Cultural Entities Research Articles

The Concept of Chance Management in Coopetition Among Cultural Institutions

Purpose: The aim of the article is to exemplify the chance management concept in coopetition among cultural institutions and determine specific chance attributes. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical research was exploratory, and the research process used a qualitative, interpretative approach. The study used semi-structured, in-depth individual face-to-face interviews. A total of 42 interviews were conducted with public and private museums. Findings: Our research revealed that cultural entities take advantage of opportunities so as to achieve not only a competitive advantage, but also a cooperative, or even – as has been shown – a coopetitive one. Coopetition, in turn, can be analyzed through the lens of the chance management concept, and especially the relational perspective of chance, which views chance as an important element within an organization’s environment. Moreover, the specificity of coopetition in cultural institutions has shown the importance of social factors, emphasizing that coopetition is the effect of social construction, individual actions and the motivations of managers. Therefore, the social embeddedness of coopetition should be emphasized in this approach, determining not only the intentional, but also the emergent, nature of coopetition. At the same time, it reveals that the individual cognitive perspective of managers who are able to notice, use or create chance is significant. Originality/value: In strategic management, coopetition has been considered so far to be a planned, long-term phenomenon and a purposefully, deliberately created relationship. The findings of our research in the cultural sector have revealed that coopetition can also be a temporal, ad hoc relationship that is short-term in nature, as well as being incremental and undertaken spontaneously depending on emerging opportunities.

Wu-Tang for the Children: Swarming Elsewhere for Aesthetic (Re)Imaginings of Community, Theory, & Praxis

ABSTRACT The work in this article (re)traces the nuances embedded within the aesthetics of the Wu-Tang Clan to draw attention to two theoretical, Wu-based concepts: Shaolin and swarming. This article leans into fugivity and critical race theory (CRT) to demonstrate how hip-hop music can be a capacious avenue for theorizing alternate ways to disrupt hegemonic, oppressive, and racist educational structures and master narratives. In particular, we use two Wu-Tang tracks (e.g. “Can it be all so simple,” “Triumph”) to demonstrate how static approaches to hip-hop—specifically the Wu-Tang—reduce and flatten engagements with hip-hop music in educational contexts. Central to our argument is that the aesthetics of the Wu-Tang Clan are more than economically damaged narratives that tether various culture entities together: Wu-Tang is theory.

The earliest European Acheulean: new insights into the large shaped tools from the late Early Pleistocene site of Barranc de la Boella (Tarragona, Spain)

Since the oldest known Acheulean lithic techno-typological features in Europe were reported at the site of Barranc de la Boella (Tarragona, Spain), continuous fieldwork has been conducted there in archeological deposits of the late Early Pleistocene age (0.99–0.78 Ma). As a result, excavations in two of the three open-air localities have significantly expanded the collection of lithic and faunal remains, allowing us to make progress in the interpretation of the hominin behaviors in an open-air fluvial-deltaic sedimentary environment. This includes examples of cumulative palimpsests, such as those found at the locality of La Mina, in which hominins only had a minimal role as modifying agents, as well as the extraordinary mammoth butchery site recorded at the Pit 1 locality. The aim of this paper is to present a comprehensive update of the collection of large shaped tools and to assess its significance in the framework of the earliest occurrence of the Acheulean in Europe. This cultural entity is increasingly well-documented for the early Middle Pleistocene, but very little is known about its presence in Europe before the Brunhes–Matuyama boundary. Large shaped tools appear in the three localities explored in the Unit II of Barranc de la Boella, including choppers (unifacial and bifacial) and standard Acheulean forms, such as picks, knives, and cleaver-like forms. Techno-typological and morphometrical analyses revealed a basic heavy-duty component obtained through simple shaping sequences coupled with significantly more elaborate tools produced on various large blanks (cobbles, slabs, or flakes). The complete bifacial and bilateral shapings have yet to be documented, but the present specific tool assemblage attests to the Early Acheulean technological threshold. Hence, the archaeological data from Barranc de la Boella provide insights into the first appearance of the Acheulean technology in Europe and add critical information to the debate on the technological variability of the Early Pleistocene hominin occupation of the continent. The results of this study revealed a technological assemblage unique in the known late Early Pleistocene archeological record from Europe, different from the rest of ancient Acheulean sites in this continent, which are dated at the Middle Pleistocene. This lends support to the hypothesis that Barranc de la Boella may represent a previously unrecognized Early Acheulean dispersion out of Africa connected to its first evidence at the gates of Eurasia, potentially moving over the northern Mediterranean coastal road to reach Western Europe.

REPRESENTASI SASTRA ARAB DI KAWASAN ASIA TENGGARA

Literature becomes part of a cultural entity whose practice is reflected in literary works. Along with the times, the existence of Arabic literature spread to various continents including Southeast Asia. Arabic literature is one of the supporting factors in the spread of Islam, especially in Southeast Asia. The purpose of this research is to understand the existence of Arabic literature and its forms in the Southeast Asian region. This research uses a type of library research through a qualitative approach. Sources of data in this study were secondary, namely articles, books, and research reports on Arabic literature in the Southeast Asian region. Data collection techniques in this study used documentation techniques. The collected data were then analyzed using a descriptive method by describing findings related to the existence and forms of Arabic literature in the Southeast Asian region. The results of the study show that the history of Islamization in Southeast Asia has left behind a wealth of written texts, both literary and religious, in large numbers. The use of Malay Arabic script in several countries in Southeast Asia is a reflection that Arabic literature exists in Southeast Asia.

Early Upper Paleolithic cultural variability in the Southern Levant: New evidence from Nahal Rahaf 2 Rockshelter, Judean Desert, Israel

The Levantine Early Upper Paleolithic (ca. 45–30 ka) has been a focus of research because of its unique position as a conduit of human, flora, and fauna species between Africa and Eurasia. Studies have mainly focused on the Early Ahmarian and Levantine Aurignacian, two entities, the former endemic and the latter foreign, which are considered to have coinhabited the region during that period. However, other cultural entities, such as the Atlitian in the Mediterranean region and the Arkov-Divshon in the arid regions of the southern Levant received less attention, and accordingly, suffer from broad definitions and chronological insecurity. These cultures hold potential insights regarding nuanced adaptations, reciprocal influences, and diachronic assimilation processes. The recently discovered site of Nahal Rahaf 2 Rockshelter in the Judean Desert provides integral information on one of these entities—the Arkov-Divshon. Two excavation seasons revealed a sequence of archaeological layers, with lithic assemblages in which laterally carinated items were prominent. Alongside rich faunal assemblages, other components of the material culture include perforated marine shells and bone tools, marking the first association of these elements with Arkov-Divshon and implying some degree of contact with the Mediterranean regions of the Levant. Good preservation of organic materials allowed radiocarbon dating of the human occupation at the site to ca. 37.5–34.0 ka cal BP, indicating chronological overlap with the Levantine Aurignacian, and possibly also with the latest phases of the Early Ahmarian. Thus, challenging the validity of the widely accepted ‘Two Tradition’ Model of the Levantine Upper Paleolithic. Lithic analyses suggest the use of one main reduction sequence and the primary production of bladelets from carinated items. Faunal remains suggest targeted hunting of ibex and gazelle. Botanical remains and sedimentary analyses suggest roughly similar environmental conditions, with a possible woodier environment in the surroundings of the site.

On resistance and pluriversal voices of subversive archaism

On resistance and pluriversal voices of subversive archaism

NYADHAR TRADITION AND SYMBOLIC INTERACTION OF PANCASILA VALUES IN SUMENEP PINGGIRPAPAS RESIDENTS

Indonesia is rich in the values of the local wisdom of its people. The Nyadhar tradition as an element of the national cultural heritage passed down from generation to generation by the community is a cultural entity of salt farmers in the suburbs of Sumenep papas which is full of Pancasila symbolic values. The purpose of this study was to find out how the ritualization of the Nyadhar cultural tradition in the Pinggirpapas community in Kebundadap Barat Village and how the symbolic expression of Pancasila values can appear in this cultural interaction. This study uses qualitative methods with a naturalistic approach. To get data from data sources used observation, interviews and documentation techniques. The results showed that: (1) Nyadhar cultural rituals had been going on for a long time, starting from the first discovery of salt by Syeh Anggosuto, who spoke of growing salt. as a livelihood for the community by doing Nyadhar as an expression of gratitude to God who has provided sustenance through salt, and an expression of gratitude to Syeh Anggasuto who has taught and given knowledge in the form of how to make salt, (2) There is an interaction between Nyadhar cultural values and cultural values Pancasila values. Religious values, human values, values of unity and harmony, values of democracy through deliberation activities and the fifth value

Geo-Cultural Identity and Multiculturalism in Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss

Harmonizing the concerns of geo-cultural claims posited against the ‘melting-pot’ ideology of multicultural societies is a challenge for negotiating a cultural identity. Dominant strains of geo-cultural identities often involve problematising structures such as language, ethnic identity, territorial autonomy, environmental concerns and immigrant rights. This paper seeks to explore Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss for representing the polarities through the sketches of diverse cultural entities whom she conjoins in the mesmeric ‘culture-space’ of the novel. The characters, Jemubhai, Sai, Gyan and Biju, traverse the liminal thresholds of cultural identity within and between the geo-cultural and multicultural space.

Fatalistic Beliefs, Cultural Beliefs and Socio-Instrumental Control Beliefs: What are the Links? Can We Speak of an Active Fatalism?

Taking into account beliefs and culture is essential in behaviour analysis in various areas of life and work. However, knowledge about the links between these beliefs is sparse and imprecise. This article analyses the links between fatalistic, cultural and socio-instrumental control beliefs, by a questionnaire on a sample of 515 Cameroonian partcipants including male (N = 290) and female (N = 225), workers from the public (N = 208), formal private (N = 265) and informal (N = 40) sectors. The questionnaire consisted of the fatalism scale designed by Kouabenan (1998), the Cameroonian cultural beliefs scale by Ngueutsa et al. (2021), and the socio-instrumental control beliefs scale derived from Spector (2004). Regression analyses showed that cultural beliefs partially mediated the link between fatalistic and socio-instrumental control beliefs. The results call into question the conceptualization of fatalistic beliefs, often seen as inducers of passivity. They suggest that cultural beliefs and practices may activate a 'non-inhibiting' form of fatalism that would justify the use of cultural entities to exercise indirect control over events. The concept of active fatalism is discussed.

Changes and Consistencies in Bone Technologies as a Sign of Cultural Transition About 4000 Years Ago in Eastern China: Insights from the Yinjiacheng Site, Shandong, China

The study of cultural changes associated with the emergence of complex societies in Ancient China has heavily relied on evidence from ceramics, lithic technologies, changes in settlement pattern, burial practices, and prestige goods. However, it remains unclear whether, and if so to what extent, other aspects of material culture follow similar evolutionary trajectories. Here, we analyze a large bone tool assemblage found in Longshan (n = 76) and Yueshi (n = 124) contexts at Yinjiacheng, a key site from the Haidai region. These two cultural entities are of particular interest as they allow to investigate cultural change dynamics in the Haidai region during the transition between the Late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. Our assessment allows us to document changes in bone technology along three lines of evidence: typological diversity, technological know-how, and morphometric standardization. From a typological standpoint, we document an increased diversity in tool types during the Yueshi period compared to Longshan. However, the techniques used to manufacture bone tools during the Longshan and Yueshi periods remain broadly the same. Furthermore, we identify the persistence of specific reduction sequences for the manufacture of some awl and projectile point sub-types shared by the two cultural systems. Morphometrically, Longshan domestic tools are generally more standardized than Yueshi tools, while Yueshi hunting implements show a higher degree of standardization compared to their Longshan counterparts. We argue this pattern reflects the preservation of a common know-how among Longshan and Yueshi settlers at Yinjiacheng. We interpret the typological diversification of Yueshi hunting implements and changes in the standardization of Yueshi bone tools as a proxy for the articulation of this knowledge through applying less rigid rules of production to meet new emerging needs.

Revisiting the Origins of Muslim Cultural Exclusivism in British India

Notwithstanding the fundamental socio-cultural cum religious divergences existing between the Muslims and Hindus, the two religious groups managed to forge bonds of fraternity based on mutual understanding and respect thanks to their centuries-long overall peaceful co-existence in the Indian environment. This virtually harmonious relationship soon gave birth to a composite culture whereby many of the Muslim-Hindu differences were blunted and replaced by shared socio-cultural – and sometimes even religious – aspects of life. Yet, the second half of the nineteenth century witnessed a reversal of this trend. In fact, the post-Revolt context in British India was marked by the emergence of consciousness among the Muslims whereby they developed a sense of belonging to a cultural entity that was different from that of the Hindus. In other words, these “Muhammadans” became actively conscious of their cultural differences vis-à-vis the Hindus, and therefore, saw themselves as a separate group with distinct cultural traits. This shift towards cultural exclusivism, which eventually gave rise to a separatist tendency among them, has been a moot point that drew a great deal of interest among scholars who provided different interpretations. In this article, the main task is to look into whether the British had any involvement in this new development in the Indian scene. [Indian Muslims, Hindus, Urdu, Hindi, divide et impera, language controversy]

ΜΑΡΙΑ ΧΑΤΖΗΚΥΡΙΑΚΙΔΟΥ, Η Ιταλία του Νίκου Εγγονόπουλου

The Italy of Nikos Eggonopoulos The presence of the Italian culture is reflected in all kinds of art with which the diverse representative of Greek surrealism Nikos Eggonopoulos dealt. «Although, […], the French fed my childhood dreams with Italy and Spain, I [only] loved Italy, and then got to know it in person» he wrote to his later wife, underlining the theoretical and experiential stimuli he received from the other side of the Adriatic coast. From the brush to the pen and vice versa, through reflections and patterns, the Italian landscape, the visual arts, the historical and literary reality and, of course, the monuments of Italy «rest his soul» and exert, as he states, a «deep and invincible» charm for him. But beyond the observations and critical thoughts about Italy as a historical and cultural entity, the Italian culture is part of the artistic ecosystem created by Eggonopoulos. He combines, seemingly incongruously, the painters and poets of Italy by placing them next to ordinary people or Greek deities while, conversely, Greek poets are depicted in his paintings with Venetian masks and renaissance attire or are described in his poems wandering in the streets of Venice. In this way he achieves multiple connections between the arts and the spaces, creating mixed forms and approaches that seem to have a common denominator: the answer to the question that concerns the origins of the Greek identity. Although in his time such a thing was treated as heretical, for Eggonopoulos these effects not only do not alter but, on the contrary, renew the cultural creation, enhancing the uniqueness, the dynamics and the universality of Greek culture.

Romulus és Remus Veiiben

Romulus and Remus in Veii
 Much has been written in Classics about the relationship between early Rome and the Etruscans, from scholarly articles to secondary school textbooks. Inspired in part by recent research in archaeogenetics, this article argues for the feasibility of an approach which sees Rome and its northern neighbours as political subsystems of the same cultural unit instead of interacting as separate cultural entities. As an example of that, if one reads the early archaeological material of Veii, an Etruscan city neighbouring Rome, and the Roman origin stories transmitted in Latin literature as products of the same culture (temporarily disregarding the linguistic-ethnic divide between the two cities that became so important later on), one can shed light on the vast scale of possible interpretations which could develop in both directions.
 Keywords: early Rome, Roman myth, meta-historiography, Livy, Etruscans, ethnicity in antiquity, Veii, heroon, casa Romuli

Cultural Content of Independent Creative Spaces During the COVID-19 Pandemic

One of the economic sectors most affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic has been the cultural and creative industries, turning cultural workers into a financially vulnerable group. The purpose of this study was to identify some early forms of the resilience of cultural activity during the emergency period of the COVID-19 crisis. The engagement index of the users’ communities was evaluated through some metric indicators in social media, the transfer of cultural-creative activities in the online environment, and the content and impact of digital stories. A sample of 126 independent cultural spaces in Romania was assessed. To validate the content of the social media stories promoted by various independent cultural entities, interviews with the managers of several creative spaces were performed. During the emergency period, we noticed the intensification of the digital activity, with creative spaces switching their activities from on-site to online. The content of Facebook posts highlighted stories about their own activity, about the activity of other spaces, or those encouraging social campaigns. The resilience associated with the independent cultural and creative sector is more an individual adaptation than an organizational or collective adaptation. For instance, the online cultural performances were some of the emergent reactions to the COVID-19 crisis.

Posting nature: A critical perspective on analysing cultural ecosystem services on Instagram

In recent years, social media data have been used in the analysis of nature within the concept of cultural ecosystem services (CES). From the viewpoint of CES, social media posts that contain content about nature are read as virtual human–environment interactions and conclusions are drawn on how humans perceive, interact with and value the natural environment. We argue that these analyses often lack a deeper understanding of the inherent mechanisms of social media and the sociocultural dimension of the users who produce this data. In this light, we evaluated social media posts that show images of species and landscapes in the bid to gain an understanding of the cultural processing of nature-based posts in digital social networks. We conducted the study using the popular social media platform Instagram. By analysing 124 profiles and conducting five semi-structured interviews, we examined how Instagram posts that focus on nature (in terms of species and natural landscapes) are portrayed online and how these posts are utilized as a cultural entity for self-presentation purposes. Based on this empirical data, we provide a critical perspective on the use of ‘nature posts’ on Instagram for analysing CES. Our results show that nature-focused Instagram posts are a cultural media performance forming contexts of meaning with which human subjects interact. Furthermore, these posts underlie a perceived affordance where the user’s social media practices are essentially tied back to mechanisms of recognition and have to be understood as self-promotions. Images on Instagram that show species and natural landscapes are being used here as an image resource for the purpose of expressing social distinction. Therefore, we particularly argue for a stronger collaboration between the natural, social and cultural sciences to overcome the difference in terms of understanding, analysing and promoting values of nature and CES.

Languages, Scripts, and Chinese Texts in East Asia

Languages, Scripts, and Chinese Texts in East Asia

漢江 下流域 청동기시대 전기 住居의 變異 이해 - 金浦ㆍ仁川지역 유적을 중심으로 -

It has been suggested that the Early Bronze Age rectangular dwellings were also the result of the family composition of society at the time, and that the morphological variation was due to the family developmental cycle. In addition, multiple rectangular(unit) dwellings are connected in parallel, and the estimation that rectangular unit dwellings are residential spaces for nuclear families is also widespread. However, many researchers tend to interpret the relationship between long rectangular dwellings and rectangular dwellings coexisting in one site as a fixed cultural entity by judging that the long to short axes ratio reflects time. This perspective has raised problems that hinder the understanding of various factors on housing variation-changes in housing size due to family development, the use of housing (renewal, expansion, renovation), and disposal. To overcome this problem, this paper examined the possibility that the perception of household development cycles will highlight the dynamic aspects of the Bronze Age housing pattern in the Lower Reaches of Hangang River by comparing it with an archaeological explanatory model that can connect family and household changes. In the end, it is difficult to dynamically explain the early Bronze Age residential pattern of the Lower Reaches of Hangang River in the houses of different floor shapes, which focuses on the floor plan of the residence in a situation where overlapping patterns or absolute solidarity between dwellings are ambiguous. Therefore, it would be reasonable to assume the functional aspect of the change in dwelling structure according to the development of the family rather than grasping the difference in the shape of the residential floor shapes as a fixed cultural entity.

Faunal remains from the Upper Paleolithic site of Nahal Rahaf 2 in the southern Judean Desert, Israel

Nahal Rahaf 2 (NR2) is an Early Upper Paleolithic (ca. 35 kya) rock shelter in the southern Judean Desert in Israel. Two excavation seasons in 2019 and 2020 revealed a stratigraphical sequence composed of intact archaeological surfaces attributed to the ‘Arkov-Divshon’ cultural entity of the arid southern Levant. We present the faunal assemblages from the site, which are rare among the desert sites due to preservation problems. Our results suggest that the residents of the site exploited prime adult caprines (Capra cf. Capra ibex), but were also engaged in hunting of gazelles (Gazella cf. Gazella gazella), whose carcasses were selectively transported to the site and processed for within-bone nutrients. Long-range hunting trips are suggested by the body-part selection in relatively small bovids, and by the presence of species representing wetter habitat patches 20-30 km north of the site. The bi-focal emphasis on generalized gazelle and age-specific caprine hunting, is unique among Late Pleistocene sites from the Levant. The proportion of caprines increases through the stratigraphic sequence, suggesting more specialized economy through time and in inverse relations to site use intensity.

Discourse of Littering Prohibition in Indonesia

This article deals with discourses of littering prohibition signs found in various places in Indonesia, focusing on three main issues, i.e., discourse structures, pragmatic strategies, and sociocultural factors which might influence that structure and strategy. Using data collected from websites and those found in Yogyakarta Special Regency, with a socio-pragmatics approach, the research finds that littering prohibition signs are constructed by various kinds of discourse type whose complexities are formed by the sentence types and the number of sentences constructing by them. Regarding the pragmatic strategies, the signs can be delivered using non-explicit, direct, indirect, expressed, implied, literal and nonliteral strategy. Subsequently, those structures and strategies are influenced by sociocultural factors associated with the interlocutors, such as emotional condition, religious and cultural belief, education, the formality of interaction, place and time, ethnicity, age, medium of transmission, cultural entity, and political factor. Keywords: Discourse, prohibition, strategy, and socio-pragmatics.

Discourse of Littering Prohibition in Indonesia

This article deals with discourses of littering prohibition signs found in various places in Indonesia, focusing on three main issues, i.e., discourse structures, pragmatic strategies, and sociocultural factors which might influence that structure and strategy. Using data collected from websites and those found in Yogyakarta Special Regency, with a socio-pragmatics approach, the research finds that littering prohibition signs are constructed by various kinds of discourse type whose complexities are formed by the sentence types and the number of sentences constructing by them. Regarding the pragmatic strategies, the signs can be delivered using non-explicit, direct, indirect, expressed, implied, literal and nonliteral strategy. Subsequently, those structures and strategies are influenced by sociocultural factors associated with the interlocutors, such as emotional condition, religious and cultural belief, education, the formality of interaction, place and time, ethnicity, age, medium of transmission, cultural entity, and political factor. Keywords: Discourse, prohibition, strategy, and socio-pragmatics.