Ethical behaviour: the means for creating and maintaining better reputations in arts organisations

Arts organisations, unsure of the level of continued government funding available and confronted with the need ever to improve, are seeking new ideas upon which they can focus. At a time when leadership and governance in arts organisations have changed in line with cultural expectations, how is their ethical stance assessed? How does their ethical stance impact on reputation? The challenge to build a good reputation starts at the top of the organisation; however, traditionally, one type of arts organisation, art museums, has focused on the activities level. In an age of globalisation, economic restructuring and technological change, museums therefore may be seen as a contradiction. Traditionally seen as temples for the muses, today’s museums are being challenged to be ethical for society and to build their reputation. As a solution, proposes a cooperative model of cultural organisational ethics that attempts to provide a framework by which arts organisations can put in place ethical artefacts that enhance organisational reputation, rather than detract from it.

A computational approach to the reconstruction of surface geometry from early temple superstructures

Recovering the control or implicit geometry underlying temple architecture requires bringing together fragments of evidence from field measurements, relating these to mathematical and geometric descriptions in canonical texts and proposing "best-fit" constructive models. While scholars in the field have traditionally used manual methods, the innovative application of niche computational techniques can help extend the study of artefact geometry. This paper demonstrates the application of a hybrid computational approach to the problem of recovering the surface geometry of early temple superstructures. The approach combines field measurements of temples, close-range architectural photogrammetry, rule-based generation and parametric modelling. The computing of surface geometry comprises a rule-based global model governing the overall form of the superstructure, several local models for individual motifs using photogrammetry and an intermediate geometry model that combines the two. To explain the technique and the different models, the paper examines an illustrative example of surface geometry reconstruction based on studies undertaken on a tenth century stone superstructure from western India. The example demonstrates that a combination of computational methods yields sophisticated models of the constructive geometry underlying temple form and that these digital artefacts can form the basis for in depth comparative analysis of temples, arising out of similar techniques, spread over geography, culture and time.

Ethical behaviour: the foundation stone for entrepreneurial activity in arts organisations

Entrepreneurship is being touted as the way forward for arts organisations unsure of the level of continued government funding available and confronted with the need to ever improve. At a time when leadership and governance in cultural organisations have changed in line with cultural expectations, how is their ethical stance assessed? In an age of globalisation, economic restructuring and technological change, museums are sometimes seen to be something of a contradiction. Traditionally seen as temples for the muses, today's museums are being challenged to be ethical for society. As a solution, this paper proposes a Cooperative Model of Cultural Organisational Ethics that attempts to provide a framework by which arts organisations can put in place ethical artefacts that enhance organisational performance, rather than detract from it.

On recovering the surface geometry of temple superstructures

The application of computational techniques to the analysis of heritage artifacts enables scholars to bring together diverse fragments of surviving evidence, construe "best-fit" strategies and unearth implicit or hidden relationships. This paper reports a hybrid approach for recovering the surface geometry of temples. The approach combines physical measurements, architectural photogrammetry and generative rules to create a parametric model of the surface. The computing of surface geometry is broken into three parts, a global model governing the overall form of the superstructure, local models governing the geometry of individual motifs and finally the global and local models are combined into a single geometry. In this paper, the technique for recovering surface geometry is applied to a tenth century stone superstructure: the temple of Ranakdevi at Wadhwan in Western India. The global model of the superstructure and the local model of one individual motif are presented.

Compositional connections : temple form in early Southeast Asia

The temples of Southeast Asia are remarkable and intriguing in their architecture, in that they are obviously derivative from Indic canon and yet
profoundly original and different from the corpus of the subcontinent. Further, the regional nuances of these temples, whether in Java, Cambodia or Champa, defy obvious and linear connections within these traditions and with the pan-Indic corpus. While epigraphists, Sanskritists and historians have made significant connections between these temple building traditions, much work remains to be done on the compositional and architectural linkages along the trading routes of South and Southeast Asia. This paper is an early attempt at understanding the compositional connections, as evident in the temple forms of early southeast Asia. To elucidate the complex material, the authors deploy a comparative method on two levels. Between ideal notions of the Hindu temple and shared cosmogony on one hand and individual temples as a realization of the ideal on the other. The consideration of the compositional material yields some surprisingly rich and varied connections. For example, the affinities between 7th century cellas in Cambodia and early Gupta models from central India are difficult to ignore. Further, the linkages between these cellas and the early Deccan experiments in structural stone raise questions about both idioms. The range of experimentation in Cambodia
(in plan forms, superstructure and construction methods are discussed with reference to their Indic antecedents. The findings of the paper raise questions about the relation between temple and treatise; between theory and practice and between the individual temple and its collective corpus.

A modern audience for the ancient mysteries of the occult : the evolution of Rudolf Steiner's esoteric architecture

In today’s secular society, occult conceptions of architecture may seem somewhat anachronistic, but at the turn of the twentieth century the bourgeoisie, alongside society’s artistic and intellectual elite, were enthusiastically embracing a myriad of esoteric doctrines and mystical impulses. One of the most prominent and enduring examples of this cultural phenomenon is to be found in Rudolf Steiner’s quasi-philosophical system of Anthroposophy. As a path of spiritual development based on ancient mysteries of the occult, Anthroposophy offered people the belief that there existed a way out of the chaos and meaninglessness of modern industrialised society. Steiner used the medium of architecture as a way of repackaging the occult’s venerable secrets into a tangible, material form that made their hidden message more readily accessible to his contemporary audience. While he was striving towards creating a totally new architectural language appropriate to the modern age, he perceived architectural style as an evolutionary process that revealed its spiritual content in a particular way in every epoch. As such, Steiner made free use of historical and mythological precedents as archetypal references in his work, thus giving his architecture a genealogy that has, until now, remained largely undefined. By investigating Steiner’s indebtedness to ancient temples and the architecture of the baroque, a greater understanding of his architectural heritage is made possible, which not only helps to locate him within the cultural milieu of his day, but also within the broader context of architectural history. A spiritual thread runs through this history that demonstrates that Steiner’s architecture is not as idiosyncratic as it may initially seem, though whether his work represents an original step forward in the development of modern architecture, or is merely a hangover of nineteenth century eclecticism, must also be considered in order to determine the architectural value of Steiner’s esoteric ideas.

Cultural heritage and development in South East Asia

This chapter discusses research undertaken into the developmental role of museums and heritage sites in Thailand and the Greater Mekong Subregion, a geographical area that also includes Cambodia, Laos PDR and Myanmar. It contextualizes an international project, the Lampang Temples Project, to explore the potential role that museums and heritage sites can play in place-based development work, particularly in an Asian context where sacred places are simultaneously valued by local members of the community and as desinations for religious pilgrims and international tourists. The discussion of the Lampang Temples Project is located within an understanding of the international discourse concerning the roles of museums in development, including those contributions to the discourse that have originated in the Asia-Pacific region. It is also situated within an understanding of the roles of international agencies and local governments in the promotion of programmes and infrastructure for the preservation of Buddhist heritage and the relationship of this development strategy with tourism. Furthermore, due to the participatory and observational experience of the authors in the Lampang Temples Project, the chapter also considers the issues involved in applying cross-cultural pedagogies to the management of cultural tourism sites, including UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The results of the Lampang Temples Project support the contention that colaborative training models and pedagogies can be adapted, provided that differing cultural contexts and suppositions are appropriately articulated and integrated. Further, it suggests that this type of collaborative approach to the management of cultural tourism sites has the potential to play an important role in Buddhist heritage development processes.

Process evaluation of a community-based intervention program: Healthy Youth Healthy Communities, an adolescent obesity prevention project in Fiji

Nearly one-half of the adult population in Fiji between the ages of 15–64 years is either overweight or obese; and rates amongst school children have, on average, doubled during the last decade. There is an urgent need to scale up the promotion of healthy behaviors and environments using a multi-sectoral approach. The Healthy Youth Healthy Community (HYHC) project in Fiji used a settings approach in secondary schools and faith-based organizations to increase the capacity of the whole community, including churches, mosques and temples, to promote healthy eating and regular physical activity, and to prevent unhealthy weight gain in adolescents aged 13–18 years. The team consisted of a study manager, project coordinator and four research assistants (RAs) committed to planning, designing and facilitating the implementation of intervention programs in collaboration with other stakeholders, such as the wider school communities, government and non-governmental organizations and business partners. Process data were collected on all intervention activities and analyzed by dose, frequency and reach for each specific strategy. The Fiji Action Plan included nine objectives for the school settings; four were based on nutrition and two on physical activity in schools, plus three general objectives, namely capacity building, social marketing and evaluation. Long-term change in nutritional behavior was difficult to achieve; a key contributor to this was the unhealthy food served in the school canteens. Whilst capacity-building proved to be one of the best mechanisms for intervening, it is important to consider the cultural and social factors influencing health behaviors and affecting specific groups.

Um desejo de eu[não] viver sem me notar: o museu como instituição pedagógica emancipatória

Os museus são organizações que se encontram em crise e a museologia procura redefini-los a partir de sua função social democratizante por meio da cultura. Eles deixam para trás a noção de templos e coleções de objetos para assumirem um papel que modifica a sociedade e a própria estrutura das cidades, sem uma teoria que contemple esse novo papel. Suplantar as contradições existentes é o novo objetivo social dessas organizações e sua forma de ser e agir é a principal motivação deste ensaio que tem como objetivo final analisar como os museus contemporâneos podem se constituir em um local privilegiado para a práxis libertadora por meio de seu caráter pedagógico. Acreditamos que assim os museus contemporâneos podem ser “alguém” com quem a sociedade pode contar em seu processo emancipatório. Para isso o papel dessas organizações deve se transformar, assumindo um viés democrático em lugar de privilegiar questões econômicas e se constituindo em espaço privilegiado para educação libertadora. Para isso faz-se uma adaptação do método pedagógico de Paulo Freire para os museus, destacando quatro momentos principais: desvelamento do conhecimento de si e da sua realidade pelas exposições e pesquisas; crítica acerca do conhecimento desvelado; transformação do objeto em sujeito / práxis; exposição da denúncia ou do anúncio de um mundo melhor. Acredita-se que esse processo, fortemente embasado na crítica e mediado pelo amor possa delimitar o museu em seu novo papel como espaço privilegiado onde acontece parte do processo emancipatório. No entanto, os museus contemporâneos podem se constituir em um local privilegiado para a práxis libertadora por meio de seu potencial pedagógico se essas organizações mais do que aplicarem um método libertador se reformularem completamente.

História e arte sacra do Conjunto Carmelita de Santos

Pós-graduação em Artes - IA

Os templos da conquista: a Igreja Adventista do Sétimo Dia (IASD) no Município de Ourinhos-SP (1950-2012)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

O corpo chinês e as artes marciais: da ascese marcial, ao Wushu moderno

Pós-graduação em Desenvolvimento Humano e Tecnologias - IBRC