Muslim Persecution by the Quraish

Muslim Persecution by the Quraish When the Holy Prophet declared Allah's message in public and called upon the people of Makkah to adopt Islam as their religion, he moved into a new stage in Islamic history. Before this, the Holy Prophet's had only been preaching on very minor scales to his close fellows. The declaration of the message changed the picture. It called upon the people of Makkah to accept a total change – to pay homage to Allah instead of their idols and to bring a complete alteration in social, economic, political and commercial conduct.The response of the people of Makkah was aggressive. They felt that unless Islam was not faced with a tough opposition, it would be accepted by a large number of people, especially the poor and the slaved. Among those who took a lead in the opposition were the most influential chiefs of the Quraish, specifically Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab, Abu Sufyan, Waleed bin Mughaira and Abta bin Rabi. The poor and the weak converts like Hazrat Bilal were tortured and made to suffer.They would be starved, beaten and exposed to the scorching heat of the desert. Some slaves even died due to the effects of torte. However, none of the slaves or poor renounced their religion. Even rich and respected people like Hazrat Usman, Hazrat Abu Bakr and Abdullah bin Zaid would not be spared. The opposition increased gradually. Rubbish, twigs and thorns would be thrown at the Holy Prophet and abuses would be launched at him. A Quraish once tried to strangle the Holy Prophet with a sheet while he was praying in the Kaabah.Another time, Abu Jahl placed filth on the Holy Prophet's back when he was prostrating during prayers. The Quraish also hurled campaigns against the Holy Prophet. The Holy Prophet was called a madman. Poems were written to ridicule him. When the Holy Prophet's second son died in infancy, Abu Lahab called him ‘abtar' – a man with no male offspring. The Quraish would try to physically harm the Prophet. However, in spite of all these horrible measures, the Holy Prophet continued to preach Islam.When insults and physical harm had no effect on the Holy Prophet, the Quraish tried to bribe the Holy Prophet. They offered him large fortunes, the seat of the king, marriage to the fairest maiden in the land if he gave up preaching Islam. The Holy Prophet refused all such offers. Abu Talib was approached and told to tell his nephew to stop preaching. However, the Holy Prophet pledged to continue preaching Islam until the day he perishes.

Nine Dragons Paper Essay

1.How does MRs. Cheung Think?What does she believein when it comes to building her business? Mrs. Cheung is a very innovative person. Her thinking is extremely positive, creative, advance and quite original. She possess perseverance, determination with a business and marketing mentality and with her know-how business approaches, constructed a corporation that was a leading force in the industry. Her creativeness and originality is evident as she was the first to use waste paper to create packaging paper. When it comes to building her company, she believes in expansion, premeditated and tactical planning . 2 .How would you summarize the company’s financial status? How does it reflect the business development goals and strategies employed by Mrs. Cheung? NDP has been investing at an incredible pace – best demonstrated by comparing the company’s cash flows from operating activities in 2007 and 2008 with the cash flows from investing activities. –NDP has clearly been profitable in recent years, and demonstrates a high rate of profitability one would not ordinarily see in this type of semi-commodity based business –NDP’s rate of profitability, however, has been sliding, reflecting rising input prices and greater competitive markets for its products –The company’s growing debt burden is large and getting larger . 3. Is NDP in trouble? How would your answer differ if you were an existing shareholder, a potential investor, or an analyst? The company still appears to be marginally profitable in this difficult business environment,but profitability is a concept which focuses more on the corporate income statement, not cash flows. The result is that it appears the company will need to borrow even more to survive the year. †¢ Existing shareholders are clearly down, and would like to see the company executive management take measures to improve share price sooner rather than later. They are, however, minority shareholders, Mrs. Cheung and family holding more than 70% of the firm. †¢ Potential investors might see the company has a ‘good bet’, given the current share price low and the prospects for long-term competitiveness .

Role of Healthcare Practitioner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Role of Healthcare Practitioner - Essay Example Endoscopy has developed rapidly in the last few years and provided relief to numerous cancer patients in the early detection of the disease, which renders it curable. The NHS has introduced new measures to ensure efficient utilization of endoscopy services, since available resources in this area are not being used to the optimum levels. Inpatients were being forced to wait for more than six days for endoscopy services and there was no proper coordination between A&E departments and endoscopy units, with incorrect referrals often being made. Improvements have been made based on deficiencies identified through studies in endoscopy [www.modern.nhs.uk, n.d]. Cancer nursing is an area where there are continuous developments and the optimum use of diagnostic tools such as endoscopy could make all the difference in treatment and cure of cancer patients. Thus the NHS has recently been introducing changes to optimize services and provide for better coordination between various medical terms a nd personnel to improve diagnosis and treatment for cancer patients. A Department of Health Services report released in 1995 which focused on the configuration of cancer services has resulted in fresh new perspectives being offered on the integration of cancer diagnostic and treatment services from a patient oriented view [Porter, n.d.]. Educational trends are also being reviewed, revealing the lack of adequate cancer based education in the field of nursing. This is a specialist branch of nursing and requires additional enhancement of study material for nursing graduates. Clinical diagnosis through endoscopy offers new opportunities for cancer trained nurses in diagnostic services [Porter, n.d.]. However, the field of cancer diagnostics and research has evolved into various disciplines such as endoscopy and radiology, which are now being inter-related to ensure optimum use of facilities and

Present the argument from evil against the existence of god,and Essay

Present the argument from evil against the existence of god,and explain the major objections to the argument, and the major resp - Essay Example One of the primary assumptions of a supreme being is that they would embody morally just or ‘good’ qualities. With a morally just God the question then becomes why there is evil in the world. Another important consideration is that if there is a God or creator figure then he must be an extremely powerful entity. With this power then why does the God not eliminate evil in the world? In these regards, the actual structure of the argument is that: 1. If God exists, then God is supreme and moral. 2. If God is supreme, then God has the ability to do away with evil. 3. If God is supreme, then God knows where to locate evil. 4. If God is moral, then God has the desire to do away with all evil. 5. There is evil in the world. 6. If evil exists and God exists then God would have done away with evil. Therefore, God doesn't exist. Objections When considering these points, there are a number of objections that have been raised. When considering these points a number of objections hav e been raised. One of the major objections surfaces from believers in God who argue from a religious perspective. This perspective is that the existence of evil and God are not contradictory because God intends for individuals to have free will.

The Dell Company E-Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Dell Company E-Business - Essay Example In order to analyse the organization of Dell Company, its micro environment need to be evaluated with the help of Porter’s five Forces. It is one of the most recognised analytical tools utilised in maximum organizations among others. Bargaining power of the Suppliers: the bargaining power of the suppliers is extremely high and so the organization of Dell Company had to communicate with varied suppliers in order to attain the raw materials.Bargaining power of the buyers: the bargaining power of the buyers is also quite high in this segment due to the presence of numerous competitors such as IBM, Apple Inc, Acer etc. As a result, the level of switch over costs of the customers is also extremely high that may hinder the growth and dominance of the organization of Dell in the market to a considerable extent. Therefore, in order to retain the level of sustainability and supremacy in the market, the organization of Dell desired to offer inventive products and services to its custome rs. This might increase the loyalty and consistency of the organization in the market among many others. Threat of new entrants: the threat of new entrants is also quite high in this sector due to effective government policies and lower economies of scale. Due to which, the organization of Dell had to offer high concentration over research and development. This might prove effective in developing newly inventive product lines so as to attract a wide range of customers towards the brand that may enhance its profitability.

Aquinas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Aquinas - Essay Example Man typically behaves in accordance with the nature that leads to the good or what is ideal as convened or sought after by the majority of members in the society. By natural law, this setting enables men to compete with each other exhibiting skills that are subject to desired recognition but the problem emerges when, in an effort to improve, an individual tends to consider deceitful schemes to outwit others and succeed thereafter. Because we all live in a society, the law of nature drives us to excel with the potentials that we have, it is inevitable to think constantly of matters that bring good to ourselves. To Aquinas, anything good is within precepts or dictates of the human intellect over which natural law governs. By knowing what is good for us as humans with the power of will and intellect, we allow nature to direct our capacities to the attainment of such good and Aquinas further claims that our knowledge of the good comes with our knowledge of the opposite so that the natura l law automatically guides our path of thinking and action in discord with the bad or evil. Though this principle can possibly arrive at full realization and in time should make better human beings, still we ask, why do crimes prevail and humans often end up hurting each other in the process of personal development? Analyzing based on the grasp of human intellect, we begin to understand that since there is no way we can fully comprehend God’s design by participating to obtain the perfective object within the realm of divine instructions, we are disposed to compensate by seeking guidance through man-made laws. These laws have correspondingly established norms which are agreed upon by the majority, but not by all. So that those who commit misdeeds to the extent of crime in the society are considered the deviants whose weakness at grasping the moral law as a manifestation of the eternal law renders them to depart from the original precepts of good. Besides crimes or acts of inju stice of one man against the other, the society may be observed with people who continue to live with dissatisfied or emotionally complicated lives. On the basis of a concrete experience of human trouble, say of the state of depression or feeling empty despite the presence of material wealth and quality of intelligence, we examine what could have gone wrong as natural law facilitates human’s inclination toward the good or ideal accomplishments described within its scope. Then gradually, we discover that the satisfaction or happiness aimed for is subject to what a human being uniquely treats as a concept of perfection and desire; and because humans are distinct from each other in several ways, we may not readily guarantee or acknowledge that a common good end applies to everyone under the same sun. Hence, if for instance I were a human being with a broken heart, my highest priority would be to acquire relief from such condition of broken-heartedness and it would bear no releva nce for me to strive to achieve perfection in other fields even if this is where the larger part of the ethical society is headed at. As Aquinas proposed, the human mind is limited and most of us are consumed by the worries of the world in the manner cited due to this limitation which prevents men from resolving to eradicate the consequence of weakness made by it. Moreover, the contemporary society in which we live may be

Contemporary Issues in Judaism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Contemporary Issues in Judaism - Research Paper Example The first practice among Jews that often invites criticism is circumcision. According to Jewish tradition, circumcision is the mark of a covenant between man and God. Circumcision is conducted on the eighth day of a baby, and is preformed by a mohel. Usually, the mohel visits the baby one or two days before the ceremony and verifies that the child is fit for circumcision. Through the circumcision, the foreskin of the penis is removed so that the entire glans and corona are exposed. While the traditionalists believe that there is no issue in continuing with the practice of circumcision, there are people like Dr. Peter Ball (n. d.) who believe that the practice is both unwanted and barbaric. There are umpteen numbers of reasons put forward by scholars to show that circumcision has its own disadvantages. Firstly, it leads to increased intolerance to clothing as the glans, when unprotected, is highly sensitive. In addition, too much rubbing against clothing results in the glans’ l osing sensation. As a result, it leads to less sexual satisfaction. Moreover, studies have proved that circumcision can make people feel mutilated, incomplete, and hence depressed. Despite all the points, the advocates of circumcision point towards the fact that many peoples in the world including many Africans, Christians and Muslims practice circumcision. In addition, they claim that circumcision is a happy occasion as it is the time of making a new covenant with God. Yet another issue that deserves attention is the relation between feminism and Judaism. It is generally claimed that Judaism promotes feminism. This is so because the feminist movements often have a large number of activists from Jews. According to one feminist (Thalia, 24 May 2011) who is a Jew, the holy text Torah teaches people to accord the same respect to all people. An example provided is the building of the Tabernale. In Exodus 35:1, it is read: â€Å"Moses assembled the entire assembly of the Children of Isr ael†, and evidently, there was no differentiation between males and females. Though the traditionalists do not allow women to serve as actual rabbi in orthodox synagogues, there are women who claim to be the leaders of Jews, and recently, Sara Hurwitz was ordained as ‘rabba’- the feminine gender of ‘rabbi’. Admittedly, a look into the Jew principles proves that Jewish ideology promotes the wholeness of a human being and not a role change. In fact, according to Scholars, Judaism believes in being a part of the society while remaining unique, in being a part of a community while maintaining ones own individuality, and in being a part of the world while also being a woman. This understanding of wholeness in ones personality is the reason why many people claim that Jewish women are feminists. However, what happens in today’s world in the name of feminism is actually ‘careerism’. In other words, it is the struggle to give up womenâ€⠄¢s traditional roles and the effort to appropriate men’s roles. Thus, as Heller (2008) points out, the wholeness of personality as taught by Torah is different from the feminism as seen in today’s world. Another issue, abortion, is a matter serious dispute within the Jewish community even now. In order to see if Judaism allows abortion, one should see how Judaism treats a fetus. According to Eisenberg (2004), ‘chalacha’ (Jewish law) considers a fetus as a full-fledged human being. So, one can conclude that destroying a fetus amounts to murder. In addition is the proof that Torah suggests punishment for purposefully causing a woman to miscarry. However, there are people who argue

Front end of Sky West Inc case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Front end of Sky West Inc - Case Study Example Sky West Inc. was named the regional company of the year since 2006 depicting customer satisfaction. However, Sky West Inc. faces a challenge of increased and fluctuating fuel costs and it is the aim of this report of the alternatives strategies for implementation by management to overcome the challenge and recommend the best alternative. The first alternative available for Sky West Inc. is to improve the fleet of aircrafts to have better technology, be bigger, and efficient in flying both short and long distant locations. Improving the fleet will provide Sky West Inc. the chance to increase destinations and augment the ability of the company to compete with established airlines. The current fleet requires large maintenance costs and affects the ability of the company to make large contracts with major airline companies to fly for long distances. Pros: several benefits will accrue from the implementation of the strategy including low fuel consumption from the increased efficiency in fuel consumption by the more technologically advanced aircrafts. Another benefit from the alternative is the augmented efficiency of operations from the improved fleet allowing for a reduction in maintenance costs and decreased breakdowns reducing operation costs for the company. Time-saving on maintenance and repairs will allow Sky West Inc. access better returns from the increased times of flying with the new flight compared to old fleet that have to be frequently grounded for maintenance and repairs. Improving the fleet will also put Sky West Inc. at a better position of competing with international aviation companies for greater market share and propel it beyond regional aviation service provision. Cons: the main disadvantage with the alternative is the high cost of implementation. The high costs are as a result of the need to phase out old fleet resulting in losses owing to sale at lower price or minimal use reducing return on assets ratio.

MacNaughton(2003) states curricula can be defined as conforming Essay

MacNaughton(2003) states curricula can be defined as conforming reforming or transforming.Critically discuss extent each of thes - Essay Example Consequently, reform in education is currently the standard rather than the exception. Nonetheless, in spite of the continuous spectacle of reforms, only a slight portion of the core changes. Institutions and individuals should evolve over time or face the possibility of extinction. Valuable changes enhance the institution or individual so that it may work more successfully in, and be more sensitive to, a relentlessly evolving environment. But efforts at educational reform usually create new problems rather than improve its foundation and processes. There are those who find fault with comprehensive reforms in education which forces several schools to give in, or conform to mainstream standards. Hence, according to MacNaughton (2003), â€Å"curricula can defined as conforming, reforming, or transforming†. This essay will explain this statement and relate it to post-16 curriculum. The discussion will also take into account the points of view of different practitioners. Curriculu m as ‘Conforming’ Before 1998 in England it was teachers, in theory, who chose the curricula and objectives of their schools. There were actual issues about this, not merely the often broadly disparate policies between schools (Ross 2000). However, there was a more deep-seated problem. Why should teachers be granted this authority? Do they have the knowledge and experience which qualify them to such choices? Are they qualified to make decisions whether to ‘conform’ or ‘reform’? According to Webster (2011), the term ‘conform’ means ‘to fit, accommodate, adapt, suit or befit’ (para 3). Following this definition, there is certainly a valid argument against granting macro-decisions to conform or not to teachers. They are just one sector of the population, but decisions about the routes education should follow involve everyone. Cuban (1993) suggests a paradigm of varied curricula for the study of curriculum. He proposes tha t we treat curricula in four groups (as cited in Joseph, Braymann, Windschitl, Mikel & Green 2000): Official curriculum can be found in curriculum guides and conform to state-mandated assessment. Taught curriculum is what individual teachers focus on and choose to emphasise—often the choices represent teachers’ knowledge, beliefs about how subjects should be taught, assumptions about their students’ needs, and interests in certain subjects. Learned curriculum encompasses all that students learn; learned curriculum may be what teachers planned or have not intended, such as modelling teachers’ behaviour or what students learn from other students. The fourth curriculum Cuban calls tested curriculum; these tests—whether derived from the teacher, the school district, state, or national testing organisations—represent only part of what is taught or learned (ibid, p. 4). Similar to MacNaughton (2003), Cuban advises us to be careful of the view that curriculum is ‘conforming’, or how the state or school embodies itself, but not essentially suggestive of what transpires in classrooms (Joseph et al. 2000). Cuban (1993 as cited in Joseph et al. 2000) argues that we have to take into account these varied perspectives of curricula if we are genuinely interested with reform in education; reforms in tested and official curricula could be pointless unless we address the learned and taught curricula. The varied curricula model of curriculum

Training Staff for Criminal Justice Essay Example for Free

Training Staff for Criminal Justice Essay The three key issues intricate with correctional staff are corruption, staff safety, gender and staffing. Correction officers are people that tried to become cops but failed. So their morals take a huge hit because they are upset about not being able to become a police officer. So it is easier for them to be corrupted because that’s their way of getting back at the system. Another way of corruption is by force and fear; maybe a prison gang is threatening the correctional officer family. Either way I believe that in order to prevent officers of becoming corrupted there should be more cameras and have a better ethics-training program. One effective management policies and procedures is to start a code of ethics program for correctional officers, a program that makes correctional officers comprehend the code of standards of morality since they are involved in greater demands than just being a decent person. They need to understand that without their morals people get hurt or even killed. Second key issue is staff safety there has been horrific situations were inmates murder correctional officers and thus people are afraid to work in prisons. While inmate populations go up, correctional officers are going down because the things you read and hear on the news. For example â€Å" (1) the savage murder of Correctional Officer Jose Rivera on June 20, 2008, by two prison inmates at the United States Penitentiary in Atwater, CA. ; (2) the brutal stabbing of a correctional officer on April 23, 2009, by a prison inmate at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, IN. (3) the brutal stabbing of a correctional officer on November 1, 2009, by a prison inmate at the United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg, PA; and (4) the more than 350 vicious inmate-on-staff assaults that have occurred at various BOP institutions since the murder of Correctional Officer Rivera. † (By Joe Davidson,October 15, 2012) Correctional officers deal with murders, rapists, and mentally ill the refore their job can be very difficult. If failing to protect your staff, visitors and detainees then there can be major implications for your institute. Second effective management policies and procedures for recruiting and training are to set up an investigative committee to search for and punish instances of staff getting hurt. Internal policing should be balanced carefully. There should be more correctional officers at prisons that carry the most notorious criminals. Maybe have more K9s to help prevent attacks from inmates. The third key issues involved with correctional staff is gender and staffing. I don’t believe there should be females in male facilities because most girls love the attention and that’s unprofessional when its in male prisons. You hear on the news about female guards getting impregnated by inmates and that’s very immoral of them. These correctional officers should be in jail because these inmates are people that committed horrible crimes and is in prison to be punished! â€Å"Four female correction officers were impregnated by the reported leader of a Maryland prison gang, which used a network of female prison guards to help launder money, run drugs and smuggle contraband into state detention facilities, according to a federal indictment. (By RUSSELL GOLDMAN, April 24, 2013) These female guards were smuggling contraband and gifts for the black guerrilla family. If we had only male correctional officers in male prisons then there will be less temptation to giving in. Third effective management policies and procedures for recruiting is to watch officers tattoos, these female guards in MD that got pregnant from gang leader of the black guerrilla family had gotten tattooed â€Å"Tevon† on their bodies. Therefore we need to identify and monitor officers suspected of dishonesty. Officers with tattoos such as symbols of gangs on their wrists or necks may be indicating an affiliation or rank in a prison gang. Background checks on correctional officers also may be an effective way of uncovering gang ties and a history of unethical behavior. I think in order to have a good correctional officer you need to find one that’s not affiliated with gangs, try to find a candidate that has no history with gang activity. â€Å"Good officers come from a good environment. They enjoy supportive, two-parent families with siblings, quality education and at least a modicum of financial affluence. They are free of prejudice and abnormal training in arts that no human has any business practicing, such as torture and murder. They feel honest compassion for man, animals and our ecology. They are subject to guidance, oversight, quality control, censure, and feedback loops from moral individuals and real punishment for deliberate acts of abuse. They will know what it feels like to be abused. The scientific application of all these principals will make good corrections officers. †(James Bauhaus, what makes a good prison guard) Plan to Improve Correctional Facilities I believe need to help people stay out of the system. So many are in for minor offenses and come out ten times worse when they arrived inside. I’ve seen friends that came back more violent and more streets smart. So I think there should be a lot more programs and support from the government to help individuals to learn a profession so that they can have a chance to fly straight. â€Å"Once were in jail, theres no point sending us back out to do it all again. Incarceration is the punishment of someone that did something illegal; incarceration is to make someone change for the better. Youve got us locked up, so use the time to help us change. Dont turn out the same person who went in (or a worse person the party bag were sent away with usually includes a nice new line in bullying, violence, manipulation and drug use) because well carry on committing crime, as we dont know any other way to live. If prisons did nothing more than run effective drugs programs, the crime rate over the next five years would be slashed. We advocate therapy, talent recognition initiatives, training, education, and drug and alcohol programs. Some of these already exist, but there arent enough programs, and not enough of them work. In fact, a lot are expensive disasters. (Mark Johnson, The Guardian, 2008) One major target population is women in jail. Female inmates live in the same surroundings as men do however female inmates face more problems because I think they get more emotional then men do thus their issues start growing more and more eventually blowing up their anger amongst women inmates. Overall, the population of women in the criminal justice system is the fastest growing. Women in prison have gone up over twenty percent and over fifteen percent in probation. â€Å"The growth in the female incarcerated population was 2. 2 percent since 2,000. (Leonard Sipes, Statistics on Women Offenders) While the population of women in prison has been going up, there has not been a rise of women prisons. Women are more likely to be in a prison that is far away from their families. Which will hurt their family and even worse their children. With not a lot of contact with their children, I think stress levels get high among women in jail. When you put women into these situations then they look for an alternative to ease the pain and anger. That’s when drugs come into play. â€Å"In Maryland, half the women reported daily heroin use in the six months leading up to their arrest compared to lightly more than a third of men. Half the women reported daily cocaine use compared to 22 percent of men. † (Leonard Sipes, Statistics on Women Offenders) Our budget spending on facilities is ridiculous because the system is not doing what they are supposing so do. They don’t help rehabilitate inmates as much as they should. Pretty much we tax payers are not getting our moneys worth. â€Å"Ten years ago, the correctional healthcare market was $4. 5 billion in annual spending, with approximately 40% outsourced to private vendors. Today, the share of the mar ket served by outsourcing is growing alongside a rising inmate population. As a corollary, the rising costs of healthcare due to a graying correctional population and other factors have doubled the market to over $10 billion. † (Marc Baudry, 2012) There are three major keys to help issues in corrections†¦ the first one is education programs. EVERYONE knows education is very important to succeed in life. Therefore there should be more educational programs and it should be mandatory to attend. I know at first its going to be hard but once inmates get out the system and find a decent job then the word will spread and then inmates will take advantage of these programs. They should capitalize on inmates that have a family. â€Å"McElrath-Bey argues that investment can’t be limited to higher education. Though GED programs exist in most prisons, many inmates are still unable to take advantage. Typically, inmates who have financial support from the outside—from family or friends—are the ones who earn their degrees. Inmates with no help are forced to take prison work, to pay for the food, clothes and toiletries—like soap and toothpaste—that make life bearable inside prison walls. You can either go to school, or you can work to earn the basic necessities you need to survive. (Mathew Fleischer, 2013) Probation and parole is my second major key to help issues in corrections. Sometimes the probation officer gets burnt out and stops caring for inmates. I think there should be more contact and communication with the probation officer and parole. The inmate needs as much help as he can get so probation officers should do as much as he or she can to make sure that the offender does not return to prison. I know there are so many inmates that don’t care and end up coming back to prison but that still shouldn’t stop the probation officer from doing his or her job. My third one is a faith-based program. I’ve seen people change because of their new beliefs and I think that’s what most inmates need. A faith-based program is a good idea because it teaches inmates the way of believing something such as god or whatever religion. People sometimes don’t want to understand the ways of god but when you read and think about the sins you committed then you start to feel some remorse. I’ve seen this happen with two of my cousins. Both were in jail and while reading the bible it helped them understand their need to change for the better. One of them is out working at Sprint as a sales consultant doing very well for himself now. The other is still waiting for his trial in September. Whatever the outcome may be I believe with faith based programs it’ll turn inmates to a better person. One way to improve target population is better social skills for inmates. Prisons need a greater unity between warden, prisoners and staff. Also stop having a race thing. There should be a group of people that are different race put in each cell. Second way to improve population is stop the overcrowding. People that are on edge are more likely to blow up on someone when they are always around. Sometimes an inmate needs some space to try to deal with their issues. My third suggestion to improve target population is to upgrade the prisons and jails because some facilities are rundown and rotting so this could possibly present health and safety hazards for inmates. No one would like to live in poor conditions so its time to have a modernization in correctional facilities. I think with these ideas, inmate issues will decrees and that inmates frustration/problems will be resolved more quickly. Philosophy and Goals of Punishment and Reformation The goals of punishment and reformation are to rehabilitate people that commit crimes and to protect our citizens. History has taught us the nature of corrections, People need to be punished for their actions however sometimes there are some people that are sick and not know what they are doing. Times are changing so there are new tactics/programs to help criminals get back on their feet. â€Å"How criminals were punished and the methods behind the punishment changed throughout the times. Standards of punishment moved from banishment and fines to torture and blood feuds (Siegel Senna, 2005). A more organized system of punishment came forth with the formation of Common Law, which was brought over to the United States from England. With the development of a system, there was a move away from physical punishment toward methods more acceptably used yet today in the United States. † (Elizabeth Renter, 2008) With that said, there are three major challenges to corrections, using an evidence based approach can help determine the best way to deal with different offenders to attempt to achieve the different goals of the criminal justice system. Reformation is to make people fear being punished and to correct peoples behavior. Unfortunately you can go to jail for something minor like possession of drugs, traffic violations, and misdemeanor offences. The first major issue of discussion is prison and jail overcrowding. Numerous reports and television indicate that even down to the local city and county jail, overcrowding has affected the small town as well. The overcrowding of prisons and jails appears to be result of the growing number of offenders of petty crime, who ultimately end up incarcerated for short periods of time. It is hard on correction officers when they have to deal with a large number of population. The second major issue facing corrections is gangs. You always hear it from the guards and inmates that â€Å"numbers is power†. Gangs make it hard for an individual to come in and try to fly straight. Gangs will either make you suffer by selling you to other inmates or your going to have you do illegal actions that might add time to your original sentencing. They are very manipulative and real quick to kill anyone even officers just to make a point. Its all about money and power for prison gangs such as the Mexican Mafia, they make millions working the cartels and making their street gangs to move/sell drugs around the United Sates. There are lots of reasons why convicts go back to jail. They might have gotten use to being locked up and would rather stick to what they know because the real world can be scary, finding a decent job is very hard now, the digital age might be intimidating to the older criminals, and sometimes the system forces you back in. For example if you are from Florida and committed a crime in Virginia when you get out, you have to find a way back home. Sometimes you can’t leave the state till Florida reviews your case and allows you to come back. My third major issue is the increased imprisonment of crimes caused there to be a larger population in facilities, now more then ever there is more hazardous conditions for everyone because correctional officers have to deal with transmissible diseases in their facilities. One of the scariest things is dealing with prisoners with HIV and other catchable diseases. Not all of these individuals catch these diseases by sexual stuff but some of the offenders may have gotten it by sharing needles (drug use). This presents a situation where other prisoners and guards may be at risk for coming into contact with these sick people. My philosophy of corrections that includes using an evidence based approach is to not place every offender in the same category/cell as it would be very hard to deal with certain people that have the same offense. I just think that drug dealers should be all in one prison unless they committed other crimes like murder. White collard criminals should still be in the same prison with blue collard criminals. Blue collard criminals represent a more heinous level of crime however they both stole money even though one did it over the Internet and the other had a gun. Todays correctional policies appear to be unsuccessful in dealing with crime and offenders but in order to work towards a better system, research and development is necessary to understand how to correct these flaws and to build a more improve system for turning offenders into law abiding citizens. Rehabilitation and reformation are still a goal of punishment today in the United States but due to the reoffending criminals it is hard to believe it is possible to get a criminal to change their conduct. This method may work well with drug users that are ready to get clean. In conclusion corrections can be a challenging field today with obstacles in the way of finding the perfect method of dealing with crime and offenders. My philosophy of corrections using evidenced based approach is to limit the penalty for minor offenders. Have them work hard cleaning our country and building homes for poor families. This might reduce people in jail/prisons and improving the way that criminals live by not going for the easy cash. They will have learned a new skill before the leave. â€Å"The truth is, of course, that punishment practices of the recent past have, for the most part, been strikingly lenient. Thoughtful and considered public opinion is capable of recognizing when criminals are not receiving the punishments they deserve. † (Ronald Pestritto, 1996) Three goals of punishment and reformation, prison is an effective form of punishment for bad offenders such as killers and rapists. It serves a purpose to deter criminals from committing their crimes again as well as being a form of retributive justice for the victims. Second is a question, what is reformation? It is a goal of rehabilitation for many offenders, the goal for a prison to punish people instead of death. The loss of freedom to go anywhere, to drive, eat your avorite meal, and to see your friends and family. Third one is I believe a good prison should be an adequate retribution for the crime but also focus on rehabilitating the criminals that committed a minor offence such as steeling something small, people with small amounts of drugs, and young kids. The thing people need to know is that most of these folks in prison are eventually going to come out again. So we think its smart policy to try to change them while theyre locked up, so that when they return to society there will be fewer victims on the street. (Fox Butterfield, Inmate Rehabilitation Returns as Prison Goal, 2001)

Hydrolysis of Phosphomonoesters Study

Hydrolysis of Phosphomonoesters Study Introduction Site-directed mutagenesis was the primary basis of this portion of the laboratory directed toward determining the active site of the enzyme catalysis for hydrolysis of phosphomonoesters. The criteria was to turn the original sequence with Arginine 166 into Glutamine 166 through a point mutation. The primer location is located in the 401511 sequence of the phoA gene of alkaline phosphatase in E. Coli. The primer sequence is: 5- G CTG GTG GCA CAT GTG ACC TCG CGC AAA TGC TAC GGT CCG AGC -3’. The mutated primer sequence is: R166Q1 5’-G CTG GTG GCA CAT GTG ACC TCG CAG AAA TGC TAC GGT CCG AGC-3’. The reverse complementary mutated primer sequence is: R166Q2 5’-GCT CGG ACT CGG ACT GTC GCA TTT CTG CGA GGT CAC ATG TGC CAC CAG C-3’. A calculation for the melting temperature can be determined by the following equation: TM= 81.5 + 0.41 (%GC) – 675/N- % mismatch The TM value for Gln-166 was determined to be 85.95ËÅ ¡C. It is necessary for the TM value to be above 75ËÅ ¡C for successful mutation. Running on the null hypothesis, it would be clear that nothing would change for the kinetic parameters. If something were to change, the kinetic parameters for the Michaelis constant (Km), which determine the velocity of an enzyme as well as calculated to be  ½ the Vmax, would be hypothesized much higher after the mutation to glutamine since the mutation allows for 61% more accuracy from arginine’s CGG at 25% to glutamine’s CAG at 86%. The increase in the binding affinity creates the hypothesis that since it is bound closer together creating a stronger binding affinity, the maximal speed (Vmax) would be reduced since it does not require as much conversion between substrate and product. Mechanism of Alkaline Phosphatase Alkaline phosphatase (APase) is an enzyme located in the periplasmic space of E. Coli. The structure of APase, usually in the form of a dimer, shows two zinc metallonzymes and a magnesium ion in the active center. There is a bridging ligand with the protein Asp51 in the active center for the two zinc ions and the one magnesium ion. There are four phosphate oxygens; two phosphate oxygens form a phosphate bridge between the two zinc ions and the other two form hydrogen bonds with the guanidinium group of arg-166 (Coleman, 1992). The dimer is two identical subunits that each contain 429 amino acids. (Coleman, 1992). The most important amino acids located at the active site of APase are the four Cysteine residues represented as combined intrachain disulfides. The phosphorylated residue was Ser 102, which is phosphorylated during phosphate hydrolysis, to begin the nucleophilic attack on phosphorus. Each monomer contains a leucine rich environment of 22 residues. (Coleman, 1992). The first zinc ion is necessary in activating the leaving group of the ester oxygen in order for Ser 102 to phosphorylate (Coleman, 1992). The second zinc ion is necessary for the ester oxygen of the serylphosphate to begin activation of the phosphoseryl intermediate during hydrolysis of Ser 102. When the phosphoseryl intermediate is formed during the first zinc formation, a hydroxide is formed. (Coleman, 1992). Figure 1: this figure represents the monomer of alkaline phosphatase showing the zinc triad with magnesium in the active center. (Coleman, 1992). The proposed mutation as discussed, is mutating the arg-166 to glu-166. It is speculated that there will be no effect on the enzyme during the mutation. Arg-166 is located in the guanidinium group and is an electrophilic species while APase is being phosphorylated. Arg-166 is speculated to play a role in stabilizing the developing negative charge on the oxygen of the leaving group, pentacoordinate transition state, or help bind the phosphate group. As discovered byButler-Ransohoff et al, it is discovered that Arg-166 has no effect on the hydrolysis of phosphate monoesters and therefore will not be effected after mutation. Competent Cells Competent cells are used to help the DNA get into the cell. DNA is negatively charged and the calcium ions from the competent cells of DH5-ÃŽ ± cells are positively charged. The purpose of calcium chloride’s positive ions is to create an equilibrium between negative charge on the cell membranes phospholipid heads and the phosphate group on the plasmid DNA. This is where the genetic modification occurs. Therefore, they help by binding to the DNA and move it into the cell after the cell goes through a heat shock cycle. Competent cells have a very high rate for transformation efficiency. The proposed understanding of how this works, is that the calcium ions are positive and therefore weaken the electrostatic repulsion, which in turn weakens the cell walls. When the cell goes through heat shock, it causes the pressure to increase opening the cell and allowing the competent cells to bring the DNA into the cell by allowing pores to be created with the weakened cell wall. This forces the plasmid to become supercoiled so that it can pass through the pores created by the charge difference and heat shock. The competence comes from the cold bath of DH5-ÃŽ ± cells in calcium chloride which shocks the cells causing pores and then heat the cell to 42ËÅ ¡C for roughly 2 minutes, more than this could cause the cell membrane to denature and the pEK-154 mutated plasmid would become denatured. DH5-ÃŽ ± is a strain from E. Coli commonly used in laboratory practices due to it having the phoA- gene deficiency. This is necessary and desirable because it is easily transformed for creating competent cells. DH5-ÃŽ ± cells are used because they are a common strain in E. Coli and are commonly used for cloning. In addition, they promote stability and help improve the quality of the plasmid when using the Miniprep kit. (Dagert, 1979). A growth curve was created after incubation of the cells for competent cells. This was done to show the growth period during the lag phase is depicted by the highest point on the growth curve. This is taken to determine how much growth you have and is determined through a logarithm vs. time on a graph. The method used is optical density (OD) at 600nm to measure the transmittance on a spectrophotometer. If the value for the OD600 is high, the protection factor by a filter is lower and vise versa. This method is used to determine how much light is absorbed through the bacterial cells. Site-Directed Mutagenesis The sequence chosen for the point mutation from Arginine 166 to Glutamine 166 was sequenced in Ann Arbor. Site-Directed Mutagenesis synthesizes two complimentary oligonucleotides double stranded DNA template with glutamine 166 mutation, which is tagged with unmodified nucleotide sequences to a single stranded DNA template to allow mutation to occur and then reforms the new double strand DNA template during thermal cycling. When this occurs, the newly single stranded DNA template forms complementary strands with the enzymes and nucleotides to produce a higher result of strands. The purpose of site-directed mutagenesis is to make specific changes to the DNA sequence of a gene. Quik Change Lightening Mutagenesis kit provides a faster and more reliable insertion of the mutation with a simple three step method. The multiple cycles are subjected to a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. This allows multiple sets of mutated DNA to be produced within a short period of time. PCR works by heating and cooling the samples, since the double DNA is subjected to separation when heated it causes the srtands to separate allowing nicks in the template to occur. pUC-18 is a control plasmid used for determining if a mutation was successful and efficient. Figure 2: pUC-18 plasmid DNA genetically mutated to contain the LacZ gene as well as the ampicillin resistance gene. The polylinker cuts the section of the DNA by the Dpn1 restriction endonuclease creating a linear DNA strand allowing for the binding of the mutation of Arg-166 to Glu-166 to occur. pUC-18 is a circular double stranded DNA molecule. The reason pUC-18 was chosen as the control positive plasmid is because it was genetically manipulated to contain an ampicillin resistance gene as well as a ÃŽ ²-galactosidase enzyme known as LacZ. The lacZ gene is essential for DNA mutation because it contains a region to insert a polylinker, which recognizes the Dpn I restriction endonucleases during digestion causing the plasmid to become linear and bind to the mutated plasmid DNA that has also been cut with the Dpn I restriction endonuclease. A pWhitescript is used as the positive control plasmid used for mutagenesis. The control plasmid is combined with pEK154 plasmid containing the phA gene of APase and the vector double stranded DNA. The two oligonucleotide primers are the opposite ends of the vector. pWhitescript has the stop codon TAA inserted that stops the ÃŽ ²-galactosidase enzyme from producing. The two oligonucleotide control primers create a point mutation that turns the T residue of the stop codon to the C residue of the glutamine codon (Gln, CAG). That allows enzyme ÃŽ ²-galactosidase to be produced after pWhitescript is subjected to mutagenesis. There are two oligonucleotide with the mutation primer as discussed earlier. New DNA polymerase called Q1 enzyme was used for double stranded DNA template when combined with dNTP mix it extended the two-oligonucleotide primers as well as allowing the new plasmid DNA to construct. PCR Cycling parameters were used during Quik Change Site-Directed Mutagenesis for the transformation of arginine to glutamine by the use of the Pfu Enzyme. As visible from table 1, the cycling parameters were set up for this specific reaction for a point mutation. After cycling, the non-mutated parental supercoiled double stranded (dsDNA) is digested. Table 1: Quik Change Site-Directed Mutagenesis Parameters Segment Cycles Temperature Time 1 1 95C 2min 2 18 60C 60C 68C 20 sec 10 sec 30 sec/kb of plasmid length (3min) 3 1 68C 5 min The first step of the three step simple method for Quik Change Lightening Mutagenesis kit is Thermal cycling at 95ËÅ ¡C for two minutes. During this time, the DNA template becomes denatured allowing the primers to be subjected to heat treatments, which denature the pEK-154 template DNA strand and synthesizes the primers to extend linearly and cause nicks with Pfu Fusion-based DNA polymerase, which are then sealed by components within the Pfu enzyme blend. This polymerase allows for exact replication of original template and does not disrupt the orientation. The original mutated pEK-154 was used as the supercoiled double stranded DNA template Figure 1: during thermal cycling, the double-stranded DNA Template is nicked and subjected to point mutation for arginine 166 to glutamine 166 and then sealed with components in the Pfu enzyme blend. In the second step of the kit the template digests the parental DNA strand with methylated and hemimethylated DNA using the enzyme Dpn I endonuclease and subjected to thermal cycling for the second segment. The un-mutated pEK-154 plasmid DNA is the parental DNA while the mutated pEK-154 is the plasmid DNA with the desired mutation. With the nicks, the mutated plasmid with the two oligonucleotide primers is mixed with Dpn I endonuclease for methylated DNA that targets the sequence 5’-Gm6ATC-3’. This sequence helps digest the pEK-154 parental DNA template and has not been introduced into the methylase enyme allowing methylation to not effect the DNA and therefore will not be digested with the parental DNA strand. Similarly, the un-mutated is also digested in Dpn I restriction endonuclease to be methylated. Figure 2: Dpn 1 enzyme endonuclease digests the parental DNA template with methylated and hemimethylated allowing for single stranded DNA for transformation. Step 3 is the last cycling step where transformation of the newly mutated glutamine 166 single-stranded DNA. The DNA is added to Dpn I restriction endonuclease, which forms it into linear DNA stranded DNA duplex forming a double stranded DNA for the newly synthesized mutated DNA. After the mutated vector DNA with the primers has been nicked it is transformed into CaCl2 competent DH5-ÃŽ ± cells. This transformation must occur to repair the nicks caused during cycles to separate the DNA strands. The pWs, which is used as the control DNA is also transformed with competent DH5-ÃŽ ± cells to help repair the nicks. Transformation Control screening used X-gal and IPTG to determine if ÃŽ ²-galactosidase activity. The newly mutated pEK-154 cells are screened for alkaline phosphatase activity. This helps screen for ÃŽ ²-galatosidase enzyme in E. Coli is a Lac Z gene that codes for this enzyme. This enzyme is useful because it breaks the lactose into galactose and glucose. A Lac operon contains an operator and a promoter, which binds RNA-polymerase that starts transcription for the Lac I gene for I protein which can only bind to operator or lactose, but not both. When I protein is bound to lactose, in this case Isopropyl-1-ÃŽ ²-D-galactopyranoside (IPTG) which mimics the structure of lactoase allowing RNA-polymerase to bind to the promoter to produce ÃŽ ²-galactosidase. 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-ÃŽ ²-D-galactopyranoside (X-gal), which is a substrate that cleaves galactose in ÃŽ ²-galactosidase to produce a blue color. If no ÃŽ ²-galactosidase is present they turn white on the agar plates. This determines if the cells contain the mutated CAA codon for glutamine instead of the stop codon TAA of the unmutated protein. 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolylphosphate (BCIP) is used to determine if alkaline phosphatase is present. BCIP like X-gal is a substrate that cleaves the phosphate group off of alkaline phosphatase producing a blue color.