To what extent has realism dominated the study of security Essay

To what extent has realism dominated the study of security - Essay Example Power is a notion primarily thought of in the perspectives of material resources necessary to coerce or induce other states. The most important actor when it comes to realism is the state. It is autonomous and unitary because it speaks and acts with a single voice (Glassgold, 2012, p. 89). It is noted that the power of the state is understood in respect to its military capabilities, and thus security concerns. Although all nations seek hegemony under realism as the only path to ensure their own security, other states are incentivized to prevent through balancing the emergence of a hegemon. There is application of rational model of decision making the states through obtaining and acting upon accurate and complete information. National interest guides the sovereign states as explained in the terms of power. Since the single constraint of international system is the anarchy, none of the international authorities and the states are actually left to their devises to provide their own security. The perception of realists that Sovereign states are the key actors in the international system, leads to a special attention to large powers as they are viewed the most influential on the international stage. States are intrinsically obsessed with security (defensive realism) or are aggressive (offensive realism), and that territorial spreading out is only constrained by opposing powers. Security dilemma result due to this aggressive build-up, such that increasing ones security may convey along even increased instability as an opposing power puts up its own arms in response (Vu & Wongsurawat, 2009, p. 89). The dilemma is such that there is competition among the states to up their security as a result of feeling insecure yet at the end none of the state feels secure. There is a spiral of insecurity all along. Hence, security turns into a zero-sum game in that only relative gains can be made. Realists accept as true the fact that there are

UNIFICATION IN GERMANY&IN ITALY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

UNIFICATION IN GERMANY&IN ITALY - Essay Example This code is called The Napoleonic Code. It is still a basis for many European laws. Napoleon was determined to change the confusing and contradictory royal laws so that he could reform the French legal system. Before the establishment of the Napoleonic Code, France did not have a single set of laws. So, the Napoleonic Code proved a milestone for the French legal system.1 The Napoleonic Code gave more power to men before the law, while women lost some of their significant rights that were granted to them during the time of revolution. The code states that the wife should be obedient to the husband and it is the duty of the husband to fulfill the needs of the wife within whatever means he has, and the husband is also responsible for providing protection to his wife. The code describes this relationship in the following words: â€Å"The wife is obliged to live with her husband, and to follow him to every place where he may judge it convenient to reside: the husband is obliged to receive her and to furnish her with every necessity for the wants of life, according to his means and station.†2 The code also states that a wife cannot begin legal proceedings without her husband’s authority, even if she is a public figure or a trader or has any other significant status in society, unless the judge gives her the right. But the authority of the husband does not matter when the wife is involved in any criminal case or police matter. The code states that in the case of divorce, the management of children will lie with the husband or petitioner unless the authority is given to the mother or family for greater advantage of the children. As the code states in Clause 267 of the Divorce section: â€Å"The provisional management of the children  shall rest with the husband, petitioner, or defendant, in the suit for divorce, unless it be otherwise ordered for the greater advantage of the children, on petition of

Cadbury India and Cadbury UK Comparison

Cadbury India and Cadbury UK Comparison The Cadburys Inc has provided us a broader view of the chocolate category. The Cadbury chocolate is able to share with their market insights based on the unparalleled breadth of chocolate experience. Cadbury has grown from strength to strength with new technologies being introduced to make the Cadbury confectionery business one of the most efficient in the world. The merge in 1969 with the Schweppes and the subsequent development of the business have led to the Cadbury Schweppes to take the lead in the both confectionery and the soft drink market in United Kingdom and becoming a major force in the international market. Today Cadbury Schweppes manufactures its products in 60 countries. The Cadbury story is a fascinating story of a family business that grew in one the biggest, most lowed chocolate brand in the world. A story that you will remember as the story of The RealTaste of Life. THE LEGEND CALLED CADBURY 1824 In 1824, John Cadbury opened a grocers shop at 93 Bull Street, Birmingham in the 1830s. Among other things, he sold cocoa and drinking chocolate, which he prepared himself using a pestle and mortar. 1831 The Cadbury manufacturing business was born in 1831, when John Cadbury decided to start producing on a commercial scale and bought a four-storey warehouse in nearby Crooked Lane. 1842 John Cadbury was selling no less than 16 varieties of drinking chocolate and 11 different cocoas! The earliest preserved price list shows that you could buy drinking chocolate in the form of both pressed cakes and powder. 1861 Johns health rapidly declined and he finally retired in 1861, handing over complete control of the business to his sons Richard and George. 1866 The turning point for the Cadbury business was the introduction of a new processing technique, resulting in the 1866 launch of Cadbury Cocoa Essence, the UKs first unadulterated cocoa. 1879 The business prospered and the factory was moved to Greenfeild a few miles away from Birmingham known as Bourneville. 1897 When Cadbury started making Cocoa Essence they had lots of cocoa butter left over, so they used it to make bars of chocolate!. 1905 Swiss manufacturers were leading the field in milk chocolate, with much better products than their rivals. In 1904, George Cadbury Junior was given the challenge to develop a milk chocolate bar with more milk than anything else on the market. (SOURCE : http://www.cadbury.co.uk/the-story) Cadburys Dairy Milk Story In June 1905, Cadbury made its first Dairy Milk bar, with a higher proportion of milk than previous chocolate bars, and it became the companys best selling product by 1913. George Cadbury Junior, responsible for the development of the bar, has said All sorts of names were suggested: Highland Milk, Jersey and Dairy Maid. But when a customers daughter suggested Dairy Milk, the name stuck. Fruit and Nut was introduced as part of the Dairy Milk line in 1928, soon followed by Whole Nut in 1933. By this point, Cadburys was the brand leader in the United Kingdom. In 1928, Cadburys introduced The Glass and A Half slogan to accompany the Dairy Milk bar, to advertise the bars higher milk content. (SOURCES : http://www.cadbury.co.uk/products/Dairy-Milk?c2=1459p=2360) Cadburys Milk Tray 1915 Boxes of chocolates had been produced at Cadbury since the 1860s. But they were expensive, sold in small quantities and would only have been bought for very special occasions. Milk Tray was different: a chocolate assortment, affordable enough to be an everyday treat. To start with, the chocolates were sold in 5 1/2 lb boxes, which would be put out in trays to sell to customers, which is where the name originated from. One was Milk Tray and one was Plain Tray. Then, in 1916, Cadbury produced a half-pound box of chocolates, followed by a 1Ib box in 1924. By the mid 1930s it was outselling all its competitors. (SOURCE : http://www.cadbury.co.uk/Home/the-story/milk-tray-is-launched) The Cadbury Story Cadburys Success Story In 1824, the U.K. enterprise founded by John Cadbury had the objective of creating the chocolates that could be recognised as the most highest quality driven chocolates. By 1969, there was a merger between the Cadbury and Schweppes, the soft drink giant. Cadbury brands were already famous all around the world. Today more than 120 countries enjoy the products by Cadbury, having over 40 brands in the chocolate confectionery. Cadbury also dominated the market as far as U.K. and Australia and thats why it have been dubbed as The worlds master chocolate makers. The Secret of Cadburys Success The secret behind Cadburys continuing success is first theres a careful selection of finest cocoa beans from the western parts of Africa, adding the quality of hazel nuts from Turkey and fine sheets and natural ingredients available to us anywhere. At last, theres skillful marketing as Cadbury always takes care in the selection and marketing process of the right range of products. The key ingredients in Cadburys success is the selection of the right product, partners, marketing team and strategies, promotion techniques, and finally the employees. Success is based on 3 factors : Quality, Advertising, Value for Money. ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE Product Profile Cadbury have a wide range of product line with more than 40 brands of chocolate confectioneries. The products can be filtered as : Christmas Treat Bars Boxes, tins and bags Drinks Halloween Treat Cadburys Market Segment Market place for any product consists of many different segments of customers, each having needs and wants different from each other. The market segments can be defined in numerous ways : Demographic Variables (gender, marital status etc) Lifestyle of consumers (daily activities, hobbies), the benefits that the customers look for in a product or an occasion on which the product may be consumed. Cadbury takes in account all the major segments while manufacturing and designing new product range. The company has targetted numerous segments in the same market such as : Snatched Break Segment It refers to the breaks that the consumers use to consume products like chocolates, biscuits etc with tea or coffee. Example Cadbury Perk Impulse Segment The products which are bought without thinking on the spot, no planning is done before the product or the service is bought from the market place. This includes chocolates like Cadbury Dairy Milk. Cadbury United Kingdom Market Size The six months ended 30 June, Cadburys underlying pre-tax profits jumped by 11 per cent to  £262m at constant currency. Its total sales jumped by 4 per cent to  £2.77bn Todd Stitzer, chief executive of Cadbury said. The chocolate tablet confectionery market is CDM market, representing 17%,  £ 731 million. The CDM brand is worth approximately  £360 million in the UK. 500 million bars are made each year, in the UK. By 2007 Cadburys held over 10% of the  £731 million UK confectionery market share with 23 types of CDM . (SOURCE : Leatherhead Food Research, 2009, Cadbury,n.d.) Gorilla is a British Advertisement Campaign launched by Cadbury Schweppes in 2007 to promote Cadbury Dairy Milk brand chocolate. The 90-second television and cinema advertisement, which formed the centre piece of the GBP 6.2 million campaign, was created and directed by Juan Cabral and starred actor Garon Michael. The campaign itself, which comprised appearances on billboards, print newspapers and magazines, television and cinema spots, event sponsorships and an internet presence, was handled by advertising agency Fallon London. Threats Competitive pressures from other branded suppliers (national and global). Aggressive price and promotion activity by competitors possible price wars in developed markets. Brands in competition Value Share DM (C/Kraft) [50%-60%] Galaxy (Mars) [10%-20%] Excellence (Lindt) [5%-10%] Aero (Nestle) [5%-10%] Milka (Kraft) [0%-5%] There is a threat of change of the current external environment which is likely to alter the nature of the market. For example change in the taxing regime, Government laws regulating the industry, and other factors which are likely to impact negatively on the industry (SOURCE:Cadbury, 2008). There exists no brand loyalty in the chocolate market and consumers frequently shift their brands. Raised health and ethical concerns. Opportunities The confectionery market is characterized by a high degree of merger and acquisition activity in recent years. Opportunities exist to increase share through targeted acquisitions. There is a lot of potential for growth and a huge population who do not eat chocolates even today that can be converted as new users. Recommendations Dairy Milk should emphasis on cocoa-butter not milk-butter as the latter melts at higher temperatures and thus building perception of quality. Price also needs to become more affordable. Promotional strategies also need to be revised especially in Cadbury UK so as to gain attraction of customers above other famous brands. People in UK focus more on the packaging and the ingredients and less on the taste. So Cadbury here should make strategies to attract customers by being effective in this area. Cadbury India is well established and is a leading brand so it should continue with their effective style of advertisements and other promotional schemes. One new product launch every year might be profitable. (SOURCE: http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/) Market Scanning This implies scanning internal and external environment. internal environment consists of 4ps, external implies scanning environment within which company operates. Analysing 4ps of Cadbury in comparison with close rival companies Marketing Mix Elements Cadbury Hershey Nestle Mars Inc. Product Range of fair trade chocolates, Chocolate bar that are made up of more milk, biscuits, ice cream, beverages etc Chocolate and candy bars, baking chocolate, lollipops, cookies, cocoa mix, ice cream toppings etc Chocolates, cereals, The company uses its name to endorse /nestle Easy Whip, fair trade Kit Kat M Ms, Fair trade Mars, Snickers, Orbit, Extra. Place Sold through network of whole sellers, retailers Retail outlets like convenience store, grocery chains, brokers, whole seller and retailers Only on stores and supermarket Retailers and whole sellers Price Affordable + high quality indulgence Prefer to stay with one price policy Low prices compared to other chocolates Affordable Promotion TV, Internet, outdoor, radio, emotional appeals in ads Brand extension, acquiring famous brands Extensive promotional tools, constant product supply Intensive ads campaign worth of  £600 million. The company stands better in terms of range of products as it offers more products than other confectionery company. Many brand under Cadbury have been certified as fair trade while only few chocolates have been certified as fair trade for rival companies. With regards to place the company needs to develop direct relationship with supermarkets, grocery chains as what competitor Hershey is pursuing. In terms of price, the company is considered to be slightly expensive than Nestle. The company also lags behind than Mars Inc. in regard to promotion. Source: Best Global Confectionery Company, Corporate Watch (2010) Cadbury India Cadbury began its operations in India in 1948 by importing  chocolates. After 60 years of existence, it today has five company-owned manufacturing facilities an 4 sales offices. The corporate office is in Mumbai. Market Size The chocolate market for India is growing rapidly. The market size has grown larger in the recent years. Of the 20 tonnes of the market for chocolate accounting for around 400 crores, out of which Cadburys share is 70% which is followed by Nestle accounting for about 20 %, then Amul having 5% and rest with the minors. The major competition is between the Cadbury and Nestle. At present, the existing Cadbury Dairy Milk has a market share of 35 per cent.We already have 70 per cent of the Rs 2,000-crore (Rs 20-billion) chocolate market in India and now with the retail environment changing, Silk will help us tap into a wider audience, says Cadburys executive director, marketing and international business, Sanjay Purohit. Threats There may be a threat of entry of other products in the market which will increase the level of competition in the market. There are other companies which are likely to introduce the same products in the market once there is success of the initial product.(Cadbury, 2008). Social changes like rising obesity and consumers obsession with calories counting.( Department of Health, 2005) Globalisation may bring in better brands for upper end of the market and it may loose market share but will remain brand leader. Opportunities Increasing gifts cultures in India. Substitute to Mithais with higher calories/cholesterol. To respond to changes in consumer tastes and preferences healthier snacks with lower calories need to be developed. Internet usage in India has been growing at a very high rate and majority of the urban population is connected to the interest. Since there is not company that is currently using online sales, the company will look into using this strategy to boosts its sales (Laura, 2008). Brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan for advertising there new products. As Cadbury became a part of Krafts Foods, its distribution  network is increased. Positioning Cadbury dairy milk made position of its product chocolate not only in the minds of consumers but also in the market. It uses various promotional techniques to make position in the minds of customers Cadbury have good quality, more features like unique taste, design, logo and other attributes as compared to its competitors. Cadbury dairy milk is superior in quality, continuous improvements Its price is reasonable and affordable by all customers. good use of advertising is used especially the use of slogans to position a positive concept in customers minds. Cadburys reputation is built upon quality; a commitment to continuous improvement will ensure that this promise continues to be delivered. The companys punch line for advertising Cadbury dairy milk REAL TASTE OF LIFE itself depicts how well the product is positioned in the market. The product shows the purity of milk, taste. PEST Analysis P : There are no restrictions on the pricing of the products by the political institutions that is the pricing of the product is decontrolled. E : 1) There has been an increase in the per capita income depicting high disposable income. 2) There has been an increase in demand due to the growth of the middle class. 3) Better penetration due to low production costs. S : 1) Increased demand due to increasing gift culture. 2) Increased substitute demand against the Indian Mithais. T : The company has fulfilled the international standards. FINDINGS AND SURVEYS Do you consume chocolates ? Which chocolate brands do you prefer ? From where do you prefer to buy chocolates ? Are you aware of the campaign Gorilla ? Which Cadbury product do you usually prefer to consume ? Do you think Cadburys products are easily available in the market ? DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS Data was tabulated manually and was also analysed manually. Excel was used to make graphs and pie charts. Simple average method was used to compute the data and to get to the answers of the questions : 26 % of the people are not interested in eating the chocolates and 74 are eating chocolates. 60 % people prefer the Cadbury brand chocolates after that of Nestle, Mars, Lindt etc. Most of the people buy chocolates from the super stores and after that from retail outlets and movie halls. 54 % of the people are not aware of any brand campaign GORILLA whereas 46% are aware. This shows that the company needs to advertise more in the market. Dairy Milk is the most consumed chocolate product from Cadbury. 90% shows that the Cadbury brand chocolates are easily available in the market.

Does Vision And Mission Emerge Essay -- essays research papers fc

Does vision and mission emerge from the particular culture of a firm or is it dictated by strategy?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The culture of a firm and the formation of strategy are two very important aspects of an organisation. The world contains many different people all with different values, ideas and beliefs. These differences create a diverse range of cultures within organisations, some having bigger influences than others. Strategies within organisations are highly dynamic and complex, and can have positive and negative effects on an organisation. Vision and mission are concepts that many believe are vital for an organisation to operate effectively and to the best of its abilities. Andrew Campbell (1991) , a prominent writer on vision and mission, believes that both the culture and the strategy of a firm come together side by side to build an overall definition of mission for a firm. The paper will be based around Campbell’s perception and whether either culture or strategy has a greater part to play in an organisation’s mission.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Culture and strategy will be examined in a context relevant to the title question. Hofstede (1993) defines culture as ‘the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes one group or category of people from another’. Hofstedes research of different organisations and countries allowed him to make predictions on the way different societies operate, including their management processes and the theories that would be used in management. Morgan (1996) refers to culture as ‘the pattern of development reflected in a society’s system of knowledge, ideology, values, laws, and day-to-day ritual’. In subsequent writings he expands on organisational culture as ‘self-organising and is always evolving’ and also ‘ we are observing an evolved form of social practice that has been influenced by many complex interactions between people, events, situations, actions, and general circumstances’. These broad definitions of o rganisational culture are important bases and will be used throughout.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Defining strategy is a difficult process because it is a complex concept that has many forms and is constantly changing. Andrews (1987) attempt is a comprehensive definition... ...(1980) Defining the Business – The Starting Point of Strategic Planning New Jersey, Prentice Hall Collins, J.C. & Porras, J.I. (1996) Built to Last – The Successful Habits of Visionary Companies Kent, Century Ltd. De Wit, B. & Meyer, R. (1998) Strategy – Process, Content, Context London, International Thomson Business Press Fawn, J. & Cox, B. (1985) Corporate Planning in Practice London, Kogan Page Ltd. Morgan, G. (1996) Images of Organizations London, Sage Publications Porter, M.E. (1985) Competitive Advantage New York, The Free Press Journals Baetz, M.C. & Bart, C.K. (1996) Developing Mission Statements Which Work Long Range Planning 29 (4), pp.526-533 Campbell, A. & Yeung, S (1991) Creating a Sense of Mission Long Range Planning August pp.10-20 Campbell, A. (1997) Mission Statements Long Range Planning 30 (6), pp.931-932 David, F.R. (1989) How Companies Define Their Mission Long Range Planning 22 (1),pp.90-97 Piercy, N.F. (1994) Mission Analysis: An operational approach Journal of General Management 19 (3), pp.1-19 Hofstede, G (1993) Cultural Constraints in Management Theories Academy of Management Excutive 7 (1)

Essay on Family Supper

A Family Supper The Japanese fighter pilots in WWII committed suicide attacks on allied forces aka kamikaze; it was considered an honorable service to the Empire of Japan. Death instead of defeat and shame is the primary tradition in the Japanese samurai culture. They lived with the bushido code: â€Å"Loyalty and Honor before death†. The short story in discussion is â€Å"A Family Supper† written by Kazuo Ishigoru.This story tells us about an evening when the son-the protagonist and the narrator of this story, returns to Japan to meet his family after spending two years in United States, and the unsaid tension between him and his father. This story is about loss; Loss of family, friends, love and hope. The author shows the father as lost, hopeless and desperate. The loss of his wife, firm and children and the hopelessness leads him to consider suicide. The setting of the story symbolises the father’s worries and disappointments.The dusk, dimly lit rooms, the gar den and the ghost story is a major part of the setting that the author wants the reader to imagine in order to predict how the story will unfold. The narrator’s state of mind is never really told directly, but the readers can judge it by the way he behaves with his family. The repetition of death and loss; the mother’s death, the fathers loss of firm, his friend’s mass family suicide, the loss of his son and his daughter which he probably foresees, results in father’s depressed and disappointed state of mind.The author starts the story with death of the mother by fish poisoning, usually if death is mentioned in the beginning, the reader braces himself for a story involving death, and the way the story unfolds there had to be at least a death if not a mass suicide. The setting of the story symbolises the father’s worries and disappointments. The narrator describes his father as a â€Å"formidable-looking man with a large stony jaw and furious black eyebrows† (338) tells the reader about the generation gap between the father and son.The story is set in dark and dimly lit backgrounds; the sun was setting by the time they reach home. The Garden in which Kikuko, the sister and the narrator take a stroll is probably the darkest part of the setting, they discuss their childhood memories of the ghost in the garden; at that time he casually finds out about his sister’s plans to leave Japan to be with her boyfriend, perhaps the father foresees her intensions, it is not conclusive. The dark garden symbolises the anxiety of the sister, the mother’s beliefs in ghosts and her disappointment to the narrator’s actions.She blamed herself as she thought she was not a good parent, though this matter was not elaborated by the siblings as they thought it was useless to bring it up and won’t change anything. The narrator says â€Å"My relationship with my parents had become somewhat strained around the period of time. †(338). Later, when the narrator looks around the house, the large dark empty rooms, or overly cramped room shows how the father has acted all these years by keeping off his emotions and secluding himself from the rest of the family.The awkward long pauses between him and the father, the father’s inquisitiveness about his (sons) future plans, demonstrates the unsaid tension between the father and son. By this setting, the author wants the reader to feel the menacing effect of the story. The narrator’s character can be judged by his thoughts. By his conversations it can be said that he does not feel the love and emotions that one should feel for family.The battleship shows that the father had a lot of time in his hands, but when he says: â€Å"these little gunboats here could have been better glued, don’t you think†(342), he is perhaps comparing the battleship to his broken family , and asking if it could have been better, but the son did not realize this or perhaps he may have understood what his father was asking and answered â€Å"it looks fine†(342), Later in the story he looks at his mother’s photograph but he cannot recognize his mother and asks, â€Å"who is the old women in the white kimono? (343), first he mentions that his mother looks a lot older, later he says, â€Å"it’s dark. I can’t see well† (343). These incidents show that he has truly been an irresponsible son, nobody talks about their dead mother like he just did; he does not care about his family, their love that his parents expect from him and he fails to see the misery of the father.Moreover, the father looks like he is willing to forgive his son, though the story does not give any hint of his compromise on the Japanese values and traditions, it does show that he wants his children to be a part of his life. Death was mentioned repeatedly in the story. Starting with the mother’s death by fugu, the partner Wa tanabe’s suicide was mentioned three times at different scenes in the story. The father acknowledges that he likes Watanabe’s ethics in general; he calls him â€Å"a man of principle and honor† (339).The father says he wishes to be a pilot because â€Å"in an airplane there is always the final weapon†, this shows that the father’s state of mind was no different from that of his partners, the father thought dying in an airplane by kamikaze was a better way to go, this shows that his father is considers death as a means to unite the family. The Japanese traditions do not look down upon suicide. In the Japanese culture people don’t live in shame and dishonor. It’s far honorable die then to live in shame. The dead business partner has been glorified by the father in more than one occasion. A family supper† is not a story of just one family, it is a story that separates two generations, and it is a story of the father who was once a hero to his children. This story tells us about the older generation’s honor and sacrifice to their values, culture and traditions on the other hand it demonstrates how the world today has changed to be practical and not tied up with relations; how the younger generation sees today’s seniors as empty and dimly lit rooms. In this story the father was lonely, he lost his wife, his firm, his son and very soon he will be losing his daughter.The father always wanted his children to be with him, he offers the narrator to stay with him, he is desperate to see his family united, and is afraid that his family can never be happy as he wanted. This desperation mixed with the Japanese philosophy of pure blood samurai; leave the father an option of suicide. This way he can be with his family and leave this disgraceful life. The need for love and bonding is demonstrated in this story. Japanese traditions like many Asian traditions dictate that you satisfy the elders with respect and happiness and never leave them to be alone.

Duccio Madonna and Child

This is the first time I do the museum paper, that’s made me have a lot of mixing feeling, wondering, excited, curious†¦ Then, I went to the internet to make some research in art works at Metropolitan Museum. Actually, I’m interested in painting for one reason is I love drawing. I made about eleven oil paintings in my whole life. My life inspired me to put my emotion into the painting, sometime it was sad, sometime it was exciting.The value of all the painting is not just only about the drawing skill, but also the deep meaning idea the artist want to put inside the painting and the personality the artist want to present in this painting. I tried to figure out what is the best painting to write about. One Europe painting was be amazed me is the â€Å"Madonna and Child†, by Duccio di Buoninsegna, acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art for $45 million, the most expensive purchase ever by the museum. I saw it online and I was so curious and wondering why thi s painting cost so expensive.Then I decided to go to the museum to expand my knowledge about this painting for real. In 1963, when the â€Å"Mona Lisa† came to the Met for a month, more than a million people stood in long lines; but when I went to look at the Duccio, I was the only person in the room. To be sure, 13 and 14 century Italian paintings lack the popular of works by Leonardo or van Gogh, but I think more people will be curious about something that cost so much more what the Met had spent on any previous acquisition. To see this painting for real was so amazing!It’s beautiful, the colors were so unique, shinning and I keep wondering how it can be maintained till nowadays. I came home and felt so hunger to research about this painting. That painting made me surprised every seconds. The â€Å"Madonna and child† by Duccio was purchased in 2004, made in tempura and gold on wood painting was made from 1295-1300. Remarkably, it has the original frame with a technique which would later become popular in Renaissance paintings. The little picture which it just measures eleven inches high by just over eight inches wide has not attracted people that would make it difficult to see.But for real, the painting has a powerful existence with the meaning deep inside. The Virgin holds the Christ child in her left arm and looks beyond him with sad tenderness, while Jesus touching His mother’s veil, and the Virgin’s distant expression. Why Mary was so sad? Perhaps, the sadness in knowing that her only beget son will someday die for the sins of mankind. The subject about biblical was painted by Duccio in a very unique manner for his time. The artist rejected the flat expression of earthly and heavenly beings that was the style of Byzantine art.We are at the beginning of what we think of as Western art; elements of the Byzantine style still linger—in the gold background, the Virgin’s boneless and elongated fingers, and the c hild’s unchildlike features – but the colors of their clothing are so miraculously maintained, and the sense of human intercommunication is so convincing, that the two figures seem to exist in a real space, and in real time. However, The rigid line of Mary's shoulder and her long nose out of Byzantine art. It testifies to a Jesus as a human child, capable of fancy, rebellion, and love.It also testifies to a prematurely independent Jesus, able to sit up straight and to offer a regal blessing. Gold testifies further to the icon's value, its function, and its subject matter. Imagine, in fact, the gold represent to a god. Right away, the work signals at its closeness to the viewer, but also its larger-than-life subject. In this way, it brings the divine into the lives of its beholders. Duccio di Buoninsegna was born in Siena, Tuscany in about 1256. He was one of the most influential artists of his time along with that other great master from Tuscany, Cimabue.He spent almos t his entire working life in Siena. Despite not having a great deal of information about his personal life, we do know that he fathered at least seven children and that he died in 1318 or 1319. Duccio achieves the same end in a different way: he creates not just an image, but also an object. Over time, images became more and more powerful. Artists used the illusion of real life to break through walls. The more real art became, the more it became larger than life. It took Modernism's rediscovery of the art object to return painting to earth. Duccio anticipated the puzzle of the imaginary.That aim helps account for his impulse toward the decorative. It drives the unexpected delicacy of his image. He has a softer, more personal range of color than one expects from a conservative icon, as in the robe on the infant Jesus. Duccio's combination of the familiar, the divine, and the decorative extends to the image, too. When is the painting not just only the painting but also the signature o f something else. The â€Å"Madonna and child† was the last known Duccio still in private hands inspired me so much. But I keep asking myself why just only the lack of people know about the real value of this painting?