Erich Maria Remarque and the Nature of War Essay Example for Free

Erich Maria Remarque and the Nature of War Essay Unlike truly historical works emphasizing the human side of war, for example, Cornelius Ryan’s The Longest Day or A Bridge Too Far, in which the author provides highly detailed accounts of historical events through the eyes of participants leading to an objective treatment and analysis of those events, Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front is a novelization of the experience of German soldiers in World War I. Remarque thus follows a literary line which includes William Shakespeare’s Henry V, Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage, and Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace and extends through cinematic efforts such as â€Å"The Big Red One† and â€Å"The Hurt Locker†, which utilize historical context in order to examine the transformative nature of war on those most intimately involved. Each work examines a central theme, e.g., patriotism, cowardice, social change, brotherhood, etc., interwoven with and supported by details of various wars. The particular details chosen by the authors, with the possible exception of Tolstoy who seemingly left nothing out of his opus, are those lending support to that central theme. Thus, to understand the process used by Remarque in making his choice of which details of World War I to include in All Quiet on the Western Front, one must first ascertain his thesis and its origin. Referring to the biographical notes following the novel, we learn that Remarque â€Å"was himself in combat during World War I, and was wounded five times, the last time very severely (Remarque, 1928, p. 297).† That during the time of his service Remarque was near the age of his protagonist, Paul Baumer, suggests an autobiographical nature to the novel and lends credence to the story that no second hand account could provide. Yet Remarque does not take the opportunity to provide closure to his experience or to provide a set of objective conclusions to the war. Drawing again from the biographical notes, Remarque possessed â€Å"intense determination to concentrate in his fiction upon the worst horrors of the age, war and inhumanity (Remarque, 1928, p. 297)†. Three major themes can be found within All Quiet on the Western Front combining to support Remarque’s ideology – the legitimacy of statehood, the futility of war, and the dehumanizing effects of war. Given his experiences and his viewpoint, what details did Remarque expound upon and to what purpose? In a discussion  among the soldiers as to the origins of the war, they openly question the authority by which war was declared. When Tjaden asks how wars begin, Albert answers, â€Å"Mostly by one country badly offending another (Remarque, 1928, p. 205).† Yet it is this notion of country which perplexes the most. In Europe’s past, wars were fought over disputes between smaller nation states by order and to the benefit of local rulers. This was clearly not the case in World War I, a fact not lost on the soldiers: â€Å"But what I would like to know,† says Albert, â€Å"is whether there would have been a war if the Kaiser had said No.† â€Å"I’m sure there would,† I (Paul) interject, â€Å"he was against it from the first (Remarque, 1928, p. 203).† What the soldiers had not yet come to terms with was the rampant nationalism that had swept Europe. Rising from the Industrial Revolution, nurtured by the Atlantic revolutions, and spurred by the globalization of trade, Europeans of smaller states set aside their notions of subjects under a common ruling dynasty to a sense of unity among peoples bound by blood, customs and culture. â€Å"All of this encouraged political and cultural leaders to articulate an appealing of their particular nations and ensured a growing circle of people receptive to such ideas. Thus the idea of â€Å"nation† was constructed or even invented, but it was often presented as an awakening of older linguistic or cultural identities (Strayer, 2011, p. 797).† Such were the notions the young schoolboys received from their schoolmaster Kantorek who spoke of country and honor before shepherding them to their enlistment. Yet, when those identities failed to adequately address the cultures affected, as in Austria-Hungary, nationalism failed to suppress dissent. With the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, by a Serbian nationalist, the system of rigid alliances established among the emerging nations plunged the world into war (Strayer, 2011, p. 979). After further reflection, the soldiers began to understand how they came to be in a war whose causes could not be satisfactorily explained by patriotism alone: â€Å"State and home-country, there’s a big difference.† (Kat) â€Å"But they go together,† insists Kropp, â€Å"Without the State there wouldn’t be a home country (Remarque, 1928, p. 205).† Remarque addresses the futility of war in various ways. He describes the effects of the material  advantages of the Allies throughout the war, particularly following the entrance of American forces, foretelling defeat for Germany in a war of attrition: â€Å"Our lines are falling back. There are too many fresh English and American regiments over there. There’s too much corned beef and white wheaten bread. There are too many new guns. Too many aeroplanes. But we are emaciated and starved. Our food is bad and mixed with so much substitute stuff it makes us ill†¦..Our artillery is fired out, it has too few shells and the barrels are so worn that they shoot uncertainly and scatter so widely as even to fall on ourselves (Remarque, 1928, p. 280).† Most tellingly, Remarque condemns the madness of trench warfare which â€Å"resulted in enormous casualties while gaining or losing only a few yards of muddy, blood-soaked ground (Strayer, 2011, p. 982).† Paul’s Company engages in a protracted, vicious trench battle in Chapter Six in which they are first driven back in retreat, regain the lost ground after an hour to eat, and push forward into the French trenches before realizing their new position is untenable. â€Å"The fight ceases. We lose touch with the enemy. We cannot stay here long but must retire under cover of our artillery to our own position (Remarque, 1928, p. 117).† In the end, it was everything ventured, nothing gained. The senseless loss of life on both sides and the indifference to the carnage is highlighted in his description of the battlefield itself. â€Å"The days are hot and the dead lie unburied. We cannot fetch them all in, if we did we should not know what to do with them. The shells wil l bury them (Remarque, 1928, pp. 125-126).† Lastly, Remarque relentlessly stresses the dehumanization of the soldiers throughout the course of the war. In his forward, Remarque makes his purpose for writing All Quiet on the Western Front clear: â€Å"It will try to simply tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war (Remarque, 1928, p. i).† The first step in the process comes with the realization that those shaping their future have done so with an agenda of their own. In speaking of Kantorek the schoolmaster and Corporal Himmelstoss, Paul reflects, â€Å"For us lads of eighteen they ought to have been mediators and guides to the world of maturity, the world of work, of duty, of culture, of progress – to the future†¦the idea of authority, which they represented, was associated in our  minds with a greater insight and a more humane wisdom. But the first death we saw shattered this belief (Remarque, 1928, p. 12).† The second phase in the downward spiral is presented as the desensitization of the individual. Remarque portrays this through the soldier’s continued acceptance of the squalor of their condition. Through poor rations, living in mud filled trenches, and being in constant fear for their lives from regular shelling associated with trench warfare and from the use of a deadly new weapon, mustard gas, Paul and his comrades develop a detached persona which shields them from their hideous reality: â€Å"Just as we turn into animals when we go up to the line, because it is the only thing which brings us through safely, so we turn into wags and loafer when we are resting†¦We want to live at any price so we cannot burden ourselves with feelings which, though they might be ornamental enough in peacetime, would be out of place here (Remarque, 1928, pp. 138-139).† A third phase lies in the objectification of the soldier by others. Remarque best accomplishes this in his portrayal of medical treatment for the wounded. Early on, he establishes this premise through the death of Franz Kemmerich. A lack of supplies has denied him morphine to reduce his suffering. The higher than expected casualty count has begun to turn doctors into processors of human flesh: â€Å"One operation after another since five-o’clock this morning. You know, today alone there have been sixteen deaths – yours is the seventeenth. There will probably be twenty altogether (Remarque, 1928, p. 32).† Kemmerich’s body is quickly processed: â€Å"We must take him away at once, we want the bed. Outside they are lying on the floor (Remarque, 1928, p. 32).† As the war drags on and casualties mount, the individual casualty becomes less a patient and more a number. Following an injury, Paul enters the hospital to learn of the latest advance in wartime triage: â€Å"A little room at the corner of the building. Whoever is about to kick the bucket is put in there. There are two beds in it. It is generally called the Dying Room. They don’t have much work to do afterwards. It is more convenient, too, because it lies right beside the lift to the mortuary (Remarque, 1928, p. 257).† Through his experience in the hospital, Paul comes to a stark realization, and Remarque drives home his point: â€Å"A man cannot realize that above such shattered bodies there are still human faces in which life goes its daily round. And this is only one hospital,  one single station; there are hundreds of thousands in Germany, hundreds of thousands in France, hundreds of thousands in Russia. How senseless is anything that can ever be written, done, or thought, when such things are possible. It must be all lies and of no account when the culture of a thousand years could not prevent this stream of blood being poured out, these torture-chambers in their hundreds of thousands. A hospital alone shows what war is (Remarque, 1928, p. 263).† The ultimate phase is the transition of the soldier from object to invisibility. Paul’s death, and the â€Å"matter if fact† manner in which Remarque presents it, stands in stark contrast to the official report of the day – â€Å"All quiet on the Western front. (Remarque, 1928, p. 296).† The fate of a man has been subordinated to the fate of a nation without the nation realizing his sacrifice. Throughout All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque selects his details of World War I to support his themes decrying nationalism, the meaningless state of war, and the disintegration of the human spirit through the pursuit of warfare. No mention is made of specific battles or individual acts of heroism. The lack of specificity adds to the tone of the general, unyielding nature of war. Heroism, writ with a capital â€Å"H†, is a concept not to be found in Remarque’s world of war. In presenting his details of World War I, Remarque remains unyielding in his portrait of the destruction of the human condition on the altar of national pride. REFERENCES Remarque, E. M. (1928). All quiet on the western front. Ballantine Books. Strayer, R. W. (2011). Ways of the world; a brief global history with sources, volume 2: Since 1500. 7th edition: Bedford/St. Martins.

Risk Factors for Disease Outbreak

Risk Factors for Disease Outbreak Diseases are the disturbance of body processes impacting homeostasis, the emergence and resurgence of diseases is majorly dependent on social, ecological and geographical change rather than the molecular or microbiological aspects (Mayer, 2000). This essay will cover the growing evidence that climate change poses health concerns for the future decade’s thus increasing morbidity and mortality in many continents. Climate changes and the extremities of weather events have profound impacts on infectious diseases for example viruses and protozoa and vectors such as mosquitoes and ticks, their reproduction patterns are disturbed by the extremities of the weather (Gubler et al., 2001). This paper will also explore the ways in which technology such as aeroplanes and aircraft produces new initiatives to prevent transmission of diseases among different countries. The population density is measurable during a fixed time period where the average contact with susceptible individuals by eac h person explores the rate of spreading diseases among communities. Climate change and global warming has serious implications to human life involving the human regions and their interactions with the causative disease agent (Khasnis Nettleman, 2005). Climate change is a key determinant of health as the weather affects the timing and concentration whereas climate constrains the range of infectious diseases of the outbreaks (Dobson Carper, 1993). Global warming is encouraging the spread of infectious diseases geographically as extreme weather can also bring sparks of different diseases (Epstein et al., 1998).The meteorological conditions and climate change are unpredictable as they constantly redistribute and spread infectious diseases, examples include AIDS, Lyme disease, toxic Escherichia Coli. The increase of greenhouse gases is due to the correlation between population size and global warming. The rising temperatures are predicted to continue and precipitation is likely to increase however rainfall may be erratic, leading to floods and droughts. Some scientists have hypothesised that the increase in temperatures will kill of the plants and therefore reduce surface area for evaporation making it adaptable areas for new diseases and pathogens to arise. The most striking example of health risks from climate change is shown in the summer of 2003 where Europe’s temperatures were 3.5C above normal temperatures and 22,000 to 45,000 heat-related deaths occurred (Campbell-Lendrum, Holloway, Foley, 2005). However results comparing the weather outcomes that year show that with or without anthropogenic drivers the weather doubled as a result from human induced climate changes (Stott, Stone, Allen, 2004). Global warming is known to bring about change and some conclude that diseases will come more abundant when the earth warms up, however it majorly depends on the magnitude and the speed of these changes. When communities exhaust the environmental resources and infrastructures they allow for infectious disease to cascade across continents and populations. The extremities in the weather cycle can destabilise the biological and physical systems of our world. Due to changes in the weather patterns and the repeated winter thawing and refreezing, reduction in forest mechanisms and defences and thus the human population becomes vulnerable to disease and pest infestations, and the shifts in seasons also alter rhythms of predators, and the natural biological controls (Lindgren, Tà ¤lleklint, Polfeldt, 2000). The increase in mortality and morbidity is due to extremes in both hot and cold weathers.The WHO organisation estamated that around 800 million people are undernorished due to living in areas and countries of drought and other climate extremes which thus affects their crops and food supplies hence leading to alterations in plant pathogens leading to new diseases or the reintorduction of old diseases. The constant changes in urbanisation, human activities along with biological factors such as mutation, genetics factors and changes in the genetic pool affect the rate of emergence of new infectious diseases. Importantly the economic and political stresses may destroy the health system infrastructure, leaving the population unprepared for any sudden epidemics. The interaction between the human population and the environment can be disturbed by various changes including land usage; migration and population pressure and thus reflect the significant mal-adaptation through the appearance or diffusion of new diseases (Mayer, 2000). The lack of disequlibrium in the economy is shown in an example of the incidence of schistosomiasis following the construction of the Aswan Dam, and the increase in schistosomiasis, malaria and other infectious diseases following the Volta River project in Africa.Water sources and its various contaminations and the insufficiency of it can enhance the process of transmitting diseases among a population. Deforestation and changes in land use patterns have been shown to spread transmission of diseases between the animal world and the humans, especially when forests are destroyed to make way for residential and commercial usage. Water is a huge necessity, yet 1.1 billion people in the world do not have access to it and 2.4 billion people do not have access to sanitation (Cairncross, 2003). In order to ensure supply various approaches have already been used such as polices to eliminate profiteering, efficient management of available water, improved technology and integrating agricultural policies. Contaminated water is the source of epidemics such as cholera, typhoid and other similar diseases. Esrey, Potash, Roberts, Shiff, in 1991 conducted research and found that it is possible to reduce diseases by clean water and sanitations some of his statistics show this: â€Å"diarrhoea (26%), ascariasis (29%), guinea worm infection (78%), schistosomiasis (77%), trachoma (27%) and a median reduction of 65% in diarrhoea-specific mortality and 55% in general child mortality.† Emerging diseases are hard to define as they may have been present at one time in a community in either low of high levels for example a disease like dengue fever is emerging in the US but has been known for many years in Latin America. Travelling from one country to another can assist the diffusion of diseases in several manners; firstly human can act as vectors and carry around diseases from one region to another. Also transportation vehicles can act as mechanical vectors such as the dengue case where it was transported from Asia to the US by automobile tires and ships as it provided for ideal surviving conditions such as a damp and wet environment. Modern transport systems are efficient and fast thus placing people in danger from emerging new disease or new strands of known diseases and pathogens (Guimerà  , Mossa, Turtschi, Amaral, 2005). Spatial diffusion involves the changes in travel patterns that have dramatically changed the ecology of infectious diseases. Garrett in 1996, estimated that approximately one million people travel internationally a day and one million travel from developed to non-developed countries per week therefore disease can be transmitted in a matter of a day. And as diffusion is rapid such as with influenza where viral replication takes place in the epithelial cells of the respiratory tract and then transmitted through airborne route. This reflects how spatial diffusion is the main cause of diffuses of HIV/AIDS. Pathogens have relatively simple DNA/RNA and any minor changes in the nucleotides can mutate to make a new disease that humans lack immunity for. The development of antimicrobial-resistant ag ents is also a major problem for populations around both the developed and undeveloped world. Social factors such as homelessness, poverty and migration make it hard to control specific diseases as there are a limited number of antimicrobials available. The emergence of aeroplanes is notably the one that increased the speed of travel and over time introduced ‘new’ diseases and re-surfaced ‘old’ diseases, and therefore the national borders are not very secure in terms of quarantine. Other modes of transport includes rail travel which also have surveillance on both departure and arrival routes (Budd, Bell, Brown, 2009). The mobility of infectious diseases is on the rise and several public health interventions have tried to limit this by focusing on the increase in international air travel around the world (Avila, Saà ¯d, Ojcius, 2008). The aircraft passenger cabin transmits diseases consistently; although the cabin is ventilated it exposes individuals to hypobaric and dry humidity between travellers. The close spaces allows for disease to be re-circulated throughout the cabin. One technique of reducing this transmission is through supplying fresh air to cabins in a circulation pattern (Mangili Gendreau, 2005). Specific use of technological filters in aeroplanes such as HEAP filters have the efficiency rate of 99.97% of removing particles in the cabins such as dust, vapours and fungi, these are effective as viruses spread by droplets of nuclei. There is four different methods of the spread of microorganisms, these include direct contact or with a contaminated object, airborne, common vehicle (usua lly through foods and drinks) and vector-borne diseases by insects or vermin. Many are concerned that the airborne particles on an aeroplane is transported throughout the cabins due to the ventilation systems and therefore this has been the focus media investigations throughout the last few centuries and criticism from many special interest organisations (Withers Christopher, 2000). Tuberculosis has been a threat for many years and is estimated that a third of the world’s population have it. Mycobacterium Tuberculosis is the most spread in airborne pathogens abroad plans. An example is shown in Kenyon, Valway, Ihle, Onorato, Castro, 1996 papers â€Å"travelling from Baltimore to Chicago and then on to Honolulu. Four of 15 fellow passengers seated within two rows of the index passenger had positive tuberculin skin test conversion†. There has also been evidence that human hygiene plays a big role therefore all aircraft now have guidelines for hand hygiene in bathrooms and kitchens. Appropriate quarantine levels must be taken to reduce the exposure of these diseases among passengers, thus the governments and international laws have provided specific legal laws that control the movement of travellers and this can include issuing travel alerts to quarantine of passenger’s upon departure and arrival. Climate change, social and ecological factors play an ever-increasing role in the resurgence and redistribution of infectious diseases. The increase in mobility of air and rail transport is increasing the transmission of diseases from passenger to passenger and also after and before the flights. The transmission of diseases probably happens a lot more than reported due to numerous reasons including reporting bias and the fact that various diseases have a longer incubation period than that of air travel. Further research and assessments of risk must be taken in order to reflect insights of disease transmissions with transportation and thus control the increase in transmitted diseases from one individual to another. The government and the medical industry are educating the general public about health issues whether they relate to travel or any other human life aspects. Dynamic diseases are increased due to the increase of population density of human who facilitate for the transmission of diseases and infectious organisms (Lindgren, Tà ¤lleklint, Polfeldt, 2000). The widespread of environment degradation also contributes to the increase of diseases along with the rapid increase in population numbers. Rapid demographic, technological, social and environmental changes in lifestyles can introduce new diseases due to the changes made to lifestyles. Climate change is an example, as it brings about an epidemic of diseases and microorganisms to societies due to the extremities of its changes in weather conditions altering lifestyles. Reference list: Avila, M., Saà ¯d, N., Ojcius, D. M. (2008). The book reopened on infectious diseases. Microbes and Infection, 10(9), 942-947. Boyce, J. M., Pittet, D. (2002). Guideline for hand hygiene in health-care settings. American journal of infection control, 30(8), 1-46. Budd, L., Bell, M., Brown, T. (2009). Of plagues, planes and politics: controlling the global spread of infectious diseases by air. Political Geography, 28(7), 426-435. Cairncross, S. (2003). Sanitation in the developing world: current status and future solutions. International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 13(S1), S123-S131. Dobson, A., Carper, E. (1993). Health and climate change: Biodiversity. Lancet, 342, 1096-1099. Epstein, P. R., Diaz, H. F., Elias, S., Grabherr, G., Graham, N. E., Martens, W. J., . . . Susskind, J. (1998). Biological and physical signs of climate change: focus on mosquito-borne diseases. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 79(3), 409-417. Esrey, S. A., Potash, J. B., Roberts, L., Shiff, C. (1991). Effects of improved water supply and sanitation on ascariasis, diarrhoea, dracunculiasis, hookworm infection, schistosomiasis, and trachoma. Bulletin of the World Health organization, 69(5), 609. Gubler, D. J., Reiter, P., Ebi, K. L., Yap, W., Nasci, R., Patz, J. A. (2001). Climate variability and change in the United States: potential impacts on vector-and rodent-borne diseases. Environmental health perspectives, 109(Suppl 2), 223. Guimerà  , R., Mossa, S., Turtschi, A., Amaral, L. N. (2005). The worldwide air transportation network: Anomalous centrality, community structure, and cities global roles. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102(22), 7794-7799. Kenyon, T. A., Valway, S. E., Ihle, W. W., Onorato, I. M., Castro, K. G. (1996). Transmission of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis during a long airplane flight. New England Journal of Medicine, 334(15), 933-938. Khasnis, A. A., Nettleman, M. D. (2005). Global warming and infectious disease. Archives of medical research, 36(6), 689-696. Lederberg, J., Shope, R. E., Oaks Jr, S. C. (1992). Emerging infections: microbial threats to health in the United States: National Academies Press. Lindgren, E., Tà ¤lleklint, L., Polfeldt, T. (2000). Impact of climatic change on the northern latitude limit and population density of the disease-transmitting European tick Ixodes ricinus. Environmental health perspectives, 108(2), 119. Mangili, A., Gendreau, M. A. (2005). Transmission of infectious diseases during commercial air travel. The Lancet, 365(9463), 989-996. Mayer, J. D. (2000). Geography, ecology and emerging infectious diseases. Social science medicine, 50(7), 937-952. Patz, J. A., Campbell-Lendrum, D., Holloway, T., Foley, J. A. (2005). Impact of regional climate change on human health. Nature, 438(7066), 310-317. Patz, J. A., Epstein, P. R., Burke, T. A., Balbus, J. M. (1996). Global climate change and emerging infectious diseases. Jama, 275(3), 217-223. Stott, P. A., Stone, D. A., Allen, M. R. (2004). Human contribution to the European heatwave of 2003. Nature, 432(7017), 610-614. Withers, M. R., Christopher, G. W. (2000). Aeromedical evacuation of biological warfare casualties: a treatise on infectious diseases on aircraft. Military medicine, 165(11 Suppl), 1-21.

grendelbeo Epic of Beowulf Essay - The Monstrous Grendel :: Epic Beowulf essays

The Monstrous Grendel  of Beowulf   It is true that Grendel is monstrous. He is not only a deadly enemy to Hrothgar and Herot, but to the Geats in general. Grendel seems to take his only pleasure from assaulting Herot and destroying the warriors inside. He is a bane to all those that live under Hrothgar's rule. They hate him. He is called the â€Å"enemy of mankind† (29) and rightly so. However, because of Grendel’s actions, they cannot see the other part of Grendel that makes him do the evil he does. Grendel, like the Angels before and the Geats soon after, is symbolic of displaced races/peoples and not simply a mindless monster. When Adam and Eve had children, they had two boys. Their names were Cain and Able. When Cain killed Able, God â€Å"banished him far from mankind† (29). From Cain came trolls, elves, monsters, and giants. Grendel is a descendant of Cain, so he shares Cain’s banishment. Cain may have been the first displaced person after Adam and Eve were thrown out of the Garden. G rendel shares his ancestor’s sentence. He is displaced not only from whatever land or wealth he would have if he were â€Å"human† but he is also displaced form God. It is this displacement that causes Grendel to destroy. Since he cannot â€Å"approach the throne† (28) like other people, he chooses to try to destroy the throne, because he has â€Å"no love for him (God)† (28). This is the main reason Grendel is symbolic of displaced peoples. After all, he is a direct descendent of the very first displaced people, Adam and Eve. However, unlike Adam and Eve, Grendel is doomed to an eternity of banishment from God’s light because of Cain’s sin against his brother. That is why Grendel kills, because he cannot be in the light, because he is at war with God. Grendel is not only banished from God’s light, but from the light in general. Throughout the text, references are made to Grendel as â€Å"the walker in darkness† (36), and †Å"the dark-death shadow† (29). This kind of imagery further shows how displaced Grendel has become. The text refers to him as a â€Å"creature deprived of joy† (36). The text also refers to Grendel’s dwelling as â€Å"his joyless home† (37). It is no wonder Grendel was considered so monstrous. Like other displaced peoples, he has nowhere that is a refuge to him, because he has been removed from his home, or in Grendel’s case, the love of the Lord.

Sodium (Na) :: Science Chemistry

Sodium (Na) Sodium has an atomic number of 11 and a mass of about 23g. It is a silvery white-metallic element classified under the alkali metals. Sodium has been known since early times and was used by the people of Mesopotamia and Egypt to make glasses. Sodium is the sixth most common element found on the earth. It is usually not found in nature but more often in compounds such as salt (NaCl). Sodium conducts heat and electricity easily. Without this element life could not exist. Each compound is used for a certain reason. About 2.8 percent of the earth's crust contains this element making it the sixth most common in the earth's crust. Sodium is found in compounds among dry lake beds, underground, and as well as in seawater in such places as: Belarus, China, France, Germany, India, Russia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and the United States. Sodium is an extremely chemically active element. If combined with water it tends to react vigorously. For example . Since, sodium is such a dangerous element it has to be handled with care and stored airtight meaning without oxygen. Sodium was first extracted into pure form in 1807 by an English chemist known as Sir Humphry Davy. He used the process of electrolysis where an electrical current is passed through a molten sodium compound such as sodium chloride, sodium was first extracted into its pure form. Many manufacturers today still use electricity to obtain sodium. Sodium is still highly manufactured for many industrial and commercial uses. Sodium has commercial us es as well as industrial uses. From soaps to fertilizers, sodium is used to make water softeners, textiles, and is used as well as to relieve stomach acid, sodium bicarbonate: a white crystalline weakly alkaline salt NaHCO 3 used especially in baking 1 powders, fire extinguishers, and medicine. (Definition from Structure and Matter, Glossary) Photographers use sodium thiosulphate: a hygroscopic crystalline salt Na 2 S 2 O 3 used especially as a fixing agent (Definition from Structure and Matter, Glossary)and a reducing or bleaching agent to fix photographic images on paper. Sodium in its pure form also has industrial uses such as in catalyst which help in making synthetic rubber. Sodium is combined with other metals to produce titanium zirconium and many other chemicals. It is used in the manufacture of tetraethyl lead and some power plants even use it in liquid form to cool nuclear reactors.

1960s Counter Culture and its Saga Essay -- Sixties Culture USA Histo

1960's Counter Culture and its Saga After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, America's hope for Camelot fades and life began to look a little more complicated. Congress deemed President Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" implausible as Johnson backed the country into a war that was not ours. Then, while many Americans began to realize that the War in Vietnam could not be won, there was major public outcry about ending our involvement in a war for the first time in the country's history. The liberals in the country failed to reach the working class, and President Richard Nixon, a conservative, ascended to the Office as a champion of the "silent majority." While the government was slogging our country through devastating affairs, the culture of the times was reinventing itself. Due to various movements, such as the Civil Rights Movement in the South, the Feminist Movement, and the Anti-Vietnam War Movement, Americans, especially energetic young citizens, began to learn that there was ground to be gained f rom being pro-active. Out of this feeling of possibility and need of young adults to be recognized by the government came the 1960s counter culture. Too many factors figure into society to pinpoint one as the reason for the counter cultural revolution. Still, one of the major factors that contributed to the counter culture was the folk, rock, and "acid" music of the 1960s. The music also serves as a way to illustrate and explain the 1960's counter cultural phenomenon. Each variation of the music genre contributed to the way that Americans felt about themselves, their government and their society. As "mindless drivel," according to noted historian John McMillian, bombarded the airwaves and rose to number... ...al rebellion. Instead, they took the movement out of the counter culture and made the struggle about telling the government to basically leave them alone. If they wanted to do drugs, the government should let them since it is their own bodies. If Jim Morrison wanted to masturbate onstage, he is affecting nothing besides his body, counter culturalists would argue. Therefore, in contrast to descriptions of the counter culture as a movement, it was really an outpouring of emotions of a group of people who wanted to either have their rights recognized or left alone. The counter culture decided that if the government cared little enough about them to send their peers into the Vietnam War, they should not have a say in how each person treats their mind and body. Musicians of the time helped clarify their message and reflected the message in their lyrics and actions.

Art Essay Introduction- Penny Byrne

Penny Byrne is an Australian born artist. She was born in Mildura, Victoria, Australia. She lives in Melbourne and owns her own studio. She is interested in ceramics and works as a ceramics conservator. She did a bachelor of fine arts ceramics in Melbourne in 1987 and graduated from west Dean College in the UK after doing ceramics and glass conservation and restoration. She also did a bachelor of laws at La Trobe uni in Melbourne and uses her knowledge of political and social issues in her art.Penny Byrne uses her knowledge of ceramics and knowledge of world issues combined with simplicity and in your face messages in her artwork ‘how much can a polar bear #2’ (2008, sculpture, ceramic, 9. 5x7x11cm). Her artwork makes a public comment on the melting polar ice caps due to global warming and the effect that this is having on the polar bears. Byrne uses her knowledge of ceramics in this sculpture as she appropriates this ready-made ceramic polar bear figure. She has taken a polar bear figure and put scuba diving gear on it to make it innocent and helpless.She uses relevant choices of material as she isn’t creating more waste, putting across this environmentally friendly message. The message she is putting across is made obvious through her use of scuba diving gear and the title of the work. She wants people to think about the polar bears and the environment she cares so much about and she achieves this through simplicity and easy understanding. The overall meaning of this artwork is that the polar bears are struggling, to find food sources, to adapt to new climate and that we aren’t helping, in fact we are making it worse.This is obviously a topic that Byrne feels strongly about. I find that she works well to channel her personal interests into the work and her uses of materials are appropriate to her knowledge, and the message she is putting across. Overall with the simplicity of the message and the use of appropriate materials are effe ctive and work well with the knowledge and personal interest shown in her work. She uses this in many of her of her other works such as ‘the four horse men of the 21st century apocalypse’.

Nine Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs Essay

1. Motivation Entrepreneurs are enthusiastic, optimistic and future-oriented. They believe they’ll be successful and are willing to risk their resources in pursuit of profit. They have high energy levels and are sometimes impatient. They are always thinking about their business and how to increase their market share. Are you self-motivated enough to do this, and can you stay motivated for extended periods of time? Can you bounce back in the face of challenges? 2. Creativity and Persuasiveness Successful entrepreneurs have the creative capacity to recognize and pursue opportunities. They possess strong selling skills and are both persuasive and persistent. Are you willing to promote your business tirelessly and look for new ways to get the word out about your product or service? 3. Versatility Company workers can usually rely on a staff or colleagues to provide service or support. As an entrepreneur, you’ll typically start out as a â€Å"solopreneur,† meaning you will be on your own for a while. You may not have the luxury of hiring a support staff initially. Therefore, you will end up wearing several different hats, including secretary, bookkeeper and so on. You need to be mentally prepared to take on all these tasks at the beginning. Can you do that? 4. Superb Business Skills Entrepreneurs are naturally capable of setting up the internal systems, procedures and processes necessary to operate a business. They are focused on cash flow, sales and revenue at all times. Successful entrepreneurs rely on their business skills, know-how and contacts. Evaluate your current talents and professional network. Will your skills, contacts and experience readily transfer to the business idea you want to pursue? 5. Risk Tolerance Launching any entrepreneurial venture is risky. Are you willing to assume that risk? You can reduce your risk by thoroughly researching your business concept, industry and market. You can also test your concept on a small scale. Can you get a letter of intent from prospective customers to purchase? If so, do you think customers would actually go through with their transaction? 6. Drive As an entrepreneur, you are in the driver’s seat, so you must be proactive in your approaches to everything. Are you a doer — someone willing to take the reins — or would you rather someone else do things for you? 7. Vision One of your responsibilities as founder and head of your company is deciding where your business should go. That requires vision. Without it, your boat will be lost at sea. Are you the type of person who looks ahead and can see the big picture? 8. Flexibility and Open-Mindedness While entrepreneurs need a steadfast vision and direction, they will face a lot of unknowns. You will need to be ready to tweak any initial plans and strategies. New and better ways of doing things may come along as well. Can you be open-minded and flexible in the face of change? 9. Decisiveness As an entrepreneur, you won’t have room for procrastination or indecision. Not only will these traits stall progress, but they can also cause you to miss crucial opportunities that could move you toward success. Can you make decisions quickly and seize the moment?