Medea Essays - Women And Death, Argonauts, Operas, Medea, Medes

Medea Medea Title of Work: Medea Country/Culture: Greek Literary Period: Classical Type of Literature (genre): Drama/Tragedy Author: Euripides Authorial information: Euripides was born in 484 BC and took up drama at the young age of 25. At most drama competitions, however his plays came in last place until he was about 45 or 50 years old. In his entire life, he wrote 92 plays of which only five received first place awards at competition. Euripides despised women. He had been married twice to unfaithful women and had three sons. This hate of women is shown in his work of Medea. Author's unique style: Euripides' characterization of women is considered unique in the play Medea because the tragic Hero/ine - in this case Jason and Medea in each one's own sense - is done over by a woman after cheating on her with the princess of the King of Corinth. He places emphasis on human emotions and individual psychology in order to help the reader produce a clear picture of the characters. Medea features strong dramatic situations and a stirring part for the heroine, whose attitude of feminine pride and tradition is still popular in today's world. Setting: The entire play takes place on the island of Corinth in present day Greece. Individual places such as Medea/Jason's home, and the palace of the king and princess are also spoken of and used in the play. It has an ancient Greek setting as well. Theme: "What goes around comes around." The theme of revenge in the sense of Medea's strong desire to seek revenge on Jason. Another possible theme of Medea may be that at times a punishment of revenge should justify the crime - no matter how severe. Only a person in such a situation (and greater beings) may know what to action to take in this position. Characters: Medea - The strong willed woman who would do anything for her husband is victimized by him and turns deadly. After going to a great extent to help Jason - killing people to be with him and married to him - he turns around and marries a younger princess and leaves Medea and their two children with nothing. This deeply angers Medea - her tragic flaw appears to be an over excessive sense of revenge - who goes absolutely berserk and kills the princess and her children to get back at Jason for leaving her. She is very decisive and intelligent and had thought through her actions against Jason before carrying them out. Jason - The Husband of Medea who leaves her for another woman - the King of Corinth's daughter - claiming it would be better for both Medea and their children if he "got in good with the king". Jason obviously is not caring about his wife who actually killed to be with him. He does however still love his children. His flaw of apathy or the fact that he is not perseverant causes his downfall when Medea has his wife (the princess) murdered as well as his children. This causes Jason to be extremely disturbed - but it is deserved. King Aegeus - The present King of Athens who is very sympathetic. He is friends with Medea and understands her problem. He tells her that she may come to Athens and seek refuge if she pleases. He has no children and asks if she will "provide him with some". In this sense, he is a jolly fellow who assists friends in time of need. He also provides Medea with a place to go and be protected after she goes on her killing rampage. Nurse - The Nurse plays a somewhat minor role and yet influences the story of Medea. She is employed by Medea to look after the children but the Nurse also gossips and provides advice and assistance to Medea. She provides the audience with background information on the play and puts pieces together of the "big picture." The Nurse begs Medea to not do anything rash because of Jason but says that she knows Medea will so that foreshadows the though of tragedy in the play. She also sympathizes Medea but as soon as Medea is not looking, the Nurse criticizes her as being somewhat over reactive. King Creon - King Creon finds disfavor on Medea for many reasons. Most of all he believes she may decide to kill his daughter out of spite. Quotes: "O God, do you hear it, this persecution, these my sufferings from this hateful woman, this monster, murderess of children? Still what I can do that I will do: I will lament and cry upon heaven, calling the gods to

A Critical Review of Yahoo! Corporate Governance Essays

A Critical Review of Yahoo! Corporate Governance Essays A Critical Review of Yahoo! Corporate Governance Paper A Critical Review of Yahoo! Corporate Governance Paper A recommendation is then given followed by a conclusion to the analysis. L. Introduction Corporate governance has come along way since the 1 9th century. What was once an elite fraternity based on little more than cronyism and family connections has now taken on a new shape, resulting from greed and deceitful corporate breakdowns of iconic companies in the first part of the 21 SST century. If the 19th century was the century of the entrepreneur; and the 20th century was the century of management; then the 21 SST century is the century of corporate governance. This paper seeks to review the governance in a publicly listed company whose equines performance has been criticized publicly and to report about its governance protocols and practices. A brief description of the company in question followed by the criteria for the review of governance will be presented. Then, a critical review of their existing practices will be forwarded. Finally a list or recommendations will conclude the review. The goal is to shed light on boardroom practices and to better understand past events so to prevent them from reoccurring. 2. Background Yahoo! S a SIS based multinational Internet company headquartered in Californians silicon valley. It is widely known for its Web portal, search engine, Yahoo! Mail, advertising, online mapping, social media and a myriad of other services, including popular acquisitions such as Alabama, flicker and Tumble. Yahoo! Was founded in 1 994 and was once one of the most popular sites in the US. However, in recent years, its been plagued by poor governance. Between 2009- 2012, the board had dismissed 5 Chief Executive Officers, indicating a history of CEO problems with dire need of stability at the top. The current CEQ Marimbas Mayer has been in place since 201 2 and has also been heavily criticized; however, her leadership has changed the dynamic and ultra of the company, resulting in a tripling of the stock price and acquisitions worth over $1 billion. (Geol. 2014) The next section will explore the criteria for the review of governance. 3. Criteria for review In light of on-going setbacks at Yahoo! , the following criteria have been identified, including a discussion on their importance and why it is appropriate to use them. Yahoo! As a section addressing my criteria in their Corporate Governance Guidelines and nothing appears out of place, in other words, the guidelines are concise and appropriate, according to the textbook. (Trickier 2012) 3. Board membership criteria Although this may seem basic at first glance, it is not. Boards operate differently company to company. In theory, an active board oversees the formation of strategy in shareholder favor, they develop incentives fo r the CEO and other managers to tackle whilst also working toward the agreed upon strategic objectives. The board also critiques the performance of management against such objectives throughout the year and also formally once annually. It is important for boards to run smoothly, as outlined above so to monitor the business, stay abreast with changes in the marketplace so to be in a session to act quickly when required. There is always work to be done by board and committee members, (independent or external) law also requires regular reporting and shareholders require updates. This is an appropriate way to operate because if a board becomes passive, the effects will trickle down and a change in company culture will ensue. To avoid this, and to follow best practice, boards and committees are voted in by shareholders and reviewed annually by the chairman. 3. 2 Selection of the Chief Executive Officer Selection of the Chief Executive of the company is reserved for an active road committee (often independent) who is nominated to do the legwork in the nomination process. The idea is that the nomination committee, headed by its own chairman accept suitable referrals and vet said referrals (and leads) based on the board requirements. Best practice suggests that by the time a nomination is put forth to the chairman, the audit committee has already approved the candidates background and confirmed that no known conflict of interest exists. Not only is it important that each board member be given a specific task or project, its also important to have clear guidelines in place to undertake one f the most important board obligations. Chief Executives are typically not identified easily or hired quickly and the search itself is often expensive. For this reason, shortcuts cannot be made or left up to assumption. It is appropriate for a board to have nomination guidelines in place for top-level positions before exploring the market even begins and well before candidate engagement. By having such guidelines approved and published, it lessens the possibility of oversight by committee members who may feel pressured to tick all the boxes before a formal nomination can be presented, with a genuine seal of approval. . 3 Independence of the Board As a result of the breakdown in governance of iconic companies such as Enron and Arthur Anderson, governments from each country have been forced to take action to preserve the rights of shareholders and employees. An example of this can be found in the US, UK and Australia who operate as a unitary board, unlike Europe, which operate on a two tier board consisting of the executive board and the supervisory board. By law, the unitary board must include independent directors (INDEED) and committees. The paradox of the unitary board is the greater a directors independence, the less he/she is keel to know about the company. The more the INDEED knows about the company, the greater his/her potential contribution, the less his/her perceived independence. According to the textbook, an independent board is one that is capable of performing under the direction and leadership of a non-executive chairman or lead director so no to fall prey on initiatives from management or internal directors. (Trickier 201 2) Independent directors have periodic meetings of independent directors to evaluate management against the strategic goals. They follow strict rules to keep a fair, unbiased balance between the board ND management. This is important because it demonstrates greater transparency to the shareholders and to the SEC, SOX and other government regulators. A lack of transparency was a pattern followed by every board of companies that have since been found guilty in criminal court. It is appropriate to adopt an INDEED board not only to satisfy laws but also to demonstrate that action has been taken to ensure that the board as a whole is fair, that board members come from diverse backgrounds with unique areas of expertise, including industries. Independent Directors are equally accountable to the chairman of the board, hat they are offering is another a new way to view challenges faced by the company and offering the best solutions. . Critical review of Yahoo! Governance Yahoo! Has experienced tumultuous board movement over years, considering that the company is only 20 years old. Many past board members have held their seats for only one year. As of this day, there have been thirteen past board directors which suggests a critical lack of congruence within the business. There are currently ten board directors, including Mayer, CEO. Each director boasts a diverse set of skills and experience from companies that align with Yahoo! , which is ideal and half appear to be independent, also a good thing. It has been acknowledged however, that half the board were replaced following Mayors induction in what is reported to be a buyout. Its been reported that those she bought out would have become made her new post difficult as they likely would have clashed at some point and that it would likely be due to character first and strategy direction, second. (Yarrow 2013) According to Yahoo! Corporate governance guidelines, The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall be responsible for assessing the appropriate balance of criteria required of Board members. It is true that a board will often nominate new members with the induction of a new CEO; however, it is reported that Mayer handpicked this board to support her. (Swisher 2014) If this is the case, then it brings up many concerns and questions. The textbook identifies nine concepts and principles for corporate governance. (Trickier 2012) In the case of board selection, believe the following principles sing out: judgment, and accountability. The execution Of best judgment is expected in any nomination. The boards decisions should e made for the greater good of the company, rather than to promote personal agendas. Records show that although Mayer may have nominated half her board, the shareholders and existing board directors have approved it. In other words, they appear to have gone through due process as stated in the company guidelines. One would hope that the current board will prove not to be yes-men and that they will be supportive yet unbiased and even critical as required as cronyism has lead many a company down slippery slopes. The concept of accountability suggests that directors are answerable for their actions and decisions. Mayer must have already known that as one of the first changes she initiated at Yahoo! Was a weekly meeting that everyone was invited to attend to have their questions answered based on recent decisions, changes in the business and write ups in the press. Employees submitted questions online and the first 5 questions with 50 votes would be addressed. Mayer even allowed employees to submit anonymously, which naturally invited in the tougher questions. From an outside perspective, this was a genius move on her part and showed that she was being transparent and penny willing to put herself on the line. This next topic goes without saying that Yahoo! Has been hit hard by the mismanagement of their Chief Executive Officers in recent years. As stated above, the selection of the CEO is a critical task of the board and its committees. Yahoo! Has terminated four Chief Executives in three years. Mayer took the reins in 2012 following Scott Thompson resume embellishment that was made public only four months into his tenure. Each of the two interim Chief Executives had been deemed unsuitable to take the role on permanently. This is an example of poor governance; the situation tit Thompson may have gone away more rapidly had Yahoo! Not already terminated the 3 Chief Executives before him. This is also a problem of succession planning as 2 of the interim Chief Executives were internal. On the other hand, how might a company be prepared to nominate two internal Chief Executive candidates who are ready for the role in such a short space of time? Chief Executives are not interchangeable. It is believed that Yahoo! Did the best with what they had to work with, it just wasnt enough. To make matters worse, at the time of the Thompson revelation, the chair of he nomination committee, Patti Hart (who approved Thompson) was also found to have an embellishment on her resume. This is was an embarrassment for Yahoo! As the filing had already gone to the SEC to which the board was accountable. The concepts that stand out in this instance are: honesty, meaning not misleading and of strong morality and integrity, mean inning of high moral value and professionalism; such principles are expected by a board of a ($billion) company. One article describes the dilemma well. Should we be focused more on education or on ethics? Enders 201 2) As an outsider, I believe ethics weigh stronger than education; especially as top executives receive ongoing, relevant training and development. In Thompson case, he resume claimed a computer science degree from the asss which would have added little value to the company. Makes one wonder if it was really worth the risk. Oversights do happen, yet this particular one had been following him around since the early asss. Based on the updated company nomination guidelines, such mistake will likely never happen again as better, more appropriate checks and balances have been set in place. The final topic is around independence. As outlined above, a unitary board just have independent directors and committees to ensure that decisions are made in the best interest of the company. At the time of Thompson and Harts tenure, the only thing that makes sense is that the board became too comfortable and exercised gross oversight and incompetence. The trouble here was that the board didnt question the independent committees findings. Independence is important, though so is due process. (Labeled Sillies 2003) The audit committee was not involved and the chairman at the time was known for not rocking the boat. Brenner 2014) The results were crippling for the company. The concepts that require discussion and analysis are: responsibility, having clearly defined roles and reputation, an estimation of having done something well. Although each board member looked adequate on paper, there were many gaps that could have been avoided if the directors had been diverse enough or willing t o take a stand to ensure that all the boxes have been ticked. It seems that each was relying on the other to do the right thing and each accepted the general consensus without further query. This proved damaging to the reputation of the entire board and some lost their appointments as a result. On a positive note, Yahoo! Now have a new guideline in place to ensure that three committees review and approve a nomination before it goes to the board for further review. This is consistent with best practice for unitary boards. 5. Recommendation Mayer has been CEO for a little more than two years. Since then, she has driven more than 30 acquisitions worth more than $1 billion; she has also initiated a monthly bell curve review of all staff which determines merit for bonuses and in some cases, termination. Stock price has tripled under her tenure. Her decisions are not always popular, yet shes doing what few before her were able to. Therefore, its recommended that the board continue to give her money for acquisitions and also for RD to make Yahoo! Known for its products, not just its acquisitions. Mayer has been heavily criticized in the press for making decision based on feeling. Not all her decisions have worked out well, yet she has not yet created a pattern of poor decisions making. I recommend that she remain CEO for another two years to bring her strategy to fruition. That way, shareholders will continue to reap the rewards of the tock price whilst Mayer continues to harness energies toward customer experience, which is where her expertise lies. 6. Conclusion The past several years have been tough for the company. The good news is that Yahoo! Appears to be turning things around for the better. It was a big risk for the board to hire a green CEO. Her successful track record at Google as well as her industry contacts and networking skills will prove invaluable. Meyers gender, age and rapid ascent into executive management have earned her a national celebrity status.

Market Risk Analysis on Solar Thermal vs. Solar Photovoltaic System in Essay

Market Risk Analysis on Solar Thermal vs. Solar Photovoltaic System in UK - Essay Example It is a universal knowledge that the burning of oil and natural gas could produce and emit excessive carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide that could trigger global warming. To combat the global climate changes, the UK government decided to gradually shift from the use of non-renewable to renewable energy resources (Committee on Climate Change, 2010). Recently, the Committee on Climate Change announced that the Scottish Government will reduce the carbon gas emission by 3.5% annually between 2020 to 2050 (Committee on Climate Change, 2011). As a result of increasing the use of non-renewable energy resources, the annual emission of carbon dioxide throughout the United Kingdom decreased from 8.95 metric tons per capita in 1995 down to 8.6 metric tons per capita in 2007 (Federal Statistical Office Germany, 2010). Solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal is another form of renewable energy resources that will enable the UK government to generate electricity using the sunlight that falls upon the silicon layer of a solar system (Goodall 2007, p. 268). To enable the reader gain a better understanding of solar PV and solar thermal system, a brief literature review will be conducted concerning the nature and advantages of these two alternative energy resources. Given that existing UK renewable energy industry is focused on the use of biofuels, wind power, and hydroelectricity, this report will conduct a risk management analysis whether or not the UK government should extend its financial and political support in the promotion of either solar photovoltaic or solar thermal as one of the potential renewable energy resources throughout the United Kingdom.

Trading decisions of individual investors Evidence of psychological Essay

Trading decisions of individual investors Evidence of psychological biases - Essay Example The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors†, Barber and Odean (2000). Barber and Odean (2000) studied data of stock market transactions undertaken by 78,000 households, from January 1991 to December 1996. Under the overconfidence model, investors who are overconfident about executing a profitable trade will trade more frequently in the market, and because much of their market action will be based on emotion (overconfidence) rather than deliberate and pragmatic study, their trades will be of lower expected utility. The resulting net return of households with high turnover will be inferior to those less frequently traded accounts. By comparison, the rational expectation framework of Grossman and Stiglitz posit that when investors trade, it is because they perceive that the marginal benefit they will realize is greater than the marginal cost they will incur. Since such investors trade only when such opportunity presents itself, which probably will be as often as not, then the rational investor transacts less frequently, incurring a lower aggregate transaction cost. The study discovered that households that have lower turnover (and thus traded less frequently) had larger accounts that those households that had higher turnover. This may be explained by the fact that investors who trade less frequently are longer-term investors whose objective in entering the market is for capital appreciation rather than the â€Å"quick buck†. They will tend to select stocks of â€Å"blue chip†, investor, quality, and to maintain that position for years. The earlier investigation done by Odean (1998) sought to discover whether or not individual investors tended to maintain a losing position too long and, conversely, close out on their gaining stocks too soon. This has direct bearing on the Prospect Theory by Kahneman and Tversky (1979), originally conceived as a

The Kings Contributions To Development Of Thailand History Essay

The Kings Contributions To Development Of Thailand History Essay With the constitutional monarchy belonging to the country, on 9 June, 1946 at the tender age of 18, King Bhumibol Adulyadej ascended the throne in the name head of state by not involving to political activities for leading country after the death of his brother, King Ananda. Due to the law of constitution, the king was restricted into a narrow role and segregated from the reign of power; however, with the purpose of developing nation and being capable, the king establish his base of support among Thai people which was the step of his mission. The absence of government support had made the king face to harsh reality in his initial phase of his development effort, but the king still was able to continue his efforts. For over 6 decades of reign, King Bumibol Adulyadej has contributed a number of developments in social, economic and political field to his nation and got more respects from his people constantly. His Majestys contributions to social and economic development The first decade of kings contributions (1946-1955): Mainly focusing on rural development, the king had set up thousands of development projects aiming to promote potential consumption among the Thai rural poor. For instance, in early 1950s, the severe epidemics ravaged the Thai population and caused people loss of life, physical impairment and chronic suffering, as the consequence, the king personally set up the project of promotion of large scale disease control by contributing over 2,000,000 baths, and more importantly, from this project, many constructions of rural hospitals were established to serve public. Besides this project, many agricultural projects were established at the same time in order to accelerate the rural poors living standard. From this flying in northeastern Thailand over Phuphan Mountain in 1955, the king notice the inadequate rainfall to the arable land belonging to farmers; as the result, from this understanding over the facts farmer faced, the king started to set up project of water irrigation to help poor farmer for their cultivation. From this project, the idea of artificial rain introduced by His Majesty was facilitated by technological advances; moreover, fresh water for public consumption was also introduced under this water management project. In the educational sector, His Majesty set up the scholarship fund in 1955under the name of Ananda Mahidol to enable outstanding students to gain more academic knowledge abroad to serve the nation. The second decade of kings contributions (1956-1965): In this second decade of reign, His Majesty still continued to take many actions to broaden his rural development mission. At this time, His Majesty, moreover, started to strengthen the diplomatic tie with other nations with the belief that it is a key to stabilize Thailands security and continue Thailands prosperity. For second decade of his reign, His Majesty had spent most of his time abroad with long-version mission for his country. By mid-1960, His Majesty had embarked on a whirlwind tour of 15 nations in North America and Europe. Between 1961 and 1967, His Majesty visited 13 other countries in Asia, Australia, and made similar visits to Germany, Austria and the US (Bangkok Post, 2006). The visits of His Majesty aimed to establish international diplomatic relationships between Thailand and the globe, and more importantly to express Thailands image on the international stage in order to gain countrys international credibility. Furthermore, seeking Western support in countering the spread of communism which was a threat to Thai national security was considered as the underlining objective of the visit of His Majesty who wanted to strengthen the democratic system in his country for making prosperous living for his Thai people. From this state visiting of His Majesty, Thailand did get huge recognition and acknowledgement from international community; as the result of His Majestys diplomatic efforts, Thailand was considered as the significant actor in the arena of foreign affairs which contributed a significant role in helping to creating ASEAN. In the internal affair of Thailand in 1960, Thailand faced the worst national disaster which a severe typhoon devastated the thirteen provinces in southern of country, and at the same through his Au Sau Radio program, His Majesty raised 11 million baht from the donations of public to emergency help victims affected by natural disasters. Later on, in 1963 many foundat ions were established under the effort of His Majesty with purpose of emergency help and rebuild some infrastructure after getting natural disaster. Besides, His Majesty continued his effort on the agricultural section by conducting many research and experimentation to explore new methods of rice cultivation and dairy farming for his poor farmers and to see his Thai people with fuller stomach. From his hard-working on social development, His Majesty earned and organized his broad-base public support. The third decade of kings contributions (1966-1975): In 1971, artificial rain services were officially offered to the farmer by The Royal Rain-Making Research and Development Project. From this artificial rain services, the serious effects of the dry season to the farmers were reduced and people were able do their cultivation with other water management project efficiently; moreover, His Majesty still contribute his active involvement in this operation of the project till the present day. With the free charge of the Royal Rain provided by His Majesty, Thai farming enjoyed the significant benefit in cultivation even though the highly developed technological base was introduced in country by government. Moreover, from this royal rain services, His Majesty is remained in the heart of Thai people mostly Thai farmers up to nowadays. During the second decade of his reign, many complex problems were faced by Thai society; for this reason, His Majesty set up the approach to every issue with way of wisdom and sensitivity. His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej (December 15, 1970) delivered the speech to public that I dont wish to see anybody succumb to anybody else. I am for democracy. But we must create genuine and appropriate democracy. Democracy without wisdom will turn in chaos. And that Chaos will develop into anarchyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ we must respect the dignity of humans, the dignity of individuals. We should think of how to promote peoples dignity. From this valued approach, His Majesty won the hearts of minority group in the Northern Thailand, and His Majesty could hold the hands of both side -the minority group and the government- to a solution over the problem of opium production done by minority group. Later on, His Majesty could convince the minority group to give up their traditional cultivation by planting opium, and to adopt the cash crops cultivation introduced under the royal project set up by His Majesty. Following this new cultivation, the minority group was ab le to enhance their standard of living with the higher income contributed to their budget. As a consequence, the illegal supply of opium from the northern part of country was extremely reduced, and that was considered as a great sign for Thailand to adopt legal market in the country with best obvious approaches to solution contributed by His Majesty. The fourth decade of kings contributions (1976-1985): For this decade of his reign, His Majesty still set up his commitment to rural development. The royal co-operative project was established for the purpose to teach farmer to rely on themselves by cooperating with each other and to help them from the exploitation of middleman merchants, capitalists, and the capital investment; moreover, from this project, His Majesty initiated the first Rice Bank in 1975 and the Cow and Buffalo Bank in 1979. At Thammasat University when visiting for musical performance, His Majesty (March 6, 1971) delivered a speech to farmers over the problem of exploitation from the middleman that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦if one wants to solve this problem, the starting point is to coalesce in groups, as a group of consumers have contact with the group of producers. Agreements should be made and there should probably be an establishment of a mill house or negotiations with the mill owner in order to prevent the middleman p rocess. If all rice consumers set up groups, buying paddies and milling paddies themselves or having them milled by an agreed operator, passing through one channel, the producers, the millers and the consumers could solve the question of the middleman. As the result, The Rice Bank was the part of the royal co-operative project and guideline to ensure that the project would get success. From the Rice Bank, farmers have to join together and keep their rice into the bank barn which means that it is the source of reserved food; moreover, the Rice Bank had its committee which practiced as the keeper and decided to give loan with minimum interest rate to farmers for consumption or to be used in their cultivation. From this policy, it helped the poor farmers from exploitation of outsiders. Cows and buffalos were the essential element for farmers to do their cultivation; however, some poor farmers were not able to own cow or buffalo for their cultivation. By understanding this issue, His Ma jesty initiated the Cow and Buffalo Bank to his poor farmer. From the Cow and Buffalo Bank, poor farmers were able to borrow cow or buffalo from the bank to use in any beneficial ways according to the agreement of the bank; moreover, poor farmers could also do long-term purchase installment for cow or buffalo with agricultural purposes. More importantly, the research and development centre was established in 1979 to guarantee that many new development methods and projects would provide to rural development. His Majestys actions were more recognized by public and the government. Shortly after this establishment of centre, in 1981, understanding the sustainable actions of His Majesty to rural development, the government discovered the office of the Royal Development Projects Board (RDPB) matched to His Majestys Royal projects by contributing professional and financial assistance from the appropriate agencies within the government; therefore, from this discovery, it led to have the inc rease of floating fund to the budget, so many other His Majestys initiated projects have increased in number as well. The fifth decade of kings contributions (1986-1995): Again and again, His Majesty showed his commitment in social development which started in the first decade of his reign without support from the government till the fifth decade of his reign with a number of supports from public and the government. Many projects related to water irrigation, preventing soil erosion, building canal, etc were continued with contributions of His Majesty. From 50-year experience engaging in the development practice, His Majesty had revolutionized a new approach called The New Theory which was outlined into three parts to serve as guideline for farmer to get self-sufficient in their life. From this new approach, the farmers have firstly to empower themselves by starting with their individual level, and then they have to strengthen the entire community in order to effectively collaborate with the outside, and the last point is to envision fair and equal partnership between their community and the private sectors. His Majesty strongly believed that if the farmers can adopt this approach, it is clearly sure that they will improve their living standard. The six decade of kings contributions (1996-2006): In the six decade of His Majestys reign, Thailand faced the unexpected and dramatic collapse of its economy caused by financial crisis in 1997. This crisis caused millions of Thai people jobless and seriously affected to the whole country and region. Soon, His Majesty introduced the new approach or theory called Self-Sufficiency Economy to his country. (This point is going to be discussed in economic His Majestys contributions part.) His Majestys contributions to economic crisis There are many causes of the economic crisis in Thailand in 1997; however, one of those causes was the too much expansion of production with no buyer. For Thailand, from this crisis, it is the costly lesson of unbalance and unstable growth which partly due to the situation of economic and social process depending heavily on foreign capital flow and external market. With the understanding of the source of causes of crisis, His Majesty introduced the Self-Sufficiency Economy philosophy to his nation by giving an interesting speech to his people that In fact, I have often saidà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ to be a tiger is not important. The important thing is for us to have a self-supporting economy. A self-supporting economy means to have enough to survive. From this speech, His Majesty convinced that it was not too much important for Thailand to hold the position as an economic tiger, or be recognized as a newly industrialized country, but what much important is the living in moderation and being s elf-reliant in order to prevent ourselves from the destabilization caused by the external actors in the globe. The main concept of the Sufficiency Economy is to enable Thailand to remain self-reliant, staying in middle path between society at the local level and the market in the global context, reserve of richness of the ecosystems and survival without the necessity of intervention from external factors. From this concept, the government now commonly include in many development project for the country.

Creon as the Tragic Hero in Sophocles Antigone Essay example -- Antig

Creon as the Tragic Hero in Antigone     Ã‚   This essay will compare two of the characters in â€Å"Antigone†, Antigone and Creon, in an effort to determine the identity of the tragic hero in this tale.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To identify the tragic hero in Sophocles’ renowned play â€Å"Antigone†, we should first consider both the elements present in Greek tragedies and what characteristics define a tragic hero. Aristotle’s definition of tragedy is: â€Å"Tragedy is a story taking the hero from happiness to misery because of a fatal flaw or mistake on his part. To be a true tragic hero he must also elicit a strong emotional response of pity and fear from the audience. This is known as catharsis or purging of emotion.† In most cases the tragic hero begins the play with high status, which is often lost in the exodus of the play. For example, in another of Sophocles’ plays, â€Å"Oedipus Rex†, in which Oedipus is the undisputed tragic hero, Oedipus begins the play as an illustrious king and ends as a blind beggar. His plight encourages sympathy from the audience because of the curse that had been on him since he was a chil d.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Antigone, to whom the play owes its name, is daughter of Oedipus, the former king of Thebes. It would seem that she has a relatively high position for a woman, based on the fact that she has a marriage tie to Haemon, son of Creon, the present king of Thebes.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Antigone, rather than being happy at the plays’ beginning, instead makes her entrance in the opening scene very upset with the order given by Creon not to bury her brother Polynices. Antigone is then caught while burying Polynices and seems almost content with being put to death, â€Å"I earned the punishment which I now suffer† (Antigone, 152), though... ...† In Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. O’Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Heidegger, Martin. â€Å"The Ode on Man in Sophocles’ Antigone.† In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966. Jaeger, Werner. â€Å"Sophocles’ Mastery of Character Development.† In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997. Segal, Charles. Oedipus the King: Tragic Heroism and the Limits of Knowledge. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993. Sophocles. Antigone. Exploring Literature: Writing and thinking About Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. Ed. Joseph Terry. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc, 2001. Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Trans. Bernard M. W. Knox. New York: Washi ngton Squ are Books, 1994.

Compare and Contrast Communism, Socialism, and Capitalism

What is communism? Communism is a term used broadly to designate a ‘theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state. ’ It refers to the doctrine which underlines the revolutionary movement which aims to abolish capitalism and ultimately to establish a society in which all goods will be socially owned, all economic activates socially planned and controlled, and in which all distributions will be in accordance with the maxim.German author Emil Ludwig described the maxim as â€Å"for each according to his capacity, to each according to his need. †(1) It is to be distinguished from socialism which aims by constitutional and democratic methods to nationalize gradually only the essential means of production and to organize distribution on the basis of a just reward to each person for the amount and quality of his or her work. In its early forms the term â €Å"communism† first came into use in France, after 1840; the general idea being that private property is the source of all social ills which can be cured only by a community of goods and interest.In the Greco- Roman world, Plato expounded the idea in his book The Republic in the 4th century and to stoics implied it in their doctrine of natural right or as they called it â€Å"jus natural† which means according to which natured created all men free and equal and private property was unknown to the original state of nature. (2) According to Karl Marx, this is the final stage towards development of egalitarian society. Here all the resources are state-owned and it determines its distribution based on the needs in an effort to bring about equality. Communism is conservative. Fewer and fewer people have any say in how the economy works.By using state coercion to fulfill unmet demands, it restricts individual freedom. Communism necessarily takes the form of totalitarianism or the tyranny of all over one since it’s up to the state to decide who gets what. Historically, communist societies have been characterized by the absolute rule of a revolutionary party leader, beneath whom everyone is equally subservient. It becomes very difficult for such an economy to survive in a large population when it becomes difficult for equal distribution of resources. (5) Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels are the ones responsible for the theoretical foundations of the modern communism.In their time together Marx and Engels wrote several pieces of documentations and books which started in 1848 with The Communist Manifesto, 1850 Marx’s Class Struggles in France, 1867 The First Volume of Das Kapital, 1871 Civil War in France, 1875 Critique of the Gotha Programme, and in 1877 Engels so called Anti-Duhring. Marx and Engels took over and modified the current concepts of materialism, the Hegelian view of historic evolution as dialectical process moving from thesis th rough antithesis to synthesis, the labor theory of value of David Ricardo, The critique of capitalism of the ‘Utopian â€Å"by French socialist, and tactics of Blanqui.In later writings, Marx and Engels described the ideal communist society only in general terms such as â€Å"a system of social ownership under which production would be carried on by voluntary associations of workers, distribution would be in accordance with the needs, the state would cease to be an instrument of force and â€Å"wither away† and the individual would live in freedom and in harmony with society. Marx and Engels thought that the social revolution they aimed at could be carried out by peaceful means in some countries like England and The United States. 2) Marx and Engels used the term â€Å"communism† to distinguish their program from socialism which in the 1840’s meant economic and social reform. Some countries that are, or have been communist are the former U. S. S. R, Chin a, Germany, Guatemala, Cuba, Greece, Africa, Some parts of the United States, Turkey, Suez, Israel, North Korea, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand and the southern part of Thailand. (2) We now move to socialism, what is socialism? As mentions before socialism is the doctrine that espouses public ownership or control of a major means of production.It aims to achieve an equitable and efficient distribution of social goods and greater economic planning then exist under capitalism. Although the central concerns of socialism appears to be economic its ramifications extend to the moral, social and political realms, in fact together with nationalism, it is the leading ideological and political movement of the 20th century. It is considered to be the transitional phase between the capitalism and communism. Thus, you would find all communists advocating for socialism because it lays the foundations for communism.It advocates an egalitarian society where everyone shares equal wealth and power . There is a considerable disagreement over how the distribution should take place. Hence, socialism can be said to be between extreme capitalism and extreme communism with it being nearer to communism. Socialism is liberal. More people have say in how the economy works. (5) The basic principles of contempary socialism have their origin in the economic, social and cultural transformations of Europe which occurred during the 18th and 19th centuries.Contributing factors were the Industrial Revolution and the rise of the bourgeois’ and proletarian classes, the enlightenment’s secular and rationalistic view of men and society, and the democratic demands of the French Revolution. Social ownership and control is the development of private property and it inordinate pursuit are seen by socialist theorist as the root causes of inequalities among men, of moral corruption, and of disruptions of the social order, this led to the abolition of private property or control over its u ndesirable manifestations, is fundamental tenet of socialism.The means advocated attaining this objective accounts for a broad range of socialist programs, from state ownership and regulation of the entire economy to anarchistic cooperative association; from mixed economy of publicity corporately and privately owned enterprises to national producers’ and consumers’’ cooperatives; from state sponsored social welfare programs to self-sufficient local communes. Socialist argues that the pernicious nature of private property was cleared disclosed with the development of capitalism.The growth of commerce and industry, coupled with the doctrine of Laissez faire, brought about the private ownership of the major means of productions by a small group of individuals, who intern was able to accumulate most of the wealth of the society. People began to move away from the country and the population became centralized. Cities grew rapidly and overcrowding became an enormous p roblem. This new industrial workforce, the proletariat, worked and lived in appalling conditions. Poverty was rampant.The cities were havens for crime and disease. The tumultuous transformation affected not only the lives of the workers but also craftsmen, such as handloom weavers, who were being forced out of business by factories which could produce the same product at a lower price. Much of the working class was confounded by the radical changes that were going on. Without anyone planning it, capitalism had emerged and began to flourish as there was no opposition to it. The factory owners became richer and low-skilled workers and the unemployed became poorer.Workers whose trades were less secured decided to form trade societies. This allowed the proletariat who had nothing to trade but their labor, to sell their labor for the best possible price. By uniting, workers could achieve results that could not be achieved individually. The central ideas of socialist have their roots in m ans perennial discontent with the conditions of his existence. They reflect his desire to overcome scarcity, inequality and social strife, and his longing for justice, happiness, perfection and at time for transcendence.Among the forerunners of modern socialism are the utopias of Plato with is book The Republic along with Sir Thomas More Utopia , 1516 and Tommase Campanella City of The Sun 1602, the experiments of the Anabaptist Sects in Central Europe, the theories of the Diggers and Levelers in England. (3) The theories of Marx and Engels represent the watershed of socialist thought. The collaborators synthesized the basic socialist ideas, gave them a comprehensive theoretical and practice expressions and influence their development.Although communism developed as an atheistic ideology the basic principles of socialism can be readily traced to the Christian idea of brother hood, it protests against the selfish pursuit of wealth, and its traditions of communal life. Indeed, Engels acknowledges the religious heritage of the socialist movement and considered the early Christians among the precursors of socialism. (3) Louis Blane and Constantine Pecqueur, who advocated public ownership, worker-managed industries and parliamentary democracy during the Revolution of 1848 in France, were the precursors of the socialism accepted by the modern social democratic parties.The Fabian society founded in 1884, set out to promote socialism through gradual democratically achieved reforms in England. Relying on propaganda, research, and public debate, the Fabians sought to â€Å"permate† trade unions, political parties and other gaps with their ideas. They succeeded with the middle and educated classes and they became influential in the labor and liberal parties. Among the earliest Fabians were G. B Shaw and Sidney Webb. Areas that were affected by socialism were European countries such as Germany, Austria, Bulgaria and Estonia.In Asia you had North and South Korea, Vi etnam, Burma, Japan, Lon Nol, Singapore, Ceylon. In the Middle East there was Israel, Egypt, and Tunisia. In Africa there was Ghana, Sekov Toure, The Congo, Kenya and Tanganyika, and in Latin America there were Uruguay and Mexico. (3) This term was first coined by Karl Marx to describe a system in which small group of people own large amount of money, land, resources. It puts all the economy is the hands of wealthy business people with the only aim of maximizing profits.Such economies remain free of government intervention with all the policies being determined by private individuals. The result is monopoly, and a huge gap in the earnings among the employer class and the worker class. Though it’s very good for trades and industries to flourish, it can lead to worker exploitation and unethical business practices. â€Å"Laissez-Faire† capitalism which means pure capitalism with no government intervention is said to have never existed in practice. 5) Capitalism is the typ e of economy in which capital is privately owned and maybe freely used by the owners as they wish in attempting to make profits from their economic enterprise. This type of economy is known as Capitalistic system. Implicit in capitalism is the existence of an effective technique for exchanging good and services. In all but extremely primitive forms of capitalism presuppose the existence of a monetary and financial system. In the sense the term capitalism may be distinguished any economic system in which capital is privately owned and used by the owner as he wishes, capitalism is not of recent origin.Elements of this type of economic system may be traced back to early historical periods. Even in the hunting and fishing style of society, physical capital and financial capital were individually owned and used. Further capitalistic developments continued through the pastoral and agricultural stages and into the age of metal. By the time of the Greek and Roman civilizations, capitalism h ad become fairly well developed. The oppressive phase due to the Industrial Revolution in England drew much socialist criticism.Marx and others tended to generalize from the unfortunate aspects of the Industrial Revolution and to conduce that the explanation of labor was an inherent of evil capitalism. Marx predicted that under capitalism cyclical fluctuations in business activity would become increasingly severe. This would cause more and more members of the capitalist class to be reduced to the ranks of the proletariat. Eventually, he predicted the increasing misery of the proletarian class would lead it to overthrow the capitalistic system and replace it with some form of socialism.In 1776 Adam Smith, a Scottish university professor, produced a book which described the workings of a capitalist society. He believed that a country's wealth depends on all people pursuing their own interests. If a person promotes his own interest he or she is unintentionally promoting his country's i nterest. Smith thought that governments should promote free trade and not interfere by protecting certain industries from competition. The only duty of governments, Smith wrote, was to provide services that couldn't be profitable like the building of roads, schools and churches.