Introduction and Types of Psoriasis Disease

Psoriasis is the disease of the skin which also affects the joints, which commonly causes scaly red patches on the skin. These scaly red patches are called Psoriasis or psoriatic plaques. This skin disease actually causes inflammation and results in silvery-white patches. Psoriasis commonly affects the skin of the knees and elbows; sometimes it also affects the scalp and the genitals. The Psoriasis disease is hypothesized to be immune-mediated and the disease is not contagious. However this disease is chronic, which keep recurring and varies on the severity from localized patches to complete body coverage. Sometimes even the toe and finger nails get affected due to this condition. Psoriasis often causes inflammation of the joints, and nearly ten to fifteen percent of the people with this disease have psoriatic arthritis.

The cause of Psoriasis is unknown, but it is believed to be due to some genetic reasons. There are also several reasons that aggravate the disease, which includes excessive alcohol consumption, constipation, stress and smoking which is one the main reason which cause psoriasis. People with the diseases, frequently suffer from low self-esteem and depression. Now there are many treatments available to treat Psoriasis, but due to its chronic nature the disease keeps recurring and it is considered to be a challenge for physicians. During initial stages of the disease, medicated ointments is prescribed, which subsides the inflammation and itching sensation. Today there are homeopathy treatments which clam that the disease can be completely cured.

Website Development Outsourcing KPI Redefined

Websites are compiled web pages with organized content that can be viewed publicly through the Internet. The creation of the web pages is the actual development of a website. Recently, just like customer service functions and technical support being outsourced offshore, web developing is now delegated to workers located overseas as well. With the very cost effective option of offshore manpower, job descriptions like a website developer are outsourced as well. Website development outsourcing KPI would then be formulated to serve as guidelines for quality.

The world is now turning into a world full of everything electronic and digital. What we had before as references in the form of encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesaurus, and the like are now replaced by a single source that is broader and far more extensive. This is none other than the Internet. The Internet is responsible for the decline in the usage of hardbound sets of encyclopedias for reference. Who would want to use general information published a year or two ago when you can have information that is updated? That is right. The Internet is almost responsible for everything that has happened to hardbound sources.

Since information is very precious, keeping it updated and far from being obsolete is the priority for those developing websites that contain general information. And of course, other than keeping information updated, making sure and verifying that the information is factual and accurate should not be missed out as well. These are the KPI for outsourced website development, and is considered analogous to what call centers have like the AHT or average handle time, quality, customer satisfaction, and FCR or first call resolution.

Parliamentary Librarianship in Sierra Leone

The Sierra Leone Parliament library, the official repository of the records of Parliament, is responsible for the collection, organization and dissemination of bibliographic materials and information to further the work of the legislation. The Parliament, which houses the library, is situated at the summit of Tower Hill, on the second floor. It was opened on the eve of the country's Independence day,26th April 1961. The proximity of the library to the Chamber ensures that its existence and services are brought close to parliamentarians and parliamentary administrators.

In line with these aims and objectives the library has a small collection of stock on Philosophy, Sociology, Political Science, Economics, Law, Military Administration and History. Also included are Bills, Acts, Order papers and notices, Hansard/Parliamentary debates, State Opening programmes, Presidential addresses, Budget speeches, chronicles of Parliamentary elections and developments, Parliamentary debates of the House of Commons and Lords of Britain, dating back to the colonial period, Indian Parliamentary debates and similar ones from Tanganyika (Tanzania), Gold Coast (Ghana), Nigeria and Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), and materials from Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Commonwealth. In addition is a collection of reference works such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, directories, parliamentary handbooks, yearbooks, public notices, protocols and treaties. These materials are acquired by purchase, donation, exchange, and deposit, especially by the Government Printing Department responsible for the printing of all government publications in the country. The materials are classified and arranged according to Dewey Decimal Classification Scheme (19th Edition).

A Librarian, an Assistant Librarian and a few clerical staff man the library. The Librarian is responsible to the Clerk of Parliament, the chief administrator and vote controller, and overall head of the unit. The functions of the Librarian, in addition to administering the library, include the compilation of bibliographies and reading lists, literature searching, summarizing facts and published information, and obtaining information from government departments. The Assistant Librarian performs such duties as acquisition, classification and cataloguing of materials, answering reference queries, writing correspondence, shelving and the general supervision of support staff. He also computes the parliamentary index to all parliament papers and debates, the public bill index and then international affairs index with references taken from the daily and periodical press, government notices and Commissions of Inquiry index. These indexes are cumulated and reproduced photographically. Government mainly financially supports the library.

The Sierra Leone Parliament Library clientele are mainly parliamentarians and parliamentary administrators. The library also extends its services to university lecturers and students, public officials and visitors. It has a readership of over five hundred (500). The library is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00p.m. from Monday through Friday and is closed during weekends and public holidays. It offers reference and lending services to its clientele as part of its book services. To enable a user to loan materials a request form is issued for completion. Up to three books can be loaned for two weeks. Users can renew their books for a further two weeks, provided no other users request for them. However, materials like reports, conference proceedings, parliamentary Acts, debates and gazettes are not loaned but only consulted in the library. The library has an Author/Title and Classified catalogue.