Follow The River By James Alexander Thom Essays - Blacksburg

Follow The River By James Alexander Thom Follow The River by James Alexander Thom is about Mary Ingles gruesome but yet courageous tale of her remarkable 1,000 mile journey home after she had escaped form the captivity of the Shawnee Indians. Through Mary Ingles hard work and determination she proved that all obstacles big and small can be overcome. The book started out with a bloody massacre at Mary Ingles Virginia settlement in 1755. Mary Ingles was pregnant with her third child and twenty-four years of age when the Shawnee Indians came and kidnapped her, her two sons, her sister-in-law, and her neighbor. The journey to the Shawnee village lasted five weeks in the Virginia wilderness, and once the captives arrived at the village they were divided up amongst the Shawnee Indians, leaving Mary alone with no hope but to go home and make a new family with her husband Will Ingles. While in the village of the Shawnee Mary was able to make friends with an elderly Dutch woman who was a captive too, this elderly woman was to be Marys companion through the scary wilderness home. Mary and the old Dutch woman were unable to swim but knew that the Ohio River would lead them back home to freedom so they decided to make an escape from the heathen Indians and return home to civilization, not knowing the hardships that would fall on them at the beginning of winter. To start the journey the women had two blankets, one tomahawk, and the clothes that were on their backs, after a week into the trip they lost their shoes leaving them barefoot the rest of the way, and eventually they lost one blanket the tomahawk and their clothes. The two courageous women walked through freezing rivers and climbed up small cliffs for forty days, with hardly nothing to eat since everything was barren because of the winter, overall the two women walked 1,000 miles. Finally Mary was able to find her husband, but after thirteen years she was able to ransom for only one of her sons back and her sister-in-law, the other two children were kept by the Shawnee. Follow the River had a lot of dialogue leaving the reader with the feeling that they were battling the Virginia wilderness right along with Mary Ingles. James Alexander Thom used vivid description on everything that he wrote, he painted the picture for the reader with a myriad of words, and he left no leaf undescribed in the Virginia wilderness. The only thing that seemed confusing about this book is that the reader can never figure out where Mary Ingles is , it would help a lot if a map was placed somewhere in the book showing the trail of Mary and her companion. James Alexander Thom did seem a little bias in his book. He would call The Shawnee Indians heathens, he always just looked at the English point of view and never the Indians point of view, because at this time the reader should be informed that the Indians are being forced to be moved from place to place by the white man, but I dont believe that the authors intent was to give the Shawnee Indians a bad name he just wanted to get the point across that some young pioneer women was courageous enough to battle the untamed wilderness all by her self(with a little help from the Dutch woman). Also he made the Dutch woman to be a little crazy to make Mary look better in the story but also it could have been true that the Old Dutch woman was senile. James Alexander Thoms purpose for this book was to let America know about the courageous Mary Ingles who survived the unsurvivable for a woman of her time and age. Thom wanted to laud the woman that you will never see in history books, one of the first white women to ever see the Ohio River and know where it led and one of the first white women to ever see the Virginia wilderness. James Alexander Thom accomplished his purpose of his book which was to make known that Mary Ingles is a very important part of American history.

FDR and the Great Depression essays

FDR and the Great Depression essays The Great Depression beginning in 1929 was a time of hardship and suffering for many Americans. The people of the United States looked for leadership, sympathy, and someone help to get them through this time. Herbert Hoover, President at this time, offered little help to the people. Hoover did not believe in direct relief because it would hurt self-esteem and pride. In the eyes of the public, he seemed unresponsive to their needs. He urged people to help each other and encouraged non-government actions by private organizations. Businesses agreed to sustain pay and production to avoid numerous strikes. Urging states to increase spending on public projects, he hoped to create jobs without being directly involved with spending the deficit. He created the President's Organization on Unemployment Relief, which was designed to generate private donations for relief to the public. He had workers building the Hoover and Grand Coulee Dams that required more spending by the government. The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1929 created the Federal Farm Board. This organization supported crop prices by buying excesses and keeping them off the market. Eventually, it ran out of money. In 1931, Hoover announced an extension on payments of WWI debts. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was created and given 2 billion dollars to loan money to banks, insurance companies, railroads, and local/state governments. This system was supposed to give money to the top of the economic chain and allow it to spread to the rest of the country. Hoover passed the Hawley Smoot Tariff of 1930. This raised taxes on incoming foreign products, which decreased their money flow and flexibility to buy American products. Hoover's background made him see a balanced budget as most important and deficit spending as wrong. He decreased spending and increased taxes. He encouraged people to spend money to spur the economy, but the taxes prevented them from doing so. ...

Changes in the history of the world since 1400 C Essay

Changes in the history of the world since 1400 C - Essay Example This paper examines social exclusion/oppression and environmental degradation under a number of headings which include Social, Economic, Cultural and Political. It critically evaluates the causes of these issues and problems in history and then links them to the two major evils that have been identified in history. Social Exclusion Social exclusion has been a major part of the interaction between people of different social and racial backgrounds. Around the 15th Century, Europeans by far, had the best technology and military mights amongst humans. They set out to discover other lands, however, this process came with a lot of social exclusion which saw the exploitation and oppression of people from other racial origins in Asia, Africa and the Americas. Europeans began a system of internal colonization in Asia2. This was done by establishing trade posts in the various ports in modern Indonesia, China, Japan, the Arabian Peninsular and India. The Europeans used their presence in these p orts and posts to exploit Asian labor which was used to produce goods and products that were bought at very cheap prices at those ports and sold at very high prices in Europe. They also sold manufactured goods at very high prices to the locals and made high profits. ... Aside the colonization of the various parts of the continents, there was the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The Spaniards started to buy Black African slaves as early as 1510 and this began the trend of slavery which saw millions of Black Africans being sent across the Atlantic to work perpetually for the benefit of European farm owners3. These slaves were not given anything more than what they needed to survive and were made to work from morning to evening all the days of their lives till they dropped dead for no rewards. They were effectively excluded from the many luxuries that reverted to their European masters. Economic Exploitation Economic exploitation affected people who were less privileged as well as the natural environment. The clash of European civilization and the other civilizations around the world led to so many forms of economic exploitations. Of course the exploitation of people in the Southern continents by Europeans brought in a lot of economic benefits to Europe. Th e Trans-Atlantic slave trade and the colonization of peoples in Africa and Asia gave the European nations access to wealth without a requirement of accountability in these lands. They only exploited and made massive wealth in these nations. After colonization was abolished, the Europeans living in the Americas, Australia, and South Africa continued to hold on to the wealth of the masses and this is a form of social oppression and exploitation. Even in other parts of the world where people of the same race and color live together, there are many places where the few rich people hold and control much wealth. It is common to find nations in Africa and Asia where leaders and a few elite, control up to 90% of the wealth of the land. This forms some kind of economic exploitation which is

Play (The Zoo Story) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Play (The Zoo Story) - Essay Example It didn’t make a lot of sense to me. I had trouble understanding the way that Jerry talked. It seemed like he was crazy and abstract. I wanted him to get to the point. I sympathized a lot more with Peter. He seemed to be a character that was a lot more like me. I often find it annoying when strangers strike up conversations with me about nothing. In the course of these kinds of conversations, I often try to figure out what the other person wants. In this play, I kept wondering what Jerry wanted. Nothing he was saying had any kind of point. That for me was disorientating at first. After finishing the play, I began to understand that Jerry is really seeking fellow feeling and understanding. He is trying to create a narrative of his life that will help him find meaning. He is obviously not very good at this, and the surprise ending at the end of the play, where Jerry is impaled on the knife is the best example of this. In a way, Jerry is so out of tune with the world that he can’t live in it anymore. He seeks friendship and understanding—and so he has to die in this way. He can’t simply kill himself alone—he needs to have that human connection. I think that is why, in part, he makes sure that Peter picks up the knife. The idea of the zoo is important. It is clear that the author of the play thinks that people are too often trapped in their own cages by social norms and unable to escape and actually talk to one another in a normal way. I found this to be an interesting and thought-provoking play. It surprised and challenged me. I would like to read more works by Edward Albee and read other playwrights from this era in American history. Overall, I enjoyed this course. I found it invigorating and stimulating. In general, the professor was extremely approachable and it was clear that he had a real appreciation and interest in the subject matter. I now see things in a different light and I intend to go to the theatre for pleasure.

Financial Statement Essay Example for Free

Financial Statement Essay The first issue to discuss is the four different types of financial statements and the use of each that a business will use. The second issue to discuss is what financial statements that an investor will review. The third issue to discuss is what financial statements a creditor will review. The fourth will be what financial statements that management within a company will review. The first financial statement is the income statement (Kimmel et al, 2009). The income states will show the success or the failure of a company’s operations for a certain period. The income statement will have the revenue the company will make, the expenses the company will spend, and the net income of the difference of each. The second financial statement is the retained earnings statement (Kimmel et al, 2009). Retained earnings mean the net income that is retained in the corporation. The statement will show the amount and the cause of changes that can occur in the retained earnings during a certain period. The period of both the retained earnings and the income statement have the same period. The information covered on the retained earnings would be the earnings from the month prior, add the net income, minus the dividends, and the outcome for the retained earnings for a certain month. The next financial statement would be the balance sheet (Kimmel et al, 2009). The use of the balance sheet is so a company can report the assets and the claims to the assets during a certain period. The claims to assets can be from two groups, the first would be the claims to creditors that would be the liabilities and the second would be the claims to owners that would be the stockholders equity. The basic accounting equation is Assets = Liabilities + Stockholders’ Equity. Both sides of this equation must balance out. The last financial statement will be the statement of cash flows (Kimmel et al, 2009). The statement of cash flows will provide financial information about the cash receipts and payments of business for a certain period. The statement of cash flows will report the cash effects of the company’s expenses. Those expenses can be through the operating, investing, and financing activities. The statement of cash flows will also show the net increase or decrease in cash during a certain period. The statement will also show the amount of cash at the end of another period. The information found on the statement of cash flows will be the operating expenses, the investing expenses, the financing expenses, the net increase, the cash at the beginning and end of a period. Investors will view the income statement to see the future performance of a company (Kimmel et at, 2009). Creditors will view the income statement for loans. Creditors will also view the retained earnings statement and the balance sheet to see the ability for a company to repay debt. Management will view each financial statement to see the financial health of the company (Kimmel et al, 2009). Management can view the income statement to see if the company is a success or failure. The retained earnings statement to see how much income will return to the company. The balance sheet to see how much cash is on hand for certain needs and to ensure there is a satisfactory proportion of debt to common stock. The statement of cash flows to see the entire picture of what is going on within the company financially. In conclusion, the highlight of the four different types of financial statements and the use of each that a business will use. The highlight of the financial statements an investor will review for the company. The highlight of the financial statements a creditor will review for the company. The highlight of which financial statements the management of the company will review for the organization.

The Founding Story of Salamis :: Cyprus

The Founding Story of Salamis Teucer announces, â€Å"Despair in no way, tomorrow we will set out upon the vast ocean [for a new homeland in Cyprus].† At the end of the Trojan War, Teucer returned to his home island of Salamis (an island near Greece) carrying news of his brother, Ajax’s, death to his father, King Telamon. The king cursed Teucer for not preventing his brother’s death nor did he avenge his brother’s death on Odysseus. King Telamon had mistakenly thought that Teucer had abandoned Ajax in his moment of need because he had his eye on the throne and future kingdom of Salamis. It was on this reasoning that King Telamon made his decision to banish Teucer from his island homeland of Salamis. Humiliated and dejected, Teucer sails away with his soldiers in search of Cyprus in hopes of making this island their new home. On the way, Teucer’s ship is blown off course. After several days of being lost in the Mediterranean Sea, Teucer lands on the shores of Egypt. He had heard that the famous prophetess Theonoe lived in Egypt. She had been born with the gift of divine knowledge of all things present and to come. He decides to go ashore to seek out an oracle or revelation from Theonoe. If he spoke with Theonoe, Teucer had confidence he would know the correct course to take to get to Cyprus. He says: â€Å"The reason of my coming to this royal palace was a wish to see the famous prophetess Theonoe. I wish to ask how I shall steer a favorable course to the sea-girt shores of Cyprus; for there Apollo hath declared my home shall be, giving to it the name of Salamis.† Teucer – son of King Telamon Instead of finding Theonoe, he stumbles into a beautiful woman, Helen. She says to him, â€Å"Who are you and where are you going? Teucer responds by telling her about his participation in the battle of Troy and that he has been exiled from his birthplace, the island of Salamis by his father King Telamon. Teucer also tells her that he had been sailing to Cyprus to make a new home but has lost his way. He says he is looking for Theonoe to learn from her the quickest course to Cyprus. Helen replies that Cyprus is easy to find but he should leave Egypt soon before the king of the land, son of Proteus, finds him there. The Founding Story of Salamis :: Cyprus The Founding Story of Salamis Teucer announces, â€Å"Despair in no way, tomorrow we will set out upon the vast ocean [for a new homeland in Cyprus].† At the end of the Trojan War, Teucer returned to his home island of Salamis (an island near Greece) carrying news of his brother, Ajax’s, death to his father, King Telamon. The king cursed Teucer for not preventing his brother’s death nor did he avenge his brother’s death on Odysseus. King Telamon had mistakenly thought that Teucer had abandoned Ajax in his moment of need because he had his eye on the throne and future kingdom of Salamis. It was on this reasoning that King Telamon made his decision to banish Teucer from his island homeland of Salamis. Humiliated and dejected, Teucer sails away with his soldiers in search of Cyprus in hopes of making this island their new home. On the way, Teucer’s ship is blown off course. After several days of being lost in the Mediterranean Sea, Teucer lands on the shores of Egypt. He had heard that the famous prophetess Theonoe lived in Egypt. She had been born with the gift of divine knowledge of all things present and to come. He decides to go ashore to seek out an oracle or revelation from Theonoe. If he spoke with Theonoe, Teucer had confidence he would know the correct course to take to get to Cyprus. He says: â€Å"The reason of my coming to this royal palace was a wish to see the famous prophetess Theonoe. I wish to ask how I shall steer a favorable course to the sea-girt shores of Cyprus; for there Apollo hath declared my home shall be, giving to it the name of Salamis.† Teucer – son of King Telamon Instead of finding Theonoe, he stumbles into a beautiful woman, Helen. She says to him, â€Å"Who are you and where are you going? Teucer responds by telling her about his participation in the battle of Troy and that he has been exiled from his birthplace, the island of Salamis by his father King Telamon. Teucer also tells her that he had been sailing to Cyprus to make a new home but has lost his way. He says he is looking for Theonoe to learn from her the quickest course to Cyprus. Helen replies that Cyprus is easy to find but he should leave Egypt soon before the king of the land, son of Proteus, finds him there.

Analysis of 2012/2013 Botswana Budget Speech

UNIVERSITY OF BOTSWANA NAME: MATILDAH TILLY KAUNDA COURSE: MGT 306 LECTURER: DR MAROBELA TOPIC: ANALYSIS OF THE BUDGET SPEECH ? INTRODUCTION Neo-liberalism is a set of economic policies that have become widespread during the last 25 years or so. Neo-liberalism is the case where the rich grow richer and the poor grow poorer. These are a set of policies that are under the influence exerted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Inter- American Development Bank.They include frameworks of free market trade and no government intervention as well as elements of privatization. This report explores the theories of Managerialism, New public Management and finally neoliberalism implementation in Botswana, to assess whether such a change is constructive to the development of Botswana and Batswana by referring to the budget speech to evaluate whether Botswana is prepared for such a change Managerialism is the pursuit of goals by managers other that for profit maximizati on.According to Locke & Spender (2011) Managerialism is what occurs when a special group called managers ensconces itself systematically in a n organization and deprives owners and employees in their decision making power including the distribution of emoluments and justifies that takeover on the grounds of the managing group’ education and exclusive possession of codified knowledge and know- how necessary to the efficient running of the organization. Application of managerialism to the public sector involves privatization profit motive, incentives for managers and delegation of power.According to Pollitt & Bonkaert (2011) New Public Management refers to deliberate changes to the structures and processes of public sector organization with the objective of getting them to run better. It basically means changes in the way things are done to make them more efficient, more responsive to those who use them; their main focus is on achieving objectives like reduction of poverty. The main emphasis of New Public management is the need to change inefficient, money losing state enterprises into competitive, profit making, taxpaying businesses that provide quality goods services to consumers.This is greatly in line with the words that Honorable Math ambo said in the recent budget speech. He talked of the need for transfer of state owned enterprises to private ones. In the budget Speech Mr Mathambo stated that â€Å" a Privatization Master Plan adopted in 2005 and aimed at identifying all public enterprises suitable for privatization is being revised to among others, identify services and Public Enterprises that are suitable for outsourcing and divestiture during the period 2012 to 2017.In Botswana as said by the minister a new master plan or NDP 10 set out a prudent strategy for ensuring fiscal sustainability while supporting private sector development. A central feature of the strategy is for Government to reduce its dominance by cutting Government expenditure as a share of GDP from 40 to 30 percent Neoliberalism explains the state of no government intervention, free market trade and privatization.According to a journal of sociology (2007) this term broadly means the project of economic and social transformation under the sign of the free market and needs which are formerly met by public agencies in communities and families met by companies selling services in the market. Basically the policy recommendations of neoliberalism are concerned mainly with dismantling what remains of the regulations welfare state. These recommendations include deregulation of business; privatization of public activities and assets; elimination of, or cutbacks in, social welfare programs; and reduction of taxes on businesses and the investing class.The theory of neoliberals advocates for no or rather reduced government spending in the economy. Locke, R (2011) stated that International monetary fund which was created to administer the international monetary system is a strong supporter of neoliberalism or rather privatization. According to an article by Victor Baatweeng dated 12 January 2011,The international Monetary fund (IMF) has advised Botswana and other Southern African Customs Union (SACU) member states to slash their expenditure in order to ensure fiscal and debt sustainability.As a result, the IMF has recommended an appropriate mix of revenue and recurrent expenditure measures, with particular emphasis on reducing the wage bill. The Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Kenneth Matambo announced during his budget speech on Wednesday that the government is concerned that due to its dominance in Economic activities, the public sector wage bill has escalated over time and is high compared to that of other comparable middle income countries and that it needs to be reduced.According to Matambo, this can be achieved by reducing the size of the public sector, with functions and activities which are better carried out in a commercial environment being provided by the private sector. It looks like finally the government is responding to the pressures of IMF. However this is a drastic move that will only cause social upheavals and throw some people into the labor market. This move that can be taken by developed countries rather than developmental states like Botswana.Considering the fact that unemployment as mentioned in the recent budget speech continues to be high, and the government planning to cut wage bill and freeze posts, this initiative will solve nothing but rather lead the county into a downhill. Also the introduction of privatization will cause people who were employed by the government to lose their jobs when the private companies take over. The reason for this is that cost cutting has become the main strategy companies adopt in response to the liberalization of markets.These companies will come with short term contracts, part time positions, minimum wages and no job security. Instead of finding ways to curb the issue the government plans to add fuel to the fire. H0 This move to privatization and outsourcing of services most importantly essential services like water and electricity will only have a negative impact on the poor . According to Steger and Roy (2010), there should be state ownership of crucial national enterprises like energy and railroads.They further stated that Keynes in particular advocates for massive government spending in time of economic crises to create new jobs and lift consumer spending. The paramount objective of the capitalist’s economy is to make profit rather than enhancing wellbeing in economically efficient ways. Prices in the private sector tend to be high unlike in the public sector where they are subsidized to cater for those below the poverty line. In the budget speech the Minister stated that individuals below Botswana Poverty Datum Line declined from 30. 6% of population in 2002/03 to 20. % in 2009/10 but taking this initiative of privat ization will negatively affect those living below poverty datum line and may even end up increasing their number. State intervention is important as well as crucial to the economy as well as to the welfare of its citizens. It ensures social efficiency and fair and just allocation of resources and prevents market failure. According to monopolistic competition economy is a further reason for intervention by the government because it has the potential for the misallocation of resources through fixing wrong prices and making the customers worse off.Hughes(2003)’ s view on privatization was that market systems does not necessarily bring high employment , price stability and the socially desired rate of economic growth and thus the essentiality of public policy to secure such objectives. There are a number of reasons for the need of neoliberalism and why less state intervention in a state may be appropriate and viable. According to a journal by Wendy Larner† Liberalization is essentially about the introduction of competition. The main argument for avocation of liberalization is that competition forces alternative providers to improve productivity and service quality. She further stated that though there is reduction of employment as a consequence of liberalization and privatization, in many cases, lower staff levels result in work intensification. According to Locke (2001) Private sector practices and technologies are superior to those used in the public sector, thus there is high efficiency and effectiveness. He further stated that this idea has a long tradition that can be traced back to 1868. Privatization comes with competition and thus considered a viable strategy for improving performance of public bureaucracies because it lowers costs and increases efficiency.A further argument for privatization is to reduce cross subsidies and charges for services in accordance with their true cost. The argument is that subsidies are economically undesirable as true costs and inefficiencies are can be hidden. There are other mechanisms preferable like direct funding from the budget or giving cash to those to be given assistance. Neoliberasation also reduces government borrowing. The government should only borrow for long term assets such as power stations. A lower government borrowing has lower interest rates and thus helping the economy. Hughes 2003 pg 104). CONCLUSION Government intervention in the market is mainly aimed at reducing injustices and inequalities. While state intervention should be reduced to a minimum to promote efficiency, government should always keep an eye out for situations that only government intervention will regulate in everyone’s best interest against the interest of just a firm. It is difficult to choose a stance between state interventions in the economy because it comes with both advantages and disadvantages for the country.However for a developmental state like Botswana I believe that it is advisable n ot to undergo this change as it not well developed and the welfare of Batswana depends on it. REFERENCES Baatweng, V. (2011, January 12). IMF SLASHES WAGE BILL. Larner W, Neo- liberalism:policy, ideology Governmentality. studies in political economy . Journal of Sociology  © 2009 the Australian Sociological Association, Volume 45(4): 331–338 Locke, R. R. (2011). confronting managerialism. New York: Zed Book Ltd. Kotz M (2002). Globalisarion and Neoliberalism. Rethinking Marxism, Volume 12, Number 2, Summer 2002, pp. 64-79. , 64-79.Matambo, O. (2012). BUDGET SPEECH 2012. Gaborone: Government Printing and Publishing Services,. Steger& Roy (2010) NEO LIBERISALISM- A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION. New York, USA: Oxford University Press. Locke & Spender (2011). Confronting Managerialism: How the Business Elite and Their Schools Threw Our Lives Out of Balance (Economic Controversies) by. new york, USA: zed Books Ltd. Hughes E (2003). public management and administration. An introductio n. NEW YORK, USA: Palgrave macmillan. Pollit et al (2011) Comparative Analysis- New Public Management, Governance and †¦. , New York, USA, XFORD University Press