• The study also indicated that the major drivers for application modernisation are the need to
• integrate with new platforms and processes (38%);
• respond to business requirements (38%);
• reduce ongoing maintenance costs (37%); and
• improve service levels (36%) Although only 9% of the respondents said they had a hybrid cloud environment, this will rise to 24% by 2020, as 69% of respondents said migrating and building new apps on standardised cloud platforms will yield substantial savings; 61% said automation will enable them to reduce IT staff by 20% during the next three years; and 59% said that the public cloud is the best choice for 25% of their workloads.

At bmobile’s Technology Conference and Expo hosted in Trinidad earlier this year, Dr Ronald Walcott, TSTT’s Chief Executive Officer, said in his opening remarks that, “Data is a big part of what is happening now. Infrastructure and solutions as services, the internet of things, 5G, robotics, artificial intelligence and the like, all are here today and a big part of how we go forward.” Dr Walcott indicated that the convergence of business and ICT development is fundamental to the way business is evolving and organisations have to become a part of it, if they are to move into the new technological era.

SDDC as a service model VMware, a global leader in cloud infrastructure and digital workspace technology, is one of the technology partners that TSTT works with to deliver advanced enterprise communications solutions to its customers. Waldir Montoya, a VMware Network and Cloud Architect, also spoke at bmobile’s Technology Conference and Expo and delved deeper into the topic of the deployment of software as a service and how this is driving rapid and fundamental changes in businesses and their operating models.

Referencing a quote by Charles Darwin which said “it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives.

It is the one that is most adaptable to change,” Montoya noted that to support today’s rapid changes and achieve business success, companies should consider modernising their data centres by transforming them to a cloud management platform, or a software defined data centre (SDDC), which are agile, flexible, highly automated and scalable.

Forrester.com defines SDDC as, “An abstracte cost-savings through automation, reduced labor costs, improved security, and simplified IT management. In addition, a company using a cloud management platform will innovate better and react to market changes more quickly, since SDDC’s deliver IT infrastructure and application services with the speed and agility required.

DaaS as a service model Montoya also discussed the new mobile era where employees now work from where they want, when they want and on any mobile device and IT needs to support all their devices and applications, whether they are Apple, Android or Windows, while still ensuring security and control. A company can achieve this through the use of a desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) model, which is delivering desktops and applications using a cloud.

DaaS can be beneficial to organisations facing the need to support mobile workers, remote workers and call center staff including contract workers, or rapidly scale the number of desktops based on seasonal workers. It extends the benefits of virtualization and simplifies things for the IT department. It is flexible, less expensive to manage and maintain, easier to deploy and delivers high performing work spaces with integrated security and control, to any user, on any device, no matter where they are.

In this fast-paced, mobile and digital era, companies can achieve superior performance and stay ahead of the competition by cost-effectively transforming their organizations into digital enterprises through the use of SDDC and DaaS models, for a fully automated, zero-downtime infrastructure that works with any device, any application, and any hardware, now and in the future.

There has been much discussion regarding the collapse in global trade. Considering trade values in US dollars, global trade fell by around 20% from 2014 to 2016 and has only increased marginally from the low in January of that year. Global trading arrangements have become a key focus for policymakers given Brexit, the US decision not to enter into the Trans Pacific Partnership, and ongoing discussions regarding renegotiating multinational trade agreements such as NAFTA.

Furthermore, it is argued that the uncertainty and likely negative environment for large global trading arrangements add a further reason why countries need to act on the regional integration agenda. The region has only to gain by having a stronger, more efficient and fully-integrated domestic market.

The gains from further integration relative to the status quo, are even greater in a more extreme scenario of global trade frictions, in which the region’s exports are likely to fall on average by at least 13%.

The arguments in favor of deeper integration are valid independent of how the global trade environment may develop. However, they become even more important if global trade frictions start to grow. If the rest of the world remains open and willing to sign trade agreements with Latin America and the Caribbean, then integration at home will help.

However, if the world becomes more protectionist and reticent to entering into agreements, then deepening integration in the region has an even larger payoff. It may not provide full protection against the negative impacts of increased global trade frictions but can serve as an important insurance device.

A recurring question is, how can Latin America and the Caribbean, a group of small and open economies constantly buffeted by global economic shocks, find a reliable and robust route to sustainable growth? The IDB report argues that adopting a set of macroeconomic policies, including sensible fiscal and monetary policies, to maintain economic stability, and taking concrete actions to deepen and improve the way in which countries trade within the region, may provide a cost-effective answer.

The large, but incomplete current network of Preferential Trade Agreements (PTA) is a powerful platform from which to launch an overhaul of regional integration. It is suggested that the objective should be a “plain vanilla” free trade zone, with a focus on goods and services.

A critical starting point would be a high-level political commitment and would include making sure that all aspiring members are integrated through bilateral or sub regional PTAs, setting up the institutional framework to manage the negotiation and address the market access negotiations, covering tariff phase-outs, rules of origin and nontariff barriers in addition to trade facilitation provisions.

Latin America and the Caribbean has a long history of trial and error, and successes and failures, pursuing regional integration, but it has to be acknowledged that as a group of small open economies, what happens in the rest of the world is critically important for the 26 regional members. Latin America and the Caribbean faces a new world with likely growing trade protectionism, higher interest rates and commodity prices below those of the previous decade. World growth may be on the rise, but the region faces the challenge of adapting to lower commodity prices, higher interest rates, and a potential backlash against the trend towards greater globalization.

Fixing regional integration is not a panacea to solve all the region’s growth problems, nor is it a full insurance policy against escalating global trade frictions. However, enhanced regional integration can offer tangible gains at modest costs; it is a low-hanging fruit in a world with few obvious alternatives.

In the context of Trinidad and Tobago, this regime is in its second year of office. There is no way a long term economic plan can be presented since we have elections in three years. Any plan will either have to be a three-year plan, or a long-term plan made up of several three-year (medium term) plans.

Our economic planning has to involve several caveats, these include increasing the value added by moving away from the sale of raw material or low level production and move to much higher up the international value chain of products.

To facilitate this we must develop an industrial policy that seeks to encourage our entrepreneurs to enter the upper trough of new product cycles. This can only make sense if placed within the context of an export strategy (we do not have a large population therefore cannot develop the internal dynamic to achieve self-sustaining growth).

Here integration is critical for us to provide an enhance market to be exploited by our export industrialist.

She called on people to emulate the Bible’s Good Samaritan and show selflessness and service to those in need of support.

“See beyond the surface.

Be like the Good Samaritan. Dismiss what is different and focus on what makes us one. Draw that person in to respond to the love and kindness that you have to offer.

Remember those who have died from Aids and let them serve as a reminder of how short life can be,” she said.

Executive director of the Family Planning Association Donna Da Costa Martinez echoed Tenia’s call for compassion, urging greater public and private-sector partnerships to reach out to more patients.

She reminded government that it too has an obligation to those in need, urging them not to turn a blind eye to those who need help the most.

Martinez called on parishioners to ensure no one is left behind.

“It’s important that we remove all social, legal, religious and racial barriers which keep people in isolation.

Speak out so others may have an easier life and practise sensitivity and understanding with those among you.” The evening’s service ended with a candlelight procession down Frederick Street in Curepe, to the Eastern Main Road and back to the church.

“Despite our consistency in removing firearms from off the streets…the TTPS is deeply concerned with the availability of firearms and its use in crimes,” said ASP Pierre during the weekly police press briefing in Port of Spain. The police spokesman said that in the continued effort to remove illegal guns, police have been working closely with the Air Guard, Coast Guard and regiment to carry out searches on land, in the air and at sea.

Newsday understands that guns have been used in the majority of violent crimes.

Statistics show that 77 per cent of this year’s murders, 32 per cent of robberies and 60 per cent of woundings, all involved the use of firearms. He added that in 2016, police seized 617 firearms the highest in a calendar year and added they would continue the work this year.

Pierre attributed the seizure this year and last year to diligent police work and assistance from the public.

Of the 350 guns seized this year, the Southern Division got the most with 58, and Tobago the least, with six.

The guns range from pistols and revolvers to sub-machine guns and high powered rifles.

Police also found and seized about 4,717 rounds of ammunition of varying calibre this year. Calibres range from 9 mm, used in pistols and sub-machine guns, to 5.56 ammo used in military type assault rifles.

FIREARMS SEIZED BY DIVISION
PoS: 29
South: 58
West: 50
North: 59
Central: 51
South West: 37
East: 33
North East: 44
Tobago:

6 TYPES OF FIREARMS Revolvers:
71 Pistols:
203 Shotguns:
26 SMG:
10 Rifles:
5 Air rifles:
2 Home-made shotguns:
23 Trapguns:
15 Modified:
2 Others: 10

Public transport, public transit, mass transit, or mass transportation means the same thing. Effective public transit is central to development, and for the vast majority of people, public transit is the only practical means to access employment, education, and public services. Paratransit is the term applied to public transport vehicles smaller than large buses, and which operate informally. Therefore, transit includes paratransit, and in TT, the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) is a publicly-owned public transport operator, while maxi-taxis, taxis, and even illegal PH taxis are privately-owned public transport operators.

The primary purpose of transit is to provide integrated, reasonably priced public service aimed at maximisation of ridership. Its secondary purpose is commercial enterprise aimed at increased economic and organisational efficiency. At present, transit not only has to compete with auto drivers for passengers and road space, but has to fight among its own operators (PTSC/maxi-taxi/taxi/ PH).

A national transit authority has long been required to arrange all transit services in an appropriate manner.

These services will involve sequencing desired levels of PTSC operations together with the contracting of paratransit services with appropriate regulations.

This will include consideration of safety, franchise, and contractual arrangements. Safety regulation involves vehicle design and performance, including structural strength, braking capabilities, fire resistance, etc; frequency and scope of vehicle maintenance; operational practices, such as driver hours and duties, and vehicle control.

There is desperate need for public transportation development and management. Questions that should be answered include organisational structure of the transit authority; regional components; what types of franchises; service coverage and routes; what types of contractual arrangements; where to locate transit hubs, and what should they contain; what types of fares and ticketing arrangement; how should performance monitoring be done? I suppose questions might include what happens now that rapid rail is no longer on the cards; Priority Bus Route (PBR) use by high occupancy vehicles (HOV); suggested PH taxi regularisation, and; PTSC maintenance and inspection of buses.

Who is responsible for identifying current transit user demands, such as why they are travelling, where they are coming from, where they are going, their numbers, their safety and security when waiting and travelling, their transfer needs from one mode to another, etc? The PTSC is simply a Government-owned bus company that has never accepted the need to organise and manage national public transportation.

A maxi-taxi is closer in size to a bus than a taxi, so why was it perceived as such? Perhaps that is why the maxi-taxis terminals are all on the streets, with the exception of a few.

The authorities must be confused having to manage the storage of these large vehicles on already-congested roadways.

My information is that the intention of the introduction of the 12-seater maxi-taxis in 1979, to be followed by 25-seaters later on, was not primarily to facilitate higher capacity passenger vehicles, in order to maximise the movement of persons per unit segment of roadway. It was to create jobs for the employees of some of the powerful unions who were to be laid off, such the PTSC and the stevedores of the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago. That would explain the original regulation of the Maxi-Taxi Act that the vehicle was to be ownerdriven.

The Public Transport Service Act, which created the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) in 1965, does not give them responsibility for regulating taxis, or maxi-taxis. Also, The Transport Division of the Ministry of Transport is responsible only for the licensing and inspection of taxis, and maxi-taxis. So nobody manages the maxi-taxis and taxis! Most people believe that the term “public transport” refers only to the PTSC, but the PTSC is just one form of public transport. The PTSC is a publicly-owned (Government-owned), public transport or transit provider.

Taxis and maxi-taxis are privatelyowned, public transport providers.

PH taxis (cars and minibuses) are also privately-owned public transport, except that they are illegal. So I will favour the term “transit.” Despite the less than attractive transit service and facilities, at peak hours most vehicles and facilities are crowded with passengers. So, there is a significant captive transit demand (or demand for transit by those who have no choice), which would obviously grow if made comfortable and convenient.

Currently, the public agency (PTSC, and recently the Water Taxi Service) competes with uncontrolled, privately-owned maxi-taxis and taxis, and these private operators concentrate on the most lucrative routes and during peak periods, while they leave less lucrative services to the PTSC and PH taxis. Also the fares are charged for each service, so that every leg of the journey that requires a transfer to another vehicle demands a new fare. There is also varying quantity and quality of service by the transit players, including frequency, reliability, comfort, ventilation and air conditioning, vehicle cleanliness, etc. Encouragement of unregulated services results in lower public expenditures for public transport, but also in lowering the quality and image of paratransit (maxi-taxi and taxi).

According to Prof Vukan Vuchic, the combination of one regulated operator (usually public owned) competing with unregulated ones (privately owned) usually results in provision of two types of services with different qualities or classes and low reliability and unstable conditions for all operators.

e-mail: info@ccost.org

This project formed part of the efforts for Las Cuevas Beach to maintain Blue Flag Status which it has been awarded since 2014 under strict criteria, including the control of the stray animal population.

The source of the stray animals is mostly the unrestricted reproduction of pet dogs and cats and indiscriminate dumping of unwanted dogs in the area. A visitor survey at Maracas beach in 2010 revealed that the vast majority of local and international visitors were appalled by the condition of the stray animals and wished to see a humane approach to reducing the population, said a media release.

Furthermore, the level on which a tourism- focused community deals with its stray animal population demonstrates proactive community management, improves the overall aesthetic impression of a village and reduces health risks.

Las Cuevas Beach remains the only Blue Flag certified beach in the southern English- speaking Caribbean.

The initiative consisted of a school outreach programme in which representatives of the Animals 360 Foundation taught the eager pupils from standards two to five at the Las Cuevas Primary School, about the importance of spaying and neutering their pets as well as responsible pet ownership practices, courtesy of material provided by the Animal Welfare Network (AWN).

Sexual harassment is unfortunately a common occurrence in the workplace. It is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, when:

Submission to such conduct is made either implicitly or explicitly a term or condition of employment;

Submission to, or rejection of, such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual

Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with the individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.

Sexual harassment can occur in two forms: “hostile environment” harassment or “quid pro quo” harassment. Both types of sexual harassment should be strictly prohibited by company policy and may subject offenders to serious discipline, up to and including dismissal.

In Trinidad and Tobago, unfortunately, we do not have specific laws that prohibit sexual harassment in the workplace. However, there is the Equal Opportunity Act that prohibits discrimination in the workplace and sexual harassment is considered a form of sex discrimination. Therefore, a remedy is available if it can be proven that discriminatory harassment occurred under Section 5 of the Equal Opportunity Act.

There is also the Sexual Offences Act, where sexual harassment may be considered indecent assault. A person Uncomfortable at Work can be charged with indecently assaulting someone under Section 15 of the Sexual Offences Act.

Further, psychological injury or damage as a result of sexual harassment may be sufficient injury to health and welfare to initiate a claim under Section 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Common-law remedies are also available where the courts may award compensation to a victim of sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment is difficult to experience, and it is important to learn how to effectively deal with it. The right approach to deal with sexual harassment depends on your particular situation.

Talk to the person directly At times joking around with colleagues and even teasing is part of a normal workday. However, when the initial and offensive sexual harassment incident takes place, ask the person harassing you to stop in a forceful manner.

If your harasser continues displaying the same behaviour, inform your harasser that you plan to file a report to HR if the behaviour continues. Some people discontinue their behaviour once such a threat is made. If the harasser fails to stop, you can then take further action. You must, however, draw a hard line from the onset.

Find other victims and witnesses Remaining silent about sexual harassment only makes you more vulnerable. Harassers like isolating their victims – physically and socially. If you tell others what’s going on, you might also find out that you’re not the only one. If more than one person lays a complaint, it significantly strengthens the case against the harasser. By sharing what you are experiencing, you can actively search for other victims of the same harasser. Most times, you won’t be the only victim. You may also find that other victims have filed complaints in the past.

Secure their testimony or that of any witnesses to your incidents in writing. This helps support your claim and builds your case.

Safety in numbers Make sure that you are not alone with the harasser behind closed doors. Take a colleague with you if you feel threatened and insist that doors be left open if you have to be in a meeting. Make sure that somebody knows where you are at all times. Remember there is safety in numbers. Also, minimise or avoid working after hours or weekends alone with your harasser. It only provides further opportunities for the behaviour to continue.

Inform your supervisor Follow company’s procedures to file a complaint – and keep records of all correspondence in this regard. If a complaint has been laid and your employers continue to ignore the situation, they could be liable for damage claims.

Most companies may require that you report the incident to your immediate supervisor. If talking to your harasser did not stop the behaviour, report all incidents to your immediate supervisor. Write a formal letter to your supervisor detailing the events that took place. Ask your supervisor for a meeting to explain the situation in person.

Contact the HR manager After informing your supervisor (or if the harasser is your immediate supervisor), you should also contact your Human Resources manager.

Human Resources will inform you of the action you need to take concerning the sexual harassment incidents. The HR manager should also possess expert knowledge concerning sexual harassment and discrimination and should be willing and able to give you impartial advice and investigate the matter in a confidential manner. Once the matter has the attention of HR, continue to follow up with the HR manager to ensure that it is being treated with the seriousness that it deserves. The company at this time is obligated to ensure your safety.

Contact senior management If your supervisor refuses to take action, or the HR department refuses to act, or you don’t have a HR department, you can file a formal complaint with your company’s senior management.

Senior management should handle your situation with discretion and inform you of any further actions you must take. You must present all evidence and documentation concerning the incidents to senior management.

Contact EOC If your complaint does not result in your organisation taking action, you can file a charge with the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC), which investigates sexual harassment incidents in the workplace. Inform the EOC of your employer’s name, the name of the offender and the details surrounding the incidents. They have the requisite skills and ability to advise you on the way forward.

F ile a lawsuit After you file a complaint with the EOC, you can possibly file a lawsuit. You can seek monetary damages, or try to get your job back if your employer fired you due to the incidents. If you plan to file a lawsuit, it’s much more convincing if you can give names, dates, places and the names of possible witnesses, than when your charges are unproven. That’s why keeping records is important which includes records of anyone who has witnessed any of these events that can be called to testify if there’s a disciplinary hearing. You should seek legal representation from an attorney who handles sexual harassment cases, if all else fails.

Given the upsurge in sexual harassment claims, now may be the opportune time to also encourage your senior management to implement a company code of good practice on sexual harassment that will encourage and promote the development and implementation of policies and procedures and lead to a workplace that is free of sexual harassment, and where each employee’s integrity, dignity and privacy is respected.

Good luck, AFETT AFETT is a not-for-profit organization formed in 2002 with the goal of bringing together professional women and engaging in networking opportunities, professional training and business ideas. ASK AFETT is a column meant to address issues and concerns of professionals seeking advice to assist in progressing in their careers. Today’s response was written by AFETT member, Cavelle Joseph, Human Resource Practitioner and AFETT’s Immediate Past President. Learn more about AFETT at www.afett.com, search for AFETT Events on Facebook, follow us @ AFETTEXECS on Twitter or contact us at 354-7130. Email us your career-related questions at admin.

afett@gmail.com.

In the absence of numbers, all I could go on is my experience while shopping.

I go to the bookstore and the people working there are involved in every activity except figuring out why I am there and if I got what I was looking for. I go to a popular coffee shop and am amazed that the service is so poor.

Of course, the place is packed so I am figuring, since we “like it so” why bother to provide an extraordinary service? I’ve started to look into the eyes of those serving me and I see emptiness, an absence of motivation, a “going through the motions” glazed over functioning.

These folks rarely snap out of this unconscious behaviour until someone like me, forces them to interact. They would rather discuss movies, what they saw on Netflix (an actual conversation I heard while at a bookstore in Trincity mall) than attend to me, a mere customer.

This is sad as it pertains to customer service. It is sad that the owners of these establishments are not taking responsibility because if they really were, they would be checking so regularly that I would not have to be faced with these empty souls in search of some much-needed guidance and direction.

But the empty souls sadden me the most, because to paraphrase that popular quote by Henry David Thoreau, these men and women are leading lives of quiet desperation and will probably die with their song still in them.

If you feel that you’re just going through the motions in your job, that it doesn’t pay enough, that your take home pay won’t take you home and that perhaps months should be shorter. If you’re thinking that there must be something more and that even though you are successful by society’s standards you still feel as if something is missing, then I hope I got your attention.

You either don’t see the value in what you do, or you see your value as far as what you do for your company, but can’t necessarily see your value beyond your job description and deliverables. So you’re either operating at a mediocre level or you are operating in your zone of competence.

Bestselling author Rory Vaden says, “It doesn’t much matter what we say we believe, our real beliefs are revealed by how we act.” We can lie with our words but we cannot lie with our actions. You don’t even have to tell people what you believe, because you can show them.

And how congruent are the things you say you believe in alignment with the things you actually do? Whether you work for yourself, or are employed, Courtney Carver, the Be more with less blogger says the following statements are true when you believe in your work: • You create and work with people from your heart and soul.

• It will energize you instead of exhaust you.

• You are connected deeply to what you create and the people who use it.

• You can see possibility through uncertainty.

• You can trust people to buy it instead of forcing them to make a sale.

• You can charge what it’s worth.

• The right people will want to work with you.

In their book, The Big Leap authors Hendricks and Johnson tell us: “Each of us has an inner thermostat setting that determines how much love, success, and creativity we allow ourselves to enjoy. When we exceed our inner thermostat setting, we will often do something to sabotage ourselves, causing us to drop back into the old, familiar zone where we feel secure… Unfortunately, our thermostat setting usually gets programmed in early childhood, before we can think for ourselves. Once programmed, our Upper Limit thermostat setting holds us back from enjoying all the love, financial abundance, and creativity that’s rightfully ours. It keeps us in our Zone of Competence or at best our Zone of Excellence. It prevents us from living in the ultimate destination of the journey — our Zone of Genius.” I believe that the challenge we face is to stop labelling ourselves as incompetent, or lazy or difficult to work with. Let’s look at the contexts that trigger our behaviour, let’s understand what makes us unique and how we can use that individuality to gain the edge we seek in our lives! For a free copy of the report “How to take Full Advantage of your Zone of Genius and Gain an Edge in Life” send an email to possibility2profit@gmail.com

According to reports, the 30-year-old woman was at her business place at about 11 am when she was accosted by her husband and a heated argument ensued. The man later dragged his wife to the back of her business place where he struck her several times before raping her.

The woman went to the Penal police station and reported the incident to Cpl Ramlal and WPC Charles. She was taken to a District Medical Officer and medically examined.

The suspect was up to press time still assisting police in their investigations.

According to sources, fire officers got a report of two cars – a Hyundai Tuscon and a Hyundia Getz – being on fire at about 2.10 am. Firemen from the Fire Headquarters, Wrightson Road responded and doused the flames which destroyed both vehicles which were parked neart the medical centre.

Fire officials told Newsday yesterday that the Tuscon was involved in an accident earlier that day, which left a crack in the gas tank. Vapours from the gas tank found a heat source and ignited. The fire then spread from the Tuscon to the Getz. No one was injured and investigations are ongoing.