Individual Research Project Sustainability and Food Essay

Individual Research Project Sustainability and Food - Essay Example This is because human beings are dependent to nature for its survivability. Thus, the need for human beings to preserve ecology and maintain it by regulating a healthy environment to live. Brundtland  (1987) stressed this when saying that sustainability is about maximizing resources without compromising the needs of future generations. This is recognizes the fact that nature is limited and that to sustain resources, people should be stewards of ecology. Harwood (1990) explicates that sustainability relates to agriculture where production of farm produce be done in methods or processes that ensures balanced utilization of resource and environment. Its should be complemented with social and economic design that upholds the standard of quality life (Pearce, Makandia & Barbier,1989) This is often manifested by producing goods that are organically-driven to preserve the fertility of the soil against commercial fertilizers and pesticides. Organic foods are perceived healthy and will not produce toxic enzymes that may affect human physiological system. Thus, sustainability is about preservation of ecosystems that are essential to life. This desire to sustain life substantially correlates with the kind of food served every meal. There were robust arguments which deliberated the vital significance of enhancing life by adopting a vegetarian lifestyle. Vegetarianism is a personal option, an ethical choice and a political statement. Often it is misperceived and thus, must be explicated in a wide range of health, ethical, religious, and historical issues on this perspective. The three basic vegetarian diets are lacto-ovo (milk, eggs included), lacto (no eggs), and vegan (no eggs, diary products or any foodstuffs made with eggs or dairy products). They abstain from food sourced from animal’s meat. Vegetarians were described as with lower weight, cholesterol level and blood pressures. Studies among dieticians

Known Information about Dolphins Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Known Information about Dolphins Research - Essay Example They are relatively new creatures, appearing on the earth during the Miocene period, which was roughly ten million years ago. They give birth to single calves near the surface of the sea so that the calf would not drown. They are also literally half-asleep when they sleep. They are like these because they can’t afford to sleep with two brain hemispheres â€Å"shut off† because they will drown. They have to breathe air once in a while to do that.Dolphins have huge brains. They have even bigger brains than us humans. However, their intelligence centers are still smaller compared to human brains, that’s why we are still smarter compared to them. They also look like they smile all the time because of the way their mouths curve.  I have stumbled upon dolphin rights advocacies in my research about dolphins. As you would know, most dolphin species are considered endangered, that’s why they are protected. However, in some parts of the globe, dolphins are still h unted. They are hunted because of food, and they are tortured as well. In a certain place in Japan, there are almost 20 000 dolphins killed helplessly in a cove every year, just for commercial gain or for food. Yes, some places have dolphins as a delicacy. However, it is not safe to eat dolphins, even if they are tasty, since they have high mercury levels in their bloodstream. Constant exposure to dolphin meat would also make you at risk for mercury poisoning.Other people also hunt dolphins because for entertainment.

The Corporate Communication Strategy

The Corporate Communication Strategy This report aims to critically evaluate and analyse the corporate communication strategy, framework and main issues influencing a corporation. The company that I have chosen to examine and apply the knowledge of corporate communication is Microsoft Corporation. Communication strategy of Microsoft Corporation applies or follows which enabled it to expand and grow its business with such an immense efficiency. How does the organisation incorporates main issues of corporate communication; such as, communicating with external and internal stakeholders, maintaining its identity, image and reputation to reflect its organisational behaviour, the organisations attitude towards cultural influence, the role and impact of technology, and lastly, the role of Human Resource Management in contribution of its effective communication and overall performance in global context. (Cornelissen J, 2004) states that corporate communication is a function of corporate identity, corporate image, corporate brand and corporate reputation for the goodwill of the organization and its ongoing concern which is making profit. Corporate communication is a modern term of Public Relations. The term corporate communication is increasingly being used in practice to describe the management function that is still referred to as public relations in academic literature (Groenewald, 1998). According to surveys, over half of the heads of corporate communication departments administer communication functions. They are as follows; External and internal communications Managing corporate reputation and brand Recruiting and retaining Product launches Developing company strategy Corporate social responsibility Boosting investor or analyst perception Managing crises Corporate communication is simply the process of exchanging information within and outside of any organisation with concern of the above mentioned functions to run it effectively and efficiently. It is taken as an important aspect for any organisation to develop and flourish its capability at its best. However, it is more crucial to organisations that operate globally. Most of the successful organisation has used corporate communication as the means of success because it helps to formulate their distinctiveness, their status and mark their existence in the mind of their customers. Background of the organisation: Microsoft Corporation was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in USA. It is a multinational company with headquarter in Redmond, WA, United States, and its subsidiaries in 110 countries. With 182,884 employees in USA and worldwide and annual revenue of USD 62.48 billion, it can be said that it is one of the worlds largest and dominant software companies. It provides software, services and solutions to people and businesses world-wide. The company focuses on research and developing, manufacturing, licensing, and supporting wide range of software products and services for various types of computing devices. The major software products and services it provides are; operating systems for servers, personal computers, and intelligent devices, different types of personal and business applications, software development tools, online services platform, and games; taking into consideration and benefiting all range of people from business, students, workforce to households. *According to the Microsoft Corporation, The Microsoft mission is to help people and businesses around the world realize their full potential. We work to accomplish this mission through the development of innovative products and services that help people harness the power, opportunities, and benefits of technology. http://www.microsoft.com/about/corporatecitizenship/en-us/our-commitments/reporting/about-microsoft/ The communication strategy and its framework in the organisation: An effective corporate communication strategy is very important for any organisation to overpower todays highly competitive and information driven business environment. It protects an organisation from negative publicities and limits misleading steps of the corporate. Strategy requires choices deciding what particular kind of value an organisation wants to deliver and to whom (Porter, in Gibson, 1997). Implementation of proper and practical strategies can bring equal opportunity to people; resulting in distribution of innovative information, resolution of conflict and coordination in organisation. X-Border communication strategy issues include; degree of adaptation and standardisation, consistency, internal vs external, corporate identity and reputation, costs, role of technology. As a multinational organisation, Microsoft Corporation adapts almost all of the x-border communication strategy to stay on top of the market. (see Appendix) Steve A. Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft Corporation, states that they see their citizenship strategies and business strategies as complementary, creating shared value for Microsoft shareholders, employees, stakeholders, and society. http://www.microsoft.com/about/corporatecitizenship/en-us/our-commitments/reporting/ceo-intro-letter/ Neil Holloway, President of Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), focused on the balanced objectives of driving customer satisfaction, improving integration across Microsoft business units, addressing the unique technology needs of diverse markets, and growing the software business in the region. http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/neilho/default.mspx The statement of Neil Holloway and Steve A. Ballmer clearly implements the communication model (shown below) in Microsoft. Keeping in mind of their identity and image, they deliver messages to their shareholders, employees, stakeholders, and society by the use of Management communication, Organisational communication, and Marketing communication. (see Appendix 1) Figure 1: Communication model, Strategy of the organisation (M. Welch and P. Jackson, 2007) Communication framework In all organisations, communication flows vertically and horizontally, internally and externally, formally and informally linking employees internally to each other and to various layers of management, and to the many external resource holder of the organisation (Fombrun and Riel, 2006). There are three main types of structures of the company and they are as follows; Functional Matrix Project Microsoft follows the matrix structure to perform communication (see Appendix 3). It has horizontal divisions for international operations and vertical divisions for product groups. Mike Love, senior director of corporate communications at Microsoft EMEA says that Microsofts matrix of management decision-making and the challenge to communicate through this matrix is very complex. He also adds that Internal and External communicators each have geographical, functional and product-area responsibilities as their direct focus (see Figure 2, below). http://www.melcrum.com/articles/clutter_at_microsoft.shtml Figure 2: Areas of responsibility at Microsoft Microsofts governing body is the Annual Meeting of Shareholders and the executive body is the Board of Directors (see Appendix 4). Microsoft adapts a centralized and functional area accompanied by a network of decentralized structure for adapting the function to the special needs of the independent business units. The main issues relating to corporate communication External and Internal communication External communication: External communication refers to communicating with external parties of an organisation which includes customers and business partners, suppliers, media, and competitors. Communication with customers: Customers are the most influential part for any organisation to exist in business environment. Microsoft claims that the success of their company is based on their ability to listen and respond to customer feedback about their products, programs, and services, and to increase customer satisfaction with all of the possible ways. They continually engage with their customers and partners through third-party surveys and feedback mechanisms within their products, and community-based websites (see Appendix). However, Microsoft has not institutionalised engagement of external stakeholders in corporate decision-making. Their customer and partner experience (CPE) strategy is sponsored by their chief operating officer and president of the Microsoft Business Division. Communication with media: Media is one of the most powerful and critical areas of any corporate communication function. According to Argenti (2009), the media are both a constituency and a conduit through which investors, employees, and consumers receive information about and form images of a company. It has the ability to turn a business up or down in a matter of seconds. It is very essential for corporation to understand this matter and have a good relationship with media. Microsoft has good understanding on this matter. Hence, they have included media as one of the areas of responsibilities (see Figure 2). They have a separate section in their company site called Microsoft News Center where it provides latest updates and information on company. For media, it has a section called Press Tools with Press Releases, Analyst Reports and many more. It has also established number of air-traffic control tools to avoid misleading and misinterpreting messages to media (see Appendix). Communication with competitors: The main competitors of Microsoft are Google, Apple, VMware, Oracle, and Open source (Linux and Firefox). However, Google is seen to be the prior competitor of Microsoft. Microsoft keeps up-to-date information about its competitors. Microsoft had some problem with its competitors in past and was accused for its unhealthy competition (see Appendix). This had a negative impact on the reputation and image of Microsoft. Since then, Microsoft has been keeping healthy relationship and healthy competition with its competitors through changes in its products and services, filtering words when having conversation on their competitors. http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/208984.asp Communication with Government: Government is involved in all stages of business development. As Microsoft operates in various regions and areas globally, it makes sure to follow the national, regional, and local bylaws and legislation of the country. Microsoft also sense importance of collaboration among the internationally recognized groups. Its Citizenship and reporting strategies are guided by those laid out in the Global Reporting Initiative, the Global Network Initiative the United Nations Global Compact, the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, and the Carbon Disclosure Project. Communication with shareholders: However, the company does not provide training to staff on stakeholder engagement, nor do they disseminate the principles through more than one medium or translate them into other languages. Microsoft has also not institutionalised external stakeholder engagement in corporate decision-making.**** Internal communication: Strong internal communications- fostering increased workforce loyalty and productivity will thus continue to play a pivotal role in a companys employee relation and overall success (Argenti, 2009). Microsoft fully realise the role of employees and vendors for its overall success. It is also aware that with change in culture and business environment, employees and their attitudes, beliefs are changing and they need to be treated in different ways. To understand the values and attitudes of employees to gain their loyalty and productivity, effective communication among and with employees is very crucial. Communication with employees: One of their most important developments during the past year has been the establishment of an Internal Communicator Community (see Appendix). They have also developed a new approach to the annual planning process by creating a forum for sharing internal and external communication plans across all business disciplines to build a one company approach. They have also established a regular quarterly meeting and monthly Live Meeting1/conference call for all Public Relations leads in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regardless of their areas of responsibility. This has become a clearing house for communication plans and has helped establish the discipline of air-traffic control. Communication with vendors: http://www.itworldcanada.com/news/microsoft-adds-human-element-to-corporate-communications/110453 Identity, Image, and Reputation The concept of corporate identity is traced by organisations marks or logos, name, motto, products, services, and any other possessions of the organisation that is visible and tangible to differentiate themselves from their competitors and print their image in the minds of consumers (Argenti, 2009). Image is shaped by the identity of an organisation, it is the way internal and external constituents perceive the organisations identity get fulfilled. Finally, strong reputation of an organisation is achieved when identity and image align with each other. Microsofts identity is majorly reflected by its name, products and services, market capitalisation, market capture, and Bill Gates, former CEO, Microsoft Corporation (see Appendix). Microsofts image has been problematic since its establishment. It has been accused Microsofts holds a highly valued reputation Read more: Corporate Identity http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/Con-Cos/Corporate-Identity.html#ixzz18qO7ytiL Corporate Identity Names, Brands, Symbols, Self-presentation is perceived by à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Employee Image Investor Image Community Image Customer Image The sum of their Corporate Reputation perceptions equals à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Figure 3: Reputation Framework (Argenti, 2009) Culture and its influence in corporate communication Any organisations culture is reflected by the behaviours, attitudes, beliefs, norms and values of its employee working with each other towards attaining a common goal. It has become a serious issue with prevalence of globalisation (see Appendix). Hofstede (1980, 1982, 1987) has outlined five dimensions of cultural impact in an organisation. They are as follows; Power distance Individualism Vs Collectivism Uncertainty avoidance Masculinity or Feminity Long term or Short term Microsoft believes that the following listed values guide their behaviours and it is reflected in their employees in their interaction with each other and their stakeholders. Integrity and honesty Passion for customers, partners, and technology Open and respectful with others and dedicated to making them better Willingness to take on big challenges and see them through Self-critical, questioning, and committed to personal excellence and self-improvement Accountable for commitments, results, and quality to customers, shareholders, partners, and employees (see Appendix 5) The above statements by Microsoft shows that it follows collectivism idea, there is no power distance as employees believe in open and respectful relation with each other. They believe in one company approach. We should communicate with and not at our internal audiences, engaging in a dialogue not a monologue. Such an approach fits well with Microsofts corporate culture, which strives to be devoid of hierarchy. http://www.melcrum.com/articles/clutter_at_microsoft.shtml The role of technology The role of technology in carrying on communication effectively has been immense. With rapid development of technologies nowadays, it is almost impossible to have a thought of communication without technologies. Microsoft Corporation itself is a leader in developing and distributing innovative technologies world-wide. There are numerous software products and services produced by Microsoft for communication use. However, technologies that they use for internal and external communication are; e-mails, video conferencing, teleconferencing, telephones, webcasts, podcasts, blogs, internal intranet site, air-traffic control tools, and integrated communication planning. The role of Human Resource in corporate communication HRM is a strategic and coherent approach to the managers of the organisation. The most valued assets, the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievements of its objectives. (Armstrong, 2003). According to Ulrich (1997), there are four roles of Human Resource Management in an organisation. They are as follows; Administrative expert Employee champion Change agent Strategic partner http://www.stw.de/typo3temp/pics/c98097d6bc.jpg Figure 4: The HR Business Partner (based on an idea by Dave Ulrich, 1997) Conclusion and recommendation In conclusion, Microsoft practices a very good and practical corporate communication strategy and framework. Microsoft follows the matrix structure with strongly centralized and wholly decentralized framework for communication. They understand the importance of effective communication between their internal and external stakeholders for their success. Microsoft has implemented various communication tools and plans, such as, air-traffic control tools and integrated communication planning specially for effective communication with employees and media. The use of technologies for communication are; e-mails, telephones, video conferencing, blogs, webcasts, podcasts, Annual Report, Press Releases, internal intranet site. Their identity is basically its name, products and services, and Bill Gates, former Chairman of Microsoft who is known as one of the wealthiest people alive. Their image and reputation were frequently in stake and problematic with different kinds of accuses. However, they are doing their best in overcoming and maintaining a superior image. Microsoft practices open and respectful culture with equal opportunities for all employees. They practices This invariably means they work within communication silos roles rather than taking a broader view of the company as a whole.

Cultural Shift through the Eyes of Ginsberg and Kerouac :: Allen Ginsberg

Cultural Shift through the Eyes of Ginsberg and Kerouac    Brothers of the San Francisco Beat scene, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg lived in the midst of a consumer cultural revolution, patriots of a forgotten mindset. While the regional characters of the nation were quickly being homogenized by television, Kerouac and Ginsberg wrote poetry and prose that both captured and contemplated the moment. They were contemporaries, sharing the same circle of friends and drawing from the same influences but produced works seeking divergent means to the same conceptual end. Kerouac wrote with an enlightened nostalgia, fascinated with preserving a form of the pioneer spirit of individuals and tall tales in the midst of cultural change, while Ginsberg's poetry directly criticized the shortcomings and decay of society; neither author completing the picture or the message, leaving something for the other. American culture of the mid nineteen fifties and early sixties is described with disgust and rejection in both Kerouac's and Ginsberg's works. They bore witness to and documented a rich, variant culture homogenized and sterilized by Dial television ads and The Saturday Evening Post. Beat calls to rebellion and cancerous grey images show America on the decline and readying for revolution. In Kerouac's novel The Dharma Bums, Japhy's ideal revolutionary rejects the new developments of American culture, " refusing to subscribe to the general demand that they consume production, and therefore have to work for the privilege of consuming, all that crap they didn't really want anyway such as refrigerators, TV sets, cars, at least new fancy cars, certain hair oils and deodorants and general junk you finally always see a week later in the garage anyway, all of them imprisoned in a system of work, produce, consume..."(97). Their America was a land of mass-marketed uselessness. At a time when st ores across the nation carried identical products, and everybody saw the same three channels of television, the sparkle of regional character started to evaporate. Kerouac paints his Dharma Bums as the heirs of Whitman, poetic thoughtful wanderers. Ginsberg also used Whitman to link the past to the present in the poem "A Supermarket in California", asking the bard "Will we walk all night through solitary streets? The trees add shade to shade, lights out in the houses, we'll both be lonely. / Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America of love past blue automobiles in driveways, home to our silent cottage?

Investors Valuation of Stock Essay

An investor should value a stock by looking at the intrinsic value of the stock and how the market value compare to the intrinsic value. The most common mathematical method of valuing stock is to determine the price earnings ratio (P/E). The P/E ratio is calculated by dividing the share price by the company’s net income. As a general rule a P/E ratio should be in the higher teens. Stocks with a below-market P/E are considered cheaper, and a higher P/E ratio are considered expensive (Kansas, 2014). To evaluate if a stock is under or over-valued investors should look at the CAPM (Market securities Line) based on the Beta of the company and determine the performance of the stock. An investor can use indexes, such as the Dow Jones, NYSE, or S&P 500, in stock valuation. Value investing is common for investors. It is misrepresentation of price so the buyer buys a stock at a lower price than true worth or sells at a higher price than true worth. Considering all variables and determining true fault in price, this method provides investors easy margins. Investors’ value stocks using various strategies and methods, but all driving factors are in hopes of gaining margin and growth of the company invested in. The concept of stock valuation is simple. However, predicting the future is not as simple and can be complicated. Market Valuation of Stock Market and investors value stock differently. The market depends on expectations and recent information available to the market. The market’s value of stock are usually based on past history and trends. Based on current economic conditions we look at the past and see how it would look going forward. Through use of charts, value lines, or other indicators, the market looks at certain things such as floors, ceiling, resistance points, when valuing stock. The stock value is a collective price based on numerous variables considered, equaling a company’s worth combined with social trends and economic factors. The most common value of a stock for the market is the open and close prices. NASDAQ uses an auction approach called opening cross and closing cross to determine stock prices (â€Å"Stock Market Prices†, 2014). The opening cross uses computer software to determine opening prices for stocks based on night trading; buying and selling of stock during close of business. The closing cross software calculates closing price based on  that day’s trades. The technology takes into consideration each trade made at the exchange and sets what is referred to as the fairest closing price. The final stock prices are released after close of the exchange and work as a main factor for night trading. The amount an investor is willing to pay is often dependent on the prices set by the market. Stock Market Prices. (2014). http://money.howstuffworks.com/nasdaq-opening-closing- cross1.htm Kansas, D. (2014). Evaluating a Stock. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://guides.wsj.com/personal-finance/investing/how-to-evaluate-a-stock/.

Royal Danish Bearings Marketing Key Terms

Royal Danish Bearings – Marketing Key Terms Business and Management Keyword| Definition| Relation to RDB| Market Size| The number of individuals in a certain market who are potential buyers and/or sellers of a product or service. Companies are interested in knowing the market size before launching a new product or service in an area. | The ball bearings industry has a quite large market size given the development of the automobile industry. | Market Share| A percentage of total sales volume in a market captured by a brand, product, or company. RDB’s market share in the business is quite large, justifying its great expansion and organic growth. | Consumer Needs| Problems that customers intend to solve with the purchase of a good or service. | Indirect consumers need automobiles, however; automobile factories require ball bearings, resulting in RDB’s business opportunity. | Unique Selling Point| Real or perceived benefit of a good or service that differentiates it from the competing brands and gives its buyer a logical reason to prefer it over other brands.USP is often a critical component of a promotional theme around which an advertising campaign is built. | RDB’s USP is its highly technologically advanced ball bearings, which are also environmentally friendly. | Competitive Advantage| A superiority gained by an organization when it can provide the same value as its competitors but at a lower price, or can charge higher prices by providing greater value through differentiation. Competitive advantage results from matching core competencies to the opportunities. RDB’s competitive advantage is that they are an already globally known company and they are about to invest in their Research and Development department. | Brand Loyalty| The extent of the faithfulness of consumers to a particular brand, expressed through their repeat purchases, irrespective of the marketing pressure generated by the competing brands. | Given logical ass umptions, automobile factories and companies remain loyal to RDB’s ball bearings, given their high quality product. | Demand| Desire for certain good or service supported by the capacity to purchase it.The aggregate quantity of a product or service estimated to be bought at a particular price. | RDB’s ball bearing demand is decreasing in Europe, however increasing in Brazil, China and India. | Marketing| The management process through which goods and services move from concept to the customer. It includes the 4Ps; Product, Price, Place and Promotion. | RDB plans to expand their marketing reach with the use of modern and technologically advanced media, in order to reach new customers and create brand awareness. Advertising| The activity or profession of producing information for promoting the sale of commercial products or services. | RDB is currently promoting their sales throughout their plans to expand into different countries with smaller environmentally friendly fa ctories. | Promotion| The advancement of a product, idea, or point of view through publicity and/or advertising. | RDB plans to advertise in a greater scale. | ICT| Stands for â€Å"Information and Communication Technologies. ICT refers to technologies that provide access to information through telecommunications. It is similar to Information Technology (IT), but focuses primarily on communication technologies. This includes the Internet, wireless networks, cell phones, and other communication mediums. | This company is currently planning to establish a higher range of their information and communications technologies given that they require a higher advertising range. Brand Awareness| Extent to which a brand is recognized by potential customers, and is correctly associated with a particular product. Expressed usually as a percentage of target market, brand awareness is the primary goal of advertising in the early months or years of a product's introduction. | RDB has managed to cr eate brand awareness, given that they have been in the market for quite a while. They are old occupants of the market niche and their brand awareness is high. |

Repairing a MySQL Database With phpMyAdmin

Repairing a MySQL Database With phpMyAdmin Using MySQL with PHP expands and enhances the features you can offer on your website. One of the most popular methods of managing a MySQL database is through phpMyAdmin, which is already on most web servers. Occasionally, database tables become corrupt and you are no longer able to access them or they dont respond as quickly as youd like. In phpMyAdmin, the process of checking the table and repairing it  so you can access the data again is fairly simple. Before you begin, make a backup of the database in case phpMyAdmin cant repair it. Checking Your Database in phpMyAdmin Log in to your web host.Click the phpMyAdmin icon. If your host uses  cPanel, look there.Choose the affected database. If you only have one database, it should  be chosen  by default so you dont need to do anything.In the main panel, you should see a list of your database tables.  Click  Check All  to select all of them.At the bottom of the window just below the list of tables, there is a drop-down menu. Choose  Check Table  from the menu. When the page refreshes, you will see a summary of any table that may be corrupted. If you receive any errors, repair the table. phpMyAdmin Repair Steps Log in to your web host.Click the phpMyAdmin icon.  Choose the affected database.  In the main panel, you should see a list of your database tables. Click Check All to select all of them.Choose Repair Table  from the drop-down menu at the bottom of the screen. When the page refreshes, you should see a summary of any tables that were repaired. This should fix your database and let you access it again. Now that it is fixed, its a good idea to make that database backup.

Symbolism in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Essays

Symbolism in â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find† Essays Symbolism in â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find† Paper Symbolism in â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find† Paper Mary Flannery O’Connor was an influential American writer who was born in 1925, writing two novels, thirty-two short stories and numerous essays and reviews. Her life was complicated by a fifteen-year battle with lupus and she died at the age of thirty-nine. Her philosophy on fiction writing was that it should first and foremost be based in the solidly concrete world (Olson, 42). This is the essence of how she breathed life into her work. She explored symbolism and deeper themes as well, but they came after the concrete details. Some persistent symbolic themes in her writing include farms, small towns, hallucinations or hallucinations, the south, violence, prejudice, self-discovery, and, her most common theme, religion and the Catholic faith (Irving, 113). O’Connor uses recurring themes and symbolism in all of her stories, none more so that â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find. † These symbols are hidden in the prose and unlocking them adds to the depth, influence and impact of the story. The prevalent symbolism used pertains to the Catholic faith, Jesus and judgment. She also uses color and character to tie in the idea of the changing times and society’s disintegration. Everything from the name of the town they are seeking, the forest and the journey itself are used by in this story to represent a deeper truth. They explore the innermost struggle of man and the quest for self-identity and understanding and the need for a person to face their own reality by delving into their character rather than the place they believe they hold in the society and the concrete world. The characters of the grandmother and the Misfit symbolize different aspects of human self-awareness as well as the idea of Jesus, redemption and hypocrisy. Their depiction as symbols instead of solidly real individuals is evident in their names – they are not given one. Instead they are referred to by the place they hold in society, the â€Å"grandmother†, the â€Å"Misfit,† which is more important than who they are as people. The grandmother is the sinner, so blinded by her own self-perceived morality and social identity that she is blinded to her own faults and therefore fails to repent. Her faith is all about appearances rather than sincerity, such as her selection for her attire and the reason for it, Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady (O’Connor, 118). The Misfit, while the villain of the tale, sits as judge and jury. He is the only one in the story that contemplates the deeper truth to man’s existence, indicating his contemplative nature and the need for man to question their existence, â€Å"Jesus was the only One that ever raised the dead . . . He shouldn’t have done it . . . If He did what He said, then it’s nothing to do but throw away everything and follow Him, and if He didn’t, then it’s nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left† (O’Connor, 132). While the grandmother fails to recognize her own faults, the Misfit knows not only his own failings but also those of others, indicating the all-seeing eye of Jesus (Bonney, 351). When she is left alone with the Misfit, after several tries, she manages to say, â€Å"Jesus, Jesus,† meaning that the Misfit should pray, yet it came out as a curse. This statement is evidence that she secretly blames God and Christ for her dilemma. The Misfit on the other hand does not believe in a higher power even as he symbolizes one. Additionally, the Misfit originally chose the pseudonym he holds because he believed he was punished excessively for his perceived crime, which he does not remember. This is similar to how Jesus died for the sins of all mankind, as He did not have any of his own. The grandmother brings up Jesus and prayer because she is trying to find a way out so she hopes to instill grace and regret in the Misfit; she does so to save her own life rather than because she believed: she is a hypocrite. After recognizing the Misfit’s identity, much as one recognizes the presence of God at the time of judgment, the grandmother devotes herself to trying to escape the net she is caught in rather than in the act of prayer. She even denies Jesus, even calling the Misfit Jesus, in an attempt to stave off her own demise and offers counterfeit affection to the Misfit in order to persuade him to relent, â€Å"’Why you’re one of my babies . . . one of my own children! ’ She reached out and touched him† (O’Connor, 132). The Misfit recognized the falseness of her actions and shot her through the chest, much as Jesus knows when a person’s belief is true or if they merely seem faithful. While the grandmother has a greater capacity for grace than the Misfit does, she fails to fulfill it (Bandy, 110). The family’s journey itself is a symbol of man’s walk of faith. The grandmother does not wish to go to Florida, does not wish to walk the correct path and stay true to her beliefs. When her requests are ignored and she is forced to travel to Florida instead of Tennessee, she dresses it up in artifice rather than sincerity. At the first opportunity, she attempts to detour the family to another road, using persuasion and deception to generate supporters, she steers others away from the path of God as well. This is their undoing as it places them directly in the way of tragedy. Here too, the Misfit symbolizes Jesus. As Jesus knows when a person is unfaithful, the Misfit judges and punishes the family for their lack of faith (Bandy, 111). At the beginning of the story, the children play the game of identifying shapes in the clouds. This ties into the use of symbols to represent the grandmother’s superficial faith. Clouds are ever changing decorations of the sky, much as she ‘decorates’ herself in lady like apparel in order to portray an image that she does not feel. The clouds present an appearance of one thing but are in fact quite different. After the family’s accident, the Misfit comments that the sky is without sun or clouds: the artifice has been stripped away as well as the guide for the grandmother to follow – the sun, which is always present in the day, is identified as absent here. The Misfit sees the truth of the grandmother’s character and does not allow her to hide behind false pretenses or recover her lost path; she is to be punished for her crime. Here, the Misfit is the vengeful God and the sinner is not so innocent. Rather that symbolizing innocence, as children often do in works of fiction, in â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find,† they represent the aspects of life that one cannot control and the truth that those events hold. In the beginning of the story, as the grandmother attempts to dissuade the family from going to Florida and to go instead to Tennessee, John Wesley asks the grandmother why she does not just stay home. June Star replies â€Å"She wouldn’t stay home to be queen for a day. † Only June Star recognizes this aspect of her grandmother’s personality and is forthright enough to mention. Throughout the story, June Star speaks her truth honestly and openly, though her opinions are high-minded and prejudicial. The Misfit mentions his unease with children, saying that they make him nervous. He recognizes their capacity for unpredictable behavior, as the road of life is unpredictable, and asks his companions to rein them in. There are many symbols of death through the story, particularly toward the end of the family’s journey. The name of the town the grandmother is seeking is called Toombsboro, clearly calling to mind the image of a tomb. She is inadvertently seeking death. The dark and heavy forest near where the family has their accident is a symbol of death as well, with its shadows, hidden threats and unknowable reality. Indeed, five members of the family find their end in these woods. The car driven by the Misfit and his two companions is described as â€Å"hearse-like;† a very blatant symbol of death and one’s journey to what waits beyond. Another symbol used throughout the story is the color red, used to represent the fact that society is changing. Red is the most used color in the work, creating a link for each character and event to follow. The grandmother and Red Sammy, the restaurant owner, reminisce together on better times, revealing their own prejudice on how things have changed. This identifies Red Sammy as a symbol of those changing times. When she later remembers that the plantation is in another state, she goes â€Å"red. † This ties her embarrassment to Red Sammy – red and Red – and their discussion of the good old days. She had failed to recall them correctly and she was deeply embarrassed. Later, when the men get out of the car, it is revealed that one of the occupants was wearing a red sweatshirt, another tie to red. The third man’s ankles were also described as red as he was climbing down the embankment and the Misfit’s eyes are described as â€Å"red-rimmed. † It also symbolizes anger as the grandmother is angered by the fact that the times had changed. These images further symbolize the way society had altered as these men represent those changes. This color symbolism ties each of these aspects of the story together in a united theme. The symbolism used in this story instills in the reader a deeper sense of appreciation as well as a desire to look into themselves in order to discover their own truth. The united themes and symbolism tie the story together and without them, the depiction created would be hollow, without a soul or any real meaning. O’Connor centers her stories around the concrete world; yet, it is the depth she weaves into her fiction that makes it so valuable. The Christian faith is clearly her resounding symbol in this story, yet other aspects of it stand forth as well. The grandmother and the Misfit are not people; they are representations of the flaws and frailties in all human beings, the ones that define man as a sinner and make mankind run from itself. By penning these startling tributes to self-discovery and truth, O’Connor is able to grasp the very real and necessary desire for society to examine itself neutrally rather than with rose-colored glasses. Bandy, Stephen. â€Å"`One of My Babies: The misfit and the grandmother. † Studies in Short Fiction; Winter96, Vol. 33 Issue 1. 107-118. Bonney, William. â€Å"The Moral Structure of Flannery OConnors A Good Man is Hard to Find. † Studies in Short Fiction; Summer 90, Vol. 27 Issue 3, 347-356. Irving, Malin. â€Å"Flannery O’Connor and the Grotesque. † In the Added Dimension: The Art and Mind of Flannery O’Connor. Melvin Friedman and Lewis A. Lawson, eds. New York: Fordham University Press, 1966. 113-114. O’Connor, Flannery. â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find. † The Complete Stories. New York: Ferrar, Straus and Giroux, 1971. 117-133. Olson, Steven. â€Å"Tarwater’s Hats. † Studies in the Literary Imagination; Fall 1987, Vol. 20, Issue 2, 37-49.

Learn Artist Idioms in Context

Learn Artist Idioms in Context Here is a discussion of what makes an artist. The focus is on personality characteristics and youll find 15 new idioms defined below used in context in the story.  Try reading one time to understand the gist without using the idiom definitions. On your second reading, use the definitions to help you understand the text while learning new idioms. Finally, take the quiz after the reading to practice the idioms and expressions youve learned. The Artist What makes an artist an artist? Well, there probably isnt any easy answer to that question. However, there are some personality characteristics that many artists seem to have in common. First of all, artists come from all walks of life. They may have been born rich or poor, but they are all dedicated to realizing what only they can see in their minds eyes. Another common trait of artists is that they do things according to their own lights. In fact, for many of them, creating art is do or die. Of course, that also means that they are often perfectionists. Theyll lose themselves in a new creation and you might not see them for the next few weeks. Often, you might drop by to check up on how they are doing and youll discover that their apartment is anything but spick-and-span. Its no wonder because theyve sunk their teeth into their latest work and completely lost all track of time. Housework is certainly the last thing on their mind! Of course, this lifestyle often means that they can barely make ends meet. Jobs are few and far between and money comes in dribs and dabs. This is true even for up-and-coming superstars whose reputation is growing by leaps and bounds. Finally, artists see art as an end in itself. Its not about the money to them. Theyre different from normal people who mind their ps and qs. Artists challenge us with their vision. Theyd never slap something together that just looks pretty. Idiom and Expression Definitions do something according to your own lights do something your own way, follow your own inspiration rather than that of othersall walks of life from many different backgrounds, classes, etc.  an end in itself something done only for the pleasure of doing itbreak new ground create something new, innovatedo or die (used as an adjective) absolutely necessarydribs and dabs little by little, not happening continuously  in your minds eye in your imaginationby leaps and bounds grow or improve very quicklylose yourself in something become so involved that you dont notice anything elsemake ends meet earn enough money to live onmind your ps and qs be normal, not interfere with other peoplesink your teeth into something concentrate on doing a project seriously for a long timeslap something together create something without much care to detailspick-and-span extremely cleanup-and-coming soon to be famous, young talent becoming successful   Idiom and Expression Quiz Im afraid I cant follow your suggestion. I prefer to paint __________.Can you see that picture __________?Our son is very good at the piano. In fact, hes improving __________.Unfortunately, money is very tight at the moment. I dont have a steady job so the money is coming in __________.Id love to _________ my __________ a new project.Its important that your house is _________ if you want to sell it.Peter is an _________ musician. Hell soon be famous.I think this work of art ________. Its completely different from anything before.Please be quiet and __________. I dont want to be bothered.Students attending the academy come from __________. Youll find people from all over the world with different backgrounds.   Quiz Answers according to my own lightsin your minds eyeby leaps and boundsdribs and dabssink my teeth intospick-and-spanup-and-comingbreaks new groundmind your ps and qsall walks of life You can learn more idioms and expressions in context with these stories.

Sa.1.2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Sa.1.2 - Essay Example Recruitment policy and strategy of a company should be coherent with its human resources management policy and with its business policy as a whole. Brewster and Hegewisch (1994) assert that organisations have to make decisions on a number of issues related to recruitment: Decisions between short-term organisational needs and long-term organisational requirements: the choice an organisation makes is not unchanging but varies according to the resources available on the external labor market. Decisions about how to achieve the qualification level the organisation is looking for: the choice makes affects the nature of the employer/employee relationship, the social climate, and the innovative ability of the organisation. An organisation, which wants to be effective, develops and realizes a recruitment strategy  to attract and hire more and best talents, who have the ability to perform job so that to support an execution of the company’ s business strategy. Top performing companies spend considerable resources and energy to create high-quality recruitment and selection systems. This linkage between HRM activities, the needs of the business, and organisational effectiveness is the core of the area called strategic human resource management (Schuler and Jackson, 1999). Wright and McMahan define strategic human resource management (SHRM) as: â€Å"the planned HR deployments and activities intended to enable [an organization] to achieve its goals† (1992, p. 298). Many researchers in the area of strategic human resource management have discussed the importance of having HRM practices supporting a firm’s strategy. For example, Schuler and Jackson (1987) argue that HRM practices can c reate or enhance competitive advantage by fostering and reinforcing role behaviors that help to lower cost and / or strengthen product differentiation. They successfully illustrate how different practices could support each of Porter’s (1980)

The Bluest Eye and Cathedral Raymond Carver Essay

The Bluest Eye and Cathedral Raymond Carver - Essay Example The story revolved around the manner by which the girl, Pecola, desired to be white, with pale skin and the deepest blue eyes. On the other hand, The Cathedral narrated a story about a man's encounter with a blind man called Robert. The account for this brief interaction, with its varying phases of emotional experience and personal relationship was anchored on how the latter was able to teach the narrator a new perspective in seeing things, transforming him in the process. Thematic Similarities The similarities between Morrison and Carver's work rest fundamentally on the way they wrote their respective stories on families in addition to troubled and tragic protagonists. Pecola suffered physical and psychological abuse from her father and her surroundings whereas; the Robert in Carver's tale was blind and has recently lost his wife. Even the narrator of the story seems to be suffering from some form of inner turmoil and suffered from confusion and emotional catharsis among other thing s depicted in a number of nuances and details. Also, both of these stories revolve around the theme of bigotry. In Morrison's work the community is still typified with the discrimination against the black people. As a result, people that surrounded Pecola used the whites and their lifestyle as standards of perfection, wherein those that they have are things to be desired. Her parents called her ugly, so she aspired to be white with blue eyes. Carver concentrated the bigotry on his narrator. It was not racial but targeted towards someone with disability. There was prejudice in his attitude towards the blind man and when he met him, it was further tinged with a degree of condescension. About Standards The theme of beauty and aesthetics, which is at the core of The Bluest Eye, revolved around the idea that being white, is beautiful. This variable is crucial in explaining the female black identity in the story. Morrison described this as psychologically damaging to black girls in Americ a. By providing a racist and patriarchal social setting, Morrison was able to illustrate the manner by which black women and men were shaped by cultural influences. To demonstrate this, there is the case of Pecola's father. He was treated throughout most part of the book with a kind of repulsiveness because of his appearance. For some, his looks appeared to resemble that of an alcoholic, so even he was not, he became one. The social perception involved with being black was emphasized to be equated with ugliness and Morrison enumerated several adverse effects on the psyche and behavior of a people. Carver was more specific in his tale with his minimal use of characters. In the interaction between his bigoted narrator and blind Robert, the reader is provided a summary of the social perception on disabled people. When the narrator met Robert, he observed and observed and, in his thoughts, the readers would be able to identify preconceived notions, prejudices and antagonisms that many o f them would find familiar. Cultural versus Utilitarian The treatment of themes and the text content conveyed revealed two different concerns. As Morrison focused on racial and gender identity, and the role of the social norms in the rage and pain of a people with their privations and exclusions, her narrative became a cultural critique. On the other hand, through his

Effects of Stakeholders on Communication Assignment

Effects of Stakeholders on Communication - Assignment Example Owners are concerned with maximizing the business profits, investors are interested in earning income from their investment, and employees want to keep their job and earn higher wages. External stakeholders are individuals or groups that are not within the business, and are not working directly with the business, but are affected in a number of ways from the business decisions. They include the government, trade unions, community, creditors, suppliers, and customers. Identifying the stakeholder affects communication in many ways. The best thing is just learning what a particular stakeholder needs to enhance profit or protect and then structure communication according to these factors. First, the information to be communicated and the mode of communication vary for each group. Additionally, the period or frame for delivering the information to a group of stakeholders or a stakeholder varies as there are those that require to be notified immediately, and it will help reduce overloading stakeholders with information. The level of the stakeholder and their interests influences a lot how you should communicate with them. The interested individuals or groups should be managed closely through status meetings; change logs, and notified about the issues, this is most probably the high power individuals and groups. These that are high powered and have less interest should always be satisfied through board meeting updates and steering committees. Those inte rested and are in low power, need to be informed in-person or through email updates, and video.

Law Practice Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Law Practice Management - Essay Example It entails targeting a specific market or community that is easily identifiable. The decision that was unanimously arrived at is that we should carve out our niche in Computer law. This area of law, deals with securing information that is stored and/or transmitted through computers. There is a horde of reasons for choosing this specific area of specialization. To begin with, our existing clientele mainly draws out from this area, and they have a capacity to sustain our entity in the short run and help us to breakeven within the first year of operation. Secondly, we have the necessary educational background, and passion for this specific niche, individually and collectively. In addition, this is a developing area, with a greatly promising future. Internet has had a profound impact on the society in the past few years and the nature of its dynamic changes creates a lot of emerging legal uncertainty. In addition, there is an increase in the number of legislations enacted in the recent past, such as Computer Security Act of 1987 and Health Information Technology of 2009. To add, it touches basically on every other sphere of law from, e-commerce, Intellectual Property (IP), privacy to online money payment systems. Moreover, it is cross cutting and is not limited in terms of boundaries, and it, in essence, makes boundaries more and more meaningless. More importantly, it has an untapped potential, and growth rate is exponential, given that the number of Americans using internet or having access to internet grows day by day. In addition, most organizations have automated their mode of operation and it is basically possible to complete all manner of transactions online. This market has few practitioners as compared to the potential market, and the existing market is highly untapped. The entity we have chosen to adopt and register is in the form of a professional association, registered as an S corporation under the laws

1984 by George Orwell and Big Brother Research Paper

1984 by George Orwell and Big Brother - Research Paper Example Kellner writes, â€Å"The novel opens with evocations, frequently repeated that "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU." Then it quickly plunges the reader into an oppressive environment where omnipresent television sets not only incessantly broadcast government propaganda but actually serve as instruments of surveillance.† The subtle aspect of Communism as perceived by George Orwell is doublespeak. The Michal Buchowski at el. writes, â€Å"Communist language was forcefully brought home to the West by George Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-Four, especially in his notion of â€Å"doublethink.†(p.555) What is the working style of Big Brother and his associates and superiors? Their implication is—‘we don’t say whatever we say or do is correct. But whatever correct is there in the world belongs to us! How George Orwell highlights the serious shortcomings of the hardcore communist regimes with his satirical style by taking potshots at their methods of suppression of fre ewill of the people, through the character of Big Brother in 1984? The name of the watchtower through which Big Brother and his associates function is ‘totalitarianism.’ Buchowski at el writes, â€Å"The very term totalitarianism suggests a political problem: a form of rule so total as to leave no aspect of life untouched: a form of rule that is not merely dictatorial, but holds people in its grip so thoroughly that they become its puppets.†(p.557)... But the style of functioning as portrayed by George Orwell in his book 1984 seems to have been adopted in communist countries and partially in the West. This is the issue of control of history (including the censorship on print and electronic media), surveillance and corruption of language. Those who are assigned duties in these areas seem to salute the Big Brother every day, before the commencing their duties and carry out his instructions implicitly, as for tapping phones, intercept mails, enter residences unauthorisedly etc. Language corruption is being used as an important political propaganda weapon and with full knowledge of their double meaning. The words like socialist, war criminal, racist, democratic are used, as if Satan quotes the Bible. The hero of the book, Winston Smith, employed in the Ministry of truth is engrossed in rewriting and falsifying history, as per the demands of the present regime. Big Brother has a tremendous responsibility, to control the State of Oceani a. His â€Å"thought police† have to see that friends and enemies are kept under control. Oceania is at constant war with artificially created factions. Alliances are created and discredited; what is important for the Big Brother is the perennial hysteria, and to maintain the situation of confusion and to tell the people that something dangerous is being planned against the Nation by the opposition with vested interests. George Orwell, through Big Brother, gives lots of importance to past history—for the process to undo it and suppress the facts that are inconvenient to the present (Communist) regime. The supreme objective of the party is to retain and maintain power at all times and at all costs. It uses a variety of methods to keep the population under control. â€Å"War is peace† is one

Managerial and Professional Development ('portfolio' assignment) Assignment

Managerial and Professional Development ('portfolio' ) - Assignment Example Even though organizational learning is fundamentally different from individual training, it is influenced either directly or indirectly through individual learning. Hence, it is necessary to evaluate the way in which individual learning operates in an organization. Experiential Learning In many organizations, individual learning gets influenced in a major way by the Experiential way of learning. This theory, proposed by Kolb has four different stages of learning (McGill & Beaty 1995). According to this theory, any learning occurs in four different stages – through concrete experience, through observation and reflection, through abstract conceptualization as well as through active experimentation (Kolb and Fry, 1975). This is the chosen approach because of the holistic approach to learning offered by it. It was realized that this learning process is continuous and can begin at any of the stages. On a personal level, it provided ample scope to develop experience and opportunitie s to observe as well as reflect. In most organizations, employees also come across many scenarios where they indulge in abstract conceptualization and can carry out active experimentation. ... The learners, even though are not aware of the terminology given to each of these phases, go through either some or all the stages of learning depending on numerous factors like individual aptitude, availability of opportunities, nature of organization and so on (Itin, 1999). The experiential method of learning is the selected method because the strength of this theory lies in the fact that it talks about reflection. From previous experiences, it was realized that reflection is an important aspect of learning because it helps in understanding the mistakes and avoiding it for future instances. In addition, it also fosters innovation because of the scope related to experimentation as well as conceptualization (Kolb, 1984). Hence, the chances of holistic learning become very high with this form of learning. In addition, it is not imperative that a formal environment is needed to go through the various stages. For example, observation and reflection can easily happen in a very non-formal situation, giving ample scope for learning to take place. However, there are also some key disadvantages related to this theory that it is looked at from the context of an organization that was noticed during personal observation. Very often, the learning cycle is not completed, even though the process is incomplete. Due to external conditions or due to the individual interest, it has been noticed that many individuals go through the same stage of learning repeatedly. Therefore, some researchers do not consider this form of learning as a holistic way of learning and development in an organization. Reflective Learning Reflective learning is another popular way of learning in an organizational or corporate environment.

1984 by George Orwell and Big Brother Research Paper

1984 by George Orwell and Big Brother - Research Paper Example Kellner writes, â€Å"The novel opens with evocations, frequently repeated that "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU." Then it quickly plunges the reader into an oppressive environment where omnipresent television sets not only incessantly broadcast government propaganda but actually serve as instruments of surveillance.† The subtle aspect of Communism as perceived by George Orwell is doublespeak. The Michal Buchowski at el. writes, â€Å"Communist language was forcefully brought home to the West by George Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-Four, especially in his notion of â€Å"doublethink.†(p.555) What is the working style of Big Brother and his associates and superiors? Their implication is—‘we don’t say whatever we say or do is correct. But whatever correct is there in the world belongs to us! How George Orwell highlights the serious shortcomings of the hardcore communist regimes with his satirical style by taking potshots at their methods of suppression of fre ewill of the people, through the character of Big Brother in 1984? The name of the watchtower through which Big Brother and his associates function is ‘totalitarianism.’ Buchowski at el writes, â€Å"The very term totalitarianism suggests a political problem: a form of rule so total as to leave no aspect of life untouched: a form of rule that is not merely dictatorial, but holds people in its grip so thoroughly that they become its puppets.†(p.557)... But the style of functioning as portrayed by George Orwell in his book 1984 seems to have been adopted in communist countries and partially in the West. This is the issue of control of history (including the censorship on print and electronic media), surveillance and corruption of language. Those who are assigned duties in these areas seem to salute the Big Brother every day, before the commencing their duties and carry out his instructions implicitly, as for tapping phones, intercept mails, enter residences unauthorisedly etc. Language corruption is being used as an important political propaganda weapon and with full knowledge of their double meaning. The words like socialist, war criminal, racist, democratic are used, as if Satan quotes the Bible. The hero of the book, Winston Smith, employed in the Ministry of truth is engrossed in rewriting and falsifying history, as per the demands of the present regime. Big Brother has a tremendous responsibility, to control the State of Oceani a. His â€Å"thought police† have to see that friends and enemies are kept under control. Oceania is at constant war with artificially created factions. Alliances are created and discredited; what is important for the Big Brother is the perennial hysteria, and to maintain the situation of confusion and to tell the people that something dangerous is being planned against the Nation by the opposition with vested interests. George Orwell, through Big Brother, gives lots of importance to past history—for the process to undo it and suppress the facts that are inconvenient to the present (Communist) regime. The supreme objective of the party is to retain and maintain power at all times and at all costs. It uses a variety of methods to keep the population under control. â€Å"War is peace† is one

Critical Analysis of A Mother in Dubliners Essay Example for Free

Critical Analysis of A Mother in Dubliners Essay In the short story, A Mother, James Joyce highlights four different aspects: Theme, Style, Language used, and the Characteristics of the Characters. There are five different themes highlighted in the story. The first one is Paralysis, which is the central theme for all the stories in Dubliners. In this story, paralysis is shown with the storys main character, Mrs. Kearney, who is constantly relying and depending on her daughter, providing her with a very good education and making her follow a career in music. Paralysis could also be seen with Kathleen Kearney, who was forced by her mother to follow a musical career, and the way some people eventually say that she has no future in music whatsoever. The second theme, marriage, deals with the way it is portrayed in a negative way. Mrs. Kearney got married out of spite, and there isnt much romance in the relationship between her and her husband, although this doesnt suggest that she has completely given up her romantic ideas. We also see the portrayal of husbands and wives, or family life in general, in a negative way. See more: how to write a good critical analysis essay The third theme is class distinction. This is to do with how Mrs. Kearney keeps on bragging to her friends that her husband is taking her and her daughter to Skerries and they spend their money on Kathleens education and music lessons, to help prepare her for the concerts. Another aspect that highlights this theme s Ms. Kearnys use of language, which is that of an upper class, and this shows that she received an education that was as good as her daughters. The fourth theme is culture and religion. Certain aspects of culture are highlighted when we are told about the grand concerts, which are part of the Irish revival. Also, we see the way the Irish language is kept alive, like the way Mrs. Kearney and her friends say good-bye in Irish. As for religion, we find out that Mr. Kearney was very religious and he often went to church by himself. The final theme is materialism. This is to do with the way Mrs. Kearney is opportunistic, and how she is persistent with her daughter receiving money for all her performances. Joyce uses a satirical writing style in this story. This means that he is making fun of the characters indirectly/subtly. For example, the narrator refers to the concerts as grand, when in reality they are a failure, and the way Mr. Holohans friends call him Happy Holohan. Also, the way he refers to the artists in the concert as artistes. Another aspect of Joyces style is impressionism. This is to do with how the narrator just tells us about the story (gives us a feedback) without revealing anything to us. For example, the narrator tells us the story through the way he sees it. He does not state his opinion, but instead he leaves us with what information we received from him to come up with our own conclusions of the characters. Naturalism is another aspect of Joyces style. He uses real places and real names in the story to give the reader a sense of place. The language Joyce assigned to the narrator is simple and flamboyant. For example, People said she was very clever, a very nice girl and a believer in the language movement (p. 155). There are two forms of language spoken by the narrator: Speaking about the characters and providing information (Miss Devlin had become Mrs. Kearney out of spite She was educated in high-class convent ), and speaking on behalf of the characters (People said she was a very nice girl ). When reading the story, we reach a few conclusions about the characters. Mrs. Kearney is revealed as a snob, conceited woman living in middle-class Dublin, and received a high-class education. We see that she has a harsh and cold attitude (Her ivory manners were admired She sat among the chilly circle of her accomplishments). Mr. Kearny is a pious and sober man, he does not have a romantic relationship with his wife (not enough love), but he is always there to help and support his wife. Mr. Fitzpatrick represents the negative side of the male characters. Because of him, the concert ended in failure. In this story, Joyce has highlighted many aspects, ranging from themes to style, and he elaborated on them with detail, which helps the reader understand the way he portrays real life in Dublin.

History of Curriculum and Ethics in Siam: 1935-1970

History of Curriculum and Ethics in Siam: 1935-1970 Chapter IV Primary Curriculum and Ethics Instruction During 1935 1970 (B.E. 2478 2513) In the previous three Chapters we have seen that in Siam[1], throughout the periods with which we are concerned, the kings had absolute power and were treated recognized as the ‘Lord of life’.  They who seemed to bewere ultimate authorities in all aspects of the country’s development, including education.  Even though the education ministry was established in 1894, educational policies were still under controlled ofby the kings through the.  ministers of the education whom he assigned. However, in 1932 a military coup brought the era of absolute monarchy to an abrupt end and replaced it with a constitutional monarchy in which the king was confined to a largely ceremonial role.   Few years after co-operation with the new administrative power under the institutional system, king Rama VII felt uneasy to compromise his different political opinion with the political leaders that brought to his abdication in 1935.  Therefore the constitutional government had absolute power over the country.  The ‘modernization period’ of educational reform thus initiated in 1935 and which continued till 1970, was a period of transformation, as the political revolution triggered changes in every aspect of Thai society. The administrative power was transferred from king to Prime minister and his cabinets. Though the minister of education was remained the same in the beginning of this period, but one out of six pillar policies of the cabinet was to provide equal education to all, hence wWe would expect that ethics instruction could hardly have escaped these political is socialand social upheaval untouched. The question is therefore just how far and in what ways ethics instruction was transformed during the modernization period. 1. The Modernization Period 1935 – 1970 (B.E.2478-2513)   In 1935, after the abdication of King Rama VII, King Rama VIII was offered the crown.  A young man on his ascent to the throne, he reigned for 11 years, most of which he spent outside the kingdom, for his education and especially during the period of World War II.  He died in mysterious circumstances in 1946.  Besides, he was under the constitution monarchy system; his impact on Thai education was thus invisible. His brother, Rama IX, followed him on the thrown and has held it to the present day – the longest reigning monarch in the world.  However, since we are concerned with educational issue in primary curriculum and the ethics instruction in this period, the discussion will end at the year of 1970 which is in the first 25 years of Rama IX’s reign.  In this modernization period, primary curriculum was developed based on western idea and theory.  There was a Royal Announcement and four primary curricula used in this period, which are the following: Royal Announcement 1936  (B.E. 2479) Primary Curriculum  1937 ( Laksutr Prathomsuksa : B.E.2480) Primary Curriculum 1948 ( Laksutr Prathomsuksa: B.E.2491) Primary Curriculum  1955 ( Laksutr Prathomsuksa : B.E.2498) Primary Curriculum 1960 ( Laksutr Prathomsuksa Tonton and Tonplai : B.E.2503) Ginsburg says that to examine the educational reformation efforts in any country, the global structural and ideological context must be investigated on how they constrain it is necessary to investigate how the global structural and ideological contexts constrain and enableand enable individual and group actors’ transactions concerning education.[2] From such a perspective the situation of Thailand is peculiar. As mentioned earlier that in this period, the absolute monarchy system was replaced by the constitutional monarchy system. Consequently, the central administrative system and politics were changed into democratic system based on the western view. However, although though the constitution was the supreme law of the Kingdom of Thailand, the country has had 18 charters and constitutions[3] since the coup backed the change from the absolute to constitutional monarchy in 1932, and this reflects the high degree of political instability and frequency of military coups faced by the nation. After each successful coup, the military regimes abrogated existing constitutions and promulgated interim ones. Somehow, this circumstance affected the national socio-economics, religion, and education.  The question is how far and in what ways ethics instruction in primary curriculum was affected by all such a fluid political situation. 1.1. Politics and Administration  1935 1970 (B.E.2478 2513) After the 1932 revolution by People’s Party, King Rama VII or King Prajadhipok was forced to grant the first constitution on 10 December 1932 by the three main coup leaders with, [4] who were educated who were scholarship students and educated in France and Germany where the national revolution and social crisis was floated over in nineteenth century. after French Revolution and social crisis. These reformers or coup leaders, who were known as the promoters, were representatives of the younger generation of western-oriented political elite that were educated to be helpersbe instruments of an absolute monarchy that they viewed as archaic and inadequate to the task of modern government. The principals in the coup identified themselves as nationalists. All of them became prime ministers and the major figures in Thai politics for the next three decades. Pridi Phanomyong[5],, one of the countrys leading intellectuals, was the most influential civilian promoter, who became a prime minister in 1946/B.E.2489. His chief rival among the other promoters was Pibul, or Luang Plaek Pibulsongkram[6], an ambitious junior army officer who later attained the rank of field marshal and was the prime minister during 1938/1944 and 1948-1957/B.E.2481-2487;2491-2500. Phraya Phahonphonphayuhasena[7], the senior member of the group, who was sent by royal schorlarship to study in Germany and Denmark from 1903 till 1912, he became the prime minister in 1933-1938/B.E.2476-2481 represented old-line military officers dissatisfied with cuts in appropriations for the armed forces. After the triumph of the coup, these three exercised power as members of a cabinet, the Commissariat of the People, chosen by the National Assembly that had been summoned by them. To compromise both modern and conservative opinion, a retired jurist, Phraya Manopakorn Nithitada[8], was chosen as the president of the first committees assembly, and the first prime minister after the political change during 1932-1933/B.E.2475-2476. Since the country has been ruled by prime minister and his cabinet under constitutional system, king has no absolute power as before.   However, in this period, there were some remarkable circumstances related to kings’ life that more or less provided some political stresses such as king Rama VII’s abdication and the mystery death of king Rama VIII. Interestingly to learn how kings’ position and mission could be, and how the government under democratic system took place in the period of significant political change. 1.1.1.  King Rama VII’s Abdication Due to the coupSince 1932, king Prajadhipok or king Rama VII, to avoid violence, surrendered his absolute power to the coup leaders, then the country has been governed under democratic system where the king has no power under the constitution but he remains as the symbol of national identity and unity. Since then king Rama VII had co-operated his mission with the new governors till 1934 he went abroad for a medical treatment. Whereas he was abroad he proposed to the government some conditions in serving as constitutional monarch. However, the government would not agree with his opinion, and so on March 2nd, 1935 he announced his resignation and issued a brief statement criticizing the administration. In it he wrote, â€Å"I wish to surrender my formerly absolute powers to all people, not to turn them over to anyone or any group to use in an autocratic manner without concerning the people’s voice.†[9] In his letter, he blamed the government of having no hold for democratic principles, employing methods of administration incompatible with individual freedom and the principles of justice, ruling in an autocratic manner and not letting the people have a real voice in country’s affairs. Anyhow, the resignation from the throne of king Rama VII gave a good chance to the constitutional government to select the next king on their choice. Instead of choosing Prince Chulachakrapongse,[10] who was on the first ranking of royal family to success to the throne, the parliament, by the convince of Pridi, selected Prince Ananda Mahidol, the youngest son of HRH Prince Mahidol Adulyadej and Mom Sri-Sangwal (later Somdej Phra Sri Nakarindhara Boromaratchachonnani), who was only 9 years old and studying in Switzerland to be the next king. His young age and absence from the country were the causes of the selection that would grant to the government an absolute freedom in ruling the country without king’s power or interference. Accordingly, Prince Ananda Mahidol was in the throne as king Rama VIII in 1935.   1.1.2.  King Rama VIII and Assassination (1935-1946) After king Rama VII’s Abdication, prince Ananda Mahidol was elected by the government to succeed king Rama VII, his uncle on March 2, 1935 as king Rama VIII.  However, with his 9 years old, he continued his studying and staying with his family in Lausanne, Switzerland.  He visited Thailand at the first time in 1939 when he was 13 years old. As seen in the news, television, including the story of See Phandin (Four Reigns), many people were excited to see their young king who had grown up in European country after Siam had been without a resident king for many years. Having heard about his news and seeing his good looking, the people admired king Rama VIII greatly, therefore after his first visit the country and departing to study again, thousands of people went to see him off at the airport, wished him and looked forward for his return. Seven years later (1946), at the age of 20, King Ananda Mahidol was back to Thailand together with the Princess Mother, Sri-sangval, and his younger brother, Prince Bhumibol[11]. By this time, he visited some communities  His visits in Bangkok and the surrounding areas were heartily welcomed whereas his informal and warm contact were impressed by the people in those areas. One important place of his visits was Sampheng[12], a district in Bangkok that King Rama I gave to the Chinese community after the establishment of Bangkok as the capital of the country in 1782. Before Chinese people were living in the place where  King Rama I would construct the royal residence (Grand Palace at present) on, therefore, Chinese residents were asked to move and settle down in Sampheng.  Since then, there had been clashes between the local people who had lived at Sampheng before and the Chinese people who moved into that area. Thus the visit of King Rama VIII and prince Bhumibol, his brother, not only be appreciated  but also released the tension conflict and reconciled among the local Thais and Chinese communities.  This might be the last memorial mission of king Rama VIII. On June 9th, 1946, unexpectedly a few days before his return to Switzerland to achieve his education, he was mysteriously assassinated with a gun shot in his room at Boromphimarn Palace.[13]  Certainly, the news of the King’ death in such circumstance shocked the people and made them cried. The entire country dressed in black and miserable prevailed in every corner of the nation. The first official announcement was mentioned that king Rama VIII shot himself accidently, later due to some investigations, his close servers were killed for this guilt. likewise, Pridi, who was elected by the parliament to be the prime minister one day before the king’s death, was accused to get involved.  Nevertheless, the cause of his unexpected death has remained in doubt and been officially unexplained up to now. The reign of king Rama VIII was 11 years and under the new democratic system and since he was very young and spent most of the time in studying aboard that required a Council of Regency, so as a powerless king, he didn’t conduct many tasks in his kingship. Nevertheless he still earned love, respect and be memorized by people for his gentleness, sincerity, and intellectual. After his death, his brother Prince Bhumipol Aduldej was invited to succeed as King Rama IX. 1.1.3.  King Rama IX (1946-present) Prince Bhumibol Adulyadej[14] was born in 1927, in the United States.  He first came to Thailand in 1928 and finished his primary education at Mater Dei school, a catholic school in Bangkok.  In 1933, after the political change in Thailand, he left with his family for Switzerland. After his brother, king Rama VIII’s death, he ascended the throne on June 9, 1946 as king Bhumibol or Rama IX.  However, he returned to study in Switzerland till 1950 and went back to Thailand for the Coronation Ceremony on May 5, 1950.   On that day he announced that â€Å"I will reign the country with Dharma for the benefit and happiness of the people†[15]. His word reflected on his private missions in developing people’s welfare especially for poor people. As a king of democratic system, he is under the constitution and no administrative power, his signature of approval for political affair is required as only official tradition. Since he came to the throne after tragic difficulties such as absolute monarchy’s failure, king Rama VII’s abdication, and lately his king brother’s assassination, moreover, he was invited from the constitutional government to be in the reign, therefore, he or less has been aware of his missions in king’s position.  He spent most of the time in visiting ruler people that made him found more than thousand agricultural and natural protection projects to help the poor.   Though he is under constitution and has less power than the absolute monarchy, according to his vision or guidance, many projects are initiated by cooperating with local people, government agencies, and NGOs.  As a result, he gains enormous popular respect and moral authority in his long reign, more than 60 years.  In addition, he was from time to time drawn to get involved with some political crises or national conflicts. It can be said that, to some extent, the king Rama IX indirectly helped and influenced political issues that considerably of his national concern by his moral power. Due to the political change in 1932 with the constitutional system in 1935, the monarchy’s power in administration was transferred to prime minister and his cabinet. It is interesting to take a look at the democratic government that would be the key of development and reformation of the country in all aspects including educational reform. 1.1.4.  Government and Administrative Structure As this period of modernization under the constitutional monarchy system, all official works of the country were conducted by the prime minister and his cabinet. Even though the country was seemingly a â€Å"democracy† from then, in fact the government was dominated by the military dictatorship in an authoritarian manner. Civilian leaders were often deposed by military coups. In this period of 35 years the country had three prime ministers who were Field Marshalls who got power from the coups. They were  Field Marshall Plaek Phibunsongkhram (Prime Minister, 1938-1944; 1949-1957), Field Marshall Sarit Dhanarajata (Prime Minister, 1959-1963), and Field Marshall Thanom Kittikachorn (Prime Minister, 1958, 1963-1973).[16]  There were six civilian prime ministers leading the country approximately 4 years out of 35 years of this modernization period, all the rest of the years was under Military leaders.[17] In summary, prime minister position was changed 15 times in 35 years and the political scenario in Thailand was always volatile. Many coups d’etate took place and a number of constitutions were created. Military leaders and dictators had always influenced Thai politics. The governmental structure of Thailand has undergone gradual and practical evolution in response to the various changes. Even so, the basic concepts of constitutional government and monarchy laid down in the 1932 constitution remain more or less the same. We could list them in the following way. In the first figure[18] (Figure 1) the structure of the parliamentary system is given as an example. And later on we also point out the other details of the administrative system.   The first and foremost concept of the charters and constitutions is the status of the monarch as Head of State, Head of Armed Forces, and Upholder of the Buddhist Religion and all other religions. The King, as Head of State, exercises his legislative power through the parliament, executive power through the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister, and judicial power through the courts.  He is empowered with the right to be consulted and to advise and even warn the government when it appears not to administer the state affairs for the good of the people.  So the main points of the constitution are that the highest administrative power belongs to the people not the King and that the power is to be exercised through the peoples representatives. The second concept is about legislative branch, which is a bicameral parliamentary system composing of the House of Representatives (MPs), and the House of Senators. The third concept is the executive branch. As per every constitution, the Prime Minister is head of government and chief executive. The Cabinet is responsible for the administration of 14 ministries, as well as the Office of the Prime Minister. A number of cabinet committees have been set up consisting of relevant ministers, such as the Cabinet Economics Committee and the Cabinet Social Affairs Committee etc. to coordinate major policies concerned. Besides the ministers who were responsible for each ministry, there were a number of ministers holding the portfolio of â€Å"Minister Attached to the Prime Ministers Office.† They were in charge of various responsibilities undertaken by this office which in itself ranks as a ministry and largely deal with formulating the national policy.[19] According to the  framework of a constitutional monarchy,  the Prime Minister is the head of government and a hereditary monarch is head of state. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.  The country is divided into 75 provinces, excluding Bangkok Metropolis which is the capital of the country.  Each province, which is administered by an appointed governor, is sub-divided into districts, sub-districts or tambons (groups of villages) and villages.  The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is administered by an elected governor and is divided into 50 districts. Once the first democratic form of government was founded and the constitution was put into effect, conflict began to erupt among the members of the initial ruling coalition. There were four major factions competing for power: the older conservative civilian faction led by Phraya Manopakorn Nititada[20]; the senior military faction led by Phraya Phahol[21]; the junior army and navy faction led by Luang Plaek Phibunsongkhram and the young civilian faction led by Pridi Phanomyong.[22]  In spite of such power struggles, there were some remarkable political events occurred in this period. 1.1.5.  Political events The pursuit of nationalism. The military, led by Major General Plaek Pibulsongkram[23] as Defence Minister, and the civilian liberals led by Pridi as Foreign Minister, worked together harmoniously for several years in the beginning of Constitutional system. But when Pibulsongkramn became the third prime minister in December 1938 this co-operation broke down, and military domination became more overt.   Pibulsongkram was an admirer of Benito Mussolini, and his regime soon developed some fascist characteristics. In early 1939 forty political opponents, both monarchists and democrats, were arrested, and after rigged trials eighteen were executed, which was the first political executions in Siam in over a century. Many others, among them Prince Damrong and Phraya Songsuradej, were exiled. Pibulsongkramn launched a demagogic campaign against the Chinese business class. Chinese schools and newspapers were closed, and taxes on Chinese businesses increased. Siam to Thailand. Also in 1939, Pibulsongkramn changed the countrys name from Siam to Prathet Thai, or Thailand, meaning land of the free. Modernization was also an important theme in Pibulsongkramns new Thai nationalism. From 1938 to 1942 he issued a set of twelve Cultural Mandates. In addition to requiring that all Thais salute the flag, know the National Anthem, and speak the national language, the mandates also encouraged Thais to work hard, stay informed on current events, and to dress in a western fashion. By 1941 it became illegal to ridicule those who attempted to promote national customs. The program also encompassed fine arts. Fiercely nationalistic plays and films were sponsored by the government. Often these depicted a glorious past when Thai warriors fearlessly gained freedom for the country, defended their honor, or sacrifice themselves. Patriotism was taught in schools and was a recurrent theme in songs and dances. At the same time, Pibulsongkram worked rigorously to rid society of its royalist influences traditional royal holidays were replaced with new national events, royal and aristocratic titles were abandoned. Ironically, he retained his aristocratic surname. Even the Sangha was affected when the status of the royally sponsored Thammayuth sect was downgraded.   World War II and Thai politics. In 1940, most of France was occupied by Nazi Germany, and Pibulsongkram immediately set out to avenge Siams humiliations by France in 1893 and 1904, when the French had redrawn the borders of Siam with Laos and Cambodia by forcing a series of treaties.  Anti-French demonstrations were incessantly held around Bangkok, and in late 1940 border skirmishes erupted along the Maekong frontier. On January 9 1941, Thailand attacked southern Vietnam, giving Tokyo a reason to move on Sà  i Gà ²n (Hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Å" Chà ­ Minh City).  In 1941, the skirmishes became a small scale war between Vichy France and Thailand. The Thai forces dominated the war on the ground and in the air, but suffered a crushing naval defeat at the battle of Chang Island (Koh Chang). The Japanese then stepped in to mediate the conflict. The final settlement thus gave back to Thailand the disputed areas in Laos and Cambodia. Pibulsongkrams prestige was so increased that he was able to bask in a feeling of being truly the nations leader. As if to celebrate the occasion, he promoted himself to field marshal, skipping the ranks of lieutenant general and general.  This caused a rapid deterioration of relations with the United States and Britain.  In April 1941 the United States cut off petroleum supplies to Thailand. Thailands campaign for territorial expansion came to an end on December 8, 1941 when Japan invaded the country along its southern coastline and from Cambodia. After initially resisting, the Pibulsongkram regime allowed the Japanese to pass through the country in order to attack Burma and invade Malaya. Convinced by the Allied defeats of early 1942 that Japan was winning the war, Pibulsongkram decided to form an actual military alliance with the Japanese. As a reward, Japan allowed Thailand to invade and annex the Shan States in northern Burma, and to resume sovereignty over the sultanates of northern Malaya which had previously been lost in a treaty with Britain.  In January 1942 Pibulsongkram declared war on Britain and the United States, but the Thai Ambassador in Washington, Seni Pramoj, refused to deliver it to the State Department. Instead, Seni denounced the Pibulsongkram regime as illegal and formed a Seri Thai Movement in Washington.  Pridi, by then serving in the role of an apparently powerless regent, led the resistance movement inside Thailand, while former Queen Ramphaiphanni[24] was the nominal head of the movement in Great Britain. Secret training camps were set up, the majority by the populist politician Tiang Sirikhanth in the northeast region of the country. There were a dozen camps in Sakhon Nakhon Province alone. Secret airfields also appeared in the northeast, where Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Force planes brought in supplies, as well as Special Operations Executive, Office of Strategic Services, and Seri Thai agents, while at the same time evacuating out prisoners of war. By early 1945, Thai air force officers were performing liaison duties with South East Asia Command in Kandy and Calcutta[25]. By 1944 it was evident that the Japanese were going to lose the war, and their behaviour in Thailand had become increasingly arrogant. Bangkok also suffered heavily from the Allied bombing raids. This, along with the economic hardship caused by the loss of Thailands rice export markets, made both the war and Pibulsongkrams regime very unpopular. In July 1944 Pibulsongkram was ousted by the Seri Thai-infiltrated government. The National Assembly reconvened and appointed the liberal lawyer Khuang Aphaiwong as Prime Minister. The new government hastily evacuated the British territories that Pibulsongkram had occupied and surreptitiously aided the Seri Thai movement, while at the same time maintaining ostensibly friendly relations with the Japanese. The Japanese surrendered on August 15, 1945. Immediately, the Allied military responsibility for Thailand fell to the British. As soon as practicable, British troops were flown in and these rapidly secured the release of surviving POWs (Prisoners of War). The British were surprised to find that the disarmament of the Japanese soldiers had already been largely completed by the Thais.  The British regarded Thailand as having been partly responsible for the immeasurable damage dealt upon the Allied cause and favored treating the kingdom as a defeated enemy. However, the Americans had no sympathy for what they considered to be British and French colonialism and supported the new government. Thailand thus received little punishment for its wartime role under Pibulsongkram. Post World War II.  Seni Pramoj became Prime Minister in 1945, and promptly restored the name Siam as a symbol of the end of Pibulsongkram s nationalist regime.  However, he found his position at the head of a cabinet packed with Pridi’s loyalists quite uncomfortable. Northeastern populist politicians like Tiang Sirikhanth and Bangkok upstarts like Sanguan Tularaksa were not the sort that the aristocratic Seni preferred to associate with. They, in turn, viewed Seni as an elitist who was entirely out of touch with Thailand’s political realities. Pridi continued to wield power behind the scenes as he had done during the Khuang government. The regent’s looming presence and overarching authority rank led the proud, thin-skinned Seni, fueling a personal animosity that would poison Thailand’s postwar politics. King Rama VIII’s mysterious death.  In December 1945, the young king Rama VIII returned to Siam from Europe, and on 9th July 1946 he was found mysteriously shot dead in the palace. Three palace servants were tried and executed for his murder, but Thai society has preferred not to dwell on the event rather than to investigate its causes.   Democratic elections were subsequently held in January 1946. These were the first elections in which political parties were legal, and Pridis Peoples Party and its allies won a majority. In March 1946 Pridi became Siams first democratically elected Prime Minister. In 1947 he agreed to hand back the French territory occupied in 1940 as the price for admission to the United Nations, the dropping of all wartime claims against Siam and a substantial package of American aid.   The king was succeeded by his younger brother Bhumibol Adulyadej. In August Pridi was forced to resign amid suspicion that he had been involved in the regicide. Without his leadership, the civilian government floundered, and in November 1947 the army, its confidence restored after the debacle of 1945, seized power. After an interim Khuang-headed government, in April 1948 the army brought Pibulsongkram back from exile and made him Prime Minister. Pridi in turn was driven into exile, eventually settling in Beijing as a guest of the Peoples Republic of China. Cold War.  Pibulsongkrams return to power coincided with the onset of the Cold War and the establishment of a Communist regime in North Vietnam. He soon won the support of the U.S., beginning a long tradition of US-backed military regime in Thailand (as the country was again renamed in July 1949, this time permanently). Once again political opponents were arrested and tried, and some were executed. During this time, several of the key figures in the wartime Free Thai (Seri Thai)  underground – including Thawin Udom, Thawi Thawethikul, Chan Bunnak, and Tiang Sirikhanth – were eliminated in extra-legal fashion by the Thai police, run by Pibulsongkram’s ruthless associate Phao Sriyanond. There were attempted counter-coups by Pridi supporters in 1948, 1949 and 1951, the second leading to heavy fighting between the army and navy before Pibulsongkram emerged victorious. In the navys 1951 attempt, popularly known as the Manhattan Coup, Pibulsongkram was nearly kille d when the ship he was held hostage aboard was bombed by the pro-government air force. In 1949 a new constitution was promulgated, creating a Senate appointed by the king (in practice, by the government). But in 1951 the regime abolished its own constitution and reverted to the constitution 1932 arrangements, effectively abolishing the National Assembly as an elected body. This provoked strong opposition from the universities and the press, and led to a further round of trials and repression. The regime was greatly helped, however, by a postwar boom which gathered pace through the 1950s, fuelled by rice exports and U.S. aid. Thailands economy began to diversify, while the population increased and urbanization expanded. New Thai leaders.  By 1955 Pibulsongkram was losing his leading position in the army to younger rivals led by Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat and General Thanom Kittikachorn. To shore up his position he restored the 1949 constitution and called for elections, which his supporters won. But the army was not prepared to give up its power. As a result, in September 1957 it demanded Pibulsongkrams resignation. When Pibulsongkram tried to have Sarit arrested, the army staged a bloodless coup on September 17, 1957, ending Pibulsongkrams career for good. Thanom became Prime Minister until 1958, then yielded his place to Sarit, the real head of the regime. Sarit held power until his death in 1963, when Thanom again took the lead. Sarit and Thanom were the first Thai leaders to have been educated entirely in Thailand, and were less influenced by European political ideas, whether fascist or democratic, than the generation of Pridi and Pibulsongkram. Rather, they were Thai traditionalists, who sought to restore the prestige of the monarchy and to maintain a society based on order, hierarchy and religion. They saw rule by the army as the best means of ensuring this, and also of defeating Communism, which they associated with Thailands traditional enemies, the Vietnamese.  King Bhumibol returned to Thailand in 1951, and his present elevated status thus has its origins in this era. The regimes of Sarit and Thanom were strongly supported by the U.S. Thailand formally became a U.S. ally in 1954 with the formation of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). While the war in Indochina was being fought between the Vietnamese and the French, Thailand (disliking both equally) stayed aloof, but once it became a war between the U.S. and the Vietnamese Communists, Thailand committed itself strongly to the U.S. side. Concl