Wheelchair Propulsion Forces Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wheelchair Propulsion Forces - Essay Example Consequently, the Smart Wheel users group identified four parameters generated by use of a smart wheel that would be the most clinically relevant when attempting to improve preserve upper limb function. Smart Wheel is a measurement devices that attaches to a variety of wheelchairs, used in the clinical setting to measure parameters involved in movement of the wheelchair. These four parameters are: velocity, push force, push frequency and stroke length. It is these four parameters that will be analysed as part of this study. Wheelchair velocity can be best described as the speed in metres per second that the wheelchair will travel. â€Å"A velocity of 1.06 m/s represents the average minimum velocity needed to safely cross an intersection† (Hoxie RE 1994, as cited in Cowan 2008). This was chosen as a guide for this study for the purpose of discussion. They found that â€Å"velocity ranged from 0.8 to 1.6 m/s for propulsion on a level surface.† Newsam (1996) also conducted a study looking at the effects of terrain on propulsion. The research found that â€Å"when wheeling over carpet, the velocity of propulsion was reduced to 78% of normal walking velocity.† It also found that individuals with cervical lesions had an even slower velocity, suggesting that users with higher lesions must work near or at their maximum capability for basic community functions. In reference to wheel position and its affect on velocity little research is available. In a study by Walsh (1986) the relationship between seat position and linear velocity in wheelchair sprinting was investigated. Testing was conducted with nine male subjects with various physical disabilities, pushing at maximum speeds on an Ergometer. The results revealed no significant differences between the maximal linear velocities at each of the nine seat positions chosen for investigation. These findings

The Shawshank Redemption Essay Example for Free

The Shawshank Redemption Essay Main character in the movie. Was wrongfully sent to prison for the murder of his wife. Andy did not commit the crime; he was simply at the murder scene in his car. He was going to kill them both but he was held back. Someone else killed his wife and her lover and Andy was blamed. -Ellis â€Å"Red† Redding- the man who can get you anything in prison. Red was Andy’s best friend and the only guilty man at Shawshank Prison. Red kept Andy sane for most of the movie by being his friend and getting him what he wants/needs. Warden Samuel Norton- Warden at Shawshank Prison; although he is the warden, he shows special interest towards Andy and uses him for his skills. -Tommy Williams- Young and fresh criminal who comes to Shawshank who knows the Identity of the real killer in Andy’s case. Tommy is assassinated because of his knowledge on the topic. -Brooks Hatlen- Old librarian. Is later released from prison. Not knowing what to do in life, Brooks chooses suicide. Wrongly convicted banker Andy Dufresne is sent to prison for killing his wife and her lover. When Andy gets to prison he learns the system and makes friends with Red, Red is the man that can get you anything in prison. Andy asks for a rock hammer as he is into geology and wants to make a chess board. Andy shows his knowledge of the law and money and helps Capt. Hadley with his money dilemma. The warden assigns Andy to the library to assist the librarian Brooks Hatlen. Andy soon becomes the warden’s second hand man to do the warden’s dirty financial work, which includes laundering money under the name â€Å"Randall Stevens†. In 1954, Brooks is released from prison, unable to adjust to the outside world he hangs himself. Tommy Williams comes to Shawshank in 1965 for robbery. He becomes friends with Andy and Red. After Tommy hears about why Andy is here in prison he is shocked because he is proof that Andy did not commit the crime. Andy brings this information the warden, but the warden refuses to listen because if Andy is brought to justice and freed than the warden doesn’t have someone like him to do his dirty work. The warden has Tommy shot and killed by Captain Hadley. Andy tells Red that if he is ever freed from the prison, that red should go to a specific hayfield near Buxton and look under a volcanic rock for a package. The next day at roll call, Andy is not present and his cell is empty. The warden gets so mad that he starts to destroy everything in the room and when he throws a rock at Raquel Welch’s poster, he finds a hidden pathway that Andy had created with his rock hammer over the last 20 years. Andy escaped from prison. After spending a good portion of his life in prison, Red is finally free. Red, like Brooks, can’t adapt to outside life. He remembered his promise to Andy and visits the specific spot that Andy told Red about. He finds some cash for a bus ticket to Zihuatenajo. Red breaks his parole and travels to Texas to cross the Mexican border. On a beach in Zihuatenajo, Red finds Andy, and they both are reunited and the movie ends. 1. Reliability- Reliability is the extent of how much you can count on one person or thing to get what is needed to be accomplished. Andy shows his reliability to the people of the prison, including administrators for his chance to get the upper hand so he can accomplish what he needs to do to get himself out of prison. 2. Validity- I think validity is how true something is, how just something is, or how important something is. Andy helps the prison workers with their taxes. His knowledge over the topic is tested and his validity is tested as well. 3. Cause and Effect- What happens and what effect comes from what happened. In The Shawshank Redemption cause and effect is very clear. From the time that Andy is trusted with finances and money laundering, the cause of his escape is planned. He wants to exploit the prison and by effect he can inherit the money under the fake identity. It is apparent in other times in the movie as well. Without the cause there would not be an effect. Beliefs- What a person holds dear to themselves as far as morals, faith, and their personal thoughts of how one should live their life. In The Shawshank Redemption, Red chastises Andy one day in the cafeteria for having hope. Andy’s own personal beliefs are always with him and by keeping those hopes he escapes the prison. 5. Hunting and Gathering- Getting what we want by our own will and actions and storing and releasing what we have wherever want. In The Shawshank Redemption, Andy takes pieces of the wall with him to the prison yards every day. He slowly empties his pockets on the prison yard and lets the rocks from the wall fall from him. 6. Personality- how a person is, what a person believes and how that belief shines to show what kind of person one is. In The Shawshank Redemption and in any other movie really, Personality is always present. Andy’s personality at first his quiet and he mostly keeps to himself. Even after making friends Andy is more of an Introvert than an Extrovert. 7. Status- A person’s social standing in society. A rank of sorts. Andy’s status in The Shawshank Redemption is changed from laundry duty to librarian to prison banker. Achieved status- what you do to get to where you are, how you achieved the status that you have. Andy’s status is achieved because of the skills that he has from his previous life. His achieved status in the end is a free man. Randall Stevens. 9. Social group- The people that you are with, your friends, your group. Andy’s social group in the story goes from being alone or just with Red, to having a whole group of friends and inmates. 10. Dyad- a group of 2 people, 2 friends or even 2 enemies. Andy and Red would be the only real Dyad in The Shawshank Redemption. The warden and captain Hadley would also be a dyad. 11. Authoritarianism- One person who is in control of a social group of groups. In The Shawshank Redemption, the warden is the authoritarian. His word goes and no one else can do or say anything about it. 12. Bisexuality- When a man or woman likes someone of the same sex but also likes someone of the opposite sex. Bisexuality is only present in the movie by â€Å"The Sisters†. In the prison there are only men, and the sisters are prison rapists who rape men. 13. Organized crime- an organized process to get what one needs or wants. Red has a system of organized crime to get the people what they want, whether it is a pack of cigarettes or a rock hammer. 14. Retribution- Revenge or personal satisfaction by getting revenge of some sort. Andy gets his retribution by exploiting to the public what was really going on in Shawshank prison. 15. Rehabilitation- the process of being â€Å"fixed† to abide by societies laws or social rules. The entire prison system in The Shawshank Redemption is really just a form of rehabilitation by imprisoning people; the officials believe that they will be rehabilitated so that they can come into the public once again. 6. Profession- your skill of trade, the thing that you have over anyone else. Andy’s profession was a banker and even while he is in prison, the profession is still useful.   Wealth- how much money a person has, how rich or happy they are. Andy’s job for a while in the movie is to launder the money under an alias. Wealth is all that the warden seems to care about. 18. Power- how much say a person has, their voice is power and how much of the voice is power, is also power. The Warden lusts for power and wealth; ultimately, both things are what get him exploited and ultimately result in his suicide. 9. Proletarians- Workers that work for money, wage or contract workers. The warden hires second hand workers and works off of bribes so that he may receive his own money, he cuts the prisons budget in work. 20. Faith- your beliefs or how much you believe in the validity of your beliefs. Andy always keeps his faith in hope, and in the end it was the hope that drove him to leave. I actually liked this assignment. I have seen the movie The Shawshank Redemption quite a few times. I always just looked at the movie in a sense of drama and a good story. After looking at the terms it’s easier to see how much sociology really affects anything. In a prison system, sociology is very present and by knowing certain terms and sociological information, you can really get something out of a movie that you could not get otherwise. Sociology is present in almost every movie as there is some kind of term present that has a better underlying meaning than what is just presented over the surface. Sometimes just by knowing what kind of person a character is, it’s easy to tell what categories of sociology they can fit under. I think sociology and this assignment are very relevant to The Shawshank Redemption in a sense that the movie is not action based. There is not a lot of action or special affects of computer graphics. The movie is all story and dialogue. It’s easier, yet harder to sense sociological terms in the dialogue as you are limited by certain kind of sociological group. I think the movie seems very different when it is viewed this way. I have seen this movie well over twenty times and I haven’t really looked at the movie in this way. I have learned quite a lot this semester and more importantly I believe they are things that I will remember. In many classes, there aren’t many things that students take with them, with this class, I didn’t just get a grade, I got a basis to which I can view many things at different angles just by analyzing and observing what and how people do or say what they do or say. How people act in a certain group compared to how they act online or with just a few close friends. The information that was taught in this class can be readily used in everyday life compared to some classes where things are taught that one wouldn’t use so much. I enjoyed this class very much.

My Antonia :: essays research papers

Book 3, "Lena Lingard," is set in Lincoln, Nebraska where Jim studies under the instruction of an admired scholar Gaston Cleric. Lena Lingard moves to Lincoln to set up a tailoring business and visits Jim. They start seeing each other regularly, going to the theater, and spending Sunday mornings together. He enjoys her company much more than that of the women of his own class who are so interested in socializing that they seem to have no life in them. Lena’s shop is very successful. She tells Jim she plans never to marry, having seen enough of marriages to know that it is not for her. She wants to be able to determine her own choices in life. Her plan is to make enough money to set her mother and younger siblings up in a comfortable house. From Lena, Jim hears about Antonia’s boyfriend, Larry Donovan, a railroad conductor who puts on airs above his status. No one likes Larry, but Antonia will not hear anything bad said of him. One day, Gaston Cleric comes to see Jim and tells him he will be teaching at Harvard. He invites Jim to come with him. Jim reluctantly says good-bye to Lena and then goes home for a visit before leaving. Book 4, "The Pioneer Woman’s Story," takes place two years later when Jim has finished his college courses and comes home to visit before continuing on to law school. Antonia is now twenty-four years old and has had a baby outside of marriage. Jim is disgusted with her and doesn’t plan to go see her where she is living with her family again. However, one day he is in the photography shop and sees a large picture of Antonia’s baby. The photographer says she is extremely proud of her baby. Jim decides to go out and talk to the Widow Steavens, a woman who has been renting his grandparents’ farm and who helped Antonia throughout the preparations for her wedding and who helped her after her child was born. Mrs. Steavens tells him that Antonia and Larry Donovan got engaged and Antonia set to work on her linens and her trousseau. She came to Mrs. Steavens’ house every day to sew. Larry Donovan was in Denver working. He took a long time to send for her and when he did he said they would be living in Denver instead of Black Hawk.

The Master Gardener

English 1301 Week 3 The Descriptive Essay Gwendolyn Wiley The Master Gardener We arrive at First Christian Church and as we approach the large red doors, I began to reflect on the days, months, and years past. A man awaits us just past those huge red doors known as the world’s greatest gardener. As a child, I remember this building seeming so large with its tall beautiful painted windows similar to the ones you might find in a Roman Catholic Cathedral. The edifice and structure of the building covered with large dark red rocks that remind you of giraffe spots.I would visit often, as a child the air of the place seems sacred and holy. The building towers up as a grand ole castle of the days of old. On the side of this massive structure, lies a beautiful garden. When we enter, the huge archway there is a feeling that you are entering into the garden of God, filled with beautiful pink gardenias, fiery red roses, white lilies, and yellow daisies the lawn always freshly manicured w ith a look of a green sea that flows through the entire garden leaving you feeling tranquil about life.The dogwood trees would bloom each spring filling the air with sweet incense that the creator would seem to smile. They stretched forth as though they struggled to find their way to the sky almost like the twisted frame of the man that cared for them. This is Jimmy’s garden. Charles James Jackson aka Jimmy a small frame man with those big gray eyes and grand smile could bring light in the darkest of rooms. He gives bone-crushing hugs to all he met. He served as a custodian, caretaker, and trustee at First Christian Church.Jimmy dedicated over fifty years of service to this community. He polished with great care and attention to detail all the grand brass within the structure. He gave such care of the large brass bells, which he rang during each wedding, baby dedication and coming of age ceremony as though he gave his approval of each act. He would witness more than three gen eration of children from birth to marriage of this great congregation. He gave advice to each generation as though they were his own children showing that great smile ensuring each felt his love by giving a bone crushing hug.Jimmy a humped back man only because he stops to bend down to hug and pick up so many children. Everyone loves Jimmy Mr. Gilmore a lifelong friend of Jimmy’s says, â€Å"God has a master gardener now†. Jimmy’s garden is a landmark in Meridian Ms everyone knows where First Christian Church is because of this elaborate garden. As the first leaf of autumn falls so does Jimmy entering into the final resting place as a seed the way so many in which he planted.Jimmy Jackson my father passed away October 19, 2012. His little three room white house with a porch covered with flowers and plants left as a reminder of that spectacular gardener. During the funeral there were more than a dozen people stand and proclaim how Jimmy influenced their lives, ma ny would paint a portrait of him so vivid it seemed that an entirely different person was lying inside that cold gray casket. The most vivid remembrance to me is that knee-slapping laugh.He laughs deeply each time he laughs it seems as though it comes from a place so deep within him he almost falls over. Oh, the way he could laugh, it is a infectious laugh. If you did not know what he was saying, you laugh because he is laughing. Jimmy Jackson, the man with a green thumb, warm heart, and bright smile is gone but not forgotten. This is the world’s greatest gardener and I will echo Mr. Gilmore now God has a master gardener. Charles James Jackson we miss you, we love you rest in peace until we meet again.

Intuitive Surgical

This paper will explore the strengths and weaknesses of Intuitive Surgical. This paper will analyze which leadership model(s) and practices would encourage innovation considering the global context of the organization. This paper will also assess how the information in the Intuitive Surgical case study does or does not exemplify the five discovery skills. Lastly, in this paper I will assess the actions that the leaders of this organization took to shape culture and processes to be more innovative.The leadership model(s) and practices that would encourage innovation considering the global context of Intuitive Surgical Intuitive Surgical is a company that has led the country as the global technology leader in robotic assisted minimally-invasive surgery (Hoffman 2012). Their main product is the da Vinci Surgical System which is a robotic surgical system designed to perform urologic, gynecologic, cardiothoracic, and general surgeries that are much less invasive than traditional surgeries (Hoffman 2012). This company was definitely a leader within their market.Each of the different leadership models support innovation within organizations in some form or fashion. In order to grasp how, one must first develop an understanding of innovation and leadership. Innovation has many meanings, but on a broad scale one can say that innovation is thinking outside the box. Leadership is a bit harder to describe because it is best understood when seen. To put leadership in words according to Doyle and Smith, leaders often become visible when an innovative response is needed (2001).Now that we have an idea of what these words mean, one of the leadership models that would be of great benefit to Intuitive Surgical is the transformational leadership. This leadership model serves as a role model by gaining the trust and confidence of peers and employees. By stating future goals, developing plans to achieve these goals and displaying an innovative edge, transformational leaders are gen erally successful (Bass, 1985). The transformation leader gets its followers to transcend there own self-interest for the sake of the organization (Doyle & Smith 2001).As for any organization, for innovation to take place they need caring people who are will to commit to the greater good of the organization, as well as creative people who have the capacity to turn ideas into practical products and services. Therefore, with Intuitive Surgical patents expiring in the near future they should channel the transformational leadership model so they can have a great chance of building innovators within its organizations. The second leadership model that could benefit Intuitive Surgical and help with innovation in organizations is behavioral leadership.This type of leadership moved away from who leaders where to what leaders did. If they continue doing what they are doing and coming up with ideas that make patients happy with very minimal errors, this companies acquirement of innovative empl oyees will rise along with its products. How the information in the Intuitive Surgical case study does or does not exemplify the five discovery skills In The DNA of Innovators, The discovery skills are the new ideas introduced by the innovator who did the five skills of: associating, questioning, observing, networking, and experimenting.Intuitive Surgical did use some of these skills very well. The first one I noticed them using was the networking skill. According to Dyer, Gregerson & Christensen, the idea networker, â€Å"networks to actively tap into new ideas and insights by talking with people who have diverse ideas and perspectives. † They used this skill when they decided to merge with Computer Motion Inc in 2003. This merge helped them to cancel out their biggest competition and lead country with their technological advancements. Associating, as Dyer, Gregerson, & Christensen (2011) stated, â€Å"happens as the brain tries to make sense of novel inputs.Associating hel ps innovators discover new directions by making connections across seemingly unrelated questions, problems or ideas (pg 23). † I did not notice Intuitive Surgical use of this discovery skill from the case study. In The DNA of Innovators, â€Å"Innovators ask questions to understand how things really are today, why they are those ways, how they might be changed or disrupted (Dyer, Gregerson & Christensen 2011). Intuitive surgical definitely answered a lot of questions by creating the da Vinci robot.With this robot they had to ask and answer a host of questions in order to acquire the precision of their device as they did. Innovators use the observing skill by carefully watching the world around them so that what they see can help them build ideas for new ways to do things. Intuitive Surgical used this skill also when they came up with their robot. Computer Motion Inc, who they merged with, was the first company to jump into the robotic surgical field which in turn means that I ntuitive Surgical watch this method and basically grew their device from a Computer Motions initial idea.Experimenting is used by innovators when they traveling to new places, seeking new information and trying new things ideas. Given that Intuitive Surgical is a leader on a global scale, this company definitely did a lot of experimenting. Also, the fact that their invention started off being used for laparoscopic surgery and went on to be used in six other surgical procedures shows that this company had done a ton of experimenting.The actions that the leaders of Intuitive Surgical took to shape culture and processes to be more innovative Intuitive Surgical took a lot of steps to make their organization more innovative. As I stated previously, merging with their biggest competitor was genius. This move alone helped them to gain a comfortable seat at the top of the ladder as global technology leader. Also, taking the step to put patents on their work secured their spot at the top for years to come. This company has helped a monopoly in the robotic-assisted MIS market.Now that the patents are due to expire the company has had time to come up with bigger, better ideas that they can put into play after the expiration has hit which could possibly acquire new patents. That way they can continue leading their competitors and protecting their development for another x amount of years. In 2008 Annual Report Letter to the Shareholders, Intuitive Surgical emphasized that their goal is to â€Å"take surgery beyond the limits of the human hand† (Hoffman 2012).

A Critical Look at the Sambia essays

A Critical Look at the Sambia essays In order to become a man in Sambia culture, one must rid themselves of the pollutants associated with womanhood and take in the fluids that are necessary to becoming a man (Herdt). This rite of passage is based on the idea that women are pollution to men and when a boy becomes a man he must rid himself of the womanhood that has polluted his life so thoroughly (Herdt). Elders take him violently from his mother at age seven or eight and force bloodletting from the nose with sugar cane rid him of the female pollution because blood symbolizes womanhood (Herdt). Bloodletting is viewed as essential to "male growth" (Herdt 368) in Sambia culture. He bleeds out the female pollution he has received from his mother (Herdt). He then must ingest the fluids, which will make him a man. He does this by performing fellatio on the elders of the tribe and swallowing their semen (Herdt). By doing this, the boy gains semen himself and over time and repeated fellatios becomes a man (Herdt). He is also taught to be a warrior and to be disgusted by women, distrustful of them and remain as distant as possible from them (Herdt). This very anti-female ritual exemplifies how women are treated in the Sambia culture. They are considered inferior and subordinate to men, victims of domestic violence, seen as pollution to avoid, be cleansed of on a regular basis, and be disgusted by continually (Herdt). Through the ideas of Sherry Ortner, Mary Douglas, and Victor Turner this rite of passage and the beliefs it is based on concerning the inferiority and fear of women can be critically analyzed and explained. Sherry Ortner argues that it is the association of females with nature and males with a culture that explains the inferior treatment of women and the male's need to cleanse himself of women upon the passage to manhood and the separation from female society. Through Mary Douglas's "Abominations of Leviticus," the case can be made for the symbolic association's me...

Free Essays on Black Death

Black Death The most sever epidemic in human history, The Black Death ravaged Europe from 1347-1351. This plague killed entire families at a time and destroyed many villages. The Black Death had many effects beyond its immediate symptoms that contributed to the crisis of the Fourteenth Century. This plague not only took a devastating toll on human life, but it also played a major role in shaping European life in the years to follow. The Black Death divides the central and the late Middle Ages. This horrible catastrophe that occurred in 1348, swept through Europe causing numerous changes. â€Å"The Black Death erupted in the Gobi Desert in the late 1320’s.† This plague originated there and spread outward in every direction. In the autumn of 1347, twelve ships arrived in Messina, a port on the island of Sicily. Usually the people of Messina were eager to see the exotic products these merchants’ ships would bring from Caffa, on the Black Sea. This particular time the people fou nd something astonishing. Instead of silk, perfumes, and spices, these ships carried a strange and destructive disease that would eventually change Europe forever. City officials found very few people alive on these ships when they ported Messina. Dead bodies littered the decks and the ships reeked of decaying flesh. On the deceased they found large black swellings covering the bodies. These officials who inspected these ships feared that the disease that had slaughtered the sailors would spread to Messina. This fear led to the decree that no one, or any piece of merchandise was to leave the ships. They would not even allow the sick sailors to leave the ships or even get medical treatment. It is thought that the people of the ships, who were living in Caffa during the summer of 1347, were exposed to this terrible disease while fighting the Tatars. The Tatars were Mongolian warriors who attacked the city of Caffa, and had the city contained for months. They seeme... Free Essays on Black Death Free Essays on Black Death Black Death was the biggest problem in the Middle Ages. The plague was, â€Å"The disease, carried by the fleas of infected rats, traveled the caravan routes from central Asia. It arrived in Messina, Sicily, aboard a merchant vessel in October 1347.† No one (peasant or aristocrat) was safe from the disease, and once it was contracted, a terrible and painful death was almost a certainty. Black Death, or the plague, killed indiscriminately without remorse or thought of consequences. The after effect of the Black Death were that it changed the way people felt about life, it also effected the social classes, and it caused the peasants to revolt. Black Death changed the way people felt about life. People in Europe soon began to react and tried to explain why and where the plague came from. Many people who were ignorant believed that the plague was the vengeance of god upon a sinful world. â€Å"Preachers saw the plague as divine punishment for sin.† Yet, another group believed that the Jews were the immediate cause of the Black Death. The Jews were accused of poisoning the water supply . Europeans started loosing their faith, â€Å"Traditional bonds of kinship, village, and even religion were broken by the horrors of death, flight, and failed expectations.† The immediate effect of the plague on communities was devastating. Families and friends were set against each other. â€Å"Brothers abandoned brothers, wives deserted husbands, and terror-stricken parents refused to nurse their own children.† As a result, people turned against each other and started accusing each other of causing the illnes s. The Black Death had affected each of the different social classes in Europe. . Property owners got richer in land and goods after their relatives had passed away. â€Å"One consequence of poverty was increased crime, which led to repressive measures and harsh punishments.† The social classes started rebelling with each other Churc... Free Essays on Black Death Black Death The most sever epidemic in human history, The Black Death ravaged Europe from 1347-1351. This plague killed entire families at a time and destroyed many villages. The Black Death had many effects beyond its immediate symptoms that contributed to the crisis of the Fourteenth Century. This plague not only took a devastating toll on human life, but it also played a major role in shaping European life in the years to follow. The Black Death divides the central and the late Middle Ages. This horrible catastrophe that occurred in 1348, swept through Europe causing numerous changes. â€Å"The Black Death erupted in the Gobi Desert in the late 1320’s.† This plague originated there and spread outward in every direction. In the autumn of 1347, twelve ships arrived in Messina, a port on the island of Sicily. Usually the people of Messina were eager to see the exotic products these merchants’ ships would bring from Caffa, on the Black Sea. This particular time the people fou nd something astonishing. Instead of silk, perfumes, and spices, these ships carried a strange and destructive disease that would eventually change Europe forever. City officials found very few people alive on these ships when they ported Messina. Dead bodies littered the decks and the ships reeked of decaying flesh. On the deceased they found large black swellings covering the bodies. These officials who inspected these ships feared that the disease that had slaughtered the sailors would spread to Messina. This fear led to the decree that no one, or any piece of merchandise was to leave the ships. They would not even allow the sick sailors to leave the ships or even get medical treatment. It is thought that the people of the ships, who were living in Caffa during the summer of 1347, were exposed to this terrible disease while fighting the Tatars. The Tatars were Mongolian warriors who attacked the city of Caffa, and had the city contained for months. They seeme...