An Overview and History of Medical Geography

An Overview and History of Medical Geography Medical geography, sometimes called health geography, is an area of medical research that incorporates geographic techniques into the study of health around the world and the spread of diseases. In addition, medical geography studies the impact of climate and location on an individuals health as well as the distribution of health services. Medical geography is an important field because it aims to provide an understanding of health problems and improve the health of people worldwide based on the various geographic factors influencing them. History of Medical Geography Medical geography has a long history. Since the time of the Greek doctor, Hippocrates (5th-4th centuries BCE), people have studied the effect of location on one’s health. For example, early medicine studied the differences in diseases experienced by people living at high versus low elevation. It was easily understood that those at living low elevations near waterways would be more prone to malaria than those at higher elevations or in drier, less humid areas. Though the reasons for these variations were not fully understood at the time, the study of this spatial distribution of disease is the beginnings of medical geography. This field of geography did not gain prominence until the mid-1800s though when cholera gripped London. As more and more people became ill, they believed they were becoming infected by vapors escaping the ground. John Snow, a doctor in London, believed that if he could isolate the source of the toxins infecting the population they and cholera could be contained. As part of his study, Snow plotted the distribution of deaths throughout London on a map. After examining these locations, he found a cluster of unusually high deaths near a water pump on Broad Street. He then concluded that the water coming from this pump was the reason people were becoming sick and he had authorities remove the handle to the pump. Once people then stopped drinking the water, the number of cholera deaths dramatically decreased. Snow’s use of mapping to find the source of disease is the earliest and most famous example of medical geography. Since he conducted his research, however, geographic techniques have found their place in a number of other medical applications. Another example of geography aiding medicine occurred in the early 20th Century in Colorado. There, dentists noticed that children living in certain areas had fewer cavities. After plotting these locations on a map and comparing them with chemicals found in the groundwater, they concluded that the children with fewer cavities were clustered around areas that had high levels of fluoride. From there, the use of fluoride gained prominence in dentistry. Medical Geography Today Today, medical geography has a number of applications as well. Since the spatial distribution of disease is still a large matter of importance though, mapping plays a huge role in the field. Maps are created to show historic outbreaks of things like the 1918 influenza pandemic, for example, or current issues like the index of pain or Google Flu Trends across the United States. In the pain map example, factors like climate and environment can be considered to determine why high amounts of pain cluster where they do at any given time. Other studies have also been conducted to show where the highest outbreaks of certain types of disease occur. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States, for instance, uses what they call the Atlas of United States Mortality to look at a wide range of health factors across the U.S. Data ranges from the spatial distribution of people at different ages to places with the best and worst air quality. Subjects such as these are important because they have implications for the population growth of an area and the instances of health problems such as asthma and lung cancer. Local governments can then consider these factors when planning their cities and/or determining the best use of city funds. The CDC also features a website for traveler’s health. Here, people can get information about the distribution of disease in countries worldwide and learn about the different vaccines needed to travel to such places. This application of medical geography is important for reducing or even stopping the spread of the world’s diseases through travel. In addition to the United States’ CDC, the World Health Organization (WHO) also features similar health data for the world with its Global Health Atlas. Here, the public, medical professionals, researchers, and other interested persons can gather data about the distribution of the world’s diseases in an attempt to find patterns of transmission and possibly cures to some of the more deadly illnesses such as HIV/AIDS and various cancers. Obstacles in Medical Geography Although medical geography is a prominent field of study today, geographers have some obstacles to overcome when gathering data. The first problem is associated with recording a disease’s location. Since people sometimes do not always go to a doctor when ill, it can be difficult to get entirely accurate data about a disease’s location. The second problem is associated with the accurate diagnosis of disease. While the third deals with the timely reporting of a disease’s presence. Often, doctor-patient confidentiality laws can complicate the reporting of a disease. Since, data such as this needs to be as complete as possible to monitor the spread of illness effectively, the International Classification of Disease (ICD) was created to make sure that all countries use the same medical terms to classify a disease and the WHO helps monitor the global surveillance of diseases to help data get to geographers and other researchers as quickly as possible. Through the efforts of the ICD, the WHO, other organizations, and local governments, geographers are in fact able to monitor the spread of disease fairly accurately and their work, like that of Dr. John Snow’s cholera maps, is essential to reducing the spread of and understanding contagious disease. As such, medical geography has become a significant area of expertise within the discipline.

Plant Germination and Propagation essays

Plant Germination and Propagation essays Sexual propagation involves the union of the pollen (male) with the egg (female) to produce a seed. The seed is made up of three parts: the outer seed coat, which protects the seed; the endosperm, which is a food reserve; and the embryo, which is the young plant itself. When a seed is mature and put in a favorable environment, it will germinate, or begin active growth. Germination is a biochemical process that involves the activation of many chemical reactions. This happens in three stages. The first stage of seed germination involves the uptake of water. This is called imbibition. During imbibition the protein synthesizing systems are activated and various enzymes are synthesized. These enzymes catalyze reactions used in the second stage of germination. The second stage of germination involves the breakdown of the stored energy rich compounds of the cotyledons and endosperm. The second stage is a period of readying the embryo for rapid growth during the third stage. This is the Lag sphere. During the third stage of germination, cell division begins and the embryo grows into a seedling. The first growth occurs in the radicle and the root system is established. There are environmental factors which affect germination. The first step in the germination process is the imbibition or absorption of water. Even though seeds have great absorbing power due to the nature of the seed coat, the amount of available water in the germination medium affects the uptake of water. An adequate, continuous supply of water is important to ensure germination. Once the germination process has begun, a dry period will cause the death of the embryo. Light is known to stimulate or to inhibit germination of some seed. The light reaction involved here is a complex process. In all viable seed, respiration takes place. The respiration in dormant seed is low, but some oxygen is required. The respiration rate increases ...

School Counselor-IEP etc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

School Counselor-IEP etc - Essay Example It goes beyond the superficiality of the problem to investigate the details so that problems can be identified holistically so as to develop effective interventions. The role of special education teacher is to implement the strategies within his/ her teaching approaches. But my role primarily would be limited to being a consultant or rather a ‘teacher advocate’ who would like to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies and identify factors which could be hindering the progress. I would facilitate support to different stakeholders and act as conduit for regular and effective communication. It is important to understand and address the obstacles that adversely impact participation of persons with disability in the mainstream education. It would be more of an observer. As an advocate for inclusive education, I believe that I can use my skills and academic expertise to improve the efficacy of program/ strategies by identifying the shortcomings and communicating the same so t hat issues can be resolved with the help of parents, teachers, administrators and all those who can contribute positively to the wide goals of IEP. Response a This is hugely relevant for children with special need because the child could be having varying degree or sometime multi-lateral disabilities that need to be assessed. The thorough assessment helps to evolve effective strategies for inclusion of the child in the mainstream education system. Response b Success of IEP or for that matter, any social program is dependent of collaborative approach where community, government (in this case, school) and students together evolve solutions for defined problems. Answer 2 Cultural/ multicultural issues and considerations in special educations are vital part of the success of the program. Globalization has brought about tremendous changes to the social fabric which has increasing become multicultural, comprising of people coming from different race, color, nationality and culture. The ch allenges of complex nature of emerging new society must be met through promotion of cross cultural understanding. In special education, it becomes highly pertinent aspect of effective implementation as they need to incorporate the perspectives of diverse society and remove barriers of language and cross cultural paradigms that can be interpreted differently if cross cultural understanding is not developed. Huntington (1993) believed that major element of conflicts would be cultural based. The contemporary times has vindicated his claim. In some culture, looking directly at person is not respectable which can be construed as not paying attention by the western society. Hence, cross cultural understanding become crucial for all the persons who are working in the area of special education needs. Awareness of biases within the communities prepares the coordinators and all concerned to have flexible approach.  IEP strives to address these issues and ensures progress through feedback sy stem. Response c Indeed, the increasing diversity in the society necessitates cross cultural understanding and flexibility in approach. This would enable the counselors and teachers to understand the child and decipher his/ her problems with more accuracy. Response d These are interesting interludes that confirm the conflicts that are caused due to lack of knowledge about other cultures. In the contemporary times, diversity has become intrinsic part of society and therefore, one must strive to inculcate cross

Unit 6, Chapter 13 &14 part 2 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Unit 6, Chapter 13  part 2 - Coursework Example Polarized attitudes of â€Å"We vs. They† have established because they have developed their own focus rather than building a company focus. They are solely concerned with the profitability of their own units rather than looking on the bigger picture. Communication and cooperation had slacken-off and they are not sharing the vital information with each other, which can strongly affect the organizational productivity. Manufacturing and Marketing are the core functions of an organization so harmonious relationship between these two interfaces are crucial antecedents to business success. As the case has portrayed conflict between these two functions, we must manage the conflict between these units properly in order to run successful business operations. We first need to understand the issues these departments face, their strategies and the structure under which they operate. As specified in the case that the company is growing under a functional structure, this seems to be the ultimate root cause of the problem. The functional structure has its inherent disadvantages. Under such structures, the functions are detached from each other and they develop a â€Å"WE† attitude. Problems are analyzed from one perspective and the individuals within each function are isolated from each other and they have a little understanding of each other. Thus the conflict can be best managed by making structural changes in it. The most viable solution to the above problem is to move from a functional structure to a process-oriented or product team structure. The product team structure forms teams comprising of individuals from different organizational departments such as manufacturing, marketing, engineering and finance and these teams share common goals and objectives. Such teams assure that issues related with marketing and manufacturing departments will receive proper attention early on and provides a cross-sectional,

Thomas Hardy- the walk analysis Essay Example for Free

Thomas Hardy- the walk analysis Essay ‘I heard a fly buzz’ explores the cliche rituals of death being interrupted by this peculiar fly and being a distraction in the room to the deceased who supposedly should be in the limelight and the main focus of the room and primarily the main focus of attention. The death rituals is the idea of the deceased having close family mourning by his or her death bed and the decease looking almost near to perfect and having some sort of angelic feel to them. The death rituals also occur in many religions and the religious believers follow the rituals very strictly. Dickinson proclaims â€Å"the stillness in the room† she describes the state of the room as being â€Å"still† this could perhaps represent the fly taking ultimate control in the room. Or maybe represents people’s sheer horror of religion and the catastrophic consequences that comes along with it. Hence why there was this stillness in the room almost as the whole world paused in terror. By Dickinson in cooperating this ‘fly’ as some sort of interruption, perhaps it symbolises ‘religion’ almost suggesting we are so focused on religion we forget that death is fast approaching and will happen to every human currently living, hence why religion is an interruption from the real world and Dickinson wants people to realise that. ‘Flies’ are normally associated with dirt and disease carriers and also have an element of an satanic feel to them, flies also suck the blood out of humans. It is like they are slowly biting away at the human soul, perhaps this is reflecting Dickinson’s ideas about religion and how they are a corruption and destructing effect to our everyday life’s and even something as small as a fly could have more relevance than religion. As religion and tradition mean’s very little to Dickinson. Dickinson uses imagery as she proclaims in the poem â€Å"And then the windows failed† referring to the fact that if flies can escape through windows and the windows ‘failed’ then the flies could not escape, perhaps suggesting as humans we cannot escape death as it is fast approaching us. Because the fly did not leave the room as the ‘windows failed’ could perhaps be reflecting religion never leaving our life’s and always having this negative hold on us and, the idea that religion can never really escape and will always be there blind sighting and brainwashing us in the real world. It is as if religion is becoming this compulsory thing that is not allowed to leave us alone and will be there on our deathbeds waiting till the very last moment of our last breath similarly to the person in the poem. However the symbolism of â€Å"failed windows† could be the cause of death of the patient perhaps the patient had some sort of illness and the body was shutting down hence why the â€Å"windows failed† as after the line she proclaims â€Å"I could not see to see† as her windows are her eyes but the illness beat her and shut down her body. Dickinson uses imagery in the line â€Å"between the light and me† we possess from this line that this person might perhaps of faced a near death experience and going through this tunnel of light approaching before their final breath of life. It is as if there whole life has flashed in front of them and they are currently under- going the last stages of life. â€Å"between the light- and me- uses dashes to represent the tunnel the person is going through or perhaps we can gain another interpretation from the line perhaps â€Å"light suggests that it is coming from heaven and she is ready to be taken. However as the sentence uses dashes she is undermining heaven and wondering if it is a place her soul will take her too after she is dead or wonder if another life will be on the cards. Onomatopoeia is used in the line â€Å"I heard a fly buzz – when I died† flies usually make noises which drives a sane person to mental instability if it carries on for long enough. As Dickinson perhaps uses the symbolism for â€Å"fly† to refer to religion (something she is not very keen on) perhaps this â€Å"buzzing noise† could be a warning or something to haunt the person. Also perhaps this peculiar noise in the room is to distinguish its territory and remind the person who is about to die, religion will never leave you and the church hymns will forever be in your presence and constantly buzzing around you until you die hence why she heard a fly buzz-when she died† Dickinson capitalizes the line â€Å"Heaves of Storm† perhaps she is declaring her battle for survival, the battle is so violent there is nothing that could possibly protect her. Capitals are normally used for the name of places and perhaps she’s in a place with â€Å"Heaves of Storm† she’s completely locked in and fighting to break free or perhaps we can gain another interpretation from this line as may be the patient feels the upmost pain and terror and is fighting for freedom within themselves and perhaps there idea of freedom could possibly be death to end the internal struggle they are currently going through whilst being alive in a world they feel they don’t belong in. In â€Å"I heard a fly buzz† Dickinson uses the common metre of 8-6-8-6 syllables which is usually used in the hymns and ballads of her poem. In stanza 3, she states â€Å"I willed my keepsakes, signed away† which perhaps referring to the fact she is giving away her materialistic items and as the line has 8 syllables which it is the longest of the lot perhaps she has lots of items to give away which aren’t personal to her heart as she â€Å"signed away† extremely quickly perhaps she realises she’s about to die and is unable to take these useless items with her and wants to get rid of them and these items perhaps reflected the items in her life and showing she doesn’t feel life is of any value to her. She also states in a six syllable metre of â€Å"what portion of me be† possessing the fact that not many of her items she is signing away mean a lot to her and only a small portion she is truly accountable for. Dickinson perhaps uses the common metre here to show big or small if you die you cannot take your â€Å"keepsakes† with you when you die hence why she â€Å"signed away†. In the six-syllable line she proclaims â€Å"Assignable and then it was â€Å"perhaps meaning she didn’t have to think twice about writing her will as she realizes death is slowly approaching for her and the quicker these items go the faster she can focus on death.

Baz Luhrman´s Version of Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Essay -- Romeo

Baz Luhrman ´s Version of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet One of the characteristics of Elizabethan and also Jacobean drama is the low number of stage directions and the lack of details they contain. As a logical consequence theatrical representations or film versions of these ages may allow an important quantity of freedom in the performance. In other instances stage directions and other important theatrical elements are consciously left aside in order to create totally different visions of the original idea. That is not the case of Baz Luhrman ´s version of Romeo and Juliet filmed in 1996, which despite the numerous alterations of the original play still retains Shakespeare's initial conception. On the question of setting, instead of the Verona of the sixteenth century in Italy, the action occurs in another Verona in the nineties, a coastal city dominated by two large skyscrapers belonging to the Montagues and the Capulets respectively, two adversary industrial powers. The places appearing in the play are barely respected, however the Capulet ´s mansion including its walls and garden appear both in the play and the film due to the fact that the events taking place there are crucial because it is the place in which Romeo and Juliet ´s first meet and develop their love affair. Apart from this, they are forbidden for Romeo, so any other location would have reduced the tension of his intrusions. In addition to this, in the film the streets of Verona are repeatedly replaced by the beach, and so the friar Lawrence ´s cell by his chapel. It is usual to find that whereas in a single scene of the play the events occur in a single space location, in the film it is possible to see more than one, as in the case of the first scene o... ...already dead. Apart from these elisions, some passages or sentences are extrapolated as in the case of 5.3., when Romeo says: "thy drugs are quick" referring to the apothecary's poison. This sentence only appears before Romeo and his friends go to the fancy-dress ball referring to the ecstasy tablet that Mercutio gives him. An interest case regarding to the text is prince Escalus' last intervention (5.3.), that in Luhrman's versions is performed by a newsreader on a t.v. who also performs the role of the chorus at the very beginning of the play. From all this, it follows that faithfulness is the key word since this version, unlike others as West Side Story by Jerome Robins and Robert Wise, retains the basic plot, metrics and literary devices in order to achieve a faithful and, at the same, time new vision of the Shakespeare's work that keeps his poetic richness.

Purtsuit or Happyness: True Story Essay

Christopher Paul Gardner (born February 9, 1954 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a self-made millionaire, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and philanthropist who, during the early 1980s, struggled with homelessness while raising his toddler son, Christopher, Jr. Gardner’s book of memoirs, The Pursuit of Happyness, was published in May 2006. As of 2006, he is CEO of his own stockbrokerage firm, Gardner Rich & Co, based in Chicago, Illinois, where he resides when he is not living in New York City. Gardner credits his tenacity and success to the â€Å"spiritual genetics† handed down to him by his mother, Bettye Jean Triplett, nà ©e Gardner,[2][3][4] and to the high expectations placed on him by his children, son Chris Jr. (born 1981) and daughter Jacintha (born 1985). Gardner’s personal struggle of establishing himself as a stockbroker while managing fatherhood and homelessness is portrayed in the 2006 motion picture The Pursuit of Happyness, starring Will Smith. The movie, starring Will Smith, Thandie Newton, and Smith’s son Jaden Smith, focused on Gardner’s nearly one-year struggle with homelessness. The movie grossed $163 million domestically at the box office and over $300 million worldwide, also one of Will Smith’s consecutive $100 million blockbusters. The movie took some liberties with Gardner’s true life story. Certain details and events that actually took place over the span of several years were compressed into a relatively short time and although eight-year-old Jaden portrayed Chris Jr. as a five year-old, Gardner’s son was just a toddler at the time. Chris Gardner reportedly thought Smith—an actor best known for his performances in action movies—was miscast to play him. However, he said his daughter Jacintha â€Å"set him straight† by saying, â€Å"If Smith can play Muhammad Ali, he can play you!† Gardner makes a cameo appearance in the film, walking past Will and Jaden in the final scene. Gardner and Will acknowledge each other; Will then looks back at Gardner walking away as his son proceeds to tell him knock knock jokes. Pursuit of Happyness: Questions 1. Identify some of the challenges that Chris Gardner faced when trying to sell his bone-density scanners. 2. What were some of the challenges that Chris’s wife Linda had to face? 3. List some of the risks that Chris Gardner faced in getting the job at Dean Witter. 4. What would result if Chris had given up on his dream of getting a job at Dean Witter? 5. Summarize some of the difficulties that Chris had to face while training at Dean Witter. 6. Did Christopher (Chris Gardner’s son) face challenges during this time? Identify some of those challenges. 7. List some of the alternatives that Chris and his son could have done to make their life better. 8. Explain how Chris felt at the beginning, middle, and end of the story. 9. Select parts of the story that were the funniest, saddest, happiest, and most unbelievable. 10. Select an action of one of the characters that was exactly the same as something you would have done. Part 3: Essay: Write a half page response to the following writing prompt. How can you take the lessons learned in watching this film to your life?