero inspires others to pick up on their traits, and if you have the traits of a hero, you are sure to be idolized.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Internship Report on Ptcl

INTERNSHIP REPROT On FI-CO_ERP in [pic] ERP-Accounts & Finance Submitted By Faisal Rasheed Internship Report on PTCL Purpose Of Internship The purpose of this internship is to understand how the practical work is performed in a computer based ERP solution. In addition, to practically learn concepts which have been learned theoretically in education and to develop the understanding of the function performed by ERP Accounts and Finance. Scope of Internship In six weeks training span, it is difficult to understand every work flow of each Sub sections of Accounts & Finance department because of its huge volume of work.The main focus was in the FICO module including General Ledger, creation of vendors, Customers, issuance/Receiving of advance, parking of invoices, posting and payment/receipt of invoices and cheque printing, Addition in Defaulters, Bad debts Provisions, Adjustment of Provision, and Recovery from Defaulter. Constitution and ownership, Mission, Vision & Core Values Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (â€Å"the holding Company†) was incorporated in Pakistan on December 31, 1995 and commenced business on January 01, 1996. The Company is listed on Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad stock exchanges.The Company was established to undertake the telecommunication business formerly carried on by Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation (PTC). The business was transferred to the Company on January 01, 1996 under the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, 1996 at which date the Company took over all the properties, rights, assets, obligations and liabilities of PTC except those transferred to National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC), Frequency Allocation Board (FAB), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Pakistan Telecommunication Employees Trust (PTET).The registered office of the Company is situated at PTCL Headquarters, G-8/4, Islamabad. As a consequence of PTCL’s privati zation during 2006, 26 % of its shares were acquired by Etisalat International Pakistan LLC, based in the UAE. Pak Telecom Mobile Limited (PTML) PTML was incorporated in Pakistan on July 18, 1998, as a public limited company, to provide cellular mobile telephony services in Pakistan. PTML commenced its commercial operations on January 29, 2001, under the brand name of Ufone . It is a wholly owned subsidiary of PTCL. The registered office of PTML is situated at F-7 Markaz, Islamabad.Maskatiya Communications (Private) Limited (MAXCOM) On March 01, 2010 the holding Company acquired 100 % shares of MAXCOM. MAXCOM has been voluntarily wound up, effective June 01, 2011 based on a special resolution passed by the members of MAXCOM. The net assets of MAXCOM have been transferred to PTCL at a book value amounting to Rs 68,382 thousand and the goodwill related to acquisition of MAXCOM has been written off during the year. PTCL Corporate Vision To be the leading ICT service provider in the reg ion by achieving customers’ satisfaction and maximizing shareholders’ value. PTCL Mission To achieve our vision by having: †¢ An organizational environment that fosters †¢ professionalism, motivation and quality. †¢ An environment that is cost effective and quality †¢ conscious. †¢ Services that are based on the most optimum †¢ technology. †¢ â€Å"Quality† and â€Å"Time† conscious customer services. †¢ Sustained growth in earnings and profitability. PTCL Core Values †¢ Professional Integrity †¢ Customer Satisfaction †¢ Teamwork †¢ Company Loyalty Organizational Structure Accounts & Finance Department Related to ERP Only Under the President & C. E. O, total 9 department head Including seven S. E. V. P’s, C. T.O and C. I. O are working each one is responsible for formulating planning & strategies at corporate level with the support of their Teams. Each S. E. V. P has more than one E. V. Pà ¢â‚¬â„¢s and their teams. Under S. E. V. P Finance– C. F. O, three E. V. P’s are working related to Revenue Accounts & Revenue Assurance, Financial Planning & Treasury Management, & Accounts Services. Under the E. V. P- Accounts Services, total two General Managers including G. M Accounts Taxation & Financial Reporting, G. M ERP Finance & Assets Management are working. Each G. M has at least one Senior Manager or Manager or both. Each S.M or Manager has at least one Financial Analyst or Assistant Manager. Internees are reportable to Assistant Manager or Financial Analyst. ERP and Its Functionality ERP (enterprise resource planning) is an industry term for the broad set of activities that helps a business manage the important parts of its business. The information made available through an ERP system provides visibility for key performance indicators (KPIs) required for meeting corporate objectives. ERP software applications can be used to manage product planning, parts purchasing, inventories, interacting with suppliers, providing customer service, and tracking orders.ERP can also include application modules for the finance and human resources aspects of a business. Typically, an ERP system uses or is integrated with a relational database system. [pic] SAP – ERP Solution and its Functional Support [pic] SAP (System Application Product) R/3 is a 3 tier Real time data processing system developed by SAP AG, a German software company. The R/3 system, which is also known as ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) System, is a tightly integrated collection of applications designed to handle the entire data processing for many different types and sizes of organizations.Within R/3 is a run time environment and a set of application programs written in ABAP/4 programming language, which are highly customizable and scalable. SAP R/3 system has a three-tier client/server architecture. The classic configuration of an R/3 system contains three software layer s, as given in the below picture. [pic] †¢ Presentation layer The PC-based GUI interface that is used by the end-user community. †¢ Application layer The SAP application servers that service requests for data and manage the interface to the presentation layer. †¢ Database layerThe actual DBMS that communicates with the application servers to fulfill their requests for data. SAP allows the IT supported processing of a multitude of tasks, accruing in a typical company or bank. SAP ERP is differing from R/3 mainly because it is based on SAP NetWeaver: core components can be implemented in ABAP and in Java and new functional areas are mostly no longer created as part of the previous ERP system, with closely interconnected constituents, but as self-contained components or even systems. SAP in PTCL Every company has its own unique business processes to meet requirement and challenges. That is why PTCL uses the SAP.SAP is standard project system it is divided into three serv ers. 1. Development Server 100 & 300 2. Quality Assurance Server 600 & 790 3. Production. Server 800 In the development Server 100 new developments are made by SEMINES/ PTCL Development Team with help on business functional Team leads, technical coding is done in this server through SPRO & ABAP Language. The ERP staff consolidates the issues of users and solves them as per requirements. ERP Team Test the development made in development Server 300. Development server data, after testing the codlings and commands, is readily available for transferring to quality server.In the SAP the quality assurance is made for learning and testing. The QAS(Quality Assurance Server) 600 or 790 is used for the trainings purposes and to familiarize the user with the system. After testing the data, based on real scenarios, in quality Server the data is ready for transferring in production from where the users use it live. Production Server 800 is the main and live part of System Application Product on which all the financial and non financial records are kept on real time basis. FICO( Financial & Controlling) Module Includes the Following FI (Financial):- †¢ General Ledger accounting †¢ Accounts payable Accounts receivable †¢ Asset accounting †¢ Travel Management CO (Controlling):- †¢ Cost element accounting †¢ Cost center accounting †¢ Internal orders †¢ Profit center accounting †¢ Profitability analysis Following Pictures will help you in understanding the SP ERP FICO Module and the related departments head functions of any organization. Process Flow: Payments & FR: Signatory Authority and Responsibility for Payment Drawing and Disbursement Office (DDO) i. e S. M of each region who is responsible for all nature of payment & recoveries related to employees, supplier and contractor as per policies and contracts made by this department.Financial Reporting DDOs in regions recognize the financial transactions in whole month and the 3 work ing day of the next month are given to each department so that they can make sure the closing of last month is completed. Accounts section in the head quarter downloads all data related to each month from the main server & prepares an unregistered trail balance for the same, and then forward it to the SM nominal ledger for finalizes the records hence the financial information with any error can be rectified immediately so that Financial Statements can made on timely basis.Monthly accounts, Quarterly, Half yearly & Yearly accounts are maintained and compared with the last year. Some estimates and provisions at year end are taken to the annual report. PTCL follow financial year from July to June Whereas ETISALAT follow calendar year as Financial Year. ERP SAP Assignment I was given internship with GM ERP-Finance whereas I had worked with Manager ERP-Finance and Financial Analyst D. B & I. S. They taught me many concept of SYSTEM APPLICTION PRODUCT (SAP) – FICO, & I am very than kful to both of them.Following are the major activities performed by Financial Analyst in Accounts Payable; a part of FICO Module in SAP. Vendor Master Record: †¢ Create/Change/ Display/ Block or Unblock Vendor Master Data (T CODE FK01, FK02, FK03,FK05): Type FK01 in command Line and press enter; here you will be asked for the fields of vendors to be filled like Company Code, Vendor Group, Title Mr. Mrs. M/S etc, Name, street address, Postal Code, Telephone, VAT Reg No, Vendor Bank Details, Sort Key, Payment Terms, and Payment Method. For the display use FK02 and if any changes in any field of vendor required use FK03.If you want to block or unblock any Vendor use FK05. See below how to do the above task manually means without using TCODES, by using SAP Menu. †¢ Parking of vender invoice (TCODE FV60, F-63) Credit Memo(TCODE FV65): Parking saves the data in the form of batches, here the entry is saved but without updating the related ledge. Posting is required for updating GL Balances. You can park invoices or credit memos which mean that you enter the invoice data or credit memo data in the system and save it in a document, but the system does not post this invoice initially.You can change a parked document as often as you wish, for example, by adding or correcting data. The changes are logged. When you have finished changing the document, you can post the parked document. Only when you post an invoice or credit memo, does the system carry out the normal account movements and make the necessary updates. Why we Need of Parking? Document Parking by One Accounts Payable Clerk An employee is interrupted when entering an invoice. He or she can park the document and continue processing it later on. This saves him or her having to enter the data twice.OR An employee wants to clarify certain issues before posting an invoice. He or she can park the document and continue processing it later on. This saves him or her having to enter the data twice. The process flow is organized in such a way that one employee parks invoices without checking them. Another employee then performs invoice verification and posts the parked documents, possibly after changing them. OR The process flow is organized in such a way that one employee saves invoices as complete for posting, this means that the balance is zero and no more changes are necessary.Another employee then approves these invoice documents, if they are subject to release. †¢ Posting of vender invoice/ Credit Memo or Changing in Parked Invoice (for TCODE See Picture): If you are directly posting an invoice/ credit memo then choose Document Entry 1st highlighted menu, otherwise to post the parked documents choose Parked document. Any changes in the post or parked document shall be dealt from the 2nd highlighted menu. †¢ Outgoing Payment or Down Payment or Print Cheques (for TCODE See Picture): Outgoing Payment means payment against the booked invoice which is dealt with the 1st highligh ted menu.On the other hand, Down Payment means the Payment before the Invoice creation which is dealt through 2nd highlighted menu and the clearing of the same will also be dealt from this menu. In the both transaction you Debit the Vendor Account and Credit the Bank. Only difference is the Special GL indicator â€Å"a† which is used for down payment. As per PTCL / PTML policy no advance has been given to any Vendor without PO (approved) so this field is mandatory. Another interesting thing, payments are made by the Cheques (see highlighted 2nd & 3rd menu). To print Cheques following steps are required.When a vendor invoice is parked document containing 25000xxx is generated. Next step is to post the invoice by a senior manager (as signatory authority) which generates document no. 26000xxx. Now Cheque is available for printing. Time barred Cheque is a type represents those Cheques which are not presented within six months, these will be reversed by the S. M. †¢ REPORTING : Display Balances, Display/Change Line Items, Clearing except Down Payment (for TCODE See Picture): From highlighted menu you can view the balances or you can change any line item or you can clear invoices, reversals, credit memos, outgoing Payment.However, Down payment partial clearing should be done from the down payment menu as mentioned in the previous page TCODE F-54. Clearing a vendor document means nothing is outstanding for the document; the document is completed in all respect. [pic] SAP Include many modules which are integrated with each other in such a way that output of one module can be used as input for another or the same module. The following Landscape Picture represents the all SAP modules functionality & its practical application. Almost all of the modules are purchased by PTCL and working. Other Task other than ERP SAPSM Data Base Account coordinates with different integrated modules of system SAP i. e. FI, CO, HCM &MM. SM Data Base Account is directly reportable to the GM Accounts for any problem regarding working in SAP and also reportable to gm ERP Finance regarding FICO Role assignment. Following are the some responsibilities of Financial Analyst Data Base Account on which I have worked. Account Payable (Create, Block, And Unblock Vender) Non PO Based Vendors are created in SAP by a financial analyst Accounts & database. From time to time these vendors are blocked due to some reasons e. g.Vendor regularly not in use, block for payment or block for business. However, whenever any blocked vendor is needed it can be activated/ unblocked. Account Receiveable (Create, block, and unblock customer) Customers are also created in the account data base department. These customers can be blocked, unblock at any time as per the requirement of the user. Fico Role Assignment New employee is assigned to work on SAP FICO Module; user role assignment for quality server 90 is made by financial analyst Accounts & database. This form includes the TCODES he or she is going to use on SAP.GM ERP Finance, SM Accounts Database, GM ERP Teams, and new user must sign Role Assignment Document. After this step, ERP team creates new user on QAS (Quality Assurance Server). Once the user is familiar with the TCODES and its working on Quality he or she can apply for the Production Server 800 which is also dealt from this office. Liaison with Finance, Accounts and ERP An interesting task which is also performed here is to convey the problem of the FICO end users to the ERP Team on timely basis so that solution can be immediately available for the user who can then work efficiently.Other Tasks To make each month a report of the users who are using TCODES which are not assigned any more to them and with the help of ERP Team withdraw these roles from their users as per authority matrix. To make sure all the GL, Vendor, Customers, Commitment items are also available in QAS 790 if compared with Production Server 800. MS Outlook is also used all over the departments and is becoming very powerful tool to convey massages on timely basis. This office receives emails for Vendors and Customers creation, blocking and unblocking. Special Terms used in SAP:I had gone through many TCODES in SAP which were the part of FICO; it is not difficult to grip on SAP in this 6 weeks training if you are familiar with these terminologies given below you can easily understand how SAP works. Commitment Item: These account numbers are basically used for the allocation of budgets. Relationship of CI to GL is one to many which means One CI can cover more than one GL. e. g. there are so many Maintenance GL, however only one commitment item for these GL’s can be choose for budget allocation. Sort Key: It indicates the layout rule for the Allocation field in the document line item.Assignment Field: Assignment Field is a part of Line Item Display. The system notes the line items that have been posted to each customer account. You can display the line ite ms on the line item display screen. You can specify the sort sequence of the line items by entering a key in the Sort key field in the account master record. This key specifies how the Assignment field is to be filled in the line items that are posted to the customer account. When you call up the line item display, the system sorts the line items according to the contents of this field.You can change the sort sequence in the line item display. e. g. 002 is the sort key when you make Customer or Vendor for NON PO BASED in PTCL company code 1100. 002 sort key is configured to display the document number with fiscal year as assignment field. Special GL Indicator: For all line items in customer or vendor accounts which are updated to an alternative reconciliation account in the general ledger, the special G/L indicator determines which account is to be selected e. g. â€Å"A† is used for down payment of Vendors; â€Å"M† is used for defaulters of Accounts Receivable.Accoun t Type: Key that specifies the accounting area to which an account belongs like asset accounts, customer accounts, vendor accounts, G/L accounts etc. The account type is required in addition to the account number in order to identify an account, since the same account number can be used for each account type . e. g. â€Å"K† for Vendors, â€Å"D† for Customer Document Type: It classifies the accounting documents. It is stored in the document header. Attributes that control the entry of the document, or which are themselves noted in the document, are defined for each document type.Like â€Å"KA† is a vendor document. Posting key specifies the nature of account (e. g. GL account, Customer account, Vendor account etc. ) and controls the debit / credit indicator of the amount e. g. â€Å"40† is used for GL Debit â€Å"50† is used for GL credits Stimulation: means overview of accounting document after: o Execution of all Substitutions o Execution of all validations o Creation of automatically created line Items Profit Center: A profit center is a management-oriented organizational unit used for internal controlling purposes.Dividing your company up into profit centers allows you to analyze areas of responsibility and to delegate responsibility to decentralized units, thus treating them as â€Å"companies within the company†. Cost Center: An organizational unit within a controlling area that represents a defined location of cost incurrence. Its a part of a company seen as a separate area of responsibility, location or cost-accounting entity. Place at which costs occur. Company Code: The company code is an organizational unit within financial accounting, e. g. 1100 for PTCL & 1300 for UFONE (PTML).Account Group: The Account Group to which your vendor/ Customer/ Employee will belongs to. Control key in the Bank Details: Represent nature of account (i. e. Current a/c, Saving a/c, etc. ) Withholding Tax Type: This indicator is u sed to classify the different types of withholding tax eg. â€Å"Z2† is used payment for supply of Goods; â€Å"Z3† is used for contractors; â€Å"Z4† is used for payment of services W/tax Code: Codes determine is the various percentage rates for the withholding tax type. Liable: If you set this indicator, you tell the system that the vendor is subject to withholding tax for this withholding tax type.If the involved party vendor or employee is exempted from withholding tax so provide details of exemption. e. g. 3. 5%, 6% etc Reference Document Number: The reference document number can contain the document number of the business partner, but a different entry can also be made. The reference document number can be used as search criteria for document display/change. Period: Account transaction figures are updated per period within the fiscal year . A maximum of 16 periods can be updated. You define how a fiscal year is divided into periods per company code e. g. p eriod means March and 1 period means July. Document Header Text: This text contains explanations or notes which apply to the document as a whole, that is, not only for certain line items. Findings and Recommendations in Processes †¢ In PTCL there is a room for improvement. Besides, this is one of the best organization w. r. t. its environment, culture and SOP’s. †¢ In my opinion, meetings with the lower staff should also be done at least once in a month in a friendly manner. Managers, Senior Managers, & General Manager should ask their working problems in their respective epartment and should also ask for the solutions. †¢ E mail in PTCL taken the place of meetings. In my point of view, email of an officer should be considered as authentic proof for getting required authorization for any task. †¢ Coordination and Communication between departments are excellent. †¢ One department must support another department irrespective of their own interest. Organ ization Interest must be the first priority while working. †¢ I believe that Job rotations should be done to improve skills of employees in all related departments. I found employees are very loyal and dedicated towards their assigned work. †¢ Extracurricular activities arrange by PTCL like Painting Exhibition is another good and relaxing activity for employees and their families. In my opinion, such occasion must be held at least once a year. SPECIAL THANKS I am indebted and thankful to the PTCL which gave me a chance to learn about the business processes of accounts and finance wing and also thankful to the staff especially to the Manager ERP Finance and Financial Analyst D.B & I. S under whom I was attached with. They are all professional and cooperative and guided me that how to work in a professional environment. [pic][pic][pic] ———————– S. E. V. P Finance/ CFO President / Vice President E. V. P Account Services G. M Accounts G. M ERP Finance S. M Accounts D. B & I. S Financial Analyst ERP Accounts Financial Analyst D. B & I. S Manager ERP Finance Accounts ———————– 21

Friday, September 27, 2019

Corporate Governance Law Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Corporate Governance Law - Term Paper Example Mr. Morrison similarly indicated the importance of selecting the right person for the job based on experience, personal qualification and perspective since these are the benchmarks that would be used in guiding the company during the executive’s incumbency. Ilene Gordon Ms. Gordon spoke about the importance of â€Å"transition† that could lead to the loss of good senior to mid-level executives if not good projects or initiatives that will become lost as the new Chief Executive Officer assumes his post and get acclimated in his new role. Ms. Gordon emphasized that picking the right candidate often times involves hiring with the least amount of â€Å"collateral damage† or â€Å"unintended consequences† or what the board does not want to happen. It is equally important for a chief executive officer to have a viable plan or a good strategy in place within a finite amount of time or within the next 365 days after assuming office. It will not do any corporation any good if the Chief Executive Officer will be dilly dallying on what is the right plan to implement to stabilize the organization. Richard L. Thomas Mr. Thomas discussed the selection process that was adopted by First Chicago, wherein the candidates were rotated and given essentially several tasks that involved all aspects of the operation of the organization. ... When the â€Å"winning† Chief Executive Officer was finally announced, those involved in the carnage that supported other candidates resigned. It should be noted that some of those executives involved good executives who were caught in the crossfire. J. Erik Fyrwald Mr. Fyrwald described two scenarios that he has experienced directly in his career. One involved a succession planning that resulted in an internal candidate being picked, as the new Chief Executive Officer, and that went well for the organization. The other case involved a search that was directed inwards, however, the tumultuous circumstances within the company at the time prevented the search for a good Chief executive officer. The search, therefore, dragged on for several years leaving the company without any direction. After introspection, it was established that the problem was the weakened executive team that was decimated during the exciting years that Nalco has to go through. Challenges Involved in Chief E xecutive Officer Succession Several points were discussed by the speakers to amplify the challenges that they have experienced directly or indirectly in Chief Executive Officer’s succession planning or the lack of it. In the same breadth, I will likewise indicate my observation on these points that may be congruent if not contrary to the opinion of the speakers. The chief executive officer has no easy task and responsibility. Primordial of this responsibility is to ensure that the interest of the stockholders is not only upheld at all times, but it is also his responsibility to ensure that the company remains and becomes a good corporate citizen while complying with fealty to applicable government

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Comparison of the physiology of CNS and other Body Parts Essay - 1

Comparison of the physiology of CNS and other Body Parts - Essay Example During the diagnosis and the treatment of these conditions, medical pathologists will point out the microscopic as well as the gross changes in the appearance of tissues and cells; they check the biochemical changes that are evident in different areas, including body fluids like urine and blood. The Central Nervous System (CNS) is made up of the spinal cord, the brain, sensory organs, as well as the rest of the nerves that link these organs with other parts of the body (Rask, 1999). The CNS has certain characteristics that make its pathological processes different from the rest of the body. Most important, the organ is located in the spinal column and a bony skull, which makes it difficult to expand like many other organs in the body. In addition, the fact that the brain is contained in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and lacks the typical lymphatic system significantly limits its immunologic capability. This structural uniqueness, also, means that the manner in which CNS responds to heali ng is different from the rest of the body. Some of the keys characteristics of CNS that makes it different from the rest of the body organisms include the non-regenerative ability of the neuron which is its functional unit; the complexity of function and structure; the concept of blood-brain barrier; and Glial framework instead of fibroblastic (Seiffert et al., 2004). The brain is made up of millions of neurons, which are classified as either motor, sensory or autonomic (McCorry, 2007). The pathological processes in different neurons differ depending on their neuronal interconnections, differences in morphology, electrical and metabolic activities and neurotransmitter type, among many others. These differences cause selective exposure of some neurons to pathological problems such as neurodegenerative and hypoxia diseases.

International Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 4

International Human Resource Management - Essay Example Through the current report, the researcher is going to evaluate critical similarities and differences between these domestic and international human resource policies and the different situations where each one influences the decision making process of the organisations. DefinitionsDomestic Human Resource PoliciesDomestic human resource policies of an organisation are limited to national borders. Basically, these are organisation with little or no international connection. There services are limited to local consumers and the employees are also locally recruited. Thus, cross-cultural interaction is rare and they are committed to management of local resources only (Black, 1999).International Human resource policies The international human resource management involves the same activities as the domestic human resource management has including human resource planning, staffing, recruitment, development and rewards etc, but critics argue that domestic human resource management usually en gage with employees within one national boundary.International human resource policies can be described as those regulations and guidelines which help in facilitating the business and relationship between cross national organisations. It also encompasses all legal activities which will keep a check on normal functioning of the international business (Takeda and Helms, 2010). Overall international human resource policies are aimed at maintaining and effectiveness of human resources in an international context. Apart from the basic polices of planning, recruitment and selection, performance management, staffing, labour relations and compensation and benefits. International HR policies also take care of various functions such as monitoring and management of international laws, selection and recruitment for international assignments, expatriate employee development and training and management of their compensation and career issues Similarities between Domestic and Multinational Human R esource policies and practices   The core human resource policies concerning domestic and international environment are almost similar. They include basic human resource planning, compensation and performance management, reward system, development and appraisal, recruitment and selection etc. The existence of these similarities is because of the fact that policies and guidelines inside the office are almost similar. The other reason is that these policies have a single origin. It is only with the advent of globalization and international business networks, that these policies have been stretched and modified according to requirements. Human resource planning Human resource policies imply on all those planning processes which link the various needs of human capital of a firm to its strategic aim. The objective of the human resource planning process is to make the human resource

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Interpersonal conflict between stakeholders Essay

Interpersonal conflict between stakeholders - Essay Example Three per cent of nurses reported verbal threats (Whitworth, 2008). Distress was experienced by 66%. Females were the main perpetrators. Conflict had been described as a social behavior between individuals who attempted to gain something both could not have (Moss, 2002). Nursing conflicts had been termed as role conflict (Cooper, 2003), burnout (Poncet, 2007), horizontal violence (Abu Alrub, 2004) and intergenerational conflict (Swearingen & Liberman, 2004).Reflection and the impact on work practices and stakeholders  Conflict constituted most of the management problems in nursing. The hospital environment or primary care or community centers worked well and efficiently partially due to the efficacy of conflict management. The variety of people with diverse â€Å"perceptions, personalities and behaviors† could ignite a problem at any moment (Sikes, 2010). The common goals were what brought them together. Barriers were inevitable but efforts to prevent conflicts needed to com e from the right quarters. The idea was not to totally prevent the conflict but to manage it well so that a creative style with classic decision-making produced improved outcomes. Cohesion of the group was ensured through the efficient management of conflict. Too much conflict was conducive to frequent sparring and a decrease in performance; group cohesion suffered in the long run. Conflicts could arise between any of the stakeholders in a health environment: between nurses, nurses and doctors, nurses and patients.... Nursing conflicts had been termed as role conflict (Cooper, 2003), burnout (Poncet, 2007), horizontal violence (Abu Alrub, 2004) and intergenerational conflict (Swearingen & Liberman, 2004). Reflection and the impact on work practices and stakeholders Conflict constituted most of the management problems in nursing. The hospital environment or primary care or community centers worked well and efficiently partially due to the efficacy of conflict management. The variety of people with diverse â€Å"perceptions, personalities and behaviors† could ignite a problem at any moment (Sikes, 2010). The common goals were what brought them together. Barriers were inevitable but efforts to prevent conflicts needed to come from the right quarters. The idea was not to totally prevent the conflict but to manage it well so that a creative style with classic decision-making produced improved outcomes. Cohesion of the group was ensured through the efficient management of conflict. Too much confl ict was conducive to frequent sparring and a decrease in performance; group cohesion suffered in the long run. Conflicts could arise between any of the stakeholders in a health environment: between nurses, nurses and doctors, nurses and patients, nurses and the patients’ families, doctors and patients’ families, nurse manager and staff nurses, staff of different categories and between policy makers and the hospital industry. The nursing profession needed to handle conflicts with confidence and evoke the best results. The resolution of the conflict The nurse manager had to use her skills of communication and interpersonal skills to identify the main problem of the conflict by

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Strategic Staffing Handbook Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Strategic Staffing Handbook - Essay Example Rather, expanding the traditional approach, it principally turns the existing staff members from being reactive to a proactive nature. It actually complies with the just-in-time supply chain management with regard to the operational process that mainly involves the management of the talent supply in order to ensure right people in appropriate position at right time (Bechet, 2008). Strategic Staffing handbook is theoretically regarded as a medium that provides the employees with detail information of the organization as well as the employment terms. Strategic Staffing handbook usually entails polices, rules and the procedures being operated within the organization. It also entails the details of the employment contract. It frames an important Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) tool within any organization providing the entire internal scenario of the organizations’ operations and its prevailing policies and procedures. Hence, it is vital for the staff to go through the staffing handbook with great care as the staffing handbook not only gives details about the assigned roles along with the responsibilities of the employees, but also intends to discuss about the company’s human resource quality. It provides an insight on the job analysis segment and the approaches to the process of the job analysis consequently. Apart from this, the handboo k also provided an overview about the employment details. Strategic staffing for our company reflects about the process, which has been into application in order to identify the implications of the selected staff members. The application of the strategic staffing principally addresses the impacts of staffing on our company’s business strategies along with the advanced plan. Apart from this, our company also implements the notions of strategic staffing in order to gain ideas about the prevailing issues that reflect about the gap or surplus with regard to

Monday, September 23, 2019

Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 13

Research - Essay Example Despite the discovery, it is also vital to note the role of traditional design efforts, which focused on value rather than user feeling. Having landed in the discipline of interest provides a feeling of satisfaction to undertake various things in the field of design. My training contributes to user centred design in a number of ways. With regards to visibility, a user centred design should have a mental model that predicts significant elements such as navigation in the design. Additionally, it should offer accessibility through colour coding and organised information that allows viewers easy access. It is vital to note that my discipline plays a crucial role in initiating these factors. Moreover, legibility and language of user centred design should be appropriate. Evidently, my discipline is a key player in inducing ornamental designer fonts with rhetorical assistance; nonetheless, it ensures language used in any design remains relevant and understandable. From an aesthetic angle, the world is gradually transforming in terms of human taste and preferences. The change has left designers with a myriad of challenges on the direction to take. in response, a series of creativity initiatives have prevailed in the artistic world. Additionally, the human surrounding is continually changing with the continued development. The expansive development is taking away the aesthetic value, in the process replacing it with contemporary outlooks. These changes are driving designers to current survival techniques that constitute user centred design. Historically, the journey of design has traversed through different elements of design. It started with the reconnaissance period where designers had an upper hand in their products. They had autonomy to choose the colouring system, what to include in their design and even contextual components. It was a

Sunday, September 22, 2019

The Colt Revolver Essay Example for Free

The Colt Revolver Essay In the 1870s Colt’s Manufacturing Company was making new models. For example in 1872 the company began to manufacture its first breech-loaded revolver, which used self-contained metallic cartridges. After that between 1873 and 1941, Colt’s Manufacturing Company produced more than 350,000 Single Action Army Revolvers and 40,000 .45 Caliber bullets with it. In 1901 to 1960, the company had only eight presidents. Colt’s Manufacturing Company was faced with usual problems that confronted the company. With the onset of the war in 1942, Colt’s Firearms tripled its workforce to 15,000 employees in three plants. By 1955 the company was losing money and faced a deficit that was growing each month. By September, Colt’s board decided to seek a merger partner. They found Leopold D. Silberstein and his company, the Penn-Texas Corporation. In addition Colt’s Firearms became a wholly owned subsidiary of Silberstein’s holding company. From 1960 to 1994 Colt’s Firearms introduced the AR-15(which is a semiautomatic rifle). Shorter after the AR-15, the company made the M16 (which is a military full-automatic rifle). Changes came again in 1964 when the company reorganized under the name of Colt Industries and the firearms subsidiary became Colt’s Inc., Firearms Division. During the 1970s the company introduced the Sharps Rifle, Sawer Rifle, and the Black powder Reproductions. In addition Colt management also responded to an increasing demand for engraved firearms. In 1986 the company celebrated its 150 anniversary. By 1995 to 2009 Colt’s Firearms exited from a short bankruptcy and then launched a rebirth and rejuvenation. By doing so the company made ne weapons, for example different pistols and rifles that were automatic.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Location Analysis of Manufacturing Industries

Location Analysis of Manufacturing Industries LOCATOINAL ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ACCESSIBILITY AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES A CASE STUDY OF ASABA Atubi, A. O. ABSTRACT Accessibility is a factor though not the determinant in defining a process of spatial organization of man c functional establishment. A case study relating road network with the pattern of manufacturing industries for selected areas in Asaba, 2003 reveals a weak relationship between accessibility and manufacturing industries. Graph theory approach was used to derive two types of accessibility measures. The first from connectivity matrix accessibility and the second from using valued graph. Simple correlation coefficients revealed weak correlation of 0.09 between accessibility and industries. Again a weak correlation coefficient of -0.05 was found between population potential and umber of industries. This weak relationship however, improved when multiple linear correlation analysis was applied and a fairly high result of 0.40 was achieved. Although high correlation values were got in the multiple linear correlation analysis, the weak values from simple correlation analysis indicates t hat aside from being a good surrogate of transport efficiency, accessibility is also a poor measure of the relative advantage of a given place in attracting to itself the centralization and specialization of human activities in Asaba, Delta State. Based on the findings, recommendations were proffered as this will bring about changes in the urban pattern leading to increase in the number of industries in a process of spatial re-organization. Keywords:Locational Analysis; Accessibility; Distribution; Manufacturing; Industries. INTRODUCTION Accessibility is an important geographical concept associated with relative location. Accessibility is not simply distance but involves time cost and effort used in travelling. Accessibility has been defined as the relative degree of ease with which a location is reached from other locations of ones home relative to other features of the wider physical environment is very important. The organization of every region is reflected in the transportation network (Atubi and Onokala, 2004a; Atubi and Onokala, 2004b). This there is a clear relationship between transportation and economic activities. Such economic activities like the location of industries have been the concern of scholars’ in recent times. It has even been more crucial in developing countries such as Nigeria where much is expected from these industries to augment the low output from agriculture. This concern is justified because the crucial choice of a suitable location may spell the differences between successes and failure (Hover, 1948). In recognition of this fact the process of localization of industries generally reflect a tendency to optimize place utility and maximize profit. However, real life experience has shown that this is not always the case. The interesting thing about industrial distribution is that industries tend to be concentrated in few urban centers. The concentration may be explained in terms of their possessing much of the market, raw materials, the best transport links and considerable labour force Nwafor, 1982, Atubi and Ugbomch, 2002). Usually, industrializations have well connected road network. In Nigeria for instance, over 95% of industrial establishments are found in urban centers which are also related to the countries rail and road system (Onyemelukwe, 1978). It has been observed that the distribution of manufacturing industries in all urban centers in Nigeria is uneven, despite the Federal Government policy of industrialization â€Å"promotion of nation wide indu strial development through industrial dispersal† (Industrial Policy of Nigeria, 1988). The relationship between transportation and regional development has engaged the attention of geographers over the years. The area at has attracted considerable attention is the use of graph theory. Graph theoretic measures have been used to determine the structural and geometrical properties of highway, rail and air networks. Also the relationship between network geometry and regional characteristics have been explored (Kansky, 1963, Kanaa, 1965) and a number of works have focused upon the problem of deriving effective measures of connectivity for urban nodes on the system (Garrison and Marble, 1964; Monanu and Hodgson, 1976; Atubi and Onokala, 2004a and b). On the other hand, Bardi, applying indices of accessibility in urban e:ers of former Bendel State of Nigeria finds that population concentration is not necessarily related to accessibility (Bardi, 1982). Contrary to this view, Gautheir accepted that a changing pattern of accessibility means change in incidence of growth of a center (Guatheir, 1970). Also Atubi and Onokala (2004a), in tracing the changing accessibility patterns of cnter in Lagos Island from 1976-1997 noted that a center gets more accessibility as the road network gets more connected. Locational theorists of classic time, in isolating the influence of transportation location choice, neither though of cost as not connected with money nor used graph theoretic approach in their study. In Nigeria, vast amount of researches have also been carried out on industrial location by various scholars. Vagale historically related traffic flow and transportation to industrialization in Nigeria (Vagale, 1971). Also, Onyemelukwe in his study of structural and locational characteristics of manufacturing industries in Nigeria analyzed the impact of transport on urbanization and industrialization (Onyemelukwe, 1978). Taffee et al, (1963) clearly implied the effect of t ransportation on industrial development using Ghana and Nigeria for illustration in their idealized process of transport development, they noted that transport development at a stage will lead to increased specialization and an expansion of market area of urban centers. Onokerhoraye (1981) also, examined the importance of transportation network in improving the accessibility of people living in various parts of Nigeria to essential public facilities/services like education, health services etc. He argued that since a lare proportion of the population of Nigeria are in rural areas (70%) thereby making it impossible for the attainment of the threshold required to support certain public facilities. There is therefore the need to improve the transportation network between where they are located with improved transport facilities, the accessibility of most people living in the rural areas of the country to the available public services will be increased while the proportion of those depr ived of the use of such facilities will be considerably reduced. However, Olagbaiye using population potential model analyzed manufacturing location in southern Nigeria, he observed Asaba Onitsha which were the highest peaks of population potential support one of tenants of location theory that a central location theory that a central location in a region maximizes accessibility to the market in that region (Olagbaiye, 1968). In delimiting the nodes to be considered, he used one or more of the following considerations political or administrative status, centrality of location, population size and commercial importance. STUDY AREA Asaba is a town situated in the Guinea savannah belt of Nigeria and is located on longitude 6o45E and latitude 6o3’N. It is situated along the bank of River Niger, and is the Headquarters of Oshimili South Local Government area (see fig. 1) of Delta State. Asaba is passed through by the federal highway, which, at the Niger is linked by a bridge with Onitsha in Anambra State. The town, Asaba which is the seat of government, has been in existence long before it was made the Headquarter of Delta State. it is a commercialized and industrialized town, and it shares common boundary with Okpanam and Ugobu in the North, Oko and Ibusa in the west, while the Niger washes the eastern and south eastern fringes of the town. The population of Asaba has rapidly increased since the creation of Delta State when it was made the headquarters and since then the rate of industrialization and urbanization is fast increasing. According to the federal office of statistics, the present population is e stimated to be about 81,768 people. MATERIALS AND METHOD OF ANALYSIS The accessibility indices from centers considered was derived from two methods. The first involved matrix multiplication of the connectivity matrix. The second involved the matrix multiplication of the distance matrix. Gamma and alpha indices was also used. The formula are written in the following form. Where e is Number is edges v is number of vertices The relationship between accessibility indices of manufacturing industries and the number of good roads and value of market potential is established by the Spearman’s rank correlation co-efficient. This is issued to test if the variation in one independent variable affects the variation in the second dependent variable. Also the multiple correlation is used to determine the degree of the relationship between all the variables. This is expressed by Where R = Multiple correlation 1.23 = Correlation between variables 1, 2 and 3 r= variable correlation r12= Correlation between I and 2 r13= 1 and3 r23 = 2and3 DISCUSSION OF RESULTS/FINDINGS For convenience the accessibility’ indices gotten from the connectivity matrix (Accessibility Matrix T) will be called Accessibility I while the shortest distance matrix will be called accessibility 2. (See Appendix I and 2). The relationship between accessibility and the number of manufacturing industries in the study area is positive because as the values of accessibility’ increases, the number of manufacturing industries increases. Also low correlation figure of 0.40 shows that this relationship is fairly weak. On the contrary, a high correlation of 0.70 was obtained at 95% confidence level between accessibility and wholesale activity’ in the United States (Janelle, 1969). The lower correlations gotten in the present work is a clear indication of the influence of deliberate planning and government intervention regardless of the effect of transport and other economic forces, in the location of manufacturing industries. Nigeria, in her development planning effor t is embracing industrialization as the main panacea for her development. Such hopes are based on the growth centre strategy, where certain centers get more attraction i.e. Nnebisi road with eight industries as observed in Appendix 3, while areas that arc not centrally located are ignored i.e. Isieke and Old Nit road. Also, since these areas are among old regional centers, the reasons for the absence of manufacturing industries might be due to the â€Å"strong tendency towards agglomeration† of the manufacturing industries of the old regional centers (Mabogunje, 1969). The possibility’ that industries would survive in small and young areas like old Nit road is low and industrialists hesitate sitting industries in such areas. The result is that existing industrial areas like Nnebisi road and Benin-Asaba express way provide a greater attraction to new industries as against a brand new location. A large part of this attraction is related to certain savings due to agglomer ation. â€Å"Thus a center with an early start in some industry has therefore a competitive advantage that it may maintain an increase even though the early start was due to poor chance (Hover, 1948).The fairly strong correlation figure of 0.40 goes a long way to show that there are other factors that tend to down play the influence of transportation location decisions i.e. political consideration. The figure can also he interpreted as an increase in the accessibility of any mode accounts for an average increase in the number of industries in Asaba. In other words, the distribution pattern of industries in Asaba is explained by an average measure, of the relative position of that center to the network system. The size of the population and therefore market within an area is closely related to the threshold level at which production might be expected. Thus the minimum size of the market is often a precondition for the development of an industry in a region. The relationship between distribution of manufacturing industries and population potential (market potential) in Asaba is extremely weak. The percentage variation is 99% and goes to show that 1% of manufacturing industies in Asaba can be explained by other factors. It seems reasonable to assume that manufacturing industries would fare best if they were located at those places which are most accessible to their customers. If this is to be so then places offering high degree of locational utility relative to other places should be dominant wholesale centers (Jarielle, 1969). The correlation coefficient of accessibility’ 1 and market potentials is 0.09. This means that an increase in accessibility’ leads to a very small increase in the market potential. On the contrary, similar work done in the United States have obtained a high correlation figure of 0.81 (Janeile, 1969). This high correlation in contrast to 0.09 in Asaba is understandable. This is because, Janelle used both locational utility wh ich include both accessibility and other locational factors that a site may enjoy. Also this study was done at a point in time i.e. 2003, while Janelle’s study was for a period of time. But the findings lend cautious support to the notion that, at least for manufacturing activity’, increase in accessibility is a useful surrogate for estimating specialization possible at a place. However, a multiple correlation coefficient was calculated with accessibility’ and population as the two independent variables and number of industries as dependent on the two variables (R1 .23) .A fairly’ high positive correlation of 0.40 was obtained. This means that an increase in the two dependent variables leads to an increase in the market potential. POLICY IMPLICATION For practical relevance, the state government at Asaba should direct their efforts towards the construction of good roads as this will bring about changes in the urban pattern, leading to increase in the number of industries in a process of spatial re-organization. Also, the government should direct their effort towards the optimum location of industries as well as promote and encourage industrial dispersal among various centers in Asaba. CONCLUSION Although, accessibility is related to the distribution of manufacturing industries in an urban center, it is not totally explained by the availability or lack of transport facilities (roads). in other words, transport plays a very negligible role in the distribution pattern of industries. Also, the weak relationship between accessibility and distribution of industries is due to the fact that some centers have locational advantages that far out-weight the importance of accessibility. Finally, the locational pattern of pre-Asaba has not changed significantly in sympathy with the accessibility trend, thus the importance of centers offering the greatest potential for transport oriented industries has not been fully recognised in Asaba. REFERENCES Atubi. A.O. and Onokala. P.C. (2004a): â€Å"The Accessibility of Centres to the Road Networks: the Case of Lagos Island, Lagos, Nigeria†. International Journal of Ecology and Environmental Dynamics. Vol. 2, Pp. 140-151 Atubi. AC. and Onokala, P.C. (2004b): â€Å"The Road Network Characteristics on Traffic Flow on the South Western Nigeria: A Case of Lagos Mainland. Pecop Journal of Environmental Design and Management in the Tropics. Vol. 1, No. 1, Pp. 39-51. Atubi, A.O. and Ughomeh. B., A. (2002) Small-scale Industries in Warn: A Geographical Appraisal of Types and Factors Governing Location. Journal of the Zaria Geographer. Vol. 15, No. 1 pp. 68-79. Bardi, E.C. (1982) Development of Road Network accessibility of urban centres within Bendel State of Nigeria 1967-1981: A Graph theory Approach. Unpublished B.Sc thesis, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Garrison. W.L. and Marble. D.F. (1964), â€Å"Factor-Analytic study of the connectivity of the Transport Network† Papers of the Regional Science Association. 12, pp. 23 1-9. Gautheir, H.L. (1970) â€Å"Geography of Transportation and Regional Development†. Economic Geographer Vol. 46 Hover, E.M. (1948) The Location of Economic Activity, New York, McGraw Hill. Janelle, D.G. (1969) Spatial reorganization: A Model and Concepts. Annals of Association of American Geographers, Vol. 59, pp., 348-364. Mabogunje, A.L. (1969) Urbanization in Nigeria. London. Monanu, P.C. and Hodgson, M.J. (1976) â€Å"Problems in the Application of Graph Theoretic Measures to Transport Network Growth: A case study of Alberta Highways†. New themes in Western Canadian Geography. The Langara papers. Bc Geographic series. No. 22 occasional papers in Geography. Nwafor, J.C. (1984) Manufacturing and Consumer Goods. In Nigeria jn mans, Barbour K.M. et al (eds) London, fodder and Stoughton. Olagbaiye, J.A. (1968) â€Å"Towards Manufacturing Locational Analysis in Southern Nigeria: A Population Potential Model†. Nigerian Geographical Journal, Vol. II, No. 1 Pp. 11-19. Onokerhjoraye, A.C. (1981) â€Å"The transportation system and the distribution of public services in Nigeria† Transportation in Nigerian National Development, (eds) S.C. Onakomaiya, and N.F. Ekanem,N.1.S.E,R., lbadan, Pp. 196-214. Onyemelukwe, J.O.C. (1978). â€Å"Structural and Locational characteristics of manufacturing† in Oguntoyinbo, J.S. et al (eds) A Geography of Nigerian Development. Heinemann Pubs. Ibadan Pp. 296-310. Taffeec, Moril and Gould (1963). â€Å"Transport expansion in underdeveloped countries; A comperative analysis†. Traffic and Transportation in 1ndustrilizatio of Nigeria† paper presented at a Conference of the Nigerian Institute of town planners, Lagos. FIG. 1: MAP OF DELTA STATE SHOWING STUDY AREA Source: Ministry of Land and Survey, Asaba (2002) APPENDIX I 3 (Destination) S/N Origin 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Å"f 1 Benin Asaba 0 29 26 42 31 29 31 35 20 35 21 40 35 44 40 45 43 50 47 68 721 2 Igbusa road 29 0 19 34 24 21 24 28 5 6 21 12 6 15 11 16 14 21 18 38 489 3 Illah road 26 19 0 20 5 11 5 11 6 16 13 19 15 19 23 22 27 34 33 51 373 4 Okpanam/Asaba road 42 34 20 0 18 20 24 24 20 35 39 34 43 35 48 27 44 51 50 68 676 5 Ibrahim Kefas crescent 31 24 5 14 0 7 10 14 11 25 33 23 37 24 42 26 45 51 48 68 548 6 Anwai road 29 21 11 18 7 0 17 20 18 31 38 30 42 31 47 33 50 56 53 63 615 7 West end 31 24 5 20 10 17 0 12 11 15 19 13 23 14 28 16 31 37 34 54 414 8 Nnebisi road 35 28 9 24 14 20 12 0 12 11 18 9 22 10 27 12 30 36 33 53 415 9 Old Nit road 20 5 6 20 11 18 11 12 0 1 7 7 11 8 16 10 19 25 22 42 291 10 Isicke 34 6 16 35 25 31 15 11 1 0 8 7 12 8 17 10 20 26 43 43 348 11 Onaje street 31 2 13 39 33 38 19 18 7 8 0 9 4 11 9 13 12 18 15 35 334 12 Ogbe Ilo Street 40 12 19 34 23 30 13 9 7 7 9 0 10 1 15 3 18 24 21 41 336 13 St. Bridges road 35 6 15 43 37 42 23 22 11 12 4 10 0 9 5 12 8 14 11 31 350 14 Onije kings street 44 15 19 35 24 31 14 10 8 8 11 1 9 0 14 4 17 24 21 41 350 15 Ezenei avenue 40 11 23 48 42 47 28 27 16 17 9 15 5 1 0 1 4 10 9 27 378 16 Cable point 45 16 22 37 36 33 16 12 10 10 13 3 12 4 1 0 7 18 10 30 320 17 College of education 43 14 27 44 45 50 31 30 19 20 12 18 8 18 4 7 0 6 3 23 422 18 Osadennis way 50 21 34 51 51 56 37 36 25 26 18 24 14 24 10 13 6 0 6 17 519 19 Osadennis high schl. Road 47 18 33 50 48 53 34 33 22 33 15 21 11 21 17 10 3 6 0 23 478 20 Onitsha Asaba road 68 38 51 68 68 63 54 53 42 43 35 41 31 41 27 30 23 17 23 0 816

Friday, September 20, 2019

The fragility of tourism

The fragility of tourism Tourism is fragile,the 7/11 tragedy had a very severe,almost devastating effect on the industry.Climate conditions are able to influence visitor arrivals for the Mediterranean beaches.Sometimes it is political and economic instability that is the determining factor (e.g.Argentina) almost ruining a traditional and established industry.Tourism can have both positive and negative effects.Positively it creates employment and economically enables the conservation of valuable space;restrains a migratory tendency within the home population improving their socio-cultural education.It encourages support of local commercialisation resulting in the free interchange of ideas,customs and sensitization of issues concerning the eco-environment.The reduction of working hours,the ever present threat of unemployment because of technological advancement and the globalisation process enables the tourism industry to provide an interesting and stimulating intensive alternative Just as significant as the p ositive effects is the rising cost of natural resources,water,energy.The spoiling of landscapes with land reclamation;rising levels of waste disposal;alterations to ecosystems;the extinction of rare species of animals and plants;the loss of traditional values and rising levels of prostitution,that is sex tourism.There is the narcotics trade,forest fires,together with the rising cost of housing. Rising levels of carbon dioxide and other contaminating gases from increasing frequencies of airflights with ozone erosion and acid rain.All kinds of ecosystems are becoming affected.Thailand is littered with golf courses that consume large amounts of pesticides and water.There is hardly anywhere in the world not affected by tourism impact.From the Antarctic to Mount Everest visited with huge amounts of garbage the reminder of previous expeditions.Tourism is an aspect of globalisation most sensitive to any repercussion.In the eastern region of Spain,Benidorm has a great concentration of hotels,accommodating nearly half a million tourists in August within an area of little more than 12 kilometres.There is a large proportion of the population of many countries who do not participate in tourist flows but who nevertheless will become part of such flows with the emergence of new markets in Latin-America and Asia. The level of impact relates to the class of tourism. A family hiking trip in the Alps cannot make the same impact as a collection of caravan vehicles situated in the same area,or a vast Mediterranean hotel complex.It is therefore prudent to analyse the main categories of tourism and their effects the solutions to such problems.Business tourism has little impact except for the consumption of aircraft fuel.Beach tourism,very popular but quite dangerous for the environment as there is a large congregation of people within a relatively small zone.There is a high turn-over of resources,increased waste,escalating house prices as impact factors.Adventure tourism is the most harmful;usually visiting virgin zones with a rapid degradation because of high consumption of resources.Matters escalate with the waywardness of track vehicles who go off the beaten track.Rural tourism or mountain tourism consists of small hotels serving a small percentage of tourists.Reorganisation of these areas is gai ning momentum with a redirection of flow from the cities to such zones.Eco-tourism contributes in the effort of sustainable tourism possessing an awareness for nature and attempts to reduce any impact.Agricultural tourism is concerned with sustainable tourism.The tourist takes part in activities on the farm and like places.Tourists are introduced to aspects of the life and empathy with the animals and plants.This injects a life into such environments and agrees with the immediate habitat.The other varieties of tourism are minority,seasonal and impacts are therefore diverse,dependent upon type.In this category there is that of the religious,gastronomy,events,cultural etc. All the above have common factorial problems.Ever increasing usage of natural resources,generally unrecyclable.Raw materials and combustibles originating from elsewhere,that is non local.The problem of water,energy.Consuming of territory from agriculture to infrastructure.The generating of contamination.Residual wastes.The factor of residual waters and the pollution of subterranean reserves.Atmospheric pollution.Noise contamination and the loss of biodiversity. Future development must become sustainable in the long term and economically viable.Efforts should be made to channel such mass flows to reduce transport emissions that develop into global repercussions with local cooperation to support sustainability against loss of biodiversity and depletion of natural resources.But the word sustainable has many definitions when applied to tourism. Although respect of the environment is meant there are some principles involved.There would be three aspects.Ecological,Social and cultural and economic sustainability.Ecological sustainability means the tourism must respect maintenance of the essential biological process,of biodiversity and of biological resources.Social and cultural sustainability entails respect of local culture with the local populations values and the retention of the communitys identity.Economic sustainability means that there must be economic efficiency present. There is no one clearly acknowledged method of analysing the impacts of tourism and there are a number of different criteria for its measurement.The factor of economic costs based on indicators lends itself to compactness needing no previous knowledge of ecology or sociology.Most studies are able to display the benefits generated and contributive to the balance of payments to income contributed by the government and its deployment.Yet few have included the analysis of negative effects.Negative economic impact has an effect on the local scale.Destinations that suffer economically when dependent on tourism.Diversification if applied to the local economy is able to positively revert such consequences with the development of tourist goods and services replacing the previous gains of traditional activities.The way is open to instability due to alteration of tourist routes,ineffective publicity,the influence of ever changing tourist fashions in response to seasonal variation of production. Before such situations develop the small economies decide whether to resort to dependency within the sector or proceed with a duality strategy.Here they will try to balance two sources of income,the traditional with economic activities.This involves a more rational choice of possibilities.If there is no duality then it frequently becomes an inflationary situation.This inflationary aspect is sublimative with prices and taxes affecting the local population.It has no regard for anything existant before and it becomes patently obvious in the escalation of food prices and that of goods etc.Those who are directly involved in the industry experience improved benefit but not the local population.In the areas of tourist development,capital destinations there is disruption of traditional production sectors.Foreign capital is not limited to a local effect as it leaves the receiving country contributing to a loss of currency.Some authors assert that for the long term,low potential productivity from a tourist company has a depressive effect on local economic growth.Clarifying we have possible inflation from such tourist activity,purchasing potential being greater than that of the resident population leading to escalating prices for food and services.The loss of potential economic benefits with a high dependency on foreign capital.Distortions of local economy.Concentration of economic activity into one type of activity.Impact on employment produces fluctuating levels. Social impacts again consist of both positive and negative effects.Positively there is the recovery and conservation of cultural values that but for the visiting tourists would have disappeared.Funds as a result are made available for preservation of artefacts and restoration of forgotten historical monuments.Local communities would be unable to provide such resources.Yet various tactics are applied in such privileged places of tourist interest.Many local customs have been revitalized and tourist resources are being made available for the reappearance of folklore,festivals,craft pursuits and gastronomy.There has occurred marked improvement in facilities and services such as sanitary,modes of transport,parks etc. Nevertheless again negative impacts exist.The immediate negative factor is that of the social disparities between the indigenous population and that of the visitors.For some destinations essentially those to be found in the underprivileged countries their is a kind of imperialistic relationship with the inhabitants becoming servants of the tourists.Inevitably there arises social tension and resentment.A new kind of colonialism appears with dependency upon the foreign currency.Outside workers obtain contracts possessing better qualifications.With such clear indications of the socio-economic differences the negative impact takes effect.Gaming,increasing prostitution,drugs appear previously non-existent and all related to the arrival of tourists.Such negative impacts lead to loss of culturization.The local population observes the tourists and then seeks to adapt to their customs paving the way for the destruction and disappearance of the very thing that the tourists originally arrived f or. The tourism impact to the environment is the most negative aspect.Wholesale damage has been caused to large areas that will be very difficult indeed to reclaim.Tourism,tourist activity as a phenomenon of mass flows requires substantial infrastructure supported by intricate service networks.Careful planning has not always been applied with a resulting deterioration of the natural and social environments.There has been a transformation of infected zones with the destruction of ecosystems;diminution in the quality and quantity of water;soil contamination;the extinction of many species of fauna;severe infection of flora,fishing depletion and the contamination of the sea. Destruction of ecosystems arises with a massive presence of visitors.Originally the mass influx promised a get-rich-quick attitude.Nature was defenceless.Those destinations with an image of a tourist paradise have become victims to ecosystem destruction.Natural clean water has been severly affected and reduced with tourist arrivals.In many instances the amount of tourists arriving has been unsustainable to local resources.The many many golf courses and residential swimming pools all affect agricultural development and the zonal ecological balance. Soil contamination arises in many instances with substances derived from human activity that alter the chemical environment and reduces crop yield. Many species of fauna are becoming extinct.The effect upon tree populations,unregulated city-planning,hunting present ever present and overwhelming danger to endangered species.The mighty oceans yield of fish is becoming seriously affected.Population along the coasts has mushroomed together with second residences.To prevent an ecological disaster careful and superior planning is necessary;beyond local expertise.An overwhelming presence in the natural zones is affecting/impacting the flora in the same way.The presence of tourists in natural zones with a deluge of sporting activity such as motorbikes,mountain bikes,all land vehicles causes severe erosion of surface land inevitably affecting the flora. Are there solutions to such problems and is sustainable tourism attainable?Or is tourism an impact generator advancing to disaster. A global entity that is attaching attention to such a problem and attempting to fulfil objectives for a sustainable tourism is the European Union.The rest of the world has economic problems of its own as in Africa.The EU with its agenda 21 has invited the local administrations to act.It recommends the following:Promotion of local production,offering ecological foods of the region containing no additives.Reduction of waste garbage and separation of the various categories for possible recycling.Usage of various technologies to saver water.Purification of residual waters for irrigation and agriculture.The saving of energy with efficient washing machines,heat insulation.Respecting the environment and landscape.Promotion of public transport and bicycling.To establish pedestrian zones in areas of historic value.The promotion of local tourism and to reduce air schedules of the flight industry thereby reducing carbon emissions.Planning to facilitate contact between the visiting tourists and the local inhabitants but to deter the formation of any tourism ghettos.Planning to benefit all the local population. It therefore appears from the previous account that the main aims concerning tourism management are to maximise economic,environmental and socio-cultural benefits of tourism but to minimise costs associated with such a strategy.The contemporary theme that has been introduced above is sustainable tourism.According to the Brundtland Commission(1987) development is sustainable when it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.Another definition was offered in Vancouver at the Globe Conference. Sustainable tourism development is envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that we can fulfil economic,social and aesthetic needs while maintaining cultural integrity,essential ecological processes,biological diversity and the support systems. Three objectives should be achieved concerning tourism development.To increase the economic value of tourism.Improving the quality of life for the people and the protection and responsible usage of natural resources. It appears that tourism development within a country relates to an assumption of economic gain.Only tourism management with its application of various methods and principals can determine whether any economical gain will outweight the cost factor.There are staffing costs,overheads and utilities to take into account.To reduce costs to a minimum might involve improved staffing rotas,energy saving. There can be a number of positive impacts of tourism such as an improvement in the balance of payments,easier access to foreign exchange,the contribution to GNP and the multiplier effect.Also job creation and increased revenues for the government.Direct taxation with revenues.There are negative impacts including costs for infrastructure development;an over-dependence of the destination on tourists.The aspect of low skilled work.Again repeating here that is seems clear there is a simple principle involved.Namely that of minimising costs and maximising profits.High leakage is most likely to occur with NMEs(multi national enterprises)where there is the need to promote tourism but in order to do so there is import of food and beverages,capital technology,repatriation of staff and therefore a capital outflow,investment of capital infrastructure by the host government.It may be argued that with restriction/control of such NMEs there will be reduced capital outflow,reduced repatriation,toge ther with switching on of a multiplier effect stimulating more spending by the tourists in the local economy.Again debatable,there is the hiring of as many local residents as staff,ensuring proper salary levels with provision of training to support promotion opportunities.With the resulting reduction of staff repatriation there will occur an increase in the levels of local staff remuneration and so immediately contributing to a multiplier effect with the possibility of enhancing the destination socio-cultural aspect.Economics entails making and providing for the making of choices with influence and guidance being preferably applied.There is a need for professional marketing expertise at destinations to increase the average length of stay,the daily expenditure per head,with the diminishment of seasonality.Yet very searching evaluation is required here for these actions while producing economic benefits may in fact harm the environmental,socio-cultural aspects of the destination causi ng indirect costs. It is claimed by some sources that tourism development can be identified as the cause of environmental degradation in every case where there is tourism present.Such damage consists of air and water pollution,the accumulation of garbage on the streets and beaches;biodiversity damage,congestion of traffic,decline of wildlife.A number of these effects are irreversible harming not only the tourist destination industry but contributing to the cumulative effect of global pollution itself. The physical and cultural environments comprise the essential attractions for the visiting tourist to the destination.It is the responsibility of tourism management to minimize environmental damage and so ensuring future business.There are a number of methods that may be applied to diminish environmental impacts.Energy saving measures eg light bulbs,toilet flushes,cleaning detergents that are environmentally friendly.The limiting of visas thereby reducing immediately the number of visitors.Educational programmes of awareness both for the visiting tourists and the locals.An increase in profit may result with the reduction of costs,applied to utilities.Yet even if the limitation of visas does significantly affect profit it may be considered a better option so that there is still existant the possibility of future gains with the preservation of the destinations natural resources that are there to attract the tourists in the first place. To conclude one of the main ingredients for success of environmental policies is government involvement itself.Again it may be arguable there should be laws on land usage and the extent of building construction for the destination.The necessary infrastructure should be installed to meet anticipated volume of tourist flow with protection of natural heritages. The socio-cultural impacts can be measured with resort to crime rate statistics,the ratio of tourist to locals etc.A management method used to measure the level of socio-cultural impact is Doxey Irridex Model.The model has a four stage process wherein there are diminishing returns in the local inhabitants attitude towards the visitors.Firstly there is the exploration stage where contact between both parties is of frequent occurrence and here the attitude is referred to as euphoria.There is a welcoming of contact with the outside world and there is the possibility of supplementing the household income as a result of such inflow.With increasing flow there occurs diminishing contact with the early arrivals.The tourists become part of everyday business concerns that transforms the initial attitude into one that seeks contact and liaison for personal gain.Those residents of such a destination develop an apathetic attitude to such matters. A further development of the model presents annoyance.The significant inflow of tourism disrupts everyday life with developing queues experienced in the local shops,traffic jams.Local business accommodates to souvenir promotion emanating a sense of alienation to the local population.A subtle inbalance is occurring subconsciously activating antagonism towards the tourists.There is a loss of control within the community because they have now become dependent upon such tourist inflows.Destination facilities as a result of increasing volume deteriorate and contribute to the attraction of a down-market visitor.The tourists now become the focus of blame for such developments.The increasing deterioration in attitude becomes a mirror of reflection and comparison of the effect of such tourism influx. Tourism management methods applied to assist in maximizing positives and minimising negatives of impact for the socio-culture consist of educating about tourism;promotion of cross-cultural exchange;imposition of visitor codes;ensuring that locals have access to cultural facilities;preservation of local architecture;maintenance of authenticity;providing for the more sensitive cultural tourist with appropriate marketing;limitation of tourist numbers. One principal that has gained attention is the carrying capacity assessment.It may be used to control and implement frontline sustainable tourism.There is a variety of applications such as the determination of a tourism development limit for a particular place and the limitation of actual visitor numbers.It attempts to balance economic goals for physical and facility capacity of the destination.The social goal for social carrying capacity of the destination,and environmental goals with the ecological carrying capacity of the destination.Hopefully to achieve sustainable tourism development as a working reality.It has not met with the anticipated success because of unrealistic expectations,faulty assumptions and misplaced value judgment with an inadequate legal support system. Efforts of management to achieve a sustainable tourism system consist of a number of principles consisting of environmental impact assessment,limits for acceptable change,visitor impact management,visitor experience and resource management. It perhaps has become clear to the reader that tourism management should not function alone in these matters,but work together with local government and public bodies.Legal implementation is a central issue because if there is to be a restriction of visas for example there has to be assistance from such a quarter.Success breeds success and so tourism management and government will hum the same tune. The methods referred to above all have the same principal;that of protection for the host destination rather than a focus upon tourism demand.Obviously the demand has to be considered but it is the design of the tourist product that should be the main focus.Application of such principals referred to in the foregoing discussion will hopefully result in sustainable tourism for the future.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Technology - Futuristic Memory Glasses :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Futuristic Memory Glasses Mr. LeHue was being his normal self, babbling on and on about some futuristic television glasses that, in my opinion, would never actually be invented. He was talking about how people who suffer from memory loss would be impacted greatly if these glasses actually worked. I began to drift out of the class and into my own little world where I tried hard to remember all the little errands I had to run and the other miscellaneous chores I had to do that day. "So these glasses have a digital screen that flashes an image at 1/100 of a second, just enough for your eye to capture the image and relay it to your brain. This, in turn, jogs your memory and you recollect the next objective in your schedule." The professor was talking but I was barely listening. The more I thought, the more I realized that I was definitely forgetting something. I had never considered myself to have any type of memory loss, but now that Mr. LeHue was talking about it, I realized that it could very well be true. I became very upset, but no matter how hard I strained my memory, I just couldn't remember. I knew I had to go to the store after school, go to the bank and after basketball practice, pick up my sisters from piano lessons. I knew there was one other thing I could not remember, but what was it? If those glasses really did exist there would not be a problem remembering anything. I unconsciously tuned out the lecture and thought more about my distressing problem. "The PDF can be programmed daily to your schedule. So, at a programmed time before your appointment, the object will flash and you will remember. For example, if your mom has to pick your brother up from soccer practice, a soccer ball can be programmed to flash about a half hour." This I barely heard before slipping entirety into a daydream. I lay there on my bed waiting for the irritating beep of my alarm, signaling the official beginning of the day. I quickly shut it off and stumbled to the light switch. Rubbing my eyes, I found my glasses and made my way to the bathroom where I brushed my teeth and hair. I quickly threw on some clothes and ran out to warm up my car before driving to school. "Don't forget to pick up dog food and cash your check after school!" my mom shouted after me.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Comparing A Plea for Gas Lamps and Jekyll and Hyde :: comparison compare contrast essays

A Plea for Gas Lamps and Jekyll and Hyde      Ã‚  Ã‚   In "A Plea for Gas Lamps" Robert Louis Stevenson describes how, with the advent of urban gaslight, "a new age had begun for sociality and corporate pleasure seeking." Referring to the lamps as "domesticated stars," he describes the new lamplit city emerging gracefully as a festive public sphere in which "soft joys prevail" and "people are convoked to pleasure." Wolfgang Schivelbush connects such gaslit pleasure directly to commerce. "Gaslight offered life, warmth and closeness. This was true also of the relationship between light and the shop goods upon which it fell. They were close to each other, indeed, they permeated each other, and each enhanced the effect of the other."(153)    At the same time, however, the industrial uniformity of gas streetlighting made many uneasy. Like the railway, it represented a dehumanizing, centrally regulated urban infrastructure. "With a public gas supply, domestic lighting entered its industrial -- and dependent -- stage. No longer self-sufficiently producing its own heat and light, each house was inextricably tied to an industrial energy producer. . . . To contemporaries it seemed that industries were expanding, sending out tentacles, octopus-like, into every house."(28-29) This dread of uniformity became intensified as incandescent gas lighting, high pressure gas lighting (Robins 142), and finally electric arc-lighting grew more common in urban settings. People became immediately nostalgic for the flicker of gaslight, and the inhuman qualities of street lighting were directly associated with the brightness and uniformity of electric arc-lights. For Stevenson, the immediacy and central control of electric lighting transforms the city into a technological nightmare: "Our tame stars are to come out in future, not one by one, but all in a body and at once. A sedate electrician somewhere in a back office touches a spring -- and behold! . . . the design of the monstrous city flashes into vision -- a glittering hieroglyph many square miles in extent." The monstrosity of the city is defined by this sudden, startling uniformity, which obliterates the its pleasing variety, rendering it a vast, but simple design.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Nevada on the Move of Importing Prescription Drugs

Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley heads on the plan to import prescription medicines from Canada. Backed by other officials, cause-oriented groups, unions, doctor’s associations, and senior citizens, she together with other lawmakers, are now pushing to finalize the regulations to enable Nevadans to purchase drugs from Canadian drugstores which are lower-priced and more economical. The legislation is eyeing to implement the law by April 20 of this year. In line with this, Attorney General George Chanos has taken a stand to further modify the current rulings with regards the issue at hand. He said that possible federal Food and Drug Administration directives may be violated, resulting to legal consequences. Buckley, also the chief sponsor of the program, is headstrong to obtain the approval. She vows to work in achieving authorization as she claims to consider of her constituents who purposely go to Canada just to buy their daily medicinal needs. The final elements of the legislation are now being scrutinized by the board to meet the set deadline. These sections being worked on are the accreditation procedures of the Canadian pharmacies allowed to market medicines within the state. It is also required that these pharmacies have toll-free phone lines,   e-mail access, and the ability to get in touch with their customer’s doctor in cases the latter can’t present a valid prescription. The board is also looking at the guidelines as to when, where, and why the pharmacy can decline a purchase. The law also states that generic Canadian drugs can not be sold except when sold also in the same generic form in their country. The rules ensuring the safety of the drugs are being prioritized as well. The Canadian drugs cannot enter the state unless approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada. It is assumed the people of Nevada will not only be benefited from the cheaper drugs that will soon be available to them. The regulation also aims to control unauthorized websites that are selling drugs to the US; drugs that are not tested safe and effective by the proper US health departments. The law also seeks to castigate agencies, companies, and individuals who are pursuing illegal prescription drugs importations within the constituency. It is not a secret that a lot of US citizens are actually flying to Canada or are getting their medicine from Canadian sources. Buckley aims to regulate these transactions, make it legal if it is, while still protecting the interests and rights of the people, particularly the Nevadans. Activists against the law on the other hand, would like to postpone the ratification until after every single detail is straightened out. They are pushing for lawmakers to launch a special session with regards this particular law. Those who on the pro-implementation side believe changes can be done in the regular legislative session next year. Currently, the vote stands 4 to 3 favoring the execution of the new law. http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2006/mar/01/030110077.html http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NV_CANADIAN_DRUGS_NVOL-?SITE=NVCAP&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-04-20-20-06-12                      Â