Thursday, January 30, 2020

Problems and Benefits of Privatization of Public Sector Organizations in China Essay Example for Free

Problems and Benefits of Privatization of Public Sector Organizations in China Essay Privatization as an important role of economy , has great contribution for all over the world. So what is privatization? Privatization means transfer of assets of economic activity from public sector to private sector, it has been seen by many governments as a means of revitalizing inefficient industries and as an opportunity to raise revenues to ease budgetary problems; however, privatization in China is very complicated. When reform started in 1978, almost of the productive assets were state-owned in China. But reforms since then have not included privatization. Today, there is more than 70 per cent of Chinese productive wealth which belongs to Chinese government. During the first 20 years of reform, the government concentrated the country’s assets with a great purpose of development which helped to achieve the creation of infrastructure and expansion of industrial capacity. We can image, if the state assets had been privatized, it would become a big trouble for China to mobilize resources during the tremendous industrialization between 1980s and 1990s.That’s why the initial marketization-without-privatization approach has been successful. Also because of that, China has emerged a robust infrastructure and become an industrialized economy. However, this industry-first, government-investment-driven and export-oriented growth model which has been highly resource intensive has run its course. China has expanded export almost of the world, not only the developed countries, also Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. But this growth model is limiting the speed of export. China has to turn towards growth driven by domestic demand, not exports, and one led by service not industry to shift its economy. So what can help to stimulate the transformation? The answer is privatization. Privatization remains a thorny issue in a country where private property became a constitutional right only in 2004 and where the right to own productive assets remains unclear. Many vibrant, purely private companies have sprung up despite this uncertainty, but take care to stay out of the limelight. For example, the most famous Chinese private company is Legend Holdings Ltd, is Chinese investment holding company in IT, investment, and real estate formed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences- the best-known of which is the Lenovo Group in which Legend is the controlling shareholder. In 2006, the volume of its business was 4,033,096 million RMB. Another famous private company is Huawei which makes and sales telecommunication equipment. It is biggest supplier who provides the solution of telecommunication network. Until 2011, the whole company had 146,000 employees, and the annual sales volume was 203.9 billion RMB. Obviously the kinds of private companies become a main power to improve C hinese economy and increase national income. Proverbially, privatization can help to reduce the government financial and administrative burden. The best example is Legend Holdings Ltd. Legend Holdings Ltd was based on the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Chinese government only invested 200 thousands to organize the company. However, until now, the company has developed to an international holding company with the influence from all over the world. The Chinese government doesn’t manage the company directly but it controls a part of stock of the company. According to an analysis suggests that privatization of China’s state-owned enterprises is achieved with limited compromise on the social welfare responsibilities, and much of the improvement in the firm performance comes from the reduction in the agency cost at the management level. The state-owned enterprises generally have bloated management structure with excessive amount of managerial expenses. It is because the State Assets Agency has multiple objectives, and so long as the management meets those objectives it is neither motivated nor disciplined for profit maximization. On the contrary, private companies have their own management systems, they don’t have so much social welfare duties as state-owned enterprises. Rapid development of privatization also can help government to increase their financial income. According to the data suggests, in 2004, mainly to the private economy of small and medium-sized enterprises created 58.8 per cents of GDP, 68.3 per cents of exports and 48.2 per cents of revenue in China. Also we can see the data from Legend Holdings Ltd. Until 2003, this private company handed over to the national tax 5.45 billion RMB. As the state-owned enterprises, the government has to invest by themselves to get profit; however, as private company, government can get revenue without investing or management. Increasing efficiency and productivity in certain public sector is the third advantage of privatization in China. Some state-owned enterprises sale to specific purchasers through MBO(Management Buy-Outs). The managers cooperate with foreign companies which can help to import high technology equipment and improve the manufacturing technology. Obviously, this can increase the efficiency and productivity of company. The most famous example in China is Haier. Haier as a global electrical appliances brand, cooperate with 28 companies from difficult countries like America, Japan and Germany. As of 2008, Haier has surpassed rival Whirlpool as the worlds top refrigerator producer in terms of sales, according to Euromonitor, an independent business intelligence provider. Haier said it sold 12 million refrigerators worldwide last year, up 20% over the previous year. Its market share reached 6.3% globally. On the other hand, with the development of privatization in China, there are many problems which disturb the road of privatization. As I talked before, MBO is a kind of form of state-owned enterprises privatization. The government selling the state-owned enterprises to private organization or individual is another form. The biggest problem for this form is the individual will change the enterprise to family business. The Chinese Social Science Center had a research about Chinese private economy. The data showed 61.82 per cent companies admit that they are family business. Only 27.4 per cent of enterprises’ stock was controlled by family under 90 per cent. In China, family business enterprises’ average life is only 2.8 years. Why? Many bosses of private companies provide management job to their family. However, with the development of enterprise, importing the skills of manufacture and the experience of management become more and more important. Family members are not en ough for the development of business. The crisis of stock is another problem for privatization in China. A while back Huawei company was in trouble of old employees demanded the stock of enterprise. According to this event, we can notice there is more stock crisis in privatization of China. The owners of enterprises want to control the whole company; however, when the state-owned enterprises change to private enterprises, the distribution of stock is very confused. The lack of clear strategy of cooperation and the lack of coordination system make the partner scramble for stock, which can make the management layer into disarray. The developing of enterprise is seriously for entrepreneur. However, the growth of enterprise is not only expanding the company or increasing the number of employees, it appears in many aspects. Chinese entrepreneur always want to control their companies, this means they do not want to decrease their stock of the company. This phenomenon result to the lack of investment. For example, we can connect to family business. The lack of investment and management skills make the enterprises’ average life only 2.8 years. How to affect foreign investment and increase the capital is big challenge for Chinese entrepreneur because when the enterprises become private, the government cannot control or manage or invest to the companies directly. China’s privatization has developed more than 20 years, the private company increase the government financial income and develop Chinese economics. However the privatization in China is still not mature. A state-owned enterprise which changes to private enterprise has to face many problems. In general, the trend of Chinese privatization is optimistic. This also can help to develop the world economics.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

psychology and learning Essay -- essays research papers

There are many different kinds of ways that people and animals learn. People can adjust the way they learn to the different situations in which they are learning and what they have to learn. One form of learning is known as conditioning. Conditioning emphasises the relationship between stimuli and responses. The two types of conditioning found are Classical conditioning and Operant conditioning. Learning may occur in different ways. Psychologists have distinguished between different types of learning, these being Observational Learning and Insight Learning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Classical conditioning refers to a simple form of learning, which occurs through the repeated association of two or more different stimuli. Learning is only said to have occurred once a particular stimulus always produces a response which it did not previously produce. Classical conditioning involves an unconditioned stimulus and an unconditioned response, as well as a conditioned stimulus and a conditioned response. The unconditioned stimulus is any stimulus, which consistently produces a naturally occurring, automatic response. The unconditioned response is a reflexive and involuntary response, which occurs as a result of the unconditioned stimulus. The conditioned stimulus is the stimulus that is neutral at the beginning of the conditioning process and does not produce the unconditioned response. But through repeated association with the conditioned stimulus, triggers the same response as the unconditioned stimulus. The conditioned response is the learned respo nse that is brought forth by the conditioned stimulus. The conditioned response occurs after the conditioned stimulus has been associated with the unconditioned stimulus. An example of classical conditioning is when a person walks past a certain house each day and every time is attacked by a large dog. They then associate that house with the dog and avoid walking past there again. In this example the unconditioned stimulus is the dog, the unconditioned response is fear, the conditioned stimulus is the house, and the conditioned response is avoidance of the house.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Operant conditioning is the learning process in which the likelihood of a particular behavior occurring is determined by the consequences of that behavior. It is based on the assumption that a person or animal will tend to re... ...ng it long enough to reach the banana. After many futile attempts to reach the banana with his hands, the Chimp then tried other solutions, which included using each stick independently to reach the banana. Failing once again the chimp sat down with the two sticks in his hands, appearing as though he had given up. But then, seeing that both sticks could be put together to make one long stick (insightful experience), the Chimpanzee placed the small stick a little way inside of the larger one and was able to reach the banana and pull it toward himself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many differences and similarities between each of these learning processes. For example, classical conditioning involves only involuntary or reflex responses where as operant conditioning involves both involuntary and voluntary reflexes. These different learning processes can be used independently in many different situations. Where Classical conditioning may be more effective in one situation it may be useless in another. For this reason each of these learning processes, Classical and operant conditioning, and observational and insight learning are each as important and effective as the other.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Bad Credit Cards

Some Americans have been under the impression that credit cards are a valuable financial tool because credit cards give them leverage with their credit scores and also can make it possible to purchase and do things they may not otherwise be able to do. Even though this may be true for some this is not always the case. Credit cards are harmful not only to the American people’s finances but also the economy. Credit cards are the number one reason for personal debt and bankruptcy in America today because of little or no understanding of interest rates and the false sense of security that owning multiple cards gives. Most Americans have the desire for a more convenient lifestyle and credit card companies make it so easy to obtain their cards that it has become a trend in America for most families to have at least five or more credit cards per household. The high importance society has placed on establishing credit has started to open Americans’ eyes on how credit card use has impacted their pockets financially as well as the pockets of the top three major credit bureaus. It is no secret that without credit cards it is almost impossible for Americans to obtain certain items like reserving hotel rooms, renting a car and, purchasing airline tickets. Americans have been sucked into the policies of the credit card companies. The tops three credit bureaus, Transunion, Experian and Equifax all exist because of the requirements society places on developing credit. These bureaus have the power to determine how much credit a person has and if that person is entitled to receive any more credit. Credit bureaus determine whether a person gets a car, home, or business loan making it a necessity for the American consumer to attain credit stature by obtaining credit cards. In today’s society they are a must-have. Studies show that the United States households have received approximately 5. billion new credit card offers in 2009. This push from the credit card companies is pressuring Americans to place such a high importance on using credit cards that many Americans are not stopping to read and understand the contracts that they are signing. The shocking truth is that even if Americans were taking the time to read the contract, some would still not understand what the contract was actually saying. On average the United States credit card agreement is written at a 12 grade level, please note that most Americans who receive a high school diploma read at a ninth grade level even though they received 12 years of education. The toughest card agreement to read is from GTE Federal Credit Union. Their contract is set at 18. 5 reading level, which is the reading level equivalent of someone who has spent more than six years in college. The credit card companies have so many rules and hard to understand terms with their card contracts, that most Americans do not take the time to research and understand the rules; this causes debt and a large amount of it. Once the debt is there the credit bureaus are making money because Americans have to pay to check their credit score. Americans today have a strong desire for the simple lifestyle; credit cards give them the feeling that they are achieving this because of the ease of spending and false ideas of financial security. The sad truth is that credit cards are the leading cause of high debt and bankruptcy in America. Even, if someone does have good credit and are on time with the payment every month they pay high interest if the full balance is not paid in full each month, which most Americans cannot afford. Some Americans pay the minimal amount each month. This is the credit companies’ biggest snafu. The minimum payment is an interest-only payment and does not decrease the loan’s principal. If they would do the math they would see that it would take 180 years or more to pay off their credit card debt. That is an outrageous amount of time. The United States total revolving debt is $852. 6 billion as of March 2010, of which 98% is made up of credit card debt. The average credit card debt per household is $15,788. These statistics are far too high. This makes it easier to understand how debt is the number one reason Americans are suffering financially. The total bankruptcy filings in 2009 reached 1. million, which is up from the 1. 09 million that was recorded in 2008. Americans are so absorbed by the credit cards that a study was done in 2006 by the United States Census Bureau that determined there were nearly 1. 5 billion credit cards in use in America. A stack of all those cards would reach more than 70 miles into space and be almost as tall as 13 Mount Everest as reported by the New York Times on February 23, 2009. An important factor in credit card debt is the penalty fees Americans are receiving from card companies. In 2009 penalty fees added up to be 20. billion dollars according to R. K. Hammer, a consultant to the credit card industry. Aside from the vicious debt cycle, another issue with credit cards is fraud. In today’s culture, people are not finding the honest neighbors and trustworthy merchants, found in past generations. Now Americans have the World Wide Web or Internet, where consumers can buy almost anything they like with a couple clicks, and, of course, a Visa or MasterCard. This high speed Internet has given today’s thieves a high speed means to steal credit card information and turn a 780 credit score into a zero within minutes. In 2009 the number of identification fraud victims in the United States rose 12% to 11. 1 million, which is the highest level sense the Javelin survey began in 2003. All this fraud has Americans choosing their number one fear today not as terrorism, health viruses or personal safety; it is fraud that they fear and stress about the most. All this is taking a toll on Americans and slowly making them aware that not everyone is nice and trusting. Not just that, but it is killing the economy little by little. Americans are purchasing less because the fear of falling into debt or becoming a victim of fraud is becoming a very real scenario. In a recent report done by Consumer Report Magazine in November 2009 surveys showed that 21% of consumers said they were treated unfairly by credit card companies and 32% have paid off and closed their accounts. Half reported the reason for canceling the accounts was the card issuers hiking up their interest rates and imposing high account fees. Also in the report 45% of all consumers said they are using their cards less because they trust the credit card companies less. A Javelin study performed in 2009 showed credit card use has plummeted from 97% in 2007 to 72% in 2008, which is a 25% drop within over a year. All this debt and fraud is taking a toll on Americans and the economy, little by little Americans are purchasing less because the fear of credit card debt or becoming a victim of fraud is a very real life scenario. Americans are starting to slowly remember and realize that what was once borrowed must be paid back and that if they do not have the cash for it then perhaps they do not need it.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Spain Fights Civil Wars Last Battle - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 12 Words: 3579 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category History Essay Type Essay any type Tags: Civil War Essay War Essay Did you like this example? Dissertation Spain fights civil warà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s last battle Introduction à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Remembrance as a vital human activity shapes our links to the past, and the ways we remember define us in the present.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?  [1] It has been almost 75 years since the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, which was not only a war but also a revolution which would result either in a victory for Fascism or Communism. In the event, General Francisco Francoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Fascist party won the war. After the victory of the rebellious generals, Franco took power thus inaugurating the longest dictatorship in the history of Europe (1939-1975). It is still remembered not only for the horrors of the war itself but because it inflicted a deep and long lasting wound on Spanish society. It has remained a significant war  [2]  , which is still recognised internationally, long after the conflict has ended, and especially in Spain. It was not just a struggle between à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"goodà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"evilà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ but to do with cult ural life, unhappiness, gender issues and many underlying social and political issues. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“After Franco died, in 1975, la Transicion had seemed truly miraculous. At this point, there had been no falling of the Berlin wall and no full-scale toppling of Latin Americaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s rightwing dictatorships. Nor had Spaniards, unlike their neighbours in Portugal, pushed dictatorship out with peaceful, carnation-wielding revolution. There was no road map for going from authoritarian, dictatorship government to democracy. Spain was unique. It had to find its own way. And it did so by smothering the past.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?  [3] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"La Transicionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"The Transitionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ was the era when Spain moved from the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to a liberal democratic state. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"El pacto del olvidoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, the pact of forgetting was in complete contrast to the attitude taken up after the First and Se cond World Wars, the familiar memorial injunctions and inscriptions such as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Lest we forgetà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"We shall remember them.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ The à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Historical Memory Lawà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Ley de Memoria HistÃÆ' ³rica or La Ley por la que se reconocen y amplÃÆ' ­an derechos y se establecen medidas en favor de quienes padecieron persecuciÃÆ' ³n o violencia durante la Guerra Civil y la Dictadura, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"The Act to recognise and extend rights and establishing measures for those who suffered persecution or violence during the Civil War and Dictatorshipà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢) is a Spanish law passed by the Congress of Deputies on the 31st of October 2007.  [4]  It was based on a bill proposed by the Spanish Socialist Workers Party government of Prime Minister JosÃÆ' © Zapatero. The bill condemns the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco Franco and mandates restitution to its victims. The law recognises th e victims on both sides of the  Spanish Civil War, but especially the victims under the  dictatorship  of  General Francisco Franco. The other provisions it enforces are: Sentences handed down by kangaroo courts during the dictatorship, which sent thousands of dissidents and opponents of the regime to jail, will be formally declared illegitimate. Local governments must help locate, exhume and identify the bodies of victims from mass graves. Tens of thousands of Republican partisans are believed to be buried in concealed normal graves throughout the country, their fates never officially recognised. Demonstrations are banned at El Valle de los Caidos, or the Valley of the Fallen, a mausoleum and tourist attraction where Franco is buried, sometimes used for fascist rallies. Spaniards who lost citizenship after the dictatorship which forced them into exile can regain it; descendants of exiles will be allowed to apply for citizenship during a t wo-year period. Plaques, statues and other symbols honoring Franco or statements in exaltation of the military uprising, the civil war or the repression of the dictatorship must be removed from public view. It has been very controversial as many people feel it is opening up old wounds.   My dissertation is going to focus on the issues at stake here, the challenge of memory in the face of tragedy. Spaniards especially younger generations whose grandparents and parents had often kept their silence, suddenly wanted to know more, which is a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“direct result of the graves being openedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?  [5]  . Spaniards especially younger generations whose grandparents and parents had often kept their silence, suddenly wanted to know more. John Snow in the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Genius of British Artà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ said, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Art commemorates and moves generations to come,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? I shall question and analyse whether Spain should incorporate art i nto their commemoration rather than just uncovering mass war graves and removing fascist monuments. Realistically we commemorate and express what we are or want to be. Destroying the past and removing fascists monuments makes no sense at all: we have to remember what happened, and try to give a new meaning to it all. Spain should transform some of those monuments and built new ones. History does not and cannot disappear, history is continuing to be made everyday, and we have to make history as well, not just for the past but also for today and the future. As a society, how do we remember the past, and in what form? Does this remembrance change, and, if so, what does this tell us about our collective consciousness and cultural identity? Each separate part of Spain seems to have its own version of Spanish history and what happened before and during the Spanish Civil War. How does a country tackle this commemorative issue. This essay will be a critical analysis of the commemoration of historical events and the issues which have arisen, with specific reference to the Spanish Historical Memory Law and The Spanish Civil War. To do this, this essay will explore the interlocking themes of memory, remembrance and commemoration with case studiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Chapter 1: Spanish Civil War and the introduction of HML à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“One reason that Spaniards, especially older Spaniards, do not like to talk about the Spanish Civil War is that they still disagree so radically on it.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?  [6] General Francisco Franco, together with other generals, and with the military support of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, headed a coup dà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ÃƒÆ' ©tat in 1936 that interrupted the democratically elected government of the Second Republic (1931-1936). Since the coup dà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ÃƒÆ' ©tat faced stiff opposition from many loyalists to the Republic, it gave rise to a civil war that lasted from 1936 to 1939. The 1930s in Spain were an intensely ideo logical era; it had already become apparent in the early 1930s that Spain was going through a time of political radicalisation and growing social disorder. General Francisco Francoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s rising popularity in Spain was a clear reaction from a country tired of a chaotic 130 years composed of many different regions, which at the time all wanted to be independent, both the Basque country and Cataluna who were nationalists were looking for international support to become independent. Spain was once one of the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s most powerful countries  [7]  . By the 20th Century it was a poor and backward country where corruption was rife; there were huge social tensions between the poor and the wealthy. Spain also suffered greatly by losing all its colonies especially Cuba in the disaster of 1898 and many people desperately wanted Spain to be a strong empire again.  There were many other reasons behind the cause of the Spanish Civil War, in 1923 the esta blishment of General Primo de Rivera dictator of Spain, with Alfonzo XIII as King meant that Spain had a monarchist government. By 1930, opposition to Riveraà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s right-wing government was growing, and this eventually led to his resignation and he left Spain. In 1931 the monarchist government was rejected in las elecciones populares, (the popular elections), which forced the abdication of Alfonzo XIII. Spain, now a republic for the second time (the Second Republic), began to suffer a huge amount of political unrest as various political groups within Spain fought about the degree and speed of reform, with lots of opposing views. Left-wing parties formed a coalition, which ordered that the Spanish parliament call for significant social reform while at the other end of the political spectrum, conservative parties threatened this weak coalition and in the years leading up to 1936, politics in Spain became more and more polarised.  [9]  was stuck in Morocco, they were m eant to play a key role but the crews of the Spanish War ships stayed loyal to the Republican government and Franco was not able to transport them to mainland Spain. When Franco realised the Republican government were becoming stronger, Franco appealed to Mussolini and Hitler, both who sent over help, and Franco was able to bring the Army of Africa over, who headed north, causing destruction and death as they swept across Spain. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The long rows of tombstones at Paracuellos de Jarama, with their tragic inscriptions to beloved fathers, husbands, brothers and sons, were eloquent proof that the left, too, had blindly butchered unarmed opponents.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?  [10] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“It was clear that neither side had clean hands. These dead, however, were in holy ground. They were not in a ditch.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?  [11] Chapter 2: Memory EXPLAIN WHAT I MEAN, OPENS UP TO DISCUSSION ON à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"OFFICIAL MEMORYà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ discussion about memory which is in fact only what has been accepted as truth by successive generations. Collective memory is understood as a representation of the past shared by a group or community.  [18]  it will inevitably manage to modify their interpretation of the past. The media was very tightly controlled under the Franco regime and it produced a series of values and historical myths which had a significant influence on the perception of the war over society, not all members of society but a considerable amount. This was not helped by the fact that no one spoke about the war, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"El Olvidoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ the unwritten à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"pact of forgettingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ meant that it was easy for Franco to plant this à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"official memoryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ as Spaniards were happy not to remember the past and the war the way it actually was. In the 1960s, Spain witnessed a progressive replacement of the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"officialà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ memory of the war. The reburials and uncovering of mass graves since 2000 has brought an end to the silence which for the whole of Spain had kept the Civil War out of peopleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s conversation, if not their minds. Now, Spanish right-wingers are accusing Zapateroà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s government of also creating an à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"official memoryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ of the Spanish Civil War. Chapter 3: Memorials à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The memorial is about moral uncertainty; it has been described as embodying à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the delicate, almost imperceptible line that separates good and evil, life and death, guilt and innocenceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?  [20] Events of violence and tragedy, wielding much emotional power invoking deep emotional responses, can be the most difficult to commemorate. Public memorials are an important component of a holistic transitional justice approach. They confront the legacies of atrocity by drawing on representations of the past to teach lessons about democratic citizenship and human rights. Memoralisation and memorials have become tools of human rights education in the broadest sense of the word-combining public art in recent, civic space, and the power of memory to help build better societies in the future. The tradition of commemorating the dead may have started with the ancient practice by which individual warriors would deposit stones to make up a cairn before going into battle. They would return and remove a single stone for those who did not return, leaving a memorial.  [24]  These may have been set up at different time and under different circumstances. The annual televising of the ceremonies at the Cenotaph in Whitehall is the best example of how those who died during Britainà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s wars are annually remembered in Britain. These established practices and modes of remembrance are notably in Britain and France but also elsewhere. In Germany, the Holocaust isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and in Britain a remembrance day for the Holocuast, 27th January has been in the national calendar since 2001.(explain why in a footnote) Spainà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s best known war memorial is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Valle de los Caidosà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, the Valley of the Fallen. The Valley of the Fallen is a monumental memorial in the municipality of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, erected at Cuelgamuros Valley in the Sierra de Guadarrama, near Madrid.  [29] The monument is a landmark of 20th century Spanish architecture and was designed by Pedro Muguruza and Diego Mendez. Pedro Muguruza was a leading Spanish architect of the twentieth century. Supporting the winning side of the Spanish Civil War he held a high position in the government and was regarded as Francisco Francoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s lead architect.  [30]  He was Director General of Architecture, and organized the rebuilding of Spain after the ravages of war. Was he the Albert Speer of Spain? A committee of ministers in Spain has been set up to consider ways to memorialise the suffering of Francoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s victims, and Jaume Bosch, a Catalonian senator in the Spanish parliamentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Upper House, is proposing important changes to the way in which the tens of thousands of visitors to the monument would interpret what they are shown. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I want what was in reality something like a Nazi concentration camp to stop being a nostalgic place of pilgrimage for Francoists,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? SeÃÆ' ±or Bosch said. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Inevitably, whether we like it or not, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s part of our history. We donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want to pull it down, but the Government has agreed to study our plan.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? He wants à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“a monument that not only remembers the dictatorship in a one-sided way, but also denounces it. For millions of Spaniards, this place continues to be an insult to our democracy.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Ideas range from information boards telling visitors what really happened to the inco rporation of a new memorial honouring the republican dead. SeÃÆ' ±or Bosch is confident that, within a year, the Valley of the Fallen will no longer be as it is today. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The previous Socialist governments didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t dare touch the subject, it was too soon. But thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s no longer the case, weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve all grown up.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Chapter 4: Comparisons and how others have tackled commemorative issues Holocaust The Nazi Holocaust is regarded as one the most momentous events of modern history. It has become a central reference point for humanity and is no longer dismissed as a tragic by-product of the Second World War or explained away by simplistic, monolithic theories. Until the 1960s, the world of scholarship and virtually every other section of society, received the Holocaust in stunned silence. For almost two decades philosophers, historians, psychologists and theologians could find very little to say or to explain the Holocaust. In the 1960s the subject began to generate a huge amount of literature, the shock still there but no longer silence about the subject. The Holocaust theme is a powerful subject. It is an inspirational subject that is capable of being mediated to spiritually enrich and morally uplift those who choose to use it in the right way. Although the two are very different, Spain suffered a Civil War not two world wars. Spain could turn to Germany and take example from how they tackled their commemorative issues and perhaps should look to how Germany has dealt with their need to do some soul searching. The Holocaust is both unique and universal and is utterly without parallel in its significance. It has become something global, and it is a highly effective educational tool. The Historikerstreit (historians quarrel[1]) was an intellectual and political controversy in late 20th-century West Germany about the historical interpretation of the Holocaust. The German word Streit transla tes variously as quarrel, dispute, or conflict. The most common translation of Historikerstreit in English language academic discourse is the historians dispute, though the German term is often used. EXPAND + MORE TO MAKE RELEVANT Art à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Picassoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"The Charnel Houseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ vs à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Guernicaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Although, In Germany the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Final Solutionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? makes it a case apart. It has been proved that there was no à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Sonderwegà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, no special historical curse for Germany. And the same applies to Spain. Its history is different because is made by human beings and we have our peculiarities, but Spain has been connected with what happened in Europe and the rest of the world more than what we think. That is why is so surprising how we have failed to remember and commemorate our traumatic past, when others like Germany, France and even Italy have done it and dealt with i t. Pablo Picasso used two overtly political and powerful paintings to compare and comment on the Spanish Civil War and the Holocaust. Picassoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s work was not consistently political, but in 1945 he said the following: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“What do you think an artist is? An imbecile who has only eyes if heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a painter, or ears if heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a musician, or a lyre at every level of his heart if heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a poet, or even, if heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a boxer, just his muscles? On the contrary, heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s at the same time a political being, constantly alive to heartrending, fiery, or happy events, to which he responds in every way . No, painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war for attack and defense against the enemy.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?  [31] Through Picassoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s two paintings Guernica, 1937 and the Charnel House, 1945 he frames his war years. In both paintings Picasso communicates t he loss of innocent lives. Unlike Guernica, the Charnel House does not explicitly represent an historical event, and the title of the work is unspecific, but there are similarities between these paintings in their linear style, the triangular composition in the center, muted colour scheme and the subject matter. Like Guernica, The Charnel House addresses the effect of conflict on civilians. . Between completing Guernica in 1937 and 1945, when he painted Charnel House Picasso worked in many different styles, but he returned to the style of Guernica when creating his image of the horrors of World War II. In the Charnel House Picasso concluded the series of pictures that he had started with Guernica. One of the greatest tragedies resulting from the Spanish Civil War was the bombing of Guernica on April 26, 1937. Guernica is a village in the Basque country that was bombed by German and Italian warplanes at the command of the Spanish Nationalist forces. For over three houses, twenty-five or more of Germanyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s best equipped bombers, accompanied by at least twenty Messerschmitt and Fiat Fighters, dumped one hundred thousand pounds of high-explosive and flammable bombs on the village, slowly and thoroughly destroying the whole village into rubble. The Spanish Republican government commissioned Pablo Picasso to create a large mural for the Spanish display in 1937 at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans le Vie Moderne (Paris International Exposition). Picassoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Guernica shows the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts upon individuals, particularly innocent civilians. Guernica has gained a monumental status, becoming an eternal reminder of the tragedies of war, an anti-war symbol and an embodiment of peace. When Picasso handed the piece over, Guernica was displayed around the world in a brief tour, becoming famous and widely acclaimed. This tour helped bring the Spanish Civil War to the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s attention. The painting is full of imagery and different themes. Picasso filled his painting with different characters representing different aspects of Spanish culture. The mother and child on the right are a symbol of civilian destruction; the destruction of nature and beauty is present through the horse and the flower and the crushed bird a representation of the crushed Spanish spirit. In one of the first drafts of the mural, Picasso included the classic Republican symbol of the clenched fist surrounded by a halo, however he chose to eliminate it, perhaps due to its obvious significance. Guernica shows the suffering of people, animals, and buildings torn by the violence, chaos and despair of war. Even after it was finished, Guernicaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s meaning and role kept changing, mainly politically. While it was in the Spanish pavilion it served as an instrument of propaganda, Picasso had evoked in a painting à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“a disintegrated world afflicted by the horrors of warà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?  [33]  Rather than depicting the event in realistic terms or recording the actual bombers and perpetrators of violence, Picasso assembled a cast of allegorical characters: a fallen classical warrior (suggesting, perhaps a collapse of civilized standards); a bull and horse (recalling the traditional Spanish ritual of the bullfight); a lady with a lamp (possibly representing hope); and weeping women with children as a somber reminder that this violent act was perpetrated against innocent civilians. Picasso transformed his shock and outrage of the bombings into images of terror, violence and suffering, these images carried a huge emotional weight and personal meaning. He never attempted to represent the event of the bombing or to symbolise war but instead through many levels of meaning and emotion he created a powerful painting which would represent it all. Only eight years after the bombing of Guernica Pablo Picasso painted à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"The Charnel Houseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ 1945. Possibly inspired by a 1944 film set around the Liberation of Maidanek  [36]  it transcends emotional trauma through the audiences own interpretation of the picture. The corpses in Picassoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s painting also invite comparison with the pile of bodies strewn to the left of Goyaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s highly politicized painting of The Third of May, 1808 (1814). Both Guernica and The Charnel House have had their meaning of the painting removed from their original context to become representative of all conflict and its victims, regardless of time or place. How Germany tackled memorials + commemoration The first à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"memorialsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ to the Holocaust period were not in stone, glass or steel but in a narrative form.  [37]  These were in the form of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"memorial booksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ called The Yizkor Bucher, they recalled in the most ancient form of Jewish memorial media, the book; both the lives and the des truction of Europeans Jewish communities. Chapter 5: Opinion/ Politics Conclusion Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Spain Fights Civil Wars Last Battle" essay for you Create order