Hardware and Software Requirements For an IT system Essay

For this assignment we have to produce a report on the types of hardware and software requirements, and their purposes, for an IT system. In the context of this essay I have decided that bullet point form along with brief descriptions and graphics is the best way to present this assignment. 6 STAGE MODEL Shown above is the six-stage model, showing the processes undertaken by a computer system. Below is what each of my pictures represents: * Mouse: Input Device * The Tower: Central Processing Unit * Monitor: Output Device * Floppy Disk: Backing Store * Head: Main Memory * Telephone: Communications Devices e.g. Internet Input Devices and Techniques ‘Input devices are the means whereby computers can accept data or instructions’ (Heathcott P M, 2000, p 159) * Keyboard: The keyboard is the most commonly used of all input devices. It can be used for a various number of tasks, form entering programs, to typing documents using a word processor, or entering a persons personal details etc. * Mouse: The mouse and its variants such as the trackball is well known with all PC users. * Scanner: A scanner can be used to scan graphical images and photographs, and software can then be used to edit or touch up the images. Scanners can also be used to read typed or hand-writtten documents and this can then be interpreted by using OCR software, which can then export it to a word processor or data file. Scanners can also be used to input large volumes of data on pre-printed forms such as credit card payments, where the customers account number and amount paid are printed at the bottom of the payment slip. * Web Cam: This transfers images onto the screen. In can be used via the internet for video conferencing or you can even pre-record messages and send them via E-mail. * Bar Code Reader: Bar codes appear on almost everything we buy, whether it is a new CD or a tin of bins. The pattern of thick thin lines represents the 13 – digit number underneath the bar code. There are four main pieces of information on a bar code. The first few two or three digits represent in which country the product was registered. The next five digits represent the manufacturer’s code. The second group of five numbers represents the product and package size. The last digit is a check digit, which is calculated from the other digits in the code and ensures that the barcode is keyed in or read correctly. A very similar process to that used in the ASCII code where the spare digit is used as the parity. A Product Bar Code * Light Pen: A light pen is a device which incorporates a light sensor so that when it is held close to a screen over a character or part of a graphic, the object is detected and can be moved to create or modify graphics. * Microphone: An input devise for sound recording. * OMR (Optical Mark Recognition): An Optical Mark Reader can detect marks made in present positions on a form. The most common example of this is the lottery. It is also widely used for marking, multiple choice exams and market research questionnaires. * OCR (Optical Character Recognition): Light is emitted, bounced back and then received. This is how the OCR reads its characters. The light emitted is in different resolutions depending on the character. OCR is used widely in services such as gas and electricity etc. * MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition): All banks use MICR for processing cheques. Along the bottom of a cheque the banks sort code, customer account number and cheque number are encoded in special characters in magnetic ink. The amount of the cheque is encoded in magnetic ink when it is handed in at the bank. The cheques can then be processed by MICR devices that read, sort and store the data on disk. MICR has several advantages for processing cheques: 1. It is hard to forge the characters 2. The characters can be read even if the cheque is crumpled, dirty or smudged 3. The characters are readable by humans, unlike bar codes The disadvantage of MICR though is the expense. This is why you don’t find many other examples of it being used. * Swipe Cards: Swipe cards are operated by using a magnetic strip. They are used in credit cards, debit cards, railway tickets, phone cards and many others. The magnetic strip can be encoded with upto 220 characters of data and other 83% of adults in Britain own at least one card. Unfortunately because there are only 220 characters of data this makes the cards very easy to copy, which is why the strips will eventually, disappear and be replaced by a chip, which is almost impossible to fake. Something slightly similar to the smart card. * Smart Cards: Smart cards are of a similar appearance to that of the swipe cards, but instead of using the magnetic strip they contain a small 1-millimeter square microprocessor which is stored in the centre of the card. This is then protected by a small gold electrical contact the card can still read information through this. Unlike the swipe card the smart cards can hold millions of characters of data. In the future banks hope to replace all the swipe cards with a ‘Super card’ which will also be able to be used to pay for smaller goods such as milk and newspapers without the need to carry cash. This card will almost be unbreakable. In Belgium they already have a similar system working to this it is called the ‘Proton Card’, which incorporates the use of both magnetic strip and a microprocessor chip for bank withdrawals and payments of small goods. The Smart Card * Touch Sensitive Screens: A touch sensitive screen allows the user to touch an area of the screen rather than having to type the data on a keyboard. They are widely used in tourist centres, where tourists can look up various local facilities and entertainment’s, in fast food stores such as McDonald’s for entering customer orders, in manufacturing, and also bars. * Digitisers: A digitiser can draw quality illustrations. It has a flat rectangular slab onto which a stylus (anything that terminates in a point) is placed. Output Devices and Techniques ‘The ultimate aim of the computer is to produce useful information, the information that is produced by the computer is in binary digits, we therefore need devices to translate these into a form we can use’ (Corbitt T, 1990, p 11) * VDU: (Visual Display Unit) The VDU is similar in appearance to the television receiver, an alternative name is the monitor. VDUs have better resolution than TVs and therefore are better for graphical work. It has its own fixed amount of RAM (Random Access Memory) associated with it to store the image being displayed on the screen. So the more RAM it has the better the resolution displayed on the screen. The number of pixels used to represent a full-screen image determines the resolution. Example: If 1 bit represents each pixel then two colours can be displayed, so to display 256 colours you would need 8 bits (1byte) It is usually possible to adjust both the resolution and the number colours – if you select a high resolution you won’t be able to have as many colours because of the memory available on the VDU Printers The results of processing are usually required in printed form. Printers come in all shapes and sizes, there are two main categories of printers: * Impact Printers which transfer the image on to the paper by applying pressure against a ribbon onto the paper, this transfers ink form the ribbon to the paper forming the image * Non-impact Printers which produce the image on the paper without any contact. Impact Printers * Dot-matrix: The characters on this are formed by dots. The print head contains a number of needles, the more there are of these the better the quality of print. A head with nine needles would take seven horizontal movements to print a character, this printer would be said to have a seven-by-nine-character matrix. In the latest type near letter quality is produced by double printing. The line of type is printed, the head moves back to the beginning of the line, moves down fractionally and then prints the line a second time. This doubles the time taken to print a document. To overcome this more expensive models use twice the number of needles and near letter quality can be achieved with one pass of the head. The dot-matrix can also print out graphics and pictures of a basic quality. Dot-matrix printers, which can print in colour, are available, these use a ribbon which contains red, green and blue. Coloured output is obtained by repeated printing, repositioning of the paper, print head and ribbon. The dot-matrix can print between 30 and 200 characters per second (cps). * Daisy-wheel printers: The print head consists of flexible arms extending from a centre hub, the characters are at the tips of the arms. When printing the hub revolves bringing the required character next to the ribbon. Some daisy-wheel printers are bi-directional and the print head can turn in either direction so that quickest possible print time is achieved. The print can be changed so that different font styles can be used. Daisy wheel printers are unable to print graphics unlike the dot-matrix. It is capable of speed ranges 12 to 55 cps. Non-impact printers * Thermal printers: These use specially treated paper, which is affected by heat generated by the print head as it passes across the paper. The main advantages are that they are silent and fast, printing 30-120 cps. Disadvantages are that the paper is expensive and that the printed image degrades in time. * Ink-jet printer: With this type of printer the characters are formed on the paper by spraying it with a stream of ink dots. They are fast, printing 150-270 cps and almost soundless, the quality of print is very good. A Canon Bubble Jet Printer BJC7000 * Plotters: Plotters are used to produce drawings, diagrams and other types of graphical output. There are two varieties in use, the flatbed plotter which is used where accuracy is important and the drum plotter which is used for business applications. The flatbed type is fixed while the pen moves over the top of the device while the axis moves up and down, whilst the drum variety uses continuous stationery. In both types the pens, under the program control, are moved to the down position, the movement of the pens is then controlled to draw the image. There are from one to six pens, which can be used to output different colours. There is also the less commonly known graph plotter. This is most commonly seen in use for lie detector tests. * COM: (Computer Output on Microfilm) The problem of storing information on paper can be considerable in a large business. One way to solve this is to have output from the computer photographed as microscopic images directly onto microfilm. Two methods of storage are used, one put the information onto a roll of 16mm film while the other uses microfiche. Microfiche can store upto 100 pages of A4 on a single piece, to see it you must have a microfiche reader. The most recent examples of this being used is in libraries and in garages for checking car parts. Data can be stored onto microfilm directly from the computer or off line using magnetic tape as an intermediary store. * Voice output: The output of the computer can be given in spoken form by using voice synthesisers to transform words stored in the computer into human speech, this is great for disabled people who cannot speak as it allows them to communicate. The user can hear through a loudspeaker. Secondary device techniques A permanent, non-volatile form of storage is required by all computer systems to save software and data files. Magnetic tape, magnetic disks, CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory), and microfilm are all examples of what is known as secondary storage. * Floppy disk: The standard 3 1/2†³ floppy disk is a thin, flexible plastic disk coated in metal oxide, enclosed in a rigid plastic casing for protection. A standard high density disk has a storage space of 1.44 Megabytes. * Hard Disks: The hard disk used with conventional PCs consists of one or more disk platters, which are permanently sealed inside a casing. Hard disks have a capacity of between 2Gb and 10Gb, though external hard drives can be plugged into the computer to provide extra storage space. For large-scale applications storing huge amounts of data, more hard disks would be used. The disks can be fixed or removable, although the fixed disks are more reliable and have more storage capacity. Data is stored on the concentric tracks, which are divided into sectors. Data is then stored in one of the sectors so that it minimises the movement of the read-write heads, thereby minimising access time. * CD-ROM: CD-ROMs can store around 680Mb of data, which is the equivalent of hundreds of floppy disks. CD-ROMs do not transfer data as quickly as the hard disk drive. As the name suggests the disks are read-only memory. Unlike a magnetic disk they are created by burning tiny holes into the surface of the disk, a laser beam is then reflected off the surface of the disk, detecting the presence or absence of pits, which represent the binary digits. * Worm disks (Write Once, Read Many): These look very similar to the CD-ROM in appearance but are gold rather than silver in colour. These disks can be used to write your own material and are ideal for archiving or storing images or data, which will not be changed. They are popular in the pirate industry because a à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5 blank disk can store upto à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20 000 worth of software and sell for à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½50 – à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½80. They are used by less reputable PC company’s which install the software onto the PC so they can charge the consumer more for the package. However because of the competition in the pirate industry at present many of these carry viruses which can cause chaos on the hard drive. * Magneto-optical disks: Magneto-optical disks integrate optical and laser technology to enable read and write storage. A 5 1/2†³ disk can store up to 1 Gb. These disks may in future replace current magnetic disks, but at present the technology is still developing and the disks are too expensive, slow and unreliable to be in widespread use. * Magnetic tape: Magnetic tape was developed in the 1950s and very quickly became the primary means of storing data. The data is stored on magnetic tape in the form of dots of magnetism. It is used widely for archiving past transactions or other data that may be needed again, for example, old news readings that have been collected over a number of years. * Jaz Drive: Two Gigabytes is a tape drive and a mass storage device mainly used for backing up large files or batches of files i.e. end of day transaction backup for banks or businesses Software requirements and techniques Software is the name given to the programs that direct the operation of the computer. It can be divided into two main groups, system software and applications software. System software is the programs required to run the computer system and applications software is the programs required to carry out a particular application such as stock control Systems software This is the software that the microcomputer system needs to run. In this group there are three divisions: operating systems, utilities and compilers/interpreters/assemblers. Operating systems: An operating system is a set of programs that allows the user to perform tasks without having to know how they are done. For example, a user can give a command to save a file on disk without having to know where the file will be stored or how it will be retrieved again. Applications programs are usually written to work with a particular operating system e.g. Excel will only work with Windows and not with Apple Mac, which has a different operating system. Utility programs: Utility programs perform common tasks that every computer user will need at one stage or another. They carry out such jobs as formatting and copying disks, deleting files from disks, sorting information into a required order, and to help with the testing of programs that have been written. Compilers, interpreters and assemblers: These are programs that translate the programming language that is used into a form that the computer can understand. Compilers work by translating the whole of the program from what is known as the source program into the object program which will be in a form that the computer can understand. Interpreters are programs that translate and execute source programs one statement at a time. An assembler is a program supplied by the computer manufacturer that will translate a program that was written in assembly language (low-level programming language) into machine code. Applications software: In large organisations that have a mainframe or minicomputer we would find that programmers were employed whose job it would be to write the programs for the applications that the organisation wished to have run on the computer, such as payroll, stock control or hospital appointments. The software may be designed specifically for one particular company and written especially for them using a programming language or software such as database management system. Alternatively, the software may be purchased ‘off the shelf’. General purpose software: Most general purpose software is sold as a package, including a CD containing the software. Below is the most common packages that you would find on the market to date: 1. Applications: spreadsheets, database, word processing, Desk Top Publishing 2. Presentation: CD based presentations (Power Point, Director) 3. Internet Publishing: web page development software (Front Page, Dreamweaver, Flash) 4. Programming Software: BASIC, Visual Basic, C++, Java, Pascal, HTML 5. Creation and Editing: Photo Shop, Paint Shop Pro, Premier, Coral Draw 6. Utility: Anti-virus, tidy and compression, Doctors. The newer computer systems will have these utilities on them already. Software such as word processing, spreadsheet and databases is sometimes refereed to as generic software. This means that many of the packages can be made to do many different tasks, and is not specifically for one type of application. The other types of application software such as stock control and payroll as mentioned before are special purpose because they have been designed to complete one particular task. Conclusion: I found this assignment very interesting and now feel I have a much sounder understanding off computer hardware and software. I would have liked to incorporate more images into the assignment as reference to each of the products described, but was unable to find all of the images that I required, and also had problems trying to transfer them from the internet. Apart from this I feel quite satisfied with the overall assignment and hope that I have entered all the data needed and presented it in a clear fashion. Bibliography Corbitt T, (1990), Information Technology And Its Applications. Avon, United Kingdom: Bath Press Heathcott P M, (2000), ‘A’ Level Computing. Ipswich, United Kingdom: Payne-Gallway Publishers Ltd References Corbitt T, (1990), Information Technology And Its Applications. Avon, United Kingdom: Bath Press Heathcott P M, (2000), ‘A’ Level Computing. Ipswich, United Kingdom: Payne-Gallway Publishers Ltd Michael Firmstone Tutor: Del Turney 14/11/01

Judicial Department of the Philippines Essay

The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and such in lower courts as may be established by law. Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the Government. Meaning of Judicial Power JUDICIAL POWER is the power to apply the laws to contests or disputes concerning legally recognized rights or duties between the Sate and private persons, or between individual litigants in cases properly brought before the judicial tribunals. Scope of Judicial Power It includes the duty of courts of justice: †¢to settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable; and †¢to determine whether there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction(infra) on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the government †¢to pass upon the validity or constitutionality of the laws of the state and the acts of the other departments of the government; †¢to interpret and construe them; and  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢to render authoritative judgments  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢It likewise includes the incidental powers necessary to the effective discharge of the judicial functions such as the power to punish persons  adjudged in contempt. Giving of Advisory Opinions not a Judicial Function The judiciary is entrusted by the Constitution with the function of deciding actual cases & controversies. It cannot be required by law to exercise any power or to perform any duty not pertaining to, or connected with, the administration of judicial functions. It is not its function to give advisory opinions. It is a function of executive officials. The doctrine of separation of powers calls for the other departments being left alone to discharge their duties as they see fit. The president and congress are not bound to seek the advice of the Judiciary as to what to do or not to do. It is a prerequisite that something had been accomplished or performed by either of them before a court may enter into the picture. At such time, it may pass in the validity of what was done but only when properly challenged in an appropriate legal proceeding. Furthermore, with so many cases pending in courts where in there is an actual and antagonistic assertion between the parties, it would not serve public interest at all if on matters moot and academic their time and attention would still have to be devoted. Judicial Power Vested in One Supreme Court & in Lower Courts Judicial power, under the constitution is â€Å"vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be established by law.† The judiciary composed of the courts is one of the three main divisions of power in our government. Under the provision, only the Supreme Court is a constitutional court in a sense of being a creation of the constitution. All other courts including the Sandiganbayan are statutory courts in the sense that they are creations of law. They are referred to as lower courts in the Constitution, meaning courts below the Supreme Court. In the exercise of its legislative power, congress may abolish any or all lower courts and replace them with other courts to the limitation that the reorganization shall not undermine the security of tenure. It cannot, however, abolish the Supreme Court; neither can it create an additional supreme court because the constitution provides for only â€Å"one Supreme Court†. Neither can it abolish the Sandiganbayan because it existence is constitutionally recognized although congress, in the exercise of legislative power, may determine its functions and jurisdiction. The decisions of the Supreme Court are binding all lower tribunals. Organization of Courts Regular courts  the Phil. judicial system consist of hierarchy of courts resembling a pyramid with the Supreme Court at the apex. Under the Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980 are: †¢A Court of Appeals (w/ 51 justices headed by a presiding justice) which operates in 17 divisions each comprising 3 members. The court sits en banc only to exercise administrative, ceremonial, or other non-adjudicatory functions; †¢A Regional Trial Court presided by 720 Regional Trial Judges in each of 13 regions in the country; and †¢A Metropolitan Trial Court in each Metropolitan area established by law; a Municipal Trial Court in every city not forming part of a metropolitan area and in each of the municipalities not comprised within a metropolitan area and a municipal circuit; and a Municipal Circuit Trial Court in each area defined as a municipal circuit comprising one or more cities and/or more municipalities grouped together according to law. A court may consist of several branches. Special courts †¢The Court of Tax Appeals was created under RA No. 1125, as amended which has exclusive appellate jurisdiction to review on appeal decisions of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue taxes and decisions of the Commissioner of Customs involving custom duties. †¢The Sandiganbayan was created by PD No. 1606 pursuant to the mandate of the 1973 constitution. It â€Å" shall continue to function and exercise its jurisdiction† as provided in said decree or as may be provided by subsequent law. Quasi-judicial agencies †¢administrative bodies under the executive branch performing quasi –judicial functions, like the National Labor Relations of the integrated judicial system. The same thing may be said of courts martial. The authority for the ordering of courts martial pertains to the President as Commander-in-Chief independently of legislation to aid him in properly commanding the Armed Forces and enforcing discipline. The Court & Judge Court The body to which the public administration of justice is delegated. It is an entity or body in which a portion of judicial power is vested. Judge A public officer so named in his commission and appointed to preside and to administer the law in a court of justice. Court & Judge Distinguished A court is an incorporeal entity composed of one or more judges. Judge alone  does not necessarily constitute a court for a while he is an indispensable part he is only a part of the court. Court cannot exist without a judge. Importance of Judiciary LORD BRYCE â€Å" Nothing is more clearly touches the welfare and security of the average citizen than his sense that he can rely on the certain and prompt administration of justice. Law is respected and supported when it is trusted as the shield of innocence and the impartial guardian of every private civil right. But if the law is dishonestly administered, salts has lost its savour; if it be weakly or unfaithfully enforced, the guarantees of order fail, for it is more by uncertainty than by severity of punishment that offenses are repressed.† CHANCELLOR JAMES KENT â€Å" where there is no judicial department to interpret and execute the law, to decide controversies, and to enforce right, the government must either perish by its own imbecility or the other departments of government must usurp powers for the purpose of commanding obedience, to the destruction of liberty.† MR. JUSTICE ARTHUR VANDERBILT â€Å"It is in the court and not in the legislature that our citizens primarily feel the keen cutting edge of the law, If they have respect for the works of the courts, their respect for law will survive the shortcomings of any other branch of the government; but if they lose their respect for the works of the courts, their respect for law and order will banish with it to the great detriment of society.† Independence of the Judiciary †¢Congress may not deprive the supreme court of the constitutional powers granted to it †¢Congress cannot prescribe the manner in which the supreme Court should sit, and determine the number of justices composing the court. †¢The Supreme Court is given the authority to appoint all officials and employees of the judiciary. †¢The members of the Supreme Court and judges of lower courts enjoy security of tenure. †¢Their salaries cannot be decreased during their continuance in office. †¢The members of the supreme court can only be removed trough the difficult process of impeachment. †¢ The judiciary enjoys fiscal autonomy. SECTION 2 The congress shall have the power to define, prescribe, and apportion the jurisdiction of the various court but may not deprive the Supreme Court of its jurisdiction over cases enumerated in section 5 here of. No law shall be passed reorganizing the Judiciary when it undermines the security of tenure of its Members. 3 Limitation to the Exercise of Power 1.No law shall be passed reorganizing the judiciary when it undermines security of tenure guaranteed for section 10; 2.The congress cannot diminish or other wise impair the original and appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court over cases enumerated in section 5; 3. No law shall be passed increasing the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court without its advice and concurrence. Jurisdiction of Courts †¢General †¢Limited †¢Original †¢Appellate †¢Exclusive †¢Concurrent †¢Criminal †¢Civil SECTION 3 The judiciary enjoys fiscal autonomy. Appropriations for the judiciary may not be reduced by the legislature below the amount appropriated for the previous year and, after approval, shall be automatically and regularly released. SECTION 4 The Supreme Court shall be composed of a chief justice and fourteen associate justices. It may sit en banc or in its sit discretion, in division of three, five, seven Members. Any vacancy shall be filled within ninety days from the occurrence thereof. All cases involving the constitutionality of a treaty, international or executive agreement, or law, which shall be heard by the Supreme Court en banc, and all other cases which under the rules of are required to be hear en banc, including those involving the constitutionality, application, or operation of presidential decrees, proclamation, orders, instructions, ordinances and other regulations, shall be decided with the majority of the members who actually took part in the deliberations on the issues in the case and voted thereon. Cases or matters heard by the division shall be decided or resolve with the concurrence of the majority of the members who actually took part in the deliberations on the issues in the case and voted thereon, and in no case, without the concurrence of at least three of such members. When the required number is not obtained, the case shall be decided en banc: Provided that no doctrine or principle of law laid down by the court in a decision rendered en banc or in division may be modified or reversed except by the court sitting en banc. Composition of the Supreme Court The new constitution retained the membership of the supreme court of 15  members including the chief justice under the 1973 charter (sec.4). The phrase â€Å"unless otherwise provided by law† in the 1935 constitution was deleted in the 1973 constitution clearly showing the intention to withdraw from congress the power to alter the composition of the supreme court. The constitution requires any vacancy to be filled within 90 days from the occurrence thereof. Sitting Procedure The supreme court may sit in en banc (i.e..as one body) or in division of three, five or seven members. On the basis of fifteen members the number of division will be five, three or two meeting separately. Cases to be heard or decided en banc and vote required 1.All cases involving the constitutionality of a treat, international .or executive agreement, or law (statute). 2.All other cases including those involving the constitutionality, application or operation of presidential decrees, proclamations, orders, instructions, ordinances and other regulations. 3.Administrative cases where the decision is for the dismissal of a judge of a lower court. 4.Cases heard by a division. 5.Cases modifying or revising a doctrine or principle of law. Meaning of Executive Agreement Is an agreement entered into by the resident on behalf of the Philippines with the government of another country and is effective and binding upon the Philippines without the concurrences of congress. Classes of Executive Agreements Those made purely as executive acts affecting external relations and independent of legislative authorization.. They may be taken the form of a  protocol, an instrument supplementary to a treaty or convention, exchange of notes, and other types of documents. Those entered into in pursuance of acts of congress. They affect internal affairs and domestic rights. They include tariff and postal arrangements, visa fees, commercial relations, and matters affecting trademarks and copyrights, and the like. Meaning of Power of Judicial Review Is the power of the courts, ultimately of the Supreme Court, to interpret the Constitution and to declare any legislative or executive act invalid because it is in conflict with the fundamental law. Limitations on exercise of power of judicial review 1.There must be a concurrence of at least a majority of the members who actually took part in the deliberations on the issues in the case and voted thereon. 2.A law, etc., must be sustained unless clearly repugnant to the Constitution in view of the presumption of validity. 3.The question of wisdom, propriety, or necessity of a law, etc.,is not open to determination by the court. 4.Political questions are generally addressed to the political (i.e., elective) branches (namely, the Presidentand congress) of the government and are, therefore, not jusiciable. Justiciable distinguished from Political question †¢ A justiciable question- is one which affects personal or property rights accorded to every member of the community in cases if properly brought before the judical tribunals. †¢ A political question – is one which under the Constitution, â€Å"is to be decided by the people in their sovereign capacity, or in regard to which full discretionary authority has been delegated to the legislative or executive branch of the government.† SECTION 5. The Supreme Court shall have the following powers: 1.Exercise original jurisdiction over cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and the consuls, and over petitions for certiorari, prohibition, mandamus, quo warranto, and the habeas corpus. 2.Review, revise, reverse, modify or affirm on appeal or certiorari as the law or the Rules of Court may provide final judgments and orders of lower courts in: a.All cases in which the constitutionality or validity of any treaty, international or executive agreement, law, presidential decree, proclamation, order, instruction, ordinance, or regular is in question. b.All cases involving the legality of any tax, impost assessment, or toll, or any penalty imposed in relation thereto. c. all cases in which the jurisdiction of any lower court is in issue. d.All criminal cases in which the penalty imposed is reclusion perpetua or higher. e.All cases in which only an error or question of law is involved. 3.Assign temporarily judges of lower courts to other stations as public interest may require. Such temporary assignment shall not exceed six months without the consent of the judge concerned. 4.Order a change of venue or place of trial to avoid a miscarriage of justice. 5.Promulgate rules concerning the protection and the enforcement of constitutional rights, pleading, practice, and procedure in all courts, the admission to practice of law, the Integrated Bar, and legal assistance to the underprivileged. Such rules shall provide a simplified and inexpensive procedure for the speedy disposition of cases, shall be uniform for all courts of the same grade, and shall not diminish, or increase or modify substantive rights. Rules of procedure of special courts and quasi-judical bodies shall remain effective unless disapproved by the Supreme Court. 6. Appoint all officials and employees of the Judiciary in accordance with the Civil Service Law.

Hydro One – Essay

Hydro one helps it to analyze the risks and opportunities in an integrated manner to improve the allocation of resources. It also enables it to prepare for the changing corporate governance requirements, deregulation of markets and future risks Like OLL spill etc. The process of ERM at Hydro one involves the identification of 50-70 business risks which are then reduced to ten most significant risks through interviews and focus groups.Voting is accomplished using the Delphi Method to quickly identify and prioritize risks based on the ignited and probability in order to focus on major risks. Five point risk tolerance scale from Minor to worst case Is used to estimate the Impact of a risk on the corporate objectives and five point probability rating scale is used to estimate the probability of the risk materializing. Each investment program is evaluated in terms of the cost and severity of the risk It attempts to mitigate.Capital expenditures are allocated to the prioritize investment projects according to the greatest overall risk reduction per dollar spent (Bang for the buck index). Overall risk score is assigned to each combination of impact and probability assessment. It is a rational and better- coordinated process for allocating capital as: 1 . It improves the capital expenditure process and can help the firm select an optimal portfolio of projects. 2. It enables the firm to delegate the responsibility to manage the risk to the risk owner while making risk awareness an indispensable part of company culture. . The company credit rating given by S&P, Moody improved resulting in lower credit costs for the many as the company exhibited Improvements in efficiency. 4. The process takes Into account the benefits of risk reduction In a wide gamut of risk categories (regulatory, financial, reliability, safety, reputation) and assesses the qualitative impact of various risks also. 5. It helps the company achieve an optimum balance between business risks and returns.T hus, the ERM implementation process makes use of a variety of tools and techniques, including the â€Å"Delphi Method,† risk trends, risk maps, risk tolerances, risk refills, and risk rankings etc. It has succeeded In overcoming most of the issues as follows: * The use of Delphi method facilitates open discussions and causes managers to shed their rigid views and develop a common understanding of the risks. They are able to concur on the corporate plan for proportioning action and the resources to manage such risks. The attention of top management is secured by espousing that risk management Is everyone's responsibility, from the Board of Directors to individual employees. The classification of risks enables the managerial attention to be concentrated on high risk factors. * As risks are continuously evolving and the magnitude and probability of a certain risk is affected by the Internal controls (mitigation efforts In the past) as well as the external changes In the environm ent. Thus, monitoring and reporting are fundamental to effective management of business risks.Hydro one engaged in extensive reviews and 1 OFF Incorporated outside views In ten corporate rills prattle Walt ten Nell AT attaches room other sources like workshops, media scans along with structured interviews with the top 40 to 50 executives together. * Regulatory compliance is ensured through a separate classification of regulatory risks and potential loss of credibility. Thus, the risk based investment planning system has yielded many benefits for the firm, but as the risks faced by the firm are changing, the company continuously needs to incorporate those risks in its ERM system in order to succeed in achieving its strategy.

Sexual transmitted Infection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Sexual transmitted Infection - Essay Example Chlamydia trachomatis is one of the most commonly diagnosed bacterial sexually transmitted infection. In women, it causes endometritis, mucopurulent cervicitis and urethritis. Mucopurulent cervicitis can cause of pelvic inflammatory disease, salpingitis, ectopic pregnancy, tubal factor infertility, chorioamnionitis, puerperal and neonatal infections and epididymitis. In men, untreated chlamydial infections can cause epididymitis and proctitis. Chlamydia is associated with an elevated risk of transmission of HIV and for the development of cervical carcinoma. Women are the potential source of infection to their partners since they carry the major burden of the disease (Malhotra, et al., 2013). In men, C. trachomatis can cause acute epididymis, nongonococcal urethritis and urethral strictures (Shaw, et al., 2011). Chlamydia is often asymptomatic but patients may experience pain during urination, unusual discharge from the vagina, penis and rectum. Women may experience abdominal pain, bl eeding during or after sex and bleeding in between periods while men have swelling in the testicles. Chlamydia trachomatis diagnosis is done through nucleic acid amplification tests such as polymerase chain reaction, ligase chain reaction, and transcription mediated amplification assays since they are non-invasive and perform well. The tests are highly specific and are more sensitive compared to the traditional method of tissue culture. Enzyme immune assays and direct nucleic acid probe assays can also be used in detecting chlamydial.

Introduction, Analysis, Recommendations and Draft of Paper Research

Introduction, Analysis, Recommendations and Draft of - Research Paper Example The paper will consider asking questions various stakeholders in the business field. These are managers, behavioral experts and the employees themselves. It will show how the world views the organizations affected by bad behavior, in particular growing firms. The paper will mainly concentrate on the childrens and teachers opinion. Observation is an important tool used by this paper to find the effects. The motivation of this project is the fact that most business employees are joyful and in the right mood, they would cooperate with interviewers.  It  will contribute to the findings of this paper by recording the findings after interaction. This paper will consider the keys to implementing successful behavioral change in an organization. It will then observe the employees, according to the response they give. In particular, it will identify the bad lessons various technological issues has brought to the employees. This paper will have a report from customers, who have encountered the effects of services from bad-mannered employees. The motivation for the report  is the need to have successful behavioral change in any organization. The paper will show the extent at which colleges have gone in training of their employees. Most colleges do not have necessary skills to teach good morals and behaviors to students. In particular, the paper will focus on young employees who have had recent employment. More so, it will focus a little on the experienced employees. Overall relationship between senior and junior employees will be part of the discussion in this paper. An interim study by a group of Australian education experts found out bad behavior has affected the production level of most firms. Good behavior requires much sacrifice from the employee, and it is always out of the heart. The stakeholder meeting involving firm managers from growing firms in Italy, drawing from Government (2012),

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 28

Leadership - Essay Example The diversity of age in the workforce provides the leader with the opportunity of in-house schooling of the young and inexperienced employees. Leaders capitalize on the diversity of age by providing the inexperienced employees with frequent opportunities of interaction with and learning from the aged and experienced employees. Employee training and development of the employees’ competence is one of the fundamental prerequisites of the attainment of the organizational goals. Companies incur a lot of cost by arranging the conventional vocational training and competence enhancement courses for their workforce. This cost can be avoided by making use of the in-house sources of knowledge for the enrichment of the young and inexperienced lot. A leader uses the cultural diversity in the workforce to increase the consumer base for the company. The more diverse the workforce is culturally, the higher the population of consumers belonging to different cultures becomes. Furthermore, by ma king the workforce work in teams, a leader can help them understand one another’s culture and respect the differences (Gadget, 2011). Thus, leaders can make use of the diversity in the workplace in positive ways to attain their

The Concept of Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Concept of Globalization - Essay Example Businesses and markets across the world are now linked such that a business in one country can have customers from any part of the world. This is as a result of expanded business operations and easy access of world markets resulting to globalization of markets. Advancement in IT has aided in removing physical barriers like boundaries. Factors of production are central in the globalization process since nations exhibit differences in quantity and quality of these factors (Lechner, 2009). Nations that have less of one or more factors e.g. labor tend to seek it from others while they export what they have in surplus e.g. food in case land is put into proper use. Due to this interaction global institutions have emerged e.g. UN, IMF and The World Bank among others that control interaction between nations (Haugen and Mach, 2010). Some offer credit, others ensure peace and stability while others ensure credibility of international trade. Globalization has turned the world into one big marke t place where nations showcase what they have in plenty and seek what they are short of. Consumers are now free to shop for commodities from any part of the world. In the process goods and services, money and culture are exchanged making the world to be one big community. References Haugen, D. M. and Mach, R. (2010). Globalization. Greenhaven. Lechner, F. J. (2009). Globalization: The making of world society. Wiley-Blackwell.

Power in Organizations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Power in Organizations - Assignment Example    However, this perspective is limited by the limits of human abilities with regard to both individual ability to rationalize and overall cost of adopting a rational strategy in terms of personal, social and organizational costs. The exploitative perception, on the other hand, focuses on Marxist theory of exploitation. It speaks about the exploitation of different groups of persons in society by other classes of people. Such exploitation of segments of the population is a distinct feature of capitalistic, free markets where capital is the dominant factor. Capital is viewed as a social resource rather than a physical economic resource used to extract value of labor. This management approach considers workers as mere exploitable productive labor, and the value of workers’ wages is unequal to the value of products they make. Through this system, management always ensures surplus values that are enjoyed by the capitalists. Marxist theorists define exploitation as the labor theory of value, which affirms that the market price of a commodity is a function of quantity of labor time socially required to create the product. Therefore, because the organization makes profits on account of its workers, then the wo rkers are deemed to be exploited. The limitation of this approach is that the nature of work remains boring and mechanical, and the relationship between employers and employees remains hostile because labor is forced and workers are antagonized by their employers leading to low morale (Thomas, 2003).

Marine energy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Marine energy - Assignment Example 3. Creates disturbance for commercial and private vessels: The power plants, which gather the energy from the wave, are supposed to be put in place in the coastline. These power plants over some relative disturbance to the sea moving vessels such as cruise ships, cargo ships, beach goers and recreational vehicles (Charlier & Finkl, 11). 4. Wavelength: Wave energy highly depends on the wavelength that is the wave speed, water density and wavelength of the wave. They usually require a constant flow in order produce a significant quantity of energy. Some areas do not experience reliable wave behavior, and it tends to be unpredictable to forecast the right amount of energy expected (Charlier & Finkl, 9). 5. Visual and Noise pollution: Generators of wave energy tends to be unpleasant to the life of the coastal region. They tend to appear like great machines operating in the middle of the sea thus destroying the beauty of the ocean (Charlier & Finkl,

Big Drive Auto Scenario Essay Example for Free

Big Drive Auto Scenario Essay It is the dream of every organization to enter a new market and in the process realize its dreams. However, this dream becomes very difficult to achieve due to a number of factors among them entry barriers put in place by those companies that are already operating in those countries. According to Arthur, S. Sheffrin, M. , (2003), some common non-pricing barriers likely to affect a firm wishing to enter a new market are high advertising costs, government policies, customer loyalty, and cost advantage independent of scale and distributor agreements. It would therefore be recommendable for such a firm to enter into negotiations with the government of the country where it wants to venture and the other firms that are operating in the country. This way, the new company will be able to cut on the cost of production. The reason is that in the negotiations, the companies will be able to discuss and have a common pricing index that should apply to the new company. Even though the other old company will not pay any new prices, the new company will have its prices reduced substantially. This helps the new company to reduce on the cost of production thereby having more disposable income. It can use this disposable income to invest on new technology or to maximize on its production. (Arthur, S. Sheffrin, M. , 2003) Another recommendation would be for the new company to first form a joint venture with the other operating company in the new company. This way, the new company will be able to escape or rather to get over all the other non-pricing barriers such high advertising costs, customer loyalty and distribution agreement. Under the umbrella of the already operating company, the new company now in the joint venture will be able to penetrate the market and only after it has succeeded in establishing the market should it break and be on its own. Due to these barriers, we can present sales at the new company in the tables below taking a span of ten years. From the tables, it is clear that the business is moving all right up to the year 2002 when it suddenly goes down. This defines the time when the new company decides to break-off from the joint venture and be on its own. The business goes down as they are now running independently but it slowly regains momentum because they are familiar with the market. (Arthur, S. Sheffrin, M. , 2003)

History And Ancient Trade Of Herbal Medicines Economics Essay

History And Ancient Trade Of Herbal Medicines Economics Essay Herbal medicines or Herbalism is a traditional or folk medicine practices based on plants and plant extracts. [3]. These medicines are sold as tablets, capsules, powder, teas, extracts, and dried or fresh plants. Herbal medicines is a most important part of all the alternative medicine systems including Ayurvedas, Chinese traditional medicines, Siddha, Homeopathy, Naturopathy and Native American and African medicines. [4]. WHO estimates that almost 80 % of the world population especially in developing world used herbal medicines for various aspects of primary health care. [5]. Herbal drugs fills the vacuum that is growing day by day due to ever increasing costs of conventional medications and poverty ridden developing world, most of them lives on less than U.S $10/- per day[6]. Contrary to conventional medicines, herbal medicines can be manufactured from plants and plant extracts which can be easily procured therefore much cost effective than conventional pharmaceutics thus providing an alternative means of medical treatments for almost three quarters of the world population. India and China are the two main exporters of herbal medicines in the world accounting for almost 15% of share of world herbal market. (China-13.5% and india-2.5%) [7]. According to WHO estimates, the present demand for medicinal plants is approximately US $80 billion a year and by the year 2050 it would raise to US $5 trillion[8]. These estimates indicate huge potential for growth in this sector of economy which is still unorganized due to various reasons even unidentified. The competition faced by the herbal drugs is stiff and ever increasing from both conventional and recently developed modalities of treatment. The economics has grown from the Adam smiths simple definition of economics of science of wealth to a more complex definition of marginal economics as proposed by Lionel Robbins in 1932 which says marginal economics applies the principal and method of economics to analyze problems faced by management of a business, or other types of organizations and to help find solution that advance the best interest of such organization. [9, 10] History and ancient trade of herbal medicines People have been using herbs growing around them for treatment of illnesses since pre historic times. One of the oldest evidence came from the ÃÆ'-tzi Ice Man lying frozen in Swiss Alps for almost 5300 years. He was found possessing two pieces of Birch bracket fungus, which he might be using to treat the whip worm infestation from which he was suffering [11]. In ancient world, probably the first documented evidence of herb use for medical purpose comes from Sumerians who used plants like caraway, thyme and laurel. Indian system of medicine, Ayurvedas, dates back to 1900 BC. [12]. Charaka and especially Sushruta described 700 medical plants in his book Sushrua Samhita. [13]. Siddha was another system of medicine which was developing in the same period in southern India (tamilnadu) [14]. Ancient Egyptian medicine also dates back to more than 1000 BC; they were expert in the use of garlic, opium, and mint and indigo among other herbs [15, 16]. Written documentation of Chinese medicine started with a mythological person known as Shennong, who according to mythology have tasted hundreds of medical herbs and poisonous plants and given his knowledge to farmers. The Shennong Bencao Jing (Shennon emperors classic of material medica) is considered first Chinese manual of pharmacology dating back to 1 century C.E. and contains 252 herbal prescriptio n for various diseases [17]. Huangdi Neijing also called as yellow emperors inner cannon consists 81 treatises of Chinese herbal medicines in question and answers format between mythological yellow emperor and his physician Qibo[18]. The ancient Greeks and Romans also made great strides in the field of medicine and herbalism as preserved in the writing of great scientists like Hippocrates and Galan. De Materia Medica was the first European medical treatises on the use of medical plants written in Greek period. In first century AD, Dioscorides wrote a comprehensive book compiling more than 500 medical plants [19, 20]. Trading was flourishing in the ancient world with Sumerians were trading with Indus valley civilization (seals with inscribed Indus valley script found at excavation at sumeria) and people with southern part of India were braving seas to trade spices and other commodities including medical herbs with far away Greeks and later Romans. In the medieval Europe, the monasteries have taken over the herbal medical science; they provided the medical knowledge and raw materials for the treatment of simple ailments. In contrast to the European world which was going through dark ages, the Arab world was bearing the torch of medicine, they built universities and first hospitals which were then known as Bimaristan .Al-dinawari and ibn al-baitar supplemented the earlier knowledge of materia medica [21,22] .Avicennas cannons of medicine (1025AD) was considered first pharmacopeia, he also introduced clinical trials, randomized control trials and efficacy testing [23]. One of the great reasons for the exploding growth of medical science in Arab world was their strategic location, which was almost the center of the known world and well connected to all important trade routes. One such route was silk route which connected china with rest of the world across the Thar desert. These trade routes gave the Arab physician means to get ma ny rare plants and knowledge about medical science, which was supplemented with their own experience and thus producing some major advancement in the field of medicine. Whereas in modern era two important events were marked, the first was the dominance of the English and publication of scientific knowledge including materia media of herbal medicine in English, the first to be published was the anonymous Grete Herball of 1526[24]. The other was the slow decline of the herbal and plant derived medicines and rise of chemical based therapeutics. This all started with The Black death of Europe when all the traditional medicines proved to be useless, so the scientists started exploring other fields for treating the ever increasing disease [25]. Need of herbal medicine in modern times After losing ground for almost three centuries the herbal drug are again gaining their market. Herbal drugs are now emerging as the Need of the day. Since the industry has developed from manual to mechanize to specialized format, the pace of Research and Development in drug industry has increased many folds in the recent past, but this has severely compromised the quality as well as the cost at which a drug is being produced. According to an estimate it took almost US $ 1.2 billion to bring a drug to market, with 10 yrs of effective patent time, but in the race of earning maximum profits and to earn large market share, many pharmaceutical companies are rapidly introducing new products in their product line through little RD and exploiting the patent knowledge of other companies. These competitive practices by the pharmaceutical firms resulted deep impact on the health of many people along with indicating the lack of corporate social responsibility among them [26]. The increasing cost of modern medicines further creates an opportunity for the herbal medicine to grab the market again, especially in the developing world. Adverse drug reaction and side effects of conventional medicines are another reason for need of less reactive and side effect free herbal drugs. However, not only these serious ADRs causes distress to the patient and make them to take more medicines to counter these ADRs but also increase the sickness leaves and bed occupancy rate in the hospitals , indirectly effecting the net productivity of the system in general and country in particular. As most of the drugs of herbal origin are produced by local community or small scale industries, it helps revive recession hit economy and increases the employment opportunities at grass root levels, and hence increasing the opportunities from autonomy of local economy, which is especially true in the case of tribal and backward regions of developing countries of Asia and Africa [27, 28]. One of the most important and upcoming concern regarding modern pharmaceutical agents is the damage they cause to the environment both physical and biological. One of the dreaded examples of this concern is the death of the vultures due to over use of drug diclofenac sodium in the farm animals [29]. Pharmaceuticals not only damage the environment after use but even during the production, a lot of toxic liquids and gases produced as pollutants during manufacturing, processing, finishing and so on resulting air and water pollutions. Decontamination of these pollutants may further increase the indirect costs, a system has to pay for the manufacture of a product. Not only it damages the aquatic flora and fauna but also increases the incidence of drug resistance in human beings[30,31,32,33]. On the other hand, being biodegradable the herbal products do not give rise to any serious environmental concern. Basic economics of herbal drugs The success of any product at a given market is grossly governed by two simple factors namely demand and supply. Demand is the mother of production, and depends on desire to buy the product, ability to pay and willingness to pay by the consumer[34]. Unfortunately, the economics of herbal drug is not as simple as in case of the conventional pharmaceutical agents. Due to lack of a global standardization of various parameters, method for testing and production has enhanced the complexity in understanding the economics of herbal drugs many folds. Further economical, political and socio-cultural differences, lack of appropriate legal framework regarding the herbal products and different pattern of consumption across the world has become a biggest challenge while dealing this growing industry. As the demand and supply law does not always holds true, the relationship become even more complex when the product is of inferior quality as in the case of the herbal drugs which are still considered to be below par then the conventional synthetic medicine. According to Robert Gissen(1837-1970), a British statistician, the inferior quality product always remains the secondary choice of the consumer. As the consumer grows and his buying power increases then they tend to shift from the lower quality to higher quality and in a way costlier products. To hold on to the existing consumers and to make inroads into the market share of conventional drugs, the herbal medicine companies have to understand the consumer demand and preferences. The feedback data from the market research should be used to make futuristic planning and assessment of the areas requiring immediate attention and can be considered for a planned and thorough research and development work. Market research can increasingly contribute to the herbal medicine industry in securing competitive edge and the market space. The market of herbal drug comprises of local, domestic, international and global stages. Value chain analysis shows the important players in different market systems. Local market: Cultivator Informal workshops factories subcontractor contractor wholesale market retailers (local chemists and hospital pharmacies). Domestic market: Cultivator informal workshop factories subcontractor contractor wholesale market middle men retailers. International market: Cultivator local factories subcontractor contractor large factories series of middlemen international retailer. Global market: RD through technical collaboration- global Cultivator global sourcing production sharing- global marketing [35]. However, it is not just the market players that influence the market economy of an industry but also the other related industries which combine to form the meta market. Meta market is defined as the cluster of complementary product and services that are closely related in the mind of the consumer but are spread across a diverse set of the industries [36]. These Meta market in case of the herbal industry are the related industries like pharmaceutical companies, raw material dealers, transportation companies, packaging industry, advertising companies, clinics and hospitals. The Meta market theory implies to the important fact that for the development of herbal industries as a whole other related industries must also have strong footing in the market. The economic development of an herbal drug is influenced by the economic condition of the domestic market as well as the global market (which includes the Meta market). The growth of domestic and global market in turn is also influenced by the each and every sector of economy including herbal drug industry. Interdependency of the market is also visible in production sharing in which different components of the same product are manufactured by different companies having best expertise, knowledge and price competitiveness. Production sharing, a term introduced by Drucker, refer to the practice of carrying out different stages of manufacturing of a product in several countries [37]. For example to manufacture and market a novel herbal drug, different stages of production can be shared by industries having competitive advantage in their respective fields like research, packaging, advertising etc., thereby cutting the cost and providing the best quality product to the consumer. Further, in order to achieve global recognition and up beat the conventional medicines, the herbal products must be required to be more consumer oriented, branded, innovative, present in various varieties, capable of curing minor to major diseases, must be appropriately priced as per the purchasing power of target group (penetration pricing), properly advertise and position in market, best in quality etc. Appropriate market plan based on product life cycle and market mix that is product, price, place, promotion can also help the industry to achieve competitive advantage over pharmaceutical industry. Market trends and global scenario Overall market is distributed evenly over all the continents. However the major trade centers are located at New York, Singapore, Rotterdam, Hamburg and London. The developing countries are playing the role of main exporters, India and China being most prominent whereas most developed countries especially the Europe and northern America are the main importers of the herbal products [38]. The main driving force for the market has two important factors, the first one being low cost and the other is the inability of the conventional medicine to cure the chronic diseases specially the diseases dealing with pain. From common cold to stroke, the herbal medicine is being used for almost every illness known to mankind [39]. Globally the collective market of herbal products is almost $ 85 billion of which $45 billion (25 lakh thousand Indian rupees) is alone the share of herbal pharmaceutics [40, 41]. Herbal pharmaceuticals are further divided into Medicinal and Aromatic plants, Medicinal and Vegetable Saps and Extracts, and Vegetable Alkaloids are having sufficient potential for high growth in future. Asia is having almost 30 % of the market share in the global herbal market, with china leading its way globally, many of its companies have been manufacturing herbal drugs and earning huge profits, some even registered 40 %growth in financial year 2008[42]. India is second largest exporter of herbal medicines, and her market trade has passed the figure of $1.1 billion in the year 2004-05[43, 44]. The growth potential and economic prospects of the herbal market can be made out from the seriousness of the effort of the govt of India, which apart from the launching many schemes for developing the herbal medicine industry, has also created an department for alternative medicines, AYUSH, under the ministry of health[45]. Two other countries in Asia which are registering high growth in this sector are Indonesia whose market $ 970 million in 2009 as against $440 million in 2008 and Malaysia which clicked 15 %growth in herbal medicine sector and the market stands at 9 billion Malaysian rupees[46,47,48]. In South America, Brazil and Argentina has become the dominant player of herbal market, with Brazils herbal market growing more than 15% since 2008[49]. European countries are the biggest importers of herbal medical product. Germany is by far the leader in herbal industry in Europe having a share of almost 30 % followed by France [41]. United States of America posted a growth of 1%which may be seen as good in its recession hit economy. The market stands at $ 4.8 billion despite the slowdown [41]. Herbal medicines under the law are sold as food supplements rather than medicines in America. The people are tuning to herbalism mainly to stay healthy and for primary prevention of diseases. It is also being used for chronic ailments like back pain and joint pain. There is huge potential for growth in the herbal market in USA, as almost 38 % of adults and 11.8 % of children had used herbal medicines at least ones in their life [50]. There is a growing demand for the herbal medicines all over the world particularly in the developed countries. The conventional treatment is ineffective or less effective in many diseases; this is where the herbal medicine is scoring the points. The companies are investing huge amount of capital for the development of the drugs treating chronic and resistant diseases which include cancer, liver ailments, anti-aging drugs and also in manufacturing novel food supplements [51]. With the growth of mass media and easily available sources of knowledge, especially internet, and increasing cost of medical checkups, the common masses are now relying more on disease prevention and self medication giving further boost to the herbal industry. Herbal drug as an industry Sustained growth shown by the herbal industries is attracting good amount of investments. Many pharmaceutical companies are now diversifying and herbal medicine is becoming one of their core areas of the investment. India and China are the two important centers of herbal drug manufacturing industries. India has a vast resource of raw materials and her traditional medicine practitioners uses approximately 7000 species of medicinal plants [52]. The major herbal plants being exported by India are fruit of amla (embelica officinalis), roots of milathi (glycyrrhiza glabra) and seeds of Asoka (saraca indica) [53]. Dabur India limited (Ghaziabad), the Himalaya drug corporation (Bangalore), Hamdard laboratories (Delhi) and Zandu pharmaceutical work ltd. (Mumbai) are the top Indian herbal medicine companies [53]. On the other hand, China also has huge resource potential with at least 5000 medical plants of different variety in use [54]. Ginkgo biloba is one of the top most plants being exported and Talsy pharmaceutical is one of the important company manufacturing herbal medicines in china [55]. Most of the herbal products are exported to the developed countries in the west. According to a survey Omega 3 (37.4 %), glucosamine (19.9 %) and Echinacea (19.9 %) are the three top most grossing herbal drugs in USA [56]. Similarly Ginkgo biloba has been in high demands in many European and American countries [55]. There has been a greater tendency of the conventional pharmaceutical companies to explore the herbal drug option, not only to expand their market share in profit making industry but also to boost the new drug discovery and allied research by gaining the knowledge in the herbal medicine system [57]. Companies are now patenting their products and making profit by either marketing the product themselves or selling it to other major players. Words like acquisition, outsourcing and joint venture are becoming common in the global herbal market. Companies like Ranbaxy were among the first to announce the induction of herbal drugs in their product list [58]. Pfizer announce the joint venture with a British herbal company for the manufacture and marketing of an anti-fat pill as early as 1998[59]. But the watershed point in this trend came when leading British herbal drug company, potters herbal medicine, was acquired by the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Galenica limited in a whooping $970 millio n deal [60]. This trend again gained momentum when Danish medical tycoon, Erik Sprunk-Janser bought the exclusive rights to 25 herbal products from traditional Arabic medicine system [61]. Overall the professional approach of the more experienced pharmaceutical industries brought two important gains in herbal medicine market, first they gave the herbal drugs more exposure to diverse medicinal markets and increased the coverage by much needed advertisements and secondly the provided capital for research and standardization of the herbal preparation. The annual turnover of major system of medicine in India, namely Ayurvedas, Siddhas and Unani, is estimated to be more than one billion dollars [62]. The gap between the demand and supply is ever increasing and is expected to rise from the present value of 2 lakh tons to 4 lakh tons in five year time [63]. This supply and demand gap creates fertile ground for the setup of manufacturing industries including small and medium manufacturing units. On one hand, the increase of units would create employment; on the other hand it will help in growth of allied industries including cultivation, processing, packaging and transportation. This huge investment potential should be boosted by some concrete steps on the part of the government. One such step that is needed is the policy making and introducing laws in relation to the manufacture and standardization of the herbal drugs. Indian government has taken many steps in the development of herbal market, creating a full-fledged department of AYUSH for dealing in the herbal and traditional medicines, enforcing laws for proper manufacturing, testing and prescribing the herbal drugs. Many entrepreneur developing programs to motivate and assist them in the form of loan and additional knowledge for setting up of small scale industries are a few to count on [64]. Rate limiting steps in the development of herbal industry With all the euphoria around the herbal industry, there are some grey areas which are holding back its growth. One of the most important negative feedback has come from the most unexpected quarters, which is the risk and the side effects associated with herbal drugs. The Ayurvedic drugs are being increasing criticized for the use of heavy metals including lead, arsenic and thallium well above the safety limits, in their prescription, which may be leading to heavy metal poisoning [65,66]. Some of the herbal plants like Saint Johns wart have been implicated for some very serious side effects. There is also growing concern about the drug interaction that may be there with other medications, synthetic as well as natural. Saint Johns Wart and ginkgo biloba are classical examples of such drug interactions, Saint Johns Wart is found to be interfering in the functioning of drugs like warfarine, estrogen preparation and theophylline [67]. Similarly ginkgo balboa is found to be interacting wit h paracetamol, aspirin and warfarin [68, 69]. Microbial contamination and adulteration with harmful substances also increases the suspicion there by producing hysteria among general population [70,71]. To overcome these constrains guidelines have been formulated for proper standardization and manufacture of these drugs. Some of the points included are 1) Scientific cultivation and proper identification of the medicinal plants by qualified botanists, 2) Processing the medicinal plants and their extracts in a scientific manner, 3) Isolation of the active chemical principal and characterizing its properties, 4) Proper pharmacological studies and preclinical and clinical trials before introducing the drugs into the market and post marketing surveillance, 5) Proper documentation of the research. [72] However in order to ensure the growth and development of herbal industry, formulation of an international and national policy and laws regulating the use, prescription and manufacturing of herbal drugs are also required. Today only a few countries have such laws in place. Government would further help this industry through, tax rebates, low health insurance etc in developing a potential product. Regulation and policy regarding herbal medicines [73,74,75] The legal status of the herbal medicines varies from country to country. It is regarded as an established medicine in some countries but in others it is still considered as food. So the policy and regulation of the herbal medicines are required- To facilitate the integration of traditional medicine into national health care systems; To promote the rational use of traditional medicine through the development of technical guidelines and international standards in the field of herbal medicine and acupuncture; To act as a clearing house for the dissemination of information on various forms of traditional medicine. As it was recognised that a huge chunk of the population still relies on the traditional medicines for their primary health care needs, WHO as the parent body started taking steps to integrate the traditional and herbal medicinal system to the conventional system. The initial step came with Alma ata declaration in 1978, which recommended inclusion of proven traditional medicines into national drug policy and regulatory measures. The policy of the WHO regarding traditional medicine was presented in the Director- Generals report on Traditional Medicine and Modern Health Care to the Forty-fourth World Health Assembly 1991, which stated that WHO collaborated with its Member States in the review of national policies, legislation and decisions on the nature and extent of the use of traditional medicine in their health systems. Herbal medicines have been included in the International Conference on Drug Regulatory Authorities (ICDRA) since the Fourth Conference in 1986. A WHO consultation in Munich, Germany, June 1991, drafted Guidelines for the Assessment of Herbal Medicines which was adopted for general use by the Sixth ICDRA in Ottawa, October 1991. These guidelines define basic criteria for the evaluation of quality, safety and efficacy of herbal medicines to assist national regulatory authorities, scientific organizations, and manufacturers to undertake an assessment of the documentation, of submissions and/or the dossiers in respect of such products legal status: India, India has almost 291,000 traditional medical practitioners has a well framed legal system. The traditional medicines are regulated by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940 and the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules of 1945. No products derived from traditional systems may be manufactured without a licence from the State Drug Control Authorities. Patent and proprietary medicines derived from the traditional systems must contain ingredients which are mentioned in the standard books and Pharmacopoeias of that medical system. A drug is defined as being safe if it causes no known or potential harm to users. There are three categories of safety that need to be considered: . Category 1: safety established by use over long time Category 2: safe under specific conditions of use (such herbal medicines should preferably be covered by well-established documentation) Category 3: herbal medicines of uncertain safety (the safety data required for this class of drugs will be identical to that of any new substance) [75]. China Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long history of more than 4 000 years. The Chinese Materia Medica is one of the most extensive sources of literature on medicinal plants. With regard to their legal status, herbal medicines in China are considered as medicinal products with special requirements for marketing, for example a quality dossier, safety and efficacy evaluation, and special labelling. New drugs have to be examined and approved according to the guidelines provided by the Drug Administration Law, which also grant an approval number to the new drug. After that the final product is marketed. The Drug Administration Law of the Peoples Republic of China was enacted on 20 September 1984, which encourages the simultaneous development of both traditional and modern medicine. The drug manufacturing enterprise, Article 5 states that It should be staffed with an adequate number of pharmacists or technical personnel with a title equivalent to or higher than associate engineer and skilled workers adaptable to the scale of drug production. Article 31 states The sale of medicinal plant materials newly discovered or introduced from abroad is not allowed unless it is approved by the health bureau of the province, autonomous region or municipality A new drug will be approved for clinical use and a licence issued by the Ministry of Public Health, if the clinical trial or clinical verification has been completed and an appraisal of its efficacy has been made. Owning to Pursuant to Articles 21 and 22 of the Drug Administration Law, on 1 July 1985, the new TCM drugs are classified under five categories: Category 1 Artificial imitations of TCM herbs; Newly discovered medicinal plants and their preparations; Single active principle extracted from TCM plants material and their preparations. Category 2 Chinese medicinal herbal injections; Parts of TCM medicinal plants newly employed as a remedy and their preparations; Non-single components extracted from TCM and natural plants and their preparations; TCM materials obtained by artificial techniques in vivo and their preparations. Category 3 New TCM preparations; Combined preparations of TCM and modern medicine in which TCM medicine is the main component; Cultivated material which traditionally is imported. Category 4 New dosage forms or new routes of administration of TCM drug; Materials introduced from other parts of the country and those for cultivation instead of harvesting in The wild. Category 5 TCM products with new and additional indications. Indonesia The Directorate of Traditional Drug Control was established under the Directorate General of Drugs and Food Control of the Ministry of Health in 1975. Since than the government has set many guidelines for traditional medicines regarding: Production, distribution and labelling of traditional drugs; Procedure for registration of traditional drugs and imported crude drugs; Licensing of traditional drugs and imported traditional drugs; and Control requirements, such as for a production code, labelling and advertisement Traditional drugs foreign origins are not permitted to be imported into Indonesia, except in special cases when a licence was granted. The Directorate General of Drugs and Food Control has published the Indonesian Farmacopea and six volumes of the Materia Medika Indonesia. These publications discuss the formal requirements for crude herbal drugs and give further information about local name, section microscopic drawing, crude drug powder and a crude drug colour picture. Germany The share of herbal medical drugs is almost equal to 10% of the whole pharmaceutical industry in Germany in 1989. According to a study conducted by Allensbach Institute