Employment law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Employment law - Essay Example The employer is required to prove just because as a reason for dismissal, which requires him to show proof that the employee has been habitually found to engage in misconduct that eventually resulted in the current dismissal and this may require the tabling of warning letters or specific directives in a court of law. When an employee is dismissed based on ‘Just Cause’ principle, the employer is not obliged to provide notice to the dismissed employee nor is the employee entitled to any pay in lieu of notice. However, certain occasions, the employer may be required to furnish the dismissed employee with reasons for the dismissal. An employee whose service has been terminated through wrongful dismissal may seek remedies through the help of courts of law. Under the common law, such employees can be reinstated to their previous jobs or places of work. As most employment relationships are contractual in nature, the courts of law would most instances determine cases of unfair d ismissal based on the principles grounded in contract law. This requires the employers to compensate the wrongly dismissed employee for the earnings and benefits lost during the reasonable period of time they would have been in employment if the notice was given in good time. Under the ‘Wallace Cause’ established in the case of Wallace v United Grain Growers Ltd, the courts established that the employer is under an obligation to give ample notice period of the intention to dismiss an employee and any contravention of this, the courts can extend the dismissal period. This effectively makes employers who act in bad faith by being untruthful and end up dismissing their employees liable for such dismissals. The damage awarded is commensurate with the bad faith demonstrated by the employer and are determined as the determination of other damages in cases involving morals. The damages are calculated from the date the employee was dismissed according to the terms expressed in the contract itself. The computation of damages will include expected earnings, benefits and any other compensation the dismissed employee would have earned if a reasonable period was given. The common law allows for a negotiation of a reasonable period while statutory provisions provide fixed notice periods for notice to dismiss. In summary, a wrongfully dismissed employee is entitled to salary that could have been earned had a reasonable notice period be issued inclusive of any awards in salary increment that may be effected in the period after dismissal and other benefits such as commissions and overtimes. Other benefits that accrue to employees in the course of employment such as houses of residences, insurance and mortgages must be duly paid or given to him. Case Study 2 There are many tests for distinguishing an employee from an independent contractor. It is important to note that all these tests look at the substance or what occurred in such employment relationship rather tha n what is written in a particular contract. The first and most important test is the level of control that the hiring person has over the performance of the work in terms of place, time and the manner in which it is done. An individual who does not have the control over such aspects is an employee while the vice versa in terms of control refer to an independent contractor. The risk test provides that the independent contractor bears risks that come with the performance o

Financial Decision - Making Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Financial Decision - Making - Assignment Example For example, it would not have enough cash to pay creditors the 180,000 due in October, to pay the salaries of staff on time until perhaps January 2007 when a cash inflow of over 1 million is expected, and even to pay its promotional expenses. Note from Table 1 that the 42,000 depreciation, since it is not a cash transaction, is not included in the cash forecast as an outflow from the business during the period. The beginning cash balance includes the 30,000 in cash on 30 September 2006. The beginning and end balances reflect the cash balances at the start and end of the month. If the cash forecast showed a negative amount, how could there be a net profit at the end of the period The answer is that the Profit and Loss (P&L) Report captures the business activity during the period, which is profitable (note the gross and net profit margins of 6.3 and 4.6 percent respectively). The cost of sales includes payments for activities required to generate the sale, to which we add agents' commissions, direct (flight and hotel) and variable costs, administrative overhead, and penalties if booking target volumes of 10,000 holidays are not reached. Two cash transactions are not in the P&L because they refer to past business activities (like paying a 180,000 loan in October 2006 and the 20,000 principal for a previous loan by March 2007) or investments (fixed asset investment of 50,000 in March 2007) that will generate returns over the coming years. Loan repayments and investments in fixed assets are balance sheet transactions and not included in the P&L. The Balance Sheet as in Table 3 before adjustments on 31 March 2007 is as follows: Summary from Table 3 BALANCE SHEET 31-Mar-07 30-Sep-06 Fixed Assets 568,000 560,000 Current Assets (40,000) 30,000 Trade Creditors 0 (180,000) Loans (90,000) (110,000) Total net assets: 438,000 300,000 Share capital 100,000 100,000 Reserves 200,000 200,000 Profit and Loss 138,000 Total shareholders funds: 438,000 300,000 The balance sheet includes figures from Tables 1 and 2 and shows where profits during the 6-month period were used. The negative cash flow of 40,000 from our cash forecast is included as current assets column. This overdraft can be booked as advances from owners that need adjustments (as a current liability or additional equity). We have also added the net

Leadership Style Adopted in Petroleum Development Oman Dissertation

Leadership Style Adopted in Petroleum Development Oman - Dissertation Example Singed _______________________ Date _________________________ Word Count: Preface Petroleum Development Oman is the leading oil exploration and production Company in Oman which contributes to majority of the country economy as a result of producing oil and gas. The author being an Omani is concerned about the sharp decline in oil production of Petroleum Development Oman from 831,000 bbl/d in 2002 to 560,000 bbl/d in 2008. The reason why the author decided to research the subject of analysing leadership style adopted in Petroleum Development Oman derives from his great interest to analyse the Company leadership which is currently facing major challenges in sustaining oil production. His long term desire is to become a future leader in his organisation. During the initial research process, the author experienced difficulties in having access to information about the Company. However, access fortunately to information and relevant people at a later stage of the research were less problematic than previously assumed. This research approach had some limitations which must be recognized. The main objective of the research aims to analyse the leadership style adopted by Petroleum Development Oman. The study also extends to analyse the obstacles that women face as they aim to progress in higher leadership positions. A combination of secondary and primary researches are undertaken to achieve objectives proposed. The completion of this research owes thanks to a number of people. The author would like to express his gratitude to all those who supported him to complete this dissertation. In particular, PDO employees who responded to the survey... The author being an Omani is concerned about the sharp decline in oil production of Petroleum Development Oman from 831,000 bbl/d in 2002 to 560,000 bbl/d in 2008. The reason why the author decided to research the subject of analysing leadership style adopted in Petroleum Development Oman derives from his great interest to analyse the Company leadership which is currently facing major challenges in sustaining oil production. His long term desire is to become a future leader in his organisation. During the initial research process, the author experienced difficulties in having access to information about the Company. However, access fortunately to information and relevant people at a later stage of the research were less problematic than previously assumed. This research approach had some limitations which must be recognized. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ The main objective of the research aims to analyse the leadership style adopted by Petroleum Development Oman. The study also extends to analyse the obstacles that women face as they aim to progress in higher leadership positions. A combination of secondary and primary researches are undertaken to achieve objectives proposed. The completion of this research owes thanks to a number of people. The author would like to express his gratitude to all those who supported him to complete this dissertation. In particular, PDO employees who responded to the survey are gratefully acknowledged for their full cooperation and assistance in providing the data associated with this study.

How American Dream in The Great Gatsby Compares to the Modern American Essay

How American Dream in The Great Gatsby Compares to the Modern American Dream - Essay Example It is noticeable that post World War one is considered as a the most prosperous time of the United States, but still there were great number of people at that time in the US, who had to struggle and suffer hard to make their dreams come true (TCF). One of such stories is written by an American novelist F.Scott Fitzgerald in 1922. This story is about a poor boy, who had a dream, a passion, and a potential to do something outstanding to gain fame and money in life. In this paper, we shall compare American Dream life portrayed by F.Scott Fitzgerald in his famous novel â€Å"The Great Gatsby† with notions interlinked with the modern American dream. Modern American Dream is a vast topic and a heated debate in town hall meeting across the state. Is American dream dead or still alive s a big question keeps on flickering on every American’s mind. And a run to an authentic and realistic answer to this question motivates a study entitling â€Å"Modern American Dream† acros s the nation. With the findings of this study, it has come forward that majority of American population strongly believe that American Dream is exhausted, but not dead. Current, financial downfalls, due to recession are challenging, which hangs the US future in between dark and bright (Ford, Dion and Conway). Many people think that American dream is one of the most significant fundamentals of American identity, for which fundamental change, with modernization and metamorphosis is needed. Additionally, it is noteworthy, with modernization and advancements American dream is no more similar to what it was a few decades before, just a house ownership in the locality. But, now an American dream is much vast, diversified and individualistic. In other words, it can be said that today people do not have one big dream, but they have now lots of little dreams with controlled self destinies (Sawhill). Similar individualistic dreams of a young boy are discussed by F.Scott Fitzgerald. Dreams of Gatsby are no different from an ordinary American of today. It is in a way that both have their individual dreams, smudged with a passion to understand success on their own and a personal enthusiasm to stay focused on one dream at a time. Likewise, from story the story of Gatsby it has been understood that he was an ordinary in fact a poor boy belonged to rural family of North Dakota (Fitzgerald). He had all those similar dreams, which today people have in America of attaining success in each desired aspect. As we have understood that modern American dream is no more confined to saving money, securing montage and buying home, but it is more about traveling to the path towards defined ambitions. Similar cognitive approaches were adopted by the focused dreamer of F.Scott Fitzgerald’s story. Dreams of Gatsby can be relate with the Albert Camus’ philosophy of absurdism, which based on the concept of nothingness referring to the struggles an ordinary individual make in ques t for dreams. Gatsby started weaving his dreams since childhood like children of many working class people, who had to learn sacrifice at a very early stage of life. Gatsby was one of those individuals, who promised himself at a very early age to remove all those situations from his life that discomfort each day, he aimed to get something extraordinary in life, but did not focus particularly on money. Poor Gatsby dreamt to alter his circumstance as he strongly believed that there is a lot to do and rediscover own self

The News Media Characteristics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The News Media Characteristics - Research Paper Example The aim of this investment is to furnish free, dependable, faultless, boundless and important data that a vote based system requires. Participatory news coverage is a notch up, with eminent wonder in which there is next to zero publication oversight or formal journalistic workflow managing the choices of a staff. Rather, it is the consequence of numerous concurrent, disseminated discussions that either bloom or rapidly decay in the Web's informal organization. While the eruption of weblogs is a later wonder, the thought of taking advantage of your group of onlookers for new views or transforming book lovers into correspondents or reporters is definitely not. Weblogs or writes as they are generally known, are the most dynamic and amazing type of this support reporting. These individually distributed frameworks have offered ascent to a sensation that shows the markings of unrest by giving anybody with the right ability and vigour the capability to be heard far and wide on the Web. They are redesigned online diaries, with converse sequential entrances and various joins that give up-to-the-moment undertakes the journalist's existence, the news, or on a particular subject of investment. Regularly riddled with obstinate or clear and reasonably objective (Romenesko, 2008) Development of weblogs has been to a great extent powered by more terrific access to transmission capacity and ease, frequently free programming. These basic simple to-utilize apparatuses have empowered new sorts of coordinated effort unlimited by time or geology. The effect is a development of new social examples and means for self-statement. Write like groups like have permitted an incalculable number of voices to take an interest while supervising a social request and furnishing a suitable channel on talk. The exceptional thing about them is that they bring new voices into the national talk on different points, and help construct neighbourhoods of investment through their accumulations of connecti ons. (Sen. Trent Lott, 2002). This raises some imperative inquiries: If participatory reporting has climbed without the immediate help of prepared authors or news industry activities, what part will standard media play? Also are standard media ready to surrender some control and energetically work together with their gatherings of people? Additionally will an educated and engaged purchaser start to edge the news driving force from the grassroots? Furthermore, will reporting's ethics persist? My opinion on the new trend toward participatory journalism is that citizen journalism has turned into a sensation of between participatory news coverage between the normal person and the native media is turning into another rising pattern in gathering and disseminating of news. It is not dependably conceivable for the media to be available all over the place so they search out native columnist with the guarantee of free attention. This association prepares between the media and the normal subje ct gains both ways. ii. Next, after reading the required bibliography, give your opinion of the new trend toward "participatory journalism" which was discussed in this week's bibliography reading. Do you believe that cell phone photography and citizen reporting will catch on in America, and do you see any relationship between such trends and the possibility for real political reform?     

Regional and Transregional Interactions Essay Example for Free

Regional and Transregional Interactions Essay Answer: The social structures of the Hindu caste system, the Bantu peoples of Africa, and medieval Europe differed greatly. Some structures were given different names while others just consisted of different kinds of people. Each class also had different responsibilities to their community, specifically the lowest and highest class members. The Hindu caste system only had four major classes which they gave different names based on their creator-god’s body parts, the Bantu people only had one ruling class, and the medieval Europeans had three classes which they called estates. Each of the places had some version of Hindu caste systems but they were all called different names and consisted of different people. The highest caste of Hindu’s caste system was called the Brahmins; the Brahmins only consisted of priests and teachers. This caste system came about from the different body parts of their creator-god named Brahma. Unlike the Hindu people, the Bantu people’s class structure, specifically the highest class, were determined by the most prominent family in the community. The head of this well-known family was known as the chief of the community, though they worked alongside the ruling class. In Medieval Europe, their class identification system were named the estates. Medieval Europe’s highest estate was made up of the wealthy and noble people of Europe but sometimes higher ranking church members would have more power and influence over their  country than the people of the highest class. The next group of Hindu’s caste system was known as the Kshatriyas, who were the rulers and soldiers of India, and the Vaishyas, who were the merchants and traders. Medieval Europe’s second group wasn’t quite as large, the members of the group were called the clergy. This clergy included people in the army and some of them had higher ranks than those who lived in the lowest classes. Unlike the European system, Hindu caste members could move up a higher class and be reborn wealthy if they acted well in their current life. The church members of the community didn’t have a special class where they were classified in. They hovered in the middle of lower class priests but still held authority over farmers and high-ranking authorities. The legislatures of Europe, or parliaments, were the lower’s class members’ connection to the heads of state. The third and final caste of Hindu’s social structure was known as the shudras, otherwise known as the society’s laborers. Hindu’s lowest possible caste, which actually weren’t even considered a caste, were known as the untouchables and were considered impure. They were shunned, insulted, and banned from worship services, and kept away from the higher class members. The untouchables’ jobs were to do tasks no one else wanted to do, such as butchering meat or taking care of the dead. Europe’s last estate was not split up into two like Hindu’s caste system but the lower class did do things for the higher class members, just as the untouchables did. The members of the estate consisted of mostly farmers and these farmers had to till the land and grow food for themselves as well as the people of higher classes. The Hindu caste system had five different groups, the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas, the Vaishyas, and the Shudras. The Brahmins were the highest class, the Kshatriyas and the Vaishyas were the second, and the Shudras were the third and final official class. The Bantu peoples’ ruling class consisted of the male heads of the families in the communities. European’s highest class consists of the nobles, the second estate were the clergy, and the third, as well as largest, estate were people who tilled the land and  grew crops. Each system had a higher class that controlled the people of their communities but only two of the systems had a second and third class. Though they have these similarities, as you can see, some have different class names and each class consists of different kinds of people that take on different jobs.

Causes of Parturition in Cattle

Causes of Parturition in Cattle 1.0 Introduction Parturition in cattle is known to be a complicated physiological process, where the onset is generally accepted to be initiated by the fetus (Thorburn et al., 1977; Thorburn, 1979). In normal circumstances, this complicated process involving several hormonal interactions and should conclude without any human interference, leaving a healthy cow with a vigorous calf. However, in reality a large proportion of calving require assistance to varying degrees that may result in a stillborn calf (Meijering, 1984). Domestication and breeding programmes in the dairy industry select for cows that produce calves that are relatively larger when compared to their dams; a regular occurrence in cattle compared to most other mammals (McClintock, 2004). As dystocia is highly related to the pelvic area (Price and Wiltbank, 1978), being able to measure the pelvic dimensions is beneficial. The process of measuring the internal and external capacity and diameter of the pelvis is known as pelvimetry (Studdert et al., 2011). This is elucidated in studies which reveal that there is value in using external pelvimetry as a predictor for the internal pelvic measurements (Murray et al., 2002), while others show that withers height and heart girth were the best predictors of internal pelvic sizes (Kolkman et al., 2012; Coopman et al., 2003). Hence, it would be easier if the farmer had an alternate method to measure internal pelvic dimensions, such as predicting those dimensions through measurements of external morphometry which could be done directly using measuring tape. Therefore, the ability to accurately determine the possibility of dystocia will allow early and appropriate intervention, which then decreases the morbidity and mortality of t he dam and fetus, improving animal welfare and reducing economic losses (Linden et al., 2009). There is a need for information regarding associations between internal pelvic measurements and external morphometry, which may have value in determining dams with larger pelvic opening that increases calving ease (Bellows et al., 1971). Currently, no research has been done to study the association between the intrapelvic measurements and the external morphometric measurements in Friesian cross cattle in Malaysia. Hence, the objective of this study was to determine the relationship between intrapelvic area, morphometric measurements, age, body weight and body condition score in Friesian cross cattle which could be of value in determining dams with larger pelvic openings and thereby reducing the risk of dystocia. It is hypothesized that there is an association between the intrapelvic measurements and external morphometry in Friesian cross cattle.       2.0 Literature Review 2.1 Dystocia Dystocia, defined as delayed or difficult parturition (Mushtaq, 2016), is usually classified into two main causes which are direct factors and indirect factors (Meijering, 1984). The former usually being anatomical and physiological factors such as malpresentation of the calf in the birth canal and uterine torsion in the dam. The latter is related to phenotypic effects that are related to the calf such as calf birth weight, multiple calvings and perinatal mortality, as well as, phenotypic effects associated with the cow such as cow pelvic area, cow body weight at calving, cow body condition score, gestation length and calving assistance. Indirect factors also include non-genetic factors such as cow age, parity of cow, calf sex, nutrition and other disorders, while genetic factors involve cow, bull and calf breeds (Zaborski et al., 2009). The most common cause of dystocia is a physical incompatibility between the size of the foetus and maternal pelvic size, also known as feto-pelvic i ncompatibility. The pelvic size of the dam is mainly influenced by the stage of maturity of the cow. As a result, a smaller size of the pelvis contributes to the higher incidence of dystocia in heifers (Haskell and Barrier, 2014) and vice versa where dams with larger pelvic openings experience less calving difficulty (Barrier et al., 2013). 2.2 Breed Comparisons Several studies have shown that there are significant differences in pelvic dimensions between breeds of beef and dairy cattle (Ramin et al., 1995; Laster 1974; Meijering and Pastma, 1984; McElhenney et al., 1985). There are also differences between herds within breeds, purebreds and crossbreeds, and small breeds and large breeds. The pelvic height and pelvic width increase greatly with advancing age, which shows that the pelvic area is larger in mature cows in comparison to heifers. The mean pelvic heights in beef and dairy heifers can vary from 13.5 cm to 19.3 cm, the pelvic width from 12.6 cm to 18 cm, and the mean pelvic area from 170 cm2 to 290 cm2. 2.3 Impact of Dystocia on Dam The occurrence of dystocia has shown to have an adverse effect on the reproductive performance of dairy cows, where the first oestrus, days open and the calving interval were significantly longer (Gaafar et al., 2010). Fertility is further impaired as a result of dystocia as it causes a reduction in conception rate and an increase in the number of services per conception (Lopez de Maturana et al., 2007). Total milk yield also tends to be lower in cows that have experienced dystocia at calving compared to those that calved normally (Berry et al., 2007). Furthermore, there is a significant increase in the mortality rate of cows experiencing dystocia in comparison to those that calved without assistance and the number is highest in cows that require serious intervention during parturition (Dematawewa and Berger, 1997). 2.4 Impact of Dystocia on Calf Majority of stillbirths were reported to be a direct result of dystocia (Meyer et al., 2000; Lombard et al., 2007). During parturition, there are several dramatic physiological changes that can have adverse effects on the foetal oxygen concentration (Lombard and Garry, 2013). The foetus can experience neonatal asphyxia during the calving process due to hypoxia, decreased blood flow as a result of occlusions of the placenta, or ischaemia. Hypoxia can progress to anoxia, which can be prolonged with instances of dystocia resulting in foetal death (Bluel et al., 2008). The calf can also have hypercapnia, which can cause respiratory acidosis. However, during dystocia the respiratory acidosis will be pronounced and in addition to this, the hypoxia can lead to anaerobic metabolism within the body that results in metabolic acidosis. The acidotic condition of the foetus can negatively affect the central nervous system resulting in lowered vigour, depression and decreased physical activity, wh ich is referred to as weak calf syndrome or dummy calf syndrome (Ravary-Plumioà «n, 2009). The dystocic calves were slower to express most of the neonatal behaviours, particularly those that lead up to reaching the udder, and usually lay recumbent (Barrier et al., 2012). This results in the failure of transfer of passive immunity as the calf is unable to absorb an adequate quantity of colostrum (Johnson et al., 2007; Weaver et al., 2000). This has been linked with an increase in calf morbidity and mortality and a reduction in the calf growth rate (Robison et al., 1988; Donovan et al., 1998). 2.5 Economic Impacts In a United Kingdom dairy herd, the total cost of a slightly difficult calving was estimated to be roughly  £110, while a more serious difficult calving can range from  £350 to  £400. This takes into account the labour and veterinary costs, including the cost of caesarean deliveries, the mortality of dams and calves and the culled cows, the losses incurred due to a decreased milk production and poor reproductive performance (McGuirk et al., 2007). In Australian Friesian Holstein herds, the cost of dystocia for a herd can go up to $5100 per year, where 30% of the losses is due to reduced fertility, 20% due to culling or dam death, veterinary costs were about 10% and labour costs were 20%. The cost of dystocia in primiparous cows was about $48.49, while it was $19.15 in mature cows. The overall losses associated with calving difficulties in the Australian dairy industry can be estimated to be in excess of $44 million annually (McClintook, 2004). In a study by Dematewewa Berger ( 1997), the estimated costs of dystocia were $0.00, $50.45, $96.48, $159.82 and $379.61 for dystocia scores 1 to 5 (1 representing no problem to 5 representing extreme difficulty). which showed that losses incurred increase as the difficulty of calving increases. 2.6 Pelvimetry Internal pelvimetry involves the measurement of the pelvic height and the pelvic width, which allows the pelvic area to be determined (Rice and Wiltbank, 1972; Bellows et al., 1971; Morrison et al., 1986; Johnson et al., 1988). The internal dimensions are measured using a sliding calliper device that is referred to as a Rice pelvimeter. Other instruments have also been developed such as the Krautmann-Litton Bovine pelvic meter and the EquiBov Bovine pelvimeter (Deutscher, 1987). The external pelvimetry is mostly done in correlation to the internal pelvic dimensions where the measurements are taken on the external body of the animal; for example, the pin width, hook width, rump length and hook to pin length (Bellows et al., 1971; Johnson et al., 1988; Coopman et al., 2003). Pelvimetry is a relatively simple and reliable method to determine pelvic parameters of cows with the basis that the larger the pelvic area, the lower the calving difficulty. However, a farmer would require the ser vices of a veterinarian with the skills and knowledge to peform this technique, which would increase costs to the farm (Kolkman et al., 2012). 2.7 Welfare The measurement of internal pelvic parameters is invasive and carries a risk of trauma to the rectal mucosa. It has been recommended to administer epidural anaesthesia which allows the cow to stand normally without arching her back or attempting to strain. However, the administration of the epidural anaesthesia requires specialised veterinary training (Murray et al., 2002). Despite the risk for injury, if the internal pelvimetry is done properly and gently with the use of adequate quantities of lubrication, damage to the rectal mucosa can be prevented (Hiew and Constable, 2015). 3.0 Materials and Methods Data was collected from 50 Friesian cross dairy cattle (23 from Ladang 16, Taman Pertanian Universiti (TPU), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and 27 others from two dairy cattle farms in Bangi, Selangor and Lenggeng, Negeri Sembilan that were part of the Ladang Angkat Programme) within a period of 2 weeks using convenience sampling. All of the cows were between 2-14 years of age and weighed between 200-750 kg. The ages of the cows at TPU were taken from recrodsm, whereas the ages of the other cattle were determined using dentition (Lawrence et al., 2001). This study was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), with the reference number: UPM/IACUC/FYP.2016/FPV.71 The external morphometry that was measured was the thoracic circumference, abdominal circumference, hook width and pin width. Thoracic circumference (Figure 1) was determined using a measuring tape (tailor fibreglass measuring tape) placed immediately caudal to the scapula and forelimbs. The abdominal circumference (Figure 2) was determined by placing the same tape tape cranial to the hind limbs, tuber coxae and udder, and was measured in centimetres (West, 1997) (Figure 3). The hook width (Figure 4) was measured using the linear distance between the most lateral surfaces of the wings of the ileum or tuber coxae. The pin width (Figure 5) is the linear distance between the most lateral surfaces of the tuber ischium (Singh et al., 1984) (Figure 6). These distances were measured in centimetres using straight rulers and a tape measure whereby one straight metal ruler was placed vertically at the lateral aspect of the tuber coxarum or tuber ischium and the other straight metal ruler was p laced vertically at the lateral aspect of the opposite tuberosity with the measuring tape stretched tautly between the two rulers (Craig, 1941). The body condition score was measured using a 5-point scoring method with quarter-point increments from an established scoring system from Elanco Animal Health (1997). The body weight was determined by measuring the thoracic circumference using a calibrated heart girth tape[MH1], in kilograms. Figure 3: External morphometry; a. Thoracic circumference, b. Abdominal circumference (Elanco Animal Health, 1997) Figure 4: Measuring the distance between the tuber coxae Figure 5: measuring the distance between the tuber ischii Figure 6: External morphometry; a. The distance between tuber coxae, b. The distance between tuber ischii (Elanco Animal Health, 1997) The internal pelvimetry was measured using a Rice pelvimeter (Lane Manufacturing Inc., Colorado, U.S.A.) (Figure 3) that provides measurements in centimetres with a gradient of 0.25 cm. Faeces were manually evacuated from the rectum and the pelvimeter was well lubricated using an aqueous based lubricant (BOVIVET Gel granulate). The closed pelvimeter was gently and slowly introduced into the rectum in a closed position by the hand, with the arm of the investigator protected using a disposable rectal sleeve (KRUTEX super sensitive disposable examination gloves) The pelvic height (Figure 4) was measured by opening the device within the pelvic canal and recording the distance between the dorsal aspect of the pubic symphysis on the floor of the pelvis and the ventral aspect of the sacral vertebrae. The pelvimeter was then closed and rotated 90 ° to measure the pelvic width, (Figure 5) which is defined as the horizontal distance at the widest point between the left and right ileal shafts at right angle to where the height was measured (Bellows et al., 1971). One limitation of the Rice pelvimeter is that it has a maximum reading of 20 cm, but in this study none of the cows had pelvic measurements that exceeded 20 cm. The intrapelvic area was calculated as the area of a rectangle by multiplying the pelvic width and the pelvic height (Gaines et al., 1993; Ramin et al., 1995; Green et al., 1988). The intrapelvic area can also be measured as an ellipse with the equation PA = PH ÃÆ'- PW ÃÆ'- à Ã¢â€š ¬/4 (David, 1960). Despite the higher degree of accuracy offered by the ellipsoidal equation, the rectangle equation was used for calculation because the ellipsoidal equation offered no advantage of predicting the risk of dystocia and did not differ when ranking pelvic size (Rice and Wiltbank, 1972). All measurements taken were measured three times consecutively by the same person and the resulting mean values were used for analyses. Data was placed on a data capture sheet for each farm, and transferred to an Excel spread sheet (Microsoft Office Excel, 2016). The data was then analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 22. Data was expressed as mean  ± standard deviation. Shapiro-Wilk test was used as a numerical means of assessing normality, and the output of a normal Q-Q plot was used to determine this graphically. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to examine the relationship of age categories (2 3 years, 3 4 years, 4 5 years, 5 6 years and > 6 years) on the external morphometry and internal pelvic measurements. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (r) was used to determine the association between internal pelvic dimensions and external morphometry, age, body weight and body condition score. Regression analysis was performed to determine the ability of external morphometry, age, body weight and body condition score to predict internal pelvic dimensions. The data collected were used to develop multiple regression equations that estimate the inner pelvic sizes from the external measurements. 4.0 Results The descriptive statistics for age, body weight, body condition score, external morphometry and internal pelvic measurements for the 50 Friesian cross cows are given in Table 1. Table 1: Age, body condition score, body weight, external morphometry and internal pelvic measurements for 50 Friesian cross cattle. Trait Minimum Maximum Mean S.E. S.D. Median Age (months) 24.00 165.00 60.16 4.17 29.16 54.00 Body condition score (1-5) 2.50 4.00 3.21 0.05 0.36 3.25 Body weight (kg) 277.3 722.7 456.9 14.0 98.7 437.8 Thoracic circumference (cm) 151.5 206.2 177.0 1.8 12.4 175.9 Abdominal circumference (cm) 152.0 227.8 189.2 2.2 15.8 189.4 Distance between tuber coxae (cm) 38.3 57.2 47.5 0.6 4.4 47.7 Distance between tuber ischae (cm) 20.0 45.6 31.5 0.8 5.7 31.8 Pelvic height (cm) 12.42 19.50 16.64 0.22 1.59 17.13 Pelvic width (cm) 11.67 19.08 15.64 0.24 1.69 15.50 Pelvic area (cm2) 158.31 398.86 263.28 7.21 51.02 262.43 There was no significant difference between the mean pelvic area of the cows sampled and the minimum pelvic size of Friesian-Holsteins that was determined to have a low incidence of dystocia, where cows which had pelvic sizes greater than the determined value of   260 cm2 would have a reduced risk of dystocia (Hoffman et al., 1996). The mean pelvic size of the sampled cows was 3.28 cm2 larger than the determined value of 260 cm2. In this sample, 24 cows out of the 50 (48%) had pelvic areas below 260 cm2, with the smallest pelvic area being 158.31 cm2. 4.1 Analysis of variance (ANOVA) The analysis of variance showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the age and: thoracic circumference (P = 0.008), abdominal circumference (P = 0.046), distance between tuber coxae (P = 0.046) and distance between tuber ischii (P = 0.009). However, there was no difference when it came to pelvic height, pelvic width and pelvic area (P > 0.05) amongst the age categories. The post-hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test gave indications that the means for thoracic circumference was lower for the age categories 2    3 years (170.1  ± 10.7 cm, P = 0.021), 3 4 years (172.4  ± 12.4 cm, P = 0.017) compared to the category > 6 years (189.4  ± 12.9 cm). There was a significant difference (P = 0.034) for abdominal circumference when comparing age category 4 5 years (180  ± 13.3 cm) to > 6 years (201.6  ± 15.3 cm). 4.2 Pearsons Product-Moment Correlation Table 2 illustrates the correlations between the external morphometry and internal pelvic dimensions, using Pearsons Product-Moment Correlation. This reveals that the external morphometric parameters of thoracic circumference, abdominal circumference, distance between tuber coxae, and distance between tuber ischii have a moderately, positive correlation with the internal pelvic measurements of pelvic height, pelvic width and pelvic area that were statistically significant (P = 0.01). Age in months had a weak and positive correlation with pelvic height (r = 0.35) and pelvic area (r = 0.29) at the level of P = 0.05. However, there was no correlation between age and pelvic width (r = 0.25, P = 0.86). Table 2: Correlations between the external morphometry and internal pelvic parameters. Traits Pelvic Height Pelvic Width Pelvic Area Thoracic circumference 0.50** 0.53** 0.48** Abdominal circumference 0.60** 0.52** 0.52** Distance between tuber coxae 0.46** 0.49** 0.43** Distance between tuber ischae 0.47** 0.54** 0.50** ** Correlation coefficient (r) is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) Body weight (kg) showed a moderate positive correlation with pelvic height (r = 0.40), pelvic width (r = 0.50) and pelvic area (r = 0.44) at a level of P = 0.01. Body weight also displayed a very strong positive correlation with: thoracic circumference (r = 0.99), abdominal circumference (r = 0.76), distance between tuber coxae (r = 0.77) and the distance between tuber ischae (r = 0.73) at a level of P = 0.01. There were no correlations between the intrapelvic height (r = 0.11, P = 0.55), intrapelvic width (r = -0.10, P = 0.47) and intrapelvic area (r = -0.08, P = 0.60)and the body condition score (-0.104 . There were positive correlations between age in months and thoracic circumference, abdominal circumference, distance between the tuber coxae and distance between tuber ischii, all of which are significant at the level of P = 0.01 (Table 3). There is also a significant correlation between age in months and the body weight (r = 0.58, P Table 3: Correlations between the age (months) and external morphometry in 50 Friesian cross cattle. Age (months) with Correlation P-value Thoracic circumference 0.56 Abdominal circumference 0.48 Distance between tuber coxae 0.45 Distance between tuber ischae 0.63 The correlations between the external morphometry measurements are given in Table 4. There is significant, strong and positive correlation between each of the external morphometric measurements that were taken, where P Table 4 Correlations between the external morphometry of 50 Friesian cross cattle. Traits Thoracic circumference Abdominal circumference Distance between tuber coxae Thoracic circumference Abdominal circumference 0.76** Distance between tuber coxae 0.78** 0.72** Distance between tuber ischae 0.72** 0.64** 0.77** ** Correlation coefficient (r) is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) 4.3 Regression analysis Several models were developed using linear and multiple regression analyses, which can be used to predict internal pelvic parameters using the external morphometric measurements that are given in Table 5. The best predictors for pelvic height would be body weight and the external parameters of thoracic circumference and abdominal circumference, where these parameters explain 58% of the variability of pelvic height. For pelvic width, the ideal predictor would be the distance between the tuber ischii which explains 29% of the variability of the pelvic width. Body weight, thoracic circumference and the distance between tuber ischii were the best predictors for pelvic area where they explain 40% of the variability of the pelvic area. Table 5 Models to predict inner pelvic sizes from easily accessible external morphometry Y Model R2 S.E. Pelvic Height Y = -50.57 0.06 ÃÆ'- BW + 0.47 ÃÆ'- Th + 0.05 ÃÆ'- Abd 0.58 1.13 Y = -48.90 0.05 ÃÆ'- BW + 0.52 ÃÆ'- Th 0.40 1.25 Y = 5.13 + 0.06 ÃÆ'- Abd 0.37 1.38 Pelvic Width Y = 6.74 + 0.19 ÃÆ'- TcTc 0.24 1.49 Y = 10.61 + 0.16 ÃÆ'- TiTi 0.29 1.45 Pelvic Area Y = -1549.01 1.54 ÃÆ'- BW + 14.22 ÃÆ'- Th 0.33 42.51 Y = 1585.33 1.56 ÃÆ'- BW + 13.22 ÃÆ'- Th + 1.17 ÃÆ'- Abd 0.39 41.15