Faculty Of Hospitality Management Tourism Essay

Faculty Of Hospitality Management Tourism Essay Based on the problem statement and research questions, questionnaires will be distributed to respondents of 100 local tourists and 100 international tourists participating in the Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme using non probability, convenience sampling method. Results that will be obtained based on local and international tourists satisfaction participating on the marketing mix of the Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme will be determined. Homestay programme was first introduced back in 1970s in Kampung Cherating Lama, Pahang. The founder of such accommodation was famously known as Mak Long. Types of basic accommodation Mak Long has provided for the guests during those days consist both breakfast and dinner and served at home (Amran, 2008). It is believed that in the late 1980s, the homestay programme then has been transformed into Japanese youth stay where they learned the rural way of life of the locals (Ibrahim and Razzaq,n.d. ) . (Kalsom and Ashikin, 2006) homestay programme in Malaysia was introduced in 1988 by the formerly known as Ministy of Culture, Arts and Tourism Malaysia later known as Ministry Tourism of Malaysia. Today, homestay programme in Malaysian context is defined as the rural-cultural- community based tourism product (The Star, 2009) and is seen to have potential in providing income and employment for the rural community as a whole. Thus, as stated under the Ninth Malaysian Plan, an amount of RM 40 million allocated to the Ministry of Tourism to upgrade infrastructures needed in the rural areas (Ibrahim and Razzaq,n.d.). (Ninth Malaysian Plan, 2006-2010) the governments priority is on development of rural communities and two strategies undertaken include minimizing the obvious gap in income between the rural and urban areas. As stated by the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia (2010) Until May 2010, a total of 227 villages and 2984 participants registered under Ministry of Tourism Malaysia. 1 1.1) Background of study: Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme It was believed that Santubong was once famous for its trade and this information is backed up by the remnants of English, Hindu and Chinese influence here. Based on the claim made by the local community of Santubong, Santubong was originally known as Kampung Teluk Pasir Putih (White Sandy Bay Village) as given by the Chinese settlers trading at the time. The most unique feature of the legendary mount Santubong is the womanly figure lying on her side (Sarawak Museum). Santubong is considered as the largest archaeological site in Malaysia compared to Lembah Bujang in Peninsular Malaysia due to thousands of ceramic together with 40,000 tonnes of iron were found in 1947 by curator, Tom Harrison (1947-1966) . This place was believed to be important area for merchants and iron mining from eleventh to thirteen century. Santubong Village, a Malay fishing village strategically located at the river mouth of the Sarawak with the legendary mount Santubong as the backdrop makes this village a unique one. About 40 minutes drive from the Kuching city centre to reach Santubong Village, this Santubong village is rich with famous landmarks that can be found around the village. Popular list among tourists are the mysterious Sultan Tengah Tomb (First and the last Sarawak Sultan), the Legendary Mount Santubong surrounded by myths. Other historic landmarks that exist until today are the James Brooke Bungalow. The very famous history marked here as well where Wallace the famous scientist penned his theory on speciation and biography here, Batu Buaya (Curse crocodile stone), Teluk Sepang (Raden Merpati landed in Santubong), Bongkisam (An old iron mine), Batu Gambar (Pictorial Rock) and Pulau Kera (Monkey Island). (Source: Sarawak Museum,n.d.). 2 1.2) Problem statement There have been several researches done previously on the benefits and positive contribution through the homestay programme. However, this study will focus on determining the effectiveness of each components of marketing mix such as product, price, place and promotion by Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme against tourist satisfaction. 1.3) Research objectives The objective of the study is to determine the effectiveness of each components of marketing mix such as product, price, place and promotion against tourist satisfaction are as follows:- To determine tourist satisfaction against product in Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme. To determine tourist satisfaction against price offered by Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme. To determine tourist satisfaction against promotional strategy offered by Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme. To determine tourist satisfaction against the place in which Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme is located. 3 1.4) Research Questions How effective are the components of marketing mix used by Kampung Santubong homestay programme against tourist satisfaction. The traditional components of marketing mix in are as follows:- How to determine tourist satisfaction against product in Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme? How to determine tourist satisfaction against price offered against promotional strategy offered by Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme? How to determine tourist satisfaction against the promotional strategy offered by Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme? How to determine tourist satisfaction against the place in which Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme located? 1.5) Scope of Study This research is undertaken to determine the effectiveness of each components of marketing mix such as product, price, place and promotion by the Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme against tourist satisfaction. This research of study will mainly focus at the Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme located at Santubong, Kuching Sarawak. 4 1.6) Limitation of Research 1.6.1)Insufficient resources Insufficient resources due to lack of relevant previous researches done through online scholarly journals. Most online journals are on payment basis and only few free articles or journals available online. 1.6.2) Time constraint Limited time to conduct research since distribution of questionnaires in targeted area falls during the month of Ramadhan, the fasting month for the Muslims and also on the festive month, Hari Raya. Some of the local community participated in the Santubong Homestay Programme may not have time to entertain guests. 1.6.3) Tourist Tourists participation response to the questionnaires distributed may vary. Some tourists may be willing to participate in this research and some may not. 1.6.4) Seasonal factor Due to the nature of product of homestay programme, during low season, number of tourists participating in the homestay programme may be affected. 5 1.7) Significance of Study This study help in contributing valuable information to all homestay operators in Kuching on the influence of tourist satisfaction against the marketing mix adopted by homestay programmes in order to enhance homestay programmes in the future. In fact, using tourists satisfaction as a tool to determine on the elements of the marketing mix such as the product, price, promotion and place can benefit homestay operators on providing the best homestay product/ service by differentiating themselves from each other, hence, the sense of uniqueness to attract more tourists in participating in the homestay programme especially in throughout Kuching. 6 Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1) Definition of terms 2.1.1) Homestay Programme The term homestay programmes are varied in different parts of the world thus, according to Barke (2004) In defining the term homestay programme, there is no single accepted definition in the International studies. Lane (1994) stated homestay as a rural community based tourism product, hence falls under rural tourism category. 2.1.2) Tourist satisfaction Tourist satisfaction is defined as (Klaus,1985,pg 21) the accumulated experience of a customers purchase and experiences 2.1.3) Marketing mix (Perreault, Jr.and McCarthy, 2004, pg38) marketing variables are separated into product, price, promotion and price leads to an easy formulation of marketing strategy. 7 2.2) Homestay Programme (Akbar, Bael, Hassan Baguley, 2003) homestay programme in Australia is the type of accommodation for international students to reside in and is believed to help them with culture adaptation. Homestay is comparable to bed and breakfasts and more affordable compared to rental type accommodation (Akbar, Bael, Hassan, Baguley, 2003). In Malaysia context of homestay programme natural setting, Both (Kalsom, 2009; and Tourism Government, 2008) mentioned homestay programme takes place in a kampung or village setting where guests have the opportunity to live together in the same house with their adopted families and learn the traditional way of lives of the host family. (Kalsom, 2009) added Malaysia homestay programme differed from other type of homestay programme where host-tourists participation is emphasized through involvement in local activities. (Tourism Government, 2008) homestay programme in Malaysia is owned by homestay operators that are granted with a license to participate in the homestay programme. Meaning to say, not all home owners have the privilege to take part in this homestay unless they abide to a list of criteria established by the Ministry of Tourism for all participating homestay operators. The list of criterions pertaining to hygiene, criminal record, clean toilet, adequate number of accommodation in terms of separate bedrooms, accessibility to main road and no communicable disease are highly regarded. Generally, homestay development policy in Malaysia is aimed to fully utilized natural resources at kampung level, conservation of the socio cultural and artistic customs of the village as well as its uniqueness. However, there are several evidence clearly shows that there are similarities in some elements of the homestay programme. For example, the homestay programmes in countries like Australia, Malaysia, and Kwam Emakana community in South Africa stated that the culture exchange between the host and the guests does exist through accommodation provided by the host family. 8 This cultural exchange is emphasizing through host-guest participation on local activities, local food and customs. Similar to the Malaysian context of homestay, the Kwam Emakana community also takes part in the community based tourism homestay where it takes place in a rural / village setting. However, not all homestay accommodation of the Kwam Emakana exists in the rural setting since they also provide township accommodation with private homes (Kwam Emakana Community Based Homestay Initiative in South Africa, 2010; pg 152). According to the World Tourism Organization projections cites in (African Business, 2010), homestay programme gains its popularity may drive by the need to find cheaper accommodation and involving holidays from the travellers part. In order to have a direct experience of the host culture, guests expected the homestay accommodation including the food and local activities as it is. (Solomon Mburu, African Business, 2010). 2.3) Tourist satisfaction In tourism, satisfaction is evaluated based on the characteristics of tourism offers and respondents are typically evaluated through satisfaction scale (Kozak, 2001). (Fuchs Weiermair (2003) destination attributes are correlated to a variable measuring total customer (tourists) satisfaction resulting in more valid managerial implications. According to (Zeithaml et al . . .) cited by (Pawitra and Tan, 2003) tourism in nature is different from other area of services, thus there is a need for tourism industry to used SERVQUAL to measure tourist satisfaction for a destination. 9 (Kozak and Rimmington, 2000) tourist satisfaction are greatly affected by the tourist motivation to purchasing, consumption and services related to tourism offers. In addition, tourist satisfaction considered as an effective tool in homestay tourism and helped marketers in tourism product positioning (Seubsamarn and Cho, 2009).There was research being done on the relationship between quality, satisfaction, previous experience and loyalty (Baker and Crompton, 2000; Bignee et al., 2001;Pritchard, 2003. Petrick, 2004b; Yoon and Uysal, 2005; Um et al., 2006). Perceived quality leads to consumer satisfaction, thus enhance promotion of the destination through word of mouth and repeat purchase (Brady and Robertson, 2001). This statement agreed also by (Bignee et al. (2001) destinations image is a major key related to quality, satisfaction, and tourists motivation repeat purchase. (Yoon and Uysal, 2005) shows the difference tourists motivation that needs to be applied in multiple dimensions via integrated approaches and the complex nature of satisfaction as well as the theories of measuring satisfaction. 2.4) Elements of the Marketing Mix (4Ps) The traditional definition of marketing mix which consists of 4Ps was proposed by E. Jerome McCarthy (1960). Its elements namely; the product, price, promotion and place have been used extensively by marketers all over the world (Wikipedia.org, 2012). Kannan and Srinivasan (2009) implied the marketing mix for any service industry usually comprises of 8ps, where four adopted from the traditional marketing mix and the later are process, physical evidence, people, and productivity. The first element of marketing mix is the product. In a homestay programme context, what drives tourists to flock to any destination as stated by Maimunah and Abdul Rahim (2009) cited in (Ibrahim and Razzaq,n.d. ) The motivation factor of the tourists to visit a particular destination is mainly for the product or attractions. 10 The products mentioned referred to the supplementary attractions such as the natural resources like nature and habitat of the village setting has to offer, vernacular architecture, traditional delicacies and beverages, arts and crafts, music and cultural activities, historical significance, agricultural activities and special phenomena. Hence, tourism product / service usually have direct impact on tourist satisfaction. In a service context, a need satisfying only emerged gradually for the customer throughout the consumption process. Meaning to say, a service is seen as a process that leads to an outcome during partly simultaneous production and consumption processes (Gronroos, 2001). In the context of tourism product which usually related with the service, Ferrell (2005) product is the core of the marketing mix strategy and thus, stockholders involved in the making and production of the tourism product can easily manipulate those products and come up with more unique features in the effort to distinguish themselves from competitors. Same goes to the homestay programme packages offered by stockholders involved such homestay operators of Kampung Santubong with the help of tour operators that bringing in the tourists to the village and active promotion and grants by the Malaysia Tourism Ministry (Ministry of Tourism Malaysia, 2011). In contrary, this has not always been the case. According to Seaton and Bennett (1996) and Butler and Hall (1998), one of the main issues that are faced by most tourism destinations is the difficulty to distinguish themselves from each other. Technically, most of the tourism product / services offered by these tourism destination operators are similar which by all means they might have lost their sense of uniqueness especially in the eyes of the tourists, their target market (Garrod,Wornell,Youell,Garrod et al. , 2006). 11 Referring back to the product, since tourism product / service are categorized as services marketing, there is a need to differentiate tourism marketing when compared to other services (Lovelock). In this sense, The differences between tourism marketing and other type of services include: the nature of the tourism product itself where it emphasizes on providing recreational experience and hospitality to tourists, tourists must travel in order to consume the tourism product/ service thus making the elements of time and money spent to travel affect tourists travel decisions (Kannan and Srinivasan, 2009). This similar approach also agreed by Seaton and Bennett (1996) whereby tourism product does not permitted the target market which is the tourist to try the tourism product / service before purchasing. In addition to the issue pertaining to the nature of tourism product / service, as implied by Parasuraman et al. (1985); and Schiffman and Kanuk (2000), the nature of tourism product als o may influence the perspective of the consumer,the tourists on the service quality. Promotion is defined as all the methods of communications used by the marketer in order to transfer information about certain product or a service. The methods are sales promotion, advertising, personal selling and public relations (Wikipedia.org, 2012). These methods of promotion are relatively different from each other. Advertising is different compared to public relations because an individual or an institution need to pay for their stories to be advertised is it in the internet, newspaper or television. Public relations are commonly used as a medium for promotional strategy. Such example of PR was the launching of Misompuru Homestay Packages with MASWings by the Federal Tourism Minister, Dato Eng Yen Yen (Daily Express, 2012). It is up to the stakeholders involved on how to promote the destination image in which the homestay programme setting lies. Tourism Malaysia (2010b) is continuously promoting the homestay programme various local activities happening in different homestay pr ogramme operators throughout Malaysia (Jamaludin, Othman and Awang, 2010). 12 According to Ministry of Tourism Malaysia (2011), Homestay Programme is an experience where tourists stay with selected families, interact and experience, the daily life of these families as well as experiencing Malaysian culture.Thus, potential tourists that are keen to participate in the Malaysian version of a homestay programme can easily browse through the official Malaysia Homestay Website: www.go2homestay.com . Information on sales promotion of homestay packages is available there as well (Ministry of Tourism Malaysia, 2011). Other example of the latest promotion effort by the Tourism Malaysia with is the Homestay Rail, as stated by the director of the agency from Singapore, Zalizam Zakaria (News Straight Times, 2012). This Homestay Rail will attract mainly students and senior citizens from Singapore to participate in the homestays located along the journey between Johor Bharu and the east coast (News Straight Times, 2012). When it comes to promoting the tourism product such as homestay programme, the destination image plays an important role in promoting the tourism product / services in this case, the homestay programme. The definition of destination image are agreed by both Buhalis (2000) ; Baloglu and McCleary (1999) in which perceptions of any destination held in the minds of tourists. According to Chon (1992) ; Baloglou and Bringmerg (1997) cited in Buhalis (2000) Before people go to a destination they develop the image and a set of expectations based on previous experience, word of mouth, press reports, advertising and common beliefs (JobTrust Incorporated, 2007-2012). However, this will not always seem to be the case, Weirmair and Fuchs (1999) mentioned Destinations could change their advertising strategies. Advertisement could either emphasise the service process characteristics of its tourism and related cultures by focussing on tourists experiences within the destination (Munar, n.d.). 13 Price refers to the amount a customer is willing to pay for the product or service in relation to tourism services context. The price offered for the product / service must complements other elements of marketing mix in order since it will determine whether the profits are favourable which is important for the business survival (Wikipedia.org, 2012). According to Ministry Tourism of Malaysia (2011), the basic cost of spending on homestay packages range from Ringgit Malaysia 150 250 inclusive of meals, accommodation, and activities, depending on the activities offered in various homestay programme operators throughout Malaysia. In addition, all cost related information to homestay packages offered from various homestay operators are accessible through the official Malaysian Homestay website, www.go2homestay.com. Place is where the product / service is provided by individual or institution to the customer and the place must be accessible and convenient to the customers. Place is also commonly referred to distribution (Wikipedia.org, 2012). According to Uysal, Chen and Williams (2000) to build a positive destination image in the minds of tourists was not an easy job and served as marketing challenges for stockholders involved. 14 2.5) Theoretical Framework Tourists Satisfaction Marketing mix (4Ps) Product Price Promotion Place 15 CHAPTER 3: Research Design and Methodology 3.1) Definition of research design (Micheal. S.Carriger, 2000) stated research design can be seen as as common sense and clear thinking for the management of research to come up with effective strategy in conducting a reaserch. 3.2) Sampling Research sample is a group of people chosen from the sampling frame by representing the whole population of study (goodresearch.eu, 2012). According to Uma Sekaran (2000), a sample size is a subset of a population being studied and only some elements of the population are treated as the sample. 3.2.1) Population According to Uma Sekaran (2000), Population is defined as the entire group of people, events, or things of interest that the researcher wishes to investigate. As also stated by Joan Joseph Castillo (2009) Research population is generally a large collection of individuals or objects that is the main focus of a scientific query. The target population for this research is local and international tourists visiting Kuching, Sarawak. 3.2.2) Sample frame A sample frame is referred to the list consisting of the units of the population (MBA Official, 2010). Also stated in (Wikipedia.org, 2012) sample frame may include the individuals, households or institutions which related the population. The sample frame of research is of local and international tourists who are participating in the Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme. 16 3.2.3) Sampling design Non probability, convenience sampling method will be used for this research. Convenience sampling involved collecting information from members of the population who are conveniently available provide to it (Sekaran, 2000). Thus, both the local and international tourists who are most available or most conveniently selected will be asked through questionnaires. 3.2.4) Sample size A sample size of 200 respondents of both local and international tourists from a convenience sampling method is to be selected on the basis of this research. 3.3) Instrument for the research These questionnaires are divided into three sections: Section A : List of personal data questions on demographic of tourist will be asked as closed ended questions with using ordinal scale. Section B: Pertaining to the marketing mix of Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme against tourist satisfaction. Using Likert scale closed ended questions consists of Strongly disagree, neutral (either agree or disagree), agree, strongly agree. Section C: Open-ended questions mainly on recommendations or improvements of the Kampung Santubong Homestay marketing mix will be asked. 17 3.4) Data Collection Method Questionnaire as referred to Wikipedia.org (2012) a research instrument represents by sets of questions for the purpose of gathering the data relevant to the study of research. Questionnaires are to be distributed in a form of survey form to local and international tourists who participating in the Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme, According to BusinessDictionary.com ( ) questionnaires are a list of a research or survey questions asked to respondents and designed to extract specific information. Questionnaires are to be distributed to the local and international tourists who are participating and had participated in the Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme and local community of Kampung Santubong Both primary and secondary data are used in conducting this study. Primary data as mentioned by Karuna (2012) are referred to raw and original materials collected by the investigator which relatively expensive and time consuming as compared to secondary data. Karuna (2012) stated secondary data on the other hand lacks of originality (Preserve articles.com, 2012). Primary data is data collected by the researcher to collect quantitative methods while secondary data referred to as data obtained from sources which are already available such as literature, industry surveys, compilations . . . (socialscience.stow.ac.uk, 2000). Analysis of Data 3.5.1) Spss The first version of SPSS (Statistical Package For Social Science) was released in 1968 and was developed by (Norman H, Nie and C. Hadlai Hull (Wikipedia.org, 2012). It is used by every organisation such as government, marketing establishements. 18 3.5.2) Pilot test Pilot study will be conducted earlier to test the reliability and validity of the questionnaires. According to Julie Stachowiak (2008) pilot study is defined as a smaller version of a large study that is conducted to prepare for that study. It is also used as a tool to test an idea or hypothesis. 3.5.3) Reliability test Reliability of a measure indicates the extent to which the measure is without bias and offers consistent measurement across time and other items related in the intruement.(Sekaran, 2001) 3.5.4) Hypothesis statement H1: Tourists are satisfied with the product of Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme. H2: Tourists are satisfied with the price of Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme. H3: Tourists are satisfied with the promotion of Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme. H4: Tourists are satisfied with the place of Kampung Santubong Homestay Programme. 19

Effects of world war 2 on american society Essay

World War 2 brought many new ideas and changes to American life. Even though World War 2 brought â€Å"no physical destruction to the United States mainland†, it did affect American society in numerous ways. (Roark). World War 2’s effects on American society include a change in the workplace with an increase in industry and an robust economy, a look at America’s own prejudices, and shortages in everyday life. With the war overseas, American companies stopped producing the goods of American life and created goods needed to fight a war. The increase in production helped to rebuild the nation after the Great Depression. This economy also decreased unemployment, achieving what the programs of the New Deal had intended to do. With many men off to war, women were brought into the workplace and a new trend began in the American industrial society. Women took up jobs in industry that had once been reserved for men. They worked in the factories as riveters, welders, and heavy machine operators. â€Å"By 1945, women made up 36% of the nation’s total workforce.† (http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/lectures /lecture21.html) With a war overseas Americans were forced to look at their own prejudices on the home front. While Hitler and Nazism supported the elimination of the non-Arian German, African Americans and other cultures of the United States fought to gain the respect of the United States. While whites and American males fought in the wars of the past numerous other cultures saw World War 2 as a war to show their worth. Cultures such as African Americans, Native Americans, and Chinese Americans fought side by side to fight for America. Another effect of World War 2 was that of price controls and the shortage of supplies. Price controls were put in place to control a lower price on items in short supply. One item that was in short supply was that of gas. This was due to a combination of the need for its use overseas and the sinking of oil tankers in the Atlantic. Other items such as rubber were also in short supply, thus Americans were forced to do less driving and traveling during the time of the war. In order to provide food for soldiers overseas as well as for the rest of the American people, the government began a campaign to supply fruits and vegetables to all. This campaign became known as Victory  Gardens, and contributed 40% of the vegetables grown in the country during the war. The United States changed for the better with World War II. First the manufacturing of goods for American allies and then American forces helped to rebuild the national economy after the Great Depression. Secondly the United State’s policy of isolation was abandoned with the bombing of Pearl Harbor and Americans realized that Europe was only a pond away. Also after a buildup of the military the United States become a leading military power. With the war fought over in Europe, the United States was also spared with the physical destruction faced by Europe; in this the US economy was able to dominate the world. This ultimately led to the status that the United States has today, as being a worldly power.

Hume and his contemporaries Essay

Live art performances, marked by an overture of spirituality, consciousness, physical introductions to pain, drawn further on to include specific rituals, symbolisms, varied states of emotions brought by self-inflicted hurt and eventually, culminating in a wild display of frenzy and shocking images, are less likely to please the uninitiated audience than it will provoke a sense of awe and wonderment among performance art critics. In a similar situation, Marina Abramovic’s attempts to upend the static discourses of physicality, mental states of mind and art that pervade current Western hegemony, understandably, can only be regarded in the extremes by people steeped firmly into formal traditions. Either her method of performance will elevate its spectators to a heightened degree of appreciation, therefore merit a thunderous welcome to a novel brand, sui generis, of art of our time at the end of each scene; or her gruesome didactics on the body’s threshold for pain, simply fails to pass muster. Her performance practice, a risk more than anything else, certainly inspire debates on whether or not to set moral, perhaps even social limits to art in order to determine, in precise and concrete terms, at which point creativity and imaginative art themes and performances become either delightful to the senses or noxious to the sensitivities of the general public. The idea of drawing the line along and between different shades of extremes, although already evinced clearly in the works of Marina Abramovic, seems to fit the consensus on the idea of censuring the bold and burlesque, stripping it off its material enunciation and expression to mitigate the horror and revulsion inherent in the exposition, or in the worst case, totally ignore it until the novel yet misunderstood facade fades from inattention. However, thanks mainly to Marina Abramovic’s unwavering desire to reach her audience, despite the sometimes hostile reception during her performances itself, in ways that continually push the envelope of spectator tolerance, did she carry her work from the esoteric art circles to mainstream. To wit, in one of her collaborative performances with Ulay, entitled Incision (1978), while purposively eliciting reaction, probably direct participation, from their audience, one of the spectators primed the climactic resonance of the work by jumping into the stage to kick Marina Abramovic as she was lying prostate right in the middle of the act. In her biographical work, she writes that although she expected the attack to happen any moment during the performance, she did not realize the immediacy and steeled resolution of that man who assailed her (Abramovic, 1998). Photographs of the show caught the man with a leg lifted, jumping into the air. â€Å"The next photograph shows Abramovic lying on the floor, and the man seems to be landing from a kicking action [†¦] the audience’s interrogation manifested in a spontaneous physical attack (Tang, 2005). Ethical and moral questions, as well as aesthetic controversies have been discussed quite animatedly as early as the 18th century. Philosophers, like David Hume, have started to addressed the tough issues about morality, art and taste—the chief concerns that pervaded his era. Cynthia Freeland, introducing the notions of Taste and Beauty, in a book about defining the slippery strands of art, writes that Hume and his contemporaries â€Å"would not have approved of blasphemy, immorality, sex, or the use of body fluids as appropriate in art† (Freeland 2001). As a caveat to this general statement, it must be understood that even though 18th century consciousness all the way up to the present have not been too open in giving cognizance to art that smack of Marina Abramovic’s own brand of carnal art expressions, there are already extant cultural and social systems which places importance into shamanistic and ritualistic gestures. Among art critics and historians, some pursue a theory of art as ritual: â€Å"ordinary objects or acts acquire symbolic significance through incorporation into a shared belief system† (Freeland, 2001). In the same vein, Freeland further digs deep in history to provide evidence in varied cultural rituals that depict blood and physical pain. She avers that â€Å"when a Mayan king shed blood before the multitude in Palenque by piercing his own penis and drawing a thin reed through it three times, he exhibited his shamanistic ability to contact the land of the undead† (2001). Other modern artists try to recreate a similar sense of art as ritual, just as much as Marina Abramovic has had for the last three decades. Diamanda Galas, for instance, â€Å"fuses operatic wizardry, light shows and glistening blood in her Plague Mass† (2001), supposedly to exorcise pain in the era of Aids. Herman Nitsch, Viennese founder of the Orgies Mystery Theater, promises â€Å"catharsis through a combination of music, painting, wine-pressing, and ceremonial pouring of animal blood and entrails† (Nitsch, n. d. in Freeland, 2001). As it turns out, these very rituals are ingrained in Western traditions. Illuminating examples of which are the amount of blood depicted in European’s, and verily much of the cultures in the modern world today, two main belief discourses: that of the Judeo-Christian and the Greco-Roman. By taking a cursory review of religious and classical texts of Western traditions, we are able to immediately uncover a plenitude of blood representations and ritualistic sacrifices. In the Old Testament, Yahweh is seen to require â€Å"sacrifices as parts of His covenant with the Hebrews† (Freeland, 2001). Similarly, Agamemnon â€Å"faced a divine command to slit the throat of his own child [†¦] the blood of Jesus is so sacred that it is symbolically drunk to this day by believing Christians as promising redemption and eternal life† (2001). Such myths and religious stories are rather germane to Western art. We read of Homeric heroes wining the favors of their gods and goddesses by sacrificing animals. Likewise, the tragedies of Lucan and Seneca â€Å"piled up more body parts than Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Sreet† (2001). Not surprisingly, likewise, Renaissance paintings are never without a hint of blood draped at the canvassed in hard red-acrylic paint whilst Shakespeare’s tragedies typically concluded with swordplay and stabbings. The preceding examples of ritualistic performances which involves blood and sacrifices, death and disease, murder and trials, are very instructive with regards to our penchant for the macabre and the dreadful. It is in these premises that Marina Abramovic draws much of her inspiration to create an art, pro forma, that bespeak of our capacity to endure scenes of gore and violence—if only on a less exacerbated state. Her performance, for the most part, certainly places importance on the symbolic values of ceremonies, gestures and artifacts. Albeit appearing random and spontaneous, her methods establish a logical connection between her consciousness while performing and her body’s means of coping with the strength of self-infliction. In the nascent days of her art, she has performed controversial after controversial explorations into the limitations of the mind and the body. Rhythm 10, in 1973, was the first in a series of abject surrender to the inevitability of suffering. Alone in the stage, she prepared a set of knives to be used as piercing objects in a risky game of Russian hand roulette. Without signs of hesitation, she proceeded to stab the spaces between her fingers in a rough yet determined fashion. Each time she made the mistake of cutting her flesh; she dropped the knife and took out another one to repeat the process all over again until she made use of all ten knives (Abramovic, 1998). The following year, in the performance entitled Rhythm 5, she sought to re-evoke the energy of extreme body pain by constructing a huge star soused with combustible petroleum liquid. At the onset, the structure as lit to flames, and while she was standing right outside the contraption, she religiously clipped her fingernails, cut her hair and them inside the burning star. The denouement of the program was when she danced around and then flew across the flames into the center of the burning star. Serious and life-threatening complications ensued when the smoke that engulfed her from inside asphyxiated her to the point that she no longer had control of her actions. The medical team and the audience, who were all there to watch, started to suspect that something was terribly amiss. Fortunately, the quick responses from the stand-by technicians saved her from an untimely death caused by severe smoke inhalation (Abramovic, 1998). In the same year and the years that followed, Marina Abramovic designed similar art experiments that were meant to test the limits of herself and her body, and later the audience and their tolerance for vicarious agony through her body. Rhythm 2 and Rhythm 0, were performed with the hopes of proving that the consciousness can go beyond the rubric of psychological triggers in mind. The sole aim of both was to uproot the inherited tendencies of the mind to reel from stark images and provocative gestures. She sought to cultivate in the audience a sense of indifference in order that one may reach a virtual catharsis what with all the sharp and strong representations between the body and suffering. For artists like Marina Abramovic, it is clear to them that what they are performing, and while in the act of performing, there is a higher purpose that they wish to achieve regardless of the methods by which these are made possible. They have a firm understanding and appreciation for every act and gesture that they make. None of such are done without rhyme and reason. For artists like Marina Abramovic, everything that happens during any performance, in spite of the harsh opinions of critic that meet them right afterwards, makes a lot of sense. However, audiences who see and react to these artists do not enter, much less share the beliefs and values, or with prior knowledge of what will transpire, with that of the artist. When asked about the origins of her creativity and ideas for her art performance, Marina Abramovic happily recalls her childhood memories with her parents. As if to show indeed that her style was a result of previous life experiences that may be susceptible to a psychoanalytical reading, she narrates: â€Å"A long time ago I made a piece called Art Must Be Beautiful, Artist Must Be Beautiful. At that time, I thought that art should be disturbing rather than beautiful. [†¦]My life is full of such contradictions. [†¦] My father and mother are divorced. As an adult, I recently wanted to go back to help them because of the war. With the embargo, there is nothing in the stores. [†¦] I called my father to ask him what he needs, and he dictates a long list – antibiotics, bandages, penicillin, toilet paper, coffee, sugar, powdered milk, all these basic things for survival. Then I call my mother and ask what she needs. She says, â€Å"I need Chanel lipstick, Absolute Red, Number 345, and hair spray. † I am between these two. † (Abramovic, 2005) Most modern art, in this case, within the context of theatre, videos and live performances, fail to provide ample background reinforcement against the dominant traditions and systems of belief. What invariably happens is that the audiences will remain ignorant to, consequently, unappreciative of the complexities and undertones of the supposedly artful, meaningful and profound gestures. The audience, instead of sharing that same degree of catharsis, sacrifice and initiation, will shy away. They themselves are alienated from the performance so much that they are brought far afield the community, forcing them to abandon the art because of pure shock and horror, largely as a result of their ineligibility to feel as the artists do (Freeland, 2001). Damien Hirst, the ‘Britpack’ artist who sparked controversy in the 1990s with his motley display of macabre high-tech exhibits of â€Å"dead sharks, sliced cows, or lambs in glasses of formaldehyde, [†¦] has parlayed his notoriety into success with his popular Pharmacy restaurant in London† (Freeland, 2001). By no means, therefore, are the works that revolve around symbolisms, spirituality, humanity and fatalism seldom reflects the nature of most of our ritualistic traditions. Symbols of pain and suffering that are central to many religions, cultural systems, political and social units, may come off to the lay person as undesirable and may even cause the same panic as had the man in Marina Abramovic’s performance. Art performance that utilizes imageries that hint at violence, torture and distress, when it is performed in the public who has no inkling of its context, meaning and history are in danger of misconstruing art for capricious display of filth and tripe. As with all in theatre, the performer must work â€Å"against mutual projection between audience and performer†, the identification in which â€Å"[we] believe so readily in the other as the keeper of our treasure and our disease† (Tang, 2004). Valie Export, a similarly omnipresent and provocative figure in the world of art performance, shares the same problems of audience interaction, although not as much as Marina Abramovic. Beside art performance, her repertoire includes film, text, painting and photography to name a few. These avenues of artistic expression gravitate towards her criticisms for feminism and gender. A staunch activist and a progressive performer, she has oftentimes been called a woman living an anachronistic life. This is due to her revolutionary ways to present her ideas that even her colleagues, who without proper notice of her intentions to perform, usually end up dismissing her as too fanciful and idealistic. Her works on ‘Asemie or the Inability of Expressing Oneself Through Facial Expressions’ (1973) and ‘Touch Cinema’ (1968) garnered both fame and distress. Chief of the reasons that contributed to an admixture of reception from the critics and audience is the fact that her ideas do not create strong meaningful associations that the people can readily identify with. Humor and parody may be part and parcel of her work as a performer, but these effects are not what she contemplated to be so. Indeed, while she wanted to catch the attention of her spectators, her ultimate goal is to instruct them of the subtle messages regarding feminism, modernism and ritual art. Export, along with the controversial artists at the turn of the 21st century, became (in-)famous in the recent decades because of her startling presentations of objects and her body (Mueller, 2004). Of her earlier works, ‘Aktionshose: Genitalpanik’ or ‘Action Pants: Genitals in Panic’ (1968), Export engaged the audience, piquing their imagination and belief, with a series of photographs, simultaneously permitting them to engage her as the tangible representations of the images presented in the collage. In an art theater in Munich, dressed to the nines, with the crotch cut out of her pants, Valie Export threaded each row person-to-person, showed her outfit thereby giving the film-viewing public with a palpably visual representation with a real female body. In doing so Export tackled the pornographic reduction of women in static representations just when ideas of feminism and gender were starting to develop during that time. Her message is commensurate to a direct, unapologetic, political affront to the abstract objectification of the female body as a fetish. She moved an aesthetic gesture beyond the representational context of the safe boundaries of art into an actual encounter with a public. Export effectively brought to the fore the various dimension of simple, albeit arresting, bodily gestures â€Å"both to produce and to represent action [. . . ] by stressing the moment and the process of its own production† (Stiles, n. d. ). Export repudiated the representational static sign and discharged an interventionist act by revealing her yonic-self to the public vis-a-vis the photos on the display. Art performance, in the recent decades since its entrance in the mainstream, has, and is continuing to encompass a wide field of human proclivities which spans across a whole, comprehensive range of emotions, symbols and design. Although traditional views on aesthetics and taste still influence much of the productions in the art, more and more innovative, socially-informed, stunningly beautiful works of art performance are being (re-)invented and (re-)discovered every time. It doesn’t matter whether these newly created art forms subscribe to tradition or to the taste of the general public. What matters most is the never-ending quest to plumb the full extent of our humanity as individuals and as a community. Art performance is yet to supplant, at least equal the popularity of video-films, cinema, photography and painting in terms of the instances that these are demanded by the public. But with the works of Marina Abramovic, Ulay, Damien Hirst, Valie Export et al and their boundless passion to break the mold and stun the public to enlightenment, art performance can be considered as a significant cornucopia of art studies and of artistic expression. A number of critics do give favorable comments to Marina Abramovic’s performances and ingenuity, Valie Export’s live photography sessions, Hirst’s â€Å"gleaming vitrines with suspended animals inside† (Freeland, 2001). However, it must be noted that even if the critics find them beautiful and artful still its startling content warrants full attention; nothing short of shallow and pedantic in all respects of praise and criticism. Freeland writes, perhaps disinterestedness has some small and specific role in approaching difficult art by enabling us to try harder to look at and understand something that seems very repugnant to the senses (2001). The work’s content and the artist performing are just as crucial as the theories that surround art performance. It is not so much as merely an arbitrary act done through the caprice of a strange art performer. It is instead, a manifestation of our natural tendencies, our history, our sense of taste and what is beautiful, our entire spirituality and lastly, our consciousness set against the body as a tool to perceive reality. Art performance as practiced by these artists is a celebration of the body and of our community. An excellent performance and performer do more than take the audience to elevated heights, but also give them a sense of being truly and undeniably alive. And such, makes all the difference. References Abramovic, M. (2005). Marina Abramovic: the biography of biographies. New York & London: Charta Publishers. Abramovic, M. (1998). Artist body: performances 1969-1998. New York & London: Charta Publishers. Freeland, C. (2001). But is it art? : blood and beauty. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. Mueller, R. (1994). Valie Export: fragments of imagination. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. Stiles, C. (n. d. ). Aktionshose: genitalpanik (action pants: genital in panic). Retrieved January 15 2008, The Galleries at Moore database. Tang, A. (2005). Gazing at horror: body performance in the wake of mass social trauma. (Masters of Arts program, Rhodes University 2005). .

Declaration Of Independence And The Gettysburg Address

Declaration Of Independence and The Gettysburg Address The Declaration of independence and the Gettysburg address are one of the most powerful written documents in US history. In the Declaration of independence, it uses the three main parts of the rhetorical triangle The Gettysburg address also uses two parts of the rhetorical triangle, but uses logos the least . Both the Declaration of the independence and the Gettysburg address are an important piece in our history because they use the three main parts of the rhetorical triangle. In the Declaration of independence it exhibits ethos in many different ways. One way it proves its credibility is it was affiliated with congress, congress is our national legislative body of our country†¦show more content†¦In the Declaration of independence it shows many logical appeals, it shows authority, and it shows examples. In the Declaration of independence on section four it goes in detail about the laws of the government and it said â€Å" he has forbidden his government to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend them.†( Capital BAC 187) Which means that we the people have some authority in this country. Thomas Jefferson provides an example by saying â€Å" We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity.†(Capital BAC 188) Thomas Jefferson is saying that time and time they have tried to settle the differences the British and the American colonist but there response was nothing. In the Gettysburg address Abraham Lincoln leaves logos out of this speech. The Gettysburg address was based of an emotion feeling, therefore it doesn’t really use factual evidence or show any type of authorities over somebody. In this speech Abraham is trying to uplift the audience and motivated them. In this speech he’s trying toShow MoreRelatedGettysburg Address Versus Declaration of Independence Essay1472 Words   |  6 PagesLincoln’s Address Versus Jefferson’s Declaration Two of the most important, and, perhaps the two most important documents in American history are the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address. 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All have left their mark in history whether it be physical and verbal. Three stand out to me: Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D Roosevelt, and Susan B Anthony. Franklin D Roosevelt s â€Å"Four Freedoms† speech and â€Å"Request for Declaration of War on Japan†, Abraham Lincoln’s â€Å"Gettysburg Address† and â€Å"Second Inaugural Address†, and Susan B Anthony’s