Abstract
This paper uses the research of Geert Jan Hofstede (1991), who identified four cultural dimensions that can be used to classify different cultures. These include: power distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, and uncertainty avoidance. These four dimensions allow the social researcher to compare and contrast different societies with the ultimate goal of bringing about a greater shared understanding. According to this paper, Hofstede's has a useful application in how members from different cultures learn. This paper looks at Hofstede's dimension of individualism versus collectivism and explains its relevance to learning as well as the impact on classroom behaviour. Specifically, the paper compares the United States, a very individualistic society, with that of Taiwan, one of the most collective societies in respect to differences in learning styles and attitude.

From the Paper
"One aspect noted that impacts learning and classroom behaviour is what happens after the lecture or class is over. The highly individualistic American students immediately left the classroom, while the collectivist international students stayed behind or met to discuss the class. This post class discussion was necessary as part of the collectivist student's assimilation of the knowledge. Additionally it built the necessary rapport between students of the international backgrounds that went beyond the classrooms. Relationships were developed (Lee, Bei, DeVaney 2007). This is an important part of the collectivist learning experience. According to Hofstede (1991), it is considered more appropriate to speak out in a small group, rather than the larger classroom. This is in stark contrast to the individualist learning style of assimilation in the larger group and/or via independent study."

Tags:hofstede, culture, classroom, applications, dimensions, behavior

Abstract
This paper discusses how individualism and collectivism are exact opposites and how they represent two extremes in the way people live their lives. It contends that the most notable differences between the two lifestyles are their views on personal relations, self-fulfillment, and group collaborations. The author also discusses how a comprehensive understanding of the two concepts would help him in his job as a child and youth worker.

From the Paper
"A collectivist society meanwhile can be defined as "a culture whose members feel loyalties and obligations to an in-group, such as family, community, or organization." (Adler, Rosenfield, Proctor, & Winder, 2006, p. 420) In general, societies with a collectivist point of view will value traits such as teamwork, cooperativeness and adherence to social norms. Perspectives such as these tend be displayed in Asian, Latin American and African nations and tend to be "associated with women and people in rural settings." (Class Notes, 2009) The wellbeing of the group is essential to a collectivists own self identity, and because of this they are strongly dependent on group collaboration and interdependence. A collectivist will generally sacrifice sovereignty for the welfare of others and put the common goals of a group before the individual. People who display collectivist traits are generally less competitive and tend to avoid conflict at all cost. They value family and strong social relationships, and endeavour things such as faith, love, unity, harmony and trust."

Tags:culture, mannerism

Abstract
This paper examines how lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual identities are grouped together based on their supposed similarities: their non-heterosexual orientation and their alienation from equality. It also discusses the premise that because the aim of the Gay Liberation Front, a marker of a gay movement's emergence between 1969 and 1973, was complete acceptance of sexual diversity and expression, popular belief is that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender peoples' views coincide and have historically. The paper seeks, through selective examination of two representative documentaries and historical events, to uncover the divisive impact of race, class, and gender constructions within modern LGBT culture.

From the Paper
" Commonalities form communities. So it was that the development of social circles provided gays and lesbians, transvestites and transsexuals, with an alternative to the alienating heteronormative majority. But the commonalities that created these communities were often not only about identifying as homosexual or queer. Discrimination based on racial categories was evident in the vibrant gay and lesbian enclaves of Harlem and Greenwich Village during the 20s and 30s, with Harlem hosting its own African-American community while still being open to the occasional appearance of a white homosexual, but with Greenwich Village being exclusively white . Because the Gay Liberation Front occurred after the Civil Rights Movement, however, it would seem that racial lines within LGBT communities would not be drawn so rigidly. Just a peek at such documentaries as Paris is Burning and Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria , however, offers undeniable evidence of considerable racial discrimination. "

Tags:LGBT, homosexual, queer

Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the multicultural concepts of an individualistic and collectivist culture. The paper begins with a brief description of why it is important to understand culture which is then followed by an analysis of these notions based on a review of the research on individualistic and collectivist cultures.

From the Paper
"Culture is typically defined as the customs, languages, values, practices and worldviews of social groups. Tischler states that the extent to which one identifies with one's culture contributes to his or her overall well-being. The term 'cultural identity' refers to the extent to which one is attached to or feels a sense of belonging identifies with his or her culture. In this regard, Tischler reports that when identification with one's culture is strong, there is an enhancement of the sense of belonging..."

Tags:culture

Abstract
This paper attempts to define the nature of an individualist or collectivist culture or society and what are the advantages and disadvantages of adopting one of these culture values to individuals and other people. It examines how individualist cultures tend to be self-dependent, while collectivist ones are group-dependent and how these two culture dichotomies affect a wide range of activities and interactions among people, such as family relations and social interactions, education, work and personal achievement.

From the Paper
"Collectivists are less competitive, but are more cooperative in the education and work environment. These traits are important if the primary aim is to prevent any tensions among other people, which is of primary importance to collectivist cultures. Although individualist and collectivist cultures are different from each other, performance and achievement between these two cultures tend to balance out because being a high achiever (an individualist trait) or a cooperative (a collectivist trait) individual helps in the positive achievement of an activity and goal."

Tags:trust, socirty, environment, groups, performance, achievement

Abstract
This paper starts off by discussing the novel "Virgin Soil Upturned" by Mikhail Sholokhov, which according to the author of this essay, is a fictional representation of how collectivization had begun. The reality, the failure and horrors of collectivization are discussed. This paper further discusses Lenin's plan of NEP and why that plan should have been left as is, rather than turned to collectivization. This paper contains primary sources of the Kulak accounts on the communes, as well as Joseph Stalin's strategies in enforcing collectivization. The author contends that collectivization proved to be a failure since Stalin had gone to great lengths to make the process a hardship for collective farmers and peasants.

From the Paper
"Stalin used the idea of the Five Year Plans to make great strides in industrializing Russia. When he tried to equate that success with agricultural growth he met some resistance and ended up liquidating a class and causing famine. Socially, he gave some important social benefits to workers, but he also tried to purge the country and eliminated a lot of the Party, most of the army, and a good part of the workers and peasants. Stalin made several industrial improvements for his country, but that does not even begin to equal the death and destruction that he caused."

Tags:communes, kulak, russia, collective, farm

Abstract
This paper discusses the author's view of collectivization in the Ukraine, and seeks to understand Grossman's criticisms of the Soviet system. It also considers the impact of Grossman's powerful description on the reader, as a literary piece rather than a historical report.

From the Paper
"At the beginning of the 1930s Stalin embarked on nationwide drive for collectivization and modernity. The novel, "Forever Flowing," takes the case of the Ukraine as an example. The ordeal of collectivization and the subsequent famine is related by Anna Sergeyevna, who was posted to the Ukraine after the persecution of the "kulaks" in 1930. She tells her story to Ivan Grigoryevich on their first night as lovers, a detail which may initially seem frivolous, but is actually a mark of Grossman's skill as a novelist. It ensures that the tale is not seen as the author's tirade against the state, but a real woman's experience, something terrible, "something one cannot escape," "a piece of iron fragment in her heart, like a shell fragment." Anna Sergeyevna needs to explain her memories to her new lover as a way of rendering herself accountable. The ordeal is not an event in history; it lives on in everyday life."

Tags:communism, famine, grossman, kulaks, ukraine, vassily

Abstract
The writer discusses that while Baron von Haxthausen was writing in 1843-44, he discusses a land distribution system which was not very different from that instituted later, by the Bolsheviiks in the1920's. It is thus proposed that it was not Marxist ideology, but rather experience with mirs that led to success of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917.

From the Paper
"When the German philosopher Karl Marx published Das Kapital in 1867 he was not thinking of Russian peasants as the backbone of his proletariat revolution. Writing in the mid 19th century, while the Industrial Revolution was already changing the relationship between workers, the land, and the means of production, Marx anticipated uprisings in nations like Britain or France. They were supposed to pit industrial workers against their bosses, not farmers against local governments. The proletariat revolution was supposed to result in the liberation of the ..."

Tags:commune

Abstract
Japan's history of selective borrowing from the education models of other countries has always enhanced, not subverted, its own traditional customs. Japan has always sought to educate the "whole child," but the Japanese concept of wholeness differs from that of the West.

From the Paper
"Japan's history of selective borrowing from the education models of other countries has always enhanced, not subverted, its own traditional customs. Japan has always sought to educate the "whole child," but the Japanese concept of wholeness differs from that of the West. Japan's collective mobilization of society to care and support its children's educational efforts results in students who are fully engaged in a learning process that emphasizes good habits, self-confidence, and respect for others.

Prior to the Tokugawa period, the Japanese had little use for education. Japan was divided into several hundred fiefs, ruled by men whose preoccupations were fighting, hunting, feasting, and showmanship. The samurai, the members of the warring class in feudal Japan, were trained in Zen Buddhism and military techniques. The limited scholarship that existed during ..."

From the Paper
"Plato's Republic describes a society that is completely rational, based on Plato's concept of the good life and developed to create and protect that sort of life within the context of a civil state. What Plato seeks in this dialogue is a definition of the perfect life and the perfect state to promote and sustain that life. The Ideal State is a concept and not a reality, either in Plato's time or since. Plato lived in a time of turmoil and warfare, and he created a society that would be free of strife if it lived up to the ideal. It seems likely that few people today would want to live in the society Plato proposes, and this may be because Plato ignores or subsumes human nature. one of the elements Plato sees as necessary to his perfect state is a powerful and extensive censorship to control certain forces in the populace and to reduce the sort of individualism we prize ..."