Spainish Culture
Made up of 17 separate communities each with a unique culture and feel, Spain is known as a geographically large country which a common thread runs throughout all different regions. Certainly, coming to Spain, don’t miss a chance to experiencing Spanish culture. Here are some guides for you.
Language
Castellano is the official Spanish language of Spain and is spoken across the country. There are however several regional dialects as well as officially recognised languages in Galicia, Catalonia and the Basque country. Castillian Spanish is, however, spoken in these regions too, so learning Spanish ensures you will be understood wherever you travel in Spain.
Food
Eating and drinking is an integral part of Spanish culture.
Lunch is the most important meal of the day and is usually eaten any time between around 1.30pm and 3.30pm. Traditionally, Spanish people leave their place of work at lunchtime to eat with the family, something that still happens today.
The evening meal is Spain is generally eaten at around 10pm or later. In bars and restaurants, Spanish people often share a selection of small plates (tapas), which would typically include cured hams and meats, regional cheeses, perhaps some seafood and a slice of tortilla (Spanish omelette).
Drink
The bar is the hub of Spanish society. People of all ages and backgrounds congregate in bars to discuss the day’s events over a coffee, wine or beer.
Visit a bar around 8pm during the week and it will generally be packed with workers discussing the hot topics of the day.
Although a few bars have bans in place, smoking is still very much part of Spanish life. Bars generally empty as everyone goes home for dinner, then start to fill up again towards midnight when the Spanish head out for the night.
Culture
Visit Spain during the summer months and you are sure to have the opportunity to visit a carnival or fiesta. Each town and village has at least one fiesta each year, offering the chance for young and old to get together and celebrate. Expect a lively mix of drinking and dancing that can continue for several days.
Sport
If they’re not taking part, they’re watching on TV or talking about it. From basketball to tennis, the Spanish love sport. As you would expect of a country which is the reigning European champion, football is hugely popular. Other popular sports include basketball, tennis, cycling and motor sports.
Bull Fighting
Bull fighting is a sport which divides opinion in Spain as much as overseas. Many Spanish people view it as a noble display of finesse and courage, whilst others consider it nothing more than a barbaric display of animal cruelty. Whatever you may think about bull fighting, it is an important part of Spanish culture.
Generally speaking, the Spanish are a gregarious and sociable race. Compared to those in the UK or the United States, the Spanish spend far more time outside of their own homes. Whether on the beach or in a bar, the Spanish love to talk and appreciate the simple pleasures of good food and drink.
An examination of several key questions regarding culture. How can culture be defined? What makes culture good or bad? How does culture influence society? What is the purpose of culture? What are the responsibilities of purveyors of culture? What are the responsibilities of cultural theorists?
Blood Culture
History
Blood cultures were pioneered in the early 20th century.
Diagnosis
Indications of sepsis:
Core temperature out of normal range.
Focal signs of infection.
Tachycardia, hyper- or hypotension or raised respiratory rate.
Chills or rigors.
Raised or very low White Blood Count (WBC).
New or worsening confusion.
The signs of sepsis may be minimal or absent in the very young and the elderly.
To identify the causative organisms in severe pneumonia, postpartum fever, pelvic inflammatory disease, cannulae sepsis, neonatal epiglottitis and sepsis. Investigations of patients with pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO). However, negative growths do not exclude infection.
The test 2-3 specimens of 20 ml of blood (2-4ml for infants, depending on weight) collected from separate sites within an hour (unless ?sepsis, fungal infections, endocarditis or endovascular (catheter related), when they should be at least an hour apart), cultured in enriched broth for aerobes, anaerobes and yeasts. Ideally, the sample is collected at the pyrexial peak and prior to antibiotic therapy. Where antibiotics have been commenced the samples should be taken immediately before the next dose. Blood cultures should not be routine. A little clarity: draw 20 mL of blood, and put 10 mL into an “aerobic” bottle, eg a bottle with growth media for aerobic organisms, and put 10 mL into a second, ‘anaerobic” bottle.
Incubation is for 57 days (although most pathogens will grow within 12 days) and often extended for 1421 days for suspected bacterial endocarditis, Brucella or yeasts. Some controversy on the extended incubation time, see Clin Infect Dis. 2005 Dec 1;41(11):1681-2. PDF freely available. Growth is detected by the presence of turbidity, haemolysis, Gram stain or more commonly production of carbon dioxide or change in pH (detected by an automated monitoring system).
Risks The usual risks of venepuncture and the occurrence of false positive results (3+%) leading to inappropriate treatment (Madeo et al., 2003).
Procedure:
Assemble the equipment, check bottles for damage, check expiry date on bottles and wash hands as per policy
Check the patients identity
Explain, check for needle phobia and gain consent
Clean visibly soiled skin with soap and water
Check patient is comfortable
Clean the bottle tops using a separate alcohol/ chlorhexidine wipes, as below, and discard these wipes
Apply tourniquet (disposable in the Southern Area) and select vein.
Cleanse for 30+ seconds with 2% chlorhexidine gluconate in 70% isopropyl alcohol (e.g. Clinelle) and allow to dry passively (Mimoz et al.,1999, Pratt et al. 2007). If central line is being used disinfect access port with 2% chlorhexidine gluconate in 70% isopropyl alcohol
Glove with clean gloves. Do not palpate vein following cleaning. Sterile gloves are not required.
Collect blood culture sample first (prior to other bloods) using closed system (e.g. Bio-Merieux holder for BacT/ALERT blood culture and safety blood collection set + luer adapter safety butterfly). #Collect the aerobic sample first (10 ml) and then 10mls into the anaerobic . Babies should have a single yellow edibact bottle used (aerobic) and an anaerobic sample. Ensure the bottle is positioned below the puncture site to avoid reflux of the broth into the patient.
Do not take blood from existing peripheral cannulae or from immediately above cannulae sites. Do not use the femoral vein.
Rotate the blood cultures bottles to mix o not shake
Do not change needles between vein and bottles (this risks contamination)
Apply dressing to site and apply white nail pressure for 2+ minutes
Dispose of sharps carefully as per local policy
Label sample noting time and site i.e. peripheral, central line etc. in both the bottle and form, record and transport to laboratory ASAP. Do not obscure the bar code on the bottle
Record the date, time and site of specimen collected in the patient notes.
Ensure any spillages are cleaned up as per local policy.
Wash hands again.
Avoid using needles and syringes for this procedure as they risk needle stick injuries, over or under fill of bottles and accidental contamination.
Other steps:
Training for all participating staff
Competency assessment
References
Department of Health (2007) Saving lives: Reducing infection, delivering clean and safe care London: DoH
Donnino, M., Goyal, N., Terlecki, T., Donnino, K., Miller, J., Otero, R. and Howell, M. (2007) Inadequate blood volume collected for culture: A survey of health care professionals Mayo Clinic Proceedings 82(9) 1069-1072
Madeo, M. and Barlow, G. (2008) Reducing blood-culture contamination rates by the use of a 2% chlorhexadine solution applicator in acute admission units Journal of Hospital Infection 69, 207-309
Madeo, M, Davies, D., Owen, L., Wadsworth, P., Johnson, G. and Martin, C. (2003) Reduction in the contamination rate of blood cultures collected by medical staff in the accident and emergency department Clinical effectiveness in Nursing 7, 30-32.
Madeo, M., Jackson, T. and Williams, C. (2009) Simple measures to reduce the rate of contamination of blood cultures in accident and emergency Emergency Medicine Journal 22, 810-811.
Mimoz, O., Karim, A., Mercat, A. Cosseron, M., Falissard, B., Parker, F., Richard, C., Samii, K. and Nordmann, P. (1999) Chlorhexidine compared with providone-iodine a ski preparation before blood culture Annals of Internal Medicine131(11), 834-837
Pratt et al. (2007) epic 2: National Evidence Guidelines for preventing healthcare associated infections in NHS hospitals in England Journal of Hospital Infection 65 (1) S14
Weinstein, M.P., Lee, A., Mirrett, S. and Barth Reller, L. (2007) Infections in adults: How many blood cultures are needed? Journal of Clinical Microbiology 45, 3546-3548.
See also
Microbiological culture
Categories: Microbiology techniques | Medical testsHidden categories: Wikipedia articles needing rewrite from November 2009
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Lagos Culture
The world is a combination of different cultures developed with the passage of time. It is very interesting topic for me because when I think about the different cultures of the cities, countries it is very amazingly to me. The reason is that, I say that the culture of the people of a home should be the same and it is the same. Then why the progeny of one person (first person of the world) has thousand different cultures.
It is right that the rapid growth of the human being made it difficult to live together. But when the men started to depart themselves they have the same language and other customs then what is the reason behind this that their next races changed their tongue and other customs. Anyhow the men would have to face this problem continuously.
Like other many typical cultures of the world the Lagos city has its own culture which is the topic of the article under view.
As every culture has some attractions for the people of other cultures, the culture of the Lagos city has also so many attractions in it for the visitors. Being situated at a very charming location, icy island and a big city having all the requisite qualities it is an important point for the tourists who usually visit it, stay her in beautiful hotel, and purchase the different things of daily use from the whole sale markets of the Lagos city.
It goes without saying that thousand people visit the Lagos city in a year. When the other places are visited by the visitors, of course a curiosity is there to see the culture of the territory. It is why the culture of the Lagos has been made the topic of the magazines, newspapers, internet and the media. Besides there is a natural beauty in the culture of this city.
The salient features of the culture of this city are:-
First of all the culture of Lagos by it location presents a musical scene. Basically it is an island and we know that all the islands are very beautiful. Thus the beauty of this city made by its locations, higher buildings, Mortal Muhammad international airport, museum, so many popular hotels can’t be refuted. Besides it is also called an ice berg.
Hip hop, juju, high life and Fuji are famous activities of the culture of this city. The tendency and positivity of the people of this city made these activities popular.
A very large and interesting musical and film industry is there in the Lagos. So many super hit films and songs have been produced by the producers of this city. Besides the producers and directors along with the other actors from many countries come here for pasteurization of different scenes of their movies in the beautiful area of Lagos.
National arts are also the important features of this city. The arts available there at Lagos are learnt by the local people and outsiders with a great interest.
Defining Culture
How do you define “culture”? It is the word providing the predominant aspect of “multicultural” and the basis for “diversity” programs. Many people give this word an extremely narrow designation, thinking of it as racial or religious.
To define the term correctly, we need to look at the dictionary. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, Culture is “The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought.” The dictionary further explains “these patterns, traits, and products considered as the expression of a particular period, class, community, or population.”
With this thinking it is easy to understand there are many categories of culture. Let’s say your family is planning a summer weekend reunion by a wooded lake. Some will look forward to the weekend as they will be able to swim, ski, hike, relax, read, or engage in quiet conversation.These six items can be categorized as “recreational”.
Upon further analysis, the first three are “active recreations” while the last three are “sedentary recreations”.
Dig down further and you will find that each of the six activities can also be considered a culture. Swimmers, for example, may prefer pool, fresh, or salt water, still or gently tidal waters, and so forth. People who prefer pools think and act differently from people who are avid about swimming in the ocean. In fact, each level of these categories and subcategories give us more insight into a group of individuals, with the familiarity helping us to better relate to the culture’s members as customers or employees.
Each of us is a variety of different cultures in a single body.
Recreation, religion, race, politics, economic level, educational background, geography, and many other aspects of life have defined ways to think, act, and react.
When your think of diversity perhaps you will no longer look at it as just a black and white issue.
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