MEKANISME HEMOSTASIS Essays - , Term Papers

MEKANISME HEMOSTASIS Urutan mekanisme hemostasis dan koagulasi dapat dijelaskan sebagai berikut: 1. Segera setelah pembuluh darah terpotong atau pecah, rangsangan dari pembuluh darah yang rusak itu menyebabkan dinding pembuluh berkontraksi sehingga dengan segera aliran darah dari pembuluh darah yang pecah akan berkurang (terjadi vasokontriksi). 2. Setelah itu, akan diikuti oleh adhesi trombosit, yaitu penempelan trombosit pada kolagen. ADP (adenosin difosfat) kemudian dilepaskan oleh trombosit kemudian ditambah dengan tromboksan A2 menyebabkan terjadinya agregasi (penempelan trombosit satu sama lain). Proses aktivasi trombosit ini terus terjadi sampai terbentuk sumbat trombosit, disebut juga hemostasis primer. 3. Setelah itu dimulailah kaskade koagulasi (lihat gambar.1) yaitu hemostasis sekunder, diakhiri dengan pembentukan fibrin. Produksi fibrin dimulai dengan perubahan faktor X menjadi faktor Xa. Faktor X diaktifkan melalui dua jalur, yaitu jalur ekstrinsik dan jalur intrinsik. Jalur ekstrinsik dipicu oleh tissue factor/tromboplastin. Kompleks lipoprotein tromboplastin selanjutnya bergabung dengan faktor VII bersamaan dengan hadirnya ion kalsium yang nantinya akan mengaktifkan faktor X. Jalur intrinsik diawali oleh keluarnya plasma atau kolagen melalui pembuluh darah yang rusak dan mengenai kulit. Paparan kolagen yang rusak akan mengubah faktor XII menjadi faktor XII yang teraktivasi. Selanjutnya faktor XIIa akan bekerja secara enzimatik dan mengaktifkan faktor XI. Faktor XIa akan mengubah faktor IX menjadi faktor IXa. 4. faktor IXa akan bekerja sama dengan lipoprotein trombosit, faktor VIII, serta ion kalsium untuk mengaktifkan faktor X menjadi faktor Xa. 5. faktor Xa yang dihasilkan dua jalur berbeda itu akan memasuki jalur bersama. Faktor Xa akan berikatan dengan fosfolipid trombosit, ion kalsium, dan juga faktor V sehingga membentuk aktivator protrombin. 6. Selanjutnya senyawa itu akan mengubah protrombin menjadi trombin. Trombin selanjutnya akan mengubah fibrinogen menjadi fibrin (longgar), dan akhirnya dengan bantuan fakor VIIa dan ion kalsium, fibrin tersebut menjadi kuat. Fibrin inilah yang akan menjerat sumbat trombosit sehingga menjadi kuat. 7. Selanjutnya apabila sudah tidak dibutuhkan lagi, bekuan darah akan dilisiskan melalui proses fibrinolitik. Proses ini dimulai dengan adanya proaktivator plasminogen yang kemudian dikatalis menjadi aktivator plasminogen dengan adanya enzim streptokinase, kinase jaringan, serta faktor XIIa. Selanjutnya plasminogen akan diubah menjadi plasmin dengan bantuan enzim seperti urokinase. Plasmin inilah yang akan mendegradasi fibrinogen/fibrin menjadi fibrin degradation product [pic] Gangguan hemostasis (perdarahan abnormal) dapat disebabkan oleh beberapa hal di bawah ini: 1. Kelainan vaskuler Kelainan vaskuler adalah sekelompok kelompok keadaan heterogen, yang ditandaiu oleh mudah memar dan perdarahan spontan dari poembuluh darah kecil. Kelainan yang mendasari terletak pada pembuluh darah itu sendiri atau dalam jaringan ikat perivaskular. Pada keadaan dseperti ini, uji penyaring standart member hasil normal. Masa perdarahan normal, uji hemostasis lain juga normal. Kelainan vaskular ini terdapat dua jenis yakni herediter yang berupa Telangiektasia hemoragik herediter, serta kelainan jaringan ikat. Jenis yang lain adalah Defek vaskular didapat . 2. Trombositopenia Trombositopenia didefinisikan sebagai jumlah trombosit kurang dari 100.000/mm3. Biasanya ditandai dengan purpura kulit spontan, perdarahan mukosa, dan perdarahan berkepanjangan setelah trauma. Beberapa penyebab trombositopenia antara lain: (1)Kegagalan produksi trombosit .Ini merupakan penyebab tersering trombositopenia yang biasanya juga merupakan bagian dari kegagalan sumsum tulang generalisata Penekanan megakarisit selektif dapat disebabkan oleh toksisitas obat atau infeksi virus. (2)Peningkatan destruksi trombosit, Hal ini dibagi menjadi beberapa jenis yakni: a.Trombositopenia imun,termasuk di dalamnya ITP, karena infeksi, purpura pascatranfusi, Trombositopenia imun karena diinduksi obat, b.Purpura trombositopenia trombotik c.Koagulasi intravaskular diseminata, (3)Distribusi trombosit abnormal, (4)Kehilangan akibat dilusi, yakni berupa transfuse masif darah simpan pada pasien dengan perdarahan. 3. Gangguan koagulasi Bisa karena herediter maupun didapat, yang umumnya menggangu faktor-faktor koagulasi. a.Herediter : hemofilia A dan hemofilia B b.Didapat : defisiensi vitamin K dan penyakit hati 4.Gangguan fungsi trombosit Dibagi menjadi dua jenis, yakni: a.Didapat 1) karena obat anti trombosit seperti aspirin, 2).hiperglobulinemia, 3).kelainan mieloproliferatif dan mielodisplastik , serta 4)Uremia. b.Kelainan herediter 1) Trombastenia, 2)Sinsrom Bernard soulier, 3) Penyakit penyimpanan KELAINAN KOAGULASI . Hemofili A . Hemofili B . Kekurangan vit K (II,VII, IX, XI) Ganggan fungsi hati . DIC Adanya tissue factor (endotoxin, kerusakan jaringan dll) TF aktivasi koagulasi diikuti aktifasi fibrinolitik bergantian. Trombositopeni, APTT, PPT, TT memanjang, fibrinogen turun, FDP squestrasi PEMERIKSAAN LAB HEMOFILIA . Clotting time memanjang . APTT memanjang . Kadar Faktor VII menurun pada hemophilia A dan faktor IX menurun pada hemophilia B DIAGNOSIS DARI HASIL LAB PADA HEMOFILIA . Clotting time memanjang, Bleeding time normal . APTT memanjang, PPT normal

Government Regulatory and Legislative Organs The WritePass Journal

Government Regulatory and Legislative Organs Introduction Government Regulatory and Legislative Organs IntroductionNational Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA)National Environmental Standard Regulatory Agency (NESREA)  Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR)Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology Rivers State Ministry of EnvironmentConclusionRelated Introduction In the previous chapter, the researcher’s interview with Shell’s regional manager for environmental affairs was presented. In this chapter I will firstly present my interviews with representatives of the three regulatory agencies in the Nigerian oil industry, namely; the Department of Petroleum Studies, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency and the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency. Secondly, interviews with agencies that collaborate with the three regulatory bodies or conduct oversight functions in the oil industry are presented. The organizations are the Nigerian Senate Committee on Environment and ecology and the Rivers State Ministry of Environment. National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) The researcher was able to gain access to the an official representative of NOSDRA with the help of an introductory letter from the University of Leicester and acting Director General arranged for the researcher to interview a key department head for the purpose of this research.   Ã‚  Ã‚   NOSDRA is the sole agency with federal responsibility for regulating oil related environmental matters and is unique in not having responsibility for   non-oil industry related environmental matters as is the case for other environmental agencies in Nigeria. The roles of the organization were presented in Chapter two, so the.     Ã‚  Ã‚   The respondent was first asked to explain the statutory functions of NOSDRA. The official explained that the functions are regulated by the federal Ministry of Environment which has the overall mandate to protect and conserve the Nigerian environment while NOSDRA has responsibility for implementing various aspects of the national environmental policy, specifically     within the petroleum sector.   Ã‚   The respondent was asked how NOSDRA carried out its responsibilities of regulating the oil industry exactly. He noted that the basic responsibility of NOSDRA is to respond to any oil spill through reporting procedures. He explained further â€Å"By law, all oil spills irrespective of the quantity must be reported, and the oil companies usually abide by this requirement. However there are cases where oil companies may not know that they have a spill, and, where such spills occur, they are often reported by the community and then we   immediately inform the oil companies concerned who have first responsibility to organize remedial measures † (t13). The regulator also explained that his agency works in collaboration with others as part of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT). The team is comprised of the oil companies, the regulatory body and the state counterpart, the State Ministry of Environment and the host communities. The JIT jointly determine the cause of the spill. If the spill is the result of sabotage or third party interference, no compensation will be paid but the oil company concerned must make all reasonable efforts to take remedial action.   In cases where there is no third party interference, remedial action must be taken and the JIT will carry out a damage assessment and compensation must be paid accordingly.† (t13). The respondent also argued that the Joint Investigation Visit is necessary because â€Å"we have a peculiar situation in Nigeria.   In other parts   of the world oil spills would be almost certainly accidental   but here we have third party interference, that is oil bunkering, oil theft, sabotage and so on, so a joint investigation visit is necessary to ascertain the cause of the spill and the extent of the spread of the spill because, according section 11(c) of the Oil Pipeline Act of 1969, when a spill is caused by third party interference through vandalism or sabotage, the oil company that is operating in that area does not have to pay compensation but still has to take remedial action †(t13). A JIV approach is also necessary because of the poor levels of trust between the oil companies and the community. The community where the spill occurs may sometimes argue that the spill has been caused by equipment failure or human errors in maintenance while the oil company may also argue that it is sabotage or third party interference.   The senior official explained that according to the law â€Å"there are three ways of reporting oil spills, first by telephone so that we can immediately deploy our staff. Secondly, when it happens the community filled a form called from A when we get there we establish the cause and the extent of the spill and the facility owners are required to put remedial measures in place within the first 14 days, depending on the nature and extent we do remediation especially when the screening shows that it could have negative impact on human health and the environment† (t13). However, the official explained that in some cases it has not been possible to comply with the legal requirement to respond to a report of a spill within 24 hours and to put in place remedial measures within two weeks because of hostility from the community who sometimes delayed the response because of the belief that a delay would lead to a greater spill and the opportunity to claim more  Ã‚   compensation.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"In one instance, where the spill was caused by third party interference, the community took the company to the court to get an injunction restraining the facility owner from gaining access.   It took about four meetings before we could persuade the host community to remove the junction in the court before we could gain access to stop the spill. This process took about a month and half, imagine a breach leaking for that period, so those are some of the problems we face in   responding to oil spills in Nigeria† (t13). The local communities the respondent agued consider any oil spill on the environment as something of a bonanza, so they try to delay the response, and, in some cases, the Joint Investigation Team has to pay for ‘permits’ to enter the affected area, to access the facility to stop the source of the spill, resulting in increased environmental damage.   He pointed out that Joint investigation visits were therefore very difficult and complicated. The senior NOSDRA official noted that the claim by the community that JIV reports are sometimes ignored or altered under Oil Company’s pressure may not be â€Å"entirely correct, the reason being this is if we are part of the joint investigation team that carry out the joint investigation visit, if the diver goes down there and comes up with a report that it is equipment failure, obviously it is of upheld. It is not possible for a manager who sat in the office to say what is there, for instance I am there, am relying more o n the report submitted by my officer,   I may have the mental impression of what happen could be for instance pipeline licking or manifold under water, two reasons could be, It could be vandals who could divedown to alter   the pipelines but it is more probable that it is corrosion   because, the pipelines are   within an area that is perpetually   wet,   wet terrain were the rate of erosion will be very high† (t13). The senior regulator is also of the opinion that it is possible the water which is essentially salty may hasten the level of corrosion couple with the pressure inside and outside the pipelines there could be a pipeline enrapture. According to him this is more of equipment failure than third party interference. However, in some cases NOSDRA experience a situation where during the crisis time some people want to destroy pipeline and detonate dynamite by blowing them up and in such cases large spills are recorded and nobody knows it is sabotage or third party interference. Another angle according to the NOSDRA representative is that â€Å"in many cases where JIV’s are carried out host communities are very hostile and aggressive even when they know the cause is third party interference and may attempt to get the regulators to report that it is equipment failure because that is the only way compensation can be guaranteed. If you refuse, you may be attacked. Our approach in these situations is to remain calm and not release our findings until later from a less intimidating environment† (t13). I ask the NOSDRA official what are the main cause of oil spills in Nigeria. He cited statistics released by individual oil companies and the official statistics kept by NOSDRA since the inception of the agency in 2006 he claimed that third party interference has been the main cause of oil spills rather than equipment failure. â€Å"This was proved by individual companies and by aggregate of all, and of cause when people tell you they are going to blew up your pipelines and indeed they carry out the threat, so all of this is responsible for the high rate of oil spill which in our opinion degraded the environment†(t13). However, the regulator noted that equipment failure was a cause of some spills; he cited the case of Exxon-Mobil, which operates mainly offshore, and noted the problems they had had with salt water corrosion of pipelines. The regulator also explained that as well as its major role of responding to oil spills, NOSDRA was also mandated to sanction violations of environmental laws.   He said after every JIV a scope is set and his agency follow up to ensure compliance.   However, in some cases, he noted that some oil companies do not comply in a timely manner. â€Å"Shell was guilty of that and we imposed a fine of one million naira (about $6,600) on it† (t13). The regulator conceded that the amount was relatively small but noted that â€Å"NOSDRA cannot raise the amount without amending the law itself† (t13). The Manager also explained that NOSDRA had also previously sanctioned The Pipeline and Production Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the government-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The NOSDRA regulator noted that the financial penalties imposed on oil companies (see above) had helped to change the attitude of the oil companies towards environmental issues, because of the global attention on good environmental practices. The official suggested that the penalties imposed on Shell had led to significant changes in their environmental policies and procedures.   Before the fine was imposed, Shell had only had a Health, Safety and Environment manager who had to deal with a wide range of issues whereas now they had developed a much more comprehensive structure with a manager for oil response, a Manager for remediation, a manager for compensation issues communications manager who had the task of ‘interfacing’ with government regulatory agencies.   The regulator explained that â€Å"at least know they have seen that there is need to comply because as an international oil company if anything happens to it, it will affect its shares in the New York stock exchange, just like BP. And when investors noticed you are causing environmental pollution, they will either refuse to invest in your company or de-invest their existing share and the company know what can come out of it, that is why they quickly adjusted†(t13). The manager admitted that enforcing environmental regulations in the petroleum industry has been a major challenge for NOSDRA. He explained that lack of funding from the government was becoming a major problem for his organization. â€Å"Our   immediate challenge is lack of funding, we need adequate funding to enable us to purchase technical equipment and to provide effective logistical support, which would mean we could respond more rapidly, because speed is the key to effective oil spill response†(t13). The researcher asked the respondent whether or not NOSDRA received any other funding besides the government statutory allocation, he replied that â€Å"The funding of this agency comes mainly from statutory allocations. At the beginning of each fiscal year the budget is set and we have to work within this budget but we have been exploring other possibilities such as getting some form of assistance from international donors† (t13). On collaboration between NOSDRA and other regulators, the Manger explained that his agency maintained a good relationship with other stakeholders particularly these in the Joint Investigation Team. However, he observed that there was a problem of overlapping functions among the regulators; some of these problems he argued are created by the human factors. â€Å"There are overlapping responsibilities between the Ministry of Environment and NOSDRA, although the government has tried to reconcile these, there has been an element of territoriality involved a reluctance to give up areas of influence so there is still some overlap in functions with respect to regulating the petroleum sector.   But in the last 3 to 4 years the attrition was high but know it is weathering down they are beginning to concede day by day to the fact that environmental issues should aptly be in the environment ministries and its agencies like NOSDRA† (t13). The next section will present my interview with the second regulatory agency also under the Federal ministry of Environment. National Environmental Standard Regulatory Agency (NESREA) This government agency has its head office in the centre of the Federal capital territory. Gaining access to this agency was problematic and the researcher had to apply through the Ministry of Environment. The agency’s Director General arranged for the researcher to interview one of her principal officers a US trained environmentalist. The senior official made it clear that the interview would only last for only thirty minutes because of prior commitments.   He informed the researcher that the primary mandate of his agency is to protect the Nigerian environment and to thus ensure that human health is also protected.   He also noted that the agency ensures that all regulations and standards are properly implemented at a national level. While carrying out this function, the agency collaborates with other stake holders. â€Å"We sign a memorandum of understanding with various agencies, organizations, state governments and the private sector.   In fact, any agency that has related responsibilities to those of NESREA. We also work closely with state government that’s why we have about 16 state offices across the country in addition to the six zonal Headquarters, which have responsibility for the states within the zone just like the same six geo political structures in the country. The   reason is that we work closely with the state and part of that is that interrelationship and cooperation is to let the states have some level of ownership, were ever we go the state government provided us with an office so that they will have some   sense of ownership†Ã‚   (t14). The NESREA official also noted that his agency also collaborates with individuals, civil society, academia and international organizations. He pointed out that one of the major achievements of NESREA has been to develop eleven new regulations already documented and thirteen more are undergoing expert review.   According to him â€Å"the laws are meant to balance our environmental consideration in every aspect of our development effort† (t14). The researcher asked the respondent to outline what his agency considered to be source of environmental degradation and the role of his agency in oil related environmental degradation in the Niger Delta. He argued that in Nigeria environmental degradation is not limited to oil related degradation He explained â€Å"There are lots of forms of environmental degradation, of course, and particularly land degradation in the North and problems with desertification and in the South with erosion† (t14). However, he noted that oil pollution in the Niger Delta is a major problem for his agency. In relation to this, he noted the agency was also concerned with the level of poverty in Nigeria, the official said â€Å"poverty is a problem because it causes indoors pollution the local communities use large quantities of firewood by for cooking   and unfortunately   even those who do a lot of smoking are creating problem† (t14). The respondent further explained that another major threat to the environment is the problem of disposal of old electrical goods. According to the senior official Nigeria is becoming a global dumping ground for unserviceable, end of life electronic products.   As a government regulatory agency, he explained â€Å"we check the influx of e-waste to Nigeria, we have to also deal with those who are bringing them in, and we have to work closely with the Alaba (Lagos) International Electronics Market, because a lot of guys are bringing shipment from there. We also have to work closely with the consumer protection council and standards organizations of Nigeria because part of the problem relates to the standards of equipment coming into Nigeria.   There’s no point importing equipment that is waste even before arrival† (t13). In order to track   address the problem of electronic dumping and other related abuses NESREA is also involved in environmental education awareness campaign involving security agencies like Nigeria Police, the immigration and customs services and the road safety commission. The purpose of the education programmes is to give officials of these agencies the tools to identify environmental violations, understand the legal implications of these and the role of these agencies in enforcing environmental legislation. He cited the example of NESREA’s collaboration with the Federal Road Safety Commission to reduce vehicular emissions, with the Nigerian police to report and respond to noise or air pollution. NESREA also work with the immigration authorities to prevent the illegal smuggling of flora and fauna across the Nigerian borders, which in the opinion of the official, is also another source of environmental degradation. There is also close cooperation with the Nigerian customs s ervice to stop the importation of e-waste. The researcher asked the senior official what specific role his agency is playing in regulating the Nigerian oil industry.   He noted that the only function his organization has in regulating the oil sector is in ensuring that whatever terms were reached in public hearings involving oil companies and oil communities are complied with either by the Oil Company or the communities.   He also noted that it was the responsibility of NOSDRA. However, the respondent explained that the regional offices conduct inspections of oil facilities on occasion and any environmental violations are reported to head office, and in some cases the agency also encourages the neighborhood watch to report contraventions on environment. When such reports are received NESREA investigates and can prosecute violators if necessary. NESREA also ensures compliance with any actions imposed by the courts in such cases. Although NESREA has a mandate to protect the environment, the official noted that there was some overlap in responsibility and function with other agencies.   However, he maintained that NESREA is doing everything possible to find common ground to work together with other agencies without losing focus on the primary objective of the agency. Next I will present a similar visit to Department of Petroleum resources, a federal government agency that also played a key role in the petroleum sector.   Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) The interview with the DPR differed from the other interviews in that the researcher was given access to, four officials to interviews. However, unlike the previous interviews, these officials refused to be identified or to allow the interview to be recorded.   They stated that they belonged to the ethnic groups inhabiting the Niger Delta and did not want to risk being identified through the research as this could jeopardize their personal safety, despite the researcher’s assurance of identity protection.   The interview was therefore carried out in a form of focus group and off tape. The officials discussed the official version of the environmental problem from their organizational perspective and at the same time their personal feelings as Nigerians.   It is worth pointing out that during the discussions, there was wide disagreement between the participants and various contradictions and inconsistencies emerged.   As is discussed further below. The DPR officials agre ed to answer only questions that concerned their operational responsibilities and not issues relating to the politics of the Nigerian oil industry. However, the discussion did include some discussion of this more controversial area. The DPR focus group were asked questions on seven key areas including Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), environmental laws, collaborating with other agencies to tackle environmental problems in the petroleum industry, the challenges and constrains, on multiple regulations, the vision of the department and the opinion of the   DPR on environmental degradation in the Niger Delta. According to the respondents, the   environmental legislation in place today   are effective, unlike in the early 90’s, when there was no specific law specifying who is responsible for environmental issues in the oil sector. However, they noted that the ‘Nigerian factor’ is always a problem.   The respondents were asked what they meant by the ‘Nigerian factor’, however, they reminded the researcher that, as a Nigerian, he should understand this concept and that as civil servants they would not want to say more than that. The respondents all agreed that implementing environmental legislation in Nigeria is difficult because of the resistance from some oil companies, however, the DPR tries to apply sanctions were necessary.   According to the respondents â€Å"What is also helping us now as a regulatory agency is the general level of environmental awareness, on issues like climate change and global warming. There are now powerful NGO’s raising public awareness of environmental problems and, from our experience, this puts pressure on the oil companies to be environmentally aware.   Another forum Are the social networks like ‘Twitter and ‘Face book’, which also heighten public awareness, no company wants to have a bitter experience of BP in the Gulf of Mexico† (FN18). This reason, according to one of the respondents, is now forcing the parent companies to monitor the activities of their subsidiaries worldwide to ensure compliance with good environmental practices. This is unlike before when the subsidiaries is another countries are treated as entities. I ask my respondents how DPR collaborate with other agencies in the sector.   The argued that regulating the oil industry requires close collaboration among the multiple agencies as provided by relevant laws.   However, the respondents were of the opinion that the collaboration is not working as it should. This, according to one of them is due to the lack of well defined roles and boundaries for each regulatory agency. One of them cited the example of NOSDRA as one of the agencies that abandon   its primary mandate as a third tier regulatory agency to be involved in non-oil spill issues (FN18).   They   argued that â€Å"unless   Nigeria adopted a model similar to that used in the   United States where the   Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) formulates laws, which are   widely applicable to the agencies both at state and local levels, in Nigeria   the level of ignorance of the laws and greed among the regulators make the problem   more severe† (FN18 ). As well as the problem of collaboration among the regulatory agencies, the Department of Petroleum resources is also facing some challenges and constrains in respect of funding which in some cases have seriously impacted on the DPR’s effectiveness. The respondents all agreed that funding is a major problem, they claim DPR has the technical know-how however, logistics and security has changed all that, â€Å"we can’t get to relevant locations on our own, we don’t have the necessary logistics, the closest we can do on our own is to visit downstream sector, but in upstream sector is impossible we can’t† (FN18). The respondents were asked to explain the logistics problem, and they noted that they were supposed to be provided with helicopters, boats, and operational road vehicles.   At present, they only have operational vehicles, and at times due to the topographical nature of the Niger Delta they had to abandon them and trek for several kilometers be fore reaching sites.   One of the respondents explained that they had to rely on oil companies to provide them with logistical support like helicopters and boats. In relation to this, one of them advised me to read the Irekife Report (1991) which suggested ways the DPR should be funded to be more effective. Another major challenge for the DPR according to the respondents comes from the oil communities themselves â€Å"who at times will not allow access by DPR/Joint Investigation Team due to criminality and greed, there are some cases where one of the parties challenged the findings of the Joint Investigation Team report.   Sometimes they use threats to change the findings of the report and on occasion warn the JIT not to come otherwise they will attack the team† (FN18). The officials also noted that certain communities would justify their criminality using cultural reasons, stating that some areas were sacred, and could not be visited by non-indigenes as this would bring calamity on the community.   On occasions, they also request to perform traditional rituals before access is granted. The official stated that thought these were often deliberate attempts to delay access to the spill in order to increase the amount of environmental damage and the corresponding amount of compensation.   At times we are compelled to do our job by proxy and they believe the more the spill the more the compensation† (FN18). The researcher asked the respondents to explain what exactly he meant ‘by proxy’ but he was prevented by another respondent from providing further explanation, because that will mean compromising their personal safety. Finally, the respondents were asked for their opinion on the causes of environmental degradation in the Niger Delta.   One of the officials explained that â€Å"oil theft account for about 90 percent of the oil spills, which is widespread despite the danger to the population and the environment. The attraction of making ‘quick money’ makes it very difficult for some people to resist the temptation of stealing oil from the oil facilities† (FN18). Other major challenges to both the environment and public health   over the   last ten years, according to the respondents,   include crude oil theft And   illegal refining.   However, the DPR officials also noted that equipment failure, corrosion, operational error (human error) had also led to oil spills and environmental degradation.   On the overall they argued, DPR has zero tolerance approach to oil related environmental degradation, though with the official could not explain if there is any target set to achieve this. The officials also express their own opinion as Nigerians. They argued that if there were more honesty and integrity over the way both environmental and oil sector is managed in Nigeria, then the environmental problems would be minimal if not eradicated completely â€Å"But as long as corruption is widespread, particularly among the government officials and the political class,   then our environment will continue to suffer degradation † (FN18). In the following section, the interviews with the official of the Nigerian Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology and with the representative of the Rivers State Ministry of Environment are presented. Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology The Nigerian senate committee on environment and ecology is one of the standing committees of the Nigerian legislature or the national assembly. The primary responsibility of this committee is to make laws on all issues related to the environment in Nigeria.   The committee oversees environmental matters under the standing rules of the Nigerian senate.   The committee legislates on issues like environmental pollution, air water, land degradation, and matters relating to marine pollution. The committee is also responsible for allocating funds to all agencies under the federal Ministry of Environment.   Another mandate of this committee is to identify key projects within the environmental sector and ensure the government gave them the priority they deserve.   A third main responsibility of this committee is to perform an oversight function for the national environmental sector through monitoring of budgetary allocations and expenditure on the projects that were approved originally in budgets.  Ã‚   Nigerian legislature is a bi-cameral and, therefore, the Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology  Ã‚   performs its legislative duties in tandem with the sister committee in the Federal House of Representative.  Ã‚   Before any bill becomes law or budgetary allocations and projects are approved, the two committees must harmonize any differences in their positions before is forwarded to the two chambers for ratification and assent by the Nigerian President. From the discussion above, it can be seen that the Senate Committee is strategically importance in the environmental sector in Nigeria and, therefore, an essential source of information in the data collection process. Findings from the earlier interviews with agencies regulating the oil sector and from the oil communities suggested that environmental laws in Nigeria are either obsolete or they are not effective enough to enforce any regulation. In addition, it had been suggested that the government was too corrupt to enforce standards or enforce sanctions when the laws were violated. My original plan was to meet with the two chairs of the Committees in the Senate and House of representatives respectively. However the researcher was unable to interview the House Committee chair despite five separate interviews having been arranged.   Therefore, the researcher decided to focus on the senate committee, the superior committee by hierarchy. The interview covered five major issues. First, the perception of the Nigerian Senate on environmental issues in Nigeria, second, the legislative framework of environmental legislation, third, the politics of environmental legislation in Nigeria, fourth,   how the committee regulates the regulators and, finally, the  Ã‚   opinion of the Nigerian Senate on global environmental issues . According to the clerk senate committee the environmental problems in the Niger Delta cannot be treated in isolation because every area in the country is crying for attention â€Å"In the Northern part of the country the desert is encroaching at an alarming rate, claiming about five kilometers per annum, and this makes drought increasingly likely as new diseases are emerging, people and animals are dying and there are more and more conflicts between farmers and herdsman over grazing lands. If you take the Southeastern part of the country the erosion, the land slide clearing villages and taking people along with them recoding lot of death, people will wake up and they are buried under the ground. So the focus is not only on the Niger Delta.   But agreed there are major problems in the Niger Delta like pollution, unprecedented soil degradation, farmlands, water, everything is polluted, gas flare, public health, their houses roof tops etc.   So I would say that no one problem is mo re important than the other but we must use a holistic approach to tackle all the problems simultaneously, rather than focus on one thing and neglect the other problems†(t15). The respondent argued that most of the laws regulating the environment in Nigeria are not in line with contemporary environmental challenges. She stated â€Å"We have a number of laws dating back to the 1950’s, 60’s and most of these laws are not fit for purpose and are no longer relevant to contemporary realities, or address current environmental issues as set out by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Committee, so a lacuna exists in terms of legislation with respect to the environment sector† (t15). In addition the respondent noted that one of the major problems in developing effective environmental legislation in the past was the relatively unstable democracy in Nigeria where military coups had interrupted the development of an effective legislative framework.   Nevertheless, she was of the opinion that the stable democracy attained since the inception of this political dispensation in 1999 has meant the, legislature had been able develop the legal framework and create, for example, the agencies regulating the environmental sector. She noted that these agencies were already having a positive impact on environmental protection. The Clerk explained that as at now the National assembly had created a number of bills that were presently before the legislature. She noted that these included the Climate Change bill that would lead to the establishment of climate change commission, the Petroleum Industry Bill, the Biodiversity bill, the Bio Safety bill and Gas Flaring bill, which are intended to improve the sector and make operators to comply with acceptable standards. The researcher asked the respondent to what extent the problem of environmental legislation affect the environmental regulations in Nigeria. The respondent explained that most of the problems are economic and political in nature.   She argued that â€Å"There is a school of thought that says we don’t have money to keep setting up agencies, that the financial resources required are huge, and that we should strengthen the existing ones and give them more teeth to function instead of duplicating agencies to create jobs for the boys. If you want to give specific task to specific agency, for the purpose of effectiveness and productivity there will be nothing wrong creating it,   like setting up the Climate Change Commission which is absolutely necessary in the face of the present environmental trends† (t15).   On the other side another group is saying we cannot set it up because we don’t have money instead let us strengthen NESREA or NOSDRA to take care of the d emands by the political class.   Currently, the national assembly is being asked to create a Desertification Commission by some northern Senators and then the Senators from the eastern part of Nigeria also want erosion commission and according to the committee Clerk the committee is of the opinion that one agency can be established to cater for both desertification and erosion. The respondent also acknowledged that the roles of the various regulatory agencies in the environmental sector sometimes overlap and leads to clashes of interest.   She stated â€Å"The Committee has noted that there is some overlap in terms of function and responsibility among the regulating agencies both NOSDRA, NESREA, DPR and parental ministries and some other agencies. The committee is studying the problem   Ã‚  to see how we can reduce the overlap and make them more effective and efficient.   The senate is currently formulating amendments to strengthen them and also remove areas of duplication in the existing legislation so that   they can reflect the provisions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change† (t15). The Clerk also noted that the Senate Committee has a limited constitutional mandate to drive these changes as the main role of the Committee is purely one of oversight in relation to the regulators. She pointed out that the Ministries of Environment and Petroleum Resources are solely responsible for the activities of these agencies.   She stated â€Å"We are not responsible for their day to day operations but our role is to see the outcome of the field assignment, how they are doing this particular job that has been budgeted for in the budget how effectively they carry out their role is not in our mandate. We are more concerned with the impact they are having on the environment than how they carry out their duties and we don’t interfere in their internal operations† (t15). The researcher asked from the respondent if the existing environmental legislation was effective enough to enforce standards in the oil industry. The respondent had doubts as to whether such legislation is effective enough to regulate the oil industry in Nigeria.   Though the committee receives series of petitions from the affected oil communities which has been there for over years, but the Committee, according to the respondent, has been making serious efforts to tackle the problems, she noted that the problems are multi faceted and that, on the one hand, the oil companies claim it is sabotage, while, on the other hand, the community claim the causes are mainly operational failures. According to the respondent the Committee was committed to ensuring that the operators operate within the standards that are globally acceptable, she argued that â€Å"Nigeria is not the only country where oil exploration and extraction is taking place and this exploration is mostly governed by set standards.   Nigeria should follow the same standards, we know that the we need to strengthen legislation to further enforce compliance in Nigeria, and we are really working hard to achieve this. We are talking with the oil companies and visiting locations to see things for ourselves and, despite the enormity of the problems we are trying to ensure something is done† (t15). Concerning the use of sanctions and compliance, the senate committee acknowledges it doesn’t enforce any sanctions when there are violations. The Committee has no constitutional mandate to do this. The regulatory agencies have the responsibility to impose sanctions such as shutting down the operations of the companies, taking them to court or fining them.   The Senate can only direct the relevant agencies to take action or summon them for investigative purposes or public hearings. The Clerk was also of the opinion that while there was a need for proper enforcement of the law, there was also a need for enlightenment and education. She noted that people and corporations need to understand the dangers of degrading the environment and the future consequences. According to her, Nigeria is now taking the lead in Africa by creating the first national Climate Change Commission to tackle the issues of climate change. This section will be followed up with a visit and interview with a state politician and a senior official in the Rivers State Ministry of Environment, Port Harcourt. Rivers State Ministry of Environment The researcher had initially not been intending to interview key personnel in the Rivers state but it soon became clear that it would be necessary to try and interview representatives of the Rivers State Ministry of the Environment.   This was because the ministry represents the environmental interests of the Rivers State government and at the same time has close connections to the communities and the oil companies in the area. Access to state environmental official who is also a local politician was difficult at the beginning the interview had to be rescheduled more than five times before access was gained to interview the senior government official. The ‘interview’ was unusual in that it took the form of a group  Ã‚   interview with journalists who were doing a personality profile interview with the politician.   Initially, a separate interview had been requested but this was turned down on the grounds of time pressures.   The discussion with the senior official concerned the role of his ministry on matters relating to oil related environmental issues, environmental laws, and relationships with the oil companies, the federal government, and the communities, other regulatory agencies in the sector and the environmental politics in the state. The major function of the ministry is to safeguard the environment of Rivers State. Its primary mandate is to formulate, execute and review policies on environment and ecological matters within the state, monitor and evaluate environmental and ecological programmes and projects in the state and to protect the physical, biological and chemical environment of the state. Its mission statement is to bequeath to the present and future generations of the state a healthy and sustainable environment. The Ministry also liaises with other key stake holders in the environmental sector of Rivers state.   The ministry is one of the regulators in the sector it works with the DPR, NESREA, and NOSDRA in particular. The ministry is also part of Joint Investigation Team that investigates oil damaged sites, the impact of the spill on the environment and possible claims for compensation. By law, spills have to be reported to the Ministry within 24 hours by the oil companies or the impacted community. The Ministry is also involved in the payment of compensation, the cleaning and remediation of the sites.   The Ministry is also responsible for re-inspecting affected sites after they have been cleaned, and remediated.   If the Ministry is satisfied with the remediation efforts, a certificate is issued to that effect, and if it is deemed unsatisfactory, the facility owner is urged to go back to site. As a key stake holder in the regulatory process, the senior government official was asked his opinion on the relationship between his organisation and the oil corporations in the state. In relation to this, he noted â€Å"it has been problematic dealing with them because they do not apply the same standards in Nigeria as they do elsewhere. You will also find out that they also exhibit a high level of ignorance here, because when you have a polluted environment, it also affects you because that is where you work, that is where your family exist so I don’t see any reason why somebody who is very well enlighten and who understands this problems will want to allow a polluted environment to remain for the purposes of making profit.   We have to be alive to enjoy the money we are making† (t21). The respondent was also of the opinion that the responses to the cases of spills by the oil companies were dictated more by the economic value or its importance to them than making good the environment. â€Å"I don’t think they feel sorry that they are polluting the environment, they are more concerned with the cost of the oil spilled.   If it is possible not to lose money and continue polluting the environment; you won’t get any reaction from them† (t.21). The official explained that the Ministry had organized a corporate forum to consider ways to minimize the emission of green gases and to combat climate change, which none of the oil companies had attended.   He further explained that the oil companies had different set of policies of paying compensation to impacted communities. In Nigeria the responsibility of determining compensation rests with the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS)   The senior official noted that the OPTS â€Å"is made up of   only the facility owners, how can you be the polluter and at the same time also determine how much you pay for polluting?   The proximate sufferers are not members of the OPTS.   So what it means is that there is a line you cannot exceed in terms of compensation† (t21).   Again on compensation, if it is discovered that the spill was the result of sabotage, you don’t pay compensation, the Ministry of Environment is also of the opinion that this policy is not fair it is completely against the interest of the people who suffer such spills. The respondent sighted example as follows: â€Å"If a spill occurs in community ‘A’ and affects innocent and innocent man in community ‘D’ far away from community ‘A’ got his fishing pond or farm affected by that spill, from community ‘D’ that innocent man in community ‘D’ even though loses his source of livelihood completely and if it is discovered that the spill in community ‘A’ was as a result of sabotage the man impacted in community ‘D’ who was not part of the sabotage who did not contribute in any way is entitled to nothing† (t21). The senior official argued there is this high level of negligence on the part of the facilities owners and the third party is made to suffer.   The innocent person should not have to suffer from the negligence of the people who are supposed to secure the pipes against sabotage. He also claimed that when a spill occurs the oil companies do not make serious efforts to contain or clean the spill as stipulated by law nor in the time period specified. He cited several spills that had not been cleaned for two to three years in which time the spill had spread and affected a much wider area than it should have.   According to him the Rivers state government was introducing new laws as a result to address certain aspects of compensation procedures.   He noted that in the new bill â€Å"If there is a spill there, it must be contained and cleaned up, within a given time. If it is not done within this time, the the facility owner will be fined. If there is an impact on the property of the third party and it is clearly discovered that he was not part of the sabotage he should be entitled to compensation.   Whoever is responsible for safeguarding that facility should pay compensation for being negligent; whether it is the government or the facility owner† (t21). The respondent was asked if the oil companies are above the law based on his earlier claims. He explained that the companies are not really above the law but the Nigerian government has a major snag and that is why it is unable to take proactive step just like the USA did in the case of Gulf of Mexico spill incidence. He noted that â€Å"This is because the relationship that exists between government organisations and the facility owners in Nigeria   is not the same type of relationship that exist between the US government and the oil companies that operates in the USA. It is not that they are above the law but because the contractual basis on which the oil companies operate is that of a joint venture between the oil companies and Nigerian government.   In a joint venture situation if your partner is in default it means you are part of it, too.   We are of the opinion that we don’t need to run a joint venture or review the venture but to cancel the contract.   Let the companies operate pay what they ought to pay to the Nigerian government   and be fully responsible for whatever misconduct that arises from their operations, that way the government will be able to stand up and say we cannot tolerate this in our environment† (t21). Having discussed the nature of relationship between his ministry and the oil companies in Rivers state, my respondent was asked   about the kind of relationship that exist between the Ministry and the oil communities. He stated that â€Å"There is also high level of ignorance on the part of the communities, which is hinged on the literacy level.   Here you find that in a community that is supposed to care about its environment, some elements of the community are actively responsible for pollution of the environment.   Of course, we have very high levels of sabotage in this part of the world, people sabotage oil facilities to make money and it is unfortunate situation.   Aside the issue of sabotage even third party sometimes they try to prevent the containment of the spill because they also want the spill to extend to their own area so they can make compensation claims and there is little concern about the impact of this on the immediate environment†(t21). Though the se nior official blamed the communities for this, he is also of the opinion the system for paying compensation, as explained previously, played a key role in inciting people to sabotage as the people felt exploited by the facility owners. He cited an example of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, where funds were immediately set aside for compensation, but it never happened here in Nigeria. As a result of this shortcoming, the senior government official said the Rivers state government was implementing new environmental legislation in the state which will guarantee justice to both parties. The newly propose law stipulates that â€Å"Whereas if there is a spill there must be a time line within which facility owner must curve the spill, within which you must contain it, you must clean it, within a particular period which you must carry out remediation, if you don’t do it within this time line, then the facility owner is also committing an offence and will be finalised.   Again if the re is an impact on the property of the third party and it is clearly discovered that he was not part of the sabotage he should be entitled to compensation†(t21). The official also added that â€Å"The state government is also determined to discourage people from sabotaging the facilities, so we have also included in the new bill penalties for sabotage should be long term imprisonment or death sentence† (t21).   Despite the efforts of the state government, the official claimed that people don’t understand the technicalities and so they don’t appreciate what the government is doing, to protect them. The respondent was asked how effective the present environmental laws were. He noted that existing environmental laws are either difficult to enforce or not in line with contemporary realities as some of the laws were made over twenty years ago. He cited the example with one of the environmental laws in Rivers state which is on environmental litter. The law forbids littering and street hawking. It is a criminal offence and the penalty on conviction carries a fine of five hundred naira ( £1.90). This, according to him is not realistic because â€Å"you have to carry out the arrest, have a trial and the outcome of all this is a five hundred naira fine† (t21). According to him in most cases â€Å"people ask us why you wasted your time to go through legal process instead of just asking me to pay five hundred naira ( £1.90) and continue my business† (t21). The respondent said a new compendium of all environmental legislations in Nigeria is planned so that the country wil l have a one stop shop for environmental laws. Another major feature of the proposed environmental laws is that it addresses the issue of multiple regulatory agencies in the petroleum sector. The respondent stated that multiple regulations â€Å"we are not desirable omen because in this sector you need specialisation. The agencies presently carry out virtually the same assignments and it does not make sense.   But it is better if you have specialised agencies carrying out specialised tasks. Presently, because of our level of development, you find out that most of these agencies overlap, most of them virtually do the same thing† (t21). I ask the respondent his opinion about the politics of environment in the Niger Delta.   He noted that environmental problems were not the result of political issues.   But that they had become politicised. According to him â€Å"Today, President Jonathan is from the south-south and he has to be a president, if not there will be no Nigeria, because the oil money comes from this part of the country, because we now agitated that this place has been polluted we must be given opportunity to also hold that office, that is political† (t21). The respondent also claimed that some environmental problems in the Delta were the result of â€Å" past bad administrations in that sector, it started as a result of greed by the operators in that sector, the race for profit has resulted negligence over issues that ordinarily will not have been neglected Some of the pipelines that criss-cross the Niger Delta are over 50 years but they are still being used.   In other places they would have been changed† (t21). The respondent is also of the opinion that the environmental problems are not only hinged on political issues, it is also hinged on problems that has made people over years to see themselves as helpless, being denied of their source of livelihood, being deprived of existence and of course being very hungry, there is an abject poverty in the Niger Delta region. He equates the situation to that of a goose that lay the golden egg but without anything to eat. The respondent also claimed that â€Å"In some places the oil heads are so close to people’s homes that they literally hang their clothes on, yet they don’t have food to eat, there is no portable water, no clinics, and yet every other day wealth is leaving that place. This is taking place while yields on farmlands are going down all the time oil pollution is affecting the livelihoods of fishermen etc† (t21). According to him when people are exposed to such situations, definitely you will expect a reaction because they are rendered jobless â€Å"an idle mind is a devils workshop† (t21). The researcher reminded the respondent that the communities had claimed that politicians at all levels were responsible for their predicament, and they ignored them until election periods As a politician, he agreed to some extent but he also blamed the behaviour of the people during elections â€Å"when they come back to them they demand money before voting and when they give them money what do you expect?† (t21). He also stated that people should not be blamed for demanding money before voting, â€Å"if you want to balance it you will also find out that the people are hungry, and so we come back to them with little food rather than stay back and die they will prefer to chase that little food and allow you take the vote (t21). Finally, the senior official of the Rivers State Ministry of Environment was asked to describe the relationship between his ministry and the federal Ministry of Environment. His explained that, by law, his ministry was supposed to work in conjunction with the federal Ministry of Environment, but it is only recently we started having some positive romance with the federal ministry of environment on two projects the integrated waste management scheme and the proposed plastic recycling plant. Besides these two projects we have not felt the presence of the federal government. Being as it may this projects are yet to pick up† (t21).    Conclusion This chapter presented the researcher’s interviews with the five regulatory agencies in the Nigerian oil industry. The interviews have been presented almost verbatim with little explanatory commentary to better represent the views of the respondents.  Ã‚   In the next chapter, three interviews are presented. The first is with the representative of the United Nations Environmental Programme in Ogoniland and a senior security official in one of the security outfits in the Niger Delta and lastly the ‘founding father’ of the Nigerian oil industry. It is hoped this will provide a rich source of information and opinion to inform the thesis from the perspective of those outside the Nigerian oil industry.

4 Ways to Impress Any Hiring Manager

4 Ways to Impress Any Hiring Manager No matter how great your resume, how extensive your skills, how thorough your qualifications, if you don’t have that â€Å"know it when you see it† something special, you may not be able to convince the hiring manager that you’re the one. Here are four traits you can work on showcasing in the interview process that just might get you the job.Practice your playground 101Scheduled for a lunch or coffee interview, rather than an appointment in the office? The hiring manager might be trying to suss out how well you play with others. Can you make small talk? Can you put people, including and especially yourself, at ease? Are you pleasant and personable? You may not realize how important people skills are, even for jobs that don’t require a lot of client or customer interface. Remember, your coworkers have to interact with you every day. Show them they won’t regret taking you on board! Politeness and self-awareness will go a long way here.Don’t be shyDon’t overdo it and come across as an overzealous lunatic, but do try and let your enthusiasm shine through. Love this kind of work? Have tons of passion? Be yourself and show how hungry you are to succeed. You might just have the kind of spark your hiring manager is searching for.Do diligenceThink of the interview as your first assignment and do your homework. Learn everything you can about the company and the team you’d be working on, and go in with a few intelligent, insightful questions. This will be a great way to â€Å"show, not tell† the truth of that â€Å"hard worker† line in your cover letter. Also have a story or two on hand about times when you went above and beyond- just to sink the point.Be niceWe’re back on the playground again. Try and show your interviewer you’d be the kind of colleague they’d want to go to happy hour with to cheers over a big win. Be solicitous and easygoing. If the team likes you, that will go a long way in decision making.The bottom line is: be yourself, but go the extra mile to make sure your best self is shining through in interview situations, even when you’re nervous and concentrating on selling your skills. It can make all the difference.

A major British international food retailer has appointed you as a Essay

A major British international food retailer has appointed you as a consultant. The company is considering investing in one of th - Essay Example This paper will seek to analyze the political, economic, cultural and ethical risks that might affect Asda’s expansion into an Asean member state particularly Philippines. The paper will also identify and evaluate business opportunities in this country. Political analysis Asda is a high street supermarket located in Britain retailing a large variety of food products and may deliver at a customer’s doorstep upon an online order (Oxford Business Group, 2009:26). This company is planning to expand its investment prospects into Philippines as part of its long-term investment plans and looking into this country’s political system can help the business consultant understand the kind of risks or opportunities that the company should expect to face (Schwab, 2011:46). Generally, political stability and the system of governance of a country act as a substantial factor of consideration at times when a firm is planning to invest internationally (Hill, 2011:70). This is so be cause, every country in this world maintains unique and/or different political and economic systems pointing out that when doing business in any overseas country; it is advisable that you be familiar with that country’s market availability and its leadership structure (Cavusgil, Knight and Tiesenberger, 2011:49). The Philippines’ political system is not that complex, but for a British food retailer like Asda, changing its structure to accommodate certain rules and regulations is necessary (Daniels, Radebaugh and Sullivan, 2011:89). The Philippines’ political system is a structured framework constituting a presidential, democratic and representative republic, where the president is both the head of government and the head of state within a system characterized by pluri-form multi-party (Menipaz and Menipaz, 2007:84). Reliable sources establish that different political systems influence the functioning of a business. Philippines have a transitional business enviro nment where the political structure allows for international investment. Since 1986 when Corazon Aquino took over as the president of Philippines, the country formulated its political system with constitutional amendments being the first to change (Schwab, 2011:62). The country’s political administration system has three bodies, which consist of the judiciary, executive and the legislative branch. It has other administrative divisions that facilitate the proper administration of the cities, municipalities and barangayas among other regions. Despite a bit of political turmoil at times, there is no surmountable business pressure or threat posed by these issues (Oxford Business Group, 2009:50). Adequately, the people of Philippines are peaceful and they have a strong liking for investors from the west a particularly in such countries as Britain and the United States (Menipaz and Menipaz, 2007:106). Thus, Asda is at a considerable position to expand its food retailing services in to the Philippines since the political system of this country allows for favourable working conditions. Bearing in mind that political issues erupt at any given time, Asda should prepare for such risks in the

Major market segments and trends in biotech industry Essay

Major market segments and trends in biotech industry - Essay Example Biotechnology is a technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. Of the many different definitions available, the one formulated by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity is one of the broadest: "Biotechnology means any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use." (Article 2. Use of Terms). Another definition can be: Biotechnology is the manipulation of organisms to do practical things and to provide useful products.2 Biotechnology is a scientific knowledge base--a rapidly evolving technology--that has economically valuable applications in diverse industries such as pharmaceuticals, medical diagnostics, agriculture, bio-environmental remediation and chemical processing. Biotech is still at an early phase and there are many opposing hypotheses about its future development.3 The biotechnology industry serves both medical and non-medical markets as well. The medical market includes human therapeutics and human diagnostics as well as applications in veterinary medicine. Non-medical markets cover both agriculture and industrial applications. Agricultural applications cover making plants and crops pest resistant, providing improved seed quality, modulating growth and ripening times, enhancing nutrient content of foods, and providing simple and inexpensive diagnostics for use in field testing for contaminants and toxic materials. Industrial uses of biotechnology encompass many diverse sectors and include industrial enzymes, waste management, bioremediation, energy biomass, cosmetic formulations, and diagnostics for toxicity determinations.4 The Medical Market Most of U.S. biotechnology companies are aiming at markets in human medical purposes. Nearly 29 percent of biotechnology companies are involved in therapeutics, while the primary focus of 17 percent of companies is in diagnostics. Biotechnology companies in the human health care field concentrate on discovering and creating ways to prevent, diagnose, treat, and cure the dozens of life-threatening and serious diseases and conditions for which satisfactory medical therapies or preventive agents currently do not exist. The market for human therapeutic biotechnology products is expected to grow from $7.6 billion in revenues in 1996 to more than $24 billion in 2006, an average annual growth rate of 13 percent while the human diagnostics biotechnology product sector is predicted to grow at an average annual rate of 9 percent from $1.8 billion in 1996 to approximately $4 billion in 2006. Colony stimulating factors, insulin, human growth hormone, beta and gamma interferon, and vaccines comp rises much of the outstanding market. A 1996 survey of biotech drugs under development by companies belonging to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) found that there were 284 biotechnology drugs in human trials, a 21 percent jump over the number (234) in development reported by PhRMA in the previous year. The survey also found 18 drug applications pending approval at the FDA and 49 in

Causes and Consequences of Reduced Biodiversity Essay Example for Free

Causes and Consequences of Reduced Biodiversity Essay Causes and consequences of reduced biodiversity in tropical rain forests In many tropical countries, the majority of deforestation results from the actions of poor subsistence cultivators. However, in Brazil only about one-third of recent deforestation can be linked to cultivators. A large portion of deforestation in Brazil can be attributed to land clearing for pastureland by commercial and speculative interests, misguided government policies, inappropriate World Bank projects, and commercial exploitation of forest resources. For effective action it is imperative that these issues be addressed. Focusing solely on the promotion of sustainable use by local people would neglect the most important forces behind deforestation in Brazil. Brazilian deforestation is strongly correlated to the economic health of the country the decline in deforestation from 1988-1991 nicely matched the economic slowdown during the same period, while the rocketing rate of deforestation from 1993-1998 paralleled Brazils period of rapid economic growth. During lean times, ranchers and developers do not have the cash to rapidly expand their pasturelands and operations, while the government lacks funds to sponsor highways and colonization programs and grant tax breaks and subsidies to forest exploiters. Clearing for Cattle Pasture Cattle ranching are the leading cause of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. This has been the case since at least the 1970s: government figures attributed 38 percent of deforestation from 1966-1975 to large-scale cattle ranching. However, today the situation may be even worse. According to the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), between 1990 and 2001 the percentage of Europes processed meat imports that came from Brazil rose from 40 to 74 percent and by 2003 for the first time ever, the growth in Brazilian cattle production 80 percent of which was in the Amazon was largely export driven. Factors * CURRENCY DEVALUATION—The devaluation of the Brazilian real against the dollar effectively doubled the price of beef in reals and created an incentive for ranchers to expand their pasture areas at the expense of the rainforest. The weakness of the real also made Brazilian beef more competitive on the world market [CIFOR]. * CONTROL OVER FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE—The eradication of foot-and-mouth disease in much of Brazil has increased price and demand for Brazilian beef. * INFRASTRUCTURE—Road construction gives developers and ranchers access to previously inaccessible forest lands in the Amazon. Infrastructure improvements can reduce the costs of shipping and packing beef. * INTEREST RATES—Rainforest lands are often used for land speculation purposes. When real pasture land prices exceed real forest land prices, land clearing is a good hedge against inflation. At times of high inflation, the appreciation of cattle prices and the stream of services (milk) they provide may outpace the interest rate earned on money left in the bank. * LAND TENURE LAWS—In Brazil, colonists and developers can gain title to Amazon lands by simply clearing forest and placing a few head of cattle on the land. As an additional benefit, cattle are a low-risk investment relative to cash crops which are subject to wild price swings and pest infestations. Essentially cattle are a vehicle for land ownership in the Amazon. Colonization and subsequent subsistence agriculture A significant amount of deforestation is caused by the subsistence activities of poor farmers who are encouraged to settle on forest lands by government land policies. In Brazil, each squatter acquires the right (known as a usufruct right) to continue using a piece of land by living on a plot of unclaimed public land (no matter how marginal the land) and using it for at least one year and a day. After five years the squatter acquires ownership and hence the right to sell the land. Up until at least the mid-1990s this system was worsened by the government policy that allowed each claimant to gain title for an amount of land up to three times the amount of forest cleared. Poor farmers use fire for clearing land and every year satellite images pick up tens of thousands of fires burning across the Amazon. Typically understory shrubbery is cleared and then forest trees are cut. The area is left to dry for a few months and then burned. The land is planted with crops like bananas, palms, manioc, maize, or rice. After a year or two, the productivity of the soil declines and the transient farmers press a little deeper and clear new forest for more short-term agricultural land. The old, now infertile fields are used for small-scale cattle grazing or left for waste. Infrastructure Improvements Road construction in the Amazon leads to deforestation. Roads provide access to logging and mining sites while opening forest frontier land to exploitation by poor landless farmers. Brazils Trans-Amazonian Highway was one of the most economic development programs ever devised, and one of the most spectacular failures. In the 1970s, Brazil planned a 2,000 mile highway that would bisect the massive Amazon forest, opening rainforest lands to settlement by poor farmers from the crowded, drought-plagued north and development of timber and mineral resources. Colonists would be granted a 250-acre lot, six-months salary, and easy access to agricultural loans in exchange for settling along the highway and converting the surrounding rainforest into agricultural land. The plan would grow to cost Brazil US$65,000 1980 dollars to settle each family, an amazing amount for Brazil, a developing country at the time. Commercial agriculture Recently, soybeans have become one of the most important contributors to deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Thanks to a new variety of soybean developed by Brazilian scientists to flourish in rainforest climate, Brazil is on the verge of supplanting the United States as the worlds leading exporter of soybeans. High soybean prices have also served as an impetus to expanding soybean cultivation. Logging In theory, logging in the Amazon is controlled by strict licensing which allows timber to be harvested only in designated areas. However, there is significant evidence that illegal logging is quite widespread in Brazil. In recent years, Ibama Brazils environmental enforcement agency has made several large seizures of illegally harvested timber including one in September 2003 when 17 people were arrested for allegedly cutting 10,000 hectares worth of timber. Logging in the Amazon is closely linked with road building. Studies by the Environmental Defense Fund show that areas that have been selectively logged are eight times more likely to be settled and cleared by shifting cultivators than untouched rainforests because of access granted by logging roads. Logging roads give colonists access to rainforest, which they exploit for fuel wood, game, building material, and temporary agricultural lands. Fires Virtually all forest clearing, by small farmer and plantation owner alike, is done by fire. Though these fires are intended to burn only limited areas, they frequently escape agricultural plots and pastures and char pristine rainforest, especially in dry years like 2005. Many of the fires set for clearing forest for these purposes are set during the three-month burning season and the smoke produced creates widespread problems across the region, including airport closings and hospitalizations from smoke inhalation. These fires cover a vast area of forest. In 1987 during a four-month period, about 19,300 square miles of Brazilian Amazon were burned. The burning produced carbon dioxide containing more than 500 million tons of carbon, 44 million tons of carbon monoxide, and millions of tons of other particles and nitrogen oxides. An estimated 20 percent of fires that burn between June and October cause new deforestation, while another 10 percent is the burning of ground cover in virgin forest Mining Mining in the Brazilian Amazon presently results in limited deforestation due to crackdowns on informal miners known as garimpeiros. The pig iron industry may have the largest role in mining-driven deforestation by consuming wood to produce charcoal to fuel steel production.

Philosophy of Education :: Philosophy of Teaching Statement

Philosophy of Education â€Å"Be all that you can be. Find your future- as a teacher.† No, joining the army is not what Madeline Fuchs Holzer had in mind when she said this quote. Being all you can be in life requires dedication, responsibility and a desire to do what you love. Teaching is a profession that requires 110% from a person. I have the drive and ability to be the best that I can be as a teacher. There is not anything else I would want to do with my life besides teaching. I want to be a reflection to my students that they can be all that they can be. Another quote by Henry Adams, â€Å"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.† To be that type of teacher has been a lifelong goal for me. I want to make my mark in the world and this is my way of doing it. To have the ability to affect a child’s life for an eternity is something that not everyone can say they have accomplished. Teaching definitely is a profession that will affect eternit y. The main reasons for wanting to become a teacher would be my love for children, my family inspirations; God’s calling for me, and my love for learning. All my life I have enjoyed being around children. They have great spirits about them that makes me feel free spirited. Their innocence, undying energy and their love for life makes me take these characteristics and apply them to my own life. Another motivation for me is the inspirations of my grandfather and my father. My grandfather died when I was very young and the one thing everyone has always said about him is his love of flying and teaching. His life was spent on teaching others and when he passed away he was remembered as being a great teacher devoting himself entirely to his family and his students. My father spent the first thirty years of his life going form job to job since he had not finished his schooling younger in life. At middle age he decided to go back to college and earned his degree in education. He felt that becoming a teacher he would be a testimony to children to continue their education to better their future.

Busy city sidewalks Essay

Yellow taxis and wide streets; hot dog stands on every corner; Central Park covered in a blanket of snow; the Statue of liberty and all of its glamour; the bright lights of Times Square; world’s famous designers shops on 5th Avenue and last, but not least ice skating on a central park – this is what comes to mind when I picture New York City†¦.. I haven’t traveled to a city that can even come close to comparing to Manhattan. I haven’t travelled to manhattan to, but this is the only place in the world i would like to visit. I would no hesitate to choose Britain. The main reason why I would choose Britain as my destination is that I want to visit London and Cambridge. After all that travelling you must be wondering about the kind of food that is unique to Melaka. A good Malaysian hostess like me is bound to tell you about those delicious desserts that Melaka has to offer. Walking along Jonker Street in the heat, you will certainly enjoy the tasty dessert of cendol. This is a green colored jelly (made from rice flour) in the shape of worms and served with shaved ice, coconut milk and palm sugar. The cendol can be served in a bowl or sometimes in a glass. This one shop I went to served it in a specially paper container shaped like a durian. The cendol may look a bit strange to you but believe me, it tastes great! Nyonya kuih as the name suggests originated from the Nyonyas, the descendants of the Chinese Immigrants who came with Admiral Zheng He. The Nyonya kuih are bite sized desserts made from ground rice flour and usually steamed and can be sweet or savory. A Famosa or â€Å"The Famous† in Portuguese is a fortress located in Melaka. It is among the oldest surviving architectural remains in Asia. All that is left of the mighty fortress is this tiny gate. In 1511, the Portuguese fleet under the command of Alfonso De Alberquerque attacked and defeated the native ruler of Melaka. He had a fortress built around a natural hill near the sea. The fortress is one of the places to visit in Melaka that every visitor must not miss. To have a better understanding of the Chinese influence, one of the best places to visit in Melaka is the  Admiral Cheng Ho’s museum. The museum displays the life and times of the historic Ming dynaasty admiral whose voyage to this part of the world played an important role in the Melaka sultanate. The rooms like Tea House and Treasure Ship Living Cabin will offer you a glimpse of his life. The museum located in Jalan Hang Jebat is in a central location and easy to get to from wherever you are staying. Admission fee is RM 10 for adults and RM 5 for students and children. This is one of the best places to visit for a bit of history lesson on Melaka and should be included for your family vacation. Another attraction of Jonker Street are the rickshaws. The are almost extinct now as modes of transport with highways, air-conditioned taxis and buses. Tourists are game to try a ride in these colorfully decorated trishaws equipped with stereo systems and loudly blaring the latest pop songs. A ride in a a trishaw is one of the things to do in Melaka that will be remembered for a long time. A family vacation would not be complete without a trishaw ride. This is your once-in-a-lifetime ride on this outdated mode of transport to get around the places to visit in Melaka. After all it may not be around forever as less and less people are taking up this trade. Don’t be too shocked when you hear Beyonce providing you the musical accompaniment as you sit in your trishaw, lol. Jonker Street, a narrow street located in Chinatown is one of the top ten places to visit in Melaka. It has some of the oldest houses dating to the 17th century. This street is famous for its antique goods with its past associations with Portuguese, Dutch, Chinese and British. You can find Chinese porcelain pieces, old coins, unusual lamps and various Buddha statues. The history of Melaka began with a simple fishing village inhabited by local Malays. In the fourteenth century, a Hindu prince, Parameswara was driven from his home in Palembang by Javanese enemies and found himself in this small village. According to legend, he was resting under a gray tree while hunting when one of his dogs cornered a mouse deer. In self defense, the mouse deer pushed the dog into the river. Impressed by the courage of the mouse deer and feeling it was the sign of a good omen, Parameswara decided to build an empire at that very spot. He could see it was strategically located to be an excellent trading port. He named the place after the tree he was sheltering under, the Melaka tree. Another version of the story tells of Parameswara choosing the name Malacca from the Tamil word â€Å"mallakka† which means upside down. Old illustrations of the dog and mouse deer shows the dog falling on its back into the river which gave him the idea of the name Malacca. Some of the best places to visit in Melaka, Malaysia recounts the influence of the rule of the Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial powers. Besides the European colonial powers, the Chinese came to trade and settle down with the local Malays. It is one of the top historical places in Malaysia not to be missed. After all, at the height of its prominence, Bandar Melaka or Melaka City was an important port along the Straits of Malacca This historical city has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 7 July 2008 and listed among45 â€Å"must visit† places by the New York Times. A World Heritage Site is a place that is of special cultural or physical significance. Melaka gained fame mainly because of its strategic location as a good port accessible in all seasons and situated at the narrowest point of the Malacca Straits. It was formerly named Malacca and some still refer to this popular name. Allow me to be your guide on this tour of the ten best places to see in Melaka. I am sure you will be fascinated by its rich historical background. For those who want to experience the traditional way of life in a Malaysian village, you can be a guest at a Melaka Homestay. For those who prefer to  rent an apartment in Melaka, there is the Malacca Homestay Apartment which is near the city center. The strategic location of Malacca meant that it was an important stop for Chinese admiral Zheng Ho’s fleet during the Ming dynasty. In order to enhance better relationships, a delegation was led by the Princess Hang Li Po to marry Sultan Mansur Shah who reigned from 1456 until 1477. This resulted in a mass settlement of Chinese people which led to a community of Peranakan or Baba-Nyonya. Nyonya are for the ladies while Baba are for the men. This community identify themselves as descendants of the late 15th and 16th century Chinese immigrants. Some have intermarried with the local Malays and are usually traders. Most of those descended from the early settlers speak two or more languages and towards later generations have assimilated to the Malay culture with their own particular way of dressing as well as cooking style. Why not stay at The Baba House Hotel Malacca Town which is traditionally designed based on the culture of Baba-Nyonya.

Rapid Rise of Oil Prices

The point of the abstracts is to show how different societies can be affected by the same economic factor – rising oil prices. Countries, that I am going to present in the light of this question can be divided on two categories: oil-importers and oil-exporters. The following abstracts will be guided by this division. Oil-exporters Many of these countries have their economies based mainly on oil export, which makes them highly dependent on their resources on one hand, and give certain political buttons on the other. Most of these countries form OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries). One of them is Iran: â€Å"Revenues from oil and gas exports provide up to 70% of the state's general budget. Both the government and economy of Iran are highly dependant on oil. Foreign goods are mainly paid by petrodollars, enriching many Iranians and making many individuals quite wealthy. The boost in oil revenues that came with the 1973 oil price boom led to the creation of many new enterprises.†(Karbassian Akbar (2000) Islamic Revolution and the Management of the Iranian Economy. Social Research. V.67; i.2; p621.) â€Å"By this spring the price per barrel had nearly tripled†¦OPEC production ran slightly behind world purchasing.†(Gregg Easterbrook (05/15/2000) Opportunity cost – Hooray For Expensive Oil; The new Republic. P.21) From this we can assume that triggering oil prices to go up simply by slowing down the production can be very profitable. â€Å"We have an income distribution from oil importing countries towards the oil exporting countries.†(Breffni O'Rourke. EU: High Oil Prices Affect Economies, Societies. http:/ rferl.org/ nca/ features/ 2000/ 09/ F.RU.000911133329.html). This way many macro economical problems (budget holes, financing of social needs et c) could be happily solved. But in real life these profits appear ambiguously. If we take a close look at countries like Iran in the period of time we don't find fast economic growth like in most European oil importing countries. That is because these countries sometimes tend to have a petrodollar injection rather than seek for more natural ways of improving their economies. â€Å"The high oil prices and the cheap rouble which killed the competition of foreign goods provided the push for a modest recovery.†(Dimitry Shlapentokh. (05/00) Putin's Russia: What Is Ahead? Contemporary Review. V.276 i.612 p.225) Thus the conclusion is that rising oil prices are beneficial for oil-exporting countries only in a short-term matter, because they can provide a necessary boost for their economies. But used as a recovery tool petrodollars could be dangerously addictive stunting natural progress of the economy. Oil-importers Oil-importing countries are dependant on oil as well, only in a different from oil-exporters way. â€Å"Higher prices are making a strong impact across Europe, provoking protests in some areas and threatening to reverse the continent's economic recovery.† (Breffni O'Rourke. EU: High Oil Prices Affect Economies, Societies. http:/ rferl.org/ nca/ features/ 2000/ 09/ F.RU.000911133329.html). â€Å"For the typical oil-importing country, the temporary income loss due to a rise in oil prices leads to a decrease in saving rather than a downward adjustment of consumption.† (N.Loayza; K. Schmidt-Hebbel; L. Serven. 05/00. What Drives Private Savings Across the World? Review Of Economics And Statistics. V.82 i.2 p.165). Of course high oil prices usually cause certain damage. Depending on whole economic and politic situation damage can be serious or mild: â€Å"High oil prices are causing hardship for many Americans – Americans on modest incomes that have to drive a long way to work, independent truckers that have big fuel costs.†(The President's Radio Address. (05/27/00) Weekly Compilation Of Presidential Documents. V.36 i.12 p.581), 1comparing to â€Å"The â€Å"fuel riots† were sparked off by a sudden increase in the basic price of oil. People can not afford the increased oil prices because having lost their jobs because of the government actions in the state sector.† (African News Service. (07/19/00) p.1008201 n.0410) But besides short-term negative effect (â€Å"†¦this is the impact which counts most at the moment.†Ã‚   Rising oil prices sometimes lead to some positive changes in the society. Situations like that push governments to spend more funds on researches of alternative or more efficient fuels, which in future would allow to be less dependant on oil: â€Å"Meanwhile, we will continue to work toward a longer term solution. I've asked Secretary Richardson to conduct a 60-day study on converting factories and major users from oil to other fuels, which will help to free up future oil supplies for use in heating homes.† (The President's Radio Address. (05/27/00) Weekly Compilation Of Presidential Documents. V.36 i.12 p.581).

Iphone and Android Essay

Iphone and Android Essay Iphone and Android Essay Evaluative essay You wake up late one morning, and have to rush to get ready for work. In the process of getting all of your things together, and hurrying to get to your car, you drop your phone. It hits the ground pretty hard, and causes the screen to shatter into a million little pieces, and is unusable. So now you have to stop by the cellular store after work to buy a new phone, but what phone do you buy? People buy iPhones and Android phones to meet their needs; you cannot say a road bike is better than a mountain bike because they the customers have different needs. When you're looking for a new smartphone, choosing an iPhone or Android phone isn't a simple task. So it is best to know what features on a phone best suites you and your needs. While both phones offer a lot of great features, they may seem so similar that it's hard to distinguish between them If you are someone that is on the phone a lot, wither that be texting, making phone calls, or just spending hours creeping on old friends facebook pages, you need a long battery lifetime for your phone. Because of the variety of hardware used in the Android phones, Android’s battery life is more varied. While early iPhones had batteries that required a charge every day. But with recent iPhone models, it’s easy to go days at a time without needing a charge. Both phones offer ultra-high capacity batteries. So if you don't mind a little extra bulk, there battery life will last much longer. If you are looking for the biggest screens for smartphones, Android is your choice, but only by a little. It used to be the smaller the better but in recent years, there has been a trend towards super-sized smartphone screens. A new word has been coined, phablet, to describe a hybrid phone and tablet device. Android was the first phablets and continues to offer the most and biggest options. With the debut of the iPhone 6 Plus, Apple has entered with phablet game with a 5.5-inch screen. There are valid questions about if devices this big make for good phones, but they're certainly popular. So, if it is size you are after, Android's the choice, but not by much. Apple’s App Store is the place to be if you want the latest updates on the best apps. Android often plays second fiddle to iOS releases, and sometimes never gets its own version of top-selling iOS apps because of fragmentation. The iPhone has rapidly become a major player in the mobile app video game market, with tens of thousands of great games. The growth of the iPhone as a gaming platform has led some observers to say that Apple is well on its way to overpowering Nintendo and Sony as the leading mobile game platform. The general expectation that Android apps should be free has led game developers interested in making money to develop for iPhone first and Android second. In fact, due to various problems with developing for Android, some game companies have stopped creating games for it all together. So for app savy, or game players iPhones are for you. When you buy an iPhone from the Apple Store it’s the exact same Phone that you would get if you bought it at a cellular store or even at Wal-Mart. But the same Android phone may have a different user experience depending on where you buy

A Day in the Life of My Mother

Name: Zoey Tan Wei Lin (32) Class: 2 Endurance Date: 7 March 2011 A Day in the Life of My Mother A day in the life of my mother when she was my age was not easy. So a day in her teenager life starts like this. Early in the morning, about five thirty a. m. , I wake up and found a warm blanket on top of me. ‘Father had waked up and had covered me, again, in his warm blanket. ’ I thought. Anyway, I had to get up and help father in his humble little moveable cart that sell rojak, a mixtures of tropical fruits, such as pineapple and so on. So I got up, get dress and was ready. I got out of my room which I shared with four other siblings, my second sister, my younger sister, my second brother and my youngest brother. My mother had seven children, three sons and four daughters, however, my eldest sister had pass away when she was a baby. And my eldest brother slept in the living room while my mother and father slept in the other smaller room. My mother rent two rooms in this place near the Singapore River. When I got out I crept pass my grandmother’s bedroom. She is a scary woman, most of us do not like her as she only knows how to take money from father but she did not see how much effort mother and father put in order to support the family. However, when she does not get the money she wanted as the selling of rojak is not good, she will throw the freshly removed skin pineapple on the floor and make a scene. Does she not understand that by doing so, lesser people will want to buy the rojak and thus father could not earn enough to give her? And, of course, I gotten my revenge, I will throw the pineapple skin from other stall at her hair, which is neatly tie up as a bun. Then, I will hide behind one of the big, tall pillar without her noticing and she will start cursing about who naughty children that throw things at her. Little did she know that it was her granddaughter who throws it at her. I walked past my mother’s room, look in and found that she had already when to work. My mother is a pleasant lady that never raises her voice but she does punish us. As I had said, our family is not very wealthy so we could not just get anything we want and my only doll which is made of fragile plastic was being thrown onto the floor and thus, it was broken. It is also one of the reasons why I quit school, I simply cannot bear my mother going around borrowing money to pay for my school fees and to buy the materials needed for schooling. Furthermore, I had to helped my father sell rojak since my other siblings are either too young or does not even care. Thus, when I get home I was so tired! And it is already very late and I did not have time for studies. The lights have been switched off and I had to use an oil lamp but I still cannot see properly under the dim light. Anyway, it had been about four years now since I dropped out of school and my day since then had much like today expect that I had to walk down to Clarke Quark to buy opera tickets for my mother as this evening at the outdoor theatres hall will be showing her favorite show. However, sometimes I get to go home earlier but I will still have to helped my mother cooked rice. We used firewood or charcoal to cook and it will end up very watery than I had to scope the rice up and dry it to become like rice. Now I got out of the house and help father pushed the cart. Fortunately, today is a good day where there is no rain and the sun is not too hot. Thus, we managed to sell all the rojak early but it is still a tiring day as there are a lot of bridges that are very steep and, always, there are those few customer that are very difficult to please. We mainly sell along the Singapore River, it is dirty and smelly as ever. There are many many interesting things that happened daily. Today there was a shark corpse that was found by one of the fisherman and when they cut open the shark, they found a body inside. Today we get to earn a little extra more so dinner was also an extra special. We reach home and while father work inside the kitchen, I went out to play. We can play with many things and we could anything possible to something that amuses us. We also play with fire crackers. But nowadays I did not play so much, instead, I go to people’s park complex to look for either my aunt or my second sister. My second sister was working there as a tailor which I think I might soon join her as I could choose to be either a tailor or a hairdresser but I think i will choose to be a tailor instead of a hairdresser. Because I think it might suit me more. My aunt has a shop there, at the people’s park complex, selling beads, laces and other decorative materials used in sewing. So every night I will drop by there to help out and maybe my aunt will give one to five cents for me to buy sweets but I always save it up in a biscuit tin. Then, I will go home with my sister. And on the way home we will cross one bridge that is very dark and we will always run across it sometimes there noises on it we will scream saying there is a ghost. And when we finally reach home, I will be so tired and will go off to bed. So those were the fond memories my mother had when she was a young adult but her life was not that easy after all. However, she was strong enough and had braved through all difficulties. When I first asked her about her life her first was not good, very bad but her optimist kept her going on. My mother will always be my top number one idol!