Murder In The Cathedral Essays - Murder In The Cathedral, Literature

Murder In The Cathedral Murder in the Cathedral I believe the conflict and change within the main character, Thomas Beckett, was very drastic. Thomas went from running away from his problems, to facing them and ultimate killing himself because of it. At the beginning of the play Thomas was running away from people that wanted to kill him or hurt him, because of his belief that the king didn't have power over the church. Throughout the play, Thomas questioned himself on why he was doing what he was doing, and in the end he decided that if death was coming he couldn't cheat it. I admire Thomas on how made his final decision based on what he truly believed. Thomas's final decision, was what he believed in. I think that if he was content with his decision and if he felt that it was the best choice, than I am happy for him and don't disagree that he should have waited for the knights to calm down. I think that the personification of the Tempters helped a great deal in the play. I feel that the tempters helped the reader understand why Thomas did what he did and they also helped the reader understand and put Thomas thoughts in order of importance to him. I liked it how they described how Thomas could have so much and be happy if he would just go along with the king, instead of against him. I feel that without the tempters, the play wouldn't have shown the reader the reason behind Thomas's decisions. I feel that the significance of the Christmas Sermon was to tell the people that he would probably be leaving them and it would be his last sermon. Thomas talked about how a martyr is a special thing and that only special people that will remembered forever receive that great honor. To me, it seemed as though he thought maybe he would be a martyr or that he might not because of his reasons behind the decisions he made, either way he wanted the people to remember him. I think that the reason why the playwright chose not to have the king appear, is because there was no real need for him. The kings thoughts and decisions were well spoken by other people that relayed messages for the king. Whatever the king wanted said or done, he could and would have others do it for him. I don't think that it would be believable for the king to visit Thomas, either. I think that a king wouldn't be dumb enough to go out among people that loved Thomas and confront him. I think that the chorus was very important, because they predicted the future. Like at the beginning, when they said someone will die and that the people did fine without Thomas. Also, toward the end of the play, they also foresee Thomas's death in the cathedral. Without the chorus, I think things would definitely have come as a shock to the reader and there would have been more to question. Overall, the chorus did help set some scenes up, but I think the play may have been more interesting without them. I think the reason for the knights explanation was very simple, to protect themselves and to help the reader understand that it was not necessarily a good thing they did even if it was their job. I also feel that they did it to explain that it was, in some ways, good for the people also. His death would bring everything divided together, because there would not be anyone against the kings plan. The knights also explained to the people that Thomas had a chance for a good life and harmony, but he through it away. They tell the people that Thomas is the one that messed with the harmony and changed things for the worse. Overall, I liked the play, but as I said earlier, it was to predictable and they almost told you what was going to happen before it did. I liked it how Thomas stuck to his beliefs and based his decisions on what he thought was right, no matter what happened. Finally, I also liked it, because it showed me why church and state should be separated. It put it into perspective and proved that it isn't a good idea. I think this story should be used as an example in history classes when discussing the separation of

Free Essays on Social Security Reform

Social Security Reform In today’s society there is a problem that has been progressing worse as the days go bye. This problem is social security. There are many possible approaches that can be concluded, the two main ideas are either getting rid of Social Security also known as â€Å"privatization†, or merely cutting back on it. I recently read in article by Jeff Nygaard who is a free lance writer and activist in Minneapolis, and the founder of the social security project of Minnesota. His points are clearly stated throughout this short paper on Social Security Reform. Social security is a program in the Unites States that pays cash benefits to workers and the families of those workers, who suffered loss of wages from death, disability or retirement. Savings and pension are two other ways of retirement that are supposed to be used with social security, however people often rely on social security to take care of all of there expenses. 537 dollars a month is the average benefit for a low wage retiree, which is clearly not enough money to live comfortably with. Another sad fact is that social security leaves one out of every nine persons poor. Another reason why social security doesn’t work is because the U.S lacks a national system of universal health care and maternity leave, whereas many other wealthy countries such as Sweden do. One of the new proposals is called â€Å"privatization†, which is getting rid of social security in a whole, and instead setting up Personal Security Accounts, wherein each worker would put money aside for retirement in stocks. Each person would be using just as much money as they usually pay for their social security taxes and possibly more money. The bad news about privatization is that the ones who would suffer the most would be the poor and working class people. Another more liberal approach to social security reform is cutting back on the current system, which would include raising th... Free Essays on Social Security Reform Free Essays on Social Security Reform Social Security Reform In today’s society there is a problem that has been progressing worse as the days go bye. This problem is social security. There are many possible approaches that can be concluded, the two main ideas are either getting rid of Social Security also known as â€Å"privatization†, or merely cutting back on it. I recently read in article by Jeff Nygaard who is a free lance writer and activist in Minneapolis, and the founder of the social security project of Minnesota. His points are clearly stated throughout this short paper on Social Security Reform. Social security is a program in the Unites States that pays cash benefits to workers and the families of those workers, who suffered loss of wages from death, disability or retirement. Savings and pension are two other ways of retirement that are supposed to be used with social security, however people often rely on social security to take care of all of there expenses. 537 dollars a month is the average benefit for a low wage retiree, which is clearly not enough money to live comfortably with. Another sad fact is that social security leaves one out of every nine persons poor. Another reason why social security doesn’t work is because the U.S lacks a national system of universal health care and maternity leave, whereas many other wealthy countries such as Sweden do. One of the new proposals is called â€Å"privatization†, which is getting rid of social security in a whole, and instead setting up Personal Security Accounts, wherein each worker would put money aside for retirement in stocks. Each person would be using just as much money as they usually pay for their social security taxes and possibly more money. The bad news about privatization is that the ones who would suffer the most would be the poor and working class people. Another more liberal approach to social security reform is cutting back on the current system, which would include raising th...

Relationship of the Sexes in Greys Anatomy Essay

Relationship of the Sexes in Greys Anatomy - Essay Example The argument shall be based on an individualized character description of the characters from the show and then segue into a discussion of Season 6, episode 15 a.k.a Timewarp. This episode is the one that set the tone for the mother of Meredith Grey to become one of the most admired surgeons at Seattle Grace. The discussion shall conclude with a look at how sexism still exists in the modern medical workplace as evidenced by scenes from the show. There have been many instances on the show when women were portrayed in a sexist manner. Take for example the episode in the first season when Dr. Isobel Stevens (played by Katherine Heigl) was treated as a sex object and disrespected by the other male interns on the floor because she used to do sexy modeling assignments in order to help pay off her medical school expenses. She did not take the disrespect sitting down at the time. Instead, she chose to force the men to respect her by giving them more than they expected to see herself in the l ocker room. Thus shaming them into thinking about how they were treating her and in the end, getting an apology from those who disrespected her the most. Then we have Cristina Yang (played by Sandra Oh), the overachieving cardio-thoracic surgeon who tends to get on everyone's nerves because of her by-the-book attitude. Since she always held herself in a manner higher than the other interns, and then residents in Seattle Grace, she was able to gain their respect and then the respect of her superiors such as Derek Shepherd who saw and treated her as an equal both in and out of the operating room. Dr. Yang gained their respect and high regard by proving herself where it mattered the most, in action in the operating room. Dr. Bailey, also known as The Nazi lead the team of then medical misfits as their resident advisers. Her job was to whip them into shape in order to make them respectable and noteworthy additions to the field of medicine that they may have chosen to specialize in. She was not exactly respected by her peers in the sense of the word. In fact, the respect for her person and position was born mostly out of fear for these people because she has a tendency to be tactless and straightforward in order to get her way. That is perhaps, the only way she knows to gain the respect of her colleagues in a profession that is mostly dominated by men. Of all of the interns and now medical doctors on the show, however, none of them carried the same kind of responsibility and unfair expectations of her peers than Dr. Meredith Grey whose mother, Ellis Grey, was considered to be one of the foremost surgeons at Seattle Grace during her tenure at the hospital. Meredith chose to follow in her mother's footsteps because of the influence that her strong-willed mother had on her existence as a child. But that is perhaps also the reason why Meredith found herself lost during the first few seasons of the show. She was the most uncertain and self-doubting doctor in the hospita l because she felt that they all expected too much from her.  

Spam (Computing) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Spam (Computing) - Essay Example Proponents of permission-based emails argue that the receiver can simply hit the delete button or use an opt-out option listed in the electronic advertisement if they do not want to view the email. (Godin, 1999, pg. 43). Opponents charge anything that arrives in the inbox that the recipient didn’t request is spam and that just because a purchase is made doesn’t give that company the right to inundate them with junk mail. The debate is joined whether this tactic serves to generate trade or to drive potential customers away. Spam is considered not only intrusive but is generally viewed as a scheme of some kind. Those that don’t differentiate between the two are driven away from these emails thus questioning their effectiveness. The question then becomes are permission based emails an unwanted and ineffective or a necessary and reasonable method of advertising? Argument Spammers have long attempted to justify their intrusive form of advertising. So-called permission -based marketing is just another example of spam. According to their logic, if a person forgets to check a button at the end of an online order form requesting no further correspondence, this constitutes permission. If a lawn care or maintenance man had access to your property does that give implied permission to sell you Viagra? When a service or product is purchased on the Internet, does this give implied permission for the company to suggest sell on a daily basis via your email account? If a consumer is required to type in an email address to visit the site or bought a related product from another company that, in turn, sold their email lists, this is all considered permission to inundate an email box with spam. An opt-in list can be purchased, on the Internet, of course, thus making even a respectable company’s permission list suspect. Many companies, including utility and service companies assume that an individual has granted spam permission if they have used a product or service of that company. These emails typically announce that this email is not spam; you have opted to receive this information. It goes on to espouse the company’s spam policy and that it’s policy prohibits spam of any kind. There seems to be a perception chasm between marketers and the consumer. (Dean, 2003). If the old adage ‘time is money’ is correct, then stolen time is stolen money. The theft of a few seconds will not cause a person to lose their livelihood but that is similar to saying stealing one item from a chain store won’t bankrupt the company. Wrong on a small scale is still wrong. Spammers may argue that junk mail does not have the same effect as stealing because there is an opt-out option choice on the email, but the time spent reading, following the link and then the steps necessary to stop the spam is time lost. Multiply that 30 seconds of effort by 100’s of spam emails and that is significant money stolen from an individ ual and/or their employer. (Rhode, 2003). Adopting Opt-in anti-spam email rules worldwide would limit spam messages, perceived or otherwise, as the consumer would have to make a deliberate choice to receive company generated email. The Opt-out option addresses the spam issue only after the unwanted message was sent. The loss of time and irritation to

Implications of Economic crisis on Greece economic Essay

Implications of Economic crisis on Greece economic - Essay Example Advancement in globalization can also be as a result of the advancement of internet. Business globalization can be termed as the idea of business organizations moving beyond their domestic markets to other markets in other countries. This paper aims at discussing globalization and how it affects the management of contemporary businesses. Globalization of businesses avails foreign goods in local markets. For instance, a person in South America can be sitting in their office sipping Italian wine while typing on a Chinese keyboard. This does not necessarily mean that this person had to travel all the way to Italy and China to seek such products. This is good for consumers of such products worldwide. For the business this will be good because with their goods being sold all over the world, they will not have to rely on the local markets (Etemad & Wright 2003, p. 89). With international markets, businesses will be able improve the diversity of their products to match the various needs and wants of different types of potential customers. This difference is always as a result of geographical, political, cultural, and economic differences of various people in the world. Globalization cannot be termed as a new concept. It is a concept that has been in business for centuries. However, it is only in the 21st century that globalization has become a common concept in business and business management. When business organizations exhaust the local markets they always find a way of stretching their territories into the international markets. At a point like this there are always many challenges that are always involved. However, as a business manager it is always good to take such challenges because they are always accompanied by best result. Globalization also leads to exchange of technologies. Businesses firms that have an international orientation always use new technologies to exploit new business opportunities. For instance, e-commerce and

Prevalence of H. pylori Isolates and Genotypes and CagA Gene

Prevalence of H. pylori Isolates and Genotypes and CagA Gene 1. Introduction The best-known gastric Helicobacter species is Helicobacter pylori which is a slightly curved, microaerophilic Gram-negative. This microorganism has established a niche in the stomach of more than half of the world’s human population and become a dominant species of the human gastric microbiome. H. pylori colonization causes persistent inflammatory responses.H. pylori-induced gastritis is the strongest singular risk factor for cancers of the stomach however only a small proportion of infected individuals proceed to the development of malignancy. It is still unknown what factors are responsible for the different outcomes ranging from asymptomatic gastritis, peptic ulcer disease (PUD) to gastric cancer (GC). The changes in the epidemiology of these different demonstration of H. pylori infection suggest an environmental factor, an interaction between environmental factor and the host, or a change in prevalence of strains differing in virulence H. pylori has two phenotypic charact eristics among strains are the vacuolating cytotoxin (vac) and cytotoxic associated gene A (vacA) protein which encoded by the and cagA genes respectively. cagA and genes are considered as candidates for the identification of strains with enhanced virulence. For instance, gastric mucosa from patients infected with cagApositive H. pylori strains which containing a 40-kb cag pathogenicity island (which includes cagA gene) typically exhibits more severe inflammation than that of gastric mucosa infected with cagA-negative strains (Jafari et al., 2008). Despite the gene is present in most H. pylori, but the product may not be expressed in all cases. They have important attempt to described and classify distinction in the gene and to associate specific genotypes with different H. pylori-associated diseases The protein contains three distinct segments that exhibit variation within the amino-terminus. These areas of variation are broadly defined as the signal (s), intermediate (i), and midd le (m) regions. Two primary variants have been described for signal region (s1 or s2) and middle region (m1 or m2) while three variants has been reported for intermediate region (i1, i2, or i3) (Jones et al., 2010). The m region affects host cell tropism of toxins. Encoding the m1 region are toxic to a broader range of host cells compared to that of m2 region. The i region which determine the vacuolating capabilities is positioned between the s and m region and is the most recent region to be described. The i1 variants of have been shown to have stronger vacuolating activity than i2 variants (Jones et al., 2011). Atherton et al. (1995) reported three of the four possible subtypes with the exeption of s2-m1 variant. The presence of the s2-m1 variant was later reported but with very rare prevalence (0 to 3%). Despite variants have been described, but is still remains unclear whether the genotypes are useful markers for the prediction of clinical outcomes. Initial reports indicated tha t the s1 and i2 genotype would be found in close association with clinical outcomes in Western countries (Jafari et al., 2008); however the prevalence of this genotype was extremely high (almost 100%) in East Asian countries irrespective of the clinical outcomes (Jafari et al., 2008). The prevalence of H. pylori infection is about 50% of the world’s population and has been reported to be 40 to 60% in Malaysian (Goh et al., 2009). The purpose of this study is to identify the prevalence of H. pylori isolates in patients with a full spectrum of clinical demonstration of H. pylori infection to evaluate whether the assumed associations with genotypes and cagA gene would be applicable to patients with H. pylori infection in Malaysian populations. 2. Material and methods Isolation and culture of H. pylori Gastric biopsies were obtained from each patient by using endoscopy. Each specimen was placed in a transport medium and sent to the laboratory immediately. The specimens were then incubated onto chocolate (selective/non-selective) agar containing 10% sheep blood for 3 days at 37 ºC under microaerobic conditions (10% CO2, 5% O2, 85% N2). All H. pylori strains were positive for urease, oxidase, catalase and were identified by Gram staining under light microscopy. Colonies directly harvested from the plates were used for DNA extraction. Endoscopic findings were also recorded and based on the information patients were divided into two groups. Group I patients had duodenal or gastric ulcer (Peptic Ulcer Disease, PUD) and group II patients had Non-Ulcer Dyspepsia (NUD). Population studied A total of 209 gastric biopsies were collected from patients presenting with symptoms of gastroduodenal diseases during July 2011 to August 2012 at the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC). Four biopsy specimens were taken from the greater curve of the antrum, body, cardia and Esophagous, one was used for histological examination and one for H. pylori culture. Genomic DNA extraction Bacteria from both the 10 single colonies and the sweeps were resuspended in 1.2 ml Elution buffer (EB). Bacterial pellets were obtained by centrifugation at 5,233 Ãâ€"gfor 5 min, and genomic DNA was extracted by using a Qiagen kit. The amount of DNA was calculated by spectrophotometry. Detection of H. pylori and genotyping of 16sRNA, cag A, E, L and vac genes and EPIYA motifs by PCR In this study PCR was used to detect the H. pylori specific 16sRNA gene for confirmation of H. pylori isolates, the virulence-associated vacA mosaic structure and the presence of cag A, E, L genes. All primer sets were selected from the published literatures (Table 1). The PCR was carried out in a volume of 25  µl including100 ng of genomic DNA, 20 pmol of each of primers (Table 1), 5  µl of i-PCR 5X Master Mix (iDNA, Singapore) which contain 0.1 unit/ µl 5  µl of i-PCR 5X Master Mix (iDNA, Singapore) which contain 0.1 unit/ µl of Taq DNA Polymerase, 1 mM of dNTP’s, 10% of glycerol and 7.5 mM of MgCl2. Negative control tubes included all materials except template DNA. The sequences of the primers are listed in Table 1. PCR products were checked on 2.0% agarose gels with 100 bp ladder size markers. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the EPIYA motifs was performed in separate reactions according to the method described by Argent et al. (Mitchell et al., 2009). using the common forward primer cag2 with one of three reverse primers, cagAP1C, cagAP2TA, and cagAP3E, for the amplià ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ cation of EPIYA-A, -B, and -C and -D, respectively. Table 1. Oligonucleotide primers used for cagA/E and L, vacA alleles and EPIYA motifs

The United States Should Leave Iraq Essay -- Iraq War Terrorism Violen

The United States Should Leave Iraq The United States is in a tough situation. This country has gone to war without the UN's approval, and now has more casualties than when the war 'officially' ended. Now, the war could cost taxpayers $87 billion dollars, and more if the war drags on. The situation is at the critical point. If the Bush Administration does not leave Iraq, we will lose thousands of troops, spend billions sending more troops to Iraq, and we will lose the faith of the international community. This war will have larger repercussions than the casualties occurring every day. If the Bush Administration gets the $87 billion dollars to pay for Iraq's reconstruction it has asked for, the country's economy is not likely to recover. To add to this problem, the administration has also asked for a $400 billion dollar tax cut. That's almost $500 billion dollars being spent during an economic recession. The choice of going to Iraq may have looked sound in the administration?s short-term thinking, and the administration may have thought that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but the future effects of this war will be disastrous. The administration?s reasoning seemed rational at the time; but we will be paying for this war long after it is over, simply because it was so ill-conceived. The reason that the American people were given for going to war was false in the first place. In his 2003 State of the Union address, George Bush stated that, "Evidence fr...

1 Malaysia

A very good afternoon to the honor judges, Ms Linda and Ms Joane, all my friends and the fellow audience, and especially the organizer of this public speaking competition. My name is Chin Kar Mei, from DHT. Well! This is my pleasure for having a chance to present my speech at this stage. I am here seeking for your attention; my topic is about ? ExcellentCulture in Malaysia.? Hopefully all of you will enjoy for it. Ladies and gentlemen: First and foremost, our 6th Prime Minister, Dato ¶ Seri Najib Razak used to say, ?OneMalaysia should be existed today onwards?. Dato ¶ Seri continued saying that, ? This is the best solution for restructuring our society during the outbreak of a global recession?. What does it mean by One Malaysia concept? One Malaysia concept consists of 8 values. They are culture of excellence, perseverance, humility, acceptance, loyalty, meritocracy, education and the last one, integrity. All of these are prime conditions to reach 1Malaysia. This concept is neit her too hard nor too easy to be achieved.Since Malaysia is being developed, current Prime Minister espoused 1Malaysia concept and it is purposely takes into considerations the interests and aspirations of all communities in moving country forward. Ladies and gentlemen: Malaysia is a multi-racial community. For instance, Malays, Chinese, Indians, Iban, Kadazan and so on. Every Malaysian should understand and tolerate among each other in order to create a harmony place. There is a good example, understanding Islam among Muslims and non-Muslims. Non-Muslims cannot take alcoholic beverages, cannot take pork product and so forth. There is another situation, still could remember, when I was working in hotel last time. I have realized that there was several gangs in my department. They are Malays, Chinese and Indians gang. They were arguing among each other every time just because of small, little things. They were never ever tolerating among themselves. Until once upon a time, there was a severe mistake done by someone else. And because of this, warning letter will be given to everyone unless we able to find out the solution. Therefore, all the 3 gangs finally discussed together regardless the races and we really found the best solution.

Formal Diary Entry Essay Example

Formal Diary Entry Essay Example Formal Diary Entry Paper Formal Diary Entry Paper Dear diary, I was reading one of the latest teenage magazines today. I find them rather interesting and informative because they are full of very compelling articles about role models in sport and culture. In this generation. There was a very amusing article on a singer called Mile Cyrus. She is an interesting character. It is amazing to watch what happens to young celebrities, as they get older. Often, after many years in the spotlight, some celebrities appear to develop a very undesirable image. Mile was always a very good role model towards young people but now she shaves her head ND has a few too many tattoos. : There was also a very enlightening article on Ian Thorpe. Ian Thorpe is a fantastic swimmer and I admire him greatly. I was amazed to read that he is 192 centimeters tall with an incredible arm span. No wonder he was such a good swimmer! He used to have depression when he was younger man. Its quite astonishing to see that he broke 22 world records during his very successful career while battling depression. Ian has been treated for depression since he was a teenager. He was quite embarrassed about his condition so he kept it a secret, even from his parents. He also had a very minor alcohol problem. Before his first race at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, he was very unhappy and drank a lot of alcohol to make himself feel better. He has also suffered from suicidal thoughts and didnt believe that he could ever recover. It wasnt until several years after his retirement that his mental health improved. Over the years, Ian Thorpe has been a very successful swimmer. He won multiple Olympic medals and won many awards such as the 2002 World Swimmer of the Year. When he was only fourteen years old, he was selected to represent Australia in he 400-meter freestyle. This made him the youngest male to ever represent Australia! He is traveled around the world during his career and has been to many places such as London, Tokyo, Paris and New York! A high profile coach quoted that he was the greatest swimmer the world has ever seen. He is also sponsored by Aids, Santa, Tellers and Seven Network. It was would be quite breathtaking to see your face on billboards and front covers of magazines all over the world. In 2007, he qualified for the World Championships selection trials, but unfortunately e had to withdraw from the competition because he had bronchitis. He then had glandular fever and afterwards he broke his wrist, which was unfortunate because he was hoping to return to the Commonwealth Games after his retirement. No wonder he was finding life so difficult. During all this, he then had to put up with the media asking questions about his sexuality and whether he was homosexual or not. I find it incredible that people can be so intrusive when it comes to celebritys private lives. That someday I will be as good as him. Until tomorrow diary, Maggie

Medicine in Ancient Egypt Essays

Medicine in Ancient Egypt Essays Medicine in Ancient Egypt Paper Medicine in Ancient Egypt Paper Essay Topic: Burial Rites Love Medicine People sometimes say that the ancient Egyptian civilization endured without much change for more than three thousand years. This is only partially true because, in fact, Egyptian ways of life, philosophy, religion, language, and art changed considerably over time. However, the ancient Egyptian culture retained its identity and general character to a remarkable degree over the course of its history: a situation due in part to Egypt’s favorable and secure location. Essentially a river oasis, the country was bordered by deserts to the west and east, by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and by the first cataract of the Nile at Aswan in the south. Situated in the northeastern corner of Africa, Egypt was a center for trade routes to and from western Asia, the Mediterranean, and central Africa. Ancient Egyptian medicine is the medicine that was commonly practiced in Ancient Egypt from circa 3300BC until Persian invasion of 525 BC. The medicine was highly advanced for the time and included surgery, setting of bones and extensive set of Pharmacopoeia. Remedies were sometimes characterized by magical incantations and dubious ingredients, often had a rational basis. Medical texts specified specific steps of examination, diagnosis, prognosis and treatments that were rational and appropriate. The practices of Egyptian physicians ranged from embalming, to faith healing to surgery, and autopsy. There was no separation of Physician, Priest and Magician in Egypt. Healing was an art that was addressed on many levels during ancient Egyptian period Modern medicine owes much to the Ancient Egyptians. Historians divide the history of Ancient Egypt ancient Egypt into: Prehistory (up to ca. 3100 B. C. ), the Archaic Period (ca. 3100- 2650 B. C. ) the Old Kingdom (ca. 2650-2150 B. C. ), the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2040-1640 B. C. ), the New Kingdom (ca. 1550-1070 B. C. ), the Late Period (ca. 712-332 B. C. ), and the Ptolemaic (Hellenistic) and Roman Periods (332 B. C. -A. D. 395). The main sources of information about ancient Egyptian medicine were writings from antiquity until 19th century as in Odyssey (800B. C), observations recorded by Greek historian Herodotus (440BC), writings of Pliny the Elder. The father of modern medicine Hippocrates (ca 460BC-370BC), Herophilos (ca335-280 BC) Erasistratus (ca 310 BC-250BC, who founded a school of anatomy) and Galen studied at the temple of Amenhotep and acknoledged the contribution of ancient Egyptian medicine to Greek medicine. Much of what we now know of Egyptian medicine and the work of the physicians come from a variety of medical documents written by physician-priests. These documents, known as papyrus are the first known records of medical practice. The various papyrus documents that have been recovered and translated show us that the Egyptians had developed an understanding of medicine. The evidence provided by these early medical training manuals is quite remarkable. They show quite clearly that the Egyptians had identified and developed cures for a wide range of diseases, many of which cures are still in use today. Such was the extent of Egyptian knowledge that there are records of over 800 medical procedures and remedies making use of over 600 drugs and a vast array of surgical tools. A few papyri have survived, from which we can learn about Egyptian medicine: The Edwin Smith Papyrus describing surgical diagnosis and treatments: opens with eight texts concerning head wounds, followed by nineteen treatments of wounds to the face, six descriptions of how to deal with injuries to throat and neck, five dealing with collar-bones and Ancient Egypt arms, and seven with chest complaints. Some important notions concerning the nervous system originated with the Egyptians, a word for brain is used here for the first time in any written language: â€Å"the membrane enveloping his brain, so that it breaks open his fluid in the interior of his head† (The Edwin Smith papyrus, case6). Acting conservatively, they knew how to treat injuries to the brain without killing the patient, but on the whole their understanding of the brain and its functions was superficial: they considered thinking to be a function of the heart. Their dissection of bodies during mummification seems not to have added greatly to their knowledge of the inner workings of the human body, possibly because mummifiers and physicians did not move in the same circles. The Ebers Papyrus on ophthalmology, diseases of the digestive system, the head, the skin and specific maladies like aAa, which some think may have been a precursor of AIDS and others consider to have been a disease of the urinary tract. Kahun Gynecological Papyrus, the Berlin Medical papyrus, the London Medical Papyrus, the Hearst medical papyrus and the Demotic magical Papyrus of London and Leiden: contains a number of spells for treating physical ailments, also give extensive information about the medicine during ancient Egypt. The cause of diseases, Anatomy, Physiology and practices The human body was believed to be born in a healthy state, and could not fall ill or die except through the influence of a foreign agent. In case of wounds or intestinal worms, that agent was visible and the treatment prescribed was hence rational. As they were not aware of microbiology, internal diseases were thought to be due to an occult force attributed to evil gods, a divine punishment or magical procedures. The physician was obliged to neutralize this evil Ancient Egypt before turning into actual treatment. The use of Autopsy came through the extensive embalming practices of the Egyptians, as it was not unlikely for an embalmer to examine the body for a cause of the illness which killed it. The use of surgery also evolved from a knowledge of the basic anatomy and embalming practices of the Egyptians. From such careful observations made by the early medical practitioners of Egypt, healing practices began to center upon both the religious rituals and the lives of the ancient Egyptians. The prescription for a healthy life, which was always given by a member of the priestly caste, meant that an individual undertook the stringent and regular purification rituals, and maintained their dietary restrictions against raw fish and other animals considered unclean to eat. In addition to a purified lifestyle, it was not uncommon for the Egyptians to undergo dream analysis to find a cure or cause for illness, as well as to ask for a priest to aid them with magic, this example obviously portrays that religious magical rites and purificatory rites were intertwined in the healing process as well as in creating a proper lifestyle. The practice of medicine was fairly advanced in Ancient Egypt, with Egyptian physicians having a wide and excellent reputation. Sovereigns from foreign lands have frequently appealed to pharaohs to send them their physicians. A wall painting in a Thebean grave of the 18th dynasty (1400 BC) depicts â€Å"Nebamun†, scribe and physician of the king, receiving a Syrian prince paying him for his services in gifts. According to Herodotus, King Cyrus of Persia has requested Amasis (Ahmose II of the 26th dynasty, 560 BC) to send him the most skilful of all the Egyptian eye-doctors. Egyptian physicians recognized the heart as the source of blood vessels. They were aware that the blood vessels were hollow, having a mouth which opens to absorb medications, Ancient Egypt eliminate waste elements, distribute air and body secretions and excretions, in confusion between blood vessels and other passages, as ureters. The physiology of blood circulation was demonstrated in the Edwin Smith Papyrus, together with its relation to the heart, as well as awareness of the importance of the pulse. They also knew that blood supply runs from the heart to all organs of the body. â€Å"There are vessels in him for every part of the body†. â€Å"It speaks forth in the vessels of every body part† (Edwin Smith Papyrus) However, their inability to distinguish between blood vessels, nerves, tendons and channels has limited their full understanding of the physiology of circulation. The diseases: The common cold plagued the ancient Egyptians as it still does us today, and their remedy, the milk of a mother who has given birth to a boy, was probably as effective as anything we have got today. Insect, especially scorpion bites or snake bites, both very frequent in Egypt, were treated by magicians, as there appears to have been no specific balm or ointment used, and as we have records of many spells, written on papyri and magical charms devoted to these two occurrences. Bilharziasis (schistosomiasis) a common disease in a country flooded for months every year a common cause of anemia, female infertility, a debilitating loss of resistance to other diseases and subsequent death. The Ebers Papyrus addresses some of the symptoms of the disease and in two columns discusses treatment and prevention of bleeding in the urinal tract (haematuria). The Hearst Papyrus cites antimony disulfide as a remedy. Insect borne diseases like malaria and trachoma were endemic; plagues spread along the trade routes and a number of yadet renpet epidemics reported in Egyptian documents are thought by some to Ancient Egypt have been outbreaks of bubonic plague. Smallpox, measles, and cholera were easily propagated in the relatively densely populated Nile valley, where practically the whole population lived within a narrow strip of land. Silicosis of the lungs, the result of breathing in airborne sand particles, was a frequent cause of death, as was pneumonia. The various kinds of malignant tumors were almost as frequent then as they are nowadays in comparable age and gender groups. Eye infections are a common complaint in Africa. In ancient Egypt they were at least in part prevented by the application of bactericidal eye paint. The ingredients of some of the remedies may not have been as difficult to come by in a civilization where the brain was removed in little bits from the skull during mummification as it would be in a modern western country. ‘Prescription for the eye, to be used for all diseases which occur in this organ: Human brain, divide into its two halves, mix one half with honey, smear on the eye in the evening, dry the other half, mash, sift, smear on the eye in the morning’(Ebers Papyrus). Open wounds were often treated with honey. But sometimes lockjaw set in. When a tetanus infection was recognized, physicians knew they were powerless against this affliction. Dietary Deficiencies: A restricted diet caused or aggravated a number of ailments; some with fatal outcome . There were times when malnutrition was widespread. Growth of the population was therefore often stunted. Because of vitamin and other deficiencies, dental abrasion, and bad mouth hygiene, caries and abscesses were the lot of many. Herbal medicines: Herbs played a major part in Egyptian medicine. The plant medicines mentioned in the Ebers papyrus include opium, cannabis, myrrh, frankincense, fennel, cassia, Ancient Egypt senna, thyme, henna, juniper, aloe, linseed and castor oil. Cloves of garlic have been found in Egyptian burial sites. Egyptians thought garlic and onions aided endurance, and consumed large quantities of them. Raw garlic was routinely given to asthmatics and to those suffering with bronchial-pulmonary complaints. Coriander (C. Sativum) was considered to have cooling, stimulant, carminative and digestive properties. Cumin (Cumin cyminum) is an umbelliferous herb indigenous to Egypt. The seeds were considered to be a stimulant and effective against flatulence. Cumin powder mixed with some wheat flour as a binder and a little water was applied to relieve the pain of any aching or arthritic joints. Tape worms, the snakes in the belly, were dealt with by an infusion of pomegranate root in water, which was strained and drunk. Ulcers were treated with yeast, as were stomach ailments. Some of the medicines were made from plant materials imported from abroad. Mandrake, introduced from Canaan and grown locally since the New Kingdom, was thought to be an aphrodisiac and, mixed with alcohol, induced unconsciousness. Oil of fir, an antiseptic, originated in the Levant. The Persian henna was grown in Egypt since the Middle Kingdom, and if identical with henu mentioned in the Ebers Papyrus was used against hair loss. They treated catarrh with aloe which came from eastern Africa. Frankincense, containing tetrahydrocannabinol and used like hashish as pain killer, was imported from Punt. Animal products and minerals were used too. Honey and grease formed part of many wound treatments, mothers milk was occasionally given against viral diseases like the common cold, fresh meat laid on open wounds and sprains, and animal dung was thought to be effective at times. Malachite used as an eye-liner also had therapeutic value. In a country where eye Ancient Egypt infections were endemic, the effects of its germicidal qualities were appreciated even if the reasons for its effectiveness were not understood. Pregnancy and childbirth: Fertility was important to the Egyptians and the Kahun Gynecological Papyrus includes a number of tests for it. At the same time there seems to have existed the need for planning pregnancies. Silphium grown in Cyrene was famous for many medical qualities, including its contraceptive properties. They also devised the first known pregnancy test: Means for knowing if a woman will give birth or will not give birth: (Put) some barley and some wheat (into two bags of cloth) which the woman will moisten with her urine every day, equally barley and grain in the two bags. If both the barley and the wheat sprout she will give birth. If (only) the barley germinates it will be a boy, if it is the wheat which alone germinates it will be a girl. If neither germinates she will not give birth (Berlin papyrus 3. 038) The Ebers papyrus mentions two remedies which cause all to come out which is in the stomach of a woman, possibly referring to inducing a miscarriage. Birth itself was dangerous both to the mother and the baby. Infant mortality was high, probably around 30 percent, and complications and child bed fever killed many women. Surgery: At Saqqara there is the tomb of Ankh-Mahor, known as The Tomb of the Physician. In one of the wall pictures two men are having their extremities treated variously explained as manicure, massage or surgery. Another picture shows the performance of a circumcision of adolescents (the only instance of a depiction of this procedure) with the hieroglyphs saying The ointment is used to make it acceptable, which has been interpreted as meaning that a local Ancient Egypt anesthetic was being used, though this reading is, as happens often in such inscriptions, doubtful. Poppies are occasionally mentioned in Egyptian medical literature and the physicians had a pretty good idea of their properties. Boys destined for priesthood were circumcised as part of the initial ritual cleansing, which also included the shaving of the whole body. The practice of circumcision became more universal during the Late Period, perhaps as part of a rite of passage. Prostheses and cosmetics: Prostheses were generally of a cosmetic character, such as an artificial toe made of cartonnage at the British Museum, or added as a preparation for afterlife such as a forearm on a mummy in Arlington Museum (England) and an artificial penis and feet on another mummy in the Manchester Museum . Wooden big toe prosthesis has also been found in a fifty to sixty year old woman, after her big toe had been amputated, possibly because of gangrene. A glass eye with a white eyeball and a black pupil, but lacking an iris, was probably inserted into the empty eye socket of a mummy rather than used by a living person. Physicians performed other cosmetic tasks as well. Apart from prescribing lotions, salves and unguents for skin care, they also produced remedies against the loss of hair and graying, which was combated by an ointment made with blood from the horn of a black bull. Hair loss was hoped to be stopped by a mixture of honey and fats from crocodiles, lions, hippos, cats, snakes, and ibex. Dentistry: As their diet included much abrasive material (sand and small stone particles from grinding the corn) the teeth of the ancient Egyptians were generally in a very poor state. Caries and the destruction of the enamel caused the loss of teeth at an early age and often killed as well. Caries were sometimes treated by fillings made of resin and chrysocolla, a greenish mineral containing copper. Swollen gums were treated with a concoction of cumin, incense and Ancient Egypt onion. Opium might be given against severe pain. At times holes were drilled into the jawbone in order to drain abscesses. But extraction of teeth, which might have saved the lives of many a patient, was rarely if ever practiced. The profession of dental physician seems to have existed since the early third millennium: Hesi-re is the first known Doctor of the Tooth. Physicians: The ancient Egyptian word for doctor is swnw. Hesi-re was the earliest recorded physician and the lady Peseshet (2400BC) may be the first recorded female doctor. Most famous of the Egyptian physicians is Imhotep, who is also renowned for his role as a Pyramid designer. Imhotep used a variety of methods to heal patients but based much of their practice upon religious belief. It was common for different priests to act as physicians for different parts of the body, in much the same way that doctors specialize now, as they believed that different gods governed different sectors of the human body. Medical institutions were known to have established in ancient Egypt since as early as the 1st dynasty (3100- 2600BC) and by 19th dynasty (1550-1070 BC) their employees enjoyed benefits like medical insurance, pensions and sick leave and they worked 8hours a day. Magic and religion: Magic and religion were part of everyday life in ancient Egypt and Gods and demons were thought to be responsible for many illness. So often the treatments involved a supernatural element: the first attempt was an appeal to a deity. Priests and magicians were called on to treat the disease instead or in addition to a physician. Physicians often used incantations and magical ingredients as a part of the treatment and many medicines apparently lacked active ingredients. The wider spread use belief in magic and religion may have contributed to a powerful placebo effect. The impact of the magic is seen in the selection of remedies or ingredients for them. Depiction of a medical kit: 1) knives, 2) drill, 3) saw, 4) forceps or pincers, 5) censer, 6) hooks, 70 bags tied with string,(8, 10) beaked vessel, 11) vase with burning incense, 12) Horus eyes, 13) scales, 14) pot with flowers of Upper and Lowed Egypt, 15) pot on pedestal, 16) graduated cubit or papyrus scroll with out side knot ( or a case holding reed scalpels), 17) shears, 18) spoons. Conclusion: The people of Ancient Egypt made several major medical discoveries and began treating diseases in a physical manner alongside older spiritual cures. Though much of the advancement in medical knowledge and practice was a side effect of religious ceremonies the effect on public health and knowledge of the human body was tremendous. Fuelled by a desire to enter the afterlife Egyptian knowledge of the workings of the body encompassed new areas of medicine ranging from a basic understanding of anatomy to the introduction of some surgical skills. Ancient Egypt References: 1. Allen, Thomas George ;1936, Egyptian Stelae, Field Museum of Natural History: Anthropological Series; Vol. XXIV, No. 1, Chicago 2. Breasted, J. H. (1906) Ancient Records of Egypt 3. Breasted, J. H. (1930) The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus (University of Chicago Press: University of Chicago,) 4. Brian Brown (ed. ) (1923); The Wisdom of the Egyptians. New York: Brentanos 5. Buikstra, J. E. ; Baker, B. J. ; Cook, D. C. (1993) What Disease Plagues the Ancient Egyptians? A Century of Controversy Considered, In Biological Anthropology and the Study of Ancient Egypt (eds. ) W,V. Davies and R. Walter (British Museum Press: London,) 6. Hurry, Jamieson, B. (1926) ; Imhotep, Oxford University Press 7. Nunn, J. F. (1996) Ancient Egyptian Medicine (University of Oklahoma Press: Norman,) 8. Sandison, A. T. ( 1980) Diseases in Ancient Egypt, in Mummies, Disease, and Ancient Cultures (eds. ) Aiden and Eve Cockburn (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 9. Sameh M. Arab, MDMEDICINE IN ANCIENT EGYPT 10. Scarre, Christopher; Fagan, M. Brian; 1997, Ancient Civilizations, Longman 11. mic. ki. se/Egypt. html 12. http://nefertiti. iwebland. com/timelines/topics/medicine. htm

Research with children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Research with children - Essay Example Further, I shall attempt to gauge the difficulty level in overcoming them for the researchers involved. To evaluate these obstructions; I need to first discuss my own understanding of both cultural and institutional barriers. Cultural barriers are a result of varying (not necessarily one) culture and its reflective beliefs about children. These beliefs form major ideological notions of what being a child constitutes, what behaviors are to be expected, what are to be punished, and consequently in what manner adults should handle children. These impediments arise in researches done amongst all nations, and materialize in different child-identity arrangements. Amongst the most common ones are that children are ‘innocent’ and ‘naive’. This translates to the assumption that children are not reliable sources of knowledge. Their responses are not to be taken seriously since they lack enough knowledge to make meaningful observances. Parents play a major role in these scenarios. A number of social factors shape parents notions and expectations, and these may be challenged if children are given equal opportunities as adults to participate. For this reason, ensuring child participation means ensuring parental satisfaction (Ray, et al., 2010) Institutional barriers are those barriers in which institutions such as schools and governments place limits on child participation and hence hinder the space left for researches to explore in. Unlike cultural barriers, these are harder to overcome. Since they involve a larger number of people and usually governmental policies and laws, they need to be kept in accordance with. One such example of this is the case of ‘informed consent’. Various countries deal with this separately and allot children of certain ages of legal/illegal statuses which allow them to be independent

Iphone 5 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Iphone 5 - Term Paper Example Sales Presentation Preparation 11 A. Presentation Objectives 11 B. Business Contact Worksheet 11 C. Need Discovery Worksheet 11 D. Demonstration Worksheet 12 E. Negotiation Worksheet 12 F. Closing Worksheet 12 G. Follow Through, Follow Up and Expansion Services- List 13 VI. Appendices 13 References 14 I. Proposal Summary A. Buyer Problem or Need There is an identified need on the part of the buying organization to upgrade to a mobile infrastructure to address internal productivity needs, as well as to address the needs of customers wanting to interact with the firm using the platforms that the customers use on a daily basis (Google, 2012; Verizon Wireless, 2012; Apple, 2012; Canada, 2012; Beavis, 2012). B. User Problem’s Business Impact Productivity impacts the firm’s ability to sustain itself in the long term, and to be profitable. Customer interactions likewise drive business top lines and profits. The decision on the right mobile platform can affect the future of the business in a fundamental way (Google, 2012; Verizon Wireless, 2012; Apple, 2012; Canada, 2012; Beavis, 2012). C. Value Proposition We are selling a platform as well as an ecosystem that has global traction, unparalleled popularity and quality, and is proven to improve productivity for both firms and individuals (Google, 2012; Verizon Wireless, 2012; Apple, 2012; Canada, 2012; Beavis, 2012). II. Proposed Solution A. ... The new iPhone is also able to leverage the unparalleled ecosystem of applications, application developers, companies that cater to components and services tied to the iPhone, the app store and its providers of apps, the music store and the millions of copyrights belonging to the music industry and content creators, and even business productivity solutions all tied to the iPhone franchise (Canada, 2012; Apple Inc., 2012; Beavis, 2012). The product under consideration here, therefore, is not just the phone, but the whole ecosystem that goes with purchasing the new iPhone 5. This is not to say that the new iPhone is interchangeable with the older iPhone models, because as it is the new iPhone has features that make it stand out from the crowd, and represents the best in terms of the evolution of the device. A sampling of the outstanding new features of the phone, that sit on top of the great features of the ecosystem as described above, includes a 4-inch Retina screen, speedy wireless connectivity, new and powerful processor in the A6 processor chip. An 8 megapixel camera, a new OS in iOS 6, and the latest iteration of the cloud computing platform for Apple, the iCloud (Verizon Wireless, 2012; Apple, 2012; Canada, 2012; Beavis, 2012). B. Company Description Apple the company is in the business of the design, manufacture, and the marketing of mobile products for telecommunications and media consumption, in essence, even as it is known traditionally as a maker of computing products with its Mac line of computers. The products revolve around an ecosystem and a platform for the consumption of content, including music, books, and apps. The key