Hoe kom je in de hel? Vlak bij de supermarkt staat de bus, al wekt het verhaal van de chauffeur de indruk dat hij bij een eerdere gelegenheid verongelukt is. In de hel ligt Voorburg of Voorborgh, een onaantrekkelijk mijnstadje waar het altijd sneeuwt en waar het grauwe dagelijks leven slechts wordt onderbroken door duistere machinaties van diverse facties. Behalve de plaatsnaam herinnert er niet veel aan de hel: zo nu en dan een invalide met een afgeknotte vlerk, die nog aan de grote slag om Yperen heeft deelgenomen; ook zijn er excursies naar de helse kringen, maar daar blijken de martelingen in onbruik te zijn geraakt. Zelfs wordt een begin gemaakt met het verlossen van in beton gegotenen om medestanders te vinden in revanche-gedachten jegens de hemel. Maar als de hoofdpersoon na een verwarrende reis is aangekomen in het hotel waar God verblijft, blijken de vroegere vijanden in een naburig rusthuis te zitten. Inferno is ook een boek waarin de hoofdpersoon de helse, hemelse en in het algemeen religieuze bestanddelen van zijn eigen ziel op ongedwongen wijze de revue kan zien passeren. Wanneer de hoofdpersoon aan het verstilde slot van de roman afscheid neemt van God, doet hij dan ook tevens uitgeleide aan zichzelf. De rest is stilte.
It was the year of our Lord 1579, and the eleventh of the glorious revolution of Holland against Spain. Brielle had been taken by a handful of hungry sea-beggars. Haarlem and Naarden had been murdered out by a horde of infuriated Spanish regulars. Alkmaar—little Alkmaar, hidden behind lakes, canals, open fields with low willows and marshes—had been besieged, had turned the welcome waters of the Zuyder Zee upon the enemy, and had driven the enemy away. Alva, the man of iron who was to destroy this people of butter between his steel gloves, had left the stage of his unsavory operations in disgrace. The butter had dribbled away between his fingers. Another Spanish governor had appeared. Another failure. Then a third one. Him the climate and the brilliant days of his youth had killed. But in the heart of Holland, William, of the House of Nassau, heir to the rich princes of Orange, destined to be known as the Silent, the Cunning One—this same William, broken in health, broken in money, but high of courage, marshaled his forces and, with the despair of a last chance, made ready to clear his adopted country of the hated foreign domination. Everywhere in the little terrestrial triangle of this newest of republics there was the activity of men who had just escaped destruction by the narrowest of margins. They had faith in their own destiny. Any one who can go through an open rebellion against the mightiest of monarchs and come out successfully deserves the commendation of the Almighty. The Hollanders had succeeded. Their harbors, the lungs of the country, were free once more, and could breathe the fresh air of the open sea and of commercial prosperity. On the land the Spaniard still held his own, but on the water the Hollander was master of the situation. The ocean, which had made his country what it was, which had built the marshes upon which he lived, which provided the highway across which he brought home his riches, was open to his enterprise. He must go out in search of further adventure. Thus far he had been the common carrier of Europe. His ships had brought the grain from the rich Baltic provinces to the hungry waste of Spain. His fishermen had supplied the fasting table of Catholic humanity with the delicacy of pickled herring. From Venice and later on from Lisbon he had carried the products of the Orient to the farthest corners of the Scandinavian peninsula. It was time for him to expand. The rôle of middleman is a good rôle for modest and humble folk who make a decent living by taking a few pennies here and collecting a few pennies there, but the chosen people of God must follow their destiny upon the broad highway of international commerce wherever they can. Therefore the Hollander must go to India.
Features the essential methodologies and statistical tools for developing reliable and valid survey questionnaires Modern survey design requires the consideration of many variables that will ultimately impact the quality of the collected data. Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research outlines the important decisions that researchers need to make throughout the survey design process and provides the statistical knowledge and innovative tools that are essential when approaching these choices. Over fifteen years of survey design research has been referenced in order to conduct a meta-analysis that not only unveils the relationship between individual question characteristics and overall questionnaire quality, but also assists the reader in constructing a questionnaire of the highest relevance and accuracy. Among the book's most outstanding features is its introduction of Survey Quality Prediction (SQP), a computer program that predicts the validity and accuracy of questionnaires based on findings from the meta-analysis. Co-developed by the authors, this one-of-a-kind software is available via the book's related Web site and provides a valuable resource that allows researchers to estimate a questionnaire's level of quality before its distribution. In addition to carefully outlining the criteria for high quality survey questions, this book also: Defines a three-step procedure for generating questions that measure, with high certainty, the concept defined by the researcher Analyzes and details the results of studies that used Multitrait-Multimethod (MTMM) experiments to estimate the reliability and validity of questions Provides information to correct measurement error in survey results, with a chapter focusing specifically on cross-cultural research Features practical examples that illustrate the pitfalls of traditional questionnaire design Includes exercises that both demonstrate the methodology and help readers master the presented techniques Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research succeeds in illustrating how questionnaire design influences the overall quality of empirical research. With an emphasis on a deliberate and scientific approach to developing questionnaires, this book is an excellent text for upper-level undergraduate or beginning graduate-level survey research courses in business and the social sciences, and it also serves as a self-contained reference for survey researchers in any field.
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