Examining Major Library Management Software Information Technology Essay

Examining Major Library Management Software Information Technology Essay With the gradual shift from earlier agricultural era to todays information era the users expectations towards library services has been changed. Now a days users are intended to get their required information through online. Even they have not enough time to search manual bibliographical sources of information to know the location of the document in the library, they needed. Users are so busy now. Therefore it is necessary for every library information centers to automate their services that are offered to the users of information. 2. WHAT IS LIBRARY AUTOMATION? International Encyclopedia of Information technology and library science defines automation as the technology concerned with the design and development of process and system that minimize the necessity of human invention in their operation. The term Library Automation in the past was used to refer to the mechanization of the traditional library operations like acquisition, serial control, cataloguing and circulation control. Today it is used to refer computerization of not only traditional library activities but also such related activities as information organization, information storage, retrieval, use etc Although computers play very important role in the automation of libraries, application of telecommunication and reprography technology is also equally important. 3. NEED FOR LIBRARY AUTOMATION The need for library automation can be explained following To facilitate wider and deeper access to information; To increase the retrievability of the resources; To achieve a new level of library management; To improve the existing services and to introduce new services; To improve control over collection; To have an efficient control over the entire operation; To avoid the duplication of work; To facilitate sharing of the resources among various libraries. Some of the factors that forced the libraries to go for automating the activities are: Information Explosion; Space Saving; Time saving; Availability of information in electronic form; Cost effectiveness; Data manipulation; Exploitation of computer readable databases. Therefore it can be said that the success of library automation mostly depends upon the nature of the software used for the purpose. Software helps in performing each every operations of an automated library information centers so quickly easily. 4. WHAT IS LIBRARY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE? An automated library is one where a computer system is applied to manage one or several of the librarys key operations. Such as acquisitions, serials control, cataloging, circulation and the public access catalogue. Automated library system depends on library automation packages are also called Library Management Software (LMS). Library automation software provides centralized management and process automation for government; public, private libraries .Library automation applications provide integration of self-service kiosks and online web portal access for catalog search, content delivery or reservation requests and patron check-out history. They also track and automate notification of overdue books and fines. 5. BENEFITS OF USING LMS IN LIBRARY Software helps in performing library operations quickly easily and thus saving the time of the users and staff. It also saves the manpower. LMS are integrated software package. LMS are compatible to various hardware systems. It is compatible to national international bibliographic standards. Operation in a multi-user environment. Operation in a networked environment. User friendly and menu driven. Least response time. Capable of handling bibliographical, numerical as well as textual data, also variable field. Sub-fields repeatable fields. Provision of data security through password. Provision for thesaurus and authority file maintenance. Output facility through card printing; bibliographies and on magnetic media (tape; diskette etc). Facilitate search through Boolean logic; Single term search; Multiple term search; Truncation search; Field directed searching etc. Import/ Export of data through standard exchange format. Provide powerful scanner capabilities. Display, sort and print records as per user defined formats. WWW interfacing. Multimedia compatibility. 6. LIBRARY AUTOMATION SOFTWARE PACKAGES There are hundreds of library automation software packages available at the global level. It is difficult to list them all. Here is a table that shows list of some available software packages designed and developed for the libraries. TABLE: 1 Sl. No. Name of the software Designing, Developing, Marketing/Distributing Agency/Organizations 1 CDS/ISIS (DOS), WINISIS(WINDOWS) UNESCO ,in India NISSAT/DSIT acts as the nodal agency 2 ALICE for Windows ,OASIS for DOS Soft Link Pvt., Australia. Marketed in India by Soft Link Asia 3 BASISPLUS and TECHLIB PLUS Information Dimensions Inc.(IDI), USA and NIC, New Delhi 4 SOUL INFLBNET center, Ahamedabad 5 Libsys Libsys corporation, New Delhi 6 Koha Katipo Communications Limited of Wellington, New Zealand 7 VIRTUAILS VTLS Inc, Virginia, USA 8 LAMP Jointly by Netherlands Library Association ,Pakistan Library Association and UNESCO 9 LIBSUIT SOFT-AID Computer Ltd., Pune 10 LIBRIS Frontier Information Technology Pvt. Ltd, Hyderabad 11 WINSANJAY By DESIDOC under a NISSAT project 12 NG-TLMS.NET Developed in Germany by TRANCE Group 13 AUTOLIB By Autolib Software System, Chennai 14 E-GRANTHALYA By NIC, Bangalore 15 GRANTHALYA NISCAIR 16 NEWGENLIB By collaboration of Kesavan Institute of Information and Knowledge Management(KIIKM), Hyderabad and Venus Solutions Pvt. Ltd. 17 NEXLIB NEX Evolve Logic Solution Pvt. Ltd. 18 SLIM Algorhythems Consultants Pvt. Ltd., Pune 19 LIBMAN Datapro Consultancy Service,Pune 20 Maitrayee CMC Ltd., Kolkata 21 MINISIS Nirmal Institute of Computer Expertise, Tiruchirapalli 22 TULIP Tata Unisys, Noida 23 NILIS Asmita Consultant Ltd.,Mumbai 24 EASYLIB Easylib Corporation, Bangalore 25 TROODON Comtek service Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi 6.1 SOUL: A SEMI COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE SOUL (Software for University Libraries) provided by INFLIBNET center, Ahmedabad, INDIA. This software is intended to be provided to all the university libraries, which have been covered under INFLIBNET for which a separate agreement will have to be signed by each library. For others who are interested in using this software, particularly public funded organizations, separate modalities are being worked out including pricing, support, training etc. Hardly a cost in comparison to other commercial software is given by the libraries. That is why SOUL software is a semi commercial software. The software was designed to automate all house keeping operations in Library. The software is suitable not only for the academic libraries, but also for all types sizes of libraries, even school libraries. 6.2 LIBSYS: A PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE Libsys is a proprietary software. The term proprietary is derived from the Latin word proprietas meaning property. Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of its owner. The purchaser, or licensee, is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, but restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering. LIBSYS is developed by Libsys Corporation, New Delhi. Libsys is a complete, comprehensive, integrated system that manages all aspects of all kind of libraries i.e. public, national, higher education and research libraries. 6.3 KOHA: AN OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE KOHA is a full featured Integrated Library System. It is an open source software. There is no cost for the license; you have the freedom to modify the product to adapt it to your needs. Like other open source software KOHA also provide the original source code used to create it so that users can modify it to make it work better for them. KOHA developed initially in New Zealand by Katipo Communications with Horowhenua Library Trust in1999. Koha is using now by so many libraries around the world, including academic, public, school, special libraries of Australia, Africa, Canada, USA, France, India and off course New Zealand. 7. COMPARISONS BETWEEN THESE THREE KINDS OF SOFTWARE This paper gives emphasize on a comparative study among these 3 types of software. Each one has unique features regarding to its server, web server, Architecture, client, price, standard support, training provided to the customers etc. The following Table: 2 Shows the comparisons between these. TABLE: 2 Sl. No. FEATURE SOUL LIBSYS KOHA 1 Architecture Client-server based architecture, only OPAC is web based. Based on client-server model and TCP/IP for communication and networking. Based on a client-server architecture. 2 Server Windows-NT/ Windows2000 server (operating system) MS-SQL server 7.0/ Advance server 2000(RDBMS) personal web server or Windows NT IIS with option pack 4.0 installed or Windows 2000 as server for web opac college version windows-98/ ME/NT/2000/XP/2003(operating system). UNIX, LINUX Pentium machine with SCO Unix/Unix Ware SunSparc with solaris Alpha with OSF/1 RS/6000 with AIX HP-9000 with IRIX Windows NT/2000/XP Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP/ 2003(operating system) Windows/Linux 3 Client Standard Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP) Standard Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP) Web Enabled (JSP implementation) Unix Workstations X-Windows Workstations (Xterm) VT220 compatible terminals Thin Java clients. Windows/Linux 4 Web server IIS Apache, IIS Apache, IIS. 5 GUI Based on GUI browsers. Based on GUI browsers. Based on GUI browsers. 6 Character Encoding Unicode for Language Computing Support ISCII UNICODE UNICODE 7 Standard support Support internationally known standards such as MARC 21, CCF, AACR2, LCSH. MARC 21 and AACR2R(selected authority fields) a)Industry standards: Z39.50, UNIMARC, ISO2709, MARC21 b)Technical standards: the OPAC is valid XHTML, and respects the standards o accessibility c) web standards recommended by the WWW Consortium. 8 Database MSSQL, MYSQL Software can be used with either SQL Server, ORACLE, or MySQL as a back-end RDBMS with ODBC compatibility. Koha uses a dual database design that utilizes the strengths of the two major industry-standard database types (text-based and RDBMS). This design feature ensures that Koha is scalable enough to meet the transaction load of any library, no matter what the size of the library. 9 Data import /export data exchange through ISO-2709 standard CCF(ISO-2709), MARC(ANSI-Z39.x) data exchange through ISO-2709 standard 10 Acquisition Module yes yes yes Catalogue Module yes yes yes Circulation Module yes yes yes OPAC Module yes yes yes Serial Control Module yes yes yes Administrati-on Module yes yes yes 11 Training and manual An extensive training in SOUL will be provided to the library staff on site upon its installation by Inflibnet staff Only user manual is available, system manual (such as installation and configuration of server not provided) system manual kept hidden or not provided so that AMC (Annual Maintenance Contract) can be taken from libraries. Full training and manual is provided 12 Support Team National and Regional Soul coordinators are appointed for this,free support is provided Costly only on the basis of AMC(10 to 20% of total costs) charged from the libraries Only online discussion and support is available free of cost 13 Price 20-50 thousand. No AMC 4 to 5 lakhs and 10-20% AMC. Free 14 License No other commitment, what is their in it may be used Bias with developers and distributors, even committed things are not yet done properly at various places where it is in use. General Public License 15 Latest Release SOUL 1.0 was released during CALIBER 2000. The latest version of the software i.e. SOUL 2.0 released by the end of the year 2008. 3.2 (October 2010) 16 Nature of developing organization Non for profit or government Commercial Developing under open source category. 8. CONCLUSION As it was mentioned earlier that the success of library automation mostly depends upon the nature of the software it is used for. Therefore it is necessary for any library information center that they choose the software very carefully. The management must discuss about how the software matches the librarys requirements, product quality, cost factor, various features of the software, its functions, installation date and time duration of installation, staff training, support services, licensing, used standard etc. Here we discussed about these 3 software and it can be said that as in Koha the source code is open so the users are free to innovate and improve the software to meet their needs free. Innovation also means that open source software has much faster development cycles when compared to proprietary and commercial software. Because as the source code is open so it can be improve again again. But this is not possible in the case of other 2 software. LIBSYS is so costly (around 4-5 lakhs). So it is not possible for a small library to adopt it. But in case of a big library where money is not a big issue for their LIBSYS is appropriate. Because data entry, searching procedure is so much easy in LIBSYS and also when technical support is needed for application of the software in the library LIBSYS always provide it. Although SOUL is not so costly but it required a large technically strong manpower. So SOUL is appropriate for a big library who can provide manpower but at the same time they have not enough money to effort LIBSYS or some other costly software. Although SOUL has a college version also. And for a small library which can not afford money but they are intendent to make their services and operational functions automate and even they have not also manpower ability. For them KOHA is the only option. Even though wide range of Library automation softwares are available , it is necessary for librarians to keep watch on the developments and to choose appropriate software package depending on their needs.

Lead Poisoning In Children Health And Social Care Essay

Lead Poisoning In Children Health And Social Care Essay In 1988, the Agency for Toxic substances and Disease Registry released a report on lead poisoning giving health partners and stakeholders an overview of the adverse health effects of lead poisoning in children 6 months to 5 years of age. They found that about 2.4 million children nationwide (excluding other racial categories) living in metropolitan areas were at risk of lead exposure health effects using a blood-lead level of a maximum 15ug/dl acceptable standard. Higher blood-lead threshold levels were found in black children living in inner-cities as well as children from low income families. Another report in 1990 released by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) saw varying differences in lead exposure in children ranging from racial, economic (Perkins, 1992) and residential location. Based on this study, lead exposures were found to be higher in states of the Midwest (Wisconsin) and Northeast where most of the housing were very old. This doesnt mean states with larger amounts of relatively new housing dont suffer from lead exposure as found in Las Vegas where despite increase in new buildings, over 12,000 children making up 28% of the entire population has blood-lead levels exceeding 10ug/dl. Among the states of the Mid West of the USA, Wisconsin stands out as one that has over the years being at high risk of lead exposure. In a study carried out in 2006 by the Wisconsin Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (WCLPPP), lead exposure prevalence within the state stood at 2.6% in children tested under the age of 2 years. This was twice the national prevalence which stands at 1.4%. Lead exposure in children has been a major public health concern for over a century now. According to the CDC Surveillance Data of 1997-2006, the number of children being poisoned by lead in Wisconsin was greater than in other states, leading to serious health hazards with high financial burden to families especially low income families. In 2010, over 735 new cases of children w ith blood lead levels à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥10ug/dl were identified. In that same year the prevalence of lead poisoning in children tested in Milwaukee with blood lead levels à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥10 µg/dL stood at 3.4% which is 2.4 times the national average of 1.4%. Source: Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, Division of Public Health, Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Health; April 201 In the state of Wisconsin the prà ©cised number of children at risk of lead poisoning still remains unknown but in compliance with the Chapter 151 of Wisconsin statutes which requires that every physician reports any conformed or suspected cases of blood-lead poisoning, over 3265 children with blood lead concentrations of over 20ug/dl were reported to the Wisconsin Department of health between the periods of July 1992 to June 1993 (Schirmer, 1993). Based on the national estimate of 17% of blood lead poisoning, the Wisconsin Division of Health estimated that over 36000 children within the state were at high risk of lead poisoning (Schirmer, 1993). According to the Title XIX program also known as the HealthCheck program which makes blood-lead screening mandatory for all children between the ages of 2-6years (Hoffman, 1993), in 1992, , over 12,435 children were screened for blood lead poisoning based on the HealthCheck under the Wisconsin Medicaid program and of this number 2644 of the m had blood-lead levels à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥ 10ug/dl (Department of Health and Social Services, 1992). In 2006, 5% of enrolled children in Wisconsin public schools had at least a blood lead concentration above the normal value. In two separate studies carried out in 2000 and 2007, their resulting data showed that childhood lead poisoning accounted for about 88% of violent crime rates in the USA over several decades as could be seen in the rate of school disciplinary problems resulting to an increase in school dropouts, juvenile delinquency and even adult criminality. In the fall of 2006, it was estimated that one in every 20 children between the ages of one and two years who entered the Wisconsin school system had lead poisoning and below a third of these children who are at high risk of lead exposure have been screened for lead in their blood (WI DHS; 2008). Most of the children identified in Wisconsin to be at risk of lead poison accounting for over 90% lived in very old homes that were built before the 1950s. Lead poisoning is not just a serious problem here in the Milwaukee County but its a major problem in all the 72 counties statewide affecting children primarily. In a study carried out in 2006, it was estimated that over 75% of children known to be poisoned with lead lived in 266 out of all 1330 high risk census tracts in Wisconsin with over 200,000 homes built before 1950. Blood lead levels equal to or greater than 10micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dl) is regarded as a call for concern as set by the center for Disease Control (CDC) in 1991 (CDC, 1991) and in 2007, the CDC reaffirmed this level (CDC, 2007). These findings made law makers to look deeper into the issue of lead poisoning as a major cause of unusual societal behaviors (Nevin 2000; 2007). Based on this blood lead level, Wisconsin children with these levels are considered to be lead poisoned and this blood lead concentration has been used for surveillance purposes to help identify, treat and manage new cases (Wis. Stats 245.11 CDC Blood Lead Surveillance Data, 1997 2006). Sources of childhood lead poisoning Most of the routes of lead poisoning in children include inhalation, ingestion of soil (Harrison et al., 1981) or household dust and drinking water (Harrison et al., 1991) that has been contaminated with lead from old paintings flakes which occurs during when old houses are being renovated or through lead paint coated surfaces found in the kitchen, bathroom walls and windows of homes that were built before 1950. Most of these lead particles are extremely small and cannot be seen with the naked eye. Since its ban in 1978 in the USA, it has still been used to coat walls, frames of windows, doors, floors and ceilings of old homes and toddlers and other children are at risk of ingesting these surface fall offs reason why the CDC recommended lead testing and required by the federal Medicaid policy in children under 6 years (CDC, 2000). Lead poisoning within the state is a complex combination of the poverty, and low socio economic status of most families coupled with the old housing puttin g children at risk. However, other sources of lead exposure have been found in some consumer products which may pose a health risk to children and adults alike. They include toys, lunch boxes, and jewelries for kids, ceramics, candies as well as products made in China and Mexico. The state recommends that people stop buying these products, dispose of them or return them for a refund if bought. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention through the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled a list of these items with unsafe levels of lead some of which include toys, candies such as SINDOOR a coloring food product was recalled by the Food and Drug administration (FDA) 2007 after a series of test were conducted by the Illinois Department of Public Health found this product to have over 87% of lead. Lead poisoning and its Adverse Health effects Lead, is a naturally occurring element on earth whose chemical properties allow for its use in building construction. Its use dates back to about 3500BC (Needleman, 1990) when Romans started using it to make lead pipes and storage containers. It has been extensively used in many products such as paint, gasoline, and ceramic. Even though adults can suffer from lead poisoning it is much more severe in children. Despite the fact that its preventable its health impact is severe ranging from behavioral defects, delay in speech, hearing problems, poor performance at school, increased juvenile delinquency and in severe cases death. There is really no safe level of lead in our bodies as even very smaller amounts below the Wisconsin blood lead concentration could cause serious long term health effects such as a brain damage (Mendelson et al, 1998). Other strange behaviors exhibited by lead poisoned children include aggression and the tendency to become over active (Nevin 2000). Other studies have shown that lead exposure in children may cause kidney disease when they reach adulthood, diabetes and even memory loss as seen in Alzheimers disease and severe cases stroke and heart attack (Needleman 1990). It affects especially their brains and the central nervous system since both systems are still forming and low exposure could result in reduced IQ learning disabilities, stunted growth (Brubaker et al., 2009). Studies have shown that blood lead concentrations as low as 70ug/dl and as high as 100ug/dl can lead to encephalopathy in children which is linked to anorexia, decreased in activity, poor coordination, vomiting and aggressiveness and rapidly progresses to death (CDC 1991) Structure of Wisconsins Lead Poisoning Prevention Programs The Wisconsin Department of Health services (DHS) is in charge of all health programs and services that are geared towards promoting the protecting and promoting the health and safety of the people of Wisconsin. They carry out functions like assessment, policy development and advocacy. Of these programs is the WIC program which is a federally funded program under the child and youth services of the DHS. This program provides special supplemental nutrition to women, Infants and Children (WIC) in other to promote and maintain the health and wellbeing of pregnant women, breastfeeding and postpartum women, infants and children. Children eligible for this program must be infants of up to a year or a child up to age 5 and whose parents are Wisconsin residents, be income eligible and have a health or nutrition needs. In the state of Wisconsin, children are required to be tested twice for lead in blood with the first testing taking place between 6-16 months of age and the second testing betw een 17-28 months. However within the DHS is the Wisconsin Division of Public health (DPH) which addresses three major lead hazard control programs namely the Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance (ABLES) program, Asbestos and Lead Certification Unit and Wisconsin Healthy Homes and Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. The ABLES program focus on monitoring laboratory based lead levels in blood of adults most due to occupational exposure while the Asbestos and Lead Unit program provides accreditation and certification programs for the Wisconsin DHS under the Chapter 254 Wisconsin statue provision as well as standard guidelines required for abatement activities within the state. There is also the Wisconsin Healthy Homes and Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (WHHCLPPP) which makes possible resources such as technical, financial and consultations to help stakeholders completely eliminate and treat childhood lead poisoning Funding for Lead poisoning control programs Increased pressure from the Wisconsin public lead to the creation of a federal law called the Title X Residential Lead-based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 with focus on the federal government taking a major role in lead poisoning prevention. This law requires that all housing programs have lead safety addressed in them. It also calls for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set up guidelines for lead safety to be executed by a well trained workforce and lastly it calls for all owners of private property to provide basic information with any possibilities of lead exposure hazards to home buyers or new tenants. It was not until 1991 when the CDC started funding lead poisoning preventions programs within the state of Wisconsin such as blood lead testing, managing serious cases as well as raising programs aimed at educating the public on the issue. This led to increase testing of Wisconsin children for lead poisoning with many new cases being identified an indication that ma ny local health department within the state lacked sufficient resources to facilitate follow-ups of lead poisoned cases or identify potential lead hazards in homes. These concerns and pressure from parents and other NGOs such as the March of Dimes and the Council of Developmental Disabilities pushed the Wisconsin State Legislature to implement state laws by providing more resources to help facilitate the work of the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) and other local health departments to effectively response to lead poisoning prevention programs and develop a good reporting system for blood lead test results in children. This saw an increase in funding for local health departments from zero dollars to $1.2 million each year which subsequently decreased to $879,100 because of certain cuts in the state budget. Wisconsin was amongst the 12 grantees in 1994 to receive a housing grant of $6 million to help fund projects aimed at fixing lead hazards such as eliminating dust c ontaining lead in old homes and screening children living in these homes. The project was a huge success as lead dust levels greatly reduced in homes and since then many cities within the state namely Milwaukee, Kenosha and Sheboygan have submitted grant proposals and received competitive grant funds aimed at control lead hazards programs in high risk homes. In February of 2011, the city of Milwaukee received a $4.5 million grants from the U.S department of Housing and Urban Development to help fund a program aimed at controlling lead hazards in two areas namely the citys North and South sides known to have a very high rate of childhood poisoning within the city covering over 900 city homes. The prevalence of lead poisoning in these areas peaked 7.1% causing a serious alarm to public health officials. In a press release on January 2011, the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded over $127 million to some 48 projects nationally which focused on improving quality of lead paint based low income homes that served as a health hazard to its occupants. This grant would help clean up lead paint based hazards in over 11000 homes, increase public awareness on the issue as well as train more personnel in lead safety practices. The following is a breakdown of the grants Grant Program Funding Awarded Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program $66,600,000 Healthy Homes Initiative funding $2,300,000 Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Grant Program $48,000,000 Healthy Homes Production Grant Program $10,000,000 TOTAL $126,900,000 Wisconsin City of Milwaukee Health Dept LHRD $4,500,000 City of Sheboygan LBPHC $1,528,296 Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services HHP $1,000,000 HHP Healthy Homes Production, LBPHC Lead Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program (includes Healthy Homes Initiative supplemental funding, as applicable), LHRD Lead Based Paint Hazard Reduction Demonstration Grant Program (Source: HUD, 2011 HUD No. 11-004) Ongoing Lead-based paint control programs In June 2004 the Phase 1 of the Wisconsin Childhood elimination strategic Plan was completed and this plan was developed by a diverse group of experts from the health field, the housing departments, government agencies and other community groups with the aim of eliminating childhood lead poisoning by 2010. This strategic work plan focus on achieving four main goals through the creation of these subcommittees namely; Education through which the general public will be aware of the problem within their community and how to protect children from lead exposure. Also parents and childcare providers would be educated about lead hazards through home visit. Policy makers and state legislators were to be educated on how much impact lead poisoning has in the community while addressing issues of neglect of the problem and what needs to be done to overcome some of this negligence which could be potentially costly. Property owners and construction contractors would be educated and provided with opportunities to maintain old homes while ensuring a safe work environment Lead hazard correction in homes with emphasis on identifying and analyzing some of the risk factors associated with lead poisoning while focusing resources on homes that were built before the 1950s as they pose a high risk of lead exposure. This goal focused on enforcing home owners so they can repair possible lead hazards in their buildings and to ensure a strong community engagement on the problem, incentives were to be provided to home owners who comply with all these regulations. Screening for lead poising in high risk groups through the provision of enough funds to help identify and evaluate children with risk of lead exposure as well as evaluate existing practices being performed by physicians and the barriers they may pose to families and healthcare providers in terms of providing blood lead screening to children. This goal also emphasized on the need for better data sharing and quality reporting like the STELLAR or the Wisconsin Immunization Registry among partners within the community so that children who are at risk of lead exposure are identified and tested Funding through the allocation of and resources and making available increased funding for lead hazard control in Wisconsin was a major priority. This funding would help local communities with high risk housing by investing in homes so that the financial burden of having to treat or manage children with lead poisoning will be less on the state. Phase 2 of the Wisconsin Elimination Plan is ongoing but in 2009 the sub committees in charge of Funding and Resources and Correcting Hazards in housing combined their efforts and all 3 existing committees now meet independently of the Implementation and Oversight Committee (IOC) and provide a progress report at each IOC meeting which usually meets 3 times a years (January, May and September). These meetings are aimed at evaluating progress made so far and identifying some of the challenges faced in the execution of some of the existing programs as well as make recommendations to the IOC for effective and efficient implementation. The IOC is made up of partners from the Wisconsin Division of public health, local councils, State departments of Hygiene and administration, community health centers as well as insurance companies. Within the city of Milwaukee, over 40 employees are involved in lead based prevention programs which provide resources and services to identified children at ri sk if lead poisoning and those with lead poisoning as well as programs geared towards prevention of lead poisoning before it even happens Huge Financial burden of lead poisoning in its impact on the state of Wisconsin The negative burden of lead poisoning to the community is the huge medical expenses in treatment and management of the health problem, increased health care premiums and increase in Medicaid expenses. Since childhood Lead Poisoning (CLP) often results to attention disorders and developmental delays (Canfield et al, 2003) in lead poisoned children, there is need for increased special education expenses for programs to help accommodate children with disabilities as well as programs to cope with juvenile delinquent lead poisoned children who are at high risk of dropping out from school and early teen pregnancies (Needleman, et al, 1990). It has been shown that most children who are poisoned by lead are thrice more likely to fail standardize test as well as being arrested for a criminal case as they transition into a young adult. Also, lead poisoned children at fourth grade where three times more likely to fail their reading tests compared to those with very minute amounts of lead exposu re (Miranda et al. 2007). The state spends an estimated $5 billion in school aids to children including a $375 million to assist children with special needs and a $1 billion for children who need corrects with most of these cost is attributed to lead poisoning. The number if children living in Wisconsin between the ages 0-6 is approximately 540,000 and if the state embarks on lead hazard control programs that aim at eliminating lead exposure in homes build pre 1950, it would save the state about $7 billion in direct cost with an increase in earnings of over $21 billion based on an analysis that was conducted in New Jersey that analyzed cost savings such as direct medical cost, special education, crime and juvenile delinquency, low rates of high school graduation and cost to state government (Muennin et al., 2009). The recommendation from the Wisconsin Childhood Elimination Plan and the Implementation and Oversight Committee (IOC) suggested an annual investment of $20 million would g o a long way to provide resources to help control lead pain hazards in over 2,000 pre-1950 homes annually. The state would safe over $28 billion in savings if all children between the ages of 0-6 years were protected from lead hazards which will further help lead to an increase in the graduation rate of the state as well as crime reduction (Muennin et al., 2009) In the spring of 2010, a Joint Resolution 65 was passed and approved by the Wisconsin State Legislature which called on the Implementation and Oversight Committee of the Wisconsin Childhood Lead Poisoning Elimination plan, a program within the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to provide report on the financial burden result from childhood lead poisoning been experienced through the states education and criminal justice systems resulting from juvenile delinquent risk behaviors that most children with lead poisoning are at high risk at encountering at some stage in their lives which will help policy makers and state officials make financial resources and other logistics available to address lead paint hazards as well as create a widespread community awareness campaign program which makes loans available to home owners of house build pre 1950 thus reducing lead hazard risk. This report was delivered to the State legislature on December 30th of that year. This joint resolution gai ned several approval from state agencies such as Departments of Public Instruction, Children and Families, Corrections Division of Juvenile Correction, the Wisconsin Court System and State Prosecutors Office with the creation of a committee that helps gather relevant data which will help stakeholders within the state to better evaluate the cost due to lead poisoning and ways to completely eliminate lead hazards in homes. In a 2006 study, over 80,000 young children are estimated to be living in lead paint hazards in Wisconsin and if the state focuses more on protecting families from exposure, we would be saving over $40,000-50,000 for each under the age of six giving us a estimated savings of over $3.6 billion (Jacobs and Nevin, 2006). Lead Testing and Reporting To increase blood lead testing coverage within the state of Wisconsin, four main Medicaid managed Care organizations teamed up with state and local WIC agencies in 2010 and together donated a quick three minute LeadCare II testing instrument approved by the CDC with the overall aim to improve on the blood lead testing levels in children at risk. These organizations also gave WIC staff access to the electronic reporting system that exists within the state as well as resources to follow up children who showed high levels of lead in blood. Within the city of Milwaukee, the WIC program is the only program that has got direct access to the STELLAR (State Blood-Lead Reporting System) and the WIR (Wisconsin Immunization Registry) and this enables them to enter data correctly which is required for state and federal reporting compliance. This system also helps WIC staff to easily identify children who have not been tested for blood lead and follow-up with them to get tested as well as follow up with cases that show elevated levels of lead in their blood. With the donation of 10 LeadCare II analyzers as well as 20 test kids in 2010 in all 10 WIC clinics within the state of Wisconsin, the program has witnessed over 41% increase in the number of WIC children tested for lead in blood in the city of Milwaukee. Children enrolled in the WIC program receive two rapid tests namely an Iron and blood lead test using a finger stick. Over 139 children in 2009 tested positive for high levels of lead in their blood samples giving a 300% increase in lead poisoning cases when compared to the previous 2 years due to the fact that most of the children living in high risk urban areas who were now being tested had previously been missed. Since 2006, Medicaid health care providers have received an annual Blood Lead Testing developed through collaboration with the Wisconsin Medicaid Program and the Wisconsin Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. The individualized reports summarize the blood lead testing data for children under age 6 within each providers practice. In addition providers received a list of untested children in their practice to facilitate follow-up to ensure these children get tested. It is normally required that children be tested for lead poisoning at ages 1 and 2 and since most of them are not tested at those early ages because of lack of follow-up, it is mandatory that they get at least a test between the ages of 3 to 5 years. For example in 2007, over 2,049 children with blood lead levels of greater than or equal to 10mcg/dL were identified within the state and almost two thirds of children eligible for the Medicaid program entering the Wisconsin school system that fall have not properly tes ted even though 88% of children eligible for Medicaid which covers blood lead poisoning were enrolled that year. (Data is from Individual Medicaid Providers for period of July 1, 2006 through June 30 2007 (SFY07) Collaborative Partnerships There are some NGOs within the state that are focused on raising awareness through community leadership on lead poisoning and one of them is the Milwaukees Hmong American Friendship Association (HAFA) through its Parents Against Lead (PAL) alliance. Its made up of neighbors, parents and other passionate individuals who have come together to collectively eliminate childhood lead poisoning. Being a great partner with city of Milwaukee Health Department, they have promoted lead abatement activities in families living in pre 1950 homes as well as amongst home owners on how to eliminate possible lead hazard within the city. Another community based group working within the community is the Sherman Park Community Association (SPCA), a group of over 167 residents who come together during a cold Winter day and have breakfast with Santa Claus as a way to bring communities together and educate them on the work they do including a window repair/replacement program with emphasis on lead based pai n hazard. Advocacy and Public Policies The presence of GIS Maps within each Wisconsin legislative district identifying areas with Lead poisoning is now available and from this data no place within the state is free from lead poisoning with more cases in communities with old housing. As part of the Healthier People 2020 Public Health plan, the state of Wisconsin through the U.S Department of Health Services, EPA, HUD, Energy and the CDC came together during the 2011 National Healthy Homes Conference which brings partners, leaders and experts from the public and private sector to discuss on how to improving on housing conditions and making them safe from lead paint based hazard and environmentally sustainable. However, certain rules and number of statutes that regulate activities geared towards lead hazard control have been approved within the State and these rules protect residential areas, tenant/landlord agreements, drinking water facilities, lead hazard reduction and the manner in which blood lead results are reported. They include the Wisconsin statute Chapter 254 which lays emphasis on detection, treatment and response to lead hazards. In Wisconsin, a number of statutes and rules have been enacted to regulate activities having to do with hazards due to lead-based paint and include residential facilities, worker protection, landlord and tenant agreements, housing sales, lead hazard reduction, drinking water, reporting of blood lead test results and public health response to lead poisoning. There is the Wisconsin Statute Chapter 704 which outlines conditions in which tenants could move without having to face any liabilities from health hazards such as lead. We have the Statue Chapter 709 which requires that owners of residential real estate make certain disclosures about their property. Amongst the administrative rules is the DHS 163 which requires people such as contractors to get certification for identification, removal and reduction of Lead-based paint which was amended in 2009 and the DHS 181 which allows for quality reporting of blood lead test results. Assessment Performance of Childhood Poisoning in Wisconsin The State department of Health and Services is charged with the collection, evaluation and sharing information concerning the incidence of lead poisoning in risk populations and communities while the local health departments within the state would maintain a local surveillance system that gives the population an idea of the prevalence and trends of testing and making this information available to the state Department of Public health and other stakeholders. A tracking system to effectively monitor children at risk and those with very high blood levels would be maintained and made available to the department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) through the WCLPPP. The local health departments trough the support of state agencies of Public health would develop protocols and procedures to better monitor the screening of children at risk of lead poisoning and well as provide clinical and educational resources for better programming and reporting Lead Prevention and Control Lead poisoning is preventable if the necessary precautions are well respected one of which is the lead abatement of homes. The primary way to protect Wisconsin children from lead exposure is by stabilizing all cracked, deteriorating, peeled or flaking paint in old homes, replacing very old windows, fixing roofs with and other leaks, while making sure that the window sills and floors remain smooth hence eliminating major sources of lead exposure. Other precautionary measures include re-painting on interior surfaces with no friction such as ceiling, walls but surfaces that are susceptible to friction or bad weather should not be repainted. All the above precautions are carried out through a process called Lead abatement which refers to any action by and individual (a certified lead abatement contractor), the state or a company to effective minimize lead exposure by permanently eliminating or removing lead-based paint or dust lead hazards or any possible lead containing object or surfac e in response to orders from the state or the local council. The Milwaukee Health Department is charged with giving orders so that homes identified within the community to be at risk of lead exposure are lead abated and this requires either voluntary consent from the owner of the property or through a Court order in case the home owner doesnt comply with orders from the Health department to allow his property to be abated. Conclusion Despite the huge progress in reducing childhood lead poisoning rate within the city of Milwaukee, the number of children been identified with lead poisoning is still on the rise within the state and it has surpass the national average. In 2009, the state prevalence of lead poisoning was 1.5 and in Milwaukee alone, of all the children tested for lead poisoning 4.4% of them had blood lead levels greater than 10ug/dl. More work is needed in this fight despite the progress mad

Barclays’ Internal and External Customers :: Business Management Studies

Barclays’ Internal and External Customers Barclays offers a wide range of services to both internal and external customers. Internal customers are member of staff/colleagues that work in an organisation. Examples of internal customers in Barclays include: Small Business Managers, Customer Relations Team, telephone operators, Financial Planning Managers, Customer Service staff, Counter staff, Accountants, Consumer Relations Team, and Relationship Managers. External customers are the majority of individuals who lives in the local areas. Examples of external customers of Barclays include: disabled people, elderly, foreign people, parents, couples, widows, divorcees and students (from schools, colleges, and universities). Internal customers Barclays has number of internal customers who works for them, and also does banking with them. About 5% of accounts belong to Barclays’ staff. It is very important for Barclays to have internal customers because, without them, the financial organisation will have difficulties to meet the needs of external customers. For example, if you image the organisation as an iceberg, only 1/10th is above the water (the external customer), but 9/10th is hidden below the water (internal customers) which, is supporting external customers. This good example of importance of internal customers was extracted from the following website: www.citysun.ac.uk/newonline/customercare/task1/intro.htm. So, if you remove the bottom half of the iceberg (internal customers), top half of the iceberg (the external customer) will sink- in the other words, the whole organisation will come to an end. It is important for Barclays to treat their internal customers in the same way, as they treat their external customers. The advantages of having internal customers to employees: * Better working conditions * Better job satisfaction * Less stress * Having the ‘feel good’ factor * Being part of a good working team The advantages of having internal customers to the organisation: * Less waste and stoppages * Improved communications * A happier workforce * Fewer problems * Increased customer loyalty * Better service to external customers The advantages of having internal customers to the external customers: * A higher, sustained level of service * Faster responses times * Knows that the organisation cares As a result, internal customer care is based on good manners, knowing where your job fits in, working efficiently with colleagues, working as a member of a team, and respecting colleagues’ needs and rights. Organisations, such as Barclays believe that, there are three kinds of attitudes and behaviours towards colleagues that would be essential for quality internal customer care: 1. Caring for colleagues- this would include: making individuals feel good- this will help them to work better, they would become more cooperative, responding reasonably to their needs, and accepting a sense of shared responsibility 2. Cooperating with colleagues- this would include: can get things

Spanish And French Monarchial Beliefs - The Escorial And Versailles :: essays research papers

The palace of Versailles was built by Louis XIV of France (1643-1715), and the Escorial was built by Philip II of Spain (1556-1598). By examining the aerial and frontal facades of these two palaces, it may be seen that there were many similarities and differences between the two kings’ perception and practice of monarchy. Each king set his own goals for his life, and concluded as to how a monarch ought to behave. Both Louis XIV and Philip II had religious duties to pay attention to, organized the distribution of power in their respective kingdoms, communicated with other countries and entities through war and diplomacy, raised militaries, and made plans for the expansion of their own beliefs, thoughts and practices. Aside from these aspects of the two kings’ beliefs and practices of monarchy, the architecture of their palaces reflected their ideals, or personal beliefs, and the interpretation made by the painters of the palaces reflects the attitudes of the two kings t oward life. The role of the king to the public during the reigns of Louis XIV of France and Philip II of Spain were not predetermined, so each king created for himself what he thought monarchy ought to be. Louis XIV and Philip II were both absolutists, and believed that they should be the supreme rulers of France and Spain, respectively. However, Louis XIV did not want to be a national symbol serving no legitimate purpose. He wished to control the military, economy, foreign affairs, and the administration of the kingdom and of justice. He believed that the king of France should be the best that France has to offer- being served by even the most powerful lords of France. Conversely, Philip II thought of himself as Catholic first, and king of Spain second. Opposite to Louis XIV, Philip II preferred to sit in the Escorial and pray, pour over records, and live more as a monk than as Louis XIV’s conception of a king. Philip II never wanted to take much of an active part in the administration o f his kingdom, except for the times when he wanted to use some of his various powers. However, after he had used it for a while (waging war, raising taxes, etceteras) he would let it lay dormant and return to his documents. Nor did Philip II ever wish to control most of the Spanish economy. The parts that he did control were ones that directly affected himself or his revenues, so vital in order to keep his army of immense proportions.

Solar Hot Water Systems and Materials of Construction :: essays research papers

The materials used in solar hot water systems must be carefully chosen to ensure that the unit will be efficient but also affordable. The efficiency of the conversion of sunlight energy to heat energy of the water depends on the materials of construction and the efficiency of heat transfer of the materials. Solar hot water systems use the processes of conduction to transfer the heat absorbed from the sun to the water and convection to move water through their structure. This assignment discusses the materials used in construction of solar hot water systems and their heat transfer properties. 2.0 Conduction Conduction is the process of transferring energy through a material from one point to another. Conductivity (k) is the rate at which the energy is transferred and its units are Watts per metre Kelvin or (W/mK). The higher the rate of conductivity the faster energy is transferred through the material. Conduction can occur in two different ways in solids; the first is by crystal vibration waves (phonons) where particles of high kinetic energy vibrate rapidly and bump into other particles to transfer energy from one point to another. The second way is by delocalised electrons or free moving electrons which transfer energy throughout materials much better than atoms do, as their energy to mass ratio is much higher than that of atoms. This allows the electrons to travel much faster throughout a substance and transfer energy faster. For a material to be a good conductor of kinetic or electrical energy it requires both methods of conduction, which is found in metals and some other materials (i.e. graphite). The conductivity of a solar hot water system’s materials are important ie. adequate insulation is required to prevent energy being lost to the unit’s surroundings. Materials for the pipes should not resist the transfer of thermal and kinetic energy being passed through the pipes to the water in the collector panel (shown in Fig 1.). The conductivity (k) of a material can be described by the following equation. The contribution of ke increases with free electron concentration. Copper is an abundant, cheap metal with great thermal and electrical conductivity. It is strong, malleable and ductile making it an ideal material for water pipes. Copper has a thermal conductivity (k) value of 398 W/mK, which is below silver’s thermal conductivity of 428 W/mK however still much larger than other metals such as Aluminium (247 W/mK) or steel (60 W/mK).

Documentary films Essay

Documentary films have paved way to show the reality of life. More often than not, it provides awareness of the present situation that was not addressed accurately in films and television shows alike. Documentary, like other discourses of the real, retains a vestigial responsibility to describe and interpret the world of collective experience, a responsibility that is no small matter at all (Nichols, 1991 p. 10). In making a documentary film concerning the community life in a distant foreign country, several issues would need to be addressed. The first thing that we need to discuss is the culture of the people living in that place. It would be an important factor as it tells a lot about the people and the place itself. Its history would generally be included in determining how the culture came about. Social norms and practices should also thoroughly discuss to identify the difference and uniqueness of their society. Furthermore, the documentation should explore the different beliefs of the people and how it affects the way they live and how their society copes up with modernization. The main focus of the documentary is how the culture and beliefs would affect the health of the people in that certain area. It would thoroughly explore the different misconceptions and traditional health management that these people have. This is a critical issue to discuss because it may directly or indirectly affect their socio-economic progress and their lifestyle. If by chance, the documentary could discover the need to re-educate the people regarding their health beliefs and fallacy, then proper authority should be inform. This is to insure that people would have the opportunity and the appropriate resources to improve their knowledge as regards to their health condition. REFERENCES Nichols, B. (1991), Representing Reality: Issues and Concepts in Documentary, Indiana University Press, p. 10

A Study on the Students Parking Facilities at UITM Shah Alam

TITLE : A STUDY ON THE STUDENTS PARKING FACILITIES PROVIDED BY UITM SHAH ALAM Problem Statement Recently UiTM has provided parking spaces for students at certain lots such as at the marching field (padang kawad), parking zone in front of the Faculty of Engineering and Mawar lot area. Yet, the students don’t make full use of the parking instead, they park at the restricted area such staff parking, visitor, faculty area which makes the situation crowded. Research Objectives 1. To identify the preferences of the students park at the restricted area. 2. To explore whether the parking provided by UiTM is insufficient. . To explain the attitudes and behaviours of the students that park at the restricted area. Research Questions 1. What makes them prefer to park at the restricted area? 2. Does UiTM provides sufficient and convenient parking area at every faculty? 3. Why the students still disobey the rules even though they knew they are restricted or had been summoned? Scope of the s tudies This will be the students who have their own transportation in UiTM Shah Alam. We prefer to use students from Faculty of Communication and Media studies since they have the limited space parking area in a result making the situation crowded. This will be an advantage for us to understand easier why the issue is happening. Plus, the students here are much open minded and out-spoken whenever we talk to them. Methodology 1. Location of the study. The location we’re studying is in UiTM, Shah Alam. We’ll be specifically more to Faculty of Comm and Media studies because the spaces are limited and small for parking areas. It’s a perfect area to study on. 2. Population and Sampling Procedures The population will be among the UiTM Shah Alam students while the samplings will be the Comm and Media studies students. Compared to other students, Mass Comm students are much more responsive. We will give to twenty respondents of MassComm student to get the result. 3. Data Collective Method After we got the result, we will collect them and use SPSS system to make our research more convenient and systematic. We will do in percentage to get better findings. Questionnaire Part A ( Respondent Profile) 1. Gender :MaleFemale 2. Race : MalayBumiputra 3. Religion : IslamBuddhaHinduChristianOthers ________________ 4. Sequence : MC221MC222MC223 MC224MC225MC226 MC227MC226 5. Semester :123 4 5 Part B (preferences of the students’ park at the restricted area) 6. Do you think that parking space are enough for students? Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree 7. As a student, do you agree to park at Padang Kawad and wait for the bus to go the class? Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree 8. Do you agree that UiTM should provide more space near to the faculty? Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Part C (parking provided by UiTM is insufficient) Reference : 1 – poor2 – fair3 – good 4 – very good5 – excellent |9. How do you think of the parking that provided by UiTM? |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | |10. How convenient the parking facilities at UiTM? |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | |11. How they manage location of the parking area? |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | Part D (The attitudes and behaviours of the students) 12. The reason of most of Mass Comm students to park near Faculty is because it is easy to them to go to class. Do you agree? Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree 13. Do you agree that most of the Mass Comm students disobey rules made by UiTM that are restricted to park at the staff parking lots? Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree 14. Do you agree that students who gets summon from UiTM will change their attitudes? Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree