New Deal free essay sample

Despite many dissatisfied Americans, the national mood was mixed as the 1932 election approached. Many discouraged Americans had blamed themselves for their economic hardships. Other unemployed Americans felt the deeper frustrations of the nation’s economic hardships. Regardless of their circumstances, most Americans believed that something completely new had to be tried. The Republicans unenthusiastically renominated Hoover, while the Democrats turned to New York governor Franklin Roosevelt. The Democrats won the 1932 election and Franklin Roosevelt was elected as president (The Election of 1932). Roosevelt won with his personal charm and willingness to experiment. Elected in November, Roosevelt would not begin his presidency until March 1933. Meanwhile, Americans suffered through the worst winter of depression. Unemployment continued to climb, and in three major industrial cities in Ohio, it was staggering, from 50 percent to 80 percent (Henretta, James A. ). Even with the help from private charities and public relief agencies, the needy were hardly helped at all. We will write a custom essay sample on New Deal or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The nation’s banking system was so close to collapsing that many state governors closed banks temporarily to avoid further withdrawals. At this time, the nation had hit rock bottom. The ideas between Hoover and Roosevelt were not much different. Both wished to maintain the nation’s economy and to save capitalism. They also believed in a balanced government budget and praised the values of hard work, and sacrifice. Roosevelt’s willingness to experiment made him more popular and more effective than Hoover. His New Deal programs put people to work and restored hope for the nation’s future. Roosevelt’s New Deal shocked Americans because it was so different from anything presented by other presidents. His close relationship with the American people was critical to his political success. Roosevelt’s use of the radio, especially his â€Å"fireside chats,† made him a special presence by comforting millions of Americans (The Fireside Chats). In Roosevelt’s â€Å"Hundred Days,† Congress enacted fifteen bills that focused on four problems that focused on banking failures, agricultural overproduction, the business slump, and unemployment. The New Deal had an immense impact on American’s lives. Its principles of social welfare liberalism transformed Americans’ relationship with the government and provided assistance to the unemployed, the elderly, workers, and racial minorities. During the New Deal labor unions increased because of the Wagner Act, which upheld the right of industrial workers to join unions. These labor unions began to take political action, as well as beginning an alliance with the Democratic Party. The ultimate goal of the separation of public aid and social insurance was that social policy must either effectively incorporate social and cultural values that relate to the evaluation of individuals or use programs to create common social and political interests among large groups of dissimilar people. The separation of social insurance and public aid in the American model segregated the poor and marginal people in the work force from social programs. The separation also created a class that was dependent on programs that were less than generously funded and always seemed to be at the center of controversy. The losers in this American policy model were women, children, and people of color, because they all had a lower probability of having their needs well met by work-based social insurance (National Labor Relations Act (1935)). The banking system was the nation’s economic backbone, which soon failed, causing consumer spending and business investment to decrease. Widespread bank failures had cut into the savings of nearly nine million families. Bank failures also had account holders race to withdraw their funds. Roosevelt’s main focus was to tackle the nation’s economy and get banks back up and running. On March 5, 1933, Roosevelt closed all banks and four days later, Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act. This act permitted banks to reopen if a Treasury Department inspection showed that they had sufficient cash reserves. When Roosevelt reopened the banks, he reassured citizens of the safety of their money because deposits exceeded withdrawals. He also created the Glass Steagall Act, which created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. This act insured deposits up to $2,500 and prohibited banks from making risky investments. Roosevelt also allowed the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates by removing the U. S. Treasury from the gold standard (Powers, n. pag. ). After battling the weak banking system, Roosevelt and Congress then turned to agriculture and manufacturing. Farmers were always given cheap prices for land and low interest rates but the problem was overproduction. To solve this problem, Roosevelt created the Agricultural Adjustment Act. This act provided money to farmers who cut production of produce like cotton, rice, and tobacco. By supplying farmers’ money, they hoped farm prices would rise as production fell. The Agricultural Adjustment Act briefly stabilized the farm economy until the benefits became unevenly distributed. Roosevelt also created the National Industrial Recovery Act and the National Recovery Administration to help improve the declining industries production. The National Recovery Administration created self-governing associations in hundreds of industries. In order for industries to begin their own self-governing associations, they had to agree on prices and production quotas. The National Recovery Administration limited the power of large businesses so smaller businesses could gain consumer interests (National Recovery Administration). Both the Agricultural Adjustment Act and the National Recovery Administration were created to improve the U. S. ’s industries and stabilize the economy, and left many positive effects (Agricultural Adjustment Act). One of the most widespread problems Americans faced was unemployment. Private charities had done all they could and soon looked to Washington for help. Trying to help the people, Roosevelt asked Congress to provide relief for the millions of unemployed Americans. In response to the president, Congress established the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, which provided federal funds to state relief programs (Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)). The New Deal was a proven way that put people to work because in 1933 and a month after Congress established the Public Works Administration, over 2. 6 million men and women were put to work. The Public Works Administration was a construction program where Americans repaired bridges, built highways, and constructed public buildings. A more long-term program was the Civilian Conservation Corps, which consisted of 250,000 men to do conservation work. The Civilian Conservation Corps built bridges, roads, trails in many state and national parks (Public Works Administration). Throughout this period, women continued to play a prominent role in social welfare policy and program development. They had achieved suffrage in 1919 and had leadership roles in many organizations that promoted social services and social reform. However, the policies that developed from the depression emphasized the traditional role of women in social and economic life and tied the interests of women to maternity, childcare, and marriage. Groups such as African Americans, had a more visible role in the New Deal than in any previous government, but the New Deal coalition depended on southern Democrats and was constrained from supporting full equality. This was a time of legal segregation in the American South, and although organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People had some visibility, civil rights gains were hard to come by. The employment programs of the New Deal did try to reduce discrimination, and Roosevelt ultimately created a Fair Employment Practices Commission in 1941. However, programs like the New Deals Agricultural Adjustment Act displaced thousands of minority farmworkers while compensating farm owners, and programs like Aid to Dependent Children would come to be seen as both prohibiting the economic participation of women and contributing to family problems (Batlan, n. pag. ). The civil rights movement had been a continuous element in American life, but it took on a new character after World War II. Beginning with the Montgomery bus boycott and the response to the murder of Emmett Till, it led to widespread protests and often-violent responses by southern authorities and segregationist individuals and groups. Martin Luther King, a young Baptist minister, became a national figure when the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee brought thousands of college students to work for voter registration in the South. The Kennedy administration was pressed to support a variety of measures that were introduced into Congress, and the administration proposed its own civil rights bill. In June 1963, President Kennedy gave a passionate television speech on behalf of the bill and the civil rights of African Americans. The speech was seen as courageous and a position that came to symbolize the Kennedy presidency for many Americans. That Civil Rights bill passed Congress in 1964 and became one of the hallmarks of American social policy (Lovey). The Supreme Court joined the civil rights forces in the 1950s, while adding to the historical pressure for sweeping legislation. After World War II, the federal courts began to protect the civil rights of minorities in specific circumstances, gradually making it possible for African Americans to participate in some activities on an equal basis with whites. The Supreme Court took its most memorable step in this direction when it agreed in 1954 to hear a case dealing with racial segregation in public schools. The practice of separating African American and white children in public schools had always been unpopular among civil rights leaders. These civil rights leaders saw proper education as a means for African Americans to escape racial discrimination. They argued that the segregation in schools doomed African Americans to inferior education and deprived whites and African Americans of an important educational experience. In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the Supreme Court struck down the legal support for maintaining â€Å"separate but equal† educational facilities (Public Broadcasting Service). Although political pressures prevented President John F. Kennedy’s administration from proposing legislation to Congress in 1961 and 1962, the President took steps to ensure minority rights in voting, employment, housing, transportation, and education. The stage was set for a new legislative initiative to deal with the problem of federal protection of civil rights. Until the New Deal, blacks had shown their loyalty to the party of Abraham Lincoln by voting Republican. By the end of Roosevelts first administration, however, one of the most dramatic voter shifts in American history had occurred. In 1936, 75 percent of black voters supported the Democrats. Blacks turned to Roosevelt, mostly because his spending programs gave them a measure of relief from the Depression and the Republican Party had done little to repay their earlier support. Following the 1955 unification of the American Federation of Labor with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, the AFL-CIO became an ally of civil rights organizations. Martin Luther King spoke of the shared goals of the civil rights and labor movements, noting in his 1961 address to the fourth AFL-CIO national convention that both African Americans and union members were fighting for decent wages, fair working conditions, livable housing, old age security, health and welfare measures, conditions in which families can grow, have education for their children, and respect in the community. New Deal free essay sample ProgressAdministrationAt the darkest hour of the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt entered the White House in 1932, promising a new deal for the American people. The package of legislative reforms that came to be known as the New Deal permanently and dramatically transformed the politics and economy of the United States. In the field of relief, the New Deal proved to be highly successful. However, in terms of reform, the New Deal legacy may have been unmatched in American history. Although the new deal temporarily ramped up industry to meet the demand for war goods, thus displaying its temporary effectiveness, droves of workers were kept out of jobs and the government expanded its role in our economy and changed the federal government for the rest of American time. Through the numerous relief programs, the temporary effectiveness of the New Deal can clearly be seen. The opinions of many politicians from The Evening Star are seen in Document C. We will write a custom essay sample on New Deal or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It was written in the middle of the New Deal Era in 1934 and seems to be in complete support of the actions of the New Deal. In it the viewer is able to see the government and its policies evolving. Rather than a revolution, a forcible overthrow of a government for a new system, it is evolution, the gradual development of something. The picture depicts a scholarly man transforming into a growing, functional tree. Essentially the political cartoon is displaying that an economy can grow without artificial regulation necessarily, as a natural progress, and just like a tree, can potentially live forever. With an adequate amount of care a tree can function and grow even more so. This idea corresponds directly with the New Deal for it, through government care, is only a part of the economy evolving, a natural process. With this document the potential effectiveness of the New Deal can be seen. In document E, the Social Security Act is promoted in an advertisement towards the end of the New Deal Era. The Act responded to the pitfalls of old age, poverty, unemployment, dependent widows, and fatherless children by providing benefits to retirees and the unemployed, as well as a lump-sum at death. President Roosevelt became the first president to advocate federal assistance for the elderly. It combated the widespread poverty among senior citizens. The government program provided income to retired wage earners. The Act benefited numerous people, and to this day is still one of the most popular government programs. Through the advertisement the public is given a friendly invitation into the application of social security therefore displaying the openness and the potentially benefit for the community. Thus, the effectiveness of the New Deal is clear. Document G is directly from the NBC radio broadcast in December of 1936, the last year of the new deal. The broadcast holds opinions regarding the unions during the New Deal Era. It states that employers have failed to enforce the use of unions and labor unrest had been created. In contrast, many believed Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration to be beneficial for organized labor. FDR needed the support of labor, and labor needed the support of the national government. He urged the passage of the National Labor Relations Act which increased the rights of unions and created the National Labor Relations Board. The Taft-Hartley Labor Act was amended to enlarge the powers of the NLRB and allowed the government to intervene in strikes affecting the nations safety or health. The NRA set minimum wages and maximum hours. It eliminated child labor and established the right of workers to organize. This, as opposed to Document G, allowed for collective bargaining. Despite the unconstitutionality of the NRA, in 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed which set minimum wages and a maximum work week of 40 hours. Although the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed after the New Deal Era, the effectiveness and legacy of the New Deal can be seen in the follow up with labor laws and wages. The ideals of the New Deal Era prove its effectiveness that can still be seen today. Furthermore, the relief programs greatly expanded the federal government, which, such as the effectiveness of the New Deal, can still be seen today. The unnecessary and unjust regulation of interstate commerce can be seen in Document F. In it the reader can see the opinion of Charles Evans Hughes, a lawyer and Republican politician. Potential bias can be seen in the document for the New Deal made the Democratic Party the majority party during the Era; partly because the New Deal programs of FDR created a liberal political alliance made up of labor unions, blacks and other ethnic and religious minorities, intellectuals, the poor, and some farmers. These groups became the backbone of the Democratic Party for decades following the Depression. Hughes notes one of the changes in behavior of the federal government. This period, more than any other, defined the federal government as an active and extensive participant in regulating the nations private economy. Politicians can note the federal government’s new attempt to regulate businesses to a larger extent. The new regulation of interstate commerce reveals the government as much more controlling than in past years and begins to expand the powers of the federal government. The change in the federal government can clearly be seen through Document F. As opposed to Document F, Document H from The New Republic in May of 1940 pinpoints the successes of the New Deal. The document reviews the New Deal and has a potential bias towards the positive aspects of it, essentially implying that there were no flaws. It states the new strength and renovation of government. The New Deal instituted a number of reforms in almost every area of the economy: finance, agriculture, labor, industry, and consumer protection; each of which are government programs. Although, contrasting this document, conservatives argue that the New Deal brought too much government intervention in the economy, as seen in Document F. However the New Deal did carry a great accomplishment, it maintained and even restored the faith of the American people in their government. The new deal expanded government’s role in our economy, by giving it the power to regulate previously unregulated areas of commerce. Those primarily are being banking, agriculture and housing. The author of such editorial clearly approved of the expansion of government for they point out the new strength in the executive branch and the courts, both of which had changed due to the federal government. However in Document D, the economic reality of the government programs can be seen. It was written two years before the termination of the New Deal Era and states the large addition to the national debt due to the government programs. The New Deal changed the way businesses operated to help make sure people were paid more fairly. All the New Deal programs were paid for, and run by, the government; and thus, the government’s debt grew a great deal. The U. S. debt was 22 billion dollars in 1933 and grew by 50 percent in the three years that followed, reaching 33 billion dollars. For example the Federal Emergency Relief Administration gave five million dollars to states, cities, and towns, in efforts to repair the once â€Å"broken† places. Furthermore the Works Progress Administration put people into work in their own communities. However this was the New Deal’s most expensive program at 11 billion dollars. Although the New Deal programs did give hope to the American people, because of the over expansion of federal government as well as the large addition to the national debt, the New Deal’s effectiveness economically declines. The New Deal’s apparent natural course, social security, and enforcement of unions clearly display its effectiveness for the American people. However, speaking economically, the New Deal brought the nation even further into national debt and greatly expanded their powers into unnecessary aspects, such as interstate commerce. For the sake of the American people and uplifting their spirits from the downturn during the Great Depression, the New Deal was extremely effective. However, because of large change in federal government and deeper entry into national debt, the New Deal loses some of such effectiveness. Because of reasons presented, it is that the New Deal was effect and greatly changed the federal government. New deal free essay sample Predictably, Roosevelt’s New Deal came under attack from the right, from Republicans, conservative Democrats, bankers, and Wall Street financiers who claimed that it doled out too many federal handouts. Many of these critics also feared that the policy and programs involved were a dangerous step toward socialism and the destruction of the American capitalist system. Such misgivings were understandable given the political atmosphere in the 1930s, as communism was becoming a more imminent threat. In fact, Soviet agents in the United States went so far as to launch a â€Å"popular front† campaign to actively support the president. Moreover, an unprecedented number of people joined the American Communist Party during the decade. Perhaps more surprising, the New Deal also came under attack from the far left. Many socialist activists denounced the New Deal because they believed that it was too conservative and that it did not provide enough relief and assistance. We will write a custom essay sample on New deal or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Over the years, many historians have tended to agree with this argument. Several have argued that the Great Depression would not have been so devastating for so long had Roosevelt handed more federal money out to a greater number of Americans. Coughlin and Long One of the most vocal of Roosevelt’s critics was Father Charles Coughlin. A Catholic priest from Michigan, Coughlin began broadcasting a weekly radio show in 1930 that outwardly criticized the New Deal. Within a few short years, Coughlin had amassed a following of 40 million listeners who agreed with his anti–New Deal opinions. He blamed the Great Depression on Wall Street, crooked financiers, and Jews and campaigned for the nationalization of the entire American banking system. Senator Huey P. Long of Louisiana was another major thorn in Roosevelt’s side, albeit from the left rather than the right. Long was among those who believed that the New Deal was not doing enough to help Americans. Believing that income inequality had caused the depression, he promoted his own â€Å"Share the Wealth† program (sometimes referred to as theâ€Å"Every Man a King† program), which would levy enormous taxes on the rich so that every American family could earn at least $5,000 a year. Long enjoyed enormous popularity during the first few years of Roosevelt’s first term but was assassinated in 1935. The Works Progress Administration The first major legislation that Roosevelt and Congress passed in the Second New Deal—in response to the critics—was the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Created in 1935, the WPA was an effort to appease the â€Å"Longites† who clamored for more direct assistance from the federal government. The WPA was similar to the Public Works Administration of the First New Deal, this time hiring nearly 10 million Americans to construct new public buildings, roads, and bridges. Congress dumped over $10billion into the projects in just under a decade. The Social Security Act Congress also passed the Social Security Act in 1935, creating a federal retiree pension system for many workers, funded by a double tax on every working American’s paycheck. The act also created an unemployment insurance plan to provide temporary assistance to those who were out of work, while also making funds available to the blind and physically disabled. Furthermore, Congress agreed to match federal dollars for every state dollar allocated to workers’ compensation funds. Despite its vocal critics, the Social Security Act had an enormous impact on Great Depression–era Americans and future generations. It brought the most sweeping change of the Second New Deal legislation as it not only gave income to some of the most destitute in society but also forever changed the way Americans thought about work and retirement. The paycheck taxes were advertised as a personal retirement savings plan even though those tax dollars were actually being redistributed as soon as they were collected. Nevertheless, retirement came to be seen as something every worker could enjoy. Still, many criticized the Social Security system for not extending pensions to enough people, particularly unskilled black and women laborers. Legislation for Farmers and Homeowners The Second New Deal provided even more assistance to farmers. After the Supreme Court declared the Agricultural Adjustment Administration unconstitutional in 1936, Democrats immediately responded with the passage of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act that same year. This act continued to subsidize farmers to curb overproduction and also paid them either to plant soil-enriching crops (instead of wheat) or to not grow any crops at all. In 1938, Congress also created a Second Agricultural Adjustment Administration to reduce crop acreage. Meanwhile, the United States Housing Authority (USHA), created by Congress in 1937, gave assistance to American urbanites, building new houses for over half a million Americans. The Indian Reorganization Act Native Americans also received federal assistance during Roosevelt’s second term. In 1934, Congress passed the Indian Reorganization Act(IRA) to promote tribal organization and give federal recognition to tribal governments. The IRA also reversed the 1887 Dawes Severalty Act, changing the relationship between various tribes and the federal government. The Dawes Act had weakened tribal affiliations because it stated that only individual Native Americans—not tribal councils—could own land. Despite Roosevelt’s efforts to alleviate Native American suffering, however, the IRA was only partially successful. Some tribes had difficulty understanding the terms of the new treaty, while others, such as the Navajo in the Southwest, flat-out rejected it. Many tribes saw more immediate benefit from relief programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, Public Works Administration, and Works Progress Administration, in which nearly 100,000 young Native American men participated. Labor Reforms These labor reforms had a lasting effect on America. The Wagner Act paved the way for more effective collective bargaining and striking, and within a year, fledgling labor unions had I-line workers in the General Motors automobile factory, for example, used the Wagner Act to initiate a series of sit-down strikes, in which workers would sit at their stations and refuse to leave, preventing the company from hiring new, non-union â€Å"scab† workers to fill in for the strikers. By 1937, General Motors had recognized its workers’ right to organize. The Election of 1936 With the 1936 presidential election on the horizon, Republicans stood virtually no chance against Roosevelt and his party. Democrats’ efforts to provide relief, recovery, and reform were highly visible. Roosevelt had especially strong support among blacks (voting as Democrats in large numbers for the first time), unskilled laborers, and residents of the West and South. The Republican nominee was Kansas governor Alfred M. Landon, a moderate who campaigned on an anti–New Deal platform. Not surprisingly, Roosevelt won a landslide victory, with 523 electoral votes to Landon’s 8. Roosevelt’s resounding victory proved that Americans widely supported the New Deal. he First Hundred Days Americans voted for Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1932 on the assumption that the Democrats would dole out more federal assistance than Hoover and the Republicans had. Indeed, immediately after taking the oath of office, FDR set out to provide relief, recovery, and reform in his bundle of programs known as the New Deal. Roosevelt drew much of his inspiration for the New Deal from the writings of British economist John Maynard Keynes, who believed that a government’s deficit spending could prime the economic pump and jump-start the economy. With the support of a panicked Democratic Congress, Roosevelt created most of the â€Å"alphabet agencies† of the First New Dealwithin his landmark First Hundred Days in office. The Banking Acts On March 6, 1933, two days after becoming president, Roosevelt declared a five-day national bank holiday to close banks temporarily. During Hoover’s presidency, roughly 1,500 banks had closed each year, and FDR hoped that a short break would give the surviving banks time to reopen on more solid footing. Several days later, Congress passed the Emergency Banking Relief Act, which gave Roosevelt the power to regulate banking transactions and foreign exchange. Several months later, Congress passed the Glass-Steagall Banking Reform Act to protect savings deposits. The act, in turn, created theFederal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insured an individual’s savings of up to $5,000 (today, it insures deposits of up to $100,000). The act also regulated lending policies and forbade banks from investing in the stock market. After the banking crisis was resolved, Roosevelt aired the first of his â€Å"fireside chats† to over 50 million radio listeners, encouraging Americans to redeposit their money in the newly opened banks. The Civilian Conservation Corps In March 1933, Congress created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which hired unemployed young men to work on environmental conservation projects throughout the country. For a wage of thirty dollars a month, men worked on flood control and reforestation projects, helped improve national parks, and built many public roads. Approximately 3million men worked in CCC camps during the program’s nine-year existence. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration The â€Å"Hundred Days Congress† also created the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), in May 1933, to dole out roughly $500 million to the states. About half of this money was earmarked to bail out bankrupt state and local governments. States matched the other half (three state dollars for every one federal dollar) and distributed it directly to the people. FERA also created the Civil Works Administration (CWA), which helped generate temporary labor for those most in need. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration Roosevelt also encouraged the creation of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) to assist America’s farmers. The AAA temporarily reset prices for farm commodities, including corn, wheat, rice, milk, cotton, and livestock, and then began subsidizing farmers to reduce production. Before the depression, many debt-ridden farmers had increased crop production in order to earn more money. Ironically, this increased production had led to overproduction, which flooded the market and drove prices down, forcing farmers to plant even more the next year in a never-ending cycle. The AAA, however, began paying farmers extra to plant less or destroy their surplus crops in order to raise prices again. Congress also passed the Farm Credit Act to provide loans to farmers in danger of bankruptcy. The AAA was quite controversial, as many critics wondered why landowners rather than sharecroppers and tenant farmers were receiving federal aid. Indeed, some landowners who received aid unjustly used it to purchase farm equipment, which had the potential to eliminate farm owners’ need for sharecroppers and tenant farmers entirely. Furthermore, many poorer and hungrier Americans were outraged that the government was paying farmers money to destroy perfectly edible crops in order to inflate prices. Despite these criticisms,  however, the AAA did manage to raise prices to their pre–World War I highs. The Tennessee Valley Authority Congress also created the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), whose goal was to modernize and reduce unemployment in the Tennessee River valley, one of the poorest and hardest-hit regions in the country. The agency hired local workers to construct a ser ies of dams and hydroelectric power plants, which brought cheap electricity to thousands of people. The public corporation also created affordable employee housing, manufactured cheap fertilizer, and drained thousands of acres for farming. The TVA, like the AAA, was highly controversial. Many conservatives claimed that government production of electricity was a mild form of socialism and that it disrupted market prices too much. Competing electric companies also attacked the TVA for selling cheaper electricity and lowering their profits. Still, the TVA had such a profound impact on the economy and quality of life in the Tennessee River valley region that the federal government initiated similar projects throughout the West and South. Within a decade, many major U. S.  rivers were set up to produce hydroelectric power that provided both electricity and jobs. The National Industrial Recovery Act The 1933 National Industrial Recovery Act was the federal government’s first attempt to revive the economy as a whole. The bill created the National Recovery Administration (NRA) to stimulate industrial production and improve competition by drafting corporate codes of conduct. The NRA also sought to limit production of c onsumer goods to drive up prices. Furthermore, the act helped set up the Public Works Administration(PWA) to construct public roads, bridges, and buildings. In accordance with Keynesian economic theories, Roosevelt believed that improving the public infrastructure would put more money into the economy. Restructuring American Finance Finally, Roosevelt also lobbied Congress to establish new regulations on the financial sector of the economy. After taking office, he took the country off the gold standard, which allowed citizens and foreign countries to exchange paper money for gold. To prevent people from hoarding the precious metal, the president also ordered all private gold stocks to be turned over to the U. S. Treasury in exchange for paper dollars. Congress also created the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate trading on Wall Street and curb the out-of-control speculation that had led to the Crash of 1929. The Three Rs and Their Legacy Although the New Deal sometimes comes across as a cohesive package, much of the individual legislation passed during the First Hundred Days was conceived on the fly. So many special interest groups, such as big business and organized labor, were hounding the government for change that Roosevelt and Congress often felt they were being pulled in opposite directions. Nevertheless, the New Deal policies did much to get Americans back on their feet. They not only provided relief, recovery, and reform but also drastically changed the federal government’s role in politics and society. Roosevelt’s successful application of Keynes’s economic theories transformed the Democrats into social welfare advocates. Even decades after the Great Depression, Democratic politicians would continue fighting for more government intervention in the economy, redistribution of wealth, and aid for the neediest. Relief Much of the legislation that the Hundred Days Congress drafted doled out immediate relief for the American people that President Hoover and the Republicans had failed to provide. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration’s relief assistance, for example, provided millions of Americans with enough money to make ends meet. The Civil Works Administration put the unemployed to work, and the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the National Recovery Administration, and the Public Works Administration kept millions of others alive as well. Americans were so relieved by the federal government’s quick action that many became die-hard Democrats and Roosevelt fans. The president’s optimism and can-do attitude, combined with the success of his immediate relief programs, made him almost politically untouchable during his first term. Recovery Many of the same programs designed to provide immediate relief were also geared toward long-term economic recovery. The Civilian Conservation Corps  and the Public Works Administration put millions of men to work not only to keep them employed but also to improve the national infrastructure. When the United States finally emerged from the Great Depression during World War II, it had hundreds of new roads and public buildings, widespread electrical power, and replenished resources for industry. Reform The third goal of the New Deal policies was to reform the banking and financial sector of the economy to curb bad lending practices, poor trading techniques, and corruption. The president’s decision to take the country off the gold standard proved to be a smart move because it boosted people’s confidence in the U. S. dollar. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, created under the Glass-Steagall Act, eliminated untrustworthy banks that had plagued the country for more than a century. Once Americans became confident that their funds would be safe, the number of bank deposits surged. Likewise, the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1934, which weeded out bad investment habits, gave Americans more confidence in the stock market. The Good Neighbor Policy Although foreign policy often got lost in the shuffle amid the domestic economic concerns of the New Deal, Roosevelt did create a major international initiative with Latin America in the Good Neighbor Policy of1933 and 1934. As part of the initiative, Roosevelt embarked on a tour of the region; signed new, friendlier treaties with several Latin American countries; pledged to avoid military intervention in Latin America; and shunned the (Theodore) Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine by withdrawing troops from several countries.

Beck Depression Inventory Vs Hamilton Depression Scale Essays

Beck Depression Inventory Vs Hamilton Depression Scale Essays Beck Depression Inventory Vs Hamilton Depression Scale Essay Beck Depression Inventory Vs Hamilton Depression Scale Essay published in 1996 was authored by Aaron Beck, Robert A. Steer, and Gregory K. Brown. Similar to its predecessor, it consists of 21multiple pick inquiries that assist in finding the badness of depression. Each point consists of four statements arranged in order to determine the badness of a certain symptom of depression. BDI-II conforms to the DSM-IV standards for depression. Clients who are presented with the BDI-II are asked to reply each inquiry based upon the manner they have felt for the past two hebdomads in order to accurately conform to the DSM-IV standards. The BDI-II is intended for striplings and grownups and should non be administered to those under the age of 13. Scoring The BDI-II consists of 20 one inquiries, all of which correspond to a peculiar symptom of depression. Each point consists of a four point graduated table runing from 0-3. Items 16 and 18 consist of seven points which are used to bespeak an addition or lessening in both sleep forms and appetency. A entire mark of 0-13 is considered minimum scope, 14- 19 is considered mild, 20-28 is considered moderate, while 20-63 is considered to be terrible ( Beck, Steer and Brown, 1961 ) . The BDI-II may be scored by manus or by utilizing a package plan such as Q Local, where the tonss may be recorded and monitored by the clinician. The trial may be administered often, as it is intended to supervise symptoms that have occurred within a two hebdomad scope. Dependability Beck s Depression Inventory II has been used for many old ages with great success. Its dependability is still questioned by some. Sprinkle, Lurie, Insko, Atkinson, Jones, Logan and Bassada ( 2002 ) province that Although the BDI-II manual ( Beck, Steer, A ; Brown, 1996 ) and assorted other studies ( e.g. , Dozois et al. , 1998, and Steer, Kumar, Ranieri, A ; Beck, 1998 ) have offered significant grounds for the instrument s applaudable split-half internal consistence ( with reported coefficient alphas of.91 and somewhat higher ) , there are merely two published studies to day of the month on the instrument s test- retest dependability ( par.6 ) . Sprinkle et al. , ( 2002 ) further study Beck, Steer, and Brown ( 1996 ) reported on 26 outpatients ( no diagnostic information is offered ) who were administered the BDI-II at the times of their first and 2nd therapy Sessionss ( about one hebdomad apart ) , bring forthing a test-retest correlativity of.93 ( par 6 ) . Cogency Cogency of the BDI-II appears to be favourable. A survey conducted by Storch, Roberti and Roth ( 2002 ) examined the psychometric belongingss of the BDI-II. 414 pupils from two separate universities participated in the survey. Their consequences supported BDI-II two-factor construction mensurating cognitive-affective and bodily depressive symptoms ( par.1 ) . They concluded that the cogency of the BDI-II was supported by favourable consequences with self-report steps of depression and anxiousness ( par.1 ) . The consequences of this survey double past research of a college sample which supported the dependability and cogency of the BDI-II. Arnau, Meager, Norris, and Bramson ( 2001 ) besides conducted a psychometric rating of the BDI-II utilizing primary attention patients. The survey consisted of 340 primary attention patients ( 7 of which were eliminated due to incomplete responses ) . 68.8 % of the participants were female and the age group tested ranged from ages 18-54 ( M = 36.5, SD = 10.1, Arnau et al. , 2001 ) . The mean mark from the participants was 8.4 ( SD = 9.7 ) . They reported that tonss of 14 or higher, proposing at least a mild degree of depression ( Beck et al. , 1996 as cited in Arnau et al. , 2001 ) were observed in 23.2 % of the sample ( p.3 ) . Arnau et al. , ( 2001 ) besides found an alpha coefficient of.94, which they considered to be first-class internal consistence. They concluded that the BDI-II yielded strong grounds for the factorial cogency of the BDI-II in a primary attention puting ( p.6 ) . They found that the BDI-II could easy be implemented into the primary attention puting without interrupting patient flow. BDI-II Reappraisals Arbisi and Farmer, referees of BDI-II indicate that the BDI-II is easy to administrate and requires about five to ten proceedingss to finish. Arbisi provinces concern nevertheless, that there are no cogency indexs contained on the BDI or the BDI-II and the easiness of disposal of a self-report lends itself to the deliberate tailoring of self-report and deformation of the consequences ( Beck, Steeler A ; Brown, 1961 par. 5 ) . Arbisi and Farmer concur that the manual BDI-II was good written and provides a battalion of supportive information sing norms, factor construction, and notably, nonparametric item-option characteristic curves for each point ( Beck, Steer A ; Brown, 1961 par. 4 ) . They contend that the BDI-II has improved upon the original by updating the points to reflect modern-day diagnostic standards for depression and utilizing state-of-the-art psychometric techniques to better the discriminatory belongingss of the instrument ( Beck, Steer A ; Brown, 1961 par. 10 ) . Although the referees have noted their concern sing the deficiency of room for diverseness, Arbisi and Farmer appear to O.K. of its usage as a depression appraisal tool. Hamilton Depression Scale The Hamilton Depression Scale ( abbreviated as HDS, HAMD or HAD ) is used to mensurate the badness of symptoms of depression. For many old ages it was considered to be the gilded criterion . It was developed by Max Hamilton in the late fiftiess and was used to measure the public presentation of the first antidepressants. It was released in 1960. Upon its release, Hamilton acknowledged that it had room for betterment ( p. 56 ) . He revised the HDS in 1967. The HDS consists of 21 multiple pick inquiries. The first 17 inquiries determine the badness of the depression symptoms, while the extra four inquiries address the countries of paranoia and compulsion and their relation to depression.The HDS can be administered to both kids and grownups. It is considered to be easy to read and construe ; it is recommended that the HDS be administered merely by a accredited professional. Scoring The HDS was intended to be administered by an experient clinician by carry oning a clinical interview.A Scoring and administering the graduated table may be considered cumbrous as Hamilton did non supply structured guidelines for this intent. No standardised investigation inquiries were provided to arouse information from patients and no behaviorally specific guidelines were developed for finding each point s evaluation ( Health Care Technology Systems, 2010 ) . Seventeen points are rated on a 5-point ( 0-4 ) or a 3-point ( 0-2 ) graduated table. Overall tonss of 0-6 are considered normal. Tonss from 7-17 are declarative of mild depression. Tonss from 18-24 represent moderate depression. Tonss that are greater than 24 are representative of terrible depression. Dependability Bagby, Ryder, Schuller, and Marshall ( 2004 ) province that Clinician-rated instruments should show three types of dependability: 1 ) internal dependability, 2 ) retest dependability, and 3 ) interrater dependability ( par.4 ) . They contend that the internal dependability of the HDS estimations ranged from 0.46 to 0.97, and 10 surveies reported estimations 0.70 ( par.5 ) . They further contend that the bulk of points contained in the HDS indicate sufficient dependability.Per their testing, the undermentioned points were met in each sample: ( Guilt, in-between insomnia, psychic anxiousness, bodily anxiousness, GI, general somatic ) and an extra five points met the standards in all but one sample ( down temper, self-destruction, early insomnia, late insomnia, work and involvements, hypochondriasis ) ( par.6 ) . A possible job was suggested with loss of penetration, as it had the greatest figure of variables. Interrater dependability was considered to be hapless. Cicchetti and Pr usoff ( 1983, as cited in Reynolds and Kobak, 1995 ) province in a survey of interrater dependability of a 22-item version of the HDRS found low degrees of dependability for single points, with 14 of the 22 points showing intraclass correlativity coefficients of less than.40 ( par. 4 ) . Retest Dependability Tonss for the retest dependability of the HDS ranged from 0.81 to 0.98. Williams ( 1998 at cited in Bagby et al. , 2004 ) argued in favour of utilizing structured interview ushers to hike point and entire graduated table dependability and developed the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale ( par.8 ) . Making so increased the retest dependability to 0.54 in malice of the fact that merely four points met the necessary standards for dependability ; i.e. : depressed temper, early insomnia, psychic anxiousness, and loss of libido ( par.8 ) . Cogency The Hamilton Depression Scale is comprised of 1 ) Content, 2 ) Convergent, 3 ) Discriminant, 4 Factorial, and 5 ) Predicative Validity. Content cogency is determined by analyzing scale points to find correspondence with known characteristics of a syndrome ( Bagby et al. , 2004 par. 9 ) . Convergent cogency is sufficient when a graduated table indicates Pearson s R values of a lower limit of 0.50 in concurrence with steps of the same syndrome. Discriminant cogency is determined by bespeaking that groups that differ in diagnostic position may be separated through the usage of the graduated table. Predictive cogency of symptom badness steps such as the Hamilton depression graduated table is determined by a statistically important ( p lt ; 0.05 ) capacity to foretell alteration with intervention Bagby et al. , 2004 par. 9 ) . Factorial cogency may be established by utilizing factor analysis or principal-component analysis to bespeak that a positive illustration can be found in sever al samples. HDS Reviews Bernard Carroll wrote a missive to the editor of the American Journal of Psychiatry in December, 2005 entitled: Why the Hamilton Depression Scale Endures. He offers three grounds why the HDS remains the gilded criterion. First of wholly, he contends that Hamilton s HDS focused on patient s load of unwellness ( par.1 ) . He suggests that this is the ground why the HDS contains illustrations of anxiousness that are present in depressive episodes, but are non portion of the diagnosing for depression. He farther contends that Hamilton intended the usage of this graduated table for client s that are good known by the clinician. In this visible radiation, the HDS displays a scope from mild to extreme unwellness ( par. 1 ) . Second, Carroll contends that the demand for a revised graduated table based upon modern standards of major depression is non realistic. Carroll believes that Current definitions of major depression, instantiated in DSM-IV, for case, are intentionally atheoretical nominalist conventions that lack consolidative concepts, prognostic cogency, and explanatory power ( par.2 ) . He believes that this is the ground why those who are diagnosed with DSM-IV standards for major depression are so contrastive. He adds: In the hereafter, we might add biomarkers or endophenotypes to clinical symptoms in measuring depression, but that twenty-four hours is non here ( par.2 ) . Third, Carroll does non believe that the HDS has been outmatched in public presentation. He does non believe that the HDS is insensitive to alterations in the badness of depression symptoms. When compared to the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, he believes that the Hamilton Depression Scale is superior in its sensitiveness to alter and in observing early alteration with intervention while holding the advantage of far more comprehensive symptom coverage ( par.3 ) . Carroll concludes his missive by saying The endurance of the Hamilton depression graduated table is singular, sing how many unauthorised, nonvalidated, mutant versions now circulate ( Hamilton s original 17 points have expanded to 28 at my last count ) . This is non progress, nevertheless, because the text versions and procedural usage in many modern-day intervention tests are corrupted ( par 4 ) . Paul C Burnett, a referee of the HDS contends that the manual is extended and comprehensive ( par.2 ) . The instructions for administrating the trial are clear and contain illustrations of the marking procedure. All of the symptoms contained in the trial are described and supply illustrations to be used in the interviewing procedure. He believes that the symptoms contained in the trial conform to the standards listed in the DSM-IV. The manual, which contains a sample of 202 down patients, is comprised of 76 % inmates, 24 % outpatients, and 69 % female ( par.3 ) . The manual contends that the demographics are just, despite the fact that no information is provided to back up this. He contends that the manual did non include informations to back up the process that was utilized to choose this demographic. Burnett states that Internal consistence estimations were found to be.79 and.81 for the clinical and self-report signifiers severally, bespeaking moderate dependability ( par. 4 ) . Other surveies suggest that the internal consistence scope from.45 to.95, which is stated in the manual as consistent with the consequences from the confirmation sample ( par.4 ) . Burnett does non see a scope of.45 to.81 as acceptable internal consistence. Burnett concludes that the HDS consists of a well written and concise manual, which clearly describes the disposal and hiting procedure. He finds that the two graduated tables have moderate internal consistence, sound coincident cogency, and comparatively consistent and stable factor constructions ( par. 7 ) . His lone ailment is that the confirmation sample is minimum and does non sufficiently describe the mode in which it was selected. The Stronger Assessment Tool Both Aaron Beck and Max Hamilton have created an assessment tool to find the badness of the symptoms of depression. While Hamilton s Depression Scale was considered to be the gilded criterion, and may be administered to both kids and grownups, one would hold to reason that Beck s Depression Inventory-II is the stronger of the two appraisals. It appears that the BDI-II can be administered with easiness and does non necessitate an interviewing procedure. The BDI-II has been revised to supervise the badness of symptoms of depression for the last two hebdomads, while Hamilton s HDS does non province such rigorous guidelines. It besides appears as though the BDI-II contains a stronger internal consistence with an alpha coefficient of.95 as opposed to the HDS internal coefficiency of.79 and.81. Another ground for this decision was the original purpose of usage of the graduated tables. Hamilton s HDS was developed to measure the public presentation of the first coevals of antidepressants, while Beck s Depression Inventory was developed to find the nature of the badness of symptoms of depression without the usage of medicine. Beck s BDI-II appears to hold surpassed the HDS as referees have considered this assessment tool as utilizing state-of-the-art psychometric techniques to better the discriminatory belongingss of the instrument ( Beck, Steer A ; Brown, 1961 par. 10 ) . It appears as though Beck s BDI-II is the preferable pick among today s clinicians.

Future of Brazilian Economy campared to a developed country i.e. USA Essay

Future of Brazilian Economy campared to a developed country i.e. USA and Developing country i.e. India - Essay Example Brazil serves as one of the most distinguishing countries of the South American continent. Its distinctive characteristics are due to its splendid geo-strategic location, profusion of natural resources, vast area, cultivation of multiple crops in different seasons, large population and tremendous industrial and agricultural productions. â€Å"Composites industry in Brazil is the largest in Latin America and presently is witnessing good growth after some years of slowdown thanks to the recovery of the automotive industry and increased urbanization. Brazil traditionally has a strong manufacturing base and higher per capita income.† (Lucintel, 2008) The country has made slow but steady and stable progress in all fields of life during the last few years only. The authorities have established a comprehensive export promotion system in order to keep equilibrium between exports and imports, where imports never exceed than the export volume of the country to a dangerous extent.  "The value of Brazil’s exports to the US fell by 34.1% to $20.1 billion in 2009. Brazil imported $26.2 billion worth of merchandise from the US in 2009, down 19% from $32.3 billion in 2008. Brazil’s trade deficit with the US tripled to $6.1 billion in 2009, from $1.8 billion in 2008.† (economywatch.com/) Consequently, her fast pace growth proves Brazilian economy as one of the fastest growing economies of the world at large in this age of perfect competition under free trade economic system. However, being the most populated country of the continent, Brazil had to make hard efforts in respect of winning the present economic position in the international arena. The political authorities of the country had to combat with several socioeconomic challenges including low per capita income, unequal distribution of wealth and resources, high crime rate, ethno-racial conflicts, always expanding unemployment rate, awkward clutches of poverty, political instability, and ina dequate allocation of human and natural resources etc. Somehow, the sincere and dedicated efforts, made by the Brazilian leadership and the masses jointly, have turned out to be fruitful in earning respectable status for the national economy. â€Å"Blessed with the abundant natural resources, Brazil has become the most powerful country in South America in economic terms and thus is leading the other countries of South America. With large and growing agricultural, mining, manufacturing and service sectors, Brazil economy ranks highest among all the South American countries and it has also acquired a strong position in global economy.† (mapoftheworld.com) Currently, Brazil’s economy is at eighth position in world ranking with GDP $ 2.023 trillion, and hence she is the only South American country, whose name is got place in the list of top ten economies of the world. The development made by the country is not confined to one specific area or zone only. On the contrary, th e Brazilian economy has showed an upward trend in all fields and departments including trade, commerce, agriculture, industrialization, technological advancement and infrastructure. As a result, the salaries and wages of white collar and blue collar workers have also witnessed tremendous boost along with the high increase in the profit volume of the industrialists and investors. Thus, the analysts and financial experts are taking both business and salary class to climb the ladder of prosperity and financial stability. Before embarking upon the topic under

RFID Impact on Supply Chain Management Research Paper - 1

RFID Impact on Supply Chain Management - Research Paper Example According to the research findings, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are used to track assets, manage inventory and authorize payments, and they increasingly serve as electronic keys for everything from autos to secure facilities. RFID works using small (sometimes smaller than a fingernail) pieces of hardware called RFID chips. These chips feature an antenna to transmit and receive radio signals. So-called passive RFID chips do not have a power source, but active RFID chips do. RFID chips may be attached to objects, or in the case of some passive RFID systems, injected into objects†. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a technology to recognize objects. This technology is for eternity classified as a technology similar to Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC). AIDC consists of Barcodes, Biometrics, and Smartcards. Apparently, RFID and Barcodes technologies are considered as one of the key drivers in supply chain management operations to categorize obje cts or merchandise at various workflow stages. In the intervening time, Biometric and Smartcard technologies are employed for access control procedures, banking, and communication industry. The prime advantage of RFID technology is its ease of use and minimalism. RFID replaces barcodes and is a time saving, effective and reliable alternative. That is the reason why it is adopted and deployed in multipurpose applications i.e. Supply Chain Management (SCM), Inventory Tracking, Theft Protection, Location-based Services, Electronic Health Monitoring for healthcare systems, RFID integrated travel documents, payment systems, and context-aware applications. In recent years, this technology is flourishing robustly due to its extensive usability in upcoming technologies i.e. Ubiquitous Computing, Pervasive Computing, or Ambient Intelligence Solutions. RFID technology comprises of transmitters spreading electromagnetic technology in the environment to send and receive signals. The communicati on is conducted between two elements, transceiver, and transponder.

Nurses Irony Poem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nurses Irony Poem - Essay Example Now her nurse side plays its role and she starts to become more considerate towards the child and she starts waning away from her own child, these feeling are not coming in her as sympathy or empathy for the child but because of the irony that in spite of all the resources the child is so helpless, so alone, and at the same time so negligent to the world that the feeling towards him automatically arose in her and she finds herself in a very helpless situation, one side it's her mothers emotions that are playing the role and the other side her selfless and emotions that are developing for the child. Might be that's why she is a nurse or we can say she is destined to be a nurse, as she is ready to take any curse any punishment in order to occupy the position of the mother of the child and at the same time become indifferent towards her very own, she is being pulled from two directions but the thought of her own child, her very own self and the thought of any wrong is not enough for her being pulled from the selfless emotions being developed in her. This poem reflects the irony of a situation and the role of human behavior on it which in turn is not something static but is a part of slow and steady development process in which some initial years of his/her upbringing plays a pivotal role. The situation in which our character is can be utilized by anyone for his/her self benefit as the mother of child is totally ignorant towards the child and the father indifferent, but our character instead of waning away from the child has developed more affection towards him and up to the limit that she has started ignoring her very own child. So one can derivate from the above explanation that the behavior is more based on your societal interactions, and they play a very pivotal role in the

Modeling and Design of Shallow Foundations

Modeling and Design of Shallow Foundations Overview Construction of structures involves setting up of foundation which is the lowest part of a building or a bridge and which transmits weight to underlying soil. There are two classes of foundations, these are: shallow and deep ones. The major subject of the paper is modeling and design of shallow foundations. A shallow foundation is a footing planned to take a shape of rectangle or square which supports columns, other structures and walls. As per the provision of civil engineering, a foundation is considered to be shallow when it is less than six feet in depth or when its depth equals its width. According to Paolocci (1997), à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“a foundation supports the weight or load of any construction work such as building, bridges and roads. The design used to model a foundation depends on the type of soil, load of the building, materials used and the purpose of the construction,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (p.564). Modeling and design of shallow foundations includes the techniques and requirements of civil engineering that must be put in place while setting up a foundation.[1] There are various types of shallow foundation such as mat-slab, spread footing and slab- on grade. Spread footing foundation is mostly used in construction of commercial structures and basements. This type of shallow foundation includes strips of concrete that help in transfer of wall or column loads to bedrock. Several factors control spread footing such as penetration that results due to near surface layers, leading to changed volume because of shrink, swell or frost heave. Mat-slab foundations are used in the distribution of heavy walls or column loads constructed across the whole building and help to reduce pressure created from construction materials. This type of shallow foundation is constructed at a close range with ground surface or in construction of lower part of basements. Mat-slab foundations can also be used in construction of high rise buildings where the foundation is thick and requires extensive reinforcement to ensure that there is uniform transfer of load. Another type of shallow foundation is slab-on- grade that is used in structural engineering for structures formed from mold set ground. This foundation is elevated through a concrete slab placed in the mold, thus creating no space between the structure and bed rock. Slab-on-grade is common in construction works found in warmer climate where there is no need for heat ducting, ground freezing and thawing. The advantages of using this form of shallow foundation is that it is cheap, sturdy and less vulnerable to insects, such as termites for example. In their argument, Zeng Steadman (1998) have formulated that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“shallow foundations are commonly used in structural constructions through the application of various models and designs. This creates an environment for providing strong construction work that lasts for a long period of time,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (p.247). Other forms of foundations such as deep, piles, caissons and piers are mainly used to establish strong foundation for prime structures.[2] The provisions of civil engineering do not provide overwhelming constructions that are threat to human life and the environment. The use of shallow foundations has advantages and disadvantages. Advantages of shallow foundations are that * It is cost effective hence affordable * There is no need of experts to provide labor for shallow foundations * Materials used are concrete and easily available. * The construction procedure is simple. Disadvantages of using shallow foundation * Limitation capacity is soil structure * Foundation is always subjected to torsion, moment and pullout * Settlement is a major problem * The ground surface is sometimes irregular making the structures sloppy. When designing a shallow foundation, there are two common aspects that must be considered. Firstly, the pressure on applied foundation should not be more than the bearing capacity of the supporting soil. Secondly, foundation settlement should not be excessed due to the impact of pressure on applied foundation. Chapter 1: The modes of failure depending on soil type, foundation size and depth. There are only three specific modes of soil failure associated with soil type, foundation size and depth. These include general shear failure, local shear failure and punching shear failure. General shear failure It is a mode of failure in which ultimate strength of soil is associated with the entire surface of sliding before the entire structure underlying soil is affected by excessive movement. This mode of failure depending on soil type, foundation size and depth is commonly encountered in stiff clays and sand soil that is in dense underlying shallow foundation. When the load of the structure is increased, the foundation pressure on the shallow foundation increases.[3] Foundation settlement also increases with increased pressure until ultimate bearing capacity is reached. Sudden foundation settlement increase is immediately noticed when bearing capacity has been reached. This is an indication of loss in support of the shallow foundation leading to failure of foundation. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Another impact of general shear failure mode is the inability of the foundation to maintain applied pressure. This is also accompanied by failure surface that is a threat to structural construction,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (Le Pape Sieffert, p.1404). Generally, in shear failure mode, there is always a difference between applied pressure and foundation settlement that corresponds to ultimate bearing capacity. Local shear failure This mode of failure is encountered in sand soil that is medium dense and medium stiff clay type of soils. Local shear failure is characterized by absence of distinct peak in pressure against foundation settlement. Determination of bearing capacity in local shear failure is based on excessive foundation settlement. Local shear failure is associated with progressive failure surface that extends to ground surface once bearing capacity has been reached.[4] In addition, it is a failure with ultimate shearing strength of soil that is usually mobilized locally along with the potential surface of sliding. This happens at a time when the structure supported by soil is affected by rapid movement. Punching shear failure This mode of failure usually occurs in loose sands and soft clays types of soil. It is accompanied by a surface that is triangular in shape and is directly under shallow foundation. One major characteristic of punching shear failure is the lack of distinctive ultimate bearing capacity. Ultimate bearing capacity in punching shear failure is considered to be the pressure that corresponds with excess foundation settlement. It involves failure of reinforced concrete slab that have been subjected to high local forces especially in flat slab structures and usually happens at column support points. In their research project, Nova and Montrasio (1997) have established that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the strength of the concrete is influenced by intermediate principal shear stresses and normal stresses. Hydrostatic pressure is also another factor that influences the strength of concrete,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (p.50). A concrete consists of several layers that makes it to be strong and reinforcing steel is used to strengthen the slab. In material modeling, concrete is considered as isotropic material until a point when cracking happens. Once the concrete is cracked, it incorporates tension, reduces shear stiffness and stiffening. This helps to establish strong concrete that is necessary for shallow foundations. Chapter 2: Using the right type of foundation on the right soil. The type of soil on which a foundation is to be established contributes to the strength of structures constructed. However, to get the right type of soil that supports strong foundation is the major challenge faced by civil engineers. One important item that civil engineers need to put into consideration is establishment of a strong structural foundation. There are different types of building foundations such as raft, piling and footing that are considered when setting up a structure. It is necessary to check the condition of soil before putting up a structure. This helps to provide a strong surface that supports the load of the walls and roof.[5] The condition of soil is done through soil investigations carried out by soil engineers who provide a report that is used by architects to determine the type of foundation to be used in a particular area. The soil engineer has the capacity to establish settlement characteristics of soil, depth to ground water and the necessary measures needed to upgrade a given site to the standard code. Two common factors should be put in place when determining the quality, substance and type of soil. It is important to establish virgin and fill type of soil that helps to determine how the right foundation is used on the best quality soil. A virgin soil is a type of soil that has never been disturbed and it is the best to set up building foundation. This is due to its compatibility and texture that is able to hold heavy weight of buildings and other structures. Fill type of soil also known as sandy loam on the other hand, means a piece of land that has been refilled and thereafter used as an area for construction. This type of soil is not best because in most cases, it is always loose and needs to be compacted for it to withstand applied pressure.[6] To convert fill soil into useful state, it requir es the application of engineering knowledge which is very expensive. According to Pool (1997), the right type of foundation that is used on the right soil is the major important element that should be put into consideration before construction work starts. The right type of foundation, whether shallow or deep, depends on the type of soil in a given construction site,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (p.35). Builders are advised not to set up structures in an area that is covered by expansive clays and if it becomes inevitable to construct structure, clay soil must be removed. The right foundation is also used to give builders the capacity to determine areas that are prone to earthquakes and land slides. This is because areas subjected to natural catastrophes like earthquakes have poor quality soils and hence builders should consider the type of foundation to be used.[7] The type of soil is used to determine the type of foundation to be used in structural construction. For instance, clay type of soil is considered to expand during wet season and contract during dry period hence it is not recommended to be used on shallow foundation. The reason of a problem is because the active zone of expansive clay is always near the surface. Sandy loam soil does not change with moisture content or temperature and soil engineers recommend this type of soil. It is in a position to support slab foundation and applied pressure, but the major challenge is soil erosion. This happens when there is heavy rainfall that erodes the foundation and this calls for slab jacking that aims at repairing the slab to avoid further damage. The right foundation is only constructed through evaluation of the type of soil in relation to moisture content and impact of temperature change. A good foundation should be set up to reach the bedrock for full support of the structure load and applied pressure. When the foundation is built to underlie the bedrock, soil erosion is reduced and shifting effect of the soil is also cancelled. A foundation that is built on a mixture of different types of soil is prone to serious damage that results from different ways upon which soil reacts. To resolve the issue of soil from reacting differently, soil engineers recommend that builders should replace weak soil with more strong textural soils.[8] For instance, in a construction site that has part of clay and sand, the clay soil is potentially replaced with sand soil. This yields uniform soil consistency that helps to support the right type of foundation. In a case where a building or any other structure is constructed to underlie soil type with various conditions, the structures are deemed to move in different ways. For instance, in a case when one half of the foundation is built on expansive clay and the other is on fill, the amount of movement varies from one half to the other. In other instances, the foundation system may not be designed in a proper way, this results to differential movement that causes damage to structure and foundation. Therefore it becomes easy to establish the type of soil by considering the site upon which foundation is built. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“When the foundation is shallow, the type of soil is considered to be the best and on the other hand, deep foundation is established on soils that are of poor quality, (p.Gazetas, 1991, p.39). Therefore, the right foundation is used to determine the right type of soil to support structural constructions. Chapter 3: Water table level and bearing capacity Bearing capacity refers to the maximum value of pressure that the foundation on which a structure stands can support. The depth of a foundation is dependent on the type of the soil under which the foundation stands. A good foundation has the capacity to transmit the load of a structure evenly below the ground surface. However, the ground surface is greatly influenced by the depth of the water table. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“In construction and design, water table represents the surface that separates between saturated and unsaturated groundwater zones. Depending on the depth of the bed rock, the water table may be high or low,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (Carpenter, 2001, p.27). In some areas, the depth of water table keeps on shifting depending on the seasons of rain. When the rainfall is high, say during spring, water table rises nearer to the surface while on the other hand descending considerably to lower grounds during the summer. The depth of water table at any given time affects the modeling design, especially in the case of the shallow foundations. In all cases, the ultimate depth to which one can put utilization of underground space is dependent on the depth of the water table. In design, we have witnessed cases where the distance from the ground of the foot of foundation slab shifts above the water table. This has led to rejections of such plans by relevant safety authorities due to the concern of the resultant catastrophes that can emanate from unforeseen deformations on the surrounding soil due to the added weight.[9] When constructing structure with shallow foundations in places where water table is high, the preliminary plans involve dewatering of the grounds beneath using trenches so as to construct a firm foundation that will support the weight of the structure adequately. To avoid any problems in the soil supporting structure, most designs in these cases propose installation of a wall in the ground which stands over the overall breadth of the water table horizon. This acts as an enclosing structure that collects the accumulating water. This water can be directed to a draining system or a reservoir (Le Pape, Sieffert, p.1379). The next step is to dev elop a design for draining the accumulated water. In most cases, designers apply the methods of well-point-filter by use of submersible pumps and needle-filters for deeper foundations. For shallow foundations like in our case, the most applicable method for draining water from building trenches is the use of an open end discharge system. The selection of a proper design and analysis of the best way to construct a feasible water collecting reservoir and draining mechanism is very crucial in minimizing the effect of dewatering on the structure. The most important factor to note is that, after a completion of a structure, the added weight exerts extra pressure on the ground. Since the original water seeping from the ground was in equilibrium with the atmospheric pressure, the added pressure might lead to more seepage of water from the ground adjacent to the new structure.[10] Presence of groundwater near to the surface may lead to deterioration of material used for construction. In case where steel is to be used for construction, it is wise to know that, the abundance of water and air provides a conducive environment for oxidation and ultimate corrosion of the steel. In eventuality where there are salts in the ground water, the rusting process would still be accelerated hence reducing the life of a structure. Salts, especially compounds of sulfur, are known to attack compound of cement used to construct cement structures. Attack on cement may lead to disintegration and weakening of a foundation structure. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“To reduce such adverse effects, a designer is always advised to provide some protection on the reinforcing system or ensure that there is use of high grade of cement, a high cement ratio in mixing which is well compacted during the layering stage,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (Rhoden, Gordon, 2000, p.43). It is possible that any foundation of a structure may be at one time of their life get to an exposure to a swampy condition due to a rise on water table or seasonal flooding. In this respect, presence of high water table levels greatly influences the ultimate bearing capacity of a building. Water is seen to influence the internal influence be tween soil particles. For shallow foundations, the negative effects of high water table on the added pressure to the soil can be compensated by ensuring that the foundation is wide enough to distribute the resultant force evenly on the ground. The influence of water table on the bearing capacity of a structure is reduced. The worst scenario arises when the soil supporting a structure becomes completely saturated. When the level of water table is considered to be directly at the base of a foundation in comparison to the slip lines, the water table influences the stability lines by extending them deeper in lateral direction. Chapter 4: The Effect of Bearing Capacity Pacheco and his colleagues (2008) have formulated that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the bearing capacity of shallow foundations is determined by the way it is designed to take on the load. In order to determine the bearing capacity, various calculations are done to acquire the inclination,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (234). Shallow foundations have to be designed in such a way to be able to take care of inclined load action. The formula used in determining the design structure considers the admissible velocity as well the seismic coefficient. Seismic coefficient takes care of the seismic movement. Shallow foundations permeate a certain admissible velocity.[11] Most of the formulas applied in bearing capacity take care of load inclination influence. The occurrence of earthquakes has shown weaknesses to some of the formulas applied in bearing capacity. The scale of foundation has been a major effect of bearing capacity. The granular soils found in areas where shallow foundations are laid have certain effects. The effects of bearing capacity of shallow foundations are caused by the progressive failure which might be influenced by the soil type. The granular soils acquire the behavior of nonlinear strength. Its strength is not uniformly distributed. Granular soils acquire the property of progressive failure. The non linear strength of granular soils can be determined by the relationship strength-dilatancy. This relationship gives the dilatancy index which is used to describe the bearing capacity. The dilatancy index is determined by considering the progressive failure. These parameters are considered in designing shallow foundations since they determine their strength. In order to design shallow foundations to take the required load, data is collected for the performance of others foundations. This enables the ability to include all strength parameters which take care of shear forces. According to Cremer, Pecker Devenne (2001), à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“shallow foundations are normally affected by ground shaking which causes some weaknesses in the designed structure. Grounding shaking may occur as a result of various phenomena such as earthquakes,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (p.1266). Earthquakes occur as a result of adjustments in the earths crust. Shallow foundations are affected by ground shaking in several ways. Earthquakes lead to re-arrangement of pore pressures. These pore pressures determine the ground strength. Ground failure occurs when these pores are in redistribution affecting the distribution of shear forces. Granular soils are not highly affected by this effect. They offer resistance to the distribution of pressure pores. The process of consolidation which involves cohesive soils may take a couple of years. This process may include indulgence of surplus pore pressures. Ground shaking may trigger inertial forces. The failure mechanism can be influenced by the inertial forces caused by earthquakes. Inertial forces cause a failure mode defined by overturning forces. Sliding resistance is affected by the inertial forces triggered by ground shaking. The sliding resistance determines the bearing capacity of shallow foundations. This is because any slight movement affects the strength of the inclination slope. The inclination slope is designed considering various forces such as shear. Many of the designs do not take concern of the effects of earthquakes. This has been a contributing factor to failure of shallow foundations. Another way in which earthquakes affect shallow foundation is cyclic degradation. Soil strength can be affected by cyclic degradation which contributes to the formation of surplus pore pressures. Plastification is also one of the parameters related to cyclic degradation. These orientations lead to bearing capacity failure. Some of the failure modes contributed by cyclic degradation include rotational failures. The shear strength of soil may be lost through the process known as liquefaction.[12] The shear stiffness of soil determines the holding capacity of shallow foundations. A foundation is normally supported by soil on all sides and also beneath. This means that any change in shear stiffness of soil affects the foundations. Yield design theory is used in determining the symmetry of foundations. The bearing capacity of foundations with axial symmetry is calculated using this theory. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The thickness and the rigidity of the wall determine the carrying capacity. The bearing capacity depends on the type of footings,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (Reese, Isenhower Wang, (2005, p.41). The various types of footing include: axial footings, inclined footings, horizontal footings and circular footings amongst other types. The diameter of shallow foundations also affects the bearing capacity. The effect of bearing capacity depends on the type of footing. The bearing capacity of circular footing is not the same as strip footing. The effects of bearing capacity are also influenced by soil types. The bearing capacity of un-reinforced sand is as the bearing capacity of shallow foundation laid on reinforced sand. The soil particles also affect the bearing capacity. The soil participles influence distribution of pore pressures. The width of the foundation is used in determining the bearing capacity ratio. This means that the bearing capacity is affected by the width of the foundation. Layers of geogrid can be reinforced with sand in order to acquire maximum bearing capacity. In conclusion, the effect of bearing capacity of shallow foundations is influenced by various variables. These include: soil types, ground shaking, type of footing, and foundation orientation. Ground shaking occurs as a result earthquakes as these influence the bearing capacity of shallow foundation in several ways. These include: change in shear soil stiffness, cyclic degradation and liquefaction amongst other ways. Chapter: 5 Calculations of shallow foundation settlements In construction theory, designers use equations to calculate the foundation settlements and the resultant rates of deformations on the bed soil under the pressure of the structure. The performance of bed calculations follows under two limiting states. First is the state of performance and the second limiting state is the state of safety. In the second state, a predicted finite deformation is not supposed to exceed those established in the condition under which structures and other buildings are only meant to support normal habitation.[13] This state is in most times used as the basic criteria to measure the safety of a structure. In cases of bed calculations, an extra constraint is included under which the average pressure exerted by the structure on the ground is not supposed to be greater than the computed value of resistance of the supporting soil to the pressure exerted on it. A common resolution has been that, in order to raise the limit of safety by 20%, the calculated limiting deformations should be less than 40% of the limiting values.[14] This occurrence is explainable by use of the facts that acknowledge the presence of patches which experience plastic deformation. These regions develop with the progressive increase in the loading. Such developments form beneath the edges of foundations until a point where the linear relationship between the load from the structure and resistance from the ground beneath it fails. This linear union between the load and resistance stands in the situation of application of elasticity theory. According to Hooks law of deformation of linearly elastic material, stress (load) and strain (resistance) are applied. Application of layer by layer accumulation of resistance values enables a designer to account for lack of uniformity in soils in reference to deformity across the allowable limits of a compressible soil layer. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Designers also apply other engineering methods of settlement computation. When we apply the law relating to stress and strain for a given constant thickness that is compressible, the increase in settlement becomes proportional to the increase in the loading,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (Grimes, et al, 2006, p.681). Beyond a point of limit, the settlement tends to increase more rapidly than the load. The formation of regions with plastic deformations increases the rate of accumulation of settlement with increase in loading. This leads to the exhaustion of fatigue of the supporting bed hence interfering with its bearing capacity. Further loading from the structure becomes absolutely impossible as the soil or ground have reached its deformation level from the shear strains in it. Computations have gone further to prove that, by limiting pressure or structural load to the level of resistance, predictable settlements are maintained at lower levels than their limiting values. The extra allowable loading is left to cater for any eventuality of inadvertent loading. In Calculation, the derivation of the ultimate bearing capacity of a foundation is based on soil constraints which include the soil strength, the shear strength and the weight per unit mass. Other factors considered include the shape, size and depth. In 1943, Tengazi developed a formula to define the ultimate bearing capacity of a narrow piece footing using three-term expression by use of bearing capacity factors of Nc, Nq, and Ng all of which have a relation to the friction angle (f) qf =c.Nc +qo.Nq +  ½g.B .Ng Where c= apparent cohesion intercept, qo = the product of the density and depth D = the depth of the foundation B = the breadth of the foundation g = the unit weight of the soil removed from the soil at the time of creating the foundation. In the case of a drained loading, the calculations are based on the effective stresses where the value of (f) is > 0 and Nc, Nq Ng are all >0. While in reference to swampy regions, the swampy strength resulting from shear (su); Nq = 1.0 and Ng = 0 in relation to cumulative stresses.[15] The Skemptons equation employed in calculation of the bearing capacity for swampy or undrained areas for example swampy soils is; qf = su .Ncu + qo Where the Ncu = the Skemptons bearing capacity factor, which is obtainable from a chart. Otherwise the Skemptons bearing capacity factor can be derived by use of the following expression. Ncu = Nc.sc.dc In this equation, the value sc represents the shape factor while the dc is the depth factor. Nq = 1, Ng = 0, Nc = 5.14 Where; sc = 1 + 0.2 (B/L) for B dc = 1+ ÃÆ'–(0.053 D/B ) for D/B In the same respect, the bearing capacity factor for drained, or soils with a deep water table. The following equation was developed for a long narrow piece footing. qf =c.Nc +qo.Nq +  ½g.B .Ng However this equation gains applicability only on the use of shallow footings exposed to vertical non eccentric loads. In case of rectangular and circular foundations, shape factor is considered. qf = c .Nc .sc + qo .Nq .sq +  ½ g .B .Ng .sg Additional factors can be used to give allowance for depth, distributed loading, inclined loading and the slope of the ground. In actual fact, depth of a structure is only significant if it exceeds the breadth of the structure.[16] The following equation is used to calculate the bearing capacity factor. When considering the depth factor the following equation is applied. qf = c.Nc.dc + qo.Nq.dq +  ½ B.gNg.dg for D>B: dc = 1 + 0.4 arc tan(D/B) dq = 1 + 2 tan(f'(1-sinf) ² arctan(B/D) dg = 1.0 for D= dc = 1 + 0.4(D/B) dq = 1 + 2 tan(f'(1-sinf) ² (B/D) dg = 1.0 In case of an inclusion of safety factor, we employ; Fs is to compute the bearing capacity qa from ultimate bearing pressure qf. The value of Fs is expected to fall between 2.5-3.0. Bibliography Carpenter, T. (2001). Environmental, Construction and Sustainable Development-Vol.1. New York: John Wiley Sons Cremer C., Pecker A., Davenne L. (2001). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Cyclic macro-element for soil-structure interaction: material and geometrical non-linearitiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics,Vol. 25: 1257-1284. Gazetas G. (1991). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Foundations vibrationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , Foundation Engineering Handbook, 2nd ed., Van nostran Reinhold. Grimes, D., et al. (2006). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Civil Engineering Education in a Visualization Environment: Experiences with Vizclassà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . Journal of Engineering Education, Vol.95, pp.675-690 Le Pape Y., Sieffert J.P. (2001). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Application of thermodynamics to the global modeling of shallow foundations on frictional materialà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, Vol. 25, pp. 1377-1408. Negro P., Paolucci R., Pedretti S., Faccioli E. (2000). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Large-scale soil-structure interaction experiments on sand under cyclic loadingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , Proc. 12th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Auckland, New Zealand. Nova R., Montrasio L. (1991). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Settlements of shallow foundations on sandà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , GÃÆ' ©otechnique, Vol. 41, 2, pp. 243 256. Nova R., Montrasio L. (1997). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Settlements of shallow foundations on sand: geometrical effectsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , GÃÆ' ©otechnique, Vol. 47, 1, pp. 46 60. Pacheco, M., Danziger, F. Pinto, C. (2008). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Design of Shallow Foundations under Tensile Loading for Transmission Line Towers: An Overview.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Engineering Geology, Vol.101, pp.226-235 Paolucci R. (1997). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Simplified evaluation of earthquake induced permanent displacements of shallow foundationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , Journal of Earthquake Engineering, Vol. 1, pp. 563-579. Pool, R. (1997). Beyond Engineering: How Society Shapes Technology. Oxford: Oxford University Press Priestley M.J.N., Kowalsky M.J. (2000). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Direct Displacement-Based Design of concrete buildingsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , Bulletin of the New Zealand National Society for Earthquake Engineering, Vol. 33, pp. 421-444. Reese, L., Isenhower, W. Wang, S. (2005). Analysis and Design of Shallow and Deep Foundations. New York: John Wiley Sons Rhoden, C. Gordon, C. (2000). Studying

Macbeth: Destiny of Each Character is Pre-determined :: Macbeth essays

Macbeth: Destiny of Each Character is Pre-determined In the play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, each characters destiny seems to be predetermined. This raises the ultimate question: who, or what, controls fate? Existentialism is the belief that each person defines their future by their decided actions: that the future has not yet been written. Fatalism is the belief that the outcome of all events is preordained, and therefore, unalterable. Throughout Macbeth, the character Macbeth makes many decisions which clearly affect his future, but are they truly decisions? Or, are his decisions examples of fatalism, where another force is guiding his actions to their predetermined conclusion? Many of the characters, events, and much of the imagery in Macbeth indicates that fate plays a prominant role in advancing the plot. The characters most easily identified with having supernatural powers are, obviously, the three witches. The Witches' ability to see into the future is demonstrated when Macbeth becomes thane of Cawdor. The line, "What? Can the devil speak true?" showes Banquo's surprise at the realization of the prophecy. But, would the Witches' prophecy of Macbeth's royal promotion have come true had they not made Macbeth aware of the possibility? There was no reason to warn Macbeth of the fate in store for him, since it is most likely impossible for a person to alter their destiny. It is quite possible that the witches have no real power at all, beyond that of suggestion. They may have only planted the idea within Macbeth, feeding off his already present ambition. Perhaps the only true controlling power comes from Lady Macbeth's uncontrollable greed. Once Lady Macbeth had learned of the witches' prophecy, she immediately concluded that Macbeth would not, with his present persona, be able to attain that which fate had bestowed upon him. "...Hie thee hither, That I may pour my spirits in thine ear And chastise with valor of my tongue All that impedes thee from the golden round Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem To have thee crowned withal." Lady Macbeth believed that it was her duty to induce Macbeth to carry out the necessary deed (Duncan's murder) to fulfil the prophecy. However, if Lady Macbeth had not influenced him, it is doubtful that Macbeth would have taken any action towards his Royal future. This substantiates the idea that the strength of the witches' words lies in the power of suggestion. Although Lady Macbeth stated her belief in Fate, she felt compelled to help it along. During the banquet, Macbeth realized that the path of his life was coming to a "fork in the road", and