Scaling the state: Egypt in the third millennium BC

Discussions of the early Egyptian state suffer from a weak consideration of scale. Egyptian archaeologists derive their arguments primarily from evidence of court cemeteries, elite tombs, and monuments of royal display. The material informs the analysis of kingship, early writing, and administration but it remains obscure how the core of the early Pharaonic state was embedded in the territory it claimed to administer. This paper suggests that the relationship between centre and hinterland is key for scaling the Egyptian state of the Old Kingdom (ca. 2,700-2,200 BC). Initially, central administration imagines Egypt using models at variance with provincial practice. The end of the Old Kingdom demarcates not the collapse, but the beginning of a large-scale state characterized by the coalescence of central and local models

Egyptian art in the Nicholson Museum, Sydney

Collection of scholarly articles on objects from the Nicholson Museum, University of Sydne

Ceramic Studies and Petrographic Analysis in Levantine Archaeology, the Limitations of Current Approaches

By way of an introduction to this volume, we look to provide a brief review of recent approaches to ceramic studies in Levantine archaeology, and to the way that the results of laboratory-based investigations have been integrated within these. As we are interested in using ceramic data to address questions that extend beyond single-site studies, we pay particular attention to the information potential offered by the large-scale integration of ceramic and petrographic data from multiple archaeological projects. We will begin by highlighting some of the weaknesses of traditional approaches to pottery in Levantine archaeology and how these have continued to limit the interpretive potential of ceramic data. The strengths and weaknesses of petrographic research in the region to date will be discussed, and observations made regarding the use of petrography and geochemistry to address wider issues. The question of how new approaches, and the large-scale integration of ceramic data, might be used to address key social and economic questions in Levantine archaeology will form the subject of the concluding paper of this volume

Balancing financial incentives during COVID-19: a comparison of provider payment adjustments across 20 countries.

Objective Provider payment mechanisms were adjusted in many countries in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Our objective was to review adjustments for hospitals and healthcare professionals across 20 countries. Method We developed an analytical framework distinguishing between payment adjustments compensating income loss and those covering extra costs related to COVID-19. Information was extracted from the Covid-19 Health System Response Monitor (HSRM) and classified according to the framework. Findings We found that income loss was not a problem in countries where professionals were paid by salary or capitation and hospitals received global budgets. In countries where payment was based on activity, income loss was compensated through budgets and higher fees. New FFS payments were introduced to incentivize remote services. Payments for COVID-19 related costs included new fees for out- and inpatient services but also new PD and DRG tariffs for hospitals. Budgets covered the costs of adjusting wards, creating new (ICU) beds, and hiring staff. Conclusions We conclude that public payers assumed most of the COVID-19-related financial risk. In view of future pandemics policymakers should work to increase resilience of payment systems by: (1) having systems in place to rapidly adjust payment systems; (2) being aware of the economic incentives created by these adjustments such as cost-containment or increasing the number of patients or services, that can result in unintended consequences such as risk selection or overprovision of care; and (3) periodically evaluating the effects of payment adjustments on access and quality of care