2014-2015 Mock trial Starter kit Essay Example for Free

2014-2015 Mock trial Starter kit Essay Would you please introduce yourself to the court room? Hello, my name is Jordanus Asterion (Hordanus Astrion) What do you do for a living, Mr. Asterion? I am an attorney How long have you been an attorney? Well I practiced for about 20 years, then I had a bit of a mishap but now I’m back to practicing, heck I got my biggest case ever just this year! This miss hap, what happened? It all started back in 2012, it was one drink then I was hooked, I was jobless, homeless, and recently divorced. I was living on the streets, in parking garages, or where ever I could. But, after the incident, I sobered up, got my law license reinstated, and got back together with my family. Are you referring to the death of cervus carona? Yes. Can you tell the jury what you saw? Well my dog woke me up and I saw the samurai group at the parking garage I was sleeping in. there were two people running up the stairs, I immeadtly recognized lang tigris, and the other person, I now know as cervus carona. They were arguing about something, I couldn’t tell what, but when they got (I can’t find what story) story cervus got physical, he pushed lang against the wall†¦. Well†¦ then it happened†¦ What are you referring to Mr. Asterion? See more: Defining research problem and setting objectives Essay Well the force of the push made both people bounce, and lang bounced and that gave cervrus a little more momentum†¦ then†¦ well cervus fell†¦ he fell out of the window. Did you observe anything after that? Yea, lang†¦ he was just calm†¦ and still†¦ it seemed like he was in shock.\ (I want to ask a opinion on the ultimate issue question, but I don’t know how to word it) This is just an issue of bad timing, cerverus push lang just a little to hard in the wrong place at the wrong time, and well now were here. Anything about criminal investigation on direct, object to 4.18.3 lack of proper predicate, 602 lack of personal knowledge, 703 opinions by experts You have a Bachelor’s of Science from Texoma University, don’t you? Yourdegree is in Accounting, isn’t it? You also have a Master’s degree from the Enron Hubbard Institute, don’t you? This degree is in Forensic Accounting, isn’t it?  Neither of your degrees make you eligible to work in Law Enforcement, do they? Neither of these degrees are law degrees, are they?  You have never worked as an on-staff employee of any law enforcement agency, have you? So you do not have formal expertise in criminal justice, do you? Nor do you have any educational background in criminal justice, do you? So you cannot render any expert opinions regarding the alleged criminal activities of my client other than those relating to the accounting of Argo Navis, Inc., can you? You know that both my client and Cervus Corona were attempting to sell the company, don’t you? You know that the company was worth somewhere between $2- and $200 million dollars, don’t you? (if brought up) and Lang could only receive a maximum of 2 million from life insurance You know that $75,000 dollars had been stolen from the accounts of Argo Navis, don’t you? This is the only questionable accounting you found in the Argo Navis accounts, isn’t it? And you have no conclusive evidence tying this singular piece of criminal activity to my client, do you? Beauty and the beast, price, cursed, ugly, villagers thought he was evil that was an act of prejudice May it please the court, your honor, opposing counsel, member of the jury. We all know the story of beauty and the beast, the beast was a handsome prince, who was cursed by a witch to become and evil looking monster. He was slandered, tormented and persecuted by the villagers all because of a prejudice they had towards him. Hello, my name is Nate K. I am a representing the state of texoma in today’s case. Today the prosecution holds the burden of proof, which means that if, you have a single doubt of guilt in your mind, then the defendants is innocent. Like in the beauty and the beast, the villagers, or in this case, the prosecutions witness, we presume, will attempt to slander the beast, Lang Tigris. Malus testudao will attempt to tell you he saw the altercation, but in reality he didn’t have vantage point where he could see it. Next, we presume that felis vela will  take the stand, she will tell you about how 75 thousand dollars was stolen for the company, but no one know who took it. She will also explain that the company was worth more than the money than Lang Tigris got from the life insurance. She will also give you opinions that no ability to give. Finally, limax Grus will take the stand, we believe that he will testify about the crime scene, which was not treated properly. He will also tell you about the witnesses he improperly interviewed and detained. And he will also explain that he left out an eye witness. Next we will call three witnesses. Jordanus Asterion will explain that he had a great view point of the entire altercation, and how Cervus corona began the fight, and how e fell as a result of ricochet. He explain that even though he was eyewitness, limax gruss did not interview him. Next Ares Vega will testify, he will explain to you that the Lima Grus did not control the crime scene, he also did not properly detain the witnesses, and furthermore he did not even question an eye witness. Finally, lang tigris will take the stand. He will explain that the business relationship was perfect, then Cervus began to bulk up, and he became aggressive, all lang did was try to please him, then the day of the altercation, Lang said something, he told cervrus he needed to calm down and become a team player. Cervrus said that lang was just riding his caot tails, and at that point, lang asked him about steroids, which put cerverus over the edge. He will explain that later that day they met, by chance, at the samurai class. Cervrus was aggressive and physical with him, then, it happened. Cerverus pushed lang and rebounded off the glass through the wall. Ladies and gentlemen, please don’t allow the villager to kill the beast, after he is inncocent.

Protein Synthesis in DNA Processes

Protein Synthesis in DNA Processes Protein synthesis is the process whereby DNA encodes for the production of amino acids and proteins. It is a very complex and precise process and as proteins make up over half of the dry mass of a cell, it is a vital process to the maintenance, growth and development of the cell. Proteins are widely used in the cell for a variety of reasons and have many different roles, for example some proteins provide structural support for cells while others act as enzymes which control cell metabolism. The formation of proteins takes place within the cytoplasm, the portion of the cell located just outside the nucleus. Proteins are formed through condensation reactions which bond amino acids together with peptide bonds in a particular sequence and the type of protein that is created is defined by the unique sequence of the amino acids. DNA and RNA are nucleic acids that are formed in the nucleotides and are both involved in the process of protein synthesis. Deoxyribonucleic acid, more commonly known as DNA, is located within the nucleus of the cell and contains the entire genetic code for an organism within its structure. DNA has two very important functions which are: to convey information from one generation of cells to the next by the process of DNA replication and to provide the information for the synthesis of proteins necessary for cellular function. Basically, DNA controls protein synthesis. The complex and precise process of protein synthesis begins within a gene, which is a distinct portion of a cells DNA. DNA is a nucleic acid which is made up of repeating monomers, called nucleotides, and in the case of DNA, these individual monomers consist of a pentose sugar, a phosphoric acid and four bases known as adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine. DNA is a double stranded polymer, which has a twisted ladder like structure, known as a double-helix. The double-helix of DNA is formed when two polynucleotide chains join together via base-pairing between nucleotide units within the individual chains. The base pairs are joined together themselves by hydrogen bonds and the pairings join in a very specific way, for example guanine will always only join with cytosine and adenine with always only join with thymine. The sequence of these base pairs along the DNA molecule carries all the genetic information of the cell. Although the DNA does not produce the new proteins itself, it is responsible for controlling the process of protein synthesis. This is simply because DNA is far too big a structure to pass through the nucleus into the cytoplasm, so instead it sends a message to the protein making machine in the cytoplasm to start the process. It does this by sending this information via a chemical similar to DNA called ribonucleic acid (RNA). RNA is single stranded polymer of nucleotides which is formed on the DNA. There are three types of RNA found in cells, all of which are involved in process of protein synthesis. They are Messenger RNA (mRNA), Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and Transfer RNA (tRNA). Messenger RNA (mRNA) is a long, single stranded molecule which is formed into a helix on a single strand of DNA. It is manufactured in the nucleus and is a mirror copy of the part of the DNA strand on which it is formed. The messenger RNA passes through the nucleus and enters the cytoplasm where is connects with the ribosomes and acts as a template for protein synthesis. Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) is a large, complex molecule which is made up of both single and double helices. rRNA is formed by the genes which are situated on the DNA and is found in the cytoplasm which, when bonded with proteins, makes up the ribosomes. The difference between DNA and RNA is that DNA is a double helix consisting of two strands whereas RNA is simply a singular strand, RNA also uses uracil instead of thymine and DNA consists of a deoxyribose sugar, whereas RNA consists of a ribose sugar. Transfer RNA (tRNA) is a very small, single stranded molecule that is manufactured by the DNA in the nucleus and is primarily responsible for the transfer of amino acids. These amino acids are found in the cytoplasm, at the ribosomes and operates as an intermediary molecule between the triplet code of mRNA and the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide chain. It forms a clover-leaf shape, with one end of the chain ending in a cytosine-cytosine-adenine sequence (Toole, 1997). There are at least twenty different types of tRNA, each transporting a different amino acid and at a central point along the chain there is a significant sequence of three bases, called the anticodon. These are arranged along the appropriate codon on the mRNA during protein synthesis. All proteins are encoded for in DNA, and the unit of DNA which codes for a protein is its gene. Since amino acids are regularly found within the proteins, it can then be assumed that the amino acids must have their own code of bases on the DNA. This relationship between the bases and the amino acids is called the genetic code. There are just twenty amino acids that regularly occur in proteins and each must be coded for in the bases of the DNA. With the DNA only having four different bases present, if each were to code for a different amino acid, then only four different amino acids could be coded for. With there being twenty amino acids that occur regularly in proteins, only a code composed of three bases could satisfy the requirements for all twenty amino acids; this is called the triplet code and this triplet code is more commonly known as a codon. Out of the 64 codons can be formed, three of these designate the termination of a message and these are called stop codons (UAA, UGA, U AG) and one codon (AUG) acts as the start signal for protein synthesis. The codon is a universal code, i.e. it is the same triplet code for the same amino acids in all living organisms. As there is more than one triplet code for most amino acids, it is called a degenerate code and each triplet must be read separately and must not over-lap. For example, CUGAGCUAG is read as CUG-AGC-UAG. (Toole, 1997) Protein synthesis is the process that is concerned with transfer of the information from the triplet code on the DNA to ensure the formation of the proteins. There are four stages in the formation of the proteins, these are: synthesis of amino acids; transcription; amino acid activation and translation. The first stage, the synthesis of amino acids, is concerned with the formation of amino acids. The human body is able to synthesise amino acids, however it is not able to form the required amount therefore the remaining amino acids are supplied from the food that is ingested. The second stage, transcription, is the process where a specific region of the DNA molecule that codes for a polypeptide is copied to form a strand of mRNA. Since the DNA is far too big a structure to pass through the membrane of the nucleus itself, the process of transcription takes place within the nucleus. Firstly, a section of the DNA separates as a result of hydrogen bonds between the bases being broken, causing the DNA to unwind into single strands. One strand functions as a template and the enzyme called RNA polymerase moves along the strand attaching RNA nucleotides one at a time to the newly exposed strand on DNA. This mRNA sequence is known as the sense strand and the complementary DNA sequence which serves as the transcriptional template is known as the antisense strand. Using complimentary base pairing of nucleotides, the mRNA is an exact replica of the unused strand called the copy strand. The process of transcription continues until the polymerase reaches the stop codon and the fully formed mRNA moves out of the nuclear membrane, through the nuclear pores, to the ribosomes. The third stage, amino acid activation, is the process by which the amino acid combines with tRNA using energy from ATP. There are twenty different types of tRNA which bond with a specific amino acid and the amino acid is attached to the free end of the tRNA. The newly formed tRNA-amino acid begins to move toward the ribosomes in the cytoplasm. The fourth and final stage of protein synthesis occurs in the cytoplasm at the ribosomes, and is called translation. Translation is the means by which a specific sequence of amino acids is formed in accordance with the codons on the mRNA. Each mRNA molecule becomes attached to one or more ribosomes to form a structure called a polysome. When translation occurs, the complimentary anticodon of a tRNA-amino acid complex is attracted to the first codon on the mRNA and binds to the mRNA with hydrogen bonds between the complimentary base pairings. A second tRNA binds to the second codon of mRNA in the same way. The ribosome acts as a framework which holds the mRNA and tRNA amino acid complex together until the two amino acids are joined together by the formation of a peptide bond. As the ribosome moves along the mRNA each codon is recognised by a matching complementary tRNA which contributes its amino acid to the end of a new growing protein chain. This process continues until the ribosome reaches a stop codon, which then indicates that the polypeptide chain is finished and the polypeptide chain is then cast off. The formed polypeptides are then assembled into proteins and by this action, protein synthesis is complete. In conclusion, the DNA molecules contain a genetic code that determines which proteins are made in the body and these proteins include certain enzymes which control every biological reaction going on within the body. In simple terms, this is basically how life works.

Literature Review discussing British Petroleum’s environmental effects

Literature Review discussing British Petroleum’s environmental effects Societies today, more than ever, are faced with more complex and environmental problems with the proliferation of technological advancement as human populations mounts. It is paramount for large energy companies to balance the needs of stakeholders  [1]  and demonstrate their intent of environment stewardship. In BPs strategy on their corporate website, they state their goals for value creation while producing affordable energy that is secure and doesnt damage the environment  [2]  . In other words, this means progressing forward through the expansion of their energy production while bearing in mind the impact of their activities on the environment. This, in essence, illustrates BPs stance on sustainability and their environmental awareness. Policy of environmental awareness in British Petroleum Environmental awareness is defined as a broad philosophy and social movements with respect to the environmental conservation concerns and improvement in the state of the environment. It ties in with the responsible initiatives that demonstrate a corporations commitment to key environmental and safety issues. Recently, BP has came under the spotlight following the April 2010 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig which killed 11 people and caused one of the worst oil spills in history  [3]  . Given its status as one of the worlds largest energy providers, this catastrophe has brought about a lot of clout over BPs environmental and safety practices. Subsequently, this led to exhaustive investigation that revealed inadequate controls and incompliance with major aspects of offshore drilling safety. As a result, BP announced its commitment to continue working with government officials and other operators to identify and boost industry-wide safety measures  [4]  . Nevertheless, BP publicizes a sustainability report annually to demonstrate their sustainability efforts in action while aligning themselves to their environmental policy. BPs policy follows a fundamental belief that it can make a difference in the world  [5]  . It strives to be the local energy company by the production of energy with minimal impact on the environment. New initiatives have been launched to incorporate benefits to the local community and help in establishing its position as a responsibility energy provider. For example, BP has invested around $1billion  [6]  annually in low-carbon energy in the last 5 years, putting them well positioned in reaching their commitment of $8 billion  [7]  by 2015. In light of climate change, BP showed recognition to the significance of climate change. Its environmental policy embraces legislation changes and aligns the firms sustainability actions to ensure environmental stewardship. This includes stringent protocols imposed to ensure that all projects and operations are designed and conducted in accordance with legal and internal environmental standards  [8]  . For example, BPs major operating sites today are all certified under the international environment management system standard ISO 14001  [9]  , demonstrating the huge strides in minimizing their environmental impact. According to BPs sustainability review report 2009, it demonstrates BPs awareness of their responsibility as a major energy provider to manage the environmental impacts of energy production and consumption. They have led a programme of action that have since brought about reduction of 7.9 million  [10]  tones of greenhouse gas emissions from their operations. BP actively seeks out new environmental technologies and methods to reduce the environmental impact of providing energy  [11]  . For instance, it has developed technologies such as wide azimuth tower streamer (WATS)  [12]  that enables BP to discover reservoirs previously obscured and maximize recovery and efficiency of their exploration activity. Initiatives taken by BP to Sustainability Issues BP operates according to strict internal control systems that extend from board-level policies to operational process to ensure businesses conduct their business responsibly  [13]  . Over the years, they have progressed significantly in their environmental sustainability issues. Sustainability is defined as the capacity to endure. At BP, this definition is extended to include the renewal of assets, creation and delivery of better products and services that meet the ever-changing needs of society, attracting successive generation of employees, contribution to a sustainable environment and retain the trust and support of their customers, shareholders, and the communities in which they operate  [14]  . Initiatives for Climate Change With greenhouse gases rising at an ever increasing rate, governments are urged by the risk of climate change to introduce new measures to limit emissions. On this front, BP has outlined emissions assessments to enforce the most efficient environmental methods. This is executed through their proprietary framework for both developed and developing countries to commit to identify mitigating action and quantify emission targets  [15]  . In addition to that, the BP website  [16]  offers a myriad of environmental tools to provide transparency and insight into BPs environmental efforts and allow individuals to assess their own carbon footprint and lifestyle  [17]  . ISO 14001 and Environmental Sustainability BP follows the ISO 14001 environmental management standards and publishes a sustainability review to track its environmental sustainability issues. In the fiscal year of 2009, the organization has launched several initiatives in light of environmental sustainability. Notably, one of these initiatives is BPs stance and support on carbon pricing. They firmly believe that the provision of carbon price will make energy conservation a more attractive venture and encourage investments in alternative energy space to cut down the carbon usage in organizations. Moreover, BP has designed a plan of action in their environmental sustainability efforts by optimizing their own operations towards a more energy efficiency model and had led in the creation of new products to lower customers carbon footprint  [18]  . Their drive in the former has saw the inception of projects such as the reducing flaring and venting, process optimization projects and waste heat recovery. This initiative will bring about a total reduction of about 7.9 million tonnes of carbon usage. In the latter, BP has worked in collaboration with Ford to engineer advanced Castrol lubricants  [19]  that sole advantage bring improvement in fuel efficiency and reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. Furthermore, BP has placed emphasis on building its low-carbon energy portfolio with substantial investments in biofuels, wind power and solar photovoltaic systems. Initiatives in the public domain Besides these programmes, BP is active in its participation of policy debate with its push to drive climate change at international and national levels. For example, they have signed the Copenhagen Communiquà © to demonstrate their support in the private sector call towards a long term ambitious, robust and equitable global deal on climate change  [20]  . These measures have paved the way in BPs efforts to measure the environmental sustainability issues. Last but not least, BP has been a generous contributor in research programmes in particularly on climate change and low-carbon options. These include several high profile research such as the Carbon Mitigation Initiative at Princeton University  [21]  , its collaboration with Chinese Academy of Science on the Clean Energy Facing the Future programme  [22]   as well as the Energy Initiatives launched at MIT and Caltech. BP Commitment to Health and safety measures BP is committed to seek out improvements in its safety performance through the implementation of procedures and processes in pursuit of their mission statement of no accidents and no harm to people  [23]  . In light of the 2010 Gulf oil spill disaster, BP has came down upon a lot of scrutiny with respect to its safety practices. As a result, the organization announced its commitment to continue working with government officials and other operators to identify and boost industry-wide safety measures  [24]  . Improvement and Initiatives made In wake of the Gulf of Mexico disaster, BP announced its decision for an overhauling reorganization that would give safety a higher priority. This first measure implemented saw the creation of a new safety division  [25]  that would preside over the companys operations. This division will use a systematic approach to seek improvements in safety performance through promoting safe operations and upping their efforts on process safety. BP is also shifting away from the use of contractors in light of the accident which caused 11 deaths of rig workers. Despite outsourcing certain functions to contractors, BP is still the company that is solely responsible for the accidental damages. On top of these changes, BP is currently assessing its executive bonus scheme that puts more weight to financial and operational targets. This new restructured bonus schemes would take into account more on key safety measure to align employees objectives to its safety practices. This will help improve the health and safety practice by perpetuating its safety culture to yield results. For example, BP reviews employee views on various dimension of safety with the Pulse plus survey  [26]   to achieve continued progress in integrating safety into their business. Furthermore, BP has launched an internal safety awards to foster pride in attaining BPs values. This recognition on the importance of safety across all aspects would further elevate BPs profile of safety  [27]  and help rebuild the trust in BP. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and British Petroleum Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is defined as a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis  [28]  . Today, CSR is more relevant than ever, in particularly for a large energy company such as BP that engages in the exploration and production of oil. CSR is often debated as the appropriate actions that companies should take that goes beyond its philanthropic efforts and delves further into the fundamental question of how companies produce their goods and provide their services  [29]  . At BP, CSR is recognized as the primary responsibility to maximize the value of the firm and operation of the company in accordance with the norms and values of its shareholders  [30]  . This broad notion as defined by BP reflects its concern about the operating environment, its license to operate within it, which provides the impetus for BP to undertake a broader role in societal affairs  [31]  . BPs CSR practice and Workforce Welfare BPs CSR involvement goes well beyond than just minimizing its emissions. According to the corporate website, BP is involved in their contribution to policy debate, supporting research and development for newer, cleaner technologies in power and transport  [32]  . Besides that, this also includes the consideration of building business skills of the local people through community based development programmes, supporting education and giving aid to local organization. In the instance of building business skills, BP has ran a range of programmes designed to build the skills and impart knowledge on supply chain management to geographical locations like Azerbaijian, Indonesia, Trinidad and Tobago. This programmes helps accomplish a win-win situation for both parties, providing local companies with the expertise and know-how while enabling BP to source goods and services locally. This sharing of technical expertise extends to local governments where BP draws from their expertise and glo bal reach to support local governments in the development of their economic sustainability. For example, BP funded an EU-based think tank, to consult the Azerbaijian Ministry of Economic Development on macroeconomics analysis, economic planning and policy formulation  [33]  . BP is also active on supporting education, investing in resources to build strengths in management education. A case in point is the post-graduate degree in energy law in Angola that BP played a vital role in the development and financing, while working alongside governments, state oil company and academia  [34]  . They have offered educational resources such as books, classrooms, teachers training and management training. BP have delivered immunization exercises for the Tangguh community and educated the local residents on reproductive health and personal hygiene. Their active involvement resulted in a plunge in malaria prevalence from 23% in 2000 to less than 1% in 2009  [35]  . As a result of BP CSR practices, many of these communities and villages have been provided with better facilities such as rainwater harvesting systems and villagers are able to substantial improvement in their workforce welfare. BP Building a sustainable talent pipeline BP has a clear understanding that people are fundamental to the success of business operation. Over the years, they have focused their efforts on building a sustainable talent pipeline  [36]   where they recruit graduates and trained them from the ground up to progress their career into roles that could help maximize their contribution to the business. Cross culture and Diversity Cross culture issues simply refers to the issues that involve dealing of two or more different cultures  [37]  . BPs understanding of cross culture issues can be reflected in their commitment to build a diverse organization, where people of different cultures are embraced to foster an environment that is collegial and respectful. They firmly value a multicultural workplace and embed diversity and inclusion across the organization. BP runs a global diversity council where diversity plans are established and tailored accordingly to each strategic performance unit (SPU). Here, the diversity plans sets specific targets and organizes networking events for affinity groups whereby certain sub-sets of employees can network and exchange experiences. For example, BP currently has the BP Womens International Network; the BP Pride group for homosexuals; BP Global Reach Group; BP Gray Matters and the US-based BP Asian, African-American and Latino networks  [38]  . The availability of such affinity groups demonstrates BPs understanding of cross cultural issues and practice of diversity. Within these affinity groups, members come together to discuss key issues and learn from each other. These groups would provide them with an informal setting to build their network and gather contacts. The BP Womens International Network, for example, is a global network with a sole purpose of connecting women and encourage women to stay with BP to fulfill their career goals  [39]  . This openness of BP with its core focus on diversity and inclusion is certainty a strategy that will enable its success in the 21st century global marketplace  [40]  . It leverages diversity exemplified by gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, language, sexual orientation and identity, religion, and tribe, among other things-while preparing itself for the future by continuing to diversify its employee base  [41]  . Ultimately, BPs diversity practice will inevitably help spur innovation, creativity and a deepened awareness of diversity and inclusion concepts  [42]  . Comparative analysis with key competitors In this task, I will seek to do a comparison of BPs equal opportunity and diversity practice with its key competitors such as Shell and Conoco Phillips. BP At BP, the equal opportunity and diversity practice consists of three basic tenets which are (i) fair treatment and equal employment opportunity; (ii) respectful, harassment-free workplace; and (iii) privacy and employee confidentiality  [43]  . These tenets strive to draw from BPs diversity as strength to create an environment that fosters mutual trust whereby diversity and inclusion are valued. BP follows a policy that fair treatment, courtesy and respect are entitlement given to every employee and would show no tolerance for offensive and belligerent behavior. The last tenet is a rule that protects the confidentially of their employees personal information. Royal Dutch Shell Similarly, Shells motto is to embed diversity and inclusion (DI). They firmly believe that this would help create a stronger future for Shell and help achieve their aspirations. Shell defines the management of DI to involve addressing the factors of difference and fully capitalizing on the potential contribution of all employees to continue to build their leadership in place. At Shell, DI is seen as a competitive advantage that will enable Shell to cultivate a competitive culture  [44]  . On the equal opportunity front, Shell also emphasizes their position as an equal opportunity employer that strives to recruit based on technical and competencies. ConocoPhillips At ConocoPhillips, a similar stance on diversity is taken where the company strives to represent and reflect the global communities in which we live and work  [45]  . They stand by the creation of an inclusive environment that respects contributions and differences of every individual  [46]  . Here, the same catchphrase of Diversity and Inclusion encompasses the creation of a multicultural work environment, together with an inclusive culture to ensure individuals contributions and differences are respected and valued  [47]  . In terms of equal opportunity aspect, ConocoPhilips wholly supports the principle of equally opportunity in employments and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified individuals  [48]  . Conclusion To conclude, this report examines the many responsibilities that falls on a large organization like British Petroleum (BP). Given its status as one of the worlds largest energy providers, BP has demonstrated their sustainability efforts in action while aligning themselves to their environmental policy. Over the years, they have launched several initiatives to tackle their sustainability issues and progressed significantly in their environmental awareness. This includes initiatives for climate change, imposition of ISO 14001 environmental management standards and initiatives in the public domain. In the wake of the Gulf of Mexico disaster, a comprehensive overview of their safety practices and social responsibilities initiatives are examine. This details the contribution and improvements made in the improvement of workforce welfare in geographical locations such as Azerbaijian, Indonesia, Trinidad and Tobago. Finally, this segues to a discussion on the cross-culture issues at BP and its practice of diversity. The last bit of the report is a comparative analysis of the equal opportunity and diversity practices in BP and across its key competitors.

A Comparison between Christopher Boone and Raymond Babbitt Essay

A Comparison between Christopher Boone and Raymond Babbitt Asperger ´s disorder is not a disease, but a developmental brain disorder. It is four times more prevalent in boys than in girls and it shows no racial, ethnic or social boundaries. Family income, lifestyle and educational levels do not affect the chance of Asperger ´s disorder's occurrence. According to Hans Asperger: It is important to know that the person with AS perceives the world differently. Therefore, many behaviours that seem odd are due to those neurological differences and not the result of intentional rudeness or bad behaviour. Both Christopher Boone, from the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and Raymond Babbitt, from the movie Rainman, suffer from Asperger ´s disorder. They have several characteristics in common: they are both autistic savants with impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and non-verbal communication, and restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests and activities. Moreover, Christopher and Raymond are similar in that they are both autistic mathematical savants. According to the Wikipedia free dictionary: An autistic savant, historically described as an idiot savant, is a person with both autism and savant syndrome. Savant syndrome describes a person having a developmental or mental handicap of some sort with extraordinary mental abilities not found in most people. Christopher?s mathematical interests are reflected in his numbering his chapters strictly with prime numbers, ignoring composite numbers, such as 4 and 6. He is also the first student to take an A level in Maths and to get an A grade at his school. Christopher has a photographic memory and is extremely observant. Similarly, Raymond ... .... Like Christopher, he also tries to find a pattern which will enable him to make sense of his world. All in all, although there are some superficial differences between Christopher and Raymond, there are quite a number of important similarities. They share the lack of demonstrated empathy, encompass preoccupation with restricted patterns of interests and have an inflexible adherence to specific routines. Furthermore, they exhibit exceptional skills in Maths. From my point of view, most individuals with AS can learn to cope with their differences, but may continue to need moral support and encouragement to maintain an independent life. Researchers and people with AS have contributed to a shift in attitudes away from the notion that AS is a deviation from the norm that must be treated or cured, and towards the view that AS is a difference rather than a disability. A Comparison between Christopher Boone and Raymond Babbitt Essay A Comparison between Christopher Boone and Raymond Babbitt Asperger ´s disorder is not a disease, but a developmental brain disorder. It is four times more prevalent in boys than in girls and it shows no racial, ethnic or social boundaries. Family income, lifestyle and educational levels do not affect the chance of Asperger ´s disorder's occurrence. According to Hans Asperger: It is important to know that the person with AS perceives the world differently. Therefore, many behaviours that seem odd are due to those neurological differences and not the result of intentional rudeness or bad behaviour. Both Christopher Boone, from the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and Raymond Babbitt, from the movie Rainman, suffer from Asperger ´s disorder. They have several characteristics in common: they are both autistic savants with impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and non-verbal communication, and restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests and activities. Moreover, Christopher and Raymond are similar in that they are both autistic mathematical savants. According to the Wikipedia free dictionary: An autistic savant, historically described as an idiot savant, is a person with both autism and savant syndrome. Savant syndrome describes a person having a developmental or mental handicap of some sort with extraordinary mental abilities not found in most people. Christopher?s mathematical interests are reflected in his numbering his chapters strictly with prime numbers, ignoring composite numbers, such as 4 and 6. He is also the first student to take an A level in Maths and to get an A grade at his school. Christopher has a photographic memory and is extremely observant. Similarly, Raymond ... .... Like Christopher, he also tries to find a pattern which will enable him to make sense of his world. All in all, although there are some superficial differences between Christopher and Raymond, there are quite a number of important similarities. They share the lack of demonstrated empathy, encompass preoccupation with restricted patterns of interests and have an inflexible adherence to specific routines. Furthermore, they exhibit exceptional skills in Maths. From my point of view, most individuals with AS can learn to cope with their differences, but may continue to need moral support and encouragement to maintain an independent life. Researchers and people with AS have contributed to a shift in attitudes away from the notion that AS is a deviation from the norm that must be treated or cured, and towards the view that AS is a difference rather than a disability.

Candide 3 :: essays research papers

I am not too familiar with the events that occurred in this book. It is set back in the times of kings and queens, barons, lords and other titles. The author, Voltaire, who was born Francios-Marie Arouet, was very critical and suspicious of government and officials. He used his writing talens to make fun of them or criticize abuses of the time. In the middle of the 18th century, Voltaire turned against the popular philosophy of “optimism'; because of a tragic earthquake in Lisbon, Portugal, which killed 30,000 people and did millions of dollars in damage. He wrote Candide to show that proponents of optimism were, well – crazy! The first thing that happens in this book is that the main character, Candide, a good natured young man, gets kicked out of his home. His home happens to be the castle of a Baron who has a 17-year old daughter named Cunegonde. Candide is seen by the baron kissing the hand of Cunegonde. So, what’s the big deal about that? She was the one who started it. And it was just her hand, all right? But for some reason, this really upset the Baron and out Candide went. He is picked up by Bulgarian soldiers and made part of their army, but when he goes out for a walk one day, they think is going AWOL. He is then given a choice of taking 12 bullets to the dome or being whipped 4,000 times! Nice choice! By now I’m thinking not much is happening for the good. But not Candide. He just doesn’t understand. He takes the whipping. Over and over again Candide tries to do his best and tragedies happen to him. The way I feel about Candide is that he is undecided and confused about what is going around him and what is happening to him. Some people here and there help him and others capture him and torture him. He is also scared of being out alone with no one there for him until he runs into his old Master of Philosophy, Dr. Pangloss. The doc tells him of dreadful things that happened at the castle and the condition everyone was in. The Baron and his entire family, including his beloved Cunegonde are all dead. Candide faints on the spot when he hears of that and that shows that he is not very emotionally strong. He can’t deal with the pain of life very well. Candide 3 :: essays research papers I am not too familiar with the events that occurred in this book. It is set back in the times of kings and queens, barons, lords and other titles. The author, Voltaire, who was born Francios-Marie Arouet, was very critical and suspicious of government and officials. He used his writing talens to make fun of them or criticize abuses of the time. In the middle of the 18th century, Voltaire turned against the popular philosophy of “optimism'; because of a tragic earthquake in Lisbon, Portugal, which killed 30,000 people and did millions of dollars in damage. He wrote Candide to show that proponents of optimism were, well – crazy! The first thing that happens in this book is that the main character, Candide, a good natured young man, gets kicked out of his home. His home happens to be the castle of a Baron who has a 17-year old daughter named Cunegonde. Candide is seen by the baron kissing the hand of Cunegonde. So, what’s the big deal about that? She was the one who started it. And it was just her hand, all right? But for some reason, this really upset the Baron and out Candide went. He is picked up by Bulgarian soldiers and made part of their army, but when he goes out for a walk one day, they think is going AWOL. He is then given a choice of taking 12 bullets to the dome or being whipped 4,000 times! Nice choice! By now I’m thinking not much is happening for the good. But not Candide. He just doesn’t understand. He takes the whipping. Over and over again Candide tries to do his best and tragedies happen to him. The way I feel about Candide is that he is undecided and confused about what is going around him and what is happening to him. Some people here and there help him and others capture him and torture him. He is also scared of being out alone with no one there for him until he runs into his old Master of Philosophy, Dr. Pangloss. The doc tells him of dreadful things that happened at the castle and the condition everyone was in. The Baron and his entire family, including his beloved Cunegonde are all dead. Candide faints on the spot when he hears of that and that shows that he is not very emotionally strong. He can’t deal with the pain of life very well.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay

Good vs. Evil has been a classic contrast used for centuries. It has been used in films, books, plays, and even children’s tales. But what constitutes good and evil? What determines if an act is good or evil? The things that we know, the things we believe, are not our own original ideas. That is a known fact. Everything we know and believe was influenced by our upbringing, our family and friends or lack of, our education; basically every thing that comes into contact with us. Even for the people who would say â€Å"I hated my parents and my education so they didn’t influence my beliefs! † Well, I’m sorry to be the one to tell you, but they did. The need that you may have had to rebel caused you to believe in opposite things from your family or whoever you wanted to rebel against. But thats another question for another chapter. In todays world, we trust our own beliefs as to what is good and what is evil. But what defines this? Most people would tell you that the â€Å"norm† defines good and evil. Society tells you that helping an old lady across the street is good and shooting a man in the head is evil. Don’t get me wrong though, I do believe in good and doing the right thing, I just want to portray a philosophical approach to this contrast. Back to the point, if everyone trusts the â€Å"norm† to decide what is good and what is evil; then isn’t that a form of mob mentality? Mob mentality is something that people are constantly warned about in literature through out time, an example being Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. So I have reached a paradox. If the â€Å"norm† is decided by the majority of people, and the majority of people coming together to create an idea is mob mentality, and mob mentality is considered bad and wrong; then aren’t our ideas of good and evil created by something that is not good in the first place? If you are at this point reading and wondering what my answer will be to this question, I want to tell you now not to get your hopes up because I don’t have a difinitive answer to that. Let’s bring this idea back in time to the early times of human existence. What are a human’s basic needs? Food, water, clothing and shelter, right? I’ve heard this hundreds of times. Well if we humans are in fact animals, then we have a set of instinctive needs. Just like a new born cougar enters the world with instinct for hunting, don’t we as well? If society wasn’t here to set guidelines wouldn’t we just be living in and amongst our instinctive needs? If one of our instinctive needs is to eat, and some of us choose to eat dogs or cats (as they do in some countries) then why do we have animal help groups breathing down people’s necks to make this stop? Because it is evil, right? But is it really? I myself could not stand the thought of me eating a dog or cat, and that is because I come from a society where these animals are pets, your friends. But why is it wrong for people from another society to do this, when they don’t see it the same way we do? Who is right here? Of course, each side thinks they are right but is there a real answer to this question? Let’s give a scenario; two men break into your house, they kill everyone in your family except you and your mother. They put a gun to your mother’s head and say â€Å"We will kill her and you will get everything, the house, the car, the money, the only thing we require is that you join us and work for us. † What would you do? Do you take their offer and watch them kill your mother, or do you tell them no and die for it. It is a lose-lose situation, there is no realistic decision you could make that would create a win. If you let them kill your mother, you will live out the rest of your life with that hanging over your head. If you say no, then you both die. The people that are doing this are evil, right? Why? I would say because they are murdering innocent people, just wiping their existence away with the pull of a trigger. But do they think that? What if the person with the gun thought what he was doing was ok? What if he grew up on the streets and the only thing that he learned was violence. If violence was the norm for him, and it conflicts with our norm, which one is right? If you should always trust in your beliefs, what if your beliefs are wrong? Lets take an example from history. Martin Luther King Jr. vs. Hitler. Good vs. Evil, right? For argument’s sake, lets classify the general population of the world into two groups. Group A are the people who idolize MLK Jr. and despise Hitler. Group B are the people who idolize Hitler and despise MLK Jr. Both sides are amongst a group that holds the same beliefs and ideals as themselves. They all believe they are right, and if the idea of wrong and right is determined by the norm, and the norm is what the majority of people decides, then aren’t they both right? Doesn’t this faulty decision lead to extreme conflict? Look at all the past wars in this world. They all boil down to the basic fact that each side had conflicting beliefs and each side believed that they were doing the right thing. So does that make each side wrong or right? Good or Evil? What do you do to fix this major flaw in today’s society? Be yourself. Individuality. Don’t allow yourself to be too heavily influenced by the things around you. Take everything you see and keep it, soak it all up, leave no stone unturned, and when you think you have everything, then decide for yourself. The truth is what we all seek in one form or another. Some are content to leave things be and others aren’t. For those of us uncontent to settle for anything less than the truth, we are fighting a losing battle. I leave you with this quote from Wilkie Collins â€Å"Are there, infinitely varying with each individual, inbred forces of Good and Evil in all of us, deep down below the reach of mortal encouragement and mortal repression — hidden Good and hidden Evil, both alike at the mercy of the liberating opportunity and the sufficient temptation? â€Å"

Analysis on Materialism and Pink Flamingo Essay

â€Å"Materialism coarsens and petrifies everything, making everything vulgar, and every truth false.† These profound words spoken by Swiss philosopher Henri Amiel illustrate the wretched vulgarity and superficiality of the virus-like spread of materialism. In the essay entitled â€Å"The Pink Flamingo: A Natural History† by Jennifer Price, Price examines the popularity of the well-known pink flamingo and how it relates to the ideals and whims of American culture. Using American fascination of the plastic, pink flamingo as her medium, Jennifer Price shows her evident disdain for the superficial materialism present in American society. Jennifer Price introduces her analysis of the flamingo fad by presenting the rise of the pink flamingo in American culture and how society reacted upon the popularization of this cultural icon. Price effectively illustrates the American public’s reaction to the introduction of the plastic, pink flamingo by implementing specific diction that reinforces her own opinions of the â€Å"flamingo boom†. Similar to a mindless flock of birds following each other without much thought as to why, Price writes that â€Å"Since the 1930s, vacationing Americans had been flocking to Florida and returning home with flamingo souvenirs.† Price’s choice to describe Americans as â€Å"flocking† is meant to establish a comparison to a flock of mindless birds; in effect, the author characterizes Americans as bandwagon followers who lack any consideration for the examination of their culture and the conceptual purpose behind their symbolic icons. The author also presents how Americans have rendered the plastic, pink flamingo as symbolic of wealth and luxury. Price states that â€Å"In the 1910s and 1920s, Miami Beach’s first grand hotel, the Flamingo, had made the bird synonymous with wealth and pizzazz.† In the context of the essay, terms like â€Å"wealth† and â€Å"pizzazz† possess a shallow, superficial connotation that consequently translates into the flamingo as not only being a symbol of wealth and pizzazz but also a symbol of superficiality and vulgar ostentation. Price’s introductory paragraph is significant to the purpose of the essay because it illustrates the magnitude of the flamingo fascination and how Americans irrationally react to the flamingo’s popularity. In reiteration of Price’s stance, heavy criticism in the essay of the plastic  flamingo’s intrinsic boldness simply because it represents an exotic creature depicts Price’s severe disdain for the whims of American society. Price utilizes an ironic situation in conjunction with historical evidence when she attempts to establish a connection between real flamingos and plastic flamingos. Americans, Price points out, â€Å"had hunted flamingos to extinction in Florida in the late 1800s, for plumes and meat. But no matter. In the 1950s, the new interstates would draw working-class tourists down, too.† Price bluntly uses facts and historical research about American culture to express her disgust of the irony that the American nation has created for itself with regards to the plastic, pink flamingo. When Price writes â€Å"But no matter,† she reinforces the implication that it is as if American society regards the destruction of the flamingo as trivial b ecause capitalist society would benefit more from the production of plastic flamingos that could yield revenue. Thus, a nation that embraces the flamingo in all its beauty after having been so destructive of the natural population reveals the ironic carelessness and hypocrisy of American society. Furthermore, Price uses the image of the pink flamingo with its natural boldness to emphasize her point about the ignorance of Americans and their culture. The author states, â€Å"The bird acquired an extra fillip of boldness, too, from the direction of Las Vegas with†¦Flamingo Hotel. Anyone who has seen Las Vegas knows that a flamingo stands out in a desert even more strikingly than on a lawn.† The simple fact that a flamingo is a subtropical animal unfit to live in the desert gives Price the justification to illustrate how Americans took the flamingo fad to such extreme heights without giving one regard to the appropriateness of the flamingo in context. In doing so, Price once again conveys the total ignorance and lack of consideration that characterizes American society. The paragraph in which Price asserts her belief regarding the ironic situation American society has put itself in supports a belief that Americans have taken their obsession so far as to having destroyed a population of animals for the sake of wealth and luxury; thus, the pink flamingo, in the context of Price’s essay, is merely a symbol of the vulgar materialism Americans possess because of their ignorance and inconsideration for the appropriateness of destroying flamingos and â€Å"plasticizing† them. Jennifer Price provides further details regarding the plastic flamingo’s image which forces the reader to question if the plastic flamingo is even close to being a valid representation of its real-life counterpart. Price’s use of imagery in her essay and the interpretation that follows shows that she believes the plastic flamingo is obviously not even fit to represent the true flamingo. Price lists the colors, â€Å"tangerine, broiling magenta, livid pink, incarnadine, fuchsia demure, Congo ruby, methyl green,† in order to establish images that overwhelm the reader’s mind with bold colors. The extremely bold colors of the plastic flamingo such as â€Å"livid pink† and â€Å"broiling magenta† formulate the conclusion that the plastic flamingo could never be synonymous with the quiet, demure brilliancy of a real flamingo. Thus, once the reader has interpreted the color imagery and concluded that all of the colors are just â€Å"too much†, the reader can make the connection that society is also â€Å"too much† obsessed with putting on pretenses of wealth as opposed to focusing on issues that really matter such as the preservation of the real flamingo. Price also makes use of repetition in order to express the magnitude of the plastic flamingo’s color in society. Jennifer Price states, â€Å"Washing machines, cars, and kitchen counters proliferated in passion pink, sunset pink, and Bermuda pink.† By stating that the pink fad present in the plastic flamingo was also transferred into household appliances such as washing machines and kitchen counters, Price implies that the materialism and vulgarity of appearing wealthy spread into the home; the infiltration of materialism into the home meant that the desire for wealth and extravagance had also infiltrated the aspects of America n life. Price’s criticism of the flamingo’s color fascination supports the essay’s idea that Americans are only satisfied by boldness and extravagance as evident in the pink coloration of household appliances because pink was the color of the symbolic pink flamingo of wealth; Americans, thus, have difficulty equating modesty and demureness with any sort of wealth. The simple belief is that extravagance and flamboyance are the way to go if one wants to appear wealthy. Americans who desire wealth are therefore subject to the whims of materialism and superficiality. The author concludes by delivering an argument that criticizes American views and ideals, or the lack of, as being disrespectful and insulting towards the  significance of the flamingo itself. Jennifer Price uses cultural evidence from other nations to present the importance of the flamingo. She states, â€Å"People†¦have always singled out the flamingo as special. Early Christians associated it with the red phoenix. In ancient Egypt, it symbolized the sun god Ra. In Mexico and the Caribbean, it remains a major motif in art, dance, and literature.† The author uses these facts to justify that the reduction of the brilliant flamingo in American culture to a mere plastic souvenir attached to grass is a shameful comparison to other cultures that respect nature and revered the bird as a glorious symbol. Price then makes use of parallelism in order to strengthen her criticism of American culture. In the essay, Price states, â€Å"No wonder that the subtropical species stood out so loudly when Americans in temperate New England reproduced it, brightened it, and sent it wading across an inland sea of grass.† By using repeating sentence structures through parallelism, Price emphasizes that Americans have done so many things to the flamingo that the plastic version is so far removed from its original counterpart. Thus, Americans have lost sight of the intended genuine meaning behind embracing the flamingo in the first place. The significance of this section within the essay is important because it not only allows the author to go beyond criticism of the flamingo, but it also shows that, in the grand scheme of things, Price was more intent on exposing and criticizing the true validity of all American cultural values. Jennifer Price allegorized the fascination of the plastic flamingo in order to establish a sort of comparison between obsession with purchasing plastic flamingos that symbolize wealth and the materialism evident in American culture. Although the essay mostly depicts American society as insensitive and inconsiderate according to the author’s tone, the satirical nature of the essay provides a subtle, underlying, hopeful connotation that perhaps one day American society will learn to go beyond their materialistic greed and ascend to a different type of wealth. Bibliography: Jennifer Price’s essay â€Å"The Plastic Pink Flamingo: A Natural History†