What a Brother Knows Essay

The Things a Brother Knows Essay There are many relationships throughout the book The Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt. Levi’s relationships vary throughout the book. Levi’s main relationships are with Boaz, Perl and Zim, along with Christina. Levi’s relationship with his brother Boaz seems rocky. There are quite a few ups and downs. When Boaz first arrives home, Boaz would not come out of his room. Levi could somewhat relate to how Boaz was feeling. Levi ended up letting Boaz use his laptop.Everything was going fine until Boaz found out that Levi was looking through his history. Later when Boaz finally leaves for his trip Levi gets worried about him and is curious on where he is going. A few days later Levi goes looking for him. Levi has a strong relationship with his two best friends Pearl and Zim. Pearl and Zim are both jealous of each other, because they both want to be Levi’s best friend. Yet Levi tries to treat them equal. Zim seems to always be there when Levi needs to talk about Boaz.When Levi told Zim that Boaz was lying about going hiking, Zim always tried to make positive comments. Pearl is also a supportive friend. On the trip to find Boaz Levi did not want to spend his money on a hotel because, he wanted his money to last him the whole trip, so Pearl ended up paying for the hotel. Levi has a somewhat close relationship with his brothers ex girlfriend Christina. Ever since Levi was younger he thought that Christina was good looking with a nice personality.When Boaz arrived home Christina had come to visit him. While she was waiting to talk to Boaz Christina and Levi had a close conversation. Later Levi ended up dreaming about Christina. Levi has many relationships in the book What a Brother Knows. Some of the relationships are good, but some of the relationships are rocky at times. Throughout the rest of the book I am sure most of Levi’s relationships with his brother Boaz, his friends Pearl and Zim, along with Boaz's ex girlfriend Christina will become stronger.

Global History †Famines in India and China Essay

The 1876-1879 and 1896-1902 famines in India and China were some of the worst famines the world had ever seen up until that point in time (Rouse Lecture). In China and India from 1876-1882, the estimated mortality was between 31 and 61 million (Davis 2001: 7). If the British and the Chinese governments had made simple changes in their policies regarding India and China, the results of the famine would not have been so catastrophic. In this paper I will analyze, Davis’ argument that â€Å"Millions died, not outside the ‘modern world system,’ but in the very process of being forcibly incorporated into its economic and political structures. They died in the golden age of Liberal Capitalism†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Davis 2001: 9). Almost contrary to that he argues that â€Å"many were murdered†, emphasizing that â€Å"‘millions die’ was ultimately a political choice† and that â€Å"imperial policies towards starving ‘subjects’ were often the exact moral equivalents of bombs dropped from 18,000 feet. † (Davis 2001: 22). I will aim to analyze these relating to British dealings with India, Western dealings with China, the broader development of imperialism and industrial capitalism from the late eighteenth century to the early years of the twentieth century, and also Marks’ claim that there is never such a thing as a purely â€Å"natural† disaster? In 1876, a disastrous famine hit India, starting with an El Nino-induced drought that halted crop production. However, the situation rapidly got worse: due to the inadequacy, there was a major surge in food prices. The vast amounts of Indian grain exports to Great Britain prompted grain speculation, which further raised the price of grain. As prices crept up, the poor could not afford to buy grain, a dietary staple. Furthermore, in 1865, wheat exports to Britain numbered 308,000 quarters. Climate also played an important role in the 1876 famine: El Nino pacific currents brought heavy rains and flooding to some parts of India, but severe drought to others (Rouse Lecture). In fall 1877, the arrival of heavy rains, instead of alleviating the drought, brought malaria-carrying mosquitoes that killed thousands (Davis 2001: 49). There were many responses to the growing famine. The British followed Malthusianism: land does not have a natural carrying capacity. Furthermore, in the few instances when the British distributed aid, they refused it to those unable to work (Davis 2001: 36). In 1896, another famine began due to a failed monsoon and the lack of a substantial 1896 crop (Davis 2001: 142). Grain prices rose again; there was no stored grain to rely on: the excess shipped to England to make up for shipping deficits. People hated the poorhouses: the food they provided was dry flour, salt, and dirt; moreover, as soon as rains fell, the British pushed the poor out of the relief camps (Davis 2001: 147, 158). The British downplayed the famine; overseas, they created stories and paintings that depicted the British as saviors (Davis 2001: 155-56). Finally, by the late 1890s, the British focused their attention on South Africa and India was left to deal with her own problems (Davis 2001: 165). While the famine was happening there were certain British policies that intensified famine in India. The newly constructed railroads, portrayed as agents that could bring relief to the famine were used by the British to build up the inventories for export goods. (Davis 2001: 26). In legislation methods, by the Vernacular press Act, there was see a denial and hiding of deaths saying they’re other diseases, than the famine and also the approval of Anti Charitable Contributions Act of 1877 prevented the upper class Indians from helping. (Davis 2001: 34 & 39). Also relief efforts turned away people who could not perform hard labor(Davis 2001: 25 – 36). Seeing that millions had died the British did try to â€Å"prevent† famine again by setting up famine relief and insurance fund had been established in 1878 (Davis 2001: 141). They integrated Burma’s rice surpluses into imperial system. Laid more railroad (financed by Famine Relief Fund) (Davis 2001: 142). But there were many things they chose to overlook, particularly that they didn’t do anything about poor relief or the inflation in the prices of standard goods. They also didn’t spend any money on slum sanitation, which resulted in the Bubonic Plague (Davis 2001: 148). The 1876 famine in China was preceded by the worst Chinese drought in 200 years (Rouse Lecture). In previous famines, the Chinese state would provide generous aid; however, civil war threatened the Qing dynasty. As a result, they put all extra money into the military, as opposed to social welfare. Moreover, the First Opium War severally disabled the power of the Chinese state (Rouse Lecture). The British were known to grow opium in India and then shipping it to China in exchange for other goods the English were in need of. The Chinese administration had been trying to end this now flourishing trade for decades but were unsuccessful I their attempts. This system of trade caused considerable economic damage by the drainage of cash silver from the country to pay for the illegal imports apart from increasing corruption and voluntary unemployment. (Davis 2001: 12) Finally fed up and frustrated with the way the economy was plunging, the emperor too some drastic measures leading to the execution of important individuals involved in the trade (Rouse Lecture). Also the attacking the evil foreign ships in the harbor by the new Commissioner in the area sparked off a bitter battle between the two which ended in the defeat of the Chinese. The 1842 Treaty of Nanjing forced China to pay indemnities to Great Britain and to open up ports for British use: consequently, the Chinese could not give money to relief. (Davis 2001: 12) Furthermore, the Chinese moral economy had turned into a more capitalistic one by the time of the famine. The British, through the illegal trade of opium, instilled an individualistic profit-maximizing outlook on the economy. As a result, the poor received very little aid. Additionally, landowners began to use land to produce commercially crops, leaving even less land for peasants to work on: (empire financially and left bitterness over the relationship between the government and Rouse Lecture). Then came the Second Opium War in the years 1856-1860. This had nothing to do with opium but rather the fundamental problem of imperialism, competition. Other countries are starting to make trade-treaties with China (in other words, Britain isn’t the only imperial power), which leads to Britain wanting to renegotiate Treaty of Nanking and again making it more favorable to them. (Davis 2001: 12) They want to ensure their most favored nation status. They demand to open all Chinese ports, legalize opium trade, exempt imports from duties and again war breaks out and results in Treaty of Tientsin (1858) which again leads to the loss of China and meeting the demands of the British. The Taiping Rebellion, in which millions died, was a massive revolt against the monarchy of the reigning Qing Empire in China. Basically people are devastated and frustrated about China’s defeat in First Opium War and the reaction of the Qing leaders as ineffective and corrupt. Also the1850s flooding causes peasants to lose homes, and they join rebels. The movement was headed by Hong Xiuquan, an unorthodox Christian convert who declared himself the new Messiah (Davis 2001: 12 – 13). The government starts to take note and tries to stop them but Hong and their followers established the Kingdom of Taiping – â€Å"Kingdom of Heavenly Peace† on the basis of a classless society with wealth distribution. But holding their territory against imperial and foreign forces had become virtually impossible which led to their downfall. Almost inspired by this came the Boxer Uprising where a few radicals gathered around Beijing and tried to besiege the embassies of imperialists, as they were tired of the foreign dominance (Davis 2001: 13). The Chinese empire was extremely successful at preventing famine causalities in the past. Landowners and merchants refused aid from missionaries, convinced they would convert the Chinese in payment (Rouse Lecture). The Chinese government should also have cut the taxes: by attempting to gain money, the government stopped the poor from buying food. Finally, if China had limited their military budget they would have been able to keep up famine prevention measures. Both famines in India could have been easily averted by the British had they made certain changes. Lytton did not allow local governments to stockpile grain (Davis 2001: 29). Furthermore, the northwest provinces, historically a subsistence-based system, turned into a commercial system under the British: in order to restore British grain prices, grain was exported to Britain (Davis 2001: 51). If more grain had remained within the country, prices would not have risen so high in the first place. Yet at the same time, many of India’s maharajas gathered grain to sell at high prices, just like the British (Davis 2001: 50-51). Furthermore, the British insisted on collecting taxes from the impoverished rural farmers, who could barely make ends meet (Davis 2001: 50). There were certain social ideas, models and dilemmas that the British were the forerunners for. One of them was the idea of Liberal capitalism; which basically means that the society is based on the principles of capital in its various forms and that almost everything in the society had a price and could be obtained through capital. This idea of gaining capital led to the idea of obtaining it quickly, which came to the idea of imperialism, which was to use up the natural resources of foreigners towards ones own needs. Apart from that great thinkers like Adam Smith said, â€Å"famine has never arisen from any other cause but the violence of government attempting, by improper means, to remedy the inconvenience of dearth. † (Davis 2001: 31) which gave base to the idealistic imperialist plans, which were never really implemented. Around the time the idea of Social Darwinism came about which gave imperialists reasons to conquer new territories without worrying about the ethical issues as now they thought that it was just meant to be, as described in Rudyard Kipling’s â€Å"White Man’s Burden† (1899); which came up again at the time. If the British and Chinese governments had implemented these slightly different changes in India and China, the famines’ effects would not have been nearly as catastrophic. China’s numerous rebellions such as the Taiping and Boxer Rebellions wouldn’t have happened: there would be an extremely limited foreign presence in China and its people would not have been unable to provide for themselves. Without foreign influence, famine prevention measures would have been greater than those of the West would have been.

National Historic Preservation Act of 1966

The National Historic Preservation Act is a law that serves to create the â€Å"National Register of Historic Places, the list of â€Å"National Historic Landmarks and the posts of â€Å"State Historic Preservation Officers† of the United States which aims of preserving the entire national and archeological site in the said country (nps.gov, 2007). Enacted in 1966, it has already been to a lot of amendments since then, this law mandates government agencies to determine the effects of various government funded construction projects (fema.gov, 2002). In other words, this act encourages the government agencies to safeguard their preservations programs alongside with the advisory council on Historic preservation. The reason of the existence of this act is due to the fact that year after year, historical sites and other national heritage places has been experiencing degrading concern and of less priority as a government sponsored public works projects. There have been a lot of national heritage sites and historical places that needs major attention, and only the government could help them to be preserved and maintained. Currently, National Historic Preservation Act serves as the basis of most of the government policies concerning on historical preservation in America. With the aid of this act, the role of the Federal preservations was expanded which gives way for the birth of the â€Å"National Antiquities Act† which gives the president the power to restrict the use of any public land owned by the government through executive order. With this, the government authorities would now have the authority and the means of further protecting and preserving the historical site in the United States. Moreover, the federal power could now also be distributed to various states and from the state going to the localities to ensure the effectiveness of the said act. In addition to this, the Historical preservations already widened its coverage by including even the places with no significant historical value. The Effects With the implementation of this act, the definition of a â€Å"Historical value† was broadened. Before the said law was enacted in 1966, only the historical places are being valued by the government or the only one who’s having attention to most of the government officials. But after the birth of the National Historic Preservation Act, it is already being included in the lists of National Register of Historic Places the sites, buildings, objects and all the structures that has of great significance and value to American history, architecture, archeology and culture may it be of a national, state or local significance. In addition to that, the word â€Å"district† is also already being included in the scope of this act. This only means that neighborhoods can already be now included in the preservation program of the government as mandated by law. With the inclusion of the word â€Å"district† in the scope of this law would rationalize any endowment that the secretary of the interior for rehabilitation and exterior restoration in historic districts gives to individuals from various sectors which have identified any neighborhood that is of great importance to them (Murtagh). Moreover, the confusion between the grants for house rehabilitation and the current programs of the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development can now be clarified. The said law is also the one responsible for making the Department of Interior takes the responsibility of planning and rehabilitating historic districts which was being handled by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. With this, there would be more efficient implementation of the said law since it is not the forte of the Department of Housing and Urban Development the said responsibility. Furthermore, it is through the aid of this law that most of the citizens now understands that there are still other means of ensuring the quality of housing projects in the state and local levels aside from the destruction of urban renewal. Government officials could now get funds for the replacement of the existing housing stock not only from the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development but also to the secretary of the Department of Interiors. This means that there are already more government agencies that could serve as a source of funds to finance the rehabilitation activities of various agencies and groups. The said act also give way for the establishment of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation made by people from the cabinet of the president and a selected number of private citizens which would serve as the group of people responsible in determining the effects of the federal tax to the cultural properties of the country as well as on the proper treatment of the cultural properties existing in the United States. Case Study Back in the 1990’s, Texans had some hard time in convincing the Texas government to make the Washington-on-the Brazos, the site where the Texas Declaration of Independence had been signed, to be considered as a historical site. What the Texan government tried to consider was the Alamo and San Jacinto battlefield. There were three reasons why the government chose the said two places as a historical site and not the Washington-on-the-Brazos. First was that Washington-on-the-Brazos has little a number of ruined houses that are far from major roads and towns whereas Alamo was situated in downtown San Antonio and San Jacinto battlefield was near from Houston. Secondly, the signing of the declaration of independence was not a concrete physical place or even related not to mention that the document was not in Washington but already placed in the State Archives at Austin. The last but not he least would be that only the local people are the one who is considering the said town site a place valuable of preservation (Trujillo, 2000). This clearly gives us the idea that there is a big discrepancy between what is to be preserved and what is important to the community. Before, as stated above, only those places that are within reach and accessible are only being granted with preservation like Alamo and San Jacinto and not considering those places that has of significant value to the locals as well as the community as a whole. REFERENCES fema.gov. (2002). National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), 1966 As Amended (2000) [Electronic Version], 1. Retrieved 10-06-07 from http://www.fema.gov/plan/ehp/ehplaws/nhpa.shtm. Murtagh, W. Keeping Times nps.gov. (2007). National Historic Preservation Act of 1966-as amended through 1992 [Electronic Version], 65. Retrieved 10-06-07 from http://www.nps.gov/history/local-law/FHPL_HistPrsrvt.pdf. Trujillo, M. à . L. (2000). Lights and Shadows in Texas Preservation: The Case of Washington-on-the-Brazos State National Park [Electronic Version], 20. Retrieved 10-06-07.      

Microeconomics Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Microeconomics - Coursework Example Keeping the cash will mean there will be no gain, but one enjoys a high liquidity preference of their cash. However, the future of the market performance is oblique. In the event inflation hit the economy, the money will have greatly lost its value and one would have wished making an earlier investment on either stock or bonds could have been a better option. Investing their money in either stock or bonds is always dilemmatic. An individual is ever sure of safety of money value invested in government bonds than in corporate stock. The value of government bonds depends on the performance of GDP; it could either decrease or increase annually. Assuming a GDP of 7%, the value of the bond that year would be similar to GDP. In such cases, the stock value is always higher than that of bond by 1% or 2%. A person who decided to invest in corporate stock that year will enjoy accrued savings of their investment at either 8% or 9% while one who invested in bonds will only enjoy 7%. The differenc e of the two becomes the risk premium. Risky situations have a high attached risk premium. There are many mechanisms an individual can explore to minimize risk. To begin with, one can just say no. For example, uncertain luxurious investments to improve one’s status in the society can be avoided. One may have a strong desire to purchase the most coveted natural Cornflower Blue Sapphire.There are two possible outcomes: purchasing a genuine sapphire or duped with a copy. Bearing in mind that one lacks the capacity to distinguish between a genuine and a counterfeit, there are two underlying benefits of varied proportions. If one goes ahead and it is a genuine one, he becomes $ 120 rich otherwise, $10 richer. In such scenario, saying no would avert possible looming risk. Secondly, one can obtain factual information before making a decision. An investor who is interested in a particular corporate stock and lacks information or have scanty facts regarding the stock performance can i nquire before putting life savings into it. Information gathered in light of the corporate stock performance in the past few years or quarters may lead one to make informed decisions. A clear indication of a possible decline in the stock value that particular period would deter one from investing because at the end of the day everyone wants to see the value of their assets rising and with great stability. When one obtains information about something whether it has monetary value or not, the decision made will ultimately avert risk associated with it. Thirdly, an individual can diversify the risk. This can be done when the two events are perfectly negatively correlated (Perloff, 2011). A perfectly negatively correlated event according to Perloff refers to an event where one of the two possible outcomes must happen with great certainty. Assuming the government wants to give the tender to either IBM or Apple to supply its various departments with computers and other accessories during the next financial year. There are two possible outcomes: a win and a loss. It is absolutely clear one company must win the tender. When an individual purchase the shares of the winning company, each share value is $50 otherwise $10. One may then decide to purchase an equal share of each company just to be at the fair edge. Assuming a purchase of 5 shares, the total

Participative Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Participative Management - Research Paper Example It term was first commercialized separately by Macgregor (theory X and theory Y), Lickert (four-model system), and Mouton (Managerial Grid) (John Schyuler, Participative Management, 1997). Semler told people in his company, Semco, to think outside their closed-up box, very soon they even forget they had a box (Maverick, 2001). The main reasons for the need of participative management is that employees should have a share in the business’s profit/loss; they should be business literates; and there should be a culture of trust and faith in the entire organization. This report discusses, the following questions regarding participative management in great detail: Participative management takes a lot of character and skill to apply. It holds the employees accountable for their work instead of just the leader. In it, no authority of any sort is given up, instead the authority is distributes in between the employers and the employees with equal transfer of responsibility. Also it certainly does not mean delayed action. Action is taken quicker and faster in participative management. Amy Mcmillan says â€Å"Participative management is not just allowing employees a part in the business decisions. This scheme can work anywhere and everywhere considering a few points are kept in mind, which include the fact that the employers should be confident and not insecure about letting-go of their stronghold and authority. This increases trust that the employees have over the managers†( Participative Management, 2011). If the organization was formally democratic or autocratic, than it takes careful strategies and studies for the change to participative management. So employees should be given a little time for adjustment. Of-age employees who have spend entire lives in the former types of management might resist this change, so managers should take

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 14

International Business - Essay Example As the jobs of the first world make their way to the developing regions of the third world, the forces of globalization have had many unintended consequences. The loss of manufacturing jobs in the countries of the world and their movement to the lower paying developing â€Å"third world† has restructured the world economy. This brief assignment will explore the globalization phenomenon with an eye to outsourcing and the changes dynamics of the global economic community. Asking the question, what is protectionism and in which way does it affects International Business in the current economic crisis, we will analyze protectionism as the result of outsourcing. This analysis will utilize a case analysis and explore two countries which have embraced free trade and economic growth as a haven for outsourcing. China represents a unique blend of authoritarianism and capitalism leading to sustained and pronounced economic growth in one of the largest – and growing - economies in the world. Mexico represents a controversial source for many American jobs. In addition to a cross-comparative analysis of these outsourcing â€Å"source† countries, we will address criticisms of the globalization phenomenon including the rise of protectionism as a response to the flight of jobs overseas (Lee 1996; Bhagwati 2008). Globalization, as it exists today, rests largely on the shoulders of neoliberal economics and the global entrenchment of capitalism as the dominant economic system in the world. Neo-liberalism, the belief in laissez-faire economics, was best articulated by Margaret Thatcher in the United Kingdom and Ronald Reagan in the United States in the 1980s. Outsourcing is an integral component of the globalization phenomenon and a key aspect of the global division of labour. Thomas Friedman, in his immensely popular book The World is Flat (2005), describes outsourcing as an integral component of the worldwide spread of capitalism and the global division of

Why do pepol start smoking Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Why do pepol start smoking - Research Paper Example They found in smoking their way in order to say to the surrounding family "we are independent" (Wilson, 2009) Smoking has concerned governments, health organizations, as well as non-profits organizations from the earlier 1980s. This was due to the idea that smoking cigarettes is linked with huge social costs within the health care and it is often largely addictive. This health issue has been campaign against in different forms and through media but some individuals has gone against all odds to continue with the practice. This disturbing issue on health concerns on individuals is of great concern in our society and, therefore, it’s worth studied the reasons as to why individuals engage in such a health hazard habit that not only ruins their lives but also the affects the entire population both directly and indirectly (Burns, 2007). As per the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, smoking has over the years been linked to more than 400,000 yearly in the United States, $100B in health care as well as $105B in misplaced productivity amount. Therefore, researchers began seeking into approaches of curbing the issue and stop individuals from smoking. The plan on cigarette smoking alleviation has resulted to a number of studies that try to mark the predictors or hazard aspects that make individual engage in smoking. There is quite a lot of literature on the issue but we need to still investigate on actual reasons and causes on why people engage in the act despite being aware of its dangers. Furthermore, seeing that kids and the adolescence make up the most part of all fresh smokers, dozens of researches have been finished that evaluate the way and how young children start smoking (Goldberg, 2005). With all the established health hazards, which smokers’ encounters, keeping out of smoking should be the easiest thing across the universe. Nonetheless, the teens approach to such a risk is usually a â€Å"No.†