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The virtual museum
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The virtual museum
Alexander the Great’s death in 323 B.C. marked the expansion of Grecian mythology beyond the territory. Alexander quickly extended the borders of the Macedonian Empire to include Afghanistan and eastern Pakistan today. His generals struggle for power after his death without nominating a replacement. The empire was divided among Hellenist states, which ruled Greece, part of southern Italy, Asia Menor, Egypt, and the North East for three hundred years after several civil wars. During this time, Greek became a foreign language, resulting in Greek art blooming. In terms of realism, eroticism, and mass media (a standard coinage that was not recognized as such), the literature of the Hellenistic era broke out new ground in terms of (a contemporary coinage never regarded as such at the time).
The Attalid Kingdom, which ruled Pergamon on the west coast of Turkey, is one of those Hellenistic dynasties. Pergamon became a wealthy, cultured city under Attalid and Roman rule (133 B.C.) .Its big acropolis (the hill town) had a huge altar with complex chips known as the well-known Grand Altar. Carl Humann, a German engineer and amateur archeologist, met the old site of Pergamon during excavations for the Ottoman Turkish road construction project in the mid-1960s (Gardinier).
But the actual drilling had to wait until 1879 when Humann could receive funding from the Berlin Kingdom Museums. It is the start of a long-standing partnership of German towns to Hellenistic cities that eventually led to the establishment of the Pergamon Museum (the Ottoman Government claimed the balance) – a large complex dedicated to the conservation of its accepted site (the Ottoman government claimed the credit). In a diplomatic game of archeological standards, the Great Altar friezes have been recognized as worthy contestants for the British Museum’s Elgin Marble (Parthenon frieze sculptures in Athens) (sculptures from the frieze of the Parthenon in Athens). The field is still excavated today under the management of the Pergamon Museum.
The show has been identified as ‘unabashedly an ‘artifact exhibition’ by Carlos Picon, Met’s chief curator of antiquities,’ which does not seem to involve a simple art-history survey. “In any case, the study of the plurality of Hellenistic distinctions cannot be resolved,” he writes in an exhibition catalog. “In any case,” she says. “It is only possible to explore new ideas and try to find ways to further studies, or at the very least to inspire us to look at this rich material with new eyes,” he writes.
The display “Pergamon and the Ancient World Hellenistic Realms” will be shown for the first time to many Met travelers. Works that are visually and mentally taxing are more likely to be recognized, even by skilled at them (Baker). At the same time, the Grand Altar cannot move (since it is embedded in the walls of the Pergamon Museum itself). The New York show includes a striking design reflecting the look of the altar when it was first placed, as well as elements from the friezes.
Among the items in the collection are some extensive marble bas-reliefs discovered between 1878 and 1886 on the north and east sides of the Athena shrine. These daring sketches, dating from about 180 B.C., depict fights between Pergamon’s kings and the Kings, shields, a standard ship and rudder, and a mask helmet. The trophies’ haphazard, rugged construction suggests a peaceful life on the ground and a more cubistic result (Briscoe). Dedication to such a significant institution as this shrine in Athena shows that Pergamon, like any other foreign region, collaborated to communicate with Greek religious sources and incorporate himself into Greek mythology.
The actual arms and armor and the frieze elements are depicted: One of the few surviving Hellenistic objects of its type is a bronze shield with a diameter of 32 inches and an embellishment discovered in modern Turkey. “Of King Pharnakes,” the inscription between two concentrations of ornamental strips reads, referring to Pharnakes I, who ruled Pontos in the second century B.C. Initially, a wooden or leather support with a six-point central star pattern can be mounted behind the shield’s brass front.
Images of the Hellenistic civilization’s founder, Alexander the Great, are prominently displayed at the start of the installation. Bucephalus, one of the collection’s most impressive pieces, is a bronze sculpture perched on his beloved horse, which is dressed in traditional Macedonian attire and poised to blast an unseen opponent (about 20 inches high). He would have used his weapons invisibly for us at the very least, but his abilities had deteriorated over time. Alexander is depicted without a shield, alluding to a significant occurrence in 334 B.C. The sculpture was discovered in Herculaneum and is a copy of a Greek original from the Roman Republic or the early Imperial era, created between 320 and 300 B.C.
There is also an unfinished monumental marble head at Pergamon, possibly depicting Alexander, though it is much smaller in size. The head in the wall of the Pergamon Gymnasium in the second century B.C. was nearly double (almost 23 inches) in length and was most likely cut. The young King’s face was dramatically severed, leaving only its expressive, slightly open mouth, nose, and curly hair; most of the head was severed, resulting in a stunning yet unintentional effect.
Every characteristic appears to be that of an individual rather than an idealized archetype. The eyes are expressive, with white stems and dark gray stone irises that express pathos or sorrow. Late-Hellenistic portraiture is distinguished by keen attention to naturalistic details and a desire to represent the sitter’s true nature and character. The person depicted may have been a public official, a journalist, or a well-known local, but the artist portrays himself rather than a public figure.
Frank’s eroticism is another characteristic of Hellenistic sculpture. Hermaphrodite Sleeping, a 2nd century B.C. Greek imitation of Roman Imperial origin. Hermaphrodite Sleeping, a 2nd century B.C. Greek replica. The exhibit The Met was a magnificent example of Minor Asia discovered in Rome at the end of the nineteenth century during a theater building. According to mythology, Hermaphroditos, the son of Hermes and Aphrodite, was a hindrance to the nymph’s success, prompting the spirit to seek the aid of the gods. They became one by fusing her with her beloved and creating a bisexual creature for all time. The man is sleeping in the marble, partially encased in a blanket, with one leg crossed over the other and his face resting on his side. Despite this, it seems to be on the verge of collapsing at any moment. The body and face are sex-neutral, with women skewed to the side of the face. On the other hand, the sculptor uses the breast and the cock as dramatic representations of the androgynous nature of this mix.
Naturalist painting was a significant accomplishment in Hellenistic art, but unfortunately, only a few paintings survived. Mosaic paintings, on the other hand, depict what Hellenistic art may have looked like. A community of busy musicians dedicated to the culture of the Cybele Goddess is displayed on a late Roman Republican icon discovered in Pompeii between the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. Each of them is dressed theatrically (Bowen). The first is blown by a double flute, the second by a large tambourine, and the seventh by a pair of small hand cymbals. To the left is a small man, maybe a boy or a dwarf. The poet, Dioskourides of Samos, signs the Greek image, most likely as a model for Menander’s comedy, The Possessed Girl, which is mainly lost, and only a few lines remain. This piece is a reconstruction of artwork from the last century. It employs chiaroscuro and demonstrates three-dimensional control of space due to its mosaic nature.
Conclusion
A fascinating multi-figure composition cut outside in relief can be found in the marble calyx crater Borghese Krater. This one stands out in a show of only high positions. This large vase, made in Greece about 40-30 B.C., was discovered in 1569 in Rome’s Sallust gardens and is now housed in the Louvre. The frieze depicts Dionysus, the god of wine, and Ecstasy in procession, with a shape that resembles the shape of ceramic craters that can be used to serve wine at banquets. Dionysos is also a grapevine under the crater floor. One of the characters in the frieze is a sky portraying semi-nudism, three monads or female worshipers, and five satyrs or faunas, all of whom are dancing and playing musical instruments. One fauna appears to have consumed excessive alcohol, while another fauna appears to be helped. The decorative arts in “Hellenistic Kingdoms of Pergam and the Ancient World” include numismatics and diamonds. The Vienna Cameo is one of the most appealing items in this category. This ten-layered onyx double portrait dates from the early Hellenistic period of Ptolemaic Egypt, which lasted from 278 to 270/269 B.C. This profile depicts Pharaoh Ptolemy II and his sister-wife, Arsinoe II (Philadelphia means “sibling-lover” in Greek) (Philadelphos means “sibling-lover” in Greek). The stem’s white layers were used to build the faces.
Work cited
Bowen, Jonathan. “The Virtual Museum”. Museum International, vol 52, no. 1, 2000, pp. 4-7. Informa UK Limited, doi:10.1111/1468-0033.00236.
Baker, Abigail. “K Servi The Acropolis. The Acropolis Museum. Athens: Ekdotike Athenon S.A., 2011. Pp. 167, Illus. €10.50. 9789602134528.”. The Journal Of Hellenic Studies, vol 133, 2013, pp. 281-281. Cambridge University Press (CUP), doi:10.1017/s0075426913001122.
Gardinier, Suzanne. “The West Point Museum”. Grand Street, vol 8, no. 4, 1989, p. 196. JSTOR, doi:10.2307/25007283.
Briscoe, John. “The Attalid Kingdom – R. E. Allen: The Attalid Kingdom. A Constitutional History. Pp. Xi + 251; 2 Maps. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1983. £20.”. The Classical Review, vol 34, no. 2, 1984, pp. 266-268. Cambridge University Press (CUP), doi:10.1017/s0009840x00103762.
The Virgin Spring (Ingmar Bergman, 1960, 130’) Assignment
The Virgin Spring (Ingmar Bergman, 1960, 1:30’) Assignment
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTduvLI3UhIThe Virgin Spring is a meticulously crafted work of art full of symbols, symmetrical patterns and breathtaking camerawork.
The story is based on a medieval ballad. It tells us about Herr Töre, a lord who lives on his farm in 13th century Sweden with his wife Fru Märeta, his daughter Karin and a foster-daughter Ingeri who is a worshipper of the pagan god Odin and is pregnant out of wedlock. On occasion of the approaching Feast of Candlemas, Töre asks his daughter Karin to bring candles to the church of Father Erik so that he can bless them. By tradition they can only be brought by a virgin. Karin asks Ingeri to accompany her. During their journey they meet the farmer Snollsta and a sinister bridge keeper. Then three goatherds –the Thin Man, the Mute and the Boy- notice Karin on her horse and conceive an evil plan. They have a meal together; Karin blesses the food, while Ingeri hides in the bushes. The herdsmen rape Karin and kill her.
In the evening the herdsmen arrive at the farm of Töre and Märeta asking for a lodging for the night … They are welcomed and have a meal. In the night Märeta makes a terrible discovery…
The Virgin Spring is a tale of guilt, sin and redemption. It shows that evil is a possibility in everyone’s heart and also that even the greatest sins can turn into an event of grace and redemption.
This is not an easy movie. Every detail in this film is connected somehow with the whole; nothing is accidental. Words, moments of silence, apparently insignificant gestures, speeches, music, songs, and clothes, they all beautifully interact. The film is rich in symbolic language taken from nature: water, fire, earth, smoke, the birch, the crow, the toad, and the goats; and it abounds in meaningful contrasts like the Nordic pagan religiosity with its fear and spells yielding to Christian hospitality and mercy, the chiaroscuro imagery of light and shadows or the physical dissimilarity between the blond Karin and the dark haired Ingeri. Elements of fairy tale narrative stand side by side with ominous statements and events, and poetic prophecies foreshadowing things to come. But all these are mere threads that carefully weave the pattern of a medieval human drama as a reflection of the human drama. The camera of Sven Nykvist mercilessly makes us spectators of and participants in the dramatic events that focus us on faith, evil, sin (hate, envy and lechery), guilt, forgiveness, death, repentance, mercy, and redemption. Also from the religious-historical point of view the film is interesting. The Christianization of Scandinavia, and Sweden in particular, which started in the 9th century was a very gradual process. In The Virgin Spring we witness how in the 13th century old Nordic paganism is still alive, even in the mentality of the Christians, but also how a new humanity was breaking through the clouds of fear and superstition.
Assignment: Write an ESSAY of ca. 350 words in which you show that each of the five protagonists (Töre, Märeta, Karin, Ingeri, the Boy) have both
(1) goodness in them but also
(2) their burden of guilt to bear. Focus on the moments in which this guilt-awareness appears in each one of them.
Accounting Theories and Practice
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Accounting Theories and Practice
Introduction
Corporate social responsibility is one of the core aspects in a business; however, it has multiple definitions with many businesses and firms framing dissimilar definitions based on their understanding. Basically, corporate social responsibility is about how a company manages the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on the society; furthermore, it is through this that organizations are able to establish the quality of their management (both in terms of people and processes), and the nature of, and their impact on their society in the various areas.
Today, most stakeholders and shareholders take an increasing interest in the activity of a company. Generally, the CSR field is all about profits, political performance, social demands and ethical values; additionally, it covers a wide scope of theories and approaches that are used to guide companies and organizations in enforcing or performing its social responsibility.
Part One: Shareholders and Stakeholders Theories
There a number of stakeholders and shareholders theories that relate to corporate social responsibility; mainly these theories affect the relationship between a company and its shareholders and stakeholders (Mahoney et. al, 2013, 352).
Legitimacy theory – emphasizes that firms and organizations continually seek out to make sure that they operate within the bounds and norms of their respective societies which explains why they try to ensure that their activities are perceived by parties from outside hence maintaining legitimacy. However, the bounds and norms are known to change frequently hence requiring the organization to be responsive to the environment in which they partake their activities.
This theory relies on the aspect that there is a social contract between a particular organization and its society; concurrently, the contract is the concept used to represent the multitude of implicit and explicit expectation that the society has on how the organization should conduct its operations.
Stakeholder normative theory – The ethical and normative perspective of this theory puts much attention on the notion that its every stakeholder’s right to be treated fairly and viewed equally by an organization, and that matters of stakeholder power are not directly pertinent.
Universal Rights- Over the years, human rights have been taken as a basis of corporate social responsibility especially in the international market and recently, a number of human rights based approaches have been brought forward on the same. Basically, this theory defends the existence of natural human rights; however, many people do not take them seriously but they have a theoretical grounding with some moral philosophy giving them support.
Sustainable Development – This has become popular and necessarily because it is an approach that evolved at macro level and not the corporate level; typically it demands for corporate contribution requiring the integration of social, environmental and economic considerations to make balanced judgements and decisions for the long term.
Significantly, achieving corporate sustainability is a custom – made process/ task and each corporation should select personal ambitions and approaches to do the same; moreover, these approaches should meet its aims and be in line with the strategy for the sake of the organization’s operations.
The Common Good Approach – This is a less combined approach if compared to the stakeholder approach though it hold the regular good of society as the referential value for corporate social responsibility with its stress of the business together with any other social group or individual should contribute to it. This theory can be enhanced by creating wealth, providing goods and services in an effectual manner and respecting the dignity and right of every individual; additionally, it campaigns for the social well being and a harmonic way of living together in just peaceful and friendly conditions today and there after.
Part Two: Positive Accounting Theories
The positive accounting theories include: instrumental theories, political theories and integrative theories.
Instrumental Theories
There are three main groups identified in the instrumental theories and these include:
Maximizing Shareholder Value – This approach takes the straightforward contribution to maximizing the shareholder value as the supreme criterion to evaluate specific corporate social activities where it is used in decision making. Today not many shareholders are interest in value maximization alone and it is through this concept that a firm sets the objective of long term value maximization or value-seeking (Elisabeth &Domenec, 2004, 53).
Strategies for Achieving Competitive Advantages
Social investments in competitive context- This theory entails spending on humanitarian activities as the only way to develop the framework of competitive advantage of a corporation and mostly forms bigger social value than most individual sponsors or the government can.
Natural resource based view of the firm and dynamic capabilities- Maintains an organizations ability to be ahead of its competitors; moreover, this is facilitated by other factors like the unique interaction of human, organization and physical resources over time.
Strategies for the bottom of the economic pyramid- In the past, most business line of attacks concentrated on aiming products at upper and middle-class people in contrast to the biggest portion of the world’s population is poor or lower-middle class and it is from this that it has been decided that disruptive innovations can improve the social and economic conditions at the base of the pyramid (Brennan and Merkl-Davis, .
Cause Related Marketing
Basically, this is the procedure of formulating and implementing activities involving marketing, and these activities are characterized by an offer from an organization to offer a particular amount to selected cause when consumers are involved in revenue providing exchanges that meet the needs and aims of both the organization and individuals.
Political Theories
Significantly, this is a group of theories and approaches that put most of the attention on interactions and connections between the comprehensive business and the society characterizing the dissimilar responsibilities. They include:
Corporate Constitutionalism – entails two principles of social power equation and the iron law of responsibility that are used to run a business given the different limitations and its impact on the society.
Integrative Social Contract Theory – It has been assumed that there is a sort of contract between a business/ organization and the society that implies some indirect obligations of business towards society; considerably, this approach is based at overcoming some limitations of deontological and teleological theories applied in any business environment.
Corporate Citizenship – This is simply a new understanding of the duties of a business in society and depending on which way it is defined, the idea is also widely expressed in conjunction with other theories that also cover the businesses responsibilities.
Integrative Theories
This is a group of theories that evaluate on how business incorporates social demands, elaborating on the fact that a business depends on the society for its existence, continuity and growth; generally, these demands are regarded to be the way in which society interacts with the business giving it a certain legitimacy and prestige. Groups of integrative theories include:
Issue Management – In any business, social responsiveness is required when there are social issues, and also the processes to manage them; therefore, this approach comprises the processes by which an organization can identify, evaluate and respond to those social and political issues which may impact significantly upon it.
The Principle of Public Responsibility- is about the scope of managerial responsibility when it comes to its involvement in its social environment; which entails primary involvement i.e. locating and establishing its facilities, procuring suppliers, engaging employees, carrying out production functions etc and secondary involvement: offering career and earning opportunities for some individuals and advancement of employees (there result from primary involvement).
Stakeholder Management – involves achieving maximum overall cooperation between the complete stakeholder groups’ system and objectives of the organization; moreover, it also states the most efficient strategy for managing stakeholder relations putting on a lot of effort when dealing with issues affecting multiple stakeholders (Elisabeth &Domenec, 2004, 58).
Corporate Social Performance (CSP) – Significantly, includes a search for social authority, with processes for giving suitable comebacks. The main beliefs of CSR are known to be methodical forms to be filled with value content that has been put into operations; all the same they include: principles of CSR, expressed on institutional, organizational and individual levels, processes of corporate social responsiveness, such as environmental assessment, stakeholder management and issues management, and outcomes of corporate behavior including social impacts, social programs and social policies (Elisabeth &Domenec, 2004, 56).
Part Three: Environmental Performance
The legitimacy theory explains the relationship between the quantity of environmental information and the environmental performance in non-environmentally sensitive industries; moreover, the quality of environmental disclosures increases whether the firm is better environmental performer (Janet, 2005, 507). For instance, according to green peace, there is a negative correlation between the mandatory disclosure of environmental legal sanctions and the subsequent regulatory violations between firms working with the Chinese conglomerate in regard to discharging hormone distributing chemicals.
Conclusion
Currently, most of the theories associated with corporate social responsibility concentrate more on establishing a good relationship between the organization and its society, using the power in a business responsibly and in the best possible way. Moreover, most of these theories also lean more on helping organizations and firms to achieve their objectives and aims so that they can have long term profits as a reward; all the same, the core principles of these theories are all about integrating demands of the society and make sensible contributions to it by acting in the best possible way.
Bibliography
Janet, L. 2005 Mandatory environmental disclosures in a legitimacy theory context: Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal. Vol.18 (4), pp.492 – 517
Brennan, N. &Merkl-Davies, D 2013, Accounting Narratives and Impression management, In: Jackson, L., Davison, J., and Craig, R. (eds.): Routledge Companion to Communication in Accounting. Routledge, Vol.1 (2), p. 109-132
Deegan, C. and Rankin, M. 1996. An analysis of environmental disclosures by firms prosecuted successfully by the Environmental Protection Authority: Accounting, Auditing, and Accountability Journal. Vol. 9 No. 2, p. 50-67
Hooghiemstra, R, 2000, Corporate communication and impression management; New perspectives why companies engage in corporate social reporting: Journal of Business Ethics. Vol.27 (2), p. 55-68
Mahoney, L.S., Thorne, L., Cecil, L., &LaGore, W. 2013, A research note on standalone corporate social responsibility reports: Signalling or green washing: Critical Perspectives on Accounting. Vol. 24 (5), p. 350-359
Merkl-Davies, D. &Brennan, M, 2011, A Conceptual Framework of Impression Management: New insights from psychology, sociology, and critical perspectives”, Accounting and Business Research. Vol. 41 (5), p. 415-437
Moir, L. 2001. What do we mean by corporate social responsibility? Corporate Governance. Vol.1 (2), p. 16-22.
Elisabeth, G &Domenec, M. 2004. Corporate Social Responsibility Theories: Journalism of Business Ethics. Vol.53, p.51-71