The Pyramid of the Magician - Maya Site of Uxmal Mexico

The Pyramid of the Magician - Maya Site of Uxmal Mexico The Pyramid of the Magician, also known as the House of the Dwarf (Casa del Adivino, or Casa del Enano), is one of the most famous Maya monuments of Uxmal, an archaeological site in the Puuc region of Yucatan, in the northern Maya Lowland of Mexico. History Of the Pyramid Of the Magician Its name comes from a Maya tale of the 19th century, titled the Leyenda del Enano de Uxmal (The Legend of the Uxmal’s Dwarf). According to this legend, a dwarf constructed the pyramid in one night, helped by his mother, a witch. This building is one of the most impressive of Uxmal, measuring about 115 feet in height. It was constructed  over the Late and Terminal Classic periods, between AD 600 and 1000,  and five constructive phases have been detected. The one visible today is the latest one, built around AD 900-1000. The pyramid, over which the actual temple stands, has a peculiar elliptical form.  Two staircases lead to the top of the pyramid. The Eastern staircase, the wider, has a small temple along the way that cut the stairway in half. The second access stair, the Western, faces the Nunnery Quadrangle and is decorated with friezes of the rain god Chaac. The Pyramid of the Magician is the first building a visitor encounters entering the ceremonial area of Uxmal, just north of the Ball Game Court and the Palace of the Governor and east of the Nunnery Quadrangle. Several phases of the temple constructed on top of the pyramid are visible while ascending the pyramid from the base to the top. Five construction phases have been detected (Temple I, II, III, IV, V). The facades of the different phases  were decorated with stone masks of the rain god Chaac, typical of the Puuc architectural style of the region. Sources Mc Killop, Heather, 2004, The Ancient Maya. New Perspectives. ABC-CLIO. Santa Barbara, CaliforniaAA.VV. 2006, Los Mayas. Rutas Arqueologicas: Yucatan y Quintana Roo. Edicià ³n Especial de Arqueologia Mexicana, num. 21 (www.arqueomex.com)

Dian Fossey, Primatologist - Profile and Biography

Dian Fossey, Primatologist - Profile and Biography Dian Fossey Facts: Known for: study of mountain gorillas, work to preserve habitat for gorillasOccupation: primatologist, scientistDates: January 16, 1932 - December 26?, 1985 Dian Fossey Biography: Dian Fosseys father, George Fossey, left the family when Dian was only three.   Her mother, Kitty Kidd, remarried, but Dians stepfather, Richard Price, discouraged Dians plans.  An uncle paid for her education.   Dian Fossey studied as a preveterinary student in her undergraduate work before transferring to an occupational therapy program. She spent seven years as director of occupational therapy in a Louisville, Kentucky hospital, taking care of children with disabilities. Dian Fossey developed an interest in mountain gorillas, and wanted to see them in their natural habitat. Her first visit to the mountain gorillas came when she went in 1963 on a seven-week safari. She met with Mary and Louis Leakey before traveling to Zaire. She returned to Kentucky and her job. Three years later, Louis Leakey visited Dian Fossey in Kentucky to urge her to follow through on her desire to study the gorillas. He told her she later found it it was to test her commitment to have her appendix removed prior to moving to Africa to spend an extended time studying the gorillas. After raising funds, including support from the Leakeys, Dian Fossey returned to Africa, visited Jane Goodall to learn from her, and then made her way to Zaire and the home of the mountain gorillas. Dian Fossey earned the trust of the gorillas, but human beings were another matter. She was taken into custody in Zaire, escaped to Uganda, and moved to Rwanda to continue her work. She created the Karisoke Research Centre in Rwanda in a high mountain range, the Virunga Volcano mountains, though the thin air challenged her asthma.   She hired Africans to help with her work, but lived alone. By techniques she developed, especially imitation of the gorilla behavior, she was again accepted as an observer by a group of mountain gorillas there. Fossey discovered and publicized their peaceful nature and their nurturing family relationships. Contrary to standard scientific practice of the time, she even named the individuals. From 1970-1974, Fossey went to England to get her doctorate at Cambridge University, in zoology, as a way of lending more legitimacy to her work. Her dissertation summarized her work thus far with the gorillas. Returning to Africa, Fossey began taking in research volunteers who extended the work shed been doing. She began to focus more on conservation programs, recognizing that between habitat loss and poaching, the gorilla population had been cut in half in the area in only 20 years. When one of her favorite gorillas, Digit, was killed, she began a very public campaign against poachers who killed gorillas, offering rewards and alienating some of her supporters.   American officials, including the Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, persuaded Fossey to leave Africa.   Back in America in 1980, she received medical attention for conditions that had been aggravated by her isolation and poor nutrition and care. Fossey taught at Cornell University. In 1983 she published Gorillas in the Mist, a popularized version of her studies. Saying she preferred gorillas to people, she returned to Africa and to her gorilla research, as well as to her anti-poaching activity. On December 26, 1985, her body was discovered near the research center. Presumably, Dian Fossey had been killed by the poachers shed fought, or their political allies, though Rwandan officials blamed her assistant.   Her murder has never been solved. She was buried in the gorilla cemetery at her Rwandan research station. On her gravestone: No one loved gorillas more... She joins other famous women environmentalists, ecofeminists, and scientists like Rachel Carson, Jane Goodall, and Wangari Maathai. Bibliography Gorillas in the Mist: Dian Fossey. 1988. Dian Fossey: Befriending the Gorillas. Suzanne Freedman, 1997. Woman in the Mists: The Story of Dian Fossey the Mountain Gorillas of Africa. Farley Mowat, 1988. Light Shining Through the Mist: A Photobiography of Dian Fossey: Tom L. Matthews. 1998. Walking with the Great Apes: Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, Birute Galdikas. Sy Montgomery, 1992.   Murders in the Mist: Who Killed Dian Fossey?  Ã‚  Nicholas Gordon, 1993. The Dark Romance of Dian Fossey. Harold Hayes, 1990. African Madness. Alex Shoumatoff, 1988. Family Father: George Fossey, insurance salesMother: Kitty Kidd, modelStepfather: Richard Price Education University of California at DavisSan Jose State College

Care planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Care planning - Essay Example Hall et al. suggests that individualized and nursing care plans should be developed and these plans are ways of improving service user recovery (Hall et al., 2013). Despite care plans being an important tool in delivering health care services, the health care professionals often misunderstand them and the administration treats them as an extra task (Norman et al., 2009). According to Norman et al. (2009) during practice challenges occur during the implementation of care plan that is focused and personalized in compliance with individual service user needs. For example a service user may be acutely ill at the time of admission. During admission, it may be hard for the nurses to initiate individualized care because the service user may not be in the right mental state and may not be able to provide insight for the development of his/her care plan. Furthermore, the environment of acute mental health settings is very busy, there is lack of staff and unforeseen events might occur. This environment may negatively impact therapeutic engagement with service users and may even hamper individualized care planning with (Cleary et al., 2012). This essay examines the evidence that supports/reflects best practice in respect to care planning in acute setting and this essay focuses on devising a strategy for introducing best practice. The strategy will be developed while consideration factors those are likely to assist and hinder the implementation of evidence-based practice. According to a report published by Department of Health (2011) nursing care plans are central components of nursing services that are delivered to the service users. Research suggests that in developing and planning care plans for service users, nurses should adopt the provision of individualized care that is personalized to the needs of the user (Department of Health, 2011). According to Butterworth (2012), the focus of this approach is to involve service users and see things from their

Strategic Planning and Organizational Mandates Assignment

Strategic Planning and Organizational Mandates - Assignment Example AmeriCare is an organization with the mandate of offing relief programs and health in situations of a disaster by delivering medication and medical supplies to these victims. The organization has the mandate of providing people with humanitarian assistance in different countries around the world. Moreover, the organization has been providing aid worth ten billion to more than one hundred and forty countries (Americares, 2011). Moreover, AmeriCares also provides medical support by establishing free clinics, non-for profit pharmacies and numerous hospitals in different parts of the world to assist poor. Americare is an organization with a mission of offering relief and charitable assistance, thereby responding to emergencies caused by disasters. Moreover, they have upheld values towards their assistance programs, which are offered to victims of a disaster with emergency medical needs. Stakeholders in Americare organization include private sector donors, the government and other associates who facilitate operations of the organization. In fact, these parties assist the organization to execute their mandate of ensuring that people are living longer and healthier. Moreover, this requires supply of critical medicine and health care services to people from different parts of the world. Other stakeholders include leading pharmaceutical companies and medical manufacturers who offer medical supplied to the organization. The organization has managed to acquire partnership with over 2000 hospitals, clinics and community health programs in numerous parts of the world. There are other stakeholders, who include international and local nongovernmental organizations and ministries. Americare has gathered products donations from the private sector, and they determine the urgency of various needs to intervene through their assistance. Moreover, they have the ability to convince their stakeholders to offer financial support, which they send to affected areas through airlift and ocean cargo. Americare has acquired health care professionals, who are deployed in impecunious regions with people suffering from different disasters.

Problem Solving and Google Essay Example for Free

Problem Solving and Google Essay Outstanding opportunities for employees. Google is open for very talented and inspired people, and give best opportunity to be promoted in professional sphere. Example, Oleg, starting his career as an engineer become a leader of developing tools department team after only 8 months period. This is I think very motivating staff. Looking at google HRM site, everything brought so understandable, and impressively clear, I feel that Google knows distinctively what they want from their personnel and how attract people with best abilities. There pretty much attractive links, where I found about working at google, employees tell about why they love working in company. And there are very excellent stories about life at google and all other important info. Company has annual two day conference, where thousands of developers bring together and make a brainstorm the technology of tomorrow. The innovation strategy also is very impressive at google. Becoming the best searching engine in the world, they never stop paying attention to innovation for solving best world challenges. Noticing this it’s understandable how Scott had a long career with Google, as at have developing atmosphere. Compared to other giant companies’ sites, like Shell, Exxon, Microsoft etc., I see that they better deliver information and attract people to become a Googler. For example, teams and roles link design very compactly, and contains brief and excellent explanation of each titles. As Google wrote on their site, It’s really Cool. Telling about Google benefits the company says that they offer excellent social package, for keeping employees healthy, emotionally and financially better. This is of corse common for all great organizations, but the one thing I liked more is their program of travel without worries. Google states that â€Å"Googlers and their families are covered with travel insurance and emergency assistance even on pers onal vacations.† If this is true, this point will be one more magnetic force for increasing of applicants, who will love to work at Google. Noticing that even with more management, Google had a loose organization structure, finally people are self-motivated and  self-managed at every level. Each issue is done through a common mission, shared goals, personal responsibility. I think this helps to create the filling among all employees that they work and act as one big real family, and everybody has freedom. Also it should be noted about condition for new hires. Managers conduct a meeting with junior employees, and help them come up with ways to improve their jobs. This is a significant step up in organization of development of employees and in achieving right direction to professional goals, and respectively it will bring to more business expand. To sum up all above: Answer to Question 2: As recruiting is very important because the more applicants you have, the more selective the company should be. And Google says that over the past couple of years, they spent a lot of time making the hiring process as efficient as possible, reducing time-to-hire and increasing our communications to candidates. They state that they’re looking for smart, team-oriented people who can get things done. And the company makes interview with candidate by evolving four or five present employees. And there are 4 main criteria for successful candidates: leadership, role-related knowledge (strengths, passions, and skills in area of knowledge), how you think (problem solving abilities) and googleyness (ambitious, activean and collaborative). Several interviewer, and then independent committee will select candidates per interviewers feedbacks.

Nineteenth Century Sensational Fiction: Dime Novels Essay example -- L

  Nineteenth Century Sensational Fiction: Dime Novels In the late nineteenth century, a new form of sensational fiction emerged.   Called dime novels because of the five to twenty-five cent sale price, these pocket-sized books told short stories of American frontier adventure.   Often formulaic, these stories centered on macho heroes and damsels in distress, never venturing far beyond plotlines of capture and rescue, pursuit and escape.   Violence and lewdness became the impetus for the popularity of this form which, because of its cheapness, was often passed along to friends and neighbors upon completion.   The serial nature of these stories, which featured a set number of identifiable characters such as Deadwood Dick and Calamity Jane, kept readers coming back for more.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Not surprisingly, many young readers, boys especially, were drawn to the sense of adventure and rebellion in dime novels.   Gratuitous gore and debauchery were also points of attraction.   These unsavory qualities became a major concern of parents who felt that their sons were being negatively influenced, perhaps into a life of crime and banditry.   Still, the mass production of dime novels made it easy for boys to obtain them even without parental permission.   Almost every newsstand or corner bookstore had copies of the latest bloody Western and they were more than willing to sell regardless of the buyer’s age.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The quality of dime novels began to decline as it became custom for publishers such as Beadle to allow several authors to write on the same serial or character interchangeably.   Eventually the plots became so predictable that the only selling points were increasingly fantastical settings, unbelievable situations and more vulgarity.   What... ...his proliferation of â€Å"questionable† content has proven that the average American reader makes choices based on personal tastes rather than on the opinions of highbrow academia or moral crusaders.   It is a victory of free speech as well as the capitalistic principle of demand but also perhaps a blow to artistic integrity.   Concerned parents and religious groups continue to fight against indecency but consumerism has become the most powerful modern censor.   Today, sales are so important that many authors find themselves tethered to a narrowing range of themes and situations that appeal to an increasingly homogenized audience.   As far as the corruption of youth is concerned, most parents today echo Bishop’s sentiments that any book is better than no book, pleased to see their children reading formulaic adventure stories or comics rather than glued to a television set.

Reveiw Questions and Critical Thinking Questions

1. What is a camera? A camara is a light-tight box that contains a light-sensitive material or device and a way of letting in a desired amount of light at particular times to create an image on the light-sensitive material.2. What is a convex lens? A convex lens is bend the light toward the center of the lens, since one or both sides of the glass curve out. It also takes the various rays of light and bends them toward the same point, which ultimately allows an image to form.3. What three components make up a film camera? Define each part. The three components are First is the mechanical element, which is the camera body and the parts associated with it the second one is the optical element, This is otherwise known as the camera lens. Finally, we have the chemical element, which is the film. These three different elements make up a film camera.4. What is a pentaprism? What job does it do in the camera? A  pentaprism which is a five-sided mirror. The job of the pentaprism is to flip the light from the image so that the image appears right side up rather than shows the inverted image that first occurs.5. What are point and shoot cameras? How do they differ from SLR cameras? Point and shoot cameras  are those that use an optical viewfinder, rather than having the semiautomatic mirror. The image the photographer sees through the viewfinder is not the exact same image that will be recorded. An  SLR, or single lens reflex, camera  has a semiautomatic movement of the mirror, which produces an exact image in the viewfinder, is different from the point and shoot cameras because the point and shoot cameras shows not the exact image that will be recorded, and the SLR show a exact image.6. What is JPEG? What considerations have to be kept in mind with JPEG? JPEG   is the default file format in many digital cameras on the market today. We need to consider JPEG has an important drawback to this space-saving advantage—it is compressed in a lossy manner, which means that some of the data is lost. The more the image is compressed (the smaller the size of the file), the more information from the image is lost.7. What is the difference between optical and digital zoom? Optical zoom  works like a telephoto lens, the image quality remains the same as the image is magnified.Digital zoom  crops the image and enlarges the cropped image to fill the frame of the camera. This means that the digital zoom generally results in a loss of quality in the image. They are different because Optical zoom remans the same as the image is magnificant, and digital zoom enlarge the cropped image to fill the frame of the camera.8. What are the steps you can take to create a pinhole camera? Have you tried to make one? First, you’ll want to cut the round oatmeal box (or other cardboard type tube or round container) in half, leaving the bottom of the container in place, so that you have two short round pieces or tubes.Place a piece of wax paper over one of the open ends of the round container and tape it in place. Once you have this done, put the oatmeal tube back together again so that the wax paper is in the middle of the tube. Wrap tape around the middle of the tube where the two pieces join together, making the tube as lightproof as possible. Finally, create a small pinhole in the bottom of the container. Now you’re ready to try out your pinhole camera. I’m going to try to make one.9. What are some of the differences between film and digital cameras? Which one do you prefer? Digital cameras digital cameras create files that are relatively large, digital images do not require processing for viewing, use an electronic image sensor to digitally record an image, Some digital cameras can also be used to create video in addition to still photographs. Digital cameras create photographs that are made up of pixels. Film cameras film must loaded into cameras and developed in light-tight conditions, this drives up the cost of d eveloping and printing film-based images, ilm negatives or final prints must be scanned prior to computer manipulation, some color prints can fade over time. I prefer digital camara.10. What are some advantages of being able to see an image right after you’ve taken it (such as with an instant camera or being able to review the image on a digital camera)? With a digital camera you can basically take as many photos as you like until you get the perfect image. If you don’t like the way your photo has turned out you can simply delete it and take it again. This can be done because you can view the photo seconds after you’ve taken it, is just perfect to have this camaras, and be able to see the image right after you’ve taken it.