The Truth About The Big Two He Essay -- essays research papers

While reading Ernest Hemingway's short story 'Big Two Hearted River,'; one might think that it is just about a man named Nick Adams returning to Seney, to go camping and fishing. It may not be clear to some readers why the town of Seney is burned down or why Hemingway talks about each of Nick's action in great amount of detail. While first reading the story one might not notice that Hemingway has many symbolic parts, so that he can get the true meaning of the story across to the reader. The story is truly about Nick Adams wanting to get on with his life enjoying to its fullest and putting all of the awful events that have happened to him in the past. When Nick arrives at the town of Seney, he sees that the town is completely burned to the ground. When Nick was on the bridge he looked down at the water and saw trout in the water going against the current. Nick realized that the trout were changing their positions only to steady themselves once again: Nick looked down into the clear, brown water, colored from the pebbly bottom, and watched the trout keeping themselves steady in the current with wavering fins. As he watched them they changed their positions by quick angles, only to hold steady in the fast water again (472). Hemingway is trying to show that the trout are better then Nick, since they are not bothered by emotions or their surroundings. Nick is, he is bothered by the war, which created internal emotions that he is trying to resolve. Hemingway used the trout in t...

Nursing Knowledge

What makes Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) a great source of knowledge for nursing references? It produces and disseminates systematic reviews of health care interventions and promotes the search for evidence in the form of clinical trials and other studies. The column by JBI will cover a broad range of topics and will appear periodically in AJN. With reference to its official website, http://www.joannabriggs.edu.au, The Joanna Briggs Collaboration is a coordinated effort by a group of self-governing collaborative centres, coordinated through the leadership of The Joanna Briggs Institute. The legitimate operations of The Joanna Briggs Collaboration include the promotion of evidence-based health care; education and training; conducting of systematic reviews; the development of Best Practice Information Sheets; the implementation of evidence-based practice; and the conduct of evaluation cycles and primary research arising out of systematic reviews. Various collaborating centre have teamed up to produce excellent and up to date sources that are relatively relevant in medical field. A good source of research should be current, concise, and give factual evidences. The website also contains electronic copies of all JBI collaboration publications that includes such as; Best Practice Information Sheets, systematic reviews, evaluation cycle reports and practice manuals. What’s most important about this research source is that the evidence library offers a variety of reports such as product and technical reports, executive summaries, review protocols, and a Cochrane library. For further research, it offers various database such as a systematic review database and database of abstract reviews of effects. Overall, this research source will definitely help someone to find pertinent facts and information on medical field. Sigma Theta Tau International As a knowledge and leadership organization, the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International responds to health and nursing profession trends and issues that are germane to its mission.( http://www.nursingsociety.org/resources/main.html) The site is a good start point for research, here you will find; ØÂ   Resources and Position Papers – Position statements and resource papers about trends and key issues that are developed by the society. ØÂ   Global Alliances – affiliations alliances of society with other eminent international organizations for stronger organization. ØÂ   Various Organizational Affiliates ØÂ   National Quality Measures Clearinghouse – NQMC, sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), it is a public storehouse for evidence-based quality measures and measure sets. The site offers more than a research source; it also acts a focal point for nursing communities where they can exchange information on various aspects of nursing. There is also a special link for student nurse resources and society resources. As they value their members they offer mentoring programs to enhance the leadership and potential skills of nurses. Its commitment does not only rely to library resources and research but also dedicated to its society, community and fellow members. They also have a foundation that serves the culmination of overall purpose of the organization. Certain communities are established to promote well being and participation in socio civic cultural activities of nurses. In general, this site offers a great mixture of facts, information, and interaction made by nurses to its fellow nurses. A well informative site that serves as a ground for various nurses all through out; thus, with the organization mission and vision that will has a parallel principle which will serve as continuous commitment to the society. References: http://www.joannabriggs.edu.au http://www.nursingsociety.org/resources/main.html

The Return: Midnight Chapter 21

Someone was still knocking on Stefan's door. â€Å"It's a woodpecker,†Elena said when she could speak. â€Å"They knock, don't they?† â€Å"On doors inside houses?†Stefan said dazedly. â€Å"Ignore it and it wil go away.† A moment later the knocking resumed. Elena moaned, â€Å"I don't believe this.† Stefan whispered, â€Å"Do you want me to bring you its head? Unattached from its neck, I mean?† Elena considered. As the knocking continued, she was getting more worried and less confused. â€Å"Better see if it is a bird, I guess,†she said. Stefan rol ed away from her, somehow got on his jeans, and went reeling to the door. In spite of herself, Elena pitied whoever was on the other side. The knocking started again. Stefan reached the door and nearly wrenched it off its hinges. â€Å"What the – â€Å"He stopped, suddenly moderating his voice. â€Å"Mrs. Flowers?† â€Å"Yes,†Mrs. Flowers said, deliberately not seeing Elena, who was wearing a sheet and directly in her line of vision. â€Å"It's poor dear Meredith,†Mrs. Flowers said. â€Å"She's in such a state, and she says she has to see you now, Stefan.† Elena's mind switched tracks as suddenly and smoothly as a train. Meredith? In a state? Demanding to see Stefan, even if, as Elena was sure she must have, Mrs. Flowers had delicately indicated just how†¦busy Stefan was at the moment? Her mind was Stillsolidly linked with Stefan's. He said, â€Å"Thank you, Mrs. Flowers. I'l be down in just a moment.† Elena, who was slipping into her clothes as fast as she could, while crouching on the far side of the bed, added a telepathic suggestion. â€Å"Maybe you could make her a nice cup of tea – I mean, a cup of tea,†Stefan added. â€Å"Yes, dear, what a good idea,†Mrs. Flowers said gently. â€Å"And if you should see Elena, perhaps you could say that dear Meredith is asking for her, too?† â€Å"We wil ,†Stefan said automatical y. Then he turned around and hastily shut the door. Elena gave him time to put his shirt and shoes on, and then they both hurried down to the kitchen, where Meredith was not having a nice cup of tea, but pacing around like a caged leopard. Stefan began, â€Å"What's – â€Å" â€Å"I'l tel you what's wrong, Stefan Salvatore! No – you tel me! You were in my mind before, so you must know. You must have been able to see – to tel – about me.† Elena was Stillmindlocked with Stefan. She felt his dismay. â€Å"To tel what about you?†he asked gently, pul ing out a chair at the kitchen table so Meredith could sit. The very simple act of sitting down, of pausing to respond to civility, seemed to calm Meredith slightly. But StillElena could feel her fear and pain like the taste of a steel sword on her tongue. Meredith accepted a hug and became a little calmer yet. A little more herself and less like a caged animal. But the struggle was so visceral and so clear within her that Elena couldn't bear to leave her, even when Mrs. Flowers deposited four mugs of tea around the table and took another chair Stefan offered. Then Stefan sat down. He knew Elena would stand or sit or share a chair with Meredith, but whatever it was, she would be the one to decide. Mrs. Flowers was gently stirring honey into her mug of tea and then passing the honey along to Stefan who gave it to Elena who put just the little bit that Meredith liked into Meredith's mug and stirred it gently, too. The ordinary, civilized sounds of two spoons quietly clinking seemed to relax Meredith Stillfurther. She took the mug Elena gave her and sipped, then drank thirstily. Elena could feel Stefan's mental sigh of relief as Meredith floated down another few levels. He politely sipped his own tea, which was hot but not burning hot and made from natural y sweet berries and herbs. â€Å"It's good,†Meredith said. She was almost a human now. â€Å"Thank you, Mrs. Flowers.† Elena felt lighter. She relaxed enough to pul over her own cup of tea and squeeze lots of honey in and stir it and take a gulp. Good! Calming down tea! That's chamomile and cucumber, Stefan told her. â€Å"Chamomile and cucumber,†Elena said, nodding wisely, â€Å"for calming down.†And then she blushed, for Mrs. Flowers's bright smile had knowledge in it. Elena hastily drank more tea and watched Meredith have more tea and everything began to feel almost al right. Meredith was completely Meredith now, not some fierce animal. Elena squeezed her friend's hand tightly. There was just one problem. Humans were less frightening than beasts but they could cry. Now Meredith, who never wept, was shaking and tears were dripping into the tea. â€Å"You know what morcillo is, right?†she asked Elena at last. Elena nodded hesitantly. â€Å"We had it sometimes in stew at your house?†she said. â€Å"And for tapas?†Elena had grown up with the blood sausage as a meal or a snack at her friend's house, and she was used to the bite-sized pieces as a delicious food only Mrs. Sulez made. Elena felt Stefan's heart sinking. She looked back and forth from him to Meredith. â€Å"It turns out my mother didn't always make it,†Meredith said, looking at Stefan now. â€Å"And my parents had a very good reason for changing my birthday.† â€Å"Just tel it al ,†Stefan suggested softly. And then Elena felt something she hadn't before. A surge, like a wave – a long gentle swell that spoke right into the center of Meredith's brain. It said: Just tell it and be calm. No anger. No fear. But it wasn't telepathy. Meredith felt the thought in her blood and bones, but didn't hear it with her ears. It was Influence. Before Elena could brain her beloved Stefan with her mug for using Influence on one of her friends, Stefan said, just to her, Meredith's hurting, feeling scared and angry. She has reason to, but she needs peace. I probably won't be able to hold her anyway, but I'll try. Meredith wiped her eyes. â€Å"It turns out that nothing was like what I thought happened – that night when I was three.†She described what her parents had told her, about everything that Klaus had done. Tel ing the story, even quietly, was undoing al the calming influences that had helped Meredith maintain herself. She was beginning to shake again. Before Elena could grab her, she was up and striding around the room. â€Å"He laughed and said that I'd need blood every week – animal blood – or I'd die. I didn't need much. Just a tablespoon or two. And my poor mother didn't want to lose another child. She did what he told her to. But what happens if I have more blood, Stefan? What happens if I drink yours?† Stefan was thinking, desperately trying to see if in al his years of experience he'd come across anything like this. Meanwhile he answered the easy part. â€Å"If you drank enough of my blood you'd become a vampire. But so would anyone. With you – Well, it might take less. So don't let any vampire trick you into blood exchange. Once might be enough.† â€Å"So I'm not a vampire? Now? Not any kind? Are there different kinds?† Stefan answered seriously. â€Å"I've never heard of ‘different kinds'of vampires in my life, except for Old Ones. I can tel you that you don't have a vampire's aura. What about your teeth? Can you make your canines sharp? Usual y it's best to test over human flesh. Not your own.† Elena promptly stuck out her arm, wrist vein-side up. Meredith, eyes closed in concentration, made a great effort, which Elena felt through Stefan. Then Meredith opened her eyes, mouth also open for a dental inspection. Elena stared at her canines. They looked a little bit sharp, but so did anybody's, didn't they? Careful y Elena reached a fingertip in. She touched one of Meredith's canines. Tiny pinch. Startled, Elena pul ed back. She stared at her finger where a very smal drop of blood was well ing up. Everyone watched it, mesmerized. Then Elena's mouth said without pausing to consult her brain, â€Å"You have kitten teeth.† The next moment Meredith had brushed Elena aside and was pacing wildly al around the kitchen. â€Å"I won't be one! I won't be! I'm a hunter-slayer, not a vampire! I'l kill myself if I'm a vampire!†She was deadly serious. Elena felt Stefan feeling it, the quick thrust of the stave between her ribs and into the heart. She would go on the Internet to find the right area. Ironwood and white ash piercing her heart, Stilling it forever†¦sealing off the evil that was Meredith Sulez. Be calm! Be calm! Stefan's Influence flooded into her. Meredith was not calm. â€Å"But before that I have to kil my brother.†She flung down a photograph on Mrs. Flowers's kitchen table. â€Å"It turns out that Klaus or someone has been sending these since Cristian was four – on my real birthday. For years! And in every picture you could see his vampire teeth. Not ‘kitten teeth.'And then they stopped coming when I was about ten. But they had shown him growing up! With pointed teeth! And last year this one came.† Elena leaped for the photo, but it was closer to Stefan and he was faster. He stared in astonishment. â€Å"Growing up?†he said. She could feel how shaken he was – and how envious. No one had given him that option. Elena looked at the pacing Meredith and around at Stefan. â€Å"But it's impossible, isn't it?†she said. â€Å"I thought that if you were bitten, that was it, right? You never got any older – or bigger.† â€Å"That's what I thought too. But Klaus was an Old One and who knows what they can do?†Stefan answered. Damon will be furious when he finds out, Elena told Stefan privately, reaching for the picture even though she'd already seen it through Stefan's eyes. Damon was very bitter about Stefan's height advantage – about anyone's height advantage. Elena brought the picture to Mrs. Flowers and looked at it with her. It showed an extremely handsome boy, with hair that was just Meredith's dark color. He looked like Meredith in his facial structure and olive skin. He was wearing a motorcycle jacket and gloves, but no helmet, and he was laughing merrily with a ful set of very white teeth. You could easily see that the canines were long and pointed. Elena looked back and forth from Meredith to the picture. The only difference she could see was that this boy's eyes seemed lighter. Everything else screamed â€Å"twins.† â€Å"First I kil him,†Meredith repeated tiredly. â€Å"Then I kil myself.†She stumbled back to the table and sat, almost knocking over her chair. Elena hovered near her, snatching two mugs from the table, to prevent Meredith's clumsy arm from sweeping them to the floor. Meredith†¦clumsy! Elena had never seen Meredith ungraceful or clumsy before. It was frightening. Was it somehow due to being – at least partly – a vampire? The kitten teeth? Elena turned apprehensive eyes on Stefan, felt Stefan's own bewilderment. Then both of them, without consultation, turned to look at Mrs. Flowers. She gave them an apologetic little-old-lady smile. â€Å"Gotta kil †¦find him, kil him†¦first,†Meredith was whispering as her dark head lowered to the table, to the pil ow of her arms. â€Å"Find him†¦where? Grandpa†¦where? Cristian†¦my brother†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena listened silently until there was only soft breathing to be heard. â€Å"You drugged her?†she whispered to Mrs. Flowers. â€Å"It was what Ma ma thought best. She's a strong, healthy girl. It won't harm her to sleep from now through the night. Because I'm sorry to tel you, but we have another problem right now.† Elena glanced at Stefan, saw fear dawning on his face, and demanded, â€Å"What?†Absolutely nothing was coming through their link. He'd shut it down. Elena turned to Mrs. Flowers. â€Å"What?† â€Å"I'm very worried about dear Matt.† â€Å"Matt,†agreed Stefan, looking around the table as if to show that Matt wasn't there. He was trying to protect Elena from the chil s racing through him. At first Elena wasn't alarmed. â€Å"I know where he might be,†she said brightly. She was remembering stories that Matt had told of being in Fel ‘s Church while she and the others had been in the Dark Dimension. â€Å"Dr. Alpert's place. Or out with her, making the rounds of home visits.† Mrs. Flowers shook her head, her expression bleak. â€Å"I'm afraid not, Elena dear. Sophia – Dr. Alpert – cal ed me and told me she was taking Matt's mother, your own family, and several other people with her and escaping Fel ‘s Church entirely. And I don't blame her a bit – but Matt wasn't one of those going. She said he meant to stay and fight. That was around twelve thirty.† Elena's eyes automatical y went to the kitchen clock. Horror shot through her, flipping her stomach and reverberating out to her fingertips. The clock said 4:35 – 4:35 P.M.! But that had to be wrong. She and Stefan had only joined minds a few minutes ago. Meredith's rage hadn't lasted that long. This was impossible! â€Å"That clock – it's not right!†She appealed to Mrs. Flowers, but heard at the same time Stefan's telepathic voice, It's the mind-blending. I didn't want to rush. But I was lost in it too – it's not your fault, Elena! â€Å"It is my fault,†Elena snapped back aloud. â€Å"I never meant to forget about my friends for the entire afternoon! And Matt – Matt would never scare us by keeping us waiting for his cal ! I should have cal ed him! I shouldn't have been – â€Å"She looked at Stefan with unhappy eyes. The only thing burning inside her right now was the shame of failing Matt. â€Å"I did cal his mobile number,†Mrs. Flowers said very gently. â€Å"Ma ma advised me to do so, al the way back at half past twelve. But he didn't answer. I've cal ed every hour since. Ma ma won't say more than that it's time we looked into things directly.† Elena ran to Mrs. Flowers and wept on the soft cambric lacework at the old woman's neck. â€Å"You did our job for us,†she said. â€Å"Thank you. But now we have to go and find him.† She whirled on Stefan. â€Å"Can you put Meredith in the first-floor bedroom? Just take off her shoes and put her on top of the covers. Mrs. Flowers, if you're going to be alone here, we'l leave Saber and Talon to take care of you. Then we'l keep in touch by mobile. And we'l search every house in Fel ‘s Church – but I guess we should go to the thicket first†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Wait, Elena my dear.†Mrs. Flowers had her eyes shut. Elena waited, shifting impatiently from one foot to the other. Stefan was just returning from putting Meredith in the front room. Suddenly, Mrs. Flowers smiled, eyes Stillshut. â€Å"Ma ma says she wil do her utmost for you two, since you are so devoted to your friend. She says that Matt is not anywhere in Fel ‘s Church. And she says, take the dog, Saber. The falcon wil watch over Meredith while we are away.†Mrs. Flowers's eyes opened. â€Å"Although we might plaster her window and door with Post-it Notes,†she said, â€Å"just to make sure.† â€Å"No,†Elena said flatly. â€Å"I'm sorry, but I won't leave Meredith and you on your own with only a bird for protection. We'l take you both with us, covered in amulets if you like, and then we can take both animals, too. Back in the Dark Dimension, they worked together when Bloddeuwedd was trying to kil us.† â€Å"Al right,†Stefan said at once, knowing Elena well enough to realize that a half-hour-long argument could ensue and Elena would never be moved an inch from her position. Mrs. Flowers must have known it too, for she rose, also immediately, and went to get ready. Stefan carried Meredith out to her car. Elena gave a tiny whistle for Saber, who was instantly underfoot, seeming bigger than ever, and she raced him up the stairs to Matt's room. It was disappointingly clean – but Elena fished a pair of briefs from between bed and wal . She gave these to Saber to delight in, but found she couldn't stand Still. Final y, she ran up to Stefan's room, snatched her diary from under the mattress, and began scribbling. Dear Diary, I don't know what to do. Matt has disappeared. Damon has taken Bonnie to the Dark Dimension – but is he taking care of her? There's no way to know. We don't have any way to open a Gate ourselves and go after them. I'm afraid Stefan will kill Damon, and if something – anything – has happened to Bonnie, I'll want to kill him too. Oh, God, what a mess! And Meredith†¦of all people, Meredith turns out to have more secrets than all of us combined. All Stefan and I can do is hold each other and pray. We've been fighting Shinichi so long! I feel as if the end is coming soon†¦and I'm afraid. â€Å"Elena!†Stefan's shout came from below. â€Å"We're al ready!† Elena quickly stuffed the diary back under the mattress. She found Saber waiting on the stairs, and fol owed him down, running. Mrs. Flowers had two overcoats covered in amulets. Outside, a long whistle from Stefan was met by an answering keeeeeeee from above and Elena saw a smal dark body circling against the white-streaked August sky. â€Å"She understands,†Stefan said briefly, and took the driver's seat of the car. Elena got into the backseat behind him, and Mrs. Flowers into the front passenger seat. Since Stefan had buckled up Meredith into the middle of the backseat, this left Saber a window to put his panting head through. â€Å"Now,†Stefan said, over the purring of the engine, â€Å"where are we going, exactly?†

“Invictus” by William E. Henley and “Anthem“ by Ayn Rand Essay

The poem â€Å"Invictus† by William E. Henley, and the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, both have common themes that discuss the importance of individuality in each society are forbid and belief of the unspeakable word ego and the word I should be eliminated from the vocabulary in a effort to eradicated the true â€Å"evil† are present as individualism. One of the common themes between Rand’s novel, and Henley’s poem is that, both of the main characters of these pieces are determined to be nothing less than what they were made to be which is unconquerable. A quote from Anthem that supports this theme is, â€Å"They (the Golden one) looked strait into our Equality 7-2521 eyes and they held our head high and they answered: â€Å"the unconquered.†(p.56). From this quote, the Golden one proves to think that Equality 7-2521 is an unconquerable being, because of this determination, as well as will-power with all his doings. In Invictus, the protagonist does not see himself to be overcome by anything, but to always be able to rise against his challengers. As the author states in Invictus , we thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul. The leading character explains in this quote how he is invincible, and that this gift was given to him, so therefore it cannot be taken away. I can relate this to Anthem , by recapping what happened to Equality 7-2521in his past experiences with the transgressor got burned alive, which made him steadily directed and immovable, such as in â€Å"Invictus†. Also, in both Anthem and â€Å"Invictus†, the protagonists of the story and poem, went through physical pain, which I also believe has a lot of emotional pain involved as well. In Anthem Equality 7-2521 states this excerpt, â€Å"They tore our clothes from our body, they threw us down upon our knees and they tied our hands to the iron post. The first blow of the lash felt as if our spine had been cut in two.† (p.64). From this quote we can gather that Equality 7-2521 had physical pain from the lashes, but also emotional pain behind the reasoning of the abuse. I believe that this had a hug Individuality, this word is what makes a person who they are. It can be molded into whatever one chooses it to be. It also puts you in control of yourself and guides you through your existence. Being individualized is what makes us human. We are not all the same. In the novel Anthem, the thought of individuality is a constant theme throughout the book. The main character, Equality believes he is cursed by being an individual, at first. Many similarities can be found between the novel Anthem and the poem â€Å"Invictus. Invictus is Latin word for Unconquered. Another character, Liberty, will begin to call Equality unconquered in the novel. She believes he is unconquered because his appearance to her is different. She believes that because he is different that he will not be held down by the conformity surrounding him, therefore unconquered. â€Å"Your eyes are as flame, but our brothers have neither hope nor fire. Your mouth is cut of granite, but our brothers are soft and humble. Your head is high, but our brothers cringe. You walk, but our brothers crawl.† his poem â€Å"Invictus†, â€Å"Out of the night that covers me, Balck as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul.† These two quotes alone depict individuality very well and are similar in the message in ANTHEM AND THE POAM INVICTUS. Towards the end of the novel I think that Equality will tell the reader of how he will no longer live for anyone but himself and those that he loves and love him. â€Å"It is my mind which thinks, and the judgment of my mind is the only searchlight that can find the truth. It is my will which chooses, and the choice of my will is the only edict I must respect.† â€Å"I ask none to live for me, nor do I live for any others.† These quotes are very similar to the last two line of â€Å"Invictus.† They read â€Å"I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.

Strategic Business Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Strategic Business Report - Essay Example The company over the initial years has relentlessly focused on obtaining scale of operations which it believes will be the foundation for its future profitable growth. It has been to such an extent that it has sacrificed profits for growth during initial phase and posted its first profit only in the year 2003, nearly after nine years of operations. The strategy followed is a customer focused approach which the company believes will help it attain the scale it needs for long term success. 1.2.1 Product: Amazon .com sells operates in North America as well as internationally through retail websites which include amazon.com, amazon.ca, amazon.de, amazon.fr, amazon.co.jp, amazon.co.uk, shopbop.com, endless.com, and the Joyo Amazon Web sites at joyo.cn and amazon.cn.. It sells its product in over 200 countries. The product range which its sources and sells are books; electronics and computers; toys, kids, and baby; sports and outdoors; movies, music, and games; home and garden; apparel, shoes, and jewelry; tools, auto, and industrial; digital downloads; grocery; and health. Amazon.com, Inc. operates retail Web sites, as well as provides programs that enable third parties to sell their products on its Web sites. It enables customers to use single click technology to complete purchase of all sellers and check out, making purchase easy and convenient. The company's Amazon Enterprise Solutions offer sellers e-commerce expertise, technology, and operational infrastructure to e nable e-commerce businesses operating under their own brand name and Web site address. It also offers Amazon Web Services, which provide access to technology infrastructure that developers can use to enable virtually various types of businesses. 1.2.2 Price: The unique offering of Amazon.com is its ability to offer products at a price lower than any other retailer, because of its unique model (no expensive retail space). 1.2.3 Promotion: MillionAmazon.com has steadily increased its spending on advertising and promotion and brand building. In 2005 it valued its goodwill as $159 million. Amazons unique brand image as a top web based retail company built right from day one, is what drives the company's growth. 1.2.4: Place/ Supply chain management: Strong delivery system is one of its strong points of Amazon.com. To manage logistics it believes in having strong analysis based systems. It uses mathematical modeling and algorithms extensively to forecast, match delivery centres,

Joseph Stalin Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Joseph Stalin - Research Paper Example For instance, according to statistical estimates provided by Haynes and Husan in their book A Century of State Murder? Death and Policy in Twentieth-Century Russia, if the 1920s mortality rates are to be extrapolated to the 1930s, one has to reach a conclusion that there were about 8.5 million excessive deaths for 1928-1936, and additional 1.5 million for the second part of the decade of the 1930s, making total number of casualties of Stalinism in the 1930s close to 10 million people (Haynes and Husan 65). If one compares the population predictions for the year of 1937 compiled by Soviet Gosplan in the late 1920s (about 181 million people) with the 1937 census’s actual results (i.e. 168.5 million people, further reduced to 167 million by the new 1939 census), it is clear that Soviet population fell by considerable number in the 1930s, as even Stalin’s government was forced to concede (Haynes and Husan 64). This tremendous number of excessive unnatural deaths should be f urther extended by taking into account the number of deaths of Soviet soldiers and citizens in the course of WW II, which, while not entirely caused by Stalin’s military ineptness, were significantly increased by it. In addition, the death rate in Soviet forced labor camps rose to its highest level in the 1940s, with 1.01 million of dead prisoners in 1941-1945 (Haynes and Husan 83). Finally, the 1940s deportations of national groups deemed not loyal to the Soviet regime cost their own share of deaths: almost 300-400.000 are likely to have perished, as the data provided by Pohl testify (2). This means that in all certainty, Stalinism led to deaths of about 20 million people, if the part of wartime deaths is included in overall estimate. Nonetheless, despite the natural aversion that may arise towards Stalin and his system of government when exposed to such information, it is known that memories of Stalinist era are often fondly invoked in modern Russia and, to a lesser extent, in other post-Soviet states. In particular, Putin’s government often uses memories of Stalin’s rule to support its own actions, especially un the field of foreign policy, and the new history textbooks used in Russian schools often include statements of the like that â€Å"Stalin acted ‘entirely rationally’ in executing and imprisoning millions of people in the Gulags† (Stewart). The nature of such fondness for Stalin on the part of Russian authorities is understandable, as the Russian government, while pursuing harsh neo-liberal economic policies, widely employs appeals to ‘Soviet nostalgia’ in its symbolism and external policies. At the same time, a characteristically different kind of ‘popular Stalinism’ exists among the wide strata of Russian society. Exemplified by the policies of ‘red-brown’ Communist Party of Russian Federation, which for all purposes dropped its former Marxist tenets in favor of more op en Russian imperial patriotism and of other, smaller but ideologically similar parties and groupings, this type of ‘Stalinist’ feelings mix nostalgia for the ‘orderly’ society unaffected by market turbulence with strong cultural conservatism and xenophobia. Therefore, despite strong condemnation levied upon Stalinism by Russia’s liberal intelligentsia, Stalinist sentiment, or,

Business Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Business - Article Example Similarly, their analysis that their customers generally liked driving a Skoda indicated that they needed to actually make no changes to the actual car. The most interesting element was that Skoda realized that other manufacturers focused on the car, despite nominal changes in performance, and that they should instead focus on the experience of the brand and intangible assets. Microsoft Hafner and Hibbert performed a SWOT analysis of Microsoft in 2001. Some of the conclusions were obvious: Linux and Macintosh were potential threats, Microsoft had been slow in coming to the Internet and had been beaten out by companies like Google, etc. But others were more interesting. For example: â€Å"Currency exchange rates affect demand for application/operation software and hardware, and fluctuating currencies can negatively impact revenues in the global marketplace†. Hafner and Hibbert point out that Microsoft had not done the management to protect against that kind of volatility. Concl usion SWOT in practice, then, can help companies do two things: 1) Catalog for the obvious that has thus far escaped attention or has simply been assumed and not been critically analyzed; 2) Perceive past the obvious to the non-trivial. Works Cited Skoda Autos. â€Å"SWOT Analysis in Action†. Times 100. 2008. Web. Retrieved from: http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/downloads/skoda/skoda_13_full.pdf . Accessed 1/9/2011.