Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation Essay

Intrinsic motivation has been described in many ways. Amabile, Hill, Hennessey, and Tighe (1994) describe it as â€Å"the motivation to engage in work primarily for its own sake, because the work itself is interesting, engaging, or in some way satisfying† (p. 950). According to Ryan and Deci (2000) intrinsic motivation refers to â€Å"doing something because it is inherently interesting or enjoyable† (p. 55). Pink (2009) defines intrinsic rewards as encompassing three components: Autonomy (the need to direct your own life), Mastery (desiring to get better at something you’re passionate about) and purpose (the longing to be a part of something bigger and better). When all an employer wants from an employee is compliance, the traditional concepts of management will work. In the case that the employer seeks engagement, self-direction is more motivating. Amabile (1996), a professor at Harvard Business School, asserts that â€Å"Without intrinsic motivation, an indiv idual will either not perform the activity at all, or will do it in a way that simply satisfies the extrinsic goals† (p. 7). This statement supports that for an employee to be engaged in what they are doing and satisfied doing it, intrinsic motivators are required. If your employees are only completing the tasks given to them because you are motivating them with extrinsic rewards, it can be expected that when you take the reward away, they will no longer be motivated to complete the work. EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION Extrinsic motivation has been defined as â€Å"Doing something because it leads to a separable outcome† (Ryan & Deci, 2000) or â€Å"the motivation to work primarily in response to something apart from the work itself† (Amabile et al., 1994). An example of an extrinsic reward is when an organisation motivates their workers to perform by rewarding them with money, such as bonuses, increased salaries, stock options or benefits. These rewards are easy to monitor as they stem from results. If an employee is following the organisational procedures and adhering to the rules, the manager can reward. If not, there will be no reward. It’s a very common motivator for organisations as it’s easy to manage. They don’t have to think about how the employee feels or if he/she is passionate about their job. It made sense for extrinsic motivators to work in older generations. Most employees had one job to do, with a simple set of tasks. For example, a bookkeeper’s job was to record all financial transactions in relevant journals, creating profit and loss statements balance sheets etc. They were assigned to those exact tasks. Today, we have programs like MYOB that does all of that work for us. We are no longer working in organisations where our jobs are routine. Our work has become more complex and more interesting. Workers today are looking for ways to use their minds and to be involved in bigger things than just monotonous tasks. Time magazine published an article stating that â€Å"They [generation Y] just want to spend their time in meaningful and useful ways†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Trunk, n.d.). Extrinsic rewards are not only becoming less suitable for modern times, research has shown that they can also decrease intrinsic motivation. †¦consideration of reward effects reported in 128 experiments leads to the conclusion that tangible rewards tend to have a substantially negative effect on intrinsic motivation. Although rewards can control people’s behaviour†¦.reward contingencies undermine people’s taking responsibility for motivating or regulating themselves. (Deci, Koestner, & Ryan, 1999, p. 658-659) Extrinsic rewards can also cause people to lose interest completely in the activity. Deci’s research concluded that â€Å"†¦when money is used as an external reward for some activity, the subjects lose intrinsic interest for the activity† (1971, p. 114). Furthermore, Amabile (1996) states that â€Å"A number of studies have shown that a primarily intrinsic motivation will be more conducive to creativity than a primarily extrinsic motivation† (p. 7). THE CANDLE PROBLEM The candle problem was a behavioural study developed by psychologist Karl Duncker (1945). He had numerous people that he split into two groups. Both groups were given a candle, matches and a box of thumbtacks. Dunker told them to stick the candle to the wall in such a way that the wax won’t melt onto the table and using only the materials given. The subjects first tried sticking the candle to the wall with the thumbtacks, it didn’t work. Some tried to melt the side of the candle with the matches and adhere it to the wall but to no avail. After a while both groups managed to figure out the solution: stick the box to the wall with the thumbtacks, and put the candle inside it. A scientist named Sam Glucksberg (1962) re-created the candle problem but gave the subjects incentives. The first group were not offered a reward but told they were a part of a study to ‘establish norms’ and see how long it takes the average person to solve the problem. The second group were offered different sums of money depending on how fast they solved the problem. It was recorded that the incentivised group took almost three and a half minutes longer than the non-incentivised group. This research defies every rule that says extrinsic motivators work. In their third edition Organisational Behaviour book, Wood et al. (2013) describe extrinsic rewards as being â€Å"positively valued work outcomes the individual receives from some other person in the work setting. They are important external reinforces or environmental consequences that can substantially influence people’s work behaviours through the law of effect† (p. 131). The candle problem with incentives has been copied for the past forty years and every time the incentivised group solved the problem the fastest. Glucksberg prepared the experiment again but this time he handed his subjects the materials separately. Instead of supplying the thumbtacks inside the box, he put them next to the box. For the first time ever the incentivised group beat the non-incentivised group. The results suggested that when the problem was made simpler, extrinsic motivators worked better. Extrinsic rewards usually only work for problems that have a simple set of tasks and a right answer. Workers today are more creative and conceptual and enjoy solving problems. When we have technology that does most of the simple tasks for us, we spend more time trying to solve problems that have many possible answers. INTRINSIC MOTIVATION IN TODAYS WORKPLACE Contemporary companies are finding and implementing ways to motivate their employees by using intrinsic rewards. The best example would be Google Inc. Google is renowned for their great benefits and modern offices. There are too many benefits to list them all but some include sleep pods, reading areas, swimming pools, free food, free rental cars if you need to run errands, and some even have on-site child care facilities. One motivator that benefited the company and the employee is the 80/20 rule. Google don’t want people to have to leave the company to pursue their personal passions so every employee is to dedicate 80% of their time to their primary job, and 20% of their time working on ‘passion projects’ that can help the company. Half the products released at Google were invented in the 20% time. E.g. Gmail, Chrome, Google News (Mediratta, 2007). Fortune magazine ranked Google as the number one company to work for in the world in 2012 and 2013 (â€Å"100 Best Companies to Work For,† n.d.) It’s not hard to see why this is the case. Besides all of the above, Google has no real hierarchy (Mills, 2007). They have no official channels, only tiny work groups where ideas flow within the group. If an employee wants to work with another team they can without having to ask permission. While the intrinsic rewards are desirable enough, Google also offer very attractive extrinsic rewards such as 100% paid maternity leave for up to 18 weeks. Like Google, Atlassian, an Australian software company, introduced a quarterly system where an individual could use 20% of his/her time to work on their own ideas and present them at a meeting the next day. This was called the ‘ShipIt Days’ (because it had to be delivered by the next day). This one day of autonomy led to 47 internal projects being used within the software company that never would have emerged otherwise, and more than $2 million in sales (Smith, n.d.). Atlassian has also been in the top ten of BRW’s best places to work for the last couple of years. Another example of autonomy in the workplace is ROWE (Results Only Work Environment). (â€Å"What is Rowe,† n.d.) writes how employees are evaluated on their outputs and what they achieve at the company, not how long or when they are working. As long as you get your work done, you can come in anytime, leave anytime, not come in at all and meetings are optional. Companies who have implemented the ROWE human resources strategy have seen their productivity increase by 35% and their voluntary turnover dropped between 50% and 90% (Penttila, n.d.). Not-For-Profit (NFP) Organisations are another good example of how intrinsic motivators work to retain staff when they are being paid much less than people in the same position who are working for private companies. Frey (1997) suggested that once an employee receives a wage that is enough to live off, they begin to seek purpose in their work. A case study by Tippet & Kluvers (2009) researching motivation in NFP organisations showed that most employees were satisfied with their pay. This research shows that because they see their pay as sufficient, intrinsic motivation may be more of an importance. Pink asserts that â€Å"Effective organizations compensate people in amounts and in ways that allow individuals to mostly forget about compensation and instead focus on the work itself† (2009, p. 170). In other words, get the issue of money off the table first so employees aren’t feeling mistreated or de-motivated, then focus on intrinsic motivators. LEADERSHIP APPROACHES Thomas (2009) suggests that to increase intrinsic motivation you should begin to de-emphasise money as a motivating factor. By paying your employees fairly, but not offering monetary rewards, they will begin to achieve goals for the satisfaction. Usually when you offer rewards employees may only just do what is asked of them, rather than going one step further. Organisations not only need to change the way they motivate their employees, they also need to realise that not everyone will be motivated by the same intrinsic reward. Ryan and Deci (2000) state that â€Å"People are intrinsically motivated for some activities and not others, and not everyone is intrinsically motivated for any particular task† (p. 56). As expected, humans do not have the same passions in life and the same goals, therefore we cannot expect them to be motivated by the same rewards. While Google Inc. has a wide range of benefits that should suit most employees, they have also employed a ‘Chief Culture Czar’ whose main job is devoted to making sure everyone is happy. Google have an annual global survey that is focused on finding out how happy their employees are, and what it’s going to take to keep them with the company. The current CCC, Stacey Sullivan, has said of the survey â€Å"†¦career development is more of a focus than giving more stock options or increasing salaries† (Mills, 2007). Thomas (2009) suggests identifying shared passions within an organisation so focus can be on achieving the desired goal. When passions are clarified and identified it’s much easier to pursue them in a systematic way. A team unifies when they discover that passion: â€Å"Aha, that’s what we care about. Now let’s go after it† (Thomas, 2009, p. 155). Teammates are then likely to connect and see each other as partners with a shared purpose. For a leader to be successful in building employee engagement within an organisation, they need to be aware of what drives them and how to manage their own intrinsic rewards. Thomas (2009) declares that â€Å"Developing this skill helps you recognize the intrinsic rewards in your employees, gives you more credibility, and – as a bonus – helps you stay more engaged and energized† (p. 193). Employee Engagement Many people define employee engagement differently, but according to Thomas (2009) employee engagement is the phrase used to describe the motivation needed in organisations today. In the 80s and 90s it was ‘empowerment’ and in the 70s it was ‘enrichment.’ As work becomes more demanding and supervision slackens the need for workers to be â€Å"†¦psychologically ‘engaged’†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Thomas, 2009, p. 11) when performing their work is essential. Although employee engagement itself can be defined in many ways, Macey and Schneider assert that it â€Å"†¦is a desirable condition, has an organizational purpose, and connotes involvement, commitment, passion, enthusiasm, focused effort and energy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (2008, p. 4). Thomas defines employee engagement as active self-management that has four key intrinsic rewards â€Å"†¦the sense of meaningfulness, the sense of choice, the sense of competence, and the sense of progress†¦. These four intrinsic rewards are the psychological vital signs of an engaged workforce† (2009, p. 192). Employee engagement is valuable for any organisation as it can breed employee loyalty. When an employee is loyal they contribute to moving the company forward and help it reach its goals. Lockwood (2007) emphasizes the link of engagement to business success after a survey of 50,000 employees in 27 countries revealed that â€Å"Organizations that have a highly engaged workforce were found to have almost 10 times as many committed, high-effort workers as those with a low-engaged workforce. The findings point to the manager as the most important enabler of employee commitment to the organization, job and work-teams† (p. 9). CONCLUSION The effects of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards have long been debated and will continue to be examined as psychologists and researches alike try and find the ‘answer’. This paper was intended to provide the reader with a worthy argument as to why intrinsic motivators are becoming a more obvious style of management. There are many examples of organisations focusing on intrinsic motivators and the effect they have on the success of a company. As Pink (2009) suggests, while extrinsic rewards are becoming less relatable in modern times, they should not be thrown out altogether, as one must still be satisfied with their pay to allow intrinsic motivators to work. The evidence readily available today should be enough to convince more organisations to introduce intrinsic motivation and decrease the importance of extrinsic rewards with their companies. REFERENCE LIST Amabile, T.M. (1996) Creativity and Innovation in Organizations. Harvard Business School 100 Best Places to Work For. [n.d.]. Retrieved from the CNN Money Website: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/index.html Deci, E. L. (1971). Effects of externally mediated rewards on intrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 18(1), 105-115 Deci, E. L., Koestner, R., & Ryan, R.M. (1999). A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 125(6), 627-668 Drucker, P. F. (1974). Management Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices. Oxford, England: Butterworth-Heinemann Dunker, K. (1945). On Problem Solving. Psychological Monographs. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Frey, B.S. (1997). On the Relationship between Intrinsic and Extrinsic Work Motivation1. International Journal of Industrial Organisation, 15(4), 427-439 Glatzeder, B., Goel, V., Meuller, A.C. (2010). Towards a theory of thinking. Retrieved from http://www.yorku.ca/vgoel/courses/3260/Goel_3260_articles/Article_7.pdf Glucksberg, S. (1962). The influence of strength of drive on functional fixedness and perceptual recognition. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 63(1), 36-41. doi:10.1037/h0044683 Lockwood, N.R. (2007). Leveraging Employee Engagement for Competitive Advantage: HR’s Strategic Role. SHRM Research Quarterly Retrieved from: http://198.22.197.80/Research/Articles/Articles/Documents/07MarResearchQuarterly.pdf Macey, W. H., Schneider, B. (2008). The Meaning of Employee Engagement. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 1, 3-30 Mediratta, B. [n.d.]. The Google Way: Give Engineers Room. Retrieved from the New York Times Website: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/jobs/21pre.html?_r=0 Penttila, C. [n.d.]. Off the Clock: â€Å"Flexibility is the workstyle of the future†. Retrieved from the Entrepreneur Website: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/177070 Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive. The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. New York, USA: Penguin Books Ltd Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 54-67. doi:10.1006/ceps.1999.1020 Smith, F. [n.d.]. â€Å"Is Atlassian the coolest company in Australia?†. Retrieved from the BRW website: http://www.brw.com.au/p/sections/features/is_atlassian_the_coolest_company_877SCYxXLwl7N9cNiMF6vJ Tippet, J., & Kluvers, R. (2009). Employee Rewards and Motivation in Non Profit Organisations: Case Study from Australia. International Journal of Business and Management, 4(3), 7. Trunk, P. [n.d.]. â€Å"What Gen Y Really Wants?†. Retrieved from the Time Magazine website: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1640395,00.html What is Rowe. [n.d.]. Retrieved from the Go Rowe Website: http://www.gorowe.com/main/what-is-rowe/ Wood, J., Zeffane, R., Fromholtz,

Dickenson essays

Dickenson essays Right from the outset of the poem, Dickinson compares hope to a bird, Hope is the thing with feathers (1). This first line sets the stage for the rest of the poem, in that from this point on the reader will see just how Dickinson believes hope is like a bird. Following the first line Dickinson describes how hope resides within us, by using certain actions of a bird with an underlying meaning of what she is really trying to say. And sings the tune without the words- And never stops - at all (2-4). As a bird perches on a tree branch, so does hope perch inside each of our souls. However hope does not sing out like a bird in his song, but rather instead burns within us never being able to be put into words. But this hope always lets its presence be known just as a bird always sings its song to let other birds know of its presence. In the next stanza Dickinson describes the hardships throughout life that try to kill the hope inside of each of us. And sweetest in the Gale is heard That kept so many warm (5-8). In line five Dickinson is saying that in the worst hardships of our lives, the Gale, hope is stronger then ever before. A bird sings loudest in these difficult times, just as hope tends to erupt out of our body and take action. But just as in reality there are those times in ones life that are just too hard to deal with. The violent storm is compared to the times in our life when we feel like there is no hope left. ...

Gilgamesh vs the Genesis Essay Example

Gilgamesh vs the Genesis Essay Example Gilgamesh vs the Genesis Essay Gilgamesh vs the Genesis Essay many years before the Genesis story in about 400 B. C. The writers of the bible probably knew of the flood in Gilgamesh’s story but revised it so as to fit with their own worldview and history. They most likely intended the original story with their own mythology. Despite the many similarities between the two stories, the differences are revealed in a number of different lines that distinguish the two versions from each other. In both versions of the flood, something angers the gods (in Gilgamesh) and God (in Genesis). â€Å"The uproar of mankind is intolerable and sleep is no longer possible by reasons of the babel. The reasoning for the flood in Gilgamesh seems very irrational. The Gods decide to destroy mankind because there are too many people in the world and they are making too much noise. : It seems that the gods didnt think over their decision wisely. Being they are the gods, one would think they possess the power to come do a different means of resolving this problem instead of just destroying mankind. In Genesis, there is a much more acceptable reason for God to eliminate mankind. The humans are so wicked and evil that It repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart (Gen. 6:6). He says: I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth. . . (Gen. 6:7). God destroys mankind because it has become evil and corrupt within. This is not a quick irrational decision on the part of God, but a very well thought out and logical decision. It is definitely much better reason for the destruction of the human race. Another major difference is something that most often is overlooked by many people; the presence of demi-gods and great heroes during this time period. In the story of Gilgamesh, the gods allow half-god half-human beings to exist on earth. They were still apart of the Golden Age, which was presided over by Saturn. This was when the final structures of the Olympian Gods, men, animals, and the underworld were still being risen up. Great heroes like Gilgamesh, even though he came much later, still existed. In Genesis the Golden Age was completely over. There are no more heroes that were alive on the earth. These giants in the earth (Gen. 6:4) were the sons of God and of the daughters of men, but they were only men of renown in the old days (Gen. 6:4). These giants in the earth had become earlier and were destroyed long before the flood happened. A very important similarity is how many people the gods in Gilgamesh and God in Genesis choose to save from the flood. In both stories one good man, Utnapishtim (from Gilgamesh) and Noah (from Genesis, is saved and chosen to build an ark or boat. In Gilgamesh, Ea warns Utnapishtim in a dream that he must help the human race survive. In Genesis, God decides to destroy everyone but Noah, who found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Gen. 6:8). Noah becomes the source of salvation for the creation of man in the future. He is also the symbol of Gods mercy and grace. Both these men are symbols that God and Ea want the good in mankind to survive. By doing this they give the human race a chance to survive. Another major difference between the two stories is how the floods began and how the whole event ended up. In both a great storm rages and wipes out everyone and everything except the passengers onboard the boat/ark. In Gilgamesh, the gods cry and that creates the incredibly destructive flood. The great gods of heaven and hell wept. The rains last for 6 days and 6 nights in the Gilgamesh version, and finally when the waters receded the boat landed on Nisir. The boat is on the mountain for seven days. This is one of many instances where the number 7 is used in context to the flood stories. It is a mystical number symbolizing when gods and men interact. In Genesis, God sends down the flood with his divine power. After seven days the waters of the flood were upon the earth (Gen. 7:10). Here the number 7 is used again for the interaction of God and Noah. The rain lasts a lot longer in the Genesis version then in the Gilgamesh story. The rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights (Gen. 7:12). As the waters receded, the ark landed on Mt. Ararat. It is here for approximately two and a half months more until the other mountain tops surface. In both stories you have the same basic storyline, but as one can see the smaller details are much different. In both stories when the ark or boat is floating around the endless sea, Noah and Utnapishtim send out birds. Utnapishtim sends out hree different birds while Noah sends only two out. First, Utnapishtim sends out a dove but it returns. The same thing happens when he sends out a swallow. Finally when he sends out the raven it finds land and eats, so it does not return. I loosed a dove but finding no resting-place she returned then I loosed a swallow, and she flew away but finding no resting-place she returned I loosed a raven and she did not come back. Noah sends out a raven once but i t doesn’t find land. He sends out a dove twice and the second time it does not return. The two men send these out in order to find land. Each one of these birds has a significant meaning. The swallow lives around farms and it is sent out to find dry land for agriculture. In Genesis, the dove brings back an olive branch, and that symbolizes peace. Peace would mean that the punishment by God has finally ended. Ravens were looked upon as the messengers of the Gods. It only makes sense that the messenger of the gods in the Gilgamesh version helps Utnapishtim find land. In both versions of the story birds that represent certain good things in life were used. The final main similarity between the two stories comes at the end. Noah and Utnapishtim both show proper reverence to the gods and are rewarded. Utnapishtim offers a sacrifice to the gods, but Enlil becomes very angry because he is excluded from this sacrifice and that Utnapishtim escaped his wishes for all man to be destroyed. Ea convinces Enlil that Utnapishtim escaped on his own and then Enlil grants Utnapishtim the gift of immortality. In the Genesis story, God orders Noah to leave the ark. Noah then gives god a sacrifice. God makes the first covenant of the Hebrew Bible with Noah. Then finally, in both versions a sign is given to show that the gods and God wont destroy the earth in a flood ever again; a rainbow in Genesis and a necklace in the story of Gilgamesh. When comparing the stories of the flood within the Story of Gilgamesh and The Genesis, one can find many similarities and differences. The way these two stories portray comparisons within each other show how stories are carried throughout history and are adapted by the people of that time to fit their history and worldviews.

Battle of Crecy in the The Hundred Years War

Battle of Crecy in the The Hundred Years War The Battle of Crà ©cy was fought August 26, 1346, during the Hundred Years War (1337-1453). Largely a dynastic struggle for the French throne, the conflict began following the death of Philip IV and his sons, Louis X, Philip V, and Charles IV. This ended the Capetian Dynasty which had ruled France since 987.   As no direct male heir lived, Edward III of England, Philip IVs grandson by his daughter Isabella, pressed his claim to the throne. This was rejected by the French nobility who preferred Philip IVs nephew, Philip of Valois. The War Begins Crowned Philip  VI in 1328, he called for Edward to do homage to him for the valuable  fief of Gascony. Though initially unwilling to this,  Edward relented and accepted Philip as King of France in 1331 in return for continued  control over Gascony. By doing so, he surrendered his rightful claim  to the throne. In 1337, Philip VI revoked Edward IIIs control of Gascony and commenced raiding the English coast. In response, Edward reasserted his claims to the French throne and began building alliances with the nobles of Flanders and the Low Countries.   In 1340, Edward scored a decisive naval victory at Sluys which gave England control of the Channel for the duration of the war. This was followed by an invasion of the Low Countries and an abortive siege of Cambrai. After plundering Picardy, Edward withdrew back to England to raise funds for future campaigns as well as to deal with the Scots who had used his absence to mount a series of raids across the border. Six years later, having assembled around 15,000 men and 750 ships at Portsmouth, he again planned to invade France.   A Return to France Sailing for Normandy, Edward landed on the Cotentin Peninsula that July. Quickly capturing Caen on July 26, he moved east towards the Seine. Alerted that King Philip VI was assembling a large army in Paris, Edward turned north and began moving along the coast. Pressing on, he crossed the Somme after winning the Battle of Blanchetaque on August 24. Tired from their endeavors, the English army encamped near the Forest of Crà ©cy. Eager to defeat the English and angry that he had failed to trap them between the Seine and Somme, Philip raced towards Crà ©cy with his men. The English Command Alerted to the approach of the French army, Edward deployed his men along a ridge between the villages of Crà ©cy and Wadicourt. Dividing his army, he assigned command of the right division to his sixteen-year old son Edward, the Black Prince with assistance from the Earls of Oxford and Warwick, as well as Sir John Chandos. The left division was led by the Earl of Northampton, while Edward, commanding from a vantage point in a windmill, retained leadership of the reserve. These divisions were supported by large numbers of archers equipped with the English longbow. Armies Commanders: England Edward IIIEdward, the Black Prince12,000-16,000 men France Philip VI20,000-80,000 men Preparing for Battle While waiting for the French to arrive, the English busied themselves by digging ditches and laying out caltrops in front of their position. Advancing north from Abbeyville, the lead elements of Philips army arrived near the English lines around mid-day on August 26. Scouting the enemy position, they recommended to Philip that they encamp, rest, and wait for the entire army to arrive. While Philip agreed with this approach, he was overruled by his nobles who wished to attack the English without delay. Quickly forming for battle, the French did not wait for the bulk of their infantry or supply train to arrive. The French Advance Advancing with Antonio Doria and Carlo Grimaldis Genoese crossbowmen in the lead, the French knights followed with lines led by the Duke D’Alencon, Duke of Lorraine, and Count of Blois, while Philip commanded the rearguard. Moving to the attack, the crossbowmen fired a series of volleys at the English. These proved ineffective as a brief thunderstorm before the battle had wet and slackened the crossbowstrings. The English archers on the other hand had simply untied their bowstrings during the storm. Death from Above This coupled with the longbows ability to fire every five seconds gave the English archers a dramatic advantage over the crossbowmen who could only get off one to two shots per minute. The Genoese position was worsened by the fact that in the rush to battle their pervises (shields to hide behind while reloading) had not been brought forward. Coming under devastating fire from Edwards archers, the Genoese began withdrawing. Angered by the crossbowmens retreat, the French knights fired insults at them and even cut several down. Charging forward, the French front lines fell into confusion as they collided with the retreating Genoese. As the two bodies of men tried to move past each other they came under fire from the English archers and five early cannon (some sources debate their presence). Continuing the attack, the French knights were forced to negotiate the slope of the ridge and the man-made obstacles. Cut down in large numbers by the archers, the felled knights and their horses blocked the advance of those to the rear. During this time, Edward received a message from his son requesting aid. Upon learning that the younger Edward was healthy, the king refused stating â€Å"I am confident he will repel the enemy without my help, and Let the boy win his spurs. As evening approached the English line held, repelling sixteen French charges. Each time, the English archers brought down the attacking knights. With darkness falling, a wounded Philip, recognizing he had been defeated, ordered a retreat and fell back to the castle at La Boyes. Aftermath The Battle of Crà ©cy was one of the greatest English victories of the Hundred Years War and established the superiority of the longbow against mounted knights. In the fighting, Edward lost between 100-300 killed, while Philip suffered around 13,000-14,000 (some sources indicate it may have been as high as 30,000). Among the French losses were the heart of the nations nobility including the Duke of Lorraine, Count of Blois, and the Count of Flanders, as well as John, King of Bohemia and the King of Majorca. In addition eight other counts and three archbishops were slain. In the wake of the battle, the Black Prince paid tribute to the nearly blind King John of Bohemia, who had fought valiantly before being slain, by taking his shield and making it his own. Having earned his spurs, the Black Prince became one of his fathers best field commanders and won a stunning victory at Poitiers in 1356. Following the victory at Crà ©cy, Edward continued north and laid siege to Calais. The city fell the next year and became a key English base for the remainder of the conflict.

Initiation Story Araby by James Joyce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Initiation Story Araby by James Joyce - Essay Example idered to be a person who gains notoriety as a result of showing great courage or nobility of purpose in the accomplishment of a deed or a lifetime (â€Å"Aristotle†, 1998). However, when one speaks of the hero journey, one is almost always confronted with a young character who transforms from the illusions of a child into the realities of an adult. The three major stages of the initiation process can be traced through a number of stories including James Joyce’s short story â€Å"Araby.† The first stage of the initiation process is the understanding that some kind of action is required by the individual. â€Å"Some kind of shock occurs that makes one aware of the self† (Garbis, 2002). This shock initiates the maturation process typically around the early teen years. It is an essential element of the initiation process as it forces the individual to separate from the comfortable environment and discover personal feelings and attitudes in order to solve a problem. Joyce’s story begins on a small street, North Richmond Street, in a small area of town in which life seems relatively bland. Everything is described in shadowed tones as the narrator, a young boy, provides the details of his evening romps with his friends illustrating the ways in which he is a part of the crowd. However, the one illuminated figure in this early segment of the story is the figure of Mangan’s sister. In this image, the narrator becomes separated from the rest, suddenly sol itary as â€Å"every morning I lay on the floor in the front parlour watching her door. The blind was pulled down to within an inch of the sash so that I could not be seen† (Joyce). In describing his actions, the boy is undoubtedly alone and isolated as he encounters new feelings and impressions that are completely new to him. In volunteering to bring something back for her from Araby, the grand bazaar, the boy begins the journey stage of the initiation process. It is during this stage that the young person

Vincent Van Gogh and Andy Warhol Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Vincent Van Gogh and Andy Warhol - Essay Example The paper "Vincent Van Gogh and Andy Warhol" compares the artworks of the two artists, Vincent Van Gogh and Andy Warhol. Andy Warhol was charmed to popularity and became one of the significant figures to pop art in the United States, in which he uses manufactured materials as his source for creating exceptional artworks. Despite their individual approaches and influences to art, both have the passion in painting as the primary and fundamental medium in doing their artworks. However, Andy Warhol gained popularity in the art, advertisement, and entertainment industries because of his usage to different mediums in creating artworks, such as filmmaking, carving, sketching, cartooning, and photography. In contrast to Vincent van Gogh, he was more on the usage of different methods of painting in order to capture a fleeting result of hue, value, and intensity within his artwork. However, his approach was criticized by other artists because he neglected the importance of outlining the partic ulars and carried on directly to putting of colors in his paintings. In addition, Warhol and van Gogh have their similar way of presenting their artworks, but they differ on the techniques being used. For example, van Gogh’s famous painting is the â€Å"Starry Night,† which portrays stars illuminating the city at night. In this artwork, van Gogh painted the lines in a horizontally calm direction, but with a texture that seems to be crude in a manner to present a foreground and background structure for the viewers.

Thurgood Marshall Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Thurgood Marshall - Essay Example Moreover she is considered as a role model for Americans in general irrespective of the sex. Sandra Day O’ Conner is believed to be a great compromiser in her approaches and opinions expressed in court. In her opinion â€Å"Society as a whole benefits immeasurably from a climate in which all persons, regardless of race or gender, may have the opportunity to earn respect, responsibility, advancement and remuneration based on ability† (Sandra Day O’Connor). She was a great advocate of equality in human right issues while she was in her office at Supreme Court as a judge. Ability was the main criteria stressed by Sandra Day O’ Conner for discriminating people rather than the sex, race or culture. Sandra Day O’ Conner actually tried to give a new dimension to the American judicial system. In her opinion the court’s role is just to interpret the law, not to legislate it. (Sandra Day O’Connor) Legislation should be done by the government or the parliament and the role of a judge is to analyze the cases with respect to the existing laws rather than creating new laws. Sandra Day OConnor was successful in giving a new direction to the American constitutional laws with respect to affirmative action, voting rights, church†and†state issues, takings under the Fifth Amendment, states rights, abortion etc. (Answers.com) Since she was a female judge, her opinions about the abortion rights has been widely accepted in America. Sandra Day O’Connor was the first female Supreme Court judge in America who was successful in giving new dimensions to American judiciary. She was successful in segregating the role of the government and the rights of the individual in American social life. Since she was the first woman judge in Supreme Court her opinions and verdicts were watched eagerly by the American public. Apart from being a female judge, she has created a unique place for her in American