The Weakness of the Directory was the main reasons for Napoleons rise to Power. How far do you agree?

The Weakness of the Directory was the main reasons for Napoleon's rise to Power. How far do you agree? On 10th November 1799 the Coup of Brumaire brought about a leader who would bring France's power to the forefront of Europe, a nation feared by all others. The coup was the final of a series of coups between 1797 and 1799. This shows that the Directory was extremely weak which caused Napoleon to rise to power, however there were other reasons as well, such as Napoleon's political connections, his success in wars and his own personal strengths, and the opportunities he creates for himself. The revolution in France was by no means a quick process, taking over ten years before stability was finally regained and Napoleon came to power. During the ten years there were many different types of government all with different ideas, however not one of the governments really affected the peasants, thus the people of France became fed up. Fed up of paying taxes to sort out the massive financial chaos, fed up of paying for pointless wars and so people just didn't care enough to stop Napoleon rising to power, despite warnings about him from Benjamin Constant, who believed he was to self-centred, which through policies in the Napoleonic Code actually turn out to be true. The revolution also created a whole in the army due to many of the military generals who were loyal to the king,

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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Compare and contrast the Functionalist and Marxist views of society.

Compare and contrast the Functionalist and Marxist views of society. Sociology has been classified as the last in a long line of emerging scientific disciplines which people have developed and explored in order to make sense of their world. Early theories such as the positivist approach of Comte, the functionalist views of Emile Durkheim and the conflict perspectives of Karl Marx have offered a view of why human beings behave as they do and how they fit together in society. Each theory has to some extent been shaped or influenced by the approach of others and many sociological explanations have comparisons or contrast that can be made. Browne once said "sociological perspectives centre on how much freedom or control the individual had to influence society" He goes on to comment on the two main approaches "structuralism is concerned with the overall structure of society and the way social institutions act as a constraint, or limit and control individual behaviour". Structuralism offers a view of the individual being controlled by the society they live in, Marx and Durkheim are similar in that they can both be described as structuralists, however their individual ideas are somewhat different. Functionalism was developed by Emile Durkheim, he believed like Comte that sociology should be viewed as a precise science and that society should be studied objectively. Durkheim

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Sociology
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Was Nicholas II responsible for his own downfall?

Was Nicholas II responsible for his own downfall? Nicholas II acted as an autocratic monarch rather than a constitutional leader, and this was a factor in his eventual downfall and abdication. Other factors included, him leaving Russia in the incapable hand of his wife, Alexandra, who herself was greatly influenced by Rasputin. The 'Holy Man' Rasputin was becoming more and more popular with Alexandra for helping their only son, Alexis's with his haemophilia, and his strange but powerful brand of spirituality certainly affected both Alexandra and Nicholas. It could be argued that Nicholas was himself responsible for allowing the power of Rasputin to extend so far and to influence his political decisions. Historians are in agreement that Nicholas lacked the necessary skills and qualities to rule a rapidly changing country. There were however factors outside of Nicholas' control, including his son's illness, that he could not be held directly responsible for. Indeed Russia was a huge country which was very hard to govern even for the most competent Tsar. One of the first factors which Nicholas was responsible for was his weak character and the fact that he allowed Alexandra to be so dominant. She encouraged him to hold on to his absolute power when a change in his style of leadership may have been a more politically useful tactic. A very significant contributing

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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Compare how the past reveals feelings about a place in Nothings Changed with the ways another poet reveals feelings about a place or places in one other poem.

Essay Question: Compare how the past reveals feelings about a place in "Nothing's Changed" with the ways another poet reveals feelings about a place or places in one other poem. Nobody can help have feelings- they are a part of everyone. We feel differently towards an issue as different things happen to us. Feelings do not change with time. What we feel as a child stays with us even when we are older. Feelings can be positive or negative. The poets Tatamkhula Afrika and Grace Nichols are both trying to deliver a similar message about feelings. In the poem Nothing's changed, the poet is feeling anger towards the white people even though the Apartheid had been finished. "District Six. No board say it.... And the hot, white, inward turning anger of my eyes." This shows that the poet is feeling ferocity towards the People in District Six. This can be said because "District Six" has been written as a short, expletive sentence, which is full of anger. "No board says it: but my feet know" This shows that even though Apartheid has ended and all the boards which differentiate the black community from the white community have been removed, the poet still feels secluded from the community. "And my hands, and the skin about my bones, and the soft labouring of my lungs, and the hot, white, inward turning anger of my eyes." This shows that as he is walking along, his anger is

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Artificial Cardiac Pacemakers

Research questions : Why is the constant beating of the heart important? What causes the heart to beat abnormally? What are the implications of having an abnormal heart beat? What is an artificial pacemaker and how does it regulate an abnormal heart beat? How are artificial pacemakers implanted? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using an artificial pacemaker? What are some alternatives used instead of artificial pacemakers? The importance of the heart The heart is an essential organ possessed by every living human. It is vital as it pumps blood rich in oxygen (received from the lungs) to every living cell within the body and pumps deoxygenated blood to the lungs (from the body)1. In the opposite diagram of a human heart, the blue sections represent the transport of deoxygenated blood and the red sections represent the transport of oxygenated blood. The heart is necessary in sustaining the lives of every single human being. This is because without oxygen, cells cannot carry out the process of cellular respiration (the release of energy from glucose). This means that the body cells will have insufficient energy to carry out regular functions needed for sustaining life. Every single cell in the human body is affected by the beating of the heart, as enough oxygen has to be supplied for them to function properly. Without the constant beating of the heart,

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Assess the view that religion is a conservative force within society (40).

Assess the view that religion is a conservative force within society (40). A number of sociologists argue that religion is a conservative force in society, that is, it produces stability not change within society and it reinforces the shared needs and values of society. For some sociologists this is a positive effect - the view of consensus theorists, for others it is a negative one - the view endorsed by conflict theorists. Durkheim is a consensus theorist, sometimes referred to as the father of functionalism, he supports the view that religion is a conservative force in society, reinforcing the existing society of society. He argued that religion should not be explained in terms of human ignorance, but as a result of shared social needs. He adopted a broad definition of religion throughout his analysis and defined it as a unified belief system of beliefs about the nature of sacred things. For Durkheim, shared religious belief systems were central to societal consensus as they set rules for social interaction and offered social solidarity and value consensus. In his book, "Elementary Forms of Religious Life", he examined the sources of order and stability in society and highlighted the part that religion played in sustaining this order. Durkheim viewed religion as being a major source of social integration - all religious activity has one main function - the

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Sociology
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To what extent is the oil crisis of 1973 a turning point in postwar economic development?

Chin Ying Lin Olivia (2) 6L 07/02/2010 To what extent can the oil crisis of 1973-4 be regarded as a turning point in the development of the international economy? The 1973 oil crisis was an event when the members of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) proclaimed an oil embargo in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military during the Yom Kippur war and lasted until March 1974. In this essay, a "turning point" is defined to be a landmark- an event marking a unique or important historical change of course or one on which important developments depend. While acknowledging that the oil crisis certainly had dramatic and lasting impact on the development of the international economy: in terms of signifying the start of a worldwide shift in power away from the U.S for the first time, bringing about catastrophic repercussions on the international economy and also leading to the formation of the G-7 ; to regard it as a " turning point" would be an overstatement, due to the temporary nature of the crisis, as well as preceding events such as the collapse of the Bretton Woods System, and the continuity of dominance of the US in the global economy, albeit with lesser power than before the oil crisis. All these suggest otherwise: either that other events qualify more as a "turning point" than the oil crisis, or that there remained continuity of

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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"Asses the successes and failures of Mao's domestic policies between 1949 and 1976."

"Asses the successes and failures of Mao's domestic policies between 1949 and 1976." During the time period of 1919 to 1949, rival warlords and factions struggled to assert authority in China. The two chief contenders were the Nationalists, the Kuomintang led by Sun Yatzen, and the Communists, the CCP led by Mao Zedong. Mao's initial plan was to obtain support from the peasants as the consisted of more than 75% of the population in China. After the four year struggles that followed Japan's downfall after WWI, the CCP and Mao Zedong had won the civil war. In 1949, Mao declared the PRC, Peoples Republic of China. From this period on until 1949, Mao had numerous domestic policies, some were failures and some successes. These policies can be divided into 3 categories, "Economic, Thought reform and Political/social." His optimal goal was to turn China into a super power, a power as powerful or greater than The United States. The focus of this essay is to establish whether Mao achieved this goal with his domestic policies. The effect of the civil war on China was that there was major instability in the Country. Mao knew it and one of his major concerns in order to achieve his goals was to even out this insecurity. In 1949, Mao launched the Organic law which divided China into 6 subdivisions. Each of these were regulated by offices and bureaus, which also included officials. Force

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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Is Increased globalization a good thing?

Is Increased globalization a good thing? More and more people are becoming aware of the 'shrinking' world. The golden arch of McDonalds and the infamous Coca Cola logo are inescapable in almost every country. We only have to go as far as the nearest supermarket in order to see the extent to which citizens of one country are dependent on imported goods from other parts of the world. The World Wide Web is the most graphic example. In order to assess whether increased globalisation is a good thing or not, this essay will firstly discuss the term 'globalisation'. Then it will analyse the advantages and disadvantages of globalisation in our contemporary world. Over the course of the last few decades, the term 'globalization' has slowly crept into the words of politicians, economists, journalists, entertainers alike. It is a term especially controversial to define because it is a subject which undergoes constant dispute between academics about just what it means to speak of globalization. It is commonly associated with words such as capitalism, modernisation, liberalisation and is often used as a synonym for internationalisation and universalisation. Perhaps a good starting point for the discussion is one where globalization is defined as 'the process of increasing interconnectedness between societies such that events in one part of the world more and more have effects on

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Economics
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Are Blue-Green Algae Bacteria?

ARE BLUE-GREEN ALGAE BACTERIA? Russell Nash Blue-Green Algae, or Cyanophyta, are simple organisms that are believed to be the evolutionary link between bacteria and green plants. Fossils that are over three billion years old have been discovered in sediments and are concluded to be one of the first organisms to release oxygen into the atmosphere. Today, Cyanophyta are abundant throughout the world, found in salt marshes, on tree trunks, in fish tanks etc. Besides the typical bluish-green colour, Cyanophyta can vary from a blackish-green to an orange-yellow. As well as providing an evolutionary link, Blue-Green Algae serve an integral part of our lives with its importance in food supplements as well as its ability to cause economic damage via algal blooming. In this essay I aim to show the similarities and differences between Cyanophyta and bacteria using points of comparison, to answer the question whether Blue-Green Algae can be classed as bacteria. Blue-Green algae are prokaryotic, unlike the rest of the algae family, which can also be said for bacteria. Most of bacteria and Cyanophyta can only be seen through a microscope because they have only one cell and are around 1µm in diameter. In both bacteria and Cyanophyta, the cells have rigid walls. Bacteria have external flagella, which aid movement. Cyanophyta never have flagella. The DNA is able to float freely in a

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Science
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