Prosthetics :: essays research papers

Introduction Prosthetics is the branch of surgery dealing with mechanical devices used to reproduce the form and function of missing body parts. Prosthetics is the replacement of faulty or amputated body parts with artificial body parts. Artificial limbs have been in use since at least 300 BC. In AD 1509 German knight, GÃ ¶tz von Berlichingen, called GÃ ¶tz of the Iron Hand, wore an artificial hand with jointed fingers. Early in the 19th century a German prosthesist built a hand with fingers that could be flexed or extended and that could hold light objects, such as a pen or a hat. Before World War I (1914-1918), wood was considered the best substance for making artificial legs, but later an aluminum alloy called Duraluminum, and more recently fiber materials, have made artificial limbs both lightweight and strong. In recent years, the manufacture of prosthetic devices has developed into a science. Artificial limbs with functioning joints can simulate natural motion. Hip joint prostheses can pr ovide virtually normal mobility for people with damaged hip joints. History Artificial limbs, in one form or other, have been in use from ancient times. In 1885, a specimen was discovered in a tomb at Capua, Italy, along with other relics dating from 300BC. The celebrated artificial hand built in 1509 for the German knight Gotz von Berlichingen, who was called Gotz of the Iron Hand, weighed about 1.4 kg (3 lb.) and had articulated fingers so constructed as to be able to grasp a sword or lance. The hand is in the NÃ ¼rnberg Museum and is still in working order. Early in the 19th century a German prosthesist built a hand with fingers that could be flexed or extended without assistance and yet could still close to hold light objects, such as a pen, a handkerchief, or a hat. In 1851, a French prosthesist invented an artificial arm fitted with a wooden hand and attached to a leather socket that fitted the stump firmly. The fingers were half-closed, the thumb pivoted on a pin and could press firmly against the fingertips by a concealed, strong rubber band; the gr asp of the thumb could be operated by a mechanism attached to the opposite shoulder. The same inventor devised a leg that reproduced a natural gait and lengthened the stride. Technology Before World War I, wood was universally considered the best substance for making artificial legs. Prosthetic devices made of leather reinforced with metal bands tended to lose their shape and were therefore unsatisfactory.

How far was the failure of the general strike due to the actions of the conservative government? Essay

The general strike of May 1926 was not a success for those attempting to force the government to act to prevent wage reductions and worsening conditions for coal miners. Had the TUC been more prepared to strike and followed through with what the miners wanted them to do, the government would have been faced with a much tougher challenge. Despite this, even if the conservative government were faced with a tougher challenge, the preparations and subsequence actions taken by them were more than enough and the main reason for the failure of the strike. Firstly the failure of the strike was due to the conservatives because Baldwin and his government holding emergency powers under the ‘Emergency Powers Act’, which enabled them to set up the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies. This organised 100,000 volunteers to be drafted in to help troops by moving essential supplies such as coal from place to place in Britain. Transport services were also kept going by the volunteers meaning that for most people, life was as it was before the strike started. As a result of this, the impact of the strike was not felt with the devastating effect to Britain that it could well have had but more importantly it kept people happy, which ensured that the government always had the sense of being in control. Baldwin and his government were able to appease the miners by offering them a subsidy in their wages for nine months. These nine months gave the government time to set up the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies and prepare for the strike which Baldwin was anticipating. The subsidy also created time for situation on wages to slightly calm down Generally it can be said that the conservative government had prepared well for the strike and thus as a result had full control over the situation. They had stockpiled resources, 250,000 special constables were put on hold to be used against strikers and local authorities were told to not give poor relief to strikers. Law and order was maintained almost all the time throughout the strike and violence was kept to a minimum and was well contained when it did break out. Baldwin and his government seemed patriotic which appealed more than the militancy of the strikers, and resisted the more extreme measures proposed by Churchill by turning down the need of the army to control. By doing this, he put faith in the British public, angered few people and thus had control of the situation. Indeed, the Prime Minister Baldwin spoke regularly on radio, and brought up the notion that the strike was a threat to the British constitution and challenged the government. Especially with the unrest that was being seen around Europe, most people in Britain did not want to see the constitution to be threatened. Vitally, several members of the TUC became worried about this and therefore there was a lack in confidence in the strike and it was not carried through with as much courage that it might otherwise have. As well as this the government referred to the strike as a ‘General Strike’ to create a sense the unions trying to undermine the democratically elected government. They presented the strike as the majority of the population of Britain being undermined by 4,000,000 union members. This didn’t appeal to most people and so they decided to not take part in the strike meaning it wasn’t effective and thus it failed because of the government acting to gain the population on their side by using the idea that the countries democracy was under threat. Despite the actions that the conservative government took, played the main part in ensuring the strike was a failure, there were also other reasons to why it did not succeed. Most importantly the TUC were not well prepared to strike and when they did, the 90 unions that took part were not fully committed to it. This made life for the government a lot easier than it could well have been if the strike had been that had they all wanted to strike. From the beginning of the strike there was a distinct lack of communication between the TUC and the local striking committees. On occasion such as at Swansea, the messages were so vague and contradictory that the strikers thought that the government were intervening with the messages. There was a lot of confusion during the 9 days and as it wore on the TUC knew that there was a strong chance that they would lose all control. As a result it was almost inevitable that with all the confusion, the strike would fail. The lack of unions that actually took part in the strike also contributed to its failure to both have an impact and to live up to its name as being a ‘General Strike’. The printers, gas and electricity, transport and railway workers were only some of a limited number of unions that went on strike. This meant that the strike could not have its effect that it was meant to. The fact that the general public didn’t give their support to the strike meant that there was a feeling around the country that what the strikers were doing was pointless. Indeed the way in which the TUC didn’t want to be seen in a violent way also meant that they did not want to be seen as revolutionaries so went into the strike half heartedly and thus it failed. The labour party and the trade unions had a very close relationship with each other. The trade unions had helped to fund the party. However during the lead up to the strike, the Labour party, led by Ramsey MacDonald, made it clear that they were not supportive of the strike. The relationship between the unions and Labour was especially important to the TUC and they did not want to break the relationship by striking. This meant that they reluctantly went in to strike and therefore the strike did not have the effect that the TUC would have otherwise wanted it to. The blame can also be put on the daily mail workers who went on strike. Despite the TUC not doing it, they were blamed for it and the negotiations with the government were brought to an end. As well as making it an uphill battle for the TUC. From then on the TUC knew that the longer the strike went on, the worse chance they had of winning and thus it failed In conclusion whilst the fact that the TUC were very badly prepared for the strike and were caught off guard by the Daily Mail workers, the government played the main part in ensuring that the strike didn’t spiral out of control by being well prepared. Even if the TUC had been more radical with the strike, it is clear that the government were more than well prepared to deal with violence because of the special constables that they had and the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies that was ready to step in as volunteers. As a result of the thorough preparation done by Baldwin and his conservative government, the strike was a failure. The TUC didn’t want to be seen in a violent manner so therefore View as multi-pages Topics in this document General strike, Labour Party, Lockout, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,

Values Of Freedom And Freedom In Mary Shelleys Frankenstein

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein represents a vision of a good society with new values of freedom and liberty as well as traditional values of loving and caring for all. Victor’s relationship with the creature displays a lack of freedom and liberty. The Creature and Frankenstein have no freedom from one another due to their unwillingness to cooperate and their pursuit of revenge. At first, Frankenstein and the Creature’s freedom seem to be â€Å"bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of [them]† (102). In reality, even the â€Å"annihilation† of Victor, who neglected and betrayed the Creature, doesn’t â€Å"satisfy [the Creature’s] own desires† (224). Furthermore, the death of Victor doesn’t provide the Creature with any more freedom†¦show more content†¦Shelley’s use of irony as well as Victor’s lack of love towards the Creature, shows that a world that lacks care and love is a world not worth living in. It is a reminder that good society should not forget important traditional values of loving and caring for all. The Twelve Articles of the Peasants of Swabia also strive to create a better society with new controversial values of freedom and liberty as well as traditional values of loving and caring for all. Prior to the publication of The Twelve Articles, Feudalism was the foundation of all social hierarchy. Due to events like Luther’s religious Protestant reformations, the peasants of Germany saw an opportunity to oppose this feudal social system, as it relied upon high amounts of labor and a low quality of life for the peasants in order to benefit the king, nobles, and knights. Instead, the peasants called for more freedom and liberty for all people while maintaining traditional biblical values of loving and caring for all. The peasants attempt to create a better society by requesting that â€Å"each community should choose and appoint a pastor† (The First Article). They also ask for the freedom to â€Å"dispose him should he conduct himself improperly† (The First Article). These new ideas of freedom and liberty for all were controversial at the time, as they challenged the authority of the German Catholic Church over the election and removal of pastors, and proposed a societyShow MoreRelatedThemes Of Escape By Mary Shelley And Incarceron By Catherine Fisher1271 Words   |  6 Pagesis escape, breaking free from control and captivity. Individuals, even with different backgrounds, have tried to escape this confinement in search of a better life. Even in literature, the concepts of escape is portrayed in many novels. Both Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Incarceron by Catherine Fisher illustrate the literary and actual aspects of the act of escaping. Although both novels bear some minor differences in the concept of escape the similarities are very apparent. Escapes from the mundaneRead MoreAnalysis Of Mary Shelley s Frankenstein 2066 Words   |  9 PagesMary Shelley was born on August 30, 1797 in London, England into an educated family. Escaping a difficult life through writing and imagination, she published her most famous novel, Frankenstein in 1818. She wrote several other books including Valperga, The Last Man, Lodore and Mathilde. Throughout her work, Shelley incorporates symbolism not only to develop her characters in her novels but also to contribute to the underlying themes of knowledge, nature, and secrecy. Her experiences, obstacles andRead MoreThe Romantic Era Of Mary Shelley s Frankenstein1502 Words   |  7 Pagescentury, the romantic ear took over the styles of novels. This was a time of disagreement and confusion over principles and aesthetics; there were many philosophies, agendas, and points of interest that competed in all types of literature. 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After the birth of Shelley, her mother Mary Wollstonecraft who was one of the first and most important feminist advocates had died, leaving Shelley to continue in her footsteps (â€Å"Feminism Women in Frankenstein†). Growing up, she was exposed to the work done by her mother and this led her to become exposed to feminist ideals at a very early age (â€Å"Feminism Read MoreEssay on Frankenstein - Societal Changes in Film2491 Words   |  10 PagesA Look at the Story of Frankenstein and the Societal Changes in Film Frankenstein’s monster, a misunderstood creation fabricated by Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s classic story, has been terrorizing readers and audiences alike for well over one hundred and fifty years. Since the story was first written in 1818, there have been numerous plays, and over one hundred films, each adaptation trying to portray its own vision of the original story. 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Also during this time the literary movements of Romanticism and Victorianism emerged. Romanticism dealt with the issues of reality versus illusion, childhood and man versus nature. The first book I will examine in this essay, Mary Shelleys FrankensteinRead More Science in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Hard Times by Charles Dickens3626 Words   |  15 Pagesindustry was run. Also during this time the literary movements of Romanticism and Victorianism emerged. Romanticism dealt with the issues of reality versus illusion, childhood and man versus nature. The first book I will examine in this essay, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, comes from this literary period and focuses on the man versus nature theme, namely the theme of scientific development and ità ¢â‚¬â„¢s contrast to nature. The second book I will look at in this essay comes from the Victorian period of the 19th