title: Sigismund I the Old

text: In 1534, when Grand Hetman Jerzy Radziwiłł and the Tatars pillaged western Russia, the Muscovites in retaliation invaded Lithuania once more. They were eventually stopped by Polish commander Jan Amor Tarnowski and allies at Starodub in 1535. Their defeat strengthened the Polish-Lithuanian union's eastern flank until the beginning of the Livonian War in 1558.


title: Sigismund I the Old

text: In 1515 Sigismund entered into an alliance with the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. In return for Maximilian lending weight to the provisions of the Second Peace of Thorn (1466), Sigismund consented to the marriage of the children of Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary, his brother, to the grandchildren of Maximilian. Through this double marriage contract, Bohemia and Hungary passed to the House of Habsburg in 1526, on the death of Sigismund's nephew, Louis II, who led his forces against Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire in the disastrous Battle of Mohács.


title: Sigismund I the Old

text: Worried about the growing ties between the Habsburgs and Russia, in 1524 Sigismund signed a Franco-Polish alliance with King Francis I of France to avoid a possible war on two fronts. Francis I himself was looking for allies in Central Europe to curtail the increasing power of Habsburg Emperor Charles V, whose realms were labelled "the empire on which the sun never sets". Furthermore, Queen Bona was instrumental in establishing an alliance between Poland and France, with the objective of recovering Milan. The official negotiations were conducted by Antonio Rincon in 1524, who was then followed by Jerome Laski. Through the agreement, the son of Francis, Henry, Duke of Orléans, was to marry one of Sigismund's daughters, and Sigismund's eldest son was to marry a daughter of Francis I.


title: Sigismund I the Old

text: The negotiations came to an end and the alliance was disbanded when Francis' troops were defeated by Charles V at the Battle of Pavia in 1525. Disturbed by the failure of his campaign, Francis turned to Hungary instead and formed a Franco-Hungarian alliance with King John Zápolya in 1528.


title: Sigismund I the Old

text: After the death of Janusz III of Masovia in 1526, Sigismund succeeded in uniting the Duchy of Masovia and Warsaw with the Kingdom of Poland. There was speculation whether Janusz and his younger brother Stanisław were poisoned by a subject of Queen Bona. The accusations were so pervasive and rampant that Sigismund ordered an investigation, as a result of which a special edict was declared on 9 February 1528 confirming that the Masovian princes died naturally or due to related illness. According to chronicler Jan Długosz, the real cause of the death of both princes could have been inherited tuberculosis.


title: Sigismund I the Old

text: In other matters of policy, Sigismund sought peaceful coexistence with the Khanate of Crimea, but was unable to completely end border skirmishes.


title: Sigismund I the Old

text: Over two centuries of wars against the Teutonic Knights ended in 1525 with the Treaty of Kraków after the final Polish–Teutonic War (1519–1521). Previously, the Second Peace of Thorn (1466) placed the Teutonic Order under Polish suzerainty and interfered with German interests in Livonia, Pomerania, Warmia and Masuria. The Order attempted to avoid paying tribute to Polish monarchs which was a demonstration of weakness and dependence.


title: Sigismund I the Old

text: In accordance with the new Treaty of Kraków, the Order was abruptly secularized and turned de facto into a puppet state of Poland which lasted until the Treaty of Bromberg in 1655. Sigismund's nephew Albert, Duke of Prussia, converted to Lutheranism under the persuasion of Martin Luther, and paid a feudal homage to Sigismund. In return he was granted the domains of the Order as the First Duke of Prussia. This became known in Polish and Lithuanian history as the "Prussian Homage", which was often featured in arts. The Prussian Landtag and parliament assembled in Königsberg, where envoys embraced both the new Duke and the Protestant Reformation. Thereupon, the Teutonic Order lost its importance as a military order in Prussia and retreated to the Holy Roman Empire where it became secluded.


title: Sigismund I the Old

text: Sigismund had a profound interest in Renaissance humanism and the revival of classical antiquity. His second consort Bona Sforza, daughter of Gian Galeazzo Sforza of Milan, was also instrumental in developing the Polish Renaissance and brought renowned Italian artists, architects and sculptors from her native country. It was under Sigismund's reign that Renaissance began to flourish in Poland and in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Sigismund II Augustus later continued his father's legacy.


title: Sigismund I the Old

text: Among the illustrious figures that guested or lived in Poland at the time were Bartholommeo Berecci, Francesco Fiorentino, Santi and Mateo Gucci, Bernardo Morando, Giovanni Battista di Quadro and Hans Dürer. Most of the decorators working for the court were foreigners, especially Italians and Germans who had a profound impact on Poland's architecture as a whole. The centrepiece of their work is Wawel Castle in Kraków, the seat of Polish monarchs as well as one of the largest castles in Central Europe. Situated on a hill overlooking Old Town, the fortified residence was extensively reconstructed in the Renaissance style and to the personal needs of the royal family. The Italian cloistered courtyard in the shape of a quadrangle, corridors, archways and portals were designed by Fiorentino with the help of Benedykt from Sandomierz. A similar design was undertaken in Niepołomice Castle, the hunting retreat of the Jagiellons.


title: Sigismund I the Old

text: The most prominent example of Sigismund's architectural legacy is a funerary monument in the form of a chapel at Wawel Cathedral. It was constructed between 1519 and 1533 according to plans by Bartolomeo Berrecci of Florence, and serves as a mausoleum of the last Jagiellons. The exterior dome is gold-plated and interior tombs made of marble were designed by Santi Gucci. Historians, experts and architects unanimously voted the chapel as "the most beautiful example of the Tuscan Renaissance north of the Alps". The monarch also commissioned a 12.6-tonne bell which was named in his honour. The Royal Sigismund Bell was installed 13 July 1521 on Wawel Cathedral's northernmost tower. Apart from religious and national holidays, the bell rung on some of the most significant moments in Polish history and is one of Poland's national symbols.


title: Sigismund I the Old

text: Sigismund suffered from numerous illnesses and diseases, especially towards the end of his life. Most notably, he was tormented by constant fevers since youth as well as gout and acute rheumatism in the autumn of 1528. The condition, which severely affected his joints and right leg, was repetitive and continued in 1529 and 1534. It is likely that Sigismund Augustus was co-crowned "vivente rege" in 1529 as a result of these pervasive pains and in case his father died unexpectedly. Furthermore, bad eating habits and a poor diet contributed to the king's ailing health, in particular large amounts of beer and mead. Eventually, the king's inability to walk forced him to be carried in a litter. However, despite his age, Sigismund was of sound mind throughout and remained active in politics until death. In 1543, he recovered from an influenza which spread in Kraków and in 1545 he enjoyed a last hunting excursion to Niepołomice.


title: Sigismund I the Old

text: Sigismund died on 1 April 1548 at the age of 81 and was buried on 7 July at Wawel Cathedral in Kraków. He was succeeded by his only legitimate son, Sigismund II Augustus, who became the last Jagiellon king of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. In 1587 Sigismund the Old's grandson, Sigismund III from the House of Vasa, was elected King of Poland. He was the son of Catherine Jagiellon and her husband John III Vasa of Sweden. Hence, Sigismund III could not belong to the Jagiellonian dynasty by his mother, but the Jagiellon bloodline of Polish monarchs continued until the death of Sigismund Vasa's second son John II Casimir.


title: Sigismund I the Old

text: In 1512, Sigismund married Barbara Zápolya (d. 1515), a Hungarian noblewoman, with whom he had two daughters:


title: Sigismund I the Old

text: By his mistress, Katarzyna Telniczanka (d. 1528), he also fathered three children prior to his first marriage:


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: The Jaffna Kingdom (, ; 1215–1624 CE), also known as Kingdom of Aryachakravarti, was a historical kingdom of what today is northern Sri Lanka. It came into existence around the town of Jaffna on the Jaffna peninsula and was traditionally thought to have been established after the invasion of Kalinga Magha from Kalinga in India. Established as a powerful force in the north, northeast and west of the island, it eventually became a tribute-paying feudatory of the Pandyan Empire in modern South India in 1258, gaining independence when the last Pandyan ruler of Madurai was defeated and expelled in 1323 by Malik Kafur, the army general of the Delhi Sultanate. For a brief period in the early to mid-14th century it was an ascendant power in the island of Sri Lanka, to which all regional kingdoms accepted subordination. However, the kingdom was overpowered by the rival Kotte Kingdom around 1450 when it was invaded by Prince Sapumal under the orders of Parakramabahu VI.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: It gained independence from Kingdom of Kotte control in 1467, and its subsequent rulers directed their energies towards consolidating its economic potential by maximising revenue from pearls, elephant exports and land revenue. It was less feudal than most of the other regional kingdoms on the island of Sri Lanka of the period. During this period, important local Tamil literature was produced and Hindu temples were built, including an academy for language advancement.The Sinhalese Nampota dated in its present form to the 14th or 15th century CE suggests that the whole of the Jaffna Kingdom, including parts of the modern Trincomalee District, was recognised as a Tamil region by the name Demala-pattana (Tamil city). In this work, a number of villages that are now situated in the Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Trincomalee districts are mentioned as places in Demala-pattana.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: The arrival of the Portuguese on the island of Sri Lanka in 1505, and its strategic location in the Palk Strait connecting all interior Sinhalese kingdoms to South India, created political problems. Many of its kings confronted and ultimately made peace with the Portuguese. In 1617, Cankili II, a usurper to the throne, confronted the Portuguese but was defeated, thus bringing the kingdom's independent existence to an end in 1619. Although rebels like Migapulle Arachchi—with the help of the Thanjavur Nayak kingdom—tried to recover the kingdom, they were eventually defeated. Nallur, a suburb of modern Jaffna town, was its capital.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: The origin of the Jaffna kingdom is obscure and still the subject of controversy among historians. Among mainstream historians, such as K. M. de Silva, S. Pathmanathan and Karthigesu Indrapala, the widely accepted view is that the Kingdom of the Aryacakravarti dynasty in Jaffna began in 1215 with the invasion of a previously unknown chieftain called Magha, who claimed to be from Kalinga in modern India. He deposed the ruling Parakrama Pandyan II, a foreigner from the Pandyan Dynasty who was ruling the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa at the time with the help of his soldiers and mercenaries from the Kalinga, modern Kerala and Damila (Tamil Nadu) regions in India.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: After the conquest of Rajarata, he moved the capital to the Jaffna peninsula which was more secured by heavy Vanni forest and ruled as a tribute-paying subordinate of the Chola empire of Tanjavur, in modern Tamil Nadu, India. During this period (1247), a Malay chieftain from Tambralinga in modern Thailand named Chandrabhanu invaded the politically fragmented island. Although King Parakramabahu II (1236–1270) from Dambadeniya was able to repulse the attack, Chandrabhanu moved north and secured the throne for himself around 1255 from Magha. Sadayavarman Sundara Pandyan I invaded Sri Lanka in the 13th century and defeated Chandrabhanu the usurper of the Jaffna Kingdom in northern Sri Lanka. Sadayavarman Sundara Pandyan I forced Chandrabhanu to submit to the Pandyan rule and to pay tributes to the Pandyan Dynasty. But later on when Chandrabhanu became powerful enough he again invaded the Singhalese kingdom but he was defeated by the brother of Sadayavarman Sundara Pandyan I called Veera Pandyan I and Chandrabhanu lost his life. Sri Lanka was invaded for the 3rd time by the Pandyan Dynasty under the leadership of Arya Cakravarti who established the Jaffna kingdom.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: When Chandrabhanu embarked on a second invasion of the south, the Pandyas came to the support of the Sinhalese king and killed Chandrabhanu in 1262 and installed Aryacakravarti, a minister in charge of the invasion, as the king. When the Pandyan Empire became weak due to Muslim invasions, successive Aryacakravarti rulers made the Jaffna kingdom independent and a regional power to reckon with in Sri Lanka. All subsequent kings of the Jaffna Kingdom claimed descent from one Kulingai Cakravarti who is identified with Kalinga Magha by Swami Gnanaprakasar and Mudaliar Rasanayagam while maintaining their Pandyan progenitor's family name.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: Politically, the dynasty was an expanding power in the 13th and 14th century with all regional kingdoms paying tribute to it. However, it met with simultaneous confrontations with the Vijayanagar empire that ruled from Vijayanagara, southern India, and a rebounding Kingdom of Kotte from the south of Sri Lanka. This led to the kingdom becoming a vassal of the Vijayanagar Empire as well as briefly losing its independence under the Kotte kingdom from 1450 to 1467. The kingdom was re-established with the disintegration of Kotte kingdom and the fragmentation of Vijayanagar Empire. It maintained very close commercial and political relationships with the Thanjavur Nayakar kingdom in southern India as well as the Kandyan and segments of the Kotte kingdom. This period saw the building of Hindu temples and a flourishing of literature, both in Tamil and Sanskrit.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: The Kotte conquest of the Jaffna Kingdom was led by king Parakramabahu VI's adopted son, Prince Sapumal. This battle took place in many stages. Firstly, the tributaries to the Jaffna Kingdom in the Vanni area, namely the Vanniar chieftains of the Vannimai were neutralised. This was followed by two successive conquests. The first war of conquest did not succeed in capturing the kingdom. It was the second conquest dated to 1450 that eventually was successful. Apparently connected with this war of conquest was an expedition to Adriampet in modern South India, occasioned according to Valentyn by the seizure of a Lankan ship laden with cinnamon. The "Tenkasi inscription" of Arikesari Parakrama Pandya of Tinnevelly who saw the backs of kings at "Singai", "Anurai", and else where, may refer to these wars; it is dated between 1449–50 and 1453–54. Kanakasooriya Cinkaiariyan the Aryacakravarti king fled to South India with his family. After the departure of "Sapumal Kumaraya" to Kotte, Kanakasooriya Cinkaiarian re-took the kingdom in 1467.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: Portuguese traders reached Sri Lanka by 1505 where their initial forays were against the south-western coastal Kotte kingdom due to the lucrative monopoly on trade in spices that the Kotte kingdom enjoyed that was also of interest to the Portuguese. The Jaffna kingdom came to the attention of Portuguese officials in Colombo for multiple reasons which included their interference in Roman Catholic missionary activities, (which was assumed to be patronizing Portuguese interests) and their support to anti-Portuguese factions of the Kotte kingdom, such as the chieftains from Sittawaka. The Jaffna Kingdom also functioned as a logistical base for the Kandyan kingdom, located in the central highlands without access to any seaports, as an entrypot for military aid arriving from South India. Further, due to its strategic location, it was feared that the Jaffna kingdom may become a beachhead for the Dutch landings. It was king Cankili I who resisted contacts with the Portuguese and even massacred 600–700 Parava Catholics in the island of Mannar. These Catholics were brought from India to Mannar to take over the lucrative pearl fisheries from the Jaffna kings.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: The first expedition led by Viceroy Dom Constantino de Bragança in 1560 failed to subdue the kingdom but wrestedMannar Island from it. Although the circumstances are unclear, by 1582 the Jaffna king was paying a tribute of ten elephants or an equivalent in cash. In 1591, during the second expedition led by André Furtado de Mendonça, king Puvirasa Pandaram was killed and his son Ethirimanna Cinkam was installed as the monarch. This arrangement gave the Catholic missionaries freedom and a monopoly in elephant exports to the Portuguese, which the incumbent king however resisted. He helped the Kandyan kingdom under kings Vimaladharmasuriya I and Senarat during the period 1593–1635 with the intent of securing help from South India to resist the Portuguese. He however maintained autonomy of the kingdom without overly provoking the Portuguese.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: With the death of Ethirimana Cinkam in 1617, his 3-year-old son was the proclaimed king with the late king's brother "Arasakesari" as regent. Cankili II, a usurper, and nephew of the late king killed all the princes of royal blood including "Arasakesari" and the powerful chief "Periya Pillai Arachchi". His cruel actions made him unpopular leading to a revolt by the nominal Christian Mudaliyars Dom Pedro and Dom Luis (also known as Migapulle Arachchi, the son of Periya Pillai Arachchi) and drove Cankili to hide in Kayts in August–September 1618. Unable to secure Portuguese acceptance of his kingship and to suppress the revolt, Cankili II invited military aid from the Thanjavur Nayaks who sent a troop of 5000 men under the military commander Varunakulattan.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: Cankili II was supported by the Kandy rulers. After the fall of the Jaffna kingdom, the two unnamed princesses of Jaffna had been married to Senarat's stepsons, Kumarasingha and Vijayapala. Cankili II expectably received military aid from the Thanjavur Nayak Kingdom. On his part, Raghunatha Nayak of Thanjavur made attempts to recover the Jaffna Kingdom for his protege, the Prince of Rameshwaram. However, all attempts to recover the Jaffna Kingdom from the Portuguese met with failure.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: By June 1619, there were two Portuguese expeditions: a naval expedition that was repulsed by the Karaiyars and another expedition by Filipe de Oliveira and his 5,000 strong land army which was able to inflict defeat on Cankili II. Cankili, along with every surviving member of the royal family were captured and taken to Goa, where he was hanged. The remaining captives were encouraged to become monks or nuns in the holy orders, and as most obliged, it avoided further claimants to the Jaffna throne. In 1620 Migapulle Arachchi, with a troop of Thanjavur soldiers, revolted against the Portuguese and was defeated. A second rebellion was led by a chieftain called "Varunakulattan" with the support of Raghunatha Nayak.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: According to Ibn Batuta, a traveling Moroccan historian of note, by 1344, the kingdom had two capitals: one in Nallur in the north and the other in Puttalam in the west during the pearling season. The kingdom proper, that is the Jaffna peninsula, was divided into various provinces with subdivisions of "parrus" meaning property or larger territorial units and "ur" or villages, the smallest unit, was administered on a hierarchical and regional basis. At the summit was the king whose kingship was hereditary; he was usually succeeded by his eldest son. Next in the hierarchy stood the "adikaris" who were the provincial administrators. Then came the "mudaliyars" who functioned as judges and interpreters of the laws and customs of the land. It was also their duty to gather information of whatever was happening in the provinces and report to higher authorities. The title was bestowed on the Karaiyar generals who commanded the navy and also on Vellalar chiefs. Administrators of revenues called "kankanis" or superintendents and "kanakkappillais" or accountants came next in line. These were also known as "pandarapillai". They had to keep records and maintain accounts. The royal heralds whose duty was to convey messages or proclamations came from the Paraiyar community.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: "Maniyam" was the chief of the "parrus". He was assisted by "mudaliyars" who were in turn assisted by "udaiyars", persons of authority over a village or a group of villages. They were the custodians of law and order and gave assistance to survey land and collect revenues in the area under their control. The village headman was called "talaiyari", "pattankaddi" or "adappanar" and he assisted in the collection of taxes and was responsible for the maintenance of order in his territorial unit. The Adappanar were the headmen of the ports. The Pattankaddi and Adappanar were from the maritime Karaiyar and Paravar communities. In addition, each caste had a chief who supervised the performance of caste obligations and duties.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: Vannimais were regions south of the Jaffna peninsula in the present-day North Central and Eastern provinces and were sparsely settled by people. They were ruled by petty chiefs calling themselves Vanniar. Vannimais just south of the Jaffna peninsula and in the eastern Trincomalee district usually paid an annual tribute to the Jaffna kingdom instead of taxes. The tribute was in cash, grains, honey, elephants, and ivory. The annual tribute system was enforced due to the greater distance from Jaffna. During the early and middle part of the 14th century, the Sinhalese kingdoms in western, southern and central part of the island also became feudatories until the kingdom itself was briefly occupied by the forces of Parakramabahu VI around 1450 for about 17 years. Around the early 17th century, the kingdom also administered an exclave in Southern India called Madalacotta.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: The economy of the Kingdom was almost exclusively based on subsistence agriculture until the 15th century. After the 15th century, however, the economy became diversified and commercialized as it became incorporated into the expanding Indian Ocean.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: Ibn Batuta, during his visit in 1344, observed that the kingdom of Jaffna was a major trading kingdom with extensive overseas contacts, who described that the kingdom had a "considerable forces by the sea", testifying to their strong reputed navy. The Kingdom's trades were oriented towards maritime South India, with which it developed a commercial interdependence. The non-agriculture tradition of the kingdom became strong as a result of large coastal fishing and boating population and growing opportunities for seaborne commerce. Influential commercial groups, drawn mainly from south Indian mercantile groups as well as other, resided in the royal capital, port, and market centers. Artisan settlements were also established and groups of skilled tradesmen—carpenters, stonemasons, wavers, dryers, gold and silver smiths—resided in urban centers. Thus, a pluralistic socio-economic tradition of agriculture marine activities, commerce and handicraft production was well established.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: Jaffna kingdom was less feudalized than other kingdoms in Sri Lanka, such as Kotte and Kandy. Its economy was based on more money transactions than transactions on land or its produce. The Jaffna defense forces were not feudal levies; soldiers in the kings service were paid in cash. The king's officials, namely "Mudaliayars", were also paid in cash and the numerous Hindu temples seem not to have owned extensive properties, unlike the Buddhist establishments in the South. Temples and the administrators depended on the king and the worshippers for their upkeep. Royal and Army officials were thus a salaried class and these three institutions consumed over 60% of the revenues of the kingdom and 85% of the government expenditures. Much of the kingdom's revenues also came from cash except the Elephants from the Vanni feudatories. At the time of the conquest by the Portuguese in 1620, the kingdom which was truncated in size and restricted to the Jaffna peninsula had revenues of 11,700 "pardaos" of which 97% came from land or sources connected to the land. One was called land rent and another called paddy tax called "arretane".


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: Apart from the land related taxes, there were other taxes, such as "Garden tax" from compounds where, among others, plantain, coconut and arecanut palms were grown and irrigated by water from the well. "Tree tax" on trees such as palmyrah, margosa and "iluppai" and "Poll tax" equivalent to a personal tax from each. "Professional tax" was collected from members of each caste or guild and "commercial taxes" consisting of, among others, "stamp duty" on clothes (clothes could not be sold privately and had to have official stamp), "Taraku" or levy on items of food, and "Port and customs duties". Columbuthurai, which connected the Peninsula with the mainland at Poonakari with its boat services, was one of the chief port, and there were customs check posts at the sand passes of Pachilaippalai. Elephants from the southern Sinhalese kingdoms and the Vanni region were brought to Jaffna to be sold to foreign buyers. They were shipped abroad from a bay called Urukathurai, which is now called Kayts—a shortened form of Portuguese "Caes dos elephantess" (Bay of Elephants). Perhaps a peculiarity of Jaffna was the levy of license fee for the cremation of the dead.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: Not all payments in kind were converted to cash, offerings of rice, bananas, milk, dried fish, game meat and curd persisted. Some inhabitants also had to render unpaid personal services called "uliyam".


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: The kings also issued many types of coins for circulation. Several types of coins categorized as "Sethu Bull" coins issued from 1284 to 1410 are found in large quantities in the northern part of Sri Lanka. The obverse of these coins have a human figure flanked by lamps and the reverse has the Nandi (bull) symbol, the legend "Setu" in Tamil with a crescent moon above.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: Saivism (a denomination of Hinduism) in Sri Lanka has had continuous history from the early period of settlers from India. Hindu worship was widely accepted even as part of the Buddhist religious practices. During the Chola period in Sri Lanka, around the 9th and 10th century, Hinduism gained status as an official religion in the island kingdom. Kalinga Magha, whose rule followed that of the Cholas is remembered as a Hindu revivalist by the native literature of that period.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: As the state religion, Hinduism enjoyed all the prerogatives of the establishment during the period of the Jaffna kingdom. The Aryacakravarti dynasty was very conscious of its duties as a patron towards Hinduism because of the patronage given by its ancestors to the Rameswaram temple, a well-known pilgrimage center of Indian Hinduism. As noted, one of the titles assumed by the kings was "Setukavalan" or protector of "Setu" another name for Rameswaram. "Setu" was used in their coins as well as in inscriptions as marker of the dynasty.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: Sapumal Kumaraya (also known as "Chempaha Perumal" in Tamil), who ruled the Jaffna kingdom on behalf of the Kotte kingdom is credited with either building or renovating the Nallur Kandaswamy temple. Singai Pararasasegaram is credited with building the Sattanathar temple, the Vaikuntha Pillaiyar temple and the Veerakaliamman temple. He built a pond called Yamuneri and filled it with water from the Yamuna river of North India, which is considered holy by Hindus. He was a frequent the visitor of the Koneswaram temple, as was his son and successor King Cankili I. King Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan had the traditional history of the temple compiled as a chronicle in verse, entitled "Dakshina Kailasa Puranam", known today as the "Sthala Puranam of Koneshwaram Temple". Major temples were normally maintained by the kings and a salary was paid from the royal treasury to those who worked in the temple, unlike in India and rest of Sri Lanka, where religious establishments were autonomous entities with large endowments of land and related revenue.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: Most accepted Lord Shiva as the primary deity and the lingam, the universal symbol of Shiva, was consecrated in shrines dedicated to him. The other Hindu gods of the pantheon such as Murugan, Pillaiyar, Kali were also worshipped. At the village level, village deities were popular along with the worship of Kannaki whose veneration was common amongst the Sinhalese in the south as well. Belief in charm and evil spirits existed, just as in the rest of South Asia.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: There were many Hindu temples within the Kingdom. Some were of great historic importance, such as the Koneswaram temple in Trincomalee, Ketheeswaram temple in Mannar, Naguleswaram temple in Keerimalai along with hundreds of other temples that were scattered over the region. The ceremonies and festivals were similar to those in modern South India, with some slight changes in emphasis. The Tamil devotional literature of Saiva saints was used in worship. The Hindu New Year falling on the middle of April was more elaborately celebrated and festivals, such as "Navarattiri", "Deepavali", "Sivarattiri", and "Thaiponkal", along with marriages, deaths and coming of age ceremonies were part of the daily life.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: Until ca. 1550, when Cankili I expelled the Buddhists of Jaffna, who were all Sinhalese, and destroyed their many places of worship, Buddhism prevailed in the Jaffna kingdom, among the Sinhalese who had remained in the territory. Some important places of Buddhist worship in the Jaffna kingdom, which are mentioned in the Nampota are: Naga-divayina (Nagadipa, modern Nainativu), Telipola, Mallagama, Minuvangomu-viharaya and Kadurugoda (modern Kantharodai), of these only the Buddhist temple at Nagadipa survive today.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: The social organization of the people of the Jaffna kingdom was based on a caste system and a matrilineal "kudi" (clan) system similar to the caste structure of South India. The Aryacakravarti kings and their immediate family claimed "Brahma-Kshatriya" status, meaning "Brahmins" who took to martial life. The "Madapalli" were the palace stewards and cooks, the "Akampadayar"'s formed the palace servants, the Paraiyar were the royal heralds and the "Siviyar" were the royal palanquin bearers. The army and navy generals were from the "Karaiyar" caste, who also controlled the pearl trade and whose chiefs were known as "Mudaliyar", "Paddankatti" and "Adapannar". The "Mukkuvar" and "Thimilar" were also engaged in the pearl fishery. The "Udayars" or village headmen and landlords of agriculture societies were mostly drawn from the "Vellalar" caste. The service providing communities were known as "Kudimakkal" and consisted of various groups such as the "Ambattar", "Vannar", "Kadaiyar", "Pallar", "Nalavar", "Paraiyar", "Koviyar" and "Brahmin". The Kudimakkal had ritual importance in the temples and at funerals and weddings. The "Chettys" were well known as traders and owners of Hindu temples and the Pallar and Nalavar castes composed of the agriculturist labours who tilled the land. The weavers were the Paraiyars and Sengunthar who gave importance to the textile trade. The artisans also known as "Kammalar" were formed by the "Kollar", "Thattar", "Tatchar", "Kaltatchar" and the "Kannar".


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: Mercenaries of various ethnic and caste backgrounds from India, such as the Telugus (known locally as "Vadugas") and Malayalees from the Kerala region were also employed by the king as soldiers. Muslim traders and sea pirates of Mapilla and Moor ethnicities as well as Sinhalese were in the Kingdom. The kingdom also functioned as a refuge for rebels from the south seeking shelter after failed political coups. According to the earliest historiographical literature of the Kingdom of Jaffna, "Vaiyaapaadal", datable to 14th–15th century, in verse 77 lists the community of "Papparavar" (Berbers specifically and Africans in general) along with "Kuchchiliyar" (Gujaratis) and "Choanar" (Arabs) and places them under the caste category of "Pa’l’luvili" who are believed to be cavalrymen of Muslim faith . The caste of "Pa’l’luvili" or "Pa’l’livili" is peculiar to Jaffna. A Dutch census taken in 1790 in Jaffna records 196 male adults belonging to Pa’l’livili caste as taxpayers. That means the identity and profession existed until Dutch times. But, Choanakar, with 492 male adults and probably by this time generally meaning the Muslims, is found mentioned as a separate community in this census.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: During the rule of the Aryacakravarti rulers, the laws governing the society was based on a compromise between a matriarchal system of society that seemed to have had deeper roots overlaid with a patriarchal system of governance. These laws seemed to have existed side by side as customary laws to be interpreted by the local "Mudaliars". In some aspects such as in inheritance the similarity to "Marumakattayam" law of present-day Kerala and "Aliyasanatana" of modern Tulunadu was noted by later scholars. Further Islamic jurisprudence and Hindu laws of neighboring India also seemed to have affected the customary laws. These customary laws were later codified and put to print during the Dutch colonial rule as "Thesavalamai" in 1707. The rule under earlier customs seemed to have been females succeeded females. But when the structure of the society came to be based on patriarchal system, a corresponding rule was recognized, that males succeeded males. Thus, we see the devolution of "muthusam" (paternal inheritance) was on the sons, and the devolution of the "chidenam" (dowry or maternal inheritance) was on the females. Just as one dowried sister succeeded another, we had the corresponding rule that if one's brother died instate, his properties devolved upon his brothers to the exclusion of his sisters. The reason being that in a patriarchal family each brother formed a family unit, but all the brothers being agnates, when one of them died his property devolved upon his agnates.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: The kings of the dynasty provided patronage to literature and education. Temple schools and traditional "gurukulam" classes in verandahs (known as "Thinnai Pallikoodam" in Tamil language) spread basic education in languages such as Tamil language and Sanskrit and religion to the upper classes. During the reign of Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan rule, a work on medical science ("Segarajasekaram"), on astrology ("Segarajasekaramalai") and on mathematics ("Kanakathikaram") were authored by Karivaiya. During the rule of Gunaveera Cinkaiariyan, a work on medical sciences, known as "Pararajasekaram", was completed. During Singai Pararasasegaram's rule, an academy for Tamil language propagation on the model of ancient Tamil Sangams was established in Nallur. This academy performed a useful service in collecting and preserving ancient Tamil works in manuscripts form in a library called "Saraswathy Mahal". Singai Pararasasekaran's cousin "Arasakesari" was credited with translating the Sanskrit classic Raghuvamsa into Tamil. Pararasasekaran's brother "Segarajasekaran" and Arasakesari collected manuscripts from Madurai and other regions for the Saraswathy Mahal library. Among other literary works of historic importance compiled before the arrival of European colonizers, "Vaiyapatal", written by Vaiyapuri Aiyar, is well known.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: There were periodic waves of South Indian influence over Sri Lankan art and architecture, though the prolific age of monumental art and architecture seemed to have declined by the 13th century. Temples built by the Tamils of Indian origin from the 10th century belonged to the Madurai variant of Vijayanagar period. A prominent feature of the Madurai style was the ornate and heavily sculptured tower or "gopuram" over the entrance of temple. None of the important religious constructions of this style within the territory that formed the Jaffna kingdom survived the destructive hostility of the Portuguese.


title: Jaffna Kingdom

text: Nallur, the capital was built with four entrances with gates. There were two main roadways and four temples at the four gateways. The rebuilt temples that exist now do not match their original locations which instead are occupied by churches erected by the Portuguese. The center of the city was "Muthirai Santhai" (market place) and was surrounded by a square fortification around it. There were courtly buildings for the Kings, Brahmin priests, soldiers and other service providers. The old Nallur Kandaswamy temple functioned as a defensive fort with high walls. In general, the city was laid out like the traditional temple town according to Hindu traditions.


title: Dragon dance

text: Dragon dance () is a form of traditional dance and performance in Chinese culture. Like the lion dance, it is most often seen during festive celebrations. The dance is performed by a team of experienced dancers who manipulate a long flexible giant puppet of a dragon using poles positioned at regular intervals along the length of the dragon. The dance team simulates the imagined movements of this river spirit in a sinuous, undulating manner.


title: Dragon dance

text: The dragon dance is often performed during Chinese New Year. Chinese dragons are a symbol of China's culture, and they are believed to bring good luck to people, therefore the longer the dragon is in the dance, the more luck it will bring to the community. The dragons are believed to possess qualities that include great power, dignity, fertility, wisdom and auspiciousness. The appearance of a dragon is both fearsome and bold but it has a benevolent disposition, and it was an emblem to represent imperial authority. The movements in a performance traditionally symbolize the power and dignity of the dragon.


title: Dragon dance

text: During the Han Dynasty, different forms of the dragon dance were described in ancient texts. Rain dance performed at times of drought may involve the use of figures of dragon as Chinese dragon was associated with rain in ancient China, for example the dragon Yinglong was considered a rain deity, and the Shenlong had the power to determine how much wind and rain to bring. According to the Han Dynasty text "Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals" by Dong Zhongshu, as part of a ritual to appeal for rain, clay figures of the dragons were made and children or adults may then perform a dance. The number of dragons, their length and color, as well as the performers may vary according to the time of year. Other dances involving dragons may be found in a popular form of entertainment during the Han Dynasty, the "baixi" () variety shows, where performers called "mime people" () dressed up as various creatures such as beasts, fish and dragons. In his "Lyric Essay on Western Capital" () Zhang Heng recorded various performances such as performers who dressed as a green dragon playing a flute, and a fish-dragon act where fish transformed into a dragon. A version of the fish-dragon dance called "fish-dragon extending" () was also performed at the Han court to entertain foreign guests – in this dance a mythical beast of Shenli () transforms into flounder, then to a dragon. These ancient dances however do not resemble modern Dragon Dance in their descriptions, and depictions of dragon dance in Han Dynasty stone relief engravings suggest that the props used may also be cumbersome, unlike modern Dragon Dance where light-weight dragons are manipulated by performers.


title: Dragon dance

text: The dragon acts of the Han Dynasty were also mentioned in the Tang and Song Dynasty. Figures similar to the dragon lantern () used during Lantern Festival were described in the Song Dynasty work "Dreams of Splendor of the Eastern Capital", where figures of dragon mounted for display were constructed out of grass and cloth and inside which numerous candle lights may be placed. Such dragon lanterns may also be carried and paraded by performers in the street during the Lantern festival at nighttime. A wide variety of dragon dances have developed in various regions in China, for example, the Fenghua Cloth Dragon () from Zhejiang was made with bamboo frame and covered with cloth, and is said to have been developed in the 1200s. A form of dragon dance from Tongliang County (), which originated as snake totem worship, began during the Ming Dynasty and became popular in the Qing Dynasty. In the modern era, the government of People's Republic of China adapted and promoted various traditional folk dances, which contributed to the popularity of the current form of the dragon dance now found widely in China as well as Chinese communities around the world.


title: Dragon dance

text: Aside from the popular form of dragon dance, other regional dragon dances include one from Zhanjiang, Guangdong province whereby the body of the dragon is formed entirely of a human chain of dozens to hundreds of performers, and in Pujiang County, Zhejiang Province, the body of the dragon is formed using wooden stools. The number of different dragon dances has been put at over 700.


title: Dragon dance

text: Typically, retired dragons are burned and not saved. The head of the oldest surviving dragon, dating back to 1878 and named "Moo Lung", is preserved and on display at the Bok Kai Temple in Marysville, California. Other fragments of dragons of similar age are kept at the Sweetwater County Historical Museum in Green River, Wyoming (1893, eyes only), Gold Museum in Ballarat (1897, head only), and the Golden Dragon Museum in Bendigo (1901, the oldest complete dragon, named "Loong"). Bendigo's "Loong" was used regularly in that city's Easter parade until 1970, and occasionally has come out of storage since then to welcome newer dragons to Bendigo.


title: Dragon dance

text: The dragon is a long serpentine body formed of a number of sections on poles, with a dragon head and a tail. The dragon is assembled by joining the series of hoops on each section and attaching the ornamental head and tail pieces at the ends. Traditionally, dragons were constructed of wood, with bamboo hoops on the inside and covered with a rich fabric, however in the modern era lighter materials such as aluminium and plastics have replaced the wood and heavy material.


title: Dragon dance

text: Dragons can range in length from as little as operated by two people for small displays, around for the more acrobatic models, and up to for the larger parade and ceremonial styles. The size and length of a dragon depends on the human power available, financing, materials, skills and size of the field. A small organization cannot afford to run a very long dragon because it requires considerable human power, great expense and special skills.


title: Dragon dance

text: The normal length and size of the body recommended for the dragon is and is divided into nine major sections. The distance of each minor (rib-like) section is apart; therefore, the body has 81 rings. Many may also be up to 15 sections long, and some dragons are as long as 46 sections. Occasionally, dragons with far more sections may be constructed in Chinese communities around the world to produce the longest dragon possible, since part of the myth of the dragon is that the longer the creature, the more luck it will bring. Sun Loong in Bendigo, Australia was, at the time it was made in 1970, the longest dragon in the world measuring approximately and is believed to be the longest regularly used dragon. Much longer dragons have been created for one-off events. The world record for the longest dragon is , set in Hong Kong on 1 October 2012.


title: Dragon dance

text: Historically the dragon dance may be performed in a variety of ways with different types and colours of dragon. Green is sometimes selected as a main colour of the dragon, which symbolizes a great harvest. Other colours include: yellow, symbolizing the solemn empire; gold or silver, symbolizing prosperity; red, representing excitement. The dragon's scales and tail are mostly beautiful silvery and glittery to create a joyous atmosphere. As the dragon dance is not performed every day, the cloth of the dragon is removed and touched up with ultra-paint before each performance.


title: Dragon dance

text: The dragon dance is performed by a skilled team whose job is to bring the motionless puppet body to life. The correct combination and proper timing of the different parts of the dragon are very important to make a successful dance. Any mistakes made by even some of the performers would spoil the whole performance. To be very successful in the dance, the head of the Dragon must be able to coordinate with the body movement to match the timing of the drum. For larger ceremonial and parade style dragons, the head can weigh as much as 12 katis (14.4 kg, almost 32 lb). The dragon tail also has an important role to play as it will have to keep in time with head movements. The fifth section is considered to be the middle portion and the performers must be very alert as the body movements change from time to time. The dragon is often led by a person holding a spherical object representing a pearl.


title: Dragon dance

text: The patterns of the dragon dance are choreographed according to the skills and experiences acquired by the performers. Some of the patterns of the dragon dance are "Cloud Cave", "Whirlpool", T'ai chi pattern, "threading the money", "looking for pearl", and "dragon encircling the pillar". The movement "dragon chasing the pearl" shows that the dragon is continually in the pursuit of wisdom.


title: Dragon dance

text: The dragon moves in a wave-like pattern achieved by the co-ordinated swinging of each section in succession. Whilst this swinging constitutes the basic movement of the dragon, executing more complex formations is only limited by a team's creativity. The patterns and tricks that are performed generally involve running into spiraled formations to make the dragon body turn and twist on itself. This causes performers to jump over or through the dragon's body sections, adding to the visual display. Other advanced manoeuvres include various corkscrew-like rotating tricks and more acrobatic moves where the performers stand on each other's legs and shoulders to increase the height of the dragon's movements.


title: Dragon dance

text: Performing in a dragon dance team incorporates several elements and skills; it is something of a cross-over activity, combining the training and mentality of a sports team with the stagecraft and flair of a performing arts troupe. The basic skills are simple to learn, however to become a competent performer takes dedicated training until movements become second nature and complex formations can be achieved – which rely not only on the skill of the individual member, but on concentration by the team as a whole to move in co-operation.


title: Dragon dance

text: A double dragon dance, rarely seen in Western exhibitions, involves two troupes of dancers intertwining the dragons. Even rarer are dances with the full array of nine dragons, since nine is a "perfect" number. Such dances involve large number of participants from various organizations, and are often only possible under the auspices of a regional or national government.


title: Dragon dance

text: A number of dragon dance competitions have been organized around the world. In competition performances however, there are strict rules governing the specifications of the dragon body and the routine performed, and so dragons made for these events and what are mostly seen in the impressive stage shows are made for speed and agility, to be used by the performing team for maximum trick difficulty. In these dragons, the head is smaller and light enough to be whipped around, and must be a minimum of 3 kg, the body pieces are a light aluminium with cane and the majority of the hoops will be very thin PVC tubing. Performances are typically 8- to 10-minute routines with an accompanying percussion set.


title: Dragon dance

text: In more recent times, luminous dragons whereby the dragons are painted with luminous paints that fluoresce under black light are also used in competition.


title: Dragon dance

text: The Chinese dragon is "perhaps the most recognized form of parade puppet". Unlike the lion dance in many Asian countries where there are numerous native versions of the dance, the dragon dance is found in other countries primarily among overseas Chinese communities. In Japan, the dragon dance (, "Ja Odori" or "Snake Dance" ) is one of the main attractions in the Nagasaki Kunchi festival. The dance was originally performed by Chinese residents who settled in Nagasaki, the only port said to be open for foreign trade in Japan during the Edo period. The dragon dance has also been adapted for other local festivities by the Japanese – a golden dragon dance (, "Kinryū no Mai") has been performed at the Sensō-ji in Tokyo since 1958. There is however a form that is unique to Japan – the "Orochi" (a great serpent or Japanese dragon) which may be found in a "kagura" performance.


title: Dragon dance

text: Lawrence Ferlinghetti's poem "The Great Chinese Dragon", published in his 1961 anthology "Starting from San Francisco", was inspired by the dragon dance.


title: Dragon dance

text: Gregory Stephenson says the dragon "... represents 'the force and mystery of life,' the true sight that 'sees the spiritual everywhere translucent in the material world'".


title: Dragon dance

text: Earl Lovelace's 1979 novel "The Dragon Can't Dance" uses the theme of the Carnival dance to explore social change and history in the West Indies.


title: Dragon dance

text: Arthur Ransome incorporates dragon dances in his children's book "Missee Lee" (1941), part of the "Swallows and Amazons" series, which is set in 1930s China.


title: Gas duster

text: A gas duster, also known as canned air or compressed air, is a product used for cleaning or dusting electronic equipment and other sensitive devices that cannot be cleaned using water.


title: Gas duster

text: This type of product is most often packaged as a can that, when a trigger is pressed, blasts a stream of compressed gas through a nozzle at the top. Despite the names "canned air" or "compressed air", the cans do not actually contain air (i.e. do not contain O or N gases) but rather contain other gases that are compressible into liquids. True liquid air is not practical, as it cannot be stored in metal spray cans due to extreme pressure and temperature requirements. Common duster gases include hydrocarbon alkanes, like butane, propane, and isobutane, and fluorocarbons like 1,1-difluoroethane, 1,1,1-trifluoroethane, or 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane which are used because of their lower flammability.


title: Gas duster

text: When inhaled, gas duster fumes may produce psychoactive effects and may be harmful to health, sometimes even causing death.


title: Gas duster

text: The first patent for a unitary, hand-held compressed air dusting tool was filed in 1930 by E C Brown Co, listing Tappan Dewitt as the product's sole inventor. The patent application describes the product as a


title: Gas duster

text: Single-unit, i.e. unitary, hand-held apparatus comprising a container and a discharge nozzle attached thereto, in which flow of liquid or other fluent material is produced by the muscular energy of the operator at the moment of use or by an equivalent manipulator independent from the apparatus the spray being effected by a gas or vapour flow from a source where the gas or vapour is not in contact with the liquid or other fluent material to be sprayed, e.g. from a compressible bulb, an air pump or an enclosure surrounding the container designed for spraying particulate material.


title: Gas duster

text: Canned air can be used for cleaning dust off surfaces such as keyboards, as well as sensitive electronics in which moisture is not desired. When using canned air, it is recommended to not hold the can upside down, as this can result in spraying liquid on to the surface. The liquid, when released from the can, boils at a very low temperature, rapidly cooling any surface it touches. This can cause mild to moderate frostbite on contact with skin, especially if the can is held upside down. Also, the can gets very cold during extended use; holding the can itself can result in cold burns.


title: Gas duster

text: A dust spray can often be used as a freeze spray. Many gas dusters contain HFC-134a (tetrafluoroethane), which is widely used as a propellant and refrigerant. HFC-134a sold for those purposes is often sold at a higher price, which has led to the practice of using gas dusters as a less expensive source of HFCs for those purposes. Adapters have been built for such purposes, although in most cases, the use of such adapters will void the warranty on the equipment they are used with. One example of this practice is the case of airsoft gas guns, which use HFC-134a as the compressed gas. Several vendors sell "duster adapters" for use with airsoft guns, though it is necessary to add a lubricant when using gas dusters to power airsoft guns.


title: Gas duster

text: Since gas dusters are one of the many inhalants that can be easily abused, many manufacturers have added a bittering agent to deter people from inhaling the product. Some U.S. states, as well as the UK, have made laws regarding the abuse of gas duster, as well as other inhalants, by criminalizing inhalant abuse or making the sale of gas duster and other inhalants illegal to those under 18. Because of the generic name "canned air", it is mistakenly believed that the can only contains normal air or contains a less harmful substance (such as nitrous oxide, for example). However, the gases actually used are denser than air, such as difluoroethane. When inhaled, the gas displaces the oxygen in the lungs and removes carbon dioxide from the blood, which can cause the user to suffer from hypoxia. Contrary to popular belief, the majority of the psychoactive effects of these inhalants is not a result of oxygen deprivation. The euphoric feeling produced stems from cellular mechanisms that are dependent on the molecular structure of the specific inhalant, as is the case with all psychoactive drugs. Their exact mechanisms of action have not been well elucidated, but it is hypothesized that they have much in common with that of alcohol. This type of inhalant abuse can cause a plethora of negative effects including brain and nerve damage, paralysis, serious injury, or death.


title: Gas duster

text: Difluoroethane (HFC-152a), trifluoroethane (HFC-143a), and completely non-flammable tetrafluoroethane (HFC-134a) are potent greenhouse gases. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the global warming potential (GWP) of HFC-152a, HFC-143a, and HFC-134a are 124, 4470, and 1430, respectively. GWP refers to global warming effect in comparison to CO for unit mass. 1 kg of HFC-152a is equivalent to 124 kg of CO


title: Gas duster

text: Gas dusters sold in many countries are ozone safe as they use "zero ODP" (zero ozone depletion potential) gases. For example, tetrafluoroethane has insignificant ODP. This is a separate issue from the global warming concern.


title: Gas duster

text: True "air dusters" using ordinary air are also available in the market. These typically have much shorter run times than a chemical duster, but are easily refillable. Both hand pump and electric compressor models have been marketed. The maximum pressure for an aerosol can is typically 10 bar (145 psi) at 20°C (68°F). Therefore, a fully compressed air duster will exhaust air about 10 times the can volume.


title: Gas duster

text: Recently electronic versions which only use air have become viable alternatives that are preferred by many large corporations due to the fact that they contain no hazardous chemicals, are safe for the environment, do not freeze and cannot be abused. Another mechanical alternative is a camera air blower.


title: Behringer

text: Behringer is an audio equipment company founded by the Swiss engineer Uli Behringer on 25 January 1989, in Willich, Germany. Behringer was the 14th largest manufacturer of music products in 2007. Behringer is a worldwide, multinational group of companies, with direct marketing presence in ten countries or territories and a sales network in over 130 countries around the world.


title: Behringer

text: Though originally a German manufacturer, it now manufactures its products in China. Behringer is owned by Music Tribe, a holding company chaired by Uli Behringer.


title: Behringer

text: Company founder, Uli Behringer, was born 1961 in Baden, Switzerland. Behringer's father was a church organist and nuclear physicist; his mother a pianist and interpreter; his uncle a professor of composition at the Richard Strauss Conservatory in Munich; and his aunt a classical singer and pianist. At the age of four, Uli Behringer started to learn piano. When he was five years old, his father built his own church organ with over 1000 pipes and integrated them into the family home. Behringer helped his father build the organ. At the age of 16, he built his first synthesizer, the "UB1".


title: Behringer

text: While Behringer products were manufactured in Willich, Germany, many of the individual components were imported from mainland China. In 1990, to lower production costs, Behringer shifted production from West Germany to mainland China. Initially, subcontractors were engaged to produce the equipment. By 1997 Uli Behringer had relocated to Hong Kong to better supervise manufacturing quality.


title: Behringer

text: In May 2000, Behringer acquired the rights to the entire CoolAudio technology from Intersil Corporation, a US-based semi-conductor manufacturer specializing in integrated circuits for audio applications. The acquisition included an extensive intellectual property portfolio and licensees such as Alpine and Rowe, among others.


title: Behringer

text: In 2018, Music Tribe opened its own factory, Music Tribe City, in Zhongshan, Guangdong, China. The factory handles the production and distribution for Music Tribe's 12 brands, including Behringer products.


title: Behringer

text: Since 2016, Behringer has become a manufacturer of synthesizers and drum machines, which includes original synths, but also many recreations of old classic synthesizers, chips and hardware. Although some manufacturers such as Curtis are not happy about their products being cloned, Behringer has claimed that creating clones of older hardware is legal where the patents have expired.


title: Behringer

text: In 2016, they released their first commercial synths the Deepmind 12 and Deepmind 6. Shortly after they followed by the Deepmind 12D which was a desktop alternative to the Deepmind synths. The design of the Deepmind was inspired by the Roland Juno-106. Their second original synth was the Neutron and their third was Behringer Crave, a semi-modular synthesizer released in 2019. The next synth to be released was the Model D, a desktop clone of the Minimoog. The following year, the Poly D was released, with the same "D type" circuits as the Model D, but now with 4 oscillators and a keyboard. Since 2018, Behringer has produced clones of synthesizers and drum machines including the Roland TB-303, Korg Monopoly, Arp 2600, Arp Odyssey, Roland TR-808, TR-909, Roland SH-101, Minimoog, Sequential Circuits Prophet-600 and EDP Wasp.


title: Behringer

text: In February 2006, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fined Behringer $1M, issuing a Notice of Apparent Liability against Behringer, claiming that 50 of the company's products had not been tested for conducted and radiated emissions limits as required by US law, and noting that Behringer continued to sell the products for a year after being notified. Behringer's position was that they believed that since the units had passed stringent European CE standards, they would also comply with FCC verification requirements. According to Behringer, it had overlooked the differences in testing standards and procedures under FCC and European requirements. The company has since implemented a complete UL certified safety and EMC testing laboratory under the UL Certified Witness Program, including in-house audits and global regulatory review systems.


title: Behringer

text: In June 1997, the Mackie company (now LOUD Technologies) accused Behringer of trademark and trade dress infringement, and brought suit seeking $327M in damages. The claims were later rejected by the court. In their suit, Mackie said that Behringer had had a history of copying products by other manufacturers and selling them as their own. The Mackie suit detailed an instance, in which Behringer was sued by Aphex Systems for copying the Aural Exciter Type F. In that case Aphex Systems won DM690,000. The Mackie suit also mentioned similar cases filed by BBE, dbx and Drawmer. On 30 November 1999, the U.S. District Court in Seattle, Washington, dismissed Mackie claims that Behringer had infringed on Mackie copyrights with its MX 8000 mixer, noting that circuit schematics are not covered by copyright laws.


title: Behringer

text: In 2005, Roland Corporation sued to enforce Roland's trade dress, trademark, and other intellectual property rights with regard to Behringer's recently released guitar pedals. The companies came to a confidential settlement in 2006 after Behringer changed their designs.


title: Behringer

text: In 2009, Peavey Electronics Corporation filed two lawsuits against various companies under the Behringer/Music Group umbrella for patent infringement, federal and common law trademark infringement, false designation of origin, trademark dilution and unfair competition. In 2011 The Music Group filed a countersuit against Peavey for "false advertising, false patent marking and unfair competition."


title: Behringer

text: In 2017, Music Group filed a defamation lawsuit against Dave Smith Instruments, a Dave Smith Instruments engineer, and 20 Gearslutz forum users. The case was dismissed as a SLAPP lawsuit.


title: Behringer

text: In March 2020, Behringer published a mock video for a synthesizer, the "KIRN CorkSniffer", which appeared to mock music technology journalist and synthesiser developer Peter Kirn. The video received criticism and accusations of using antisemitic imagery. Company founder Uli Behringer issued a response on Facebook, saying the video had been intended as "pure satire by our marketing department". The apology was deleted the following day.


title: 808 State

text: 808 State are an English electronic music group formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. They were formed by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson. They released their debut album, "Newbuild", in September 1988 and secured commercial success in 1989, when their song "Pacific State" was picked up by BBC Radio 1 DJ Gary Davies and charted for 11 weeks in the UK.


title: 808 State

text: The group's early work was a prominent influence on the UK's burgeoning acid house scene. AllMusic called them "one of the most important dance music acts of all time," and noted their influence on subsequent techno, IDM, and alternative dance artists.


title: 808 State

text: Martin Price was the owner of Manchester's influential Eastern Bloc Records and was also the founder of the independent record label, Creed. Customers Graham Massey and Gerald Simpson joined with Price to form a hip hop group called Hit Squad Manchester. The group shifted to an acid house sound and recorded their debut "Newbuild" in 1988, while using the name 808 State for the first time.


title: 808 State

text: "Newbuild" was released on Price's own record label. In an interview with "Mojo" magazine in 2005, Graham Massey explained that the album was recorded over the course of a winter weekend in January 1988 at Spirit Studios, Manchester. The album was named after a Bolton housing co-operative. The record was re-released in 2005 on Aphex Twin's Rephlex Records. Aphex Twin was a huge fan of the record: "It was the next step after Chicago acid, and as much as I loved that, I could relate much better to 808 State. It seemed colder and more human at the same time."


title: 808 State

text: Around the same time, the band also recorded an acid house version of New Order's "Blue Monday". A favourite at The Haçienda's Hot Night, the recording was believed lost until Autechre's Sean Booth asked Massey to dig through his archive of old material. The record was released in 2004 by Rephlex Records. "We didn't put a lot of thought into it but maybe that's its charm," said Massey at the time.


title: 808 State

text: Massey was also a member of the band Aqua in the early 1990s, along with the violinist Graham Clark, a former pupil of Manchester Grammar School.


title: 808 State

text: The band's song "Pacific State" was released as a single, peaking at number 10 in the UK Singles Chart. Simpson left the group in 1989 to form his own solo project, A Guy Called Gerald. At this point, the remaining personnel enlisted DJs Andrew Barker and Darren Partington, known as the Spinmasters, and recorded the EP, "Quadrastate" in July 1989. The group signed to ZTT records, and "Ninety" was released in December 1989.


title: 808 State

text: MC Tunes worked with the band on the 1990 album, "The North at Its Heights". The album was a moderate success, reaching number 26 in the UK Albums Chart, and also saw a European and Japanese release. It spawned three UK singles, "The Only Rhyme That Bites" – featuring a sample of "The Big Country" performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic – (UK number 10), "Tunes Splits the Atom" (UK number 18) and "Primary Rhyming" (UK number 67). The first two issues credited MC Tunes versus 808 State, whilst the latter was simply MC Tunes. Tunes later returned in 1996 to work on a new track, "Pump", taken from 808 State's album "Thermo Kings".


title: 808 State

text: 808 State's next album was released in 1991, "", which featured the vocals of Bernard Sumner and Björk. The songs included "In Yer Face" (UK #9), "Cubik" (UK #10) and "Lift" (UK #38).


title: 808 State

text: In October 1991, Price left the group to perform solo production work, eventually forming his own label, Sun Text. The remaining members released a fourth album called "Gorgeous", and after that, did some remix work for David Bowie, Soundgarden, and other performers, before returning with the album entitled "Don Solaris" in 1996. It featured contributions from James Dean Bradfield, who sang vocals on "Lopez", which reached number 20 in the UK Singles Chart. This song was remixed by Brian Eno. In 1997, they had remixed the Mansun track "Skin Up, Pin Up" for the Spawn soundtrack. The song "Bond" featured vocals by Mike Doughty from the band Soul Coughing and "Azura" featured Lou Rhodes from Lamb. They released a greatest hits compilation album, "" in 1998. In 2000, "Newbuild" was re-released.


title: 808 State

text: Some of the band's work, particularly in the albums "Ex:el" and "Gorgeous" show their new wave influences by sampling or featuring new wave icons such as Bernard Sumner on the song "Spanish Heart" and Ian McCulloch on "Moses". The song "Contrique" samples the bassline to Joy Division's "She's Lost Control" and "10 X 10" is a gospel-house track built on the foundation of The Jam's "Start!".


title: 808 State

text: In 2003, they released "Outpost Transmission" which featured guest collaborations from Alabama 3 and Guy Garvey from Elbow.


title: 808 State

text: In May 2008, the re-issue of the album "Quadrastate" completed a trilogy of pre-ZTT releases on CD for the first time.


title: 808 State

text: Partington left the band after being jailed for 18 months in January 2015 for dealing heroin and crack cocaine.


title: 808 State

text: 808 State's style has been labeled as techno and house, and the band are regarded as "a pioneer of the acid house sound". The band's album, "Newbuild", was influential in the development of the Madchester and baggy scenes.


title: 808 State

text: Partington and Barker presented the 808 State Radio Show, first on Sunset 102 from 1989 to 1993, and later on Kiss 102 from 1994 to 1997. In 2012 they reinvented the program as the 808 State Webio Show for a number of months on Mike Joyce's internet based BeatWolf Radio. In 1990, 808 State composed the theme tune to the Channel 4 television programme, "The Word".


title: 808 State

text: 808 State and its various members have recorded under a variety of pseudonyms. An early EP, containing the tracks "Massage-a-Rama" and "Sex Mechanic", was released under the name Lounge Jays. These tracks have since been re-released by Rephlex Records on the "Prebuild" LP. Another early EP, "Wax on the Melt", was released under the name Hit Squad Mcr. This is the only release on which all five members of the group (Massey, Price, Simpson, Barker, and Partington) contributed simultaneously.


title: 808 State

text: Massey released the solo album "Subtracks" under the name Massonix on Skam Records. He was a member of Biting Tongues, an experimental jazz rock group once signed to Factory Records. He also created the big band project called Massey's Toolshed Allstars (eventually shortened to "Toolshed"). Under the pseudonym Professor Vernon World, Massey as drummer/producer with the ladies combo organ quartet "The Sisters of Transistors" released an album, and is also a member of Sun Ra homage The Part-Time Heliocentric Cosmo Drama After School Club.


title: 808 State

text: Price released a couple of EPs under the name Switzerland. He also managed the band Kaliphz (later known as Kaleef) who had a hit with a hip-hop cover version of The Stranglers "Golden Brown". Barker has produced a small number of tracks under the names Atlas and Benaco. Partington has recorded under the name Jeep.


title: Rust and Bone

text: Rust and Bone () is a 2012 romantic drama film directed by Jacques Audiard, starring Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts, based on Craig Davidson's short story collection "Rust and Bone". It tells the story of an unemployed 25-year-old man who falls in love with a woman who trains killer whales.


title: Rust and Bone

text: The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and received positive early reviews and a ten-minute standing ovation at the end of its screening. It was a critical and box office hit in France and was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award, two Golden Globes, two BAFTA Awards, three Magritte Awards, and nine César Awards, winning four, including Most Promising Actor for Matthias Schoenaerts.


title: Rust and Bone

text: Alain van Versch, an unemployed father in his mid 20s known as Ali, arrives in Antibes, southern France, to look for work to support his young son Sam. Having no money, he crashes with his sister Anna, who already has her own share of problems with money and temporary employment.


title: Rust and Bone

text: Ali gets a job as a bouncer in a nightclub but still keeps his passion burning for fighting. On a typical evening in the night club, Ali meets Stéphanie and escorts her safely to her home after she is injured in a brawl at the club. She works at a local marine tourist park. She suffers an accident during a show and wakes up in the hospital to realize that her legs have been amputated.


title: Rust and Bone

text: Ali meets a guy at work who informs him about a kick boxing fixture he can earn money from. Stéphanie, now in a wheelchair and trying to adjust to her life without legs, is deeply depressed and gives Ali a call. Ali visits her and takes her to a beach where Stéphanie forgets her self-consciousness and feels freedom when Ali carries her out to the ocean to swim.


title: Rust and Bone

text: Over a period of time, Ali and Stéphanie spend a lot of time together, and Stéphanie starts to feel better about herself while in Ali's company. She gets artificial limbs and starts to walk again. Stéphanie accompanies Ali to his mixed martial arts fights and is surprised to learn he has a son.


title: Rust and Bone

text: After a frank discussion, Ali offers to have sex with Stéphanie to help her adjust to her new body. Their friendship evolves to include casual sex, although Stéphanie prevents deeper intimacy by telling Ali that there will be no kissing during their encounters.


title: Rust and Bone

text: Ali, Stéphanie, and some friends visit the same night club where Ali used to work. Ali goes to the dance floor and flirts with a girl as Stéphanie watches curiously. Ali goes away with the girl, leaving a surprised and dejected Stéphanie with other friends. A man at the bar tries to kiss her but she backs away from him, revealing her prosthetic legs. Looking down at her aluminum legs in her skirt, the man apologizes to her and Stéphanie flies into a rage, throwing a glass and attacking the man. She has to be escorted out of the club.


title: Rust and Bone

text: The next day Stéphanie sullenly questions Ali about their relationship status. She tells him that if they continue having casual sex, they have to respect each other's feelings and be more discreet about their other involvements. Their intimacy increases and Stéphanie, letting down her guard, kisses Ali, igniting true intimacy. Stéphanie also begins managing Ali's bets for his fighting after his manager leaves town.


title: Rust and Bone

text: Anna is fired from her job when the managers realize she has been taking home expired food products. Anna blames Ali for this, as Ali was involved in an odd job where he installed spy cameras in work areas. He does this at the direction of the management to spy on the activities of their employees. This results in a standoff between Ali and Anna's partner, who demands he move out and not come back.


title: Rust and Bone

text: Ali, feeling guilty and rejected, leaves town without a word to Stéphanie. She is hurt to be left behind. Sam stays with Anna while Ali goes to a combat sports training facility near Strasbourg, losing touch with Stéphanie.


title: Rust and Bone

text: Anna's partner, with her permission, drops off Sam to visit for a day with Ali at the training facility. It is winter and Ali and Sam play in the snow on a frozen lake. A weak spot on the frozen lake cracks and Sam falls through the ice, swiftly losing consciousness. He is submerged in the icy waters as Ali turns away momentarily distracted by a call of nature. It takes Ali a while to realize that Sam has fallen through. Once he spots the hole and sees Sam under the ice of the frozen lake, Ali releases a desperate volley of punches to break the surface and is finally able to pull the unconscious boy out. In the process, Ali fractures almost every bone in his hands.


title: Rust and Bone

text: After carrying Sam to the hospital, Ali stays at the boy's bed while he's in a coma. Sam survives, coming out of his coma. Stéphanie, who calls after hearing about Sam's accident, speaks to Ali at the hospital. Ali breaks down while talking to Stéphanie on the phone and confesses his love for her.


title: Rust and Bone

text: As Ali narrates, he explains how broken bones normally heal stronger than before, but he knows the pain will return in his hands.


title: Rust and Bone

text: After some time passes, Ali is shown celebrating a fight victory in Warsaw as Stéphanie happily watches. After the celebration of the win, Ali and Stéphanie take Sam by the hand and lead him out through the revolving door of a hotel.


title: Rust and Bone

text: The film was produced by Why Not Productions for €15.4 million. It was co-produced with France 2 Cinéma, Page 114 and the Belgian company Les Films du Fleuve. Filming started on 4 October 2011 and lasted eight weeks. Locations were used in Antibes, Cannes, Belgium, Paris, northern France, and Brussels. To prepare for the role, Cotillard took swimming lessons and spent a week at Marineland to learn how to direct whales. Explaining how the team adjusted to Stéphanie having no legs, Cotillard told: "When we did the first costume fitting, we had to try those pants that were empty of my legs and I had to fold my legs in the wheelchair. That image was so powerful that we kept it throughout the movie. And also we worked with amazing CGI guys."


title: Rust and Bone

text: The special effects were provided by the French company Mikros Image. One of the key methods used was to have Cottilard wear green knee length socks. The legs below her knees were then erased by computer or replaced with the image of prosthetic lower legs.


title: Rust and Bone

text: The film premiered on 17 May 2012 in competition at the 65th Cannes Film Festival. It was released in France and Belgium through UGC Distribution the same day. StudioCanal UK acquired the British distribution rights, and the film was released in the UK on 2 November 2012. It opened in the United States through Sony Pictures Classics on 23 November 2012.


title: Rust and Bone

text: The film was screened at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and received early positive critical reactions. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 82% based on 165 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.5/10. The site's critical consensus states, "Surging on strong performances from Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts, "Rust and Bone" is as vibrant and messily unpredictable as life itself." Metacritic gave the film a rating of 73/100, based on 39 reviews.


title: Rust and Bone

text: HitFix praised Audiard "for the way he takes melodramatic convention and bends it to his own particular sensibility, delivering a powerful tale about the reminders we all carry of the pains that have formed us" and found Cotillard's work "incredible, nuanced and real."


title: Rust and Bone

text: Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" gave the film a four-star rating out of five, writing "Rust and Bone" is "a passionate and moving love story which surges out of the screen like a flood tide" and "its candour and force are matched by the commitment and intelligence of its two leading players."


title: Rust and Bone

text: "Time"'s Mary Corliss found that the romance is "sometimes engrossing, sometimes exasperating" and that the cinematography recalls "Kings Row" and "An Affair to Remember"." Corliss also wrote, "Schoenaerts exudes masculinity that is both effortless and troubled" while "Cotillard demonstrates again her eerie ability to write complex feelings on her face, as if from the inside, without grandstanding her emotions" and added, "her strong, subtle performance is gloriously winning on its own."


title: Rust and Bone

text: Michael Phillips of the "Chicago Tribune", thought Schoenaerts' sensitive-brute instincts recall Marlon Brando and Tom Hardy.


title: Rust and Bone

text: Critic A. O. Scott of "The New York Times" called the film "a strong, emotionally replete experience, and also a tour de force of directorial button pushing."


title: Rust and Bone

text: Roger Ebert, who did not review the film upon its original release, later added it to his "Great Films" series and gave four stars.


title: Rust and Bone

text: Cate Blanchett wrote a review for "Variety" praising Marion Cotillard's performance in the film, describing it as "simply astonishing", stating that "Marion has created a character of nobility and candour, seamlessly melding herself into a world we could not have known without her. Her performance is as unexpected and as unsentimental and raw as the film itself."


title: Rust and Bone

text: In France, "Rust and Bone" was released to 394 screens, where it debuted at number one at the box office and sold a total of 1,930.536 million tickets.


title: University of Austin

text: University of Austin (UATX) is a proposed American private liberal arts college. Announced in 2021, it is to be located in Austin, Texas. , the venture was reliant on a fiscal sponsor and was seeking accreditation in the process of securing a site in the Austin area for its campus.


title: University of Austin

text: The proposal for a University of Austin was first publicized on November 8, 2021 in an article by founding president Pano Kanelos, formerly the president of St. John's College, in journalist Bari Weiss's Substack newsletter "Common Sense".


title: University of Austin

text: Days after the venture's launch was announced, UATX advisor Stacy Hock said that UATX had so far received over 3,000 inquiries from potential faculty, and that student inquiry had been overwhelming.


title: University of Austin

text: The founding faculty fellows include Peter Boghossian, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and Kathleen Stock. Other founders include former Harvard President Lawrence Summers, former ACLU President Nadine Strossen, and former president of the American Enterprise Institute Arthur Brooks.


title: University of Austin

text: In November 2021, the university's website listed Robert Zimmer, Larry Summers, John Nunes, Gordon Gee, Steven Pinker, Deirdre McCloskey, Leon Kass, Jonathan Haidt, Glenn Loury, Joshua Katz, Vickie Sullivan, Geoffrey Stone, Bill McClay, and Tyler Cowen as being affiliated with the university.


title: University of Austin

text: Writing in "The Week", Samuel Goldman observed that no prominent members of the board of advisors had yet resigned their academic appointments to join the University of Austin faculty, suggesting that their "lack of personal commitment casts doubt on the value of their support." Kathleen Stock clarified that her role was not full-time, and that she would not move to Austin. Harvard University professor Steven Pinker said that although he was part of the advisory board, he had no plans to teach there; he later resigned from the board. West Virginia University president Gordon Gee said "Serving in an advisory capacity does not mean I believe or agree with everything that other advisers may share. I do not agree other universities are no longer seeking the truth nor do I feel that higher education is irreparably broken."


title: University of Austin

text: On November 11, 2021, Robert Zimmer announced his resignation from the UATX board, saying that UATX had made statements about higher education that "diverged very significantly from my own views". UATX put out a statement on Steven Pinker resigning from the board, and apologized for creating "unnecessary complications" for Pinker and Zimmer due to UATX not initially clarifying what their advisory roles entailed on the venture's website.


title: University of Austin

text: According to its website, the proposed college plans to begin to accept graduate students in 2022 and undergraduate students in 2024. As of 2021, the institution did not formally exist, but the proposers report that they are seeking accreditation through the Higher Learning Commission, an accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and authorized by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.


title: University of Austin

text: On June 9, 2022, the University of Austin was taking applications for its "Forbidden Courses" program with two-week-long sessions in the old (pre-1954) Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas.


title: University of Austin

text: The proposal for a University of Austin was described by Gabriella Swerling in "The Daily Telegraph" as "anti-cancel culture" and by Alex Shephard in "The New Republic" as "anti-woke". Statements by its proponents described UATX as devoted to academic freedom.


title: University of Austin

text: The project reportedly raised US$10 million in private donations in the two months prior to launching, and aims to raise $250 million to launch the undergraduate and graduate program during the initial few years. The proposers declared that they would not factor race, gender, or class into admissions because they "stand(s) firmly against that sort of discrimination".


title: University of Austin

text: Initial responses to the project included criticism of the lack of a plan to achieve the project's goals. "The New York Times" journalist Anemona Hartocollis questioned whether the founders would be able to "translate a provocative idea into a viable institution" while "The New Republic"s Alex Shephard described the plan as "largely half baked". Jennifer Wunder, a professor at Georgia Gwinnett College who participated in the process of obtaining her institution's initial accreditation, considered the proposed timeline to establish accredited graduate and undergraduate programs to be nearly impossible to meet.


title: University of Austin

text: Writing in "The Washington Post", political scientist Daniel W. Drezner believed it was a challenge trying to recruit graduate students by fall 2022 with no "admissions staff...to gin up that process". "The" "New York Times" opinion columnist Ross Douthat saw the launch of a new university as a positive development, pointing out how few major universities have been established since the nineteenth century, but acknowledged how expensive doing so would be. He also saw conflicting forces in the project, including the "tension between the desire to promote great academic seriousness and the culture-war flag-waving that might be necessary to rally donor support".


title: University of Austin

text: The project drew "withering criticism" on social media, including tweets by Weiss's former colleague Nikole Hannah-Jones who, along with others, drew comparisons with Trump University. Writing in "The Washington Post", political scientist Daniel W. Drezner called comparisons between UATX and Trump University "unkind and untrue". John Warner at "Inside Higher Ed" said "I think it is unfair to call it a scam or grift, because I have high confidence that the intentions behind the project are sincere."


title: University of Austin

text: The University of Austin has been described by British media as "anti-cancel culture" and "anti-woke".


title: Equity theory

text: Equity theory focuses on determining whether the distribution of resources is fair to both relational partners. Equity is measured by comparing the ratio of contributions (or costs) and benefits (or rewards) for each person. Considered one of the justice theories, equity theory was first developed in the 1960s by J. Stacy Adams, a workplace and behavioral psychologist, who asserted that employees seek to maintain equity between the inputs that they bring to a job and the outcomes that they receive from it against the perceived inputs and outcomes of others. According to Equity Theory, in order to maximize individuals' rewards, we tend to create systems where resources can be fairly divided amongst members of a group. Inequalities in relationships will cause those within it to be unhappy to a degree proportional to the amount of inequality. The belief is that people value fair treatment which causes them to be motivated to keep the fairness maintained within the relationships of their co-workers and the organization. The structure of equity in the workplace is based on the ratio of inputs to outcomes. Inputs are the contributions made by the employee for the organization.


title: Equity theory

text: Equity theory stems from Social Exchange Theory. It proposes that individuals who perceive themselves as either under-rewarded or over-rewarded will experience distress, and that this distress leads to efforts to restore equity within the relationship. Equity is measured by comparing the ratios of contributions and benefits of each person within the relationship. Partners do not have to receive equal benefits (such as receiving the same amount of love, care, and financial security) or make equal contributions (such as investing the same amount of effort, time, and financial resources), as long as the ratio between these benefits and contributions is similar. Much like other prevalent theories of motivation, such as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, equity theory acknowledges that subtle and variable individual factors affect each person’s assessment and perception of their relationship with their relational partners. According to Adams in 1965, anger is induced by underpayment inequity and guilt is induced with overpayment equity. Payment whether hourly wage or salary, is the main concern and therefore the cause of equity or inequity in most cases.


title: Equity theory

text: In any position, an employee wants to feel that their contributions and work performance are being rewarded with their pay. If an employee feels underpaid then it will result in the employee feeling hostile towards the organization and perhaps their co-workers, which may result in the employee not performing well at work anymore. It is the subtle variables that also play an important role in the feeling of equity. Just the idea of recognition for the job performance and the mere act of thanking the employee will cause a feeling of satisfaction and therefore help the employee feel worthwhile and have better outcomes. Employees can also feel positive inequity which may cause the worker to feel guilty and attempt to compensate for those feelings of guilt.


title: Equity theory

text: Individuals compare their job inputs and outcomes with those of others and then respond to eliminate any perceived inequities.


title: Equity theory

text: Inputs are defined as each participant’s contributions to the relational exchange and are viewed as entitling him/her to rewards or costs. The inputs that a participant contributes to a relationship can be either assets – entitling him/her to rewards – or liabilities - entitling him/her to costs. The entitlement to rewards or costs ascribed to each input vary depending on the relational setting. In industrial settings, assets such as capital and manual labor are seen as "relevant inputs" – inputs that legitimately entitle the contributor to rewards. In social settings, assets such as physical beauty and kindness are generally seen as assets entitling the possessor to social rewards. Individual traits such as boorishness and cruelty are seen as liabilities entitling the possessor to costs. Inputs typically include any of the following:


title: Equity theory

text: Outputs are defined as the positive and negative consequences that an individual perceives a participant has incurred as a consequence of his/her relationship with another. When the ratio of inputs to outputs is close, then the employee should have much satisfaction with their job. Outputs can be both tangible and intangible. Typical outputs include any of the following:


title: Equity theory

text: Equity theory has been widely applied to business settings by industrial psychologists to describe the relationship between an employee's motivation and his or her perception of equitable or inequitable treatment. In a business setting, the relevant dyadic relationship is that between employee and employer. As in marriage and other contractual dyadic relationships, equity theory assumes that employees seek to maintain an equitable ratio between the inputs they bring to the relationship and the outcomes they receive from it. Equity theory in business, however, introduces the concept of social comparison, whereby employees evaluate their own input/output ratios based on their comparison with the input/outcome ratios of other employees. Inputs in this context include the employee’s time, expertise, qualifications, experience, intangible personal qualities such as drive and ambition, and interpersonal skills. Outcomes include monetary compensation, perquisites ("perks"), benefits, and flexible work arrangements which impact motivation, performance, and satisfaction of workers. Employees who perceive inequity will seek to reduce it, either by distorting inputs and/or outcomes in their own minds ("cognitive distortion"), directly altering inputs and/or outcomes, or leaving the organization. Workers will change the quality of their work based on their perceived compensation. These perceptions of inequity are perceptions of organizational justice, or more specifically, injustice. Subsequently, the theory has wide-reaching implications for employee morale, efficiency, productivity, and turnover.


title: Equity theory

text: Equity theory has also been applied to intimate relationships. Scholars address the notion that intimate relationships also exemplify equity theory in action because partners evaluate the fairness of their inputs and outputs. According to scholars, equity theory may explain how individuals choose their partner and the functionality of the relationship This concept has been applied to exploitative relationships, reciprocal relationships, and altruistic relationships. Further, scholars state that equity theory explains that inequalities in the relationship can lead to feelings of distress and depression.


title: Equity theory

text: The three primary assumptions applied to most business applications of equity theory can be summarized as follows:


title: Equity theory

text: Criticism has been directed toward both the assumptions and practical application of equity theory by people such as Leventhal who assert that Equity Theory is too unidimensional, ignores procedure, and overestimates how important the concept of fairness is in social interactions. Scholars have questioned the simplicity of the model, arguing that a number of demographic and psychological variables affect people's perceptions of fairness and interactions with others. Furthermore, much of the research supporting the basic propositions of equity theory has been conducted in laboratory settings, and thus has questionable applicability to real-world situations. Critics have also argued that people might perceive equity/inequity not only in terms of the specific inputs and outcomes of a relationship, but also in terms of the overarching system that determines those inputs and outputs. Thus, in a business setting, one might feel that his or her compensation is equitable to other employees', but one might view the entire compensation "system" as unfair.


title: Equity theory

text: The Equity Sensitivity Construct proposes that individuals has different preferences for equity and thus react in different ways to perceived equity and inequity. Preferences can be expressed on a continuum from preferences for extreme under-benefit to preferences for extreme over-benefit. Three archetypal classes are as follows:


title: Equity theory

text: The Fairness Model proposes an alternative measure of equity/inequity to the relational partner or "comparison person" of standard equity theory. According to the Fairness Model, an individual judges the overall "fairness" of a relationship by comparing their inputs and outcomes with an internally derived standard. The Fairness Model thus allows for the perceived equity/inequity of the overarching system to be incorporated into individuals' evaluations of their relationships.


title: Equity theory

text: Behavioral economics has recently started to apply game theory to the study of equity theory. For instance, Gill and Stone in 2010 analyze how considerations of equity influence behavior in strategic settings in which people compete and develop the implications for optimal labor contracts.


The United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners (MCFP Springfield) is a United States federal prison in Springfield, Missouri which provides medical, mental health, and dental services to male offenders. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.


title: United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners

text: During the Great Depression, the people of Springfield, Missouri offered of land to the federal government to build the prison. Congress authorized the building of the prison in 1930. The prison opened in 1933 as the "United States Hospital for Defective Delinquents", under superintendent Marion R. King. The land surrounding the prison was used by the prisoners for farming until 1966. In 1977, the federal government returned some of the original 620 acres to the city. Prison riots occurred in 1941, 1944 and 1959.


text: Several political prisoners and spies arrested during World War II were held at MCFP Springfield for medical treatment. Anastasy Vonsyatsky served 3 years of a 5-year sentence there for conspiring to aid Hitler's Germany in violation of the Espionage Act before being released in 1946. Robert Henry Best and Herbert John Burgman, who were sentenced to life in prison for treason in 1948 and 1949 for making propaganda broadcasts for the Nazis, served their sentences at this prison. Best died at MCFP Springfield in 1952, Burgman in 1953.


text: Several high-profile Mafia Bosses received medical treatment at MCFP Springfield, including Joseph Bonanno of the Bonanno crime family, Vito Genovese and Vincent Gigante of the Genovese crime family and John Gotti of the Gambino crime family. Genovese died at MCFP Springfield in 1969, Gotti in 2002, and Gigante in 2005. Other notable inmates held at MCFP Springfield for treatment include Robert Stroud, known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz" who died there in 1963, racecar driver Randy Lanier, drug trafficker Michael Riconosciuto, and "The Toxic Pharmacist" Robert Courtney. Terrorists Omar Abdel Rahman and Jose Padilla were also held there for brief periods.


text: On January 26, 2010, inmate Victor Castro-Rodriguez, 51, was found dead on the floor of his cell. Castro-Rodriguez originally was convicted of assault and resisting arrest in the U.S. District Court of Southern Florida and was being held at the MCFP because of a mental illness. MCFP inmates Wesley Paul Coonce, Jr., 34, and Charles Michael Hall, 43, were charged in connection with his death and on May 7, 2014, were convicted of one count of first-degree murder. Coonce was also found guilty of one count of murder by an inmate serving a life sentence. Both were sentenced to death on June 2, 2014.


text: †Inmates who were released from custody prior to 1982 are not listed on the Bureau of Prisons website.