Corporate Social Responsibility - there is one and only one, Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility - there is one and only one, responsibility of business - to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase it - Essay Example (Rust, Moorman, and Dickson, 2002) In order to gain benefits from CSR initiatives, Handelman and Arnold (1999) argued that companies should be engaged in CSR for good causes and at the same time offer high quality products to its consumers. The main intension of the company’s effort in investing on the CSR initiatives is an important factor that could affect its success. According to Sen and Bhattacharya (2001), CSR initiatives could backfire and result to a lower purchase value and a negative perception.1 The proper implementation of CSR initiative is better than the use of high cost advertisements since it could not only increase a company’s profitability but also establish a direct and more effective relationship with its customers. Based on the observation of Drumwright (1996), the use of advertisements together with a social dimension is gradually increasing. In line with the increasing importance of CSR, several marketing studies shows that social responsibility programmes have a significant direct and indirect positive effect on several customer-related outcomes. (Bhattacharya et al., 2004; Brown, 1998) A good relationship between the company and customers enables the customers to develop a positive attitude on the company’s products. (Berens, Van Riel, and Van Bruggen, 2005) Since most of the companies who are knowledgeable on how to take advantage of the CSR initiatives have proven that social participation could result to a better relationship with the satisfied customers, investment on CSR is considered as â€Å"the smart thing to do.† (Smith, 2003; p. 52) Satisfied customers tend to be loyal to the company despite the tight competition within the same industry. (Bolton and Drew, 1991) The positive experience(s) of customers toward a company will be passed on to other prospective customers via

The outline for the complete academic research paper

The outline for the complete academic - Research Paper Example For a cloud to work efficiently, one must have an internet connection. If one is looking for a particular document that is stored in the cloud, there must be an internet connection either through a mobile broad brand connection or wireless internet (Lewis et al, 2009). The advantage of cloud computing is that the same document can be accessed by any device as long as there is internet availability. These devices can be a phone, laptop.tablet or a desktop. This helps an organization to work more with ease because a cloud can access software and store data. There are several types of clouds that can be subscribed depending on ones needs. One of them is a private cloud, which is established for a specific organization or group and access is limited. A public cloud can be accessed by any user with an internet connection. On the other hand, community cloud is usually shared among two or more organizations that have similar cloud requirements. A hybrid cloud is a combination of two clouds in which the clouds in particular are a mixture of community,private and public (Jansen, 2011). Literature review Rittinghouse,J.W., & Ransome,J.F. (2010). Cloud Computing Implementation, Management, and Security. New York: Taylor and Francis Group. claim that each provider serves a role and it gives users more or less control over their cloud depending on the type. When choosing a provider, one has to compare needs to the cloud services which are available. The cloud needs usually vary depending on how one intends to use the resources and the storage space associated with the specific cloud. A cloud provider becomes more expensive depending on an individual's technological needs. There are three types of cloud providers that one can subscribe to : infrastructure as a service, platform as a service and software as a service. Software as a service gives subscribers an opportunity to access both applications and resources. It makes it unnecessary for one to have a physical copy of sof twares to install on the devices. This type of cloud provider makes it possible to have the same software to all devices at once by accessing it via the cloud. Under a platform as a service,this system goes a level above the software as a service setup. This provider gives its subscribers access to the components that they require to operate and develop over the internet. Fatih Erkoc, Serhat Bahadir Kert (2010). Cloud Computing For Distributed University Campus: A Prototype Suggestion, by Mehmet indicate that infrastructure as a service deals with computational infrastructure. In his system, a provider completely outsources storage and resources, such as software and hardware. By subscribing to this type of service cloud,one would be able to maintain his or her business with a larger computational capability. One has to spend more resources on the operation and development of applications. Most information stored on the cloud is often seen as a treasure to individuals with mean inte nt. There is a lot of confidential and private information that individuals store on their computers and this information is now being transferred to the cloud (Strowd, 2010). One has to be careful with the cloud provider he or she chooses. This is because security measures usually vary from one provider to the other. Research Question / Hypothesis One of the ways that service

Examining The Concept Of Crime And Its Dimensions Criminology Essay

Examining The Concept Of Crime And Its Dimensions Criminology Essay Tappan (1947:) defined crime asan intentional act or omission in violation of criminal law, committed without defense or justification, and penalized by the state and vehemently advocated the notion that the legal definition of crime is representative of what society consensually defines crime as. However, as both Greer and Hagan (2001) and Morrison (2009) emphasised, whilst what is deemed a crime will be based on the shared societal perceptions in many instances, ultimately acts are legislated as criminal by those in authority and therefore disagreement between what is legally deemed a crime and what is perceived as a crime by members of the society to which the law applies will inevitably exist. Furthermore, Henry and Lanier (1998) also highlighted that if the concept of crime is based purely on the legal definition then actions such as racism, sexism, and other denials of human rights as well as other deviant and anti-social behaviour may fail to be recognised, since these have of ten been excluded from what constitutes crime in the definition proposed by law. As such, Hagan (1977) posited that crime should be regarded as a subcategory of all harmful acts, regardless of whether they are proscribed by law, thus emphasising that the legal definition of crime alone is too narrow. Similarly, some theorists (Burgress 1950; Durkheim 1933; Roshier 1989) have attempted to expand the legal definition further still to include a universal sense of morality and argue that actions should be defined as crime when moral outrage ensues from a breach of social norms. This perspective thus considers the reactions of society, although as Blackburn (1993) emphasised, not all criminal acts violate moral codes, such as supposed victimless crimes including the gambling, drug abuse and prostitution. Hence this definition may still not encompass the crime phenomenon fully. Whilst a good starting point in terms of defining crime, evidently, the legal definition alone is too narrow since it lacks recognition for the social nature of crime, social harm and morality and is ultimately determined by those in power rather than a general consensus. As Lindgren (2005) emphasised, social constructionists, alternatively, argue that what is defined as crime in law is historically, temporally and culturally relative and as Sumner (2003) argued, we, as a society, have an impact on what is defined as crime, firstly by the social conditions that enable or encourage the behaviour that causes harm and secondly by our reactions to that behaviour and our collective disapproval and condemnation of such behaviours, which ultimately lead them to becoming defined as criminal, but which are subject to change over time as our societal attitudes change. The notion that the definition of crime is subject to change with changing societal attitudes, was supported by Feldman (1993) who suggested that whilst the core of criminal law is consistent across societies, the borders move. So whilst, as Lemert (1972) found in a cross cultural comparison, murder, rape and theft are universally condemned crimes whatever the prevailing legal system and time context, the definition of many other acts as criminal depends heavily of which societies are examined and when. For example, in 1533 English law identified homosexuality as punishable by hanging, and until the Sexual Offences Act 1967 was passed, homosexuality remained illegal within the UK. The prohibition of alcohol between 1920 and 1933 in America is another example of crime being context and time dependent. Notably in both cases, homosexuality and the consumption of alcohol are still illegal in various other cultures. This definition of crime therefore accounts for the social nature of crime, and explains how societal attitudes influence what becomes legally defined as crime, how definitions of crime are time and context dependent, and is able to recognise that not all actions are legally classified as criminal but nevertheless constitute behaviour worthy of the definition according to societal beliefs. In an initial attempt to integrate the aforementioned components of crime into one conceptual model, Hagan (1977) postulated that deviance and crime are akin and fall under rule breaking which constitutes anything from minor deviance from accepted standards of behaviour such as public drunkenness to highly offensive acts involving serious harm such as terrorism or murder. He emphasised that crime is a deviation from a social norm proscribed by criminal law, thus recognising the social constructionists idea of relativity of crime via norm violation, the legal tradition of law violation, as well as societal consensus and social harm. Hagan (1977) demonstrated his attempt to integrate the various definitions of crime within a framework named the Pyramid of Crime which is illustrated below, and reflected the definitions within three measures of seriousness each ranging from low/weak to high/strong, namely societal consensus regarding the crime, the severity of the legal response, includi ng fines, imprisonment, the death penalty and so on, and the level of harm inflicted, arguing that some crimes such as drug use, gambling and prostitution are victimless crimes, thus producing less social than individual harm. Source: Henry and Lanier (1998) In response to Hagans (1977) pyramid of crime, Henry and Lanier (1998) decided to redesign the visual presentation of the pyramid into a prism, to expand on some elements of the crime phenomenon, namely dimensions of social agreement, probable social response, individual and social harm and the extent of victimisation into a more integrated approach. The complex visual representation of the definition of crime highlights the complexity of defining crime. Their model is illustrated below, with the upper pyramid representing the highly visible crimes, typically those of the structurally powerless, which are committed in public including assault, murder, stranger rape, and arson, and the lower, inverted pyramid representing relatively invisible crimes, including a variety of crimes of the powerful, such as offences by government officials, corporations, organisations, crime that people commit through their occupations such as fraud and embezzlement, and even some offences such as domest ic violence, sexism and hate crimes. These crimes are typically perpetrated in private settings such as the workplace, homes and involve violations of trusted relationships. The manner in which the prism is formed has several implications for the way crime is examined. Firstly, the position of crimes in the prism varies over time. As vocal dominant groups and mass-mediated culture focus on different issues so the public awareness of what counts as crime is formed and reformed. In such a formation acts are recognised as more or less visible, more or less serious and more or less harmful, for example the position of domestic violence and sexual harassment have changed, both recently have begun to move from the lower to the upper half of the prism. Second, the upper half of the prism contains predominantly conventional crimes whereas the lower half contains white collar crimes. It is arguable that those committing most of the conventional/street crimes are relatively powerless in society whereas those committing most of the white collar crimes hold structural positions of power. Due to this, white collar crimes are located at the bottom of the prism as they are very harmful, but often obscured as they harm their victims indirectly and diffusely. Often the victims are not aware of who the offender or even if they have been victimised. By developing Hagans (1977) analysis, Henry and Lanier (1998) have produced an integrated approach to defining crime, which consider the major constitutive dimensions of what counts as crime. The prism is able to capture the contingent and changing nature of crime, locating its constitutive features into a framework that allows criminologists to see their combined and interactive effects, but is by no means definitive. The prism allows one to see how specific crimes are related to one another and to wider social forces that intersect with those crimes at certain moments in time, rendering some acts rather than others serious crimes.

Analysis of Buried Child by Sam Shepard Essay -- Buried Child Sam Shep

Analysis of Buried Child by Sam Shepard Sam Shepard has always written plays that have numerous illusions to frustrate the reader. Shepard has also been known for several twists in his plays, and also makes the reader believe in something that is not real. Born in 1943, Shepard always enjoyed Theatre and Playwriting. Now, nearly 60 years of age, Shepard is one of the most famous playwrights in America. In Shepard’s Buried Child, there are many twists and turns that have the reader wondering and wanting more. Buried Child can be similar to classic plays such as Oedipus Rex, where Shepard includes the theme of incest. He has also included many symbolic objects and Native American symbols of renewal with the large quantity of vegetables in the backyard of the family’s house. There are seven main characters in this play, the majority belonging to one family. The first impression seems like the family in the play are a normal Middle American family. Dodges one-track alcoholic mind, Halie’s irritating personality, and Tilden’s distant relationship with his father seems fairly typical of an elderly family; however, this is far from the truth. The play begins with Dodge, who is in his seventies, may not have much longer to live. He has an unhealthy cough, which gives the thought that he is extremely ill. In the play, Shepard is pointing out that Dodge is not only sick physically, but also mentally. His vicious cough seems to show the progression of his illness throughout the play. The introduction of Tilden, Dodge’s son, is quite unusual; he enters the house with an armful of corn and drops it in front of his father. The significance of this action will be noticed further into the play. When Tilden brings the corn in from the backyard, his father looks at him and tells him to give the corn back, thinking he has stolen it. Dodge snaps, "I haven't planted corn back there since 1935, so take that damn corn back form where ever you got it.† Yet, Tilden argues that the entire back yard is filled with tall stalks of corn, carrots and potatoes. Tilden is a young man living with his parents after getting in trouble in New Mexico. Halie, Tilden’s mother and Dodge’s wife, is abnormally protective of Tilden, which he is not allowed to do or say anything without the permission of Dodge or herself. Halie is constantly worrying about Ti... ...the family, and will hopefully lead them in a positive direction. The ending of this play comes to the conclusion that this family can never be a normal Middle American family. This family is at a loss, and will probably never see life the way that they have before. I believe the message Shepard is trying to reach out to the reader is that secrets and dishonesty can tear a family apart and make them go insane. Unfortunately for this play, the terrible secret was exposed too late. Shepard created an ending which the world could appreciate its simplicity yet complications. Buried Child explores the inner tensions of a rural existence, father-son relationships, and the place women hold in an ambiguous domestic atmosphere. Simply poetic, humorous, and mysterious, Buried Child is a vision of a troublesome family transformed into a symbol of America's loss of innocence. This play made Shepard a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1979, and is very much earned. Bibliography Jacobus, Lee A. 1994. The Bedford Introduction to Drama--Third edition. Microphil Publications. American Repertory Theatre. â€Å"Past Productions: Buried Child.† Dec. 96 http://www.amrep.org/past/buried/buried.html

Project Report on Tumkur Milk Union

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: DAIRY INDUSTRY IN INDIA – AN OVERVIEW: Dairy enterprise is an important occupation of farmers. In India nearly 70% of the people depend on agriculture. It is the backbone of India. Dairy is linked with agriculture industry to a large extent. Animal husbandry in India is an essential part of agriculture. It is mainly a rural occupation closely associated with agriculture. In 1965, National Dairy Development Board [NDDB] was set up with the objective of meeting the demand of milk, especially in urban areas, as well as developing the rural economy through the enhancement of the milk production of the country.In 1970, NDDB took up â€Å"Operation Flood† program in order to organize milk producers’ co-operative in several places in India taking the Karia district [ANAND] co-operative milk producers union limited [AMUL] of Anand, Gujarat as a model with the above object in view. Company profile: Origin of Tumkur Milk Union Limited:- TUMUL was formed on 30th march 1977 and its funding is restricted to the Tumkur district only. TUMUL was formed about for the welfare and upliftment of the milk producers and to make the milk producers procurement a profitable business by using advanced technology.It is formed mainly for serving the customers with better quality milk. TUMUL is situated in Mallasandra which is 11kms away from Tumkur City. It is situated in the rural area, which is outside the jurisdiction local authority such as municipal and co-operation. GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORGANISATION Tumkur is a fast developing industrial town in Karnataka it’s adjacent to Bangalore, about 70kms towards North West of the national highway. The district comprises of 10 taluks with a population of 45 lakhs (2007). The climate is rather dry and the rainfall is normal in the district.The taluk of Pavagada and Sira face significant water shortage throughout the year. The dairy development activities in the district started in December 1976 under the KDDC with the objective of supporting the nearby urban liquid milk market. A farm cooler 60TLPD was started in 1976 Tumkur as a feeder balancing dairy. The co-operative union of the Tumkur milk producers was registered in the year march 1977. A dairy of 1 lakh liters at Tumkur under the OF (Operation Flood) was commissioned and handed over to the union in 1987. DESIGN OF THE STUDY:TITLE OF THE PROJECT : â€Å"Customer satisfaction towards Nandini milk and Awareness, Opinion on Homogenized pure cow milk† STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: Any product that wants to survive must concentrate on factors like quality, price, package etc†¦ According to consumer studies have become essential now a days,that to for such perishable food products to know about their preferences towards the various related aspects of the products . So it has becomes essential to know the present level of consumer satisfaction to analyze the future demand for the products.More product awarenes s has become a potential marketing tool in the global market . Even the software industry is also not free from this area. Well designed more products can create promotional value. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY: The primary objective is to identify the consumer satisfaction level for Nandini milk and Awareness, opinion on homogenized pure cow milk. An attempt to increase the sales can bear fruit only if the consumers are satisfied with the products and services and they go for the product again or even refer to it to other potential buyers.Thus evaluating the current consumer satisfaction level is quiet necessary for improving sales as well as it provides criteria for future sales plans and to develop the marketing plans of the company. SCOPE OF THE STUDY: The Study is exclusive conducted for the â€Å"Customers Satisfaction towards Nandini milk and awareness, opinion on Homogenized pure cow milk† in and around the Tumkur City only. It will help to know the factors influencing the customer’s preference about the product and getting their opinion for accepting product RESEARCH DESIGN: PRIMARY SOURCE OF DATA:Primary data are those collected by the investigator himself for the first time and thus they are original in character, they are collected for a particular purpose. A well-structured questionnaire was personally administrated to the selected sample to collect the primary data. SECONDARY SOURCE OF DATA: Two types of secondary data were collected for the preparation of the project work: -Internal Data was generated from company’s brochures, manuals and annual reports. -External Data, on the other hand, was generated from magazines, research books and internet (websites).LIMITATIONS OF STUDY: ? The survey is limited to the potential of areas of Tumkur City only due to limitation of time. ? The sample size is confined to 100 due to lack of time and resource. ? The study focused on memory recall and there is chance of recall bias. It may have intr oduced errors in the survey. ? There is reluctance on the part of respondents. FINDINGS OF THE STUDY: ? Nandini milk is purchased by many people because they think that it is a product of Karnataka’s farmers efforts. ? Majority of respondents opt full cream Nandini milk and homogenized pure cow milk to onsume everyday. In Nandini milk there are different types of milk like toned Nandini milk, double toned Nandini milk, special Nandini milk, Good life which are presented to market by TMUKMF to satisfy the different needs of consumers in best possible ways. ? Majority of respondent’s view about Nandini milk’s price is expensive, price was the only major inconvenience about Nandini milk to customers. Few respondents did say that the price is reasonable. ? Majority of respondents have never witnessed any sort of contamination or unhygienic factors in Nandini milk. hich proves that people need not have any doubt or fear while using Nandini milk. ? Majorityof responde nts are aware of Nandini homogenized pure cow milk but still 24% are unaware of the product this shows that company need to concentrate on its promotional activities. SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: ? Conduction of Consumer Awareness Program ? Need to maintain constant price for products. ? Adoption of effective advertisement programme. ? Implementation of effective cost controls method. ? Need to improve in packaging of product.CONCLUSION:- Nandini milk as got very good distribution channel and it has agents in every part of the city and the brand image is too good. TMU KMF is providing the best quality products. They have understood the needs of consumer and tried their best to fulfill them. I am sure the company will find my findings relevant and I sincerely hope it uses my suggestions enlisted, which I hope will take them miles ahead of competition. I am sure the company has a very bright future to look forward to and will be a trailblazer in its own right.

Fungi with Focus on Subdivision Zygomycotina and Ascomycotina

Fungi comprises a huge and varied group of organisms that have common characteristics with both the lower plants (algae) and lower animals but are not related to each other(1, a, b,c). They contain true mitochondria and a membrane-enclosed nucleus. They have no chlorophyll and chloroplast. Reproduction is achieved through sexual and asexual means(12). Most fungi grow as branched tubular systems, or mycelia, whose individual filaments or hyphae are surrounded by rigid cell walls containing chitin, cellulose, or both, and other polysaccharides. All fungi lack photosynthetic ability and therefore require preformed organic compounds(2).Prior to the development of fungi in the microscope in the 1600s, the only fungi described were the higher fungi that have large fruiting structures, such as morels, mushrooms, and puffballs. In 1836, the study of fungi was termed mycology (a branch of botany). The different groups of fungi are classified according to their means of sexual reproduction, li fe cycle exhibited, growth and developmental stages, and means of asexual propagation(4). Two Division System: Myxomycota and Eumycota. Ainsworth constructed a two-division system for fungi—the kingdom is divided into two groups, namely Division Myxomycota and Division Eumycota.In Division Myxomycota, the fungi grow as multinucleate amoeboid plasmodia and produce motile uninucleate amobae, as well as biflagellate cells. The so called true fungi are placed in Division Eumycota. The evolutionary relations for this division may be described as a single phyletic series, except for Oomycetes(6). Eumycota and Subdivisions. The Division Eumycota is subdivided into subdivison Mastigomycotina, Basidiomycotina, Deuteromycotina, Zygomycotina, and Ascomycotina. In subdivision Mastigomycotina, the fungi produce motile spores called zoospores, with one or two flagella.The subdivision Basidiomycotina includes members producing haplontic sexual spores called basidiospores on a specialized ce ll called the basidium. The subdivision Deuteromycotina includes all fungi that lack known sexual reproductive structures. Most fungi that cannot be classified fall under this subdivision. The subdivision Zygomycotina has a single class, Zygomycetes and this class includes fungi—bread molds or pin molds—that typically produce an abundant or aerial, coenocytic mycelium and are common causes for the decay of of foods and rich sources of organic material.The subdivision Ascomycotina (formerly the class Ascomycetes) includes all true fungi in which sexual reproduction results in ascospores, produced within specialized structures called an ascus(7). Zygomycotina. The subdivision Zygomycotina has cell walls containing chitin as a primary component. They reproduce asexually by means of non-motile spores called sporangiospores produced in the sporangia formed on branches (sporangiophores) of the mycelium. In some species, such as the Rhizopus nigrificans, the sporangia arise i n clusters with rhizoids at the base and hyphal strands or stolons interconnecting the clusters.The spores are released by the breakdown of the sporangial wall of the sporangial wall and dispersed by air /wind or water current. They germinate by direct outgrowth of hyphal tube to produce a new mycelium. Rhizoids anchor the fungi to the substrate, acting like roots, thus releasing the enzymes necessary to breakdown the substrate and absorbing the broken down nutrients (1). Sexual reproduction may occur between different parts of the mycelium (homothallic mating) or between two sterile strains/cells of opposite mating type. The latter is regulated by a single pair of genes or alleles.One gene is said to be the plus mating type and the other the minus mating type (8). The gametangia, or the sex organs, fuse to form a dormant, thick-walled pigmented and often sculpted zygote called the zygospore. The mature zygospores eventually germinate to produce the new haploid mycelium. The represe ntatives for this subdivision are members of the Rhizopus species like R. oligosporus and R. stolonifer(2). The genetic regulation of sexual reproduction in fungi was first discovered in Zygomycetes by Albert Blakeslee, who coined the terms homothallism and heterothallism to describe the two opposite mating types.Both are known to be common in throughout the kingdom. Ascomycotina. The subdivision Ascomycotina have chitinous cell walls. In many ascomycetes, male structures (antheridia) and female structures (ascogonia) are produced. The antheridia donate nuclei to the ascogonia by fusion with a receptive filament, the trichogyne. In others, the same function may be accomplished by conidia (asexual spores that can also serve as fertilizing elements) or by hyphal fusion. The parental nuclei in the ascogonium unite in the ascogonium and enter the hyphal branches that grow out from it within a developing fruiting body called the ascocarp.The paired parental nuclei divide synchronously (c onjugate division) in specialized hyphae with binucleate cells (ascogenous hyphae). The tip cells of the ascogenous hyphae form a hook in which the haploid parental nuclei fuse to produce a diploid zygote nucleus. The zygote nucleus immediately undergoes meiotic division to produce four haploid nuclei in the enlarging cell, called the ascus at this type of development. In most cases the a mitotic nuclear division then doubles the number of nuclei per ascus, after which each nucleus is enclosed in a cell wall to form the ascospores.The hypahe have simple washer-shaped septa with a central pore; and the asexual reproduction occurs by formation of non-motile spores — conidia, oidia, arthrospores and others — that are usually produced on specialized branches called conidiophores. Several classes of ascomycetes exist. The class Hemiascomycetes includes the unicellular or mycelial yeast. The class Plectomycetes includes several economically important fungi that form their as ci in small, simple, closed fruiting structures (cleisthothecia).The powdery mildews are all obligate parasites of higher plants and are largely host-specific. A second major group of plectomycetes include the commercially utilizable genera Aspergillus and Penicillium,as well as important pathogens of plants and humans. Sexual reproduction is relatively rare among species of Aspergillus (185 species) and Penicillium (14 species). Aspergillus produces chains of pigmented, asexual conidia on the surface of an inflated region of a branch called a conidiophore.Conidium formation is similar similar in Penicillium, but the conidiopore is branched to form a brushlike structure (penicillus) instead of having an inflated vesicle. The conidia are connected by chains in conidiophores but are readily dispersed by air currents. The green, black, yellow and gray colonies of these common microfungi are the results of the color of the huge number of pigmented conidia produced on the surface. All fu ngi in class Pyrenomycetes produce asci and ascospore sas an organized hymenial layer in a fruiting body called perithecium.The perithecium is a small flask-shaped structure with a thin wall that surrounds a basal tuft of asci with the opening at the top called an ostiole. The ascospores are typically discharged from the tips of the asci as they sequentially protrude from the ostiole. The perithecia may form separate structures on the mycelium, or they may lie just below the surface of a larger mass of sterile hyphae called stroma(10). In addition to their roles in the decay of plant and animal residues and in food spoilage, these fungi (h,j) are of great significance to humans in many other ways.Aspergillus fumugatus, a common inhabitant of the heated compost, can cause respiratory disease in humans, and a number of related species may produce aflatoxin, a tumor inducing alkaloid, in poorly stored moldy grain(9. ) A. flavus and A. parasiticus produces aflatoxin, B1 (f), B2 (g), G1 and G2, the first mentioned being the most toxic (a, b,c). The disease caused by Aspergillus is termed as aspergillosis characterized by allergy and infection-like symptoms (3,4). The potential threat of Aspergillus as biological weapon of mass destruction is still being investigated (d-j).Species of both Penicillium and Aspergillus are used extensively in commercial fermentations. Camembert cheese derives its flavor from Penicillium camemberti, and Roquefort from P. roqueforti. Soy sauce is fermented with Aspergillus oryzae or A. soyae. This class also includes other species that cause disease in humans, animals and plants (4, j); for example the fungus Ceratocystis ulmi is responsible for the Dutch Elm disease, other species cause a wilt disease in oaks and still others reduce the quality in number (3, l). Antibiotics were first fist produced using penicillin from P.notatum; the antibiotic activity of this fungus was first described by Alexander Fleming in 1929. Only through a joi nt effort of British and American scientists during the World War II, however was the industrial-scale production achieved, by using a better strains of P. chrysogenum. A huge antibiotic industry has since developed. . Various microfungi are used to produced a number of organic acids—gluconic, itaconic and citric acids (d,e, m), for example—and in other chemical processes. Citric acid fermentation yields about 99,000 each year.Penicillium’s uses do not extend to cheese and to antibiotics alone but also in agriculture—serves as soil bioinoculant. Ochratoxin is produced by P. viridicatum and P. verrucosum. Selected Bibliography I. Books 1. Ainsworth, G. C. (1976). Introduction to the History of Mycology. New York: John Wiley & Sons, In 2. Alexopoulas, C. J. Introductory Mycology. (1979). NY: Wentworth Pub, Inc. 3. Bulmer, G. C. (1979). Introduction to Medical Mycology. London: Academic Press. 4. Christensen, M. C. (1975). Molds, Mushrooms and Mycotoxins. NY : Plenum Press 5. Emmons, C. W. , Binford, J. P.Utz, J. P. , and Kwon-Chung, K. J. , 1977. Medical Mycology. New England: UP. 6. Garraway, M. O. and Evans, R. C. , Fungal Nutrition and Physiology. 1984. London: Academic Press. 7. Gray, W. D. Alexopoulus, C. J.. Biology of Myxomycetes. 1968. NY: Wentworth Pub, Inc. 8. Grolier Encyclopedia. (1993). Grolier International Inc. 9. Raper KB, Fennell DI. , 1965 The genus Aspergillus . Baltimore, Maryland: Williams and Wilkins. 10. Webster, J. Introduction to Fungi. 1980. NY: WMC Inc. II. Journals a. Asan A, Ekmekci S. , 1994 The determination of Penicillium and Aspergillus species in Edirnesoils and their seasonal distribution Tr J Biol 18:291-303 b. El-Said AHM. , 1994 Studies on soil mycoflora of Bahreen Microbiol Res 149:263-269 c. Fresquez PR. , 1990 Fungi associated with soils collected beneath and between pinyon and juniper canopies in New Mexico Great Basin Naturalist 50:167-172 d. Ghildiyal JC. , 1993 Mycoflora of decomposing leaf litter in a subtropical freshwater swamp Proc Nat Acad Sci India 63: (B)H 207-211 e. Joffe AZ. , 1967 The mycoflora of a light soil in a citrus fertilizer trial in Israel Mycopathologia et Mycologia Applicata 32:209-230 f. Kamal Gupta ML, Kumar P., 1979 Aspergilli from soils of Gorakhpur 9: Edaphic factors and distribution in 4 soil types against plane cover Indian J Mycol Plant Pathol 9:56-65 gKhallil AM, Abdel-Sater MA. , 1993 Fungi from water, soil, and air polluted by industrial effluents of Manquabad superphosphate factory (Assuit, Egypt) J Basic Microbiol 31:83- 100 h. Klich M. , 1998 Soil fungi of some low-altitude desert cotton fields and ability of their extracts to inhibit Aspergillus flavus Mycopathologia 142:97-100 i. Rutherford JM, Huang LH. , 1994 A study of fungi of remote sediments in West Virginia cavesand a comparison with reported species in the literature NSS Bulletin 56:38-45 j. Steiman R, Guiraud P, Sage L, Seigle-Murandi F, Lafond J-L. , 1995 Mycoflora of soil around the Dead Sea I-Ascomycetes (including Aspergillus and Penicillium), Basidiomycetes, Zygomycetes System Appl Microbiol 18:310-317 l. Sulun Y, Hasenekoglu I. , 1993 A study on Aspergillus Mich. ex. Fr. and Penicillium Link ex. Gray flora of the soils of northeast Anatolia, Turkiye Doga-Tr J Biol 17:49-60 m. Yaguchi T, Someya A, Udagawa SI. , 1994 Fennellia flavipes and Neosartorya stiamenia, two new records from Japan Mycoscience 35:175-178