Crucifixion and median neuropathy.

Crucifixion as a means of torture and execution was first developed in the 6th century B.C. and remained popular for over 1000 years. Details of the practice, which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, have intrigued scholars as historical records and archaeological findings from the era are limited. As a result, various aspects of crucifixion, including the type of crosses used, methods of securing victims to crosses, the length of time victims survived on the cross, and the exact mechanisms of death, remain topics of debate. One aspect of crucifixion not previously explored in detail is the characteristic hand posture often depicted in artistic renditions of crucifixion. In this posture, the hand is clenched in a peculiar and characteristic fashion: there is complete failure of flexion of the thumb and index finger with partial failure of flexion of the middle finger. Such a "crucified clench" is depicted across different cultures and from different eras. A review of crucifixion history and techniques, median nerve anatomy and function, and the historical artistic depiction of crucifixion was performed to support the hypothesis that the "crucified clench" results from proximal median neuropathy due to positioning on the cross, rather than from direct trauma of impalement of the hand or wrist

The relationship between educational television and mathematics capability in Tanzania

Previous studies have frequently demonstrated that educational television viewing can have a positive effect on learning in low-income country contexts when shows are delivered in controlled settings. However, the consequence of day-to-day viewing in such contexts has scarcely been considered. Additionally, no recent published research has provided any information on the costs of educational television. The lack of research in these areas is striking. Examining educational television viewing in monitored settings provides limited information on the influence of routine television consumption. Further, the broad reach of numerous educational television programmes should provide low per-viewer costs and, resultantly, strong cost-effectiveness findings. This PhD study therefore examined (1) the association between educational television exposure and mathematics capability and (2) the cost effectiveness of educational television interventions. To achieve this, research was carried out that centred on Ubongo Kids – a popular Tanzanian-produced show delivering mathematics-focused content. Quantitative investigation into the association between educational television exposure and mathematics capability used nationally representative data, collected by Uwezo Tanzania. A household fixed-effects model showed that exposure to educational television was significantly associated with mathematics capability among children aged 7-16, when controlling for age, sex, school enrolment and Kiswahili attainment. Findings from this model were used in cost-effectiveness calculations, alongside cost data and an estimate of the number of Ubongo Kids viewers. Results compared favourably against those for other interventions, with calculations regarding Ubongo Kids’ ongoing activities suggesting it to have been more cost effective than any other intervention previously investigated using the same cost-effectiveness approach. These findings indicate that in low-income contexts: educational television programmes can aid learning; and, that directing a greater proportion of available educational resources towards educational television interventions may benefit educational outcomes

Armenian Christology and the Council of Chalcedon

The purpose of this study is to trace the historical and theological development of the Monophysitic Christology of the Armenian Church, especially as it is related to the Armenians\u27 rejection of the Council of Chalcedon. The first section of this paper will be devoted to a brief history of the Armenian Church, especially St. Gregory the Illuminator\u27s role in Armenia\u27s conversion to Christianity. The second part is devoted to the Armenian Church and its involvement with the first three ecumenical councils. The third portion of the paper will focus on the events leading to the Council of Chalcedon. Finally, the fourth section discusses the development of Monophysitism and the rejection of Chalcedon, especially by Armenian Christianity

The UK's global gas challenge

A UKERC Research Report exploring the UK's global gas challenge. This report takes an interdisciplinary perspective, which marries energy security insights from politics and international relations, with detailed empirical understanding from energy studies and perspectives from economic geography that emphasise the spatial distribution of actors, networks and resource flows that comprise the global gas industry. Natural gas production in the UK peaked in 2000, and in 2004 it became a net importer. A decade later and the UK now imports about half of the natural gas that it consumes. The central thesis of the project on which this report is based is that as the UK’s gas import dependence has grown, it has effectively been ‘globalising’ its gas security; consequently UK consumers are increasingly exposed to events in global gas markets. - See more at: http://www.ukerc.ac.uk/publications/the-uk-s-global-gas-challenge.html#sthash.wEP831Zn.dpu

A World with Two Moons: An Analysis of Reader Identification

Utilizing Kenneth Burke\u27s theory of Identitification, this study seeks to understand if readers of a literary work of fiction were or were not able to identify with it according to the way Burke describes identification. The study uses Paul J. Watson\u27s Protect: A World\u27s Fight Against Evil as the literary work upon which qualitative surveys were conducted. Five general respondents and two expert readers took the survey, which asked questions regarding the novel. Through analysis and the comparing and contrasting of these respondents\u27 answers, conclusions were reached in regards to whether or not identification occurred between the readers and the novel and whether or not readers identified with the author\u27s intended central theme

Screening TED: A rhetorical analysis of the intersections of rhetoric, digital media, and pedagogy

The presence of expertise resonates across our daily lives. Experts are called upon to consult us about which candidate is ideal for office, which type of wood is the best choice for a carpentry project, which scientist has optimal data on the effects of air pollution, which speech teacher is the best one to take for proper credit hours, and more. An expert is typically conceived as an individual who knows more about a given topic and can create stronger identification than an average person. The struggle to achieve expert status is one that is fundamentally tied to power and is reliant on the establishment of authenticity and legitimacy from audiences. It is, at its core, a struggle that utilizes rhetoric. Begun in 1984, the TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) conference has become a critical player in an architectonic movement to manufacture expertise. Modeled on the Lyceum and Chautauqua movements of the early American 20th century, the TED conferences have spread rapidly into public culture, but most notably in field of education via social media and online video. TED “talks” are classroom artifacts. They are teaching tools and aid in increasing learning for a more digital native student population. Likewise, the TED conferences have become models of community engagement that work rhetorically to demonstrate the attribution and manufacturing of expertise amidst a 21st century digital world. In short, we have acknowledged TED’s growth and expansion as credible and sanctioned their identity as the harbinger of expert and inspirational ideas. The democratization of digital media, particularly video, has made it possible to increase the sharing and collaboration of ideas faster than ever before, and as our world becomes more reliant on digital devices for the receiving and sending of information, the consumption and production of information, and the attribution of expertise, the precise role of technology within pedagogy becomes increasingly complex. My dissertation posits that TED employs current uses of digital media technologies in order to manufacture its ethos of expertise within public culture

Alien Registration- Watson, Joseph Edward (Danforth, Washington County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/1898/thumbnail.jp