Aztlan, The Mythical Homeland of the Aztec-Mexica

Aztlà ¡n (also spelled Aztlan or sometimes Aztalan) is the name of the mythical homeland of the Aztecs, the ancient Mesoamerican civilization also known as the Mexica. According to their origin myth, the Mexica left Aztlan at the behest of their god/ruler Huitzilopochtli, to find a new home in the Valley of Mexico. In the Nahua language, Aztlan means â€Å"the Place of Whiteness† or â€Å"the Place of the Heron.† Whether it was a real place or not is open to question. What Aztlan Was Like According to the various Mexica versions of the stories, their homeland Aztlan was a luxurious and delightful place located on a large lake, where everyone was immortal and lived happily among abundant resources. There was a steep hill called Colhuacan in the middle of the lake, and in the hill were caves and caverns known collectively as Chicomoztoc, where the ancestors of the Aztec lived. The land was filled with vast quantities of ducks, herons, and other waterfowl; red and yellow birds sang incessantly; great and beautiful fish swam in the waters and shade trees lined the banks. At Aztlan, the people fished from canoes and tended their floating gardens of maize, peppers, beans, amaranth, and tomatoes. But when they left their homeland, everything turned against them, the weeds bit them, the rocks wounded them, the fields were filled with thistles and spines. They wandered in a land filled with vipers, poisonous lizards, and dangerous wild animals before reaching their home to build their place of destiny, Tenochtitlan. Who Were the Chichimecas? In Aztlà ¡n, the myth goes, the Mexica ancestors dwelled in place with seven caves called Chicomoztoc (Chee-co-moz-toch). Each cave corresponded to one of the Nahuatl tribes which would later leave that place to reach, in successive waves, the Basin of Mexico. These tribes, listed with slight differences from source to source, were the Xochimilca, Chalca, Tepaneca, Colhua, Tlahuica, Tlaxcala and the group who were to become the Mexica. Oral and written accounts also mention that the Mexica and the other Nahuatl groups were preceded in their migration by another group, collectively known as Chichimecas, who migrated from the north to Central Mexico sometime earlier and were considered by the Nahua people less civilized. The Chichimeca do not apparently refer to a particular ethnic group, but rather were hunters or northern farmers in contrast to the Tolteca, the city dwellers, the urban agricultural populations already in the Basin of Mexico. The Migration Stories of the battles and interventions of the gods along the journey abound. Like all origin myths, the earliest events blend natural and supernatural events, but the stories of the migrants arrival at the Basin of Mexico are less mystical. Several versions of the migration myth include the story of the moon goddess Coyolxauhqui and her 400 Star Brothers, who attempted to kill Huitzilopochtli (the sun) at the sacred mountain of Coatepec. Many archaeologists and historical linguists support the theory of an occurrence of multiple in-migrations to the basin of Mexico from northern Mexico and/or the southeastern United States between 1100 and 1300 CE. Evidence for this theory includes the introduction of new ceramic types in central Mexico  and the fact that the Nahuatl language, the language spoken by the Aztec/Mexica, is not indigenous to Central Mexico. Moctezumas Search Aztlan was a source of fascination for the Aztecs themselves. The Spanish chroniclers and codexes report that the Mexica king Moctezuma Ilhuicamina (or Montezuma I, ruled 1440–1469) sent an expedition to search for the mythical homeland. Sixty elderly sorcerers and magicians were assembled by Moctezuma for the trip, and given gold, precious stones, mantles, feathers, cacao, vanilla and cotton from the royal storehouses to be used as gifts to the ancestors. The sorcerers left Tenochtitlan and within ten days arrived at Coatepec, where they transformed themselves into birds and animals to take the final leg of the journey to Aztlan, where they re-assumed their human form. At Aztlan, the sorcerers found a hill in the middle of a lake, where the inhabitants spoke Nahuatl. The sorcerers were taken to the hill where they met an old man who was the priest and guardian of the goddess Coatlicue. The old man took them to the sanctuary of Coatlicue, where they met an ancient woman who said she was the mother of Huitzilopochtli and had suffered greatly since he left. He had promised to return, she said, but he never had. People in Aztlan could choose their age, said Coatlicue: they were immortal. The reason the people in Tenochtitlan were not immortal was that they consumed cacao and other luxury items. The old man refused the gold and precious goods brought by the returnees, saying these things have ruined you, and gave the sorcerers waterfowl and plants native to Aztlan and maguey fiber cloaks and breechcloths to take back with them. The sorcerers transformed themselves back into animals and returned to Tenochtitlan. What Evidence Supports the Reality of Aztlan and the Migration? Modern scholars have long debated whether Aztlà ¡n was a real place or simply a myth. Several of the remaining books left by the Aztecs, called codexes, tell the story of the migration from Aztlan—in particular, the codex Boturini o Tira de la Peregrinacion. The tale was also reported as oral history told by Aztecs to several Spanish chroniclers including Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Diego Duran, and Bernardino de Sahagun. The Mexica told the Spanish that their ancestors had reached the Valley of Mexico about 300 years before, after having left their homeland, traditionally located far north of Tenochtitlan. Historical and archaeological evidence shows that the migration myth of the Aztecs has a solid basis in reality. In a comprehensive study of the available histories, archaeologist Michael E. Smith found that these sources cite the movement of not just the Mexica, but several different ethnic groups. Smiths 1984 investigations concluded that people arrived in the Basin of Mexico from the north in four waves. The earliest wave (1) was non-Nahuatl Chichimecs sometime after the fall of Tollan in 1175; followed by three Nahuatl-speaking groups who settled (2) in the Basin of Mexico about 1195, (3) in the surrounding highland valleys about 1220, and (4) the Mexica, who settled among the earlier Aztlan populations about 1248. No possible candidate for Aztlan has yet been identified.   Modern Aztlan In modern Chicano culture, Aztlà ¡n represents an important symbol of spiritual and national unity, and the term has also been used to mean the territories ceded to the United States by Mexico with the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848, New Mexico and Arizona. There is an archaeological site in Wisconsin called Aztalan, but it is not the Aztec homeland.   Sources Edited and updated by K. Kris Hirst Berdan, Frances F. Aztec Archaeology and Ethnohistory. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. Print.Elzey, Wayne. A Hill on a Land Surrounded by Water: An Aztec Story of Origin and Destiny. History of Religions 31.2 (1991): 105-49. Print.Mundy, Barbara E. Place-Names in Mexico-Tenochtitlan. Ethnohistory 61.2 (2014): 329-55. Print.Navarrete, Federico. The Path from Aztlan to Mexico: On Visual Narration in Mesoamerican Codices. RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics.37 (2000): 31-48. Print.Smith, Michael E. The Aztecs. 3rd ed. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013. Print.---. The Aztlan Migrations of the Nahuatl Chronicles: Myth or History? Ethnohistory 31.3 (1984): 153-86. Print.Spitler, Susan. Mythic Homelands: Aztlan and Aztlan. Human Mosaic 31.2 (1997): 34-45. Print.

Symptoms And Treatment Of Cancer - 1303 Words

Introduction Cancer, also known as malignant neoplasm, the hallmark characteristic involves uncontrolled proliferation of cells. Under normal conditions cell grow, divide and die, but in cancer cells the defect takes place at the gene level leading to the formation of an abnormal DNA. As genes are the basic control machines of the cell, alteration of any kind may bring devastating consequences, or malignancy. Moreover, in normal cells damage of any kind is taken care by the repair system but in cancer cells, the repair function is altered, hence damaged DNA is not repaired, occurs, cells divide continuously without displaying senescence, generating a series of abnormal cells (Alberts, 2007). (Normal cell†¦show more content†¦Cancer Proliferation Cancer is initiated in the cell, the basic unit of any living entity. Under normal conditions the cell follow the regular cell cycle but any chemical, physical or biological agent may trigger the conversion of proto-oncogene to oncog ene, the active form of cancer causing gene which is responsible for the altered metabolism of the cell. The genetic basis of cancer has been revealed through numerous animal models. The human Genome Project aids in improving preclusion, analysis and management of cancer with better efficacy (Luo, 2008). Luo et al (2008) have identified essential genes in 12 cancer cell lines, they were exploited to find the presumed and established oncogenes such as KRAS, EGFR, MYC, MYB, BCR-ABL, CDK4 and CRKL that are vital for cancer cell proliferation and are found to be altered in the human cancers. Their findings postulate that tumoricidal agents trigger the expression of four genes PTPN1, NF1, SMARCB1, and SMARCE1. Moreover, five regulators are also activated in response to FAS activation, FAS, FADD, CASP8, ARID1A and CBX1. The information is beneficial for pursuing future cancer studies as well as for therapeutics. A comparative study between normal stem cells and cancer stem cells states that signal transduction namely Bmi1 and Wnt are shared by the normal as well as cancer stem cells for cellular proliferation. Perception and thorough understanding for cancer stem cells will certainly aid in recognition of the drug

Conflict in Organization Free Essays

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT Conflict management refers on the way how we approach the other party in a conflict situation. There are main structural approaches such as emphasizing superordinate goals, reducing differentiation, improving communication and understanding, reducing task independence, increasing resources, and clarifying rules and procedures. Emphasizing Supeordinate Goals The first way to resolve the conflict is to seek and find the common goals. We will write a custom essay sample on Conflict in Organization or any similar topic only for you Order Now The emphasizing superordinate goals are common objectives held by conflicting parties that are more important than the department or individual goals on which the conflict is based. If the commitments to corporate wide goals increase, the employees will pay less attention to competing individual or departmental-level goals. So, it reduces their perceived conflict with co-workers. Besides that, they also can reduce the problem of incompatibility and differentiation by establishing a common frame of reference. For example, the most effective executive teams frame their decision as superordinate goals that arise above each executive’s departmental or divisional goals. Reducing Differentiation Besides that, another way for resolving conflict is to remove the sources of different values and beliefs that produce the conflict in the first place. When the employees think they have same backgrounds or experience with other workers, they will be more motivated to coordinate their activities and resolve the conflict. For example, move the employees to different jobs so that they come to depend on each others. Improving Communication and Understanding The third way to minimize the conflict involves by giving the conflict parties more opportunities to communicate and understand each other. By aving the good communication, the employees can understand and appreciate each other’s views and opinions. It relates to contact hypothesis which is the more meaningful interaction we have with someone, the less we rely on stereotypes to understand that person. There are two warnings. First, apply communication or understanding after reducing differentiation. For example, when we intera ct with people who are quite different and have conflict with us, we tend to select information that reinforces that view. So, communication and understanding interventions are most effective when differentiation is sufficiently low. Second, people in collectivist and high power distance cultures are less comfortable with the practice of resolving differences through open communication. People in Confucian cultures prefer an avoidance conflict management style since it is consistent with face saving and harmony. Furthermore, direct communication is high-risk because it threatens the harmony easily. Reducing Interdependence Another way to minimize dysfunctional conflict may involve reducing the level of interdependence between the parties. It can occur by dividing the shared sources so that each party has exclusive use part of it in different times. Sequentially, interdependence task may be combined so that they can form a pooled or shared interdependence. Furthermore, buffers also can help to reduce the interdependence level among people. It includes resources such as more inventories could be added between people who perform sequential tasks. The organizations use human buffers as people who serve as intermediaries between interdependent people or work units that do not get along through direct interaction. Increasing Resources The dysfunctional conflict also can be reduced by increasing the amount of resource available. It also refers by duplicating the resources so that can minimize the conflict. Corporate decision makers might dismiss this solution quickly because of the costs involved. Nevertheless, these costs with the costs of dysfunctional conflict that arise out of resource scarcity must be compared carefully. Clarifying Rules and Procedures Conflicts that arise from unclear and ambiguous can be resolved through establishing rules and procedures. This strategy has been applied by Armstrong World Industries, Inc. , when consultants and information system employees clashed while working together on development of a client-server network. Moreover, the rules establish the changes of interdependence. For example, employee’s work hours or a supplier’s order fulfillment. RESOLVING CONFLICT THROUGH NEGOTIATION Negotiation is the process whereby two or more conflicting parties attempt to resolve their divergent goals by redefining the terms of their interdependence. In the other meaning, people negotiate when discussion can meet satisfaction and resolution in their exchange of goods and services. For example, the employees negotiate with supervisors over next month’s work assignment. Bargaining Zone Model of Negotiations Bargaining zone means the process of negotiation moves each party along a continuum an area of potential overlap. It can be applied to situations in which both sides potentially gain from the negotiations. There are three main points of this model. First, the initial-offer point is the team’s opening offer to the other party. Second, the target point is the team’s realistic goal or expectation for a final agreement. Third, the resistance point is the point beyond which the team will not make further concessions. Negotiation begins with describing the initial-offer point for each item on the plan. Besides that, in the win-lose situations, neither the target nor resistance point is revealed to the other party. If the parties have a win-win situation, the objective is to find a creative solution that keeps both parties close to their initial-offer points. Situational Influences on Negotiations Both the situation and the behaviors of negotiators are the effectiveness of negotiating. There are four important situational factors such as location, physical setting, time and audience. First, location is easier to negotiate as we are common with the negotiating environment and are able to maintain comfortable routines. It is also no need to depend on others for resources during negotiation. Second, the physical distance between the parties and formality of the setting can influence their orientation with each other. Sometimes, people who sit face-to-face tend to develop a win-lose orientation toward the situation. Third, the longer time in negotiations can lead to stronger commitment in reaching a solution. For example, the more time people put in negotiation, the stronger the tendency to make unwarranted concessions. So that, the negotiation is going to be succeed. Time deadlines are a liability in negotiation which it is useful to motivate people to complete it. Lastly, most negotiators have the audiences. They can be anyone that is interested in the negotiation outcomes. For examples are executives, other team members, or general public. The negotiators tend to be more competitive and less willing to make concessions when the audience has the direct observation towards the proceedings. Negotiator Skills The negotiator skills are important in resolving conflict arise. Four of most important skills are setting goals, gathering information, communicating effectively, and making concessions. Firstly, negotiators should prepare for the negotiation and set goals. They also should think carefully through their initial-offer, target and resistance points. If the negotiation fails, they need to consider alternative strategies. Besides that, they need to check their underlying assumptions as well as goods and values. Secondly, in order to gather the information, negotiators should spend more time listening to the other party and asking the details. Thirdly, effective negotiators communicate in a way to maintain strong relationships between parties. They also will avoid irritating statements. Furthermore, they are masters of persuasion so that it is accepted by others. Lastly, making concessions are important because they enable the parties to move toward the area of potential agreement, symbolize each party’s motivation to bargain in good faith, and tell others about the importance of negotiating items. THIRD-PARTY CONFLICT RESOLUTION Third-party conflict resolution is any attempt by a relatively neutral person to help the parties resolve their differences. Procedural fairness is important when the third party makes a binding decision to resolve the dispute. There are three types of third-party resolution activities, which are arbitration, inquisition, and mediation. Arbitration is the final stage of grievances by unionized employees, and is becoming more common in nonunion conflicts. The arbitrators have high control over the final decision but low control over process. They will decide the outcome of a dispute between two parties. Besides that, executives engage in this strategy by following previous agreed-on-rules of due process, making a binding decision and listening to arguments from the dispute parties. Inquisitors control all discussion about the conflict and choose the form of conflict resolution. They have high decision control and high process control. They generally the conflict resolution process and enforce a resolution that they perceive to be the most appropriate. There are important ways to limit the collaborative problem solving process. First, they generally operate on assumptions of the problem and the relevant information in solving the problem. Second, they limit the information that they gather to the information they specifically request from disputants. As a result, inquisitors make quick decisions to resolve conflicts. Mediators have high control over the intervention process. Their main purpose is to manage the process and context of interaction between the dispute parties. However, the parties make the final decision about how to resolve their differences. So, mediators have little or no control over the conflict resolution decision. There are several things mediators need to do to increase the likelihood of successful mediation such as suggest alternatives, prepare to invest time and effort, and insist on a detailed action plan. On the other hand, the mediation is hard work and time consuming. CHOOSING THE BEST THIRD-PARTY INTERVENTION STRATEGY Research suggests that people in positions of authority usually adopt an inquisitional approach which is they dominate the intervention process as making a binding decision. The inquisition approach is preferred by manager because it is consistent with the decision-oriented nature of managerial jobs, tends to resolve the disputes efficiently, and gives them control over the conflict process and outcome. Conversely, this approach is usually least effective in organizational settings. The problem is leaders who take in an inquisitional role be likely to collect the limited information about the problem. Besides that, the employees often view inquisitional procedures and outcomes as unfair. The most appropriate of third-party resolution in organizations depends on the situation such as the type of disputes, the culture values and the relationship between the managers and employees. However in general speaking, the mediation approach is the best because it gives employees more responsibility for resolving their own disputes. It also offers the highest level of employee satisfaction with the conflict process and outcome. References http://www. wright. edu/~scott. williams/LeaderLetter/mediation. htm How to cite Conflict in Organization, Papers