Category: Heritage

Introduction

The article The Marketing of Heritage largely compares the approach of different parts of the world, including the West and North, to each other in the use of historical heritage and the creation of traditions. Various countries have different approaches to the preservation of cultural heritage; for example, for Europeans, regarding the analysis in the article, the past and the present are not so significantly different (Cameron 163). Some countries, including Western ones, invest in historical sites and museums for the most part to create traditional values and preserve heritage (Cameron 164). In many countries, for these purposes, national music festivals and entertainment are created, which also remind us of past events, traditions, or valuable places.

Main body

At the same time, in various parts of the article, the author criticizes some nationalities. For example, pointing out that not so long ago, many Western countries came to derive commercial benefits from the historical heritage (Cameron 164). The author also uses the approach of trying to influence the reader of the text. Cameron clearly expresses his point of view; for example, he explains that traditions have not only a strong political function but are also important for history in economic terms (Cameron 167). Thus, Catherine Cameron does not perform a neutral point of view in the article.

In the second article, The Marketing of Tradition, Cameron discusses traditions more and has a descriptive approach. In some parts, such as the analysis of American culture, the author uses large paragraphs of statements without reference. It is not entirely clear where they come from, on the basis of what analysis the facts about the awards and the film industry are presented. Therefore, Catherine Cameron contributes to the development of literature on the subject of culture, traditions, and heritage.

The festival called MusikFest is mentioned in the article, which is a festival that has its roots in the eighties of the last century. The MusikFest is a combination of food, drink, performances, and venues that have held historical significance for over 30 years (Musikfest). The meaning of this festival correlates with the articles, as traditions can be passed on not only through physical monuments, places, or retellings. However, as stated in the article and seen on the website the festival, the MusikFest, adapts to new trends such as Interactive Displays without preserving full cultural value and not being authentic (Musikfest). Festivals create an influx of tourists to the country, and people of other nationalities and cultures begin to get acquainted with the cultural heritage of the state where the festival is held or with the culture that it carries. It is important to note that not all festivals can convey cultural values, as some are focused exclusively on contemporary music, food, styles, communication, etc. However, everything that is modern will at some point become the past, so if the festival retains its own individual style or the style of a certain culture, nation, or country, it will once become historically valuable.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cultural heritage and traditions can be passed on in different ways. Such paths may include visits to historic sites, transmission through literary or musical works, and entertainment. Various nationalities have different attitudes towards culture and transmit it in their own way. At the same time, new trends are often adapted into early traditional works or festivals, which affects their content and changes their essence.

Works Cited

Cameron, Catherine M. “The Marketing of Tradition: The Value of Culture in American Life” in City and Society, vol. 1, no. 2, 1987, pp. 162-174.

Cameron, Catherine M. “The Marketing of Heritage: From the Western World to the Global Stage” in City and Society, vol. 20, no. 2, 2008, pp. 160-168.

Musikfest. ArtsQuest.

Significance of using the Heritage Assessment when evaluating the needs of the whole person

The Heritage Assessment Tool (HAT) is extremely useful when evaluating the needs of the whole person. The tool is used for assessing an individual’s needs, ensuring health maintenance, safeguarding, and restoring cultural beliefs. Such an assessment ensures that the needs of patients from a wide array of populations are met. Consequently, holistic and quality healthcare is guaranteed. The HAT has questions regarding the individual’s practices and beliefs.

In addition, the tool has questions about the childhood events, which play a great role in shaping the beliefs and values that an individual holds in adulthood. It is imperative for nurses to use culturally sensitive health education when attending to all patients. Through the HAT, a nurse can acquire adequate information that is essential for evaluating the health needs of an individual (Spector, 2009).

The HAT contains 29 questions that reveal a person’s original country, grandparent’s details, parent’s birth place, education, religious beliefs, and native language. Consequently, a nurse can identify the patient’s needs and diagnose him appropriately, which is vital for ensuring the most appropriate care. It is worth pointing out that the tool promotes communication through arousing interest and opening avenues for relevant questions. Consequently, stereotyping is shunned since the nurse becomes aware of the patient’s feelings and health care views.

Health Tradition Differences between Cultures

Cultural awareness refers to the level of a person’s comprehension of the practices and traditions that guide him in relation to other backgrounds, particular cultural values, and health attitudes. According to Spector (2008), it is imperative for health care experts to possess the skills and knowledge necessary for caring for patients from all cultural backgrounds. Healthcare experts should be culturally competent, which implies that they can care for diverse patients.

As far as cultural practices and traditions are concerned, the Health Assessment Tool is a vital checklist for acquiring knowledge about the client’s beliefs and culture before initiating care. Considering that multicultural nations possess varying beliefs and cultures, the manner in which nurses carry out patient- centred care is highly influenced. For effective and optimal nursing care, nurses should possess wide knowledge regarding how various cultures perceive health restoration, protection, and maintenance (Venn & Quiggin, 2007).

American Indians

Health Maintenance

The Indians accrue tribal, community, extended and nuclear members keen attention. Traditionally, women are regarded as the care givers. Furthermore, grandparents play a great role in caring and counselling the grandchildren. The Indians’ contemporary diet was highly nutritious. Moreover, it was low in sugar and fat, and grains and traditional vegetables were used. Traditionally, this cultural group consumed wild game in addition to gathering wild berries, grains, and leaves. They also consumed nutritious foods such as turnips, corn, and fish (Spector, 2008).

According to the Indians, there was a link between nature and people. Water was a life- sustaining and sacred source. There were no laws and taxes hindering the sale of tobacco among the youths. As a result, abuse of tobacco resulted to an increase in stroke, cancer, and heart conditions.

Health protection

Children were supposed to offer care and respect their elders. The elders were given priority during food service. The Indians valued the exceptional cultural legacies associated with education. Therefore, youths were sent for education after which they returned to the community to assist people. The Indians had plenty of educational and health services that aimed at preventing, treating, and managing pneumonia, influenza, nephritis, suicide, stroke, chronic respiratory disease, chronic liver disease, diabetes, injuries, cancer, and heart disease. A majority of these diseases were as a result of unhealthy lifestyles.

Health restoration

During ceremonies, tobacco was smoked to welcome healing. Healing could be attained though songs, dances, and drumming. The origins of life had to be united to ensure harmony that was essential to prevent sicknesses. Local clinics and medicine men helped in restoring harmony. However, medicine men were mostly used. Silence and time helped in promoting harmony. The Indians were warned against expressing pain. They were supposed to describe the symptoms (Spector, 2009). The Indian’s time perception was different, which may result to missing healthcare appointments. The Indians used the family- centered approach when communicating grave medical conditions.

Cambodians

Health Maintenance

To maintain healthy bodies, the Cambodians consumed a wide variety of grains, vegetables, and fruits. They ensured that all the three meals were taken, and the meals had to be balanced. The Cambodians refrained from alcohol.

Health protection

The Cambodians valued the aspect of using both cold and hot food. Elaborate dishes were only consumed during festivals. Sicknesses were associated with natural powers. Moreover, the Cambodians associated illnesses with sins committed. The Cambodians believed that evil spirits brought about mental illness. A majority of the Cambodians suffered from HIV/ AIDS, malaria, hepatitis B, malnutrition, malaria and tuberculosis. Unfortunately, most of the fish in Cambodia had high quantities of PCBs and mercury. Physicians confided end of life matters to the family to protect the patient from information about poor prognosis (Spector, 2008).

Health restoration

As a result of the high levels of metals in fish, there was a need to supplement them with alternative protein sources. To identify disease symptoms, specific questions were asked. The Cambodians held healing ceremonies so as to reinstate health. They desisted from screening and preventative care. Herbal medicines were used to relieve pain. Dermabrasive procedures left skin marks.

Hispanics/ Latinos

Health Maintenance

To ensure healthy bodies, the Latinos consumed healthy whole grains, fruits and vegetables. The traditional Latinos shunned from processed foods. They also take light meals for dinner and heavy meals for lunch (Venn & Quiggin, 2007).

Health protection

The Latinos protected health through balancing hot and cold foods. A majority of the Hispanics suffered from pneumonia, influenza, chronic liver disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer, and heart disease. Hypertension, diabetes, and obesity are prevalent since the Hispanics currently consume fast foods and do not engage in exercise.

Health restoration

Spiritualists and folk healers restored health among the Hispanics. For effective health restoration, there was a need to address cultural and language barriers, increase accessibility to preventive care, and health insurance. The healthcare experts should have educated the Hispanics about healthy and nutritious diets, preventive screening, and exercise.

Common health traditions

The cultures discussed valued balancing hot and cold foods so as to maintain health. In addition, traditional nutritious fruits, vegetables, and whole grains were consumed to promote health.

Subscription to practises and traditions

Culturally competent care is essential in ensuring that nurses are able to care for patients from diverse backgrounds. Culturally competent care entails maintaining and recruiting an assorted workforce, ensuring that care is offered in a way that is culturally competent, and providing the employees with occasional trainings that are linguistically and culturally convenient for effective service delivery.

References

Spector, R. E. (2008). Cultural Care: guides to heritage assessment and health traditions. New York: Prentice Hall.

Spector, R. E. (2009). Cultural diversity in health and illness. London: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

Venn, T. J., & Quiggin, J. (2007). Accommodating indigenous cultural heritage values in resource assessment: Cape York Peninsula and the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia. Ecological Economics, 61(2), 334-344.

The term “invention of tradition”

Within the discursive context of Sakr’s (2008) article, the term ‘invention of tradition’ is best discussed as Arabic oil-states’ tendency to invest in exploring the cultural roots of its populations by the mean of encouraging architects to combine the elements of Arabic traditional architectural style with the elements of an architectural style that is now being commonly referred to as globally-urban. According to the author, such tendency cannot be referred to as being solely instigated by considerations of Arabian cultural identity’s preservation but also by essentially economic considerations of providing Gulf countries’ tourism-related industries with an additional boost: “To recover its (Arabian) identity, attempts have been made in recent years to create the so-called ‘Arabian style’, that would offer tourists the sense of place that they were dreaming of”. (152).

Given the fact that, for duration of forty years, since the discovery of immense oil deposits in Arabian Peninsula, Arabic oil-countries have been undergoing a rapid transformation from being essentially feudal states of the Third World into post-industrial states that feature some of world’s highest standards of living, it was only natural for the citizens to grow increasingly forgetful as to what defines their cultural identity. In its turn, this had brought about a situation when, as of today, it is namely the sheer strength of these citizens’ consumerist urges that characterize the qualitative essence of their existential mode. As it was rightly pointed out by Wilson (1982): “Individuals will naturally prefer to obtain goods now than at some future date” (107).

Given the fact that foreigners account for often as much as 80% of oil-states’ populations (as it is the case with UAE), there are good reasons to believe that Gulf countries’ rapid socio-economic progress may result in depriving them of an objective justification to exist as culturally unique geopolitical entities, which in its turn, would cast doubt onto objectiveness of these countries’ nationhood. This is exactly the reason why, throughout the course of two recent decades, the policies aimed at ‘reinvention of traditions’, have played rather important role in shaping up Gulf countries’ cultural landscape.

Intentions of heritage related activities in the UAE

The foremost intention of heritage-related activities in UAE is being concerned with both: fostering the sense of national identity in country’s native-born citizens and providing potential tourists with an additional incentive to consider visiting UAE as culturally rich Arabic state. Because the process of Globalization undermines the inner integrity of traditionally functioning nation-states, such as UAE, it makes perfectly logical sense for Gulf countries’ rulers to become increasingly preoccupied with trying to preserve cultural heritage, associated with the traditional ways of native-born citizens’ living – by doing it, these rulers strive to ensure the legitimacy of their governmental authority.

As Khalaf (2002) had put it: “With the speed of such oil-propelled, globally driven cultural change the leaders are becoming increasingly concerned with the preservation of their threatened national cultures” (14). At the same time, while endorsing the policy of ‘invention of tradition’, it was becoming increasingly clear for policy-makers in UAE that their intention to preserve local people’s cultural traditions cannot be solely thought of within the context of strengthening the extent of country’s national integrity, but also within the context of diversifying country’s economy.

Given the fact, that Arabian Peninsula’s oil deposits are estimated to last for only another 50-100 years, it represents the matter of foremost importance for the leaders of Gulf countries to invest into making national economies less oil-dependent. According to Zakaria (2004): “Even Saudi Arabia recognizes that its oil economy can provide only one job for every three of its young men coming into the work force” (17). Therefore, the fact that ever since early nineties, UAE’s officials have been trying to provide Dubai’s architectural landscape with an aura of Arabic cultural uniqueness should be regarded as yet additional proof as to the sheer strength of their economic insightfulness.

The reason for this is simple – by doing it, UAE’s rulers increase the extent of city’s attractiveness for tourists. In its turn, this created a situation that even today, Dubai is being considered as one of world’s most authentic and yet luxurious tourist destinations. In the article from which we have already quoted, Sakr states: “(In Dubai) Leisure, work, shopping, residence, sightseeing are all collapsed into one experience. Increasingly, people live as tourists in their own city” (149). As the example of Dubai shows, in globalized world, the significance of officially endorsed policies, aimed to promote the ‘celebration of cultural traditions’, should be accessed through the lenses of economic pragmatism.

“Heritage inspired” projects as a remedy to alleviate Emiratis’ sense of alienation

While agreeing with suggestions that Dubai’s ‘heritage inspired’ projects such as Madinat Jumeirah, Old Town, Bab al-Shams or Al Maha Resort do add to the legitimacy of an outlook on this city as one of world’s most well-known tourist destinations, I do not necessarily agree with suggestions that the mere existence of these projects can somehow slow down the process of UAE’s citizens’ growing increasingly alienated from their own cultural traditions, due to being affected by the forces of Globalization.

It is important to understand that; whereas, the process of Globalization has been dialectically predetermined by the laws of history, the tendency of a particular individual to think of its identity solely within the context of his or her ethnic or religious affiliation, serves as an indication of such individual’s intellectual inflexibility. In its turn, this renders a concerned individual’s mode of existence anti-historical.

Therefore, I can only subscribe to Leach’s (2003) point of view, in regards to the discussed subject matter, which treats the concept of cultural heritage as such that is being only formally related to what is being commonly perceived as its emanations: “Cultural identity emerges as a complex, rhizomatic field of operations that engages with – but is not defined by – cultural artifacts such as architecture” (127). In today’s post-industrial megalopolises, such as Dubai, it is namely residents’ varying ability to earn money, which reflects the degree of their social value, as individuals, and consequently – their chances of self-actualization.

And, it is needless to mention, of course, that within the conceptual premise of an earlier statement, one’s unwavering willingness to stick to its cultural traditions, while facing the challenges of globalized living, should be referred to as something rather counter-productive. It is namely the fact that UAE’s rulers had shown themselves committed to clearly post-industrial ideal of openness and tolerance, while choosing in favor practicing the secularized form of Islam, which had enabled them to take the full advantage of country’s oil.

After all, Iranian oil deposits are being estimated to be five times as large as that of UAE – yet, it is not the residents of UAE that strive to immigrate to Iran but the vice versa. Apparently, as time goes by, more and more citizens of UAE grow to think of their sense of alienation from the rest of Islamic world as the actual source of their cultural identity – pure and simple. Therefore, the fact that, during the course of recent decades Dubai’s landscape saw the erection of many Arabically styled buildings, should not be thought of as simply the proof of city officials’ traditional-mindedness, but as what it really is – the indication of these people’s commerce-related industriousness.

Works Cited

Khalaf, Sulayman. “Globalization and Heritage Revival in the Gulf.” Journal of Social Affairs 19, no. 75 (2002): 13-42.

Leach, Neil. “Belonging: Towards a Theory of Identification with Place.” Perspecta 33, (2002): 126-133.

Sakr, Mamdouh Mohamed. 2008. “Creating the ‘Arabian’ Architectural Style.” in Amer Moustafa, Jamal Al-Qawasmi & Kevin Mitchell (eds) “Instant Cities. Emergent Trends in Architecture and Urbanism in the Arab World”. Sharjah: CSAAR Press, 145-160.

Wilson, Rodney. “Economic Change and Re-Interpretation of Islamic Social Values.” Bulletin (British Society for Middle Eastern Studies) 9, no. 2 (1982): 107-113.

Zakaria, Fareed. “Islam, Democracy, and Constitutional Liberalism.” Political Science Quarterly 119, no. 1 (2004): 1-20.

Arts, culture, and history are closely connected, as these are some of the major pillars of the development of humanity. People’s culture is formed in the course of the historical development of the society, and arts are a reflection of the transformations that take place along the road. Museums that combine all these elements are true sanctuaries for me because I have an opportunity to obtain a complete or, at least, a big picture of the evolvement of a nation or a group of people. The National Cowboy Western & Heritage Museum was an obvious choice for me when surfing Google Arts and Cultures. I have children who, luckily, have similar interests, so I believe we will explore the museum in detail together. I would like them to see different facets of American history so that they could better understand some traits of the American culture.

Texts

The National Cowboy Western & Heritage Museum exhibits numerous works of art and historical artifacts. Every single object in the museum is worth detailed analysis, but I would like to focus on several works of art. When speaking about American history and visual evidence, photography is the first thing coming to my head. I am accustomed to viewing various recordings and pictures depicting Americans’ life in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Paintings produce a specific effect, making the viewer acknowledge the fact that the featured themes are a part of history.

One of the artworks to be mentioned is Hunter’s Supper by Frederic Sackrider Remington, created in 1909 (“Hunter’s Supper”). The medium the artist used is oil on canvas, and the dimension of the work is 27 x 30 inches. The overall tone of the painting is rather dark, which seems but natural as the nighttime depicted. However, the choice of the tone and colors is also linked to the peculiarities of that epoch. Life at that time was full of dangers and the darkness of the unknown. Brave hunters tried to keep themselves busy with cooking or talking to forget about the terrifying thought they might have experienced. The composition of the work of art is suggestive, at least, as it seems to me. The fire is in the center while the cowboys are depicted in a diagonal from the east to the west. The eastern part is lighter and seems safer and more civilized, and two men in the western part are almost in the wilderness of the west.

Another work, The Scalp, is a sculpture created by the same artist in 1898 (“The Scalp”). The sculpture depicts a triumphant Native American holding a scalp of his enemy in his right hand. Although Native Americans were mainly depicted as savages, who were to be civilized or destroyed, this sculpture produces another impression. The artist creates a traditional heroic artwork with a hero on his horse. On the one hand, a strong and courageous warrior is worth admiration, the ritual that seems savage fills the viewer with terror. The posture of the Native American is similar to numerous Western heroes, but the object in his right hand brings mixed fillings to the fore. Again, this piece makes the visitor think of the dangers all people who inhabited or colonized the territories had to encounter. Life was very hard, and only brave or desperate people could succeed.

The two artworks are also instrumental in defining and explaining the essence of the American Dream. People had to work hard and be courageous to move forward in order to accomplish their goals. When looking at these pieces and discussing them with children, it is possible to address such aspects as brevity, wisdom, collaboration, empathy, danger, suffering, dream, hard work, and success. Of course, the interactions between different groups also arise as topics for immediate analysis.

Context

The setting of my tour is the National Cowboy Western & Heritage Museum that was founded in distant 1955 (“The National Cowboy Western & Heritage Museum”). The museum aimed at preserving artifacts related to the history of the American West. The museum serves as an educational platform for all those interested in the topic. Each artifact and work of art in the museum has interpretive materials, so viewers are unlikely to feel lost. These interpretive details help observers to understand the contexts and gain insights into the history of the USA.

Almost all artifacts and artworks are properly protected to preserve them for further generations. Glass shields prevent any types of dust contamination or physical harm. The temperature and even lighting also serve this purpose, because the museum is committed to telling the story to as many generations as possible. Technology is used to ensure the protection of artifacts as well as the creation of the necessary atmosphere. Clearly, all systems work well to preserve all the objects. At the same time, light and sound contribute to the development of the sense of the wild West.

I would also like to add that technology makes all these marvels of history and art closer to millions. Without leaving my place, I managed to visit one of the most outstanding museums in the country. Of course, the digital tour can hardly evoke similar emotions to the ones experienced in a museum. However, I could see dozens of works and learn about the life in the American West. I could not see the texture or smell of the pieces, but I grasped the overall tone of the epoch. Therefore, it is possible to state that technology helps people learn and share knowledge, explore the world, and understand its laws.

Take-Aways and Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to stress that the virtual tour can make a person’s life brighter and filled with more knowledge and experience. When starting my work on this assignment, I was eager to explore an interesting place. Nevertheless, this experience went much beyond my expectations. As mentioned above, I have always seen a clear link between history, culture, and arts. I could explore this link one more time when visiting the virtual museum. One of the takeaways of this experience is also related to the course content. People live their lives and leave different types of evidence of their existence. The development or decline of a society can be easily traced with the help of historical artifacts and artworks. As for arts, people manage to express themselves in different ways, making the life of the rest more complete as well. When we view an artwork, we co-create as we add meanings to this piece. Moreover, viewers create the value of the objects, because, without them, things would be a part of the physical world with no meaning.

References

“Hunter’s Supper.” Google Arts & Culture, n.d., Web.

“National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.”Google Arts & Culture, n.d., Web.

“The Scalp.”Google Arts & Culture, n.d., Web.

Overview of the Culture

The book is devoted to discussing the issue of the quilombolas discovering their construct of identity and heritage. The term quilombola is used to refer to members of communities of African descent dating back to enslaved Brazilians who escaped and formed resistance communities known in Brazil as quilombos. These communities’ cultures can be described as maintaining a solid connection with their history and heritage. They strive to preserve the customs and culture of their ancestors. Even today, the representatives of this population have distinct cultural features such as traditional carnivals, capoeira, and candomble.

Slavery and Discrimination

Initially, the community was prone to slavery persecution. Even after the elimination of slavery, there were significant problems in formulating quilombo’s heritage policies, including the recognition and land titles. The Afro-Brazilian activists strive to achieve the economical and cultural inclusio0n of the population. Slavery is one of the crucial inquiries of the cultural heritage of the quilonolas history (Kenny, 2018). Anthropologists call this heritage inclusive due to the significant effect of transatlantic slavery and land acquisition on the cultural formation process. The preservance of cultural heritage is aggravated by the physical location of the described population. People reside in one of the most dangerous neighbors of Santa Luzia, which is noted as full of violence and foments social problems (Kenny, 2018). The issue of slavery has significantly affected the culture of the quilombos. The cultural heritage, kinship, and historical experiences are based on color, racism, and discrimination. Despite suffering from discrimination, even this population has the class distribution seen in the cultural manifestations. For example, the batuque dance responsibilities were segregated based on the criterion of the race (Kenny, 2018). Therefore, the cultural identity of the quilombolas is shaped by inequality inquiries.

Pottery Making

Most of the representatives of the quilombolas are integrated into working in the sphere of pottery. Pottery making has significantly changed these people’s life, culture, and identity. This direction allowed Quilobolas, despite the economy’s decline and racism, to find an accessible income method. The daily life of the quilombolas is shaped by the pottery creation process. The pots preserve the kinetic memory of the previous generations, which unites the culture and history of the people. Moreover, the difficulties of creation due to the lack of technologies require uniting the efforts of the quilombolas. The pot creation process has not changed from the method applied a century ago (Kenny, 2018). Such a situation is described as the basis for preserving the ancestors’ culture. From the perspective of the indigenous population, the mechanization of the process because it diminishes the role of people in the creation itself.

Another reason why pottery making is the primary focus of the community’s activities is the anti-racism response. White people often accuse quilombolas of being lazy and incompetent to economic changes, including innovation integrations. However, quilombolas believe in preserving the primordial method of pottery, and they rebel against such a perception. The population proves that the creation process may be free of economic influence. Despite the rejection of mechanization, people there are not separated from the innovative perspective. They have the gadgets, use many social networking sites and actively participate in the world’s worldwide innovation-centered movements. Therefore, their actions can be described as a protest against the stigmatization of their culture.

Legal Protection of Cultural Assets

Through the enormous attempts of the Afro-Brazilian activists, the heritage policies provided the legal basis for shaping the population’s identity. The shared history of the population was accepted as significant in terms of analyzing the contemporary forms of inequality (Kenny, 2018). As it was mentioned above, the culture of qiolombola is associated with territorial inquiries. Therefore, the justification for receiving lands signalizes preserving the cultural peculiarities.

Main Research Question

The primary research question of the author can be formulated as follows: hows the history and culture of slavery affect the formation of quilombos and the concept of contemporary inequality? The author strives to analyze the chosen population from the perspective of the key anthropology questions. The issues of the history, geomatics, and territorial peculiarities. Cultural heritage, occupations, and political and social phenomena affecting population formation are described. The researcher also focused on describing the current situation and position of the population based on the legitimacy of the heritage and the issues of slavery. The research also strives to define customary segregation due to color and class. It is considered natural for this population based on eh social, political, and economic divisions. The ethnography of the quilombo is presented from both perspectives: local and governmental.

Difficulties of Conducting the Research

The significant challenges the author encountered were related to his race. Exploring the cultural heritage of the Brown people raises many questions when white men conduct the research. The author mentions such challenges as reinforced suspicion and scrutiny (Kenny, 2018). The problem was also related to various biases issues that occurred during the study and publications. Another problem occurred during the first steps of integrating into the community. Well-established stereotypes about white people’s cruelty towards black communities are imprinted on the author’s status (Kenny, 2018). The indigenous people treated him as one of the potentially dangerous white people. Only throughout a particular amount of time did the author gain the community’s trust.

Another issue encountered by the researcher is that the cultural heritage of the population was constructed primarily in the context of the political and social climate. In other words, the scope of the investigation included significant research rooted deep in the history of discrimination. The culture formed based on the political context was challenging to analyze due to the author’s race. Many prejudices were associated with his work. The concept of friend and foe was a significant obstacle in conducting the in-depth analysis of cultural heritage. Such characteristics as kinship, settlement patterns, language, and regional identity separated the population and researcher.

The purposeful scientific observation that the author applied required extraordinary adequacy and impartiality. First of all, the description obtained from the results of the fieldwork and the analysis of the data collected must take into account the fullness of the social and cultural context, that is, the conditions in which the study was conducted. This approach is called holistic and suggests that to explain any single phenomenon important for research, it is necessary to understand what connections it is with other sensations. The main issue here is the complexity of the gaining information process. Despite the author’s significant preparation, some integration difficulties can be seen throughout the research. The expectations and perception of the author regarding the culture faced the stigmatized opinions of the indigenous people.

References

Kenny, L. (2018). Deeply rooted in the present: Heritage, memory, and identity in Brazilian Quilombos. University of Toronto Press.

Introduction

Heritage Visitor Attractions (HVAs) comprise the most vital part of the tourism industry. This is because they attract many tourists, and there is a lot of revenue created by the sites (Garrod & Wanhill, 2012). Malta is located at the center of the Mediterranean. The heritage of Malta tourism is dated 7000 years. These pre-historic sites feature amongst the world heritage sites (UNESCO, 2012).

Therefore, Malta tourism industry requires much promotion/marketing locally and abroad. In this respect, more attention and efforts have been devoted to the use of media to promote the site. For example, the use of the internet to promote the site has been applied in the recent past. The use of online marketing in heritage visitor/tourist attractions has fuelled enormous growth in the tourism industry (Leask & Yeoman, 2002).

Online marketing has become a crucial means for promoting tourists destinations and services. Internet has been enhancing the ways in which consumers make their travel arrangements (Dholakia, Dholakia, Fritz & Mundorf, 2002). The increasing use of the internet by consumers expands the possibility of having information about different products and purchasing of the products, as well.

Online social networks have also provided platforms where tourists share experiences about the places they have travelled. The internet is mostly preferred by travelers/visitors because it is easy to access, use, saves time and it is economical.

By mid 2012, there were close to about 518,512,109 internet users in Europe which represented 63.5 per cent of the entire European population and 21.6 per cent of the world’s internet users (Miniwatts Marketing Group, 2012). As noted in the Internet World Stats, Germany, Italy, UK, France and Russia were amongst the European countries with large numbers of the internet users (Miniwatts Marketing Group, 2012).

On the other hand, the internet is employed to learn the prices of various destinations based on flight and accommodation rates. Malta, a small country in Europe, has a wide range of heritage tourist attractions mostly popular in the world. In addition, it is widely acknowledged for embracing online marketing in its tourism industry.

The number of internet users in Malta’s tourism market has been rising each year since 2000 and 2010 recorded 59.2 per cent of the internet users.

As portrayed in a survey by Malta’s National Statistics Office (2011) about internet usage in households and enterprises in 2010, 55.8 per cent represented internet users related to travel planning. Hotel accommodation stood third amongst the items commonly sought online by 29.8% which was an increment of 4% compared with the 2009 figure (Malta National Statistics Office 2011).

This research will use a deductive approach where both qualitative and quantitative research methods will be used. It will be based on primary as well as secondary data. Primary data will be collected from various selected HVAs through semi-structured interview and quantitative self-completion surveys.

The semi-structured interviews will target the management personnel of the selected HVAs. On the other hand, quantitative self-completed surveys will target the visitors.

This research will assess online marketing framework in Malta’s tourism industry in the context of its heritage visitor attractions. The study will display a comprehensive stand about the connection online marketing has on the tourist travel/visits to heritage sites in Malta.

This research will assess the use of online marketing in Malta since 1996. In addition, the research will uncover the Heritage Visitor Attractions in Malta. The result of this research will offer a clear understanding about online marketing of HVAs in Malta.

Aim and Objectives

This research will aim to assess the use of online marketing of Heritage Visitor Attractions in Malta.

The following questions underpin the research on this subject: What ways has online marketing impacted tourism sector in Malta on the basis of HVAs.

Therefore, the specific objectives of this research will be:

1. To conduct a comprehensive review of existing literature in relation to the online marketing of heritage visitor attractions
2. To identify the current supply and demand for heritage visitor attractions in Malta
3. To establish the current use of online marketing by heritage visitor attractions in Malta
4. To investigate the relationship between the use of online marketing and visitors to Maltese heritage visitor attractions
5. To draw conclusions and recommendations on the future use of online marketing in the management of Maltese heritage visitor attractions.

The objectives of this research are established in a manner that they support the logical flow of the research. The literature of this will be instrumental in identifying the contemporary issues relating to online marketing of Heritage Visitors Attractions. This will assist in providing a clear guideline for this research by focusing on the influences, trends and factors applying to online marketing of Heritage Visitors Attractions.

Key Literature Review

Significance and scope of the research

There are minimal studies that have been carried about online marketing strategies of Malta’s Heritage Tourist Visitor Attractions. The majority of the studies has concentrated on the impact of marketing on Malta’s heritage visitor attractions. Amongst them is Farrugia’s (2006) study which overlooked on the influence of the sustainable tourism marketing on Malta’s Heritage Visitor Sites.

Her study aimed to identify ways in which tourism marketing of Maltese heritage sites could be achieved. The outcome of her study showed several emergent factors which could lead to successful tourism market in Malta. Majority of factors emphasized on the enhancing the marketing strategies to incorporate more communication, networking and partnerships with the heritage organizations and the visitors both local and international.

On the part of local visitors, this would integrate the sense of ownership which would otherwise promote protection of the heritage sites for their own benefit and others.

However, this study did not indicate how these factors are to be incorporated in marketing. Online marketing can be instrumental in ensuring communication, networking and partnership. This research will aim to assess online marketing of Malta’s heritage visitor attractions.

Literature

Heritage Visitor Attraction is a crucial element of tourist products that determine the choices that visitors/tourists make to visit a certain destination over the other (Leask & Yeoman, 2002). It is the most important component amongst the three basic components of tourist products.

Malta, despite being a small country, it is well known worldwide due to its vast HVAs ranging from the archaeological and historical sites to natural sites. Valletta, the historical Malta’s capital, is one of the earliest most renowned HVA sites listed among the World’s Heritage by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization-UNESCO (UNESCO 2009; World Tourist Attractions 2011).

This is a thriving visitor attraction that is in the culture and heritage of various national buildings, monuments, artifacts and many more. Megalithic Temples (Ggantija, Hagar Qim, Tarxien and Mnajdra) and Hal Saflieni Hypogeum, a subterranean neolithic structure are the other great UNESCO World Heritage Sites-WHS in Malta (Leask & Fyall 2012).

WHS are attractions of high profile and they are usually designated as iconic and unique (Leask &Yeoman, 2002). Most often, they are owned by the government thus they are very significant in the national tourism industry. In addition, WHS/HVAs have other features which include quality, authenticity, activity options and drawing power (Leask & Yeoman 2002).

Relative to the quality, HVAs are of high quality as they provide a pleasant and clean environment, smooth tourist oriented procedures and operations, security and friendly hospitality. The majority of visitors concentrates on the sites, buildings and facilities offered by the HVAs while making their travel decisions. Besides this is very important to also consider the activities which keep the visitors busy and enjoying.

Good HVAs should provide varied and changing options of activities to the visitors. Lastly about the drawing power, this is measured by the potential number of visitors visiting a particular destination and their likelihood of visiting the destination again. WHS is endorsed by high drawing power.

On top of this, WHS/HVAs are the primary visitor attractions. This is attributed to the fact that they highly influence visitors’ decisions regarding where to visit.

Apart from the WHS mentioned above, Malta has another enormous heritage tourist attractions like Mdina, Gozo Islands, Sunny and Sandy beaches and Mediterranean hotels for dining and nightlife amongst others. Another important attraction site for tourists in Malta is the diving activity in the Mediterranean Sea around the Maltese islands (Leask & Fyall 2012).

Therefore, the marketing of such destinations that are most preferred by visitors is very essential in the tourism industry (Fyall & Garrod 2005). Online marketing has inspired the growth of the tourism industry by enhancing consumers’ exploration of attractive destinations back from the comforts of their homes in order to reach an informed decision prior to their visitations.

In addition, the internet has enabled visitors to scrutinize the HVAs, check weather conditions as well as communicate with other visitors over the world regarding their experience for a particular chosen destination. Online marketing is the promotion of tourist products or services using the internet. There are various forms of promoting tourist products or services through the internet.

This includes designing of company’s websites, social media networks, mobile phones and many other interactive media. Therefore, online marketing of heritage visitor attractions is successful online communication with the potential visitors and convincing them that you are offering tourist products or services that they require or will benefit from better than others.

The Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) embraced the use of internet in marketing tourist products back in 1996 when it’s first online tourist marketing website was launched. By this time, the internet was in its infancy and has not well established globally.

Over the years, online marketing of Malta’s HVAs was mainly based on the visitmalta.com website, that has since then been redesigned and re-launched severally, corporate website amongst other special interest online sites.

With the introduction of Web 2.0, social networking took center stage in online marketing in tourism and other sectors.

In this respect, MTA developed its official pages on the most renowned Web 2.0 sites including social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, blogs, video sharing websites and so forth (Debattista 2011). These social networks are more influential to young travelers, 18 to 24 years old (Debattista 2011).

Moreover, MTA established multi-lingual e-newsletters which are sent to the ever-growing consumers’ database in every 2 months to keep in touch and enlighten them about the HVAs events and aspects which are of interest.

Furthermore, MTA launched applications for mobile phones and iPads, Apple iPhone Smartphone and Apple iPad tablet respectively. One of the applications is a mobile destination guide written in English, Italian and German whereas the other focuses on Malta’s cultural offers.

On the other hand, MTA initiated a text to speech feature on the visitmalta.com site to enable consumers with reading problems or visual impairments to access information in the form of a speech. Because of the rapid changes in the technology, Malta’s tourism industry initiated redesigning of the visitmalta.com portal in 2011 to accommodate these technologies like the geographical information system (Debattista 2011).

As of 2011, Expedia.com, one amongst the most known global travel websites, awarded the MTA as the Best Partner Innovator because of its marketing strategies. Indeed, Malta was the first Mediterranean country to receive such an honor due its efforts in online marketing in the widely diversifying tourism industry. The United Kingdom is one of the potential markets for Malta’s tourism.

The UK tourists were the first to adopt online travel services in Europe. And as earlier mentioned, Europe consists of a huge percentage of internet users. This prompted Malta to change and adopt online marketing services offered by Expedia.com and other online travel agencies to enhance its tourism sector. The European countries, UK, Italy, Germany and France have been the five potential source markets for Malta’s HVAs.

To 2010, visitors from UK amounted to 415, 120, Italy, 214, 259, Germany, 126, 097 and France, 86, 475 (Debattista 2011). Expedia enabled Malta tourism sector to implement online distribution with its HVAs which boosted its sales. A substantial number of visitors employ the internet in their research about holidays, making travel arrangements, booking and paying.

Malta’s partnership with Expedia has contributed to the major benefits of its tourism industry. In 2011, Malta was able to offer more accommodation to visitors thus making more profits, even during crisis time. The average profit rate on daily basis rose by 5 per cent compared to that of 2010. Additionally, the number of independent visitors increased steadily by about 46 per cent.

This relationship also influenced rapid changes in the Maltese tourism sector like opening of more new routes, emphasized growth of internet marketing, establishment of cheap carriers and strategies to lure young, affluent and most adventurous tourists with shorter holidays but massive travels especially during the off-peak periods. In regards to the carriers, reducing of the carrier traffic and cost increased the number of visitors in Malta.

To ensure the progress in online marketing in Malta is maintained and enhanced, Expedia offers education to Malta’s tourism industry (Debattista 2011). Additionally, Expedia also awarded Malta’s hotel, the Juliani, back in 2009, which was ranked 11^th in Europe and 29^th globally.

By that time, close to about 85, 000 hotels in the world had registered with Expedia. The Expedia World Heritage Insider list featured only one percent of hotels. Five of the Maltese hotels had made it to the list, however, Juliani hotel was the fortunate to be awarded. Because of this impact of online marketing in Malta’s HVAs, the MTA had proposed to invest €800,000 in online marketing in 2009 (Timesofmalta.com 2009).

The year 2006 saw the entrance of Izzicarhire.com, an online car rental service, in the Maltese tourism market. The online firm linked the companies dealing with car rental with tourists. The company offered the suppliers the opportunity to access and compare the rates. Customers could also book thee rental cars. This was a great boost to Malta’s HVAs leading to a convenient and comprehensive service to its visitors.

This service is connected with Malta’s International Airport (Izzicarhire.com 2012). Malta has gone a long way with its carrier system, main airline-Air Malta. Major changes and improvements have been incorporated in its online marketing strategies. Recently, this international Malta airline launched its new interactive website that mostly targeted tourists. This was to supplement its old website which had been in place for 14 years.

This site is followed by millions of visitors annually. It has been the most known sites in Malta and Europe at large. The enhanced new site will offer more features and information pertaining to flights, weather conditions and services like live destinations and terminal maps. In touring Malta heritage attractions.

Additionally, the new site was set to increase the traffic of checking both the incoming and outgoing flights and surveying of Malta’s weather condition. This has helped more visitors to plan their travel arrangements mostly for leisure.

The Malta tourism industry has also introduced a new online media library, viewingmalta.com, where the majority of up to date photo and video collections about Maltese HVAs are being posted. This online library is subdivided into three, Malta Islands, Gozo and Comino. In regards to the Malta Islands sector, images reflecting the Malta’s heritage, culture and diversity are posted.

On top of this Malta tourism industry has embraced the TripAdvisor.com, a more comprehensive social network to connect with visitors and collect information about the strongholds and weaknesses of various HVAs in order to improve the performance of these destinations.

This is attributed to the fact that understanding visitors’ preferences, opinions, and perceptions about the HVAs is the starting point of developing a more effective online marketing (Fedele 2012).

The majority of visitors relies on the internet to access information and services about HVAs by frequently seeking assistance or suggestions from visitors who have previously visited the destinations. Recent studies have concurred with this that visitors/tourist prior to choosing or visiting a destination, they prefer to seek recommendations from touring with the experience of such HVAs.

For this reason they check more for online comments, opinions and preferences to help them reach a sound decision. Utmost all people leave alone tourist tend to believe a word of mouth from people of their status say other tourists rather than advice from experts. MTA is utilizing the information contained in such online comments and feedbacks from visitors, user generated content, to enhance the online of their HVAs.

Data collected from TripAdvissor.com is transferred to other sister websites whilst translated in the respective language of the targeted visitors. Malta tourism industry mostly translates UGC in five different languages namely English, German, Italian, Spanish and French. The above languages represent Malta’s primary HVAs markets (Fedele 2012).

Research Approach

This research will rely on both primary and secondary data. Primary data will be available from questionnaires whereas secondary data will be obtained from textbooks, journal articles, newspaper articles, international sources like UNESCO and ETC, government sources, internet sources and websites.

Relative to the qualitative method, it will be used to overlook the outcomes of the research hypothesis and also to develop further study to test and support the research. In regards to the quantitative approach, customer questionnaires will the primary tool of research.

The design approach will be carried through an explanatory approach. Here, the variables involved in the research, online marketing and heritage visitor attractions will be related.

Questionnaires are most preferred in research because they eliminate biases and partiality in data collection due to interviewer absence and questions delivery. However, the questionnaires require being more defined and precise before data collection. The questionnaires will purpose to assess online marketing of Malta’s HVAs.

The validity and reliability of the data to be collected together with response rate will rely largely on the questions design, questionnaire structure and efforts applied in pilot testing (Conradi & Wang, 2003). As far as data validity is concerned, the research questions must be carefully defined based on the literature reviewed, where appropriate discussions may be encouraged in the pilot phase.

This will be directed to ensure the questionnaires cover the investigative research questions adequately to the extent that the questions will measure the constraints required deeply and appropriately.

On the other hand, reliability enhances robustness of the questionnaire in respect to production of consistent results based on different conditions or timing. Reliability can be determined using several methods like the test-retest and split half methods. Nevertheless, development of the questionnaire determines the reliability method to be adopted.

An online questionnaire will be used for this research due to the limited number of direct visitors. The sample will consist of all the people visiting online tourist sites in a given time. The sampling will be done by taking samples of people in cyber cafes. Besides the number limitation online questionnaires will target a wide variety of tourists from different countries as well as save a lot of time.

Furthermore, the questionnaires will be simplified and based on a closed format. This is will aim to enhance the response rate and time management. Open question format consumes more time because of the coding process, hence delaying the response. Rating scales like the Likert scale will be used to rate the questions in order to obtain data of varied attributes depending the question statement.

Processing and analysis of the data collected will employ the use of statistical tools and software like the Microsoft excel. Such software’s will enable input and coding of data in the correct layout where both the categorical and numerical data can be processed and presented using the appropriate formats like charts, tables, graphs and so forth.

Further support the research questions based on the questionnaire and facilitate data analysis, qualitative interviews will be taken based on the managers of the respective online questionnaire services. The interview will be self administered based on the questions developed from the outcomes of respondent questionnaires and the research literature as well.

Unlike the previous questionnaire format, this will take an open format to ensure the respondents provide extensive information which may be of help in obtaining various facts. This interview will be complemented through recording to eliminate information biases that may arise during or after the interview. These results will be coded and interrelated with the previous data submitted these online services.

Finally, comparison of primary and secondary data will be examined to identify the trends and the relationship of the variables of research. This will be done by comparing and contrasting various theories.

The primary research will provide the actual data collected from the field. Secondary data will provide previous theories (Shaffer, 2009). On the part of ethical Issues, this research will uphold accuracy and privacy of the data collected more so in collection of primary data.

Research Plan

Organization of the research

This primary research will be assembled in the following manner;

Chapter One

It entails the introduction and background information regarding the variables of this study, online marketing and heritage visitor attractions. Definition of the variable used in the research will be explained in this section. The chapter will also contain the objectives of the study.

The research questions will also be provided. The rationale of the research will be explained in this chapter. In addition, the hypothesis of the research will be developed in this chapter.

Chapter Two

It uncovers the theoretical as well as the empirical literature about these two variables of the study. The literature review will explore various concepts and ideas developed various authors. The literature will be linked, and differences in ideas will be identified. In addition, a theoretical model will be developed.

The model will contain the variables used in the research, and it will identify the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Therefore, theoretical model will be a summary of the concepts and ideas in the research paper.

Chapter Three

It presents the research methods, variables definition and data description. The chapter will explore the various methodological tools applied during the research. As such, the data collection process will be explained. The population will be explained. Additionally, the sample will be developed from the population. The various aspects and characteristics of the sample will be explored.

Chapter Four

It provides the outcome coverage, estimation, analysis, discussion and formulate the required recommendations. Statistical knowledge will be applied in explaining the chapter. The findings obtained in the research will be examined, and appropriate conclusions drawn from the findings. The level of significance of the statistical data collected will be explored.

An interpretation of the statistical data will be provided so that a link can be created between the statistical data and the real life scenario. Therefore, this chapter will develop appropriate models and characteristics of the sample. An inference to the sample will be made so that the characteristics of the population can be developed.

Project Plan

The planning and preparation of this research starting with simple tasks to the difficult ones is of much significance. The Ganttt chart will provide an effective approach to plan as well as track this research.

In addition, the chart will assist in the identification of tasks in accordance to their urgency to ensure the research is carried out effectively and systematically within the stipulated schedule. The formulation of the research aims and objectives, establishing of the literature for the research and selecting the research method took place from mid October until the end of October.

References List

Conradi, R. & Wang, A. I. 2003, Empirical methods and studies in software engineering: Experiences from ESERNET, etc.: SpringerLink host, Berlin.

Debattista, M. 2011, Maltese tourism increasingly dependent on internet sales, The Times. Web.

Dholakia, R. R., Dholakia, N., Fritz, W., & Mundorf, N. 2002, Global e-commerce and online marketing: Watching the evolution, , Conn u.a.: Quorum Books, Westport.

Fedele, S. 2012, Destination Marketing: Why do tourists like a destination? Web.

Ferrugia, J. 2006, Medical tourism-what prospects? The Times (Malta).

Fyall, A., & Garrod, B. 2005, Tourism marketing: A collaborative approach. Channel View Publications, Buffalo.

Garrod, B. & Wanhill, S 2012, Managing Visitor Attractions. Routledge, New York.

IZZICarHire.com 2012, Car Hire Malta International Airport. Web.

Karpati, T. H. 2008, Management of world heritage sites: The management plan as an effective tool for the safeguarding of heritage, VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, Saarbrücken.

Leask, A. & Fyall, A. 2012, Managing world heritage sites 2006. Taylor & Francis, New Jersey.

Leask, A. & Yeoman, I. 2002, Heritage visitor attractions: An operations management perspective, Continuum, London.

Miniwatts Marketing Group 2012, Internet World Stats: Usage and Population Statistics. Web.

Shaffer, D. R. 2009, Social and personality development, Cengage Learning, Australia: Wadsworth.

Timesofmalta.com 2009, Online marketing, bookings, crucial to tourism – de Marco, Times of Malta. Web.

UNESCO 2012, World Heritage Sites: A Complete Guide to 936 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Firefly Books Ltd, New York.

World Tourist Attractions 2011, Beautiful places in the world for vacation. Web.

Introduction

The Great Wall of China is among the most instantly recognizable historical monuments in China. Feng et al. (2017) suggest that the Great Wall carries a new significance and value. They propose preserving the Great Wall heritage site that combines cultural and historical qualities with a forward-thinking modern perspective. According to Feng et al. (2017), the Great Wall preserves all fundamental, religious, cultural, and historical knowledge contributing to its exceptional universal worth. As Yang et al. (2017) enumerate, some of the positive social impacts that accrue due to the various economic activities taking place on the Great Wall include friendly and helpful behavior in neighborhoods. However, Zhuang et al. (2019) suggest that higher crime behavior with visible and community-unfriendly policing behaviors have erupted due to business activities taking place at the Great Wall. The financial and economic sustainable development in cultural heritage could be achieved by harmonizing the various economic and financial elements (Blundo et al., 2018).

Business Proposal

The main business idea is to preserve the Great Wall heritage site that combines cultural and historical qualities with a forward-thinking modern perspective. The business is expected to start operating on July 15^th. 2021 and is projected to last for ten years. That is to mean that it will run through to July 15^th. 2031. The purpose of this proposal is to generally preserve the Great Wall as a cultural heritage through tourism activities and sales of other merchandise. Heritage, as Nilson and Thorell (2018) stress, is used in a variety of contexts and becomes significant as a vehicle for political, cultural, and entrepreneurial reasons, as well as academic and emancipatory objectives. The benefits that will accrue as a result of preserving the cultural heritage can be divided into economic, social, and environmental advantages.

Economic benefits include incomes earned from tourist activities, employment creation, and a general increase in a country’s Gross Domestic Income associated with a rise in its citizens’ living standards (Maeer et al., 2016). Additionally, Forster (2020) suggests that globally, cultural heritage serves economic growth and place-making activities. Lastly, the heritage sites create countless long-term jobs at home that don’t demand particular talents or a college degree. Heritage preservation projects frequently result in social advantages due to community engagement and increased understanding of the community’s heritage. Other sites were not considered because the Great Wall of China is a hallmark of ancient Chinese culture and one of the oldest and most impressive artificial structures visible from space (Dramaretska, 2019). Therefore, it is the most suitable site to carry out the proposed business idea. The possible direct competition comes from another Chinese ancient historical site, the Forbidden City (Imperial Palace).

To reduce competition and beating the Forbidden City, the following approaches, as suggested by Parowicz (2019), will be used. First, they will be providing international guidebooks for tourists as a promotion methodology. Another inexpensive strategy to market the heritage site would be to supply information to travel publications, newspapers, radio, and the internet. Lastly, direct contact with tour companies effectively piques their enthusiasm for a location (Hosseini, 2021, p.100). To beat indirect competitors that include the theme parks, then, through the social channels that the customers use, we will communicate information about our services and products and take a look at all competing companies’ economies and trends. Winter (2016, p.8) estimates that in the coming decade, one particular effort, China’s One Belt, One Road, will elevate this cultural strategy to a whole new level. Winter (2016) enumerates key objectives embedded within a broader framework of connectedness and partnership, facility interconnectivity, policy coordination, unhindered trade, and people-to-people linkages. All these objectives are aimed at promoting tourism within the nation. The challenges likely to be faced are major management of risk and insufficient initial capital. In dealing with the above challenge, they will source funds from potential investors who will be willing to save on the project and their personal contribution of capital.

Revenue Generation Model

The type of services provided will be from the tour and ticket sales from the historical site. The services they will be offering attributed to the increasing size and velocity of tourism services, resulting in the emergence of a genuine tourism sector (Sofronov, 2018). The data from table 1 below were obtained from Liang and Ma (2018) since, without public administration of the tourism purchasing market, the outcome of the match is that vendors would choose to auction substandard goods.

Table 1: Revenue Generation Model

From the table above, it implies that the site will be generating a revenue of $1238500 × 12months = $14,862,000.Furthermore, they propose that the site be sustainable, and the estimation will be employed for ten years. It, therefore, implies the site as generating a revenue $14,862,000 × 10 years = $148,620,000 of after upgrading.

Relevant Cost Analysis

Architectural and cultural buildings play a vital role in maintaining the country’s heritage, and hence it is considered a national treasure in every country that owns it. These facilities may be susceptible to shape, color, and material alterations due to weather, natural disasters, and human activities (Abed et al., 2017). Preserving such treasure is critical to all entities which deal with this subject. Furthermore, Wright and Eppink (2016) enumerate that heritage sites are increasingly recognized as capital assets, which can aid conservation decision-making. It is critical to demonstrate the tangible benefits to justify the implications and conservation costs associated with a heritage site listing (Jones et al., 2017). However, Jones et al. 92017) enumerate that before contemporary research on value was developed, valuation studies were quite rare and those that did exist primarily used stated preference methodologies like the Contingent Valuation (CV) and Choice Model (CM).

Economic activity’s rising complexity and diversity necessitate an increasingly effective utilization of financial resources (Stoenoiu, 2018). Cost management solutions are critical in this setting because they enable costs to be aligned with corporate goals (Stoenoiu, 2018). Because the behavior of production costs varies according to economic activity, managers are frequently forced to make estimations based on historical or current data provided by financial or management accounting, financial reports, or dashboards. The executive action is progressively dependent on the financial activity’s quality and timeliness of the data and how it is analyzed and translated into clear, relevant, and full data. The relevant costs of the various items of the proposal were valued as follows: loan repayment of $48,700 and upgrading $15,000,000. Furthermore, staff wages were valued at $2,500, fixed cost of maintenance $150,000, variable cost of maintenance $9,500, merchandise (bottle $3, t-shirt $20, short $15 and photos $10) and utility cost $15,000.

Table 2: Total Fixed Cost

Table 3: Total Variable Cost

Thus, the total cost is the summation of the whole variable costs and fixed costs. Therefore, the total cost will be $20,137,000 + $125,315,000 = $145,452,000.

Financial decision

The generated revenue of the proposed business idea is $148,620,000, whereas the total costs expected as a result of running the business are expected to be $145,452,000. Therefore, the generated revenue is in a position to cover all the total costs of the proposed business idea.

Profits (Income)

The profits earned during the 10 years period, that is, from July 2021 to July 2031 is computed by $148,620,000 – $145,452,000 = $3,168,000. The monthly profits would be $3,168,000/10 = $316,800. High markups, growing business profits, and decreased business dynamism are all current empirical concerns in macroeconomics (Savagar, 2018). After ten years, our projection is likely to be inaccurate; therefore, forecasts and estimates are recalculated following exceptional circumstances.

Monthly and Yearly Cash Flows

Table 4: Monthly and Yearly Cash Flows

The annual cash flow of $1,000,000 was necessary since the economic transactions will involve the acquisition of the cash essential to realize investment opportunities: loans from associates, bank credits, personal funds, or non-reimbursable assets (Răscolean and Rakos, 2018).

Present Net Value to Evaluate the Project

The net present value of a transaction is described as the variation between the proceeds and expenses at a certain rate of discount. It is equivalent mathematically as follows as Dwidayati (2020) suggests: Due to the site’s location in China, they chose a discount rate of interest of 0.035, which corresponds to the Chinese People’s Bank interest charged on reserves. The calculations for the NPV are summarized in table 5.

Table 5: Discounted Cash Flows and NPV

According to the projections in Table 5, the cash flows will be constant as a result of the strategic alliances the heritage site will enter into. It results in a positive NPV of $385,543.2894, which is more than zero, therefore a worthwhile investment.

Discounted Payback Period

The discounted payback period is the time frame during which initially discounted investments will be repaid using discounted returns (Loginovskiy, 2016). The calculations for the discounted payback period will be as follows $909090.9091 + $826446.281 + $751314.8009 = $2,486,851.1709. The balance that I will need to earn in year four will be $3,168,000 – $2,486,851.1709 = $681148.8291.

Conclusion

Our business model and monetary strategy will be offered to the cultural heritage since our mission is to disseminate the cultural and historical elements of the heritage worldwide while also pursuing a noble social purpose. Of course, communicating the heritage site’s significance to the international community needs a significant upfront outlay. This original cost contributes to upgrading and enhancing the cultural site to achieve the goals of the business proposal. Consequently, they must bear in mind the importance of self-sufficiency for the heritage site. Therefore, they have a solid financial strategy due to that to enable the site to earn money in the surplus from its initial outlay. It will be a source of revenue and spending statement which produces a consistent flow of cash over ten years. Additionally, they must be pragmatic after ten years, as important emerging issues will have altered and changed, rendering our financial Strategy obsolete. The business proposal also sought to meet the Standard Goals of Development (SDGs) in ensuring that sustainability in Cultural heritage is attained.

References List

Abed, F.M., Mohammed, M.U. and Kadhim, S.J. (2017) ‘Architectural and cultural heritage conservation using low-cost cameras.’ Applied Research Journal, 3, pp.376-384.

Blundo, D.S., Ferrari, A.M., del Hoyo, A.F., Riccardi, M.P. and Muiña, F.E.G. (2018) ‘Improving sustainable cultural heritage restoration work through life cycle assessment based model.’ Journal of Cultural Heritage, 32, pp.221-231.

Dramaretska, K. (2019). Development of tourism in China in view of cultural heritage. Web.

Dwidayati, N. (2020) ‘The use of financial mathematics to evaluate the feasibility of a water conservation project.’ In Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1567(4), pp.042-068.

Feng, J., Li, Y. and Wu, P. (2017) ‘Conflicting images of the Great Wall in cultural heritage tourism.’ Critical Arts, 31(6), pp.109-127.

Foster, G. (2020) ‘Circular economy strategies for adaptive reuse of cultural heritage buildings to reduce environmental impacts.’ Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 152, p.104-507.

Hosseini, K., Stefaniec, A. and Hosseini, S.P. (2021) ‘World Heritage Sites in developing countries: Assessing impacts and handling complexities toward sustainable tourism.’ Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 20, p.100-616.

Jones, T.E., Yang, Y. and Yamamoto, K. (2017) ‘Assessing the recreational value of world heritage site inscription: A longitudinal travel cost analysis of Mount Fuji climbers.’ Tourism Management, 60, pp.67-78.

Liang, M. and Ma, R. (2018) ‘The game analysis of the tourist shopping process in tourism destination.’ Chinese Studies, 7(01), p.47.

Loginovskiy, O.V. (2016) ‘Use of an investment payback period in order to analyze project effectiveness.’ Bulletin of the South Ural State University. Series: Computer technology, control, electronics, 16(4).

Maeer, G., Robinson, A. and Hobson, M. (2016) Values and benefits of heritage: A research review. Heritage lottery fund. Web.

Nilson, T. and Thorell, K., (2018) Cultural heritage preservation: The Past, the Present and the Future. Halmstad University Press.

Parowicz, I. (2019) Cultural Heritage Marketing. Palgrave Macmillan.

Răscolean, I. and Rakos, I.S. (2018. ‘The substantiation of cash flows within a business plan.’ Annals of the University of Petroşani. Economics, 18, pp.213-222.

Savagar, A. (2018) Measured productivity with endogenous markups and economic profits (No. 1812). School of Economics Discussion Papers.

Sofronov, B. (2018) ‘The development of the travel and tourism industry in the world.’ Annals of Spiru Haret University. Economic Series, 18(4), pp.123-137.

Stoenoiu, C.E. (2018) ‘Comparative analysis for estimating production costs.’ In MATEC Web of Conferences, 184, p.1-6. EDP Sciences.

Winter, T. (2016) ‘Heritage diplomacy along the one belt one road.’ The Newsletter, 74, pp.8-10.

Wright, W.C., and Eppink, F.V. (2016) ‘Drivers of heritage value: A meta-analysis of monetary valuation studies of cultural heritage.’ Ecological Economics, 130, pp.277-284.

Yang, J., Tan, F.H., Tan, A. and Parke, M. (2017) ‘Sustainability evaluation of the Great Wall of China using fuzzy set concepts by incorporating leadership energy and environmental design.’ Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems, 34(1), pp.1-33.

Yu, S. (2018) Research on the development path of Beijing community participation in tourism town. In 2018 3rd International Conference on Education, E-learning and Management Technology, pp. 469-473. Atlantis Press.

Zhuang, X., Yao, Y. and Li, J.J. (2019) ‘Sociocultural impacts of tourism on residents of world cultural heritage sites in China.’ Sustainability, 11(3), p.840.

The Church of the Palms is a Presbyterian church of very modern design, but with a Spanish Mission feel. The church offered a pleasant, light-filled performance space for the Saratoga Pops Orchestra’s February 12 concert entitled “Our Latin Heritage”.

The crowd was at or near capacity, having waited in line for the chance to hear music with a Hispanic focus. The choices of Robin Wilkes, conductor and director of instrumental studies at the State College of Florida, Manatee-Saratoga campus, highlighted music inspired by the rhythms, melodies, and moods of Iberia (State College of Florida).

This could have been an effort to reach out to the Hispanic community of the region, and familiarize the non-Hispanic residents with these musical themes. The conductor turned the experience into a learning experience for everyone with brief explanations of each piece

Of The Cuban Overture, George Gershwin (1898-1937)^[1], wrote that the composition reflected his brief experience in Havana, and melded his own themes with decidedly Cuban rhythms (Los Angeles Philharmonic).

Its score calls for claves, maracas guiro and bongos, in addition to the usual complement of symphonic instruments, and it clearly required a definite percussion section (Stovall). This is what Samuels calls ”the colors and the rhythms of Havana” created when Gershwin “exploited the unique sounds of Cuban instruments, and fused rumba and blues into symphonic overture form” (Samuels 154).

Both the rumba and blues are audible. The piece starts with a syncopated rhythm, with an emphasis, as is common in Latin music, on the upbeat. The joyous outburst of the opening, with its frenetic melody (A), leads to more contemplative wind melodies (B). After an almost heroic, grand theme (perhaps C?), the orchestra returns to a clearly evident Afro-Caribbean dance rhythm and the simple, syncopated melody of the opening for the finale (A).

The rumba rhythm allows the listener to the first/last sections to pick out the characteristic slow-quick-quick beat, two beats with one subdivided, with a swaying feel that keeps it from seeming repetitive^[2]. One never forgets that this is Gershwin – his soaring woodwind lines, and melodies shifting from major to minor, remind one of Rhapsody in Blue without ever departing from his goal of evoking Cuba.

The section from the Carmen Suite, No. 1, titled Les Toreadors, is so familiar that it is difficult to stop and truly hear it again, but this was a great opportunity. Here again, indigenous themes are transformed by a foreigner’s loving and appreciative ear, into something quite magical.

The rhythm starts out as a march, sounding as though it could be written in 2/2 time, but is actually probably marked 4/4 (Bizet). The piece leads off with an almost simplistic staccato melody – then becomes more lyrical, perhaps marked legato. The 4/4 time signature would indeed allow for this transition with less noticeable disruption (Bizet).

The instrumentation seems typically classical, although there is perhaps more unusual percussion sound, for example that of the tambourine or castanets, than are characteristic of a piece with a less exotic origin for its themes (Kuenning). In the melodies that are largely major in key but shift quickly, the composer was trying to evoke an atmosphere that included Gypsy, Spanish, and Basque influences (Boynton).

This call to the exotic is heard again in Maurice Ravel’s Bolero. Originally written to be part of a ballet (Asada and Ohgushi), (Spiers), it is reminiscent of the music played in Indian restaurants. He termed it an, “”instrumentation essay without music “ (Haus and Rodriguez). However, although it sounds a bit like those pieces, which often include some improvisation and elaboration on a simple melodic idea, Bizet begins with a rather long and complex melodic line.

Then he repeats it over and over again (Asada and Ohgushi), adding instruments and handing the melody off to other voices in the orchestra, in strophic form. The melody is reiterated, but the composer urged that the pace be kept the same all the way through (Spiers). The result is exactly what Ravel intended; he wanted a sound that was “insistant” (Spiers). It is hypnotic and sensuous, with what seems like an unvarying single beat, surrounded by the swirl of a melody that stays largely in major key.

The diversity is provided by the increasing complexity of the number of instruments. These add different timbres and tonalities (Haus and Rodriguez). This effect of increasing complexity of timbre substitutes for much harmony, of which there is very little. There is also a dynamic shift over the length of the piece. By the end, it is supposed to have become much louder, and there is a modulation into a new key at the end that rounds it out and gives a sense of resolution rather than the piece just drifting off.

There were other Hispanic-themed pieces on the program, all lively and well-appreciated. The crowd was attentive and responsive. For this listener, these works are newly re-heard favorites. Hearing them live, rather than, for example, in a parody, or as a movie score, allows the composer’s original envisioning of the music to shine.

Hearing them arranged for the particular musical resources of the local community adds a great deal of intimacy to the experience. This is music that is unavoidably vibrant through melodically, whether performed on a digital synthesizer or by committed enthusiastic musicians who are clearly having a wonderful time. This was a terrific experience

Works Cited

Asada, Miki and Kengo Ohgushi. “Perceptual Analyses of Ravel’s “Bolero”. Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal Spring 1991: 241-249. Web.

Bizet, Georges. “Toreador Song.” 2012. Flutetunes. Web.

Boynton, SUsan. “Prosper Mérimée’s Novella, Carmen.” 2012. Columbia University. Web.

Haus, Goffredo and Antonio Rodriguez. “Formal Music Representation; a Case Study: the Model of Ravel’s Bolero by Petri Nets.” Unversity of Milan, 2012. Web.

Kuenning, Geoff. “Bizet: Carmen Suite № 1,.” 1995. UCLA. Web.

Los Angeles Philharmonic. “Cuban Overture: George Gershwin.” 2012. Los Angeles Philharmonic. Web.

Samuels, Mariesse. “Latin Dance-Rhythm Influences in Early Twentieth Century.” 2012. Herrera Elementary School. Web.

Spiers, John. Bolero. 2012. Web.

State College of Florida. “SCF’s Robyn Wilkes Named Conductor of Sarasota Pops Orchestra.” 14 June 2011. State College of Florida. Web.

Stovall, Sara. “Sarasota Pops Packs the House.” 2012. SRQ Magazine. Web.

Footnotes

1. It was premiered in 1932 after the composer had begun studying formal composition principles with Joseph Schillinger.
2. Samuels asserts that Gershwin’s engaging tunes and beats acquired for him the nickname of the ” Latin from Manhattan” and began a Latin dance craze (Samuels ibid).

John Milton Cage is among the most mysterious figures, who managed to reach the Bohemian Olympus, moreover, to maintain their status, as his professional development occurred throughout his whole life span. Cage seems to have exceeded his own time, that’s why he is often declared as a scandalous figure as well: Zen Buddhist, vanguard philosopher, writer and composer, who interpreted his own music as “purposeless play”, which, however, is “an affirmation of life – not an attempt to bring order out of chaos, nor to suggest improvements in creation, but simply to wake up to the very life we are living, which is so excellent once one gets one’s mind and desires out the way and lets it act of its own accord” (Cage, 1991, p. 158). The present paper is designed to discuss both biography and creative heritage of John Cage.

Cage was born in Los Angeles in 1912 and originated from a Scottish family. His father was a creative personality, a famous inventor, who used to teach his son in the following statement: “of someone says ‘can’t’, that shows you what to do” (Cage, 1991, p. 158). His mother, on the contrary, was a strict woman with strong common sense, who, in addition, was Episcopalian (Dyson, 1992) and therefore hated violin as a devil’s instrument and tried to prevent his son from studying music. As the composer writes (Cage, 1991; Nyman, 1974), his aspiration to create became consciousness at Pomona College, when he was shocked to see all his classmates reading the same book in the library. In order to manifest his protest, he took a book, whose author’s name began with Z and received the highest grade in the class on the next day (Nyman, 1974). In his opinion, Cage made a right conclusion and alleged that the institution didn’t work appropriately; consequently, he dropped out in the second year and moved to Europe, where he began to write his first pieces of audio art (Dyson, 1992). Nevertheless, he was dissatisfied with his work as architect’s apprentice and thus returned to America in 1931.

His interest in his motherland was completely renovated after he read Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass”, so he decided to make famous both himself and his native state and dived into the art of composition, comprehending and learning it with such celebrities as Richard Buhlig, Adolph Weiss, Henry Cowell and Arnold Schoenberg (Dyson, 1992). Schoenberg agreed to teach Cage for free, but put forth an important condition – the young prodigy was supposed to devote his life to music – Cage agreed without any redundant reflections. Cage remembers Schoenberg’s tutorship as a contradictory experience: “After I have been studying with his for two years, Schoenberg said: ‘In order to write, you must have a feeling for harmony.’ I explained to him that I had no feeling for harmony. He then said I would always encounter an obstacle, that it would be as though I came to a wall through which I could not pass. I said, ‘In that case I will devote my life to beating my head against that wall’.” (Kostelanetz, 1990, p. 295).

After these studies, the composer got preoccupied with serialism, which he used to explain with his humor as the application of holistic and democratic ideals, so that the certain pitches did not predominate over the others. Soon, his experimentation with percussion and non-traditional instruments began, so he gradually replaced harmony with rhythm (Nyman, 1974). Furthermore, he employed Anton Webern’s and Eric Satie’s approaches to music, which prescribed structuring pieces in accordance with the duration of the section or episode (Kostelanetz, 1990; Sumner et al, 1986). In 1935 he married a Russian immigrant artist, Xenia Kashevaroff.

Towards the end of the 1930s, the composer began to attend the Cornish School of the Arts and was at the same time hired in Seattle as an accompanist for dancers – his most prominent work in this field was the project “Bacchanale” (Dyson, 1992; Sumner et al, 1986), which constituted a dance for Syvilla Fort. Due to the fact that the music was supposed to create the atmosphere of a Bacchanalia, Cage attempted to adjust percussion and other music instruments to the dance and began to put metal objects (screws, bolts and so forth) on the tops of or between the strings of his piano and really enjoyed the subsequent ‘melody’. Thus, his concept of “prepared piano” (Sumner et al, 1986) came into being – similarly to his teacher Henry Cowell, he also viewed the instrument as an incomplete tool, which needed additional improvement, depending upon the situation (Sumner et al, 1986). “The ‘Sonatas and Interludes’ of 1946-48 are widely seen as Cage’s greatest work for prepared piano. Pierre Boulez was one of its admirers, and he organized the European premiere of the work. Around this time the two composers struck up a correspondence, but this stopped when they came to a disagreement over Cage’s use of chance in his music” (Dyson, 1992, p. 382). In Cage’s opinion, the chance was an important step towards the refined art.

His later work, entitled ‘First Construction (In Metal)’ was less ‘disordered’, comparing to the ‘Sonatas and Interludes’, where he left much more freedom for a composer and created different versions of the ‘prepared piano’. Cage’s ‘First Construction (In Metal)’ consisted of rhythmic and cold music, produced by percussion instruments, which sometimes is structures into a peculiar ‘march’, but further changes the rhythm (Kostelanetz, 1990).

In the middle of the 1940s, Cage met choreographer and dancer Merce Cunningham (Nyman, 1974), for whom he would write a number of pieces. In several years, the composer adopted Zen Buddhism as his philosophy of life and began to add the elements of mystery and existential themes into his pieces of art.

Approximately at the same time Cage employed the I Ching, the Book of Changes in order to determine the structure of his new composition. For instance his, ‘Imaginary Landscape No.4’ was created under the influence of this writing (Furlong, 1994) for twelve radio receivers. “Each radio has two players; one to control the frequency the radio is tuned to, the other to control the volume level. Cage wrote very precise instructions in the score about how the performers should set their radios and change them over time, but he could not control the actual sound coming out of them, which was dependent on whatever radio shows were playing at the time of performance” (Furlong, 1994, p. 63). The composition therefore was not performed in accordance with the prescriptions and sounded then in the indeterminate mode; as a result, his later pieces had been long rejected by orchestras, as the major responsibility for the successful and appropriate structuring was placed upon the performer, rather than the composer. Although the “Concept for Piano and Orchestra” and “Atlas Eclipticalis” were intended for a symphonic orchestra, they had been viewed as a ‘taboo’ by conservative musicians, who talent was nurtured in conservatoriums, up to the middle of the 1970s (Dyson, 1992, Furlong, 1994).

In parallel with his experiment, Cage visited the anaechoic chamber, where all surfaces were designed to absorb all sounds, where he wished to hear the true silence, but instead heard two sounds, one of which was louder, another one – lower. He informed the engineer on his finding, but, as Cage remembers in his autobiographic sketch (Cage, 1991), the specialist explained that the louder sound referred to the work of his nervous system, and the lower one – to his blood circulation. For many years Cage was searching for a totally soundless and quit place and concluded that merely death was likely to eliminate all sounds (Nyman, 1974). His understanding of the impossibility of silence as embodied in his most extraordinary composition entitled ‘4’33’ (Dyson, 1992), which, however, was composed of several rhythmic silent episodes, as he later argued. The title can be interpreted also as 273 seconds, and due to the fact that minus 273 C is the absolute zero, the lowest temperature which can be achieved, so the author also tried to produce a background, or zero-level, from which the noise and sound derive and develop. The premiere of the composition took place in 1952 and was performed by David Tudor. “The audience saw him sit at the piano and lift the lid of the piano. Some time later, without having played any notes, he closed the lid. A while after that, again having played nothing, he lifted the lid. And after a further period of time, he closed the lid once more and rose from the piano” (Dyson, 1992, p. 400).

The audience’s reaction was ambivalent; some visitors left the auditorium in the middle of the performance, others began to whisper to one another – thus, the piece was a great opportunity for everyone to hear themselves and realize that even in the silent settings, the sound penetrates the accommodation. As Cage later alleged, “There is no such thing as silence. Something is always happening that makes a sound” (Kostelanetz, 1990, p. 293). This work can be compared to Malevich’s “Black Square”: in the darkness and homogeneity of the illustration, everyone finds certain hidden senses and meanings, moreover, adjusts this interpretation to the conditions of his own life and might even decide that the square is in fact the prophecy concerning his own life. Similarly, the contradictory piece inescapably results in the search for a deeper understanding and probably in the attempt to tie the structure and the nature of the composition to the existing political or social problems. In fact, Cage was absolutely apolitical and to great extent asocial, as he never vacillated between daring oppose the minority’s opinion and daring not. As Cage writes, “I have spent many pleasant hours in the woods conducting performances of my silent piece…for an audience of myself, since they were much longer than the popular length which I have published. At one performance…the second movement was extremely dramatic, beginning with the sounds of a buck and a doe leaping up to within ten feet of my rocky podium” (Snyder, 1992, p. 62).

‘4’33’ can also be compared to the piece, written ten years later and entitled with the similar simplification ‘0’0’. Cage decided to perform this composition by himself, as it included merely the sound of slicing vegetables, putting them into a blender and drinking the resulting juice (Nyman, 1974). In my opinion, both compositions are designed for giving no heed of them – on the contrary, individuals need to conduct introspection and involve into the useful process of thinking and reflecting while listening.

Cage’s philosophy is also experimental and consists of the following writings: ‘silence’ (1961), ‘A Year From Monday’ (1968), ‘M’ (19730, ‘Empty Words’ (1979), ‘X’ (1983) and ‘Anarchy’ (1988). Most of them are written under the influence of Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’ and his concept of consciousness flow, as the books usually narrate about the different days of Cage’s life, his essays easily switch from one year to another and provide not merely textual image, but are also intended to construct the reader’s hearing and seeing of the events (Dyson, 1992).

In addition, “from the late sixties Cage was also active as a visual artist, working on annual projects at Crown Point Press, from which he produced a series of drawings, prints and watercolors” (Sumner, 1986, p. 263). At the same time, the composer didn’t give up the art he was really faithful to and continued to create music, including the re-interpretations of his earlier works: for instance, the ‘Litany for the Whale’ (1980) to great extent resemble his ‘Hymns and Variations’ (1979), whereas his ‘cheap Imitation’ is designed as a rebirth of Satie’s ‘Socrate’. Just before his death, Cage created ‘One 11’, the silent piece, which consists of images and electric light, which, in his opinion, should highlight the spaces, used in the work and demonstrate that they are not empty. The composer therefore knew no spiritual emptiness or exhaustion even in his last days. Cage died on August, 12, 1992.

To sum up, Cage’s creative works were a true novelty and therefore influenced a number of artists and composers. In addition, one can conclude from the paper that the major value in Cage’s life was freedom: “I am for birds, not for the cages people put them in” (Snyder, 1992, p. 62). In fact, the compositions like ‘4’33’ could be created only by an independent person, who didn’t care about public opinion and oriented to his own ideas and perceptions.

Reference list

Cage, J. 1991. An Autobiographical Statement. Southwest Review, 12: 154-178.

Dyson, F. 1992. The Ear that Would Hear Sounds in Themselves: John Cage, in Wireless Imagination. Sound, Radio, Avant-Garde’, edited by D.Kahn and G.Whitehead. Cambridge (Massachusetts), the MIT Press, pp. 373-408.

Furlong, W. 1994. John Cage, in Discourse and Practice in Contemporary Art, edited by W.Furlong. London, Academy Editions, pp. 62-64.

Kostelanetz, R. 1990. John Cage on Radio and Audio Tape, in Sound by Artists, Art Metropole and Walter Phillips Gallery, edited by D.Lander and M.Lexier. Toronto, Banff, pp. 289-300.

Nyman, M. 1974. Experimental Music: Cage and Beyond. New York: Harper.

Snyder, E. 1992. John Cage Discusses Fluxus. Fluxus, Vol. 26 (1-2), pp.59-68.

Sumner, M., Burch, K. and Sumner, M. 1986. The guests go in to supper. John Cage, Robert Ashley, Yoko Ono, Laurie Anderson, Charles Amirkhanian, Michael Rappe. San Francisco, Burning Books.

Though art is traditionally considered a thing in itself, which exists only for the sake of inspiring new ideas and stretching the audience’s imagination beyond belief, African art has never been devoid of a purpose; quite on the contrary, every single element of an artwork created by the representatives of African culture bears its own unique meaning. Once these elements are combined, a unique work of art is produced, which the famous Lega figure bust is a graphic example of. Despite the fact that the Lega people are not very numerous, their art legacy is truly amazing. Incorporating the Lega traditions and philosophy, the given work of art not only informs on the fact that the Lega people had unique morals and values, as well as that in the culture of Lega people, but special attention was also paid to personality and the ways in which its numerous traits are manifested through facial expressions.

The Lega art piece in question is supposed to have both a ritual purpose and a symbolic meaning. Seeing how the mask is made of rather expensive and rare material, it can be assumed that it was used only during very rare ceremonies – annual celebrations, perhaps – and had a rather festive meaning. Since the mask expression, for the lack of a better word, seems rather positive, with what seems to be a genuine smile, it can be suggested that the mask was utilized in the process of performing a certain harvest ritual, or the ritual of worshipping one of the Lega’s gods. Indeed, according to the existing researches, the Lega culture incorporates the elements of a range of other ones, particularly the Bwami nationality.

As Bravmann explains, the culture of the Lega society blends the elements of the colonial Bwamis and the elements of other African cultures: “it is through initiation into Bwami, and through the gradual movement through the grades of Bwami, that the basic values, moral precepts, and principles of Lega culture are taught and perpetuate”¹. While very little is known about the purpose of the mask, it is still rather easy to make assumptions in the given case, since the Lega culture is very close to a range of other African ones and, therefore, its elements are rather similar to those of other tribes and nationalities in Africa.

The material, which the mask is made of, also allows for making a number of assumptions regarding not only the purpose of the mask but also its owner and its overall significance for the understanding of the Lega culture. The very act that the entire mask is made of ivory – a very expensive and quite rare material, as a matter of fact – is truly astounding. Though one might consider the use of such rare and obviously expensive material as an attempt to show off an unnecessary chic and luxury, the key idea of introducing the viewers to the key principles of the Lega culture shines through the incredible design of this work of art. The same can be said about the rest of the elements of the mask’s formal description; for instance, when it comes to the analysis of the Lega figurines, an average researcher fails, as a rule, to “elucidate the exact nature of the relationship that he discerns between their forms and the meanings associated with them,”² Klopper states.

The given issue becomes even more evident as the analysis of the Lega mask is carried out – unlike figurines, which usually have a head and a torso at the very least, the mask is supposed to cover the face only and, thus, the shapes of Lega masks do not vary that much to allow for a full-scale analysis. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the mask is prolonged, with a blunt upper edge and a sharper lower one. Such a shape, however, indicates that the mask is supposed to imitate a human face instead of covering it fully, which means that the given artwork may also be seen as an attempt of its creator to approach the concept of changing the roles that are traditionally assigned to people within a particular society or community. Therefore, it could be argued that the given mask may be viewed as the symbol of art itself, i.e., the skill of the so-called “shape-shifting,” the ability to wear a mask and hide one’s emotions under cover of seeming lack of emotion. That being said, it is still rather plausible that the mask in question belonged to the member of the Lega community, who was considered very respectable and very wealthy, seeing how the mask was made of ivory.

The cultural principles and ideas of the Lega nation and the way in which they are rendered in the work of art specified above are also very fascinating. The first concept that falls into the eye of the viewer, the obvious metaphor can clearly be considered the Lega cultural trademark. Being influenced by a number of other cultures, including the one of Bwami, the Lega people have incorporated the experiences, visions, aspirations, and ambitions of their predecessors in their artworks, including sculptures, graphic art and other types of artworks, masks also falling into the category of the objects that are supposed to contain a range of hidden innuendoes and messages.

Lega’s ability to combine the elements that may seem incompatible into a single metaphor in a work of art is truly amazing: “Lega metaphors explore standards for living-values and morals, comportment, social and familial relationships, and legal, ethical, religious, and political codes,”³ as Cameron points out. Particularly in the given art, social metaphors can be traced, especially in the design choices and the shape of the mask. For instance, the material, i.e., the ivory, can be interpreted as the metaphor for the power of the wealthy and the respected ones, as well as the introduction to the Lega society and its values.

As Ezra stresses, “materials such as gold, powder, scepters, ceremonial canes, weapons, and, of course, headdresses and chairs, are heavily charged with symbolism⁴. Seeing how the bust is made of ivory, one could argue that the artwork is a symbolic representation of those beholding power in the Lega community. However, when aiming at portraying the elite of the community, the artist might also want to drop some hints regarding the integral part of being rich and well-recognized, such as expensive decorations, etc. The bust, however, lacks any indications that it belongs to or represents a powerful and wealthy man – there are no decorations whatsoever. In addition, the facial expression carved into the bust creates an unsettling feeling that the bust was designed to represent the value of life.

Another element of the bust design, the disproportional features deserve being mentioned. It is quite easy to notice that the face does not lack symmetry much, yet it is clearly different from the usual method of portraying people, even in the Lega culture; for example, the nose seems to be too oblong, and the eyes might seem way too squinty. In addition, the way in which the mouth is designed also raises a number of questions, the first one concerning the meaning of the notches on the mouth. These notches may be interpreted either as teeth, or as stitches, both tying the artwork to the very basis of the Lega culture and, most importantly, rituals. According to Visona, Poynor, and Cole, the initiation rituals, which are traditionally the focus of a research on Bwami people, presupposes secrecy and restraint, both from the shaman and the person that is being initiated⁵. Consequently, it is crucial that not a single word should escape either of the two, which the bared teeth or, presumably, stitches in the mouth of the bust may be symbolic of.

Every single element of the bust seems to make a reference to the Bwami society, “a hierarchically graded association to which all Lega men and women aspire to belong,”⁶ as Clarke clarifies. The concept of a hierarchy, however, is not as explicit as the two previously mentioned ones and can only be noticed in the choice of the material.

Speaking of the person, whom the bust was intended for, one must mention that none of the existing sources states without a moment of hesitation the purpose and the true meaning of the mask. Regardless of the fact that the mask was obviously made for celebrating certain events, it is still unclear whether the bust was supposed to be in possession of the honorable members of the tribe, the shaman, the leader, or any other member of the ancient representatives of the Lega community. It can be assumed, though, that the mask in question was supposed to be kept by a shaman or any other member of the community, who is considered rich and powerful enough to affect the destiny of its other members. It can also be assumed that the bust was owned by the leader, mostly because of the fact that it was made of such an expensive material. The reasons for having the bust around, however, are not quite clear in this case.

One of the many busts created by the Lega artists, the one under discussion is not merely an artifact; unlike other works of art, which have no actual purpose and mainly serve as a means to convey the artist’s personal beliefs and convictions, the Lega bust in the picture above is filled with a secret meaning and is, in fact, designed to demonstrate the peculiarities of the Lega culture and traditions. Through deciphering its meaning and purpose may be complicated, the Lega bust in the picture above is obviously more than a token element of the African culture. Instead, it serves as not only the representation of the Lega culture morals and values but also as the link between different African cultures, seeing how it incorporates the elements that are typical for most of them.

Bibliography

Bravmann, Rene. “Lega Culture: Art, Initiation, and Moral Philosophy among a Central African People by Daniel Biebuyck.” African Arts 7, no. 3 (1974): 82–84. Web.

Cameron, Elisabeth. “Art of the Lega: Meaning and Metaphor in Central Africa.” African Arts 35, no. 2 (2002): 44–65, 92. Web.

Clarke, Christa. “A Personal Journey: Central African Art from the Lawrence Gussman Collection.” African Arts 34, no. 1 (2001): 16–35, 93. Web.

Ezra, Kate. “Contemporary African Art by Sidney Littlefield Kasfir.” African Arts 34, no. 1 (2001): 11–12, 93. Web.

Klopper, Sandra. “Speculations on Lega Figurines.” African Arts 19, no. 1 (1985): 64–68, 94. Web.

Visona, Monica B., Poynor, Robin and Herbert M. Cole. A History of ART in Africa. London, UK: Pearson Education, 2007: 414-416. Web.

Footnotes

1 Rene Bravmann, “Lega Culture: Art, Initiation, and Moral Philosophy among a Central African People by Daniel Biebuyck,” African Arts 7, no. 3 (1974): 83.

2 Sandra Klopper, “Speculations on Lega Figurines,” African Arts 19, no. 1 (1985): 64.

3 Elisabeth Cameron, “Art of the Lega: Meaning and Metaphor in Central Africa,” African Arts 35, no. 2 (2002): 50.

4 Kate Ezra, “Contemporary African Art by Sidney Littlefield Kasfir,” African Arts 34, no. 1 (2001): 11.

5 Monica B. Visona, Robin Poynor, and Herbert M. Cole, A History of ART in Africa (London, UK: Pearson Education, 2007), 414.

6 Christa Clarke, “A Personal Journey: Central African Art from the Lawrence Gussman Collection,” African Arts 34, no. 1 (2001): 31.