Vicious Behavior Research Articles

Income inequality and risky health behaviors of affluent adolescents in the post-Communist Europe

Abstract Background We aim to study the “golden youth” hypothesis and examine the risky behaviors of adolescents with high socioeconomic position (SEP) in post-Communist countries of Europe (PCCE) in relation to income inequality. Methods Adolescents aged 11-15 years from 14 PCCE participating in the Health Behavior in School-aged Children survey 2017/18 were included. A K-means cluster analysis was conducted to group adolescents based on tobacco smoking, alcohol use, binge drinking, and bullying perpetration. Generalized linear mixed models were fitted. Results Four clusters of adolescents were identified. The percentage of high-SEP adolescents in Cluster 1 (low risky behaviors) was slightly less compared to middle and low-SEP groups (70.9% vs 73.1% vs 73.9%, respectively). High-SEP adolescents were more likely to be in Cluster 2, characterized by frequent alcohol consumption but moderate binge drinking (14.3% vs 12.6% vs 10.7%). The prevalence of risky behaviors was similar between high and low-SEP adolescents in Cluster 3 (high smoking, frequent alcohol use, binge drinking, and moderate bullying) (8.0% vs 7.7% vs 8.2%) and Cluster 4 (high levels of bullying perpetration) (6.7% vs 6.5% vs 7.2%). Countries with higher Gini index were at a greater risk of reporting risky behaviors. High-SEP adolescents were more likely to engage in risky behaviors in countries with high income inequality. The odds ratios comparing high- vs. low-SEP adolescents ranged from 0.89 in the least unequal to 1.67 in the most unequal countries for multiple risky behaviors (Cluster 3: P-interaction = 0.042) and from 0.61 to 1.19 for bullying perpetration (Cluster 4: P-interaction = 0.030). Conclusions High-SEP adolescents in PCCE might be at an increased risk for unhealthy and vicious behaviors, especially in countries with high income inequality. This study highlights the need for policies that address income inequality to ensure the well-being of adolescents across socioeconomic strata in PCCE. Key messages • High-SEP adolescents might be at an increased risk for unhealthy behavior in PCCE. • Wide income inequality might contribute to risky behaviors among high-SEP adolescents.

Effect of down-regulation of let-7c/g on triggering a double-negative feedback loop and promoting restenosis.

Excessive proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are the main causes of restenosis (RS) in diabetic lower extremity arterial disease (LEAD). However, the relevant pathogenic mechanisms are poorly understood. In this study, we introduced a "two-step injury protocol" rat RS model, which started with the induction of atherosclerosis (AS) and was followed by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA). Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and immunohistochemistry staining were used to verify the form of RS. Two-step transfection was performed, with the first transfection of Lin28a followed by a second transfection of let-7c and let-7g, to explore the possible mechanism by which Lin28a exerted effects. 5-ethynyl-2΄-deoxyuridine (EdU) and Transwell assay were performed to evaluate the ability of proliferation and migration of VSMCs. Western blotting and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were performed to detect the expression of Lin28a protein and let-7 family members. Using a combination of in vitro and in vivo experiments, we discovered that let-7c, let-7g, and microRNA98 (miR98) were downstream targets of Lin28a. More importantly, decreased expression of let-7c/let-7g increased Lin28a, leading to further inhibition of let-7c/let-7g. We also found an increased level of let-7d in the RS pathological condition, suggesting that it may function as a protective regulator of the Lin28a/let-7 loop by inhibiting the proliferation and migration of VSMCs. These findings indicated the presence of a double-negative feedback loop consisting of Lin28a and let-7c/let-7g, which may be responsible for the vicious behavior of VSMCs in RS.

Individual and Societal Shortcomings in Eighteenth-Century German Comedy: A Reassessment

Abstract To what extent do comedies place the blame for vicious behaviour on the individuals who fail to comply with the norms of their society, or on the structures of society in which individuals act? The traditional understanding is that the moral-philosophical critique of individual behaviour in older comedy was supplanted by social criticism in newer comedy. This article revisits the history of comedy to emphasize the very gradual nature of this development and to shed light on the nuances in the distinction between the critique of individuals and the critique of social structures. The argument is developed through an exemplary analysis of four German-language plays from the eighteenth century: the comedies Die ungleiche Heirath (1743) by Luise Gottsched, Der geschäfftige Müssiggänger (1743) by Johann Elias Schlegel, and Die Soldaten (1776) by J. M. R. Lenz, as well as the farce Voltaire am Abend seiner Apotheose (1778) by Heinrich Leopold Wagner.

Current landscape of personalized clinical treatments for triple-negative breast cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly malignant subtype of breast cancer (BC) with vicious behaviors. TNBC is usually associated with relatively poor clinical outcomes, earlier recurrence, and high propensity for visceral metastases than other BC types. TNBC has been increasingly recognized to constitute a very molecular heterogeneous subtype, which may offer additional therapeutic opportunities due to newly discovered cancer-causing drivers and targets. At present, there are multiple novel targeted therapeutic drugs in preclinical researches, clinical trial designs, and clinical practices, such as platinum drugs, poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, immunocheckpoint inhibitors, androgen receptor inhibitors as well as PI3K/AKT/mTOR targeted inhibitors. These personalized, single, or combinational therapies based on molecular heterogeneity are currently showing positive results. The scope of this review is to highlight the latest knowledge about these potential TNBC therapeutic drugs, which will provide comprehensive insights into the personalized therapeutic strategies and options for combating TNBC.

Sediment Properties of Eroded Coastal Area at Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia

This paper was carried out to identify the sediment properties at eroded areas where Sungai Lurus and Pantai Punggur located in Batu Pahat were selected as the study area for this research. This study is prompted by the factors from climate changes which lead to the increase of sea level and vicious behaviour of sea waves. These factors are related to the erosion of coastline or the coastal changes along the south-west coast of Malaysia. The vulnerability of Malaysian coastline towards the coastal changes is something that is vital to deal with as Malaysia is surrounded by sea, and the coastal region plays a great role towards the socio-economic activities. In order to fathom the erosion at the coastline, it is crucial to grasp the fundamental of the soil physical properties which will clarify how the sediments might be transported. Based on the soil samples collected, Pantai Sungai Lurus can be classified as sandy clay with moisture content between 92% to 158% and 8.41% to 20.9% of organic content. Meanwhile, Pantai Punggur can be classified as silty clay with moisture content between 109% to 134% and 14.29% to 14.52% of organic content. The specific gravity of the samples is found to be between 2.624 to 2.651. The settling velocity at Pantai Sungai Lurus is about 79682x10^-5 m/s to 0.088x10^-5 m/s, and Pantai Punggur about 433x10^-5 m/s to 0.552x10^-5 m/s. The soil erodibility at Pantai Sungai Lurus is about 0.05776 (ton/ha) (ha.hr/Mj.mm), while at Pantai Punggur about 0.01264 (ton/ha)(ha.hr/Mj.mm). The erosion rate is estimated to be 2.91x10^-3 kg/m²/s at Pantai Sungai Lurus, and 0.812x10^-3 kg/m²/s at Pantai Punggur. It can be concluded that the erosion rate of selected points at Pantai Sungai Lurus is higher than Pantai Punggur.

New (k,l,m)-verifiable multi-secret sharing schemes based on XTR public key system

Secret sharing was proposed primarily in 1979 to solve the problem of key distribution. In recent decades, researchers have proposed many improvement schemes. Among all these schemes, verifiable multi-secret sharing (VMSS) schemes are studied sufficiently, which share multiple secrets simultaneously and perceive malicious dealer as well as participants. By pointing out that the schemes presented by Dehkordi and Mashhadi in 2008 cannot detect some vicious behaviors of the dealer, we propose two new VMSS schemes by adding new validity check in the verification phase to overcome this drawback. Our new schemes are based on XTR public key system, and can realize GF(p6) security by computations in GF(p2) without explicit constructions of GF(p6), where p is a prime. Compared with the VMSS schemes using RSA and linear feedback shift register (LFSR) public key cryptosystems, we can achieve the same security level with shorter parameters by using trace function. What's more, our schemes are much simpler to operate than those schemes based on Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC). In addition, our two schemes are dynamic and threshold changeable, which means that it is efficient to implement our schemes when participants, secrets or the threshold needs to be changed.

Empathy and authenticity online: The roles of moral identity, moral disengagement, and parenting style.

Research suggests that the Internet could be considered an arena for both virtuous and vicious behaviors, with observations of enhanced perspective-taking and honest self-reflections occurring alongside evidence of cyberbullying and deceptive communications. In the current study, we explore the role of three widely recognized sources of moral behavior-moral identity, moral disengagement, and authoritative parenting-in predicting adolescents' online empathy and online authenticity. In total, 788 UK adolescents aged 11-18 years (66% male) completed measures of these key constructs. Structural equation modeling results suggest that parental responsiveness and autonomy granting are positively related to adolescents' moral identity. In turn, moral identity was positively related to both online empathy and online authenticity. Having a stronger moral identity also meant that adolescents were less likely to morally disengage, and moral disengagement was negatively related to online authenticity in adolescent females. Partial invariance across gender and age was observed. The findings indicate that moral identity encourages moral thoughts, feelings, and actions in the online environment, including being authentic and empathic. As the formation and accessibility of one's moral identity can be promoted, we discuss the implications of these findings for cultivating prosocial behavior in the online environment as well as future research avenues.

Down Regulation of Let-7 Triggers a Critical Double-Negative Feedback Loop to Determinate the Malignant VSMCs Fate During Restenosis

Background: The excessive proliferation and migration of VSMCs is the main cause of restenosis (RS). Our previous results suggested that overexpression of Lin28a is responsible for this “malignant” behaver of VSMCs. However, the mechanisms driving the specific VSMCs behavior in RS are far less understood. Methods and Findings: Using an atherosclerosis followed by PTA treatment rats as RS model, we discovered a decreased expression of let-7c, let-7g, let-7i, miR98 and miR202, that associated with an increased expression of Lin28a in RS plaques compared to those of atherosclerosis. Combined with in vitro results, we demonstrated that let-7c, let-7g, and miR98 were Lin28a downstream targets in RS. More importantly, the decreased expression of let-7c, let-7g, in turn, will enhance the expression of Lin28a, indicating a double-negative feedback loop between Lin28a and let-7c/let-7g, which may be responsible for the vicious behavior of the VSMCs in RS. Transfection of let-7c and let-7g in vivo by AAV9 attenuated the aggregation of VSMCs and decreased the RS plaque size. In addition, unlike the other member of let-7, let-7d downregulates Lin28a and plays a restrictive regulator on the Lin28a/let-7 loop, that may bias VSMCs fate decision. Conclusion: In this study, by using a “two-step lesion” protocol to create RS models, we discovered that the double negative feedback system of Lin28a/let-7 axis act as a regulation center in vicious behavior of VSMCs in RS. These discoveries give us a better understanding of RS in lower extremity arterial disease and expected to present opportunities for discovering new therapeutic approaches. Funding: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Grants (No. 81670757, 81770822, 81800732, 81900685), Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China Grants (No. ZR2017LH025, ZR2020MH101), Shandong Provincial Medicine and Health Science and Technology Development Program (No. 2017WS461), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2020M682193). Declaration of Interest: The authors confirm that there are no conflicts of interest. Ethical Approval: The protocol was authorized by the Ethics Committee of Qilu Hospital, Shandong University.

E-15 The Collaborator, a Mirror of Indian Hegemony over Kashmiri Muslims: A Post-Colonial Study

Mirza Waheed in ‘The Collaborator’ shows how power works and affects the identity of discriminated and marginalized people of Indian held Kashmir. This research focuses on the powerful use of consent and coercion to exert their power over the weak territories. Antonio Gramsci’s concept of hegemony is used to explore the operation of power in Waheed’ The Collaborator (2011).This analysis clearly identifies that this work is full of hegemonic trends and patterns of Indian government in Kashmir and Kashmiri Muslims. The study also makes us aware of the Kashmiri Muslim society which can never become autonomous. The narrative enhances its impact by expounding neglected voices of Kashmiris who are neglected both by their own people and aliens in the valley. This paper aptly finds that Indian administration is making every effort to impose its hegemony and supremacy on Kashmiri Muslims. Waheed affirms emphatically that the poor inhabitants of village Nowgam are spending tragic lives facing threats, danger and long crackdowns because of vicious and menacing behavior of Indian forces. This paper interprets the selected text of “The Collaborator” as a representative of hegemonic Kashmiri Muslims’ narrative.

Artificial virtue: the machine question and perceptions of moral character in artificial moral agents

Virtue ethics seems to be a promising moral theory for understanding and interpreting the development and behavior of artificial moral agents. Virtuous artificial agents would blur traditional distinctions between different sorts of moral machines and could make a claim to membership in the moral community. Accordingly, we investigate the “machine question” by studying whether virtue or vice can be attributed to artificial intelligence; that is, are people willing to judge machines as possessing moral character? An experiment describes situations where either human or AI agents engage in virtuous or vicious behavior and experiment participants then judge their level of virtue or vice. The scenarios represent different virtue ethics domains of truth, justice, fear, wealth, and honor. Quantitative and qualitative analyses show that moral attributions are weakened for AIs compared to humans, and the reasoning and explanations for the attributions are varied and more complex. On “relational” views of membership in the moral community, virtuous machines would indeed be included, even if they are indeed weakened. Hence, while our moral relationships with artificial agents may be of the same types, they may yet remain substantively different than our relationships to human beings.

Reflexos da poesia de Horácio no Livro III da Eneida, de Virgílio

The main purpose of this study is to realize a linguistic-literary and comparative analysis between book III of the Aeneid, by Virgil, and the satire 2.8, by Horace, aiming to identify the resources used in the epic that reinstate the elements presented in the referred satire. We intend to understand how the catastrophic scenario of Nasidienus’ feast, hostile host, of vicious behaviors, that figures in the satire 2.8, is restated in the book III of the Aeneid, in which Aeneas is constantly interrupted by Celeno, thus preventing the hero's attempts to hold a sacred dinner on the site to found the New Troy. Therefore, we will work with our instrumental translation of the excerpts that are relevant for the analysis, and we will use the theoretical contribution of Carratore (1962), D'Onofrio (1968), Oliveira (2014), and others, which will help us to perceive characteristics specific to each of the texts that we will analyze, and the intertextuality that links them.

New Media, Old Artistry: The Adaptation of Yorùbá Folktale Narrative Strategies in Video Films


 
 
 The argument of this study is that Yorùbá people continue to keep alive and sustain their society’s oral folkloric tradition and verbal art despite the changes undergone by Yorùbá folktales that have passed into written form and other (new) media. Verbal arts educate, reflect and promote culture, as well as, their well-known capacity to instil moral decency in a young audience. This paper explores the adaptation of Yorùbá folkloric form in film. The audience memory is reawakened through the conservation and propagation of folktale into drama form in the film, Ijàpá and Àjàntálá. Ìjàpá (tortoise) is well known for its trickish behaviour and nature while Àjàntálá is also known for his vicious behaviour. Their character was worn into human beings (artiste) to teach society moral lessons. These Yorùbá movies Ìjàpá and Àjàntálá were adapted from Yorùbá folktales to examine issues and themes that are germane to contemporary society. Ìjàpá was produced in 2011 while Àjàntálá was produced in 2015. The theory of intertextuality which is the way books, songs, films are linked or associated to one another is adopted for the research.
 KEYWORDS: YORÙBÁ ORAL FOLKTALE, ADAPTATION, INTERTEXTUALITY, FILM
 
 

New Media, Old Artistry: The Adaptation of Yorùbá Folktale Narrative Strategies in Video Films

The argument of this study is that Yorùbá people continue to keep alive and sustain their society’s oral folkloric tradition and verbal art despite the changes undergone by Yorùbá folktales that have passed into written form and other (new) media. Verbal arts educate, reflect and promote culture, as well as, their well-known capacity to instil moral decency in a young audience. This paper explores the adaptation of Yorùbá folkloric form in film. The audience memory is reawakened through the conservation and propagation of folktale into drama form in the film, Ijàpá and Àjàntálá. Ìjàpá (tortoise) is well known for its trickish behaviour and nature while Àjàntálá is also known for his vicious behaviour. Their character was worn into human beings (artiste) to teach society moral lessons. These Yorùbá movies Ìjàpá and Àjàntálá were adapted from Yorùbá folktales to examine issues and themes that are germane to contemporary society. Ìjàpá was produced in 2011 while Àjàntálá was produced in 2015. The theory of intertextuality which is the way books, songs, films are linked or associated to one another is adopted for the research.

The Man of Mode by George Etherege

Reviewed by: The Man of Mode by George Etherege Brett D. Wilson The Man of Mode. By George Etherege. Directed by Christopher Marino. American Shakespeare Center, Blackfriars Playhouse. September 5–December 2, 2018. Long after its initial run, George Etherege’s The Man of Mode, Or, Sir Fopling Flutter (1676) became a flashpoint in the debate that unfolded in the early eighteenth century about the purposes, effects, and affects of the comedies of the previous generation. In the taste-making periodical The Spectator, Richard Steele—who was developing ideas of stage comedy’s potential for modeling goodwill, good nature, and other salutary influences—saw The Man of Mode as “a perfect contradiction to good manners, good sense, and common honesty; … there is nothing in it but what is built upon the ruin of virtue and innocence.” Excoriating its characters’ “corruption” and “degeneracy,” he opined that “nothing but being lost to a sense of innocence and virtue can make any one see this comedy without observing more frequent occasion to move sorrow and indignation than mirth and laughter” (Steele, 280). Steele’s acrimony toward the play and its protagonists received a delayed rebuttal from John Dennis’s A Defence of Sir Fopling Flutter (1722). As he observed, “I remember very well that upon the first acting this comedy, it was generally believed to be an agreeable representation of the persons of condition of both sexes, both in court and town” (Dennis, 18–19). The Man of Mode was for the aging Dennis a tableau of a receding moment in elite London life. The polemical portion of Dennis’s essay targeted Steele’s new play The Conscious Lovers (1722) as a betrayal of the purposes of comedy and harked back to Etherege’s play for a counter-example. Dennis rejected the proposition that comic protagonists must “set us patterns for imitation” to assert that The Man of Mode suffices to edify the audience rather differently: by manifesting foolish or even vicious behaviors to avoid, for “[t]hus comedy instructs and pleases most powerfully by the ridicule” (Dennis, 10; 21). He avowed Man of Mode’s educative value—convinced there was one—to stem from the ridiculousness of Sir Fopling’s adoption of foreign fashions and of Mrs. Loveit’s absurd confidence that she can secure a bounder like Dorimant. In his program notes to the American Shakespeare Center production of The Man of Mode at the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, Virginia, director Christopher Marino calls the play “not only unconcerned with seriousness and deeper issues, but . . . also solely exist[ing] to celebrate the artifice (both verbal and worn) of the age.” In distancing Etherege’s play from “deeper issues” and upholding its style over its substance, Marino’s statement evokes the Steele-Dennis squabble by negating the entire proposition that anyone is meant to be instructed by the doings of rakes, fops, town-ladies, heiresses, and courtesans. Judging by their evident delight, which I very much shared, the audience of the Blackfriars Playhouse found much to approve—contra Steele, although hopefully not a sign of the dissipation of our collective sense of virtue. The main plot of the play revolves around Dorimant, an incorrigible rake, who thrills to a newly arrived heiress, Harriet Woodvill, and discards both of his previous mistresses, Mistress Loveit (whom he loves to torment) and Bellinda, to get her. In classic Restoration fashion, the second plot involves earnest young lovers Young Bellair and Emilia, persecuted by meddlesome parents. The scene-stealer—who works his way into the play’s [End Page 143] subtitle despite not appearing until Act III—is Sir Fopling Flutter, recently returned from France fashion-obsessed and intent on becoming a celebrity. The action revolves around seduction, jealousy, wit, quick thinking to get out of one more scrape or into one more bed, and an upstart generation thwarting “the forms and civility of the last age.” The Blackfriars Theater space and its thrust stage generated effects of intimacy that Etherege’s audiences would not have been able to experience from its proscenium-framed performers—but so much the better. I had never thought about the implications of play-goers’ being visible from the stage under...

Media representations of the prison

The objective of the paper is to scientifically analyze the media?s portrayal of the prison in the social, cultural and historical context. The method used is content analysis. The paper is based on the pluralistic theoretical orientation of the author grounded in the theory of social constructivism. The prison is most commonly depicted as a place occupied by violent and ?sinful? persons where their vicious behaviour continues, sending a message of the prison as an unparalleled and crucial means of social control of individuals not conformed to the norms of society. Media representations of the prison as a total institution range between two typical simplifying images: one, where this total institution (the ?smug hack? model) is shown as a system that is corrupted, dehumanized and incapable of conducting resocialization and where prisoners are subjected to sexual assaults, physical torture and discrimination by staff or other prisoners; other, or stereotype about ?spoiled prisoners? (the ?country club corrections? model) and prisons as places filled with undeserved privileges for criminals - pleasant work, conjugal visits, love rooms, free time filled with hedonism and fun. Typical representations of the prison as a total institution include it representing a place of social revenge, punishment for serious crimes, violence, loss of freedom, systemic torture, identity destruction, repentance, strengthening of criminal habits and convictions (?education for crime?) and corruption.

Criminological and investigative analysis of sexual vicious behaviour

Criminological and investigative analysis of sexual vicious behaviour

Design of a novel dynamic trust model for spectrum management in WRANs of TV white space

The cognitive radio (CR) technique is considered as a better and more efficient answer to the predicament brought by the high demands of wireless communication services and the scarcity or low utilization of frequency spectrum resources. The IEEE 802.22 standard has regulated the wireless regional area networks (WRANs) as one example of the CR networks, which is operating in the television white space (TVWS) spectrum. In the centralized WRANs, the secondary user base station (SUBS) allocates the spectrum holes for the customer premise equipment (CPE) on the basis of the spectrum sensing information from the CPEs around. However, since the CPEs are easy compromised under the varying and uncontrollable environment, the WRANs is subjected to the primary user emulation attacks (PUEA) and the spectrum sensing data falsification (SSDF) attacks, which may lead to a wrong global spectrum decision made by SUBS. A novel dynamic trust model for the SUBS spectrum management based on the subjective logic for the centralized WRANs of TVWS is proposed in this paper. The proposed trust model has a positive impact on reducing the influence of users’ vicious behaviors and encourages the CPEs to participate in truthful actions for communications. The analysis shows that the time complexity of the proposed trust model is O(n). Simulations indicate that the proposed trust model can significantly reduce the probability of the errors by the SUBS in the spectrum decision making.

Power, Virtue, and Vice

I approach virtue theory in a way that avoids idealized social ontologies and instead focuses on social hierarchies that include relations of power. I focus on the virtues tied to improving social environments—what I refer to as social-ethic virtues—and examine how the development of social-ethic virtues is influenced by motivations for and situations involving power. I draw on research in social and personality psychology to show that persons motivated by power and persons holding powerful social positions tend to behave in ways that correlate with certain virtuous and vicious patterns of behavior. I maintain that patterns of moral or vicious behavior (habits) tied to those in powerful positions are upheld by a combination of motivational dispositions and situational factors and that although a strong and dominating sort of power can corrupt, an agentic power to effect social, political, and institutional change is necessary for the social-ethic virtues. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. —Lord Acton

An Exploration of Players' Aggression: Role of Game and Life Self-Efficacy and Adaptive Game Use Tendency

ABSTRACT This study examined whether game usage would alleviate players’ aggressive tendencies. Other game-related variables, psychological care factors (adaptive game use tendency, game self-efficacy, and life self-efficacy), and psychological problem factors (loneliness and depression) were controlled for determination of the effect. We drew on the catharsis theory from therapeutic psychology literature to explain how game usage contributes to the alleviation of aggressive tendencies. Over two weeks data were collected from 918 participants online. The results indicated that gaming activity had a significant effect on aggression. Higher levels of game and life self-efficacy, as well as adaptive game use tendencies, decreased the degree of aggression. Likewise, higher levels of loneliness and depression reduced the degree of aggression. Results and implications are discussed. Key words : Aggression Catharsis, Game and Life Self-efficacy, Adaptive Game Use Tendency. 1. INTRODUCTION Aggression is one of the innate fundamental instincts [1] therefore, human aggression, as a basic and very complex social behavior, can range from mild verbal anger to vicious behavior including everything in between. Recently, games have become a popular leisure activity globally [2]. Games are used by whole generations inclusive of toddlers and the elderly without limits of time and space. While general surveys exist regarding broad patterns of game usage, less is known about the relationship between game usage and aggression in psychological or mental health care. Regarding the relation between game usage and aggression, previous studies have attempted to clarify various factors that influence the aggression of game players. Researchers have also examined whether violent games are associated with players’ aggression, or whether such games can enhance long-term aggression [3]-[19]. Although an important topic, a number of concerns about these studies have been raised. Some researchers concluded that the gathered evidence proves the existence of a causal link between violent games and aggression [3]-[8]. However, others revealed a number of methodological flaws and suggested that the association

Architectural Guidelines for Building a Special Learning Environment for Children in Need

The study environments are the problem analysed from an educational point of view, but closely correlated to the architectural, psychological and social principles. This article starts from the idea that a learning environment adequate to the children's requirements represents the key to their better development and implicitly investing in our children's education we invest in our future as society. A challenge for the educational environment is the rehabilitation of the children living on the street. They are facing addictions, and they have developed a vicious behaviour, determined by their life on the street, they survive in unhealthy environments and they do not enjoy even the minimal hygiene conditions. Numerous studies in the field of resilience have proved that, the ambient environment and the learning environment have a determining role in this process. The purpose of this article is that to analyse educational programs dedicated to them from architectural, psychological, political, economic and social point of view, trying to identify the main positive and negative factors in the centres dedicated to them and stating a few architectural principles for a better development of their learning and rehabilitation environment.