Rise and Fall of the Hyksos in the Egyptian Civilization Research Paper

Rise and Fall of the Hyksos in the Egyptian Civilization - Research Paper Example Their power was enhanced every time any Asian force entered Egypt, whom they greeted as allies . Hyksos were declared to be a large force, and managed to invade Egypt without much resistance. They were able to accomplish this because they took advantage of a time when the dynasty of Pharaohs was nearing its end, and the Pharaoh had no son to succeed him. They crushed the ruling regime, and burnt the cities and temples to the ground. The natives were treated brutally, and some were even made slaves. Finally, they appointed a member of their army, Salitis, as king and established a new city called Ausaris . The Hyksos ruled in a period which is commonly known as the Second Intermediate Period, in which the Asians were known as ‘Aamu’ by the locals. The Fifteenth Dynasty (1663-1570 BC) is usually assigned to these Hyksos kings. The Hyksos, started by ruling the eastern Delta, and later they spread their power to the middle and southern parts of Egypt. During the Second Inte rmediate Period, Egypt was in a state of turmoil, as opposing groups were rising from different areas. Among these emerged two strong leaders, the Hyksos kings, ruling from their capital Avaris, and the Theban Dynasty. During their rule, the Hyksos kings continued to attack the southern region, in order to gain control over the Theban Kingdom, which they eventually managed to do but for a short time period. The ethnic origins of the Hyksos have always been a controversial topic. There is plenty of evidence to support that they were from Palestine, as their culture was very similar to that of the last stage of Middle Bronze Age II from the Syro-Palestinian region. But there are also indications of Mesopotamian culture in the Hyksos kingdom. Objects such as composite bows and chariots used by the Hyksos, were part of the Mesopotamian civilization. But it was odd that these objects were of the old design when used by the Hyksos, as compared to the new ones which were being used in Meso potamia at the time. Thus, it can be concluded that the Hyksos were not directly influenced by the Mesopotamians3. The Hyksos were grand builders and craftsmen, and their method of governance was almost similar to that of the Egyptians. Although the Hyksos brought a few of their gods when they invaded Egypt, they also displayed respect to the idols of the Egyptian natives, some of which also became a part of their own religion. Egypt already had various interactions with the forces from Asia. These included several wars and trade to a certain extent; therefore it would not be startling to notice that mix cultures did exist in different areas in Egypt at that time. The Hyksos belonged to the Semitic tribe who gained control of Egypt from the leaders of the Second Intermediate Period, which took place after the 13th Dynasty. Their names largely come from the West Semitic languages and there also have been hints that these people were Hurrian. It is difficult to verify the origins of t hese people in Asia, and at Tell el-Dab'a, as their culture was not steady, but kept on changing. According to one theory, the local Egyptians allowed, settlers from the region of Lebanon and Palestine to settle down on their lands. The leaders of these settlers gradually established matrimonial relations with the local Egyptians. This is supported by the fact that foreign features of the Hyksos at Tell el-Dab'a have been excavated at sites to the south of Palestine such as Tell el-Ajjul, at the Syrian site of Ebla and at Byblos in modern Lebanon. Hence, the Hyksos ended up ruling Egypt mainly because of the the huge number of Asians who travelled to

Critical evaluation of Maths remaining as part of the curriculum Essay

Critical evaluation of Maths remaining as part of the curriculum - Essay Example Teaching and learning mathematics dates back to the third century BC making mathematics an ancient subject (Martin, 2006). Pioneers of modern mathematics include Euclid, and Pythagoras. Presumably, the age of mathematics as a subject has rendered it irrelevant in the modern world evoking the debate on whether mathematics should remain part of the school curriculum. However most teachers particularly mathematics teachers believe that mathematics should remain as part of the school curriculum. This report present a critical analysis of responses received from both teachers and students with the aim of drawing a conclusion on the issue. Majority of the teachers confirmed that mathematics is the only subject that train students how to make logical decisions on an issue. Unlike other subject, mathematical knowledge is based on fundamental theorems and principle. In addition, mathematics is the only well defined subject or the only subject that avoids contradictions. This indicates that ma thematics endows learners with fundamental skills that cannot be obtained from another subject taught in the school curriculum. According to Martin (2006), mathematics is the only universal subject and the only subject that has remained relevant over the years. ... It has been established that most subjects teach students how to memorize or remember (Martin, 2006). This aspect makes mathematics a sufficient prerequisite to nearly all subjects taught in the school curriculum. Most science and engineering subjects such as chemistry, engineering, physics, and architecture use mathematics to proof and illustrate theoretical concepts. Discovery of abstract branches of mathematics such as algebra, topology, and analysis has also been instrumental in the evolution of computer science and information technology. Thus, nearly all subjects taught in the modern school curriculum depend on mathematics as their main language of illustration. From responses received, it is evident that teachers support the issue of maintaining mathematics in the school curriculum. It is also evident that mathematics is applicable in humanities and social sciences. In particular, mathematical techniques are applied in humanities and social sciences to establish social trends and to quantify key social quantities such as population. Therefore, mathematics cannot be eliminated from the school curriculum. The interactive nature of mathematics is the main factor that makes most students to shy away from the subject. Unlike other subjects taught in the school curriculum, mathematics requires active participation of students. This compels the students to participate in classroom activities such as class discussion and completing assignments. Thus, mathematics exams not only examine a student’s ability to remember theoretical content but their level of participation in the school activities. Evidently, the level of a student’s participation in mathematics also measures their

Social Construction of Gender Essay

Social Construction of Gender Essay Heteronormativity is the cultural bias or the view that puts clear boundary between male and female, which emphasizes normal sexual and romantic relationship between two genders. As freshmen in college, I have a friend name Joe whom I did not expect him to be gay. At first, I thought it was impossible him to be gay. But as he began to have boyfriend, I began to see people around them and the society viewed him as abnormal and weird. For example, his parents told him to be straight in order to emphasize about being normal. There are social boundaries to people who are not straight and the society encourages people to be Heteronormative. Therefore, Heteronormativity is a fixed view about living and having normal thoughts about sexuality and gender role. Prompt 1: Gender Construction in our society Gender Identity can be defined by the way people act as a male and female, which males have different sets of mind about something that females do not. Even though man and woman have difference in physical part, People learn more about their gender identity through experiences since their childhoods to until they get old. There are many biological differences in both men and women, but it does not have impact on how gender shapes in peoples lives. If gender did not exist in our society, I am pretty sure there would be gender confusion where many females would be considered as male, and many males would be considered as females. There are many sociocultural factors that have influenced on gender role. Since the social construction of gender is mainly formed by the gender rule and stereotype in our society, gender identity is constructed by the representation of gender norms in mass media productions, parental expectations about gender identity, and the beliefs of different religious t raditions about gender. In todays society, Mass Media Production like movie, video games, and magazines influenced so many young males and females and also some older people. For example in the movie clips Miss Representation(2010) , clearly portrays how women should act around people and in society. In the movie Miss Representation, the women are shown as sexually explicit figure toward the audiences and also emphasize how women should look like in order to satisfy gender role. Because many women are shown in negative way for most of time, people actually think that women are exactly like in the movie or magazines, which is not true. This movie was trying to say that people are heavily influenced by media. All of people watch TV every single day, and many of them enjoy watching movie. By watching them, they unconsciously think about the actors or models and form their gender roles. In the reading Breaking the Model, the author said I wanted to be popular, like the typical girl o n TV. I wanted to be thin- to fit in. (Rodriguez, CP 54). Due to the fact that many of women want to look sexy, beautiful, and thin, they see the model as their dream and it motivates them to be like them, which could cause in eating disorder and depression. They desire to fit into certain group of the society in order to feel good and superior about themselves. On the other hand, the producers of media know what teens like and purposefully make media productions that appeal to them. Finally, the media gradually forms peoples thoughts about their genders by emphasizing that they should look like them. The social construction of gender is caused by the expectation of people and the way society view people. Since the childhood, everyone received certain expectations from their parents and relatives to be either grown up as normal masculine male and feminine female. In the reading from Night to His Day, it said that In social interaction throughout their lives, individuals learn what i s expected, see what is expected, act and react in expected way, and thus simultaneously construct and maintain the gender order. (Lorber, CP 14). Unlike media effect on gender identity, children learn their behaviors and form their minds by listening to their parents and other people. For example, some boys learn to be male by playing tough sports like football. Additionally, girls learn to be female by imitating the way their mothers dress and act. It would be weird for people to act in unexpected way and might result in isolation from the family and the society. In the reading Why Boys Dont Play With Dolls, it said that a girl with a doll and a boy with truck explain why men are from Mars and women are from Venus, why wives do housework and husbands just dont understand (Pollitt, CP 18). Since childhood, we modeled our parents and acted according to what they told us to do. There are gender rules which states that male has to act in certain way and female has to act in another w ay. Because gender stereotype and expectations existed and people kept acting in expected way for long period of time, people were able to form gender identity by modeling and following their ancestors. All of these would demonstrate how our social norms have big impact on gender expectations for people. Lastly, religious view toward gender would form the social construction of gender and could lead to discrimination about gender, especially toward female. As right now, there are few countries where sexism is still going on against women due to the cultural and religious view among people. In many countries, Women are treated differently than men in various ways. For example in the reading Night to His Day, the author wrote that In societies that create the greatest gender difference, such as Saudi Arabia, women are kept out of sight behind walls or veils, have no civil rights, and often create a cultural and emotional world of their own (Bernard 1981) ( Lorber CP, 15). Because Sau di Arabia had this belief for long time, the people just think this as religious belief that came from their parents or ancestors. In most of countries, women are seen as weak and emotional through religious belief that was viewed by the society, which lead to certain type of gender identity. Many of religious belief like Catholic and Muslim emphasized about transgender and homosexuality. According to religious belief of Catholic, it emphasizes people not to change their gender through surgical treatment and marrying a same gender. If they disobey the rule of religion, they would lose respect from other people and feel they are not worthy enough to believe in that religion by the fact they did not follow the gender rule in society. It is important to understand that people have high tendency to conform among groups, and it would result in following normal cultural and religious belief toward gender identity and role. Gender is mainly formed by our social construction and each indivi dual is impacted by people and objects they encounter every day in their lives. It is not possible to just form our gender based on body difference between men and women because it does not do anything to our mind and habits. As people grow up from childhood, they begin to actually see how it feels to be fit into the right gender identity group through media production they encounter, expectations from other people that caused from gender stereotype, and religious value of each country. Therefore, I strongly agree that the sociocultural experiences have huge impact on individuals gender identity through the gender rule and gender stereotype.

Critical Review: Bradley A. Thayer, Bring in Darwin: Evolutionary theor

In Thayer’s article, he makes an attempt to incorporate Darwin’s Evolutionary Theory into the international security studies. The article tries to answer a central question that what are the implications of Evolutionary theory to realist theory of international security and in what way can peace be achieved if warfare is part of human nature? This paper agrees with Thayer that Evolutionary theory provides a scientific theory foundation for realism and is an ultimate cause for war and ethnic conflicts, as well as the assumption that origin of war is intrinsic in human nature as part of their evolution history. This paper will also suggest that a balanced structure of the world could contribute to temporary peace. But it need to be noted that the theory is also limited since Evolution theory could not fully explain many other forms of security problems like civil wars and terrorism. To review Thayer’s article, first, the paper will briefly explain how Evolutionary theory act as an ultimate cause for realist theory in terms of two human traits: egoism and domination. Following that, the paper will discuss the implications of Evolutionary theory to international relations. This paper will also evaluate the theory by comparing it with Waltz’s and Gleditsch’s theory on peace and war. Finally, it will conclude the paper by summarizing main points. Thayer seeks to understand Evolutionary theory as the ultimate cause of realism. In Evolutionary theory, humans like other animals have to evolve to survive and reproduce from natural selection, which develops two basic human traits: egoism and dominance (Thayer, 2000, p.130). In order to survive and for fitness, an organism tends to places its security over the others and according to Evoluti... ...dens the understanding of international relations and correspondingly broadens the understanding of security. Built on Thayer’s and Waltz’s theory, the paper suggests that structure of the international system is central to international security and to achieve peace, suitable strategies are necessary to balance the power relations. While it should not be ignored that the Evolution theory still falls within realism realm with many other forms of complex security problems unexplained. Reference: Gleditsch, N. P. (1999). Peace and democracy. Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace and Conflict, 2, 643-652. Thayer, B. A. (2000). Bring to darwin: evolutionary theory, realism and international relations. International Security, 25(2), 124-151. Waltz, K. N. (1988). The origins of war in neorealist theory. Journal of Interdisciplinary History, XVIII(4), 615-628.

Health care market

Health care is a complex of different kinds of services, supplies and cares which can be related to health of a person. It also includes therapeutic, diagnostic, preventive, maintenance (palliative care), as well as counseling. It also includes dispensing of prescribed medicines and their sale. (Glossary of Common Terms p.1)Classical concept of market, which supposes presence of the customer and the seller, who possess definite values and are ready to enter into mutually beneficial exchange, allows to examine sphere of health care as health care market of medical services (The health care marketplace p.1), which can be divided into three sub-markets, which are mutually connected.â€Å"Throughout the health sector – from service delivery, consulting, financing and pharmaceuticals to biotech and genetics – the business of health care has become increasingly complex† (Health sector management p.1) [Table 1]1. The governmental health care market.Governmental sector i s not very big. Medical service here is examined as social good, from using of which have advantages all citizens. Economical relations between government and medical institutions are characterized as relations in favor of the third party: medical institution is a manufacturer of medical services, and the government is the buyer, whereas population of country uses those services (in case the citizens are insured, they can use medical service).In relation to this fact, the government cannot completely estimate quality and quantity of services, which are needed by the buyer.Population, as real consumer, cannot influence the level of payment for services and medical establishments, because demand for services from his side is not solvent.The government also â€Å"pays for about half the health care purchased in this country, through the national health insurance for the poor and elderly known as Medicaid and Medicare.† (Sheldon Richman, p.1)2. Insurance marketSellers of medical services in the insurance market are medical institutions, and the buyers are citizens which have formal insurance. But receiving services doesn’t accompanied by exchange of values between medical institutions and citizens who have insurance, – receiving of medical help is guaranteed in correspondence with contract of insurance, concluded between insurer and consumer.Taking into account these circumstances, receiver of medical service is a person, who has insurance, but he isn’t a payer for the seller- for medical institution, and he doesn’t have market value, because he doesn’t pay for service himself. The direct payer – the insurer – is not a participant of market relations, because he doesn’t participate in processes of exchange at the health care market.Besides division of commodity and money flows, health insurance market actually has no competitors in prices, because actually the process of payment and conditions of servi ces provided is executed within the limits of territorial program by firmly established rates.Another point that there is no competitors is that the patient from the first time of entering medical establishment chooses this medical institution and is limited in receiving medical services within the limits of that definite program of that definite medical institution, because he has a list of medical establishments, which provide service accordingly to his insurance.We cannot not to notice one important advantage: health care insurance market differs from that of health market, which demands payment for medical services, because the person, who has insurance of such definite medical establishment doesn’t need any additional money to pay for medical service, in case the disease or accident is indicated in his insurance.Another point is that in the future, in case the patient is fully satisfied with service provided, he can become a constant patient, which uses additional servic es of that definite medical institution, which are not included in his insurance.In such a way health care insurance market makes a good job for medical institutions, because in accordance with statistics, expenses for attracting of new consumer are five times more of those, which you spent for preserving the consumer you already have and who is already using your medical service.Among the largest health insurance programs in USA is Medicare program   (Medicare Program, p.1)3. The health care market of payable services.The patients here are the consumers and they are ready and are able to pay for medical first-rate service, and doctors or medical institutions are the sellers, and their interests are connected with reimbursement of expenses and getting profit. Because of constant increase of competition at this market, they create conditions for constant improving of service quality, search of new products and technologies as well as strict single-out of ineffective strategies and participants of the market.Level of proposition depends on ability of medical institution to react flexibly on the constantly increasing demand: in order to increase or to decrease quantity of necessary services. Unfortunately, such flexibility is not always possible, because nowadays this niche of health care market occupy medical institutions, which have different forms of property, different subordination and channels of financing, so even in market conditions volume of proposed services not always depends on their actual manufacturer.But exactly on manufacturer depends choice of that combination of directed parameters, which are called complex of marketing (service or complex of services, price, providing a service to the consumer, way of proposition and promotion of service, personnel of medical establishment, etc), manipulating with which organization tries to satisfy demands of patients in the best way and to turn income into real increase of service quality.

Animal Research as an Integral Part of Society

As Doctor Zola-Morgan stated in a speech to animal right activists, â€Å"I†ve seen the impact of the animal rights movement. I believe this is an attack on science of the worst kind. If we allow it to prevail it will take us back to the dark ages.† Too much of the public has come to think of medical researchers as â€Å"tormenters rather than healers.† The good is overlooked and the bad is exploited. Although many people think that animal research is morally wrong, animal research should continue because it is critical to continued progress in human health and alternatives to research animals are not available. Animal rights activists feel that animal research is immoral. They do not see where we as human beings see or feel that we are the dominant species. They often assert that research with animals causes severe pain and that many research animals are abused. The activists do not feel the need to put the animals through such pain. Many of the experiments are replicated also which causes an unneeded demand for animals to perform experiments. Experiments which have already been proven are still being experimented with. However, animal research is an integral part of today†s society when thinking of how much progress we have gained in human health with the use of animal experimentation. To date some forty-one Nobel prizes have been awarded to scientists whose achievements depended on laboratory animals. Vaccines against polio, diphtheria, mumps, measles, rubella, and smallpox would not have been possible without such experiments. There also would not be such important techniques such as open heart surgery, brain surgery, coronary bypass, microsurgery to re-attached limbs, organ transplants, and correction of congenital heart defects. The list goes on about the medical advances that required animal research. Insulin to control diabetes and medications important in the management of asthma, epilepsy, arthritis, ulcers, and hypertensions are a few more to add to the list. To take animal research away would also be to halt our society†s advancement of more procedures and more medicines to enhanc he better living of humans. In addition, there are no alternatives to animal experimentation that can give the same results that it can. In certain research investigations, cell, tissue, organ cultures, and computer models can be used at least in the preliminary phases of the investigation. However, in many experimental situations, culture techniques and computer models do not capture the â€Å"physiological complexity† of the whole animal. Some examples of where animals are necessary in research include the development of a vaccine against HIV and improvement of methods to relieve mental stress and anxiety. These challenges can only be addressed by research with animals. Computer models and cultures cannot get the whole body effect of an experiment. Humans are the only alternatives to animals for this and when faced with this alternative, most people prefer the use on animals as the research model. Animal research is necessary to maintain our society†s well being. Many people think it is morally wrong but when the advantages are considered with the disadvantages, the good outweighs the bad. Animal Research is necessary to continued progress in human health. If other methods were available they would be given a fair chance but for now only animal experimentation works best. If all of the advances in human health were taken away our society would still be in a primitive age. Animal research has taken us out of that age.