Use of Cholinesterase Activity in Environmental Monitoring †Research Paper

Use of Cholinesterase Activity in Environmental Monitoring – Research Paper Free Online Research Papers Use of Cholinesterase Activity in Environmental Monitoring: Importance of Kinetic Parameters Determination In Estaurine Fish Research Paper Abstract The aim of the present work was to determine the kinetic parameters and cholinesterase (ChE) activity from two teleost fishes: the croacker Micropogonias furnieri (Scianidae) and sea catfish Cathorops spixii (Ariidae), to verify their suitability as sentinels of aquatic pollution by anticholinesterasic compounds. Fish were collected in a reference and in a polluted site in Southern Brazil and brain ChE was used as enzyme source. Inhibition kinetic parameters employing ChE from C. spixii showed that fish collected in the reference site presented more affinity (Ka) for eserine than those collected in the polluted site and the contrary was observed for the carbamylation constants (Kc), overall resulting in similar inhibition constants (Ki). Considering the extremely low sensitivity to in vitro inhibition by eserine, M. furnieri seems to be an unsuitable species to be employed as an environmental sentinel for pollution of anticholinesterasic compounds. Results obtained in the present study point to the importance of kinetic studies when cholinesterasic activity is employed as a biomarker in environmental quality monitoring programs. Keywords: biomarkers, cholinesterase, eserine, fish, kinetic parameters, estuarine environments 1. Introduction Some pesticides, including organophosphorus and carbamates, are known to selectively inhibit cholinesterase (ChE) activity (Valbonesi et al., 2003). When directly released into the environment, these molecules can reach rivers and sometimes the sea, leading to the contamination of various aquatic ecosystems (Mora et al., 1999). The relationship between the presence of these kind of compounds and ChE activity has been widely studied and employed as a biomarker in aquatic invertebrate and vertebrate species (Bocquenà © et al., 1997; Sturm et al., 1999; Rodriguez-Fuentes Gold-Bouchot, 2000; De la Torre et al., 2002). The use of biochemical measurements in organisms as an indicator of pollution can complement chemical analysis, giving information about the adaptive or deleterious responses in organisms exposed to a certain amount of chemicals. Moreover, among biological effects of pollutants, biochemical ones occur more quickly, thus providing earlier warning signal before other toxicological end points, including death, are evident. (Livingstone, 1998). Since organophosphorus and carbamates have a relatively short half-life, the assessment of cholinesterase (ChE) inhibition is a useful tool to evaluate their environmental impact on aquatic biota, even when they are not longer detectable in the environment (Valbonesi et al., 2003) and, as mentioned above, considerable efforts have been made in the last two decades to develop and validate measurements of biological parameters to complement the information given by the chemical analysis of contamination. The main advantage of using biomarkers at low levels of biological organization is the possibility to detect deleterious effect pollutants before being evidenced at higher levels of biological organization. Among biochemical markers, the measurement of fish cholinesterase activities has become a classical tool for biomonitoring pollution in marine (Bocquenà © et al., 1990) and continental waters (Sturm et al., 1999). However, before employment of ChE as a biomarker of anticholinestera sic compounds in monitoring programms, is important to analyze the sensitivity to this kind of molecules (Varà ² et al., 2003), also for the fact that potential effects of organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides are widely variable for different fish species (Ferrari et al., 2004; Silva Filho et al., 2004). The dynamics of the interaction of ChE with organophosphate and carbamate compounds has been shown to depend largely upon the affinity of a particular insecticide for the enzyme, commonly represented as the enzyme affinity for a particular insecticide, which is commonly represented as the affinity constant Ka (Wang Murphy, 1982). Silva Filho, et al. (2004) showed extremely great differences in the inhibition kinetic parameters between several fish species, an important point to be considered in the selection of a sentinel organism in biomonitoring programs. In this context, the concentration of eserine that inhibits 50% of cholinesterase activity (IC50) and inhibition kinetic parameters are important characteristics for the selection of sensitive ChEs to be employed as biomarkers. Considering the facts previously described, the objectives of the present study were to determine the kinetic parameters and eserine sensitivity of brain ChE from two estuarine fish species, Micropogonias furnieri (Teleostei: Scianidae) and Cathorops spixii (Teleostei: Ariidae) collected in polluted and non-polluted sites in Southern Brazil. The white mouth croaker Micropogonias furnieri (Desmarest, 1823), is a subtropical fish found in muddy and sandy bottoms in coastal waters. Its feeding habit varies along the ontogenic development and season: juveniles feed on benthic migratory crustaceans and sessile mollusks, while adults are benthic feeders, occasionally preying on fish (Isaac, 1998). Sea catfish Cathorops spixii (Spix and Agassiz, 1829) is a demersal tropical cat fish found in shallow coastal marine waters and brackish estuaries, lagoons and river mouths, as well as in hypersaline waters. In South America, its distribution includes Atlantic and Caribbean rivers and estuaries from Colombia to Brazil. Adults feed mainly on invertebrates and small fishes, while juveniles feed on amphipods, isopods and copepods (Cervigà ³n et al., 1992). This study is part of a research project developed along the Brazilian coast, the RECOS (â€Å"Uso e Apropriaà §o de Recursos Costeiros†) project in the scope of the Millenium Institute (Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology). One of the objectives of RECOS project is the standardization of sampling protocols, quantitative and qualitative evaluations of biochemical, physiological and histological biomarkers in different animal species collected from polluted and non-polluted sites. In the present study biochemical biomarker responses were analyzed in fish collected in different seasons (winter and summer), to evaluate the natural variability of ChE activity and its sensitivity to eserine inhibition. 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Chemicals Acetylthiocholine iodide, eserine (physostigmine), 5, 5’-dithiobis (2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) were obtained from Sigma (St. Louis, MO). The protein content was determined using a commercial kit from Doles Reagentes (Belo Horizonte, Brazil), based on Biuret method. 2.2. Organisms Micropogonias furnieri was collected in summer and winter seasons in reference (unpolluted) site, â€Å"Ilha dos Marinheiros† (32 °02’005† S and 52 °12’151† W) and in a polluted site, â€Å"Saco da Mangueira† (32 °04’369† S and 52 °06’473† W). Cathorops spixii was collected only in summer in a reference site, â€Å"Baà ­a das Laranjeiras† (25 °31’271† S, 48 °29’690† W) and in a polluted one, â€Å"Baà ­a de Parangua (25 °21’050† S, 48 °25’97† W) (Figure 1). In every case, ten fish were collected in each season and site. Immediately after collection, fish were anesthetized with benzocaine (200 ppm), measured (total length and weight) and head isolated and stored at -20 oC until arrival at the laboratory, where they were kept at -80 oC before biochemical determinations. It should be mention that up to date no chemical characterization was perfo rmed in the locals referred as polluted and unpolluted. However, the local â€Å"Ilha dos Marinheiros† is far from any obvious pollution source, whereas â€Å"Saco da Mangueira† is located near to fertilizer industries. ELTON/ADALTO/VANESSA: Uma frase equivalente para os locais de amostragem no Paranagu seria importante a meu ver. 2.3. Enzyme extraction Fish whole brain was dissected and then homogenized (1:20) in cold phosphate buffer (0.05 M) containing 20% glycerol at pH 7.40. The homogenate was then centrifuged at 850 xg (4 °C) for 15 min. The supernatant was again centrifuged at 12,800 xg (4 °C) during 15 min. The supernatant of this last centrifugation was used as enzyme source. 2.4. Enzyme assay Cholinesterase activity was determined using the method described by Ellman et al., (1961). Phosphate buffer (0.05 M, pH 7.40) was placed at least for 15 min in a water bath at 25 °C. Aliquots of homogenate, DTNB and substrate (acetylthiocholine iodide- ATch) were then added and the absorbance (412 nm) was immediately determined, during 90 s, in an ELISA reader (Victor 2, Perkin Elmer). To determine substrate affinity (Km) and maximum cholinesterase activity (Vmax), different ATch concentrations ranging from 0.025 to 9 mM were assayed, being the cholinesterase activity expressed as nmol/min/mg proteins. In each experiment, a first blank without substrate was assayed to evaluate the reaction of protein thiol groups with DTNB, and a second blank without sample was used to estimate the rate of spontaneous substrate hydrolysis. 2.5. In vitro enzyme inhibition by eserine The sensitivity of brain ChE to inhibition by eserine was investigated. ChE activity was measured on extracts after 5 min of incubation at 25 °C with several eserine concentrations, ranging from 110-4 to 1 mM. Enzyme activity was measured as described above. Inhibition was expressed as a percentage of ChE activity after eserine exposure respect control enzymatic activity. Kinetic parameters of enzyme inhibition were also estimated employing the carbamate eserine. The inhibition of an enzyme (E) with an inhibitor (I) can be summarized as follow (Main, 1964): where (EI)R represents a reversible enzyme-inhibitor complex and (EI)I an irreversible one. The affinity equilibrium constant is defined as Ka= K-1/K1 and Kc represents the carbamylation constant (Hastings et al., 1970). The bimolecular inhibition constant, Ki is defined as Ki= Kc/Ka. The constants Ka and Ki can be estimated according to the following equation: 1/i = ?t/(2.303*?log10 ?)*Ki – 1/Ka, where i represents the inhibitor concentration and ?t/(2.303*?log10 ?) is the reciprocal of the pseudo-first-order rate of enzyme inhibition at a fixed concentration (i) of the inhibitor (Monserrat et al., 2002). Six concentrations ranging from 0.3 to 10 mM were tested, at least in duplicate and after four or five different times of incubation (range: 30-360 s). 2.6. Data analysis Enzyme kinetic parameters (Vmax and Km) were estimated by fitting experimental data to Michaelis-Menten equation. IC50 values were obtained through probit analysis (Monserrat Bianchini, 1998). Linear regression and ANCOVA was employed to estimate and compare inhibition kinetic parameters (Ki and Ka). Statistical analysis of enzyme activity was performed using ANOVA followed by a posteriori comparisons using the Newman-Keuls test. A significance level of 5% was employed in all cases. 3. Results Fish from of both species were homogeneous (P>0.05) in length and weight at the different sampling sites and seasons analyzed, and for this reason only the general mean is reported. For M. furnieri, the mean weight and total length of fish collected were 25.78  ± 7.72 g and 14.41 ±1.83 cm, respectively (n= 40). For C. spixii, mean weight and total length of sampled fish were estimated in 35.77 ±11.45 g and 16.14g ±1.56 cm, respectively (n= 40). The Michaelis-Menten constants (Km and Vmax) for brain ChE of M. furnieri showed different patterns. Km values were statistically similar (P>0.05) in all seasons and sampling sites. On the other hand, Vmax showed a complex response, since fish collected in the reference site showed higher values (P0.05) in the Km values was observed in summer, the only season analyzed. However, higher (P

Organization design (dealing with resistance to change) Assignment

Organization design (dealing with resistance to change) - Assignment Example In this essay, we will focus on the lifecycle of resistance to change to establish the stage at which Bonneville is, at present, with its change strategies. In 2013, Bonneville was first reported to have involved in a discriminative hiring scandal of two veterans. After a conclusive investigation, the U.S Department of Energys Inspector General released its report confirming the scandal (Ted, BPA: Feeds Release Damning Investigation of Bonnevilles Hiring Practices and Management Culture 1). The investigative report stated that, the Portland-based power marketing agency was found to have consistently manipulated the rankings of applicants as well as failing to disclose the inappropriate behavior that led them to discrimination against veterans and other applicants. Going further, the company did not bother to initiate any corrective measures aimed at offering a remedy to the problems. With this report, the pressure to change was mounting and increasing through the courts and warnings of the Department of Energy. After the issuance of this report, the public realized about the scandal and the prohibited practice of this company. At this stage, most of the BPA officials tried as much as they can to distance themselves with the allegation and the DOE procedures (Ted, BPA: Feeds Release Damning Investigation of Bonnevilles Hiring Practices and Management Culture 2). They considered that such procedures and processes were an unnecessary administrative burden. This situation, as we remember, is what led to prohibited personnel practices and went ahead to prevent their disclosure. At the moment, the flaws of BPA had been identified and made public. After two whistleblowers had reported BPA for their flawed and discriminative recruitment practices, both the court and U.S Department of Energy issued strong punishment to the company with warnings to see that they comply with the employment regulations. The veterans have a preference to employment as

Conferencing Software or Social Media Research Paper - 1

Conferencing Software or Social Media - Research Paper Example The web conferencing enables training and webinars are also held during the web conferences. Audio accessories enhance the conferencing experience. The VoIP is used in the process of communication between the members attending the web conference. Two main technologies enable web conferencing. The technologies employed in the process include VoIP and HD. VoIP technology helps in the conversion of human voices from analog to digital mode. The converted voice data are transmitted over the internet. The web conferences also rely on the phone lines, which enhance communication among the participants in a web conference. The router used in the process of transmission of voice data helps in the relaying of the data to the internet service provider modem (Spielman and Winfeld, 2008). The voice data are also converted at the point of internet service provider. After the data is received by all the web conference members, the information is assembled by the computer and converted into usable form. The audio data flow smoothly through a cheaper way. Social media refers to the medium through which people chat on an online platform such as Facebook, Twitter, and Skype. These forms of social media help in the exchange of ideas. The forum helps in the meeting of many people on internet forums. Social media is more reliable than the web conferencing because it enhances many applications including online marketing. Social media is commonly used for business purposes. Different people advertise different commodities on the social media under different web links. According to Spielman and   Winfeld (2008), social media serves as a meeting point for potential buyers and sellers. The chatting engagement with social media is live and reliable because an individual is able to extract sufficient from his partner on the social media platform. Different forms of software are applied in social media. These include the IM software and

Discuss speed planes trains and automobiles in relation to spaces and Essay

Discuss speed planes trains and automobiles in relation to spaces and subjects of modernity - Essay Example While humans can sense speed when riding on a train, at the same time there is the danger of losing the sensual experience of nature. Riding on a train, it is possible only to catch a glimpse of the landscape and imagine its beauty; to benefit fully from it requires coming back on foot. According to a popular anecdote, the Emperor Franz Joseph I stopped the train to enjoy a particularly beautiful view during his first ride up to the Semmering. This indicates that the history of newly opened landscapes is also a history of sight. Typical train travelers could not stop the train like a royal; with the opportunity only for fleeting glances, they had to be attentive in order to perceive the passing landscape. The dynamics of sight is a concept that was first acknowledged as a special phenomenon during a train ride but later came to have an effect on modern-day perceptions as a whole. Speed moved pieces of scenery closer to one another, even though they had belonged to distant and distinctly different areas. Panoramic perception, in contrast to traditional perception, no longer belongs to the same space as the perceived objects: the traveler saw the objects, landscapes, etc., through the apparatus which moved him through the world. That machine and the motion it created became integrated into his visual perception.

Different Alternatives To Imprisonment Criminology Essay

Different Alternatives To Imprisonment Criminology Essay 1. INTRODUCTION Alternatives to imprisonment are a new approach globally in corrections. Following the World War II, penal authorities began to doubt the wisdom of keeping the prison alone as the primary correctional strategies. According to Todd, Clear Braga, (Todd, 1995, p. 80) provides that community-Based Correctional approaches grow in become common for second and third time criminals to receive sentences of probation with certain conditions established by the court and where the same felons is on the community service programs. The focus here is on alternatives to imprisonment by looking it through internationally accepted standards. The authors of this paper will focus on the following alternatives to imprisonment: community service, periodical imprisonment, correctional supervision, house arrest/ electronic monitoring and day-parole. 2. DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVES TO IMPRISONMENT 2.1 Community Service Community Service is an alternative the court may use when it has decided that a persons offence is serious and that he/she is suitable for making compensation by productive unpaid work in the community. Community Service should be physically and emotionally demanding of the offender in that it is a restriction of freedom, involves self-discipline and a respect for others and should engage the offender in tasks or situations that challenge his/her attitude, experience and ability. Community service can therefore be a positive way of making an offender compensate for offences and it can encourage personal growth and self-respect. It shows the offender that the community is affected by criminality and the community can see that offenders can make a constructive rather than destructive contribution to the community. (ZNCCS Service, 1997, p. 4) Legal framework for alternative non-custodial sanctions is highlighted in international guidelines and national legislation as provided by Bukurura (Bukurura, 2003, p. 82). On international level it is provided for in the United Nations Standards Minimum Rules for non-custodial measures (Nations, 1990). In the United States of America for instance, community-based sanctions are crucial of the United States criminal justice system. Professionals have constantly demonstrated their willingness to adopt evidence based practice. According to (Melvor, 2004) who described community service in Belgium, Netherlands, Scotland and Spain in co-operate perspective by stating that, current criminological research is particularly interested to know if they are not witnessing a punitive turn which seems to western democracies today than few decades ago. The new punitive literature and study on the culture of control have fuelled an ongoing debate and research on this question. Community service order was for the benefit of the community as it was introduced in Spanish legislation with the 1995 criminal code of that country. The Uganda Correctional Service also introduced the Uganda Community Service Bill, 1998, with its main objectives to provide community service for persons who commit minor offences, in order to reduce overcrowding in Prisons, to rehabilitate prisoners in the communities by doing productive work and to prevent minor offenders mixing with hard core criminals. The bill further seeks to empower a court which convicts a person of a minor offence, to direct the offender, with consent of the offender to perform community service as an alternative to imprisonment. (Service, 1998, p. 1) The first initiatives in the Community Service Orders started with National sensitization seminar that was held in 2002 and attended by Regional Governors, line Ministries, Home Affairs, and Justice, Prisons and Correctional Service and heads of Criminal Justice System. (Coordinator, Consultative Visit Report, 2002, p. 1) The proposed Bill on Community Service Orders in Namibia introduces various provisions that may facilitate the implementation of Community Service Orders in the country. It is important to note that from sentencing point of view, Community Service Orders is an option employed in appropriate cases to keep an offender out of prison. Accordingly a relationship exists between the imprisonment that might have been imposed and the Community Service Order that is to be served instead. (Coordinator, Namibia Community Service Orders, Manual, 2005, p. 5) 2.2 Periodical Imprisonment The court can direct an offender to stay in Prison on weekends or at night between 18h00 and 06h00. A sentence of periodic imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment during which the committed person may be released for periods of time during the day or night or for periods of days, or both, or if convicted of a felony, other than first degree murder, a Class X or Class 1 felony, committed to any county, municipal, or regional correctional or detention institution or facility in this State for such periods of time as the court may direct. Unless the court orders otherwise, the particular times and conditions of release shall be determined by the Department of Corrections, the sheriff, or the Superintendent of the house of corrections, who is administering the program. (b) A sentence of periodic imprisonment may be imposed to permit the defendant to: (1) Seek employment (2) Work (3) Conduct a business or other self-employed (4) Attend to family needs (5) Attend an educational institution With regards to periodical imprisonment, the Namibian Correctional System is line with abovementioned definition. 2.3 Correctional Supervision It is a sentence which is served within the community and not in the Prison. A person who is serving a sentence of Correctional supervision is known as a probationer. The aim of Correctional supervision is to provide a means of rehabilitation within the community, thus preserving the important links which the offender may have with his or her family or community. Correctional supervision allows, or encourages the offender to be employed. While imprisonment results in a loss of employment and the offenders failure to support his or her dependants and result in additional costs for the State. Since offenders are in the community, they are able to make decisions and take responsibility for their life. Offenders are also encouraged to take steps towards correcting their criminal behaviour through participation in rehabilitative programmes. A person sentenced to correctional supervision remains under the supervision and control of the Department of Correctional Services until the sentence expires. Supervision takes the form of direct monitoring of the offenders movements and compliance with the sentences conditions, as well as regular support sessions with social workers. Conditions of the sentence may include a period of house arrest; the requirement that the person be home between specified hours of the day; that he or she attends a treatment programme; self-restraint from alcohol or drugs; prohibition from leaving a magisterial district; or a certain number of hours of community service. Any or all of these conditions may be imposed. (Dissel, 1997, p. 4) Diversion is endorsed by Section 6 of the Criminal Procedure Act, and can be used where the offence committed is relatively minor. (Justice, 1977, p. 76). When the offender has admitted responsibility for the offence, the prosecutor can suspend the prosecution of the case upon fulfillment of certain conditions. This is usually on the condition that the offender attends a particular treatment programme. Charges are withdrawn after the conditions have been fulfilled. The Namibian legislation makes provision in the Prisons Act 17 of 1998 (Gazzette, 1998, p. 83) Section 96 and 97 that inmates be release on parole or probation on conditions as may be determined by the Zonal Release Board. 2.4 House arrest/electronic monitoring Home detention can be seen as an alternative to imprisonment and aims to reduce re-offending while also coping with increasing prison numbers and rising costs. It allows suitable offenders to retain or seek employment, maintain family relationships and responsibilities and attend rehabilitative programs that contribute towards addressing the causes of their offending. The terms of house arrest can differ, but offenders are rarely confined to their houses 24 hours a day. Most programs allow employed offenders to continue to work, and only confine them during non-working hours. They can leave their homes for specific, predetermined purposes; for example visits to the probation officer or police station, religious exceptions and medical appointments. (Spohn, 2008, p. 52). Many programmes also allow the offender to leave the home during regular, pre-approved times in order to carry out general household tasks such as shopping, church services, performing Community Services or attending authorised activities. (Stinchcomb, 2005, p. 99) House arrest in some countries such as Canada and New Zealand is often enforced through the use of technology products or services. An electronic sensor is sometimes locked to the offenders ankle known as an ankle monitor. A small portable monitoring unit that pick-up radio signals generated by offenders ankle or arm bracelet which is linked to a central computer system provides verification of an offenders whereabouts. (Champion, 2008) The electronic sensor transmits a GPS signal to a base handset. The base handset is connected to police or a monitoring service. If the offender with the sensor moves too far from home, the violation is recorded and the right authorities are summoned. Many ankle monitors can now detect attempted removal; this is to discourage tampering. The monitoring service is often contracted out to private companies, which assign employees to electronically monitor many convicts simultaneously. If the sensors detect a violation, the monitoring service calls the convicts probation officer. The electronic surveillance together with frequent contact with their probation officer and checks by the security guards provides for a secure environment. (Collins, 1974, p. 79) Another method to ensure house arrest are the use of automated calling services that require no human contact to check on the offender. Random calls are made to the residence and the respondents answer is recorded and compared to the offenders voice pattern. Authorities are notified only if the call is not answered or if the recorded answer does not match the offenders voice pattern. (Allen, 1986, p. 36). Currently, the Namibian Criminal Justice System is not making use of house arrest/ electronic monitoring. 2.5 Day Parole It is a management mechanism preceding the parole phase to gradually assist an offender to be released into the community at his own responsibility under controlled circumstances. Day parole implies the temporary release of an offender from Prison or a Correctional institution such as a halfway house to work or study, followed by re-confinement during non- work or non-school hours. During working hours offender work for an employer and are paid for the work. (Bruyns, An overview of the Criminal Justice System and Community-Based sentences, 2011). Currently, the Namibian Criminal Justice System is not making use of day parole. FINDINGS Based on the literature review and own understanding of the subject area, the authors of this paper found that there is a great need for alternatives to imprisonment. Community Service as a community-based sentence, a pilot projects in the Northern region of the country has proved that it is a success in Namibia. The Namibian Correctional Service (NCS) have a draft Community Service Order Bill which stipulates clearly the conditions under which an offender had to perform Community Service. Political or religious groups must not benefit from the work allocated to inmates. (Bruyns, The impact of prison reform on the inmate population of swaziland, 2007, p. 60). An offender who has not committed a serious crime or developed a criminal lifestyle, in the community will be able to access community support systems to assist him in rehabilitation, with the hope of preventing his re-offending. The findings also have it on good authority that the rationale for community-based sentences is to keep offenders out of the Prison, and rather send them to serve their sentences in the community. This simply means that offenders remain in their communities to perform productive work in order to support themselves and their families, in other words the alternatives to imprisonment were found to be promoting family cohesion. Through serving their sentences in the community the offenders also repay victims (retribution) for losses suffered. With regards to the effectiveness of community-based sentences, the advantages and disadvantages were also thoroughly scrutinised and it is found that its advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Alternatives to imprisonment were found to be the process of reducing prison population (overcrowding). Overcrowding is found to be a general situation in Prisons when the total number of inmates in prison is beyond the authorised holding capacity. In order t o address this ever increasing problem within our Correctional facilities the authors of this paper found that alternatives to imprisonment is a suitable answer to overcrowding. Alternatives to imprisonment is also found to be promoting community development through utilisation of skills possessed by the offenders other than locking them up in prisons. A good example is, when a professional such as a Medical doctor is sentence to an alternative to imprisonment the skills possessed by that particular Medical doctor can be utilised to the great benefit of the community, rather than locking him/her up in Prison, which will serve no purpose. Community based sentences in comparison with imprisonment was found to be much cheaper. This finding is evident from the fact that offenders incarcerated have to be provided with food, bedding, clothing, water and electricity and so forth through government expenditure. On the other hand the offenders serving community-based sentence remains in the community and is responsible for his needs. Community-based sentence is furthermore found to have positive impact on recidivism in a sense that offenders are given chance to remain and serve their sentence in the community. In other words their chances of reoffending are very slim contrary to those incarcerated, while offenders who are imprisoned are mixing with hard core criminals and the programme officers do not have enough time complete rehabilitation programmes, especially when they serving short term imprisonment. 4. CONCLUSION It is evident from the findings that alternative sentences outweigh imprisonment in terms of maintaining offenders dignity, reducing of prison population (overcrowding), promoting community development through utilisation of skills possessed by the offender other than locking them up in prisons, saving government expenditure and promoting family cohesion, and reduction of recidivism. Apart from serving all abovementioned good purposes, alternatives sentences also served as a way of avoiding mixing of the first offenders with hardcore criminals in the prisons. The offenders who are serving alternative sentences will perform positive unpaid work within their areas of home and do the kind of reparation to the community rather than ending up in Prisons. Imagine, locking up offender who committed minor offence such as shoplifting together with hard core murderer or rapist would result in that offenders become more criminal than rehabilitated. 5. RECOMMENDATIONS Against this backdrop, it is strongly recommended that alternative sentences to imprisonment such as community service, periodical imprisonment, correctional supervision, house arrest/ electronic monitoring and day-parole be considered by Correctional Services, particularly, Namibian Correctional Service. After studying the pros and cons of alternatives to imprisonment, this type of sentencing is just one of the positive ways of dealing with offenders. Against this background the authors of this paper strongly recommends these other alternatives as follows: The Court sentence offenders with minor offences to alternative as such community service, periodical imprisonment, correctional supervision, house arrest/ electronic monitoring and day-parole. This type of alternatives aims to achieve and involve the reintegration of the offender as law-abiding citizens back into the community by; enforcing unpaid work, ensuring reparation to the community, reduce a risk of recidivism or repeat offending, increased chance of rehabilitating the offender to acceptable social standards. Secondly, periodical imprisonment is recommended to be used as alternative to imprisonment as it promotes community development through utilisation of skills possessed by the offenders other than locking them up in prisons. Thirdly correctional supervision is recommend by the authors as alternative to imprisonment based on the reasoning that this type of alternative aims to provide a means of rehabilitation within the community, thus maintaining the important links which the offender may have with his or her family or community. Furthermore correctional supervision allows, or encourages the offender to be employed. Correctional supervision as an alternative to imprisonment ensure that the offender remain employed and thus able to support his or her dependents and do not result in additional costs for the State. Since offenders are in the community, they are able to make decisions and take responsibility for their life. Offenders are also encouraged to take steps towards correcting their criminal behaviour through participation in rehabilitative programmes. Fourthly, house arrest/ electronic monitoring is recommended not to be a viable alternative to imprisonment in Namibia as this may not be in concurrence with the Constitutional provisions such as respect of human dignity and freedom of movement provided for in articles 8 and 21 respectively of the Namibian Constitution. (Government N. , 2010) page number. Lastly day parole is strongly recommended by the authors as a viable alternative to imprisonment since it gradually assist an offender to be released into the community at his own responsibility under controlled circumstances. Day parole implies the temporary release of an offender from Prison or a Correctional institution such as a halfway house to work or study, followed by re-confinement during non- work or non-school hours. During working hours offender work for an employer and are paid.

Adolescence Essay -- Adolescent Behavior

Adolescence According to the dictionary, the word â€Å"Adolescence† is the stage of youth; or maturity. And yet, if you really think about it, that definition merely touches the surface. Adolescence is that part of ones life that he or she will never forget because it plays a big role in the formation of who that person will become.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is quite normal for parents to think they know their children; REALLY know their children. In fact what they know, in most cases, is their child’s external behavior. Anything, which doesn’t fit into the parent’s idea of the child’s character, is liable to be classified as an unexpected reaction or absurd behavior.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To know a child however, one must not judge him by his defects, or his virtues. To do this could lead to the child being classified by the parents in such a way as to make it difficult for them ever to abandon this view. Knowledge of a person’s external behavior is a rather superficial kind of knowledge. It could lead parents to think of their child in terms of what he does, rather than what he is.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is not clear what criteria parents follow when the want to classify or describe their child. Often they expect the child to fit into a scheme of adult values without realizing that the world of the adult and that of the child are quite distinct. Children have to be educated to be adults; it is not a matter of trying to turn them into adults when they...

English Spelling Essay

1. Give an outline of the views on English spelling presented in text 1 and 2. Text 1 †Proper spelling? Its Tyme to Let Luce†, an article from the website of the American magazine WIRED, written by Anne Trubek, published January 31, 2012. Trubek claim that our language is forever evolving, and it’s only normal and a part of the evolution of languages. She believes that it would be great if we could loose our idea of correct spelling, and open our arms towards a more modern and different type of spelling. Trubek also explains how, when the typing machine and the first printed texts where created, words were written in many different ways. It didn’t matter how the word was spelled, but how it was read. She argues that there is no reason why it’s not possible to have that kind of open mind set nowadays. She also contradicts herself a bit, by saying it’s a good thing how our language is evolving and that it’s a part the technological evolution that the society us is undergoing, but at the same time she claims that the spelling is a huge mess, and still need to follow the basic spelling norms. Text 2 â€Å"Spelling: A rebuttal from wired’s copydesk† written by Lee Simmons, published January 31, 2012, on Wired magazines website, on the other disagree with Trubek. Simmons believe that the English language is totally rubbish, and there need to be some rules, for spelling formally. He doesn’t care how we spell when we are texting, and communicating with each other, but we really need to try to concentrate when writing formal and informing things. 2. Characterise the tone and style used in text 2. Illustrate your answers with examples from the text. Text 2 by Lee Simmons, argues against Trubek. Simmons uses the style of writing, ’quote and answer’. When Simmons, answer the quotes his tone is rather aggressively, †Instead, Trubek waves her hands and declares grandly that ‘with the new technologies, the way that we write and read†¦ is changing, and so must spelling.’ Really?† When Simmons uses the, quote and answer technique, it makes it easier to point out the weak spots in Trubeks article, and really dig deep in them. It’s not only pointing the week spots out, it’s also asking questions to the reader, which makes the reader think  about the mistakes Trubek. Simmons believes that he knows better that Trubeck, which is enforced by his job as a copy editor at the magazine Wired. Through the whole article, he argues against Trubek, and keep shooting down Trubeks arguments. But in the end of the text, you’re being left with a feeling of disappointment, the article lac ks a point. 3. Taking your stating point in text 3 discuss the relevance of spelling norms. The point in text 3, had never really occurred to me before. But it actually makes a lot of sense. Arguing that the fewer different unpredictable spellings there are, the easier the language. The fact that the Finish language has no different pronunciations of word, therefore it is easier to learn, which I believe is good for the country, because has a huge influence on for an example, financial workers, who set to learn the language. If it didn’t take so long for to learn the English language, it could mean that the English language could evolve into an even bigger and more powerful world language.