Witchcraft At Salem Essays - Salem Witch Trials, Witchcraft

Witchcraft at Salem In 1692, nineteen villagers were put to death in Salem, Massachusetts. The reason for conviction was the torment of teenaged girls by supernatural means: witchcraft. These teenagers had experienced "pricking" and "pinching" sensations, and some contorted into strange bodily positions, reaching unusual postures of extreme rigidity. The village doctor blamed the abnormal behavior on the supernatural; he delared, "An evil hand is on them."(1) With those words began the greatest witchhunt in America's history. In 1976, Linnda Caporeal from the University of California at Santa Barbara explained the actions of the girls as the effects of an illness resulting from the ingestion of ergot--a fungus with LSD-like properties that resides in rye. Perhaps this is not the true cause of the strange behavior, but to the twentieth century world, it is a justification more believable than that of the village doctor. It is a human tendency to jump to conclusions without knowing all of the facts. In the case described above, the village doctor probably did not feel that he was jumping to conclusions because of the abundance of "witches" in those days. Even today, with the abundance of knowledge about the way things work, some hasten to postulate "God's doings" as the answers to all of our unanswered questions. Are we on this earth because "God put us here"? Was it a chance arrangement of amino acids in a molecular pool which evolved into a human being? Or does the answer lie in some different theory that only time will reveal? Whether it be in the case of medicine, religion, history, or anything requiring judgement, even gossip, one must realize that reality is impossible to pin down. Although we may be sure that two parallel lines could never meet, there may be someone named Lobachevski who is sure that they can. (1) Alice Dickenson, The Salem Witchcraft Delusion (New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1974), p. 16.

Cubism and its Artists essays

Cubism and it's Artists essays Cubism was an art movement that developed in the early 20th century. The term cubism acquired its name from the comments made by painter, Henri Matisse and critic Louis Vauxcelles, who described Georges Braque's 1908 work "Houses at L'Estaque" as resembling a bunch of cubes. Cubism has been called one of the most influential and revolutionary movements in art. Cubism was divided into two categories; analytical cubism and synthetic cubism. The cubism movement was developed by a handful of artists, the most popular, of which include Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Juan Gris and Fernand Lger. Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain, in 1881. His father, an art teacher, recognized his sons talent at an early age. When he was only 16, Picasso had his own studio and had already mastered realistic techniques. He did not have much use for school, even though he was attending college. Picasso's personal style began to form from 1901 to 1904. This period was known was his blue period because Picasso often used analogous blue tones in his paintings. As he became more successful he began using less blue and more of a deep pinkish red which is called the rose period. The subjects of Picassos are ranged from dark and depressing to up beat and happy, such as dancers, acrobats, and harlequins. In 1907, Picasso, with the aid of his friends, opened the door to cubism and other future abstract movements. Working with fellow painter, and friend, Georges Braque, Picasso experimented with geometric forms. The painting 'The Three Musicians' finished in 1921 was his major achievement using the cubism technique. Georges Braque was born May 13, 1882, near Paris, France. By 1908, however, Braque had shifted his attention to the paintings of Paul Cezanne, who was reputed to have restored order and discipline to the extremes of artistic expression. Braque's interest in Cezanne's strangely distorted forms and unconventional perspect ...

To Investigate whether Different Leadership Styles are Preferred in Essay

To Investigate whether Different Leadership Styles are Preferred in Different Industries, and If So, Why - Essay Example Apart from this the effect of these leadership styles on the organisations will also be examined. The research focuses on the issue of employee retention and motivation. The impacts of different leadership styles on the organisation have been detected in the research. This research will help the organisations to implement better leadership styles to attain better results. Though this research has been conducted based on specific industry but it has a broader application and can be put into effect in context to other industries as well. The research has conducted literature review to highlight the issue in context to autocratic and democratic leadership styles. Literature review is followed by the research design which includes sampling and the methodology process. The research then evaluates the practical and ethical issues related to the autocratic and democratic leadership styles. Finally plan and the time table activities were covered in the research. ... Further leadership styles are required to adapt to the changing organisational environment (Joshi, 2009, p. 68). It is difficult to vote for or against a particular leadership style. Every leadership style is unique in itself. It all depends on the leaders, who apply these different styles of leadership in an organisation (Cooper, 2009, p. 4). Depending on the way different leaders employs their ability, many researchers have found two main leadership styles, the autocratic and the democratic (Kocher, Pogrebna & Sutter, 2009, p. 1). The study on leadership reveals that leadership is an important aspect in fostering passion, imagination, purpose amongst the people. The leadership holds the key to success for an organisation. It is the leadership quality of a leader which makes a big difference in creating right opportunities for the organisation. Leadership also helps to enhance the productivity amongst the employees which otherwise benefits an organisation. Few studies reveal that le aders are in control of rewards and punishments and the interpersonal relationship which has a direct impact on the employee’s behaviour and thereby influences the motivational factor of the employee to a large extent. The effect of leadership style has a greater magnitude as the influence on a single employee gradually impacts the whole group (Warrick, n. d, p. 155). Leadership is based on certain characteristics which have evolved over the time. These characteristics which define the importance of leadership in an organisation can be discussed below: Leadership is based upon mutual understanding between the leader and the follower. The value of leadership holds no place without the followers. The