Thursday, October 31, 2019
Watch the movie, The Color Purple, and write a one-page paper Movie Review
Watch the , The Color Purple, and write a one-page paper analyzing the historical accuracy of the film - Movie Review Example The setting shows a point in time when the black women faced oppression their black husbands. The reason behind the oppression is the frustration caused to their husbands by the whites who discriminated against them. Walker who is the writer of the script builds the woman character in the movie from a physical and psychologically abused perspective to an independent and strong person. Walker represents a period in which she was a victim of oppression and she became a feminist fighting for the rights of women at this time though his writings of novels and poems. In conclusion, the movie accurately represents a period during which the oppression of the women more especially the black Americans was on the rise. During the time of the movies, the women were in slavery and this is shown through the effort of all the female characters to find liberation. The women are inferior to men and they have are prone to sexual, physical and psychological
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Globalization and international migration Essay
Globalization and international migration - Essay Example The object of analysis for the purpose of this assignment is globalisation that can be defined as the spread and interconnectedness of the relationships of people, cultures and economic activities globally. Economic globalisation, in particular, is the spread and interconnectedness of technologies, production and communication. A similar description of globalisation is given by Giddens who states that globalisation is the intensification of global social relations that join or link distant localities in a manner that happenings in the local area are shaped by events taking place thousands of miles away even as local happenings shape the events that take place thousands of miles away. International migration, on the other hand, simply refers the movement of people across international borders, either within a region or overseas/across continents. In the contemporary world, international migration is a core aspect of globalization. However, it is evident that international migration is rarely considered in the current discussions of globalisation, and even if it is, the debate is limited to a residual category. This shows that the contribution made by migration globally in the intensification of relations in the fields of labor and economic activities, cultural affairs and values, and social and political links has been ignored. International migration is a central factor in the achievement of economic, social, political, and cultural transformation, their spread and interconnectedness.... Many countries also trace their experiences of economic, social, political and cultural transformations and interconnectedness to the colonial and post colonial times. Colonisation involved massive international migration where the colonialists moved to various parts of Africa and America conquering societies and colonising them. In some cases, it also involved forced labour migration in the form of slave trade. Although many of the colonised nations suffered at these times, colonisation can be said to have been crucial in bringing about globalisation in these areas, which led to drastic, economic, socio-cultural and political changes in them. At these times, the colonial governments helped to establish important transnational networks which facilitated the flow of labour, goods, finance, technologies ideas, and practices between the colonies, the colonisers and other political establishments. In respect to the above discussions, the present scenario of globalisation is paradoxical. Currently, the world is interconnected more than ever. Technological, trade and financial flows have been liberalised, but contrastingly, the mobility of individuals across borders runs up against the stringiest ever barriers which restrict it. Tapinos and Delaunay (48) observe that international migration seems to be completely excluded from the current globalization process. This exclusion is the greatest contrast between the new trends in the global economy and the two great previous globalization periods. By leaving out the factor of human mobility, this narrow view of globalization raises a threefold question of economic efficacy, ethics, political realism, and the question relating to the long-term sustainability of the world development
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Principles of Sterilisation in Microbiology
Principles of Sterilisation in Microbiology Moist and dry heat How are microorganisms destroyed by moist heat? By dry heat? Moist: Destroys the structure and organisms by destroying with heat. The combination of steam and pressure, the temperature is usually 121 °C and 15 lbs. per inch for thirty minutes. Dry: Kills organisms using oxidation methods. Most resistant of the spores requires a temperature of 121 °C for around two hours Are some microorganisms more resistant to heat than others? Why? Endospores are extremely resistant to heat because they have a tougher coat and a low moisture content. Additionally, they have a large amount of calcium and dipicolinic acid that helps to protect them from heat. Is moist heat more effective than dry heat? Why? The National Library of Medicine states, â€Å"Moist heat penetrates faster than dry heat†(Medicine, 2015). Moist heat penetrates the molecules, additionally, the water molecules conduct heat much better than air. Why does dry heat require higher temperatures for longer time periods to sterilize than does moist heat? Because water is a better conductor than air, therefore the dry heat does not penetrate as well. What is the relationship of time to temperature in heat sterilization? Explain. Basically the higher the temperature the less time needed. The autoclave Define the principles of sterilization with an autoclave and with a dry heat oven. An autoclave sterilizes using high pressurized steam heat that is made by high temperature boiling water and pressure. The steam vibrations destroy the microorganisms. Judelson states, â€Å"Autoclaving generally involves heating in saturated steam under a pressure of approximately 15 psi, to achieve a chamber temperature of a least 121 °C (250 °F)â€â€but industry, other combinations of time and temperature are sometimes used†(Judelson, 2015). Dry heat ovens subject the microorganisms to high temperatures and destroy the bacteria’s by drying them out and basically sterilizing them from the outside to the inside by heat and no water. Unlike an autoclave which is one piece of equipment, dry heat can include a hot air oven, incineration, radiation, microwave, Bunsen burner and flaming. What pressure, temperature, and time are used in routine autoclaving? With the combination of steam and pressure, the temperature is usually at 121 °C and 15 lbs. per inch for thirty minutes (Kenneth Todar, 2015). What factors determine the time period necessary for steam-pressure sterilization? Dry-heat oven sterilization? The combination of temperature and time are what decides the actual time. Accordint to Mazhar Hussain, â€Å"The thermal death time is the time required to kill all the bacteria in a particular culture at a specified temperature. Both TDP and TDT are useful guidelines that indicate the severity of treatment required to kill a given population of bacteria†(Hussian, 2015). With dry heat the materials play an important factor. Why is it necessary to use bacteriologic controls to monitor heat- sterilization techniques? They are necessary to ensure that the autoclave is working properly and efficiently. They are place throughout the autoclave to ensure a complete testing of the autoclave. When running an endospore control of autoclaving technique, why is one endospore preparation incubated without heating? The control is used to ensure that the spores are destroyed effectively and that there are no problems with the machine. Primary media for isolation of microorganisms Define a differential medium and discuss its purpose. Morello taught us that a differential media has one or more components that are used by some types of microorganisms and yet not others. (Morello, Granato, Morton, 2013) This a will allow an individual to tell the differences of a colony based on the colonies characteristics (i.e. shape, color or pattern). Define a selective medium and describe its uses. Selective media choses one type of microorganisms and then suppresses the others while not inhibiting their ability to actually grow. MacConkey’s agar would be a selective media as it selects gram negative bacteria and yet inhibits gram positive bacteria. Why is MacConkey agar selective as well as differential? According to Austin Community College, â€Å"MacConkey Agar (MAC) is a selective and differential medium designed to isolate and differentiate enterics based on their ability to ferment lactose, by using bile salts and crystal violet inhibit the growth of Gram positive organisms and lactose provides a source of fermentable carbohydrate, allowing for differentiation†(ACC, 2015). Why is blood agar useful as a primary isolation medium? Blood agar would be a differential media because of its ability to destroy hemoglobin and red blood cells. What is the major difference between Modified Thayer-Martin (MTM) and chocolate agar? When would you use MTM rather than chocolate agar? Modified Thayer-Martin is a selective medium that is for gram negative microorganisms that has both a medium and antibiotics, whereas chocolate agar is a non-selective medium. Modified Thayer-Martin is only used when the culture ordered is from the genital area or for sexually transmitted diseases, whereas chocolate is used for many different types of cultures. Metabolic activities of bacteria What is the color of phenol red at an acid pH? Yellow is the color below 7.0 pH. What is the function of a Durham tube? A Durham tube contains a small inverted tube that is used for trapping the gasses that are formed when the broth inside is incubated. (Morello, Granato, Morton, 2013) Why is iodine used to detect starch hydrolysis? When the iodine dissolves with a solution of potassium, it will to turn a purple or blackish color due to the interaction with starch. How is indole produced in SIM medium? How is it detected? Hardy Diagnostics states, â€Å"The ingredients in SIM Medium enable the determination of three activities by which enteric bacteria can be differentiated; sodium thiosulfate and ferrous ammonium sulfate are indicators of hydrogen sulfide production and the ferrous ammonium sulfate reacts with H2S gas to produce ferrous sulfide, a black precipitate, additionally the casein peptone is rich in tryptophan, which is attacked by certain microorganisms resulting in the production of indole†(Diagnostics, 2015). Following the incubation period, the indole is detected with the addition of the reagents. Therefore the detection of the motility is due to the semisolid nature of the medium. How is hydrogen sulfide demonstrated in this medium? The hydrogen sulfide is detected after the production of ferrous sulfide when ferrous ammonium sulfate has reacted with H2S gas. What is the advantage of viewing mold structures in a transparent tape preparation? Southern University of Illinois states, â€Å"The advantage of transparent tape preparation is it allows the fungal structures to be viewed without disrupting the characteristics of their morphology†(Illinois, 2015) What fungus can be identified reliably by using the germ tube test? Morello taught us that â€Å"Candida albicans is the most common yeast found using the germ test and is an important cause of human infection†(Morello, Granato, Morton, 2013) Name three stains or reagents that may be used to facilitate the microscopic detection of fungi in clinical samples. Potassium hydroxide Calcofluor white India Ink Wright, Giemsa, or Diff-Quikstains Gram stain What is the main advantage of using the slide culture technique for identifying molds? It is a fast way to prepare, identify and examine fungal colonies. It makes it easier to study with little disturbances. According to Amrita, â€Å"Fungi are identified mostly by close examination of its morphology and the characteristics it possess†(Amrita, 2015). What is an opportunistic pathogen? Name three fungal specimens. It is a pathogen that takes advantage of an individual that has a compromised immunity system. Candidiasis, Apergillosis and Cryptococcosis Protozoa and animal parasites Describe the basic structures of protozoa. Can these same structures be seen in bacteria using a light microscope? The structure of protozoa is a single celled organisms with a true nucleus with chromosomes and surrounded by a membranous envelope. Additionally, Professor Anderson of Columbia University states, â€Å"They also have other internal cellular structures known as organelles that perform the many physiological functions needed to maintain the life of the organism and these organelles include mitochondria that break down nutrient molecules during respiration to produce energy for the cell†(Anderson, 2015). Are any parasitic diseases directly communicable from person to person? If so, how are they transmitted? What kinds of precautions should be taken in caring for persons with directly transmissible parasitic infections? Yes, but most have to have a host to be transferred. Lice for and an example is a parasite that can jump from one individual to another. Additionally, if someone is infected and does not use proper cleaning/washing of hands they can introduce a parasite through the preparation of food. Washing of hands and using precautionary techniques is the best way to prevent the contamination or spreading of parasites. What parasitic forms can be seen in the feces of a patient with hookworm? Eggs can be seen in hookworm, Eggs and body parts can be seen in tapeworm, in cryptosporidiosis the parasite can be seen, in trichinosis, the doctor will look for the antibodies of the roundworm. (Merck, 2015) What parasitic forms can be seen in the blood of a patient with African sleeping sickness? Filariasis? Amebiasis? In the blood of an individual with African sleeping sickness, the T. b. rhodesiense parasites can be found. In Filariasis, According to The Center for Disease Control (CDC), â€Å"The adult worms only live in the human lymph system†(CDC, 2015). For Amebiasis The Center for Disease Control also states that, â€Å"Diagnosis can be difficult because other parasites can look very similar toE. histolyticawhen seen under a microscope†(CDC, 2015), but the cysts can be seen in the stools/feces of an infected person. What is meant by the â€Å"life cycle†of a parasite? What importance does it have to those who take care of patients with parasitic diseases? The life cycle depends on the parasite, there are stages, the parasite infects a host, feeds off of the host and lays eggs. Sometimes the eggs hatch and sometimes the y turn into cysts. The eggs, cysts and sometimes parts of the body are then transferred out of the body through fecal matter, or sometimes infected blood. When this happens they then go onto the next host and the cycle repeats. The main importance is protection and cleanliness. Proper use of protective wear and then washing of the hands and any surfaces that may have been contaminated are the primary rules for the containment of spreading parasites. References ACC, A. C. (2015, January 13). Retrieved from http://www.austincc.edu/microbugz/macconkey_agar.php Amrita, U. o. (2015, January 13). Amrita. Retrieved from http://amrita.vlab.co.in/?sub=3brch=76sim=693cnt=2 Anderson, P. (2015, January 13). Retrieved from protozoa.uga.edu/education/students/for_students_sop_web_ora CDC. (2015, January 13). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/lymphaticfilariasis/ Diagnostics, H. (2015, January 13). Retrieved from https://catalog.hardydiagnostics.com/cp_prod/Content/hugo/SIMMedium.htm Hussian, M. (2015, January 12). Retrieved from http://microbiologyon-line.blogspot.com/2009_08_02_archive.html Illinois, S. U. (2015, January 13). Retrieved from http://www.siue.edu/~cbwilso/250myco1_032.htm Judelson, H. (2015, January 8). Retrieved from http://oomyceteworld.net/protocols/autoclave operation.pdf Kenneth Todar, P. (2015, January 8). Retrieved from http://textbookofbacteriology.net/control.html Medicine, N. L. (2015, January 12). Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3808259/ Merck. (2015, January 13). Retrieved from http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/infections/parasitic_infections/hookworm_infection.html Morello, J., Granato, P., Morton, V. (2013). , Paul Granato, and Verna Morton. In Microbiology: Applications to Patient Care, 11th Editio (p. 111). McGraw-Hill.
Friday, October 25, 2019
The Fight That Will Never End Essay -- essays research papers fc
The Fight That Will Never End Abstract      In this paper I will be exploring and explaining the act of abortion. I will discuss the historical and analytical background by explaining pre Row versus Wade, and post Row versus Wade. I will be explaining this issue on a National level, and discuss how women’s role in society has changed dramatically since the famous trial. Introduction      Abortion is the act of ending a pregnancy, either through surgery or by taking medication, with the intention not to have an infant born alive. Because many people believe that abortion should be legal under certain circumstances, it has been a topic of great debate and controversy throughout the nation. The most historic case to ever argue the issue was Roe versus Wade; the trial that legalized abortion in the United States of America. It was this very decision made by the Supreme Court that opened the door to the greater feminist movement, giving women more freedom and control of their bodies, in the workplace, and in their own households. In this paper, I will explain the famous case, the courts decision, and the impact it had, and still holds over society.                                    Historical Background Geographically speaking, abortion is a huge issue not only in the United States of America, but also all over the world. It is vastly different however, because several countries allow abortion without it being a national issue. America has had many court cases and appeals to obtain the law it has today. I am explaining abortion internationally with a Maco level of analysis, giving a broad overview of different countries policies. I have decided to tighten my focus, and explain abortion Nationally with a Micro level of analysis because abortion in America is an issue of huge controversy. It has been such an issue in the past, as well as now, that it took the Supreme Court to make a decision that everyone must abide by, without restricting women of their rights (Schoen 2000).      Abortion in the United States is a subject of public debate. Opinion polls show that most people think abortion should be legal. Thes... ... the matter, this fight will never end.           Works Cited 1.     Carlton, Casey and Eileen S. Coleman. 2000. â€Å"College Students’ Attitude Toward Abortion and Commitment to Abortion.†The social Science Journal v.37(4): 619-25. 2.     Schoen, Johanna. 2000. â€Å"Reconceiving Abortion: Medical Practice,           Women’s Access, and Feminist Policies Before and After Roe v.           Wade.†Feminist Studies, summer 2000, pp 349-376. 3.     2000. â€Å"The Enduring Battle Over Choice.†New York Times, October           11, 2000, pp. A34. 4.     2001. â€Å"Free Speech Can Be Ugly.†San Francisco Chronicle, March      30, 2001, pp. A24. 5.     Retrieved November 21, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.gargaro.com/abortion.html 6.     Retrieved November 29, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.prochoice.com/ The Fight That Will Never End Essay -- essays research papers fc The Fight That Will Never End Abstract      In this paper I will be exploring and explaining the act of abortion. I will discuss the historical and analytical background by explaining pre Row versus Wade, and post Row versus Wade. I will be explaining this issue on a National level, and discuss how women’s role in society has changed dramatically since the famous trial. Introduction      Abortion is the act of ending a pregnancy, either through surgery or by taking medication, with the intention not to have an infant born alive. Because many people believe that abortion should be legal under certain circumstances, it has been a topic of great debate and controversy throughout the nation. The most historic case to ever argue the issue was Roe versus Wade; the trial that legalized abortion in the United States of America. It was this very decision made by the Supreme Court that opened the door to the greater feminist movement, giving women more freedom and control of their bodies, in the workplace, and in their own households. In this paper, I will explain the famous case, the courts decision, and the impact it had, and still holds over society.                                    Historical Background Geographically speaking, abortion is a huge issue not only in the United States of America, but also all over the world. It is vastly different however, because several countries allow abortion without it being a national issue. America has had many court cases and appeals to obtain the law it has today. I am explaining abortion internationally with a Maco level of analysis, giving a broad overview of different countries policies. I have decided to tighten my focus, and explain abortion Nationally with a Micro level of analysis because abortion in America is an issue of huge controversy. It has been such an issue in the past, as well as now, that it took the Supreme Court to make a decision that everyone must abide by, without restricting women of their rights (Schoen 2000).      Abortion in the United States is a subject of public debate. Opinion polls show that most people think abortion should be legal. Thes... ... the matter, this fight will never end.           Works Cited 1.     Carlton, Casey and Eileen S. Coleman. 2000. â€Å"College Students’ Attitude Toward Abortion and Commitment to Abortion.†The social Science Journal v.37(4): 619-25. 2.     Schoen, Johanna. 2000. â€Å"Reconceiving Abortion: Medical Practice,           Women’s Access, and Feminist Policies Before and After Roe v.           Wade.†Feminist Studies, summer 2000, pp 349-376. 3.     2000. â€Å"The Enduring Battle Over Choice.†New York Times, October           11, 2000, pp. A34. 4.     2001. â€Å"Free Speech Can Be Ugly.†San Francisco Chronicle, March      30, 2001, pp. A24. 5.     Retrieved November 21, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.gargaro.com/abortion.html 6.     Retrieved November 29, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.prochoice.com/
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Case study: Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes Essay
1. Analyze the effectiveness of the approach to change taken at VC Brakes. 2. Was Andrew Ryan effective? What could he have done differently? 3. Should Ryan stay at VC Brakes and continue to help with the TQM initiative? If so, what should he do differently? The approach taken was the right thing to do and in my opinion was well planned. The fact that it didn’t work out however means that it wasn’t the right fit for the organizational culture of VC Brakes. If VC Brakes had no division between the engineers and the rest of the operations I believe the approach would have provided successful results. Andrew Ryan was effective in his original endeavors as the senior manager of the engineering services (ES) team. However I think this question is referring to his task of implementing TQM into VC Brakes, so in that regard no he was not effective. Although TQM had great values Ryan was unable to break the divider between management and lower level employees to make progress wi th TQM. Lower level employees were said to have some creative and (in my opinion) easy to fix ideas on current operations. For example the box cutters that were standard were said to not be up to par. Although upper management didn’t change the box cutters out for new ones originally Ryan could have told upper management to change the box cutters simply as a way to get employees on board with the idea of implementing TQM. If Ryan had exhausted his efforts to make the change happen internally, he could have went out and bought new box cutters himself and said that upper management heard to voice of the people and responded. Box cutters aren’t very expensive and this action would have shown leadership to upper management, and would have most likely shown lower level employees to give TQM circles more effort. If Ryan was unwilling to purchase the box cutters himself, he could have had the simple idea to allow the employees bring in their own box cutters to solve the problem altogether. If the company had some restriction against this idea of bringing cutters from home Ryan should do his best to explain once again that this is bigger than the box cutters, it’s about progressing forward as a whole company working together.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Shoulder Surgery and the Athlete
For many competitive and/or professional athletes, injury is unforeseeable and in some cases, the decision to continue on with their sport comes into question. More specifically, for those athletes who have developed, or even, were born with instable shoulders and have undergone physical therapy, are inevitably plagued with the notion, when therapy fails to work, to either have surgery to fix their shoulder(s) and to continue participating in their sport, or to quit their sport. In this sense, for the athletes who want to carry on in their sport, it appears that an open or arthroscopic Bankart Repair is the most plausible solution in correcting on-going shoulder instability in athletes who have not improved through therapy and want to continue with their sport. In competitive or professional athletes, a stable shoulder is imperative for peak performance, especially for those athletes involved in sports that use persistent overhead motions, such as swimming, or throwing a baseball. In understanding a stable shoulder, the shoulder is a joint that contains three primary bones: the shoulder blade, or scapula, the collarbone, or clavicle, and the upper arm bone, also known as the humerus. In addition, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (2001), dictate that the head of the humerus bone (the humeral head) rests in a shallow socket within the shoulder blade called the glenoid and is held into the socket by the lining of the joint called the capsule. Moreover, the humeral head is quite larger than that of the socket, and a soft fibrous tissue rim, known as the labrum, surrounds the socket, which helps keep the joint stabilized (Shoulder joint tear). Furthermore, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (2001) states the rim in the socket deepens by up to 50 percent, therefore allowing the humeral head to fit better. What’s more is that the rim also serves as an attachment site for several ligaments (Shoulder joint tear). Additionally, the shoulder is referenced as being a ball and socket type joint that permits for a wide range of movement. Although the shoulder joint is intended to be stabilized, in many cases while athletes participate in their sports, they receive injuries to their shoulders that allows for their shoulder(s) to become instable, or even, it has been found that in some competitive athletes who might experience pain whilst enduring continuous overhead motions, may have inherited instable shoulders and have repeatedly gitated the joint. In this sense, it is possible that injuries to the tissue rim that surrounds the socket of the shoulder can occur from acute trauma or repetitive shoulder motion like swimming or throwing and/or pitching, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (2001), (Shoulder joint tear). More so, in its discovery, while the shoulder joint has a wide range of motion, instability can occur when the humeral head moves out of the socket, or glenoid ca vity. The humeral head, considered as the ball portion of the ball and socket joint, â€Å"can move either partially (sublux) or completely (dislocate) out of the socket†(Sports medicine & shoulder surgery). Moreover, the humeral head can sublux or dislocate itself in three different directions: anteriorly, or forward, out of the bottom of the joint (inferior), or backward (posterior). Additionally, with any trauma to a stable shoulder, not only can the humeral head be forcefully dislocated or sublux, but the ligaments, capsule, or labrum can be torn, detached, or stretched from the shoulder bone as well. Conversely, McFarland and Petersen declare that although the humeral head is capable of being put back in place, the ligaments, labrum, or capsule may heal in a stretched or loose position, thus increasing the chance of subluxation or dislocation to occur again (Sports medicine & shoulder surgery). In addition, there are wide ranges of problems that are contributed to shoulder instability that of which can take on many different forms in a competitive athletes shoulder(s). More so, according to Wahl and Slaney (2005), these different factors influence how the shoulder should be treated, nonetheless each of these factors needs to be considered (Arthroscopic shoulder surgery). One of these forms is the severity of the instability where the severity can range anywhere from being subtle, to mild or moderate, or severe. Furthermore, the direction and mechanism of instability can also be a contributing factor. As argued by Wahl and Slaney (2005), with direction, the instability of a shoulder can be due from anterior, posterior, or multi-directional dislocation or subluxation, and in the mechanism of instability, it can either be traumatic or a-traumatic (Arthroscopic shoulder surgery). Furthermore, Wahl and Slaney (2005) have also inquired that when a young athlete suffers from subluxation or dislocation, â€Å"it is statistically likely that they will dislocate again. Studies have shown that when a dislocation occurs in a child with open growth plates, there is up to a 100 percent chance that they will dislocate again. †Additionally, Wahl and Slaney (2005) claim that in young adults, typically under the age of 20, whose growth plates have just begun to close, â€Å"the re-dislocation rate is about 55 percent to 95 percent†(Arthroscopic shoulder surgery). Therefore, it appears that without surgical repair, a young competitive athlete with instable shoulders may endure greater damage to their shoulder joint and develop other problems associated with instability. In those athletes with instable shoulder(s) looking to find the best course of treatment, it appears that in comparison to an open or arthroscopic Bankart Repair, an athlete has only minimal choices in treating their instability. Some of these choices entail the use of anti-inflammatory medications such as Aleve, Naproxen, or simply Advil, modifying the activity that aggravates the injury, physical therapy, which helps increase the muscle strength of the shoulder(s), and/or stopping the activity overall. On the contrary however, for countless competitive athletes, these choices are sometimes not enough, or yet, do not help, and the decision to end their sport is out of the question. With surgery as the remaining option, there are many considerations that first need to be looked into. For example, Matsen and Warme (2008), claim that athletes who should forego surgery will have had experienced persistent occurrences of â€Å"shoulder subluxation or dislocation, who continue to have instability despite an adequate trial of physical therapy†(Bankart Repair). Additionally, Matsen and Warme (2008) state that surgery is also an option for athletes with a-traumatic instability who â€Å"have not responded to a well-conducted rehabilitation program (Bankart repair). Nevertheless, the decision for an open or arthroscopic Bankart Repair is the best solution for athletes with instable shoulders who have sought out alternative treatments, that of which have failed, and wish to continue on with their sport. In shoulder instability surgery, the labrum, which is profoundly damaged, and the ligaments found in the shoulder, are recognized and then repaired back to the glenoid, or socket. More specifically, there are two separate surgical procedures that can be done in rep airing instable shoulder(s). The first procedure entails arthroscopy, which is a closed surgical technique that uses a small camera (an arthroscope) to be inserted through a small incision â€Å"to examine or repair the tissues inside or around the shoulder joint†as described by the Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia (2007), and the second is an open surgical procedure called an open Bankart Repair. According to Matsen and Warme (2008), an open Bankart Repair â€Å"securely restores the attachment of the labrum and the ligaments to the edge of the glenoid socket†(Bankart repair). Nonetheless, the Bankart procedure re-attaches the torn ligaments of the shoulder to the proper places, allowing for restoration of normal function. In comparing surgery with other treatments, such as physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications, etc, it has been theorized by numerous Orthopaedic surgeons and as stated above, that with on-going instability in competitive athletes who have undergone other treatments, surgery is the best solution, especially if the athlete does not wish to give up their sport. Matsen and Warme (2008) have asserted that with traumatic anterior shoulder instability, surgical stabilization has been found to have the most dependable results with the use of an open Bankart Repair. Moreover, it has been said that the use of surgery to stabilize the shoulder is the â€Å"most effective method to restore comfort and eliminate the symptoms†(Bankart repair). In addition, Matsen and Warme (2008) also state that repair for frequent traumatic instability has an â€Å"excellent chance of restoring much of the lost comfort and function to the unstable shoulder†(Bankart repair). Furthermore, according to Mahaffey and Smith (1999), it is believed by countless Orthopedic surgeons that the option for surgical repair, whether through arthroscopy or by an open Bankart Repair, should be placed under great consideration for athletes under the age of 25 to prevent any further incidences of â€Å"anterior dislocation and arthritic changes†(Shoulder instability in young athletes). What is more is that Mahaffey and Smith (1999), argued that early arthroscopic surgery represents a change in the approach, where results of studies have illustrated that arthroscopic repair has been beneficial in reducing the rate of recurrent dislocation (Shoulder instability in young athletes). Mahaffey and Smith (1999) also allege that even in athletes engaged in contact sports, â€Å"the incidence of recurrent dislocation is only ten to twenty percent following arthroscopic surgery. Re-dislocation occurs in some athletes, however, about five years after surgery†(Shoulder instability in young athletes). Even more so, Mahaffey and Smith (1999) state that the recurrence of instability after an open Bankart repair is â€Å"three to seven percent,†and â€Å"four to twenty-five percent†with arthroscopic surgery. Additionally, Wahl and Slaney (2005) declare that without surgery, competitive athletes who persistently sublux or dislocate their shoulder(s) on a regular basis, could potentially lose valuable time in their sport, and/or worse: cause permanent damage to their shoulder joint or risk the development of premature arthritis (Arthroscopic shoulder surgery). More so, according to King, he alleged that many studies have displayed that competitive athletes with unstable shoulder(s) or those athletes who have dislocated or sublux their shoulder at a younger age, â€Å"are much more likely to continue to have problems with instability without surgical treatment†(Shoulder instability), which also agrees with earlier references made by Mahaffey and Smith (1999). Moreover, Wahl and Slaney (2005) argue that with the use of medications, when in comparison to surgery, that there have been no medications found that are capable of treating excess instability of the shoulder joint that athletes can develop with frequent dislocation or subluxation. Nevertheless, the only roles that any medication plays with shoulder instability is its capability of masking the pain that coincides with shoulder instability and unrelenting dislocations and to make the athlete more comfortable. What’s more is that with surgery, such as arthroscopic surgery, an Orthopaedic surgeon is able to specifically isolate the contributing factors of instability. These factors can include â€Å"tears of the glenoid socket ‘lip’ (or ‘labrum’), tears of the shoulder capsule and ligaments, bony fractures of the glenoid socket or humeral head, the integrity of the rotator cuff tendons, or excessive laxity or volume of the shoulder capsule†(Arthroscopic shoulder surgery), where other techniques such as physical therapy, works only with the surrounding muscles of the shoulder joint. More so, physical therapy may only help with control of an instable shoulder, and not allow for the shoulder to become completely stabilized. In addition, Matsen and Warme (2008) also asserted that for competitive athletes with traumatic instability, a surgical repair enables an Orthopaedic surgeon to distinctively repair the location of injury, therefore giving the shoulder joint restoration to proper functioning for the athlete. Lastly, according to McFarland and Petersen, they declare that given the options of either modifying the activity that provokes a competitive athletes injury, or subsiding the activity overall, surgical treatment is the better alternative for those individuals â€Å"not willing to give up the activities or sports which provoke their episodes†(Sports medicine & shoulder surgery). Moreover, McFarland and Peterson also state that with surgery, the recurrence of instability â€Å"is low (three to five percent),†which is an agreement with the findings from Mahaffey and Smith (1999). Additionally, Khalfayan claims since a labral tear cannot heal normally and the joint capsule is stretched, surgery is recommended when non-surgical treatment, like physical therapy, is not successful. Furthermore, Khalfayan also emphasizes that with young athletes, â€Å"the risk of re-dislocation can be as high as 90 percent with non-operative treatment. Therefore, in select patients or athletes, surgery may be recommended after a first-time dislocation. The re-dislocation rate after surgery is as low as five percent as compared to as high as 90 percent without surgery†(OPA Ortho). All in all, many competitive and/or professional athletes are prone to, or have inherited, instable shoulder(s) and are repeatedly faced with the decision to either quit their sport or undergo elective surgery if other treatments, such as physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications, etc, have failed. It is apparent that through much evidence, that an open or arthroscopic Bankart Repair is the most conceivable resolution in correcting on-going shoulder instability in competitive athletes who have not improved through therapy and want to continue with their sport. It has been greatly substantiated that without surgical repair, professional and/or competitive athletes, especially those who are young and still growing, will continue to sublux or dislocate their shoulders and cause greater damage to the shoulder joint itself and even allow for premature arthritis to develop. Nevertheless, surgery is needed for those athletes suffering from instability and who want to continue participating in their sport. By either choosing arthroscopic surgery, or an open Bankart Repair, the use of stabilized shoulders can endure a competitive and/or professional athlete to grow and excel in their sport. References http://www.pamf.org/sports/king/ShoulderInstability.pdf http://www.aafp.org/afp/990515ap/2773.html http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007206.htm http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00426
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Free Essays on Price & Promotion Analysis
In these modern times of technology many companies have to use different strategies to compete with online shopping. Hallmark is one of them. There are many people who send cards and gifts and flowers online. Hallmark themselves have a web site that you can purchase cards, gifts and flowers. But Hallmark must also support their franchised stores. So they have to come up with ways to bring the customers into the stores. They use print, television, direct mail and internet to do this. They started a couple of years ago, when along with other retail stores offering the â€Å"Hallmark Gold Crown Card†. This was a courtesy card to their customers and it could be used in any Gold Crown Hallmark store in the United States. This gave the customer points for cards they purchased and dollar amount spent. Then every three months they send you dollar amount coupons in the mail to use in the store on any Hallmark product. You also get a $5.00 coupon for your birthday. If you make suggestions and Hallmark likes the idea they will send you a $20 coupon. Everyone loves getting mail that has coupons attached and can be used for money. So when a Gold Crown Card holder sees a Hallmark mailing they know they are getting something good inside. The card has increased the customer traffic but they needed another way to draw more. So they started offering promotions at different times during the year. They usually coincided with the current holiday. Right now the current promotional items are for two types of bunnies for the Easter holiday. Valentine’s Day there was a heart shaped box with three scented candles in them. At Christmas there were holiday plates and Christmas books for the children. The promotional items are appealing to the customers. Other promotional items might be: card holders, stationary items, potpourri, candle holders or even puzzles or games. They can be given as gifts or kept for oneself. A Hall... Free Essays on Price & Promotion Analysis Free Essays on Price & Promotion Analysis In these modern times of technology many companies have to use different strategies to compete with online shopping. Hallmark is one of them. There are many people who send cards and gifts and flowers online. Hallmark themselves have a web site that you can purchase cards, gifts and flowers. But Hallmark must also support their franchised stores. So they have to come up with ways to bring the customers into the stores. They use print, television, direct mail and internet to do this. They started a couple of years ago, when along with other retail stores offering the â€Å"Hallmark Gold Crown Card†. This was a courtesy card to their customers and it could be used in any Gold Crown Hallmark store in the United States. This gave the customer points for cards they purchased and dollar amount spent. Then every three months they send you dollar amount coupons in the mail to use in the store on any Hallmark product. You also get a $5.00 coupon for your birthday. If you make suggestions and Hallmark likes the idea they will send you a $20 coupon. Everyone loves getting mail that has coupons attached and can be used for money. So when a Gold Crown Card holder sees a Hallmark mailing they know they are getting something good inside. The card has increased the customer traffic but they needed another way to draw more. So they started offering promotions at different times during the year. They usually coincided with the current holiday. Right now the current promotional items are for two types of bunnies for the Easter holiday. Valentine’s Day there was a heart shaped box with three scented candles in them. At Christmas there were holiday plates and Christmas books for the children. The promotional items are appealing to the customers. Other promotional items might be: card holders, stationary items, potpourri, candle holders or even puzzles or games. They can be given as gifts or kept for oneself. A Hall...
Monday, October 21, 2019
Word Choice Whiskey vs. Whisky
Word Choice Whiskey vs. Whisky Word Choice: Whiskey vs. Whisky To mark Saint Patrick’s Day, we’re taking a look at a spelling problem with deep connections to Ireland: whether to write â€Å"whiskey†or â€Å"whisky.†So are these terms interchangeable? Or is there a difference? And what does this have to do with Ireland anyway? Let us explain! The Origins of Whisky/Whiskey Whisky (we will default to this spelling to save repeating ourselves too much) is a distilled alcoholic drink made from malted grain. It is widely associated with two countries: Scotland and Ireland. Both have a long history of distilling whisky, but the word itself comes from Ireland. A modern whisky still.(Photo: saxonrider) In particular, it comes from Old Irish term uisge beatha, meaning â€Å"water of life.†This is the Irish version of aqua vitae, which was the Latin word for distilled alcohol of any kind (not just whisky). Eventually, uisge beatha entered English and was anglicized to become â€Å"whisky†or â€Å"whiskey.†Why two spellings, though? This may have started as a matter of regional preference. The story most people tell is that, during the 19th century, Irish distillers wanted to distinguish their product from their Scottish competitors. As such, they started using the spelling â€Å"whiskey†for Irish whiskey. Scottish whisky, meanwhile, became known as Scotch whisky. A Global Drink We see this Irish–Scottish division in modern spellings around the world: The spelling â€Å"whiskey†is standard in Ireland and the US. This is partly because of the large number of Irish immigrants who set up stills over here. â€Å"Whisky†is standard in most other countries, including Japan and India. This is not a strict distinction, though. As such, while â€Å"whiskey†is standard in the US, you will also find distillers who call their products â€Å"whisky.†For instance, Maker’s Mark uses the spelling â€Å"whisky†to recognize the Scottish heritage of company founder Bill Samuel. Whiskey or Whisky? Some people say there are differences between â€Å"whiskey†and â€Å"whisky,†such as the distillation process or the type of still used. Most of the time, though, â€Å"whiskey†and â€Å"whisky†are just different spellings of the same word. And as such, they are often used interchangeably. However, if you want to avoid upsetting drink geeks, remember: Whiskey is the spelling associated with Ireland. Whisky is associated with Scotland (especially â€Å"Scotch whisky†). So the correct spelling depends on where your favored tipple comes from. And if you want a Saint Patrick’s Day drink that won’t cause spelling headaches, you can always try Guinness instead.
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as Transportation Fuel
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as Transportation Fuel Use of compressed natural gas, or CNG, as an alternative vehicle fuel is growing in significance with many city-owned fleets converting to the fuel. Though not renewable, CNG still holds some advantages over other fossil fuels such as petroleum. Here are five quick takeaways to help you understand the use of CNG as a transportation fuel. The Safety of Compressed Natural Gas One of the first questions raised about the use of CNG in vehicles is safety. Maybe its because of its stealth persona as an odorless, colorless gas, but natural gas tends to strike fear into people over worries of explosion or related catastrophes. Yet, compressed natural gas has actually grown in popularity because it is seen, by those who actually know the facts, as a safe fuel choice. In fact, its not too hard to see why CNG is actually considered to be safer than gasoline. Natural gas is lighter than air, so a spill wont puddle the way gasoline will nor will it sink close to the ground like propane. Instead, CNG rises into the air and then dissipates in the atmosphere. In addition, CNG has a higher ignition temperature. In other words, its harder to ignite. Finally, CNG storage systems are much stronger than the typical gasoline tank found on a car or truck. Where CNG Comes From So where does CNG come from? The answer lies deep beneath your feet because natural gas is an organic compound, deposited deep within the earth. Although considered an alternative fuel, unlike many of its counterparts, natural gas is a fossil fuel and is primarily methane comprised of hydrogen and carbon. It is estimated that there are enough reachable deposits of natural gas below the Earths surface to last long after stores of petroleum have been depleted, though the supply is not infinite by any stretch. In addition, there is controversy over the environmental impact of fracking, the method used to reach natural gas deposits lying deeper under the Earths surface. Using Natural Gas For Vehicles The process of allowing natural gas to be used by a vehicle begins with natural gas being compressed and entering the vehicle through the natural gas dispenser or other filling means. From there, it goes directly into high-pressure cylinders located somewhere on the vehicle. When the car is accelerated, CNG leaves this on-board storage cylinder, passes along the fuel line and then enter the engine compartment where it enters the regulator which reduces the pressure from as high as 3,600 psi down to atmospheric pressure. A natural gas solenoid valve enables natural gas to move from the regulator into the gas mixer or fuel injectors. Mixed with air, natural gas flows on through the carburetor or the fuel injection system and from there, enters the engines combustion chambers. Compressed Natural Gas Vehicles Although over 25 automakers produce nearly 100 models of natural gas vehicles and engines for the U.S. market, the only CNG vehicle available for personal consumer use is made by Honda. CNGs market in the U.S. has been primarily for transit buses, where over 10,000 are currently used in the country. Its estimated that about one in five buses currently on order are CNG vehicles. But numbers elsewhere around the world are much high with an estimated 7.5 million natural gas vehicles on the streets globally. Thats twice what there was as recently as 2003. Its forecasted that by 2020, more than 65 million NGVs will be in use worldwide. CNG is Cost Effective CNG is also economically attractive. The U.S. Department of Energy has reported that the average nationwide price of a gallon of gas equivalent of CNG was as low as $2.04 per gallon in recent years. Prices are even lower in some areas of the country. Local and state governments have reported having their fuel bills cut in half by increasing the use of natural gas vehicles.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
General Motors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
General Motors - Essay Example How does the company plan to rally. Are they being realistic in their efforts to meet foreign competition Are they actually looking at the areas that need further attention, or are they looking for short-term incentives as a means of increasing their market share Exactly what are the main issues that must be addressed before GM can begin to recoup its losses In 2005, GM North America reported a loss of $1.6 billion in the third quarter, compared with a loss of $88 million in 2004. In the last quarter of 2005, GM had to revise its losses by a further $2 billion (Krolicki, 2006), the reason said to be charges related to factory job losses and Delphi Corporation's bankruptcy. Unfortunately, the company can be compared at present to a house of cards, easy to topple. Toyota, on the other hand is growing by leaps and bounds and is expected to take over the number one spot in auto sales within the next few years. The chart below is based on an NPR study by Diane Geng (2005) and indicates some of the more telling statistics regarding competition between these companies: Unfortunately, the company does not seem to be focused on global issues, and its efforts have been limited to quick fixes. The recent agreement with United Auto Workers union to cut health care costs, perhaps by $3 billion a year, offers an immediate boost. However, this savings is expected to be achieved by higher co-pay for doctor's visits and prescription drugs. The company also announced its intention to eliminate 25,000 jobs. Where is the incentive for employees to increase output How much emphasis does the company place on employee satisfaction The most recent effort is a promotional incentive for anyone who buys a new SUV in California or Florida. With gas prices at present well over $3 a gallon, the offer for a redeemable card with gas at $1.99 a gallon for one year if the customer signs up for On-Star, free for a year and then $16.95 a month (Durbin, 2006) is an immediate benefit. But will this incentive improve the way customers see the GM brand The major marketing push has been for trucks, especially popular over the past few years, and SUVs. The company's promotional incentive will help sell the SUVs that are no longer as popular as they were, but then what Future Issues to be Addressed at General Motors Because of the present interest in fuel consumption, commentary on the current economy as it relates to automobile design and manufacture is being updated every day. Some of the online publications that offer a running commentary are Business Day, MarketWatch, YEALD and NPR, as well as books and journal articles as noted in references. Certain areas must be explored if GM wants to stay ahead of the market. Because of the serious issues facing the company, a study directed
Friday, October 18, 2019
How harry potter fans conceptualise and talk about identities Essay
How harry potter fans conceptualise and talk about identities - Essay Example According to time magazine the aspects of political and social of harry potter (2007), led to the American civil war. About the message in Harry Porter, Rowling states that she wishes to join different world without problems of hierarchy, bigotry and notion of cleanliness. Further states that before ministries are taken over, there are disagreements to regimes that are known and loved. Rowling advocates that authorities should be questioned and not to fully trust the press. (Time magazine, 2007) Main body Rowling encountered big opposition on matters of education against indoctrination. This has clearly been demonstrated on the issue of gay raised by Bill O’Reilly. He was accusing Potter for indoctrinating children to gay, through an outing by his character Albus Dumbledore. In his defense, senior editor Tina Jordan brushed it off as an argument that is shallow. Tina further stated that gay people are well known, and it did not matter whether people knew or not. On continued d iscussion, O’Reilly pointed a finger at Rowling for teaching acceptance and equivalence of homosexuals and heterosexual. On the contrary, his guest Dennis Miller stated that acceptance was good and a child could not be indoctrinated into being gay. (weekly,2003) Catholic Church also had a problem with the books written by Rowling. An organization of roman church in America, accused Rowling of using occult language and mechanisms to indoctrinate children to gay. In Berkley Beacon’s opinion, he says that one parent’s view of indoctrination could be another’s education. Berkley had the intention of countering charges against Rowling that her books promoted homosexuality. At the pick of the controversy, Rowling stated that he did not base on Christian fundamentalists. Rowling also faced challenges with the issues of: racism, Nazism and ethnic cleansing. On the issue of racism, she was not pessimistic but realistic it could be changed. Further, Rowling argued that a committed racist will not be changed by Harry Potter. After Deathly Hallows was published, Rowling answered the e questions on metaphors in ethnic cleansing books. According to her, ‘ethnic cleansing ‘is a political metaphor. Arguably she did not intend to create a Nazi Germany. In her book tour 2007 Rowling discussed about the disagreements to Nazism. On her website, Rowling stated that some of phrases used by Harry Potter were equally used by the Nazis. Phrases such as ‘muggle-born’, ‘half blood’ and ‘pure blood’ had the same hidden logic of death eaters. Another similarity is that of lightening bolt shaped scar. Harry received the scar as a result of a curse from Voldemort, is also a sign of sir Oswald Mosley British union of fascists; Nazi sympathizers (1930s-1940s). According to Rowling, Mosley had married Diana Mitford who had a sister Jessica, whom he named her daughter after. In 1936 Oswald and Diana got married in Be rlin and Adolf Hitler was a guest. Rowling further noted that Unity, Mitford’s sister an arch-fascist was Hitler’s favorite. Narcissa black Harry’s story was developed by Jessica’s story; Diana Mosley married Oswald Mosley (death eater). Her sister unity, was a death eater too. Jessica Mitford married Ted Tonk (muggle-born), even though the family was against it. Since she had eloped with Esmond Romilly her cousin, she was send away by her family. These disagreements were noted by a communist paper in America
Customizing Bonus Pay Plns Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Customizing Bonus Pay Plns - Essay Example Both individual and group incentives can be used to motivate workers. One of the cons of the use of individual incentives is that it can create interpersonal conflict due to competition among the workers. A negative aspect of group incentives is that sometimes many employees receive additional compensation benefits without providing any effort since they rely on the efforts of others to achieve the productivity goals. The individual performance modifier identified by Towers Perrin was incentive plans in which the performance was linked to a company wide measure and distributions were made from a pool in proportion to salary. The use of the scorecard approach is more appropriate for companies in the manufacturing sector or firms that have a wide variety of products to offer. Companies or professionals that offer intangible services such as stylists or consultants are not suitable for this assessment tool. Firms with many employees can benefit from the application of this tool because it can be used as a metric to evaluate the individual performance of each
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Justification and Excuses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Justification and Excuses - Essay Example In his defense, Sandusky’s lawyers have put forth the unlikely and implausible excuse that he is suffering from a histrionic personality disorder, a condition since removed from the DSM-IV-TR itself. It has been described as "a pervasive pattern of excessive emotionality and attention seeking" that is "often characterized by inappropriate sexually seductive conduct. His lawyers tried to use this condition as an excuse for their client’s behavior and to justify his actions. This justification is part of a defense based on circumstances and excuses, a broad set of defenses in which defendants claim a lack of responsibility for their criminal acts. (Lippman, 2010). Jerry Sandusky has been accused of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault, criminal intent to commit improper assault, unlawful contact with minors, corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children. However Dr. Glen Gabbard, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and an expert on personality disorders states that histrionic personality disorder could in no way be seen as a reason or explanation for the abuse of children. "That diagnosis, if he has it, would be completely irrelevant to anything having to do with criminal responsibility for acts of pedophilia†. Mr. Sandusky had no excuse or justification for his action, for the crime he committed he knew very well what he was doing to those boys, over a period of 15 years and he knew the consequences of his actions; and he used his respectable position in society to sexually abuse those kids. He deserves to be sentenced for life and is only plea bargaining because at his age settling for 12-15 years may give him some chance of living some of his life out of jail rather than dying in it. I personally think that this kind of defense does not stand a chance and should be thrown out of court. Pleas for insanity or other mental conditions are not appealing to jurors because it is
Discuss how an understanding of the biology of insect pests assists in Essay
Discuss how an understanding of the biology of insect pests assists in the control of stored product pests - Essay Example It also helps to determine whether there is an infestation in a given building, what methods should be used to remove it, and provides wider methods for the creation of new pesticides and insect repellents. Reason For Entry, Method of Entry, and Location The primary reason that an understanding of the biology of an insect pests helps in exterminating the pests by giving an understanding as to why the insects would come inside that building at that particular location. Generally, these reasons include coming into buildings seeking food, water, or shelter from the elements. For example, cockroaches are attracted to moisture around pipes and drains, and so buildings with such sources of moisture are more likely to contain cockroaches than drier buildings. Ants, like cockroaches, are also attracted to leaking pipes or condensation build-up, and will enter buildings or rooms in search of this moisture. Ants are also attracted to food sources such as sugar, especially in cases of general p oor sanitation. Locating those food and moisture sources can help determine why the pests are entering the building. Once the reasons for the pests coming in has been determined, the moisture or food source can be removed. Removing the source of food or water should help reduce the number of pests coming into the building, and therefore reduce the difficulty of eradicating the infestation of that building. Once the pests inside have been eradicated and the reason new pests were entering the building is removed, there should be no future issues with that particular pest in that building unless a new source of food or water is presented (Juneau et al., 2010). Additionally, understanding the biology of the insects can help an exterminator understand how the pests are entering the building of infestation in the first place. Crawling insects generally come in through openings into the building which are accessible from the ground. For example, insects may enter buildings through cracks i n the exterior masonry or other building materials, or other gaps in the exterior of the building. Doors left open especially can attract ground-level crawling insects. Small gaps and openings around water pipes, heating and cooling air vents, and exterior windows and doors, can all provide access to crawling insects. However, it is not only ground-level access that will allow in crawling pests that should be looked out for. Exterior landscaping features such as climbing vines, bushes and shrubbery, or tall grasses, may all provide access for crawling insects to reach open windows or other access points that are higher off the ground and would not normally be accessible to such pests (Juneau et al., 2010). Flying pests could obviously access higher points such as open windows that are lacking screens or that have damaged screens with holes that could allow in insects. Looking for such points of access could help determine where the pests are entering the building; blocking these ent ry points would therefore help stop the pests from infesting the building. Understanding the methods the insects are using to enter the building will help determine where the blockades should be placed in order to stop them. Knowledge of the biology of the pests can also help determine what locations in the buildings may be hiding those pests, and therefore where to look to eradicate them. For example, the bodies of bed bugs are almost completely flat. This allows them to hide in
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Should Overweight Employee Be Penalized Coursework
Should Overweight Employee Be Penalized - Coursework Example We live in a modern society that provides us with more than ample means of living a healthy lifestyle through the proper nutrition intake, diet, and exercise. However, most people fail to take advantage of these basic opportunities presented to them. The result is a weakened state of health for the individual. As such, the individual ends up requiring much more healthcare than his insurance program can provide. Added to this problem is the fact that the new health care laws of the United States has made it more difficult and expensive for the employers to keep their employees covered with ample medical insurance benefits. The continued rising cost of healthcare coverage has thus forced some employers to take the health matters of their employees in their own hands by forcing them to participate in a company mandated healthcare program or face severe penalties for non-participation. Their intention is clear, to keep their health care costs down, but at the expense of sticking their no ses in where it does not belong, in the private lives of their employees. Their participate or pay fines choice disrespects the freedom of an individual to choose how he lives his life and how he participates in various activities. It would appear that an increasing number of companies are opting for such health care rider coverage for their employees. As many as; â€Å"almost half (47%) of companies already use or plan to use financial penalties over the next three to five years on workers who don’t take part in health-improvement programs.â€
Discuss how an understanding of the biology of insect pests assists in Essay
Discuss how an understanding of the biology of insect pests assists in the control of stored product pests - Essay Example It also helps to determine whether there is an infestation in a given building, what methods should be used to remove it, and provides wider methods for the creation of new pesticides and insect repellents. Reason For Entry, Method of Entry, and Location The primary reason that an understanding of the biology of an insect pests helps in exterminating the pests by giving an understanding as to why the insects would come inside that building at that particular location. Generally, these reasons include coming into buildings seeking food, water, or shelter from the elements. For example, cockroaches are attracted to moisture around pipes and drains, and so buildings with such sources of moisture are more likely to contain cockroaches than drier buildings. Ants, like cockroaches, are also attracted to leaking pipes or condensation build-up, and will enter buildings or rooms in search of this moisture. Ants are also attracted to food sources such as sugar, especially in cases of general p oor sanitation. Locating those food and moisture sources can help determine why the pests are entering the building. Once the reasons for the pests coming in has been determined, the moisture or food source can be removed. Removing the source of food or water should help reduce the number of pests coming into the building, and therefore reduce the difficulty of eradicating the infestation of that building. Once the pests inside have been eradicated and the reason new pests were entering the building is removed, there should be no future issues with that particular pest in that building unless a new source of food or water is presented (Juneau et al., 2010). Additionally, understanding the biology of the insects can help an exterminator understand how the pests are entering the building of infestation in the first place. Crawling insects generally come in through openings into the building which are accessible from the ground. For example, insects may enter buildings through cracks i n the exterior masonry or other building materials, or other gaps in the exterior of the building. Doors left open especially can attract ground-level crawling insects. Small gaps and openings around water pipes, heating and cooling air vents, and exterior windows and doors, can all provide access to crawling insects. However, it is not only ground-level access that will allow in crawling pests that should be looked out for. Exterior landscaping features such as climbing vines, bushes and shrubbery, or tall grasses, may all provide access for crawling insects to reach open windows or other access points that are higher off the ground and would not normally be accessible to such pests (Juneau et al., 2010). Flying pests could obviously access higher points such as open windows that are lacking screens or that have damaged screens with holes that could allow in insects. Looking for such points of access could help determine where the pests are entering the building; blocking these ent ry points would therefore help stop the pests from infesting the building. Understanding the methods the insects are using to enter the building will help determine where the blockades should be placed in order to stop them. Knowledge of the biology of the pests can also help determine what locations in the buildings may be hiding those pests, and therefore where to look to eradicate them. For example, the bodies of bed bugs are almost completely flat. This allows them to hide in
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Media hollywood Essay Example for Free
Media hollywood Essay The media, and Hollywood in particular, represent one avenue in which the general public becomes familiar with the role of nurses. How does the media positively or negatively influence the public’s image of nursing? What other avenues may better educate the general public on the role and scope of nursing as well as the changing health care system? In Media, the portraying of nurses vary inaccurately in front of the viewing audience. The dominant image of nurse has always remained stereotype to majority of the viewers. In television nurses are tend to be just helpers of the physician in hospital but in actual life and situation its totally different. In TV serial named Grey anatomy and house it is represented that nurse are helpless , incompetent and physician are given a heroic image as representing triage medicine administration , providing psychosocial support , but in real world , it’s the nurse who do the above stated factor. However the grey anatomy doesn’t mention anything about it , its nurse a who has a prime role in giving a total patient care and to be with patient 24 * 7 The medical media drama has always shown physician as a dominant , at top notch equivalent to god and saving life of patient and nurses are relatively low skilled and differential to physician. As nurse are set to be feminine extremes as categortrized into naughty nurse and in thoughtful words of X description. But in contrary its reverse and nurse are seen autonomous in decision making for nurses expertise in medicine, public health and advance research. Experts have an understanding that media just undermine nursing profession and do not focus in health development issues and action in relation to it. As only government and university conceptualize it in last. In today highly equipped media world, nursing focus many issue like staff shortage, poor working condition, low pay in high responsibility environment and many more which is not visualized. The factors has totally undervalued nurses looking at them as uneducated.
Monday, October 14, 2019
Water Management Of The Thar Desert Environmental Sciences Essay
Water Management Of The Thar Desert Environmental Sciences Essay The Thar Desert, also known at the Indian Desert is located partly in Rajasthan state, northwestern India, Punjab province, Sindh province and eastern Pakistan in Asia. (Britannica) Its precise location is between latitudes 24 ° and 28 ° north and between longitude 68 °and 71 ° east. (Irrigation) This desert is considered one of the smallest hot deserts in the world only, 77,000 square miles (200,000km ²) (Britannica) yet it has the highest human population of all deserts in the world. (Kuma) Other deserts have a population density of less than ten people per square kilometer, while Thar has a density of more than eighty people per square kilometer. (BBC) With such a large population which continues to grow, it can put a great strain on the environment and the resources it provides. One very important resource that the environment provided is water. Water is the bases for life on Earth and without it humans would not be able to survive. Not only do humans demand water direc tly, they demand it indirectly for the growth of their livestock and crops. Water management in the Thar Desert has to be constantly looked after to ensure that the supply of water will always be present. There are three main ways to get water in the Thar Desert. First, is the rainfall distribution. Second is the terrain type. Third is importing water from outside the area. (Dhir) All of the water management techniques that the Thar people use can be categorized into one of these ways. No one individual method of obtaining water is fully effective by itself. It takes a combination of many techniques to keep a water supply that can sustain the people who are using it. Some techniques rely solely on the weather conditions in a given year and can fluxuate from year to year and are not always dependable. This is why multiple techniques are used to obtain water, in case one fails there are others to fall back on. The soils in the Thar Desert does not allow for water to remain at the ground surface. The soil is made up of loose and porous sand. This allows for the rainwater to quickly be absorbed by the soil and any extra water moves straight down to the ground water reservoirs, via percolation. Unless the water is captured before it hits the soils surface or contained in something at the surface there is no way to access it without going into the ground water reservoirs. (Irrigation) Capturing rain water would be much easier if more of it came to the Thar Desert. The rainfall that is received is relatively low. In the west, the desert receives 4 inches or less of rain fall and in the east about 20 inches of rainfall. (Britannica) The amount of rainfall an area gets is dependent upon where it is located. The rain is sporadic in most parts. Up to nine-tenths of the rain received by the Thar Desert comes between June and September which is the monsoon season. (Agrican and Irrigation) Due to the fluxuation in rain, in regards to when it arrives, it causes agriculture to fluxuate with it. Before the rains arrive the land production is very poor and after the rains have arrived the land is very productive. In a sense the rainfall determines whether or not there will be an opportunity to grow crops effectively. The more rainfall means there is more availability for crop production and the less rainfall means there is less availability for crop production. After a good rainfall when the desert is full of nutrients and succulent grasses a large number of cattle from the Nara Valley in Pakistan and adjoining areas come to graze in the desert. (Irrigation) Herders also take advantage of the rainfall and move their cattle to areas where the grasses are plentiful and nutritious. When there is not a good rainfall herders must find others areas to grazer their cattle which might include irrigated areas. Other ways to make use of the monsoon rains are to cultivate patches of land that is suitable in the low ground. These low grounds are found between sand-mounds (talis, tals or dhars). When the rains are deemed adequate for cultivating crops these areas are taken advantage of. Budgeting the water can be an effective way to manage the water that is available and relate it to the potential crop production it could yield. A formula was derived consisting of four variables: the availability of reserve supply of soil profile moisture (M), in a given period varies under the influence of rainfall (P), runoff (S), percolation (U) and evapotranspiration (ET). (Sen) The equation for the balance of water is P = S  ± M  ± U + ET. Water budget studies have shown that evapotranspiration accounts for 75-80 percent of the rainfall, percolation accounts for 5-10 percent, and 10-15 percent of the rainfall contributed to increasing the moisture of the soil profile when there is no water going to run-off. Techniques used to balance water on an agricultural farm in the Thar Desert include improving infiltration, deep percolation, control of evapotranspiration, and harvesting run-off. Infiltration can be done by bunding, shattering of hard pan or preparatory tillage. Deep p ercolation can be improved by soil compaction. Improving the control over evapotranspiration can be established by control of evaporation. Harvesting run-off can be improved by inter-plot water harvesting or inter-row water harvesting. By improving the means of which water is budgeted can cause the water that is acquired to be used more effectively for farming practices instead of being acquired by the land where is becomes more difficult to obtain. Irrigation is a means of importing water in from another area and can be used in combination with water budgeting of the rain fall of an area. It is the main way that the people of the Thar support their agriculture. Between 1951 and 1980 there were at least 1,127 irrigation projects that were classified as major or medium that were taken up. Of the 1,127 projects 506 were complete, 17 were almost completed and the others were yielding partial benefits. (Prakash) There was a goal set to achieve 1,130 lakh hectares of grass irrigation potential which was the assessed target. This goal caused an increase in the development of policy for implementing irrigation projects. Irrigation projects have been going on in the Thar Desert long before the 1950s. The Gang Canal Project was started in 1920 and completed in 1928. The project consisted of the construction of a canal that would irrigate the north western part of Ganganagar and have a total length of 1,251 km in Rajasthan. The Bikaner Ca nal would feed into the newly constructed Gang Canal and potentially provide water to the extent of cultural command area (CCA) of three 07,692 ha. (Kuma) This is just one irrigation project that was created and currently still operating in the Thar Desert. Another irrigation project is the Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojana (IGNP). This projects main goal was to fetch the river water to the waste stretches of desert in western Rajasthan from the Himalayas. (Kuma) The water would be diverted in Punjab from the Hari-ke-Barrage and travel to Rajasthan. This project started in 1958; one of the 1,127 projects developed and was considered a partial irrigation facility in 1961. The project was separated into two different stages. The first stage focused on the 0-74 km of the main canal and stage 2 focused on the 74-189 km of the main canal. The completion of this irrigation project would potential bring irrigation to 15.85 lakh hectare of semi-arid and arid desert wasteland in a cultural command area spanning across four districts of the Thar Desert of Rajasthan, namely Ganganager, Bikaner, Hanumangarh and Jaisalmer. (Kuma) This project would help to irrigate almost the entire western side of Rajasthan by merely diverting the water from another a rea. In the area of Nagaroarkar, specifically the inland section, the Sind government set up experiments to try to improve water availability. These experiments took place between 1968 and 1969 and possibly could have been included in the 1,127 irrigation projects. The Sind government developed six flood irrigation schemes and four tank construction schemes, Gordharo Bhatiani flood scheme, Ranpur Basin-cum-Inundation Scheme, Surachand Flood irrigation scheme and Bhodosar, Tobiriyo, Nabisar and Ghartiara tanks. (Irrigation) These experiments were successful and provided water reservoirs in these inland sections of Nagarparkar. The reservoirs were used for multiple months after the initial water was stored. The success of these experiments showed that ideas such as these need to be replicated and applied to other areas and try to increase the performance of the ideas. (Agrican and Irrigation) Other areas in the Sind portion of the desert presented promising ideas for the improvement and development of water availability. One development was to repair the existing well and ponds that can be repaired and this action is suitable for the entire desert. A second development was to dig deeper wells and it is mostly suitable for areas along the aquifers in the central and eastern portion so the desert. A third development was to dig a canal from the Indus River which once completed would allow for more expansion of the canal system reaching a wider area. A fourth development was the collection of the rainwater in more effective ways specifically focused on the construction of reservoirs with supporting deep tube-wells. These four developments along with the expansion of the irrigation experiments were compiled in 1985 and fall into the three ways of obtaining water; rainfall, terrain and importing. So over the years since 1920 the development of irrigation projects and other mea ns of acquiring water availability has been an ongoing process. (Agrican and Irrigation) Besides irrigation systems there are also means of conserving what surface water is available from the rainfall. Surface water can be gathered in traditional nadis (small ponds), tankas (underground covered tanks) or khadins (water harvesting structures for agriculture). The nadis are one of the major sources of drinking water both for human and livestock consumption. The nadis are dug by villagers in locations that are deemed natural for catching water in higher yield potential. They are constructed to an optimum size, in dune areas from 1.5 meters to 4 meters and in sandy plain 3 meter to 12 meters, and their depth is typically to the zone of calcrete formation. The nadis are used for an entire village if possible and the water supply that is stored in them could last anywhere from two months to a year after the rains depending on the water usage of the villagers (Centre for Science and Environment). Tankas on the other hand might be owned by an individual family or by the communit y. Tankas are being replaced with pipe-water supplies now since they were mostly used in remote areas. (Dhir) Tankas are underground tanks that are built within a main house or the courtyard of a house. They are constructed during the winter and summer seasons when there is available labor since people are not needed for agricultural labor during these seasons. The tanks consist of a hole dug into the ground about ten feet deep that is circular and is lined with fine polished lime. The catchment area of about 30 feet radius is made sloping towards the tank inlet. (Jhunjhunwala) In the tank rainwater is collected by means of gravity and it the rain falls directly into the tank. To keep the water that is collected cooler, they decorate the tankas with tiles. The water that is collected in the tankas is used for drinking water only for a single family. The water stored in the tank can last for six to nine months. In years when there is less rainfall the tankas can be filled by transporting water from nearby wells and tanks. This means of collecting rain water is used mostly in areas far from ot her water sources. The positive effects of tankas include the women not having to leave the home to obtain water, there is an assured supply of water for domestic use, the construction of a tankas is cheaper than paying for water and having to transport it, and having a tankas can be considered a means of social respect. The main negative effect of tankas is that they take up land that could otherwise be used for agriculture. (Centre for Science and Environment) (Jhunjhunwala) Khadins are water harvesting structure used for agriculture. They are also known as dhora. Their purpose is to catch the surface runoff water. Its main feature is a very long (100-300m) earthen embankment built across the lower hill slopes lying below gravelly uplans. (Centre for Science and Environment) This allows the excess water to drain off and be gathered and used to on the land to assist with crop production. http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/Rural/img/Khadins-img.jpg (http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org) Water management all comes down to the techniques used and if they are effective in that specific area and if there an opportunity to apply the technique to other areas or possibly improve upon the technique. Projects and experiments have been used to establish these techniques in irrigation but they have the potential to be used to discover and improve upon techniques to manage rain fall. One example of an improvement made to a technique that is already practiced is the modification of tankas. The modification consists of collecting rain water from the roof and by means of pipes transports it into the tank for storage and later use. This allows the land that would be used to construct the tankas can be used for agricultural use. (Jhunjhunwala) The water tank schemes that were tested by the Sind government were shown to be effective and tanks were implanted in other areas. The water tank is also known as johad and they provide water for both humans and cattle. They are constructed on public land and all of the people in the community have equal right to use the water in the johad, because of the common use of the johad they are often placed in areas not far from the majority of the people. To construct a johad the land has to be level and there must be clay soil so that the rain water will collect in the tank. The johad is made between January and June must be cleaned out every year as well. (Jhunjhunwala) The source of water supply can be categorized into the three main sources. These sources are rainfall, ponds and wells. In some cases there might be lakes of water also available. The rain water is collect in tarias (ponds) which only last about three to nine months. Tarais are short lived because of their size, the amount of rain water received, how fast the water is evaporating and how permeable the layers beneath the water are. The water that is contained in the tarais is fresh and used for domestic purposes of drinking and cattle watering too. Tarais are very common, in fact most villages has a tarai. Tarais also have a positive effect; their significant influence to the top seated aquifers, namely their water seeps slowly down to the ground water reservoir and freshens the brackish or saline in situ water, making it suitable for drinking and other purposes. (Irrigation) Due to this positive effect wells are often dug close to tarais. The wells are created to reach the water supply more effective. They provide almost 95% of the water that is required for an area. Wells that are built too shallow can cause problems through. They can turn brackish after time and this is a waste of money in the construction of shallow wells. (Agrican and Irrigation) The construction of a well consists of a wooden foundation in the bottom of the well in the shape of the wheel. The sides of the well are lined with green branches and brushwood in a wicker work formation. Depending on the localities in the interior of the well, such as wells between 40-100 meters, these well are lined with burnt bricks. (Irrigation) Since there has been no systematic hydrogeological investigation in the Thar Desert, there is no way of knowing if all the aquifers that exist have been discovered and put to use. Aquifers are part of the terrain aspect of obtaining water. Aquifers horizons have been assumed to exist and are grouped into three categories. The shallowest aquifers have a water table depth between a few meters and 20 meters. The medium aquifers have water table depths between 20 meters and 50 meters. The deepest aquifers have water table depths between 50 meters and over 100 meters. It is believed that the deep aquifer is present in the central and eastern parts of the Thar Desert and might be continuous or discontinuous with a mono or multi-layered structure. In most parts of the aquifer the water quality is fresh to slightly brackish but some parts of the aquifer are severely brackish and unfit for use. (Irrigation) Water in the Thar Desert is saris and a valued environmental resource. A great deal of effort has gone into designing developments, testing experiments and implementing projects to increase the water availability in the Thar Desert. The water is used for both domestic use and farming use for cattle and crops. Ideas and projects can always be built upon and improved to increase their effectiveness. Water management techniques can date back to at least the 1920s with the first project title but they occurred long before that time and they will continue to occur to support the Thar peoples way of life.
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Psychology of State-Sponsored Violence Essay -- Human Rights
Psychology of State-Sponsored Violence State-sponsored violence has led to some of the most horrendous human right crimes such as genocide and torture. These crimes are often under the constant fire of debate as scholars try to reason as to why they occur. However, the debates of genocide and torture are not exclusively attributed to the fact that they occur, but also, as to why people participate in these acts to begin with. Contrary to popular belief the majority of participants in state-sponsored violence are often not radical extremists, but rather, ordinary people. In instances, such as the genocide in Rwanda, participants were average everyday people, often neighbors of the victims, who carried out many of the killings. Also, in cases of torture the soldiers who perform the acts are referred to as â€Å"ordinary Joes†. If it is the case that ordinary and regular people are involved in state-sponsored violence, why do they participate in the first place and what are the continuing effects they have because of their participation? In order to answer these pressing questions one must examine the sociological and psychological factors that guided people’s actions. There are different psychological features that come into play such as individual thought and how it is affected by group dynamics and authority. Moreover, the psychological features are further expanded when coupled with sociological attributions which animate the reasons behind participation in state-sponsored violence. In certain state-sponsored violence, like torture, the â€Å"average Joe†is sought after as opposed to a rebel for the reason that an â€Å"average Joe†can ]easily be psychologically developed to be a torturer. The psychological transformation involves a restr... ...s that come into play are sense of impunity, perception of authority figures, and group dynamics. These psychological factors along with sociological perceptions in deviance illustrate the complex environment that is present when an ordinary individual decides to participate in state-sponsored violence. Works Cited Asch, S. E., (1951) Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgments. Brehm, S. S. & Kassin, S. M. (1993) Social Psychology, p.399 (2nd ed.). Boston: HughtonMifflin. Fujii, Lee Ann. Killing Neighbors: Webs of Violence in Rwanda. Cornell University Press, 2009. 45-75;154-179. Print. Hatzfeld, Jean. Machete season: the killers in Rwanda speak : a report. Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2005. 45-75; 154-79. Print. Schulz, William. "Torture." Human Rishts: Politics and Practice. Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Music :: essays research papers
It has been years since I wrote anything at all, although people do see me writing odd pieces of music. But this time I am writing about my past, the past that seems so far away and forgotten. I know that this account is hardly going to interest anyone, but I do need to share my feelings with someone, or in this case, with something. People see me as a berserk creature talking garrulously of her past that probably never existed. And that is the belief of ignorance. They pity me, speak sympathetically and listen to me the gibbering about my past and my feelings. But do they really want to know about my feelings? No they don't, but if they did I would never tell them. Night after night, I sit ruminating about my long-forgotten past. And flashes of it just appear out of nowhere. A young cheerful, little girl with red hair, playing in an overgrown garden with her friends and looming against the sky was her very own castle. It wasn't much but at least it was hers. So innocent she looked, having no clue of what her future might hold. She lived happily with her parents and playing with her headless dolls, while occasionally listening admiringly to her mother playing her tiara. How she longed to play just like her mother. And she slowly learned to play it. She had dreams all right, not about the tiara, but completely different from it. Dreams just like a girl of her own age would have. Dreams of her Prince Charming sweeping her off her feet and taking her away to Paradise...to the land of eternal happiness and live happily ever after. After years of patiently waiting, he finally entered her life. And a Prince Charming he was- with dark lean features and as tall as a giant. She wasn't sure whether or not he was her Prince, but what she was sure about was that she loved him. Loved him with all her heart, and was ready to go to the darkest corner of the world just for him. After a short love affair the young couple married. But what the young wife found out after the marriage struck her much harder than a lightning bolt. It was like an explosion. He was a drunkard! And she couldn't do anything about it. She was shattered and was like a broken soul. All her dreams she had of their happy future together seemed so far away.
Friday, October 11, 2019
The Blue Sword CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Sungold turned and ran up the valley to the Gate, and leaped lightly through the cleft, and Harry was aware of Narknon shooting past her as she slid or fell out of the saddle and into Jack's arms. Gonturan clattered to the ground. â€Å"Brandy,†said Jack, and put something between her teeth; she drank a mouthful, gagged, and shoved the thing away. â€Å"Good for you,†said Jack, but the lightness of his tone was forced, and they both knew it. â€Å"Are you hurt?†Harry shook her head dizzily. â€Å"No. You?†â€Å"No.†â€Å"But – ?†Harry looked around. Narknon was beside her, covered with blood, but little of it seemed to be her own. Her flanks heaved and her green eyes were glassy, but she sat in her usual precise manner and, as Harry watched, slowly, stiffly, began to try to lick herself clean. The archers stood with empty quivers on their backs, cleaning their long daggers. There were fewer of them than there had been when she sent them into the valley's forested sides less than an hour before; and more than half of their cats were gone. She saw Kentarre, who had a rag wrapped around one forearm, but was on her feet. She saw Senay and Terim. Terim's horse was bleeding from a tear on its side, and Senay stood at its head, a hand on its crest, whispering to it, and Terim spread some pale ointment on the wound. The only wounds she saw were minor ones; none who were worse hurt had returned to the Gate. â€Å"Is this all of us now?†Jack nodded. â€Å"I'm afraid so.†There was barely half the tally of the defending southerners that had stood at the Madamer Gate in the morning; and there was an ashen cast to the faces that remained, for the northwest wind was not good to breathe. Unwounded limbs were numb and slow, and brains were clouded with a nagging dread that had little to do with the mortal risk of battle. Kentarre said, as she bound up another archer's arm, â€Å"Thurra is known to love slow bloodshed, and he can afford not to hurry, for nothing can stand against him. But you have done him a blow he did not expect, for you tore down his standard.†â€Å"Thurra?†Harry said in disbelief. Kentarre nodded, and Terim and Senay both stopped what they were doing and looked at her. Kentarre said: â€Å"I recognized him at once. He laughs during battle, and he always rides a white stallion who loves bloodshed as much as he does. â€Å"Why do you think there are so few of us left after so brief a meeting? We are strong fighters, and we fight with the strength of despair besides, for we are terribly outnumbered. But anyone who is struck by the white rider dies on the first blow.†â€Å"Not everybody,†said Terim. â€Å"Not Harimad-sol.†Kentarre nodded solemnly. â€Å"Why do you think we follow her?†Harry said, with her left arm across Sungold's saddle to help hold herself up, â€Å"I did not die only because he chose not to kill me. I cannot match him, even for one blow.†Sungold turned his head, and Harry reached stiffly out to put her fingers on his soft muzzle. She rested them there for a moment, and a little warmth crept into her nerveless hand. â€Å"And, perhaps, a little because I ride a better horse than his.†There was a commotion then, somewhere behind them, near the mouth of the trail; and then one of Jack's men laughed, and the commotion subsided. Harry looked inquiringly in the direction of the laugh, and saw a tall slim figure stride forcefully into the clearing, leading a tired horse. â€Å"Dickie!†she said; and blushed uncomfortably, because she knew how he hated the old childhood name. â€Å"Richard – †she began, humbly, but he had reached her by then and threw his arms around her. She hugged him back, although her right arm was still not functioning very well and the left was weaker than it should be. He let her go at last, and her eyes blurred, and she couldn't tell if the brightness in his eyes was her own tears, or his. He said to Jack, although he was staring at his sister, and his hands were closed on her arms as if she might disappear if he let her go, â€Å"I returned two days after you had left, sir. I had gotten no satisfaction on my mission, as you anticipated.†Jack grunted. â€Å"They told me what had happened, and where you were going – and who was with you – and I took a fresh horse and followed you.†He smiled at last. â€Å"Harry, damn you, we all thought you were dead.†She shook her head. â€Å"I'm not, you see.†She smiled back. â€Å"Not yet, at least.†Richard let his hands drop. The shadowed army lay spread below them, and the north wind, which had quieted a little after Tsornin beat back the wizard's stallion and Narknon pulled down the red-and-white standard, began to howl around them again, and sting their eyes and throats. â€Å"Took another horse?†said Jack musingly. Richard had dropped his reins when he reached for Harry, and the animal stood, weary and patient, where it had halted. â€Å"This looks like Bill Stubbs' horse.†Richard turned back to his commander and grinned. â€Å"It is. It always was too good for him; and I needed something fast, to catch up with you before it was all over.†â€Å"You've just blighted a spotless career with horse-stealing?†Jack said mildly. Richard sobered. â€Å"If you like. You know that all of us who have come here – thrown in our lot with the old Damarians – are finished as far as Her Majesty's Government is concerned. You knew that when you decided to come.†Harry stared at Jack, although in the back of her mind she had known this all along. â€Å"Is this true?†Jack shrugged. â€Å"Yes, it's true. That's why the two dozen of us who came are all grizzled old veterans – we don't have much to lose. But Richard, you – â€Å" Richard made an abrupt gesture with one arm. â€Å"I knew what I was doing. Blood calls to blood, I suppose – for all that I've resisted it the last few years.†He glanced at his sister. â€Å"It was your coming out here to Daria – Damar – and loving it, loving the desert, even though you knew nothing of it – I could see it. You were as bad as Colonel Dedham – begging your pardon, sir – by the end of the first month. It made me ashamed. I – I couldn't talk about it †¦ â€Å" Harry realized she was being offered an apology, and nodded. It didn't matter any more. He was here, and that was what mattered. â€Å"Then, after you disappeared,†Richard went on slowly, â€Å"these last long months, I've thought a lot – I even thought that you weren't dead – and the thought felt like betrayal †¦ You know, I came here, to the Gap, without ever having to think about it. I knew which way to turn, all those mad little trails on the way up here. I always knew.†â€Å"Blood calls to blood,†Harry said. â€Å"Why didn't you ever tell me there was Hill blood in us?†Richard looked surprised. â€Å"Father told me. I – I assumed he'd told you. I didn't want to talk about it. There was a lot I didn't want to talk about.†Harry said, â€Å"I found out a week ago, when Jack told me.†There was a silence, and Richard began to laugh. â€Å"My God. Then becoming a king's Rider must really have been a shock to you. It was shock enough to me, when Tom Lloyd told me.†He took her right hand and turned it over to look at the palm. â€Å"I was proud of you. That's when I knew I had to follow you – not only to see my sister again. To – reclaim something. Or admit to owning it all along.†The north wind snapped at their hair and eyelashes, listening to their conversation. Harry wondered idly if it understood Homelander speech. Kentarre had left them; she returned now and said, â€Å"My lady. The North prepares to move against us again.†Richard turned to face his sister; he put his shoulders back as if bracing himself for a blow. â€Å"Command me, sol,†he said awkwardly, in Hill-speech. Then in Homelander he went on: â€Å"As I came late, perhaps you'd like me to commit a daring single-handed raid.†Jack snorted. Harry smiled in spite of herself. â€Å"No; that won't be necessary. We'll arrange ourselves across the Gap, here, and on the plateau.†She paused. â€Å"I can't risk what's left of us going into the valley again †¦ â€Å" She raised her voice: â€Å"We're here to slow the Northerners down. We'll do the best we can. But we're overmatched – vastly more overmatched than I expected. I don't expect any of you to fight to the †¦ last. The day is half over; if we can hold them till this evening, they'll have to wait till morning to try again.†Harry closed her eyes and thought, I hope. Even demons see better by the light of day – or do they? Swimming through the mist behind her eyes then, she saw Corlath and his army; they were beating back a horde of Northerners that outnumbered them by no more than three to one. The black mass that filled the valley below the Madamer Gate was twice the size of the army that sought to pass the Bledfi Gap. Corlath's stallion ran red from its nose as it leaped and struck; Corlath's sword was dull with blood. She recognized Fireheart first; it took her a moment to recognize his rider, for Corlath's sash was the wrong color. She saw Mathin, who grinned fiercely as he fought at Corlath's heels. â€Å"If we have gained a day, we have gained †¦ something. Tonight, those of you that remain †¦ may scatter. Fade into these Hills; make your way back to Corlath if you can.†Senay said: â€Å"Why do you say those of you, lady? Do you not come with us? Are you so certain of death?†Terim, very low, said, â€Å"Do you seek it?†Harry sighed. â€Å"I can't leave. This defense, here, was my great idea. I can't leave. But what's-his-name, out there, will take care of that, when next we meet.†She tried to speak lightly. â€Å"Very noble of you, my dear,†said Jack, â€Å"but we will, I think, stand with Harimad-sol. We can hold here †¦ perhaps three days, if Thurra is so fond of slow death. Three days might give your Corlath a breathing-space; and it's always remotely within the realm of possibility that Sir Charles will believe the letter I wrote him, and the Northerners will find the Outlanders a little more troublesome than they expected for a few more days of preparation. We will stay.†The last three words he said in Hill-speech, and Senay and Terim and Kentarre repeated, â€Å"We will stay.†Terim said, with his usual buoyancy, â€Å"Harimad-sol, you cannot ask us to give up so easily, after we have come so far.†Harry blinked. She looked out over the valley; the Northern mass was beginning to shift forward again. â€Å"Very well,†she said gruffly. â€Å"I suggest everyone eat something and take a few minutes' rest; for Thurra is moving. And †¦ thank you.†She smiled. â€Å"Perhaps we will hold out three days.†â€Å"And think of the songs they'll sing about us,†said Jack. He handed her a bit of meat in a hard roll, and she began absently to chew it. Her right arm was still nearly useless, but her left hand closed and opened when she told it to, the elbow bent, and the shoulder swung. She squinted up at the mountains around her. The peaks that surrounded the Gate were perhaps four times a man's height from the shallow plateau where she stood; then beyond them the mountains sloped up again, and a little distance from the stony Gate some small trees covered the steep ground and spilled out toward the valley below them. She looked around, toward the forested arm where the archers had stood. She found she had finished her roll. â€Å"I'll be back in a moment,†she said. Jack and Richard looked at her questioningly. â€Å"In plenty of time to stand against our friends.†She picked up Gonturan and awkwardly wiped and resheathed her, and began to clamber slowly up the western side of the Gate. She could only use her left hand, and even its grasp was not strong. Jack said sharply, â€Å"Harry, what have you done to your arm?†She waited till she was standing on the low crest to answer: â€Å"Strained a muscle, I think,†she said. â€Å"Don't worry.†She turned away as Jack opened his mouth; and from where her little band stood, disappeared around a spur of rock. Richard started after her, but Terim moved in front him as Jack said, â€Å"No. If she wants to be left alone, we'll leave her alone. I don't like it either, but she – or the thing that's riding her – still knows a little more about this than the rest of us. Or so I believe.†Richard shrugged, but his eyes stayed on the spot where his sister had disappeared. â€Å"She did promise that we could die together,†Terim said cheerfully. Jack rubbed his face wearily. â€Å"I'm not thinking about dying yet.†He looked out into the valley, and slowly he brought his glass to his eye. More figures, some riding on strangely jointed steeds and some lumbering along on their own heavy feet, were pouring into the valley; there was no end of them. They roiled up the slope toward the Gate, the slope Harimad-sol had so laboriously pushed them down less than an hour before. He could no longer see the lower half of the rocky bowl at his feet for the creatures that walked upon it. He dropped the glass. â€Å"However foolish that may be.†Richard took the glass from Jack's hand and gazed through it. He saw Thurra's white stallion near the front; but there was no standard-bearer. Harry stumbled up, and up farther; and then her feet found something like a path or a deer track, and she gratefully followed it. She came above the trees again, and looked down. Below her was the valley, full of tiny crawling things; nearer her, but still far away – I hadn't realized I'd come so far, she thought, startled – was a small flat space behind a cleft in the rock, where her people waited. She looked down dispassionately; the thought flickered through her mind that she was too far, and should return at once; but there seemed to be something she should do first. Her numb right hand crept its way up the scabbard of Gonturan till it felt over the hilt to rest on the stone at her peak; Harry found that she was panting for breath. â€Å"Lady Aerin,†she murmured; and the scene before her wavered, and she blinked, and suddenly she could see as an eagle sees: she recognized the white stallion that Thurra rode, with the red ribbons in its mane and the red blood dried on its neck and flank, and saw the red- and green- and black-eyed faces of those who followed him, and the queer beasts many rode instead of horses, that had clawed feet and forked tongues. She saw the north wind pluck at her brother's hair and realized abruptly she felt no wind on her bare mountain top; and with that there was a stab of pain from the base of her neck down her right arm, and her hand grasped the hilt of the sword and drew her. She raised her slowly above her head, point upward, as if to cut the clouds that Thurra had brought, and throw them down on his head in knife-edged fragments. The pain in her neck rose and flooded her brain; â€Å"Corlath, help me,†she said to the air. The small knot of people on the plateau behind the Gate looked up suddenly as a blaze of light fell over them and splattered like water; and they saw Harimad-sol on a peak behind them, where no peak had stood before; and around her head and shoulders was blue-and-white fire. She r aised her right arm, and Gonturan sparkled so fiercely they could not look at her; and Harimad-sol stabbed skyward once and again and shouted words that each felt they heard distinctly but could not repeat or understand; but Ken-tarre and Jack recognized the Old Tongue of the Hills, the Language of the Gods. Blue fire began to run down from the stone on the hilt of the sword and splash to the ground, where it seemed to eddy around Harry's feet, and bits of it flaked off and floated into the air, and the bits spun and glittered like prisms, and tossed tiny rainbows down the sides of the mountains, although the rainbows had more blue in them than most rainbows. In the valley they heard hoarse cries, but the voices did not seem to reach the Blue Sword or the woman who held it, but fell back into the valley like fish who had leaped too high, gasping for their lives. They heard the white stallion scream, and heard an awful voice they knew to be Thurra's, but no one turned to look; everyone stared upward. Even the horses stood with raised heads and pricked ears, facing as their riders faced; and Narknon, who had not followed Harry although she could have, stood stone still but for her lashing tail; Sungold pranced, looking up the rocks he could not climb. The blue light fell into his eyes and mouth and nostrils till he looked like a ghost horse. The hillside began to move. Pebbles, then larger pebbles, then rocks and boulders began to tumble into the valley. The woman's clear voice went on, and the incomprehensible words poured over the Hillfolk and the Outlanders with the brilliant blue light; then the noise of the mountains falling grew louder, and many fell to their knees and bellies because they could not keep their feet. They could no longer see with their eyes, though the light burned into their brains, and they no longer heard with their ears, for the roaring of falling earth blocked them, yet they heard in their minds the blue-lit words going on and on. And then it was over. The horses shook themselves; some had to haul themselves, sweating, to their feet. The human beings turned over where they lay, and looked up at the sky, which was blue and cloudless; and shivered, and cautiously stood up. Jack looked up first; there was no sign of Harry. At first he thought it was because his eyes were still blind from the light, but he could pick out the shape of the mountain peaks around him, and he could work out where Harry had been standing; but where Harry had been was there no longer. He was sure he was looking in the right direction. Puzzled, then, he looked around for confirmation; his eyes crossed Richard's; he was going through the same bewilderment. They turned together to look out over the valley. But there was no valley. There was a smoking rubble of broken stones and uprooted trees; the cliff face beyond the Gate itself had sheared clean away, and the Gate would be a pass through the mountains no more. They stood at the edge, looking down, and then out and across; there was no sign of life anywhere. The only things that moved were clouds of dust. The dust was curiously blue-edged, and twinkled in the sunlight. A little breeze began. It came through a wide breach in the mountain that had not been there before; surprised, it began to investigate the new landscape. The weary anxious people and beasts on the ridge that was once a Gate turned a little to face it. It smelled good, of young green things. â€Å"The north wind is gone,†said Jack. â€Å"Yes,†said Richard. â€Å"This wind blows from the south and east.†They stood for a moment, collecting their thoughts. â€Å"We should look for Harry,†said Richard. â€Å"Shouldn't we?†He sounded very young. â€Å"Yes,†said Jack. â€Å"That was Harry, wasn't it?†Harry's brother said, a little uncertainly. Jack smiled a small smile. â€Å"Yes. Or it was Harry as much as it was anyone. Terim,†he went on in Hill-speech, â€Å"we would like to look for Harimad-sol. She might be too †¦ exhausted to return to us. Will you come?†Terim said, â€Å"Yes,†and Senay joined them, while the rest would wait for word. Sungold followed them to the foot of the rock wall Harry had disappeared beyond, and whinnied anxiously after them, and reared and pawed the rock behind them as they climbed away from him. â€Å"We'll bring her back,†Jack said to him. â€Å"Be patient.†Narknon came with them. The four of them seemed to move very slowly; or perhaps their feet moved at a reasonable pace, but their minds could not keep up. Narknon, instead of ranging around them as she usually did, trotted at their heels and paused when they paused. Jack felt that he was grinding out thoughts that moved as grudgingly as centuries, and when he shook his head, his brain seemed to turn over uneasily, like a bad swimmer in deep water. His eyes hurt in their sockets, and he still saw Harry with her sword raised and the blue fire around her, although the picture was memory now, and his eyes focused on scrub and dirt and rock and blue dust. They all stopped as they came to a slope with trees growing above them. â€Å"This can't be right,†said Richard; â€Å"we saw her on bare rock.†Jack peered up at the sun. â€Å"It is right, though; or at least this is the right direction. If the sun hasn't moved, which I don't guarantee †¦ perhaps these trees grew while the mountains were falling.†Jack began to climb again as if he were sure he knew the way; Terim and Senay followed, for they were less shocked by Harimad-sol's performance than Jack or Richard, and did not expect the landscape near such a piece of sorcery and kelar to conform to the usual physical rules. They had looked at the sun too, and knew they were heading in the right direction. Richard was last. He felt old, and his bones creaked, and Narknon made him uncomfortable. He knew of the Damarian hunting-cats, but he had never before met one. There was a tiny path, as if made by small hoofed animals, up the slope, and Jack followed it hopefully; and after only a few minutes they broke through the trees and into a small glade, with fresh green grass in it, the first good grass they had seen since they left Senay's village. Harry lay crumpled near one edge of the glade, with Gonturan, dull as pewter, the blue stone of her hilt opaque, lying on the grass beside her. Harry lay on her side, curled up, and both her hands touched the sword; the left awkwardly fell over the hilt, the right grasped the blade just below the guard. Jack came into the clearing first, and he was the only one who saw – or thought he saw – a figure in the trees just behind Harry; he thought he saw a glint of red hair. But he blinked, so he could stare again harder, feeling for his saber; and when he looked again, the figure was gone. He was never sure afterward if he had seen anything but an odd fall of leaf shadow, although he knew the Hi ll legends, and knew who had carried Gonturan before his young friend. â€Å"Harry,†said Richard, and ran forward, and dropped to his knees beside her. The others, who had a little more faith in Hill magic – or who understood a bit better that whatever had happened was finished now, for good or ill – followed more slowly. Jack looked around. There was nothing like the stone knoll where Harry had stood anywhere near them; the trees – real trees, not the grey and stunted things they had seen around the Gate, and in the valley that was no more – stood high overhead, rustling softly in the green breeze from the east; and beyond the little glen there was nothing but more trees, more sweet greenness, for however far the eye could reach, no sunlight-glint of a clear space anywhere. Harry was dreaming something, but Dickie was calling her. Aerin was leaning over her, smiling the wry smile Harry knew well by now; it was a smile of affection, but more of understanding. Aerin spoke to her, for the second time; she had a low rough kind voice. â€Å"This is what one mad Outlander on a Hill horse would have done; rather like something I once did. But it's not fair that the heroes get all the adventures and all the glory alone; your band will be sung of for centuries to come, and Jack's great-great-grandchildren, and Richard's and yours, and Senay's, and Terim's will remember the Madamer Gate and how the mountains fell and crushed Thurra's army. I found out that those at home don't like having no part in adventures – I didn't learn very much, but I did learn that; and it's as well if someone can learn by my mistakes †¦ â€Å" â€Å"Corlath,†said Harry miserably; and Aerin answered her gently: â€Å"Corlath is waiting for you.†Harry wanted to say, That's what I'm afraid of. But Dickie was calling her. It couldn't be Dickie, she hadn't seen him since †¦ She opened her eyes. Her memory of the immediate past was not good, but she knew she had called on Aerin, and asked Corlath for help in whatever Gonturan's past, master might send her, and that something had happened; and that Aerin had spoken to her about it †¦ and Corlath †¦ Her head hurt. â€Å"Richard,†she said. The other three sat down with a sigh beside her, and there was a silence that no one seemed to know how to break. Narknon put a paw on Harry's chest and began licking her face; a hunting-cat's tongue is much harsher than a housecat's. Harry thought her skin would crumble and peel off, but she didn't have the strength to push her away. At last Harry said, and her voice sounded low and hollow, â€Å"Not that I feel much like moving just now, but don't we have some fairly urgent business in the valley? Or have three days gone by while I †¦ and †¦ â€Å" Richard said, â€Å"There is no valley.†Jack said, â€Å"The Northerners are now lying under a very large pile of rock, which used to be a mountain range. You appear to have pulled it down around their ears, and, Harimad-sol, I salute you.†He touched his forehead and flicked the fingers out in the particular curl that is the Hillman's gesture of respect to his king. Harry smiled weakly. â€Å"That's blasphemous, you know. I'll have you court-martialed.†â€Å"By Homelanders or Hillfolk?†Jack inquired blandly. â€Å"Can you stand?†â€Å"I am gathering my courage to find out,†replied Harry. She had flopped over onto her back – Narknon was now nibbling lovingly on her hair – and then hauled herself up on one elbow; now Senay and Richard propped her up on both sides, and she reeled to her feet. Her leather vest seemed as stiff as iron. â€Å"I feel like a potato that's recently been mashed,†she said. Narknon leaned against her knee and purred madly. â€Å"Shall we carry you?†Terim said, hovering anxiously, torn between respect and caution. â€Å"Not yet, thank you,†said Harry. â€Å"But you could hand me Gonturan. I don't quite feel like bending over just now.†This was said in Hill-speech, so it is possible that Richard did not understand. But of the other three there was a brief but obvious moment when no one moved, and everyone thought of the blue fire on the mountaintop, and everyone's palms prickled. Then Jack took a step forward and bent and picked up Harimad-sol's blade, flat silver now, glinting faintly in the sunlight, and offered the hilt to her. One narrow gleam of white fire ran up the edge of the blue sword, and outlined Jack's fingers. Jack's and Harry's eyes met, for it was only when it was too late to stop her words that she realized what she was – or might be – asking. â€Å"Thank you,†she said. â€Å"I probably should have bent over myself, to find out if I could.†She resheathed the sword. Jack looked at his glowing white hand, and rubbed his palm along his thigh. There was a tingle in that hand that buzzed up his arm and fluttered for a moment in his brain. It was not an unpleasant sensation. As her fingers closed on Gonturan, Harry realized that her body was functioning; that she would be able to walk. She kept her hand on the hilt of Gonturan and took a step forward. â€Å"We'll stop where we are tonight,†she said. â€Å"Tomorrow we ride back to find Corlath.†She shut her eyes a moment; the world spun, then steadied. â€Å"They're farther west than they expected to be. Six days, if we hurry. If we can hurry.†She frowned, her eyes still closed. â€Å"They are beating the Northerners back; they are winning.†She opened her eyes again. â€Å"They're winning,†she repeated, and the color rose in her cheeks, and her three friends smiled at her. Harry concentrated on walking, and by the time they came to the rockface at the Gate she had gotten pretty good at it; she still kept her eyes on her feet, but she slid and scrambled down by herself, while Jack and Richard, who had gone before her, tried very hard not to reach up and help her. When she got to the bottom, and her people were standing around her, and Tsornin was bumping her shoulder angrily, asking her why she had gone anywhere he couldn't come too, and her Hillfolk were flicking their finger salute at her, Kentarre very deliberately touched her forehead too and flicked the fingers out, and all the archers followed suit. And Jack's Outlanders stared and bowed and pointed saber hilts at her, and she realized how quiet they were. Too quiet. She turned to look at the valley. She turned white, and then Jack and Richard did put out hands to steady her. â€Å"My God,†she said. â€Å"That was a bit of †¦ something, wasn't it?†The dust still swirled in clouds over the desert of rubble they looked at, and it hung thickly enough that they could not see beyond it. There were threads of blue woven through and over it, as if there were a webbing holding it in place. The sun burned brightly over the blue-shot fog, and hurt the eyes. The dust got into eyes and noses and throats as they breathed, and mouths as they talked, and their voices grew hoarse with it. â€Å"Kentarre,†said Harry. â€Å"Will a lot of rock simply falling on him stop someone like Thurra?†Kentarre shrugged. â€Å"My sol, I don't believe it has been tried before.†Harry smiled wanly. â€Å"It will at least have stopped his army,†said Terim; â€Å"few of them have any kelar of their own.†â€Å"They have never needed it,†said Senay, â€Å"for Thurra has always been stronger.†Jack said, â€Å"There's more than rock out there. There's something holding the rock down.†He stared out, the flecks of blue teasing the corners of his eyes. Kentarre and Senay and Terim, who knew the legends of the Northern mage, were silent. â€Å"It is possible that he will rest here,†said Kentarre at last. â€Å"But we can say that today is ours.†â€Å"Today is Harimad-sol's,†said Terim firmly, and Senay's face lit up, and she cried, â€Å"Harimad-sol!†Kentarre drew her dagger and tapped herself on the chest with the hilt and then shook the point over her head. â€Å"Harimad-sol!†she called, and â€Å"Harimad-sol!†the other archers echoed, drawing their daggers in the same gesture; and Senay's people picked up the shout next. Jack's men, shaken out of their half-fearful amazement, began to applaud and stamp, as if they didn't know what else to do; and it was Richard who yelled, â€Å"Angharad!†whereupon the Outlanders shouted â€Å"Angharad!†too, and a few whistled, as though Harry had just sung an aria at the opera. When at last they stopped, everyone was smiling and easy again, as if individually inspired landslides and earthquakes were quite a normal feat of warfare, or at least of leadership. Then everyone heaved a sigh and settled down, and supper fires were lit; and Narkno n appeared, dragging a brown deer larger than herself, and looking terribly pleased with herself. The sunset that evening over the mountains was violet-blue.
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