environmental hazards which effect pregnacy essays

environmental hazards which effect pregnacy essays Environmental Hazards That Effect Pregnancy Did you know that 30 to 80 percent of all conceptions end in miscarriages, stillbirth or early infant death? And that mens sperm counts have gone down by 40 percent during the last thirty years? There are many reasons that these things happen. Most of these factors to a healthy birth have to do with the environment. Some examples include radiation, viruses, drugs and chemicals. These are the cause of 5 to 11 percent to birth defects and can cause miscarriages. Toxic substances come in many forms. You should know the different forms to look out for. There are hazardous vapors such as the fumes that come from turpentine and paint thinner. Mists like spray paints. Metalic fumes, gases and dust. A toxic substance is a poison, which enters the body and damages its organ systems. Toxic substances enter the body from absorption through skin, inhalation through mouth and nose and ingestion by eating or drinking around a toxic substance. So you should always be cautious around hazardous material. Some examples of chemicals to steer clear of, and their effects are: Maganese and antimony because they interfere with sex drive and can cause impotence, Cadium and lead can cause testicular damage, Tolnene, xylene, and formaldahyde can cause menstrual disorders, lead and benzene cause mutations to chromosomes and offspring. The way it works is that once a poison enters you body, it circulates through the bloodstream and passes through the placenta. The amount of damage it causes depends on the stage of pregnancy and the amount of the toxin that gets into the body. The type of toxin also makes a difference. In the first trimester, which is when the organs are developed, Pentachlorophenol, lithium, mercury and ethyl alcohol can cause birth defects. Lead and carbon can also cause miscarriages and spontaneous abortions. Here is a table of the reproductive effects of chemical poisoning...

Analysis of Pakistan Industry

Ans. Pakistan economy is growing steadily. This growth demands higher energy utilization and accordingly putting high pressure on countries economy. Pakistan mainly depends upon oil and gas resources to fulfill energy necessities. Native resources of Oil are not enough to put out energy thirst of the growing economy. As a result Pakistan has to import large quantity of oil and oil based products from Middle East countries. Gas assets in the country are enough for current gas requirements. So natural gas is playing a key role in power sector. Currently in oil upstream and downstream sector there are some local and international companies involved and government of Pakistan is creating such policies that it can attract more international sponsors in this sector but the quicked rate of knots of change, high degree of inability to make up your mind and unstable political situation of the country present momentous challenges and menace to foreign investment. There are so many Industries in Pakistan, some are gigantic and some are undersized. Each and every industry has its own criteria; Main industries of Pakistan are Agriculture, Pharmaceuticals, Information Technology, Shipping Logistics and Petroleum industry, which are working on a huge scale of Pakistan. The industry which we selected is Petroleum Industry of Pakistan. Objective of our research is to highlight the present status of petroleum industry in Pakistan and its future projections keeping in view the internal result situation and geopolitical outward appearance of the county. Oil is passes through two processes both are listed below: 1. Extraction of Petroleum: The taking out of petroleum is the process by which usable petroleum is extracted and removed from the earth. Process: Extracting crude oil usually starts with drilling wells into the subversive reservoir. When an oil well has been spigoted, a geologist (known on the rig as the mud logger) will note its presence. Such a mud logger is known to be sitting on the assemble. Historically, in the USA, some oil fields stay alived where the oil rose naturally to the surface, but most of these fields have long since been used up, except in certain places in Alaska. Often many wells (called multilateral wells) are drilled into the same reservoir, to guarantee that the extraction rate will be economically feasible. Also, some wells (secondary wells) may be used to pump water, steam, acids or various gas mixtures into the reservoir to raise or maintain the reservoir pressure, and so maintain an economic extraction rate. 2. OIL REFINARY: An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as naphtha, gasoline, diesel fuel, and asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas. Process: Oil refineries are characteristically large, rambling industrial multifariouses with extensive piping running throughout, carrying streams of fluids between large chemical processing units. In many ways, oil refineries use much of the technology of, and can be thought of, as types of chemical plants. The crude oil feedstock has typically been processed by an oil production plant. There is usually an oil depository (tank farm) at or near an oil refinery for storage of immensity liquid products. An oil refinery is considered an indispensable part of the downstream side of the petroleum industry. Historical Background of Petroleum in Pakistan First well was drilled in 1866 at Kundal in the upper region of Indus valley. Shallow wells were drilled in the following years, and from 1886, small scale production of oil started in Khattan (Balochistan). In 1915, the first series of commercial oil discovery was made in the Potwar basin (Punjab). After independence in 1947, there was a need for an appropriate legislative framework to organize the petroleum sector, therefore the policies for petroleum were introduced in 1949. These rules or policies contained inducement that generated a new beckon of exploration. The Government of Pakistan decided to enter directly into oil exploration in order to sustain the exploration effort with assistance from U. S. S. R they established the Oil and Gas Development Corporation (OGDC) in the public sector in 1961, which provided successful track in discovery of oil and gas reserves with in the country. Due to Pakistan’s modest oil production, the country is dependent on oil imports to satisfy domestic oil demand. As of November 2006, Pakistan had consumed approximately 350 thousand barrels of oil and various petroleum products, of which, more than 80 percent was imported. 2. 2 Major Players of this Industry: Q. 2 List five largest companies in your industry holding 51% of share in the market? (Descriptive Analysis) Ans. Major Players in upstream sector: 1. Oil Gas Development Company Limited: OGDC was created in 1961 under an agreement signed by GOP with USSR for financing paraphernalias and services of Soviet experts for exploration of oil and gas in the sector. During 1970s, Western technology was introduced and it also under took an belligerent program in Exploration sector of Pakistan. Seventies spreading outs resulted in discovery of number of oil fields and hence OGDCL financial independence. Pakistan holds 74. 82% venture in the company. 2. Pakistan Petroleum Limited: Incorporated on June 5, 1950 as a Public Limited company, PPL presented at birth all the assets and liabilities of the Burmah Oil Company (Pakistan Concessions) Limited, and on targeted business on 01 July 1952. In 1997, Burmah sold PPL to GoP. In July 2004 the government sold 15% of these holdings to general municipal as part of Privatization Program. PPLs present exploration portfolio consists of 17 exploration blocks out of which nine (9) areas, including one (1) offshore block, are PPL operated and eight (8) areas including one (1) offshore block are partner operated. As of June 30, 2006, the remaining confirmed recoverable assets of PPL consisted of 4. 391 TCf of gas (784 million barrels of oil equivalent) and around 21 millions of barrel oil. The company’s current hydrocarbon construction interms of energy is equivalent to around 184,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The stipulate for the energy is rising due to economic growth. Therefore to meet the demand PPL has embarked on various detections to intensify theenergy supply. GoP hold 70. 66% of the shares. 3. Pakistan State Oil: Pakistan State Oil is the largest oil company and the only national one in Pakistan with 61% market share in overall sales volume. When the overall sales volume had been moribund in the past few years, the company decided to enthusiastically chase retail markets with new, modernized pumps. The company has also introduced a variety of products that will help them in maintaining their market share which include corporate credit cards, fleet cards and prepaid cards. They have built New Vision channels to make available better eminence service to its customers. 4. Shell Pakistan: In 1928, to boost their allocation competencies, the marketing interest of Royal Dutch Shell and the Burmah Oil Company Limited in India were amalgamated and Burmah Shell Oil Storage Distribution Company of India was born. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the name was changed to the Burmah Shell Oil Distribution Company of Pakistan. In 1970, when 51% of the shareholding was transmitted to Pakistani investors, the name of changed to Pakistan Burmah Shell Limited (PBS). The Shell and the Burmah Groups maintained the remaining 49% in equal propositions. In February 1993, as economic liberalization commenced to take starting place and the Burmah dissociated from from PBS, Shell Petroleum stepped into raise its stake to 51%. The years 2001-2 have seen the Shell Petroleum Company sequentially increasing its share, with the Group now having a 76% stake in Shell Pakistan Limited (SPL). 5. National Refinery Limited: National Refinery Limited (NRL) is a petroleum refinery and petrochemical complex affianced in the manufacture and supplies of asphalts, BTX, fuel products and lubes for domestic expenditure and export. NRL stands to be the second largest refinery of Pakistan in term of crude oil handing out capability and the only lube oil refinery of the country. The company controls within fuel and lube business subdivisions. Fuel segment is primarily a miscellaneous supplier of fuel products offering furnace oil, high speed diesel (HSD), jet fuels, liquefied petroleum gas, motor gasoline and it exports naphtha. Lube segment mainly endows with different types of lube base oils, asphalts, some fuel products, waxes and rubber process oil, while it also sell overseas lube base oils. Company holds 55% market shares. Macro Environmental Analysis POLITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS: 1. Environmental Issues: Poor natural resource management and extending high population rise in Pakistan has a negative impact on Pakistan’s environment. Pakistan is focusing to achieve self-sufficiency in food yield, coping with energy requirement and bearing its high population growth rather to restrict on population or other environmental issues. Lack of funding efforts is apparent in Pakistan’s environmental protection. 2. Future Legislation Home Markets: There’s not as such future legislation in Pakistan regarding petroleum because the petroleum prices fluctuate every day and it’s set by our Regulatory Agencies of petroleum in Pakistan by seeing the international prices of Oil. 3. Regulatory Bodies Processes: Regulatory bodies mostly work administratively with government but for all practical purposes it work independent. Nevertheless, its independency maybe confined by the rules and regulation which more often than not established by the ministry itself. Sometimes the problems or the issues are multi-sectorial or multi-ministerial and therefore mostly treated by the Prime Minister (PM) himself and his Cabinet Division. It has been observed that OGRA-(Oil Gas Regulatory Authority) can’t perform its work properly; it’s because of the unduly going up prices of CNG LPG therefore, they cannot able to shape out space of itself. Now coming up to the oil pricing it has been observed that OCAC-(Oil Companies Advisory Committee) has executed and could execute better than OGRA. It has been seen mostly that OGRA just give recommendations for oil pricing but it’s depend on government that they give subsidy or not. Now OGRA’s job today is to calculate the price and print it. There are many ifs and buts in it, which OGRA should have made a practice of talking about in broad day light in public audience than determining on these quietly and sliding into the pricing system. 4. Government Policies: The Government of Pakistan is aware of the striking changes that have taken place in the pricing and cost environment of the international oil and gas industry. The forceful increase in the crude oil prices in the international market has changed the nature of the EP- (Exploration and Production) sectors which necessitates forceful changes in the approach towards the sector. In addition, the GoP-(Government of Pakistan) recognizes the operating disputes and circumstances for the Pakistan oil exploration and development industry. Today, more than ever before, the GoP stands committed to providing fiscal and regulatory inducement that would increase and facilitate EP companies in stimulating their exploration and development programs in order to maximize domestic oil and gas production in the coming years. 5. Trading Policies: However, exploration and development industry people fear that the policy, which would provide the much took impulse to the exploration activities, might fall prey to the political exploitation following condemnation of the prime minister. The sources said that the policy was presented before the Council of Common Interest (CCI) and was forwarded to provinces for comments. All the provinces nod was needed for the implementation and the Punjab government’s reservations regarding the PM’s conviction could go adverse for the policy, they said. Industry people said that the Petroleum Policy 2012 would provide the much took impulse to the exploration and production activities in the country and there must not be any delay in its announcement. The new petroleum policy is the oil and gas producing province would acquire 12. 5 % of imperial. The Windfall Levy Oil (WLO) and Windfall Levy Gas (WLG) charges have been reduced from 50 % to 40 %, the sources said, adding that the crude price range for applicability of WLO has also been moved up from $30-100 per barrel range to $40-110 per barrel. The minimal working interest that local companies are demanded to hold has been increased to 20 % from 15 %, they added. 6. Funding, Grants Initiatives: Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has decided to stop the supply of oil to power companies on credit basis as the amount due is fix to cross the Rs. 200 billion mark. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources has asked the Ministry of Water and Power to arrange funds and buy oil on cash. A petroleum ministry official said, â€Å"If power companies do not release funds for furnace oil, the water and power ministry should directly import furnace oil or buy from local refineries for running the power plants. † PSO, the largest oil marketing company of the country, imports and supplies furnace oil to power companies on deferred payment. â€Å"Now, PSO will not open letters of credit (LC) for furnace oil import unless power companies pay cash,† the official said. To classify the matter, the Ministry of Finance did a meeting. According to the official, the supply of high-speed diesel and other petroleum products is being hurt because of increasing dues to be paid by power companies. Because of the financial crunch, PSO has also not been able to pay the refineries, which in turn are facing difficulties in importing crude oil and making payments to national oil and gas explorer Oil and Gas Development Company-(OGDC). Oil refineries and gas distribution companies are to pay over Rs. 131 billion to OGDC, which has haltered exploration activity. Qatari investors have been invited to invest in the oil and petroleum sector of Pakistan during the recently held second session of the Pak-Qatar Join Ministerial Commission here. During the session of the committee, the Qatari delegation was appraised on the opportunities in Pakistan’s oil and petroleum sector. It was also altered of the potential in Pakistan’s offshore oil exploration opportunities and government incentives being extended in this regard. The delegation promised to assess these proposals individually. It is apt to note that Qatar’s Minister of Energy and Industry had recently been in Pakistan to attend the Pak-Qatar Join Ministerial Commission. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS: The economic-environmental analysis of petroleum industry in Pakistan basically gives the wide picture of industry operations analyzing the impacts of economy and environment like the policies specified for this particular industry, regulations, market distribution assessment and costs incurred. In short it focuses on economic trends of petroleum industry in Pakistan and its effects. 1. Home Economy Situation: Pakistan’s economy is at developing stage. Due to this, the world believes that it is good place to invest. But the economy never remains steady and it fluctuates. From Pakistan’s perspective, this usually occurs due to political unrest in the country or due to failure of any economic policy. Petroleum industry in Pakistan, as the research says has no such issues related to economic situation of country except pricing. The demand and supply of petroleum goods is seen always balanced and the companies at their position are functioning properly. Petroleum sector in Pakistan is one of the most profitable sectors in the country. However the exchange rate has been a problem due to which the petroleum products in Pakistan are pretty expensive than the other countries of the region and world. This is because the government is not ready to provide subsidy on petroleum goods due to the laid guidelines by IMF to achieve the economic targets. This makes the conditions bounded and the chances of expansion and development of the industry become less. 2. Home Economy Trends: From past two or three years, Pakistan’s economy is facing crisis in the form of lesser export volume and devaluation of currency. These are two major problems. But experts say that when an economy is in crisis, that is the best time to take advantage of new opportunities and change the trends. Pakistan has gone through significant economic changes in the last few decades but the some problems that are now considered the core problems of economy are still unsolved. On the top of these problems is inflation. Inflation in Pakistani economy is caused by unstructured fiscal and monetary policies. Reports of last ten years show that the high inflation in the economy of the country is due to the expansionary policies and the increase in oil prices internationally. High oil prices resulted in high transportation charges and expensive energy. Apart from this issue, Pakistan also faces the problems of â€Å"Balance of payment†. The interference of IMF in the country’s economy does not allow the government to set the policies according the nation’s demand and condition. It’s always directed to compensate the deficit faced. 3. Overseas Economies and trends: The world economic development is on the move and different economies are working together to carry out a research on present issues and develop a new structure or ways to carry out trade with less restrictions and increased benefits. The centers of these researches are: A: Merchandise Trade B: International Capital movements C: International Balance of trade D: Exchange rates E: Trade in services The Oil producing countries (OPCs), according to IMF, have the fiscal oil revenue 25% more than the total fiscal revenue. The economy and policies of OPCs are of major interest because these countries put direct impact on the oil prices worldwide and thus are a cause of inflation in many small countries because oil is basic commodity and used worldwide. The largest oil producer, Saudi Arabia has the total export balance of $350. 7 billion. About 90% of these exports comprises of crude oil and petroleum goods. The trend in international economy is seen ever increasing with small fall downs that occur worldwide named as â€Å"Economic Meltdown†. 4. General Taxation Issues: A government official claimed recently that the government charges Rs 46. 18 per litre tax on fuels. This is a big amount. Petroleum goods mainly come from imports and that’s the main ground for the government to charge taxes on it. Apart from the imports, the oil production inside the country is also not so cheap. The refineries operating in the country are entitled to pay 10% to 40% tax on their paid-up capital. Due to this the profit margin of petroleum dealers has come down because they had to pay various indirect and direct taxes. In Pakistan there are four different kinds of taxes on petroleum goods. This huge taxation is done in many countries. 5. Taxation specific to product/services: Taxes on petroleum products vary. In Pakistan, government charges different amount of tax on petrol, diesel and kerosene oil. The current figures of this sales tax are Rs 24. 58 on each litre of petrol, Rs 18. 99 on each litre of diesel and Rs 18. 85 on each litre of kerosene oil. These amounts keep varying as the â€Å"oil and gas regulatory authority† makes recommendations to the government after every 15 days. Similarly different other petroleum products like engine oils, greases, lubricants and fuels are taxed. 6. Seasonality/weather issues: Pakistan is a country of four seasons and there is no specific extreme weather. So there is no such issue of weather and season on the production and sales of petroleum goods in general. It is considered as stable industry for its increasing demand and supply. However, during last two years, the industry faced minor losses of plants and supply due to wrathful floods in the country. Although losses were there and there was a cut off of supplies in many parts of the country but that ended when water levels came down. 7. Market and trade cycles: The market cycles related to oil industry results in oil prices fluctuation. During last two decades, the world has seen number of price shifts. This is because of some macroeconomic effects of the industry worldwide. In Pakistan, as the major part of oil is imported, the industry has the effect of global market cycles. Oil price shifts are directly transferred to Pakistan’s industry because we are the importer of oil. Every sector gets affected by it. So there is no specific trade cycle of petroleum industry of Pakistan. It is shared internationally as many countries do. The industry is on the mercy of international price controllers. 8. Specific Industry factors: Every industry has some factors that have influence on production, development and crisis of the industry. The main analysis of these factors is called PEST analysis. This analysis includes the Political, economic, social and technological aspects of the industry. These four are the major heads. Apart from these, there are other factors like â€Å"legal† and production factors like land, labor and capital. The political factors in Pakistan petroleum industry is of greater importance because the leading market shares holder i. e. PSO has around 65% alone, and the company is state owned. So there is the state intervention in the company policies and decisions. 9. Market routes and distributions: Out of five major oil refineries in Pakistan, three are situated in Karachi. One is situated in Punjab and one is situated in Baluchistan. From these refineries, the petroleum is mainly transported to filling stations in the whole country. The distribution process is different for different companies. Some companies like chevron and PSO has its own distribution network and they supply the petroleum in all over the country through their own oil tankers. Whereas Shell, which is another market share holder, supplies petroleum through its own distribution network and also through the contract carriers spread all over the country. The condition and setup of distribution is good all over the country. Also, there is no issue related to absence of market routes and remote customers. 10. Customer/end user drivers: The users of petroleum are mainly the automobile owners. There are approximately 8 million vehicles on the roads of Pakistan currently. These 8 million vehicles use petroleum as the basic means of energy to run. Although the demand of CNG shown an abrupt increase in the past decade, but the demand of petrol and diesel didn’t shift much due to that. After these vehicles, the second big user of petroleum is industries. It is the primary fuel to most of industries located all over the country. The demand of petroleum remains high in every season, every part of the year, as per production requirements. Apart from industries and vehicles, there is use of petroleum in electricity generation in the country. Furnace oil is one of the most important petroleum products which are responsible for the power production. 11. Interest and exchange rates: There is an indirect and â€Å"inverse co-relation† between the interest rate and price of petroleum in a country. Increasing or decreasing the interest rate, may result in the demand and finally the price of oil. In Pakistan, the current interest rate is 12%. The state bank of Pakistan takes the decision of setting the interest rate. Exchange rate has the direct impact over the oil prices in Pakistan. From the past two decades, the value of Rupee against the dollar has fallen abruptly. This difference of value results in higher fuel prices. After the international market rates, exchange rate is the second big reason of high petroleum prices in the country. 12. International trade/monetary issues: Internationally, crude oil and all major refined petroleum products are traded. The global oil markets are facing new challenges daily. Time to time, the structure and working of these markets have changed a lot. Prices were stable before, but nowadays they are volatile. Similarly participants in the market were limited and established, but now there are numerous players in the market. Apart from the markets, there is an increase of intermediaries in oil trade. In past, there was only a bank that has to deal between seller and buyer of oil. But now there are many services offered by financial institutions, global funds and industry factors. There are various monetary issues related to Pakistan’s economy. Pakistan applies its monetary policy along with the fiscal policy to achieve the goals. This is due to some policy failures and mis- management of economic activities in the country. Obviously it has direct impact on trade process of the country and the central bank’s allowance of further imports. However the oil sector keeps its demand and supply in level very well. SOCIAL ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS: 1. Lifestyle Trends: Pakistan is in the grasp of a serious petroleum crisis that is affecting all sectors of the economy and the various segments of the society. As the today’s situation point of view, there are hardly any immediate solutions to resolve the issue. A change of attitude and a change of life style is needed at the national level which should be sparked by the ruling elite and followed by all segments of the society that have access to electricity. At best there could be some short and long-term solutions to the grasp but they need immediate planning and execution with an enormous investment. Our elite class still prefer Petrol or Diesel for their vehicles use the upper middle, Middle-middle uses CNG as against of Petrol – (Economy of Pakistan) 2. Demographics: With a per capita GDP of over $3000 (PPP, 2006) compared with $2600 (PPP, 2005) in 2005 the World Bank considers Pakistan a medium-income country, it is also recorded as a Medium Development Country on the Human Development Index2007. Pakistan has a large informal economy, which the government is trying to document and assess. Approximately 49% of adults are literate, and life expectancy is about 64 years. The population, about 168 million in 2007, is growing at about 1. 80%. Relatively few resources in the past had been devoted to socio-economic development or infrastructure projects. Inadequate provisions of social services, high birth rates and immigration from nearby countries in the past have contributed to a persistence of poverty. An influential recent study concluded that the fertility rate peaked in the 1980s, and has since fallen sharply. Pakistan has a family-income index of 41, close to the world average of 39 – (Economy of Pakistan) 3. Law Changes Effecting Social Factors: New trends and laws are creating a different type of consumer and, consequently, a need for different products, different services, and different strategies. In upcoming years Pakistan would be a state of Provincial rather than federal, Youth getting more independent. Steady change would be in ethnic balance. More educated buyers would be in market. Pakistan would have higher average lifespan and the numbers of youth will be more – (Key External Factors) 4. Brand, Company Technology Image: Numerous companies are working in petroleum sector of Pakistan but the PSO, PPL and SHELL are the major leaders of petroleum sectors. They are working effectively and efficiently in the petroleum sector, they have made strong bond of trust between their customers. They are using or bringing new technologies in petroleum sector, therefore their brand image is secure and far above the ground. Their mission is substantial supply of oil and gas for economic development and strategic necessity of Pakistan or to coordinate development of natural resources and minerals. 5. Ethical Issues: The policy of Pakistan Oil Exploration is one of hard and fast observance of all laws applicable to its business following the course of highest integrity. Any Oil Gas company need a solid system for legal compliance in place for the following reasons: Preservation of legal position. Good publicity. It’s reputation as a joint venture partner. Transparency for the board of directors/supervisory board/shareholders. For the reason of knowledge transfer and control. PSO stated that: â€Å"We do care how we get results. We expect compliance with our standard of integrity throughout the organization. We will not tolerate an employee who achieves results at the cost of violation of laws or unscrupulous dealings or who thinks it best not to tell higher management all that he is doing, not to record all transactions accurately in his books and records, and to deceive the Companys internal and external auditors. We expect candor from all employees of PSO, and compliance with accounting rules and controls. Our system of management must be based on honest book-keeping, honest budget proposals, and honest economic evaluation of projects. It is PSOs policy that all transactions shall be accurately reflected in its books and records. This, of course, means that falsification of its books and records and any off-the-record bank accounts are strictly prohibited† – (Scribd) TECHNOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS: The technological-environmental analysis basically gives a complete picture of research and technology development. In any industry there are some problems at any particular time that needs to be solved by innovating new alternatives or technological change. These also have impact on our eco system and environment. The study and analysis of all these things is called the technological –environmental analysis. Here we will discuss the technological changes, Pakistan’s petroleum industry has gone through and there future issues and their suggested solutions. 1. Competing Technology Development: The petroleum industry, by nature, is technology driven industry. If researched in detail, petroleum industry uses the latest and large scale technological assistance to carry out the operations. The new methods of exploring, extracting and drilling are good examples of that. Petroleum companies spend a lot on their technological development to increase the efficiency and production. In Pakistan, the modern technology is made available by foreign oil services, and consulting companies. No such steps have been taken on government level to upgrade and adapt the new technology for the petroleum industry in the country. The companies on their own cannot purchase the expensive technology and therefore just hire to do the work. Something has to be done on this because the world keeps itself updated and technologically capable to increase its production and get the benefits in the form of profits. 2. Research funding: Pakistan’s petroleum sector is not much developed and equipped with latest machinery and equipment for exploring, and processing of petroleum. However its position is good enough to keep the demand and supply figures equal. The world is finding new alternatives of petroleum because of depletion of resources all around the world and increasing prices. Scientists and biologists have developed many substitutes of petrol and diesel and many of them are being used practically in many countries of the world. This needs research, which is not at it level best in Pakistan. The reason behind this lack of activity is absence of funding. Government seems to have no interest in this and therefore does not support to carry out such a research for future of Pakistan’s petroleum industry. The only company that has done some work in the field of research for new technology and an alternative is PSO, and that is on a smaller scale. There are ideas and resources but no one supports to have new development. 3. Associated/dependent technologies: From the beginning days of petroleum industry in Pakistan till now, there no prominent work done for the technological advancement and up gradation. The oil and gas development corporation (OGDC) is considered the entity which is responsible for the development of this sector in Pakistan. The oil exploring and processing firms are also responsib

Stop YELLING AT YOUR KIDS. It's Bad for Them Essay

Stop YELLING AT YOUR KIDS. It's Bad for Them - Essay Example There is a lot of research that supports the usefulness of this system. Unless, an individual is rewarded for showing good discipline and punished for showing bad discipline, the individual cannot learn, actively or passively, which behaviors are socially acceptable and which are not. The author has based her results on a study that found out that yelling has bad effects on the psychology of the children which can be biased. Furthermore, the study is based on middle-class families in which the children require least disciplining anyway. Even if the results of the study are believed, they cannot be applied on poor and elite Americans that make a larger part of the American society combined, alike. The author has made a good analysis of the possible outcomes of yelling i.e. either the child gets embarrassed and becomes quiet or the child yells back. While these are rightly the two possible outcomes of yelling, it is wrong to say that parental yelling instills embarrassment or anger in the children. Yes, it does induce these feelings in the children for a while, but this is healthy. If a child is raised without letting him/her experience these feelings at all, he would not know when to use these feelings in his/her dealing with others in the society. ... Not only those children never shout back at their parents themselves, they cannot take it when somebody else even talks bad about their parents. Their behavior toward their parents is so nice because their parents have used right combination of spanking and yelling to raise their children in such a way. Their technique works more often than not. The west should take lessons from those societies. On the contrary, what happens in our society where the law has placed so many restrictions over what a parent can and cannot do to the children is completely devastating. Let’s take the Maury Show for example. It is a very popular show in which Maury, the host introduces the problems faced by average Americans in their personal lives. This includes all classes of Americans, including the rich, the middle-class, and the poor. One can frequently find such episodes in the Maury Show where a parent is abused verbally, physically, or both by his/her children. This is a really upsetting situ ation and parents in such a situation feel awkward and unsafe in their own home. This is definitely the result of such a legal framework in which parents’ hands are tied whereas the children are given the leverage to do whatever they want to do. Children in such a society as ours know the legal limitations imposed on the parents and tend to blackmail the parents for that. Concluding, in a society in which beating, spanking, and so many other kinds of behaviors that a parent can execute to discipline a child are forbidden, yelling is the one and only weapon in the hands of the parents. If the weapon of yelling is taken away from the parents, they practically get into an inferior position to their children because while

Deloitte Company Internal Communication Assignment

Deloitte Company Internal Communication - Assignment Example Deloitte operates on the logic of being the first choice of the world’s best talents as reflected in eminence, diversity, and culture (Deloitte 2012 Global Report, 2012). The company’s vision also connects with the need to attract the world’s best clients through the provision of excellent service in the different business segments that define its business operations. The company’s mission is to offer measurable value to its global clients through its vast network of professional diversity and remarkable expertise. Deloitte defines its culture around shared values, which connect its people across the globe with the objective of cultivating trust between partners and professionals in a way that promotes the levels of confidence in the capital markets (Deloitte 2012 Global Report, 2012). The values espoused in the company’s culture enjoin all the employees of varied origins, languages, cultures, and customs to work with the single purpose of achieving collective successes. Such a broad and comprehensive cultural framework was designed in conformity with the global reach of the company’s firms. Deloitte seeks to align its culture with universal standards in order to meet the diverse needs of its global clientele (Deloitte 2012 Global Report, 2012). ... Deloitte is guided by the ethics of collaborative and people-focused culture, which enhances mutual respect, ongoing learning, and open communication. Past and recent audits on the firm’s performance indicate a trend of consistent growth in performance, brand profile, clientele, and profits.  

Uncertified Teachers in Prince George’s County Schools :: essays papers

Uncertified Teachers in Prince George’s County Schools Prince George’s County has been the largest school district in Maryland for the past more than twenty years. However, as a result of under funding, compared to other Maryland public school districts, Prince George’s County sustains the second highest percentage of uncertified teachers in the state. The lack of certified teachers has left lasting negative effects on the Prince George’s county school system. This problem goes much deeper than Prince George’s County, uncertified teacher are being allowed into the classroom all over the country and have been for the last couple of decades, mainly due to teacher shortages. By definition "a qualified teacher is expected to have a broad background of general education as well as professional preparation."(Teacher) it has never been considered satisfactory for a student to complete on 60% of material taught, why should it be different for teachers? In the early 1980s during a teacher shortage graduates of teacher education programs had lower levels of academic achievement than most college graduates and were still allowed to teach. In 1991-92, 16,000 teachers nationwide were uncertified. Currently, 37 of 39 states employ waivers, which allow failing teachers into classrooms. Past attempts at solutions were Teachers for America, Experimental Certification of Ethnic Colleagues for Elementary Schools, provisional certification, and emergency certification. Teachers for America is a very easy, "six week crash course in teacher survival skills taught primarily by teachers from their troubled placement sites."(Roth, 220) These teachers are said to bring "enthusiasm and intellect" to the classroom. In inner city and urban school systems, where most of the student body is poor and in the greatest need of good teachers, the TFA teachers are installed. While TFA is a good idea and puts teachers in classrooms, some say that the children who are being used as guinea pigs for this experimental teacher training are suffering. However, after receiving praise from some major cities, its training program was approved in 1995 and it "received $2 million from AmeriCorps, President Clinton’s national service initiative."(Mosle, 3) Experimental Certification of Ethnic Colleagues for Elementary Schools (E3) was an effort to "increase the representation of males and people of color on teaching staffs of elementary schools,"(Shade, 261) in response to teacher shortages. This solution was implemented for three years and was very successful. Provisional certification is given to a person who has been certified in another state and has passed the Praxis II, "but who needs one or two courses Maryland requires for teachers.

Pollution: Global Warming and Personal Hygiene Products

POLLUTION Pollution happens absolutely everywhere, every single second of the day, everywhere on earth. It happens in many city, many town, or many state. You can find pollution in cars, home electronics, personal hygiene products, natural disasters, and even your own home. Pollution is poison for anything that lives and breathes; it poisons water, air, land, humans, and animals, so it cannot to be taken lightly. As a law people should take more care of their surroundings and try harder to preserve the world we live in, even if it is inconvenient to us. Because if we don’t save ourselves, who will?The things we could do to save our planet from pollution could reduce further destruction . Everyone is benefited when we have clean water, air, land, etc. . For example, we never hear any news about a person dying because of clean air but instead we hear news like, man died from pollution, family living in home pollution, water tests show pollution particles, the list goes on foreve r. By identifying the problem at an early stage, we can start to reverse the pollution process. Thus making our mother Earth cleaner. The  funny thing of all this is that though the earth is getting  polluted man is least bothered about it . e doesn’t know that he himself is digging his own  grave  because pollution not only spoils his own health but also  worsens his  quality of life. People in cities who are exposed to various kinds of pollution suffer from several ailments like high blood pressure, asthma and skin diseases. Garbage thrown around leads to break out of epidemics like cholera, malaria, chikungunya etc. Poisonous chemicals from the  air  as well as our water bodies have recently caused an exponential rise in cancer cases. Scientists say that it is still not late to act, and governments all over the world have started acting.Countries are trying their best to control pollution by adopting measures like control of   CO2 emissions, using clean fuels, proper waste management  practices, and planting trees on a large scale. However no efforts would be complete unless each one us does our bit to protect our environment. We all can contribute in our small way by  saving  fuel, water and electricity, disposing garbage responsibly and living simple lives. It is the responsibility of each one of us to safeguard the environment so that future generations can enjoy the  beauty  and bounty of Mother nature.

Discapacitados y examen ciudadanía exención y ajustes

Los residentes permanentes que desean naturalizarse para obtener asà ­ ciudadanà ­a estadounidense pero que  sufren de una discapacidad fà ­sica o mental podrà ­an calificar para solicitar una waiver y asà ­ no estar obligados a rendir el examen de inglà ©s y conocimientos. Esta waiver, de ser concedida, serà ­a una excepcià ³n a la prà ¡ctica general que establece que para convertirse en estadounidenses los residentes permanentes deben aprobar un examen sencillo. En dicho examen deben demostrar que pueden entender, hablar, escribir y leer el idioma inglà ©s y tambià ©n que tienen conocimientos bà ¡sicos sobre la historia y principios cà ­vicos de los Estados Unidos. Tramitacià ³n de solicitud de waiver para el examen de ciudadanà ­a Entre la documentacià ³n que acompaà ±a a la planilla N-400 para iniciar el trà ¡mite para obtener la ciudadanà ­a americana por naturalizacià ³n debe incluirse la forma N-648 (Certificacià ³n mà ©dica para excepciones por discapacidad). En teorà ­a podrà ­a presentarse la planilla N-648 en un momento posterior, como el de la entrevista. Sin embargo, se aconseja presentarla cuando antes, es decir, conjuntamente con la aplicacià ³n del N-400. Esta planilla, que no tiene costo adicional, solo puede ser completada por un mà ©dico o por un osteà ³pata (M.D., M.O.) o por un psicà ³logo clà ­nico con las debidas licencias o un psiquiatra y que tenga conocimiento de primera mano sobre la incapacidad del residente permanente que solicita la naturalizacià ³n. En otras palabras, puede ser un profesional de la medicina o psicologà ­a especialista en la discapacidad o el mà ©dico o psicà ³logo que le trata como paciente, siempre y cuando tenga experiencia suficiente sobre la discapacidad. El formulario N-648 debe rellenarse empleando un lenguaje sencillo y muy claro, no demasiado tà ©cnico y se debe identificar claramente la incapacidad. Ademà ¡s, deben aà ±adir ejemplos especà ­ficos de cà ³mo la discapacidad afecta la capacidad del solicitante de aprender para rendir el examen de ciudadanà ­a, siendo esto extremadamente importante. Por à ºltimo, se debe prestar especial atencià ³n a completar la pregunta nà ºmero 3  de la planilla. Requisitos y ejemplos para solicitar la waiver por discapacidad para examen de ciudadanà ­a Deben cumplirse los siguientes requisitos para solicitar exitosamente la waiver: Duracià ³n de la incapacidad: mà ­nimo de 12 meses. Naturaleza de la discapacidad: debe ser la causa de que el solicitante sea incapaz de aprender inglà ©s y/o de estudiar el test sobre cultura cà ­vica e historia de los Estados Unidos. En otras palabras, no es suficiente con tener la discapacidad, sino que à ©sta debe afectar negativamente a la capacidad de aprender. Origen de la discapacidad: la discapacidad no puede ser el resultado de haber consumido ningà ºn tipo de droga ilegal. Siempre y cuando estas condiciones afecten a la capacidad de aprender porque inhabilitan la posibilidad de concentracià ³n o memoria, el USCIS podrà ­a conceder esta waiver. Despuà ©s de examinar caso por caso, a personas que sufran entre otras de las siguientes enfermedades: depresià ³n severa, estrà ©s postraumà ¡tico (PTSD, por sus siglas en inglà ©s), demencia, esclerosis mà ºltiple en grado avanzado, esquizofrenia o desorden bipolar. Tambià ©n pueden incluirse un conjunto de enfermedades que provoquen que una persona està © agotada, en cama y no se pueda concentrar, como por ejemplo algunos enfermos de cà ¡ncer que està ¡n recibiendo quimioterapia, la arteriosclerosis cerebral o casos severos de diabetes o enfermedades del corazà ³n. Tambià ©n pueden incluirse los casos de autismo, sà ­ndrome de Down u otros casos de discapacidades del aprendizaje. En el caso de personas de edad avanzada, podrà ­a calificar sufrir de demencia, alzheimer y depresiones graves. Dichas discapacidades pueden o no ser causa para la waiver, dependiendo de su grado de severidad, ya que simplemente padecerlas no califica automà ¡ticamente para que se conceda la peticià ³n. Por otra parte, la  ceguera o la sordera no son, por sà ­ solas, suficientes para que se conceda esta waiver de rendir el examen de ciudadanà ­a. En estos casos, solo se aprobarà ¡ si la discapacidad fà ­sica  es tal o va acompaà ±ada por otras enfermedades que impidan el proceso de aprendizaje. El dà ­a de la entrevista, el residente debe presentarse y el oficial de migracià ³n notificarà ¡ su resolucià ³n sobre la peticià ³n de waiver. Ajustes para rendir el examen de ciudadanà ­a En general, si una persona es ciega el USCIS no le pedirà ¡ que rinda el examen de inglà ©s escrito, pero le examinarà ¡ oralmente. Tambià ©n se espera que aprenda las 100 preguntas del examen de historia, geografà ­a y conocimientos cà ­vicos. Asimismo, si una persona es sorda, el USCIS puede pedir que utilice audà ­fonos, y si no puede o no son suficientes para que pueda escuchar o leer, se puede pedir que se haga el examen y se sea entrevistado con la ayuda de un intà ©rprete de lenguaje de sordos o incluso que se rinda el examen totalmente por escrito. Por à ºltimo, cabe destacar que si se tiene una discapacidad que no impide rendir el test de naturalizacià ³n pero que requiere ciertos ajustes, como es la necesidad de un intà ©rprete para sordos, se necesita solicitarlo al llenar  el formulario N-400. Waiver para no jurar lealtad a EE.UU. Durante la ceremonia de naturalizacià ³n, los nuevos ciudadanos juran lealtad a los Estados Unidos de Amà ©rica. Si un residente permanente no tiene capacidad cognitiva o mental para el juramento y entender su significado debe solicitarse la waiver mediante la planilla N-648 y, ademà ¡s, presentar documentacià ³n adicional explicando la situacià ³n y solicitando expresamente la exencià ³n del juramento (oath waiver, en inglà ©s). Examen de naturalizacià ³n en espaà ±ol Ser analfabeto en el idioma nativo, en este caso el espaà ±ol o uno de los idiomas indà ­genas, no es razà ³n suficiente para permitir no  rendir los exà ¡menes. Existen organizaciones sin fines de lucro que ayudan a preparar el test e, incluso, excelentes pà ¡ginas en internet con el mismo fin. Finalmente, cabe destacar que aà ºn en los casos  en los que necesariamente hay que presentarse al examen, es posible rendir el examen en espaà ±ol en tres circunstancias: En primer lugar, cuando el solicitante ha cumplido los 50 aà ±os de edad y ha sido residente permanente por 20 aà ±os o mà ¡s no està ¡ obligado a tomar el test de inglà ©s y puede rendir el examen de conocimientos cà ­vicos, historia y geografà ­a en su idioma nativo. En segundo lugar, cuando el solicitante tiene 55 aà ±os o mà ¡s y ha sido residente por 15 aà ±os o mà ¡s no està ¡ obligado a rendir examen de inglà ©s. El examen de conocimientos cà ­vicos puede rendirlo en su idioma. En tercer lugar, cuando el solicitante tiene 65 aà ±o o mà ¡s y ha sido residente permanente en los Estados Unidos por 20 aà ±os o mà ¡s està ¡ autorizado a no rendir el examen de inglà ©s. Ademà ¡s, en este caso, puede rendir el examen de conocimientos cà ­vicos en su idioma y en la versià ³n reducida. Es decir, en vez de tener que estudiar 100 preguntas puede preparar el examen reducido a 20. Puntos clave: exenciones por discapacidad para examen ciudadanà ­a Requisito discapacidad: debe afectar a la capacidad de aprender, afectar al residente por mà ¡s de 12 meses y no ser una consecuencia del consumo de drogas ilegales.Planilla para solicitarla: N-648Costo: $0Presentacià ³n: se aconseja al mismo tiempo que se presenta el N-400 para iniciar el trà ¡mite de naturalizacià ³n para obtener la ciudadanà ­a estadounidense.Firma: el N-648 debe ser completado y firmado por un mà ©dico, osteà ³pata, psicà ³logo clà ­nico o psiquiatra con conocimiento directo de la enfermedad y del paciente.Otras opciones: si no se califica para la exencià ³n del examen, todavà ­a se pueden pedir ajustes y acomodos o tomar rendir examen en espaà ±ol. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.