Goneril Vs. Jinny Essays - English-language Films, King Lear

Goneril Vs. Jinny It is amazing to me the extraordinary job that Jane Smiley has done with her book A Thousand Acres. The parallels that she draws with Shakespeares classic story of King Lear are unsurpassed by any book to which I have had the pleasure of reading. These two works represent an excellent example of literature that is able to engage readers young and old. In A Thousand Acres, I read Ginny as being the reserved quiet daughter who, up until the very end, bends to her fathers tyranny. As a result of he fathers incestuous ways, and his constant verbal degradation and abuse of her and her sisters, Ginny bows to her fathers every whim. It is only when she realizes the awful things he has done to her that she finally takes a stand. Upon reading King Lear we see that Ginnys character is taken directly from that of Goneril in the story about the King who gives up his kingdom. Goneril has also been under the rule of her father for as long as she can remember and when the power becomes hers, she uses it to further her causes. Ultimately I see her as much more villainous than Ginny, only for the fact that situations were vastly different. In comparing and contrasting the two Gemini-like characters I think you will see that, at least in my humble opinion (well, I must confess that I enjoyed reading A Thousand Acres much more than I did King Lear) you come away at the end hating the character of Goneril, while one is obliged to think that Ginny has suffered so much and that she finally has some good that she deserves. I feel that Ginny is not vindictive in the story, because we see that even up until the very end, she is attempting to be the peacemaker. She does try to do some good, at least in the light of the circumstances. If we were to apply the same lens to Goneril, I think you would find that she has her own best interests always close at hand, and the compassion in her body could be summed up by the size of her stirrup bone in her ear (coincidentally the smallest bone in the human body.) I hope that you will not take offense at my obvious bias towards A Thousand Acres and specifically the character of Ginny. I find much more substance and emotion in her, and this helps me to appreciate her actions, even though I wouldnt always agree with them. Shakespeare

The impact of information system on the success of Small and medium enterprises The WritePass Journal

The impact of information system on the success of Small and medium enterprises 1.Introduction The impact of information system on the success of Small and medium enterprises 1.Introduction2.Literature Review2.1WHY DO WE NEED INFORMATION SYSTEMS2.2 INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES2.3 OUTCOME OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN BUSINESS ENTERPRISES3. Research Objectives and Research Questions4. Research Design5. Data collection and analysis6. Time ScaleReferencesRelated 1.Introduction This project intends to investigate the impact of information system on the success of Small and medium enterprises. Almost all the successful big enterprises have embraced information system in their various businesses. It is generally believed, that information technology enables a firm to access information needed to make decisions, to make an efficient use of resources by reducing labour and manufacturing costs, to seize opportunities in its markets and to position itself effectively in relation to its contenders (Dirks, 1994).Unfortunately, it is the same environment both big and SME’s operate and there is a need for the small enterprises to survive in this environment. We live in a very competitive world with the competition becoming fiercer. It has become so volatile that it takes more than success to stay alive. The threat posed to SME by the big enterprises is such that they can be swallowed at anytime. One of the ways by which SME’s can achieve a competitive advantage in the era of globalization is through the implementation of IS in their organizations. Implementation and practice of IS comes at a cost and its increasing high cost is a concern to management, especially in SMEs sector. With lack of sufficient funds to acquire such skills smaller organizations often implement IS in a less than optimal way, thereby attaining fewer benefits than larger organizations (Delone, 1988). The decision to invest the few available funds on information technology need to be worth it as SME’s don’t have the luxury of fund big enterprises have. Traditionally, the success of Information Systems (IS) has been studied in the context of large organisations, most businesses, however, are small and medium Enterprises (SMEs) and they have increasingly adopted packaged application software to meet their information processing requirements. Small- and medium-sized enterprises exert a strong influence on the economies of all countries, particularly in the fast-changing and increasingly competitive global market (Anaroni 1994; Drilhon and Estime 1993). They have been a major engine of economic growth and technological progress (Mulhern, 1995; Thornburg 1993). Carrier (1994) said that SMEs are often more fertile than larger firms in terms of innovation. Most IS research focuses on large firms, yet the majority of firms in most economies are SMEs. It is amazing how SME’s form the bedrock of every country’s economy yet they always find it hard to survive not to talk of competing in an environment where the big enterprises have enormous edge. Though these SME’s can’t match the financial investment of the big enterprises, they need to find a way of balancing their investment to keep abreast of what is happening in their environment. Some SME’s have decided to overlook the cost of investing in IS as they 2.Literature Review Given the dominance of worldwide competition and high rate of technological change, there will be some challenges, which most SMEs are likely to have in common (Marri et al., 2000). Blili and Raymonds (1997) identified the need and usefulness of information systems strategies (ISS) in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). In the transformational role, IS helps to Fundamentally redefine and alter the business processes and business relationships. These benefits could range from simple cost reduction to creation of new businesses or enhanced organizational capabilities (King and Teo, 1996; Feeny and Willcocks, 1998). Palvia and Palvia (1999) stressed on key areas of IT dissatisfactions that are: training and education, software maintenance, documentation and vendor support. According to them software Vendors and consultants can appropriately address these deficiencies. These issues can be addressed well by having a proper IS management in place in an organization. Poon and Swatman (1999) reported on internet use in small business sector as a part of IS management and found that although use of e-mail was very popular for business communication and documents transfer, there was almost no integration between the Internet and internal applications. 2.1WHY DO WE NEED INFORMATION SYSTEMS Information has become very important to the modern business organization that it is seen as its lifeblood. Information systems help an organization manage and make efficient use of its data to achieve utmost success. There has been more information produced in the last 30 years than during the previous 5,000. The information supply available to us doubles every five years. Information system enables companies to react, respond, cater, store, retrieve, disseminate, and control their new valuable asset that is information. In the years to come, a good information system within a company will be no longer an option; it will become a compulsory in determining success. The term IT is defined in broad sense as ‘‘technologies dedicated to information storage, processing and communication’’ (Ang and Koh, 1997). This notion of IT focuses on a combination of hardware, software, telecommunications and office equipments that transform raw data into useful information for speedy retrieval (Seyal et al., 2000). Blili and Raymonds (1997) identified the need and Usefulness of information systems strategies (ISS) in small and medium sized enterprises (SME’s). 2.2 INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES Many smaller firms now utilize computer-based information systems (IS). Top managers in these small firms have a crucial role to play in the development of IS, but the nature of this role differs sharply from that usually undertaken by the senior manager of the larger firm (Martin,J   1989) There is little doubt that advanced information and communication technologies (IT) are changing the way businesses operate and conduct commerce. As the advent of a more secure Internet and new transmission standards makes it easier and cheaper for businesses to conduct inter-organizational commerce.( Khazanchi,D 2005) 2.3 OUTCOME OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN BUSINESS ENTERPRISES IT investments had a positive relation with the IS management practices. Increasing investments in IT and strategic role played by information systems (IS) make IT Implementation as an important research issue within the MIS discipline (Bostrom and Heinen,   1977). Schein (1992) and Zuboff (1988) outlined three major roles   that IS could play in an organization: (1) Automate; (2) Informate; and (3) Transformate. The automate role refers to mere replacement of labour processes by technology. In the Informate     role, IS provides data and information that empowers different levels of Management   and   Ã‚  organizational employees. In the transformational role, IS helps to Fundamentally redefine and alter the business processes and business relationships. These Benefits could range from simple cost reduction to creation of new businesses or enhanced Organizational capabilities   (King and Teo, 1996; Feeny and Willcocks, 1998). Palvia and Palvia (1999) stressed on key areas of IT dissatisfactions that are: training and education, Software maintenance, documentation and vendor support. According to them software Vendors and consultants can appropriately address these deficiencies. These issues can be Addressed well by having a proper IS management in place in an organization. 3. Research Objectives and Research Questions The general objective of the study is to ascertain the need for information systems in modern day small and medium business enterprise. How much are they loosing out as a result of their unwillingness to invest in information system or is the price being paid for the competitive edge provided by information system too expensive? It looks at the benefit accrued to the small and medium enterprises that have embraced information systems.I wish to create a relationship between the cost of investment in information systems and the gains accrue to small and medium organizations that have embraced it. I also intend to look at how small and medium entrepreneurs feel about the need for information systems in their business. It will also be interesting to know how much they are willing to invest in information systems even if they feel it is needed. 4. Research Design Research methodology involves qualitative method due to the nature of the work. It will be ideal to get detailed information about the operations of the small and medium enterprises because they have different challenges; these challenges affect the running of the organizations in different ways. I intend to carry out a series of one on one interview with a number of small and medium entrepreneurs. There are two categories of entrepreneurs that I wish to interview, those that have embrace information systems and those that are yet to. 5. Data collection and analysis Both primary and secondary data will be collected for this project. Primary data will be collected from SME’s especially through interview and It is intended to retrieve the required secondary data from available financial sources to measure the performance of enterprises that use IS and those that don’t use it, only data from regulated bodies will be processed 6. Time Scale Working to meet the project submission deadline, there will be critical reading of relevant materials, regular meeting with the supervisor and also to conduct interviews with some SME business owners. References    Ang, J. and Koh, S. (1997), ‘‘Exploring the relationships between user information satisfaction’’, International Journal of Information Management, Vol. 17 No. 3, pp. 169-77. Blili, S. and Raymonds, L. (1997), ‘‘Adopting EDI in a network enterprise: the case of subcontracting SMEs’’, European Journal of Purchasing Supply Management, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 165-75. Bostrom, R. and Heinen, J. (1977), ‘‘MIS problems and failures: a   sociotechnical   perspective-part-the Causes’’, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 1 No. 3, pp. 17-32. Delone, W.H. (1988), ‘‘Determinants of success for computer usage in small business’’, MIS Quarterly, Dirks, P. (1994), ‘‘MIS investments for operations management: relevant costs and revenues’’, International Journal of Production Economics, Vol. 35, pp. 137-48. Feeny, D.F. and Willcocks, L.P. (1998),   ‘‘Core IS capabilities for exploiting information technology’’, Sloan Management Review, Vol. 39 No. 3, pp. 9-22. Khazanchi, Deepak,(2005) Information Technology (IT) Appopriateness: The contingency theory   FIT AND IT implementation in small and medium enterprises, The Journal of Computer Information Systems King, W.R. and Teo, T.S.H. (1996), ‘‘Key dimensions of facilitators and inhibitors for the strategic use of Information technology’’, Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 12 No. 4,   pp. 35-54. Martin, C.J. (1989), ‘‘Information management in the smaller business: the role of the top manager’’ Marri, H.B., Gunasekaran, A. and Grieve, R.J. (2000), ‘‘Performance measurements in the Implementation of CIM in small medium enterprises: an empirical analysis’’, International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 38 No. 17, pp. 4403-11 Palvia, P., Means, D.W. and Jackson, W.M. (1994), ‘‘Determinants of computing in very small business’’, Information Management, Vol. 27, pp. 161-74. Palvia, P. and Palvia, S. (1999), ‘‘an examination of the IT satisfaction of small users’’, Information Management, Vol. 35, pp. 127-37. Poon, S. and Swatman, P. (1999), ‘‘an exploratory study of small business internet commerce issues’’, Information Management, Vol. 35, pp. 9-18. Schein, E.H. (1992), ‘‘the role of the CEO in the management of change: the case of information Technology’’, in Kochan, T.A. and Useem, M. (Eds), Transforming Organizations, Oxford University Press,     Oxford. Seyal, A., Rahim, M. and Rahim, N. (2000), ‘‘an empirical investigation of the use of information Technology among small and medium business organizations: a Bruneian scenario’’, The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, Vol. 2 No. 7, pp. 1-17. Zuboff, S. (1988), In the Age of Smart Machine: The Future of Work and Power, Basic Books, New York, NY.

Refurbishment Project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Refurbishment Project - Assignment Example slope of the ramp makes it comfortable for the user and this permanent ramp actually connects pavement with the entrance. Terrace Gate: The building is provided with gates for moving out of the building into terrace through a main door which is capable of opening by pushing it. The width of the door is about 85cm. to access the terrace, ramps are provided in front of each door which is permanent. Figure 5: Terrace gate for moving out of the building Reception and reception desk: The reception is provided at the entrance from the main door and is at the same level as that of the entrance. Whereas it can be seen that the reception desk is high and the lightning is kept moderate in this region as shown below: Figure 6: Reception and high reception desk Stairs and Lifts: All floors are accessible by stairs including parking and ground floor. Each section of stairs joining two consecutive floors consists of approximately 15 stairs with a bright light level. The stairs are designed in such a precise manner that each step is equally spaced, whereas handrails are provided along both the sides of the stairs. Figure 7: Stairs for all floors All the floors are also furnished by the lift which is open for public. The dimension of the lift is 0.99m?1.4m and is above 1m from the level of entrance. Toilet Facility: Standard toilets are provided for both males and females but the toilets are located outside the building. Female toilets are located to the right of the terrace entrance and male toilets are located to the left. Baby change facilities are only provided at the level of lecture theaters. Another male toilet is also provided near student’s common room. Restaurant and students common room: Restaurants are provided as a part of student’s common room and... Manager Room and Store Rooms: Room of the hotel manager is designed to be behind the reception and should not be glassed rather opaque. The store rooms for sweepers, and other sort of items like extra furniture etc must be planned to be at the end of the terrace at the place of lecture room 006. Other offices and stores containing sanitry material will also be managed in the same location. Beauty Saloons: Beauty saloon and spa services will be provided to all the customers of the boutique hotel. Facility of beauty saloon will be provided adjacent to the exhibition hall, besides the stairs. Stairs must be cut short to spiral in order to provide more area to saloon. Saloon’s extensive area covers spa and all other sections seperately in order to facilitate the customer. Just above the saloon, on the first floor, rejuvenation center and gym will also be provided. Exhibition Room: Exhibition room will not be altered much. It will just be modified internally to provide a classy look and the rest of the changes depends upon the type of exhibition being carried out. Room Service: All floors other than ground floor are provided with the living rooms for guests. Each living room is different from the other in design, furniture, arrangement, color scheme and lifestyle provided. The facilities available are same in all the rooms. Each room will be provided with a mini bar to facilitate the customer within their room. Also a small sitting and dining area will also be provided to the customer in order to enjoy meal if they order for it in room. A small study section will also be provided. The walls and furniture in the room will be having same color scheme or in proper contrast to give most outstanding look to the visitors.

Regulatory Responses to the Current Financial Crisis (US, UK, China, Research Paper

Regulatory Responses to the Current Financial Crisis (US, UK, China, Canada, India) - Research Paper Example The current global crisis began in 2007 and spread in 2008. It had varying impacts on the financial systems of various countries depending on the initial stability of the system and its exposure to the credit derivatives that accelerated the crisis. The effects were severe in the developed countries like US as compared to the developing nations like India. In this regard, different countries reacted to the crisis identifying the opportunities and the associated challenges. The countries in the OECD advocated for a joint effort to have international standardization of regulatory policies. The main concerns are stimulation of demand in a given economy, improving liquidity, preventing foreclosures of mortgages and improving access to financing by for the SMEs and giant investors. There is a focus in risk reduction through investment in insurance. Financial crisis refers to a wide category of situations in which the large financial institutions or assets lose large proportion of their va lue. The current global crisis began in 2007, in some countries, and deepened in 2008 (OECD, 2009). Some of the factors that may contribute to financial crisis include application of similar operational strategies by players in the market, changes in the banking business, excessive leverage, changes in regulations and corporate governance, and failure of government policies on the financial sector (Blundell-Wignall, Atkinson, and Lee, 2008). Government policies regulate the financial sector within in a country and the operations with a global business partner. The failures in some of these policies could have contributed greatly to the current situation. To fix the situation and mitigate for future crises, various governments have enacted some monetary and fiscal policies. The current global financial crisis had other related problems like food crisis especially to the developing countries as was, and continues to be, witnessed in the horn of Africa (Canuto, 2011). The financial ref orms to manage the crisis must then focus on the other financial instruments controlling the economy of the country. The problem that has been encountered in the management if the crisis is that economists and the policymakers do not have a proper understanding of the relationship of various components of economic policy and regulation (Tamirisa, 2011). It is important to understand the interaction between monetary and macro-prudential policies in enabling financial stability. Designing a successful macro-prudential policy requires the government to understand the risks of the new financial instruments it is putting in place (Tamirisa, 2011). Focusing on the monetary policy is insufficient in the management and mitigation of financial crises. This paper focuses on the regulatory responses that have been given by five different countries in relation to the current global

Corruption in Spain Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Corruption in Spain - Article Example The article "Corruption in Spain" talks about the corruption situation in Spain involving Princess Cristina de Borbon, sister of Spain’s King and a former board member of Noos institute, and her husband who was the chair of Noos Institute. It is alleged that Princess Cristina's husband and his business partner used the consultancy and organization of tourism and sports banner together with their connections to obtain public contracts, which they overcharged. They stowed away the money in offshore accounts and other privately owned companies. Between 2003 and 2006, Urdangarin and Diego Torres, his former partner siphoned millions through Noor. In addition, it is alleged that Urdangarin and Christina used their company Aizoon to launder funds from their government. They obtained lucrative public contracts without bidding but used their royal connections to do so. Her silence involvement comes from the fact that she was a board member of Noor and a co-owner of Aizoon, a private company which she jointly owned with her husband, therefore, there is no way that Urdangarin would have committed the alleged crime without her knowledge. Similarly, Aizoon has the history of constantly changing its legal domicile. This together with the numerous links that it has with Noos is not a coincidence. The case is historic not only for Spain as a country but also for the entire Europe as it stresses the respect for and the independence of Spain’s judicial system.

Impact of the Media in the Vietnam War

Impact of the Media in the Vietnam War By the spring of 1975, the Vietnam War had ended in victory for the enemies of the United States and ever since this, historians have been preoccupied with explaining why America failed in Vietnam. In the most part, the Vietnam War has been portrayed as a military failure, and whilst this is true it ignores the highly decisive role of the media. Hanson recognises that there is a distinctive lack of theoretical assessment of the impact of the media on foreign policy. Therefore I am to prove amongst other facts that it was the role of the media which inevitably led to American failure in the Vietnam War. As James Reston concluded; Maybe historians will agree that the reporters and the cameras were decisive in the endand forced the withdrawal of American power from Vietnam. Firstly it will assess why the American press stopped supporting American intervention in Vietnam. The Tet offensive in 1968 is often pin pointed by historians as the event from which the perception of the wars success changed. I will then assess how the media affected American withdrawal and how much influence the media had on policy making of the American government. Another key question that this dissertation will address is what and how other deciding factors caused American failure. Many historians have focused on the military failures and I will assess how this is an accurate assessment of American involvement. By addressing these questions I will, furthermore, be able to argue whether or not American failure in Vietnam was inevitable which has become the argument for many historians. However further research on the subject highlights that domestic issues such as the growing anti-war movement affected withdrawal. From this I would like to assess the nature in which the press reported on such groups and if the media influenced their growth. Many primary and secondary sources have been used to research this dissertation. I have focused my attention to The New York Times as it is a liberal broadsheet published across America and is considered to be a paper which was highly critical of the war. During my research into secondary sources I have noticed that particular articles have often been selected from this newspaper by various historians. I will use some of these articles alongside others that have not previously been included in research to deepen the understanding of the medias role. By using a variety of these articles I will be able to support or disprove current historical thought on the subject. The positive of using newspapers in my research, is that I easily uncover patterns in reporting styles and can map the changes of opinions. Negatively however, newspapers are generally as biased; reporters can often use their articles to air their own personal opinions and may not reflect their audiences beliefs. They may also be bias as they are producing an opinion that will have been dictated from the papers editors and will follow their policy on the war. I have also used the Museum of Broadcast Communication, which is an online archive that has stored radio and television broadcasts from America. Current research into Vietnam focuses on newspaper articles and by using these broadcasts I hope to find a greater understanding into the role the whole media played. Hallin believes that using television in assessing the role of the media is vital as it made Vietnam politically unique. The advantage of using these broadcasts is that the tone used by the reporters indicates how they perceived the war at that time and mean that there may be less misinterpretation of their view. Again, like the newspapers, there will be a degree of bias and this does not always reflect the American publics opinions. In some cases the television reports are often accused of enforcing particular views of the war on the public. One criticism of American intervention in Vietnam is that America failed to learn from its mistakes in the Korean War. The hindsight that we have after such conflicts can make it seem as though a particular decision was gravely needed or acted as a catalyst. However, as historians, it is vital that whilst studying the Vietnam War, we do not assess the war in a modern day context but from the position at that time. Therefore I shall assess how the conflict is placed on the global scene during the Cold War, and how it places within American society at the time. The development of the media is also an issue I had to consider in my research due to the technological advancements that it has faced. The nature in which media is used is also subject to change, and therefore its role must be effectively defined and evaluated. McCormick argues that the role of the media did not begin after the cold war but that it expanded within it, with coverage reaching into peoples homes. Another example would be from the First World War, when photography was used for reconnaissance purposes and data collection. The army later used photography as a form of propaganda to recruit men for the war. This example shows the changing nature of photography and the Vietnam War was no exception. Photography takes on a new role and Susan Moellers study on the effects of three iconic images highlights that photographs begin to sum up entire wars and that they make war comprehensible to American civilians and the wider world. Photography and other media forms are always used for a particular purpose and it is important to consider their purpose in the interpretation of the sources. America had prospered greatly in the World Wars; industry had grown significantly and as a consequence Americas economy was achieving new heights. This therefore shows that America had much to lose if it no longer controlled the markets of the world. The ideological subtext of the Cold War is imperative in understanding the failures of America in Vietnam. This helps to explain how it was perceived that if communism was to gain power, that the economy of said country would be hostile to the free market system; and so a policy to protect Americas interests was needed. Walli believes that the hysteria and myths created by Truman were necessary for the American and global public to support America in its actions. Truman is said to have used the media to create this hysteria in the first place and shows how the government manipulated the media. In which case, this statement may explain why the government resented the media during the conflict as they were unable to control and manipulate it so easily. As Smith states, the Vietnam War was a product of a global pattern of conflict and must be discussed in the context of global developments for information to be correctly used. So, the Vietnam War must be assessed as one of a number of conflicts after the Second World War. America played a leading role in several of these cold war conflicts, such as, Korea, Cuba, Laos, Greece and the Berlin. As literature of the time reflects, America was portrayed as the guardian angel of these countries freedoms against the evil of Communism. This echoes the position of the elites like Nixon, who pleaded for anti-communist faith, Communism is evil because it denies God and defies man. However real the threat of Communist expansionism actually was, to the people of America it posed a serious threat to the freedoms that they had become accustomed to. When, in reality, the Soviet Union was far from being in a position to begin colonising and spreading the Communist ideology. It is also naà ¯ve of Ame rica to have believed that every revolutionary group was a puppet of the Kremlin. This dissertation will examine the role of the media as the agent of American failure. It would be naive to blame the media alone and the dissertation will also look at other factors that contributed to American failure and assess which ultimately led to American withdrawal. Historiography: The Vietnam War has drawn the attention of many scholars since Americas intervention in the war. Caprini believed that this is because where lines between consensus, legitimate controversy and deviance become blurred, such as in the Vietnam War, that debate expands. As Herring points out many of the issues still contested today are the issues that Americans debated during the war. There are many questions which are regularly debated between historians on this topic such as why did America involve itself in Vietnam? Did America fail in Vietnam and was American intervention doomed to failure? Most importantly for this study is the question, why did America fail in Vietnam? Previous studies on the Vietnam War have often made assumptions and judgements on American intervention. This has therefore led to two different schools of interpretation on the nature of the war and Cohen believes that a historians judgement on the nature of the war will determine the tone of their research. For example revisionists believe that the war in Vietnam was that the war was an act of aggression by the North Vietnamese on the South. This would therefore lead to the historians such as Smith, who justifies American escalation of the war in Vietnam. However other historians believe that America were not justified in their actions and that it was in fact a revolutionary war and that the Vietnamese where fighting for their independence against the French and then the Americans. Historians such as Kolko and Kahin have heavily criticised American intervention in the Vietnam War as immoral and that America was trying to preserve economic interests. These different interpretations will therefore influence how they view successes and failures of America, or even if the same event is a success or a failure. Devine believes that more recent analysis of the Vietnam War has lead to a growth of resentment for American involvement in the Vietnam War and consequent failures. Historians such as Lens and Kolko seek to evaluate Americas motives and efficiency. However, Lens is overly critical of the American motives within the war and the methods that they use in the wider global context. This therefore reflects Devines statement of growing resentment for American involvement, but also demonstrates that literature on the Cold War in general has growing resentment for America. Schreckers investigation into McCarthyism in the United States can similarly be seen as overly critical. However, after reflecting this book, many can sympathise with her well constructed argument. Nonetheless, there is literature on the subject of resentment of American involvement evident in the emotively written book, Vietnam North, by Burchett. This is a written documentary constructed during the period focusing on the experiences and opinions of the North Vietnamese. Whilst extremely useful to historians for its insight into an area which previously lacked much attention, if looked at in isolation, it can paint a very bleak image of American involvement. Pieces such as these most definitely influence the works of modern day historians as they reach to new sources for information. The sources which historians use will also effect of they construct their arguments. Research into Vietnam has become more enlightened in recent years with the release of more sources. However there are still many sources still unavailable or insufficiently used, whilst historians have begun to use more Vietnamese sources Kiernan highlights that this is an area which needs much more attention and will contribute the most to historical understanding. It is also important to consider that interpretations of sources can be widely different according to historians perspective on the war generally. Therefore it is important to remain neutral in the analysis of primary sources and to consider them within the context of the cold war period. Hallins work focuses on the use of media sources, he clearly recognises that media was not the same all over America, and the provenances of the source can change how and why they were written. The Vietnam War can not be analysed in a simplistic form as there are many different dimensions to it. Fisher highlights that America was not fighting one enemy; surface level analysis by historians has led to a basic review of cold war ideology. The war in Vietnam is not a clear cut battle between capitalism and communism because there is also a strong nationalist movement, the fight for independence being strong feature in the Vietnamese war. Some historians believe that the war actually stems from a civil war within South Vietnam, between southern rebels and a Saigon government with far heavier foreign backing. Therefore the assessment has been made that America failed in Vietnam because they assumed that dividing Vietnam in half would automatically make the South all obey Diems regime without question. Whilst this may be an important dimension to consider, the division of Vietnam is not why America failed. The importance of Diem and Americas failure to hold elections in Vietnam i s a plausible beginning to American failure. Most importantly, current studies on the subject ignore the medias influence on America with regard to the Diem regime. Hammond recognises that American reporters were disliked by Diems regime because they reported freely about their opinions of the war and often criticised the role the South Vietnamese were playing. Where many historians have ignored this dimension Hammond explores it and concludes that these negative reports acted as catalyst to disenchant the war with the American people. This assessment does not mean that the reports were a hate campaign against Diem but that reports were not complimentary to the South Vietnamese forces, and instead fully supported the American troops. Caprini reiterates this point with the example of the Buddhist crisis in May 1963 which questions Diems regime but not the overall goal of American involvement. Kleins collection of essays in, The Vietnam Era; Media and popular culture in the US and Vietnam take an orthodox and post-revisionist view of the war in Vietnam. This is evident from the outset of the book as Klein criticises the American government for creating the atmosphere of anti-communism to lure the American people into conflicts. The book assesses the importance of the role of the media and how the anti-war movement grew. There does seem to be little attempt to address the military failures or strategic decisions which would have ultimately led to the reports of the press and protests of the anti-war movement. However, Klein does recognise that the popular culture was influenced and flooded by material from novelists who tend to stereotype the Vietnamese as dehumanised others and criticises their stance as ignorant. Again such statements as these led to criticism of American government involvement in the war as imperialistic and non-accidental. The in depth study of non pres s material by Klein has greatly added to the knowledge on the debate of the effects of media materials on American perceptions of the war. He assesses more the creation of those images and perceptions before the book focuses on the development of anti-war movements. A key question raised by Caprini in a following essay in Kleins book reveals that the lack of anti-war movement may be because the media did not consider Vietnam news worthy until 1961. Therefore there is less coverage to convince people to stop supporting the war effort. This may reveal why the media had no influence in American withdrawal earlier in the war or as Caprini states that coverage before 1961 was limited to propaganda style film segments. Hammond seeks to examine the relationship between the media and military during the Vietnam War. The main argument in these books are that it was the militarys strategic decisions which led to American failure, but it is the press who were seen as responsible for making the American public aware of these issues. This reflects many of the military leaders opinions of the time as well as the governments and as another historian, Hallin points out even the enlisted men where beginning to resent the press and view them as their enemy. Hammond seems to be aiming to highlight relationship problems between the press and the government to prevent future conflicts. In contrast Hallin examines the changing role that the media played in the Vietnam War and does recognise that the media played a vital role in the changing of American policy in Vietnam. However instead of blaming the failure on the strategic decisions of the military as Hammond does, Hallin believes that it was the presidential a dministrations fault for not creating restrictions for the media in the form of censorship. Although these historians both vary on what they believe to be most important in the medias role and effect, there are points of agreement. For example, Hammond also believes that there were some attempts to censor information released to the press, that this had little affect, but that America ultimately did not set into place any system of censorship in the media. Many historians have laid the blame of American failure to different presidents. For example, Hammond asserts Kennedys importance as he was preoccupied in Europe and Cuba, and he postponed decisions through compromise and didnt efficiently quash mid-level officers from airing their views to the press about American policies. Smith, although not really assessing why America failed in Vietnam, does begin to discuss how each president led to escalation of the war. Beginning with justifying Kennedys actions Smith believes that it was ultimately Johnsons fault for his inappropriate approach to the war which did not contribute to American success. There is a great deal of discussion over this issue and another perspective is that Truman planted the seeds of failure with his policies. Even earlier though is the presidency of Eisenhower, and Gardener and Anderson believe that it was Eisenhower who created the ideological approach which constantly dictated American policies of the post second world war period which created problems for following administrations. How Did the Media Cause American Failure?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Failure of America in the Vietnam War can be accredited to the medias portrayal of the conflict. Current discussions on America intervention and what caused the failure can all be linked with the media explosion during the period of critical and investigative journalism, which forced American withdrawal and changes in policy making. Within Powlick and Katzs reviews of literature on this subject they believe that it was in fact the elites with in government that argued what the media articulated to the public and that foreign policy was not affected by public opinion. Previously investigated factors such as the role of the South Vietnamese and American governments and the military strategies employed in the failure of America in Vietnam can all be attributed to the media coverage which surrounded the conflict. This chapter will critically assess each of these factors in relation to media primary sources and which will pro duce the conclusion that the media did have play an important role in American failure. How did the media cover the war? As previously stated, the nature of media coverage was ever changing and during the Vietnam War these changes increased the impact that the reports. The coverage of the Vietnam War was not always at the same intensity throughout the conflict and may explain why America failed as intensity grew the prospect of failure grew. There is a consensus among historians that press coverage of the Vietnam War only began to grow after 1961 and reached its height in 1968. However, Edmond notes that after 1968 coverage of the Vietnam War by the press and television had greatly declined. Parallel to the rise of media attention to the war between 1961 and 1968, was the rise in more critical reports about American policies and South Vietnamese forces impact in the conflict. The reports were not wholly positive or wholly negative regarding Vietnam, but there was a rise in criticism as the war progresses. However, before 1965 most of the coverage was mainly positive which may coincide with the fact tha t only after the summer of 1964 did American foreign policy change in Vietnam. At this point Johnson begins escalation by introducing retaliatory air strikes against the North Vietnamese. Interestingly, during the early stages of the conflict, reports that were deemed too controversial were edited to suit the papers stance on the war. H. D. S. Greenway, a reporter for Time magazine and The Washington Post from 1967 to 1975, felt that before the Tet offensive that we would write something and the magazine would ignore it if it wasnt upbeat. This shows that the papers were fuelling the deluded optimism, which in effect when removed in the Tet offensive, led to huge disillusionment of the American public. It also displays how in the most part press, television and radio all followed the official line. It is recognised by John Shaw that Many American editors ignored what their correspondents in Vietnam were telling them in favour of the Washington version. Cleary this statement by Shaw is sustained by comments like that of Greenwoods and other reporters who testify that their stories are not being published. This hesitancy within the media to report the negatives as well as the positives in the earlier stages may have been the reason for prolonged American involvement as since the level of criticism increase more pressure is asserted onto the government for policy changes. In this case it is not the reporters who are to blame for American failure in the war but their editors. This is because had the American public realised the truth behind Vietnam earlier then government policy may have changed and consequently America may not have failed. It is still believed today that the press will reflect the norms and accepted thoughts in society. It will rarely go against popular assumptions for fear of damaging business. As a consequence of these theories, one would assume that it would also affect the way in which articles were written and determine how the television and radio represented their stories. For example Chomsky and Herman believed that the anti-communist ideology provided the media with a framework to report within. If you were seen to question the reports, you may be accused of being unpatriotic and so you would be socially excluded whilst McCarthyism was at its height. This is best illustrated in the earlier articles on the Vietnam War by supporting the war effort and that following articles retain the a half hearted optimism. Due to the heightened fear of Communism through McCarthyism any questioning of the American policy in Vietnam would have been greatly disapproved of. An interpretation of this information would show that the media propped up American success due to the social conditioning of the period. The tone of the reports were also generally optimistic during the early stages of the war because the majority of the information that they were given was from the government. Another reason for the positive reporting may be due to the fact there were no permanent reporters based in Saigon initially, so they were unable to report everything as they saw it, and instead had to rely on official reports. The only daily newspaper with a full-time correspondent at the time was the New York Times, whilst other papers had to rely on news agencies. This may explain why this paper took a particularly critical line on Vietnam as they were able to see the escalation of American involvement in the war first hand. The article by Jacques Nevard in the New York Times in July 1962 displays this official line of optimism coupled with some questioning. The article remains positive about the success of the helicopter mission, reported to have swept about twenty miles. Reporting at this time largely focuses on a quantative method to measure success, and the large area covered here praises the American forces. These figurers were widely accepted when published whilst later on in the war there is a criticism of the figures used in these reports. This positive and supportive tone continues through to 1965 where Mohr reports that the United States is still in a defensive position, although a strong one. This consistency shows that the illusion that America could still win the war was still believed by most of America. Therefore, the media could be blamed for pursuing information and a line which would ultimately lead to great resentment from American public on the war in Vietnam, particularly after the T et offensive as victory becomes unlikely. The Media and South Vietnamese Government: The medias relationship with the South Vietnamese Government also undergoes rapid changes during the Vietnam War. For example the Diems regime treats the media with suspicion and there are many restrictions in place to prevent reporting on the conflict by internal press and external press. However this does not remain the same as the war progresses, with the removal of Diem, the new government is weary of losing the support of its press and lifts restrictions. These two approaches to the media have had many consequences and caused the failure in Vietnam for America. Nevards article shows the freedom of reporting before Diem imposed his restrictions in its releasing of military mission details and shows early criticism of South Vietnamese forces. Typically, the report is mainly positive about American involvement, following the official line of optimism, but does criticise the South Vietnamese forces; Some United States officers here are alarmed over the growing dependence of Vietnamese army shows the criticism of the army whilst referring to the American army as sophisticated support. The article also shows how the media would release what Diem believed to be important strategic information relating to numbers of troops and new missions, e.g. 1,000 Government troops were landed yesterday and Forty-one Air Force helicopters were used in the operation, which if intercepted by the North Vietnamese could be used to plan attacks and strategies. This could therefore lead to the military defeat of American and South Vietnamese military forces. Reports lacking in success stories for the South Vietnamese or American troops may also be as used as propaganda pieces of the enemy. This psychologically would give the North Vietnamese insurgent forces an advantage which would lead to American failure. Johnson for example recognises doom and gloom dont win wars, which reiterates the importance psychology in fighting the war in an interview with Cronkite. Moreover the gallop polls construct a narrative of American support for the war which corresponds to how American intervention is going. Diems request that America censor their media becomes an issue as historian Hallin concludes that if the Kennedy administration had censored the media, it could be interpreted that America was running a war and which would contradict its public relations strategy. However three months later in the New York Times, Halberstam reports that Diem is enforcing his own measures to create censorship. Some historians believe that these measures acted as an irritant and actually increased more critical reporting in Vietnam as the reporters felt that their freedoms were being removed. The torrent of articles criticising Diems regime are best illustrated in Halberstams article, feel they are being muzzled by the South Vietnamese Government. The choices of words such as muzzled in this report are fundamental in the understanding of the stance of the reporter, as they are emotive. Therefore the animosity of the reporter to Diem can be seen whilst representing the idea through the military opinions. The entire negative reporting surrounding Diems regime eventually leads to the American government having to distance itself as the American public begin to see that the South Vietnamese government is corrupt and prejudice. Furthermore this is all brought to a head during the Buddhist crisis in which reporters are heavily criticised for their role and two reporters are expelled. The South Vietnamese governments reaction simply demonstrates how the media are obviously an effective force in the creation of public opinion. This also highlights Americas inability to have created and sustained a new government in South Vietnam, which can be measured as a failure caused by media coverage. The affect of the media in this situation also creates numerous discussions by the Kennedy administration in building up anti-Diem forces in Saigon and consequently implementing the coup to remove Diem from office. The new government in Vietnam took on a very different approach to the media and wished not to come under heavy criticism from the press. In a memorandum from Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Special Assistant to the Under Secretary in 1963, it highlighted the South Vietnamese government has: In part, fear of criticism in the foreign press has inclined the new government to lean over backwards as regards press freedom. Also, there is some suspicion that those with power over the press are using it selectively against preferred targets. In any case, the performance of the press has not improved matters greatly and some better balance between freedom and license is urgently needed. This would highlight that the media has directly affected policies of the South Vietnamese government. The fact that this is reported within the Kennedy administration could show that this concern may have effected communications with the American government and South Vietnamese government. The Media and United States Government:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There appears to be great tension between the government officials and the media during the Vietnam War, McMahon stresses that the President Nixon, Johnson and Kennedy all believed that the press was their worse enemy. Herring and Robinson equally refer to how the media was opposed to the American Government. This is due to the growing criticism of the media on the Government which is at its height between 1968 and 1972. Although it is argued by Edmonds that the media had no effect on the policy making of American administration, it is clear from a memorandum from the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Special Assistant to the Under Secretary in 1963, that the press do have an effect on morale, The N.Y Times editorial and Reston and Lippmann columns on the subject were a body blow to morale in Saigon. This therefore shows that the government are aware that the media do have an effect on opinions on the war, a nd consequently this would be addressed in future policies in the Vietnam War.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Further evidence that the media have an effect on the American and Vietnamese public can also be found in the notes of a meeting in 1968 between Secretary McNamara, President Johnson, General Wheeler, Clark Clifford, CIA Director Helms and Walt Rostow on the topic of proposed action beyond the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) into North Vietnam. The comments made in the discussion reveal that decisions would consider how the press would report on the matter and how best to release the information into the press. Therefore this would indicate that the American government were definitely affected by the press coverage and that the press could easily control the success or failures of the war. CIA Director Helms is quoted to have said; It is a great thing if you can keep it out of the hands of the press, which would reinforce this theory. Kovach recognises that new technological advances pose new problems for the elite, as each new technology has allowed untrained voices to comment on discussions, which he believes should only be debated by elites. Resentment from the media towards the government would have become much more erratic had the government prevented their coverage of the Vietnam War, and possibly cre

Confucianism and the Chinese View of Life Essay -- Papers

"The superior man, when resting in safety, does not forget that danger may come. When in a state of security he does not forget the possibility of ruin. When all is orderly, he does not forget that disorder may come. Thus his person is not endangered, and his States and all their clans are preserved.† – Confucius -- Confucianism created the Chinese view of life. The Confucian view is based on the ancient Chinese tradition. It can be stated that the view of Confucius and that of the Chinese began in the same place (  Bush, 15). In subsequent centuries Confucius’ teachings exerted a powerful influence on the Chinese nation. Therefore, the history that surrounds both Confucius as well as Confucianism is relevant to how many eastern people live their life today. Confucius was born in 551B.C., to the noble K’ung family. He was born in the state of Lu, which is present day the Shandong in the Shantung Province. Confucius’ real name was Ch’iu, which means a hill. This was because there was a noticeable bump on his head. His literary name however is Chung-ni. These names have been rarely used because of the Chinese practice of showing reverence by avoidance. K’ung Futzu which means the Great Master has been his most popular name (DeVous and Slote 9). Confucius was born into an impoverished noble family. At the time of his birth, the imperial court of the Chou dynasty had lost its power and the empire virtually disintegrated into a number of feudal states. Confucius’ father who was the commander of a district in Lu died three years after Confucius was born. This left the family in poverty (DeVous and Slote 12). Nevertheless, Confucius received an upscale education. Even in his childhood, Confucius liked to play ceremonies, whi... ... Walter H. Slote ed. Confucianism and the Family. New York: State University, 1998. Fowler, Jeaneane D., Chinese Religions: Beliefs and Practices. Brighton:Sussex Academic, 2008. Print. Mungello, David E. Leibniz and Confucianism the Search for Accord. Honolulu: The University Press of Hawaii, 1977. Robinson, B.A. â€Å"Religion in China.† Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 17 Jun. 2005. Web. 10. April. 2014.   Nivison, David S. The Ways of Confucianism. ed. Bryan W. Van Norden. Chicago: Carus Publishing Company, 1996. Overmyer, Daniel. "Religion in China Today: Introduction."  China Quarterly  (2003): 307-316. Web. 21 Jun 2014. Twitchett, Denis and Arthur F. Wright ed. Confucian Personalities. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1962. Wolf, Arthur P. ed. Religion and Ritual in Chinese Society. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1974.