Is Lady Macbeth the Real Driving Force Behind Duncan’s Murder?

Macbeth â€Å"Lady Macbeth is the real driving force behind the murder of King Duncan† Discuss this statement and decide whether or not you agree. Known as one of the most influential writers in history, Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford upon Avon. During the 17th century Shakespeare rose to more fame and became one of the popular playwright writers across the globe. Altogether his collection of master pieces is 154 heart-wrenching sonnets and 37 compelling plays. ‘Macbeth’ delivers a powerful message about a tale of greed and a hunger for power which leads to tragic consequences. Macbeth is a naive character who is the protagonist of the play. He is one of the noble men for the king and this highlight to the reader of the loyal and trusted position he carries. Subsequently, we find that Macbeth is from an honourable family. ‘By Sinel’s death I know I am thane of Glamis’ This also shows that he is of a high class, strengthening his character as being trustworthy and of an honourable status. Macbeth as a sincere character which does not last for long once the three witches ‘plant the seed’ in Macbeth’s mind. During the play, Macbeth has issues with his desires and loyalty towards the king. The three witches appear in front of Macbeth and Banquo. They portray their prophecies which have an impulsive influence on Macbeth making him ‘thunderstruck’ at the thought of ever being admired enough to become king. This consumes Macbeth with disturbing thoughts when they refer to him as the ‘thane of Cawdor’ and the ‘future king’. These make Macbeth compelled in the witches predictions. He may react in this spontaneous manner becoming ‘speechless’ because he has a desire to gain a higher status and may have had thoughts of murdering Duncan previously. Macbeth becomes eager and impatient, ‘stay’, ‘I charge you’ shows that he is commanding the witches because he is desperate to hear his future. This introduces a completely different side to Macbeth as being, he has been given the title of ‘thane of Cawdor’ yet he still wants more. His curiosity and frustrated behaviour shows that he already had a hidden desire of ambition. The witches have an obvious impact on Macbeth, as he starts to talk to himself and a horrid image of ‘murdering king Duncan’ is placed in his mind. This is a huge contrast to the Macbeth we were shown earlier who was a ‘noble’ and ‘loyal’ person we are shown this so that we can observe how he changes from being ‘faithful’ to disloyal. We see that Macbeth finds murdering Duncan unnecessary and decides to leave it up to fate; â€Å"If chance will have me king, why chance may even crown me without stir†¦ This shows that Macbeth doubts that murder is required in order to fulfil the prophecy and become king. It also shows that Macbeth is an indecisive character as he has still not made his mind on what approach to take, the reader is unsure of what Macbeth will decide. Macbeth instantly writes a letter to his wife Lady Macbeth, displaying his eagerness to spread his new found news, this shows that he felt that there was some truth in the witches’ prophecy. Lady Macbeth is a striking character, who is introduced as Macbeth’s wife and long term companion. Shakespeare contrasts the role of Macbeth to women of the 17th century who would have been at home and submissive towards their husbands. Lady Macbeth seems like the more dominating person in the relationship â€Å"You shall put this night’s great business into my dispatch, which shall to all our nights and days to come† This shows that even though she is not actually going to perform the murderous act, she has decided to take control of the situation by handling the preparations as she believes that he husband is not competent enough to do it himself. The fact that Lady Macbeth only takes part in the planning and not the crime illustrates that she does not need to worry about the consequences of their vengeful scheme, there might not be any consequences for her as she did not commit the vicious act of murder. Lady Macbeth is a sly woman who desires for more control, this is reflected upon the advice she gives to Macbeth. Look like th’ innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t† Lady Macbeth encourages her husband to be like a snake which symbolises wickedness, portraying that she is not a good influence on Macbeth, this could confirm Lady Macbeth’s real character that even if she may appear to be innocent she really is an immoral and cunning character. She decides to take the matter into her own hands by planning Duncan’s murder her plan involves getting the servants drunk. â€Å"†¦. is two chamberlains will I with wine and wassail so convince that memory, the warder of the brain, shall be convince a fume, and the receipt of reason† She is very intelligent and has thought ahead so that the plot does not fail. She has decided to make the plan herself because maybe she does not trust Macbeth enough. Macbeth himself is not too keen on committing the murder without Lady Macbeth aggravating him, this also shows that she is the one with the desire and the plans; she wants to be the Queen of Scotland. This makes the reader aware of Lady Macbeth’s negative characteristics, which she possesses, also making the reader feel angry towards her for consuming Macbeth with evil thoughts. Lady Macbeth tries to force Macbeth into making a decision through manipulation, but Macbeth does his best to try and put off this decision about whether or not to murder Duncan; â€Å"we will speak further†, this shows that Macbeth is reluctant to end the conversation about murdering Duncan, at this point Macbeth has still not made up his mind. This makes the reader aware of Macbeth’s state of mind , it also portrays his human qualities that although he is plotting a murder he is feeling guilty at his wicked thoughts this makes the reader sympathetic towards him that he is in this situation and is confused on which path to follow and whether or not he should listen to Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth somehow manages to be manipulative towards Macbeth this is portrayed through her approach to Macbeth’s refusal to continue in the plot with the use of phrases like â€Å"live like a coward† this shows Lady Macbeths manipulative qualities and the way she has manipulated the situation to get an outcome which benefits her and Macbeth. As she knows what to say to infuriate him she decides to challenge his manhood; â€Å"When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more the man†¦ † She decides to challenge this because she knows he feels very strongly towards it. This shows the reader that Lady Macbeth will take all sorts of steps as well as having a corrupting approach of bullying Macbeth into murdering Duncan. Throughout the play Macbeth is uncertain on what he should; â€Å"If we should fail? † this shows Macbeth’s fickle behaviour, his questioning his wife as if she has all the answers and knows the future, it makes the reader aware of his low confidence and more sympathetic towards his state of mind he is not the one making the decisions he is leaving them for Lady Macbeth to make. Macbeth is eventually persuaded by his wife into murdering Duncan, â€Å"I am settled, and bend up each corporal agent to this terrible feat. Away, and mock the time with fairest show. † He is reluctant and has now come to the conclusion that he wants to do all in his power to achieve his aim, and make his ambition come true. He is fearful â€Å"I’ll go no more I am afraid to think what I have done; Look o’t again I dare not. † This shows that Macbeth is frightened: he does not want to take a chance in going back to the scene where Duncan’s murder took place, because he may get discovered even though it is in order to perfect the crime scene. He is even afraid of his own thoughts, which shows that Duncan’s death has had an impacted on his vulnerable mental state. The individual to blame for the murder of Duncan is debatable as there are several characters that have a hand in his death. Could it be the witches who planted the seed of becoming King into Macbeth’s head? Macbeth himself who committed the murderous act, or is it Lady Macbeth who cunningly drove Macbeth into committing the murder? Although this is true, Lady Macbeth is the real driving force behind the murder of King Duncan. She is a stronger and more ruthless, who is determined to get what she desires; she is more influential in her decisions than Macbeth. She is fully aware of Macbeth’s boundaries and to what extent she has to push him in order to make him kill Duncan. At one point so furious at Macbeth for being a ‘coward’ that she wanted to become a man herself. The three witches, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are all responsible for Duncan’s death. From this we can draw a conclusion that although all these characters played a role in Duncan’s murder Lady Macbeth has a stronger pressure as she kept giving Macbeth sly comments she drove Macbeth into Murdering King Duncan.

Moneyball Essay

The film Moneyball was based on the bestselling non-fiction book by financial journalist Michael Lewis, the film tells the true story of how Beane and his youthful economics-whiz assistant turned around the fortunes of the Oakland Athletics by using a new approach called â€Å"sabermetrics†. This involved using statistics to analyze how many times players stayed â€Å"on base† (thereby increasing their likelihood to score runs), rather than relying on the traditional method of valuing players’ batting average. This new approach allowed Beane to ‘buy’ players he could actually afford, and take on the top major league teams using a different strategy than they did. The first thing about Moneyball to analyze is what makes Billy Beane a leader. As we discussed in class, he had a vision and he worked for it creating a bold plan, believing in his vision, and having the resolve to see his plan through. Billy Beane redoubled his efforts to make his vision a success. He traded players who had the wrong attitude and met face-to-face with the remaining players to explain his direction over and over. Beane’s resolve and persistence paid off, and the A’s went on to win 109 games that year. What’s the leadership lesson? Well, it helps to take note that Moneyball is not strictly a baseball story. It is also a story of rapid change in leadership in the business world. In the film Beane changes from participative to autocratic to paternalistic leadership styles. Analyzing this movie from the leadership aspect you can see that not all leadership models apply to every single case, evidence shows that Beane at the beginning used participative leadership style. The baseball establishment is mostly appalled by Billy’s novel approach to team selection, including his own coaches. The manager accused him of denigrating what scouts have done for 150 years, and ruining the team. He also faces a major blocker to success: Art Howe, the team manager. Art decides who takes the field and, having not bought into the approach, refuses to field players who might make the approach work. In this part Beane realizes that a participative approach won’t give him the result that he was looking for and he changes to an autocratic approach to get results. Consequently, Billy takes swift action by selling two more of his best players, one to prevent Art from meddling with team selection, and one because he’s a disruptive influence in the dressing room. Things didnt go well and when the team starts badly, the critics feel vindicated. Only then does Billy understand that he made a mistake because first he hasn’t committed himself 100% to his own approach, and second he failed helping others to buy into it. Autocratic leaders need to communicate. When Beane realized that, he started to open up to the people who are being affected by his decisions, sharing his strategy, and recruiting others to do the same. And finally we can see the last change of leadership to paternalistic style when Billy Beane is seen to learn some important management lessons himself during the course of Moneyball. When we first see him, he has a strict policy of distancing himself from players, which he thinks earns him greater respect and makes it easier to let players go when necessary. Yet gradually Beane learns that he can accomplish more, and inspire others, by actually talking to his team and letting them in on his unusual strategies. Here he is getting closer to his players – explaining the approach, getting by and building team spirit. He even encourages other potential leaders within the team. â€Å"You’re smart, you get what we’re trying to do here,† he tells an ageing, cynical but talented player.

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reflection - Essay Example For students and teachers in academia, internet has become not only a boon but an indispensable part of life. Information retrieval from sites like sweetsearch, spezify, Google, Google scholar, wolfram alpha and itunes has become a child’s play. These are interesting but important search engines which can provide one with huge data of information of specific topic. If one starts to search for ‘delicious’ in these search engines, one would get from information from books, blogs, cooking, apple downloads to the smallest but repulsive creature which could be found delicious by some tribe! The wide scope of word ‘delicious’ defies imagination and would become most confusing if it is not affixed with some criteria like book, music or even a place. So one needs to use technology with great care and seek information that is specific. The internet has provided us with huge database of knowledge that can be accessed with the press of few buttons. The more one uses it, the more proficient one becomes so everyone in academia is advised to make the best of technology. (words: 277)

European Union Establishment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

European Union Establishment - Essay Example Though, the primary task of my paper is to, after conducting the research and deeply studying the EU concepts, answer the question of whether the EU was mainly created due to political or economical reasons. It is rather surprising that the European Union was officially created fourteen years ago, in 1993, because the idea of United Europe was pursued by many thinkers long before the 1990s. The list of historical personalities, who in different ways followed an idea of EU, is remarkable. It starts with Charlemagne, Charles V, Napoleon, and Metternich, and can be continued with such intellectuals and philosophers as Rousseau, Marx, Kant, and Leibniz the remarkable thinkers who proposed the idea of a European Community "as a long-term desirable political objective" (Davies). Furthermore, the first great effort to integrate an imperative section of Eurasia and the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea was brought up in the times of Roman Empire. It was the time when the idea about "eurocenttrism" and superiority of the European civilization arose for the first time (Davies). For those living in Europe, World War I and World War II meant the beginning of the end of the traditional time-honored European civilization. ... For the majority it was the period of perplexity and uncertainty, the Europeans were simply squeezed between the two growing powers: the USA and the USSR. Though, there was a minority of people who, having survived the wars, drew some important conclusions. At that point of time people realized that the way Europe reacted to wars and actually its capacity to react to military operations depended on its ability to surmount the hostile nationalism that brought about only catastrophes, desolation, and misery (European History Spartacus Educational). For that little group of people it was clear that the time to adopt the ideal of a joint and peaceful Europe as a common project has come (Davies). Nonetheless the fact that there was only a minority of those advocating the creation of joint and peaceful Europe, there were three reasons, or so to say "realities" that evidently showed that the time for new orientation towards the European integration had come. To begin with, the Europeans, even the most nationalistic ones were fully aware of their overall political and economical weaknesses. The world was once and forever changed by the wars, and the eminent and traditional European hegemony was in the past, while the two new superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, were formed possessing a superior economic, political and military strength. Secondly, having learnt the lesson from the two drastic wars, the European countries were fully aware of impossibility and malignancy of repeating the confrontation among European States. The last but not least reason for the establishment of European Union was a desire to create an open, just and more affluent continent in which the international relationships were developed in a frame of harmony, peace, and unity.

Precise Software Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Precise Software - Essay Example If they do not launch the product, they might be losing an opportunity of a first mover advantage in the market. The company might lose the novelty of the new product, because other companies are always in the developing spree and might come up with something similar in short period of time. Having analyzed the risks associated, there are three main issues which Precise is facing and if addressed can help to arrive at a decision. (a) When to launch? Within the answer of which lies the explanation for key issues of new product planning and development (b) How to Market it? The answer to that question should suggest correct segmentation analysis and valued marketing strategies to attack the targeted segment (c) What is the best price? An in-depth study of ideal pricing strategy and one which matches with its sales and marketing strategy should be undertaken by Precise. Analysis: Precise is still under the planning and development stage and the product is a novice in the market. Precise is carrying reputation risk and risk of losing its customers. When weighted with the benefits of an early launch, I feel Precise should not launch it in OpenWorld 2000. There are two scenarios which crops up if it’s launched.

UK Taxation System Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

UK Taxation System - Research Paper Example There are certain types of income that do not attract tax. They are benefits, income from tax-exempt accounts and special pensions. Residents of the UK are eligible for tax-free allowance called personal allowance, which is an amount of taxable income which the resident is allowed to earn each year. This allowance is free of tax. For the year 2008-2009, the tax-free amount is fixed at '5,435. If the individual is over the age of sixty-five, this amount is likely to increase. A registered blind person can claim tax-free blind person's allowance. Income tax is applicable on taxable income after the tax-free allowances. Certain deductible reliefs and allowance will reduce the tax bill of an individual. Some of the deductible allowances are married couple allowance, maintenance payment relief, and tax relief on pension, donations to charity based on gift aid or payroll giving. There are some other amounts which can be reduced from the tax bill. They are an allowance that decreases tax in retirement, tax advantages of personal pension and offers to charity (Income Tax, n.d). The revenue-raising methods of the UK government have come to debate with the abolition of 10 percent tax. The 10 percent tax was abolished to simplify the tax system. This is likely to affect the poor household which enjoyed limitations in paying tax. The reduction of the tax rate from 22 to 20 percent and the abolition of 10 percent tax are set to affect people whose annual income is less than '18,500. This initiative has raised argument because five million people who fall under the low earning group is targeted to raise more tax revenues. Simplification of tax is appreciable but the abolition of 10 percent requires identification of people who fall under the category and necessary benefits should be provided to help them. While families without children would be the worst effect, low-income families with children are expected to be in a better position. The tax reform will affect the already high cost of living of poor people (Abolition of 10 p tax, 2008).

Do you think there are any important dimensions or elements of Assignment

Do you think there are any important dimensions or elements of democracy that are missing from Diamond and Morlinos list Do any of those listed seem unnecessary or redundant Explain your reasoning - Assignment Example In such arrangement, the greater percentage of the populace will have to get a pie of the national cake. More so, competition can only thrive when there is equality. Equality is the only component that calls for contestants on the same ballot. Therefore, competition as an element is misplaced or repetitive. However, this dimension has no difference at all when "participation" as dimension is factored in. Participation according to many pundits means involving decision-making, sharing the national cake and the appointment of key governmental jobs. If there is a new understanding of the word "Participation", then it could be different or function differently with equality (Diamond & Morlino, 23). It is only with the presence of equality that participation can thrive. A claim that participation and equality are two different pillars of democracy is myopic at its best and redundant at its worst. Secondly, the duo, have mentioned vertical accountability and horizontal accountability. They have gone ahead and mentioned responsiveness. The two are interrelated. It is only that responsiveness is a complex and takes into account many things including the vertical accountability. The political environment that enables responsiveness is similar to those that support responsiveness and are all enshrined in democracy (Diamond & Morlino, 26). The two, therefore, is the same. In addition, the mention of respect and rule of law as different is perfect. Rule of law is nonsense where respect is non-existent. Rule of law bring a fair playing ground for the entire nation, and it takes respect and humility of the mighty to be the same as the poor who are viewed on the lenses of being under the law (Diamond & Morlino, 26). Its only respect that will lead to rule of law and allowing no to be so mighty to be over the law or so small to be beneath the very

Overcoming barriers in partnering in construction Essay

Overcoming barriers in partnering in construction - Essay Example No doubt, partnering in construction for private industrial purposes downwardly followed manufacturing decline in the United Kingdom, while, conversely, the main gain in share of total construction output has been in private commercial development - i.e., offices and shops - reflecting the growth of the tertiary sector of the economy. Public infrastructure, especially road-building for private transport, also showed considerable gains(Bak, J. K. 2004). In Ball's review of partnering construction output trends from 1955 to 1985, he noted the dramatic rise in public sector markets, both housing and other construction, from 1955 to 1972, as they doubled in value over this period, with the non-housing element trebling. This latter showed faster growth than any other partnering construction market (Hwang, I. J. 2003). Thereafter, following the oil crisis, there is a sharp division between falling public sector demand across all spheres, and cyclical but growing private sector partnering c onstruction. The reshaping of the public-private divide was therefore a central feature of UK construction market demand over this period (Hwang, I. J. 2003). No doubt, the power to draft building codes

Give a rationale for the desin of a retail organisation based on Essay

Give a rationale for the desin of a retail organisation based on marketing principles - Essay Example El Corte Ingles, a retail outlet based in Spain, expanded into Portugal and other EU countries, and signed two home-shopping channels in Spain, besides having introduced the first virtual hypermarket on the Web for that country. Sainsbury, a UK major, entered into alliance with Esselunga of Italy, Docks d’ France and Belgium’s Delhaize. This alliance provided the four companies the â€Å"opportunity to pool their experience and buying power to expand into other European markets and face growing competition† (p.415). The design of a retail organisation entails answering some critical questions regarding customers, competition, suppliers, intermediaries, and stakeholders. A marketing plan-of-action would be the perfect, simplified nuts-and-bolts assessment to leverage an effective strategy. Here, we provide a detailed assessment on what the marketing audit for a Retail design may look like : It is important to classify your customer into demographic groups for the convenience of focused marketing efforts. The main categories being: Age, Sex, Ethnicity, Language, Income-level, Education, Occupation, Material possessions, etc. Most data can be garnered from Census agencies and Market Research firms. Here, the objective is to run deeper into the lifestyle and behavioural pattern of targeted buyers. People have different tastes, prejudices and inclinations towards purchase decisions. The marketer’s efforts should be directed at understanding the â€Å"pulse† of the customer. Amway, e.g., has different strategies for different world markets. In much of Latin America and Asia, for instance, it pushes for direct marketing. In Eastern Europe though,

Strategic Choice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Strategic Choice - Essay Example Growth relates to each and every employee at the workplace. The development in the quality of existing employees’ skills and the quantity of skilled workers leads to overall organizational growth. The most precious asset that a company may cherish is its employees and it needs to be seriously concerned with all issues that may dissatisfy, frustrate or depress them. Without happy employees, no strategy is going to work and no progress will be seen in the long run. This paper discusses what alternative my organization (Human-Care.org) must consider to realize growth and what strategy or combination of generic and grand strategies it must implement in order to improve its organizational growth. Alternative Strategies Leading to Organizational Growth Human-Care.org pursues its organizational growth, growth stages and the directions in which the company is going in a variety of ways. Yet, it is undergoing some troubles regarding guiding itself and its labor through periods of growth. It is having problems with maintaining control over resources and workforce. There are many recommendations and alternatives that it needs to consider to chase the course of its growth at every stage. Some of these strategies are discussed below: 1. New Markets and Target Consumers ... 2. New Services The organization should also try to offer new services to the consumers apart from simply recording and filing their complaints. When it will expand its offers to the clients, it will automatically attract more clientele and build its repertoire in the market and among the competitors. Implementation of new products and services is recognized as a significant way leading to organizational growth. 3. Looking for External Financial Resources We are focusing significantly on increasing the finances because we know that the organization will need funds to support its expansion in terms of employees and resources. A productive way to increase this funding is to look for external financial resources which may be in the form of monitory support from investors, partnerships, banks, and other government and private companies that may want to acquire the organization and fund it. This funding will help the company in designing and implementing such generic and grand strategies that ensure its growth. Growth Strategies for my Organization A strategy means a plan that guides an organization through a process or from one state to another. A growth strategy is the plan that the organization uses to broaden the scope of its business by expanding its consumer group. The objective of such a strategy is to improve the organizational growth while balancing the resources at the same time. Although there are many kinds of growth strategies that firms use like merger, joint venture, acquisition, and strategic alliance, I would recommend that Human-Care.org must use the joint venture and strategic alliance strategies to enhance its organizational growth.

Hitler and Mussolini Essay Example for Free

Hitler and Mussolini Essay Benito Mussolini during his rule from 1922 to 1943 faced many domestic problems within Italy that he had to deal with. Mainly the internal problems had to do with economic policies and struggle, which Mussolini attempted to deal with through his autarky policy. He also had to deal with political problems, which were derived from the interference of the church. Finally Mussolini also had to contend with social problems such as unification, and increase of popularity. Through his rule Mussolini had to deal with economic, social and political problems, however he was to a great extent not successful in dealing with these problems. One of Mussolinis greatest internal problems was his economic problem. Mussolini wanted to make Italy a great economy, one that could compete with the great economies of World War I such as Britain and France. In order to this Mussolini wanted an autarky, which was economic self-sufficiency in food and raw materials. He wanted Italy through autarky to become a powerful and large empire. In order to achieve this Mussolini instigated what historians such as MacDonald refer to as a series of battles. These battles were a struggle for the economy that Mussolini envisioned. A series of four battles were fought however only one can be regarded as a partial success while the other three were seen by most historians as failed attempts. The first battle was known as the Battle for Grain, which was to a great extent a failure. This battle started in 1925 because there was a poor harvest that year, and the grain for the most part was being imported. In order to become a self-sufficient economy Mussolini wanted Italy to be able to produce the grain on its own. By the 1930s Italy was able to become a self-sufficient grain growing economy by controlling imports and increasing the production of cereal crops. However despite being able to achieve grain production, Italy as a whole suffered due to this battle. By encouraging the production of grain, farmers had to stop growing fruits and vegetables, which were cheaper to produce. Therefore exports of fruits and vegetables also decreased, which caused the economy to become weaker because revenue from exports decreased. Also due to an emphasis on making grain the use of sheeps and cattle decreased, causing the decline of these animals. It also caused the country to go into debt since the government had to give subsidies to farmers and there were huge tariffs associated with the production of grain. Also the price of grain in Italy rose causing the price of bread to increase. This affected the working class and poor since the core of their diet was made up of bread. The masses of Italy suffered especially the poor and the farmers, although the industrialists did not suffer as much. Since grain production increased the demand for fertilizers and tractors increased, which increased the business of the industrialists. However the industrialists are a smaller proportion of the population of Italy than the masses, therefore to the most part the Battle for Grain was a failure. The second battle was the Battle for Lira whose main aim was to reinstate the purchasing power of the currency. Sine Mussolini wanted a powerful Italy; he thought that the weak currency added to weakness of the economy. Therefore in 1926, Mussolini revalued the Lira so that one pound was 90 liras. This battle also proved to be a failure since the price of exports increased. Due to this unemployment increased and firms and industries were not able to sell their goods as efficiently. This also caused the aim to increase economic influence to decrease since it had a negative effect of exports and unemployment. The Battle for Land was the third battle fought in order to increase economic power. This battle had mixed responses and could be seen as a success and failure. The Battle for Land attempted to control the migration to cities from the countrysides, which helped control unemployment. The Battle for Land was a success because of the Pointe Marshe in 1935 which served as good propaganda, helped decrease unemployment and also allowed for the control of subsidies to farmers. Pointe Marshe provided small farms and also increased public work, which called for employment. However it was also known as a failure because small plots of land were inefficiently utilized for a lot of wheat production. Also it did not help decrease the poverty of poor people. The economic problems in Italy that Mussolini tried to deal with through autarky were mainly a failure due to the failures of the battles. Another internal problem that Mussolini had to deal with was political problems. Mussolini wanted to obtain totalitarianism, however in order to this Mussolini had to deal with the Roman Catholic Church. This to an extent was a success, however tension between the Church and the state was never completely eradicated. In order to make relations with the Church better Mussolini allowed religious studies in education and also allowed the crucifix to be displayed in courts and classrooms. Also in order to gain support from the Church Mussolini had his children baptized and also had a church wedding in 1925 in order too show that he believed in the Church. The Church also accepted Mussolinis policy on abortions and contraception, in order to increase population. Mussolini also officially ended the tension by forming the Latern Pacts, which made the Vatican state independent, made Catholism the official religion of the state and also made education of cat holism mandatory in schools. This pact decreased tension between the church and Mussolini and allowed Mussolini to gain more power of the state. However despite the pact and decreased tension, conflict always remained between the Church and Mussolinis state. Mussolinis continued interference in catholic education in schools continued to be a problem between the church and the state and the Pope threatened to censure fascism. Another conflict between the state and the Church was relations with Nazi Germany in 1938, having to do with the views on anti-Semitism. The continued tension with the Church never allowed Mussolini to have full control over Italy, which added to his internal problems. The last internal problem that Italy had to deal with was social problems. Mussolini attempted to unify Italy and increase his popularity through propaganda since he did not have full control and poulatiry over the Italian people. Mussolini was most successful in dealing with social problems through Linquadramento and the idea of a corporative state. Linqadramento was an illusion that Mussolini created in order to unify Italy. Through this movement Mussolini increased their popularity and membership by providing support and financial aid during after the Depression from 1931 to 1937. This recovery from the deep depression of the postwar was remarkable and greatly aided the Fascists in winning favor and in establishing power., was the view of historian Clough. They also increased employment by inflicting a forty-hour workweek and allowing family compensations. These helpful acts during the Depression helped Mussolini gain support from more people, and allowed him to control more of the state. Also schemes such as the Pointe Marshe helped increase employment, which also helped Mussolini, gain support. Mussolini used propaganda through a policy called Corporative state, which also helped him gain support. The Corporative state advertised a state where there was no class system and all labors worked together. It also strived to make working conditions better and sought to help all laborers when they were in trouble by allowing them to share their concerns with their employers representatives who then shared them with Mussolini.

Integrated Treatment for Substance Use and Depression

Integrated Treatment for Substance Use and Depression Mental Health: Simone Case Scenario Dual diagnosis, co morbidity and co-occurring disorders are terms often used interchangeably to describe mental ill health and substance abuse (drugs and/or alcohol) in various combinations. These disorders may occur at the same time or one may follow the other. Even though the diseases of mental illness and drug abuse are comorbid, causality is not implied and either condition may precede the other (Fortinash and Holoday Worret, 2012). The symptoms of one condition may mask or conceal the symptoms of the other, with either condition assuming priority at any given time. Alcohol is the most widely used drug. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) estimated in 2011 over 24% of people in England consume alcohol levels that are potentially or actually detrimental to health. The co morbidity of depression and alcohol dependence are two of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders affecting the general population. Evidence suggests that alcohol use disorders are linked to depressive symptoms and that alcohol dependence and depressive disorders co-occur to a larger degree than expected by chance. However, it is not clear whether the depression causes alcohol problems, whether the alcohol consumption or alcohol problems caused depression, or whether both could be attributed to a third cause (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2015). This assignment will consider the case scenario of Simone part time social worker, aged 43 with depression and alcohol abuse. Simone lives with her three children and the intervention of choice is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). This section will define CBT and its uses and adopt the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) toolkit (2013) to critically evaluate and discuss two CBT research articles in treating depression and alcohol abuse to evidence why this is an appropriate intervention for Simone. CBT is defined as a talking therapy that can help individuals manage their problems by changing the way they think and behave (Frances and Robson, 1997). Commonly used to treat a range of mental health issues including depression, anxiety disorders, phobias, but also deemed valuable in treating alcohol misuse, especially as part of an overall programme of recovery. The goal of cognitive behavioural therapy is to teach the person to become aware of incidences and situations which trigger the need to drink, to learn to avoid putting themselves in these situations and to develop coping strategies to deal with other problems and behaviours which may lead to drinking. Until recently the effectiveness of CBT for comorbid alcohol had not been studied, however, the first of two research articles will now be critically evaluated and discussed below. Developing an Integrated Treatment for Substance Use and Depression Using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (Osilla et al, 2009) is an American qualitative research article. The research goal was to design and develop a treatment programme for delivery by substance abuse counsellors in outpatient mental health settings. This was thought to be important because earlier research had indicated the effectiveness of CBT in depression and alcoholism separately. The research developed a group based integrated 18 session treatment plan involving 3 modules (thoughts, activities and people interactions) linking mood and alcohol use and provided strategies for identifying and modifying harmful thoughts and activities. Drawing on previous studies (Hepner, Watkins, Woo and Wiseman, 2006) they involved a treatment development team including researchers, clinicians, stakeholders and CBT experts. Recruited participants (N=7; 4 male, 3 female) were already enrolled in outpatient substance misuse treatmen t who had met the criteria for mild depression using the 9 item Patient Health Questionnaire with scores of 5 or > (no indication given whether other people had chosen not to take part as this sample is small). Client focus groups were conducted following the group treatment sessions led by two clinical psychologists who had observed the group sessions from behind a one way mirror, thus the methodology used is entirely appropriate for addressing the research goal. The article states that the clients provided informed consent but there is no information regarding how the research was explained to participants, whether ethical approval was sought or whether ethical standards were maintained. The data analyses consisted of the researchers reviewing notes and transcripts independently from the client focus groups to select, group and label salient issues that point to the acceptability of integrated CBT. Notable points with similar concepts were categorised if different participants had said the same things on a number of occasions over a given time frame e.g. comments which stated that alcohol and mood influenced each other. Underlying themes were generated from the data and quotes were analysed and identified that fitted each of the relevant themes. Each researcher independently sorted quotes by theme and together they reached a consensus on any discrepancies. Findings indicated that treatment was widely accepted by clients and counsellors. Clients stated that applying CBT skills help to treat both their depression and alcohol misuse whilst positively affecting other areas in their lives. Clients felt the treatment had built their confidence and the group process was helpful in learning from each other. The article produced no evidence of triangulation but stated that there were limitations to the study that affect the generalization of the results. The study evaluated a single case implementation, so future studies would be necessary to examine client views in several clinics over time with different treatment sessions in order to judge whether integrated treatment is truly acceptable and feasible given funding constraints. Clearly, integrated CBT for depression and alcohol misuse evaluated as being useful and beneficial but the research concluded that there is a need to develop more web based training or other innovative ways that effect ively train substance abuse counsellors to a reasonable standard with minimal costs to provide a unified CBT approach to manage comorbid depression and alcohol misuse. A Randomized Controlled Trial of Cognitive Behavioural Treatment for Depression versus Relaxation Training for Alcohol – Dependent Individuals with Elevated Depressive Symptoms (Brown et al, 2011). The goal of this Rhode Island trial was to evaluate the efficacy of adding CBT versus relaxing training to partial hospital treatment for individuals misusing alcohol with elevated levels of depressive symptoms. This was deemed important because it was expected that the addition of CBT would result in reduced levels of depressive symptoms and in decreased quantity and regularity of alcohol use.166 men and women were recruited (aged 16 65 years) from an alcohol and drug treatment unit provided they met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Disorders, Fourth Edition (2000) criteria for alcohol dependence and had a Beck Depression Inventory of 15 or more. Participants were informed about the study, consent was obtained and they were randomly assigned to receive 8 individual session s of CBT (n = 81) or relaxation training (n = 84). The article didnt mention whether the personnel were blinded. Treatment conditions did not differ on demographics, individual alcohol consumption or depression related variables. Results indicated significant improvement in depressive and alcohol use over time for all participants. Compared with the relaxation training, the CBT group had significantly reduced levels of depressive symptoms at the 6 week follow up as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory. This effect was found to be inconsistent because there was no difference in the Modified Hamilton Rating Scale (MHRD) for Depression between conditions at that point in time or at any subsequent follow up. There was no significant in alcohol use between groups. The researchers were clearly disappointed that this study did not replicate the results of an earlier pilot study in 2007. However, plausible reasons given included the average length of hospital stay had reduced from 21.2 days to 3.9 resulting in treatment sessions being conducted in an outpatient setting making it difficult to compare results. The setting for this study was a private hospital with educated Caucasian patients and caution should be used in generalizing findings to populations with different characteristics. Interview data and treatment adherence had not been subject to reliability ratings. The need for the trial was clearly documented and further studies evaluating the efficacy of CBT in individuals with alcohol misuse and elevated depressive symptoms is required. Overall, the benefits outweighed the harm. Depressed people with alcohol misuse like Simone have complex needs which pervade every aspect of daily life including psychiatric, psychological, education, employment and social care. Supporting someone with depression and alcohol misuse is one of the biggest challenges facing mental health services (DH, 2006).Traditionally, substance misuse and mental health services developed separately but a national drug and alcohol dependence strategy was published in December 2010 (HMG, 2010), and a mental health strategy a few months later (HMG, 2011). Both strategies acknowledge the association between mental health problems and drug and alcohol problems. Successful outcomes for both problems need early intervention and effective joint working between drug and alcohol treatment and mental health services in integrated, recovery-oriented local systems. Furthermore, a NICE guideline (2011) includes principles of care, identification and assessment in all assessment areas and principles for in terventions, underpinned by best available evidence (due for review in 2015). Regarding impact on future practice, co morbidity requires nurses to adapt multiple roles in order to achieve a comprehensive level of care. A primary diagnosis isnt necessary as both depression and alcohol misuse can be treated simultaneously. A non judgemental, person centred approach recognising that treatment will be long term is required. Good communication skills with multiple professionals and services are essential. Clinical skills include specialist alcohol misuse assessments, mental health and risk assessments, the provision of specialist advice on reduction and harm minimisation, appropriate interventions, treatment advice to other care professionals and the ability to work in a multidisciplinary team. In practice, it is not possible for nurses to be an expert in all of the skills required, however they should have a working knowledge of some. Training is required to deliver comprehensive alcohol programmes through developing skills particularly in cognitive behavioural th erapy which seems to produce beneficial effects on both depression and alcohol outcomes. Bibliography Brown, A.B., Ramsey, S.E., Kahler, C.W., Palm, K.M., Monti, P.M., Abrams, D., Dubreuli,.M., Gordon,.A. and Miller.I.W. (2011) A Randomized Controlled Trial of Cognitive Behavioural Treatment for Depression versus Relaxation Training for Alcohol – Dependent Individuals with Elevated Depressive Symptoms. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 72(2): 286-296 Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (2013) Qualitative Research Check List. Oxford UK. Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (2013) Randomised Control Trial Check List. Oxford UK. Department of Health (2006) The Dual Diagnosis Good Practice. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Disorders (2000), 4th Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). American Psychiatric Association.Washington DC. Fortinash, K.M and Holoday Worret,P.A (2012) Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, 5th edition. Australia, Mosby. Frances, R. and Robson, M (1997) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in Primary Care. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. London. Hepner, K.A, Watkins, K.E., Woo, S. and Wiseman, S. (2006) Group Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Depression in Substance Abusers: Substance Abuse and your Mood. Treatment Manual for non traditional providers. HM Government (2010). Drug Strategy 2010 Reducing Demand, Restricting Supply, Building Recovery: Supporting People to live a Drug Free life. HM Government (2011). No Health without Mental Health: A Cross-Government Mental Health Outcomes Strategy for People of all Ages. National Institute of Clinical Excellence (2011) Alcohol-use disorders: diagnosis, assessment and management of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence. London: National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Osilla, K.C., Hepner, K.A, Munoz, R.F, Woos. S and Watkins, K. (2009) Developing and Integrated Treatment for Substance Use and Depressing Using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 37(4);412-420 Royal College of Psychiatrists (2015) Improving the Lives of People with Mental Illness (online) available from:  http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/healthadvice/problemsdisorders/alcoholdepression.aspx  (Accessed 13th April 2015) Lynskey,M.T.(1998 ) The comorbidity of alcohol dependence and affective disorders: treatment implications. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 52:201- 209 Miller, I.W.,Bishop,S.,Norman,W.H. and Maddever,H.(1995) The Modified Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression;reliability and validity. Psychiatry Research 14: 131-142 Mitcheson, L., Maslin, J., Meynen, T., Morrison, T., Hill, R. and Wanigaratne, S. (2010). Applied Cognitive and Behavioural Approaches to the Treatment of Addiction: A Practical Treatment Guide. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care (2011), Statistics on Alcohol: England 2011. The Health and Social Care Information Centre. NICE (2007). NICE clinical guideline 51. Drug Misuse: Psychosocial Interventions. London: National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Raistrick, D.,Heather, N and Godfrey. ,C (2006) Review of the effectiveness of treatment for alcohol problems. The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse. Weaver, T., Madden, P., Charles, V., Stimson, G., Renton, A., Tyrer, P., Barnes, T., Bench, C., Middleton, H., Wright, N., Paterson, S., Shanahan, W., Seivewright, N and Ford, C. (2003). Comorbidity of substance misuse and mental illness in community mental health and substance misuse services. British Journal of Psychiatry, 183, 304-313.

Qualitative Study of Experienced Nurses Voluntary Turnover

Qualitative Study of Experienced Nurses Voluntary Turnover Title Hayward,D., Bungay,V., Wolff,A.C. Macdonald,V. (2016). A qualitative study of experienced nurses voluntary turnover: learning from their perspectives. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 25, 1336-1345. doi: 10.1111/jocn.13210 Introduction Issues of nursing turnover has been a perpetual challenge for healthcare industry. Furthermore, resignation of experienced nurses causes critical declination in standard of care and reduces desirable nursing outcome. In fact, crisis of staffing shortages often occur during the transitional period while an experienced nurse left while at that same time a newly recruited staff is undergoing orientation and training. In the first place, employment of new staff incurs significant high cost to the society and health care organization. The aim of this qualitative, interpretive descriptive study is to explore the reasons that caused resignation of experienced nurses. In this cross sectional qualitative study, 12 purposive selected participants took part in individual face to face interview. The sample included 8 full time and 4 part time nurses. Thornes (2009) interpretative descriptive design was used for data collection and analysis. Hayward et al found that work environment and personal reason caused nurses to leave. Sample will be the element chosen for discussion. The sample Purposive sampling method is employed for the specific information that one has to offer due to the personal experience (Patton, 2005). This method of sampling is deployed deliberately to recruit the particular individuals because of the crucial information they can give (Carpenter Suto, 2008). Guarte et al. (2007) stated that purposive sampling is the selection of population that provides most information on the subject of interest. Similarly, Liamputtong (2013) believes that qualitative study depends on information rich individuals who have in-depth understanding of the discussed topic due to their experiences. Selecting members of the participants with a purpose enable researchers to focus on the issues that need to be explored extensively. Furthermore, qualitative research is mainly about the lived experiences of people, owing to this phenomena researcher sample for meaning and not frequency. Since qualitative study aims to explore meanings that an individual experience, the fin ding is not general (Hesse-Biber Leavy, 2011). Likewise, in the research that examines how nurses cope with nursing workload nursing critically ill patients, researchers will recruit nurses with experiences working in intensive care unit. Alternatively, qualitative researchers may use convenience and snowball sample which is efficient but does not necessary provide most information rich sources (Polit Beck, 2014). On the other hand, Jansses et al. (2015) stated that some studies concluded that purposive sample may develop representative samples whereas a random sample avoid biases. Even so, purposive sampling seems as the main approach in qualitative study as the criterion based participants has the characteristics enabling exploration of their experience related to the study (Ritchie et al., 2014). In this study, there were 12 participants recruited while a smaller sample size can be considered since this is a qualitative study. Sandelowski (1995) maintained that qualitative sample of 10 may be a sufficient number for sampling among the homogeneous population. In fact, qualitative research focuses on the importance of breadth and depth to thoroughly address the relevant research questions. Hence, the approach centered around meaning and feeling of the studies thus not intended to create a representative samples. In the year 2012, Dworkin stated that qualitative research requires in-depth understanding of phenomenon, concentrate on the meaning and reasons behind the stories pertaining to social issues. On the contrary, Polit and Beck (2014) commented that qualitative research sample size is guided by principle of data saturation and may need a larger sample. Research conducted by Bertrand (2012) was an example used to explain this situation where the interview continued while sa mple size was thought to have achieved data saturation, a participant told the story that was never been shared before. Theoretically, careful and meaningful selection of participants in small number is appropriate for qualitative study. Ideally, the participants will provide details and range of information that answer the questions probe by researcher. Hence, it is possible for a sample size of less than 10 participants to achieve data saturation. Interestingly, Morse (2008) pointed out that quality of data is influenced by the skill of interviewer and affect the required sample size in achieving saturation. Mason (2010) added that 10 interviews conducted by an experienced interviewer can obtain more information than an inexperienced interviewer who have more interviews. Having one single case as sample can be meaningful and extremely informative as seen in the studies from management and medical research (Boddy, 2016). Since the selection of sample is vital to the outcome of qualitative study, the sample inclusion of part time nurses and nurses who worked in different role and position will likely to have opinions highly objective to their varied work situation. For instance, nurses employment decisions are contributed by work hour, job function and salary. Full time employees are perceived to shoulder on extra responsibilities due to their participation in the other improvement plan of the organization. In addition to that, full time workers remain busy performing routine nursing duty as their part time counterpart (Janssona Engstromb, 2017). Commitment and job satisfactions are major predictor of staff turnover (Satoh et al. 2016) Generally, part time nurses are perceived to be less committed due to shorter work hour as compare to full time nurses (Katz Kahn, 1979). In year 2009, Han et al. reported that full time nurses attained more job satisfaction, commitment and empowerment than part time nurses. Having said that, there were many studies (e.g. Eberhardt et al. 1984; Jackofsky et al. 1987; Logan et al. 1973; McGinnis et al. 1990; Miller et al. 1979; Shockey et al. 1994; Sinclair et al. 1999; Steffy et al. 1990; Still, 1983; Vecchio, 1984; Wetzel, Soloshy et al. 1990; Wotruba, 1990) which examined the variance of work attitudes, commitment, job satisfaction and turnover intention between part time and full time employee throughout two decades but the outcomes were inconclusive and inconsistent. Similar levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment were reported among part time and full time employees (Thorsteinson, 2003). Conclusion In qualitative research, the sampling plan must achieve its mean to be adequate and appropriate. In order to achieve the goal, selected individual must have total understanding of the subject under study and in return supply full information. In brief, the study can be effective using smaller number of participants if researcher can apply good skill with the right inclusion and exclusion criteria. References Boddy, C.R. (2016). Sample size for qualitative research. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 19(4), 426-432. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/QMR-06-2016-0053 Dworkin,S.L. (2012). Sample size policy for qualitative studies using in-depth interviews. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41(6), 1319-1320. doi: 10.1007/s10508-012-0016-6 Eberhardt, B. J. Shani, A. B. (1984). The effects of full-time versus part-time employment status on attitudes toward specific organizational characteristics and overall job satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal, 27, 893-900. Guarte, J.M. Barrios,E.B. (2007). Estimation under purposive sampling. Communications in Statistics-Simulation and Computation, 35(2), 277-284. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03610910600591610 Hammell, K.W. Carpenter, C. (2004). Qualitative research in evidence-based rehabilitation. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. Han, S.H., Moon, S.J. Yun, E.K. (2009). Empowerment, job satisfaction and organizational commitment: comparison of permanent and temporary nurses in Korea. Applied Nursing Research, 22, 15-20. Hesse-Biber, S.N. Leavy, P. (2010). The practice of qualitative research. (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. Jackofsky, E. F. Peters, L. H. (1987). Part-time and full-time employment status differences: A replication and extension. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 8, 1-9. Janssona, A.B. Engstromb, A. (2017). Working together: critical care nurses experiences of temporary staffing within Swedish health care: a qualitative study. Intensive and Critical Care Nursing. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.iccn.2016.08.010 Katz, D. Kahn, R. L. (1979). The social psychology of organizations. New York: Wiley. Liamputtong, P. (2013). The science of words and the science of numbers: research methods as foundations for evidence-based practice in health. In P. Liamputtong (Ed.), Research Methods in Health: Foundations for Evidence-Based Practice. (pp. 3-23). Melbourne: Oxford University Press Australia and New Zealand. Logan, N.OReilly, C.A. Roberts, K.H. (1973). Job satisfaction among part-time and full-time employees. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 3, 33-41. Mason, M. (2010). Sample size and saturation in PhD studies using qualitative interviews. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 11(3), Article 8. Retrieved from http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs100387 McGinnis, S.K. Morrow, P.C. (1990). Job attitudes among full- and part-time employees. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 36, 82-96. Miller, H.E. Terborg, J.R. (1979). Job attitudes of part-time and full-time employees. Journal of Applied Psychology, 64, 380-386. Morse, J.M. (2008). Styles of collaboration in qualitative inquiry. Qualitative Health Research, 18(1), 3-4. Patton, M.Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. (2nd ed.). California: SAGE. Polit, D.F. Beck C.T. (2014). Essentials of nursing research: appraising evidence for nursing practice. (8nd ed.). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health, Lippincott Williams Wilkins. Ritchie, J., Lewis, J., Elam, G., Tennant, R. Rahim, N. (2014). Designing and selecting samples. In Ritchie, J, Lewis, J., Nicholls, C.M. Ormston, R. (Eds.), Qualitative research practice: A guide for social science students and researchers. (pp.113). Los Angeles: SAGE. Sandelowski, M. (1995). Sample size in qualitative research. Research in Nursing Health, 18(2), 179-183. Satoh, M., Watanabe, I. Asakura, K. (2016). Occupational commitment and job satisfaction mediate effort-reward imbalance and the intention to continue nursing. Japan Journal of Nursing Science, 14(1), 49-60. doi: 10.1111/jjns.12135 Shockey, M.L. Mueller, C.W. (1994). At-entry differences in part-time and full-time employees. Journal of Business and Psychology, 8, 355-364. Sinclair, R.R., Martin, J.E. Michel, R.P. (1999). Full-time and part-time subgroup differences in job attitudes and demographic characteristics. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 55, 337-357. Steffy, B.D., Jones, J.W. (1990). Differences between full-time and part-time employees in perceived role strain and work satisfaction. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 11, 321-329. Still, L.V. (1983). Part-time versus full-time salespeople: Individual attributes, organizational commitment and work attitudes. Journal of Retailing, 59, 55-79. Thorsteinson, T.J. (2003) Job attitudes of part-time vs. full-time workers: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 76, 151-177. Van Hoeven, L.R., Janssen, M.P., Roes, K.C.B. Koffijberg, H. (2015). Aiming for a representative sample: Simulating random versus purposive strategies for hospital selection. Biomed Central Medical Research Methodology, 15(90), 1-9. Retrieved from https://dx.doi.org/10.1186%2Fs12874-015-0089-8 Vecchio, R.P. (1984). Demographic and attitudinal differences between part-time and full-time employees. Journal of Occupational Behaviour, 5, 213-218. Wetzel, K., Soloshy, D.E. Gallagher, D.G. (1990). The work attitudes of full-time and part-time registered nurses. Health Care Management Review, 15, 79-85. Wotruba, T.R. (1990). Full-time versus part-time salespeople: A comparison on job satisfaction, performance, and turnover in direct selling. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 7, 97-108.

The Challenge of Having Faith in God Today Essay -- Philosophy Religio

The Challenge of Having Faith in God Today In Elie Wiesel’s book Night, one character professes to have â€Å"more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He’s the only one who’s kept his promises, all his promises, to the Jewish people† (77). After all they have gone through in their rich and lengthy history, Jews have every right to feel angry toward God for not keeping His promises. God told them that they were His chosen people; but who would feel privileged to be a Jew if being â€Å"chosen† meant having to live through Auschwitz? For many Jews who lived through the Holocaust, their faith in God will never be the same. The question that many of them ask is â€Å"Why?† Why the gas chambers? Why the Jews? â€Å"Why has God apparently forsaken us?† Many survivors feel great anger towards the God of their ancestors, and through this anger they try to understand the â€Å"whys.† For many, this is the only way they can live after what they have been through. Throu gh anger, survivors can assert their presence: â€Å"To overwhelming death one must respond with overwhelming life†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Greenberg 330). In a post-Holocaust age, a logical and reasonable way for many survivors to relate to God is through anger and controversy rather than through a passive acceptance of God's will. Elie Wiesel is probably the best known Holocaust survivor alive today. He has written several books about his experiences in the concentration camps and his reflections on the Holocaust. Wiesel’s work is known for the hard questions that it poses, and the sensitive issues that it discusses. Wiesel himself is an excellent example of how the Holocaust destroyed or at least significantly altered the faith of many of its victims. Before he was deported, the 15-year-old Wiesel wa... ... Otherwise, how do we know that He is listening to us? Or how do we know that He cares about what happens to us? How do we even know that God did not hang on the gallows of Auschwitz? Works Cited Brown, Robert McAfee. Introduction. The Trial of God. New York: Schocken Books, 1979. vii-xix. Greenberg, Irving. â€Å"Cloud of Smoke, Pillar of Fire.† Holocaust. John K. Roth and Michael Berenbaum, eds. St. Paul, MN: Paragon House, 1989. â€Å"The Book of Job.† The Harper Collins Study Bible. NRSV. London: Harper Collins Publishers, 1989. Kushner, Harold S. When Bad Things Happen to Good People. New York: Avon Books, 1981. Mauriac, Francois. Forward. Night. by Elie Wiesel. New York: Bantam Books, 1960. vii-xi. Wiesel, Elie. Night. New York: Bantam Books, 1960. Wiesel, Elie. The Trial of God. New York: Schocken Books, 1979.

Suicide Bombers: What makes them tick? Essay -- Psychological Traum

Has anyone ever wondered how one individual could kill thousands of individuals, and not feel bad about it? Thousands of people die each year due to suicide bombing, but not too many people know why they do it. Also, no one really wonders about the past and how suicide bombing started. Someone did not just wake up, and decide to strap bombs to themselves, then detonate them inside a building full of people. This essay will discuss the history of suicide bombing, the training of a bomber, the personality of a suicide bomber, the different motivations behind his or her action, and the way culture impacts the bombing and the bomber. In order to understand the motivations behind suicide bombing, society needs to grasp the history of it. Suicide bombing was not really thought of until the 1980’s when one boy named Hossein Fahmiden died with a grenade in his hand during a battle. This incident started to change the way society viewed what the Qur’an said about killing yourself. People of this time, thought that it was bad, but then their views started to change after Fahmiden died. They thought it would help them and their families get into their version of heaven, called paradise. In 1983 suicide bombing became part of their cultural beliefs. Society, before it supported suicide bombing, had a huge debate on whether or not it was religiously supported. The Qur’an says that Muslims cannot kill themselves because they will not go to paradise. However, fighting and dying for one’s country makes them a hero. Suicide bombers of that time, and still today justify their actions using the e xcuse that they are fighting for their country (MacEoin 15-24). One may wonder how you become a suicide bomber. Many people think that these men ... ...culture is completely unhealthy for anyone, and will only breed future problems. Suicide bombers deal with a lot. They suicide bombers in the Muslim society have a expectation to live up to, and struggle to deal with it every day. The history of suicide bombing is very real, along with the debate on whether or not the Qur’an approves of suicide bombing. Suicide bombers are smart people who society would not take a second glance at. They do have certain personality characteristics, but so do non-suicide bombers. Many people believe that they only bomb because of anger or because they are crazy. This may be the case for some, but majority of them honestly believe that they are helping society out. Their culture does not help them in this matter and actually encourages suicide bombing. A combination of all these things is what makes suicide bombers tick.

The Blast of War :: Dialogue Essays Creative Writing

The Blast of War "Boxer, this is flight control. The pattern is full; maintain current heading and set throttle to one-niner-zero." "Copy that Lincoln, one-niner-zero." Lieutenant Erica "Boxer" Swanson reached out to the cockpit console and pressed the button which would lock in her heading. Sitting back in her seat, she slid the throttle lever on her left slowly back until the display on the console counted down to read 190 MPS. With the flick of a switch above her head she turned off her electron shielding, noting the flicker of a greenish light outside her cockpit as the shielding dispersed. The Lieutenant then twisted in her seat to look over her shoulder at the hulk of a space cruiser behind her, the Abraham Lincoln. Slowly the larger ship moved towards her small fighter, swallowing it whole in the gaping hanger bay in its belly. Swanson heard a slight thump as flight crews pulled the fighter down into its docking bay via guidewires. She reached over and disengaged her thrusters and keyed the code to power down her engines and inertial dampener. "Boxer is down, I’m locked in. Over and out." The lieutenant reached over and flipped off the comm system even as the docking bay gave a slight lurch sideways, pulling her fighter through the airlock and into her fighter’s docking station. Automatically, the cockpit began to open and the fighter’s computer powered down as the flight crew took control of the plane. Lieutenant Swanson unbuckled her harness and slipped out of the cockpit, unstrapping and removing her helmet as she climbed down the eight foot ladder to the flight deck. With a nod to the crew chief, Erica slipped her helmet under her arm and began to weave her way through the crowd of deck crews rushing around securing the fighters. She stepped into the lift on the far side of the flight deck, nodding silently to the other pilot already there. The lift doors slid shut silently and the lift began to move through the cruiser. Erica looked over at the other pilot. "Well Spinner, welcome to war." Lieutenant Don "Spinner" Collins turned and studied her for a moment. "I think I liked boredom better." The Colonel stepped up to the podium and gazed around at the assembled pilots. In a booming voice not needing the assistance from the podium microphone, he began to speak. The Blast of War :: Dialogue Essays Creative Writing The Blast of War "Boxer, this is flight control. The pattern is full; maintain current heading and set throttle to one-niner-zero." "Copy that Lincoln, one-niner-zero." Lieutenant Erica "Boxer" Swanson reached out to the cockpit console and pressed the button which would lock in her heading. Sitting back in her seat, she slid the throttle lever on her left slowly back until the display on the console counted down to read 190 MPS. With the flick of a switch above her head she turned off her electron shielding, noting the flicker of a greenish light outside her cockpit as the shielding dispersed. The Lieutenant then twisted in her seat to look over her shoulder at the hulk of a space cruiser behind her, the Abraham Lincoln. Slowly the larger ship moved towards her small fighter, swallowing it whole in the gaping hanger bay in its belly. Swanson heard a slight thump as flight crews pulled the fighter down into its docking bay via guidewires. She reached over and disengaged her thrusters and keyed the code to power down her engines and inertial dampener. "Boxer is down, I’m locked in. Over and out." The lieutenant reached over and flipped off the comm system even as the docking bay gave a slight lurch sideways, pulling her fighter through the airlock and into her fighter’s docking station. Automatically, the cockpit began to open and the fighter’s computer powered down as the flight crew took control of the plane. Lieutenant Swanson unbuckled her harness and slipped out of the cockpit, unstrapping and removing her helmet as she climbed down the eight foot ladder to the flight deck. With a nod to the crew chief, Erica slipped her helmet under her arm and began to weave her way through the crowd of deck crews rushing around securing the fighters. She stepped into the lift on the far side of the flight deck, nodding silently to the other pilot already there. The lift doors slid shut silently and the lift began to move through the cruiser. Erica looked over at the other pilot. "Well Spinner, welcome to war." Lieutenant Don "Spinner" Collins turned and studied her for a moment. "I think I liked boredom better." The Colonel stepped up to the podium and gazed around at the assembled pilots. In a booming voice not needing the assistance from the podium microphone, he began to speak.

A Starry Night

Vincent Van Gogh is a mysterious painting in which Gogh paints a picture that has energetic colors and expressive. This painting can be described as shadowy but yet still stimulating. It can signify a variety of moods, objects, and atmosphere. Van Gogh portrays a small French town located in the countryside. This town is characterized by rolling mountains, a sky with stars, small village, fields, a large tree, and a church. He uses these details to paint a story full of color and intrigue.He paints the sky purple and dark blue to signify the time of day. He uses orange and yellow for the bright stars or lighting in the sky. The mountains that border the town are colored a dark blue and are masked by a tree, which is colored black. Green is applied for the grass and other various plants and vegetation. He uses a vast array of colors to paint the houses and buildings in the village. For this painting mood and description play a huge part. The evening sky is exposed with light shining t hrough the sky.One person might think that the stars are dashing down to earth, meaning it could be the end of the world. He shows the beauty of the countryside at night. Looking up at the sky the bright, yellowish-white stars twirl and give the effect that the wind is blowing. The wind itself is blowing fast and swift, it could be showing an emotion he was feeling. Right below the sky is the mountains that surround the village. Their presence brings security and harmony to the French village. The mountains provide a shadow and guard from a distance.Being a man of religion Gogh painted a church in the center of the painting which can simply be symbolized as a place for reaching out to God. With the use of its colors, type of texture, and descriptive objects, Van Gogh develops a unique painting that any observer can interpret in any way. It can be an image of finding peace as you can sit down and find the beauty of the landscape. Or it can be seen as a dark sad image; you can simply sit down and find that the location is cold and windy. I find it to be peaceful and perfect.

Reflective Account Essay

A new little boy started recently in nursery, as he entered nursery i bent down, smiled giving him eye contact i then said hello using his name and told him mine and he smiled back. He had never been to nursery before and he was very excited and had no awareness of the daily routine. i calmly held out my hand and he held out his. holding each others hands i showed him where his name card was, he picked up his name card and we walked over to the self-registration board. i asked him what he would like to play with and he chose to play with the cars. but during his play he become very upset because he wanted to play with the red car and another child had the red car. so i bent down and placed my arm around him and asked to look at me. Tears were rolling down his face and i explained to him that when the other child had finished playing with the red car he would be able to have a turn. i then sat down next to him to take turns in using the garage and sharing the cars. During the session i continued to support him, during lunch time and throughout the session. On occasions when he was unsure of what to do we went over to the routine board and talked him through the pictures so he knew what was happening next. Reflection I felt that i reassured him by letting him know who i was and at all times i made sure i gained his attention by using his name and ensure that he was listening by making sure we gained eye contact before speaking. I helped him with understanding the daily routine and I helped him with his social skills by supporting him with understanding the we need to take turns and share. Next time Next time I will carry on encouraging his social skills and communication skills by supporting him with sharing the toys and taking turns. I will also tell him the children’s names so he will feel part of a group and help with his self esteem. All while letting the child know I will be there to support him and help with his daily needs if he needs it.

American Gothic Architecture

For only the antique style of architecture is conceived in a purely objective spirit; the Gothic style is more in the subjective spirit. American Gothic architecture was the outcome of a way of thought, the product of a special kind of imagination. Every one will easily be able to see clearly how from the fundamental thought and the peculiarities of Gothic architecture, there arises that mysterious and hyperphysical character which is attributed to it. It principally arises from the fact that here the arbitrary has taken the place of the purely rational, which makes itself known as the thorough adoption of the means to the end.The many things that are really aimless, but yet are so carefully perfected, raise the assumption of unknown, unfathomed, and secret ends, i. e. , give the appearance of mystery. On the other hand, the brilliant side of Gothic churches is the interior; because here the effect of the groined vaulting borne by slender, crystalline, aspiring pillars, raised high a loft, and, all burden having disappeared, promising eternal security, impresses the mind; while most of the faults which have been mentioned lie upon the outside.In antique buildings the external side is the most advantageous, because there we see better the support and the burden; in the interior, on the other hand, the flat roof always retains something depressing and prosaic. For the most part, also, in the temples of the ancients, while the outworks were many and great, the interior proper was small. An appearance of sublimity is gained from the hemispherical vault of a cupola, as in the Pantheon, of which, therefore, the Italians also, building in this style, have made a most extensive use.What determines this is, that the ancients, as southern peoples, lived more in the open air than the northern nations who have produced the Gothic style of architecture. Whoever, then, absolutely insists upon Gothic architecture being accepted as an essential and authorized style may, if he i s also fond of analogies, regard it as the negative pole of architecture, or, again, as its minor key.With the recent explosion of Gothic criticism, scholars have failed to juxtapose Gothic novels and dramas with archival architectural sources to explore the interrelationship between literature and architecture in the United States in the first half of the nineteenth century. The scholars who have rescued the Gothic novel from literary history's dust heap have provided cultural historians with a base from which to examine the sweeping influence of this significant literary genre.In the United States, Gothic novels and Scott's historical romances (which were inspired by Gothic pioneers Walpole and Radcliffe), had an enormous impact on architecture in the period between 1800 and 1850. The groundwork in Gothic literary scholarship allows us to move beyond literature to examine how the Gothic seeps into other forms of artistic creation. One of the earliest American architects to enjoy G othic novels was Benjamin Henry Latrobe (1764-1820).Although born in Great Britain and educated in Europe, Latrobe immigrated to the United States at the age of thirty-one, arriving in March 1796. About three months after relocating to Virginia, Latrobe wrote in his journal that he found Radcliffe's descriptions of buildings so â€Å"successful† that he â€Å"once endeavored to plan the Castle of Udolpho from Radcliffe's account of it and found it impossible† . Latrobe began experimenting with Gothic architectural forms for residential design in the United States in 1799.Latrobe's Gothic work includes Sedgeley (built for William Crammond near Philadelphia in 1799 and considered the first Gothic Revival house in the United States); the Baltimore Cathedral design (unexecuted; 1805); Christ Church in Washington, DC (1806-07); the Bank of Philadelphia (1807-08); and St. Paul's in Alexandria, Virginia (1817) (see photos). But, overall, Latrobe's Gothic output pales in compa rison to his rational neoclassical efforts such as the Bank of Pennsylvania (1799-1801). His Gothic Revival designs are symmetrical with superficial Gothic detailing.For example, Sedgeley is a geometric form Gothicized by the placement of pointed arch windows in the pavilions that protrude from the corners of the house. Despite this Gothic touch, there is little mystery or surprise in store for the observer of Latrobe's Gothic creations. Although he clearly read Radcliffe's books and was quite possibly influenced by them, he did not translate the mysterious, rambling architectural spaces of her stories into his own architecture. Other American architects, too, dabbled in Gothic Revival design before the 1830s. Some notable examples include Maxmillan Godefroy's St.Mary's Seminary in Baltimore (1806); Charles Bulfinch's Federal Street Church in Boston (1809); and the unexecuted design for Columbia College (1813) by James Renwick Sr. , engineer and father of the architect James Renwick . Daniel Wadsworth, who designed for himself a Gothic Revival villa called Monte Video (c. 1805-1809) near Hartford, Connecticut, explained that, to him, the Gothic style was not inherently menacing as are the castles and convents of Gothic novels: â€Å"There is nothing in the mere forms or embellishments of the pointed style [†¦ ] in the least adapted to convey to the mind the impression of Gothic Gloom† .His house bears out this belief; Gothic details appear as an afterthought, a decorative motif rather than a programmatic agenda. It was not until the 1830s and 1840s that American Gothic Revival architecture came of age. The most prominent designer of Gothic residences in this period was Davis. Davis was born in New York City in 1803 and, during his boyhood, lived in New Jersey and New York. When he was sixteen, he moved to Alexandria, Virginia, to learn a trade with his older brother Samuel. Davis worked as a type compositor in the newspaper office.Besides work, his four years at Alexandria were filled with two of his favourite activities: reading and acting. An amateur actor who performed in several plays while he was in Virginia, Davis was a voracious reader as well. His two pocket diaries from this period, preserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, are filled with youthful exuberance. Often, Davis would begin an entry with an illustration from a text, which would then be excerpted in his own handwriting. Among the dramas that he read and illustrated were Maturin's Bertram: or the Castle of St.Aidobrand and Heinrich Zschokke's Abadilino. Maturin was an Irish Gothic novelist and dramatist who corresponded with an encouraging Scott. After reading Maturin's drama Bertram, Scott wrote that the character of Bertram had a â€Å"Satanic dignity which is often truly sublime† . Starring Edmund Kean, Bertram opened on 9 May 1816 at the Drury Lane Theatre in London, with the support of Lord Byron, who was impressed with the play. In one of his pocket diaries, Davis made an illustration of the play's first act, showing a ship tossed on a stormy sea in view of a Gothic convent.The setting of the play is quintessentially Gothic from the â€Å"rock-based turrets† of the convent to the moonlit â€Å"terrassed rampart† of the castle of Aldobrand. Davis copied an excerpt from the play into his diary and as the budding actor included Bertram in his list of recitations. While he was a youth in Alexandria, Davis engaged in amateur theatricals and became interested in stage design. He dreamed of becoming a professional actor. Davis's illustration filters the Shakespearean scene through contemporary Gothic, emphasizing the mysterious flicker of the nightstand candle and the inky blackness of unknowable architectural spaces.At the age of twenty, Davis moved to New York City, and his fascination with the theatre continued. In the evenings, he frequented the theatre and was on the free list at both the Park The ater and the Castle Garden Theater in 1826 and 1828. He also expressed his love of drama in his artistic work. In 1825, he completed a study for a proscenium featuring Egyptian columns and Greek bas-relief sculpture and numerous portraits of actors in character, including â€Å"Brutus in the Rostrum† and â€Å"Mr. Kemble as Roma†. That so early in his life Davis was fascinated with the theatre is significant to his later Gothic Revival architectural creations.The dramatic images he drew for his youthful diaries display his acute interest in stage design and scenography. Indeed, Gothic Revival architecture is inherently theatrical, a quality often commented upon by architecture critics. Davis often used trompe-l'oeil materials to create theatrical effects, substituting plaster for stone. Davis's houses, then, become stage sets, in which the owners' mediaeval fantasies, inspired by Gothic romances, can take flight. While still in Alexandria, Davis's sensible older brothe r bristled at what he perceived to be the younger Davis's useless pastime of reading Gothic books.Later in life, Davis wrote to William Dunlap about himself in the third person for Dunlap's History of the Rise and Progress of the Arts of Design in the United States: â€Å"Like another Franklin, strongly addicted to reading, he limited himself to the accomplishment of a fixed task, and being a quick compositor, he would soon complete it, and fly to his books, but not like Franklin, to books of science and useful learning, but to works of imagination, poetry, and the drama; whence, however, he imbibed a portion of that high imaginative spirit so necessary to constitute an artist destined to practise in the field of invention†.Davis's brother condemned such reading and turned Davis's attention to â€Å"history, biography and antiquities, to language and the first principles of the mathematics†. The architectural allure of Gothic literature fascinated Davis. As a young man , Davis was known to â€Å"pass hours in puzzling over the plan of some ancient castle of romance, arranging the trap doors, subterraneous passages, and drawbridges, as pictorial embellishment was the least of his care, invention all his aim†.Any Gothic novel of the late eighteenth century may have been the subject of his artistic dreaming, but most likely he is referring here to either Walpole's The Castle of Otranto or Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho, two of the most popular and influential of the Gothic novels. Davis's catalogue of books shows that he owned both books. The image depicts a partly ruinous labyrinthine space with a multitude of pointed arches leading to mysterious staircases (perhaps inspired by Giovanni Battista Piranesi's Carceri). Light filters in through barred windows.This drawing shows his early interest in the Gothic underworld, which is described in detail in The Castle of Otranto. The castle of Otranto (see photo) contains intricate subterranean passages that lead from the castle to the church of St. Nicholas, and through which the virtuous Isabella is chased by the lustful Manfred. Scott cannot be considered a Gothic novelist in the same way that his predecessors Walpole and Radcliffe are. Scott's genre is historical romance, but the influence of the Gothic is omnipresent in his work.From his earliest days and throughout his life, Scott read tales of terror. In 1812, after the success of his three poems and before he began writing his Waverley novel series, Scott purchased 110 acres, upon which he built his elaborate Gothic castle (1812-1815; enlarged in 1819). He named his new home Abbotsford after the monks of Meirose Abbey. The architect was William Atkinson. Abbotsford has been described as â€Å"an asymmetrical pile of towers, turrets, stepped gables, oriels, pinnacles, crenelated parapets, and clustered chimney stacks, all assembled with calculated irregularity†.Visitors flocked to Abbotsford to see the autho r and his residence first-hand, and, according to Thomas Carlyle, Abbotsford soon â€Å"became infested to a great degree with tourists, wonder-hunters, and all that fatal species of people†. Architectural historians often praise Strawberry Hill for introducing asymmetry into British domestic design and historicism into the Gothic Revival. But it is also important for another reason: the castle inspired Walpole to write his Gothic novel The Castle of Otranto in 1764.In A Description of the Villa of Mr. Horace Walpole, Walpole writes that Strawberry Hill is â€Å"a very proper habitation of, as it was the scene that inspired, the author of The Castle of Otranto†. One June morning, Walpole awoke from a dream: â€Å"I had thought myself in an ancient castle (a very natural dream for a head filled, like mine, with Gothic story) and that, on the uppermost bannister of a great staircase, I saw a gigantic hand in armor† (Early 88). That evening, Walpole sat down to wri te The Castle of Otranto.The setting of the story, as Walpole tells us in the preface, is â€Å"undoubtedly laid in some real castle†; indeed, as W. S. Lewis has shown, the rooms at Strawberry Hill and those in the pages of The Castle of Otranto correspond. Read by British and American readers alike, The Castle of Otranto enjoyed popularity long after Walpole's death in 1797. About the castle, Gilmor wrote: Tis in the most beautiful Gothic (light) style. Much cut up into small rooms, none, except the long picture gallery being large. Some of the ceilings beautifully gilded others beautifully fitted in wood or scagliola.But all things, wainscottings, – door-fireplaces – all Gothic. [†¦ ] These same rooms crammed – most literally crammed – with chef d'oeuvres of Antient and modern paintings, statuary; sarcophaguses, Bronzes and silver carvings of Benvenuto Cellini and others. [†¦ ] In this superb cabinet of curiosities for such the Gothic c astle deserves to be called, I strolled delighted. On 21 September 1832, not long after Gilmor's return in late 1830 or early 1831, Scott died. Two weeks later, on 5 October 1832, Davis makes his first notes on Glen Ellen in his day book.Perhaps Gilmor may have conceived of Glen Ellen as a tribute or romantic memorial to his genial host at Abbotsford. Indeed, as William Pierson has shown, the plans of Abbotsford and Glen Ellen both display a progression from left to right of octagonal corner turret to octagonal bay to square corner tower. But Abbotsford is not the only source for Glen Ellen. Gilmor was very impressed with the rococo Gothic he saw at Strawberry Hill, and the interior decoration of Walpole's residence becomes the inspiration for the exterior ornamentation at Glen Ellen.The battlements, pinnacles, towers, and pointed arch windows all recall Strawberry Hill, and the long rectangular parlour mirrors Walpole's mediaeval gallery. Both Abbotsford and Strawberry Hill are sit ed along rivers; it is significant, then, that Gilmor chose a site for Glen Ellen on the Gunpowder River, twelve miles north of Baltimore. While Town, Davis, and Gilmor were clearly indebted to Walpole and Atkinson, Glen Ellen is quite unlike anything that had come before it in American architecture.Most striking is its adoption of the complete Gothic program: it is asymmetrical in plan and elevation; its rooms are of disproportionate sizes; its ornamentation is both whimsical and reliant on recognizable mediaeval architectural forms. Glen Ellen is certainly not a repetition of Benjamin Henry Latrobe's and Daniel Wadsworth's earlier forays into the Gothic Revival style for domestic architecture. Unlike Sedgeley and Monte Video, where Gothic Revival ornament appears as an afterthought, Glen Ellen wears its mediaeval styling in a more assertive manner.Here Town and Davis enlisted the picturesque element of surprise; the beholder of Glen Ellen views a shifting facade with unexpected to wer protrusions and heavily ornamented bay windows. Although light and airy Glen Ellen lacks the gloom of Radcliffe's architectural spaces, the architects do create a villa in which the element of surprise is paramount. What is most significant about Glen Ellen is its conception as a place of fantasy, a literary indulgence to whet the Gothic appetite of its well-travelled owner.That Glen Ellen imitates the facade of Abbotsford or the interior ornamentation of Strawberry Hill is important; but more momentous is the idea of Glen Ellen as a retreat into the mediaeval world popularized by Gothic novels and historical romances. But Glen Ellen is Gothic fiction transformed into stone, a constant reminder of its owner's preferred reading material. With Glen Ellen, Gilmor pays homage to his favourite writers, thus participating in the cult of the Gothic author. Although he is the first, Gilmor will not be the last to yield to his literary fantasies by creating a permanent reminder of his Go thic passion.Influenced by Gothic novels and historical romance s, American writers James Fenimore Cooper and Washington Irving Gothicized their houses (Otsego Hall and Sunnyside, respectively) after visiting Gothic sites in Europe. After Glen Ellen, Davis went on to design numerous Gothic Revival cottages and villas, including his masterpiece, Lyndhurst in Tarrytown, New York (1838; 1865). Why were American architects, artists, and their clients so interested in mediaeval architecture? Their reading habits tell us a great deal.Mediaeval architecture plays a crucial role in Gothic novels and historical romances, leading some curious readers to visit mediaeval and Gothic Revival architectural sites related to their favourite novels. That American Gothic Revival architecture was closely related to the fictional works of writers such as Radcliffe and Scott is highlighted by a nineteenth-century observer's comments on a Gothic Revival building in New York City. Thomas Aldrich Bailey wro te in 1866 about the University of the City of New York (now New York University; original building demolished) on Washington Square: â€Å"There isn't a more gloomy structure outside of Mrs.Radcliff's [sic] romances, and we hold that few men could pass a week in these lugubrious chambers, without adding a morbid streak to their natures – the genial immates [sic] to the contrary notwithstanding†. Usually, though, the Gothic Revival buildings constructed in the United States in this period were anything but gloomy. Like Strawberry Hill, Davis's designs were light and airy; delicate rather than dark and massive (Davis does begin to experiment more with fortified castle designs in the 1850s).As Janice Schimmelman has argued, Scott's novels recast the Gothic architectural style, moving it away from the barbarism associated with the Middle Ages and toward a more domestic ideal. An American author who wrote at the same time as Scott sums it up nicely by saying, â€Å"A cast le without a ghost is fit for nothing but to live in†. Certain Gothic work in the Boston neighborhood, by Solomon Willard and Gridley Bryant, has a kind of brutal power because of its simple granite treatment.But these early gray and lowering edifices, despite their pointed windows and their primitive tracery, are scarcely within the true Gothic tenor. That remained almost unknown in this country until suddenly, between 1835 and 1850, it was given abundant expression in the work of three architects -Richard Upjohn, James Renwick, and Minard Lafever. Upjohn, in Trinity Church, set a tradition for American church architecture which has hardly died yet; and Renwick, in Grace Church in New York (see photo), showed the exquisite richness that Gothic could give.Minard Lafever's work is more daring, more original, and less correct, but in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Brooklyn (see photo), only slightly later than Trinity and Grace, he achieved a combination of lavish detail, ima ginative variations on Gothic themes, and a general effectiveness of proportion and composition which make it one of the most successful, as it is certainly the most American, of all these early Gothic Revival churches.Yet even in these, correct as they were in detail, beautiful in mass and line, there was always a certain sense of unreality. The old tradition of integrity in structure, on which the best Greek Revival architects had so insistently based their work, was breaking down. Romanticism, with its emphasis on the effect and its comparative lack of interest in how the effect was produced, was sapping at the whole integral basis of architecture.These attractive Gothic churches were, all of them, content with lath-and-plaster vaults. In them the last connections between building methods and building form disappeared, and in their very success they did much to establish in America the disastrous separation between engineering and architecture which was to curse American building for two generations.The best of the American Gothic work remains in its simpler, its less ostentatious, monuments: the little churches in which wood was allowed frankly to be itself, as in the small frame chapels which Upjohn designed for country villages and distant mission stations; and the frank carpenter Gothic of the picturesque high-gabled cottages which rose so bewitchingly embowered in heavy trees along many of our Eastern village streets. The polychrome Victorian Gothic of England also became a brief American fashion.A number of architects, especially in New York and later in early Chicago, fell under the spell of Ruskin's persuasive writing, and sought as he did to create a modern, freely designed, inventive, nineteenth-century Gothic. But here also the strings that bound America and England seemed too tenuous to hold for long; and in spite of the occasional appealing successes of the style – such as the old National Academy of Design with its black-and-white marbl e front, designed by Peter B.Wight, and some of Renwick's city houses – the Victorian Gothic was doomed in America to swift disintegration into the cheapest and most illogical copying of its most obvious mannerisms, and a complete negation of its essential foundations. It became in a sense a caricature, to be rapidly swallowed up in the confusion of eclecticism which the last quarter of the century brought with it. If we might sum up French Gothic as architecture of clear and structural power, and English as the architecture of personalized rural charm, American Gothic would be the architecture of experimental and dynamic zest.American Gothic architecture was much more than the solution of building problems; it was also the expression of a new America that had been gradually coming into being – a new America which was the result of the gradual decay of the feudal system under the impact of trade, prosperity, and the growth of national feeling. The Gothic Revival in Ame rica was more a matter of intellectual approach than of architectural work. The sudden new enthusiasm for medieval work made all America passionately aware of its amazing architectural wealth, and also acutely conscious of the disintegration which threatened ruin to so many of the medieval structures.Nowhere did the Gothic Revival have a greater and a more revolutionary effect than in America, which had given it its first expression, for nowhere else were the forces behind it so irresistibly strong. In Germany, nationalism had led the architects of the romantic age into the byways of Romanesque and of Renaissance. In France, the strong classic traditions of the Ecole des Beaux Arts held firm against all the attacks of the romanticists and gave, at least to the official work, the requisite classic stamp.But, in America, religious fervor, so closely allied to the desires of the court and the government, made the drive toward Gothic design irrepressible, and there was no academic and c lassic tradition powerful enough to withstand it. Furthermore, the movement was blessed with extremely brilliant and articulate writers, who had the gift not only of interesting the specialist but of moving the general population. Gothic architecture was best now because it was the most Christian, later because it was the most creative and least imitative, then again because it was the most honest – whatever that might mean.The religious facets of the movement had an even greater importance. The whole American church was exercised more and more about the fundamental problems of ritualism and historical tradition. The most important ecclesiastical thinkers were reacting against the routine secularism of the eighteenthcentury church, demanding not only greater seriousness and a more intense devotion to Christian ideals, but also expressing their conviction that the medieval church had been a vital force and medieval devotion a vivid experience that had been subsequently lost, a nd that therefore the easiest way to reform the church was by a return to medievalism.Of the religious controversies these ideas aroused it is not necessary to particularize. Also important is the fact that everywhere these religious controversies focused attention on medieval church architecture, and that there was the closest relationship between architecture and ritual. Therefore, the theory went, if it was necessary to return to the medieval conception of Christianity, it was equally essential to return to medievalism in church design. There more subtle factor behind the Gothic Revival in architecture.The word â€Å"romanticism† has accumulated so many different meanings in the course of a century of criticism that it is necessary to be more precise. Behind the new interest in medieval architecture went a search for emotional expression which was a new thing. Romanticism means many more things than mere antiquarianism, for from the point of view of a mere turn to the past the Classic Revivals might also be considered romantic; but, as we have seen, the architects of the Classic Revival were striving primarily for form which should be serene, well composed, consistent, harmonious, adequate.The true romanticist is not satisfied with this. He demands more; he demands that architecture shall be â€Å"expressive† – that is, that it shall aim definitely at expressing specific emotions such as religious awe, grandeur, gaiety, intimacy, sadness. He seeks to make architecture as expressive and as personal as a lyric poem, and oftentimes this demand for emotional expression he makes superior to any other claims.All architecture is expressive; but, whereas the classic architect allows the expression to arise naturally from forms developed in the common-sense solution of his problem, the true romantic seeks expression first, with a definite self-conscious urge. To the romantic architect of the mid-nineteenth century, Romanesque and Gothic had some how come to seem more emotional than the other styles. References Andrews, Wayne. American Gothic: Its Origins, Its Trials. Its Triumphs. New York: Random House, 1975. Donoghue, John.Alexander Jackson Davis, Romantic Architect, 1803-1892. New York: Arno Press, 1982. Dunlap, William. â€Å"History of the Rise and Progress of the Arts of Design in the United States. 1834. † Vol. 3. Ed. Alexander Wyckoff. New York: Benjamin Blom, 1965. Early, James. Romanticism and American Architecture. New York: A. S. Barnes, 1965. Latrobe, Benjamin Henry. â€Å"The Virginia Journais of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, 1795-1798. † Vol. 1. Ed. Edward C. Carter II. New Haven: Yale UP, 1977. Lougy, Robert E. Charles Robert Maturin. Lewisburg: Bucknell UP, 1975.Pierson, William H. , Jr. American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, The Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles. 1978. Garden City, NY: Anchor, 1980. Robertson, Fiona. Legitimate Histories: Scott; Gothic, and the Authorities of Fiction. Oxford: Clarendon, 1994. Schimmelman, Janice Gayle. The Spirit of the Gothic: The Gothic Revival House in Nineteenth-Century America. Diss. U of Michigan, 1980. Snadon, Patrick. A. J. Davis and the Gothic Revival Castle in America, 1832-1865. Diss. Cornell U, 1988.