Volcanic Eruptions versus Human Civilizations 2mya Essay

Volcanic Eruptions versus Human Civilizations 2mya - Essay Example Besides, it will also assess the connection between volcanic activity and population distribution in the modern world and the ancient world (Small and Naumann, 2001, p. 32). The structure of the ancient civilizations shall also be another element that this paper will address as it endeavors to unearth how different civilizations functioned. Case study of such civilizations shall come from China, Asia, Africa and India. Additionally, this paper will also analyze the evolution of hominid and their association with the selected civilizations that this paper shall analyze, evaluate and discuss (Sparks et al., 2005, p. 41). Introduction There are volcanic landscapes all over the world that one may observe that at one time in history has tremendous effects on human culture and civilization. Perhaps the most prominent eruption in the recent past was the Toba eruption (Machida and Sugiyama, 2002, p. 49). This was the last massive volcanic eruption in history for the last few hundred thousand years ago. That is as far as the Mediterranean basin is an item of analysis. Many historians assert that this eruption drew in large populations after the eruption, contrary to popular beliefs that populations would normally move away from disaster zones (Lowe, 2002, p. 47). That may have been a historic coincidence. This does not wash away other facts that volcanic eruptions may act to disperse populations (Rampino and Ambrose, 2000, p. 32). Other civilizations have also been victims of volcanic activity. In fact, some civilizations have even disappeared in the aftermath of immense volcanic activity. Some historic examples include empires that were hardest hit during the Cycladic and Minoan that suffered massive disasters during the 1628 B.C mammoth eruptions. To say generalize that volcanic activity has a negative effect on civilization would not suffice an informed assessment (Rampino, 2002, p. 33). Rather, at times in history, there were occasions when effects of volcanic activ ity were profound on civilizations. Sometimes civilizations fell or declined owing to volcanic activities (Torrence and Grattan, 2002, p. 14). Nevertheless, such is just like the rise and wane of kingdoms. It happens that sometimes there are factors that promote the growth of civilizations or sometimes factors may set in that disfavor growth of civilizations. There could be a probability of coincidences. As such, there may be close relationships between such success factors, volcanic activity and the emergence of a civilization (Sharma, 2004, p. 29). However, volcanic activity remains the overriding factor given that it has a record that one may relate closely with the emergence of civilizations. Some other factors about volcanic activities such as shaping the landscape have a connection with early civilizations. This is because landscapes influence human settlements and civilizations emerged out from organized settlements. Another aspect about volcanic landscape is that nature of e conomic life and cultures that arise have some complex similarities across the world. This is so intricate in such that one may conclude that there is something about volcanic landscapes and cultures. Probably one may explain the issue of related economic activities to the fact that the mountains presented modified climate that was a gift to economic life (Robock, 2000, p. 42). Most communities that inhabited such volcanic areas responded to the uniqueness of their surrounding by

Transcultural Nursing Reflective Essay

Transcultural Nursing Reflective Essay Rose Bonanno ‘Transcultural nursing is a comparative study of cultures to understand similarities (culture universal) and difference (culture-specific) across human groups’ (Leininger, 1991). Introduction Transcultural Nursing is an area in nursing practice that focuses on how the ideals and principals of particular groups influence their behaviour when they are sick. Diverse cultures may express dissimilar kinds of needs when they are ill, (Gulbu, 2006). Clients will be more willing to accept their treatment when the health care professional can understand their cultural rules, (Pagliuca, Rodrigues, 2012). Being cultural competent is having the approach, awareness and ability to provide appropriate care to different populations, (Loftin et al., 2013). A patient’s perspective has to be seen within the whole context. Community dynamics such as social status and knowledge, distinguish individuals within racial groups, (Weiner et al., 2013). Whether we are French or Canadian, African or Norwegian, straight or gay, Catholic or Muslim, we are a mixture of cultures. Nursing students need to cultivate social skills to care for patients in a multi-cultural world, (Torsvik, Hedlund, 200 8). Both the views of others and ourselves are equally essential in the understanding of illness (Simon et al., 2010). Incident Since I was a very young child I have always been aware that there are ‘different’ people. This was due to the fact that I always remember the British soldiers that used to roam the street and I could always realise that they spoke a language which at the time I did not understand, they wore shoes and clothes which were much different than the few that me or my family had. However in my child’s mind I always associated them with the good things, because although they were different they were of the same skin colour that I was and so it was no big deal if they stopped to talk to me or one of my friends. My parents would not mind when they would stop to say hello or to offer us sweets. As I grew older I realised that although there were differences between the way that we spoke and behaved there were also a lot of similarities. But seeing a coloured soldier was all too different. I would not even lift my eyes to talk to them let alone smile at them. This was due to the fact that my parents used to tell us dramatic stories where the bad guy was always black and so this implanted in me a certain fear of black people. Growing up and travelling around made me aware of the different races that inhabit our world. In time I became used to seeing different coloured people, different races. However they were just a part of the world around me and I would never give it much thought until the first boat of immigrants started to come to our shores. Since most of them came from African countries, they were mostly dark coloured and ‘different’. And then the unthinkable happened. I had to nurse a ‘black’ patient. The first time that I walked on the ward and saw this black person, sitting in bed, between two white sheets, the first thing that comes to mind is the contrast. And then the problems start coming to mind. He must be dirty, he must carry a lot of infectious diseases, and he must smell. Secondly come the more rational questions. How am I going to communicate? How is he going to communicate back? How can we understand each other? So I did my best to ignore him all day. Luckily I was allocated duties in another part of the ward and so I could continue working without any bother. But my ‘luck’ ran out when one of my colleagues needed to go home early. And so it was now my turn to care for the patient. At some point he needed some water and since he had nothing on his bedside table he had to ring the nurse call. I remember walking up to him a little cautiously as if he might jump on me. I still remember that feeling of adrenaline rush that causes the fight-or-flight reaction after all these years. And then I arrived at his bedside and in low quiet voice, without raising his eyes, he asked for some water. Although I tried not to show it I was surprised. He had spoken to me in English!! That was the first surprise that I had from this thin-looking dark-coloured man. In return I voiced my surprise and asked him where he had come from. He told me that he was from Ethiopia. Although I had met the country in my geography lessons, way back when I was still at school, I hardly knew anything about the country. All that I knew was there somehow there was always a war there and that its capital was called Addis Ababa. I remember recalling Addis Ababa when he told me that his name was Addis. Addis was a quiet man, softly spoken and of course by himself most of the time. He did not eat me, he did not kill me, and he did not smell foul. Seeing that we could communicate in English, I asked him about his story. He told me that he had run away from his country and that he had left a wife and two sons behind him. He said that he intended to find some work so that he could send money back to his family. He said that he was Orthodox Catholic, which again was another surprise for me. He always bowed his head when I would approach him and I thought that this was because he was shy. Another surprise was that he never ate meat on Wednesday, (and on Fridays as well, I got to know later). I was curious to know whether he missed his family and of course he did. He said that he usually phones them once every month, which again was a surprise to me, and he started telling me the how his wife travels a long distance to go to the city so that he can talk to her. Reflection Encouraging logical reflective thinking is stressed in studies emphasising the benefits of using nursing stories in the course of learning (Torsvik, Hedlund, 2008). The first experiences that I had with this patient made me stop and think. Why do we think that being somehow different in colour, beliefs or behaviour makes us superior? All in all if we think about people, no-one is really as different from one another as we make out to be. The trend for people to classify others on the basis of their ethnic group, or perceived physical appearance, and then assign social or educational importance to them – whether they are of high class or sub-standard status- is a fact that is well known in the Western culture,(Naylor, 1997). All people have feelings and families who they love. We all bleed when we are hurt, and no matter what colour we are, black or white, yellow or blue, our blood is always red. The idea that had been installed in me when I was young was very wrong and it is alright to accept diversity. Diversity makes the world a more colourful, richer place. However I remember vividly that I did notice at the time that I had never been taught anything about other cultures. The subject was sort of taboo. I feel that we are not prepared about different cultures and different religions. It is very important to know about these different cultures so that we become aware of how we can see to their needs if ever we are nursing them. I used to feel embarrassed when Addis used to bow his head to me. I thought that it was funny; I never knew at the time that it was a sign of respect. When we used to play and pretend that we are the queen did we not bow our head? Adding everything up now, it does make sense. Just like we bow to the queen, Addis was showing me a sense of great respect. Analysis I feel that we are not prepared about different cultures and different religions. Studies show that although transcultural nursing studies and knowledge has been increasing, there still remains an absence of proper schooling methods in regards to this subject,(Mixer, 2008). It is very important to know about these different cultures so that we become aware of how we can see to their needs whenever we are nursing them. I used to feel embarrassed when Addis used to bow his head to me. I thought that it was funny; I never knew at the time that it was a sign of respect. When we used to play and pretend that we are the queen did we not bow our head? Adding everything up now, it does make sense. Just like we bow to the queen, Addis was showing me a sense of great respect. Some sort of national background can help evade misinterpretations and assist help-care professionals to deliver improved care, (Galanti, 2000). Action plan. In my opinion there is a need for a Cultural Consultancy Committee. Members would constitute a representative of the ethnic groups which are mainly found on the island. This committee would meet and discuss issues pertaining to their groups. They could also set up policies regarding the issues of communication and other problems that may arise whenever a person from their group is in hospital. The committee might also be able to organise an annual conference in which information, maybe even in the form of leaflets in given to stakeholders. They could also create a strategy, to have faith and community centred voluntary groups to whom a person can turn to in case of difficulty. In its Action Plan to Reduce Health Disparities, (2010), the American Department of Health and Human Services, (DHHS) suggested that ‘activities may include language services, community outreach, cultural competency training, health education, wellness promotion, and evidence-based approaches to manage chronic conditions’. Conclusion ‘Racial and ethnic minorities often receive poorer quality of care and face more barriers to seeking care, (DHHS, 2010). Language and lack of education could be a strong barrier to communication. Perception and generalisation might also be tough obstacles. Respect and concern for people who are diverse from us will only be likely when people cultivate a better consciousness, compassion and empathy to others who are unlike us (Nayler, 1997). In a world where working with so many different people is no longer something out of the ordinary, it helps to have an ability to perceive the difference in cultures. Stimulating one’s awareness about gesticulating, the meaning of touch and private space, especially between different sexes and individuals with diverse beliefs, conceding that the quality of voice tone and facial expressions can either scare or comfort a person, will have a positive healing effect on people who are culturally different,( Papadopoulos,2012). Diversity can also be beneficial. It is a store for different ideas on how things are done and a chance to meet people with different thoug hts and answers. Culturally experienced health care professionals guarantee patients fulfilment and optimistic outcomes, (Maier-Lorentz, 2008). For health care providers and specifically nurses, the necessity to make suitable and expert care available is acknowledged as vital l in view of the increasing variety among persons that they care for, (Loftin et al.,2013}. References; American Department of Health and Human Services ; A Nation Free of Disparities in Health and Health Care, 2010, PG 17, http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/npa/files/Plans/HHS/HHS_Plan_complete.pdf Galanti, G.A., 2000, An introduction to Cultural Differences, West J. Med; 172(5): 335-336, Retrieved June 18thfrom; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1070887/ Gulbu,T., 2006, The implications of Transcultural Nursing Models in the Provision of Culturally Competent Care, Icus Nurs Journal, Issue 25, Jan.- Apr, 2006, Pg 1 Leininger, M. Culture care diversity and universality: A theory of nursing. New York: National League for Nursing Pres; 1991. Loftin, C., Hartin, V., Branson, M., and Reyes, H., â€Å"Measures of Cultural Competence in Nurses: An Integrative Review,† The Scientific World Journal, vol. 2013, Article ID 289101, 10 pages, 2013. doi:10.1155/2013/289101 Loftin, C., Hartin, V., Branson,M., Reyes,H., Measures of Cultural Competence in Nurses: An Integrative Review, Scientific World Journal Volume 2013 (2013), Article ID 289101, 10 pages ,http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/289101 Maier-Lorentz, M. (2008). Transcultural nursing: its importance in nursing practice. Journal Of Cultural Diversity, 15(1), 37-43. Mixer, S. (2008). Use of the culture care theory and ethnonursing method to discover how nursing faculty teach culture care. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal For The Australian Nursing Profession, 28(1-2), 23-36. doi:10.5172/conu.673.28.1-2.23 Naylor, L., 1997, Cultural Diversity in the United States., Chapter 11, Race, Ethnicity and Culture, Pg 49., Publishers, Bergin and Garvey, Westport, CT., http://www.questia.com/read/15586236/cultural-diversity-in-the-united-states Naylor, L., 1997, Cultural Diversity in the United States., Chapter 11, Race, Ethnicity and Culture, Pg 25., Publishers, Bergin and Garvey, Westport, CT., http://www.questia.com/read/15586212/cultural-diversity-in-the-united-states Pagliuca, L. M. F., , Rodrigues, M. E., (2012). Competency to provide cross-cultural nursing care for people with disability: a self-assessment instrument. Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem, 65(5), 849-855. Retrieved June 19, 2014, from http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttextpid=S0034-71672012000500020lng=entlng=en. 10.1590/S0034-71672012000500020. Papadopoulos, I. (2012). Transcultural nursing. British Journal Of Nursing, 21(14), 838. Simon, M., Chang, E., Dong, X. (2010). Partnership, reflection and patient focus: advancing cultural competency training relevance. Medical Education, 44(6), 540-542. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2923.2010.03714.x Torsvik, M. Hedlund, M. (2008) Cultural encounters in reà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ective dialogue about nursing care: a qualitative study. Journal of Advanced Nursing 63(4), 389–396 doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2008.04723.x Weiner,L., Grady McConnell, D., Latella,L., Ludi, E., 2013, Cultural and religious considerations in pediatric palliative care, Palliat Support Care. 2013 February ; 11(1): 47–67. doi:10.1017/S1478951511001027.

Radar Detector :: essays research papers

Nowadays, speed-detection technology has become more and more advanced, and not getting a speeding ticket is almost unavoidable. There are a lot of devices around that can help drivers detect the police traps, but these devices are illegal in many states. As people are driving down the interstate with their cruise control set over the speed limit, many get scared of a police car parked on the side of the road. Right after they pass the trap they look at the speedometer and their rear mirror, hoping that the cop will pass them by and go after those whose speed was higher. Now, Rocky Mountain Radar Co. offers drivers a solution to escape getting the ticket. This device is called the Phazer. The Phazer makes your vehicle electronically invisible to the police speed-detecting equipment. It mixes a portion of the radar signals with background clutter and bounces it back to the squad car by way of wave guide antenna, which effectively confuses the computer inside the radar gun. Police radar takes five to ten speed measurements per second of the vehicle. The Phazer sends two different signals to the radar, so the final result is that police radar can not verify the speed of the vehicle and displays no speed at all.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Phazer also protects your vehicle from Lidar guns which use distance over time to detect the speed of the vehicle. The Phazer sends an invisible infared signals to the Lidar gun, this way the measurement of the speed is blocked. Many devices like that were outlawed because they transmit scrambling radar beams to the police car. The Phazer reflects only part of the signal and also mixes it with an FM signal. It is perfectly legal for people living in all states but California, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Washington D.C. The Phazer starts to scramble the signals from three miles away from the speed trap.

Ethics and Environment Essay

Innovation is said to occur when something is done in a radically new way. Apple has been frequently cited as the innovation leader in technological world. It, under the leadership of its CEO Steve Jobs, introduced products which were radically different as for as design was concerned. Compared to Apple, Dell’s computers have no innovative design or technical feature. The importance of innovation is such that most of the successful companies around the world are spending huge sums of their profits on innovation related projects. Many people confuse innovation with invention. Innovation and invention are different things. Invention is the first step toward the development of something new. It is the manifestation of an idea while innovation happens when that idea is put to use successfully. Invention can occur any moment while for innovation to occur, years may pass by as it takes a lot of time from researching to introducing a new product. It takes one person to invent and many to innovate as a lot of people are required to do research, test, and market a particular product. Following are the four types of innovation types as described by Oslo Manual: 1- Product Innovation. This type of innovation is said to occur when a significantly different product is introduced by a company. The difference may occur due to design, improved technical specification etc. 2- Process innovation. If a production process is novel and delivery system improved then process innovation is said to have occurred. 3- Marketing Innovation. When a product’s pricing, packaging, or positioning is done in a totally new way then marketing innovation is said to have occurred. 4- Organizational innovation. If organizational culture is changed bringing in a lot of value than organizational innovation is said to have occurred. Innovation is result – oriented, the two main outcomes of innovations as described in a report published by Boston Consulting group are: †¢ Tangible Outcomes: Tangible outcomes refer to new products and design that are achieved as a result of innovating. They are provided legal cover by various intellectual property instruments like copyrights. †¢ Intangible Outcomes: These are outcomes that cannot be quantified and legally protected. A new production process is a tangible outcome. Not every organization that engages in innovative pursuits succeeds. Many organizations complain that their money invested in innovation process is wasted. This does not mean that every organization fails rather there are various success factors that determine whether an organization will succeed and come up with innovative products or services or not. Idea generation is a first step where most organizations fail. If resources are not invested properly, bright ideas might not come to executive’s attention. Companies also need to look to their customers for ideas. Then they need to have proper processes in place to carry forward the best ideas and make most of them. Another success factor that many organizations lack is the absence of good leaders who can gauge the whole innovation process. Innovation process will be disrupted if an organization does not have enough skilled workers. In research and development labs of many successful companies, quality of employees is one factor which has played a big role. Importance to Innovation for Organizations Innovation is critical to any company’s success in these times because it is the main driver of competitive advantage. It is one of the factors that drives the growth and shareholder value of any organization. Every organization wants to come up with creative ideas which they can manifest and implement successfully. One study suggests that distinct products/services and novel business processes are the main competitive advantage that any organization can have. This is also the opinion of the 70 percent of the CEOs of the fastest progressing companies. Almost every organization has realized the value of innovation so much so they have not decreased their R&D budget in this time of recession. One Wall Street Journal report says that big US companies have not decreased their spending on R&D despite a fall of 7. 7% in their revenue. It is true that history teaches us great lessons. The same is case with business world. IPod was introduced soon after the incident of 9/11. Among those who plan to spend almost the same amount on R&D as they did in 2007 are Microsoft, Intel and 3M. Apple is a perfect example of a company which gained competitive advantage mainly by innovative pursuits. It realized that investment in innovation pursuits is the only way to boost profitability that’s why they increased their R&D investment by more than 42% during 1999 to 2000 despite a decrease of 6% in their revenue. This led to products like IPod and ITunes store. They have mainly relied on innovation in design. Apple has also succeeded in capturing a share in cell phone market by introducing another innovative product called IPhone. In the last century, people talked about efficiency and shareholder value. They applied various principles to reduce cost and achieve economies of scale. But their rivals in low- income countries could outclass them because of lower costs of production there. Now is the time to gain competitive advantage by innovation. Human resource of any organization is the best place for creative ideas. It is the people of any organizations that can help give it a competitive advantage by innovating new products and services. Google is another company which has gained significant competitive advantage over its rivals by introducing innovative products. More than 50 percent of internet users use Google as their primary search engine. It introduced the new way of targeting ads based on internet surfing behavior of its users. Google Voice is another of their innovation. Apart from that, they have introduced services like Google mail, Google News etc. The owners of Google have made fortune by indulging in innovation pursuits. Automaker industry also drives its strength from innovation. Toyota, ranked third by Business Week as most innovative company, has come up with cars with very innovative features. It will introduce the powerful Prius which will have solar- powered air conditioner. Microsoft is another company which has gained competitive advantage by rolling out innovative product. It recently introduced Windows 8. It can, therefore, be concluded that if any organization is to gain a competitive advantage, it should foster the innovative environment. This can be achieved by giving way to open culture at organization, empowering people at all levels, and encouraging employees to give their ideas about new products and/or services.

Information Technology: Structures of Data Essay

The home page of the ITPRC Web site introduces it as â€Å"The Information Technology Professional’s Resource Center† (ITPRC, 2007). Originally created in 1999, the avowed purpose of the Web site is to provide a one-stop shop for IT professionals for technical information on data networking. The purpose is laudable because data networking is a vital function which underlies many of the devices and systems that make our modern life convenient and efficient such as computers, ATMs, cell phones, airline reservation systems, and the like. Any resource which aids the understanding by the concerned professionals regarding this body of knowledge is beneficial to society as a whole, directly or indirectly. On the other hand, the subject matter of this Web site is so highly technical, extensive and rapidly evolving that it must be very difficult to maintain it and keep it abreast of developments. Comprehensive Discussion The links in the home page are grouped into four main headings: (1) Career Management, (2) Technologies, (3) Operations and (4) Others. The ITPRC Web site may thus be considered as a portal that leads to other Web sites which might be of interest to the network engineer in the areas represented by the headings (Deitel, 2001, pp. 35-37). The meat of this Web portal is the Technologies group of links. Under this group the link titles roughly correspond to the OSI reference model for network architectures (Martin, 1988). This is a conceptual model which is well-known to networking professionals and even those at the student level. They are greatly aided by this grouping scheme in organizing their searches for resources on the Internet.   For instance, under the heading Technologies, we find the links â€Å"Physical†, â€Å"Data Link† and â€Å"Content Network†, while the OSI model has the bottom layers â€Å"Physical†, â€Å"Data Link† and â€Å"Network†. The Technologies â€Å"Physical† link points to Web sites on modems, cabling and other devices which a network engineer would expect to find under this topic. The other ITPRC links under Technologies roughly correspond to areas covered by the remaining layers in the OSI model, namely the Transport, Session, Presentation and Application layers (Martin). The Operations category of links provides information on organizations (business, government or NGO) which run networks, software tools for measuring network performance such as response times for messages sent over the Internet, and other software for monitoring security conditions or threats such as repeated hacking attempts. The links classified under Others point to a treasure trove of information in the form of Web sites containing dictionaries, glossaries and FAQs pertaining to computer and networking terms. And if the researcher’s mind is having difficulties in untangling the complexities of networks, there is the Humor link to Web sites which provide comic relief. A Helpful Chain of Links Suppose I were a graduate student who sets out to understand the evolution of the Internet’s TCP/IP message routing techniques. In the ITPRC home page under Technologies I will click on â€Å"TCP/IP FAQ†. This brings up a Web page where I will click on the link â€Å"Where can I find RFC’s?†[1] That leads me to the page on â€Å"The Definitive RFC Repository† which mentions the URL .   When I click on that URL – voila – out comes the RFC Editor Web site (RFC Editor, n.d.) which includes a search engine for all RFCs, from the earliest RFC dated 1969 to the latest one published in 2009. This is just one example of the richness of information sources that are accessible through the ITPRC portal. One could follow other chains of links to Web sites which eventually lead to the information sought after. A Useful Professional Resource The ITPRC has links to Web sites that meet a wide variety of the needs of data networking professionals. We have seen earlier how the portal could be useful to a graduate student. For an engineer on the job, it has links for finding information related to workaday matters such as the latest viruses circulating on the Internet. For a technology manager who is about to embark on an upgrade of the enterprise network, the industry news links would be useful starting points for learning about developments that could keep his company at par with or ahead of its competitors. Thereafter he could direct his staff to conduct in-depth research on the technology behind the new product offerings and the likelihood that the products have been thoroughly debugged. The network professional looking out for an opportunity to advance his career in another company would find the â€Å"Job Databases† links invaluable. Other Observations The links to some of the sites are no longer valid. Under the â€Å"Book Sites† link, the very first two Web sites no longer exist. The third Web site, â€Å"Half Price Computer Books†, does not live up to its title. You have to keep on clicking a number of Web sites in succession before you come up with any site that offers substantial discounts on computer books. Bottom Line The ITPRC site is a very useful portal for the data networking professional in the sense that beginning with just one Web site he is directed to the sources of tons of information in the data networking field.