Othello, By William Shakespeare - 1867 Words

Throughout Othello, by William Shakespeare, we see behind the scenes of Iago’s master plans. He tells the audience about how he’s going to get his way through actions carried out by the other characters. We’ve read about his motives for revenge on Othello because the lieutenancy was given to Cassio, instead of Iago. Another motive was that Othello had an affair with Emilia, Iago’s wife, which Iago would sleep with Desdemona, Othello’s wife, in order to get back at him. We see Iago’s plans in action for example, when Emilia finds Desdemona’s handkerchief which Iago places in Cassio’s room to raise suspicion. Not only were Iago’s plans emotionally straining, they caused most of the character’s their trust for others and lives to disappear. From this, we see that Iago is an evil mastermind that plots everyone against each other so he can be on top. This desire persuades him to do irrational things that can help him, b ut also gets revenge on others through emotional and physical pain and the irony that occurs between characters for Iago. Not only this, but also, he has a narcissistic personality which leads to him to try to get to the top and refuses to stop trying until he’s there. At the beginning of the play, we start with a conversation between Iago and Roderigo, a gentleman in love with Desdemona. They talk about the Moor, Othello, who elopes with Desdemona. Along with this, Othello just promoted Cassio to lieutenant. Iago’s first thought is to use Roderigo to tellShow MoreRelatedOthello, By William Shakespeare957 Words   |  4 Pagesinnocent person kills himself while not knowing the truth. The best example of that would be the play Othello by the great William Shakespeare. As little as a handkerchief could make a difference if it is a symbol for something. In the play Othello by Shakespeare, handkerchief is first introduced by Othello to his beautiful mistress, Desdemona, as a sign of their love. At the end of the play what gets Othello to take extreme measures by the location of the handkerchief. As the symbol of the handkerchiefRead MoreOthello, By William Shakespeare1599 Words   |  7 Pages William Shakespeare’s 16th century play Othello is a duplicitous and fraudulent tale set alternatingly between Venice in act 1, and the island of Cyprus thereafter. The play follows the scandalous marriage between protagonist Othello, a Christian moore and the general of the army of Venice, and Desdemona, a respected and intelligent woman who also happens to be the daughter of the Venetian Senator Brabantio. Shakespeare undoubtedly positions the marriage to be viewed as heroic and noble, despiteRead MoreOthello, By William Shakespeare1218 Words   |  5 PagesIn a historical time period where emphasis was shifting from religion to race and ethnicity, key indicators of differences that perpetuated into racial prejudice and racial ideologies are evident in Othello by William Shakespeare. Although racism was not fully formed at this moment in history, Othello can be interpreted as a representation and an exploration of this shift in ideology. In the past, before this change to ward racial differences, religion was the major segretory factor in signifyingRead MoreOthello, By William Shakespeare894 Words   |  4 Pagesthose that which occurred in Othello written by William Shakespeare. Throughout the play Othello, we see the struggles of a marriage that is not accepted by their society. Othello is a extremely cherished black general living in a primarily white community. The play begins with Othello secretly becoming married to a white woman named Desdemona. This reasons others who are white to become angry and excuse to dislike this black man further more than they already do. Othello is a downward spiral from loveRead MoreOthello by William Shakespeare790 Words   |  3 PagesThroughout Othello by William Shakespeare, Othello makes numerous poor decisions due to his jealousy. Hitting Desdemona, trusting Iago, and killing Desdemona are among a few of the poor decisions that he makes. The word jealous can be defined as feeling or showing suspicion of som eones unfaithfulness in a relationship. Othello feels suspicious of Desdemona’s and Cassio’s relationship because of the lies that Iago tells him. Many people try to tell Othello the truth but he only believes the wordsRead MoreOthello, By William Shakespeare1923 Words   |  8 Pagesdissatisfaction or complication is shown. Firstly in Othello love is presented as ephemeral and transient while atonement love is presented as unrequited and finally in cat on a hot tin roof love is presented as painful and troublesome due to unreciprocated feelings. The tragic plot of Othello hinges on the potential of the villain, Iago, to deceive other characters, above all Roderigo and Othello, through encouraging them to misinterpret what they see. Othello is prone to Iago s ploys seeing that he himselfRead MoreOthello, By William Shakespeare941 Words   |  4 Pageswas Williams Shakespeare’s play Othello which depicts the tragedy of Othello, a Morris Captain. What is different about Shakespeare play is that the tragic hero is the black Othello and the villain a white Iago. Therefore, Shakespeare depiction of Othello as a tragic character and Iago as a villain, challenges Elizabethan’s stereotypes regarding individuals of African descent. Shakespeare challenges the stereotypical â€Å"type –casting of the black man† in Elizabethan society by depicting Othello asRead MoreOthello, By William Shakespeare1152 Words   |  5 Pages‘Othello’ was a tragedy of incomprehension at the deepest level of human dealings as no one in the play came to an understanding of himself or any of the surrounding characters. The play ‘Othello’ by William Shakespeare focused on tragedy through the anguish of the main character ‘Othello’ which lead to the suffering and death of numerous characters including himself. Appearance Vs. Reality challenged human dealings within the play ‘Othello’ as no-one came to see anyone’s true self and no-one seesRead MoreOthello, By William Shakespeare1178 Words   |  5 Pagesprofitable in condition of good and immorality. Othello is presented as good and Iago as evil, but Iago and Othello’s relationship also shares a distrust of their wives. The overall logical argument is based on love, jealousy and betrayal between two lovers that ultimately leads to their separation because of Iago’s evil plan. I am using this article to agree with Berry s view on how Iago separates two lovers just so he can take retaliation on Othello by manipulating everyone to unmasking their trueRead MoreOthello, By William Shakespeare1825 Words   |  8 PagesWilliam Shakespeare’s plays transcends time and is renowned for their captivating plots and complex characters. Othello by William Shakespeare is a tragedy play that portrays major themes such as racism, manipulation, and jealousy just to name a few. Throughout the whole play, these themes are represented through the conniving character from the play, Iago. Out of all the plays Shakespeare has written, Iago is believed to be the most complex villain of all times. During the play, Othello, a black

Mercury Effect on Seed Germination Free Essays

MERCURY EFFECT ON GERMINATION AND GROWTH OF Capsicum annuum SEEDS NURSHAHIDA BINTI OSMAN BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (Hons. ) TECHNOLOGY AND PLANTATION MANAGEMENT FACULTY OF PLANTATION AND AGROTECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA JULY 2012 MERCURY EFFECT ON GERMINATION AND GROWTH OF Capsicum annuum SEEDS NURSHAHIDA BINTI OSMAN Final Year Project Report Submitted In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science (Hons. ) Technology and Plantation Management In the Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology Universiti Teknologi MARA JULY 2012 DECLARATION This Final Year Project is a partial fulfilment of the requirements for a degree of Bachelor of Science (Hons. We will write a custom essay sample on Mercury Effect on Seed Germination or any similar topic only for you Order Now ) Technology and Plantation Management, Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology, Universiti Teknologi MARA. It is entirely my own work and has not been submitted to any other University or higher education institution, or for any other academic award in this University. Where use has been made of the work of other people it has been fully acknowledged and fully referenced. I hereby assign all and every rights in the copyright to this Work to the Universiti Teknologi MARA (â€Å"UiTM†), which henceforth shall be the owner of copyright in this Work and that, any reproduction or use in any form or by any means whatsoever is prohibited without a written consent of UiTM. Candidate’s signature: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Date: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ NURSHAHIDA BINTI OSMAN Name: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. I hereby declare that I have checked this project and in my opinion, this project is adequate in terms of scope and quality for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Science (Hons. ) Technology and Plantation Management, Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology, Universiti Teknologi MARA. Signature: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ DR. TSAN FUI YING Name of Supervisor: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. SENIOR LECTURER Position: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Date: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Alhamdulliah and praise be to Allah for the guidance and blessing, I was able to complete this final year pr oject. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Tsan Fui Ying, for her guidance, advice, encouragement, good criticisms and also for he r patience in guiding me throughout final year project. My special thanks from the bottom of my heart go to my parent s and my siblings for their understanding and support during my study in UiTM. Lastly, I would also like to express my special thanks to all my friends who were directly or indirectly involved in giving their ideas, advice, criticism, and moral support throughout the project. Thank you very much. NURSHAHIDA BINTI OSMAN ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix DECLARATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF TABLES LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ABSTRACT ABSTRAK CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1. 1 Background Of Capsicum annuum 1. 2 Value Of Capsicum annuum 1. 3 Background of the heavy metal 1. 4 Seed germination and growth 1. 5 1. 6 1. 7 1. 8 Problem Statement Objective Of Study Significance Of Study Scope Of Study 1 2 4 4 5 6 6 6 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2. 1 Source of heavy metal 2. 2 Inhibition of seed germination Environmental effect 2. 3 7 9 12 3 MATERIAL AND METHOD 3. 1 Location of study . 2 Test Material 3. 3 Experimental Procedure 3. 4 Data collection 3. 5 Experimental design 3. 6 Statistical analysis 3. 7 Work schedule 14 14 14 15 15 15 15 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 17 5 CONCLUSION 20 21 24 34 CITED REFERENCES APPENDICES CURRICULUM VITAE iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure Caption Page 4. 1 Germination of C. annuum seeds after treatment with HgCl2 17 4. 2 Seed germination at the 10th day with HgCl2 treatment at 25mg/l 18 v LIST OF TABLES Table Caption 1. 1 Raw chili peppers (C. annum), nutrient value per 100 g 3. 1 Work schedule for the study on germination and growth of C. nnuum after application of HgCl2 at various concentrations Germination and growth of C. annuum after treatment withHgCl2 4. 1 Page vi 3 16 18 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS UiTM Universiti Teknologi MARA Hg Mercury HgCl 2 Mercury chloride mg/l milligram per liter cm Centimeter vii ABSTRACT Mercury Effect on Germination and Growth of Capsicum annuum Seeds A study was carried out to determine the germination and growth of Capsicum annuum after application of mercury chloride (HgCl2) at various concentrations. This study was conducted at Laboratory A603, Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam. A total of 600 C. annuum seeds were used in this study. A total of 5 different concentration s of HgCl2 (0 (control), 25, 50, 75 and 100 mg/l) were applied in this study. The treatments were carried out by means of applying the chemical to the seeds on paper towel in Petri dishes. The application volume was 2 ml per Petri dish at alternate days unless the paper towel was still moist with the previous application of solution. The data in terms of seed germination and growth, included length of radical and plumule, were recorded. This study was based on Complete Randominized Design (CRD) with 5 replicates for each treatment. All the data were subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and treatment means were compared using Tukey’s Simultaneous Test. The germination and growth of C. annuum was significantly affected by the concentration of the heavy metal under study, especially with concentration ? 50 mg/l. Radical growth was found more sensitive to the presence and concentration of HgCl 2 as compared to plumule with this fruit vegetable species. viii ABSTRAK Kesan Merkuri terhadap Percambahan dan Pertumbuhan Biji Benih Capsicum annuum Satu kajian telah dijalankan untuk menentukan percambahan dan pertumbuhan biji benih Capsicum annuum selepas aplikasi merkuri klorida (HgCl2) pada kepekatan yang berbeza. Kajian ini telah dijalankan di Makmal A603, Fakulti Perladangan dan Agroteknologi, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam. Sebayak 600 biji benih telah digunakan dalam kajian ini. Sebanyak 5 kepekatan HgCl2 (0 (kawalan), 25, 50, 75 and 100 mg/l) telah digunakan dalam kajian ini. Rawatan ke atas biji benih adalah dengan menggunakan bahan kimia pada biji benih yang diletakkan di atas tuala kertas dalam piring Petri. Isipadu aplikasi ialah 2 ml bagi setiap piring Petri dan rawatan diulang pada selang 2 hari kecuali tuala kertas masih lembap dengan larutan sebelumnya. Data mengenai percambahan biji benih dan pertumbuhan, termasuk panjang akar dan pucuk, dicatatkan. Kajian ini dijalankan berdasarkan Rekabentuk Rambang Lengkap (CRD) dengan 5 kali pengulangan bagi setiap rawatan. Semua data dianalisis dengan menggunakan Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) dan purata rawatan dibandingkan dengan menggunakan Tukey’s Simultaneous Test. Percambahan dan pertumbuhan C. annuum dipengaruhi dengan ketaranya oleh kepekatan logam berat yang dikaji, terutamanya pada kepekatan ? 0 mg/l. Pertumbuhan akar didapati lebih sensitif kepada kehadiran dan kepekatan HgCl2 berbanding dengan pucuk untuk spesis sayuran buah ini. ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1. 1 Background of Capsicum Capsicum annuum is a member of the family Solanaceae and a class of Dicotyledons. It is commonly known as Chili. Capsicum contains high amount of nutritive value such as vitamin C (ascorbic acid), A, B-complex and E along with minerals like molybdenum, manganese, folate, potassium and thiamine. Capsicum contains seven times more vitamin C than orange (Simone et al. , 1997). Capsicum terminology is quite confusing, the terminology is synonymously used for â€Å"chilli pepper† plants called such as pepper, chili, chile, chilli, aji, paprika and Capsicum. There are thought to be 25-30 Capsicum species with five different names, such as C. annuum L. , C. frustescens Mill. , C. baccatum L. , C. chinense and C. pubescens Ruiz and Pavon, which have been domesticated and currently cultivated (Csillery, 2006). Capsicum is the most widespread and widely cultivated species in subtropics and temperate countries (Belletti et al. , 1998). The scientific classification of C. nnuum is as below: 1 Kingdom : Plantae – Plants Class : Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons Subclass : Asteridae Order : Solanales Family : Solanaceae – Potato family Genus : Capsicum L. – Pepper Species : Capsicum annuum L. – cayenne pepper Although the species name annuum means â€Å"annual† (from Latin annus â€Å"year†), the plant is not an annu al and in the absence of winter frosts, it can survive several seasons and grow into large perennial shrub. The si ngle flowers are of off-white (sometimes purplish) color while the stem is densely branched and the plant can grow up to 60 centimeter tall. The fruit is berry which may be green, yellow and red when ripe. While the species can tolerate most climates, C. annuum is especially productive in warm and dry climates (Anonymous, 2012b). 1. 2 Value of capsicum Capsicums have their own benefits and values to human beings. As we know, capsicums are used in cooking and also as medicines. Capsicum is an indispensable spice used as basic ingredient in a great variety of cuisine all over the world. It is also used as flavoring, colorant and adds tang and taste to the otherwise insipid food. Moreover, Capsicum species are employed whole 2 r ground and alone or in combination with other flavorings agents, primarily in the pickles, stewed or barbeques (Ravishankar et al. , 2003). Table 1. 1: Raw chili peppers (C. annum), nutrient value per 100 g Principle Nutrient Value Percentage of RDA Energy 40 Kcal 2% Carbohydrates 8. 81 g 7% Protein 1. 87 g 3% Total Fat 0. 44 g 2% Cholesterol 0 mg 0% Dietary Fiber 1. 5 g 3% Vitamins Folates 23 mcg 6% Niacin 1. 244 mg 8% Pantothenic acid 0. 201 mg 4% Pyridoxine 0. 506 mg 39% Riboflavin 0. 086 mg 6. 5% Thiamin 0. 72 mg 6% Vitamin A 952 IU 32% Vitamin C 143. 7 mg 240% Vitamin E 0. 69 mg 4. % Vitamin K 14 mcg 11. 5% Electrolytes Sodium 9 mg 0. 5% Potassium 322 mg 7% Minerals Calcium 14 mg 1. 5 % Copper 0. 129 mg 14% Iron 1. 03 mg 13% Magnesium 23 mg 6% Manganese 0. 187 mg 8% Phosphorus 43 mg 6% Selenium 0. 5 mcg 1% Zinc 0. 26 mg 2% Phyto-nutrients Carotene-? 534 mcg -Carotene-? 36 mcg -Cryptoxanthin-? 40 mcg -Lutein-zeaxanthin 709 mcg -Source: USDA National Nutrient data base (Anonymous, 2012a) 3 1. 3 Background of heavy metal According to Thomine et al. (2000), metals such as iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and copper (Cu) are necessary as co-factors for many enzymatic reactions. Some metals, such as zinc (Zn), play important structural roles in proteins. Furthermore, metal cations have recently been shown to be involved in signaling in animals and plants. According to Ghavri and Singh (2010) in terms of stabilizing contaminated sites, a lower metal concentration in stem is preferred in order to prevent metal from entering into ecosystem. However, plants also need to control against excessive accumulation of essential cations and toxic heavy metals, such as cadmium (Cd2+), lead, mercury, and arsenic. When taken up in excessive quantities, these elements are transferred in the food chain where they may have adverse effects on the health of humans and animals. Heavy metals can enter the food chain via plant uptake (Chayed, 2009). According to Mami (2011) from Guilan University, Rasht, Islamic Republic of Iran, heavy metals have recently received the attention of researchers all over the world, mainly due to also their harmful effect on plant. 1. 4 Seed germination and growth According to the seed physiologists, germination is defined as the emergence of the radical through the seed coat. Basic requirements for germination include water, gases, temperature and moisture availability. 4 According to Vera et al. (2010), exposure to heat and to low pH promotes germination and reduces time to germinate, which indicates that germination is related to passage of fire and to soil pH. Germination is also correlated with wet and cold conditions and dormancy can be classified as being the physiological type. In addition, it well known that temperature, light conditions, nitrates or hormonal treatment may also affect germination. In an experiment conducted by Koger et al. 2004), Caperonia palustris seeds from naturally dehisced with predominant dark gray color were exposed to pre chilling in attempts to break any dormancy mechanism imposed on seed kept at room temperature. Results showed that pre chilling did not release dormancy. Seed germinated with fluctuating 12-h light/dark and constant dark conditions. Seed germination test using buffer solutions of pH 4 to 10 recorded germ ination of 31 to 62% over a pH range from 4 to 10. Heavy metals may also affect seed germination, mainly believed to be attributed to toxicity effects. They can be hazardous because they cannot be estroyed or despoiled but they are bioaccumulated. 1. 5 Problem statement Capsicum annuum is a kind of fruit vegetable most commonly consumed and its production is of concerned. Like other crops, Capsicum needs to control against excessive accumulation of essential cations and toxic heavy metals for seed development and production. The heavy metals may cause a negative effect to the seed germination and growth. 5 1. 6 Objective of study The experiment was conducted by considering the objectives of study as below: 1. To determine the mercury effect on germination of C. nnuum seeds. 2. To identify the mercury effect on subsequent initial seedling growth of C. annuum after seed germination. 1. 7 Significance of study This study is important to observe and determine the mercury effect on germi nation and growth of C. annuum seeds. The result from this study is hoped to provide information on germination and growth of C. annuum seeds as affected by mercury concentration in soil, e. g. ex-mining soils. 1. 8 Scope of Study The experiment conducted to identify the concentration of mercury that may affect germination and growth of C. nnuum seeds involved the seed extraction from fruits, seed treatment with mercury chloride (HgCl2), seed germination recording, measurement of length of radical and plumule, data analysis and report writing. 6 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2. 1 Source of heavy metal There are many sources of heavy metals in soil including natural sources e. g. soil parent material, volcanic eruptions, marine aerosols, and forest fires; agricultural sources e. g. fertilizers, sewage sludge, pesticides and irrigation water; energy and fuel production sources e. g. emissions from power stations; mining and smelting e. . tailing, smelting, refining and transportation (R eichman, 2002). It is generally accepted that heavy metal contamination can not only result in adverse effects on various parameters relating to plant quality and yield, but also cause changes in the size, composition and activity of the soil microbial community (Giller et al. , 1998). Heavy metals might accumulate in the food chains, with risks for the health of animals and humans, which are less sensitive to metal toxicity than plants, but they are capable of concentrating heavy metal in certain tissues and organs (Peralta et al. 2001). The influence of metals on development and reproduction of plants can be firstly quantified by determining the germination traits of seeds and growth performance of seedling. In the presence of high concentrations of some heavy metals, most plant species performe the reduction of seed germination and seedling growth (Patra and Sharma, 2000). 7 The high metal contents suggest the potential for heavy metal accumulation and phytotoxicity for crops gro wn in soils receiving the metal enriched sewage sludge. Hence, it will limit its application on land, because of the stringent regulations for land application of heavy metals i n the form of sewage (Wong et al. , 2001). The high heavy metal contents might pose a toxic effect to plants and cause heavy metal accumulation in plant tissues (Wong et al. , 2001). Many of those who performed short-term laboratory studies also discuss ed their results in relation to existing regulations for heavy metals in soils, or the possible effect of the agricultural use of metal-contaminated products such as sewage sludge, animal manures and fungicides (Giller et al. 1998). The distribution of heavy metals in the organs of plants is not homogenous; it depends on the species and the element (Kozanecka et al. , 2002). The application of cow dung in wasteland soil not only provided nutrients for plant growth, but also stabilized the metal in the soil and reduced metal toxicity to the plant (Ghavri and Singh, 2010). According to Longman (2006), mercury is a he avy silver white poisonous metal that is liquid at ordinary temperature and it is a chemical element symbol is Hg. It is a pervasive pollutant that accumulates in organisms and is highly toxic. Elemental mercury is efficiently transported as a gas around the 8 globe, and even remote areas show evidence of mercury pollution originating from industrial sources such as power plants (Morel et al. , 1998). Mercury is a toxic heavy metal that is of significant concern as an environmental pollutant since mercury is not very phototoxic in normally occurring concentrations. In polluted regions, mercury is a non -degradable toxic heavy metal pollutant when it is accumulated by plants. The information is scare about its uptake mechanism and growth inhibition. There are a wide range of sources that emit mercury to the atmosphere. Approximately half of the atmospheric budget of vapor-phase mercury is attributed to anthropogenic sources and half to natural source (Nriagu, 1989) The accumulation of mercury in terrestrial plants increases with increasing soil mercury concentration. Soil type has considerable influence on this process, i. e. high organic matter content will decrease uptake. Generally, the highest concentrations of mercury are found at the roots, but translocation to other organs occurs. In contrast to higher plants, mosses are known to take up mercury via atmospheric deposition (Boening, 2000). The characterization of mercury uptake showed that mercury binding is dependent on initial pH, agitation speed, amount of dosage and also the interaction between pH and contact time (Ling, 2010). 2. 2 Inhibition of seed germination According to Longman (2006), seed is a small, hard object produced by plants, from which a new plant of the same kind grows. Poor quality seeds suffer from following problems of low germination percentage, poor 9 emergence, poor survival, and poor adaptability to site, susceptible to disease and pests, poor growth, and low productivity (Anonymous, 2011a). The characteristics of good seeds are well ripened, healthy and true to type, pure and free from inert materials and weed seeds, viable and have good germination capacity, uniform in its texture, structure and appearance, and free from damage and should not be broken and inflected by pests and diseases (Anonymous, 2011a). Seed germination is defined as the emergence and development from seed embryo of those essential structures, which are indicative of the ability of seed to produce a normal plant under favorable conditions (Anonymous, 2011a). Seeds need to be handled carefully to avoid damage to the embryo. Rough handling at threshing time can result in a lower percentage of germination. Actual tests are made at intervals to insure a good percentage of germination. Many seeds will germinate in a week or two or three weeks, but some seeds may take weeks or even years until barriers to germination are removed (Butterfield, 1967). Although seeds are rather similar in structure and in the same taxonomic family, their germination patterns are quite different (McDonald, 2011). Seeds exist in a state of dormancy, absorbing oxygen, giving off carbon dioxide, and slowly using up their stored food reserves during germination (Rindels, 1996). Every viable seed has the potential to become a plant. For this to happen, the seed must germinate, and for germination to occur, a seed 10 essentially needs water (during absorption and subsequent stages of growth), oxygen (for respiration) and temperature adequate for metabolism and growth. Some seeds also require light and therefore must be on the soil surface in order to germinate, and not buried beneath the soil surface (McDonald, 2011). A general statement was made that percent of germination or p ercent of viable seeds of Rumex scutatus drop over time as a result of exposure to environmental conditions (Yilmaz and Aksoy, 2007). Some seeds have certain chemicals inside them to which prevent their germination, while some seeds may not have well developed embryo and require storage for a few weeks before germination can take place (Anonymous, 2011a). Some seeds present deep physiological dormancy with a very low germination percentage and they need a long time to start germination (Vera et al. , 2010). Heavy metals of Zn and ZnO particles were observed to have significant inhibition on seed germination and root growth (El-Temsah and Joner, 2010). The decrease in the value of germination percentage and germination index of the seed caused by the increased amount of metallic compound indicates that at a lower concentration, the contaminant posed little or no harm on the seed viability but in higher level, germination is retarded (Jaja and Odoemena, 2004). In the presence of heavy metals at certain concentrations, the radical of Arabidopsis thaliana protruded from testa, but the embryo growth was arrested beyond the point (Li et al. 2005). Although the seed coat provides some protection from metal stress prior to germination, it will eventually 11 crack or become more permeable upon germination. The current literature suggests that seed germination is affected by metals in two ways. Firstly, by their general toxicity, and secondly are by their inhibition of water uptake (Kranner and C olville, 2011). The seed injury caused by organic mercurials to cereals was characterized by abnormal germination. The primary effect of mercury could possibly be on the embryo itself, and effects on the endosperm were of secondary importance (Patra and Sharma, 2000). . 3 Environmental effect Salinity reduced germination percentage and also delayed the germination rate as the salt level was increased. The germination rate, germination index and coefficient of velocity of germination of forage sorghums decreased under salinity treatments. The germination percentage was a maximum in distilled water, but decreased with increasing salinity (Siti Aishah et al. , 2010). The pH of soil plays a great role in the speciation and bio-availability of heavy metals thus; the maximum allowable con centrations in soil vary with soil (Luo et al. , 2011). The percentage germination was low at acidic as well as alkaline conditions in both the sets of scarified and unscarified Solanum nigrum seeds. It was observed that neutral pH plays in an important role in increasing germination (Suthar et al. , 2009). 12 Erica australis had increased seed germination in response to factors related to passage of fire and low pH (Vera et al. , 2010). Caperonia palustris seed germination was less than 32% at pH 4 and 10. High seed germination over a broad pH range indicated that pH may not be a limiting factor for germination in most soils (Koger et al. , 2004). The addition of lime caused a significant increase in soil pH providing an alkaline buffering capacity against heavy metal availability for the acid loamy soil while without liming the acidic soil may cause a lowering of the alkalinity of sludge resulting in a higher availability of heavy metals (Wong et al. , 2001). 13 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 3. 1 Location of the study This study was conducted at Laboratory A603, Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Selangor. 3. 2 Test material Capsicum annuum fully ripe fruits were purchased from local market and a total of 600 seeds were extracted from the fruits. The seeds were cleaned with running tap water, pat dried with paper towel and air dried for two days prior to experimentation. 3. 3 Experiment procedure 3. 3. 1 Sterilization of seed Seeds were rinsed with 10% Chlorox followed by 3 times rinsing with distilled water. 3. 3. 2 Treatment Seeds were germinated in enclosed Petri dishes on paper towel containing HgCl2 solutions at 0, 25, 50, 75, 100 mg/l respectively. The paper towel was moistened with 2 ml of the respective HgCl 2 solution before the seeds were placed on the paper towel for germination test. The paper towel was applied with 2 ml of the 14 espective mercury solution at alternate days unless the paper towel was still found moist with the previous application of solution. 3. 4 Data collection The germination/emergence of the seedling (radical and plumule) was recorded for a period of 10 days. Then, the length of the radical (primary root) and plumule (primary shoot) was measured at two days after germination. The other abnor mal morphology, growth and development of seedlings were also recorded. 3. 5 Experimental design The experiment was based on completely randomized design (CRD) as it is the most commonly used design for laboratory research. This experiment was arranged in a CRD as a single factor experiment with 5 replicates. There were 20 seeds in each replicate. 3. 6 Statistical analysis Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out and treatment means were compared using Tukey’s Simultaneous Test. Germination percentage was transformed to arc-sine value before ANOVA. 3. 7 Work schedule This study was conducted starting from January 2011 until July 2011 (Table 3. 1). It involved extraction and cleaning of seeds, air drying of seeds, sterilization procedure, and treatment with HgCl2, data collection and data 15 analysis. At the end of this study, project report was presented orally and the written final report was submitted. Table 3. 1: Work schedule for the study on germination and growth of C. annuum after application of HgCl2 at various concentrations Weeks activities 2 Collection of material / / 8 10 / 12 14 / / / Data collection 6 / Treatment 4 Data analysis Oral presentation / Submission of report / 16 CHAPTER 4 RESULTS Figure 4. 1 indicates the germination of C. annuum seeds treated with varying concentrations of HgCl2. Capsicum annuum seed germination was significantly affected by treatment with HgCl2 up to 100 mg/l (Figures 4. and 4. 2; Table 4. 1; Appendices A and B). Seeds treated ? 50 mg/l HgCl 2 showed significantly lower germination percentage and germination index as compared to the control seeds treated with distilled water and those treated with lower HgCl 2 at 25 mg/l. This trend was visible from 4 days after germination onwards until end of the study period of 10 days. Figure 4. 1: Germination of C. annuum seeds after treatment with HgCl2 17 Figure 4. 2: Seed germination at the 10th day with HgCl2 treatment at 25mg/l Table 4. 1: Germination and growth of C. annuum after treatment withHgCl2 HgCl2 mg/l) Germination % Germination index Length of radical (cm) Length of plumule (cm) 0 100 ±0 a 5. 41 ±0. 84 a 1. 75 ±0. 11 a 0. 77 ±0. 07 a 25 95 ±6. 12 a 5. 38 ±0. 59 a 1. 23 ±0. 07 b 0. 70 ±0. 06 ab 50 56 ±9. 62 b 3. 08 ±0. 73 b 0. 95 ±0. 08 c 0. 58 ±0. 11 b 75 49 ±6. 52 b 3. 16 ±0. 66 b 0. 61 ±0. 02 d 0. 36 ±0. 01 c 100 28 ±9. 08 c 1. 90 ±0. 54 b 0. 47 ±0. 02 e 0. 33 ±0. 11 c Means with the same letter within the same column are not significantly different at 5% level of significance All HgCl2 treatments ranging from 25 – 100 mg/l as studied resulted in significant inhibition of radical growth (Table 4. ; Appendi ces B and C). Growth inhibition of 18 radical increased significantly and simultaneously with increasing Hg Cl 2 concentration indicating that radical was very sensitive to this heavy metal. Based on Table 4. 1, plumule growth of C. annuum seeds was also affected significantly by the HgCl2 treatment (Appendices B and D). Plumule growth was less sensitive to this heavy metal; only those treated at higher rates of 75 and 100 mg/l showed significantly the greatest inhibition effects. Heavy metal of mercury was found to affect the germination and growth of C. nnuum seeds. Based on the results, mercury at 50 mg/l was found to retard seed germination in terms of germination percentage and germination index. This concentration of mercury also affected development of radical and plumule in terms of length of the organs. Toxicity caused by the under study heavy metal at concentration of 50 mg/l was presumed to result in obvious reduced seed germination and inhibition of growth of seedlings of C. annuum. 19 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION Seed germination and growth of C. annuum seedlings were affected with H gCl2 at 50 mg/l. Reduced seed germination and inhibition of seedling growth were recorded with this treatment and higher concentration of HgCl2. The seeds of this fruit vegetable can be concluded to be sensitive to mercury contamination. 20 CITED REFERENCES Anonymous. (2012a). Chili peppers nutrition facts. Retrieved 20 May 2012, from http://www. nutrition-and-you. com/chili-peppers. html Anonymous. (2012b). PLANTS Profile Capsicum annuum L. var. annuum cayenne pepper Retrieved 20 May 2012, from http://plants. usda. gov/java/profile? symbol=CAAN4 Anonymous. (2011a). Seed technology. Retrieved 21 September 2011, from http://ifs. nic. in/rt/main/courses/seed_tech. pdf Belletti, P. , Marzachi, C. Lanteri, S. (1998). Flow cytometric measurement of nuclear DNA content in Capsicum (Solanaceae). Plant Systematic and Evolution 209: 85-91. Boening, D. W. (2000). Ecological effects, transport, and fate of mercury: a general review. Chemosphere 40:1335-1351. Butterfield, H. M. , (1967). Seed germination. California Horticultural Society Journal 28(2):1-9. Retrived 20 May 2012 from http://www. calhortsociety. org/ Bulletins/journal-articles/seed-germination. html Chayed, N. F. (2009). Determination of Heavy Metal Uptake by Acacia magnium Grown in Ex-mining Area in Kg Gajah, Perak. Universiti Teknologi MARA. Csillery G. (2006) Pepper taxonomy and the botanical description of the species, Acta Argon Hung. 5: 151-166. El-Temsah, Y. S. , Joner, E. J. (2010). Impact of Fe and Ag nanoparticles on seed germination and differences in bioavailability during exposure in aqueous suspension and soil. Environmental Toxicology DOI 10. 1002/tox. Ghavri, S. V. , Singh, R. P. (2010). Phytotranslocation of Fe by biodiesel plant Jatropha curcas L. grown on iron rich wasteland soil. Braz. J. Physiol. 22(4): 235243. Giller, K. E. , Witter, E. , McGrath, S. P. (1998). Toxicity of heavy metals to microorganisms and microbial processes in agricultural soils: A review. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 30(10/11): 1389-1414. Jaja, T, E. , Odoemena, C. S. I. (2004). Effect of Pb, Cu and Fe compounds on the germination and early seedling growth of tomato varieties. J. Appl. Sci. Environ. Mgt. 8(2): 51-53. 21 Koger, C. H. , Reddy, K. N. , Poston, D. H. (2004). Factors affecting seed germination, seedling emergence, and survival of texasweed (Caperonia palustris). Weed Science 52: 989-995. Kozanecka, T. , Chojnicki, J. , Kwasowski, W. (2002). Content of heavy metals in plant from pollution-free regions. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies 11(4): 395-399. Kranner, I. , Colville, L. (2011). Metals and seeds: Biochemical and molecular implications and their significance for seed germination. Environmental and Experinmental Botany. 72(1): 93-105 Li, W. , Khan, M. A. , Yamaguchi, S. Kamiya, Y. (2005). Effect of heavy metal on seed germination and early seedling growth of Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Growth Regulation 46: 45-50. Ling, T. , Fangke, Y. , Jun, R. (2010). Effect of mercury to seed germination, coleoptile growth and root elongation of four vegetable. Research Journal of Phytochemistry 4(4): 225-233. Longman (2006). Dictionary of Comtemporary English. Pearson Education Limited: 1950. Luo, C. , Liu, C. , Wang, Y. , Liu, X. , Li, F. , Zhang, G. , Li, X. (2011). Heavy metal contamination in soils and vegetables near an e-waste processing site, south China. Journal of Hazardous Materials 186(1): 481-490. Mami, Y. , Ahmadi, G. , Shahmoradi, M. , Gorbani, H. R. (2011). Influence of different concentration of heavy metals on the seed germination and growth of tomato. African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology 5(6): 420-426. McDonald, M. B. 2011). Physiology of Seed Germination. Retrieved 23 November 2011, from http://seedbiology. osu. edu/HCS631_files/4A%20Seed%20germination. pdf Morel, F. M. , Kraepiel, A. M. , Amyot, M. , (1998). The chemical cycle and accumulation of mercury. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 29: 54-566. Nriagu, J. O. (1989). A global assessment of natural sources of atmospheric trace metals. Na ture 338: 47-49. Patra, M. , Sharma, A. (2000). Mercury toxicity in plant. The Botanical Review 66(3): 379-422. Peralta, J. R. , Gardea-Torresdey, J. L. , Tiemann, K. J. , Gomez, E. , Arteaga, S. , Rascon, E. Parsons, J. G. (2000). Study of the effect of heavy metal on seed germination and plant growth on alfalfa plant (Medicago sativa) grown in solid media. Proceeding of the 2000 Conference on Harzardous Waste Research: 135-140. 22 Ravishankar, G. A. , Suresh, B. , Giridhar, P. , Rao, S. R. and Johnson, T. S. (2003). Biotechnological studies on Capsicum for metabolite production and plant improvement. In: Amit Krishna, D. E. , (ed. ). Capsicum: The genus Capsicum. Harwood Academic Publishers, UK,: 96-128. Reichman, S. M. (2002). The Responses of Plants to Metal Toxicity: A review focusing on Copper, Manganese and Zinc. Australian Minerals Energy Environment Foundation, Victoria, Australia: 1-54. Rindels, S. (1996). Successful seed germination. Horticulture and Home Pest News IC-475(2), Iowa State University. Retrived from http://www. ipm. iastate. edu/ipm/ hortnews/1996/2-9-1996/seed. html Simone, A. H. , Simone, E. H. , Eitenmiller, R. R. , Mills, N. R. , Green, N. R. , (1997). Ascorbic acid and provitamin a contents in usually colored bell peppers (Capsicum annuum L. ). Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 10(4): 299-311. Siti Aishah, H. , Saberi, A. R. , Halim, R. A. , Zaharah, A. R. (2010). Salinity effects on germination of forage sorghums. Journal of Agronomy 9(4): 169-174. Suthar, A. C. , Naik, V. R. , Mulani, R. M. (2009). Seed and seed germination in Solanum nigrum Linn. American-Eurasian J. Agric. Environ. Sci. 5(2): 179-183. Thomine, S. , Wang, R. , Ward, J. M. , Crawford, N. M. , Schroeder, J. I. (2000). Cadmium and iron transport by members of a plant metal transporter family in Arabidopsis with homology to Nramp genes. PNAS 99(9): 4991-4996. Vera, D. T. , Martin, R. P. , Oliva, S. R. (2010). Effect of chemical and physical treatment on seed germination of Erica australis. Ann. Bot. Fennici 47: 353-360. Wong, J. W. C. , Lai, K. M. D. , Su. S. Fang, M. (2001). Availability of heavy metals for Brassica chinensis grown in an acidic loamy soil amended with domestic and industrial sewage sludge. Water, Air and Soil Pollution 128:339-353. Yilmaz, D. D. , Aksoy, A. (2007). Physiological effects of different environmental conditions on the seed germination of Rumex scutatus L. (Polygonaceae). Erciyes Universitesi Fen Bilimleri Dergisi 23(1-2): 24-29. 23 APPENDIX A Germination of C. annuum seeds HgCl2 (mg/l) 0 25 50 75 100 Replicate 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 2 2 3 7 5 8 6 7 4 5 7 5 2 3 3 2 6 3 4 5 2 3 3 2 2 1 24 4 7 8 5 9 6 6 6 5 5 4 2 6 4 3 1 2 3 5 3 2 4 4 1 4 Period (days) 6 5 6 4 4 4 4 4 6 6 3 3 5 2 3 1 1 5 1 1 2 8 4 2 3 1 1 3 2 2 2 5 3 2 10 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 APPENDIX B ANOVA Sum of Squares df Mean Square germination Between Groups Within Groups G. I Length of radical Length of plumule Total Between Groups Within Groups Total Between Groups Within Groups Total Between Groups Within G roups Total 12408. 834 4 3102. 208 707. 247 20 F Sig. 35. 362 13116. 081 48. 100 9. 246 57. 346 5. 203 .091 5. 294 .758 .130 .888 25 24 4 20 24 4 20 24 4 20 24 12. 025 .462 87. 726 . 000 26. 011 . 000 1. 301 286. 374 . 000 .005 .190 .007 29. 159 . 00 Multiple Comparisons Tukey HSD Dependent Variable (I) treatment (J) treatment germination 0 25 50 75 100 25 0 50 75 100 50 0 25 75 100 75 0 25 50 100 100 0 25 50 75 95% Confidence Interval Mean Difference (I-J) Std. Error Sig. 9. 72566 3. 76098 . 111 Lower Bound Upper Bound -1. 5286 20. 9799 3. 76098 . 000 30. 2341 52. 7426 3. 76098 . 000 34. 3137 56. 8222 3. 76098 . 000 47. 0576 69. 5661 -9. 72566 3. 76098 . 111 -20. 9799 1. 5286 41. 48839 * 45. 56795 * 58. 31190 * 31. 76273 * 3. 76098 . 000 20. 5085 43. 0170 35. 84229 * 3. 76098 . 000 24. 5880 47. 0965 48. 58623 * 3. 76098 . 000 37. 3320 59. 8405 -41. 48839 * . 76098 . 000 -52. 7426 -30. 2341 -31. 76273 * 3. 76098 . 000 -43. 0170 -20. 5085 4. 07956 3. 76098 . 812 -7. 1747 15. 3338 16. 82351 * 3. 76098 . 002 5. 5693 28. 0778 -45. 56795 * 3. 76098 . 000 -56. 8222 -34. 3137 -35. 84229 * 3. 76098 . 000 -47. 0965 -24. 5880 -4. 07956 3. 76098 . 812 -15. 3338 7. 1747 12. 74395 * 3. 76098 . 022 1. 4897 23. 9982 -58. 31190 * 3. 76098 . 000 -69. 5661 -47. 0576 -48. 58623 * 3. 76098 . 000 -59. 8405 -37. 3320 -16. 82351 * 3. 76098 . 002 -28. 0778 -5. 5693 -12. 74395 * 3. 76098 . 022 -23. 9982 -1. 4897 26 Multiple Comparisons Tukey HSD 95% Confidence Interval Mean Difference (I-J) Dependent Variable (I) treatment (J) treatment G. I 0 25 .03500 .43003 1. 000 -1. 2518 1. 3218 50 2. 33000 * .43003 . 000 1. 0432 3. 6168 2. 25333 * .43003 . 000 .9665 3. 5401 3. 51167 * .43003 . 000 2. 2249 4. 7985 0 -. 03500 .43003 1. 000 -1. 3218 1. 2518 50 2. 29500* .43003 . 000 1. 0082 3. 5818 75 2. 21833 * .43003 . 000 .9315 3. 5051 3. 47667 * .43003 . 000 2. 1899 4. 7635 -2. 33000 * .43003 . 000 -3. 6168 -1. 0432 -2. 29500 * .43003 . 000 -3. 5818 -1. 0082 75 -. 07667 .43003 1. 000 -1. 3635 1. 2101 100 1. 18167 .43003 . 082 -. 1051 2. 4685 0 -2. 25333 * .43003 . 000 -3. 5401 -. 9665 25 -2. 21833* .43003 . 000 How to cite Mercury Effect on Seed Germination, Papers

Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility Management

Question: Discuss about the Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility Management. Answer: Introduction This paper critically evaluates the topic the role of the leader in the practice of good governance and social responsibility in a publicly or privately held company. For this paper, Westpac Banking Corporation is selected to explain the concepts of organizational CSR commitment and organizational ethical decision making. Westpac Banking Corporation that is also known as Westpac (an Australian bank and financial-services provider) more commonly applies the CSR and ethical strategy to maintain its reputation and goodwill in the markets of Australia, New Zealand and the near Pacific. Westpac Group has been awarded as Socially Responsible Bank of the Year 2015 by Money Consumer Finance Award. The company recognizes the bank's social and environmental leadership effectively (Westpac Banking Corporation. 2017). Concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the responsibility of an organisation for the society, people and environment that fulfill by it to behave transparent, legal and ethical. The main concept of the CSR is that the organization is responsible for not only their investors or stakeholders but also responsible for people, society, and environment; so it integrated social, environmental and ethical concerns within organizational business process. The concept of CSR explains that organizations must contribute into sustainable development by focusing on health and welfare of society (Carroll and Shabana, 2010). According to the CSR, the organizations must consider the interest of all stakeholders and focus on fulfillment of the expectations of stakeholders including, employees, customers, suppliers, dealers, investors or shareholders, local communities, government, and the environment. Moreover, after the globalization of the market, the CSR concept has been converted in compliance with applicable business laws, ethics and international norms of behavior. In the twentieth century, the concept of the CSR has been developed as a global governance mechanism by the global trans-national institutions such as the United Nations (UN), The World Bank, Trade Organization (WTO), The World Bank, the International Labour Organization, and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). These global trans-national institutions and arrangements have developed the concept of CSR with respect to human rights and economic development (ACCSR Environment Policy, 2016). In the same manner, the business leaders are mainly responsible in setting and shaping CSR as they considered the interest of all stakeholders while taking the business decisions. Business leaders must follow the laws, ethics and international business norms in the practice of good governance and social responsibility in a publicly or privately held company. Business leaders are responsible for business failures similar as they also responsible for CSR issues and unethical issues (McWilliams, Siegel and Wright, 2006). Along with this, business leaders and management are responsible to understand the concepts of CSR and ethics (morals and values) as a response to business social responsibility and obligation to the community. Concept of CSR, Ethics, Morals and Values The concept of ethics means the corporation or person must behave right and follow morals or values to promote the good of everybody in the society or community. The concept of ethics is different with the concept of CSR because of ethics talks about the values and morals of a person/organization, while CSR is a practice that involves a small part of each of these ethical areas. CSR concept means corporations have responsibilities to a variety of other stakeholder, while the concept of ethics indicates corporations have moral responsibilities to follow laws and ethics to prevent the people and environment. The CSR concept means corporation focus on profit with social responsibility for people and environment, while ethics means corporations follow laws and regulations to perform business activities to make a positive move or provide benefits to society (Carroll and Shabana, 2010). In addition, ethics is related to a society, CSR related to people and environment and morality values are related to an individual person. Ethics and CSR are related more to a professional life and business or corporation while morals or values are related to individual as what beliefs and principles individuals follow independently. Strategic Implications of Adopting Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics The CSR and business ethics are an integral element of a firms business, so that strategic implication of adaptation of CSR and ethics is essential for any kind of firm at the present times. In recent times, many MNCs are adopting the CSR and business ethics as the strategic implications to create their image and reputation in the minds of people. The main reason behind it is that it gives message to people that organization behaves ethically and prevents the people and environment. For instance, Westpac publishes its annual reports on social responsibility that describe its CSR strategies or activities that the company uses to reduce the pollution, save energy, and save the people or environment through focusing on the reduction of emission of carbon. The major strategic implication of adopting CSR and business ethics of Westpac is to investment in CSR in order to develop reputation in the marketplace (Ramasastry, 2015). As CSR and ethics strategic implication, Westpac is able to at tend the interests of a wider set of stakeholders that enhance its intangible assets such as: relationships, goodwill, reputation, image, trust, brand value and opportunities for innovation. On the other hand, most of the MNCs are adopting CSR and business ethics as a strategy of achieving the competitive advantages in the market. Westpac adopts CSR and ethics as strategic implications for considering the interest of all stakeholders to provide benefits to them through the business processes or operations. Profit earning is not the only aim of the Westpac, but it focuses on contribution into the society and environment as well as improves people living way through strategic CSR and business ethics (McWilliams, Siegel and Wright, 2006). Moreover, after the globalization, in more competitive global markets, the organizations like Westpac gains a competitive advantage by providing benefits to the public all the way through strategic adaptation of CSR and business ethics. Ethical Business Dilemmas and Their Overcome In recent times, employees face several types of ethical dilemmas and some of them on a regular basis. For case, discrimination at workplace, unfair wages, taking credit for others, side deal or gross negligence, financial fraud, misleading financial statement, etc. are the major examples of ethical business dilemmas. Employee differentiation on the base of gender, culture, tradition, religion, norms, citizenship, etc, is the unethical behavior of the leaders. Harassing behavior such as mentally, sexually or physical harassment is also example of ethical dilemma that impacts other employees self-esteem as well as performance. In recent times, ethical dilemma related to financial fraud and misleading financial statement related has become a major subject of concern to the organizations (Valentine and Fleischman, 2008). Along with this, business organizations adopt and implement CSR and business ethics to overcome ethical dilemmas related to harassment, discrimination, financial fraud, misleading financial statement and so on effectively. Westpac also adopts CSR and ethics in the workplace to bind the leaders, managers and employees behave ethically with others in the organization. Westpac implements the code of ethics in the organization to overcome the ethical dilemmas in an effective and an appropriate way. Leader Role in Setting and Influencing Corporate Responsibility in Organization Business leaders or managers of Westpac play a major role in strategic implications of corporate social responsibility and business ethics. Business leaders or managers of Westpac reform their business frameworks, rules, and models to consider the interests of stakeholders and follow laws while taking business decisions or making business policy, plan or strategy (Michelon, Boesso and Kumar, 2013). Along with this, Leader or manager sets and influences CSR in Westpac by aligning employee goals with Westpacs CSR goals. Managers or leaders maintain the regular communication with its employees about their individual goals with Westpacs CSR goals during staff meetings, week or monthly meetings by phone, emails, social media, etc. Moreover, Leaders set and influence CSR in workplace by setting an example of role model for its employees; so they can behave ethically and responsibility. Leaders are also adopting CSR and business ethics through setting or implementing code of ethics for empl oyees in Westpac. Leaders recognize and reward to employee for their contributions to Westpacs CSR activities (Ruggie, 2014). Conclusion On the premises of above report, it can be concluded that CSR and business ethics has become essential business aspect for Westpac to maintain its brand name and image in the market. Moreover, leaders or managers of Westpac play major roles in the practice of good governance and social responsibility through aligning employee goals with CSR goals of Westpac. References ACCSR Environment Policy. (2016). What is CSR? [Online]. Available At: https://accsr.com.au/what-is-csr/ [Accessed On: 09th January 2017] Carroll, A. B. and Shabana, K. M. (2010). The business case for corporate social responsibility: A review of concepts, research and practice. International journal of management reviews, 12(1), pp. 85-105. McWilliams, A., Siegel, D. S. and Wright, P. M. (2006). Corporate social responsibility: Strategic implications. Journal of management studies, 43(1), pp. 1-18. Michelon, G., Boesso, G. and Kumar, K. (2013). Examining the link between strategic corporate social responsibility and company performance: An analysis of the best corporate citizens. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 20(2), pp. 81-94. Ramasastry, A. (2015). Corporate Social Responsibility Versus Business and Human Rights: Bridging the Gap Between Responsibility and Accountability. Journal of Human Rights, 14(2), pp. 237-259. Ruggie, J. G. (2014). Global Governance and New Governance Theory: Lessons from Business and Human Rights. Global Governance, 20(1), pp. 5-17. Valentine, S. and Fleischman, G. (2008). Ethics programs, perceived corporate social responsibility and job satisfaction. Journal of business ethics, 77(2), pp. 159-172. Westpac Banking Corporation. (2017). Westpac named Socially Responsible Bank for third year running. [Online]. Available At: https://www.westpac.com.au/about-westpac/westpac-group/company-overview/our-strategy-vision/ [Accessed On: 09th January 2017]

Women Empowerment Through Education free essay sample

The year 2020 is fast approaching is Just 13 year away . This can became reality only when the women of this nation became empowerment . India presently account for the largest number no of illiterates in the world . Literacy rate in India have risen sharply from 18. 3% in 1951 to 64. 8% in 2001 in which enrolment of women in education have also risen sharply 7% to 54. 16% . Despite the importance of women education unfortunately only 39% of women are literate among the 64% of the man. Within the framework of a democratic polity , our laws , development policies , plan nd programmes have aimed at womens advancement in difference spheres. From the fifth five year plan(1974-78) onwards has been a marked shift in the approach to womens issues from welfare to development . In recent years ,the empowerment of women has been recognized as the central issue in determining the status of women . We will write a custom essay sample on Women Empowerment Through Education or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The National Commission of Women was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1990 to safeguard the right and legal entitlements of women . The 73rd and 74th Amendments (1993) to the constitution of India have provided for reservation of seats in the local bodies of panchayats and Municipalities for women , laying a strong oundation for their participation in decision making at the local level . The purpose of this paper to focus on the women empowerment through education and this study based on secondary data . *Research Scholar , Depart of Economic

How to Write an MBA Essay

How to Write an MBA Essay Most graduate business programs require applicants to submit at least one MBA essay as part of the application process. Admissions committees use essays, along with other application components, to determine whether or not you are a good fit for their business school. A well-written MBA essay can increase your chances of acceptance and help you stand out among other applicants.Choosing an MBA Essay TopicIn most cases, you will be assigned a topic or instructed to answer a specific question. However, there are some schools that allow you to choose a topic or select from a short list of provided topics.If you are given the opportunity to choose your own MBA essay topic, you should make strategic choices that allow you to highlight your best qualities. This may include an essay that demonstrates your leadership ability, an essay that showcases your ability to overcome obstacles, or an essay that clearly defines your career goals.Chances are, you will be asked to submit multiple essays - usually two or three. You may also have the opportunity to submit an optional essay. Optional essays are usually guideline and topic free, which means you can write about anything you want. Find out when to use the optional essay.Whatever topic you choose, be sure to come up with stories that support the topic or answer a specific question. Your MBA essay should be focused and feature you as the central player.Common MBA Essay TopicsRemember, most business schools will provide you with a topic to write on. Although topics can vary from school to school, there are a few common topics/questions that can be found on many business school applications. They include: Why attend this business school?What are your career goals?What are your short-term and long-term goals?What will you do with your degree?How will a degree help you achieve your goals?Why do you want an MBA?What matters to you most and why?What are your strengths and weaknesses?What is your biggest accomplishment?What is your biggest regret?How have you failed in the past?How do you respond to adversity?What challenges have you overcome?Who do you admire most and why?Who are you?How will you contribute to this program?Why do you have leadership potential?How do you explain weaknesses in your academic record? Answer the QuestionOne of the biggest mistakes that MBA applicants make is not answering the question they are asked. If you are asked about your professional goals, then professional goals - not personal goals - should be the focus of the essay. If you are asked about your failures, you should discuss mistakes you have made and lessons you have learned - not accomplishments or success.Stick to the topic and avoid beating around the bush. Your essay should be direct and pointed from start to finish. It should also focus on you. Remember, an MBA essay is meant to introduce you to the admissions committee. You should be the main character of the story. It is okay to describe admiring someone else, learning from someone else, or helping someone else, but these mentions should support the story of you - not cover it up.See another MBA essay mistake to avoid.Basic Essay TipsAs with any essay assignment, youll want to carefully follow any instructions you are given. Again, answer the quest ion assigned to you - keep it focused and concise. It is also important to pay attention to word counts. If you are asked for a 500-word essay, you should aim for 500 words, rather than 400 or 600. Make every word count.Your essay should also be readable and grammatically correct. The entire paper should be free of errors. Do not use special paper or a crazy font. Keep it simple and professional. Above all, give yourself enough time to write your MBA essays. You don’t want to have to slop through them and turn in something thats less than your best work simply because you had to meet a deadline.See a list of essay style tips.More Essay Writing Tips Take time to reflect on yourself, your goals, your accomplishments, your strengths, your weaknesses, etc. before you begin writing your essay.Research the school until you have a good understanding of the schools mission, culture, programs, and approach.Create an outline to organize your ideas before you start writing.Use anecdotes and personal stories to make your essay original.Dont be too academic - an MBA essay isnt a term paper. It is a marketing packet designed to introduce you.Be specific and detailed. Use examples. Support your statements.Keep it real. You want to impress, but honesty is key.Dont be afraid to be creative. If youre asked where you see yourself five years from now, you can avoid the standard answer and write a diary entry for that day in the future or pretend that youre telling your children about your first job after grad school.Make your essay interesting. Some admissions reps read more than 1,000 essays answering the same question. Hook them with the intro a nd keep them interested throughout to make your essay stand out among everyone elses. Remember that the #1 rule when writing an MBA essay is to answer the question/stay on topic. When you have finished your essay, ask at least two people to proofread it and guess the topic or question you were trying to answer. If they do not guess correctly, you should revisit the essay and adjust the focus until your proofreaders can easily tell what the essay is supposed to be about.

March Madness Bracket Statistics

March Madness Bracket Statistics Every March in the U.S. marks the beginning of the Men’s NCAA Division I basketball tournament. Dubbed March Madness, the modern version of the first round of the tournament consists of 64 teams in a single elimination bracket  format. Office pools and Internet contests challenge fans to correctly guess the outcomes of all 63 games in the tournament. This is no small undertaking. In the first round of the tournament alone there are 232 4,294,967,296 possible brackets that could result. Statistics and probability can be used to knock this number of over four trillion down to a somewhat more manageable size. Each team is assigned a ranking or seed from #1 to #16 based upon a number of criteria. The first round of the tournament always follows the same format, featuring four games each of the following types: #1 seed vs. #16 seed#2 seed vs. #15 seed#3 seed vs. #14 seed#4 seed vs. #13 seed#5 seed vs. #12 seed#6 seed vs. #11 seed#7 seed vs. #10 seed#8 seed vs. #9 seed Making Predictions Predicting the winner of each game is a complicated process that involves comparing several different variables from each team. To simplify matters, results from previous tournaments can be helpful to make predictions for the current year’s tournament bracket. The tournament has had the same 64-team structure since 1985, so there is a wealth of data to analyze. A prediction strategy using this idea looks at all instances where a #1 seed played a #16 seed. The results from these prior outcomes give a probability that can be used to make a prediction in the present tournament. Historical Results Such a strategy of picking the winner based on previous seed results is limited. However, there are some interesting patterns that start to emerge when examining the results from the first round of the tournament. For example, a #1 seed has never lost against a #16 seed. Despite a higher ranking, #8 seeds lose more often than not against #9 seeds. The following percentages are based on 27 years of March Madness with four of the same types of matchups in each tournament. #1 seed vs. #16 seed – The #1 seed has won 100% of the time against the #16 seed.#2 seed vs. #15 seed – The #2 seed has won 96% of the time against the #15 seed.#3 seed vs. #14 seed – The #3 seed has won 85% of the time against the #14 seed.#4 seed vs. #13 seed – The #4 seed has won 79% of the time against the #13 seed.#5 seed vs. #12 seed – The #5 seed has won 67% of the time against the #12 seed.#6 seed vs. #11 seed – The #6 seed has won 67% of the time against the #11 seed.#7 seed vs. #10 seed – The #7 seed has won 60% of the time against the #10 seed.#8 seed vs. #9 seed – The #8 seed has won 47% of the time against the #9 seed. Other Statistics In addition to the above, there are other interesting facts pertaining to the NCAA tournament. Since the 1985 tournament: Only once (4% of the time) has all four #1 seeds made it to the Final Four.Three times (12% of the time) no #1 seeds have made it to the Final Four.14 times (52% of the time) a #1 seed has won the entire tournament.The lowest seed to win the tournament is a #8 seed.The lowest seed to make it to the Final Four is a #11 seed. Use the above statistics at your own discretion. As the saying goes, Past performance is not an indicator of future success. You never know when a #16 team will score an upset.

DISCUSSION QUESTION RESPONSE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

DISCUSSION QUESTION RESPONSE - Essay Example The overdependence on electronic technology makes formal writing an aged proposition. The other good point from your response is the influence on the writing process. I agree with your point that the use of electronics greatly influences the critical th8inking process. For example, I would support your argument by adding that the role of search engines destroys the creative process. This means that students depend too much on the Internet that they miss the essentials of creativity. Academic writing requires that an individual get information through the learning process, meaning that an individual should not rely on information from the Internet and such sources. Despite the heavy criticism of electronic tools and their influence on formal writing, I agree with your point that these tools offer a great source of information. Despite the use of the Internet to spoil reading, its advantage in the availing of information cannot be denied. Therefore, I agree that electronic tools are also good for formal writing, even though the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages. I take a middle stand in this question, so I would like to ask for your absolute opinion, do you think electronic tools are good or bad for formal

The Triple Constraints Model of Project Management Essay - 1

The Triple Constraints Model of Project Management - Essay Example As outline above the fist dimension is that of the project itself which he defines as â€Å"an endeavour†¦designed to produce some novel, unitary objective from which we expect to derive new benefits† (p. 5).   The key is to understand what needs to be accomplished (the plan) and the amount of time to accomplish it while still ensuring quality.   Flexibility, innovation, cooperation and a sense of urgency are important characteristics.  Ã‚   Turner (1991) stresses that the project manager must focus on the results, what it is the project is to accomplish.   Focusing on anything less increases the opportunity for failure or deviation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ensure that all work done delivers essential project objectives† (Turner, 1991: 7).   To accomplish this five essential functions are involved: â€Å"scope of the work, the organization (the people who do the work), quality, cost and duration† (Turner, 1991: 7).   The last three he stresses, although impor tant, are merely constraints; without the project or people there would be no project.     The second dimension of this theory is the management process, which takes the vision or dream and makes it the reality, the outcome.   This encompasses a four part process for successful outcome, each important and overlapping requiring process definition that looks beyond department boundaries to a seamless flow requiring cooperation and multiple, simultaneous effort by teamwork.   These for stages begin with the proposed idea and beginning of the project move onto execution and process.

The Palestine Liberation Organization Essay Example for Free

The Palestine Liberation Organization Essay Palestine is a historic region in the Middle East comprising of Israel and the Israeli occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Palestine Liberation Organization, a political entity, had been attempting to establish a separate state for the Palestinian Arabs. In the year 1948, Israel was created in that region. This emergence of the Israeli state and subsequent wars between it and several Arab countries, served to displace a large number of Palestinians. In the year 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization or PLO was founded, in order to represent the demands of Palestinians for the creation of a separate state for them. At that point in time, Arab military forces were singularly unsuccessful in defeating Israel, in the Six Day War of 1967. Under those circumstances, the PLO emerged as an alternative power, and gained regional and international importance (Stein, 2007). A deep rooted hatred has existed between the PLO and Israel, and this lasted for several years. However, between 1993 and 1998, both the PLO and Israel entered into several agreements, which transferred all Palestinian towns and cities that were under the control of Israel to the Palestinian administration. Moreover, the Israelis transferred Arab dominant regions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to Palestine. In accordance with these agreements, the Palestinian National Authority or PNA was formed to govern these transferred Palestinian areas. In the year 1994 the PNA took complete control over the administrative and negotiating roles of the PLO, with respect to these newly transferred territories. As such, the PLO remained a protector of Palestinian interests in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It also represents Palestinian interests in international agreements and treaties. The PLO and Israel have continued to remain adversaries, despite diplomatic negotiations between them (Stein, 2007). The fundamental objective of the PLO was the destruction of Israel. In the year 1969, Yasser Arafat became the chairman of the PLO. In the year 1970, Jordan expelled the PLO from its territory, and the PLO relocated itself in Lebanon and established its base of operations there and started to attack Israel. It attacked Israel in 1978 and in 1982. In 1982, it withdrew from Beirut and moved to Tunisia. Yasser Arafat’s leadership of the PLO was challenged several times before, during and after the Intifada. However, he remained the supreme leader of PLO. In 1988, Arafat gave up terrorism and discontinued terrorist attacks against Israel. Subsequently, the PLO was recognized as the umbrella group that represented Palestinian interests and the Palestinian state. Arafat became the leader of the Palestine National Authority in 1996 (Palestine Liberation Organization, 2001). The PLO comprises of three important branches; and these are the fifteen member Executive Committee, which includes representatives from the fedayeen; the Central Committee comprising of sixty members; and the Palestine National Council, which has five hundred and ninety – nine members. The PLO has several departments and agencies, which provide military services, health services, information to the public, finance, social welfare, education, and other administrative services. After the creation of the Palestine National Authority in 1994, it has taken over the duties and responsibilities of the Palestinian people, in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (Stein, 2007). The PLO was formed, in order to fight against Israel and to compel it to withdraw from Palestine. However, it was unable to unite all the Palestinian groups at that time. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which was under the leadership of George Habash, remained an independent group, and Yasser Arafat of al-Fatah became the supreme leader of the PLO, which launched several terrorist operations against Israel. It killed eleven Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972. In the year 1982, Lebanon expelled PLO from its country. In Tunisia, in 1988, the PLO established a parliament in exile for the newly declared state of Palestine. In 1988, Arafat launched peace and diplomacy initiatives, as a prelude to negotiations with Israel. The United States supported the PLO in these efforts, and in 1993, Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin signed an agreement, after secret negotiations. Thereafter, the PLO relinquished terrorism and honored the right of Israel to exist as a separate state, subsequent to Israel’s withdrawal of its forces from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. In 1995, the Palestinians achieved independence and autonomy. The peace process suffered a setback, because the Hamas continued to attack Israel and the latter failed to withdraw its troops. In 1998, the PLO and Israel had signed a land – for – security pact. In 2000, US peace efforts ended in failure, and there was unending violence on both sides (Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), 2003). The PLO is composed of several groups, and each of these has its own founders and organizational framework. The leaders of some of these groups had challenged the leadership of Arafat. Some groups had been branded as rejectionist groups as they refused to recognize the September 13, 1993 PLO – Israel accord. They also opposed interim agreements entered into by the PLO and Israel. These rejectionist groups include the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine or PFLP, led by George Habash, which is a Marxist group. Subsequent to the 1993 Israel – Palestinian Declaration of Principles agreement, the PFLP withdrew from the PLO. Another organization was the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command or the PFLP-GC that had been founded by Ahmad Jibril. It was a Damascus based group, with a pro – Syrian faction, which withdrew from the PLO. Nayif Hawatmeh had founded the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine or DFLP, a partner of the PLO coalition. It was a Marxist organization that had joined the PLO in the year 1999. Moreover, the Palestine Liberation Front or PLF, led by Abu Abbas, continued in the PLO coalition (Katzman, 2002). The PFLP, the PFLP-GC, and the PLF were extremist groups that had indulged in terrorist acts against Israel, subsequent to the 1993 Declaration of Principles. These three extremist groups were termed the Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, DFLP, was categorized as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the State Department in its first FTO list published in 1997. However, at the behest of Arafat, and after it had accepted the peace with Israel; it was excluded from the list of FTO’s in 1999. Other coalition groups in the PLO that were not branded as FTOs included the As – Saiqa, the Arab Liberation Front, which was a pro – Iraq faction group, the Popular Struggle Front, the People’s Party, formerly known as the Palestinian Communist Party, and the Democratic Union that was known by its initials FIDA (Katzman, 2002). The timeline of important events in the history of the PLO – Israel relationship has been appended below: December 1968: On the 28th of December 1968, Israeli commandoes attacked the Beirut International Airport. In this operation, more than twelve airplanes were heavily damaged, while some of them were completely destroyed. This operation was launched in retaliation to the attacks on an Israeli civilian flight at the Athens airport in Greece. In this attack, two Palestinian nationals were charged with having attacked an airplane in Athens. This attack had resulted in the death of an Israeli passenger (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). November 1969:Â  Yasser Arafat and the Lebanese commander – in – chief, Emile Bustani, met in Cairo and ratified an agreement. Under the terms of that agreement Lebanon had to recognize the Palestinian revolution. That agreement allowed Palestinians and the Lebanese to jointly fight against Israel without compromising Lebanon’s welfare and sovereignty. Although the agreement was made for twenty years of joint struggle, Lebanon escinded it in 1987 (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). 1970-1971: Jordan expelled the PLO following a severe battle in their country, which had led to the death of thousands of people. Subsequently, the PLO shifted its base of operations to Lebanon and mounted attacks against Israel from Lebanon. An extremist Palestinian terrorist faction group, Black September, joined the PLO coalition. In September 1970, Jordan initiated a military crackdown on Palestinians (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). 1972: The terrorist group Black September attacked Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in Germany. In these attacks two Israelis were killed and nine Israeli athletes taken as hostages. The terrorists demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for these hostages. Israel refused to accept these conditions and a counter attack was mounted by the West German commandoes, during which four terrorists and one policeman were killed (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). April 1973: In a covert operation, the future Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, led a team of Israeli commandoes, in women’s attire and killed three prominent PLO leaders in Beirut (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). 975: There was fierce civil war in Lebanon between the Palestinians and pro – Palestinian Lebanese militant groups, and Lebanon’s Christian militant groups. They fought each other for fifteen years, until 1990, when the civil war ended officially (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). 1976: Syria deployed its peacekeeping forces in Lebanon to assist Lebanese authorities to end the war. The Syrian fo rces remained in Lebanon for thirty years, until April 2005 (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). March 1978:Â  The PLO attacked a bus in northern Israel, and in retaliation, the Israeli forces entered Lebanon and pushed the PLO forces far from the border. The UN Security Council ratified a resolution, which instructed Israel to immediately withdraw its forces from Lebanon. Accordingly Israel withdrew its forces, and Major General Saad Haddad established a security zone of twelve miles wide, all along the border. This security zone was meant to prevent Trans – border attacks on Israel (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). September 1978:Â  The US President Jimmy Carter was instrumental in bringing about the Camp David Accord. This Accord led to the establishment of a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. It also provided sufficient groundwork for a similar peace treaty between Israel, Lebanon and other neighboring Arab states (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). July 17, 1981: Israeli forces attacked the PLO headquarters in West Beirut, and this operation claimed more than three hundred civilian lives. The United States once again intervened and established a cease – fire agreement between Israel, the PLO and Syria. At that particular time, Syrian troops were deployed in Lebanon (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). 1982: Until the 6th of June 1982 a cease – fire was maintained. It was broken when Israel attacked Lebanon with a sixty thousand army. This was in retaliation to the killing of Israeli’s ambassador to Britain. However, Arafat and the leaders of the PLO escaped from Lebanon and settled in Tunisia. They remained there until 1994 and then moved on to Gaza (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). On 14th September, Bashir Gemayel, the Lebanese president – elect, was assassinated before his swearing in ceremony. He had the support of Israel, and subsequent to his assassination, Israeli troops entered West Beirut and engaged in what could be deemed to be genocide, in which more than eight hundred Palestinian refugees were mercilessly killed by the Lebanese Christian militant groups in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. The world community accused Israel for its failure to stop the genocide. During this period, a fundamentalist Shiite Muslim extremist group Hezbollah emerged in Beirut, the Bekka Valley and southern Lebanon. Hezbollah was sponsored by Iran, whose Revolutionary Guards had imparted adequate training and had provided weapons to the Hezbollah. Syria also, lent its support to the Hezbollah, whose fundamental aim was to establish a Shiite Islamic state in Lebanon. Moreover, it aimed to expel Israel and the US military from the region (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). April 18, 1983: Hezbollah launched a number of suicide bombers against the US embassy in West Beirut. In this operation nearly sixty – three people were killed. This attack served as a portent regarding the future attacks against Western nations (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). May 17, 1983: The US achieved an agreement between Lebanon and Israel, and both these nations ratified the agreement, which sought the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon under a conditional withdrawal of Syrian forces. However, Syria refused to accept this agreement (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). October 23, 1983:Â  A suicide bomber from the Hezbollah penetrated into the headquarters of the US Marine and French forces in Beirut and detonated the bomb on his person. This bombing resulted in the death of two hundred and ninety – eight people. Of these, two hundred and forty – one were US Marines and other military staff. Following this attack, the US withdrew its forces from Lebanon (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). January 18, 1984: Malcolm Kerr, President of the American University of Beirut was assassinated (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). March 1984: Lebanon rescinded the May 17, 1983 peace accord, consequent to increasing pressure from Syria (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). September 20, 1984: The US embassy annex in East Beirut was heavily bombarded, resulting in the death of twenty – three people in the attack (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). June 1985: Israel withdrew its troops from Lebanon, all the same it controlled the twelve mile wide security zone along the southern border until May 2000 (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). 1990: The fifteen year civil war in Lebanon was officially ended (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). July 1993: Israel attacked southern Lebanon for a week, with a view to end the attacks waged by the Hezbollah on several towns in Israel (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). April 1996: There was fierce fighting between Israel and Hezbollah for sixteen days. In this battle, nearly one hundred and thirty – seven people were killed. Most of the casualties were Lebanese civilians (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). May 2000:Â  Israel withdrew its troops from southern Lebanon and the United Nations declared the Blue Line to be the actual border between these two nations (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). September 2003: Israel warplanes bombarded southern Lebanon, in retaliation to the launching of antiaircraft missiles by the Hezbollah against Israeli airplanes flying over that region (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). October 2003: Israel and Lebanon exchanged gunfire in the Shebaa Farms, which was a disputed area (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). February 14, 2005: Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese Prime Minister was assassinated by militants, which pressurized Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon. In April, Syria withdrew all its troops from Lebanon (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). July 2006: Militants belonging to Hezbollah entered Israel and killed three Israeli soldiers. They abducted two soldiers and demanded an exchange of prisoners. Israel refused to accept their offer. Subsequently, five more Israeli soldiers were killed in an ambush. The response of Israel was a blitzkrieg, and Israel blockaded naval routes and heavily bombarded hundreds of Lebanese targets. It also bombed Beirut’s airport and the headquarters of Hezbollah in southern Beirut. In response to these Israeli attacks, Hezbollah launched attacks using rockets on northern Israeli cities. This battle resulted in the demise of hundreds of Lebanese civilians. Subsequently, Israel conducted a two week military campaign in Gaza in retaliation to the abduction of its soldiers (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006).

Why Music is Important Essay -- essays papers

Why Music is Important Music education is important for several different reasons. Music is a very valuable resource for students and teachers alike. Research has shown that musical study improves a child's early cognitive development, basic math and reading abilities, SAT scores, ability to work in teams, as well as spatial reasoning skills (VH1, 2003, para4). Music helps students to achieve in areas of intelligence. â€Å"Feis, Revecz, the Pannenborgs, Miller, and others are unanimous in finding that musicality and high intelligence go together† (Mursell & Glenn, 1931, p. 20). Studies have shown that preschool children taught with music and songs have an average 10 to 20 points over those without, and by the age of 15 have higher reading and math skills. Another study showed that students that had taken a music appreciation class scored 46 points higher on the math portion of the SAT, and students who had music performance experiences scored 39 points higher than students without any music e xperience (Harvey, 1997, para13). Music impacts most other areas of learning. â€Å"The area holding the greatest prospects for transfer from music appears to be language arts.† (Hoffer, 1983, p. 46) It has been said that music helps concentration during reading. Music is an affective memory aide, because of its use of rhythm, rhyme and melody. Music for young children helps them to learn language because of the rhythms and patterns involved in learning the songs. The involvement of music in education can help to develop oral language skills, listening skills, and an increased vocabulary. Music can help the comprehension of language and basic facts (Dobbs, 1990, 341, 342). Students involved with music education have also been show... ... 10, 2004 from http://www.vh1.com/partners/save_the_music/ This is the website for the VH1 Save the Music Foundation, which is dedicated to restoring music programs in schools and raising awareness of the importance of music in education. AMC- American Music Conference. (2004). Music advocacy, supporting research, education and playing music. Retrieved November 19, 2004 from http://www.amc-music.com/ MENC- The National Association for Music Education (1991). Growing up complete: the imperative for music education: The report of the national commission on music education. Retrieved November 20, 2004 from http://www.menc.org/publication/ articles/academic/growing.htm Goldwyn-Kingon, Jacqueline. (2004, November 7). Beautiful Music. The New York Times. Shollenberger, Kyle. (2004, November 28). A Richer Life Trough Music. Philadelphia Inquirer.

BP Crisis Communication

A crisis was exactly what British Petroleum (referred to as ‘BP throughout the paper) went through in 2010. It was particularly important to communicate the right way taking all considerations into account. We were wondering how the specific crisis went so wrong and if the use of specific communication strategy was beneficial or not. Hence, the communication strategies used to overcome the crisis can be used by many other companies in the future as guidelines of how to do and, maybe more important, how not to.Also, the intervention from the American government, the pressure from the local community and how the media was used, is extremely important in the BP case. This paper intends to show how BP communicated and reacted throughout the crisis. It will discuss the challenges BP had and it will especially focus on how BP actually reacted to the crisis and how they perhaps should have reacted differently, including the use of communication theories. Finally, the paper will outlin e the consequences of the crisis on both organization and communication strategy.On April 20, 2010, the Departed Horizon oil-drilling rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in the deaths of 11 rig workers, but public attention quickly shifted from their deaths to the following environmental and economic damages – the incident was described as the worst maritime oil spill accident in history, as the accident released over 18 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Three months passed before BP substantially stopped the leak, all the while the crisis was evilly covered by all news media in the United States as well as internationally.As a result of this, the BP oil spill case serves an excellent example of analysis of BSP crisis communication. L The total cost of BP to indemnify the clean up of the environment and funds to affected workers has reached almost two billion dollars. 2 2 www. Guardian. Co. UK/business/2012/July/31 /BP-departed-horizon-costs Page 4 of 28 Incorporated in 1909 in England , BP has become one of the world's largest multinational companies operating in more than 80 countries 4, leading in oil and as industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution, extracting and producing renewable energy.The company provides their customers with energy for heating and lighting, fuel for transportation and energy for retail services and petrochemical products. BP employs approximately 80,000 employees, and sales and other operating revenues add up to $375,517 million in 20116 . Finally BP is also a conglomerate owning several brands such as: ORAL, ARC, Castro, amp and The Wild Bean Cafe ©. Having settled â€Å"BP and the Departed Horizon Crisis† as the case, which this paper ill centre around, the problem statement is as follows: To which extent has BP successfully communicated during the Departed Horizon Crisis?In order to examine the problem statement the paper will attempt to address the followi ng issues: I) Characterize how BP communicated during the crisis. It) Analyses the effects of BSP communicative strategies. Iii) Discuss and evaluate whether or not BP has been successful in dealing with the crisis seen from a communicative perspective. In this paper a broad spectrum of empirical data has been used. However, most of the empirical data has been found through articles in different newspapers – the use f different newspapers and their viewpoints has given us very diversified inputs throughout the paper.But this does not exclude a use of quantitative data which, amongst other things, have been used to illuminate the several attempts of BP to use CARS-strategies, and underline the immense loss of fiscal funds the crisis has caused. The rather specific choices of qualitative data have been used to shed light on the different views of the crisis – and the several statements pointing toward similar conclusions have helped to support the points made and clarify a rather eventful crisis.In addition, the conclusions deducted throughout the paper have been supported by theories worked with in classes and the additional http://www. BP. Com/liveliness/BP_internet/global/Stating/global_assets/ downloads/F/ OFF_2007_2011 _full_book. PDF 4 http://www. BP. Com/liveliness/BP_internet/global/Stating/global_assets/ downloads/l/BP_20-F_2009. PDF 5 http://www. BP. Com/Congregationalists. Do? Category=3&contentld=2006926 6 http://www. BP. Com/Congregationalists. Do? Category=3&contentld=2006926 page 5 of 28 theories which proved to be necessary or helpful.In the beginning of the work with he case study of BSP crisis response, a pretty sufficient understanding of the crisis as a whole was in place, we assumed, but as the paper progressed and different theories were applied our understanding of BP and the relationship to their stakeholders grew. The quantitative data used also comes from BSP own publications as well as articles from different internationa l online newspapers. Of course, the reader must have in mind that BSP own figures, occasionally, might have been used to strengthen their image and not only inform the reader.When examining and analyzing the Deep Water Horizon oil spill crisis, this paper is et out to delimit the case by answering our initial problem statement. To narrow our focus down to the relevant aspects in the case we have decided to delimit our analysis to the main stakeholders, including: (I) the American government; (it) the local society; and (iii) the media. This has been done not only due to the formal constraints of the paper, but also in order to go into depth with these stakeholders, who we reckon to be, of major importance to this crisis within the given delimitation's of this paper.In order to answer this paper we find it necessary to make a common definition of a crisis. Extensive studies have been carried out on crisis communications over the past two decades. A brief review of literature on this subject reveals that there are several definitions of organizational crisis, depending on theorists' different viewpoints on what constitutes a crisis. Herman claimed that to reach the level of a crisis, the event must contain three negative attributes: surprise, threat, and short response time.Surprise means that the organization did not prepare for the magnitude of the crisis. Threat means that the event poses a threat to the organization's financial security, customers, surrounding environment etc. Short response time refers to the urgent need of preventive action in order to stop an intensification of the crisis. 7 For the purpose of this paper the following deduction of a definition off crisis is found useful: Hermann, C. F. , 1963. Some consequences of crisis which limit the viability of organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 8, p. 61-82. Page 6 of 28 W.Timothy Combs utilizes the interconnectivity of these three attributes to make his definition of a crisis: â€Å"A crisis can be defined as an event that is an unpredictable, major threat that can have a negative effect on the organization, industry, or takeovers if handled improperly. â€Å"8 Furthermore, according to the very same book, organizations frequently find themselves in situations that can be identified as crisis. There are no exceptions; â€Å"We must accept that no organization is immune from a crisis anywhere in the world even if that organization is vigilant and actively seeks to prevent crises. † (Combs & Holiday, 2010: p. 7). This reality urges the need for preparation and readiness to respond – what is called crisis management. The major difference between handling an issue and an actual crisis is that an issue turns into crisis when it goes from the company domain into the public domain; a situation, which sometimes is inevitable no matter how competent the management is. 9 10 The term ‘a crisis within a crisis', or a so-called ‘double-crisis', as coined by Danish professors Finn Freedmen and Winning Johannes, refers to a situation where a company experiences a communication crisis that overshadows the initial crisis. 1 A crisis within a crisis naturally has negative implications for a company since it emphasizes weaknesses in the company's internal structure and/or interactions with stakeholders. The term is relevant to apply to this particular case because its give an accurate description of the consequences of BSP communicative strategy. The agenda setting theory distinguishes between two levels of agenda setting in the media. The first level deals with the significance of an organization where an organization receives more media attention then other related organizations.The second level relates to associations or topics that the public associates with a particular organization. 12 One of the important aspects when dealing with the media is the agenda, which stakeholders often associate to organizations. The agenda settin g theory is related to this assumption and therefore is significant to apply when analyzing BSP media relations. Combs, T. W. & Holiday, S. J. 2010. The Handbook of Crisis Communications. Wiley- Blackwell, p. 18. Benches, Claus. Guest Lecturer, Global Media Relations Manager at Damon.Gave a lecture on crisis communication on Tuesday the 20th of November. 10 Benches, Claus. Guest Lecturer, Global Media Relations Manager at Damon. Gave a lecture on crisis communication on Tuesday the 20th of November. From his PDF on Crisis Communication. 11 http://pure. AU. Dc/portal-cab-student/files/10106/ Crisis_communication_-_Not_Just_peanuts. PDF 12 Cornelius, Jeep. 2011. Corporate Communication – A Guide to Theory and Practice. Page 146. 9 page 7 of 28 An important element for an organization, according to protect its own reputation, is the communication with stakeholders.As a company might have many different stakeholders it is important to have a tool to categories them. Once the stak eholders are categorized the organization will be able to decide, how and how much it should communicate with this stakeholder. In general when describing stakeholders this paper is using Edward Freeman's definition of a stakeholder: A stakeholder is any group or individual who can affect or is affected but the achievement of the organization's purpose and objectives†. 3 In order to categories stakeholders this assignment will use the ‘Stakeholder salience model'. The superiority of this model is that while being extremely simple to use it is also extremely precise when in its finding of how much effort the organization should use when communicating with each category of stakeholder, and even more important; how the company should communicate with its various stakeholders.The model is based on â€Å"salience†, defined as the visibility of the stakeholder to the organization using three parameters; (a) the power of the stakeholder group, (b) the legitimacy of the c laim laid upon the organization, and (c) the urgency of how important the claim is according to the need of an immediate action. The purpose of the model is to define how salient a stakeholder group is. The model is based on seven different types of stakeholder groups; (1) Dormant stakeholders are the ones with dominant power and the ability to affect other groups of stakeholders.They are not able to legitimate their claims, and power will only be dormant but have an influence anyway. Mostly, this would be wealthy stakeholders. (2) Discretionary stakeholders are stakeholders with a high degree of legitimacy but without the necessary power to influence the organization. (3) Demand stakeholders are the ones with urgent claims but without power and the necessary legitimacy to enforce them. (4) Dominant stakeholders are the group of stakeholders representing both legitimacy and power.These are stakeholders having great influence on the organization, e. G. Owners and big investors. (5) D angerous stakeholders are people with both urgent and claims on power. In addition, these will often attempt to use unfair† means. (6) Dependent stakeholders are those who rely on others to get their claims carried out – mostly because of the lack of power. Finally, (7) Definitive stakeholders can be identified as the ones having both legitimacy and urgency as well as power. These are the most powerful stakeholders and it is strictly Cornelius, Jeep. 011. Corporate Communication – A Guide to Theory and Practice. Page 42. Page 8 of 28 necessary for the organization to keep close communication with these. Normally, it would be definitive stakeholders who can also be classified as the shareholders. Once the stakeholders are categorized, the firm can now decide on strategy of communication. When researching strategies of communication, this paper has used the basic framework of communicative strategy given to us in â€Å"Corporate Communication – A Guide to T heory and Practice†14 .The framework generally provides three different strategies. This framework is chosen because of its simplicity when it comes to numbers of strategies and complexity when it comes to ways of communicating within each strategy, hence the framework provide an extremely useful tool when analyzing and discussing what mind of communication BP has conducted, how it worked, why the strategy did not work and why it might have worked better: Informal strategy is a strategy of simple informing about something through; newsletters, press releases etc.This strategy is hence based on the idea that objective information about the organization should be passed on to the relevant stakeholders. Persuasive strategy uses tools such as advertising and meetings/discussions with stakeholders. The general aim of this strategy is to change the stakeholders' image into a more favorable one or to create particular understanding with the organization's decisions. The strategy will not create change in the organization, but rather aims to create change in the stakeholders' perception of the organization and its decisions.Dialogue strategy aims to create a mutual understanding and/or mutual decisions between stakeholders and the organization. Timothy Combs divides a crisis into four different types with two different aspects. The four types are; faux pas, terrorism, accidents and transgressions. In addition, a crisis in this matrix can be of either internal or external, and intentional or unintentional characteristics. 1 5