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The Christian Crusades Positively Impacted the East and the West Even though countless numbers of people died during the Christian Crusades, there were many positive effects for both the East and the West. After the Crusades halted, various trade routes opened up between Eastern and Western cities. Also, the Muslims developed new military strategies and techniques during the fights with the Europeans, and they united themselves against one cause, producing a stronger religious nation (Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, 1993). Numerous effects of the Christian Crusades in the Middle East had a positive outcome. In John Child's book, The Crusades, he quotes J. Kerr as claiming that the "most obvious result of the crusades" was a growth in "trade with the east". According to a 1996 AP article printed in the Jerusalem Post, the English word "sugar" comes from the Arabic "sukkar", and "scallion" comes from "Ascalon", a Philistine city. Trade extended from England to the Black Sea, going through the ports of Beirut, Acre and Alexandria. After the loss of Acre in 1291, Cyprus, Rhodes and Crete were the three Mediterranean islands that composed some of the main crusader trading centers. From these three islands it was possible to control goods' ships traveling to and from the Middle East (Child, 1994). These trade routes generated a beneficial contact between the cultures of East and West. Many merchants from the cities of Venice and Genoa settled in Cyprus and Crete. From the Muslims these merchants bought spices, sugar, cloth and cotton. Other merchants from Sicily and Aragorn traded for Tunisian gold, and Algerian wool and animal skins. Popular goods traded from the Middle East were sugar, melons, cotton, ultramarine dye and damask cloth. Although the Pope tried to stop merchants from trading with the Muslims, he had to repeal his embargo in 1344. Though most of the traded goods came from the Middle East, the com bined efforts from both East and West brought about many inventions, such as windmills, compasses, gunpowder and clocks. Figure 1 This trade between East and West caused prosperity among the people. Child states in his book that the merchants made "a lot of money" out of the trade with the Muslim people. After the Crusades had terminated, these merchants were able to prosper from trade between Europe and the Middle East. Outlined in Figure 1 are some trade routes utilized after the Crusades. During the Crusades, the Muslims used weaponry that the Franks were not familiar with.

Nature and Nature in Cognitive Development Essay

Why are both nature and nurture important in perceptual development? How do both help a baby’s brain and sensory organs to develop?   The question of whether nature or nurture is more important in terms of perceptual development has bee long debated. In general, there are two theories that explain how humans develop these perceptions. The Nativists claim that our brains are built or hardwired to recognize certain stimuli by both design and construction. In contrast, an Empiricist would say that we learn through experience how to perceive things. There was an experiment done by Nativist researchers that sought to determine how very young mammals are able to perceive. The data concluded that early infants were able to perceive quite a lot before they really had a chance to learn anything. Gibson and Walk’s the â€Å"visual cliff† experiment was one such experiment, in this test both young animals and 6 month old human infants were taken to a side of a visual cliff, the test subjects would avoid the clearly deep drop. This indicated that children can perceive visual depth and that visual depth dominates even touch information. Additionally, studies have been done that show babies can recognize faces and that they often prefer the visual stimulation of carton faces as opposed to the same features arranged at random. In other tests it was shown that babies can also recognize whether or not and object is coming directly at their face or not. These experiments show that even the undeveloped infant brain has considerable capacity for perceptual capabilities. In contrast, several Empiricists experiments have been done as well. In one such study, scientists sought to determine the effects of depriving developing animals from perceptual stimulations. These tests have consistently shown that the longer the subject is deprived, the more severe the consequences. For example, humans are sometimes born without sight, due to a clouded cornea. Later in life some elect to have surgery to repair this clouded cornea. The result is sight, these people can see but they cannot perceive what it is that they see. As time goes on they slowly learn to distinguish one object from another, but this is however quite easily interrupted. Often changing an objects position or context is quite enough to slow down or prevent recognition. To conclude, although some argue that perception is due to nature, while others argue for nurture, it may in fact be that the two factors are interdependent and rely on each other. Support for this idea comes from an experiment that studied rats and found that those raised in a perceptually restricted environment had smaller brain development than those raised in an enriched environment, suggesting that while we are born with innate capabilities we need the environment to ensure we develop our abilities to perceive well. The perceptual capabilities we have at birth must be strengthened continuously through perceptual stimulation, furthermore, it would seem that perception in general follows the use it or lose it principle. Just as unused muscles become week, so to do our senses if left unused. Nature and nurture are both essential to health y perceptual development; stimulation begins in the womb and quickly follows all the way through adulthood. Sources . â€Å"Nature and Nurture in Perceptual Development.† . www.indiana.edu. Web. 11 Feb 2013. . . â€Å"Experiencing Sensation and Perception.† . physch.hanover.edu. Web. 11 Feb 2013. . Arterberry, M. â€Å"Perceptual Development.† . Colby College. Web. 11 Feb 2013. .

The Health Of Female Veterans - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 842 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/04/15 Category Society Essay Level High school Topics: Veterans Essay Did you like this example? In the United States, social programs and interventions continue to work toward gender equality and womens empowerment. Closing these gaps and unlocking the unique potential of women across the U.S. would benefit the country in various ways. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Health Of Female Veterans" essay for you Create order While gender equality works towards men and women being treated equally, it remains true that gender differences exist and must be studied in the context of health. As stated by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2000); The desegregation of health and socio-economic data according to sex is essential for identifying and remedying inequalities in health. (p. 8) One interesting and important group for which this need for research exists is the United States Military. The Womens Army Corps was de-established in 1978, at which time women were integrated into the military with their male counterparts. In 2013, following a growing demand for gender equality and a decrease in the overall number of individuals enlisting, the ban preventing women from serving in combat was lifted. Steps continue to be taken in the various military sectors, working towards equal opportunities of service for both men and women. However female veterans continue to report problems, typical to marginalized groups, such as lack of access to care, low quality care, and poor patient-doctor communication. (Villagran, Ledford, Canzona, 2015) Throughout the past two decades in particular, the United States Armed Forces have been deployed in unparalleled frequencies and durations. Following the terrorist attacks on September 11th 2001, service members have faced an increasingly high rate of combat. The context of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have often included multiple deployments and ambiguous missions, in which the violence endured and witnessed is unpredictable. This is notable in predicting future health outcomes for our armed service members, as studies show combat has a significant impact on the physical, social, and psychological health of veterans. (Williston, Taft, VanHaasteren, 2015) According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Veteran Population Projection report (2016), the U.S. veteran population will decrease from 20 million to 13.6 million from 2017 to 2037. In this time, they estimate the percentage of male veterans will decrease 2.3% annually, while the percentage of female veterans will con tinue to increase .7% annually. In the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq women represented approximately 10% of all deployed personnel. (Crum-Cianflone Jacobson, 2014) The motivation behind women joining the United States Military appears to be similar to that of men; whether it be an ambition for higher education, a need for a reliable and safe social structure, or a patriotic desire to protect ones country. (Mankowski et al., 2016) However, the health implications of this service, once U.S. armed services members leave the line of duty, differ by gender and must be studied. One specific example of a health concern found to occur among over 33% of women in the military, compared to 23% of non-veteran women is intimate partner violence (IPV). (Bartlett, Iverson, Mitchell, 2018) By studying this specific health concern, one can see how action towards basic health rights such as housing and food stability can positively affect various health outcomes. Gaps in Research: A literature review of existing research shows that service members, in comparison to civilians, are at a higher risk for various health issues including IPV. Of these service members, those that have faced deployment or combat exposure have been shown to be at an even greater risk. (Crum-Cianflone et al., 2014) Looking specifically at women in the armed services, millions of dollars have been spent researching their physical and health capabilities, in efforts to argue if and how they should be integrated into the military. (Seelig et al., 2012) However, insufficient research has been done focusing on the health and well-being of women service members during and post deployment. It is important for our government to focus more of their resources and time on this matter. The gender research that has been done on the armed service population shows that military women are at a higher risk of many health issues in comparison to male members of the armed services. However, the extent, determinants, and repercussions of these health differences still need to be examined. With their growing numbers and changing roles in the United States Military, research focused on women is vital to minimizing the negative effects American women face in their service to our country. In the past two decades, IPV has been identified as a major social health concern for women in the United States. While the majority of studies looking at armed services members have been focused on men, this research shows early identification of individuals suffering from IPV can dramatically impact the resulting negative short and long term consequences. (Sparrow et al., 2017) However, a major barrier in treating and preventing IPV is that victims are reluctant to disclose their experiences for fear of the potentially damaging repercussions. The research that has been focused on females shows the overall rate of women in the military suffering from IPV may also be skewed by an unusually high percent of women who enter the armed forces having already suffered IPV. (Dichter, Wagner, True, 2015)