Friday, December 27, 2019

Evaluate the Changes and Continuities in the Role of...

China has been the home to various religions. At different times different dynasties endorsed certain religions while repressing others. While Buddhism flourished during the Sui and Tang dynasty, it faced opposition from the government during the Song dynasty. Confucianism lost government endorsement during the Sui and Tang but gained momentum during the Song as Neo-Confucianism. Yuan dynasty promoted Islam and Tibet Buddhism but ignored Confucianism. Different rulers sponsored and protected different religions but Confucianism and some form of Buddhism have always been alive in Chinese society from 600 to 1450. After much political disunity and chaos China was finally united under the Sui dynasty (589-618) and Sui emperors allowed†¦show more content†¦Empress Wu, the only female to ever rule China, was a devout Daoist. Also, as the Tang Empire expanded eastward, contact with India increased and Buddhist influence reached its height. Many people traveled to India. Monks like Xuanzang went to India, brought back many sutras, literary compositions based on the teachings of Buddha, and translated them into Chinese. Seeing the rise of Daoism and Buddhism and the fading of Confucianism, Tang scholars set out to defend Confucianism. Han Yu, an essayist, vehemently argued against Buddhism and asked the Chinese to go back to their roots by studying and interpreting the Confucian Classics. His main argument against Buddhism was that the foreign religion preached equality among all and didn’t place proper importance between the five relationships (ruler vs. the ruled, father vs. son, h usband vs. wife, older brother vs. younger brother, and older friend vs. younger friend) necessary for social tranquility. He urged that this was destroying social order. Nonetheless Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism all coexisted as the three teachings under the Tang. Under the Song (960-1279) dynasty Buddhism started to lose popularity and endorsement while Confucianism was revived. Near the end of the Tang dynasty Emperor Wuzong issued the Great Anti- Buddhist Persecution. This persecution had economic and social reasons. First, war with Uyghur tribes in 843 left the country in dire need for money. Monks did notShow MoreRelatedCCOT And CC Essay1549 Words   |  7 Pages/2 – 8000 bce – 600 bce, 600 bce – 600 ce Africa Compare and contrast life in foraging societies with life in agricultural societies after the Agricultural Revolution Identify two key changes in early African history that resulted in a new period in the history of the region The Middle East Analyze the political changes in the Middle East from the Agricultural Revolution to 600 c.e. Compare and contrast the basic features of TWO of the following religious systems prior to 600 c.e. PolytheismRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pages10.5/12 ITC New Baskerville Std Credits and acknowledgments borrowed from other sources and reproduced, with permission, in this textbook appear on the appropriate page within text. Copyright  © 2013, 2011, 2009, 2007, 2005 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrievalRead MoreProject Mgmt296381 Words   |  1186 Pagesactivities 9.1.2. Responsibility matrixes 10.1 Communication planning (.2.3.4) [App. G-4] Chapter 12 Outsourcing 12.1.1 Procurement requirements [G.8] 12.1.2.3 Contract types 9.4.2.3 Conflict management 12.2.7 The art of negotiating 12.2.3.5 Change requests Chapter 13 Monitoring Progress Chapter 5 Estimating Times and Costs 6.4 Activity duration estimates (.3) 6.4.2 Estimating tools (.1.3.4) 6.3.1 Identifying resources 7.1 Activity cost estimates (.2.3.4.5) 5.1.2.4 Delphi method

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Substance Abuse Within Correctional Setting - 978 Words

Substance Abuse in Correctional Setting Assessment psychology has examined individuals who are criminal offenders who were evaluated to determine their personalities to which they have a long history with. Approximately well over a century ago, Mà ¼nsterberg, 1908, Vaccaro Hogan, 2004 who are all psychologists has managed a improved study on criminal offenders that will allow us all to have an ambiguous understanding of how the process of his research in reference to the criminal offenders testimony in court cases. In the 20th century the personality assessment was established, which was generally exercised to govern a component for personality in criminals (Symonds, 1934). During court cases in 1942 adults and juveniles were introduced to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) which was disclosed that same year. Psychologists Archer, Stredny, Zoby, (2006); Archer, Buffington-Vollum, Stredny, and Handel (2006); Borum and Grisso (1995); and Lally (2003) was flabber gasted to find how accurate the MMPI–2 presented itself, which was ultimately the most universally piece of equipment acknowledged and used as evidence for criminals, that calculated their personalities in forensic assessments. The MMPI was authenticated well in the 70’s which everyone employed extensively as solid foundation in correctional settings as well as the use in forensic psychologists. Currently the use of assessments were for people who were underShow MoreRelatedLiterature Review On Recidivism854 Words   |  4 PagesLiterature Review Correctional Treatment: An Effective Model for Change This particular study uses the therapeutic community theory model (TC) of treatment to reduce recidivism. The journal article discusses the development and the history of (TC). Furthermore, it uses the TC) model in the Oregon prison correctional system to validate this particular method of treatment. The purpose of the study: The purpose of this study was to show that an effective drug treatment program in the criminal justiceRead MoreDrug Abuse And Substance Abuse Essay1451 Words   |  6 PagesAbstract Approximately eighty percent of the inmates in correctional facilities have problems related to substance abuse. The number of male inmates has increased considerably in the recent years mainly due to a high number arrests and prosecutions that are drug related. Many correctional facilities offer educational and treatment interventions to help them. However, significant gaps remain.The Justice’s Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring program in the U.S tracks prevalence trends and the type of drugsRead MoreThe Ethics Of Substance Abuse956 Words   |  4 PagesFor years, I have desired to work within the addictions industry, as I am aware through my upbringing that substance abuse is a barrier that keeps a person from being who they truly are. But not only this, it stops them from feeling the pain of their life and the world. While attempting to protect themselves from the pain, it ultimately causes worse pain and detriment to their lives: being incarcerated and losing their freedom . What is worse, is never getting the help needed while incarceratedRead MoreCorrectional Psychologists Have Many Duties Within The Prison Setting Essay998 Words   |  4 PagesCorrectional psychologists have many duties within the prison setting. When offenders arrive to correctional institutes, the correctional psychologist conducts assessments to assist the offender in their rehabilitation process. For example, correctional psychologists provide assessment to prevent self harm, substance abuse, anger management and crisis intervention. They also develop programs to assist with recidivism of offenders (Bartol Bartol, 2012). Prior to an offender being release from prisonRead MoreShould The Prison Be Allowed? An Institution Be Stripped Searched?1355 Words   |  6 PagesWhat are two ways an inmate may acquire access to substances while incarcerated? What is the overall effect once substances are inside the institution? In your opinion should every visitor entering an instituti on be stripped searched or to what degree? The prison typically houses a population of over 1,200 inmates, and since Bill C-10, one of the major concerns for prisons has been overcrowding in Provincial, Territorial, and Federal correctional facilities by increasing the number of mandatoryRead MoreEffective Measures Increase Recidivism Incarceration Essay1199 Words   |  5 Pagesrisk of recidivism when released and to reduce disruptive behavior within (Bonta, Pang, Wallace-Capretta, 1995). The risk-reduction model focus on recidivism; it identifies risk factors that causes the behavior and empirically shown to predict reoccurrences; whereas, the enhancement model focus on the psychological and physical well-being of the inmate; â€Å"it identifies improvement matters such as coping with physical or sexual abuse, parenting, and HIV risk (Schram Morash, 2002), with the assumptionRead MoreEssay about Correctional System1469 Words   |  6 PagesThe U.S. correctional system has come under critical public scrutiny which has c orrections administrators scrambling to find ways to run effective correctional facilities. The reality of corrections administration today is that it is changing. Major issues of this changing environment include ongoing budget concerns, privatization, technology, overcrowding, program issues, personnel management, security issues, and legal issues. This paper examines these current issues facing correctional administratorsRead MoreAntisocial Personality Disorder And Incarcerated Individuals1427 Words   |  6 Pagescategories: psychopathy and sociopathy. ASPD can be caused by many deformations within the brain, these deformations can be caused by a number of outside influences including child abuse and parental neglect. With this in mind, psychopathy and sociopathy are two different forms of this very severe mental disorder. Not only do psychopaths and sociopaths vary in how they act, they are also drastically different within the structure of their brain. Due to the severity of their actions, incarcerationRead MoreEssay On Substance Use Disorders1407 Words   |  6 PagesOffenders with Substance Use Disorders: An Intervention Project Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and criminal activity are often interconnected and intrinsically linked. It is a relevant and pressing issue associated with continued use, as well as inflated recidivism rates for this population. It has been found that over half of all inmates at county, state, and federal sentencing levels meet criteria for substance use disorders, as well as having served at least 3 total correctional sentences duringRead MoreCorrectional Programs of America Essay1648 Words   |  7 Pagestraining, work release, drug-abuse, health care, religious, and finally recreational programs are just a few of the hundreds of services inmates can participate in. Due to these programs, positive changes within an inmates life are entirely within reach. William Rogers began instructing student inmates, in 1789, at the Philadelphia Walnut Street Jail. Rogers established what is now know as the â€Å"Sabbath School†. The â€Å"Sabbath School† existed from 1789 to about 1875. Within this period, members of the

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Design and Analysis of Experiments †Free Samples to Students

Queston: Discuss about the Design and Analysis of Experiments. Answer: Introduction Goal setting is the process for thinking about the ideal future and to motivate oneself in such a way that it turns the vision of the future into a reality. The process by which people set goals for themselves to chose the perfect way that they want to go. Every people has a set of goals that is set in his mind. Goals are the most important part in the life of a person. The absence of goals makes life very much ordinary and plain and makes it difficult for the people to achieve the peak of success. I personally have set up my own set of goals and objectives that would help me to attain success in my life. I am an avid lover of travelling and have a special interest for wildlife. I have the goal to visit Africa to experience the vast range of wildlife in the continent. Professionally my goals are to become a good and dedicated employee in my office. I also dream of climbing the professional steps of success in my office gradually. Career is very much important in ones life. This is because of a number of reasons. Career helps to provide a sense of direction to my life. It also provides a general structure to life as because achieving career goals helps us to follow the right direction in life and deviates us from choosing any wrong directions (Wenger et al. 2014). A right path allows us to be social and make many friends in life. External rewards provided to the employees of the company include the rewards that come from an external source i.e. the employers. It has a direct relation to the job performance of the employees. Some external rewards are salary, bonus, fringe benefits, promotion, fringe benefits, profit sharing and many more as such. Internal rewards on the other hand refer to the non physical rewards that cannot be seen or touched but they can be emotionally felt by the people receiving the rewards. Some of the examples of internal rewards are words of praise from seniors, recognition, taking prid e from the job. Avoiding job stress and low morale is another challenge of workplace. Stress and low morale will affect the rate of work which in turn will harm the productivity. If a job is providing too much stress it should be better to leave the job and search for any other job (Sinsky et al. 2013). Modifying job situation will also seem to be stressful and boring at that time. It is better to approach the operations manager or the supervisor at that particular time and request him for a change in the work pattern. The most important commitment in ones life is the parents and the responsibilities towards them. It is because of them that people have been able to achieve the present place. The primary importance can never shift from parents to anything else (Healy 2014). The secondary commitment is the office or workplace. While some may argue about the primary and secondary importance from the personal front it would always be the same. Striking a balance between both the responsibilities is a huge task for anyone. To maintain a perfect balance between personal and professional life one have to first create a routine to maintain a perfect time management in between both my commitments (Preiser 2015). Part 3 of the course explains the details about the interests that a person have in his personal and professional life. Some of the work related interests are, analyzing a business to determine how it could operate better, managing a business or organization, managing assets and resources of a company, planning and developing the company and many more as such (Novakovich et al. 2017). Whereas the personal interests of an individual refers to his likings like he may like a sport, a TV program or he may have some interest on some other person in the workplace or anywhere else. The intellectual capacity of a person is the ability of the person to build, think, reason or analyze something by applying his cognitive intelligence. Intellectual capacity has helped people to deduce, analyze the right decisions quite early than the others. The intellectual capacity is surely one of the personal assets and helps people to have a strategic advantage over others both in the personal front and also in the professional front (Moon 2013). A popular quote is Responsibility brings immense power. This has been proved everywhere in the world. I myself showed immense responsibility in the company where I showed my sense of responsibility. My earlier company dealt with manufacturing and storing of woolen materials. I still remember that very day, we were scheduled to supply a large consignment to one of our most old and trusted client. The time when I entered office I saw gloomy faces of employees (Montgomery 2017). I got an idea about something bad has happened and managed to learn the whole thing from one of the executives. Our consignment which was scheduled to be delivered the next day was damaged by unanimous reasons. I decided not to search for the reasons and immediately called up the senior supervisor and informed him about the matter. However instead of advising me he left it out to me to decide the possible way out of the situation. I was lost in thoughts thinking about the consequences of such damage as we would surely be losing one of our premium clients. I decided to be honest and inform the client about the original situation and promised them of an urgent replacement within 15 days. I took the full responsibility of managing the whole task by myself. Finally I was able to provide the consignment within time to the client. My honesty impressed my client and they praised heavily about me. Thus this whole task proved my capability as a leader who can shoulder every responsibility of an organization and is free to face challenging situations. The chart assessing the capabilities of a particular person is shown in Part 5 of the course. It shows a persons ability to organize, socialize and communicate within the workplace or in personal space (Miley et al. 2016). The chart also has options on self managing and physical activities that are performed by different individuals. Values and Attitudes I would describe the position of work in my life as the most inevitable part. Work makes a people organized and responsible and absence of such a necessary item in life will make me dull and lazy (Miley et al. 2016). Thus work will be the most prioritized in my life. My current and expected commitments in my life are to take up the responsibilities of my parents and look after them and secondly to serve all the responsibilities of my workplace. The most important rewards in my career were the first promotion and recognition which I received from the office. I regard it the best as that was something which I received for the first time and thus it has a special recognition in my heart. Interview Report as on August 5, 2017. I interviewed John Edwards who is the new operations manager of Sony Electronics in Sydney. The place of the interview was Riverview Hotel located on the banks of Sydney River. I fixed the interview at lunch and reserved a table for both of us. We greeted each other with pleasantries and headed straight to the conversation. At first I asked him to describe about his job. His job is to coordinate all the operations of the company which plays a leading role in managing the raw materials and personnel. He explained that he has the responsibility to manage the inventory, purchase and supply the different kinds of materials from the suppliers and to the customers. The management of the company in Sydney has asked him to shoulder some additional responsibilities of Human Resources like screening some of the new recruits of operations team, training them on different activities of operations and planning. Mr. John had begun his career with a local elec tronic giant in the year 2005. Working there for 6 years and being promoted to a assistant manager in the company he gathered a lot of experience. In the year 2011 he joined Panasonic as an Assistant Operations manager where he worked with efficiency for another 4 years. However the lack of proper promotion chances forced him to quit the organization. He was also in search of a new challenge elsewhere which made up his mind to join Sony Electronics Sydney. He was appointed as one of the Senior Operations in charge which is a post higher than the Assistant operations manager but a post lower than the Operations manager. His hard work and dedication paid off when he was rewarded with the post of the Operations manager in charge as the previous operations manager was promoted to a different post. His educational qualification was an envious one. He passed the secondary in the year 1996 from a reputed high school of Sydney. His dream of pursuing a MBA was fulfilled when he enrolled himself in the BBA course of Monash University Australia. He completed his masters in business administration in the year 2004 from the same university and also conducted a practical training on some special courses that helped him to get acquainted with some of the latest technology that different company uses to manage their daily activities. When Mr. Edwards asked about his job role seemed to be very pleased in his current role as an operations manager of Sony Electronics. He was however prompt to reply that he also enjoyed his previous workplaces and gathered a lot of experience from there. He explained that he has a special attraction for working with younger employees and says that the new generation of workers is much more advanced than they used to be. Mr. Edwards engages himself in training the new wards of all the complex activities that they have to perform while they work for the company. The training program is scheduled by him which is believed to be one of the best in the industry. He explained that the training program helps the new employees to have an adequate knowledge of the extrinsic and intrinsic factors that determine the working of the company. During his stint as an undergraduate student he attended two internship sessions with one of the leading manufacturing companies of Australia. Next I asked him about his passion both personal as well as professional. He described sports cars as one of his oldest passions that date back to his schooldays. Professionally he described solving complex problems and taking and completing additional responsibilities with ease provides him immense pleasure. His special liking for working together as a team is also a point that was noted by me. He explained that team work helps the whole team to stay dedicated and motivated towards their work. He stated that prior to his joining there were some employees among the team who were not motivated enough to perform well and lacked the spark in them to achieve the results. He stated that when he entered the scene he decided to glue the team together so that they can perform as a joint team and make sure that everyone of the team comes to the help of each other thus making the team one of the best in the organization and also ensuring a huge success. The fact that I work with a large number of employees both old and new and give them a new opportunity each and every day is incredible and makes me feel better was the answer when I asked him about his feelings on working with a large number of people in the organization. He describes that he takes a challenge on recruiting new individuals in the organization. Meeting new people, hearing different answers and also learning new things from many of the new candidates is enjoyed by him. He says that he uses some special screening methods to test the potential of the candidates. He explains that I always ask simple but tricky questions to the candidates and test their potential. The questions include; Why do you think the company will recruit you? How can you use the technological components of the company to improve your performance in the company? How can you see yourself after 5 to 10 years in the company? According to him the candidates always tends to provide general answers to such questions which diminishes their chances of recruitment. He selects the ones who provide the best answers to the questions. Mr. Edward also assesses the different skills and intelligence levels of the ones who are recruited in the industry. One of the main tasks which he describes to be the toughest among all is the management of the financial resources of the organization. He is assigned by the company to play an important role in the budgeting, controlling costs and making sure to keep the organization on a financial track (Lee and Brett 2015). I asked him whether he performs any other financial operations to which he replied that financial operations is a vast task including forecasting the business, preparing the sales reports of the company and ensuring the implementation of strategic planning to reduce the costs of operating the business. He tells that he performs such tasks by cost benefit analysis to improve the efficiency of the organization and save time. Nowadays modern operations management even includes sustainability in the financial equation. He replied that his team supervised by him plays a leading role in managing both raw materials and personnel. As mentioned earlier purchasing and supply is very much important to the job. The main challenge according to him lies in communicating properly with all the team members of the organization. Communicating properly is one of the necessary needs of the organization as because the absence of a proper communication renders the organization ineffective and affects its performance (Little 2014). I was hesitant to ask about his salary but finally asked about it as I had to incorporate it in my interview. I saw a clear feeling of discomfort in his face when I asked the question and immediately decided not to proceed further on the following question. Finally I asked him about his strengths and motivating factors which has made him what he currently is. He replied that the largest strength is his honesty and dedication both in his personal as well as his professional life. He said that he does not take the help of others while motivating himself rather he is the one who motivates himself on his own. He believes that to achieve success he has to climb through the failures of life. Comparing the following qualities with such a successful person was beyond my imagination but I found some of the characteristics of the man similar to me like being honest both in the personal as well as the professional front and enjoying the work which I do. The interview lasted for 2 hours as we had our lunch in the meantime. I thanked Mr. Edwards a lot to make out time from his busy schedule and help me out. After a thorough analysis of the report I found out that my career choices were in accordance to my strengths. Statement Addressing Selection Criterion Priority Task Strategy Timeline Commitment Order of Importance What needs to be done How will I do it When it needs to be done by Time/Money (Professional) 1 Achieving the employer of the month Best performance and displaying the best skills Within 1 month 1 month (Professional) 2 Summarizing my schedule Proper planning on professional and personal front 2 months 1 months/cost of scheduling (Professional) 3 Visiting the warehouses According to the organizational plans and strategies 6 months 3 months/$5000 (Professional) 4 Attending training in Melbourne Training strategies 2 weeks 1 weeks/$2500 (Personal) 5 Visiting New Zealand Arranging the tour, booking tickets, flights and arranging hotels 3 weeks 15 days/$30,000 Table No 2- Goal Settings Schedule References Boud, D. and Brew, A., 2013. Reconceptualising academic work as professional practice: Implications for academic development.International Journal for Academic Development,18(3), pp.208-221. Boud, D., 2016. Taking professional practice seriously: implications for deliberate course design. InEducating the Deliberate Professional(pp. 157-173). Springer International Publishing. Brundiers, K. and Wiek, A., 2017. Beyond Interpersonal Competence: Teaching and Learning Professional Skills in Sustainability.Education Sciences,7(1), p.39. Clancy, T.L., Rosenau, P., Ferreira, C., Lock, J. and Rainsbury, J., 2015. Modeling Co-Teaching to Inform Professional Practice. Clark, E., Draper, J. and Rogers, J., 2015. Illuminating the process: enhancing the impact of continuing professional education on practice.Nurse education today,35(2), pp.388-394. Flottorp, S.A., Oxman, A.D., Krause, J., Musila, N.R., Wensing, M., Godycki-Cwirko, M., Baker, R. and Eccles, M.P., 2013. A checklist for identifying determinants of practice: a systematic review and synthesis of frameworks and taxonomies of factors that prevent or enable improvements in healthcare professional practice.Implementation Science,8(1), p.35. Fominykh, M., Leong, P. and Cartwright, B., 2017, June. Role-playing and Experiential Learning in a Professional Counseling Distance Course. InEdMedia: World Conference on Educational Media and Technology(pp. 1078-1090). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Healy, K., 2014.Social work theories in context: Creating frameworks for practice. Palgrave Macmillan. Lapkin, S., Levett-Jones, T. and Gilligan, C., 2013. A systematic review of the effectiveness of interprofessional education in health professional programs.Nurse education today,33(2), pp.90-102. Lee, K. and Brett, C., 2015. An online course design for inservice teacher professional development in a digital age: the effectiveness of the double-layered CoP model. InHandbook of Research on Teacher Education in the Digital Age(pp. 55-80). IGI Global. Little, J.W., 2014. 4 Insights into teacher education from cross-field studies of professional preparation.From Vocational to Professional Education: Educating for Social Welfare, p.50. Miley, K.K., O'Melia, M.W. and DuBois, B.L., 2016.Generalist social work practice: An empowering approach. Pearson. Montgomery, D.C., 2017.Design and analysis of experiments. John Wiley Sons. Moon, J.A., 2013.Reflection in learning and professional development: Theory and practice. Routledge. Novakovich, J., Miah, S. and Shaw, S., 2017. Designing curriculum to shape professional social media skills and identity in virtual communities of practice.Computers Education,104, pp.65-90. Preiser, W., 2015.Professional Practice in Facility Programming (Routledge Revivals). Routledge. Sinsky, C.A., Willard-Grace, R., Schutzbank, A.M., Sinsky, T.A., Margolius, D. and Bodenheimer, T., 2013. In search of joy in practice: a report of 23 high-functioning primary care practices.The Annals of Family Medicine,11(3), pp.272-278. Wenger-Trayner, E., Fenton-O'Creevy, M., Hutchinson, S., Kubiak, C. and Wenger-Trayner, B. eds., 2014.Learning in landscapes of practice: Boundaries, identity, and knowledgeability in practice-based learning. Routledge.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

The War in Vietnam Essays (1721 words) - Vietnam War, Southeast Asia

The War in Vietnam Direct U.S. military participation in The Vietnam War, the nation's longest, cost fifty-eight thousand American lives. Only the Civil War and the two world wars were deadlier for Americans. During the decade of Vietnam beginning in 1964, the U.S Treasury spent over $140 billion on the war, enough money to fund urban renewal projects in every major American city. Despite these enormous costs and their accompanying public and private trauma for the American people, the United States failed, for the first time in its history, to achieve its stated war aims. The goal was to preserve a separate, independent, noncommunist government in South Vietnam, but after April 1975, the communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) ruled the entire nation. The initial reasons for U.S. involvement in Vietnam seemed logical and compelling to American leaders. Following its success in World War II, the United States faced the future with a sense of moral rectitude and material confidence. From Washingt on's perspective, the principal threat to U.S. security and world peace was monolithic, dictatorial communism emanating from he Soviet Union. Any communist anywhere, at home or abroad, was, by definition, and enemy of the United States. Drawing an analogy with the unsuccessful appeasement of fascist dictators before World War II, the Truman administration believed that any sign of communist aggression must be met quickly and forcefully by the United States and its allies. This reactive policy was known as containment. In Vietnam the target of containment was Ho Chi Minh and the Vietminh front he had created in 1941. Ho and his chief lieutenants were communists with long-standing connections to the Soviet Union. They were also ardent Vietnamese nationalists who fought first to rid their country of the Japanese and then, after 1945, to prevent France from reestablishing its former colonial mastery over Vietnam and the rest of Indochina. Harry S. Truman and other American leaders, having no sympathy for French colonialism, favored Vietnamese independence. But expanding communist control of Eastern Europe and the triumph of the communists in China's civil was made France's war against Ho seem an anticommunist rather than a colonialist effort. When France agreed to a quansi- independent Vietnam under Emperor Bao Dai as an alternative to Ho's DRV, the United States decided to support the French position. The American conception of Vietnam as a cold war battleground largely ignored the struggle for socia l justice and national sovereignty occurring within the country. American attention focused primarily on Europe and on Asia beyond Vietnam. Aid to France in Indochina was a quid pro quo for French cooperation with America's plans for the defense of Europe through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. After China became a communist state in 1949, the stability of Japan became of paramount importance to Washington, and Japanese development required access to the markets and raw materials of Southeast Asia. The outbreak of war in Korea in 1950 served primarily to confirm Washington's belief that communist aggression posed a great danger to Asia . Subsequent charges that Truman had "lost" China and had settled for a stalemate in Korea caused succeeding presidents to fear the domestic political consequences if they "lost" Vietnam. This apprehension, an overestimation of American power, and an underestimation of Vietnamese communist strength locked all administrations from 1950 through the 1960s into a firm anticommunist stand in Vietnam. Because American policy makers failed to appreciate the amount of effort that would be required to exert influence on Vietnam's political and social structure, the course of American policy led to a steady escalation of U.S. involvement. President Dwight D. Eisenhower increased the level of aide to the French but continued to avoid military intervention, even when the French experienced a devastating defeat at Dien Bien Phu in the spring of 1954. Following that battle, an international conference at Geneva, Switzerland, arranged a cease-fire and provided for a North-South partition of Vietnam until elections could be held. The United States was not a party to the Geneva Agreements and began to foster the creation of a Vietnamese regime in South Vietnam's autocratic president Ngo Dinh Diem, who deposed Bao Dai in October 1955, resisted holding an election on the reunification of Vietnam. Despite over