Archives-December 

Butterfly variety in Akathiyur village, Thrissur, Kerala, India, was studied in various regular aspects. Species diversity was observed and analyzed. Based on different parameters species richness was analysed. An aggregate of 110 butterfly species under 5 families are listed.The village proves itself as a home for myriads of butterflies. Families Nymphalidae, Lycaenidae, Hesperidae, Pieridae and Papilionidae, were distinguished. Maximum number of butterflies recorded in this study was in the family Nymphalidae (3587 sightings; 39.14%), followed by Lycaenidae (2326 sightings; 25.38%), Hesperiidae (1557 sightings; 16.99%), Pieridae (1004 sightings; 10.95%) and Papilionidae (690 sightings; 7.52%). The findings unveil that the comparatively small study area constitutes high richness of butterfly species.

Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health science with chemical science and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs. Drugs Control Department is independent of the Health Department and the Heads of these Departments are reporting to the Government directly. The State of Puducherry has some of the country's most dynamic entrepreneurs who are original and fast-paced in their thinking and focused in their drive for growth and profitability. Puducherry is one of the most industrialised states with 10 Manufacturing units are WHO GMP certified. Puducherry is one of the fastest growing states in the Country and nearly 105 pharma companies are housed in the State. Puducherry is a vibrant pharmaceutical manufacturing hub with skilled human resource available in the state, it provides innovative, quality and affordable health care solution to masses. In this short review author provides some of the glimpses of the pharmacy profession in Puducherry.

Dufour effect on free convection MHD flow past an impulsively started vertical oscillating plate through porous media with variable temperature and constant mass diffusion is studied here. The Laplace transform technique has been used to find the solutions for the velocity profile, temperature profile and concentration profile. The results obtained are discussed with the help of graphs drawn for different parameters like thermal Grashof number, mass Grashof number, Prandtl number, permeability parameter, the Hartmann number, Schmidt number, Dufour number, time, inclination of magnetic field and phase angle.

This paper assesses the benefits, problems and implications of the use E-commerce to developing economy like ours (Nigeria) in the area of international marketing. The position of this paper is that despite the myriad benefits of e-commerce in the international scene, the concept has held African countries under electronic siege. It promises freedom for all but in practice it's under developing Africa faster. The historical evolution of NWICO is responsible for this scenario. The lesson to be learned from the paper is that Africa should join the rest of the world in developing electronically platforms that 'will help our products marketed and competed internationally in the "market space ".

This paper was motivated by the need to locate and discuss the role and place of electronic skills to strengthening and expanding the development footprint of women in rural development. The study analyzed the levels of electronic literacy among rural women who attended adult literacy classes in deep remote areas of Zimbabwe. The study revealed that most women lack e-skills. A few were learning basic electronic skills through their electronically literate family networks. Consequently, the study concluded that it is important to empower rural women with electronic skills for community development.

L-Valinium Picrate, Rare earth element Erbium doped L-Valinium Picrate and soft transition element Cobolt doped L-Valinium Picrate were synthesized and grown as single crystals by slow evaporation method. The cell dimensions were obtained by single-crystal X-ray diffraction study. Optical properties, such as UV–visible–NIR absorption and second harmonic generation conversion efficiency were investigated to explore the optical characteristics of the grown crystals. Microhardness, Thermal and dielectric studies of the compound were also carried out. 

The quality of three marine fish species smoked with a gas smoker (Abuesi Gas Fish Smoker) and a fuelwood smoker (Chorkor Smoker) were analyzed. The aim was to evaluate the nutritional profile and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) levels in smoked fish from these smokers. The three fish species were the yellowfin tuna Thunnus albacares, the common white grouper Epinephelus aeneus and barracuda Sphyraena sphyraena. The Abuesi Gas Fish Smoker produced significantly better quality-smoked fish than the Chorkor smoker. The protein, moisture, fat, total carbohydrate and ash contents of the gas smoked fish were in the range of 54.23 - 70.32%, 13.69 - 24.73%, 5.28 - 8.76%, 2.97 - 13.21% and 2.77 - 4.27% respectively, whilst that of the fuelwood-smoked fish were 43.38 - 43.75%, 22.00 - 46.5%, 2.00%, 5.26 - 25.78% and 2.85 - 6.50% respectively. Total PAH concentration ranged between 321.7 – 514.41 ?g/kg for gas-smoked fish and 1038.8 – 1550 ?g/kg for fuelwood-smoked fish. PAH concentrations per fish species in the two different fish smokers were significantly different. The EU maximum residue limits (MRLs) for PAH4 and BAP were met in the Gas Fish Smoker but not in the Chorkor Smoker. It is concluded that the gas fish smoker is a better choice, in terms of fish quality, than the fuelwood smoker.

Electronic banking (e-banking) system has become an important practice among commercial banks in Nigeria. The introduction of this banking system has improved banking efficiency in rendering services to customers and the public. However the gains of e-banking has been associated with some hinderances ranging from internet failure to arbitrary withdrawal of money by customers which negates the cashless policy being heralded by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). It was in line with this that the study aims at examining the challenges facing this banking system and the prospects accruable to its adoption. Among the various suggestions made in this study- to benefit maximally from e-banking- include provision of enabling environment that can guarantee safety of lives and cash deposits of customers, provision of an interrupted power supply and internet service in order to enjoy efficient services from the banks. Lastly, enforceable e-banking regulations should be put in place to back up the cashless policy already initiated by the CBN. This will go a long way to reduce money laundering and reckless withdrawal of cash and thereby boosting capital formation and investment in the economy.

Attitudes can be described as an evaluative statements or judgments concerning objects, people or events (Robbins & Judges, 2007), it’s because employee’s attitudes can reflect from the emotion on attachment to the particular organization and amplify employee’s productivity. This study particularly examines the importance employee attitudes that can be revealing from the aspect on affective commitment. Commitment is a manifestation of individual owns self and reflect values standard that are basic to an individual’s existence as a person. Based on the result shown that the commitment a closely associate with the attitudes of each employee in an organization. Organizational commitment can be classified into three (3) aspects which are affective commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment. The objective of this study is to measure the employee attitudes among non academic in UiTM Kedah by using the affective commitment. 100 samples were selected involved eight departments in UiTM Kedah. The results show affective commitment is positively influence the employee commitment. In conclusion, it is hoped that this paper will give some insight to promote the importance on affective commitment among the government servant especially the non-academic staff in UiTM Kedah in order to increase their level of efficiency concerning the attitudes stability towards their own organization attached.

Social work is one of the unique training and profession which strives to enhance the human being through sustain their capabilities and inherent strengths. In practice arena the profession is using various models, approach and intervention modalities to meet the needs and to ameliorate the problems of individual, families, groups, organisation and community. The prime goal of social work practice is to empower the individuals at different level. Empowerment has been a consistent theme within the social work profession for over a century. Hence NASW (1996) directed in its ethical preamble that “The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty”.