Sunday, September 15, 2019

Criminal Justice Enforcement policies Essay

The most severe law enforcement will achieve little if lower-class urban offenders can see no legitimate way to solve their problems or satisfy their aspirations. At the absolute best it could turn the criminals into a passive underclass which is forever dependent on welfare benefits. Even then the most energetic and ambitious members of this underclass would eventually be targeted by recruiters for organized crime or terrorist organizations. Social improvements alone will be ineffective if the atmosphere of fear and hopelessness which pervades crime-ridden areas prevents local people from taking advantage of them, or if the improvement are sabotaged by those who have a stake in the existing situation (e. g. loan-sharks and gang-leaders). So we need a combination of: †¢ Long-term measures to enable people to improve their own lives. †¢ Medium-term measures to mitigate the situation while the long-term measures are in progress, and to deal with the difficulties which a few people will continue to experience – it’s unrealistic to expect that we can solve all urban social problems completely. †¢ Improved law enforcement to prevent the situation from getting worse and to give the locals confidence that their efforts will not be undermined by random crimes and will not be sabotaged by those who have a stake in the existing situation. The term â€Å"law enforcement† needs further analysis, which I will supply in the next section. Law enforcement Overview of law enforcement This has three main components: †¢ Policing †¢ The legal system †¢ Sentencing – in this essay I regard prison construction and operation as part of the infrastructure which supports sentencing. To save space I will not consider the legal system here, since the question specifically mentioned policing and sentencing (references to prisons and the death penalty) but not the legal system. Policing To remove crime-induced fear and hopelessness and to discourage those who have a stake in the existing situation from sabotaging improvements I recommend the â€Å"New York† policing model (described by Griffith, 1999): †¢ Zero tolerance for all crime, even minor vandalism. This will often deter offenders from â€Å"progressing† to more serious crimes. †¢ Making senior local officers accountable for the performance of their units. †¢ Information systems which enable officers at all levels to identify and respond to the highest-priority requirements. To make it clear to local communities that this is for their benefit and not just an exercise in â€Å"aggressive policing†, local governments should: †¢ Explain to local people the objectives of the project and the standards which are to govern police conduct. †¢ Provide channels through which locals can easily raise and swiftly resolve issues, including any complaints about the behavior of the police. These channels must be conspicuously independent of the police. Sentencing In mild cases, e. g. minor vandalism and assaults, I recommend: †¢ Community service sentences, where possible in forms which compensate the victims. This also teach the offenders to get along with law-abiding members of their local communities and hopefully will encourage local people to see some good in the offenders. Some offenders should also be required to attend appropriate rehabilitation or training centers, to help them to manage their finances better or to stop using addictive drugs or to manage grievances without resorting to crime. We should probably reduce their community service workload a little to avoid seeing to punish these offenders more severely than other categories. †¢ Electronic tags which track offender’s movements, to deter against re-offending or evasion of community service. Tags will also make it easier to protect former teenage gangsters against threats and other pressures to re-join their old gangs, and in some cases it may also be helpful to provide with young offenders with panic buttons in case they are attacked by their old gangs or by rival gangs which regard them as easy targets. †¢ Prison sentences (described below) for those who violate the terms of their initial sentences without overwhelmingly good reasons. Prison sentences are necessary for serious crimes because the continued presence of serious offenders in their local communities will cause fear and therefore undermine attempts at longer-term improvements. In many cases, particularly for young offenders, work and education camps in sparsely-populated areas may be more suitable than traditional prisons: †¢ Such camps would separate the offenders both from the social environments in which they turned to crime and from the company of hardened criminals. †¢ Escape would be difficult because of the isolated locations and the offenders’ ignorance of the local geography. †¢ The offenders should be required to erect and maintain as much of the camp facilities as possible. This would both teach them they can only get comforts by working and provide a sense of achievement with each improvement in the camp environment. †¢ There should be plenty of opportunities to earn privileges by work and by educational progress. †¢ Camps would be cheaper to construct and maintain than traditional prisons. I will explain at the end my views on the death penalty. Reducing teenage gangsterism Teenage gangsters desire higher status than they can acquire by legitimate means, and value the regard of their peers more highly than the opinions of adults. The youths are often born into sub-cultures which are at least partially alienated from the rest of our society by †¢ Barriers such as poverty and discrimination. †¢ Sub-culture values such as extreme machismo. Typical crimes include vandalism, assault and murder, and small-scale armed robbery. In addition to their direct costs, these crimes often create an air of fear and hopelessness in the areas affected, which perpetuates the problem by persuading the next generation of teenagers that the only path to safety, status and prosperity is via gang membership. Remedial measures In the long term we must remove the motivation by providing accessible legitimate paths to higher status and prosperity: †¢ Education which is comprehensible to the urban youths but enables them to earn status and wealth in legitimate ways. For example it may initially have to be delivered in the local patois but it must aim to make students proficient in standard English so that they can enter higher levels of education and / or obtain better-paid jobs. †¢ Advice for the teenagers and their families on how to manage their lives, finances, careers and education. †¢ Access to resources such as books and the Internet. Public libraries are the most obvious way to provide these. We must also provide legitimate short-term outlets for teenagers’ ambitions and energies. The most obvious one is sports, which will particularly appeal to the strongest, most competitive and most aggressive teenagers – the potential gang-leaders. I therefore suggest: †¢ Facilities for those who wish to play various sports on a casual basis. †¢ Clubs for those who wish to improve their performance and gain wider reputations. †¢ Organized competitions and leagues at all levels from local to national, for the really ambitious. Reducing crimes committed because of financial crises Long term reduction in personal financial crises requires a fairly complex package including: †¢ Improved education to enable people to obtain better-paid jobs. †¢ Advice on personal financial management. Hopefully these crises will eventually become less common, but they will probably never disappear completely, so there will always be a need for palliatives: †¢ Cheap, quick, reliable legal advice for common types of case. †¢ Inexpensive but not subsidized loans to enable people to survive these crises without resorting to crime. Repayment should where possible be secured by small deductions from the borrowers’ incomes (including any welfare benefits). Credit unions (see ABCUL 2003) should be encouraged as they provide a sense of local involvement, control and responsibility. Reducing drug-related crimes There are at least two types of drug-related crime: †¢ Those committed by addicts desperate for their next fix. †¢ Those committed as a result of the mood-altering effects of some drugs. There are good reasons for believing that the War on Drugs is as unsuccessful as Prohibition was (The Economist 2001 a). About 10% of all arrests in the USA are for drug offenses and about 80% of that 10% are for possession, not for sale or manufacture (The Economist, 2001 b). We need an objective review of drugs policy. This might well lead to legalization of some drugs (with regulation of their quality to minimize health risks), which would sharply reduce the prison population and, by lowering the retail price of legalized drugs, reduce robberies committed to finance purchases. The other long-term remedy is aggressive advertising about the dangers of specific drugs which are more harmful than alcohol and tobacco. This will of course have greater credibility if it follows an objective review of drugs policy. We also need rehabilitation centers to help addicts and excessive users to give up their habits. Crimes induced by a sense of grievance This category is very diverse, including grievances: †¢ which a reasonable person may regard as justified, unjustified or partly justified. †¢ against a wide range of targets, from individuals to the highest levels of government or society as a whole. For as long as some areas are severely disadvantaged in incomes, jobs, schools, etc. there will be some grievances which are at least partly justified and should be at least mitigated by a combination of: †¢ economic redevelopment and improved education. †¢ centers which advise people on legal ways of handling their grievances. This should not be limited to what is normally termed counseling but should include coaching in legal ways of influencing the behavior of and or / hitting back at the sources of grievances. The death penalty The death penalty for murder is arguably no more immoral than killing an enemy soldier in a war. But I oppose it because all legal systems are fallible, and it’s impossible to correct a miscarriage of justice after a person has been executed. Incorrect convictions have arisen in cases where: †¢ Judges misinterpret or misapply the law (e. g. Center on Wrongful Convictions 2004) †¢ The defendant had poor legal representation (American University Law Review 1995 mentions cases where defense lawyers made procedural mistakes in capital cases). †¢ Failure of the prosecutors to disclose information which might help the defense. †¢ Police obtained evidence or confessions improperly, or tampered with or fabricated evidence. †¢ Expert witnesses showed bias in favor of the prosecution either because of their personal opinions or because doing so was to their long-term financial advantage. Unfortunately these miscarriages are not rare exceptions – Northwestern University School of Law’s Center on Wrongful Convictions found that In the quarter century between restoration of the Illinois death penalty and Governor George Ryan’s blanket clemency order, 289 men and women were sentenced to death in Illinois. Of those, 18 have been exonerated — a rate in excess of 6. 2%. (Center on Wrongful Convictions, 2005) The risk of miscarriages has probably risen after 9/11 because police and prosecutors will be under even greater pressure to close terrorist cases and other high-profile murders. Conclusion The original question is flawed because it: †¢ does not define the range of crimes with which it is concerned. †¢ presents an â€Å"either-or† choice between stronger law enforcement and prevention, including social services and education, as ways of reducing crime. For the categories of crime reviewed here both improved law enforcement and preventive measure are needed – neither can succeed alone. I oppose the death penalty because justice systems have shown themselves to be too fallible in high-profile cases. References ABCUL (2003), About Credit Unions accessed May 2005 from http://www. abcul. org/page/about/intro. cfm American University Law Review (1995), The Death Penalty in the Twenty-First Century accessed May 2005 from http://www. wcl. american. edu/journal/lawrev/45/death. html Center on Wrongful Convictions (2004) Pollock: Exonerated accessed May 2005 from http://www. law. northwestern. edu/depts/clinic/wrongful/exonerations/Pollock. htm Center on Wrongful Convictions (2005) The Death Penalty accessed May 2005 from http://www. law. northwestern. edu/depts/clinic/wrongful/deathpenalty. htm Griffith, Gareth (1999), Zero Tolerance Policing accessed May 2005 from http://www. parliament. nsw. gov. au/prod/parlment/publications. nsf/0/796C90ABE8349FDFCA256ECF0008CE11 The Economist (2001 a), Stumbling in the dark (about drugs policy) accessed May 2005 from http://www. economist. com/surveys/displaystory. cfm? story_id=706591 The Economist (2001 b), Collateral damage (of the War on Drugs) accessed May 2005 from http://www. economist. com/surveys/displayStory. cfm? story_id=708550

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Government Budget chapter 1 Essay

Budgeting is the cornerstone of the management control process in nearly all organizations including government agencies. Practitioners express concerns about using budgets for planning and performance evaluation. The practitioners argue that budgets impede the allocation of organizational resources to their best uses and encourage myopic decision making and other dysfunctional budget games. They attribute these problems, in part, to traditional budgeting’s financial, top-down, command and control orientation as embedded in annual budget planning and performance evaluation processes (as cited in Hansen, Van der Stede & Otley, 2008 pp. 95) A government budget is the financial plan of a government for a given period, usually for a fiscal year. The budget is the government’s key instrument in promoting its socio-economic objectives. The use of government funds is based on Article VI, section 29 of the 1987 constitution that â€Å"No money shall be paid by the Treasury except in pursuance of an appropriation made by law.† (Domingo, Liz, & Ruado, 2013) Funds are used by the government for public interest in which it has the sovereignty, but in general, budgets can differ from the actual expenditures. These differences should be justified and presented to the Congress and Senate for the approval of the next annual budget. Background of the Study The Philippines’ Department of Energy (Filipino: Kagawaran ng Enerhiya), abbreviated as DOE is the executive department of the Philippine Government responsible for preparing, integrating, coordinating, supervising and controlling all plans, programs, projects and activities of the Government relative to energy exploration, development, utilization, distribution and conservation. It was created by President Marcos as he issued Presidential Decree No. 1206 which created the Ministry of Energy and attached the National Power Corporation and Philippine National Oil Company to this new agency. The Ministry was abolished during the Regime of Corazon Aquino. During the Regime of President Fidel V. Ramos, that Department was created by virtue of Republic Act No. 7638 otherwise known as the Department of Energy Act of 1992. The Department was vested additional powers and functions under pertinent energy and power related legislations, such as Republic Act No. 9136 or the â€Å"Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001†, Republic Act No. 9367 or â€Å"Biofuels Act of 2006†, and Republic Act No. 9513 or â€Å"Renewable Energy Act of 2008.† In this study, the interviewees are the officers in the budgeting and accounting department. They are given the chance to evaluate themselves whether they have formulate their budgets in compliance with the guidelines included in the Budget Call that DBM issues every year. These guidelines are essential for the formulation of the budget of every government agency because it sets the ceiling that each of them may expend and contains required documents they need to submit. Each government agency receives Budget Call that is similar with the other government agency and this Budget Call is what each of the government agency considers as their bible since all that is written in the Budget Call must be complied; otherwise, they will be subject for further questioning which may have a positive or a negative result. They can also evaluate the controls adopted so as to determine if the present controls are sufficient to guarantee an effective implementation of the approved budget and to assure that the actual expenditures are not exceeding the allotted amounts for that type of expense. Furthermore, the researchers would be able to determine how the government agencies make sure that their budgets will be sufficient, to see how government units justify their budgeted expenditures if those expenditures were above the ceiling that is set by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), and to familiarize themselves with the Budget Process that a government agency undertakes. Theoretical Framework The budgeting process is an essential component of management control systems and has been an effective system by which management can successfully plan, coordinate, and control. The process involves the creation and implementation of the broad objectives of an organization, the detailed objectives, and a short-term and long-term financial plan. There exist a variety of techniques for establishing budgets. Some of the most common techniques include, Incremental budgeting, Program budgeting, Zero-Based budgeting, and Site-Based budgeting. But this study focuses more on the Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB approach) because the time on which the researchers conducted the study was under the administration of President Benigno Aquino III who vowed to shift from the old â€Å"incremental† system of budgeting to the ZBB approach on his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July 2010. The philosophies and procedures used to implement zero-based budgeting in industry and government settings are quite similar, but somewhat different with the mechanics to fit the specific needs of each organization. The basic process of zero-based budgeting is to justify budget requests in every budgeting cycle, regardless of prior period budgets. (http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Tr-Z/Zero-Based-Budgeting.html#b. Retrieved August 4, 2013) ZBB approach is a technique that sets all budgets to nil at the beginning of the year or period and requires from the departments that they justify all of their expenditures, not just those exceeding the budget. Money is allocated to the departments based on merit and not based on the previous year budget plus or minus some percentage such as in many traditional budgeting systems. It is also a technique of planning and decision-making which reverses the working process of traditional budgeting. In traditional incremental budgeting, departmental managers justify only increases over the previous year budget and what has been already spent is automatically sanctioned. No reference is made to the previous level of expenditure. By contrast, in ZBB, every department function is reviewed comprehensively and all expenditures must be approved, rather than only increases. It requires the budget request be justified in complete detail by each division manager starting from the zero-base. The zero- base is indifferent to whether the total budget is increasing or decreasing. It also refers to the identification of a task or tasks and then funding resources to complete the task independent of current resourcing. An important element of this budgeting procedure is that it forces prioritization of government programs and activities. With the prospect of insufficient revenue for matching the demand of spending, it is useful for the government to have a ranking of programs and activities based on proven effectiveness as well as suggested alternatives to expensive or ineffective programs. There are two steps in the process of zero based budgeting. The first step is to develop what is called as â€Å"decision packages† which includes an analysis of cost, purpose, alternative courses of action, measures of performance, consequences of not performing the activity, and the benefits. The second is to rank the decision packages. The decision package is a document that identifies and explains the specific and goals and objectives, measurement of performance, costs, benefits and alternative courses of action. Ranking of decision packages is then accomplished at each management level until a comprehensive agency wide ranking is obtained. Conceptually, zero-based budgeting is a systemic logical approach to allocating resources where they will do the most good. ZBB is often encouraged by fiscal watchdog groups as a way to ensure against unnecessary spending. It is used, or some modified version of it, in the private- and public sectors for decades. Peter Phyrr used ZBB successfully at Texas Instruments in the 1960s and authored an influential 1970 article in Harvard Business Review but only in 1977 the concept of ZBB gained notoriety because President Jimmy Carter announced to implement a ZBB system at a federal level thus spread more rapidly. The impact of budgeting on organizations was probably first studied by Argyris in the 1950s. These studies show some of the behavioral effects resulting from the way budgets are used in organizations. The results of his research showed that the particular process used could cause dysfunctional behavior in subordinates, regardless of the degree of technical refinement of the budgetary system. In the 1970s, Hopwood’s studies inquired into the effects of budgets on human behavior. These studies showed that the use by a superior of a budget-constrained style of evaluation gave rise to significant levels of job-related tension; had adverse effects on peer and subordinate-superior relationships, and was implicated in manipulative behavior on subordinates. A long line of studies have been performed since then to uncover an array of variables that govern the effects of reliance on budgets on behavioral outcomes, including managerial performance. Examples of these variables include budgetary participation, task uncertainty, environmental uncertainty, strategy, and culture. It may require an extensive amount of time, money, and paper work; but it does provide a systematic method of addressing an organization’s financial concerns, in turn enabling an organization to better allocate its resources. (http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Tr-Z/Zero-Based-Budgeting.html#b. Retrieved August 4, 2013) The aforementioned theory have supported the study for better understanding of the budgeting process and the people’s state of mind involved in describing the overall cycle of the budget process of DOE as well as the valuation of controls applied. Conceptual Framework The conceptual framework discussed the flow of the study to be taken. The study used the systems approach. The system of three (3) frames is composed of input whish went through the process and emerged as the output. The input contains the leading variables regarding the budget of the DOE. It includes the phases of the budget process. It discusses in detail the activities conducted in the first phase of the process which is the budget preparation. Next is about the activities conducted in the second phase which is the budget legislation. Then, discussions about the budget implementation phase. And the last phase of the budget process which is the budget accountability. As inputs, problems encountered by the agency and also the possible solutions they adopt are included. The second frame contains methods and procedures used to describe those variables by making observations, research and conducting an interview and statistical analysis The third frame is the output. It contains recommendations in conducting trainings and seminars of the employees about controlling their funds. Recommendations in monitoring the controls are also addressed. Statement of Problem This research is aimed to describe the budget formulation and implementation of the Department of Energy (DOE). Moreover, the budget made by the DOE is also compared to the actual operations of the department to know whether the budget is being conformed to and if such differences are being justified well. Specifically, the study endeavored to answer the following: 1.0 What are phases of the budgeting process in DOE? 2.0 What are the activities conducted in the budget preparation phase of the budgeting process in regard with the following: 2.1 The determination and valuation of the items in the budget proposals; 2.2 Identifying the functions of some government agencies in the budget cycle; 2.3 Identifying the expenditure priorities of the agency; and, 2.4 Identifying the external parties involved in the budget proposals and deliberation? 3.0 What are the activities conducted in the budget legislation phase of the budgeting process regarding the following: 3.1 Budget Deliberation/Review; and, 3.2 As to the importance in conducting deliberation/review in different offices of the national government? 4.0 What are the activities conducted in the budget implementation phase of the budget process regarding the following: 4.1 Guidelines on implementation of the budget; 4.2 Controls the agency uses to monitor the implementation of the approved budget; 4.3 The treatment on the variance between the budgeted amounts and the actual results; and, 5.0 What are the activities conducted in the budget accountability phase of the budget process? 6.0 What are the problems encountered by the agency and the possible solutions they adopt? Scope and Limitations This study will look into the budget formulation and implementation of the Department of Energy based on the rules and regulation issued by the National Government to all government units. This was done to have an understanding on the actual budgeting process of a government unit. The respondents of the study were the OIC financial services director- Araceli Soluta, chief of the budget division- Elisa Morales and the OIC – Chief Accountant – Arturo M. Cudia. The interview was administered in July 24, 2013. The interview questions were made by the researchers based on what they need to know. Significance of the Study This study was anticipated to contribute additional information to serve the following individuals and organizations. Department of Energy. The Department of Energy (DOE) will benefit from this study as they will be able to evaluate the controls adopted by the DOE in valuing the items in the budget proposal and in monitoring the items approved by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). Thus, the controls can be improved as needed. This can also serve as evidence that the DOE is complying with the guidelines set by the DBM. Department of Budget and Management. This study can help the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in assuring that the DOE was able to comply with the guidelines set by them. They can also evaluate the controls that they implement and improve it so as to guarantee the compliance of each government agency in every step of the process. Students. This study will contribute to students to gain basic knowledge about the budgeting process of government agency. This is applicable to students required to gain an understanding on how the budget process took place and the justifications required in each line item in the government agency’s budget proposal. Although not all students need to know this study, it will be beneficial for them to have an idea about it. General Public. This study can give the general public some basic information that can be easily understood for them to have an idea on how the government funds are allocated and what projects are being prioritized by the President. They are not forced to learn this issue but understanding this would be useful for them. Taxpayers. This study will be advantageous for the taxpayers because it discusses the budgeting process that a government agency undertakes. The taxpayers will be assured that the government funds, which mostly came from the taxes paid by the public, are used for the projects or programs that could help the residents of this country and the country itself. Other Researchers. This study will be an effective tool and reference for the subsequent researchers who would want to conduct further study about the budgeting process undertaken by each of the government agency and the justifications required on each item included in their budget. Definition of Terms For better understanding and interpretation of this study, the following terms are operationally defined. Allocation. This refers to the allotment or assignment of funds to be used by the government agencies to different projects and programs and to the operation of the agency itself in accordance with the rules promulgated by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). Budget. This is the allocated funds for the implementation of various government programs or projects and for the operation of the government agency that is set by the agency for approval by the DBM. Budget Call. This is issued by the DBM that defines the budget framework, sets the economic and fiscal targets, subscribe the priority thrusts and budget level and spells out the guidelines and procedures and timetable for budget preparation. Budget Ceiling. The Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) sets a budget ceiling for expenditures that the government agencies may obligate themselves which gives an allowance of about 10% from previous budget. Funds allocated in a project or program in excess of the budget ceiling must be justified. Budget Authorization. This involves reviews/deliberations and a separate deliberations conducted by the Congress and the Senate. Once approved, the President signs the bill into law. Budget Deliberation/Review. It is a process were the Congress or the Senate or both question the budget proposals of the government agency before submitting it to the President. Budget Formulation. This is the first step in the budget process in which the government agency prepares its budget proposals that will be submitted to the DBM who holds hearings for the agencies to justify their budget proposal. Budget Implementation. This is the phase where the approved budget is being executed. The DBM will issue and release allotment and notice of cash allocation to government agencies. Budget Monitoring. This is the last phase that involves evaluation of the financial reports and performances by management. The Commission on Audit (COA) will also evaluate the agencies financial reports and performances through audit. Budget Process. It is the systematic, repetitive procedures that every government agency must follow. Budget Proposal. It is the budget being prepared by DOE which subject to review and justification. Compliance. It is making decisions in accordance with the rules and guidelines

Friday, September 13, 2019

Pearson's hard soft acid base theory in bioinorganic Term Paper

Pearson's hard soft acid base theory in bioinorganic - Term Paper Example The theory implies that soft acids tend to bind to soft bases and hard acids to hard bases. An increase in the electronegativity of an element or ligand causes an increase in the polarizability; this in turn increases hardness. The theory is useful in predicting the pathways of chemical reactions. The chemical conditions in which a hard or soft base or acid in put in can cause the hardness (or softness) characteristics of the acid or base to change. Therefore, borderline elements and ligands might increase or decrease in hardness or softness depending on the chemical conditions. Because of this reason, the metals in various metalloenzymes may be subjected to chemical conditions that might alter their hardness or softness properties. Enzymes with metals that exhibit Pearson’s hard and soft acids and bases theory include: 1) Urease This is an enzyme with nickel at its active site found in many species of bacteria, algae, plants (such as Jack Bean) and invertebrates. It plays a k ey role in the catalytic hydrolysis of urea to form ammonia and carbon dioxide as pre the equation below: Urease in Jack Bean has a single catalytic unit made up of an ?-subunit that has the active site with a dimeric nickel center. One of the two Ni atoms (Ni-1) coordinates to histidine via the nitrogen atoms and a water molecule. The second Ni atom (Ni-2) is similarly coordinated to histidine via the N atoms, two water molecules and to aspartic acid via the O atom. Mechanism: There are several mechanisms that explain how urease works. These include: a) Zerner mechanism In this, a carbonyl oxygen in urea attacks one of the water ligands attached to Ni-1. A nitrogen atom in the urea molecule donates its lone pair electrons to a carbon atom forming an N=C bond (Dixon, Riddles and Blakeley). This then reacts with a carboxylate ion. A base-catalyzed deprotonation of one –OH ligand on Ni then occurs. The resultant electronegative O attacks the carbonyl carbon. The N=C bond initia lly formed donates two electrons to the nitrogen, cancelling out the charge on it. The intermediate carbon formed with a coordination of 4 is then broken down by a sulfhydryl group. Ammonia is released when the C-N bond is broken after an H atom bonds to the N. This occurs alongside the breaking of the bond between the octahedral nickel and oxygen. A carbamate ion coordinated to the Ni is then formed. Water displaces the carbamate. The resultant carbamate then degenerates to yield carbonic acid and urea. b) Mangani mechanism This mechanism stipulates that both Ni-1 and Ni-2 take part in the reaction. The first atom, Ni-1, binds to urea, causing its activation. The second, Ni-2 binds to a water molecule, causing its activation (Benini, Rypniewski and Wilson). Ni-1 is in a five-coordinate formation, bound to urea via a carbonyl O atom. The distance between the two Ni atoms is reduced by the movement of the urea molecule towards Ni-2. The relatively low Lewis base property of NH2 in ur ea makes it a poor chelating ligand. Its high basicity however, enables the binding to Ni to occur. 2) Carbon monoxide dehydrogenase This is a nickel-based enzyme found in various bacteria. The enzyme plays a role in the catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide to form carbon dioxide as per the equation below: There are two classes of carbon monoxide hydrogenase enzymes: one has a Mo-[Fe2-S2] active site and the other a Ni-[Fe3-S4]

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Current Issues in Computing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Current Issues in Computing - Essay Example On the other hand there is differing perception in the manufacturers and the users in the heat density reduction parameters, which need rationalization. Thermal management also needs to be included while designing devices and the issue is likely to become more complex over the years. Reduction of power is also related to power aware computing, which is designing software and hardware to ensure optimum management of power. The growth of information technology has spawned a vast industry based around computers and information science. The impetus to economies and employment provided by computing ignores the silent yet alarming environmental hazard posed by systems compressed in small spaces requiring enormous amounts of power and generating large quantities of heat. Heat generated by computers is easily calculable, but one seldom takes into account the heat of hundreds of humans working in small spaces. There is increased awareness of environmental hazards of power and heat in computing, which are being addressed by the industry and academicians. The main issues to be considered are the nature and magnitude of the threat and measures that can be taken to minimize or overcome these. This is being carried out by a study of two prominent trends in computing environment, heat density and power aware computing. In this section we will examine the trends in power consumption and resulting heat dissipation in computers and data processing as well as storage systems and central office type telecommunications equipment. A White Paper, â€Å"Heat Density Trends in data Processing, Computer Systems and Telecommunications Equipment† is the main source of the study. (Uptime Institute: 2000). A number of other papers and presentations have also been considered to validate the trends in the Uptime Institute paper. There is a general feeling of smugness in the computing world generated by the

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

American Religious groups and History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

American Religious groups and History - Essay Example Religion has played a vital role in the establishment of major universities and learning centers such as the Harvard, Princeton, Williams, and Yale among others. Different regions of the country have different representations of the religious groups with the rural consisting of few Catholics except some areas such as Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. Most of the Catholics are in the urban areas such as the Great Lakes and the industrial and mining regions. Judaism is also a religious group in America and is the second largest after and Frank y. Many of the people prophesying Judaism faith are Jews and their descendants and have existed since the 17th Century. Islam takes the third position in America although it just represents a 0.9 percent of the entire population. The other religious groups include the Rastafarianism, Baha’i among others. There are people who do not profess affiliation to any religion and are associated with Atheism, Agnosticism, and Humanism. This population i s increasing at a high rate although they are associated with materialism, criminal behavior, and cultural elitism. America is, therefore, experiencing an increase in religious groups and increase in those who profess no religion. During the period of religious movement in America, the great awakening led to divisions among the denominations such as Baptists, Methodists, and the Presbyterians. Although the first American Protestant Mission was in 1820 in Hawaii, most of the triumphalism happened in the 1960s.

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Kalaipahoa, Poison God Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Kalaipahoa, Poison God - Essay Example The tree from which the woodcarving came was called the Kalaipahoa tree and perhaps this is where the name of the Hawaiian god Kalaipahoa originated. Certainly, Kalaipahoa, Poison God is a work of art at least going by the principles and elements of art. Perhaps it is appropriate to start by mention the fact that the Hawaiians produced this piece of art in order to construct their identity when it came to worship and other religious issues. This meant that the people of Hawaii in used to worship their god in a unique way that no other ethnic group did. This was particularly so in the sense that the Hawaiians had a sense of identity in their god of poison while other tribes worshipped their gods in the mountains and the oceans. Additionally, the Hawaiians constructed their god with human hair thus they strategically essentialized themselves to survive their cultural identity and draw more powerful supernatural support since its style, iconography, and underline message conveyed such. When it comes to the background of the work, the Hawaiian woodcarvers constructed the pieces of art for religious purposes and they made sure that Kalaipahoa was carved out of the Kalaipahoa tree that was considered very poisonous to humans. Mainly, the tree was collected from Molokai Island before being transported to the woodcarvers. Essentially, the people of Hawaii were well versed with all kinds of poisonous trees and they put this knowledge into good use by utilizing it in wars and in worship. Although the Kalaipahoa tree was very famous for its medicinal value, its poisonous nature proved to be unbearable at times and could kill humans within seconds of inhalation or contact. Finally but equally important, it is worthy to note that Kameharnehas poison-god, who was also called Kalai-pahoa, was a female carved out of wood with human hair. Her facial expression depicted anguish with one eye shut whiles the other one wide open. She seemed to be looking at the

Monday, September 9, 2019

Will single issue movement for soil conservation and clean water Essay

Will single issue movement for soil conservation and clean water inevitably fail - Essay Example Over exploitation has led to climate change and global warming. Human activities, such as urbanization and industrialization have resulted in pollution of water and air that causes global warming due to acidic rainfall. Global warming has been a menacing problem to the world over the years. Many countries have formed commissions to try and come up with measures that will control these changes. Soil pollution is a result of over-cultivation of the land and use of harsh fertilizers. Failure to plant cover crops leads to erosion of the top soil that is fertile and good for crop production. Industrialization has led to water pollution. Agents of water pollution are; sewage water that is channeled into the rivers, industrial waste, and oil spillage into water bodies. It is important to keep the water bodies clean because the water is said to be life. Contaminated water leads to various diseases that affect both human beings and plants. Nature can be unforgiving if not cared for .The Nobel Prize winner Wangari Mathai said if we do not take care of the nature, nature will destroy us. Single issue movement of soil conservation and clean water will inevitably fail. This is because, single issue movement deals with one policy; the solution may not be in a position to solve the problem because it is one sided. This paper is going to analyze how single issue movement of soil conservation and clean water will fail. A lingering concern is that the quality of soil is destroyed by over exploitation by human beings and use of harsh fertilizers. Thus, single issue movement concentrates on how to control use of harsh fertilizers and forgets to address over-exploitation which makes it to fail. Soil conservation refers to strategies put forth to control soil being eroded or being altered by land use. Exploitation of the soil is as a result of the rapid