Digital rights management (only the written part) Essay

Digital rights management (only the written part) - Essay Example This is all great for sharing various works and ideas, publishing content cheaply, etc. but there is a problem here as well, and that is what were going to discuss - the issue of Digital Rights Management or DRM for short, with a focus on music files. One of the consequences of files spreading so easily is that â€Å"intellectual property owners lose control of distribution† (Kumik, 2003) and usually don’t get paid regardless of the time, cost, and effort that may have gone into producing it. The music industry has been particularly affected (Peitz et al, 2005). This puts off many from publishing on the Internet, but as a distribution channel, nothing else can compete, so it is attractive as well. Among end users also, there is an issue of privacy (Feigenbaum et al, 2002). Firstly, let me explain precisely what is DRM. According to Subrmanya (Subramanya, 2006), DRM broadly refers to â€Å"a set of policies, techniques and tools that guide the proper use of digital content†. It is clearly â€Å"rooted in and driven by business interests and legal concerns† as pointed out by William Rosenblatt and others in their book ‘Digital Rights Management: Business and Technology’ (Rosenblatt et al, 20 01). Technology enabled the digital revolution to take place, but many content owners are therefore now eager â€Å"for more intelligent, efficient, and effective management of their content† (Hilts, 2003) as well. If we break down the whole process of content flow from ‘packaging’, through transmission, tracking, and delivery, and of course, redelivery, protection measures can be applied at each stage. Already, we have digital watermarking, the protocols for content syndication, rights expression languages, etc. (Becker et al, 2003) But it is not straightforward because in the fast changing world we live in, implementation is still an obstacle as is the legal side, business models change, and

Aggression And Coping Strategies Psychology Essay

Aggression And Coping Strategies Psychology Essay This study has explored links between emotional intelligence, aggression level and coping strategies, as well as the variables contribute during students academic life. In this study, it is sought to hypostasise three variables (1) students with low Emotional Intelligence level will have a prediction of higher level of Aggression (2) students with higher level of Aggression have effective Coping Strategies and (3) there will be a relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Coping Strategies. It will be investigated to calculate the level of students academic performances amongst undergraduate university. This study focuses on ways to measure the participants emotional intelligence, level of aggression and preventative measures to coping strategies. The results gave a reason to understand why the university of Bedfordshire students are affected by low emotional intelligence level and high level of aggression. A sample of 77 undergraduates university students participated in this s tudy. This study met these triplets research aims through an extensive study of relevant literature and the implementation of practical research. The latter was carried out through a correlation study using three types of self report questionnaires measuring the participants emotional intelligence (TEIQue-SF Questionnaire), level of aggression (Buss and Perry, 1992, Aggression questionnaire) and coping strategies (Psychology department project 2006 Attitudes, coping, control and psychological well-being questionnaire. The SPSS programme carried out the data analysis findings. Furthermore, the findings had shown a two positive outcome; hypothesis 1 was supported, hypothesis 2 was not supported and hypothesis 3 was supported. The main conclusion drawn from this research were that current approaches to.. Keywords: Emotional Intelligence, Aggression, Coping, Coping Strategies, Measure 2. Introduction For many years the study of intelligence and emotions has been focused mainly on the adaptive use of cognition (Wechsler, 1939 Piaget, 1972). In the recent years it has been suggested there have been more encompassing approaches to understanding intelligence (Gardner, 1984 Sternberg, 1988). Everyone is unique as we all behave and react differently to events. Our intelligence and emotions can be defined as a complex state of feelings that result in the physical and psychological changes that influence thought and behaviour. There are many theories which attempt to understand why we experience emotions. Individuals experience many emotional states that can affect our behaviour or how individuals might respond to a situation which may include, anger, kindness, fear, admiration and are all emotional states that you may respond to events. The James-Lange theory of emotion (1920) argues that different events cause physiological arousal then individuals interpret this arousal. After the interpretation of the arousal one can experience emotions. If the arousal is not noticed then one will not experience any emotions based on the event. For example, one is walking down the alley way in the dark and hears footsteps behind and one begins to tremble and heart beats faster and ones breathing deepens. These physiological changes are interpreted as ones bodys preparation for a fearful situation. One is experiencing fear. Likewise, Cannon-Bard theory (1927) argues that one experiences physiological arousal and an emotion at the same time but gives no attention to the role of thoughts or outward behaviours. Using the example above his theory starts from; one is walking down the alley way in the dark and hears footsteps behind and begins to tremble, your heart beats faster and ones breathing deepens. At the same time as these physiological changes occur one can also experience the emotion of fear. Mayer and Salovey (1990) who first used the term Emotions and intelligence they both formulated a model of emotional intelligence. They defined the ability to monitor ones own and others feelings and emotions to guide ones thinking and behaviour. They also provided a demonstration of how an aspect of emotional intelligence could be measured as a mental ability (Mayer, DiPaolo Salovey, 1990). Furthermore, to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others emotional intelligence (EI) is a useful strategy to evaluate emotions. EI includes the abilities to accurately perceive emotions, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge; we define emotional intelligence as the power to reason about emotions. (Mayer Salovey, 1957). It has been previously hypothesised that life successes can be attributed to emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1995). Emotional intelligence levels have been correlated with a myriad of benefits and negative or positive life outcomes. Advantages include the high levels of happiness, well-being and health better academic performances and an increased ability to cope with changes (Qualter, 2007). The advanced emotional abilities show a lower stress level, fewer signs of aggression, and demonstrate a smaller likelihood of drug and alcohol uses. If one has a high emotional intelligence you are able to recognise your own emotional state and the emotional state of others and engage with people in a way that draws them to you. This can aid forming a healthier relationship, and attain greater success at work, and lead to a more fulfilling life. Levels of emotional intelligence have been demonstrated to be beneficial. Low levels have been of emotional intelligence create recognizable deficits (Goleman, 1996). However, if someone with a low emotional intelligence level has never really had anyone to talk through their emotions with, individuals generally wouldnt know how to deal with their emotions and they may come to a rage such as signs of aggression, drinking, using drugs, weak academic performances etc, when they are going down in life or show the ability of stress. Low emotional intelligence tends to have a hard time understanding situations from the outlook of others and will also tend to be less sympathetic (Henley Long, 1999). Recent studies have been investigated by Hannah Jean Moskat Katelyn Marie Sorensen (2012), investigation of Emotional Intelligence and Aggression predicted Juvenile offense. They emphasised the nature of emotional intelligence; their study sought to test the relationship between emotional intelligence and aggression in the context of juvenile delinquency. It was predicted that EI would be negatively correlated with aggression, and also relate it to sex and offense type. The participants were tested using the Bar-On EQI: YV (S) and the Aggression Questionnaire to measure their emotional intelligence and aggression levels. The overall results found that lower emotional intelligence levels were correlated with higher aggression levels. They also found that a low emotional intelligence level was correlated with higher aggression scores and that participants scored the highest in physical aggression. It was discussed in terms of aggression preventions programmes like the rehabilitation f or the youth offenders. Moreover, previous psychological studies that have been undertaken in the previous years studied by Andrew. W. Johnson (2003), study was based on a correlation study of emotional intelligence and aggression within adolescents. He investigated how the relationship was linked to each variable, and how aggression effected there emotional intelligence level. Overall, the results clearly showed how the females had a high level of emotional intelligence due to less aggression and how males scored high on aggression. Kartika Aprillia Ritandiyono (2007) also investigated the relationship on emotional intelligence and aggression. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence and aggression in adults behaviour. Results from the study have shown that a scale of emotional intelligence showed it had a negative hypothesis. Coping and Stress In the terms of coping, is defined as trying to reduce the consequences of stress. There are several different ways in which coping is applied, which can be caused by many negative emotions like stress, anger etc. Coping is described as a cognitive and behavioural response to a stressful situation. It can overcome with high demands and critical events that pose a loss, harm, threat, loss, or challenge to a person. (Lazarus, 1991) Coping responses (thoughts, feelings and actions) deals with problematic situations that are normally encountered in everyday life with particular circumstances, Sometimes problems are solved and sometimes they are ignored in an individuals attempt to deal with the environment. Thus an examination of the ways in which people may cope with stresses and concerns provides a means of understanding their stress and concerns which might affect their behaviour. The procedure of determining how people deal with their stress in daily life involves the observation of behaviour through the reporting by self or others. By far the most common what to determine how people cope is to ask them to report, by filling out a questionnaire, what is it they do it to ask them to describe in interviews or written text. There are many ways of coping with stress; the effectiveness really depends on the type of stressors, the individual and the circumstances. For example, if you think about how your friends deal with stressors like exams you will see a range of different coping responses. Some people will pace around or tell you how worried they are or others will revise or ask their teachers for clues. This topic was introduced by Lazarus in 1984. Moreover, Lazaruss Transactional model takes to an account of the dynamic nature of human behaviour. This model emphasises between the stress experience and respondent to the environment. The model proposes that individuals can be taught to manage their stress and cope with their stressors. They may learn to change their perspective of the stressor and provide them with ability and confidence to improve their everyday life and have the ability to handle all types of stressors. Overall this has results for support for a conceptualisation of coping that has emerged from Richard and Lazarus and the Berkeley group. Each individual will have different coping responses, especially dealing with low level of emotional intelligence. Moreover, to reduce the level of low emotional intelligence (including anger), coping strategies help one to increase the negative emotions. It refers thoughts and actions we may use to deal with threatening situation. For example, when youre going through high level of aggression, you may be recommended to anger management or counselling therapy. This current study will evaluate students coping strategies that may help to indicate the low level of emotional intelligence and aggression. Additionally, this current study focuses on the high and low level of emotional intelligence, which may lead to aggression, as predicted. Hence this might be one of the reasons for low emotional intelligence level. Emotional intelligence is often measured by self-report and psychological testing. David Wechsler (1940) described the influence on intelligent behaviour and argued that our models of intelligence would not be completed until we can effectively describe these factors. Self report will be used in this study to measure the level of emotional intelligence and level of aggression, along with coping strategies evaluation to support both of the variables. There have been recent researchers that have proven Students with higher levels of emotional intelligence achieve more academically. There have been a recent study based on undergraduate students who are taking information technology studies, the study measured how well students in computer science and information defined as the ability of perceived, positively influenced personal and others emotions. The researchers examined the effects of these intrapersonal factors on their academic grades. Six hundred undergraduate students participated in the study; which was based on a series of questionnaires designed to measure coping strategies and levels of emotional intelligence. It was found that students emotional intelligence was not directly linked to academic success, students with higher levels of emotional intelligence had more self confidence and knowledge that can handle any problems (including frustration, stress etc) and that having more self-efficacy in improving their academic performances. Coping IV and DV research? There have been previous research studies indicating the coping strategies method is a dependant variable. Aggression In the term of Aggression it refers to a range of behaviours that can give a result to both physical and psychological harm to one, even in the environment. The expression of aggression can occur in a number of ways which can be verbal, emotional, physical or mental. (Baron, Richardson, 1994) The act of aggression behaviour has been a huge part of human society from the day we were born and even yet still today plays a role in our society and our lives. Whether it is at a rugby or boxing match competing with one another, on the streets with riots between rival teams, or in another country altogether fighting terrorist threats there is no doubt that aggression is such a prevalent part of our society. It is important for psychologists to study the cognitive processes involved in greater detail as is a huge role in our lives. Psychologists have been interested in problems of aggression, they have been focused on the assessment of conditions leading to the performance of aggressive behaviour. Social behaviour can be one of the influences around each other such as peer pressure, copying individuals behaviour and thinking its alright to act like that. Buss .. Albert Bandura (1977) stated that social behaviour is learnt through by observing and imitating actions by other. She looked at the way individuals behave to certain situations. According to her theory by being rewarded or punish for negative actions. For example if a child sees his older sister bring home a good report and gets a reward, the child may observe this and sees the older sister gets rewarded then the child will learn being good will get you rewarded so they should do it to. Banduras social learning theory (1977) refers to aggression acts. Bandura looked at the theory of operant conditioning, as well as Skinner (1953), if behaviour is rewarded it will positively reinforce behaviour therefore making it more likely to be repeated again. On the other hand of the scale shows if behaviour is punished it will negatively reinforce that behaviour making it less likely to occur in the future. From this study Bandura proposed that a persons aggressive behaviour in a given context is predicted by their previous experiences with their own and others peoples aggressive behaviour. (Albert, 2004) A classic example of this theory was known as the Bobo doll experiment also by Bandura. This experiment reflected on children watching a video of an adult either being aggressive or non aggressive to a bobo doll. After they have watched the video, the children were then put in a room with a bobo doll and observations were made how they would react. Before the children saw the Bobo doll the frustration in the child was intentionally built by showing them toys that they were not permitted to play with. in result, when the children were put in the room with the bobo doll it was discovered that children who saw the aggressive behaviour reproduced the same aggression the model had shown on the doll. In contrast children in the non aggressive condition displayed no aggressive signs towards the doll. This experiment showed that children were very easily influenced to copy others. (Martin, Carlson Buskit, 2010) Aggression may not occur in a vacuum, there are many situational factors that may influence aggression. There is evidence regarding the importance of situational factors in predicting aggressive behaviour which may apply to university students. Frustration: There are some typical responses to frustration especially during the hard times which may include the environment of being stressed and always intense maybe in your workplace, at home, or during your university life. Frustration includes anger, loss of self esteem, depression, stress or self-confidence. As we are focused more on aggression in university students, anger and aggression is expressed towards the object perceived as the cause of frustration. For example, you might have an assignment deadline within two days and yet havent started it, the feeling of being really frustrated and you start to show signs of aggression to others or if your laptop doesnt work you might hit the laptop for it to work. If someone gets in your way, you could verbally threaten them or push them on aside. Frustration is powerful for direct aggression, displaced aggression is often used. Someone angry often acts without thinking. In 1939, University from Yale researchers published a report on frustration and aggression, the theory has been influenced by Freuds theory. The authors, (Dollard, Doob, Miller, Mowrer, Sears, 1939) proposed that aggression was due to frustration, frustration plays a big role in aggression and the development of aggression starts from frustration. The frustration-aggression theory study states that aggression is caused by frustration. When someone is prevented from reaching their ambition or goal they become frustrated. This frustration can then turn into aggression when something triggers it. For example, if you fail in your final exam you will definitely become frustrated. But if someone randomly told you youre such a loser, just to put your confidence down so you dont pass your exam, then in that case your frustration will turn into aggression. When people perceive that they are being prevented from achieving a goal, their frustration will result in aggression. The closer you get to your goal, the greater the frustration you get by being held back. An unexpected occurrence of frustration may also increase the likelihood of aggression. (Barker, Dembo Lewin, 1941) Factors generally associate with aggressive behaviour and alcohol-related aggression from the age of 12-18 years (Helene Raskin White, John Brick, Stephen Hansell, 1993) Alcohol: substances such as alcohol play a part to an increase in anti-social aggressiveness in people. It is thought that the lowering of inhibitions may result in an increase in aggressive levels. Alcohol is coming from university party life; researchers have shown that alcohol consumption can make people more prone to social influence while also being less able to think through the consequences of their own actions for themselves or other people. Combining results in a large increase in the likelihood of committing aggressive acts especially when drinking in groups which will glorify aggressive acts. Alcohol intoxication is involved in at least 50% of all violent crimes. (Bushman Cooper, 1990) Other factors that might associate with aggression could be; Aggressive cues: students that may own weapons for many reasons, including self-defence or sporting events (e.g., hunting). Yet simply being in the presences of weapons has enough influence to increase aggressive behaviour, (Berkowitz LePage, 1967). Maybe living out for university and being alone and for them to keep weapons might be a safe option for self defence. There have been recent events that university students are getting robbed, or attacked when there on their own. Intangible entities (e.g., bad odors, noise): many times students experience being unpleasant due to intangible entities, such as bad odors and loud noises. Although people cant really behave aggressively towards these intangible entities, triggers can increase aggression. For example as a student you are working on an assignment or reading a book, there are other people making loud noise and you cant concentrate and it carries on for days, this may increase your level of aggression frustration and anger about the situation. When people feel a lack of control over the noise they tend to behave quite aggressively (Green McCrown, 1984). These factors may affect the academic level of education for most students. The aggression literature has a set of rich theoretical perspectives, the aggression theories have offered frameworks from which a hypothesis regarding the causes and consequences of aggression could be tested. Each theory is distinctly more likely to contain several theories that share a considerable degree of overlap. The aggression theories have been reviewed in order to understand how aggression may be formulated. Coping with aggression Learning how to control your aggression will allow you to be more successful in your academic life, stay healthy and happy and help you get most out of your life. Many researchers feel that aggression is one of the strongest predictors of anti-social behaviour. Interestingly, some researchers believe as youths grow older they will learn how to control their anger. Regardless, learning and practicing productive and healthy coping strategies is a good idea. An inability to cope with stress, disappointment, and difficulty can affect your life in many negative ways. Being an adult can be very stressful like physical changes in your body, academic demands, peer pressure, learning how to deal with gangs, family issues, concerns about your future may become stressors and can lead to negative effects. Learning how to deal and control your negative emotions and behaviour and take responsibility for them is a lifelong process. According to Berkowitzs Cognitive Neo-association Theory (1989, 1990) he proposed that an event such as frustrations, loud noises, and provocation, produces negative effects. The negative effect produced by unpleasant experiences automatically stimulates various thoughts, expressive motor reactions, memories, flight and fight tendencies. The fight associations may give rise to undeveloped feelings of anger, whereas the flight associations give a rise to undeveloped feelings of fear. This theory reflects back to the frustration-aggression theory, its been assumed that signs of aggression have been associated to be in response by triggered events, which may give the thoughts, memories, psychological effects due to the events. Moreover, successful coping may involve many strategies; problem solving, positive thinking, logical thinking, social support, or seeking professional help. People cope differently, what work for one person may not always work best for the other, most effective strategy for someone else. Your method for coping may be very according to the situation. You may handle it differently when youre at home and when youre at school. Professional help like counselling, anger management group, and group talk can help you reduce aggression levels. Rationale The rationale of the study is to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and aggression and coping strategies among undergraduate university students. This study will examine their emotional intelligence and level of aggression and to see if there is a link between the effect of coping strategies and emotional intelligence and aggression. The outcome of the study aims is to calculate students emotional intelligence and aggression level and being correlated to high level of aggression. Statistically, in the results section it will show my prediction was significant then relevant programmes can be used to facilitate and develop students emotions and low level of aggression. The study is guided by three research questions; Firstly, students with low emotional intelligence level will have a higher level of aggression. Secondly, students with high level of aggression have effective coping strategies. Third, there will be a correlation relationship between emotional intelligence and coping strategies. 3. Methodology 3.1 Design The design thats going to be used is an independent measure which will have a non-parametric data, there is one Independent Variables (IV) which is Emotional intelligence (EI), and two Dependent Variable (DV) which are Aggression scores and Coping Strategies. This will be a correlation design as I will be comparing the three variables. 3.2 Participants Questionnaire data were collected by seventy seven volunteer participants. Opportunity sampling will be used in this study amongst Undergraduates Students in University of Bedfordshire. In total the complete sample comprised of seventy seven students of who were 39 females and 38 males, the age range was from 18 to 40 year olds (M= and SD = 4.11809). Participants attended a number of fields of studies with different courses. 3.3 Materials Measures; self report measurement of participants own emotions and behaviour, there will be three type of self-report questionnaires (see in appendices)- (1) Emotional Intelligence (TEIQue-SF Questionnaire) (appendix 1) This questionnaire form contains 30 item based questions which are designed to measure overall trait emotional intelligence. It is based on the full form of the TEIQue. It uses a 7 point scale for the items from 0-7 to evaluate ones emotions. (Petrides Furnham, 2006) (2) Level of aggression (Buss and Perry, 1992, Aggression questionnaire) (appendix 2) The Buss and Perry (1992) questionnaire has 29 items based on a self-report aggression questionnaire, where the participants rank certain statements along with a 5 point scale from extremely uncharacteristic of me to extremely characteristic of me. The scores are normalized on a scale of 0-1 with 1 being the highest level of aggression. Participants will be responding to statements like When frustrated, I let my irritation show. In the end, the questionnaire scores have 4 dimensions of aggression levels; physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger or hostility. (Buss and Durkee, 1957) (3) Coping Strategies (Psychology department project 2006 Attitudes, coping, control and psychological well-being questionnaire) (appendix 3) This questionnaire is based on six sub-scales about the participants psychological well being, attitudes, and childhood experience. Its a multidimensional scale for evaluating general coping styles. Coping with life problems The first survey is based on psychological wellbeing the questions are concerned with how you generally cope with problems in your life. Questions that had been asked were how do you generally cope with real life problems and the participant will be rating the scale from 1 (Never) to 5 (Always). Degree of control or influence you have over your life The second survey is asked about the participants degree of control or influence you have over your life the rating scale is from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). Family events which may have been encountered in childhood The next survey is asked a number of questions concerning family events which may have been encountered in childhood which the participant may have experienced. The rating scale is from 1 (Never) to 5 (Very often). Hospital anxiety and depression Moreover, the next survey is based on hospital anxiety and depression statements, the participant are asked I feel tense or wound following statements like most of the time or a lot of the time. Each question has different statements. Views people hold about Themselves Furthermore, the next survey is asked views people hold about themselves which may best represent the participant. The rating scale is lead to a 1 (Almost never) to 4 (almost always). Thinking style questionnaire Lastly, the last survey is asking how the participants thinking styles reflect on their attitude or belief which people sometime hold. The participants is asked to rate the scale from 1 (totally disagree) to 7 (totally agree). The questionnaires will take at least 15-20mintues. The overall results will be indicative towards my predicted hypotheses. 3.4 Procedure Participants who are involved in the study will be volunteers; I will be selecting at random within the university and ask if they would participate in the study which will be carried out, they will be told what the study was about and have to read the brief overview of the study on the consent form. Before the participants continue they will be asked to tick all boxes on the consent form to show they understand the information which will be provided and if they dont understand any information regarding the study they will be able to ask before participating. I will explain to the participants that they will be able to withdraw from the experiment at any time and it was reinforced on the consent form which participants have to sign, date and state their gender and age before answering the questionnaire. The participants then will answer the questionnaire and will permit me to carry out the interpretations of the scores and they will be thanked for taking time out to help with the stu dy. Participants will be aware before the study takes place there would be no need for a follow up regarding this study. Participants will not be debriefed but thanked again for their participation. Before conducting research, ethics will also taken into consideration, each participant will not in any way be harmed and will be fully explained what the experiment is going to be about. All participants will have the choice to withdraw from the research at any time and also have the choice to decline to answer any question although this would mean a termination of their participation. 3.5 Ethics The BPS ethical guideline will be a consideration to the study, a lot of data will be used including the three questionnaires, valuable data is collected, and you need to ensure that participators give you permission to use the data part of a research before ensuring you are taking actions to the ethical issues like; Confidentially- results should only be shared between participants and the researcher Consent the participant about the study- I will have to gain consent from the participants before giving the questionnaires to them. Hide personal information- I have to hide any details about the participants due to the privacy regulation. Choice of withdrawal from the research at any time- it is entirely up to the participant if they feel they would like to stop the research study and withdraw. Responsibility to the participant such as giving them feedback if they consist for feedback by the end of the research- if the participant would like to know the results at the end of my research study I will leave them my email or contact details to get back to me or vice versa. Informed consent before the participant volunteers- a consent form will be given to them so they can sign the agreement form about willing to take part of the study without forcing them. (Appendix 4) 4. Results In this part of the research, the correlation between emotional intelligence, aggression and coping strategies for students in university were presented. The three hypothesis of the research was based if there will be a positive correlation between the three variables, in order to answer this sub-question the correlation data analysis was conducted in the research. For this purpose, the correlation between students emotional intelligence level, aggression level

Duels :: Essays Papers

Duels "This is the excellence of Court: take away the ladies, duels and the ballets and I would not want to live there." - A. d'Aubigne, Baron de Foeneste, Il, 17 Duels and the act of dueling is something that has characterized not only the imagination of historians and modern warfare enthusiasts, but also the minds of writers and readers of literature for years. The numerous literary variations on the theme of dueling are enough of an indication of its importance, and the fascination with the act continues to increase. However, dueling is more than a literary climax or a plot twist; duels have been being fought for centuries and are actually derivatives of many medieval practices. The word duel has several predecessors, depending on which history is being referenced. The most common form of the word is derived from the German word Duell, which is a derivative of the Latin word duellum. Duellum is a combination of the Latin words bellum and duo, which connotes a war between two. This simple definition seems to be the most common and the most recognizable. Historian Francois Billacois states that a duel is "a fight between two or several individuals (but always with equal numbers on either side), equally armed, for the purpose of proving either the truth of a disputed question or the valour, courage and honour of each combatant (Billacois, 5)." Historian Ute Frevert concurs, but points out that duels, especially in the modern era, were "no mock fights, but serious passages at arms in which the opponents risked their lives and which could result in serious injury, or even death (Frevert, 11)." Most contemporary historians believe that the modern version of the duel developed out of three medieval institutions: the feud, the judicial duel and the knightly tournament. The belief that dueling was derived from these three events is often referred to as the continuity theory. Feuds in the medieval period occurred when people attempted to settle disputes and exact revenge for insults through "private vengeance," rather than by going to the authorities and entrudting them to settle the matter. Judicial duels, on the other hand, were official acts, during which both parties (the plaintiff and the defendant) fought their grievances out on the battle field with swords in front of a judge.

Madonna and Child Essay

Giovanni Bellini was an Italian Renaissance painter who is known for his oil-painting technique and his use of vibrant colors. The Renaissance was a period in which a cultural revolution or movement was taking place; it started out in Italy and spread out through other parts of Western Europe. Bellini’s various works echo the voices of the Renaissance and different aspects of the movement. During the Renaissance, religion was an integral factor in society; as a result, it was very much involved in the art and culture. Bellini’s famous Madonna and Child is originally a religious painting which is believed to depict the Virgin Mary and Jesus, causing popularity and appeal amongst the religious audience of the time. A compelling message behind this painting is the affection and serenity present; even though it is not overly emotional; the connection between the Virgin Mary and Jesus is evident. To a more modern and general audience, this painting could be considered from an extended perspective. Madonna and Child could possibly be a general depiction of a mother and her child. In light of the Renaissance, this painting could be decoded to show the relationship between women and children and how children were viewed as the sole concern or job of women. The position of the hands in a submissive manner could mean that women comprehend or surrender to their obligations of being mothers first and foremost. An underlying message is possibly to inform the masses regarding the nature of the relationship that binds women and children; a bond that is indispensable to society. In Madonna and Child, Bellini uses oil paint on a wooden canvas. He resorts to a black background in order to bring out the colors and exaggerate the focus on the central figures. The features on both figures are very precise and careful which shows great technique. Also, the colors in the painting stand out to anyone that looks towards the painting which gives it an aura that is different than other less colorful paintings of the time. With a closer look, the colors and aspects of the painting resemble different things when put into context of its time and place. Although not prominent, the use of green shows honor, integrity and respect. The red; however, which is the most protuberant, brings attention to the drapery which is a sign of high rank and importance. The white, as always, signifies purity and transparency. The use of color is, possibly, the most obvious and visible channel between the creator of a painting and the painting’s audience. Therefore, much detail should be given to the colors and shades in order to further understand the memorandum of a painting. Bellini also chooses to keep the painting very simple rather than add other symbols or representations. In other versions of his Madonna and Child, he usually painted a landscape in the background and placed a few objects. Perhaps the reason Bellini chose not to do that in this version of the painting was to not distract the audience from the concentration of the painting and to bring the two figures out more. He might have thought that the less it contained, the more powerful it would be. When contrasted with other artists’ Madonna and Child, this painting appears to be quite different. While the central religious message remains in all versions of the painting, Bellini resorts to different elements when compared to Duccio di Buoninsegna for instance. In Buoninsegna’s Madonna and Child, the features are less detailed and intricate and the colors are not as vibrant. Also, there is more affection in Buoninsegna’s version which is manifested in the way the Virgin Mary is holding Jesus and the way Jesus is reaching for her face. Bellini’s Madonna and Child is an exquisite version of the painting which serves as a milestone in Christian art. His technique and use of color add to its uniqueness and distinctiveness. Even though it dates back to the Renaissance, and functions in the religious context of the time, this Madonna and Child still appeals to the eyes of modern audience.

Chapter Summaries: Characters Essay

Characters: Bruno, mother, father, Maria, Gretel, Lars What & Why: ï‚ · When nine-year-old Bruno comes home from school one day, he is surprised to find the maid, Maria, packing up all his belongings. He tries to remember if he has done anything â€Å"particularly naughty† in the past few days that would warrant him being sent away as a punishment. He asks his mother, â€Å"a tall woman with long red hair that she bundle[s] into a sort of net behind her head,† what is going on. He is somewhat relieved to notice that her things are being packed, too, by Lars the Butler. Bruno’s mother goes into the large dining room, where the Fury, accompanied by a beautiful blond woman, had come to dinner the week before. Bruno notices that Mother’s eyes are â€Å"more red than usual† as she tells him that the whole family will be going on â€Å"a great adventure.† Mother explains that the Fury has â€Å"big things in mind† for his father and is sending him to a place where there is â€Å"a very special job that needs doing.† Bruno has never been entirely sure what his father does; unlike his friends, whose fathers are ordinary workers like greengrocers or teachers or chefs, Bruno knows only that his father wears a â€Å"fantastic uniform† and that there are always other men in uniforms and women with typewriters visiting him in his office, which is â€Å"Out Of Bounds At All Times And No Exceptions.† Bruno’s discomfiture is intensified when he learns that the place to which they will be going is quite far away. The family’s house in Berlin will be closed up for the present, and Bruno will not be able to return to his school. Bruno is particularly upset that he will have to say goodbye to Karl and Daniel and Martin, who are his â€Å"three best friends for life.† When he protests, his mother first tries to reason with him. She says that in light of all the recent changes in the city, it might be safer if they move away. When this argument fails to convince Bruno, she snaps at him, telling him curtly, â€Å"We don’t have a choice in this.†  Disconsolate, Bruno goes upstairs, wondering whether their new home will be as nice as the one in which they are living now. Bruno loves their house in Berlin, which has five stories and a fine banister for sliding down. The  banister goes all the way from the very top floor, which has a window from which he can see clear across the city, to the ground floor, where he jumps off into the dining room. In between are the floors for the bedrooms (his parents’ and his and his sister’s rooms), and beneath the ground floor there is a cellar, where Cook prepares the family’s food. In Bruno’s estimation, the best thing about the house, in addition to the banister, is that Grandfather and Grandmother live nearby, and he wonders if they are coming along to the new place too. From downstairs, Bruno hears the sound of his parents arguing, but the voices cease suddenly when his father speaks â€Å"louder than Mother† can and the door to his father’s office closes loudly. Sadly, Bruno goes to his room to help Maria pack his things. When and Where: In Berlin the first day of the story Author’s intention: Chapter: This chapter is to introduce Bruno and his situation.