Thursday, December 26, 2019

Pigs Ancient Weapons of Biological Warfare

The Greeks and Romans really used anything they could to get ahead in the game of war †¦ and that includes using pigs in battle! They lit porkers on fire and flinging them at mighty war elephants, some of the most frightening creatures on the battlefield. The ancients might not have won the war every time (especially if PETA had been around), but war pigs helped them win the battle. Alexander the Great: No Friend to Pigs Elephants were a key part of warfare in the ancient Mediterranean and Asia.   The Carthaginians used them to attempt to conquer Rome, for one, while the Seleucid king Seleucus  I Nicator even got a monopoly on Indian elephants to use in war. According to Pausanias in his Description of Greece, â€Å"The first European to acquire elephants was Alexander, after subduing Porus and the power of the Indians ... Pyrrhus captured his beasts in the battle with Demetrius . When on this occasion, they came in sight the Romans were seized with panic, and did not believe they were animals.† But how did people combat these massive vehicles? With pigs! Apparently, Alexander the Great first learned about setting pigs on fire from an Indian ruler. Alexander fought King Porus in 326 B.C., but after Alex defeated his enemy at the Battle of the Hydaspes River, chronicled in the pseudo-historical Alexander Romance, the two became pals. When one thousand wild elephants headed towards Alexander, legend has it, Porus advised him to grab pigs and trumpets to oppose the incoming animals. Alexander made the pigs keep squealing. Along with blowing the trumpets, the sound scared the elephants off. Elephants vs. Pigs: An Eternal Battle This secret  of pigs vs. pachyderms was one that Pliny related in his Natural History. The author confessed that elephants tread under foot whole companies, and crush the men in their armor. The very least sound, however, of the grunting of the hog terrifies them: when wounded and panic-stricken, they invariably fall back, and become no less formidable for the destruction which they deal to their own side, than to their opponents.† Plutarch added, â€Å"The lion also vehemently hates the cock, and the elephant the hog; but this probably proceeds from fear; for what they fear, the same are they inclined to hate.† The Romans learned from Alexander the Great’s victories. As Aelian wrote in his On the Nature of Animals, â€Å"The elephant is frightened of rams and the squealing of pigs, and the Romans put both to use in sending the elephants of Pyrrhus of Epirus in flight, by which the Romans won a resounding victory.† When King Pyrrhus sent his army of twelve war elephants rampaging across Italy in the third century B.C., the Romans found their tactics in the farmyard. They noticed that that horned rams, torches, and pigs all freaked the elephants out †¦ so they sicced their barnyard friends on the pachyderms and won! Aelian enjoys chronicling the misadventures of pigs in war. He noted, â€Å"I have already mentioned that elephants are terribly afraid of pigs. Antigonus [II Gonatas, king of Macedonia] once besieged the city of Megara. The Macedonians coated some pigs with pitch, set them afire, and turned them loose, and the pigs, shrieking in pain and panic, went tumbling into the elephant cavalry and set the elephants in panic in turn.† Polyaenus echoed this in his   Strategems, â€Å"The pigs grunted and shrieked under the torture of the fire, and sprang forwards as hard as they could among the elephants, who broke their ranks in confusion and fright, and ran off in different directions.† Aelian agreed, â€Å"The elephants, though highly trained, would not obey orders afterward. It may be that elephants simply cannot stand pigs in general, or they are afraid of their screaming and squealing.† Stanford University classicist Adrienne Mayor suggested that these pigs, set on fire with resin, may have even been the first hybrid biological-chemical weapons in her Greek Fire, Poison Arrows Scorpion Bombs: Biological and Chemical Warfare in the Ancient World. This disaster led the elephant trainers to train their young charges with baby pigs so future generations of these war animals wouldn’t be afraid of their opponents’ battle tactics. In The Wars of Justinian, the late antique historian Procopius chronicles some porcine adventures in battle. When Khosrau I, king of Persia, besieged the Mesopotamian city of Edessa in 544 A.D., one of his war elephants nearly overpowered the enemy and got into town. Pigs ended up saving the day. â€Å"But the Romans,† wrote Procopius, â€Å"by dangling a pig from the tower, escaped the peril. As the pig was hanging there, he naturally squealed and this so irritated the elephant and stepping back little by little, withdrew.† Poor pig †¦ but lives were saved thanks to this guy. Now, if only the Romans had used them against Hannibal and his elephants. This wasn’t the end of elephants in warfare – no word on whether pigs were used often to frighten them. There was even a Year of the Elephant, 622 A.D., when a Christian king allegedly tried to invade Mecca and his battle elephant supposedly stopped before he could do so. Thousands of elephants were utilized in Indian warfare around in the eleventh century A.D. Even Emperor Akbar allegedly got 12,000 pachyderms to help him out! Thankfully, these guys have earned an honorable retirement in recent years.

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Willie Lomans Tragic Misinterpretation of the American...

Willie Loman is an ordinary man who embodies traditional American values of success. He has reached the age where he can no longer compete successful in his chosen career, that of a traveling salesman. Faced with the termination of his job, he begins to examine his past life to determine its value. At this critical point in Willie’s existence, his oldest son Biff has returned home for a visit, and Willie’s old desire for his son to be a traditional success in life is rekindled. But the old tensions between the two men are also renewed. Once again, to Willie’s great disappointment, his son rejects Willie’s values and aspirations. (â€Å"Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller 1949 Drama†) The â€Å"American Dream† is â€Å"the belief that through the pioneer†¦show more content†¦Willy Loman had accomplished the historical American Dream but because of his ambition he did not realize it. When Willy was deciding to go with his brother to look for his father he met Dave Singleman. Dave was an  ¨eighty four year old salesman who had drummed merchandise in thirty-one states and who could now simply go into his hotel room, call the buyers, and make his living in his green velvet slippers ¨ (Stanton 131).This view of a tranquil and successful career made him reconsider his decision and instead of going to Alaska he chose to be a salesman. It seems that Willy saw a â€Å"father figure† in Dave, so he followed the same path, hoping he would have the same future and the same success in the field (Stanton 133). After thirty five years of his career he saw he hasn’t accomplished the success that he wanted. He devoted his life into a career as a salesman knowing that he was good with his hands, but  ¨he possessed too much snobbery to admit that his own destiny was in a simple career as a carpenter ¨ (â€Å"Death of a Salesman†). For Willy the difference between a white collar job and a blue collar job meant a lot, but he didn’t do much to gain a white collar one and he stayed with his old job. His career as a salesman did give him and his family the normal success people would want. Willy wanted more, and since he saw he didn’t accomplished it, he taught his kids into his

Monday, December 9, 2019

Health and Safety Beneficial for the Employees

Questions: 1. Evaluate current health and safety Acts, Regulations and their application in the built environment with particular emphasis to the engineering and construction sectors;2. Demonstrate a wide knowledge of the nature of human factors and their influence upon safe work planning. Develop and apply human factor analysis to human errors in work place planning3. Analyse working situations, develop and apply strategies which ensure effective management of health and safety ;4. Appraise the study of health and safety culture, the root of malpractice and consider processes of development of accident free working environments by reference to case studies and example situations? Answers: Introduction Today industrialization is considered as a growth parameter of a country as well as a region, and the workers are considered as the cornerstone of an Industry. However, it is found that in most of the cases the workers in the industries experiences more health hazards than workers in other field are. Therefore, it is important for the company managements to take care of the health and safety of the workers or labors who are exposed to the hazardous conditions while working for their company (Hymel et al. 2011). The Occupational health and safety (OHS) or the occupational safety and health (OSH) or workplace health and safety (WHS) is a well-versed field that deals with safety, welfare and health of the people who are who are engaged in employment or work. According to WHO (World Health Organization), occupational health deals with all aspects of health and safety in the workplace and has a strong focus on primary prevention of hazards (Gnoni et al. 2013). The goal of OSH is to foster a better, healthier and safer working environment for the workers. Health and safety management of a company not only focus on the safety of a worker but also co-workers, family members, even customers who may get affected by the environment of a workplace. Workplace hazards It is the responsibility of the employers of a company to protect their workers from possible health hazards of their workplace. On the other hand, the workers have rights to know about the possible hazards of their working environment (Hughes and Ferrett 2012). There are different type workplace hazards such as biological hazards, airborne substances, noise exposure, sunlight exposure, chemical exposure and biomechanical demands. Figure 1: Different types of hazards in workplace Responsibility of the management systems The management of a company plays a key role to take care of the safety of the workers involved in this company. It is the responsibility of the management system to build up a safety organization within a company and implement proper safety rules and regulation to control the work force of a company (Zalk et al. 2010). The authority needs to perform safety and health inspections in a regular time interval and analyze job hazard analysis for an individual employee. Besides, the workplace needs to be prepared for the emergencies or accidents. The management also has to provide proper training to the workers so that they do not easily get hurt themselves. The management is bound to serve proper equipment to the workers so that they can protect themselves from the hazardous environments of the company (Hale et al. 2010). Preparing a safer place, in turn, helps the company to build their reputation and increase their work force. To prepare a safety working cycle the management needs to p repare development plan then implement those steps in the work place. The authority also needs to measure and take corrective actions, which will lead to prepare a perfect safety policy for the workers. Figure 2: Preparation of safety policies Identification of safety and health hazards of a work place The identification of safety and health hazards varies from country to country. A hazard is considered as something, which is harmful to the workers. On the other hand, a risk is considered as a blend of probability that an outcome will be found and the harshness of the harm concerned. Hazard, risk, and outcome are the three words that are used mostly in the field of work places, especially in industries. According to OSH (Occupational health and safety), "harm" can be described and divided in the different contest as harm can be caused due to different reasons in the workplace. Harm in a workplace can be divided into different types such as permanent or temporary, mental, physical, indirect or direct, or social being of workers. Such as when the workers in the industrial area forced to handle heavy objects manually, they may get hurt, which is recognized as physical hazards (Armstrong and Taylor 2014). On the other hand, biochemical and chemical hazards can take place in a workplace while handling chemical manuals without proper equipment to protection. This kind of hazards can take place in a workplace like industries and the health care centers. This biochemical or chemical hazards can be considered as permanent or temporary depending on the severity of the injury experienced by the workers. On the other hand, the workers in the industries of third world countries it is observed that most of the workers in those industrial areas are forced to work under sunlight. Exposure to noise is another problem faced by the workers in the industrial area (Elsler et al. 2010). Exposure to sunlight or in loud noises may cause health problems to the workers such as vomiting, dizziness, deafness etc. To avoid these consequences, it is important the management of the company should take proper steps to train the workers how to handle different chemicals as well as provide those proper equipment that will be helpful to protect the workers from the potential hazards of the wor kplace. Safety planning of a workplace Offering safety to the workers always showed positive feedback and company with good safety cards always attracts more works. Adequate implementation of safety plans is helpful to encourage the workers to be get involved in a work, which may have the potentiality to harm the workers' health. However, safety planning for a workplace is not an easy job to do. Preparation of safety planning includes several steps, which need some patients to implement in the working area. At first, the management needs to publish a statement that clearly showed their concern about the safety priority of the workers in the company or organization (Hughes and Ferrett 2011). Publication of this prior statement is helpful to gain the worker's confidence that the company or the organization management is concerned about their health and well-beings. Then the management authority should clarify their aim, which also needs to be a clear and precise statement stating their goal in the context of achieving worke r's safety. A specific list of objectives is also helpful to stay on the right track and begin the safety planning for an organization or a company. The objectives of the safety planning should include development of workplace environment, providing proper safety equipment to the workers, to teach the workers about the potential harm that can be caused during working in a particular environment, to provide training to the workers and staffs about how to stay safe and the duties in a medical emergency (Vinodkumar and Bhasi 2011). Then the management needs to build proper infrastructure to carry out their objectives and provide necessary safety to their staffs. In this context, the management needs to perform an assessment of risks and hazards of a particular working environment. This hazards and risks management may take some times as the procedure includes several steps such as interviewing the workers about the accidents they faced during their working period. The management also n eeds to check and find if the organization has proper equipment for the safety of workers, find out if the workers have the proper training to handle the hazardous situation or can handle chemicals that are corrosive and able to cause biohazards, etc. Then the management needs to put proper preventions to eliminate the potential health hazards. After the identification of the hazards, the management should conduct a risk assessment and analyze the result in a proper way (Granerud and Rocha 2011). The last step that can be taken by the management body is to monitor the implementation of safety procedures and rule. The proper monitoring and review will be helpful to find out further loop holes in the safety system implemented for the workers. Figure 3: Occupational health safety plan However, it is found that apart from all types of hazards mentioned and discussed above, there is another emerging health risk is emerging among the workers and currently considered as the top of the problem lists of a company or an organization. The emerging concern is the psychological risks experienced by the workers in a working place (Bond, Tuckey and Dollard 2010). In most of the cases, it is observed that the workers fainted in their work place due to losing their nerve control. According to the researchers, the reason behind this health issue in a work place is the psychological pressure experienced by the workers or staff in a certain work place (Nakao 2010). However, the psychological condition varies from person to person. Therefore, to resolve this problem the management authority of a company or an organization needs to perform a psychological assessment of their workers or staffs by a professional psychiatrist and evaluate the psychological compatibility of a worker or staff within the company. Benefits of health and safety management in a work place From the history of severe accidents took place in the industries it can be learned the health and safety should be considered with priority in a workplace. From the previous researches it is observed that no matter how big or small the business is, the authority needs to manage the safety of the workers (Locke and Romis 2012). The health and safety issue should be considered by management as their responsibility, not as their burden. In most of the cases, it is recognized that the workers who feel safe and have a welcoming environment in their workplace they feel inspired to work in that place and try to engage their friends and families in the same work place, which is certainly a beneficial factor for the growth of a company or an organization. Managing safety in the workplace is not only beneficial for the workers, but the company is also benefited. On the other hand, the numbers of industries are growing day by day. Therefore, if a company or an organization fails to meet the sa fety demand of the workers, then that may have the potentiality to harm the workers concentration (Goetsch 2013). The benefits of the implementation of safety and health can be experienced by a company is as follows- The company or the organization will be able to have a happy, healthy and motivated team. The safety enhancement can also enhance the profitability and the performance of the workers. This step can be proved as beneficial to achieve the liability insurance based on the preferential rates. Extra safety in the workplace can ensure the reduction of sick leave. Extra safety in the workplace can ensure the reduction of employee turnover. The workers will have peace of mind and will be encouraged to work with their best. Extra safety can also be proved as beneficial for the company or an organization to grow their reputation. The company will not face any legislation problems in the context of violating rules and not taking care of the workers safety. Challenges to implementing proper health and safety management in a workplace The implementation of health and safety of the patients are necessary; however it is found that most of that company faces different difficulties while implementing the safety process for the workers. It is observed that in most of the cases the small business sectors or growing companies face difficulties to ensure their workers safety due to the lack of experience and the shortage of resources (Santos et al. 2013). Therefore, they fail to offer adequate safety to the workers and attract them to work for their companies or organizations. On the other hand, the bigger industries also face difficulties regarding the health and safety of their workers. It is noticed that larger MNC companies have more than one branches and the authority management experience difficulties to control of the branches, which leads to the negligence of the health and safety of the workers and staffs within the company (Nahrgang, Morgeson and Hofmann 2011). To resolve this problem, the bigger companies need to assess health and safety condition of the different branches separately and evaluate the condition of the workers yearly as well as providing them proper training to keep themselves safe. The current health and safety acts and their application in a work place environment From the previous researches, it is observed that the practice of occupational safety and health vary within different nations. Every nation has their own regulation, incentives, legislation, policies and enforcement for compliance (Salvendy 2012). Therefore, sometimes it becomes difficult for the international companies to maintain the safety rules in their different branches of different countries. From researches, it is found that Italy has the highest number if full-time OSH inspectors per one million full-time employees (Goetsch 2011). The health and safety policies of different countries are considered as one of the most important criteria of the development of a country. Conclusion The health and safety are not only important or beneficial for the employees within a company but also, in turn, helps in the growth of a company. The safety in workplace encourages the employees more to give their best for the company. On the other hand, from the above discussion it can be said the implementation of health and safety rules may be essential for the company but it is indeed a time-consuming process and full of difficulties. However, there are certain ways and policies that can be applied by the companies to overcome the barriers and fulfill their aim. References Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014.Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers. Bond, S.A., Tuckey, M.R. and Dollard, M.F., 2010. Psychosocial safety climate, workplace bullying, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress.Organization Development Journal,28(1), p.37. Elsler, D., Treutlein, D., Rydlewska, I., Frusteri, L., Krger, H., Veerman, T., Eeckelaert, L., Roskams, N., Van Den Broek, K. and Taylor, T.N., 2010. A review of case studies evaluating economic incentives to promote occupational safety and health.Scandinavian journal of work, environment health, pp.289-298. Gnoni, M.G., Andriulo, S., Maggio, G. and Nardone, P., 2013. Lean occupational safety: An application for a Near-miss Management System design.Safety science,53, pp.96-104. Goetsch, D.L., 2011. Occupational Safety and Health for Technologists, Engineers, and. Goetsch, D.L., 2013.Construction safety and health. NJ: Pearson. Granerud, R.L. and Rocha, R.S., 2011. Organisational learning and continuous improvement of health and safety in certified manufacturers.Safety Science,49(7), pp.1030-1039. Hale, A.R., Guldenmund, F.W., Van Loenhout, P.L.C.H. and Oh, J.I.H., 2010. Evaluating safety management and culture interventions to improve safety: Effective intervention strategies.Safety Science,48(8), pp.1026-1035. Hughes, P. and Ferrett, E., 2011.Introduction to health and safety at work. Routledge. Hughes, P. and Ferrett, E., 2012.Introduction to health and safety in construction. Routledge. Hymel, P.A., Loeppke, R.R., Baase, C.M., Burton, W.N., Hartenbaum, N.P., Hudson, T.W., McLellan, R.K., Mueller, K.L., Roberts, M.A., Yarborough, C.M. and Konicki, D.L., 2011. Workplace health protection and promotion: a new pathway for a healthierand saferworkforce.Journal of occupational and environmental medicine,53(6), pp.695-702. Locke, R.M. and Romis, M., 2012. Improving work conditions in global supply chains.MIT Sloan Management Review,48. Nahrgang, J.D., Morgeson, F.P. and Hofmann, D.A., 2011. Safety at work: a meta-analytic investigation of the link between job demands, job resources, burnout, engagement, and safety outcomes.Journal of Applied Psychology,96(1), p.71. Nakao, M., 2010. Work-related stress and psychosomatic medicine.Biopsychosoc Med,4(1), p.4. Salvendy, G., 2012.Handbook of human factors and ergonomics. John Wiley Sons. Santos, G., Barros, S., Mendes, F. and Lopes, N., 2013. The main benefits associated with health and safety management systems certification in Portuguese small and medium enterprises post quality management system certification.Safety science,51(1), pp.29-36. Vinodkumar, M.N. and Bhasi, M., 2011. A study on the impact of management system certification on safety management.Safety Science,49(3), pp.498-507. Zalk, D.M., Kamerzell, R., Paik, S., Kapp, J., Harrington, D. and Swuste, P., 2010. Risk level based management system: a control banding model for occupational health and safety risk management in a highly regulated environment.Industrial health,48(1), pp.18-28. Answers:

Monday, December 2, 2019

Shania W oodard Hist 1323 Professor Jones 1230pm- Essays

Shania W oodard Hist 1323 Professor Jones 12:30pm-1:50pm Mississippi, is This America? "Mississippi" opens with outrage of hatred and massive of violence to stop voter registration drive and any change in the Mississippi state. The citizens of US can identify that had a horrible history on fighting for equality, especially in the South area of Mississippi. Mississippi take place in the civil right movement around 1962 til 1964 for it people and land to integrated and welcome the rest of the America. To change Mississippi and it white southern, they would risk beatings, arrest, and killing their lives. Many states in the US have had their share of discrimination, but Mississippi has by far been the worst. In 1954 the citizens council was established in the delta, the northwest section of the state where blacks outnumbered whites. The council purpose was to preserve the white political power by opposing integration. Banker, politicians and ow ner of businesses in the citizen council throughout the south and would punished people who supported integration or black voting rights which foreclosing mortgages, firing workers, or refusing loans to frames. Also use they influence to put through laws that would insure continues white domination. However the center of Mississippi struggle for power due to the black vote. In some Counties black would outnumbered the white vote four to one, which that be a pretty huge record in today generation. In 1962, blacks were not allow to registered in many counties. Black was being put off the plantations, threatened to put them in jails, and some would even be murdered just because they wanted to register to vote and stop any kind of blacks politician activity which made registration more difficult. As the struggle of voting right escalated in the delta, tension build in Jackson Mississippi where the state capital and the last stop of the freedom rides in 1961. Medgar Ever s, the leader of NAACP state field secretary who organized a boycott of downtown businesses in Jackson, Mississippi capital as part of the fight against segregation. He also help supported James Meredith during the battle to integrate the university of Mississippi to enroll. Medgar Evers has been assassinated in front of his driveway soon he got home. The sad thing is the police would even attack the black southern at Medgar funeral just to get them off the street and stop marching and making a big crowd for his funeral. His assassination motivated Bob Moses, who field director of the SNCC, to join local activists in a high-risk voter registration drive. Along with activists from the CORE and SNCC, Moses, announced plans for an interracial campaign called "Freedom Summer". Three man from Freedom summer Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schweitzer went to go investigate the burning of black Methodist church that had been the scene of civil right meeting just week befor e it was burn down. A Deputy sheriff stop the three man outside the town by Philadelphia and was release that night. With in days, they disappeared and went to national news. They was found in an "Earthen Damn", as the video showed, along with thirteen other bodies. Segregationists in Mississippi were so impassioned against blacks receiving an education or the right to vote, they literary to drastic measures against their own people, which were a handful of whites that had sympathy for blacks. Mississippi still wasn't at peace! The black of Mississippi created they own party known as The National Democratic Party, because they would get literacy test or oral exam that created a way for black to black and reject them for voting. This made blacks want to protest this allegation above the state because now that integration had been achieved so much so far, they were now citizens which meant they had the right to vote as much as any white person did. They march to the convention they were denied of being able to sit in the ceremony due to discrimination but was offered for just two people may sit in. They declined that offer and felt that they didn't march all the way to be offered only two seats. In 1965 they finally granted the right to have a vote,