Having A Required GPA For Extra Curricular Activities Essay Example for Free

Having A Required GPA For Extra Curricular Activities Essay I am going to get through college on a football scholarship! How many times have you heard that statement claimed by the average teenage boy? In all actuality getting a full ride football scholarship to a university is extremely difficult. Instead people trying to obtain scholarships through extra curricular sport activities should focus more on their academics. Some students are only doing extra curricular activities so that their college application will look better to administrators. However, a 4.0 grade point average is going to fare more impressive to the administrators then below average grades and a large quantity of extra curricular activities. By requiring a C grade point average we could stop a lot of the stereotyping occurring in most high schools. Also, great amounts of responsibility will be earned for people juggling both the C grade average and extra curricular activities. This additional experience and responsibility will help the person succeed to a greater level in their adult life. If you are a cheerleader, then you must be idiotic. If you get above 90% in almost any class, then you must be a nerd. Stereotyping is a horrible thing occurring all over the nation today. The worst case of this is in high school. What is the cause for these stereotypes? The activities you partake in and how well you are doing outside of these activities. Students with good grades that are in many clubs are more of thought as the nerds and goody-goods of the school population. The students on the football, basketball, cheerleading, and almost any other sport related team are thought of as idiotic. If students were required to have a certain grade point average to be on those teams they wouldnt be thought of as nerdy or idiotic. The school wide population, while not completely stereotype free, would have calmed down with a lot of that stereotyping. We would be bridging the gap between the athletic and the academic. The more responsible you are the better you are going to be at succeeding at your desired profession. People that know how to cope with both academic and athletic fields will progress more then people that do not. If the person who is looking to hire a new employee sees that you can manage both of these fields they will think you are more responsible and choose you over a lot of the other applicants. Responsibility varies into many different forms, but  it usually matters most in your profession. Education is important in every aspect of life. More than any amount of athleticism you will need an education to survive in everyday life. Many people think they can get into a nationally ranked university if they have a lot of extracurricular activities. Although these look good on an application, maintained above average grades will look better. Even if you do not have perfect grades, a C average and some extra curricular activities will give you more chance of being accepted into the University of your Choice. Although you could argue that many students pride on their ability to do these extra curricular activities and their talent could most likely get them a scholarship it is not always so. For example, you could be working on a football scholarship, but, only an average of seventeen football scholarships are given out from a school per year. Being talented at a certain sport will usually not put you through college. Someone who has the talents and a better maintained grade point average will have an even better chance at getting that scholarship. In summation, it is my belief that a C grade point average should be required to participate in extracurricular activities. It will greatly reduce the amount of stereotyping happening in most high schools. More responsibility will be earned, therefore making your succession in a profession easier. Also, the more education you have, the easier it is going to be for acceptance into most universities. The better your application looks the better your profession will be.

Service Concept Profiling And The Servqual Model

Service Concept Profiling And The Servqual Model In this assignment I am going to conduct a critique of the following service management ideas, theories, concepts and techniques; specifically with reference to their purpose, application and limitations and with regard to how these service management ideas, theories and techniques may contribute to the development of a successful business: Service concept, Service concept profiling and The SERVQUAL model. Service concept purpose, The service concept has been defined variously throughout the years, Haskett (1986), defines it as the way in which the organisation would like to have its service perceived by its customers, employees, shareholders and lenders, i.e. the organisations business proposition. It has also been defined as the elements of the service care package, this is related to what Collier (1994) named it as customers benefit package, i.e. the things that provide benefit and value to the customer. Another definition of a service concept states that a service concept identifies the proposed nature of the business; it is the service in mind that the organisation wishes to create. The service concept helps the organisation focus on the value that it can provide to customers.(Robert Johnston Graham Clark, 2008, p 461). Application A service concept can be broken down in to three stages, firstly the organising idea, this is the essence of the service bought, or used, by the customer. Secondly, the service experience, this is the customers direct experience of the service process which concerns the way the service provider deals with the customer and finally the service outcome, this is the result for the customer of the service (in particular, the benefits provided, the resulting emotions and assessment of value for money). (Robert Johnston Graham Clark, 2008, p 42). An example of a successful on-going business in terms of ideas, theories, concepts and techniques is a company called Metso, they are global supplier of technology and services to customers in the process industries, including mining construction, pulp and paper, power, oil and gas. Their service concept consists of; performance services, this increases product efficiency, optimises quality and improves environmental performance; availability services, this maximises asset availability and optimises total life-cycle costs of assets and finally engineering services, this helps complete projects on time and within budget, also helps maintain and develop competency of personnel. (Metso automation, 2010) Another example is Alton Towers, Organising idea: A great day out at a theme park. Service experience: exhilarating and entertaining, large car parks range of food outlets, good souvenir shops etc. Service outcome: Lots of rides, Great day out, Full day out etc (Robert Johnston Graham Clark, 2008, p 43) One other example is letsgototurkey.com, they categories their service concept into three parts: firstly, before purchase- this is when the company offers information about the region and property portfolio, provides flight information and pick up service from the airport. Secondly, during purchase- this is when they provide full information about the area and buying procedures, and also organising all procedures such as opening a bank account, translator and preparing all necessary paperwork. Finally, after purchase- assisting with registration of utilities, recommending the best shops around, helping with insurance and applying for a residence permit. Furthermore, the company has another option called property care, in which membership holders can benefit from certain things while they are away such as bills being paid, taxes being paid routine security checks are made and they also deal with relevant companies for insurance, maintenance, engineering etc. (Letsgototurkey.com, 2012) Contribute to the development of a business (benefit) Limitation Service concept profiling Purpose The service concept can also be used as a strategic tool, the service concept profiling tool is simply a diagnostic tool that will help an organisation to analyse its service concept. It is merely a tool that can give an organisation a visual representation of their service concept, by doing this, a service organisation can decide whether they need to change their service concept in view of what the competitors are doing/achieving, so as a tool it can provide a basis for a new service concept. The service concept can be used to create organisational alignment by developing a shared understanding and making it explicit (Robert Johnston Graham Clark, 2008, p 65). Managers can also assess the implications of design changes using capability mapping. Furthermore developing a service concept can create differentiated services and drive strategic advantage. An example of a business using a service concept profiling is 4sl consulting, their profiling method identifies an organisations maturity and effectiveness through; effective management and governance for delivering IT change; service life cycle management from strategy through operations and continuous service improvements; cost transparency for service pricing and charge back. The company finds these results through one-to-one meetings or via workshops, each with a robust and comprehensive assessment method. Service profiling results in an initial set of gaps, issues and constraints prepared alongside an action plan to bring immediate benefits. (4sl consulting, 2012) Application Contribute to the development of a business (benefit) Limitation With regard to limitations with regard to the service concept profiling tool, it is only a tool and as such it is a good starting place and may indicate to an organisation what element of the service concept may need to change, but does not take into consideration external factors such as what is happening in the macroeconomic environment. It also does not take into consideration the change management activities that follow on from changing the service concept. Suggestions Further, I would suggest that it might be critical to get the customer involved in profiling and i am not sure that organisations actually do this. The SERVQUAL model Various service quality models have been developed to measure service quality through firms in many businesses. Due to its relation with customer satisfaction it is very important to review service quality models. Moreover service quality has had a major impact on practitioners, managers and researchers because of its results in customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and company profitability. The most commonly known measuring tool in terms of service quality in the development of a successful business to reach success is an instrument called SERVQUAL. This model was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985; 1988). The research based on this instrument has been used in marketing literature and also used in various industries in terms of the variety of factors which influence and contribute towards the development of a successful business. Along with Parasuraman, Zeithmal and Berry, these three authors made substantial contribution to the understanding the concept of service quality and the factors that influence it. The SERVQUAL model has been productively used for measuring service quality in many service businesses. It has been used inmany contexts for example, service quality in hospitals, telecommunications, insurance companies etc. They originally identified four gaps in the organisation that can cause quality problems. These quality problems cause a fifth gap, which is difference between customer expectations of service and perceptions of the service actually received. (Jusuf Zekiri, 2011) The SERVQUAL Model has five dimensions which are tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. If these dimensions remain constant this will unlock the door to consumer loyalty and provide outstanding levels of quality consumer care service within the service organization. However, not all dimensions are equal due to the fact that some dimensions are more towards the high levels of importance within the service organization as oppose to the other dimensions All dimensions are important to customers, but some more than others. Service providers need to know which are which to avoid majoring in minors. At the same time they cant focus on only one dimension and let the others suffer (Chris Arlen, 2008). An example of a a sector using the SERVQUAL model is Mobile Telecommunication Limitation Conclusion In conclusion These factors, theories and techniques collectively are part of the essential elements in terms of reaching the relevant necessary internal aims and objectives set, which help build, develop and improve an existing successful service organisation.50%of businesses dont survive within the first few years so its absolutely critical that service organisations grow and flourish in exceptional high levels of quality they deliver. Performance targets must be smart, measurable, achievable, realistic and time constrained In regards to the SERVQUAL model, it is an extensively used tool to assess external service quality, it can also be modified to assess the quality of the internal service provided by departments within a company to employees in other departments.

How Much Did Stalin Deviate From Marxism?

How Much Did Stalin Deviate From Marxism? Joseph Stalin can be, and has been, interpreted in many different ways; a sadistic terrorist who revelled in the misfortune and pain of his subjects, an egotistical dictator whose every action served to promote his own self-interests, the political servant of Vladimir Lenin, and the man who translated Communism into practical terms. Despite this being a political and ideological study, in the case of Stalin it becomes impossible to consider his interpretation of Marxist-Leninism and his consequent leadership style without judgement of his character. The influence of his personality upon his leadership can be said to a primary motivation for many of the decisions which have been made, including the impact of his tumultuous home life with regards to his wife and children, his desire to assert himself as a credible and important man which was perhaps inspired by his feelings of neglect from his father, and the increasing loneliness that came from his intense paranoia and fear of those a round him. In an ideological sense, Stalins policies are indeed deviations from those which Lenin himself might have implemented, however yet again this may be as a consequence of the differing personalities of the two leaders. This study will aim to assess Stalinism as an ideology up to 1938, the end of The Great Terror and question whether it indeed deviated from Marxist-Leninism, whether it was instead a practical implementation of Communism in which communism principles ran through the core, or whether it was a whole different ideology, brought to power on a false platform of Communism. In order to make such assessments there must be a standard set of what Marxist Leninism is. In the same way that Stalin could be said to have interpreted Marxist-Leninism, Lenin interpreted Marxism. Thus Marxist-Leninism forms a filtered version of Marxs original theories. The key principles of Communism in Marxist terms, as laid out in the Communist Manifesto, written in 1847 by Karl Marx, are as follows; abolition of private property, progressive or graduated income tax, abolition of all rights of inheritance, confiscation of the property of all emigrants, centralisation of credit, national bank and an exclusive monopoly, centralisation of communication and transport, extension of centralisation of factories and production by the state, cultivation of waste-lands and the improvement of the soil, equal liability of all to work, combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries, free education and religion and nationalities will be superseded by the principle of community.   [1]  Following on from this, Lenin proposed that the proletariat can successfully achieve revolutionary consciousness only under the leadership of a party of professional revolutionaries  [2]  , thereby reversing Marxs order of economics over politics  [3]  , where aims are achieved with internal democratic centralism, wherein policy decisions are agreed via democracy and every member must support and promote the agreed party policy, essentially a dictatorship of the proletariat government  [4]  . Lenin agrees with Marxs ideas concerning nationalism and religion, citing them as part of the false consciousness instilled by the bourgeoisie in facilitating exploitation. It was under Lenin the notion of a dictatorial state and a class war came about, marked changes from Marxs own ideologies. As Lenin said, One cannot be a revolutionary Social-Democrat without participating, according to ones powers, in developing this theory [Marxism] and adapting it to changed conditions.   [5]  Thus whilst Marxism heavily influenced Leninism, the latter is a distinctly different adaptation, arguably one which made the October revolution in 1917 possible. Stalinism as a term came to be, in light of one of Stalins associates claim, Lets replace Long Live Leninism with Long Live Stalinism!  [6]  Whilst Stalinism has been said to refer to a style of governance, key principles wherein the supposed deviations from Marxist-Leninism can be found include, economic policy, collectivisation, use of violence, the rise of bureaucracy and the development of the personality cult. Deciphering what Lenin or Marx would have done is impossible, and indeed the term Marxist-Leninism was coined and used by opposing political groups within 1930s Russia as the ideology which they stood to defend. Regardless, this study aims to assess the extent to which Stalinism and the key principles of his rule up to the end of The Great Terror were informed by Marxist-Leninism theology. The new economic policy (henceforth NEP) brought forth by Lenin in 1921, was dramatically overhauled through Stalins wave of economic reforms in the early 1930s. Known as the Great Turn, this saw a total transformation of agricultural and industrial economic handling within Russia. However despite initially provoking criticism from Trotsky and other members of the Left Opposition, who felt a more internationalist approach to revamping the economy would be appropriate, Stalin and Bukharin had been supporters of the NEP, stating that they believed that it was patriotic and would further Soviet influence and impact in the international system  [7]  . The reasons for Stalins apparently hypocritical U-turn may on some levels simply be practical responses to crises and yet can simultaneously be interpreted as Stalins first foray into the development of Stalinism. The NEP had secured the rights of individual peasants to sell their products freely, whether to private traders or to state agencies. Whilst the state controlled all large enterprises, such as factories, mines and railways, small private enterprises (those employing fewer than 20 people) were allowed. The requisitioning of farm produce was in turn replaced by a tax system and the peasants were free to sell their surplus, albeit at a state-regulated price  [8]  . The NEP had been Lenins attempt to ensure the survival of the Communist state following War Communism which had been implemented from 1914 to 1921, to coincide with World War 1 and the Russian Civil War, and to try and rebuild Soviet production to its pre-1914 levels. It is undeniable to regard the NEP as a concession of key communist values, and indeed Lenin himself saw it as a strategic retreat  [9]  . This development of a relative mixed-economy was justified as a form of state capitalism, the last stage of capitalism before socialism evolved.  [10]  The Grain Crisis of 1928 was arguably the impetus for Stalin to revoke the NEP. As more peasants began consuming their own goods, as opposed to purchasing the overpriced ones which the small private enterprises were producing, (Peasants controlled 3,140,000km ², divided into 25 million holdings, producing 85% of the food, but consuming 80% of what the grew  [11]  ), a 2 million ton shortfall of grain occurred in 1928. Requisitioning was launched, leading to a higher expected rate of industrialisation and as a consequence higher agricultural production as more grain was required to feed a growing industrial work force and to pay for imports of machinery through exportation. Collectivisation was escalated beyond the levels of Sovkhozes encouraged during the NEP era. There can be little doubt that revoking the NEP was a deviation from Lenins aims, however questions must be asked about the purpose of such a change, whether Stalin ever supported the policy and to what extent was his ultimate rejection of the NEP was in keeping with Communist principles. The purpose of the change is in practical terms a reaction to the Grain Crisis, arguably caused by the greed of the kulaks. However the forced requisitioning opened the doors to other more revolutionary forms of governance. The persecution of the bourgeois and the kulaks intensified as Stalin encouraged the blaming of them for the short fall in grain and consequent economic situation. Enterprises across the board became subject to greater instruction and supervision as the state steadily expanded state capital accumulation thus developing a forced rate of industrialisation. The internal party regime was further tightened and show trials were resumed against surviving leaders of rival parties. An offensive began against every kind of nationalist tendency. The boundaries of cultural expression were drastically reduced and organised religion became the object of violent assault  [12]  . In his initial input in attempts to rectify the grain crisis, Stalin provided a route for an esca lated governmental involvement, thereby centralising the Russian state, marginalising and persecuting minority groups, and increasing industrialisation expectations. As Service says, Although agriculture had been the focal point of Stalins initiative in January 1928, he associated himself with a much larger agenda Industry, schooling, urban construction and socialist indoctrination were to be prioritised. The state was to become more penetrative and the traditional attachments to religion and nationhood were to disappear. Whether Stalin ever really supported Lenins NEP is essentially questioning whether Stalin intended manipulate the situation in the way that he did. Speaking out in support of the NEP he claimed Either we do it, or we shall be crushed, referring to the need to compete with western industrial levels. It is highly plausible, particularly given his industrial drive which remained for the entirety of his leadership, that Stalins belief that industrial supremacy superseded any economic compromises which may need to be made in order to achieve this. When the NEP wasnt proving to be as successful in producing an industrially prosperous nation, merely bringing it back from the poverty line, a change in strategy would seem to be an appropriate step. However, Stalin lived for Bolshevism  [13]  and the NEP was seen by many to be an interim measure  [14]  regardless. His support for the NEP was probably not due to the dubiously capitalist elements or the relinquishment of state control, b ut through a devotion to Lenin and belief in his ability to lead, the fact that supporting the NEP established him as part of the inner circle along with Bukharin, and therefore casting aside Trotsky and other detractors, was likely to have been an additional benefit of expressing his support for this policy. The NEP could not have been classified as a policy borne from strictly Communist principles, defying abolition of private property and centralisation of factories and production by the state elements of the Communist manifesto. This particular policy is a practical compromise of communist principles, deemed necessary in order to rescue the failing economy. In many ways, this may seem to suggest that communist economic management principles are conducive to a successful economy, with capitalist elements used as a rescue method. However, upon Stalins intervention in 1928, and the subsequent Five Year Plans, which projected capital goods were to increase by 161% and consumer goods by 83%, expectations which were surpassed, the opposite is thus suggested. The question whether a state directed economy or a free-market produce the most successful economy is one which is virtually impossible to answer, given the instability, and varying contributing factors to the economy in question. Howev er, the NEP, whilst not strictly adhering to Communist principles, and thus irritating the Left Opposition and other strict factions of the Communist party, undeniably rescued the economy in the wake of War Communism, whether it could have been saved in another way is a different question, yet the NEP remains a practical concession which arguably must have been made in order to go on to implement other aspects of Communism. As Lenin said, We are taking one step backward to later take two steps forward. The notion of collective farming had existed since the Russian Revolution, yet it was under Stalins rule, and in reaction to the Grain Crisis, that collectivisation as a policy really took hold and was implemented on serious levels. The unpopularity which requisitioning of the apparent missing grain had had led to a lower grain production, primarily due to hoarding and illegal transfers. By November 1929, the central committee had elected to implement accelerated collectivisation in the form of kolkhozes and Sovkhozes. A primary example of the escalation which Stalins ending of the NEP allowed, collectivisation was in principle in keeping with the Communist ideal. However, the manner in which it was done, and the consequences which unfolded after and the subsequent management must be evaluated in terms of whether the actions taken were deviations from Marxist-Leninism, or the implementation of a long held policy. The Communist manifesto states that cultivation of waste lands improvement of the soil equal liability for all to work [and] agricultural armies are a key part in communism, similarly the 1919 party programme specified that all the working masses without exception must be induced to take part in the work of state administration  [15]  . Whilst collectivisation was not specifically mentioned, the idea of complete state ownership of the land with all agricultural workers working together for a common goal remained prevalent. The Kolkhoz charter, produced in 1930, establishes the kolkhoz as a form of agricultural production cooperative of peasants that voluntarily unite for the purpose of join agricultural production based on collective labour and goes on to assert that the kolkhoz is managed according to the principles of socialist self-management, democracy and openness, with active participation of the members in decisions concerning aspects of internal life  [16]  . This pro jected utopia appears to be similar to the one which Lenin himself advocated, as Grant says Lenin always advocated the collectivisation of agriculture gradually and by voluntary means. But he never entertained the mad idea that millions of scattered peasant holdings could be forced to collectivise overnight at gun-point. Collectivisation was to take place through example. The peasant was to be convinced by patient argument and through the setting up of model collective farms and the introduction of the latest modern technology, tractors, fertilisers, electricity and schools  [17]  . However, by the end of 1928, the number of collective farms was only at 33,300, with only 2.3% of sown area in collective use. Following Stalins policy of forced collectivisation this figure rose to 85,900 collective farms, and 33.6% of sown area in collective use by 1930  [18]  , and by 1938 there were 242,400 collective farms and 99.8% of sown area in collective use  [19]  . However, a key element of the kolkhozes was the voluntary nature of them, and in order to achieve such figures, Stalin embarked on a policy of forced collectivisation, leading to estimated figures of 4 to 10 million deaths due to the poverty which ensued and the violence used to maintain this. The utopia spoke of in literary works couldnt have been more different to the manifestation of collectivisation under Stalin. Despite the high prediction levels, the first four years of forced collectivisation failed to produce, and there was indeed a fall in agricultural production which in turn led to famine. Bad production, combined with drought and arguably as a consequence of severe animosity towards the policy meant that Stalin and the authorities only persisted to increase the use of violence, implementing more grain seizures and further blaming of the class kulaks for every shortfall. In July 1929, it was official policy that terror should be avoided and that kulaks as well as the majority of peasantry ought to be enlisted in collective farms. By December 1929 Stalin announced that kulaks should be banned from becoming collective farm workers.  [20]  Stalin himself prior to this announcement had condemned the class as a whole in Pravda in November of that year saying Now we have the opportunity to carry out a resolute offensive against the kulaks, break their resistance, eliminate them as a clas s and replace their production with the production of kolkhozes and Sovkhozes Now dekulakisation is being undertaken by the masses of poor and middling peasant masses themselves who are realising total collectivisation. Now dekulakisation in the areas of total collectivisation is not just a simple administrative measure. Now dekulakisation is an integral part of the creation and development of collective farms. When the head is cut off, no-one wastes tears on the hair.  [21]  . Two months after this chillingly brutal article, the Politburo approved the liquidation of kulaks as a class. Estimates suggest that about a million kulak families (totally around five million people) were sent to the forced labour camps, or the Gulags as they were more commonly known  [22]  . Due to the kulaks only making up 1-2% of the Soviet population, and being increasingly hard to identify, the Soviet government began to cut off food rations to other social classes, particularly those where ther e was some degree of collectivisation, for example in the Ukraine. This policy can be linked to the Holodomor famine, which has repeatedly been linked to suspected genocide towards the Ukrainian people, or in a more pragmatical way, as a consequence of the economic policies implemented. The Ukraine was not alone, with the Soviet Union as a whole suffering from a famine in 1932-3. Widely negated as anti-communist propaganda, and denied even in western media at the time, the cycle of forced collectivisation and relinquishment and requisition of crops, poor pay (by 1946, 30 percent of Kolkhoz paid no cash for labour at all, 10.6 percent paid no grain, and 73.2 percent paid 500 grams of grain or less per day worked  [23]  ), hoarding which then led to a shortfall of grain production, which then instigated another requisition of grain. In an attempt to prevent the hoarding, the Law of the Spikelets was enacted on August 7, 1932, and confiscation of unlimited amounts of grain from pea sant households was allowed. Taking food was considered theft of socialist property and could result in punishment by death, or a ten-year prison sentence. Even children could be shot for picking up leftover grain in the fields. 125,000 sentences were passed for this particular offence in the bad harvest period from August 1932 to December 1933  [24]  . The corruption and brutality of the Soviet government extended beyond human lives, with the prices paid for produce hardly changing between 1929 and 1953, meaning that the State did not pay even one third of the cost of production, charging wholesalers 335 rubles for 100 kg of rye, but paid the kolkhoz roughly 8 rubles. The business of collectivisation proved to be a massive money-making experience for the Soviet government, and one which looked set to continue to prosper, for the State at least, for a great many years. As until 1969, all children born on a collective farm were forced by law to work there as adults unless they we re specifically given permission to leave, which as is to be expected, was very rarely. Despite the October revolution aiming to release the peasants from the hold of the bourgeoisie, a system of neo-serfdom existed, where the Communist bureaucracy replaced the former landowners. As Trotsky criticised, In these conditions an exaggeratedly swift collectivisation took the character of an economic adventure  [25]  . Whilst Trotsky should be expected to criticise Stalin, Service agrees predominantly with Trotskys assertion; social and ideological goals would also be served through mobilisation of the peasants in a cooperative economic enterprise which would produce higher returns for the State and could serve a secondary purpose of providing social services to the people. Thus, the policy of collectivisation and the devastation which it reaped struggles to be seen as merely a practical implementation of the collectivisation policy spoken of by Marx and Lenin. Indeed, the voluntary n ature of the initial policy hadnt produced much support, but the manner in which this support was forced upon the Soviet people, produced even less. The brutal nature of the policies and punishments and lack of acknowledgement of the effects forced a wedge between the peasants and the Soviet government. The utopia depicted within the Marxist-Leninism ideal of collectivisation, and whilst this may have not been achievable in practical terms, Stalins alternative, deviated so much from the basic principle of what collectivisation is that it became unidentifiable. It wasnt enough to simply apply an outcome to achieve the utopia, the philosophy and methods, i.e. the voluntary nature, had to be broadly shared amongst the Soviet people. As it was, the lack of this fundamental practice turned the whole policy into a variant of the serfdom which Communism strove to eliminate and thus undermined the notion of Stalinism being a practical implementation of Marxist-Leninism ideas. The key issue within collectivisation was the replacement of the old bourgeoisie with the bureaucrats of the Soviet government. The rise of bureaucracy was clearly an issue, as there was an increase in the difference between the living standards of the working class and the upper layers of the bureaucracy in particular  [26]  . Comprised primarily by the poor economic state of the working class in consequence of collectivisation, yet the bureaucrats acquisition of wealth furthered this gulf, the Soviet state began to represent the antithesis of what Marx and Lenin had proposed. Whilst it is generally acknowledged that those at the top of the party benefited financially and personally from their role, potentially leading to corruption and manipulation of their own purpose, it becomes interesting to see how such an issue developed. As early as 1920, Lenin said that ours is a workers state with bureaucratic deformations  [27]  , hauntingly similar parallels can be drawn with the policy of collectivisation. Issues which were around, and in some cases encouraged, during Lenins time, found themselves becoming colossal under the reign of Stalin. Whether the bureaucratisation of the party apparatus was simply an extension of Lenins own leadership, whether it would classify as a deviation or whether it was indeed a wholly new policy, must be examined. The Leninist programme for 1917 included the following points regarding state and bureaucracy: the discontinuance of the police and the standing army, abolition of the professional bureaucracy, elections for all public positions and offices, revocability of all officials, equality of bureaucratic wages with workers wages, the maximum of democracy, peaceful competition amongst parties within the soviets and abolition of the death penalty. As the Italian revolutionary Berneri says prior to his death in 1937, Not a single one of these points in this programme has been achieved.  [28]  Whilst Berneri was heavily critical of Stalin as a leader and so his judgement may be impacted by his own dislike for the man, several elements of the Leninist programme were undeniably ignored, or at least undermined, by the actualities of Stalinist bureaucracy. In a speech in 1931, Stalin spoke of the happy life of the people of the Soviet Union. At this time the workers living standards were sub-sta ndard, and the wages of the workers remained depressed throughout the 1930s, despite the colossal gains of the first two Five Year Plans. Yet the happy life was a reality for millions of officials in the state and Communist party; they lived very well. In addition to the other privileges of provisions and lodgings, a new network of closed distributors was established and restaurants were reserved for the use of high Communist or non-Party officials. Then special state shops were set up for their exclusive use. In these shops one could buy anything and everything but at prices no worker could afford  [29]  . This development created an upper class in a state where there was to be no class divisions, with Lenins maximum of democracy aimed to prevent such a sector developing. Lenin saw that the existence of wage differentials was a survival of capitalism that would tend to disappear as society moved towards socialism. The development of the productive forces would be accompanied by a general improvement of living standards and the inequalities would tend to decrease.  [30]  Despite the chasm of difference between Lenins envisaged state and Stalins realisation, Lenin himself admitted that the state he lead did include bureaucratic deformations. However the deformations were trivial compared to the tiered state which formed in consequence of Stalins encouragement. His dictatorship style of leadership, which allowed him to weed out the members of the Party which disagreed with him allowed him to create a circle of peers who were able to reap the benefits which collectivisation and industrialisation allowed. The crux of the argument rests within the debate of whether Marxist-Leninism was ever a foreseeable policy and whether there was an alternative Communist state than the one which Stalin oversaw. Several key historians claim that Stalins actions were the inevitable continuation of Leninism and there is some evidence to support this. Richard Pipes declares Stalinism the natural consequence of Leninism, as Stalin faithfully implemented Lenins domestic and foreign policy programmes  [31]  . Edvard Radzinsky similarly acknowledges that Stalin, as he claimed himself, was the real follower of Lenin  [32]  . Robert Service, whilst on the whole condemning the extent of Stalins rule concedes that personally he remained devoted to Lenin and his rule and conserved and reinforced the Leninist regime and this was reflected in Stalins whole-hearted attempts to elevate the memory of Lenin to somewhat of a deity and his development and insistence of Marxist-Leninism. It was under Stalins cont rol which the notion of a Marxist-Leninist ideology was popularised. Indeed the Civil War measures implemented by Lenin introduced the idea of the Red Terror and developed internment camps, Lenin was the instigator of Article 58 in 1927 which condoned the arrests of those suspected of counter-revolutionary activities. The autocratic system within the Communist party was too developed by Lenin  [33]  . Lenins ban on factions within the Russian Communist party and introduction of the one-party state in 1921 allowed Stalin to get rid of his rivals easily. In many ways, Stalin can be seen to have utilised Lenins tools; the exclusion of alternative ideologies from public life was strengthened, instruments of dictatorship, terror and a politicised judiciary were furthered with Stalins reliance upon the Gulags and trails of political competitors, such as Bukharin and Trotsky. The states economic control, whilst substansial since the Civil war, was tightened dramatically In particular, the notion of continuing the despotism evident in the earlier Soviet period, the brutal nature of the fighting within the Civil War and October Revolution providing prime examples, is clear in the use of terror as a method of control in the first two decades of Stalins rule. However there are significant criticisms saying that Stalins deviations disfigured Marxist-Leninism beyond recognition. As Roy Medvedev says one could list the various measures carried out by Stalin that were actually a continuation of anti-democratic trends and measures implemented under Lenin in so many ways, Stalin acted, not in line with Lenins clear instructions but in defiance of them. Likewise, Isaac Deutscher, in his biography on Trotsky claims that only the blind and deaf could be unaware of the contrast between Stalinism and Leninism  [34]  . A more modern criticism comes from Graeme Gill, Stalinism was not a natural flow-on of earlier developments; it formed a sharp break resulting from conscious decisions by leading political actors  [35]  . The totalitarian perspective that the negative facets of Stalinism were inherent in Communism from the start is perpetually undermined by attempts to distance Stalinism from Leninism; Trotsky

Significance of the Attire of Men and Women in the 18th Century Essay

Significance of the Attire of Men and Women in the 18th Century The attire of men and women in the eighteenth century cemented the roles they were supposed to play. The style of made dress belied his nature as somewhat more free from restrictions whereas the woman, bound by corsets and strict dress-codes found herself held back in clothing as in society. A sphere of influence, behavior and conduct was assigned to both sexes; each was valued for different qualities. These gender distinctions do not allow any overlap between the two sexes. (Marsden, 21) In light of this, society viewed cross-dressing (the practice of one gender dressing themselves in the attire of the other) as a threat to its own structure. For a woman to forsake the clothes and character of women for that of men sounded monstrous. Such a practice would create sexual ambiguity - a woman would assume the clothes of a man and thus the manner and actions of a man, yet her physical nature denied her that right. Cross-dressing creates monstrations - a woman ceases to be a woman after she has assumed male garb and can never hope to be a man. An aversion to cross-dressing has its roots in the Bible: "The women shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment; for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God" (qtd. in Garber, 28). On August 13, 1597 Queen Elizabeth announced a sumptuary (dealing with attire) proclamation which defined the "separate categories for men's and women's apparel: each took the form of a long list of proscribed items of dress with an indication of who alone was permitted to wear them" (Garber, 26). This law sought to prohibit the rise in classes that was transpiring - ambitious ind... ...both may wear the prototypical shirt and pants}, the gender distinctions become blur. Men feared the idea of women as sexually aggressive as men - or perhaps worse, women who pursued other women. mite simply, the idea of 'gender-swapping' caused fear and anger. Individuals designed the practice to work outside of the uniform social structure; such actions were seen as threats to the social structure. Thus, society acted strictly towards those who thought themselves 'above' social gender laws. Works Cited Garber, Marjorie. Vested Interests: Cross Dressing and Cultural Anxiety. New York: Routledge. 1992. 21-41, 211-215. Marsden, Jean I. "Modesty Unshackled: Dorothy Jordan and the Dangers of Cross-Dressing." Studies in Eighteenth-Century Culture vol. 22. Ed. by Patricia B. Craddock and Carla H. Hay. East Lansing, Michigan: Colleagues Press Inc. 1992. 21-36.

A Digital Nation :: Internet Technology Technological Essays

A Digital Nation Have you ever heard someone say that we live in a digital nation? Do you know what a digital nation is? Well you should know because you are living in one. Our nation revolves around the use of computers. Can you go through a normal day without using something computer related? I don't think so. Many everyday things that you take for granted are computer based, such as: ATM's, credit cards, grocery check outs, and gas stations to name a few. I support Jon Katz's article The Netizen: Birth of a Digital Nation. Our nation would be a totally different place today if the computer was never invented. Computers have evolved incredibly in the past few years. Programs on computers help to make schools more organized and are used many times a day. Today most of the student's records are kept on a computer instead of in filing cabinets. Such as records of shots, attendance, grades, test scores, any problems the child has, and many others. With computers you can pull up a child's file within seconds instead of having to find the file in a cabinet, which could take several minutes. Computers keep all the files organized and make finding things easier for teachers, which helps them to get more things done in their busy day. Many teachers when assigning papers require them to be typed. Typed papers are a lot easier to read then hand written ones. Having a typed paper cuts down on the time needed to grade the papers and makes reading them a lot easier. Before computers, the time teachers needed to grade twenty papers was maybe four hours and now they can grade them in about two hours. Computers allow us to communicate with people all over the world. Thanks to the Internet you can talk with people from other counties and get a response within a few seconds. Instead if you had written a letter you might not get a response for weeks. The Internet also allows people who don't know each other to meet and become friends. Being able to connect to the Internet allows families to stay in touch even though they live thousands of miles away. The capabilities of being online makes things so much easier and faster, which we need, in order to keep up with the fast paced world we live in.

Expectations manipulate the reader Essay

How does Dickens Presentation of Pips threatened childhood in chapters 1-8 of great Expectations manipulate the reader? ‘Great expectations’ is a book written by Charles Dickens, and was first published in 1861. Charles Dickens was a Victorian writer and also a social commentator during the time. The novel ‘Great Expectations’ commentates on lower class life in the Victorian era. The book is mainly based on social criticism. The novel is about a boy called Pip who has a cruel start to life, living with his mean sister and her husband. With many people indifferent to Pips life, Pip starts with low expectations wanting to go to prison. Afterwards his life changes when he is described as a common labouring boy, eager to change this he also changes his expectations in life and from wanting to go to prison, or becoming a blacksmith he wants to become a gentleman and have a high status. Throughout the novel we are manipulated into feeling sorry for Pip. The events in his life, the people he meets and the way he is treated from childhood till he is grown up. Pip is an orphan at the beginning of the story, this and the factors such as that his parents are dead make us feel sorry for him. He also lives with his sister who is a harsh and beastly woman and treats him horridly. We are first introduced to Pip whilst he is a child. While in the graveyard he meets an escaped convict who treats him harshly. One of the ways that Dickens manipulates us during this is showing how unprotected and weak Pip is. ‘After each question he tilted me over a little more, so as to give me a greater sense of helplessness and danger’ (chapter 1) this quote shows how feeble Pip is. We are later manipulated even more by the way his sister treats him. Contempt and hatred are just some of the ways that could be used to describe her attitude towards him. Hence he is a lonely, weak boy who has no parents. Mrs Joe ‘applied Tickler to its further investigation. She concluded by throwing me – I often served as a connubial missile’. She beats Pip and acts as if he is nothing but a mere slave to her and must do as he is told or she willHow does Dickens successfully link Magwitch’s appearance in Chapter one with his return in Chapter Thirty-nine in ‘Great Expectations’? ‘Great Expectations’ is set in the 1800’s, for gentlemen of that time, life was rich and full of beautiful houses and places. Because they didn’t have to work they spent their days chatting, going to dinners and just having fun. But for the working class, they had to always be thinking of ways to make money and always working to secure their next meal. This novel was serialised, which meant that the story was published part by part and so, many groups of people would gather together to read the story. They could then tell each other what they thought was going to happen in the next couple of chapters. To make the audience want to read the next couple of chapters, Dickens had to end each chapter with a cliff hanger. The central protagonist in this novel is Pip. In the first chapter we learn that Pip’s parents are dead and so he lives with his sister and her husband. We also learn that he had 5 other brothers and sisters who have also died as their five mini gravestones or rocks are beside Pip’s parents grave. He frequently visits his parent’s grave even though he has no memory of ever seeing them. He paints a picture in his mind of his mum and dad. In this chapter we get to meet Abel Magwitch who will become a central figure in Pip’s life. Dickens successfully uses pathetic fallacy in both Chapter One and Chapter Thirty-nine to create a negative tension. In Chapter One, he describes the weather with negative adjectives such as ‘sting’, ‘torn’, and ‘growled’. These all give negative connotations to the reader to create the bad tension in the weather. He also uses the onomatopoeia like ‘shivers’ and ‘shuddering’ to show how the weather is affecting people. He also uses the word ‘shuddering’ again in Chapter Thirty-nine providing an obvious link in the weather. Dickens uses the adjective ‘angry’ more then once to show that whatever is going to happen won’t be good. In Chapter Thirty-nine, Dickens hints at negative events by using the simile, ‘like discharges of a cannon’ which also ties into Chapter One because it is signalling that an escaped convict could be entering the story again because a cannon would sound whenever a convict had escaped. Dickens describes the weather as ‘stormy and wet, stormy and wet’ which uses repetition to push across how bad the weather is. He also says, ‘mud, mud, mud’ which is a list of three, which is a very convincing technique to help set the scene for Magwitch’s return.

Public Punishment Essay Essay

Public punishment is an act or instance of punishing. A deterrent is something that discourages or is in intended to discourage someone from an act. In today’s society public punishment is often debated, where as in the 1800s, punishing someone publically was accepted. From community service to standing at intersections with hand written signs, public punishment can act as a deterrent or not affect that person at all. Public punishment is often frowned upon, but is effective in some, not all cases, and influences better behavior. Public punishment does not always work. Trenton General from Chesapeake, Virginia, is a troubled teen whose grades in school were below his parents’ expectations (Belkin 1). Trenton’s parents took away his video games, cell phone and made him a â€Å"work for food† sign around his neck in an orange jumpsuit (Belkin 1). His parents stated â€Å"It was an embarrassment to us that we tried so much to reach him and it seems like ever ything we did failed† (Belkin 1). His parents tried everything they could until they decided to resort to public punishment (Belkin 1). Trenton’s guardians gave him the choice of no phone for two weeks or stand on the corner with a sign with his grades posted, that method did not work (Belkin 1). Trenton stated that â€Å"because when it comes to school it’s boring† (Belkin 1). Public punishment does not always work. Public punishment is often frowned upon because of the humiliation that is brought along with the punishment. Trezhan Blaha, from Elyria, Ohio, learned his lesson when he was caught stealing from the mall (Jackson 1) . Trezhan’s mother and uncle decided that he should stand on the corner with a sign that read: â€Å"I like to steal and have no respect for my mother or authority† (Jackson 1). Blaha stated â€Å"I was embarrassed but I definitely learned my lesson† (Jackson 1). This punishment from Blaha’s guardians helped him learn his lesson and acted as a deterrent for the future.In Fulton County, Georgia, Judge Robinson is starting to crack down on new methods to punish criminals (Romaker 1). Shoplifters and prostitution are just two of many crimes in Fulton County that are being introduced to criminal t-shirts (Romaker 1). The criminal t-shirts are not meant to be a fashion statement but serve as a deterrent for other criminals (Romaker 2). The judge in the county who sentences these criminals to wear the t-shirts stated, â€Å"Public punishment, serves as a deterrent, particularly at a time when more people are being tempted to steal from others† (Romaker 1). When the economy went in the tanks, the shoplifting rate went up. To cope with the criminals these judges them neon green shirts with large, black letters announcing their crime (Romaker 2). The judges decided that criminals needed to suffer a little humility (Romaker 2). Wayne Seely, former police officer said â€Å"Judge Robinson should be commended for saying he’s had enough and doing something to discourage people from stealing† (Romaker 2). These criminal t-shirts are not only happening in Fulton County but in other counties around Georgia (Romaker 2). This public punishment was not only effective but served as a perfect deterrent for future thieves. In some instances public punishment can work very effectively or can not affect the person at all. T renton General was one of those people whom were not affected by publicpunishment despite having to hold his grades up on a busy intersection. Trezhan and the Fulton County criminals learned their lesson from the humiliation and the stares that came along with the punishment. Not all public punishment does work, but most do. As some would say â€Å"You do the crime you pay the time†. Works Cited: Belkin, Lisa. â€Å"Bad Grades= Public Punishment† The New York Times. The New York Times Company. 18 February 2009. Web 30 Oct 2012. Romaker, Janet. â€Å"Fashion Police: Judge Tailors punishment that fit Criminals to a T.† The Blade. Waveson, Ohio. 7 Sept 2012. Wed Oct 2012. â€Å"One boys very public punishment† Abcolocal .go.com.N.p., 23 Mar. 2012. Web 30 Oct 2012.