Of The Many Books That People Have Given Or Suggested Over

Of the many books that people have given or suggested over the years after my conversion to the Catholic faith, one is the Introduction to Devout Life by St Francis de Sales. So many times, I put this book aside and never dove into it and as I read if for this class I regret not reading it earlier because of richness in its content for those who which to live a good Christian life and are not religious. This is precisely the audience that St. Francis de Sales wrote this book for. He wrote it so that the laity could live a devout or holy life without having to live in a monastery or convent. The Introduction to the Devout Life was first published on January 1609, by Rigaud in Lyons, France. His book could not have come at a better time†¦show more content†¦St. Francis walks the reader through the steps of purging mortal sin out of her life and making a confession. He adds that this is a duty but that God does not give us duties that are impossible so we can rest assured that this duty is attainable. He then tells the reader that the way to rid herself of her attachments to mortal sin is by becoming aware of the attachments to the sin and confess them with a contrite heart. As the end of this section comes to a close, he provides daily meditations and spiritual exercises to help on the journey. In part two, he stresses the two principal means of deepening this union with God. These two principal means are the sacraments in which God comes to us and prayer in which we go to God. In short part two is an instruction manual on how to pray, worship, and receive the sacraments. For part three St. Francis offers some advice on friendships and elaborates on the virtues that are necessary for one progression in the spiritual life. Part four of the book deals with the temptations that arise when we choose to live a holy life. St. Francis counsels on how to avoid these temptations and to continue forward. In the last part, he advises Philothea to take a step back a nd refresh to regain strength so that she may press forward and advance further in the devout life. It is in the second section of this book that St Francis deShow MoreRelatedThe Book Of Hebrews Has Long Left Readers With Various Unanswered Questions1553 Words   |  7 PagesThe book of Hebrews has long left readers with various unanswered questions. This is largely due to the fact that its origin is a mystery and has left readers to create multiple theories on how the book came into being. From the author to the intended audience, and from the land of its origin, to its travel across the ancient world, and its eventual acceptance into the compilation of scripture, much of what we know about the book of Hebrews is speculation. 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Graduation Speech High School - 1607 Words

In the beginning of 8th grade we were asked to write a letter to ourselves explaining how our year was going so far. You were to write the letter, place it in an envelope and open it on the last day of school. Although it was a mandatory assignment, I enjoyed reading my opinions from the first couple days of school and I thought I would write one again. This week I completed my first week of high school, and I thought I would share my POV so that I could later look back on this and see how a â€Å"naive† freshman saw things. Going into high school I was neither nervous or scared. I admit, maybe I was a little anxious considering the jail of a middle school I was soon to be graduating from. I mean any high school was better than that. As†¦show more content†¦We all stared at each other confused after she would ask us a complex question. It was very hard and now it is friday and I still haven t adjusted to this dramatic change compared to last year. After French, I head upstairs to math. Math is SO easy so far it’s insane. My teacher is really sweet though and is really nice towards her students. Next, I go to Mrs. Stanford’s room (which is my english class). English is one of my favorite classes this year. The teacher makes funny, relatable comments and I really look forward to going to her class. She gives us just the right amount of freedom and lets us do for the most part what we want. I just hope that grammar isn t too challenging this year considering its always been one of my weaknesses. By this point in the day I’m usually starving because its so late in the day and I have last lunch :( The class that Im now in is American Civics. My teacher is Mr. Knoblauch and he is really nice. Brianna and Jackie are in my class and Im glad I have at least one class with Jackie. After Social studies, I have science. Mrs. Fuss is nice but her class so far is really boring. All we have done so far is the scientific method and scientific notation. I hope her class gets a little more exciting as the year goes on. Then, I head to lunch which obviously is the best part of the day duh!!!!! Lol just kidding. On the first

Quality Customer Service and IT Free Essays

In times past quality service was not important to managers and staff that worked for the County of San Bernardino. However due to the proliferation of corruption and mismanagement taxpayers are demanding more for their dollar. It is a known fact that when local government is run efficiently more people can be put to work. We will write a custom essay sample on Quality Customer Service and IT or any similar topic only for you Order Now The money saved from this can in turn be used to benefit the local cities. Civic improvements can be made instead of paying for people to sit at home. To create this quality service information technology needed to be implemented. This where the BAS or (Business Applications and Support) division enters the picture. The mission of BAS is to provide quality computer software support through a customer service oriented methodology. A while back, before ITSD, there were ASU (Automated Systems Unit) analysts who lead and coordinated automation projects. They would gather up the requests from the different SSG divisions/departments, do a preliminary analysis, write a work order stating the request and/or problem that was to be solved through automation. The work order would then find its way to ISD (Information Services Department) where it would be assigned to a programmer analyst who would do an in-depth analysis with the help of the ASU analyst and define the requirements for the automation project. The programming would begin and soon, a new program was created and deployed. The requests and problems soon began to multiply and expand until it was like a virtual snowstorm of requests, too many for one small unit to keep under control. Help arrived around 1990 in the form of the Automation Project Administrator – the first of the Automation Coordination Specialists gathered together to relieve some of the burden falling on ASU. The Automation Project Administrator soon gathered in a handful of Automation Coordination Specialists who took on much of the job of the initial analysis of automation requests and problem definition. They met with the users, defined the problem, wrote the initial work order, which then went to ASU to forward to ISD, and often worked with the ISD programmers. The two units, ASU and ACU, found themselves still unable to keep up with the many automation requests, particularly since ASU had years before branched out into computer hardware requisition and maintenance. Then came Information Technology and Support Division (ITSD). ASU and ACU merged into one entity, a small (but growing) and mighty automation division. ASU became Systems Operations and Support (SOS) and ACU became BAS – Business Applications and Support. The BAS Analysts do in-depth analyses of computer software requests, working with the users and their management, write detailed functionality and design specs and work with the programmers to make sure that the final product is what the user requested and will meet the needs of the department. Support nearly all software applications within SSG, including the TAD Mainframe Benefit Issuance System; GAPPS, CWS/CMS and a myriad of PC based applications as well as intranet/internet. A change in technology has occurred in the past, and will continue at increasing rate. What will we use in five short years, in ten years†¦. the future of office automation will be achieved by all of us working together. This is important in this day and age when quality customer service is the buzzword for all branches of civil service. The attached chart shows what the long-term plan is for the County of San Bernardino. These improvements will enable the line worker to put more people to work and less people on the public dole. How to cite Quality Customer Service and IT, Essay examples

Corporate Tax Act Law and Income Tax Law

Question: Discuss about the Corporate Tax Act Law and Income Tax Law. Answer: Introduction The taxation system of a country is one of the most important systems of the government and it plays significant role in collecting the necessary fund for the essential expenditure of the Government like the infrastructure development, health and education services, to maintain the law and order in the society, pension for the elderly people, as well as for the expenditure of the defense system of the company (Barkoczy, 2010). In Australia also, there is important taxation law to raising fund for essential government expenditure. Main body As per the case study it is observed that Peta an Australian citizen purchased a house in Kew and the house had two old tennis courts down with the back, which were in poor condition. Initially Peta decided to purchase the property to live in the house with her family, build three units on the tennis court, and sell them at a profit (Coleman, 2012). However, the adjacent tennis club within the current tax year offered Peta to buy the tennis court. Moreover, the tennis club has a condition that the tennis court must be in good condition. Then Peta kept aside her previous decision and grabed the offer from the club. She Spent $100,000 on constructing the tennis court for sale. This associated with great deal of work. Peta resurfaced the tennis court and build new fences around them (Federal Court of Australia, Queensland District Registry: Jupiters Ltd v. Deputy Commissioner of Taxation, 2002). Then she sold the the tennis court to the club for $600,000 in the current taxation year. No w the question is if the capital gain tax ignored then whether the receipt of $600,000 will be considered as the ordinary income. Issue An Australian citizen purchases a property and then work on that property as well as invests considerably on the construction and then sold the property in much higher price (Kenny, 2013). Moreover, the issue is to recognize that income gain from the trade will be treated as ordinary income or not. Law As per the Australian taxation law, Peta has to pay income tax for the income she gains from the sale of the property of tennis court. As per the Income Tax assessment Act 1997 Sect 6.5 it is an ordinary income as Peta invest her money and time on the property to gain better profit thus her purpose was income generation and in this perspective this is ordinary income (Kenny, 2012). Analysis In this particular case study it is perceived that Peta an Australian citizen purchased a property a house, which had two tennis courts down the back. The tennis court was in a very poor condition when she purchased the property and while an adjacent tennis club show interest to buy the tennis court with a condition that the tennis court must be restored into good condition (Kim Jihyun, 2013). Then Peta accepted the offer and invest $100,000 to restore the tennis court and then she sold the tennis court to the club for $600,000 much better price and income substantially in this deal. Moreover, as she works on this property for the purpose of income generating it should be considered as ordinary income. As per the Australian taxation law and Income Tax assessment Act 1997 the income generated from the sale of the property will be considered as ordinary income because Peta who purchased the property work on that property to gain maximum profit and in this case the income generated from the selling of the property should be considered as ordinary income and the income must be assessable for tax consequence (Mason, 2010). The income generated from the selling of the property means the tennis court by Peta must be include in her ordinary income and assessed for the taxation as per the taxation rule of the country. As per the Australian taxation Act and Income Tax assessment Act 1997 she has to include the income from the selling of the tennis court must be assessable income and taxable as per the norms and taxation rate of the country (Moens and Trone, 2010). The case study provides the consideration of the brief situation regarding the case study of the Alan. It thereby provides information about the Alan and the company ABC Pty Ltd where Alan is an employee of the organisation (Bargain and Keane, 2010). The remuneration [package that have been negotiated with Alan provides the following package that consists of the salary of about $300,000. The payment regarding the Alans mobile bill seems to be $220 per month with including the GST. Alan seems to be under the contract of about two years where he has to a fixed amount for the unlimited usage of the phone and thereby Alan uses the phone for the work purpose only (Bebbington, 2009). The company ABC provided Alan with a new handset which costs around $2000. The total costs of the school fess of the children are about $20000 per year. With the implementation of fringe benefit taxes, the fringe benefit taxes mainly consists of different types of the benefits that are provided by the employees with assembling the cash benefits such as the salary, wages, commissions or rewards. The assembling of the fringe benefits is seen when the fringe benefit exceeds $2000 in a fringe benefit tax year with the consideration of the rules prescribed by the Australian Taxation law (Herault and Azpitarte, 2014). As per the case study, the ABC Pty Ltd provides one of its employees named Alan with a mobile phone dill of $220 which seems to be not included in the fringe benefit. The company seems to be paying the school fees of the children of Alan and thereby it seems to be $20000 per year which is included in the fringe benefit. Besides this the latest phone of Alan is seemed to be included in the fringe benefit and thereby including the GST is also is included in the fringe benefit taxation system, the company spending at the Thai re staurant which seems to be providing benefit to the company as it will gain the benefits of the fringe benefit taxes (O'Donoghue, 2011). In this case the overall fringe benefit tax seems to be calculated as it is given below:- ABC pays fringe benefit tax for Alans childrens school fees $20,000/year as it seems to be GST free and thus it is considered type 2 benefits (Mason, 2010). The tax rate will be applied @ 1.9608. $20,000*1.9608 = $39,216 FBT rate 49% thus $39,216*49% = $19215.84 For the handset provided by the company $2,000 including GST is considered as type 1 benefit (Woellner, 2012). The tax rate will be applied @ 2.1463 $2,000*2.1463 = $4292.60 FBT rate 49% thus $4292.60*49% = $2103.374 The company spend $6,600, including GST in a Thai restaurant for dinner of the 20 employees, which is considered as type 1 benefit (Moens and Trone, 2010). The tax rate will be applied @ 2.1463 $6,600*2.1463 = $ 14165.58 FBT Rate 49% thus $ 14165.58 * 49% = $6941.1342 No, the company ABC Pty Ltd will have to pay the same cost and the answer will be same as the calculations are provided above. Yes the answer will be different this time as the clients are included in the dinner party provided by the company ABC Pty Ltd. Henceforth, no fringe benefit will be provided as it is considered as the business meeting and the henceforth the employees are supposed to be perform their duties as per their own crucial roles played in the organisation of ABC Pty Ltd (Parsons, 2011). Conclusion Income tax Act one of the most important taxation Act that force the residents as well as non residents in Australia to provide assessable tax, as per the norm and current taxation rate of the country for their income in this country. It play important role in raising necessary fund for the essential government expenditures. Income Tax assessment Act 1997 provides the useful guidelines in Australia to assess the income taxes of the individuals and entities as well provide the direction for the calculation of the taxable income for them. The Income Tax assessment Act 1997 Sect 6.5 provides the guidelines to detect the ordinary income (Parsons, 2011). Besides this, it helps in calculating the fringe benefit tax, capital gain tax and GST for the tax conditions. The fringe benefit tax charged to the companies for providing additional non cash facilities to their employees. References Barkoczy, S. (2010).Foundations of taxation law 2011. Sydney: CCH Australia. Coleman, C. (2012).Principles of taxation law 2012. Sydney, N.S.W.: Thomson Reuters. Federal Court of Australia, Queensland District Registry: Jupiters Ltd v. Deputy Commissioner of Taxation. (2002).Gaming Law Review, 6(6), pp.571-576. Kenny, P. (2012).Australian tax 2012. Chatswood, N.S.W.: LexisNexis Butterworths. Kenny, P. (2013).Australian tax 2013. Chatswood, N.S.W.: LexisNexis Butterworths. Kim Jihyun, (2013). Review of 2012 Corporate Tax Act Law and Income Tax Law Cases.Seoul Tax Law Review, 19(1), pp.423-466. Mason, T. (2010).Income tax law. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Pearson Australia. Moens, G. and Trone, J. (2010).Commercial Law of the European Union. Dordrecht: Springer. Parsons, R. (2011).Income taxation in Australia. Sydney, NSW: Thomson Reuters. Bargain, O. and Keane, C. (2010). Tax-Benefit-revealed Redistributive Preferences Over Time: Ireland 1987-2005.LABOUR, 24, pp.141-167. Bebbington, P. (2009). Fringe benefit.New Scientist, 203(2724), p.27. Herault, N. and Azpitarte, F. (2014). Recent Trends in Income Redistribution in Australia: Can Changes in the Tax-Benefit System Account for the Decline in Redistribution?.Economic Record, 91(292), pp.38-53. O'Donoghue, C. (2011). Do Tax-Benefit Systems Cause High Replacement Rates? A Decompositional Analysis Using EUROMOD.LABOUR, 25(1), pp.126-151. Woellner, R. (2012).Australian taxation law select 2012. North Ryde, N.S.W.: CCH Australia.

The Planets Gustav Holsts Suite Essay Example For Students

The Planets Gustav Holsts Suite Essay Upon deciding what piece of music to write about it was very difficult to decide, since before taking this class the only classical musician I knew was Beethoven. However, I came across the planets. So I decided to give I try. It just took a play button, which transported me into a world of mystery. As the symphony started with mars I felt as though I was going in a space ship of those that came on the star wars saga. It as the song progressed it felt as though there was a battle in space. Listing to this while in the dark made it easier for me to see what was really happening. We will write a custom essay on The Planets Gustav Holsts Suite specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now I can see bullets fly by me closer and closer, until this bullet hit me and the ship pieces disperse into space as the song did too. There is a moment of silence when am awaken in to the world of lord of the rings. I see my self at the elves garden standing in the castles balcony looking at the roses. As the piece keeps going I see my black clouds covering the horizon, with darkness and mystery upon. For some reason there is a sense of peace even though at some parts it feels as thought there is a war about to start. This made me feel like this was countering, like they say after the storm the sun will come out. Next was mercury a dangerous. t first it felt as thought I was running away from someone or something. But it doesn’t feel like I’m running away from something dangerous. As the piece kept going I started to see why I was running, I was running like Bambi in the Disney movie. I can see birds and butterflies, flying on top of my head in circles. I started to run with the birds faster and faster making my war across a big green field. I don’t know why this image comes to my heard but as keep listening a can see a lot of animals running too. They are jumping across the green field. Jupiter starts and with it I start to remember my grandma back home. I can see her coming in from a long trip. I can see her coming closer to me bringing nothing but a smile to my face. As viola and baritones appear, I can imagine our reunite. This piece only brings image of happy ending, like those of Disney movies. I can see people throwing confetti to the sky, celebrating and parting. All this happiness is suddenly, wiped away, because with the start of Saturn. I hear something approaching me slowly and slowly. It is not a scary thing coming but it is a sense of realization. I see that the person coming is me but as an old man. I look frail and fragile. I see my self-walking slowly and for each step I take my steps become slower and slower. As the piece progresses, I start to hear bells. This piece just bring sadness into my head all I can think now is that for every day that passes by I am near the end. But the end of what? I don’t understand. As Saturn comes to the end I see the old me just standing there without moving. It seems as thought the end has come, like the suffering and everything happening in life has finally stop. Uranus stars and I can imagine a giant man walking along a giant sidewalk. In the sidewalk I can see a lot of soldiers marching. There is a feeling of mystery with the piccolo and clarinets. Neptune was the last piece. This was my favorite one because it had something that the rest of the other planets did not and that is a women chorus. This gives a feeling of going into heaven a reaching the divine one. .uf1f0d1fb3fa8082f741b6f8ca03afda7 , .uf1f0d1fb3fa8082f741b6f8ca03afda7 .postImageUrl , .uf1f0d1fb3fa8082f741b6f8ca03afda7 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uf1f0d1fb3fa8082f741b6f8ca03afda7 , .uf1f0d1fb3fa8082f741b6f8ca03afda7:hover , .uf1f0d1fb3fa8082f741b6f8ca03afda7:visited , .uf1f0d1fb3fa8082f741b6f8ca03afda7:active { border:0!important; } .uf1f0d1fb3fa8082f741b6f8ca03afda7 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uf1f0d1fb3fa8082f741b6f8ca03afda7 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uf1f0d1fb3fa8082f741b6f8ca03afda7:active , .uf1f0d1fb3fa8082f741b6f8ca03afda7:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uf1f0d1fb3fa8082f741b6f8ca03afda7 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uf1f0d1fb3fa8082f741b6f8ca03afda7 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uf1f0d1fb3fa8082f741b6f8ca03afda7 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uf1f0d1fb3fa8082f741b6f8ca03afda7 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uf1f0d1fb3fa8082f741b6f8ca03afda7:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uf1f0d1fb3fa8082f741b6f8ca03afda7 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uf1f0d1fb3fa8082f741b6f8ca03afda7 .uf1f0d1fb3fa8082f741b6f8ca03afda7-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uf1f0d1fb3fa8082f741b6f8ca03afda7:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Music downloading, illegal or not ? EssayI can see other people reaching to the heavens as well as the women chorus joins with the bells. The feeling of reaching the end of the symphony, is unforgettable the women chorus starts to become fade out slowly becoming fainter until there is a slight difference between silence and sound. I was left trilled after listening to this symphony. I never felt this way it was an amazing experience feeling as thought I was flying through the cosmos of the universe. However I wonder if there is Pluto. And if there is I’m guessing it would probably give images of unknown and mystery.

The Rise of Corporations and Subsequent Effects on Social Inequality E

The Rise of Corporations and Subsequent Effects on Social Inequality E The Rise of Corporations and Subsequent Effects on Social Inequality Patrick Elahmadie SOC 139 ? Winter 2012 Midterm 1 The Rise of Corporations and Subsequent Effects on Social Inequality The rise of social inequality has become a paramount and controversial issue in the United States. Over the last few decades, higher income disparities, wealth concentration, and uneven access to social protection characterize our society. Scholars argue that there is a direct correlation between this social inequality and the rise of corporations in America. Some believe that corporations can act to decrease social inequality by ensuring equal opportunities and benefits to all qualified citizens, regardless of race or gender. Others believe that the government, through tax incentives and complex federal regulations that promote corporate expansion of pension, healthcare, etc. to full time employees as opposed to promoting social programs that apply to all citizens, has effectively increased social inequality by increasing the concentration of wealth and creating unequal access to social benefits. I will argue that, although the implementation of equal opportunity rights reduced soci al inequality by granting minorities and women access to previously white male-dominated jobs, it was the government?s delegation of social protection to corporations that created a severely imbalanced access to benefits, which in turn acted to greatly increase social inequality. Many believe that the corporations themselves do not account for the rise in social inequality. In order to understand corporate action, however, we must understand the institutional environment in which the corporation is embedded. This institutional environment, comprised of informal and formal laws and regulations, heavily influences the actions taken by corporations. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, for example, changed the entire hiring, promotion and termination procedures of large companies by outlawing discrimination in employment and ensuring equal opportunity of employment under the law regardless of race or gender. By making discrimination illegal, it became very costly for corporations to discriminate against minorities or women and potentially risk millions of dollars? worth of lawsuits, as well as bad publicity in front of an increasingly moral society. Although outlawing discrimination sounded appropriate, compliance with this new law was vaguely defined. It took several court cases in order to implement some of the common practices our companies hold today. A Supreme Court ruling against the Duke Power Company, who purposefully tested black employees on knowledge unnecessary for the job in order to justify rejection, clearly outlawed test validation practices. In 1998, the Supreme Court also imposed liability on employers for any sexual harassment that takes place within the workplace, highlighting the need for businesses to adopt policies designed to prevent harassment (Dobbin 2011: 4). Rationally, it became in a corporation?s best interests to combat discrimination and promote equal opportunity in job employment. This newfound interest sparked companies to undertake several experimental measures, some effective and several ineffective, to promote diversity in all facets of business .One solution that has proven effective is the formalization of mentoring programs, programs that help create social connections between ambitious, lower-level women or minorities and upper-management ?mentors? in order to help the former move up in the corporation. Most effectively, many corporations have chosen to appoint a specialized person, or committee, with the sole purpose of overseeing diversity efforts in hiring, promoting and terminating women or minorities in the workplace. By directly linking an employee?s or employees? job welfare to company diversity, a corporation can delegate the responsibility of diversity to a specialized expert. This responsibility makes ?managers and taskforces feel accountable for change, and they monitor quarterly employment data to see if their efforts are paying off (Dobbin, Kalev, and Kelly 2007: 27).? The diversity trend caught on quickly, and by 1980 ? most big time employers had hired equal opportunity managers, if not entire departments, and were in the process of creating race-relations workshops, special recruitment systems, and a host of programs designed to improve opportunities for women and minorities (Dobbin, Kalev, and Kelly 2007: 23).? These aforementioned diversity managers and taskforces then combined legislation, case law, and administrative law to create an informal code of business that ?translated the law into practice (Dobbin 2011: 3).? This code set the rules governing a wide assortment of issues from hiring, firing, and promotion to sexual harassment and maternity leave.

Civil Society in Malaysia and Thailand Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Civil Society in Malaysia and Thailand - Essay Example The salient nature of the civil society is exemplified when the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that the Malaysian government was finally going to repeal the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA), sometime in 2013, since the civil society in Malaysia had been agitating for this. It is for this reason that the cause of the civil society is seen as indispensable in reference to Malaysia and Thailand, as shall be seen in the ensuing discussion. Thesis statement Although the significance of the civil society spans socioeconomic and political values, yet the presence and success of civil society activism are totally predicated upon the prevailing political environment, as shall be seen in the case of Malaysia and Thailand. Evaluating the effectiveness of civil society in Southeast Asia The case of the civil society in Southeast Asia has been seen to be relatively successful, as far as both Thailand and Malaysia are concerned. This is particularly the case with the democrati zation of politics. In Thailand, the implementation of the new constitution in 1997 paved way for more robust participation in the Thailand politics by the civil society. It is for this reason that since 1997, the country has witnessed a steady rise in the recognition of civil liberties and freedoms such as freedom of speech, press, and association (Liow, 178). In Malaysia, the presence and activity of the civil society have also been vibrant, but as late as 2008. One of the testaments to the success of the civil society in Malaysia is the rising level of public awareness and participation on governance, following the country’s 12th elections which were held on March 2008. This development can be considered a success since one of the roles of the civil society is conscientious the people on the need to participate in political processes. BERSIH 2.0, BERSIH 3.0 and Himpunan Hijau are some of the proofs that underscore the success and vibrant initiatives of the civil society in Malaysia. These incidents are significant since they show that the Malaysians are departing from politically retrogressive ideas such as tidak apa and tidak tahu. Where and when civil society has been most effective, least effective and how the differences can be account for The differences in the degree of effectiveness of the civil society can be said to be occasioned by political developments which have been state-specific. In particular, the fruits attributable to the civil society in Thailand cannot be expected to be as ripe as those of mature democracies since it is only as recent as 1973 when Thailand instituted reforms as a way of inculcating accountability, transparency and good governance. The place of the civil society’s effectiveness rests also on the goodwill that Thailand’s political leaders possess. Specifically, Thailand’s civil society has since 2001 enjoyed the support of the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.