Friday, March 6, 2020

The Skulking Way of War by Patrick M. Malone essays

The Skulking Way of War by Patrick M. Malone essays "The Skulking Way of War" is an examination of the culture of warfare of the Native Americans in Southern New England during the period of 1600-1677. This academic work is mainly a chronicle of the technological developments and advancements of the Southern New England Native tribes and how European influence and trade acted as the catalyst. Moreover, it investigates the military tactics used by the Natives during this period and how they developed over time with the arrival of the Europeans and how their influence transformed the Indian concept of war. At the beginning of this book, Malone states that technology has been the most influential component in shaping warfare from the beginning of time. It has had a dominant role in sculpting and evolving the way military's have fought and will fight wars between each other. Those who lack the technological superiority in battle will have the disadvantage, and most likely will be wiped out. Technology is a limiting factor. That is, warfare is limited by a militarys technological abilities. Malone introduces one more component that shapes warfare and is especially cardinal when examining the Southern New England Indian warfare, and that is geography. In the exploration of the transformation of Native warfare in New England, Malone integrates two major wars between the colonists and the New England Indians: the Pequot War and King Philips War. Through analysis of these two wars, a distinction can be seen in the way in which they were fought by the Indians and the true impact European technology and tactics had on Indian warfare. Before Malone dives into the real analysis, he describes the trouble in such exploration of the past and the affect it has on a study like this. Unlike the English, The Native Americans in New England had no written accounts of their lives which would help us understand truly their way of thinking when it came to warfare. Although archaeologica...

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Nosocomial Infections, Sanitation in Medical Settings Research Paper

Nosocomial Infections, Sanitation in Medical Settings - Research Paper Example This refers to the diseases or infections caused by the hospital environment as a favoring factor. According to the CDC the number of deaths as a result of nosocomial diseases is about 100,000 (Acton, 2013). This infections as commonly caused by bacteria and micro-organisms in the hospital environment. Most common nosocomial diseases include pneumonia infections, urinary tract and blood stream infection. In an argument by WHO (2002) nosocomial infections are mostly caused by the inability of health providers to abide by sanitation regulations. The author further asserts that patient mishandling and practitioner carelessness constitute the largest causing factors of nosocomial infections. The infection’s common route of transmission is direct contact. In this mode of transmission a practitioner may come into contact with a patient with equipment that have not be sanitized, or body to body contact. There infection could also be transmitted through droplet transmission. The droplets may be from a sneeze, cough or talking during sensitive procedures. For instance, a practitioner is required to cover their nose and mouth during surgeries to avoid droplet transmission of infection. Airborne transmission is also a common way nosocomial infection are transmitted. This may be in case or airborne diseases such as tuberculosis. Food, water, devices and medications may also transmit infections if poorly handled. Acton (2013) asserts that simple precautions could be put in place to minimize the occurrence of nosocomial infections. Firstly, sterilization should be done of equipment that are reused in a medical setting. In an instance where a practitioner or a patient put the environment at the risk of infection, isolation should be considered for the person. This would ensure the person does not contaminate the health setting. For the practitioners basic hygiene procedures should be

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Ergonomics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ergonomics - Research Paper Example (Berkeley University, 2008) This text is an outline for a research proposal concerned with ergonomic principles, ergonomic issues in the workplace and their effective solution through research. Ergonomic principles and problems will be discussed followed by the research methodology for finding solutions. This will be followed by the solutions and an accompanying conclusion. Background Ergonomics can be broadly classified into three major distinctions: 1. Physical Ergonomics: related to human’s anatomical, biomechanical, physiological and some anthropometric activities. 2. Cognitive Ergonomics: related to mental processing in human beings. 3. Organizational Ergonomics: related to optimizing social and technical systems along with organizational structure, processes and policies. This research focuses solely on physical ergonomics in general and on physiological and anatomical issues in particular. The ergonomic problem under focus is carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel syndro me has been chosen as it is a common and well investigated problem. The chances of locating reliable sources for carpal tunnel syndrome are high. A discussion is available below for carpal tunnel syndrome in context of applicable ergonomic principles. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is experienced as pain, numbness, burning or tingling sensation in the hand and fingers. Repeated actions of the hand and wrist in certain postures are known to cause CTS in certain workers. (Hutson, 1997) The carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway that connects the lower palm to the wrist’s bottom. This passageway houses various tendons that aid finger movement as well as the median nerve. The median nerve is responsible for movement of the hand as well as for sensation in it. The carpal tunnel is enclosed on the inner side of the wrist by tissue better known as transverse carpal ligament. If CTS sets in, the passageway is made narrower by the surrounding tissues. This could occ ur due to increased pressure on tissues or due to fluid buildup inside tissues (also known as oedema). As the tissue size increases, the median nerve is stressed out. Pressure on the median nerve is enhanced whenever flexion (bending of the fingers and wrist) occurs. Pain and numbness are felt as the median nerve is stressed and compressed. (NHS, 2010) Symptoms of CTS The biggest symptom of CTS is sporadic numbness experienced within the thumb, index finger, long finger and in the radial half of the ring finger. (Walker, 2010) In most cases, the numbness is more pronounced at night because most people sleep with their wrists flexed. As the wrist is flexed, the median nerve is compressed more thereby causing the numbness. (Shiel, 2010) The persistence of CTS over a long period is known to cause permanent nerve damage. This results in a constant feeling of numbness as well as loss of picking power of the wrist. (Uemura, Hidaka, & Nakamura, 2010) The pain experienced in CTS is actually numbness that is intense enough to cause a person to wake up from sleep. Causes behind CTS Currently the causes behind CTS are classified as idiopathic1. Investigation over the years has revealed that CTS arises from a variety of causes that pressurize the median nerve present at the wrist. These conditions can be common such as the use of oral contraceptives, diabetes, obesity, arthritis, trauma and hypothyroidism. (Katz & Simmons, 2002) Other than these causes, intrinsic and extrinsic complications that exert pressure on the carpal tunnel may cause CTS too.

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Image Analysis of Cleopatra

Image Analysis of Cleopatra This paper analyses non-literary sources in terms of what information they can provide about Cleopatra, including visual images, analyses of numismatic evidence, and analysis of inscriptions. The paper relies on six main sources: Austin’s The Hellenistic world: from Alexander to the Roman conquest. A selection of ancient sources in translation; Goudchaux’s 2001 essay entitled Cleopatra’s subtle religious strategy, found in Higgs’ and Walker’s Cleopatra of Egypt: from history to myth, which is also a source; Holbl’s History of the Ptolemaic Empire; Howgego’s Ancient history from coins (approaching the ancient world) and Pollitt’s Art in the Hellenistic Age. From these sources, images of Cleopatra, from sculptures, pottery, mosaics and coinage, amongst others, are discussed, and their relevance to Cleopatra’s image are analysed and discussed. As Howgego (1995) argues, coins have far more than monetary value, they can be important in defining power and power structures, in terms of politics and in terms of imperialism, recognising, however, that is difficult to describe ancient political and power structures in modern terms, as they were so very different from the structures that are around at the moment, and, as such, describing such structures in terms of modern definitions can often itself lead to misunderstandings and flaws in research undertaken. The vast majority of coins that are known, for example, show Cleopatra as a Hellenic ruler, although she was, of course, the last Queen of Egypt. This attests to the fact that Cleopatra was a great manipulator, and that, indeed, she manipulated her image whilst alive in order to retain power, in politics, and over people. Portraying herself in Hellenistic images allowed Cleopatra to show to her people that she was not only ruler of Egypt, but, through her control of Alexandri a, ruler of all of the Hellenistic world. As Goudchaux points out in his 2001 essay Cleopatra’s subtle religious strategy, Cleopatra was a Ptolemy who spoke Egyptian. She had claim to Egyptian territory, through her family, and also to Hellenistic lands, as contemporary coinage suggest. Cleopatra therefore had political and territorial control of many lands, and also moved freely between many cultures, accepted as she was in Egypt and across the Hellenistic world. Goudchaux (2001) argues that she was an innovative ruler, and most definitely a product of her family’s power and history. In this essay, Goudchaux (2001) makes the point strongly that Cleopatra wanted to understand Egyptian concepts of religion as she realised that religion was one of the bonds which united the Egyptian people and which created a bond with the land, in terms of people having a focal point in the temples, all of which were dedicated to Egyptian gods. As such, Cleopatra was aware that, in some respects, by controlling religion, she would control the Egyptian people. Priests, Cleopatra realised, were the highest peak of Egyptian society, with priests commanding great respect and holding society together. Cleopatra realised this, realised the power of religion in Egyptian society, and it is known that Cleopatra herself held great respect for Egyptian priests and did everything she could to understand Egyptian religion, in terms of keeping priests close to her and ensuring that they followed her rule. This she then used to form bonds with Roman generals, for example, Caesar, and, indeed, Cle opatra built a temple in Rome when she visited Caesar. Romans found Egyptian style to be in vogue at some point in their history, but as Cleopatra would later realise, this was a fleeting fashion, which soon fell out of favour with the majority of Roman rulers. Cleopatra, therefore, as Goudchaux (2001) makes clear, was a shrwed politician, who knew what needed to be done, and when, in order to keep abreast of shifting power struggles, and to keep hold of her territory, which many people wanted (including the Roman generals). Cleopatra’s highly political character, in which she used her connections with many cultures (Ptolomeic to Egyptian to Roman to Hellenistic) to achieve her political aims, according to the needs of her kingdom as she saw them, itself led to many images of Cleopatra being produced. We have images of Cleopatra looking Egyptian, and images of Cleopatra looking Egyptian but with some Greek features, for example. All of these images are useful in that they allow pieces to be dated accurately, according to Cleopatra’s known movements and interactions with other rulers. As Goudchaux (2001) argues, as we have seen, Cleopatra was well aware of the power of imagery, and she used imagery as a political tool, in terms of ensuring her self-presentation was faultless in order to achieve her political aims. As Walker (2001) argues, in his essay in Higgs and Walker (2001), Cleopatra was a master manipulator, allowing images of herself to be created as the need arose, such that we have images of Cleopatra that are Egyptian in origin, such as Egyptian reliefs, which show Cleopatra as regal, and all powerful. We also have Roman images of Cleopatra, which, whilst on the face of it seem not to be flattering, as they show Cleopatra as womanly and in almost pornographic positions, but, understood in the context of Roman society at that time, are actually a compliment to her womanliness, and a way of presenting Cleopatra to the Romans in a way which would be appreciated by this society. Other images of Cleopatra, from coins, for example, show Cleopatra with very str ong features, not at all beautiful as is normally supposed, and are thought to be a reflection, a re-take on the portraiture of her father, Ptolemy XII, as a way of recalling her lineage to her people. Imagery of Cleopatra is thus both complex and complicated, and in order to understand Cleopatrian imagery, one needs to read this imagery in the context of the time at which it was made, and what political happenings were occurring at the time of the image being made. Higgs and Walker (2001) analysed nearly four hundred artefacts relating to Cleopatra and her life, in an attempt to understand Cleopatra’s iconography. The book, which is essentially a catalogue of the British Museum exhibition of the same name, includes many new images of Cleopatra, including some papyrus bearing her signature which was recently discovered, has caused as much sensation as the exhibition, with many ancient scholars arguing against the book, that it does not contain sufficiently in-depth research, and that the research it does contain is not high quality. This caveat aside, the edited book contains many interesting essays, amongst them Higgs’ Searching for Cleopatra’s image: classical portraits in stone which makes it clear that it is, actually, extremely difficult to identify Cleopatra in ancient sculptures, in particular, because, as we have seen, Cleopatra was a master manipulator of her image, and as such, there are many different kinds of images of Cleopatra, and then, on top of this, because of the artistic licence that many artists took when defining Cleopatra in their work. Higgs picks out some of what he considers to be essential features of any image of Cleopatra, including snakes, hairstyles and heads which are separated from the body (representing, bizarrely, power), and shows that these features can be used, generally, to identify images of Cleopatra. Goudchaux’s essay in this volume, as we have seen, is extremely useful in coming to some understanding of the imagery of Cleopatra, in terms of her religious beliefs and her use of religion to gain, and maintain, political power, but it is also useful in showing how subjective analyses of images of Cleopatra can be, and how maleable these images are, in that one person can look at an image of Cleopatra, on a coin for example, and find it beautiful, whereas another person can look at that very same image and find not beauty, but plain regalness, for example. As Goudchaux states, the fact that many of Cleopatra’s coins were made not from gold but from silver alloys, means that some of these coins have not survived well and that, because of this decay, they can provide distorted images of Cleopatra, simply by virtue of their damaged condition[1]. This degradation of imagery also needs to be taken in to account, Goudchaux argues, when assessing the power and purpose of imag es of Cleopatra, and the information that can be gained from such images and imagery. This analysis of the various images of Cleopatra and the way in which Cleopatra manipulated her image, and allowed her image to be manipulated, as a way of gaining and maintaining power over her people and over foreign rulers shows, ultimately, the necessity for Cleopatra to act in the way she did, in terms of ruling over a land that many people wanted to gain control of, from a city that the Romans wished to rule. Her manipulation of her image, on coins she minted, for example, was, as Howgego (1995) argues, a direct way for Cleopatra to portray the image of herself that she wanted to portray to her people, in order to gain the effect she wanted to gain from her people i.e., submission and support. As Higgs and Walker (2001) show, through their choice, and cataloguing, of nearly 400 artefacts relating to Cleopatra, Cleopatra was not just a master manipulator of her own image: she used art and imagery as a political tool, in an attempt to gain influence abroad. Higgs and Walker (2001) argue, for example, that the Roman Palestrina Nile Mosaic, which, it is argued by Goudchaux (2001), is a dedication from Cleopatra to the Roman goddess Fortuna, was gifted to the Romans as a way of gaining an in-road in to Roman society. Such gifts, replete with political imagery and significance were a feature of ancient society, a way of gaining a presence in a foreign nation, for example, and so Cleopatra’s usage of such imagery can, perhaps, be better understood in this context: that it was a routine way of attaining one’s wishes, in political terms. As such, perhaps, Cleopatra, through manipulating her own image, was doing nothing more than repeating a routine occurrence. As Pelling (2001) argues in his essay entitled Anything truth can do, we can do better: the Cleopatra legend, in Walker and Higgs (2001), that exaggerated portrayals of Cleopatra were common within Egypt and across the ancient world, and as Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra had a great role to play in this exaggeration; contemporary and more modern accounts of Cleopatra as the ‘beauty’ and even, for example, Cleopatra’s adoption by the black rights movement in the United States is no more than a continuation of Cleopatra’s own manipulation, that the appropriation of Cleopatra’s image, and the continuation of the ‘myth’ of Cleopatra’s beauty and power is no more than a way in which to borrow power from her image and to lend power to contemporary arguments and causes. This analysis of the various images of Cleopatra and the way in which Cleopatra manipulated her image, and allowed her image to be manipulated, as a way of gaining and maintaining power over her people and over foreign rulers has shown, ultimately, as we have seen, the necessity for Cleopatra to act in the way she did, in terms of ruling over a land that many people wanted to gain control of, from a city that the Romans wished to rule. The debates over Cleopatra’s supposed beauty is rather peripheral to the life that Cleopatra led, as ruler of Egypt and as over-seer of the Hellenistic world. As this study has shown, images of Cleopatra were created not with the task of conveying her beauty[2], but with conveying her power and her abilities to rule, and her willingness to continue to rule. References Austin, M.M, 2006. The Hellenistic world: from Alexander to the Roman conquest. A selection of ancient sources in translation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Goudchaux, G.W., 2001. Cleopatra’s subtle religious strategy. In S.Walker and P.Higgs (eds.), Cleopatra of Egypt: from history to myth. Higgs, P. and Walker, S. (eds.), 2001. Cleopatra of Egypt: from history to myth. Princeton University Press. Holbl, G., 2001. History of the Ptolemaic Empire. London: Routledge. Howgego, C., 1995. Ancient history from coins (approaching the ancient world). London: Routledge. Pollitt, J., 1986. Art in the Hellenistic Age. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1 Footnotes [1] Coins recently discovered in a bank vault in Newcastle, however, which are in mint condition show Cleopatra in a very bad light, not at all beautiful, with hooked nose and chin. See The Guardian 14th February 2007 article entitled Antony and Cleopatra: coin find changes the face of history by Martin Wainwright. [2] Indeed, as argued by Hamer (2001) in her essay in Higgs and Walker (2001) entitled The myth of Cleopatra since the Renaissance, this obsession with Cleopatra’s beauty is a modern obsession, that developed from the Renaissance onwards, and was not a defining feature of imagery of Cleopatra that was produced during her time.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

A look at the death rates in the united states according to race Essay

Death Rates, Many of the death rates in the United States may be explained, for example, why are the death rates of African Americans so high on homicide? Well, it is said that because most black people live in Urban areas or in what people call â€Å"guetos† (not necessarily all but a good amount) that means they usually live on these dangerous places where death rates are pretty high making their victimology pretty high. Now if we combine this with the fact that most black men kill other black men whether it is (usually because of gangs) then we can assume that the death rates of black men because of homicides is pretty high because they usually live on places that are very dangerous and controlled by gangs and most are killed by people of their own race (and some may argue too by police but that’s another topic) which would explain these statistics and same could be explained for other races. Another example could be that many Americans (despite the different racial groups) are l ikely to die from heart disease, and that is because of the fast foods. In other words, if Americans would eat healthier instead of constantly going to fast foods and started to take care of themselves also by doing exercise then it wouldn’t have to worry so much of dying from heart disease and those death rates among Americans will most likely decrease. The differences in the death rates are because of culture and the way people live their lives, so if a race, for example, let’s maybe there’s a high death rate of Hispanics because of kidney failure (this is an example it may not be true) then maybe the reason could be because they drink a lot of alcohol or something same with other types of diseases or may be ways of thinking. Maybe whites can’t control their stress or are less likely to seek help when they have psychological problems which would explain the high death rates. I believe all of these differences in death rates are because of how each racia l group decides to live and that is why in certain categories those death rates are high for the different racial groups.   

Friday, January 10, 2020

Middle Age and Renaissance Art

Gothic Art is art of the Middle Ages. Early Middle Age art is also known as the Dark ages (410 AD-ADDED). After the Dark ages came the Medieval era (1066-1485) Then on to the Renaissance era. In the Middle Ages the Roman Empire was spilt into two sections, the Eastern and the Western part of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire fell, the Western part disintegrated, while the Eastern or Byzantium Empire stayed intact. The art reflects the differences between the development of Catholic Religion and the Byzantium Empire.Byzantium Art had characteristics of religious art, somber tones, flat, one dimensional, no shadows, narrow, and solemn faces. Medieval Gothic Art broke away from Byzantium Art and Romanesque styles. Changes included : Brighter colors, sculptures, metal work out of bronze, stained glass, use of shadows and light, use of symmetry, and depiction of animals and mythological scenes (middle-ages. Com, 2013). Ghetto did Bonnet's The Last Supper was a painting from this period. Renaissance Art began in Italy around the late 13th and early 14th entry and continued through the 17th century.Art from this period was mostly of religious nature. It was described as a period of rebirth. This was a time of greater prosperity and new technologies. There were three major phases of Renaissance Art, Early, High, and Late. In these phases inspiration came from antiquity, creating realistic figures that had portrayed personality and behavior (history. Com, 2013). Focus was on the laws of proportion for architecture, human body, and space. Experimentation with oil based paints allowed the artist to change his art as he shed for months as it didn't dry fast.Leonardo dad Vine's The Last Supper was a famous painting from this opened. ART 2 The Last Supper by Ghetto did Bonded and Leonardo dad Vinci both were based on the New Testament. In the Last Supper by Ghetto did Bonded, he did not attempt to imitate reality; there is no depth, and no light source. The goal was to teac h the Christian faith. The Last Supper by Leonardo dad Vinci was the first to depict reality, with each person displaying an emotion. This is what made his work remarkable (history. Mom, 2013). Both Middle Age art and Renaissance art had religion as common ground. The Middle Ages was a separation of the Western and Eastern Roman Empire. It reflected the difference between the development of the Catholic religion in the west and Byzantium Empire. Renaissance art was mostly religious stemming from the end of the Middle Ages. Renaissance art was more visually accurate and secular. It had more realistic backgrounds that indicated realism, creativity and appreciation of physical nature.The purpose was decoration and self-expression, not like the middle ages. By Renaissance art introducing realism, it allowed the common person to enjoy tales, and this tradition continues in today's society. As the Renaissance art went out, mannerism came in. It was a different kind of art. It showed more clashing colors, disquieting figures, emotion, and bizarre themes that combined classicism, Christianity, and mythology (about. Com, 2013)