Critique of Quantitative Methods Journal Paper Essay - 1

Critique of Quantitative Methods Journal Paper - Essay Example d in this regard that motivation is one of the key factors, which facilitates people to perform better for attaining their respective desired targets. Besides, modern organisations, in order to withstand in this competitive business world, are viewed to remain continuously engaged in making substantial changes in their policies, which lead towards raising the issue of distress amid the employees. In this respect, the article mainly drawn the framework of ‘transactional stress theory’ in order to evaluate the effectiveness of ‘affect-based model’ of ‘developmental job experience’ (DJE) through which both positive as well as negative outcomes of an individual could be measured (Dong & et. al., 2014). Correspondingly, the essay will critically interpret and evaluate the provided quantitative article, which is mainly concerned about determining the significance of an ‘affect-based model’ of ‘developmental job experience’ as well as the buffering effects of emotional intelligence. DJE refers to the experiences that an individual needs to carry for meeting the demands of the changing working assignment. This will certain provide them a significant opportunity of learning and enriching their inhaled competency of leadership in respect of knowledge, decision making skills, insightfulness and most vitally interpersonal capability (McCauley & Brutus, 2008). This particular approach i.e. DJE has been used by certain renowned organisations including IBM and NASA among others with the aim of developing on-the-job learning procedure of their respective employees. Based on this notion, it can be asserted that the approach aids in advancing the potential skills of the employees, which eventually result in making them high productive. In order to develop overall organisational competency, enhancing the employees’ skills and reducing the unwanted costs are quite important for any organisation in order to gain long-term success. It is often observed that most

The effects of homelessness: Literature and research

The effects of homelessness: Literature and research Mini Paper #1:Intervention Research with the Homeless Introduction The effects of homelessness as a social condition are both wide reaching, and difficult to grasp in its scope. It is a circumstance of varying severity, which people may move through for different lengths of time and for different reasons, making it challenging to establish an accurate breadth of its range (Biswas-Diener Diener, 2006; Parsell, 2011). Link and colleagues (1994) have estimated that 14% of the United States may experience homelessness at some point in their life. According to The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (2011) there may be as many as 400,000 homeless individuals in the United States on a given day, and that 1,500,000 people may experience homelessness within the span of a year (HUD, 2011). A person’s familiarity with the homeless condition will vary depending on whether they experience it chronically, temporarily, or periodically (Rivlin, 1990). People may experience homelessness as a result of unemployment, natural or human-constructed ad versity, mental illness, or a combination of factors (Hagen, 1987). The influences that contribute to the condition of homelessness may also play a hand in the progression and outcome of the person experiencing it, be it mental health or substance abuse issues, personal crisis, or systemic pitfalls (Chamberlain Johnson, 2013). As a result of the potential reasons someone may enter homelessness, the rates and demographics of the homeless population vary among regions of the United States (HRI, 2012), and fluctuate in time. From the period of 2009 to 2012, homelessness as a whole decreased by 1% despite the conditions of the economic downturn, while the number of people who would have been homeless but instead doubled up with friends or family increased by 13% during this same time period (HRI, 2012). Predictors – risk problem While any number of circumstances may contribute to the condition of homelessness, The Homeless Research Institute (2012) has identified four population groups who are at an increased risk of entering homelessness; people living with family and friends for economic reasons, prisoners who have been recently released, people aging out of foster care, and the medically uninsured. At its core, whether or not someone will enter or exit the condition of homelessness is influenced by a person’s income, their access to supports and social service resources, and the cost of available housing. As a result, other socioeconomic conditions associated with marginalization can increase a person’s risk of entering homelessness, such as unemployment or mental illness, and the condition of homelessness itself may even serve to fortify these things (Goodman, Saxe, Harvey, 1991; Thoits, 1982). Knowledge base/theoretical explanations No clear theory explains the phenomenon of chronic homelessness better or more appropriately than another, although the perspective adopted will affect the explanations and constructs that are accounted and controlled for within research. For example, the social estrangement model posits that upon entering homelessness people experience a general sense of alienation and proceed to adapt to a lifestyle that reinforces this estrangement (Grigsby, Baumann, Gregorich Roberts-Gray, 1990). The concept of estrangement has been adapted into a measured scale, and this model has been used in research to examine the reintroduction of employment into the lives of the homeless as a potential intervention to decrease one’s sense of estrangement and reintegrate back into society (Ferguson et al., 2012). Social constructionism has been used to explain homelessness as an artificial construct that is used to describe an extreme form of poverty that actually exists on a spectrum, and is not the binary distinction that is used to give a blanket idea to what actually amounts to a diverse range of experiences within the homeless population (Tosi, 2010). This idea has led to research and programs that operate with a continuum definition of homelessness (Anderson, Tulloch, 2000). Social alienation theory has also been tested in the form of measuring the change of social support network of homeless adults across time spent homeless (Eyrich, Pollio North, 2003). Key research questions/intervention proposals Because of the variety of factors that may exacerbate or contribute to homelessness, there are consequently any number of potential interventions and areas of concern to address. Researchers have found it useful to distinguish among cultural or demographic subgroups within the homeless population to address the concerns that appear to be more pertinent to a given subgroup (Aubry et al., 2012). Such distinctions may seek to reduce destructive behaviors or victimization associated with the homeless lifestyle itself (Justus, Burling Weingardt, 2006). From a broader perspective, investigators may attempt to identify how the homeless will best establish and maintain long-term housing (Groton, 2013), as well as how to maximize retention and participation of services for the homeless in general (Padgett et al., 2008). Intervention research that concerns itself with the homeless population must make educated assumptions about the most salient issues worth addressing, the causes of those issues that may be controlled, and the types of outcomes that should be attained. Meaningful intervention research should attempt to identify questions that address the preventative conditions of homelessness, the exacerbating conditions that may prolong someone’s experience with it, and the opportunities available to exit it. Social networks play an important role in people’s lives, and the homeless are no exception. Some forms of social support may serve to normalize the homeless experience (Auerswald and Eyre, 2002), while others may offer support for exiting homelessness (Zlotnick, Tam, Robertson, 2003). An appropriate research question in this area would ask; what are the characteristics of social networks that serve to contribute to a person’s successful attempts to exit homelessness? An intervention program that would attempt to capitalize on known social support networks that reinforce a person’s decision to exit homelessness could be as simple as incorporating a series of questions into existing outreach programs that are designed to identify such relationships. Once these relationships are identified, practitioners could be instructed to attempt outreach with these social network members to include them in their work with their clients. One of the issues associated with homeless encampments is their proximity to necessary services (Chamard, 2010), of these healthcare access may be included. To build off of research which has identified that demographics as well as distinct lifestyles among the homeless may mean the difference between healthcare access or not (Nakonezny Ojeda, 2005), a further relevant research question may ask how can people living in homeless encampments attain more consistent and accessible healthcare? Intervention work in this vein could seek to implement medical outreach programs in areas known to have higher concentrations of homeless encampments, identify how medical conditions are impacted as a result, and further modify outreach techniques depending on the results. Homeless youth have been shown to have increased rates of victimization relative to their housed counterparts (Tyler, Gervais Davidson, 2013; Tyler Melander, 2012), and that victimization is associated with higher rates of substance use (Bender et al., 2012). Potential interventions in this area could include fusing a program designed to address substance use among homeless youth with training staff to have heightened awareness of who may be at risk for increased victimization, and address individual cases as needed. The potential for intervention research within the homeless population is plentiful. References Anderson, I., Tulloch, D. (2000). Pathways through homelessness: A review of the research evidence. Edinburgh: Scottish Homes. Aubry, T., Klodawsky, F., Coulombe, D. (2012). Comparing the housing trajectories of different classes within a diverse homeless population. American Journal Of Community Psychology, 49(1-2), 142-155. Auerswald, C. L., Eyre, S. L. (2002). Youth homelessness in San Francisco: A life cycle approach. Social Science Medicine, 54(10), 1497-1512. Bender, K., Thompson, S. J., Ferguson, K., Komlo, C., Taylor, C., Yoder, J. (2012). Substance use and victimization: Street-involved youths perspectives and service implications. Children And Youth Services Review, 34(12), 2392-2399. Biswas-Diener, R., Diener, E. D. (2006). The Subjective Well-Being of the Homeless, and Lessons for Happiness. Social Indicators Research, 76(2), 185-205. Chamard, S., United States, Center for Problem-Oriented Policing. (2010). Homeless encampments. Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Chamberlain, C., Johnson, G. (2013). Pathways into adult homelessness. Journal Of Sociology, 49(1), 60-77. Eyrich, K. M., Pollio, D. E., North, C. S. (2003). An exploration of alienation and replacement theories of social support in homelessness. Social Work Research, 27(4), 222-231. Ferguson, K. M., Bender, K., Thompson, S. J., Maccio, E. M., Pollio, D. (2012). Employment status and income generation among homeless young adults: Results from a five-city, mixed-methods study. Youth Society, 44(3), 385-407. Goodman, L. A., Saxe, L., Harvey, M. (1991). Homelessness as psychological trauma: Broadening perspectives. American Psychologist, 46(11), 1219-1225. Grigsby, C., Baumann, D., Gregorich, S. E., Roberts-Gray, C. (1990). Disaffiliation to Entrenchment: A model for understanding homelessness. Journal of Social Issues, 46(4), 141-156. Groton, D. (2013). Are housing first programs effective? A research note. Journal of Sociology And Social Welfare, 40(1), 51-63. Hagen, J. L. (1987). The heterogeneity of homelessness. Social Casework, 68(8), 451-457. The Homelessness Research Institute (HRI). (January, 2012). The State of Homelessness in America, 2012. National Alliance to End Homelessness. Retrieved from: http://lhc.la.gov/downloads/esg/TheState_of_Homelessness_in_America2012.pdf Justus, A. N., Burling, T. A., Weingardt, K. R. (2006). Client Predictors of Treatment Retention and Completion in a Program for Homeless Veterans. Substance Use Misuse, 41(5), 751-762. Link, B.G., Susser, E., Stueve, A., Phelan, J., Moore, R.E., Struening, E. (1994). Lifetime and five-year prevalence of homelessness in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 84(12), 1907–1912. Nakonezny, P.A., Ojeda, M. (2005). Health Services Utilization Between Older and Younger Homeless Adults. The Gerontologist, 45(2), 249-254. Padgett, D. K., Henwood, B., Abrams, C., Davis, A. (2008). Engagement and retention in services among formerly homeless adults with co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse: Voices from the margins. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 31(3), 226-233. Parsell, C. (2011). Homeless identities: Enacted and ascribed. British Journal Of Sociology, 62(3), 442-461. Rivlin, L. G. (1990). The significance of home and homelessness. Marriage Family Review, 15(1-2), 39-56. Thoits, P. A. (1982). Life stress, social support, and psychological vulnerability: Epidemiological considerations. Journal of Community Psychology, 10(4), 341-362. Tosi, A. (2010). Coping with Diversity. Reflections on Homelessness in Research in Europe. OSullivan, Eoin/Busch-Geertsema, Volker/Quilgars, Deborah/Pleace, Nicholas (Hg.): Homelessness Research in Europe. Brà ¼ssel, 221-236. Tyler, K. A., Gervais, S. J., Davidson, M. (2013). The relationship between victimization and substance use among homeless and runaway female adolescents. Journal Of Interpersonal Violence, 28(3), 474-493. Tyler, K. A., Melander, L. A. (2012). Poor parenting and antisocial behavior among homeless young adults: Links to dating violence perpetration and victimization. Journal Of Interpersonal Violence, 27(7), 1357-1373. US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). (2011). The 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress. Washington, DC. (2010 AHAR). Zlotnick, C., Tam, T., Robertson, M. J. (2003). Disaffiliation, substance use, and exiting homelessness. Substance Use Misuse, 38(3-6), 577-599. 1

Feminist Movement :: essays research papers fc

It was in the mid-1800s when the first signs of the feminist movement came about. In 1861, a man named John Stuart Mill wrote The Subjection of Women, which was said to have spawned the ideology of the Women’s Rights Movement (Ryan 11). He discussed the role of women is society during that time, pointing out how the patriarchy placed such an intense limit on what women could do. Patriarchy is the system in which the male race governs societal views, and this practice has been in existence since the dawn of time. This work raised the consciousness of many women, but the first hints of an organized movement did not come about until the approach of the twentieth century. It has been said the Black Abolition Movement was the encouragement that women needed to go after what they believed in (Ryan 10). In 1898 came the beginnings of Women’s Suffrage, which was the movement intended to allow women the right to vote. During this time, over 500 separate campaigns were launched with the goal of attaining this right. Females such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony spoke all over the country on women’s rights and suffrage, gaining many supporters along the way (Ryan 9). The National American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was soon formed, and Stanton was its first president. She helped to begin extensive mobilizing efforts and put a strong foot forward in the suffrage movement (Ryan 22). When the Nineteenth Amendment was passed, women nationwide rejoiced at their accomplishment with the feeling that they had made a difference, and their feeling of inferiority had subsided. Works Cited Bardon, Edward J. The Sexual Arena and Women’s Liberation. Chicago: Nelson Hall, 1978.

Iago as the cunning villain of the play Othello

Iago is one of the most complex and interesting characters in this play. He is in the Venetian army and is General Othello's trusted aide. He is married to Emilia, who is Desdemona's' (Othello's' wife) care taker. Iago is well acquainted with Othello, Rodrigo Cassio and Desdemona, and hence all these puppets are infected by his evil manipulations. Iago uses several linguistic and psychological techniques to achieve his ends. Now I shall discuss Shakespeare's portrayal of Iago, his manipulating techniques, and how the audiences respond to his portrayal. The time, in which this play is set in, the Venetian society is racist against coloured people. The role of women of Desdemona's status was not equal to that of the men. They were the properties of their fathers, to be sold into marriage, and interracial relationships were considered disrespect to the family. They were meant to be innocent virginal, saintly souls. Many themes are introduced into the play Othello, which mostly compare the contrasts in life. There is Darkness and Reality, Appearance and reality, Love jealousy and hatred. Iago has white skin colour, but has a dark black and merciless heart, where as Othello has black skin, and has a noble and honorable heart, a white heart. Iago is portrayed, as the symbolism of evil but is still only a human in reality. Iago is jealous of Cassio and yet understands acknowledges it. Othello loves Desdemona, yet when poisoned by Iago he starts to become jealous and later on hates her, which is proved from his attempt to murder her. Iago is a very cunning villain of the play. He does not attack the characters physically, but he seems to be gifted with a demon like power of evil intelligence, which allows him to judge a persons character quickly, and hence allow him to, manipulate them into down a continuously narrower path, to their demise. He uses carefully thought up vulgar, brash and words, which shock his listeners and the audience to be enraptured into his thoughts. All this makes Iago possibly the most interesting character of the play, which one would think unlikely since Othello is the hero, and Iago is the villain. Iago is portrayed by Shakespeare as a racist character, and since there is only one coloured man, his racism is hence focused with full force onto Othello. Also since he is cunning, and does not resort to physical violence to destroy Othello, he uses the fact that Othello is black to help accomplish his goals, by using brash, disgusting, and crude language when discussing about the sexual conquest of Brabantio's white daughter by the black Othello. Brabantio was hence horrified to hear from Iago that a ‘barbary horse' (Othello) was ‘making the beast with two backs' with Desdemona. Here Iago is saying that Othello is having sex with Desdemona, but notice the language he uses to shock all the people around him, and since his main goal in the play is to destroy Othello, these words aid him, by first disrespecting Othello, and reminding everyone he is a black man, and hence has the barbaric manners that were thought typical in the society those days. The audiences response to this racist man would not have seemed different because in those days slavery and racism were very real and it was abnormal not to be racist, as a Moor would have been associated with brutality, ignorance evil, and sexual immortality. Iago hates Othello and is looking to seek his revenge, because Othello gave Cassio the job that he thinks he deserves. He uses racist words such as ‘the moor' and insults him behind his back by making fun of his ‘thick lips'. Shakespeare has also made Iago admit ‘I hate the Moor' many a time throughout the play. Although Iago does not dare speak these vile descriptions near Othello, since it would not be a cunning card to play as it would make all the crystal plates delicately spinning upon his fingers to waver and crash to the floor. He uses insults such as ‘old black ram' when talking to Brabantio against Othello to rouse him against Othello, and possibly have him hanged for ‘making the beast with two backs' with Desdemona. We can see by this that Iago is using these racist words to make other characters hate Othello, which is very cunning, because it brings down his reputation as an honest and noble man. Also the audience would have probably shared these prejudiced thoughts by Iago, and hence approved of the villain, which is rare for Shakespeare's range of stories, where he usually makes the hero approved by the audience. Iago is an expert judge of character, which gives him an advantage. One example where he utilizes this example is with Roderigo where he knows how madly in love he is for Desdemona, and acts as if he is helping her in making Desdemona his, when he is actually fooling him into giving him money for a job he is not doing. Cunningly Iago says even says that ‘thus do I ever make my fool my purse' where Roderigo is the fool, and by manipulating this fool he is making money to add to his purse. Iago is portrayed by Shakespeare as an opportunist. One example would be when Cassio is asking for Desdemona's help for reuniting him with Othello, but then when Iago and Othello come, he walks off to avoid confrontation. Iago, knowing Othello's greatest weakness to be Desdemona. He undermines Othello's faith in her by saying ‘Ha! I like not that. This is extremely cunning and dastardly of Iago, to have used this opportunity of what seems like Cassio sneaking away after having a romantic talk with Desdemona, to destroy Othello, by making him doubt his faith, in love. But what makes Othello trust Iago so much in the first place the audiences might wonder. It is because Iago is portrayed by Shakespeare as ‘honest Iago' and Iago repeatedly says these words in a humble manner, to act as propaganda, so that people do think him as an honest and faithful man. Though this is not true at all, this is just another of Iago's cunning techniques in manipulating people, he manipulates their judgment of his character. Iago is the ultimate deceiver, during the play, excluding the end; rarely does anyone question Iago's true motives. This is because through his cunning techniques, of putting up false, yet believable fronts, he does not allow them too. He uses Roderigo; by deceiving him with lies of how Desdemona is close to being his, and fools him and keeps on mining money out of him. Though Roderigo later begins to question Iago. I think it is getting a bit scurvy and begin to find himself stuck in it' and he also says that Iago is beginning to get stuck in his intricate web. Iago, realizing the danger, with his quick mind, and a immortal like intelligence he quickly tries to prove that he is faithful to Roderigo by promoting and agreeing to murder Cassio to aid Roderigo aim of getting Desdemona, since Cassio is his competitor for Desdemona. Roderigo agrees at once, and he himself becomes stuck in Iago's web. This example shows us how cunning Iago is, and what a good improviser he is, at such evil deeds. Iago uses characters weak points to destroy them. Othello's weak point is Desdemona, and his faith in her love, as he says ‘my life upon her faith' Hence Iago targets this. He undermines Othello's faith in her by feeding him lies, about her having sex with Cassio, and how he Cassio later dreams of those encounters. This throws Othello into such a jealous rage he goes crazy, and then when he encounters Desdemona, he does not believer her, because he is caught up in the imagery given by Iago of her in bed with Cassio. Iago's linguistic power is something of amazement, and this proves he is the most cunning and evil character of the play. Iago has no guilt, none at all. He destroys relationships, leads characters down paths with a terrible end, and even steals from his own friends. He is like a devil, and he has so many superficial motives, it is clear, he truly has none at all, and is just a sadistic demon, who finds pleasure in creating anarchy. Iago's main aim in the play is to destroy Othello and his relationships. Hence he has to destroy other people too, to achieve the final aim. One of the characters he exploits, other then Roderigo is the gullible Cassio. He knew that Cassio could not ‘handle his drink' well, and becomes aggressive when drunk. Hence he persuaded him into drinking, and making him get into a fight, which led him to be fired from his position by Othello. Not only does Iago disgrace Cassio, he also tells Cassio to go to Desdemona to solve his problem, and that she will help because she has a good heart: ‘she holds it a vice in her goodness not to be more than a requested' Iago later turns the encounter into what seems as a secret affair between Desdemona and Cassio, which does not please Othello at all. In conclusion Iago is portrayed by Shakespeare as an extremely cunning, jealous, subtle, sadistic racist, motiveless and manipulative devil-like human being. Who jumps at the opportunity to use anything to help him reach his goals, which in to destroy Othello, his relationships, and the friends who surround him. Iago symbolizes evil in everyway, though not the typical evil of brute anarchical strength, but the tactful evil which is much more productive with its method, to psychologically destroy a person through preying on their weaknesses. The audience's response to this portrayal ranges from interest, awe, shame and disgust. Iago interests the audience with his plans and how he implements them, he awes the audience with the magic like power he has to manipulate characters to their own destructions, and Iago disgusts the audience by how he revels in his destructive plans, and the anarchy he implements.

Bessie gutmann’s art Essay

The role of women in art has always been very controversial as society did not want a woman to prove that she could be not worse (sometimes even much better) than a man in various spheres, in particular, in painting, architecture and design. The beginning of the twentieth century brought women some freedom and independence; thus, females received a chance to show what they really cost. Bessie Pease Gutmann is considered to be the best and perhaps one of the most well-known painters of children’s book within the first half of the twentieth century. She had been creating her masterpieces for about fifty years and got the world wide glory and popularity. The artist did not limit her art with just infants’ drawings; her brush touched grown-ups, animals and other colorful scenes as well. This wonderful woman performed about six hundred prints which were the reflections of superb and marvelous world around her. Gutmann’s drawings could be seen on numerous calendars, postcards, magazines and were extremely popular not only in the United States but abroad as well. Many of her illustrations of children are still very popular and rather expensive nowadays. Life of Bessie Gutmann Bessie Pease Gutmann was born on the 8th of April 1876 in Philadelphia in the family of a seller of tobacco – Horace Collins Pease Gutmann. From the early childhood, the girl became interested in art and she received the support from both her parents and her teachers to study painting. As the result, Bessie started to attend the so called Philadelphia School of Design for Women after graduation from high school. She didn’t stop on it and later entered the Chase School of Art (the former name of the New York School of Art) and the Art Students League. Having received the necessary knowledge, Gutmann was full of joy and persistence to start her career. And here she faced the first problem. The status of women at the beginning of the 20th century was very difficult and Bessie had to prove her talent. She started from small portrait sketches for local newspaper advertisements and for some time earned her living in such a way. However, her position changed in 1903 when Bessie’s cousins, Hellmuth and Bernard decided to open their own art print company under the name Gutmann and Gutmann. They suggested Bessie to become their commercial artist and she showed her skills in the best way she could. Owing to her natural charm and due to her professional talents, she attracted the attention of Hellmuth and in 1906 she married him. Her marriage saved Bessie from rumors about her spinsterhood (Christie). The first book she made illustrations to was A Child’s Garden of Verses written by Robert Louis Stevenson. Several other books, including Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, were illustrated by Bessie as well. Very soon her works slightly changed – Bessie gave birth to her three children – Alice, John and Lucille. The artist found new inspiration and depicted her children on the walls of some nursing houses, on many calendars, postcards and even on popular periodicals (the Washington Post, Chicago Sunday tribune, etc). Since that time Gutmann became the most popular woman-artist and had been on the top of her career until the World War II. Unfortunately, due to the worsening of eyesight, Bessie made up her mind to stop making illustrations, however, it was a very difficult decision. And it is no wonder – the artist’s creative work included more than six hundred wonderful art prints. As the result, after her husband’s death, Bessie sold the Gutmann and Gutmann company (Bessie Collins Pease Gutmann). Death of her husband and impossibility to work negatively influenced Gutmann and on 29th of September, 1960 Bessie Gutmann died in New York In order to commemorate the art of this great woman, three children’s books full of her best illustrations were issued after her death. Gutmann’s art and its historical significance The years from 1800 up to 1900 are called the Golden Age of illustration. The reason for such a name results in blooming of industry and increasing number of new printing methods and technologies. Bessie Gutmann had the chance to work during this period and she could be named the most successful woman artist of this epoch. Her works were influenced by the so called â€Å"Brandywine School† of illustrators that were very popular in Philadelphia; therefore, the artist got some necessary and outstanding pieces of advice from Howard Pyle, N. C. Wyeth, Robert Henri and some other prominent artists. While at first her drawing style had elements of influence of these great masters, but later she managed to elaborate her own and very soft style, not similar to others. The main peculiarity of her works was that she never simply drew portraits, she included a lot of details, like expressions, mimicry, joy, etc. She made her portraits alive, demonstrating that she could skillfully grasp and notice the true spirit and soul of a depicted person. She was more than an excellent artist, but a really good psychologist and a good mother (Choppa). These skills helped her to create such wonderful works that differed from the works of other artists. Moreover, Bessie was not afraid of experimenting: starting from black-and-white paintings, she further moved on to luminescent oils and watercolors, using some impressionists’ technique. Except for her famous children’s pictures and prints, Bessie Gutmann was also engaged in creation another series of prints under the name Colonial Interior Series which were less known than her infants’ drawing. However, they were not worse than children’s series. The first Colonial Series were issued in 1916 in order to compete with Wallace Nutting. In comparison with Nutting Interiors (who used photos as illustrations), Bessie’s illustrations were well-prepared prints from her own original drawings. Every illustration depicted some colonial subject, usually a mother or a daughter at home. Unfortunately, these Gutmann’s Colonial Series are valued less than her children’s series, notwithstanding their originality. Role and position of women and women-artists in the first half of the 20th century The status of women-artists has been extremely difficult almost the whole 20th century. Females did not get the support from publicity, and were deprived of showing their real talents. Women artists suffered from such attitude greatly and had to overcome numerous obstacles in order to receive success and recognition; some were pioneers in this or that branch. Some women were successful as they co-operated with their husbands, a few had to reach their goals independently. Still, a lot of wonderful works appeared in this period. Louisa Chase, Catherine Critcher, Bessie Vonnoh, Violet Oakley, Cecilia Beaux – these are just several of notable names, that are â€Å"responsible† for great ideas and wonderful innovations in art field. Catherine Critcher, for instance, had to â€Å"pave her way† in a man’s world by herself; as the result, she was the only woman who was provided a membership in the Taos Society of Artists (the society included men artists) and the Director of her own Critcher School of Painting. Violet Oakley is considered one of the first outstanding mural painters; her large and beautiful works adorn the walls of Pennsylvania Capitol Building. The main theme of most works was an independent, strong and powerful woman who was able to both work and bring up children. Moreover, the issue of a woman’s place in society is depicted thoroughly: a female identity, health, morality, nationality and even her body. The strong sex discrimination began to lose its power and strong independent women appear instead. Conclusion The works of Bessie Pease Gutmann have exceeded time, nationality and age range. They are still very popular among people all over the world. This popularity may be explained by the fact that the artist included the part of her inner soul to each of her hand-made illustrations and paintings. She wanted other people to see not just a depiction of a child or a woman, but rather, the embodiment of purity, innocence and tenderness; the artist wished to change the world to better, she wanted to open people’s eyes and to make them see and listen. Showing the usual and simple themes of family and sacred hearth, Bessie Gutmann appeals to love, friendship, hope and kindness. Her numerous wonderful works radiate light, warmth and comfort; her paintings help people to cope with their problems and to become better. Her art and her talent shows that a woman is able to create such works of art that can be shined throughout years and centuries, causing astonishment and admiration of people. Works cited Bessie Collins Pease Gutmann. Available at: http://www. ortakales. com/illustrators/gutmann. html 17 April, 2005. Choppa Karen. Bessie Pease Gutmann: Over Fifty Years of Published Art. Schiffer Publishing, 2000. Christie, Victor. Bessie Pease Gutmann: Her Life and Works. Wallace-Homestead Company, 1990.