Monday, September 30, 2019

Analysis of Meditation IV by John Donne Essay

The opening statement of John Donnes Meditation IV sets a disposition for the whole article. ..Except God, Man is a diminutive to nothing (Donne 23) is saying man is bigger than the world; excluding the fact that God conquers and controls all. Man is in control of his own life, but God controls his fate. It is also stating that the world is nothing in comparison to man and is not as complex. Donnes numerous comparisons between human anatomy and nature shows how mans complexity overcomes the world and is therefore considered bigger than it. Mans veins are used in comparison to simple rivers and muscles to hills to justify his complexity over the world. This analogy is used to show just how closely related humans are to nature, yet still closer in comparison and controlled by God. God is the puppet master of all, and has fixed the order of nature (Aquinas 79) . He has made man the only species with direct connection to Him. The Lord says, The works that I do, he also shall do, and grea ter than these shall he do (87). Donne continues his comparison by stating as the whole world hath nothing, to which something in man doth not answere, so hath man many pieces, of which the whole world hath no representation (Donne 23). This means that man can relate to anything in the world, but the world does not have the capacity to do the same. He goes on to state that even though Gods creatures are everywhere, not just in the sea, and are born giants physically in comparison to humans, their mental competence is nothing in contrast to man. Donne states that Gods creatures reach everywhere; land and sea, Earth to Heaven, but his thoughts are comprehended by all. Donne writes of two different worlds where monsters and diseases coexist and live with one another. The world in which there are monsters is a representation of the Earth. Animals are able to cure themselves, so they are able to survive and live harmoniously; each animal is able to coexist and live independently. The world of disease is one which has been created by the humans and representing the human body. They are so consumed with conquering everything and everyone; they have acquired diseases for which there is no name because there are so many within the world. The diseases have become entangled and have formed new ones. Donne is saddened by the separation of the worlds and the humans dependency on animals and various  remedies. He cannot understand how we can have so many diseases without names and remedies. Donnes analogy of Hercules and a Physician does give a physician heroic characteristics, but also can be perceived negatively. The over exaggeration of the physicians position makes it seem like he is fighting monsters instead of disease and as if he existed on Earth instead of within his own human body. The line, †¦hee musters up al the forces of the other world, to succor this; all Nature to relieve Man (24), explains the previous statement by saying that the physician uses the knowledge of Earth to cure the human body of disease. Donne feels like the physicians need to take from the monsters world is degrading and humans should be able to exist without the need of animals. Donne then tries to separate himself from the physician and say the physician is different than the typical man. We have the phisician, but we are not the physician (24). He will not be considered in the same hierarchy as the physician, even though a physician is human. Because the physician must resort to animalistic means to cure disease, he is considered lesser in Donnes eyes; even though he previously believed God placed all of human kind on the same level. He goes on to state that we shrink back to Gods set standards for us, sink into our dignity and respect for other creatures, and have the physician do all the dirty work. Donne then goes on to list different animals that do cure themselves of ailments. The Hart can distinguish which herbs can deceive a predator and make it vomit up the poison. A dog that is attacked knows he can be cured by eating grass. Donne mentions the Drugger, which is the closest creature to Man, because he simply supplies the medicine. The Drugger, unlike the physician, does not find the cures or have to consult the animal world. Because the Drugger cannot cure himself of disease, he must seek advice from the physician to be healed. Donne speaks of the innate instinct to cure oneself that humans do not have and infers that creatures with that instinct are superior to those without.  This contradicts his previous stance that humans are superior to all and are Gods gift to the world. It seems now he believes that animals are the superior beings and God is working through them instead. He is disappointed by his own species and tries to separate himself from human beings. By his analysis of the physician, he is able to make himself feel superior and less inadequate for not being able to cure himself. Donne then refers back to his previous stance of human position and discredits it completely. He proposes the question, whats become of mans great extent and proportion, when himself shrinkes himselfe, and consumes himselfe to a handfull of dust?(25) It seems as if he is trying to figure out what will happen if humans become so dependent upon animals for all aspects of life. What will be left for humans to do if animals become superior and take over everything? The comparison to a handful of dust may be an overstatement, but a metaphor to the humans usefulness at the very least. The question, whats become of his soaring thoughts, his compassing thoughts, when himself brings himself to the ignorance, to the thoughtlessnesse of the Grave? (25) puts man at the animalistic level and says they have the thought capacity of a simple animal. The reference to the Grave lowers humans even more to the afterlife and a corpses inability to do anything. This reference refers back to Donnes previous statement that humans will eventually be useless, but takes it a step further and makes them as useful as a corpse. The Grave also is an allusion to God and his ability to control life and the fate of everything. Donne ends his meditation with a restatement on his final stance on Earth vs. the human body. He believes humans are able to live within world of disease, but do not have the capacity to heal themselves like animals do. They are therefore inferior and the physician is even lower because he is a human that must heal other humans, but still cannot heal himself like animals are. Animals are able to live independently and do not rely upon one another to survive. If one species died, they have to ability to adapt and overcome any problems. Donne feels that humans would not be able to do this. At first he believes God made humans strong and able to conquer all, but he contradicted himself and talked his way out of that belief. Bruce Boehrer states that,  [relative anthropocentrism] associates large and variable subsets of the human community to a greater or lesser extent with the realm of nature, while reserving full human statues only for specific, arbitrarily defined social groups (Boehrer 17) . Boehrer may be inferring that humans choose when to use the talents God specifically gave them, which would not make them inferior as Donne states, but rather superior for not wasting energy on characteristics not given to them, but using inferior creatures to cure them. Works Cited: Donne, John. Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions. Ann Arbor, MI: U of Michigan P, 1990. Aquinas, St. Thomas. Summa Theologiae. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company. Boehrer, Bruce. Shakespeare Among the Animals: How To Do Things With Animals. Palgrave.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Downfall of a Leader

The Foolishness of Achilles’ Anger What causes a great leader to fall? Why do people who have such large potential fail? Could it be pressure? Expectations? Circumstances? All these things may contribute but the final blows are made by a serious character flaw or a series of unwise choices. Two men help to illustrate this fact. First, Achilles, who was brought down by over-reacting and his own anger, faced failure as a leader. Second, Samson made foolish decisions and paid for them with his life. Achilles, who was one of several Greek princes under King Agamemnon, demonstrates the foolishness of anger. Agamemnon and Achilles had each earned attractive women in battle. When Agamemnon had to return his woman to her father, the King took Briseis, Achilles’ prize, for himself, thus removing Achilles’ glory from him. Foolishly, Achilles responded with rage. He would not fight for Agamemnon against the Trojans until his honor was restored. He stomped back to his own hall and his own ships, taking his own countrymen with him. The Trojans almost slaughtered all the Greeks before the two quarreling captains made peace and Achilles willingly fought for his country. Achilles’ anger caused many unfortunate consequences. One consequence was his own misery. Selfishness equals misery. Since most of his friends did not like him anymore, he felt very lonely. A second outcome of Achilles’ bitterness was the death of many people. Because he continued his pouting, the war lasted several days longer and many soldiers perished needlessly. Lastly, the irritation resulted in the untimely end of his best friend, Petroclus, who bravely marched into battle wearing Achilles’ armor. Achilles, although he was a skillful, courageous warrior, provides a clear example of the nasty effects of resentment. Another potentially great leader was Samson. Samson was born to deliver the Israelites because they had fallen into sin again. Although he had to follow strict rules, he would be a great and strong man. He could not cut his hair, or touch any unclean animal, and he was required to follow all the rules of the Nazirites. Samson thoughtlessly broke many of the rules on him. He married a woman who was not from Israel, he touched an unclean animal, and wholly rejected his calling to save Israel. God however, was going to have his way, with or without Samson’s obedience. While Samson had destroyed many Philistines, the Israelites captors, he was still unwilling to obey. At last Samson made an incurable mistake; he told Delilah how to make himself weak. Samson spent the rest of his short life as a captive to the Philistines. His eyes were plucked out. He worked like an animal. He was treated like dirt. In the end he did destroy the Philistine army, but only with his own death. His bad choices led him to a place he never intended to go. When he was born, he had the potential to be Israel’s greatest and grandest judge, but instead he became a blind man who had to die to fulfill his purpose. Although both Samson and Achilles were great men, they failed because of their anger, foolishness, selfishness, and resentment. They ruined their possible success by making unwise decisions. Even though they were born to greatness, their reputations are marred by their reckless behavior. These two men’s lives reveal the stumbling blocks that cause leaders to fall.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Reflection Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Reflection - Personal Statement Example my thanks to entail: Role of accounting in a given business, some basic accounting concepts, accrual accounting concepts, and basis accounting concepts. I managed to achieve organization in the way I handled my businesses through proper book keeping and drafting of financial records. These skills will always prove useful even in the business world as they are the foundations of accounting. Other concepts that made me a stronger individual in accounting include; financial accounting systems, internal control elements, fixed assed including liabilities (Juan, 2007). These concepts proved useful as they always played a role in business daily. As a student, I have gained much from the course, that is, intellectual and professional growth. I now believe I can manage any business better than before I joined the course through application of some of the concepts I had learnt throughout the course (Juan, 2007). I am also determined to pursue a further degree in business. I believe that through gaining more knowledge in accounting, I will become a better person in the business

Friday, September 27, 2019

Philosophy of Science and Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Philosophy of Science and Religion - Essay Example Hume has presented three characters that he has given different positions to represent on the issue. The three characters are in a conversational dialogue. Demea is given the responsibility to argue for religious Orthodoxy. He reasons that there is no way an individual can come to understand God’s nature through reason. He vehemently believes that no one can ever know God’s nature at all cost since God’s nature is characteristically beyond the comprehension of human beings. Philo, a philosophical skeptic concurs with Demea in his reasoning that God cannot be comprehended by human beings. However, he goes ahead to give convincing opinions for his position. Cleanthes on the other hand argue according to empirical theism- the notion that individuals can understand about God through reasoning from all the evidence that has been presented by nature (Hume 80). He argues against Demea and Philo. His empirical theism belief is based on the design argument which states th at the beauty and complexity of the universe can be explained only by speculating the existence of one intelligent designer, who in this case is God. In part XII of the dialogues, Philo and Cleanthes are alone. Philo makes use of this opportunity to make a revelation of what he truly thinks, regarding the entire discussion. Surprisingly, he confesses that he believes in the existence of the design argument. He argues that it is not possible to disregard the fact that all creatures in nature have a purpose they are to serve, nothing was created in vain and that everything is being done in the best and comprehensible manner possible (Hume 82). He implies that all the above tenets guide everyone’s scientific reasoning, and they point out to the conclusion that an author of the order exists. He also argues that theists believe that both God and human beings both have brains; however, God’s mind

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Sylvia's Bar Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sylvia's Bar Analysis - Essay Example The staffs at Sylvia’s bar were trained in cocktail from South Birmingham College and thus their salary was much higher than market standards. The band that was performing in Sylvia’s Bar was initially very popular but gradually people have started losing interest and do not like the performance of the band any more. As a result, the bar is not being able to even recover the cost of hiring the band. Competition has also intensified with time making it difficult for Sylvia’s Bar to make their mark amidst competition. A staff and customer survey had been conducted. The customer survey revealed that they did not consider the price of food and drinks justified and they did not like the ambience in the bar. The staffs also do not enjoy working in the place since the work environment is too formal. Analysis of the Current Situation All organisations have a business strategy for success. The business strategy of an organisation revolves around making money and increasin g profits of the organisation. Businesses make plans for increasing profits but often fail to execute those plans. Businesses which have been very successful have always stressed on ethical behaviour and performance and have laid down clear expectations which have helped them to achieve success. The key to success for businesses lies in their structure. Successful businesses have a fast, flexible and flat structure. The absence of too many hierarchical layers improves the information flow in the organisation. The other key to success lies in the recruitment of talented employees. Successful organisations try to retain their talented staff and provide them training to enhance their skills and make them capable of multitasking. Effective leadership also ensures success in a company. Innovation is extremely important for an organisation since it helps them to stay ahead of competition (Behe, 2008). It has been observed that companies in the hospitality industry especially restaurants a nd bars face failures which can be categorised based on the managerial, marketing and economic perspective. Managerial failure results from the management’s incompetence whereas marketing failure results from marketing reasons namely changing demographics, product portfolio realignment and repositioning among others. Economic failure occurs when profits and revenues are diminishing. Restaurants just like other businesses also pass through distinct life cycle stages. The most vulnerable stage is the first stage. Consequently, most restaurants fail during the initial years due to the fact that they lack resources and thus cannot easily adapt to changing conditions. The competitive environment of a restaurant in terms of its location, growth and how they differentiate themselves from their competitors determine their success. Often new restaurants fail because they lack proper planning, face cash constraints and are unable to compete with big players. Size and survival has a dir ect correlation in restaurant industry and so bigger players have a greater chance of survival. The restaurant’s location in the market, their proximity with competitors and ability to differentiate themselves from their competitors determine their long-term survival. Most restaurants fail due to their inability to adapt to changing market trends. Various internal factors like managerial inefficiency and incompetency lead to failures (Parsa & et. al., 2005).

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Ethics and HealthSouth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Ethics and HealthSouth - Essay Example The case of HealthSouth Corporation is one of those cases where the owner along with others killed the image and essence of the business for earning extra wealth and recognition in the business and social environment. Richard Marin Scrushy is the founder of HealthSouth Corporation; a global health care organization located in Birmingham, Alabama (Bartlett, Donald, 2005). The organization is the largest owner and operator of inpatient rehabilitative hospitals in the nation with great reach in more than 26 states in the country. By the beginning of 2000s, the organization was performing well in the competitive business environment and even recorded $4.5 billion in the year 2003. This made HealthSouth Corporation as one of the most successful health care organizations in the United States. The dawn of 2002 marked the presence of slow down and many expected HealthSouth Corporation to move at a slow pace. However, the organization kept performing at a steady pace that amazed the industry analysts. An investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed that Richard Marin Scrushy has been charged for the accounting scandal for falsely exaggerating the company’s earning along with playing with the emotions of shareholders by keeping them in dark. The Security and Exchange Commission of the US charged Scrushy with 36 of the original 85 counts and was acquitted of all charges in 2005. However, cases were filed against him that proved him guilty on charges of manipulation of earnings and accounting fraud affecting the decisions of shareholders. The discussion aims at highlighting the key issues associated with the accounting fraud along with analysing key ethical issues involved in an analytical manner. An Overview of the... From this research it is clear that the accounting fraud surfaced in the year 2002 when Scrushy was accused of selling $75 million of stocks before posting a huge loss that raised a number of questions on the accounting activities of the company. The Security and Exchange Commission of the United States later accused Scrushy for an accounting fraud pertaining to inflation of company’s earnings by $1.4 billion. This was considered as an attempted fraud for misleading the shareholders along with window dressing the financial statements for meeting shareholder’s expectations. The Security and Exchange Commission of the United States stated that Scrushy instructed his top officials and accountants to falsify financial statements in order to stand tall in front of the investor’s expectations. The prices of the share were controlled in an illegal and unethical manner that later proved fatal for the organization and other top officials along with the owner Scrushy. In t he early 2000s, the company’s earnings were inflated by more than 4000% that represented 10% of the total assets of the organization. The organization hired an outside law firm to analyze the stock sale tale of Scrushy but later found that it has nothing to do with the manipulation in the financial statements. In 2003, the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed search warrants and accused Scrushy for more than 80 charges and he was acquitted on 36 charges against him. The ethical and legal stances of the owner and the organization were questioned by the shareholders and stakeholders that went unanswered till 2009.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Case problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Case problem - Essay Example It can be concluded that though a minor, he voluntarily accepted the risk involved in skiing. There was thus an express assumption of risk. That is supported by what was decided in Murphy vs. Steeplehouse Amusement Company, 250 N.Y. 479. The court ruled that one is solely responsible for outcomes of an activity in which the person takes part if the dangers are obvious and necessary. Contributory negligence makes the defendants not entirely liable. Neal’s’ conduct of skiing while being inexperienced and besides too young falls below a certain standard necessary for his own protection, and this conduct cooperated with the defendants negligence of selling the skies to a minor who was also inexperienced. That eventually harmed Neal. Neal would have avoided the injuries had he gone for lessons. That leads to another defense available to the defendants. It is comparative negligence, which in other words would be non-absolute contributory negligence. With this type of defense, Neal would not recover by percentage in which he was at fault for his damage. In this way, the damages are shared between parties according to their

Monday, September 23, 2019

AMERICAN HISTORY SINCE 1900 Assignment One Essay

AMERICAN HISTORY SINCE 1900 Assignment One - Essay Example He never looks up towards the heavenly things that are placed before him. He is offered a crown of jewels and a place in Paradise, but he will not stop for a moment to look up from his decidedly earthly labors to consider the benefit of the riches offered to him. In the novel, Bunyan used the character to symbolize those that are trapped in the most mundane and unpleasant aspects of earthly existence. He used the Man with the Muck Rake as a type and a warning to those who become too absorbed in the worldly to contemplate the heavenly. President Roosevelt’s remarks indicate that he felt the muckrakers of his time had their place in the world and that they served a useful purpose in society. He indicated that he believed that all evil should be exposed at all times. He mentioned that he supported the dogged pursuit of evil men by the just that would shed light on their evil deeds. So in some ways, it appears as though the muckrakers had the tacit approval of the president. But t he very name casts doubt on the amount that President Roosevelt really believed the muckrakers could help. The name, based on its origins, indicates a person or people that are very good at one thing and one thing only. They are dedicated to seeing only the basest of worldly pursuits. The name also seems to indicate that he felt the muckrakers were individuals of limited vision. They were, in essence, so busy raking muck that they never could bring themselves to look about at all of the good that was happening around them. They were more interested in seeing abuse and scandal at every turn than they were in reporting or commenting on things as they really were. This attitude towards the muckrakers seems to indicate that President Roosevelt did not believe that all of the reforms the muckrakers supported needed to result in legislation on in strict regulations on industry. In the case of the meat packing industry, he seems to be holding reform as a threat over the head of the industr y leaders. In essence, he is saying that if you don’t clean yourselves up you will destroy your own business and exports of your own products. Regulate your own affairs or they will be regulated for you. History shows that the industry did not regulate itself, resulting in the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 (Coles, 510). Part of the reason the President was so supportive of this piece of legislation is it was greatly demanded by the public. Work Cited Bunyan, John, and James Henderson Thomas. Pilgrims's Progress in Modern English. Chicago: Moody, 1964. Print. 7 Coles, Jessie V. The Consumer-buyer and the Market. New York: Arno, 1978. Print. 510 The events leading to World War I were largely the result of a system of reciprocal treaties that bound one country to enter a conflict if their allies were threatened. Like dominoes falling, on country after another entered the war after the assignation of the heir of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia. Germany was duty bound to support the Empire because of a mutual assistance treaty. But on the other hand, Russia, France, Great Britain and eventually Italy entered as allies against the Germans and Austrians. If everyone was to honor their obligations to the others, then everyone had to fight. The United States was committed to remaining neutral during the conflict. This was a position that was very popular in the United States and actually helped

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Did the idea of Manifest Destiny simply mean acquring more terrtory Essay

Did the idea of Manifest Destiny simply mean acquring more terrtory for the United States Why or why not - Essay Example Many Americans began to believe that it was the nation's "Manifest Destiny" to expand westward. Manifest Destiny refers to a concept often used to explain or justify American expansion, especially in the decades preceding the Civil War (1861-65) and again in the late 19th century. While debate over expansion goes back to the beginnings of American expansion in the late 18th century, the phrase "Manifest Destiny" did not come into vogue until the 1840s. In 1845, John O'Sullivan, a democrat leader and editor of the New York newspaper 'The Morning Post, wrote: "Our manifest destiny to over spread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty". (O'Sullivan, John L. "Annexation", The United States Democratic Review) To many it seemed inevitable that lands to the west of the Mississippi, once claimed by Mexico, England, and a host of American Indian tribes, should eventually be settled by Americans. John O'Sullivan the editor of the influential 'Democratic Review' and the 'The Morning Post' had coined the phrase "Manifest Destiny" to describe this vision of a United States stretching from Atlantic to Pacific.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Foundations of psychology Essay Example for Free

Foundations of psychology Essay (a) Conceptually, reasoning is characterized by various attitudes, emotions, feelings or even assumptions. These are the psychological factors that occur psychologically as parameters that help to develop a logical conclusion in ones reasoning. Rationality in reasoning is what yields a final resolution. However, such reasoning is brought to a state of imbalance in which the different assumptions, feelings and attitudes tend to shape the outcome responses. Perhaps however, each of the attributes could be controlled by aspects of various stimuli that respond to the three stage of classical conditioning. Initially, an aspect of anxiety of wanting to create some reflective thinking occurs. This is because of the desire to come to a logical conclusion of the problem held in the reasoning. The unconditioned stimulus before the reasoning was to arrive at a phenomenon based on the results of the reasoning. The driving force then throws an imbalance in the cognitive state of the brain senses with a basic aim of arriving towards an imperative solution based on the foundations of the question in the reasoning. A state of confusion occurs basically due to inability of making the correct choice of solutions. The solution should be independent of the external environment. Additionally, the choices to the solution also consider that reasoning may have various solutions. However, a conflict exists between the set of decisions alternatives due to the inability of making the most rational decision instantly. However, the principles of classical conditioning help to develop various stimuli corresponding to the various decision alternatives. Each stimulus (like a defensive censor) evokes one another to finally reach at an equilibrium consensus which the cognitive personality chooses as the best decision variable (Anne, 1999) A state of ambivalence follows the above stage of confusion. Ambivalence develops from the emotional perceptions and seeks to give a feeling of no specific inclination in any of the decision alternatives persuaded in the reasoning process. This is however a defense mechanism since it denies the strong efforts of strong feelings in the decision alternatives thus lessening the probable pain which one would have encountered in decision making (Michael, 1977) (b) Role of memory in reasoning The human memory is an important element in cognitive reasoning. Memory is what aligns the different aspects involved in reasoning to yield a correspondence between one another. The attitudes, feelings and assumptions ought to be construed in a dimension that brings reflective ties to one another. Memory can be said as the pivot entry between the functional relationships in all elements that define reasoning. The fundamental scope of reasoning is comprised of various complimentary processes that depend on one another. The philosophical and psychological standpoints have pinpointed on memory and reasoning as working in an integrated system and none can replace one another. Memory acts as an object that brings a tie and conjoins the various independent processes that are involved in the process of reasoning. It is also the object that provides subjective interactions and explorations among the wide scope of the cognitive processes to arrive at a balance of interest which is the defining choice/decision variable of the reasoning process (Thomson, 2001) Conceptually, the association that exists in human reasoning is brought about by the organization and content interaction of the human memory. It helps to bring about a scope of interpretation about the various processes that are involved in the human cognition. Consequently, memory is influential as a trajectory object for the integration of the various processes in the reasoning processes that finally strikes a balance in the choice of decision to follow. (c) Obstacles in reasoning There are various obstacles that could hinder the process of effective reasoning. These include; Mental entrenchment: This is a situation that occurs when the mind is framed in models that represent various problems, problem contexts or perhaps the possible procedures for use in solving a particular problem. When a person involved in reasoning has entrenched mind sets, they may develop methods that creates a solution to the problem in question but which does not provide the most optimal and effective solutions to such problems (Mark, 2007) Either, functional fixedness is an obstacle in effective thinking/reasoning. This case arises when an individual who has an ability of doing specific things extends such methods in creating the decisions in reasoning. He is unable to develop methodologies that addresses a certain problem in question but rather has to refer to what models his/her mind (Mark, 2007) Stereotypes: Stereotypes are those fundamental generalizations that are unsupported by rationality held by the members within a certain setting or the contemporary society. Stereotypes could be learned during childhood. Individuals accustomed to various senses of stereotypical thinking always make generalized choice and decisions in their reasoning process. Negative transfers: This is the condition when the procedures that are to be used in solving a current problem occurs in the future as harder problems that are perhaps unsolvable. This is a contrast of positive transfer that implies the former process for solving gone problems make the current problem easy to solve. These obstacles are highly involved in obstructing the critique of critical and effective thinking by bringing the wrong illusions and impressions in the reasoning process. (d) Types of reasoning involved in the experience Generally, there are various reasoning involved in an experience. Each differs in terms of flow of precepts and hypothetical developments. The process of reasoning within the given set of experience is important in giving the rationality behind the choice of one decision at the expense of the others. However, various types of reasoning are used in the reasoning process. These include; Abduction: This is the process through which a hypothesis statement about an experience is made. It seeks to formulate the fundamental scope of levels with which such a problem/experience occurs and the possible influential factors behind it. The cause and the effect reasoning: This is the mode of reasoning which seeks to relate the starting point of an experience or a problem of interest. It involves establishing the causes and effects and then trying to relate how each affects one another or how each is related to the other. (Manktelow, 1999) Comparative reasoning: This is the reasoning precept that seeks to draw a comparative analogy by comparing and relating one thing with the corresponding alternative. It then seeks to strike a balance of stability between such relationships. Deductive reasoning: It is the reasoning that involves establishing the generalized parameters and then moving towards a drive in the specific rules. Inductive reasoning: This is that which involves establishing the specific parameters and then driving towards the generalized rules. (e) Methods of enhancing effective reasoning in this experience. Critical thinking is that which goes beyond logical reasoning. It is that which works towards scrutinizing arguments by support of empirical evidence. Enhancing reasoning is a combination of various tools that promote the cognitive precepts of the human brain. These include; Physical exercise: Physical exercise is highly supportive in the functionality of the brain. A functional brain is a brain that has the cognitive power of critical and effective reasoning. Taking physical exercise helps to refresh the nervous system whose central context is the brain faculty (Robert, 1991) Taking adequate sleep: It is of necessity that a person takes enough sleep that brings relaxation to the reasoning and thinking autonomies. The mind set that could be infiltrated by sleep and stress is prone to inadequate reasoning. Various decisions by the human reasoning can only be ploughed in by a sober and a relaxed cognitive personality. Neurofeedback process: This is the process through which the precepts of human reasoning are controlled by reflecting back to what presumes a certain reasoning obligation. It is the sensational process of developing a raw feedback to the mind that causes fatal relaxation before engaging into fresh models of reasoning (Anne, 1999) Avoiding reasoning distracters: This is achieved through adequate payment of attention. Though a complex pattern involved in the brain function, it can be ensured by the proper payment of attention to the reasoning process that would then help to withdraw all possible abstractions and therefore driving towards concrete decisions. Reference Anne, T (1999) Critical Reasoning in Ethics. London, Routledge Manktelow, K (1999) Reasoning and Thinking. London. Psychology Press Mark, R (2007) The Psychology of Reasoning, London, Routeldge. Michael, S (1977) Reasoning. New York, McGraw Hill Robert, A (1991) Practical Reasoning. London, Routledge Thomson, A (2001) Critical Reasoning: A Practical Introduction. London, Routlege

Friday, September 20, 2019

Indias colonial rule

Indias colonial rule Research Questions and Hypothesis The following objectives / research questions will constitute the foundation for the direction and structure of the methodology chapter. What was Indias economy like under colonial rule? What was the post independence economy in India like? What did colonialism did for the Indian economy? What is Indias economy like today and can it sustain growth? These questions will act as a logical guideline with which my dissertation research can begin. Hypothesis: At the end of colonial rule, the newly independent India took on an economy that was ruined, poor and stagnant. However after the 1991 reforms the economy has grown at a rapid rate and has a promising future ahead. I feel that it is due to the instruments that the British put in place that is able to retain economic growth today. Abstract The Indian economy has had a chequered past, from 1858 to 1947 the British ruled India; there are many examples of the colonial rule exploiting India as the British thought, India was the jewel in their crown. When the British left India they left behind an underdeveloped, poor country, as in the 1700 Indias share of the world income was 22.6% and fell to a low of 3.8% in 1952. However the colonial rule did also introduce India to industrialization, it introduced fixed exchange rates, property rights, and a uniform currency. The British built the enormous railway system and improved communication links. Which in turn helped bring India on the path to westernisation. In the 1970s India had an output of just 3% and in the 1980s it started to have problems in with its balance of payments. At this time India was a semi-socialist closed economy, which followed the USSR in its economic policies instead of the free world. India however had to revise their economic policies and come up with a plan that would save the countries economy, as India found that imports were increasing rapidly and exports decreased. In the late 1980 India had a huge fiscal deficit which resulted in a balance of payments crisis of 1991. In 1991 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was the finance minister in the Narasimha Rao government, he was the chief architect of the new economic policies. He shifted the Indian economy from a semi socialist command to a more open liberal economy. This liberalization in 1991 was a catalyst for future growth in the country. From the initial readings of the literature along with the primary and secondary research, it has showed that there were a number of different factors and views that pushed the Indian economy to grow after colonial rule. The key factors that have drive Indias economic growth from 1947 were, transition to a knowledge based economy, middle class population, the demographic dividend, English speaking people and Investment potential. However constraints to growth are affected by the bad infrastructure, lack of higher education and widespread poverty. Background This dissertation aims to look at how British colonization of India as affected her economy today. Through research it has been found, that India, due to its history was at a handy cap when it came to economic growth. The British rule from 1858 to 1947 drained the wealth of India, the British reasons for colonialism according to Maddison (1971) were purely economic. They saw India as a main component in the in the hierarchy of power, of the world. For many years after India gained its independence in 1947 it was a closed economy, with bad infrastructure and low growth rates. However since the crisis in 1991 India has made social reforms, which has helped it become one of the fasted growing third world countries in the world. It is argued that India has further to go, as does Rajadhyaksha (2006) that India has great potential because of its huge population, its increase in the middle class population, economic liberalization and its relationship with outside world for further economic growth. There is a vast amount of literature that supports that supports my view, because India is such a relevant country today. I chose this as a topic because I feel that India is on the verge of exploding economically. Although India is yet to over take China in terms of in terms of PPP (purchasing power parity), it is still a relatively young country, and in the next 50 years it could take over China. The research for this topic will start of with a general examination of the Indian economy during the colonial rule through the use of secondary sources. Focus will only be emphasized on some aspects of the economy Indian economy because, the state of the economy is such a huge topic to cover in one dissertation. Once an overall knowledge of the topic was gained, it was necessary to analyze the literature, so that a deeper understanding of the Indian economy and look at how the Indian Economy has changed after the instruments of modernization placed upon India by the British. Methodology Research is defined by Saunders et al (2003) as something that people undertake in order to find out things in a systematic way, thereby increasing their knowledge. I will use two different research philosophies, the Interpretivism paradigm, which focuses on the subjective aspects of human activity by focusing on the meaning, rather than the measurement, of social phenomena, (Collis Hussey, 2003), this paradigm will be useful to me due to the qualitative nature of my dissertation. Another research philosophy that I will follow is the Realism paradigm which looks to understand, the existence of an external and objective reality that influences peoples social interpretations and behaviours (Saunders et al 2003). The most important methodologies that I will use for this dissertation are interviews, case studies on India and its economy and questionnaires. I incorporate both quantitative and qualitative data in my research but focusing more on the latter. In addition, I will also use pr imary sources, such as informal interviews, questionnaires and book, and secondary sources, such as government statistics, journals, and newspaper articles. I will also look at the ethical aspect of conducting research for my dissertation, as I will be conducting informal interviews, I will have to be aware of basis. This Literature Review This Literature Review will look at a variety of opinions concerning India economic background during British colonization, post colonization and its future potential in the world stage. This will include a detailed analysis of what pervious well-known authors have written on Indias economic growth, Indian economys, current performance and the potential for further growth; this in turn will lead to a better understanding of the subject and establish a academic foundation for further research based on academic journals, books and magazines. Economy under colonial rule Did the British colonial rule help or hinder Indias economy today? This area of study has spawn countless debates. Many academics highlight the positive role British colonization had on India, from supporting capital movements and trade (Furguson: 2002) to amalgamating administration and securing peace (Lal: 2004). However other academics take an opposite stance on the subject and suggest that the British exploited India and drained her of her wealth (Bagchi: 2002). The British had many reasons for colonial rule of India according to Paul Halsall (Internet modern history source book), the reasons included security, trade and the cause of humanity. However Maddison argues in his book Class structure and Economic Growth that Britons motive for colonisation was simply economic, they wanted to achieve a monopolistic trading position (Maddison: 1971: 35). The British mission was to explore all territories, in hope of opportunities that ensured them economic power. Maddison justifies this claim through researching the economic and social impact of colonial rule; he found that the colonial rule brought slight change to the life of the general population, there were no major changes in village society and education efforts only assisted the upper class. Stein on the other hand argues in his book The History of India that the British did do their share to improve the economy and sustain development. They helped improve the infrastructure of the country and introduced which boosted Indias export industry. Although the view of imperialist is that colonialism produce a modern state. Tirthankar Roy in Economic History and Modern India: Redefining the Link, suggest that it came at a cost (Roy: 2007: 109). The Indian economy suffered under the British rule because of the exploitation by foreign capital and noninterventionist stance of the Indian government (Roy: 2007: 109). Indian Economy The Indian economy is slowly taking hold of, the worlds attention with its extraordinary economic performance Bureau (2009) sees India as a Caiged Tiger, which is growing at a slower rate than Chinas economy, but nonetheless is growing at a rapid speed. The growth in Indias economy is due to India having a very successful IT service industry and the large amount of speaking young demographic. India is walking away from the reputation it had in the 1950s, as the leader of the third world to a potential future leader of the world (Charlie Rose Interview: 2006). Rajadhyaksha (2006) wrote The Rise of India, in which he thinks Indias economy have further potential for growth. He analysis the new changes in Indian policy, consumer behaviour, demography, and financial markets. According to Rajadhyaksha (2006) these significant changes will aid Indias economic growth as it embarks on a journey to contend with other countries. Economic Development: History On the eve of the industrial revolution India was the second largest economy in the world, contributing more than 20% of total world output. By the 1970s after two centuries of relative economic stagnation, that share had fallen to 3%, the lowest in its recorded history (Poddar and Yi: 2007: 4). Poddar and Yi (2007), argues that this was a post-industrial economic decline and an effect of historical aberration, driven by a lack of openness and forward thinking (Poddar and Yi: 2007: 4) due to Jawaharlal Nehru favoring a Fabian socialist society rather than the present neo liberal. India was described to follow the Hindu rate of growth after the Independence in 1947, this was because of the decades of low rate of growth, due to the reforms undertaken by the Congress government in 1980s resulted in growth which was fragile and sporadic and finally ended with a balance of payments crisis (Financialexpress.com: 2005). Poddar Yi (2007) person responsible for writing the Goldman Sachs repo rt 2007, explain how the subsequent reforms in 1991, integrating India into the global economy and remove obstacles that prevented economic growth. India is now noticed as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Crises of 1991 and the consequent Reforms The reforms instigated by the finance minister in the Narasimha Rao government of 1991 Manmohan Singh, were seen as waking a sleeping giant (Singh: 1985: 407), according to Cohen (2001). The reforms were instigated because of the balance of payment crisis India faced in 1991, that threatened to crumble the Indian economy because the foreign reserves were so low that they could not even maintain two weeks of imports. Due to the 1991 reforms, Indias semi- socialist, closed economy made a transition towards a open economy and private Indian and international investment. Cohen (2001) agrees with Nayar (1998) on the issue that the balance of payments crisis led to a demand in investment, labour legislation and opening of the economy. I agree with Cohen (2001) and Nayar (1998) that reforms of 1991 that happened because of the crisis, influenced the rise if the Indian economy from a sluggish, stagnant economy to a rapidly growing one, India found a new sense of enthusiasm and confidence. Pre 1991 Growth Although the crisis of 1991 is often said to be the trigger for Indian economic reforms and economic growth, Rodrick Subamanian (2004) believe that the productivity surge and economic growth started steadily in the 1980s a decade before the 1991 reforms. Rodrick Subamanian (2004) put forward an argument of a changing mind-set on part of the government in the 1980s, from a more socialist society to a more liberal one who favors the private sector. This significant shift, according to Rodrick Subamanian (2004) was led by Indira Gandhis Congress Party. However they do state that attitudinal change was grounded primarily in political calculation, and not in a desire to enhance the efficiency of the economic regime (Rodrick and Subamanian: 2004: 24). Kohli (1989) also supports Rodrick Subamanians view and states ideology of the leaders rather than the nature of regime organization, it is a key determinant of economic policy choice leaders will push an economic program of their choice (Kohli: 1989: 305). Rodrick Subamanian (2004) continue to argue that policy changes in the early 80s and then internal liberalization in the mid 80s was the catalyst to the huge economic growth that we see in India today. Future Growth Purushothaman and Willson (2003) think that Brazil, Russia, India and Chian becoming a much larger force in the world economy (Purushothaman and Willson: 2003: 1) over the next 50 years. Purushothaman and Willson (2003) analyzed the GDP growth, income per capita and currency movements in the Indian economy until 2050. Kakodkar (1998) expresss that with improvements to the infrastructure, clearer policies, India will become increasingly attractive to investors. This potential, according to Luce (2007), has been largely wasted because of the caste system that has shaped Indian society for several thousands of years. He suggests that the factors, which would allow the realisation of Indias potential, are by the encouragement of democracy, education and empowerment. Chapter Plan Chapter One Introduction This chapter will be a short introduction to the dissertation and question. How was Indias economy effected by colonization and whether effects of colonization are still being felt today? Chapter Two Economy Under the British Colonial rule In the second chapter will introduce a brief history of the Indian Economy under colonial rule and what the British did in the sub- continent. The focus will not be placed on the economy as a whole instead it will concentrate on specific parts of the economy which are considered most important, such as trade, investment and the infrastructure. Chapter Three Developing Economy The third chapter will discuss the Indian economy after Independence from British colonialism. It will look at the economy from 1957 to 1991 when it was a semi socialist economy to its shift towards a market economy in 1991. Again emphasis will be placed on trade, growth rates and infrastructure. Chapter Four- What colonialism did for India? Chapter four will discuss the effects of colonialism on the Indian economy and society. It will look at the benefits and detriments India suffered during colonial rule. Again only certain aspects of society and economy will be analysed. Chapter Five Waking the sleeping giant Economy of India Today Chapter five will focus on Indias economy after 1991 till the present day and beyond. Whats more, it will continue to examine what are the key factors of economic growth, sustainability and the constraints. Chapter Six Discussion The discussions chapter will focus on the three aspects of research methods used in this dissertation, the analysis of the questionnaire, discourse analysis on a speech by the British to justify colonial rule in India and the reading from literature. Chapter Seven Conclusion In the final chapter will conclude the research question and evaluate the outcome of the research. Chapter Two, Indian economy under colonial rule Research question: What was Indias economy like under colonial rule? In 1757 the British East India Company established its dominance in Bengal and nearly 100 years later, in 1858 the British Crown took over Indias princely states. To understand Indias economy under British rule, which lasted nearly two decades one has to take into account why the British conquered India in the first place. For western empires colonization was a way of expanding their territory, their purpose was undoubtedly economic and then resulting to political expansion. India was seen as the agriculture mother of Asia and the industrial workshop of civilisation (Singh: 1970: 16). The British quickly realized that India had great resources of wealth and raw materials that would benefit them financially thus slowly increased their hold of the sub continent, which led to the war of 1857 that paved the way for full British colonization of Indian Princely states. Indias economic structure pre colonization was one of oriental despotism, which restricted its industrialization and development. Indias custom of the caste system prevented modernisation of the economy because of the peculiar position of the artisan in the Indian village (Stokes: 1973: 139). When the British colonized India they became the agent of economic modernization and wanted to achieve a monopolistic trading position (Maddison: 1971: 35). Indias predisposed socio economic order was greatly influenced by the market forces, industrial competition and modernization encouraged by the modern imperial state. Indian economy was integrated into the world economy as a result of British colonization. India began trading with the world long before colonization took place in the sub continent, however trade began to grow exceedingly fast in the late 18th century as the result of the Charter Act of 1813, which gave Indias trade a major boost compared to modern standards. A rapid growth in trading started from 1800 till the beginning of the First World War. Tirthankar Roy measures Indian trade by the contribution of foreign trade (or exports) to national income (Roy: 2000: 32). In India during the late 18th century and early 19th century the national income (at present value against 1968 as base rate (index)) was 1.5 % per annum and the growth rate during 1868 and 1913 of imports and exports was 4-5 %. The percentage of imports and exports was escalating rapidly throughout the 19th century. Despite the escalation of foreign trade, nationalists argue that the British colonization of India in fact hindered Indias economic growth. Angus Maddison (1971) proposed that the British were wil ling to assist with the Indian economic development as long as it did not diverge away from their own economic interests. For example the British colonial rule exercised a free trade policy in India, which meant that all British imports came into India without any duty paid on goods and when a small tariff was necessary for Indias revenue purposes, the British in turn imposed equivalent excise duty on Indian products to prevent them gaining a competitive advantage (Maddison: 1971: 39). Maddison (1971) continues to argue that if India had been politically independent, her tax structure would probably have been different (Maddison: 1971: 39) and the trade turnover much higher, for instance Brazils Import revenue was 21% of trade turnover, whereas Indias revenue was only 2.2% in the 1880s. Some academics estimate that the net transfer of capital from colonized India to Britain was 1.5% of the total GNP of the sub-continent. The trade policies that the British imposed on India were tool s of exploitation and a ploy to force its manufactures on India and crush domestic industry (Basu: 2006). Initially, India was a feudal society however British colonization of India institutionalized its society and transformed its agricultural industry. It introduced property rights resembling the unencumbered private property characteristics of Western capitalism (Maddison: 1971: 45) and collected land revenue in the form of taxes imposed on the farmers and peasants. During the first half of British colonization of the sub- continent the agriculture industry grew, firstly in order to feed the growing population and secondly to export other countries that demanded the cotton, teas, and opium that India produced. From the period of 1860 to 1880 the demand for cotton grew substantially and for a few years the value of cotton exports was more than half of the value of all exports (Desai: 1969: 21). It suggests that in 1859 the price of cotton per lb was 2.7, however as the export grew to 14 lakhs of bales, so did the price pre lb to 11.5. Consequently the demand for such goods meant that I ndia was leading to commercialization and entering the world economy. Nevertheless this prosperity did not last. From the period of 1895 to 1914 India suffered from two ruthless famines, which were an amalgamation of natural causes and administrative failures. Yet the British did in this period, also try and introduce new reforms, they established a famine relief policy that included the expansion of irrigation and better infrastructure. The Indian agriculture industry went into decline from the period of 1930 to 1940; Desai (1986) suggests that this decline was due to the great depression and provincial autonomy. The depression, which was felt in all through the world, lowered agriculture prices in India hence led to a decline in farmers income however their responsibilities to the government remained the same, they still had to pay taxes on the land, etc. The second World War increased the burden on the farmers as the demand for agricultural goods on the world market declined and the exports of jute, cotton and groundnut fell to half or less in three or four years (Desai: 1986: 26). In spite of this the demand for food crops increased India supplied food crops to Western Asia and the increase in the proportion of the military meant that consumption increased. Due to the increase in trade and some slight advances in agriculture the British colonization of India helped established a system of centralized of governing and amalgamated the administration of India, they improved the governing of the states, security of life and property (modern source book), and in addition to this the British also improved the infrastructure of the sub- continent. They invested in repair, enlargement and unification of ancient irrigation systems (Roy: 2000: 46) as it was the most straightforward way of increasing yields of agriculture, helping the farmer that would in turn result in more revenue for the government, and help prevent further famines. However they procured returns for their investment to the irrigation from increasing revenue charged on irrigated land and on water rates. The British also invested heavily in the Railway industry in India, they considered it an important investment as it increased the volume of trade in the sub-continent and improved Indian social conditions. The railways helped promote the agriculture exports, it made the export of large sums of raw materials easier and provided cheap transport. The British thought of themselves as saviors of the Indian people spreading western civilization (MacPherson: 1955: 177). The first railway tracks were laid in 1853 under the guidance Dalhousie and by 1869 5,000 miles of tracks had been laid down. From the 1880s onwards the railway construction took on a new life and by 1910 India had the 4th largest Railway system in the world which cost the Indian people  £50 million, however MacPherson (1955) argues that  £95 million was invested into Indian railway by British companies. According to Desi (1969) the railway industry was built not to benefit the Indian economy but instead their own. Duri ng the First World War the British used the Indian railway to meet the demands of their own country, the Second World War incapacitated the Indian railway system as moved the rains to the Middle East and the railway workshops were renovate to weapons workshops. Up until 1835 the Indian sub-continent did not have a universal currency, which is needed in a modern state. The Act of 1835 introduced India to the silver rupee, which was to be the legal tender of the sub- continent. In 1861 the paper currency act was launched, this Act enabled the government to issue paper notes, this followed the English currency principle, that there must be a full metallic reserve above a certain amount (Desai: 1969: 226). The circulation of this tender began to grow slowly when confidence developed and there was more education (Desai: 1969: 227). Banking in the sub- continent can be seen in two dimensions, the formal and informal sector. Roy (2000) puts forward the idea that the formal sector of the banking industry four constituents, the exchange banks, joint stock banks, presidency banks and the cooperate credit societies. The informal sector were not legally accepted as banks, however they dealt with credit transactions in agriculture and small-scale indust ry in the forms of loans given to by employers or merchants to actual producers against work in progress (Roy: 2000: 202). The modern bank system stabilized the sub- continent however there were still failures in the system, from 1913 to 1925 almost 180 banks collapsed, this according to Desai (1969) was due to inexperience, incompetence and even fraud (Desai: 1969: 241). The British did not introduce the education to India; nonetheless they did promote education heavily amounts the population. By the beginning of the 19th century the British made English he official business language of the sub- continent. According to Sanne (2003) the British wanted people in India to be English in mind, but with Indian bodies (Sanne: 2003: 12) and gave assistance to a more extended and systematic promotion of general education (Lyer: 2004: 14). According to Roy (2002) British investment played a major role in shaping the education system in India. By the end of 1901 there were approximately 14,000 colleges in India, there were a few universities in Mumbi, Kolkata and Madras. Sanne (2003) continues to suggest that British education in the sub- continent create a vast amount of highly educated elite as well as a huge amount of semi educated, low paid, English speaking subordinate (Sanne: 2003: 12). The telegraph was also something that that British introduced to the sub- continent that indirectly shaped its economy at the time and in the post- colonial period. Roy (2000) states that the telegraph was a vital military tool in the rebellions and wars of annexation (Roy: 2000: 268), and by the mid 1900s there was rapid growth in the telegraph industry, from 0.38 million Rs in 1858 to 26.34 million Rs in 1921. Roy (2000) also claims that the British united the Postal service in the sub-continent in the wake of migration and money orders. One could hardly live without the other (Roy: 2000: 267). Roy (2000) continues and states that there was a basic postal service in India in the pre-colonial periods however it really took off when post offices were opened in semi rural areas. The postal service and the telegraph created jobs for many semi educated indigenous people in India and also bridged the gap of communication in the huge country. British colonization of India also changed the legal structure of the sub- continent. According to Cohn (1961) pre- colonial India did not have one legal system but multiple systemswhich differed from place to place (Cohn: 1961: 614). They had the Mogul law and the Hindu law to follow, however British colonization of India unified the legal system of the sub- continent and established civil courts in 1818. Over all during the British colonization of the Indian sub-continent they contributed to the economy in many ways. They set up a currency system, which was still in place in India up until recently. Introduced the sub- continent to the telegraph system, which connected the country to the rest of the world. It reformed the Indian agrarian society, increased trade through the improvements in the infrastructure. The railways, that British started build nearly 1750 years ago, have now grown into the largest railway system in the world under a single management in the world. Colonialism also commercialized the Indian economy and was an agent for modernization, for a feudal society. These contributions cannot be ignored. When India gained its independence from the British in 1947, it had the basic interments for economic growth in place. Chapter Three, Developing economy after Independence Research question: What was the Indian economy like after independence? After India gained its independence from British colonialism in 1947, its economy was stagnant compared their fellow Commonwealth counterparts such as Malaysia who experienced an increase in their GDP growth post British Colonialism. Amartya Sen claims that many estimates suggest that a sizable economic decline took place during the last decades of British rule (Basu, Sisson: 1986: 28). Following Indias Independence the first Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru followed an economic policy of Fabian socialism and self-reliance. Under Nehrus leadership The Planning Commission was set up to guide the newly independent Indian economy to follow the semi socialist economic model. The commission was set up to increase living standards of Indians through using Indian resources, boost production and enhance employment. However these policies had an adverse affect on the economy because they hindered international trade, constructed inefficient industries and it saturated the private secto r and economy with regulations and red tape. British colonization left India with some resources to modernization, according to Williamson (2006) it had the oldest capitalist institutions in Asia, such as the stock exchange. Post- colonial India had a contradictory economy; it had the institutions in place that should have on paper made it a strong economic system in Asia. It had manufacturing industry although it was very weak. It had a railway industry that was one of the largest in Asia, however in was in disrepair. The Indias economy was had many burdens that stagnated the economy and hindered its growth. Along with the independence of India came the partition of the sub- continent, which according to Rothermund (1986) was a reason for the troubled economy of the time. The national planning commission of India wanted to kick start the economic growth of the country and came up with the Five Year Plans. These plans were guidelines to stimulate economic activity within the existing economic and social frameworks (Epstein: 1973: 243). The first Five Year plan was launched in 1951 by Professor Mahalanobis who embraced the Soviet two sector model, and desired to invest 35 billion rupees: 20 billion rupees into the public sector and 15 into the public (Rothermund: 1986: 133) with an intention of increasing national income by 11%. By 1956 India had invested 31 billion rupees into the two industries and exceed national income more than 11% set by the Plan. Throughout this period Indias industry grew at an average rate of 4.1% however the economy went into decline through th

Thursday, September 19, 2019

time capsule :: essays research papers

Lanyard I chose this object for the time capsule because it is the school of my choice. I hope to start in October of 2002. Currently I do not know whether I will attend the university because of money issues, this place is very expensive! This object fits into or nation because it represents the school, which represents the nation. Kettering is one of the top overall schools in the nation, and the number one mechanical engineering school, it represents how important education is to us Americans. Bible I chose to put the Bible into the time capsule to represent the ongoing fight between the Jews and the Palestinians. The Bible contains the First Testament, which the Jews believe in, and the Palestinians don’t. The Jews believe that Israel is their holy land and rightfully theirs, the Palestinians have lived there for hundreds of years before they were kicked out in WWII and replaced with the Jews. This relates to our nation because we are trying to help solve the dispute between these two. President Bush has tried many times to form a treaty between these two, but has recently demanded that they solve their problems now. Messy Pictures   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I took these pictures to represent out economy. The first picture represents the state of the economy just after Sept. 11. The second picture shows the state of the economy currently, things are not quite as messy as the picture to show that the economy is cleaning up and getting better. The third picture is what I hope to see when I reopen this time capsule in a couple of months. Everything is cleared up, and all that is left is money. Birth Certificate   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I chose to include a copy of my birth certificate to represent the second American Taliban member found in Afghanistan. Yasser Esam Hamdi was found fighting with the Taliban and was also found to be and American citizen. He was born in America to Saudi parents, but moved back to Saudi Arabia when he was just a toddler. I put my birth certificate into the time capsule because that is what Hamdi had shown U.S. officials to prove he was an American. Just because he was born in America he has caused an uproar in the media and will face different charges than the non-citizens that committed the same crimes he did. Does this little paper make someone a citizen even though they lived their entire lives in another country and fought along side that country against America?

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

1991: An Amazing Year! :: The Year 1991

History is replete with examples of the rise and fall of once great empires. December 1991 saw the end of a two super power world with the fall of the Soviet Union. In December, â€Å"as the world watched in amazement, the Soviet Union disintegrated into fifteen separate countries† (Cold War Museum). The United States was overjoyed as its enemy was, â€Å"brought to its knees, thereby ending the Cold War which had hovered over these two superpowers since the end of World War II† (Cold War Museum). The split of the Soviet Union made extremely large transformations in the world’s political and economic situation, which resulted in a reduction of global nuclear weapons, world economic cooperation, and the commercialization of once classified military technology. In Moscow on July 31, 1991, President Bush and Gorbashev, the leader of the Soviet Union, signed the START treaty to reduce nuclear weapons on both sides to 6,000—which was a 30-percent reduction of the previous amount being used. This was the first large-scale reduction of nuclear weapons in the history of the Cold War. As a result of this treaty, â€Å"The dangerous category of missiles with multiple independently targeted warheads (MIRVs) was reduced by half† (End of the Cold War). On December 25, 1991, Gorbachev resigned from presidency and the Soviet Union was officially broken up. All the former, â€Å"dependent republics within the old USSR proclaimed their independence, secured international recognition, and were admitted to the United Nations† (End of the Cold War). As a result of the strong working relationship between President Bush and Michael Gorbashev, as well as the relationship between Baker, the Secretary of State, and Foreign Minister Shevardna dze, the Soviet Union began to drastically reduce its military spending. This cooperation between Gorbashev and the West led to a backlash by the Soviet military and resulted in a failed coup attempt, which ended Gorbashev’s rule and resulted in the final collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia, no longer the Soviet Union, was now under a new leadership. Boris Yeltsin became the head of Russian republic and continued to integrate with the Western world. Russia took over the permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council and was invited to join the G-7 gathering of the world’s largest economic powers, therefore making it the G-8. This created a level of cooperation and communication between the two countries that did not exist during the Cold War.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Abraham Lincoln: Civil War Essay

SUMMARY: It is true that president Lincoln felt deep grief over the loss of thousands of Union soldiers in a battle against the Confederacy in order to turn the tides of war and keep the Confederate soldiers from encroaching on Union soil. The deaths of the soldiers was not in vain; the Battle of Gettysburg had been a pivotal point in the Civil War and rekindled some hope in Union. However, the grieving families and surviving soldiers felt none of this bolstered morale and so the president not only aimed at addressing the tragic loss of the soldiers, but also remind the families and others in the Union that they had lost their lives for a greater good. He tells the citizens that they are not fighting solely to preserve the Union, but also to unite the nation and allow for greater freedom throughout the country. As a result of Lincoln’s passionate final words and his declaration of the preservation of democracy in the country, the grieving families and disheartened common men were rejuv enated and rallied behind this new cause. The tone of this speech was prideful and convicted. Abraham Lincoln describes the soldiers as â€Å"brave† and that they have honored the land their bodies had been strewn upon far more than the men who dug their graves and create a national cemetery had. His pride in his men is most evident when he states that they must dedicate their time to finishing the war the soldiers had â€Å"so nobly advanced.† He also shows a sense of conviction, and tries to persuade the audience that it is imperative they win the war so that â€Å"these dead shall not have died in vain† and that they ensure â€Å"that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom†. He is trying to convince his audience that the only way to ensure democracy does not perish is to win the Civil War and reunite the nation. Lincoln is referring to the â€Å"birth† of their nation and describes the way the nation came to be the democratic place it is as almost akin to childbirth. H e says that liberty is the nation’s mother and the fathers are those who had written the Constitution. The effect of this idea of the nation being almost child-like and alive reminds them that America was still infantile compared to European countries, like England and France, and that it was still growing and learning. The Civil War was just another minor, albeit important, event to learn from and use to make their country stronger when the Union and the Confederacy finally merged as one again. Before Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg address, the man before him had given a two-and-a-half long speech. Lincoln’s succinct speech allowed him to illustrate his feelings about the war and the deaths of the soldiers concisely; he was able to hold the audience’s attention and come off as sympathetic, as opposed to pretentious, as the man before him had with his rambling â€Å"ode†. Lincoln’s 82 word last sentence, comparatively longer next to the other simpler sentences, summarized his feelings on the war and the necessary action the Union must take. He called for action and held the audience accountable for ensuring the â€Å"new birth of freedom†. The length of the sentence allowed for a build-up of emotion that climaxed at his last, most famous declaration that they create â€Å"a government of the people, by the people, for the people.† Two examples of repeated diction were his usage of the words  Ã¢â‚¬Å"consecrated† in the second paragraph and â€Å"devotion† in the third. His repetition of the word consecrated, synonymous with the word honored, reminds the audience that the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the Union were to be held in the highest regard and that they were heroes to emulate in both manner and thought. Lincoln is telling the audience indirectly that to fight and die for one’s country is a noble thing, not something to grieve over and the intended effect is to â€Å"set a fire in their hearts† and convince them that continuing in the war, despite the losses, is necessary. The repetition of the word â€Å"devotion† also illustrate Lincoln’s point of the soldiers being heroes for their sacrifice to the country, and that those in the audience should aspire to work to make sure the devotion the soldiers had for their country was not in vain. It should be the desire of the entire Union to act as the deceased soldiers had and give their all for America. Two examples of parallelism are when Lincoln says â€Å"†¦of the people, by the people, for the people†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"†¦from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . His repetition of a government completely revolving around the citizens arouses a sense of importance in the role the American people have in their country and makes them aspire to achieve the objectives Lincoln has given in order to gain this kind of control over their government. The contrast Lincoln draws in the second ex ample of parallelism portrays the audience as only benefiting from the sacrifice the soldiers had made and the soldiers as noble heroes who only gave all they had to protect the Union. This gives the audience a sense of guilt and a desire to protect their country and serve it just as the brave, deceased soldiers had. One example of Lincoln’s use of juxtaposition and antithesis is in his line â€Å"for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.† The contrasts between the real and the abstract, immortality and mortality and life and death are all made in this one phrase. The death of a human being is a harsh reality that people can see and recognize, but the death of a nation is more abstract and is personification, not truth. A nation is immortal because it is not truly alive in an organic sense, and therefore it can not truly die as a human being can. Lastly, a contrast is drawn between the word lives, which has a positive connotation, and the phrase â€Å"gave their lives†, which has a negative connotation. The effect of the juxtaposition and antithesis  reinforces Lincoln’s idea of the nation as being something aliv e and real, as a human being, and that it is important to protect the nation so it can continue its life, unlike those who chose to die in order to save it, and democracy, from destruction. The purpose of the word â€Å"But† in the second paragraph rhetorically is that Lincoln is informing his audience that he is going to be speaking about a greater subject: not just the loss of a few men, but what the loss of those men, and their sacrifice, meant to the Union as a whole. One example of ethos in his speech is when he speaks of the framers of the Constitution and how they were also dedicated to gaining freedom and liberty for America. One example of pathos is when he says â€Å"the world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.† This is an example of pathos because it is drawing on the emotions of the audience, which was comprised mostly of the family of the dead soldiers, and makes it clear that their sacrifice was a great one for the nation – one that will never be forgotten. One example of logos when Lincoln states that â€Å"it is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated hereto the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.† This is logos because it appeals the the logical sense of the audience because it convinces them that if people were so dedicated to this war, that it is only reasonable to finish it, since to fail to do so would mean that the soldiers died in vain and democracy would be destroyed.

Monday, September 16, 2019

The Importance of Vaccinations for Children

India Tuggle Mr. Stewart ENG 101-A18 Project 5 December 10, 2012 The Importance of Vaccinations for Children Since Edward Jenner introduced the first vaccine, a vaccination against smallpox, in 1778 (Allen, 48) the world has been a bit skeptical. The concept of inoculation is counter-intuitive—what sense does it make to inject a healthy person with the very virus they’re trying to prevent he or she from contracting? The very idea of it seems dangerous, even reckless. The issue with this uneasy feeling about the safety and sense of vaccinations is ignorance.We do not fully understand our own body’s immune systems; therefore we cannot fully understand how vaccinations work. Many people are under the impression that extremely harmful diseases are, for the most part, wiped out or incredibly rare. They may not see the reason for immunizing themselves or their children. But the truth of the matter is that these incredibly harmful, even deadly diseases are very much pre valent in today’s world. People come into contact with these infectious viruses on a daily basis; it is only our immune systems that keep the infections at bay.And our immune systems can only fight off these diseases through the use of vaccinations. There is a growing percentage of the population that is choosing against vaccinating their children. These parents against child inoculation have various reasons for opting not to vaccinate, including health concerns, cost of medical treatment, religious or philosophical beliefs, or their place of residence. Large portions of the anti-immunization population see vaccines as being unsafe.There have been countless claims that vaccines are dangerous and cause brain damage, mental retardation, and even arrested physical development. Some radical anti-vaccination activists assert that parents would be better off to not even vaccinate their children at all. One of the biggest controversies against vaccines is that the MMR (measles, mump s, and rubella) vaccine is supposedly linked to autism, a developmental disorder of the brain in which parts of the brain are damaged or do not develop properly.Autism is an incurable condition marked by an array of symptoms including difficulty understanding and using language, problems socializing and communicating with other people, inability to cope with changes in routine, repetitive body movements or behavioral patterns, and uncommon reactions to loud noises. Since autism’s recognition as a disease in 1943 (Allen, 371) there is still very little known about its causes. We have now found that autism is a congenital (being present at birth) disorder, but for whatever reason normally seems to become noticeable between the ages of 1 and 2.This is around the same time that children begin receiving MMR vaccines. The vaccination and autism seem to be related, but are merely a coincidence. In 2001 the World Health Organization released a statement supporting the use of MMR vacc ine. It said, â€Å"WHO strongly endorses the use of MMR vaccine on the grounds of its convincing record of safety and efficiency†¦There has been no new scientific evidence that would suggest impaired safety of MMR.On the contrary, all results from vaccine trials published reaffirm the high safety of MMR vaccine. † (Saffer, 93. ) It is true that vaccines are not completely risk free nor 100% effective, but there has been a consistent decline of childhood disease related deaths since vaccinations were put into routine use (Saffer, 10. ) Certain vaccines can cause side effects such as fever, rash, diarrhea, and aches and pains. Some more severe side effects include serious allergic reactions, encephalitis (swelling of the brain), and seizures.These are extremely rare conditions and occur in about 1 out of one million doses (Link, 60. ) Today’s new parents know little of the diseases these vaccines are protecting against. They view the rare side effects as being an u nacceptable risk but have no experience with the devastating reality of the actual disease. Today in a mostly immunized population, some parents may choose to avoid these risks by opting not to inoculate their children.They see that this way, with most of the population being protected, that their child will not contract the disease because they are unlikely to come into contact with an infected person and do not have to worry about the potential side effects of the vaccinations. This concept is called herd immunity. An example of the problem with this aspect of protection is that children under the age of 1 cannot receive the MMR vaccine. There is not a serious danger of them being infected by these iruses before this age because the people surrounding them have created a barrier between the child and the disease because they have been vaccinated and therefore cannot infect others. However, if an unimmunized individual comes into the population they create a hole in the barrier aga inst infection. This unimmunized person is now a susceptible dwelling where the disease can grow and replicate, and therefore infect others who have not yet been vaccinated or who have fallen slightly behind their immunization schedule.Since it is not only infants and toddlers that are at risk of contracting these viruses, all 50 states have employed requirements for children to be vaccinated upon entering the public school system. However, according â€Å"School Vaccination Requirements: Historical, Social, and Legal Perspectives,† all 50 states accept some form of exemption from these requirements (5. ) Many parents against these vaccination requirements argue that it is a violation of their parental rights. They believe that they should decide what form of medical care their child receives.Parents should have say-so over most aspects of their child’s health care. But what these parents are not realizing is that by choosing not to inoculate their children, they are p utting so many other children at risk. The issue of parents choosing not to vaccinate their children is very severe. However only a small percentage of the population are unimmunized, if any of them come into contact with not yet vaccinated children or children behind on their booster shots they put them at risk of contracting these terrifying diseases.As for the aforementioned measles virus, according to a report from the Oregon Dept. of Human Services, â€Å"Measles is so contagious that two to three minutes spent in an ER or doctor’s office waiting room may be sufficient to infect people who pass through the same room hours later. † (Saffer, 8. ) If the MMR vaccine cannot be administered until the age of 1 and any unvaccinated, possibly infected individual comes into even remote contact with this young child, think of what potential harm they are in. As a parent, thinking about any potential harm to your child is unbearable.It is understandable why when hearing abou t the more severe of side effects from certain vaccines many people are frightened. What parents have to remember and focus on are the statistics of the occurrences of these harmful side effects. Vaccines have been proven to be both safe and effective and have now been in routine use for over 200 years. And there has been a consistent decline in the rate of child disease related deaths since the introduction of vaccines. And as a parent, they should understand that it is in no way acceptable to place another child in harm’s way.It can also be unnerving for a parent to hear that they are forced to have certain medications administered to their children. What they must keep in mind is the wide array of diseases and viruses this medication is protecting their child against. Works Cited Allen, Arthur. Vaccine. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. , 2007. Print Diekema, Douglas S. M. D. â€Å"Responding to Parental Refusals of Immunization of Children. † Pediatrics: Offic ial Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics 115. 5 (2005): 1428-1431.JSTOR. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. Hodge, James G. Jr. , and Lawrence O. Gostin. â€Å"School Vaccination Requirements: Historical, Social, and Legal Perspectives. † Kentucky Law Journal 15, Feb. 2002: 1-72. JSTOR. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. Link, Kurt, M. D. The Vaccine Controversy. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers. 2005. Print. Saffer, Barbara. Diseases and Disorders: Measles and Rubella. Detroit: Thomson Gale. 2006. Print. â€Å"Your Health. Your Family. Your Choice. † National Vaccine Information Center. NVIC. n. d. Web. 19 Nov. 2012.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

The Steps to Be Taken Towards a Green Future

My Grandfather says, â€Å"Looking out the window is not what it used to be†. I was not a 100% sure what he meant, so I asked him. He was talking about the whole concept of â€Å"Going Green†, the fact that there is a limited amount of the earths’ oil left and that landfills are emitting tons of greenhouse gasses into our atmosphere. No one knew about clean alternatives to petroleum such as palm oil and Biodiesel, which is produced from waste cooking oils instead of using gas or diesel or that just having a compost garden in your backyard could reduce the world’s garbage even just a fraction which is helping. This paper will go over ways to lower the consumption and usage of fossil fuels. Also, discuss ways of; lowering pollution rates, eliminating nuclear power and introducing clean energy alternatives to gas and electricity. Solar Energy and Windmills are a big part in the clean energy movement that people are starting to fight for and my Grandfather’s generation has no knowledge about. In the words of Xavier Rudd â€Å"Thank you for your message but I don’t understand, no I won’t understand. † People like my Grandfather never knew about what pollution could actually do to the environment. Wind energy is a step that is being taken throughout Europe (Krueger pg1). Many countries have started to switch their electrical consumption to clean energy and not the modern way of producing electricity, with magnets or nuclear, which use gasoline to power the engines. All the world needs is the wind and sun to provide enough electricity to power the people who inhabit it. Today’s power plants run on fossil fuels and that pollutes the environment, which waste valuable resources. Either in a steam or gas turbine power plant they all rely on coal, petroleum or biomass to power at least one thing in the plant. But, in a wind, geothermal, or hydroelectric powered power plant the turbine is turned by the wind, water or steam produced from the earth to produce the electricity. Even though nuclear power plants don’t burn fossil fuels to create the electricity they are still polluting the earth and are a danger to mankind. Just recently, Japan was hit by a tsunami and a nuclear powered plant was hit. Nuclear reactor after nuclear reactor broke and started to become a problem for the environment and threaten the lives of not only the Japanese citizens, but of the world. With clean energy the electricity can be created by home owners, farmers and the government. Everyone can get into the electrical game and even get paid for the electricity that they do not use and it can go to power someone else’s home (Krueger 2). Pollution has gone on for a long time and started basically at the beginning of the industrial revolution and it’s time for it to be put to rest. With the industrial revolution came automobiles, which are the biggest part of the pollution problem. Another part of the problem is the amount of paper that is used. The paper industry is why marijuana is illegal, it is because the hemp from marijuana could be used for paper, rope, clothing, ect†¦ that they made the government make it illegal. People don’t realize how much paper is wasted in toilet paper, paper towels, tissue paper, books, magazines, newspapers, and office paper. All of those things are made from trees and no one even thinks about the trees. They have been here on this earth longer than use and we are cutting them down, just to make paper it seems. If the amount of paper used stays at this rate then we are going to be all out of trees and plants to but down to make paper without effecting our oxygen levels. The companies weren’t even planting the trees back until recently when some started to plant new trees to start to try to create a sustainable paper supply for the future. Garbage is another main pollutant that is ruining our earth. In the garbage there is too much recyclable and compost able goods that should be in recycling factories or compost piles. Also, there is plastic, which was another invention from the industrial revolution (Calandri 235). Plastic is a non-biodegradable compound which means that it cannot decompose with natural processes. Plastic is overflowing the landfills of the world and something has to be done. People have to start recycling their plastic in-order to protect the planet. We also must lower the amount of waste that we put into our landfills, both homes and restaurants must do this (McCaffree 205). People have to start conmposting and conserving water to save the world. Another way that companies are going green is that they are using algae to filter the on the CO2 from the power plants’ exhaust gases to make the power plants’ coal burning less polluted for the environment (Going Green Literally pg17). The power plants are a big part of the pollution problem with them burning coal, and also fossil fuels to run their generators and machines. If power plants start to use the algae to cycle their exhaust the CO2 emissions can be lowered by 20% per power plant, which is a whole lot less greenhouse gases being emitted into the atmosphere. Clean energy alternatives to petroleum products are a way to stop drilling for oil to make into gasoline, diesel, fertilizers, aspirin, plastics and even artificial hearts and pacemakers. Thousands of household and everyday items are made with oil that you wouldn’t even think were. Family Recreational activities such as skiing and snowboarding use oil in the manufacturing of the boards or skis, even contact lenses that have oil in them and without oil how would they work. I’m sure there would be something else that manufacturers could use when making the lenses. Oil is a big industry that has its hold on most of American products and even the world. Biogas is another form of clean energy. It is also a sustainable resource that is made from grass and tree clippings, and restaurant food waste (Corum 36). Today power plants are all over the world and if they get converted to run of this sustainable resource than oil can be eliminated from the power plants. With the power plants not using oil and petroleum products that amount of oil that is needed to live can be cut down. FCC Expander Technology is the best way for the petroleum companies to go green. The FCC process is very complicated and uses all the waste products over again by recycling them into re-useable energy (Carbonetto 79). The recycled energy from the flue gas has a couple of things that it can be used for and I think that is a very good uses of the un-useable gas. The Electric power generation train in the petroleum plant has a lot of key benefits and engineers have been designing the most energy efficient ways to do the process of making fossil fuels (Carbonetto 83). The petroleum refining industry is starting to come up with ways to save energy, reduce costs and save the environments. Palm oil and Biodiesel are by-products of seeds. Biodiesel is made from oil that has been used at restaurants or other places and is a clean burning fuel deprived from biological sources (Biodiesel pg2). Biodiesel produces much less CO2 than regular diesel, biodegradable and is also non-toxic. Palm oil on the other hand, is made from palm tree seeds (Yusoff 3). The palm trees grow in warm tropical climates and two different types of palm fruit oil come from it. The first is crude palm oil from the seed and the second is crude palm kernel oil made from the kernel. What is good about palm oil is that palm trees are perennial crops and they are a sustainable resource. In conclusion, what has to happen is that governments around the world have to enforce new laws to protect the environment. The laws have to force the use of clean energy alternatives to petroleum products. The alternatives are Biodiesel and Palm Oil to fuel our cars, trucks, planes, trains and boats. The pollution has to be addressed next to save the planet. There are many form of pollution and law enforcement has to implement more strict laws and higher fines to stop people from littering. Last thing that has to be done is to push towards a future where electricity is made from wind or water. Windmills and watermills are the future of electricity and do not need to use any fossil fuels to power the generators. In order to go green people and business must start moving towards a greener living and the consumption of goods needs to be lowered by everyone.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

How to Create Book Report Essay

We Are Witnesses: Five Diaries of Teenagers Who Died in the Holocaust by Jacob Boas Rescue: The Story of How Gentiles Saved Jews in the Holocaust by Milton Meltzer Hiding to Survive: Stories of Jewish Children Rescued from the Holocaust by Maxine B. Rosenberg Parts of the Book Report: Title Page Actual Book Report Contents of Book Report: 1. Discuss the setting of the book. 2. Give a summary of the book by discussing the real person’s/people’s life/lives. 3. Discuss the character/person’s traits and support them with examples from the book. 4. Discuss the theme – the message of the book and some interesting facts you learned from this book. 5. Give your opinion of the book. Include the answers to the following: *How would you rate the book? Why? *What part of the book affected you and in what way? *Do you think the book gave an honest account of the personOs life? *Do you admire any of the people in the book? Why? Book Report: Fiction Kris’s War by Carol Matas Lisa’s War by Carol Matas Parts of the Book Report: Title Page Actual Book Report Contents of Book Report: 1. Discuss the setting of the book. 2. Give a summary of the book by discussing the real person’s life. 3. Discuss the main characters’ traits and support them with examples from the book. 4. Discuss the theme – the message of the book. 5. Give your opinion of the book. Include the answers to the following: *How would you rate the book? Why? *What part of the book affected you and in what way? *Do you think the book gave an honest account of a person’s life during the Holocaust? Hint: Follow guide sheets for book report for the four elements of a book; there is one more thing added this time – your opinion.