The Secret Operations Executive Essay Example for Free

The Secret Operations Executive Essay The Secret Operations Executive played an important role in the Asian region during the Second World War. This intelligence agency was crucial in supporting the British war efforts in Asia by inspiring the local people to oppose their occupation by the Japanese forces. They obtained valuable information in Asia and passed this information to the British military administration, which increased the strength of the British in the region. The Secret Operations Executive or SOE was the British agency, which was supposed to promote sabotage and subversion in the occupied areas. This function of SOE can be seen in the region of Asia and other parts of the world. At one point of time SOE had nearly six hundred employees and it used various weapons and instruments such as ships, air crafts, and radio communications. These instruments were used to infiltrate the agents, arms, and explosives of the enemies who were found in the regions beyond the control of the British administration. These operations can be seen in the region of Asia during the Second World War period. SOE, during the Second World War, emerged as one of the most popular intelligence gathering agencies due to the use of various techniques of obtaining information and supporting the local people to resist their subjugation by the Japanese forces. It has been argued by some scholars that SOE did not achieve that great of a success, as it failed to maintain close relations with British military and other intelligence operations. It is interesting to note, in this context, that although SOE performed various intelligence related tasks, originally it was not intended as an intelligence organization. It was also not intended to inspire anti-Japanese movements in the Asian countries. This indicates that the managers of this organization decided, in the middle of war, to change the function and aims of SOE in order to obtain support for the British war effort. SOE played an important role in inspiring the local people to resist against Japanese aggression in Burma, Siam, and Malaya. This local resistance against the Japanese forces assisted the British in getting extra time to obtain men and materials necessary to protect their colonies in Asia from the Japanese aggression. The fact that the British had to depend on the co-operation of their erstwhile colonies also indicates that Britain had become weak during this period. By using SOE, the British were able to resist their enemies including the Japanese in Asia. This organization was able to achieve success particularly in Burma due to the co-operation given by the anti-fascist organizations, influenced by communist ideology, and the Burma National Guard. With the participation of the local people, SOE was able to protect the lives of many British people in the region. This allowed the British to obtain control of Rangoon by the end of Second World War. However, the British failed to bring all the intelligence organizations under the banner of SOE, which was established in 1940 to sabotage and destroy the enemy power in the occupied countries. By November 1940, SOE had prepared a plan for the South East Asian region including China, Manchuria, French Indochina, Siam, the Philippines, Burma, Malaya, and Hong Kong. This plan was named Oriental Mission (OM), indicating the interest of Great Britain in South East Asia. The main aim of this mission was to create and develop a spirit of resistance in these countries, so that the British army could invade them and occupy them without taking greater risks. However, the fall of Singapore and Burma resulted in a need to change the original plan of this mission. Now, OM became known as the Indian Mission and concentrated on Afghanistan, India, and Ceylon. SOE leaders provided training and weapons to the members so that they could resist the Japanese in their regions. SOE faced delay problems due to the official policy, which postponed the operations of this organization in Siam and Burma. It has been claimed by SOE officials that due to this delay, these regions were invaded and occupied by the Japanese forces. With greater co-operation from the British administration, SOE would have claimed greater achievements. However, it is important to note that in spite of official delays, SOE was able to achieve at least part of its objective of destroying enemy power in the occupied regions. Nevertheless, when compared to other regions, the Chinese operations were not successful as this agency had to suffer many reversals in China. SOE played an important role in the recovery of prisoners of war in the region of Burma and Thailand. However, usually this task is given to the International Committee of the Red Cross. In this case, SOE was asked to recover the prisoners in order to achieve humanitarian and strategic aims of the British military. The Japanese administration decided to construct the railway line connecting Burma and Thailand. For this, the Japanese used local labour as well as the prisoners of war. By using white labour, the Japanese attempted to prove the racial superiority of the Asians. However, in the process of railway line construction, nearly 12,000 prisoners of war, and 90,000 local people died. Many prisoners of war died because of the difficult working conditions they were forced to endure. This included long hours in the rain without obtaining any medical attention. The British administration decided to take action against the Japanese, but it did not want to give publicity to these measures. Therefore, SOE was asked to move to this region. During this time SOE had maintained close contact with the Thai resistance movement, which allowed them to obtain the information regarding the movement of Japanese forces in the region. SOE was in the best position to gather necessary intelligence information in order to help the prisoners of war in Asia. SOE was given this task because â€Å"†¦only an organisation that was experienced in local intelligence gathering and working with resistance groups would be would be able to cope with the urgent demands of the task†¦Ã¢â‚¬  It was realized that SOE was the sole organization capable of handling this task, as it had prior experience working in the region. It was also important to achieve success against the Japanese within a short time span, which could not have been accomplished by conservative agencies. The Red Cross was not in a position to achieve the task of liberating prisoners of war because Red Cross simply did not possess ability to carry prisoners of war liberation exercise. The British government was also interested in keeping this mission a secret since it did not want the public to react to news of the worse working conditions the prisoners of war faced, especially considering many of them were British. SOE was considered an intelligence gathering agency. In order to release the prisoners of war in Asia there was the need to obtain information regarding the Japanese army’s movement. In 1941, it was decided to send SOE agents to Thailand in order to gather information regarding the activities of the Japanese troops in the region. Information was obtained by interviewing the prisoners of war who were given small microfilm questionnaires. These questions provided information concerning Japanese morale during the war period. SOE was able to obtain information regarding technological capabilities of the Japanese. For example, they could learn that Japanese had installed wireless stations every thirty miles along the Railway. While some regions were heavily guarded, remote regions were not given that much importance by the Japanese forces. SOE was able to give information concerning the state of the prisoners, and thereby the government could send the goods that were demanded by the war prisoners in the Japanese camps. This facilitated the relief work of the government, and saved the lives of a large number of prisoners. Another important reason for the keen interest showed by SOE to achieve success in the Burma-Thailand region was its rivalry with the U. S. Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The Americans were suspicious of the British interest in Thailand. This compelled the British intelligence agency to use its full energy in order to achieve success in this mission. This competition between the US and British agencies resulted in the lack of co-ordination between these two agencies as they competed to achieve their missions in these regions. SOE also noticed the problems that were faced by the prisoners of war. These problems were lack of proper food, malnutrition, lack of financial power to buy food in the market, and lack of medicines. Humanitarian concerns also forced this agency to take active part in this mission. Through its relationship with Thai national leaders, SOE was able to obtain evidence to prove that Japan had begun transportation of the war prisoners to Japan. This information allowed the British government to make right kind of decision while dealing with the Japanese threat in Asia. This implied that Great Britain could send its army to capture those regions where the Japanese had become weak. It was feared that war prisoners would be taken to Japan, and there they would be killed. SOE maintained close relationship with leaders of Free Siam Movement, and assured them its help in their struggle against the Japanese in Thailand. This agency was able to obtain the help of nearly 90,000 guerillas who played an important role in rescuing the prisoners of war from the Japanese camps. After the end of war, SOE maintained direct contact with the prisoners of war and obtained information regarding their problems, their personal details, and their immediate needs. Relief was given to the prisoners of war by conducting operation ‘Mastiff’. These details show that SOE was able to protect the lives of a large number of prisoners of war, many of whom had come close to death due to lack of medicine and malnutrition. In spite of the above achievements, SOE suffered from various internal problems such as competition with Secret Intelligence Services (SIS) which lost its dominant position after the emergence of SOE. This resulted in lack of co-ordination between SOE and SIS. In the end SIS had to concede its defeat at the hands of its sister intelligence agency, as the SOE proved its superiority in Asia.

Act II Analysis & Character Development :: English Literature

Act II Analysis & Character Development At the start of Act II, John Proctor returns from the fields and sits down to dinner with his wife, Elizabeth. She has cooked up a rabbit, which apparently walked into the house and sat itself in the corner. Proctor seems out to please Elizabeth throughout this scene, kissing her and complimenting her on her cooking. Their small talk continues for a page or so, until the atmosphere abruptly changes, as Proctor enquires, â€Å"I think you’re sad again aren’t you?† Elizabeth responds by saying that he had returned so late that she thought he had gone to Salem. When Elizabeth mentions that Mary Warren is currently in Salem, Proctor becomes angered, demanding why Elizabeth did not stop her. Elizabeth suggests that he himself, go to Salem to testify that the accusations of witchcraft are false. Proctor says that he cannot prove his allegation because Abigail told him this information while they were alone at Parris’ house. Elizabeth is greatly dismayed upon learning that he and Abigail were alone together. Proctor demands that she stop judging him. He says that he feels as though his home is a courtroom, but Elizabeth responds that the real court is in his own heart. This is implied by the line: â€Å"I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you.† This also suggests that regardless of whether Elizabeth forgives Proctor, he still cannot forgive himself. When Mary Warren returns home, the mood of the scene changes dramatically. As soon as Mary enters the room, Proctor goes directly to her and grabs her by the cloak, furious. â€Å"How do you go to Salem when I forbid it? Do you mock me? [shaking her.] I’ll whip you if you dare leave this house again! Mary responds by saying she is sick and gives Elizabeth a doll that she sewed in court, saying that it is a gift. She reports that thirty-nine people now stand accused. John and Mary argue over whether Mary can continue attending the trials. Elizabeth’s name was apparently mentioned in the accusations (Mary will not name the accuser), but Mary spoke out in Elizabeth’s defense. Proctor instructs Mary to go to bed, but she demands that he stop ordering her around. Elizabeth, meanwhile, is convinced that it was Abigail who accused her of witchcraft, in order to take her place in the Proctor household. Overall, this is a very important Act in terms of the relationship between Proctor and Elizabeth. It brings to light a number of crucial issues such as deceit, dishonesty, unfaithfulness and a growing sense of mistrust. Throughout the scene, Proctor seems motivated by feelings

Marketing and Overall Communications Objectives

Integrated Marketing Communications Plan Outline 1. 0 Executive Summary The executive summary is an important piece to your IMC Plan. Often, CEO’s will not take the time to read all of the details of the plan, so this particular part of the plan should be a one page summary of the goals, execution plan, and potential results. 2. 0 Marketing Communications Objectives The marketing communications objectives set the tone for the whole plan. They should be specific, measurable, and used throughout the rest of plan so that all of the tools are aligned to enhance the overall goals.The Marketing Communications objectives should also be bereft of any mention of raising sales. Instead, they should be focused on actual communication objectives, such as â€Å"increase web traffic by 20%,† or â€Å"reach 15% of the target market in the first month. † 3. 0 Situation Analysis The situation analysis is the point in the document where you should discuss the initial research find ings that will guide your recommendations. Only relevant information should be displayed in this area, as you will need to invoke it, when discussing the actions that need to be taken to accomplish the marketing communications objectives.You will also want to identify your stakeholders, target audiences, discuss geographic considerations, seasonality, the competition, the creative strategy of the competition, and perform a SWOT analysis. 4. 0 Research This section should clearly articulate the research tools, mediums, and points of emphasis for the campaign. This is not only about past research, but on-going research that can be used to help with the evaluation of the campaign. An important question to ask is, â€Å"how do we plan to review the changing perception of the brand and product†? . 0 IMC Campaign Strategy Outline the overall strategy and how/why it should be effective to accomplish the marketing communications objectives. Discuss how you intend to message the stake holders and target audiences and why it makes sense to do so in the manner you have selected. This section should also help you identify why key stakeholders will act favorably or unfavorably to messaging, identify potential challenges, have a market segmentation strategy, rationale for the recommendations, and fully develop the creative strategy statement. 6. Creative Brief The creative brief is a document all on its own, often used in advertising to develop an ad plan. The Big Idea of the creative should be discussed, and the logo and tagline should be developed in this section. It is often a good idea to reiterate the overall communications objectives and more clearly define communications objectives that will support the main objectives. Also write out the actual features and benefits of the product or service, as this will help develop the message and points of differentiation from the competition.The brief should then tell strategy of the creative, give tone and include a supp orting statement of the big idea. 7. 0 Advertising Tell the reader what mediums will be used for each target audience, the objectives, the media plan, and timing of the communications. Additionally, each of the mediums will need to have rough scripts, tone, colors, and artwork conveyed. 8. 0 Direct Response Email Talk about the objectives and execution strategy of emails. Also, the reader should understand where the email lists will come from, what the call to action will be, and how often the emails will go out.If testing will be performed, explain what will be tested and how that testing may affect the email message and delivery. 9. 0 Public Relations Every company has a public relations message, whether they know it or not so the IMC Plan should have a strategy associated with this particular communications vehicle. 10. 0 New Media New media is growing and must be developed to reach consumers where they are networking. Blogs, Vlogs, Podcasting, Mobile Marketing, Display Ads, and Social Networks can all be strategically used to help you accomplish communications objectives, but the plan must identify how. 1. 0 Consumer Promotions Consumer promotions can generate engagement, but a discussion about what fits with the big idea and the brand message should be performed. What are the objectives, how will it be measured, and will you do a sweepstake event, or contest? Also, another media discussion should be opened, as promotions can happen in stores, online, at experiential events, and on the phone. 12. 0 Budget The budget is quite important, as the details of how and when the money will be spent need to be understood so that the reader can know where the money is going.A suggestion is to develop a spreadsheet by month by medium and time (month, week, quarter) that will allow for dollar placement in each specific cell to make it easy for the reader to understand the complete picture. 13. 0 Measurement and Evaluation All of the measurement and evaluative tools mus t be explained. Once again, develop objectives. What specifically will be used to measure and evaluate the effectiveness can be spelled out, specifically. Questionnaires, word of mouth measurement, focus groups are all good options, but which will work for your product/company will have to be identified.It is smart to look at each recommendation and set an evaluation plan for it. The process should be repeated for advertising, sales promotions, etc. An overall measurement and evaluation plan is not acceptable in a fully developed professional plan. Specifics about each medium need to undergo extensive analysis for an on-going review of each tactic as its own entity. 14. 0 Appendices – (Communication Chart, Media Plan, Online Plan, Etc. ) Appendices are optional, but placement of charts, artwork, and spreadsheets can clutter the plan. 15. 0 References 16. 0 Footnotes

Languages of Spain Other Than Spanish

If you think that Spanish or Castilian is the language of Spain, youre only partly right. True, Spanish is the national language and the only language you can use if you want to be understood almost everywhere. But Spain also has three other officially recognized languages, and language use continues to be a hot political issue in parts of the country. In fact, about a fourth of the countrys residents use a tongue other than Spanish as their first language. Here is a brief look at them: Euskara (Basque) Euskara is easily the most unusual language of Spain — and an unusual language for Europe as well, since it doesnt fit in the Indo-European family of languages that includes Spanish as well as French, English and the other Romance and Germanic languages. Euskara is the language spoken by the Basque people, an ethnic group in Spain and France that has its own identity as well as separatist sentiments on both sides of the Franco-Spanish border. (Euskara has no legal recognition in France, where far fewer people speak it.) About 600,000 speak Euskara, sometimes known as Basque, as a first language. What makes Euskara linguistically interesting is that it has not been shown conclusively to be related to any other language. Some of its characteristics include three classes of quantity (single, plural and indefinite), numerous declinations, positional nouns, regular spelling, a relative lack of irregular verbs, no gender, and pluri-personal verbs (verbs that vary according to the sex of the person being spoken to). The fact that Euskara is an ergative language (a linguistic term involving cases of nouns and their relations to verbs) has caused some linguists to think that Euskara may have come from the Caucasus region, although the relationship with languages of that area hasnt been demonstrated. In any case, it is likely that Euskara, or least the language it developed from, has been in the area for thousands of years, and at one time it was spoken in a much larger region. The most common English word that comes from Euskara is silhouette, the French spelling of a Basque surname. The rare English word bilbo, a type of sword, is the Euskara word for Bilbao, a city on the western edge of Basque Country. And chaparral came to English by way of Spanish, which modified the Euskara word txapar, a thicket. The most common Spanish word that came from Euskara is izquierda, left. Euskara uses the Roman alphabet, including most letters that other European languages use, and the à ±. Most of the letters are pronounced roughly like they would be in Spanish. Catalan Catalan is spoken not only in Spain, but also in parts of Andorra (where it is the national language), France, and Sardinia in Italy. Barcelona is the largest city where Catalan is spoken. In written form, Catalan looks something like a cross between Spanish and French, although it is a major language in its own right and  may be more similar to Italian than it is to Spanish. Its alphabet is similar to that of English, although it also includes a Ç. Vowels can take both grave and acute accents (as in à   and à ¡, respectively). Conjugation is similar to Spanishs. About 4 million people use Catalan as a first language, with about that many also speaking it as a second language. The role of the the Catalan language has been a key issue in the Catalonian independence movement. In a series of plebiscites, Catalonians have generally supported independence from Spain, although in many cases opponents of independence boycotted the elections and the Spanish government has contested the legality of the votes. Galician Galician has strong similarities to Portuguese, especially in vocabulary and syntax. It developed along with Portuguese until the 14th century, when a split developed, largely for political reasons. For the native Galician speaker, Portuguese is about 85 percent intelligible. About 4 million people speak Galician, 3 million of them in Spain, the rest in Portugal with a few communities in Latin America. Miscellaneous Languages Scattered throughout Spain are a variety of smaller ethnic groups with their own languages, most of them Latin derivatives. Among them are Aragonese, Asturian, Calà ³, Valencian (usually considered a dialect of Catalan), Extremaduran, Gascon, and Occitan. Sample Vocabularies Euskara: kaixo (hello), eskerrik asko (thank you), bai (yes), ez (no), etxe (house), esnea (milk), bat (one), jatetxea (restaurant). Catalan: sà ­ (yes), si us plau (please), quà ¨ tal? (how are you?), cantar (to sing), cotxe (car), lhome (the man), llengua or llengo (language), mitjanit (midnight). Galician: polo (chicken), dà ­a (day), ovo (egg), amar (love), si (yes), nom (no), ola (hello), amigo/amiga (friend), cuarto de baà ±o or baà ±o (bathroom), comida (food).