Examining The Study Of Rational Choice Theories Criminology Essay

Examining The Study Of Rational Choice Theories Criminology Essay Within the Criminal Justice field, the goal is to reduce crime by utilizing methods that may deter offenders from committing a heinous act. The aspects that are going to be explored in this manuscript will explain how Rational Choice Theory and crime prevention techniques refer to one another. Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) techniques will focus on different types of offenders, their crimes and the success rate of prevention in different levels of criminal activity. Furthermore, some case studies have been reviewed to give a comparison of preventive techniques of crime and its effects. The following research will discuss negative effects and its alarming concern for SCP techniques. Examining the study of rational choice theories and how useful it can be in crime prevention Academic Scholars, along with law enforcement officials review criminal activity in the event to develop methods for which crime may be prevented. Having an understanding of the theory reviewed will further explain the approach investigators take when apprehending perpetrators, interviewing witnesses, and interacting with victims. The research will explore many different views of scholars and the differences in crimes that can be committed. The theory that has been discussed is Rational Choice Theory. Rational Choice Theory is a perspective that criminality is a conscience choice that predicts that individuals choose to commit crime for the sole purpose of the benefits outweighing the cost of the crime (Schmalleger, 2006). This manuscript will provide information on the examination of Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) and how the examples of the methods given have been successful. Literature Review Verma (2007) wrote an article that discusses the approach of situational crime prevention and how it pertains to mass casualties. His article, with assistance of I.K. Mackenzie (1982) recommends a five stage action plan that may dissolve mass casualties before they start (to be discussed later). Verma argues that enforcement officials should work harder on strategies to better leadership skills in the event of a riot. Vance and Trani (2008) focus on crime prevent in white collar crimes. Many individuals in our society believe that white collar crime is not as heinous an act as other crimes. The issue Vance and Trani want to address is that white collar can be a larger issue if overlooked. Schmalleger (2006) is one of the many scholars who have developed books on criminology and its success in educating future scholars. He introduced to other scholars what situational Crime Prevention (SCP) truly means and how understanding crime better could assist in understanding the criminals. The debate that Schmalleger has with other scholars is the difficulty in which criminals are subject to become repeat offenders. Cullen and Agnew (2006) comprised a reading text called Criminological theory: past to present, 3rd edition. It discusses the comparison made by Clarke and Cornish of classical theory and economic theory and the strong connection these theories have to rational choice theory. Furthermore, the text continues to process this choice by defining two major stages that are important to know about rational choice theory. Ratcliffe (2006) developed a manuscript on video surveillance in public places that may deter criminal activity; in which he provided information about a closed circuit television (CCTV) surveillance system. He explains what CCTV is and how it was developed to prevent crime and also how the development of this system brought unintended consequences. A chart, established by Clarke outlined 25 techniques (Center for Problem Oriented Policing, 2010) that may be useful in the SCP theory. The chart is broken down into five categories and examines different parts of criminal activity. Clarke further breaks down the categories into subsections to explain the techniques correctly in accordance with the category. Several other studies have been reviewed and analyzed to provide information or examples of Clarke ¿Ã‚ ½s SCP techniques (Center for Problem Oriented Policing, 2010). The crimes that will be incorporated with this study in further depth are the security needs of passenger on public transportation (Smith, 2008), closing off opportunities for crime with alley-gating (Bowers, Johnson, and Hirschfield, 2004), and crime in libraries incorporating all five of Clarke ¿Ã‚ ½s SCP techniques (Cromwell, Alexander, and Dotson, 2008). For the entire criteria of Clarke ¿Ã‚ ½s 25 techniques, see Appendix A. Discussion There are many different ways to explain Rational Choice theory and how it is incorporated to Situational Crime Prevention (SCP). Schmalleger (2006) defined SCP as a social policy that looked to develop a greater understanding of crime and with strategies concerning the organizational and environments that make crime possible. Other academic scholars go on to state that Rational Choice Theory is a choice process that occurs in two stages; First, the criminal will need to decide if he wants to engage in crime to satisfy his needs and second is when the decision is made to engage in criminal activity, what particular offense will he commit (Cullen, and Agnew, 2006). However, the best or most innovative explanation was developed by Clarke with his twenty-five techniques of situational crime prevention (Vance and Trani, 2008). The techniques in the chart give examples of SCP and how each category and sub sections apply to a criminal act. The categories of the chart are divided in to five groups, which are: increase the effort. Increase the risk, reduce the rewards, reduce provocations, and remove excuses. This manuscripts main focus is to discuss the two categories that are connected to rational choice theory and situational crime prevention. The first category happens to be increasing the efforts, which has a subsection of target hardening and deflecting offenders and the second category is increasing the risks, which has a subsection of extend guardianship and strengthening formal surveillance. Increase the Effort The Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) subsection category of deflecting the offender is applied by creating a separation for men and women in public surroundings, which in turn does not give offenders the opportunity to create a  ¿Ã‚ ½hot spot ¿Ã‚ ½ for their victims (Innes, 2003). For example, most sex offenders have a tendency to victimize certain women that appear to be vulnerable or less aggressive then they are. There was a study performed on several sex offenders and the process they go through in order to hunt their victims. The study discussed the rational choice the perpetrators make so that the outcome of the assault gives them pleasure. The starting point of the crime is where the offenders seek to benefit themselves by their criminal behavior; that this involves the making of decisions and of choices, however rudimentary on occasion these processes might be; and that these processes exhibit a measure of rationality (Beauregard, Rossmo, and Proulx, 2007). The separation that has been made for men and women in public places are the development of men and women restrooms and changing areas in department stores. With these adjustments, crime in public still occur but committing assault is in public would appear to be more difficult and offenders would have to make more of an effort to assault their victims. Everyone in America can remember what they were doing or where they were at the time of the September 11 attacks. Since the attack, transportation in this country and around the world has experienced some form of target hardening. When a passenger steps into an airport, bus or train station, the passenger is checked almost from head to toe. This policy is more abundant in airports but in major cities, passengers on a train or bus are still checked in an attempt to prevent another major attack since 9/11. There was an article by M. J. Smith (2008) that addressed the needs of women passengers taking public transportation. Smith goes on to address four key elements for analyzing the security need of women passenger, and they are: (1) women ¿Ã‚ ½s reported victimization, (2) issues related to calculating the risk of being a crime victim, (3) the rationality of women ¿Ã‚ ½s fear of crime and disorder, and (4) the need for effective and comprehensive crime prevention measures to address those security-related issues. These concerns and policies have made transportation more equipped with metal detectors, more uniformed and plain clothes officer stationed in subways, airports, and train stations, along with additional baggage tagging and inspections. Increase the Risks Strengthening the observations of society may help in preventing individuals from becoming a victim. For example, many crimes happen during the holiday season and for good reason because individuals get wrapped up in the three P ¿Ã‚ ½s, which are: presents, parties, and planning. Families are planning to go on vacations for the holiday season, friends are picking out outfits for all the parties they will be attending and presents will be exchanged among co-workers before the end of business day. The crimes that are more common during the holiday season are burglary and theft. Kane (2008) suggest that being aware of your surrounding and recognizing motivated offenders will help prevent individuals from becoming a victim during the holiday season. That does not mean taking matters into your own hands; it means to practice being alert when out enjoying the festivities of the holidays. One way to being more alert is to ask a neighbor or a friend to house sit for you while you are off on vacation. You can direct this individual to check on your house once a day or every other day in order to give off the impression that someone is home. If you live in a community with police patrol, you can ask for the officer or security to check on your home in your absence. Or you can develop a form of prevention that closes off opportunities for crime. Bowers, Johnson, and Hirschfield (2004) studied a recently introduced prevention technique in Great Britain that involved fitting a gate to several alleyways along the back of terraced properties to restrict access to local residents and reduce the offender ¿Ã‚ ½s opportunity to commit a crime. The study was performed on homes that were narrow in space and could be connected to other dwellings for the purpose of the experiment. The alley-gates could secure an entire block and all the houses within this radius. The gate will be a ccessible with a key for which only the residents will have and there will be a limit to the number each household can acquire. This study demonstrated that a small gated community had reduced its burglary attempts in comparison to communities that were not gated. Video surveillance is one way police can deter offenders from committing crimes. By upgrading the performance of surveillance, it is less likely that a criminal will want to commit a crime because of the risk of apprehension. When using the method of strengthening surveillance, one of the most employed surveillance technologies is closed-circuit television (CCTV). CCTV is a number of cameras connected to a loop or closed circuit, with images produced being sent to a monitoring station (Ratcliffe, 2006). Using this type of surveillance is predominately for large groups of people that congregate in areas that are too wide for regular patrol. For example, college ¿Ã‚ ½s campuses, sports arenas, department stores and major club venues are the kinds of establishments that CCTV systems are employed. The cameras are placed in locations that may be more prone for criminal activity which will allow the individual operating the camera access to see what the actual crime has or will be committed. There has even been an incident or two where the individual operating the cameras has given a warning to other individuals making them aware that they can be seen committing some type of foul play on camera. The primary g oal of utilizing video surveillance is to increase the perceived risk of capture in the hope that any measure of the offenders improprieties will have them reconsidering to commit a crime (Ratcliffe, 2006). SCP Application Among the Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) examples stated above, there have been several other studies that represented SCP and its effects on the prevention of crime. One study discussed the situational crime prevention approach when dealing with mass causalities or riots. This research suggested that riots could be prevented by aligning practical guidelines and theoretical considerations by a recommended five-stage action plan. The stages incorporated are: (1) attempt to identify, isolate and remove those individuals who precipitate the incident before the crowd begins to organize, (2) break the crowd into smaller groups to disrupt communications, (3) quickly deal with the crowds leaders and remove from the spot, (4) create diversions in other places, so there is no focus, and (5) do not let the crowd gain strength in numbers (Verma, 2007). In the article, Crime and Incivilities in Libraries, Clarke ¿Ã‚ ½s five SCP techniques are explored and further examined to uncover how crimes such as theft, vandalism, and assault have reared its head into the library. Cromwell, Alexander, and Dotson (2008) conclude that the crimes mentioned above, along with problems with disruptive patrons can be substantially reduced by the implementation of SCP strategies and a well-conceived security plan for staff training. The research discussed more incivilities that could occur while at or in a library, however they were not addressed in this manuscript. Unintended Consequences With any research or study, there are concerns that are discussed that will possibly bring about some negativity towards any technique, theory or experiment. Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) is not perfect and it has its concerns with an issue of displacement. Ratcliffe (2006) describes displacement as offenders moving their offending to a place that has less risk of being caught. For example, an offender may not want to rob a jewelry store if he can see that there is a camera system set in place to identify him. This is a concern for the perpetrators because in the rational choice theory, a criminal wants to seek the benefits from the act with the least amount of punishment. The turnout for unintended consequences are not high, however the concerns still prove that displacement can occur and using current SCP may reduce a higher percentage in the future. Conclusion Without the hard work performed by researches, investigators, and academic scholars the study of rational choice theory and its assistance in situational crime prevention (SCP) may not have been explored. SCP is an important and useful tool in the prevention of crime. The research and studies mentioned in this manuscript on the prevention of crime have been reviewed in all types of criminal offenses. The SCP techniques have assisted in giving steps to maintain order in riot situations, white collar crime and women passenger travel using public transportation. These SCP techniques may prevent criminal activity in places that offenders deem easier to victimize individuals but it does not deter criminals from seeking pleasure in other venues that are not affected by preventive solutions. References Beauregard, E., Rossmo D. K., Proulx, J. (2007). A descriptive model of the hunting process of serial sex offenders: A rational choice perspective. Journal of Family Violence. 22(6). 449-463. Retrieved October 20, 2010 from ProQuest database. Bowers, J. K., Johnson, D. S., Hirschfield, G. F. A. (2004). Closing off opportunities for crime: An evaluation of alley-gating. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research. 10.285-308. Retrieved on October 15, 2010 from ProQuest database. Center for Problem Oriented Policing (2010). Twenty five techniques of situational prevention. Retrieved January 12, 2010 from http://www.popcenter.org/25techniques/. Cromwell, P., Alexander, G., Dotson, P. (2008). Crime and incivilities in libraries: Situational crime prevention strategies for thwarting biblio-bandits and problem patrons. Security Journal. 21. 147-158. Retrieved July 18, 2010 from ProQuest database. Cullen, T. F., Agnew, R. (2006). Criminological Theory: Past to present, 3rd edition. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury Publishing Company. Innes, B. (2003). Profile of a criminal mind: How psychological profiling helps solve true crimes. Pleasantville, NY/Montreal: Reader ¿Ã‚ ½s Digest Association, Inc. Kane, M. (2008). A Guide for a Safe and Crime-Free Holiday. Thrive Journal. Retrieved October 17, 2010 from Mountain State University. Ratcliffe, J. (2006). Video surveillance of public places. Washinton D. C.: U. S. Department of Justice. Schmalleger, Frank (2006). ¿Ã‚ ½ Criminology today: An integrative introduction, 4th edition. ¿Ã‚ ½ Columbus, OH: ¿Ã‚ ½ Prentice Hall. Smith, M. J. (2008). Addressing the security needs of women passengers on public transport. Security Journal. 21. 117-133. Retrieved July 18, 2010 from ProQuest database. Vance, N. Trani, B. (2008). Situational prevention and the reduction of white collar crime. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics. 9-18. Retrieved September 18, 2010 from ProQuest database. Verma, A. (2007). Anatomy of riots: A situational crime prevention approach. Crime Prevention and Community Safety. 9. 201-221. Retrieved September 20, 2010 from ProQuest database.

Current Event Research Paper Essay

The research paper I found to discuss was a study done on motivation in the work place in a hotel in Konya, Turkey. Since I am currently in the hotel industry I find it very interesting that these individuals were able to conduct a mathematical analysis of what drives employees to stay committed in the work place. The three factors they tested to see which had the highest effect on employees were intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and work motivation. In this study they had employees fill out a survey based on a 5-point scale that consisted of a list of questions pertaining to their work environment and the outcome of certain situations. This study was based on a single 5 star hotel that contained about 500 employees, only about 120 participated in the study. Researchers broke the results down into a mathematical problem that started equal for each of the three factors but then increased/decreased based on test results. They also had a percentage breakdown of age range and gender so you knew the different variables they were working with. The problem they were trying to solve was to see how to keep employees from leaving a company since employee turnover is much more costly than keeping long term employees. I know from my experience that employees need motivation when at work especially in an industry as difficult as hospitality. This test was important to conduct because as managers and supervisors we need to know what keeps our employees going and striving. The result of this study proved to be very informative and helpful when better understanding employee’s basic needs. Researchers were able to find out what the most important factor is and what the least important factor is for employees when we are trying to keep them committed to a company. The first result of this study showed that intrinsic was the most important  motivational factor. This means that employees value being treated as a human more than anything else. Instead of treating employees like they are just a working piece of a machine, they want to know that they are viewed as a social human beings who are important to the organization as a whole. I know from personal experience in this industry that this result is spot on, you can give employees raises but if they don’t feel appreciated within your company or even just your department then they will shut down. This is a very important result to see so that management can see that basic respect of employees by their leaders makes all the difference. The second most important factor for commitment showed to be extrinsic motivation. I was surprised to find that this actually wasn’t the highest result since people generally work towards moving up at their job. This result showed that it is important to reward employees with promotions, salary increases, etc. which I feel is basic common knowledge that you should have as a manager. In my hotel I reward my employees with incentives for receiving good guest reviews which I feel is important to show them that not only are they doing a great job but I want them to be rewarded for going above and beyond for our guests. The outcome of this study shows that in fact employees do need to receive monetary compensation for a job well done alongside praise and respect for doing their job well. The last result was work motivation which showed to have absolutely no effect in this case study. In this specific study it presents that work motivation has no effect on employee’s commitment to a company thus making it irrelevant to this study. Work motivation is the basic internal and external factors management uses to keep their employees going at work. This did surprise me that it has no effect on employee’s commitment to their company since I would feel like if you are being motivated to do your work you would want to stay with that company. I found this entire study to be very interesting since I do work in this specific field so it is good to know as a manager what will make my employees want to stay with the company. I think all in all they went about this study the right way by breaking it down into three factors and calculating it down to percentages and using a 5-point system to rank from most important to least important. I would say that maybe if this test was conducted again that they break it down by department so it was more specified as well as ha ving more participants in the survey so the results  would be more validated.

Laws and Regulations Essay

Introduction British Petroleum is the US’s largest corporation. One of the largest oil producers, BP services globally for billions of dollars each year. BP distributes oil and natural gas all over the world. British Petroleum has run into several problems with federal regulations over many years. Because of safety issues against the communities OSHA had to investigate many times for oil spills and natural gas leaks. Coca Cola is also one of the largest company beverage companies on the world. Coca Cola was used at first to cure addicts but the n it was revamped and used for making drinks for everyone. Like BP, Coca Cola had its issues with the law as well. They have been accused of violating human rights, pesticides in the groundwater, and finding cancer causing chemicals in the soft drinks. In 2008 it was concluded that Coca Cola was in direct violation FDA for health risk. We will compare and contrast the risks of safety regulations, OSHA violation, product safety and liability, workers compensation, and workplace data security and property protection from Coca Cola and British Petroleum. OSHA The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) of 1970 is a federal regulation that establishes and enforces health and safety policy in the workplace (Goetsch, 2008). It covers private sector employers and employees and encourages states to participate in health and safety programs. States that participate receive half of its funding from the federal government (OSHA.gov, 2011). In the advent of increasing awareness and training of health and safety, company safety representatives must be up-to-date on laws, regulations and liability. The OSH Act requires employers to maintain statistical health and safety records and to report occupational illnesses and injuries under certain conditions at each company location. The reporting conditions are the following: â€Å"Death of one or more workers, one or more days away from work, restricted motion or restrictions to the work that an employee can do, loss of consciousness of one or more workers, transfer of an employee to another job, medical treatment beyond in-house first aid (if it is not on the first-aid list, it is considered medical treatment), and any other condition listed in Appendix B of the rule† (Goetsch, 2008, p. 121). Employers are responsible for informing employees about health and safety practices, laws, and regulations. OSHA regulations apply to BP and Coca-Cola with some deviation because of the nature of the business. OSHA regulations include general industry standards and it provides health and safety training programs for employees and employers. In the last few years, BP has been under much scrutiny. OSHA fined BP $87.4m for safety violations that led up to the 2005 Texas City refinery explosion (Walter, 2009). In 2010, BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill is still under investigation by the government. Insiders blame the spill on BP’s decision to shortcut procedures and skip a quality test (Casselman & Gold, 2010). Unlike BP, Coca-Cola received OSHA recognition in 2009 for having the highest employee safety and health standards at its Milesburg, PA site (OSHA.gov, 2009). Worker’s Compensation According to Goetsch (2008) â€Å" the concept of worker’s compensation developed as a way to allow injured employees to be compensated appropriately without having to take their employer to court† (Overview of Worker’s Compensation, p. 174). British Petroleum (BP) and Coca-Cola are large organization with locations around the world. Both organization have over 90,000 workers worldwide and have worker compensation plans to make sure injured employees are cared for. According to Ramos Law (2011), â€Å"workers at Coke suffer injuries similar to that of other factory employees. These workers suffer shoulder injuries from repetitive jobs such as mixing formula; knew injuries from loading product; or back pain from general warehouse jobs† (Hurt While Working at Coca-Cola or in the Beverage Industry?, para. 1). Coke needs to do a risk analysis and provide training to reduce the amount of workers’ compensation claims. British Petroleum (BP) had a massive oil spill in April of 2010 off the Gulf of Mexico in which BP hired over 20,000 people to help clean up the disaster. The care, training and protective gear for the cleanup crews was below safety standards. Training and protective gear could be the cause of the worker’s compensation claims that BP has will continue to receive. According to Johnston Moore & Thompson Attorneys at Law (2011), â€Å"seven oil spill workers were hospitalized on May 26 after experiencing nausea, dizziness and headaches. Four more were hospitalized on May 28, two of whom were admitted for chest pains† (First Workers’ Compensation Cases Building for Oil Spill Cleanup, para. 4). The fumes from the oil and the touching of the hazardous material to try and reduce the damage caused many to become sick. The safety standards of BP are being questioned for both the workers and the surrounding areas that were hit by this devastating oil spill. Product Safety and Liability Product safety and liability is a law that was created to hold distributors, retailers, manufacturers, and suppliers responsible for injuries caused from the product (Goetsch, 2008). This law was designed so that in the event injury occurs the consumer is protected. There are a number of different concepts that have laid the groundwork for the product liability law. The four major reasons that the laws were created were from, negligent manufacture, breach of warranty, strict liability in tort, and negligent design (Goetsch, 2008). Companies must take the time to ensure that the products that have been designed meet the safety standards to prevent potential instances from occurring. Coca Cola ensures that the product safety and liability is met by measuring the product and package requirements against the company standards. The company uses â€Å"The Coca-Cola Management Systems† which is a quality management system that maintains the company’s operations worldwide, maintain the Coca-Cola standards (thecoca-colacompany.com, 2011). BP has been under the analysis for quite some time since the oil spill occurred that caused millions of dollars in damage to the Gulf of Mexico. Since that time BP has created new ideas to monitor the waters that hold different oil rigs, these have been created to ensure quality monitoring. BP has created an observation program that will support constant monitoring. (BP.com, 2011) This will allow for the creation of quality monitoring preventing additional instances of the oil spill occurring in the future. This is important part of the product liability and safety program to ensure that the company follows the guidelines required to prevent future liability’s from occurring. This new quality monitoring will be able to â€Å"detect changes within the water quality, marine mammal vocalizations and weather and water temperature† (BP.com, 2011). Workplace Data and Property Protection In the workplace the most important option to the company is security and protection. Companies spend millions of dollars creating systems to protect all the assets and data that passed through a system. At BP, system security over their data tying global partnerships each refinery is a goal amongst the company. British Petroleum train each employee to keep information confidential and away from media if there is a minor incident. The risk of an employee breaking that code of silence about vital information is likely to happen. They have contracts to state employees cannot talk to media or there will be consequences that could ultimately lead to termination. Environmental Protection Agency protects the property and materials produced by BP. EPA keeps the regulation on what products are safe for BP to use to drill oil. Coke Cola has similar issues of security, but they are interested in keeping new products under the table so they can have the advantage over their competition once they launch a product. Their data protection requires a secure system as well. Both IT departments make sure systems do not get hacked by putting up server walls on the system. The security side of the results of companywide is an enterprise-level record of reference that becomes the official record for a given employee, customer, supplier, facility or other entity. Records of reference are the gold standard against which all other records in the system must be validated. These bind together the mass of company data and are at the core of the master data management approach to enterprise-wide integration (Goetsch, 2008). Although other large corporations are developing their own information frameworks, BP’s design is unique in that it specifically complements BP’s decentralized business structure. Casselman and Gold (2010) describes a situation in which a BP employee might have multiple records in one or more human resource databases, making it time-consuming to weed out the duplicate data. Conclusion There are many risks and contrasting information between the Coca Cola and British Petroleum. Both must follow rules and regulations of OSHA and federal laws in order to stay in business. Both companies had their share of setbacks when it came to employees and safety issues that made the public eye. Both companies continue to make billions of dollars and each year as the rules change they are learning to change with it. References BP.com. (2011) BP Deploying Advance Unmanned Water Quality Monitoring Vehicles in Gulf of Mexico. Retrieved from http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7064711 Casselman, B. and Gold, R. (2010). BP decisions set stage for disaster. Current, 524,14-16. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete. Goetsch, L. (2008). Occupational safety and health for technologists, engineers, and managers (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Johnston Moore & Thompson Attorneys at Law. (2011). Hunysvills Pearsonal Injusry Law. Retrieved from http://www.huntsvillepersonalinjurylaw.com. OSHA.gov. (2009). U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA recognizes Coca-Cola Danone Waters LLC for workplace safety and health success. Retrieved from http://www.osha.gov/ pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=18137. OSHA.gov. (2011). United States Department of Labor. Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Retrieved from http://www.osha.gov/OSHA_FAQs.html. Ramos Law. (2011). Ramos Law Firm Workers’ Comp Blog. Retrieved from http://www.ramoslawblog.com. Thecoca-colacompany.com. (2011) Product Quality: Coca-Cola Quality. Retrieved from http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/quality.html Walter, P. (2009). BP handed 87.4m fines. Chemistry & Industry, 22, 7. Retrieved from Business Source Complete.

Characteristics Of Renaissance And Baroque Periods - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1617 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/05/23 Category Art Essay Level High school Tags: Renaissance Essay Did you like this example? Music is a form of expression that has changed over time with the discovery and formation of different techniques and characteristics across the eras. The Renaissance and the Baroque periods have many similarities, but also many differences that make them unique. Contrasting the characteristics of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, reveals how history repeats itself while advancing in specific areas. History played a role in how Renaissance music was composed and performed. The Renaissance era spanned the years 1450 to 1600. This period is known for the rebirth of human creativity, with rebirth being the literal definition of renaissance (Ongaro 1). It was a time of exploration and adventure with the voyage of Christopher Columbus and scientific advancements. It was also an age of curiosity and individualism, with humanism becoming a huge intellectual movement. These changes played a major role in the variations of musical works and techniques in this era. While history changed the sound the Renaissance, printing widened the circulation of its music across the nations. While sacred music was still a major player in the music world (with typically male church choirs growing) secular music became more prominent and widely accepted. Musicians not only worked in the churches, but also in courts and towns. This shift of musical activity allowed town musicians to play civic pro ceedings such as weddings, this is important because secular music was not acceptable in the middle ages. During the middle ages musicians typically played for aristocrats instead of public events. With the rise of secular music, Vienna, Austria became the leading music capital of the world. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Characteristics Of Renaissance And Baroque Periods" essay for you Create order While the Renaissance was known for the rebirth of human creativity, the Baroque period was known for its distinctive chaos and change in musical styles. The Baroque period spanned the years 1600 to 1750. The word baroque is of Portuguese origin with an original meaning of irregularly shaped pearl (Buelow 1). The term was popularized in the English language as meaning variously strange, distorted, extravagant and so on. (Buelow 1). The changes in technique of musical works can be tied into the events of this time. Specifically, the Reformation which began in the year 1517 ending in 1648. Martin Luther was a major figure during the protestant Reformation, he was said to believe that music was the greatest gift of God after religion itself (Butt 2017). Luther had a major impact on the sacred music of this period that was sung in churches. He practiced the glorious polyphony of catholic practice, however he incorporated chorales that could be sung by an entire congregation (Butt 2017). Heinrich Schutz composed 3 sacred concertos (polyphonic concertos sometimes with instrumentation sometimes without) that became some of his most well-known vocal sacred pieces (Britannica 2018). While sacred music was preserved and advanced in the Baroque period secular music advanced as well. Music during this period typically had a continuous mood throughout a movement. The basso continuo became the go to bass line of musical works and church modes were replaced by major and minor keys. During the baroque era different forms were used more often such as operas, sonatas, suites, fugues and concertos. Ternary dynamics were prominent as well. The Renaissance and Baroque periods can be distinguished from one another by their distinctive sound. The texture of the Renaissance period was majority polyphonic. During the Renaissance secular music became more widely accepted in society. Among the important genres of secular music was the Italian Madrigal. The Italian Madrigal was written using lyrical poetry. Madrigal composers set texts that aspired to be, of high literary quality, instead of simple strophic poems (Ongaro 81). Lyrical poetry featured word painting, this occurs when the sound of a lyric purposely describes its literal meaning, these features gave secular pieces multiple emotions. While secular music was on the rise, the Mass and Motet became the most significant arts of scared music. A Mass is described as the central liturgical celebration of the catholic church. (Ongaro 69). A Mass is composed of some unchanging parts these remaining parts are known as the ordinary of the mass. This specific musical work was typically polyphonic and had 5 parts that were specifically chosen to be set to the polyphony, these parts included the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and the Angus Dei. (Ongaro 71). The Mass quickly became one of the most important sacred genres, constantly testing the imagination of sacred composers. A well- known mass from this period is Palestrina: Gloria, from Pope Marcellus Mass, it was composed in 1567 and uses Gloria as a setting from the Ordinary Mass. On the other hand, the Motet, is a sacred composition usually composed of Latin text and anywhere from 3 to 6 voices. (Ongaro 68). Motets were more emotion based than the mass because the lyrics behind a motet were more suitable for experimentation, giving the composers more room for emotional expression. While the Renaissance was known for its fluidity and emotional expression, the Baroque p eriod was quite the opposite. The early Baroque years were considered mainly homophonic while the late Baroque period was generally polyphonic in texture. The music of this period was known to have a unified mood throughout the entirety of the movement, with sudden and abrupt changes in loudness. During this time masses and motets were still prominent for sacred tunes, however the rise of the opera came towards the end of this period and grew quickly. Henry Purcell became one of the most renowned opera composers of the baroque period. His most well-known opera is Didos and Aeneas, Composed in 1689. While sound characteristics of the Renaissance and Baroque periods blended together in some respects, the harmonies differed completely. Harmony is the effect we hear when two or more musical parts are played or sung together (Ongaro 26). Consonance and dissonance are terms used to describe harmonies. Consonance is when we hear two or more notes together that give us a sense of satisfaction and ease. (Ongaro 26). Dissonance is typically described as a misplaced sound, it is not a sound our ears are used to hearing so our brains tell us something is off with the sound combination. Renaissance music is pleasant to the ear because it has a consonance to it with controlled dissonances, as to not make the change so harsh. While the fluidity of the music sounds sweet to the ear, the musical works can sound unpleasant because the composers of this period used modes instead of the major and minor scales that we use now. Baroque Harmonies were classified as functional harmonies in the sense that they were constant and stable, the beginning and ending were typically the same with some abrupt dissonance in the middle. Functional harmonies came from a theory that stated, each chordal identity within a tonality can be reduced to one of three harmonic functions -those of tonic, dominant, and subdominant. (Whittall; Latham 496). The most important harmonic advancement of the Baroque period was the change from church modes to the major and minor scales that we use now, this forever changed the composition of music. Melody is the part of the song that is hummed by individuals because it is the most distinguishable aspect of a musical piece. The term melody in music indicates a series of notes that are arranged in succession in such a way to create a recognizable musical unit (Ongaro 28). Melodic lines of the Renaissance period can be greatly different depending on the genre of music. Sacred music for example, typically had more of a unified melodic line as compared to secular music which was more fragmented. Later Renaissance melodies seemed to have more of a grasping affect on the listener, where it could easily be remembered and repeated. These melodic lines were shorter and more repetitive. Tone painting was significant during the Renaissance period on regards to the melodic line as well. Tone painting is another word for word painting, this quality bled over into the baroque period. However, the most significant aspect of the Baroque period was the addition of the basso continuo as an accompaniment to the melodic line. Basso continuo became prominent in the later years of the baroque period but the idea of a bass-line accompaniment started much earlier in the era. (Buelow 25). The figured bass accompaniment typically consisted of bass instruments such as the cello and harpsichord. The melodies of the baroque period vary more than the Renaissance because they were composed specifically for multiple voices or various instruments. Just as the melodies differ the forms and dynamics of the Renaissance and Baroque periods differ the same. The Renaissance period was greatly varied in the aspect of form. Secular music was composed of simple forms, for example strophic from was the repetition of several stanzas of text in music. On the other hand, sacred music during this time did not have significant repetition of musical ideas or phrases so we call this a through-composed work (Ongaro 37). Some significant forms of the baroque period included concertos and oratorios. Concertos combined solo voices, large scale orchestras, along with various solo instruments. Concertos were sometimes used to describe polyphonic sacred music. Oratorios were the large-scale combination of orchestras and voices, typically with a religious narrative, very similar to operas. In the baroque period Terraced dynamics became a well composed style, these dynamics played a major role in the chaotic sound this period was known for. Ter raced dynamics were abrupt and sudden changes in volume without the gradual crescendos and decrescendos. (Latham 1267). Music has been developing since the beginning of time, it has changed and advanced the art in thousands of cultures. The characteristics of the Renaissance and the Baroque periods distinguished themselves from one another in many ways. Their sounds, textures, harmonies, melodies and forms are all different making the period not only easily distinguished but unique in every aspect.